.I- - - • ■
“What’s the difference between our government representatives
f . and a drunken sailor? A drunken sailor spends his own money.”
—■ Dallas Woodhonse, state director of Americans for Prosperity
VERNON FUESTON/THE CHOWAN HERALD
Above, protestors on the courthouse green in Edenton share their views on government spending; at right
Mason Weaver, author and syndicated radio talk show host, speaks to the protestors at the tea party.
Pilgrimage Tour begins Friday
By Rebecca Bunch
Staff Writer
>■ »
When Rolfe and Nancy
p Schi’oeder opened their
doors to the public two years
ago for the Pilgrimage, they
had just finished renovating
*' their home at 287 East Water
Street.
; And it was their first time
on the tour.
This week, when they again
share their home with the
public, they will be seasoned
pros at handling the crowds
that show up at their door.
“We enjoy having people in,
and had a lot of fun doing it
the last time,” Nancy Schro
eder said, laughing.
; And, she said, having a
deadline looming when you
have to be ready for the tour
also serves another purpose
t- “with a deadline in mind,
you get busy and get things
done.”
-■ Happy coincidence
’ The Schroeders found their
' house here quite by accident.
;; Nancy Schroeder said she
• and her husband, who were
living in Virginia at the time,
just happened upon Edenton
while driving on some of
North Carolina’s back roads.
The location, on the water
' front, sold them on the idea of
buying the house.
• Schroeder said she has an
embroidered pillow in her
den that reads, “If you’re
lucky enough to live on the
water, you’re lucky enough.”
; Then, she said, there was
the novelty of living in an
older home and the slower
pace of life here.
Both Schroeders grew up in
large cities — Rolfe in Chica
go and Nancy in Houston.
• ! “We were used to traffic ljp
jng just horrible," she said.
©2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
VERNON FUESTON/THE CHOWAN HERALD
Rolfe and Nancy Schroeder will open their Water Street home.
Finding a place where traf
fic, and the pace of life, is
slower has been great, she
said.
And having an airport in
the community has enabled
her husband, a vice president
of human resources for Coifi
puter Sciences Corp. (CRC) to
keep his job.
“My husband is not re
tired,” Nancy observed.
“Not everyone who comes
here is retired.”
*■ This October they will
mark their fifth year in their
home across the street from
the Edenton waterfront.
She said lots of their fam
ily and friepds had made the
journey to Edenton to visit,
and they are expecting guests
to stay with them during the
tour.
About the house
Dating back to about 1775,
the Millen House has un
dergone three updates and
underwent a msdor renova
tion in 1986 yet today retains
many of its features includ
ing sash-over-sash windows
and a Flemish bond chimney.
The staircase at the rear of
the first floor hall is also orig
inal to the house.
The tour is from 10 a.m. to
5 p.m. this weekend. For more
information call 482-2637.
IF YOU GO
WHAT
Biennial Pilgrimage 2009
WHEN
Friday and Saturday, '
April 24-25
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
’• Sponsored by the
Edenton
Woman’s Club
COST
Tickets $25; Groups of
20 •
or more are $20
per person
FOR TICKETS
Edenton Visitor Center,
% Chowan Arts Council
and the Barker House
ONTHETOUR
► Miilen House
Poplar Neck at Jubilee
Long Beach
ti Mulberry Hill
Sumnerville House ;'i
Branning House ...
Folk Taylor House
Shelton Farms
Vf Greenfield
v Beverly Hall
Chapartoke
r, Carriage House .
Hayes
: The Homestead
C.S. Vann House
By Vernon Fueston
Staff Writer
A crowd of more than 600 showed up from
Chowan and surrounding counties April 15 to
protest what they saw as runaway spending
and fiscal irresponsibility in Washington and
Raleigh.
The crowd braved gusty winds and chilly
temperatures to gather on Edenton’s court
house green.
There they listened to several conservative
leaders and a radio talk show host blast the
policies of President Barak Obama and Gov.
Beverly Perdue.
“They are taxing us without representation,”
said Tony Skulskie of Roanoke Rapids. “They
didn’t even read that spending bill. My grand
kids are going to be in debt because of this.”
Skulskie was holding a picket sign that read
“Awake! Tyranny Is Afoot!”
The crowd was peaceful and well-mannered,
content to cheer the speakers and chant “USA,
USA!” But their anger at what they perceived
to be an irresponsible government seemed real
enough-'
Wh$\ about two dozen of the protestors
, weiv.asked, none could recall ever attending a
protest rally or carrying a picket sign in their
live*
Dallas Woodhouse, state director of Ameri
cans for Prosperity, the organization responsi
ble for the rally, left little doubt about just who
he felt was responsible for the nation’s mount
ing debt.
“What’s the difference between our govern
ment 'representatives and a drunken sailor?”
he asked the crowd. “A drunken sailor spends
his own money.”
GIANT CARP SNAGGED
VERNON FUESTON/THE CHOWAN HERALD
William White, left, holds his German carp while Mark Dawson lends a helping hand and support.
By Vernon Fueston
Staff Writer
' William White has fished from the shores
of Edenton Bay for about 10 years, but he
said he caught something the morning of
April 14 that he’s never seen before—a Ger
man carp he estimates weighed 40 pounds.
White caught the fish off the seawall
behind the Barker House in Edenton. He
didn’t have a scale with him when the fish
was caught, so 40 pounds is his best esti
mate.
If White’s estimate is accurate, and fish
ermen are noted for their conservative esti
mates, he could really have something.
The state’s wildlife service doesn’t keep
records on German carp, but a 48-pound
carp, taken from a pond in Mecklenburg
Woodhouse said the state’s budget is expect
ed to increase next year by between three and
four percent in the face of a recession and fall:
ing revenues. .
“Why in the world does the government
think they can spend more when we have
less?” Woodhouse asked.
Sen. Richard Burr sent an aide to read a
statement of support to the crowd, decrying
the $2 trillion national deficit .and predict
ing the national debt will swell by triple that
amount in ten years.
“A government large enough to give you ev
erything you want is large enough to take ev
erything you have,” Burr said.
Mason Weaver, an author and radio talk
show host from San Diego, California, was the
rally’s keynote speaker.
Weaver laid out his grievances with the gov
ernment and said too many people were hud
dling like a herd of sheep, afraid of “wolves”
in the form of bad economic news and seeking
protection at all costs.
“We aren’t sheep,” Weaver said. “Who kills
more sheep, wolves or sheep herders?”
Weaver, an African-American, likened his
attitude toward Washington and its policies to
life on a plantation.
“Remember, every slave had a job on the
plantation,” Weaver said. “There was 100 per
cent employment on the plantation and every
body had government housing. But it’s OK to
leave the plantation.”
When all was said and done, 614 protestors
had thrown tea bags into a burlap sack and
signed a petition demanding what they called
a return to fiscal responsibility
The rally ended with a protestor in Indian
headdress tossing the bags into Edenton Bay
Similar protests to the one held in Edenton
occurred around the county on Tax Day with _
activists claiming rallies in 346 cities with esti
mates of between 300,000 and 600,000 in atten
dance.
Opponents of the protest cited President
Obama’s $120 billion tax cut targeting middle
class families as evidence that the tax protests
are misguided.
They also said high spending by the federal
government was necessary to stimulate an
economy in deep recession.
, “My administration has taken far reaching
action to give tax cuts to Americans who need
them while jump-starting growth and job cre
ation in the process,” the president said.
County holds the species record from 1986.
A 68 pound 12 ounce grass carp also holds
a state record after being caught in Leland
back in 1998.
“I’ve caught one of these before, but he
wasn’t that big,” White said. “A couple of
years ago, 1 caught a catfish that was 11 or
12 pounds, but this is the biggest thing I
ever caught, right here.”
White said he started fishing early, Tues
day, at about 8:30 and came rigged for bot
tom fishing. He said his bait choices for the
day were red worms and night crawlers.
When asked if a carp that big was going
to be any good to eat, White didn’t seem to
care.
“He’s gonna be!” White said. “I’m going
to fillet that bad boy If I put enough season
ing to him, he’s going to be eatable.”
WaiiiuilM1
HWY. 32^749
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Barbecue & Fish Dinner (Catered by Leon Nixon Catering) Take Out