It was northwest of Sam Sistler place, according to my husband. I have never been there. Hope to get down there this fall after the snakes hibernate. Faye Can't send the picture, but here is a story about the Mt. Zion baptism published in the Rock Community Book. The Haskin about 1928 What a great picture this is, how many echoes it stirs up from the Haskin Hollow! In the left of the picture you can almost tell what these young lads are thinking. Do they know a secret we don't? Have they seen a water snake winding its way from the craggy rocks at the water edge toward the unsuspecting candidates for baptism, or do they have concealed in their pockets a frog or two, or maybe even a green snake? Those boys look like they had rather be swimming in the clear water, than standing there in their Sunday best. And you have to wonder if the straight -laced corseted ladies sitting in front of them are a bit nervous knowing all about boys and frogs and about much too silent lads, 'What are they up to anyway?' The ladies are dressed in white garments as was the custom on baptizing day in the Rock community. They have walked down the hill from Mt. Zion Baptist church, being led by the pastor, and were singing all the way here. I can almost hear their loud voices blending as one belting out Shall We Gather At The River? I think the little girls seated in the foreground are trying very hard to keep their Sunday frocks from getting dirty. It looks like this event took place in the late spring, on a rather cool day, but with an abundance of sunshine. The foliage is not as dense as it would be later in the summer. I can almost hear the birds singing in the trees near the water, and if I looked up into the blue sky, surely, a hawk or two would be visible and several smaller birds winging happily. The eight or nine people being baptized appear to range in age from fairly young to at least middle-aged and I can 'feel' the shaded water soaking their clothes, and sense the impatience at being subjected to stand in the cold water while someone takes a picture. The fellow on the right with the beard is probably the preacher, and it may be Bro. J. C. Boulan since he was the pastor of the church at that time. Back toward the bluff, a large group of youth and ladies, wearing white dresses and hats, are standing near the water's edge and almost touching the huge boulder. The only positive identifications are of the lady on the right with the big hat and the gentleman beside her. They are Nettie Kerley Anderson (1890 - 1974) and Charles R. Anderson (1888 - 1954). The water hole in Haskin Hollow was a favorite swimming hole long after the congregation ceased using it for baptisms. They began using ponds near Rock rather than struggle up and down the steep incline. But back then it was an important source of water for doing the home laundry. What a chore lugging those baskets up and down the precipitous pathway, to provide clean towels, overalls, sheets and aprons for the family! The suds of the lye soap were swirled away as the ladies rinsed the items and wrung the water out with their hands. The water hole has shrunk in size due to erosion of the soil on the slopes. Only deer and other wild animals enjoy this once hallowed meeting place for baptisms and picnics. Yet I wonder, if you would stand here in the quiet of the day, and listen real close, you might hear the pealing of the church bell a quarter mile away, and maybe that's not just the breeze teasing those leaves in the trees, maybe it's the voice of a hundred people singing their way down the rocky hill with their starched robes rustling against the brush, and that soft splash, perhaps it was not just a frog leaping in the still water, maybe, just maybe, it was an echo from the past of someone going under for the LordÂ….. _____ written by Flo Austin Dunning Photo courtesy of Bruce Morse [email protected] wrote: > Carol, > At one time there was a water fall. I was there many years ago. At that > time, the water fall was more like damp rocks and the baptismal pond was > more a puddle. At that time there was a house being build close by. The roof > of the house was about level with the road. When you walked down the path to > the front of the house you could see the beautiful view. I remember the > Haskin being off to the left of the house, coming down from a bluff. If I > remember correctly it wasn't to far from Uncle Sam Sistler's house which we > also went to that day. Perhaps someone remembers where the house is. > > Susan -- Johnson and Pope County History web page: http://www.shawneelink.net/~fayebow/ "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts..... And be thankful." Colossians 3:15