Remember when we went to the Caney River Dam to catch the metal ring, attached to a high limb of a tall tree by a cable? Even now, I can feel the exhilaration of leaping off a muddy bank, with its slippery toe and foot holds, and swinging out over the river into the water below! Many times these "brave" leapings and swingings were accompanied by blood-curdling Tarzan yells! When interest in "the ring" began to wane, we wandered towards the dam. The water was usually flowing over, at different rates, according to the time of year! When it was "really flowing over," we would walk underneath the waterfall, clear across the dam! Damn, what a great feeling that was! You could reach out with one hand and feel the moss on the dam, while with the other hand, you could touch the water spilling over! The main objective was not to fall, maintaining your balance, not wanting to slip into the "dangerous under-tow" beneath the spillway! I remember Sunday afternoons when many people would come to "visit" the dam, to swim, splash, and have some fun. I vividly remember one of my favorite teachers, Althea Walker, coming to the dam one Sunday. I must tell you, all eyes were on her and the water must have increased in temperature by several degrees! Downstream from the dam was the Caney River Bridge. One, not so pleasant memory, is one of "turtle-hunters" shooting turtles as they surfaced. I always felt sorry for the turtles... A little further down from the bridge was a little gravel bar that stretched out into the river. Dad and I used to park our car and wash it as the currents swirled by! What great adventures and memories! And, as with all great adventures and memories, the dam is still there!
7 comments:
Great memory piece, Don! I couldn't resist adding an old photo that I had on my computer.
Nioely told, Don .. and Gary the photo added much to Don's excellent blog.
I cant even estimate the hundreds of hours I spent in the water above and below the dam as a boy and as a youth. The aspect below the dam is now different--a bulldozer has deepened the channel and obliterated the little rocky island. Now there are not the eddies and swirls that we used to see, just a straight shot to the old iron bridge. (I think I liked the natural version)
Wayne W. did a nice piece on the dam in an earlier blog. See 2007
So many memories !!
In my piece on the dam, I mentioned our fear of the water mocassins that hung out just below the dam. Maybe that was just the older kids scaring us with those stories, because obviously in Don's article and the picture Gary added, no one was being intimidated by any snakes.
You guys lived in luxury in the old days.
We just had a knot at the end of the rope.
Don - One thing you failed to mention about the dam that it was one of the more popular "parking" places. I remember it as being the place where I and Nancy first talked about the possibilty of getting married.
Ah, the memories just keep rolling in! Thanks, Gary for the reminder. I, too, remember that spot in the dark of night when no one was swimming in the 'ole swimming hole.
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