It was like in the days of Noah; however, Noah was gathering up animals from near and far to populate the ark for the re-birth of the world. The gathering, taking place at Scarlett was not close to the scale of importance as the one in the Biblical story of Noah, not even close, but it was a momentous event to those of the Scarburg family.
From old Kentuck, came the boys Sam and William by way of Pennsylvania; from Gettysburg Matthew, Kim, Mark and Kelly; from Tennessee came Elsa, Nate, Nate Junior and Luke. Greeting this group of returnees was Malinda, Uncle Dave, Ora Lee, Sary, Catherine, Isaac, Stephen, Thomas Henry, Mattie Ann and little Elizabeth.
For the next couple of days, the family listens to the hair-raising tales of all the adventures of the past few months. On Saturday, the 27th of June Malinda announces at breakfast that the 4th will come next Saturday, one week hence.
She said she knew the country has been heatedly divided over the past four years between those of the North and those of the South. The War is over, life must go on; the Union has been spared the anguish of division, and now they are all once again the United States of America. As citizens, she thinks the family should celebrate the 4th of July. She also notes that it was on the 4th of July in the year 1852 that she and Robert left Scarlett with Alabama as their destination. “Now,” she said. “Thirteen years later we are back where we started, and we are going to have a party. The sad part Robert will not be with us. I have now come to the realization he will never return.”
“Oh, Mizz Malinda,” said Sary, “you no’s we don’t got nothin’ for a party, why, we’s barely got nuff for us to just get by on now!”
“I don’t care,” said Malinda, “we have all scrimped and saved every little morsel of anything worth having for the past four and one-half years. We may starve next week, but on Saturday, we’re going to have us a 4th of July celebration!”
Ora Lee was next to speak, “Malinda, girl you planning a party here for us, just the family?”
“No,” she replied. “Not just for us, we are going to have a community celebration. We are all going to celebrate, of course, the 4th, but more importantly this community is going to celebrate our survival. We have undergone some harrowing times and have come through victorious, maybe we didn’t win the War, but we endured the hardships that it brought. For this, we can be thankful, but we still have to endure the suffering, persecution and oppression of the future, but knowing God is mightier than the sword we will cope with whatever comes our way.”
Malinda explains that she thinks the open area under the big oak at Scarburg Mill would be the perfect place to have this event. She said they should all get ready and go to church tomorrow and make an announcement in front of the whole congregation of the plans for the activities on the Fourth.
Before she finishes, she had another thing to talk about – Scarlett Plantation. She wants to rebuild it. Not only rebuilt in it’s past glorious splendor, but she wishes it to be bigger and better.