Audiences Grow for
Sand in the Streets Concerts

The largest crowd yet in the four-year history of Pride of Kinston's Sand in the Streets concerts poured into Neuseway Park July 12, 2007 to hear Clyde Mattocks and his Super Grit Cowboy Band.

Crowds milled around or spread out their chairs and blankets in the downtown park to listen to the band's rendition of Country Rock, songs which Mattocks describes as "country music with an attitude."

Kinston's parks director Bill Ellis estimated that "with people coming and going, I bet there were 750 folks here." The Spare Change concert held June 28, 2007 attracted a crowd almost equal to the Super Grit following, according to Pride director Adrian King.

"We think the crowds will continue to grow. We like that," he said. "The community's support and participation in Sand in the Streets is very gratifying."

The next concert to be held Thursday, July 26, 2007 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm will feature the Band of Oz, another regional band known for its large following. The band, consisting of grammar and junior high school students when it was formed in the mid-1960's, was called The Avengers.

In all, Pride's Sand in the Streets features seven popular bands throughout the 2007 summer series. The remaining dates and groups are:

King lauded the series' sponsors and volunteers for making the concerts possible. Co-producers of the series are Realo Discount Drugs and the Free Press. This past week the Kinston-Lenoir County Tourism Development Authority signed on as a sponsor. Other sponsors include: R.A. Jeffreys Distributing Company, Perry Management, Wachovia, King's Restaurant, Bojangles, Lenoir Memorial Hospital, Woodmen of the World, Corporate Resources, m3 Consulting and Services, Minges Bottling Group/Pepsi, TACC 9, Christopher's Restaurant and Alison and Company.

"We appreciate our sponsors, and we are very grateful for the hardy band of volunteers who come out to help us," he said.

North Carolina's "first" governor
To be honored here Aug. 12-19, 2007

Lenoir County resident Richard Caswell, North Carolina's first elected governor and known as the "father of a free North Carolina," will be honored here Aug. 12-19, 2007 in a weeklong series of events to call attention to his leadership leading up to and during the Revolutionary War.

Caswell, who as a member of the colonial assembly sponsored the bill to create "Kingston" in 1762, abandoned his support for British rule in the mid-1770's and became a leader in the militia fighting England. In 1777 he was elected Governor by the legislature to lead North Carolina's civil and military institutions in the struggle to create an independent United States. Commemorative services at St. Mary's Episcopal Church at 3:00 pm Aug. 12 kick off the week's events to include exhibitions at the Community Council for the Arts, the Neuse Regional Library and a new exhibition at the Richard Caswell Historic Site on Vernon Avenue. (Go to www.historicalpreservationgroup.org for the full calendar of events.)

Probably the most significant event during the celebration will be the release of a new biography entitled: First of Patriots and the Best of Men: In Public Life taken from a University of North Carolina thesis written in the 1930's by Clayton Brown Alexander and edited in 2006-2007 by Dr. Keats Sparrow, Kinston native and Dean Emeritus of East Carolina University's liberal arts college.

All who are interested in the early history of North Carolina and the contributions of Richard Caswell are urged to purchase this book. Price through July 29, 2007 is $20 plus $6 for shipping if necessary.

The book will be launched at a special reception at 7:00 pm Monday, Aug. 13, 2007 at the Community Council for the Arts, 400 N. Queen Street in Kinston.

For more information about ordering the book, email Martha Mewborn Marble at 58marble@suddenlink.net. Dr. Sparrow will deliver a lecture about the life and times of Richard Caswell at 6:00 pm Friday, Aug. 17, 2007 at Lenoir Community College.

Caswell made Kinston and Harmony Hall the de facto State Capital in the first years of his governorship. Fearing New Bern too vulnerable to British attack, he ordered all state records in 1777 to be moved to Harmony Hall owned at the time by his sister-in-law Elizabeth Herritage Cobb. Her husband Capt. Jesse Cobb served with Gen. George Washington in the New York and New Jersey campaigns of 1776.

Caswell later owned Harmony Hall on two occasions, buying the home for two sons, both of whom tragically died while residing in the residence.

News Briefs

Sarah Rose Honored: The board of directors of the Lenoir County Historical Association has adopted a resolution honoring Sarah Rose for her contributions to the organization. The resolution, adopted July 17, 2007, extends the association's appreciation "for her belief in the compatibility of a love of history and a love for beauty (which) has inspired all..."

Ms. Rose is a Charter Member of the historical group, a member of the Harmony Hall Preservation Committee, a member of the Furnishings and Acquisitions Committee and led the landscaping initiative during the renovation of the historic home museum in 1975-1981.

The framed resolution was presented to Ms. Rose, wife of Kinston physician June Rose, at her home on Sunday, July 22, 2007.

Pedestrian Plan Public Workshop: Advocates of a pedestrian plan for Kinston have scheduled a public workshop to review tentative plans for walking trails throughout the city. The effort, being led by Kinston City Planner and Pride of Kinston board member Tommy Lee, will take public comment and ideas Thursday, July 26, 2007 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm in Room 111 of the Kinston Enterprise Center, 327 N. Queen Street.

Lee and representatives of Rivers & Associates will lead the meeting. For additional information go to www.walkablekinston.com.

FACELIFT: The Welcome to Kinston sign on South Queen Street is undergoing a major facelift, courtesy of Pride of Kinston and its Design Committee. The welcome sign, erected in the mid-1990's, has a new coat of paint and will soon be surrounded by attractive plantings to enhance its appeal to visitors and residents alike, according to Design chair Shirley Herring. The new landscaping plan will be installed by Classic Landscapes/Ivey's Garden Center of Kinston. Atlanta landscaper Sylvia Attkisson, wife of Kinston native Jerry Attkisson, provided sketches and recommendations for Pride's Design Committee.