Not Fade Away: I missed my great grandparents so much on the 4th of July

I'd been missing my great grandparents (Foster Norris Maddox and Virgie Snider Maddox) for a few days already when the 4th rolled around. I dreamed about them the night of the 3rd and I woke up on the 4th determined to visit their graves At Valhalla that day.

I thought I knew where they were, but as it turns out I didn't. Even with Beth's help over the phone, it was a no-go. We went there with some regularity, up until about ten years ago. But time changes all it pertains to, as the song says.

However, I did see the grave of Mr. Pete Mitchell, which I've always thought was interesting. His headstone says "The King of the Gypsies."

When my dad would take us out to visit the graves of my great grandparents, he would point the headstone out and say, "That's where the king of the Gyspies is buried."

It seems like I remember him telling me that a rather large number of Gypsies from around the US attended the funeral.

I couldn't find any information about Mr. Mitchell online, but I remembered my friends R and M B mentioned something about him coming in an office they worked in. So I asked them what they remembered, and R remembers Mr. Mitchell coming in to see about a bad check someone out of North Carolina wrote, and wanting to see if anything could be done about that. (R recalls that he was known back then as the king of the Gypsies.)

M also mentioned that she knew where there home was on Bessemer Super Highway, a very pretty white brick house, somewhat large. I think I know which one she's talking about, up on the hill to the right if you are headed to Bessemer away from Birmingham. Just a few tidbits of information, but I thought it was interesting.

As a kid, I remember going down Bessemer Super Highway on the way to visit my great grandparents. My dad would point out the palm reader house that the Gypsies ran. I don't recall if my dad mentioned Mr. Mitchell in connection with the palm reader, I just add that to say that it seems like the area was sort of a Gypsy stomping grounds, so to speak.

Also remember as a kid being told that we didn't go a certain back way home through Bessemer because it was in the "cutoff." Strangely enough, when I grew up I ended up living on the "cutoff" road. When we first moved out here, there was a trailer park about 3/10 of a mile from our house that some Gypsies still lived in. Now Hoover has built us so much, the city limits are just a few blocks from the former Gypsy camp.

Not too long after we moved out this way, someone bought them out and later, the Flowers Bread Company built a location on that site.

And that's a little history of the Gypsies in Bessemer. Very little, I know. But I expect that no one except me was interested anyway. :-)