BRING ON BOB!

September 26th, 2007 | webmaster | Memory Lane

BY: CARRIE ARMSTRONG BANKS

It’s September and North Carolina is still struggling with drought conditions and oppressive heat. August brought way more than the typical Southern summer as many states, including where I live in Alabama, experienced successive days with heat indices nearing 110 degrees and higher. Were I not so grateful for air-conditioning, I would have had a stroke when I
opened my electricity bill last month. Judging from the amount, I’m quite certain the greatest invention of the 20th Century ran nonstop!

Growing up in Bladenboro in the 1970s and ’80s, September meant field work was winding down, football and cheerleading practice had resumed and the new school year was underway – in classrooms without air-conditioning. At least one stiff new back-to-school outfit had been purchased, along with bright notebooks in inspirational colors. Reconnecting with school mates; establishing a class schedule; figuring out where you landed in the hierarchal pecking order; and covering one’s books with brown paper grocery bags were top priorities the first two weeks of school. I’m sure much remains the same, although working in tobacco fields is probably a history lesson rather than a reality; the local high school is now a county-wide institution; and the buildings are climate controlled and much more tolerable.

When I think back on my childhood, I recall many wonderful memories spent in and around Bladenboro – riding my bike all over town, roller skating at the Armory, walking to the drugstore for fresh-squeezed lemonade, swimming at the Woodman of the World pool, checking out library books from the Bridger Memorial Library, eating a burger at Haywood’s (now Diamond Dave’s), Friday night football games, tromping through fields and forests with my cousins on their farm, working at mom’s True Value, waiting in great anticipation for the Annual Christmas Parade …

And now Bladenboro is about to create new memories for children and adults alike with its inaugural BeastFest on October 27th! Hopefully the weather will be cooler and hurricane season will be slow as the good folks of Bladenboro and the surrounding area join together to celebrate small-town life in the rural South. I congratulate my hometown for pulling this unique festival together and I enthusiastically support your efforts. As someone who has served on the board of a newly established music festival, I understand the time and effort required to create an event from scratch. With no history – no record of previous success – it can be a real challenge to sell an idea without an actual product.

Fortunately, Bladenboro has BOB – as well as a dedicated group of volunteers interested in making BOB a household name. And I’ve no doubt that with strong community support, BOB could very well become well known throughout North Carolina and beyond.

Personally, I look forward to sporting a BOB T-shirt in Alabama because I never tire of telling others where I’m from. I’ll see y’all in October!