My grandmother always had a shadow to pass briefly, over her face,
when she mentioned her father.
You could see it in her eyes.
She still felt that loss.
Craton Rone Blanton
Born ~ July 17, 1875
Died ~ September 25, 1915
He died tragically, and before his time. An accident claimed him while his family was still quite young.
Ethel was almost eleven at the time.
The impact that his passing had, was monumental on her, and her family. Her mother was suddenly alone with two children to raise. Times were hard. Grandma told me of the struggles that Lizzie faced as a young widow. She remarried after at time, to a man that had also been widowed with small children, John Hager. It was more of a marriage of convenience than a love affair.
Mabel Hager, daughter of John Hager. She became close like a sister to my grandmother.
It was not a pleasant life for poor Lizzie.
The family managed to survive through it all. Not the best of choices, but she did what she had to do to get by.
Craton Rone Blanton was riding on the back of a motorcyle driven by his brother, Hero Quitman "Quit" Blanton, five years younger than Craton.
They crashed head-on, onto a car. Craton was thrown over the handlebars of the motorcycle and killed instantly.
Newspaper article about the accident:
Quit Blanton suffered a broken leg. I am sure there was an huge invisible wound as well, one that was much harder to heal from, his heart. He surely felt responsible even if there was no blame to place.
Hero Quitman Blanton~
Quit married Fannie Victoria Crouch. 'Aunt Fannie' to me.
I would go on Sunday afternoons with my grandparents to visit her. This was long after the passing of Quit. She lived beside a bread bakery in Shelby, N.C. The area always smelled with the wonderful aroma of hot bread baking.
She was a beautiful lady with the smoothest skin. She must have been a real beauty in her day. She made the thinnest, crispy, lemon sugar cookies you have ever seen. They were excellent!
She would come smiling out the back of the house and down the steps with two of those cookies wrapped in a napkin, holding them aloft, like a prize. She was very sweet to me.
Those summer afternoons are very special memories for me.
I remember her front parlor in the house, full of beautiful pink glass items. Lots of potential for small hands to accidently knock something pretty and nice, over, breaking something. So outside was the best place to play for a kid.
After the visit she would stand at the door and wave goodbye.
I recently "found" Aunt Fannie once again.
Sunset Cemetery, Shelby, North Carolina
She is buried in Shelby. I saw her monument and half ran to it, full of memories of the sweet lady. I touched her stone and thanked her for those warm childhood memories and the sweet taste of those lemony cookies.
No one has etched the stone with her death date. I wondered about that.
Something that needs to be checked in to. She needs her stone to be complete.
Rest in peace, Dear Fannie.
Rest in peace, Great Grandfather.
You are remembered.
