StoryCorps: Mike Kilgore

From: StoryCorps
Series: StoryCorps
Length: 02:23

Mike Kilgore remembers his grandmother and an incident involving a wild flower called Rabbit Tobacco. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: StoryCorps: Mike Kilgore
From: StoryCorps

Kilgore_small Mike Kilgore's grandmother, born Sara Louisa Matilda Elizabeth Nowles, played a large role in his life. From helping Kilgore stay out of trouble with his father to teaching him how to approach life's problems, her lessons have stayed with him long after her death...

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Piece Description

Mike Kilgore's grandmother, born Sara Louisa Matilda Elizabeth Nowles, played a large role in his life. From helping Kilgore stay out of trouble with his father to teaching him how to approach life's problems, her lessons have stayed with him long after her death...

Broadcast History

NPR's Morning Edition 11.21.08

Transcript

MK: Her full name was Sarah Louisa Matilda Elizabeth Nowles. I think she was named after all her grandmothers and probably a few other people. She was a small woman, had long hair, and, uh, she was very protective of me. I remember one night, I went to my grandmother's, and cousin Jimmy was staying with me. And, uh, we were doing the things that boys would do. And we decide we were going to smoke rabbit tobacco. And we rolled it up in newspaper, and we sat right there. And we were, you know, not inhaling it, but we thought we were big shots. But anyway, I saw the pickup lights coming up the hill, and I knew it was daddy coming to check on us. And, my granny, she had an old potbelly heater. And we grabbed up that big old pile of rabbit tobacco, and instead of shoving it under the bed, we put it in that old potbelly stove. And, of course, smoke just went everywhere. We were opening up wind...
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