When she saw that rattlesnake under the swing set in the front yard, my mother, Edna Pope, did not hesitate. She sent her children into the house. She didn’t give the snake the opportunity to coil and strike. Edna chased that snake around the house and into the backyard. As she passed the woodpile, she picked up the ax. When the snake went into the pigpen, she chased it out so it wouldn’t bite the baby pigs. She caught up to the snake and chopped its head off. For a long time, Mother would not allow the children to play in the yard until she had checked for snakes. She was concerned that the rattlesnake may have had a mate that was still somewhere on the property. When Uncle Keith found a dead rattlesnake in the road in front of the house, she believed that it was the dead snake’s mate. This was the only time a rattlesnake was seen on the property.
I have heard the story many times, as told by my older siblings. I had not been born when Mother killed the snake. As I thought about this story, I wondered how accurate my version was. And would a rattlesnake flee from a person? I googled rattlesnakes on the Internet and verified that a rattlesnake coils and strikes when it is threatened, or it may decide to slither away. Next, I wanted to verify the details of the story as I remembered hearing it. Three of my four siblings who were there when the snake came into the yard are deceased. So, I called the last one and verified my details.
My mother died when I was ten and so none of my children knew her. However, one way they will learn who she was is through the stories I tell. This story about the grandmother they never knew is part of my children’s heritage. This story reveals a lot about my mother’s character. She had courage and determination. She did not hesitate to act when danger threatened her children and she took precautions to avoid future challenges.
After the conversation I had with my sister, I sat down at my computer and wrote the story. Then I logged into FamilySearch.org and added the story to my mother’s Memories on her details page. I wanted to make sure that this story was not forgotten. There are sixty-nine of her grandchildren who can now read that story, thereby connecting each one to a piece of their family history.