On Your Street: Borums make mark on 11th Street

By Brandi Watters, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer

April 12, 2009 08:32 pm

— FRANKTON — Technically, 11th Street is just another of Frankton’s numbered roadways, but if you ask someone in the Borum family, it’s known as Borum Avenue.
Robin Borum says there are 59 members of the Borum family living in Frankton, and nine of them live on 11th Street.
The family gathered for Easter on Sunday and while the youngest Borum descendants wrestled in a fenced yard and blew bubbles with flavored soap, the adults reflected on the family’s presence in the small town.
The Borums’ mark on Frankton was first made when Chester and Ava Borum bought a patch of land on 11th Street. It became known as the homestead to the Borums who followed.
Chester and Ava had six children, and they didn’t stray far.
Randy Borum, the youngest of the six, still lives just off 11th Street with his wife, Robin, who said becoming a Borum is permanent. “When you marry into the family, you just become a Borum. It’s the biggest family you could ever imagine.”
Looking at Randy on Sunday, Robin reflected on her experience. “Twenty-six years, three daughters, a dog and a mortgage ... and it still works.”
The family is tight-knit, Cathy Borum said, and rallies around one another in crisis.
When Jim Borum was in the hospital for a major surgery, 20 Borums gathered in the lobby and waited for 15 hours.
On Sunday, the Borums again demonstrated their unity.
Mike Borum is suffering from a tumor that pushes against the back of his left eye, causing the eye to protrude. Knowing he’d be photographed on Easter, he wore sunglasses to hide the injury.
As a show of support, the Borum family arrived at Mike’s home and each one brought a pair of sunglasses so that Mike did not feel singled-out.
Though many years have passed in the five generations since Chester and Ava first settled in Frankton, the family is insistent upon staying near the homestead, and none has any plans to change location, or tradition. “It’s just one of those Borum things we do,” Robin said.

Contact Brandi Watters: 640-4847, brandi.watters@heraldbulletin.com

Each Monday, The Herald Bulletin is profiling a street in Madison County in our On Your Street series. What’s on the street? Who lives there? What is the history? Those are questions we’ll try to answer. And it’s not just streets. Roads, boulevards and lanes will be included. If you have a street you’d like to nominate for our coverage, let Stephen Dick, assistant managing editor, know. Reach him at The Herald Bulletin, 1133 Jackson St., Anderson 46016 or (765) 640-4863 or steve.dick@heraldbulletin.com.

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