Matthews: All things must end

John Matthews stood tall, even with his age catching up to him, as he made his way into the office. He sat softly in one of the chairs offered to him, leaning forward so he could hear the questions better. He was here for one reason only — to explain why the Old School Sorghum Festival was ending, and what it meant to him to see the end.

“I’m not getting any younger,” Matthews joked. “And neither are any of the other people that help.”

But after a brief thoughtful silence, Matthews continued, “everything has to come to an end eventually, and this is that end.”

Outside of old age, Matthews said that travelling is also one of the major reasons the festival is ending. With his family having to travel from out of state, it was decided that they just didn’t have the time for that travel anymore.

“My grandson lives in Vermont. It takes him two days (to get here). You drive a day and spend the night and drive another day,” Matthews explained. “My son, he lives in Blacksburg, Virgina. And that’s a six-hour drive.”

Although the festival is ending, Matthews can only say good things about it.

“I started (the festival) 25 years ago. Several people said, ‘you’re crazy,’” Matthews said. “Well, the way I view things is nothing ventured, nothing gained. It was not a money-making endeavor. We didn’t do it to make money. Matter of fact, there have been times when it cost us money to put the show on.”

He spoke of what happened those first few years of the festival, and how the first three years he had to print off and distribute the flyers by hand.

“For the first three years, I printed out flyers and drove them all over Sampson County into little stores and little places,” Matthews recalled. “And I asked, ‘could I leave these flyers on your counter?’ And I did that for three years. After that, I didn’t need to pass out any more flyers.”

By that third year, the festival had become a success, with people knowing it’s date and stopping by without his aid.

He said he was happy the festival was going out on a high note, since last year’s festival was the largest in the event’s history.

“Last year was the biggest festival we ever had,” Matthews attested. “We had 42 vendors, people selling their wares. And of course, we had plenty of food, had some entertainment.”

And yet, he couldn’t recall a favorite memory. Instead, he said that he enjoyed all of the festivals they had put on, and he was thankful that they were as successful as they were.

“I am thankful that it was a success,” Matthews reiterated. “I feel like we educated a lot of the younger people that would not have had access to, you know, the things that were at the festival, things that were shown at the festival. The different crafts. I’m glad it didn’t run two or three years and people quit coming.”

Sheila Barefoot, executive director of Sampson County Tourism said she is “deeply saddened by the news of the Old Sorghum Festival coming to an end. It has been a cherished event that brought joy, education, and agricultural richness to our community for many years. We will miss its vibrant atmosphere and the knowledge base it provided to Sampson County.”

The announcement of the festival ending was posted on social media last week.

Matthews made sure to say if any other part of the county does something like the Old School Sorghum Festival, him and his wife will not be affiliated with it.

“I don’t know if anyone else will… someone else in the county will do a festival like that. I don’t know, but we will not be associated with it in any way,” Matthews stressed.