Mango

I Live Here

Mango, for one feisty great-grandmother, remains by far the best home in America.

By HELEN MCPHERSON
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 28, 2003

I love living in Mango.

I was born here many years ago and have lived here most of my life. I grew up in our family home on our dairy farm on Highview Road, where my church, Christ Center Fellowship, is now located.

This will always be home to me, no matter how far away I roam. Big oak trees draped with Spanish moss are on the church property. When I was a little girl, I loved to climb them.

One of the crazy things I did as a kid was climb to the top of the big tree in front of the property and smoke rabbit weed. A lot of my friends are childhood friends. We attended Mango Elementary School together and have stayed in touch through the years. Folks here in Mango are the greatest people, real people who love God and are proud to be Americans.

I lived in our first home for more than 40 years and raised my four children there. They all attended Mango Elementary School and graduated from Brandon High School, both good schools.

Five of my eight grandchildren still live in this area, and all but two of my 13 great-grandchildren live here. My husband and I were married for 58 years before he passed away last year.

I feel blessed that God let me grow up in this community.

When I was a little girl, we had a club called Mother Mary's Helpers. Mary Sampson was our leader and she taught us how to sew and about etiquette. One lesson was how to sit like a lady. We would visit elderly people's homes and sing to them. We always closed with this song that Mary taught us:

Stand right up, be proud to say

I'm from Mango, the best country town in the good old USA.

-- Helen McPherson lives on Williams Road. Tell us in 400 words or less why you live where you live. Please include your likes and dislikes and what makes your community unique. Send essays to brandon@sptimes.com and please include a daytime phone number.

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