This song by a 90's hairband almost sums up who I am.... Born to everyday average parents in a very very small town called Lawrenceville GA. There is not much noteworthy about this town except that it is the town where Larry Flint was shot. Right on the square in down town....My mother happened to be downtown that day. She didn't see it happen but was a bystander when they were taking him to the hospital.
Something noteworthy, but really only to my family is that my Great Grandmother Clack, born on the 4th of July 1907, has that date named for her... Not surprisingly, one of her Great-grand Sons is the Mayor of Lawrenceville and on her 100th Birthday he had the 4th of July named as "Annie Clack Day". This 4th of July she will be 103. She is in a nursing home, doesn't really know anyone and can not see or hear very well. But every time I have went to visit her, she has a HUGE smile on her face. Even though she thinks I am a nurse, LOL.
Annie Clack was a preacher with her husband. I don't have much history on her preachings or congregation. But I remember being shocked that she was an ordained minister.A real rebel of her time... A Woman and a Preacher! Her husband was injured in a bus accident where he shattered his hips and had trouble walking. She cared for him until he died in the early 1980's. They had 6 children together. There are only 2 left, my Grandfather Glendon Clack and his sister Melba. Each of the others passed of Cancer. I believe there are something like 150 Great Grandchildren...
Glendon and Virgina Clack are my Mom's parents...They have 2 children, 4 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren!
Virgina Clack was born in Alabama the oldest of 6 children. Her mother turned 98 this year. She still lives in Alabama with her youngest daughter, who is younger than my mother... My Grandmother once told me some of her history and this is what I remember. Her parents separated when she was about 5 and got back together when she was 8. They lived with my Grandmother's Grandmother until her parents got back together. They were poor farmers. My grandmother recalls that if they wanted soap, they had to make it the old fashioned way. Her father died in a car accident when my mother was around 11 in the 1960's. When I was around 5 I ask my Great Grandmother why she was not married and vividly I remember her answer. "I was married once and didn't like it much, I am a woman that learns from her mistakes!" At 5 I was surprised, at 37, not so much... LOL
My Dad is Thomas McCart. His parents were Lawson and Gertrude McCart... again poor farmers from Georgia. They had 3 children, my Dad being the youngest. They saved their money and purchased land.... I live in the 100 acre woods and just like Pooh, it was magical! They have both since passed and the 100 acre woods sold... There is now a freeway running through the yard... and pink houses dotting the landscape...(sorry, just couldn't resist) I hear John Cougar Mellencamp every time I go past there!
When I was growing up, there were only 2 lane roads in Lawrenceville. I still remember when they build Hwy 316 that connected Lawrenceville to Interstate 85 in Duluth. My Dad loaded us in the car and we took the 8 mile ride to where they were building Gwinnett Place Mall... Big fun back then! The fun ended when most of the roads went under construction and there was a huge influx of people... In the 1990's Lawrenceville was the fastest growing city in the US. Now, most of the roads are 4 lane.
And I have moved to a small town in North Carolina. The town my children live in is much like the town that I grew up in.
My family made me who I am today..This is my history, where I came from.... All of these people shaped me, guided me, hurt me and loved me. I am thankful that I still have most of my relatives and I marvel that at 37 I can say that I have 2 living Great Grandmother's...
So Happy 4th of July or in my case.... HAPPY ANNIE CLACK DAY!
