Why Violet Loves Chicken
by Joy Wells

My mother Violet loves to eat chicken.  Even when there are fancier foods available, she will choose chicken every time.  Violet Philebaum Wells Maxwell was born on a farm in Redkey, Indiana in 1927.  Her father and mother worked as sharecroppers:  farm workers that rent their land by working it and giving a large share to the owner.  Violet came from a very big family and she was the youngest child:  lucky thirteen.  Violet’s family grew sugar beets for the shares and they kept animals for food.  The Great Depression was affecting America at that time and the family had to be creative to survive.  She and her brothers would sometimes rob birds’ nests and eat the eggs, they were so hungry. She was skinny, had straight blonde hair, had to wear glasses from the age of 6, and wore a dress made of a flour sack. 

One time when Violet was a young girl her mother said,  “Go outside and butcher a chicken for dinner.”   She chased the chicken around the barnyard, cut off its head, plucked the feathers, cleaned it, fried it, and served it up for dinner. She thought it was delicious, feeling lucky to get a chicken leg. 

My mother still loves to eat chicken, but she'd just as soon get it from Kentucky Fried.  To her, chicken is a gourmet meal.

But where is Redkey, Indiana?

Back to Wellsie's Homepage