Tag Archive for: #hendersonnews

TownTalk: Around Old Granville – Annie Carter Lee

/by

At the height of the Civil War, Gen. Robert E. Lee thought it best to send his family somewhere safe and out of harm’s way. His wife, Mary Anna, had a cousin in Warren County, so Warren County was where she and the children ended up waiting out the war.

And that is how it came to be that Lee’s favorite daughter, Annie Carter Lee, was buried in Warren County.

For a century, at least.

Annie Carter was only 23 when she died in 1862 of typhoid fever.

The grave marker remains in Warren County, but Annie Carter Lee’s remains were moved to the family crypt at Washington & Lee University in 1994, where the Confederate general taught after the war ended.

Annie Carter wasn’t the only member of the Lee family to die in Warren County – Annie Carter’s nephew, Robert E. Lee, III – the Lee’s first grandchild – died in infancy at Jones Sulfur Springs, a resort that touted the healing powers of the mineral springs there.

That’s something local historian Mark Pace learned when he was researching Annie Carter, the topic of discussion for the most recent Around Old Granville segment of TownTalk.

Gen. Lee’s wife, Mary Anna, suffered from poor health much of her life and Pace said in later years she was confined to a wheelchair.

“She was a great believer in the healing powers of mineral springs,” he said,” and several months of the year, she’d take her daughters and go to her cousin’s place – in Warren County.

Mary Anna’s cousin, William Duke Jones, ran the Sulfur Springs resort. You can still see remains of some of the buildings there. The resort had accommodations for 300 guests, Pace said.

Annie Carter’s gravesite was one of the first sites identified when the state’s historical marker program started back in the 1930’s.

But over the years, Pace said the site was the object of vandalism and so the Lee descendants had the remains disinterred and reburied in Virginia.

The fourth child of Robert E. Lee and Mary Anna Custis Lee, Pace said Annie Carter Lee was her father’s favorite child because of an injury she sustained when she was quite young, which left her with a disfiguring scar on her face.

She contracted typhoid fever by the end of the summer of 1862 and, despite the doctors’ best efforts, she died. Pace said the fatality rate at that time was about 40 percent for people who had typhoid fever.

Two of her brothers visited her gravesite in 1866 to have a formal funeral for their sister, but her father, as the defeated leader of the Confederate Army, was not allowed to leave Virginia.

He finally got to Warren County in 1870 and, along with his daughter Agnes – 1 and ½ years younger than Annie Carter, to visit the grave.

As Pace tells the story, Lee and his daughter asked a young man at the Warren Plains Depot if he could recommend a place for them to spend the night. The man was William J. White, who had been a captain under Lee’s command, recognized the former general and offered his parents’ home as lodging for the night.

That home, Ingleside, stands in Warrenton today.

Word spread quickly throughout the town of the visitors and the reason for the trip, and next morning, Pace said that some 800 people – dressed in their best mourning clothes – lined the streets of Warrenton to pay their respects to the father and daughter who came to visit the grave of their beloved family member.

CLICK PLAY!

Home and Garden Show

/by

On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.

  • The Vance County Regional Farmers Market is now open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8am to 1pm. Today they have tomatoes, snapbeans, beets, cabbages, yellow squash, zucchini squash, red irish potatoes, cantaloupes, watermelons, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, and peaches.
  • The Evolution of Extension Event is this Thursday, on June 26th from 12pm-4pm at the Vance County Cooperative Extension’s Office.
  • Keep hydrated with water during these hot days.
  • Check soil for moisture before watering plants.
  • When you go on vacation, have someone harvest your vegetables while you are away.
  • Check squash for squash bugs and look for egg casings.
  • Water your tomatoes at the bottom of the plant not overhead to prevent leaf diseases.
  • Do garden chores early morning or late evening.
  • If you have extra vegetables, share them with someone who can’t raise a garden.
  • Service your lawn mower according to the owners manual.
  • Continue your fruit tree spray program according to the label directions of the product that you are using.
  • Keep your garden journal up to date.
  • Check houseplants dust weekly with a soft cloth.
  • Check storage areas for mice.

The Vance County Cooperative Extension is located at 305 Young St, Henderson, NC 27536

The Vance County Regional Farmers Market is located at 210 Southpark Dr., Henderson, NC 27536

Click Play!

TownTalk: Henderson Kiwanis Club

/by

The Henderson Kiwanis Club celebrated its 100th anniversary a couple of years ago – that’s quite an accomplishment for any group, and this local civic club is staying active as it begins its second century of service to the community.

Kiwanis Club President Danny Wilkerson said the local group has had several different long-standing fundraisers over the years – peanut sales and azalea sales, for example – but the club’s biggest fundraiser is the annual golf tournament.

This year’s tournament at Kerr Lake Country Club brought in a little more than $10,000, Wilkerson said on Tuesday’s TownTalk.

“It’s the most money we’ve ever made from a tournament,” he said. “We were just so excited about it that day,” he added. The 17 teams on the course that day, as well as a variety of sponsors and enough volunteers to have everything run smoothly, added up to a record-breaking year.

But the club doesn’t hang on to the money for long. “We take it in and push it right back into the community,” Wilkerson said, “to help the needs of the kids.”

The Kiwanis motto is Serving the Children of the World, and that’s a motto that Kiwanians take to heart. “It’s all about the kids,” Wilkerson said.

The local club established two scholarships at Vance-Granville Community College in memory of Robert Turner and Bob Harrison, and Vance County Schools Superintendent Dr. Cindy Bennett was a guest speaker at a recent club meeting.

The club provides gifts for needy children at Christmas and support youth organizations like the Boy Scouts of America, Boys & Girls Club, the Salvation Army, local library and more.

What the club needs, however, is more members. It’s down to fewer than a dozen, but Wilkerson said anyone is welcome to attend their meetings, held at 6 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of the month at Henderson Country Club.

He knows young parents have a lot of responsibilities raising their own families, which has affected membership in many organizations besides his own.

“We’ll feed you and hope you stick around to become a member of the club,” Wilkerson said. “We really want to attract some younger people to carry the torch forward.”

CLICK PLAY!

The Local Skinny! Children’s Theatre Camp Show ‘Once Upon A Mattress’ Opens Friday, June 27

/by

The Children’s Theatre Camp is in its second week of its two-week program at McGregor Hall, and Mark Hopper said that 54 campers are in rehearsal now for the production of Once Upon A Mattress that will be performed this weekend.

There are three shows for the public – Friday, June 27 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday matinees that begin at 3 p.m. The shows last about an hour, the perfect length for families with young children.

“It’s a great family-oriented show,” Hopper said, “and the duration makes it great for any age.” There’s singing and choreography – with plenty of comedic shenanigans and campy jokes, he said, that are sure to keep the audience entertained.

Jo Ellen Nowell is directing the youngsters as they prepare to put on the show about a very loud princess named Winnifred and a Queen’s attempts to find a suitable wife for her son, the Prince.

This is the fifth year for the Children’s Theatre Camp, Hopper said on Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny!

Charlotte Davis is cast as Winnifred and Hopper called her work “phenomenal.”

“We’ve got some unbelievably talented kids on that stage – 54 of them,” he said.

There will be a daytime performance on Friday, June 27 especially for campers at the Henderson Family YMCA and Recreation and Parks, Hopper said.

Hopefully, more young people will see others their age on stage and realize that it’s something that could be an option for them one day as well.

“We wanted to make a camp that was affordable,” Hopper said, while offering access to high-quality material, staff and equipment that McGregor Hall performances are known for.

For $100, rising 3rd graders through rising 11th graders could participate for eight hours a day and then, “at the end of two weeks, produce a quality show,” Hopper said.

Purchase tickets here: https://mcgregorhall.ludus.com/index.php

CLICK PLAY!

Cooperative Extension with Michael Ellington: Plants during a Heat Wave

/by

Michael Ellington, on the Vance County Cooperative Extension Report:

This segment has a few key tips on how to keep your plants happy during a heat wave. Also shared are reminders for upcoming events.

Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.

Click Play!

220 Fundraiser Monday, June 30 To Help Local Magistrate, Family After House Fire

/by

A 220 Fundraiser will take place on Monday, June 30 to support Vance County Magistrate Mike Massenburg and his family, who lost their home and its contents in a house fire.

Take-out plates will be available from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 220 Seafood, 1812 N. Garnett St.

Plates are $10 and you can just drive up and purchase without having purchased a ticket in advance.

Tickets had been available for purchase for the past few weeks from the Vance County Clerk of Court’s office or magistrate’s office, 156 Church St., Suite 101.  Anyone who purchased tickets in advance is asked to bring them Monday when you pick up your plates.

TownTalk: Business Spotlight – Storage Sense

/by

Storage Sense is open for business, and local community leaders were on hand recently for an official ribbon-cutting ceremony to welcome it to the neighborhood.

Actually, it’s just the first phase of possibly four phases that was the object of celebration on June 18, when Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce President Sandra Wilkerson and her staff brought the “big scissors” for the celebratory ceremony.

The property, located at the intersection of U.S. 1/Norlina Road and Warrenton Road, has been upfitted to be a convenient storage facility for anyone who needs extra space for belongings they aren’t currently using but aren’t ready to part with.

Folks who’ve lived here long enough may remember it as Skateland, which opened in 1949. Others may remember it as Moore’s, a building supply center. Most recently, it was part of John Foster Homes.

Local business owner Jason Stewardson has transformed the high-visibility location into a modern-looking space that’s set up and ready to serve the public. “It’s unbelievable the demand for storage,” he said.

At the ribbon-cutting, Stewardson said, “What you see here is Phase 1 of a three-phase project…with potentially a fourth phase with the two acres in back.” Buildings that once housed building materials and more could be transformed into boat sheds, he said.

Phase 2 is the renovation of the old Skateland building, which would provide another 250 or so storage units.

Storage Sense District Manager Doug Pierce said this area hasn’t had many new storage options recently. “I think this will be a great improvement and help the community,” Pierce said.

Chamber of Commerce Board Chair Scott Burwell congratulated Stewardson and the third-party management Storage Sense team for providing this timely service, when Henderson and Vance County are experiencing an expanding housing market.

“We’re very eager to see phase 2,” Burwell said.

Vance County Economic Development Commission Chair Ruxton Bobbitt said “it’s fantastic to see the north side of town seeing traffic” when it comes to development and said he is happy that the property has a new lease on life with this new business.

CLICK PLAY!

Vance County Logo

The Local Skinny! Vance County Adopts $66M Budget; Tax Rate Stays The Same

/by

The Vance County Board of Commissioners adopted the $66 million FY 2025-26 budget Monday afternoon – it’s bigger by about $1.4 million than was first recommended by County Manager C. Renee Perry, but it includes more money for county school district teachers and classified staff. The budget figure Perry mentioned at a June 16 budget work session is $66,383,251, with $4,068,875 coming from the general fund to balance the budget.

Commissioners Valencia Perry and Dan Brummitt voted against the budget.

“I just feel that this budget – it’s an increase of almost 11 percent – and this is on the backs of our taxpaying citizens. I think at some point we’ve got to look at cutting expenses rather than generating new revenues,” Brummitt said. “It’s just something that we need to focus on, and hopefully this coming year, we’ll do something different that we can work towards that.”

Other items contributing to the increase in the budget are insurance costs and cost-of-living adjustments for county employees. Manager Perry told commissioners at a June 16 budget work session that health insurance costs rose by $1.2 million and $750,000 was needed for COLA costs for county employees – both of which are necessary expenditures. The commissioners were united in their support for Vance County Schools’ certified and classified staff getting more money – another $1,000 for teachers and a 2 percent salary increase for classified staff – although it wasn’t the full amount the school district had requested.

CLICK PLAY!