Newspapers / The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.) / May 19, 1955, edition 1 / Page 9
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-V- , ' V (I r '' l f 1 ' t..;. V. marshal n. g, may, 19,495s hlt'.WT1 ' I -, .J'." - 'tt1, ".""1 " J IU i. s- "" - - By WILSON AYERS - i ' v- - In The "ENKA VOICE" Tor a little mor than five years now a powerful movement hat been eweepjntc through the hills and coves of Western North Carolina. The movement Is rural communi ty organization and development. To find out just how the comma nity organization program, works, the VOICE visited the community of ' Beech Glen in neighboring Madison County. Beech Glen is inhabited by . less than 70 families. It is , a ' typical " Western North CaWlina mountain community. A majority of the peo ple make their living by farming. -Tobacco is the chief crop. , . An 1952 the cdtun of Beech Glen decided to enter competition-in jthe . .Western North Carolina" Rural Com,. munity Development; Program which Ja sponsored by the- Asheville Agri cultural Development Council, Inc. ; Things have - been picking up ground Beech Glen' ever since just as they have in every Community Which has entered the program.. In 1954, .104 communities in 13- "mountain counties and the, Cherokee Indian x Reservation took, part, V ; Purpose . of 'the development pro gram ie to ttimulatebettqr farm and hotne practice and improved family i w and -commnnity 'Uvbg.' Jteeults are ,'.'V;;u:bieved', 'primarily- through 'gwup '- action "and community, teamwork' HJn ; . " 'bounded community spirit and-enthu-' 'aiasoi are the hallmarks of each and , everx project Perhapar ihe , great est; accomplishment r of te program has been the way peop' j t L n rirtitiesj have' learftp ' ' , Several thousand Western. Noifth Carolinians are reaping. the benefits "o,f -theirv own", efforts They have " Improved .the appearance pf' their s : f communities through entrance s'ens, painted IhaU fbqxs ?ftnd oadsJde ' - v '-fceautificatio'n. jjMany' hundreds pt ; homes have been- painted or remodel- 1 4 . '-.'( il'-T' '! H If ! ,. AV -I.". ' 1 4 V 'Irauewarai i('.tiM MuvaTColuiMU(uty Aevelopment .program is We uniiouu mail box and support-' All are .painted whHeYr YouH see, tliam in each of -. boxes, are Jn 'the Beech ilen iotbavaxdif'J . ,,vV , 1--3 , I V- .'I .i, ver OUtf mounuun wmimunwes; ( . , -tf "1 "I' 'Mil i niil l li HI r- , j ' 1, J r '-v r - -- ed. Farming operations have ' been modernized to . an almost unbeliev able extent bringing increased -crop and livestock yields. Improvements td schools, charches . and in public health have been realized. The development is the outgrowth of the Asheville Agricultural Devel' opment Council which was formed in 1949 by Asheville businessmen and industries interested in the- develop ment of rural areas.. They contri bute approximately $15,000 per year for its operation. ' From the begin ning American Enka. Corporation has been a substantial contributor,' W. F. P. Coxe; Enka's Director of Pur-, chases, is first vice president of the council. ' : ' Morris L. MoGough, the energetic executive vice president, i and a sec retary, are the only paid, full-time employees of the Council. . . , Early in December of. each year, the 10 communities which have shown the greatest improvements in farm and farm home .living and in thelrj community in general, receive- prizes ranging from 1100 to 500 each at the Community Awards- Meeting in Asheville. In 1954, $8000 in -prizes were awarded. ; . , . Beech Glen community has won Its share of awards. - The community placed second in the contest in 1952 and 1953 and ranked among the top ten Jn 1954. ', ' 1 ' T ; Jfuat what has Beech Glen done'to improve its', -community t To , state each' and evert project wduld yeouire several pages, m we.haU .make note nl wrf-the major, pVojectti? .!V ' - To begin-with, 'WelcomV To Beech Glpn , CkKBimunity' s signs were etect :ti a yoadt .into- the con ninity V 'fo'-m mail 't i in' ! were" titvicu, 'Community beautif icatlon included cleaning roadsides,' .banks ' and? pitches.'- An abandoned' , school i lunch roomwas mad Jnto a community center, for regular meeting? 'of -community, .resi dents, , and -was equipped with' a - Improvements, both exterior,' and interior', were made to the church and - - r r,i . - , pnd Tll NEWS ' school.' " Lawns 1 we're . grassed and shrubbery was planted. '..Walls were painted and floors refinished. Equip ment for the Beech Glen school lunch room was- purchased and 'installed. Five ,eemetries in the .community Weri badly Jn need Of attention. They ould not be reached by car as roads'' had never been built to their locations , atop knolls. After cleaning and grassing all cemeteries, roads were constructed and1, the State coop erated by - graveling- the five ap proaches.;, A$)f -Ckniinunity residents galled in col lege '-specialists to help make long- range ;arinnd' home' plans. These plana were made at community meet ings, attended by an Average of over 75 citizensS. And every time there was. meeting there was a big feed. Residents became acquainted, with community people they had never known "..beforev, friendships , were made and everyo'ne joined in as a team to plan and work f6r the bet- termentC of . Ihe community. r As .allthiS'was going on a spirit of ;; neighborlinesft was "developing in the' Community, such as had never be fore beeri known. " We would like to cite several examples. 1 " . , i Last - fall tobacco grower was bedridden with illness at the time JUfl prop: w (muj iu luurvntv.. ' A up plight of the neighbor was spread throughout the community and on a certain (day over 50 men in the community- gathered' t his farm to put up hja- crop;' V . f , .A bridge vni badly- needed so that everal fa-' .llus ' could, gain access to. their 1""ps without f fording "a creek; fKm ta that the State coo- s.trustr, the s ' - h" inlvaift i- - jecf to' erev the bridge, o several hundred dollars' thfe bridge was putlpy jihe. people of tAe com- munityAV-'-',-??-s-.:v'v ' i, .Recently there- was a death in a family in the community.. The fam- VjP was witbpu sufficient financial means.; Within "less than 24, t hours after" the death almost $300 waa con tributed. to . aid' the' family' in this " ' . f ,5 BurleyJ tobacco, has been , the -?hief years Mnce ijne oommumry, entered jjes have made long-rng arttt plans which call for greater diversification r of crops sq s to. increase, their income;. r : t j t! e d. v Jo .' r W I ' i c lr.:c' : J ... ,: t y .... . . -i i.3 - - Section - RECORD bomimunity which has less than 70 families. These are shining examples of the spirit of the community of Beech " Glen and the regard its citizens have for their neighbors. . At the end of 1952, Beech Glen counted up its improvements to. see what had been accomplished. The results included 15 houses painted, eight houses remodeled, nine fami lies seeded lawns, over 20 thousand tniarts of food had been canned, 12 families installed running water in their homes, 150 acres of Ladino clo ver had been planted, '91 acres of idle land had been returned to culti vation and six tractors had been pur chased. By 1954, 58 families had made long-range farm plans, new egg flocks were increased in number from 673 to 2211. between 1953 and 1954, nine farmers seeded hybrid corn for the first time. On and on the list goes.- More mversiiicaium ui and livestock has been a result. The Community is a more attractive one, homes are better, living standards have improved, and the people of Beech 'Glen say they have just scratched the surface. All have7 learned that the many working together succeed far more than -the" individual Working -alone. Cpmmunity leadership has been developed.-, Various organizations have become more active within the com- . Jnunity. , The churches are outstand- Ing in .this respect. . The use of ed-,. ucational nd technical services 'has ' become' more widespread. - . f ,r' ,rTtt movement w not-joniy mve, iu - Beech Glen .Vand in,Mttle 8ww-v Beech wen 5 a m Mtwe eawv bird. 1 M&wnJtbit9A& .i.-:?--to:iit-i.i, ril Ige. " Ata eo9trnHm. Balsam. Grovt' wr PP;bk communitiea. -j -i 1 -''- The- people of these communities are prqud Of their accomplishments: and face th future with confidence. " They have done an excellent job . . . . through the helping hand of the ... Western North Carolina Rural Com munity Development Program. HP crop of Beech Glen -farmers' for mSny tne prpgram in xaoz, o iarm rami- ; - i . ' j t; ,.ivj. heated atop knolls. M not beveachedby ar Iload-i '...s have been cleaned and gr fc 'rl .f' I V h V ' i . '' !' ' wm . i, i Through t118 united ffort 'of the people, the Beech Glen School lunch iroom was equipped with modern ap pliances. ' ' Principal Huey Ray dis plays the new freezer. , ,, ' t . j . -. . T.Nt - -f ) . ' This 1 my flocks same i. mi V. li. Justice has been, an enthusi- astio supporter of the program atj Bee.h Glen. fiach'family id tW cornmnnlty lists Imprpvements - made; and those, plan-1 ned on-a family score' sheet." 'Thesi are fused us ,a basis for ompiliiig he' total of, communitji' improve , '-nents..-, Herbert Metcalf ;Js shown workinjr on his score sheet, v. v- r I E' 1 i . r MARSHALL, N. C, MAY 19, 1965 BEECH GLEN Jt u i Hi new brooder house waa -uiit Kaipn ; jucmtosn. Uhickens la ' ; vivuvr.1 uwu- mnsami ; uuui ,o,wv " Sn'1653 to 64.000 'in . 154. " Emr'; ' more than"tripled during. the- "'1 , period , ,vi Viv v L 1 - 1 71. Jl Hi Beech Glen residents are "proud of the project to better the appearance of their church. . Floors were re finished and the interior was paint ed. A painting by a well-known r .tist was acquired. A new furnace was purchased and rest rooms were edded. ...... .-..v . J e - Beautification cf t;.a.. School grounds -"v-s i innnity project." 1 - ' ' J.-t..'.:'i ' I . ,. f . ' ' i f 1 1 1 1 I' 'I -v. 7V F t I 1 r '.A 1 r i ) J' ! i' . v V! 4 x r '.V ft 4 - . ' i F 1 ,:e sevc. ..i The lr: r ly i rei
The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.)
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May 19, 1955, edition 1
9
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