Last week, I was asked this question for the first time during an interview: Why do I want to write The South I Knew: Love Letters to my Children?
It all started when our whole family moved from Greenville, S.C. , lock, stock and barrel, to the small township of Galivants Ferry, S.C. It was a huge change for my children. It was a culture shock but I knew they would eventually love the “home place” I remembered.
But, when we got here, a lot of what I remembered was gone! Barns, tenant homes, the old blacksmith shop and pack houses were being torn down or allowed to collapse. The general accepted reasoning behind was and still is, ”if it doesn’t make money or produce a cash flow, tear it down!” I saw very little emotions, if any, about tearing down these old buildings, our connections to our past. The South I knew was disappearing rapidly.
My personal passion to save structures, memories and my recollections of certain people, places and things of the past 50 years is what inspired me to start this project. At first, I only took photographs. I found that was not enough. The emotions and colorful images of our kin folks and the way of life in which I was raised filled my head, heart and soul and I had to start writing stories to go with the photographs.
That is the reason I began this book and feel a sense of urgency to continue. Thank you all for being interested in this endeavor. I needed to go back and recollect as much as I can. The connections with friends and family is helping me continue to recall even more details. This is an emotional roller coaster. Join me and we can relive a lot together.
Thank you, Christian Monroe Holliday Douglas (you can call me Christy)