Forging a legacy that lasts

Hailey Heseltine ECB Publishing, Inc. What does it take to forge a legacy that lasts? Thomas Raines (also spelled Rains) spent all of his 96 years in Jefferson County, living in a log house constructed by the hands of his father in 1877, working honestly and tirelessly as the community's only blacksmith. He was widely known and respected in the community for the quality of his work, straightforward and fair treatment of others, and willingness to share his skills with the youth of Jefferson County. Raines' father, Richmond, was enslaved on a plantation in Americus, Ga. It was on that plantation that he learned the skill of blacksmithing. He was freed in 1865, when he was around the age