[Granville-Hough] more reminiscences from Harold Hopkins

[Trustees and Executors for Granville W. Hough]

From: harold hopkins <hhopkins3 at comcast.net>
Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 10:03:31 -0700
Subject: Granville's papers

Below are some of my comments to Granville Hough about his story (which 
I sent to you  yesterday) and which is being republished by his heirs 
and executors.  I guess it was about a year ago that I wrote it.  

We used to have one of our two vegetable gardens at the top of the hill 
behind our house.  On past this garden  along a so-called "street" too 
rocky for a car were the old Rogers place, and the houses of Rob 
Stephens (the town marshal),  Lonnie Little, and others at various times 
 extending to the curve of the Mize-Shady Grove road.   Since this 
garden of ours was at the brow of the hill, it commanded a pretty good 
view of the Eastman-Gardiner  RR line.  On the left side of the street 
going up the hill northward were the houses of -- at various times -- 
Lucy Walker, Lauren Glisson,  Virgil Hopkins, and Lewis Meadows   On the 
 right side of this street going uphill were the houses of "Miss"  
Georgia Wahlstedt and Barney Kennedy   and just north and east of 
Barney's house was a small spring that was used in the summertime by 
Barney's wife Ellen to keep her milk cool, thus saving on the cost or 
inconvenience of going to town after ice in these days before electric 
refrigeration.  Once my  cousin James Mack Hopkins, who lived across the 
street, drank some or all of Ellen's milk and when she  discovered it 
was gone she complained to Uncle  Virgil's wife and,  James Mack,  upon 
being questioned about it,  told them that it was I who had drunk the 
milk, and I was  duly punished by my mother -- even though I didn't need 
to drink Ellen's milk, because we had our own cow!

Past Lewis Meadows' house and to the left, the hill suddenly plunged 
westward and at the top of this   hill was a tall sweetgum tree. 
Somebody had attached a rope or cable to one of the upper limbs, and 
tied an old car tire to the lower end to be used as a swing.  It made a  
lovely swing for kids, but they had to take turns. It was such a thrill 
to swing out over the hill that you had to wait a long time for your 
"turn" on the swing.  I remember that once when I was out there 
exploring the hill alone I found that the swing was unoccupied, and  was 
thrilled to find that I could used the swing without a wait in line.  So 
I got into the tire and swung her out a few times, when suddenly, 
something gave way and the tire, with me in it, plunged to the ground.  
I guess it was the rubber tire's bounce that saved me from serious 
injury, but it did hurt and had my head spinning when I got back on my 
feet, and made my way back home.