DREAMS
ZHiey Made a Qovernor o{ Charles cAycock, a
o{ Mary Slocumb
The little barefooted boy stood on
the railway platform of Nahunta (now
Fremont) and heard a local preacher-
politician orate on the problems of the
day. 1 le must have been quite a spell¬
binder, because the schoolboy decided
then and there that what he wanted
most in life was to be able to put
words to work like that.
Charles Brantley Aycock went fur¬
ther than he dreamed. As governor of
North Carolina, after a brilliant rise
in law and politics, he inspired the
state to undertake a crusade for pub¬
lic education which has continued un-
flaggingly to this day. After expiration
of his term of office, he continued a
persistent campaign for education. He
died April 4, 1912, while speaking be¬
fore the Alabama Educational Asso¬
ciation on the subject of Universal
Education. His statue stands in the
Hall of Fame in Washington.
Born November I, 1859, he grad¬
uated at the University and practiced
law in Goldsboro. In 1898 he was a
leader in the white supremacy cam¬
paign, and in 1900 was unanimously
nominated for governor. He was
elected by a majority of 60,354 —
sensational for that day.
His birthplace, now a tumblcd-down
shack, will be restored and made a
shrine to education.
Another Governor
The county provided another gov¬
ernor. He was Curtis H. Brogden
(1816-1901), born 10 miles south¬
west of Goldsboro. He served from
1 840-50 in the House, then the Senate,
and was comptroller of the state. A
Republican, he was elected lieuten¬
ant-governor during reconstruction
(1872) and upon the death of
Governor Caldwell succeeded to the
governorship. He later served in
Congress and the State House of
Representatives.
Another Dream
Mary Slocumb, a worried and anxi¬
ous woman, found it hard to sleep
6
The Mary Slocumb Statue at Moores
Creek.— (Stale News Bureau cut.)
on the eve of the battle of Moore's
Creek, because she knew her husband
was one of those on the way to battle
the Tory army.
It is not strange, then, that when
she did fall asleep she had a vivid
dream, in which she saw her husband
lying on the battlefield seriously
wounded.
Many a North Carolina woman
must have had a dream like that on the
night of February 26, 1776. But Mary
Slocumb’s dream got into the history
books because she straightway arose,
dressed, mounted her marc, and gal¬
loped away from her Wayne home.
By daybreak she was 50 to 60 miles
from home. What a woman! And also,
what a horse!
When she reached the battlefield,
she saw the dream in actuality — the
wounded lying on the ground. Her
husband was not among them, but she
found neighbors and others, and she
spent a busy morning tending them.
By PALI. PLEASANTS
Countryside Meroine
Later, she wrote out her version of
her ride and work on the battlefield.
It was a simple deed, and the dream
wasn't even true. But North Caro¬
linians liked the brave, simple deed
and have never forgotten Mary Slo¬
cumb. They chose her as the subject
for a statue at the battlefield to epito¬
mize the spirit of the women of the
Cape Fear, and she is the subject of
a monument dedicated to the women.
It is at the Moore’s Creek battlefield.
Biggest Barbecue
Barbecue is big business in Wayne.
Griffin's is famous for catering, and
the redoubtable Adam Scott got his
start here.
But did you ever hear of the biggest
barbecue Wayne ever put on? Accord¬
ing to legend, Goldsboro grew out of
that conviviality.
The county voters had turned down
the proposal to move the courthouse
from Waynesboro to the struggling
new railway station. Goldsboro sup¬
porters got busy and just before the
second election in 1847 invited one
and all to come and see what a fine
place Goldsboro was for doing busi¬
ness with the county government.
According to Judge Frank Daniels'
history, in the Goldsboro Library,
the barbecue was held in a grove. A
monstrous chicken pic was concocted
of 100 chickens cooked with vege¬
tables in a 90 gallon kettle. The
crowds were so enormous, however,
that two hogs were gradually added
to the stew, which finally wound up
as pig pie. A barrel of flour was re¬
quired to make pastry for the pic.
A whole ox, nine sheep and 1,500
pounds of pork were also barbecued,
and for fun a barrel of whiskey was
tapped.
But most ingenious of all was how
Goldsboro convinced its country neigh¬
bors of the merit of its water. They
were told that the wells flowed with
the coldest of water even on the
hottest of days. The guests came, drew
the bucket, and smacked their lips
THE STATE. Novimkr 21. 1953
