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Recently: Toe tappin’ and water drippin’

Posted on March 6, 2008 by Staff

Members of the Bynum Front Porch board Debbie Tunnel, Dawn Porter and Luke Barrow stand in the Bynum General Store, depicted in the painting during its heyday. They hope that the Bynum “suburbs” will help support their rain barrel sale and music programs, keeping the store site a community fixture. Photo by Valarie Schwartz.

By Valarie Schwartz

Timing being everything, the folks down in Bynum have hit the bull’s eye with a recent fundraising plan.

Everybody, it seems, needs rain barrels these days.

Luke Barrow, who, with his wife, Bonnie, has lived in three houses in Bynum over the past eight years, found a place in Idaho selling food containers that had been up-fitted into rain barrels. The more one orders, the less they cost, so he started talking to his neighbors about going in with him on an order.

“Everybody wanted one,” Barrow said.

Additionally, pretty much everyone in the town with 56 houses wants the building that was the last remaining store in the former mill town, the Bynum General Store – which opened in 1936 and closed two years ago – to continue to be a meeting place, so the non-profit that supports that idea decided to open ordering up to the public.

Barrow started contacting the media. He and I have been friends since his senior year at UNC, so we arranged to meet with some of his fellow board members at the General Store last Friday morning.

The night before, OWASA formally declared a Stage Three Water Shortage, so Barrow decided to go full-out with his press coverage and sent releases to the local television stations shortly before our meeting.

It was shaping up to be a fine morning as Barrow and two other members of the Bynum General Store Front Porch board, Debbie Tunnel and Dawn Porter (with daughter Caroline), showed me around the site that has long been the Bynum hub. It was the first time I’d been in the store since it quit selling stuff and formally became a community center. It has always been a gathering place, but the locals opened it up to their “suburbs” in 2001 for the Front Porch Concert Series, which runs May through October, with popular musicians playing each Friday evening; and starting in April, weekly Front Porch Pickin’ sessions, where people show up with their instruments and play for as long as it sounds good (a monthly gathering during the winter).

The townsfolk have put a lot of effort into keeping the store site viable, including upgrading a restroom to ADA standards. Tables and chairs dot the main floor area; the walls are still covered with shelves, but now hold books, toys and memorabilia (look around, you might find a pack of Nabs or a Moon Pie in there somewhere).

While we talked, a vehicle with “NBC-17” painted on the sides pulled up in front. Barrow could hardly believe his eyes; it had been less than an hour since sending that email to the local NBC affiliate. Turns out it was a newsroom staffer on an outing with his mother on her Leap Day birthday. She gladly availed herself of the restroom while Barrow explained his misguided excitement, having initially thought they were there to cover the rain barrel sale.

They may yet get some airtime, because people all over the state are looking for rain barrel deals these days. The Bynum folks are offering 55-gallon poly barrels previously used for food storage that have been up-fitted with two spigots, drop-in basket screens and downspout adaptors for $88; or a minimalist version of the same size with one spigot and an overflow spout with screw-on cap for only $58. The orders and money need to be in Barrow’s hands by March 17, when he will place the order. The barrels will be available for pickup at the Bynum General Store on April 12. Local buyers can have their barrels delivered for an extra $10. This is a good deal even before figuring in that your purchase will help this local treasure continue as a music venue and gathering spot. The more they sell, the more money they get to keep for supporting this community resource.

Gardeners can hardly have too many rain barrels, considering how quickly they fill when used under a downspout. The drought may not always be upon us, but drinking water will always be precious.
Check out bynumfrontporch.org for details and to order; or call Luke Barrow at 815-0215.

1 thought on “Recently: Toe tappin’ and water drippin’”

  1. Sue says:
    March 7, 2008 at 5:37 am

    Rain Barrel Kits are available from http://www.aquabarrel.com – check-out the Downspout diverters and Downsspout Filters too..

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