Home Care In Snow Camp, NC

Hundreds of people rallied this week to keep an Alamance County dairy farm going after its owner was critically injured by a bull over the weekend.

Randy Lewis, owner of Ran-Lew Dairy in Snow Camp, made the news a few years ago when he was forced to adapt his business to the COVID shutdown, turning milk into ice cream instead of throwing it out like many farms around the country were forced to do.

On Sunday, Lewis, 62, was in the pasture on his farm when a black Angus bull attacked him, according to dairy staff and family. He suffered broken ribs, a broken collarbone, punctures in both lungs, and broken bones in his face and back from the attack.

The Angus is a Scottish breed that averages around 1,870 pounds for a bull and is known for its easygoing temperament, experts say.

UNC Hospitals officials said Tuesday afternoon that Lewis’ condition had been upgraded to “fair.”

He faces a long recovery, including reconstructive surgery to rebuild his ribs, according to Taylor Hayes, who operates the milk plant at Ran-Lew Dairy. Hayes and other dairy staff have set up a GoFundMe page to share information and raise money to support Lewis and his farm.

The campaign had raised over $109,000 of its $115,000 goal by Tuesday evening. Staff wrote in the update Tuesday morning that nearly 200 people had signed up to volunteer at the farm and a new staff member was being trained.

The Maple View Farm Ice Cream Store in Orange County will also hold a fundraiser this week to benefit Lewis and his farm. The store has pledged to give 10% of all sales between noon and 9 p.m. Friday to the campaign, along with any additional donations left at the store’s counter.

Maple View’s ice cream store is located at 6900 Dairyland Road, just west of Chapel Hill.

Lewis is the fifth generation of his family to farm the land in southern Alamance County and has about 50 cows.

“We are reeling from the shock and worry for our friend,” Hayes wrote on the site.

“We’re still trying to grasp the full financial impact of this incident, but this fundraiser will help pay for Randy’s medical costs and the additional labor while he is unable to work,” she said.

Staff and friends will plan a celebration for Lewis when he finally gets to come home, she added.

“Although a barn dance may not be in the cards for a while, this will be an opportunity to gather in person, share a meal, and tell our favorite Randy stories,” she said.

This story was originally published May 9, 2023, 3:01 PM.

By Amber Heintzberger

At Braeburn Farm in Snow Camp, NC mother and daughter Cindy and Eliza Sydnor work side by side day after day sharing their business and their passion for horses. To some this may sound like a dream come true, for others it may sound like a recipe for disaster, but this mother-daughter duo is definitely making a success of their shared interest.

Cindy and her husband, Charles Sydnor, own a 400-acre farm in central North Carolina. He raises grass-fed Red Devon beef, and Cindy and Eliza train dressage horses and teach riding lessons. Mother and daughter have each formed LLC’s: Eliza Sydnor Dressage LLC and Cindy Sydnor Dressage LLC. They work side by side and keep their own horses and training horses in Cindy’s barn. They use the entire facility together, often teach in the arena together and ride together daily. Their only constraint is that the barn has only nine stalls, which limits the number of horses they can take in for training.

When horses come in for training with Eliza, the client pays her for the training and Cindy for the boarding and all other bills – shoeing, worming, vet, etc. This way Eliza is basically a private contractor working out of Braeburn Farm.

Cindy’s business consists also of judging dressage with her USEF “R” license, giving clinics away from home, and being an examiner for the USDF Instructor Certification program.

Eliza, 24 in November 2006, is a USDF Certified Instructor through second level and will probably test for the third and fourth level certification in 2007. She has already gathered a good group of students locally and in several locations around the state of North Carolina. She has taught on Maui, Hawaii, also.

Cindy and Eliza Sydnor: A Family Dressage VentureBy Amber Heintzberger

Sharing Their Lives and Interests

Both Cindy and Eliza love music, good literature, and a few movies. “I played the piano a little but not as well as Eliza, who also plays the guitar quite well and sings. Eliza reads many good books; I like to listen to books on tape and CD’s,” says Cindy. “I don’t share Eliza’s love of hiking and camping, but I’m thrilled that she loves it. We both like writing and seem to find interesting projects in that area.”

Asked about the pros and cons of a mother/daughter business venture, Cindy answers, “I think this is the ultimate mentoring situation. I have always loved seeing Eliza learn to ride and handle horses. It is one of my greatest joys in life to see her love and enthusiasm for horses and dressage. She was never pushed; she pushes herself more than enough.”

Eliza finds working with her mother a positive experience. “The pros are many: we get to spend most of the day together doing what we love, we trust each other, we work with each other to solve problems,” she says. “Also a big pro for me is that I get some of the best training in the country every day for free – although I work my butt off for it in return!” She considers, “The cons are that since we are so close sometimes it gets hard to work together. We both love the horses so much and each other so much that emotions sometimes run high.”

Cindy and Eliza Sydnor: A Family Dressage VentureBy Amber Heintzberger

Working With Others in the Sport

Sometimes they find it easier to go to an outside instructor who can give them an unemotional outlook. Eliza explains, “When a student works with an instructor that she doesn’t have a personal relationship with, then it is just business. But when my mother tells me to do something that I don’t agree with I feel totally comfortable telling her that I don’t agree with it! So, sometimes it is easier to go to an outside trainer that we both really respect to get advice. We both try to get into ‘business mode’ rather than ‘mother/daughter mode’ but sometimes that line gets blurry.”

Cindy continues, “From a business point of view, it is good, because we trust each other completely and want the best for each other. When I don’t have the time for a new client, I refer them to Eliza, and I’m sure the reverse will happen soon as Eliza becomes more popular. Another advantage is that we help each other in our daily training and riding. Eliza is very good at teaching and coaching, and I appreciate her corrections. Everyone needs a ground person. Everyone.”

Eliza’s riding goals are to continue training and showing her horses up the levels and continue to help her students progress as well. Her big goal is to compete her horse Lancer at Grand Prix next year. “I have taken him from pre-training level through Intermediaire 1 with my mom’s help, and he is so close to the Grand Prix I can taste it!” she enthuses.

Eliza also has many young horses that have been competing at the lower levels. Prince Hopeful, a 2002 Hanoverian gelding owned by The Hopeful Group, LLC, is an exciting young prospect that she is hoping to compete in the FEI 5-year-old tests next year. The stallion Wilmington is a 2001 Hanoverian (Waikiki/Fabriano) owned by Lucile Broadley of Honey Locust Farm in Chapel Hill, NC. This is a Hannoverian breeding farm where Eliza also works starting young horses under saddle. “He’s a super young horse who has done very well this year at First level and I hope to continue working with him for many years to come,” says Eliza.

Cindy and Eliza Sydnor: A Family Dressage VentureBy Amber Heintzberger

Cindy Sydnor – USDF Instructor Examiner, Instructor of Instructors

An examiner for the USDF Instructor Certification program for almost thirteen years, Cindy works with one or two other examiners once or twice a year at “testings” where the candidates are tested on longeing horses, longeing for seat, teaching private and group lessons, and riding familiar and unfamiliar horses. They also have to take a written exam and a verbal exam.

She explains, “In addition to acting as an examiner, I and the others on the “faculty” teach workshops in all the disciplines mentioned. A “Pre-cert” is also in the program. This is a mock testing so the candidates can do a practice exam before the real one. The Pre-cert turns out to be very valuable for the candidates’ time management in the exam and it settles their nerves a little.”

The program is the first certification program of a high standard to exist in the U.S. It is patterned after the British Horse Society’s and the German Federation’s programs, both of which are enormously successful and productive in those countries. “It is quite an honor to be certified by the USDF,” says Cindy. “Students are asking instructors if they are certified, and we are very proud of those who are.”

Cindy’s involvement in instructor certification prompted Eliza to start organizing USDF IC workshops in NC when she was just 15 years old. “I discovered that I really enjoy organizing events like this, so over the years I have organized around 15 workshops, two pre-certs, one final testing, a USDF L Program and many other educational events,” she says. “I really like the USDF IC program. It is tough but fair, and I found it to be really fun!”

Eliza teaches many juniors and a few adult amateurs. “ I have really grown to love teaching, and I get a lot of joy out of seeing my students progress,” she says. Eliza passed her Training – 2nd USDF Instructor Certification in 2004 at the age of 22 and hopes to test for 3rd-4th level next year.

She reasons, “The workshops, pre-cert, and even the testing make you think about what you’re doing, express it, and do it better. Without pushing myself, I feel that I would get stuck in always being ‘pretty good’ at what I do. The process is humbling, but it makes you realize how much more there is to learn. You can look at that as a scary, overwhelming thing, or as a really exciting thing. I choose to look at it as being really exciting. Look how much more I have to learn, and look how good I could become if I keep learning.”

Cindy and Eliza Sydnor: A Family Dressage VentureBy Amber Heintzberger

Sound Business Advise for The Equestrian Professional

Asked what advice would she give to other people going into business with a family member, Eliza emphasizes that the business aspect needs to be taken seriously. “Sit down with a lawyer, an accountant, and other people whom you admire in the business world and plan out how you want things to work,” she says. “Make a written business plan, make your business a legal entity, keep track of finances, learn how to really be a business owner/operator. We’re all in this because we love horses, but if you don’t figure out how to make it work for you as a career, it’s easy to get burnt out and broke and not know how you got there.”

When she decided to make horses her career, Eliza sat down with a long time client of theirs who was a very successful businesswoman. “I wrote a business plan and had her critique it,” she says. “Then I started working with a wonderful lawyer who helped me create the LLC that is my business and also put together the syndicate that owns one of my young horses. I’ve never had business classes in college, but I can assure you that I know a lot about all of that now!”

Cindy answers, “First, there has to be a feeling of total trustworthiness and good intentions. Both parties have to want to see success for the other person and for both. If there is jealousy or dishonesty, it would never work, as in any relationship. Secondly, it is very important to outline who does what, so that responsibilities are clearly defined. Thirdly, it is essential to have regular business meetings to discuss goals, plans, and any problems. And lastly, the financial information must be well-kept, accurate, with good business principles, with a profit.”

She advises, “It is actually very difficult to go into business with a family member. One must be honest, considerate, and somewhat unselfish. Otherwise, not only the business will fail but the family bond can be severed.”

For this proud mother and her aspiring daughter, there seems to be no limit to their dedication to learning all that they can and sharing what they learn. In admirable fashion, this mother/daughter team is making a success of their venture. With planning, openness and love for their horses and each other, their business grows and prospers.

Driving along the back roads of Alamance County, you’ll find the crumbling remnants of a colonial settlement -- older than the United States itself.

Park your car and step into the 1700s: Small wooden houses, a historic post office, and even an old school house – still full of antique desks and a tattered map. One tiny wooden building squats behind a historic marker describing it as an original Quaker meeting house.

It was in this small, unassuming and un-incorporated community of Snow Camp that Freedom Seekers would hide as they escaped from slavery down the Underground Railroad.

In this part of North Carolina, 'stations' along the Underground Railroad could be found every 20 miles or so – about as far as a Freedom Seeker could travel in one night. The high population of Friends – colloquially known as Quakers – and communities of free Black families provided safe houses for freedom seekers moving north. Quakers were known by many during the era as passionate abolitionists, who would often provide food, shelter and supplies for Freedom Seekers along the Underground Railroad.

"We are the Quaker Belt of North Carolina," says Ron Osborne, a historian and member of one of the oldest Friends meetings in the area, the Spring Friend Meeting.

Even today, there are Friends living in Snow Camp whose history connects back to the Underground Railroad.

Osborne can trace his roots back to his great-great-great grandfather Needham Perkins, who ran a 'station' on his farm.

"So this area of Snow Camp may have been a station, and the next station would have been up around New Garden. Centre may have been a station, and Mendenhall Plantation," he says.

Even today, Mendenhall has one of the only remaining relics of the Underground Railroad in NC: A false-bottom wagon used to 'smuggle' Freedom Seekers to safety.

This dangerous, unwritten pathway to freedom was not documented. To help protect Freedom Seekers and abolitionists alike, secret codes and hushed voices provided the only guidance along this portion of the Underground Railroad.

"There was this very loose organization of stations, and probably the next station up the road knew who you were, but you didn’t know who the subsequent stations were -- so that if somebody got caught, the whole system was not compromised," says Osborne.

His great-great-great grandfather Needham Perkins was, in his younger years, a teacher at the New Garden Boarding School – today known as Guilford College. A tree known as the 'Underground Railroad Tree' still stands on that campus today, a centuries-old marker of the old-growth forest where Freedom Seekers would hide along the pathway to freedom. Students of the school were known to bring supplies and food to Freedom Seekers hiding in the woods around that tree.

Dangers of the Underground Railroad

Whether you were a Freedom Seeker trying to escape or an abolitionist trying to help, there was immense risk to taking part in Underground Railroad activities. This necessitated extreme secrecy – leaving very little oral or written history for us to find today.

Needham Perkins was eventually 'punished' by his neighbors, who discovered he'd been helping the abolitionist cause. His experience provides a real-life example of the real dangers abolitionists could face.

"He was returning home one evening from an extended trip, and two of his neighbors fell upon him in the dark," explains Osborne. "They were waiting for him on his way home, knowing he was going to be there. They used the stock of the rifle to beat him. They slashed his throat. They knocked all of his teeth out. And left him for dead.”

Perkins did survive the experience, according to Osborne. However, Freedom Seekers caught escaping faced the threat of torture – and, of course, losing their freedom. An 1800s jail still standing in Halifax County provides proof of that history.

Despite facing potential for torture, there is documentation that many Freedom Seekers tried multiple times for their freedom – showing the strength of their enduring desire and dream of living free.

Rivers, known as Freedom Roads, were often a powerful symbol in the Underground Railroad. Even today, some popular hymns, such as Deep River, tell the tale of crossing rivers and finding freedom. Some historians say these hymns served as a 'map' for Freedom Seekers, guiding them on which rivers to follow and which settlements would have 'Friends' to help them along the way.

For Freedom Seekers in this part of North Carolina, the symbol of freedom was the Ohio River. After many nights of traveling and hiding at stations along the Underground Railroad, they'd see the river and cross into the 'Free State' of Ohio.

What can you see today?

Today, the centuries-old community of Snow Camp still holds many remnants of Underground Railroad history. At the Snow Camp Outdoor Theater, there are old, wooden structures dating back to the 1800s and before.

A tiny, crumbling wooden structure is marked as one of the first Friends meeting houses. Peek in the window of a historic post office, where everything is frozen in time.

There's even an old school where emancipated children were educated after the Civil War – the old desks, chalkboards and a tattered map still decorate the room.

Just down the road, an old stone wall marks one of the oldest homesteads in the area. Frozen in time, the historic meeting houses for the Spring Friends Meeting and Cane Creek Friends Meeting strike an idyllic pose on the antiquated landscape.

Snow Camp is rural enough that history has been preserved – allowing visitors to touch tangible remnants of the Underground Railroad firsthand.

Listen to stories about secret codes used by the Underground Railroad

To maintain secrecy, the Underground Railroad used everything from songs to scattered black-eyed peas to share secret codes. Something as simple as the color of a thread on your skirt could be a virtual map showing Freedom Seekers whether they should escape by water or stay hiding in the woods. Hear WRAL's Amanda Lamb talk to Hidden Historian Heather Leah about more secrets of the Underground Railroad in our podcast.

Visit these real-life places in NC connected to the Underground Railroad

In our Following the Underground Railroad series, we show you multiple places across the state you can visit to touch tangible remnants of the Underground Railroad.

This enormous swamp holds centuries-old secrets from the Underground Railroad -- including remnants of Maroon Colonies formed by Freedom Seekers who chose to live in the swamp.

Halifax was a site of triumph for many Freedom Seekers, who escaped across the Roanoke River. However, it's also home to a jail where Freedom Seekers were imprisoned if they were caught.

Take a look at one of the last remaining relics from the Underground Railroad in NC: A genuine false-bottom wagon where enslaved Freedom Seekers once hid while trying to escape north.

Or visit a 200-year-old aqueduct, built using enslaved labor, that ended up helping enslaved men and women escape instead.

Explore this patch of old-growth woods, undeveloped since the 1800s, where the Underground Railroad Tree stands as a reminder of Freedom Seekers who once hid in these woods, helped by nearby Quakers.

Learn about the secret codes used by abolitionists to help pass messages safely in the Underground Railroad.

Since the attack, the Lewis family has raised more than $177,000 to help with hospital care and recovery.

SNOW CAMP, N.C. — A well-known North Carolina dairy farmer is up on his feet after being attacked by a bull a couple of weeks ago in Alamance County.

Randy Lewis said the farm Ran-Lew Dairy Milk Co. has been in his family for generations.

On May 7th, Lewis was attacked by a bull in his dairy pasture in Snow Camp.

"I was up in the air. I couldn’t figure out if I was looking up, and I couldn’t figure out how I got to be looking up until I fell back down, and I was on that bull's head," Lewis said.

Officials said, he suffered broken ribs, punctured both lungs, and had broken bones in his face, back, collarbone, and skull.

"My ribs were popping like popcorn. I knew that I broke all the pieces inside," he explained.

Even after the attack, Lewis managed to call 911 himself and walked over 100 feet to his barn so EMTs could find him.

He was flown to UNC Hospitals and underwent immediate surgery.

He's alive and officials said as of last check walking around at the hospital.

Lewis is doing physical therapy and working hard to get back to the farm.

Taylor Hayes is the Milk Plant Operator at the Dairy Farm. She explains that what happened on the farm is, while serious, completely normal.

"It’s like when you get in your car and you go driving. You’re driving this huge vehicle and it’s scary and somebody could hit you or you could hit somebody, and somebody could get really hurt but you don’t think about that when you get in the car," Hayes shared.

She told WFMY News 2 that the farm is working hard to keep operations going while Lewis recovers.

"I would love to have him back and be able to ask him so many questions. I do think more than anything I want him to recover and recover well so that when he returns, we can have breakfast again and dance again,” Hayes said.

Since the attack, the Lewis family has raised over $177,000 to help with hospital care and recovery.

Lewis said this money will also go towards maintaining the farm and giving him extra time to heal before heading back to work.

"I don’t quite know what to make of all of that. It’s hard to believe people are that kind,” Lewis said.

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The remnants of a small colonial community, built roughly 270 years ago, before the Revolutionary War, can be found crumbling and rusting on a country road and covered bridge in Alamance County.

Small wooden houses, a historic post office, a museum and even an old school house are now ramshackle – and some are collapsing. The school even has old desks still inside.

While most colonial homesteads and communities have been completely wiped away, Snow Camp had stood for centuries – in part due to its historic connection with the Underground Railroad.

However, today the physical remnants of that history are slowly disintegrating.

Lost history from the Underground Railroad and Quaker community

Snow Camp Museum and historic site, like many other places in this area of Alamance County, has shut down. The current owner's father once collected damaged historic structures from around the county and moved them here, where they could be cared for and viewed by the public.

However, caring for buildings nearly three centuries old can be difficult – and expensive. The site has been closed for about a year, with the pandemic economy threatening to leave this colonial settlement weathered and abandoned.

The theater, which now has tall grasses growing up between the stadium seating, once put on live shows and told tales of Snow Camp's role in the Revolutionary and Civil War.

"I think it's sad because it's a piece of history that a lot of people don't know anything about," said Peggy Zachary, a generational member of the Zachary family who has spent generations in this area.

Zachary is worried that the incredible historic work done in the1800s will be forgotten.

This site was a stop on the Underground Railroad – a place where people escaping slavery could find refuge and aid with the abolitionist Quaker community who lived here.

Many remnants of the Underground Railroad have vanished with the centuries – with Snow Camp being one of the few remaining tangible pieces remaining.

"Once they got into these 'anti-slavery' and 'free black' communities, they just disappeared," said Dr. Max Carter, an Underground Railroad Historian and former professor at Guilford College.

Many Quakers like the Zachary family taught escapees how to read the Bible, and gave them instructions for how to get north. They'd also teach them laws, to help them become aware of their own rights. Finally, they'd show them how to read maps to help them escape.

"It was dangerous work. Some people lost their lives. And if you're a Quaker, you can't fight back," he said.

Regardless of the rich history, the site has been abandoned. The owner closed it several years ago. Today, many fear the moldy walls and rusted beams indicate the history will not be preserved.

Secret messages from the Underground Railroad

Because of the extreme risk involved in helping someone escape slavery, the Underground Railroad often used secret codes to pass messages. Because of this, it can be difficult for historians to find clues to the Underground Railroad's past.

The Underground Railroad used many symbols and songs to pass secret messages to men and women escaping slavery. Songs like, "Swing Lo, Sweet Chariot" meant a conductor was coming.

Scattering black-eyed peas along a river meant, "It's not safe to travel. Eyes are watching."

Quaker abolitionists might also utilize specific thread colors in their clothes to give messages to people escaping slavery. Simply wearing a certain dress outside could give a message to someone hiding in the woods nearby.

Sadly, historic preservation comes with a cost. Although these centuries-old buildings are gathered into a protected area, it doesn't mean they can't fall apart. The current owner says donations are greatly needed to help fix up and preserve the collapsing structures.

They need donations and community support to keep this piece of history alive. Their website and an Snow Camp Donations.

Financial struggles from lack of visitors, damage to old structures – and now, the final nail in the coffin, the pandemic – mean that someday soon this could easily become another piece of lost history, overgrown and unrecognizable on the roadside.

"Sooner or later, our kids are not going to even know what happened in the past," said Zachary.

Exploring the remains of the colonial Quaker settlement on Facebook Live

WRAL's Hidden Historian explored the remains of this colonial Quaker settlement, taking viewers for a live look inside the historic school, church and overgrown theater.

Today, the Hidden Historian will be joined by a college student who first submitted this story idea and who helped write the story – Natasha Laguer, who also works as a production assistant at WRAL.

Laguer helped put this segment together, and also created this video for viewers: