Far Above Rubies
By Brittany Aimee Clay, the great-granddaughter of Alberta Katerine

Yeast rolls, codfish cakes, chocolate cake, ice cream - all homemade, of course. Those who loved her could go on and on about the goodies that she created in the kitchen, but it was the woman herself who was the true specialty. Alberta Katherine Moseley was born in a never-empty house with a dirt lane in front and a garden out back. The home was and still is referred to as “Oak Grove,” after the area of Chesapeake, Virginia, where it stands. However, so much has changed since the early 1900s when Alberta Katherine took her first breath inside its well-worn walls.

Alberta Katherine was born to India and William Moseley, one of “Mama” and “Papa’s” six children. As a child, she enjoyed singing in the choir and presenting papers in church. Alberta Katherine left Oak Grove when she married a carpenter named Reuben Haskins. Although the marriage was less than ideal, Alberta Katherine bore two children, a son, Reuben Jr., and a daughter, Carnell Katherine. Her husband’s alcohol abuse forced Alberta Katherine to retreat to Oak Grove with her two children in tow. Since her son Reuben, Jr., simply called Junior by the family, was unable to speak coherently and could barely walk, he always had to be supervised, even into adulthood. The ailment that plagued Junior had the doctors somewhat stumped as they promised he would one day be able to speak clearly. That day never came.

Since family came first at Oak Grove, Alberta Katherine always had someone to assist her with Junior. When Alberta Katherine returned to Oak Grove, Mama, Papa, one of her brothers, Alton, her two sisters, Mabel and Mildred, and Mildred’s son, Clayton, all resided there. She felt indebted to her family for their willingness to help with Junior. So Alberta Katherine made sure that her focus was family. She rarely dated, and she never remarried. She filled her time tending to the pecans, grapes, peaches, squash, greens, and beans growing in the gar-den. When she was not in the garden, she was taking care of her chickens, whose brown eggs attracted more clients than her hens could produce. Alberta Katherine canned fruits and vegetables, cooked, cleaned, and did whatever else was necessary to help maintain a household of nine.

Alberta Katherine often went without in order for her children to have the best. Her daughter, Carnell, cannot recall a time when she or her brother, Junior, did not have all that they needed. If there were a possibility that their mother could provide it, she would. Donning undergarments laced with holes from wear was not seen as a painful sacrifice, but as a sign of love.

Although Alberta Katherine was “sweet”, “gentle”, “kind”, and “loving”, she did not spare the rod of correction with Carnell’s children, Raynard and Connie. Always ready to inter-cede and prevent her grandchildren from getting into trouble with their own mother, Alberta Katherine did feel that some-times the children needed a love tap or two. Her grandson, Raynard, remembers getting those love taps more often than his little sister, Connie. Admittedly, he misbehaved more of-ten. But on the off chance that they both got into trouble, he would be given the duty of selecting two switches from out side. He always made sure to select the most flimsy twig for himself while selecting something more thick and capable of inflicting pain for his sister.

A smart grandmother realizes that punishment comes in many different forms and that whoopings can grow tiresome for the administrator. After all, it hurts the grandparent so much more than it hurts the child. That is why it was not the whoopings that Alberta Katherine’s granddaughter, Connie, remembers. Instead, she recalls punishment with a warmer degree of intensity. One day as a pre-teen, she paraded around Oak Grove in a newly obtained “hoochie” pink and white checkered bikini. For this offense there was no switch selection. Grandma Bert, as her grandchildren affectionately called her, waited patiently until the children were asleep, retrieved the offending garment, and added it to the heap of trash slated for burning. Since they were in the country, the adults in Oak Grove often burned trash instead of waiting for it to be retrieved. Sometimes there was no need for a whooping or even to fuss. “It was a loving atmosphere,” her grandson, Raynard, says. Surely it was.

Alberta Katherine made a living as a housekeeper for the Etheridge family. Her tasks consisted of cooking, cleaning, and just keeping Mama Etheridge company. Alberta Katherine’s domestic work may be looked down on today, but it helped to put her daughter, her nephew, and her two grandchildren through college. Alberta Katherine worked for the Etheridges until she was no longer physically able to do so.

As a young woman, Alberta Katherine had a gray streak running through her hair. “They said that was luck,” her baby sister, Mabel Moseley, recalls. Alberta Katherine was more than lucky; she was blessed. Blessed that her daughter still to this day admires her tireless spirit. Blessed that her grandchildren remember her with smiles on their faces. “On a scale of one to ten, our times at Oak Grove were an eleven,” says her grandson, Raynard. Her granddaughter, Connie, credits Alberta Katherine with giving her the courage to pursue her dreams, regardless of the obstacles. Indeed, her children and grandchildren arise and call her blessed.

Alberta Katherine went home to be with the Lord on November 11, 1989. An assortment of ailments plagued her, including high blood pressure and a heart condition. Her daughter, Carnell, cared for her in those last days, knowing that it was the least she could do for a mother who had done so much for her and her children. Oak Grove still stands. Her baby sister, Mabel, the last survivor of the six children, is the house’s only occupant. The dirt lane out front has turned into one of Chesapeake’s ma-jor highways. Alberta Katherine’s chickens are long gone. The garden is mostly overrun, but the memories of Sunday mornings and yeast rolls, birthdays with home made ice cream and specially baked chocolate cake are preserved forever.