December 2009Tyrrell County’s Country Magazine

Issue # 28 www.ScuppernongGazette.com Cover Photo by Ashlee Spruill-King

Celebrating this 11th annual event, River Town Christmas will take place in and around Columbia, NC from Thursday, December 3rd to Sunday, December 6th. The weekend will be filled with tree lightings, baking contests, one-of-a-kind shopping with Downtown Merchants, holiday open houses and a Bazaar in Columbia Theater. Plan your weekend with this old-fashioned holiday event. Enjoy a horse-drawn carriage rides around Downtown Columbia on Friday and Saturday nights! And don't forget, Santa will be arriving on Friday evening at the lighted boat parade and visiting in town on Saturday at the parade and for personal visits after the parade at the Columbia Theater! Kids of all ages, get your lists ready!

A River Town Christmas

Photo: Neli Lemme

Christmas cardswere usually exchanged during the weeks preceding Christmas Day on December 25 by many people (including non-Christians) in Western society and in Asia. The traditional greeting reads "wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year", much like the first commercial Christmas card, produced by Sir Henry Cole in

London 1843. I send e-mails!!!

nnn

E-mails for Christmas?I have send e-mails for Christmas for the past few years and feel often guilty when we get those ‘real’ Hallmark holiday cards in the mail. I am trying to hold on to

old family traditions as long as I can, but writing Christmas cards just seems to have slipped away. Of course I want to protect our environment and producing and recycling cards cost energy and money. I think I found a good

solution, I send to people who don’t have computers the old fashioned cards that I buy from the Veteran’s of America and e-mail to the computer people cards that I create with my favorite photos. xox IL

Every Christmas Eve my sister and I were called into the living room and were finally allowed to see the lit tree and all the presents! We’d measure who got the biggest present and the oddest shape and decide which one we wanted to open first and which we’d save for last. Often we ran

around screaming and jumping when we got what we wished for and then we had to get ready

and go to church. We still open today our Christmas gifts in our home on Christmas Eve, I have kept that tradition going with my

own children and I think that they will continue it as well. IL

z Quote of the Month z

"Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year"

DEAR READER

P U B L I S H E R S : I N G R I D A N D N E L I L E M M E

C H R I S T M A S I S S U E 2 0 0 9

LADY OF THE MONTH

ELIZABETH "DEE"

FURLOUGH CFCS

The Tyrrell County Center gives our county's residents easy access to the resources and expertise of NC State University and NC A & T State University. Through educational programs, publications, and events, Cooperative Extension agents deliver (unbiased), research-based information to Tyrrell County citizens.

Dee Furlough, Tyrrell County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, North Carolina State University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, North Carolina Cooperative Extension agent with family and consumer sciences responsibilities, has been proactive in this field for several years now. She received the 2004 State ESP Diversity

Award for having been proactive for several years in seeking out and meeting the educational needs of Hispanics in and around Tyrrell County. Dee Furlough has worked diligently with the local Hispanic community since 1996. Efforts first began with Family and Consumer Sciences displays in Spanish on the

apartment building grounds where many of the workers live. Information was available on a variety of topics, including health, nutrition, parenting, housing, stress management and more. Interpreters were on hand for questions and answers, and samples of nutritious foods

were available for tasting. Over the years, this progressed into more specific educational outreach, including the organization of the Tyrrell County Hispanic/Latino Advisory Council, formed in 1999.  In addition, La Posada (a musical processional of Mary and Joseph's quest for shelter) was initiated in 2002, and has

been held annually since during Columbia's River Town Christmas. This multicultural event has attracted hundreds over the past two years, and was featured in the December 2003 Coastwatch Magazine.

http://tyrrell.ces.ncsu.edu

...On the Board Walk...Kids of the

MonthThe Girl Scouts of Columbia, NC, see their names on page 13

Lady of the Month

Dee Furlough, Tyrrell County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, page 4

Man of the Month

Mr. Mike Crowder of Tyrrell County, read page 6

Couple of the Month

Mr. and Mrs. Ty Fleming of Tyrrell County

Business of the Month

Wheless & Wheless PLLC, Attorneys at Law Columbia. NC. Office is right across from Tyrrell County Court House.

Pre-Teen of the Month

Elana Ann Fauth, who wrote ‘Toys for Tots” & “ The Girl Scouts of Columbia” in this issue. Great job Ms Elena!

Artist of the Month

Rick Smith of Tyrrell, who created the fish sculpture which was part of the Pocosin Arts display at the 1st ann. Mattamuskeet Decoy & Waterfowl Fest. Pg 17

Organization of the Month

Mary T. Simmons

“Toys for Tots”

Website of the Year

www.tyrrell.k12.nc.us

MAN OF THE MONTH MIKE

CROWDER

Until Mike Crowder met Vi in 1987, he had never heard of Columbia and knew nothing of Tyrrell County; but he quickly learned what a unique and wonderful area it is. Visiting his wife’s home became a favorite weekend destination, and in 2001 they purchased her cousin’s home with their eyes on retirement. From then on, almost every weekend and holiday was spent in Columbia. “I love Columbia and Tyrrell County, the people and the land,” said Mike recently. “The only move I foresee making in the future will be from Howard Street to Oakwood Cemetery, and I’m hoping that comes none too quicly!”

Mike comes from a large, fun-loving family that including 27 uncles and. The oldest of four children in his immediate family, he has two brothers and a sister. Married to the former Vi Johnson, he has two sons. Michael, 40, lives with his wife and daughter (Papa’s darling) in Durham and is a software programmer. Warren, 19, is a freshman at East Carolina University.

A life of service has always been Mike’s goal, beginning with the Jaycees at 18. He aged out of the organization twice, once at 30 before the age limit was raised and again when he reached the

designated age to become an “exhausted rooster” for the second time, serving as an officer in both local and state Jaycee organizations. His love and concern for the young and for seniors is evidenced in other organizations in which he has served, including a county Board of Directors for Special Olympics, volunteering as a coach for children’s athletics in T-ball, baseball, and soccer, and serving as a volunteer at the Veterans Hospital in Fayetteville.

Coming from a background in sales and advertising, Mike is anything but shy. Almost before the boxes were

unpacked, Mike began to get involved in the community. Believing that he had a 10-year window of opportunity to give to his new home while he was able to do so, he first moved his church membership and became active in Columbia Missionary Baptist Church. Soon he was being asked to volunteer, and he never said “no.” Whether it is the Blood Drive for the American Red Cross or waiting tables at a local restaurant for Relay for Life, he enjoys people and working for the good of others. He was appointed by the Tyrrell County Commissioners as the Veteran’s Service Officer for Tyrrell County. He was elected as a member of the Rural Health Board for the Columbia Medical Center and is currently the Vice President. In addition, in 2007 he was elected to the Columbia Town Board of Aldermen. Since then, he has been appointed to serve on the Planning and Services Legislative Action Committee of the N. C. League of Municipalities. He is also a member of the Scuppernong River Festival Committee, Friends of Oakwood Cemetery, Friends of the Library, the American Legion Post 182, Providence Lodge 478, the Order of Eastern Star, and the Sudan Shrine.

With your help, a dream will come true! The Red Wolf Coalition is launching a campaign to raise money for a red wolf viewing enclosure! The proposed facility will be at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Education and Veterinary Facility on Highway 90, just one mile south of the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center in Columbia, North Carolina. If all goes according to plan, the Red Wolf Coalition will build an enclosure to surround a natural habitat for our ambassador wolves. Visitors will be able to participate in programs that will include an opportunity to study these wolves. The RWC has received a generous grant to jump-start the campaign for the inclosure. Will you help? Do you have an employer who would be interested in contributing to this project? Do you have family and/or friends who will join the campaign? Can you organize a fundraiser for this project? Please let us know by contacting Kim Wheeler, Executive Director, at kwheeler@redwolves.com or 252.796.5600 www.RedWolves.com Visit http://issuu.com/innerbanks/docs/fall_2009_tracker_final or just CLICK TO FLIP KIM’S NEWSLETTER

Whatever Happened to the Term ALPHA Wolf ? < Online, Please Click to Flip or Visit: http://issuu.com/innerbanks/docs/alphawolf

October 2009

Weather Data Collected atNational Weather Service Cooperative

Weather StationLocated at Jacob and Arnette Parker’s

Residence inGum Neck, Tyrrell County

Average High Air Temperature 72 degrees

Highest Air Temperature 88 degrees on October 11

Average Low Air Temperature 52 degrees

Lowest Air Temperature 34 degrees on October 20 and 21

Monthly Precipitation 2.69 inches              

Most Precipitation in 24 hours                 .64  inches on October

Total Yearly Precipitation                                     48.84 inches

Total 2008 Yearly Precipitation to date 45.58  inches

High Soil Temperature                  67 degrees

Average Low Soil Temperature                   58 degrees

Ingrid and Neli  Thank you for including the information about the Bible records in the gazette and also for mentioning my accident.  Most articles have created comments from the community. I’m attaching a summary of October’s weather.  Jacob and I collect the weather data each day and submit it daily to the NOAA weather site in Newport.  At the end of the month, it is summarized.    Review the attached file and see if it is something you would like to use, and I can email it each month.  Some of the local realtors have indicated that this information is good when talking with potential property buyers because it gives them an idea of the temperatures.  Just let me know. I will be sending you general information about the genealogy society and membership information since our dues cover January to December.  My typing is significantly slower with this huge cast on my left hand – I have to have it xrayed weekly to be sure the bone on the outside of the hand doesn’t move.  If it moves, then I will have to have surgery and have a pin inserted.  Otherwise I will have this cast for six to eight weeks.November and Thanksgiving are my favorite months.  The crispness in the air, the leaves changing colors and falling when the wind blows, and of the Thanksgiving meal.We all have so many blessings.Again, thank you for your help. Arnette

Photo: Neli Lemme

“At this years Ducks Unlimited banquet about 107 people attended.  This is less than half what we have had in past years.  Yet, we were able to raise $15,515!  This is better than last years fundraiser with a few less people.  Many people seemed to be pleased with the no alcohol.  Some folks spoke of the pleasant relaxed atmosphere.  Thanks to all who helped make this year's banquet a success!  Our small contribution helps to preserve wet lands for the water fowl and our children!!” reported Mallory Liverman, she also took the photos.

Grandma Ruby's Fried Cornbread A Fleming Recipe

Every now and again I get the hankerin for some Tyrrell County chow like only Granny Ruby could make. Now she's up in years (97) and not as spry as she once was. When she was 80 or so and I could show up at Sunday dinner for one of her fine home cooked meals ... but alas those days are gone. Now I ask her for the recipes and fix it myself. This process teaches me to cook as well as preserving a little family tradition. A while back I asked Granny for her fried cornbread recipe. Now she makes a mean biscuit but her fried and baked cornbread is unbelievable. She told me that fixing fried cornbread is fairly easy. Mix corn meal and butter milk in a bowl to create a batter some what like the consistency of pancake batter. Add a pinch of salt and a pinch of baking soda. Pour about 1/4 inches of batter into a very small fry pan (about 5-6 inches across). For best results fry the cornbread in bacon or sausage grease until golden brown on both sides. Serve it with everything and anything. When serving with fish, she would pour the batter a little thinner to make something similar to lace cornbread. Try your luck at fried cornbread ... I sure have and it's some fine eating.

By Jimmy Flemingof Flemz Market

Columbia, NC

Photo: Neli Lemme

WINTER WONDERLAND?

BY ASHLEE KING

♫ Sleigh bells ring, are ya

listenin’? In the lane, snow is glistenin’ ♫

Yeah, right, not in Tyrrell County! But it does get you in the mood for Christmas, doesn’t it? While we rarely see a Winter Wonderland east of Highway 95, December does present its own set of challenges for Tyrrell County farmers. Slow moving pressure systems with slow, drizzly rains saturate our just-above-sea-level fields and make it difficult to get our wheat crops planted. Last year on Scuppernong Farm, we planted our wheat fields only to have one of these lows bring us a cold rain we didn’t want! Needless to say, we had some replanting to do, and in some spots, we had to replant our replant!

We get rained out of the field all the time. Summer thunderstorms keep us from

picking wheat; hurricanes saturate the ground and blow our corn crops over in some years, making harvest nearly impossible. A first for us, though, we actually got snowed out last year! We were trying to plant wheat near Lake Phelps. The weatherman was calling for

snow, but we all know that usually, his word doesn’t mean much. This time, turns out he was right! Steven called to let me know the flakes had started falling about 8 o’clock that morning, so I rushed up to the field to document the momentous occasion.

By the time I got there, snowflakes were falling fast – those big, wet flakes that stick to everything. I took a few pictures, waiting for Steven to reach the headland so I could

ride. After a couple of rounds in the tractor, the snow was getting heavier and starting to stick, and we realized that this wasn’t working so well. After a quick radio call to Teddy, planting in the next cut over, we decided to stop and try again another day. But not before I

got some rare pictures of our equipment in the snow.

After leaving the field, I took a tour of snow covered western Tyrrell and eastern Washington Counties. Luckily, snow hadn’t started sticking to the road. I was able to ride with the wheel in

one hand and my camera in the other.

The snow that day didn’t last long, but I was able to enjoy it for a while. I don’t think I’d really want to live somewhere that had snow on the ground all winter. I like our Tyrrell County snows, and I’m content to experience my Winter Wonderland in the song. ♫

Photos and story by Ashlee King www.songsouthphoto.com

 

THE GIRL SCOUTS OF COLUMBIA

The Girl Scouts of Columbia, Tyrrell County recently organized a food drive to help support the Church Road Food Pantry.

The first stage of our project was to notify people about the food drive. So, on the 12th of October the Daisies, Brownies, Juniors, and Cadets went on a walk to hang leaflets on door handles around town, with information about the food drive. We split into 3 groups and each chose a different direction to cover. We had lot of fun racing each other to get the door hangers on the doors first. There were a couple doors that didn’t have a sufficient doorknob to hang anything on so we had to improvise and stick the hangers in the crack in-between the door and the exterior of the house! After an hour we all met up at the Columbia Theater on Main Street to conclude the evening.

The following Saturday morning of the 24th we met at the Tyrrell County Public Library. The plan was to retrace our steps from the previous Monday to collect the food that people had left out to donate. Roughly an hour later we were excited to meet up again and count the food we collected. We had to document our results of this project to send to the Girl

Scout head office.

Here is the grand total: 180 containers, packages and cans of food! It was now time to deliver our boxes and bags to Mr. Hill, who was waiting for us at the Food Pantry. All the girls helped to load a cart with the goods we had collected. Afterwards, Mr. Hill gave us a tour, and explained how the food pantry was run. He shared that that they serve up to

200 families a week. It was very insightful to learn about what so many good people were doing for the citizens of this town. While we were there we were introduced to a couple of local volunteers who were busy organizing for the following Thursday, the next hand out day.

We were very thankful to have the opportunity to participate in

this community service project. And as a Girl Scout group we plan to research other avenues to serve our community.

Thank you to all the people who donated food and to Mr. Henry Hill and his volunteers and to the Girl Scouts leaders for

organizing this event.

- From The Girl Scout Cadet group of Columbia N.C (Written By Elana Ann Fauth, Girl Scout Cadet) Featured in the photo (left to right) are: Back: Brianna Gibbs, Elana Fauth, and Annie Spry. Middle: Cami Arnold, Whitney Spry, Alexis Garrett, and Chloe McGowan Front: Brianna Mitchell, Layah Fauth, and Isabelle Grayson.

“BUDDY'S PLACE” OFFERS A GLIMPSE OF SIMPLER TIMES

BY BILL WEST

During these times of economic uncertainty and the “circus” in Washington, have you wished that you could travel back to a simpler, more-relaxed time? You really can go back in time, or rather, drive back via U.S. 64 to “down home,” a rural area that time passed by.

Doris’ (Buddy’s) store in the Gum Neck community in the Southern part of Tyrrell County is a relic of times past. To me and my rambling/camping friends, down home is Tyrrell County, which is just inland from The Outer Banks, bounded on the North by Albemarle Sound, on the East by the Alligator River, on the South by Hyde County and on the West by Washington County.

I was born in Columbia, the only town in the county, just two houses down Main Street from the county courthouse. When I was 5 years old, my parents bought a small farm surrounded by pocosin between Newlands

and Cross Landing, about 3 miles away, where my Grandfather West ran a crossroads store. It was at Pop’s store in Cross Landing that I began a lifelong attachment to country stores and the goings-on in them.

It was during the Depression, a time before television, and at night many members of the neighborhood gathered at the store to trade eggs (at 14 cents per dozen) for flour, kerosene or other items. It was a place for socializing, where men gathered around the big wood stove in the “liar’s corner” on wintry nights.

There, the best crops imaginable were grown, bucks with the biggest “horns” were bragged about, and politics and the price of corn discussed. There were hair-raising tales of fights between hound dogs and bears or ’coons, and ghost stories for the young’uns. The ladies sat along the counter, talked “women’s talk” and swapped local gossip. It was usually at the store that folks were invited to a neighbor’s “hog killing” and the entire neighborhood gathered at the appointed time for fellowship and a “mess” of fresh meat.

Now, when my friends and I go “down home,” we always stop by the last remaining crossroads store in the county of just under 4,000 people. Tyrrell County is a rural area with a great deal of woodland, farms, swampland and pocosins, lots of deer and black bears, nature galore, but no factories or “big-paying” jobs. There is a large potato-growing and grading operation that ships millions of pounds of potatoes to chippers within sight of Doris’ store and one of the largest certified seed operations east of the Mississippi just down the road.

Doris’ Store, at the intersection of California and Gum Neck Post Office roads in Gum Neck is run by “Buddy” Brickhouse and his wife. It is an unpretentious place, but a treasure from an earlier time. Buddy’s great-grandfather and grandfather were both store owners and Buddy, who is a walking encyclopedia of Gum Neck genealogy and local history, can regale visitors for hours on end.

Today, the shenanigans of his grandfathers and their customers often resurface when Buddy tells about his store. According to him, the store

Photo: Ingrid Lemme

might not have anything you want but just about anything you might need to survive.

There you can get neighborhood news, buy a can of “Peach” snuff, a root beer, hoop cheese, double-dipped chocolate-covered peanuts (my weakness), pins and needles or country sausage.

There are patent medicines, sardines, flour and many other necessities, and if you are short on cash, Buddy will “put it on the book.” He says folks will pay him when they get money, but if they can’t pay, he considers it his donation to charity. It is a place where you can buy half a box of crackers if a box is too much. Buddy says that he will simply repackage the remaining crackers because one of his regular “liar’s club” members will want them for a snack later. He also will sell you one paper cup or give you one if you don’t have any money.

Jack Sink, one of my “pack,” has teased my wife, who worked at the Times-News as he did, and me about our “Down East twang” for years. Although we haven’t lived in the area for more than 50 years, we both still retain traces of the distinctive dialect. I told Jack that he

needed to accompany me on a trip down home where he could really hear people “talk the talk.”

So on his first trip to the area, I introduced him and a couple more of my pack to Buddy’s place. Buddy was in fine fettle as usual and soon had us in stitches with his wry humor. After a while, a couple of the local ladies came in and Jack, who is the quintessential “people person,” soon was among “old friends.”

There is a section of a large, hollow tree trunk with almost faded-out initials carved into it in the store, and Buddy told us they were the initials of Hardy Liverman, a long-departed relative. A family story recounts that Hardy, who enjoyed good corn squeezings, got drunk at the barn, stabbed himself in the leg with a pitchfork and the leg became infected.

The leg had to be amputated at the knee and Hardy, a self-sufficient type, whittled a wooden peg-leg, which Buddy promptly retrieved from under the counter. One of the fellows, when shown the wooden leg, asked what were the tiny holes in the wood. Buddy, without cracking a smile, answered,

“They’re bug holes. Bugs gotta eat, too.”

He went on to recount that during the War Between the States, the man with the wooden leg was visited by Union foragers who were taking food, animals and stealing just about anything valuable they could find. The troop set up camp at Cherry Ridge Landing on the Upper Alligator River and promptly shot one of Mr. Liverman’s hogs.

Not a fellow to be trifled with, peg-legged Mr. Liverman appeared with his shotgun leveled on the troop’s leader. He reportedly said, “Gennulmens, I didn’t start this war and I’ve got no quarrel with you fellers, but you shot one of my hogs and if you don’t dress it out and put it in my smokehouse, there’ll be one more dead Yankee!”

Knowing that the scattergun could get their leader and, possibly, one or more of them, they did as told, then left, and didn’t bother the feisty old man again.

Buddy also told us that years ago, a young local man entered his grandfather Joe Cahoon’s store and asked to see leather belts. Mr. Cahoon showed the

Artist of the Month

Rick Smith

fellow a belt and the young man asked the price.

“Fifty cents,” Mr. Cahoon replied.

The customer than asked whether he had something better and Mr. Cahoon reached under the counter and picked up another belt.

“How much,” the customer asked, and when told that this one was a dollar, the young man said, “I’ll take it,” paid the price and left. Mr. Cahoon told the folks who witnessed the incident that the belts were from the same batch and the same price but that he always tried to please his customer. They knew that the young man had just returned from New York and wanted to impress the locals with his newfound worldliness.

Buddy apologizes for its high price, but he won’t sell you any of his hoop cheese without offering a sample first. Jack, attempting to pull a joke on Buddy, asked him to cut him “a quarter’s worth.” Buddy, with a grin, offered Jack a sliver about the size of your thumbnail. On another visit, when I asked if he had a good cheese, Buddy replied, “You should have been

here a few weeks ago. We got in a cheese that was so strong, the cat tried to cover it up!”

The next time you drive to the Outer Banks via U.S. 64, turn south on N.C. 94 at the stoplight just past the Scuppernong River bridge, drive about 8 miles and turn left at the Gum Neck sign. A couple of miles down the road stop by “Doris’ store” and tell Buddy that “Billy” West suggested you

stop by.

Have a “soda pop” and visit for a spell. You will find yourself among “old friends.” Along the way, don’t be surprised if you see one of the black bears so common in the nearby wheat and corn fields.

BILL WEST IS A RETIRED

PHOTOGRAPHER WHO LIVES IN BURLINGTON.

Hoop cheese is difficult to find commercially in the United States, due to the difficulty of automating the manufacturing process. It was once so popular, however, that a device called a hoop cheese cutter was manufactured

and used in general stores during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This object resembled a turntable with a knife blade suspended above it. It was built by scale companies of the period to cut the exact amount of cheese the customer wanted. Hoop cheese can also be purchased throughout much of Eastern NC at local grocers and convenience stores.

Winter is a wonderful time to explore the Inner Banks, leaves are off the trees, snakes are lethargic and tons of wildlife can be observed from the wetlands and waterways that are otherwise hidden during the hot summers. Hike, bike, paddle, stroll, take a birding tour, join a wolf h o w l i n g. . . e n j oy t h i s w i l d a n d wonderful place anyway you like. All the wonders of creation beckon and there are various public trails that will aid you in a location that promises to brighten your winter d a y . . . (just be sure to wear blaze orange! )

Come See Our Wild Side!

www.EcotourismNC.org

Photo: Neli Lemme

THE BEGINNINGS OF                    “MARY T. SIMMONS

TOYS FOR TOTS”              INTERVIEW WITH

MARY T. SIMMONS BY ELANA ANN

FAUTH                                                                                  It was December 1986; the Principal of Columbia High School (David Cahoon) inquired about the FBLA participating in the Fire Department toy drive. The latter collected used toys that needed repair.

The FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) went to investigate the program. They were stumped; they had no means to fix the three broken bicycles, which were the only items donated. They needed some kind of professional tools, which they could not afford to buy!

Mrs. Simmons (The Business Education teacher at the High School, making her sponsor of the FBLA) reported the dilemma to Mr. Cahoon and she suggested that they go down

a different avenue: Toys for Tots.

The first approach they took was to try and go through the Marines, who had collection points in Norfolk and Fayetteville for Toys for Tots. The FBLA called them and inquired about receiving toys for the program. The Marines

informed them that the FBLA would have to go and pick the toys up themselves. The FBLA decided to drop the idea of the Marines for a while and try the first year of Toys for Tots in Tyrrell County with no outside help.

    Mrs. Simmons called Social services, and found out that there were 11 children that needed toys, ages 8 to 12, that coming Christmas.

The FBLA took action and put up numerous posters in stores and handed out leaflets requesting local people to donate to Toys for Tots.

The teachers decided to pitch in and donate 20 toys to the FBLA. But they still needed more; there turned out to be 16 children in all.

So with 8 days left before the deadline, the FBLA agreed to take the precious 25 dollars of their treasury to buy more toys. They spent 5 dollars at Swains Clover Farm (where Social Services is now), 10 dollars in Ben Franklin’s, and 10 dollars at Tyrrell Hardware (now part of the Courthouse). The FBLA managed to get enough

toys to give each child 4 toys each. In addition, the teachers decided to donate another 15 toys so overall they received plenty of toys to give to the children. The first year of Toys for Tots in Tyrrell County was a success !

The following spring the FBLA had a Krispy Kremes fundraiser and raised 300 dollars, which they saved for the next year.

The second year they went to the WITN Television station in Greenville to pick up toys from the Marines. Some of the toys were unsatisfactory. And they did not meet the age, or gender, of the child.

The FBLA had decided to work independently so Mrs. Simmons started receiving calls directly from parents. There was a catch though; some of the FBLA were related to the needy ones. And some FBLA members would be the ones who received toys. Mrs. Simmons resolved this problem by making sure that the FBLA members did not know who the children’s names were (Mrs. Simmons labeled the bags of toys with numbers) and made sure that FBLA members were not present at the scheduled time their parents would arrive to pick up the toys.

The FBLA also ran into another dilemma; where would they store the toys before pickup day?

Mrs. Simmons had an idea and met up with Elsie Sawyer (Head

librarian) and talked her into letting the library be a distribution center.

After people dropped the toys off at the library, Mrs. Simmons would take them to the typing room in the building located in the High School.

After the 5th year of Tyrrell County Toys for Tots, the FBLA made up these rules:

1: All money raised in Tyrrell County for Toys for Tots would be spent in Tyrrell County.

2: Any parents requesting help would receive it.

3: Inform parent that if they brought his/her child or children with them to pick up toys they would be turned away and would receive nothing.

       Then in 2001 Mrs. Mary T. Simmons retired. The Toys for tots started to fade away, but Pat

Armstrong and many teachers would not let it go and kept working at it to keep Toys for Tots alive! And they succeeded.

After several FBLA sponsors came and went Mrs. Katherine Perry came along and proposed an idea, one of which all of the FBLA members voted for : To change the name of Toys for Tots in Tyrrell County  from just plain old Toys for Tots, to :

Mary T. Simmons Toys for Tots.

      To summarize everything, we had a wonderful time, it was just marvelous. The thing the FBLA members learned was

that sharing graciously expanded theirs and the recipients grasps.

I spent an enjoyable afternoon talking with Mrs Simmons, while she shared her memories of  Toys for Tots with me. I realized she was very committed starting this program and working with the FBLA from 1986

until 2001.

“Mary T Simmons…….Toys for Tots.” - interview by Elana Ann Fauth  (photo).

Light Up Your Holiday Season at the2009 River Town Christmas

>Tentative Schedule<

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Ringing in River Town Christmas – Church Bells 5:00 – 5:15 pmMemorial Tree Lighting at the Tyrrell County Visitors Center 5:00 – 5:30 pmNC Governor’s Volunteer of the Year Award at the Courthouse 5:30 pmTyrrellinean Tree Lighting at the Courthouse 5:45 – 6:15 pmHoliday Decorating Contest Awards and Band & Choral Program La Posada Hispanic Celebration of Holy Family Looking for Lodging 6:15 – 8:00 pmMeet at the Waterfront Gazebo – Columbia Town Commons Down Town Shopping & Restaurants Open

Friday, December 4, 2009

ECA Culinary Arts Contest – Entries due at the CES office 12:00 noonGingerbread Houses due at the Columbia TheaterKids’ Movie at the Extension Office 3:30 – 5:15 pm SANTA COMES TO TOWN during Lighted Boat Parade 6:00 pm Live Nativity and Open House at Columbia Missionary Baptist Church 5:00 – 7:30 pmChristmas Bazaar at the Columbia Theater 5:00 – 8:00 pmTen Thousand Villages Plus One Exhibit at Pocosin Arts Gallery open until 8:00 pmDown Town Shopping & Restaurants Open

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Breakfast with Santa at the Library 8:30 am Christmas Bazaar at the Columbia Theater 10:00 am – 6:00 pmECA Culinary Arts Contest – Ribbon Ceremony 10:00 amCulinary Arts Contest Entries – on Display at Columbia Theater Liberty Brass from the 440th Army Nat. Guard Band at the Episcopal Church 11:00 amChristmas Open House at the Abner Alexander House on Main Street 12:00 – 4:00 pmHoliday Singspiration at the Wesley Memorial Methodist Church 1:00 – 3:00 pmChristmas Parade (3:00 pm line-up at Columbia High School) 4:00 pm Pictures with Santa at the Columbia Theater 4:30 – 6:00 pmLighted Boats at the Columbia Waterfront Docks 5:00 pmDown Town Shopping & Restaurants Open

Sunday, December 6, 2009Christmas Open House at Somerset Place on Lake Phelps 1:00 – 4:00 pmChristmas Open House at The Brickhouse Inn 3:00 – 6:00 pm Holiday Concert by Columbia Band and Chorus at VanHorne Auditorium 3:30 pm

For updates please check the Tyrrell Chamber of Commerce Website

Photo by Ashlee King , Song of the South Photography

D E C E M B E R I S S U E 2 0 0 9

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436 Bridgepath Road Columbia, NC 27925Tyrrell County252-796-4513

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