Dear Pa and Ma

William Thomas "Billie" Barber grew up in Berrien County on the farm our family affectionately calls the "Old Place." Flossie was born in Colquitt County near Omega but came to Berrien County with her sharecropper father and his new bride and family shortly after her mother passed away. Oddly enough, Flossie's family sharecropped the farm that would become the home where she and Billie raised their family. When her father decided to return to Omega, Flossie stayed behind and moved in with a neighbor down the road. When and how Billie and Flossie met-or how their courtship unfolded-no one living knows. Nevertheless, a few years later, they married. Flossie was 17; Billie had just turned 21. This is their story-from the descendants who came to Virginia in 1621 to the life they lived and the family they raised.

Jim Barber grew up working on his uncles' farms in South Georgia while pursuing his dream to become a newspaper reporter. His first job came at age sixteen, covering sports for his county newspaper. Jim spent the bulk of his news career with United Press International before a short stint with the New York Daily News led him to transfer to the world of corporate journalism and a twenty-five-year career with one of the nation's largest utilities. A state and national award-winning writer, he previously co-edited three books. Jim and his wife, Becky, live in Atlanta near Stone Mountain, which he climbs faithfully almost every day. They have three grown daughters, one son-in-law (soon to be two) and three grand dogs. Visit the author's website at www.jimbarber.me