I REMEMBER WHEN ——-

I remember when———–

*  Lavonia had 2 grocery stores, 2 drugstores, 3 department stores, 2 dime stores, 2 movie theatres, 1 shoe shop  ( where shoes were actually made or repaired ), 1 hotel, 2 flower shops, 2 beauty shops, 1 barber shop , 2 service stations, 1 hardware store  ( with a soda fountain ) ——–all downtown.   No interstate, no lake,  no strip.   Just  Lavonia ,  one special package,  gift wrapped and tied with a ribbon.

I remember when………….

* my horse, Blaze, stopped suddenly and threw me forward over his head onto the road.   My sweet New York buddy, Dickie, was on his horse beside me and gently picked me up.  As is said  , proverbially , I got right back on and continued the ride down Shoal Creek Road.

I remember when…………

* the renowned author , Terry Kay , was just a cute boy and quarterback at Royston High ,  part of   my  ” crowd “.

I remember when………..

*  as a five or six-year-old , I walked in the house carrying a  stiff dead snake as tall as I was.  My mother was horrified and said so , and I replied ,  ” IT’S A PERFECTLY GOOD DEAD SNAKE ” !!!!

I remember when …….

*  Peach State Pride was just a dream for Derek Chitwood.  He had a degree , a job , and a notion of what could be , hence a fledgling  sideline.   One Christmas some 15 (?)  years ago , I ordered shirts for our six grands , but on Christmas Eve , Derek called, apologetic , saying that the person who did his printing had let him down.  BUT on New Year’s Eve , he knocked on our door , shirts in hand , just in time for a sleep-over.  And therein lies his success.

I remember when………

* my mother drove me to Atlanta to see BAMBI at the Fox Theatre.  All was fine until Bambi’s mother died , and I fell to pieces.  Had to be carried out.  Never have known the ending !

I remember when…………

*  Dr. Poole was the only doctor in town.  He had a large black bag and he would come to homes when people were sick.  When he opened his bag , it was filled with a multitude of multi-colored pills that simply being displayed made the sick feel better.

I remember when……….

*  Byron , a teenager ,  worked at Ab Brock’s grocery every Saturday from 7:00 am until 10:00 pm.  The last order of business was to take sugar and malt into the alley behind the store for the Gum Log bootleggers as they prepared for the next week’s work.  All in the perspective.

I remember when…..

*  I was struck by lightning at a FCHS football game.  A storm rolled in and all of us high school administrators rushed to open gates for the fans to exit.  Just as I unlocked one, lightning struck, rolled down the metal fence, through my hand, to my feet———and I was tethered to the ground.  Oddest feeling in the world !  But, hey, I survived, so no complaints.  And all the  fans got out safely.

I remember when…..

* Mary D. Taylor was widowed  and took over the ownership and management of her husband’s  lumber business in Martin .  She was the only woman in the Lavonia area who wore pants/pant suits in public in those days.   Interestingly enough, her father was the publisher of a prominent national newspaper and she ( Mary Drown ) made her debut in the White House.  A steel magnolia , for sure !

I remember when……

*  Charlie Toney,  Byron’s dad,  had the biggest, prettiest, healthiest vegetable garden in the county.  This was way before I even knew Byron, but everyone knew Mr. Charlie and his vegetables.   BECAUSE, he put baskets upon baskets of the produce on the side of the road in front of his house, and anybody, everybody, could take what they wanted———for free !

Do you remember when …………?

Then share and/or comment and pass it forward , for the good times.