The Red Flannel Rag

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

INTRODUCTION 10

The Red Flannel Rag Gives Me Away 10

Part One: THE SETTING 21

Hopkins Gap 24 /Early Settlers and Blended Cultures 30

Isolation from the Outside World 34

Mom and Dad Moved Away, But Not Too Far 38

Life Begins to be Different in Hopkins Gap, But Not Too Different 40

You Can Take the People Out of the Gap, But They’ll Always Be “Gappers” 42

Like Produces Like and Other Beliefs 46

Part Two: MEMORABLE CHARACTERS 53

Norman Shifflett and Myrtle Morris Shifflett: Their Courtship and Early Marriage 54

Mom: She was the Queen of Her Hearth 67

Dad: He was the King of his Garden 83

Influence from the Grave 90/Grandpa John and Grandma Mary Morris 91

Grandpa Austin and Grandma Molly Shifflett 94/Pauline Shifflett 107

Shirley and Jim Morris 108/Goldie Morris Crawford 113

Ruby, Joyce, Randy, and George Crawford 116/Mavis Shifflett 122

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