The Fite Recreation Area (Part One)
(This is the first of a two-part series on the Fite Recreation Area by Jim Fite. He wrote this in 2012 to share how a special place in the Lattimore area came into existence.)
Several people have asked me to record the history of the Fites’ Recreation Area. This is a story of how a man and his wife, along with their five sons, who built and shared with friends, the community, the church, and relatives, a picnic area, swimming pool, and a tennis court. There was never any charges to use these facilities, and very little money was spent in building them – just a lot of hard work. On a busy Sunday afternoon, over one hundred people have been seen at the pool and picnic grounds. Children swinging, playing in the branch nearby, using the slide chute, eating watermelon and having picnics made our family proud to be a part of this bit of history in the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s.
My daddy, Nallie Fite, lived on the family farm about two miles west of Lattimore, N.C. with his wife , Nettie, and his wife sons: Henry, George, Hal, Mac, and Jim. His parents, Georgia and Will Fite lived there also. It was just after the Great Depression, times were hard, and there was little money. It is possible that he thought his five sons needed something to occupy their time. Daddy was a very talented man, as his forefathers had been millwrights, planning and building water mills in the wilderness. He could do woodworking, lay rocks, build rustic wooden structures, as well as repair and rebuild buildings.
He began all his projects with a dream – a picture in his head of the current project – as well as future projects. He always talked about them with his family and friends, especially when we were working in the fields together.
One of these projects was what we called “the branch” which was an old roadbed that passed by our house across a branch or small stream and on across a field. There were many large trees and it was a beautiful place, but not level. Daddy began hauling suitable rocks each spring. Rocks were hauled from the fields because they were in the way of crops to be planted. Sleds which were pulled by two mules were used to haul the rocks, and they were placed near the areas where they would be used. When it was too wet to work in the fields, or at laying-by time, the rocks were assembled.
Daddy was assisted in this work which was begun in the late 1920’s by his four sons, in age from four to ten, and possibly by his father, Will Fite. He began a rock wall which was increased in height every year. Water in the nearby branch over ran its banks periodically carrying dirt, sand, and sediment, and these materials settled behind the stone wall built through the years. The wall finally reached a height of six to eight feet leveling the ground in the picnic area. The steps were increased in height the same way.
The process of laying a few inches of rock wall each year took place from the late 1920’s until the 1950’s when it became high enough. It was during the 1940’s and the 1950’s that I was old enough to help with the project. My older brothers were in the service during World War II, and Henry was working on the railroad.
As the rock wall got higher and higher, the other projects at “the branch” continued through the years. It was good for the family to work together, not only in the fields, but on the building of big swings from logs and crosspieces of wood. We made sliding chutes through the years from 5-V tin hammered flat and bent over wooden boards and nailed in place with a ladder to climb and then slide down the chute. Daddy made a kiddie wading pool almost by himself from large flat rocks for a bottom and smaller rocks around the edges. Concrete sealed all the spaces around the rocks. Water was piped in from the waterfall above it.
Wooden tables were made for holding the food, and boards were placed on concrete blocks for seats. Lounge chairs and portable seats were located at various places. A rock furnace which was made by Daddy in the 1940’s included Indian arrowheads we had found on the farm. The arrowheads were embedded in the mortar. Electrical wires were connected from a nearby building so electric lights could be used for night picnics and church group gatherings.
Long, thin pine trees were cut and a drawing knife was used to remove the bark to build a fence along the rock wall. The fence helped to prevent a fall from the wall. Daddy cut small popular trees and built a bridge over the branch to the barn area during the 1940’s. Other small trees were used to build a stilted seating area which was about eight feet high and twelve feet by twelve feet in size. This area included a floor, seats, and half-log steps. Horseshoes, a sand box, a punching bag, and best of all for small kids, a rocky stream, were for playing for use by various groups.