Friendly Lady

When I first got to North Carolina I didn't venture out too far, but one day after I'd been here about two weeks, I decided to stop at a little antique store on Burgaw Hwy.  There was a sign out front that said, "Home Fires Country Store."

The sign out front said, "Park in Back."  All there was, were tire tracks in the grass leading to the back of the place, so I drove to the back and parked.  I went up to the door and walked in but there wasn't a soul around.  I could tell it was an old fashioned antique and country-like store but no one there!  Here's a picture I got from Google maps.  Unfortunately it's not very good and was taken in the winter so you can't see how pretty it looks now, but it's an old, old house with little tiny rooms. I think the roof has probably been painted or replaced by now.

After looking around a few minutes, an older lady came in the door and said hello.  I'm pretty sure she just came from across the street.  I guess she figured if she had a customer, she should come over to the store!

Anyway we started talking, and she said her name was Caroline. She asked where I lived and I told her "Off of Haws Run" since I was so new I didn't know what else to tell her.  She knew right where that was because she grew up on Haws Run, in this house:

Mama's House

Mama's barn

 She told me it was her "Mama's house."  But, "She's been gone a looonng tiiimme  now."  Then, "But you never get over losing your Mama!" Oh gosh. At that time, I broke down in tears and couldn't stop.  I told her I had just lost my mother and had just moved here.  She gave me a big hug and comforted me. She was so sweet about it.   It was so embarrassing!  I ended up buying a book from her and went home to cry some more.

Skip ahead a few months, and I was out at a USO thing this morning and decided to stop again at Home Fires on my way home. She's only open Thursday through Saturday, so I knew it was a good time to stop.

Once again, there was no one in the store, but I knew that if I waited a few minutes, she would show up.  Sure enough, in walked Caroline.  

I'm guessing she is in her mid to late 70's and very spry.  She looked at me like she knew me and I reminded her that I was the customer that cried while I was there before and she remembered me. "Don't feel bad, we all do that honey."  (How could you not remember the weepy customer who cried) 

We chatted for a while about the store and her "Mama's house."  The house is empty but she goes over a few times a week to "feed the kitties and check on things."  Currently the house is surrounded on all sides with corn fields. They might belong to the neighbor on the side, or maybe they are rented out for that purpose.  She would like to rent the house that contains the store but hasn't found any takers. What fun that would be, to operate a store in that little house!  It's so small, it's like a doll house.  I know business is extremely slow right now but the summer months bring tourists. She said she only had one customer in May!  (I hope I'm not her one customer in June!)  I know she doesn't do any advertising, or have a website, etc. like businesses need these days.   The place needs work, but she does her best to keep things up.  She has been trimming bushes around the place, and even put up a small railing for the porch steps and was proud to tell me she mixed up the ce-ment and poured it herself for the post.

She is a sweet lady and probably would have talked for much longer if I had stayed.  Other than other USO volunteers, she's the only person I've had a conversation with!  I bought two things from her, one marked $1.00 and the other marked $.50!

I told her that IF my sisters come in October, I promise to bring them in the store.  She said she would be looking forward to that!  Me too, sisters!