4.19.07: Visits around town
Weather: High fluffy clouds, high 70s-low 80s
Mileage: No Ride Check out our route…
Doug visits the folks at the Sumter Rehabilitation Home every other Thursday; he invited us to come with him so we could meet some of the old timers. The home is a sprawling brick building a little distance outside of town.
Doug gave a real lively reading of his poetry; everyone there, black and white, finds resonance with his remembrances. Must have been a dozen or so in the room; none seemed under 80 years old.
After the reading we spent some time talking with folks about their memories. Many of them grew up in towns surrounding York: Cuba, Morningstar, Ward. They talked about the industry of the area, the railroad, farming, cotton, old plantations and now the paper mills. We asked one woman how she managed to be so spunky at 102 years old. She told us: “One evening I saw a face in the window, a white face. He called my name and told me, ‘I am the Lord and I am always with you.’ So that’s how I carry on.”
In the afternoon, we made a list of contacts: people and places we should visit. We walked around York’s downtown and stopped by Inez’s Kut and Kurl: closed. Then it was off to Ellis’ Flower Shop to try to speak with Tom Taylor, the president of the Lion’s Club. But they were closed too. We were experiencing a long-standing York tradition of shutting down at noon on Thursdays: most stores are closed except for the ones that have owners from outside of York. We asked one store-owner about its origin; he didn’t know. We suggested that the break was for watching the grass grow; “Naw,” he said, “It’s to mow!” (We later learned that the historic reason for the early closures: Thursday afternoon used to be cattle auction day.)
Slogan #3:
THE PLACE YOU ALWAYS KNEW
York, Alabama
This slogan has emerged from the conversations we have had about York’s past. No matter who we talk to, everyone seems to agree that York was a better place years ago and that it has the potential to return to its former glory. Also, when York was first founded, it was called ‘New York’.
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