Legislation has been enacted by the Tennessee legislature designating the month of July as “Celebration of Liberty” month. This is most appropriate, as Independence Day is celebrated every July 4.
Many things come to mind when thinking of liberty, everything from fireworks to commercials for insurance (“Liberty, Liberty, Liberty—Lib-er-ty”; “Liberty Bibbity”) to Scripture. Strangely, as my mind turns this year to thoughts of liberty, I have been thinking of my maternal grandfather.
Papaw Charlie Lee Sampson (I received my middle name in his honor) was the only living grandparent I ever knew. I remember my half-brother Jerry Sampson once saying that he wasn’t sure Papaw was actually born on August 1, 1889. I haven’t done a lot of research into my family genealogy, so I can not verify it either. That’s the date carved on his tombstone, a double rock that was purchased after his third wife Margaret Raby Sampson, my maternal grandmother, passed away on May 25, 1962.
A line from Edward Arlington Robinson’s poem “Richard Corey” always reminds me of Papaw, “He was a gentleman from sole to crown, Clean favored, and imperially slim.” Papaw was the mildest-mannered person I’ve ever known. He seemed to be at perfect peace with himself and his world. In his younger days, Papaw worked for the railroad, but Mother said nothing pleased him more than to clear brush from creek beds and fields.
Papaw was seventy-six when I was born. He was very hard of hearing. Sometimes, when I said something to him, he would say, “Huh?” Usually, he would just laugh softly and say, “Yeah.”
But I didn’t have to talk to Papaw. He was just pleasant to be around. Sometimes I would look at him, and he would look at me. He’d smile, nod his head, and laugh that wonderful soft laugh he had.
Papaw liked to give me things. He gave me my first pocket knife, which I will treasure always. Sometimes he would give me a little money, sometimes a pocket watch that didn’t work too well, and what his fourth wife called “old man’s socks”.
Papaw did seem to be the type of man who needed a woman. I remember Mother telling me that Papaw was only married to his first wife (I think I remember her name, but I will withhold disclosure) for either six days, weeks, or months. It seemed this woman would lock Papaw in one room of the house while she had “dealings” with other men in another room. Even in Biblical times adultery was considered grounds for divorce, though in the early 1900s divorce for any other reason was not socially acceptable in the Appalachian area.
I can’t recall the name of Papaw’s second wife. It seems Papaw and his second wife were happily married, but sadly she died young, leaving Papaw with two sons to raise.
Next Papaw married the lady who was to become my maternal grandmother. She was nicknamed “Tiny” because she was short, much shorter than my grandfather. I don’t know exactly how tall Papaw was, but I believe he stood at least six feet. I have a picture of the couple, and, as six foot four Abraham Lincoln said of his marriage to Mary Todd, they were “the long and the short” of it.
Papaw and Tiny had seven children, five daughters and one son. All had married and moved from home before their mother died, except for my mother and my half-brother Jerry. After Tiny died, Papaw once again wanted to marry. He was corresponding by mail with the woman who would become his fourth and final wife.
I don’t know this for certain, but I think Papaw helped engineer my mother’s marriage to my father. Dad had been a widower for twenty years and had just turned fifty. I think he felt the bony fingers of mortality reaching for him and realized he needed a woman to take care of him. Papaw, on the other hand, needed to get Mother “married off” so he could marry and move in with his new wife. Mother told me of a day when she was washing clothes on a washboard in the yard of her Hogskin Valley home when Dad came walking down the road. Dad stopped and visited for about half a day, and when he got ready to leave he said, “I’d like to come back.” Mother said she didn’t think much about it, though she told him that would be fine.
Dad came back and eventually asked Mother to marry him. For whatever reason, she agreed, and married Dad in May 1964. Mother, Dad and my half-brother Jerry moved to Maynardville, and shortly thereafter Papaw married and moved in with his new wife in what my mother called “Owl Holler” in Lone Mountain.
Dear Reader, you might ask, “What does any of this have to do with why your papaw reminds you of liberty?” It certainly wasn’t because of his excessive time outside the bonds of holy matrimony. You might think I thought of Papaw in relation to liberty because he was a veteran, or that he flew an American flag in his yard. He was neither a veteran nor did he fly a flag.
I can see Papaw as plain as I can see this computer monitor. He would sit in a rocker on the front porch, his long legs outstretched, ankles resting on the porch post. He always had a chew of King B tobacco in his cheek and a twist in his pocket along with his red or blue bandana handkerchief. Every day of the year, hottest to coldest, he wore his hat, long-sleeve shirt, suit coat jacket, and work boots. I knew that underneath he also wore a full set of “long-handled” underwear and socks.
But the crowning glory of Papaw’s attire was the eve-present pair of Liberty Bib overalls (or “overhauls”, as my dad called them). I don’t know what Papaw might have worn before Liberty Bibs were invented in 1912 (Source: https://www.libertybibs.com/about-liberty.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqEHt7Byxt5… Retrieved June 23, 2025). The “bib” is the part of a pair of overalls that covers the chest and has the pocket with the green zipper. I never saw Papaw without his overalls except for the time he was hospitalized for the first time in his eighties for prostate surgery and the day he died in that same facility at age ninety-six.
Not all overalls are Liberty bibs, but Liberty Bibs became a well-loved commodity in Appalachian America. Assuredly there are those that would wear no other brand. Both my paternal grandfather and my father wore Liberty Bibs almost every day of their productive lives, and I’m sure that practically every one of you Dear Readers know someone who did or does faithfully wear this apparel. Perhaps you and your entire family wear Liberty Bib overalls. Liberty Bibs makes garments for all family members, all ages and sizes. Even I have Liberty Bibs in my closet, and I wear them occasionally when I am working in the yard or around the house.
Dear Reader, I hope this Fourth of July, the 249th anniversary of the founding of our great nation, is a safe, most blessed day for you. Put on your “Lib Bibs” and do something memorable with your family and friends. Enjoy the liberty that our founders and soldiers worked so hard to achieve, and do your part to ensure our future generations have the same privilege.

ANSWER TO QUESTION OF THE WEEK # 65
Why did the belt go to jail? (ANSWER: It held up a pair of pants.)

QUESTION OF THE WEEK # 66
What did the cook name his combination of laxative and alphabet soup? (See next week’s article in historicunioncounty.com for the answer.)

EMAIL THOUGHTS ABOUT THE ELDERLY
ELDERLY GENTLEMEN are easy to spot at sporting events. During the playing of the National Anthem, they remove their caps, stand at attention and sing without embarrassment. They know the words and believe in them.
ELDERLY GENTLEMEN remember World War II, Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Normandy, Hitler, the Atomic Age, Korean War, Cold War, Jet Age, Vietnam and the moon landing.
ELDERLY GENTLEMEN remember the fifty plus peace-keeping missions from 1945 to 2025.
If you bump into an ELDERLY GENTLEMAN on the sidewalk, he will apologize. If you pass an old person on the street, he will nod or tip his hat to a lady. ELDERLY GENTLEMEN trust strangers and are courtly to women.
ELDERLY GENTLEMEN hold the door for the next person and always, when walking, make sure the lady is on the inside for protection.
ELDERLY GENTLEMEN get embarrassed if someone curses in front of women and children, and they don’t like filth or dirty language in TV or movies.
ELDERLY GENTLEMEN have moral courage and personal integrity. They seldom brag unless it’s about their children or grandchildren.
ELDERLY GENTLEMEN remove their hats while eating in restaurants in respect for the ladies and guests.
ELDERLY GENTLEMEN know our great country is protected not by politicians, but by the young men and women serving their country in the military.
This country needs ELDERLY PEOPLE with their work ethic, sense or responsibility, pride in their country and their decent values. We need them now more than ever.
Thank God for ELDERLY PEOPLE.