1950's --- Memories of a Local Boy
As I Recall . . . memories of a local boyPublic Transportation? Back in the late 1950's, we had the Blue Goose bus that ran down Hwy 115 from Mooresville through Davidson, Cornelius, Huntersville, Derita, and then on to the old Trailways Station on Trade St. It came through Allen Hills (our largest subdivision at the time) and passed by my house on the gravel road.Our housekeeper used it to arrive at work, and then to go home in the afternoon. I rode it on Saturdays to head downtown shopping.
Pets weren't allowed, but once I packed my brand new Boxer puppy inside a cardboard box one Saturday. I was taking him to show my Grandma. It was like playing Wack-A-Mole trying to keep that puppy head from popping into sight. . . Don't Ask, Don't Tell . . . But I knew the bus driver was having a terrible time trying to keep from laughing as he watched me in the rear view mirror.
One of my favorite stops was WT Grants on North Tryon (about 3 doors up from The Carolina Theater. They always had dyed Chicks, Ducks, & Bunnies around Easter. The guinea pigs, painted turtles and gold fish the rest of the year. Throughout the year, Grants also had the model train stuff you could only find in the big window at Sears during the holidays. Spent much of my grocery store earnings there outfitting my own Plasticsville, USA. model train layout there.. Nothing quite so enticing at Woolworth's. I bought school & office supplies for my imaginary businesses there.
My favorite meal was found in the basement at Kress Co. on the Square. Always a long wait to get seated at the counter. Tried their burger, hot dog, and grilled ham & cheese . . . but there was nothing ever so good as their Homemade Vegetable Soup and fresh made corn sticks that tasted like they had been basted in salted butter. Washed that down with a cold fountain Coke (heavy on the syrup) over crushed ice in a genuine Coca-Cola glass. Not the watery stuff you get at today's fast food places.
And Yes, I ate at the Burger King on the Square. It was on West Trade St. in what had been the basement of Liggett Drug Store. After Church at Cole Memorial on Sundays, Mom & Dad would drop me off at the Square and I would have lunch at the drug store dining room. A hot, open faced turkey sandwich smothered in gravy, fresh cooked french fries, half a bottle of ketchup, a dab of cranberry sauce and a tall fountain Coca-Cola. Then I would head down the street to either the Imperial or Carolina Theater to catch the movie of the week. Always loved those Jordan Almond candies from the concession stand, but managed to save a few for Mom. They were her favorites, too.
Afterwards, I'd walk down Tryon Street all the way to Tenth St. My grandma lived three blocks over on Pine St. and I could call my folks from there. The route took me right by the comic book & News Stand at the Square, and I would often swing around the corner to stop in the old Dixie News Center, too. I walked, as I said, because I'd have plenty of reading material, but by then I'd be stone-cold broke.
Mom & Dad? Oh, they'd have lunch at the Ming Tree Restaurant on Providence Road just across from the Manor Theater. Dad & Phil DerYuen (the owner) were old school mates. (Always amazed me how many folks Dad knew from his school days. I couldn't even name half my graduating Class at North Meck). We went to The Ming Tree oftenon weekends but usually well after the Church crowd. I loved the Chicken Chow Mein and the Almond Cookies. Mom, Dad and Phil just loved to sit and talk. . . Phil's folks ran The Oriental Restaurant downtown on West Trade St. next to the old S & W Cafeteria.
Across the street another block down was Delmonico's Restaurant. Mom used to work there as a waitress when she first came to Charlotte. She used to tell a lot of fun stories, but the one I remember best was about waiting on old Mr. Penny. . . Yeah, THAT Mr. Penny. Mom would always be stationed near the front, but he would always take a small table at the rear of the restaurant and he would ask that she be the one to wait on him. It required some extra effort, but she always got a $5.00 tip (back when $5 was worth something). One time Mom asked why he always wanted her to wait on him. He replied, "Honey. . . I just like the way you walk!" I guess I should have thought, "What a dirty old man." But I've seen photos of my Mom back then, and she was HOT!
Because of the long hours Mom & Dad worked as grocers, we ate out some nights during the week. My favorite spots were The Copal Grill on Wilkinson Blvd. (Yeah, owner Gene Gulledge was another of Dad's old school buddies.) I loved their Turkey & Dressing made with sausage, the tangy Blue Cheese Dressing that Mr. Gulledge made up special, andthe complimentary cherry jello topped with whip cream, that came with every meal.
I loved going to The Chicken Box on Seigle Ave. Doris Arrington, one of my Mom's gal friends, ran the place and she would always take time out to come sit as visit us while we ate. Doris said that they shared an apartment next door in Piedmont Courts when Mom first came to Charlotte. Doris knew my brother, sister, aunts, and cousins --- She just had to ask about everyone of them. Such a sweet, wonderful lady. . . if she would only just stop pinching my cheeks.
Don't think that I ever knew Faye's last name. She always said, "Just call me Aunty Faye." But she managed the dinning room at the Elks Club, second floor at Stonewall & Trade. And yes, she had my number. . . A basket of fresh cooked french fries and a big bowl of Faye's homemade Tartar Sauce. Didn't know what cholesterol was backthen, though I doubt I'd have much cared. I have tried to duplicate Faye's recipe through the years, but the closest I've come has some sweet relish, a hint of sweet onion, some Miracle Whip, and a couple of spoonfuls of sugar. Oh, Man, what a treat.
Another favorite hotspot later on was Honey's Restaurant on Morehead St. The food wasn't that great, but folks loved to watch the teenagers drive their cars in that endless circle through the parking lot & drive-thru. Heck, after we finished eating, Dad insisted that we make a few loops in our car before we headed home to Derita.
Closer still to Derita, was the Hi-Boy Restaurant on North Graham Street near 36th Street. Nick & his brother had one of the few area restaurants open at night where working folks could go for a reasonable-priced supper. My favorite was the fried half chicken with fries and Greek slaw or tossed salad. Mouth-watering. They must have fried it in peanut oil. So tasty, it would have been a sin to use ketchup on it.
--- originally posted on Facebook: I am a native Charlottean, by Bernie Samonds
Monday, August 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The Derita Mineral Springs
"There were times in North Mecklenburg when eggs cost 10 cents a dozen and flour came in 100 lb. sacks and water from H.A. Alexander's Springs cost 10 cents a gallon. The picnic ground was a popular place on Sunday afternoons.
"At least that's what I've been told by the folks who know, Parks Hunter and son Leslie led me on a twilight visit recently to the site where Alexander's Spring House once stood.
'As a young boy, Parks remembered how his grandfather H.A. Alexander, used to carry a bottle of his "Calcic Mineral Waters" to the neighbors whenever they were sick. No one ever swore it would cure what ails you, but Mr. Alexander drank it himself and lived to the ripe old age of 93.
"The business was a big one when the five springs were tapped in the 1900's. The downtown Charlotte office buildings, with no running water of their own, used the huge five gallon, one gallon, and half-gallon bottles at the rate of 450 gallons a day, says Inez Martin of Neal Road. Her father used to drive the old water wagon and the water truck that came later.
"The old spring house has fallen now, but Parks uncovered the old metal ram he used to prime as a boy. No, it isn't a goat. A ram is a gravity-operated water pump, Alexander's used it to pump water a good quarter-mile to their home and into an elevated water tank behind the house.
"And the Derita Mineral Springs, located just north of "Mailbox Hill," the present intersection of Mineral Springs and Neal Rds, operated until World War II. The nearest competitor, a "Silva Waters," at Long Creek leased Alexander's Mineral Springs and closed it down." --- Bernie Samonds, The Mecklenburg Gazette, 1970
Of course, the Sugar Springs Neighborhood stretches back across the old Mineral Springs property now, but you can see some old photos on our website at: http://good-times.webshots.com/album/81956247ISGbGu
Another friend tells me eight springs were actually producing there at one time, so it wasn't surprising when you early homeowners complained of damp crawl spaces and flowing water popping up in their backyards.
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"At least that's what I've been told by the folks who know, Parks Hunter and son Leslie led me on a twilight visit recently to the site where Alexander's Spring House once stood.
'As a young boy, Parks remembered how his grandfather H.A. Alexander, used to carry a bottle of his "Calcic Mineral Waters" to the neighbors whenever they were sick. No one ever swore it would cure what ails you, but Mr. Alexander drank it himself and lived to the ripe old age of 93.
"The business was a big one when the five springs were tapped in the 1900's. The downtown Charlotte office buildings, with no running water of their own, used the huge five gallon, one gallon, and half-gallon bottles at the rate of 450 gallons a day, says Inez Martin of Neal Road. Her father used to drive the old water wagon and the water truck that came later.
"The old spring house has fallen now, but Parks uncovered the old metal ram he used to prime as a boy. No, it isn't a goat. A ram is a gravity-operated water pump, Alexander's used it to pump water a good quarter-mile to their home and into an elevated water tank behind the house.
"And the Derita Mineral Springs, located just north of "Mailbox Hill," the present intersection of Mineral Springs and Neal Rds, operated until World War II. The nearest competitor, a "Silva Waters," at Long Creek leased Alexander's Mineral Springs and closed it down." --- Bernie Samonds, The Mecklenburg Gazette, 1970
Of course, the Sugar Springs Neighborhood stretches back across the old Mineral Springs property now, but you can see some old photos on our website at: http://good-times.webshots.com/album/81956247ISGbGu
Another friend tells me eight springs were actually producing there at one time, so it wasn't surprising when you early homeowners complained of damp crawl spaces and flowing water popping up in their backyards.
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History of the Nevin Community
The Nevin Community was named around 1889, when a half acre of land and 62 books were donated by Squire John P. Hunter, for a school on Nevin Road off Statesville Road.
The name "Nevin" was fully established in 1891, when Nevin Post Office was in operation on Statesville Road near the school. It was located in a store belonging to Joseph Wardin. Mail was brought by horseback from Charlotte.
Nevin Post Office closed in 1902. The name "Nevin" was given by Joseph or Mollie Wardin, who were of Irish descent. It was the name of a location in Ireland.
Mr. and Mrs. Wardin sold an additional 2 1/2 acres to Nevin School in 1919, for $250. Across the road from the Wardin property, on Statesville Road, was a two story Victorian home built by W. J. Hutchison. His first son, Olin, was
born there in 1883. On his 111 acre farm he grew cotton, corn and wheat. In the 1900's, the house became Olin's home. He was School Councilman for Nevin School, and countersigned paychecks for teachers.
When the community needed a new school, the old frame schoolhouse became a community house. It had a hip roof, a porch across the front, and had a stage inside. The house was moved down the hill eastward to make room for a 4-room brick school. The new brick school burned in 1919, and the community house (original school) was used once again until another school was built on the same foundation. Nevin School closed in March 1955. Well remembered teachers at Nevin were: Margaret McConnell, Principal; Katie Lee Conley, Gladys Todd, Ruth Melton, Lillian Bates, and Edith Tarrant.
The Wardin family heirs reclaimed the Nevin School property after the school closed. Since 1959, it has been used as was purchased in 1965, and named Nevins Center, Inc.
Nevin Community remained an undeveloped, rural area while Charlotte grew southward. Blight and deterioration of the older homes prompted the need to organize for improvement. Nevin Community Organization, Inc., began meeting
on February 26, 1987, for the purpose of community improvement through cleanup, beautification and good quality development. The organization received tax exempt status in December 1988, in order to receive grants for community improvement.We received our first grant in November 1988, and began mailing newsletters to residents. Fund raising drives have enabled us to be able to erect "Nevin Community" signs at each entrance on Statesville Road. We are rebuilding the wonderful community spirit we had 30 years ago, and discovering the good neighbors around us.
---1989. Jean Davis Burris, Nevin Community President
The name "Nevin" was fully established in 1891, when Nevin Post Office was in operation on Statesville Road near the school. It was located in a store belonging to Joseph Wardin. Mail was brought by horseback from Charlotte.
Nevin Post Office closed in 1902. The name "Nevin" was given by Joseph or Mollie Wardin, who were of Irish descent. It was the name of a location in Ireland.
Mr. and Mrs. Wardin sold an additional 2 1/2 acres to Nevin School in 1919, for $250. Across the road from the Wardin property, on Statesville Road, was a two story Victorian home built by W. J. Hutchison. His first son, Olin, was
born there in 1883. On his 111 acre farm he grew cotton, corn and wheat. In the 1900's, the house became Olin's home. He was School Councilman for Nevin School, and countersigned paychecks for teachers.
When the community needed a new school, the old frame schoolhouse became a community house. It had a hip roof, a porch across the front, and had a stage inside. The house was moved down the hill eastward to make room for a 4-room brick school. The new brick school burned in 1919, and the community house (original school) was used once again until another school was built on the same foundation. Nevin School closed in March 1955. Well remembered teachers at Nevin were: Margaret McConnell, Principal; Katie Lee Conley, Gladys Todd, Ruth Melton, Lillian Bates, and Edith Tarrant.
The Wardin family heirs reclaimed the Nevin School property after the school closed. Since 1959, it has been used as was purchased in 1965, and named Nevins Center, Inc.
Nevin Community remained an undeveloped, rural area while Charlotte grew southward. Blight and deterioration of the older homes prompted the need to organize for improvement. Nevin Community Organization, Inc., began meeting
on February 26, 1987, for the purpose of community improvement through cleanup, beautification and good quality development. The organization received tax exempt status in December 1988, in order to receive grants for community improvement.We received our first grant in November 1988, and began mailing newsletters to residents. Fund raising drives have enabled us to be able to erect "Nevin Community" signs at each entrance on Statesville Road. We are rebuilding the wonderful community spirit we had 30 years ago, and discovering the good neighbors around us.
---1989. Jean Davis Burris, Nevin Community President
Monday, July 6, 2009
Why We Can't Widen West Sugar Creek Rd
Q. I'm Puzzled. I have heard it mentioned several times that West Sugar Creek Rd. near the Derita Post Office is built on the Railroad right-of-way and that's why it can not be widened and why the Community organization hasn't been able to get the Railroad to clean it up properly. How did all that come about?
No big secret. Back in the early days, Railroads acquired (and were often given) the right-of-ways needed to bring them into a community. Local roads were little more than wide dirt paths. Rail service provided the best and most efficient way to move people, harvested crops and merchandise from one place to another.
The line from Charlotte through Derita ran all the way to the engine repair yard at Spencer (NC) with platform stops (when needed) all along the way (places like Croft, Huntersville, Caldwell Station, Cornelius, Davidson, Mt. Mourne) to load on cotton bales, vegetables, tobacco & grains and to off-load goods and supplies.
To expedite things, the roads needed to be right next to the tracks so that the farmers could pull their wagons right up to the platform (and sometimes right up to the train car for loading. Area merchants, too, tried to build their stores near the tracks to facilitate both sending and receiving their merchandise. So like the Derita location, it was a "pretty snug fit."
Until the County finally took over the dirt roads in the late 1800's, our roads were maintained by individual farmers --- each in turn, supplying a hired man and a team of mules for a month at a time. They filled potholes, removed limbs and fallen trees, etc. . Years later, the State just paved the roadway/loading area that was still in use.
Note: In years prior to the War Between the States (when we got our rail line), the U.S. Government actually gave the railroads out West up to 50 miles right-of-way on either side of tracks to get them lay track through unpopulated areas. I think the Derita right-of-way is around 100 ft.
Note: An Assemble-It-Yourself House, ordered directly from the Sears & Roebuck catalog (after World War II) is probably the most memorable delivery by train in the Derita area. The rail car was parked on a siding (probably what is now Derita Ave) and materials were hauled to the building site by wagon. A second story and siding were added and the interior was remodeled when the Devongate subdivision was built next to the original structure on Gibbon Rd. (It's the gray one with white trim, next to the yellow house with white trim). Look for it next time you drive by.
--- Our Thanks once again for information contained in
the History of Derita, as compiled and written by
the late Ona Welch Puckett.
--- submitted by Bernie Samonds
=============================================================================
No big secret. Back in the early days, Railroads acquired (and were often given) the right-of-ways needed to bring them into a community. Local roads were little more than wide dirt paths. Rail service provided the best and most efficient way to move people, harvested crops and merchandise from one place to another.
The line from Charlotte through Derita ran all the way to the engine repair yard at Spencer (NC) with platform stops (when needed) all along the way (places like Croft, Huntersville, Caldwell Station, Cornelius, Davidson, Mt. Mourne) to load on cotton bales, vegetables, tobacco & grains and to off-load goods and supplies.
To expedite things, the roads needed to be right next to the tracks so that the farmers could pull their wagons right up to the platform (and sometimes right up to the train car for loading. Area merchants, too, tried to build their stores near the tracks to facilitate both sending and receiving their merchandise. So like the Derita location, it was a "pretty snug fit."
Until the County finally took over the dirt roads in the late 1800's, our roads were maintained by individual farmers --- each in turn, supplying a hired man and a team of mules for a month at a time. They filled potholes, removed limbs and fallen trees, etc. . Years later, the State just paved the roadway/loading area that was still in use.
Note: In years prior to the War Between the States (when we got our rail line), the U.S. Government actually gave the railroads out West up to 50 miles right-of-way on either side of tracks to get them lay track through unpopulated areas. I think the Derita right-of-way is around 100 ft.
Note: An Assemble-It-Yourself House, ordered directly from the Sears & Roebuck catalog (after World War II) is probably the most memorable delivery by train in the Derita area. The rail car was parked on a siding (probably what is now Derita Ave) and materials were hauled to the building site by wagon. A second story and siding were added and the interior was remodeled when the Devongate subdivision was built next to the original structure on Gibbon Rd. (It's the gray one with white trim, next to the yellow house with white trim). Look for it next time you drive by.
--- Our Thanks once again for information contained in
the History of Derita, as compiled and written by
the late Ona Welch Puckett.
--- submitted by Bernie Samonds
=============================================================================
History of the Allen Hills - Carrie Hills Neighborhood
Q. We have enjoyed the "histories" on some of our other Neighborhoods, but what's the story behind Allen Hills-Carrie Hills?
Where to begin? I've written previously that most of Derita was comprised of big family farms, which were slowly divided as Patriarchs died and the bigger farms were divided among family and in-laws, or portions sold to newcomers that they thought would make good neighbors. It really wasn't until the mid-1950's that the population really shifted to this side of Charlotte.
In my DSRCO files, I found copies of some photos of the J.J. Allen dairy farm http://community.webshots.com/album/573295351HZeUqA which shows the old farmhouse, milking shed, barn, and the two lakes where Manning Rd, Lake Rd., and Elizabeth Rd. would soon be cut. It was pretty much vacant pasture land in these photos. I'm sure that a good many of the old tree stumps had been buried along the future Alpine Ln. and many others had been hauled off to a south pasture near the current Allen Hills Pool; land that would eventually be sold to developers in the late 1990's as the site of Carrie Woods . . . named after Mrs. Carrie Allen.
Now I have mentioned T.D. Little before, who as a young lad had grown up in one of the two houses back then on Peach Street in Derita (next street north of the Post Office) and now lives near the intersection of Allen Rd. South & Allen Rd. East. I appreciate his help in refreshing my memory here.
You may recall, long before T.D. earned his fortune selling insurance, he earned spending money during the summers by hiring on to pick cotton and other crops at the one of the large local farms. Two that he mentioned were the Young farm (at the hard left curve on Rumple Rd.) and the Griggs farm across the railroad tracks from Derita Presbyterian Church. At one farm, he could earn 65 cents a day + dinner, and the other offered $1 a day + dinner, but turns out that that farmer's wife was not as good a cook as the first. He left after the just one day. T.D. was able to re-negotiate his old job back receiving the same wages as Black workers, earning 70 cents per 100 lb of cotton he could pick. T.D. averaged 200 lbs per days and remembers himself as "rolling in cash that summer."
Family farms on Eargle Rd (later to become Grenelefe Village), at Stephens Farm Lane (later to become Poplar Springs) and the huge Hunter Farm ( soon to become Hunter Acres, and later Christenbury Hills, Devongate & General's Point) --- just to name a few, kept Derita folks pretty busy and Derita a well-known railstop. But try as you will, there was only so much money to be made at farming. Folks on the southside of Charlotte had become rich by turning their pastures into new home developments. Folks here took notice.
Back in the early 1940's, my Dad bought several acres of the old Overcash Farms wheat fields that had gone fallow. He paid $100 an acre, turning down several choice lots between here and the Railroad tracks, because he was afraid trains passing in the night might keep him from sleeping. (That property is now all I-1 & I-2). I look across the street at the Nat'l Metals warehouse, and next to it at Harris Mustang Parts, the cell tower and Truck Tech Car & Auto Repair and remember the fields of yellow grain. --- Rest assured, land in Allen Hills never again sold so cheap.
What roads existed, were dirt & gravel back then. Pavement on Graham Street (2 lanes) stopped at an huge wood workshop next to the rail line where craftsmen fashioned funeral monuments out of granite. It stood several blocks south of the current Atando Ave. rail crossing, says T.D. Little. From there, on through Derita, Mallard Creek and all the way to Concord, the roads remained dirt & gravel.
By the time my family built our house (on Camel's Hump -- what folks called these hills & the big dip on Allen Rd. South back then) pavement was extended into Derita and a short stretch of Allen Rd South had even been paved, stopping at the end of my driveway. There it became gravel again. Stayed that was until I was in junior high school at JM Alexander in Huntersville --- Yeah, I was part of the school-bussed generation).
Beside the railroad track at North Graham, I remember seeing the huge 4 x 8ft pink, white & black wooden sign announcing 300 new brick homes to be built in Allen Hills. It stood there for years. That's where I often caught the school bus each morning, so I could "run the track" for school bus driver Tommy Nix who still lives nearby on Racine Ave.
J.J. Allen and his son Tom, along with Dr. J. Allen were building a neighborhood that would attract returning servicemen who wanted to raise families. Most were ranch style homes and came with a community water system --- the Allen Hills Water Company. A covenant on most deeds called for brick houses. Can't say that they ever reached all 300 homes, but with Carrie Hills, I think the count is now about 560.
It was a busy time as the City edged north toward Derita. Swamped with home requests, the Allen's sold off part of their land to developers like M.B. Tadlock who built the houses along Twin Lane. Not far away, Robert Hunter was building Hunter Acres. In the next decade would come Randomwood off Mineral Springs Rd, Derita Woods off Derita Rd. (now Graham St.) and Ridgeview (off Rumple Rd.) Growth was overtaking us.
Why we even had one house here in Derita that was ordered out of the Sears & Roebuck catalog and arrived by rail. You folks in Devongate probably know which one I'm talking about.
We would likely have been up to our ears in "New Neighbors" before now, but the City annexed our area in the 1970's and re-zoning became a lot more complicated and costly than in the County. Many developers opted to buy the open farm land in Mallard Creek and along Prosperity Church Rd. where they could build with fewer headaches. Now what was your question again?
--- submitted by Bernie Samonds
==================================================
Where to begin? I've written previously that most of Derita was comprised of big family farms, which were slowly divided as Patriarchs died and the bigger farms were divided among family and in-laws, or portions sold to newcomers that they thought would make good neighbors. It really wasn't until the mid-1950's that the population really shifted to this side of Charlotte.
In my DSRCO files, I found copies of some photos of the J.J. Allen dairy farm http://community.webshots.com/album/573295351HZeUqA which shows the old farmhouse, milking shed, barn, and the two lakes where Manning Rd, Lake Rd., and Elizabeth Rd. would soon be cut. It was pretty much vacant pasture land in these photos. I'm sure that a good many of the old tree stumps had been buried along the future Alpine Ln. and many others had been hauled off to a south pasture near the current Allen Hills Pool; land that would eventually be sold to developers in the late 1990's as the site of Carrie Woods . . . named after Mrs. Carrie Allen.
Now I have mentioned T.D. Little before, who as a young lad had grown up in one of the two houses back then on Peach Street in Derita (next street north of the Post Office) and now lives near the intersection of Allen Rd. South & Allen Rd. East. I appreciate his help in refreshing my memory here.
You may recall, long before T.D. earned his fortune selling insurance, he earned spending money during the summers by hiring on to pick cotton and other crops at the one of the large local farms. Two that he mentioned were the Young farm (at the hard left curve on Rumple Rd.) and the Griggs farm across the railroad tracks from Derita Presbyterian Church. At one farm, he could earn 65 cents a day + dinner, and the other offered $1 a day + dinner, but turns out that that farmer's wife was not as good a cook as the first. He left after the just one day. T.D. was able to re-negotiate his old job back receiving the same wages as Black workers, earning 70 cents per 100 lb of cotton he could pick. T.D. averaged 200 lbs per days and remembers himself as "rolling in cash that summer."
Family farms on Eargle Rd (later to become Grenelefe Village), at Stephens Farm Lane (later to become Poplar Springs) and the huge Hunter Farm ( soon to become Hunter Acres, and later Christenbury Hills, Devongate & General's Point) --- just to name a few, kept Derita folks pretty busy and Derita a well-known railstop. But try as you will, there was only so much money to be made at farming. Folks on the southside of Charlotte had become rich by turning their pastures into new home developments. Folks here took notice.
Back in the early 1940's, my Dad bought several acres of the old Overcash Farms wheat fields that had gone fallow. He paid $100 an acre, turning down several choice lots between here and the Railroad tracks, because he was afraid trains passing in the night might keep him from sleeping. (That property is now all I-1 & I-2). I look across the street at the Nat'l Metals warehouse, and next to it at Harris Mustang Parts, the cell tower and Truck Tech Car & Auto Repair and remember the fields of yellow grain. --- Rest assured, land in Allen Hills never again sold so cheap.
What roads existed, were dirt & gravel back then. Pavement on Graham Street (2 lanes) stopped at an huge wood workshop next to the rail line where craftsmen fashioned funeral monuments out of granite. It stood several blocks south of the current Atando Ave. rail crossing, says T.D. Little. From there, on through Derita, Mallard Creek and all the way to Concord, the roads remained dirt & gravel.
By the time my family built our house (on Camel's Hump -- what folks called these hills & the big dip on Allen Rd. South back then) pavement was extended into Derita and a short stretch of Allen Rd South had even been paved, stopping at the end of my driveway. There it became gravel again. Stayed that was until I was in junior high school at JM Alexander in Huntersville --- Yeah, I was part of the school-bussed generation).
Beside the railroad track at North Graham, I remember seeing the huge 4 x 8ft pink, white & black wooden sign announcing 300 new brick homes to be built in Allen Hills. It stood there for years. That's where I often caught the school bus each morning, so I could "run the track" for school bus driver Tommy Nix who still lives nearby on Racine Ave.
J.J. Allen and his son Tom, along with Dr. J. Allen were building a neighborhood that would attract returning servicemen who wanted to raise families. Most were ranch style homes and came with a community water system --- the Allen Hills Water Company. A covenant on most deeds called for brick houses. Can't say that they ever reached all 300 homes, but with Carrie Hills, I think the count is now about 560.
It was a busy time as the City edged north toward Derita. Swamped with home requests, the Allen's sold off part of their land to developers like M.B. Tadlock who built the houses along Twin Lane. Not far away, Robert Hunter was building Hunter Acres. In the next decade would come Randomwood off Mineral Springs Rd, Derita Woods off Derita Rd. (now Graham St.) and Ridgeview (off Rumple Rd.) Growth was overtaking us.
Why we even had one house here in Derita that was ordered out of the Sears & Roebuck catalog and arrived by rail. You folks in Devongate probably know which one I'm talking about.
We would likely have been up to our ears in "New Neighbors" before now, but the City annexed our area in the 1970's and re-zoning became a lot more complicated and costly than in the County. Many developers opted to buy the open farm land in Mallard Creek and along Prosperity Church Rd. where they could build with fewer headaches. Now what was your question again?
--- submitted by Bernie Samonds
==================================================
Were There American Indians in the Derita Area?
Q. A friend told me that you said that RibbonWalk was an ancient Indian hunting ground. I know the Cherokees live In Cherokee & Oklahoma and the Catawba live near Rock Hill. Did Native Americans really live here in the Derita area?.
Yes, there were Native Americans living here long before the white European settlers arrived. Five separate Catawba villages lined just one nearby 20-mile stretch of the Catawba River, with many more settlements along other NC streams. They were farmers, fishermen, and makers of much-sought-after pottery that attracted trading parties from great distances.
The Cherokee, their biggest rivals, inhabited much of the piedmont from Georgia to NC. They grew some crops, but were better known as hunters and fishermen.Then there were the Lumbee, Waxhaw, Iroquois from Albemarle and many, many more. You need to forget the TV-Movie images of Indian Villages being so many days ride apart. Indians here in the eastern woodlands were not nomadic and didn't travel with the season. They populated neighboring areas, made good use of the resources, and thrived in great numbers until the settlers arrived with their European diseases.
To give you an idea of the sheer numbers in the area, the Catawba and Cherokee clashed in a three-day turf war near time French Broad River. 1700 warriors died in a single day, felled by tomahawk, headknocker, blowgun or hand-to-hand combat.
Yes, there's plenty of evidence that Native Americans were in our community. Friends of mine in Arvin Hills have shown me the arrowheads they've found. Longtime residents Nancy & Carolyn Eargle of Allen Hills put together a nice collection of flint arrowheads they picked up in the freshly plowed fields (now Grenelete Village) as they followed along, barefoot in the fresh dirt, behind their dad who was plowing.
Folks living along the creek on Ridgelane Rd. (behind Derita School (Turning Point Academy) and across from Hemby Woods & Forest Pond) have turned up shards of pottery and even the head of a tomahawk. Growing up here, I recall the story of an Indian family that kept pretty much to themselves, but lived in the dense woods off Neal Rd. as late as the 1950's.
You folks in Oakbrooke (just off Hwy 115 across from the old Fox Drive-in) may not realize it but your houses stand on an old farm. Before it was bulldozed, the old barn and well house dated back before the Civil War and Confederate soldiers hid from a passing Yankee patrol in the old corn crib there. But even before that, it was the site of a large flint outcropping where Indians chipped arrowheads from the stone.The rocks stood just north of the Scottsborough
and Hunter Acres neighborhoods. No way of telling how many arrowheads were made there, but broken ones littered the site as late as the mid 1990's. Indian writings could also be seen on the rock outcropping nearby.
The large amount of earth being moved in creating new sub-divisions and the years of falling leaves and fresh growth have covered most of the artifacts in our area, but it's still worth a look. Because of this, Museum quality relics are usually found a foot or two below the surface, but plowing, construction, and storm water frequently will wash something to the surface.
Natural areas like RibbonWalk, with freshwater lakes, creeks, forest and fields were an ideal place to find wild game, and the local tribesmen knew that. Keep a sharp eye for arrowheads as you walk the trails.
--- submitted by Bernie Samonds
============================================================
Yes, there were Native Americans living here long before the white European settlers arrived. Five separate Catawba villages lined just one nearby 20-mile stretch of the Catawba River, with many more settlements along other NC streams. They were farmers, fishermen, and makers of much-sought-after pottery that attracted trading parties from great distances.
The Cherokee, their biggest rivals, inhabited much of the piedmont from Georgia to NC. They grew some crops, but were better known as hunters and fishermen.Then there were the Lumbee, Waxhaw, Iroquois from Albemarle and many, many more. You need to forget the TV-Movie images of Indian Villages being so many days ride apart. Indians here in the eastern woodlands were not nomadic and didn't travel with the season. They populated neighboring areas, made good use of the resources, and thrived in great numbers until the settlers arrived with their European diseases.
To give you an idea of the sheer numbers in the area, the Catawba and Cherokee clashed in a three-day turf war near time French Broad River. 1700 warriors died in a single day, felled by tomahawk, headknocker, blowgun or hand-to-hand combat.
Yes, there's plenty of evidence that Native Americans were in our community. Friends of mine in Arvin Hills have shown me the arrowheads they've found. Longtime residents Nancy & Carolyn Eargle of Allen Hills put together a nice collection of flint arrowheads they picked up in the freshly plowed fields (now Grenelete Village) as they followed along, barefoot in the fresh dirt, behind their dad who was plowing.
Folks living along the creek on Ridgelane Rd. (behind Derita School (Turning Point Academy) and across from Hemby Woods & Forest Pond) have turned up shards of pottery and even the head of a tomahawk. Growing up here, I recall the story of an Indian family that kept pretty much to themselves, but lived in the dense woods off Neal Rd. as late as the 1950's.
You folks in Oakbrooke (just off Hwy 115 across from the old Fox Drive-in) may not realize it but your houses stand on an old farm. Before it was bulldozed, the old barn and well house dated back before the Civil War and Confederate soldiers hid from a passing Yankee patrol in the old corn crib there. But even before that, it was the site of a large flint outcropping where Indians chipped arrowheads from the stone.The rocks stood just north of the Scottsborough
and Hunter Acres neighborhoods. No way of telling how many arrowheads were made there, but broken ones littered the site as late as the mid 1990's. Indian writings could also be seen on the rock outcropping nearby.
The large amount of earth being moved in creating new sub-divisions and the years of falling leaves and fresh growth have covered most of the artifacts in our area, but it's still worth a look. Because of this, Museum quality relics are usually found a foot or two below the surface, but plowing, construction, and storm water frequently will wash something to the surface.
Natural areas like RibbonWalk, with freshwater lakes, creeks, forest and fields were an ideal place to find wild game, and the local tribesmen knew that. Keep a sharp eye for arrowheads as you walk the trails.
--- submitted by Bernie Samonds
============================================================
Sunday, May 17, 2009
HISTORY OF THE DERITA ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
The Derita Football Program had its beginning in 1958. It was first sponsored by North Mecklenburg Men's Club, Hefner Plumbing Company and Don's TV and Radio Repair. Mr. Don Harry was instrumental in obtaining land later known as Allen Hills Park for the use of these early teams. However, the park was owned and partially maintained by Charlotte Park and Recreation Commission. Some of the earliest coaches were Don Harry, Pete Lindley, Jack Rusher, and Tag Taggart.
In 1960 the North Mecklenburg Men's Club dropped the program, and it was rescued by Jack Rusher and I'ag Taggart. Only a Midget team (age group) was fielded in 1960. The period between 1961 and 1965 leaves historians little to go on, but from the information available, we understand that the program was continued on a limited basis with three or four men getting together in the summer and deciding to get out a football team that fall.
In the year 1966 The Derita Athletic Association was formed and incorporated as a non-profit organization. At that time it was discovered that the Association owed several thousand dollars to several distributors of sporting equipment in both Carolinas. The first task of the newly formed Association was payment of this debt. A raffle was held for this purpose and the Derita Optimist Club helped make up the difference in the debt and continued to co-sponsor the Football Program until 1970.
When the Association had been formed in 1966, a small green wooden structure was used as the concession stand. In 1970 under the leadership of Joel Price and Charlie Langan, a new cinder block concession stand was completed by the membership's sweat and toil. By this time five football teams were playing a full schedule with fine equipment and plenty of it!
In 1971 outgoing Athletic Director, Terry Morton, suggested that the Association should consider purchasing its own property for the Football Program. There was some hope at that time that one day baseball, football and basketball would be included in the athletic program of the Association.
From this beginning, in 1972 and 1973 the Association under the leadership of Bob Simril and Bill Robinson, assisted by Athletic Director, Red Mills, steadily worked toward the goal of combining the three sports and securing its,own land. Both became a reality in 1973. The three sports were officially merged in March 1973. Bob Simril was elected the first president of the combined Program. The new lighted Derita Athletic Sports Field was dedicated on October 6, 1973. On the property is a 2-story concession stand with an observation and announcer's booth.
Two new teams were added to the football program in 1973. These teams, for six and seven-year-old boys, were named the White Bandits and the Red Bandits. They played 8 games against each other in 6-minute quarter games in full equipment. This is the only such program in Mecklenburg County at the time.
PAST PRESIDENTS
1966 Mr. Lin Taylor
1967 Mr. Tom Summerville
1968 Mr. Ray Bryant
1969 Mr. Jack Rusher
1970 Mr. Charlie Langan
1971 Mr. Joel Price
1972 Mr. Bob Simril
1973 Mr. Bill Robinson
1974 Mr. Bob Sims
---- As published in the 1974 Derita Athletic Association's Derita Demons Yearbook.
THE STORY BEHIND THE BANDITS
The idea of having teams consisting of 6 and 7 year olds began during the 1973 football season. After many years of watching the younger brothers turn away during registration, then playing during practice, while their older brothers knocked heads; Red Mills, then Athletic Director of Football, decided -- why not! He opened registration to 5, 6 and 7 year olds hoping to have enough boys for two teams, so that they could play each other. After a lot of conversation and word of mouth advertising, registration time came and so did the boys and so did the parents! The Bandit program was born!
They were tagged with the names "Red Bandits" and "White Bandits". It was After many grueling days of practice at Allen Hills Park and many hard working nights and weekends work periods at Cheshire Road field that the "Red and White Bandits" met for the first game on our very own lighted field. The turnout was unbelievable, the game was indescribable'
The idea of the Bandits washed over into Basketball, then into T-bat in baseball. The Derita Athletic Association was again first in Mecklenburg County with such an idea. The boys playing and the girls cheering are the future stars in our program and the present stars in their parents eyes today.
It is an asset to our program to have the parents of the Bandits involved. Many have jumped in all the way while many are getting their feet wet gradually. Some have yet to go near the water. Time and curiosity has a way of correcting this.
To the ones who are in for the first time and the ones to come in the future - welcome - we need you, boys and-girls need you, you need your involvement. Nothing can give one the feeling such as standing on the 'sidelines yelling "Go Big Red" or "Hold'em White Bandits" then yelling the opposite when the ball changes hands.
---- from the 1974 DAA Derita Demons Yearbook
In 1960 the North Mecklenburg Men's Club dropped the program, and it was rescued by Jack Rusher and I'ag Taggart. Only a Midget team (age group) was fielded in 1960. The period between 1961 and 1965 leaves historians little to go on, but from the information available, we understand that the program was continued on a limited basis with three or four men getting together in the summer and deciding to get out a football team that fall.
In the year 1966 The Derita Athletic Association was formed and incorporated as a non-profit organization. At that time it was discovered that the Association owed several thousand dollars to several distributors of sporting equipment in both Carolinas. The first task of the newly formed Association was payment of this debt. A raffle was held for this purpose and the Derita Optimist Club helped make up the difference in the debt and continued to co-sponsor the Football Program until 1970.
When the Association had been formed in 1966, a small green wooden structure was used as the concession stand. In 1970 under the leadership of Joel Price and Charlie Langan, a new cinder block concession stand was completed by the membership's sweat and toil. By this time five football teams were playing a full schedule with fine equipment and plenty of it!
In 1971 outgoing Athletic Director, Terry Morton, suggested that the Association should consider purchasing its own property for the Football Program. There was some hope at that time that one day baseball, football and basketball would be included in the athletic program of the Association.
From this beginning, in 1972 and 1973 the Association under the leadership of Bob Simril and Bill Robinson, assisted by Athletic Director, Red Mills, steadily worked toward the goal of combining the three sports and securing its,own land. Both became a reality in 1973. The three sports were officially merged in March 1973. Bob Simril was elected the first president of the combined Program. The new lighted Derita Athletic Sports Field was dedicated on October 6, 1973. On the property is a 2-story concession stand with an observation and announcer's booth.
Two new teams were added to the football program in 1973. These teams, for six and seven-year-old boys, were named the White Bandits and the Red Bandits. They played 8 games against each other in 6-minute quarter games in full equipment. This is the only such program in Mecklenburg County at the time.
PAST PRESIDENTS
1966 Mr. Lin Taylor
1967 Mr. Tom Summerville
1968 Mr. Ray Bryant
1969 Mr. Jack Rusher
1970 Mr. Charlie Langan
1971 Mr. Joel Price
1972 Mr. Bob Simril
1973 Mr. Bill Robinson
1974 Mr. Bob Sims
---- As published in the 1974 Derita Athletic Association's Derita Demons Yearbook.
THE STORY BEHIND THE BANDITS
The idea of having teams consisting of 6 and 7 year olds began during the 1973 football season. After many years of watching the younger brothers turn away during registration, then playing during practice, while their older brothers knocked heads; Red Mills, then Athletic Director of Football, decided -- why not! He opened registration to 5, 6 and 7 year olds hoping to have enough boys for two teams, so that they could play each other. After a lot of conversation and word of mouth advertising, registration time came and so did the boys and so did the parents! The Bandit program was born!
They were tagged with the names "Red Bandits" and "White Bandits". It was After many grueling days of practice at Allen Hills Park and many hard working nights and weekends work periods at Cheshire Road field that the "Red and White Bandits" met for the first game on our very own lighted field. The turnout was unbelievable, the game was indescribable'
The idea of the Bandits washed over into Basketball, then into T-bat in baseball. The Derita Athletic Association was again first in Mecklenburg County with such an idea. The boys playing and the girls cheering are the future stars in our program and the present stars in their parents eyes today.
It is an asset to our program to have the parents of the Bandits involved. Many have jumped in all the way while many are getting their feet wet gradually. Some have yet to go near the water. Time and curiosity has a way of correcting this.
To the ones who are in for the first time and the ones to come in the future - welcome - we need you, boys and-girls need you, you need your involvement. Nothing can give one the feeling such as standing on the 'sidelines yelling "Go Big Red" or "Hold'em White Bandits" then yelling the opposite when the ball changes hands.
---- from the 1974 DAA Derita Demons Yearbook
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Horse Racing in Derita
Q.. Horse Racing in Derita? Yes, there was!
Long before we even had dirt roads in the old Charlottetown of the 1770's, young bucks used to gather at the gardens of historic Rosedale on North Tryon Street (between 36th St and Craighead Rd.) Wagers were sometimes made, but more often it was a contest not to see who had the fastest horse, but would could best impress the young ladies in attendance. No formal track, it was usually from the garden to a distant point and then back again, as fast as you can, without losing a rider or injuring your horse. As I said, the roads were little more than dirt trails and not very forgiving.
Friendly competition was not just for the idle rich. Single folks and families who gathered at the Derita Mineral Springs off Neal Road for Sunday afternoon picnics, fiddle & banjo playing, square dancing, and such also say their fair share of competition. Whether it be a surrey race or young men on horseback, most every man took pride in the animals he owned. Even a farm horse might be entered in a load pulling contest.
Through the years, there were horse tracks at the old Southern States Fairgrounds on North Tryon St. A successor track behind NorthPark Mall on Eastway Drive, with several long rows of stables just before you cross the railroad bridge to the Plaza.
But the race track that I was most surprised to hear about --- was the horse track located behind the current Derita Post Office. Mrs. Ona Puckett mentions it in her "History of Derita" and Doris Crittenden had also run across a note or two. I'd love to hear more, if your parents or grandparents have ever mentioned this one. --- Bernie Samonds, deritarep@aol.com
Long before we even had dirt roads in the old Charlottetown of the 1770's, young bucks used to gather at the gardens of historic Rosedale on North Tryon Street (between 36th St and Craighead Rd.) Wagers were sometimes made, but more often it was a contest not to see who had the fastest horse, but would could best impress the young ladies in attendance. No formal track, it was usually from the garden to a distant point and then back again, as fast as you can, without losing a rider or injuring your horse. As I said, the roads were little more than dirt trails and not very forgiving.
Friendly competition was not just for the idle rich. Single folks and families who gathered at the Derita Mineral Springs off Neal Road for Sunday afternoon picnics, fiddle & banjo playing, square dancing, and such also say their fair share of competition. Whether it be a surrey race or young men on horseback, most every man took pride in the animals he owned. Even a farm horse might be entered in a load pulling contest.
Through the years, there were horse tracks at the old Southern States Fairgrounds on North Tryon St. A successor track behind NorthPark Mall on Eastway Drive, with several long rows of stables just before you cross the railroad bridge to the Plaza.
But the race track that I was most surprised to hear about --- was the horse track located behind the current Derita Post Office. Mrs. Ona Puckett mentions it in her "History of Derita" and Doris Crittenden had also run across a note or two. I'd love to hear more, if your parents or grandparents have ever mentioned this one. --- Bernie Samonds, deritarep@aol.com
Memories of Griffin's Fish Camp
I remember going to Griffin's Fish Camp, set far back in the woods off West Sugar Creek Rd. down a long gravel road behind Cheshire Field. If you didn't know it was there you'd miss it. But all of us local folks knew, and boy did we. Looked like a big hunting lodge from the outside with it slab board siding. But you could smell the hot grease and fried fish wafting through the dimly lit parking lot as soon as you got
out of your car.
The interior was done in early American plywood, from the walls to the cushion-less long booths that could sit 5 or more persons on a side, more if you weren't that big. Music was usually blaring and the waitresses would be rushing about with huge trays of freshly fried fish, straight from the deep fryer and still steaming. Across the way. a table was calling for a fresh pitcher and the folks would be chomping down on a tray of hot hushpuppies as Mrs. Griffin or Mrs. Stephenson took their dinner order.
I'd be checking out the music listed, turning page after page in the boothside console. Tunes were 3 for 25 cents, and the newest records were probably only listed on the juke box hear the cash register. It was set to play loud, but even that wasn't always loud enough to be heard over all the people talking, laughing, and partying on. This was the fun place to be, even if the fish hadn't been the best we'd ever eaten.
My Mom, Dad & I used to go there for dinner often. It was about the only place open nearby by the time we closed the grocery store at night. Mom & Dad would enjoy a cold beer with their meal, followed by some hot coffee (to settle the grease). I'd get a soda or sweet iced tea (and I mean really sweet). Then Dad would walk up to the cash register to get some quarters. Even though Mr. Griffin and his son were working away at the fryers, he would let out a big belly laugh and take a short break because he knew what was about to follow. Dad would feed a couple of quarters into the juke box and push a few buttons. Maybe a current hit to give Dad time to get back to the booth, but then it played. . . Shall We Gather at the River . . .Onward Christian
Soldiers! . . . Oh, I don't remember them all, but there were about 4 or 5 songs that were always found on the jukebox at Griffin's. The Party Crowd would go bananas! "Who played that?" "Somebody shut that thing off!" My Dad and Mr. Griffin would be rolling in the aisles.
Sad day when we heard the place burned down. Grease fire, electrical wiring started it, they said. But you know, even to this day, I still have folks asking me if I had ever been to a Fish Camp out in Derita somewhere and if it's still there? . . . I have and it was the best. --- Bernie Samonds
Re: Griffin's Fish Camp
Griffin's rocked! Two memories ... my cousin, Donnie Baker, a 1967 North Meck grad, lived in Hunter Acres, just down the road a little from Griffin's. One summer I was visiting them, probably would've been around 1966, and we walked down the road to Griffin's ... woulda been in the middle of the afternoon. We walk up to the jukebox, and I saw a 45 of a new Beach Boys song that had just come out, but it was the flip side I wanted my cousin to hear. Donnie was a GIGANTIC Beach Boys fan, and I'm pretty sure both these songs were on Pet Sounds which had just come out. So we stood there, jamming to the Beach Boys! My other Griffin Fish Camp memory comes from what was probably my last trip down there. I'm going to say it was around 1972. I was there with my father and mother. My Dad was a great guy but not particularly articulate. Someone at the table mentioned an incident where someone died in a fire. Everything got quiet for a minute, then my Dad said: "Dying in a fire probably wouldn't be so bad, if you'd just burn up real quick." Right, Dad! --- Jim Brown, Tyler, TX
out of your car.
The interior was done in early American plywood, from the walls to the cushion-less long booths that could sit 5 or more persons on a side, more if you weren't that big. Music was usually blaring and the waitresses would be rushing about with huge trays of freshly fried fish, straight from the deep fryer and still steaming. Across the way. a table was calling for a fresh pitcher and the folks would be chomping down on a tray of hot hushpuppies as Mrs. Griffin or Mrs. Stephenson took their dinner order.
I'd be checking out the music listed, turning page after page in the boothside console. Tunes were 3 for 25 cents, and the newest records were probably only listed on the juke box hear the cash register. It was set to play loud, but even that wasn't always loud enough to be heard over all the people talking, laughing, and partying on. This was the fun place to be, even if the fish hadn't been the best we'd ever eaten.
My Mom, Dad & I used to go there for dinner often. It was about the only place open nearby by the time we closed the grocery store at night. Mom & Dad would enjoy a cold beer with their meal, followed by some hot coffee (to settle the grease). I'd get a soda or sweet iced tea (and I mean really sweet). Then Dad would walk up to the cash register to get some quarters. Even though Mr. Griffin and his son were working away at the fryers, he would let out a big belly laugh and take a short break because he knew what was about to follow. Dad would feed a couple of quarters into the juke box and push a few buttons. Maybe a current hit to give Dad time to get back to the booth, but then it played. . . Shall We Gather at the River . . .Onward Christian
Soldiers! . . . Oh, I don't remember them all, but there were about 4 or 5 songs that were always found on the jukebox at Griffin's. The Party Crowd would go bananas! "Who played that?" "Somebody shut that thing off!" My Dad and Mr. Griffin would be rolling in the aisles.
Sad day when we heard the place burned down. Grease fire, electrical wiring started it, they said. But you know, even to this day, I still have folks asking me if I had ever been to a Fish Camp out in Derita somewhere and if it's still there? . . . I have and it was the best. --- Bernie Samonds
Re: Griffin's Fish Camp
Griffin's rocked! Two memories ... my cousin, Donnie Baker, a 1967 North Meck grad, lived in Hunter Acres, just down the road a little from Griffin's. One summer I was visiting them, probably would've been around 1966, and we walked down the road to Griffin's ... woulda been in the middle of the afternoon. We walk up to the jukebox, and I saw a 45 of a new Beach Boys song that had just come out, but it was the flip side I wanted my cousin to hear. Donnie was a GIGANTIC Beach Boys fan, and I'm pretty sure both these songs were on Pet Sounds which had just come out. So we stood there, jamming to the Beach Boys! My other Griffin Fish Camp memory comes from what was probably my last trip down there. I'm going to say it was around 1972. I was there with my father and mother. My Dad was a great guy but not particularly articulate. Someone at the table mentioned an incident where someone died in a fire. Everything got quiet for a minute, then my Dad said: "Dying in a fire probably wouldn't be so bad, if you'd just burn up real quick." Right, Dad! --- Jim Brown, Tyler, TX
Friday, April 17, 2009
The Snows on The Three Consecutive Wednesdays, 1960
A "Latch Key Kid" Remembers . . .
I never thought of myself as a Latch Key Kid until just recently. I had always been kind of independent and pretty disciplined. Although my teenage older brother was usually nearby, out playing with his teenage friends when we lived in Oakhurst, my caretaker was a mixed boxer-bulldog who used to block my path whenever I tried to leave the house or headed out of the yard --- once I had liberated myself from years of kindergarten, that is. I got my real independence when I started riding the City bus alone at age 6 (although I think they were owned by Duke Power back then, because the busses were kind of a faded gold & gray in color.) I would ride downtown to the movies, or to my folk's store, or transfer and go to Grandma's.
Mom and Dad both worked long hours at our first grocery store on McDowell St. It was just two doors up from the House of Prayer, and one door down from Mr. Barker's where I bought bubble gum and perforated caps for my six-shooter. And yes, I met Sweet Daddy Grace . . . the real one. He stopped in the old G&C Grocery quite often during those early days, as did his "Special Police" and many members of his Band and his Congregation. It was really a grand time when his return to Charlotte would be marked with special parades and folks crowded shoulder-to-shoulder along McDowell St.
Good things were happening for us back then. Dad and another business partner opened another store on Beatties Ford Rd. and Mom finally convinced Dad it was time to build our home on the wooded lot we owned on Allen Rd. South in Derita. That was 1952. The new store kept them busy, 8am every morning until 7pm every night and usually 8:30 - 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays. But they made a real go of it on Beatties Ford Road and Mom bought out my Dad's partner (to satisfy terms of their original deal). He stayed on, because there was plenty of work for the three of them. plus the two stockboy/delivery boys and the delivery driver who worked weekends. I used to work weekends and everyday through the summer by the time I was ten.
I started at $1 a day, plus movie money of weekends.
Me??? Well, that's where the Latch Key comes in I guess. I was in school most of the day, riding "the Second Load" from Statesville Rd. Elementary, which meant I was usually 4:30pm getting home. I'd retrieve my hidden key and head inside for a quick change of clothes and take time to fix myself a PB&J with a big glass of milk. If my homework wasn't heavy, I'd dash out the door to meet up with friends.
Linda Akins lived in the green house at the top of the hill. She was a real tomboy and we'd play Cowboy & Indians with our cap pistols or ride our bicycles over at the trucking center parking lot until they ran us off. Allen Rd. South was still mostly a large gravel road, but Overland Trucking had a fine gravel lot made for smooth riding. By 6pm, her Mom had come home from work and Linda would have to go in.
Mark Kilby lived down the street from me. He was younger than me, but we would ride bicycles, build things, and work on my model train layout. His Mom was usually home during the day. She would insist that if Mark came up to visit, I had to go to their house the next time. At Mark's we'd "create towns" in the backyard with a huge pile of un-used bricks, read books or play board games. At my house we would "play war" in the woods, wrestle and rough-house, and work some more on the model train. You can guess where Mark and I really preferred to play.
We added a few more friends as the new houses were being built in Allen Hills, but Linda, Mark and I were best buds for quite a few years. Which leads me to the Winter of 1960. Linda and I both road school buses, but in opposite directions. I think Mark was going to Derita School back then. I'm pretty sure we were all praying for a heavy snow that first Tuesday night in March. It was pretty cold in the morning out there waiting for the school bus to arrive, most of the time it was still dark as I walked to the top of the hill to wait for it. Even worse when it was drizzling rain.
Can't remember if Doug Mayes the Esso reporter was doing the news on Channel 3 or if I had seen Alan Newcombe reporting the forecast as Atlantic (gasoline company) Weatherman late that night, but somebody had predicted snow and all three of us were hoping. As I recall, we made it to school that morning and flakes began to fall about midday. By 1pm. the bus "First Load" was traveling home (had to serve us the big lunch the cafeteria ladies had already cooked) and it was getting thick and slushy before our "Second Load" ever hit the road. Figure I must have "abandoned ship," because my school bus didn't make it up the hill in front of the Kilby's. The wheels would spin, smoke and steam would fly, but in the end, the big bus would slide back down to the bottom of the big dip on Allen Rd. South. Two county trucks with chains eventually hooked on to the front of it and hauled it to the top of the hill.
It snowed and it snowed. I went out several times that evening, but came back coldand soggy. I had decided to hold off until morning. Surely, there would be no school tomorrow. . . About midnight or maybe it was earlier in the morning, I heard voices outside my window. The snow had let up and some of the neighborhood teenagers were out on the road with sheets of cardboard. The cars coming home from work had packed the road just well enough that there were some icy grooves. Good thing those folks got home when they did, no one would dare tackle Allen Rd South without chains once the sun went down. Well those guys sledded (on their cardboard) for a couple of hours. Other folks, mostly young couples I think, were out walking up the street and watching the snow fall.
Mom fixed a hot breakfast for me, kissed my on the cheek and told me she was heading into work early with my Dad in the pickup. (I didn't mention that our store was in an older neighborhood and we sold a lot of kerosene (heating oil) by the gallon jug. Folks would be lined up waiting for them. Kerosene to heat the house and kerosene to heat their water.)
I had an honest to goodness sled in the basement, but it was a lost cause. The snow was too fine and the metal runners sunk all of the way to the gravel road. But where there's a will, there's a way. I had one of those old red & white rectangular CocaCola signs about 6 ft. long and probably 30 inches wide. If Linda, Mark and I pushed and shoved, we would snag a ride on the steeper sections of the road, but we would bottom out a little later. That's when I suggested the big hill behind my house. It was level with Linda's yard at the top, ran steeply downhill and then
bottomed out in a huge gulley stopping just short of the creek. It was one heck of a ride and the three of us repeated it over and over that day until we couldn't climb the hill any more.
The sun had been out most of the day, so it was pretty much a toss up whether we would have school the next day or not. But we were in luck. The roads were in much better shape here, but not in the north end of the county. We got the day off, grabbed the big red sign and headed back for our hill. The previous snow had melted and then re-frozen during the night in my yard. It crunched under our feet as we walked, though it was still probably 4-5 inches deep. But what we didn't consider was that it had done the same on our tree shaded hill.
Linda climbed onto the front of the sign. I was to give us a shove and then jump onto the rear as it started moving downhill. Well, I'm here to tell you that I almost got left behind. The hill was a sheet of ice and we were moving, moving fast, moving faster that we had ever moved before. We passed the end of yesterday's run, bounded over a fallen log and went airborne taking out the tops of several saplings that stood between us and the creek. It was just about that time that the red sign hit a sawed off tree stump stopping it dead in its tracks. Linda and I were hurled forward fortunately into a huge tangle of honeysuckle and vines which stopped us both before
we could hit the creek. I pulled myself together, as did she. Nothing seemed to be broken, although my bottom was smarting from the bumpy portion of that last ride. And yes, we rode it another time or two until the glide path had worn thin and there was mostly leaves and pine needles with all of the snow pilled at the bottom of the hill. Sadly, the hill was too thick with trees to have much success elsewhere. Mark didn't get to join us because we had played at my house the day before.
By Monday, we were back in class again. But come that next Wednesday, and the Wednesday after we had snow again. What was it Mom always used to say, "If it snows and the lays on the ground from three days, it will snow again."? Well, I don't know about that, but I do know we had a lot of fun that year.
It was also the first year of NASCAR Racing at the Charlotte Motor Speedway (LMS), but the snows had delayed construction so much that the race had to be put off until mid-June instead of May. And that's the way I remember it. --- Bernie Samonds
I never thought of myself as a Latch Key Kid until just recently. I had always been kind of independent and pretty disciplined. Although my teenage older brother was usually nearby, out playing with his teenage friends when we lived in Oakhurst, my caretaker was a mixed boxer-bulldog who used to block my path whenever I tried to leave the house or headed out of the yard --- once I had liberated myself from years of kindergarten, that is. I got my real independence when I started riding the City bus alone at age 6 (although I think they were owned by Duke Power back then, because the busses were kind of a faded gold & gray in color.) I would ride downtown to the movies, or to my folk's store, or transfer and go to Grandma's.
Mom and Dad both worked long hours at our first grocery store on McDowell St. It was just two doors up from the House of Prayer, and one door down from Mr. Barker's where I bought bubble gum and perforated caps for my six-shooter. And yes, I met Sweet Daddy Grace . . . the real one. He stopped in the old G&C Grocery quite often during those early days, as did his "Special Police" and many members of his Band and his Congregation. It was really a grand time when his return to Charlotte would be marked with special parades and folks crowded shoulder-to-shoulder along McDowell St.
Good things were happening for us back then. Dad and another business partner opened another store on Beatties Ford Rd. and Mom finally convinced Dad it was time to build our home on the wooded lot we owned on Allen Rd. South in Derita. That was 1952. The new store kept them busy, 8am every morning until 7pm every night and usually 8:30 - 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays. But they made a real go of it on Beatties Ford Road and Mom bought out my Dad's partner (to satisfy terms of their original deal). He stayed on, because there was plenty of work for the three of them. plus the two stockboy/delivery boys and the delivery driver who worked weekends. I used to work weekends and everyday through the summer by the time I was ten.
I started at $1 a day, plus movie money of weekends.
Me??? Well, that's where the Latch Key comes in I guess. I was in school most of the day, riding "the Second Load" from Statesville Rd. Elementary, which meant I was usually 4:30pm getting home. I'd retrieve my hidden key and head inside for a quick change of clothes and take time to fix myself a PB&J with a big glass of milk. If my homework wasn't heavy, I'd dash out the door to meet up with friends.
Linda Akins lived in the green house at the top of the hill. She was a real tomboy and we'd play Cowboy & Indians with our cap pistols or ride our bicycles over at the trucking center parking lot until they ran us off. Allen Rd. South was still mostly a large gravel road, but Overland Trucking had a fine gravel lot made for smooth riding. By 6pm, her Mom had come home from work and Linda would have to go in.
Mark Kilby lived down the street from me. He was younger than me, but we would ride bicycles, build things, and work on my model train layout. His Mom was usually home during the day. She would insist that if Mark came up to visit, I had to go to their house the next time. At Mark's we'd "create towns" in the backyard with a huge pile of un-used bricks, read books or play board games. At my house we would "play war" in the woods, wrestle and rough-house, and work some more on the model train. You can guess where Mark and I really preferred to play.
We added a few more friends as the new houses were being built in Allen Hills, but Linda, Mark and I were best buds for quite a few years. Which leads me to the Winter of 1960. Linda and I both road school buses, but in opposite directions. I think Mark was going to Derita School back then. I'm pretty sure we were all praying for a heavy snow that first Tuesday night in March. It was pretty cold in the morning out there waiting for the school bus to arrive, most of the time it was still dark as I walked to the top of the hill to wait for it. Even worse when it was drizzling rain.
Can't remember if Doug Mayes the Esso reporter was doing the news on Channel 3 or if I had seen Alan Newcombe reporting the forecast as Atlantic (gasoline company) Weatherman late that night, but somebody had predicted snow and all three of us were hoping. As I recall, we made it to school that morning and flakes began to fall about midday. By 1pm. the bus "First Load" was traveling home (had to serve us the big lunch the cafeteria ladies had already cooked) and it was getting thick and slushy before our "Second Load" ever hit the road. Figure I must have "abandoned ship," because my school bus didn't make it up the hill in front of the Kilby's. The wheels would spin, smoke and steam would fly, but in the end, the big bus would slide back down to the bottom of the big dip on Allen Rd. South. Two county trucks with chains eventually hooked on to the front of it and hauled it to the top of the hill.
It snowed and it snowed. I went out several times that evening, but came back coldand soggy. I had decided to hold off until morning. Surely, there would be no school tomorrow. . . About midnight or maybe it was earlier in the morning, I heard voices outside my window. The snow had let up and some of the neighborhood teenagers were out on the road with sheets of cardboard. The cars coming home from work had packed the road just well enough that there were some icy grooves. Good thing those folks got home when they did, no one would dare tackle Allen Rd South without chains once the sun went down. Well those guys sledded (on their cardboard) for a couple of hours. Other folks, mostly young couples I think, were out walking up the street and watching the snow fall.
Mom fixed a hot breakfast for me, kissed my on the cheek and told me she was heading into work early with my Dad in the pickup. (I didn't mention that our store was in an older neighborhood and we sold a lot of kerosene (heating oil) by the gallon jug. Folks would be lined up waiting for them. Kerosene to heat the house and kerosene to heat their water.)
I had an honest to goodness sled in the basement, but it was a lost cause. The snow was too fine and the metal runners sunk all of the way to the gravel road. But where there's a will, there's a way. I had one of those old red & white rectangular CocaCola signs about 6 ft. long and probably 30 inches wide. If Linda, Mark and I pushed and shoved, we would snag a ride on the steeper sections of the road, but we would bottom out a little later. That's when I suggested the big hill behind my house. It was level with Linda's yard at the top, ran steeply downhill and then
bottomed out in a huge gulley stopping just short of the creek. It was one heck of a ride and the three of us repeated it over and over that day until we couldn't climb the hill any more.
The sun had been out most of the day, so it was pretty much a toss up whether we would have school the next day or not. But we were in luck. The roads were in much better shape here, but not in the north end of the county. We got the day off, grabbed the big red sign and headed back for our hill. The previous snow had melted and then re-frozen during the night in my yard. It crunched under our feet as we walked, though it was still probably 4-5 inches deep. But what we didn't consider was that it had done the same on our tree shaded hill.
Linda climbed onto the front of the sign. I was to give us a shove and then jump onto the rear as it started moving downhill. Well, I'm here to tell you that I almost got left behind. The hill was a sheet of ice and we were moving, moving fast, moving faster that we had ever moved before. We passed the end of yesterday's run, bounded over a fallen log and went airborne taking out the tops of several saplings that stood between us and the creek. It was just about that time that the red sign hit a sawed off tree stump stopping it dead in its tracks. Linda and I were hurled forward fortunately into a huge tangle of honeysuckle and vines which stopped us both before
we could hit the creek. I pulled myself together, as did she. Nothing seemed to be broken, although my bottom was smarting from the bumpy portion of that last ride. And yes, we rode it another time or two until the glide path had worn thin and there was mostly leaves and pine needles with all of the snow pilled at the bottom of the hill. Sadly, the hill was too thick with trees to have much success elsewhere. Mark didn't get to join us because we had played at my house the day before.
By Monday, we were back in class again. But come that next Wednesday, and the Wednesday after we had snow again. What was it Mom always used to say, "If it snows and the lays on the ground from three days, it will snow again."? Well, I don't know about that, but I do know we had a lot of fun that year.
It was also the first year of NASCAR Racing at the Charlotte Motor Speedway (LMS), but the snows had delayed construction so much that the race had to be put off until mid-June instead of May. And that's the way I remember it. --- Bernie Samonds
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Living Next Door to the Outlaw Motorcycle Gang
Okay, If I had a nickel for every time I get this question . . . Here goes!
Yes, back in the 1970's when my Mom & Dad ran The Cubbyhole Grocery, a
small convenience store on Allen Rd. South (now Charlotte Rod & Custom) ---
The Outlaw Motorcycle Gang lived in a small green house next door. (Now office
& warehouse for Western Waterproofing Co., Inc.)
They had secured the yard with a high board fence. The windows were shuttered
and access was handled through a solid gate on the Graham St.side. Other than
that, the house and grounds looked pretty much as they did when Harvey Akins &
his family had lived there. The Gang did add a firepit out back for an occasional
bonfire or cookout.
You've probably heard the old admonition, "You don't S____ (Mess) where you live!"
Well, that was true of the Outlaws. They were good neighbors, probably even better
than some. Even with the sometimes late night arrivals of traveling motorcyclists,
they really made no more noise than the trucking company on the other side
of their house.
In the store, in public, and around neighbors --- their language was clean and
probably with less inuendo than an average high school teenager's. The Gang Girls
did dress rather skimpy during the summer. Outside, I saw a leopard print bikini
more than once but the girls usually slipped on a oversize tee when coming to
the store. Though once I recall hearing a shrill whistle emanating from somewhere
near the parking lot and a then voice booming over the wood fence, "Come back
here and get some clothes on!" when one of the visiting girls attempted to do her
grocery shopping in a thong and bikini top.
Often when I was away leading my weekly Boy Scout meeting, on a campout,
or maybe taking the Seniors on a trip --- a Gang Member, sometimes two, would
come over, pull up a stool in the corner behind the checkout counter and sit with
Mom or a night cashier until closing time. The store had been robbed before, but
never when a Gang member was present . . . Even guys that looked suspicious
did not tarry long when they saw who was "watching our backs."
For the most part, they were courteous and polite --- far different from the reps
they had on-the-road. News accounts talk about arrests for racketeering,
conspiracy, cocaine conspiracy, and participating in a bombing. Away from here
they were definitely not angels. It wasn't unusual to see a Gang member with a
broken wrist, and arm, or a leg in a cast. It might have resulted from a bar fight,
a rout with another gang, an initiation, or even as Club discipline, if a member
got out of line.
But that's not really what most people want to ask me about. They want to know
about the July 4th Massacre. One account reads:
"Angels In Derita: Welcome to the Derita neighborhood in northwest Charlotte.
Specifically, 2500 Allen Road South. Looks pretty quiet, doesn't it? Well, it was
anything but quiet on the night of July 4, 1970. That's when five Outlaw motorcycle
gang members had body parts blown all over the house in the infamous "July 4
Massacre." Four of the shooting victims were male gang members; the other was
17-year-old Bridgett Suzanne Benfield, a woman who rode with the gang. Members
of the rival Hells Angels motorcycle gang were suspected, but no charges were
ever filed."
First of all, I was not at home that weekend. Like most folks, I heard the news on
the television the next morning. I called home to see if my folks were all right. They
were. They had heard some gunfire during the night and then a near-endless
screech of sirens as Police & Medic arrived on the scene. Other than the original
reports, information was clamped down tight.
Yes, I knew Bridget well and Bill (the tall, lanky 20-something kid you used to sit in
the store at night with my folks). The others I knew in passing. Sometimes, one or
more of them would come knock on my door at 2 or 3am when travelling riders would
arrive here long after closing time. They usually asked earlier and I would go open up
the store so they could fill their tanks or grab a snack. They, too, obeyed the rule and
didn't create a scene at another Chapter's house.
Yes, I was often invited over for a beer or to join the party --- but No. I never did.
Something else that seems to surprise folks. I used to print their Christmas Cards
each year at my small print shop. Yes, The Outlaws send Christmas Cards! Not
your usual cherubs or gaily lit Christmas Trees. This Chapter usually requested a
white skull over crossed pistons (that looked more like bullets to me) and red eyes.
Inside was a worded holiday message and usually everyone in the Chapter signed
it. The cards were sometimes mailed, but usually hand-delivered as riders passed
though. But I'm getting off-topic here.
This account suggests that Hell's Angels done them in as the Outlaws slept,
but few folks believe that. There was no fierce battle. In fact most slept as the
assassins slipped past the Security Watch. Could he have been asleep. Not
likely. An offense like that could easily have gotten the Guard a broken leg as
discipline. Could be it was a disgruntled Gang member who opened the gate
for the outsiders and then got shot for his trouble. A number of theories still
exist.
I never went in the house after that, though some local teens did (either in
curiosity or on a dare). Police say they found a small arsenal at the crime scene.
Upstairs, the attic had purportedly been lined with sheet metal and gun ports.
But who's to say. Not long after that I was awakened at home by a report that
the store was on fire. It wasn't. It was the Outlaws house next door and the
flames shot high in the air. It had been doused well and torched. The Gang had
already moved to a new location, reportedly one that was better fortified. The
fire department put out this blaze, but the structure was torched again a few days
later and this time pretty much burned to the foundation.
After the Gang moved, I printed their Christmas Cards one last year. The
following year, a rider stopped by to pick up the artwork, any plates, negatives,
and file copies. The Gang had a new printer. He thanked me and left. For the
next few years, Members returned here to Allen Hills for a ride-by en masse on
the July 4th Anniversary. Haven't seen them in years, but I understand that
"The Outlaws today exist as one of the largest Motorcycle Clubs worldwide."
--- Bernie Samonds
==========================================================================
Yes, back in the 1970's when my Mom & Dad ran The Cubbyhole Grocery, a
small convenience store on Allen Rd. South (now Charlotte Rod & Custom) ---
The Outlaw Motorcycle Gang lived in a small green house next door. (Now office
& warehouse for Western Waterproofing Co., Inc.)
They had secured the yard with a high board fence. The windows were shuttered
and access was handled through a solid gate on the Graham St.side. Other than
that, the house and grounds looked pretty much as they did when Harvey Akins &
his family had lived there. The Gang did add a firepit out back for an occasional
bonfire or cookout.
You've probably heard the old admonition, "You don't S____ (Mess) where you live!"
Well, that was true of the Outlaws. They were good neighbors, probably even better
than some. Even with the sometimes late night arrivals of traveling motorcyclists,
they really made no more noise than the trucking company on the other side
of their house.
In the store, in public, and around neighbors --- their language was clean and
probably with less inuendo than an average high school teenager's. The Gang Girls
did dress rather skimpy during the summer. Outside, I saw a leopard print bikini
more than once but the girls usually slipped on a oversize tee when coming to
the store. Though once I recall hearing a shrill whistle emanating from somewhere
near the parking lot and a then voice booming over the wood fence, "Come back
here and get some clothes on!" when one of the visiting girls attempted to do her
grocery shopping in a thong and bikini top.
Often when I was away leading my weekly Boy Scout meeting, on a campout,
or maybe taking the Seniors on a trip --- a Gang Member, sometimes two, would
come over, pull up a stool in the corner behind the checkout counter and sit with
Mom or a night cashier until closing time. The store had been robbed before, but
never when a Gang member was present . . . Even guys that looked suspicious
did not tarry long when they saw who was "watching our backs."
For the most part, they were courteous and polite --- far different from the reps
they had on-the-road. News accounts talk about arrests for racketeering,
conspiracy, cocaine conspiracy, and participating in a bombing. Away from here
they were definitely not angels. It wasn't unusual to see a Gang member with a
broken wrist, and arm, or a leg in a cast. It might have resulted from a bar fight,
a rout with another gang, an initiation, or even as Club discipline, if a member
got out of line.
But that's not really what most people want to ask me about. They want to know
about the July 4th Massacre. One account reads:
"Angels In Derita: Welcome to the Derita neighborhood in northwest Charlotte.
Specifically, 2500 Allen Road South. Looks pretty quiet, doesn't it? Well, it was
anything but quiet on the night of July 4, 1970. That's when five Outlaw motorcycle
gang members had body parts blown all over the house in the infamous "July 4
Massacre." Four of the shooting victims were male gang members; the other was
17-year-old Bridgett Suzanne Benfield, a woman who rode with the gang. Members
of the rival Hells Angels motorcycle gang were suspected, but no charges were
ever filed."
First of all, I was not at home that weekend. Like most folks, I heard the news on
the television the next morning. I called home to see if my folks were all right. They
were. They had heard some gunfire during the night and then a near-endless
screech of sirens as Police & Medic arrived on the scene. Other than the original
reports, information was clamped down tight.
Yes, I knew Bridget well and Bill (the tall, lanky 20-something kid you used to sit in
the store at night with my folks). The others I knew in passing. Sometimes, one or
more of them would come knock on my door at 2 or 3am when travelling riders would
arrive here long after closing time. They usually asked earlier and I would go open up
the store so they could fill their tanks or grab a snack. They, too, obeyed the rule and
didn't create a scene at another Chapter's house.
Yes, I was often invited over for a beer or to join the party --- but No. I never did.
Something else that seems to surprise folks. I used to print their Christmas Cards
each year at my small print shop. Yes, The Outlaws send Christmas Cards! Not
your usual cherubs or gaily lit Christmas Trees. This Chapter usually requested a
white skull over crossed pistons (that looked more like bullets to me) and red eyes.
Inside was a worded holiday message and usually everyone in the Chapter signed
it. The cards were sometimes mailed, but usually hand-delivered as riders passed
though. But I'm getting off-topic here.
This account suggests that Hell's Angels done them in as the Outlaws slept,
but few folks believe that. There was no fierce battle. In fact most slept as the
assassins slipped past the Security Watch. Could he have been asleep. Not
likely. An offense like that could easily have gotten the Guard a broken leg as
discipline. Could be it was a disgruntled Gang member who opened the gate
for the outsiders and then got shot for his trouble. A number of theories still
exist.
I never went in the house after that, though some local teens did (either in
curiosity or on a dare). Police say they found a small arsenal at the crime scene.
Upstairs, the attic had purportedly been lined with sheet metal and gun ports.
But who's to say. Not long after that I was awakened at home by a report that
the store was on fire. It wasn't. It was the Outlaws house next door and the
flames shot high in the air. It had been doused well and torched. The Gang had
already moved to a new location, reportedly one that was better fortified. The
fire department put out this blaze, but the structure was torched again a few days
later and this time pretty much burned to the foundation.
After the Gang moved, I printed their Christmas Cards one last year. The
following year, a rider stopped by to pick up the artwork, any plates, negatives,
and file copies. The Gang had a new printer. He thanked me and left. For the
next few years, Members returned here to Allen Hills for a ride-by en masse on
the July 4th Anniversary. Haven't seen them in years, but I understand that
"The Outlaws today exist as one of the largest Motorcycle Clubs worldwide."
--- Bernie Samonds
==========================================================================
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