When I think of
the Jett Family I think of my Grandmother, Gertie Mae Jett. She is the
sweetest little lady I have ever known. She always referred to the
good, and what we are supposed to do to reach our ultimate goal in
life. I remember many days,weekends spent with her and Grand Pa Otto
at Clio,Wv.
Quite
Sunday afternoons with nothing to do, maybe the rain would be
pouring outside. During these times were some of the most precious, I
ever spent with her. She taught me to play tic tac toe, soap,
checkers, Chinese Checkers. She did very well for a 60ish lady
attempting to pacify a 8-12 year old boy. We would sit on that
old front porch just out of the rain singing, playing or just talking.
She is still living at age 93.
L-R: Opie Jett, Gertie (Jett) Rhodes, Oral Jett
I recall one
summer, on a Friday morning my mom told me your uncle Opie is
coming over and hes going to take you fishing. I had seen Uncle Opie
several times but had never really spent much time with him. So sure
enough in a few hours he showed up ready to go fishing and to my
surprise he had brought me a brand new Zebco 77 beginners fishing rod
& reel. It was like have a new Lexus. Wow!
I assumed that
we would fish in Sandy creek near our house on Pigeon. But we decided
to fish the small creek on Pigeon. We started around 11:00 am we
walked, fishing the small little pools, climbing over rocks, wading
the creek getting our feet wet. Wow this guy is cool. I'm not sure
what all we talked about but I'm sure I did most of the talking. He
would ask questions, listen and let me ramble on. We walked,talked
& fished for probably 2-3 miles down the creek past where Pigeon
flows into Sandy creek, then down below what the folks called the Big
Hole or Big Bend. It started to rain just below the Big Hole but we
found a rock with enough overhang to keep us dry. That pretty much
ended our fishing trip. It was around 4:00 pm when we returned home.
All we had to show for our fishing trip was " Fishermans
Luck" . I think the only thing we caught all day was a
couple large Silversides. The fish picking was pretty slim that day
but I learned a good lesson that I didn't realize untill I was much
older. Kids remember things, small things can have a large value
when you least expect them.
I saw Uncle
Opie about 25 years later not long before he died. He was visiting
Uncle Coy's in Prince George, Virginia. I ask him if he remembered
that fishing trip. He said yes I sure do. But he had no idea how much
it meant to this young boy growing up.
My Buddy, Joe Jett
Back Row L-R: Wade Crihfield,
Marshall, Otha, Edgel Jett and son Roy. Front Row L-R: Amma Jett, Dixie
Miller, Laura Jett W/Stella Crihfield on lap, Gay Crihfield, Phebe
(Nida) Jett,
Grandma May Jett W/son Romie Jett on lap, Rosie Pettit W/unknown child
on lap.........Special Thanks to Joe & Janice Jett for this Pic.
