In 1950 Mt. Juliet was a very small rural Tennessee town. Located smack dab in the middle of the state, it was small...but on the map. The World Book Encyclopedias our family purchased in 1951 showed the results of the 1950 U.S. Census with Mt. Juliet reporting a population of 706. Rather than a town, Mt. Juliet was actually more of a quiet village surrounded by homes, farms and lush rolling hills. Most of the families who didn't own farms had ample land for a large vegetable garden and at least a few chickens. It was a great time to grow up in small town America. Most people felt a sense of being valued, not just within their family, but by most everyone in town. Many people were called only by their nicknames. Two of my favorites were "Mush" Agee and "Possum" Bates. It was years before I knew that "Mush's" real name was Nealon and "Possum's" real name was Calvin. Others were always called by their first and middle names. For example, Charles Lee McCorkle was always called "Charles Lee" and he was seldom just called Charles. Even Mt. Juliet had a nickname...to some of us it was affectionately known as "Julip".
