The Savannah River flowed majestically through the center of the Richard B. Russell Dam and Lake study area.

     A poignant observation underlying many of the stories from the elderly African Americans was the realization of the speed of time's passage and how the years had erased so many of the treasured traditions and landmarks of their lives.  Minnie Walker, for example, recalled visiting Millwood Plantation and finding that nearly everything she and others had built there was gone.

 "In 1926, when my last baby was born, we went down there.  I hadn't been down there for a long time and.everything was torn down, and the well was down.  This white lady and her husband was fishing down there, and they were staying down there in this little old 'pleasure house'.Everything was torn down, even the top of the well.and the white lady and I lifted a big, old plank and put it over the well so our children couldn't fall in."

 Many also mourned the dwindling strength of social ties that had bound people together.  Joining with their neighbors in happy and sad times, helping one another endure and even prosper in a sometimes hostile atmosphere, provided some of their fondest memories.  Their recollections reveal again and again how African Americans, despite immense hardships and disadvantages, consistently overcame these obstacles to enjoy full and productive lives.  As one researcher observed, ".they told us what they did, not what they could not do."  By drawing on the strengths of their families and communities, they became educated and used their knowledge to advance their own lot and often the circumstances of others around them.

 However, despite lamenting much of what had passed from the scene, no one was nostalgic for a return to a time when government-sanctioned segregation relegated them to unequal treatment in so many arenas.  Memories still stung of being forced to attend sub-standard schools, drink from separate water fountains, and work at the most menial jobs, regardless of individual skills or qualifications.

 Indeed, residents had witnessed a watershed of social change in their lives, victories slowly won over many years through the determination and sacrifices of African Americans across the nation.  While many had kind words for individual white people in their lives, all African Americans in this study had experienced the pain of discrimination.  Inequity still persisted around them, but in many ways, they thought life was better for their grandchildren than what they had known.

 Yet, few wanted to live anywhere else.  Charlotte Sweeney explained why she had photographed a railroad bridge.  "I took [a picture of] that bridge 'cause I was always so crazy about the Savannah River.  I love [that river].  I call that my beloved river," she said.

 Mostly the sons and daughters of farmers and once farmers themselves, the African Americans shared a deep regard for the world around them, a world they had helped build through their hard work.  This was their home, and while some had left at some point for various reasons, this was where they returned and where they intended to spend the rest of their days.

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