Norlina, Nothing Could Be Finer…… is the story of two young men growing up in a small town in North Carolina in the 1950’s and ‘60’s.  The autobiography of Herbert Ray Burrows begins when he was just a young boy and tells of his childhood, teenage, and young adult years in Norlina.

Many of the stories in the book were tales of his adventures with his best friend, Stewart Rooker.  The escapades of these two boys will remind readers of the Mark Twain classics, Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Instead of the adventures of two youngsters on the Mississippi, the real-life adventures of Herbert and Stewart take place in rural North Carolina and along the banks of the Roanoke River and on the land between the lakes.

Burrows’ book chronicles the many childhood encounters that only living in a small town can afford.  The decades of the fifties and sixties were ones of innocence and trust, when families did not lock their doors at night, when a day in the summer meant a biking exploration in the country, and when life was much less complicated than in today’s  world.

The book is the story of Norlina and its rich history as a booming railroad town in the first half of the twentieth century.  It is about the people who settled the town and their children.  As you read the story, you will be taken back to a simpler time and reminisce
about the “good old days” of a generation gone by, one that will never come again.

There may be many lessons to learn from this book, but the one that stands out is the kind and caring people who have lived and still live in Norlina, and make it a fine place to live.

Lew Hege Editor