The Arrowood Trail Thru the Mountains: 4/24/11

WELCOME

~ The pieces are all sewn together, stitched with love.........and a quilt tells a story and the story is our past ~

The Arrowood family immigrated from England to Maryland in the 1700's. They went south, eventually settling in the mountains of North Carolina. Later , some went further south, into the Piedmont of North Carolina, in search of work and a better way of life.

I am in search of my family.

I search for those that came before me, and lived their lives as best they could. I am in search of their stories, how they lived, and how they loved.

I shared this love of seeking the past with my Dad, sharing each new finding with him, the thrill in his heart intermingling with mine. I continue this search in his honor, and hope to know these people of ours when I join up with them all in heaven.

~ Steve Lewis Arrowood 1932-2008 ~

Come with me, back to a simpler time and place. A place far removed from the hectic pace of today. To a time when life was hard, but the rewards were great. When your quality of life was determined by your own sweat, your own toil, and your own ingenuity.

Would you like a glass of sweet tea? Let's sit out on the porch where we will catch the sweetly scented breeze of summertime. Maybe Grandma will fry up some of her wonderful chicken... Time slows here.

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"We shape our lives not by what we carry with us, but what we leave behind."

~You live as long as you are remembered.~

"Our most treasured family heirlooms are our sweet family memories. " Author: Unknown

"But those who came before us will teach you. They will teach you from the wisdom of former generations."

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Monday, April 25, 2011

Long Creek Baptist Church in Dallas, N.C. ~

Our Arrowood family has loved ones laid to rest in Long Creek Baptist in Dallas, North Carolina.

My grandfather's twin, Esther Arrowood Long's family is buried there.

Lewis William "Pat" Arrowood and twin, Esther Ruth Arrowood were born on January 06, 1900.

Their parents were Welzia Augustus and Isabell Correll Arrowood, buried at Mt. Olivet Methodist Church Cemetery in Gastonia, North Carolina.

Her children are in the family plot alongside their mother and father.

This is an old burying ground with many headstones in the treeline bordering the cleared section of the cemetery.

Every trip there, I discover old stones that were previously undetected, covered by leaves and undergrowth.

Esther and George Henderson Long, Sr's children buried at Long Creek:

Aline Elizabeth Long Hutchins 1921 - 1992
George "G.L." Henderson Long, Jr. 1923 - 1996

Buried at Florida Memorial Gardens, Rockledge, Brevard County, Florida
George Jr's, wife, Mary Maxine Carter Long.
Douglas "Doug" Howard Long 1925 - 1944 (WWII)

Virginia "Ginner" Dare Long 1927 - 2008

Arthur Max "Ott" Long 1929 - 2005

"Ott's" wife, Helen Mae Cathey 1919 - 1992

~May They Rest In Peace~

Photos Courtesy of gracious Find A Grave Member, Sandy A. (Thanks Sandy!)

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Sentimental Sunday ~ Easter Sweet Carolina Jasmine

Have you ever noticed how certain smells can invoke memories?
Those wonderful memories that were stored deep down in your memory bank gathering dust, and suddenly you are right back in the moment. I love the smell of Carolina Jasmine, for the journey it takes me on with one small whiff..

Sweet and dusky and reminiscent of times gone by. My grandmother's porch in the summertime.
Blackberry vines hanging heavy with dark fruit. Peach trees laden with wonderfully tangy peaches.

Pretty sweet-smelling purple petunias nodding their heads in agreement from the pot by the front porch.
My Grandmother loved petunias and they are a must for my garden every year. I feel she smiles down whenever she sees them.

That sweet smell of spring takes me back to her house, with windows open wide and sunlight streaming into the rooms. Finding colorful eggs among the colorful branches of the azalea's in full bloom.

I stopped, smelled and pulled that familiar heady scent in, deep inside, and exhaled a breath of pure perfection.
Spring has arrived, and with it, my deep seated instinct, to plant some seeds and wait for what comes up.

The trees are dusted with tiny green leaves and everything seems to be in bloom.
Memories of my Dad are brought back, he coming toward me with a handful of seeds of something wonderful, at least to him they were.

Days like today are for remembering Spring of the past and looking forward to the Springs yet to come.
Get out there and enjoy! Plant something.

If seeds in the black earth can turn into

such beautiful roses,

what might not the heart of man become,

in its long

journey toward the stars?

- G.K. Chesterton