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482-441*8 Wednesday, July 23, 2008 Corn crop may yield only 50% this year v; ■_ fy%: I Satterfield prepares food for her pastor Fred Wiggins Monday afternoon. The love of Lillian Satterfield By Rebecca Bunch Staff Writer African-American women didn’t have lots of ways to make money de cades ago. But some found them, said local author and historian Marguerite McCall, now in her seventies. “A lot of times, people would have (a black woman) come in, do some clean ing and cooking, and take care of their children,” she said. McCall said people living in small towns shared more of a sense of com munity then; many women, black and white, cooked and took meals to some one who was sick or had experienced a death in the family, just to show they cared. That’s not so common any more, she said. Among those carrying on that tradi ' tion is Lillian Satterfield of Edenton. Food and love On any given day, she might be fix ing a meal for her pastor who’s ailing, a friend who has worked hard all day, or a cake for someone in the neighbor hood who’s had a death in the family and needs cheering up. Cooking is how she shows her love and carries on a family tradition that’s existed for several generations. “This is something that’s been done in my family for a long, long time,” she said, as she stirred a pot of green beans on the stove on a sunny summer after noon. “Love is the greatest thing, you know, when you love somebody This is how I show my love.” Hei- daughter, Lois Lassiter, a teacher at John A. Holmes, agrees. “She’s been doing this as long as I can remember,” Lassiter said. Taking care of babies and families not her own have been her work, purpose “My mother and my grandmother before her always cooked for folks,” Satterfield said. “If there was some body that was sick or needed to know somebody cared, they would always take them something good to eat.” On this particular day she was pre paring dinner for several of her chil dren as well as a friend who was going to stop by and pick up a plate on the way home from her job. Alongside the pot of green beans, sliced potatoes were boiling, while homemade rolls cooked in the oven of her small kitchen. Efficient in her movements, Sat terfield had already removed a pan of baked chicken from the stove and begun icing a lemon pound cake that stood atop a cake plate op the kitchen counter. ' “I love to cook chicken, that’s one of my favorites,” said Satterfield, who began learning to cook in her grand mother’s kitchen at a young age. Cooking early on “I grew up in Tyrrell County. Every body had woodstoves back then,” she said, remembering, as she sliced some cake for a visitor. “My grandmother, Angelica Liver man, let me have my own little pots and pans and, of course, I just loved that.” Her mother, Emma Mizelle, kept house for several families in addition to taking care of her own family She was a cook with plenty of experience too, Satterfield says. She watched and learned as her mother and grandmother used then skills to help take care of others. And she has spent the years since doing the same. Satterfield describes herself as someone who just prepares plain, fam ily-style food and is happiest when she sees somebody eat a meal like they’re really enjoying it. “I’m not a fancy cook,” she said, “just a basic cook, I guess you could say.” Her grandchildren, Vann and Sydney Lassiter, sometimes get involved, deliv ering meals or desserts she’s made. It gives her a happy feeling, she says, to see them carrying on the tradition. Caring for others Satterfield’s husband, William, was the first African-American police offi cer hired in Edenton. She becairn a housekeeper like her mother, taking care of generations of local families including the Habits and the Dowds. She said she still maintains contact with businessman John Dowd, who re mains close to her heart. “He’s just an angel,” she said. For his part, Dowd, who has fond memories of enjoying Satterfield’s cooking, said he still thinks of her as “my second mother.” “I loved John and all the other chil dren I took care of like they were my own,” she said, “and I know they loved me.” Recent cataract surgery has slowed down her time in the kitchen a bit, Sat terfield says, but it’s not something she plans to give up. “I want to do it just as long as I’m able,” she said. “If I know of somebody that doesn’t have anybody to do for them, well, I enjoy doing what I can.” INDEX A Local Editorial...,...A5 I ' Land Transfers.A4 * B Sports Recreation News.B1 Nascar...B6 C Community News Upcoming Events.C2 Society.......C3 Obituaries......C4 Church... C5,6 D Classifieds Buy/Sell/Trade.D1,6 Service Directory....... D2 Employment.D6 ©2006 The Chowan Herald All Rights Reserved Development back in the making Drummond’s Point project to go before commissioners By Rebecca Bunch Staff Writer A Yeopim subdivision project delayed years due to Hurricane Isabel is finally back on track. Plans for it will come be fore the Chowan County Commissioners for approv al at their August meeting. Construction could begin this fall. Developer Ron Andronow itz said that the planned Refuge on Drummonds Point project was put on the back burner due to the large number of fallen trees and other debris left behind by the hurricane in 2003. Then, too, he and wife Michelle, owners of Sound Home Builders, were busy arranging for repairs to lo cal homes. “We really had our hands full,” he said. After that came obtain ing permits required for the project, which also took time. Concerns raised during the first plat review con cerning road access and boat slips had to be resolved prior to a final hearing be fore the County Planning Board. County Planning Board members gave the plat re view a thumbs up during a final review held last week. Living with nature The Andronowitz’s de velopment company, Adron Properties Inc., plans to use 23.18 acres of waterfront wetland forest at Drum mond’s Point to construct 14 homes at the Refuge. According to Michelle Andronowitz, the property will be developed “to create a sense of place that works within the natural systems and gives the feeling of liv ing in a wildlife preserve.” The couple said they have planned construction of villas to be located there so that the development will have minimal impact on the ecosystem. Ron Andronowitz esti mates that the villas will be between 3,500 and 4,000 square feet in size. Prices are expected to range from $850,000 to $1-million dol lars. See REFUGE, Page A2 ► OUR STREETS & SIDEWALKS Sidewalk projects pondered Neighborhoods in need being ID’ed by town, county By Rebecca Bunch Staff Writer Lois Jordan-Cooper says a sidewalk is needed on West Peterson Street. Mary Pat Perry would like to see the town do more to even out sidewalks in the downtown area. She is ] concerned one day she’ll trip | and fall. Councilman I Willis PriVott' „ . . has walked Kn,9hton Coke Avenue enough times to know there’s a need for a sidewalk there. “Any street in town that doesn’t have a sidewalk is bad for the town,” Privott said, “because more and more people are walking for theirhealth.” Concerns about those streets, and others recently identified, will become part of a list that town and county officials are developing. Renovations to come The town has received a $20,000 Bicycle and Pedestri an Planning Grant that will allow it to identify problem areas and create a plan to fix them. Additional funds will then be sought to actually perform the work. The planning grant covers both prioritizing repairs and neighborhoods where side walks are needed. Such is the case with South Oakum and East Wa ter Street. The sidewalk ends at the intersection of East King Street requiring pedestrians to step into the road at East King and continue walking that way until they come to the Masonic Lodge, where the sidewalk starts once more. Other areas of concern Another place that’s been identified is on West Water Street, near Dock Street. Pedestrians must walk in the street until they round the curve and come to the spot where the sidewalk be gins again at Blount Street. Wes Haskett, a planner with the Chowan County Planning Department, said another area covered by the grant would be identifying problem areas. Those would include things such as cracked or un even sidewalks in town that need repairing. Several public meetings are planned to allow citizens to share input with the com mittee that will establish pri See SIDEWALKS, Page A2 > Businesses want more parking “The Oakum Street businesses deserve just as much consider ation as those located on Broad Street. ” — David Bond, owner of Needful Things on Oakum Street By Rebecca Bunch Staff Writer David Bond is an angry man. He’s angry and frustrated because customers visiting his South Oakum Street busi ness, Needful Things, can’t find parking places. And while he’s happy to hear the town has grant money to identify sidewalks that need repairing or con struction, he doesn’t think it’s going to do his business any good. Neither do Doris McClean and George Rowsom, owners of other businesses on Oa kum. “What is needed on our street,” Bond said, “is for the town to flatten the curb it put in two or three years ago to create more parking spaces. Parking is most definitely needed.” Working with the town Town Manager Anne-Ma rie Knighton said this is the first she’s heard of Bond’s concerns. “We are always willing to try to help our businesses,” she said. “I will go by and see him.” But Knighton added that the town invited property owners and those living in that neighborhood to several informational meetings that took place before the project was carried out. None of the business own ers, she said, came to the meetings. “We made a good faith ef fort,” she said, “to solicit input prior to (the start of) construction.” After construction was completed with funds provid ed by the N.C. Department of Transportation, Knighton said, several business own ers attended Town Council meetings to speak about the parking issue. In the years since, she said, “We (have) worked incred ibly hard to address every one’s concerns. We installed a loading zone for Doris McLean. We worked out an • agreement with the funeral home on parking regulations during funerals.” ♦ ; Where to park As it now stands, parking at Needful Things is limited to a paved area that connects with the sidewalk in front of his store. To gain access, potential See PARKING, Page A2 > a
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