J.A. Bolton’s latest book is now available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle...
Read MoreThe fruit of the gods
The common persimmon in America is known by many names – possum apple, sugar plum, and just plain ‘simmons. The proper name or scientific name is Diospyros Virginian. Although some persimmons are native to China and Japan, our country has long had its own variety of the delicious fruit. For generations, Native Americans ate the fruit, but it was...
Read MoreIf the Ol’ Oak Tree Could Talk
Here in the South, many stately old oak trees still dot our landscapes. If not hampered by storms or man, these old oaks can live for hundreds of years. Why, some have lived up to a thousand years. Oak trees provide shade, wood products, oxygen, erosion control, and even acorns for us and the animals. One such sturdy oak has been on our property for...
Read MoreGhostly Music at Grassy Island, part 2
As we continue this week with some folklore of the Pee Dee River area, we find that in earlier times a lot of folks used the ford to cross the river just above Grassy Island. As the white settlers were moving in, the local Native American tribes had died out or moved westward. But you know it’s strange how many local legends still seem to hang on in...
Read MoreGhostly Music at Grassy Island
Until the early 1900s, the Pee Dee River ran free and clear from the North Carolina mountains to the South Carolina coast with no man-made structures to hinder its flow. The Native Americans built fish traps out of rocks in the river, but none interfered with the natural flow of the mighty river. The natives not only used the fish and mussels for food but...
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