A Classy Lady

My Week #23 Submission

Frances Belle Pritchett Polk 1930-2011

Classy Lady, the definition- A classy lady is someone who embodies confidence, grace, and respect through her actions, demeanor, and style, focusing on inner qualities like kindness, integrity, and good manners rather than just outward appearances or trends, and she carries herself with poise, speaks thoughtfully, treats others well, and maintains self-respect and strong personal values. (Google)

I bet you’ve heard the old say’n, they don’t make’em like that anymore, more than a few times. Well let me tell ya something, it ain’t ever been so true as when someone’s said it about, Frances Belle Pritchett Polk, my Meme.

They sure don’t make’em like that anymore.

Frances Belle Pritchett, was born on October 21, 1930 in Montgomery, AL., to James Eugene and Thelma Elizabeth Rackley Pritchett. And by all accounts, the Pritchetts were a rowdy bunch.

Belle, as she came to be known, was the second of four children. And while I never met my great-grandparents, I was lucky enough to know her younger sister Millie, and met her brothers George and Bruce. And there were lots of stories; including clubs, a huge yacht in Miami Beach, prison, attempted murder, and prison again. Let’s just say that as I was growing up, the Pritchetts served as a cautionary tail. However, I’m not so sure that I my young-adventurous mind took them quite as such…

But Belle Pritchett, had always been the shining star of that family. I don’t know much about my Meme’s youth, but I can imagine what it was like as the eldest daughter, growing up back in the 30’s and 40’s. I’m sure her days were filled with not only school, but chores galore. And I know that she served as a second mother to her siblings, as her mama was relegated to working as a seamstress to, “keep us from starving.”

And just like my Sweetheart did a half a century later, the Belle of the ball hooked her man at first sight too. My Papa told me the story many times.

I was still in the service at the time, and was home on leave for 2 weeks. There was a dance in Macon that Saturday night, and a couple of us boys decided to go. Well son, that was the best decision I ever made. No sooner did I walk into that gym, than I’d laid eyes on an angel.

And the rest as they say, is history. Frances Belle Pritchett, became Belle Polk, and children started showing up not too far there after. But while her ‘title’ may have been homemaker, I can tell you that my Meme was much more than that.

I always knew that my Meme was Classy, though I didn’t understand what it was that made her so.

She carried herself in a way that’s hard to describe — sure, confidence and grace were there. But she was so much more than that, I think that it was her compassion for others that set her apart. Her poise, was the result of her kindness and integrity.

This same woman, who would get down on the floor with her grandson and play ‘Go Fish’ for hours, was also a pillar of her community. Only after her passing did I learn of the extent of the good deeds she’d done throughout her life. Many people came forward with stories of how my Meme’s Light, had helped them escape a terrible darkness. Some received words of encouragement through letters she’d written, and sent to them. Others through her deeds, and the example she set during her days here.

My mother-in-law has always said that, “Belle Polk was the Classiest woman she’d ever known.” And I’d always agreed, but I’d never really thought about what it was that made her so, until now.

One thing is for damn sure, she would have never kissed a boy in a bar!

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I hope this inspires you to make your own submission to this week’s Stories from the Jukebox song writing prompt, Classy Girls, by the Lumineers!

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Here’s a short story series about my Papa Joe!

The Merchant Marines

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