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Melungeons

By Linda H. Barnette

After my book club read Demon Copperhead, and learning that Demon’s father was a Melungeon, I decided to read about them.

According to the NC Pedia, Melungeons are descendants of a people who had mixed ethnic ancestry. Before 1800 they were found living in the Appalachian Mountains near the point where North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia meet. They often have dark skin and brown eyes, but some have red hair and light-colored eyes like Demon did.

It’s possible that they originally lived in coastal North Carolina, but that is just speculation. One of the many theories about their early history is that they may have been descendants of the settlers in the Lost Colony and the Indians along the coast. Other theories say their ancestors could have been sailors, explorers, or early colonists who could have gotten stranded on the coast.

Modern research has concluded that they are triracial, likely a mixture of European, Indian, and African lineage. As a group they have been ostracized because of their racial situation. The word “Melungeon” came to signify a person of low social status.

The term comes from the French “mélange,” meaning mixture. According to an article in Wikipedia, the earliest historical record of these people dates to the Stony Fork Baptist Church in Scott County, Va. and another mention by a Tennessee politician in 1840. The Melungeons of Hawkins County, Tenn. claim that their white blood came from English and Portuguese settlers and the Indian blood to Cherokee natives.

So like the Lost Colony their history remains a mystery to this day and an outstanding example of the prejudice that still exists.

Unique Endpoint

By  E. Bishop

Why is it that we cannot see the beauty of natural things in this world until it’s almost too late?  In 1973, threatened by imminent development, Carolista Baum stood in the path of a bulldozer to save the dune system from destruction.  Can you imagine the selfishness of such an act to destroy Jockey’s Ridge where at over 100 feet is the tallest living sand dune system on the Atlantic Coast?  So thanks to Ms. Baum and others like her, 427 acres were saved to make an ideal place for kite flying, hang gliding, sand-boarding, swimming in the sound, and watching beautiful sunsets and it’s free.  You just have to be able to walk in all that sand.

Fifteen years ago when I was much younger, I was able to walk to the top of the dunes; the family and I enjoyed the hang gliders, kite fliers, and tolerated the heat pretty good.  Another trip to the dunes this summer was a little more challenging; we let the younger ones climb to the top while we watched barefoot in the sparse shade near the terminus monument located at the base of the sand dunes.

How did these dunes come to be?  Geologists believe that Jockey’s Ridge was formed when strong water currents from hurricanes and storms washed sand from large offshore shoals onto the beach.  They are always changing during the seasons thereby the reason for calling them the living sand dunes.  Reason for the name (Jockey’s Ridge) – legend has it that horse races took place on the flats while spectators sitting on the slopes of the dunes watched.

According to the “Outer Banks 2024” magazine, Ben Jones of Cary, NC designed and built  the unique iconic fixture (where we waited for the others) using dock pilings representing the area of its placement.  Installed in October, 2023, the monumental structure represents the Mountains-To-Sea Trail (MST) endpoint.  Elevation -75 feet, Jockey’s Ridge, Eastern Terminus.

The MST was proposed in 1977 and added to the park system in 2000; is North Carolina’s state trail and longest marked footpath which takes approximately 2,112,000 footsteps to complete.  It was originally designed to connect the state’s natural beauty but it also connects communities and people along the way.  The journey takes those brave enough to tackle it through some of the most beautiful landscapes and diverse ecosystems North Carolina offers.  About 185 people have completed its entire length although some may not have checked in at the end.

More fun facts, the MST passes throuagh 37 counties, four national parks, two national wildlife refuges, three national forests, passes three lighthouses, includes two ferry rides and climbs both the tallest mountain peak and the highest sand dune in the Eastern United States. Best time to attempt this journey is Spring or Fall for cooler weather and fewer bug bites.  If indeed you plan on the full journey all at once, it will take you approximately three to four months.

The beginning point is Clingmans Dome where it connects to the Appalachian Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Mt. Mitchell, the highest point at 6,684 feet in elevation).  This is where our family needs to visit next.  We can at least say we saw the beginning and the end of what I imagine is a beautiful Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

Yvonne

By Stephanie Dean

This is a story of love, loss, marriage, and related benefits.

I’m on a private Facebook page with many girls with whom I attended a private, all-female, Catholic high school.

One friend, Yvonne, shares her daily suffering and distress. She wasn’t one of my best friends but I remember her well. She was always bubbly with laughter and was extremely smart.

I could not understand how Yvonne had ended up in such dire circumstances. So I made it a priority to have a “conference” call with her every week for the past year. My goodness – how she has languished in her later years from physical and mental issues.

After 25 years of marriage, Yvonne’s husband left her for another woman who he married. He sold their marital home out from under her and she, having been a housewife her entire life and without income, was left destitute.

Meanwhile, Yvonne suffered from a mental breakdown and completely lost her kids as a result – as so often happens with mental illness.  Her children have not been in touch with her for many years.

Yvonne ballooned up over 350 lbs. and developed many additional health issues as a result. She has been living at poverty level income for years in a government assisted apartment building. Yvonne cannot walk without assistance, has no car, and relies on the church down the street for food, groceries, a ride to church, etc.

She has been able to hold down a part-time job working from home as a telephone sales operator for a clothing company. Because she had been a housewife and mother practically her entire life – the toughest job ever – she didn’t have any social security built up on her own.

It wasn’t long after I emotionally adopted Yvonne that she asked to borrow $125 to help pay her rent. Her monthly expenses had outweighed her income that month. So I loaned the money to her. Over the course of the next year, I sent her many coloring books, multiple cans of soup, and applied small amounts of money monthly to her Venmo acct so she could buy diapers.

Upon hearing her story, I was shocked that she’d never received any of her husband’s social security after his death many years ago. She was under the false assumption that because he had remarried, she could not claim his social security.  She was incorrect.  They had been married well over the 10-year requirement – in fact they’d been married 25 years. The fact he remarried made no difference. And Yvonne was not currently married.

I encouraged Yvonne to go to the Social Security office. She did and discovered that not only was she entitled to a monthly check but years of back pay also– based on what her former husband had paid in.

But then a huge snag followed – Yvonne couldn’t find her marriage license certificate. After making many calls trying to locate a copy – she was unsuccessful and fell despondent.

And that’s when I asked my good friend, Linda Barnette, to step in. Linda is really strong in genealogy. I shared all the info with Linda– full names, marriage date, divorce date, etc. And Linda went to work doing what she does best. In 10 minutes, Linda emailed me a copy of the missing marriage certificate. It had been filed in a different county. The discovery was nothing less of a miracle – and Linda Barnette was a hero.

After all these years living in poverty, Yvonne has received her back pay in a lump sum and is now receiving a monthly benefit. No longer will she have to decide between food, medicines, or diapers.   

And I was so happy for this sweet, smart girl. She has been able to pay her rent 6 months in advance and pay off all her bills. Even her voice has changed – there’s a joy now where once, there was only sadness and despair.

But the story doesn’t end here. A few weeks ago, I received an email from Venmo. Someone had deposited $500 in my account. I was shocked. Where did this money come from? And then I saw it was from Yvonne.

Do you know my friend repaid me more than three times the amount I had loaned her – all she asked was that I use the extra to pay it forward.  And when I refused to take the money, she would hear nothing of the sort. She begged me to graciously accept the money – thereby restoring her integrity. And so, I did.

What goes around often does come around. When local Mocksville resident and former teacher, Linda Barnette, came to the rescue of my friend – she performed a good deed.  In addition, despite her many personal difficulties, Yvonne’s generous action to pay it forward made for another good deed.

And every good deed is worth writing about.