CityView Magazine

SPRING L AKE The changes in Spring Lake in recent years can be dizzying. The small town of about 12,000 people on Fort Bragg's edge has gone from sleepy, to blighted, to booming. Gone are the days when all the merchants and residents knew each oth- er by name, but many who've chosen to call Spring Lake home say the small town character remains, and is a factor in the town's renaissance. Former Spring Lake Mayor Pro-Tem Jami McLaughlin who, with town historian Howard Pate, co-authored a history of Spring Lake for Arcadia Publishing, agrees. "The town was very close-knit, made up of a core of families," she said. McLaugh- lin's grandfather, Grady Howard, was both the town's first mayor when it incor- porated in 1951and first Chamber of Commerce president when it was established in 1962. McLaughlin, an Army brat who returned to Spring Lake aſter college and served both on the town's board of aldermen and Chamber of Commerce, recalled Spring Lake's functional and lively main street where mom and pop sundry shops pro- vided most everything town residents needed. Her grandfather owned Howard's Variety Store where one could buy an assortment of clothing or shoes. The town received its name long before it was officially incorporated. In around 1923 Arthur Priddy opened the Spring Lake Service Station next to Spring Lake Pond. Camp Bragg and later Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base gave the town an economic boost, especially aſter World War II and the service members who streamed in and out of the area referred to it simply as Spring Lake. Before Priddy's service station led to the town's naming, it had been called Clayton Cut, due to the pathway cut that ran through the area and had also been known as Prince's Siding, aſter a man named Prince who owned a sawmill in the area. These days Spring Lake is a veritable mix of American southern and international, with cuisine and businesses offering goods and foods from across the south as well as from all over the world. Residents are likewise mixed, representing a multitude of cultural, ethnic and economic backgrounds. A Cut Above O Noble Meats finds success by emphasizing old-fashioned quality BY JASON BRADY operates Noble's Meats and Eatery on the busy corner of Lillington Highway and Manchester Road just north of Spring Lake. Noble is a native of Nazareth, Israel. Called an-Nasira in Arabic, it is the largest n most days around 4 a.m. or so, Nabil Noble is awake chopping about 250 pounds of pork that has cooked all through the previous night and into the early morning hours. It makes for a long day for the 67-year-old affable gentleman who owns and city in northern Israel made up predominately of Arab citizens of Israel. His Arabic name Nabil means "noble one" and thus he took that as his last name. "People here can better relate to that name," he said. He has operated Noble Meats and Eatery at 2469 Hwy 210 North (Lillington Road) since 1987. He thought it would be a prime location for his meat shop, espe- cially with nearby Fort Bragg and Pope Army Airfield. "I was looking for steady, Susan Butler of Noble Meats CityViewNC.com | 51 The philosophy for his success, according to Noble, is, 'Don't serve anything you wouldn't feed your family'. "We eat what we cook. If it's not fit for us, it's not fit for our customers, whether it be meat or cooked food. " Photography by Byron Jones

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