Several years ago, I wrote a farewell post letting all of you know that I was taking some time off. The post is here.
Chuck’s dementia and the book I was writing took too much of my time. I suspended the blog for the interim.
I am happy to announce that the book is finished and finally published. I knew it was taking me forever, but the book is now three books of the “Palmetto Pioneers” series. Here is a post I did on the book back in 2016.
The first book in the series is entitled, “The Emigrants”, and it follows the main character’s life from the age of 7 until Florida becomes a state in 1845, when she was 23 and married. Her family moves to the territory of Florida in 1829.
The book has three purposes. The primary purpose is to help her descendants understand what it was like to move to Florida during that era. It describes what Monticello looked like when they arrived, and how it and Jefferson County changed over the early years of its founding.
A secondary purpose of the book is for Jefferson County and its residents to understand the area’s heritage.
A third purpose is for Floridians to understand this part of the state and the role it played in the formation of the down-state areas. Many of these families migrated farther south after the Indian wars and the Civil War.
So I am back writing posts for this blog. Chuck is doing as well as can be expected. He no longer drives and lacks his short-term memory, but he is still fairly independent, especially after we moved from the larger house to my much smaller family home. We are in walking distance of downtown with its coffee shop, barber shop, and vegetable and fruit stand.
Chuck walks everywhere and enjoys his newfound freedom. He has no trouble finding his way back home as long as he can see the courthouse which is higher than anything else in town. From the courthouse, he knows to go toward the bank and keep walking.
More to follow!
I won’t post weekly like before, but will try to post at least once a month.
Im almost finished with the book. Thank you for writing it. What a blessing for those of us who are kin.
You’re welcome, and thank you for the kind thoughts. By the way, one of our distant cousins contacted me earlier this week. She is in her late 80s and lives down in south Florida. Anyway, her grandmother who was born a Walker showed her, when she was young, where the family had a fort they used for Indian attacks. It sat near a pond which they called from then on, the Fort Pond. The pond is still in use on a farm not too far from the Elizabeth Cemetery.
Keep it going. And I will try to be accurate.
Thank you and I Enjoyed our conversation today!
Well it is my early 80’s but getting later all of the time!
Congratulations on the move back as well as the publication of your book which I fully intend to purchase.
Good to hear from you! And thank you!
So glad you are back…was born and raised in Perry, Florida..
Thank you, I was raised in Monticello, Florida. I would have been born there, but there was no hospital in Monticello. I was born at the closest one, which was in Thomasville, GA.
👍
It is so good to hear from you again. I am so happy to hear that you got your book published and so impressed that you managed to do that with so much on your plate. It sounds as if you have worked out a nice, stress free routine for Chuck and yourself in Monticello. He is so lucky to have you. I have purchased my book and look forward to it arriving this weekend.
It was good to hear from you, too, Missy. Thank you for purchasing the book and I hope you enjoy it! How is your mother doing?
Mom is doing well. She is 93 now. I was just showing her your latest post and she is looking forward to reading your book.