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To Raise or Not to Raise

By Stephanie Williams Dean

Along with everything else in the world that folks are offended by – raising your pinkie when enjoying tea time is now consideared rude. Somehow that’s now a sign of looking down on folks and making them feel “less than.”  According to Southern Living, there is new tea etiquette of which everyone should be aware.

So how did the raised pinkie practice originate, anyway? In the beginning when tea first came from China and arrived on the scene in Europe – there were no cup handles of which to take hold when drinking.

With a hot cup of steamy tea – I would agree with one possible origin of high-held pinkies; that is, one would prefer as few fingers touching hot porcelain as possible!  I visualize more than one finger might be raised up in the air!

Later, when expensive imported teas became only for the rich and those who could afford them – the raised pinkie finger became the norm and persisted long after the handled cups were produced. The raising of the pinkie had become a status gesture – people loved to feel important – in however trivial the ways.

And because histories that offend folks, must now come to an end – or so it seems – so has the long-lived, raised pinkie practice as part of proper tea etiquette. There should be no more high pinkies – lest you appear to be of higher status and hurt someone else’s feelings.

So, just so you know, you might want to avoid inviting any raised pinkies to join you at your next tea party – lest you be labeled as engaging in snobbery.

The Boone Connection

By Linda H. Barnette

Many people in our area are interested in the Boone family because we all know that Squire and Sarah Boone came to what is now Davie County in the mid-1700s, raised their children here, and are buried at Joppa Cemetery. And everybody knows about their famous son, Daniel, the explorer.

While I am not directly related to Daniel, I do have some connections to his family. We know that Squire’s brother John was the keeper of the family history, writing down all of the marriages.  This John never married.

The other John who came here with Squire was his nephew, John, son of his brother Benjamin and his wife, Ann Farmer. Ann died young, so young John went to live with his uncle Daniel and his family. He eventually married a girl named Rebecca, probably a Rebecca Bryan, but her name does not appear on any papers.

It is through the second John that my connection comes. John, nephew of Squire and cousin of Daniel, had a daughter named Hannah who married James Penry.  In turn, Joel Penry, son of Samuel Penry and cousin to James married Ursula Dwiggins, the daughter of my 4th great-grandparents Daniel and Ursula Dwiggins. They are all 4 buried in the original Dwiggins Family Cemetery on Boone Farm Road. Also, Hannah Boone Penry’s son was the first person buried at Center UMC Cemetery.

The other connection is the property on what is now the area of Hwy 64 near Center that attests to Squire Boone’s Granville land grant for 640 acres in that area. John Boone also bought a Granville grant for 630 acres, which was about a mile or so above Squire’s land near what is now Godbey Road.

When John Boone died in 1803, his estate was handled by his son, John Jr., who sold the land. Part of it was bought by my 4th great-grandfather, Daniel Dwiggins. My grandmother, Blanche Dwiggins Smith, had the 2 original deeds that were signed by John Boone and the Penry brothers in 1813. They are both safely stored in the vault at the Davie County Public Library.

Fun Tour

By  E. Bishop

Checking the itinerary for a recent bus tour, I noticed our third day included a stop at the Kazoobie Kazoo Factory in Beaufort, (pronounced with a “u”) South Carolina.  What?  I thought how much fun can that be for all of us old people?  I was pleasantly surprised to say the least.

     Beaufort is a beautiful little city on Port Royal Island, one of South Carolina’s coastal Sea Islands known for its antebellum mansions and downtown historic district. It is also home to America’s only full-time manufacturer of plastic kazoos.  The on-site employees turned tour guides were excellent in demonstrating how these humming instruments were put together with all materials made in the USA.  The company was founded in 1999, and today they ship millions of kazoos a year all over the globe.  Anyone can pick their own parts to make their own unique kazoo, even with company logos on them.

     After showing a short historical video, one of the guides played various kazoos explaining how each might be used for various purposes. We were all given one and practiced humming a song. What a hoot!  It is a funky whimsical instrument used to create sound effects and music.    They have been around for hundreds of years and are not just for kids.  Even bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Prine and Jimi Hendrix have used kazoos in their music.

     Of course, the little museum and workshop had great displays and a gift shop where I had to buy 50 kazoos for my grandson’s upcoming graduation party.  Have to say this was a memorable experience and a lot of fun after all.  So, if you get a chance, don’t pass it up; go ahead and do that tour.