YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1978 w w w. j a m e s t o w n n e w s . c o m
weekly edition
May 14-20, 2025 Vol 47 No 20 | 1 Section | 6 Pages
Troop #17 celebrates four Scouts receiving Eagle awards By NORMA B. DENNIS FREELANCE WRITER ndworddesign@gmail.com Jamestown United Methodist Church fellowship hall was breaming with excitement May 12 as family and friends gathered to honor four new Eagle Scouts. Each Scout had been working hard to accomplish the needed requirements, which culminated in a hands-on sustainable project that helped their community. Will Beamon After participating in Scouting at Jamestown United Methodist Church for seven years, Beamon was ready to complete his Scouting history by obtaining his Eagle Award. Beamon is the son of Andy and Mary Beamon. He is a junior at John Yowell Academy at The Piedmont School in High Point, but it was his summer swim team at Cedarwood Pool that inspired his Eagle project. “I chose to give back to my
swim team by building shelving units for equipment, storage cubbies and a hanging rack for swim floaties,” he said. “The swim team office at Cedarwood was small and unorganized, so my project was intended to create more space in an attempt to make things a little easier for Coach,” Beamon explained. Coach Brian Thoma, a math teacher at Ledford High School, uses six weeks of his summer break to work with approximately 150 swimmers. Before embarking on his Eagle project, Beamon and other members of his troop raised money by cutting and splitting wood from a tree that had fallen in his neighbor’s yard. The neighbor paid the Scouts for their work, and they also sold the firewood to finance the project. Beamon held several workdays to complete the shelving and storage units, receiving help from some of his fellow Scouts, Scout leaders and family.
Public speaking and learning basic life skills such as cooking were important to the Scout, but it was camping, going on trips and hanging out with friends that he most remembers. Mitchell Faurote Faurote joined Scouting seven years ago and has especially enjoyed the camaraderie of good friends throughout his Scouting endeavors. “Scouting also has taught me how resilient I can be, along with the importance of good planning and adaptability,” he said. Leadership has been another important skill he has acquired through the many opportunities he has had to gain experience during his years as a Scout. Among them were his responsibilities as Senior Patrol Leader. He was awarded the “Tommy Murray Honor Camper Award” during a summer camp program. Stepping out of his comfort
Will Beamon, left, with swim coach Brian Thoma.
Mitchell Faurote
Edwin Priddy
Jake Golinski
see awards, page 2
Pennybyrn hosts prom for residents
Compiled By Carol Brooks
By NORMA B. DENNIS FREELANCE WRITER ndworddesign@gmail.com The words spring and prom are somewhat synonymous. After all, spring is when many schools host their annual proms. But spring also found Pennybyrn Retirement Community hosting a prom for some of its residents. On May 2, those who live in the Healthcare Center (skilled nursing), their family memPhotos by Norma B. Dennis bers and staff dressed in Excitement built as Eric their finest to enjoy the speWalker and Marceen cial event titled “If Only for Aronson were named see prom, page 2 Prom King and Queen.
Photos submitted
Deejay Randy Smith
Residents, staff and guests enjoyed music, food, dancing (watching and participating) and plenty of conversation.
Preservation Award winner to be announced The winner of the 2025 Mary Browning Historic Preservation Award will be announced on May 18 at 3 p.m. at the historic Deep River Friends Meeting. All entries were directly related to the preservation, interpretation or research of Jamestown history. Selection was based on significance, quality, leadership, impact, performance and dedication. Categories include Archeology, Education and Outreach, Lifetime Achievement, Heritage Interpretation, Research, Documentation/Survey Work, Activism/Advocacy, Structural Preservation/Restoration, Archival Activities, or other. Deep River Friends is located at 5300 W. Wendover Ave. at Penny Road. The public is invited to attend. Growing Up Oakdale Join the High Point Historical Society for a program about Jamestown’s Oakdale Mill Village. Long-time Jamestown resident Elizabeth Greeson, who grew up on Oakdale Road near the Mill Village, is the presenter. She spent most of her days at the Mill Village growing up and will share memories of her time from the ‘60s and ‘70s Oakdale area. The program will be held May 21 at 10 a.m. at the City Lake Park Meeting and Events Center, 600 W. Main St., Jamestown. This is the new building that replaced the old gym. Parking is available on the side opposite the pool. Have an event that you think needs to be included in About Town? Email Norma B. Dennis at ndworddesign@gmail.com or Carol Brooks at cab1hp@gmail.com
Guilford County played a part in the Revolutionary War This past April 19 marked the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the Revolutionary War. It was the Battle of Lexington and Concord near Boston in 1775 and began with what has been called “the shot heard ‘round the world.” Colonists began their fight for independence from Britain. Guilford County, especially the area near Jamestown, was the site of several battles. Quakers The Society of Friends, or Quakers, began to move south to escape religious persecution in the north in 1698. By 1748
they had settled in a community they called New Garden, now a part of Greensboro near Guilford College. “Friends did not engage in violence. Quakers represent a key third group in the American Revolution that chose political neutrality, and they were affected by the war nevertheless,” according to the U.S. National Park Service information about the Guilford Courthouse battle. “The Quakers opposed such activities as the declaration of American independence because they believed that ‘governments were divinely instituted and that they should only rebel should the government disobey the laws of God.’” Little did these peace-loving people know that a Revolutionary
Photo courtesy of Guilford Courthouse National Military Park
General Nathanael Greene War battle would happen right in front of their eyes. On March 15, 1781, 40 minutes of a three-hour battle took place on the New Gar-
den Meeting House property. The Friends took care of the wounded both here and at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse later in the day. New Garden meeting disowned (expelled) seven members between 1771 and 1780 for “attending muster, hiring men for war, and driving away a neighbor’s livestock for the use of the army,” according to the Park Service. Approximately 1,724 Quakers were disowned between 1774 and 1785, according to historian Arthur J. Mekeel.
Greensboro is named for him. No one knows what happened to the final “e.” The correctly spelled name still exists in Greene Street, Gen. Greene School and Nathanael Greene School. Greene was a Quaker who was active in the opposition to the British in the early 1770s. He became a general in the Continental Army, serving under George Washington several times. Washington later appointed Greene commander of the Continental Army in the southern theater where he was successful in several battles against Lord Cornwallis. Nathanael Greene All this military involvement Although not a North Carolina led to Greene’s disownment by native, Major General Nathanael the Society of Friends. Greene’s name is still remembered in the area. The City of see guilford, page 2
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By CAROL BROOKS freelance writer cab1hp@gmail.com