Havelock storytellers provide great history

I was not a great fan of history when I was in high school. Oh sure, Steve Thompson, my teacher, made it as interesting as he could, but my only goal was to get my ‘A' and move on.

Now, much later in life, I have developed a fondness for what's happened in our past.

I think that's probably the way it goes naturally. The older you get, the more you care about history.

I certainly never cared much about Havelock history when I was young. As far as I knew, Havelock was just a town like any other town.

Now that I'm older, I know that is not the case. Havelock has a unique history that is being showcased in a variety of ways as the city celebrates its 50th anniversary of incorporation.

Some of that history was evident in Saturday night's Back Porch Conversation. Even more was on display during Eddie Ellis' presentation Monday night.

One thing I've learned in developing my appreciation of history over the years is that it is simply not boring facts to be memorized for a test. These things we are hearing about today are stories that people actually lived.

The signing of the Declaration of Independence wasn't just an event that happened on July 4, 1776. It was a process of special people doing special things during special times.

The establishment of this city wasn't just about one election on July 25, 1959. It was a long process involving people who revealed some great stories during Saturday night's event.

The establishment of this city wasn't just one date in history. Its history is made up in the stories of a new Marine being confused about where exactly he was, a southern bell trying to take the Yankee out of a northern transplant with a bowl of grits and people taking jet fuel to a baseball field in an attempt to dry up weeks of rain.

These stories are the threads that make up the fabric of this community.

Sure, it's history. But, it's much more interesting than that.

Ken Buday is the editor and general manager of the Havelock News.