Relieved

   I was in Rocky Mount working this morning and arrived at one of my Walgreen stores and noticed this going on across the street and thought that maybe someone was losing their home.  The manager of the Walgreen store later told me that it was a controlled burn to make that old house go away and at the same time train some of the firefighters during the process. There are many abandoned houses in most towns in my area slowly showing the signs of decay and neglect. There will be one less in Rocky Mount at the end of the day today.

New Life Abounds

   I was in Rocky Mount this morning and decided to check out the City Lake Park as it was a beautiful and sunny day. I was thrilled to see multiple families of ducks with little ones trotting behind them. I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

Notice the different colored baby ducks.

More Snapshots

Was on a delivery the other day at Englewood United Methodist Church in Rocky Mount and thought their bell tower was blog worthy as I haven't seen one like it anywhere else.

Also passed by a church building that Rachel and I attended in another life. It was the Rocky Mount Seventh Day Adventist Church and now they have a much larger building and I haven't a clue who occupies this building now. A lot of memories in there.

One of the landmarks in Nashville was always Joyner's Supermarket just around the corner from the two story house I lived in. A few years ago Cliff Joyner decided to sell the store to the town that wanted to relocate the library there. Now they had a mural painted on the long side of the building. Quite an improvement.

Always a lovely sight is the City Lake Park in Rocky Mount even in the winter. It has a cement walkway around it that measures 1/2 a mile so people can use it for exercise and keep track of how far they have gone.

The tree in this and the next shot was on purpose since there was this guy on his cell phone and I was trying to be kind and not include him in the shots. These decks with seating are really nice.

Another landmark for the area is across the lake and known as the "Power Plant" where power used to be generated for Rocky Mount but now houses businesses like a popular mexican restaurant called "Chicos" that has a view of the Tar River that flows beside the building. I would not have wanted to be the person laying bricks at the top of that chimney.

A small peninsula that has a gazebo that you can sit and rest looking at the ducks and geese and feel the shade from the trees during the spring and summer.

I try to keep my camera with me at all times for moments like these. Don't want to miss an opportunity.

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.

Wordless Wednesday-At the Farmers Market

Farmers Market - Rocky Mount, NC

Very interesting, I saw these tomatoes which are lovely and tasty too later that day in sandwiches. The interesting part is that they come from Sun Burst in Nash County and the other day I was on Kathiey's blog and saw the same sign on her post in Cary, NC and found out that what she saw was the husbands stand while his wife runs the one in Rocky Mount, NC. See Kathiey is you haven't.

Just what everyone needs peas already shelled.