| Send your memories or email to: info@rockinghamremembered.com |
| From: Paul Warnock Date: 08/15/04 13:57:10 To: joel@rockinghamremembered.com Subject: Rockingham circa 1950 to 1954 Joel, Really enjoyed your Rockingham memories. Our family lived in Rockingham from 1942 through 1954. We moved to Gastonia in 1954. Most of the family is still in Gastonia, but I live in Greensboro. We still have lots of fond memories from the old Pee Dee Church. I think your father was H.A. Bailey and your mother was Margie Bailey. Is that correct? I knew Randy & Gary fairly well. You must have been a small child back in 1954 when we left. I also knew your Grandfather who my father called "CAP" Bailey. He fussed at me one time for jumping from a boat in the small pond in front of his house. I also knew your Uncle Donnie fairly well. We used to visit with the L.D. Bailey family, in particular, Billy, Mary & Jerry. Also knew Mitzi Thompson next door who was the daughter of Clyde Thompson. I think Mitzi's mother was Juanita Bailey Thompson. Would like to hear from you. Sincerely, Paul Warnock |
| From: Joel RR Date: 08/16/04 09:36:34 To: Paul Warnock Subject: Re: Rockingham circa 1950 to 1954 Hey Paul Good to hear from you and I am glad you enjoyed my Rockingham memories on the website. I remember your family, also. I believe some of you played the trumpet/cornet and sang in church - is that right? That was a long time ago but I remember the Warnocks well. In fact, when Marie Avant died a while back, I saw Mrs Warnock there and one of her sons - I can't remember which. But I didn't realize it had been so long ago when your family moved to Gastonia. My dad and mom were HA and Margie. Dad died in 1977 but Mom is still with us. She still lives on old Ellerbe Rd by herself - but is satisfied with living alone. She goes to Senior Citizens 4 days a week - if it wasn't for that, she would probably go stir crazy. My brother Gary died in 2000 but Randy is still in Rockingham and is owner of Baileys Pools there. My younger brother Keith also still lives in Rockingham. In 1954, I was only 6 years old...but I still remember the Warnock family. I remember grandpa Bailey used to be known as Cap Bailey. And that pond in front of his house (it's gone now) was a favorite place of ours when we were children. We loved to fish there. Don't know if you remember dad's sister, Inez. She just died about 2 weeks ago. That only leaves Donnie as the lone survivor of that generation. I saw Jackie and Mitzi Thompson at the family night for Inez. It was the first time I had seen them since I was a kid. Mitzi and Jackie's mom was Geneva, whom died a good while back and their dad was Clyde - he has also passed on. LD Bailey and family, Jerry, Bill and Mary, and the Thompsons, all lived down around the bend from grandpa Bailey. Mary and Bill still live in Rockingham but I believe Jerry lives at Myrtle Beach now. Stay in touch and it was great to hear from you Joel |
| From: Paul Warnock Date: 08/16/04 22:04:37 To: Joel RR Subject: Re: Rockingham circa 1950 to 1954 Hello Joel, Just a brief response tonight. I'll write more later. Edwin was the trumpet player, Alvin the trombone and Ellen the clarinet. I was the one who accompanied my mother to Marie Avant's funeral a year ago. She (my mother) will celebrate her 91st birthday in November. She's in better shape than I'm in. She still drives, does sewing for an established clientele and is active in church work. We have made several trips back to Rockingham in recent years. One I particularly remember about five years ago, your mother, your brother Randy, your Aunt Rosalea and others gathered for a dinner at Quincy's. Randy was telling us about his pool business then. Several years later, just before Marie Avant passed away, we had a gathering at the Church fellowship hall. I think your mother & Mrs. Rosalea Bailey were there. So were Bud Freeman, Mr. Sheppard, Irene (Avant) Bledsoe and the other Mrs. Avant (Oscar's wife), Janette Avant and several of the Coble ladies (Josephine and her mother). We are thinking about another trip drown there this fall (probably October). The last time we were there was for Marie's funeral. We had a fifth brother, Steve, born in Gastonia in 1955. He is now a Baptist minister, and has a fairly large church in Gastonia near the South Carolina line. Edwin & Alvin are retired. Ellen plans to retire in December. I'm 62. I work in the home office of Jefferson-Pilot here in Greensboro. I'll be retiring sometime in the next three years. Jim the fourth brother works in Charlotte at Bank of America. Our father passed away in 1973. We have lots of Rockingham pictures especially of the church and the High School band. I'll try to get these to you in a reasonable amount of time. My mother can probably identify all the unidentified people in your photos. Our pictures are in Gastonia & I won't be going there until late September. My two brothers above are both fond of their Rockingham days too. You may be hearing from them. I remember a girl named Rachel Heavener, who I think is your cousin on your mother's side. She was in my class at school. This of course makes us about the same age. Back in the early 50's, I spent the night with your family once. I remember Rachel was a close neighbor, but I didn't realize at the time she was you cousin. Are Mitzi & Jackie Thompson your cousins? I was thinking Mrs. Thompson was LD Bailey's sister? Also there was a couple of Stewart boys that lived near Grandpa Bailey. I was thinking they were Bailey cousins too? I've covered about 50% to 75% of your website. I should finished seeing everything in a couple weeks. Are you in the computer business? I was wondering how you developed the knowledge-base to set up your own web site. I notice you are living in Cary. Allen (Butch) Bullard managed a Winn-Dixie store there in 1960 the same year I was in school in Raleigh. I think Mrs. Becky Bullard went there for a short period of time also. Butch is now a Quaker (Society of Friends) minister here in Greensboro, but he lives in Randleman which is just south of Greensboro. Wanda & Shelby are also in this area. Would you believe Shelby drives a school bus? Wanda has had a tragic life, having lost two children to accidents. Well I think I'll close my "brief" letter. We would enjoy hearing more about your family. Hope you are all well. Respectfully, Paul |
| From: Joel RR Date: 08/18/04 10:02:52 To: Paul Warnock Subject: Re: Rockingham circa 1950 to 1954 Good to hear back from you Paul. You have helped refresh my memory quite a bit. I do remember the trio at church - (Pee Dee Pentecostal Holiness) trombone, clarinet and trumpet - and your brothers and sister. Your mother is doing great at 91 - and still driving! My mom would give anything if she could still drive. The names you mentioned when you visited Rockingham in the past few years are familiar to me: Rosalea Bailey, Bud Freeman, Mr. Sheppard, the Avants, and the Cobles. Rosalea and Bud go to Senior Citizens with mom. And I saw Mr Sheppard last year and he still looks the same he did 40 years ago. He was sitting with his daughter Reba at the resthome. If you remember, he played a mean guitar in church. You came from a pretty large family. I remember Alvin, Edwin, Ellen and you but not the other two brothers. Sorry to hear your dad passed away in '73. I miss my dad but am blessed that mom is still with us. Any photos, etc. you could find and pass on would be greatly appreciated. That's what my site is about - memories of growing up in the 50s and 60s. Rachael is my cousin and she did live up the street from us. Their house is long gone now and Beverly Hills Baptist Church sits there now. I believe Rachael lives in Carthage - her two sisters, Judy and Brenda, live there. Her mom Ruby passed away a few months ago. Mitzi and Jackie are my cousins. Their mom was Geneva Bailey Thompson, wife to Clyde - which would make her the sister of LD Bailey. The Stewarts lived around the bend from grandpa Bailey's house. They are not kin to the Baileys. There was Ted, Jerry, Larry and Cynthia. I'm not in the computer business. I worked for CSX RR since 1970, transferred to Jax Fl in 1988, then to Tampa in 1996. I worked in the office the whole time - different jobs. I had a heart attack in 1989 and the second one in 1998. That second one put me on disability and then we moved back to the Carolinas. I started working on the website in 1999 but was not in any hurry to publish it. I didn't really get serious about it until we moved back to Cary. I just thought it would be nice to have a website that would attempt to portray the life of people growing in a small textile town in the south and have other people share their stories too. The way I learned to do the website was hit and miss. I use Yahoo Pagebuilder and it is pretty user friendly. Also, I manage and update our church website, www.westwoodbc.org. That's what I spend most of my time on - the two websites, a 13 yr old daughter, and 4 grandchilren. I can't quite remember Butch or maybe I do - was he real tall and skinny? - but I do remember Rebecca Bullard - my SS teacher for a while - and Wanda and Shelby. Also, I remember Butch Presley. Seems my brother Keith dated Wanda at one time. It was great to hear from you again and tell your mother Happy Birthday. And all the Warnocks - tell them hello. Joel |
|
|