When author Edmund R. Johnson was born on his grandparents farm in 1942, it was a unique time and place to witness the clashing of a passing age and the introduction of a new age. In The Bridge at Cromer’s Mill, Johnson shares a collection of stories set in rural Georgia in the 1940s and early 1950s.
Taking place in the time before electricity and on the cusp of the new age after electricity, he narrates stories about his early life when his grandparents shaped his world. With his mother away teaching and his father in the service in World War II, Johnson was allowed to roam and explore the woods, fields, and streams of the countryside, developing a sense of independence and self-reliance. His young life was pure Americana, a blending of the nineteenth and twentieth century. It was a time of sunny days and adventure, a time of bare feet and fishing trips, a time of exploration and fun.
The Bridge at Cromer’s Mill provides insight into rural Georgia, the people who lived in that time and place, and the experiences that molded their lives. It shares a story of a special bond between a grandson and his grandparents.
