Jesse and I were both born in Searcy,
Arkansas. I was born on June 4, 1962 at the old
Hawkins Hospital and Jesse was born on December 23,1994 at Central Arkansas
Hospital . Both have since closed-I guess it is hard to get rid of evil. We
still live in Searcy but are getting subject to change.
My parents are Dale and Barbara Lawson Ellenburg . My dad
was born right here in Searcy on January 3, 1931 in an old house built for
slaves near where Brick Oven Pizza is now . My mom was
born
in the huge town of Center Hill and her age will not be disclosed here.
The
picture to the left is her at graduation and lets say I turned the picture
to black and white so as not to date it . My parents have been married for
53 years and were married on October 7 right here in Searcy . I have been
told all my life that they tried to divorce but it couldn't be decided who
had to take me . They are both graduates of Searcy High School and lets just
say dad played football when they had leather helmets (explains a lot). My
Father was a maintenance manager at Birdseye and Land O' Frost here in
Searcy for a combined 45 years and my Mother was a beautician here for over
30 years.
My
Mom's parents were Henry Delford Lawson and Jesse Strachener . They were
both from around the Gravel Hill area in White County. He ran several stores
in Searcy and Center Hill and in my early life ran a candy route for J. B.
Cramer out of Batesville, Arkansas. I used to love the candy truck -what kid
wouldn't ? My Grandmother was a homemaker and did work at the shoe factory
here in Searcy until I was born and then she retired to take care of me . My
son was named after her so I guess I appreciated it . The picture at the
left was made for an annual at the South Heights Freewill Baptist Church
where they were active members as long as they lived. My mother, Barbara ,
was their only child.
My Dad's parents were Robert
Lee Ellenburg and Bernice Margaret Brandon Ellenburg. I don't know much
about my Granddad as they divorced when my father was 8 years old. I only
saw him several times in my life and am sorry to say I don't even have a
picture of him to put on my
website. He worked as a policeman in Corinth , Mississippi the few times I
did see him as that is where he moved after the divorce. My Grandmother ,
Bernice, was a schoolteacher for her life and taught in Arkansas , Oklahoma,
and Kentucky that I know of. She lived to be 105 years old and passed
away in 1998. She has three children Thelma , Harold , and my Dad, Dale. The
picture at the right was taken on her 100th birthday . She never forgot what
she taught and even helped me through college algebra 20 years after
retiring.
I graduated Searcy High School in 1980.I
then went to work at Land O' Frost for a year as a
welder's
helper. After one year I sensed that wasn't how I wanted to spend my life
and enrolled at Arkansas State University at Beebe. I graduated there in
1983 with an Associate Degree in Business and Management .I then went to the
University of Central Arkansas and finished up my Bachelors Degree with a
major in Marketing and Economics. I was a President's List graduate and had
a 4.0 GPA in my majors.
Jesse was born when I was 32 years old
and came to live with me when I was 41.He wanted to live and if he wasn't
now we would still be having custody battles for him . I have provided him a
very stable home life and have gave him as much of my time as he needed and
wanted. I want him to have a good life and am not really too concerned with
anything else. He keeps me young and I enjoy being around him so much .
Whatever he wants to do -we do . He won't be young but once and we have a
lot of fun together.
Jesse loves to
skateboard and inline skate more than anything .I have bought him two half
pipes and set them up for him in my parents backyard. That way I know he is
safe and doesn't have to take any crap from other skaters at the public
parks. He , at 13, is employed by the 501 Skate Shop here in Searcy where he
is a salesman and somewhat of a teacher. It teaches him great responsibility
, manners, and most important where all those 20 dollar bills he asks for
(and gets) come from . He has a great personality and can really sell
anything-being cute probably doesn't hurt either.
More To Come....
