Hi, Folks!
It is almost certain that every individual has or has had at least one individual in their lives who leave a mark on their lives that cannot be erased by time.
Sometimes an individual can be a benefactor of an individual’s work(s) without ever knowing it.
For my wife Lou Anne and her late sister Marcella it was without doubt their late maternal grandfather, Dewey Wallin and his wife, Esta Anderson Wallin.
Dewey was born in 1898 to Thomas Madison Wallin and Emily Alice Houston Wallin. His ancestors were among America’s earliest settlers, arriving to Plymouth Colony in 1623 aboard The Anne, which followed The Mayflower and The Fortune.
Esta’s ancestors were among Madison County’s earliest settlers, arriving to the Beech Glen community about 1797 a full 54 years before Madison County would be officially formed.
Dewey’s grandfather, Stephen Douglas Wallin, was a preacher but his teachings did not take so much to Dewey’s father, Thomas.
According to family lore, Dewey’s father was a hard man, shaped in part by the hardscrabble ways of living in remote Appalachia. The family was somewhat well off by most standards but life was hard and everyone worked.
There is the story of Dewey’s older brothers, Jess & Lance, having to haul wagon loads of lumber as mere lads to the milling community of Runion. Runion has long been abandoned and is better known today as Stackhouse.
Due to family needs and the demands of his father, Dewey quit school after the sixth grade in order to help the family. This event would go on to be the foundation of a fire that burned within Dewey Wallin.
The fire that burned was in the name of education for his children, grandchildren and the children of Madison County; He wanted them all to have something that life had robbed him of.
Who knows what dreams he may have had as a young man?
Nevertheless, Dewey performed his duties as needed.
In 1919, Dewey married Esta Anderson who was three years his senior. Dewey farmed & raised cattle while Esta was a school teacher.
They would welcome four children, Agnes (Metcalf), Daisy (Franklin), Mary (Tweed) & J.D. all of whom would become college educated and teach within the Madison County School System.
Dewey was a thoughtful and quiet man throughout his life but that fire for education burned intensely beneath it all.
In spite of his sixth grade education, Dewey was a man of great common sense and well respected within his community & Madison County.
This propelled him to earning the distinction of becoming the very first elected Democrat in Madison County history. He did this by garnering a spot on The Board of Education in the late 1940’s.
Lou Anne recalls that Dewey & Esta would constantly teach her and the other grandchildren things and offer tidbits of wisdom along the way.
Lou Anne’s favorite memory of her grandparents was how her grandmother Esta would kiss Dewey on his bald spot and call him ’’My little peanut.” She also recalls how much Dewey loved to eat Mud Turtles. “Lord, I hated to smell that stuff cooking but Grandma would make it every time he asked her to.”
Dewey would die of a heart attack on August 10, 1977. Esta, without her beloved Dewey, would die less than a month later on September 5.
For most, the above would be considered an eventful and successful life.
However, the fire that burned within Dewey had manifested a dream: More than anything in life, he desired that each and every one of his grandchildren receive a college education.
Although he never lived to see it, each and every one of his eight grandchildren fulfilled his dream by gaining at least a Bachelor’s Degree from schools of higher learning.
Most of them became teachers, honoring their late grandparents; one who was a teacher and one with a sixth grade education.
That’s a lot to be proud of.
Y’all have a great week!