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Field Notes: ‘Home is the North’ (Carolina)
The author, John Marek, is a writer and executive director of the Anson Economic Development Partnership. I don't know if students today still diagram sentences, but I know I spent a disproportionate amount of time in seventh grade reading class drawing little...
Field Notes: Cut that out
The author, John Marek, is a writer and executive director of the Anson Economic Development Partnership. Sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas of 1981, I found myself in the food court of the Sandusky Mall with my buddy, Carl. We were home on break and...
Field Notes: A haunting in Castalia
The author, John Marek, is a writer and executive director of the Anson Economic Development Partnership. My father loved ice cream. Some of my fondest memories involve piling into the car on a Sunday afternoon and driving to one of the nearby ice cream shops for a...
Field Notes: The funniest thing on the internet
The author, John Marek, is a writer and executive director of the Anson Economic Development Partnership. In the Frasier episode "A Tsar Is Born," Martin, Niles and Frasier get into an argument (what are the odds?) about which television show to watch. Frasier and...
‘The wastewater issue is not a property tax issue’
Editor’s note: The town held a special meeting last Wednesday to discuss the wastewater collection system and the capacity of the wastewater treatment plant. There’s been some confusing public discussion of the plan, so the Speckled Paw Times (Kyle Poplin) asked Town...
Field Notes: Under the stars
The author, John Marek, is a writer and executive director of the Anson Economic Development Partnership. One of the "casualties" of the pandemic for me has been, oddly enough, camping. While spending time alone in the woods is the very definition of "social...
Field Notes: A Confederate monument in an unlikely place
The author, John Marek, is a writer and executive director of the Anson Economic Development Partnership. A few weeks ago, I wrote candidly about my mixed feelings regarding my high school class reunion. Despite some trepidation, I did log on to the Zoom feed and...
Field Notes: Not so much the heat as the humility
The author, John Marek, is a writer and executive director of the Anson Economic Development Partnership. Five years ago this week, I interviewed for the job as economic development director for Anson County. It was a hot day in Uptown Wadesboro, even for late...
Field Notes: Now we’re cooking with gas, er, focused microwave radiation
The author, John Marek, is a writer and executive director of the Anson Economic Development Partnership. The earliest humans undoubtedly discovered the value of fire as a means of food preparation by accident. A lightning strike caused a forest fire; Grog and his...
Field Notes: Went to a garden party
The author, John Marek, is a writer and executive director of the Anson Economic Development Partnership. Went to a garden party to reminisce with my old friends Even if you are too young to have heard this song playing throughout the summer of 1972, you...
Field Notes: The game that ‘made’ the NBA
The author, John Marek, is a writer and executive director of the Anson Economic Development Partnership. Last week, the Harlem Globetrotters officially requested membership in the NBA, their reasoning being that they have, over the years, done more than any...
Field Notes: Baby, think of me once in awhile
The author, John Marek, is a writer and executive director of the Anson Economic Development Partnership. I was scrolling through the news last week and saw that Frank Bonner had passed away at age 79. If that name sounds familiar, but you can't quite place it,...