Mrs. Seehorn Left Tennessee For Lenoir In Fall Of 1896i By NANCY ALEXANDER She was a happy young bride -when she came to Leooir 87 years ago? as gay, as sprightly as the red and gold autumn leaves whirling over the turnpike. It was in September of 1896 that Mammy See horn, now 81, traveled down the rugged moun tain pike from Tennessee. Her handsome dark husband expert ly guided the horse and buggy along the narrow, winding trail. Soon afterward, her beloved horse Jack, was brought to Le noir; and with him came a cow her father gave her as a wed ding present. Since childhood shfe's had a great love of horses. When she found a man who loved them as much or more than she did, she married him. Today, she still has "a horse, Jock." She chuckles, "He's my walker, that I push in front of me." As a girl Mammy rode through the green valleys of the Roan at Shouns Crossroads in Tennessee. Id those days she was Virginia Carolina Wills. 'It wasn't until many years later, after her chil dren were born, that family and friends dubbed her with the af fectionate title of Mammy. She was one of a large family of four boys and six girls, four of whom are still living. She's the oldest of those; her brother, who lives at the old homeptace, is the youngest. Her parents were Macon and Jeanette Grant Wills. One of her sisters, Mrs. Ralph Spainhour, now deceased, also lived in later years in Lenoir. Mammy was 24 when she and Thomas Farfrow Seehorn were married. Originally from Trade, Tennessee, be was empk#ed in Lenoir at the time of their mar riage by the Henkel and Craig Livery Stable. Though he was bookkeeper for the firm he oc casionally accompanied his em ployers, L. P. and Vance Henkel, in driving herds of cattle to South Carolina for sale in the fall. The firm, in addition to dealing in livestock, wagons, and buggies, operated a hack line to Btow?? Rock. Hacks met Lenoir trains and carried passengers and lug gage up the mountain. When Mammy arrived as a bride, Lenoir was a tiny village, hidden m forested foothills. Up and down the turnpike were shut tling ?o>vered wagons bringing apples, cabbages, sauerkraut and chestnuts to town tor barter The old courthouse stood where the monument is today. Village roads were unpaved. There were no streetlights. Little outside news was heard. The arrival of the train was a momentous event. For a time she and her hiv btod lived at several places. They built the home that is now the residence of toe G. C. Mc Gimsey's on Mulberry Street. Later they lived at "the rectory" on Rectory Hill and then on Scroggs Avenue. About SO years ago they pur chased a large white frame home on Seehorn Place from Theodore Kincaid. The house is a nostalgic landman^ to many people; for Mammy always extended gra cious and generous hospitality to all. Its broad lawn was a favorite outing and picnic place for school children and other groups. When the area was taken into the city limits a few years ago the street was named in honor of Mammy, who was the oldest resi dent on it. For many years Mammy con tinued to ride horseback after she came to Lenoir. She wed a side?addle, riding With de corum as befitted a married lady of the time. After the Henkels left Lenoir, Mr. Seehorn continued the live stock stable in the same loca tion, which is now the building that houses Shaw Furniture Co. Later he moved the firm near the corner of West Avenue and WHtow Streets. He sold Nisson and Piedmont Wagons, two well known brands, and also buggies and horses. He was known far SKY-VU DRIVE-IN THEATRE Saturday - Sunday October 5-6 Days Of Wine and Roses JACK LEMMON and wide as a shrewd but fair trader. It was with reluctance he saw the horse give way to the auto mobile. 'Until about four yearn before his death in January ofi 1M1. Mr Seehorn was a familiar figure about town, expertly ma neuvering hi* horse through modern -day traffic. iHe and Mammy made frequen. trips back to their homes in Tennessee, traveling by buggy in the early years. They'd stop at Boone and apend the night with ber sister. The last trip Mammy made to Tennessee was two year* ago when she attended one o( her lister'* 60th wedding anniversary qsletaaUoo. 2 For many years she was busy keeping house and cooking lor her family, and she loved every minute of it. In bar (pare time she worked among her flow en and vegetables in the rammer to Winter time pieced quilts and did other sewing. Today she sees weB enough to dam and read. She also bean quite weH. Mammy makes her borne now tritb her daughter Mary, Mrs. R. T. Greer on Rectory Street. An honorary mote of First Methodist Church, the k frequent ly visited by her circle members, who find her a lively, keen, Tweet -spirited woman, a delight to chat with. Her children are CWaete