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....dude, you be amphibious! I'm going to get my copy now! http://www.wilsontimes.com/assets/5587115/A09_12-16-2010_WDT.pdf By Janelle Clevinger Silver lake Special to the Times Local author mixes history with fiction What started as a search for documentation regarding a family land grant from the 1770s, evolved into the weaving of Wilson history and storytelling for an entire book penned by local author Pete Williams. Williams’ self-published book titled “Between the Waters of the Tar and Toisnot” came about because he wanted to document his family’s history and the history of Wilson’s Silver Lake area for his family and friends. “A lot of people look down on self-published authors, but I didn’t do this just because I wanted my name on a book,” Williams said. “I wanted it published for my friends and relatives. At my age, I didn’t want to waste the time shopping around for publishers.” Williams, 74, is a lifelong resident of Wilson and graduated from Atlantic Christian College in 1958 with a degree in chemistry. He worked in laboratories most of his professional life, retiring after 20 years of work with Scapa Press Fabrics (now Voith Fabrics). He recently joined the Wilson County Genealogical Society with the goal of finding a land grant during the 1770s from the Earl of Granville to Williams’ relative, Pilgrim Williams. The land, which sits near the Wilson and Nash county lines, is still owned by Williams’ distant relatives. After finding the information he needed right there in the Wilson County Public Library, Williams continued to research his family’s genealogy. “It gradually dawned on me that I could string together a historical fiction story about my father’s family and my mother’s family and how they came together,” said Williams. “This not a biography about my family, but includes many events that actually happened.” The book’s main character is Williams’ father Garland Williams, but because the story is not technically biographical, his name is changed to Garvis. His mother, Ruby Petway Williams, is renamed Ruth in the book. “The story of how my parents met is fictitious in the book, but I tried to make the storyline fit together with the historical events I was trying to tell,” said Williams. “Some of the story is fictitious, but they are based on stories I have heard all my life.” In 1916, Williams’ mother’s family moved to Silver Lake and began to develop the area. Ruby Petway was born in 1918, and the family enjoyed several prosperous years building up the Silver Lake complex which included a cotton gin, grist mill, general store, dance pavilion, bath house, rental boats and a hot dog stand, which was one of Ruby’s favorites. “Silver Lake was the place to be back then,” said Williams. “There wasn’t a single public swimming pool in Wilson then, and no one had the money to go to the beach, so everyone went to Silver Lake. There were probably a thousand people there on a typical summer Sunday afternoon.” The Great Depression saw the end of Silver Lake’s overwhelming popularity. Williams’ mother’s family lost everything and was forced to move from the area around 1930. “There is a little bit of a twist at the end of the book that originally came from my mother’s mother,” teased Williams. “It was a particular event that occurred during the Civil War.” The book’s title comes from the fact that William’s grandfather’s farm was located almost equidistant between the Tar River and Toisnot Swamp. Silver Lake is fed by waters from the Toisnot Swamp. Williams wrote the book with the Wilson community in mind. “In addition to my family and friends, I think older people and anyone interested in Wilson area history or anyone who may have read or heard a little about Silver Lake would be interested in this book,” he said. The Wilson Genealogical Society is a group already interested in “Between the Waters of the Tar and Toisnot.” Williams is slated to be the featured speaker at the Society’s meeting in February, 2011 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "CyclistsOfWilson-COWs" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cyclistsofwilson-cows?hl=en.
