Old Photos of Rockingham, NC - The Way We Remember It

Probably the oldest local photo yet above. It depicts a saloon somewhere in the vicinity of Rockingham. The print was in Joe McLaurin's collection, from which this was copied, which was itself copied from an old tintype - which explains why the word "Saloon" is printed in reverse or mirror image on the front of the building. 

The Town Square as it appeared sometime between 1908 and 1913. Apparently the photograph was made as members of an automobile club from Columbia SC were driving through the square. The photo has to have been made after 1908 because WE McNair Furniture Co, founded that year, is already in place next to Rockingham Power Co. (in the Watson Building, which was built in 1904). It had to have been made before 1913 because, in that year, McNair Furniture Co moved to its present (1984) location at the intersection of Hancock and Washington Streets. Note, also, that the city water tower, built in 1908 and still standing in 1984 and 2016, is visible in the background. A final point of interest, to those who recall the bitter opposition to the proposal in the 1970s to "re-landscape" the square, with the removal of the two large oak trees.

Do A Good Deed

I remember the last year that my wife Sandra was alive, she, I and my daughter Sandi went to a restaurant in Raleigh. Sandra was in a wheelchair then and of course I brought her in the restaurant in the wheelchair. We enjoyed our meal but were totally surprised when I went to pay the bill. Someone had actually paid our bill for us! Don't know who it was or why but just the fact that people show a little compassion that way just gives you a good feeling.

So, day before yesterday, I went to a restaurant for breakfast and as I enjoyed the meal, I noticed that a young girl helped bring in an elderly lady for breakfast. I figured the young girl would join her but she did not. As I went to pay my bill, I told the waitress I wanted to pay this lady's bill, and did. I told her not to tell her who did it but just tell her it was paid for.

This morning I was setting in the parking lot of another restaurant checking out Facebook and a young girl comes up and knocks on my window. She gave me a story of how her mother had to be taken to Winston Salem hospital and she needed to get there to see her and only had 5 bucks for gas. So, I gave her some money to help get her there.

Now, I know maybe this young girl was not telling me the truth, who knows. But I figured, if I give for no other reason than to possibly help, then maybe this is what God wants us to do. We can't judge what the real need is for a person sometimes but if we give with the idea that this is what God wants us to do, it is up to Him to do the rest. As 2 Corinthians Chap 9 Verse 7 says, "God loves a cheerful giver".

If you are out and about sometime and in a restaurant or a public place and see someone that you might think could use just a little help, give them a free meal or something that could help brighten their day. It sure can't hurt - and who knows, you could get a blessing out of it yourself! Do A Good Deed!

We're Giving Up Cable TV!

Well, it's official. I have unhooked all my cable TV connections and taking them back to Wilkes Telecommunications. We are going to be cable-TV free! 

We are tired of paying 165 bucks a month to get mostly nothing to watch. We don't watch sports and the cartoon channels for the kids are terrible. The movie channels are fairly good but just not worth paying that much and sitting through all the long info-type commercials. Most of the time the commercials are 7 minutes or so long and the actual tv show is maybe 5 minutes long. Enough is enough!

Most of the TV we watch are the old tv shows, old movies, etc. But with TV Land putting so much junk on their channel, we are just tired of it. You can't even watch Andy Griffith without the stupid and vulgar commercials between the shows. And with kids in the room, it can be right embarrassing.
Besides, they don't need to see most of the channels out there.

So, we are going to be watching what we want thru Netflix - WITHOUT COMMERCIALS - and all the movies we have, which is quite a lot. 

Plus I have increased our internet connection speed to double what it was and we are keeping the phone. Cuts our bill in half. And, with all four of us now having a tablet each, we can watch Netflix on our tablets also. 

So - Goodbye to Cable! I feel free already........anyone else out there fed up with all the junk on cable TV like we are? Give me some comments if you are.

What's The Weather?

Since I have been living in the mountains, and especially on the top of Majestic Mountain in Boomer, NC, I have noticed something. We have all the latest ways of checking the weather - on the boob tube, on our Tablets, on our iPhones, heck, we even have a little contraption I ordered that the mariners used to use called a perfect indicator of what the weather will be. It's a clear tube with water in it that has crystals that float around that tells you what the weather will be.

But, with all this space age information and technology, it doesn't make a dime's worth of difference if you live on Majestic Mountain! Now, mind you, I'm not complaining. It's just different....I mean, I used to live in Cary/Raleigh and the weather was pretty predictable. 

Just about two weeks ago, the forecast was for clear skies with nothing out of the ordinary to expect. But, as my wife and I were sitting upstairs working on our prospective computer devices, we noticed the picture on the wall shaking. We knew it was windy outside, but just didn't know how bad! I ran downstairs to see exactly what was going on. As I opened the sliding glass doors, the wind that came through felt like a hurricane or tornado was on the porch! I bet that wind was blowing 80 mph!

Now, Dianne has lived up here for about 5 years and she was used to this wind but this was the worst she had seen. During the times I had been up before getting married, the winds would howl at night like a hurricane coming through - but - Dianne said that was not unusual and helped calm my nerves down as I was not used to this wind.

But getting back to the story. I had bought a knocked down kitchen island that day and took all the parts out and laid them out on the porch, knowing full well they would be fine there.....based on the prediction of perfectly clear skies. But, when I opened that sliding door, I knew I had to go bring all those pieces inside. I didn't want them to get wet. As I was running, me and Dianne both, to bring all the pieces in, that wind was so bad it blew a few of the pieces down the hill. The rest of the porch was a mess as well as items were thrown all over the place. The dogs in the pen outside the house were howling as well. In the backyard, we had a table and chairs. The table had ceramic tiles in it. The wind actually flipped one of those tiles up and over and landed in the same spot. Two of the tiles were broken and the chairs were strewn all over the backyard. I tell you, I was glad when those winds finally died down.

Yep, the weather on our mountain is unique. We got down to 1 degree this past Monday, the water went out but think goodness the power didn't. No snow but it was cold enough without it. It's a pain when that happens, especially when you can't flush a toilet. Thank goodness Dianne had enough smarts to fill some pots and pitchers with water plus we had some jugs of water in the storage building - that were frozen! 

So when someone ask me from now on, What's the Weather? I can truly say.......just wait a little bit and it will change....literally. Because we live on that beautiful but unpredictable Majestic Mountain!

Reunion - Pee Dee Pentecostal Holiness Church April 13 2013

03-19-13 - Our Annual Pee Dee Pentecostal Holiness Church Reunion in Rockingham will be held on April 13, 2013 - the second Saturday in April from 1pm until 3pm. Anyone that attended or remember our beloved church are welcome to come and share memories with others during this time. Paul Warnock started these reunions years ago and he and I and Tonda Sheppard Sanford and others have continued them each year. We now meet at the New Covenant Christian Fellowship Church (where the old church was located) on Hamer Road.

We will have some snacks available, but not a full dinner.  People should have dinner before they come.  We ask each person to bring a little snack.

Hopefully Mr Jesse Sheppard or the Swails Brothers will provide us with live entertainment this year. If you have any photos or memorabilia, please bring it to share with others. Hope to see you there!

A Celebration in Heaven? Oh Yes!

I wrote the following blog on April 28 of 2011:

You know - as I sit here and add 2 former classmates to the memoriams on Rockingham Memories, Ruth Davis and Bobbie Goodman Dull - I ponder. Will there be a great celebration in Heaven as the Bible says? Kind of like that old church song "When we all get to Heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be"...

I think there will be. I am counting on it! My dad passed away in 1977, my mom is in Hermitage Rest Home in Rockingham - doesn't usually know who I am when I visit, my brother passed away in 2002, all my relatives that have gone on to their heavenly rewards, so to speak and my wife whom I dearly love, is slowly but surely drifting away. 

It is so sad to see so much pain and suffering by so many. Sometimes you just want to sit down and cry.

But - there is hope! I don't have the knowledge of the Bible like a lot of people do but I do know that I am a Christian and God gives us all the strength to get through things we never knew we could. We don't understand all that is going on but God has a plan. 

About all we can do is live our lives like we think God would have us do and put our faith in him and I am sure when this old earth has drawn her last breath, and God calls us ALL home, there WILL be a celebration in Heaven!

Now, I just wanted to add this. 

My wife Sandra passed away on April 3 of 2012 and my mom passed away on April 10 of 2012. As Time Goes By - I know my wife and mom are in Heaven today rejoicing with all our relatives that have gone before. Since they have passed, there have been others that have gone on to their heavenly rewards also. Many friends from my childhood and friends made over the years, from my work or where I have lived during my lifetime. I truly believe they all are rejoicing and praising the Lord as I sit here at this computer. There is no pain or suffering in Heaven. Therefore, they have no knowledge  of all things happening here on earth. As the Bible says, they are in Gods hands and having such a wonderful time it is hard for us here to comprehend. Even as I continue my life here on earth and have found someone that can help me get through all this, I know one day when I leave this world I will see all my relatives again - my dad, mom, wife and brother and all my grandparents or uncles and aunts that have gone on before me. I miss them all but I have the assurance that one day there will be a Celebration in Heaven - and I intend to be there! I hope you are a Christian also so you can have this same assurance. Our God is a mighty God - as long as you keep your faith in him and believe, you can have the same assurances I have.

Reunion - Pee Dee Pentecostal Holiness Church April 14

We will have our Annual Pee Dee Pentecostal Holiness Church Reunion again this year on April 14 from 2:00pm to 400pm. Due to Tonda Sheppard Sanford having recent health problems, she will not be preparing food for this reunion. You are welcome to bring some snaks and beverages to enjoy.

This will be a time to enjoy the company of all that had anything to do with the old church and if you have memorabilia or photos of the old church or members, you are welcome to bring them to share.

The address of the church, which is now the New Covenant Christian Fellowship, is 120 Hamer Road, Rockingham.