SHORELINES

We did not have air conditioning, telephones or any of the luxuries that we have today. However, we did have good, clean, filtered water, thanks to Mr. Walker, who made sure the water tank was always filled. At night aer the dishes had been washed, dried and put away, my mother would read to the entire family. It would be a book from the library at school or some book we had around the house, sometimes even the Britannica Junior Encyclopedia. Every Christmas, we had a play and party, with the company furnishing the fruit, nuts and candy that each child got. e children drew names and everyone got a gi. One of the employees, most of the time it was Mr. Garthwright, always played Santa on Christmas Eve. He would visit each family to find out what we wanted Santa to bring us that night. I can remember one year that water was so high. ey were afraid for our little school van to cross the dam, so we had to go around through Wetumpka to get to Holtville to school. at seemed a long way. I still remember the vibrations of the water going over the spillways and waking every morning to the sounds of the rumbling water. I miss that sound still today, and I have been gone for many years. Sometimes it seemed that every time there was a bad thunderstorm, my dad would have to go, along with several other men, and li a floodgate or two." Gloria Adamson Johnson (born at Jordan Dam village in 1945) "Seaborn and Lena Adamson moved into their Jordan Dam house in approximately 1927. It was one of the first permanent houses there. ey lived there until my daddy retired. eir second son, Leonard, and I were both born at Jordan Dam. We were the first house on what I would call the first road. You would turn le, and the hospital was up above us. When I was there, it was no longer being used. ere was a big lot that might have had something to do with the hospital, since nothing was ever built on it. Mother had a huge fenced-in chicken yard back there. She had ducks, chickens and flowers galore. Our house had a screened-in porch, small living room, dining room and kitchen. ere were two bedrooms on the le side, a small hall that connected those and a bathroom. ere was a back porch, where the washing machine was. Daddy built a workshop across the back road, where he worked on radios and televisions. We had the first TV at Jordan Dam because daddy did that kind of stuff. Up until then, we were like everyone else and all we had was radio. I can remember sitting in that living room and listening to that radio and picturing in your mind what they were talking about. At first, we just had the phone that went through the switchboard at the dam. But then later we got two party lines … that was a lot of fun. When I grew up there, there were lots of kids, from first grade through almost college age. We all got along good together. It didn't matter how old you were … it was 'What were you doing?' and 'Yeah, I want to do that.' My daddy loved working for the power company. Besides his family, it was his life. He thoroughly enjoyed every minute he spent there. If our daddies were working on switchboard, we could call them and ask to go see them. I miss that. At Jordan Dam, nothing was fancy, but it was just almost like it was supposed to be. Normal people from beginning to end … they didn't have much, but they appreciated what they had. We shared with each other. at's family, and I wouldn't have it any other way." 16 | 2018 Vol: 4

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