Country Girl Paula Dean Goes Uptown and Returns to her Missouri Roots

Yes my birth name is Paula Dean.  I was going to be a Jr in my Father's eyes.  So he was suprised and a little disappointed when his first born was a girl. 

My Father was Paul Vernon Little and my Mother's Sister, my Aunt, was Reva Dean Broyles so that is how Paula Dean Little was created.  Being from very rural northern Kahoka, Missouri the middle name was always used with your first name.  Not just when a parent was mad with you, but everyday life.  When this country girl grew up I decided I really didn't want to milk 8 cows by hand every morning and evening and was tired of the rural life.  Riding a tractor and manure spreader to get to the main road so I could go to school was not fun in the winter time when the snow and ice was piled up.  Paula Dean wanted to go uptown and live.  So the hour I graduated from Clark Country RI High School, class of 113, I left with my Aunt Reva and went to her home in St. Louis, MO.  Now I was uptown. 

Loved St Louis, attended Missouri Baptist College for 1 1/2 years, got married, had a daughter and was divorced in less than 3 years.  So as a single Mom, I ended up working lots of hours and raised my daughter by myself. 

Uptown was still calling me, Paula Dean where are you, but this time it was to go West.  John Denver playing Rocky Mountain High, Mamas and Papas with California Dreamin and I moved to Las Vegas, NV.  Las Vegas at that time was small and you knew everyone.  Loved it.  Ran cocktails, was a bartender in several places, owned and operated 2 Hair Salons and had a great life with my daughter.  There were up and downs but most good.  Still at this time I hadn't been married 3 years out of my whole life.  Married my husband Patrick Wood, but you can call him Woody almost 14 years ago.  We had a great life.  When 9/11 hit Las Vegas did change in a major way and still hasn't recovered.  Woody had been in the Car business with GM as a manager in Dealerships for over 30 years.  Well we all know what happened there.  So hubby decided he wanted to move from Las Vegas, I really wasn't keen on this and had several arguments with God, seems like me, Paula Dean lost that one.  So I sent out over 1000 resumes for Woody to many states and lots of Car Dealerships.  Missouri was the only state we got an answer from.  I didn't want to move back to Missouri.  So it really came down to loving huband or divorce, which I didn't want to do.  We moved to Missouri in 2004.  My family in Missouri was like the Hatfields and McCoys when I was growing up.  We weren't allowed to talk to my Father's relatives at all.  So to make a long story short, Woody and I moved to Missouri, ended up in Missouri Amish Country 35 miles east of Springfield.  Trust me this is rural.  Found out what part of the family fued was,  one of my first cousins is actually my half brother.  Now I am connected with family again and God always does have a reason when He wins and you listen.

More on all of this on a later blog.  Fill in spaces and update.

So being in the middle of nowhere, I do enjoy selling on Addoway.  I can shop the country side and surrounding states for wonderful primitive, country, shabby and vintage treasures. 

Hope this clears up the Paula Dean part.  This is my birth name not my married divorced name and I only use my original spelling of Paula Dean.  So I say I am the Original Paula Dean or at least in my eyes and life. 

Hope you enjoy and this made you laugh at least a little.

With a heavy heart, I am sorry to add this to my blog.  My wonderful husband, Patrick, passed away on October 15, 2011.  Now he is in Heaven.  It was a long hard struggle with Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Blessings from Missouri Amish Country.
Paula Dean Little Wood
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