Tag Archives: leah-vivian-sproles-barker; will-sproles

A Bit of Leah Vivian Sproles Barker

My mother’s name was Leah in the youngest part of her life. However, she was teased by other kids saying “Lear Sproles in Mud She Rolls. She was then called Vivian because, apparently, the rhyme didn’t work as well with Vivian as it with with Leah (or “Lear”).

I’ll have more about mother on this blog as I find things.

For today, when I was cleaning out the storage area of our home office, I ran across this picture of Mom and her family. It’s probably taken in the 1930’s and I”m sure it was taken in Mendota.

Sproles Family

Left to right: My maternal grandfather, Will Sproles; maternal grandmother, Eva Fleenor Sproles; Aunt Lou; Aunt Lorene (I hope I spelled that right); Mother, and Uncle Ralph.

Mother was wearing jeans…she was a tomboy and didn’t like dresses. This preference lasted all of her life.

There’s lots I can and will say about Mother, but today, I’ll sum it up with a letter she wrote to me. I look at it several times a year and wonder if she knew what a gift she was really leaving.

Mother's Letter to Me

Mother — I draw on that account every day.

Do you remember anything about my mother that I might not know?

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