Page 15 - Firehouse Pond

I spoke with a Charleston police officer, asking for directions. She took the

time to welcome me and to advise me on where the trouble spots were
located. It was interesting to learn that she was born and raised nearby in
East Prairie.

All business owners I spoke to were more than willing to help me figure out
this or that thing. Of special note are Melinda and Kevin Miller, owners of
The Rocking Chair. Their willingness to share information and their

repository of documents, pictures and objects helped fill in the blanks and
sparked my brain to recall so much. Thanks to you for your generosity.

Personnel from Charleston City Hall, the County Clerk’s Office, and the
County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office were most helpful in researching
records and providing the documentation needed to locate family gravesites.

And a man named Floyd. I wish I could have spent hours with Floyd. He
saw me taking pictures inside the County Court House; he asked a couple of

questions, and before I knew it, he became my private tour guide of the
building, at least for a few very interesting minutes. Floyd, you know who
you are and I’m telling you this: You prove that a man can return to his
birthplace and be welcomed home.

Without having written A Soldier’s Anthology I doubt my concern for where I
grew up would have materialized.