Articles have been edited by Suzanne Forte to avoid mention of living individuals.

Evie Lou Leppard Palmer passed away on April 17, 1983

"My parents were John Wesley Leppard and Annie (Atkinson) Leppard, Gwinnett County pioneers. They had three girls, and I think it’s remarkable that we’re all living now. We moved to Youth in the early 1900’s, when there were four stores there. We went to church and school at Corinth. My father was a farmer and drove a street car in Atlanta, when they were pulled by horses," she says.

Evie Lou married John Wesley Palmer, the son of the late Jim Palmer and Rennie (Wood) Palmer. They were married 16 years before he died in 1924, leaving her with six children.

"We had hard times but I worked and raised by children and we got along. I worked for five years in the mill at Porterdale. My job was running quillers and respooling. I made $44 a week and that was really good money back then. I got laid off that job and in the late 1940’s was head of the lunchroom at the old Walnut Grove School. My helpers were Agnes Broadnax, Martha Thompson, Given Riley, Blanche Carter and Daisy Thompson. I guess we fixed 50 or 60 lunches a day when Mr. Edwards was the principal. For a while later I worked in a restaurant in Fairburn, but eventually came back and worked in the lunchroom again. I cooked everything in the world except spinach. I just never did like to smell that."

Mrs. Palmer now lives near her daughter. For over 20 years she lived at Walnut Grove.

"I lived with several people, she says. Walnut Grove was quite a place back then. It had a bank, jail house, and a well in the middle of the street."

"Now, I like living by myself and being my own boss," she laughs. "I go to bed, get up, and eat whenever I want to. The secret for a long life is being healthy and being taken care of. I don’t want people to wait on me. I like to take care of myself and I thank the Lord I’m able to take care of myself. I always loved to go to church when I could. I’ve been a member at Corinth Christian Church for over 70 years."

Mrs. Palmer’s favorite pastimes are crocheting and watching television. She has made five afghans, three bedspreads and four tablecloths, and basketball and soap operas are her favorite television programs.

"I’ve had a good life, "she says. "I never drove a car but could hitch up a mule and buggy as good as anybody. I never wanted to vote because that is a man’s job. I feel like a woman’s place is in the home. I liked to farm and garden when I’m able. I guess that’s what I hate most about getting older — not being able to work in my garden."

Loganville’s Living Legends 1976—1977 by Dewey Moody. Chapter 29.