EDITOR’S NOTE: Old File’s Store down on the Bringle Ferry Road is gone now, moved to Gold Hill to become part of a historic village.
But Greg File remembers what he saw and heard there, remembers the tales told and opinions argued by the men who gathered around the pot-bellied stove when he was a kid, tagging after his daddy.
And one day he decided to write them down so they’d never be forgotten. And gave them names. And is sharing them with us.
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Nook Barger was a big black man who lived in this area. He was blinded in a accident early in his life. He was well liked and everyone looked after him to make sure no one did him any harm.
However, he often looked after the community himself, blind and all.
One day at the store, the men were sitting around the pot-bellied stove and they were passing a jug of moonshine around. It was a little too strong for them, and when Nook came in, they offered him the jug.
He took a drink, shook his head as it went down and said, “Now, that’s smooth.”
The men asked him, “How’s that, Nook?”
Nook replied, “It just right.”
The men couldn’t believe his answer and said, “Just right? What do you mean ‘just right.’ ”
Nook explained it was just right because if it were any better they would have kept it for themselves and it if were any worse he couldn’t have stood to drink it himself.
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Nook Barger left File’s store late one night. He had been waiting on the rain to stop before he started his walk home. The storm had been strong, and a lot of rain had fallen.
On his way home, he had to cross a bridge about a half mile west of the store. When he reached the bridge, his cane touched emptiness. He realized the bridge was washed out, and he knew that a car had passed him.
He called out but there was no answer. He went back to the store to get help, but the store was closed. He then went back to the bridge and stopped other cars before they drove into the swollen creek.
His feel with the cane was much better than eyes on that dark night.
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One night Nook met some of the men from a work camp located at the end of what is now Price Road. They were preparing property before construction of a dam to create High Rock Lake.
The workers cleaned up and surveyed where the water line would be once the new dam backed up the water. The men were headed back to camp when one of the men spoke up and said, “If it were daylight, we could take the path through the woods. It would be much quicker.”
Nook told them to follow him. He would take them across the woods. He could see as well in the dark as he could see in the daylight.
The men felt foolish following a blind man in the woods at night.
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One day when Nook came into File’s store, Tafe was going to play a trick on him. As Nook walked down the wooden aisle, Tafe was going to crawl between his legs.
As Tafe started through, Nook squeezed his big legs together, trapping Tafe. Then Nook started using his cane on Tafe’s rear.
Tafe started yelling for him to stop.
“It’s me!” Tafe said.
Nook recognized the voice, but with a big-as-life grin on his face, he said, “Me? I don’t know Me,” and kept on swinging.
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One day Nook asked Lee File if he could cash his $5 check.
Lee said sure.
After Nook handed Lee the check, Lee looked at it and told Nook that the check was for $50, not $5.
“You can’t fool me,” Nook said. “Give me the $5.”
But Lee finally convinced Nook it was indeed worth $50. Lee counted the money out and told Nook what each bill was so he could place it in his billfold where he would know what each bill was worth.
Nook had Lee cash all his checks for years afterwards.
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