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Frank Harrelson
"It must have been the coffee..."
Nannie's two surviving daughters had grown in to womanhood and motherhood by the 1940's. Melvina had given birth to son Robert Lee Haynes by husband Mosie Haynes in 1943 and became pregnant again by 1945 and delivered a daughter. This second pregnancy was a difficult one, Wracked in pain Melvina called for her mother to attend the birth. Nannie did all the motherly things through the birth and celebrated with her daughter and son-in-law when the baby girl was born. An hour later the child died.
Later on at home Melvina seemed to remember that while in an exhausted haze just after the birth what she then thought of to be a dream of Nannie sticking a hat pin in the tiny newborns head. As she related the story to her sister Florine and husband Mosie, Melvina was taken aback by the shocked look on their faces. They both stated that they had seen Nannie fiddling with just such a pin earlier the day the baby was born. The doctors never did come up with a solid cause of death.
Six months later while visiting her father Melvina's son Robert Lee died mysteriously in Nannies care. Nannie acted the grieving grandmother perfectly and two months later collected a $500.00 life insurance policy she had previously taken out on Robert.After Japan surrendered to the U.S. in 1945 the country was in a patriotic frenzy. Frank took this patriotic excuse to part, party, party. After one particular evening of revelry Frank came home to Nannie loaded and ready for some carnal fun. Nannie was not in the mood but went along to avoid once again sporting the black and blue Frank was adept at dealing out.
The next day Nannie was tending her favorite rose garden; Nannie loved her yard and fussed over it regularly, she found Franks corn whisky stash buried in herlovely garden. This was the last straw. She took Franks bath tub hooch, poured some out and topped it off with a rat poison micky. Frank Harrelson died a painful death that evening, September 15th 1945 at the age of 38. His last words to Nannie was "It must have been the coffee".