Lizzy's Interviews

Interview with Pastor Joe Bell

I decided to interview Pastor Joe Bell because he works in Gaston County. In middle school I volunteered at his church in a tutoring program. Mr.Bell is a man who was brought to Gastonia by chance. As he continued to live and work in Gastonia, he became very fund of the place. While living in Gaston County he meet people like L. Reeves McGlohon, the retiring school superintendent, and Richard Boyce, the retiring mayor from Belmont. In his first year of living in Gaston County Mr.Bell meet some great people from the community that he can now count and depend on. When asked what he liked best about Gaston County Mr.Bell gave the simple reply, "The people." From the words of Pastor Joe Bell Gastonia, "Is close enough to a big city that you can get anything you want, like in Charlotte: the ball teams and big things. But its small still. And you can get small town vibes."

Interview with Quamar Jones

I decided to interview Quamar Jones because she also works in Gaston County. She was my third grade teacher. After moving to Gaston County in 1997 to pursue a job as an elementary school teacher at Sherwood, Mrs.Jones has lived in the county for 17 years. She stated that, "Moving here and away from my family was hard but at the same time very rewarding because I'm doing what I love and that's teaching children." The people of the County were really welcoming ad Mrs.Jones felt that, "When they say people in the south open their doors they really do" For Mrs.Jones, the best part of living in Gaston County is that, "...the people who live here rally around one another in times of need whether good or bad." When asked what her personal favorite locations to visit were Mrs.Jones replied, "I like eating at Long Creek Fish Camp and Longhorn Steak House. I like shopping at Belks. My favorite place to eat dessert is at Cracker Barrel." This goes to show that Gaston County has a lot to offer, even to the new faces of the County.

Family Christian Center Back To School Health Fair

This year was my first year volunteering at the Family Christian Center Back To School Health Fair. I had a great time while I was volunteering. At the Health Fair different stations were set up ad people from the community came in to get free check ups. I worked at different stations. I helped check blood pressure, gave vision test, and also assisted those that came in. I meet some great people from the community. I hope to volunteer again.

 

City of Gastonia

Lizzy's Reflection

This wasn't exactly my favorite field trip, but it was okay. I enjoyed hearing about how Gastonia became a city. The original plan of a railroad company was to set their tracks around the Dallas area. However, the citizens didn't want the unwanted noise, so they decided to lay the tracks around what is now known as Gastonia. I also liked hearing about the future plans for Gastonia from the City Manager. I never knew that Jennie Stultz was elected the first female mayor of Gastonia. I also never knew that the present mayor was John Bridgeman. One thing I heard that was surprising was that the job of a mayor or a city council member was only part-time. The best part of the field trip was hanging out at the Zoe's Cafe. 

Kayla's Reflection

I really liked going to downtown Gastonia, and this trip was really interesting to me. Even though I have been to downtown a lot, I didn't really know any back stories to the different landmarks and history of how Gastonia came to be! The art museum was really neat, even though I've been there before, I saw that they put up new art.  We got to go inside one of the art studios and learn more about that artist. Going to Zoe's Cafe I think was the most fun of the trip because I learn what a cappuccino was. I liked that we got to stay inside the coffee house because it was so warm in there while outside was a different story. 

 

 

 

Gaston County Museum

Lizzy's Reflection

At the Gaston County Museum field trip, I learned some fascinating things about the Civil War. I never knew that women were used as spies during the war. A few women would also dress like men so that they ,too, could part-take in the war. One interesting fact that I learned was that women played a major role during the war. Women that served as nurses had to risk their lives to dive in and get the injured. Those nurses had a lot of bravery and courage to be able to withstand the gruesome and gory things of the Civil War.

 Like I mentioned earlier, some women may have disguised themselves as men so that they could fight in the war. Most of them were caught, but a few had the opportunity to fight alongside other men during the war. Women are often perceived as innocent and petite, however, during the Civil War women used this perception to their own advantage and became spies. It was really cool learning about the role women played during the war. I've always just thought women stayed at home and watched over things while the men went to fight.

One thing I learned about Gaston County was that it holds a lot history and that a lot of soldiers came from Gaston County hoping to find some adventure. My favorite part of the presentation was when the speaker explained the transformation of a regular citizen to a solder. He explained the clothing and training soldiers received before actually going to war. I would highly recommend this trip to others. It gives you a better understanding of the history of Gaston County and how the Civil War affected our county today. I wouldn't change anything about this field trip. I enjoyed every aspect of the trip.

Kayla's Reflection

The thing I took away from the Gaston County Museum is that it was hard living in the time of the Civil War. Men had to go to war and women I had to stay home and take over what was left to them. The most interesting would be learning that women during this time did actually have a big impact on the Civil War
I would never of thought that a woman would stand up and do something so courageous back in that day. Another thing that was interesting to me was that the Confederates all either wore clothes they already had or were ones that their mom made for them, and the Union had their clothes made by the government. This interested me because It was kind of a win-lose situation, the Union had better clothing so it enabled them to fight superior to the Confederates.

Something new I learned about Gaston County was that there is so much to learn out of the Hoffman Hotel. There ass crack was a picture of Gaston College in the old days and I thought that was cool. The Hoffman Hotel also had many people who lived in Gaston County almost all of their lives up on the wall, and it just shows how much history we have. My favorite part was when we got to explore the Hoffman Hotel for a little. It was impressive of all the artifacts that still remain in that hotel until today. I also like the gun shooting part, even though it failed poorly.

 I would recommend this field trip to others. This is because it has a lot of history to give away, and its good for others to learn about these things. I think this trip should be a part of the Discovering Gaston theme in the future! The only thing I can think of with changing the field trip would have to be lunch time. It was really difficult to find a place to sit and bugs kept crawling around, and certain people didn’t want to give other people ice for their drinks. I don’t do picnics, but other than that it was a fun trip to take.

Taste of Gaston

I volunteered at a booth with the American Red Cross Youth at the Taste of Gaston. Taste of Gaston is a great community event that is held by United Way of Gaston County. This community event is held yearly in downtown Gastonia. Different food vendors line up on one street and with a coupon book there are samples from the vendors offered. There is more to Taste of Gaston than food sampling. There is live music from local bands playing at the Pavilion all day. Taste of Gaston is also a kid-friendly event. Offers include face painting, clowns, balloons, corn hole, and a bouncy house. Local vendors also offered information and products. I enjoyed volunteering with the Red Cross at the Taste of Gaston and hope to attend next year as well.

    

Veterans Parades

On Veterans day I attended the parade honoring those who served our country. I was actually in the parade with my American Red Cross team. We went all through Downtown Gastonia, we had to dance as we followed the Red Cross truck and pass out American flags. It was kind of a struggle during the parade because we had to dance and walk at the same time. This was because if we stop mid dance we would back up the whole parade. After the parade everyone gathered around the Memorial Hall so that we could have a ceremony for all the veterans, and at the end someone shot a gun in the air to honor all of those who died for our country. We then gathered up and ate some hot dogs, chips, and juice for all the people who attended.

  

Zombie Walk

The zombie walk is a community event in the downtown Gastonia location. This event is fairly new to some folks that live in this area because it has only been going on since 2012. During the zombie walk I dressed up in a zombie nurse outfit along side my friendly zombie nerd. All participants in the zombie walk can either do their zombie makeup  themselves, or come and donate a can of food and someone will paint your face for you. This year our school art club volunteered at the zombie walk and did over 100 peoples faces after getting their caned food. Not only did they have many vendors to buy things such as food, but they also had people selling art, jewelry, and even clothing. Different bands came to play, and we also had games where you had to find body parts in central city park. The people who won got prizes such as, the whole first season of the Walking Dead on DVD. When I first attended this, I thought we were gonna walk around looking like a hoard zombies, but not its just like the taste of gaston where you walked up and down the downtown strip. I truly enjoyed this social occasion and I hope to attend next year with more of my friends.

Here are some photos: