I went out riding late this afternoon and decided to ride to the town that I was born and spent much of my early life growing up in. It also has the closest statue to me (that I could think of). 16 miles or so of
pedaling into 10 mph wind
and I was there.
I think the rules are to have your bike in the picture but when I got there I knew it was going to be a bit difficult to get a prize winning shot. In addition to only owning a cell phone camera and considering a picture a success for me if one of my fingers in not in the shot, the court house was undergoing renovation. The Courthouse is sort of a landmark for this part of my state, it has been around a long time (for my part of the world).
I did get the obligatory bike shot.
I told the construction guy you see there that I was just getting some pictures of the courthouse because I wanted some shots of the copper roof before it ages and turns green or whatever copper roofs do these days. He said "hop in the cherry picker, we will get you any kind of picture you like". I was a little tired from fighting the wind and hills getting there so I just said "no thanks but I appreciate the offer". I did feel some sort of small jolt of electricity go thru my head and I felt a little confused for just a second. It was later on the ride back home that my mind exploded with the thought: I could have got a picture of my bike on top of the Chatham County Courthouse! That would have been a photo for the ages. I could have told everyone, hey, have you ever seen the photo of my bike on top of the Chatham County Courthouse? It would have been EPIC! I have still not ruled out going back with food, beer, and bribe money to try and get that offer again.
The statue is a CSA soldier, most all of them face north, as does this one.
The Chatham County Courthouse was built in 1881. I know, a young whippersnapper when compared to some of the buildings you have over there but it has been around a while for over here. It was originally designed to have the clock you see but the town never could seem to find the funds for them.
This short article from local news tells about the man who donated the money for them and from what I have heard, enough money to maintain them to WELL into the future. I hope the local politicians are somehow kept in check as to how that money is used. I think it was a very kind gesture by this man and I was glad he got to see it before he died.
The town it is in, Pittsboro, was established in 1771 and is named after William Pitt the Younger. In 2010 the courthouse was undergoing a half million dollar outside renovation and someone working on the construction was using a torch and caught it on fire and basically destroyed the second floor and clock tower. Fortunately it was covered by insurance.
This is a
well shot three minute video of the fire. I never realized how much that landmark meant to not only people from all over this immediate area but people from all parts of the state. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that the courthouse is built in the middle of a roundabout at the intersection of what was for years two major roads that go across the state.They interrupted programming and ran special reports on the news in several regions of the state while it was happening. News helicopters from all over the state were flying over. The video shows a little more of the town and what it looks like. I didn't include more shots because of road construction in town and the construction on the courthouse, it looks like a war zone down there right now. BTW, it was supposed to be finished by the Fall of 2012. And yes there is a new courthouse about a block south of the old one. They will still use the old one for some things but I forget what.
Sorry for getting carried away again. One of these days I will get a real DSLR camera and let it do my talking
.