I was born August 6, 1921, at home in Irondale, Alabama. My parents were Merritte Ellard and Sallie Appleberry Ellard. I was their fifth child. I had two older brothers and two older sisters. Later I had a little brother who was three-and-a-half years younger than I.
I had the pleasure of growing-up with four of my five siblings. My oldest sister died at the age of thirteen when I was about ten months old. Therefore, I had no remembrance of her. She had fallen off a horse and died several months later at Children’s Hospital.
We were a normal, average family. My childhood was good, full of play time and meaningful work time. My parents were good, hard-working people and very well thought of by everyone who knew them. Papa was the hardest working man I have ever known – yet he was always laughing and joking with us. He lived every day he was alive and found joy in everything he did. He was very out-going and loved life. Mama worked from dawn till dark. She went about her work in a calm, quiet manner, never complaining about anything. She read her Bible everyday and was the leader in teaching us on spiritual and moral truths. She never raised her voice when correcting us when we misbehaved. She would talk to us in a calm, quiet voice, pointing-out to us why we should not have done whatever it was that we had done. If she and Papa ever fussed with each other, I never heard it.
With one parent being calm and reserved and the other parent being out-going and talkative, I feel that we children had the best set of parents anyone could have. We learned from both of them. We learned there is a time to work, a time to play, and a time to be quiet and reflect on how good God is to each of us.