September 24, 2025 • 34 mins
In this episode, we can’t talk about Bracey’s story without rolling down the tracks of our rich railroad past. Our special guest, Randolph Hite, takes us on a trip down memory lane, sharing stories of what Bracey used to be, something about a snowball, the changes brought by the dam and lake, and the people who have kept the community special.
With the BraceyVirginia.com history page as our backdrop, the conversation unfolds like a living scrapbook—capturing what’s been lost, what’s been gained, and hopes for the next generation.
Join us for momentum, memory, and a little mischief—this one is a train you’ll want to ride.
🎧 Wired Together is produced by WinternetWeb Technologies, a family-run web design and tech studio based in Bracey, Virginia.
💻 Visit us at winternetweb.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 01 (00:00):
Alright, we're back for another episode of Wired
Together with Jason Winter andMelanie Winter.
Alright, so we have a specialguest today.
I I guess uh publicly I amadmitting that Randolph Hite is
my father-in-law.
Speaker 03 (00:20):
So which makes him my father or my daddy.
Speaker 01 (00:23):
That's right.
So we um we're excited abouttoday.
We are bringing him on board.
You can't talk about history umof Bracey without remembering
our rich railroad past.
Um, real quick, I want to bringin our AI friend.
So hey AI, what comes to mindwhen you hear all aboard?
Speaker 00 (00:49):
Next up, Bracey, Virginia.
Where history, humor, and maybea snowball or two have relieved
the journey.
Today's special guest has livedit all.
Let's roll down the track.
Speaker 01 (00:59):
Wait, the snowball?
What do you mean by snowball?
Speaker 00 (01:05):
Just like one snowball can set off a terrain
wreck of stories.
Today's episode is aboutmomentum, memory, and a little
mischief.
Buckle up.
This one's gonna be fun.
Speaker 01 (01:16):
Oh, the snowball, that's definitely maybe hang on.
Some of y'all maybe listeningknow what's going to be coming.
But um so we have uh Randolph,how are you doing today?
I'm doing just fine.
Thank you, sir.
So um part of our idea fortoday's uh podcast is uh we've
mentioned before, we created theBraceyVirginia.com website
(01:39):
because our community deserveskind of like its own place on
the web where locals, visitorscan find uh businesses, events,
and a little bit of history kindof all in one spot.
You know, it's uh your guide toliving, exploring, and
belonging in Bracie, Virginia.
Now, having Randolph on theshow, our plan is so he can
(02:02):
share stories.
And if you're listening to thispodcast, if you go to the
BraceyVirginia.com website andgo to the history page, maybe
you can look along with us andthis will give you kind of that
director's cut narration vibe.
We're just gonna see where thestories go and um take it from
(02:23):
there.
So all right.
We're not gonna talk aboutevery piece, but um, you know,
we hope this will be a way tokind of get some of the memories
and some of thebehind-the-scenes stories of
what it was like in Bracie.
Speaker 03 (02:37):
Exactly.
And the Bracie at a glance isthe the history page, and so we
did put some some early thingson there.
Um that we always said thatBracie was kind of formed
through terr transportation.
Speaker 02 (02:51):
So Yeah, that's right.
In fact, it it went from thecrossing the Runal Griffith,
which it is, and then theyturned it into Gaston Lake when
they dammed it up.
Uh, but they had a ferry thatwent across, and they had
ferries that went acrosseverywhere.
Good laws, five or six ferriesbetween here and Eden's ferry.
And right there at 85 was uhthe St.
(03:13):
Tammany Ferry.
Uh, there's a picture there ofone of the ferries.
It's pretty much a wooden flatbottom boat with a bunch of
people on it.
Probably would not be what evenallowed today because it looks
like no safety there unlessthere's dogs on there barking at
the people, keeping fromfalling off.
Speaker 03 (03:33):
And there we just talked about maybe what if one
of those dogs fell off?
You gotta go find it.
Speaker 02 (03:38):
Well, either that or turn him into a duck dog.
Speaker 03 (03:41):
They can swim, it's okay.
Speaker 02 (03:43):
Kill two birds with one sand.
And if you look at the nextpicture that's over there, how
would you like to put your caron that boat and carry it
across?
Speaker 03 (03:51):
And those cars were heavy back then.
I can't imagine.
Speaker 02 (03:54):
And and of course, it don't seem like they were
expensive, but you know, $500was tough in 1792.
So I'm not really think thatwas a car from there, but then
again, uh, if that went down,you lose three of them right
there immediately.
Speaker 03 (04:12):
The ferry at Survey, Surrey County makes me nervous,
and that's they're reallywell-built ferry.
True.
Speaker 01 (04:19):
A lot of cars.
Speaker 02 (04:20):
The old bridge that goes into uh Charleston, South
Carolina used to make menervous.
It was about four million feethigh.
And it was riggedy steel andwhatever.
At the top, oh yeah, you oughtto have seen that one.
Speaker 03 (04:37):
But as far as the and then we do go from from uh
what, St.
Tammany?
Uh that we do have a picture ofthe post office, so we're um
just outside there.
But where St.
Tammany was actually the firsttown of Mecklenburg County.
Speaker 02 (04:54):
All right, and first was it the first incorporated
town of Mecklenburg or firstincorporated town in Virginia?
Speaker 03 (05:00):
First incorporated town in Mecklenburg.
Speaker 02 (05:02):
Oh, okay, all right.
But then again, when thetransportation changed.
Transportation changedeverything, and then they
brought the railroad through.
The railroad, exactly, which isSeaboard Railroad.
And of course they didn't whatcombined with coastline until
later even in my life.
That was in the what sixties, Iguess they combined with
(05:25):
coastline, or maybe in the 70s,and became the seaboard
coastline.
But up until then, as a smallchild, it was just Seaboard
Railroad, and that's how we gotthe mail to everything.
We had two trains a day thatran north to south, and they
would throw it a bag of mail,and and as a small child, I
would have Nancy Dunn, who ranthe post office in downtown
(05:47):
Brace, and I'd run over thereand and pick up that bag, and of
course they would throw it forwhat 500 yards down the track.
So Nancy wasn't a springchicken, so anyhow, I was a big
help, and for that I got a sixand a half ounce Coca-Cola.
Oh yeah, so and and then she'dbring it back, sort it out, put
(06:08):
it in another bag, and hang itback up on the little latch that
was right there beside thetrack.
And then two northbound trainsevery day came through.
So the mail was constantlybeing what?
North to south, south back tonorth, and it was a system that
actually at that time worked andworked well.
Speaker 03 (06:30):
That is really neat.
I did not know that you didthat.
Speaker 02 (06:33):
Oh yeah, good gracious.
Yeah, that's how I spent mytime.
We didn't have the iPads oriPhones or anything.
We actually had to find stumpstuff to do.
Yeah, we entertained ourselveswith throwing snowballs at
trains and things like that.
Speaker 03 (06:52):
Well, you know, AI mentioned it, and now you've
mentioned it, and we actuallymention it on the Breezy History
as a if you know, you know.
So you might as well tell thesnowball story.
Speaker 02 (07:02):
Well, we were out of school for about a week.
This was uh January of 1963,and was it '64.
Yeah.
Oh well, January, so yeah.
It just turned.
It just turned.
Okay, and I just couldn't keepup.
Uh but anyway, Thomas Maud andmyself, who well, we'd been
(07:24):
sliding, we're sleigh riding upand down to Bracey Hill.
If you know where old downtownis, you know where the the hill
is, and that was a great hill tosleigh ride.
In fact, at night, we wouldpack the snow back on the road
uh to help us with our sleighride.
It had nothing to do withanything about you know the
state wanting to push it off theroad.
(07:44):
But anyhow, we we would dothat.
But uh one morning we weresleigh riding and Thomas Mart
and myself, uh what the trainwas coming through and it was
going from north to so, which isactually a downhill grade.
So it's going faster.
Well, what we would try to do,and like I just said before, we
(08:07):
had to come up with things toentertain ourselves.
So we're making snowballs tothrow through the open box cars.
I know it sounds likeabsolutely nothing of
importance, but to us, you werea pretty good pitcher if you
could make that happen.
Anyhow, so the first ball thatyou would throw would usually
(08:27):
what hit the side of the train.
Because you don't have thereadjust to, yeah, exactly.
So the second one you wouldthrow would get inside the car
and hit up in there.
Well, the third one we will getin ready to throw, as we get
ready to let it go, a tank carhits across and turns sideways,
(08:51):
and 27 other what railroad carscrash boom, boom, boom.
You've ever never heard such anoise in your life.
I mean, it would it wasdeafening as far as me and
Thomas.
And uh what barricaded thatrailroad cut.
And if any of you ever lookover the bridge when going down
(09:13):
903, that's a pretty deep cut.
Anyhow, I think you've got apicture of that.
Speaker 03 (09:17):
There is a picture.
We found it on a uh uhmagazine.
Speaker 02 (09:22):
Yeah, okay.
But yeah, this one.
Yeah, exactly.
But anyhow, barricaded thatrailroad cut, and no one really
got hurt beside the the guy inthe caboose, uh, the sudden jolt
and stop.
He fell up against forward andbroke his arm.
Granddaddy Hite, my grandfatheron my on the height side, uh
(09:44):
ran up the hill from the storebecause it wasn't like they
didn't know something washappening.
Right.
And they had cut the um thebrush, I guess you would say.
It kind of, you know, they wereabout an inch around, stuff
like that.
They'd cut them with a a whatdo you call it?
A machete.
(10:05):
Uh-huh.
A machete.
Like a machete.
That's right.
So they were a little pointy.
Well, he fell on the way upthere and cut his hands.
So they were the only twopeople who really got hurt.
And walking away from that,that's great.
Yeah, really.
And then the rest of the train,of course, he wanted to see if
the engine had gotten away, andit and it had.
Of course, it dropped a couplemore cars off further down the
(10:27):
line.
That's right.
And if I think one of them isprobably under the trussle.
Right.
But anyhow, uh, no, that waswhen Thomas and I got tagged for
what knocking a train off thetrack with a snowball.
And I should have become a uhwhat Major League pitcher, but
they couldn't find a catcher whowanted to catch me.
Speaker 03 (10:50):
Or catch snowballs.
Speaker 02 (10:52):
That's right, exactly right.
So, no, that was just anotherarea in life and growing up in a
small, small town.
But the railroad not onlyplayed a large part as far as
transportation, believe it ornot, you could get on a train in
Richmond and ride it all theway to Bracey.
Yeah, and uh Hannah did that,yeah, which was my my mother's
(11:13):
half brother half-brother, yeah.
Anyway, he got off the trainand whatever, and came on up to
the house.
My mother actually at one timethey had a what they called a
little short dog, and that wouldcarry you from Bracey to
Norlina.
So they would get on it earlyin the morning, go over to
Norlina, shop all day, eat andwhatever, and come back in the
(11:36):
afternoon.
They spent a whole day out oftown.
Speaker 04 (11:40):
That sounds lovely.
Speaker 02 (11:41):
Yeah, it does.
Well, it was just quaint.
Right.
And uh, well, it was what youdid back then.
You didn't have all thehighways and whatever, and the
cars that were you could counton, or the tires on the cars you
could count on.
Things were different.
We evolved just like everybodyelse, you know, going from a
wagon to a car.
Speaker 03 (12:03):
Going from the river to the lake.
Yeah, going from going from thetrain to 85.
Speaker 02 (12:09):
That's right.
Uh we Bracie has alwaysfollowed the transportation.
As far as St.
Tammany on the lake, as far asthe town of Bracie and where the
railroad used to cross, and andnow in the state east by we
have to build all that way.
Yeah.
Speaker 03 (12:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 02 (12:26):
And as far as what what we want to do in the
future?
Well, we don't know whether tokeep it as a small town or to
expand.
And we have many thoughts onthat from from different people
who moved to the area with a lotof uh experiences, uh, a lot of
(12:48):
talent.
Uh we we we quite a mix hereand brace it now, where at one
time we were one little smalltown where everybody knew
everybody, and if you got sick,everybody in the town knew about
it.
But that was a good thingbecause everybody could come out
and help you if you got in ajam, and it it didn't matter who
(13:10):
you were, if you were aneighbor, we'd always help.
And that was just the the smallcommunity-minded uh thoughts of
rural America back in that day.
So I knew everybody.
I rode the bus with everybody,my mother went to school with
everybody that went around, andthat even made it a nice thing,
(13:35):
Jason.
As far as I know, you are heavyinto education and stuff too.
But uh the teachers were fromaround this area.
Right.
Uh our parents knew all theteachers.
The teachers watched us growup, whether it was at the barber
shop, whether it was at church,we were at the grocery store,
(13:57):
which weren't many grocerystores.
They were kind of like uh yougrew all your own vegetables in
your garden, then you went to abutcher to get your meat.
That's right.
So, anyhow, but they knew us aschildren, and I guess it made
it a little easier to teach eachone individually because they
(14:19):
knew all of our quirks.
Right.
They knew if we wererambunctious children or we were
studious children or it was a asimpler life where today's
problems are certainly uh moredifficult to deal with than what
(14:39):
we had back then.
So yeah, I was glad I wasraised in that time.
I don't know how good I woulddo as a child in the this earth.
Speaker 03 (14:47):
Which child would you have called yourself?
Rambunctious?
Speaker 02 (14:51):
No, that would have been someone else calling me
that.
I always thought I was I wasstudious and always on the up
and up to never got into anytrouble unless there were some
rodeos or stuff that with we haduh calves and I think you're
(15:14):
banking on most of your teachersbeing not able to listen to
this podcast right now.
Speaker 03 (15:19):
Right.
There might be a little bit ofthat of what?
Speaker 01 (15:22):
You're banking on the fact that the teachers may
not be able to listen to thispodcast right now, so you can
say whatever you want becauseyeah, they're well uh will they
be able to listen to it later?
Well, I'm talking about youryour teachers.
Speaker 02 (15:36):
Oh my teachers need not be my teachers.
I really appreciated them, andwherever they are, I hope they
know I appreciated them.
Speaker 01 (15:48):
I'm just flipping through this, just looking at
some things.
Uh like how about the tornadoin 1923?
Speaker 02 (15:54):
Just uh that came through, and we haven't had
well, we've had some manytornadoes come through, take
tops out of trees, and maybeblow something over or whatever
in the past few years, but asfar as a large tornado count
coming through, 23 was the onethat came through.
Took the old Bracie BaptistChurch, which sets what used to
(16:18):
set where the community house istoday, and uh blew that away,
except for it left the uh Ithink the the fuse sitting
there, but the building wasgone.
Uh I think we we have some ofthe uh the things that came out
of that old church, but and ithad changed everybody from going
(16:38):
to the Bracie Baptist Church toI think they started to go to
one in South Hill.
Right.
Which l was like going to onein Washington.
A bit further away when you gota slower transport.
Further away and you got slowertransportation exactly.
Exactly right.
So that was another change thatcame about and we just evolved
(17:05):
like every little small town inAmerica.
Yeah, what else do you have?
Speaker 01 (17:11):
Well, we're sitting right now in what is Tomes Cole
store.
Maybe you can tell us a storyof you know Oh yeah.
Speaker 02 (17:21):
Well, Mr.
Cole was one of the firstvegetarians that I had ever
heard about.
I mean, he was a vegetarian.
He uh he ate just vegetables.
Well, what was going on withthat?
I mean, we didn't understandit.
We had fried chicken almostevery night, if it wasn't
spaghetti.
And uh we had pork chops and wehad steak on occasion.
(17:44):
Uh, but it was pretty muchwhatever was around at the time.
My father used to go in withsomebody else and buy half a
half a cow and have uh have itcut up and and put it in the
freezer or ha buy half a pig ora whole pig and have it cut up
and put it in the freezer.
Speaker 03 (18:04):
That is still done today.
Speaker 02 (18:06):
It is, exactly.
So in the hair, Mustard Colewas a vegetarian.
And the only first one I everknew, the first one I ever
learned what a vegetarian was.
In the hair, so in here, he andlater years he and Ralph Harper
and even uh oh what was hisname?
(18:26):
Uh lived up on the curve.
Woody Haynes, that's right,Woody.
Uh they all three were I thinkbought shares into Must's store.
And of course, Ralph had the uhthe cotton gin that was over
there behind it, so he couldwork at the store and run the
cotton gin at the same time,which was all a good deal.
(18:49):
But anyhow, Mustard Cole livedat ripe old age.
He was like 93, 96, somethinglike that, and lived lived a
good life.
But I used, and everybody elsethat lived on Bracey Drive or
close by, used to catch the buson the what?
At the store, which is thisbuilding, except if it was
(19:11):
across the street.
And I would never imagine as asmall child going to elementary
school and eventually highschool, still catching the bus
in front of Miles Cole's store.
And of course, we we lovegetting there early, so we could
probably buy something and eatit before we got on the bus
(19:32):
even.
But uh I would never imaginethat I would wound up with the
store.
But after Mr.
Cole passed away, his daughter,uh Jeanette, gave me a call and
asked me if we would like.
Well, she knew I'd like keepingthings in Bracie, preserving
the history and whatever.
(19:52):
And she wanted to know if if Iwould buy the store.
Well, I gave a lot of thoughtto that because your mother and
I had had no money at that timethat was, you know, that we
could put over here.
And so I I told I'd get backwith her.
(20:15):
And we we oh I called a localperson here in South Hill that
moves buildings, and he told meit would take about $8,000 to
move just across the street.
Well, not the street, but theroad, and onto our property.
So that was gonna be this was1995.
(20:36):
So that was gonna be afoundation and then moving the
building.
Well, I called Jeanette backup.
Told her Jeanette, look, this$8,000 just moved across the
street.
Uh there's no money to to buythat from you.
Well, at that time, this iswhere it got really tough.
(21:00):
She said, Randolph, we want youto have it.
Speaker 03 (21:06):
That was nice.
Speaker 02 (21:07):
Oh, thanks.
Put an albatross around myneck.
Why don't you?
So about $75,000 later, we havewhat you see today.
We've got a marriage on theinside with running water and
the handicapped bathroom and andnice walls and insulation and
(21:28):
and double pane windows andwhatever.
Uh and it still looks like Mr.
Cole's old store on theoutside.
So so we did save Bracey forwhat it was, and it became that
one little piece got saved.
And and and I wish we had donemore of that with uh some of the
other towns, and of course LakeRoss has still got a way of
(21:51):
doing it, and South Hill haskind of, but they they could
take that old architecture andand make something new on the
inside, and just what putsugarcoat outside a little bit
to keep the architecture of theera, but at the same time just
be innovative as far as thebusiness that you're putting in.
(22:13):
So I've seen that in so manydifferent towns that it's a
wonderful thing to have happen,and I'd I'd love for more people
to enjoy and to join me andkeep and brace this history
alive.
Speaker 03 (22:25):
Yeah, and actually we've seen a lot in in a lot of
the small areas, small townsnearby and everything, um,
revitalize.
So uh and you know that'sthat's an interest of of you and
me and and I think you know, alot of people that are um new
and old here.
Speaker 02 (22:44):
That's right, exactly.
In fact, one of the pictures,Melanie, the 19 1885 picture, uh
I knew it was before 1918because Great Granddad Brace's
store is wooden.
Speaker 03 (23:00):
Yep.
Speaker 02 (23:01):
That store burned in 1918.
Now, see, there's a lot ofpeople that live in the area
that have no clue that that wasa wooden store there.
They've all since they've everbeen here, it's always been that
two-story brick store, whichwas to me the very first
Walmart.
Or as my mother would say, hesold everything in there from a
(23:23):
needle to a casket.
They actually had casketsupstairs.
Uh funeral homes weren't evenwhat known of at that time
because everybody had largehouses, and when you passed
away, they would carry you backto that house.
Well, as houses got smaller,the birth of the funeral home
(23:45):
came, and we started having itin an area that was suited for
having that rather than tryingto deal with windows and doors
of uh smaller houses.
Speaker 03 (23:56):
Why most most of the older funeral homes are a
house?
They are because that's whatthe the job would have
eventually transformed into.
Speaker 02 (24:05):
That's right, exactly right.
But then we got regulation.
Speaker 03 (24:10):
Well, I mean, you know.
Speaker 02 (24:11):
That's right.
Apparently, in that picturegoing across that lake, there's
no regulation in that very.
If you wobbled in and you justfall right off, you have nothing
to catch on to beside your nextdoor neighbor, and they would
probably go with that dog.
One or the other, exactly.
(24:35):
Oh, geez.
But anyhow, uh, GreatGranddaddy Bracey, I don't know,
just skipping over to lookingat the community house.
Great granddaddy Bracey was thelast living trustee of uh of
the old Bracie Baptist Churchthat the tornado blew away.
(24:56):
And so he uh he gave that landto have a community house, but
on so the community would havesomewhere to go to celebrate
birthdays, weddings, uhreceptions, uh uh they had
dances there when I was a child,and and uh what they had
(25:17):
everything that went on aroundat some of the churches, they
would certainly have theirreceptions there or or even meat
there to to eat.
And so the community housesplayed a large part.
He's been doing that today.
Speaker 03 (25:33):
Exactly.
Speaker 02 (25:34):
Exactly right.
Speaker 03 (25:36):
So we will simply um wrap up our our history with um
just a little little hint of ofmaybe what the future should or
maybe could look like here.
Speaker 02 (25:56):
Well, the three people you see there in that
early 1900 pic picture is WallerBracie and uh John Rideau and
Ed Lamb, but they were the threebiggest shopkeepers, and and
I'm sure in their time they sawquite a change as far as
(26:17):
innovation coming about.
Oh, turning center, absolutelyeverything running water.
Right electricity, yeah,telephones and telephones and
and and granddaddy braced it,which I call him granddaddy, his
great granddaddy, and theyhave, but uh he said on the the
first uh it was the REA boardwhich became Mecklenburg
(26:37):
Electric to bringelectrification to rural
Virginia, and once they got thatdone, well the next step, and
and granddaddy was a visionary,uh the next step would have been
to oh, we need telephones, weneed to talk to each other.
Well, back in that time therewere several families throughout
the county that actually rantheir own lines, and they had
(27:02):
the the crank phone that you seehanging on the wall, and you
put the other one in your earand talk in the mouthpiece,
anyhow, but they were like partylines.
Uh maybe three, four differentpeople on that one telephone.
So when you rang it, everybodypicked it up, and not everybody
hung up and they found out thatit wasn't them that you wanted
(27:24):
to speak to.
So, anyhow, I just know uhhere, granddad had one connected
to the store and connected touh well who else had it?
Uh Celeste had it, uh, and CunEvelyn had it.
And so all of them were onthat.
And I know up in the m towardsSmith Crossroads, uh, the Trims
(27:46):
had a line of their own.
So anybody to remember them,they they certainly had their
own lines.
And in fact, when the phonecompany came through, they had
to deal with these people thathad their own lines to just keep
them up there.
So but they were importantpeople.
Speaker 03 (28:03):
As far as the future Bracey, well, as it's evolved
so far, yeah, it will continue.
Well, we went from telephonesto um what what do you call it?
Speaker 01 (28:15):
Um the but the internet fiber fiber fiber up.
Oh yeah.
Speaker 03 (28:20):
Um a lot of the um technology has changed.
Speaker 02 (28:26):
That's right.
That way you can work from homeand still what have a job in
St.
Louis or Tampa or actuallythere's a lot of people that do
that.
Speaker 01 (28:36):
Enjoy the recreation and you know, live in a quieter
area, exactly and still work inbig business.
Do the corporate hustle, yeah.
Speaker 02 (28:44):
And pretty much it it evolves as, you know, if we
got two people that need it,well, right there you're
probably not gonna get it done.
You have two hundred peopleneeded, you're probably gonna
get it in there quicker.
Right.
So uh as Bracey grew,especially on that lake, because
once the the dam was put in asa hydroelectric dam to create
(29:07):
current, just like uh John KerrDam did up at uh at uh Bugs
Island.
Uh the first years were reallygreat for all of us who were
around here then.
The the lake was there, therewere no houses on it, people
(29:28):
were starting to buy property.
Well, with no houses, made duckhunting and goose hunting a
whole lot easier.
You didn't have to worry aboutwhere you shot, right?
And here, so after that uh theyput uh single wides on those
lots and then years down theroad you saw the single wides go
(29:51):
away, and double wides got onthe lots.
And then years down the road,those a lot of those went away,
and they Yeah, you see what youhave in multi million dollar
houses out there right now.
And uh and those peopleactually uh do a wonderful or
bring a wonderful thing to thearea, but like I said earlier,
(30:14):
they bring in a lot of talentthat uh was not here in the area
from all different aspects,aspects, and walks of life.
Speaker 03 (30:23):
Right.
Uh and but maybe brought alittle stretching too that we
need to work with and maneuverthrough.
Speaker 02 (30:29):
That's that's true.
And of course, you know, changedoesn't come easy.
Speaker 03 (30:34):
Nope.
Speaker 02 (30:35):
I mean, I don't know of anyone who's from here that
wants a stoplight at 903 andNelly Jones.
Speaker 04 (30:42):
No.
Speaker 02 (30:42):
No.
Probably there are people whocome here who would like to see
that happen.
Well, it'll probably be awhile.
That's right.
We we we are trying to keepBracie uh a little more rural.
We certainly don't want anincorporated town as of yet,
because that only brings onemore thing we know about, and
(31:04):
that'd be tax.
Because it takes tax to run atown.
So we've got the best of bothworlds at the moment.
We've got rural America, we'vegot small town feeling, we still
have small town communityfeeling as as a lot of people
that have moved here arebecoming more involved with the
(31:25):
civic organizations, with thelocal churches and whatever.
Well, we can communicate witheach other and keep that small
town atmosphere working.
Speaker 03 (31:35):
Right.
I like that.
Speaker 02 (31:37):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 03 (31:39):
I feel like maybe Bracey Virginia helps in that
that communication.
Speaker 02 (31:43):
And it did.
Speaker 03 (31:44):
Give it out there, get get the opportunity to see
what's happening and and how wecan all connect.
Speaker 02 (31:49):
Hi, connect, that's right.
And speaking of connecting, uh,you're doing a wonderful job
here, Jay, with trying to keepthat connection between with the
Bracey.com.
Speaker 01 (32:01):
Yeah, the Bracey Virginia.com website, it was
just we wanted to uh have aplace where all the businesses
could be featured.
So um if you have a businessand you're not on there, or if
yours is on there but you wantmore information added, please
let me know.
(32:21):
Um we can get you a usernameand everything, you can go in
and maintain it.
And again, this is somethingthat we have sponsored um and
are paying for for all theBracie, Virginia 23919 uh
addresses.
Um but those outside, you know,are able to participate as
well.
Yep, exactly.
(32:41):
More information on there.
We're not gonna go down thatrabbit hole.
All right.
Okay, so well, Randolph, thankyou so much for being willing to
be on our podcast today.
Um it helps, you know, a familywhen you're a family member and
(33:02):
we can kind of just say, hey,by the way, you're gonna be
doing this.
Um, but I think um, you know, alot some of these stories I've
heard, some of them I haven'theard to the detail.
So it's always enjoyable.
And uh hope you all um at home,you know, able to follow along
and maybe learn something.
We'd love it.
(33:22):
Yes, exactly.
And that's that's the wholepurpose with this whole thing.
So we'd love it if you canfollow or leave us a review on
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, orwherever you listen, whatever
platform you use, um, you know,on social media, share it
(33:43):
privately with your friends, uh,post it online.
All of this helps us to growand keep the conversations
going.
Haven't been to it yet?
Go to BraceyVirginia.com and uhon Wired Together, unplugging
for now.
Speaker 03 (33:57):
But always stay connected.
Alright, we're back for another episode of Wired
Together with Jason Winter andMelanie Winter.
Alright, so we have a specialguest today.
I I guess uh publicly I amadmitting that Randolph Hite is
my father-in-law.
Speaker 03 (00:20):
So which makes him my father or my daddy.
Speaker 01 (00:23):
That's right.
So we um we're excited abouttoday.
We are bringing him on board.
You can't talk about history umof Bracey without remembering
our rich railroad past.
Um, real quick, I want to bringin our AI friend.
So hey AI, what comes to mindwhen you hear all aboard?
Speaker 00 (00:49):
Next up, Bracey, Virginia.
Where history, humor, and maybea snowball or two have relieved
the journey.
Today's special guest has livedit all.
Let's roll down the track.
Speaker 01 (00:59):
Wait, the snowball?
What do you mean by snowball?
Speaker 00 (01:05):
Just like one snowball can set off a terrain
wreck of stories.
Today's episode is aboutmomentum, memory, and a little
mischief.
Buckle up.
This one's gonna be fun.
Speaker 01 (01:16):
Oh, the snowball, that's definitely maybe hang on.
Some of y'all maybe listeningknow what's going to be coming.
But um so we have uh Randolph,how are you doing today?
I'm doing just fine.
Thank you, sir.
So um part of our idea fortoday's uh podcast is uh we've
mentioned before, we created theBraceyVirginia.com website
(01:39):
because our community deserveskind of like its own place on
the web where locals, visitorscan find uh businesses, events,
and a little bit of history kindof all in one spot.
You know, it's uh your guide toliving, exploring, and
belonging in Bracie, Virginia.
Now, having Randolph on theshow, our plan is so he can
(02:02):
share stories.
And if you're listening to thispodcast, if you go to the
BraceyVirginia.com website andgo to the history page, maybe
you can look along with us andthis will give you kind of that
director's cut narration vibe.
We're just gonna see where thestories go and um take it from
(02:23):
there.
So all right.
We're not gonna talk aboutevery piece, but um, you know,
we hope this will be a way tokind of get some of the memories
and some of thebehind-the-scenes stories of
what it was like in Bracie.
Speaker 03 (02:37):
Exactly.
And the Bracie at a glance isthe the history page, and so we
did put some some early thingson there.
Um that we always said thatBracie was kind of formed
through terr transportation.
Speaker 02 (02:51):
So Yeah, that's right.
In fact, it it went from thecrossing the Runal Griffith,
which it is, and then theyturned it into Gaston Lake when
they dammed it up.
Uh, but they had a ferry thatwent across, and they had
ferries that went acrosseverywhere.
Good laws, five or six ferriesbetween here and Eden's ferry.
And right there at 85 was uhthe St.
(03:13):
Tammany Ferry.
Uh, there's a picture there ofone of the ferries.
It's pretty much a wooden flatbottom boat with a bunch of
people on it.
Probably would not be what evenallowed today because it looks
like no safety there unlessthere's dogs on there barking at
the people, keeping fromfalling off.
Speaker 03 (03:33):
And there we just talked about maybe what if one
of those dogs fell off?
You gotta go find it.
Speaker 02 (03:38):
Well, either that or turn him into a duck dog.
Speaker 03 (03:41):
They can swim, it's okay.
Speaker 02 (03:43):
Kill two birds with one sand.
And if you look at the nextpicture that's over there, how
would you like to put your caron that boat and carry it
across?
Speaker 03 (03:51):
And those cars were heavy back then.
I can't imagine.
Speaker 02 (03:54):
And and of course, it don't seem like they were
expensive, but you know, $500was tough in 1792.
So I'm not really think thatwas a car from there, but then
again, uh, if that went down,you lose three of them right
there immediately.
Speaker 03 (04:12):
The ferry at Survey, Surrey County makes me nervous,
and that's they're reallywell-built ferry.
True.
Speaker 01 (04:19):
A lot of cars.
Speaker 02 (04:20):
The old bridge that goes into uh Charleston, South
Carolina used to make menervous.
It was about four million feethigh.
And it was riggedy steel andwhatever.
At the top, oh yeah, you oughtto have seen that one.
Speaker 03 (04:37):
But as far as the and then we do go from from uh
what, St.
Tammany?
Uh that we do have a picture ofthe post office, so we're um
just outside there.
But where St.
Tammany was actually the firsttown of Mecklenburg County.
Speaker 02 (04:54):
All right, and first was it the first incorporated
town of Mecklenburg or firstincorporated town in Virginia?
Speaker 03 (05:00):
First incorporated town in Mecklenburg.
Speaker 02 (05:02):
Oh, okay, all right.
But then again, when thetransportation changed.
Transportation changedeverything, and then they
brought the railroad through.
The railroad, exactly, which isSeaboard Railroad.
And of course they didn't whatcombined with coastline until
later even in my life.
That was in the what sixties, Iguess they combined with
(05:25):
coastline, or maybe in the 70s,and became the seaboard
coastline.
But up until then, as a smallchild, it was just Seaboard
Railroad, and that's how we gotthe mail to everything.
We had two trains a day thatran north to south, and they
would throw it a bag of mail,and and as a small child, I
would have Nancy Dunn, who ranthe post office in downtown
(05:47):
Brace, and I'd run over thereand and pick up that bag, and of
course they would throw it forwhat 500 yards down the track.
So Nancy wasn't a springchicken, so anyhow, I was a big
help, and for that I got a sixand a half ounce Coca-Cola.
Oh yeah, so and and then she'dbring it back, sort it out, put
(06:08):
it in another bag, and hang itback up on the little latch that
was right there beside thetrack.
And then two northbound trainsevery day came through.
So the mail was constantlybeing what?
North to south, south back tonorth, and it was a system that
actually at that time worked andworked well.
Speaker 03 (06:30):
That is really neat.
I did not know that you didthat.
Speaker 02 (06:33):
Oh yeah, good gracious.
Yeah, that's how I spent mytime.
We didn't have the iPads oriPhones or anything.
We actually had to find stumpstuff to do.
Yeah, we entertained ourselveswith throwing snowballs at
trains and things like that.
Speaker 03 (06:52):
Well, you know, AI mentioned it, and now you've
mentioned it, and we actuallymention it on the Breezy History
as a if you know, you know.
So you might as well tell thesnowball story.
Speaker 02 (07:02):
Well, we were out of school for about a week.
This was uh January of 1963,and was it '64.
Yeah.
Oh well, January, so yeah.
It just turned.
It just turned.
Okay, and I just couldn't keepup.
Uh but anyway, Thomas Maud andmyself, who well, we'd been
(07:24):
sliding, we're sleigh riding upand down to Bracey Hill.
If you know where old downtownis, you know where the the hill
is, and that was a great hill tosleigh ride.
In fact, at night, we wouldpack the snow back on the road
uh to help us with our sleighride.
It had nothing to do withanything about you know the
state wanting to push it off theroad.
(07:44):
But anyhow, we we would dothat.
But uh one morning we weresleigh riding and Thomas Mart
and myself, uh what the trainwas coming through and it was
going from north to so, which isactually a downhill grade.
So it's going faster.
Well, what we would try to do,and like I just said before, we
(08:07):
had to come up with things toentertain ourselves.
So we're making snowballs tothrow through the open box cars.
I know it sounds likeabsolutely nothing of
importance, but to us, you werea pretty good pitcher if you
could make that happen.
Anyhow, so the first ball thatyou would throw would usually
(08:27):
what hit the side of the train.
Because you don't have thereadjust to, yeah, exactly.
So the second one you wouldthrow would get inside the car
and hit up in there.
Well, the third one we will getin ready to throw, as we get
ready to let it go, a tank carhits across and turns sideways,
(08:51):
and 27 other what railroad carscrash boom, boom, boom.
You've ever never heard such anoise in your life.
I mean, it would it wasdeafening as far as me and
Thomas.
And uh what barricaded thatrailroad cut.
And if any of you ever lookover the bridge when going down
(09:13):
903, that's a pretty deep cut.
Anyhow, I think you've got apicture of that.
Speaker 03 (09:17):
There is a picture.
We found it on a uh uhmagazine.
Speaker 02 (09:22):
Yeah, okay.
But yeah, this one.
Yeah, exactly.
But anyhow, barricaded thatrailroad cut, and no one really
got hurt beside the the guy inthe caboose, uh, the sudden jolt
and stop.
He fell up against forward andbroke his arm.
Granddaddy Hite, my grandfatheron my on the height side, uh
(09:44):
ran up the hill from the storebecause it wasn't like they
didn't know something washappening.
Right.
And they had cut the um thebrush, I guess you would say.
It kind of, you know, they wereabout an inch around, stuff
like that.
They'd cut them with a a whatdo you call it?
A machete.
(10:05):
Uh-huh.
A machete.
Like a machete.
That's right.
So they were a little pointy.
Well, he fell on the way upthere and cut his hands.
So they were the only twopeople who really got hurt.
And walking away from that,that's great.
Yeah, really.
And then the rest of the train,of course, he wanted to see if
the engine had gotten away, andit and it had.
Of course, it dropped a couplemore cars off further down the
(10:27):
line.
That's right.
And if I think one of them isprobably under the trussle.
Right.
But anyhow, uh, no, that waswhen Thomas and I got tagged for
what knocking a train off thetrack with a snowball.
And I should have become a uhwhat Major League pitcher, but
they couldn't find a catcher whowanted to catch me.
Speaker 03 (10:50):
Or catch snowballs.
Speaker 02 (10:52):
That's right, exactly right.
So, no, that was just anotherarea in life and growing up in a
small, small town.
But the railroad not onlyplayed a large part as far as
transportation, believe it ornot, you could get on a train in
Richmond and ride it all theway to Bracey.
Yeah, and uh Hannah did that,yeah, which was my my mother's
(11:13):
half brother half-brother, yeah.
Anyway, he got off the trainand whatever, and came on up to
the house.
My mother actually at one timethey had a what they called a
little short dog, and that wouldcarry you from Bracey to
Norlina.
So they would get on it earlyin the morning, go over to
Norlina, shop all day, eat andwhatever, and come back in the
(11:36):
afternoon.
They spent a whole day out oftown.
Speaker 04 (11:40):
That sounds lovely.
Speaker 02 (11:41):
Yeah, it does.
Well, it was just quaint.
Right.
And uh, well, it was what youdid back then.
You didn't have all thehighways and whatever, and the
cars that were you could counton, or the tires on the cars you
could count on.
Things were different.
We evolved just like everybodyelse, you know, going from a
wagon to a car.
Speaker 03 (12:03):
Going from the river to the lake.
Yeah, going from going from thetrain to 85.
Speaker 02 (12:09):
That's right.
Uh we Bracie has alwaysfollowed the transportation.
As far as St.
Tammany on the lake, as far asthe town of Bracie and where the
railroad used to cross, and andnow in the state east by we
have to build all that way.
Yeah.
Speaker 03 (12:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 02 (12:26):
And as far as what what we want to do in the
future?
Well, we don't know whether tokeep it as a small town or to
expand.
And we have many thoughts onthat from from different people
who moved to the area with a lotof uh experiences, uh, a lot of
(12:48):
talent.
Uh we we we quite a mix hereand brace it now, where at one
time we were one little smalltown where everybody knew
everybody, and if you got sick,everybody in the town knew about
it.
But that was a good thingbecause everybody could come out
and help you if you got in ajam, and it it didn't matter who
(13:10):
you were, if you were aneighbor, we'd always help.
And that was just the the smallcommunity-minded uh thoughts of
rural America back in that day.
So I knew everybody.
I rode the bus with everybody,my mother went to school with
everybody that went around, andthat even made it a nice thing,
(13:35):
Jason.
As far as I know, you are heavyinto education and stuff too.
But uh the teachers were fromaround this area.
Right.
Uh our parents knew all theteachers.
The teachers watched us growup, whether it was at the barber
shop, whether it was at church,we were at the grocery store,
(13:57):
which weren't many grocerystores.
They were kind of like uh yougrew all your own vegetables in
your garden, then you went to abutcher to get your meat.
That's right.
So, anyhow, but they knew us aschildren, and I guess it made
it a little easier to teach eachone individually because they
(14:19):
knew all of our quirks.
Right.
They knew if we wererambunctious children or we were
studious children or it was a asimpler life where today's
problems are certainly uh moredifficult to deal with than what
(14:39):
we had back then.
So yeah, I was glad I wasraised in that time.
I don't know how good I woulddo as a child in the this earth.
Speaker 03 (14:47):
Which child would you have called yourself?
Rambunctious?
Speaker 02 (14:51):
No, that would have been someone else calling me
that.
I always thought I was I wasstudious and always on the up
and up to never got into anytrouble unless there were some
rodeos or stuff that with we haduh calves and I think you're
(15:14):
banking on most of your teachersbeing not able to listen to
this podcast right now.
Speaker 03 (15:19):
Right.
There might be a little bit ofthat of what?
Speaker 01 (15:22):
You're banking on the fact that the teachers may
not be able to listen to thispodcast right now, so you can
say whatever you want becauseyeah, they're well uh will they
be able to listen to it later?
Well, I'm talking about youryour teachers.
Speaker 02 (15:36):
Oh my teachers need not be my teachers.
I really appreciated them, andwherever they are, I hope they
know I appreciated them.
Speaker 01 (15:48):
I'm just flipping through this, just looking at
some things.
Uh like how about the tornadoin 1923?
Speaker 02 (15:54):
Just uh that came through, and we haven't had
well, we've had some manytornadoes come through, take
tops out of trees, and maybeblow something over or whatever
in the past few years, but asfar as a large tornado count
coming through, 23 was the onethat came through.
Took the old Bracie BaptistChurch, which sets what used to
(16:18):
set where the community house istoday, and uh blew that away,
except for it left the uh Ithink the the fuse sitting
there, but the building wasgone.
Uh I think we we have some ofthe uh the things that came out
of that old church, but and ithad changed everybody from going
(16:38):
to the Bracie Baptist Church toI think they started to go to
one in South Hill.
Right.
Which l was like going to onein Washington.
A bit further away when you gota slower transport.
Further away and you got slowertransportation exactly.
Exactly right.
So that was another change thatcame about and we just evolved
(17:05):
like every little small town inAmerica.
Yeah, what else do you have?
Speaker 01 (17:11):
Well, we're sitting right now in what is Tomes Cole
store.
Maybe you can tell us a storyof you know Oh yeah.
Speaker 02 (17:21):
Well, Mr.
Cole was one of the firstvegetarians that I had ever
heard about.
I mean, he was a vegetarian.
He uh he ate just vegetables.
Well, what was going on withthat?
I mean, we didn't understandit.
We had fried chicken almostevery night, if it wasn't
spaghetti.
And uh we had pork chops and wehad steak on occasion.
(17:44):
Uh, but it was pretty muchwhatever was around at the time.
My father used to go in withsomebody else and buy half a
half a cow and have uh have itcut up and and put it in the
freezer or ha buy half a pig ora whole pig and have it cut up
and put it in the freezer.
Speaker 03 (18:04):
That is still done today.
Speaker 02 (18:06):
It is, exactly.
So in the hair, Mustard Colewas a vegetarian.
And the only first one I everknew, the first one I ever
learned what a vegetarian was.
In the hair, so in here, he andlater years he and Ralph Harper
and even uh oh what was hisname?
(18:26):
Uh lived up on the curve.
Woody Haynes, that's right,Woody.
Uh they all three were I thinkbought shares into Must's store.
And of course, Ralph had the uhthe cotton gin that was over
there behind it, so he couldwork at the store and run the
cotton gin at the same time,which was all a good deal.
(18:49):
But anyhow, Mustard Cole livedat ripe old age.
He was like 93, 96, somethinglike that, and lived lived a
good life.
But I used, and everybody elsethat lived on Bracey Drive or
close by, used to catch the buson the what?
At the store, which is thisbuilding, except if it was
(19:11):
across the street.
And I would never imagine as asmall child going to elementary
school and eventually highschool, still catching the bus
in front of Miles Cole's store.
And of course, we we lovegetting there early, so we could
probably buy something and eatit before we got on the bus
(19:32):
even.
But uh I would never imaginethat I would wound up with the
store.
But after Mr.
Cole passed away, his daughter,uh Jeanette, gave me a call and
asked me if we would like.
Well, she knew I'd like keepingthings in Bracie, preserving
the history and whatever.
(19:52):
And she wanted to know if if Iwould buy the store.
Well, I gave a lot of thoughtto that because your mother and
I had had no money at that timethat was, you know, that we
could put over here.
And so I I told I'd get backwith her.
(20:15):
And we we oh I called a localperson here in South Hill that
moves buildings, and he told meit would take about $8,000 to
move just across the street.
Well, not the street, but theroad, and onto our property.
So that was gonna be this was1995.
(20:36):
So that was gonna be afoundation and then moving the
building.
Well, I called Jeanette backup.
Told her Jeanette, look, this$8,000 just moved across the
street.
Uh there's no money to to buythat from you.
Well, at that time, this iswhere it got really tough.
(21:00):
She said, Randolph, we want youto have it.
Speaker 03 (21:06):
That was nice.
Speaker 02 (21:07):
Oh, thanks.
Put an albatross around myneck.
Why don't you?
So about $75,000 later, we havewhat you see today.
We've got a marriage on theinside with running water and
the handicapped bathroom and andnice walls and insulation and
(21:28):
and double pane windows andwhatever.
Uh and it still looks like Mr.
Cole's old store on theoutside.
So so we did save Bracey forwhat it was, and it became that
one little piece got saved.
And and and I wish we had donemore of that with uh some of the
other towns, and of course LakeRoss has still got a way of
(21:51):
doing it, and South Hill haskind of, but they they could
take that old architecture andand make something new on the
inside, and just what putsugarcoat outside a little bit
to keep the architecture of theera, but at the same time just
be innovative as far as thebusiness that you're putting in.
(22:13):
So I've seen that in so manydifferent towns that it's a
wonderful thing to have happen,and I'd I'd love for more people
to enjoy and to join me andkeep and brace this history
alive.
Speaker 03 (22:25):
Yeah, and actually we've seen a lot in in a lot of
the small areas, small townsnearby and everything, um,
revitalize.
So uh and you know that'sthat's an interest of of you and
me and and I think you know, alot of people that are um new
and old here.
Speaker 02 (22:44):
That's right, exactly.
In fact, one of the pictures,Melanie, the 19 1885 picture, uh
I knew it was before 1918because Great Granddad Brace's
store is wooden.
Speaker 03 (23:00):
Yep.
Speaker 02 (23:01):
That store burned in 1918.
Now, see, there's a lot ofpeople that live in the area
that have no clue that that wasa wooden store there.
They've all since they've everbeen here, it's always been that
two-story brick store, whichwas to me the very first
Walmart.
Or as my mother would say, hesold everything in there from a
(23:23):
needle to a casket.
They actually had casketsupstairs.
Uh funeral homes weren't evenwhat known of at that time
because everybody had largehouses, and when you passed
away, they would carry you backto that house.
Well, as houses got smaller,the birth of the funeral home
(23:45):
came, and we started having itin an area that was suited for
having that rather than tryingto deal with windows and doors
of uh smaller houses.
Speaker 03 (23:56):
Why most most of the older funeral homes are a
house?
They are because that's whatthe the job would have
eventually transformed into.
Speaker 02 (24:05):
That's right, exactly right.
But then we got regulation.
Speaker 03 (24:10):
Well, I mean, you know.
Speaker 02 (24:11):
That's right.
Apparently, in that picturegoing across that lake, there's
no regulation in that very.
If you wobbled in and you justfall right off, you have nothing
to catch on to beside your nextdoor neighbor, and they would
probably go with that dog.
One or the other, exactly.
(24:35):
Oh, geez.
But anyhow, uh, GreatGranddaddy Bracey, I don't know,
just skipping over to lookingat the community house.
Great granddaddy Bracey was thelast living trustee of uh of
the old Bracie Baptist Churchthat the tornado blew away.
(24:56):
And so he uh he gave that landto have a community house, but
on so the community would havesomewhere to go to celebrate
birthdays, weddings, uhreceptions, uh uh they had
dances there when I was a child,and and uh what they had
(25:17):
everything that went on aroundat some of the churches, they
would certainly have theirreceptions there or or even meat
there to to eat.
And so the community housesplayed a large part.
He's been doing that today.
Speaker 03 (25:33):
Exactly.
Speaker 02 (25:34):
Exactly right.
Speaker 03 (25:36):
So we will simply um wrap up our our history with um
just a little little hint of ofmaybe what the future should or
maybe could look like here.
Speaker 02 (25:56):
Well, the three people you see there in that
early 1900 pic picture is WallerBracie and uh John Rideau and
Ed Lamb, but they were the threebiggest shopkeepers, and and
I'm sure in their time they sawquite a change as far as
(26:17):
innovation coming about.
Oh, turning center, absolutelyeverything running water.
Right electricity, yeah,telephones and telephones and
and and granddaddy braced it,which I call him granddaddy, his
great granddaddy, and theyhave, but uh he said on the the
first uh it was the REA boardwhich became Mecklenburg
(26:37):
Electric to bringelectrification to rural
Virginia, and once they got thatdone, well the next step, and
and granddaddy was a visionary,uh the next step would have been
to oh, we need telephones, weneed to talk to each other.
Well, back in that time therewere several families throughout
the county that actually rantheir own lines, and they had
(27:02):
the the crank phone that you seehanging on the wall, and you
put the other one in your earand talk in the mouthpiece,
anyhow, but they were like partylines.
Uh maybe three, four differentpeople on that one telephone.
So when you rang it, everybodypicked it up, and not everybody
hung up and they found out thatit wasn't them that you wanted
(27:24):
to speak to.
So, anyhow, I just know uhhere, granddad had one connected
to the store and connected touh well who else had it?
Uh Celeste had it, uh, and CunEvelyn had it.
And so all of them were onthat.
And I know up in the m towardsSmith Crossroads, uh, the Trims
(27:46):
had a line of their own.
So anybody to remember them,they they certainly had their
own lines.
And in fact, when the phonecompany came through, they had
to deal with these people thathad their own lines to just keep
them up there.
So but they were importantpeople.
Speaker 03 (28:03):
As far as the future Bracey, well, as it's evolved
so far, yeah, it will continue.
Well, we went from telephonesto um what what do you call it?
Speaker 01 (28:15):
Um the but the internet fiber fiber fiber up.
Oh yeah.
Speaker 03 (28:20):
Um a lot of the um technology has changed.
Speaker 02 (28:26):
That's right.
That way you can work from homeand still what have a job in
St.
Louis or Tampa or actuallythere's a lot of people that do
that.
Speaker 01 (28:36):
Enjoy the recreation and you know, live in a quieter
area, exactly and still work inbig business.
Do the corporate hustle, yeah.
Speaker 02 (28:44):
And pretty much it it evolves as, you know, if we
got two people that need it,well, right there you're
probably not gonna get it done.
You have two hundred peopleneeded, you're probably gonna
get it in there quicker.
Right.
So uh as Bracey grew,especially on that lake, because
once the the dam was put in asa hydroelectric dam to create
(29:07):
current, just like uh John KerrDam did up at uh at uh Bugs
Island.
Uh the first years were reallygreat for all of us who were
around here then.
The the lake was there, therewere no houses on it, people
(29:28):
were starting to buy property.
Well, with no houses, made duckhunting and goose hunting a
whole lot easier.
You didn't have to worry aboutwhere you shot, right?
And here, so after that uh theyput uh single wides on those
lots and then years down theroad you saw the single wides go
(29:51):
away, and double wides got onthe lots.
And then years down the road,those a lot of those went away,
and they Yeah, you see what youhave in multi million dollar
houses out there right now.
And uh and those peopleactually uh do a wonderful or
bring a wonderful thing to thearea, but like I said earlier,
(30:14):
they bring in a lot of talentthat uh was not here in the area
from all different aspects,aspects, and walks of life.
Speaker 03 (30:23):
Right.
Uh and but maybe brought alittle stretching too that we
need to work with and maneuverthrough.
Speaker 02 (30:29):
That's that's true.
And of course, you know, changedoesn't come easy.
Speaker 03 (30:34):
Nope.
Speaker 02 (30:35):
I mean, I don't know of anyone who's from here that
wants a stoplight at 903 andNelly Jones.
Speaker 04 (30:42):
No.
Speaker 02 (30:42):
No.
Probably there are people whocome here who would like to see
that happen.
Well, it'll probably be awhile.
That's right.
We we we are trying to keepBracie uh a little more rural.
We certainly don't want anincorporated town as of yet,
because that only brings onemore thing we know about, and
(31:04):
that'd be tax.
Because it takes tax to run atown.
So we've got the best of bothworlds at the moment.
We've got rural America, we'vegot small town feeling, we still
have small town communityfeeling as as a lot of people
that have moved here arebecoming more involved with the
(31:25):
civic organizations, with thelocal churches and whatever.
Well, we can communicate witheach other and keep that small
town atmosphere working.
Speaker 03 (31:35):
Right.
I like that.
Speaker 02 (31:37):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 03 (31:39):
I feel like maybe Bracey Virginia helps in that
that communication.
Speaker 02 (31:43):
And it did.
Speaker 03 (31:44):
Give it out there, get get the opportunity to see
what's happening and and how wecan all connect.
Speaker 02 (31:49):
Hi, connect, that's right.
And speaking of connecting, uh,you're doing a wonderful job
here, Jay, with trying to keepthat connection between with the
Bracey.com.
Speaker 01 (32:01):
Yeah, the Bracey Virginia.com website, it was
just we wanted to uh have aplace where all the businesses
could be featured.
So um if you have a businessand you're not on there, or if
yours is on there but you wantmore information added, please
let me know.
(32:21):
Um we can get you a usernameand everything, you can go in
and maintain it.
And again, this is somethingthat we have sponsored um and
are paying for for all theBracie, Virginia 23919 uh
addresses.
Um but those outside, you know,are able to participate as
well.
Yep, exactly.
(32:41):
More information on there.
We're not gonna go down thatrabbit hole.
All right.
Okay, so well, Randolph, thankyou so much for being willing to
be on our podcast today.
Um it helps, you know, a familywhen you're a family member and
(33:02):
we can kind of just say, hey,by the way, you're gonna be
doing this.
Um, but I think um, you know, alot some of these stories I've
heard, some of them I haven'theard to the detail.
So it's always enjoyable.
And uh hope you all um at home,you know, able to follow along
and maybe learn something.
We'd love it.
(33:22):
Yes, exactly.
And that's that's the wholepurpose with this whole thing.
So we'd love it if you canfollow or leave us a review on
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, orwherever you listen, whatever
platform you use, um, you know,on social media, share it
(33:43):
privately with your friends, uh,post it online.
All of this helps us to growand keep the conversations
going.
Haven't been to it yet?
Go to BraceyVirginia.com and uhon Wired Together, unplugging
for now.
Speaker 03 (33:57):
But always stay connected.
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