Strange Family Folklore

For this interview, one of my cousins sent me questions to ask his Aunt Lucinda Snead, daughter of Theodore Sr. and Anna Lee Strange, granddaughter of Jesse and Lucy Strange. 

Dues-paying members of the Strange family democratically elected their 2026 board members, who will serve for four years. I got to know who the family representatives were at the 85th Strange Family Reunion.

In this episode, I interview my first cousin, Carolyn Bell. She’s the youngest daughter of Olivia and Floyd Strange, Jr., granddaughter of Beatrice and Floyd Strange, Sr and great granddaughter of Lucy and Jesse Strange 

I had the pleasure of talking with one of my cousins, who not only discovered her Strange roots, but wrote a stage play about our family legacies. 

For this special episode, I've quilted together 21 narratives from the descendants of Jesse Strange the Elder on Saturday, June 28th. When I first started, I just pulled everyone who'd come early to set up field day activities for the kids and light snacks. As the day progressed, I ensnared more descendants. The changing background sounds add texture of bringing the present to the narratives as family reminisce about the past.

On the second day of Kwanzaa 2024, Kujichagulia, or Self-Determination, I had the pleasure of interviewing my Cousin Joan Raynor, daughter of Gladys Strange Wilkerson, and granddaughter of Jesse Strange. Her father was Ernest Wilkerson. Cousin Joan shared her quilting passion with me. 

As part of my end-of-year holiday vacation, I had the pleasure of visiting with one of my cousins, Georgia Mulholland. Georgia’s mother, Marion Wheeler, was the daughter of Jessie Strange the Younger, son of Jesse Strange the Elder. Georgia’s father was George Hairston. During our conversation, I asked Cousin Georgia about growing up in Cascade, VA and her cooking traditions. 

For this episode, I thought it would be a wonderful idea to interview the oldest living descendent in the Strange family, Walter “Thel” Strange while taking an intergenerational hayride. Let’s just say, I got an abundance of riches in the form of interweaving conversations, enveloped within a bouquet of sounds.

Once again, Mom and I were busy in the kitchen, when she started dropping some delicious details from her childhood. I’d heard different stories about her learning how to drive, but she added some curious flavor to this retelling.

My Cousin Percy Martin had been a practicing artist for 72 years and had been interviewed so many times that for the first time ever, this interview started without me asking an initial question.