Archive

Archive


This page is large and will take longer to load than the average page. Photos are in chronological order as best as could be done. This is a work in progress - probably always will be.

The Archive period runs through 1997. The Photo-Journal period begins with 1998.

Most of the info about older Thompson family photos came from Aunt Blanche (my Father's older sister).

The David Thompson (1800-1865) grave site. This marker was added sometime back in the 1940's by one of baseball legend Ty Cobb's relatives who lived nearby. David Thompson was from Scotland and was the first Thompson to make it to America.
This marker was added sometime back in the 1940's by one of baseball legend Ty Cobb's relatives who lived nearby. David Thompson was from Scotland and was the first Thompson to make it to America.

David Thompson was born in 1800 and hailed form Scotland. He married an English woman, Mary, and together they sailed to America. The ship wrecked a mile off the North Carolina coast and the passengers had to swim to land. Mary Thompson drowned during the struggle. David Thompson then took a Cherokee Indian wife, Namie Rider, who was the great-great-granddaughter of Chigau (Nancy Ward), the highest ranking woman of the Cherokees. Namie died a few years later in Oklahoma. David Thompson then took a third wife. The Thompson branch of which I am part is from that third union.




* David Thompson beget Caleb Star Thompson who beget John Franklin Thompson...



Click here for more photos form the day I visited David Thompson's gravesite. These photos include shots from the area around my Father's boyhood home in Culberson, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

1885?
Martha Jane Henry Townson, my great, great grandmother.

1895?
Meadows - She was a Thompson, my great, great, great aunt.

1898?
Aletha Ioa Hyatt "Mama" Anderson. Grandmother Dollie was adopted by Mama Anderson.

1899

Grandmother Dollie (12/25/1893 - 03/28/1994), 5 years old in this shot (made in Blue Ridge). Born in Kentucky, moved across the Ohio River to Indian Field Indiana. She remembered crossing the Ohio River on a ferry in the night time. Her mother (the former Nancy Corn) and father (Joe Bruner) split; he joined the army and fought in the Spanish American war (1898). Dollie's mother came to Young Harris after the split. Nancy could not support the 3 little girls so she gave them up at the Depot in Culberson. Aletha Ioa Hyatt "Mama" Anderson took Dollie and Mama Anderson's sister Martha Bruce took Dollie's older sister Mary and baby sister Eliza.
1899
Grandmother Dollie (12/25/1893 - 03/28/1994), 5 years old in this shot (made in Blue Ridge). Born in Kentucky, moved across the Ohio River to Indian Field Indiana. She remembered crossing the Ohio River on a ferry in the night time. Her mother (the former Nancy Corn) and father (Joe Bruner) split; he joined the army and fought in the Spanish American war (1898). Dollie's mother came to Young Harris after the split. Nancy could not support the 3 little girls so she gave them up at the Depot in Culberson. Aletha Ioa Hyatt "Mama" Anderson took Dollie and Mama Anderson's sister Martha Bruce took Dollie's older sister Mary and baby sister Eliza.

1899?
Group at the old "Anderson Boarding House" where Grandmother Dollie grew up, in Culberson. Grandmother Dollie is the little girl.

1899?
Group shot at a house, with horses, in Culberson. The little girl is Grandmother Dollie Thompson.

1903?
Grandmother Dollie and Mama Anderson (at the back) with Carl and Ella's family. Mama Anderson also raised Carl.

1908?
Mary Cearley Thompson, my great great grandmother (Great Grandfather Allen Thompson's mother). Baby Mary is Grandfather Charlie's baby sister.

1910?
Mandy and Allen Thompson, my great grandparents, with baby Mary, Buell, Ralph, and Colvin(l-r).

1915?
Mandy and Allen Thompson, my great grandparents. I have a faint memory of Great Grandmother Allen, lying sick upon a bed in the main room of my grandparents house at Culberson. I remember the bed seemed high and the frail, aged lady being fed. My memory is of her being fed a bite of cake, perhaps someone's birthday cake.

1918
Grandmother Dollie, my Father's mother, in a wheel barrow, 1918 or 1919.






1920?
Grandfather Charlie Thompson.

1923
First photo of Aunt Blanche (my father's sister), on a Rocky Mountain goat throw rug (leather on bottom, top with reddish goat hair).

1925
Aunt Blanche with Ellen Anderson. Grandmother Dollie Thompson stands in the background.

1925?
Aunt Blanche's note:
Jesse C. "Bud" Thompson, Mar. 14, 1840 - April 8, 1930
Mary Cearley Thompson, June 7, 1838 - Dec. 11, 1927
We called them "Little Grandpa and Little Grandma." I was 4 years old when she died and remember her vaguely. I was 7 years old when Little Grandpa died. He lived with Grandpa Allen and family and loved Mary so much, after Little Grandma died. I remember him well. He would threaten us with his cane if we "crossed him." They are both buried at the Line. I prize these pictures.

1928?
Aunt Blanche's note:
Great Grandpa Jesse C. (Bud) Thompson

1929?
Copied on March 7, 2007 at Aunt Blanche's home in Griffin, GA. Notation lost. Uncle Colvin (Grandfather Charlie Thompson's brother)?

1930?
Mary Thompson (grandfather Charlie's younger sister) and her cousin Don Thompson (lost in the Pacific typhoon coming home from WWII).

1931?
Ira Thompson (Grandfather Charlie Thompson's brother), in McKittrick, California (Kern Co., near Bakersfield). Ira went to California with his brother Charlie (my grandfather) sometime around 1929; Charlie came back but Ira stayed.

1932?
Allen Thompson (my great grandfather) and his aunt Catherine Thompson. Catherine was Uncle Clink's mother-in-law.

1934
My Mother, Joanne Dellinger, and her mother, Mildred Dellinger. Mother was born in Cherokee County, South Carolina, in Gaffney.

Click here for photos from a visit to Gaffney on January 2, 2003 that included a stop at Mother's birthplace and a visit with Mother's Uncle Vinesett.

1935
Mother.

1935
Culberson, North Carolina, close to my grandparent's house. A listing of the crew that built the Raper Rd. Nottley River Bridge.

1936
Mother.

1937
Mother.


1938?
Colvin (Grandfather Charlie Thompson's brother) in the nice suit by the car.

1938?
Father. This is one of the photos that Glenda Miller (Glenda and Cousin Henry) found in Grandmother Dollie's old room at Aunt Lois' home in Griffin, GA and emailed on 09-14-2012...

1939
Allen Thompson (my great grandfather) and his grandson Don Thompson. Don was lost in the Pacific typhoon coming home from WWII.
1939?
Mother. In the first shot, I think the older lady is Clementine Childers, Mother's "second" mother. I cannot identify the other lady.

1939?
Mother.

1939?
Mother and her mother.

1939?
Mother's mother, Mildred Dellinger.

1939?
Buell, Ralph, Colvin, Frank, Grandfather Charlie, and Ira Thompson. These are Grandfather Charlie Thompson's brothers - my great uncles.

1939
Grandfather Charlie Thompson, 1939, working for the TVA on Hiwassee Dam as a steam fitter (a skill that he learned in the California oil fields on a work stint with his brother Ira).

1939
Group shot of Thompsons and neighbors (at Culberson, NC). Aunt Blanche commented that this picture was "just like it was."
1942?
Uncle Herman. My Mother's father's brother. Uncle Herman lived in Charleston, South Carolina.

1942?
Great Uncle Ira, Don, and Bonny. Ira went to California with his brother Charlie (my grandfather) sometime around 1929; Charlie came back but Ira stayed (McKittrick, CA, Kern Co., near Bakersfield). Don, Ira's and Bonny's son, was lost in a typhoon in the Pacific in 1945 coming home from fighting the Japanese in WWII. Don's memorial is at Bethany Baptist Church, "The Line."
Great Uncle Ira, Don, and Bonny. Ira went to California with his brother Charlie (my grandfather) sometime around 1929; Charlie came back but Ira stayed (McKittrick, CA, Kern Co., near Bakersfield). Don, Ira's and Bonny's son, was lost in a typhoon in the Pacific in 1945 coming home from fighting the Japanese in WWII. Don's memorial is at Bethany Baptist Church, "The Line."


1942
Mother.

1945
Culberson School - Dollie Thompson (my grandmother) teacher.


1945?
Mother, Mother's uncle, Odis Vinesett, and Mother's mother.

Mr. Vinesett has an amazing story to tell, as he was part of the American forces captured by the Japanese at Corregidor, on May 6, 1942. Several months earlier he had shipped through Pearl Harbor just prior to the Japanese surprise attack there on December 7, 1941. After Corregidor fell Mr. Vinesett and his fellow captured Americans and Filipinos were forced to Cabanatuan (not the Bataan Death March, but a similar, sad event). Mr. Vinesett recalls the prisoners being herded like cattle into large boats, then being forced at the butt of a gun to swim a mile to shore, through waves and over coral. As one of the "lucky" ones, he was picked to be shipped to the Japanese mainland to work in the steel mills between Tokyo and Yokahoma, as part of a slave labor force. Mr. Vinesett recalls being marched through Tokyo on November 11, 1942, when Tokyo was the largest city in the world. He also recalls the Yokahoma still mill as being nearly two miles long. Enduring torture, humiliation, and unspeakable brutality, he also witnessed acts of kindness by some Japanese soldiers. He recalls a young Japanese soldier who, at risk to his own life, would drop cigarette butts within reach so that the prisoners might have a few simple moments of smoking pleasure amidst the agony. Mr. Vinesett was a Prisoner Of War for 3 years and 4 months. Upon liberation, he recalls being again moved through Tokyo... but this time the great city was a deserted, smoldering heap. Mr. Vinesett kept a diary on scrapes of paper while in confinement but it apparently has not survived. My Mother remembers that diary from when she was a young girl. Mother remembers being asked to transcribe the pages, but she was so troubled by the brutal content that she was unable to do the job. Mr. Vinesett forgave his captors even before being liberated, and even chose to serve in Japan for several years after the war before returning to his beloved South Carolina...

Click here for photos from a visit to Gaffney on January 2, 2003 that included a stop at Mother's birthplace and a visit with Mother's Uncle Vinesett.


1946?
Mother and her mother.

1948?
Mother.



1949?
Mother.

Another mystery photo from Mother's things. The following was written on the back of the back of the photo: - - - - - Don't you think that this is one of the nicest looking guys you have ever seen? Of course, you do. Jack - - - - - I have an extremely faint memory of Mother saying something about this photo; so faint that I can't be sure...

1951
Mother - High School.
1951?
Mother.
1951?
Mother... and Joyce Harrill (Childers)?

1952? Mother, working for the phone company in Louisville, Kentucky.

1952?
My Mother on a date! Before my Father came along...

1950's (early)
My Father's parents - Dollie and Charlie Thompson.

1950's (early)
My Father's parents - Dollie and Charlie Thompson.

1950's (early)
Uncle Woodrow Miller. My Father's sister - my Aunt Blanche - married Woodrow Miller.




1952/4? Mother... and Joyce Childers (I think)...






1954?
Father.

1954/55
At the Martha Washington Apartments on Kenmore Ave., in the Elizabeth section of Charlotte. Father shared an apartment with Richard Dagenhart who was quite the accordionist. That's Father on guitar. Father played guitar, mandolin, and could scrub Dixieland chords on a banjo.


1955
Mother was living with her parents on Kenilworth Ave. in Charlotte. Mother's parents bought the Kenilworth Ave. house on January 6, 1955. In the 2nd shot, mother is wearing a mink fur coat that here parents bought for her. That fur coat stayed with mother until around 2004, when she had it made into a teddy bear. I now have that mink fur teddy bear and it is one of my most treasured possessions.

Mother and Father met in December of 1955 in Charlotte at a First Baptist Church Christmas party at Father's (and Richard Dagenhart's) apartment on Kenmore Ave, and a ten month courtship followed.






1956
Mother once told me that in this shot Father is burning old letters to and from a former girlfriend to clear the way for their engagement!

1956
I recall my Father telling the story about the first time he took Mother to visit his folks, way up in the mountains at Culberson, North Carolina, near Murphy. Father took delight in telling Mother that to get to the old "cabin" they'd be driving on old goat path roads, up and down the sides of mountains, and they'd have to walk the last couple of miles and cross a creek on a log bridge... and hope that the bears wouldn't see them! Father was a good story teller. I think these shots are from that time, back in 1956.

1956
Father's workplace, Refabco, Inc., in Charlotte. After graduating from Southern Technical Institute (now part of Georgia Tech) in June of 1953, Father worked for a short time in Birmingham, Alabama, then moved to Charlotte in 1954 for the job at Refabco. Father was a Civil Engineer at Refabco for 29 years, until 1983 when he started his own engineering company - Thompson Engineering


Mother and Father were married on October 27, 1956 at First Baptist Church in Charlotte. Dr. Warren presided.










1956, October
The Honeymoon. Mother and Father stayed in Shelby, North Carolina on their wedding night, on the way to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The shot of Father is from the Great Smoky Mountains and the shot of Mother is from Gatlinburg.

1956, November
Mother and Father moved into an apartment at 1631-A Murdock Rd. in Charlotte on November 1, 1956.

1957
Mother and Father - newlyweds.
1957, Labor Day

1st shot:
- - - - - - - - - -

From: G. Miller
Sent: Monday, February 27, 2012
To: janhamilton@carolina.rr.com; Steve Thompson; Brian Thompson; Danny Thompson; Lonnie & Kathy; Michael Thompson; Michael Thompson; Peyton Miller; Abby Martin
Subject: picture

Everyone - Thought I would share the information from Danny about the picture of Charlie and Dollie that I had previously emailed and said it was labeled as Labor Day 1975. I had missed typed it - actually the back reads "Labor Day '57". Sorry for the confusion. Thanks Dan for clearing this up for me.

Dan wrote ".. I'm sure this photo predated fall 1975 as the 1949 Chevy pickup our grandparents are posed beside predates and was sold for scrap following an accident circa 1966. My guess is this picture was made in the mid-60's. No big deal but I think you might like to know."

- - - - - - - - - -
2nd shot: This is one of my scans. I originally had it dated 1956, but I think that it probably matches up with the 1st shot ("Labor Day '57") sent by Glenda.
1957?
Culberson, North Carolina. Grandfather Charlie Thompson and his dogs.

1957
Looks like a baby shower...

1957, October
Kenilworth Ave., Charlotte. Mother & Father's 1st wedding anniversary. With Mother's parents. Mother pregnant with her first child - me!

1958
Bigfoot Thompson crawls out from the blanket...

1958, November
Culberson, North Carolina. Father and his siblings.
(L-R): Father, Aunt Lois, Uncle Elmer, Aunt Blanche, and Uncle Fred.

1958
Bigfoot Thompson, near the end of his first year.

1958, December
My first Christmas. The 1st shot is from our apartment on Murdock Rd. in Charlotte. The 2nd and 3rd shots are from Mother's parent's house on Kenilworth Ave. in Charlotte. My first pony!

1959, January
My 1st birthday, at Mother's parents house on Kenilworth Ave. Mother and Father (and Baby Steve) moved in with Mother's parents on Kenilworth Ave. in January of 1959 to help save money for the new house that would be built in Windsor Park.







1959
Bigfoot Thompson relaxing and working around the Kenilworth Ave. home.

1959
Young Bigfoot Thompson pauses for a photo at the Murdock Rd. apartment.

1959/60
Baby Brother Brian was born in December of 1959 while we were still living on Kenilworth Ave. with Mother's parents.

1960
Fireman Steve on the grounds at Kenilworth Ave.

1960
With little brother Brian and Uncle Herman (Mother's father's brother) in Charleston, South Carolina. Uncle Herman was a barber and was as nice a man as there was. He never married - always lived with his sister, our Aunt Beadie. I remember that he had a sophisticated, southern gentleman way of being and he always gave us interesting Christmas gifts - we always looked forward to opening packages from Uncle Herman. Uncle Herman died on September 18, 1979.
1960?
Mother's father, Issac Shell Dellinger. A John Prine song from the 1970's - "Grandpa Was a Carpenter" - had the following lines:

"Grandpa was a carpenter, he built houses, stores and banks
He chain-smoked Camel cigarettes, and hammered nails in planks
He was level, on the level
And shaved even every door
He voted for Eisenhower cause Lincoln won the war"

I don't recall Grandfather Dellinger's opinion of Lincoln, but the rest of those words fit him to a T. He was known as the best inside trim carpenter you could get, and if he didn't have a Camel going, he was about to. He told me that he smoked at least a pack a day from the time he was 14 on. Grandfather Dellinger died on March 17, 1980, at age 81.

1960?
Father's father, Charlie Thompson. At the old Culberson, North Carolina home (on the North Carolina / Georgia state line and the Nottley River). The house my Father was born in. In this shot, the old well house is in the background, and the old, red Ford truck. Grandfather Thompson loved his dogs and his guns. This photo is the exact way that I remember Grandfather Thompson from visits when I was a little boy. Grandfather Thompson died on October 26, 1979.

1960?
My Father's older brother, my Uncle Elmer, and Aunt Christine.

1960
Young Steve in front of the Kenilworth Ave. home, and on the train at Freedom Park.

1960?
Grandfather Charlie Thompson and Grandmother Dollie Thompson. Cousin Danny Thompson in the background.

1960
Young Steve surveying the house being constructed on Somerdale Lane in the Windsor Park neighborhood of east Charlotte.

1960?
Mother. I wish that I could date this picture more precisely.

1960
At a Nixon campaign rally outside the Park Center in Charlotte. Was I being unruley?

1960, December
On Somerdale Lane. Brother Brian's 1st birthday in the newly completed house on Somerdale Lane, in the Windsor Park neighborhood of Charlotte. We moved to Somerdale Lane in September of 1960 when I was a little more than 2 and a half years old...

1960, Christmas
Steve and little Brother Brian - our first Christmas on Somerdale Lane. I'm not sure why I was holding that guitar left-handed, but I soon straightened up and played right...

1960, Christmastime
Somerdale Ln.
1st shot - My Mother's mother, little Brother Brian, and me.
2nd shot - Mother, little Brother Brian, and me.
3rd shot - Father, little Brother Brian, Mother, and me.

1961, January
My 3rd birthday. I believe both shots are from the same birthday.
1st shot - Somerdale Lane.
2nd shot - My Mother's parent's house on Kenilworth. My 2nd pony! I have vivid memories of that rocking horse, especially the squeaking sound that the springs made, but I suspect that the memories were formed over time more than from January of 1961.

1961
Somerdale Lane. I couldn't make up my mind...

1961, Easter
At Somerdale Lane with little Brother Brian, on the "planter" that went around the front corner of the house.

1961
At Grandfather Charlie and Grandmother Dollie's Culberson home.
1st shot (l-r): Father, Aunt Blanche, Grandmother Dollie, Uncle Elmer.
2nd shot (l-r): Cousin Cathy, Cousin Michael, Brother Brian, Cousin Henry, and Cousin Danny.

1961
I remember Sunday afternoons like this at Somerdale Lane. Grandfather Dellinger would usually join us for Sunday lunch after church and then nap away the afternoon. Early on we started going to the cafeteria for lunch after church, the Barclay Cafeteria beside Clark's in the old Amity Gardens Shopping Center on East Independence Blvd. being one... but I digress...

1961
At the beach, with little Brother Brian and Father.

Remember now... Mother is not in most of these shots because she was taking the pictures!
I'm not sure if it was this beach trip, but I have a memory of a beach trip from the early 60's - Uncle Elmer, Aunt Christine, and Cousin Michael were there also, and I remember Cousin Michael (who was a few years older than me) wearing a white t-shirt while swimming in the surf and throwing himself into the waves. If that was on this 1961 trip, it would be one of my oldest memories, but I'm inclined to think that it must have been a couple of years later...

1961, Halloween
At Somerdale Lane. Little Brother Brian was a clown, and I was Felix the Cat.

1961, Christmas Eve
Somerdale Lane.

1961, Christmas
Somerdale Lane.

1962
At Somerdale Lane, me and little Brother Brian. Could be just after Christmas 1961, or early 1962. We're sitting on my Grandmother Dellinger's red Rambler.

1962, Easter
Somerdale Lane. Little Brother Brian, Father, and me.

1962
At Somerdale Lane. Me and little Brother Brian.

1962
On Somerdale Lane in front of Gil Chandler's house. The boys gathered for a photo on the way to a birthday party - probably Gil's. I recall that Gil's birthday was in October, and those look like October leaves on the ground. Gill is in the middle of the shot, Scott Stinsen is 2nd from the right, and I'm on the right.
If I have this photo dated correctly, at October of 1962, this was the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, which I've always noted as being my first clear memory. Of course I was way too young to have any understanding of what was going on, but I clearly recall the seriousness of the situation. To my way of thinking at that time, anything as terrible sounding as Russia, or the USSR, must have been on the other side of the woods behind our house, and the missiles would of course be pointing at Windsor Park. I don't recall being too frightened by the Crisis; the image in my mind was of missiles coming from the other side of the woods and going over Somerdale Lane and landing a few blocks away, near Windsor Park Elementary School. That is exactly what 4 year old Steve thought was going on at that time.


1962, December


1963, January
At Somerdale land - my 5th birthday.

1963, Easter

1963
Somerdale Lane Kool-Aid stand.
(l-r): Steve, Gina Griffin, Linda Griffin, ?, little Brother Brian, and Gil Chandler.

1963
In the backyard at Somerdale lane. Gil Chandler, little Brother Brian, and me.

1963
Somerdale Lane, me and little Brother Brian.


1963, December
Little Brother Brian's 4th birthday.

1963, Christmastime
Me and little Brother Brian.

1963, Christmas


1964
Thompson family portrait.

1964
At Somerdale Lane. Steve, Father, and little Brother Brian.

1964
Young Steve and little Brother Brian in a Photo Booth, probably at the old Clark's store on East Independence Blvd., in Charlotte.

1964
Steve and little Brother Brian. This may have been on a trip to the mountains - to Murphy (Culberson) - to visit Grandfather Charlie and Grand Mother Dollie. We often drove through Cherokee on these weekend trips.



1964, December
At Somerdale Lane, little Brother Brian's 5th birthday.
(l-r): Father, Grandmother Dellinger, Brian, Steve, and Grandfather Dellinger.

1964, Christmas



1965?
Another beautiful picture of Mother that I wish I could date more precisely.

1965, Fall
Windsor Park Elementary School. 2nd grade class picture.

1965, December
At Somerdale Lane. Little Brother Brian's 6th birthday party.


1965
At Somerdale Lane. New bunk beds for Steve and Brian. I pulled rank and got the top bunk...



1966, January
At Somerdale Lane. My 8th birthday party. In the first shot little Brother Brian is about to take a bite, and in the 2nd shot he's second from the left...

1966
Somerdale Lane, back yard, on a Sunday afternoon. Father is on the lounge chair reading and Sport is sunning himself. I vividly remember scenes like this.

1966
Steve and little Brother Brian.



1967, January
At Somerdale Lane. My 9th birthday party.

1967
At Somerdale Lane. I'm on the go-cart with Sport. Little Brother Brian and Mark Holston are standing behind. Our Nimrod Rivera tent-trailer is at the end of the driveway.
This is a scene that I remember well, from what I'll call the "Do You Know What I'm Going To Do Next Saturday" period. All week long we would look forward to sleeping late on Saturday morning, then on Saturday mornings we'd usually be up at the crack of dawn... watching Astro Boy and The Cisco Kid, and eating cereal in front of the TV. Then we would be outside early... working on go-carts or tree houses, building forts, or exploring the Methodist Home "woods" that bordered Somerdale Lane (behind our house).

Another of our favorite things to do back in those days... '66, '67, '68... was to go to Gottlieb's Army-Navy Store on East independence Blvd. Me and little Brother Brian were fascinated by the surplus gear in that store... insignia "patches," stuff we could use on camping trips, etc. Later on, I remember Father saying that in those days he could use the mere possibility of a Gottlieb's visit as a way to leverage all kinds of Saturday work out of me and little Brother Brian! He'd say something like - "this would be a good day to go to Gottlieg's - if the grass was cut and the driveway swept." I also remember Father saying that we sure were easily amused in those days!

1967
By 1965, when I was in 2nd grade, me and little Brother Brian , and Father, wanted to go on camping trips, but Mother would have nothing of "sleeping in a bag on the ground." In the Fall of 1965 Father took me and little Brother Brian to a sportsman show at the old Charlotte Coliseum and there we saw so many fascinating things! I remember they had an indoor fishing tank which I could barely be pulled away from. We also saw tents, tent-trailers, travel trailers - - we discovered the Nimrod Riviera tent-trailer! We began to reason that if we had the Nimrod we could convince Mother that she would be up off the ground in a bed almost like home, but we'd still be camping and everybody would be happy! Our scheming worked and soon we had a Nimrod tent-trailer! Except during Winter, we were then out on camping trips to the mountains or beach every month or two. These two shots were taken on one of those camping trips to the mountains, where Father taught us to fish.

Father died on July 29, 2004. Several years later I was drinking coffee at the Borders Bookstore in Redmond, Washington... just wondering through the books, thinking of old times... when a song that I recognized began to play - John McDermott's "The Old Man" - a beautiful song about a father's passing. I was nearly overcome by the words:

As a boy he'd take me walkin´ By mountain field & stream And he'd show me things not known to kings And secret between him & me Like the colors of the pheasant As he rises in the dawn And how to fish & make a wish Beside the holly tree I never will forget him for he made me what I am Though he may be gone memory lingers on And I miss him ... The Old Man

The lines about what his father showed him - "how to fish & make a wish" - took me back to those old camping days, when Father took us on hikes and taught us to fish. The very images from above came to mind. I had to walk outside to put my face to the sun... and when I did, there was a rainbow to the south. I miss him so much... the old man...

1967
At Somerdale Lane. Steve and little Brother Brian... undercover men...

1967
During the summer of 1967 the family took a three week trip to Montreal, Canada for Expo '67, camping the whole way in the Nimrod Riviera tent-trailer. Grandfather Dellinger accompanied us. In the first shot I'm on a cannon at Gettysburg, and in the second shot with little Brother Brian at Niagara Falls. This great vacation was one of the most memorable experiences of my early days - - with this trip, Mother and Father gave us a gift that has never been forgotten.

1967, Fall
At Somerdale Lane, practicing for a Cub Scouts (Pack 152) skit.

1967, Fall
Windsor Park Elementary School. 4th grade class picture.

1967, Christmas
At Grandfather and Grandmother Dellinger's Kenilworth Ave. home. One of the gifts received that day was an RCA record player and several records, including Best of the Lovin' Spoonful, The Beatles - Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Ballad of the Green Berets, and a 45rpm of the Beach Boys Darlin'. I was in the 4th grade then and I've remained fond of the Beach Boys and the Lovin' Spoonful to this day.
1967, Christmas
At Somerdale lane. Steve with a microscope, little Brother Brian in an Atlanta Falcons football suit.
1967, Christmastime
At Somerdale Lane - Uncle Herman Dellinger, Aunt Beadie, and Jimmy.

Uncle Herman and Aunt Beadie were my Mother's father's brother and sister, and they lived in Charleston, South Carolina. Jimmy was Aunt Beadie's son. Aunt Beadie's husband - Uncle Wentz - died on Friday, the week of the JFK assignation (I remember both events).

1968, Spring
At Somerdale Lane. Father put up a basketball goal on the driveway; the best setup on the street as I recall. Here I'm taking a shot over #88, little Brother Brian, as Gil Chandler looks on. The Nimrod tent-trailer is behind us on the driveway. Behind the Nimrod the top driver's side of Father's 1963 turquoise Volkswagen Beetle can be seen. That's Mr. Hinson's 1959 pink Thunderbird in the next driveway.


1968
In the backyard of Somerdale Lane eating watermelon. Little Brother Brian, Mike Washam (middle), and me.


1968
The room I shared with Brother Brian at Somerdale Lane. There was a lot of silliness going on in those days... My guinea pig cage is on the toy box behind Brian and some of my models can be seen on the shelf; including a creature from Lost In Space, El Camino, Apollo Orbiter, and The Forgotten Prisoner of Castel Mare. The legs of my Major Matt Mason Moon Walker can be seen behind the open drawer. Swimming trophies are on top of the drawers and a fiberglass bow stands in the corner.

1968
At Somerdale Lane. Niki as a young puppy, sitting upon the Ford Galaxy 500 that replaced Father's turquoise 1963 Volkswagen Beetle. Niki was Mother's little doggie... and a very affectionate little fellow.

1968
At Six Flags over Georgia, near Atlanta. Steve, little Brother Brian, and Father.


I remember when the Pool was under construction during early 1965 - we used to sit at the top of the hill and watch the bulldozers and excavators work. Some of the older kids (especially Steve Washam, Mike Washam's older brother) were telling us younger kids that the workers were digging a big garbage dump and that huge rats would come to live there and pretty soon take over the neighborhood. I remember asking my Father about that! As mentioned , most of the photographs Mother was taking at the time were slides, and this is the only "print" that I have of the Pool.

1968
Somerdale Lane - my rabbit. This rabbit was a present from Grandmother Dellinger. Grandfather Dellinger made a nice big "rabbit house" for it in the back yard. We used to let the rabbit out of its house to hop around in the yard nearly every day, and without any training or coaxing our dog Sport started guarding it like a shepherd dog. Sport and the rabbit got along well together and used to rest beside each other on the grass. But if somebody other than a Thompson got too close, Sport would position himself between the rabbit and that person, and sometimes even show his teeth and growl. If the rabbit started wandering toward the edge of our yard, Sport would go to work and nudge the rabbit back. It was quite an amazing thing to watch - Sport and that rabbit.


1969
Niki and the pup Lassie at the front door of our home on Somerdale Lane.

We often gassed up the cars at the Esso station on the corner of Central Ave. and Sharon Amity, and there we became friends with the man who pumped the gas (those were still the days of full-service gas stations). "Buddy" always talked to us while pumping the gas and checking the oil. Our beloved dog Sport had been hit by a car one Saturday morning on Somerdale Lane, and soon after, we pulled into the Esso station and started talking to Buddy. Buddy saw that we were still so sad about what happened to Sport - and it just so happened that he had a dog that had just had puppies. Buddy couldn't resist making the offer, and soon we had Lassie!

1969
Niki in the family room at Somerdale Lane after a visit to the salon. Niki was a good natured and playful house doggie; so much so that Mother was concerned that Niki would be playing and jump on the little baby that was on the way. So, a good new home was found for Niki.

1969, June
Sister Jan's first day at Somerdale Lane.

On the morning that little Sister Jan came home from the hospital, little Brother Brian and I anxiously waited in the front yard, trying to catch the first glimpse of the car coming up Somerdale Lane - Father driving, Mother and 2-day old sister Jan on board. We were both excited, but I recall little Brother Brian being so excited that he could barely contain himself! When the car pulled onto the driveway, I remember Father getting out and stepping around to the passenger side and opening the door, giving us the first look at our new baby sister. This photo would have been taken by either Father or, more likely, Grandmother Dellinger. I remember the events of this day like it was yesterday.

1969, June
At Somerdale Lane. Me, Sister Jan, and little Brother Brian, when Sister Jan was brand new.

1969, Christmas
At Somerdale Lane. Baby Sister Jan's first Christmas. Brother Brian received Hot Wheels and I have a gerbil on my arm. The box for my gas powered control line Cox PT-19 Trainer plane can be seen beside my left leg.
1970, January
At Somerdale Lane - my 13th birthday.
(l-r): Father, baby Sister Jan, me (wearing a red Davidson Wildcats sweat shirt), little Brother Brian, and Grandfather Dellinger.

1970, Winter
At Somerdale Lane. Baby Sister Jan. The green Ford LTD on the driveway behind Sister Jan. On the sidewalk near the front door I see my bicycle.

1970?
I can't precisely date this photo of Father. It looks like a passport photo, or a photo for some kind of licensing. Maybe it had something to do with the Rotary Club?


1970
Sweet little baby Sister Jan.

1970, June
A family portrait from around the time of little Sister Jan's 1st birthday.

1970
At the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Sister Jan meets the ocean.

First shot: Little Brother Brian, little Sister Jan, and me.

In the second shot we're at the campground. I'm on the back seat, little Brother Brian is on the front seat and little Sister Jan is on the handlebars. This is one of my favorite shots from those days.
1970, Christmas
At Somerdale Lane - little Sister Jan's second Christmas.

1971, April. I was listening to the radio one afternoon, when, out of the blue, a brand new song played that sent a rippling down my spine. I was slapped in the face by shifting chords pushed to the perfect edge of distortion... flamboyant vocal harmonies and indecipherable words... electric guitar fills that pointed straight back to the 50's... This was The Rolling Stones and my "Brown Sugar" moment. It seems a little silly now, but that's the way it was.

1971
Little Sister Jan at Disney World, Orlando, Florida.

1971?
Mother and Father, somewhere in Florida? I think this is from the Disney World trip in 1971, but I'm not sure. Brother Brian in the 2nd shot...

1971
Little Sister Jan.

1971
Grandfather Dellinger in the backyard of his Kenilworth Ave. home, with his dogs - Gigi (black) and Mimi (white).

1971, Fall
Eastway Jr. High School. 8th grade class picture.

1971, Fall
Eastway Jr. High School football team. I'm #72.

1971, Christmas
Little Brother Brian, little Sister Jan, and me...

1972
Family portrait.

June, 1972 - My Rould 10-speed Bicycle
I saved money earned mostly form cutting lawns on Somerdale Lane and bought the "Rould" 10-speed at Bike World, at Cotswald Mall in Charlotte. This was a major event in my life...

July 6, 1972 - The Rolling Stones played at the Charlotte Coliseum
I have no photos from this day, but many images were stamped in my mind...


1972
Little Brother Brian, Eastway Jr. High School 7th grade picture.

1972, Fall
Eastway Jr. High School. 9th grade class picture.

1972, Fall
Eastway Jr. High School football team. I'm #75.

1973, August
This shot is from Mother's replacement driver's license, August 1973. This was the month that we moved from Somerdale Lane in Windsor Park to Old Oak Lane, in Farmwood, in the Mint Hill section of Charlotte.

1973, Fall
Independence High School. 10th grade class picture.



1974
Mother and Father. From a First Baptist Church directory.

1974
Grandfather and Grandmother Dellinger. From a First Baptist Church directory.

1974, Fall
Independence High School. 11th grade class picture.

1974
Independence High School football team. In the group shot I'm on the third row, third from the right.

1975, July 31
The Rolling Stones at the Greensboro Coliseum. The group consisted of me, Tim Parker, Pete Davis, Sammy Killman, and Brother Brian.

The first football practice of my senior season at Independence High School started the next day, and my ears were still ringing!

1975, Fall
Independence High School. 12th grade class picture.

1975
Independence High School football team, senior year. In the group shot I'm standing on the back row beside Randy Angel. Little Brother Brian is #71, kneeling on the front row.


Playing football from 8th grade through my senior year of high school was a good experience and I appreciate the coaches I had along the way:

Eastway Jr. High: Head Coach Harmon Register and JV coach Davis.
Independence HS: Head Coach Buster Ledford, coaches Pierce, Lovett, Robinson, Campbell and Thomason.

These were good men and I benefited from their guidance. In retrospect, I probably should have stopped with football after my senior year of high school and not gone on to the college level.

1975?
Grandfather Dellinger. A reel-to-reel tape recorder sits beside Grandfather in this shot, and the location is not Kenilworth Ave. There's a story behind this photo, but I haven't yet been able to summon the memory...

1976
These are some of the shots I took at an Allman Brothers Band concert at the Charlotte Coliseum, Spring of 1976, my senior year of high school.
1st shot: Gregg Allman
2nd shot: Dickey Betts
3rd shot: Chuck Leavell

1976
On the deck at Farmwood.
(l-r): Tracy Todd, me, little Brother Brian, and Randy Angel.

1976
Farmwood. "Steve's Spa."

1976
Farmwood. Little Sister Jan, me, and Brother Brian. This must be before we put in the cement pond...

1976
At Farmwood. The 1972 international orange Ford Pinto Station Wagon. This car came to Farmwood with us from Windsor Park in 1973. It was never "mine" - it was the 3rd "family" car, but I did drive it to school during my junior and senior years at Independence High School... and it felt like "mine" there for a while.

1976
This is an old rock quarry off of Independence Blvd. near Matthews, right in the middle of east Charlotte, but hidden from view all the way around. I suspect that relatively few people even knew it was there. The water was extremely clear and deep, and some of the the edges were 30 feet above the water, making for exhilarating jumps. Once when sitting on a rock at the base of a cliff with my feet in the water, a scuba diver suddenly appeared right in front of me, with a spear gun! The property was posted and you had to climb over a fence to get to it, but that made it even better, and kept more people from finding it.

1976 - June
Farmwood. When I arrived home from my high school graduation (held at the old Charlotte Coliseum), Teresa and Wendy had put up a "Congratulations" banner on the garage door.


1976
Catawba College (where I was on the football team).
(l-r): Brad Cox, me, Randy Angel, and Brother Brian.
Brad, Brother Brian and my parents were visiting Catawba College for a football game.

1976
Catawba College (where I was on the football team).
(l-r): Brad Cox, me, Father, Randy Angel, and Brother Brian.
Brad, Brother Brian and my parents were visiting Catawba College for a football game.


1976
Christmas break during my freshman year at Catawba College. Chip Galloway and Brad Cox.

I had a Polaroid instant camera that I used for several years - unfortunately, most of the shots from back then did not survive the years.

1976
Christmas break during my freshman year at Catawba College.

1st shot (l-r): Brother Brian (on accordion), Stevie Scholastic on guitar, Pete "Dum-Dum Davis.

2nd shot: Brother Brian.

1977, January
At Farmwood, my 19th birthday.
(l-r): David Bost, Brother Brian, me, and little Sister Jan.


1977
Catawba College. My desk in the Abernathy Hall dorm room that I shared with Randy Angel. That's my beloved Takemine F-360 6-string leaning against the desk. Said guitar was given to me by my parents as a high school graduation gift in 1976 (as of 08/19/2011 I still have that guitar).

1977
Near the end of my freshman year at Catawba College. Abernathy Dorm.

1977
Near the end of my freshman year at Catawba College. With Dave Joslin.

1977
Near the end of my freshman year at Catawba College.
(L-R): Rick Barry, Dave Joslin, Larry Baker, Bill Pinkham, and Buzzy Kazan.

1977
Near the end of my freshman year at Catawba College.
(L-R): Larry Baker, Dave Joslin, and Rick Barry.


1977, June
Grandfather Dellinger suffered through a leg amputation in May of 1977. This took place just before I came home from Catawba College for summer break. I spent a lot of time that summer with Grandfather, on Charlotte's Kenilworth Ave. In fact, I practically lived on Kenilworth that summer. Grandfather's initial recovery period was rough, but he pulled through it, and by July he was getting around pretty good in a wheel chair. Grandfather had a nice Cutlass Supreme and I'd take him out on errands nearly everyday - one market for produce, another for meats, another for this and that... that's just the way he was. We'd go up the block to the Drum on East Blvd. for dinner where they were glad to see "Mr. D" back up and around. "Mr. D" was a regular coffee drinker at Wad's on East Blvd. I also used to take him to visit with the old men at the lumber yard on 36th St., beside Herrin Brothers Coal & Ice Company, and to Little's Hardware. Grandpa was a carpenter, and he used to "trade" in those old hardware stores. In early August before I went back for my second year at Catawba College, Grandfather helped me build a lockable storage chest, big enough to hold 2 acoustic guitar cases. I used this chest to secure my guitars at Catawba College when traveling (it also became a coffee table). Thirty-four years later that storage chest continues to store some of my valuables.

1977, June
At Farmwood - my room, and outside the garage.
I bought a Fender Telecaster early in the summer break. I intended to buy an amp; something older, and small, like a Princeton Reverb, but never found what I was looking for, at the right price. At the end of the summer I traded the Telecaster for a Takemine F-400 12-string. I then owned 2 Takamine acoustic guitars: the F-360 6-string and the F-400 12-string. I was going to learn to play 12-string slide like Leo Kottke!

1977
Morrow Mountain State Park, North Carolina.
1st shot (L-R): Me, little Sister Jan, April, Brother Brian, and Father.
2nd shot (L-R): Brother Brian, April, Father, little Sister Jan, and me.

I regret the deterioration of the 2nd shot...


1977, August
At Farmwood.

1st shot - With the Rould 10-speed bike that I bought in the summer of '72.

2nd shot - Playing my Takamine F-360, given to me by my parents as a high school graduation gift in 1976. My dog "Pepper" (black) and Ashley Brown's dog "Happy" were my usual audience.

In the 3rd shot, I've just returned from the barber shop.

1977
At the Morehead St. YMCA with David Bost. David was my workout buddy that summer.

1977
At Farmwood with Brother Brian.

1977, September - November, sophomore football season at Catawba College.

1978, January
During my senior football season at Independence High School I was recruited by Coach Faircloth at Catawba College. I consider Coach Faircloth to have been a good man. But soon after I signed with Catawba, prior to beginning my first season there, Coach Faircloth left Catawba to join the staff at Wake Forest. Coach Warren Klawiter became the head football coach at Catawba. I didn't begrudge Coach Faircloth from moving to Wake Forest; however, I was then faced with playing under a coach that I did not sign-on with (and wouldn't have). Warren Klawiter may well have been a fine man outside of my relationship with him. But within the realm of my relationship with Coach Warren Klawiter, let's just say that I was greatly uninspired by the man. That doesn't mean that he was bad, and for all I know some of the other players may been greatly inspired by the man. I never saw any indication that he gave a whit about me. I endured 2 football seasons at Catawba College under the "Klaw's" régime. On the morning of Monday, January 16, 1978, while walking alone across the Catawba College campus a few hours before the Spring football season of my Sophomore year was about to begin, I finally spoke the long stifled words "I don't have to do this anymore and I'm not going to." This was one of the most liberating moments of my life. I should have then gone straight to Klawiter's office with the news; instead, I dillydallied and just didn't show up for the first spring practice that afternoon. When I did go to Klawiter's office the next day, he glared at me and said - "did you quit or what?" I replied "yes." Klawiter then said "if you quit, you'll be a quitter from now on." I don't remember exactly what I said next, but I know that I wanted to tell him to "go to hell." That meeting lasted about 30 seconds and that was that. I left Klawiter's office and went to a little hall party at Rick Barry's room in the Salisbury-Rowan dorm. Rick had left the football team a couple of months earlier. From the rooftop patio at Rick's room we could hear the coach's whistles from the football practice field. I remember Rick grinning and saying "congratulations!" I came to call leaving the football world my "Klawiter moment."

In fairness to Klawiter, I'm sure he was just trying to be successful in his endeavors. As the new coach he had a team of players that he did not recruit, including some players that he would not have recruited. I did not fit into his operation and he probably saw that from the beginning.

Note that I was never pressured by my parents to play football. As long as I benefited from playing, they supported it - but they never pressured me. Neither was I pressured into playing football by former coaches. Well... during the summer of 1971, Eastway coach Harmon Register didn't "ask" me if I was going to play - he told me when to show up for the first practice! But that turned out ok. The point is, nobody made me play football.

In retrospect, I probably should have stopped with football after my senior year of high school and not gone on to play at the college level. At heart, I was always more of a guitar picker anyway.

I must admit that I came to feel haunted at times by Klawiter's words in that last meeting - "if you quit, you'll be a quitter from now on." After leaving Catawba College at the end of that school year I did go through several years of drifting from one thing to another and not making tangible progress. I began to think of it as the "Curse of the Klaw."


1978
Julie McColough at Dave Joslin's off-campus house near Catawba College. Dave's birthday party. Dave and Julie married in July of 1978, in Swansea, Massachusetts.



1978
Saturday morning aftermath - the room I shared with Randy Angel at the Salisbury-Rowan dorm at Catawba College.

After leaving the football program in January of 1978 I intended to put much greater emphasis on academics at Catawba, and I did... to a point. I had my first geology class (which included the theory of plate tectonics) which sparked a lifelong interest in that subject. History of Western Civilization with Dr. Selby greatly intensified my interest in history, and History of the Old Testament under Dr. James King West gave me a bearing that held over the following years, even when I was most adrift. I sampled these things and was made better for having done so. But by those days the guitar was the major influence in my life. I spent countless hours playing guitar within the chamber reverb of the stairwell and basement. I learned a basic style of Merle Travis finger picking and the "Carter scratch" (with a flat pick) by way of John Prine. I also spent a lot of time in the library reading things that were mostly not part of my class work. I especially remember reading Watership Down and many entries from the Journals of Lewis & Clark (DeVoto edition).

And there were the parties. Lots of parties...

1978
In the dorm at Catawba College, collecting my thoughts...

1978, Spring
Catawba College off-campus party.
Somewhere in Rowan County, near Salisbury...

1978, Spring
Catawba College off-campus party.
1st shot (l-r): Tom Sexton, Rick Barry, and Margie.
2nd shot: Me and Rick Barry.

1978, Spring
Catawba College off-campus party.
(l-r): Randy Angel, Dean, me, Bill Pickham, Al, and Stan Zuckerman.

Randy had a broken leg at this time. Behind my right shoulder, Scott (one of Rick's roommates) looks on.

Stan was from Winchester, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley. He often described the Shenandoah Shenandoah Valley as God's country, and I always remember Stan when I think of that place. We played guitar together many times, and I recall that Stan was quite fond of the Marshall Tucker Band.

Bill Pinkham, from New Jersey, was a real character. I've always wondered what became of that boy.

1978, April
At Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina.
(l-r): Me, Valerie Bost, Perry Hovis, Cheryl Grubb, Dean, Pam?, David Bost, and Brother Brian.

We were at WCU to watch David Bost in a weight lifting competition.

1978, May
At Kenilworth Ave. - Grandfather Dellinger.
A photographer for the Charlotte Observer happened by and took these "Tough Row To Hoe" photos. Grandfather Dellinger had to undergo a leg amputation in May of 1977. After a recovery period he continued on, much as he had before. He was a tough old man and I loved him dearly.

1978, June
I finished the school year at Catawba College and came back to Charlotte, not planning to return to Catawba. My last quarter at Catawba ended up much better grade wise than earlier quarters, but I still had a deficit to make up before I could transfer to UNC-Charlotte. So, I planned to go to the local community college for a couple of quarters to raise my GPA, then transfer to UNC-Charlotte and finish things up...

At this point, the words of Robert Burns seem apropos - "the best laid schemes of mice and men, go oft awry." in retrospect, my "boat" had been set adrift.

I wanted to get a music job - maybe at a radio station, or maybe a record store. I wanted to buy a van and fix it up. I wanted to play guitar - I wanted to buy an electric guitar and amp - I wanted to get a band going. I wanted to write songs. I got a job as a pizza cook...

1978, June
At Farmwood - Father and the gas grill. I remember buying Father a gas grill, I think around the end of a Catawba College school year, perhaps for his birthday, or Father's Day. I definitely remember the hours it took to assemble the hundred pieces! I think this must be that grill...

1978, June
Brother Brian's Senior Prom day.
1st shot: Brother Brian.
2nd shot: April, Sister Jan, and Brother Brian.
3rd shot: Me and little Brother Brian.


1978, June 12
The Rolling Stones had started their Some Girls tour 2 days earlier in Lakeland, Florida, and were playing the Fox Theater in Atlanta on this day. The Fox Theatre is a classic old movie palace with around 5000 seats, a much smaller venue than the stadiums and coliseums the Stones usually played in. Tickets were impossible to get beforehand, but I was going anyway. My Father quietly dropped me off that Monday morning at the bus station in downtown Charlotte and I took the Greyhound down to Atlanta. I bought a ticket from a scalper outside the Fox. When the gate opened, I walked to my designated row on the floor, but then kept moving toward the stage where I saw a couple of seats not yet occupied - front row, center stage left (Keith Richards' side). I figured I'd surely have to move when the person with a ticket for that seat arrived, but that never happened. I had the best seat in the house! The Stones opened with "Let It Rock." I loved it. These are the pictures I took that survived...







1978, June
Little Sister Jan.


1978, June 25 - I left my job at the Pizza Inn after 3 weeks to start work at the Record Bar #65, at Eastland Mall in Charlotte.


The Rolling Stones at the Greensboro Coliseum, June 26, 1978
I had seen the Rolling Stones 2 weeks before at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. And before that on July 31, 1975, also at the Greensboro Coliseum. And before that, on July 3, 1972, at the Charlotte Coliseum... sort of...

Outside the Greensboro Coliseum with a handful of tickets to the Rolling Stones show. I was with a group that included Teresa.

I did not take the following photos of the Stones on stage in Greensboro. My camera was confiscated at the gate on the way in (I got it back after the show). I managed to secure a place on the front row, center stage left. While waiting for the show to begin I talked with the fellow squeezed in behind me. He was a photographer and had managed to get a good camera rig in, with multiple lenses as I recall. My memory is a bit blurred, but I seem to recall that he had also been at the show 2 weeks before in Atlanta and that I had met him at that Atlanta Fox Theater show. I asked him to send a few prints if the shots came out good - he agreed and we exchanged mailing info. As the Stones were playing, I remember helping the photographer get into a better position for shooting and holding a lens for him. A couple of weeks later, upon returning from a wedding in Massachusetts, I was greeted with a package containing the shots below. These are some of the best Rolling Stones concert pictures that I ever saw. I ended up losing the photographers address and I never heard from him again. I hope that I sent him a token for his fine work, but again, memory blurs. These photographs became prized possessions that I shared with many people over the years.









Dave Joslin and Jullie McColough's wedding at Swansea, Massachusetts, July, 1978

Charlotte airport, with Randy Angel and his Uncle Billy. Uncle Billy's plane was parked beside the Seals & Croft tour plane.

Dave Joslin was a good friend from Catawba College - his room had been next to mine in Abernathy Dorm during my Freshman year. Dave was already a fine finger-style guitarist and I learned a lot from him. Dave lived off campus in Salisbury during my Sophomore year at Catawba, but we still spent a lot of time together. Dave's fiancé Julie was a good friend as well.

Randy's uncle flew us from Charlotte to Teterboro Airport, in the New Jersey Meadowlands outside of New York City. Rick Barry and his father picked us up at Teterboro and treated us to lunch at a place with peanut shells on the floor. On the drive to Rick's home in Livingston, New Jersey, Rick's father pulled up to a mansion (with a great view of NYC, as I recall), wanting Randy and me to believe that it was the Barry home! I used that same trick several times over the years and always remembered Rick and his father when I did.

With Rick at the Empire State Building. While in Manhattan we visited Rick's uncle, a stock broker on Wall Street, who treated us to a fine lunch.



Randy, Rick, and I visited with our Catawba College friend John "Toots" Tartaro at his home in Flushing, Queens, New York. John's mother prepared a great Italian dinner for us! 1st shot (l-r): Randy, John, and me. 2nd shot: Rick in front of John's house, and John's mother waving goodbye.

Ricks house in Livingston, New Jersey. On the third day in New Jersey, Rick's brother drove us well up the Delaware River and let us off to float back down - 10 miles or so - on inner tubes, through some beautiful country.

In Swansea, Massachusetts for the wedding. Swansea is about 45 miles south of Boston. David's father was an Episcopal priest in Swansea and led the ceremony. The first shot is of the Joslin home (beside the church), and the second shot is of the church.

The night before driving up to Swansea we picked up our Catawba College friend Larry Baker (from Philadelphia) at the Newark train station. Next morning, with Rick at the wheel, we drove from Livingston up to Swansea. I recall being on the Cross Bronx Expressway.

1st shot: Me with Larry Baker. 2nd shot: Rick Barry, Dave the Groom, and me.

1st shot: Dave and Julie. 2nd shot: Me, Julie, and Dave.

1st shot: Randy. 2nd shot: Dave's parents.

Swansea was a quaint and picturesque little New England town. After the wedding Rick drove us to Providence, Rhode Island and dropped Randy and me off at the airport for the flight back to Charlotte.


1978, August
At Farmwood, with my beloved Takamini... and the international orange Ford Pinto station wagon...

1978, Christmastime
At Angel Manor (Beau Arbor).

1979
At Farmwood - Pepper.

1979
Record Bar #65 at Eastland Mall, in Charlotte, with a bearded and bushy haired Bob Davis. Cathy Harrill can be seen in the (left side) background. Bob and I worked together at the Eastland Record Bar.

1979
Outside Southpark Mall in Charlotte, with the bearded and bushy haired Bob Davis. The Budweiser Clydesdales were visiting - Bob and I wanted wanted to meet them.




1979, May 10
Bob Davis, Tim Moore and I drove down to Atlanta in my (short-lived) 1966 yellow Ford Fairlane convertible for the New Barbarians show at the Omni. I had great hopes for that car, but alas, I only had it for about 3 months. After the transmission died on July 4th I let it go.

1st shot: Tim and Steve in Georgia.
2nd shot: Bob in Georgia.

1979, May 10
Pictures I took of The New Barbarians at the Omni, in Atlanta. The band featured Ron Wood, Keith Richards, Bobby Keys, Stanley Clarke, Ian Mclagan, and Zigaboo Modeliste.






1979, August - I stopped working at Record Bar in July of 1979 (after a tad more than a year) and took a job loading trucks at Thurston Motor Lines a month later. Better money... and a "learning experience" in its own way...

1979
My Father's father. At Uncle Elmer's home in Blairsville, GA. Aunt Blanche noted that this was one of the last photos of Grandfather Thompson - maybe the last. Grandfather died in October of 1979.


1979, October 28
At the old Thompson home in Culberson, North Carolina, after Grandfather Thompson's funeral. Grandfather Thompson died on October 26, 1979, and was buried just down the road, at "The Line" (Bethany Baptist Church)...

After Grandfather Thompson's funeral... (L-R): Uncle Fred Thompson, Cousin Cathy Johnson and Lonnie, Cousin Michael Thompson and Mildred, Aunt Blanche Miller, Peyton, Glenda, Auut Lois Thompson, Brother Brian, Aunt Christine and Uncle Elmer Thompson, Aunt Lois Brown, Uncle Woodrow Miller, Sister Jan, me, Father, my Father's mother, and Cousin Henry Miller.

After Grandfather Thompson's funeral. My Father's brothers and sisters... (L-R): Father, Uncle Elmer Thompson, Uncle Fred Thompson, Aunt Lois Brown, and Aunt Blanche Miller.
After Grandfather Thompson's funeral... (L-R): Brother Brian, Cousin Henry Miller and Glenda and Peyton, Cousin Michael Thompson and Mildred, Sister Jan, Cousin Cathy Johnson and Lonnie, Cousin Danny Thompson, and me.



1980, June 23 - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at Carowinds
All photos from this banner day were lost in the Jack Straw's basement flood of July '97. I had about 2 rolls worth of shots from this day, all of which turned out good. We were on the front row for most of the show and the shots I took of the band were not bad. There were good shots of Donnie and Pete (at Carowinds and at the Double Door afterwards), and about half a dozen shots of Kelli Atkins sitting at a fountain at Carowinds with various members of our group carrying on in the background. Losing all of these these photos hurt...


1980, July 13 - The Who at the Greensboro Coliseum

(L-R): Bob Patterson, Pete Davis, me (seated), Kelli Atkins, and Therease Stokes.



Kelli and Therease.

Therease in my Cutlass Supreme (which had previously belonged to Grandfather Dellinger).

These 2 rough shots are all that survived the Jack Straw's basement flood of July '97.


1980, October 31 - With the romantic image of a furniture craftsman - like Roy Underhill from the Woodwright's Shop (TV show) - in my mind, I started work with the House of Unfinished Furniture, in Charlotte. I vividly recall the sound of romantic imagery crashing against reality in those days.

1980
Uncle Odis Vinesett, my Mother's mother's brother, and Virginia (Ginny). Uncle Vinesett was with the American forces captured by the Japanese at the Battle of Corregidor in 1942.

Click here for more information regarding Uncle Vinesett.

Uncle Vinesett died in 2005.



1981, October 25
This shot of Cheryll Dennehy is from Trilby and Jake's house in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, the evening before seeing the Rolling Stones at the Fox Theatre (on October 26). The party that drove down from Charlotte to Atlanta consisted of: Bob Davis, Sherry Willey, Cheryll Dennehy, Pete Davis, Bob Patterson, and me.
1981
At Bob & Sherry's Selwyn Village apartment. With Edie Green and Rodney Rowland.
1981, December 5
The Rolling Stones at the Louisiana SuperDome, in New Orleans. The party that drove down to New Orleans from Charlotte consisted of: Pete Davis, Bob Patterson, Randy Angel, and me.

1981, December 19
The Rolling Stones at the Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia. With Bob Davis and Bob Patterson. This was about 30 hours of sheer fun!

1982
In January of 1982 I started work at Kopies, Inc. With the romantic image of a printer - like Ben Franklin holding a freshly printed sheet up to the light - I applied at about a dozen print shops before Bennett Smith at Kopies, Inc. gave me a chance. I soon learned that this was an interesting period in the world of printing, as older printing presses were being replaced by high-speed xerography. This was also the time when personal computers were first appearing. I remember the other owner, Ed Nowakunski, and the secretary laboring over a new personal computer, entering records into a spreadsheet. I didn't touch that computer, but I did look at it - and this was my first (ever-so-slight) exposure to the personal computer. The workhorse xerography machines that Kopies, Inc. used were the Kodak Ektaprint and the Xerox 9500.

Some jobs were still printed on an older off-set printer, and that is where I spent most of my time. During 1982, while working at Kopies, Inc., I found my way back to the local Community College where I took a Graphic Arts class. This very enjoyable class was taught by Frank Granger and I actually finished the class, successfully, earning my first college credits since leaving Catawba College in 1978. As much as graphic arts appealed to me at that time, my interests were leaning more toward philosophy, and the whole issue of college, and a degree, felt like so much unfinished business. After completing the Graphic Arts class, I could not resist taking the Jacob Bronowski Ascent of Man class at the Community College in the Fall of 1982. I successfully completed that class also, and lost my job at Kopies, Inc. along the way! The Ascent of Man class was a great experience and during those days I fixed my mind upon finishing the Associates degree at CPCC and then pursuing philosophy, math, and possibly a teaching degree at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

1983
Father, in the earliest days of his new company - Thompson Engineering. Father worked at Rebabco, Inc. for 29years - from 1954 until 1982.


1983, September - Started work at UPS.

1983
Father visiting with his mother.

1983, Christmastime
Mother's dog, Coco (a Lhasa Apso). Mother loved that little doggie (and Father did as well).


1984
At Uncle Elmer and Aunt Christine's house in Blairsville, GA. This is (I'm pretty sure) a trip Father and I made to Blairsville/Murphy to bring Grandmother Thompson to Charlotte for a stay.

At Uncle Elmer and Aunt Christine's house in Blairsville, GA. Father, his mother, and me. This is the only known photograph of me picking a banjo.

At Uncle Elmer and Aunt Christine's house in Blairsville, GA. Uncle Elmer Thompson, Aunt Blanche Miller, Aunt Lois Brown, Uncle Fred Thompson, Grandmother Thompson, and Father.



1984
South 21 Drive-in Restaurant Nº2, on East independence Blvd. in Charlotte. With Bob and Sherry. Without question, this venerable old establishment served the best onion rings that money could buy.

1984
I was driving in Charlotte one day when I spotted what looked like Father's old turquoise 1963 Volkswagen Beetle. Father sold that Beetle back around 1969 to get a bigger car and I remember going with him to drop it off at the buyer's home - a young lady who said that she was a nursing student (or maybe a teacher). The area where I spotted this Beetle was near several hospitals. The Beetle in the picture looked like it had been fixed up and taken care of - so it could have been a 1963 model. I couldn't make a positive identification, but I sat there for a while and reminisced... years before, Father had taught me to drive the stick-shift in his turquoise VW Beetle...

1984, August
Bob and Sherry's place on Scott Ave., shortly before the going away party.


1985
With Bob Davis at the Traveling Elvis Museum, in Durham, NC. We saw Elvis' flashlight...

1985
At David Enloe's apartment in Raleigh after a Woods show. This picture is ironic - David was a guitar hero of mine, and there I was showing him a Keith Richards lick in open-G tuning (on Liz's Ovation).

1985?
Paula Davis, mother of Bob and Donna, at her dining room table.

1985?
Father and his mother, at Aunt Blanche's home in Griffin, Georgia.

1985?
My Father's mother - my Grandmother.

1985, Fall - At the Charlotte Woods apartment I shared with Pete Davis. My room. That brown faux fur comforter hanging on the wall is on my bed to this day (2010). That comforter came with a waterbed I bought in 1979.



1985, Fall - At the Charlotte Woods apartment I shared with Pete Davis.
- Kenwood 9600 Receiver - 160 watts.
- Techniques SL-1301 turntable. I wish I had those old stereo components today!
- Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers - "Back In Your Life." One of my favorite albums, and one of my favorite album covers. Several years later I met Jonathan and asked him if I could use an image from that cover on my business card. He said - "no... better not."

1986 - The Charlotte Woods apartment I shared with Pete Davis. I built the racks that the equipment is on. That speaker is one of my Dahlquist DQ10's.

1986 - The Charlotte Woods apartment I shared with Pete Davis. I built the coffee table. I bought that 12-speed bike in 1984 that replaced the Rould 10-speed I bought in 1972.

1986, Spring - The Charlotte Woods apartment I shared with Pete Davis. This was my study area. I built the table with tiles around the sides, and the bench.

I was taking a philosophy course at UNC-Charlotte at this time. That course, "Marxism," with Dr. Gay, was very influential, though I rejected Marxist thought completely. I went to every lecture, and worked hard on the first couple of rounds of papers, but then ricocheted off in another direction and failed to complete the final assignments. It was during this time that I heard Dr. David Shi, Davidson College professor and author of "The Simple Life," being interviewed on the radio. That interview, and reading "The Simple Life," and going to hear Dr. Shi speak, was the intellectual turning point in my life. The simple life, and concepts surrounding that theme, became a pillar of my future intellectual life. I received a failing grade in the Marxism class that Spring, but it was a time of intellectual growth just the same.

1986 - The Charlotte Woods apartment I shared with Pete Davis. I was brewing good tea...


1986, August
Moving out of the Charlotte Woods apartment. Pete, Bob Davis, and me. Pete and I next moved into the Dutch Village apartment.

1986, September
The Dutch Village apartment I shared with Pete Davis.

1986, Fall
At Terry Anderson's father's place near Raleigh - Terry and Grace's wedding, I think. That's Carina in the dark fringe jacket, and this is the day we met.


1986, November 8
At Randy Angel's wedding.
(l-r): Brad Cox (from Independence High School days), Gill Banner (from Catawba College days), me, and Larry Baker (from Catawba College days).

1986, November 8
At Randy Angel's wedding. Old friends from Catawba College.
Seated (l-r): Larry Baker and Margie Bartow.
Standing (l-r): Me, Gil Banner, and Rick Barry.

1986, November 8
At Randy Angel's wedding. Old friends from Independence High School.
(l-r): Chip Galloway, Kevin Thompson, Marty Tilley, and Pete Davis (Garinger HS).

1986, November 8
At Randy Angel's wedding. Steve, Mother and Father.

1986, November 8
At the Dutch Village apartment I shared with Pete Davis. Margie Bartow (Rick's wife), Larry Baker, and Rick Barry. Rick picking my telecaster, Pete in the back.



1987, January
At the Dutch Village apartment I shared with Pete Davis.
1st shot: Jack Cornell and David Enloe of The Woods.
2nd shot: David Enloe nodding off.
1987, January
At Bob Davis and Sherry Willey's apartment in Raleigh. Liz and David Enloe, and Sherry Wiley.
1987
At Donnie Morse's Conover estate - the first gathering of what would become a yearly gathering known as "Little Chill."


1987
At the Dutch Village apartment I shared with Pete Davis. Sherry Willey and Bob Davis.

1987
At the Dutch Village apartment I shared with Pete Davis.
1st shot: Donna Davis and Donnie Morse.
2nd shot: Sherry Willey, Donnie Morse, and Pete Davis hugging Donna Davis.

1987, May
At Farmwood. Father, Dave Joslin, and me. Dave, my old Catawba College friend, was in town for the gathering described with the next photo, and we drove out to Farmwood to visit with Mother and Father. Father had enjoyed hearing Dave's guitar playing several times a few years back.

1987, May
At the Dutch Village apartment I shared with Pete Davis.
(l-r): Rick Barry, Dave Joslin, (me), Randy Angel, and Tom Billotto.
Rick is my old friend from Catawba College (he was from New Jersey then, later Houston and West Virginia). Dave is my old friend from Catawba College as well (formerly of Swansea, Massachusetts). Randy and I have been friends since the Independence High School days. Tom Billotto was Rick's friend at People Express Airlines in New Jersey. Tom came down for this meeting and ended up moving to Charlotte a year later, in 1988, and we've been friends ever since. The evening before this photo was made we all attended a Christopher Parkening classical guitar concert in Charlotte.


1987, August - Stopped getting up at 3:30am to work at UPS!


1987, September 12 - Jazz Charlotte

Donnie Fletcher.

Dr. John.

Steve, Dr. John, and Pete Davis.

1st shot: Percy Heath (bass) and Milt Jackson (vibraphone) of the Modern Jazz Quartet. 2nd shot: Dave Brubeck.




1987, September 25 - Mick Taylor



This was some fine electric guitar playing. Mick did an extended version of his solo from "Can't You Hear Me Knocking," and several songs from his 1979 solo album, including "Slow Blues" and "Leather Jacket."


I was able to chat briefly with Mick Taylor after the show, but I managed to babble nothing of note. I saw Mick Taylor again in mid-1988 in Raleigh. I had pictures from that show and weekend but they didn't make it through the Jack Straw's basement flood of July '97.


1987, September
At Farmwood - Pepper. Pepper was the Thompson family dog from 1975 until September of 1987, when she was hit by a car while on a morning walk around the block with Mother. Pepper loved going for walks; she was good about staying off the street, but sometimes she'd get caught up in her romp and dart from one side to the other, and that's what did her in that sad morning. I buried Pepper in the back yard at Farmwood, at the spot where we had often sat out at night under the stars, with a little campfire going, like we were out on the trail...



1988
Carina and her little red car.

1988
At Bob and Sherry's house in Raleigh - Bob and Sherry's friend Terri from California.

1988
At Bob and Sherry's house in Raleigh - Terry Anderson with my sunburst Telecaster.

1988, November 24, Thanksgiving Day
Keith Richards and the X-Pensive Winos played the Fox Theater in Atlanta.

2nd shot: Carina, Jeff Hart, and Bob Davis.

1988
The day after Thanksgiving I was back in Charlotte and on the set of "Black Rainbow" at the old First Baptist Church in downtown Charlotte, working as an extra.


1988, November 27
Eating beans with Bob Davis, at Bob and Sherry's house in Raleigh. This was the night before Bob and I, along with Carina and Danielle, drove up to Washington, DC to see Keith Richards at Constitution Hall.


1988, December - The day I finished work on the degree.
1988, December
This was the day I finished my last exam at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Assuming that work on a B.A degree usually takes 4 years, I was 8 years late. When I arrived at Farmwood after finishing, this "Congratulations" banner was on the garage door.


1988, December The day I finished the last piece of work on this degree was a great day... and had been a long time coming. Many times...


1989, March - I started work at Roche Biomedical Laboratories.

1989, May 6 - Little Chill 3
At the Donnie Morse estate in Conover, NC. More photos from this Little Chill will be posted as dug up and cleared by management...



1989
Family portrait.

1989, September 1 - Moved into an apartment on Kenilworth Ave. just a few doors down from Grandmother Dellinger's house.
1989, September 16
The Rolling Stones at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, NC - The Steel Wheels tour. On this day I was accompanied by Cindy Loveless. Big party at the Brewery after the show, with the Woods playing. I remember Terry Anderson shouting - "the greatest rock-n-roll band in the world just opened for us!" I thought Steel Wheels sounded good, looked good, and was great fun!

1989, September 22 - Hurricane Hugo.


1989, December 16 - Fabulous Knobs Reunion Show in Raleigh.

1989, December 17
I met Amy on December 17, 1989, in Charlotte. Several months later Amy gave me this picture of herself from Christmas Day 1989 (taken a few days after we met).

1990, January 29 - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers at the new Charlotte Coliseum.

1990, April 29
Carina and Danielle (and, as I recall, David Enloe's little brother) had been in town the weekend of the 28th and 29th for SpringFest and a Woods show at the Double Door that Saturday night. After SpringFest on Sunday afternoon, we were at the Bayou Kitchen, where later on I met Charlotte (who was waitressing at the Bayou). Later on, Charlotte gave me this photo of herself which was taken around the time that we met.

1990, July 1 - Moved into the apartment at Greenway Ave, next door to Karen Sacra and Tom Billotto.


1990, July
At my Greenway Ave. apartment. Charlotte and Rhonda had been at a "Tacky Party."

1990, July
With Amy. We hiked to the summit of Crowder's Mountain (about 25 miles west of Charlotte).

1990, August
At my Greenway Ave. apartment.

1st shot: Karen Sacra, Charlotte, and Sylvia.

2nd shot: My next door neighbors - Karen Sacra on one side, Jane Lancaster on the other.

3rd shot: Me pulling Alan Christian's legs.



1990, October 27
At a Halloween party somewhere in the Dilworth area of Charlotte - with Amy. Amy was a black cat and I went as a box of Friskies.

1990, November
Amy's surprise birthday party.


1991, January
At my Greenway Ave. apartment. Amy and Pilar. Machelle is mostly obscured in the 3rd shot.

1991

1991
At my Greenway Ave. apartment.
Pilar and Baby Ralip.

1991- At my Greenway Ave. apartment. Baby Ralip and Pilar.



1991, April
From the back of my Greenway Ave. apartment to Tom & Karen's backyard. I think this was the beginning of Tom & Karen's pre-wedding party...

1991, April
Somewhere in the Forth Ward neighborhood of Charlotte, with Charlotte, at the Tom Billotto / Karen Sacra wedding.

1991, April
At the Bayou Kitchen after the Tom Billotto / Karen Sacra wedding.
1st shot: Steve "Miata" and Charlotte.
2nd shot: Me, Charlotte, Tom Billotto, Karen Sacra, Alan Christian, and Christie.



1991, Summer
At my Greenway Ave. apartment. Mother and Father had stopped by for a visit. In the middle shot I'm holding my kitty-cats - Baby Ralip and Pilar...


1991, September - Trip to Wilmington, NC with Amy

At Fort Fisher.



At Amy's sister's house...

...


1991
At my Greenway Ave. apartment. Bill Noonan, Mike Shook, and Tom Billotto.

1991
At my Greenway Ave. apartment.



1992, April
With Christie, hanging out at a custom car show in Charlotte with our pal Chris Stevens of the "Chris in the Morning" show (Northern Exposure)... I mean John Corbett...


1992
Thompson family portrait.

1992
At the Bayou Kitchen with Christie.

1992 - Sunday afternoon at the Bayou Kitchen. I don't recall the event but I think I had a good time.

1st shot: I'm on guitar, with Tom Billotto.

2nd and 3rd shots: Singing... probably "Dead Flowers," with Tom Billotto and Bill Noonan.

1992
The Woods at the Double Door Inn in Charlotte.

1992
At Carina's house in Durham. Ward, Kerri McCaskil, Donnie Morse, and Jeff Hart. I think that we had been at a Backsliders show earlier that evening - maybe the first time I saw Chip and Steve perform together.


1992
David Enloe with his "ESPN." I don't recall the show. Did I take this shot? Carina? Verifying...

1992, Fall
I made this little graphic that a tattooist in Gastonia named Randy turned into a tattoo for Amy.

1992, November
Amy's birthday poster.

1992, December 24
On the afternoon of Christmas Eve 1992, I stopped in at the Bayou Kitchen where a little party was taking place. Bob Davis was in town from Raleigh and met me there. Between rounds of Quervo 1800, Bill Noonan asked me if I'd like to help out with his band, The Rank Outsiders. My time in the music business started before the next round.

1993, January
My work with the Rank Outsiders started in earnest in early January of 1993, with a gig at Jonathan's Jazz Cellar in downtown Charlotte. I think my first booking for the Ranks was at some kind of radio promotion show at the old Capri movie theater on East Independence Blvd.





1993 June
Playing accordion with Jeff Hart at the Stanleyville Grill in Charlotte, opening for the Rank Outsiders.

1993 June
The Rank Outsiders at the Stanleyville Grill, with Phil Lee.

1993 June
At my Greenway Ave. apartment. Ward and Phil Lee.

1993, September
Phil Lee at Graceland and at the Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, Texas. These shots are from a trip that Carina and Phil took to California.


1993
At my Greenway Ave. apartment. The Lebanese girls...


1994, March
Grandmother Thompson died (in Griffin, GA) on March 28, 1994.
(l-r): Uncle Fred Thompson, Aunt Blanche Miller, Father, and Uncle Elmer Thompson.



1994, April - With the Rank Outsiders at SpringFest in downtown Charlotte.



Gigi Dover, Tom Kuhn, and Bill Noonan.

Bill Noonan singing. I was walking around taking a few pictures of the stage area when the "gentleman" in the dark sweatshirt assumed an attitude. Fortunately he went on about his drunken way.

This must have been the local Democrat Party tent...


Me "colonel-ing" with the Rank Outsiders at a festival in Charlotte. Gigi took to calling me "Colonel" (after Elvis' manager Colonel Tom Parker) when I started handling bookings for the Rank Outsiders. My job then became "colonel-ing"...


1994, May 7 - Little Chill 8
At the Donnie Morse estate in Forest City, NC.

This turned out to be the last of the Little Chill gatherings. Donnie was killed in a car crash on his way to work on November 21, 1994.


1994
Tammy Bracket gave me this photo of herself. I met Tammy when she was singing as a duo with a fellow named Chris at the Stanleyville Grill's Sunday open-mic night. Tammy and Chris were also in a band called Zeek's Wheel. The first song I heard Tammy sing it was "Shambala."
1994?
At the Bayou Kitchen - Ward.
1994?
Carina. Carina - what is this occasion?


1994, September 25 - The Rolling Stones at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, SC. Another show on the Voodoo Lounge tour. What is remembered most about this show is that it was, for several of us, the last time we were with our dear friend Donnie Morse. Donnie was killed in a car crash latter that Fall.


1994, November 21
Donnie Morse, my friend since June of 1978, was killed in a car crash on his way to work.


This picture of Donnie appeared on the Little Chill 7 invitation, held May 7 & 8, 1994, 6 months before Donnie died.

West Gastonia Music & Loan, where Donnie worked for many years.

Donnie was a proud father. Every time he came to visit he'd make sure that I had the most recent pictures of his family on my refrigerator.


1994, November
My Greenway Ave. apartment.

1994, November
From behind my Greenway Ave. apartment the Stanleyville Water Tower could be seen.

Some things were never the same after Donnie died.

1995
Baby Ralip at Farmwood.

1995
At Farmwood - "Teddy" working on the plans with Father.

1995
Father doing a Willie Nelson spoof.

1995
Sister Jan and Matt.

1995, October 14
In Wilmington, North Carolina - Father and Sister Jan on Jan's wedding day.

1996, March
In early 1996 Chandler Spawr (owner of Jack Straw's) and I started making plans for a music venue much larger than Jack Straw's. We found what looked like a promising location at the old Wayne's grocery store on Central Ave. near the Plaza, in a neighborhood that we thought might develop into an entertainment district. We started construction on the project in March of 1996 and had the building gutted and the stage built when we ran into a zoning fight with City of Charlotte bureaucrats. Our business was defined as a "cabaret," and City of Charlotte zoning would not allow a "cabaret" within "x" feet of a multi-family structure - we were a few feet too close, even though a train track ran between us and the multi-family structure in question! We had to stop construction until the matter could be resolved in zoning court a couple of months later. When the case came up, we lost. A lot of time and energy was wasted on this project, and Chandler lost a chunk of money in the process. Though disappointed, we were still determined to open a mid-sized club venue and the search for a suitable building was on...

1996
A Backsliders promo shot., given to me by Chip Robinson.

1996, May
Managing the music at the annual Derby Days event put on by the Young Affiliates of the Mint Museum, in Charlotte.
1996
1st shot: Sister Jan and Father, at a First Baptist Church event (featuring Father's good friend John Sipes and his bluegrass band).

2nd shot: Dr. Charles Page, pastor at First Baptist Church. My parents loved this man dearly. Dr. Page died on October 28, 2005, after a 9-year struggle with cancer.
1997
In early 1997 the project that Chandler and I had started in 1996 to open a mid-sized club venue reformed into Globe Productions. A third partner joined our effort, Steve Cudic, of Science Fidelity Sound. We had big ideas and a big plan developed. We worked out a lease on the old Capri Theater on East Independence Blvd. The Capri had a large stage and a smaller stage. The large room would have a capacity of around 800, the smaller room maybe 200. Science Fidelity would handle sound reinforcement and develop the smaller room as a 'live recording" sound stage. Chandler would bring his restaurant and bar ownership expertise to the project, and my business, Musicopia, would fold into the mix and handle booking, promotion, and management, and, a small roster of bands that we would book and manage. All of this was written into a business plan and presented to the bank. After a month of waiting for the decision from the bank, the answer was "no deal." Our plan was considered too risky. That was a real heartbreaker.

1997
At the Bayou Kitchen. Courtney Camp became my best Bayou Kitchen Sunday afternoon drinking buddy. I used to have a lot of photos from those Bayou days - all except this fragment were lost in the Jack Straw's basement flood of July '07 (caused by the remnants of Hurricane Danny).

1997, June
The Bayou Kitchen. Center of the known universe in those days...

1997, June
La-dee-da's, between the Bayou Kitchen and Jack Straw's. When my taste for coffee resurged in the mid-90's, this place was partly responsible. Laurel Market might share in the blame...

1997, June
The Jack Straw's deck, as viewed from La-dee-da's.

1997, June
The Stanleyville Water Tower.

1997, June
Jack Straw's, viewed from across the street at Stanleyville Drugs.

1997, June
At Jack Straw's. Steve Cudic - the "science" behind Science Fidelity Sound. Steve was a partner in Globe Productions, along with Chandler and myself.

1997, June
My office in the basement of Jack Straw's.

This was the site of the Jack Straw's Basement Flood of '97. On July 23, 1997, as the remnants of Hurricane Danny blew up from Alabama and across the piedmont of North Carolina, around 10 inches of rain fell on the Charlotte area. The neighborhood around Jack Straw's, Stanleyville, is a local high ground, so surface flooding was not a problem; however, many basements in the neighborhood took on water, including Jack Straw's. Someone called me at mid-morning with news of water in the basement - I rushed to the office and found about 5 inches of water on the floor. The flood drained away fairly fast and damage seemed slight - but then a few days later I discovered that a couple of small storage boxes on low shelves had taken on moisture. Those two shoeboxes contained hundreds of photos that I had made over the years! Some of the photos were just a little damp and could be easily cleaned and dried off, but about half were unsalvageable. Several entire batches were wiped out. I also ended up losing 3 years worth of business records in that flood, but losing so many photos is what hurt. On this page, when I write about photos lost in the Jack Straw's basement flood of '07, this is the event that I'm referring to.

1997
Mig.

1997, June
Chandler and Martha holding a kitchen meeting at Jack Straw's.

1997, August - I decided to leave the music business at the end of September.

1997, September - Various shots from Jack Straw's.





1997, September
The Two Dollar Pistols, opening for The Derailers.

1997, September
The Derailers.

1997, September
With the Derailers, out back at Jack Straw's in Charlotte, after one of the last shows I managed in the music business.

1997

1997, September
The Glad Hands and The Records.
1997, September

1997, September
One of the last shows at Jack Straw's was with a local surf band called The AquaLads. What a great show that was!




My time in the music business came to an end...

1997?
Mother and Father.

1997
Chieko.

And so ends the "Archive" period. I started working within the Microsoft world in December of 1997 and during early 1998 I acquired my first good digital camera, the Sony Mavica FD-91, and the Photo-Journal soon began. The digital camera and photo editing software became my constant companions...