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Written by Administrator
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Sunday, 17 August 2008 23:29 |
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Introduction
This is the third in a series of collections of my column from the Pensacola Journal. These columns have appeared at least twice a week for a decade on that newspaper's editorial pages. In writing them, I have attempted to impart to the editorial pages some distinctive Deep South folklore and historical flavor.
Emphasis has been on the West Florida heartland, which in many respects has been until recently a regional frontier. It is, however, not unlike many other Deep South communities in which the frontier rural, village and small town flavor has lingered in an era of rapid change.
In this third collection, I have featured stories that I heard during my adolescent years from the Rev. James W. Judah, my maternal grandfather, and my Cousin Fitzhugh Carswell, my father's first cousin and our neighbor for several years. Both Grandpa and Cousin Fitzhugh knew a lot about nature, maybe even human nature, and each was blessed with a memory for humorous stories and with the ability to tell them.
I have tried to be as accurate as my memory will permit in reconstructing some of the events after more than a half-century. I presume that Grandpa and Cousin Fitzhugh retold many of the stories, probably with a little laundering and embellishing, after hearing them from some of their associates. Some may have been original. I have tried to retain as much of the content and flavor as I could recall after so many years.
I have included, in addition to sections on Grandpa and Cousin Fitzhugh, a small section involving my own grandchildren. After all, I'm Grandpa to them - and my Grandpa would be their great-great grandfather. It is in recognition of the 1982 Centennial Year for communities along the Pensacola & Atlantic Division of the L&N railroad, which crosses Western Florida, and for the railroad itself that I have added a section involving bits of railroad history and lore.
I hope the republication of some of the columns will help those who may take our region's rich cultural mix for granted to love the area by knowing it better. There's more, much more, earmarked for future collections. E. W. Carswell Tales of Grandpa and Cousin Fitzhugh
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Last Updated on Sunday, 17 August 2008 23:46 |
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