By the Old Mill Stream
My granddaddy “Papa Greer” lived
on a small farm on what today is called Greer’s Mountain in
Peachtree City. I call it a small farm though it was 80
acres. The average size of a farm was around 100 acres.
The dirt road that ran in front of his house extended from
Hwy. 54, past Tinsley’s Mill, to Hwy. 74 near a small train
stop called Aberdeen. Now paved that road is called Walt
Banks’ Road which terminates in a cul-de-sac just past
where Papa Greer lived. About halfway down the road at the
bottom of the hill, near Tinsley’s Mill, just before a
small wooden bridge, on the left side of the road, running
along the edge of the creek, was a large flat open field
about the size of a football field. When I was about ten
years old Papa Greer took me to a large barbecue held
there. It was a bizarre occasion with a few hundred people
gathered to eat barbecue and Brunswick stew. This was a
large political rally for Eugene Talmadge, one of Georgia’s
many termed governors. Fayette County was always a large
supporter of Talmadge. Everyone I knew always voted for him
and this was a kind of “thank you” party on behalf of
Governor Talmadge.
This was a picturesque setting with the old mill, the
creek, the bridge, and the large open field. I had lived
there when I was three for a while when Daddy ran the old
mill. Daddy would sometimes find an ear of Indian corn with
dark red and yellow grains in a batch of corn and he would
save it for me to feed Buster, my rooster that Papa Greer
had given me. Even though we were poor as dirt and lived at
the top of the hill overlooking the mill in a log house
with no electricity, telephone, or running water, I was a
happy little boy.
We didn’t have a radio since there was no electricity. Papa
Greer lived just up the road and had a battery set. We
would often go and listen with him at night when reception
was best. The road back to our house was very dark at
night, fenced with tall trees. Papa Greer made light-wood
torches for us to use. I would carry the torch while Daddy
carried me.
I remember Daddy making me a water wheel out of potted meat
cans after we had dammed up the small branch in front of
the mill. It’s hard for me to think how difficult life was
back then, for my mother and daddy were young and healthy
and they loved me very much. Because they gave me most of
their attention, I have fond memories of those days.