Foo - Growing Up

I went this past Friday to visit my Dad in Valdese, NC and on the way there, I pass through the town where I grew up (Conover, NC). Most of the time when I visit, I'm usually in too much of a hurry and never seem to have time to stop by the old homeplace. But, this time, I was going to be early to my Dad's, so I decided to ride by and take some pictures.

This is the house I grew up/lived in until I was 19 and moved off to Charlotte. My Dad sold it probably 15yr ago, so things look a little different 'round back, but in general, it's the same....

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Conover/IMG_0467800x600.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Conover/IMG_0469800x600.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Conover/IMG_0501800x600.jpg

This is the furniture shop that my Dad built and where he built furniture chair frames. These chair frames were taken to the various furniture companies, such as Ethan Allen. I spent many a year following my Dad around the shop, smelling the wood and shellac used to finish the frames.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Conover/IMG_0473800x600.jpg

Where these houses are located now, used to be nothing but fields and cow pastures.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Conover/IMG_0475800x600.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Conover/IMG_0476800x600.jpg

My Grandmother's house (paternal), where I spent the majority of my time. We had large gardens, pasture full of cattle, 2 hen houses, an egg house, a place for the pigs/hogs, grain barn, smoke houses, etc...

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Conover/IMG_0479800x600.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Conover/IMG_0480800x600.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Conover/IMG_0482800x600.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Conover/IMG_0483800x600.jpg

cont'd...

The grain house, 1 remaining egg house (changed to something for horses now), barn, what's left of the egg house, 9ac of land in the background, hog/pig pens, etc...
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Conover/IMG_0485800x600.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Conover/IMG_0486800x600.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Conover/IMG_0488800x600.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Conover/IMG_0489800x600.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Conover/IMG_0491800x600.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Conover/IMG_0490800x600.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Conover/IMG_0496800x600.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Conover/IMG_0497800x600.jpg

And, I spent many a summer afternoon under this tree....shucking corn, peeling peaches to can, cutting 'maters for canning, making ice cream.....good times & great memories.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Conover/IMG_0498800x600.jpg

Cool pics, thanks for sharing wolfie. :thumb:

When I saw the thread title, I was worried that it was about adding another thing to my "To Do" list.

thanks.

nah...we don't have to add "growing up" to our To-Do Lists. :)

Nice pics. It must have been a blast to reminisce.

I refuse to let my parents ever move for this very reason.

Love the pics. :)

beautiful pics. and beautiful thoughts behind it. Thank you for sharing.

I still regularly dream about my childhood home. I really don't want to go back, but I treasure and miss it just the same.

Thanks for the pics Wolfie. When I go to my mom's house (where we grew up), I get slammed by memories. I'll walk into a room that I haven't been in, in years and for a split second, I'll see it the way it was when I was a kid. Then everything changes to the way it is now. For a second, I think I see my brother as a small kid (he's grown now) or my dad reading a book (he passed away years ago). It feels weird.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5RDn5Y0D_0

:)

sigh....i :love: that place. i wish now that i had taken my Dad up on the offer of giving my the homeplace. why are young people so dumb?? i'd give about anything to live in the house i grew up in now.