Mary Shell was one out of eight children born to Louis and Nettie (Jones) Shell on that glorious day in Lunenburg County, Virginia August 21, 1934. She was very shy and quite as a little girl. Mary was very nervous even as a little girl and easy to get frighten. But, she loved her sisters and brothers. I remember mother telling me that when she began school, she would hold on to her sister Cora skirt and wouldn't let go. Thank God they had a one room school house because otherwise she would not have made it by herself. Mom told me that she was so nervous that she would not fight and her sister Shirley and brother David had to fight other children that would mess with her. But, she had a heart of gold and got along with everyone. What I thought was funny was when she told me stories about getting in trouble and she knew that her dad was going to spank her, she would run out of the house in the dark (and there were no street lights), all the way to her grandfather house who she called "papa", just so her dad would spank her. I laughed because, she was so nervous about getting hit that she ran out in the dark. I told my mother, I would have to get a beating because there is no way I would run out in pitch dark. Thinking back at what she told me really makes me laugh. She was nervous but she would run out in the dark just to keep from getting a beating.