E. Price and Marian French

00:00 French price, I'm 26 years. Old. Today is Wednesday, June 16th, 2021 and I am in Woodstock Virginia with my grandmother.

00:11 And her name is Mary in French.

00:15 Marian French.

00:18 I can't remember already. What it is. I'm supposed to tell your 89 years old.

00:31 Yes, I am 89 years old and I have a lot of family that lives in and around me here, but that I do is there anything else? But I'm supposed to be a bit of help.

01:14 So I guess we can go ahead and get started. I really just want to start off with. Where are you? Where you grew up? And when and where you grew up?

01:26 I was born in Staunton Virginia and we moved here, tomorrow town. When I was 4 years old lived in Virginia and lived there until I was can't remember. I'm dealing with them. But then we moved from our account, which is just down the road from Woodstock. When I was seven and actually have lived not necessarily in town, leaving town. Now, did live on a farm. My other mother, and father would a farm about 7 miles from stock and I live there.

02:26 Or a good that it my life or my young life until I got married and had my family there.

02:45 You spent your whole life here in the valley.

02:55 This has been, it's so different right now. It's changed, so dramatically in the last year, but this has been, it's been a great place to grow up. I, as I said, when I was young, very young, when you lived on the farm with my family still owns, and I was married. When I Was Eighteen and lived, not too much further away across the highway and head it.

03:32 Natural nausea relief. My husband about. Maybe, but I had all of them live there on the farm and all my children there. My mother and father lived here in in Woodstock.

03:59 What were your parents like when I was six years old and he had worked for a automotive company. And we moved to town because he had learned about individual who owned the service station in Mari town. And so, when we move down there and lived in March, until I was a lot of things, I can't remember.

04:45 Woodstock was a it was a neat Town growing up close to school. Had a really good friend who I was supposed to do all of them. All of them that I was in school.

05:09 Lismore anymore. And then after I went to gym medicine for a college for one year, one more year.

05:25 Then I got married, which I enjoyed greatly. All of my life. I didn't enjoy school, any of my life, very much and I really enjoyed it when I went to Madison, but dumb.

05:41 I've lived in Woodstock. We had a home here and my mother and father were both dead now, but I'm living in the most of my children are around us by our son. It is across the street from me. And we have a right here at the edge of town and my boys were from there.

06:20 What is what it mean? When you say about, when you went to went to college with her being a teacher? She was she had not graduated from college two years. She did the two-year course at Madison, but she was thrilled that I was going to call and she was not thrilled when I decided I wanted to leave school, but she thought a great deal of my husband. And so she kind of took it for granted. That. That's the way I was going to go with you. I really never, I wasn't College material. That's good. That way I can moderate student when I was in school, but I really never was mother was she was a teacher and she was

07:20 A part of your life that you would go to college and graduate. And she had she had, she took a two-year course, and she talked school or her bottom is very, very happy.

07:37 Getting married and having a family. And that's where I feel like that's been the best part of my life is, is the is my family and being a mother and Anna. I did him at work, I did. And then I have my own real estate company.

08:03 I don't regret having done that. I still I'm more enjoy being a mother and a wife that I did a realtor broker, but that's all right. It is, it work out Force?

08:18 So what was did you always know that you wanted to to be a mother? And that was that was no question in my mind. That that's what I wanted to be married and have children.

08:40 Well, my husband does not want to have it done, and that never was a nice round figure that and I did not agree with that and I have sort of been week when I had my life. This is the last one. If you have any more, you going to have them to somebody else. I'm not having any more children. I knew that I'd have my hands full live on farm and reader. We always had a farm here in Woodstock that we had a farm, raised our family, but then we had and he came in here every day, but it and it was a it was a good life. We had a good life for their children as they did that, and he was my mother and father-in-law.

09:40 Here in Woodstock right across the street, from the dairy, that Doug work at. And

09:47 So we were closing. We had a lot of communication with my end, my mother and father-in-law they were there. Whenever we need a large family to life on the farm where we did was good. And it worked nicely when we moved into town. Actually. We moved into town every day at the farm and he had a father and I didn't realize I didn't realize that my mother was dealing with Dementia to a degree and then it became severe and their teaching by everyday, almost for lunch and he realized that mother. You said she can't be by yourself. We don't want your mother.

10:47 Temporarily. And then we were able to keep her if she was home for two years, but then I had to put her in a nursing home because her mind and I was I thought we would go back to the farm but

11:11 I didn't really realize that this was just her we needed to be. We were just down the street from his, the dairy that he worked. And so this is where we needed to be. So I know you're probably right. We probably do something and we're living here. I live here. Now. My husband is been a good life. They keep their eye on me. To try to be a little more cautious than I let them be if it's working out on on Beck Road out of town. And if you feel like you didn't grow up with a big family 2. How did you manage to how did you manage to raise my kids and keep the farm together? And

12:11 And you're right. It was it was a test. I thought it was going to be my mother-in-law. Love being a part of that thing. That was wonderful in-laws and I like being a part of it and and I forgot enjoy being. That was not my mother definitely didn't. At least they didn't have a lot of me being able to

12:58 It's been perfect. It's been an ideal situation. Most, all of my children are once our lives across the street from me and they all live in even live in Woodstock, pretty much or in the county and it it's your favorite stories from being on the farm. Well, my mother had been down in Augusta County and I love that. I love Farm Life. My grandfather, dairy farm, and they built a new, a new barn when they did that.

13:58 12 11, 12 years old and we he had his house was that family name and he had the large, when he read me, build his new Dairy. He had the largest dairy in Virginia, which we were just my cousin. We were so excited at the largest. The reason his was the largest we had a hundred stanchion, barn. And actually, his, his, the next, the next Barn down was $0.99. And the reason is because he had made one of his friends and his farm. He had a friend that had one more.

14:57 But it was the best one other time and it was, but now it is a joy. He enjoyed gardening, more than he has been brought up in a in a big family job.

15:37 I said I did not like being an only child and I was at my cousin's, I had a lot of it was the size family that we had an absolutely. You didn't use to bake like 70 loaves of bread and a I don't remember that. Yes. I did and that was born and had all my children.

16:26 But then it kind of got told to and at that point and I did not really intend to do this. When I got my real estate, license reason I did is because he was, he was amazing, and it had a big company and supposed to be brothers and they wanted him then. So am I and how to control land and they want to deduct it? Be involved with them, but he didn't want to. He was so he suggested to me that maybe he'd do all the work. He could find out when Lian was for sale. That's one thing, but he just wanted me to get my license.

17:22 So we can work real estate, but he would do the work but I'll just do it and it eventually more more his idea than mine. But eventually then we actually developed their own real estate company and and I was still doing it. He was behind me, pushing me and I in.

18:03 When did math games that where you can visit in the business world? If it was a, it was a good business? It wasn't one that I really wanted to do. What's going to take tennis courts. Both of us really thought I would like to do. Never learned. Never did either one of those. How old is most, assuredly must definitely.

18:58 I'm glad I'm glad I did it. I had was going to have my license and I work with into two triangles on it. It was, it was good. Then they decided we could develop new and then I actually work real estate anymore. I worked in the office with the agents and that it was good. It was it was a good thing for us to do it was property, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have.

19:38 But you do have a very feel like you have a very good concept of what, you know, what, this community here is, like, what landscape is like, and how that's changed over the years, very much. So. And yes, I was pushed into after we got after, we had our own company dropped her own company and I had a partner who she was at. She was great. It was, it was, it was a good thing to do and learned a lot about community and what it takes to make the world turn around.

20:38 And the fact that your kids have stuck around and they've bought homes here and Farms years. What does that mean to you? Is everything to me. I mean, I feel so blessed that and I do all of my joy right here around, probably I could have done.

21:18 John Moore as a, as a mother.

21:24 Sometimes that that kind of got put on the back burner, but I don't think any of them suffered from it. What do you think about yourself or parenting? Well again, things that I ended up doing and I definitely wanted to have a big fat that part of it has been wonderful and I don't brush there are probably if I had them to do over that. I would. But I don't, I really don't let having. As I said that that was just he he had a great mind and ability, but he really loves for me. That's what he loved to do.

22:23 So then he realize that if we were going to accomplish some of the things he wanted to come.

22:32 I was just going to have to get in with him and do it again.

22:43 Play tennis alone.

22:51 What do you what was it like marrying into such a big family? It was wonderful.

22:57 It really was that the first family was an amazing family. Very frugal. Doug is the only one that he said. He stayed on the farm father, father did not like that. He expected him. He wanted him to go on and how I can, if you want to call Doug went to Tech and he said, you know, he may be out. They had like 30 minutes from the time of the unmade & Beyond.

23:51 None of that fishing very well. He said, when he came home for Christmas and he told her he's so mother and father. He just did not want to go back and get it wasn't him. It did not fit him. And father said you are going fast enough. You want to talk? That's fine. If you want to be a fine, you want to find fine, but you're going to graduate from college.

24:19 So it was Christmas is your first year of Christmas and he went back to check and he said, maybe you, maybe could have stuck it out. He didn't know that he could have, but you say turquoise military. And so, in the morning, once the, whatever the horn, Google, whatever they had to be up yet their bed unmade. Roll up there, may just get them and be in in prayer in 30 minutes. He said he would use, there was no way ever. He was going to make it.

24:54 For years, so he called home mother answered the phone and he said, mother I'm leaving here. Can I come home? And she said, I'm home son. And so he went to check for less than a full semester and nne never regretted. He was a farmer who loved farming and his father. Wanted to be a farmer.

25:24 And I've said he never never ever regretted having missed his college Years. And we are like, the grandchildren.

25:51 What sounds like a good number? I can't remember?

25:56 Are there with there was a time when I pretty much stay on top of things, but now with my memory is going down the road. What is it? What is that mean? If we are, family has so many Traditions, Sunday morning, waffles, and french fries dinner at the cabin every other Sunday and Friday, morning coffee now, and every Holiday Inn Between. So what is it been like going to grow up Marion to those Traditions raised two, children to those dressings and now, for your grandchildren, carry them on it. It's, it's wonderful and I wouldn't change a thing about that, our families, but the French family is, it is a unique relationship. I really do. And, and it's interesting because

26:56 The younger generation now. That is married or marrying, and having it. It's, it's interesting to see how those those individuals.

27:07 Solo male Dan or blend into the family and because it's really unusual relationships that we have. Sometimes, what are some of those Traditions? Which ones, which ones were your favorite likes? As far as the holidays? Or the, the dinners are making apple butter, but they're all good at with mother and her mother. And father were we, we met at their house.

28:08 All the time for holidays and most of these meals there, but the family was very close. And so we, we became we have some pictures when we did an Easter when we would have the Easter egg hunts me. We did everything around the French house. We have a picture of a picture of All in the Family, on the front, on the porch, when they were taking him and they wanted everybody, there all of the children in the grandchildren. Will somebody was coming in.

28:46 General McLane, and in the bus. And then somebody else had to leave and be someplace, we had about 15 minutes that we all work together on the front porch. So they got the picture taken before that. Last one had to take off. I don't even remember Jimmy Randall and his flying out of Washington. And we did get that picture taken with everybody on the front, porch problems.

29:35 It's a wonderful thing to be able to have that we have now that we don't go to as much, but it was family cabin that we've always a blessing.

29:57 E together and having that closest. What are your what are you? Hope after you're, well, I think it's been just really been. You need to have course with Chantelle, having changed hands, and sold any of their family worked until 1.

30:35 We still managed to keep that togetherness that because you just said we have a family and we don't get together as often as we did, but we still get together and grab it and we managed to

30:55 That it is such a blessing that we have it, such a gift. I think that people enjoy that, they make, they make the effort to get together on Family Ties. Too. Many families, have that closeness that our family is. Why do you think that we've been able to stay together and keep those positions that need? That want to be a family? Have that closeness? Otherwise, it happened from the suckers on Sunday night that their mom and when they get married, they bring the newcomers.

31:55 People like,

32:01 But it it's an inherent in heaven. The family cabin has been a great for all of us.

32:12 The do you think a lot of it has to do with working together, you know, in business together Farm in the other state that does a lot to do with it. But why did they do that? I mean, why you don't see many families that have that has them that are family. Now, when you, what, if we ever put something he had to recently, where a lot of Choke down together. We had a bonding that our family

33:03 Does, I don't think, you know, what do you think, you know, you had to give advice to your grandchildren about getting along and things change over the years? What advice would you give to your grandchildren? Well, I guess I would hesitate to give advice anymore. Kind of advice. I'd be giving our world has changed dramatically in our community. Everything is changed. It seems like and I'm not sure why we don't have. We don't, we wants it.

33:59 But as far as what I wouldn't,

34:04 I don't know that I'm rather than giving advice. I guess, what, what excites you about?

34:23 I just I think and I don't know who this is the word but we are so blessed. I feel so blessed and my agent and I'm dealing with Dementia family closeness that we have our horses passed away and enjoys his move from their house and to Tampa. She's just as close to the family. Now as she ever was when we get together anyting. I think there's a uni

35:01 In our families and I don't know what that is. I don't want me to because we're all stayed in the area. I mean, I'm sure that had something to do with it is your name. I don't think I don't see any other families, having the kind of person. Sometimes it's a blessing. I love it.

35:30 Granddaughters. A drag you into stuff like this.

35:33 Which is fine because it may be a little bit or what needs to be stirred in there.

35:47 I think we're, we're coming up on time. Like I said, this is you and I sit down and talk like this often, but it's not always.