Up on the Hill - 9-2

There are moments when we feel fall in the air ... at last. The blueberries, figs, pears and scuppernongs suffered from lack of rain, still managed to produce plenty of fruit to supply giving and freezing. Seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease as long as the earth endures according to the good book.

Our neighbor, Fred Henderson, sent over a ton of peas for me to shell and freeze! Roma Lee is taking time out while recovering from a broken hip. Age is just a number with these two neighbors ... they think their number is in the twenties!

It was good to chat with the Rev. Charles and Linda Lennard last week. She is busy in her home business and church work and he and I bragged about our recent birthdays … mine on the 16th and his on the 31st. Both of our celebrations revolved around children and grandchildren. Of course, he looks so young to have grandchildren that love to celebrate at Sonic on his birthday! I encouraged him to write a book for his grandchildren.

I recently gifted my children with a book of “Our Heritage.” I wanted them to get to know, via the written pages, how my grandparents and my parents lived. Unpaved roads, silent skies, before the moon felt a footprint, quiet airwaves, motorless roads are unheard of to them! My daughter compiled a section of photos from grandpa George Strickland down to the youngest family member born in February 2007, and remembering the recent one we lost to

death. It was a work of love for my family.

Good reports, from the school Doug and I began and finished in 1945, are always welcomed. Hope Destiny Standridge is enjoying her fifth grade class at Laurel Hill School. She returned home from her first day of school with a sigh ... “I love Laurel Hill School and I never want to go to another school!”

Mom Carla drops her off in the mornings and the bus takes her to the door in the afternoons. Big brother, Seth, is in the eighth grade and older brother, Colby, captain of the ball team last year, attends OW.

It seems like only yesterday when a neighbor called Jordan's mother to report, “Your daughter is sitting on top of the house!”

Watching the sun go down, she said! This year granddaughter Jordan Elizabeth Snyder, leaves her home in Palm Harbor, Fla., for college in Tallahassee. Ginger Rogers Snyder will have an empty nest. Ah, sweet life.

When the first Saturday in October rolls around, (Oct. 6 this year) everyone in Laurel Hill knows what that means - time to celebrate the annual Laurel Hill Hobo Festival in Gene Clary Park. With live entertainment, an assortment of music from gospel to country, and more than 50 local vendors, the festival organizers work hard to make each festival the best ever. For more information, including reserving vendor booth space, call Wilma Jones at (850) 652-4598.

Mary Smith is a 2006 graduate of Laurel Hill School. Mary was severely injured in a car accident on State Road 85 recently.

"Friends of Mary Smith" are raising money to help with Mary's medical bills and travel cost. A bank account in Mary's name will accept any donation you are able to make at First National Bank & Trust in Crestview. Donation

canisters are available at local businesses in Crestview, Laurel Hill and

Florala. Laurel Hill School colors are etched on wristbands and sold for a dollar. All funds will go directly to Mary Smith. All help is appreciated by the family.

"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease."

- Genesis 8:22 NIV