Faye Ann Hedgepeth Price

In 1974, I graduated from UNC-CH with an AB degree in Education (I attended NCSU from 1970-72, then transferred to UNC-CH). Before I graduated, I had a job teaching kindergarten in WS/FC at Walkertown Elementary. I wanted to stay in Chapel Hill that summer, so got a job at Revco Drugstore on Franklin St. My roommate had worked there during the year, so I took her job when she graduated and moved back to Asheville.

I had been joking to my co-workers that "Mr. Right" was going to walk in the store for me. To my surprise..."Mr. Right" did walk in that summer and it was Jerry Price from Bethel. He was a Carolina grad and in his 2nd year of dental school.

We got married on December 28, 1974. Alice Kirkman (Kunka) was my Maid of Honor. Pam Price (Mickey) and Judy Watson (Smith) were 2 of my honor attendants. Since I finished out my contract at Walkertown, we had a weekend marriage until the end of the year.

The next year, we lived in Chapel Hill as he finished up his schooling and I taught 2nd/3rd grades in Chatham County.

After Jerry finished school, we moved to Tarboro to set up a dental practice. We did this because if he moved to a location that was in need of dentist, after x number of years, the loans would be forgiven.

Tarboro is about 70 miles east of Raleigh. In 1975, I thought the world fell off after Raleigh...so moving to eastern NC was a BIG change. However, I can't imagine living anywhere else now that we are coming up on our 34th year of being Tarboroians!

Since moving to Tarboro, professionally, I have taught 4th grade, kindergarten, directed/taught the preschool at Calvary Episcopal Church, and was the Christian Educator at Howard Memorial Presbyterian Church (our home church). Also over the years, I have done A LOT of volunteering in the community in both school and civic capacities.

One of my friends in Tarboro, who was originally from Lynchburg, VA, was looking at sending her daughter to prep school. She was showing me the English curriculum/required reading that the school would be offering her daughter. As I looked at it, I told her I had studied all that in high school. She looked at me in amazement and asked, "Where did you go to high school?" I proudly said, "East Forsyth, with Mrs. Karen Reavis as my senior English teacher!"

That was a great class and Mrs. Reavis was such a wonderful teacher...requiring us to push ourselves, well, at least she pushed me! Maybe I wasn't the brightest blub on the Honors English tree but the instruction I had in Mrs. Reavis and Mr. Clark's classes, helped prepare me for college English and a lifetime of literature appreciation.

Mr. Clark's junior English class holds many great memories. One I remember and still laugh at was when Cindy Sink got up to recite the poem "To a Waterfowl" and started off, "To a Waterfall!" I can still hear Ernie Snider and Mike Ward laughing!

Also, another good memory from that class was when we did the "Spoon River Anthology" for an assembly program. I remember I did the one that I had written, about an old spinster piano teacher name Sarah Herring. I had made up that name but when I moved to Tarboro, lo and behold, the mayor's daughter was named Sarah Herring!

We all have memories and it's wonderful when they are sweet. Thankfully, I can say the memories I have of East, from 1967-1970, are some of the best of my life! The teachers, the people, the activities/events all enriched my life in ways I could never have imagined at the time.

I think about the quote from Corrie ten Boom: "Every experience God gives us, every person that He puts into our lives, is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see." I am thankful for the imprint East Forsyth made on my life.

Frances Hunter Lewis 2011
Smith Elizabeth Lewis 2013