Back in the day, there were successful families farming in our town who built their homes along Main Street. Judd Parkway is named for one of them. That house was taken apart board by board and rebuilt somewhere farther north. The site is now occupied by Biscuitville. The Purfoy home site is now occupied by AFC Urgent Care, succeeding KFC. The Beck home stood where we now have Taco Bell. Time and changing circumstances saw most of the old homes disappear.
Ed and Eula Sexton had their home along Main Street as well, and there it stands today, a lovely reminder of Fuquay’s past. It is where they raised their three children, Coy, Dent, and Janie Brown. It is interesting to note that they had the roof removed by builder A. Y. Hair in 1932 to have a second story added to accommodate two more bedrooms when they were expecting their third child. The current layout includes a living room, master bedroom, bathroom, eat-in kitchen, second bedroom, and laundry room on the ground floor, with two more bedrooms, another bathroom, and a craft room upstairs.
Today the house is thought to be about 165 years old. It sits on three acres of beautifully landscaped property, the lot size adjusted somewhat in the early 2000s when the road was widened to five lanes. There was land for each of the children to inherit—three long, narrow fields behind the wedge of the homeplace. One was 33 acres, another was 49 acres, and a third was 50 acres. Like so many farmers, the Sexton family grew tobacco, corn, soybeans, wheat and cotton, which they plowed and planted by mule or horse. Their home garden, pigs, chickens and other animals would have made them self-sustaining.
Lena Sexton, the wife of Ed’s brother Rufus, ran a post office and telephone exchange out of her home, which is now Milano Pizza. Ed carried the mail by horse and buggy. Local history buff Shirley Simmons says, “The Sexton family knowledge most resides with Tim Beck, who is Lena’s great-grandson. The Sextons are the main graves in the cemetery on Purfoy Road.” While looking for Tim, I met his daughter Georgia, and some of his grandchildren, who are the 7th generation to live on the family land.
Janie Sexton, Dent’s daughter, who was named for his sister, was the first wife of Quinn King. Janie and Quinn King lived in the family home, which he later purchased for himself in 1984. He set about to do the extensive repairs it needed, following its use as a rental property. Janie Sexton died of cancer, and Quinn’s wife Sandra has since presided over the home and gardens for almost 40 years. Quinn King grew up on farm property in a hamlet called Studebaker Crossroad, just over the Harnett County line, where his grandma ran a store. Sandra Dennis grew up in similar circumstances in the Wilbon community. They were acquainted through their activities in the Baptist congregations nearby.
You will see Quinn King on the riding mower, grooming the lawn. He is a skilled handyman and a hard worker. He puts his talents to use on mission trips with a group of Baptist men. They have done renovations at a Baptist camp in upstate New York. More recently, a group of a dozen men worked on property at the Baptist-owned Fort Caswell, near Oak Island, NC.
For the homeplace, Quinn did the work himself, bringing the plumbing and electrical systems up to modern standards. There is an old farm bell that was used to call the family to dinner, or to summon help in emergencies. Quinn designed and built a new post for the bell in 1968. Sandra remembers when he brought it out of a barn and set it back in its customary place. He crafted and installed metal awnings that help cool the home in summer. He has adjusted the rock wall that ran past his property all the way from Kipling, 7 miles south. He keeps up the hand-dug well that was near the horse barn, to this day still providing the delicious water they enjoy. A serious hand injury is in treatment using a brace he designed and crafted himself. That’s the country way. Whatever is needed, you work to provide. Quinn was part of Boy Scouts of America for a decade, and Sandra’s brothers participated as well. Both Quinn and Sandra grew up with the value that you leave a site better than you find it. You ‘do a good turn daily’—that’s the BSA slogan.
When an opportunity presented itself, Quinn King dug up and transferred 200 azalea bushes that now adorn the property. There are dogwoods, myrtles, and the majestic pecan trees that still produce a bounteous crop in good years. Two of the original pecan trees were accidentally cut off by a mule-drawn sickle long ago. Though the trees are over 100 years old, one tree alone produced 55 gallons of nuts in 1968. Sandra remembers a similar harvest in 2017. She uses the pecans to make pies, fudge, clusters, cake, and candied nuts. Storms have taken out a huge pine that had more than 150 annual growth rings, and also an ancient oak that was over six feet in diameter. Yet the property does not have the overgrown look of some places that could use grooming. Quinn has cut some of the bushes down to ground level. The roots are strong, and the bushes come back prettier than ever.
When I asked about hard times, it was the storms that the Kings remembered. In their youth, Hurricane Hazel came by. Quinn remembers being in the Lafayette School when it hit. Sandra was working in a tobacco shed grading room when the wind peeled off the roof of the building. She and the others went down a ladder and cowered in the pits below until the storm passed. (I could relate. Far away in Maryland, I also experienced the fury of Hurricane Hazel, but it is a pleasant memory of playing dominos with the whole family by candlelight. We grew up valuing a gas stove because it would provide hot food even if the power was out.)
The Kings have seen the town develop over time. First came Bojangles in the mid-1980s, followed by Walgreens, Arby’s, and Harris Teeter, which is now the new TJ Maxx. Then there were the banks. The Bank of Varina became Rainbow Interiors. The Bank of Fuquay became Anne’s Diamonds, and now houses Abshure Realty . When the power was out in the wider area, restoration crews came to Fuquay first, because there were businesses that could provide food for the workers. The Kings have sometimes welcomed country friends who needed a shower or other help until their own power came back on.
Quinn King likes living here, “other than the traffic and the trash.” He picks up trash continually. Why do people toss their fast-food debris? There have been flyers for businesses, every form of packaging, and even diapers. One fellow used to toss an empty cigar pack each day. The town at one time tried to get Quinn to pay for a sidewalk for the 526 feet of frontage on Main Street. It would have been a considerable expense. He replied, “I don’t need a sidewalk.” Several years ago, the sidewalk was put in after all, and paid for by those who do need it.
Quinn showed me some of the glass bottles from a collection of over 150, all retrieved from a trench on the property. Sandra has a cabinet full of little figurines of gnomes, angels and bunnies. She fondly mentions her “BBs,” or baby bunnies. There are figures of rabbits in the beds among her iris, roses, crocus and daffodils. The live bunnies grew bold enough to approach and eat out of her hand. A vegetable patch is fenced off, mostly because of the deer, but rabbits still know the gentle human will not harm them, and generations later will still approach. She also feeds the plants. “I give them coffee grounds, eggshells, banana peels, and apples.” In the spring of 1996, the Kings were recognized by the Town for the way their work benefits us all—they were given a Community Appearance Award plaque. There was a trophy as well, which was passed along to the next recipient.
When I asked about good times, Quinn smiled and told me they are happy every day. When I asked about the future, he sagely remarked, “They can’t get any closer.” His property now abuts Dunkin Donuts and Eggs Up Grill. On July 5, he will be 81 years old. Last year, Sandra had him helping to plan a big surprise party for a friend. When he arrived, he was completely taken in by the friends who had gathered to celebrate his own status as an octogenarian. You might think he was a couple of decades younger. I suppose faith, loving care, purposeful hard work, a sunny disposition, service, and good genes can have that effect.
