Words Have Meaning. Names Have Power
I have some powerful women in my ancestry. I’ve written about some of them. In particular, there is my Great Grandma on the maternal side, Mamie Lou Neely Loughridge. Grandma was an early settler in Oklahoma. Born in Lookout Mountain, Georgia in 1888, she and my great-grandad Columbus Franklin Loughridge settled in Oklahoma in the 1920s on Indian Grant land. Yes, I do have mixed feelings about that, but that is a topic for another day.
- “A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.” — Diane Mariechild, writer.
Mamie Lou was the most influential woman in my life. She taught me to read. She was my refuge in troubled times. Spending time with her on the farm in rural Oklahoma is the best memory of my lifetime. She was my champion up until and including my college years. She was my confidant and friend in the darkest times. She also needs her own story. But today is about her younger sister. My great aunt Pluma!
Mamie Lou had this one younger sister named Pluma. I never knew her middle name, but Pluma went from Pluma Neely to the last names of Murray, Gentry, and then Looney over her lifetime. Now, the following story could probably only happen in the South. And probably only in Southern Oklahoma. Nevertheless, it is a true story from my family.
