Posted by Short Story on June 22, 2008, 8:15 am
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Early family history (The Weaver side of the family)
By
Lonnie Ratliff.
They say that we are the choices that we make in life, I can’t argue with that. We are also equally influenced by our ancestors and especially the generations that we can remember. Since I mostly write country music, I see my family’s influence in almost every song I write. “We were as country as cornbread”. Sometimes in the songs I write I have to change the names to protect the guilty as Waylon would say and sometimes I just use the names because they sound so perfect. In the song “Midnight At The Old Soldiers’ Home”, I wrote with Erin Hay we made the central character’s name, Sgt. Luther Tibbs. To me that name sounds like the name of someone who would have stormed the beaches at Normandy, like the soldier in our song. As far as I know I didn’t have any family members at Normandy Beach. The truth of the matter is my father’s name was Luther, although he went by L.C. Ratliff, and my Great Grandma Ratliff ‘s maiden name was Tibbs, I combined them for mine and Erin’s soldier‘s name.
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This story is about my mother’s side of the family. I have mined that family source for song material on several different occasions.
My mom was Catherene Florene Weaver and I have no qualms about admitting I was always a Mama’s boy. Losing her was the hardest thing I have ever gone through in my life.
Mom’s parents and my Grandparents were Grandpa Bill (Willie Smith Weaver), who was a twin to Uncle Wilson Weaver, and my Grandma Sadie Weaver. Grandma is the “Sister Sadie who played piano” in my song, “Running Down The Road“. My Mom’s brothers and sisters included Uncle Harry who became a Pentecostal preacher and as far as I was concerned was a perfect example of a hypocrite. He was the only one of all my kinfolks I never had much use for. All I ever took from Harry’s life was the sad truth, there’s some jerks in this world that sometimes turn up as your kinfolks. My Aunt Rachel, (Billie Rachel) Webb was everything an Aunt should be and I have always loved her. From her I learned some conservative values such as, we don’t have to be a victim just because of the station in life we are born to. I am sure she never had any idea I was paying attention or knew that she and her husband Uncle Walter, set a good example for a little snot nosed “Okie” kid.
My Uncle Leo was one of my heroes and I always thought he was just like “Elvis”. I wanted to be like Uncle Leo. We both had a weakness for pretty girls and fast cars during the early part of our lives. I learned from Uncle Leo not to be nervous around women. Just by watching him I have been very comfortable around women and had a lot of women who are very close friends that have added so much to my life. I see it in my songwriting and my life has been better for it.
Uncle “Snake” (Kenneth Ray Weaver) is one of a kind, if there ever has been. “Snake” was the baby in the Weaver family and probably a book unto himself, if I had the time to write it. He was what people back then called a “change of life” baby and all I know is he changed everybody’s life who ever came in contact with him. He was only two years older than me and we pretty much grew up together. I learned from him how to get along with people who were not easy to get along with. The other thing I learned by being around “Snake” was that my Grandma Sadie loved him more than life itself.
As a little kid it did not make a lot of sense to me because he would do some things that would drive Grandma Sadie crazy. She would just say “Now Kenneth that ain’t nice”. She never called him “Snake”. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you how he got that “nickname”. When he was a little kid he would always stick out his tongue at everyone, hence the name “Snake”.
I never understood until I was grown about this unconditional love my Grandma Sadie had for “Snake”. Many years later I came to the conclusion that we all need at least one person in our lives that we just love with no questions asked and with no excuses made. I thank God I have always had someone like that in my life. I also thank God they don’t act like Uncle Snake. HA! One last parting snippet about Uncle Snake. After we were both grown he showed up on my doorstep in Macomb, Illinois in an old Pontiac that held everything he owned. On the back bumper was a sticker that said “Hell yeah I’m drunk, what do you think I am a stunt driver” Now you know a little bit about Uncle Snake.
The last one of the Weaver’s in my Mom’s immediate family was known as Little Susie Ann. She died as a child and has always had an almost spiritual hold over our family. I have never quite understood it, even though I myself hold Little Susie Ann with the same reverence. Maybe her death was such a milestone in my Mom and Aunt Rachel’s life who were also children when she died. The love for her along with the sorrow has managed to be passed down through the family all these years.
I talked to my younger sister Shirley Ann last week on the phone. She told me she had been out to the Darwin Cemetery and put some flowers on my Mother’s and Little Susie Ann’s graves so they would look nice for Decoration Day. Little Susie Ann died at least 75 years ago but there have been Weaver’s and Ratliff’s putting flowers on that little girl’s grave all these years. There will probably be children and grandchildren of those same Weaver’s and Ratliff’s taking care of her grave for years to come.
We all are the choices we make in life and are influenced by our ancestors. Little Susie Ann has left our family with a tradition and I can’t find any word, other than “sweet” to explain it.
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