Tag: wendell nc

New in the collection: Lizard Lick Towing plaque

Football shaped plaque with the embossed words, "Lizard Lick Towing."

” ‘Lizard Lick Towing’ makes ‘Jersey Shore’ look like a Martha Stewart episode.

“Drawing its name from the nearby crossroads community about 20 miles east of Raleigh, Lizard Lick Towing & Recovery is the enterprise of Ron and Amy Shirley…

“Wendell’s Chamber of Commerce isn’t trumpeting the news of a cable show being taped in its precincts, and the antics of the stars can’t be expected to pull many viewers off PBS.

“But for the low-falutin’ crowd, it’s the place to be. Brawls, bash-ups and a tow truck, too — too good to be true. And after a few minutes, you’ll doubt that is.”

— From “Out of Lizard Lick, something tasteless” by Mark Washburn in the Charlotte Observer (Feb. 12, 2011)

“Lizard Lick Towing” is long gone from cable, but this oddball, perhaps homemade wooden plaque remains. And so does the business itself.

 

Maybe naming a town isn’t as easy as it seems

Nicholas Graham’s revelation of Carrboro’s backstory — how UNC president and chemist Francis P. Venable gratefully  handed over title to the town’s name to the way less modest Julian Shakespeare Carr — reminded me of other instances in which North Carolina’s intent to honor the intelligentsia proved challenging:

— Conover is named for the Italian sculptor Antonio Canova.

— Murphy is named for the North Carolina educator Archibald Murphey.

— And the namesake town of the New England writer Oliver Wendell Holmes gets the spelling right — but calls itself (as acknowledged by the Gazetteer with a rare pronunciation tip) Wen-DELL.

Other examples, anyone?