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Just Down the Road in Shangri-La

Posted on September 15, 2011September 15, 2011 by Staff

A Thousand Words
By Jock Lauterer


I have the best job in the world in the summer when I hit North Carolina’s backroads that take me to the state’s many community newspapers, where I lead journalism workshops. And it is these modest backroads – the so-called “Blue Highways” – that provide the unhurried soul with such a rich visual experience. From this summer, here’s my favorite “roadside vernacular” – just outside of Yanceyville (between Hillsborough and Danville, Va.,) you’ll come upon a miniature white-rocked village that is worth a stop just to gawk. According to a 1979 edition of The State magazine, the little village named “Shangri-La” is the result of nine years’ work by the late Henry Warren, a retired farmer who never met a little white rock he didn’t like. Working on the miniature rock village as a hobby from the time he was 77 until his death at 84 in 1977, Henry told reporter James Earl Hester, “The more you build, the more enthused you get.” So it would seem. Henry’s village includes an old mill, a bank, a gym, a library, a fire station, a church, a theatre, a water tower – and at the time of his passing he was working on a hospital. You’ll find Shangri-La on N.C. 86 just across the Caswell County line, set back from the road on the right in the community of Prospect Hill.

A THOUSAND WORDS
Do you have an important old photo that you value? Email your photo to jock@email.unc.edu and include the story behind the picture. Because every picture tells a story. And its worth? A thousand words.
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