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MORE FARM FRESH MEMORIES
– AS TOLD BY DAVID GOODE, MELEA GOODE BRETT, AND NANCY TURNER RICHARDSON David, who was the oldest child, was 10 years old when his father bought the farm. Early on, he helped feed the chickens, clean the coops, and collect the eggs, learning all aspects of farming. By the time he graduated from high school and bought into the business, the farm had 20,000 chickens and five chicken houses. After he married Bonnie Melear, he left the business for a career at Georgia Power. David’s childhood memories on the farm include sleeping upstairs in one of the two rooms his father built. He said, “In the winter, it would be so cold up there, we’d have to warm a brick in the fireplace and slip it between our sheets to keep warn. In the summertime, it would get so hot the metal roof would make popping noises.” |
David, his daughter Melea, and niece Nancy still live in Chatt Hills and visit often with their Goode family members. They are shown here at Melea’s home in the Rico Community, holding Melea’s baby chicks.
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One of David’s favorite pastimes as a kid was riding his horse, Prince. “We’d ride up to ‘flat rock’ behind Friendship Baptist Church, and also sometimes ride though the woods where there would be (moonshine) stills.”
He also remembers going up to Bear Creek with his father and brothers. “Daddy would take a hoe, and we’d carry five-gallon buckets. We’d go up above the waterfall, and Pop would take that hoe and shake it up under the bank and we’d catch brim and bass, then bring them back to stock the lake. What we had left over, we’d have a fish fry.”
Melea remembers visiting the farm often as a child. “There were cousins there all the time,” she said, “and it was nothing to just spend the night there or at Susie’s house across the street. One big difference between back then and today was there wasn’t this problem of everybody checking their schedule to see when they could get together. We all just knew when it was Sunday, we headed up to the farm for Sunday lunch. When it was Easter, we went there to color eggs and have an egg hunt. And when it was Christmas, that tiny farmhouse was packed full of family and love.”
Nancy remembers going to the farm to help gather eggs. “We lived two doors down from Friendship Church, so after school I’d go to the farm to gather eggs in my bare feet. Or I’d ride my minibike.”
The Goode Family Reunion in 2019 at Friendship Baptist Church was a joyful occasion. Family came from far and wide and a few still live in Chatt Hills: David and Bonnie, Virginia and Jimmy, and Susan and Bud. Two granddaughters also still live here. John lives in Villa Rica. Deceased are H.K., Frances, Harry and Allen.
He also remembers going up to Bear Creek with his father and brothers. “Daddy would take a hoe, and we’d carry five-gallon buckets. We’d go up above the waterfall, and Pop would take that hoe and shake it up under the bank and we’d catch brim and bass, then bring them back to stock the lake. What we had left over, we’d have a fish fry.”
Melea remembers visiting the farm often as a child. “There were cousins there all the time,” she said, “and it was nothing to just spend the night there or at Susie’s house across the street. One big difference between back then and today was there wasn’t this problem of everybody checking their schedule to see when they could get together. We all just knew when it was Sunday, we headed up to the farm for Sunday lunch. When it was Easter, we went there to color eggs and have an egg hunt. And when it was Christmas, that tiny farmhouse was packed full of family and love.”
Nancy remembers going to the farm to help gather eggs. “We lived two doors down from Friendship Church, so after school I’d go to the farm to gather eggs in my bare feet. Or I’d ride my minibike.”
The Goode Family Reunion in 2019 at Friendship Baptist Church was a joyful occasion. Family came from far and wide and a few still live in Chatt Hills: David and Bonnie, Virginia and Jimmy, and Susan and Bud. Two granddaughters also still live here. John lives in Villa Rica. Deceased are H.K., Frances, Harry and Allen.
