The Colonel and Elzina

Ada's parents The Colonel and Elzina Jennings

 

These are the things I remember about Grandmother Ada's parents...they were from Virginia and moved to Raleigh County where The Colonel was the Postmaster and delivered mail on horseback.  I believe it's safe to say that Elzina was a stay-at-home mom burping out babies galore...a family of 12 siblings!  Can you imagine delivering mail on horseback in the mountains in the wintertime!  There are some tough genes in our family, no doubt.  We've got some staying power, some substance and thank goodness my kids look like the Cumbo's!  Although my Grandmother was a beauty and her brother Arthur the Photographer was a pretty boy.  Uncle Cam looks a lot like my Grandmother and her brother.  As you have probably already concluded... Mother Zina was named after her Grandmother Elzina...Elzina sounds German to me, however, Jennings is an English or Irish name. Someday, I'd like to research the history of the Jennings a little further.  And someday, I will.

So...there ya go...we are an ancestory blend of Italian(Cumbo),French(Clarke),German(Coffman), and Irish/English(Jennings). 

Ponder the Beauty of Ada Christine

"Isn't she lovely", I say,  not questioning her beauty but moreover in a tone of admiration. Yes, she is my Grandmother and in most cases, we love our Grandmothers for who they are and for what they add to our lives.

(right)Ada with little Zina on her lap then Ada's Sister Blanch(left, sitting) and Sister Buelah(standing behind her) Gin-Gee is standing behind Blanch

I can honestly say that I am my Grandmother's daughter in many ways.  I've been told I look like both of my parents, Tony and Zina, however, my disposition is much like my Grandmother Ada's.

As a child, I remember riding along the West Virginia Turnpike in anticipation of our visit to her cozy little home on N. Oakwood Avenue in Beckley.  Her yard had apple and walnut trees and a whole extra yard filled with old fashioned phlox that would bloom in pink, white and purple.  I always hoped she had made her homemade blackberry cobbler made from the berries growing in her yard because it was truly my favorite.  Sometimes she would even ask me to go pick the berries!

 



Yes, Grandma Ada passed her "top half" on to me as well

 

 

 



Ada was quiet, creative, could sing a little, could cook a little, could garden a lot, could can her apples and crack her black walnuts every Summer.  She loved her home and family, she was a caregiver, she was quite the looker in her day, she liked cream in her coffee and toast with butter and homemade applesauce as a snack.  Grandmother Ada used real butter and allowed me to climb up on her table and put my finger in the softened butter stick that lay on the china butter dish anytime I wanted.  She also invited me to join her in having a little cup of coffee with cream (and sugar) from time to time.  She always served her coffee in beautiful china that I have today and taught me how to hold my pinky out while holding my coffee cup to let people know I was being ladylike.  And the best moment was at the end of our coffee time when she would look in the bottom of her cup to see if there were any coffee grinds left.  If there were a few, she would begin to tell the tale of how she could read the coffee grinds...always entertaining my mind with all the good things that were to come.

One memory that comes to mind about Grandmother Ada's kitchen is that she always had pretty curtains in the windows and always tied an apron on before preparing the meal.  I feel fortunate to have a special box of aprons and linens that belonged to her.  I really enjoy looking at them from time to time.  It brings back so many great memories of setting around her table having conversations with my Momma and Aunti and family.  I can smell the flavored steam of her green beans seasoned with bacon and onions cooking on the little gas stove in her little special cove of a kitchen.

 

I called her Grandmother for as long as I can remember then one day when my kids were little, I began calling her Grandma.  Maybe it's because it was a shorter word for my boys to say or maybe it's because I really didn't want anyone else calling her by the endearing name I held close to my heart. 



 

 



We've Come a Long Way Baby...with our Family of Four

 

Aunt Virginia "Gin-Gee"(left), Grandma Ada, Uncle Cam and Zina (front)

standing in front of homeplace in Beckley, WV

 

 

I made mention in the last post that my Grandmother was driven and had a quiet awareness about her...a "survivor with grace", no doubt.  She kept her family together after first husband, the father of her children passed so suddenly.  They all grew up to be faithful, kindhearted and family oriented adults without feeling like they had missed out on the good things in life...the simple things.

 

Grandma was used to being a vital part of her family that began many years ago...in her own family known as The Jennings.  She was one of the oldest of 12 and was considered the seamstress of the family.  She kept her Momma and sisters in dresses designed and made from her own hands. 

 

Ada with 6 siblings and parents at their home in Beckley, WV

 

 This skill kept her financially secure in later years when she began working at the nicest retail store in downtown Beckley as their seamstress.  Everyone loved Ada and she had many friends including the owners of the store.  I remember visiting the store when I was a child, walking along her side from the downtown location to her home on North Oakwood Avenue several times.  You see, Ada never had a drivers license so she had to walk everywhere!  And she did in shoes that were unbelievably stylish!  The only time she ever called a cab was in the Winter months when the snow would fall or when she had to go grocery shopping after work and had too many bags of canned goods which made the bags much too heavy to carry the distance.  As children, my Aunt Gin-Gee and Zina would meet their Mother at the store and help carry the bags of groceries back home.  The mutual respect was immeasurable, almost a quiet characteristic and thread of love that ran through the beloved Coffman family.

 



 



 

 Zina Mae

Zina Mae Coffman
Age 18

 



My beautiful Mother, Zina Mae was a simple woman raised by a driven, kind and loving widowed Mother Ada Christine Jennings Coffman Bailey in the thriving Appalachian city of Beckley, West Virginia...located in Raleigh County.

Her father, Campbell Coffman died from complications of lung problems developed while inspecting the Coal Mines of West Virginia.  He was a young businessman who owned three homes in the downtown area of Beckley, one he and Ada lived in as newlyweds and two he rented.  After building his security as a young property owner, he decided to go into business with a friend and form a company that would appraise real estate and diversified into inspecting the coal mines. 

I do not have a lot of information about my Grandpa Coffman but I do cherish the photos I have showing him as a young man engaged to my Grandmother Ada. 

 

I am assuming with a name like Coffman, "Cam" as they called him, must have been of German ancestory.  His dark eyes, high cheekbones and olive skin might make you think otherwise. I actually think his eyes look Asian and did some research which led me to the Siberian areas...it's just a hunch and not proven by any means.  (The slant in his eye shape comes out in my Mother and her sister, Virginia as well as in my brother and me.) He was a small-framed man that was not much taller than his lovely petite Ada who stood at only 4'10" and wore a size 3 in childrens shoes.

 

 

 

I do know my Grandpa Coffman loved his Mother Lilly and stayed close to her all of his life.  He died young which broke his Mother Lilly's heart and young widowed Ada and her three young children stayed close to Lilly.  Great Grandmother Lilly lived in one of the homes Grandpa Coffman and Grandma Ada owned for the longest time and I believe Ada provided care to Lilly in her last days.

 

An Appalachian Girl...Zina Mae

 

 

 

 

Zina Mae, your gray skies are gone

And you have gone Home

Zina Mae, your gray skies turned blue

Oh how I miss you

 

In the morning, you would wake up a hummin'

Had a ray of sunshine beamin' in your eye

You'd look at me and tell me I could do anything...

I could do anything I wanted, if I try

 

Zina Mae, your gray skies are gone

And you have gone Home

Zina Mae, your gray skies turned blue

Oh how we all miss you

 

 

 

 

Ships Ahoy!

Tony decides it's time to run from the Appalachian Mountains to the vast blue water.  It was his privilege and patriotic duty, a way out of Beckley, WV and a means to provide a financial future for himself and wife-to-be, Zina Mae Coffman.

"What a handsome Sailor Man!", my Mother, Zina must have thought when he came back to town on "leave" before his official tour of duty began with the United States Navy.  I remember the story well when Zina was all dressed up in her poodle skirt and roller skates, sitting with her group of girlfriends at a hamburger joint when Tony walked in and over to her and said, "How's my girl been?" and "Have you missed me?".  Well, the rest is history!

 

Zina Mae Coffman, 812 N. Oakwood Ave, Beckley, WV

As the Story Goes...Little Tony Grows.

As the story goes, little Tony grows up in the midst of being shuffled around afterall.  After Uncle Angelo and Aunt Tillie began having children of their own, they had to make a better living and decided to move to Chicago to join the rest of the Italian family.  Tony's father Jake and wife Mary came to the rescue and welcomed the young son into their home.  This was the first time that son and father had lived in the same home since Tony was a baby.

My Father never spoke of this period of time in his childhood.  I believe it was a hard adjustment on him.  In later years, I did hear a troubling story from my Mother that Jake and Mary used to send little Tony to the shed outside for punishment...after a spanking or two.  I can only imagine it and don't like to think about it.  I cannot imagine my sweet Father being a bad boy or being the cause of anyone losing their patience.  So, I try not to think about it.  I do remember Mary Cumbo always being very nice to me although I've heard from others that she had a temper. She was quite lovely to look at and reminded me of glamorous movie starlet even though she always had darkened circles under her eyes.  Her cheekbones were high and her smile was really beautiful.  She was an Italian beauty in many ways and she and Papaw Jake shared many years together.

Mary, Papaw Jake and Aunt Clara "Tootsie" are featured here in this photo with Mom and Dad on their Wedding Day on September 9, 1950, Beckley, WV.

Papaw Jake was very proud of his son and always enjoyed it when he played his accordian.  In later years, my Father would play the hymn "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" in memory and honor of a special place and time with his Father, Jake.  He would recall the story that took place while standing in front of a jukebox in a little diner in Beckley, WV.  Dad was there eating dinner and in walks Jake.  Jake visits with Dad for a little while and asks his son to come up to the jukebox with him.  He is looking for the hymn "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" and Dad helps him find it, places the coins in the slot and pushes the button to select this special song.  As it plays, Jake tells Dad that this is his favorite song and wants him to remember it as one to play when he is performing for others at events.  My Dad did play it from time to time as he replayed this fond memory in his mind of a special moment in a small diner in a small town standing beside his Father.