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Effie Sue’s closet really exists. It was a little funny little makeshift corner closet in a 1914 bungalow in Florida. It belonged to our grandma, and there really wasn’t much to the contents, but I found the closet’s odd shape fascinating.

My other grandma’s closet – across town – was regularly shaped, but still fascinating. There was a large pickle jar full of coins on the top shelf of her uncluttered sewing room closet. This was prior to 1976, so the coins seemed like riches. My family visited only once a year, and each visit, she would give me and my brother either two quarters or one fifty-cent piece each for the nearby zoo.

Both women – with often-absent husbands – worked hard to keep their families fed and clothed. Both women sewed and did odd jobs in a time when many women didn’t have the opportunity to get a higher education or climb corporate ladders. I admire them greatly for their work ethics.

This blog is focused on a stash of photos from Effie Sue’s house and the family history journey that’s ensued. We also have a stash of photos from Mary Etta, the grandma across town, which we will be examining.

So, let’s learn together about family history, tracing these Florida-Georgia line roots, and what it all means.

Thank you,
R.D.

Updated March 2019