North Carolina

October 2nd, Thursday is the anniversary of our second month on the road. It is a reminder of how ironic it is that something that we have looked forward to for so long is soon to be in our rear view mirrors. We gave a heart felt farewell to Jim and Pat (and their neighbors) and left Thomasville behind. It was hard to leave Bill and Sharon's in Danville, it seemed more difficult to leave Uncle Lester and Aunt Betty Sue's and now it seemed even more difficult to leave Jim and Pat Little and ALL of our Little cousins. WE looked forward to seeing them for such a long time and now we have already said goodbye. This trip is too short. Both girls have been nothing but joyous. Every day. Without exception. Cocoa would probably be the one who would complain, if she could. She seems to miss her old routine but she is enjoying her homemade treats prepared by Jim and Pat's wonderful neighbors. Perhaps it isn't the routine that Cocoa is missing, perhaps it is the neighbors. We took a self guided tour aboard the Battleship North Carolina moored along Wilmington's Cape Fear River (same river as depicted in the movie). Audrey said, "This is better than the Nautilus." We had free reign of the ship; on her superstructure, on the deck, in the gun turrets, below deck. And most of it by ourselves (we were only with other tourists maybe five minutes out of two hours). All I can say is this, "They even had icecream." Dog gone it, Marine's were eating C-rations and these guys were enjoying ice-cream. I understand it was hot and cramped but my goodness, they had ice-cream. Who were the bright guys here???????????? October 1st, Wednesday Beginning the day in Thomasville we drove by the World's Largest Chair, commemorating the fact that Thomasville Furniture is based here. Unfortunately, for the town and the industry all of the manufacturing jobs have went abroad. Here in Thomasville all they do these days is repair the furniture that is made in places like China. Many of the manufacturing plants sit idle. Vacant and boarded. I have said it before and I'll say it again, we are losing the middle class in America. Thomasville is the only location in the United States where Confederate and Union troops are buried together. We went by the cemetery which holds the troops with their names on the headstones. We then drove to the nearby community of Salisbury. An elegant, older, NC town that is moving forward into the 21st century as it is becoming a prominent medical research center. At the old English Cemetery in Salisbury we looked upon the headstone of Captain Daniel Little (Revolutionary War) and read the monument commemorating the fact that there were British troops interred there. Later, during the Civil War Salisbury was the site of the first Confederate Prisoner of War Camp. At the beginning of the conflict, and before overcrowding was a problem, the Confederate Guards acted as umpires as the Union Troops played baseball. A photograph of a game at the Salisbury POW camp is the first such image of baseball in the world. Leaving Salisbury we drove north to Winston Salem. A bustling city that is doing well. Our reason for going there was to visit the "Old Salem" historic town site. We all loved it. We watched silversmiths, gunsmiths, wood makers, went to the Single Brothers House where we learned of 18th century Moravian Worship and listened to a wonderful organ recital. Then there was the Toy Museum which may not be the kids favorite, but it was near the top of my favorites. Items dating back to the 18th century were fascinating. We also toured the old boarding house and ate dinner in the same building that George Washington did during a visit here (this town site is not a re-creation of the town, but is the actual town that has been maintained and/or restored). At the boarding house we learned how the kitchen worked. But down the street at the bakery we not only got to learn of the method that the brick oven was heated, but also got to enjoy the bakers ware. Sweet onion bread. Delicious. Finally at Old Salem we made our way to the beautiful Moravian Church where a member answered questions about the denomination, it's history, and ended our individualized tour by playing the 2,400 pipe organ. All I can say, is I want to come back for a Christmas service. And, then Easter as well. On Monday we had driven through Silar City (Aunt Bee's home). Wednesday we drove to Mount Pilot (actually Pilot Mountain) mentioned in the Andy Griffith Series. We ran out of time to make it to Mt. Airy which is the actual boyhood home of Andy and which he memorialized as Mayberry. Pilot Mountain is a city located nearby Pilot Mountain which is an actual mountain that is part of the State Park of the same name. The mountain has a very similar shape to Wyoming's Devil Tower. But unlike the Towers' lava rock, Pilot is granite. Surrounded by woods made up mostly of oak. Con and I spotted numerous rhododendron bushes. Unlike our Olympic Peninsula woods that have thick undergrowth, here the canopy shades the ground so much that nary a bush grows. One could easily walk off trail here. The day was drawing to a close as was our time with Cousin Jim. We returned from out outing in time for the Wednesday Night Service at Jim's church. The night was dedicated to Jim's pastor, Donnie Durham and his wife. Countless members of the congregation gave accounts of Pastor Donnie's love and care and leadership of the congregation. Oh, did I mention that this service was after the potluck. 100% of the services that we attended at the Unity United Methodist Church had food later. Now, the bonus of this evening was that the girls' new found cousin, Katherine, had her 8th birthday. The family was going to celebrate at McDonald's after the service but decided to stay at the Church. Audrey, Hannah, Katherine, and her sister Hope gave an informal musical recital singing Amazing Grace, a campfire song and some others. The girls had duplicated the earlier service for Pastor Donnie by placing the birthday girl on a central chair, and then sat around her, taking their turns to express their feelings towards Katherine. Hannah started it out by saying words to the effect of, "I have known my cousin Kristan for two days and she is one of my favorite cousins. . . . . Oops, I mean Katherine." So, in essence the bookends for our time spent with Jim and Pat Little were around Unity Methodist Church. Sunday morning at the church and Wednesday evening at the church. Fitting. For there are a number of Little relatives that make up the congregation and for me it was simply comforting to be worshipping with so many relatives. Plus, the congregation is bubbling over with friendship and warmth and they do have a pretty fair Pastor in Donnie Durham. If I lived in the area (and we may when Audrey is the Veterinarian at the Asheboro zoo) I wouldn't hesitate to call Unity my home church. It would be hard to do any better. The quote for the day again by Audrey: "What is NASCAR?" September 30th, Tuesday Our cousins had suggested the North Carolina Zoo for the kids. Since we haven't been to a zoo on this trip we decided to try it out. It is huge, very modern with animals running on a "Savannah" instead of caged behind steel bars. We walked in the neighborhood of ten miles in the two environments of the zoo. Africa. North America. A great zoo that is one that if you have a Woodland Park Zoo pass in Seattle, you can use your pass for free admission here. Plus, you would recognize a very similar look between the two zoos. Two quotes for the day, both by Audrey Elizabeth: "Whad y'all want?" "I am going to be the veterinarian here at the zoo. Dad, you can come to North Carolina and visit your family and then when you're done you can come and visit me. Okay?" And, on a very sad note; we learned today that Con's Uncle Jerome passed away. Jerome was a brother of Con's dad, Bernard. Uncle Lester is Uncle Jerome's youngest brother and he is the last of the five Filicsky boys. With Jerome's passing we have lost all of the WWII Vets in the family. Jerome had gone to a WWII reunion in Washington, DC and as he stepped off of the plane in Indianapolis he had a massive heart attack. Our thoughts and prayers are for Uncle Jerome, his family and for Uncle Lester who not only was Jerome's brother, but was also a great friend. A little more than a week ago Con and I were looking at family pictures of Jerome and were talking with Uncle Lester of him. September 29th, Monday The day started as wonderful days do, with breakfast. The T-Ville Diner has the worlds best biscuits. Others may believe so, but I am telling you here and now, there are none better. Not made by your Mom, or your Aunt, or your favorite restaurant, not by anybody. The very best biscuits on the planet can be found in Thomasville, North Carolina. I would love to live here simply to have biscuits and gravy at this cafe at least once a week. Life would be great. Nuff said. We drove through the rolling mountains and hardwood forests interspersed by an occasional home or village. The terrain was beautiful and it happened to be the hills and hollers that my ancestors once walked. So for me the day was surreal. A church nearby the home. A grave of a grand uncle or a courthouse where the business of the day would have been contracted by my ancestors and relatives. Keeping with the trend of the day we had a spectacular dinner (lunch to some) at the General Store Cafe, a restaurant that could have easily of been found in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood. I consider myself an avid amateur historian, but I had forgotten (if I ever knew it in the first place) the history of the "Regulator" War fought in Alamance County, NC, known as the Battle of Alamance. In a nutshell English settlers were not being taxed where Scots, Germans, and others who were not of English descent were being taxed unfairly and at the whim of Government officials (who were themselves English and were appointed by the English Governor of North Carolina, William Tyron. Peaceful protest against the unfair taxes by hardscrabble farmers led to violent resistance and ultimately the Governor called upon an armed Militia to confront the "Regulators". So called since their movement was to bring fair regulation of taxes. The leader of the Governor's Milita, Waddell ordered his men to fire upon the Regulators (many of whom were neighbors to the milita men). They refused. Waddell then told his men, "Fire on me, or fire on the enemy!" At which point the men fired with the Regulators returning fire. At the battles end there were 9 Milita men killed and 61 wounded. Fifteen regulators were taken prisoner of which seven were executed by hanging. Regulator losses are not specific but range as high as 200. Many consider this to be a separate "War" from the "Revolutionary War" but the reasons for the battle are essentially the same. The fact that the Regulators (Patriots) loss the battle may be more of the reason that this is not considered the beginning of the Revolution. Bunker Hill is a far better way to start a rebellion. Regardless, not only did Hannah and Audrey learn something new about American History but so did their parents and it was made all the more poignant by the fact that we walked the battlefield and our ancestors lived nearby (and potentially were involved in one manner or another). We then went to the Cane Creek Friends Meeting House where we learned of my ancestors being buried nearby at the Spring Friends Meeting. The pastor from Cane Creek called a genealogist who by a common ancestor was a distant relative of mine. The Cane Creek Meeting was the original North Carolina Meeting (1751) and many Friends who now inhabit Indiana/Illinois can trace their families to this Meeting. In the cemetery (Burial Ground is the proper term) is a Memorial dedicated to the British Soldiers who died at the Meeting House following the Battle at Guilford Courthouse. Friends of course call EVERYONE children of God and don't care about a persons color, political beliefs, etc., to them a suffering human is a suffering brother or sister and should be cared for, period. It was amazing to be there. And ending with the tenor of the day we drove to "Lexington Barbecue". Now, everyone has eaten barbecued pork (pulled pork to Con and me) at one time or another and everyone has their favorite. Well, Lexington Barbecue was my favorite and on top of having the World's Very Best Barbecue they also have the World's Very Best Sweet Tea. It's probably a good thing I don't live here for I would undoubtedly weigh in the neighborhood of 500 pounds. September 28th, Sunday North Carolina's Piedmont region is nothing like what I had envisioned. I had pictured farmland much like in Indiana but it is far more wooded and mountainous. Albeit the mountains have been weathered by the actions of time, with the forces of wind and water. The woods are full of hardwoods. You cannot drive anywhere without being surrounded by trees (my kind of a place). I have yet to see a tobacco farm (other than the display plot at the Washington Birthplace site in Virginia), and the farms that we do see are mostly alfalfa, beans, and corn (sound familiar Midwesterners?) We arrived at Jim an Pat Little's home while they were at church. We backed LaFawnduh into their driveway and went to church to meet them. Unity United Methodist Church in Thomasville happened to be having their "Homecoming" day. We enjoyed the singing and the sermon of the Pastor (who happens to be a golf buddy of Cousin Jim). The congregation had a potluck afterwards and we met many of Jim & Pat's friends as well as many of OUR LITTLE cousins. All I can say is that the warmth of the cousins, the congregation, the building, and the heritage of the area made my family feel very much at "home". Audrey said, "I love North Carolina." That afternoon back at Jim and Pat's. The doorbell rang many times as LITTLE cousins and LITTLE cousins and LITTLE cousins more LITTLE cousins arrived. Most of them with a comment of, "He looks like Uncle Carson". The day was made even more complete as wonderful neighbors and friends arrived to share in the reunion and for us, our union with cousins that we were meeting for the first time. I felt at home and as if I were with FAMILY and I was. So did the girls. All three of them. After all, at least four generations of my ancestors lived here. The day ended and we felt exhausted. Emotionally spent from the absolute joy that we had shared with our new found "family". Audrey again said, "I love North Carolina."