Riding the Rails on Christmas Day

On Christmas day I discovered the Greensboro, NC Amtrak station for the first time. It is an authentic restoration of a bygone relic and abandoned ways. Trains have been a part of Greensboro's history since the famous Govenor Motley Morehead convinced the rail companies to route through the piedmont region. The last Confederate cabinet of Jefferson Davis stayed in a railcar near this station in 1865 as the Confederacy  was disolving around them.

The current structure for Greensboro Station was originally built in 1927 as the Greensboro Southern Railway Depot. It was a replacement for an 1899 Southern Railway Depot that still exists today. During the Second World War, the station saw many a soldier arrive and depart after traing in the local army camps.The depot was donated to the city in 1978, a year before the Southern Railroad ended passenger service. Service to the old station wasn't reopened to the public until October 1, 2005 with the renewed interest for establishing rail service as an alternative form of transportation.

Designed by the New York architectural firm of Alfred Fellheimer & Steward Wagner, the 1927 Beaux-Arts facade features Ionic columns, a full entablature, and a three-story arched entry. Inside, the ticketing area features a vast mural displaying the service area of the Southern Railway system in the 1920s.

                               

My brother-in law decided to travel the rails home for Christmas because he likes to ride trains. As a young man, Michael traveled extensively throughout Europe on a EuroPass touring France, Italy, Germany,Belgium and the Scandinavian countries. As we waited for his train to arrive, he entertained me with stories of his travels in his youth. As I looked around the waiting benches, I realized that there were many stories and many travelers on this day. Some were buried in their smart phones, some laughing and joking with companions, and others sitting lonely and silent. Young couples, elderly grandparents, and single young persons of every nationality congregated here to travel on this joyous day of celebration. Were they leaving home, or were they returning home? Travelers all, not really so different from the original Christmas day. My brother-in-law throughly enjoyed his trip home on the Carolinian ,and he has decided to repeat the experience; like I said, he likes to ride trains.



Station statistics
Address	236 East Washington Street Greensboro, NC
Coordinates	36.0695°N 79.7871°W
Lines	Crescent   Carolinian and Piedmont
Connections	GTA, PART Greyhound
Platforms	2 island platforms
Tracks	4
Parking	Yes; free
Baggage check	Yes
Other information
Opened	1927
Closed	1978
Rebuilt	2005
Accessible
Code	GRO
Owned by	City of Greensboro

Traffic
Passengers (2012)	134,888[1]  8%
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station High Point toward New Orleans Crescent Danville toward New York City High Point toward Charlotte Carolinian Burlington toward New York City Piedmont Burlington toward Raleigh

Falling leaves in Greensboro

I went to California to meet my newest grandson for the two prime weeks of color from mid to late October. The day I flew home, we were greeted by the fringe area winds of Hurricane Sandy gusting up to 60 mph. Opportunities for photos in the first half of November have been less than normal since many of the trees were defoliated by the storm. The trees in my front yard were decimated, but the back yard was saved, so I have been able to capture much less color than would be expected.

The greatest issue, as always, is blowing and raking the thousands of leaves that fall in the yard each year. If you blow them to curbside, the city will come by in huge trucks with a large vacuum hose and suck them right out of your yard. More than 13,089 tons of leaves were collected during the 2011-12 program.
My street is lined with piles of leaves awaiting to be picked up. I was able to blow the front yard up to the curb, but the backyard remains in six large leaf piles that must be transported to the curb, or in large clear bags for pickup every two weeks. My back yard typically yields over a hundred 45 gallon leaf bags per year and the front takes 50-80 bags if I don't get them to curbside. The beauty of the colorful Fall usually compensates for the hard work in cleaning up the yard. Unfortunately, I virtually missed it this year, so I am grumbling more than normal.

 Beautiful red maple in my back yard.

 Ducks on pond

 Backyard view

 Still left to fall in the yard!

 Corner pair oak and maple

View from the deck 

Close up on a leaf pile. The red maple is my favorite. It starts golden then orange and finally red. 

Here are five of the six leaf piles in the back yard. 

 And these are still to fall!

Golf pond was already leafless on Novembere 1st 

Awaiting curbside pickup. I add to it every day.

Why I went to California-





Fall in the Piedmont of North Carolina

I love autumn in the piedmont region of North Carolina. I spent my early years in west Texas where cactus and yucca plants are surrounded by fifteen foot tall mesquite trees. In the fall, the skinny leaves of the mesquite turn yellow and drop uncermoniously to the ground. The grass turned from green to brown after about thirty minutes in the blazing summer sun. My next years were in north central Texas where scrub oaks grew to a scant 15-20 feet high. They turned quickly from green to brown before defoliating.

I have spent the past twenty-one years in the piedmont region of North Carolina and I look forward to each new fall season. Decidious hardwoods growing in the forest here grow to 50-70 feet tall. Indiginous species include red and golden maples, white oaks, red oaks, blackjack oaks, walnuts, sweet gums, tulip poplars, ironwood and many other varieties. They explode in a wondrous blaze of gold, orange and red that warm the heart as the cooler season starts.

Here are a few images of this colorful spectacle that I await with great anticipation each year. The leaves have only just begun to change this year, so I will post a curent season gallery at the end of the month.

 Mirror like reflection on a beautiful pond

 Pond on the golf course at the Carlson Dairy Farm course

Leaves that fell on my deck table from walnut, oak, maple and birch trees

 My back yard in the fall last year

 Katie's red maple near the Cardinal Golf course

Did I say red maple? Make that a red-orange maple 

Maybe red,orange and golden maple 

 Lake Higgins on a bright autumn day

Lake Hamilton where the geese never completely leave 

That's the furriest squirrel I've ever seen 

Old gas station site up in northern Guilford county 

View from my back deck in late October last year

View from the Cone Mansion on the Blueridge Parkway 

From the railing at the Cone Mansion in 2009

 From the trail to the Cone Mansion on the Blueridge Parkway

Yes, I love my North Carolina Fall, it's the best season of the year!

We have a Sister!

When Kevin Costner (Robin Hood) discovers that Will Scarlett is his brother, he delivers the classic line, "I have a brother?" It is a question and a statement combined, as he never knew that he had a brother, but now that he knows, he declares it for the world to know. I kind of felt that way yesterday when I discovered that we have a sister, and I want you to know it.

My next door neighbors are from Belarus, a former Soviet Union country in eastern europe. They are a quiet family and keep to themselves and we occasionally speak greetings when we see each other. I was working in the front yard yesterday when the wife drove in from work. Her mother is a quiet little lady who loves to grow flowers in the beds around the house. Her mom has been back in europe for the entire summer, so when she spoke, I inquired how her mom was doing.
"Oh, she will be back in November," she said.
We then talked about her work, and I discovered that I knew a lady who worked with her.
I asked how her mother was enjoying Belarus and she explained that her mother was in Moldova which is in between Ukraine and Romania and close to Belarus. She was born in Belarus, raised in Siberia and then settled in Moldova before immigrating to the USA..
"Wow", I said, "I have friends who adopted a child from Moldova."
"Yes," she said, "That has been a common thing since the capital city of Moldova became the sister city to Greensboro "
"I didn't know that," I said.
We chatted a bit more and when I went back home, I searched to learn more about our sister city. I discovered that the city of Greensboro became an official "sister city" to the district of Buiucani in the city of Chisineau, Moldova in June of 2000.
According to the official website for Moldova, "The capital of Moldova is considered to be one of the greenest cities in Europe. There are many parks in the city and the trees grow on almost every street."
Sounds like someone made a good choice in selecting a sister city for Greensboro.

My neighbors have been in North Carolina since 2002, gone through the green card process, and are now citizens of the USA. They have been gainfully employed since arrival and they are a credit to the community. They have two fine sons who are in high school and preparing for college. When she spoke of growing up in Siberia, she told me that people were distrustful of one another and the city that she was raised in had a high crime rate. They are all so happy to be in America and they are grateful for the opportunity to raise their family here.They are good neighbors and they see the world through a different prism than those of us who have always known freedom in the land of the free. I wonder if she knows that Dolly Madison might have played in her yard over two hundred years ago.

Arts and Ballet Center in Chisineau

We have a Moldovan connection and it's all around us; that's pretty cool.
Well, like Kevin, you and I can now say, "We have a sister?"

The Piedmont Triad.........

What in the world is the Piedmont Triad? You hear it everywhere you go in north central North Carolina. Piedmont? Triad? Let's see, triad means three of something grouped together. The airport is called PTIA for Piedmont Triad International Airport, The state itself is a rough triangular shape.

Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill are known as the Research Triangle. Lots of triangles in North Carolina! The early colonist wore tri-corner hats; naw, that has nothing to do with it. If the research triangle is a collection of intellectual chattel that synergizes around three great universities then what in the world is the Piedmont Triad? A group of three cities clustered together on the Piedmont.
So, what is a piedmont? "A plain lying at or near the foot of a mountain", the latin root is pedimontium  meaning literally "foot of mountain".

The Appalachian Mountains are just west of three major cities that are clustered together in central North Carolina. So, Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point and surrounding counties are the Piedmont Triad.  Obviously, the piedmont runs the length of the Appalachians, but this Mid-Atlantic trio of cities seized the claim of Piedmont Triad to describe a land of economic opportunity and growth and a highly desirable standard of living. Everything from education to the arts and from manufacturing to sales abounds in the Piedmont Triad. The quality of life is enhanced in every way.
What is the Piedmont Triad? A group of three major cities and the surrounding counties that synergize  opportunity, quality of life and growth. It is one of the most beautiful areas in the country and offers the highest levels of living and education at affordable prices.
Learn more about the Piedmont Triad Real Estate Market.

Well Hello Dolley!

There is a historical marker a half mile from my home which simply states "Dolley Madison's birthplace was near here".  As I putter through my wooded back yard,  I sometimes imagine that a little girl named Dolley may have played here in these once dense woods. I have 70-80 feet tall white oaks and blackjack oaks in my yard that have been here a long time. Who knows, maybe she did. I am near Guilford College which is a Quaker founded school in a county that was founded by Quakers. Her Episcopalian father married her Quaker mother in Virginia, converted to the Quaker faith and moved into North Carolina after their marriage. Dolley was born in Guilford County, North Carolina in 1768. After 15 years her family moved to Philadelphia and she enjoyed a more sofisticated lifestyle. She married an attorney named John Todd in Philadelphia at the age of 21. In 3 years he and their youngest son died on the same day, in a yellow fever epidemic. A vivacious 26 year old with black hair and blue eyes, she was introduced by the infamous Aaron Burr to congressman James Madison and they were married in 1794.
Dolley was a long way from Guilford County and she would never return. James Madison was named Secretary of State for Thomas Jefferson and they moved to Washington. When the widowed Thomas Jefferson needed a hostess for a Presidential Ball, Dolley was asked to assume that position. She grew in grace and popularity as her husband grew toward the presidency. When Jefferson relinquished the presidency in 1808, James Madison began an 8 year tenure with his wife adding  much to his legacy.

She was the first president's wife to play an active role in the political process.
She was the first to associate her name and position with a charitable fund raiser when she helped to form a home for orphaned girls in Washington DC.
She initiated the first inaugrual ball to be held by a newly elected president.
Of course, everyone knows she saved valuable White House artifacts from burning in the 1812 invasion of Washington by the British.
Undocumented legends include her initiation of an egg rolling contest on the White House lawn, her persuasion of her husband to keep the capital in Washington after the fire, and her influence to her husband that allowed Francis Scott Key to board the fateful ship that sailed off Ft McHenry while he worded our "Star Spangled Banner".

At her eulogy in 1849, then President Zachary Taylor coined the phrase "First Lady" as he described her many contributions to this country. Dolley Madison set the standard against which all her successors would be held. As I gaze on my yard, I think "Wow" maybe she was right here playing hide and seek behind my trees, Well hello Dolley!

William Sydney Porter



I was excited to learn that William Sydney Porter was born in Greensboro in 1862. The son of a physician, he was only three when his mother died from tuberculosis. In that same year of 1865, the Civil War drew to a close and as a lad, he watched rioting taking place in the streets of Greensboro. Raised in his mother's former home with his dad and his grandmother, he received the opportunity to read everything available in print at the time. I knew that he had lived in Texas, where I was born, but I was surprised to learn that he had been a working hand on a ranch in south Texas. He played many roles throughout his life, but he will always be remembered as the prolific writer that he became. Master of the short story, he wrote stories of the common people whom he had lived with in all genre's of life. He loved the old dime western stories and he later wrote many of his own western stories that were flavored by his personal experiences. As a child I used to watch movies of the Cisco Kid and I had no idea that he had created the character in one of his short stories, "The Cabellero's Way". He eventually settled in New York City where he wrote many popular stories like "Full House" that shared the life of the ordinary person in the big city. He penned such classics as "The Gift of the Magi" there, which still remains a Christmas classic in contemporary times. His birth city honors him with streets and hotels named after him, but not by his real name. For you see, his pen name was O.Henry, and he was born in Greensboro, NC. You can learn of his works and see his life story portrayed at the Greensboro Historical Museum in the downtown area of the city.

                 Self Drawn Image                                                        Near his birth site in Greensboro

           

                              

               

Greensboro in the Civil War - April 11, 1865

A large concentration of Quaker pacificism caused Greensboro to relunctantly follow the rest of North Carolina into the Confederacy in 1861. The city was not involved in any major conflicts throughout the duration of the war, but they manufactured carbine rifles and other supplies for the Confederacy.

A militia unit called the Greensboro Grays was formed and played a part in many important battles of the war. The city suffered like all of the South in shortages of food and supplies, but they also supplied food and munitions to the Confederate army. The railways in Greensboro were an important connection for Confederate troops and munitions being shuttled between battlefronts. As Lee was being surrounded near Appomattox courthouse at the crucial end of the war, General P.G.T. Beauregard was instructed by General Joseph E. Johnston, to prepare for a defense of the city. General Sherman and the Union army approached from the east. Though several battles were waged on the North Carolina coast, the last major battle fought in the war was near Goldsboro at Bentonville.The retreating Confederate army under General Johnston was hard pressed on a line between Greensboro and Raleigh. As Lee's army tried to escape to the west, Jefferson Davis and the remaining members of the Confederate cabinet fled and met in Danville, VA.

When Union General Sheridan threatened Danville, Davis and his cabinet slipped away by train to Greensboro on April 11, 1865. Davis tried to find lodging but everyone was afraid to offer help, as the Union armies converged from the north and the east. Finally he was offered the use of a tiny upper room on S Elm St, but most of the cabinet slept in a traincar. With news of Lee's surrender and the imminent defeat of the Confederacy, the city closed up, as rioters and pillagers ransacked local stores and warehouses. On April 11-13, 1865, Greensboro was the de facto "final" capital city of the Confederacy as the cabinet met in a railcar at the downtown depot. On the 16th, Davis fled south through Jamestown and High Point on a long trek that would lead to his capture in southern Georgia. Final surrender negotiations were completed between General Johnston and General Sherman at Bennett Place, a farm near Durham.

On April 26, 1865, the American Civil War literally ended in Greensboro as Confederate soldiers stacked their arms and received their paroles. I bet you didn't know that; capital of the Confederacy, and end of the Civil War, right here in Greensboro.

Revolutionary War or Civil War?

Though some residents are confused about which war it was, most North Carolinians know that the famous battle for Guilford Courthouse was fought in what is now NW Greensboro in 1781. Everyone knows that it was one of the most crucial battles of the Revolutionary War with Britain. Didn't know that? The cunning and tenacity of this battle "broke the back" of the mighty British army as they attempted to swashbukle through the southern colonies and punish the American army. In fact, General Cornwallis won the battle, but his army was bruised and very nearly destroyed in the process. So effectively did General Nathaneal Greene oppose him, that Cornwallis's army never recovered from the battle scars. His army limped out of North Carolina and found refuge on the Virginia coastline where General Washington joined up with General Greene and bottled up Cornwallis until he surrendered and ended the Revolutionary War. After the battle, Cornwallis said of the American Army, "I never saw such fighting since God made me, the Americans fought like Demons!"
The Guilford Courthouse National Military Park is built on the very grounds of the battlefied and it is a wonderful way to discover the full significance of the major conflict during the Revolutionary War in America.

Though there were no major battles fought in Greensboro during the Civil War, the city played an important role in the outcome of the war. Bet you can't wait to hear about that.