Where It All Began for Us
Ask any of the 12 Hisel cousins and they will tell you that the two people in the picture above represent our heritage and history more than anyone else. Thomas Greenberry Hisel (September 13, 1891 - death date) and Emma Lee Harris Hisel (May 20, 1891 - death) were married (number of years) and were the parents of 5 children, 12 grandchildren, and more grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren than we can count!
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I call him Grandpa Hisel, but other cousins call him Pa (or maybe Paw.) Many friends called him Uncle Tom. He was the oldest of 10 children and was born and lived in Athens, Kentucky until the family moved to town during World War 2. Grandpa completed sixth grade and worked in the early part of his life as a sharecropper, ran a dairy for a period of time, and worked in construction. During World War 2 he worked in an aircraft factory in Indiana. Later in life, he worked in construction and finished his work as a contractor for Perry Lumber Company in Lexington. Pa and Mr. Perry were good friends. Most likely, Mr. Perry appreciated Pa's ability to "cipher" (a lost art today). Ciphering means to do math "in your head" and at that Grandpa was the best! I certainly benefited from his help with my math homework.
Grandma Emma was born in Hitchens, Kentucky. Her father, William Harris, worked for the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad as a line foreman. They moved to the Lexington area, and at one point, lived at Brighton Station. Grandma finished 3rd grade (which was not uncommon at that time). The oldest of 6 children, she spent most of her teenage years caring for her younger brothers and sisters. When she was old enough to work "for the public," Granny caught the train at Brighton Station into downtown Lexington to work at first in a sewing factory and then at Schulte's Department Store. We all know Granny Hisel for her cooking, especially her chicken and dumplings, and for her Appalachian superstitions and sayings.
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All of us remember Grandpa and Grandma Hisel as wise, hardworking, gracious and loving grandparents. Pa's humor was well-known to us, and Ma's Scotch-Irish temper was something we all feared. I know that my sisters and I are thankful for all we learned from our grandparents.
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