Something new at Down Home Day

Published 9:58 am Friday, April 13, 2012

I’m looking forward to seeing what the Southampton County Historical Society did with the barbershop that was recently moved from Sands to the Southampton Heritage Village and Agriculture & Forestry Museum.

The refurbished building will be opened for the first time during Down Home Day from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 14, at the museum in Courtland. Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for school-age children.

The Sands barbershop, which was moved earlier this year, has been furnished as it might have looked 60 years ago. A ribbon-cutting is set for 1:15.

Marilyn Bertrand and Nancy Matthews, daughters of the original owners, the late Joe and Sarah Parker, in February donated the wood-frame building to the museum.

The Parkers had the Sands barber shop built around 1940 next to their country store at Statesville and Sands roads. Jessie Story was the only barber who ever worked there. The Parkers never charged him rent.

Story farmed nearby for Lee Thorpe during the week, and when he got off at noon on Saturday, he cut hair and shaved his customers as long as there were folks waiting in line. A shave and a haircut was 25 cents, but went up to 50 cents, she said. A haircut was 15 cents.

• Boykins Girl Scout Group 5073, sponsored by the Boykins Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, visited Courtland Healthcare Center during spring break.

The girls presented an Easter basket with Girl Scout cookies, movies, puzzles and toiletries.

Courtland Healthcare is the troop’s Gift of Caring organization. Anyone who buys cookies can donate them to the facility on behalf of the troop.

Scouts also read to residents and gave them tissue paper flowers that Linda Beatty and Victoria Edwards helped the girls make.

Participating were leader Kisha Watford, Daphne Reid, Katina Bynum, Cheryl Tanner, Jennifer and Nathan Hand, Emily Lehman and Amy Lehman.

Afterwards, Kisha and Amani Gary traveled to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center in Franklin to make a donation on behalf of the troop and all who participated in the Annual Martin Luther King March in January.

Scouts decided to keep the contributions local.

GWEN ALBERS is managing editor of The Tidewater News. Her email address is gwen.albers@tidewaternews.com.