4-TKSCJ&CUXA TIMES
SAT., JANUARY 39, 18821
Triangle Rated High As A Place To Live
, By Dso Armstrong, Jr.
- From the 1920's to the
' early 1940's, people
flocked to the big
American cities like
Detroit, New York,
Cleveland, and Boston in
search of the good life.
From the mid-40's to the
early 60's, California
was the magic word as
large human migrations
inundated both the Bay.
Area (San Francisco
Oakland) and southern
California (Los Angeles
San Diego) and from the
late 1960's through the
, 1910 Texas i Florida
"and cities such as Atlanta
and Phoenix "enjoyed"
thunderous growth.
You may be shocked
to hear that the next
"search for the U.S. ver
sion of Eldorado" will
probably occur right
here in your own
backyard. In fact, the ex
plosive growth in the
, Research triangle
(Durham, Raleigh,
Chapel Hill) actually
began in the mid-1960's.
Steadily moving forward
through the 1970's and,
according to several
respected national
publications, this area
will be among the prime
areas to live in. during the
1980's.
Rand McNally recent
ly published an almanac
that rated 277 U.S.
metropolitan areas for
desirability as living
areas. The data included
were climate, cultural ac
tivities, recreation,
employment, image the
area has on outsiders,
and numerous other
items; The Triangle rated
No. 9 outstripping
. such places as Los
Angeles, San Francisco, ,
New York and
Cleveland. While this
study, remains controver
sial, the more respected
Wall Si reel Journal has
designated the Triangle
' as one of the "hottest"
growth areas of the next
1 decade. -
It doesn't take a study
1 for long time natives to
realize that Raleigh,
Durham, Chapel Hill
and surrounding- areas
have changed tremen
dously in just the past
fifteen years. ; ,
Durham and Raleigh
'have seen their popula
tions soar past the
100,000 mark (Raleigh
165,000; Durham
120,000) and both cities
are now in that twilight
zone of transition from
small cities to medium
sized metropolitan areas.
Towns like Chapel
Hill and Cary were for
years sleepy villages.
They now boast popula
tions of over 25 ,000 and1
Parkwood, an unincor-'
porated bedroom com
munity in v southern
Durham County, has
over 1 5,000 permanent
residents. :"
The Triangle Area of
North Carolina is an
ideal area for growth for
several reasons.
Among the foremost is
that six world-renowned
universities are here
Duke, UNC, N.C. Cen
tral, snaw. sainu
.Augustine's,- N.C. State
-n are located within
thirty miles of each
area was called a cradle j
of education. With the
advent of the 19608,1
: when r higher : education
became a high priority, I
students and professors '
flocked to this region.
' Also, research projects
became valuable , which
added to the growth of.
the area universities. i
. The area was also
blessed with some of the ,
nation's most respected
medical facilities thus
there may be more doc
'tors residing here per
capita then any where
else in America.
The idea for a :
Research Triangle Park
which would . pool the
research facilities . of 1
Duke, Carolina, and
N.C. State was born in
the 1950's and by the
mid-1960's the Park
located in southeastern
uurtiam county with a
smaller portion in nor
thwestern Wake County
was opened. It is now the
largest facility of it's
type in the U.S. -
In short time, large
companies such as IBM,
Monsanto, General Elec
tric, and U.S. En
vironmental Protection
Agency flocked to the
Park with large research
operations. In time,
employees from other
regions moved into the
area and today the
Triangle includes an in
teresting mixture of
populations from the
northeast, midwest, west
coast, and natives to the
region.
A recent black
transplant said, "Heck,
they're clrtsing the steel
mills in my hometown
(Pittsburgh) and I
followed my company
here. I like it here and I
plan to stay".
This statement has
been echoed by many
black and , white
newcomers to the region,
Many of them rate the.
area favorably on recrea
tion (numerous lakes,
parks, museums, art
show, college activities,
right here in the area plus
the mountains and the
coast are only a few
hours drive away); ,
climate (the area has
four distinct seasons and
the climate is suitable for
year round tennis and ;
golf, winters are usually!
rather short and mild
even though this year's
has been exceptional
summers can be long,
hot and humid but usual
ly tempered by summer
showers, spring and
autumn can be breath
taking); education (the
universities, colleges,
and junior colleges offer
wide ranging curricula,
the secondary school
t
f '
(it's A Bird, It's A Piano,
:lt'sfhoMn!r:
' ' : : V tEe weather people are
Ey Dson Armstrong, Jr. n forccasting mjidct
After what seemed to ather by the weekend.
be an eternity of gloom, but most burhamftes
ram 7 freezing . rain, that when
clouds, and fog, thcy feeim , ; .
Durhamites finally saw ;.e bad weather this :
the . sun this week (you winter can be blamed on 1
DO remember the sun, path of th jet stream !
dot you?) t y upper level wind i
Those ; tow. hanging th thc aths of 1
clouds finally gave way - masses and Storms. .
to bright- sunshine; by , winter ; the jet
Tuesday but not before ,tr ' 8weeoin8 down
v.rr f V,1 r',. Durban
, rj.;, h jA ' tun
' - ?n V. V ry.$'
REGISTRATION UNDERWAY AT ST AUG.'S - Saint Augustine's College held its registration for
the 1981-82 academic second semester daring last week. Students poured in, anxiously signing up for classes.
Among those most anxious to register were seniors, as this was their last time around.
home, "because I found Triangle is and will con
that it wasn't such a bad tinue to grow. What
place after all.
systems consistently rank
above the national
average on test scores
and many schools receive
strong community sup
port). The shortcomings of
the area usually bring
these comments: "I wish
there were more first
class restuarants" (this
area has improved with
new openings such as the
Hotel Europa); "It lacks
professional sports"
(this area has always
been big on college
sports, perhaps as the
population grows, there
will eventually be pro
teams here, in the earlyi
1970's, the ABA
Carolina Cougars played
here but the team never
caught on); "We need
larger civic centers" (this
problem should be
remedied by the
mid-1980's when the
24,000 seat arena opens
at UNC, a large civic
Triangle has had it's
share of racial
upheavals. Many blacks
and whites believe that
people in this region are
more honest about their
prejudices. One Durham
resident said, "In .the
north and in California
they smile in your face
and call you 'nigger
behind your back. Here
you know when a person
dislikes you, therefore
you know how to deal
with them".
Many residents here
point out that school
busing and open housing
were accepted in this
area more peaceably
than in so-called liberal,
areas such as Boston,
New York and Los.
Angeles.
There will be two
recreational lakes open
ing in the Triangle this
summer Jordan Lake ,
in Chatham County and
rails of the Neuse Lake :
convention center is also i in western Wake and
being planned fori eastern Durham coun-
downtown Durham)
Like any other grow
ing area, theTriangle has
it's problems . which in
clude rising crime, drugs,
'uncontrolled growth in
some , areas, and fights
' for community control. '
In race relations, no
area in America is exact
ly a Utopia and
ties. . , . . ,
One Durham resident f
said , that when he?
graduated from, high
school (in thq late
1960's), he couldn't wait
to "book" Durham
because he figured that'
this area offered him lit-1
tie. After living in New '
the York for a while, this
same resident returned 4
Program Of A ctivities
Launched For Teens
A program of events .is
being launched for the
teen population of
Durham that will involve
them in constructive
after school activities in
the areas of education,
recreation, cultural and
social awareness,
Announcements ' have
TUNE IN
Monday
thru
Friday
at 1 p.m.
to
5 for Great American
Rhythms! 0dies
you'll remember...
only on
YOUR&USIC STATION
u
. r J I ' .; - . , . .. ; '
if Jtbt - L. J: .f.... ...i. ......hj.... ...!..'...:.
'AM
been sent to schools,
youth agencies and
others involved in work
with youth asking them
to play a major role in
these events.
To kick off the Calen
dar of Events for 1982, a
Valentine Day, Citywide
Teen Disco and Dance
Contest is being held
Saturday, February 13 at
8 p.m. at the Durham
Civic Center. 1 Par
ticipants must be bet
ween 13 and 19 years of
age. Registration blanks
are available at the
Record Bar, Northgate
and South Square Mall.
General Admission
tickets are $3. Parents, l,
teacners ana tnenas are
encouraged to attend the
events to show suddoH
for the youth in their ef-;
forts. These projects are
being coordinated by
CONWIL Enterprises
and the purposes are to
address the teen popula-'
tion of Durham by: j
organizing, planning
and i- directing
workshops, seminars
and programs of educa tional
activities anc
social and cultural
awareness:
coordinating activities
and programs that can
assist in the development
of maturand responsi
ble citizens;
providing constructive
and productive creative
activities;
i" Other events " being
finalized for 1982 wilt in
clude , workshops,
writing, public speech
clinics, personal achieve
ment classes, health
clinics, teen rap sessions,
and other events of in
terest. X- - v '
I For: further informa
ition, call 489-0291 or
489-8956.
Numerous residents have
related the same kind of
stories of people who left
in the 1960's and now
reside here. Larry Mason
of Durham said, "Once
many of them see that
these big cities aren't ex
actly paradise, they
return home".
Like it or not, the
were once tobacco towns
are now becoming
cosmopolitan; where one
could once find enter
tainment only in the
roadside dance halls,
now includes opera,
symphony and live
theater. y '
The Triangle may in-;
deed be the 'in place to
live in the 1980's.
mother nature gave, city
residents another snow
scare; . Snow was
reportedly falling heavy
some sections.; of
Durham about 7:30 a.ra.
Tuesday morning and by
even though the
was 'breaking
hrough, the. snow con-
inued to fall. Luckily
'or the anti-snow people,
t didn't stick. Snow
oven were : disap
pointed, r
Incredibly, patches of
now and ice left over
rom the snowstorm two
veeks ago could still be
ound in Durham on
Tuesday; This is due to
the continuing blast of.
frigid air. For a few
days, the temperature
reach the low forties, but
the promised sixty degree
highs never occurred.
over. Siberia and Alaska
and pushing polar air
masses ' deep into the
south. There has been no
major break in this pat
tern for at -lest three
weeks, thus the prolong
ed cold spell in Durham.
Many people have ask
ed if this cold winter
means that Durham will
swelter , this summer.
While weather experts
Iplace little value on the
theory that a cold winter
'means a hot summer, the ;
last really cold winter in
Durham, 1977, "was
followed by an extremely
hot summef that saw
: temperatures top out at
107 degrees. .
j Maybe next July, ,
Iwhen we're dying from I
the heat, we can refresh
ourselves by remember
ing January, 1982.
USO Doesn't
Play Around
USO It a ohampton. Evwy day tfwy
brtng a Kttla Mt of horn to our awvtoaman
5 fg HQ i
iam Money MmliQlmiQ
TAJfRR
with Security'ix
variable rate IRA!
This IRA certificate matures in
eighteen months.,You pan aJd. tp
it anytinie without changing the
original maturity date. ,t
I I! . I If a
,1111.1 ll.l II II I. III! II II! ,J
And the rate will float each month'
I to whatever the MMC rate If at
mat time, say your nrsi oeposit o
ori the 5th. then your rate '
changes on the 1 5th of each
month tfiereafter until certtflcate
matures.''
GET irtTO IT VITH ONLY $100. SAVE UP TO 02000
EACH YEAR ASATAX DEDUCTIOM UNTIL YOU RETIRE
PHONE: -
683-1400 I ,
There It a substantial penalty
tar tarty withdrawal of any Mrflficata.
Security federal , Savinss& Loan Association
jr "J W W A 'i
irr iiurTUav ii a n n r n P rwn a?' mrnrrr
I II II I.I 1
uuu
.1 ;.t :
mm
13-1 9 Years of Aic
Saturday. February i$?$flZ
burfiani Civic Cciitcr
8:00 p.m. " .
$50 Second Prize ... $25 Tbird Prize & Otbcrs
i
SSLviUDU U IdlX LJ
Pick Up Itcsistnatipn Wank$ at THE RECORD dm
Northsate and South Square
ni
00
o o
; v- f -I
$ 1 0 Entrance Fee Per Contest Coupfe
Fee Deadline January 29,1982 1
Tickets
so?poqt oonnrrs Vootn
) CONVVilL ENTERrr.:5ES
P.O. Box 1632
Durham. N.C. 27702
.S3.Q0