I am very pleased to announce that the semester has ended and I am free from school for 3 weeks! That means I have lots of free time, and you can expect lots of stories here on Mountain Blood! I came home to stay through Mother's Day weekend, and I was lucky enough to sit down and talk with a lady whose macaroni salad deserves an award. So if you've got a minute, I encourage you to kick back and read this story about the life of Mavis McKinney Bailes.
Mavis was born in Clay County, WV in 1936 to Leslie "Les" McKinney and Roxy McKinney. She was the oldest of 9 children. They had a farm, and Les was a mail carrier for 21 years, and he was also a caretaker for his employer's property.
Since Mavis was the oldest child, her duties included keeping up with the dishes, carrying water, and helping her mother with the little ones. In the summer, Mavis and her siblings would swim in what she calls "nature's swimming pool," also known as the Blue Hole in Clay County.
Mavis attended school until her junior year, and then she moved to Nettie, WV in Nicholas County to help take care of her ailing grandmother. It was in Nettie that she met Charles Bailes. Charles ended up in the service, and she briefly moved back to Clay County, but they were married after he returned in 1958. They have 4 children, 7 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren, and even a few great-great-grandchildren.
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| Mavis and Charlie before they were married. |
Mavis has spent her whole life in West Virginia, and I asked her how the Great Depression affected her life in the mountains. She explained that the livestock and produce were raised on the farm, and only the most basic necessities, such as coffee and sugar, were store bought. To this day, Mavis lives on a farm where they raise their own chickens and get food from the garden, and they can their vegetables for the colder seasons.
I asked Mavis several questions about growing up in Appalachia, and I learned that she didn't have indoor plumbing or television until she was in her teens. I asked her if she enjoyed spending her life in West Virginia, and her reply was, "I'd take these mountains and rivers any day." I asked her if she would of liked to live anywhere else, and her response was an immediate "No way!" To wrap things up, I asked Mavis what is happiest memory of living in West Virginia, and she says it's the day she married her husband of 57 years. Thank you for reading, and thank you Mavis for sharing!
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| Bailes Farm in Nettie, WV. |
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| Bailes Farm in Nettie, WV. |
*Do you have a relative or friend that you think should be a Featured Appalachian? Do you have stories about raising your own food or life in the Great Depression? I'd love to hear about it at mountainbloodwv@gmail.com.
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Mavis' father Les was my mother's first cousin. Loved reading this article.
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