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Papaw Fred Henry Rathbone Parents- Joseph (Joe) Fredrick Rathbone and Arbie Jane Jenkins Rathbone Born- March 30, 1939 in Fines Creek community, Haywood County, North Carolina He was given the middle name of his father and he gave his son, my dad, his middle name as his first name. On September 1st, 1939 WWII began by Germany invading Poland. His mother Arbie Jane Jenkins Rathbone- July 2nd, 1915 in the White Oak community on Stevens Creek, she grew up in the White Oak and Fines Creek communities. She was working for the Noland Family as a live in housekeeper, from age 16 till she married on December 24th, 1936 when she was 21. She was known far and wide for her cooking ability and no one ever left her kitchen hungry. His father Joseph Fredrick Rathbone- November 21st, 1914 in Fines Creek, and lived his whole life in Fines Creek. He worked at the Noland dairy farm and sharecrop farmed also, he grew the crops for a share of the harvest and sale profits. When he was a senior in high school he played on the Fines Creek high school basketball team and score the winning goal at the buzzer for the Western NC state championship game. The clock was running out and his team was down by one so they passed him the ball and he turned around and slung the ball and as the ball was in the air the buzzer sounded and then it went in. The basketball team mentioned above is here, this is Papaw. \/ He has one brother, Edward Terry Rathbone a.k.a. Uncle Terry- March 19th, 1946. He is a Vietnam war veteran. His favorite toy as a kid was a stick horse that his mother had made from scraps of cloth and a tobacco stick. His favorite pet was a hound dog named sport. Occasionally when the work was caught up he used to go on hunting or fishing trips, depending on the time of year and on Sundays they would go to church and sometimes go to visit family. Chores he had to do included: Cutting, splitting, carrying in fire wood, all kinds of farm work like, hoeing, plowing, harvesting, tending live stock, etc. Him along with everyone who ever ate at her table considered her to be the very best cook that there ever was. His favorite thing that she cooked was cherry pie. On Thanksgiving papaw said that they would usually just go hunting and then when him, his brother and his dad got back, his mother had cooked a huge meal and they ate. On Christmas family from both his mom's side and his dad's side got together and they celebrated. He said that they would always hang up their stockings by the chimney. He got his favorite Christmas present when he was in the 1st grade, a family friend was a good carpenter built him a wooden tractor, it was red and it had black wheels. He said that he must have pulled that thing along for a thousand miles. He said that in March of 1942 it snowed 4ft deep and that he was about 4 years old. He didn't remember making snowmen or sledding but he said that they would make and eat snow cream, which was snow with flavoring put in it. On Easter they just went to church like normal, they didn't have a sunrise service at his church then, and then they would have an Easter egg hunt with 3 or 4 dozen dyed eggs. Papaw went to school in Fines Creek schools all of his schooling years. His favorite subject in school was shop. At recess they would play dodge ball, marbles with dirt rings, and hopscotch. He graduated in 1957 and there were 19 students in his graduating class. His school colors were blue and white and his school mascot was the Fines Creek White Hornets. He never played any instruments and his school didn't have a band. Although, some students knew how to play the piano and there was a music teacher. His best friends in high school were, Robert Fisher, Randal Presnel, and Jerry Ferguson. He said that in the summer they would go fishing. Papaw was 17 when he met mamaw, they didn't have much to do for dates but the went to basketball games and church together. Six years later they got married, papaw was 23 and mamaw was 20. They got married by Claude Conard on December 21st, 1961 at Ninevah Baptist church in Waynesville. Edna Arlene Fish Rathbone- Born on June 6th, 1942, she was born at the Haywood County hospital but lived on Spring Creek in Madison County until she was 7 and then they moved to Fines Creek. Her brother James Edwin Fish was born on July 24 1954 at the Haywood County hospital and grew up in Fines Creek. Her sister Alice Juanita Fish Gaddis was born on March 27th, 1953 at the Haywood County hospital and grew up in Fines Creek too. Mamaw never really had a job per say, she just worked on the farm with her dad and when my dad was younger she baby sat some. The first house the mamaw and papaw moved into together was on Maple street in Waynesville and they lived there for two years. The way my dad was described was: A good baby, a curious baby, he like to read, he liked to watch the commercials on TV., he liked to go to the union meetings with papaw because he knew that he would get money and Coca-Cola from the other men, he liked to ride his blue pedal car into the tree, wanted a big Christmas tree to get under and hide, liked to hunt and fish, good student- made A's and did good in school. Papaw and Mamaw also had a daughter named Frieda Rathbone, now she is a Stines.