The photography & storytelling of Laura Stotts Photographer • Preservationist • Genealogist • Speaker
North Carolina, USA
Joined October 2022
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✨ I’m Laura — photographer, storyteller, genealogist & preservationist.
I document forgotten America: abandoned places, ghost towns, cemeteries, pioneer trails & their stories.
If you believe our country’s history is worth preserving, come wander the backroads with me. 🇺🇸
Diary of Abandonment retweeted
They truly were the greatests generation. I'm sorry for your loss, and for the loss of all these great men and women. They left home, some of them underage, to go fight tyranny and socialism on another continent. Their courage and bravery are unmatched. RIP Mr. Andy.
Do you have a family member that served in Vietnam?
Feel free to post their photos below, so we can all honor them. 🇺🇸
This is my friend, Mr. Pope, a Vietnam Veteran I was a caregiver for for several years. Boy, was he a pistol!
Do you have a family member that served in World War Two?
Feel free to post their photos below, so we can all honor them. 🇺🇸
Diary of Abandonment retweeted
He had just told me days before he knew he wasn’t going to be here much longer. He was right. 😭
Thank you Veterans 🇺🇸
This is Andrew Lewis Pendleton, a WWII hero, as a young boy, a college student, and soldier.
From his obituary, "Andy served in the US Army Air Force in North Africa and Italy in WWII. He flew 27 combat missions in a B-24 aircraft from Italy to Romania, Austria, Hungary, and other areas in the Balkans. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal (3 times), European Service medal with 10 battle stars and the WWII Victory Medal. He was a member of the famous 451st Bomb Group. The 451st Bomb Group was the only group in Europe to be awarded three Presidential Unit Citations."
🇺🇸 Today and every day, I celebrate my dear friend, Mr. Andy Pendleton.
He was a decorated WWII hero who loved God, his family, and his country. During World War II, Mr. Pendleton served as a bombsight instructor and flew 27 combat missions in a B-24 with the 451st Bombardment Group, part of the Fifteenth Air Force based in Italy. His group took part in the raids on the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania.
He never called himself a hero. When we talked about the war, he always gave credit to the Tuskegee Airmen who escorted bombers like his through dangerous skies and to the soldiers down below, fighting from foxholes.
I had the privilege of spending two and a half years as his volunteer genealogist, listening to him tell stories about his family and his time in the service. I still have those recordings, and sometimes I play them just to hear his voice again.
I miss you, Mr. Pendleton. You were one of the finest men I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.
Happy Veteran's Day to all of those who have served this great country. 🇺🇸
🇺🇸 September 4, 2024, just 22 days before this WWII hero passed, I took him for what we both knew would be his last haircut.
I sat there quietly, tears running down my cheeks, watching him get ready for the journey ahead.
He missed his wife deeply and talked often about wanting to be with her again.
I was sad to be losing my friend, but I also shared in his joy at the thought of being reunited with the sweetheart he'd missed for so long.
I miss him terribly. Sometimes I still listen to his voicemails just to hear his voice.
I told him that as soon as I cross to the other side, I’m coming to find him so he can introduce me to his wife, his mother and father, and his sisters...the family I’d come to know so well through his stories while I served as his genealogist.
Celebrate our Veterans today and everyday. 🇺🇸
🇺🇸 Today and every day, I celebrate my dear friend, Mr. Andy Pendleton.
He was a decorated WWII hero who loved God, his family, and his country. During World War II, Mr. Pendleton served as a bombsight instructor and flew 27 combat missions in a B-24 with the 451st Bombardment Group, part of the Fifteenth Air Force based in Italy. His group took part in the raids on the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania.
He never called himself a hero. When we talked about the war, he always gave credit to the Tuskegee Airmen who escorted bombers like his through dangerous skies and to the soldiers down below, fighting from foxholes.
I had the privilege of spending two and a half years as his volunteer genealogist, listening to him tell stories about his family and his time in the service. I still have those recordings, and sometimes I play them just to hear his voice again.
I miss you, Mr. Pendleton. You were one of the finest men I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.
Happy Veteran's Day to all of those who have served this great country. 🇺🇸
Diary of Abandonment retweeted
He had an impeccable memory and described what it was like flying in them. I have hours recorded of our conversations about his war history...it's so fascinating.
🇺🇸 Today and every day, I celebrate my dear friend, Mr. Andy Pendleton.
He was a decorated WWII hero who loved God, his family, and his country. During World War II, Mr. Pendleton served as a bombsight instructor and flew 27 combat missions in a B-24 with the 451st Bombardment Group, part of the Fifteenth Air Force based in Italy. His group took part in the raids on the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania.
He never called himself a hero. When we talked about the war, he always gave credit to the Tuskegee Airmen who escorted bombers like his through dangerous skies and to the soldiers down below, fighting from foxholes.
I had the privilege of spending two and a half years as his volunteer genealogist, listening to him tell stories about his family and his time in the service. I still have those recordings, and sometimes I play them just to hear his voice again.
I miss you, Mr. Pendleton. You were one of the finest men I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.
Happy Veteran's Day to all of those who have served this great country. 🇺🇸
I used Grok to remove all of the photos hanging on the wall behind him and sharpen his medals in the frame, which is why the post got flagged as "made with AI". Here's the original photo.
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RT @Vict0rAlexander: For anyone with an interest in the prservation of buildings and monuments, reading about ghost towns and abandoned are…
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This old gristmill only operates three times a year. Its waterwheel is fed from two nearby ponds.
If you owned this gristmill when it was built in 1760, you’d likely be considered wealthy by local standards, as well as one of the most prominent citizens in your area.
A community which had a mill and one or two other places of business, was well on the way to becoming a town. Mills were almost universally associated with blacksmith shops, sawmills, and country stores.
Gristmills were so necessary to the settlement of backwoods areas that they were given special legislation in 1715 offering tracts of 50 acres of land and exemption from taxes to grist mill entrepreneurs.
This one can be seen in operation three times a year at Hart Square Village in Vale, NC during their annual festivals.
If you owned this gristmill when it was built in 1760, you’d likely be considered wealthy by local standards, as well as one of the most prominent citizens in your area.
A community which had a mill and one or two other places of business, was well on the way to becoming a town. Mills were almost universally associated with blacksmith shops, sawmills, and country stores.
Gristmills were so necessary to the settlement of backwoods areas that they were given special legislation in 1715 offering tracts of 50 acres of land and exemption from taxes to grist mill entrepreneurs.
This one can be seen in operation three times a year at Hart Square Village in Vale, NC during their annual festivals.
This Grist Mill was built in 1760 and was originally located near Icard, North Carolina.
The millstones were shipped from France to Charleston, SC, and then brought by wagon to this area. They weigh well over a ton each.
Many millers were some of the most prominent citizens in their community and were considered wealthy during their time.
They were so important in early settlements, they determined the placements of new roads. In the 1800s, there were more than 1000 grist mills on record in North Carolina.
It was moved to Hart Square Village in Vale, NC in 1983, where it remains beautifully preserved to this day.