Graham - some off the memories of days of yore: Part III, and that's it for now.

Looking at the Alamance County court house from North Main and Harden Street intersection (the biggest intersection in town).  Carey's house is down Harden on the right about 3 blocks and we grew up at what is now 620 East Harden, used to be Route #3, Graham, or Chapel Hill Road, or Hwy 54— all those addresses used to get mail to our house.  

Anyway, I digress. We for years coming home from Graham Elementary rode our bicycles right down the middle of the road — Main didn't have a left turn lane then, but there were three lanes with the middle lane - seldom used - as a truck parking lane.  

In the middle of the block on the left side— photo taken from the middle of the road - was and still is the Graham Cinema.  Doors used to be recessed a bit and the black double doors to the left over the silver kick plate used to be a single door that lead to the balcony and was marked "colored".  That was one of the few places in town that I recall so indicated.

We didn't go to the movies often.  Occasionally we would go to a big time movie in Greensboro or Raleigh that would never make it to Graham.  Big movies I recall seeing were the re-release of Gone With the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia, and Ben Hur.  The first two I think we went to Raleigh to see and the later to Greensboro.  I do recall seeing a couple of cowboy movies here and even a monster movie one time.

Almost directly across from the theater was Wrike Drug building. Dad's first office was on the second floor, the two windows on the right side of the sign. His desk was at 90 degrees to the window so he could look north out the window up the street. To get to his office a patient had to go up steep steps to the left of the drug store.  The windows to the left of the sign were for his partner Dr. H.   We never did figure out how Dad knew we were riding down the middle of the street.

Going into Wrike Drug was a ritual too.  It had a traditional soda fountain and one of my big dilemmas was whether to buy a cherry coke or regular coke.  Regular was only a nickel but adding a taste of cherry made is 6 cents and that meant breaking a dime into pennies or using two nickels.  An additional penny was a big deal to a boy who collected bottles along the highway for the two cents return deposit you got when you returned a soda bottle to a store.

Going collecting bottles along 54 in front of our house was a big deal for the Eric Charles Mark and I.  We would get a wagon or two and go up and down the highway looking in the ditch for bottles.  At 2 cents each we could make nearly a dollar on a good outing.

Dad's practice was a general practice, that included lots of obstetrics — delivering babies.  There was a time when I imagine he delivered several babies a week.  — He was a county doctor, made house calls and took us boy with him on those calls occasionally.  Those made for some memorable trips.

The northwest corner of court square in this corner was what we called Riverside Cafe - not its real name but a wonderful country food cafeteria/restaurant long closed that we all enjoyed - well not so much Mom.

and looking north from South Main at the Pine Street intersection — coming from the interstate - you can see why when you told someone you were from Graham they may respond "oh the town with the courthouse in the middle of the road".

and further down Pine Street towards home was GHS or the high school we went to until integration and Mark went to Central. The water tower is in what was the football practice field.

The entrance, now with fancy cover for what is now the middle school. I imagine the school is still small - between 4-500 students.  Back in the day we had good football teams (the Red Devils) and Charles was on the team — even in the newspaper too.

A block or two behind the high school on McGee Street is the Coumingy Center where clubs like Rotary met.  Kelly and Beth live on McGee Street a couple of houses down from the Center now.  This place  was a very important part of Dad's community life.  He was president at least one year and came to lunch here nearly every Thursday for Rotary that I can remember. Back in the day the building was surrounded by trees and did not appear so open.

On Saturday nights there were live band dances here during the late 50's - the 60's.  Had some local and regional bands, some of which became somewhat regionally famous. They played what is now known as beach music, rock and roll, and pop music.  I usually stood on the edges of the crowd and do not remember dancing more than just a few times.

Between the Community Center and the high school was the high school football field and baseball stadium.  Used to have what I thought were high wooden seating around the infield for our minor league baseball team.  We did go to games to see the Alamance Indians - Class A of the Cleveland Indians.

The field is now a community park field and is named for Tom Zachary who was our next door neighbor.  We liked him very much. Tom was a famous baseball pitcher who won lots of games.  He especially liked Eric. Later I was a pall barer at  his wife Etta's funeral.

and across the street from the high school is the town cemetery.  Graham has a municipal cemetery for some reason and the many of the individual churches do not.  I rode my bike through it and as usual saw another interesting tombstone.  Most of the big monuments are for textile families.

and a block or two up the street toward the court house in that brick building under the tree on Elm Street is Dad's second office.  In 1967 or so after I had left home, Dad left the office over Wrike Drug to practice on his own.  The building is now joined to others in a strip office complex but at the time it was just a single small building approached by a sidewalk.

and across the street is Mark's office. He has a "Family Practice" that is what Dad's practice became - Family Medicine.  I think Dad was one of the original or initial Family Practitioners.

Still on memory lane: Graham Part 2

Little hard to tell, but that is Albright Ave, first place I remember living, second actual place that I lived in Graham.  Eric and Barb's house is there on the left. The hill is actually quite steep and a memory I have is of the young adults and teens sledding down the hill at great speeds when it snowed. Another is of leaves burning in the fall. There were a number and still are a few very large oak trees along the street. The leaves would be raked into large piles and burned in the fall. It smelled quite good and I still like the smell though seldom have the chance to burn as burning leaves is no longer considered appropriate.

We lived here on Albright Ave until the summer I was six and started school that fall. We lived in the left side of the duplex until Mom and Dad bought out the other side and we lived in both units. One evening there was a fire in the attic and great confusion of fire trucks smoke and firemen and such.  No great damage but lots of excitement. The trees are gone, grass is in its place, the car on the left would have fallen down a steep slope towards a creek in the back.  I think the building is the same color.

The right side of the Albright Ave House and Nannie and Lee Henderson's house. They absolutely loved me. I mean spoiled me. Thought I was the most wonderful baby in the world. All this I did not know, of course, but did know that being in that house was great for me. I could escape the younger brothers, parents, and be just me.

"Grandee Lee" was retired I guess and did part time accounting (taxes) and had ledgers and such. I sat in a chair and tried to copy papers. Nannie and I drank coffee (or rather milk and some coffee in the kitchen and I explored the BIG upstairs where someone named Haywood used to live. We still have Grandee Lee's chair that Nannie game me after he died when I was about 8. The first person close to me to ever die that I really remember dying.

This house was across the street and down a couple of houses and not so much fun to enter. The piano teacher that we all studied under?  perhaps a better term would be went to piano lessons with.  Virginia, Aunt Julia and Uncle Eli lived here. On my piano lesson day cooked cabbage or saurkraut was on the menu and Virginia the teacher smelled like Ivory soap. The metronome ticked and the half hour would never end. And heaven forbid- "don't you run down that hill again either or I'll tell your Dad."  Mom and Dad wasted some serious money in this house.

And on Pine Street below is the basement apartment that I lived in when times were truly good. It was just the three of us - Mom, Dad and me. I have no memory of this place, Mom pointed it out to me.

First United Methodist Church at the corner of Albright and North Main. Eric and Barb, Kelly and Beth were married in there. It was built after I left home so my memories are more of the special occasions and services then of regular church. In addition to the weddings mentioned above it also was where Mom's and Dad's funerals were held.

Now this building below is where I went to church, remember watching flies walk across my arm or leg - entertainment was weak and service was interminable. In the summer the windows would be open and we sat towards the front on the right. Prime territory for the errant fly to entertain.  Mr. Whitehead was the preacher for about 100 years or so.  I liked him.  He was followed by Mr. Watson, I also liked him.  He was preacher when I was in high school and I don't think I chased as many flies in church then.

Also had some great times with MYF and Boy Scouts here. Ran down those halls bunches of times. Slid around the corners on the slick tile floors. You ought to see what I could do with a food cart when MYF served meals to Methodist Men or some other organization as a fund raiser. I flat out loved pushing food carts- fast, had some food cart races!

And those steps and that stone wall used to be quite high. Jumped off the wall a few hundred times waiting on Mom, Dad or car pool to pick me and brothers up.

Looking south down North Main Street toward the court house. In the distance on the right is the First Baptist Church. They were conservative even for then and we sorta knew it even then, I think.  

And west of the Court House one block is the Presbyterian Church. Mark and Vickie were married there. In Graham most people we knew belonged to one of those three churches, sure there were a few other smaller churches around but these three got the most. Now we had heard of Jews in the Bible, did not know any and we did not know any Catholics in Graham until the C twins (Henry and Tony) moved to town when I was in the 8th grade. Henry became one of my best buddies in high school and we spent a lot of time together, at our house and around town.

This was the mill across the street from the Presbyterian Church. As I mentioned Graham was a mill town — defined by the times of the three work shifts, names of the type of workers employed at the lines, and of course the mill whistles announcing shift changes. All that remains now are a few of the buildings.

and a little more to come in part III

trip through the old hometown Graham: PART 1

Patt and I were once again in Graham, this time for an overnight at Kelly and Beth's - sans K & B as we were "looking after" Maddie post M's surgery.  So we left Maddie alone.

Went over to Janet's and had a delightful evening with Dave, Janet, Joyce and brothers and sisters-in-law pre Dave's surgery (best not be kin to us this week)  and so was free this fine July Monday— 

Went for a bike ride through Graham and found myself on good ole memory lane.  

Confederate statute still looking north, standing guard over Main Street, and scene of bro-ha-ha last week as apparently someone suggested he be moved.  Well I never.  

Just off the square on the north west corner where the old soda shop/drug store stood is the old court house bell that used to sit under the tree "down at the house".  Note inscription " It belongs to you— yes - you heirs and relatives in the broadest sense of the term.

Mom especially was insenced that the short-sighted County Commissioners would "sell the county's heritage for a few dollars"  (Commissioners seldom change by the way).  As I recall Dad bought it at an auction of county surplus stuff for $110 in the early 1960s.

This is the first church I remember attending, it is at the junction of North Main and Maple, now a Spanish Nazarene church.  A minister named Mr. Lanning was the minister, and as I recall, subject to revision, we sat in the back left.  Once when Mom and Dad were up front for some reason- baptizing Mark? - we remaining three older boys were not behaving so well and I remember some man coming up to us and advising that "your father will not be happy".  I have no recollection of his return.  Perhaps that is best.  (Breaking my tradition of no last names here for the preacher.)

The Sunday School building was wooden.  Mom was afraid the building would burn down (it never did) and some degree of paranoia and concern for our offspring is normal in our family anyway.  Consequently, in the winter we would go to Sunday School at a  Methodist Church in Burlington.

Further up Main, was Graham School. When I went to the first grade it was grades one through 12.  I recall seeing the football players going to practice and being afraid of how big they were. By second grade a high school had been built and the school was renamed Graham Elementary.  Now it is being torn down. This photo below is all that is left of the cafeteria and gym. The dead tree is one of two that graced the edge of the playground. The bulldozer is about where home plate would be for the baseball field.  We played there a lot.

Looking exactly across from the other corner and this time south down North Main Street.  The Friends or Quaker  Church to the right.  "Meet me behind the church" meant that someone was being challenged to a fight.  That was about as serious as a threat as could be issued.  And yes, I was at least once that I recall being met there.  Not much of a fight but it was one.

Note concrete mixer in photo— drove one of those quite often down this street as did many of the brothers. They were red and gray and were labeled Alamance Ready Mix.

Further north on Main going toward Burlington and the railroad tracks and the concrete plant where we all worked was this building on the right.  As a small child I always stared closely whenever we went by as I "knew" or sensed something had to be not quite right about the the building — It was one of about four or five "beer joints" in town and a real fat guy always sat in the door at the cash register.  I don't guess I ever spoke of the building to my parents, just stared at it.

Across the railroad and almost in Burlington was the site of Alamance Ready-Mix Concrete.  Dad was a part owner of the plant so each of us worked there - a lot.  It was sold and is much changed of course - the now brick building was then a wooden building/office where I and Eric were once both managers, at the end of the track spur once a rail car of cement was always in place and was pounded on relentlessly with a large sledge hammer to facilitate the free flow of cement into the mixing tower - now gone.

We five did about everything, worked on the finishing crew made up of mostly black men and later one mean as hell white guy named Joe D.  Kelly actually totaled his truck, yep, ran right into it with another truck.  Joe could lay a cussin' on about anything anytime. Actually we mostly enjoyed working at the plant and with the concrete crew.  They were an entertaining and interesting bunch.

There was  Paul P., a former seabee in the south Pacific, who could tell one funny story, Willie B., the strong quiet leader,  and Waymon W. also entertaining, whose adopted son was prominent at UNC and later died tragically, Chandler (ole Chan— he was drunk most of the time), Robert, Earl, Little Charlie, and others.  Some were real characters and could entertain for hours.  Also part of the crew were a series of up work-release prisoners from the prison farm, as it was called then, who joined the crew.  Vernon M, one of Dad's partners, liked the prisoners they were always sober in the morning.

We cleaned out the inside of the mixers, we rebuilt engines under the fussing, complaining guidance of Dan M., Dad's other partner,  Eric ran a front end loader one summer scooping sand and gravel till he could make run it in his sleep.  I think he hated it.  The truck drivers were another unique crowd.  Tross W, a former POW of the Germans, Silas - lazy, Allie W, the guy who taught everyone one to drive concrete trucks and of course others.

Any of we five of us can go by buildings in the Alamance County area and say we poured concrete there, did curb and gutter there, a driveway, delivered a load of concrete there and tell you stories anytime you wish, just ask us.  We will be glad to tell you tales of the characters on the crew we worked with.

Just down from the plant back on the other side of the railroad tracks on Parker Street was Trevor Mill, one of the larger textile mills in the town, Graham was a textile town.  The mill and others are now closed, bave been for a long time.  Once I was part of a crew that poured concrete in there to provide a foundation around new knitting machines.  It was hot, loud and cotton dust was flying everywhere.  I pushed wheel barrows full of concrete down the aisle between weaving machines.  (told ya we could tell ya where we poured concrete)

The mayor lived across the street in a very large house.  He also ran the mill, I think.

Just down the street was the King Bee grocery store.  Run by the guy who used to run the A & P grocery store (the Great Atlantic and Pacific Grocery).  Mom really liked him and the store and we bought vegetables from the store after the A & P closed.

The grocers' son Jimmy and Ricky A, son of Dad's nurse both two years older than me and sorta looked after me.  (?)

One evening when I was fourteen they were in Ricky's souped up 55 Chevy (google 55 Chevy) to go cruising.  We ended up walking into Jake's, a seedy beer joint on US 70 out on the country side of west Burlington going toward Elon. It was country two lane road then.

We sat in a booth and they ordered three draft Blue Ribbons. Yup, my first beer.  Legal was 18.  They were 16, I was 14 — Jake's was that kind of place where "everyone had a friend".  I was some kind of scared but remember acting like I had done it many times before.

Back to the mill, beside most mills, well nearly every mill I knew of were mill houses, this is a row of them across Parker on Melville St.  My friend Steve C lived in one of these or on the next block over on Seymour.  Can not remember.  Steve sat in front of me in first grade, Paul C behind me.  We were in the same order on graduation day 12 years later.

More to come.  Actually a lot more.  I took a lot of photos and enjoyed the day immensely.

Well we are back and settled in, make that real settled

Been back going on six weeks and life is routine.

— going to the gym
— eating oatmeal for breakfast
— James and Maddie came and did some yard work - I mostly watched and made suggestions
— put in new mailbox as old one was storm damaged when a tree limb fell while we were traveling.

The above replacement of the box and piece of carpentry took me the better part of a morning, several trips up and down the drive way to find tools, find other tools, figure out how to remove old box, get new box affixed — this is not simple folks - and the base is not real secure so my usual means of fixing things with a large hammer was off the table.  (the base I am assuming was put in in 1974 when the house was built and is reaching it expected life expectancy)


— read the newspaper
— visited my in-laws
—while in Charlotte met with Patt's high school friends from years past. Here with Ruth and Paulette.  Glenda was out on the phone planning summer of 2016 wedding — got that right. Apparently "South Charlotte" weddings require 24 month planning.  (I did not visit long - I was being "St Paul the good husband" and waited in nearby Bojangles drinking ice tea.)

oh while in Charlotte we went out with Patt's family to a fish house.  I had a Brown Plate Special — I did go healthy at the last minute and got the baked potato instead of french fries to go with my fried flounder, fried shrimp, fried scallops, fried oysters crab cakes, and deep fried hush puppies.  I got the small plate.  It was huge and spilling over.  I asked for a and got a second plate just to scoop shrimp onto.

— mowed the yard
— went to church and had meetings with church committees (both of us)
highlight — went for bike ride on Greenway with Mark and Marie  — went out to eat with Robin and Michael

— went to Graham and met with Patt's in-laws and my cousins

— enjoy photos of the grandkids — gotta love Raleigh's hair

— Big Highlight  Stephen surprised us a with a visit and staying over for a night between a business trip to Houston and a short weekend trip to the beach with his friend Charles.
— enjoyed photos of Clinton — like this wink —  Jen has been awesome about sending us photos of Raleigh and Clinton.

and likewise Laura has kept us in the loop of their vacation in the mountains too.  Very high mountains I think.

 —  also found a left behind treasure that has been hiding in utility closet in the basement — been there 18 months — fear not host of next years Christmas party this baby is on the way to Goodwill.  (yeah-right)— found it cleaning the basement which had not been done in a while.

—did the 2014 taxes (we filed an extension before we left)

—caught up on lots of paper work

—met with a tree guy today to come and cut down a couple of trees and trim some others.  

 — also have eaten at both Snoopy's and Char-Grill two of Raleigh's finer establishments- that is Patt there in light blue— we always order take out — like there was a choice.
— been to a couple of movies — Woman in Gold is great and Spy is funny.

so as is obvious, life now is a tiny bit different from the previous posts — you may ask yourself why we like traveling so much.  

— we are planning trips to the mountains and the beach in August, to Panama in September so stay tuned and football season is not far off either.  Time to get moving.  

The Seventh — Clinton Samuel the Second

The seventh grandchild is the Second  — and that gives us "The Magnificent Seven" which is just not the name of a movie from the 1960s but now the number of grandchildren that Patt and I have— yes that is bragging. On June 20, 2015, Stephen and Jen had their baby #2 named after Stephen's grandfather, my father,  Clinton Samuel.  Young Clinton joins his brother Raleigh and his five cousins in Asia to make up our seven grandchildren for which we are so thankful.

Patt very shortly after coming home from our time in Asia went on to Panama to be with Stephen and Jen and was fortunate enough to get there in time to be with them prior to Clinton's birth and to document some of the excitement — not all (thankfully I might add).  Here Stephen is proving surprisingly useful in helping Jen towards the delivery room.

and once again Stephen is serving useful purposes.  Stephen we are so proud.  Jen we are proud of you too!  Very Very

And Jen with Clinton, who according to Patt, while not sleeping so much the first week, is easy going and not difficult —that is Clinton I am writing about, but the sentence applies to both.  Jen, I'm sure would like that sleep time to improve rapidly— for both of them.

TA — DA

looks like me 

huh?

And Raleigh is glad to see Mom? or Clinton?  Yeah it was Mom!  Patt reported that he was concerned that Jen would go back to the hospital.  I think he was concerned that she would come back with another one of these little brother things.  Or stay for a couple of days — neither of which is a good option.

Patt reports that Raleigh had some good times and that they enjoyed one another quite a bit.

Patt also enjoyed time with the newest of our grandchildren

and was very happy to be there when he was born. We both look forward to going back to Panama real soon to see the family of four.