Learning to Read

When they married in 1903 in Alabama, my paternal grandfather (Ollie Manning) could not read.

I am sure this was common in this area of Alabama in the early twentieth century, and it was probably common to many people at the time.

My grandfather was a carpenter, so he could work and earn a living. My grandmother (Mary Jones) decided that she would teach him to read. And she did.

When they married, she was about 15 years old, and he was about 26. The picture below shows them on their wedding day. She was a little over 5 feet tall, and he was over six. I am not sure why the custom was to make women stand while the men sat. But it would probably look strange with him looming over her with his six-foot-something frame while she sat. Maybe she could have stood on the chair!

The next photo shows them years later. They are probably both well in their sixties and seventies. I am really not sure, but I do know that one is 11 years older than the other.

So, there is my grandfather, whom I never knew, reading to my grandmother, whom I also never knew. Here’s the best thing about this: He’s reading his Bible to his sweet wife after her eyesight has gotten so bad that she can no longer read. I wish I could have spent time with them.