"I was born October 2, 1917, in Livingston, Overton County, Tennessee. My parents were Maude Lee (Eldridge) and Luther Pleas Jernigan. In 1913, Daddy was transferred from the Brotherton depot in Putnam County to become depot agent in Livingston for the Tennessee, Kentucky and Northern Railroad. He served as agent until May, 1933, when the railroad was disbanded. Following the closing of the railroad, he was city alderman for several terms and then served as Mayor of Livingston for many years. He died at the age of 72 in 1957, and was serving as Mayor at the time.

My parents built our house on Daugherty Street in 1920. It is the next to the last home on that street. Some time after, they built a large concrete front porch running the length of the front of the house. My father hired Harry Springs, a noted rock mason who, along with his wife Ada Roberts Springs, and their three daughters, lived on Rock Crusher Mountain. Mr. Springs quarried rocks from the bluff behind the depot for the front porch columns and the long steps leading to the porch. They are still in use today, and are as sturdy as the day they were put in place.

Since we lived so near the mountain, it was only natural to explore it. There was a rock ledge not far from our back garden lot. We often played on the ledge and would swing on a strong grape vine. Sometimes on a hot summer afternoon, Mama would prepare a picnic and we would take it to the ledge to eat. That was always a special treat.

My parents raised a big garden, vegetables of all kinds, plus a large plot for sweet potatoes. There was lots of work to do at potato planting time. Daddy would drop the slips and "heel" them in . Someone would water the plants, then they were covered. In the late summer or early fall was also a family working. Daddy would dig the potatoes and Mama would oversee the washing of them. They were left to dry for several days. The work was not finished, for the potatoes were then carried up the stairs, spread out, and when the weather got cold, they were covered to keep from freezing. There was a lot of good eating in the winter. It was good to come home from school, hungry, and find a pan with baked sweet potatoes in the warming closet of the big gray and white enameled Home Comfort range, ready to eat.

Mama was an accomplished seamstress. She made most of our clothes. She was a wonderful cook, winning numerous first place blue ribbons at the local county fair for her buttermilk biscuits and her still famous chocolate pie.

On Saturday nights, Daddy would always go to town to get the groceries or whatever was needed. Edith, Christine, and I wore white knee socks to church on Sundays. We attended and were active members of the First Methodist Church in Livingston. The silk socks were not very durable and would often get runs in them. When we would tell Mama through the week we needed new socks, she would send us to town and tell us to buy the more durable rayon socks. They were not as pretty as the silk ones, and we soon learned if we waited until Saturday night to discover we needed new socks, Daddy would buy the pretty silk ones.

There was a lumber mill on the west end of Broad Street. It was known as the Medlock Mill. Everyday at noon and each afternoon at 4:00 p.m., the whistle would blow. When the whistle blew in the afternoon, the workers knew the days work was finished. If the whistle blew at an odd time, the townspeople knew something was wrong. One day we heard the whistle blowing and went outside. Misses Maude and Ova Speck’s house was on fire. It was a dreadful fire, completely destroying the entire house. We had no fire-fighting equipment at that time. One of the ladies had left an electric iron plugged in and it was thought to have tipped over, starting the fire. They had no way of re-building and the city built them a new house that they lived in for years and still stands. Another fire that stands out in my memory was the big barn directly behind our garden. The barn was owned by Mr. John Hargrove. It was thought green hay stored in the loft started that fire. Another time, one complete side of the square burned.