- GET TO KNOW A FEW
By Todd Cook
“...I want you to know if you don’t realize it yet, you are in Eastern NC. You are at the crossroads of high-tiders and lowlanders. If you haven’t yet you soon will. Some of the people speak the strangest language that is hard to understand. Remember that there are folk from all the small communities of Eastern NC at ECU. They are good folk--get to know a few...”
--William Albert Best Jr.
The above quote by my Grandfather summarizes Get to Know a Few. A counterpoint to Native, this body focuses on the people of Eastern North Carolina. Subjects range from relatives, total strangers, to people I’ve become close to. The portraits themselves range from environmental to traditional portraiture that focuses on the individual. This is a work in progress, and will be updated.
BILLY
William “Billy” Charles Knight was raised in Stumpy Point, NC and has lived there for 58 years. He was a fisherman for 25 years, and has since been a general mechanic, working on ferries for the North Carolina department of transportation. To Billy, Stumpy point is home, and always will be. “Italk a lot of crap about leaving, but probably never will. I can’tthink of a better place to be,” he said.
MARTI
Marti Brinson of Grifton, NC owns Down East Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, and has been caring for injured animals for over 30 years. She has rescued and rehabilitated numerous birds of prey, foxes born without eyes, nutrias, beavers, deer, bobcats, and more. She runs her center out of her double-wide trailer, and at times struggles to to keep the business running. Despite facing hard times, Marti shows resilence in the face of adversity, remaining very upbeat as well as passionate about her job.
PHIL
Larry Phillip Scarborough or “Phil” is a 76 year-old native of Wanchese, NC. Growing up, he worked for his father in a boat yard. At 17, he joined the Coast Guard. He was in the Coast Guard for 23 years and has been stationed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Miami, Norfolk, VA,Rhodes, Greece, Baltimore, Yorktown, VA, Wilmington, NC, Philadelphia, and New Bedford, Massachusetts. After retiring from the Coast Guard, Phil moved to Manteo, NC where he now resides and has been theInnkeeper at the Scarborough House Inn for the past 25 years where healso lives. “The best place I ever lived was Wilmington, NC, but that was the early 1960’s--I rather live in Manteo now. It’s home,” he said.
VIRGINIA & WANDA
Wanda Flythe and her mother Virginia Martin of Conway, NC watch TV before they go to bed. Virginia was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS) a couple of years ago. Her daughter quit her job as a hospice nurse and moved in with her to take care of her. Although ALS is degenerative and isn’t curable, Virginia remains in high spirits and has showed remarkable progress. They both display a remarkable bond and ability to read each other and have developed non-verbal methods of communication.
RANDY & ROBERT
Randy Nicholson and Robert Brown stand inside the Hobgood Gun Club directly off of highway 125 in Hobgood, North Carolina. The gun club used to be a service station and a pool hall owned by H.B. Spruill Oil Company. After it closed in 1972, 15 people paid $125 a piece for the place and turned it into the club that it is today. Randy is the youngest of the original members (54). The oldest is 73. The club serves as a retreat for hunters and fisherman from across North Carolina. Annual dues to be a member are around $500 a person. That pays for the electricity, water, rent, and overall good times. Randy and Robert have known each other most of their lives. Randy is the owner of the Roanoke Land Survey Company, and Robert works construction for him. “We love the wildlife, the woods, and the hunting and fishing,” they replied when asked what they like about eastern N.C the most.
THE OWENS
Robert and Nancy Owen pose proudly for a portrait in front of their homemade sign and RV honoring our troops. The Owens have lived on the outskirts of Fountain, NC for 17 years. Both of the Owens “love to travel as much as they love America”, but have not been able to lately, primarily due to gas prices and the recent economic recession.- JUDY
Judy Drach takes a break from sweeping the parking lot to pose for aportrait outside of B’s Barbecue and Grill, a restaurant that has been serving Greenville for 31 years. Judy is one of three sisters who ownand manage the restaurant. “It sure beats washing the dishes!” she exclaimed. When asked what else she likes about the business, she saidshe enjoys working with family, the good clientele, and constantly meeting new people. Judy has lived her entire life in Greenville, NC.“To me it’s home,” she said.
BOOTS
“When I was born, I was so little that my dad said I could fit in his boots. The nickname has stuck with me all my life. I’ve never liked my real name”, said Beulah “Boots” Vann Bozeman. Boots is a 95 year old resident of Greenville, NC. Originally born and raised in Ahoskie, NC, she came to Greenville around 1935, transferring as a supervisor for the Carolina Telephone & Telegraph Company. Boots is the youngest of 6 children. She has 3 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. Boots likes Greenville because it was a small town like Ahoskie and she knew everybody when she first arrived here, before the college grew. “I remember when Charles Blvd. was still a dirt road”, she recalled. Boots has been married twice and still goes by “Barlow”, her second husband’s last name. Boot’s hobby is knitting hats. Her local knitting group is trying to knit 100 hats for the armed forces, to show their support. She knits about 2 every week on average, but sometimes 3 or 4. In this photo, she poses with a portrait of herself that was painted in the 1970’s.
ROGER
“This is a place were you have to work all your life”, said Roger Best of Stumpy Point, NC. Roger was a fisherman for 50 years. After quitting the fishing business, he was a painter for 6 years before retiring. Besides having lived in Stumpy Point his entire life, Roger also enjoys the pace of life there, as well as the almost nonexistent crime. “The worst that happens here would be someone throwing a beer bottle out of their car window on a Sunday afternoon”, he joked.
OTIS & SANDRA
Otis and Sandra Boone have lived in Conway, NC their entire lives. Otis works as a welder, while Sandra is a secretary at the local Georgia Pacific resin plant. Otis is a big game hunter and has hunted all over the United States. Here they both pose in front of his collection. Since this photo was taken he has added a fully taxidermied mountain lion, and will soon have a fully mounted black bear as well.- PUD
Harold Lee “Pud” Wise is a resident of Manteo, NC. He grew up in Stumpy Point, NC. After high school, Lee worked as a fisherman and motel clerk for a few years before joining the Dare County IT department in 1988. In 1996, Lee went to college and earned a BS in Information Technology from East Carolina University and then his MA in History from Sam Houston State University. Today, Lee works full time as the Network Administrator for Dare County and he is an adjunct history professor for 3 local colleges. Lee is also a published author, having written several history articles and one full-length book, which was nominated for various awards. In his free time, he is working on another book. Lee credits his wife Sarah and my grandfather William Best Jr. as his inspiration to go to college. As it turns out, Lee is my grandfather’s grandson through a relationship he had before he met my grandmother making us 1st cousins, a family secret that has only recently surfaced. In this photo, Lee holds a photograph of our grandfather, showing a definite resemblance. - CHARLES
Charles Lee Taylor Was born in 1932 in Greenville, NC. Charles graduated from Montgomery Eppes High School. When he was in high school he was treated as special due to the fact he had family working for the school system. Charles never took his education seriously until he enrolled in college at North Carolina A&T University in 1950. “I told teachers my name is Charles, that starts with C, and a C is good enough for me,” he chuckled. At A&T he joined the ROTC where he excelled. He was encouraged to join the advanced ROTC program, which he declined. Because of this, the university cancelled his deferment. He then joined the Marine Corps. He was in the Marines for 3 years and was a crew chief of tactical air traffic control, stationed in Korea. When he was disharged, he moved to Randalstown, Maryland. He worked at the Pennsylvania Railroad and then at the post office until he retired. He then moved to Greenville and built his house. Charles developed a love for poetry early in life, due to his mother’s love for it. “I never played sports. At parties I always hung out with the girls because the guys talked about nothing but sports. I would write the girls poetry. I still love women,” he explained. Charles has 3 children and his youngest child convinced him to get his work published. When he had his first book published, he felt very proud. “It sped up my writing,” he said. He now has a total of 3 books published and is also a member of the Black Writers Guild and the International Poets Society. “I introduce myself as Charles Lee Taylor: Poet Extraordinaire,” laughed Charles. Charles also is very religious, having been a Deacon in his Baptist church for 40 years. “Sunday isn’t Sunday without going to church,” he explained. When asked what he likes about Greenville he said, “The memories, and I take pride in the fact that I live in a community that took a village to raise a child, I was always in trouble.” Here he poses with 2 of his poetry books. - RICHARD
Richard Bollard is a 70-year-old retired farmer and native of Edgecombe County, NC. He currently lives between Macclesfield and Fountain, NC. He started farming with his dad at age 17 in 1963. He stopped farming for a while and worked at a textile factory. “I made the best thing in the world, bloomers,” he joked. In 1976, he returned to farming and retired in 1991. “ I farmed mostly tobacco, beans, and corn. Now that I’m retired I tinker around on old tractors in my free time and work on my ‘Honey Do List,’” he chuckled. “I like this area because I’ve lived here my whole life. Never lived anywhere else,” he said when asked what he likes about Eastern North Carolina. He takes a break from the summer heat in this portrait at a local convenience store and pool hall in Cobb Town, NC. - PRINCE
“Look out after the bees. If you don’t take care of them, we are all in trouble,” said Prince Barnette. Prince is a 52-year-old resident and native of Farmville, NC and a Beekeeper for 10 or more years. “I used to be afraid of them when I was a little girl, but now I just love them. They are in my blood, and I am fascinated by them,” she explained. In college Prince was a biology and a philosophy major. Her mentor gave Prince her very first hive, because she wanted bees to help pollinate her flowers. Beekeeping then turned into a hobby and in turn, a business. Her husband and children started helping her and they now have over 110 hives. They rent them out in both Greene and Pitt counties as pollination rentals as well as harvesting the honey from them. When asked what she likes about the area, Prince said, “ I’ve lived here in Farmville all my life. I love the people, the landscape, and the climate. You get a little bit of everything here when it comes to the weather.” - DAN
Daniel Sotir or “Dan” is 63 years old and has lived in eastern N.C for20 years. He was born in Pensacola, FL and grew up doing construction with his father. “I’ve been driving nails since I was 12 years old,”said Dan. After working construction, Dan worked for a chain of convenience stores before moving to various cities along the North Carolina coast where he opened his own chain of stores, “Jim Dandy Food Stores”. After selling the store chain, he moved to Stokes, NC and started a horse farm called the “Hitching Post” in 2005, which he helped build himself with his background in construction. With the struggling economy, his horse farm fell on hard times and he is now trying to sell it and move. Once housing a total of 22 horses, the farm now only has one. “ When the economy went to hell I lost a lot in thestock market. It was time to take what you got, get out, and enjoy the rest of your life,” he said. When asked what he likes about easternN.C, Dan said, “I really love this area, to me this is where I was going to be buried. I like to be out in the country.” - FRANCIS
Francis Webb is a 76 year-old resident of Pinetops, N.C. She has lived in or in the vicinity of the town for her whole life. When she was young, she attended South Edgecombe High School. After high school she worked for 15 years at the Carolina Enterprise in the neighboring town of Tarboro, N.C, before quitting to stay home and raise her son. Her son and daughter in law own Webb’s Auctions and Antiques off of highway 42. The store has been open for roughly 20 years. Auctions are held on the first Friday of every month. “I like Pinetops because I’m comfortable here. I have good friends and neighbors. It’s easy to get around in this small town. It’s just a good place to live,” she said when asked what she likes about the area. In this photo, Francis poses inside the antique store with the family dog named Peaches who is always seen in or around the store. - GEORGE
George Higgs, 80 plays the blues at the R.A. Fountain General Store in Fountain, NC. He was born in 1929 in Speed, NC a small farming community outside of Tarboro, which he fondly refers to as “a slow town with a fast name.” George started playing the blues at 12 years of age, with the harmonica bieng the first instrument he learned from his father, Jesse Higgs. “The first song I learned was called Worried-Mind Blues,” he recalled. George was able to see the medicine showman and muscian named Peg Leg Sam who played locally in Rocky Mount during the tobacco market, and he made a lasting impression on the young aspiring musician. He became interested in playing the guitar as a teenager and sold his favorite squirrel dog to a neighbor of his to help pay for his first one. He also plays the fiddle from time to time. His songs are in he traditional Piedmont Blues style, yet are full of Mississippi Delta blues flavor. He has performed on the North Carolina Black Folk Heritage Tour, and in 1992 received the North Carolina Folklore Society's Brown-Hudson award. He made his first trip overseas in 1998, playing in Switzerland. In 2005, he played in Austrailia, France, and Italy. While he wasn’t playing music, Geroge worked as a sharecropper and later a carpenter. He is married and he and his wofe have 6 children. “Learn the old history, I got a lot of boys as young as 16 who come up to learn this old music. They gotta be the ones to carry it on,” he said when asked what advice he’d give to younger generations. - JARVIS & HAZEL
Jarvis and Hazel Tripp of Greenville, NC have been married for 59 years. Both are childhood sweethearts. Jarvis was born and raised in Greenville, while Hazel is a native of Farmville. They both attended East Carolina University when it was a teachers college (ECTC). Jarvis was an Assistant Principle and Principle in Greene, Pitt, and Rockingham counties. Hazel was a teacher for the State Department. Both worked for the NC Education System for around 32 years. “We loved every minute of it,” Hazel recalled. After retiring, both moved to Greenville and have lived there for the past 20 years. Jarvis raises pedigree Boston Terriers in his free time, as well as parakeets and coy fish. For the past ten years, both have taught ballroom dancing lessons ranging from tango, waltz, swing, and shag dancing. “We brought ballroom dancing to Greenville,” said Jarvis. Jarvis has cancer that is in remission. His doctors attribute his recovery due to his positive attitude, socializing, and dancing. “My hair is finally back, before I was as bald as an eagle,” he joked. In 2001, Hazel was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Its progression has been slow, with only a shaky left hand bieng noticeable. “She hasn’t let it slow her down,” said Jarvis. Doctors at Duke University attribute the slow progression of the disease to Hazel’s positive outlook, activeness, and the dancing as well. “It’s home. We like the people and find this area to be a really friendly place. We also have all the space to do what we want to do,” they said when asked what they like about eastern NC. The photo above the bed is of them dancing, in their younger years. - HUGH
Hugh Powers is an 82 year old resident of Greenville, NC and a veteran of three wars. Born and raised in Aurora, NC, Hugh moved to the outskirts of Greenville after serving in the armed forces. Hugh served in the Merchant Marines from 1943 to 1946 during World War II. He then joined the army in 1946 and shipped out to Germany. During his service he went to places such as Castle Blanca, Oran, Naples, Marseilles, and Belgium. Hugh then saw action again in the Korean War. During his 18-month service, he was wounded while serving in the 7th Calvary Regiment of the 1st Cav Division. “I was hit with shrapnel from a mortar round in the foot. It happened on the the 2nd of November in 1951, which was a Sunday”, he recalled. Hugh received his first of two purple hearts for this wound. After spending some time in a hospital, Hugh was sent back to the States where he worked with the Aviation Engineers Unit and attended school for engineer equipment for 8 weeks during his eight-month trip in the U.S. He then reenlisted and went to back Germany. After going to school to be an aviation mechanic in 1964, he went to Vietnam, serving two tours. During his first tour, Hugh was in Denang and was promoted to E6 Tech Inspector for the Army Aviation helicopter unit. He was shot in the leg on the 23rd of January in 1965, which he received his second purple heart. Hugh then came back to the states to Fort Eustis where he worked as a railroad foreman. He then went back to Vietnam for 6 months before asking for his discharge. During his second tour, Hugh was in An Khe and was part of the 9th Cav regiment of the 1st Cav division. After the war, Hugh worked for the I Corps Aviation unit in Florida, then Lockheed in Marietta, Georgia, and then did mechanic work on C-130 cargo planes in Saudi Arabia. In 1985, Hugh finally returned home and moved to Greenville where he as lived for the past 24 years. “ I like the climate here, never too cool, never too hot for too long. I like being retired here. I sit in my chair and watch the world go by,” said Hugh. Hugh recently had surgery to have a piece of glass removed fro his nose that had been lodged there since his tour in Korea. - JUSTIN
Justin Flythe, 25, takes a break after mowing the grass at his parent's house in Conway, NC. Justin was diagnosed with Lymphoma in early February 2010. After only three rounds of chemotherapy, his cancer officially went into remission. Though not fully out of the woods yet, and possibly facing another 6-9 months of chemotherapy and hospital visits, Justin remains optimistic as do his friends and family that he will make a full recovery. “I’m surrounded by a lot of wholesome people at the moment, and that really helps,” he said. - STITCH
Randy Curtis Jr, or "Stitch" as friends call him is an aspiring self-taught photographer originally from Staten Island, NY. He has lived in Greenville, NC close to nine years. Stitch works a local nightclub and has started his own photography business from the ground up. At times, Stitch struggles to make ends meet, and faces many challenges running his business. Despite this, Stitch remains optimistic and works hard while facing adversity. "Life is too short to not do what you enjoy, let alone to not make a business out of it. For once in my life i have a voice and vision to express myself to the masses. I do it through photography," he said.
