The 1940s picnic shelter It’s a beautiful picnic spot. But it’s not far off in a secluded wooded area or meadow. It’s 20 feet from the road and to the side of our front yard on the edge of a pond. The picnic shelter built circa 1940 by my husband’s grandparents has faithfully hosted fish fries, baptisms, farmers meetings, family reunions, birthday parties, Fourth of July picnics and any spontaneous “let’s have a cook-out tonight” notion that we have. My husband Johnny will guarantee nothing less than hot dogs and hamburgers cooked on a real charcoal grill. They have come to be known as “daddy burgers” and my kids and their friends will be first in line. I would love to know just how many he has served up over the years. The shelter has even served as a produce stand where we sell sweet corn in the summer. Re-roofed, re-wired and repaired by my husband and sons, it is truly a family shrine. There is a brick cooker that was used in years past for fish fries. The floor is dirt and sports a new layer of pine straw for special occasions. Each year we have a big Fourth of July picnic followed by fireworks put on by the younger crowd in the field across from the pond. It is safer to be on the opposite side of them. Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, the shelter is lit with red, white and blue lights. At Christmas it is decorated with red and green lights. My father served three years as a U.S. Army Medic in Europe during WWII. What he experienced influenced him to tell me when I was a child that I lived in the best place in the world. It is true. I haven’t found a more perfect picnic spot than my own backyard. Nancy Mullis Kelly, Sanford | Central EMC |
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