WORKED AT GREEN PARK HOTEL
Tells Of Being Steward At
Blowing Rock 57 Years Ago
By NANCY ALEXANDER
Roby Gilbert has tucked ?
panel o* living iito Us 83
yTl- Wiry " ? wiHow withe
and keen u a hawk, he'? of the
day when kith, kin and even
,Were ??PPosed to
J'Sht and ait a ?pe]l.
One who's set many a fine
table he s bred of the home
spun fiber of hillfoiks, evident
from his calluses to his hearty
smile. a ^
Ws iron-gray W, he sits1
f*ii / jd r*c*U* d?y? when
folks had to scratch for a living
A resident of Hickory, he's a
native of Boone, but has lived
in Lenoir, Morganton, and Lin
colnton. He's seen the Blue
Kidge country unravel from
hone and buggy gait into the
fast-traveling pace 0f today
Straight off the reel he can
pull facts and figures from his
storehouse of memories.
"I was raised five miles east
of Boone on the Brown's Chapel
Parents were A. C
Gilbert and my mother, Lucy
Brown Gilbert. First time I I
ever in Boone I went with my I
father to take a load of oats to
old Dr. Councill. His office was
where the Daniel Boone Hotel
is now. There were two old
wooden hotels there ? Coffey's
and Blackburn's.
"I was si* years old the first
.nTrtl in BIowin* Rock
and the old Green Park Hotel
where I worked later was there
wen.
"I went to a country school
n,efvWhere 1 lived. ?t on a
slab bench, wrote on a slate and
just about froze In the winter.
When X was 18 I went in the
army?was stationed at Fort
Monroe, Va., Washington, D. C
and Fort Beard, New Mexico'
I was in the parade in Wash
ington when Teddy Roosevelt
was inaugurated president
March 4, 1905. It was a rough
windy and cold day. My good
ness alive, how bad it was!
"I met my wife Jessie Ed
misten when I got out of the
r-r^y? 1908 We've bee" mar
ried 53 ?a?._ ?
"In the spring of 1806 Hick
Harper, the manager, asked me
sbout taking a Job as steward
f' gy Hotel. I told him
I didnt know anything about
such work. He asked, "You can
learn, can't you?'
.J"?0 I w?rked there from
1905 until 1909. Folks came up
the mountain from the two
o clock train in Lenoir by hack
and surrey-took 'em 'til about
night to get there. They came
from everywhere just like they
do now.
"The hotel belonged to Fin
ley and George Harper, Hugh
, WyD'?and a Bisener fellow
from Charlotte.
"Other hotels were the Blow
ing Rock Hotel, the Watauga
Hotel 11,6 King and Gray
"The water for Green Park
w*s piped from a spring on the
mountain. There were two
slangs near the hotel, one on
either side. Folks used to come
Just to see and drink from 'em.
That was the best water in the
world, dear and' cold. Every
body drank from one gourd I
keep a gourd in my car now.
water tastes better out of it
One of the springs flowed into
the Atlantic and one into the
Pacific or Gulf of Mexic*. I
think both springs are covered
up now. The Biawing Rock was
free to anyeiie who wanted to
go out and see it
"The highest priced room
was $19, including three meals
a day. The chef. Willie Wil
liams from Columbia, S. C. was
the beat cook I ever ate after.
I'd get with him each morning
and plan the meals. I engaged
fresh vegetables from the moun
tain folks and they brought
them in by the wagon load. If
we ran short I got out a horse
and buggy and found some. I
bought beef from Will Craig ?
a hindquarter for 10c and a
fore-quarter for 7c and mutton,
any kind, for 10c. Eggs were
12 to 15 cents a dozen, and
butter, 12 to 15 cents a pound.
"We kept our meat in the
ice house, insulated with saw
dust, in the basement The iee
was cut from frozen pounds in
the winter and hauled by wag
on to the hotel where it lasted
all summer.
"The hotel had its own eow*
for milking and a nun to milk
'em.
"From the cream we made
ice cream, turning it in old
fashioned freezers.
"A large range that horned
wood was used for cooking.
There was no coal in those
days. On chilly days the bell
boys kept wood fires going in
all the guests' roam*.
"Martha Johnson of Hickory
cooked all the cakes, puddings
and pies and baked all the
bread, loaves and all. There
weren't any bakeries then.
"The hotel had a ballroom
where we had dances every
night. There was an orchestra
who were all foreigners.
"In 1910 I operated the toll
gate for the Lenoir -Blowing
Rock Turnpike Company. Mr.
Finley Harper was head of the
organization. We charged 25c
for a two-horse wagon Me for
a one-horse wagon; lOe for a
horseback rider; and $1.00 for
automobiles, Thar* were a Int.
of folks who tried to beat their
way through. They'd laugh at
you, too, if they did.
"Tom Coffey kept the gate
'way before I did ? about 75
years ago.
"Will Holshouaer had the
first truck that used the turn
pike. It had solid tires and in
rainy weather it slipped so he
couldn't drive it He hauled
merchandise to his store at
Blowing Rock. B. C. Cannon
drove the truck for him.
"Mostly hacks, surreys, bug
gies, and covered wagons used
the road then; but there were
a few cars, mostly Model-Ts.
"I also carried the mail to
Blowing Rock from Lenoir. I
used a surrey. Sometimes I'd
mire up axle deep and some
times it would take me 12
hours to make the trip, not
getting there until two in the
morning. But I never missed a
day.
"In the spring of 1019 I
hauled the first tank wagon of
gasoline to Boone. Used mules
at first and then had a pair of
big white horses. There weren't
any service stations then, just
pumps at garages. I remember
taking gas to Ed Shipley's and
Bynum Taylor's garages."
After he was promoted to
salesman, lfr. Gilbert and his
fully lived in LeMir, Mor
ganton and Lincolntoo. In 1*29
they moved to Hickory where
he opened a wholesale plant
for the Shell Oil Company. Re
tiring in IMS, he didn't remain
idle long. For a tint* he was
manager of the Hickory Moose
Club and then waa employed by
the ABC stores for two yean.
Most winters since 1092 he
and his wife have spent in
Florida.
They have a son Alfred Gil
bert and a daughter Virginia
(Mrs. Ray) Icenhoiir of Hickory
and a granddaughter Nillah
Gilbert Porter.
About Your
Home
IM the decorating and fur
nishing of yoor home reflect
your earn pmoaiilMj. The main
factors to consider is you ? your
personality, your needs and your
means, if you give thought to
jrour decoration and furnishing it
will add greatly to your pleasure
and comfort.
Oder is probably the most im
portant decorative element. The
colors referred to as "waim"
are those containing red, yellaur
and orange. Decorators aay that
the "warm colors" tend to stimu
late a feeling of intimacy. But
when over-used, they make you
restless. These colors move to
ward you and make rooms seem
smaller.
The coo! colors art blue, green
violet and others predominated
by blue. These ooid colors give a
a feeling of serenity to a room.
If over-used, they can be de
Furniture is important. For
pressing. Cool colors seem to
move away from you, creating a
feeling of spaciousness.
some people it is bard to decide
between conventional and mod
ern. If you have one type and
want another but cant afford a
mind that beautiful results are
achieved with combinations.
In most cases, one style should
predominate with the other used
.moro-or-leas for accent. Every
object in a room should serve
some purpose and have a func
tion. Added beauty to always a
legitimate function.
light and the way it is handled
can make or break a room. You
need not be unreasonable.
When it comes down to the
dollar, there are few gracieus
humans.
ENGINE
REBUILDING
Don't tolerate a winter-wearing gas-and-oil hog that's
robbing performance and driving pleasure. Oar expert
rebuilding pats your engine in the pink . . . restore*
performance? saves gas and oiL
Valve & Head Grinding
Pin & Sleeve Fitting
Brake Dram Turning
Automotive Parts
Accessories
Equipment
Kepaira to
SMALL
ENGINES
? Laws Mowers ? Tillers ? Scooters
? All Kinds Engine-Powered Equipment
MOTOR PARTS
AND SUPPLY COMPANY, INC.
120 N. Depot St? AM 4-8832 Boom, ff. C.
Diverted Acreage
May Be Graced
Diverted acreage under the
Peed Gran and Wheat Stabili
zation Programs may be grazed
effective Octdber 1. This is a
month sooner than had keen
planned originally. The reason
far the change was to permit
producers to plan fall and win
ter 'operations more effectively,
and to alleviate, to some -ex
tent, the shortage of forage in
areas containing spotty drought
conditions. 290 farmers in Wa
tauga County have diverted
land from corn production and
will be eligible to graze the
land they had set aside on/and
after the date of October 1.
British aid is sought in watch
on Castro.
Fair's Community Exhibits Vie For Premiums
TV Community Development
Division at the Dixie Classic
Fair, scheduled for October S
12 in Winston-Salem, offers a
total of 91,200 in cash pre
miums for exhibits. Nell Bol
ton, Fair manager, recently
pointed out that there are only
two exhibit booths l*|ft. Final
date for entires is Wednesday,
September 18.
Eligibility
Competition is open to any
organized community, subordi
nate Grange, or community
Farm Bureau in the eleved
counties of the Northwest
North Carolina Development
Association. The exhibits are
to portray some phase of the
objectives that have been or
are being carried out this year.
Hie community , selects its own
theme u long m It is consist
ent with some phase of the ob
jectives. It is expected, Bolton
added, that the community will
not use materials or objects
used in prior exhibits.
Objectives
In aaking the announcement,
Bolton also cited the objectives
of the Community Development
Division to encourage and sti
mulate rural faQiilies to work
together in organized groups
to:
1, Increase per capita income
by bettering farming practices,
expanding enterprises, adding
new enterprises, and developing
Industrial resources and op
portunities; ?
2. Better home and family
living through home improve
ments and convenience*, tetter
home management, and better
family relation*;
3. Improve community insti
tutions and services.
4. Brine youth into the cob
m unity program.
A4*bory Comlttee
Mrs. Doris B. Potter at North
Wiikesboro is Chairman of the
Advisory Committee. Po-chair
man is Robert Campbell of
Winston-Salem. Mrs. Forrest
Harmon, also of Winston-Salem,
Is superintendent.
Mrs. Am Beese, of Reese, is
Chairman for the Watauga
County group serving on the
Advisory Committee. Other
members are: Mr. Clint Corai
ett, of Reese; and Jerry Adams,
Boone.
LATUM AID HIGH
President Kennedy's plan for
helping Latin American na
tions, The Alliance for Pro
gress, has cost United States
taxpayers $2,500,000,000 so far.
1
FISH
liiu V'
MOUNTED
YE OLE TAXIDERMY
SHOP
Joe C. Miller ? 264-2348