August 1973

Patty Price took a flight from New York to Memphis Tennessee and then rented a car and drove to Jenkinsville which was about an hour away. She didn't know if she would booked a room at the Holiday Inn which had been just been built. About ten years earlier, an interstate had been built and the town was one of its exits. It made travel to Memphis much easier and quicker.

There had been some growth in the town but not much. The downtown area with the exception of the businesses had changed little. Ruth more or less had kept Patty up to date on what was going on. It was a little after noon and Patty decided to get something to eat.

A couple of days earlier, Ruth Hughes had died in her sleep. She was 75 years old.

Throughout the years, Patty had kept in touch with her calling her once or twice a month and sending letters. It was Ruth's granddaughter who was in the army in Germany who had contacted her. Since Patty had left the reform school, she had seen Ruth four times but this was in Memphis where she was living. Her son and his family had moved to Memphis.

Shortly after Patty went to reform school, Ruth was hired by Miriam Weinstein to take care of her aging mother in Memphis. Her mother died in 1970 and Ruth retired and came back to Jenkinsville where she lived with her sister Delores. The younger generation had basically moved to Mempis or Little Rock.

Those who left Jenkinsville rarely came back to live.

She saw that instead of one restaurant, there were now three or four. The Jackson Cafe was still there and Patty went inside. The layout of the restaurant was about the same, although they had added on to the restaurant. Many of the teens would often hang out at the restaurant. Being that it was summer, many of those in the restaurant were teens.

An man who was a five years older than Patty was at the cash register. A young woman was about 17 years old gave Patty a menu. She ordered a Tuna Sandwich with fries and a drink. The older man who was at the cash register was looking at Patty trying to figure who she was. He'd seen her before but...

The woman came back with the Order and Patty said without thinking, 'Thank you Edna...

"Edna's my Aunt, I'm Debbie, her niece."

"Sorry, you look so much like Edna did when she was younger."

The place was very busy so Debbie continued on.

Patty eat as quickly as she could, paid the bill and then left. So far she'd been lucky that no one recognized her but she had almost blown her cover.

The viewing was at 2 pm and the funeral was at 3:00 pm The funeral was held in the Bethel A & E Church in Jenkinsville. The church was a couple of miles from the motel.

The store that Patty's father owned was long gone, having been destroyed in a fire. A couple of years after Patty's sister and mother had been killed, Harry Bergen committed suicide and then set the grocery store on fire. His business had suffered after Patty's arrest and had really gone downhill after his wife and daughter died.

Patti drove around the town for about an hour and then drove to the church for the funeral. The funeral of Ruth Hughes was well attended. Nearly all of the people attending the funeral were African-American. Besides Patty, there were two other whites who were in attendance and Patty had no idea who they were. At the viewing she'd been asked by Ruth's son Jerome if she knew this couple. They didn't.

Ruth Hughes look like she was asleep and at peace. Tears came down Patty's face. She then turned to Jerome.

While it was true that the schools were integrated in the area, the people in the town or at least some of them still hadn't forgiven Ruth Hughes for standing up for Patty.

Everyone took their seats and the funeral service began. After the funeral, there was a luncheon. The couple who had sat quietly in back of the church were nowhere to be seen. After the luncheon, people stood up and talked about their memories of Ruth Hughes. Tears came down Patty's face as she spoke.

"As most of you know, I'm Patty Price (maiden name Burg). I would like to tell you what a good person Ruth Hughes was. She was the only person in this town who ever showed me any love or affection and she stood up for me when I was put on trial. She was putting herself and her family at risk for doing this but she did so because she believed in me and cared about me. Everyone else in the town family included had basically disowned me, I'm most grateful to her. "

The luncheon had pretty much wrapped up and Patty was trying to decide if she was going to spend the night in Jenkinsville. Shortly after leaving the funeral, Patty was pulled over by police.

Patti gave him her NY license and registration. The officer said he would be back in a few minutes. She knew that she'd done nothing wrong. She also knew why she was pulled over. The officer came back to the car.

"Patty Bergen, no I'm sorry Patty Price, several people reported you speeding in the downtown area. I'm giving you a warning this time but the next day you will get a ticket."

"Okay."

The officer noticed that there was no reaction when he called her Patty Bergen. He didn't remember her (he wasn't born yet) but the Police Chief told him about her as he'd gotten information from a concerned citizen that she might be in town for Ruth Hughes's funeral.

"After I pulled her over she went down the street and got unto I-40 heading towards Memphis. I doubt she will be back again.

Edna Jackson looked at the pictures that had been taken of Patty walking into the church, walking to her car. Her brother had taken them, showed them to his his sister and then gave it to the police chief.

"She's lives in New York City. Married someone with the last name of Price.

Patty kept driving and drove through Memphis. She drove about 3 hours before stopping at a rest area.

Thank god she hadn't checked into the Holiday Inn in Jenkinsville.