Photo of The Month – Mar 2011

Mountain Trip

Picture contributor: Roy Lee Harris Collection

On a mountain overlook, the trunk is open on the family car. A husband, wife and another lady are gathered around a small cloth-covered folding table. They're setting out their picnic items. It's obviously chilly (even in summer, in the mountains) for the wife has on a winter coat and a kerchief. — Mountain Trip

In days gone by, for many families, a day trip to the mountains often served as that year’s vacation. On Saturday, Daddy would check the oil and the retreads on the car, and fill it with gas. Sunday morning the family would crowd into the Nash—or Studebaker, or Hudson—and leave early (to get a “good start”). By the time they reached the curves of Hickory Nut Gorge, somebody in the back seat would get car sick.

In the trunk there would be a folded table, a box of food, and a container of water—to quench the thirst of the overheated radiator. Everyone would agree that it was a good idea to bring along coats and sweaters, for it’s chilly in the mountains, even in July. They would stand and munch the pimiento cheese sandwiches, ham biscuits and home-made cake as they surveyed the unbelievable wonders of nature. After lunch, they’d pack up again, drive around some more, then head home.

The trip would be mentioned in the next Cliffside column in the Courier.