On an overcast morning in Hope Mills, few people can be found spending much time outside.

But inside the Hope Mills Recreation Center, Josh McLaurin and Denise Wallace are kicking soccer ball after soccer ball in a room bustling with pint-sized athletes.

Wallace has worked in recreation since starting in Atlanta in 1992, but this is a summer job for McLaurin. A 2007 graduate of South View High School, he's a wide receiver on Louisburg College's football team.

Nevertheless, he takes his part-time work with the youngsters seriously. Already, he seems to know all their names by heart.

"I try to learn their names as quick as I can,'' he said, "so I can have fun with them.''

The youngsters are attending one of the weekly summer camps the recreation center offers. This week's focus is soccer. Other weekly themes include drama and cooking.

While the children brush up on their soccer skills, several senior citizens are brushing up on their driving skills in another room in the recreation center.

AARP offers periodic sessions for seniors to refresh them on new rules of the road and also to remind them of problems that occur among older drivers.

"I took it several years ago, and it's very helpful,'' said Clara Bondoc, who drove from Fayetteville to attend. The class is important to Bondoc since she still drives quite often. She only recently retired from Lafayette Ford after 37 years.

Over in the recreation center's exercise room, good friends Margaret Swanson and Betty Hill are peddling away.

But they aren't getting very far.

That's all right, though. The two women are getting through one of their several weekly sessions on stationary bicycles.

No music blares in the background. Conversation is good enough for them.

"We solve the world's problems,'' Margaret said.

In fact, they're both interested in the upcoming Hope Mills municipal elections in which 16 candidates have filed for a seat on the Board of Commissioners.

"It's going to be thrilling,'' Margaret said.

The breakfast rush is long over and Paige Tong is taking a breather before the lunch crowd starts shuffling in.

Tong is assistant manager of Tastee Foods Restaurant on Main Street. Being the owner's daughter probably had something to do with her earning that title, but she's also worked in the restaurant business most of her life.

In fact, she's studying restaurant management at Fayetteville Technical Community College.

Her mother, Rachel Burt, bought Tastee Foods from the Beasley family a little more than a year ago. After working as a waitress, cook and manager for years, Burt decided she was ready to become her own boss.

Tong said the family faced quite a challenge in the beginning.

"Our house burned down,'' she said. "We were living in a hotel and running the restaurant. But everything's OK now.''

Fried pork chops are among the menu favorites, along with country-style steak.

And even though breakfast wasn't that long ago, stick around Tastee Foods long enough and you'll be hungry again.

The crowds at Big T's are a lot like the water that laps the docks.

Slowly, they've both been coming back.

"Actually, it's been a great summer, though I thought it might be busier," said co-owner Donna Gray. "But people have been turning out for Cruzer Night and Movie Night.

"Now we just need to remind people what a nice place the lake is to have a leisurely lunch.'

"Folks got out of the habit of lunch at the lake, mainly because there was no lake for so many years. Now it's back, and people are trickling back as well."

Some come to snack on the dozens of flavors of frozen ice that Big T's sells. Tiger's Blood and Strawberry Daiquiri (nonalcoholic, that is) are the big sellers this summer, Gray notes. An occasional buzzing bug drops in for a visit, lured by any sticky sweet treats left unattended.

Others just stroll to the gazebo and take in a sunny afternoon.

"It's sort of like we're slipping back into a groove," Gray said. "Like an old friend has come back."

Just down the street, lunch is wrapping up beneath the rough-hewn shelter behind the Alms House. That's where the community Love Lunches program has found a home - and a need.

Meals aren't fancy, usually sandwiches and a vegetable in a white Styrofoam container with a bottle of water to chase it. Some surplus dessert is often on hand, courtesy of a local grocery store.

This day, though, is a treat: fried apples, courtesy of the Fayetteville Salvation Army, which helps with food preparation.

"We don't get that often," noted Nancy White. She's one of the volunteers who passes out food off the worn white porch of the Alms House. Dozens of people, many with young children in tow, drop by for a lunch and a chance to catch their breath.

"We see a lot of the same folks each day," said Alice Vickerman. Like White, she volunteers after a request was sent to their church, Hope Mills United Methodist. "It's hard to appreciate how important doing this is until you've been here a while. This may be the only real meal people have all day.

"Then there's some people who aren't here every day. We have one man who shows up occasionally. He says, 'I don't need to come every day ... but I needed to come this day.'

"And we need to be here every day, just in case. As Jesus said, 'Feed my sheep.' "

One of those sheep wanders over from Hoke County every day. An older man, known to the volunteers only as Ronald, shows up late, lobbying for an extra meal for the trip home.

"I hitch when I can," he said. "But if no one is picking me up, then I'm walking."

His efforts are successful. He walks back down toward Pate Street with two containers.

After a half-hour, the food is gone. The hungry walk or drive away, blending into the busy day around them.

Until tomorrow.

The pace is a little slower after lunch over at the Sunshine Center as well. The pool tables are quiet, after a busy morning. There's not even anyone bowling with the Wii machine.

Wii? They have a Wii at the senior center?

"Oh, my yes," said center director Pat Edwards. "It gets pretty competitive sometimes."

"We got a grant for that, and it's been real popular," added volunteer Erline Hall. She's been coming to the center for a dozen years and says the people and the activities "help keep us all young."

"You won't find a nicer bunch of people," she adds.

One of those people, a 92-year-old gentleman with an easy smile and nonstop wit, is Mario Camerlengo. He's visiting his granddaughter, Marleen Riley, but has quickly become a fixture at the center.

"I'll keep coming till they tell me to get lost," he said.

That's not likely to happen anytime soon. Camerlengo wows them with tales of flying in World War II, playing Big Band music - and with stories about a famous childhood friend from Steubenville, Ohio.

"His name was Dino Crocetti," Camerlengo said. "Most folks know him as Dean Martin. We were in the Boy Scouts together. I played violin and my sister played accordion with him when we were little."

Deano went on to fame, and Mario stayed in Steubenville. "But I'm still here, and I've got my friends," he said. "And when the band starts playing, I'm ready to dance."

Mazie didn't look ready to dance.

But if anyone would hold the door of Jonathon's Barber Shop open long enough, she'd have bolted into the parking lot.

Perhaps "bolted" isn't the right word. The golden-haired pooch - the mascot of Jonathon's for more than four years - is a little past zooming anywhere. Instead, she lopes from customer to customer, looking up for a kind word and pat on the head.

"But she still wants to go outside, on a hot day like this?" mused shop owner Jonathon Natale. "Go figure."

Natale is a local. He grew up here, graduated from South View and enjoys life in Hope Mills. He enjoys good-natured joshing and conversation with his customers as they wait for a trim.

"The key is keeping your customers satisfied," he said. "They could get a haircut in lots of places. But if they enjoy the experience, and get a good haircut, then they'll come back."

Customers have been coming to Jonathon's since 2001. That's when the building was moved from Owen Drive and plopped on Hope Mills Road.

"My dad owned the building and sold the land for the KFC that's there now," Natale said. "But it was a good building. Rather than demolish it, he just moved it here. We refurbished it and added the old-timey decoration."

One of those decorations is a large '30s-style ad urging customers to ask for Wild-Root Hair Creme.

"So far, no one has asked," Natale said. "That's a good thing. I don't even know what that stuff is."

Another customer comes in. Mazie takes another half-hearted look to the door, before slumping down with a sigh.

"Life's better inside this time of year," Natale noted. "She knows it."

Afternoon arrives in Hope Mills, and it might seem a bit quieter than usual.

That's because four different baseball teams representing the town are scattered around the region playing in state tournaments.

Players on one of the those teams, the Hope Mills American Dixie Majors All-Stars, are lining up on the third baseline at Unimed Field at the Pembroke Recreation Complex.

It's a shiny new facility, a worthy place for some of the best young baseball players in the state to show off their talents.

This is an elimination game, so the losers are going home.

That fact isn't lost on the familiar foes standing on the first baseline, the Stoney Point All-Stars.

The two teams met less than two weeks ago for the district title at Brower Park, and Hope Mills ran away with a 15-0 win.

But this is a new day.

It's only the second inning, but Jennifer Cribb nervously paces behind the bleachers near the Hope Mills dugout, making the shirt she's wearing that says "Baseball Mom" sort of informational overkill.

She's Takoma Williams' mother, and she wasn't about to miss this - or any other - game.

"I'd already planned vacation for the whole week," she said. "I think they can go all the way, I've got confidence in them. It's been real exciting."

Hope Mills gets on the board in the top of the second on Mathew Reeves' RBI single, which is good news to the legion of fans who made the trip down Interstate 95.

A few minutes later, a short walk around the fence behind the dugout, around the foul pole and along the fence behind center field, you'll find Shelia Locklear underneath a tent in a lawn chair.

It's a surprisingly good view of home plate, which gives a fan a good angle to shout out friendly words of encouragement to umpires, even if they might be too far away to hear it.

"We usually sit back here because it's a good view," she said. "We like it back here because we can yell as loud as we want. We don't have to get on anyone's nerves, people sitting in front of us, so we really like it back here."

Her son, Trevor, and his teammates put up a three-run fifth inning, sparked by Logan Hales' RBI double, and went on to a 4-1 win.

That was good news for head coach Clarence Maxwell, but he was still all business a few minutes after the victory.

"They put a good pitcher on the mound and he had a real good game," he said of the difference between this game and the last one with Stoney Point. "We were a little anxious at times, didn't hit the ball as well as we can. You do what you have to do."

That mantra led to wins over Mount Holly and Shallotte in the next two days, but the magic ran out on Thursday night with a 1-0 loss to Mount Holly with a berth in the state championship series on the line.

But there's always a new day to look forward to with Hope Mills baseball.

The Bill Luther Meeting Room in Town Hall is filling up quickly. With about 20 minutes left before the beginning of the meeting, seats are becoming scarce.

There's a larger crowd than usual. Many of the people in attendance are from the Friends of Hope Mills Lakes. A representative of the group is going to present a proposal to clear vegetation from Hope Mills Lake.

Mayor Eddie Dees as well as Commissioners Tonzie Collins and Bob Gorman walk through the room shaking hands and offering greetings to various people, often recognizing them by name. If not, they introduce themselves and thank each person for attending the meeting.

With it being election season, one might think such activity is politically motivated. All three are seeking re-election.

But that's not the case. Board members visit with the audience before most meetings.

Commissioner Doris Luther is led to her seat by her son, Billy.

Both of Luther's arms are in slings after she broke her elbows in a recent fall.

But she is determined to be at the meeting.

Dees pauses early in the meeting to take care of a technical issue. Commissioner Eddie Maynor is out of town, but he is going to participate in the meeting via speaker phone.

Town Manager Randy Beeman steps next to Dees and hits a button on the phone.

There's a loud crackling noise for a moment and then silence.

"Are you there Mr. Maynor?" Dees asks.

"Yes sir, I am," Maynor says.

Neil Smith is speaking to the board about a 29-acre tract of land the Sandhills Area Land Trust wants to give to the town.

Smith describes the possible uses for the property, including ball fields. He also speaks about the historical significance of the area, as related to Little Rockfish Creek and its importance to early settlers in the region.

"If we don't jump on this, I'm sure the city of Fayetteville will be willing to," Dees said. "Would that be a fair statement, Mr. Smith?"

With a smile and small chuckle, Smith says, "I'm going to say no comment."

The board then votes unanimously to express interest in the property, but will wait until a later date to accept it.

Agnes Lowder, membership coordinator for the Friends of Hope Mills Lakes, presents the organization's plans to have the lake cleared.

Once she finishes her presentation, the many members of the group in attendance applaud.

Board meetings routinely wrap up with commissioners having an opportunity to share some final comments before the meeting adjourns.

Luther and Gorman have already spoken. Dees is about to call on Commissioner Jackie Warner, but pauses.

"Mr. Maynor, I've heard you breathing right next to me the whole meeting. Are you still there and would you like to say anything?" Dees says, drawing laughter from the audience.

Maynor thanks the board for letting him participate by phone and then thanks everyone for attending the meeting.

The two-hour meeting is adjourned. Now is time for visiting. Town officials mingle with members of the audience after the meeting.

Little groups form across the room. Some are for serious discussion; others are for a friendly visit. Laughter and chatter can be heard across the room.

Editor Kim Hasty, community sports editor Randy Capps and staff writers Chick Jacobs and Donnie Sewell contributed to this story.

Golf Courses | Retail | Churches