My great grandfather Robert Edward Butler married Beulah Phillips in 1888, and they proceeded to have more than 12 children. My grandmother Wilma Butler Hasty [Memaw, to me and the other grandchildren] was somewhere in the middle of the pack. The 7 Butler sisters were a force to be reckoned with, as a group and individually.
Left, the wedding photo. Granny was about 5'8 and weighed over 180 lbs. when she married. She could drive a buggy as well as a man - which most women couldn't do.
Right, the sisters. I believe they are, standing from left: Miriam, Dot, Hazel, Jenny, Wilma. Seated is Marcelle and the little girl is Barbara.
They were all smart and funny, but I have grown up on funny stories my mother told me about my aunt Hazel.
Hazel and Wilma were mischievous little girls.
As a child Hazel was punished for some misdeed by being locked in the smokehouse, where there were a number of watermelons stored. She took a crowbar and smashed every single melon.
Another time, she complained about going to school and having to sit near a boy who smelled bad. For years, all the Butler children had been taught by governesses so regular school must have come as a rude shock. Hazel complained, but nothing was done. So one day she took an inkwell and poured it down the back of his shirt. The next day he had to wear a different shirt.
Hazel and Wilma decided, as little girls, they would drive around Marietta in a car. My great grandfather was a visionary and as soon as cars started being mass produced he opened several car dealerships in Cobb County. I'm sure it wasn't a big deal for him to bring home new cars all the time. Wilma learned to drive at the age of 11! She would sit on the seat and steer and Hazel would work the pedals. Of course, there was no legal driving age back then.
Hazel married Orlando Awtrey [known to all as "Gan"] when she was a young woman. Gan was a sweet man, and they had a long marriage but it started out with Hazel showing him who was boss. Shortly after they wed, one night she slept too hard and accidentally wet the bed. Hazel slipped out of bed quietly and cleaned herself up and put on a fresh nightgown. Then she poked Gan and said "Wake up! YOU wet the bed! We have to change the sheets!"
Hazel went to college and was a schoolteacher for a short while, then Gan bought a store and they ran the store together for years. Sometime in the 1950's Hazel went to work for Lacey's drugstore in downtown Acworth, and was there for many years. She knew everyone in Acworth and was essentially a manager, Mom recalls. When someone in town died she always heard about it immediately, and she would send over a case of icy cold Coca Colas for the family, probably figuring there would be enough things to eat but folks would appreciate a cold drink. Most homes then weren't air conditioned.
As an older lady, Hazel once had to go to downtown Atlanta for some reason and walked into a big office building. She had to tinkle and accidentally went into the first bathroom she saw without paying attention to the door. She sat down on the toilet and looked under the door and noticed a lot of men's shoes. She realized she was in the men's bathroom! Not knowing what to do, she started singing a hymn, loudly. Suddenly all the men's shoes were running for the door. She kept singing, finished up, washed her hands, and walked out, to be greeted by a crowd of men glaring at her.
When my mother was in college, Hazel and Gan still owned their store and Mom was on a very strict budget and had no extra money. Hazel and Gan would pack her boxes of food and send them to her in Athens, and she was always enormously grateful. My grandparents both worked but didn't really understand that meals weren't included in tuition, and Mom had to work to save up for her own tuition and books. Hazel and Gan had 1 child, a son, but they loved Mom like their daughter.
After Hazel retired from the drugstore her boss generously gave her a free trip to Hawaii. She chose Wilma as her traveling companion. The highlight of their trip was Don Ho singing to them. Both their husbands were dead and the two sisters had a blast.
I was a little girl when Hazel died. Mother loved all her aunts but she really mourned Hazel, her second mother.
We should all be so lucky to have a "Hazel" in our lives...
Below, Hazel is seated in front. Dot wears a flowered dress, Wilma the red dress, and Marcelle is standing in back.