Lee, I grew up in Cobb County, Georgia, so Kennesaw was the first battlefield I became familiar with. While the NPS was there, it had not so permiated the experience as it does now. The road to the top of Big Kennesaw was about the only improvement. The road was not paved until either the late 50s or early 60s. We would ride, and push, pant, pant, our bikes to the top and play around the trails and gun emplacemnts. Afterward, we rode down the mountain, our feet off the pedals! Hitting the brakes was chicken! None of us were hurt, but those were exciting rides!

The visitors' center has been improved, but even then it had numerous weapons, uniforms, etc. As a sign of easier times, I remember someone borrowing a sword from the Chief Ranger to cut a wedding cake! Imagine doing that now. The park land does cover most of the rather concentrated battle site at the mountain, plus the area around Kolb's Farm, which also saw heavy fighting, in a lopsided defeat of Sherman, at least tactically. Still, because land acquisition started later than it should, there are pockets of private land within the overall bounderies.

My paternal GF, Isaac Thomas Boring, was born in 1859, and grew up during Reconstruction. I wish I had been old enough to interview him, but he died in 1942, just before I turned five. My dad was born in 1913, and when I asked him if Grand Daddy ever told him stories, he said no. He thought it was because there was such a difference in their ages. When Dad went to work at Glover Machine Works with his Dad at the age of thirteen, they were like co workers.

My GGF McCollum, who was born in 1867, and lived until 1958, when I was twenty, would tell me stories about throwing rocks at Yankee (his word) occupaton troops, and dodging their patrols, chuckling at the memory of his exploits. He smoked handrolled cigarettes so short his fingers were brown from the heat and smoke. He liked it when I wore my Navy uniform on visits, so I suppose he had mellowed some. Stan