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    Gray's Island: Where the Creek Bends
    Gray's Island: Where the Creek Bends
    Gray's Island: Where the Creek Bends
    Ebook128 pages1 hour

    Gray's Island: Where the Creek Bends

    By Shirley Brock Turney

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    About this ebook

    This book is a collection of poems and childhood memories. The poems are simple words from a simple mind. Some were written to be just plain silly in hopes of making you smile. The childhood memories are about growing up in the fifties when I spent most of my young years playing in the dirt, swimming in the creek and walking on railroad tracks. My family and I lived in a small house next door to a big, three-room school house. There was a railroad in front of our house and a creek in the back. The rest of the community was on the other side of the railroad tracks. I always say that I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. Most memories are about Gray's Island where we spent the summers swimming in the creek and having many adventures. It was always boys chasing girls, dunking us in the creek, and having battles throwing pine cones and crabapples at each other. It was a time of innocence that could only be experienced during childhood.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthorHouse
    Release dateOct 30, 2013
    ISBN9781491827444
    Gray's Island: Where the Creek Bends
    Author

    Shirley Brock Turney

    Shirley Brock Turney reflects back into her childhood years to tell stories of a simpler and more peaceful time when she grew up in a small Southern town during the fifties. The short stories about swimming in the creek, walking on railroad tracks, and playing in the dirt leaves one with relaxing and warm feelings, which reminds one of any Southern upbringing. Shirley Turney has a way of drawing one into her tale, evoking feelings of “being there.” Some of her poems are memorials to people that have passed, and others are silly and just for fun.

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      Book preview

      Gray's Island - Shirley Brock Turney

      cover.jpg

      AuthorHouse™ LLC

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.authorhouse.com

      Phone: 1-800-839-8640

      © 2013 . All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

      Published by AuthorHouse 10/26/2013

      ISBN: 978-1-4918-2743-7 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4918-2744-4 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2013918635

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      CONTENTS

      Dedication

      Acknowledgements

      About The Author

      Introduction

      History And Background

      Stories

      Poems

      DEDICATION

      This book is dedicated to my husband John,

      my son Richard and his wife Martha, and to my

      son Peter and his wife Alice. A special dedication goes to my grandchildren, John Patrick, Elizabeth, Jason Alan, William and Mary Grace. I also dedicate this in loving memory to my mother, Maebell Campbell Brock,

      and my mother-in-law and father-in-law,

      Wilda and Louis Turney.

      ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

      I thank my family and friends for their support during the writing of this book. I was encouraged to put my writings together in a book after letting them read some of my stories. First, I must thank my brothers and sisters along with my mother who helped me make these memories. A special thank you goes to my friend, Beverely Houchins, for the many hours she spent making corrections and recommendations that improved the final draft. Without her I could not have finished this work. Two people that I extend my thanks too are Rebecca Eaves and Charles Zimmerman who enjoy my stories more than anyone I know. Without Mrs. Eaves’ help, I would not have learned the history of how her family helped settle the community knows as Graysville.

      Above all, I want to thank my husband John for his support and encouragement in my efforts to write this book.

      Thanks guys. I hope that I make you proud.

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      I was born in Hawkinsville, Georgia, and lived the first four years of my life in this small town. I often say, Lucky was I, a child born on a cool, crisp morning under a clear, blue, October sky. Around the age of four our family moved to Graysville, Georgia, where I lived until I married and moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee. After high school and marriage I did secretarial work. In later years, I attended Chattanooga State Community College and took business classes. After a few semesters, I left school to work for friends in their bookkeeping and tax service business. An education was very important to me, and I always regretted not getting a degree. I always said that an education and memories were the only things one could take with them when this life was over and that there would be no Wells Fargo truck following the hearse to the cemetery.

      Making quilts is my passion. Throughout the years I have crocheted, knitted, painted pictures, and done lots of volunteer work. Much of my time was spent helping others in need. Sometimes, I thought charity should have been my middle name. I am a devoted mother, grandmother and an animal lover. If a stray cat stops at our house for more than a day or two, I catch it and am off to the vet to have it spayed or neutered. The most I ever had at one time was ten cats. I never meet a stranger, and like Will Rogers, I have never met anyone I didn’t like.

      INTRODUCTION

      This book is a collection of poems and childhood memories. The poems are simple words from a simple mind. Some were written to be just plain silly in hopes of making you smile. The childhood memories were written the way I remember them. My brothers and sisters may disagree with me. If my memories contradict theirs, then they will have to write their own book. However, no matter how hard I try, it is simply impossible to remember everything I experienced as a child. Once I had written these stories, they brought back many precious memories of the past. I like to think that these memories from many, many years ago have not faded from my conscious mind. Most memories are of happy times and an age of innocence that I will never again experience. After reading these stories, I hope it will help you to recall the stories from your past as vividly as I have remembered mine.

      This book is about life in a simpler time when I grew up playing in the dirt, swimming in the creek, and walking on railroad tracks. Growing up in Graysville during the forties and fifties was to me the greatest place in the world to live. Graysville probably had twenty or thirty families. We all knew each other, which is usual in a small community. We went to church and school together. Life was simple along with good and bad times. It was a time when everyone appreciated what they had and took great pride in themselves. Life was good.

      These memories I have put together to pass down to my children, grandchildren and future ones yet to come. Perhaps, my stories will bring a piece of the past into the present, and they can see what life was like when I was a child. Sometimes my sons tell me that I still live in the Stone Age. I am sure my grandchildren will think the same when they read my stories. They will think of me, not as the elephant in the room, but as the dinosaur.

      HISTORY AND BACKGROUND

      Graysville History

      When putting my stories together about growing up in Graysville, Georgia, I decided that I should write a little history about Graysville for those who are not familiar with the area. Graysville is in Catoosa County, a small community in North Georgia, close to the Tennessee state line. Graysville was settled by John Gray in a narrow valley between two large hills. Some people call the hills ridges. A railroad track and a creek run through the middle of the valley. The houses are on one side of the tracks, and the Chickamauga Creek is on the other side of the tracks. There are two streets, Front Street and Back Street as we always called them. Of course, they do have names as do the side streets that connect the two main streets together. Actually, what we called Front Street really was Front Street, and what we called Back Street was Gray Street. There is a stop sign where the road crosses the railroad tracks. Graysville has a post office and several houses. At one time it had a general store owned and operated by two brothers, Pete and Bud Brown. People would come

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