A special parachute jump for the Burch Family Reunion
Andy Burch parachutes in, landing in the pasture at his new home in Society Hill.
Photos by Jana E. Pye
New owners of the Adam Marshall House in Society Hill share a look at the newly restored home on the hill
By Jana E. Pye, Editor, editor@newsandpress.net
The Descendents of Joseph Burch gathered this weekend in the Pee Dee area, and one of the highlights was the parachute jump of Andy Burch at his home in Society Hill- the former home of Ashton Gandy across from St. David’s Academy in Society Hill.
“He can land on a dime,” said his wife, Melissa. She and her husband have lovingly restored the historic Adam Marshall home on the hill in Society Hill, bringing it back to its former glory as as one of the many historic homes in the township.
Burch is a member of the All Veteran Group, is a unique collection of highly experienced parachutists of both active and retired military and patriotic Americans that provide parachute demonstrations, tandem parachute experiences, brand ambassador programs, sponsorships & special events – including the iconic birthday jumps of former President George H.W. Bush.
The antique piano from the Gandy Family.
Another anecdote about the Adam Marshall House from Society Hill resident Gail Gandy: “Ashton (Gandy) told me a story that his parents used to tell; one day the Greyhound bus stopped at the end of the driveway. She walked up to the house and she said, ‘My Grandma used to tell me that when she was a little girl she stood on this back porch and watched the Yankees ransack. When Sherman’s people were coming through, the ransacked all the outbuildings. They took everything out of the stored food and the smokehouse, and afterwards they had to pick up pieces of corn to have something to eat.”
They did not take anything out of the house, nor burn.
“There were a lot of Union sympathizers in Society Hill, that’s why my house was not touched. Not many people know that.”
Dropped from a Cesna, Andy Burch and his teammate Tim Wood landed in the pasture next to the home to the cheers of the attendees of the family reunion and the many townspeople of Society Hill that gathered at the base of the hill to watch. Wood landed first; as the official videographer of the event, he taped Andy’s landing. The two parachutes were vastly different in sizes – due to the size of the gentlemen using them.
“Their weight dictates the size,” said Melissa. “Andy can jump a 170, but Tim is smaller so he jumps a 120- which looks like a bath towel.”
This was the first time Andy had jumped for a reunion, and the first on property that he actually owned.
“This was great fun,” said Andy. “I love that we could share this with the town.”
After the land, Melissa Burch shared more about the history of her new home, as well as several anecdotes shared by Gail Gandy of Society Hill.
“The home has only had four families own it,” said Melissa. “The man that built it, Adam Marshall, around 1785. His daughter married Dr. McIver. Their son, a McIver, was killed in the Civil War. His wife eventually lost the home for taxes; she was a widow and could no longer afford it. That is when the Gandy family acquired the house. And we are the next family.”
She noted that the property was never farmed. “Adam Marshall was a merchant, then it was a doctor, then a soldier, then after the civil war the Gandy’s had it but still never farmed it. It had horses. Mr. Ashton Gandy acquired it as an adult; he didn’t grow up in the house. When he got up in years, he sold it along with the contents and the money was distributed amongst his sisters.”
Melissa said that the Gandy’s family piano was left in the house, along with a book from Adam Marshall that Dr. McIver gave to his father in law as a gift. “At closing, the book was given to us and we were told it must stay with the house. I sent the piano to Salisbury to be restrung as my gift to the house; whatever happens to us, that piano will stay in this house as my gift.”
Gail Gandy said that most recent owner of the home, Ashton Gandy, was her cousin. “The sugar maples in the front of the home were planted by Ashton; there were nine children in the family, and of the seven sisters, Emma Carol was next to the youngest sister and she didn’t’ like people seeing her swinging on the front porch, so Ashton planted the trees for her. The Gandy family got the house in about 1868, during the Reconstruction period, Maximilian Booker Gandy.”
Mr. Ashton Gandy was retired military, and as Gail remarked, “he was kind of grumpy, but people respected him. “Ashton helped finance the restoration of the house in the 1950’s for his parents to move in when he was in the military; after that, he didn’t want anything to change. You don’t move a chair, a sofa, or paint a wall… anything.”
Would he have liked the changes the new owners had made? “No,” laughed Gail. “No, he would have been horrified. But it’s wonderful. I am so grateful to them. The right people bought this house.”
To learn more about the All Veterans Group, visit their site www.allveterangroup.com to learn more about the All Veteran Group.
The Burch Family with their family crest flag gather for a photo in front of Andy and Melissa Burch’s new home, the historic Adam Marshall House which sits atop the hill across from St. David’s Academy on Main Street in Society Hill. Photos by Jana E. Pye