Greensboro Daily Photo

Bethel AME Church

We close out African-American History Month with a Sacred Sunday photo of Bethel African Methodist Eposcopal Church on East Market Street. The church is located just down the street from NC A&T University and Bennett College. According to their website, Bethel AME has been "witnessing to the world since 1869" and their mission is to minister to the needs of all people by word (witness) and deed (action).The purple cloth draped over the wooden cross reminds us that the Lenten Season is upon us. Tied with extra loops and with ends aloft, the cloth shows just how windy it was in Greensboro yesterday. 

It is hard to believe that a mere 28 days ago, we were here, celebrating the opening of the International Civil Rights Museum and Center in downtown Greensboro.

 

Knock Knock, Who's There?

Peeking inside the front door of the Junior League's Greensboro Headquarters on Friendly Avenue reveals the following.  A salute to history and commitment to neatness are as evident inside the Junior League's antebellum house as they are on the outside. Inside, on the wall in the first room on the left, are photos of prominent members over the decades (presidents?). Likely, the photos are a veritable who's who among Greensboro women. Buttery yellow and powdery blue walls, wooden elements and fine fabric are evidence that the house is decorated exquisitely.

We'll have to stop back for a proper tour. For today, we'll settle for this weekend reflection through the glass at the front door. 

 

Irving Park Plaza Meets All-Brite Signs

Spring spruce up has begun! Here we see All-Brite Signs of Randleman painting the signs for Irving Park Plaza. We knew we were in the south taking this picture because, the man in the bucket waived and smiled and NOBODY came up to us asking why we were taking pictures! Not only friendliness but also professionalism exuded from this crew. 

Developed in 1911, Irving Park is one of Greensboro's oldest neighborhoods and the houses there hold their value today. The hallmark of shopping in Irving Park is family owned businesses. The plaza and a nearby plaza offer everything from sewing machine repair to art galleries to a children's shoe store.  This is our contribution to Sky Watch Friday. While the sky is gray, the evergreen tree reminds us that nature may be dormant but it is alive and well!

 

Junior League's Antebellum Beauty

The Junior League of Greensboro got its start is the mid-1920's as the inspiration of Kathleen Price (Mrs. Joseph M. Bryan) and nine members of her book club. The organization emphasizes volunteerism, leadership and community service in its members. Here is a photo of their Greensboro Headquarters, located at 3101 West Friendly Avenue. If you are a history buff and love shows like HGTV's "If these walls could talk," you will love the detective work that went into dating the age of this house to the mid-1800's. During renovation, saw marks, square nails, roofline, and other clues lead to the dating of the house to before the Civil War. Read more here.

We LOVE the fact that the Junior League values its history and archives information on their website. The organization is a great example to all of us. From Scarlett O'Hara to Eva Peron, that balcony is just waiting for a strong woman to impart a powerful message.

 

Tree Planting Time

The City of Greensboro has begun its tree planting for the spring. Here we see a truckload of trees, some of which are being planted on the exit ramp near Highway 29 and East Lee Street. When these trees mature, they will buffer road noise for the local neighborhood as well as make the view a more attractive. We're not sure about the scope of the project; however, it is nice to see our tax dollars being spent on something green! Hopefully, the new trees will make it through the next month weather-wise. Also, hopefully, some trees will be planted in YOUR neighborhood. How about all of us planting a tree or, at the very least, nurturing an existing one? Today, we opt for a current event over quality of photo!

 

Oak Hollow Market

Just over the city limits into High Point, on Highway 68 (Eastchester Drive), you find Oak Hollow Market. Any yard ornament you want can be found here. Cement/metal; formal/informal; new/weathered; big/little; utilitarian/useless, you name it; if you are looking for something to place in your yard, they have it. This ocean of ornaments extends as far as the eye can see. Tweety Bird seems to be making eye contact with the viewer, as if saying, "take me home....... PLEASE."

There's just enough red in this photo to share the photo with our Ruby Tuesday friends.

 

Have a Seat

Garbage day can be an embarrassment, especially to teenagers on toilet disposal day. Here we see a home off of Lawndale Drive that had three toilets replaced. It looks really strange to be driving home at night and to see white porcelain toilets glowing by streetlight on the side of the road. Maybe these toilets are being replaced for water efficient ones. Toilet #1 on the left looks like it fought back when being removed!

The City of Greensboro hauls away just about anything that is put to the curb by dawn on garbage day. Likely, used toilet removal is high on a sanitation worker's list of least favorite tasks-- especially when the tanks have not been removed. We offer this up for Alieni's monochrome meme. Usually, we LOVE lots of color in our photos. However, today's photo has more journalistic appeal when presented in black and white.

 

Eternal Life Baptist Church

Eternal Life Baptist Church characterizes the traditional churches of the rural south-- a small white building, gravel parking lot, gnarly, mature trees, and lots of spirit. It is located on a sleepy part of Church Street where stand-alone buildings are on the brink of being replaced by franchises and apartment complexes. Also, in our local newspaper, The News and Record, Nancy McLaughlin wrote an article about the struggles of these small churches as, increasingly, they have to compete with the big box churches. Read the article, In Walmart world, churchgoers want options, here.

According to the marquee, the pastor for Eternal Life Church is P.T. Noble. Other than their Sunday services, they hold Bible Study on Thursday evenings. This church is just across the street from the home we affectionately call the world's smallest house. Finally, since we have so many new readers now, if you're here for Sacred Sunday and you want to see what we've featured over the last year, look here.

 

Area Modern Home & Lighting

Area Modern Home and Lighting is a showroom in downtown Greensboro on Elm Street. Since 2000, they have been showing and producing furniture locally. Owner and designer Mark Hewett trained in the United Kingdom and has worked on several continents. His store sits directly across the street from the former Fordham's Pharmacy and just north of Coe's Grocery. Area Modern showcases the best of 21st century Greensboro, Fordham's dates to 1898 and closed about the time Area Modern opened. Coe's is about a century old and, as best we can tell, is still going strong. Thankfully, Downtown Greensboro is an interesting mixture of businesses. Through GDP, we're learning so much about our city. We'll have to visit Area Modern when we look for a new couch this spring!

We're looking at our city in a whole new way now that we've been participating in weekend reflections.

 

Holliday's Hardware House

The corner of Spring Garden Street and Holliday Drive is awfully quiet these days. Gone are the Red Wing Shoes, the shoe polish in every color imaginable, the key cutting machine, the aluminum tubs, the sleds, and the red wagons. Oh yes, since 1956 sleds and red wagons lined the sidewalk. Radio flyers in every size; traditional and round sleds. Even more absent are the great conversations and personal service by the Crum/Holliday family. Truly, Holliday's Hardware House was the "Cheers" Bar of home repair. All that is left of the once thriving mom-and-pop hardware store is the signage, including the family's name on the dead-end street marker.

The good news is that, by early March, Adelaide's Corner Cottage, currently located just east of UNCG, will slide down Spring Garden Street and relocate here. Adelaide is one of the nicest proprietors you will ever meet, in her less-than-a-year in business, she has amassed a wealth of loyal customers. Adelaide has an eye for the artsy, cottage-y, chic collectibles and manages to sell them at a reasonable price. If you have to lose one family business, it is nice to know that it is being replaced by another.

We're sharing this shot of the wire, sign, and cloud-filled sky with the Sky Watch Friday Crowd!  

 

Buffalo Soldiers

Here we see several members of the North Carolina Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club-- Greensboro. Proudly, they stood in attendance at the opening of the International Civil Rights Museum. According to the organization's website, the club formed "to have some of the finest military and civilian personnel represent and teach each other about the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers from the 9th and 10th Cavalry." Created in 1866, the first Buffalo Soldiers were a group of 5,000 ex-slaves, Freeman, and Civil War Veterans. As part of the desegregation of the US military, President Truman ended the all black regiments of the Buffalo Soldiers in 1948. Today, the motorcycle club keeps the legacy alive. 

The members who attended the February 2nd event were elated to participate and were lucky enough to receive a commemorative program.

 

With Mayo Please

This sculpture, known as "Mayo" by Robert Costelloe has been an icon on the corner of Friendly Avenue and Hobbs Road since the days of Burlington Industries. In 2005, when Burlington Industries' building was imploded to make way for the expanded shopping center, the sculpture was placed in front of Fleming's Restaurant where it stands today. Mayo was designed by Costelloe at the North Carolina School of the arts.

Wonder if the name is somehow related to the former business, Mayo Yarns? 

 

(Bull)dog Day Afternoon

Sunday afternoon, people were out walking, enjoying the break in the weather. These dogs, their owners, and curious bystanders were all talking in front of Friendly Pets at Friendly Center. Bulldogs are gentle people lovers who enjoy daily walks and lots of human interaction. We had to chuckle at this picture because the dogs really did visit with each other. Lots of sniffing. However, by the time of this photo, they looked as if they were saying, "OK! Enough! Can we go now? Why do our people always have to stand around and talk?"

Thanks to that bright red leash, we're skidding into Ruby Tuesday , where people celebrate the color red.

 

324 South Elm

Here we see a new five-story building under construction at 324 South Elm Street. The property was an empty lot for several years. We are happy to see new construction downtown; perhaps it is an indication that the local economy is improving. Some of the names on the construction site signage include: Lindbrook Development Services, Landmark Builders, Triad Design Group, Bradley & Ball Architects, ESC LLP Carolinas. We can't wait to see finished building and to learn more about it! 

 

...this is the steeple.....

This is the church and this is the steeple.... at Centenary United Methodist Church on Friendly Avenue. On Wednesday, February 10th, winds over 50 mph ripped through our town and huffed and puffed and tried to blow (among other things) this church down. Fortunately, the church is made of brick and all that toppled was the 25 foot fiberglass steeple. The steeple has been in place since the 1980's when it replaced a smaller one. 

This is our Sacred Sunday shot, when we take time to reflect and be thankful that Greensboro made it through the wind storm. The photo is grainy because we took it at night with minimal ambient lighting. It reminds us of an x-ray. We're sharing this with the Monochrome Weekend crowd to let the world see the teetering steeple.

 

South Elm Pottery & Gallery

With these hands, Jim Gutesll works his magic. From the window of South Elm Street Pottery & Gallery, we snapped this view of Jim mentoring a young girl into the art of throwing a vessel. His, the master's hands ever so steady and confident; hers, eager, yet tentative, this is apprenticeship at its best. Jim is sometimes known as the Godfather of pottery in Greensboro for founding the Triad Area Spring  Pottery Festival at the Yanceyville Farmers' Market. Jim works relentlessly to make people aware of the wonderful North Carolina pottery available "North of Seagrove."

If you can brave the snow this weekend, walk by by Jim's studio on South Elm Street, just south of the railroad tracks, and watch a great potter at work. Even better, stop in and buy LOCAL! Taking this photo through the window, for Weekly Reflections, was more fun than watching TV-- any day! Here's to you Jim!

 

Not in Kansas

Here is a view of a light pole at the corner of Yanceyville and Cypress Streets. On Wednesday, winds of over 50 miles per hour ripped through Greensboro and left a trail of items askew and teetering. We snapped this photo the day after when all was calm, the skies were blue & the air still, but brisk. Owners of the cozy green house above are lucky that the mature tree in their yard did not topple with the relentless, persistent winds. 

Students in nearby Aycock Middle School reported that the historic school, built in 1923, sounded as if the walls were whistling. Floorboards and doors were creaking. Debris was tap, tap, tapping on the schoolhouse windows. Knowing that all are safe, we are happy that students could experience such an interesting weather event. If they ever have a writing prompt that starts with.... "it was a cold and windy winter day"........ they'll be set!

We're posting the scene on  Sky Watch Friday where you can view skies and weather events from Greensboro to Siberia and back!

 

Leon's Style Salons

Nothing beats a good hair stylist. Here we see Robin working her magic at Leon's Style Salon on Friendly Avenue. Leon's has several salons throughout Greensboro, including a beauty school. Not only do they give great cuts at a great price, they are committed to showing original contemporary works of art. Artwork at the local salons features local artists from photographers to sculptors. The round mirrors add such drama to this salon with all of the original artwork on the wall. 

 

Security Van Lines

Security Van Lines Moving and Storage is a great piece of nostalgia. The old brick building backs up to the railroad tracks that cut through the center of Greensboro. Decades ago, Greensboro's prefix for phone numbers was BR. As you approach the building, the phone number appears to be BR 7-4766.  In the center, you can see a small burst of graffiti. Fortunately, our town in not inundated with the cryptic, highly-stylized writing. 

Also evident as you walk near the tracks are small piles of clothing when people changed into something different and abandoned their old outfit. Finally a beer bottle here and cigarette butt there remind us that we'd best not hanging around after sunset. By the way, these are the same tracks where the pigeon stood a couple of days ago.

 

Greensboro Legend: Curly Neal

Last week, as serendipity would have it, we were at a grocery store on Battleground Avenue stocking up on food in preparation for the impending snow storm. We were waiting at customer service behind a man and began talking to him. One of the store's cleaning crew members came up asking for an autograph and calling the man Mr. Curly. Suddenly we knew, bald head, big smile, crescent eyebrows, warm-up suit, 60ish gentleman........ Curly Neal..... Harlem Globetrotters.

Curly Neal, Harlem Globetrotters' Legend, was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on May 19th, 1942. He attended Dudley High School. The now-retired #22 Fred "Curly" Neal was the feature ball handler of the Harlem Globetrotters. We are not sure if Mr. Neal lives in Greensboro now; however, the employees at the grocery store were talking to him like they saw him regularly. Since we didn't have our camera with us, for today's photo, we took a photo of the autographed promo card Mr. Neal gave us. 

While Mr. Neal is retired, you can to the Globetrotter's website to see when they will perform at an arena near you. The current-generation of Globetrotters is amazing too! Thanks to the red warm-up suit, we're adding this post to  Ruby Tuesday, sharing the news with the world that Fred "Curly"  Neal is from GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA!!!!

 

got PIGEONS?

Walking downtown the other day, we spotted a feral pigeon hunting for food on the railroad tracks. Greensboro doesn't seem to have a pigeon problem and, in true pigeon character, those that are around seem to live downtown. If you love pigeons, chances are you know that the National Pigeon Association just held their national conference in Salt Lake City, Utah at the end of January! Seeing how fancy some of the specialty breeds are, our little old park pigeon would not garner much interest! Did you know that pigeons drink by suction and so, ideally, their water source should be at least an inch deep. Also, while pigeons are grain eaters, the feral/park pigeons have learned to eat just about anything humans toss out.

Pigeons and doves constitute the same bird family: Columbidae. Many people use the term interchangeably. However, North Carolina has a great tradition of dove hunting but not pigeon hunting-- at least not for food! Finally, the main differences is not in the birds but in the word origin.  "Dove" comes to English via German, "Taube," and "pigeon" comes from French, "pigeon."

 

Chick-fil-A

Those of you who come for Sacred Sunday are in the right place. Every Sunday, we publish a photo intended to cause viewers to reflect on their spirituality. Chick-fil-A is featured today because all 1,480 stores are closed on Sunday so that workers can respect the Sabbath and be home with their families. One might think that one day a week of lost revenue would hurt the company; however, Chick-fil-A is in its 42nd consecutive year of positive sales growth. Still a privately-owned family business, Chick-fil-A is planning 78 new locations and renovations on 86 existing stores. The owners, the Cathys of Georgia, are devout Christians and express this devotion not only at home and in press releases but also every Sunday at every store.

The store in this photo (taken yesterday) is at the corner of Battleground Avenue and New Garden Road. 

 

Girl Scout Cookie Time 2010

Hurray!!! Finally!!!!!! Barring inclement weather, Girl Scouts cookies will be arriving in the Triad today. Word has it they will be selling cookies at the Harris Teeter on N. Elm Street, where this photo was taken (last year). Let us see, thin mints, shortbread, caramel deLites, peanut butter sandwiches, peanut butter patties, lemonades, cinnamon rounds, thanks-a-lot. Oh those memories of childhood. 

Alice always said, "nothing beats staying up watching the Olympics and eating Girl Scout cookies." She also said that her scout troop leader was second only to her mother in guiding and mentoring her in her youth. A teacher friend of ours said that teacher appreciation week is not the same without a box of thanks-a-lots.  So much goodness is tied up in the purchase of a box of Girl Scout cookies, Boy Scout popcorn, Kiwanis Club pancakes. Put on your rain galoshes and find a civic organization to support today!

Visit our friends over at Newton Daily Photo if you like visual reflections!

 

Snow and Fog: Time to Reflect

This is a view in northwest Guilford County, a couple of mornings ago just before the sun rose. It has been an emotional week for us at Greensboro Daily Photo. With the opening of the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in downtown Greensboro we got help document and share a fabulous moment in time. 

However, yesterday, our dear friend Alice Moore, frequent commenter on Greensboro Daily Photo, slipped into eternal sleep. Alice was a lifelong resident of East Greensboro, a photographer, historian, and Francophile. Alice provided us with much food for thought not only about Greensboro, but about life in general. She will be sorely missed as will her comments on this blog. This photo with its breathy, nebulous aura reminds us of her absence. If you could see souls dissipating, surely, this is what they would look like.

We're posting this photo on Sky Watch Friday and, if you follow our link, you can see hundreds of sky views from around the world...... somewhere, out there, is a warm, sunny day.

 
 

The Many Faces of Greensboro

People are sitting in the Barnes & Noble Cafe reading, grading papers, and having great conversations during a day of sloshy, lingering snow. We are featuring this post today to celebrate the self portraits of the many young students prominently displayed above. The faces, on thin sheets of foil, reflect the diversity of students in the Guilford County Schools. Our art teachers work very hard to get their students' work displayed in the community. Often, these exhibitions are hung in conjunction with school book nights at the bookstore. Could one of these faces be a future leader? Yesterday, we featured an art piece of four of Greensboro's finest students from 1960. Today, we feature 60 youthful faces of 2010.

Great art, the aroma of new books, and the taste of fresh coffee. Simply heaven!
 

Sit-in Art: A Cup of Freedom

Charles Jenkins, a security officer at the Guilford County Courthouse drew a sketch that would become this bronze work of art, named by Jenkins, "A Cup of Freedom." In Jenkins' sculpture, the cup rim is the lunch counter with the Greensboro Four seated (McCain, McNeil, Richmond, and Blair, Jr.). The coffee cup may be small is size (under 20 inches square as per the requirements of the project) but it is LARGE in symbolism. This stunning bronze artwork is prominently featured on the southeast corner of the International Civil Rights Museum and Center at the corner of February 1 Place and Elm Street. You can either enjoy this piece as a prelude to your museum visit or afterwords once understanding the Sit-in Movement more fully. We suggest both.

"C" is for "cup" on ABC Wednesday!!!
 

Jesse Jackson & Franklin McCain Together in Greensboro

In this photo, the Reverend Jesse Jackson and Dr. Franklin E. McCain enjoy a few minutes of one-on-one time after the 50th Sit-in Anniversary Breakfast sponsored by N.C. A&T. They are about to take the stage for the ribbon cutting ceremony of the opening of the International Civil Rights Museum & Center. Reverend Jackson's prayer was dynamic as was Dr. McCain's short speech. From National Public Radio to the New York Times, media coverage about the museum's opening has been national. However, we were shocked to learn that out of the Greensboro Four, David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, and Ezell Blair, Jr. (now Khazan), as of February 1st 2010, only the latter has an individual biography listed on Wikipedia. Hopefully, someone in our new museum will be inspired to add entries for the other three Civil Rights visionaries.

 

50th Anniversary of the Sit-In Movement

By the time you see this post, these seats will have been filled, and the International Civil Rights Center & Museum will be open. The museum has been 15 years in the making and is a realized dream of, among others,  North Carolinians Earl Jones and Skip Alston. If you haven't been following the story, the museum was built in the Woolworth building where, on February 1st, 1960, four 17-year-old NC A&T freshmen entered Woolworth and were denied service at the "whites only" lunch counter. This event sparked a series of sit-ins in throughout the southeast. The original lunch counter is one of many exhibits on site that bring back memories of racial segregation. Young Americans today cannot believe that people were denied service based on the color of their skin. 

We all need to be thankful for the determination of David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Jibreel Khazan (born Ezell Blair, Jr.), and Joseph McNeil. As America becomes increasingly diverse in the 21st century, we need to respect the inherent worth and dignity of each other. The opening of this museum is a step in the right direction. This photo was taken on the stage where McCain is scheduled to speak at the event today. Khazan and McNeil will not speak but will be on stage. Mr Richmond died twenty years ago. If you want to read more, we suggest Ed Cone's blog as well as this article from the New York Times.