Twilight Memories ...
For the life of me I cannot remember when, or by whom, I first heard "Twilight Memories" used as a descriptor. I certainly can't take credit for it. It does roll off the tongue nicely.
Hurricanes can be stressers. Here in Summerville S.C. I'm around 30 miles inland I guess. No flood plain. No flood danger period. Winds, well, different story. We've been scraped by hurricanes around 4 or 5 times since 2015. Some not so bad. A couple of them hit us with the NE Quadrant. The wind quadrant. A little dicey.
Hurricane Helene. Late September 2024. I brushed this storm off completely. Been through worse storm wise. While we did get 50mph + wind gusts. Some rain. Never lost power. It didn't move the worry meter here. A little later that day I got a couple of calls. Couple of messages. One with a grainy, 3rd world style phone video. It was a vid of King Street in Boone N.C. Under what looked to be four feet of water. I was Flabbergasted. Snapped back to reality when I thought of my old hometowns. My home County. Ashe County.
"... Love Letters in the Sand, I Remember You ..."
Lansing N.C. If you want a town with a small, classic main street, good folks and a peaceful way of life then Lansing is your ticket. Never an official Lansing resident. Helton 1 - Mill Creek - Helton2 were the areas I resided in. But Lansing was significant. Come along. A journey awaits...
The old Lansing school, with the granite blocks, is one unique building. Attended Lansing for first grade. First day there I decided it wasn't for me and shot out the door and ran to my Mom's truck 😁. I subsequently lost my debate with Mom and back to class it was. Miss Kitty Greer was my primary teacher. And a really good one. Principal Eller was great also. Had a chat with him in the Summer of '88. He remembered my escape effort 😃.
The old barbershop. Had my first Mr. Pibb there. And they played music.
May not have cared much for the early barbershop trips with Dad back when. What I wouldn't give to have one last trip there with Dad though. Everybody knew everybody. Good times.
The Lansing Laundromat. A trip with Mom, occasionally an older sister would tag along. The Jukebox 😇. Pop the money in and go. Conway & Loretta. George & Tammy. Mac Davis. Johnny Duncan. The Statlers. I may have been the only kid who looked forward to a morning or afternoon in a laundromat.😂 Mom's still around at 91. But again, what I wouldn't give for one last laundromat visit pestering Mom for coins.
The old Doctors office on Lansing's Main Street. Dr. Kurtz. As a kid was not a fan. As I've gotten older, I realized how exceptional he was. Not just as a physician. But as a man. He was very good. He could have picked any spot in the U.S. to set up a practice. And earned more money almost assuredly. But he settled in Ashe County. High character.
Hettie Sapp's store in the 70's. Hettie was my Great-Aunt. A sweet, sincere woman. I loved going there. Usually got a free candy bar 😎. One of my older sisters worked for Hettie after graduating from App State. Not a long gig. Our time in Ashe County came to an end in June '77. Enjoyed those afternoons in the store after school a good bit. Fun times and Hettie was so sweet.
The Great Tom Jones from early 1977!
A one blinking light town , but, there's a bank and post office. Both vital to the area. Occasional trips to the Lansing Restaurant. But never a regular.
The late 80's saw the arrival of a video rental store. Owned by a distant relative. I blame Tom's horror movie selection for turning me into a movie buff. And the little shop with the tanning beds. 30 tanning bed visits in 45 days baby. Don't judge, we've all got a past and I needed a quick tan. 😎🤗. The owners name escapes me. Happens. Softball games on the Lansing School field. Helping coach a T-Ball team on the same field. Renting the Lansing Gym for pickup basketball.
As mentioned, Lansing was, is, quite significant to me.
Intermezzo ...
and we're back ...
Some history and memories from a fella who was never technically a resident of the town.
Alrighty, back to the present ...
As most know by now, the whole of Western N.C. took a huge punch from Mother Nature recently. The pics and vids of the damage are difficult to process. Some towns gone in the blink of an eye. Others surviving but with catastrophic damage. It's important for the small towns to have an anchor. That one constant.
A local town grocer in a community the size of Lansing is vital. I should mention that folks from nearby Helton, Horse Creek, Mill Creek, Warrensville, and even Rich Hill have been known to frequent Lansing's anchor, CJ's Market. You don't earn that support in tight knit communities with bad business practices or obstinate employees. It's earned through trust and credibility.
I do not have many, if any, anecdotal stories about shopping at CJ's back when. I was like 18-20 years old at that time. My groceries were McRibs, Pizza, McNuggets and the like 😁. What I can say is the effort being put forth in the post-Helene flood damage cleanup to reopen shows a love of the community from CJ's and it's employees. Not easy, when your store space is gutted and inventory lost. And the outpouring and help from others in town helping with the cleanup is really great to see. Everybody in the county may not agree on everything. But with a laser-like focus, in this case recovery and rebuild, I'd take Ashe County and the residents there over any other county. The culture, faith, belief and willingness to help a neighbor is second to none. You make former Ashe residents like myself proud.
The Liars Bench, Pie on the Mountain and others are not being overlooked. So what i'm going to do is offer to any business in Lansing an invite to be a guest on my podcast that is kicking off soon. The initial podcast plan was me rambling ad nauseam about cards, comic books, etc. But I like this idea better. It's an opportunity to offer a little something different to an area I love. Gives some time for folks to reopen and reestablish also. But recent enough to make sure some eyeballs still see Ashe County.
Donation links:
Later ...
Jax & The Crew take us out with a Brotherhood of Man classic ... 😎
Bye, bye, baby, bye, bye
Don't cry, honey, don't cry
Gonna walk out the door
But I'll soon be back for more"
Don't cry, honey, don't cry
Gonna walk out the door
But I'll soon be back for more"
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