As I left the parking lot of the Extension Center this morning, I noticed something across the street that brought back a lot of memories. I just had to park my car and walk across the street and into the abandoned field to take a closer look.

Most of the field across the street from my office is planted in corn, wheat, or soybeans every year. But one end of the field has essentially been abandoned. No crops have been planted there for years. The abandoned end of the field is evidently an old home site. It is probably where a farmer and his family lived many years ago as they tended the small farm, much of which has been sold off and is now being used for government offices. The area is all grown up with vines and briers. There are a couple of old shade trees still standing, giving even more evidence that more than likely a house stood on this site many years ago. If you look closely, you can see a couple of old tobacco barns back in the distance, but they can hardly be seen for the many trees that have grow up around them.

On the edge of the abandoned area is a grove of small trees that are not much higher than my head. These trees are what caught my attention. When I got a close look at them, I recognized them as wild plum trees. What caused me to notice them in the first place was that the limbs of the trees were hanging full of wild plums. These plums are just beginning to change color, so in another week or two, the plums will be pale red or slightly orange in color, somewhat soft, and absolutely delicious.

When I was a kid growing up on a small farm, my brother and I roamed the fields and woods whenever we were not doing our chores or when our father did not have us working in the fields. Even when we were working, we rambled along paths and ditch banks back and forth to the fields or slipped away from our work whenever we could so we could explore the world around us.

We knew where all the wild plum trees were, and we knew when the plums would be ripe. We also knew where to find the best huckleberries, and we knew when they would be ripe. We knew which ditch banks had the most and biggest brier berries, a wild berry that is very similar to black berries except with a whole lot more seeds and a whole lot more briers, and we knew when they would be ripe.

We knew where the old apple trees were out in the middle of the field on the farm next to ours. We had been told that a house was there at one time, and the farmer that lived in that house had planted the trees. We knew when those apples would be ripe. We also knew where the old pear tree was back behind the pasture, and we knew when the pears would be ripe.

From an early age, my brother and I learned that if we gathered these fruits and berries and took them home to our mother, she would make something delicious for us. So when the plums began to turn red, we would keep sampling them every day until they were just right. Then we would pick a bucket full of them, take them home, and leave them on the sink on the back porch. Within a day or two, there would be several rows of small jars of brightly colored plum jelly and jams on the table in the front dining room that was used only when company came. The jars would set there for several weeks and would then wind up in the pantry. My brother and I enjoyed plum jelly and jam, along with several other kinds of jelly and jams, on the hot biscuits my mother cooked every morning.

If we took brier berries home, within a few days the table would be lined with jars of dark purple jelly and jams, but we could also count on a delicious, piping hot brier berry pie for dinner and probably another one that had cooled down for supper.

Pears became preserves or were stewed and sprinkled with brown sugar for dinner. Apples became pies, applejacks, or apple butter. Huckleberries became pies, and that is about all they were used for at our house.

In addition to the fruits and berries, my brother and I knew the best places along the swamp in front of our house to catch fish. We know where to find fishing worms out behind the old mule stable. When we caught fish, we dressed them and left them in the sink on the back porch. That night or the next night, we enjoyed them for supper.

We knew where the rabbits hid, so this is where we sat our rabbit boxes. We knew which fields the quail used to feed and roost. We were taught from an early age not to take any fish or kill any animal unless we were going to dress it and eat it. So we would dress the rabbits and quail, leave them on the sink on the back porch, and either than night or the next night we would find them on the dinner table and enjoy them for supper.

Please do not think that I am trying to impress on you that I grew up so poor that the only foods we had were what we gathered from the fields, streams, and woods. We were not a wealthy family by any means, but we always had a large garden, and my mother knew how to freeze and can. We grew our own hogs and cows, and for many years, had a milk cow. My parents shopped at the grocery store for all the other things we needed, just like other families.

What I am trying to impress on you is that we enjoyed and took advantage of the bounties of nature. We used and enjoyed wild plums. We also used and enjoyed other native berries and fruits. We fished and hunted for sport and enjoyment, but we always used what we caught or killed.

Those are the memories that came back to me when I saw those plum trees. Isn't it unfortunate that 50 years from now the only memories many of our children or grandchildren will have is what games they played on the computer. That is, unless you help them make some memories. Take them to pick wild plums, or take them fishing.

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 6/16/08