Postcards From the Po’ Farm
First off, I need to refresh memories about where the name of the blog originated. My grandfather, who in the late 1930s bought the farm where we now life, called this 50-acre place the Po’ Farm, in reference to the “poor farms” that were prevalent in those Depression days. Fayette County’s poor farm, where people way down on their luck went to live, was out on McDonough Road.
My grandparents and my dad didn’t have to go to the poor farm, but my grandfather’s family did lose between 800 and 1,000 acres due to the boll weevil, the Depression and the financial ruin they brought. Pop’s nickname for this place shows that his sense of humor survived the hard times.
Another Famous Writer in the Family
Like a lot of folks my age, I grew up reading children’s books authored by my cousin Robert Burch, who was born in my hometown of Inman, on the same road, Hill’s Bridge Road, where I have spent most of my life. Chris Gibson and his family live in a house built...
Old Hymns and Back Porch Visits
It’s been a tradition for years that during the month of August, those of us who attend Inman United Methodist Church sing hymns from the little brown Cokesbury hymnals. Sometimes, on those Sunday mornings, I’m disappointed to see that the powers that be...
A Trip Down Memory Lane in an Old, Green Ford F600
Some of my most vivid memories of attending the first and second grade at the old Fayetteville Elementary School on Glynn Street were the days heating oil was delivered to the school. The oil arrived on a giant tank mounted on a green 1960 Ford F600 that...
Old Iron’s Future is in Good Hands
A well-run antique tractor and equipment show can be as refreshing for the soul as a summertime camp meeting. Cleveland and Georgia Carter from Baxley, Ga., knocked it out of the park with their fourth annual C&G Antique Tractor Show this past...
Old Iron Has Great Stories to Tell
Back in the day, lots of young fellows around Inman and Woolsey worked a summer or two for Edward Ballard. He had a reputation as a tough taskmaster, and the work on his farm was hard, but in my experience he wouldn’t ask you to do anything he wouldn’t do...