Hildreth Morton

To all who knew her, Hildreth Morton was the personification of industry, thrift, intelligence and hard work. That was demonstrated by how Hildreth obtained her first greenhouse. Husband Jim was hard at work establishing his legal practice and financial resources were scant. Hildreth wanted a greenhouse on their farm. The farm had been purchased with a valuable tobacco allotment. The allotment (as I recall) allowed for five acres of production. She and one male black field hand plowed, planted, cut stripped and hung the tobacco in the barn to age. The work was grueling but the sale of the tobacco paid for her first greenhouse. The output of that first greenhouse provided the funds for the further five or six houses that followed with time. I think all of us who knew Hildreth will remember her as a feisty, straight talking, hard working (5 am daily until dark, seven days a week) lady who could cuss with the best, enjoyed fine drink, good music, and the arts. Make no mistake-she was cultured and a lady. She exuded honesty and heartfelt caring for others. The latter part of her character is exemplified by the story of the house fire. Not too long after she and her husband had built their home on the acreage, they came home one evening from an outing to find the home ablaze. It would be months before it would again be habitable. The Morton family was taken in by a local farm family until their house was rebuilt. Years later, the farmer who was by then retired, and was a widower with no family left to care for him, was taken into Hildreth's home and cared for by her for the final two years of his life. As I think of her I'm reminded of the saying: "They don't make them like that anymore." I'm also thankful she didn't suffer at the end of her eventful and long life. I'm sure she wanted to go as the Texans would say, "With her boots on," and she did. It came as no surprise that she wanted to be cremated. She was a "no-fuss" lady and she'll always be remembered as a sparkling jewel in the lives of those of us who knew her.