CLARA LOUISE PERRY HARRISON (MAMA/MEMA)

PICTURES OF MAMA

WHEN AND WHERE WAS MAMA BORN?

Descendants of Richard Perry of Lancaster County, South Carolina moved to Alachua, Marion and Sumter Counties in North Central Florida in the 1850s. Peter Boyer Perry, Mama’s great-grandfather, settled in Marion County. The community of Pedro was named after Peter Boyer Perry.

[insert newspaper article about Peter Boyer Perry here]

Mama was born in Pedro. She was born6 March 1911, a few years before the Pedro Baptist Church was founded in 1914. The current location of the Church (known today as the Starting Point Church) is on the corner of SE Hwy 42 and the lane that led about a half-mile to the farm house on the right where she and her family lived. The kids rode a bus to the Summerfield School in Summerfield about seven miles away. Members of the Perry families attended church at the Pedro Baptist Church until the early 2000s.

GROWING UP IN PEDRO

The Perry’s had no electricity. They used kerosene lamps for lighting. They had no running water. They pumped water for kitchen use and bathing by hand with a pump on the back porch. Their bathroom was an outhouse in the back yard, away from the house. Meat was salt-cured and stored in the smokehouse. They gathered eggs from the chicken nests. Granddaddy would milk the cow into a bucket or directly into a tin cup for Mama and the other kids to drink. There was no refrigerator — only an ice box. The ice man would come around weekly and deliver ice to store food and to make iced tea.

[pictures of pie safe, ice box, etc.]

MAMA’S EDUCATION

The school bus route from Mama’s home to the Summerfield School would have been about seven miles if you went the most direct route. The zig-zag route down lanes and roads to pick up the school children would have taken a much longer route. The direct route is shown on the map below.

**Charlie and Clara Perry lived on what-is-now Southeast 119th Court**

GALLERIES OF MAMA’S BOOKS

Mama graduated from Summerfield High School in 1928. She attended the University of Florida for one semester. I have some of her textbooks and personal books. They are pictured in the galleries below. If you click on a book in the gallery, you can see the inside front cover, frontispiece, copyright page and table of contents for the each of the books (Click the back arrow to return).

SUMMERFIELD HIGH SCHOOL BOOKS

Image gallery image — **EMERSON – ESSAYS AND ADDRESSES**

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA BOOKS

She attended the University of Florida one semester after graduation from SHS. Here is the only UF textbook I have. Her little red notebook is also shown. Click on the picture to see inside.

SOME OTHER OF MAMA’S BOOKS

MAMA AND DADDY MEET AND MARRY

A friend of Daddy’s (Frank Daugherty, I seem to recall) told Daddy he knew a cute girl in Summerfield he thought Daddy should meet. A date and time was arranged for the introduction. All parties were a little bit nervous.

Keep in mind that Daddy was six feet five inches tall. Louise (our Mama) was five-three. Her daddy was about five-four or five-five. Her mother was a little taller than her daddy. The front porch roof as you came up the steps was about six feet two or three inches high. Of course, Burton had his eye on Louise as he stepped forward and up to the porch. BAM! A six-five head against a six 2 header! Daddy found himself on his back on the walkway. Greetings, Louise. Welcome, Burton. Nice introduction.

I am happy to say the introduction stuck. Burton and Louise got their marriage license on the 2nd of December 1930. They were married the 3rd of December 1930.

Louise-Perry-and-Burton-Harrison-Marriage-Certificate-1 Download

The wedding announcement appeared on the front page of the December 5, 1930 edition of the Wildwood Echo (middle of right column below the fold).

**Wildwood Echo December 5, 1930 above the fold.**

**Wedding announcement is right-hand column of page below the fold.**

**Wedding Gift from Daddy’s mother, Nina Lee Smith Harrison.**

LIFE AND FAMILY IN WILDWOOD IN THE 1930s TO 1970s

Mama was an attractive and smart person. She did not brag about her education and her accomplishments. She was a pleasant person and eager worker, a strong supporter of her church, civic groups and her family. She was a home room mother for every grade her children attended, from first grade thru graduation. She could sew – she made dresses, skirts, blouses and shirts. She could turn a chicken feed sack into a fashionable dress for Clara or an attractive shirt for me. Remember when chicken feed came in patterns and colors suitable for making clothes?