Defining My Hometown

I grew up in the small, tourist town of Helen, Georgia. Helen is located at the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River in the farthest corner of North East Georgia. I grew up with the banks of this river at my back door and never learned to swim!

Yep, you guessed it! This was my backyard! I was in a tube floating down the river every summer and cannot swim! When I was a kid we went to the local garage and bought a tractor tube for a dollar. Tourists pay more than that for one trip down the "Hooch" now. Man, was I a lucky kid!

I also loved to hike and climb rocks when I was a teenager. Check out the local waterfalls I had the privilege of visiting whenever I wanted.

The large waterfall on the left is Anna Ruby Falls and the smaller one on the right is York Falls. York falls were named after my grandfather's grandfather. This is a cool bit of history for me. I can remember walked the approximately 1/2 mile trail up to these falls when I was about four years old. My mom had dressed me so tightly in my snowsuit I could barely move. When I was old enough to make my own decisions I started hiking the trail barefoot. There is nothing better than the feel of cold, black mountain dirt underfoot.

When I wasn't hiking to Anna Ruby Falls I was climbing Dudes Creek Falls. Years before the state paved the trail and put in observation decks you could park about 2 miles north of Dukes Creek Falls and follow an obscure trail to the top of the falls. I would always take a picnic and eat at the top of the falls before climbing down. I am amazed back that I never fell or broke any bones!

When I was born in 1968 Helen, Georgia was a sawmill town. My great-grandfathers and my grandfather were all employed at some point at the sawmill. The year I was born a man named Pete shared his vision for our small sawmill town. The photos below are before and after. Remember this when you think your dreams are too big!

The events that put Helen, Georgia on the map were two- fold. First and foremost was the start of OctoberFest and second was the yearly Helen to Atlantic Hotair Balloon race. As a kid growing up both were equally spectacular!

These are the photos that my hometown is known for BUT the following are the photos that are precious to me. Enjoy!

When I was ten years old my mother went to work for Xavier Roberts at Babyland General. She painted eyes on babies! I was so excited for her to work there because of the huge discounts she would get on babies. Christmas day 1978 I adopted Vanessa my Cabbage Patch baby. She was named after me and had the same brown eyes and two brown pigtails. I still have her 42 years later!

When you ask me about my hometown this is where my thoughts go. My grannie's house. My granny was my number one fan and she allowed me to have oh so many adventures. My fondest memories are digging a pit and making turtle soup in a real turtle shell I found, catching her hill on fire with one of my campfires, using the hose to shoot her rooster out of those trees.... then running as if my life depended on it, and best of all watching how paper burned in her living room floor. I did catch the floor on fire so I was banned from matches.

I moved away from my hometown when I was 42 and have discovered that my hometown is where my home is. The next photos are from my other hometowns over the last ten years.

I moved to Douglas, Arizona three and a half years ago to finish my Ph.D. The laid back culture here cannot be replicated anywhere else in the United States. I stay here for the avocados, 5 for $1 !!! I am almost certain this will remain my new hometown.

The picture of the church is one of my favorite because I walk by there on my late afternoon walks. I love this town, my new hometown, because I can walk just before/after dark when it's nice a cool with NO worries. I am two miles from the Mexican border and I feel safe to walk, go to the park and let my kids play outside. Life is Good!