Week 24: Miss Eva's Collection

June 12, 2010

I headed east today to the town of Belhaven. My sole purpose was to visit the Belhaven Memorial Museum. This museum is mainly a collection of Mary Eva Blount Way’s house, but Belhaven has added some local history over the years. Miss Eva collected a lot of stuff, odd stuff, unusual stuff, and bizarre stuff. When I arrived the door was locked. I was a little concerned because I had driven over 2 hours to get there and they were closed. I asked an older couple on the street about the museum. I talked with the lady for about 10 minutes. She said that it was a lovely museum and that I must see the dressed fleas and the dress of the 700 pound women. I wandered into the police department to inquire if the museum was going to open. The lady called the guy that opens it but got no answer. I left the police station and to my delight there was the old guy opening the museum. As it turns out the museum is run by donations. I just love that concept.

I entered the museum to see old-style light bulbs and fine antique china side by side. Clothing from the 1800’s hung over large display cabinets full of knick-knacks and old pipes. I wandered through the random isles and piles to find a collection of buttons by the thousands, eye-glasses, antique china and sewing machines. There were shoes from Holland and some cowboy boots. A house made of match sticks, a wreath made of human hair. I saw jars of animal hair and feathers and human hair. As I worked my way through the museum, I was fascinated. Such an odd conglomeration of items and collectable. There was a section for kitchen tools beside a shelf with food that Miss Eva had canned. Among her canning jars were fish, chicken fat, ears of corn, spinach, and slop that I couldn’t even determine.

There was a collection of sea items: shells, sharks teeth, fossils, and sea horses. Next were some gardening and hunting items with a bear toe in one jar and a whole bear foot in another. Next were dolls, creepy dolls. Then comes the most bizarre of all. Creatures in formaldehyde! There was a skeleton hanging from a glass case containing jars of animals: Snakes, lots of snakes, one-eyed pigs, two-snouted pigs, a frog, a bird, and a few octopuses. There were also 3 disturbing jars in the case. They contained 3 human embryos of 1, 3, and 6 months. I know they weren’t murdered or I hope they weren’t. These little guys or gals were just a bit much to handle. But I still looked anyways. I must admit that it was fascinating and disgusting all in the same. A friend of mine, Huck, wandered if they had souls and names. I think so.

On the way back I stopped into the historic town of Bath, the first incorporated town in NC, I think. I had a hot dog, a Snapple, and some superman ice cream. It has been years since I had superman ice cream. I sat on the deck over looking the bay at the store and rocking away in a rocking chair. I drove through town and saw many historic buildings and the place where Blackbeard once lived. Arrrgggg….