J.D. BAILEY
Banner-News
Estelle “Babe” Burnell Fields, the daughter of Josie Beckery and Nathaniel Burnell, was born in the Glenville Community of Nevada County in 1922. When she was just a child, the family moved to Columbia County. They originally settled in Walkerville after her father took a job with the Smith Foster Sawmill, and in 1930 the family came to Emerson, where Fields has resided ever since.
“I’ve been in Columbia County just about my whole life — since I was a little girl,” Fields said.
She grew up with two siblings — a sister, Lela Atkins who is 93, and a brother who tragically passed away after a 1960 accident. She also attended school in Emerson. Initially attending a local, church-affiliated school, she then enrolled at McMittress High School in Emerson in the 1930s.
“I originally went to school at what they called Doss Academy But then we moved to McMittress,” she said.
As an adult, Babe met and wed Emerson local Earlie Fields. The two would stay together until his passing in 1997. “He was the love of my life,” she said.
Fields would go on to have 17 children over the course of two decades. Many of her babies were born with the help of a midwife in her home. Also, during this time, she gave birth to not one but three sets of twins.
“I had a boy set, a girl set, and then a set with both a boy and a girl,” she said.
Fields didn’t have much trouble raising so many children. “All of them were good kids,” she said. “When they were little, they weren’t too much trouble, and when they were all grown, they were all good to me. Every one of them was hard workers.”
Fields’s full-time job quickly became caring for her family. She wasn’t just a mother, though. Out of necessity, she became a gardener, a farmer, a butcher, a seamstress, a cook, and just about anything else required of her.
“We had chickens and pigs and eggs and everything. I even had a garden, too. We also made our own soap,” she said.
In 1964, the family moved from their house near the railroad tracks to the Emerson home Fields still resides in today, near U.S. Highway 79 South. It was there, after many of her children began having children, that she became known as “Mama Babe” or “Grandma Babe” to her family and to the community. Her good nature and willingness to provide care and meals for everyone designated such a moniker.
She routinely sat outside and cleaned the clothes of her entire family using an old-fashioned, hand-powered wringer washer. She also hand-scrubbed laundry using a classic metal washboard in a large, hot water-filled washtub with homemade lye soap. She worked from sunup to sundown every day trying to provide as much as she could for everyone. The family never went without clean clothes, and her home was always clean and well maintained. She took pride in her appearance as well. No matter where she went, Fields was nicely dressed.
Her children said that they weren’t really raised rich, but that they thought we were rich. They didn’t know any better because their mother provided everything for them. Their clothes were always clean and so was their home. They also said Fields taught them to get along with everybody — all of the kids.
Clean clothes were not the only thing Fields provided her children. They were also fed hearty meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Fields made everything from scratch — every meal, every day. Also, every night after dinner, dessert was served. She cooked many classic southern dishes such as rice pudding and dressing, but her specialty was pinto beans. The dish even became famous amongst the locals. Her children were sometimes stopped around town and asked if Fields was still making her renowned beans.
The Fields family members were not alone in enjoying the benefits of her cooking, though. In fact, she became somewhat of a community cook. Any of her children’s friends were welcome to eat at her home anytime.
“I just had all the recipes in my head, but everybody especially liked my pinto beans,” she said. “Children would come from school on their lunch break with my kids just to eat my beans.”
One of Fields’s other great passions in life was her church. A member of Pleasant Home CME Church in Emerson nearly her entire life, she was heavily involved in its programs. She participated in missionary work until 2003 and regularly traveled to church conferences in Little Rock. Although she does not perform many of the more physically demanding church activities like she used to, Fields still attends services regularly and is a full participant.
She was also a church usher, a highly respected position in the church, at Pleasant Home alongside her best friend, Christell “Nell” George. As part of their duties, they dressed in classic white usher gowns and greeted worshippers as they entered the chapel. George was also her neighbor, living just down the street from the Fields family. The two ladies spoke with each other daily and always checked on each other’s well-being.
Another activity Fields enjoyed was driving. However, her days behind the wheel did not last long. She once nearly had an accident and never drove again.
“Earlie had an old Plymouth car, and I used to drive it. I could drive it pretty good and then, one day, I turned in there [the driveway] too quick, and there was a big tree that was out there that I almost hit. Then I quit driving. That was a long time ago, and that was one of those big old cars,” she said.
Although Fields never sat in the driver’s seat again, she did not give up her motherly instincts while in a vehicle. She often instructed the driver to slow down and obey the speed limits. She was so well known for this that her children awarded her a special gift.
“I know when you’re going too fast. I’d ride with them and I’d tell them to slow down. One time, my kids bought me a back seat driver’s license,” she said.
Today, Fields resides in the same Emerson home where she helped raise most of her family. It is estimated that she has over 200 grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and more, stretching over six generations. Included in these family members are many U.S. military members or veterans, and at least one set of twins has been born in every generation after her children.
“I guess it just runs in the family,” said Fields.
Her health has never been much of an issue either. She hasn’t been admitted to the hospital, and she currently has no major ailments. During checkups, medical personnel often praise Fields’s health.
“The nurses sometimes come and say that I’m doing better than they are,” she said.
On March 9, Fields will reach the age of 95 years. Her family has big plans for the upcoming milestone. On Saturday, March 11, a celebration will take place in her honor at the Clarence Doss Community Center in Emerson. Fields has long wished to see her favorite musical act, the traditional gospel group The Williams Brothers, perform in person. Now, thanks to one of her grandchildren, that wish is finally coming true. The singers were contacted, and they are scheduled to perform at the upcoming festivities. Dinner will also be served at the event. Anyone seeking more information on the gathering may contact Bobby Glover at (870) 949-7957, Gloria Thomas at (870) 547-3473, or Sharon Hester at (318) 518-0469.
According to Fields, her life has been full of family, joy, devotion to her church, and love for everyone. On special occasions, she even still cooks meals from scratch, and she still greets everyone with a smile.
Her outlook on life is simple: “I tried to be nice to everybody,” she said. “I’ve had a good life.”