The autobiography of James Hill is a detailed and engaging look at life
in western North Carolina from the early twentieth century to the present
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Foreword |
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Chapter 1 |
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I HAVE BEEN
BLESSED!
Hard Work and Happiness
James M. Hill, Sr.
A remarkable story of making the best
of life's struggles and opportunities
Describing the legacy left by a single human being is often a complex enterprise. Even a life lived simply still touches the lives of others in extraordinary ways.
In his memoir, “I Have Been Blessed! Hard Work and Happiness,” James Hill, Sr. writes of his own life experience in a way that beckons the reader to pull up a chair and sit for a spell. It is a story told honestly but with a fervent desire to impart a simple message – make the best of what you have and leave the world a better place by having lived.
Hill’s eloquent prose evokes a time far removed from the present. In his singular voice and with a gift for detail he paints a sensitive portrait of his rural roots sharing both his experiences as a farmer and as a textile mill worker. Along the journey of his more than nine decades he credits his beloved family, friends and the church for shaping his life. His vivid remembrances weave a gleaming thread of goodness and pride that runs rich through the patchwork of people close to his heart.
It is a lovely and haunting piece of work, conveyed with quiet passion. Reading it in whole or in part is a wonderful way to visit the author’s home community. In memory and in reality Hill’s writing pays tribute to the place where he grew up and a place where, he says, he expects to rest for eternity.
Robin Spencer Lattimore
Mr. Lattimore is a veteran journalist who has earned five writing awards from the North Carolina Press Association for excellence in investigative and enterprise reporting and featured writing. He has written and published seven books. His most extensive work, “Across Two Centuries: The Lost World of Green River Plantation,” was nominated in 2004 for the Ragan Old North State Award by the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association and for the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Award by the Western North Carolina Historical Association. He is a native of Rutherfordton, North Carolina.
The words of the refrain of Fanny Crosby’s late 19th century hymn, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine,” sum up the life and autobiography of James M. Hill, Sr. with their assuring words, “This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.” This wonderful autobiography takes me back to my own family’s history in rural North Carolina, on farms with dipping gourds for the water bucket, to outhouses at church for men and women, to collecting money from the neighbors to pay the preacher. Through all the great and ordinary tales of this man entering his tenth decade, I find my own and my family’s story and recall memories of my own 92-year-old father from North Carolina. Immersing myself in this great story and losing myself in its tales makes me smile in great peace that these words have been written down for all of us to relive in our own Southern families of faith and love. All through this story, I find James Hill praising God for his story and his salvation and celebrating God’s gift to him of family.
This is a great read for Southerners who will feel at home and for others who long for that Southern, simple life of love, respect, faith, and courage. The section on life’s most important lessons would serve any of us well. The love of God in James Hill’s life is a great example to all of us of a person who lived a life of faith and love. The details of this book are as real to the reader as when they occurred for James and they give us a glimpse of a life that has indeed been blessed with “hard work and happiness.”
The Rev. Dr. Judith Davis
Judith Davis is the Rector of Historic Christ Church on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, and proud to be a Tar Heel by birth and upbringing.
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