Interview with Elizabeth - Confident, Capable, Achieving
- patdurmon
- 4 hours ago
- 7 min read
Elizabeth, you have a recognizable voice. You have a Southern drawl. Where did you grow up?
I grew up on a rice-soybean farm three miles east of Otwell, Arkansas. Otwell is about 12 miles south of Jonesboro, Arkansas. That’s where my brothers and sisters and I went to school and church. I was baptized in that little Otwell Church when I was 14. My family had cattle, swine, gardens, and lots of hard work on the farm. I remember pumping water, picking peas, going to the woods with neighbors to gather the dewberries and hickory nuts. Neighbors hunted for meat, but my dad was against killing, I think. He did not hunt.
You come from a large family. How many children? What was that like for you?
My mom and dad had eight children: four girls, then two boys, then two more girls. I was the third oldest girl. My oldest sister felt responsible for all of her siblings. As third girl, I did not.
I do recall my mom making our clothes. Sometimes I’d look forward to my older sister outgrowing her pretty clothes, because I would be next to wear them. We heated the iron in the fireplace or on the wood stove, churned milk to make butter, shared a bike with brothers and sisters. My mother had rules we lived by: No teasing. No running in the house. No ugly words allowed. She always said she didn’t like the chicken breast, so she ate the back of the chicken. We thought it was her preferred piece—but after my daddy passed, Mama ate the breast.
And did you get private time with your mother?
Moments. I remember one special time when everyone was asleep but Mama and me, and she gave me a biscuit and a piece of meat. Another time, I was about 12 and eavesdropping. Mama was showing Dad the topstitching I’d done. I was pleased at how proud she was of my stitches.
We need that affirmation from a parent. I’m glad you eavesdropped. How about school?
I remember being seven years old and in the fourth grade. I think if you could sit up straight and hold your mouth closed, the teacher passed you on to the next grade. But when I changed over to Valley View School, fourth and fifth grades were hard. I was behind my class! Guess I caught up, though, because everything became easy after ninth or tenth grade. I graduated when I was 16. (We had two valedictorians in our family. Not me.) I worked for the County School Superintendent for a year. I made $135 per month.
You may not have been a valedictorian, but you landed a good job. I struggled to manage the money I made when I was 18. Could you manage the money? Or did you blow it?
I could manage money. I probably saved over half of every month’s salary. When my younger sister started college, I decided to go, too. I spent my money on tuition and still had money to pay for half the furniture Bob and I bought when we married. That was 1955.
Valedictorian or not, Elizabeth, you were a smart one. I think I first met you in the late 1970s. I remember you lived on a county road, and you knew how to raise a garden. You had two children. That was a while ago!
I think it was probably in the fall of 1978. We had a 20-acre farm. I don’t even know if you can call 20 acres a farm or not, but we lived on a WPA county road. Bob and I married when I was nearly 19. We bought that land from my maternal grandparents.
We all have our struggles. Can you tell about a big struggle for you in those early years?
Bob and I had been married 13 years and no children. He was a banker, and I worked as a secretary for 10 years at G.E. Finally, Bob and I decided to adopt, and that little girl and little boy became the highlights of our world. I quit working at G.E. when our daughter came to us. That’s when I became a homemaker. It’s what I wanted to be, it’s what I wanted to do. I gardened, canned food, sewed clothes for the children. It was like I was “playing house.” Bob was a good provider, so my world was about family and church.
Later, in 1985, you became the office manager/secretary/jack-of-all-trades for Counseling Associates where I was a counselor. Judy Fleming and I needed your office skills as our business began to grow. All three of us lived in or near Jonesboro at the time. Judy and I knew you to be trustworthy and capable, so we didn’t hesitate to hire you when we could afford to do so. What was your life like at that time?
My oldest was 18, my son was 16. I’d been wallpapering because my sister needed some help. Sometimes I helped her at night and still worked for Counseling Associates during the day. At some point, I started taking night classes at A.S.U. while I worked for Counseling Associates.
Elizabeth, I admire you for going back to college many years after you had children and had been in the working world. What was the hardest thing about that?
The hardest thing was making the decision to do it.
Then you went into nursing?
Yes, I could see that RNs were paid well. I’ve always worked with my mind and my hands, so I thought I could do it. Grants helped me to be able to afford to go back to school without working. I also sold a piece of land. It took two years for me to complete the degree.
You and Bob were divorced at this point, right?
Yes, after 33 years of marriage. You know, I’m not really okay about telling his story, so I think I’ll just stick to telling my story. He passed away 19 years ago.
That’s fine. I like that you know where you start and stop, what’s comfortable and what’s not. Let’s stay with what feels right for you. You worked in nursing homes, didn’t you?
I did. I started in Truman, AR, and became the Director of Nursing while there. Then I worked in Caraway, then Monette, then Jonesboro. I was in nursing 15 years before I retired in 2010.
You have spent years helping and serving others. Since retirement, what have you been up to?
Oh, I go to church and I’ve spent more time with sisters. Anna Lee and Jan have been my best friends as well as my sisters. I guess that’s why I have never worried about having a lot of friends over the years. Anna Lee and Jan have always filled that spot for me.
Elizabeth, tell us about baking and making rolls. You are the only person I’ve ever known to make rolls for sale. You sold them at Farmer’s Market for years, and now, people still call and place orders for your rolls.
It all started with a fundraiser. I knew I could put my cinnamon rolls up against anybody else’s. So, after that fundraiser was over, I began to see my cinnamon rolls could be sold to help others or to make money.
Eye-opening?
Yes, and I have figured out how to make 100 pans if I need to.
You do seem to have an abundance of energy and creativity flowing through you.
When I see a need, I want to fill it. I just move on it. I can drop anything to work in a mess. No problem. I watch my time, of course. I can stand on my feet and make cinnamon rolls for an hour, but then I need to take a rest. After my break, I can make 10 more pans before I take the next break.
I am just stunned, Elizabeth. You have this down to a science. Do you ever do this for community groups?
Yes, I’ve done it for the Police Department and the Salvation Army. Sometimes, I just want to say thank you. This is my way. Other large groups, of course, have called and bought my cinnamon rolls.
Here’s a big question: how old are you? What’s your greatest surprise?
I’m 88½ years old. I am so surprised I’ve lived this long, and I’m surprised I’m still healthy. My mind’s pretty good, too. I am so thankful for my mind!
Would you say what’s been good about the last 10 years for you?
I actually like my life. I have time for my prayers, my family, my work, my flowers.
Elizabeth, you are highly active for your years. I am happy for you. I’m wondering what you give credit to for this good health of yours?
I must have good genes, and I don’t go to a drive-thru restaurant for food. I go to the stove. I eat almost no processed foods. I believe in fresh produce.
You seem joyful to me. What happened to that big family you grew up in?
Our family is so big now. Sixty of us got together last Christmas for a party at a church. We try to do this yearly. However, my brothers and sisters and I get together at my house every Wednesday for lunch. Sadly, we lost our two sisters, Jan in December 2020; Anna Lee, in February 2021.
Big losses and so close together. Your dear sisters, your dear friends.
Yes, big losses.
Hard to get past our losses. I’m glad to hear you get together. Creative.
And my brothers and sisters and I have invited one of Sherry’s friends to join our family on Wednesdays. She has lost her husband and her son. We all adopted her, and she has adopted us, so now we have an “adopted sister.” I cook for this crowd, but they donate a little money to the pot, so I can keep cooking for them! It works out.
I’d say your “adopted sister” and the rest of you are blessing one another. You are keeping the love flowing in spite of losses. So good to see this in a family. Elizabeth, do you have any advice for the rest of us?
Be open to receive God’s gifts. Listen and watch.
Thank you. I hear the wisdom in it. May God keep blessing you and your entire family. So glad I know you.
Elizabeth, 88 and going strong. And she makes cinnamon rolls on a grand scale! Sketch by Mary Chambers from Jonesboro, Arkansas.
Poetry Books by Pat Durmon
Prose by Pat Durmon
The story of Lee R. Farrier from Norfork, Arkansas, is Pat's first book of prose and a tribute to Lee, the town of Norfork, and its people. All profits from sales go toward a scholarship at Norfork High School.
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