"Lord, thank you for the birds that tweet,
Thank you for the bugs I eat,
Thank you for this house to live,
And thank you for these folks who give
Amen "
The old Mill
Oak Ridge, North Carolina
About Us
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- The Warbrittons
- Greensboro, North Carolina, United States
- Proud Grandparents of eleven and growing - from California to Florida
Saturday, May 27, 2023
Saturday, May 13, 2023
MOTHER
MOTHER
Born in Wichita Falls, Texas on November 27,
1915; Sarah Geneva Mosley was the daughter of an itinerant worker who did
everything from picking cotton to painting smoke stacks on large factories. A
photo from childhood shows her and two sisters standing beside a tent where
they no doubt lived during the turbulent 1920’s. Second oldest, she doesn’t
reveal the resolute character that was to become her destiny, but her meager
beginnings no doubt established her stubborn determination to survive. Her childhood
would never include a stable home with roots to come back to. Oscar Mike and
Annie Ruth Mosley worked throughout West Texas picking cotton in Munday,
From left is Aunt Ethel, Grandmother Annie Ruth Compton
Moseley Mother at age 14 in
1929
Aunt Edith in lap, Grandfather Oscar Mike Moseley and
Mother
Her father died from a freakish
misunderstanding while walking down the sidewalk on New Years Eve in
Dad and Mother about a month
before they married in May of 1933
She had no roots for her entire life until
she married Dad a couple of years later, in Gladewater. On June 23, 1933, at
the age of seventeen and a half, she married the love of her life, Steve
Warbritton and embarked on the happiest phase of her life. Their playful staging
of photos, taken just before their marriage around his Chevrolet coupe,
evidences a joy and camaraderie that she may have never before experienced.
Though he was a bricklayer by trade, he started working for Magnolia Oil
Company and they moved to Vivian Louisiana. In 1939 their first son Michael was
born in
The war created tumultuous change to the
entire world and obviously affected Mother and Dad. After their third son and
last attempt for a daughter (me) was born in late 1943, Dad went to the west
coast to find work in a defense plant. Mother’s sisters moved out to the Bay
area and worked in the shipyards around
Mother circa 1940 Unhappy Mom just before Dad shipped overseas in 1945
In late November 1945, when Dad was
discharged, they drove to
I believe the next eight years were the most
joyous and satisfying of her life. The post-war environment of
These were pre-television days and life was
simpler and richer. Everyone relished life and lived every moment because they
had all known someone who had not survived the war. Board games and card games
were very popular in that era. Canasta was the absolute rage of the day. Many
pleasant weekends were spent playing canasta, dominoes or the famous “42” at
the home of friends or relatives. Mother and Dad were usually partners and I
remember that they both played very well. Television was in it’s infancy and
available only to the well-to-do, so we sat around the radio in the living room
to listen to Fibber Magee and Molly, Our Miss Brooks, The Green Hornet, and
western stories or mystery stories. We played 78 and 33.3 rpm records of Patti
Paige, Doris Day, Hank Williams, Hank Snow or Little Jimmie Dickens and
listened to AM radio because there was no FM radio. Mother curled up in her
favorite chair and crocheted while the programs played. Survivors of that
terrible war developed deep religious convictions and were faithful to their
church and God. We were devoted members of the
Mother loved to cook and she made desserts
that everyone raved about. She made chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and pecan
brownies with chocolate icing that we all eagerly devoured. Her fruit cake and
German chocolate cake at Christmas were a special treat to all. She especially
loved to cook for the holidays and we certainly anticipated any meal she
prepared. Her meatloaf was my favorite. I used to sit in the kitchen while she
prepared these meals and she would let me taste of the batter before she baked,
or give me a first taste out of the oven. She enjoyed sewing and once sewed
shirts with various states imprinted on them for my two brothers and me. She
learned to crochet and spent many hours creating doilies with florals adorning
them. Mike had been in the cub scouts and had graduated into the boy scouts;
Mother hauled him to his meetings and then took me to the cub scouts wearing
his old uniform. Mother finally had a family, a home and a circle of friends
that loved and cherished her; she had the life that she had never been able to
enjoy before. I can only imagine how fulfilled she felt now that her life was
ordered and complete.
Mother in Sweetwater circa 1950
Mother & Dad in Sweetwater circa 1954
Like a car wreck, that you don’t see coming,
that you can’t plan for, that suddenly happens and you feel that your whole
life shifts into slow motion as the uncontrollable events start occurring; her
life was unalterably changed. In 1952 she was diagnosed with lymphoma and
everything she had accomplished in her life was threatened, as her doctors
recommended immediate surgery. She had a radical mastectomy of the left breast
and the removal of the adjoining lymph nodes. To care for her boys while she
had the operation, they sent us to stay on a farm in west
She would talk to me and tell me that she was
ill, but not to worry because she was going to fight it and get over it. She
showed me her scars and told me that they had removed the cancer and she would
be well soon. But the ruthless and relentless tentacles of the disease were
back the following year. She had a radical mastectomy of the right breast while
we spent another summer on the farm. By the end of the school year in 1954, we
moved to get closer to better medical facilities than the small town of
Over the next few years, she maintained a
remarkable outlook on life. In spite of the disease, the heavy medications and
the painful treatments, she displayed a cheerful demeanor. Friends would visit
her to cheer her up, and would be surprised to find her laughing and joking and
encouraging them. During many of her long and agonizing nights, I would stay up
and watch television with her until the test patterns would appear. Her
favorites were I Love Lucy, Red Skelton and Jack Parr; the humor took her mind
off of her pain. I don’t know what she did after that, but she would speak to
me softly and send me to bed, then face her trials through the rest of the
night. She was an avid fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers; she kept a complete box
scorecard and recorded every pitch and hit during the 1955 and 1956 World Series.
She would stroke and tally each pitch as a ball or strike, and joyously cheer
when Duke Snider or Roy Campanella hit a home run. Don Drysdale was her
favorite pitcher and she clapped joyously at each strikeout he pitched. She
hated it when the Dodgers moved to
Aunts came and stayed with us for months at a
time and finally we were old enough to help take care of her ourselves.
Numerous times her doctors would tell her that she had only a matter of months
to live, but still she hung on, and desperately fought the icy fingers that
would take her life. Her onocologist said that she had a strong will to live
and that her resolve itself was keeping her alive. She suffered beyond any
human’s tolerance should have allowed. But cancer has no friends; it has only
one purpose, to spread its malignancy. Eventually it moved into her stomach and
other vital organs and she had to be moved into the hospital. We prayed that
God would spare her and bring her back one more time, but it was not to be.
This brave woman fought for nine years before she succumbed. I would like to
think that she fought to see me through till I was an adult, but that is
selfish, she fought to be with all of us; to show that even if you can’t defeat
your adversary, you can conquer the spirit of your enemy. She never let it
conquer her invincible spirit, and even through excruciating pain she
maintained lucid relationships with all those she loved. In her last days at home, she listened to her
seventeen year old son’s questions about homework assignments and gave him
sound advice to guide him. She was truly amazing to be able to concentrate on
others’ concerns in the middle of so many problems that she faced herself. When
visitors came to cheer her, they came away uplifted, by her humor and good will
that she displayed to them. Many were amazed that she could be in such good
spirits while in such pain. Her spirit was simply indomitable in the midst of
her calamity.
Mother died on the morning of March 1, 1962 and
never saw her first grandchild, James Michael; who was born at the same
hospital in the afternoon of the same day. I was a senior in high school and
was devastated, even though I knew it
was inevitable. The church was filled with family and those who had grown to
love her; many of my school friends attended her funeral in
Mother was an inspiration to everyone who knew her. She lifted every spirit who came in contact with her. She endured thresholds of pain that we can only imagine. When I think of great courage and great determination, I think of Mother. Indisputable character, immeasurable love, and indomitable courage were avid descriptors of her. Add loving-kindness, unselfishness, gentleness, humor and genuine meekness and you have completed the full measure of the wonderful lady I called Mother.
Sarah
"Cowards
die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, it seems to me most strange that men
should fear; Seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will
come".
- ( Julius Ceasar
-Act II, Scene II).
Written by
Tuesday, May 9, 2023
Tallest man who ever lived
Robert Wadlow | |
|---|---|
 Wadlow (left) with his father | |
| Born | Robert Pershing Wadlow February 22, 1918 Alton, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | July 15, 1940 (aged 22) Manistee, Michigan, U.S.[1] |
| Other names |
|
| Known for | Verified tallest human |
| Height | 8 ft 11.1 in (272.0 cm) |
Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 – July 15, 1940), also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man who was the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. He was born and raised in Alton, Illinois, a small city near St. Louis, Missouri.[1]
Wadlow's height was 8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m)[2][3][4] while his weight reached 439 lb (199 kg) at his death at age 22. His great size and his continued growth in adulthood were due to hypertrophy of his pituitary gland, which results in an abnormally high level of human growth hormone (HGH). Even by the time of his death, there was no indication that his growth had ended.
Early life
Wadlow was born in Alton, Illinois, on February 22, 1918, to Harold Franklin and Addie May (Johnson) Wadlow, and was the oldest of five children. He was taller than his father by age 8, and in elementary school a special desk was made for him. By the time of his graduation from Alton High School in 1936, he was 8 ft 4 in (254 cm).[1] He enrolled in Shurtleff College with the intention of studying law.
Adulthood and death
Wadlow required leg braces when walking and had little feeling in his legs and feet. He never used a wheelchair.[5]
Wadlow became a celebrity after his 1936 U.S. tour with the Ringling Brothers Circus, appearing at Madison Square Garden and the Boston Garden in the center ring (never in the sideshow).[6] During his appearances, he dressed in his everyday clothes and refused the circus's request that he wear a top hat and tails.[6]
In 1938, he began a promotional tour with the International Shoe Company, which provided him shoes free of charge,[7] again only in his everyday street clothes.[8] Wadlow saw himself as working in advertising, not exhibiting as a freak.[6] He possessed great physical strength until the last few days of his life.[9][better source needed]
Wadlow belonged to the Order of DeMolay, the Masonic-sponsored organization for young men, and was later a Freemason. By November 1939,[10] Wadlow was a master mason under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Illinois A.F. and A.M.
One year before his death, Wadlow passed John Rogan as the tallest person ever. On June 27, 1940 (18 days before his death), he was measured by doctors at 8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m).[1]
On July 4, 1940, during a professional appearance at the Manistee National Forest Festival, a faulty brace irritated his ankle, leading to infection. He was treated with a blood transfusion and surgery, but his condition worsened due to an autoimmune disease; he died in his sleep on July 15.[11][1]
His coffin measured 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) long by 2 ft 8 in (0.81 m) wide by 2 ft 6 in (0.76 m) deep, weighed over 1,000 lb (450 kg), and was carried by twelve pallbearers and eight assistants.[1][12][13] He was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Upper Alton, Madison County, Illinois.
A life-size statue of Wadlow was erected opposite the Alton Museum of History and Art in 1986.[1][14]
Height chart
| Age | Height | Weight | Notes | Size of | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | 1 ft 8 in (0.51 m) | 8 lb 5 oz (3.8 kg)[15] | Normal height and weight | Average newborn | February 22, 1918 |
| 6 months | 2 ft 101⁄2 in (0.88 m) | 30 lb (14 kg)[16] | 2-year-old | August 22, 1918 | |
| 1 year | 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) | 45 lb (20 kg) | When he began to walk at 11 months, he was 3 ft 31⁄2 in (1.00 m) tall and weighed 40 lb (18 kg). | 5-year-old | February 22, 1919 |
| 18 months | 4 ft 31⁄4 in (1.30 m) | 67 lb (30 kg)[16] | 8-year-old | August 22, 1919 | |
| 2 years | 4 ft 61⁄4 in (1.38 m) | 75 lb (34 kg) | 10-year-old | 1920 | |
| 3 years | 4 ft 11 in (1.50 m) | 89 lb (40 kg) | 12-year-old | 1921 | |
| 4 years | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) | 105 lb (48 kg) | 14-year-old | 1922 | |
| 5 years | 5 ft 61⁄2 in (1.69 m)[16] | 140 lb (64 kg)[16] | At 5 years of age, attending kindergarten, Wadlow was 5 ft 61⁄2 in (1.69 m) tall. He wore clothes that would fit a 17-year-old boy. | 15-year-old | 1923 |
| 6 years | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | 146 lb (66 kg) | 15-year-old | 1924 | |
| 7 years | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 159 lb (72 kg) | Height of average adult male (global average). | 1925 | |
| 8 years | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[17] | 169 lb (77 kg)[17] | Height of average adult male in the Netherlands. | 1926 | |
| 9 years | 6 ft 21⁄2 in (1.89 m)[17] | 180 lb (82 kg) | Weighing 180 lb (82 kg), he was strong enough to carry his father (who was sitting in a living room chair) up the stairs to the second floor.[18] | 1927 | |
| 10 years | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)[19] | 211 lb (96 kg)[19] | 1928 | ||
| 11 years | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 241 lb (109 kg) | 1929 | ||
| 12 years | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)[20] | 287 lb (130 kg) | 1930 | ||
| 13 years | 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m)[21] | 270 lb (120 kg)[21] | World's tallest Boy Scout, averaging a growth of 4 inches (10 cm) per year since birth and wearing size 19 (U.S.) shoes.[22] | 1931 | |
| 14 years | 7 ft 5 in (2.26 m) | 331 lb (150 kg) | 1932 | ||
| 15 years | 7 ft 10 in (2.39 m) | 354 lb (161 kg) | 1933 | ||
| 16 years | 8 ft 11⁄4 in (2.47 m)[23] | 374 lb (170 kg) | 1934 | ||
| 17 years | 8 ft 3 in (2.51 m)[24] | 382 lb (173 kg) | Graduated from high school on January 8, 1936 (not yet 18)[24] | Height of Sultan Kösen, tallest currently living man. | 1935 |
| 18 years | 8 ft 4 in (2.54 m) | 391 lb (177 kg) | 1936 | ||
| 19 years | 8 ft 61⁄2 in (2.60 m)[8] | 480 lb (220 kg)[8] | 1937 | ||
| 20 years | 8 ft 71⁄4 in (2.62 m) | 488 lb (221 kg) | 1938 | ||
| 21 years | 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m)[25] | 491 lb (223 kg)[25] | 1939 | ||
| 22.4 years | 8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m)[26] | 439 lb (199 kg) | At death, he was the world's tallest man according to Guinness World Records.[2] | June 27, 1940 |
Robert Pershing Wadlow, the tallest man who ever lived, visits with the Sons of the Pioneers at the 1936 Texas Centennial in Dallas. That's Roy Rogers squatting at bottom right. Wadlow was 18 years old at this time and 8'5" tall. He grew six more inches, to 8'11", before he passed away at the age of 22.
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