Inspired by Louise’s letter, I called Pat Haley, who told me what she knew about Ed’s meeting of Laury Hicks.

“Ed knew Laury Hicks through Bill Day, who was Rosie Day’s husband at that time,” Pat said. “Pop was here in Ashland, I guess. Him and Bill Day got together and then Aunt Rosie and Bill Day took him to Laury Hicks. And that’s the way he got acquainted with him.”

I said, “So he never met Laury Hicks until after Rosie and Bill Day got married? But that doesn’t sound right because Ugee told me that Ed used to come up there with John Hager way back. She’s known Ed since she was a little girl. And the reason John Hager stopped traveling with Ed was because he didn’t like his lifestyle. He said he was drinking too much.”

Pat said, “Well now that makes sense, too.”

I asked her more about the circumstances of Ralph Haley’s illegitimate birth.

“I talked to Mona about there being some confusion over Ralph’s birth,” she said. “Oh, she got very uptight with me about that. She said, ‘Yes, my mother was married because my mother told me so.’ Well, I was explaining this to my sister-in-law, Patsy. She said, ‘No, no, Patricia. That’s not right. Ralph was illegitimate. Payne was a married man and Mom was teaching his daughter piano. That’s how she became pregnant.’ And the reason she’s so sure about that is Patsy had a little girl before she was married and gave her up for adoption and later she told Jack out in California and he said, ‘Well, don’t let it bother you. My mother also had a child out of wedlock.’ We got to wondering why Jack would know that and nobody else would, and then we came to the conclusion that Jack stayed with Ella Haley’s dad and stepmother for many, many years. Patsy said she figured he learned that from Nan, the stepmother.”