When my children were growing up, I often heard that "so and so" was a "good ol' Wellborn boy." I wasn't exactly sure what that meant until my daughter brought one home. Through their years of dating and eventual marriage, I came to understand.
To be a "good ol' Wellborn boy" means you are just being yourself, no pretentions to be otherwise. You are respectful to your elders, loyal to your friends, and would do anything for anybody.
Now don't get this confused with being a saint. A "good ol' Wellborn boy" can be rough and rowdy as much as the next guy. But if you are stuck in a ditch at 2:00 a.m. in the middle of nowhere, he'll come pull you out with his pick-up truck.
A "good ol' Wellborn boy" knows and appreciates the value of family. For the most part, he says "sir" and "ma'am" to all adults. If he says he will do something, he will. If mama or daddy tells him to do something, he does!
I believe this is the reason for the sense of community among residents of Wellborn. They are just good people with deep roots and ties to their small community. Many of them live there because their ancestors lived and died there and are buried in the Wellborn Cemetery.
You can find them having coffee together at the Wellborn Store each morning, or playing an occasional game of poker on Thursday nights, or gathering the second Sunday of each month to hear some gospel bluegrass at the Wellborn Community Center. You can see them on work days at the Wellborn Cemetery trimming trees, mowing grass, repairing what needs to be fixed, and, in general, being a good neighbor. Because that's what they do.
Thank goodness for people like those "good ol' Wellborn boys." I hope you are blessed to be surrounded by them! If you're proud to be one of them, drop us a line and say "howdy!"
