Sad Beyond Comprehension

My GGG Grandfather built Dixieland, a Georgian style in 1790 and a Federal style in 1810.  We lost it after the War in 1866 and I was fortunate to be able to return it to the family in 1992. Today it was lost again.

The worst decision I've ever made, bar none 

RebornSeptember 5, 2022 at 4:01 PM

I was listening to a Confederate podcast and the speaker
said he had a generational home in the Shenandoah Valley,
near the river, that if he lost that home it would be like
losing a family member. So your pain and suffering is
realistic. Dixieland is you and you are Dixieland.
We don't live in the past, the past lives in us. Basically,
you are haunted and hopefully the suffering will degrade
in time. Who would have ever thought.

Zillow

Brock TownsendSeptember 2, 2022 at 12:24 PM

“To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late ;
And how can men die better
Than facing fearful odds
For the ashes of his fathers
And the temples of his gods.”

RebornAugust 28, 2022 at 12:27 PM

Hi, Brock. Just wanted to check-in on how you are doing.
Are you still monitoring the depressing news? There is lots
I would like to ask but will settle with you are Okay.
Your website is sadly missed as being one of the best on the web.
Take care and keep the faith as you will not be undone.

AnonymousSeptember 8, 2022 at 11:00 PM

Brock, I never comment but I must say this. It is not merely good to forgive yourself, it is an absolute obligation. You didn't abandon Dixieland, rather the Lord G-d simply transferred it from your loving care into the care of another. It wasn't your failure, rather it was His Will. Therefore, you MUST forgive yourself, not only for your sake, but for His sake. Bless you my dear Brother.

Jay352October 10, 2022 at 9:33 PM

May peace be upon you friend and brother. My best to you and your family and my deepest sympathies, but in this war that we call life, we cannot win every battle.Hold your head high for the fight that you have fought. Truly my best regards, Jay

ReabornOctober 25, 2022 at 3:14 PM

Thank you, Great One.

G.W. LongOctober 26, 2022 at 11:43 AM

Hey Brock, It's Good to see that you are still commenting at least. I too am on a Long March back to Normalcy, of a New Sort. Long Pneumonia, good days and bad days blend in my memory. I pray for your speedy recovery, Sir. You are an Iconic Figure, and a Voice heard around the World. Keep the Faith and Stay Strong My Friend.

~~G.W. Long

AnonymousNovember 3, 2022 at 3:20 AM

Our dear Townsend, God bless you, good sir. You have been a blessing to many, even myself.

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One less tear today

AnonymousAugust 11, 2022 at 9:49 AM

Mr Townsend, I just want to assure you that we love this house and we will take good care of it. We’re so grateful that you took such good care of the home so that our family can enjoy it, especially our 2 year old. I hope you enjoy your new home.

AnonymousAugust 11, 2022 at 12:24 PM

You are also welcome to visit anytime. 

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Dixieland

Innumerable Posts Above

Bitter Sweet

Hot Link 

Tears, Idle Tears by Alfred Lord Tennyson 

Crossing the Bar

By Alfred, Lord Tennyson

 

Audio: 

 

Sunset and evening star,

      And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

      When I put out to sea,

   But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

      Too full for sound and foam,

When that which drew from out the boundless deep

      Turns again home.

   Twilight and evening bell,

      And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,

      When I embark;

   For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place

      The flood may bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

      When I have crost the bar. 

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I am doing good for my age, turning 87 tomorrow, hopefully.  

I am so sorry to learn of you having another operation, this one for on your intestines.  I certainly pray for a full recovery and return to the health you had prior to going to Mexico.   I saw on your site that you recently sold Dixieland.  I know that must have been tough for you to depart the family treasure.  Hopefully, the new owners will take care of the home and preserve it, the way you did.  I have fond memories of several Sundays at Dixieland for our reunions and luncheons.  Thank you for opening up your home for those occasions.

Take care, Colby

Tarboro, Princeville and Pintops NC: Hurricane Floyd 1999

Via Craig

A look back at 1999's Hurricane Floyd | 08.25.11

Floodwaters from Hurricane Floyd surround Tarboro North Carolina .

Princeville attaches to Tarboro and is on the way to Dixieland. It was founded by freed slaves after the War. My nephew took his motorboat to town from Dixieland and he has a photo of the boat going under a red light which was only a few
feet above his head.

Shattered by Hurricane Floyd, Princeville, North Carolina sits submerged under several feet of floodwaters from the Tar River following the storm.

Surrounded by her belongings, Bertha Pettaway, of Tarboro, catches an afternoon nap at Tarboro High School after Hurricane Floyd. Pettaway and most of the residents of Tarboro and Princeville were evacuated due to flood waters.

Caskets from our field hand graveyard at Dixieland floated down the road!

Members of the National Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team and the U.S. Public Health Service began the task of re-interning caskets and vaults that were damaged after floodwaters from hurricane Floyd raged through the Princeville Community Cemetery in Princeville.

Tomas Garcia, Tarboro (right), shades himself with a piece of cardboard Sunday as he waits in line with more than a hundred other disaster victims to get food, clothing and other supplies being distributed at the North Carolina Baptist State Convention Distribution Center.

Pinetops is close to my Dixieland.

The hopeful face of a child on this church fan belies the scene a handful of parishioners of Saint Stephenson Holy Church of Deliverance in Pinetops were greeted with when they ventured into the sanctuary following Hurricane Floyd.

The Creepy Battle Hymn of the Republic

Lydia McGrew at the Right Reason blog reports her discomfort about the Battle Hymn of the Republic and compares it to Dixieland:

...in the abstract I'd certainly rather be on the side whose ideals are expressed by the words of "Dixieland" than on the side whose ideals are expressed by the words of "The Battle Hymn." Think about it: What "Dixieland" says is that the singer loves his home region, that one of the reasons he loves it is because old times are not forgotten there, and that he intends to live and die there. What "The Battle Hymn" says is that God is really going to pound the people on the other side and that He is going to do so by means of a bunch of troops whose very army campfires are like holy altars. Yikes!

But the goodness doesn't stop there. She goes on to draw a comparison to the Iraq war:

I'd rather not get involved in reading God's righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps of invading troops -- whether they're invading a foreign country or parts of their own. Acting as the terrible swift sword of the Lord and helping Him to trample out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored is a scary business, one we should be very reluctant to engage in.

Maybe conservatism in America isn't quite dead yet!

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Blasphemy in Song

This past weekend, since it was the closest weekend to the Fourth of July holiday that we observe today, churches all across America resounded with patriotic songs. Although the wisdom of singing patriotic songs in church is itself a debatable proposition, there should be no debate in any church about uttering words of blasphemy, whether spoken or sung. Yet, the patriotic song that is perhaps the one most frequently sung in the churches of America — for the Fourth of July or otherwise — is the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." But this so-called hymn is no Christian hymn at all — it is blasphemy in song.

Most Americans are familiar with the words of this "hymn":

More @ LRC 

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The Battle Hymn of the Republic
By Pastor Anton Bosch

"A youthful neck needs no adornment."

 

My picture of General Pender at Dixieland. His nephew married one of my great aunts.

"I ought not to have fought the battle at Gettysburg; it was a mistake. But the stakes were so great I was compelled to play; for had we succeeded, Harrisburg, Baltimore and Washington were in our hands; and, we would have succeeded had *Pender lived."

*"When his wife learned of his death, she locked herself in a room for three days. When she came out, her dark hair had turned white."  
--General Lee to General G.C. Wharton

When my mother was very young she attended a wedding and Mrs. Pender remarked that her dress was very pretty to which my mother replied that if she only had been allowed to wear her sister's pearls she would have been very happy. Mrs. Pender replied 

"A youthful neck needs no adornment.

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Talitha Lucretia Malvina Pippen, my great aunt and her mother Talitha Mayo (Black Irish.) Pippen in 1858 at Dixieland.(The hands of my 2X grandmother make you think she would have worked in the fields.
 
Dixie's dress for the Hunley Funeral was designed after Lucretia's in this picture. Her mother was said to "rule the plantation" from the front porch at Dixieland as her husband was busy in the political arena. She was so big with tiny feet that she had difficulty walking, so she sat in an arm chair and was moved by two servants whenever she needed to change. A little servant girl sat at her feet to help with needs.

Help needed in identifying metal detector found item on Dixieland

Found by Richard G. Williams, Jr. of Old Virginia Blog on Dixieland yesterday. Does anyone have any idea what this may be? My Great, Great Grandfather Joseph John Pippen founded Columbia Academy on his property Dixieland in 1827 so I thought might be a medal from the school.

Also posted on Treasure Net

PATCON, Tarboro and Dixieland

 Off the back porch of Dixieland

 The Field Hand graveyard

Friends trying to match one of my colors to use for their renovation.  The community college has classes for hands-on historical restoration.  Rare.

 A sweetie pie, one of the waitresses at the Classic Diner.

 Below, some PATCON pictures.

 Tarboro

One of Cora's daughters on the right.  Cora is the great, great granddaughter of the Master Servant of my great, great grandfather. Both are buried here.

 A few shots of the Tar River.

 

The Hearts of the People - An Oral History of Tarboro and Edgecombe County, North Carolina

Via Susan

I believe the treed driveway close to the beginning is Dixieland. *My Cousin Bill Bass @ 15:29++ (1st picture on right)

**Cousin Earl Roberson @ 21.57+ (2nd picture in front)
Both pictures at  Dixieland

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'A Soldier's Walk Home' reminds us of grit and resilience

   
Stan and Cathy Clardy. They spent the night and performed at Dixie's 6th birthday at Dixieland. He does a great puppet show, with Bobby Lee Opposum! http://www.stanclardy.com/ 

Afterwards he performed Soldiers In Gray at Dixieland, I was so moved that I couldn't speak. http://www.stanclardy.com/Soldiers_in_Gray.html 

 

My Grandfather's Words Engraved On Confederate Memorial

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Via Cousin John

On May 14, I received an early Memorial Day reminder. I saw newly-released Confederate prisoner-of-war Washington Duke walking down N.C. 11 just after he crossed the King Street Bridge.

Duke, aka Philip Brown, had been held prisoner in New Bern. When the war closed and Union forces released him, Duke faced a 165-mile walk back to his home place in Durham.

The Duke reenactor arrived in Kinston late May 12, spent a busy day in our city on May 13, and then, after breakfast on May 14, he headed down the road towards Whitehall – today’s Seven Springs.  

Whitehall Memorial Park Dedication Service

More @ Kinston