I have just celebrated the Carrboro Centennial at the Century Center. As a volunteer with the Carrboro Garden Club I expected only a thank you and a chance to see our flower arrangements on show. How mistaken I was. It was a night to remember, from the first bars of live music on stage to the last lick of the farewell cupcake.
Brief (how wise!) hellos and Happy Birthday! from the mayor and aldermen, a delightful account of the complex character of Julian Shakespeare Carr from Mark Chilton. And from Congressman Price, a U.S. flag that had flown above the capitol and a signed address from Barack Obama. This was beginning to feel like the big league.
History club members from CHS highlighted how tiny the town was in 1911, while our own poet laureate extolled its idiosyncrasies. Then without warning, from all around the room, came the haunting sound of scattered male voices in harmony, “Let the light of the lighthouse shine on me.†I was moved to tears. The room erupted to its feet.
I am a foreigner who has lived here nine years. I feel honored to have shared in this evening of a town “with attitude†that fights well above its weight. It was a thank you to all of us who volunteer, but I would like to send my thanks to Kim Andrews, who I understand was the woman behind the resounding success of Carrboro’s 100th birthday party.
Sue Morgan
Carrboro
Distinctive destination