Summertime

Summertime

Memorial Day 2010

Please take a moment to remember all those who have fought to keep our country free.

God Bless The USA

Mansker's Station

Just a short drive from my home in southern Indiana is a great place for a day trip. Mansker's Station Frontier Life Center is located off I-65 (exit 97), in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, just north of Nashville. It is the perfect place to learn a little history by seeing and hearing about life as it was.

The reconstructed fort is approximately one-quarter of the size of the second fort built by Kasper Mansker and represents the way it looked in 1779. Mansker's first fort was destroyed when it was attacked by Indians. Mansker was one of the Longhunters and a contemporary of Obadiah Terrell


After watching a brief film on the history of the fort, interpreters in period costume take you through the fort, explaining the function of each building. It was interesting to me that cabins with hard-packed dirt floors were warmer than cabins with planks floors as cold air came up through the cracks in the wooden floors. In one cabin, the cracks between planks were stuffed with rope to block cold air.

Nearby is the following sign:



Just across the wide lawn is the Bowen Plantation House, which was built circa 1787 by Revolutionary War veteran, Capt. William Bowen and remained in the Bowen family until the 1960s. It is furnished as it looked in the mid-1800s and is also open to the public.

Goodlettsville is a bit off the beaten path for tourists, but it is a wonderful day trip and the fort and plantation house provide glimpses of life we don't often see.

Happy Mother's Day

As we approach Mother's Day, I want to pay tribute to my mother, A. Lavern Croft Joyce Workman [1919 - 2006]. Although we spent a lot of time together through the years, I never really got to know her as the complex person she was until after she moved to Indiana the last year of her life. We spent many hours, days and months together as she dealt with the problems connected to health, aging and death. Although it was painful to watch her health fail, I treasure the time we spent together.

Thank you, Mother.

Signs of Spring

The signs of spring are everywhere.

From dandelions popping up overnight.

To splashes of color from wild violets

To the riotous color of tulips

To elegant dogwoods and signs of the primary election

To performing that weekly ritual

Spring is finally here!

Only Memories Remain

Memories keep both people and places alive. Without memories, our families and the places they lived would cease to exist.

In the 1940s my grandfather bought a house in Salem, Kentucky. He also owned the Salem Feed Mill, just up the alley from the house. Both of my grandparents died in that house. After their deaths, my parents bought it, remodeled it and moved in. I was grown by then and never lived in the house, but spent vacations there. Going to Salem and visiting the grandparents were favorite times for my children. We lived in the metropolitan area of a large city with all of its dangers of traffic and crime so the only time my children were free to run and play with no supervision was in Salem.

This house in Salem had been around for a long time. Mother believed the house was the former home of "Old Doc Elder," who had lived there in the 1890s. I suspect it was older with its wide baseboards and tall ceilings.

My parent's home in 1987

And from the back yard in 1980:

Several years after my father died in 1975, Mother decided it was time to downsize and leave the maintenance of an old house to someone else. The house became home to another family, but we all kept an eye on it as former residents tend to do.

The house was bought and sold several times and eventually ended up as a rental property. Windows weren't as shiny, flower beds weren't tended and it took on a forlorn appearance. Then came the ice storm of January 2009. A large tree branch fell through the roof. When no attempts were made to remove the branch or repair the damage, we knew the old house was doomed.

This winter the old fireplace, doors and window frames were removed, then the hardwood flooring was taken out. Finally, the house was demolished and became nothing more than a pile of rubble.

All that remained 20 March 2010

The house was located just one block off US 60, the main road through Salem, and easily seen as you head south toward Burna, Smithland and Paducah. While I know the house is no longer there, it remains forever in my memories.

South Carolina Ramblings

My excursion last weekend was a bit farther that normal. On Thursday, I flew to Charleston, South Carolina to visit the other half of my family. Charleston is one of my favorite places and has so many places of interest.

On Friday we visited downtown Charleston. I love the color of the City Market on Meeting Street against the bright blue sky. The United Daughters of the Confederacy operate the Confederate Museum on the upper level of the Market.



The mode of transportation varies from automobile to bicycle to horse and carriage. A carriage ride offers a great view at a pace slow enough to absorb the sights and smells.



On Saturday morning we visit the ruins of Biggin Church in Berkley County, near Moncks Corner. The first church was constructed in 1711, but was burned three times. The ruins are from the church built in 1761. The church was used as a depot by British troops during the Revolutionary War. As they retreated, the church was burned and later rebuilt. The church was used up to the Civil war and the cemetery is still used today. Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox of Revolutionary War fame, was born near here.



It takes me a while to get used to seeing the Confederate flag.



After all that history, it was time to take a break and enjoy the sun.