The McDonald home was located in the Ivyton community of Overton County. There were five children born to John Allen McDonald and wife Myrtle McDonald. (Myrtle’s maiden name was also McDonald.) The children’s names were Clara, Charlie, Lou Ann, Louise, and Leona. A one-room school called Ivy Point was the place the children attended grade school. They walked from their home to school, and later, while attending high school at Alpine, many times the McDonald children caught a ride on the mail truck, or even with someone hauling cattle who happened to be passing by. Charlie sometimes rode a horse to school. Later, truck-type school buses picked students up and took them to school. Some of the teachers Leona remembers having at Ivy Point were Grace McDonald, Larry Copeland, and Hass Huddleston. During school months, dinner was always brought from home. Sometimes it would be sausage and biscuits, or ham and biscuits that were left overs from breakfast. Other times, the McDonald children brought milk and cornbread in a pint jar. One of their teachers, Hass Huddleston, thought this looked so good, he had his wife fix some milk and bread in a pint jar for his lunch. Some of the games played during school days at Ivy Point included pitching horseshoes and playing "The Fox and The Hound."

Even though playing near the river was something the McDonald children enjoyed doing in the summer months, most of them never learned to swim. Something all the McDonald girls did learn to do quite well was how to sew. Their mother gave them careful instructions, and later on, Clara developed sewing skills so well, the garments she turned out looked tailor made. She was careful to cut out her patterns first from old sheets prior to cutting the actual fabric to be used to make the dresses or other garments. This way, she made sure everything fit just perfectly which helped her to avoid making a mistake that might ruin a piece of fabric. Material would be ordered from Sears and Roebuck or Montgomery Ward catalogues and was delivered by the mailman.

One of John Allen McDonald’s brothers, Hayes McDonald, died at an early age and left behind six children and a wife. Porter McDonald, John Allen and Hayes McDonald’s father, helped raise the children. All three McDonald farms joined each other and their homes were all in sight of each other. A daughter of Hayes McDonald whose name was Treva (who later became Treva Moore Gillentine) was close in age to Leona. The two became like sisters as they were growing up. Treva was a grade ahead of Leona and would often loan Leona books that she brought home from school. Leona’s mother helped her study from the borrowed books, and because of her interest in reading and in learning, Leona advanced a grade in school one year.

Miller’s Chapel, which was a Presbyterian church originally, was the place the McDonald family attended church. Although there was no building at the time the McDonald children first began attending, Sunday School classes were held out in the woods. One of the Sunday School teachers told all the children to bring a rock each Sunday, and eventually, they would build a building, and sure enough, that’s exactly what happened. Leona recalled how she and her sisters were baptized in a nearby creek. They each wore their best dresses and the preacher that baptized them had on a suit and tie.

The Christmas holidays didn’t include gifts for the McDonald children with the exception of one year when Treva got a rubber ball. Leona recalled that particular Christmas she and Treva spent the day throwing that rubber ball back and forth over the house. Most every Christmas, peppermint candy or a piece of fruit would be placed in their stockings that had been hung on the back of a chair. Decorating with Christmas trees was not a part of their holiday season.

During the days of the Great Depression, it would not be uncommon to have people who were traveling by the McDonald farm on foot to stop by and ask for something to eat. Leona’s parents would often accommodate these travelers by allowing them to sleep in the loft of the barn after providing them with a hearty meal. But not everyone who spent a night turned out to be honest people. On several occasions, hams, butter, and even the blankets folks had been loaned to sleep under were taken. On one occasion, men involved in the strikes at nearby coal mines had come by asking for a meal. These men also added a special request for buttermilk with that meal, and after being allowed to spend the night, they expressed their thanks by destroying milk buckets kept in the spring house before they slipped away.

Restoring antique furniture has been something the McDonald sisters enjoyed doing. One of the pieces of antique furniture Leona still has is an old sugar chest that has an interesting history. It belonged to her mother, and during the Civil War, soldiers came by looking for money or other valuables to take. The sugar chest had a lock on it, but this didn’t stop the soldiers. They broke the top of the chest which proved to be unnecessary since there was no money hidden there. Even though repairs were made to the chest, evidence of what the soldiers did can still be seen today.