At The Beech

By Bobbie Bowman Clement © 1990

Issue: July, 1990

At the Beech tree at Grandma Mahala Wilson's was a great vacation.

We grandchildren crossed a plank bridge to get to the spring and the clean swept area under the large Beech tree where the black wash pot sat. It wasn't a chore to fill the pot from the large spring for the old lady that did the family wash would tell us tales while she built a fire to heat the water

She had traveled all the foot paths across the mountain. She told of large black bears, bobcats, deer and coon that roamed the paths too, so we wouldn't follow.

After we cleaned the spring and milk box, we would swing on the large grapevines and listen to the woods sounds till Grandma would call, "Dinner is ready, go fill the buckets of water and bring them up the hill."