LOL, him without a shirt could be a Maiden thing. Recall an article in the
Whiteville News Reporter, about the Undefeated Tabor City Red Devils coming to Maiden in 1978, for the 2A state championship game, which The Blue Devils would win 36-14 (I think)…The writer made mention of “Coach Tom Brown, pacing the sidelines in shorts, on a bitterly cold Catawba County night.” Some of these Maiden guys, including amaidendevil,and maybe GrizzlyDevil had played for him, so he might have explained to them that they shouldn’t worry about the cold Temps… I distinctly remember that night. I was working and had a small cube-shaped radio with no antenna, trying to pick up bits and pieces of the game from WNNC Newton Radio station. The temperature was actually in the 20’s during the game, possibly even in the low 20’s, and was maybe even windy. Also talked with someone from Tabor City who had made the 200 mile drive and was staying at one of the hotels, here in Lincolnton. He was very disappointed, but said, “They were the better team.” Also, I believe, Division 1 College coach, Kevin Wilson was playing for Maiden, in that game.
View attachment 995171
Well, now that the season is over, I want to try to clear something up.
I confess the post above perplexed me. Not because I thought
@Lincolnton wasn’t telling the truth, certainly not, as he is well known to be scrupulously honest, but because I couldn’t put all the pieces together. I mean, how did he read an article from the Whiteville News Reporter in 1978—it’s not like he had access to some primitive version of the internet. But I spent the last few weeks studying every record I could find of that period, including extensive Columbus County genealogy research, fifty-year-old hotel receipts and various news accounts, and I think I’ve pieced it all together. This is my account of how all this came together.
It's true; our friend could not attend the state title game between Maiden and Tabor City. And worse, he couldn’t even listen on the radio. He went home that night clearly frustrated at not being able to indulge in his favorite leisure-time activity. But fear not, because another favorite pastime of Lincolntonians at the time was pestering random passersby. It was a big thing, but something they could only indulge in a few times a year. Lincolnton wasn't then the thriving metropolis it is today. Frankly, it was something of a backwater (well, almost all of western North Carolina was). As luck would have it, there was only one visitor on that night to the Sleep Inn, the only lodge in Lincolnton at the time, who was not paying by the hour. And so, word got out, and a large crowd had gathered there that Saturday morning to gaze and gawp.
Now, you must understand that our friend was then, as today, a leader in the community. well known for his character and clarity of mind and he’d been elected by the throng to speak to the stranger. So, at about nine the next morning, Cairo Syrup (his first name is pronounced like the city in Illinois, not Egypt) emerged from his room.
Now, Syrup was a reclusive Columbus County pecan baron. He only had two real passions: Tabor City Red Devil football and berating the help. But only the Red Devils would get him out of his mansion, and he’d traveled across the state to see this important game. Syrup, notably, would buy twelve tickets to a game so that he could isolate himself from the riff raff; this was the degree to which he suffered agoraphobia. Ever since the day in 1932 when a gang of oppressed pecan pickers had besieged his home demanding a wage of twenty-five cents an hour, he’d been deathly afraid of crowds. Now, his team had lost, and he was in an even more foul mood than usual.
Of course, Lincolnton knew nothing of this, but he was still curious about the game, so he approached the stranger and said, “Prithee, kind sir, didst thou perchance attend last night’s athletic contest?” (Remember that this is how they talked so long ago, in the before times)
The nut millionaire and millionaire nut turned and looked out onto the sea of faces. He was horrified. He searched desperately for a way to escape but found none. Finally, he tried to placate the crowd. “They were the better team.” He said, believing that this was a crowd from Maiden looking for a helpless Tabor City fan to harass.
Just then, Syrup’s loyal manservant, Legume Esperanto, pulled up in Syrup’s vintage 1929 Model J Duesenberg. Esperanto was the last living soldier from the Spanish-American War (well, the last living Spanish soldier, anyway) and he’d been in Syrup’s employ for sixty years after meeting Cairo while the pecan magnate was dodging the draft during WWI in Cuba. He’d dropped Syrup off at the hotel after the game and then driven overnight all the way back to Whiteville so that he’d have his master’s newspaper when he awoke. This usually kept him placated while he grumbled over the stories and gave Esperanto some peace and quiet.
Seeing an opening, Syrup took the paper and then flung it at Lincolnton. Then he threw himself into the car and yelled at Esperanto to “Go! Go! Go!” Of course, now poor Esperanto would have to listen to Syrup’s unhinged ravings all the way home. There was no point in stopping to get either the Charlotte or Raleigh newspapers for him to read as he regarded both as “subversive communist garbage.” Despite his growing troubles and sleeplessness, Esperanto capably navigated the crowd and soon was back on Highway 16 headed towards Charlotte. Syrup ranting in the back seat about how he was going to barricade himself until spring.
Lincolnton opened the paper to the sports page and read the story about the game to the crowd. He was the focus of attention to his fellow Lincontonites and this explains why he remembers it all so well, even if he omitted several important details. I confess that there may have been other details I missed and so I invite our one eyewitness to correct me as he deems necessary.
. Hickory JV looked mortal so is hickory coming back to earth. East JV didn't look great but probably enough young talent on varsity to still be good. North well let's say that's up in the air right now. Newton brings back a lot but still lost some key parts QB,Def lineman, Wr/safety. Bandy's can they survive post Brady swett is there another great QB in the waiting. Swetts are few and far apart. Bunker Hill I believe is just bunker hill again. And maiden is just maiden we find a way to persevere. 
