By Anita Garner
Daddy. Reverend Raymond D. Jones. Brother Ray.
Daddy was the sheriff of Mayberry with a deep Southern drawl and a Bible in his hand. Tall and good looking and enormously likable, he was in possession of both the strength and the patience of a natural leader.
Musical. Charismatic. Genuinely kind. Taught us to plant things, how to dig up baby potatoes, how to sing harmony in the car. The latter is important when what your family does is sing gospel harmony.
Daddy’s teaching methods were transparent but effective. To learn our parts, he started us off with the cowboy songs we loved and transitioned from Tumbling Tumbleweeds to What a Friend We Have In Jesus.
Headed to the radio station in Columbus Georgia, 1945. Sister Fern might not enjoy this photo of her with eyes closed and curls springing loose, but I like it. Sorry, Mother. We’ll make it up to you next Mother’s Day.
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So, what happened to “The Baby?” That she had a powerful voice and sang “In the Garden” is the last mention of her in your book.
Hi Alice, thank you for reading “The Glory Road” and asking about The Baby. My “Author’s Note” was added before the story begins because she planned to tell her own stories someday. She was a big part of our lives and an indelible personality. I chose “The Baby” as a way to include her. Because of the age gap between us and the fact that our parents stopped traveling early in her life and my brother and I left home in our teens, our younger sister was raised in a completely different environment. Her name was Donna Kaye and she passed away a few years ago.