My mother was a history teacher for more than 30 years here in Richmond County, so of course I caught the bug when I was young in life and have enjoyed learning about the history of things and places ever since. Included in this is my love of learning the history of the county I grew up in, and Hamlet is a big part of that.
On Friday, I was treated to a ride-along with Hamlet City Manager Marcus Abernethy, new Hamlet Museum Manager and Downtown Coordinator Gary Greene and Earl Bradshaw.
Bradshaw, who turned 100 in August, served as grand marshal in Hamlet’s Christmas parade, was selected to light Hamlet’s Christmas tree at Main Street Park in early December and is the oldest master of any Masonic lodge in North Carolina as part of Hamlet Lodge No. 532.
Long story short, he forgotten more about Hamlet and its history than the three of us will ever know.
With Abernethy driving and Bradshaw riding shotgun, the four of us made our way through downtown, past the Hamlet city lake to the American Legion, through several residential areas and sightseeing businesses in the Seaboard City.
Bradshaw was born in 1915 on King Street, which is now where Johnson’s Carports is located. He talked about his baptismal 99 years ago to which he said he doesn’t usually brag about his age, but does boast about being the oldest person to be baptized.
We made our way to Mary Love Cemetery at the end of High Street where his wife, mother and several other family members were buried, as well as a few prominent Hamlet families. Bradshaw himself will be buried there someday.
He spoke of the “Tree of Knowledge” on Hamlet Avenue and how once it was knocked down, it caused the businessman who headed that project to lose customers.
We talked about the former ice plant at the intersection of Raleigh Street and West Avenue, the roundhouse that was further down the street that serviced locomotives for the railroad during its heyday and the Texaco store on Spear Street that sold gasoline wholesale. There was a bar on the corner of Main Street in front of the current Tornado Building where bootlegging was very prominent.
A former newsstand for the local paper at the time once stood where Hamlet’s Visitor Center now sits, and he pointed out the oldest home in Hamlet on Main Street.
I told him that inside Main Street Central, which used to be a hotel and is now an antiques store, there is a hot dog and bun steamer from his former restaurant on King Street. He of course knew that and can remember fondly when the city of Hamlet was a booming town thanks to the railroad.
His business, like many others, capitalized off that. According to him, it was a good time to live in Hamlet. After all, it was the hub of the whole Seaboard Railroad, he said.
His first business was a fish market he started and then sold to his brother before receiving a draft letter for military service during World War II. Upon realizing his services weren’t needed in the service, he returned to Hamlet and opened a grocery store.
Later he opened Bradshaw’s Tasty Freeze, which eventually turned into the sausage dog eatery that came to be known as Bradshaw’s.
With so much knowledge about the town, it was easy for me to get lost in all the information he possesses. He is a walking, talking encyclopedia (or Wikipedia these days) of Hamlet history. For an hour on Friday morning, I was honored to be able to take part in that.
I’m also happy that as a reporter for the Daily Journal, I’ll be able to cover his receiving of the key to the city during Tuesday’s monthly city council meeting. No one deserves it more than he does.
None of us know how long we have on this planet called Earth, and Mr. Bradshaw has lived a wonderful, event-filled life. I was glad I was able to spend just a bit of time taking in the history he provided on the “Little Town That Can.”
Reach reporter Matt Harrelson at 910-817-2674 and follow him on Twitter @mattyharrelson.
