LAURINBURG — Memories from loved ones can often be described as stoic among family members, but sometimes they can also be informative to others living in the same community.

Anna Meta Buchanan Purcell was a member of the Laurinburg community beginning at her birth, Oct. 11, 1889. According to her son, Dr. William Purcell, she always shared fond memories of a spring that used to exist and was a popular place among town folk, to the point where she made sure to document her memories of the beloved location.

“My mother was born near Laurinburg and grew up in Laurinburg. She wrote about a spring that is no longer there,” said Dr. Purcell. “In her writings, she said, ‘Few people living in Laurinburg now remember the beautiful old Laurinburg spring and the others here probably never even heard of it, but years ago it held a special place in the hearts of people from this part of the country.’”

Purcell continued talking about his mother’s story by saying the document she wrote was most likely recorded in the early 1930s.

“My mother said in her document, ‘to get to the spring back then we went out North Main Street to the top of the hill and turned to the left in front of Pete McIntosh’s house, just a short distance down the road, take another left road down through the woods and soon there would be a big open space, covered with grass and surrounded by trees and bushes and there, at one side would be the spring,’” said Purcell.

As Purcell continued, he said, “My mother continued by saying, ‘it was about four or five feet deep surrounded by a pipe several feet across. The bottom was covered with small white stones and a continuous flow of water as clear as crystal.’”

Anna graduated from what is now Queens University in Charlotte.

“I remember her telling me that back in those days there was a ferry over the Pee Dee River near Rockingham which she would take for the road trip to and from Charlotte,” said Purcell. “She also apparently loved teaching and taught until she stopped to care for her five children.”

Purcell added she was active in the Laurinburg Presbyterian Church, especially with the women of the church. She also belonged to an active woman’s lunch and Rook Club — rook being a card game.

While reminiscing on his mother, Purcell said his focus is on the spring because it seemed to him it was important to his mother as well as other members of society back then.

“Several years ago some of us old-timers got together on the phone and we had a wonderful time just remembering — one said that she ‘well remembered the Methodist church picnics out there,’ and another, now a teacher, said ‘way back when she was a little girl, remembered the school picnics and she could even recall some of the games they played,’” said Anna in her written documentary.

“Another,” continued Anna, “recalled the pavilion, he even knew how big it was with seats on both sides and he said that on moonlight nights a bunch of them decorated the trees with Japanese lanterns, five or six old fiddlers came to play and what good times they had dancing the old square dances, etc.’”

As the document continued, Anna stated, “one remembered that every time that her mother felt bad someone would go to the spring and bring back a big jug of the good old mineral spring water and it always seemed to make her feel better. She also remembered that the walk to the spring was a favorite for the young courting couples, especially on Sunday afternoons. Of course, you could get there in your buggy, but most everyone preferred to walk.

“I, too, remember when we lived out in the country,” continued Anna’s writing. “I can see my father now walking down a path through the woods to the spring, carrying a big jug he filled with the mineral spring water. After drinking it he said it ‘made him feel like a new man.’”

According to Purcell, his mother, in her later years, occasionally worked part-time at a neighborhood florist.

“She loved her flowers,” he said.

Towards the end of her documented recording her memory of the spring, Anna wrote, “After talking over these old times I had a strong longing to see that old spring again so my husband and I decided to go find it. Someone told us about the location. Of course, the spring is where it always was but how things have changed.

“We went out by the new cemetery, stopped and parked our car right at the L&S railroad, there was no railroad there back then. We walked down the railroad track for a short distance, to the left saw what looked like an old, old path so we took that.

“We scrambled through old logs, briers and brush, saw some water and suddenly, there on the side of the water was a broken piece of old curbing,” continued Anna. “After looking carefully, we saw what looked like a small stream of water struggling to flow from the mass of leaves and trash. I picked up a long stick and stuck it down until it hit bottom then twisted it around the side of the pipe.”

Anna concluded her story by saying, “Suddenly my eyes filled with tears and memories started rushing because I knew that was our old spring well, after all, it seemed like only yesterday.”

Anna’s final resting place is located in Hillside Cemetery in Laurinburg. She passed away in July 1981 at the age of 91.

“I think it would be a great idea for an Eagle Scout or some other young person looking for a project to go out and find this spring,” said Dr. Purcell. “It would be great to see it found and cleaned up and kept up.

“I have been out there before, quite some time ago, but it really needs some care and work around it,” he added.

JJ Melton can be reached at [email protected]. To support the Laurinburg Exchange, subscribe here: https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/subscribe.