Gaye and Jan and Ragetty Ann

Doesn't mother look young. You can see the lake reflecting in the window too. I am sure I had many dolls, but I only remember my Raggety Ann and my Terri Lee doll. Raggety Ann was my soft baby doll when I was little and we lived with Granddaddy Harry.

Gaye was sucking on her bottom lip in this photo. Funny how I remember that when I see this photo. There is a similar picture with a slightly different angle and I don't believe she is doing that in the other picture. Gaye was a happy baby.






Parkman Pond was never this blue, but it was beautiful. The familiar sounds of bullfrogs and crickets were soothing. Mornings began with a sunrise on the back side of the house visible for breakfast in the kitchen. Evenings ended with the beauty of a sunset reflected in the water. When it rained we would sit on the screen porch or on our knees looking out the picture window, to see the froth as the rain moved across the lake. It seemed magical to a little girl - it still does years later.

A little dock was at the bottom of the hill. Sometimes we went fishing with Granddaddy. He put bread all squished up on our hooks because we were afraid of worms. This was not a real inducement for fish. I don't remember catching any at all.

Our cousins, Andrea (Onnie), Peggy and Cindy, lived down the hill. We had lots of adventures together. We fussed and fumed like sisters. Gaye and Peggy were and still are great friends. I don't know how it started but somehow we seperated into blonds against brunettes - that left me out. Probably I did something snotty or someone else did something. Kids do things like that. Andrea had the most beautiful blond curls when she was little.

Granddaddy kept a row boat and or a canoe down by the dock. When we (Gaye and I along with Onnie and Peggy,our cousins) were older we were allowed to row around the lake.

Parkman Pond is filled with memories. The last time I was there just walking down the road filled my mind with the smell of honeysuckle... The memory of picking wild blackberries Nora would use to make blackberry pies... The sensation of stubbing my barefoot toes in the dusty red clay... Twirling a stick in the dirt saying "doodle bug, doodle bug.. but I don't remember the rest"... Easter Egg hunts with cousins...Falling asleep laying on the swing on the porch...Sleeping under Sunbonnet Sue quilts.. Watching Granddaddy jiggle himself in the morning (trying to shake of the morning stiffness of arthritis). Seeing the blue flames on the gas heaters in the morning..running to the bathroom because it was still cold and rushing back under the covers...Having "Oatie Goatie" for breakfast (oatmeal). Watching "Howdy Doodie" as a little girl and football games on Sunday afternoons with my Dad and Granddad. Listening to Granddaddy tell Brer Rabbit stories or Aunt Margaret tell Wishy Washy. There are more sweet memories than I can record.

My memories are seperated into segments. We lived there as little girls when Daddy was stationed overseas. We traveled there for visits when we lived in Greenwood and Fort Benning. We came over frequently once we moved to Manchester.

While the physical house is no longer standing, it still exists in my mind. If I close my eyes I can walk through the house and name each piece of furniture. From the large mounted large mouth trout and the family crest hanging in the library, to the fallout shelter, to the "dog house", it is very real in my mind.