Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Feb. 11, 1993, edition 1 / Page 38
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Gibsons: 'We Like It Down Here' BY SUSAN USHKR There was a time, says Flo Gibson, when if she and her husband Dave couldn't be in Myrtle Beach on the Fourth of July they thought the world would stop. But those days arc long gone for the Gibsons, who will mark 50 years of marriage this June. "These past five years of retirement have been some of the best, I think," said Dave. They started vacationing at Hol den Beach in the early 1950s, be fore Hurricane Hazel changed the landscape dramatically and when access was by ferry and then draw bridge. "In Red Springs people came to Holden Beach and we came with them," said Gibson, a retired Belk store manager who credits any success of his to his wife Flo's support through the years caring for their home and family and sup porting church and community en deavors. "We like Holden Beach because it's a family beach," said Dave. "At our age we're not looking for a whole lot of activity." When chil vm f)U/u \ tLUUIVLn y . I// closcr to God when walking on that strand than anywhere else," says Flo. Baskets and shelves of shells fill their home, including several of the rare North Carolina state shell, Scotch bonnet, found at Holden Beach. While work had been Dave's hobby before, alter retirement, he told Flo, "I can do this stuff as good as you can." Now volunteer work is more or less his hobby. As a treat for Flo, he does most of the cooking now, and it's be come something of a hobby. He volunteers with a meals-on-wheels program one day a week, serves on the Holden Beach Board of Adjustments and is active in the Camp United Methodist Men and the South Brunswick Intcrchurch Council. He spent several years helping get the now-defunct Brunswick Adult Day Care Center programs up and running. Both Flo and Dave are involved in Emmaus, an individual and church spiritual renewal program. Dave serves on the regional board of directors. They also enjov he loins: care for STAFF PHOTO BY SUSAN USHER FIX) AND DAVE GIBSON of Holden Beach enjoy retirement at the beach and the opportunity to he involved in a new church and a new community. Shelling is a favorite pastime of Flo's. dren and grandchildren comc, Mynlc Bcach is closc enough 10 visit, if they like. However, the Gibsons didn't initially plan to retire here. They had purchased a lakefront lot and had building plans ready when they "chickened out". At best the bcach was to be a part-time place of residence. Explains Flo, "When we first bought at Holden Beach (in February 1987) we didn't intend to live here all the time. We had a house in Charlotte." Dave was ready to sell their main home three months after moving into "Flo's Folly," their half of a multi-story duplex on West Brunswick Avenue, with views of both the "The church has always been uppermost occan and the Atlantic Intracoastal Water- part of our life; we can't do without it," said way. Flo. Instead, they waited a year, but their deci- Their community involvement has sion was unchanged. "Everything fell into stemmed naturally from the church and the place; it went like clockwork," Flo recalled. beach. Flo's quite active in the United After years of volunteer work, during that Methodist Women and their projccLs, and first year of retirement Flo "didn't want to do serves on the church Board of Trustees. She's anything." Gesturing well above her head, happily involved with the Holden Beach she said, "I took a vacation because 1 had Beautification Committee and a local shell been up to here with everything." club, and has turned their small yard into an After attending the Holden Beach Chapel, oasis for birds and friends. they found a year-round church home at She walks four miles a day on the beach. Camp United Methodist in Shallotie. gathering shells as she goes. "1 am actually a nephew in Georgia, providing respite for his parents. While ihe quiet and beauty of Holden Beach are among its chief attractions for these retirees, the gregarious Dave admits to an occasional itch. "I worked with people all of my life. Once in a while," he says, "1 want to be around more people and I get in the car and head to Wilmington." Hie Gibsons say they have no regrets in their choice of a place to retire. "The people in Brunswick County are ex tremely nice people and very helpful," con cludes Dave. "We like it down here." Chicora Medical Group Your Family Physician-a special kind of caring. Lee Langston, MD Roger F. Nelson, MD George Saunders, MD FAAFP^A^^ Jon Langston, PAC Adults *7ycpy-n r^E=E5yr\ Children ?'? Hospital f j Minor Care Emergencies JJj Medical W Group Complete Primary Care Shallotte Calabash 341 Whiteville Rd.(Hwy. 130 W) Salt Marsh Sq. (Hwy. 179J ? 754-8731 579-8512 Call for appointment-Vacationers Welcome. 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The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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Feb. 11, 1993, edition 1
38
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