Pam and Nancy Morrison: Interesting stories! And Pam, you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned "marked babies." I was one of those marked newborns. This is what I wrote in a family story entitled "Room At The Foot Of The Bed": I was born with a special feature that none of the other 12 siblings could claim. It attracted lots of attention from Mama's ladyfriends. I was a marked child! I was born with several large rosy-red birthmarks. One was on my hip, two on my right thigh, and small ones were grouped on the inner thigh. The whole neighborhood soon heard the news. Superstitions and eccentricities expressed by the neighbors could certainly alarm a mother, especially when someone constantly called attention to the birthmarks. The ladies were continually asking Mama what caused the baby to be marked. Finally, she came up with a story that satisfied their curiosity. She remembered a day shortly before I was born when Daddy came home from rabbit hunting. His pockets were filled with rabbits for Mama to clean and cook. While standing at the kitchen sink skinning the rabbits, she got blood on her hands. Mama had a habit of swiping her hand down the side of her apron, and in an effort to remove the blood from her hand, she did just that. She wiped her hand on the right side of the apron. Three of the birthmarks were shaped like rabbits, that is, if you have a vivid imagination. The story satisfied her friends and they no longer questioned her about my birthmarks, except to remark, "Isn't she lucky they aren't on her face?" (Yes, those birthmarks are still there, and they got bigger as I got bigger!!!) Nancy, I could almost swear you described my grandfather and his family. Here is a short segment describing the Rowlett farm that bordered Lee Co, VA, and Claiborne Co, TN. My mother was 94 when she gave me this description. To think she could remember all this and I had to tape it to remember it! "The Rowlett farm was one of bounty as well as beauty. Large gardens grew at the top of the hill on flat acreage, producing every kind of vegetable that would grow in the dark, fertile soil. The Ladies' Birthday Almanac was considered the farmers' Bible. Crops were planted according to the astrological signs.... Four apple orchards grew at the top of the hill behind the house bearing apples of several varieties. One variety was called the Limbertwig. It was a large, red, juicy apple. Mitchell apples, watercore apples, rusty, white, and sheepsnose apples grew in the orchard. The sheepsnose acquired its name because it was actually shaped like a sheep's nose. Amanda (my gr'mother)preferred them for making jelly. The raspberry apples had a flat shape. There were apples for drying and others for making applebutter. Another variety of apples grew to the size of a small grapefruit. They grew on a single tree in the middle of the fenced horse pasture. Since they were not good eating apples, they were fed to the horses and were called horse apples." Her description of the farm went on and on. Mama said when the youngest sibling was old enough to hold up two fingers, the toddler joined the others in the gardens, planting two kernels of corn to a hill. (Man! Is this modern day generation spoiled!!) Pat