Ila Ann Brown Randolph, born in 1909, was one of fifteen children whose parents were Granville Brown and Martha Masters Brown. One of Ila’s brothers was Dr. William Meredith Brown, who practiced medicine in Hilham and then later in Livingston during the early days of Lady Ann Memorial Hospital. Ila’s mother died when she was only five days old, leaving her infant daughter to be raised by her older siblings. Ila’s sister, Mary, took on most of the responsibility of caring for her baby sister. At the young age of only two, Ila was out in the yard picking up chips of wood while nearby, her brother, Oscar, chopped firewood for the stove. Just as Oscar brought the axe down on a stick of wood, Ila’s hand got in the way, and she lost of the first finger on her right hand, and the second one was almost severed. But her brother, Dr. William Meredith Brown, who already practicing medicine then, was able to reattach the second finger, but nothing could be done to save the other finger. That finger was placed in a glass bottle and for the next eighty-three years, it was never too far away from Ila. Many years later after her children were grown, she always reminded them that they were to put that finger in her casket when she passed away. Even though at the time of Ila’s passing her request was honored by her children, it almost didn’t happen. In 1977, a tornado blew away not only the bottle containing the small finger, but the Randolph home was completely destroyed in a storm. Details of that terrible afternoon will follow, but first a look back at the early years of Herbert and Ila Randolph.

Herbert, who had only a fourth grade education, farmed and sharecropped most of his adult life. During the time the WPA program was underway, Herbert got a job helping with the construction of Standing Stone Park. The family moved around quite a bit over the years, renting homes in the Hilham area. The children who were born to Herbert and Ila were Elton, Imogene, Ronald, and Linda. When Herbert was twenty-three, he was also the victim of an accident involving an axe. He was working for Robert Langford in the Mill Creek area near the Clay and Overton County line. He had climbed up in the cedar tree to trim some limbs off and accidently struck his knee with an axe which resulted in a broken leg. Eventually blood poisoning set up from the injury, and for a time it was thought Herbert might die. He was told the leg probably needed to be amputated, but he would not agree to have this done. In time, he did get better, but was left with a stiff leg he could not bend. This permanent injury left him unable to ever drive again.

Another close call happened in the 1950's while Herbert was getting in hay. He had always been a heavy smoker, and as a result of breathing the dust from the hay, one of his lungs collapsed. At this particular time, it was said that only three other people had been known to have this happen, and one of those people died. The recommended treatment for a collapsed lung then was to have the patient blow up balloons, and sure enough, it worked. Herbert’s collapsed lung was re-inflated by simply blowing up balloons.

Ila, who had an eight grade education, never worked outside the home, and to help make ends meet, she did some babysitting, and she also took in washing and ironing for folks. She used a wringer washing machine and hung the clothes out on a clothesline in the yard to dry. Taking in washings also later helped to pay for Linda’s high school education. Linda was the only one of the four children to graduate from high school.