Blow the Tannery Whistle

So, if you get a chance to take part in the storytelling that the Brundidge Historical Society does several times a year, GO!!!

Pam called me last week and told me it was coming up. We were hoping Mama, Kathy, Pam, and I could go, but things didn't work out for Kathy and Mama wasn't feeling well and had company. Karissa went with us and let me tell you, we had a BALL! The preliminary show was a bluegrass gospel band, and they were really good.

Then came the food, and it was AWESOME! Each table was served big bowls of butterbeans, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, rolls, banana pudding, and corn. A pitcher of sweet tea was already there, as were our glasses of ice. Once the food was on the table, it was self-serve. After the meal, Gary Carden, the storyteller from North Carolina came on.

Now, I'm here to tell you, I LOVE a good storyteller! It's just a book in real life...an author telling you what would have been on the pages. His stories were all about the tannery whistle in the small town he lived in and how important it was. Because it was blown only at certain times unless some HUGE event was happening (like Pearl Harbor, D-Day, or the world coming to an end), the saying about anything big was, Well, blow the tannery whistle." He told about all the times his grandfather said it about him, and he was hilarious! What was really interesting to find out was that he had been deaf for 35 years. Imagine that!

Karissa, Pam, and I so enjoyed ourselves. Others did too, and we got a kick out of watching them. We were the guinea pigs...we went to see how it really was. We will not go back alone. All of us kept thinking of all the people who would love to sit in that old building, walk across sawdust floors, gather around homestyle cooking, listen to a little music, and go back to a place in time with an Appalachian storyteller. No, we won't be alone next time.

I can't wait until the next one!!!

Thanks, Pam-o Suzie, for inviting me. I had a blast.