Amelia makes the area come alive again through this book. She provides the balance needed in local history for African-Americans -- and respects the traditions which may soon be forgotten memories of past lives.

Her work focuses on two important parts of local history - the traditions in families living in Mars Bluff -- and the search for why tales of rice growing lives on in an area more than 150 miles from the "Low Country" and rice plantations of the old South Carolina. Both concepts are treated with respect while holding a scholarly approach to local history.

Amelia's work is something that may not be the same "fare" as Edward Ball's "Slaves in the Family" -- but its contribution to A-A genealogy, local history and preservation of oral traditions is extremely important. It is the foreword to any history of the Pee Dee area of South Carolina -- and should be treasured as a rare insight on the real lives of real people -- and the years that follow Reconstruction.