The Watermelon Patch: 1958

By Larry Tyler: Stories from the dirt road.

In the early morning when the first pink clouds appeared in the sky, you woke me from my slumber. You put your fingers to your lips and we snuck out the back door.

The morning dew covered the melons with beads of moisture. They were cold and wet. You picked up a few and thumped them to see which were ripe. We narrowed it down to two and you let me choose,

It had to make the right sound, a deep hollow sound and you knew the inside would be red and juicy. You took out your yellow handle case knife and sliced it in half, then cut a crescent for each of us. We sat on the damp ground of the watermelon patch spitting seeds, faces sticky with juice. Just Dad and me , no words said, none needed.

Point of View: You should never hesitate to embrace the spontaneous moment that happen in life. They can't be planned, they happen as they happen. Cherish these moments. They are life's rewards, our memories that last a life time.

Ledmon Watermelon

 Renowned watermelon developed in South Carolina by J.E. Lednum in the early 20th Century. Mr. Lednum obtained this variety by crossing Stone Mountain with Kleckley's Sweet. Ledmun's name was misspelled by a county Board of Agriculture employee in a 1938 pamphlet, and the name has stuck. Slightly oblong fruits have a thin rind which makes shipping this fabulous melon nearly impossible, and so has been grown exclusively as a "family melon" for generations. The pink-to-red fleshed melons sometimes reach 40 lbs., and are claimed by some to be "the sweetest melon grown." A treasure!