Opinion* On The Sovet
U Charlotte A Good Place To Live?
X By Audrey C. Legato
l , . Peet Staff Writer
No doubt about it, Charlotte is a
gigwlng city. According to infor
m 41100 from the City, the population
is 284,738. Charlotte prides itself on
iWtomgeas “the place to be" in the
We wondered how well area resi
dents like their city. Poet reporter
L°dato asked pedestrians on
thp Tryon Street llaB recently how
they like Charlotte. Is it a good
place to live? Dp they want to stay
here? Here is what thsy had to say.
• CATHERINE BROWN, of Herne
Drive, works as a day care aide at
G«tbaemane. Ms. Brown moved to
Charlotte from Daytona, Florida,
' with her family in 1S76. She likes the
city, although she didn’t have any
particular reason. “I Just like it,”
she affirmed. "I like it about the
Hune os I did Daytona. They’re
- about the same size, I think
Charlotte has a lot of businesses.”
. Brown concluded by saying she
ay in Charlotte.
. Patterson of Remount
Road works as a caretaker for an
elderly woman. Ms. Patterson has
live in Charlotte for 35 years. “I’ve
never liked it," she replied, "but I
7gayedformy kids.” She explained
that she had grown up in Conway,
S.C., a small town. “It was hard for
me to get a Job and settle down
here," she continued. Bis. Patterson
preferred the atmosphere of her
hometown, which she thinks was
friendlier. “Conway was friendly.
Charlotte is a big place. I was
happier in Conway, but it doesn’t
look like I’ll ever get back," she
lamented.
!’s ...Happier In Conway
• DORIS MILLER, a cook at Ryan's
Steak House, lives on Sumter Ave
nue. She has been in Charlotte for 21
years, “all my life.” In her opinion,
Charlotte is “a good place to live. I
like the people here. There’s not as
much violence here as there is in
other places,” she noted. “They’re
trying to get our city together. It’s a
nice place to live."
•OWEN FRAZIER is an unem
ployed warehouse worker residing
on Torrence Road. Frazier has also
live elsewhere, but has been in
Charlotte about 10 years. His
response addressed the availablitiy
of aid to residents in different
locales. “I. believe Charlotte has
more aid for people than Rock Hill,”
Frazier remarked. Frazier has lived
in Rock Hill and other locations. He
explained that he traveled around
the country while his father was in
the service. “On the whole, there
Owen Frailer
...Charlotte has more
ar* people here who are concerned
about others,” he commented, but
added the thought that local church
es need to consider the handicapped
to a greater extent.
• JACK TOMLINSON doesn't live in
Charlotte. The Monroe resident is
employed as a mechanic for Hall’s
General Tire. He commented on
Monroe as good place to live.
“There are good people in Monroe
and the taxes are lower,” he noted.
Tomlinson has lived in that city
since 1963, when he moved north
from Greenville, S.C. “Monroe is a
small town and I like that,” he
added.
• GLENN MORGAN, of Morgan &
Beard Barber Shop on S. Tryon,
downtown, expressed appreciation
for Charlotte. “I’ve been in about 17
different countries and 23 states, and
there’s no place I’ve found as nice as
Charlotte,” he asserted.
m CMay-t'oetry Contest •
Kellie Talley Writes Winning Poem
By Audrey C. Lada to
Poet Staff Writer
Earlier this year, the Community
Relations Committee sponsored an
essay-poetry contest in memory of
Martin Luther King for the students
in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Schools. According to Shirley John
son, Community Relations Coordi
nator for the school system, the
contest, which may become an
annual event, had three objectives:
(1) to create awareness of Dr. King,
his life and works, and encourage
students to learn more about him
and his place in American history;
2) to encourage creativity among
children in the form of written
expression; and 3) to foster bdttsr
school-community relations by en
couraging the schools to become
actively involved in the county-wide
observance.
Kellie A. Talley, a ninth grader in -
Ms. Mary Wright’s English at
Cochrane Junior High School, wrote
one of the winning poems. Kellie,
who entepyl-tfae contest "because
my teacher asked me to," never
thought she would win. “My grand
mother said I did a very good job
and is very proud of me," she
remarked. Others, however, were '
“shocked," she said. “They said
they knew I had the talent but they
didn’t know I could project it in a
positive manner,” Kellie explained.
“So I had to show them."
Kellie’s poem, entitled "Fulfilling
the Dream," is printed below. The <
young author related that she those f
to write a poem rather than an essajf
“because I can get my thoughts
across in fewer words. When I write
an essay, I have too many thoughts
and it gets too long."
In writing her prize-winning
poem, many ideas came to Kellie’s
mind. “I thought about all that
black people had been through and
how 1 could’ve been born into it,”
she related. “We still have far to go,
but we can overcome problems
through love. Fighting won’t do It."
Without further ado, here Is Kel
lie’s poem.
So we must back him in this
effortless deed,
, Not to put down one another because
of their creed.
To realize the color of skin doesn’t
matter at all, >
We should pick up our brother
whenever he falls, j
Like a ship held fast to a dock.
Our faith in one another should be
solid as a rock. r
Like a roaring fire burning peaceful
and bright,
We should find peace with our
brother, through day and night.
When we learn as people to Join our
brother's hand,
Then we canJive together in our free
and beautiful land.
Maybe we all can’t be a Martin
Luther King,
But we can all unite in love to fulfill
his dream!!
■ I '^1 w ^ I
Kellie A. Talley
...Contest winner
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