It was just a terrible change when they came in and cleared all that virgin timber out. The timber companies first came to Nebo in the early 1930s cutting the pines but they did leave several sections untouched. But then in 1937, as Mr. Earl remembers, they came back and cut what they'd left. Then the Hercules Powder Company came in and removed all the stumps and as Mr. Earl remembers, the Nebo land looked pretty bare. But still, no matter how many trees they plant, it will never look the same as it did with the virgin timber.
Nothing can compare with that sight.
One of the other big changes in the Nebo area is Hemp's Creek. Mr. Earl remembers when it was more like a river than a creek, and was the main attraction to people from all over, not just in the Nebo area. It used to be wide and beautiful and now it is narrow and barren. Not only was the creek famous for it's white sand, rocks and swimming, but it used to be a great place to go fishing. People today can't imagine how many fish there was in that creek, especially in some of those deep holes, but it was more fish than anyone could catch.