Odie's homes from start to finish!!".

Growing up this was the first nice house my family had and was completed in 1954 when I was 7 years old. Sitting there so pretty in the yard 98% done when Hazel decided to come straight through Nashville and I can remember going outside after the first wave and experiencing the complete calm of the eye of Hazel. Then the other side hit and took the chimney down off the old house we had lived in since I was born. At this time we were living by dad's store and close to his dad's house. The state decided to build 64 Bypass and it's path took the land this new house was sitting on about a year or two after it was built and the bricks had to be removed and it was moved to the location where this picture was taken in the Oak Level Community. It was in the woods behind this house that I found my school bus.

When I got out of the Army in 1970 and returned home my wife and my first daughter Pam was living in this house at 1018 Nashville Road in Rocky Mount.  We occupied the left side of this house "only".  Needless to say it was cramp living quarters but we managed for a time.

In May of 1971 I bought this house at 616 Starling Way in Rocky Mount brand new for $17,500 and it was a new housing development and we were tickled to be there.  A few years after we moved in a doctor dabbling in real estate had a number of cement slabs prepared at the entrance of the development and shortly after that had houses placed on them, literally stapled together with prefabbed walls.  It took me two year to sell my house and get out of what was to become the "hood".  All these pictures were taken today and sadly this house that I bought new is deserted and I really felt sad looking at it.

I really wanted to be back in Nashville so my next move after Starling Way was this house located at 200 Lumber St. in Nashville.  It was an improvement over the other home but the rooms were very small and after the furniture was in place it was really small and had two daughters by then.

This old two story home was our next home and we stayed there for 20 years.  I was a guy in a house with "4" females and "1" bathroom for 20 years.  Do you feel the pain?  This home was built about 1905 and built on a slope. the back of the house was literally on the ground while I could walk without bending under the front part that you can see in this picture.  It had two enormous beams that the house sat on that was so hard no insects had done any damage to them. The primary draw back to this home was it had no front yard. You can see the mail box in front of the porch where the sidewalk is. We learned to live with it.  The pluses was that the supermarket and drug store was almost a stone's throw from the house as well as the library and two blocks from the school for the girls.  I loved sitting on the porch watching a thunder storm rocking in a chair.  A lot of memories there. Oh, for the record, this was at 105 S. Alston St. in Nashville.

Finally the peace and quiet of Halifax County on Highway 903 about 5 miles from Roanoke Rapids and 2 miles from quaint little Halifax, NC.  I'll be seeing a lot more of this home after I get through with next week.  It has been different living in Halifax County verses Nash County.  This is primarily a farming county with little industry except the paper mill. It is also classified as one of the poorer counties in the state.  My boss always joked with me about crossing Fishing Creek which separates Nash County from Halifax County. He said it like entering a whole new world unlike the one I just left. In some respects I guess that has a thread of truth. Hope you enjoyed the tour.

Spotlight on where I call home

Will always call Nashville my home after living there for over 50 years. 

Sunset over the Tar River Reservoir from which Rocky Mount gets most of its water.

Rural Nash County scene this time of year.

Rose Hill Plantation at the edge of Nashville. A huge farm and cattle operation as well as renting out the plush facility for group meetings.

Boddie's Mill Pond, site of an actual corn meal operation for many years. My dad sold their ground corn meal in his store for as long as I can remember. I have fished down below the falls and have paddled in a boat until I was out of sight in the back to the right. One of my favorite places in Nash County.

Nash County Courthouse built back in the 1800's.

Battle Park in Rocky Mount has paved paths throughout the park is so peaceful and green during the summer months.

The train comes through the middle of downtown Rocky Mount. The west side of the tracks is Nash County and the east side is Edgecombe County.  Sadly Edgecombe only has the community college to its credit with the main office in a neighboring town called Tarboro. Nash got all the industry, malls and growth.

Tar River Falls former location of the business that really started Rocky Mount about a hundred years ago. The cotton industry began here pictured at the back named Rocky Mount Mills.  The river snakes it's way through Battle Park which is part of this area.

One of my all time favorite places in Rocky Mount is the Farmers Market. Linda and I love to spend time there whenever we can.

Ford's Colony built a housing development with many beautiful homes and this golf course but ended up going out of business.

One of the staples of Rocky Mount is our BBQ and Gardner's has been around for as long as I can remember serving BBQ pork, chicken, brunswick stew, slaw and hush puppies. They have 3 locations in Rocky Mount.

The Amtrak train station in Rocky Mount that also has an office for the Chamber of Commerce in the left side.

Didn't save much for Halifax but then there is not that much to really speak about when it comes to Halifax except of course the Halifax Resolves of April 12, 1776 when Halifax was the first direction from an entire colony instructing the delegates of the Continental Congress to vote for independence. There is a play called "First for Freedom" that is done just a 1/4 mile from our house each year.

Last but not least good old Weldon, NC, Rockfish capital of the world.

Nashville, NC - The original Nashville

I now live in Halifax, NC which is a half hour away from the area I spent the first 56 years of my life known as Nashville county seat of Nash County. Also found here is the site of Nashville Elementary but back in the 60's it was also the school you could spend the full 12 years studying. I graduated in 1965 and that was the next to last graduating class of Nashville High School with Northern Nash Senior High School starting in 1967. That was the year that started integration with blacks & whites in the same schools

When I was growing up I lived about 1 1/2 miles from the town limits of Nashville but during my daughters lives I lived 1 1/2 blocks from the school which made it very convenient for them to walk to and from school. We were half a block from the Harold Cooley Library named after Congressman Harold Cooley. Also about the same distance was Joyner's Supermarket operated by Cliff Joyner, one of the hardest working men I ever knew. He had some of the best food in his deli department such as pimento cheese and slices of chocolate and lemon merange pie. I miss that store which was sold some time ago and is now the new home of the library.

Down town you would find the Nashville Graphic, Nashville's hometown newpaper that only come out on Wednesdays. Across the street was Joyner's Pool Hall where I visited often but not to play pool. Mr. Joyner had the best hamburgers and hot dogs in the county. Across the street from the supermarket is Ward Drug Co. operated by Gary Glisson the Pharmacist. Gary is unique in that he compounds drugs making distasteful drugs palatable for both children & pets. This was not the cookie cutter type of drug store like Walgreens, Rite Aid & CVS.

Nashville is a growing town that now has, and this is hard to believe, a Walmart. I can spend time there now and not see a single person I know after spending half a century there. That part still amazes me. The video is of someone driving down highway 58 which runs right through Nashville so you can get a feel for what the area looks like.