The Robinson girls from left to right: Myrtle, Lizzie, and Eva (Grandma Eno-Robinson)

I have some hazy memories of visiting Myrtle and Lizzie when I was a child. My parents called them Aunt Myrtle and Aunt Lizzie. One of their houses (I don’t recall which one) had a kitchen floor that slanted sharply toward one wall. It was great for rolling marbles and toy cars. But her only bathroom was a smelly outhouse in the back yard.

I remember on one visit someone had just given her a used black and white television. She was troubled by all the cigarette advertising, so she connected a long electrical wire to the television speaker and connected a household light switch to the other end. From her chair she could turn off the sound whenever cigarette ads came on. I guess this was a prototype to the mute button we find on today’s remotes. I thought it was a great invention, and years later when I had my own television, I fashioned a similar devise on my set. I turned the sound off to all commercials, and still do.