WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Miss Alice Cunningham loves to live her life like it's the good old days.
Miss Alice Cunningham has a restaurant business in Winston-Salem that specializes in tea parties and storytelling
She has a passion for old-fashioned storytelling about tales of the good old days and loves sharing it
She is a member of the North Carolina Storytelling Guild and works to preserve the artform
She has countless dresses that remind her of what it was like to dress in 1950s, which is the era she grew up in. She wears those dresses more often than you would expect.
"My mother was a school teacher," she said. "We had to have good manners, good grammar, and we were taken to church. And all of those things have kind of helped mold who I am today.”
She is a true storyteller and has always had a passion for telling stories about how life used to be.
“We all have an interesting story to tell. I grew up in a small town in Georgia and then my family moved to Marietta, Georgia, outside of Atlanta when I was in fifth grade," she said. "So everybody has a story to tell, and it doesn’t have to be something phenomenal about living in France or Haiti, you know, just tell about your experiences.”
Cunningham built her business, Alice's Place, out of her passion for spinning yarns and started a tea party shop for young girls about 25 years ago and added a storytelling aspect about 10 years ago.
“My story is just, you know, a small town USA growing up and having a mother, grandmother who taught me how to sew when I was 5, and things of that sort. And how I evolved in terms of fashion and how it led to what I’m doing now.”
She writes about what it was like to grow up in the 1950s.
“Home is where your story begins, and it’s true,” Cunningham said.
She believes anything can make for a good story, even some of the simpliest things in life. She starts a good story by taking her audience back in time.
“I don’t know if you all remember that, but we didn’t run to the doctor. We didn’t have the money to begin with, and so your mama typically used home remedies,” she said, talking about simpler times.
She said these stories conjure up memories of a different era — a time that can be easily forgotten in the mix of how fast-paced and busy life can be today. Cunningham believes younger generations can learn from the lifestyle she grew to love.
“It’s just good to keep the stories alive and remind us that times were gentler at one time, and I think people in our generation appreciate that, and I think the younger generation can learn from us and say ‘oh the family actually sat at the table without a television on,’” she said.
She also thinks there is a strong power in listening to someone and paying attention to them face-to-face without technology getting in the way.
“I get so distressed to see how people are so mesmerized, hypnotized, there are all kinds of words you could use, that they cannot detach themselves from their phones. Now, that’s really sad,” she said.
She plans to keep the art of storytelling alive as long as possible.
“I intend to do them as long as the lord gives me breath to be able to enjoy entertaining and hospitality is one of my gifts. Hospitality is one of my gifts,” Cunningham said.
Cunningham is also part of the North Carolina Storytelling Guild, and guild members will perform at the Old North State Storytelling Festival in Cary on November 5-6. Tickets will go on sale September 1.
