~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Following from Ova O. DeLong's book: "Auxier - Delong - Brown - Allied Families". (edited version to remove unnecessary text & correct minor errors) Ova was a younger brother of Rollie's.
ROLLIE & FLOSSIE (ELAM) DELONG
Rollie Delong, 26 February 1901 - November 15, 1943, the sixth child of Jeff & Maggie (Brown) Delong and was a baby when our parents moved across Licking River to Keeton Branch. Vergie was age 8, Cletus 7, Verna 5, and Jimmie & Willie had died. Estill was born in a small house half-way between what later became Ernest Elam’s house and barn, where the family resided while a permanent house was under construction.
Rollie very early assumed a position of leadership in the family. He liked people and he liked livestock, especially horses and mules. One of my earliest images of Rollie is that of his twisting the ear of a mule called Hanner to mount her without being bitten on his leg, and seeing him dismount by running Hanner and jumping off as she ran, for the same reason.
By the time that I was allowed to go to the field the family then at home composed a worthy crew, and we kept Popa busy plowing rows of corn as fast as we could hoe them. The standard "goose-neck’ hoe was not large enough to please Rollie, so he welded a piece of a "cross-cut" saw onto his hoe. This together with his natural strength and technique enabled Rollie to command the "lead row". We called the hoe "Rollie’s turning-plow".
Rollie & Estill were the youngest of Popa’s sons to be allowed to accompany Popa’s crew on a raft down Licking River. Also they were the next to "fly the coop" so to speak, to look for more profitable employment. First they tried Beattyville; then to the log-woods in West Virginia; then to the coal mines at Muddy Branch, in Johnson County. Estill was first, I do not know the exact sequence but along the way, Popa, Cletus, Rollie and I, and others, to cut, saw, split and deliver a barrel stave contract to Well’s Station for the late Leander Canada "L.C." Elam.
About 1920 Rollie, Estill, Cletus, Frank Conley, and others from our community were working in the coal mines at Hardburley, Perry County, Kentucky. One of the first things Rollie purchased while at Hardburley was a mowing machine for Popa’s use on the farm.
Page 62 -
About 1924 Rollie left the mines, went to Ashland, purchased a new 1924 Ford Touring auto, and returned to Keeton Branch, and for lack of suitable roads and bridges, with some difficulty. In fact some people called the auto "Rollie's Ridge-Runner". For about one more year Rollie was back home farming, and enjoying his new car and the girls (one girl in particular) and in 1925 he entered into Holy Matrimony to Miss Flossie Lee, the beautiful daughter of Wm. T. & Della (Nickel) Elam.
The following year, in 1926, on March 18, their son William Harold was born. Rollie found employment in Lexington, Kentucky, as a result of a reference from Flossie's uncle Kelly Elam, with the Turner family on Rosemont Gardens. Rollie & Flossie lived and worked for and with the Turners for a good many years and a close friendship grew between them during which time they were blessed with three daughters: the first was Minnie Della Delong b. 4 October, 1928; the second was Mary Margaret Delong, b. 5 March, 1924 and their third daughter, fourth and last child, was Doris Lillian Delong, b. 7 January, 1936. Rollie & Flossie's home became a haven for three in-laws who were seeking employment, and, or a home while going to school. Flossie had two uncles living on Rosemont: Kelly & Ida (Castle) Elam at one end of Rosemont Garden, and S. S. & Brenda (Davis) Elam at the opposite end of Rosemont Garden. These two families each had five children, some of them near my age. These families meant a lot to this writer. There came a time when Rollie & Flossie moved to the opposite side of Lexington. Rollie was a dairyman, a farmer and a trucker, and by this time he was well established, and his services were always in demand. One such time was to move his sister Verna, another was to move our mother to Ashland and one year before his death Rollie moved Thelma and me to Louisville. Enroute between Bridgeport, Connecticut and Louisville a few months earlier Thelma & I stopped for a brief stay during which time Rollie cut a five-room house in two at the ell and moved it across Lexington on a ½ ton truck. Rollie was short winded and his heart was giving him some concern, but he wouldn't agree to go to the doctor.
In November 1943, one year to the month after having moved Thelma & me to Louisville, Rollie suffered a coronary thrombosis. We were called to his bedside. As we walked down the hall looking for the room, he saw us pass his room and snapped his finger and stopped us. After visiting with him for a while I went to talk to his doctor to get a prognosis. The doctor said “these are usually terminal, but Rollie has rallied to the extent that it has given us some hope”. About a week later Rollie was dead, and he was laid to rest in the Elam Cemetery on the Leander Elam Farm. Flossie was left with a heavy burden. Luckily Harold was 17, Minnie 15, Mary 9, and Doris was 7. Being a strong Christian woman, and helped by relatives and friends, Flossie did a marvelous job and no doubt the two older children were at the age where they could give her strong support. All Flossie's children are marvelously successful.
PAGE 63
ROLLIE & FLOSSIE (ELAM) DELONG’S CHILDREN:
1. WILLIAM HAROLD DELONG b. 18 March, 1926, to present, became a man very young. Even by the time he reached early teens he was skillful in handling his father’s truck and I was no match for him when cutting tobacco. When his father died, in addition to school and farm chores he was holding down a job as service station attendant. When out of college I was working by his side, and I was usually on the losing end of contests, especially when the mercury stood around 110 degrees. Being the oldest child and the only boy, when his father died, naturally he became the man of the house. It was naturally followed that Harold, like his father, became a trucker. He purchased a semi-tractor, paid for it, purchased another using the former as security for the new one. On an icy road near Corbin in an accident which came near taking his own life Harold totaled his new truck and lost the truck securing the new one. Ever since Harold has driven semi-trucks owned by his employer.
Although Rollie & Flossie’s Family were members of the Broadway Christian Church Harold knew a pretty girl in the Lexington Victory Christian Church, and on 10 May 1946 Harold was unitied in marriage to Miss Jean McCann Lamb. Jean was born 9 June 1925 and after 42 years of marriage bliss during which time she successfully reared and educated two sons and a daughter, loving and not only her immediate family but her host of relatives and friends, and being loved by all who knew her she, like so many have, became the victim of cancer. The large crowd who filled the church and followed her to the cemetery was a fitting testimony to her marvelous life. I called Jean only a few days before her demise and said “Jean, we love you” and she replied, “I know you do”. Jean died 14 November 1978.
2. MINNIE DELLA DELONG, the second child and first daughter of Rollie & Flossie Delong was born 14 October 1928, the first of their children to be born in Lexington. Minnie Della, like her older brother and her two sisters which followed, inherited a fine Christian character, energy and skills from her parents and did well in school. All the children were good looking, perhaps from their mother. Like from others of my nephews and nieces I received a lot, but one particular time comes to mind and that as when Thelma and I rented a small house near Rollie & Flossie’s home and their children baby-sat and carried coal for Thelma while I was gone to St. Louis to take a training course preparing to be part of a nucleus for a new plant under construction in Louisville.
3. MARY MARGARET DELONG, born 5 March, 1934, Lexington, Kentucky, the third child, and the second daughter of Rollie & Flossie Delong. Although only nine years of age when her father died she finished school and found employment where she met a brilliant young (man) in the person of Noel Gantic, born 25 December 1920, a son of immigrant parents who worked very hard in New York City’s sweat shops to establish themselves. In spite of it all Noel succeeded, and is a brilliant engineer.
On 24 April 1954 at St. Joseph’s Church, Washington, D. C. Noel & Mary were united in marriage. Before finding it possible to settle down in Albuquerque, N.M., Noel’s word took him several times across the country and sometimes overseas. For several years now Noel has been commuting to Alamogordo, N.M. from Albuquerque. During the moon shots he was troubleshooter for Colin’s Radio, a prime audio contractor.
Mary is successful real estate agent belongs to a bridge club and often gets clients from her bridge meetings. Noel & Mary have raised and educated two sons and a daughter. Tim & Monica are married. Aaron is now 19, was single last report.
PAGE 66 -
4. DORIS LILLIAN DELONG, born 7 January 1936, Lexington, Kentucky, the third daughter, the fourth and last child, of Rollie & Flossie Delong. Doris' father died when she was 7 years and 10 months of age. Her mother, Flossie, has weathered the storms of life well, and still resides alone at 377 Bassett Ave., Lexington, and is kept occupied baby-sitting her great-grandchildren, and her sister, Helen’s grandchildren.
After finishing school Doris worked for several years as a secretary. She was united in marriage on 31 March 1956 at the Broadway Christian Church, where the family had long been members, to a fine Christian Man in the person of Harold McCarty, born 28 March 1935, the son of Clark & Minnie (Goodpastor) McCarty of Montgomery County, Kentucky.
Harold & Doris now, as always, take an active and responsible place in their church. In addition to being a house-wife and mother, Doris, for several years, has been a successful real estate agent. Harold is an IBM technician, and a land-lord. Harold also has a license and works part-time. More importantly they have reared and educated two fine sons, and each owns property. The whole family came to see us once on a tour, and Harold & Doris have come to San Francisco to attend real estate conventions, and have visited with us while there. They also brought us some new friends, Jack and B. J. Walters, both in real estates, and B. J. works with Doris. It's about time they come back and check on a "senile old man” they met while here. Thelma & I have been back to Oxydental, (this may be the way the restaurant spelled the name, but suspect it is just a misspelled word. Cdn) but it wasn’t half as much fun. The "old man" needs some Kentucky sunshine, perhaps down on the lake with a fishing pole in his hand. If the boys aren't too busy working and finding a wife they may go along. They could also bring the "old man" a bike, one that doesn't break down.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another source says Rollie died of a coronary thrombosis, apparently in Louisville, KY.
Following from Ova O. DeLong's book: "Auxier - Delong - Brown - Allied Families". (edited version to remove unnecessary text & correct minor errors) Ova was a younger brother of Rollie's.
ROLLIE & FLOSSIE (ELAM) DELONG
Rollie Delong, 26 February 1901 - November 15, 1943, the sixth child of Jeff & Maggie (Brown) Delong and was a baby when our parents moved across Licking River to Keeton Branch. Vergie was age 8, Cletus 7, Verna 5, and Jimmie & Willie had died. Estill was born in a small house half-way between what later became Ernest Elam’s house and barn, where the family resided while a permanent house was under construction.
Rollie very early assumed a position of leadership in the family. He liked people and he liked livestock, especially horses and mules. One of my earliest images of Rollie is that of his twisting the ear of a mule called Hanner to mount her without being bitten on his leg, and seeing him dismount by running Hanner and jumping off as she ran, for the same reason.
By the time that I was allowed to go to the field the family then at home composed a worthy crew, and we kept Popa busy plowing rows of corn as fast as we could hoe them. The standard "goose-neck’ hoe was not large enough to please Rollie, so he welded a piece of a "cross-cut" saw onto his hoe. This together with his natural strength and technique enabled Rollie to command the "lead row". We called the hoe "Rollie’s turning-plow".
Rollie & Estill were the youngest of Popa’s sons to be allowed to accompany Popa’s crew on a raft down Licking River. Also they were the next to "fly the coop" so to speak, to look for more profitable employment. First they tried Beattyville; then to the log-woods in West Virginia; then to the coal mines at Muddy Branch, in Johnson County. Estill was first, I do not know the exact sequence but along the way, Popa, Cletus, Rollie and I, and others, to cut, saw, split and deliver a barrel stave contract to Well’s Station for the late Leander Canada "L.C." Elam.
About 1920 Rollie, Estill, Cletus, Frank Conley, and others from our community were working in the coal mines at Hardburley, Perry County, Kentucky. One of the first things Rollie purchased while at Hardburley was a mowing machine for Popa’s use on the farm.
Page 62 -
About 1924 Rollie left the mines, went to Ashland, purchased a new 1924 Ford Touring auto, and returned to Keeton Branch, and for lack of suitable roads and bridges, with some difficulty. In fact some people called the auto "Rollie's Ridge-Runner". For about one more year Rollie was back home farming, and enjoying his new car and the girls (one girl in particular) and in 1925 he entered into Holy Matrimony to Miss Flossie Lee, the beautiful daughter of Wm. T. & Della (Nickel) Elam.
The following year, in 1926, on March 18, their son William Harold was born. Rollie found employment in Lexington, Kentucky, as a result of a reference from Flossie's uncle Kelly Elam, with the Turner family on Rosemont Gardens. Rollie & Flossie lived and worked for and with the Turners for a good many years and a close friendship grew between them during which time they were blessed with three daughters: the first was Minnie Della Delong b. 4 October, 1928; the second was Mary Margaret Delong, b. 5 March, 1924 and their third daughter, fourth and last child, was Doris Lillian Delong, b. 7 January, 1936. Rollie & Flossie's home became a haven for three in-laws who were seeking employment, and, or a home while going to school. Flossie had two uncles living on Rosemont: Kelly & Ida (Castle) Elam at one end of Rosemont Garden, and S. S. & Brenda (Davis) Elam at the opposite end of Rosemont Garden. These two families each had five children, some of them near my age. These families meant a lot to this writer. There came a time when Rollie & Flossie moved to the opposite side of Lexington. Rollie was a dairyman, a farmer and a trucker, and by this time he was well established, and his services were always in demand. One such time was to move his sister Verna, another was to move our mother to Ashland and one year before his death Rollie moved Thelma and me to Louisville. Enroute between Bridgeport, Connecticut and Louisville a few months earlier Thelma & I stopped for a brief stay during which time Rollie cut a five-room house in two at the ell and moved it across Lexington on a ½ ton truck. Rollie was short winded and his heart was giving him some concern, but he wouldn't agree to go to the doctor.
In November 1943, one year to the month after having moved Thelma & me to Louisville, Rollie suffered a coronary thrombosis. We were called to his bedside. As we walked down the hall looking for the room, he saw us pass his room and snapped his finger and stopped us. After visiting with him for a while I went to talk to his doctor to get a prognosis. The doctor said “these are usually terminal, but Rollie has rallied to the extent that it has given us some hope”. About a week later Rollie was dead, and he was laid to rest in the Elam Cemetery on the Leander Elam Farm. Flossie was left with a heavy burden. Luckily Harold was 17, Minnie 15, Mary 9, and Doris was 7. Being a strong Christian woman, and helped by relatives and friends, Flossie did a marvelous job and no doubt the two older children were at the age where they could give her strong support. All Flossie's children are marvelously successful.
PAGE 63
ROLLIE & FLOSSIE (ELAM) DELONG’S CHILDREN:
1. WILLIAM HAROLD DELONG b. 18 March, 1926, to present, became a man very young. Even by the time he reached early teens he was skillful in handling his father’s truck and I was no match for him when cutting tobacco. When his father died, in addition to school and farm chores he was holding down a job as service station attendant. When out of college I was working by his side, and I was usually on the losing end of contests, especially when the mercury stood around 110 degrees. Being the oldest child and the only boy, when his father died, naturally he became the man of the house. It was naturally followed that Harold, like his father, became a trucker. He purchased a semi-tractor, paid for it, purchased another using the former as security for the new one. On an icy road near Corbin in an accident which came near taking his own life Harold totaled his new truck and lost the truck securing the new one. Ever since Harold has driven semi-trucks owned by his employer.
Although Rollie & Flossie’s Family were members of the Broadway Christian Church Harold knew a pretty girl in the Lexington Victory Christian Church, and on 10 May 1946 Harold was unitied in marriage to Miss Jean McCann Lamb. Jean was born 9 June 1925 and after 42 years of marriage bliss during which time she successfully reared and educated two sons and a daughter, loving and not only her immediate family but her host of relatives and friends, and being loved by all who knew her she, like so many have, became the victim of cancer. The large crowd who filled the church and followed her to the cemetery was a fitting testimony to her marvelous life. I called Jean only a few days before her demise and said “Jean, we love you” and she replied, “I know you do”. Jean died 14 November 1978.
2. MINNIE DELLA DELONG, the second child and first daughter of Rollie & Flossie Delong was born 14 October 1928, the first of their children to be born in Lexington. Minnie Della, like her older brother and her two sisters which followed, inherited a fine Christian character, energy and skills from her parents and did well in school. All the children were good looking, perhaps from their mother. Like from others of my nephews and nieces I received a lot, but one particular time comes to mind and that as when Thelma and I rented a small house near Rollie & Flossie’s home and their children baby-sat and carried coal for Thelma while I was gone to St. Louis to take a training course preparing to be part of a nucleus for a new plant under construction in Louisville.
3. MARY MARGARET DELONG, born 5 March, 1934, Lexington, Kentucky, the third child, and the second daughter of Rollie & Flossie Delong. Although only nine years of age when her father died she finished school and found employment where she met a brilliant young (man) in the person of Noel Gantic, born 25 December 1920, a son of immigrant parents who worked very hard in New York City’s sweat shops to establish themselves. In spite of it all Noel succeeded, and is a brilliant engineer.
On 24 April 1954 at St. Joseph’s Church, Washington, D. C. Noel & Mary were united in marriage. Before finding it possible to settle down in Albuquerque, N.M., Noel’s word took him several times across the country and sometimes overseas. For several years now Noel has been commuting to Alamogordo, N.M. from Albuquerque. During the moon shots he was troubleshooter for Colin’s Radio, a prime audio contractor.
Mary is successful real estate agent belongs to a bridge club and often gets clients from her bridge meetings. Noel & Mary have raised and educated two sons and a daughter. Tim & Monica are married. Aaron is now 19, was single last report.
PAGE 66 -
4. DORIS LILLIAN DELONG, born 7 January 1936, Lexington, Kentucky, the third daughter, the fourth and last child, of Rollie & Flossie Delong. Doris' father died when she was 7 years and 10 months of age. Her mother, Flossie, has weathered the storms of life well, and still resides alone at 377 Bassett Ave., Lexington, and is kept occupied baby-sitting her great-grandchildren, and her sister, Helen’s grandchildren.
After finishing school Doris worked for several years as a secretary. She was united in marriage on 31 March 1956 at the Broadway Christian Church, where the family had long been members, to a fine Christian Man in the person of Harold McCarty, born 28 March 1935, the son of Clark & Minnie (Goodpastor) McCarty of Montgomery County, Kentucky.
Harold & Doris now, as always, take an active and responsible place in their church. In addition to being a house-wife and mother, Doris, for several years, has been a successful real estate agent. Harold is an IBM technician, and a land-lord. Harold also has a license and works part-time. More importantly they have reared and educated two fine sons, and each owns property. The whole family came to see us once on a tour, and Harold & Doris have come to San Francisco to attend real estate conventions, and have visited with us while there. They also brought us some new friends, Jack and B. J. Walters, both in real estates, and B. J. works with Doris. It's about time they come back and check on a "senile old man” they met while here. Thelma & I have been back to Oxydental, (this may be the way the restaurant spelled the name, but suspect it is just a misspelled word. Cdn) but it wasn’t half as much fun. The "old man" needs some Kentucky sunshine, perhaps down on the lake with a fishing pole in his hand. If the boys aren't too busy working and finding a wife they may go along. They could also bring the "old man" a bike, one that doesn't break down.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another source says Rollie died of a coronary thrombosis, apparently in Louisville, KY.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Following from Ova O. DeLong's book: "Auxier - Delong - Brown - Allied Families". (edited version to remove unnecessary text & correct minor errors) Ova was a younger brother of Rollie's.
ROLLIE & FLOSSIE (ELAM) DELONG
Rollie Delong, 26 February 1901 - November 15, 1943, the sixth child of Jeff & Maggie (Brown) Delong and was a baby when our parents moved across Licking River to Keeton Branch. Vergie was age 8, Cletus 7, Verna 5, and Jimmie & Willie had died. Estill was born in a small house half-way between what later became Ernest Elam’s house and barn, where the family resided while a permanent house was under construction.
Rollie very early assumed a position of leadership in the family. He liked people and he liked livestock, especially horses and mules. One of my earliest images of Rollie is that of his twisting the ear of a mule called Hanner to mount her without being bitten on his leg, and seeing him dismount by running Hanner and jumping off as she ran, for the same reason.
By the time that I was allowed to go to the field the family then at home composed a worthy crew, and we kept Popa busy plowing rows of corn as fast as we could hoe them. The standard "goose-neck’ hoe was not large enough to please Rollie, so he welded a piece of a "cross-cut" saw onto his hoe. This together with his natural strength and technique enabled Rollie to command the "lead row". We called the hoe "Rollie’s turning-plow".
Rollie & Estill were the youngest of Popa’s sons to be allowed to accompany Popa’s crew on a raft down Licking River. Also they were the next to "fly the coop" so to speak, to look for more profitable employment. First they tried Beattyville; then to the log-woods in West Virginia; then to the coal mines at Muddy Branch, in Johnson County. Estill was first, I do not know the exact sequence but along the way, Popa, Cletus, Rollie and I, and others, to cut, saw, split and deliver a barrel stave contract to Well’s Station for the late Leander Canada "L.C." Elam.
About 1920 Rollie, Estill, Cletus, Frank Conley, and others from our community were working in the coal mines at Hardburley, Perry County, Kentucky. One of the first things Rollie purchased while at Hardburley was a mowing machine for Popa’s use on the farm.
Page 62 -
About 1924 Rollie left the mines, went to Ashland, purchased a new 1924 Ford Touring auto, and returned to Keeton Branch, and for lack of suitable roads and bridges, with some difficulty. In fact some people called the auto "Rollie's Ridge-Runner". For about one more year Rollie was back home farming, and enjoying his new car and the girls (one girl in particular) and in 1925 he entered into Holy Matrimony to Miss Flossie Lee, the beautiful daughter of Wm. T. & Della (Nickel) Elam.
The following year, in 1926, on March 18, their son William Harold was born. Rollie found employment in Lexington, Kentucky, as a result of a reference from Flossie's uncle Kelly Elam, with the Turner family on Rosemont Gardens. Rollie & Flossie lived and worked for and with the Turners for a good many years and a close friendship grew between them during which time they were blessed with three daughters: the first was Minnie Della Delong b. 4 October, 1928; the second was Mary Margaret Delong, b. 5 March, 1924 and their third daughter, fourth and last child, was Doris Lillian Delong, b. 7 January, 1936. Rollie & Flossie's home became a haven for three in-laws who were seeking employment, and, or a home while going to school. Flossie had two uncles living on Rosemont: Kelly & Ida (Castle) Elam at one end of Rosemont Garden, and S. S. & Brenda (Davis) Elam at the opposite end of Rosemont Garden. These two families each had five children, some of them near my age. These families meant a lot to this writer. There came a time when Rollie & Flossie moved to the opposite side of Lexington. Rollie was a dairyman, a farmer and a trucker, and by this time he was well established, and his services were always in demand. One such time was to move his sister Verna, another was to move our mother to Ashland and one year before his death Rollie moved Thelma and me to Louisville. Enroute between Bridgeport, Connecticut and Louisville a few months earlier Thelma & I stopped for a brief stay during which time Rollie cut a five-room house in two at the ell and moved it across Lexington on a ½ ton truck. Rollie was short winded and his heart was giving him some concern, but he wouldn't agree to go to the doctor.
In November 1943, one year to the month after having moved Thelma & me to Louisville, Rollie suffered a coronary thrombosis. We were called to his bedside. As we walked down the hall looking for the room, he saw us pass his room and snapped his finger and stopped us. After visiting with him for a while I went to talk to his doctor to get a prognosis. The doctor said “these are usually terminal, but Rollie has rallied to the extent that it has given us some hope”. About a week later Rollie was dead, and he was laid to rest in the Elam Cemetery on the Leander Elam Farm. Flossie was left with a heavy burden. Luckily Harold was 17, Minnie 15, Mary 9, and Doris was 7. Being a strong Christian woman, and helped by relatives and friends, Flossie did a marvelous job and no doubt the two older children were at the age where they could give her strong support. All Flossie's children are marvelously successful.
PAGE 63
ROLLIE & FLOSSIE (ELAM) DELONG’S CHILDREN:
1. WILLIAM HAROLD DELONG b. 18 March, 1926, to present, became a man very young. Even by the time he reached early teens he was skillful in handling his father’s truck and I was no match for him when cutting tobacco. When his father died, in addition to school and farm chores he was holding down a job as service station attendant. When out of college I was working by his side, and I was usually on the losing end of contests, especially when the mercury stood around 110 degrees. Being the oldest child and the only boy, when his father died, naturally he became the man of the house. It was naturally followed that Harold, like his father, became a trucker. He purchased a semi-tractor, paid for it, purchased another using the former as security for the new one. On an icy road near Corbin in an accident which came near taking his own life Harold totaled his new truck and lost the truck securing the new one. Ever since Harold has driven semi-trucks owned by his employer.
Although Rollie & Flossie’s Family were members of the Broadway Christian Church Harold knew a pretty girl in the Lexington Victory Christian Church, and on 10 May 1946 Harold was unitied in marriage to Miss Jean McCann Lamb. Jean was born 9 June 1925 and after 42 years of marriage bliss during which time she successfully reared and educated two sons and a daughter, loving and not only her immediate family but her host of relatives and friends, and being loved by all who knew her she, like so many have, became the victim of cancer. The large crowd who filled the church and followed her to the cemetery was a fitting testimony to her marvelous life. I called Jean only a few days before her demise and said “Jean, we love you” and she replied, “I know you do”. Jean died 14 November 1978.
2. MINNIE DELLA DELONG, the second child and first daughter of Rollie & Flossie Delong was born 14 October 1928, the first of their children to be born in Lexington. Minnie Della, like her older brother and her two sisters which followed, inherited a fine Christian character, energy and skills from her parents and did well in school. All the children were good looking, perhaps from their mother. Like from others of my nephews and nieces I received a lot, but one particular time comes to mind and that as when Thelma and I rented a small house near Rollie & Flossie’s home and their children baby-sat and carried coal for Thelma while I was gone to St. Louis to take a training course preparing to be part of a nucleus for a new plant under construction in Louisville.
3. MARY MARGARET DELONG, born 5 March, 1934, Lexington, Kentucky, the third child, and the second daughter of Rollie & Flossie Delong. Although only nine years of age when her father died she finished school and found employment where she met a brilliant young (man) in the person of Noel Gantic, born 25 December 1920, a son of immigrant parents who worked very hard in New York City’s sweat shops to establish themselves. In spite of it all Noel succeeded, and is a brilliant engineer.
On 24 April 1954 at St. Joseph’s Church, Washington, D. C. Noel & Mary were united in marriage. Before finding it possible to settle down in Albuquerque, N.M., Noel’s word took him several times across the country and sometimes overseas. For several years now Noel has been commuting to Alamogordo, N.M. from Albuquerque. During the moon shots he was troubleshooter for Colin’s Radio, a prime audio contractor.
Mary is successful real estate agent belongs to a bridge club and often gets clients from her bridge meetings. Noel & Mary have raised and educated two sons and a daughter. Tim & Monica are married. Aaron is now 19, was single last report.
PAGE 66 -
4. DORIS LILLIAN DELONG, born 7 January 1936, Lexington, Kentucky, the third daughter, the fourth and last child, of Rollie & Flossie Delong. Doris' father died when she was 7 years and 10 months of age. Her mother, Flossie, has weathered the storms of life well, and still resides alone at 377 Bassett Ave., Lexington, and is kept occupied baby-sitting her great-grandchildren, and her sister, Helen’s grandchildren.
After finishing school Doris worked for several years as a secretary. She was united in marriage on 31 March 1956 at the Broadway Christian Church, where the family had long been members, to a fine Christian Man in the person of Harold McCarty, born 28 March 1935, the son of Clark & Minnie (Goodpastor) McCarty of Montgomery County, Kentucky.
Harold & Doris now, as always, take an active and responsible place in their church. In addition to being a house-wife and mother, Doris, for several years, has been a successful real estate agent. Harold is an IBM technician, and a land-lord. Harold also has a license and works part-time. More importantly they have reared and educated two fine sons, and each owns property. The whole family came to see us once on a tour, and Harold & Doris have come to San Francisco to attend real estate conventions, and have visited with us while there. They also brought us some new friends, Jack and B. J. Walters, both in real estates, and B. J. works with Doris. It's about time they come back and check on a "senile old man” they met while here. Thelma & I have been back to Oxydental, (this may be the way the restaurant spelled the name, but suspect it is just a misspelled word. Cdn) but it wasn’t half as much fun. The "old man" needs some Kentucky sunshine, perhaps down on the lake with a fishing pole in his hand. If the boys aren't too busy working and finding a wife they may go along. They could also bring the "old man" a bike, one that doesn't break down.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another source says Rollie died of a coronary thrombosis, apparently in Louisville, KY.
Following from Ova O. DeLong's book: "Auxier - Delong - Brown - Allied Families". (edited version to remove unnecessary text & correct minor errors) Ova was a younger brother of Rollie's.
ROLLIE & FLOSSIE (ELAM) DELONG
Rollie Delong, 26 February 1901 - November 15, 1943, the sixth child of Jeff & Maggie (Brown) Delong and was a baby when our parents moved across Licking River to Keeton Branch. Vergie was age 8, Cletus 7, Verna 5, and Jimmie & Willie had died. Estill was born in a small house half-way between what later became Ernest Elam’s house and barn, where the family resided while a permanent house was under construction.
Rollie very early assumed a position of leadership in the family. He liked people and he liked livestock, especially horses and mules. One of my earliest images of Rollie is that of his twisting the ear of a mule called Hanner to mount her without being bitten on his leg, and seeing him dismount by running Hanner and jumping off as she ran, for the same reason.
By the time that I was allowed to go to the field the family then at home composed a worthy crew, and we kept Popa busy plowing rows of corn as fast as we could hoe them. The standard "goose-neck’ hoe was not large enough to please Rollie, so he welded a piece of a "cross-cut" saw onto his hoe. This together with his natural strength and technique enabled Rollie to command the "lead row". We called the hoe "Rollie’s turning-plow".
Rollie & Estill were the youngest of Popa’s sons to be allowed to accompany Popa’s crew on a raft down Licking River. Also they were the next to "fly the coop" so to speak, to look for more profitable employment. First they tried Beattyville; then to the log-woods in West Virginia; then to the coal mines at Muddy Branch, in Johnson County. Estill was first, I do not know the exact sequence but along the way, Popa, Cletus, Rollie and I, and others, to cut, saw, split and deliver a barrel stave contract to Well’s Station for the late Leander Canada "L.C." Elam.
About 1920 Rollie, Estill, Cletus, Frank Conley, and others from our community were working in the coal mines at Hardburley, Perry County, Kentucky. One of the first things Rollie purchased while at Hardburley was a mowing machine for Popa’s use on the farm.
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About 1924 Rollie left the mines, went to Ashland, purchased a new 1924 Ford Touring auto, and returned to Keeton Branch, and for lack of suitable roads and bridges, with some difficulty. In fact some people called the auto "Rollie's Ridge-Runner". For about one more year Rollie was back home farming, and enjoying his new car and the girls (one girl in particular) and in 1925 he entered into Holy Matrimony to Miss Flossie Lee, the beautiful daughter of Wm. T. & Della (Nickel) Elam.
The following year, in 1926, on March 18, their son William Harold was born. Rollie found employment in Lexington, Kentucky, as a result of a reference from Flossie's uncle Kelly Elam, with the Turner family on Rosemont Gardens. Rollie & Flossie lived and worked for and with the Turners for a good many years and a close friendship grew between them during which time they were blessed with three daughters: the first was Minnie Della Delong b. 4 October, 1928; the second was Mary Margaret Delong, b. 5 March, 1924 and their third daughter, fourth and last child, was Doris Lillian Delong, b. 7 January, 1936. Rollie & Flossie's home became a haven for three in-laws who were seeking employment, and, or a home while going to school. Flossie had two uncles living on Rosemont: Kelly & Ida (Castle) Elam at one end of Rosemont Garden, and S. S. & Brenda (Davis) Elam at the opposite end of Rosemont Garden. These two families each had five children, some of them near my age. These families meant a lot to this writer. There came a time when Rollie & Flossie moved to the opposite side of Lexington. Rollie was a dairyman, a farmer and a trucker, and by this time he was well established, and his services were always in demand. One such time was to move his sister Verna, another was to move our mother to Ashland and one year before his death Rollie moved Thelma and me to Louisville. Enroute between Bridgeport, Connecticut and Louisville a few months earlier Thelma & I stopped for a brief stay during which time Rollie cut a five-room house in two at the ell and moved it across Lexington on a ½ ton truck. Rollie was short winded and his heart was giving him some concern, but he wouldn't agree to go to the doctor.
In November 1943, one year to the month after having moved Thelma & me to Louisville, Rollie suffered a coronary thrombosis. We were called to his bedside. As we walked down the hall looking for the room, he saw us pass his room and snapped his finger and stopped us. After visiting with him for a while I went to talk to his doctor to get a prognosis. The doctor said “these are usually terminal, but Rollie has rallied to the extent that it has given us some hope”. About a week later Rollie was dead, and he was laid to rest in the Elam Cemetery on the Leander Elam Farm. Flossie was left with a heavy burden. Luckily Harold was 17, Minnie 15, Mary 9, and Doris was 7. Being a strong Christian woman, and helped by relatives and friends, Flossie did a marvelous job and no doubt the two older children were at the age where they could give her strong support. All Flossie's children are marvelously successful.
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ROLLIE & FLOSSIE (ELAM) DELONG’S CHILDREN:
1. WILLIAM HAROLD DELONG b. 18 March, 1926, to present, became a man very young. Even by the time he reached early teens he was skillful in handling his father’s truck and I was no match for him when cutting tobacco. When his father died, in addition to school and farm chores he was holding down a job as service station attendant. When out of college I was working by his side, and I was usually on the losing end of contests, especially when the mercury stood around 110 degrees. Being the oldest child and the only boy, when his father died, naturally he became the man of the house. It was naturally followed that Harold, like his father, became a trucker. He purchased a semi-tractor, paid for it, purchased another using the former as security for the new one. On an icy road near Corbin in an accident which came near taking his own life Harold totaled his new truck and lost the truck securing the new one. Ever since Harold has driven semi-trucks owned by his employer.
Although Rollie & Flossie’s Family were members of the Broadway Christian Church Harold knew a pretty girl in the Lexington Victory Christian Church, and on 10 May 1946 Harold was unitied in marriage to Miss Jean McCann Lamb. Jean was born 9 June 1925 and after 42 years of marriage bliss during which time she successfully reared and educated two sons and a daughter, loving and not only her immediate family but her host of relatives and friends, and being loved by all who knew her she, like so many have, became the victim of cancer. The large crowd who filled the church and followed her to the cemetery was a fitting testimony to her marvelous life. I called Jean only a few days before her demise and said “Jean, we love you” and she replied, “I know you do”. Jean died 14 November 1978.
2. MINNIE DELLA DELONG, the second child and first daughter of Rollie & Flossie Delong was born 14 October 1928, the first of their children to be born in Lexington. Minnie Della, like her older brother and her two sisters which followed, inherited a fine Christian character, energy and skills from her parents and did well in school. All the children were good looking, perhaps from their mother. Like from others of my nephews and nieces I received a lot, but one particular time comes to mind and that as when Thelma and I rented a small house near Rollie & Flossie’s home and their children baby-sat and carried coal for Thelma while I was gone to St. Louis to take a training course preparing to be part of a nucleus for a new plant under construction in Louisville.
3. MARY MARGARET DELONG, born 5 March, 1934, Lexington, Kentucky, the third child, and the second daughter of Rollie & Flossie Delong. Although only nine years of age when her father died she finished school and found employment where she met a brilliant young (man) in the person of Noel Gantic, born 25 December 1920, a son of immigrant parents who worked very hard in New York City’s sweat shops to establish themselves. In spite of it all Noel succeeded, and is a brilliant engineer.
On 24 April 1954 at St. Joseph’s Church, Washington, D. C. Noel & Mary were united in marriage. Before finding it possible to settle down in Albuquerque, N.M., Noel’s word took him several times across the country and sometimes overseas. For several years now Noel has been commuting to Alamogordo, N.M. from Albuquerque. During the moon shots he was troubleshooter for Colin’s Radio, a prime audio contractor.
Mary is successful real estate agent belongs to a bridge club and often gets clients from her bridge meetings. Noel & Mary have raised and educated two sons and a daughter. Tim & Monica are married. Aaron is now 19, was single last report.
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4. DORIS LILLIAN DELONG, born 7 January 1936, Lexington, Kentucky, the third daughter, the fourth and last child, of Rollie & Flossie Delong. Doris' father died when she was 7 years and 10 months of age. Her mother, Flossie, has weathered the storms of life well, and still resides alone at 377 Bassett Ave., Lexington, and is kept occupied baby-sitting her great-grandchildren, and her sister, Helen’s grandchildren.
After finishing school Doris worked for several years as a secretary. She was united in marriage on 31 March 1956 at the Broadway Christian Church, where the family had long been members, to a fine Christian Man in the person of Harold McCarty, born 28 March 1935, the son of Clark & Minnie (Goodpastor) McCarty of Montgomery County, Kentucky.
Harold & Doris now, as always, take an active and responsible place in their church. In addition to being a house-wife and mother, Doris, for several years, has been a successful real estate agent. Harold is an IBM technician, and a land-lord. Harold also has a license and works part-time. More importantly they have reared and educated two fine sons, and each owns property. The whole family came to see us once on a tour, and Harold & Doris have come to San Francisco to attend real estate conventions, and have visited with us while there. They also brought us some new friends, Jack and B. J. Walters, both in real estates, and B. J. works with Doris. It's about time they come back and check on a "senile old man” they met while here. Thelma & I have been back to Oxydental, (this may be the way the restaurant spelled the name, but suspect it is just a misspelled word. Cdn) but it wasn’t half as much fun. The "old man" needs some Kentucky sunshine, perhaps down on the lake with a fishing pole in his hand. If the boys aren't too busy working and finding a wife they may go along. They could also bring the "old man" a bike, one that doesn't break down.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another source says Rollie died of a coronary thrombosis, apparently in Louisville, KY.
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