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Lighting Up the Screen

She lived in Hollywood for much of her life‚ yet her modest grave is in Smithfield.

Ava Gardner was born on Christmas Eve‚ 1922‚ in Brogden‚ a rural community located seven miles east of Smithfield. She posed for a professional photographer at age 17 in New York‚ after which theatrical agents brought her to Hollywood. She starred in 60 movies over a career that spanned 44 years‚ and her Hollywood husbands included Frank Sinatra and Mickey Rooney.

Gardner’s last visit to Smithfield was in 1985‚ and she was buried in 1990 alongside her parents and siblings at Sunset Memorial Park. The Ava Gardner Museum on East Market Street hosts an annual two-day Ava Gardner Fest in September.

Tomatoes & Gourds

Out of collard greens or persimmons?

The new Downtown Smithfield Farmers Market opened in May 2007 in the parking lot of the historic Roberts & Wellons Hardware Store on Bridge Street. The market is open from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every Friday from mid-April to October.

Besides fruits and vegetables‚ the spacious market offers beef‚ chicken‚ pork‚ eggs‚ honey‚ bread‚ bee pollen‚ bath/body items‚ herbs‚ flowers and gourds.

A Place for Kids

After-school issues are easily solved with Selma’s new Boys & Girls Club. Opened in 2007‚ the Boys & Girls Clubs of Johnston County-Selma Unit provide young people ages 6-18 with a fun‚ safe and constructive after-school environment. The goal of the Selma club is to offer programs and services that build character and strengthen life skills.

The Boys & Girls Clubs serve a diverse population‚ offering programs in education and career development‚ the arts‚ creative writing and sports/fitness/recreation.

A Global View

All students learning Spanish? You bet‚ if you go to Neuse Charter School in Selma.

The school‚ which has an international studies focus‚ opened in 2007 as the first public charter school in Johnston County.

The mission of Neuse Charter School is to nurture the unique talents and interests of each child‚ all in a caring‚ vibrant and innovative academic environment. Tuition is free since it is a public‚ K-5 school‚ and it is located on the site of the former Richard B. Harrison Junior High School.

Rub the Right Way

The next time you have a cold‚ think about Selma‚ N.C.

Pharmacist Lunsford Richardson‚ who grew up on a plantation near Selma in the mid-1800s‚ opened a small drugstore in his hometown before moving to Greensboro in the 1880s. It was in Greensboro where he developed the formula for the cold salve called Vicks VapoRub‚ which was named for his brother-in-law‚ Dr. Joshua Vick‚ a Selma physician.

The Vicks Chemical Co. eventually formed and was sold in 1985 to Proctor & Gamble. VapoRub is currently manufactured and packaged in Mexico.

Let Nature Take Its Course

The color purple doesn’t refer to the movie at the Flower Hill Natural Area.

Rather‚ the 10-acre refuge‚ located along the southern banks of Moccasin Creek‚ is home to the largest stand of native purple rhododendrons found in the Coastal Plain. The preserve is situated in northeastern Johnston County‚ along a 100-foot mountain in Kenly.

The Flower Hill Natural Area is a conservation project backed by the Triangle Land Conservancy‚ an organization that helps to protect stream corridors‚ forests and wildlife habitats in Johnston and five other surrounding counties. TLC has protected more than 9‚500 acres of the Triangle region since it was founded in 1983.

For the Record Books

It has only been open since 2000‚ but the Johnston County Heritage Center is already regarded as one of the best-equipped genealogy facilities in the country.

The center is owned and operated by the Johnston County government and is housed in the renovated former home of First Citizens Bank in downtown Smithfield. It has exhibits and artifacts from the county’s past‚ but it is primarily known for the acclaimed Johnston County Room that features a collection of local history and genealogy.

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