Mount Olive marks the new year with a pickle and splash
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on January 1, 2015 1:46 PM
Full SizeMore photos for this story are available in the
Full Size
News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
A crowd of people sing "Auld Lang Syne" during the New Year's Eve Pickle Drop in Mount Olive Wednesday night. Hundreds of people from all over the state attended the annual event, held at the corner of Cucumber and Vine streets at the Mt. Olive Pickle Co.
News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Tayloe Gwathmey holds his 2-year-old son, James, on his shoulders during the New Year's Eve Pickle Drop in Mount Olive Wednesday night. James has been excited about seeing the giant pickle drop for two months. The Norfolk, Va., residents were visiting family in Mount Olive.
MOUNT OLIVE -- New York dropped a ball in Times Square.
London shot off fireworks.
And Mount Olive, for the 16th year in a row, lowered an oversized pickle into a vat of "brine."
Hundreds converged on the small North Carolina town Wednesday to mark, at Mt. Olive Pickle Co.'s New Year's Eve Pickle Drop, the arrival of 2015.
And some who attended the event traveled quite a distance to make it there.
"It was very fun," said Jonas Müller, who came from Germany with his wife, Martha Wicks-Müller, to witness the pickle make its way down the pole. "We used to spend New Year's in Germany, but my father-in-law is a pastor here, so my wife and I come here now."
Tayloe Gwathmey also came in from out of town.
Just not quite as far.
He, his wife and children traveled from Virginia.
And his son, James, could barely contain his excitement.
"We told him about this about two months ago, and we actually had to stop talking about it because he would wake up every morning and ask if that was the day we were going to see the pickle drop," Gwathmey said.
For Dale Whitt, 69, the Pickle Drop had special significance.
Attending the event was an item on his "bucket list."
So to ensure the evening was memorable, he did not simply watch the pickle descend into the vat.
He also got his picture taken with it.
"I lived in Redmond City, California, for 30 years. I worked in a bunch of tech start ups. You name a company and I've probably worked for them," Whitt said. "But I was raised in Goldsboro and we would always talk about the good old days and I decided I wanted to attend the Pickle Drop. I've tried to come for three years but wasn't able to make it until tonight."
Whitt, who now lives in Clayton, said the Pickle Drop was everything he hoped it would be.
The night had an added meaning for Mary Bundle, too.
The Richlands resident celebrated her birthday at the event -- and Gerald Sullivan from The Harmony Boys sang "I just can't stop loving you" to her as a personal birthday serenade.
"Our family has come every year since 2002," Mrs. Bundle said. "It's something fun to do with the kids. This year was awesome with the personal song. It's very cool, and every year it's memorable."