Every little town across the United States has its own unique, and often surprising, history. The little town I called home as a kid never seemed like much of a happening place, but quiet little Toccoa, Georgia was the birthplace of Paul Anderson (an Olympic powerlifter during the 1950’s), the home to James Brown the King of Soul (He was actually a janitor at the local high school before he was the King of Soul), the residence of Doc Tommy Scott owner of the last old-timey medicine show and the last living member of the original Grand Ole’ Opry.
I think the greatest contribution that Toccoa made to American history came from a place under the unassuming name, Camp Toccoa. It was at Camp Toccoa, in World War II, that the very first Army paratroopers learned how to jump out of airplanes and go fight for freedom.
The funny thing is that this huge piece of history was ignored until a guy named Tom Hanks decided to make an HBO movie series called Band of Brothers.
Surprising history goes beyond just a town. Most families have some sort of surprising history. I’ll even say that most lives have some sort of surprising history when you learned that you have more strength than you ever thought you could have.
What’s the surprising history in your town? What’s the surprising history in your family? What’s the surprising history in your life?
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Wildflowers are always the first, hopeful signals of spring. In Georgia, the first flowers of spring are usually the daffodils and the peaches. A walk through the woods in late March will reveal and abundance of blossoms. The beauty pageant of wildflowers will continue through the summer and into the fall with each new week trying to outdo the week before in both color and fragrance.
Most of the time, old house sites make me sad. The fallen down houses are forgotten, ignored. Even if I leave an old falling down house, I want my mark on this world to be flowers that bloom every spring reminding everyone that winter is over. Whoever planted the periwinkle at this home site definitely left her mark on the world. The periwinkle continues to spread and cover more area. Some day the whole area will be covered.