Family Time - Part 2

"Take a left after the shell station and go down to the first driveway by the big oak tree." Those are the directions we got from my cousin Tom on the way to visit him in the small town of Norlina, North Carolina. We ended up missing that turn and in a few seconds had passed the whole town!

Norlina is a tiny town of about 1,100 people. It's where my Grandma and Grandpa Mitchell met, where they raised my Uncle Mitch and his younger brother, my dad, and where we used to go visit my grandparents when we were younger. It's been a while since I've been back and I have fuzzy memories of this place that's so full of family history. Since we were close by, I wanted to make sure to pay a visit to see family, solidify some of those old memories, learn a bit more of my family history, and share it all with Lynea.

As the story goes, my Grandpa, Clayton Mitchell, moved from Alabama to North Carolina to help build the John H. Kerr dam on the Roanoke River. The dam was constructed between 1947 and 1953. Clayton was a welder and it was this project that coaxed him to move to North Carolina and eventually meet my Grandma, Mary Stella Traylor, in Norlina.

Standing by the John H. Kerr dam my grandpa helped construct.

The house my great grandma and great great grandma grew up in.

I've got lots of childhood memories from this house my grandparents built and lived in for many years.

My cousin Tom grew up in Norlina and ended up returning after college. He taught school, coached sports, and did a lot of farming. Though he's retired from teaching, he still has a lot of farm work on his hands.

Beef cows

That look you have when you're a farmer and you gaze out on the land.

That look you have when you're a wannabe farmer and you look out on the land.

Me and Tom at his property

A little bit bigger equipment than I'm used to!

We got to hang out with my Aunt Lou and visit the town where our family used to run small businesses.

With Aunt Lou, 89 years young, in front of what used to be her clothing store.

Lynea looking down on the strip where my family owned a hardware store.

Old car garage my Grandpa owned where he used to work his mechanical magic.

Grandpa, on the left, used to build race cars.

Aunt Lou took us to her basement and showed us an old family tree.

I'm grateful to have the chance to visit Norlina this summer and think about my family - hear stories of where they came from, see places that they established and worked hard at. I have great childhood memories from there and now I have a few adult ones, too. Thanks to Tom for his amazing hospitality and incredible stories!

Where Grandma and Grandpa are buried.

Us and Tom at Kerr Dam.