The Masonic Picnic, held in Mocksville since 1883, benefits the Masonic Orphanage of Oxford. For many years speakers and orphans sat on a small wooden platform. The crowd sat on benches without backs and no roof existed, only the branches of oak trees. Long tables under the trees held the picnic dinner. The first arbor, erected in 1899, remained in use until it burned in 1958. Around 1892, the first excursion train ran from Winston to the picnic. By the early 1900s, the fame of the picnic had spread beyond the borders of the state. (Courtesy of Hugh S. Larew.)