“We don’t need more to be thankful for. We just need to be more thankful.” ~ Unknown
This is Arby Prater and Dora Elizabeth Bailey, my grandmother Terry’s parents. This photo, and the photo of my Grandfather Terry’s parents, used to hang in my grandparent’s bedroom. Today, they hang in Aunt Lois’ hallway. I hadn’t seen the photos in many years until I saw them on Thanksgiving Day. Dora died four years before I was born, so I never got to meet her, unfortunately. I heard many wonderful stories about her and how her life changed for the better when she married Arby. I have a single vision of Arby sitting silently in a recliner. He died when I was five and that’s all I remember about him. He was a son to Big Jim Prater, a well-known man in the Cannel City, Kentucky area. I understand he had quite a bit of land. Arby himself owned the head of Railroad Fork. He worked a lumber mill, farmed, and perhaps dabbled a bit in moonshine, or so dad has said. Dora and Arby had quite a life together.
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