Lawless

The Wild West
Talk to just about anyone who visited Love Valley in the ’80s and ’90s, and they’ll tell you it was more of a lawless Western town than a tourist destination.
Duke “Mutt” Burgess moved to Love Valley from Lincolnton a few years ago and runs Love Valley Mercantile with his wife, Katrina. “I came up here as a kid and got into all kinds of trouble,” he said. “You could get whatever you wanted, good and bad.”

On consumer complaint website PissedConsumer.com, there are several scathing posts about Love Valley, including one from 2008 that characterizes the town as “an absolute trash hole” that’s “dirty and racist and run down and poorly managed and just crappy.”
Another posting from 2009 details a fight that broke out at one of the local watering holes where “a kid almost got beat to death” and how there were no police or bouncers around to restore order.

“Up until a couple of years ago it was pretty wild,” said Adams with the Iredell County Sheriffs Department. “There were lots of fights and alcohol. You definitely didn’t want to bring children here. You still get some unruly people, but it’s nothing like it used to be.”

Ellenora and Andy both seem unfazed by all the talk of trying to clean up Love Valley’s image. When asked if she’d like to see any changes, Ellenora shrugged and said, “It doesn’t matter what happens. It’s going to happen anyway.”

During my recent visit, there were plenty of kids and families riding horses and filling up the campsites. And old-timers congregated on benches outside the storefronts, including Montana, 79, a former two-step champion who lives in Mocksville and has been visiting Love Valley since the 1950s. “We just like to sit around and tell lies,” he said.
But there’s still a rowdy, rebellious undercurrent that runs through the place. By noon a pretty good crowd has gathered at the Chicken Coop, a little open-air shack with a dirt floor that’s part of The Silver Spur Saloon.

A five-piece band rips through some bluegrass tunes as bartender Frank Campbell keeps the $2 Budweisers flowing, punching a cowbell every time he gets a tip.
Then, as the raucous crowd guzzles brews and cheers the band, an unexpected site: triplets, all well endowed with long, dark hair, stroll into the bar. Every head in the place swivels in their direction. They’re the Jenkins sisters, and have lived in the area for years. “We just love riding horses around here,” said Kallie Jenkins. “And we don’t really like going to the city.”
Inside The Silver Spur Saloon, dairy farmer Terry Barker (no relation to Andy) is ordering lunch. Barker, 44, said he visits Love Valley just about every weekend, and usually hangs out at the saloon, which features live music and a big dance floor.

He said he couldn’t care less about horses, but instead comes to Love Valley for something else.

“You should see the girls who come up here,” he said, and begins to tick off all the cities that his various conquests have come from.

Although Barker said his plan is to find “the one” in church, for now he’s happy with carousing at The Silver Spur. “The girls who come up here are different, they’re willing to take chances.”

Bob and Judy Adams bought The Silver Spur Saloon in 2006. The couple, who first heard about Love Valley from their son, moved from Maryland looking to enjoy the simple country life.

“Since we’ve been here there’s been some hooting and hollerin’ and people getting into it in the streets, but it’s calming down,” said Bob. “We love the people and the atmosphere here. It’s so nostalgic.”

A few doors down from The Silver Spur is Jack’s Place. While The Silver Spur is popular among the older crowd and country line dancers, Jack’s Place, which has pool tables, video poker and karaoke, is where the younger crowd hangs out.

Jack and Linda Jolly have owned the bar since 1998. Jack, who grew up about 10 miles from Love Valley, said he used to visit a lot during the 1960s and ’70s. “It used to be wild,” he said. “But it’s more family-oriented now.”

The Next Generation
And that’s just what Tori Barker is fighting for. Tori, 32, is Andy Barker’s granddaughter, and she’s inherited his adventurous spirit and determination.
Her early life was marked by tragedy when her father, Jet, who helped his father build Love Valley, died of cancer in 1981 when she was just 3. He’s buried outside the Love Valley Presbyterian Church.

Tori grew up on a ranch in Raleigh, and spent many summers and weekends at Love Valley hanging out with her grandparents and riding horses.

After she graduated from North Carolina State University with a bachelor’s degree in textile industry and design, she got married in 2002. A few months later she and her husband traveled around Europe and eventually moved to Long Beach, Calif., where she became an avid surfer and also earned a bachelor’s degree in fashion design at California State University–Los Angeles. The couple next moved to Carolina Beach in North Carolina.

“My grandparents always encouraged me to travel and see the world. But I always wanted to return here to Love Valley.”

And that’s just what she did in 2005. Life dealt her another blow when her husband was killed in a motorcycle accident that same year.

Tori has remained at Love Valley, and in 2006 opened Moonshine Gifts. Located across from Jack’s Place, where she also bartends, the little “country boutique” features arts and crafts, jewelry, pottery, home accessories, candy and ice cream.

Her little boutique is busy during my visit. People seem to naturally gravitate there, from little girls who just want to hang out, to awkward teenage boys and pot-bellied men, all obviously smitten with Tori. She handles all the attention with easy Southern charm as she rings up soft-serve ice cream and soft drinks.

Tori lives in a little apartment above Moonshine Gifts, and is actively involved with trying to keep Love Valley thriving. She serves on the town board, helps design the town’s website and marketing pamphlets, and organizes fundraisers to build a Love Valley museum and municipal complex.

“I like living here,” she said. “It’s my community. I’ll never be able to replace my grandpa, but I’ll do whatever is necessary to make Love Valley the best place it can be. This is home and where my future is.”

Check out the town’s own website for more info. Love Valley

~ Sam Boykin