Granny was born in Enid, Oklahoma in 1923. When she was five years old, she visited her cousins and her uncle Ruben. Her cousins had some bones they had made out of old cow bones and were rattling the bones between their fingers. Granny was intrigued. They gave her some and showed her how to use them. When she left Uncle Ruben‘s house, they gave her two hand-whittled wooden bones and she took those home and just worked and worked and worked with those two bones until she learned how to play
Her husband, Tommy, always loved seeing Granny perform for crowds, at family get togethers, and for friends they made in the course of their extensive travels. Traveling in a motor home, there was a party every night, you know. Tommy said. Granny‘s bone rattling was always a big part of the party.