Faison historian reflects on community, war and service

If you talk about local history with anyone in Duplin County, her name will inevitably come up. Anne Stroud Taylor, 94, is a local historian and an understated treasure of Faison, N.C.

Having lived through the Great Depression and World War II in Faison, Taylor is quick to highlight the greatness of others rather than herself.

“I was 10 when the Great Depression started–my brother was 12 – and all our lives we’ve told each other how lucky we were to live in that period of time. I have never seen people work together so beautifully,” Taylor said. When war broke out, those who could serve, enlisted. Those who couldn’t went to Wilmington to build ships. Even farmers, who stayed repurposed products for the war effort. During World War II, Faison built a lookout tower atop the town hall, where Taylor trained as a plane spotter, reporting aircraft to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.

“I did not know a soul who wasn’t trying to help this country, this town and this state,” Taylor said. “It was an experience that changed my life.”

Growing up in a small town made everyone close like family. The joys were celebrated together, and the losses were mourned together. Taylor still remembers when Clifton Edgerton died in Belgium. He was her neighbor and a Quaker who didn’t believe in war but went anyway.

“We are very different here in thoughts and politics and this and that, but we get along great. I think we just love each other,” Taylor said. “I don’t feel anything but harmony here – even when we disagree.”

She pointed to her friend William Edgar Thornton as an example of that community spirit. “When William was 12 years old, his father asked him to come into the room and talk to him. He told William he knew he was dying, and he told him he wanted him to take care of his mother, the house, and the farm that they had in the country,” she explained.

Thornton opened a repair business, fixing radios, record players and televisions after school. “He would go to school and go straight to that store afterwards,” Taylor said, adding that the town rallied behind him, bringing him their broken items to support the business.

Taylor said he went to college on Sundays bumming rides the whole way to UNC and back, and he practiced football for games he could never play, but he never complained.

Thornton later became North Carolina’s first chosen astronaut. When he launched into space, Faison residents went to see the launch.

“It was as dark as creases and when that ship went up, it looked like daytime. It was fantastic! About 200 of us went and the rest gathered in the firehouse and watched it together. To me, this is what Faison is,” Taylor said. Thornton later retired, taught others and is buried in the Faison Cemetery.

Taylor grew up one of three children in a two-story Victorian home she still occupies. Her father owned a shop, and her mother was a schoolteacher. In 1953, Taylor completed a teaching degree and became a teacher herself. She was awarded Duplin County Teacher of the Year for her work at North Duplin Elementary and Junior/Senior High Schools.

In addition to playing piano at church, Taylor serves on multiple committees, acts as town historian and wrote the grant for Faison’s Recreation Center, now known as the Anne Stroud Taylor Recreation & Wellness Center.

Her legacy continues through her family. Her daughter-in-law, Margaret Taylor, leads local history projects, including work identifying individuals in a slave burial ground. Her grandson, Andrew Taylor, serves as president of the Faison Improvement Group.

“As a teacher, you want your people working together and learning. You just stay that way all your life,” Taylor said. “We want to work harder, and do more for our town. I think we all just want to leave things better than we’ve found them. It’s not one person; it takes all of us. We should all just do the best we can with the gifts and talents we’ve been given to make things better. You won’t always succeed, but you still try – always do your best.”

Taylor was recently honored with the Duplin Rotary Club’s Outstanding Citizen award.

“Whatever you do for Duplin County is really a privilege,” she said.

Known for her humility, she is widely regarded as an optimistic and steady influence in the community. Her belief in the good of others has guided her lifelong service.