| IRENE HALE CLOUD |
| Edith Irene Cloud was born November 11, 1926 in Tennessee. Her father James Hale and mother Rebecca Wilson Hale moved to Harlan County from Tennessee in hopes of finding work to feed their family. Polly was the oldest and Irene was the second child. The family was not successful the first move to Harlan County and had to travel back to Tennessee to beg Rebecca's father and mother to help them out with food and shelter. Mamow's father turned them away and refused to help. He hate Mamow Hale because as a little girl of 8 years old she caught him in bed with her mother's sister. The sister seemed to be the love of his life and she was sent away. Mamow Hale was almost beat to death by her father and her mother had to send Rebecca to a member of her family to keep her safe. They eventually traveled back to Harlan County with Papow's brother and they both got jobs in the coal mines. They settled into one of the many coal camps built by the coal companies. When Irene was six years old was allowed to go lived with a young family in the camp to help the wife out because she was pregnant. Mom would get up with the sun, do chores for the lady, walk to the coal mines with his dinner and then come back and get ready to catch the school bus. Mom's sisters and brothers only wore their shoes from November to March (from snow season to snow season). Mom ran around without any shoes most of the time. When she did go to school she was ashamed of her clothes and would hide and eat her pitiful lunch of mashed up pinto beans on bread that Mamow Hale made each day. There was a new brother or sister almost every year. There were ten children who survived and two who died. With each new addition to the family there was less food and clothing to go around. When mom was 9 years old she beganing helping out a family who lived next door. Before long all her clothes were there. Their name was Hale also. Mr. Hale worked for the railroad and they could be considered middle class. Her mother and father moved to another location near by. Mom worked for her room and board. There were a lot of donated goods from church groups, I can only assume that she found clothes this way. One time Mamow Hale was ordering clothes for her brothers and sisters from a mail order catalog, mom must have been visiting. Mom asked Mamow if she was going to buy her some clothes for school. Mamow Hale said yes, but when the clothes were delivered there was nothing for mom. Mamow Hale gave her a beating for crying. There was no garbage collectors in the early 1900s. So people either burned their garbage or dumped it on the creek bank or in the creek. Mom would walk up and down the creek looking at the things other people threw away. She found a pair of black patent leather shoes. Someone probably out grew them. Mom was so proud of those shoes. They were probably the most treasured pair of shoes she ever had. Mom experienced some things that she would never have when she lived with this family. She went with them to a fair and someone who owned a small airplane was selling rides in the airplane. Mom jumped at the chance to go for a plane ridge. Mom was always the first to try new things. She was taken to her first movie, Gone with the Wind. When she was 15 her father's brother who lived in Tennessee drowned and left his wife with several small children. Mom took the bus over to their home to helped out. She had to wash all of the children's clothes on a scrub board. Papow Hale found out she was working her self to death and told her to come home. Mom came back and went home to live, Hale family that she lived with moved to Louisville, Ky shortly after that. Mom tried to keep going to high school but she quit. She was embarassed by her old clothes and shoes. She hid to eat her lunch because all she had was home made breat with mashed up pinto beans. Junior Cloud saw her and started courting. Mamow Hale told him all of mom,s best home making qualities so he would marry her. Papow Hale was dead set against it. But mom really didn't have a choice because she was taking food from her siblings and up space at home without any means to help support the family. Daddy had just moved out of his home and needed a wife to take care of him the way his mother did. Continued . . . . |
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| Left: Polly Hale, Rebecca Hale, Irene Hale. Above: Irene Hale at 15 years old. |
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