Writing about my childhood summers in South Carolina is something I have wanted to do for a long time. However, I always have the problem of knowing what I want to say, but not knowing how to properly put it down..so I am going to give this little series my best shot.
I was never popular in school..in fact I hated going. I could count on one hand the friends I had..I was just a shy kid and not out going as a student I was mediocre at best, My parents never invested much time or attention in to my education. I just wanted to get through the school day and go home to my books and toys.
So, during those formidable years, I would watch the calendar because I knew when June hit, school was out, and I would be packed off to my grandparents in Easley, SC. little Easley, nestled in the upstate area of South Carolina..I smile at the thought of it. I fondly remember its southern charm and the stores along Main Street, there was a Rexall Pharmacy, diner, movie theatre, furniture and clothing stores. Towns like these were the staple in South Carolina, it was like someone had just copied and pasted them across the Carolinas...
My grands were mill people..back then textile mills dotted the landscape. The Mckissick Family owned most of the mills in the area, they were a giant in the textile industry. The residential communities were mill homes, and everything community related centered around the mills. My Papa worked at the Arial Mill it was at the bottom of their street. My grandmother however worked at the EllJean plant a bit farther away, hers was near Pickens. Everyone on that side of my family worked in the mills, all the neighbors worked in the mills, and if you didn't work in the mills then you had a family member that did. My father and uncle were the exceptions, they got out of Easley and joined the Navy- and that is how we ended up in Florida.
So on one particular June, I was 6. we had to always wait until Dad was off work to make the drive, so it wasn't until late evening before we could get on the road After many hours, we crossed in to Easley during the wee hours of the morning, and there it was the big hill that their house sat on. I can still see the little pebbled street.
You crossed railroad tracks, passed the other little mill homes and stopped at the house on the top. Across the street was the vacant lot that held the old mill school. It had all ready been closed down and local kids ( me included) had managed to throw rocks through all the glass windows. graffiti covered the old brick walls.
We pulled in to their driveway and my Nanason ( as we called her) met us at the backdoor. I would jump out of the car and go running to hug her..I can still smell her and see her smiling face..her hugs were a joy and I never wanted to leave the comfort of her arms. She had all ready been up and had a hot breakfast waiting for us: home made biscuits, ham, pancakes, eggs...she had a whole spread ready at 4am! I swear she was Superwoman!
We would stuff ourselves silly then collapse in a soft bed while she and my Papa left for work. My cousin Terri was there, she was the lucky one I always thought because Nanason and Papa were raising her. She was about 12 years older then me..my mother always thought of her as the sour grape of our family because her mother did not want her, and my uncle had turned her over to his parents.
After he rested and when my grands were back home, Dad would leave to head back to Florida, leaving us there until at least the end of July. And those are the times when I could truly be a kid. I had no curfew-no nagging mother..My Nanason and Papa knew everyone on the hill and they knew us . Back then you didn't lock your doors or close up your windows, kids could leave the house at 8am and not return until dark.. the summers were long and hot and for a Florida kid there was exploring to do and adventures to be had..........
----to be continued.
