Kathy G Widener

The Southern Child: A Memoir Kathy G Widener

The story of the Gantts of Rayflin lives on in the final book, Southern Child: A Memoir. The author describes in her own words her childhood.

"I lived basically the same life as my granddaddy, uncle, and daddy. By the time I came along, we did have electricity, added in 1948. Otherwise, things were pretty much the same, no indoor plumbing, and only wood as a heat source. The barn was torn down before my time, but the land was still farmed. Daddy was never a farmer, he worked in a cotton mill in the nearest town. Having been born after my Granddaddy Kelly's death, I never knew him personally. However, through the stories passed down to me, I always felt like I did. The old unpainted clapboard house built in 1912 still stands on a dirt road called Swamp Rabbit Road, less than a mile 'as the crow flies' from the black waters of the North Edisto River. We were happy go lucky kids and grew up with a sense of independence and strong guidance from our elders. Imagination was the key to our entertainment. I have included many of the mishaps and ways we devised to amuse ourselves."

Southern Child gives true insight into what country life in the South was like for children in the 1950's and 60's, from someone who lived that life. It was a different world then.