N T Shows

Lydia Donaldson has vivid memories of her Grandpa (Newsom) and Grandma (Florence Sellars) Shows home in Melville. As a child they visited us often and some memories stand out more than others. When we had big family reunions we would be drawn to the railroad track that ran along the banks of the river and behind their home. We would place coins on the track only to watch the trains pass and run and find them. She remembers the reunion when (Little Ed) son of Ed Kramer (her great uncle) flew over the house causing it to rock. It was so thrilling to know that he could do that!

She also remembers when Grandpa Shows died and he lay in the coffin in the living room and I wondered how all those relatives could be eating rice and gravy while he lay there dead in the other room. As a child she had never experienced much death much less having the body there at home, something she will never experience again.

Lydia remembers Grandma Shows and how soft her body was and how she always smelled so sweet. Her grandma Lucille was the oldest of the bunch and she often told her stories of how her parents had lost a set of twins and she had to bury them. She even showed her where. She also told the story of how the river had flooded and they all had to get in the rafters of the house and how the snakes came in and out. She was very afraid of snakes and worms! We would tickled the back of her neck and she would carry on, like a worm had fallen out of a tree. She had a talent for making us laugh. Once when she lived in Houston, Lydia spent the night with her and Sandra Lynn (her adopted daughter) and she faked a call and left the house. All of a sudden we looked out past the window fan and she had a sheet over her, like a ghost, just like the story I read about Gracie and the outhouse. She was a wonderful entertainer and she taught me many old songs of the South. Lydia often sang the songs to her 3 sons and remembered her.

Once they visited Ed and Aunt WaWa at Ben Field and Ed gave her a baby lamb. Lydia actually got to take it back to Houston. She will always remember visits there. You crossed the bridge and opened a gate to get to the house. The bayou was in the front and they always wanted to go riding in the boat. They were always told there were gar fish that was so big that it could eat a man, so we quickly changed our minds!

Her dad Raby, was a great man. He had a very high IQ and could have done anything. At one time he even was raised by Grandma & Grandpa Shows and also Uncle Ed and WaWa. There is a value there in our heritage that we can't replace. Their values and their fun and laughter. I have thought how my dad would have loved all of this internet communication. He died of Parkinson's on Dec. 3, 1995.