The Queen of the Swamp! And more!

One of my favorite trips as a Scoutmaster was to Merchants Millpond State Park, an ancient cypress swamp in the northeast corner of North Carolina.  We camped on an (almost) island deep in the swamp, which could be reached only by canoe.  The last time we went, I even spotted one of the alligators that live there; the Park is their northern-most limit at present.   

I finally convinced Paula that taking her there was a good idea.  To remind you, she was a Youth Leadership major at BYU, which included courses such as Waterskiing 101, Whitewater Canoeing, Backpacking, etc.  And while we have hiked the Swiss Alps together, cycled the South Island of New Zealand and dove the Great Barrier Reef, her tastes as of late on overnight lodging have 'matured' if that's the right term.  

We had a blast!  The swamp is "other-worldly" in Paula's description, "like something out of Tolkien" with the twisted trees and hanging moss.  

We spotted only three other humans, and about 300 times that number of turtles, geese and other varmints.  The frog chorus that night was divine.

And her nails were perfect!

I have learned during the last 44 years that Paula must be fed on a regular basis or things don't go well.  Things were starting to get tense as I fixed dinner. 

In the end, a great trip to a unique place.  

However, on the drive from Raleigh, Paula had noticed a sign indicating the direction to Hassell, NC.  That's her maiden name, and her genealogy goes through the eastern part of the state.  On the way back we let Google do the directing, and ended up in the town of Hassell.  No kidding  

It would have been easy to miss.  The pleasant voice of Deb, our Google Maps assistant suddenly announced, "You have arrived."  Huh?  Then I spotted the telltale landmark - a tiny post office!

We looked it up, and the census of Hassell peaked in 1930, when there were 169 residents; the 2000 census counted 84 persons, up from 72 in 1990.  The town is 0.3 square miles in size, "all of it land."  The median income is quite humble, with a significant portion of the folks considered to be below the poverty level.

From North Carolina, the Hassell ancestors went on to Georgia and then Florida.  Paula's great grandfather joined the Church in that state, was widowed, then served a mission and eventually remarried and headed west.  They finally settled in the Mormon Colonies in northern Mexico, from where Paula's mom and her family immigrated to New Mexico when she was twelve years old.  This caused a kerfuffle when her  mother applied for a passport later in life.  She was told that while she seemed like a nice lady, she was actually a Mexican citizen.  Though it was all finally straightened out, there have been several times when Paula has misbehaved that I have threatened to call ICE and turn her in.  On the most recent occasion, she reminded me of an unpaid parking ticket on my record in Havertown, Pennsylvania and we called it even.     

We hope that your trips to the swamp go as well, and that your family history occasionally pops out at you also.  

Dave & Paula