My Momma the Gypsy

I start with the 1958 date, because I am sure it was one of the times Mom was the resident Fortune Teller at my grammar school. We never heard of trick or treating, except in a book, perhaps! All our festivities took place at the local community school.

We were 'good' Baptists, I must state, but no one saw the harm in playing fortune teller as some of us might today. Mom was the Gypsy for real, some of the kids thought! I thought it was funny.

Actually, she and her mom were so different that she'd decided early in life the gypsies had stolen grandma's real daughter and replaced her with my mom! I believe that was a common story told early in the first half of the 20th. Century.

Still, the dressing-up was so much fun! I learned at an early age, young gypsies ALSO get to wear make-up and cute blouses. It was the one time of the year we could revel in too much of this or that or gaudy jewelry... the more Jewelry the MERRIER! After all, we were GYPSIES!

Pope Campbell
(c) 2006

Story ID:	405
Written by:	CP Campbell (bio, link, contact, other stories)
Story type:	Family History
Location:	Douglasville Ga USA
Year:	1958
Person:	Iola 'My Mother'