Remembering Aunt Sallie…

Sallie Coe Smith. My Aunt Sallie was my father’s father’s sister. Ever since I can remember, she lived in a beautiful, turn-of-the-century home in Edinburg, Virginia, which is a lovely town nestled in the Shenandoah Valley. On hot summer days, my grandmother would walk my brother and me to Aunt Sallie’s to swim in Stoney Creek, which was a stone’s throw from her front steps. Stoney Creek was one of those small, cold mountain creeks with smooth round rocks under your feet. Just enough current to let us drift a bit.

I remember that Aunt Sallie was an active leader in the community–the Methodist church where my grandfather ministered and the Edinburg community library are two in particular. I remember that the grape vine behind her house was always full. I remember that Aunt Sallie loved cats. I remember she loved history, and that her walls were covered with mementos from the White House, where her husband worked.

When Aunt Sallie died this year, the family held a memorial service at the family church. This is a small, local parish, and every pew was filled. Afterwards, there was a light luncheon in the church hall, with food made by church members.

The family held a small ceremony at the cemetery, where Aunt Sallie was buried next to her husband, and next to my grandmother and grandfather. Then we gathered at Aunt Sallies home for family memories, walks down to Stoney Creek, and many laughs. The highlight for me was teaching my nephew Wade (4 years old) to take pictures with my digital camera–you should have seen the smiles he captured.

Two photos below. One is a photo of a photo of my Aunt Sallie. The second is a photo of the old railroad bridge across Stoney Creek–growing up, my brother and cousins and I were captivated by this bridge and would walk up to it every time we visited Aunt Sallie…although I don’t think we ever crossed it.