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Barefoot In The Sand: Remembering the Waning Days of the Hopewell Community (1998) Bruce C. Gragg 81/123
a lot harder to learn to drive on than a paved parking lot or street.
Emory Carter had a jeep also, he kept on the farm, and drove his car
from Lake City to the farm. His son Lance, would come with him in the
summer and on Saturdays. Often during the summer Doris and the
children would come up with him and they would stay at the river
cabin for several weeks. After he had seen me jeeping around, he said
to his dad, "If Bruce can drive a jeep so can I." The problem was, he
was several years younger than I and a lot shorter. I had to sit on a
box to see out the windshield, and could just reach the peddles to
operate it, and I knew he couldn't reach the peddles and steering
wheel at the same time, not mention seeing over the dashboard and
windshield.
The jeep did come in handy quite often while living in that area. It
even helped make a crop or two. The only mishap I had with it was,
Papa and I were going fishing and the fishing poles slipped and I
glanced down to see what was happening, the curve in the road came up
too quickly and I met a tree almost dead center of the bumper. The
impact put somewhat of a bend in the bumper, we never got it fixed
before trading many years later. It could get extremely wet or dry
from season to season, and the jeep was the best way out. I enjoyed
driving it on the old logging and three trail roads off the main dirt
road. A number of times I have mentioned "three trail roads". This
term came about from the fact a wagon or buggy drawn by a single
horse or mule left three ruts or often as in woods roads three
trails, one where the horse walked and one each for the right and
left wheels. Thus the term. The jeep was a very handy piece of farm
equipment to have around. Some of the old three trail roads in places
would be hard going even for a jeep, that is where the horse and
wagon came in handy.
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