Despite having a news staff of two (to include yours truly), this newspaper, at least as long as the good Lord and my doctor keep me healthy, will continue to do all we can to bring you, our readers, all the news that’s fit to print.

Case-in-point was this past weekend. Over a span of two days and 128 miles, I covered events in three of our four counties – Bertie, Gates and Northampton.

Meanwhile, my main man – “Mean” Gene Motley – had Hertford County covered….mainly working at Chowan University for a football Saturday afternoon and a Hall of Fame banquet that night.

Even though it was a working weekend for me, I had a blast! The weekend not only sparked a few fond memories, it also served as a history lesson…plus spending some family time.

On Saturday night, Deborah, Danielle, Brandon and I were in attendance at the “Main Street Revue” in beautiful downtown Colerain. There, members of that community staged a benefit for the North Carolina Baptist Men Disaster Relief Fund. It was Colerain’s way of thanking one of the many groups that came to this quaint little town nestled on the banks of the Chowan River to lend a big helping hand in the aftermath of the deadly tornado back in April of 2011.

I really didn’t know what to expect heading inside the ColerainCommunityBuilding, but two hours and 180 photos later, I left thoroughly entertained. The Revue, acted out in front of a standing room only crowd, was a walk through time of the different eras in Colerain. Famous stars were portrayed by local folks – Kate Smith, the Andrew Sisters, Shirley Temple, Alfalfa, Patti Page and Ernest T. Bass, just to name a few.

There was a hilarious skit from the old Carol Burnett Show (Mr. Tudball and Mrs. Wiggins); an equally funny Colerain’s Got Talent skit with Burney Baker as Peggy Lee, John Noe as Marilyn Monroe and Bill Harrell as Dolly Parton; and a modern day performance from Logan Hughes. And you had to be there to fully appreciate the “On the Streets of Colerain with Son and Fatback” (funny stories shared by Milton and Ronnie Felton).

Great job by all! Please extend me another invitation for your next performance….although I hope it’s not because of a tornado.

High noon on Sunday found me in the Gates County community of Eure, upon the request of my good friend, Joyce Eure. I, along with a hundred-or-so others, witnessed a bit of local history….the first major construction project in 100 years at Eure Baptist Church.

Built in 1913, the original Eure Baptist still stands strong today. It has witnessed a couple of needed additions over the years, but none compared to its new fellowship hall – about the same size of the church – which was formally dedicated on Sunday. The beautiful new facility, complete with a nice size kitchen packed with all the needed amenities, allows the church to not only cater to its own, but is sure to become a place for all the community to enjoy.

Congratulations to the members of Eure Baptist. Your leap of financial faith will be rewarded in the riches of what God offers – salvation.

I left Eure and headed to Woodland in Northampton County. There, the town’s fire department paid tribute to a man that is not only one of their own, but one who is an icon in the R-C area medical community.

Dr. John Stanley landed in Woodland in 1955, choosing that tiny town to plant the seed of his medical practice. Nearly 55 years later (37 of which he has spent as a member of the Woodland VFD), “Doc” remains as the cornerstone of medical well-being.

As a testament to his good, old-fashioned medical ability, there was a 91-year-old man and a 103-year-old lady in attendance…both his patients.

“Doc” was our family’s physician for many years while I was growing up. He has healed a lot of aches, pains, cuts, and bumps – all through common-sense medicine. Some of that doctoring was performed inside our home.

Thanks, Doc, for all you’ve done over your decades of service.

Cal Bryant is Editor of Roanoke-Chowan Publications. He can be contacted at cal.bryant@r-cnews.com or 252-332-7207.