Roots: My Grandparents

The Wilcox Family Farm.

This is where my Mom grew up. My Grandpa Wilcox was a farmer; he and his brother built this farm from the ground up. Grandma Wilcox was a housewife, but she also served for a while as a justice of the peace, as her father had done before her. She gave up the position because she was tired of marrying couples who were only getting married out of necessity instead of out of love.

My grandparents were ten years apart in age. Grandpa fell for Grandma and fell hard. They dated for a while but she broke up with him just before going to college at Mansfield State Normal School to major in, basically, home economics. Grandpa was heartbroken. He wrote her a letter and told her that if she ever changed her mind, she knew where to find him; he would be waiting for her.

A year or so later, after deciding to leave school, she sent him a letter. "If you meant what you said, I'll be home on [this date]. You can come courting."

He arrived at her house on time, and it wasn't long before they were planning their wedding.