The Last Picnic of Summer

Lydia Tilley (bottom right) at a family picnic

It was the last days of summer, what we called the dog days of summer 1962. School would be starting soon and another summer would be gone. My family enjoyed that last picnic at Doughton Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway before summer was over.

Doughton Park was a favorite spot for my family to come together and enjoy the park and spend time there. Every year we would enjoy the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains and play in the meadows around the picnic area of the park. It was a place that my mother taught us that we could come and enjoy what God had made, spend time with family and as a child feel that life was wonderful.

We not only had the park, but this was a time when cousins, aunts and uncles came together as a family to spend time with each other. Some of the family lived just down the road; others would come from other states to visit and spend time with us. It was always a special occasion to have the time to enjoy our family gatherings and be blessed with such beautiful places like Doughton Park.

Lydia Tilley, Roaring River, a member of Surry-Yadkin EMC