I was the first child and only son born to Stanley Morrison and Garnetta Padgett. They were married on December 21, 1941. Shortly after their wedding, Stanley was called to serve his country during WWII. After serving in the Army Signal Corps in England and France, he came home safely to a wife who had been waiting anxiously, patiently and faithfully for his return. July 8, 1946, marked my entrance into the world where I was blessed to have wonderful loving parents.
Now and then when I am on my way down the Salem Pike, I pass the little white frame house down in the hollow that was my first home. Salem Pike takes you to the Salem Church in Harrison County, Kentucky. That old church is the first place I heard about Jesus. My maternal grandparents attended that church. My grandfather, Lawrence Padgett, was an elder in that congregation. He was also a great influence in my life, encouraging me to read the Bible and take an active part in the life of the church. The church cemetery is now the resting place of my grandparents and my parents. Resting there side by side serves to remind me that they were side by side in my upbringing. I count myself blessed to have had them be my family.
There’s not much I remember about that first house where we lived. I do recall that I had a best friend named Hoppy. He was a Shepherd Chow mix, and since I was an only child at the time, he was also my playmate. My parents told me about one great adventure Hoppy and I enjoyed together. Mother had let me play out in the yard. I was about four at the time. Hoppy and I felt as if we were confined, and so he dug under the fence and we escaped that prison yard and headed over the hill to my grandparents. But Warden Mother spotted us before we completed our getaway, and returned us to the friendly confines of house and yard.
— Terry Morrison