It was only by chance that we found the entrance to what would be our third home,
which we had built together.
We lived in a top-floor condo at Ocean Keyes in North Myrtle Beach.
We really liked it there.
We had a wonderful view of a lake with fountains in it.
Swans – geese – ducks – a lot of big fish we could look down at from our Lanai which was screened in.
We had three bedrooms and two full bathrooms.
A dining area and a kitchen – washer and dryer –
The living room had huge glass sliding doors as did the Master Bedroom –
All went out to an enclosed-screened Lanai that went the full width of the condo.
We were on the top floor – the fourth floor with two elevators right outside of our front door.
We would walk the streets inside the gate – along the lake –
past six swimming pools – a large tennis court-
A community workout area.
750 condos were here and most were second homes for out-of-state owners.
Very few people lived there full-time.
This was the Pandemic in 2020 and we almost had it all to ourselves.
The downside was we had no garage and storage.
After we went out the back gate – two blocks and we were standing on the sand of the beach.
The same for the town – we would be on the main street – all the bars – grills and shopping were there.
There were times in the nine months we were there –
That we could hear live music from that street –
Slowly the Pandemic was loosening its grip.
We pondered living here – there were units available for sale –
The HOA fee was very high – $470.00 a month.
Security was excellent.
The location was great – but we were so close to the beach and storms.
We started searching!
So – we ventured across the border into N.C. –
Where over 30 golf courses were available.
We purchased the First Tee Card – and we could play at reduced rates on these courses.
It was then we hired a realtor and told her we liked that area –
“What could she show us”?
One after another we visited – some were okay –
most needed upgrades – they were dated.
We were not having any luck –
The last one we looked at was a Condo and a house in Sea Trails.
The condo was first floor – on a fairway – a nice big Lanai –
but the pictures of the rooms were deceiving!
They were small – 12 by 12 living room and even smaller kitchen
It was cut up into small rooms.
It would not do and the single-story house we looked at –
The floor was spongy – the woodwork was all marked up.
Too much work needed to be done.
That is when we told her – to give us some options back toward Leland and Magnolia Greens.
This would be where our longtime friends lived.
After she left – I said to Sherry – I had seen a billboard advertisement –
Brand New to build homes in Cameron Woods Community by Real Star.
This was a little bit higher than what we planned on spending but would be considered our high price range.
And we had options – we could get what we wanted –
Be in the area of 30 golf courses – and ten minutes to two beaches.
And it was five minutes from Sea Trails where we were looking.
We were well into our senior years of life –
We wanted a warm climate – no snow – no ice and the ability to walk the beach as long as we could.
We turned right out of Sea Trails drove five minutes and were at Cameron Woods Community.
They were less than two years into building this community.
We went through the gate and into the parking lot of the model. Not knowing anything about RealStar – Sherry immediately loved the model and how it was built!
The realtor told us that morning a customer had withdrawn their downpayment and a lot was available-
That would be built on soon!
We went to see it and soon saw that the Sun traveled east To West over it –
The house would face North and the rear would face South toward the ocean.
This Beach area is unique in that it faces the Ocean toward the South –
Because of the way the coast curves from Charleston to Wilmington!
That means the front porch would be shaded most of the day.
I wanted a front porch to sit on and Sherry wanted an office.
We both got that in the model we chose.
We would be 40 miles from our long-time friends –
Buck and Cindy McBride at Magnolia Greens.
That would mean golfing – dinner and shows as they liked our area to golf in –
And there are dinner theaters and shows in the NMB area as well as in Wilmington!
We decided then and there to put the money down – contacted our realtor and told her –
We still required her services and told the RealStar agent that.
In a little over nine months from moving into the condo –
We were in our third house that we had built-
1910 SF. Exactly the upgrades we wanted (that changed when RealStar sold out to Lennar)
Papa on the front porch he wanted to be able to sit on in the sun.
Our senior retirement home in Cameron Woods Community –
Today the major portion is all built out and resales happening,
Out front on Old Georgetown road – two-story townhomes with garages are being built and sold.
This phase is almost complete –
However another sister community is being built next to ours called-
Cameron Woods Pines.
All the trees have been harvested –
learned out – an emergency access road is being installed with a gate just behind the dog park-
and pond at Cameron Woods Community.
A walking trail will give access to both communities for walking.
Looking at the setting sun from our home in OIB- Cameron Woods Community.
Main Street – just above the white truck to the left – is a brick-red building – with a huge Army Tank coming out the side – this is the ELDRED WWII MUSEUM!
When I was growing up – this was Fisbees Insurance and the Electric Company in the Cellar –
and right next to it was Slavin’s Furniture store and gas station.
I would roller skate down to the bays and Jack would sometimes buy me a glass coke out of the machine that stood there between the bays.
I do not remember his last name – but he was a really nice man and lived in Bullis Mills.
We also would come down here and ask for old cardboard boxes –
they all had a heavy layer of wax on them and were perfect for grass riding down the hill opposite of our front porch.
WWII MUSEUM
Today – both buildings are joined and form this fantastic museum – dedicated to WWII
and the munitions plant that made explosives for the war.
It has a full-size ARMY TANK that looks like it is busting right out the wall of the side of the building!
My stepfather – John Soules – who was decorated FIVE times with Purple Hearts and Bronze Stars
Once gave me a revolver he was given permission to bring back to the states
He had all the signed documents from the government –
Before he passed away – he asked for it back so he could donate it here!
A few years ago – I walked down and asked to see it once again.
They had it in a safe – and was told it was worth 30 to 40 thousand dollars!
He took that handheld automatic machine pistol off a NAZI OFFICER he had captured who was dressed as a civilian trying to escape.
I was told this pistol was not from WWII but from WWI and was very rare –
one of the first automatic machine guns ever manufactured by the Germans for WWI!
I got to once again hold it!
A reenactment of women working at the munitions plant outside Eldred during WWII is part of the museum.
As you walk through you come upon room after room of scenes such as this.
This MUSEUM is like something you would find in Washinton DC. yet it is here in the very small town
of ELDRED PA. in the mountains of the ALLEGHANY FOREST in WPA!
I do not know the full story of why it is here – but I do know before the PANDEMIC
regular busloads of people would stop every day.
It sits on North Main Street right across from the old fire hall.
A must-see!
Thanks for reading PAPA’SWORLD
Memories of my life growing up in a small town in NWPA called ELDRED!
WHERE EVERYONE KNEW YOUR NAME – the ’50’s ’60’s and ’70’s.
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