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| Photo by Nan Griffin Barker |
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Thursday, June 30, 2011
An Old Friend - The Jet
For 37 years we had a view of the F -11 Tiger Jet as we traveled Dr. M L King Jr. Blvd. It was painted as a Marine Aircraft in those years. If you traveled from the mall area to downtown it was there to remind you of the close ties between New Bern and the Marines stationed at Cherry Point.
Recently Swiss Bear and the community had the jet restored and painted in Blue Angels colors. The jet served as the Solo plane on that team's 1966-67 season. Now when I travel from my home in Bridgeton to New Bern, I will see the Tiger fully restored on a pedestal at Lawson Creek Park. It will be a constant reminder of the affection and appreciation New Bernians have for members of our Armed Services.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Thanks to All - Tryon Palace Survives
Democracy can work. When the NC budget crisis threatened to close Tryon Palace and the NC History Center the citizens of the area and state went into action.
The Palace Restoration has been an engine for tourism that has created a demand for retirement properties in our area. The efforts of the community leaders for the last 40 years created a town superior to other small towns in the region. All of that progress would have been jeopardized if the proposed budget had passed unchanged.
The community went to work to influence the General Assembly. Mr. Bob Mattocks, members of the Tryon Palace Commission, Commissioner Tyson, Rep. Sanderson, and Sen. Preston all worked tirelessly. Swiss Bear, the Chamber and the Downtown Merchants collected petitions. Tom Ballance and others made trips to Raleigh to continue the lobbying efforts.
We extend our thanks to all of the above. Their efforts led to hundreds of our citizens responding with letters, emails, phone calls and posting on various social network sites. The Legislators responded to an outpouring of public support.
The Tryon Palace Commission will have a tough task to realign their efforts within the budget provided. Some of it will be painful but I am confident they can continue to provide the educational experience to our citizens and visitors. I am sure that we will be less likely to take for granted this tremendous cultural resource in the future.
Thanks to all who participated in this cause.
Visit the Fund the NC History Center Facebook Page
Visit my Website
The Palace Restoration has been an engine for tourism that has created a demand for retirement properties in our area. The efforts of the community leaders for the last 40 years created a town superior to other small towns in the region. All of that progress would have been jeopardized if the proposed budget had passed unchanged.
The community went to work to influence the General Assembly. Mr. Bob Mattocks, members of the Tryon Palace Commission, Commissioner Tyson, Rep. Sanderson, and Sen. Preston all worked tirelessly. Swiss Bear, the Chamber and the Downtown Merchants collected petitions. Tom Ballance and others made trips to Raleigh to continue the lobbying efforts.
We extend our thanks to all of the above. Their efforts led to hundreds of our citizens responding with letters, emails, phone calls and posting on various social network sites. The Legislators responded to an outpouring of public support.
The Tryon Palace Commission will have a tough task to realign their efforts within the budget provided. Some of it will be painful but I am confident they can continue to provide the educational experience to our citizens and visitors. I am sure that we will be less likely to take for granted this tremendous cultural resource in the future.
Thanks to all who participated in this cause.
Visit the Fund the NC History Center Facebook Page
Visit my Website
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Getting Paddled - The First Day of School
One of my most vivid memories occurred on the first day of the eighth grade. I remember thinking we had finally arrived. As an eighth grader in a grades one through eight school we were going to be kings for the entire year. The fall of 1967 certainly had promise. Those hollowed halls were at the time one of the oldest continually used public school facilities in America. My grand mother and father had attended school at this location. Now we were the kings, the masters of our domain. It is good to be king.
The opening bell sounded, we took our seats. The intercom speaker crackled and Mr. Hardison's voice welcomed us to school. He then called my name and five of my running buddies and summoned us to the office. I thought of naming the names but have decided against it. I wouldn't want to undermine any of my friends authority in their present positions by having them too closely tied to my escapades. When we inquired to the purpose of our summons we were informed he intended to exact corporal punishment upon our persons. He observed the horrified and quizzical expressions on our faces. He then told us that we had not yet committed any infractions. He went on to state that ours was a preemptive paddling. It was his opinion that most of the trouble in River City the previous year had been caused by the group assembled. He wanted to set the proper tone for the year. So much for being King.
I have told this story many times. I have found that people born after 1970 just do not understand the world in which the "Baby Boomers" lived. I often hear I would have told my parents. The parents of that day did not give their children a presumption of innocence. I never once considered going home to tell the Admiral that the Principle had paddled me for being the center of all that was wrong at the school for the preceding year. He would have investigated. I did not want the principle and my Dad having any conversation. A second paddling would have been certain along with long periods of confinement.
A good paddling was an act of grace. You misbehaved, were caught, felt guilty and then were punished. Once the paddling was completed you were completely restored. No further ramification or guilt was required. I would like to tell you I was a model student after that day. I can't. The teacher / student ratio in that day was about 1 to 30. The teachers managed quite well. Mrs. Ipock said that she liked to practice her tennis forehand by paddling her students. From my experience she must have gone undefeated that year.
The opening bell sounded, we took our seats. The intercom speaker crackled and Mr. Hardison's voice welcomed us to school. He then called my name and five of my running buddies and summoned us to the office. I thought of naming the names but have decided against it. I wouldn't want to undermine any of my friends authority in their present positions by having them too closely tied to my escapades. When we inquired to the purpose of our summons we were informed he intended to exact corporal punishment upon our persons. He observed the horrified and quizzical expressions on our faces. He then told us that we had not yet committed any infractions. He went on to state that ours was a preemptive paddling. It was his opinion that most of the trouble in River City the previous year had been caused by the group assembled. He wanted to set the proper tone for the year. So much for being King.
I have told this story many times. I have found that people born after 1970 just do not understand the world in which the "Baby Boomers" lived. I often hear I would have told my parents. The parents of that day did not give their children a presumption of innocence. I never once considered going home to tell the Admiral that the Principle had paddled me for being the center of all that was wrong at the school for the preceding year. He would have investigated. I did not want the principle and my Dad having any conversation. A second paddling would have been certain along with long periods of confinement.
A good paddling was an act of grace. You misbehaved, were caught, felt guilty and then were punished. Once the paddling was completed you were completely restored. No further ramification or guilt was required. I would like to tell you I was a model student after that day. I can't. The teacher / student ratio in that day was about 1 to 30. The teachers managed quite well. Mrs. Ipock said that she liked to practice her tennis forehand by paddling her students. From my experience she must have gone undefeated that year.
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