My Little Town

It's been a busy week at school, so I haven't had a chance to blog at all. Kinda sad, every time I wanted to blog I had school work that had to be done first. Anyways in the middle of my teaching today I got an idea for a post and I was determined that before I went to bed tonight, I would blog about it.

This week we've been talking about the Industrial Revolution & the Progressive Era. Now, my curriculum covers not only American History but North Carolina History as well. A major part of North Carolina's past was the production of textiles, tobacco, & furniture. I always get excited when I get to teach about textiles & mill villages because my hometown used to be a mill village, in fact...it was from 1887-2003 when the mill went bankrupt. When I was teaching today, I was reminded of the sense of pride I've always had about being from Kannapolis. There really isn't anything hugely special about Kannapolis, except for I just love that little town.

This is Fieldcrest Cannon, the mill that the entire town of Kannapolis was built around. My grandmother & dad both worked there. It was demolished in August of 2006.

This is the Gem Theatre where you can pay $2.00 for a movie, $1.00 for popcorn, $1.00 for candy or a drink. It's awesome! Oh, What-a-burger...if you've been around me for any period of time, you've heard me talk about What-a-burger & cherry lemon sundrop. It's so bad for you, but oh so good. Definitely the best burger I've ever had. I've gotten Matt addicted too! And of course, the best part of Kannapolis...my family! This picture was taken at, my baby brother, Luke's last football game. He'll be the last one to graduate from A.L. Brown High School in June. (Everyone in my family went there but my dad, who went to a nearby rival high school.)

My childhood was phenomenial. I have great memories of going to Friday night football games with my grandparents (my grandmother worked in the mill before she retired), eating at little restaurants that you can't find anywhere else but Kannapolis, going to festivals & parades, making memories with my family (who all grew up in the area) and knowing everyone because the town is so small. I grew up in the same house my whole life, hung out with the same friends from birth till high school graduation, and spent a lot of time growing and learning at the same church until I was 18.

I almost started crying today as I thought about how special Kannapolis is. There isn't a lot left today, the mill is gone and the shopping area downtown is pretty empty. They've built the North Carolina Research Campus there and a lot of new things have been built outside of the downtown area. BUT, I still have family there and know a lot of special people that have made a huge impact on my life. Kannapolis will always be "small town" to me. I'm thankful to be a small town girl and sometimes I sure do miss that little place. I'm going home next weekend for an entire weekend, which hasn't happened in a while with Matt being on staff at church. I can't wait to see my family, eat at my favorite restaurants, visit friends, and go to my home church!