Million Dollar Legs

Grandma Fay on the left was born in 1910 during the depression. Coming from a family of 12 children life was hard. Around 1920 the family moved by wagon train to Texas, and according to her account many people died on that trip from the flu.

As the years past but still very young she got a job in El Paso as a telephone operator. Oh how she loved to tell the story of how she was called the Red Hot Operator. People would stand behind her and watch as a call came thru and there were so many different cables going everywhere, she would jiggle one at the bottom and know exactly which one it was.

The money that she made was taken home to help with such a big family. On her lunch break she would buy a nickel candy bar and go hide in the bathroom and eat it, not wanting anyone to know that was all she could afford.

Not sure what point in life she was in this picture, she is on the left and one of her sisters on the right. As she would get on the street car the men would whistle and tell her she had million dollar legs. She spoke of that many times in her later years.

Time passes and she marries a wonderful man, my grandpa . They had a farm in a small town Rodeo, NM where they both worked very hard. The town of Rodeo is and was very small and my grandparents owned the grocery store, her sister owned the hotel and my great Aunt Nancy owned the saloon.

After my grandfather’s passing from cancer she came to live with our family, and stayed with us for many years. Her and I often shared a bedroom so I heard her stories at night before we fell asleep.

Each month when her social security check arrived, she would get her favorite candy and some new Louis L’amour books which she loved. Also if my brothers and I were good she would have my mom drive us all to Dairy Queen in Douglas to buy dilly bars.

She passed on years later before I had my first son. I miss you Grandma!