Return to the Land

Martha Mae Stella Miller

Martha Mae Stella Miller was born on October 23, 1898. She was baptized at Salem Church on September 27, 1908. It is believed that her first name Martha was chosen from her grandmother Martha Lois Bird. Later she dropped the name Martha and assumed the name Stella Mae. She and my father, David Stafford, were especially close to each other, even late in life. Their ages were close and they had great affection for one another. At each family gathering they would exchange stories and memories of their childhood. The stories they related would become more humorous with each retelling. They played together as children and fished together on Kimberling Creek. Even later after they had each married and lived far from each other they would go to the creek when returning home for a visit. I remember, when Aunt Stella would visit us, she and my father would always tell the story of the rickety old chair. Their parents gave them an old straight back chair to share amongst the children. The chair was not used by the family much because it had uneven legs. Being the resourceful kids they were they decided to bring this chair back to life and make it sit securely on the floor. With a handsaw they took it upon themselves to attempt carpentry to remedy this situation. They started with sawing off a small section from the long leg. Stella would then sit in the chair and then tell Stafford, as the family knew him, that the chair was still rocking. Then she would take the saw and saw off the next long leg and Stafford would sit in the chair to try it out. Then they would reverse their position and this went on for some time. Finally, they found the right combination after many attempts but by then the chair was only one foot off the floor and they had to squat to sit in it. Grandfather and Grandmother were amused by this and blessed their hearts for trying to make the chair new again. Rather than admonish them for ruining a usable chair their parents reassured them that life would go on. My dad would never become an accomplished carpenter. Stella completed her basic education on Kimberling. She then entered Radford College (now Radford University) in Radford, Virginia. She earned her teaching certificate in two years and began to teach. In those years one could become accredited to teach school after completing two years of the required college courses. On obtaining her certificate she found a teaching position in eastern Virginia but she longed for her family and Kimberling and after several years returned to Bland. Once back at home she resumed teaching in a one-room schoolhouse at the Slide. This was also known as Point Pleasant and was on Route 42 over the mountain south of her home on Kimberling. Later she taught on Kimberling where she had originally attended school herself. Even though times were much simpler then and the cost of living was far less than what it is today, it is difficult to understand how this farming family was able to send their children to college. Much credit is given to Grandpa and Grandma for encouraging them to further their education.

On September 6, 1924 she married a Kimberling native, Emory Hugh Pruett. His family were friends of the Millers. By this time the automotive industry was flourishing in Detroit,

59