Connections-Reeves Cove

Maternal  great, great grandparents, the Shipley's

On Wednesday, January 5, my cousin and closest Reeves Cove neighbor, Henrietta Case, passed away.  So I left here on Friday and drove 12 hours to Asheville so I could be at her memorial service on Saturday at New Morgan Hill Baptist, my home church.  While there, I stayed with her brother, William (aka Bill) and his wife, Joyce.  It was a wonderful visit in many ways, either in spite of or maybe because of the loss of our loved one.  At any rate, "connections" was much on my mind throughout this time.

There were about a hundred people at the service, including Henrietta's children, grand children and great grandchildren.  I wish I had counted them all, but they took the first 2 pews in the church, and they were long ones.  Reverend Gerald Sprinkle, also a neighbor, and Reverend Roy Houston, pastor of New Morgan Hill co-conducted the service.  I knew Gerald and his brother, Keith, when I was growing up.  Keith and I ran around together some, chasing girls, gigging frogs and getting into trouble sometimes (not serious trouble).  Also at the service was another cousin, Gary Propest, whose mother Elsie suddenly passed away that morning.  It was a very sad day for him. 

Gerald is a country preacher, just as his father, Charles, was.  Charles was there,too, and gave the benediction.  He's in his upper 80's now and still has a strong voice filled with the spirit.  As Gerald spoke, my mind drifted off to my days in Reeves Cove, living in that little trailer with momma and grandma.  William and his parents, Henry and Edith, also lived close by, as did my Uncle Melvin, Aunt Neley and their son, Junior and his wife, Hester.  I lived there from 1960, when we came for a visit from Florida and never went back, until I married Diane Blake and moved to Chapel Hill in the fall of 1968.  During those 8 years, I made connections that have lasted my whole life and still continue to remind me of those roots. 

My great grand parents, Abel and Ollie Propest, were among the first inhabitants of Reeves Cove and owned a large tract of land there.  They had a big house on the hill with a nice view of the valley.  When Abel died at 47 or so, the land was divided among the 5 children and much of it is still owned by their descendants.  The picture above is of my maternal great, great grandparents, the Shipley's. 

While visiting with William and Joyce, I discovered another connection.  During high school I had a crush on Brenda Kay Jones, now O'Kelly.  Come to find out, William and Joyce knew her and her husband and kids when they all went to the same church at one time.  That was about 30 years ago and we just found out!  It was a very nice surprise, to say the least.  I saw Brenda at the high school reunion last August and was glad to see her and learn that she is happily married to a high school classmate. 

On Sunday I attended the service at Jubilee! and the topic for the lesson was "The Color of Connection", with the theme for the season being "The Colors of the Wind".   Air connects us all, just as spirit does.  We all breath the same air, and it gets moved around our earth by jet streams and gentle breezes; by hurricanes and baby's breath.  Wind comes to each of us differently, just as spirit does.  Howard invited us to join hands with the people seated next to us, and to my right was a lady with this cutest of puppies in her lap.  As I held her hand, the puppy nibbled and licked my thumb and I was filled with joy!  It was as if I had connected with spirit through a puppy!  As always, I left Jubilee! feeling content and with a full heart. 

It snowed on Friday night and again on Sunday, so I delayed my planned Monday departure.  Tuesday morning saw about 8" on the ground and the sand/salt trucks had been very busy during the night.  Luckily, William showed me a better route back to Florida which avoided Atlanta altogether.  That was a very good thing, as Atlanta was iced in and had accidents everywhere blocking the roads.  And yes, the Vespa returned to Florida with me, as I think it will be easier to sell it here.

It was sad to leave William and Joyce, as we had shared some wonderful time together.  It was also sad to lose Henrietta and we will miss her.  Yet her leaving is what brought us together for a while, reminding us of our connections.  Thanks, Henrietta.  We'll see you again some day. 

Joyce and William Propest