PEOPLE & PLACES
Moments in Time
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BY CC KALLAM Ed Bronson adjusted his wig before greeting the first carload
of people at Chatham 250’s Founding Day drive-thru event in downtown Pittsboro on April 10. Ed dressed as the county’s namesake – William Pitt the Elder, the First Earl of Chatham – at one of the nine birthday-themed stations commemorating Chatham’s 250th anniversary that were set up along a route that began near St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church and moved down West Salisbury Street. Drivers rolled from one tent to another, picking up materials and listening to stories shared by volunteers from the Chatham County Historical Association about such notable Chathamites like Lewis Freeman, the first recorded free Black settler in Pittsboro. He is remembered today through his historic home and the future Lewis Freeman Historic Park on Rectory Street. Another station hosted the Found It! Chatham Rabbit Hunt, which featured five Pittsboro Gallery of Arts artists’ ceramic rabbit statues hidden around downtown. The first 25 visitors to arrive at the Welcome Center who showed a photo of themselves with three of the five statues were eligible to receive a $10 voucher redeemable at one of the participating downtown businesses, and all participants were entered into a drawing to win a ceramic Chatham rabbit. Winners included Debra Smith, who won a sculpture by Emily Eve Weinstein, Shalea Adams, who won a rabbit by local artist Lani Chaves, and Pat Zannolli, who won a rabbit sculpted by artist Darcy Szeremi. The 250 Foundations Public Art Project volunteers helped Chathamites place rocks in the shape of the number 250, which will be displayed at Central Carolina Community College’s Pittsboro campus in front of Chatham Community Library for the rest of 2021. The day’s event was made possible through the collaboration of 31 community partners, including Chatham Arts Council, Chatham County Chamber of Commerce, Pittsboro-Siler City Convention & Visitors Bureau, Chatham County Center of the NC Cooperative Extension, Hobbs Architects, Main Street Pittsboro, Pittsboro Business Association, St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, the Town of Pittsboro and the Town of Siler City. Attendees took home goody bags filled with party hats, treats, information about the Chatham 250 time capsule (turn the page for more on that) and a paper copy of the Chatham 250 Passport, which lists activities to complete over the next few months. CM 32
CHATHAM MAGAZINE
SUMMER 2021
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