yesterday's tennessee

Carrie Long

By Lillye Younger, Sun Correspondent

Age Proves No Obstacle For Busy Parsons Woman

PARSONS, Tenn.—lf Mrs. Carrie Long should decide to do a bit of "boasting" she has good reason.

It was on Dec. 25, 1883, that a little baby daughter was born and christened Carrie Crawley. The daughter of the late Monroe and Laura Ashcraft Crawley, she has five sisters and two brothers.

"I grew up in the Mt. Carmel community 11 miles southeast of Decaturville," "Miss Carrie" said. "The first school I attended was the little Mt. Carmel country school. We had three months term in winter and two in the summer."

"My first teacher, J. H. Bar_____ boarded at our house and taught at the school. Discipline was a bit different in those days. 'Peach tree switches' were used to keep order. The teachers were very strict."

""Sometimes red stripes showed up on the boys' limbs for disobeying. I was lucky. I never got a whipping at school."

"Sometimes I had to stand up and stay in during recess. Other teachers were John Thompson, Brown Smith, Jim Adkins arid Miss Nancy Hancock from Bath Springs."

July 30, 1911, is a day that stands out in Miss Carrie's memory. It was the day she became Mrs. Jess Long and moved to Beacon, Tenn., to live.

Her husband was in the mercantile business at Beacon and operated a saw mill, cotton gin and did some farming.

The circle was completed when three sons, James, Herbert and Harry, and two daughters, Meta and Paula, were born. Here her family grew up.

Tragedy struck on Aug. 29, 1937, when her husband died. She continued to make her home at Beacon until 1941 when she moved to Parsons.

It was during the Second World War that another misfortune befell the family when son Harry was missing in action and later declared dead. He was a lieutenant m the Air Force. In August of 1959 another son, James, who was serving as Decatur County Judge died.

Miss Carrie said, "I don't like wars and wish peace could be declared in the Vietnam struggle."

Regarding the scientific endeavors to reach the moon, she says she has no desire to make the trip. Its all right if the scientists want to explore the moon, she added.

"The people in Columbus's day thought he was out of his head when he wanted to discover America. These scientists may be as successful as Columbus even though some may feel the same way about them."

The versatile homemaker enjoys many hobbies. She likes cooking, sewing, doing fancy work and arts and crafts. "I spend much of my time sewing for my children," she explains.

Her garments have a ready-made appearance and her needlework is unsurpassed. She also sews for her seven grandchildren and her great grandchild, James Timothy Rushing, age one.

In crafts she has spent many hours meeting with the home demonstration clubs in the county and teaching relative arts and craft methods.

When a new pastor moves into the Methodist parsonage he is greeted by Miss Carrie with one of her special homemade cakes. Not only does the pastor and family partake of her good cooking, but she is the first one at the church-wide dinners with her basket filled with delicious food. She also works rings around the younger members helping out in the church kitchen.

Her church activities include membership in the Woman's Society of Christian Service, the Tennie V. Arnold circle and the Dorcus Sunday School Class. She has a record of 13 years perfect church school attendance as of Oct. 1, 1966, which no other church member her age holds.