Barron Mills: February 13, 2008

A recent front-page article in The High Point Enterprise carries the following bold headline: "Randolph: Plenty to see, do." There are two front-page photos to illustrate this contention. One photo is inside the hangar of the North Carolina Aviation Museum off N.C. 49 near Asheboro. It shows one of the aircraft at the Museum – a Stearman-PT-13D trainer. The other is a photo of the sign outside the Richard Petty Museum in Randleman. A third picture is on Page 2 and shows Sandra Walker, owner of Seagrove Creations, holding a piece of pottery made by Cross Creek Pottery. The photo caption also emphasizes that Cross Creek is one of 45-to-50 pottery makers that are featured in Walker's business.

The author of the article is Allyson Bond, a staff writer for The High Point Enterprise.

The opening paragraph of the article states: "Tammy O'Kelley has plenty to work with as Randolph County tourism director, who works closely with the Randolph County Tourism Development Authority. It's the duty of the Randolph Tourism and Development to promote and market the 800-plus square miles within the County of Randolph. The tourism officials will promote the area as the Heart of North Carolina."

The article quotes Doris Gammons, director of the Richard Petty Museum, who notes that "we have people from everywhere, not just Randolph County." She said the visitors come from as far away as Australia and Japan as well as areas throughout the United States and Canada.

But the most popular tourist spot in Randolph County is the North Carolina Zoological Park and Garden. This year visitors total more than 700,000! Attendance at the Zoo is up 9.3 percent and the visitors keep coming, perhaps attracted by the fact that the admission price had been reduced to entice more visitors during the cooler climate. The Zoo is open year round, except Christmas Day.

There are a lot of people here in Randolph County who have not taken advantage of the sights offered at the North Carolina Zoo, although it opened in 1974. You will be amazed to find that there are 24 major exhibits. When spring arrives another exhibit will be ready for visitors to see. It's the Watani Grasslands Reserve, a $8.5 million project that will feature larger elephant and rhino herds. Visitors will get a close-up view of the animals.

Sometime after the first of 2009, the Tourism Development Authority will debut its new visitors' guide. For some years now there have been separate Visitors Guides published for various events, such as the Petty Museum and a pottery guide.

Also, the TDA's Web site will be revamped. It is anticipated that about 80 percent of those interested in Randolph County attractions will go to the Web site – www.visitrandolphcounty.com.

For many years now Seagrove has published a comprehensive potter's guide, but the new guide will have more information for visitors to the area about places to go and there will be more information about Seagrove potters.

Since April 2007, Seagrove "Creations" Pottery Gallery and Hearthside Coffee, located at 354 Little River Road in Seagrove, has offered visitors an opportunity to see the work of many potters in an area just as you enter the town of Seagrove. This business is owned by Mike Walker, mayor of Seagrove, and his wife, Sandra. The gallery hosts many pottery enthusiasts from across the state and beyond. Brochures and maps are available at Creations. Kathy Marsh, manager of the gallery, said that many visitors are fascinated that "you can take dirt and you can make something beautiful."



Barron Mills came to Asheboro in March 1955 when he bought The Randolph Guide and became its editor and publisher. He sold the paper in 1991 but still lives in Asheboro.

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