Photo of The Month – Jan 2007

Stringin’ Beans

Picture contributor: Riley Callahan

It was a rite of summer, usually organized by the matriarch of the family. All available hands would form a circle under a chinaberry tree around a tin tub full of green beans just picked from the garden. Some of the freshly snapped beans might be cooked right away, but most would be canned for consumption much later, in the long months of winter when no fresh vegetables were available.

The scene is Lester and Louise Short Ledford’s yard at 24 Academy Street. That’s daughter Daphene second from left. Her mother Louise sits next to her. Fifth from left, smiling at the camera, is Louise’s son Glenn. The kids are Katherine and Max Sisk.

The Ledford children had a tendency to become lawyers when they grew up, as follows: Buren, Glenn, Daphene, Jill and Joe all became attorneys; Daphene held a judgeship in Mecklenburg County. Glenn served in the Judge Advocate’s office in the Army; Jill was Assistant to the North Carolina District Attorney.

During WWII, when this was taken, the government urged everyone to have a Victory Garden. Folks in Cliffside didn’t need much urging, they’d been planting gardens forever.

It was a close-knit group of neighbors. Next door lived Jim and Frances Callahan. Straight across the street lived Delmas and Sarah Bridges. That’s Sarah at right.