Truckin' on the Western Branch

Patricia Johnson Orgain Pat Orgain was born in 1944 to Anne Ellen and A. W. Johnson, the legendary shopkeeper who had general stores in West Norfolk and in Churchland. The Churchland store was the hub of the village, and the family lived above the store. Churchland was a beautiful little village with a footbridge to Churchland Baptist Church. We learned to ride horses before we rode bikes because we couldn’t ride bikes very easily through the fields and woods. We rode on an old mill road through Silverwood near the Cooper farm on Tyre Neck Road. My parents and friends were big into horse shows. We held shows at the old Churchland High School ball field to raise money for charity—enough to help buy an ambulance for the fire department on Cedar Lane, for polio research and for some individuals. Alice Kirchmier taught riding lessons. Those of us who didn’t live on farms boarded our horses at Speedy Waldo’s granary.

I graduated in 1962 when the school had a “takes a village” atmosphere. Everyone in the community turned out for everything, like the football games. After school I’d go to Trotman’s farm across from Hoffler Creek and pick jonquils or ride my horse. We’d take the bus to the Colony or Commodore Theatres downtown, and every Friday nights there were dances at the Teenage Club where the American Legion is now. There were oyster roasts and sleigh rides with my horse hitched to a sleigh, waterfront gatherings in Green Acres to watch the fireworks and a lot of people had boats. Churchland Baptist always had Easter egg hunts—real eggs, organdy dresses, and patent leather shoes. I miss that tight sense of community. Frank and Pat Johnson Orgain. Image by Sheally

When I first got my license, cows blocked traffic when they crossed High Street at Ferguson’s Farm. My family moved to Briarwood when Cedar Lane was still a gravel road. Briarwood was created when the Greenes sold off lots to local merchants and other local business people to build homes.

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