Striving Seniors on the Move 10-5-25

On Thursday, October 2, some of us seniors were blessed to visit the Peter Mott House, a museum in Lawnside, New Jersey. I love history, especially when it comes to learning about people being free from slavery. After being back in New Jersey for four years, my desire was to visit the museum, and it happened. Lawnside’s history interested me particularly in the borough and Princeville, North Carolina being sister towns.

The towns became sisters after Princeville was destroyed. On September 16, 1999, Hurricane Floyd made landfall at Cape Fear as a strong category two storm. At its peak in the Atlantic, Floyd was among the largest category four storms on record.

I moved back to Greensboro five years prior to the destruction of Princeville. The Lord allowed me to go on a Greensboro City bus while everything was still at it’s critical point. I was able to see cars that were ruined, houses that were unlivable, red signs on the doors of those who escaped letting the people know that the homeowners had survived; caskets were still above the ground at the cemetery. It was disheartening to see such devastation.

A few years later after the town was being rebuilt, a friend from Philadelphia and I went to Princeville. We wanted some written history, but everything was destroyed. We went to the library in Tarboro (the town next door to Princeville) and were able to obtain history. Our information was made into booklets, one for her and one for me. One of the booklets were given to a friend who lived in Lawnside, New Jersey.

I visited Princeville the third time around 2020 when a friend and I who was originally from Tarboro drove to Tarboro and to Princeville. The two towns were separated by a bridge. By me, living ten minutes from Lawnside and also having been to Princeville three times, the connection between the towns also was a blessing to me. Out of my heart developed a love for both towns. The connection was so close that it was almost like having lived in both places and having developed a love for both of them. I am so blessed to have a north and south connection.

FYI- My experience of going to Lawnside goes much further back in history. I had friends who lived there, and back in the day during the blue law (during my wild years unsaved), people would flock to Lawnside to the nightclubs, their famous barbecue and the motorcycle riders would come on their sharp bikes. Harley Davidson was the most popular during that time.

I thank the Lord for seniors who still strive and thrive because they don’t let age or any handicaps hold them back. I am also grateful for the interest that we have in continuing to be educated and informed of some things we didn’t learn in our younger years. We never get too old to learn, but being motivated encourages us to move forward.

I am so blessed to have a north and south connection. I am truly grateful  that the Lord uses the state of New Jersey to offer programs that gives us seniors a better quality of life. And, to God be the glory for my many travels years ago to share with others how the Lord has blessed me abundantly, as I continue along with the other seniors to strive and thrive.

“Rise Seniors, Rise!"

His handmaiden, Betty A. Burnett ~ burnettministries.org