This is a repost of one I shared with you on June 20, 2010
Sweet Or Un Sweet
Come and listen to a story about a man named Jed
A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed,
Then one day he was shootin' at some food,
And up through the ground came a bubblin' crude
Don’t you just love those old shows, Jed shooting at some small game animal strikes oil, becomes a millionaire and moves to California. I guess coming from the South born poor in the Blue Ridge Mountains and ending up in California I’m kind of like old Jed except for the money part, heck I’ve shot at small game many times and never struck oil, many times I didn’t even strike the small game but that’s ok too.
This country is a very diverse one, there are so many types of people and food from coast to coast, and to see them all would take a never ending road trip. I have not been to every state as of yet but have been impressed with most I have seen. In the past if you got over near Arkansas you had to start ordering Sweet or Un Sweet tea or you got Sweet Tea, you get over towards the middle going to the west coast and you start running out of people who actually know how to cook grits, you can find them but when folks start sitting milk and sugar on the table when you order grits you are out of grit country.
Back home the sun rises over the ocean and here in California it sets there, in the South you have maters that make good ole mater sammiches and other places you have toe-mah-toes or toe-may-toes, and depending on where you are it’s either a crayfish or a crawdad and the decision is whether you eat it or not.
I could go on and on but to get to my point you have to love where you live. Take a look around and see what the area you live in represents, the history of the area and what makes it unique. A lot of us are born in a place and never learn what that area is all about.
I was born in Pickens County, South Carolina and always made fun of a little town named Pumpkintown, all there was to this place was a flashing yellow light that sat right in the middle of a highway intersection. After moving away and starting my research in Genealogy I have found that a big part of my family started in this little town.
I have learned how it started and how it was named, Oolenoy Baptist Church in this town was built back in the late 1700’s and my seventh Great Grandfather was the first minister of this church, and this church cemetery is the final resting place of many of my ancestors including a second Great Grandfather who fought in Kershaw’s Brigade during the Civil War. Pickens County was actually named after General Andrew Pickens who was a Revolutionary War Hero and he happens to be a blood relative also actually first cousin eight times removed to me.
I left home never knowing any of this and a whole lot more I have since found. The town I lived in New Mexico boasts a lot of history also that I won't get into now and right here in California I am beginning to learn some of the local cultures and where they started.
If you want to enjoy life look around and learn what makes your city unique, if you want to be absolutely amazed and thrilled look back at where you came from and at the people who make up your bloodline.
I have heard that you have to know where you came from to know where you are going, so look around and enjoy where you are because since you are there it is an important part of your life and you might as well make it fun, look back at where you have been and look forward to enjoy where you are going.
Well now it's time to say good by to Jed and all his kin.
And they would like to thank you folks fer kindly droppin' in.
Y'all come back now, y'hear
A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed,
Then one day he was shootin' at some food,
And up through the ground came a bubblin' crude
Don’t you just love those old shows, Jed shooting at some small game animal strikes oil, becomes a millionaire and moves to California. I guess coming from the South born poor in the Blue Ridge Mountains and ending up in California I’m kind of like old Jed except for the money part, heck I’ve shot at small game many times and never struck oil, many times I didn’t even strike the small game but that’s ok too.
This country is a very diverse one, there are so many types of people and food from coast to coast, and to see them all would take a never ending road trip. I have not been to every state as of yet but have been impressed with most I have seen. In the past if you got over near Arkansas you had to start ordering Sweet or Un Sweet tea or you got Sweet Tea, you get over towards the middle going to the west coast and you start running out of people who actually know how to cook grits, you can find them but when folks start sitting milk and sugar on the table when you order grits you are out of grit country.
Back home the sun rises over the ocean and here in California it sets there, in the South you have maters that make good ole mater sammiches and other places you have toe-mah-toes or toe-may-toes, and depending on where you are it’s either a crayfish or a crawdad and the decision is whether you eat it or not.
I could go on and on but to get to my point you have to love where you live. Take a look around and see what the area you live in represents, the history of the area and what makes it unique. A lot of us are born in a place and never learn what that area is all about.
I was born in Pickens County, South Carolina and always made fun of a little town named Pumpkintown, all there was to this place was a flashing yellow light that sat right in the middle of a highway intersection. After moving away and starting my research in Genealogy I have found that a big part of my family started in this little town.
I have learned how it started and how it was named, Oolenoy Baptist Church in this town was built back in the late 1700’s and my seventh Great Grandfather was the first minister of this church, and this church cemetery is the final resting place of many of my ancestors including a second Great Grandfather who fought in Kershaw’s Brigade during the Civil War. Pickens County was actually named after General Andrew Pickens who was a Revolutionary War Hero and he happens to be a blood relative also actually first cousin eight times removed to me.
I left home never knowing any of this and a whole lot more I have since found. The town I lived in New Mexico boasts a lot of history also that I won't get into now and right here in California I am beginning to learn some of the local cultures and where they started.
If you want to enjoy life look around and learn what makes your city unique, if you want to be absolutely amazed and thrilled look back at where you came from and at the people who make up your bloodline.
I have heard that you have to know where you came from to know where you are going, so look around and enjoy where you are because since you are there it is an important part of your life and you might as well make it fun, look back at where you have been and look forward to enjoy where you are going.
Well now it's time to say good by to Jed and all his kin.
And they would like to thank you folks fer kindly droppin' in.
Y'all come back now, y'hear
This makes a lot of since to me. But sugar and milk on grits? Eeesh!
ReplyDeleteAnd the tea has to be sweet. Do they have liver mush in California?
Lisa
Hey Lisa, I cringe to think of someone adding milk and sugar into grits, I don't think that would taste very good.
DeleteTo be honest I don't know if they have liver mush here or not, I haven't seen it in a long while.
I'm more southern than not. Both my parents considered themselves southern folks. I don't drink iced tea though. Just never cared for it. I'll take and ice cold water though.
ReplyDeleteI live in a agriculture part of central California. Lots of dust bowl folks ended up here.
Have a fabulous day. ☺
Hello Sandee, Isn't it amazing the different cultures and people who have settled in California? The central agricultural area I picture as a lot greener than the Inland Empire area where we are living sort of like our own mini dust bowl.
DeleteI love genealogy and have traced back some to about 1500, but modern day history is just as interesting. My father's family and my husband's family both came to this area due to the rubber tire industry in the early part of the 20th century. Most everyone in Akron, Ohio can name multiple ancestors who worked for Goodyear, Goodrich or Firestone. Clevelanders are most likely here because of the past steel industry. I find it fascinating to hear stories of how and why people settled where they did.
ReplyDeleteHello Bijoux, That is really interesting to hear of your families being part of the rubber tire industry, like you I love to find out what different families did for a living, mine were mostly farmers and then sawmill and textile mill workers.
DeleteMaybe I should check myself out on Ancestry.com!!
ReplyDeleteHello Fran, Ancestry.com has a lot of information out there, my problem is the more questions that I answer, the more questions I have.
DeleteYou will be surprised at the old census records and such, they can be really helpful.
My ancestry is pretty much a mystery to me, and I am half a world away from them. I do like where I find myself though. Mostly.
ReplyDeleteHey EC, Sometimes ancestors can be really difficult to locate any information on, especially if you have little information to begin with. It feels good to enjoy being where you are at, the pictures that you share of your area are really nice, I would love to see places like that some day.
DeleteI have learned that there are good folk and ass-holes wherever you go in this great country, and it is a great country because the good folk far outnumber the ass-holes.
ReplyDeleteI've never had grits, but then I'll bet you've never had Scrapple.
Hello Joe, I like your description "it is a great country because the good folk far outnumber the ass-holes." I count you in the good folks category my friend. You would definitely win that bet Joe, I'm not entirely sure that I even know what Scrapple is, the different foods from all over the place is another great part of this country too.
DeleteI tried doing ancestry - because my dad and two of his brothers were married to my my mom and two of her sisters, it's pretty screwed up.
ReplyDeleteHello Sharon, I have ran into that in my family tree also, all the brothers and sisters marrying the brothers and sisters from the neighboring farm. This can really make the research confusing with your family once you try to figure the origins of double first cousins and such. Good luck with your research.
DeleteThe towns in my area sprang up due to lead mining. The most stately old homes were built for the lead company bigwigs. There's even an area that Hick refers to as Silk Stocking Row, where the prostitutes lived. I guess he could be making that part up...
ReplyDeleteHello Val, There are some really nice homes that were built for company bigwigs, I imagine those in your area for the lead industry bigwigs are really nice too.
DeleteSilk Stocking Row, you never know Hick could be making that up but yet one day the history books may show him as the one who created the name for that area.
I was the only Yankee born into a family consisting of 8 generations of Key Westers. To the true Conchs, I am considered a stranger.
ReplyDeleteI have traveled a lot but like you said, I tried to learn about each place I lived. History is facinating as is this country we live in.
Hello Patti, I understand what you are saying completely, I left home about forty years ago and even though it is still fresh in my mind there are a lot of people new to the family there now who do not know me at all. Eight generations in one area is impressive and also impressive is the one to take that bloodline to another place.
DeleteThis is a diverse country with an amazing history, and the histories of other places we have never been makes other countries equally impressive to their people.
When I was younger I had no interest in my background or the place I lived but the older I got the more important they both became. You have a great attitude, Jimmy!
ReplyDeleteAlong similar lines, my dad had a knack for finding a connection between him and everyone he met. After the introductions were made and the "hi, how are you" part, he'd say "now are you related to (name) from (place)? and the conversation would take off from there. It was incredible to watch him tease out the connection.
Hello Jenny, Thank you so much.
DeleteIt sounds like your Dad was a great person to be around, his knack for drawing people into a conversation about genealogy with his family knowledge is a rare trait that most people don't have, I would have loved to sit and listen to him in action.
I grew up in the South and recently (3 years ago) moved back after a 3 decade journey around the country. I drank my tea unsweetened since high school but that's another story. I agree that it is good to discover what is unique about your area--and one of the first things I do when new is to pick up and read what I can about the area I'm living in.
ReplyDeleteHey Sage, I always loved sweet tea but like you since High school have had to drink it unsweetened, I do add an artificial sweetener to help it along.
DeleteThree decades of traveling around the country has given you a lot of areas to learn about, and from reading your blog I can see that you are good at it.
When people take the time to learn the history of places you find some very interesting stories. From this blog entry I learned that we both have famous Revolutionary War era ancestors. I don't know about you but I get a special thrill reading about 'family' in history books.
ReplyDeleteHello Jean, When reading the family histories I feel like I actually know these people, even the ones long gone before I was born. The ones written in our History books do give you a thrill a sense of pride I think.
Delete"You have to know where you came from to know where you are going". That could be a little difficult for one who was born in Europe and has lived in close to thirty places since then. Wherever I've lived I haven't bothered to find out much, or anything, about the area because we weren't going to be there for long. Sadly, I've been in Adelaide now for 31 and a half years and still haven't learnt much about it. At the most I know South Australia was settled by free people, not convicts as some other states were, and a lot of the settlers were from Germany,(like me), particularly Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills, and the Barossa Valley area.
ReplyDeleteHello River, You do have some interesting information about where you live, as for who settled it and the origins of some of the settlers, a little information is better than none and can lead you in the right direction when you are ready to research anything.
DeleteYou are right though for someone who has lived in a lot of different places, this situation can definitely muddy the waters when you are looking for a clear answer, but sometimes the answer seems to come up anyway.
Oolenoy Baptist Church is a really comforting place for me to visit, that old cemetery contains so many family members that I almost feel like I know them all, picture #13 on the site you were looking at is actually my Great Great Grandfather and his second wife.
The Oolenoy Baptist Church is a fine looking building.
ReplyDeleteMy ancestors on my mother's side were Swedish, on my father's side not-a-clue beyond his German parents.
ReplyDeleteKnew we were part Native American but thought we were Cherokee. Found out we are Choctaw but not on Ancestry. Found it when we went back to my grandmother's birth place.
ReplyDeleteHello Annie, I am supposed to have a Cherokee Grandmother down the line but all I have is a possible name that Ancestry has very little if no information on, I guess it all comes down to the record keeping on the people at the time.
DeleteWell now I feel the need to investigate the little town I was born in and the larger city I now live in. Thanks for giving my brain the proverbial 'kick in the butt".
ReplyDeleteHello Delores, I bet you find some really interesting stories when you start looking into it...Glad that I could be of service my dear friend.
DeleteI agree so much Jimmy. I find that I'm paying much more attention to things that happened in the past, and history that's not well known about various places, and it's been fun. I always enjoy learning more and more. Hugs...RO
ReplyDeleteHello RO, Isn't it funny how important things that happened in the past and history including our family history become important once we grow up.
Delete