The town of Graceville (Pop. 2,500) squats just inside the Florida line, in the company of Noma and Esto and Miller Crossroads, like a turtle broiling in the oppressive Florida Panhandle. The monotonous inland heat is broken only by occasional swirls of wind which lift the fine sand from the sidewalks and scatter it against the weathered frame buildings. Along Brown Street, the main drag, ragged white farmers and mute Negroes sprawl on benches propped against the buildings in the shade of awnings. There is not much for them to do except read the Dothan (Ala.) Eagle or dip snuff or watch the tractors or pray for rain. There is not even a movie house in Graceville anymore, which seems like a reasonable indicator of the imminence of death.

Outwardly, then, there were few changes in Graceville as I drove past the feed stores and the service stations and the modest homes on a morning in mid-April of this year. It had been 14 years since I had last seen Graceville, and nostalgia was bringing me back. I parked in front of the Circle Grill, where we had managed to eat on our $2.50-a-day meal money, went inside and ordered breakfast. It was when I began talking with the proprietress that I realized something indefinable, and bad, had happened to Graceville.

"The Oilers," she said, a hint of a smile coming to her tired face. "You remember the Oilers?"

"I played for them one time," I said.

"What's your name?"

"Hemphill. Paul Hemphill."

"Hemphill. Hemp-hill."

"I wasn't here but a week."

"What year?"

"Nineteen fifty-four. Spring training of '54."

"There were so many," she said, wiping her hands on her apron. "We used to serve all the boys. We sure miss the Oilers. Such nice boys."

"This was a great baseball town."

"I know. It meant a lot to us."

I said, "What's there to do here now?"

"Keep each other company," she said "Oh, we've got the Baptist Bible Institute and the world's largest peanut sheller. But there's nowhere to go, and nothing to do. If you want to see a picture show, you have to go over to Crestview or up to Dothan. The boys and girls don't stay here anymore after they grow up. It sure would be better if we still had the Oilers."