Photo of the week: Henry Berry Lowry Home

The Reverend D.F. (Doctor Fuller) Lowry and Dr. Adolph Dial on the porch of the Henry Berry Lowry Home.  Originally built by his father, Allen Lowry, in the Hopewell area of Robeson County the home was moved to the grounds of the North Carolina Indian Cultural Center in 1987 and restored.  The Center is home of the “Strike at the Wind” a drama that portrays the life of Henry Berry Lowry.

Henry Berry Lowry, was the leader of the Lowery Gang which operated in Robeson County from 1864 – 1872. His gang worked to avenge the murder of his father and brother by the Home Guard. Lowry was arrested for the murder of Postmaster James P. Barnes but escaped from the Whiteville jail in which he was being held. He disappeared and many opinions have developed over the years to explain his absence. Some say he was accidentally killed and buried by his gang members while others say he escaped to the North or Mexico. Henry Berry Lowery married Rhoda Strong, who was known for her beauty.

Photograph of the Week: Army Santa

Santa in jeep driving off of glider at Laurinburg Maxton Airbase

The Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base started as a result of a project of Maxton, Laurinburg, Robeson County and Scotland County. In December 1941, Maxton learned that the Federal Government wanted to locate an Air Training School in the vicinity of Maxton.  The four governments purchased 583 acres to lease to the government to be used as a military reservation.

Construction was authorized on April 20, 1942, much of the labor was provided through the WPA.  The cost was over ten million dollars and netted 20 miles of paved roads within the compound.

The Laurinburg-Maxton Airbase was the largest glider training base in the world and trained the glider pilots that were used during the D-Day Invasion.  The Waco CG-4A was designed to carry 13 men or 4 men and a jeep.

This great Christmas photograph shows Santa riding in a jeep out of a glider. It was picked up by Associated Press and went all around the world.

Photograph of the Week – Good Old Winter Time

Robeson County Courthouse in the Good Old Winter Time

Today’s cold and wet weather made me think about this photo postcard of the third Robeson County Courthouse which was erected in 1908. Notice the ice covering the power lines and trees.

Photograph of the Week – Bryan Canners

Being that Thanksgiving is upon us I thought a photograph dealing with food would be appropriate. Shown are a couple of expert canners, Mr. and Mrs. J.E. Bryan, of Lumberton with their winter supply of canned fruits and vegetables.  Canning fruits and vegetables was a part of everyday life, and essential to feeding a family in the days before refrigeration and supermarkets.  This photograph was taken by George W. Ackerman on May 20, 1932. During his almost 40-year career with the Department of Agriculture he took over 50,000 photographs.

Page’s Lake

Do you remember Page’s Lake??? It was located just over the Robeson County border in Bladen County was owned and operated by Ulysses S. Page, known to most as U.S. Page or “Bladen Bombshell” a nickname that was first given to him during his time in the General Assembly.

Page’s lake covered over 100 acres and was fed from hundreds of white-sulpher and iron springs. Advertising from the time market the lake resort as “a clean safe place for clean people”, the lake was known as a wonderful site for fishing and boating.

In addition to provide a popular high diving area Page’s Lake also had a number of furnished cottages for extended stays. Page operated a small general store on the property that served locals since the site was 16 miles south of Fayetteville and 7 miles east of St. Pauls.

Page operated the lake from 1922 until 1951 when he was brutally murder in his lake side store. Archie Blue Tyner of St. Pauls leased the lake from Mrs. Page for a short time but soon decided to focus his efforts on his farming interests.

I am writing an article about the lake resort and Page. Please share with me your memories.

Postcard – Lumber River

According to poet John Charles McNeill (1874-1907), the Indian name of Lumbee was originally used for the river, from an Indian word that means “black water.” Early European surveyors and settlers called it Drowning Creek. Legislative action of 1809 changed the name to Lumber River, most likely because of the river’s heavy use by the lumber industry. A favorite quote about the Lumber River appeared in John Charles McNeill’s Argus “writing about the Lumber River, to a man who has spent his summers in dalliance with her, is like writing about his sweetheart. She is coquettish, as subject to change, as teasing as any girl that goes; and no human angel ever possessed more variable hues and tints and shadows in her misty eyes than this unconscious flirt.”