Buckets of Rain

By Annie Pearl Brantley

The rain fell and fell and fell, day after day. Buckets of rain. Torrents of rain. The ditches overflowed. Mud holes turned into ponds; ponds into lakes; and lakes into seas.Chickens sought safety in the treetops while the mules, horses and cows slogged about in mud up to their knees. The wise humans stayed inside where it was dry.

Down at the family graveyard, the rising waters pushed at the saturated, sandy soil causing it to shift restlessly, in a series of miniature avalanches. Each little shift gave a tiny nudge until, finally, Alfred Lamm in his coffin slowly floated to the surface.

According to local legend, when the rain finally ended and the floating coffin was discovered, Alfred was moved into a nearby tobacco barn to dry out and was then reburied. So far as I know, he has rested peacefully since that time.

Alfred Lamm (b. 1850) was the son of Thomas and Aily Bizzard Lamm. He was marred in 1875 to Sarah Glover (1844-1911). I do not know his death date and there is no stone to mark his grave. The home place, which is in Nash County, about 5 miles north of Bailey and ½ mile east of Green Gables, was bought by T. C. High and in my memory was called the T. C. High home place.

[Annie Pearl Brantley (5/17/1929-2/21/2008) was a Nash County genealogist who lived in Spring Hope. This story was published in The Connector, newsletter of the Tar River Connections Genealogical Society in the Winter 1998 issue.]