you can neither speak the language nor fund
the budget...when Beth Dent listened to the
calling of her heart to minister to Latinos,
Youth Central was born. Imagine a mom whose
passion to help her son struggling with mental
illness feel at home in the confusion opens the
doors of Linden Lodge and welcomes other
sons and daughters, men and women needing a
place to call home. Marianne Kernan, Founder/
Executive Director and Linden Lodge Mom is a
lifesaver. Or another mom, Leslie Clothier who
desired a chance for her daughter to play at the
park. To feel the sunshine, to enjoy the fresh air,
to capture a moment of “normal” in their lives
full of special needs. Ever met little Ellie Jean?
Once you hear her story, you’ll never forget it.
One such unforgettable moment came in
meeting Executive Director Dr. Anne Friesen
of Friend to Friend honored as 2019 Moore
County Community Foundation’s “Woman of
the Year”—she has my vote for “Woman of the
Century”! We met over an interview to discuss
domestic violence; I’ll never forget it. As I
listened to the stats, my own raw, real desperate
attempt to help my sister, a domestic violence
survivor, came full circle. With no socioeconomic
boundaries, from the country clubs
to the mobile home parks, domestic violence
exists. Whenever the violence escalates, whether
in the middle of the night or on holidays, Friend
to Friend is available 24/7.
With each interview, my eyes opened a
little bit more. You see, I grew up sheltered
in a protected bubble of exclusivity wherein
everyone looked the same, believed the same,
acted the same. One group, one dress code, one
type of music, one church believing we were
“the only ones.” Sure I traveled and earned a
college degree, yet at the same time, my world
was contained, controlled. Submitting to the
narrow way, I followed the path into marriage,
into stay at home mom, homeschool mom and
into the great Recession wherein I couldn’t feed
my children. Darkness. Dysfunction. Debt. Of
no choosing of my own.
The calls from Reid were a godsend. At the
time, I couldn’t grasp the lifesaver thrown and
actually rejected the first couple tosses, maybe
that’s why we are instructed to secure others in
their struggles. For over forty years the Gazette
banner read, “Light a Candle for all to see with
an unselfish, kind deed today.” The Gazette
became my candle, my light, my way to feed my
children without a declined card or maxed–out
credit card. At 37 years old, I chose. I chose to
say, “Yes!” I jumped in with both feet and began
covering the community, one neighbor at a time.
Truly I had no clue. No clue! They say,
“Ignorance is bliss.” Maybe so. Maybe not.
Before the Gazette, I had neither performed
an interview nor written an article nor run a
business. A “career mom,” I had no clue what I
was doing, but you know those Mama Bears in
protection mode of their children? That was me.
Terrified. Yes! Overwhelmed. Yes! Intimidated.
No. I was ready to make it happen. And with
every meeting, every opened door, every ad sold,
every story written, the light shone brighter.
On the home front, I continued to
homeschool my children while managing the
Gazette. Full time in every single direction, I
did this for six years. Until I started listening.
Listening to my body collapsing under the
weight. Listening to my heart screaming for
life, love, light. Listening to those living their
authentic purpose while I wasn’t. When we
learn to listen, to observe, to see things for the
truth rather than from our perceived truth,
the blinders come off. Little by little, my eyes
opened to this wide-open gorgeous world of
beautiful people living their authentic purpose
in truth, love, goodness.... WOW! I kept seeing it
over and over again. Kept wanting it. Kept being
drawn to these gifts. These lights who found the
freedom to choose! In meeting the checklists of
everyone else’s demands for my life, I never even
considered I had a choice! Crazy I know. Crazy
but true! The darkness being forced upon my
light so burning to shine almost overcame... but
I chose light! I chose life! I chose another, “YES!”
And the inspirations to live? You can find
them all over the marketplace serving in the
Village shops, walking the trails around the
Reservoir Park. From the Sunrise Theater to the
Alive at Five from the window shoppers to the
business owners, veterans and shut-ins, they
are everywhere. Little lights sharing goodness
all around town.
My heroes & dear friends Petey & Ty.
Take Petey, my dear friend Anna Young. She
said, “If someone calls me Anna, then they don’t
know me!” There is not a day that passes that I
don’t think of Petey. I met her at the Carthage
Library dressed in a pale yellow shirt, tan shorts,
glasses, and a German Shepherd named “Ty”
shortened from Tiffany. Experiencing London,
Paris, DC and New York, she kayaked on Lake
Pinehurst, hiked the Appalachian Trail and rode
the trails at the Walthour-Moss Foundation. She
earned a degree at SCC and pursued a double
major at UNC. Playing the oboe, clarinet,
piccolo, guitar, violin, mandolin, cello, piano
and drums. Her favorite instrument? The piano.
Attending church, shopping for groceries and
living life—Petey accomplished all of these
things and more as a blind lady.
Horses brought her to Southern Pines. On
the fateful day of her accident, she was helping
a young man named John spend some time
in the saddle. The next thing she knew, there
was a problem that quickly escalated from
a controlled, safe environment to a perilous
event in a matter of seconds. A kick in the head
took her sight, almost took her life. After a dark
time of learning to see life in a different way,
the impossible became possible in the light of
encouragement.
I learned so much from Petey. She folded
her currency to be able to tell whether it was a
one, five, ten or twenty dollar bill. She stitched
a small pattern on her clothes to know the color.
As for the chunky magazines in Braille, they are
plain white with only the title of the magazine
printed in ink; they contain neither pictures nor
advertisements. Petey subscribed to National
Geographic in Braille which comes in 5 thick
volumes compared to the regular slim-lined
magazine. I was speechless around so many
Braille words!
She told me her guide dog Ty worked for a
reward. “When you are walking in a busy town,
you can’t stop and give a dog treat at every street.
It’s ‘Good girl’ and move on. Dogs love working
off a pattern. When I attend school, Ty knows the
day, the right seat in the classroom; she knows
the pattern from here to church, to the store,
to the post office.” It was in that moment that
Petey decided I should put on the sleep shades,
and we should go for a walk. As we made our
way down the sidewalks with pedestrians and
cars whizzing past, I was terrified and looking to
Petey to tell me what to do. “HELP!”
She was so proud of her story entitled, “An
Incredible Lady and Her Journey.” As soon as the
article was printed, she called me pretending to
be so upset! What a trickster! She proceeded to
tell me that she had just convinced the intern
working with her MD to sign a form allowing her
to get her driver’s license. After he signed it, she
was like, “Dude, I’m blind!” Ha! We got a laugh
at that. Ladies from Emmanuel Episcopal read
the Pinehurst Gazette story to her; a few days
later, a friend from Emmanuel called to share,
“Petey has passed.” In attending her funeral, I
met others who shared in the gift of Petey. Truly
when we cannot see, we take one step, then
another.
While some lose their sight, we look to the
Lions Club who restore vision in recycling the
eye glasses. You know those white cardboard
boxes with royal blue print around town, YES,
your donated glasses help those in need!
How quickly the days turned into 100 years
when I met up with Ms. Elizabeth Spencer Deahl
in Aberdeen; Miss Libby celebrates 101 years this
2020. Growing up in Carthage where her Daddy
ran the mill, they became a prominent family
who were able to feed the hungry wanderers
during the Great Depression. In celebrating
the 100 year anniversary of E.E. Vuncannon’s in
Ellerbe which grew to include Aberdeen Supply,
the Vuncannon family has supplied local
farmers with feed, seed, and farm products for
over a 100 years. Supplying insurance for over
100 years, Wade at Wade S. Dunbar Insurance
protects all things home, auto, business and life.
Leading me to document 100 years of life in Joe
Granato’s century plant blooming at Star Ridge
Aquatics, LLC. Need a water garden, palm tree,
a tropical water lily, Koi or goldfish? Specializing
in decorative water, Joe is the man for the job.
Pulled from the perilous waters of Normandy
on D-day June 6, 1944, my friend Ed Black was
stored among the dead until his friend Joe heard
his weakened moans of, “Water. Water.” Forty
years later when Ed Black was walking the shores
of Normandy, another hollered out, “Ed? Are you
Ed Black?” And thus began the remarkable story
of a local boy who was blown off the deck of the
USS Rich DE-695 when it hit a mine and then
another. With his diary restored from the man
who pulled his broken body onto the life raft 40
years ago, history was made. Our local hero who
readily tells, “I’m a Survivor not a Hero,” remains
a patriotic light along with Sweede Boreen
who served on the USS Oklahoma and saw the
Japanese bombers coming over the horizon at
Pearl Harbor. Seconds later the bombing started.
So many stories, so many names, so many
locals living their purpose. Have you ever visited
Midstate Furniture in Carthage? It’s like taking
a step back in time as Lois Jean Purvis sells the
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p.28 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. No. 137