The Salemite
Volume LXIII
Number 7
Dec. 12,1980
serving the salem college community since 1920
History
Brookstown
of Winston-
is an area ready
revitalization, and
Manufacturing
Cotton
Company. This 5 million
'’liar project will link
“e historical past of Old
®lem with the city’s
!*siness district, thus
r*ng fresh life to the
■■ances Fries Com
pany.
^alking through the
. you feel as if you
V ® hack in the 1800’s,
•on
^Mili
I an
|the
jthe
Jfor
core of the project is
Brookstown Mill,
®erly the Salem
Imay encounter a
■ ^ of cotton, hand-
^ I sidewalks, old
(i^“°hen crates, and even
Vi®, original floors are
p^fhle. In 1837, Frances
>es ventured into
tevn^ production of
. *hles on Brookstown
enue. There he began
u® Salem Cotton
anufacturing Com-
the first
vJUon mill established
I the city of Salem,
.ymg the 1840’s-1850’s,
j 'cs and his brother,
formed the F&H
anufacturing Com-
•®y> which was a flour
I :*• It soon became one
; me industrial leaders
the south.
f “wring the Civil War
Brookstown Mill
h Wufactured yam for
o® Confederate
i^hiers’ uniforms. But
tji War eventually hurt
[jg growing industry. In
ju Prances Fries died
- ® the union soldiers
wf is c a t e d or
Co(j eyed the wool and
ton inventory.
,,yter the war,
.cendants of Fries
halized the industry.
Giani boikr eatings dWarf davlopers Billy Paekar and Chris Knighi.
Reprinted from The Sentinel
Rewards of Renovation
L^ill
,l''as the first cotton
>n the south to use
'ctricity; formerly
, mill had been steam-
Ij.'^ered. Between 1900-
the mill complex
b-Panded to include the
chovia Flour Mill, an
plant, a cotton
V^ehouse, another
I. mill onH 3
and
station.
h Paformer
>j(® enterprise also
i^Pwnded to areas such
hanking, railroads,
hydroelectric
k^cr. As these grew in
n‘Portance the mill
j "'ly diminished.
I Donna Smith
Interest and
awareness of one’s
heritage have sparked
restoration projects in
older cities all over
America; San Fran-
ciso’s Ghiaradelli
Square, Boston’s Quincy
Market, and Rich
mond’s Shockoe Slip.
Now it’s Winston-
Salem’s turn!
The Brookstown
district, between
downtown Winston-
Salem and Old Salem, is
being revitalized. By
April 1, the former
Salem Cotton
Manufacturing Com
pany will be completely
transformed into a
unique mix of specialty
retail shops, office and
professional space, and
two eating establish
ments.
The five million dollar
Brookstown Mill project
is owned by four limited
partners; three local
and one Chicago based.
The developers pur
chased the historic
buildings late in 1978
and renovation began
about a year later. The
restoration process will
leave intact the original
windows, wood ceiling
beams, industrial
lamps, and the exposed
brick walls of the old
factory structure.
Brookstown Mill will
retain touches of
yesterday with a rustic
mill atmosphere; and
will gain contemporary
style with the quality
shops and restaurants.
A major attraction in
the complex, The Salem
Cotton Company, a
restaurant, will occupy
the central mill
building. The restaurant
will seat 250 and include
five areas for elegant
food and beverage
service. The ent^-way,
bar, and mezzanine will
overlook one unique
dining area - a former
boiler room. The iron
boiler facings will
remain as a “sculptural
element”. Other dining
areas include a glassed-
in “greenhouse” (a
former coal bin), an
atrium, an open cour
tyard, and an intimate
dining area with in
dividual eating rooms.
The developers have
signed five-star chef
John De Beus for the
Salem Cotton Company.
De Beus, a native of the
Netherlands, is now
executive chef at the
Pinehurst Inc. resort in
North Carolina. He has
previously served as
executive chef at the
Tropicana Hotel in Las
Vegas, The Cloisters
Hotel at Sea Island, Ga.,
and the Polynesian
Resort Hotel at Walt
Disney World, Fla. De
Beus describes the foods
as “semi-continental
and a cross-section of
American and local
fares.”
Brookstown Mill will
also provide a more
casual, family-style
restaurant called The
Drum and Monkey. This
will be located on the
opposite side of the
complex from the Salem
Cotton Company.
Brookstown’s retail
shops will occupy areas
on the first and second
levels of the mill’s
eastern building. The
first level will have open
shed areas for “per
forming shops” such as
arts and crafts and
bakery operations. The
second level will contain
about six retail areas
for clothing boutiques
and gift shops. Office
space will be available
on the third level of the
eastern building and on
all four levels of the
western building.
When Brookstown
Mill is completed, it
promises to be one of the
finest and most unique
dining and shopping
facilities around.
Winston-Salem can join
the ranks of the other
historical cities that
have completed suc
cessful restoration
projects.
Missy Littleton
Fields Sees
Bright Future
Louis G. Fields, Jr., of
the U.S. State Depart
ment, made some op
timistic projections
about the future of
American-Soviet rel
ations, when he spoke to
a small group at Salem,
December 1.
Fields said one of the
major problems in
dealing with the Soviet
Union is that the USSR
“is playing chess while
the Americans are
playing checkers.” In
other words, Fields
explained that the
Soviet Union knows the
American strategy well,
while American
diplomats must guess at
Soviet intentions.
He said both countries
have modern
philosophies toward
each other, and added
that the Soviet Union
has a “new and dif
ferent group of rulers”
since World War II.
Fields called the United
States “the new boy on
the block” in global
affairs.
Turbulence will
continue, and
“surrogate confront
ations” will occur, he
said, but “we won’t see
a global war.” Fields
explained that there will
always be efforts to
define a “sphere of
influence,” and
protection of rights will
always be present. He
added that the Sovie’t
Union will probably be
“testing” the Reagan
administration for the
next few years, “as they
have tested every other
in-coming administr
ation.”
Fields said that
because of this an
ticipated “testing,”
Soviet relations will be
among the top priorities
when Governor Reagan
takes office in January.
One of the major
problems of the Carter
administration, acco
rding to Fields, is that it
was “overconcerned
with human rights
...Reagan will be more
pragmatic” in this area.
Fields added quickly
that Reagan will not
abandon the concern for
human rights.
Fields said that both
the U.S. and the USSR
are interested in the
limitations of arms,
although he added that
the SALT agreement as
it stands now is ob
solete. He said Reagan
will be looking closely at
the military standing of
the U.S. and will make
adjustments.
Fields said the U.S.
submarine force needs
to be updated. The
waste in the defense
budget will be looked at
closely, he said, and the
programs which are not
workable or essential
will be done away with.
In foreign policy.
Fields said Reagan will
depend on the more
experienced people in
government, instead of
bringing in “inex
perienced” statesmen
into the White House.
Fields added that one of
President Carter’s
problems has been that
“he brought in too many
new people,” who had to
formulate a policy
before they could carry
it out. He said Reagan
will look for “seasoned
people who can work
within the
bureaucracy.”
Reagan is also in
terested in a
“hemispheric alliance,”
according to Fields. He
said efforts will be made
to use assets on this side
of the globe to dispel our
dependence on the
Eastern hemisphere.
Countries like Mexico
and Canada could be of
great help to the U.S., he
said.
Fields added that a
solid alliance iii this
hemisphere might also
dispel Central
America’s threat to
peace in our
hemisphere.
Reagan was unhappy
with Carter’s dealings
with China and Taiwan,
but Fields says the
president-elect ackn
owledges that the U.S.
cannot “retreat from
China.” Fields doesn’t
see that we will gain
much from China, and
believes Japan may
hold more promise.
Fields explained that
because of rising costs,
the thousands of
American troops
stationed in Europe is
becoming a burden to
this country. He said “it
is clear that our allies
will have to chip in and
help defend them
selves.”
As for Poland’s
future. Fields said tne
USSR will probably not
intervene “until they
have a better feel for the
Reagan administrat
ion.”
Fields accused the
Carter administration
of not talking enough
with the allies before it
acted, and this upset
some of our closest
friends. He predicts'
Reagan will work
closely with American
allies and consult them
before taking action
which will affect them.
The statesman is
optimistic; “We have
lived through four years
of a young president
with high expectations.
He tried his damndest.”
He failed in some ways
and was a success in
others, he said.
Louis Fields attended
the University of
Florida, and received
his law degree from the
University of Virginia.
He has worked for the
State Department for
many years, and has
chaired several com
mittees in the Cabinet.
He is experienced in
international law and
business.
Carolyn McCollum