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Barefoot In The Sand: Remembering the Waning Days of the Hopewell Community (1998) Bruce C. Gragg 19/123

was great in the summer, especially when there was a bit of a breeze
to help cool things off at night. But, in the winter it could get
very cold out there sleeping, and really cold when getting up in the
morning.

The real hard time of winter was when the family wash had to be done.
In the summer it was not too bad. In the winter we would put the wash
bench on the south side of the smokehouse to help keep the cold north
wind from blowing so hard on us, also the sun would help with a
little warmth. That ole wash board would really get hard on the
knuckles, especially when it was cold. We would pump the water early
in the morning, and let it set in the sun for most of the morning, so
maybe it would warm up some, but it was still a very cold job. My
main job in either case was to help haul the water to do the wash, it
required many a bucket to fill three tubs. Very dirty heavy work
cloths were, boiled in the wash pot for a while to help get them
clean. In later years if we were going to Lake City, we would take
the laundry to a washateria to have it done, then the only thing we
had to do was hang it out to sun dry. When the weather was too stormy
we would let them dry it for us too. This usually increased the
amount of ironing to be done, they weren't neatly folded when placed
in the basket.

The pump was in the porch area. It had a big water shelf with a sink
that drained into a big wooden box underneath, with a pipe leading to
a flower bed. Every few months Papa had to clean out the algae
buildup in the pipe so it would drain properly (no one knew about or
thought about putting a little bleach in the tank to clear it out).
The Elephant Ears and Butterfly Lilies (Ginger Lily)and a couple
other plants grew real big, they never suffered for a lack of water.

Once when Aunt Nita was home, one night she walked out on the porch
on the north side of the house, came back to the door and called us
out. This was a long time before the air got so dirty. In the north
sky, was a light multicolored pastel veil, it appeared to be gently
waving in the upper air. This was the first time I had seen the
northern lights. It was a grand spectacle to see. We watched them for
a long time. This was the only time I can remember seeing them. Then
we had no problem called light pollution of the night skies. When you
went outside and it was dark, it was very easy to see a sky full of
brightly shining stars and the planets. It was easy to see the band
of stars across the sky called the Milky Way.

A big kitchen project in the fall was making peanut brittle, using
our own syrup and home grown peanuts. I can still see Josie Mills,
Aunt Nita, Mama and at times others, pulling the syrup ball.

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