Share
Pity those of the next generation. For all their electronic diversions, they'll never know the small-town charms of yesteryear, the creaky floor of the hardware store, the warmth of a pot-bellied stove in the market on a dreary day.
Relics of that fading era are the obsession of Mike Lassiter of Davidson, who spent six years on the road in his spare time photographing the nostalgic remnants of North Carolina's old Main Streets. He ventured to all of the state's 100 counties and logged 30,000 miles before publishing in 2006 a book of his photographs, “Our Vanishing Americana.”
His book comes to life Wednesday in an hour-long special on WTVI (8 p.m., Channel 42). Lassiter retraced some of his journeys with Davidson videographer Scott Galloway to capture the stories of the people behind the old facades.
One is Kenneth Wood, 98 years old and still cutting hair in Graham. He started with his shears in 1927, the year Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic. His landlord decided decades ago to hold his rent at $100 a month as long he wanted to stay in business, never figuring Wood would stay at it so long.
In the show, Lassiter prowls Mount Airy, the hometown of Andy Griffith. It contains many landmarks popularized in the fictional Mayberry, including Snappy Lunch. Old hardware stores are chronicled as colorful sites, including Davis General Store on Old Statesville Road and D.E. Turner & Co. Hardware Store in downtown Mooresville.
In Manteo, Lassiter found the oldest family-run theater in the state, the Pioneer, which has been going since 1918. In Kannapolis, he found the art-deco Gem Theater, which opened Dec. 31, 1936, with “Can This Be Dixie,” starring Jane Withers and Slim Summerville. It was rebuilt in 1948 after a fire.
Loss of city character
Lassiter says he was moved to capture historic businesses in part by watching what had happened in his native Statesville, where he is a lawyer. “We had two corner drugs and a hardware store from the late 1880s and that was all gone by the 1990s,” he says.
In 1999 he started visiting towns, photographing vintage spots. By 2005, he had shot more than 1,000 sites, about 550 of which made it into the book.
“Quite a few are gone now,” he says. “Some didn't last until the book came out.”
Todd's Country Store in Buffalo Cove in Caldwell County was one that lasted long enough to be included in the documentary, but is closed now.
Many of the people who operate these old places aren't making much money, Lassiter says. They're working a lot of hours, but believe they have a mission to serve their communities.
“A lot of the people are the embodiment of the buildings,” Galloway says. “They're from the World War II generation. They have a passion for the service they provide.”
Clip and chat
Old barber shops, they found, served as the gossip and news centers of their towns, Galloway says. “We'd ask people why they like them and they'd say, ‘I like to fellowship. I like to come here and talk.'”
Galloway says the Interstate highway system has helped kill the sense of community in many old towns. “That shopping center by the Interstate is where people go now. Main Street has become this historic byway.”
When the old businesses go, Lassiter says, “We lose our sense of community. We lose our identity. That's really the cornerstone of Main Street.”
