7:00 Starts talking about who lived where in Chuckatuck. They lived in the house just beyond B .W. ?Godwin’s house. They moved to Chuckatuck when she was 5 years old..
Their first house when they moved to Chuckatuck in 1929 were living in the big house on Ferry Point farm.
Katie was born in Hanover when her mother went back up there to have her. She thinks the Phillips owned Ferry Point farm when they lived there.
When they lived at Ferry Point Dot and Asa Johnson lived in a small house near them. They lived there long enough to remember that Polly was born when they lived there. They moved to Hobson and did not like it. It was across from the Adams house. She thinks they had an indoor bathroom. Her mother did not like it. This was when she was four years old.
Her dad came back early and not sure where he stayed. When they came to Chuckatuck they lived in the Old Gilliam home. They moved in with Dot and Asa which put at least six of them in the same house. Then they moved down to the house next to the Godwins and she and Ann Godwin became good friends. She went to college when she was 16 and at this time her mom and dad moved down to the home on Barrets Creek (owned by the Woolfords).
While living in Chuckatuck they (she and Ann) would visit the ice plant and grist mill all the time. It was like a playground for them.
Katie was born in 1933. Bill was born in 1931, John born in 1928 and Betty born in 1929.
Mr Rippey went to school at the University of Missouri. Her mom was a nurse and went to UVA. Mr. Rippey was born in 1900 (Lancaster, Missouri) Mom born in 1898 in Charlottesville, VA. She was a Flanagan.
21:00 Between her dad and Lew Morris I, (Drex) had all the mentoring I needed. Learned about the birds and bees from them.
22:30 Talks about being PC. And the Sandy Bottom African Americans having their baptism in the creek.
Graduated from Nursing school in 1954. Talks about how she met her husband Jim and their getting married.
Jim was a dentist at Cherry Point. Then she talks about the various jobs that Jim had and how he ended up in Windsor
28:30 Talks about some of their friends and what they did for fun. They were very close to the Moore family. She stayed with Mary Etta Moore a lot.
33:00 Talks about who lived in the houses adjacent to them. Next to Katie was Barcley Richardson, Asa and Dot, then Butch.
Moved into the house in Chuckatuck in 1938.
36:00 Talks about Chuckatuck and what they did. She rode to school with her dad, as well as Asa and Polly and Butch. You did your own fun. Her dad was a news hound during the war years. Radio was turned on when Mr. Rippey went upstairs to shave and you did not dare turn it down. Played Football, but had a rule that no dump the center.
Played Kick the can, Giant Steps, Mother may I, Tag, Inside played cards (Poker). Mr. Rippey loved hot chocolate and would make it from scratch. They had pecan trees in the yard. Played war. Mr Rippey was an air raid warden. People with do not want to be without. Had lots of dogs and cats. Had a cat named Stella who was named after a burlesque person in Suffolk. Stella had kittens on Betty’s bed. She was not happy with that and Katie told her not to worry it was just after birth. Swam in the marl holes. She and Frances Gilliam would go to the marl hole together. Talks about running cables to hold the swim platform in place.
46:30 Talks about Sue Kelly getting raped and then he was executed.
49:00 Talks about intergration and how her father and the family took it. She talks about her kids going to public schools even when integration started and that was partly responsible for keeping the public schools in being.
56:00 Talks about feeding the cattle when Mr. Rippey was on vacation. Zue was a Woolford which meant that the Rippeys were very close friends with them.
Good discussion on the Woolfords about school and work. Katie would stay in the middle house in the summer.
Talks about Arthur Raine and what a friend they were. Shack died in 2010.
Mrs Rippey was almost 96 when she died. She died in 1993 having been born in 1898.
Towne Point belonged to the Bradfords. Mrs Bradford was a very hospitable person. Harry Glasscock though Mrs. Rippey was exceptional.
From 74:00 on is just casual talk and not so much historical related.
80:00 Talks about her daddy being a big supporter of Mills and did not like Byrd.
85:00 Talks about her time at Virginia Tech and Charlottesville UVA. Decided she would not fall in love until after she finished Nursing School.
Her dad died in May of 1966. Woke up one morning with a severe pain in his back and Mrs Rippey gave him a shot of morphine to ease the pain. He was dead in 20 minutes from an anerosim. Mother died in 1993. Mr. Rippey retired when they closed Chuckatuck in 1966. Talks about Mr. Rippey cutting his fingers off.
Her life centered around the family. She did not try to get summer work because she knew just as soon as she finished nursing school she would work all the time. This allowed her to get closer to her daddy than she every had before. There were some things about him she did not like. When he drank too much he would say things that hurt her mother.
Bill died at 33 with hodkins disease. John died at 53 due to suicide. Katie and her mother never had a drinking problem while all the others did including Betty. Everyone smoked except Katie.
98:00 Thought growing up in Chuckatuck was the best thing that happened to her. Had lots of kids to play with and together. Would go behind Glasscocks and swing on the grapevine swing across the small stream. Even drank water out of it.
Mr. Rippey always had a vegetable garden. Mr. Maul was living with the Fronfelters about who would get the first and biggest tomato. Mr. Rippey also grew about 2 acres of tomatoes on George Wilkerson’s farm. Mr. Rippey was a perfectionist.
102:00 Talks about the system for planting tomatoes. At harvesting time would pick them if they had a little pink on them. Wiped every tomato and pulled the stems off or it would punch a hole in the top tomato. There were packed according to color with the greener ones on the bottom. If the tomato was ripe it was a canner tomato. Mr. Rippey wanted to look good.
The Byrd’s were good friends as well. Charlie Byrd brought her a record with some sort of classical music.
In the town of Chuckatuck you were exposed to many different types of people. She felt that she was fortunate to have grown up in Chuckatuck and she believes that Dottie was bit by a rabid dog and had to get a shot every week which her mom gave her. Al Glasscock had a big garden and it was open to the Rippey’s anytime they wanted to. Talks about the Hollands and Upshur’s farm.
114:00 Discussed Percy Pitt.
Katie’s family loved to dance. Went to Crittenden to Mr Keeling’s to dance. Grew up in Wesley Chapel. Talks about her Sunday School room at Wesley Chapel. Mrs Gilliam was her teacher.
If you had to do your life over what would you do. Cannot think of anything that she would have done differently.
She is far more of an activist now than ever before.
129:00 Tells a story about Mr. Christopher. There was a geography globe on a stand that Katie and Marian bent the globe stand.
144:00 Talks about milking the cows at the Meadowlot and delivering it.