THE CHARLESTON SILVER LADY

Heirlooms, such as this rocking horse, take on a whole new meaning when they are passed to the next generation of a family. This wooden rocking horse is appealing even to strangers, as it speaks of the good times of childhood, of loving parents and relatives who took care of the day-to-day trials so that we could enjoy being young.

During World War II, my father was stationed with the army at Camp Forrest. In 1954/55, my oldest sister was born. My mother was living with family in the Florence area while my father was gone. When the German prisoners-of-war found out about the birth of the first child, they made a wooden rocking horse where the child could sit on the seat between the two sides and rock away.

When my family moved to Orangeburg, the rocking horse was placed on the large front porch. I am sure my sister rode that horse on a regular basis. All five of us children have spent many hours rocking away. The neighborhood children also rocked their time away in this horse.

That horse sat on the front porch until my father moved to Lexington in 1994. The rocking horse was placed in storage in the building in the backyard, but has now been revived.

As each of us five children have played with that rocking horse, it is now being ridden again by the grandchildren. Many memories will be made as this horse makes its way to all the grandchildren and others who come down the road. The horse has been repainted since a prior paint job did not resemble the horse we all remembered.