Hometowns give you good memories; be proud of where you are from – Laurinburg Exchange

Smells of popcorn once filled the air at the Center Theatre before the double feature horror shows on Saturdays in Laurinburg.

I am 64 now, but back then I was happy to see a Hammer Film with Christopher Lee downtown. I would first stop by the funeral home to peek at Spaghetti, our towns ghastly unclaimed body. I was born here and went into journalism after studying at Appalachian State. Yes, I have dipped my feet into the black water of the Lumber River. My first concert was Townes Van Zandt at St. Andrews Presbyterian College.

I hauled furniture for my father Bill Bullard at his store. At Troop 420 I was one of three sons who earned Eagle rank. But I never thought I would see the day we would face such a deadly pandemic as we do now.

My mother was a teacher at I. Ellis Johnson Elementary School, and my grandfather was a farmer off U.S. 74. My Grandfather Sanford was superintendent of Waverly Mills in East Laurinburg; the July 4 barbecue was so hot and fun with tea and lemonade.

I watched them build the college and the new high school as a teen. As a journalist, I won awards from the S.C. Senate and S.C. House for investigative reporting on a bordello expose in Marlboro County.

Finally, I wrote a book Haunted Watauga County.

I have been lucky and blessed. I am proud of who I am and where I was raised. I tell folks where I am from, whether it is friends like former S.C. Gov. David Beasley or former legislator Mark Sanford.

Be proud of who you are and where you come from.

Tim Bullard

Allentown, Pa.

Former Laurinburg resident

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Hometowns give you good memories; be proud of where you are from - Laurinburg Exchange

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