By Walter Bruce Hale
One hundred years ago, on August 1, a baby girl was born. Her name is Dorothy Ann Gray. She grew up in Partridge, Ky., and in the mountains of East Tenn. She was the oldest daughter of William and Ollie Gray. She had a brother, Bill; a sister, Pearl; and a brother, Donald.
Her father was a coal miner in those mountains, so that made her a coal miner’s daughter, just like Loretta Lynn. Shortly before she turned 19 years old, her family moved to Drummonds. Her dad needed to get out of those coal mines, as he died from Black Lung disease.
While still living in Drummonds, Dorothy met a young man named Jimmy Eugene Warren when he attended a church service for the sole purpose of checking her out. They were married on June 25, 1971.
They were both members of Fellowship Baptist Church all their married life, and she is now the only living charter member.
She grew up during the Great Depression and she and her husband endured World War 2. Which has a lot to do with why her generation is called The Greatest Generation.
They settled in Quito and moved out to the farm. She worked right alongside her husband and together they built one of the biggest farms in the county.
Back then:
Gas cost $0.25 a gallon
Eggs were 35 cents a dozen. Butter was 52 cents a pound. A one-pound loaf of bread was 5 cents and a nice car sold for $2,000. An average home cost about $6,300.
Main source of entertainment was the listening to the radio and the average yearly income was $3269.40
She is loved by four children, 11 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren and 15 great great grandchildren.
