Back To My Roots in North Carolina

by Barb Compton

As a child growing up in a small town in North Carolina, I always dreamed of traveling and seeing other places that I’d only read about, or seen pictured in magazines. (My family did not own a TV until I was going on 17 years old, as my mother thought having a television in the house was akin to inviting the devil to live with us.)

When my father brought one home, there were fireworks, and for months, it was only turned on when he did so, and if he left the room, she would turn it off immediately. That old black and white TV allowed me to learn more about the wider world, but never intrigued me with the beauty of color.

A week or so into my senior year of high school, my father was offered (and accepted) a job in northern VA, only a few miles from Washington, D.C. My mother was even more upset about moving away from all that was familiar to her, than she had been about having a television in the house!

While she dragged her feet about packing for the move, and cried gallons of tears, my father went to VA and boarded with a former co-worker, to try the new job and location. Packing and choosing what to take and what to leave with other family members, or give away became frenzied when he called to say he had leased a house, and would be there the following weekend to collect the family for the move.

Until that moment, I believe my mother simply believed he would change his mind and return to NC to live.

Six weeks into my final year of school, I was beginning at a new, much larger school, where I only knew 3 or 4 people – I had met and became better acquainted with them, during church youth camps in the previous years.

I will never forget my first views of the Jefferson Memorial and other places in our nation’s capital, and how excited I was to see them. And, the following spring, I believed nothing could be more beautiful than the Jefferson Memorial, framed by the Japanese cherry blossoms.

I loved sightseeing in D.C. on weekends, and seeing so many people from around the world, many of whom wore their colorful and exotic native garb. I was “high” on my new experiences, and later moved into my own apartment only a few blocks from the bank where I worked. Even though I loved living and working there, I also continued to dream of some day traveling to other places.


After Bill and I married, we moved near his duty station in Maryland, later to Memphis, TN and on to San Diego. Driving across country, we didn’t see nearly enough to suit me, as we had very limited money and little time, and Bill needed to report to his next duty station quickly.

Through the years, I was generally excited about each move, and the thought of seeing and living in new places. Even though we had visited some of my family here in NC a few times, I was always happy when the visit ended, and we could get out of here!

I never thought I would voluntarily live in NC again, and certainly never wanted to live in my hometown again!

Then, four months ago, we made the decision to leave New Mexico and move to NC!! When I called my aunt to tell her the news, she was thrilled and told me it was about time I returned to my roots.

When Bill flew East to look for a house, we knew the general area we were interested in, but I repeatedly reminded him that Thomasville was my LAST choice, and would only consider it, IF there were absolutely nothing available in any of the other towns!

Fortunately, after looking around the area, Bill determined he was most interested in a small town
named Spencer, and he found a few houses here that he liked, but only one that met all our requirements at a price we could afford.

It has been far more work than I expected, and there is still too much work to be done, but it’s looking better each day and keeping us busy. However, I am loving the wildlife we have in the yard and all the GREEN that is around us – quite a change from living in New Mexico.

And, our three cats have been fascinated with all the various birds, dozens of squirrels, and even a couple of rabbits.

As soon as the interior is finished, my next goal is to expand the “habitat” for the wildlife, and I hope to have a nice hummingbird and butterflygarden by next summer.