March 2

Witness To The Lives of Others

Family members are our biggest heroes. (Ramey, age 10 at Capitol)

“Nobody cares”, some say but, I care and my Aunt and Dad are why…

Aunt Urbanna and my Dad are credited for the passion to keep up with history. Many who knew them feel the same. They spent so much time in their lives, photographing and writing it all down.  All of my young life my aunt had camera in hand and took photos from the time we visited South Carolina, (our parent’s home), until we left. Often she would develop and send the photos to Jacksonville.  We all loved it!  It made us feel important, special and she was a witness to our lives. From that, our Dad would have us write on the back of the photographs so we later would know the occasion. Being a witness to the lives of others all fits together with everyone participating.

For items too big for a small box

Because of the love of history, my own archives, have photos of the founders of the internet, Rosa Parks,  Jesse Jackson, several Presidents, and a dozen or more astronauts. There are famous people representing high-profiled cases like Cyril Wecht, Johnnie Cochran, and Jacksonville’s own, Judge Oliff. Also pictured is Mikhail Gorbechav, the Queen of England, the Prince, Princess and even Charlotte and the king-to-be, George. Oh, and there’s the King and Queen of Spain while in St. Augustine too. Jacksonville’s great First Baptist Church, has allowed for photos of famous pastors such as John MacArthur, John Philips, Adrian Rogers, Billy Graham, Franklin, his son and more. All being a witness to God’s greatness.

Boxes of labeled photos

History matters and Jacksonville, Florida has had the run of it. In recent months, I have wondered what in the world will happen to those pics going forward, so I’ve tried to organize them,  categorize them and put them in ABC order but it’s just not as simple as that. Certainly not if you have at the very minimum of many thousands of photographs. For example, there are 88,000 photos in my 2 terabyte Apple phone right now. (Really). (And I have photos of Apple’s co-founder, Steve Wozniak too.)

Filing system to get photos filed

Now, it must be said. I’m really a “wanna-be photographer.  I am not professional by any stretch.  I consider myself a historian, so some of my photos are simple basic shots and simple images of very famous people.

Being a witness to the lives of others is important. While I’ve taken pics of the famous, I keep up with my own family, the real heroes in my life and click away every chance I get. Also, it is important to write on the backs to document those events. Anyone finding those photos will know who those famous family members are one day.

What about you? Whose lives are you viewing on a day-to-day basis and are you saving their images for future family members and historians alike?  Tip of the day.  Put names, dates and places on the back of all photos. History fades with time so as you witness, document as well. 

See you tomorrow,

Nan

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March 1

The Lee Log Cabin

Idell Virginia Highsmith Lee was truly a pioneer in the 20th century and she lived in a log cabin to prove it. She married Ezra Marmaduke Lee on April 22, 1923 in Duval County, Florida. Together they built a real log cabin at 9313 Crystal Springs Road on Jacksonville, Florida’s westside. When I met “Granny Lee”, her husband Ezra of 39 years had recently died leaving her alone in the cabin but with grandkids all living on the land next to her. 

My memories of Granny are fond. She celebrated the many who dropped by to see her. They were always welcome in her 2 br family-built log cabin.  She told me that she, Ezra and with some neighbor’s help build the cabin not long after they married.  It was a long project and took some time to build but it was theirs and they were so proud of it.

The log cabin was small and unique with about 14 logs top to bottom on each wall. There was little chinking inside and on some walls, the only covering was the outside small square wood siding.   It was certainly not weather tight. Chinking or daubing is a mixture of clay, mud, sand and sometimes wood splits that is mixed together and used to pack in between the logs to fill all gaps.  The purpose would be to prevent weather concerns, insect problems and air leakage. On the inside of their log cabin, some walls had only daubing where the corner logs met. It would be important to put some daubing at the corners to prevent log movement and they met that need with no worry. 

The Lee cabin had two four glass pane entry doors; one in the front and one out back with a screen door as well.  The steps were wooden and there was a single hand rail for support to come in and out. All of the way around side to side and front to back there was wood siding. By 1971 it looked weathered but in good shape.

Granny Lee died in August of 1996. Her tomb stone has a cross in the center.  She loved the Lord and lived out His principles.  She is buried next to her beloved Ezra at Evergreen Cemetery.  Her family eventually sold the land and the Lee log cabin was demolished for a beautiful and stately home made of brick and mortar.  I had a photograph framed and will give to the folks who live there honoring her legacy. 

See you Tomorrow,

Nan

Category: People, Westside | Comments Off on The Lee Log Cabin