Wednesday, March 8, 1989
(Sift f&ZCUtil Section B
Wednesday, March 8, 1989
Macon's 100th Birthday
Party Slated Saturday
Friends from near and far away will converge
this Saturday for the centennial celebration of
the 100th birthday of the Town of Macon.
The Macon Town Commissioners have been
working long and hard to plan an afternoon and
evening celebration of Macon's 100th anniver
sary of incorporation, which occurred on March
11, 1889 when the village of Macon Depot became
the Town of Macon.
"I am very excited and proud that this 'Macon
Whoopee' celebration is occurring during my
tenure as mayor," M. C. Clary said, "and the
town commissioners and I appreciate every
thing that has been done by the citizenry to en
sure the success of the 100th birthday party."
The events will begin at noon on Saturday,
March 11, and conclude with a massive fire
works display from 7:30-8 p.m. launched from
the rooftop of Haithcock's Grocery Store.
But prior to the firework display, a number of
activities will take place, all guaranteed to at
tract the interest of those who attend the "Macon
Whoopee" celebration.
Beginning at noon, clowns will roam the town's
streets bearing balloons for the children attend
ing the 100th birthday party.
Another treat planned for the children is face
painting. Mrs. Junell Blaylock and personnel
from Warren County's schools will "colorize"
the faces of children and proceeds for their
handiwork will be used for the benefit of
"Project Graduation," an all-night, supervised
party which has been planned for seniors on
graduation night at Warren County High School.
Designs will be painted for a fee of 50 cents. The
cost of full-face painting will be $1.
Also beginning at noon and lasting until 7 p.m.
will be the sale of plate lunches and dinners.
Meals of pork barbecue, boiled potatoes, slaw,
bread and tea or coffee will be sold from the
Macon Fire Station. The cost of the meals will
be $4 for adults and $2.00 for children. Proceeds
from the sale of the pork barbecue meals have
been earmarked for the benefit of the Macon
Volunteer Fire Department to be used toward
the purchase of a new fire truck.
Soft drinks will also be offered for sale and pro
ceeds from all purchases have been earmarked
for the benefit of local church youth programs.
The artwork of Dianne T. Rodwell will be on
display and "401 Familiarity," a limited edition
print of her oil pastel painting will be raffled,
with proceeds donated to th$ Jennifer Lynn
Henry Kidney Transplant Fund. Authentically
detailed and realistically colored, Mrs.
Rodwell's "401 Familiarity" depicts an old
house located two miles on the Raleigh side of
Louisburg. The 11 Vz-inch-by-nine-inch print has
been double-matted to form a 16-inch-by-20-inch
display. Other pieces of Mrs. Rodwell's work will
also be on display and available for sale. A por
tion of the proceeds from sales of other artwork
will be donated to the Macon Volunteer Fire
Department, also for use toward the purchase
of the new truck.
Live entertainment will be available for per
sons of all ages. Butch Meek's Country Grass
Band will appear in concert. The Roanoke Valley
Cloggers, of Roanoke Rapids, will perform their
fancy footwork. Danny Harris, of Roanoke
Rapids, will appear with his bike show. The
Norlina Senior Citizens' Rhythm Band will per
form. The Warren County High School Eagle
Chorus and band will appear. And as a special
treat, pending confirmation, Franklin County
parachutists will appear and hot-air balloon
rides will be available.
Mule-drawn buggy rides will be furnished by
Karl Hehl, on leave from the North Pole as chief
transportation coordinator for Santa Claus.
Riders will tour the Town of Macon and will be
shown the location of historic homes, old
businesses, the old Macon school and the site of
the first school built there.
For history buffs and other persons with in
terest, a glass-covered display case will be
located in a building, which housed most recent
ly a taxidermy shop and is located next door to
the fire station. Included among the items on
display will be old notes from the Bank of Macon,
old photographs of the town, and old map of the
North Carolina railroad system, old store
ledgers and other memorabilia.
A dedicatory ceremony has been planned for
mid-afternoon. A granite marker bearing the
centennial dates and a flagpole, to be located in
the town square, will be dedicated. Keys to the
Town of Macon will be presented to Reynolds
Price, award-winning author and Macon native,
and his brother. Bill Price, director of the N. C.
Department of Archives and History in Raleigh.
In addition, the town will recognize the citizen
who has resided in Macon continuously for the
longest time since birth. Also slated to appear
during the ceremony are Senator Frank
Ballance and Warren County Commissioners'
Chairman Mrs. Eva N. Clayton. Macon Mayor
M. C. Clary will preside over the dedicatory
ceremony.
Other planned activities include bake and
crafts sales.
"This will really be a day for "Macon
Whoopee" and for reflecting on th| history of our
town, and I certainly hope everyoM will turn out
for our exciting 100th birthday party and
celebration on Saturday," Mayor Clary said.
In case of inclement weather, a Saturday,
March 18, rain date has been planned. Mayor
Clary said.
Macon, North Carolina will be celebrat
ing its 100th anniversary on Saturday,
March 11, weather permitting. A
limited number of special bumper
stickers (shown in inset above) will be handed
out, and an afternoon full of activities awaits
visitors to the small town which got its start in
1839 as Macon Depot. Macon has developed
wrer the 450 years since its birth from a rail
road town into a peaceful village that is today
home to 158 persons. One of the attractive
structures in Macon is the U. S. Post Office
shown below.