CityView Magazine

M y father, the late Weeks Parker Sr., was the owner and operator of Champion Automotive Equipment Company across from Liberty Point in the downtown historic section of Fayetteville. He told me that in 1923 a Mr. Horserider from New York came to town and conned many local business owners, including my father, into investing thousands of dollars in worthless stocks and bonds for a proposed new hotel to be constructed in the 400 block of Hay Street. A fter Mr. Horserider sold his worthless stocks and bonds, he suddenly vanished from the Fayetteville community. Needless to say, all of the money he had collected also vanished. In 1924, Fayetteville citizens again decided to build a new and modern hotel on Hay Street. The only large hotel in town was the LaFayette, which was constructed shortly after the fire of 1885 that destroyed the Fayetteville Hotel on the same site. As a direct result of selling stocks and bonds under the Market House, the Prince Charles Hotel was finally constructed at 430 Hay Street in 1924. A fter operating for more than 40 years under the name Hotel Prince Charles, the management decided to change the name to Prince Charles Motor Hotel due to the fact that so many new motels were being built in the area and most people were looking for motels rather than hotels. For many years there was a lovely antique player piano on the ground floor in the dining room of the Prince Charles Hotel. W hen my wife, Myra and I were in the wedding video business, we often recorded weddings and receptions at the Prince Charles Motor Hotel. One night, after spending the night in the motel, we decided to have lunch in the dining room that featured the self-player piano pictured. W hen the piano is played by a bellows system powered by an electric motor, it sounds like an orchestra as the keys are moved by rolls of punched paper that travel over a tracker bar that can be seen in the bottom center of the picture. 26 | CityView Family • Fall 2017 "I have done things all my life that people told me I was not 'qualified' to do. Because I refused to listen to those very negative thinking people, I have accomplished a variety of things that most people never think of doing." This quote from Weeks Parker, a Fayetteville native and jack-of-all-trades, is pulled from his latest book, The Amazing Power of Postive Thinking. Although he chooses not to date himself and reveal his age, Parker's life experiences and words of wisdom are enough to prove that his mission is to create a life worth living. Careers Parker proved the critics wrong with his own work ethic and his many professional pursuits throughout his lifetime. One of his earliest interests, which he still pursues today, is the operation of Ham radios. At the age of SENIOR LIVING Weeks Parker 12, he was inspired by his cousin who had built his own radio. He immediately went to his local radio supply, had them explain to him what to do, and bought all of the necessary parts. Fast forward several years, and both he and his wife, Myra, are licensed amateur radio operators and use their radios to chat with people all over the world. When asked about the continued usage of this form of communication in the digital world, Parker exclaimed, "When everyone's cell phones go dead, the radio will still work!" To ensure this, he features a 45-foot-tall radio tower on top of his house, which allows for the best possible radio signal and serves as a climbing post for his daily exercise. He even eliminated his cable bill by installing a TV antenna on top of the tower. The farthest signal he and his wife have ever reached is Australia, but he is confident he could reach someone on the moon with no problem, using only short wave radio. With his knowledge and expertise, Parker has taught a number of specialized courses about radio, television, electronics, and robotics at Worth College, Central Carolina Technical College, Beaufort County Technical Institute, Fayetteville Technical Community College, and the Army Education center at Fort Bragg. He has also contributed to cancer research through his work in the field of medical electronics by attempting to kill cancer cells under his video microscope with audio and radio frequencies. In alignment with an interest in radio, Parker is also a seasoned musician and teacher of music. He has taught band at Seventy-First, Pine Forest, and Stedman High School, and served as the first band director at all three. In addition to teaching music, he was also the featured act of a one-man orchestra, and has recorded several CD's in his own recording studio. His wife was also an educator for many years, but the couple shared another career at one point in their lives. Both Parker and his wife are professional wedding videographers. They have recorded over 700 weddings in their business. They are also very active at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church, where Weeks is an ordained deacon. Books In addition to the many jobs he has taken, Weeks BY KATHRYN KELLY PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATTHEW WONDERLY CVFamilyFall2017.indd 26 8/14/17 2:52 PM We hope you enjoy this new recurring feature by history buff Weeks Parker, who owns an impressive collection of local memorabilia and photos that he has agreed to share with CityView readers. A former Presbyterian Junior College Band Director, Parker is the author of 12 books on a variety of subjects including "Fayetteville, North Carolina: A Pictorial History." FN-0005108899-01 OralSurgery& ImplantDentistry SANDHILLS SANDHILLS OF FAYETTEVILLE Sponsored by Sandhills Oral Surgery & Implant Dentistry The P r ince ch ar les hoTel Y BY W EEKS PA RKER Z CityViewNC .com | 19 Fayetteville History Unlike any player pianos I have seen, this piano had a full set of bells that can be seen through the stained-glass oval window above the keyboard. A friend of mine now owns this lovely piano, and he plans to donate it back to where it belongs in the former Prince Charles Motor Hotel.

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