Gracie
by
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Valliant,Oklahoma -1933 At five years old I was picking cotton next to my mother. The money we brought in helped pay for our food and clothes. We slept in the barns of the farms we worked on if there was no house for us to live in. We moved from place to place wherever the work was needed. We laid blankets over the cotton seeds for beds and slept with the bugs and rodents. The arrangements were not the best, but it was all that was available for a single black woman and her child. We didn't have good shoes to wear, and living in the farm land of Oklahoma presented certain dangers. One morning I was getting ready to go to work in the fields. As I raced across the floor, I stepped on a scorpion. The effects of a scorpion bite were well known; sickness, fever, and a great deal of pain followed. No one could ever believe the amount of pain that I was in. My mother dreaded the thought of leaving me in the farm house alone, but she had no choice. In order to support us both she would have to go to the fields and work. The memories of that day will stay with me for the rest of my life. My mother checked on me periodically throughout the day, but there was nothing that she could do except comfort me and tell me that I was going to be alright. Like our ancestors before us, we couldn't afford a doctor. When my mom returned from the fields, she immediately started mixing a family remedy that had been handed down from generation to generation. She boiled the husks of pig feet with certain leaves that were unknown to me. She waited until the mixture jelled together and added axle grease to make a paste. My mom then applied it to the sting with more leaves. The leaves drew out the infection and the poison from the sting that the scorpion had left. This was just one of the many family remedies that had been handed down to my mother. I remember so clearly another remedy that we often used. It was called "Cow Chip Tea" and it was used for stomach-aches, colds, and the flue. This consisted of boiling.........................
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About the Book
You won't want to put this book down once you start reading this absorbing personal story of a " little colored girl" growing up in the South. It is a testament of great emotional strength that everyone can learn from. Mrs. Ansley talks about ther life as a child and her triumphant journey from the South to a land of hopes and dreams, "Lansing, Michigan." Mrs. Ansley has been working on her autobiography for the past nine years. Her one wish and only desire was to complete this book in its entirety.
Her lifelong dream is to inspire, educate, and encourage people less fortunate than herself. Mrs. Ansley weathered the storm and survived the harsh realities of racial segreation that plagued the South. She was an only child raised by a loving mother who played the role of a father, a friend, and a protector, all rolled up into one.
Mrs. Ansley's story embraces the essence of her innocence and at the same time captures the spirit of a strong black woman who has worked all of her life to achieve the respect and recognition that she deserves today. Her mother taught her well; she was a quick study and learned the importance of survival skills at a very early age.
Mrs. Ansley was her mother's best and only student. She was "In it to win it" and never once lost focus on her goals in life. She learned the meaning of "family, respect, hard work, and determination." She was a firm believer in "justice and equality," and her "Christian Faith" was the key factor in making all of her dreams a reality.
Mrs. Ansley is trully blessed, and she gives praise to "GOD" for all that she has accomplished in her lifetime.
About the Author
Gracie L. Ansley was born in Valliant, Oklahoma on September 2, 1928, and moved to Lansing, Michigan in 1945. She is eighty years young and enjoying every day of her life. Gracie is a widower who survived two husbands, James T. Ansley and Ronald Henning. She has four children and three grandchildren, two are no longer living. Gracie has always been a promoter of her community and her life efforts and accomplishment speak for themselves. Gracie retired from General Motors and has had several successful business ventures in her lifetime. She is well known for her custom drapes and plastic covers. Gracie was also the owner and ran the Ansley Manor, which was an Adult Foster Care Facility. She has also been a member of Friendship Baptist Church since 1946. Gracie loves to travel, and one of her favorite pass-time activities has been taking organ lessons. Every Thursday afternoon, you can find her at home practicing her lesson with her music instructor. Gracie is a people person, and she loves to visit and have prayer with the sick.
Melanie J. Ansley was born in Lansing, Michigan on August 4, 1949. She was a debutante and graduated from J. W. Sexton High School in 1967. Melanie was a student at Peter Piccolo School of Hair Design, in Buffalo, New York. She was also a student at Lansing Community College in 1984. Her interest was in obtaining an Associate Degree in Computer Operations & Management. Melanie maintained a 3.7 average the first semester of school however; she did not attend the second semester because of health problems. Melanie was blessed with three children. She has also had her share of trouble in her lifetime, but with help from the AA and NA Fellowship, she was victorious and turned her life around.