A PLACE TO GROW. THE WAY TO
GREENE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
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Experience Caswell Landing Where You Can Explore The Nature Trails And Wildlife In Its Habitat Or Use The Kayak/Canoe Launch To Paddle Your Way Down The Contentnea Creek. Campsites Available At This Location. If Boating Is On Your Mind, Use The NC Wildlife Boat Ramp @ Wm. Hooker Rd. Or Daughtry’s Landing On NC-123N. Across From Mt Calvary Free Will Baptist Church.
NEW PARK EQUIPMENT
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• KeKe’s Nails
• Mt. Calvary Academy and Day Care
• New Walking Trails
• Renovated Basketball Courts & Tennis Courts Along With Pickleball
• Newly Renovated Picnic Shelter & Parking Lot
IN THIS ISSUE
THE COVER
4 17 20 9 12 14
A PLACE TO GROW. THE WAY TO LIVE
2024 EDITION
Michelle Bowers
Bobby Burns
Publisher
Editor
Scott Davis
Beyonca Mewborn
Photography
Silas Albright
Pat Gruner
Beyonca Mewborn
Connie Rhem
Donna Marie Williams
Jessica Harris
Writers
Layout & Design
Contentnea Creek provides a serene setting for locals and visitors alike as it winds its way through Greene County.
Greene Living© is published annually by e Standard newspaper. Contents are the property of the newspaper and may not be reproduced without consent of the publisher. To advertise in the publication, call (252) 329-9637.
Taste of Greene
Bob Aiken
Michele Sutton
Contentnea Farms
Contentnea Health Shelter Helpers
Photo by Scott Davis
N.C. Rep. Chris Humphrey said that he came last year to Taste of Greene and that this year it was a great crowd. “The food was good, the dessert table was great and it’s good seeing folks from Greene County and all around,” said Humphrey.
TASTE OF
Event o ers chance to sample avors from across the county
Photos & Story by Beyonca Mewborn
The third annual Taste of Greene set the table for visitors at e Barn at Nooherooka to sample avors from across the county. Organized by the Greene County Chamber of Commerce, the event gives local restaurants and other businesses and organizations a chance to gain exposure and showcase some of their products, goods and services.
is year’s event was held Oct. 4 at the facility at 2029 Mewborn Church Road in Snow Hill. Jami Williams, appointed as the chamber director in January said the event, which also is a fundraiser for the chamber, brought in guests from around the county and elsewhere.
“ is event is the third annual Taste of Greene and every year we’ve had the most success, we’ve had the most people show up, we’ve had state representatives, congressmen, senators and governor-elects have shown up,” said Williams. “I’ve been building strong relationships with the community to get additional donations and help, and this event is also where we get the majority of our funds raised for the next calendar year.”
Guests went from table to table to sample food from each of the restaurants that participated this year and enjoyed signature cocktails, mocktails and music provided by DJ Steven of Out of is World Entertainment, who volunteered his services.
Ra e items included 32-inch and 40-inch TVs, a smart projector, JBL headphones, a solar-powered charger, a wireless charger, a label maker, a printer and a $50 coupon from Little Shoppe of Flowers.
eene
“For the silent auction we had three wonderful artists; two of them are showcased at the museum right now in Greene County until Nov. 15. We’ve got pieces from Clara Daughtridge, Susan Webb and Dina Sullivan, who is a local artist, plus Nooherooka donated 10 pounds of hamburger, Wade Oil Co. donated ve re lls for gas grills and Little Shoppe of Flowers donated a beautiful bouquet,” said Williams.
Greene County has about 25 restaurants, with ve that have opened this year operating out of food trucks, Williams said. Four of those are Spanish-inspired.
Here is a sampling of vendors from this year’s Taste of Greene.
Chele’s Cafe
Nancy’s Jellies and Desserts
Nancy Davis owns and operates Nancy’s Jellies and Desserts, 3429 Bryan-Hardy Road, La Grange. Hours of operation are exible. Contact her and they’ll set up a time for pickup.
“I’ve always loved baking; when I retired at 61, I started baking more, I got my kitchen certi ed by the Agriculture Extension o ce and I’ve been doing this since 2015,”said Davis. “I enjoy it, and I’m not the only one in the world that can bake cakes, but I’m just here when you need a cake and you don’t want to bake a cake.”
Nancy brought a variety of desserts for guests to taste.
“I brought a blueberry cake, a caramel cake, a chocolate cake, pumpkin bread, a lemon and a coconut cake, an apple cake, a honey bun cake, pecan balls, lemon balls and cheese rounds,” said Davis. “I also brought jellies; I have blueberry, blackberry, strawberry, pickled beets and I have peach preserves.”
Contact Nancy’s Jellies and Desserts by phone at 252-560-3854 or by email at nancycaroldavis4943@ gmail.com.
Michele Darden owns and operates Chele’s Cafe at 423 W. Harper St. in Snow Hill.
Hours of operation are 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays; 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays; and 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.
“We’re famous for our barbecued turkey and chicken pastry, and we sell barbecued chicken, fried chicken, barbecued pork, fried pork chops and hot dogs. We brought our famous barbecued turkey and chicken pastry for the event, and the guests tore it up,”said Darden.
Contact Chele’s Cafe at 252-747-2626 and nd them on Facebook at Chele’s Cafe.
Little Shoppe of Flowers
Melissa Lopergolo owns and operates Little Shoppe of Flowers at 123 E. Main St. in Hookerton. Hours of operation are 9 a.m to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. They close at noon on Wednesdays and are open by appointment only on Saturdays.
“We’ve been in business for about 17 years, we’ve been in this location for three years and we o er boxwood wreath designs, Christmas tree designs, fresh ower arrangements and bereavement arrangements,”said Lopergolo.
Little Shoppe of Flowers is the only ower shop in Greene County, Lopergolo said. “Whatever you need just let us know, and we’ll work it out for you.”
Lopergolo at Taste of Greene created two boxwood Christmas tree designs to promote classes upcoming at the Winterfest on Dec. 7 at The Barn at Nooherooka. “I also brought a sample of our boxwood wreaths that we create so that we can go ahead and get our pre-orders, which we’ve already gotten some here, so we can distribute those after Thanksgiving,”she said.
Contact Little Shoppe of Flowers at (252) 747-5773, by email at littleshoppeo owers@gmail.com and on Facebook and Instagram at Little Shoppe of Flowers.
Nancy Davis
Melissa Lopergolo
Michele Darden and Judy Darden
Best Café
Jesse Best owns and operates Best Café at 102 W. Railroad St. in Walstonburg. Hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
“I do the Southern cooking, therefore it’s comfort food. Everything is cooked daily. I have di erent specials each day and everything is cooked fresh to order,” said Best. “For this event I had BBQ chicken wings and pork rib bites for guests to try, and it went fast.”
You can nd Best Café on their website bestcafe.net; on Facebook at Best Café; on Instagram at Bestcafe_walstonburgnc; or call 252-753-0632.
ENC Local Honey
Steven Laroque owns and operates ENC Local Honey at 1006-B W. Vernon Ave., Kinston. Hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“We supply local honey from all over eastern North Carolina; we’ve got over 20 di erent honeys and it’s the widest selection of local honey in America,” said Laroque. “We’ve got premium honeys which are diabetic friendly; we’ve got just regular everyday honeys that are good for anything that ails you.”
For this event Laroque said he brought the sweetest honey in the world called Black Locust. “I’ve also got the second, the third, the fourth and the sixth; we’ve got Tupelo, Clary Sage, Gallberry and Sourwood, and we’ve got 20 others at this event for guests to try tonight,”said Laroque.
You can contact ENC Local Honey at 252-550-0771, visit their website at www. enchoney.com and you can nd them on Facebook at ENC Honey.
Jesse Best and his father
Steven Laroque
By Donna Marie Williams
GPhotos by Scott Davis
reene County is known for its long and rich agricultural history. A new meat processor and retailer is hoping to add to that rich history while serving consumers and producers.
Owned and operated by best friends and farmers John Harrell and Daniel Gray, Contentnea Farms opened in May and grew from a desire to o er local meats with a farm-to-table approach.
Gray is a multigenerational farmer who has more than 19 years of experience, while Harrell has 14 years. ey both own separate farms and raise cows and chickens as well as grow several row crops.
“To see a crop through from start to nish is a pretty tiring task at best. To harvest — whatever you are harvesting — and to think back from where you started in that year, it’s a pretty good feeling, especially when you raise a good crop. You feel proud of what you did. You feel like you have a purpose with what you’re doing in the grand scheme of everything and you are contributing to the food supply. It’s pretty rewarding for me,” Gray said. Harrell agreed.
“ ere is nothing more enjaoyable than riding a combine and seeing grain get dumped in the tank. Sometimes you’re riding the combine and seeing nothing go into the tank and there probably isn’t a more miserable feeling than that. It is enjoyable when things go great. It is one of the most rewarding things.”
Together, the friends opened the meat processing and retail business with a goal of providing quality, local meats to the community.
CONCEPT TO REALITY
ey got the idea at the end of 2020. As more and more people were moving toward homesteading and wanting to know where their food was coming from, the friends saw a rising need for a local business like theirs.
“I think the main thing is traceability, especially since COVID. ere has been a lack of trust in our food system,” Gray said. “People started going home and cooking and nding out they couldn’t source good products that they could feel good about. at’s when the demand for businesses like this originated.” Harrell added, “COVID truthfully helped this business idea. It increased the costs of everything but everybody wanted to buy more locally a er the pandemic hit. A lot of people were interested in having their own animals and doing their own things. ey wanted to know exactly what went into that animal. When you raise it and feed it, you know everything about that animal. You know exactly what you’re eating.”
Before beginning construction, Harrell and Gray researched similar facilities and worked hard to nd the right location and layout to t their needs.
“It took us a lot of time to narrow down how we wanted this thing. ere is not really anything like this close to here,” Harrell said.
Daniel Gray and John Harrell at Contentnea Farms in Walstonburg, where farm-to-table meats can be purchased in-house.
e lack of similar buildings also posed a dilemma, since contractors weren’t quite certain how to make the pair’s dreams a reality.
“When you start building something like this, you think you have it all gured out, but every day you get something new. It was a major undertaking to get this place nished.”
e facility is located “in the middle of nowhere,” but it is exactly what the pair envisioned, Harrell said.
“We wanted to build this place where it is beautiful. When you walk out onto the porch (the view) is wide open,” Harrell said, admiring the countryside of Greene County.
“It took us a long time to nd this place. It took nine months to a year.” rough hard work, determination and patience, Contentnea Farms opened for business in 2024 and processed its rst cow on May 1. e 15,000-square-foot building consists of a facilitating room, a 340-cattle capacity freezer and smoke room, along with a retail shop o ering fresh and frozen meat products. It is also the rst new facility of its kind in the state in approximately 30 years, Gray said.
“It’s been a beautiful roller coaster ride with what God has provided for us here. We have been really blessed. It’s been amazing and being able to be open has been a true blessing,” said Macy “Gray” Bradford, personal assistant and niece of Gray.
QUALITY FIRST
Contentnea Farms o ers a variety of meat products from their own livestock as well as a facilitating service to homesteaders and local farmers. Over everything else, Harrell and Gray value quality. eir cows are grassfed and grain- nished, which allows for a beautiful marbling of the meat. “ e grain corn speci cally makes tender, high-quality beef. Marbling
Gray and Harrell stand in the retail area at Contentnea Farms.
gives beef a more tender and almost more buttery type of consistency,” Gray said.
Before going to the market with the beef, Gray and Harrell sought advice from taste testers.
“At the beginning, I gave away a lot of steak. e only thing I asked was that they’d be honest with me. If it’s not worth eating, I want them to call me and say, ‘Hey, man, you need to regroup,’” Harrell said.
Bradford said.
MIDDLE OF NOWHERE
Contentnea Farms is located at 737 Beaman Farm Road, Walstonburg, “in the middle of nowhere.” It is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information visit contentneafarms.com or call 252-606-4638.
“If it wouldn’t be served at my table, we wouldn’t o er it to anyone. If it wasn’t the quality we wanted, we would start from scratch again. ere is no way that I could stand up front (at the register) and say this is good and it not be something I believed in,” Harrell said.
Contentnea Farms also is unique in that it ages its beef for three to four weeks.
“ at’s a big di erentiation between the grocery store and us,” Harrell said.
Aging beef also allows for the beef to become more tender and savory.
“We were going for a high-quality eating experience. When you want a steak, come see us. When you want a good eating experience, that’s what we give to people,” Gray said.
Ribeyes and sausage have been a customer favorite, Bradford said.
“We sell out of ribeyes quickly,” Bradford said.
ONE AT A TIME
Along with processing its own beef, Contentnea Farms offers its services to the community and will facilitate beef, pork, sheep, deer and goat as requested.
Livestock is facilitated one at a time, which ensures customers receive the livestock they dropped o .
“A lot of customers are concerned that they are not going to get their meat back. at is the number one priority. We make sure that under no circumstance there would be any possibility you wouldn’t get your animal back,” Harrell said.
“ ere has to be trust from the individual there. ere is absolutely no doubt they are getting their animal back when they drop it o .”
Since livestock are facilitated one by one, this means they run the process solo. Only once the process is complete and meat is packaged do they move on to another animal.
“It’s one animal at a time regardless if you brought 10 that day,” Harrell added.
Sanitation and cleanliness of the facility is also a high priority to Contentnea Farms. e entire facility is cleaned thoroughly each day. A USDA inspector is also on site during all facilitating to ensure quality and that guidelines are met.
“It is our top priority. Every night we clean every room that meat touches. It is really important, especially to inspectors,”
Not only does the business help o er a more farm-to-table approach for meat products, it also provides a valuable asset to the community and local Greene County farmers. In the past, farmers would have to drive to Raleigh or beyond to be able to facilitate their livestock, adding to the cost of farming or raising livestock. With a closer facility, farmers are able to reduce funds spent on traveling and are able to be at their farms more, which helps increase their pro ts.
PEOPLE BUSINESS
Since opening, Gray and Harrell have received good reviews on the facilitating process as well as their meats.
“My favorite thing has been the positive feedback. We have had people say that our steaks were the best they’ve ever eaten. I have enjoyed watching them come back again. at lets us know that what we’re doing, we are doing partially right,” Gray said.
Along with quality products and service, Gray and Harrell strive to form quality relationships with their customers, farmers, suppliers and all who walk through their doors.
“ e only way to be successful is to have a quality product. A er the quality product comes the people — the people that work here, and the people in the community,” Gray said.
“At the end of the day, we are in the people business. We really are. is is a very relationship-oriented business.”
Bradford added, “We truly have the best customers and clients.”
e business also employs 12 full-time workers, including butcher Tim Boswell, who brings 40 years of butchering experience.
Harrell and Gray hope Contentnea Farms will be a legacy business for their families. Seeing what they have already established alongside their other full-time jobs is impressive to Bradford.
“ ey are kind of like my heroes in some way. ey are able to do all these businesses and be functioning human beings and not fall apart. It’s amazing to watch,” Bradford said.
“Most of all they care for the business and the customers. You can truly see how much they care and want this business to succeed.”
Tim Boswell, center, has 40 years of butchering experience.
Fighting FASD
Contentnea Health leads in treatment of syndrome a ecting children, teens
By Connie Rhem
Contentnea Health is one of only three comprehensive health centers in the state geared toward diagnosing and treating children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
Dr. Richard Hu specializes in diagnosing and treating children and adolescents with FASD. He practices at Contentnea’s Kate B. Reynolds (KBR) site in Snow Hill.
FASD is a neurologic condition that includes a range of physical, cognitive and behavioral abnormalities caused by prenatal alcohol exposure.
“FASD is a societal issue,” Dr. Hu says. “It is important to acknowledge the reasons for alcohol use during pregnancy.” ere are a variety of reasons women drink during pregnancy, according to the National Institutes of Health. ose reasons range from a lack of knowledge about the dangers of alcohol use to an unborn child to using alcohol as a coping mechanism and alcohol dependence.
“No amount of alcohol is safe during pregnancy,” says Dr. Hu. “Our goal isn’t to create blame or stigma, but to raise awareness about its dangers and provide e ective support for children with FASD and their caregivers. We’re here to help.”
At Kate B. Reynolds, Dr. Hu’s rst step is to conduct comprehensive assessments using clinical history, exams and neuropsychological testing to evaluate cognitive, behavioral and emotional functioning, supporting accurate diagnoses and
personalized treatment plans.
“Once we diagnose FASD, we begin the real work,” says Dr. Hu. “Parents put in tremendous e ort for their children, and we aim to equip them with strategies to help their child and family thrive. ese children’s behaviors stem from brain injuries a ecting how they function.”
While FASD is even more common than autism spectrum disorders, most people in the United States, including medical professionals and teachers, are uninformed about FASD, Dr. Hu says. Despite decades of data and guidance, most have only heard of full Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), which involves a small percentage of individuals on the spectrum, he says. Awareness and knowledge about FASD are needed, he says.
“ e child bene ts most from having an understanding support system,” Dr. Hu notes. “Treatment for FASD requires providing accommodations for the child in his or her environment and equipping caregivers with proven and validated training. Contentnea Health is strengthening support for children with FASDs using an integrated approach, as behavioral health team members o er an evidence-based intervention program for families.”
Dr. Hu advises starting with accommodations for children, such as visual aids, consistent routines, preferential seating, extra time on assignments, clear instructions, sensory breaks, dget tools and individualized education plans (IEPs).
“ ese strategies reduce distractions and set children up for success,” he says, noting that medication may also be needed in some cases.
Dr. Holly Warren is Contentnea Health’s medical
director and an internal medicine doctor. Her son, Mason, struggles with FASD.
“We delayed the use of medication for years for several reasons,” Dr. Warren said. “We wanted to try everything else rst, and we didn’t want a physician uninformed of FASD to prescribe a medication. anks to Dr. Hu’s expertise, Mason is seeing a huge bene t from the combination of accommodations and medication.”
“Our foundation is responding to the needs of our community,” says CEO Melissa Torres. “Our local community needs these services. Our state community does as well. Children in eastern North Carolina deserve access to this specialized care, and we’re glad Contentnea Health can o er these services to our community.”
Contentnea Health (Contentnea) changed its name from Greene County Health Care during its 50th year of service in 2023. Contentnea Health is a system of community health center sites in Greene, Pitt and Pamlico counties. Contentnea provides medical, dental and behavioral health services via its ve health centers, two Student Health Services sites, two mobile medical units and one mobile dental unit. Contentnea also operates an on-site pharmacy in Snow Hill.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders are lifelong brain-based disabilities caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. Characteristics can include any or all of the following:
• Hyperactivity • Impulsivity • Gaps in memory
• Di culty expressing and regulating emotions
• Developmental delays • Learning disabilities
The Warrens share Mason’s card with members of the community to educate people about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
Pup-peroni peanut butter pizza
Taste of humanity helps shelter dogs, local seniors
By Pat Gruner
DPhotos by Scott Davis
ogs taken in by the Greene County Animal Shelter are getting a taste of humanity thanks to area senior citizens while sta nd new ways to keep them happy and nd them forever homes.
Since June, every ursday at 12:30 p.m. Greene County Senior Center members in Snow Hill are hard at work making homemade treats for dogs at the shelter.
e seniors form an assembly line and, with precision honed by decades of cooking experience — albeit for people not puppies — they make quick work of the treats. One group of seniors spreads peanut butter on our tortillas, which are then sent down the line for the nishing touches including commercial kibble.
Melinda Waters is allergic to ingesting peanut butter but that doesn’t stop her from putting on a pair of latex gloves and smashing dog treats on the corner of a counter at the senior center. ose treats were sprinkled across the tortilla, making what could be described as a pup-peroni peanut butter pizza.
“I just like to do a lot of stu that’s going to keep me busy,” Waters said. “You got to keep on working.
“I can just imagine puppies eating these and they’re smiling,” Waters laughed.
e pizzas are frozen in the senior center’s walk in freezer to be distributed daily to dogs at the animal shelter who will make even quicker work of the treats. Some barely bother to chew.
Others are less inclined to try the snack. Considering their circumstances, with some coming from backgrounds of neglect or outside of homes, it comes as no surprise to Bianca Dominguez, the animal shelter’s liaison who brought the treat-making idea to Senior Center Director Sharon Harrison.
“A lot of animals we get in, they don’t know what treats are,” Dominguez said. “Peanut butter, them licking, that’s a stress reliever. at helps with anxiety, that helps to keep them calm. And it’s a yummy treat. It’s super cheap, tortillas, whether they’re expired or still good. Peanut butter, it’s spreadful. en, little treats.
“I told her (Harrison), it doesn’t need to be anything fancy. We’re not particular about it, but it does just really help the dogs there,” Dominguez said.
Dominguez said she knew the seniors wanted to get involved with helping the shelter. Rather than mucking out kennels or wrangling stray animals, the treats are a low-impact way to make a big di erence. Harrison agreed that giving seniors an outlet to serve helps their mental and physical well-being.
“When you get a certain age, sometimes the o erings are not as kind maybe to a senior citizen,” Harrison said. “ ey can do stu like this, so that’s a good community service opportunity that’s not just helping the senior center, it’s helping the animal shelter.”
is year, Dominguez estimates the shelter has taken in 400 cats and
Members of the Greene County Senior Center form an assembly line to make puppy treats for the county animal shelter. At top are Melinda Waters and Barbara Dixon, at center is Brenda Bates and at bottom is Rose Jones.
400 dogs. at puts a strain on the ve sta members who are tasked with caring for and marketing the animals for adoptions. e shelter has beneted from partnerships with rescue organizations across the nation and in Canada, who Dominguez estimated have taken in 87 Greene County dogs this year.
Harrison said rescues have helped senior center clients too. She recalled a er a patron died, her daughter was tasked with caring for her beagle. When the situation just did not gel, she turned to Triangle Beagle Rescue in Raleigh who was able to nd the dog a loving home.
Unfortunately, the ability to send pets to rescues was strained in October as organizations ocked to help shelter animals in western North Carolina communities devastated by Hurricane Helene. e Shelter Animals Count national database estimates about 8 million cats and dogs were taken into shelters in 2023, down slightly from 8.1 million in 2022. e number is up signi cantly from 2020’s estimated 6.9 million intakes, which itself was far lower than the 8.3 million seen in 2019. e database also showed that of those 8 million cats and dogs in 2023, about 4.9 million were adopted.
As shelter liaison, Dominguez has seen the impact partnerships like the one with local seniors have on shelter pets.
Dory, a bulldog mix, was dropped o at the shelter by her previous owner on Sept. 12. Twenty-seven days later no one had showed interest in adopting the pointy-eared pup.
To market her to the public, shelter sta took Dory to visit a STEM class at Greene Central High School, where students doted on her.
Among the shelter’s strongest tools is social media, where Dominguez posts special occasions like Dory’s outing, intakes or adoptions. e
Zeus spent some time at the Greene County Animal Shelter but has now been adopted.
shelter’s Facebook page has nearly 5,000 followers in Greene County and beyond, which improves outreach.
Harrison said that Brad Canady, a member of her church who lives in Wayne County, brought a beagle to the Greene County shelter earlier this year. Dominguez recalled how the frightened hound dog clung to the man and had to be pried o of him for intake.
Seventy-two hours later, the beagle had yet to be claimed by an owner. So Canady made his way back to Snow Hill where
he picked up the dog. Now the beagle, named Snoopy, is living the good life one county away. Canady has also adopted a cat from Greene County.
“We’re doing the best that we can and we are seeing a positive outcome,” Dominguez said. “Of course we can always want to do better and do more.
“I would like the community to see what’s happening within the shelter, posting those adoption pictures and those rescue pictures.”
YOUR #1 SOURCE FOR
Above left: Bianca Dominguez with Greene County Animal Services spends time with cute kittens ready to be adopted. Above right: Dominguez feeds treats that were hand prepared by ladies at the Greene County Senior Center.
By Silas Albright
When Robert “Bob” Aiken Jr. was born, most of the roads around his Snow Hill home were unpaved. He recalls when the “new” courthouse was built in 1935.
Surrounded by family and friends at the Greene County Wellness Center, Aiken celebrated his 100th birthday Sept. 21. Aiken’s contributions as a photographer, community leader and public servant earned recognition from U.S. Rep. Don Davis and a letter from Gov. Roy Cooper. Davis, whom Aiken knew as a child, gi ed Aiken a ag that ew over the Capitol.
“For more than 70 years, he was the local photographer, and through his eyes and camera lenses he captured the most precious moments of our residents,” Davis said in an address from the Congress oor. “His deep love for his family, our community and capturing so many historic moments is unparalleled.” e Greene County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution declaring Sept. 21 as “Robert P. Aiken Jr. Day” in Greene County, and Snow Hill Mayor Dennis Liles presented Aiken with a key to the city.
Aiken has served on the Greene County Board of Education, as a volunteer re ghter, as Boy Scout leader, with Meals on Wheels and is a 100-year member of Calvary Memorial United Methodist Church.
“For nearly a century, Bob has exempli ed the values of service, leadership and kindness, touching countless lives along the way,” the commissioners wrote in their resolution.
Aiken became interested in photography as a child.
“I started when I was real young,” Aiken said. “My daddy would bring me chemicals from the drugstore in Kinston and I’d mix my chemicals. I had a little old two-dollar camera. I
A century in FOCUS
Legendary local photographer Bob Aiken celebrates 100th birthday
would go in the bathroom at night and get some of my mother’s bowls and develop my lm, pulling them up and down. ey never turned out right but I always enjoyed it.”
Aiken got the hang of it over the years, developing his cra while adapting to changing technology, from dip-and-dunking lm negatives in darkrooms to the eventual simplicity of digital cameras.
“We went from rolled lm to these electronics, from where we were making eight pictures on a roll of lm, we could make 100 to 200 to 300 on a little square chip about an inch,” Aiken said. Aiken’s career led him to friendships with elites such as Grandfather Mountain developer and photography legend Hugh Morton and Dallas oilman Mayer “Duke” Rudman. He met politicians Jim Hunt and Al Gore and photographed an exclusive party for Jimmy Carter at Rockefeller Center in New York City.
“I covered a lot of stu and did a lot of things I wouldn’t have done normally had I not been in photography,” Aiken said. “I’ve always wanted to reach out to people. I’ve got friends today all over the United States. I was always a very friendly person and was accused of talking too much.”
Born in 1924, Aiken grew up farming in Greene County during the Great Depression. e family ate from grapevines, peach trees, pecan trees and their garden. Aiken began milking cows, two every morning, at age 8.
“We had a mule and my dad rented about 35 acres out on the edge of Snow Hill and started farming,” Aiken said. “I plowed that old mule every day and broke land. I put in tobacco. We had two tobacco barns and I stayed out there at night with my daddy curing tobacco. We would take corn out of the eld and roast it in the furnace. ey were just good old days. One reason I like North Carolina is because I liked farming.”
Despite the nancial struggles of the Depression, Aiken enjoyed his childhood and loved his home early and easily because of all the friends he had.
He attended Snow Hill High School and, while there, was selected to sing in a special youth choir that took a transcontinental tour of the country featuring stops in Texas, Mexico, the Grand Canyon and California.
Aiken said the choir performed on a Kay Kyser program on Catalina Island and at Earl Carroll’s theater in Los Angeles and won a musical competition, beating out collegiate singing groups.
“I think (that trip) had a very big impact on me as I saw there was more in this world than the little town that I grew up in,” Aiken said.
A er high school, Aiken continued his education in Raleigh at King’s Business College and N.C. State University.
Aiken met Seroba Anderson of Bailey in 1944 at King’s. ey enjoyed 64 years of marriage and raised three children before Seroba’s death in 2010.
Anderson chaired regional campaigns for President Jimmy Carter, Gov. Jim Hunt and Sen. Robert Morgan and shared her husband’s passion for public education, serving 12 years as chairwoman of the Greene County Board of Education.
“My wife was a great politician and she was a friend of all the governors we had, just about,” Aiken said. “She worked with a bank and became vice president of the bank with a high school education. She was a very smart woman and very good looking, very pretty.”
e Aikens moved to Snow Hill in 1945 where Bob helped work at his
Aiken blew out nearly 100 candles at his birthday celebration on Sept. 21. Photos contributed by the Aiken family.
father’s business, Aiken Cash Supply Company.
A er enjoying a job with Hunter Publishing Company traveling North Carolina to take school pictures, Aiken said he began capturing Greene County wedding photos around 1949.
“I made school pictures in nearly every county in this state, all the way from the Georgia line up to Virginia all up and down the mountains, the valleys and the hillsides including the Cherokee Indian Reservation,” Aiken said.
He continued his community photography with Bob Aiken Photography, which he founded in a studio above his dad’s business, and was an active press photographer, regularly picking up assignments from the Associated Press, the News & Observer and WNCT before television news broadcasts included video footage.
Aiken met and befriended Hugh Morton through the North Carolina Press Photographers Association. Bob and Seroba once had their picture made with Grandfather Mountain icon Mildred the Bear.
Another night, Aiken ran into Morton in a Linville restaurant. A er eating, Morton invited Aiken up the mountain to check the weather station.
“I said yes so we started out and it was raining,” Aiken said. “About halfway up, it started sleeting. By the time we got to the top it was snowing. We got out and checked out the weather station and he said, ‘Let’s walk across the bridge.’ So we walked across the bridge in the snow. He said, ‘You’re the only person I know of, other than me, that’s walked this bridge at night in the snow.’”
Seroba’sconnectionshelpedBobthroughout his career, especially on the campaign trail in 1976. When Seroba was a delegate for Carter at the Democratic National Convention, Bob was hired to photograph it. “Walter Jones Sr. got me a secret service clearance and I was in the photography pool at the convention,” Aiken said. “I could go anywhere I wanted to in Madison Square Garden.”
Aiken’s 100 years have been lled with valuable experiences, including many around some of the wealthiest and most powerful Americans.
“It’s not the money that makes a man,” Aiken said. “It’s the friends.”
Above: A collection of Aiken’s work was on display at the Wellness Center during his party.
Below: Some of the cameras that Aiken has used through the years also were on display.
ELECTIONS Superwoman ✓
Michele Sutton steps in to run the Elections O ce at a crucial time
Story and Photos by Beyonca Mewborn
By the time this magazine is published, Greene County’s new director of elections likely will have wrapped up work on what people are calling the most consequential election ever. Michele Sutton, a mom, wife, student and former social worker, said since she started in April she’s had to put on her superhero cape.
e 35-year-old Sutton is the rst black woman to be the county’s director of elections. She is a wife and a mother of four children and just the third woman to hold the position. Sutton said she knew the job would be chaotic, but was condent she could do it.
“I really turn into Superwoman because it’s on go all day and night: I have kids, I’m married, I’m going to school, I got to get clinical hours, I’m going to absentee meetings and getting ready for this election, I’m here night and day,” said Sutton.
Born and raised in Pitt County, Sutton lived with her mom during her elementary school years in Greenville. She lived with her grandmother in Ayden when she attended Ayden Middle School and graduated from Ayden-Gri on High School. Sutton served in the Army National Guard for four years,
earned her bachelor’s degree in social work at Fayetteville State University and returned to eastern North Carolina to work in juvenile justice, where she met her husband Tyrone Sutton at work.
Her husband was born and raised in Greene County and they both worked at Lenoir Youth Development Center, formally known as Dobbs School. She worked there for about nine years and loved it, she said.
“I worked my way up; I was a behavior specialist, a youth counselor tech, I worked my way up to social work, I did social work for the last ve years. My husband works with juveniles too, and when we got married, he moved me here,” said Sutton. “Now I’m working on my master’s degree in social work online at Liberty University.”
Sutton said when she and her husband rst started dating she didn’t know anyone from Greene County or anything about the area, but she has really grown to love it here.
“I really love it; it is so peaceful here and I enjoy my peace, but the only thing I don’t like is that things close so early here,” said Sutton. “ e Walgreens closes at 5 p.m., and it would be great if we can get something to stay open a little bit later and we don’t have to drive all the way to Goldsboro, Kinston or Greenville to
Michele Sutton holds the N.C. Elections Laws and Rules book as she stands between photos of the only other women who have held the post of elections director in Greene County.
go somewhere; but other than that, it’s great here.”
Sutton said that she got involved in elections by working parttime under the previous director as a precinct o cial. When he told her that he was leaving, he suggested the director post might be something that would interest her.
“When you’re working with kids that have behavior issues that you’re seeing struggle when they’re getting released, you hear about them getting shot or hurt, and a lot of times kids in the system go right back to those same environments,” said Sutton.
Sutton said it became too sad for her to hear those stories and that she was burning out, especially when she had kids of her own. So when the elections post came open she thought she’d give it a try.
“I even thought about how in social work you advocate for your clients; if you get into elections and learn the laws and politics, you can advocate for your clients on a larger scale,” said Sutton.
Her military background and experience in social work gave Sutton the ability to manage the elections job and meet demands from the public, plus she feels like it’s her civic duty and thinks it will help to develop her leadership skills.
Sutton said that at rst, she wondered how she was going to balance being a wife, mother, student and elections director, but she told herself that she would make it work.
“I literally just started in April, and coming into it I knew we had this huge presidential election this November, and many people asked me if I was sure that I wanted to step into this position, and I felt like it wasn’t going to be too bad and I can handle it,” said Sutton.
Sutton said she felt like the odds would be against her because of who she is, where she’s from, what she looks like and that no one before her in this position looked like her, but she’s received a lot of support.
A former social worker Sutton started as elections director in April.
Sutton explains how a vote counting machine scans ballots.
“If you look at the two women on the wall here, one lady was the rst supervisor of elections and she doesn’t look like me, then the other lady on the wall did it over 30 years and she doesn’t look like me, and before them and a er them it was all men,” said Sutton. “I already knew that would be di erent than what people are used to, but I will say the two previous directors, Josh Jones and Trey Cash, are awesome; they’ve really been making sure that I’m straight and I have my feet planted, and they want me to succeed.”
Sutton said that she just tries to take in all the knowledge she can and that she goes to all the training that’s available to help her be prepared.
“I don’t mind when the public complains about something they heard regarding elections, or they feel like something isn’t done right, and I don’t mind explaining it to them because I want them to know that I’m trying to do everything right and correctly,” said Sutton.
With the legitimacy of elections being called into question, Sutton said she already knew that people were going to have
doubts about the 2024 vote and that some people would question the process.
“I just try to keep it fair and make sure I have the right people around the table, so I’ve been calling around making sure we have the right board members, making sure my precinct ocials are from di erent political sides of the table,” said Sutton. ere was an incident during the rst day of early voting where a ballot scanner was acting up. Sutton said that she followed state procedure and even contacted the state board to make sure they were following procedures on how things should go.
Sutton said when a machine malfunctions, you have people put their ballot in the emergency chute. Some people were extremely upset because they believed their ballot may not be counted. ey blasted Sutton’s team on social media.
“ ey were just having a t, so I told them that they could stay and wait until the new machine arrives, but this is the procedure,” said Sutton. “ ey were calling the state board to complain and report us; the state board assured them that we were doing exactly what we were supposed to do at that moment, and it felt great that they backed me up.”
Sutton said many people have expressed concerns that more election board members are needed — two positions are vacant. She suggests that they should volunteer to see how things are done.
“Get on our team so you can see what we are doing because I’m being as honest and transparent as I can be. I’m keeping things as clean as can be, and if you want to see what’s going on, get on the team,” said Sutton. “We need precinct o cials, we need board members on the Board of Elections, and instead of calling the state board complaining trying to make us look bad, come watch us, come to our absentee meetings and see how they run.”
Sutton said her grandmother instilled morals and values in her.
“My grandma didn’t play around, and honesty and integrity were absolutely the foundation of my upbringing, so I must see this election through as the new director of elections in Greene County,” said Sutton. “I don’t like committing to something and not seeing it through; I take this very seriously with all my integrity, and that’s just me.”
Sutton reviews paperwork at her office during early voting in October.
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