I never met my great-grandfather, but I feel as though I know him. He died a little more than six months before the world and my family were blessed with ME. Grandpa Cooley was born August 4, 1894 in Coaling, Alabama. My family was so large, the small town was known as "Cooley" because there were so many Cooleys living there. From Coaling, the family migrated to Missouri and finally settled in Enterprise, Iowa. This is where Edward met Ethyl Johnson, the woman who would become his wife and mother to four of his children. My great-grandfather was a coal miner for many years. An accident in the mines severed a part of his leg. With a settlement he received for his injuries, he purchased a small grocery store, "Cooley's" in Des Moines. A door may have closed, but a window opened. Grandpa and Grandma Cooley worked hard in the store. Grandma Cooley, being a woman with a loving spirit and generous heart, would not allow her neighbors to go hungry. Though the customers would have little or no money, Grandma Cooley would extend them credit for their purchases. A fine idea, but credit purchases do NOT pay the bills. Within a few short years the store closed. Down, but not out, Grandpa Cooley continued to provide for his wife and children. No deadbeat father here - no sir. As I stated, I never met him but feel like I know him. Much of the values he instilled in his children they instilled in theirs. Of course that continued to the next generation and so on and so on. On this day, on what would be his 105th birthday, I honor his memory with this post. Happy Birthday, Grandpa Cooley.
