When oldest was a much younger guy, probably about six, he and I used to "goof around," wandering around north of Durham, getting out of the car whenever things looked interesting.Interesting might just mean somewhere we could pick up rocks, or get to the shore of a stream or pond, or visit an old country store. Probably the most picturesque and old fashioned of the little stores was the old Catsburg Country Store, up Roxboro Rd. It was tiny, red, had a cool painted cat sillhouette on the store front, and it was next to an old baseball diamond. Inside were all the usual Southern standbys - including Yoohoo chocolate drink (which Oldest enjoyed at that time), Dr Pepper (my choice), peanuts, slim jims, Nehi and Cheerwine sodas, Little Debbie cakes... We went in and bought snacks.
For the last ten years or more the store has been closed and boarded up. Dearest and I recently went by there and stopped to take some photos. Last weekend I took a few hours and did a small watercolor painting of the store from the photos. It was like a visual meditation or a mental caress of an old memory. The building itself has a great deal of charm, possibly even more so in its worn condition. Like an old leather jacket.The fate of the building is in the balance. There have been discussions of selling and restoring it - they have come to nothing so far.
1 comment:
I remember many wonderful old places too but in the area where I grew up once a building became unoccupied it was either burned or torn down to be replaced. It's very nice to see this nice old place and your painting of it is a wonderful homage.
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