Anna Humphrey Katsoulis paints a picture of Burgaw, a town rich in history and community.

Wagrub. That’s what we called it as kids. It was more fun than Bur-GAW, an Indian name for mud hole. It’s a small place, albeit the Pender County seat. And it’s true that one can count the stoplights on one hand. But, it’s my town, where I was born and reared.

There are several historic sites still standing in Burgaw. Visitors and natives alike will tell you about the beauty of the Burgaw Courthouse. Its majestic appearance and 100-year-old oak trees even won over the film industry in the 1980s. It has appeared in many TV shows and movies, including the popular “Matlock” series. The four large magnolia trees on the square where it sits are lit up each year with colored lights to signify the start of the Christmas season.

The courthouse square also hosts a variety of events each year. Marriages take place in the gazebo. Trick-or-treaters come on Halloween. Parades pass. But the N.C. Blueberry Festival held in June is the biggest annual event that takes place. Thousands attend this event where there are booths, contests, games, food, and plenty of blueberry flats to buy. The berries are so sweet that you can pop them in your mouth like candy. If you decide to visit, be sure to get Blueberry Farms’ bottled blueberry juice.

I remember putting pennies on the railroad track on the day the train passed through Burgaw for the last time. The newly restored antebellum depot is one of only two pre-Civil War depots in the state (the other is in Selma) and bears a 160-year-old history. Burgaw Station was once known as the “Lifeline of the Confederacy.”

Visitors to Burgaw might also enjoy the Historic Burgaw Museum. It is housed in the oldest brick home in my town and contains a Mattie Bloodworth room. She wrote the only book on the history of Pender County to date.

Before it closed, Reade’s grill was a hopping lunch spot. John Reade served freshly ground meat made into mighty fine burgers all the way with mustard, chili, slaw, and onions. Today, my favorite thing to eat in Burgaw is the old-fashioned chocolate pecan fudge at the Burgaw Antique Place. Visitors will find several varieties of delicious fudge.

My Greek father-in-law always referred to my town as a village. You can still smell the cornfields and the tobacco curing. You can see the orange of deer hunters lining Highway 53. The road has taken me to Athens, Greece where I leave the locals wondering why I chuckle at the packaged venison legs in the supermarket. Wagrub, my village, my town, that’s why. (Wagrub is Burgaw spelled backwards.)