Me And My Dad In Amelia, Virginia

Dad and me on a stump in our front yard in Amelia County, Virginia.
When I was just a small child, my family packed up and moved from Widener Valley, Virginia to rural Amelia County which is located about 35 miles southwest of Richmond. The large, old farmhouse that we moved into was a lot different from the small, unfinished one we had left behind in "the valley". It had shiny hardwood floors and long hallways for us youngsters to "skate" in. And it even had something I had never seen before: a second level upstairs!

Yes, that large house was different from anything I had ever seen in my four years on earth, but Amelia was different in many other ways as well. First of all, the land was flat! There were no tall hills or snowcapped mountains, only soy bean and corn fields that went on for what seemed like miles until they reached the dry forests waiting on the other side. And the people there spoke with a strange accent that was almost impossible for us "hillbillies" to understand at times!

But there I was, a young boy excited to be moving into a new place that offered plenty of new things to see and do. Although we lived in Amelia for just a few years, the majority of my early memories are of my life there. For example, my first taste of school came when mom enrolled me in kindergarten at Amelia High School. At that time, the high school actually held all the grades from K-12, but that changed a couple of years later when the schools were integrated and the high school became just a high school.

I also remember how my sister Helen and I loved to go swimming. At that time in Amelia County, most swimming was done in rural ponds. Unlike the creeks and rivers of southwestern Virginia, the water in Amelia's ponds was usually warm, calm and deep - a far cry from the chilly water that we had played in "back home".

We kids were always eager to go swimming, and dad was always eager to go fishing...so we had sort of an unofficial "deal" worked out: Helen and I would go dig up a can of worms (literally) and dad would feel obligated to take us fishing because "it would be a shame to just let 'em die". Some of my happiest memories are of the times we went swimming.

Although I enjoyed living in Amelia County, mom had a pretty rough time there for reasons that I won't go into. We packed up and moved back to Widener Valley just in time for me to start the fourth grade at Liberty Hall School in Lodi, Va. I finished my school years in southwestern Virginia, and after rambling here and there I returned and settled here - and I plan to spend the rest of my days here.

I have lived in places far and wide, but the hills of southwestern Virginia will always be my home. Life in Amelia County provided most of my childhood memories, but my roots lie in Widener Valley and Washington County. It's great to be home.

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