Barker House Hey Everyone! Hope Ya'll are having a great week. Me? Pretty Good. Thanks for asking. This week I want to talk about a trip down memory lane that I do every couple of years or so. The town I call my home town I moved into when I was about 12 years old and lived there until I graduated from High School and went into the Military. This little north eastern North Carolina Town is Edenton. It has a population of about 5000 and is very small town. When I grew up in it all of the businesses were downtown the local Pharmacy's, movie theater, 5 and Dime stores, Belk, the hardware store. This was the time before coffee shops the internet or cute diners. If you wanted a sandwich you went to the
drugstore and they would cook you a grilled cheese or a BLT. The local paper only came out once a week. The high school was the biggest and most important thing in town. Only two things were open past 9 o'clock and that was the Movie theater and Hardees. We all ate at home and didn't go out to eat for every meal like a lot of folks do now. It's where I went fishing every day during the summer with my friends. We would jump on our bikes and grab our cane poles and some worms and off we'd go to fish. In the afternoon there was sandlot baseball or basketball and then in the evening we'd play little league baseball. It was like growing up in Mayberry. I am so fortunate to
grow up in such a place. This was the biggest gift that my parents could ever give me and they didn't even know it. The town centered around Friday night football in the autumn and baseball in the spring and the stands would be full of all the towns folk. Hot chocolate and freshly roasted peanuts and the sound of the marching band which was a big thing when I was there. The Christmas Parade and the Peanut Festival were big events. The town is a very historic town the house across the street from mine was built in 1775.  Every year in the fall we have a pilgrimage where people dress up in 18 century
clothes and tours of the old houses are held. It's very cool. A signer of the declaration of independence and one of the first Supreme Court justices appointed by George Washington were from Edenton.

How things Change. When I lived there tourism was not a thing but since I have left it has become one of if not the biggest boost to the local economy. The drugstores that were downtown when I grew up have been turned into little diners or soda shops the hardware store is more a antique shop and there are coffee shops and restaurants littered up and down the little downtown area where there was none before. Shopping centers have popped up on the edge of town with the likes of Mcdonalds and the stores that were downtown have moved to the shopping centers. They have tour busses dressed like trolley cars that give tours and there is walking tours and lots of neat art things to see. The population hasn't changed since I left and the median age is 46 years old. A lot of older folks live there they have come from the north and retired in this small town. Where there was once a cotton mill has turned into Apartments and all of the little mill houses have been bought and fixed up for folks to live in or Air B&B. I remember a friend of mine lived in the mill houses and his mom worked in the mill. Water sports have always been big in Edenton. When I was there it was water skiing and some fishing and Sail boating. The water skiing has gone away but the sail boats and fishing has really gone crazy with bass fishing being the major fish. Of course there is also kayaking there as well which was never the case when I lived there.  It's been a couple of years since I've been back and the high school where I went has had a big facelift and may be the biggest building in town. It looks like they've done a great job of it. 

How the town sparkles. To me and maybe it just that I'm from there but it truly is a beautiful town. People take pride in there homes and all the yards are neatly kept and the whole town is really spotless of trash and uncut yards. Edenton is frequently recognized as the Prettest small town in the south one year by Forbes Magazine. If you like 18th century history this is the place for you to visit. From the Chowan River to the Albemarle sound the beauty of cypress trees with Spanish moss hanging of limbs and the quaint little town is a must see if you live near by. I'm sure when I go back in a couple of years it will be again changed, but the same in a way. When I look down the oak linked streets I can remember riding my bike to school or on the way to go fishing with my cane pole hanging way out front while riding down the sidewalk. It will always be a place of memories for me and even though I don't have any family that still lives there and I don't really know anyone that still lives there it will always be my hometown. I'm sure many of you may have the same experience as me going back to places you grew up in. Well that's enough of reminiscing for now Until Next Week Get Out and Shoot!

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 posts there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link