The Lincoln County Historical Society met on August 6 for a cover dish lunch and delightful presentation by Kevin Beggs on the history of Coca Cola in Lincolnton.

As usual the lunch was superb. Lincoln County's best cooks prepared all manner of mouth watering dishes. Along with every fresh garden vegetable imaginable there were over a dozen salads to satisfy the heart health conscious. Crowning the salad bar was a pasta olive artichoke salad with the subtle Mediterranean flair of basil.

The desert table drew attendees like bees to nectar with pies including sweet potato, cakes, puddings, two or three chocolate temptations, homemade cookies and last but far from least was the homemade peach ice cream that dreamwalked you far from the 100 degree weather outside to a family time on a back porch that we all share.

Kevin Beggs, our local Coca Cola expert, had prepared a detailed Power Point presentation of the history of Coca Cola in Lincolnton. Kevin took the group back 100 years to the first bottle of coke ever bottled in Lincolnton. His pictures testified to years of careful research through bank records, newspapers and property records. Kevin's bottle collection is the result back breaking digging and savvy horse trading to find the coveted bottles with Lincolnton GA on the bottom. Where records left bits of history blank, Kevin's vivid imagination filled in the details to show that he had a deep understanding of how our ancestors lived. Kevin was always careful to tell the difference between what he knew and what he thought. For example, his story about the three bottles he found beside an old dirt road that used to lead to the house where a bottling plant employee lived made complete sense to all those in attendance who had picked up bottles to return them for the one cent deposit. Kids today really don't know about how to get a little candy money when they go to the store.

For those of you who missed Kevin's excellent program and would like to know more about the coke bottles that are gathering dust in your barn be sure to watch for a video made by Crawford Asbell of his talk on LCTV.

Pioneer Day is 98 days away and you know how time flies. Venue Team Leaders are asked to round up their troops and look over their buildings to see what needs to be done to make sure Lincoln County's homegrown festival is a success. Last year over 3000 people came to the Lincoln County Historical Park for the apple fritters, stone ground corn meal and grits, red beans and rice, ham biscuits, chicken and dumplings and turnip greens. The new shed over the cook area is just about complete. The country store, gone are the folding tables, this year new glass faced counters will take the Woodlawn Store back to its heyday. If you are able to, can a couple of extra jellies, preserves, apple butters or whatever you are putting up this summer. In- vite your grandkids to help you as this is an art that we must preserve.

We need someone to help Buddy Marlow with the golf carts. We need a couple of good will ambassadors to meet our out of town guest and get them safely from the parking area to the Park. We need every one who can to plant a few turnip greens in about a week or so and then pray for rain. We need some new cotton to gin. We lost our cotton to the fire but luckily not the cotton gin. Too late to plant cotton. Change the oil in your tractor and antique car for the show. What are you going to wear for the costume contest? The competition was stiff last year. Do you have time to finish up your new quilt for the quilt show? We might need one rough tough log roller in the saw mill. The faint of heart and lazy need not apply. Do you think you have what it takes to enter the talent show? America's Got Talent has nothing on us. However, a few knucklehead acts would be great. Go for it! Last years vendors had a great day. Do you have any honey left? The kids are already lining up for free cotton candy. What do we want to hear about in the lectures in the One Room School House? I have an idea. How about the history of Coca Cola in Lincolnton? It would be standing room only.

So much to do. So little time, now there's just 97 days and three meetings until what just keeps getting better and better. Lastly, who are you going to invite this year to come the Saturday before Thanksgiving to share Lincoln County's colorful heritage? The best part about Pioneer Day is the people who call Lincoln County home.