As Union General Sherman’s army marched toward Goldsboro N.C., the remnant of escaped Union soldiers hiding in the swamps of Robeson and Richmond Co. left with him. The only ones left in outlaw bands of the area were mostly Indians, the most important being the one lead by Henry Berry Lowry. The Lowry gang would be the scourge of Robeson Co. for over a...
Read MoreMabel, the little tractor that could
A couple of years ago, I decided to take in an estate sale. The sale was held at a little rundown farm way back in the Uwharrie Mountains. The couple who once ran the farm had passed and their children didn’t have any interest in keeping it. As usual, I was running late getting to the sale. Most all the good stuff had already been sold, so I decided just...
Read MoreSandhills Best Liar
Guess who won the Bold-Face Liar Competition this year? You can check out the story in the Daily Journal. And the Award goes to…. J.A. Bolton is the best liar in the Sandhills — at least according to a plaque he recently received. Bolton placed first at the ninth annual Bold-Faced Liars’ Showdown in Laurinburg on Saturday, spinning a better yarn than...
Read MoreThe lights were out in Ellerbe and Derby
One of my stories was recently feature in Carolina Country Magazine. Check it out here: The Lights Were Out In 1966, I had finished high school and taken a nine-month electrical lineman course at Central Carolina Technical College. I landed an apprentice lineman job at our local electric cooperative, Pee Dee EMC. The work was sometimes hard and dangerous,...
Read MoreJackfishing trips with Mr. Hopie
Sorry, but the Lowry gang story will have to wait until my eye gets better and I can do more recollecting about what those boys got into. In this week’s story I’m gonna talk about in-laws, not outlaws. I know sometimes people don’t get along with their in-laws but I had a good relationship with all of mine, especially with my wife’s grandparents. Mr. Hopie...
Read MoreHeroes or Murderous Outlaws
This is a story of a young Lumbee Indian, Henry Berry Lowrie (Lowry) and his band of followers who were caught up and consumed by injustice around them. The story took place around 150 yrs. ago in lower Richmond Co. (now Scotland Co.) and Robeson Co., N.C. during and right after our Great Civil War. It goes down in local history as the bloody Lowrie War....
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