I spent some time with Marvin Pippen at Branch Grove Thursday, April 19th. Marvin lived at Branch Grove as a child, from the ages of 1 to 6 or 7. As he tells it, those years were shared with what we today would consider extended family - his grandparents, his mother, uncles, aunts and cousins. He shared memories of where everyone slept - his grandparents in what will be the dining room after the current renovation is complete, "the boys" in the first bedroom upstairs on the left and "the girls" in the other bedroom upstairs, which overlooks the back yard where the home now sits. He referred to what will be the family room after renovation, as "the big room".  Turns out, that it's new label is pretty much the same as it was used all those years ago, where everyone gathered together and spent time with one another.  He chuckled, remembering how he and a cousin or uncle had to spend some time in the closet under the stairs as a result of some sort of offense, long forgotten now.  As a child he heard stories of the loft

of the Georgian addition being used as a meeting place for farmers of the area preparing for the Civil War. I find it so amazing that a home that has seen so many changes in our county, our state and our country is now being restored to be a part of the future.  I can't wait to meet the family that will share their future with this unique, historical home.