A Restless Family

Growing up in the Dunn and Conner families was quite contradictory. My Dunns were the restless ones, coming from Virginia to North Carolina and finally to Indiana. On other side were the Conners who had settled in one county in Kentucky and had stayed there for many generations. I guess that's why my roots are divided and long. Not to say long in duration just long in distance. When I was growing up in Indiana we were constantly on the move not necessarily a long distance but all around Indiana and back to Kentucky a few times. My father went where there was work and he took us with him. The same was true of his parents, they were what is called truck farmers. They would work for and live with big farmers for a season and work on their farm. Sometimes they would sell any excess produce they had for extra money. I can't remember my Dunn grandparents ever owning a home of their own. I guess my father had inherited that restless spirit - always on the move for a better life as did his ancestors. I can barely remember some things but I know it happened from the photos that were left to me and the stories that were passed down. Dad worked doing construction for many years helping to build some of the major interstates in Indiana. I remember living in Thorntown, Indiana in a tiny trailer that we stayed in while he worked on the roads. Then there was the time we went back to my mother's home in Clinton county, Kentucky. Dad and mom both helped grandpa Conner work logging trees with horse power while grandma Conner took care of me. I have fond memories of her. We still had that tiny trailer we lived in and it was parked just across the dirt road from the Conner home. After that we came back to Indiana where dad found more work and we finally bought our first house. He must have gotten a pretty good job by then. We were finally able to settle down, dad must have found what he was looking for. He was able to have his small vetable garden and raise a few pigs. Mom got to have her chickens and a flower garden. I guess we had found our American dream. I thank the Dunns for their need to find a better life. I also thank the Conners for showing dad what a home was like.