Old Cleveland County Courthouse

The old courthouse on the square in Shelby, NC

I went uptown in Shelby the other day and wandered around the square reminiscing about growing up in Cleveland County.  The old courthouse has been replaced by a new one and is destined to become the Earl Scruggs Museum.

The courthouse is being renovated to become the Earl Scruggs Museum.

Drawing on the region's rich history and music the Scruggs Center will enlighten, educate and celebrate the people, traditions and values of Cleveland County and the region and honor native son and music legend Earl Scruggs.

Earl Scruggs with banjo.

Earl Scruggs was born near Boiling Springs, NC and grew up in Cleveland County.  Scruggs is noted for perfecting and popularizing a 3-finger banjo-picking style (now called Scruggs style) that is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music.

In 1953, the small building on the square just east of the courthouse was the DMV office.  That's where I first got my driver's license.  The only thing I remember was that I had to parallel park on the street in front of the Central Methodist Church. 

In the 1950s, this was the driver's license office.  Appears to be vacant now.

Central United Methodist  Church east of the courthouse. 

Twin Towers in a Pasture

When traveling from Raleigh to Shelby I often go through Asheboro via Hwy 64 west.  A few months after 9/11/2001, I was on my way to Shelby, and I noticed two tower-like structures made of stones out in a pasture on the north side of the highway a few miles west of Pittsboro.  Someone had erected these to commemorate the attack on the twin towers on 9/11.   I’ve often wondered if this is a memorial to a family member or a friend who perished on that sad day, or whether it is to pay tribute to all the victims.
 

Twin towers in a pasture, Chatham County, NC.

Everyone remembers exactly where they were that day and how they learned about the attack.  I was on my way to NC State University where my younger son was a student.  He had taken the bus in for an eight o’clock class, and I was scheduled to pick him up after his class shortly after nine-o’clock.  I was listening to the BBC news on NPR when they began to talk about a plane hitting the World Trade Center.  At first it seemed it was a small plane, but as we all learned it was a large plane and then another.  By the time my son and I got back home and turned on the television, it was clear that the US was under attack.  We then watched as the Pentagon was attacked, we learned of the plane down in Pennsylvania, and to our horror as we watched, the twin towers collapsed.

Returning home from Shelby yesterday, I drove past this monument, and I felt it appropriate to take a photo to post today on the tenth anniversary of 9/11.