I’m getting ready to head out to the funeral of my great-grand-aunt (not exactly sure of how this is termed, but my grandfather’s sister). She lived a full, long life.

That got me thinking about my grandfather, the one who introduced me to horses before I could walk. I don’t remember my first ride on a horse with him, but there is a picture.

As a boy in Crab Orchard, Ky., Francis Edmiston had used his pony and cart to haul luggage from the train station to the hotel/resort. Crab Orchard was the "Saratoga of the South," and people came to drink and bathe in the healing waters. (Today someone is bottling and selling spring water, Crab Orchard Springs Water, 606/aaep-20065-0000, in Stanford, Ky.) There was even a train that traveled from New York to Crab Orchard because it was so popular. (More information at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_Orchard,_Kentucky and https://www.kyhometown.com/craborchard/.)

Originally Crab Orchard was a point on the Wilderness Trail, named for the orchard of Crab Apple trees (which make the most wonderful jelly you’ve ever eaten!)