Of all the places in North Carolina that hold meaning in my life — places where music is made and joy is had, places that have charted the course of my life as a singer and composer of songs that are deeply rooted in our state — the small Foothills town of Troutman in Iredell County is perhaps the most special. My older sister, Becky, and I were born in Davis Hospital, the closest medical facility, about seven miles away in Statesville. Our father, W.C. “Chap” Lauderdale, was the pastor at the New Perth Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, and our mom, Barbara, was the choir director. We lived on Perth Church Road.

Our faith community was the tie that bound us all together. We spent much of our lives in church: Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. Weddings, funerals, and Vacation Bible School in the summer. On Sabbath day, after the service, we were usually invited to have lunch at a rotating list of church families’ homes. I can still smell the food — it was so delicious! Everyone in Troutman was good to us. My dad and mom were loved by the community, and we all loved them back.

At the edge of Lake Norman State Park, Troutman’s downtown, with vintage murals on the sides of buildings, maintains a timeless feel.  photograph by Meredith Marie Photography

In addition to her choir duties, Mom also taught chorus at Troutman High School and gave private piano lessons. Sometimes, I’d meet her at her glee club rehearsals and listen to her students’ voices singing some of my favorite songs, like “Catch a Falling Star” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Sitting there, soaking in the music — it was an indescribable feeling.

Two of her students, Henry Bridgers and Ed Barefoot, were from nearby Barium Springs. Mom instilled a deep passion for music in them, and in later years, they would bring along records they were listening to — by artists like Peter, Paul and Mary and The Kingston Trio — and share those new sounds with me. They brought guitars, too, which piqued my curiosity. I looked up to Henry and Ed, and, eventually, I learned to play the guitar myself.

From rocking chair conversations with longtime friends in Troutman to the main stage at MerleFest in Wilkesboro, Lauderdale’s life journey is the stuff of childhood dreams. photograph by Christopher Noble, Courtesy of MerleFest

I remember going to talent shows at the high school, where I’d see a lot of singing, picking, and skits. Nowadays, I try to pass the passion that I discovered in those early years along to new generations of children, not just in upbeat, good-time songs like “Cackalacky,” which I cowrote with Charlotte activist and folk singer Si Kahn, but also in the all-ages Chris Austin Songwriting Contest, which I chaired for 20 years at MerleFest in Wilkesboro.

After a day of poking around the strip of shops in downtown Troutman, young Lauderdale would emerge with copies of his favorite comics books, like Fantastic Monsters of the Films. photograph by Jim Lauderdale

When my folks needed someone to look after Becky and me while they were working, they left us in the care of Linnie Nesbit and her husband, Bob. The Nesbits were our surrogate grandparents; their daughter, Ruth, and her husband, Kenny, were like an aunt and uncle. Bob was a carpenter and had a huge garden at the back of his house and a woodshed next to the garage. Later, as a teen, I wrote my first song, “I’m Choppin’ Wood,” standing right next to Bob’s woodshed.

Linnie and Bob’s house was on South Main Street and faced the Troutman Shirt Company, which locals called “the shirt mill.” For townspeople, the mill provided steady employment. In addition to shirts, it produced jeans, work pants, and leisure clothing — some of the styles that I’d eventually work into my stage wear. A block away from the mill was a strip of local businesses — a drugstore with a soda fountain and a magazine stand featuring copies of my favorite comics: Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, Archie, and Fantastic Monsters of the Films. Bud Brown’s grocery store was just up the street, and in the other direction, there was Poole’s five-and-dime.

When the weather cooled down in the fall, we’d all go see the Troutman Bobcats play football or to the Iredell County Fair. Halloween was one of my favorite times. I loved the beauty of the turning leaves. When winter came, there would be a Christmas Eve service at the church and a Christmas breakfast the next morning in the church basement. During the cold months, I’d often visit the Nesbits; Bob would stoke the woodstove in his den, and he and I would sit and talk on rockers made at the Troutman Chair Company.

I was just 5 years old when our family moved to the big city of Charlotte, where Dad got a job as the director of church extension. It really tore me up to leave. But we were only an hour away, so I visited frequently and would always stay with Linnie and Bob.

As the years go by and friends pass on, I appreciate more and more how fortunate I was to have spent my early childhood in that small Foothills town. Where memories of church, music, and the many wonderful people I knew still live in my mind and in my heart.