One brisk sunny morning in April 2023, I traveled down Old Fort Mountain to Morganton to visit with the family of one of my musical heroes, Piedmont blues legend Etta Baker.
Driving down a quiet sunny street to the house where Etta lived for more than 30 years, my hopes were to sit with her son Edgar, his wife, Stephanie, and Etta’s granddaughter, Nakia, while they remembered stories from Etta’s life.
The house looked very much as if it were still lived in although it’s been empty since Etta died in 2006.
I sat in the front living room (where so much music got made) with a sense of reverence. I was also joined by a friend of the Baker family, Morganton-based musician and historian Larry Cole, who had himself spent many afternoons in Etta’s living room, playing blues tunes on his guitar and cracking jokes with her.
We talked together for close to two hours, enjoying the breeze blowing through the plum tree in Etta’s yard, the birds calling and singing, and our own laughter. We then took a tour of the house and yard.
Edgar continues to meticulously maintain his mother’s home. He knowingly points out her beloved fruit trees, where her vegetable garden used to be and her many perennial flowers.
Before heading back home I pull into the parking lot of COMMA City Auditorium near downtown Morganton. There is a sculpture there of Etta Baker dedicated several years ago. Etta’s very own rosebushes were transplanted from her yard next to the statue, titled “Pickin’ on the Porch.”
“Sing Me Home" is an Arts & Culture series produced and hosted by Laura Blackley.
