OAKVIEW

The house was completed in 1952. Mom (Mary Eleanor) and Dad (Charlie) and the builder (Walker Temple) put much thought and detail in the plans, resulting in an elegant and comfortable home. They were all quite proud of it. Most of the pastures around the property had been cotton fields, however there were several stately oak trees scattered throughout, so the farm was called Oakview.

Oakview Farm became a working farm with about thirty registered Herefords, a couple of horses, chickens, pigs, a big garden, a grove of pecan trees, and an orchard of fruit trees. Since Dad was a Chevrolet and Oldsmobile dealer and Mom was an elementary school teacher, we all had our farm jobs. Mom did all the organizational work; Dad bought and sold cows and pigs, arranging for one of each to be slaughtered annually for our beef and pork needs. Along with the chickens, vegetables and fruits, Oakview was self-sustaining, food-wise.

We children had chores on the farm, too. Carey did the tractor work, Mary fed the chickens, gathered eggs to sell to her teachers, and Billy mowed the grass and fed the livestock. Every Monday evening was "work night" with a list of specific chores for us to get done between 4:00 and 7:30 p.m. The pond offered a refreshing break from work. We had picnics on the banks of the pond and a swim dock in the middle. This was before Lake Hartwell was built and before private swimming pools became commonplace.

We grew up, married, and had kids of our own. All the grandchildren enjoyed coming to "Munnie" and GrandDaddy's to explore, roam around, and especially play hide and seek in the barn's hayloft.

It is fitting for part of their farm to become a senior community since Mom and Dad, with help from their longtime employee and friend, Mary Lewis, cared for Mom's elderly mother and two sisters over a span of about fifteen years. The relatives needed care, one after another, so the back bedrooms and baths served as a kind of assisted living and hospice care.

When Mom and Dad could no longer live at Oakview Farm, they moved to a small townhouse in Hartwell. The house at Oakview was rented out for several years. Mom and Dad are gone now but many happy memories of them and of Oakview Farm remain with us. We look forward, with anticipation, to the next exciting phase for this special place – Oakview Crossing.

-Carey Kidd, Mary Kidd Jackson, Billy Kidd