Bessie Cove Nussey

Bessie lived past her 104th birthday. On that birthday, her picture was shown on NBC-TV while the weather reporter Willard Scott congratulated her on her birthday. Scott's birthday greetings to people who were 100 years old or older were a regular feature of The Today Show on NBC for many years. Here below are her personal memories written when she was 82 years old.

Papa, Why Are The Trees and Grass So Green" - Memories of an eight-two year old lady

Added by dholland150 on 24 May 2008

Written by Bessie Clark Nussey, daughter of George William Clark - copy provided by Gurrie Rhoads --

This question was asked by a little five year old girl, as she was riding in a horse drawn buggy down a hill in april, when the trees along the river below were coming out so pretty and green. He answered, "Honey, God made them green because it is the souftest color for the eyes." That was seventy-seven years ago, now I feel I would like to tell some of my memories through the years.

Oh! such happy days. I was the youngest of eight children, five sisters and two brothers. My parents were fine Christian people and they brought us up to have faith and love God. Always we knelt for family worship at night; I am sorry to say I fell asleep many a night on my knees.

When I started to school I had to walk two miles morning and afternoon. My oldest sister taught school for five years, in the one room schoolhouse. She had about 35 to 40 scholars. We loved her dearly as a teacher, and she had such well behaved classes. She stressed reading, writing and arithmetic. She wrote a beautiful scribe. We used the Spencerian copy books and how we prided ourselves on how neat they could be. On Friday afternoons we would have spelling bees on naming the states and capitals which I learned as a small child and never forgot. After five years I went to private school and rode horseback on my little horse "Champ".

I think my first recollections are of going to Sunday School. I had a sweet old lady for a teacher and every Sunday she would come in with a slat basket on her arm, and she would have a stick of candy or cookie and apple for every pupil when the lesson was over. At Christmas we would have a big Christmas tree in the church, trimmed with net bags, filled with hard candy and nuts or an orange for the children. The entertainment was put on by the children and such happy little faces when we would get up to recite. My father took us to church in a lumber wagon pulled by two horses. We would get up in the straw and in winter time cover up in heavy homemade quilts. The weather seemed so cold in those days.

We lived on a farm named "Willow Oaks", there were two large oaks in the front yard. We lived in a log cabin until I was five years old, then my father built a nice nine room house. My paternal grandparents lived across the river from us. My grandfather* operated a grist mill, turned by a big water wheel. He ground the meal for neighbors for miles around and it was a treat for me to go and watch the big mill wheel go 'round and see the meal come out so soft and white. My grandparents were lovely old folk. Both played the fiddle and how they enjoyed life. They loved to entertain the grandchildren. My maternal grandparents** died when my mother was six years old, so we never knew but one pair of grandparents. My grandfather was a small man, he always wore a black tie and white linen coat in the summer. My brother tells of one occasion when grandfather was leading a cow to pasture - the cow ran with him and pulled grandfather down and dragged him. My brother said when he got up, he shook his fist at the cow and said, "I am of a great mind to stomp your guts out!" It tickled my brother so to think that a man so small would think he could do that. Their home was up on a hill with a small brook running at the bottom of the hill. There was a small bridge across the brook and we would fish with bent pin hooks, trying to catch the little fish or tadpoles.

My father's brother and his wife, Bettie, lived about two miles from our farm. They had six boys and two girls, just reverse from our family. We were like one big family. All the boys had lovely voices and all loved to sing. We had a piano and pump organ, and Papa played the violin. On Sunday afternoons all would gather at our home and such singing! I still think I can hear the old hymns. Aunt Bettie was left a widow while so young and reared the family alone. One funny thing that I remember, Aunt Bettie had an old red rooster that followed her everyplace around the farm. One day she went in her garden to plant green peas. She had dropped them in the row and when she reached the end, she looked back and the rooster had come on behind her and had eaten all the peas. She caught him, cut his craw open, took the peas out, sewed his craw up, then planted the peas. She had a good yield of peas and the old red rooster lived a long life.

My father was in the Civil War. He enlisted at the age of seventeen. He was in for two years and was with General Robert E. Lee when he surrendered at Appomatox Court House. He walked the 135 miles home, with no shoes on his feet. How we would enjoy hearing him tell of the war, as we sat around the fire on winter nights, while my mother sat and knitted our stockings and Papa's socks. She would card and spin the wool from our neighbor's sheep. My parents were married four years after the war. They were so happy and both worked together. Papa was a wonderful farmer, always so many vegetables and watermelons in the summertime. We had company all summer. One cousin was a Baptist preacher and he would come with his eight children and stay a month. We would have protracted meetings each summer. They lasted a week and would be all day meetings. My mother and older sisters would prepare the dinner to take to the church; fried chicken, ham, pies, cakes and homemade bread. All the members did the same and dinner was served to everyone there. Tables out under the great trees on the church lawn. Our church was built in 1788 and is called Massaponax. *** The story goes that an old colored man was in an ox cart with his master and they crossed the river, the water came up in the cart and the master got on the back of the oxen, and the colored man said, "Lawd, look at Massa 'pun an ox". Hence the name Massaponax. (South of Fredericksburg, Va.)****

My oldest brother was nineteen years old when I was born.***** He didn't have much to do with me at first, but when I started to walk I would follow him every place; then how he loved me. How I hated to see him go off to New York to college. After graduation he went to teach in Seattle College as a professor of math. He married a classmate from Oregon, they taught for two years then went to India as missionaries, where they served for seven years. How we missed him, feeling he was so far away. On returning to the states they made their home in Seattle. The other brothers and sisters all married and lived in different states, but all would try to come home during the summer months for a visit, my! what a happy time that would be.

I married my schoolmate, (Joe Nussey) who lived a mile away. He went to Richmond to work after finishing school. We married in 1912. We had the happiest life together, and celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary in 1962. He passed away in 1968, my heart was almost broken, but our children have been so good to me. We were blessed with three girls and one son. I have eight grandchildren and one great grandchild. We moved from Richmond in 1920 and live in a small town. We both belonged to the Baptist church and brought our children up to love the Lord. Now that I live alone, I spend much time reading and doing handiwork. I have had both eyes operated on for cataracts in the past two years and now can see to sew for myself and have made seven afghans for gifts to my grandchildren.

This past summer I went back to my old home church for their annual homecoming service. After the eleven o'clock service, the ladies of the church went out to large tables, set up on the church lawn, and filled them with all kinds of the most delicious food. As I sat there and looked around, I missed so many of the loved ones I had known, and what a change - no horse drawn buggies, carriages or ox carts that I remembered of years gone by. The church too, changed, automatic heat and air conditioned, electric organ, electric lights and so beautifully painted. The building had been used as a hospital during the Civil War, and in renovating had removed paint back to the plaster, and found names of some of the soldiers who had been hospitalized there. All of these have been preserved. During the afternoon service, I'm afraid I didn't hear too much of the sermon for reminiscing. My father was a deacon there for fity years and Sunday School superintendent for twenty-five. He passed away in 1925, the first break in our family circle.

My mother****** broke up housekeeping and would spend her time visiting each of the children. She spent her winters in my home. How wonderful it was for our children to have the love of a Christian grandmother, and they were very devoted to her. She had broken her hip and had used crutches for five years. One morning she was sitting on my porch reading her Bible, Matthew 17:20. She said she heard a voice so clear say, "Get up and walk". She went on reading and heard it again. This time she got up without a pain, without the aid of her crutches and came walking in the house with the brightest smile on her face. It was truly a miracle healing. She live to the age of eighty-seven years.

I have one sister living, she is 84 years old. She spends some time with me during the winter months and how we love to talk of the old days, and how happy we were growing up. My father's favorite Bible verse was: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matt. 6:33) He said he could truthfully say he never wanted for anything. I can say the same. I have so many lovely friends and everyone is so good to me. The grandchildren can't realize that I never saw an airplane or automobile in my young days. They think I'm 'really old'. Who would have thought in the year I was born, 1889, that men would ever walk on the moon?

So many memories I could write of that come to my mind. The quilting parties, ladies making designs of the 'Star', 'Dresden Plate', 'Double Wedding Ring' and so many others. After the quilting the dinners that were served. Papa butchered and made his own lard and sausage, cured hams. He had a colored couple living on the farm, and how kind they were. "Aunt" Caroline helped Mama in the house and "Uncle" Arch worked on the farm and garden with Papa.

Isn't it strange when fold get old they love to think of the past, and how good the Lord has been to them, and then the present and what a wonderful time to be living, and then the future and finally the day of being reunited with our loved ones that have gone on before.

                                  "Memories - Present and Past"

                                   Mrs. Joseph W. Nussey, Sr.

                                    510 Highland Avenue

                                   Colonial Heights, Virginia  23834

• Reference: FamilySearch Family Tree - SmartCopy: Dec 31 2022, 0:11:08 UTC