The woman behind Chaffee Chatters

This article was originally published Dec. 29, 2013, in the Scott County Signal.

Chaffee Chatters is a column enjoyed by many in the Chaffee community and this week, we will learn a bit more about Darla Buckhannon.

Buckhannon, born and raised in Chaffee, is the daughter of a railroad engineer and the founder of Chaffee Chatters, Mrs. B. She earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and now has homes in Dallas, Texas, and Chaffee.

Most readers know of Buckhannon's and husband Richard's love of birds. They own 29 white Indian Fantail pigeons.

Buckhannon has enjoyed a successful career in both pharmaceutical sales and real estate and most recently has written a book on caregiving, a subject with which she is quite familiar. As a young girl, she was caregiver in helping look after her father at home 10 years. She later became the caregiver of her brother, mother and other family members, giving her a firsthand look at nearly every possible experience involved with nursing homes, hospitals, hospice, etc. She became one of the first under Texas law to set up a granny cam in a nursing home.

Ruth A. BuckhannonSubmitted photo

Q: Why and when did you begin Chatters?

A: I started writing Chatters with my mother in 2003 after calling Linda Dowd with some news, and she asked us to start writing it. My mother and I delighted in gathering news, wrapping the column up and my mother handing it to Linda each Tuesday morning. My mother, know to most as Mrs. B, named the column Chaffee Chatters and had written it for many years.

My lead-in -- "While strolling, we wondered whatever happened to" -- was created when I would push my mother in her wheelchair around town on our daily strolls and talk about this and that.

My love of writing began when I got that little turquoise book with the lock and key for my birthday and wrote "Dear Diary." I've kept a journal all my life.

Q: How do you get all the birthday and anniversaries for Chatters?

A: I get my birthdays and anniversaries from readers and updated calendars H.B. Rice gave me when I first started writing Chatters. I would like to hear more from readers about the good old days of growing up in Chaffee and their comings and goings.

Q: Why do you continue to keep a home and ties to Chaffee, even though you have lived in Texas for many years?

A: I bought my mother's home in 2000, when I took her to Dallas, so she would always have the option to return if and when she wanted to. I have kept my home in Chaffee because I love everything about Chaffee -- my family home; the people and memories; the new friends I made and old friends I became reacquainted with when I moved back with my mother; the beautiful Southeast Missouri sunsets and clear night skies. I left Chaffee to live in Texas to be near my brother Wane and sisters Ruth Ann and Wilmajo.

Q: What is the title of your book, and where can people purchase it?

A: "Old and In the Way; Caring for Yourself and the Ones You Love" is the title, and it is available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle. This no-holds-barred guide covers the many aspects of caregiving whether at home, the hospital or nursing home and includes not only my personal experiences but that of other caregivers. While caring for my loved ones, I experienced the joys, challenges, miscommunications and heartbreaks of caregiving, and I thank God for keeping me physically and emotionally strong. I especially treasure the time I spent with my mother, and writing this book, which is dedicated to her, was a labor of love. The book features an illustration by Aaron Horrell's daughter, Annett Bushong.

When my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1984, I spent much of my time traveling back and forth between Chaffee and Dallas to visit my mother and tend to her needs at home, and years later, in the nursing home. Having become the caregiver for my brother in Dallas, I moved my mother from Chaffee to Dallas so I could oversee her daily care as well. IN 2002, I left my home and business in Dallas and took my mother back to Chaffee, where I could care for her in our home and my mother could be with her friends and attend the First Baptist Church.

My goal is that readers will benefit from the book so that every elderly person is treated with respect, dignity and love, and never be thought of as old and in the way.