Seeing Charlton County In a Day's Automobile Ride

Charlton County Herald

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August 30, 1929

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News of interest of what our people are doing on the farm can be picked up by a visit to their homes. Ye scribe, acting as a guide for the Entomologist, Mr. J.F. Monroe, made a trip over a stretch of some fifty miles of Charlton County last Friday.

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Johnny Wilson was the first farm visited. His potato crop was part in harvesting state, not suffering from wetness. His Crowder pea patch caught our eye, but then Johnny always has them, as he knows how to farm and has a good place to make stuff on.

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Through a winding woods road we found the Yarber farm. The good lady making grape juice, a sample proved it a delicious drink. ‘Twas sweet and wholesome and helps with home expense as it sells at 50 a quart, and tis better than store-bought. W.W. was picking cotton, most of it which was open. As the potatoes was being inspected, we discovered his late melon patch, a trial one was most convincing. It was a felt want for the hot day. The wet weather cut the crop down, but what he had was good.

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Next was the E.T. Murray and J.W. Hinds places. They both complained of the wet season, but had crops looking fair.

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Back-tracking we struck the C.W. Waughtel place. There we tried out the Flowers grape and viewed his process of fattening chickens. He is getting a ton ready for the September car sale, besides shaping up some pullets for special orders. He related an exciting story of a hand- to-hand battle with a hawk that had swooped down through an opening in the fattening shed. Hearing the commotion he rushed in to find Mr. Hawk confused by his inability to fly through the wire netting. With a cudgel the hawk met his fowl end.

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Next Robert’s patches came, then on Uptonville way. Found J.W. Dinkins and the home crew gathering the fleecy staple, most of it gathered. He had a good potato crop, as he most does, being a hard worker and tiller of the soil.

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We stopped for an inspection of the P. G. Brooks’ patches next, and his crops looking good.

The W.L. Chancey farm came next, and we found big-hearted Lee and the boys coming in for the noon meal. He insisted that we stop there for a repast, but having located so many filling stations and made the most of them, and so far to go, we had to push on.

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At the Sammy Altman place we got some excitement. Sammy, Jr. in the yard steered us to the patch and no sooner than we had completed the survey, then here came Mrs. Altman, much worried. Having learned our mission, she was hastening to advise us that a big six-foot rattler had been seen the evening before when a boy was harvesting potatoes, so she feared it was still among the vines.  Sam has been marketing potatoes for some time at good prices.

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We hit Steve Gibson next. Found him fixing Robt. Harden’s school bus. He gladly quit to show us the way to the field, and took us through a four-year Jap sand pear orchard. They bore the second year and had a fair crop on. A golden yellow and good eaters we found them. Steve had a peculiar story to tell. The Sunday before one of the boys driving through a pine grove nearby discovered a big snake. Steve was summoned, took his rifle and went and shot his snakeship,      some five feet long with six rattles. It was brown and black stripped, and Steve called it a water rattler.

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We got Jesse Mizell next, then A.L. Dinkins. Both good farmers and fine fellows. Mr. Dinkins got inspector Monroe to whistling when he stated some bamboo cane he had in the yard grew from 15 to 20 feet within a month’s time. Yet growing them like this, we still import fishing canes.

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Down at Grady Gibson’s we found Agent Hursey and his stock-judging crew. We also discovered the first infected seed potatoes. Too bad, for Grady is a square-shooter, and we hated to see him lose out.

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It was after this we had some jump – all the way to St. George to see H. S. Hodges’s crop. ‘Twas not such a bad ride, the roads being in a better shape than we supposed possible, considering the wet season. Road hands were filling in a few low spots and washouts. Commissioner Hopkins has kept them in pretty fair repair.

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We reached Folkston at 6 o’clock having covered seventy miles in the day journey, with others left for another day.

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After a night’s rest, and a wandering trip to near-cut way out to Mose Crews, Mr. Monroe turned up Saturday morning wanting to know the way to go to finish his work. We piloted him to West Johnson’s, Earnie Grooms and Tip Kennison. While Monroe looked the potatoes over, we gave our attention to the vine yards, all three having them in abundance, so much so, that our capacity failed us. Tip, however, relieved the situation by insisting we bring some home to taper off on, which was real nice of him.

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We got Mr. A.W. Askew’s “Al Smith” potatoes in the round up, and the gentleman inspector in the direction of Kingsland, to wind the day up here.

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Now with all these potatoes we ought to organize a plant-grower’s association and put out twenty million plants next year. They can be grown and we can sell them.