j uncle
"If they want to clean up
something, clean up these
junk cars, not tear down
what North Carolina was
known for its first 100
years
JoAnn Simmons
Farm Owner
Willi.K ITS USFITLNKSS lias lessened
with tin- years, this wide-skirted ham
in the Sknllotte I'oint
area still retains its dignity.
Abandonee
BY St SAN tJSHI-.K
From Maco to Hickman's Crossroads, the old
barns and sheds remain, posing for the occasional artist
or photographer.
Some still earn their keep, sheltering farm equipment.
housing family keepsakes, evoking memories.
Others stand in the summer heat lik?' impoverished
genteel old ladies, with skirts slightly askew and tin
roofs mottled with rust, their dignity strained but in
uici.
Neglected, abandoned, others are glin.psed only
through a tangled canopy of encroaching vines and
trees. Hosting farm implements find little shelter
beneath their wings.
Tucked into woodland edging, or standing tall
amid a field, these tumbling tobacco barns and ?
packhousc sheds are nostalgic symbols of a fastdisappearing
way of life. Scurrying mice and chirping
wrens and swallows have replaced the chatter of
women and teen-agers laughing and singing as they tie
and hand the sticks of tobacco. The aroma of the bright
leaf lingers only in the imagination
To most area residents interviewed, such as JoAiin
Simmons, the old sheds and barns arc picturesque, offering
a different perspective of time and place. But
others, such as the F.astorn North Carnlimi fhomhor nf
\ * j
I 4 . ^ ^
- ^ i' "/* '
* i& j# /; /, '^.fy j*l ir^
YINT.S AND MKMOIUF.S support this m
h SfVi
fcM'M
Geraniums /\ Variety
I p 3 for f2 Mail (
s Pampass Grass
Assorted Shrubs FREE D
Azaleas Ask for FR
i LEAH'S NURSERY 2*7
| HWY 17, JUS I NOR (H OF
SHAUOTTE PHONE 7S4 ATO4 OolliorineMi
\ y
ft
- -
L the
J Farm Buildings
Commerce, view them as unsightly, a potential safety
hazard and a hindrance to tourism and economic
development, and have launched a campaign to get rid
of them.
For Sinunons, the old barns represent tradition,
and spark recollections of a busy, happy childhood.
Simmons remembers making "crow's feet" from
tobacco twine, lying on a bench beneath the barn in the
mid-afternoon heat, waiting for the next load of tobacco
from the field, and sharing a huge meal spread for
workers at dinnertime.
She started off standing on a drink crate and handing
tobacco for 50 cents a day, and was glad," she
said, "when I got big enough 1 could string for $2 a
day."
_ "The old tobacco bams should be preserved:
they're a tradition in North Carolina. They have been
with us too long. I don't think the roadside should l>e
cleared of them." she said. "1 don't like to see them
falling in, but still the rustic look is there.
"If they want to clean up something, clean up these
jn.ir? >.mo, inn n > iu ivtii uuwii wuu* .Norm * arnuna
was known for its first 100 years."
Buildings Targeted
The Greenville-based chamber, which represents
13 counties in eastern North Carolina, is promoting for 1
^^ssshry**
L'glcctcd barn ?n Old Shallotte Road.
stari jh h ,
. ^ Have you been de
javts Disability benefits
>)259-FLAG notified by Social S?
member of the Hyatt
Banners help to get your di;
Pennants now.
Of Flags
, MJ- . * ? r ~i i
Jrders ? t\.CltHl66tl MU
elivery i Attorne;
EE Catalog ? 113 Dock St Wilr
lors Lane ! (919)762 609
NC 28425 oore
Owner
sun j
k
H 1
'ixmzvv-: ? i
Won't Go Withe
mation of county committees to coordinate its longrange
"3-C" or "Carolina Clean C ountryside" Campaign
in which dilapidated barns and other "abandoned"
buildings would be targeted for destruction,
restoration or recycling.
The Eastern Chamber's efforts have already met
with staunch oppostion and controversy in some other
eastern counties, in Brunswick County the local
1 Agricultural Extension Service Advisory Council lias
delayed formation of a steering committee, said Extension
Chairman Milton Coleman, with more of its
members "anti" than "pro" the project. Coleman said
the committee wants to see 1 > what budget action the
county commissioners take regarding establishment of
a Clean County office; and 2i what successful approaches
other counties develop.
"It the commissioners want support for that (the
Clean County program), then we'll come back and look
WITH MVI U ? v ? -
...... ?#.*!?x uti iiiu.u rvwuSK lor
N.C. 130 West.
THIS KXL'M AKKA BARN WITH T
^ A
;nied Social Security^^
or have you been |
;curity that you are a I || ?
class? If yes, you need
sabiIity benefits. Call
innon Clancy I V0LTA^
nington, NC 28401 H BUSINESS:
I Call collect H 754 7656
HE BRUNSWICK&BEACON
Thursday, June .'>0, 1988 lj[~
i *'!
SfAiF PHOTO') B< SUSAN USM(R
>ut A Fight
at it again" said Coleman, noting that at recent
meetings a good number of advisory council members
were concerned about interfering with management of
private property.
However, if the county launches an anti-litter campaign.
he added, "side effects" will probably include
removal of junk cars and some abandoned structures.
There are "a few folks" in the county either
rebuilding abandoned farm structures or tearing them
down and recycling the lumber, he said.
While some area residents search out such
materials from other property owners, when one of the
barns on her family's farm had to be torn down to
make room for new "bulk" barns, Simmons salvaged
the lumber to use in the living room of her new home.
Of the Eastern Chamber's campaign. Coleman
said, "The folks basically had a good idea, but were a
little head strong."
I.I'WI takr.
company, this bleached barn stands sentinel along
ATTERED SKIRTS has known better days.
>?<
l\jL AUTO
L?JP S ELECTRIC
SRNATORS STARTERS *
REGULATORS GENERATORS 3
REPAIR REBUILT ? EXCHANGED *
'<
HOME i
754 9963 !
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