The brick yard and pipe plant at Pine Hall are long gone, as is the country store that used to flourish there. There's not much else at Pine Hall today. The headquarters of the brick company is in Winston-Salem, even though the bricks aren't made here and the name is still Pine Hall. All of which is, I suppose, evidence that history is full of changes like the one just announced for Wachovia . And, perhaps, evidence that life goes on one way or another, despite change.
Business goes on, even if in different forms and locations.
People adapt, and they survive. Sometimes for the better. That knowledge, however, is small comfort for people and towns when their lives and identities are being buffeted by the winds of change, when they are in the midst of what seems like a very bad joke. Brinson is the Journal's deputy editorial page editor. Use of this Web site is subject to certain Terms and Conditions .