This is a short biographical sketch of the lives of Ira Ayers and his wife Helen Derrie. It very briefly describes where they lived, worked and worshipped during their lifetimes. Since they are my mother and father, I call them Mom and Dad in this post. I realize that I have already described some of Dad’s and Mom’s early days in previous posts, but I want to include some of that same information again in this post to have a complete summary for both Mom and Dad.

 

Walnut Mountain, Pioneer, TN

Ira Ayers (Dad) was born in a log house similar to the one shown on Walnut

Mountain, in Campbell County, TN on November 14, 1913, and was raised there on a 42 acre farm. The property was located off Adam Hollow Rd off Stinking Creek Rd. The mailing address was RFD #1, Pioneer, TN. It was about 25 miles to LaFollette, TN by road, but less than half that across the mountains on foot or horseback.

 

As the oldest child, he worked many long hard days on the farm alongside his Father, and shouldered many other family responsibilities.

 

 Seveirville, TN

Dad enlisted into the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCCs) in his early 20s. He was first stationed at the CCC camp in the Smoky Mountains National Park where he helped clear land for roads and campgrounds. He stayed at that camp from June 18, 1935 until March 16, 1936.

Norris, TN

After being in the CCCs for 9 months, Dad was transferred to the camp at Norris, TN which was much closer to home. At this location, he helped clear land for roads and recreation areas around the newly constructed Norris Dam. He worked there from March 16, 1936 until September 30, 1937 when he was discharged from the CCCs. During this period he was hospitalized for 3 months at Ft. Oglethorpe, GA due to a serious accident in which he almost cut off the front of his left foot with an axe.

Charlie Hollow, Stinking Creek, TN

After returning from the CCCs, Dad moved back home to the farm and worked with his brother Addison at the Charlie Hollow Coal Mines. He did not like the work.

Jacksboro, TN

Helen Derrie, (Mom) was born in Jacksboro, TN on March 7, 1923.  She was a middle child in a large family. Jacksboro is the Seat of Campbell County.

LaFollette, TN

Mom moved with her family to LaFollette, TN when she was only 6 months old. When she was 14, the family moved to a house on Hwy 25W at Coke Oven Hill.  Part of the unpainted house can be seen in the picture of her father.  They were extremely poor and Mom had to drop out of school and lie about her age so she could get a job in the local shirt factory.

As a young teenager, Mom worked in the shirt factory in Lafollette. There she was paid by the number of pieces sewed in a day.  It was called “piecework”.

 

She met Dad at a square dance.  They got married on January 2, 1942 and moved to Baltimore, MD for only a few months until Dad was drafted in the Army.  When he went into the service, Mom moved back home with her family in LaFollette, TN.  She continued to live there until their first child, Dennis Ira Ayers (me), was born on December 28, 1942.

2112 Coker Ave., Knoxville, TN

After I was born, Mom soon moved with me to live with her older sister, Lillian, at her house at 2112 Coker Ave. in Knoxville, TN. Aunt Lilley had made the invitation to make sure that Mom and I had better living conditions while I was still a baby. Mom lived there from about January 1943 for a year.

911 N. Calvert St, Baltimore, MD

Before the War, Dad had actually moved to Baltimore with his cousin Leonard Ferguson in May 1941, and worked in a body and fender shop. (Don’t know where he lived during that time.)

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941, he returned to LaFollette and married Mom on Jan 2, 1942. Together they returned to Baltimore for a short time in early 1942 and he got a job with the B&O Railroad. When he was drafted in April, he and Mom traveled back to LaFollette.  After the War, they again moved back to Baltimore where the B&O had held his job for him. They first lived in an apartment at 911 N. Calvert Street from January 1946 to March 1948, and acted as superintendents for apartments in two large 3 Story townhouses. Mom collected rents and Dad kept the coal furnaces fired up for heat to all the apartments. They received a reduction in the rent of their own apartment for their efforts.-

107 N. Carey St., Baltimore, MD

They rented an apartment at 107 N. Carey Street from March 1948 to May 1948. The townhouse was across the street from a small park and was the first and only house they ever lived in that had a bathroom shower. Not sure why they lived here only two months except perhaps it was the opportunity to buy their own house which caused them to move again quickly.

2235 Guilford Ave., Baltimore, MD

They bought a 3 story townhouse at 2235 Guilford Avenue in May 1948, and lived there until March 1950. They rented out an apartment on the top floor. On Saturdays, I was allowed to go with some older kids to the movies several blocks away on Greenmount Ave. They were comfortable in this house, but Dad yearned to move to the country.

This is where their second child, Helen Carol Ayers, was born on February 18, 1950.

During the years they lived in the city, they always used public transportation. They bought their first car, a 1947 Gray Pymouth, when they got ready to move to the country in 1950.

 

                                         Baltimore City Church

In the 1940s, Mom and Dad became devout Christians. They attended the Christian & Missionary Alliance church for most of the time they lived in Baltimore City, and for several more years even after moving to the country.  It was located at the corner of Guilford Ave and Lanvale Street. I remember many long rides on Sundays to this church, sometimes twice a day from out in the country.  Mom always liked to round up as many neighbor children as possible and take them to Sunday School.

 

1676 Woodstock Rd., Woodstock, MD

In November 1949. they bought a 7.5 acre farm on Old Court Rd, Woodstock, in Howard County MD.

The property contained a small three bedroom, one bath house with a coal fired furnace. The house had been built in the late 1920s where an old one room schoolhouse once stood.  A flagpole in the front yard and and remnants of an old seesaw in the side yard were reminders of an earlier era. However, Mom was pregnant with Carol and needed frequent attention at Lutheran Hospital in the city. So, they didn’t move to this property until April 1950, after Carol was born and the weather had begun warming.

This is the house where their third child, Annette Arlene Ayers, was born on January 11, 1959.

The mailing address was at first just Rt #1, Woodstock, MD, but it was changed around 1970 to 1676 Woodstock Rd. After living there for 53 years they were forced to move for health reasons in April 2003.

Ellicott City Church

Seven years after moving to Howard County, Mom and Dad finally transferred to the First Church of God in Ellicott City.  They attended church there from around 1957 until the mid 1980s, over 25 years. Attending church functions was their primary social outlet, and they continued taking neighborhood children to Sunday School.

Rogers Avenue Church

In the mid 1980s, Mom and Dad left the small church in downtown Ellicott City to join the much larger Crossroads Church of the Nazarene located closer to home on Rogers Avenue. This church offered them many more opportunities for fellowship in their older years. They really enjoyed being in the Primetimers senior’s group.

Camden Yards Rail Yard, Baltimore, MD

Dad first went to work for the B&O Railroad on March 5, 1942, but after only one month of service he was drafted into the Army. The B&O held his job for him until he could resume work as a Brakeman after the war was over. His primary base of work was the Camden Rail Yard in Baltimore City. This site is where the Oriole Baseball Park at Camden Yards is located today.

 

Locust Point Rail Yard, Baltimore, MD

Dad also worked months at a time at the B&O Locust Point Rail Yard located near Ft. McHenry in Baltimore. He was a member of the Railroad Workers Union and over the years gained considerable seniority in the Union. As a result, his job was secure and he always was able to “bump” workers with less seniority to work shifts and locations which he preferred. For example, he almost always worked the 3:00PM to 11:30PM second shift which allowed him to do farm work in the mornings.

Dad retired in August 1978 with 36 years and 5 months service. His last position was Yard Foreman. He was 65 years old.

Spring Grove State Hosptial, Catonsville, MD

After working at home to pass her GED test, Mom took a job with the State of MD in a nurses training program at the Spring Grove State Hospital located in Catonsville, MD in 1965. Under this program she eventually became a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), and worked with mentally handicapped patients. She worked at this hospital until about 1970.

Springfield State Hospital, Sykesville, MD

Sometime around 1970, Mom transferred to the Springfield State Hospital in Sykesville, MD which was an easier commute from home. At this facility she was trained and assumed the duties of an Industrial Therapist. In this job she assigned handicapped patients to various jobs around the hospital campus to develop skills for employment after leaving the hospital. She really liked this job and took great pride in her work.

Mom retired from the state of MD in June 1983 after 18 years of service. She was 60 years old.

 

LifeSpring Assisted Living Home, Catonsville, MD

Over the years, Dad developed severe arthritis in his hips and ankles and had a hip replaced in his early 80s. Mom had a severe hearing problem and developed Parkinson’s Disease in her 70s.  So, in April 2003, due to failing health, Mom and Dad moved together into the LifeSpring Assisted Living Home in Catonsville, MD. At first they were very apprehensive, but they soon learned to like the facility, which was a converted old mansion. They were able to share a large bedroom together. Their strong faith always remained and strengthened them.

However, In the following months, Dad’s health took a turn for the worse, and it was necessary for him to move to a Nursing Home in November 2003. In addition to dementia, Dad suffered from mini-strokes that caused trouble swallowing. This led to severe malnutrition.

 

Mom continued to live at LifeSpring for almost another year until she fell and broke her pelvis in October 2004.  Already suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, the use of morphine to relieve the pelvic pain at the hospital caused her to slip into a semi-conscious state from which she never recovered. At that time she too needed to move to a Nursing Home.

 

St. Elizabeths Nursing Facility, Baltimore, MD

Dad went first to St. Elizabeths Nursing Home in November 2003 and was well cared for until he died on December 31, 2003 at age 90.

 

Mom went to St. Elizabeths in October 2004 and was well cared for until she died on January 12, 2005, a little over a year later than Dad. She was 81 years old.

 

Crestlawn Memorial Gardens, Ellicott City, MD

Mom and Dad are both laid to rest at Crestlawn Memorial Gardens Cemetery on Sand Hill Road in Ellicott City. This is the final resting place for their tired bodies as I know their spirits are at home in Heaven.