Take my auntie's late husband for example. Family members did not call him orang kaya Segamat for nothing.

His family owned several durian orchards in the district, which they leased out and got a cut on the durians that were sold.

I don't remember going to any of the orchards but we used to have durian feasts, when my auntie's family lived in a double storey semi-detached house at Jalan Serampang in Taman Seri Tebrau.

The people who leased the orchards would send some of the durian to them when it was in season. Now, the durian are sent to their house in Sungai Buloh, Selangor, ever since they moved there some 20 years ago.

My auntie's family hardly goes down to Segamat. The only mention of Segamat at family gatherings would be because of the durian.

A reader Ravichandran Ceyon gave me a different perspective of Segamat.

The JKR barracks boy, who spent 19 years of his life living at the JKR quarters in Jalan Buluh Kasap, described Segamat back then as a small 'cowboy' town.

Ravichandran remembers life being simple, fun and laid back. "Segamat offered serene countryside surroundings. It was transforming itself but on a slower pace. The people were warm, friendly and we knew each other well," he wrote in his email to me.

His friends were mainly Malay boys and together, they ruled the entire JKR barracks.

"We often roamed around our barracks and surrounding villages, plucking fruits, playing traditional games, swimming in the river, ravines and waterfalls...

"Those were carefree days. We got our fair share of yelling and smacking from our mothers when we got home from our adventurous outings," he said.

Ravichandran remembers 'raiding' orchards during the fruit season.

Permission was never sought from orchard owners for the mangosteen, rambutan, ciku, mata kucing, langsat, duku and buah susu.

"More often than not, the owners will give us some fruits if we help them pick the fruits," he said.

And who says fireflies can only be found in Kuala Selangor? Ravichandran said the bushes near the JKR barracks would be lit up at night by the fireflies.

"Catching fireflies from the bushes near the barrack was a delightful past time, especially after late night showers. The fireflies would give the bushes an awesome "Christmas tree' lighting effects.

"I would trap a few of the fireflies in plastic bags with breathing holes and they would keep 'lighting' up.

"We really enjoyed ourselves. Happy memories of childhood will never go away," he said.

I had only gone to Segamat once for a colleague's wedding. I remember it was a long drive from Johor Baru 20 years ago.

These days, the only time we get to read about Segamat in the newspapers is when it floods.

Legend has it that the floods relate to a king called Malim Dewa, who was in love with a princess called Santan Bertapis. She was kidnapped by a spirit and Malim Dewa swore that as long as the princess was not returned, Segamat would experience floods for all eternity.

But elders in Segamat have a different take on the legend. They tell of a dragon that sleeps underground. Whenever the dragon changes its sleeping position, Segamat may experience very bad floods. These are supposedly caused by gaps that the dragon makes when it moves. Unbelievable, yes?

I was also informed that Segamat is not the original name of the oldest district in the state. It was formerly called Rantau Panjang. It assumed its current name at the turn of the 20th century.

The name Segamat is believed to derived from the Malay words segar amat, which literally mean very refreshing. History has it that a Malaccan bendahara called Tepok, who retreated to the area with his troops after the fall of Malacca, drank water from the river. He exclaimed that the water was segar amat.

He then named the river Segar Amat, which over time evolved into Segamat.

This article is published in Johor Buzz, part of The New Straits Times.