Sunday, February 13, 2011

Peary


Yesterday I drove down to Peary to take some photos from property a reader gave me permission to visit. I'll share those photos later in the week.

Afterwards, I decided to drive down to the old Peary post office.

On the way, I was stunned to see this church, St. Matthew.


It sits on a corner at a bend in the road.  I didn't remember it was here since I very rarely get this far down Potato Neck Road.

Yes, it's called Potato Neck Road. And if you've never heard of Peary, that's because the Peary post office shut down many years ago.  However, to us locals it's still Peary.  This road sign near the post office provides some supporting evidence.


Perhaps more shocking than having that church jump out at me was the old post office, now painted yellow...


...and sporting a string of snowflakes across the porch. (Click on the image below for a better view.)


The book I am working on compares old photos of landmarks with present day images. I remember when this was a fully functioning post office and located an excellent older photo from that time, taken from a similar angle as the first one above.  So Peary Post Office will very likely make the cut for the book, even though she's currently sporting a bright yellow coat and snowflake jewelry. (Thankfully the photos in the book will be black and white.)

I'd say she's doing OK; at least she's not acting her age like so many other buildings around here.

In closing, and unrelated to the Peary area of the county, if all goes well I hope to have a special announcement tomorrow that may involve a give away, the good Lord willing and the creek don't rise.

Have a great day.

11 comments:

fighting mermaid said...

Love the Peary decorations...and the bright yellow paint. Looking for a new color for my house, but not sure that is quite it. Good seeing you last night!

Ann Marie said...

she was converted to a house after the PO closed. yes as in people live there. or lived there.. I don't know. If I don't get better soon please take me down Tater Neck and bury me in the swamp..
Saw our mother the other day.. in Food Kitty she recoiled at the sight of me...

deborah said...

Love the photos of the Church!
Hope the sun is shining brightly there - Happy Sunday!

Sherii said...

Ann Marie, you answered my question...I love when old buildings are repurposed and not just left to decay. I always wanted a loft in Foster's Department Store. Where ya could watch it all going on in downtown!

Kay L. Davies said...

I think my house might look good in that color. I also love seeing old buildings recycled, especially as homes.
-- K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

Anonymous said...

off topic, but does anyone know what the "big dig" is about at Wards Corner? Whats going on there?

Mental P Mama said...

I kinda like that yellow thing she's got going on....

Meg McCormick said...

Kind of like how some of the one-room schoolhouses that dotted the rural landscape in my home county became private dwellings. Cool.

Meg McCormick said...

...and speaking of repurposing old buildings? My husband's junior high school is now a Bi-Lo grocery store. He showed me where a moment of 8th grade basketball glory occured, right there by the frozen food case!

maria_nj said...

How the heck can we recycle this???

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://pics4.city-data.com/cpicv/vfiles8289.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.city-data.com/picfilesv/picv8289.php&usg=__r7sB7uz-vZNPsq2Xm--Blp0q4jo=&h=576&w=882&sz=51&hl=en&start=33&zoom=1&tbnid=EaCVOO0j0aa5HM:&tbnh=125&tbnw=172&ei=-G1YTYOHDdDqgQey2uDLDA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlucy%2Bthe%2Belephant%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3D9Vm%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1024%26bih%3D553%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C859&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=116&vpy=143&dur=3467&hovh=181&hovw=278&tx=149&ty=137&oei=8m1YTd6RNMjYgAeq-Mm9DA&page=3&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:33&biw=1024&bih=553

man that link is long!!

That is Lucy the Elephant in Margate, NJ, she was built in 1881. She is now a museum, but I believe at one time she was a home!!

Man I am spent, had to get up at 4am to go to work. I am tired now and in awhile I am going upstairs to watch some TV (you know how that is going to turn out)

Ohh Ohh! I love a contest, I can't wait to hear about it...manana

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Anonymous - There was an article in the Gazette Journal this week about what's happening there. It's the same thing that caused Lynne to take down her big pink chair (that used to stand outside her restaurant). They're adding a turning lane and improving that intersection. According to the paper, the digging is for a sediment basin to hold run-off.

FYI - That house that you can now see more clearly that was/is covered with brush adjacent to where they're working used to belong to the Paynes who ran Paynes Frosty Freeze (now Lynne's). I spent many a happy weekend there.

BTW, Lynne's husband is riding around the county with the big pink chair in the back of his truck. He'll put it back up after they finish the roadwork.

Fighting Mermaid - Was good seeing you too. I'm still laughing about you forgetting that time management class.

AM-I had no idea anyone lived there!

deborah - It was a beautifully sunny day here today. Still a little chilly, but sunny nevertheless.

Sherri- I adore Foster's! Did you know they moved one of the old buildings near Hyco Corner and are converting it to condos?

Kay-Me too.

MPM-I sorta liked the snowflakes too...

Meg-You should take photos next time you're up there. Of the old schools, not the frozen food case although I'm sure that'd be interesting.

Maria - I think whoever built that elephant had a wonderful sense of humor. If I"m ever in Margate I'll be first in line for the museum tour. We need a similar monument for the county, maybe a giant fiddler crab or mosquito.

OK, I've queued up tomorrow's post and if you can stay awake until the end of it (it's on the lengthy side) you'll find that all you have to do is leave a comment for a chance to win something I am re-gifting. Try not to get too excited! However, the prize is very meaningful to me. Stay tuned...