James Cagle
I always looked forward to going to Granny’s. Whether we lived just a few miles away or hundreds of miles away, we all got excited when we were on our way to see Granny Jones.
I remember when we had moved far away and were planning on going to Granny’s. Mother would let us know the day before and we would put a change or two of clothes in a paper sack and be ready to go. The next morning, we got up very early to drive to Granny’s. All four boys usually sat in the back seat, which faced the rear of the three-seat station wagon. If we were living in Tampa, Florida while daddy was in college, it took several hours to get to Granny’s. Along the way we would try to get as many diesel trucks to blow their horns as possible. Then we would play all sorts of games to help the time to pass more quickly. If we lived very far away from Granny, we usually went to see her at least two to three times a year if at all possible.
When we lived just a few miles away from Granny, over on Studstill road, going to see Granny was different. Studstill road was on the opposite side of Bemiss road, which when I was a little boy was a two-lane highway. To get from where we lived to where Granny lived, we had to cross some train tracks that ran through the middle of the countryside and then Bemiss highway.
During the summer one of the children would be allowed to walk to Granny’s house on Friday afternoon and spend the night with her. On Saturday the rest of the family would come to Granny’s, and we would all go back home that evening.
To be the one that was going to Granny’s house on Friday was exciting. We would put a change of clothes in a paper bag and start walking to her house. We usually walked barefoot, and the boys went without wearing a shirt. Our dog Prince, a Border Collie, would walk along with us. It was about four miles to Granny’s. We would walk up Studstill road to the Bemiss highway. When we were little and making these trips to Granny’s, Bemiss road was a two-lane highway. A few miles to the right, which was north, was Moody Air Force Base. About ten miles to the left, which was south, was the city of Valdosta. Bemiss road was a busy highway even then and the trick was crossing the road with our dog without getting run over. We would cross Bemiss highway and get on the Deloach dirt road. We would walk down Deloach dirt road up to Old Pine Road, turn left on Old Pine Road and be at Granny’s in another minute or two. We would pass by Mr. Perry’s house, who had two big white mules. Sometimes he would give us a ride in his wagon.
I don’t know how long it took to walk to Granny’s house. Little boys in those good ole days didn’t wear watches and didn’t worry about the time like they do today. On the way to Granny’s, we had to pass a house which had a German Shepherd dog that always came out in the road to fight our dog. We always tried to sneak by this house, if we could, to avoid our dog from getting beaten up. The German shepherd beat our dog on most occasions. But one day Prince got enough of it and really tore the German shepherd up and he didn’t bother us anymore.
We liked going to Granny’s because we liked being around her and being on her farm, which offered us so many things to do. But she also had a TV, which was something we didn’t have. Her TV only showed in black and white, and she only had two channels. That evening we got to watch several shows, and, in the morning, we got to watch cartoons.
