Gerry Hudgins

Gerry Hudgins

Spending a couple of hours interviewing Gerry Hudgins is an education of sorts – in the history of our nation and of Mobberly Baptist Church, as well as well as of the person known around Mobberly as “Ms. Honey.” Additionally, the interviewer gets a glimpse of the traits – love, faith, persistence, kindness, compassion, generosity, and commitment – that make up her character.

Add to that list intelligence. It may be of benefit to consider what kind of parents and what kinds of experiences influenced the development of the person she became.

At the age of 92, Gerry has a lot of history to tell. Being ten years of age when the stock market

crashed in 1929, she spent her pre-teen and teenage years during the Great Depression. She grew up on a farm in Latimer County, Oklahoma. Being the seventh of eight children, Gerry was given the responsibility of helping her mother with many duties after her older siblings left home. She shared with her mother the work of cooking to feed the share-croppers on their farm.

Gerry’s parents were people of faith in Jesus who demonstrated that faith in their behavior and in their decisions. The Bible had a prominent place in their home, and it was left open to a different scripture every day. Unlike many parents, Gerry’s mama did not read the Bible to her children; she quoted it!

They attended a small country church which had no pastor; instead, they had visiting preachers. Gerry’s family always hosted the preacher. After one revival, as the preacher was leaving, Gerry’s dad gave him $10, which was the only cash Papa had. This worried Mama, so Papa said, “Lillie, you have to have faith; God will provide.” Her response: “I sure hope so.” Later that day there was a storm which made the nearby creek muddy. A neighbor’s car got stuck in the mud, so Papa pulled it out with his horses. In gratitude, the man gave Papa $10. He reminded Mama, “Now you see, Lillie,the Lord always takes care of us.”

One night at church, Gerry got really tired and sleepy as the preacher continued his long sermon. Gerry was almost asleep, but suddenly sat up as she realized, “I am a sinner, and I know what will happen when I die.” She immediately went down the aisle, fell on her knees, confessing her sins and inviting Jesus into her heart. She was not baptized at that time because her mother thought that nine years of age was too young.

Because her community did not have a junior high or high school, Gerry moved to Longview at the age of 13 to attend junior high school and lived with her older sisters. It was during this time that, at the age of 13, she was baptized at First Baptist Church by Pastor John L. Wharton. She completed junior high and attended one year of high school in Longview, followed by one year in Oklahoma. When Gerry’s dad died, her mother moved to town, so Gerry finished high school there.

Gerry returned to Longview to live with her sisters and find a job. The country was still in the

throes of the Depression, and 18-year-old Gerry needed a job. She went to retail stores to inquire,with no success. Then she went to the telephone company to apply; they took her name, but she was told that there were 100 names ahead of hers. However, Gerry knew her Source of help and spent most of the night in prayer. She got the job at the telephone company and continued working there until her marriage.

The telephone operator beside her kept telling Gerry she wanted to introduce her to her brother. At the time, Gerry had no interest in meeting a guy, but finally gave in and met Earl. They were married the next year. At this time, she was a member of First Baptist Church,where she taught the 14-year-old girls’ class. She gave up this class when her babies – first, son Dick, then twins Judy and Julia – came along.

In 1944 the Hudgins moved their membership to Mobberly Avenue Baptist Church.Gerry was soon asked to teach four- and five-year-olds, but she first declined due to lack of training to

teach this age group. However, Virgil Miller was persistent and talked her into it. She taught this class for nine years. At first this class of “Beginners” met in the sanctuary or wherever they could find space to meet. Then they obtained an old barracks building from LeTourneau and had no equipment except what Virgil built for it – ten tables with attached benches. Each table accommodated eight children plus one teacher. Since there were no chairs for the children, they say on the floor for group time. Later the church was able to build a children’s building to meet the growth needs. This class grew to 80 students during the time Gerry taught there.

Fast forward to the present – Gerry has taught in Small Groups at Mobberly for 67 years, 25 of them working with toddlers – three- and four-year olds. Even though she broke her back in a fall in April this year, and cannot be physically present to work with the children, Gerry works with the two teachers. They have a quarterly meeting at her apartment to organize and make plans for the lessons during the coming three months. Gerry keeps the artwork to cut out in preparation for the teachers and children. The class just promoted out 40 four-year-olds.

Why the name “Ms. Honey” ? Many years ago, Gerry kept young children in her home, and one little boy, much to the dismay of his mother, started calling Gerry, “Mama.” Since the adults in his life were disallowing the use of this appellation, the youngster simply listened to what Mr. Hudgins called his wife, and followed suit. “Ms. Honey” stuck.

Ms. Honey remembers unusual experiences on September 11, 2001. She and her nursery co-worker “Barham” every week visited in the homes of the children who were absent on Sunday. As the were making the rounds, they were amazed that no one came to the door. They tried twelve homes – no success. Barham joked, “They must have seen us coming!” As usual, they then went together to the mall to browse. In Dillard’s they began to notice that people in the stores were acting strangely in some way, so they decided to leave. As they were walking out in the center of the mall, shops began closings their gates. When they saw some televisions, they finally realized what others already knew.

Asked what her favorite age group was to teach, Gerry says, “I have no favorite; I just love them all.”

Another of Ms. Honey’s pleasures, besides working with children, is making aprons. She began this practice nine years ago by making aprons for her daughters. She has made them for co-workers, married grandchildren, friends, and other special persons in her life. She likes to use pretty sheets for women’s aprons and uses denim for men.

Her favorite scriptures are some of the Psalms, especially Psalm 23 and Psalm 121, both of which she recites aloud (“It’s not the same if you don’t say it out loud.”) before she goes to sleep.