As I (David ) sat on our front porch on a hot summer afternoon watching the traffic go by, farmers crop dusting their fields and admiring the pretty landscaping, a
My Brother and me
fond memory popped into my head. It was a memory of when I was a child. The front porch was a place where we often gathered at my grandparents’ home to chat with our neighbors, watch the cars drive by, discuss which of my brother’s turn it was to go with Granny and Aunt Caca to L.L. Stearnes Department Store for a Saturday shopping day, and of course, to catch up on the latest neighborhood gossip.
The front porch, as well as the back porch, for our family was where we had picnics, where my brothers and I played and fought, Pop-Pop did the Morgan Valley Shuffle (a family thing), or just rocked on the glider falling asleep in my Granny’s lap as she scratched my back. They are wonderful memories that I will always have with me. That was 40+ years ago, and I’m happy to say that my grandparents’ home still remains in the family. My brother now resides there. But the front porch, as most front porches, is now “the forgotten place.”
As I have driven over the years, there’s always that forgotten flower pot on the front porch begging to be watered or taken over by weeds. When did this all change?
I can only imagine in the early to mid-1800’s, what the front porch of the Mansion Farm Inn could tell us. What did they talk about? When the next rain was coming to water their crops? Or did they fan their faces when the wind kicked up from the dusty road when a horse and buggy passed by? There were no L.L. Stearnes, no Morgan Valley Shuffle, and neighbors were few and far between. There were no computers, iPads, TVs, or air conditioning.
Children only had their siblings and possibly few friends to play with in the corn fields, collect rocks, and find the occasional wildflower. They probably sat on the front porch exhausted from working in the fields in the hot summer days.
Do you have fond memories of sitting on your porch? Please share them with us. Let’s revitalize the treasured front porch. 
Mansion Farm Inn’s front porch today
