The other night I was sitting at a coffee shop with some good friends having good conversation, when I began to tell them about some of my childhood experiences of going "down hoopie" with my family. Being that I am from West Virginia, and they are from Texas and Oklahoma, they had never heard the word "hoopie" and wanted to know exactly what it means. Hoopie, I told them, is a place "down the river" from where my family's home was. It was where my Grandma Altie and Grandpa Charlie lived (although they weren't actually my grandparents at all; they were the parents of my great uncle). Several times during the year, typically at squirrel, deer, or turkey season, my entire extended family on my dad's side would make the trip down the river to hoopie. Grandpa Charlie and Grandma Altie owned hundreds of acres with beautiful forests, streams, and fields and two farm houses. They lived in one of the houses, and we would stay in the other when we visited. Their house was updated, but our house had been built in the early 1900s, and no updates had been made. I only remember one electric light in the entire house: a lone lightbulb that hung over the dining room table. Accompanying the lightbulb was always a strip of flypaper, dotted with its victims. There was a water pump in the backyard, and we bathed by pouring water into the kitchen sink. There were heaters of some type in the bedrooms, but I remember that we always had to turn them off at night because there was too much of a fire risk. So we would bundle up with an abundance of blankets and wake up in the morning with icy cold noses. Despite the lack of modern creature comforts, I always smile when I think about hoopie. Here are some of my favorite memories:
- Having huge farm-style family lunches at Altie and Charlie's house when the men came in from their morning of hunting
- Exploring Altie's bookshelf and reading books that seemed so old they would surely fall apart in my hands
- Walking in the woods and seeing frog eggs for the first time (this happened shortly after I had seen E.T., and I remember asking my dad if they were E.T. eggs)
- Running through the fields, streams, and woods and catching all sorts of animals...turtles, salamanders, frogs, etc.
- Sitting around the living room and singing gospel songs, occasionally accompanied by someone playing the spoons
- Staying up late telling stories and jokes and thinking that I must have the best, most fun family in all the world
- Exploring the barns and sheds with my sister, always being fearful of meeting a snake
- Going out to the potato patch with my dad and Grandpa Charlie and sitting under the weeping willow that stood in the middle of the field
While "hoopie" is associated with a particular place for me, a more accurate definition might be that it's a state of mind...kind of like margaritaville without the alcohol and tropical weather. It's about having fun with family doing simple things. It's about unplugging from all of the "conveniences" that have crowded our lives and enjoying nature and the company of good people.
So, do you have a "hoopie"? I hope so.
6 comments:
Thanks for sharing your hoopie. Mine is Clear Creek State Park in PA. I still go every other Summer and spend the week. My kids are getting a little taste of what I cherished growing up.
It's so nice to hear someone else refer to squirrel season. People look at me real funny when I mention squirrel hunting. haha.
Your description of walking around in the woods reminded me of all the marvelous adventures I had as a kid. I'm still fascinated by the huge, lush ferns in the forest, the mixture of wet wood & laurel in the air, and the unlimited possibilities I could unleash with my imagination in such a place.
Isn't there a song about this.... Oh, wait. That's Whoopie. My bad! : ) In all seriousness, love the post. But the squirrel season freaks me out a little bit. Evidently Huckabee cooked squirrel in a popcorn maker in college b/c it was the only appliance allowed in the dorm.... hope that doesn't apply to the limited technology at your hoopie.
ET, phone Hoopie. I love it! Do they have a Spoon Hero so I can practice for our party? Thanks for posting more!
Probably my favorite of all your posts thus far. Your gift of words in drawing those pictures for your readers,amazing. Thanks.
For those of us who care about small family farms and farmers of all races and genders and backgrounds, you captured much of what family and land ownership are all about.
My "hoopie" is my grandparents' house in Oregon. They own beautiful property with a huge Christmas tree farm but their house has much to be desired. They have well water so you can't drink from the tap and many other quirks. There is a great vegetable garden and two greenhouses. All the water for that comes from the creek across the street. They are minutes from tops of mountains and woods for hunting racoons and bear. They also always had a kennel of hunting dogs when I was younger. It was a great place for wandering around and full of wildlife and wilderness. I wish I could live there someday.
Well, what can I say but that your hoopie is my hoopie, too. What memories! Long walks in the woods, sleeping in the farm house with no heat on (not on a warm summer night either, I can recall seeing my breath it was so cold!), and the great time we all had together. Oh that life were like THAT again! I can recall spending an entire day down at the potato patch with Grandpa Charlie and Dad watching them cut down a tree that I thought was much too big for them to possibly accomplish the task. But sitting and waiting (after I had explored all there was to explore - I hadn't realized that this was an all day affair) was worth it all I thought, when I witnessed that massive tree come crashing down. I can still recall the sight and sound of it! What simple entertainment. Thanks for reminding me of those memories and for letting us know what that place and time meant to you.
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