The Candler cabin

These pictures bring back memories of the early 1970s when my father bought an old chicken farm in Candler, west of Asheville. He restored the log cabin there to living condition, and even though it had only one bathroom, our family of four survived just fine. On Sunday mornings, when we all had to go through the bathroom to get to church on time, Dad would say that he could wash an elephant in the time I took in the bathroom.

For my 16th birthday, he put up a tent for me to camp out with three of my friends. Dad also made us a fire so we could have an outdoor hotdog roast. We took turns on a swing hanging from a tree. I am on the left and next to me is Beth Gettys, then Pam Leviner and Martha Smith.

The other photo is of me and my brother, Jeff, on our horses, Pearl and Rusty. One time Rusty bucked Jeff off, and we laughed and laughed, but were glad he didn't get hurt. When I would ride Pearl through the hayfield it is a wonder I didn't fall off. I rode her as fast as she would go, and I remember the wind making my hair fly behind me. We had quite a few acres to ride on.

My mother would cook the best food when we were living in that cabin. After school, I would walk from the school bus up the long hill on a dirt road. That extra exercise made her home-cooked meals taste really yummy. The cabin is still inhabited. Dad rented it out for years, but then finally sold it. Now it's nicer, with two bathrooms.

Karen Gilliam, Morganton, Rutherford EMC