The Island

There was an island out in the lake that I mentioned in Ruthie’s Honey Hole, that many, many years back someone had built a road out to. The name for the island…The island! The old road bed is still there, and the island has a big, beautiful oak hammock on it.

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The property next door was owned by another family, and they owned about half the island, while Dad owned the other half. He has about 300 acres of orange grove on his property as well. He ended up buying the adjoining property, which included the island and I believe another 60 acres. Once getting this property, he went in and cleaned up the old island and lifted up the branches on the old oak trees, and man, is it pretty today. Since getting the whole island they’ve really cleaned it up. There was an old butcher shop there and just all kinds of junk. Now it’s just the big ole oaks and cabbage palms. Dad built Mom a nice cook shed, and a nice big sitting area out of rough cut lumber, with a tin roof and a nice porch. This is now, Ruthie’s Cook Shed, and it overlooks Ruthie’s Honey Hole! She has electric, cabinets, water, a cook stove and a refrigerator! She’s set! Now this ole island has many memories back from long ago times. One such memory is this island was a gathering place for the Ku Klux Klan back in the thirties. This is true as some of the previous owners told me of this back when I was in high school. The one that told me was actually a Grand Dragon back in the day, and said that was the reason for the old roadbed being built to the island. More...