Here’s a little story about Janet and Teddy. Two small-town kids with big dreams. Best friends all through high school. Janet, a bit of a bookworm, is top of her class and part of the International Baccalaureate program at Reidsville High. Teddy is a star running back of the Reidsville Rams, who at the writing of this article, holds 23 State Football Championship Titles.
After graduation, they stay in touch and don’t travel too far from home. Teddy gets a scholarship to play football for NC A&T University and Janet pursues her degree at nearby UNC-Chapel Hill. They see each other when they can and talk about their dreams. Teddy makes plans to be a big football star and Janet wants to pursue her law degree.
Many years later, they still talk now and then but are leading very busy and separate lives. Chasing their big dreams in big cities. Teddy is in Atlanta, a draft pick with the Falcons, and Janet with a law firm in Raleigh focusing on family law.
Then one Christmas, they return to their hometown of Reidsville and run into each other in a local cafe. They spend hours reconnecting and catching up over coffee and biscuit bombs, a local favorite at Sip Coffee House. They talk about how nice it is to be home, close to family. How busy their lives are and how they miss the slower pace of home sometimes. Teddy talks about his recent injury that may be the end of his football career and what comes next. Janet talks about feeling disconnected in Raleigh, but how much she loves what she does and hopes to eventually open her own practice. By New Year’s best friends have become something more and they talk about what a life together may look like.
Less than a year later, Janet and Teddy are back again in Reidsville for their wedding. Janet always dreamed of being married at The Penn House, a historical wedding and event center in Reidsville. Surrounded by friends and family, remembering all the good times of their youth, they make the decision that Reidsville is where they want to settle down and raise their family. They want their kids to grow up like they did, surrounded by a strong community of support, with a slower pace to life, without all the noise and rush of the big city. Where life is more affordable.
Fast forward and Janet, Teddy and their kids are thriving. Teddy is assistant coach of the UNC Greensboro Spartans and Janet has a family law practice downtown. Macey, their oldest, is following in her mom’s footsteps at school and is a top-performing member of the local dance team. Trent is in middle school and is the spitting image of his Dad, but basketball is his game. Daisy is their youngest, named after Janet’s great-grandmother, and she is literally a drama queen. She has a role in almost every play the Theatre Guild of Rockingham County puts on and can sing like a songbird. They spend their summers at Lake Reidsville kayaking, fishing and camping with friends and family. They spend their weekends going to their favorite local diners and catching a concert or special event at Market Square. Life is good and the opportunities are endless.
Over the years the kids spread their wings and begin their own lives. Trent and Macey are the closest to home, both ending up in Charlotte. Trent plays for the Hornets and Macey is dance captain with the Panthers cheer squad. Daisy is living her Broadway dreams in New York but returns home whenever she can. Teddy and Janet are enjoying being empty nesters. Teddy has retired and now volunteers as a youth football coach. Janet has built a very successful practice and enjoys the perks of being able to step away whenever she wants to escape to the lake for some boat time with Teddy. They are both very active as community champions on Team Reidsville and help to inspire the next generation of youth in Reidsville to chase their dreams, while also mentioning that you don’t have to leave home to live your best life.
Now grandparents, Teddy and Janet are enjoying their golden years. Macey has moved back to Reidsville with her husband and kids to be close to Mom and Dad and raise her kids the way she was raised. She teaches dance at the local studio where she herself was once a student, and her husband sells insurance in downtown Reidsville. Daisy is still on the big stage and Trent is still nearby in Charlotte with his wife. You can often find Teddy out fishing on the lake or downtown at the local park playing checkers with old friends. Janet has sold her practice and now teaches classes at the Rockingham Community College a few days a week. You can often catch them both at Reidsville Center for Active Retirement Enterprises (RCARE), either playing pickleball or taking an art class.
Life has been good for Terry and Janet. Reidsville has been their home, their community has been their family, and they made all their big dreams come true.
Although smaller than the big cities, Reidsville is a place where you can make a great life. It offers plenty of outdoor activities, two lakes, numerous city parks and an active downtown with concerts and events throughout the year. It also offers a few other things you might not even know you need. A friendly smile and hello from neighbors as you walk downtown or the waitress that remembers your order and asks how your day is going.
These are the things that make life memorable, make it worth living. Explore what Reidsville can offer you. Start that business you always dreamed of, restore a historical property or just enjoy raising your family surrounded by a supportive community. You really can have it all in Reidsville.