Little by Little: A Patchwork Quilt of Memories

By Jane Little

This is a memoir of one woman and her family spanning over four generations. "Little by Little" shares memories of love, strength, joy, and pride. The experiences shared in this book are taken from the author's seventy-nine years of life, her fifty-one years of marriage, over fifty years of parenting, and her thirty-six years of teaching. Several experiences were no doubt directly related to being an African American, or a coming from a Black family. Yet, most other experiences were universal in nature that will resonate with all readers. This is an unforgettable memoir filled with underlying themes of positivity, hope, gratitude, and faith.

This story is filled with warmth, wit, and wisdom. The author has masterfully combined pieces of her life experiences just as a quilt maker joins pieces of fabric from the past to provide a link to the present and the future. There are stories from her childhood through her life of almost eighty years. The author's experiences and perspectives from growing up as a Black woman may provide you with new insights and cultural awareness. As you read the stories of family, may you feel the love and joy that the years provided. Certainly, there were challenges and some sorrow along the way, but the author has a way of looking for the positives in each situation. The book is one of personal stories, interspersed humor, and love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jul 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098383183

Jane Little

Dr Jane Little  qualified as a doctor in the 1960s, working as a General Practitioner for almost 50 years. She has a vast experience of human nature and is well up to date with the mental, ethnic and psychological problems so many endure. Interests include singing, flute, gardening and writing.

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Little by Little

© 2021 Jane Little

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

ISBN 978-1-09838-317-6

eBook ISBN 978-1-09838-318-3

Dedication

I dedicate this book to God for giving me the inspiration and the ability to write about so many of my life’s experiences. I thank him for the gift of my life, my family, my friends, and those who have encouraged me along the way. Special thanks to Soror Kelley Jones and Soror Zenobia DuPree who were voices of encouragement and sometimes, nagging to push me to finish this project.

I dedicate this book to the memory of my parents, to the memory of our daughter, Cindy Michelle Little Harmon and to the memory of my husband, Aldrich Morgan Little, Jr. who all made this journey so blessed.

This book is dedicated to our son, John Aldrich Little and to his son, Grant Kingston Little as well as to Cindy’s children, Dominique Roosevelt Harmon, and Morgan Lynn Harmon. May the legacy continue to be passed on to the future generations.

Introduction

This collection of memories was born out of a need to channel my grief. It was May 5, 2006 when our beautiful thirty-six-year-old daughter died of breast cancer. Each year, toward the end of April, I had that same wave of dread as that anniversary date approached.

Each year, I thought of some project to do to redirect my energy into something positive. One year, I made a traditional scrapbook, another year, digital scrapbook about Cindy, one year I wrote a poem, another year I wrote a series of memories all about Cindy that I did not share with anyone else.

In 2013, I decided that each day in the month of May, I would use Facebook to post, A Memory A Day. The memories were assorted in nature, not just about Cindy but just about my life in general. At the end of the month when I wrote it would be the last one, friends asked me not to stop. They enjoyed the thoughts I had shared. One friend said my posts inspired her every day. I stopped for two weeks, then decided I enjoyed sharing therefore, I would continue.

I wrote almost daily for the next four or five years. During those years, friends suggested that I ought to put my memories in a book. It has taken me years to finally follow their advice. I selected some of my favorite memories to be included in this collection.

While I enjoyed writing my memories, what I enjoyed even more was reading the comments that were made by friends. So many of us shared similar experiences, proving that there are so many ways we connect with one another.

It is my hope that as you read, you may recall some of the memories of your life. You will jot them down and/or share them orally with your families. Memoires are the glue that bind the past with the present to be shared in the future.

Contents

Chapter 1

My Family—The Cast of Characters

Who Am I? Jane Hathman Cobbs Little

Maternal Grandparents: Fielding S. Johnson (Pops) and Grandma Carrie Johnson

Paternal Grandparents: John and LeMoyne Cobbs

Father: John A. Cobbs

Mother: Gertrude Johnson Cobbs

Husband: Aldrich Morgan Little, Jr.

Daughter: Cynthia Michelle Little Harmon (Cindy)

Son: John Aldrich Little

Son-in-law: Neal

Daughter-in-law: Cynthia

Grandchildren: Dominique, Morgan, and Grant

June: Suddenly, I Have a Big Sister

Chapter 2

Family Ties

Being an Only Child

Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins

Mom Pearl, Morgan’s Mother

Mr. Jack

More Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins

The Little Men

Our Philly Daughter

Our Other Almost Daughter

Chapter 3

My Childhood,

The Good Ol’ Days

Home Sweet Home: Cleveland, Ohio

Food Trucks and More

Cooling Off on a Hot Day

Playtime Outdoors

Cheap Entertainment

Life Before TV

Welcoming Lena Horne’s Son

Measles, Mumps, and Chicken Pox

Take Me out to the Ball Game

Tragedy

On the Move

On the Move Again and Again and Again

The Wheels on the Bus

Chapter 4

School Days

The Love of Learning

Walking to School

My Favorite Teacher

Autograph Books

Shopping for School Clothes

Shopping for School Supplies

Old-Fashioned Cloakrooms

A Junior High Prank, Or Why I Wear Hearing Aids Today

Sadie, Jane, and the Switchblade

Physical Education in School

High School Days

Emerging Rock and Roll

Reunions? Who Goes? Who Knows?

Chapter 5

Young Adulthood

Early Jobs

Love of Tennis

Love of Football

Golf Anyone? Maybe, Maybe Not

College Tours

Hair Color of the Week

Dorm Move-in 1960 Style

The Ohio State University: The Best Four Years of My Life

Concert Going 1960s and 70s Style

Sardines and Cracker Survival

Moving to Motown

First Car

Victimized by Crimes

The 1963 March on Washington, D. C.

Chapter 6

Love and Marriage

Blind Date Disaster

Blind Date? Bingo!

A Non-Romantic Proposal

Wedding-Day Story: Calamity Jane Meets Her Match

Honeymoon Suite? Not Quite

This Is My Wife, Doris … Oops, Wrong Name

Goodbye, Ohio; Hello, New York

Friday Night Date

Every Vow Met

One Final Word of Advice

Chapter 7

The Little Family—How and Where It Grew

A Move of Great Significance

Welcome, Cindy

Surprise, Surprise: Welcome, John

Living in the Great Northeast

Snowed In, The First of Many Times

Thanksgiving Adventures

Our Favorite Family Tradition

A Return Home

The Old Homesteads

Moving On

Chapter 8

Parenting

Choosing Children’s Names

Double Pleasure, Double Trouble

Protective Big Sister

A Boys-Only Birthday Party

Sibling Rivalry

Little Moments to Remember

Mean Mommy Moment

Sports Schedules

Parenting Styles

Banned Words: F and B Words

Parenting Technique: Turn Everything into a Lesson

Laundry Lessons

Dad, the Driver’s Ed Teacher

College Choices

College Years

Joining the Divine Nine

Children Marrying and Having Children

Uncle John

The Best Fatherly Advice Ever: Never Be Afraid to Ask

Raising Black Children in a Predominately White Community

Another Lesson About Being Black

A Word about Adoption

Chapter 9

Sports Highlights

A Family of Fans

Only a Few Hours Away

Sports Legends

Morgan’s Sports Legacy

Like Father, Like Daughter

Like Father, Like Son

Vacation Planning

Cheap Seats

New Stadium Thrill

An International Bit of Humor

And Then There Was Me

Chapter 10

On the Road Again

All Aboard

The Amtrak Auto Train

An International Sunday Ride

Have Station Wagon, Will Travel

Family Sunday Drives

Family Trips

Service Stations

My Snowy Night Travel Angels

Oreos and Tang

Out of Gas on a Dark, Dark Night

Gilroy, California

Mom Is Going to Disneyland

Warm Cookie Flights

Love Boat

Super Bowl Sundays on the Sea

The Panama Canal: A Dream Fulfilled

A Maine Event

Airline Travel in the Past

Jane, Morgan, and the Porthole

The Highways and the Byways

Chapter 11

Let’s Eat

Dinner at the Table

Childhood Chefs

Kool-Aid

The Good Ol’ Days: TV Dinners

Popcorn

Fish? Uh, No Thanks

Eww, What a Combination

The White Potato-Pie Queen

Sweet Potato Queen

The Bread Machine

Mom’s Coffee Cake

Emergency Green Pepper Chopping

Krispy Kreme Donuts

All Day in the Kitchen

Recipe Collections

Thankful Thanksgivings

Chapter 12

Grandchildren

Big Deal

Arrival Number One

Arrival Number Two

Mom, Where Is Your Phone? Arrival Number Three

The Joy of Grandparenting

Grandparent Privileges

Return to the Parenting Role

A Tender Moment for Grandmother and Granddaughter

Yikes, Reptile-Loving Grandchildren

Chapter 13

The Joys of Teaching

Memory Lane, Thirty-six Years

Dreaded Holiday Parties, Especially Halloween

How Did You Get In?

Recess, Field Day, and Kite Day

The End of Christmas Vacation

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Parent Phone Calls to Me

The Case of the Missing Piano

Found on Facebook

Wiping Noses and Tying Shoes

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes

Children Being Bused to School

School Snow Days

Retired at Just the Right Time

Chapter 14

A Lifetime Commitment to Delta Sigma Theta Sorority

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority

A Rich Legacy

Epsilon Chapter and Beyond

The Best Convention: Centennial 2013

Cindy’s Initiation

United Again

Alpha Eta Mystery

A Lifetime Commitment

Chapter 15

Entrepreneurial Spirits

Unlimited Opportunities, or There’s a Sucker Born Every Moment

Cleaning Products

Worms? Did You Say Worms?

Beauty Is Only Skin Deep

Rental Properties

Snack Time

Memory Solutions

Many Others in Between

Chapter 16

Make New Friends, But Keep the Old

Childhood Friends

School Friends

The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Friendship

College Friends

Couples Friends

Sorority Friends

That One Sister Friend

New Friends

Chapter 17

Living Those Vows for more

than Fifty-One Years

For Better or Worse

For Richer or Poorer

In Sickness and in Health

To Love, Cherish, and Obey

Until Death Do Us Part

A Few Treasured Memories of Morgan

Morgan and Phone Messages

Morgan and Hindi

Morgan and the Camera

Morgan and the Mixer

A Funny Pool Story

Chapter 18

Not So Little,

John Little

Little, John Little? Not Quite

Early Challenges In School

Active, Athletic, And A Loyal Fan

Started Career in Dream Job

The Move To His Dream Location

Fantastic Son

Love of Travel

Fatherhood

Chapter 19

My Two Shining Stars

M. O. M.

Our Daughter, Cynthia Michelle Little Harmon

Chapter 20

Celebrating

Cindy de Mayo

Renaming the Day

Determination

The Magic of Music

Hey, Mom, Guess What?

Making Memories

Memories Live On and On

Chapter 21

We’ve Come this Far by Faith

Raise Up a Child

Ecumenical Worship

Faith, Hope, and Love

Chapter 1

My Family—The Cast of Characters

Who Am I? Jane Hathman Cobbs Little

I was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1942 to John and Gertrude Cobbs. Most of my childhood was spent in Cleveland, except two years in Des Moines, Iowa. I was married for almost fifty-two years but am now a widow. I am a Black woman who is a mother, a grandmother, a retired teacher, a scrapbooker, a memory keeper, a reader, and, now, an author.

You will learn a lot more about me and my life through the memories I share in this book. Perhaps some of them will remind you of some of your memories as well. Others may just give you a glimpse into the past. I encourage you to share some of your memories with your families. As one cousin said to me, You do not need to take your stories to Heaven with you. Now, meet my family.

Maternal Grandparents: Fielding S. Johnson (Pops) and Grandma Carrie Johnson

Pops was a born in 1881 somewhere in Missouri, but my great-grandmother Mariah did not want her sons to grow up in segregation, so she moved right across the Mississippi River to Keokuk, Iowa. Pops grew up there and became a mailman. He and my grandmother had four daughters. Grandma Carrie died in 1925, so Pops raised the daughters with help from his mother.

Some of the African Americans I have met during my lifetime have been absolutely surprised to learn that my roots go back to Iowa. Many have never thought of Iowa as a state where Black people lived.

Pops was active in his church and active in the community, where he served as a mentor to many young, African American boys. He loved to fish, play golf, and travel in his trusty Buick. One of his favorite hobbies was photography, both taking and developing his own work.

Most of the family photos that I have were taken by Pops and developed by him. He would come to visit, take pictures, then say, If you need to go to the bathroom, go now. He was about to turn the bathroom into a darkroom to develop his photos. The love of photography was instilled in each of us because he made sure that each grandchild had a Brownie Hawkeye camera by the time we were seven or eight years old.

The most remarkable accomplishment was that Pops was determined that his daughters would all become college-educated women. Between 1925 and 1936, all four of his daughters received their degrees from the University of Iowa. Those

Reviews for Little by Little

[Therese Kohl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jane’s book is filled with love of family, God and community. Her enthusiasm and thoughtful stories are a treat for the reader and a testament to her humanity.