Rural culture has to be, one of the most-priceless areas still in existence in today’s society. The correct term is southern culture, for bigger cities such as Atlanta, Birmingham, and Nashville, but for people in places such as Detroit, Sulligent and Guin, Alabama, it’s still referred to as rural culture.
The term culture has varied definitions. And a maze of meanings. To the visitor, rural culture may be disguised as a handful of neighbors sitting around on a summer afternoon on a porch discussing local politics, the latest news in their town, and even why their preacher preached a certain sermon on the previous Sunday.
When a visitor to the rural south, they might see a man atop a Ford tractor plowing a section of ground. Nothing unusual about this. Actually, a man plowing ground with a Ford tractor is quite common, but upon a closer inspection, the wandering visitor learns that the man on the Ford tractor is doing his neighbor a favor of plowing his garden spot because his neighbor is sick and cannot get out of bed. This too is a common occurrence in the communities of the rural south.
Certain areas of southern culture are still alive in modern-day America. Asking your pastor and his wife to accompany you to your home for Sunday lunch or even better, taking him and his wife to the restaurant of their choice. This happening dates back to the late 1800’s when it was not as much fashionable to have your pastor dine with you after Sunday services, but a deep gesture of respect.
Our friend, the wandering (and wondering) visitor to the rural southland, may take note of the yearly-rites-of-passage for the young southern men called: Deer hunting. This is the young man’s coming of age trial. He is trusted with a firearm, his dad or uncle as a mentor and it’s up to him to “bag his first buck,” a sign that he has matured into a young man. The same can be said about operating a motor vehicle. Children in the rural culture of our country learn early how and what works on cars and trucks. Those whose parents still farm for the family living, go on to operate tractors, combines and sometimes bulldozers to clear acreage for new fields.
Rural culture in northwest Alabama sadly, has seen drastic changes in the past years. In today’s rural southern culture, a young lady doesn’t have to introduce her date to her parents as her mother and grandmother did. The young man simply drives up her driveway, and she skips her way to his trcar that is shined like a new penny. Just to impress her on this special night, prom night, a vision of rural culture that dates back to plantation days of young men in long coats, and young ladies in hoop skirts, dancing slow dances while watchful eyes of elder chaperones keep them in close proximity.
Rural culture. You have to live it. To love it.
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