EP313: The 6 Brothers Who Gave Their Lives for the Union and A Tattoo Shop with Heart

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Light, comfy, good to go to. This is Jem. And Em. From In Our Own World Podcast. La Cutura Podcast Network and Coca-Cola celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with incredible content creators like Patty Rodriguez. I was born in East LA, and I remember growing up, there was a small little shack in the apartment we lived at. And I would make that shack into a television studio. And there I would play pretend. I would pretend that I was a news reporter. And that's how I would spend most of my afternoons, pretending and imagining that one day I would be able to tell our own stories. Listen to Out of the Shadows, hosted by Patty Rodriguez and Eric Galindo on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Brought to you by Coca-Cola, proud sponsor of the My Cultura Podcast Network. Hispanic heritage is magic. This is Lee Habib and this is Our American Stories. And we tell stories about everything here on this show, including yours.

Send them to OurAmericanStories.com. They're some of our favorites. Up next, a story from the Civil War that was nearly forgotten to history.

Here's John Busby of The Culture Buzz on KFMG 98.9 FM and our own Monty Montgomery with a story. A lot of history, although it deserves to be remembered, can easily be forgotten if people, well, forget about it. It then becomes almost like buried treasure waiting for someone to uncover it. Delving into history is, it's almost like beachcombing. You're never quite sure what you're going to find, but sometimes you find some incredible things.

And that's what happened over 10 years ago. Someone who's a friend of mine now, Tom Woodruff of Louisa County, Iowa. He had a call from the widow of a boyhood friend of his who said that this friend's grandmother had put together a scrapbook.

It roughly went from the late 1800s to the first few years of the 1900s. And she knew it might be of interest to Tom because Tom is an amateur historian. And so she ended up getting that scrapbook to Tom.

So, of course, what does he do? He sits down and he has to go through the entire scrapbook. And there on this 57 page scrapbook on page 23 was a little news clipping. It was from a 1907 Columbus Gazette newspaper, and they were talking about the devastating toll the Civil War had. And it talked specifically about the Littleton family were less fortunate when it came to losing people.

Of the six brothers, only one lived to return, and he shortly died of disease contracted in the service. And right there, that was the flashpoint for Tom Woodruff to try and find out more about these six Littleton brothers. Tom had started working on this for a few years, and a mutual friend of ours connected me to Tom. She knew that I loved history, that I did stories about history.

And she said, I've got a fellow you need to meet. Well, I met Tom Woodruff and the chase was on as they say, what can we do to bring this story back to light? Because it was one of those profound stories that inspirational in service to country, tragic in the total loss of the male lineage of a family. There were four sisters left from that family. And in fact, many of the relatives, the descendants of those four sisters knew very little, if anything, about the six great, great, great uncles that they had at one time. So that was kind of the genesis of getting involved with the Littleton brothers' story.

We have a lot of missing puzzle pieces. Some of the pieces we have are based in census records. So a number of the Littleton family members were notated as mulatto. The migration of the Littleton family, they originated from Maryland.

And it looks like James and Martha, they were the mother and father. They started toward moving west because they wanted more opportunity. And their first four children, Sarah, George, John, and Thomas were born in Maryland. They probably left Maryland in late 1836 or so. They ended up stopping in Ohio for a while to keep expanding their family. So Ohio became home for the birth of William and then Mary. Then after Mary was born, sometime after that, between 1839 and 1841, they completed their migration to Iowa. So when they got to Louisa County in around 1840, 1841, that is when the family completed its expansion. Rebecca was born in 1841, Pramila in 1843, and her twin brother, Kendall, same year, Noah in 1845, and that completed the family. Trying to figure out why the Littleton brothers served, that is where the best historical forensic researcher would really have a challenge.

You could go to the newspapers, but there didn't seem to be a lot of information about the Littletons in there. So we really don't know, but Iowa has kind of a Janus personality when it comes to the Civil War. There were virtually no important battles fought in Iowa during the Civil War. But there was a sense of dedication and duty that the people who targeted Iowa as the place they were going to sink their roots, that they wanted to support that fierce patriotism that they seemed to have. And that's what kept drawing so many people to enlist in the service from Iowa.

I think that's part of what drove them into enlisting as they did. Thomas was the first one to enlist. He enlisted in July 16th of 1861. He was in Company C, 5th Iowa Infantry. Next was William Littleton. He enlisted in September 21st of 1861.

Company K, 8th Iowa Infantry. The third Littleton brother to enlist was George Littleton. He was the oldest brother. He enlisted in 1862. And because he was working at the time in Illinois, he enlisted in Illinois. The three final brothers were Kendall Littleton, John, and Noah. And those three brothers all enlisted on August 21st, 1862 and served in Company F of the 19th Iowa Infantry.

And their service was to be relatively short-lived. And you've been listening to John Busby tell the story of the Littletons. The Littletons lost all six of the boys in that family. The bloodline.

Four sisters remained. And so many of these stories are untold until they're told. And you're hearing it here on Our American Stories. John Busby telling the story of the Littleton family and so many other families ravaged by the Civil War. The highest death count in all of the wars America has ever fought.

600,000 plus. And the story continues of the Littleton brothers here on Our American Stories. Folks, if you love the stories we tell about this great country and especially the stories of America's rich past, know that all of our stories about American history, from war to innovation, culture, and faith, are brought to us by the great folks at Hillsdale College. A place where students study all the things that are beautiful in life and all the things that are good in life. And if you can't get to Hillsdale, Hillsdale will come to you with their free and terrific online courses.

Go to hillsdale.edu to learn more. It's true! I had one that night and I took my NerdTech ODT and I was present and had an amazing time.

Here's a little glimpse of our conversation with some of our closest friends. This episode was brought to you by NerdTech ODT Remedipant 75 milligrams. Life with migraine attacks can mean missing out on big moments with friends and family.

But thankfully NerdTech ODT Remedipant 75 milligrams is the only medication that is proven to treat a migraine attack and prevent episodic migraines in adults. So, lively events like Wango Tango don't have to be missed. Soon millions will make Medicare coverage decisions for next year. And UnitedHealthcare can help you feel confident about your choices. For those eligible, Medicare annual enrollment runs from October 15th through December 7th. If you're working past age 65, you might be able to delay Medicare enrollment depending on your employer coverage.

It can seem confusing, but it doesn't have to be. Visit uhcmedicarehealthplans.com to learn more. UnitedHealthcare, helping people live healthier lives. I know everything there is to know about running a coffee shop. But for small business insurance, I need my State Farm agent. They make sure my business stays piping hot.

And I stay cool and confident. See, they're small business owners too, so they know how to help you best. State Farm is in your corner and on it. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

Call your local State Farm agent for a quote today. And we return to our American stories and the story of the six Littleton brothers who all enlisted to fight in our nation's civil war, our bloodiest war. Here again is John Busby of the Culture Buzz on KFMG 98.9.

And here's Monty. At the outbreak of the Civil War, all six Littleton brothers would enlist to fight for the Union, and some of them would see action at Prairie Grove, Arkansas. Unfortunately, it was that battle that took its greatest and quickest toll on the Littleton family. In battle, Kendall died and was buried in a mass grave there. John was severely wounded in the thigh, and he was transferred to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to hopefully recover.

However, he died eight days later and was buried in an unmarked grave there in the National Cemetery. Chances are that he didn't die so much from his wounds as from the infection. Noah did survive the Prairie Grove battle, but it was interesting on what happened to him. He shows that even accidents can happen in war, and that's exactly what happened to Noah. Noah was part of a foraging group. That's one thing that in the Civil War, the troops had to forage what was available in the land that they were crisscrossing. Noah was on a foraging trip that included ferrying goods that they acquired across the White River, which is down between Missouri and Arkansas. During the time that they were ferrying things, the rains had kind of made the river turbulent. There's a great passage here. This was a first-hand account by Timothy Phillips, a member of Company A of the Iowa 19th.

Several days ago, nearly 100 men were sent out as guards to a forage train. They returned the day the new boat was built under the supervision of Lieutenant Faust, the first light duty. The boat was considered ample to carry two six-meal teams across loaded and a number of horsemen and footmen. The boat was unmanageable and passing to the center of the stream and sunk. Water pouring over the boat, washing one team and several men from the boat, which after became submerged, broke loose.

The water was very cold, and water setting from shore made it require superhuman strength to reach it, while we, as gazers, could not render assistance and be only witnesses of their death struggles. One of those who perished was Noah. Thomas, the first to enlist, ironically, fought more battles and served in actual, I guess you'd call, combat situations than any of the other brothers. He fought in the battles of Iuca, in Champion Hill, the siege of Vicksburg and Mission Ridge, and that's where he was captured. When he was captured, he was sent to Andersonville. Andersonville was located in Georgia, and it was situated in a wide open field area, just bare dirt ground.

There was a very sluggish stream of terrible water that did come through it a little bit, not pure. Food rations were inconsistent at best. The prisoners were packed in. If a disease was brought in by a prisoner, it could run rampant through the ranks of the prisoners there.

It was a gulag-type situation. When word about what Andersonville was about got around to the Union Army, they knew that if any of their compatriots were sent to Andersonville, it was almost assuredly a death stamp. And after two and a half, almost three years of captivity, that is when he died of chronic diarrhea in Andersonville, and he ended up being buried at the Andersonville National Cemetery. William was in Company K, 8th Iowa Infantry. He was the second of the Littleton brothers to enlist. He fought in the battles of Shiloh, and he was wounded there, Jackson, and the Siege of Vicksburg, and that's where he contracted a disease. A disease he would later die of, like so many others, in a St. Louis hospital.

But what happened to George? George was in Company B of the 65th Illinois Infantry. He did have a battle, and it was a name that's well known. It was a battle at Harpers Ferry. He was captured and imprisoned briefly, but in these early days, there were prisoner exchanges.

The honor system was in place where, my side has this many prisoners, we want to exchange for that many prisoners on your side, and they will not go into combat for X number of months, or something like that. George was reassigned after the prisoner exchange, and he was reassigned to Chicago, where they had what was kind of the Union's version of Andersonville. The winters were brutal, and that is where he probably had pneumonia, he did get back home, and he lived for a while longer, but he finally succumbed to the brutal toll that the military life, the diseases that he encountered, took on his body. And that's what made George become the sixth victim of the six Littleton brothers. The Littleton brothers story resonates with me because it encompasses a national level of kind of cross-sectioning of what happened during the Civil War in a single family. You had all these brothers enlist in the war, all the sisters were married back home, some of them had multiple marriages because they outlived husbands, things like that. But with the brothers, you had the diversity of ways that those who served perished.

You had in battle, you had wounded from battle and perished afterwards, probably a combination of the wound and disease. You had disease, you had accident, you had imprisonment, you had all these different ways in this microcosmic perspective of six brothers. And that's where the tragedy is, because these days we don't think of having to endure this kind of tragedy. And the Littleton brothers is a special, unequaled sacrifice tragedy that needs to come to light again. And a good way to bring it to light would be a monument. A monument that only recently came about, even though the idea had been floating around for a long time. The Loiza newspaper a hundred years ago actually commented about this when they talked about the six brothers. There needs to be a memorial built to honor the lives of these six brothers from Toolsboro in Loiza County, who all died as a result of volunteering to fight in the Civil War.

When it was dedicated on Flag Day, June 14th of 2016, the keynote was delivered by Tom Morain, who was an exceptionally well-known historian and scholar. He read something that has always stuck with me in his words. He quoted the Bible, The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and sent me in the middle of a valley. It was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, Son of man, can these bones live? And with that question begins the Bible account of how Ezekiel watched dry bones take on a new life. And in this story, the people of Israel are the dry bones who had lost touch with their heritage, but who could live again if they recover that historical memory. In a similar way, the Littleton brothers would not mean much to us today if we know them only through the bare bones of the census record, George, John, Thomas, Kendall, William, and Noah. And a great job as always by Monty Montgomery on the production of the piece. And a special thanks to John Busby of The Culture Buzz on KFMG 98.9 for sharing with us this remarkable story of the Louisa County, Iowa family, the Littletons and the Littleton brothers.

Again, all six perished in the Civil War or just thereafter. The Littleton family story here on Our American Story. Hey, you guys, this is Tori and Jenny with the 90210MG podcast. We have such a special episode brought to you by NerdTech ODT. We recorded it at I Heart Radio's 10th poll event, Wango Tango. Did you know that NerdTech ODT Remedapant 75 milligrams can help migraine sufferers still attend such an exciting event like Wango Tango? It's true. I had one that night and I took my NerdTech ODT and I was present and had an amazing time. Here's a little glimpse of our conversation with some of our closest friends. This episode was brought to you by NerdTech ODT Remedapant 75 milligrams.

Life with migraine attacks can mean missing out on big moments with friends and family, but thankfully NerdTech ODT Remedapant 75 milligrams is the only medication that is proven to treat a migraine attack and prevent episodic migraines in adults. So lively events like Wango Tango don't have to be missed. Soon millions will make Medicare coverage decisions for next year, and UnitedHealthcare can help you feel confident about your choices. For those eligible, Medicare annual enrollment runs from October 15th through December 7th. If you're working past age 65, you might be able to delay Medicare enrollment depending on your employer coverage.

It can seem confusing, but it doesn't have to be. Visit UHCMedicareHealthPlans.com to learn more. UnitedHealthcare, helping people live healthier lives. I know everything there is to know about running a coffee shop, but for small business insurance, I need my State Farm agent. They make sure my business stays piping hot, and I stay cool and confident. See, they're small business owners too, so they know how to help you best. State Farm is in your corner and on it. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

Call your local State Farm agent for a quote today. And we're back with our American stories. Up next, we have a story brought to us thanks to the Cincinnati Area Better Business Bureau. Tammy Harris and her husband run a tattoo shop in Cincinnati, and they were awarded the BBB's Torch Award that celebrates business owners for their ethics.

Here's Robby with the story. Tammy Harris was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. I went to Aiken High School. It was a vocational school. So they had, like back in the day, oh my gosh, it was amazing because they had like body art, cosmetology, commercial art is what I was in because I was into art. Like seriously, my mom gave me my baby book not too long ago, and it was the cutest thing because I guess from the time I was born, I've been an artist. Because she even wrote in there like, you know, what does she want to be when she grows up or something and said artist.

I was like, oh my gosh, that is so cute. So yeah, graduated high school. Got pregnant at 17, so had a baby when I got out of high school and I had a full scholarship to go at the time.

It was the best art college in America, which was in San Francisco. But since I got pregnant, I realized it's not about me no more. So that's when I started working in a factory just to be able to take care of her because I didn't want to be on welfare and have other people take care of my choices.

You know what I mean? So yeah, I just started working in the factory, taking care of my baby. It was really hard because I was a single mom. And then I decided to go to college because my high school commercial art teacher was still contacting me and trying to get me to go to college because he got me the full ride scholarship. And he was really upset when he found out I was pregnant and I wasn't going to go.

It's like, I'm sorry, dude. This thing comes first. So yeah, I pretty much was going to school full time in the morning, going home, taking care of my baby for a little bit, trying to get a nap. And then I worked third shift in the factory.

So it was rough. So did that for a year. And then my second year of college, I started in like they said that they had job placement once you graduated. So I was like, OK, that's perfect because the factory that I worked in, it was a good factory, but it was factory work.

Nothing fun. So I thought, OK, yeah, I get to start a job that has something to do with what I love. Yeah, it didn't turn out that way. So the second year they had a meeting with the teacher and he was pretty much explaining that, you know, the job placement and everything. And I said, well, can I ask, you know, what the job placement involves and like how much you get paid?

Because at the time, the factory that I worked in, you made decent money, especially for me to be, gosh, 19, 20. He had the nerve to look at me and said, kinkos. I was like, what? Like, wait a minute. I am spending all this money to go to college and your job placement is making copies for people at kinkos.

Like, you have got to be kidding. So I was wondering why I was getting upset. And I'm like, dude, do you not understand? Like, I am working myself to death to pay for this and take care of my baby to try to make my life better. And you're telling me that you're going to put me in a job at kinkos when I make three times that amount in the factory.

So why am I wasting my time? And that's when I quit there and my high school teacher got a hold of me and was so upset because I quit. But I was like, dude, they're just taking my money and using me like I'm not OK with that.

It was back in the factory that Tammy found both a husband and an idea for a new career path. So that's when I started thinking about the tattooing process. I was like, oh, you know, that that would be a pretty cool way to kind of put my art to use.

And it's cool. Back then it wasn't cool, but it was cool to me because I got my first tattoo and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. So, yeah, I started going around to the tattoo shops and kind of talking to all the tattoo owners about being an apprentice. And they were extremely rude, like treated me like I was just garbage and because I was a woman and women didn't do tattoos 20 something years ago. So pretty much like when you're young, you think that all tattoo artists are good. All people that own tattoo shops are good at tattooing.

And that is so wrong. So we went to tattoo shops and we got messed up. So when you're not happy with your tattoo, that is the worst. Like you should not be ashamed of something that you permanently have on your body for the rest of your life.

Like that is so not cool. So it took us a long time to find somebody that could fix the tattoos and cover up what we had. So we spent a lot of time, a lot of money with him, and I became friends with his wife. My husband became friends with him. We started hanging out.

Just we became friends. So, yeah, one night he calls my husband. It's like three o'clock in the morning and we're sleeping, getting ready to go to work in the morning to the factory. And my husband's like, what is he doing? Call like, why is my tattoo guy calling me? And I'm like, answer the phone. So he answers the phone.

I can hear the guy talking because it's completely quiet. And he said, hey, man, you know, I've been thinking, do you want to do an apprenticeship? And my husband's like, dude, it's like three o'clock in the morning.

I need to go to work in the morning. Like, I'll call you back later and talk to you about it. So I'm smacking him like, do it, do it, do it. And he's like, would you stop? So, yeah, I told him, I said, you know, that's perfect because, you know, since I couldn't get into it, he can get into it and he can learn. And then once he gets good, he can teach me.

And that would be my way of getting into it. And that's exactly what happened. He tattooed for about two years. His first tattoo was on me. And then two years later, when I started tattooing, my first tattoo was on him. And it went from there, man. We've been tattooing, gosh, almost every day for 18, 19 years.

It's been a good time, man. We have so many stories. Like most people, and I know a lot of people know what I'm talking about because I've experienced too. Usually when you walk into a tattoo shop, there's a little young girl at the desk and she is pretty much aggravated that you walked in and bothered her.

You know what I mean? So you get an attitude as soon as you walk in the door and you can just feel that negative energy. You just feel like you're bothering people. And it's like, this is a business.

You should want me to come in and want to take my money. Like, OK. It's a lot of that. And just like a lot of tattoo artists, they have that godlike mentality. So the guy that taught my husband, he was like that. And he pretty much would say, because somebody would come into this tattoo shop and they would show us what they wanted. And we're like, oh, you know, that's a really cool idea. You know, it meant something to him.

It was unique. And by the time they left, they had a completely different tattoo. And then they would come and show us and we're like, well, I thought you wanted this. And they said, oh, yeah, well, he talked me out of it.

It's like, I cannot believe that. Like, why would you let somebody talk you out of something that you had your heart set on that meant something to you? And it's normally it's because the tattoo artist scares them, threatens them, just makes them feel like they don't know what they're talking about.

And what you're wanting is stupid and I don't want to do it. It's like, no, this is permanently going on somebody's body. You should be doing exactly what they want to do. We put almost all of our tattoo work on Facebook because that's how everybody sees our stuff. But I've had people come in here and they're like, well, I don't like everything in your portfolio.

I just look at them and go, I don't like everything in my portfolio either, but it's exactly what my client wanted. So, like, I had a woman come in and she got this huge forearm piece and it's like stick figures in different colors. It was her kid's drawing.

It was the cutest thing because her kid drew it and it was of their family. So I'm like, what? Like, if somebody saw that, they'd be like, oh, my God, somebody messed them up. You know what I mean? But that's exactly what she wanted. And it has meaning to them. Like, don't judge somebody's tattoos just because you think it's garbage, because that could be exactly what they wanted. We don't know.

You don't know. And what a voice we're listening to. And we're listening to Tammy Harris share the story of her going from being a single mom and just doing what she had to do to take care of her baby, work a late shift in a factory to pursuing her dream. And it wasn't a gig at Kinko's.

It was art and ultimately being a tattoo artist, but not an elite looking down snobbish tattoo artist that says this is the way, but one that uses their artistic talents to, well, take care of the wishes and dreams of the people getting tattooed. When we come back, more of Tammy Harris's beautiful voice here on Our American Stories. Hey, you guys, this is Tori and Jenny with the 9 0 2 1 OMG podcast. We have such a special episode brought to you by nerd tech O.D.T.

We recorded it at I heart radio's 10th pole event. Wingo Tango. Did you know that nerd tech O.D.T. Remedapants 75 milligrams can help migraine sufferers still attend such an exciting event like Wingo Tango? It's true. I had one that night and I took my nerd tech O.D.T. and I was present and had an amazing time.

Here's a little glimpse of our conversation with some of our closest friends. This episode was brought to you by nerd tech O.D.T. Remedapants 75 milligrams. Life with migraine attacks can mean missing out on big moments with friends and family. But thankfully, nerd tech O.D.T.

Remedapants 75 milligrams is the only medication that is proven to treat a migraine attack and prevent episodic migraines in adults. So lively events like Wingo Tango don't have to be missed. Soon millions will make Medicare coverage decisions for next year. And UnitedHealthcare can help you feel confident about your choices. For those eligible, Medicare annual enrollment runs from October 15th through December 7th. If you're working past age 65, you might be able to delay Medicare enrollment depending on your employer coverage.

It can seem confusing, but it doesn't have to be. Visit UHCmedicarehealthplans.com to learn more. UnitedHealthcare.

Helping people live healthier lives. I know everything there is to know about running a coffee shop. But for small business insurance, I need my State Farm agent. They make sure my business stays piping hot.

And I stay cool and confident. See, they're small business owners, too, so they know how to help you best. State Farm is in your corner and on it. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

Call your local State Farm agent for a quote today. And we're back with our American stories and with Tammy Harris's story. Before the break, Tammy was explaining about how the customer comes first at her tattoo shop, Deviant Designs. Here's Tammy again on what it takes to run an ethical tattoo shop and put people over profit. So we don't like to tattoo younger people where it's harder for them to cover it up because young people, they don't think about the future.

You know what I mean? So me and my husband almost have to be like mom and dad when they come in. So they'll come in. And I mean, this is like 16, 17 and 18 where their parents bring them in. And you can tell the parents are kind of like. They want to get their first tattoos where everybody can see them.

So forearms, hands. I've had people wanting their necks for their first tattoo. I'm like, you're out of your mind. What are you thinking?

And the first thing we ask them is, what do you do for a living? And if they're still in school, I'm like, well, what are you planning on doing when you get out of high school? You have to think about this stuff because this one kid and this is like when I was first learning. So this is 15, 16 years ago. He came in and his mom was with him and you tell his mom wasn't too excited about it. And he was six.

No, he might have been 17. So we asked him, you know, what do you want? And he wanted writing across his knuckles, like gang looking. And I was like, well, wait, what? I asked him, you know, what do you do for a living? Oh, I don't do anything.

I'm still in school. And I'm like, OK, well, what are you planning on doing? He says, well, Coast Guard.

I want to go on the Coast Guard. I said, dude, would you just think for one minute? He's like, what do you mean? I said, any military police, any of those fields, they don't want you looking like a gang member. Like, think, think for a minute.

It's really not that hard. And another thing that kids don't understand is, yes, tattoos are more acceptable, but it depends on who your boss is. So if your boss likes tattoos, you're cool. If your boss does not like tattoos, then you're going to have to wear long sleeves. The whole time you work there in the summer when it's hot, you know what I mean? I'm like, just think for a minute.

It's really not that hard to think. But that mom that came in with the kid with the knuckles, because what we did, and we do this to a lot of people, if they're not sure. So you know how we do a stencil?

The stuff that we use to put the stencils on, it'll stay on for a couple of days. So we'll put it on them and say, now, go home, get used to it being there. Ask your family, ask your friends, like, what do you think? To see everybody's reaction. And if you still want it in two days, then come back and talk to us. Yeah, his mom called us the next day like, thank you so much.

He doesn't want to get it now. And I was like, yes! Now don't get me wrong, they can go to another tattoo shop and get it right after we talk to them. And that's fine.

But I like to sleep at night. So I had, he was 19. He come in the shop, never met him before.

He just came in and he says, it was around Mother's Day. So he says, I want to get a tattoo for my mom. And I'm like, oh, that's cool.

Like, what are you thinking about getting? And he says, I want to do like a cancer ribbon for her. And I'm like, oh, that's sweet.

Yes. I said, OK, where are you wanting to get it? And he, real big on his neck. So I just kind of looked at him and I smiled. And I look over at my husband. My husband's already laughing because he knows what I'm going to say. What do you do for a living? He says, oh, I got a good job. You ain't got to worry about that.

I'm good. And I said, well, where do you work? Wendy's.

I just looked over at my husband and my husband is dying. I was like, boy, you really think Wendy's is a good job? Like, no. I said, and he said, well, if you don't want to do what I understand, like I said, it's not that I don't want to do it. Here's the thing. I'm a mom. I said, and I'm telling you right now, if my daughter came home with this huge tattoo on her neck, I'm going to beat her.

And then I'm going to find out who did it to her and I'm going to beat their. And he started laughing. And I just looked at him. I said, tell me I'm wrong. He said, no, you're probably right. I was like, boy, I know I'm right. Like, don't put it on your arm.

Like, put it somewhere. Why are you going straight to your neck? He just kind of laughed and like we were just messing with him.

And he finally left. Me and my husband are like, he probably went down the street and got it. But mama ain't mad at me because I'm like, I don't want them coming and yelling at me.

No, no, no, no, no. I don't want no mad mama bears coming at me. It ain't happening because I'm one of them. But I mean, you have to have that relationship with everybody you were. They know where you're coming from. You know what I mean? Like, it's no shock when I look at them like, don't make me whoop you.

Because I was so whoop you. Like, I was explaining to somebody the other day, I said, what really doesn't make sense to me is it's your name walking around. Like, when we do a tattoo on somebody, if they have a good experience, they're happy, they're happy with the price.

They will refer all of their family, all of their friends. So your clientele just quadrupled in one tattoo. So why would you want to piss that person off, rip them off, be rude to them? Because if you have a good tattoo, a couple people hear about it. If you have a bad tattoo, everybody hears about it.

So it's like, I just don't understand the thinking. But I mean, that's good for me and my husband. All these other tattoo artists keep treating people like crap.

You just keep sending them right over here. But the one thing that I do, my husband doesn't do, that just blew my mind. So I did this probably, I started it like four years ago. So the women that have mastectomies. I had a woman come in and it was her and a bunch of friends and they were all getting tattooed. And she was explaining to me that she had a mastectomy. And apparently she had to have so many different surgeries to get it right.

And then she never got the nipples tattooed on because that's the way they do it. And I'm like, oh, really? So she asked me, she was like, do you think you can do that? And I was like, oh, like, I've never done it before. And I'm like, oh, God, like, that's got to be perfect. Like, you have to get the colors right. The shape, the size, like, oh, my goodness. So I told her, I said, you know what? I'll give it a shot. I've never done it before.

I said, but I'll do it for free. It's like, I'm not going to lie to you. I'm scared to death. And she just laughed. She's like, oh, I know you'll do it and you won't have any problems.

Like, OK, because her thing was she didn't just want it to look like a sticker on her. So when she came in, it was hilarious because my daughter was working the desk at the time. So whenever I do that, my husband gets to stay home for the day. So he always told the girls like, well, my husband thanks you for his day off.

He gets to stay home because he feels like that's disrespectful to me. So, yeah, the lady comes in and she just takes her top off and I'm like, OK, like, she's not shy at all. But what I've learned is the women that go through that, it's not personal to them anymore. It's not theirs to begin with.

So it's completely different. So it's so funny because I have circle templates and then I have a laser leveler. So I do the laser leveler that way I know they're perfectly even and I mark where I think they should be.

And I take the circle template and I draw out the circles and then have them look at it. And is it the size? Like, does that look like what they used to look like? Because this girl, she didn't even remember.

Like, it's been that long. She was like, Tammy, I don't even remember what they used to look like. I'm like, oh, crap, this is not easy. So I drew it all on and then I tell her, I'm like, OK, go show my daughter. Like, does that look natural? And my daughter goes, they're too high.

That doesn't look natural. Like, you got to bring them down a little bit. So I'm like, OK. So we wipe them off, do the whole process again. And then it was good. So it's like, OK. So, yeah.

And then at the most, a half an hour to do both. It's seriously the easiest thing. She freaked out. Like, she was seriously standing in front of the mirror like, this is amazing.

Oh, my God. It changed her life. I was like, oh, my God. Just seeing how it took her from being so insecure.

She was herself again. It freaked me out. So then the next girl that I did, it was one of my clients. I think it was her aunt.

I think that's how they're related. Has no tattoos at all. So what happened to her was she went through the surgeries. And then by the time it came time for her to get the tattoos done, her insurance ran out. And I can't remember how much she said that they wanted, but it was a pretty good penny. So her niece gave her my info because I was telling them, like, no, I do that for free. Like, tell her to get a hold of me. So she got a hold of me.

She came in and we did it. And she cried. She was like, no, I don't feel comfortable.

I won't even date. Like, she hadn't dated in a couple years because of it. So, yeah, I did the tattoos on her. Like, that completely changed her life.

And the last time I seen her, she's like, girl, I've been going on so many dates. And I was like, that's amazing. And a great job on the production by Robbie. And a special thanks to Tammy Harris for sharing her story with us. All of it. And stories of her customers, too. If you put the people first, the profit will follow. I can't tell you how many times I've used people precisely because they tell me to go home and that there wasn't a repair that needed to be done. And ethics and profit are not at war and they're not at odds. In fact, they complement each other. Tammy Harris' story and a special thanks to the Cincinnati Area Better Business Bureau for providing us with that story.

Tammy Harris' story, a beautiful one here, on Our American Story. GEICO asks, how would you love a chance to save some money on insurance? Of course you would. And when it comes to great rates on insurance, GEICO can help. Like with insurance for your car, truck, motorcycle, boat and RV. Even help with homeowners or renters coverage. Plus, add an easy to use mobile app, available 24-hour roadside assistance and more, and GEICO is an easy choice. Switch today and see all the ways you could save.

It's easy. Simply go to GEICO.com or contact your local agent today. Each year, nearly 60,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with uterine cancer, the most common type of gynecologic cancer. Talk to a doctor about your risk. Ask your family about their cancer history and learn about uterine cancer symptoms, like any vaginal bleeding that is unusual for you. Because treatment is most effective with an early diagnosis. Stay up to date with appointments and talk to your doctor if you have any concerns. Knowing your body and what's normal is important. Visit cdc.gov and look for the Inside Knowledge campaign to learn more.