L. T. ("Trav") Cranford died March 14, 1923 of prostate cancer. His obituary says that he was confined to his room for thirteen months and that his many friends, family and neighbors were constantly with him and did all they could for him. Lorene remembers being at the spring when he died and hearing them mourn, "Oh, what will I do?, What shall I do?" At the funeral she remembers they sang "Oh they tell me of an unclouded day" as the storm clouds rolled overhead at the cemetery.
"Grandpa" Cranford was gone before I was born, but I remember going to their house as a child to see "Grandma Cranford" (Josephine) and seeing the big grandfather clock and a spinning wheel. By that time spinning wheels were not commonly used. A few older people had them but I don’t recall seeing anyone actually use one, so I don’t know if theirs was still functional or not.
I remember going there to a "quilting", the only one I remember attending. The quilt’s pieces for the top had already been sewn together, placed over a layer of cotton (raised on their farm) and a lining, then attached to a quilting frame which hung from the ceiling. Friends and neighbors sat by each side of the quilt and hand sewed through two layers of fabric and the cotton on a design that had been marked on the quilt. I was probably about ten years old, but as I recall, I quilted for a little while. However, the main "contribution" of the children was to play with the other children and eat plenty of the good food prepared by the women when they would take a break from quilting.
Ada was the only one of their children who did not marry. She was a teacher for many years and taught just about everybody in the community at one time or another. When she began her career she probably had the kind of certificate people could get in those days by finishing a one-room school, going to a Normal School, and taking a test. However, she continued to add to her education in the summer and whenever she could until I believe she graduated from what was then called Arkansas State Teachers College at Conway, Arkansas.
Ada continued to live at home with her mother for many years while she taught at the Concord school, driving her little Model A coupe to school every day.