The Start of a Family Legacy

You may believe that talent runs in your family. We all tend to pass on traditions and legacies, and we find our children tend to follow in our footsteps. That, too, was the case for Granddad and his grandson, Buddy Atkins.

Buddy was raised by his grandparents. He spent his childhood with his hands in the back pocket of Granddad's britches. He followed, he learned, he did. And, by the age of eight, Buddy was driving a tractor and planting crops with an automated planter. This was the proof that talent, whether you believe it or not, ran in the family.

Along with having the normal farm animals that could be expected on a farm plus having row crops  planted, the farm was also a cattle farm in the early 1980's. The cattle farm came to an end due to expansion in the area shortly after Buddy married his wife Cathy in 1985. (Buddy likes to say the cattle farm era ended when one of the cows rushed Cathy and she gave him an ultimatum: “the cows or me”.  Believe whichever version you prefer!)

In the early 1990's, the farm was transferred to Buddy's name as Granddad became elderly. From there, the farm started a you-pick-it garden named, you guessed it, "Granddad's Garden". Granddad would love to go talk to his customers as they picked produce from the garden.

The farm was also widely known in the 1990's across the Summerville area for their production of sweet corn. In most cases, customers took the corn home within the hour of it being picked. Buddy also grew crops to sell to local grocers. Talk about delicious!!

 Granddad spent his last few years around the farm spending time with family and helping (well, supervising) where he could. There was no doubt about it, he loved his farm and he loved his family!

 Granddad Taylor passed away in February, 1994, and the you-pick-it garden and sweet corn production stopped shortly after that . . . for good reasons though. Buddy and Cathy had three small children (Philip, Emily and Ashley), full-time jobs, and Buddy spent his free time volunteering at a local fire department and coaching tee-ball and baseball!

Another reason for the change in Granddad's Garden was an opportunity that Buddy received. Buddy was an agricultural test grower for experimental produce varieties through the Clemson Experimental Station in Charleston. He was the first grower of the developmental stage of the Charleston hot cayenne pepper. The USDA also appointed Buddy for a two-year service to the state of South Carolina for what was then the Irrigation Society. Buddy spent two years traveling the state studying ground water and irrigation usage for farms and golf courses.

Starting around the mid-late 1990's as Buddy and Cathy's children grew, the farm primarily harvested timber. The farm had some ongoing family changes as the years continued, but the legacy of the farm lived on in our hearts and minds through what became some difficult years.