Page 7 - barefoot-in-the-sand-remembering-the-waning-days-of-the-hopewell-community-(1998)-bruce-c-gragg

Barefoot In The Sand: Remembering the Waning Days of the Hopewell Community (1998) Bruce C. Gragg 3/123

This story is not totally unlike many other stories of a country boy
growing up in a rural/farm setting. Often many authors will change
the names of people to protect all involved, this I won't do. I want
to remember as many events as I can, with all the right names and
places. This is not intended to be completely autobiographical, but
my view of many events of our community. In reality it is just a
brief walk down an all too quickly fading memory lane. It could very
well be the memories of most any farm boy in America. Much of my free
time I had to do things to entertain my self. There was this
youngster growing into his adolescent years, suffering all the usual
growing pains of having to cope with mixing necessary farm work with
some fun with family and friends.

For many years I have been keeping the idea to do this on the back
burner of my mind of many things to do, but had never stopped long
enough to get to work on it. Finally after having an opportunity to
return to the Old Home Place in 1993, the first time back in about
thirty years, and Uncle Carroll writing "The Birth, Life and Death of
a Homestead", I thought now is the time. But, still it took a lot of
concentrated effort to sit down and begin to put the memories into
words. To sit and begin reliving those days of old, was an enjoyable
experience, one memory brings on another and finally a book is
formed. But, then again it brought many' sad memories as well. There
is no way I could have mentioned everyone I had contact with while
growing up. Many of the friends and memories not mentioned still have
a special place in the corners of my mind. If only I could have gone
back and spent a day with each neighborhood family remembered herein,
would have added a very interesting side light to the entire work.
Just talking once again to my family members, could have been a great
event. So much information to add interest and fact could have been
brought about.

Growing up in a remote rural community in Northern Columbia County of
North Florida during and immediately following W.W.II was hard, and
occasionally events could be somewhat amusing. It was these amusing
or lighter moments that helped us cope with the hard times. These
memories span the final approximately twelve years of the James and
Mabel Burnette’s homestead. No one in the community really had much
monetarily, but they all worked very hard to make an honest living
and helped their neighbors. Each of the farm families had improved
their situation from what it was during the days of the depression,
but all had to work hard for what they had. Farm related work was
very tiring, but not so stressful mentally, like the modern day city
life and business in the fast lane. When time off was taken usually
the whole family participated in the

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