by Anna Scales
Sometimes I sit on my back porch and daydream about all the places I have been in Kentucky. Our family always goes camping. We have camped everywhere in Kentucky.
It seems that I have come home every time I am out in the woods. There is a peace, an inner peace, that I find when I am away.
I have visited Arizona and many other places. I have fond memories of a place called Scottsdale. I fell in love with the desert sand, cactus, and majestic mountains but in all my travels, I always wanted to come back home to Covington. In Covington, I am sure I am home. There is the hustle and bustle of big yet small town.
As a small child of maybe 8 or so, my mom would point out a small two story house in Latonia and say, "This was your first home" I can't remember being there but the smile and glow on her face always made me feel like this was a happy place for her. Mom would tell me the story of how I was born a the St. Luke Hospital in Ft. Thomas and how she and dad brought me home to my grandparents house at Park and Lincoln.
I recall a time that we lived in Elsmere. I guess it was before I was five. There was a fenced in yard and a field beyond that. My mom would sit with me and my brother and sisters on a swing glider and sing "Old Suzanna." I wish this happy time could have lasted my whole childhood, but my mother always said, "Good things must come to an end." It did for her and I feel it did for me too. My parents divorced!
At the time, I had no clue what that meant. But I recall my dad moving into an apartment with his parents in Crescent Springs. Then started the trips back and forth between Mom's place and Dad's place.
On the side on this new apartment was a concrete slab that was for water run off. Kids would slide down it with slick shoes. You know, the dress shoes that you wore only to church. I enjoyed playing with the other kids but in the back of my mind I worried about Mom. I missed her and wondered how she was making out?
I knew that things were different for Mom than they were for Dad. My dad bought his own home with his new wife. It was nicer and Dad's job was more secure. Their home was in Villa hills. I remember a big snow. Our street was covered in a blanket of white. We were so excited. My brother an I made snow forts and a snowman. When it snows, I watch my children build a snowman and feel just like a kid who wants to lay in the snow and make snow angels, build forts and go sledding.
While my dad had a nice place, mom and us four kids lived with Grandma Boots, my mom's mom. I loved Grandma Boots. I never saw her much until I was five. She was a round and she was tall. Coal black hair in a page cut. She had to be a hoot to be around when she was younger! She had tattoos about her body. Some visible, some not. If you couldn't remember her name, if was on the side of her arm. Grandma Boots was always taking in other family members and her house was always filled to the brim. Grandma wasn't the best housekeeper, but I guess that was the best she could do. She wasn't in the best of health, and with so many people to pick up after it had to be hard.
I remember Grandma Boots doing laundry in an old ringer washer and hanging the clothes in the kitchen. Then she would turn on the stove and burners to help them dry faster. It was like being in a tropical forest.
Mom did buy her own house on E. 19th Street. She struggled to pay her bills. Her job at the factory was hard and the hours unpredictable. She later remarried. Her husband took care of us while my mom was working third shift. Some nights were better thant others although we never told her. If he came home angry and drunk, there was the belt to worry about. Since I was the oldest, I was his first target. He didn't make things easier for my mom. A compulsive gambler he soon lost our car house…just everything, gone. He too left. So it was back to Grandma Boots we went.
When I was 13, my father made arrangements for me to go to Villa Madonna for high school. It was close to his house. My mom and him decided that it was best for us to stay with dad while we were in school.
At 16 I went to live with my mom. Not in the plans of my father, but it is something I have always wanted. I got a part time job and helped my mom pay the bills with the money I earned. Mom wasn't the best with money so I helped her, while I continued school at Villa.
Eventually, I married the boy my dad didn't want for me. Jay stuck by me through high school. He has offered me a stability that I have never known.
We have been married now for 10 years this past August. We have two children, Drew & Demi. My mom now lives with us. She can't work the factory job anymore. After 25 years of hard work, her hand and arms are impaired. But mom is 50. She is still young, that's what I tell her. She has lots of life still left to enjoy.
I do love my father, though I only see him occasionally. I just had to live my life the way I saw fit. That's what I'm continuing to do. Lord knows what I'll get into next.
Sample Oral Histories:
Enjoy your journey with Jack and Molly