Melba Geraldine - Memories of Chocolate Cherries

Melba Geraldine was born on September 20, 1919 at Duffau in Erath County, Texas.   She married Percy Coyt (Sleepy) Clark on May 28, 1937.   They have one daughter, Carola Jean, who now lives at Fairy on the old home place.  Actually she and her husband Jack have built a house across the creek from the house she grew up in.  Jean and I have been very close throughout our lives.   We were the oldest and only grandchildren for a long time.  

When I was a young boy we often went to Hico in order to spend Christmas with my grandparents.   Sometimes I slept on a “Baptist pallet (a quilt folded up and placed on the floor),” but sometimes I got to go home with Sleepy and Melba and sleep in a real bed.   I always enjoyed visiting with them, and Jean was great fun.    It’s strange what one remembers.  Throughout my early life there wasn't a whole lot of money for extras at Christmas time.   When it came to Christmas I usually got a candy cane in my stocking, and maybe some of that old fashioned ribbon candy.   But when I went home with Sleepy and Melba, I got a new treat.  I was introduced to chocolate covered cherries.   That opened up a whole new category of Christmas goodies. I probably ate half the box.

I’ve been told that Melba helped take care of my mother and me right after I was born.   She was always kindly disposed toward me.    She was there during my mother's final illness and I always enjoyed my visits  to their place at Fairy.

I recall one, sort of scary adventure that involved the Melba, Sleepy, Jean and me.  In 1957, I began preaching in Rosebud, Texas.   They came to visit me.  There wasn’t a decent restaurant in Rosebud, so I took them to Marlin.  Marlin is the county seat of Falls County, so called because there is a nearby falls on the Brazos River.   I decided to take them back to Rosebud by way of the falls.  Normally the river was low enough in those days that you could drive a car across the top of the falls.   I was halfway across the Falls before I realized the water was deeper than I had seen it before. I began to have visions of my car washing down the Brazos River and being responsible for the drowning death of my relatives and myself.   Fortunately, I got the car across and nobody said a word about the adventure.   But I did notice they didn’t come back to visit after that.