A House of Their Own

In the mid 1940's Jasper and Elvira bought the Methodist Church parsonage in Dozier and moved into the house which had about three acres of land.

Lee and Frances needed their own home. Lee's father transferred a small portion of his acreage for Lee and Frances to build a small four room house of their own. Lee's father and brothers helped build the house in the early 1950's and this is where Lee lived with his family for the rest of his life.

The top picture shows Lee in a light shirt, brother Buford resting, Jasper with the shovel, my sister Glenda and me on bikes. We were in the front yard of Lee's new house as the men were building an enclosure for the well pump and water storage tank.

The next picture is the same setting with Lee's sister Nettie wearing sunglasses, Ann (my mother holding her new baby Tim), Glenda and Dorothy standing side-by-side, and our cousin Vicki Merritt. The house and buildings in the background are the former parsonage property where Jasper and Elvira lived.

The house of Lee, Frances, and Dorothy is in the below picture. This four room, one bath house was their home. Throughout the years, they expanded the house slightly by adding and enclosing front and back porches. They maintained a neat outside appearance and comfortable furnishings inside.

Frances had strong faith in the Lord. She was active in church at New Bethel Baptist and later at Macedonia Baptist. She sang in the choir, sang in a quartet, and taught Adult Sunday School. She didn't drive a car until later in life. Lee drove her to church and returned to pick her up at the end of services.

Lee did not attend church as none of his family did while his siblings grew up. I have often wondered why they didn't attend church since the community was tight-knit, rural, and sparsely populated. Pleasant Hill Methodist and New Bethel Baptist Churches were nearby. Most of the Anderson siblings joined churches when they became adults.

I asked several of them why the Anderson family didn't attend church when they were young. The most plausible response I got was that Lee did visit Pleasant Hill Church one time as a boy. A lady in the church commented negatively to him about wearing bib-overalls to church. He never returned.

Return here on Sunday, June 11 for more about the life of Lee Anderson.

Have a good day!