group. They
played together over a period of several years, using no sheet music,
but becoming so comfortable with each other's playing that they could
anticipate the variations and style of their fellow musicians. They
practiced in the schoolhouse, playing country tunes such as "Camp Town
Races," "Old Black Joe," and "Shortnin' Bread" for their own amusement.
They rarely entertained an audience.[262] Sometimes too the school or an
unofficial group sponsored musical events, a notable one being the
concert by "Al Hopkins and his Buckle-Busters," a celebrated country
band from North Carolina.[263]

In addition, serious organizations like the Farmer's Clubs, Community
League or church-affiliated women's clubs, mixed work and play by
sponsoring picnics, quilting bees, and oyster suppers. The record made
of a pleasant outing by Farmer's Clubs #1 and #4 to the Great Falls in
1913 was typical of many excursions in later years:

It goes without saying that all present had a very enjoyable day.
The children spent much time on the swings and Merry-Go-Rounds
while the older members spent the day in viewing the falls....
While still others enjoyed fishing.[264]

Home Demonstration Clubs also put on their share of entertainments, with
buffet suppers and skits, rounding off one year with a "husband-calling
contest."[265] Even the business meetings themselves were social
occasions at which dinner and friendly conversation were mixed with more
critical concerns.

Oyster suppers were a regional specialty held all over the county, of
which Floris sponsored its share. They were often money-making events
(as were the ice cream socials) at which dinner cost from twenty-five to
fifty cents and featured stewed and fried oysters. Lottie Schneider
recalled the bustle of preparation for an oyster supper given in
Herndon, involving the setting up of tables and benches and flower
arrangements, and the difficult choice to be made between fried or
stewed oysters and the many different relishes brought by each
lady.[266] The suppers in fact generally held an overabundance of food.
Again, Joseph Beard described the scene:

There were always a few who didn't like oysters and they always had
ham for those.... Anything that you would have in a farming
neighborhood like that, when you sat down to eat it was just like
having a Thanksgiving dinner. Everything from sweet potatoes to
scalloped potatoes to ma