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Cats in the Pines
Once, our longleaf pines produced the materials that helped ships travel around the globe but the profits came at a price. Now, the forests that rang out with the sounds of industry stand quiet, and the last witnesses to that era are a rare find indeed. by T. Edward Nickens
Today, the pinewoods of Genteel Plantation are protected and managed by caretaker Ricky Kelly. But one cat-face pine stands as a reminder of a different time.
photograph
by Matt Ray Photography
You’d better walk fast if you’re going to keep up with Ricky Kelly. Walk fast and listen hard, because if there’s one thing Kelly does faster than walk, it’s talk. The man talks a blue streak. Or a green streak, because most of his talking takes place in the pinewoods of Pender County, where, right now, he’s walking fast and I’m listening hard, trying to keep up with both my feet and my ears. ....

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