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News from a neighbor!
Volume 84 • Issue 47
• Belmont • Cramerton • Lowell • McAdenville • Mount Holly • Stanley
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Seniors recall old time Thanksgivings By Alan Hodge alan.bannernews@gmail.com
Thanksgiving is here and for most folks the day will form memories for the future. The clients at the East Gaston Adult Day Care Center in Catawba Heights enjoy a variety of activities during their hours there, and sharing recollections of holidays decades ago is just one of them. Here are the thoughts some of those folks had concerning the Thanksgiving celebrations of their youth. James Mayberry, 62, grew up in Mt. Holly. He says his family always had a very traditional Thanksgiving day. “The whole family would get together,” said Mayberry. “My mother would cook a turkey and dressing. After we ate, everyone would sit around and watch football games on TV.” Mayberry says he has a lot to be thankful for these days too. “I'm thankful for my church, Refuge Church of God in Lake Wylie,” he said. “My grandkids are a blessing to me too. They are three boys. We are looking to keeping our family tradition going this Thanksgiving.” Minnie Pinkney, 83, grew up on a farm in Hamlet, N.C.
“We had a big family, there were twelve of us,” she said. “When it came time to eat Thanksgiving dinner, boy, we had plenty of food! We would eat turkey, ham, macaroni and cheese, beans, cake and pie. When you got done eating you were pumped out!” Pinkney recalled the influx of relatives that joined in the feast. “People came from all over,” she said. “It was a blessed day. Some of those folks are still alive and some have gone on to glory, but I still think back on those days when people got together. We enjoyed each other's company. It was just great.” Today, Pinkney still has a positive attitude. “I'm thankful for being alive,” she said. “Some of the family lives in places like New York but we still get to see each other now and then. There's still a bunch of us.” Elizabeth Forney, 94, still calls Stanley home. “We had a garden and some of the food we had at Thanksgiving came from it,” Forney said. “I had four brothers and sisters and I would help with the cooking. We had turkey, boiled eggs, cake, custard, and tea. We would all sit down and talk about things. It was real nice.” See THANKSGIVING page 2
Elizabeth Forney and Minne Pinkney at the East Gaston Adult Day Care Center joined others there in recalling Thanksgiving celebrations from their youth. Photo by Alan Hodge
Belmont's Doug Brewer McAdenville cuts ribbon on new Town Hall hangs up his clippers By Alan Hodge
By Alan Hodge
alan.bannernews@gmail.com
alan.bannernews@gmail.com
Belmont's oldest professional barber, Doug Brewer, 91, has hung up his clippers. Brewer retired a few weeks ago and has been taking it easy ever since. Brewer cut hair for 73 years before finally deciding to take a well deserved break. “Now, I'm just enjoying sitting by the fire,” he said. “I'm doing great.” Brewer also has a message for his legions of customers and friends. “I want to tell everyone and their families how much I appreciate all the happiness they have given me all my life,” he said. Brewer grew up on the Aberfoyle Mill village in East Belmont. Both his parents worked in the mill and so did Doug, but his interest turned to barbering when he started work as a 91-year-old Doug Brewer has retired after cutting hair shoeshine boy at Bill Ballard's Bar- after over seven decades. Brewer’s seen with customer bershop. Mann Tram when he was at his shop in the Belmont GenPhoto by Alan Hodge See BREWER page 2 eral Store.
McAdenville held a ceremony last week officially opening its new Town Hall. Henceforth, town business will be handled in the former First United Methodist Church that has been purchased and renovated for that purpose. The church building was constructed See TOWN HALL page 2 in 1961 and the town paid the Methodist Conference $205,000 for it back in June, 2017. The “old” Town Hall was a rented storefront space of about 1,500 sq. ft. The new hall will boast 4,500 sq. ft. Moving town government into a former church meant a lot of renovations needed to be done. The town set a budget of $477,000 for the work which began in May 2018. Bower Traust was the main contractor for the reno- The bell out front is a reminder that the McAdenville Town Hall was formerly a United Methodist Church. vation. Photo by Alan Hodge A tour of the new hall
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begins at the front door where a plaque describing the history of the church building is placed. Inside, a nice foyer welcomes customers. Town employees will are stationed behind an ADA compliant counter where folks can do things like pay water bills. Town clerk Lesley Dellinger has her own office just down the hall. “It is a beautiful facility,” she said.
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