My family moved a lot when I was a kid, but we finally settled into a place on KY SR5 at Princess, KY in 1963 when in was in the 5th grade. I lived there until I moved away in 1973. I have always considered Princess, KY my home.
I contacted an old Princess neighbor and friend Sharon Stewart Brumfield recently regarding my search for a group congregation image of Princess Chapel that I though she might have. Sharon is the slightly older sister of my friend and classmate Andy Stewart. They lived only a couple of houses from mine on KY SR5.
Sharon did not have the Princess Chapel image I was seeking, but she indicated she had some images of her Mother, Mary Coburn Stewart (1914 – 2010), and her extended family that I might like to see. Most of this extended “Coburn / Keffer / Shelton” family had lived in the Princess area throughout their lives. We met and Sharon agreed to let me scan her Mother’s images.
Lurking inside the same envelope with these family images was Sharon’s “Baby Book”. I must admit I was quite taken with this “Baby Book”. Inside were notations of things about Sharon that you might expect in a Baby Book like birthday, birth weight, first words, etc. But there were other items that particularly touched me. There were dozens of congratulatory notes to Sharon’s Mother, Mary Coburn Stewart, and notes that had been included with presents for the new baby. These notes were from all the older women in Princess that I knew and respected from my time there. All the women in this tight knit community wanted to congratulate Mary on her new child and social graces still ruled. These notes were from people who had been exceptionally kind, pleasant, and supportive of me in my youth. It was most endearing to me to just see their signatures on these notes.
There were notes from Mary Towler Kelley (1901-1971), my next-door neighbor, Ethel Keffer Shelton (1890-1972) , the purveyor of a small community grocery store, and Virgie Stephens Stewart (1906-1991), the grandmother of other close childhood friends, and there were dozens of others.
Sharon’s Mother, Mary Coburn Stewart, was a school teacher at the two room school at Rush, KY and later was a longtime worker at the school cafeteria at Cannonsburg Elementary School at Cannonsburg, KY.
Have a look at the entire “Baby Book” of Sharon Sue Stewart by clicking on the link below. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Sharon Sue Stewart’s Baby Book (click on this link)
A great thank you to Sharon Stewart Brumfield for her generous and thoughtful sharing of her “Baby Book.
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