Lee was my great grandfather.

I just barely remember Paw Stem when he lived with Aunt Rena and Uncle Johnny B as I was a very little girl when he died. My memories of him are mostly as a white haired, white bearded, jolly old man. Kinda' like Santa Clause. He would be sitting in a lawn chair in the carport when we would arrive, and we would climb up into his lap. According to Mom, he always gave us each a piece of bubble gum.

From Lorene Stem Cunningham's writings in cousin Vera Mae Watson's book, "We'll See What Happens Next":

"The United States and Germany were at war about that time and conditions were hard for everyone. Pop still worked away from home. Winter came on and Pop (Richard) developed pneumonia. … He was very ill and one morning Elma and I got up early to find Mother with her foot on the apron of the wood stove and she was bent over crying. We were greatly disturbed so we asked, "Why are you crying?" She replied, "Your Daddy is going to die!" Pop was sick quite a while because pneumonia was not brought under control as quickly as it is now. We were really in need of food. Some of our friends saw that we did not go hungry. We have not forgotten their benevolence even until now. … Pop did not die at that time, but before he was physically able to work, Mother got sick and died. … She requested Pop to keep the children together. I believe she meant for him not to let different relatives have a child here and one there, but for years if we visited kinfolk's, all of us went or none of us went! … Pop got a job with a lumber company at Trinity, Texas and we moved there. … We did things together- like going to the silent movies on Saturday nights and even to see the Klu Klux Klan parade and do a mock hanging act. Pop would take the kids, except Lamar, on hickory nut hunts and when magnolias were blooming he would use a rifle and shoot the stem so the flowers would fall to the ground for us. Before we left Groveton, he would take us to visit Mother's grave too. … (about bootlegging Grandpa's liquor) Pop was not a good salesman and he knew it was wrong too, so one night out on the 'job', he got down on his knees and prayed to God to show him some way to make an honest living! With God's help, he did find help at Helmic in Trinity County, Texas, working again for the same lumber company that he was working for when Mother died. My uncle also got a job working for the same company, so all of us moved to Helmic."

Richard Stem