The Bridge at Cromer’S Mill: My Days of Sunshine

By Edmund R. Johnson

When author Edmund R. Johnson was born on his grandparents farm in 1942, it was a unique time and place to witness the clashing of a passing age and the introduction of a new age. In The Bridge at Cromers Mill, Johnson shares a collection of stories set in rural Georgia in the 1940s and early 1950s.

Taking place in the time before electricity and on the cusp of the new age after electricity, he narrates stories about his early life when his grandparents shaped his world. With his mother away teaching and his father in the service in World War II, Johnson was allowed to roam and explore the woods, fields, and streams of the countryside, developing a sense of independence and self-reliance. His young life was pure Americana, a blending of the nineteenth and twentieth century. It was a time of sunny days and adventure, a time of bare feet and fishing trips, a time of exploration and fun.

The Bridge at Cromers Mill provides insight into rural Georgia, the people who lived in that time and place, and the experiences that molded their lives. It shares a story of a special bond between a grandson and his grandparents.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Aug 28, 2015
• ISBN: 9781480820357

Edmund R. Johnson

Edmund Johnson is a graduate of Georgia Southern with a bachelor’s in business administration. He is married and has two children and four grandchildren. Edmund was born on his grandparents’ farm in 1942. This was a unique setting to witness the clashing of a passing age and a new one. Edmund’s mother was away teaching school, and his father was in the service at this time of World War II. Edmund’s first memories of life were of his beloved grandparents, from whom he learned to appreciate the wisdom of age and the beauty of nature. On his deathbed, Edmund’s grandfather requested that Edmund be a writer or a preacher. This unfulfilled promise to his grandfather’s request weighed upon Edmund. Therefore, he penned The Bridge at Cromer’s Mill to fulfill that promise and to benefit his own grandchildren from his experiences. Through this collection of stories, Edmund hopes to pass on to his family the wonderful memories of his time with his grandparents and the love they shared.

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Copyright © 2015 Edmund R. Johnson.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-4808-2033-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-2034-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-2035-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015948607

Archway Publishing rev. date: 8/28/2015

Contents

The Beginning

The Stowaways

The War

Nineteenth-Century Man

New Age Coming

Winter By The Fireplace

Mama Addie’s Snow Ice Cream

Mama Addie’s Kitchen In The Winter

Bedtime Stories

Hog Meat Preparation

My First Real Haircut

Family Politics

My First Fishing Trip

Afternoon Naps

Poke Salat

New Broom Season

Mama Addie’s Quilting Party

Chicken Dinner

Wilted Salat

Smoking Rabbit Tobacco

The Shop Hole

The Secret Place

Plowing The Fields

Cotton Picking Time

Black Jack And The Red Oak Episode

Foxhunting

Seining For Fish

Trotlines And Cold Water

Kerosene Lamps And Covered Bridges

Rabbit Traps, Fort Lamar, And Indian Artifacts

June Bugs, Fireflies, And Toad Frogs

Corncob Darts

The Bluebird And The Mailbox

Bare Feet In Summer

The Sunken Log Episode

Dinner On The Ground

The Preacher And His Teeth

Home Remedies And Patent Medicine

No Alcohol In My House

Sis

Mama Addie Fishing

The Back Porch

The Country Store

Dirt Roads

School And Play

Picture Show

Soapbox Cars

Flips

Persimmon Pie

Marbles And Yo-Yos

Rubber Band Guns

Tall Pines And Cable Slides

Dusty The Squirrel And Harry The Hawk

My Early Pets

Steel Traps

Aunt Elsie’s House

Bicycles

Pax Americana

Daddy Ott’s Last Wishes For Me

Nature’s Lessons

My Return Home

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Catherine Reid for all of her invaluable help and support. I also want to thank my cousins for the wonderful memories of all the great times we had together.

To Ches, Cole, Walker, and Caroline, my grandchildren.

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In Memory Of Caroline P. Previdi

Our granddaughter, Caroline, was taken to heaven at age six in the arms of Jesus. Her beautiful smile, her laughter, her exuberance, and her joy were lost to us, but we know the Lord is now enjoying and delighted with her presence as she paints all of heaven. We also know we will delight in her again when our time on this earth is done. Until then, we are blessed with our memories.

THE BEGINNING

M y time spent in Franklin County, Georgia, from the mid-1940s through the mid-1950s were the golden years of my childhood. I refer to the very first memories of my life until the death of my grandfather as the days of sunshine. Those days brought so much enjoyment and excitement, as each day was like a new toy to play with, a new adventure to dive into, and a new taste to experience (like the wild plums of red and yellow, blackberries, dewberries, wild cherries, huckleberries, wild muscadine grapes, and, of course, persimmons, each in its own season).

I grew up in a time and place with an extended family that was both protective and loving. However, they also allowed me the freedom and opportunity to explore and experience life as it was in both the old age (the time before electricity) and the new (the time after electricity). This gave me better insight into the life and experiences of my grandparents and their grandparents. It also provided me a better understanding of the times my father and mother and uncles and aunts lived through.

As I think over those times and remember my family members who have passed on, I always see smiles on their faces. This gives me great comfort. I know we will all be together again with smiles for those who remember us.

THE STOWAWAYS

M y grandfather Daddy Ott’s great-grandfather James was originally from southwest Ireland, near the city of Cork. In 1785, at the age of sixteen, he and his brother ran away from home to become stowaways on a ship loaded with bells bound for America. They hid in the barrels on board, which were used for the crew’s food stores. The brothers are thought to have disembarked from the ship in Philadelphia or Baltimore in that same year.

Very little is known about James and his early years in America. We know that he was befriended by an American colonel who fought in the Continental Army. The colonel would later receive thousands of acres of former Cherokee land in Georgia for his service in the war. Sometime later, James made his way south along Indian trails from Maryland, via North Carolina, to Georgia. This is where he settled on an Indian land grant he acquired in a lottery. He was not far from his friend the colonel.

James established his homestead along a beautiful creek on the land grant. A family cemetery is still located on a hill overlooking the creek. James began buying and trading in Indian land grants in the early 1800s. He quickly built his reputation as a shrewd and successful land speculator. James would go on