Rutherford Weekly

Thursday, April 15-April 21, 2021 www.rutherfordweekly.com 828-248-1408 Rutherford Weekly - Page 17 293 S Broadway St., Forest City 828-245-0434 Mon-Fri 8:30am-5:30pm Sat 8:30am-2pm Not Just Oil, Pennzoil FAST FAST FAST FAST WAY WAY WAY WAY LET US DO YOUR DIRTY WORK! KIDS' CORNER BROUGHT TO YOU BY: DEADLINE FOR COMMUNITY DEADLINE FOR COMMUNITY EVENTS MONDAYS: 10AM EVENTS MONDAYS: 10AM Thursday, April 15 What: Bingo Starting Again When: April 15, doors open at 6pm, Bingo starts at 7pm Where: VFW Post 10349 More Info: Mask required and all Covid regulations followed. Friday & Saturday, April 16-17 What: Re-Opening Weekends When: April 16-17, 10am-4pm (and by appt) Where: Bennett Classics Car Museum, 241 Vance St, Forest City More Info: Clubs, church/school groups welcome. Masks required, plenty of room for socially distanc- ing. Over 75 vintage cars, trucks, tractors & more. Adults $10, kids 7-16: $5, under 7: Free, Military: Free, AACA Members: Free & their guests $5. 828-247-1767. Saturday, April 17 What: BBQ, Smoked Chicken & Pulled Pork When: April 17, 11am-7pm Where: Ruritan Hopewell-Hollis Clubhouse, 2500 Hollis Road, Ellenboro. Adults $10, kids 6-12, $5, under 4 free. More Info: Carry-Out Only What: Yard Sale Fundraiser to support Bill's Creek VFD When: April 17, 7am-3pm Where: Bill's Creek VFD, 1118 Bill's Creek Road, Lake Lure More Info: Sausage/Biscuit Breakfast & Hot Dog/Hamburger Lunch. Face coverings/masks & gloves required. 828-625-5517 What: Cruise In to Fat Tracy's When: April 17, 12pm until. Where: 1163 W. Main St., Forest City More Info: Oldies Music & Door Prizes. Donations for Hospice. 828- 429-7500 Tuesday, April 20 What: Warriors Fighting for their Sons & Daughters! Addiction Support Group When: Every 1 st & 3 rd Tuesday, 6:30PM Where: Highland Apartments (Community Ctr), Butler Rd, Forest City More Info: Rena Ledbetter, 828- 305-1853 Saturday, April 24 What: Country Breakfast Buffet When: April 24, 7-10am Where: Whitehouse Comm. Ctr, 5408 Painter's Gap Rd, Union Mills More Info: Wear mask. Adults $6, kids 6-12 $3, kids 5 & under free. Proceeds go to upkeep of building Tuesday, April 27 What: Free Class in the Welcome Terrace, "The Architecture of Gardening," led by gardening expert Maryann Brown When: April 27, 10-11am Where: Lake Lure Flowering Bridge, 3070 Memorial Hwy. More Info: Social distancing observed; mask required. 828-625- 2540 Thursday, April 29 What: Second Harvest Mobile Food Truck When: April 29, arrive at 8am - food distribution begins around 10am Where: Gold Hill Missionary Baptist, 801 Hwy. 221 N., Rutherfordton More Info: First come, first served. Must be Rutherford county resident and meet low income requirements. 828-247-0096. Call Transit to set up transportation at 828-287-6142. •Email: events@rutherfordweekly.com •Mail: 157 West Main St., Forest City, NC 28043 Seventy-one years ago on Friday, April 16 a couple of young, dashing 18-year-old country kids ran off to Gaffney, SC and with a $5 bill paid a justice of the peace to marry them. It took more than $5 to convince the Justice of the Peace the couple was telling the truth about their ages and their desire to marry. The witnesses who made the trip with my parents had to do a lot of talking. There were several similarities in their names and birth dates and created some doubt in the judge's mind. My daddy's birth date is March 8 and my mother's is April 8. My daddy's middle name was Crawford and my mother's maiden name was Crawford. But after some strong convincing and the exchange of rings and vows, Edgar and Irene Crawford Gordon came back home to Shiloh where they had planned to keep their marriage a secret at least until after my mother's high school graduation. Too many folks fi gured it out. Before the marriage, my mother was voted valedictorian of her senior class. But before she graduated a month later, her grades slipped just a bit — she had other things on her mind — and her best friend picked up the highest graduation class honors and my mother was salutatorian. My parents started their family real fast and before they had been married four years there were four red-headed daughters, including twins, under age four. They told my sisters and I they always talked about having four children, but not necessarily at the same time. The six of us grew up together. The honeymoon was over. Many years would pass before my parents went away for the night, just the two of them, leaving us in the hands of two of my mother's brothers and their families. They did that as often as they could, but they never hired babysitters. If we couldn't go, they didn't go. I am not sure anyone wanted to keep us at a price they could afford. My parents developed the same hobbies away from work and where one was, so was the other. Attached at the hips moving along through life by each other's heart strings, they fi shed, worked in their woodshed, gardened and camped together. They never left each other's sides when they were sick. Week-long hospital stays for one usually meant the same for the other — the well patient sleeping on a narrow cot or in a chair in the hospital room. They worked, played, laughed and cried together. When they buried their fi rst born daughter when she was 30 years old, it took a toll on their lives from which they never fully recovered. That tragedy drew them closer than they'd ever been and their faith in God pulled them through the toughest path parents travel. In 1999 my mother talked about their approaching 50th wedding anniversary celebration. She was more than excited about hoping to have an anniversary celebration. But when her health failed in the summer of 1999 she didn't talk about the plans anymore. Six months short of their 50th anniversary Mama went to heaven. Seven years later, Daddy went to heaven. When I think of them on what would have been 71 years together as husband and wife I remember one of our last family outings in 1999 to a Tryon restaurant. As our family car caravan began loading up for the ride home that night after dinner, I caught a glimpse of my parents — walking through the dark parking lot, lit only with romantic street lights, clutching hands as they made their way to their truck. That was a familiar sight. They'd been holding hands a long time. My parents had their ups and down but their trip to Gaffney in 1950 was serious business. It was a marriage to last forever and for that fact their family is thankful. Contact Jean Gordon at: gordonjean211@gmail.com A TRIP TO GAFFNEY 71 YEARS AGO UNITED MY PARENTS IN MARRIAGE By: Jean Gordon Prepare for unexpected power outages with a Generac home standby generator FREE 7-Year Extended Warranty* A $695 Value! REQUEST A FREE QUOTE! 844-334-8353 Off er valid February 15, 2021 - June 6, 2021 Special Financing Available Subject to Credit Approval *To qualify, consumers must request a quote, purchase, install and activate the generator with a participating dealer. Call for a full list of terms and conditions.

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