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Friday, November 14, 2014

Visiting Robbins

I've been on a little trip, of sorts. That's right. Things fell into place this week making it possible for Shelby and me to visit our beloved little home town of Robbins. What a fun day we had, but you know what? As the title of the book by Thomas Wolfe says, "You can't go home again". That longing in my heart to relive those sweet childhood memories just can't be. 

We drove the old familiar street past the grammar school and along the sidewalk that we so often walked, all the way up past the mill where Daddy worked, on up to the houses on the hill and there it was. Our house! The same little house, upgraded a bit, but the same little house.



The land and the big trees look the same and the little houses are the much the same...



That sidewalk came all the way down the hill at the side of our house and then went all the way around the block. We wore out many a pair of roller skates and suffered many skinned knees and elbows on this very sidewalk. Shelby and I laughed when she reminded me of the time she walked a barrel down that hill! 

Back down the hill and across the street was Kennedy's store. With a dime we could buy a pepsi and some candy...



As Daddy moved up at the mill, and in the Textile world, the family moved from the small house to a bigger nicer home just up the hill and across the street. I was saddened to see that this home was rundown and not nearly as beautiful as it was in the 1950's.


This is the home I want to go home to, but never can...



Those lovely bay windows, now covered with blue curtains, were in our living room. The living room where mama and daddy entertained friends and family...




The living room where mama played the piano and sang the old songs that I remember and love today...



The living room where mama held Randall when he was less than a month old...


And the textile mill where daddy worked, the mill that made Robbins a booming little town. Nothing now but a pile of bricks...


It was sad going back because so many things in Robbins have changed or disappeared completely.

Shelby and I left Robbins and drove to Seagrove...ever heard of all the potters and pottery shops in Seagrove? Anyway, we stopped by to see our niece Vicki and take her to lunch, which made the day even more special.

I have more pictures and stories, and hope to be back soon.

Thank you for stopping by.

Love,
Henny Penny

Robbins, North Carolina

17 comments:

  1. I think I'm glad that most of my memories are too far away to visit. I want to remember my Oklahoma grandparents' houses the way they were.
    I was watching one of the house hunter shows on TV yesterday and they were in my hometown of Arlington, Virginia. Completely unrecognizable.

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    1. Sometimes I guess it is best not to go back. Having Shelby with me made it more fun as we laughed about things we did as children. Don't you love to be watching TV and see a story about home!

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  2. Yes going home can sometimes be very hard. Sometimes its easier to go to a different spot that you didn't actually live but can still feel home. Well that is how it is for me. I could not live exactly where I did growing up, last time I was there it was ...whew ... very difficult. But a hour or so in another direction in a town I didn't ever live in. I feel at peace and love it there. Allows me the feelings and all my memories in tact in my mind as they were growing up, and gives me the feeling of home. Not sure this makes sense. I would like to retire back in the state I am from, but not the same exact town and spot I am from.

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    1. Absolutely, that makes perfect sense. Close but not right there to see the changes every day. Thank you for visiting especially as busy as you are!

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  3. Thank goodness for photos and our own memories that allow us to keep our childhoods just as they were! I had a similar experience a few years ago when I returned to the town I grew up in to empty my grandparents house. So much in the town had changed and the company where my dad worked that was the center of the town -- gone! I enjoyed your photos.

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    1. Sounds a lot like our experience. I haven't been able to clear my mind of the changes we saw in Robbins. Thank you Cynthia

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  4. Seagrove...is it near High Point. My sister lives in NC, originally from NJ, and she took me to this amazing pottery village when I visited. Maybe it was Seagrove. I hope one day to go back again.

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    1. Seagrove really is not too far from High Point. Seagrove surely was the place you and your sister visited. It is amazing how people come from all over the world to visit and buy pottery from Seagrove. It is such a country little place. My Mother's family is scattered around the county there and we are kin to several of the potters. Hope you get to go back. Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment.

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  5. I am so happy that I got to see you and Aunt Shelby!! I love you both so much and would love to spend more time with you. I will cherish this memory for a very long time.
    Love you

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    1. Oh Vicki, it was so good to spend time with you. Wish we could do it more often. Shelby and I want you to try and go with us to the fair next year, so kinda be thinking about it. I love you, Vicki!

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  6. it's so true that we can't go home again, except in our memories. Your memories sound lovely.

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    1. That's right. Sometimes I think that I am a little "touched in the head" because I dwell on my childhood so much. Hope not! :)

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  7. In our mind home doesn't change. In reality home changes as in some things actually disappear. You give a great description of your trip back home.

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    1. So true! Thank you. If I had gone back alone it would have been much sadder. Having my sister along made it fun.

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  8. I keep all of my old memories safe in my mind, but when I do actually see an old place (like my grandparent's old homes) I tend to compare what I remember to reality. Now the houses always look smaller, the yards tinier, and I always think my grandparents kept their places up nicer. :) I'm glad you got to see the old house, and had a good day with family.

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  9. I have a different story. My home town is so improved and upscale, you would never recognize it as the sleepy little town I grew up in. My hometown is Sonoma CA (of the Sonoma-Napa wine industry), which once was so small that the school principals and town mayor knew me by name. Now, Sonoma is a town of elites from San Francisco and no longer friendly in my opinion.

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  10. Times change and we change too...I am glad you got a chance to go back even if it wasn't all as nice as you remember:)

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