The Indian Trail Town Council honored one of its predecessors recently, and the Town will continue the celebration into March with its annual Founders Day festivities.
Many branches of the Rogers family came together with Town leaders on Tuesday, Feb. 21, to honor the late Cecil O'Neal Rogers - a man who was instrumental in turning Indian Trail into what it is today. He helped create the foundation - literally - of one of the Town's most iconic landmarks by hauling stone for Indian Trail Presbyterian Church and excavating the church basement for Sunday school classes using oxen and a drag pan. He also began the Indian Trail Athletic Association to give area kids a place to play sports, along with donating the land for what is now Edna Love Memorial Park - named in honor of his wife.
Cecil died in 1986 at the age of 84, but the Rogers clan is still eager to carry on his tradition of giving back to the town he loved - all 11 kids and more than 130 grandkids.
"I used to have to pick cotton in that field, so I was glad he got rid of it," joked Odell Rogers, Cecil's son, about the field that is now named in his mom's memory. "But one of the things he liked most in life was going over there and watching those kids play ball."
The Indian Trail Arts & Historical Society will hold the annual Founders Day celebration on Sunday, March 12, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Indian Trail Cultural Arts Center. The event will include an exhibit about the Rogers family and their contribution to the area, as well as olde-tyme games, free refreshments and antique tractors for children to explore.
Indian Trail was officially founded on March 6, 1907. Last year's Founders Day event honored Quentin Kindley.