Down East

On a recent trip that included the North Carolina Coastal areas in and around Morehead City, Jacksonville and New Bern, I missed seeing the Director of the library at Coastal Carolina Community College in Jacksonville,  After a few exchanged emails, I thought I might return to the area and visit some other area schools as well that are further south.  On the first day of my travels, I visited Richmond County Community College in Hamlet, St. Andrews University in Laurinburg, Robeson Community College in Lumberton, Bladen Community College in Dublin and Southeastern Community College in Whiteville,  Of those five, only Robeson County Community College was a school I had not yet visited.

I was hungry for Oriental food when lunchtime arrived so I stopped in at Taki Japanese Cuisine in Laurinburg.  I enjoyed delicious vegetables, fried rice and shrimp sauce.  

Lumberton was flooded last October when the rains of Hurricane Matthew filled to overflowing the banks of the Lumbee River.  The school was spared but the damage to the area was extensive.


The Lumberton area is home to the Lumbee Indian Tribe.  The 55,000 members of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina reside primarily in Robeson, Hoke,Cumberland and Scotland counties and is is the largest tribe in North Carolina, the largest tribe east of the Mississippi River and the ninth largest in the nation. The ancestors of the Lumbee were mainly Cheraw and related Siouan-speaking Indians who have lived in the area of what is now Robeson County since the 1700s. The Lumbee people have been recognized by the state of North Carolina since 1885, and at that time established a separate school system that would benefit tribal members. In 1887, the state established the Croatan Normal Indian School, which is today The University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

I'd intended to visit Brunswick Community College in Bolivia but was unable to do so due to the constraints of time.  

I finished my day driving to Jacksonville so I'd be close to my 10:00 am appointment at Coastal Carolina. It was past suppertime when I arrived so I looked for a restaurant near the hotel.  Mission Barbecue served tasty ribs.  They also have cups for sale near the checkout where patrons can make donations to charitable projects such as Wounded Warriors.

 

I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Jacksonville where the accommodations were extremely comfortable.  Their television commercials suggest that staying there will make you smarter but I could tell little or no difference the next morning.  I did have a delicious breakfast served by two ladies.  One had just finished her overnight shift and the other was just starting her day.  Somehow both were cheerful and bright and did their best to get every one's day started in a positive direction.

It had been sunny and in the 70's the day before but this morning dawned cool and rainy and stayed that way most of the day.  That made taking pictures difficult.  Plus, these powdered wigs don't look so good when they get wet. 

I decided to make a early call to the Onslo County Public Library in Jacksonville.  I had visited there on my earlier trip and left information with Karen Moore.  It was good to see her and her staff hard at work early in the morning.

A short distance away is Coastal Carolina.  Sally Goodman has been there for six years and in that time has built a strong team providing library services to the students.   She was aware of the company I represent but had not used our services.  Her questions were insightful and demonstrated a desire to continue offering the best service possible to her students.  I hope we will be able to help her do that.

Three schools I had not previously visited are the New Hanover Public Library in downtown Wilmington, Cape Fear Community College nearby and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.  

I had completed my list of schools by early afternoon so I set my course for the one school I had missed on my way "down east"; Brunswick Community College in Bolivia.  I asked my new assistant, Sheila (she works for Apple but is from "down under") to set a course for the school and very soon was on the campus.  


I skipped lunch so I could arrive home in time for dinner.  Being at home after two days of travel was well worth a missed meal.  

A Slight Delay

The venerable Bobby Burns said in his poem, "To a Mouse":  “The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley.”  We ordinary English-speakers have adapted that line to say:  "The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry."  Such was the case last week. There were four schools I had not yet visited and they were in a near straight line toward the Coast.  My "best-laid plan" was to visit them on my way to a conference of my brother's tribe I was attending last week.  Thus I would, as J. Morgan Ghent wrote in 1632, "kill two birds with one stone."  However, as John Donne wrote in "No Man Is An Island," the bell tolled for a dear friend and I was privileged to attend her homegoing celebration.  She was a dear lady who gave of herself freely and has now received her reward.


I suspect that is quite enough googled literary references for this lifetime.  So I will, as Judge Jesse would say, "cease and desist.

I left immediately following the service for the conference where I spent three days under the instruction of a convictional professor from Indiana and in the company of men and women whose lives are devoted to serving others and sharing the Good News of the Gospel.  It was, needless to say, a worthwhile three days.


I had to return home for responsibilities on Wednesday night so on Thursday morning, I retraced my steps beginning in the town of Hamlet at the Richmond County Community College.  Carolyn Bittle is the Dean of the Library there and,as has been the case so often, she was working at the information desk.  These community college deans and directors are far from administrators alone.  They are all working librarians.  I believe it is, at least in part, because they love books and the people who read them.

My next stop was in Laurinburg at St. Andrews University where I met Mary MacDonald.  I wondered if everyone who worked at a University named after the birthplace of golf in Scotland had to have highlander names.  But on their faculty directory I found names from Austin to Wojtasik so I guest they allow non-Scots to teach.  There was one swimming coach named Burns and eight professors whose names began with "Mc" or "Mac."  Needless to say, the school is proud of it's Scottish heritage.  St. Andrews was founded by the Presbyterian Church and is the product of a merger of an all-male and an all-female school.  They have recently become a campus of Webber International University in Florida and each summer, they host the Governor's School for gifted and talented high school students in North Carolina.  St. Andrews also has a world-class equestrian program.  In addition to many competitive equestrian championships, the school offers a degree in therapeutic riding and preparations for vet school.  My brother rode a horse for much of his ministerial career though I don't believe he ever went to school to learn how.


My next stop was at Bladen Community College near Dublin.  Dublin.  St. Andrews.  Are you seeing a theme here?  The early settlers of this area were from Scotland and Ireland and traveled up the Cape Fear River. It was lunch time so I stopped in at a restaurant named Dowless and Co. in Dublin.  Being unfamiliar with the area, I pulled into the wrong entrance.  It was, however, a fortunateerror because I saw behind the restaurant a man standing at a cooker.  He signaled the direction I should go and after paring in the correct lot, I walked walked around back to meet Lennox the Pit Master for Dowless.  Lennox opened the cooker long enough for me to see about eight pork shoulders which looked ready to eat.  Lennox's experience, however, said they needed another "three hours."  Inside, I found the special of the day to be country-style steak which I ordered with cabbage, field peas and cornbread.  Delicious!  Dublin is in the heart of "peanut country" and the residents were gearing up for the annual peanut festival which began on Saturday.  Sherwin Rice is the director of the library at Bladen CC and is rightfully proud of the work being done by her school for the community.


My final stop was in Whiteville at Southeastern Community College.   Kay Houser is the Director of the library and we had a long conversation about both the changes occurring in libraries and education in general as well as our families.  The day following my visit was Constitution Day.  Kay had made a most-creative window display to celebrate the day.

Speaking of the Constitution, I would like to make a political statement although I am, myself, an undocumented alien:  The next President of the United States will likely appoint three or four justices to the US Supreme Court.  Those appointments will affect the future direction of this country for generations to come.  Please choose wisely. As the Grail Knight said to Indiana Jones:  "You must choose but choose wisely."