Small Business Saturday in Salisbury, aka #smallbizsat

Magnet #1009 - Historic Salisbury Bell Tower

Some friends from Chapel Hill come visit me while I was at home in Salisbury, NC. I was excited for them to come visit, because it's been a few months, but also, because it's Small Business Saturday, promoted on Twitter and Facebook as such by American Express. And ya'll know I love participating in stuff like this.

We met up at Spanky's for sandwiches and ice cream (made 40 feet away from the spot you order it!). The guy who owns it, used to own the same fish market my parents loved going to in the 80s. The summer of 92, I worked in "downtown" Salisbury and even back then, Spanky's had the best roast beef sandwiches in the world. You know what? They totally still do.

Then, my friends asked for an impromptu "joy tour" of Salisbury. Totally unprepared! We really should have dropped by the tourist information center, because we missed so very much.

And ya'll should know by now that any joy tour provided, is usually riddled with half-a-facts and odd anecdotes, and this time around, they got none of the actual history and quite possibly the most boring-ist tour ever!

To wit:

We drove around Salisbury, past the courthouse and jail, Hap's Grill, the pretty historic houses, the old Earle's office supplies store (one of my faves), the Salisbury Post building, the Confederate Angel, the town's historic mural, my parents' old office, the library, my old church, the old YMCA, Salisbury High School, the hospital, and WAKE UP!

Yeah, that took about 30 minutes.

The next hour was a drive down to Catawba College, Jake Alexander Blvd, my BFF's dad's mechanics shop, my BFF's grandfather's old house, Granite Lake, Granite Quarry, my parents old office, Granite Quarry Elementary School (and playground), the house on Jack St. I grew up in, Granite Knitwear, East Rowan High School, the band room, the football stadium, Erwin Jr. High, and WAKE UP!

Finally, we ended it with a quick jaunt up and down Main and Innes streets, supporting Small Businesses like nobody's business, shopping at the (what have they got against romances, anyway) independent bookstore, having orangeades (best in the world, I swear) at the soda fountain in Innes Street Drug Store and picking up some Cheerwine cakes, buying magnets at Critters (no kidding, that's the name), and browsing through (not O.O. Rufty's, but close) a general store. (Not at all done with #smallbizsat, I ended the day with a quick drive-thru for superyummy Hendrix BBQ, where they meet you at your car to take and hand-off your order.)

It was pretty fun pretending we were tourists in my adopted hometown. (Adopted only because even if I moved when I was 5, I was still the Yankee when I graduated.)

It was definitely a little embarrassing the amount of information I didn't know about Salisbury, even living there for nigh on 20 years. Like, who knew the bell tower shown here was the First Presbyterian Church Bell Tower? Ok, likely every Salisbury native knows that. But I'll admit, I sure didn't.

And, up until just now, I didn't even know til this photography blogpost, that the tower was originally attached to the giant, original First Presbyterian Church, a place of worship that was razed in 1971!

I can't believe they razed the church to rebuild down the street! Good grief, it's Penn Station all over again.