Brunette: The Early Years

Sometimes all we need is someone to rely on. Not necessarily someone to depend on consistently but someone that is sure to be there if you need them. Someone that you know without doubt has you on their mind. I guess I have been more than fortunate when it came to this. But she was more than that. A fragile blossom, but a steel magnolia, and I am not altogether sure how she pulled this combination off.

In a blue and dreary chapel at the local funeral home - you know the scene. First Amazing Grace was played and then Beyond the Sunset, and even after all the hymns I had heard in my life this one was new to me. Buddy, my step-Grandfather chose this song for his wife. Although this was the first I had heard the verses and chorus I did not listen. I was then wondering how life would be without her. But enough about that.

I read once on an old postcard that had been passed through the family: "Myrtle when I return from this war I'm going to ask your Pa for your hand." A message sent from a World War I station by my Great Grandfather, Ollie Russell. Papaw, as my Mother always refers to him, returned from the Great War and fulfilled his promise to his stateside girl. They married in 1919. They had a large family of eight children and my grandmother, "Nannie" was their fifth; born December 16, 1926.

Life in those days was so much different from the days that we know now. In the early years of her life she and her brothers and sisters enjoyed the simple times of the countryside near Isley and Dawson Springs called Menser. Menser had undoubtedly been named for some family who had first settled there. There was no post office, that was in Dawson Springs or Nortonville. In fact their mail box was on the highway not even on the lane where the Russell home was. It was probably staggered among several other boxes and many with the name Russell on them. I think that my Great Grandfather's people had come from North Carolina and spread across this country as so many early settlers did. My vein the family tree ending up in this small community in Western Kentucky. Papaw's parents names were William and Lenora Russell, a couple who also had a large family of mostly boys and one girl. Papaw was one of the younger siblings and as many of his brothers he too settled on the same lane where he grew up.

I have been told that the old Russell Cemetery is deep in the woods beyond that road. I think by now you would have to make your way there on foot. There on stones with inscriptions erased by time are some of my ancestors names. Ancestors that have only now become faces of black and white picture, that only a few can identify. But then and now there lives mattered, as they have paved so many ways for me and my family. These folks were people who worked hard, people of great faith and loyalty to the church - good people - as they say. And all down the lane from their house their children bought and built homes, filling the yards with grandchildren. I can imagine on days with good weather you could see these children running down the road and through the fields, like the current of the streams and the flight of the birds.

The Russell "home place," as described by my family was a nice home with a square parameter and I believe it had a hipped roof. It was built by Papaw Russell I am sure with the help of other family and friends. Across the front of the house sprawled a porch and on one end of that porch there was a trellis on which wisteria climbed. In those days electricity had not yet made it down this particular road. The house was lit at night by oil lamps and heated by a fire, and as far as cooling goes, I suspect the windows were opened and that porch came in handy. I have often heard that Papaw built the barn first and for the first year or so he and Mamaw, as Mom referred to her grandmother, lived there. In fact my Uncle Raymond, their first son was born while they were living in the barn.

Mamaw Russell's name was Myrtle Johnston and she too came from a large family. Mamaw ran the household while Papaw worked at the Veterans Administration Hospital called: "Outwood." She was known as a sweet and loving mother, a good cook, and certainly a resourceful person. Mamaw canned produce from their garden and their orchard to put up for the winter. She quilted to cover their beds and was a good seamstress who made most of her children's clothes. I am sure that the days passed quickly for her when her children were at home because she never ran out of things to do and of course she had several extra hands around to help her out with chores and task. One of the chores that I recall Nannie talking about doing was milking the cows, and you have to get up really early to do this. One of the reasons being because the family would need fresh milk for breakfast. So the chore would definitely have to be done before that meal.

My Aunt Aminell has a picture in her room of all eight children with Mamaw and Papaw. They are all standing right in front of the house: Papaw who was born in 1896, beside Mamaw who was born in 1898 proudly presiding over their family. Nannie's name was Nella Brunette Russell, her brother's and sister's names were as follows: Ollie Raymond, Bessie Rudell, Rhoeller Pauline, William Carroll, Mary Aminell, Joseph Leamon, and Phillip Daniel. If you could see what I see in that photo you'd know why I have to tell this story.

{This is the first portion of a series of stories about my grandmother Brunette Russell Franklin Cato, titled Brunette. This story will be continued next week.}

A Good Time Had By All; Class of 2000 looks at Ten Years

Who knew that I was old enough to say ten years ago. But wait, can we now say, decade too? Regardless of labels, words, or phrases, I found out this past weekend while gathering with old friends to recognize our ten year alumni status from Dawson Springs High School - that we are still young enough to know how to celebrate.


The quaint western Kentucky town of Dawson Springs once again drew quite a crowd of former residents and graduates of our small independent school system: Dawson Springs Community School. Each year on the third weekend of July, citizens of Dawson Springs welcome former residents back home. From far and wide these proud people return to celebrate Dawson Springs and what a "special place" it is. Sixty - two years ago the local Rotary Club started the annual Dawson Springs BBQ. I believe the idea being that this homecoming of sorts would create an event to be scheduled yearly for residents and former residents to catch up and enjoy one another. In conjunction with the festival made up of cake walks, dunkaroo and many other fun activities, thousands of pounds of pork barbeque is cooked at the city park and served at the community center. The event sprawls itself across a hot Kentucky weekend and over the years a long standing tradition of churches hosting homecomings and former classmates of the Dawson Springs High School hosting class reunions has been established. This year marked my classes ten year reunion giving me the perfect opportunity to join in on this tradition.

Our class from the very beginning was set apart for a simple reason that we really had nothing to do with - it was merely a timing issue. From the beginning we became unique because our graduation date would be the year 2000. I don't know if it was the uniqueness of that date or the hype that surrounded it that made us focus more on our unique qualities. It could have been that we were all just different to begin with. Regardless, we found time over the years to set ourselves apart among other classes, in antics, accomplishments and closeness. And as we gathered this past weekend to commemorate ten years that has passed since we last roamed the halls of our High School, I noticed that we are still unique. Eighteen members of my small class of twenty - eight got together at a cottage within Pennyrile State Resort Park. The State Park has been a long time back drop for DSHS class reunions and we carried on that tradition gladly. But not only has the park been a back drop for reunions, many of my classmates - myself included, were former employees. The park provided us with summer jobs, a place to hang out, play golf, take paddle boat and canoe rides, a place to camp, and a place where many fond memories would be made over the years; this weekend included.

The reunion consisted of less decorations and more talking and laughing. There was plenty of good food and drinks, but it too was outshined by smiles and stories shared Saturday evening. All through the night as the stories began to flow we reconnected with our youth. We became those faces in the pictures far beyond ten years ago, and I was reminded of why we were unique. Time has taken us many places, it has scattered us out and as it always does life has happened to us. But one thing that hasn't changed a bit is our spunk, our charm, our compassion for one another and our successes. We were all very lucky to have been brought up in Dawson Springs, a city that rarely shined in sports arenas, but consistently did with test scores. We were lucky to have been brought up in this place because it too is so unique. Our Mom's and Dad's just so happen to drop us off and take us into that same Kindergarten class - into those same school doors - on that same first day. From the late 1980s until the year 2000 we roamed those halls. We were challenged in those classrooms as students and as people. We passed notes and laughed at pranks, and ten years ago we left those halls behind. Ten years ago we left home and said good bye to those same parents that waved at us and wished us well, and not only on that very first day of school, but everyday thereafter. And we blinked our eyes and ten years passed - it seemed that fast. Ten years of so many moves and changes…but even ten years can't change our bond.

When we left our gymnasium at the end of May in 2000, I pledged to host these reunions. In 2005, Lynsey Winfrey and I, among other friends, managed to get fourteen members of our small class together, and this year we wrangled in eighteen. I guess I should hope for twenty - two in 2015 if the trend keeps it's beat. And ten years after making that pledge to my classmates I am still standing proudly behind it. I'll gladly host this event in the years to come and I'll go even farther than that. I'll be proud to be associated with this group of people for life. Sharing in this milestone were two fixtures of the institution as we knew it, Donnie Allen, our class sponsor and his wife Dorinda, who was our Primary School Coordinator. These two could possibly record more of the changes that we have all went through - after all they witnessed most of them.

So a decade ago I graduated High School. I was a naïve young kid then and that kid still rears his head from time to time. Fortunately, there were twenty-eight of us, at least I didn't have to be that way all by myself! See you in 2015…right?

Introduction: Brunette

One thing I like about good books and even movies is how the power playing good guys usually walk away victorious in the end. Fading away into some idealistic sunset or strolling down some picturesque beach with the one they love. I suppose that is one of the things that lures our attention. Even though we know that this is not always the case in reality. Perhaps our longing for these romances or perfect endings are our way of seeking the alternative. But are they our way out? Questions like these whittle away at me like the hours and I guess what we end up with sometimes are only questions.


I've known some power players and good guys and gals in my day. People that had the power to change things and did. I don't know why I am going to go there but I am. Like the song says: "memories, like the corners of my mind, memories of the way we were." I guess it is the laughter that I remember, the smiles, the candy apple red fingernail polish, every curl in place, always a smile, almost perfect. My thoughts that were probably shared by loving parents that were there on the cold December day when she came into this world, Brunette.

The year was 1926 and in those days the cars could not drive down the lane to the Russell's home place in the winter. It was a dirt road and the wet fall and winter months usually turned the dirt road into mud. She was born at home and came into this world during the high times of the roaring twenties. But those roars were beginning to wane. Her life began in a community called Menser, just outside of Dawson Springs. She was welcomed by a brothers and sisters; Raymond, Rudell, Pauline and William and was soon followed by Aminell, Joseph and Phillip. With eight children the family table was set for ten, in those days a large family like this one was not uncommon.

As the years passed this family would continue to increase in size; as this generation of children became parents and grandparents. It is only now that the family seems to have leveled off and spread out across the country. The years that have separated those days from these have brought about changes. Changes that many would not have ever been able to fathom in those days, and with all that changing, I hope we have gained more than we have lost. Regardless, what a group…what an interesting, generous, and loving group of people, people that I love and loved.

Nannie died on the first day of November in 1995 and I was 15 years old. She left us at a time that we didn't expect to see her go and over the years I think I have dealt with that loss in different ways. It might have been so hard because she was one of the first people I loved and lost. It certainly had a lot to do with the amount of respect I had for her and as always Grandmother's are needed and missed when they are gone. But sometimes it's not so much the mourning that takes us places. Years after her passing I have found time to talk to many people about Nannie. I have spent hours talking to Mom about things that she liked, things that she did. I have thought of her so much as if to make up for all the lost time.

She was eulogized by a great family friend, Dr. Jeff Winfrey; and her close cousin and fine man John Lush Russell. Both men quickly mentioned her smile. In the next few blogs I am going to do my best to describe that smile as well as the person behind it. A project that has been a long time coming. The one thing that is unfortunate about this story is that she did not fade away into the sunset, strolling down some beach. The end of her life was hindered by illness. Her exit is more or less like the way most people go out, in our their normal way. Leaving behind two remarkable women to continue to share her love and her spirit in their own ways - her daughters; my mother DeNell Storms and my Aunt, Patricia Schofield.

People often say - never look back. But sometimes you just have to look back. Because you never get to where you are going without all that getting. When I look back there is so much to see that I have to slow my mind down to digest it all. And always while looking back I see the faces of people like Nannie. People that helped to shape my character and did so much during their lives to make mine a little bit easier. I would like to write about all of these people, and if there is enough time in my life to do them justice, I just might. But for now, and in the next weeks I am going to focus on one person. This series of blogs will be hers, tentatively beginning in 1926 and ending in 1995, titled: Brunette. It will be a work in progress as are every one of these entries.

As these words escape my mind they take with them something that doesn't always come back. Somehow this project of taking and leaving is working well for me. Nannie did so much for me and I never really had the chance to pay her back…not that she expected me to. However, in the years after her death, I hope that I have paid it forward. Sharing kindness and generosity with others, both traits that she so gracefully exemplified. Maybe in some strange way this series of blogs or stories will be my way to do something for her…no matter how late in the game.

People help each other in ways that are hard to explain. We come into each other's with all sorts of opportunities to help one another make it through this world. Earlier I spoke of power players, good guys and good girls. Nannie was a power player in her own way and always on the good side. She used her short life to contribute goodness to others. That is why we still miss her after fifteen years. That is why my family will always think of her fondly, and that is why I feel compelled to write this series of blogs.

To come: Brunette

My Idea

So today I write about things that I haven't written about before, and then what tomorrow? How will I continue to come up with the ideas to sustain these blogs and what does it matter? What if anything are these meager entries doing? These are the thoughts that come to me when I am blocked. No matter what I do there will always be these thoughts - the things that hold me back. There is no way to come up with a true answer for what these words that I mix together are doing. They could be doing nothing and they could be doing everything. I guess it only depends on the day. For me this blog does a lot of things, and as my life storms further into the distance (no pun intended) I use this blog to ground me by using the good ideas that come to mind all along the way.


In regard to this blog particularly, I am toying with the idea of posting a series of stories in which each day's blog will be a portion of one story. This idea is a project that I have been wanting to tackle for quite some time. There, with this very sentence I have described part of this blog's worth. I have to keep telling myself that this is not for everyone else, this blog is for me.

When I was a child my grandmother told me to write in my journal every day, then one day I would be so happy to look back on entries that I had written in the years past. I didn't do that then, but later on in life I have felt compelled to pick up the habit. I feel like if I am interested in something I should try it out. If for some reason that hobby or activity doesn't fit my mold, well, at least I tried. So here goes nothing. This blog is something that I have been trying that I have really enjoyed.

Life comes and goes. The days and nights blend together so quickly that we hardly notice the transition. Most of those days and nights I try incessantly to maintain my eagerness to move forward and not to become stagnate, jaded or boring. I have known so many people that pulled this off so well and their examples gave me the confidence to strive everyday to be the right kind of person. Earlier this week I had the privilege of reading an article about a person that I have recently met. The article mentioned many obstacles that popped up in his life; family illnesses and accidents, among other things. Those things did not hinder him from becoming a very successful and good human being. As they say: "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger." I was reminded by this article that the things that I have allowed to hold me back were silly things. Perhaps this is why I enjoy reading biographies and autobiographies. I enjoy comparing life and conditions with other people, these comparisons almost always lead to new goals and renewed ambitions. So here's to that…new goals and renewed ambitions…not bad!

The Symphony

The Symphony in the park was amazing. Last night I had the pleasure of spreading out a blanket to listen to The Austin Symphony Orchestra perform the annual Hartman Foundation "Concert in the Park". This series of events takes place on several consecutive Sundays as the group goes through each rung of the orchestra to share with audiences ranging of all ages a plethora of timeless ensembles. The event is free to the public.




My good friend Dara brought this wonderful idea to my attention. Upon arriving we became surrounded by families, couples, and groups of friends of all ages. Some groups were having picnics, some were enjoying wine, little girls danced and I noticed that a few times people picked up on the lyrics and quietly sang along. Among some classical pieces came out tunes that were very familiar, such as a medley of the late Michael Jackson's music, Someone to Watch Over Me, and many more. This particular Sunday was featuring string music and the cadence of these chords rang out from the Long Center's City Terrace out across the lawn and drifted over Lady Bird Lake.



The timing of the concerts ending, although I could have listened to them play for hours, was perfectly timed to turn and face our cities skyline. As dusk turned into dark Austin's beautiful skyline lit up before our very eyes. While all this was happening my friend and I realized that there are so many things to see and experience in life. At a free concert on the lawn at the Long Center as the music lifted the spirits of those around I realized that there is no time better than the present to seek life out. To expand my horizons with the thing that lift my spirits and make me happy. Our city boast some of the finest music, arts and entertainment - get out and check it out!

Let Your Soul Shine

Many years ago I was out with some family boating at Lake Beshear, right outside Dawson Springs. From as far as ten feet away we began to see an orange object that looked to be swimming just under the surface in our direction. I was very young then and I was amazed to find out from the adults on this trip that this was a large Goldfish making it's rounds at Lake Beshear. In a lake of almost seven hundred acres full of fish native to Kentucky, I don't think that I was the first to be surprise to see this colorful fish come my way. I guess I am always amazed by the many examples of how being different makes us special and unique. We should all learn to celebrate our unique qualities, knowing that these are the things that set us apart. Keeping in mind that insecurities about these same unique qualities will do nothing but bring us down.


Living in Austin makes this an easy task. Here in the Live Music Capitol of the World we celebrate eccentric, weird, decadent, and calm. A place to live and work which proves to be a Mecca for the young at heart. A city filled with people yearning to breathe free, words that are just a borrowed portion of Lady Liberty's inscription; and why not? Long before I came to this fare city it's vibe has been cool and edgy. Spreading music through the streets and neighborhoods through a web various festivals and organizations big and small. We're not the town that never sleeps, we boast not that we are the city of lights, we're just weird, and that I like!

I moved here from Nashville, Tennessee in September of 2008. I came into town just after Hurricane Ike had made his rounds. In my early days here I found my way and quickly came to know that this was not a city to be bored or disconnected. Austin to me proved to be an innovative place, a place where the future is happening every day. I learned that it was a good city to be green in, a good city for Dogs ( I had never seen so many pet amenities or yappy hours), a city for the music lover and for artist. Later after the New Year of 2009 I began to work for the State House of Representatives. That transition showed me yet another interesting side to the city and along with another talented and intellectual group of people. I began to wonder what rock I had been hiding under to have not known much about this gem of a city.

That being said, I won't claim to be the only Goldfish swimming through life here. I'm not sure that the large one that I saw years ago back home was the lone Goldfish either. Either way, I'm different. Fortunately, here and now and hopefully always - different is good in Austin. I had the good fortune of having parents and a family that encouraged me to put my effort into things I liked. I was socialized at an early age to feel good about myself and to yearn to grow, expand my knowledge, meet more people and experience more things. Finding Austin for me was a fascinating process in itself nonetheless, but what has been more fascinating is finding myself. In this city that celebrates the uniqueness of life I hope to contribute all that I can. Doing my part to wave the city's banner that serves as our quirky beacon and the banner reads: KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD!

My only question is…where can you beat it?


{All this put me in the mood for some Allman Brothers; Soul Shine.  Check it out!

"Soul Shine
by: The Allman Brothers
Transcribed by Sean Carpenter


When you can't find the light,
That got you through a cloudy day,
When the stars ain't shinin' bright,
You feel like you've lost you're way,
When those candle lights of home,

Burn so very far away,
Now you got to let your soul shine,
Just like my daddy used to say.

[Chorus]
He used t

o say soulshine,

It's better than sunshine,

It's better

than moonshine,

Damn sure better than rain.

Yeah now people don't mind,

We all get this way sometime,

Got to let your soul shine, shine till the break of day.

I grew up thinkin' that I had it made,
Gonna make it on my own.
Life can take the strongest man,
Make him feel so alone.
Now sometimes I feel a cold wind,
Blowin' through my achin' bones,
I think back to what my daddy said,
He said "Boy, in the darkness before the dawn:"

[Chorus]
Let your soul shine,
It's better than sunshine,
It's better than moonshine,
Damn sure better than rain.
Yeah now people don't mind,
We all get this way sometimes,
Gotta let your soul shine, shine till the break of day.

Sometimes a man can feel this emptiness,
Like a woman has robbed him of his very soul.
A woman too, God knows, she can feel like this.
And when your world seems cold, you got to let your spirit take control.

[Chorus]
Let your soul shine,
It's better than sunshine,
It's better than moonshine,
Damn sure better than rain.
Lord now people don't mind,
We all get this way sometimes,
Gotta let your soul shine, shine till the break of day.

Oh, it's better than sunshine,
It's better than moonshine,
Damn sure better than rain.
Yeah now people don't mind,
We all get this way sometimes,
Gotta let your soul shine, shine till the break of day."}

Thoughts of the Fourth

And I know why you feel this way Pat...because I feel the same way.

 This holiday stands for so much more to us. A day of burgers and hot dogs, of outdoor barbeques, block parties, lawn chairs, pool parties, fireworks and festivities are all ways that Americans celebrate our Independence, our freedom. Since that first fourth of July the world has turned upside down so many times. Year after year not stopping its revolution.


When I was a kid my Papaw and Granny hosted our entire family for a Fourth of July Reunion. Papaw is the oldest of ten children and all of his brothers and sisters would gather at their house with their families. We all added up to be quite a large clan. Tables filled with food with aunts and cousins who were delighted to hear: "Who made this pie? It's great." Or "wow, that's good!" People would park all around my Grandparents property to watch the fireworks display. We always had an old fashion singing when many members of the family would sing anything from the latest pop song to The Old Rugged Cross.  You just named your own poison. Kids running wild playing hide and seek with their mother's and grandmother's shooing them out of the house to keep the doors closed and the flies out.

Yesterday my sweet Aunt Pat, Papaw's youngest sister, mentioned her sentiments for him on her facebook page. She and my uncle Rodney and their boys were fixtures at these gatherings. When I read her words a flood of memories passed through my mind. Memories of Papaw dressed like Uncle Sam but really highly regarded as Uncle Gene. Our faithful patriarch delivering Independence Day remarks and emceeing the day's events; usually failing to mention that he himself was a veteran. I am not all together sure if he knew then or even now what a hero he was an is to all of us. I go back there today in my mind to a house nestled on Highway 62 and this is the destination of many of my dreams. Hearing my Granny's laughter as she made everyone feel at home and loved. I go back there today gladly as I do is so many of my thoughts. Knowing that that place will be one of the places that will always be mine and reading this morning that it was also someone else's place, my Aunt Pat's, just made me smile.

There were families large and small all over this great country celebrating this weekend. Getting together with the ones they loved to commemorate a day that means more than fireworks, burgers and hot dogs. A day that at great risk the four fathers and mothers (I might add) struggled to create. The seeds that they planted then, have sprouted and grown, bloomed and spread like a wild fire. Their vision has become a land of ideas, opportunity and exploration. Although our people and our country have seen brighter days economically we are still a proud and strong group of people. We are told in schools as early as most of us can remember that when General Cornwallis surrendered to Washington at Yorktown in 1781, the band played "The World Turned Upside Down." How fitting.

From the roof top of a building in Austin, Texas, I watched the sparkling lights of yet another fireworks show.  And although I was many miles away my mind drifted back to Papaw and Granny's. On that day it always will, that day was and always will be theirs. A day that for so many years they planned and put together one of the most fun events. A day that they did something that they did so well and loved so much - surrounded themselves with people.

Pat thank you for taking me back there again today…it's a journey that is a pleasure to make. Thank you for always being one of the smiles that I couldn't wait to see on the Fourth. For your songs, the skits at the community center in 92', and so much more. We have been truly blessed.

From miles away in the midst of a move that seems to have been a long time coming, my world too has turned upside down. But these thoughts as they usually do, brought a smile to my face and a warm feeling in my heart. A thankfulness for my family and for my love of country. A gratefulness for Papaw and his speeches on the Fourth - for each word he has ever spoken to me and for everything he has done for me. I think back with a big smile of those bright days when Granny was up and going, well and happy. The days that she was truly in her element. Moving and shaking, smiling, laughing, organizing and arranging to make everything right. And after all this I want to drag those old movies out and watch them over and over again. If only to reacquaint myself with such a happy time. But for now I don't need those family movies because my mind is working fast with thoughts of those happy days that we knew on the Fourth of July.  In a quaint town in western Kentucky called Dawson Springs. A place that always makes my heart tender. A very special place.

Thank you Pat.