FLORIDA VACATION IN THE 40'S
May 20, 2015
By Olivene Godfrey
This time of the year here in the deep South, brings back memories of vacations in the past. I have never traveled to exotic, foreign lands and at age 87, I don't plan to in the future. I wish Barry had the opportunity to visit some of the places he watches on TV. Maybe one day he can do that.
I've been letting my mind wander back over my summer vacations, such as time spent at my paternal grandparents Tennessee farm.
When my late husband, Ralph was young, he was in the U.S. Army's Signal Corp to install and repair radar equipment in the Pacific during World War II, when radar was a secret weapon. So, he had traveled much more than I had. I had never been to Florida and longed to see the ocean. So, we planned a July vacation in Florida. Ralph loved to fish and I wanted to enjoy the beach.
Our first vacation was spent a few days at a fishing camp inland and the remaining time at Daytona Beach and the ocean. The month was July in the late 1940's and our old car didn't have an air conditioner. The temperature was in the 90's, and we didn't bring any water with us. I wore shorts and a shirt. Heat was blasting us from the car's floorboard. I remember wringing sweat out of my shirt. Then we saw a concrete black building with a large sign reading, DRINKS, FOOD & GAS. We stopped and entered the building and felt the air conditioner blast us. We sat at a table and a waitress brought us glasses of ice water, the best drink I ever had. We ate a sandwich and then we were on our way to the fishing camp.
We stopped at a little store and bought a few groceries. The fishing camp was located around a pretty lake. The cabins were clean and nice but no air conditioner. While Ralph signed up for a boat and so forth, I prepared a meal. I had bought a small chicken to fry. I had never cut a whole chicken into pieces before and I cut some odd looking pieces. By the time Ralph came inside, I had our meal almost ready and I was a nervous and very hot wreck.
Ralph enjoyed fishing with a young man who was staying with his wife at the camp. At night, we played Rook with the young couple.
Finally, we were ready to go to Daytona Beach and the ocean. We had fun until the end of the week. I can't swim. Fortunately, Ralph could. I got caught up in a large ocean wave and he rescued me. After that incident, I waded in the water at low tide. It was a fun vacation.
A few years later, we moved to Treasure Island, Florida, to a duplex on the beach and I spent a lot of time on the beach and met some interesting people. They seemed amused by my accent. One woman from the North asked, "Is that Southern?" Years later an expert on accents told me I have an East Tennessee and North Georgia accent. I've been told my accent is as thick and sweet as sorghum molasses.
While living on the beach, our son, Barry was born, after 12 years of marriage, so we called him our "miracle baby." When he was 3 years old we returned to North Georgia. We missed the mountains, family and friends.See you next time. Comments welcome. (As told to Tam.)
By Olivene Godfrey
This time of the year here in the deep South, brings back memories of vacations in the past. I have never traveled to exotic, foreign lands and at age 87, I don't plan to in the future. I wish Barry had the opportunity to visit some of the places he watches on TV. Maybe one day he can do that.
I've been letting my mind wander back over my summer vacations, such as time spent at my paternal grandparents Tennessee farm.
When my late husband, Ralph was young, he was in the U.S. Army's Signal Corp to install and repair radar equipment in the Pacific during World War II, when radar was a secret weapon. So, he had traveled much more than I had. I had never been to Florida and longed to see the ocean. So, we planned a July vacation in Florida. Ralph loved to fish and I wanted to enjoy the beach.
Our first vacation was spent a few days at a fishing camp inland and the remaining time at Daytona Beach and the ocean. The month was July in the late 1940's and our old car didn't have an air conditioner. The temperature was in the 90's, and we didn't bring any water with us. I wore shorts and a shirt. Heat was blasting us from the car's floorboard. I remember wringing sweat out of my shirt. Then we saw a concrete black building with a large sign reading, DRINKS, FOOD & GAS. We stopped and entered the building and felt the air conditioner blast us. We sat at a table and a waitress brought us glasses of ice water, the best drink I ever had. We ate a sandwich and then we were on our way to the fishing camp.
We stopped at a little store and bought a few groceries. The fishing camp was located around a pretty lake. The cabins were clean and nice but no air conditioner. While Ralph signed up for a boat and so forth, I prepared a meal. I had bought a small chicken to fry. I had never cut a whole chicken into pieces before and I cut some odd looking pieces. By the time Ralph came inside, I had our meal almost ready and I was a nervous and very hot wreck.
Ralph enjoyed fishing with a young man who was staying with his wife at the camp. At night, we played Rook with the young couple.
Finally, we were ready to go to Daytona Beach and the ocean. We had fun until the end of the week. I can't swim. Fortunately, Ralph could. I got caught up in a large ocean wave and he rescued me. After that incident, I waded in the water at low tide. It was a fun vacation.
A few years later, we moved to Treasure Island, Florida, to a duplex on the beach and I spent a lot of time on the beach and met some interesting people. They seemed amused by my accent. One woman from the North asked, "Is that Southern?" Years later an expert on accents told me I have an East Tennessee and North Georgia accent. I've been told my accent is as thick and sweet as sorghum molasses.
While living on the beach, our son, Barry was born, after 12 years of marriage, so we called him our "miracle baby." When he was 3 years old we returned to North Georgia. We missed the mountains, family and friends.See you next time. Comments welcome. (As told to Tam.)
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