This Is How Swannanoa Citizens Tried
To Make Their Town Carolina's Finest
FORWARD
This is how we tried to make
our town owannanoa, “Carolina's
Finest.” Our town is an unin
corporated and widely scattered
community, and these five com
pleted projects have helped to
beautify and integrate it, and
make it a source of pride and
pleasure to its citizens. We ar
ranged recognition of the commun
ity by placing its name on a large
marker on the highway, hospitality
for visitors by establishing a pic
nic ground on the highway, happi
ness for our children by complete
ly renovating the school lunch
room, easier shopping facilities
for adults by street improvement
in the shopping area, and the pos
sibility of more complete commun
ity integration and improvement
for the future years by erecting a
Community Clubhouse for meet
ings of all groups, all ages. Swan
nanoa is a much finer town with
these improvements.
Project I—School Lunchroom.
Goal: Repair crack in dish room
floor, cover floor of entire lunch
room with inlaid tile, paint lunch
room, kitchen, dish room, and
chairs, put in screened vent, pro
vide rest room for employees, add
the following: curtains, metal cov
ered table for collecting dirty
dishes and removal of garbage,
mop sink, hand sink, and folding
screen.
Etimated cost—$350.00.
Committee: Mrs. Helen Hipp,
chairman; O. M. Alexander, Mrs.
Mary Stevens, Mrs. Roy Arm
strong, Roy Armstrong, Mrs. Ruth
Carlysle, W. H. Noah, J. J. Wald
en, Mrs. Murlin Adcock, Charles
Nichols, Selmar Neskaug, L. Y.
Medlin, Miss Nancy Wrenn, Mrs.
Mary Freeman, Miss Ruth White,
Mrs. 0. M. Alexander, Mrs. Sam
Alexander, Sam Alexander, Elmo
Neill, Huber Patton, Clarence
Stevens.
School Lunchroom
Of this we are proud. A newly
decorated lunchroom and the in
stallation of a restroom for lunch
room employees and teachers.
How attractive! Isn’t it lovely?
Doesn’t it give you a lift? Such
are the expressions one hears as
he approaches the subject or vis
its these places. To have had a
look before and now makes our
statements ring true.
A determined group saw the
need of a remodeled lunchroom
that eventually became a reality.
Such a program required careful
planning and much hard work. As
there was no money with which
to start the project, this was the
first concern. Over $300.00 was
raised and earned through pro
grams and other activities.
Acoustic board was placed on the
ceiling of the dining hall and kitch
en. While men labored on the
high wall, lunchroom employees
served lunches in bags to hun
dreds of children for five days.
Hours that reached into the early
morning of a new day went into
the completion of this project. A
group of parents and teachers
worked until 1:30 a.m. on a Sat
urday morning scrapping, scrub
bing, and preparing the concrete
floor for a new look of asphalt
tile. Work began at 7:30 a.m. on
Saturday morning and lasted until
7:00 p.m. that evening. The entire
dining hall, kitchen and dishroom
floors were given a new face with
asphalt tile. Lunch for the day
was prepared, brought in, and
served by parents and teachers.
The laying of the tile was com
pleted the following Monday. All
the chairs in the dining hall were
repainted and many rebottomed.
The entire dining hall, kitchen,
and dishroom now wear a lovely
coat of yellow and brown. Color
ful plastic drapes with cowboy
scenes now hang r' the windows.
Little children’s eyes dance as they
look at these.
Seldom does one see food scraps
on the floor as the table top de
vice fits over each garbage can,
sparing the floors from the scraps.
Two new sinks were added in the
kitchen, one for use as a hand sink
and the other for mops.
One finds it hard to realize that
an attractive restroom now occu
pies space that before was only
a dark and dingy closet. What a
relaxed feeling to walk in and see
a comfortable couch and glider
awaiting you. Also, a button may
be turned on to bring soft music
from the radio in the event one
has time to listen. Drapes and
rugs have added the home look to
this room.
What an attractive place for 700
children to pass in and out each
day! Yes, we are proud!
The $300.00 raised did not cov
er the cost of the entire project.
The furniture in the restroom was
donated. The Buncombe County
Board of Education helped share
other expenses. Four hundred
dollars worth of labor, or—three
hundred man hours of work do
nated.
Project II—Street Improvement.
Goal: Build 450 feet of 5-foot
side walk, the entire length of
South Avenue, and light street.
Estimated cost—$1145.00.
Committee: D. M. Connelly,
chairman; W. Paul Young, Horace
Stroupe.
Street Improvement
South Avenue, in Swannanoa,
was for many years an unsightly
and little used alley, full of mud
holes, broken bottles, and tin cans.
The alley was very poorly drained,
and on rainy days, it was more of
a hazard than an asset to the com
munity. As Swannanoa grew and
traffic increased, the congestion
became a difficult problem. It be
came necessary to reroute busses
through this street. Visitors to
Swannanoa on a bus received a
very unfavorable impression of our
community. Plans were made to
correct the drainage problem, build
a sidewalk, hard surface the road,
and light the streets. Merchants
and industrial leaders were con
tacted and they contributed
$1300.00. This money was used to
provide the proper drainage for
the street, build a five foot side
walk the entire length of the
street, 450 feet, and install three
street lights. A request to the
State Highway Department engi
neers resulted in the grading and
«<etewtgsg«««ie«i«ieeE««tcigigi€*<e!€!C!ei
hardsurfacing of the street. As a
result of these improvements, a lo
cal merchant constructed a new
$20,000 building to house a bus
station and drug store. This
street also is the location of Swan
nanoa’s new U. S. Post Office
building, erected by two Swan
nanoa business men.
Project III—Community Club
House.
Goal: Erect Community Club
House according to plans now in
the hands of the Club House com
mittee.
Estimated cost—$16,000.00.
Money on hand—$6,500.00.
Pledged — Mr. Owen, Beacon
Mfg. Co. $2500.00, and another
$2500.00 on matching bases.
Committee: Charles Porter,
chairman; Arnold Powell, Mrs.
Carrie Porter, Sidney Croy, Mrs.
W. A. Ward, Mrs. Roy Alexander,
Roy Alexander, Mrs. Arnold Pow
ell, Mrs. W. A. Porter, Robert
Mueller, Mrs. Robert Davidson,
Jack Smith, Dixon Connelly.
Community Clubhouse
In the years prior to the last
world war, the Swannanoa Wo
man’s club wa.s the only civic or
ganization in our community. It
was organized in 1936. With ap
proximately seventy-five members,
there was the ever present prob
lem of finding a meeting place for
this large group. The idea of a
permanent building for the Wo
man's Club came into being and
became one of the major aims of
the club. Through the efforts of
some of the members, and the gen
erosity of Jack Smith, the owner,
a lovely lot facing the plaza in
Grovemont, a residential area of
Swannanoa, was given to the
Swannanoa Woman’s club for a
clubhouse. At the beginning of
the war, it was found necessary for
the club to become inactive and the
funds on hand were put into war
bonds, and a building fund thus
started.
lilt; o w tinnanua waunuiu^
Council and the Swannanoa Men’s
club were organized after the war.
These groups, together wTith the
Woman’s club, saw' the need for a
community building to care, not
only for meetings of these organ
izations and their affiliates, but
to provide a community center for
the use of our young people, for
meetings for the Boy and Girl
Scouts, Boys of W’oodcraft, and
for the use of all residents of the
community. Out of these groups
working together as one unit with
this one idea and purpose in view,
came the Swannanoa Community
Center, Incorporated, a non-profit
organization for the purpose of
providing the aforementioned fac
ilities for the community of Swan
nanoa.
The Woman’s club deeded to the
center its lot in Grovemont for the
purpose of erecting a community
clubhouse. Plans were made for
starting such a project as soon as
sufficient funds could be raised.
Through the efforts of all groups
in putting on card parties, bake
sales, minstrel show, etc., approx
imately $7000 was on hand when
the building was started. Individ
ual donation since starting the
project have been $1356.00. Charles
Owens of Beacon Manufacturing
Company made a contribution of
$5,000.00, and thus made it possi
ble to begin work. Without his
generosity and the spirit of the
community, this work could not
have been started.
During the period of construc
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To Your Friends
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Christmas Greetings.
Call 7325 to-day
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COTTON AVENUE
Vz Block East of Montreat Ed.
Black Mountain, N. C.
Phone 7325
Si IIIVICI j
tion of the building, many activi
ties to raise funds have been car- 1
ried on. Many men in the com- c
munity have donated their time !
and skills. '
The sum of $200.00 was realized !
from the card party given by the
Woman’s Club. This group also <
put on a play which netted $500.00 '
for the fund. Subscriptions to the :
Black Mountain News were solic
ited and $33.00 was realized from
this. The following donation of
work and services have been re
ceived: Robert Martin for sur
veying the property $25.00; Paul
Vanover hauling $6.00; Boyd Barn
well brick work $16.00; Bob David
son hauling sand from Biltmore
and hauling scaffolding, etc. '
$46.00; Sewell Jarrett hauling sand :
$4.50; Scott Dillingham for use of i
scaffolding boards $85.00; Perry
Alexander for grading the build
ing site $85.00; Arnold Powell and i
his electrical helpers for their
many hours doing the wiring, in
stalling fixtures, etc., $875.00; A. '
R. Cannon for brick and block ma
sonry $141.25. Bill Porter haul- ■
ing concrete blocks, dirt, scaffold- i
ing and mortar boards $247.00.
The building committee was
headed by Charles Porter, a very
busy merchant, but he has given
unstintingly of his time in over- :
seeing the entire project. He was <
on call at all times for consulta- ■
tion and meetings, of which there 1
have been many during the course <
of the building program. Many '
of the men who donated their ser
vices have labored in the club- 1
house many evening hours after !
they had already put in a hard <
day’s ■work at their places of busi
ness. In spite of the hard work
and financial struggle, there has :
been the laughable side, too, as
witness the bright afternoon when
the members of the building com- 1
mittee in their Sunday best gath- 1
ered at the clubhouse to have a 1
photograph made. After waiting i
at least half an hour, it was dis- <
covered that in thp plans for the 1
picture no one had been instructed ■
to call a photographer, so no pic- j
ture. ;
Are we proud ol our community
clubhouse ? Indeed, we feel just
ifiably proud that out of the long
years of hoping and planning,
there has finally emerged this fine
building which will serve as a
real and lasting center for our
community and its activities, and
contribute toward a “finer Caro
lina” in providing for our youth,
our future citizens.
The building is located on a
wedge-shaped lot which will pro
vide ample parking on three
streets. It is set on the rear of
the lot, providing a deep lawn in
front of the building and facing
a beautiful panorama of moun
tains. The clubhouse is built of
tapestry brick, and in so far as is
possible, is of fireproof construc
tion.
The main entrance with its
wrought iron balustrade opens in
to a foyer where there is a large
coatroom. The large clubroom
is thirty by ninety feet and has
a hardwood floor. Opposite the
main entrance is a huge brick fire
place. The room is lighted by day
by large picture windows (one of
which covers the entire end of the
room) and by night by double rows
of grill covered flush ceiling lights.
At the other end of the building is
a small clubroom. A galley type
kitchen connects these two rooms,
with pass-through serving win
dows into both rooms. The kitch
en will be fully equipped with in
stitutional type fixtures and will
have facilities for serving at least
two hundred for dinner meetings.
There are ample storage rooms
and rest room facilities, also
drinking fountains. The basement
is arranged to take care of meet
ings and activities of various
youth groups, with shower, toilet,
and drinking fountain. The forced
warm air heat is controlled so
that any room in the building may
be cut off when not in use.
Project IV—Picnic Grounds.
Goal: Clean underbrush, level
ground, construct picnic tables
and ovens on land between Swan
nanoa river and Highway No. 70.
Clean river banks on surrounding
area.
I cuat-«p<&iV/u.uu.
' Committee: S. D. Alexander,
t chairman; S. R. Neskaug, Roy
[ Luckadoo, Bill Porter, A. R. Can
| non, Guy West, John Vaillancourt,
5 Joe Porcher, Mrs. Sam Alexander,
j Mrs. A. R. Cannon, Mrs. T. W.
; Folsom, Mrs. H. E. McKinney,
| Sidney Croy.
( Picnic Ground and River Bank
Improvement.
X Swannanoa has long felt the
^ need of a public picnic ground. In
X looking around for a place, it was
| decided that an area of about one
X acre, lying between the Swan
| nonoa river and U. S. Highway No.
X 70 would be convenient both for
| our local people and tourists.
5 There was great difficulty in
; the location of the owner of the
| particular spot desired. When lo
5 cated, he very graciously gave per
5 mission for the land to be used as
; a public picnic ground. The area
* is not heavily wooded, but before
X any work could be done, it was
| necessary to get rid of a rank
X growth of weeds and a great deal
jj of poison ivy.
X The Swannanoa Book club voted
| to sponsor the project and gave a
X contribution of $23.00. The first
I money spent from this fund was
X $5.90 for Weedone spray. Three
X large sprayers were borrowed from
X Dixon Connelly, John Sales, and
X Mrs. T. W. Folson. On the hottest
* Saturday afternoon of the summer,
X some members of the committee
j met at the picnic ground, and with
X sprays, axes, grass cutters and
j rakes, went to work. It soon be
X came apparent to Bill Porter that
j something more drastic was need
X ed. He got in his car and left,
jj When he returned, he was driving
X his tractor, with mower attached.
| With his mowing, the Weedone,
X and some diligent raking of the
I hay cut down, the area was ready
I for further development in a cou
1 pie of weeks.
It was decided to take as a goal
for this year the building of thiee
ovens and five tables. The lumber
for the tables was bought from
Elmore Burnette at a bargain. I he
Swannanoa school class of Veteian
Farm Trainees (chairman of this
committee is their instructor) de
voted a two-hour shop class in
struction period to cutting all the
lumber to the necessary dimensions
for the tables, S. R. Neskaug, .1. J
Walden, and S. D. Alexander as
sembled the tables and delivered
them to the picnic ground. One
hundred used fire brick were ob
tained at .02 each, and Bob Dav
idson donated approximately one
hundred concrete blocks for the
ovens. Mr. Noyes, of the Grove
stone Sand company, gave some
discarded one-inch screens, to form
the cooking surfaces of the ovens.
By happy coincidence, A. R.
Cannon, a skilled briekmason, hap
pened to be serving on this com
mittee. He built the ovens on Sat
urday mornings.
The State Highway Commission
was requested to assist in building
a driveway inte the area, but had
to refuse. It was necessary to
hire someone to build the drive
way. The material for the sign
was paid for by the Men’s Club
and painted by Henry Gibbs. An
oil drum for use as a garbage can
was donated by Beacon Manufac
turing Company. Mary Powell
designed and painted a very un
usual scene on it.
The Swannanoa Community
Council paid for the driveway and
lumber for the tables. The other
expenses came from the fund con
tributed by the Book Club. Due
to voluntary labor and material do
nated, the cost of the picnic area
was kept at a minimum.
Guy West and Sidney Croy con
tacted five filling stations opera
tors, who agreed to clean the river
banks behind their filling stations
and keep them clean. Joe Porcher
organized 22 W.O.W. boys of the
Woodcraft, who gave 320 hours of
work cleaning the riverbank by the
Swannanoa bridge. They cleared
away and burned brush, trash, and
hauled away tin cans, etc. Adults
helping them were Mr. Porcher,
Allen Campfield and Willis Bur
gess.
Project V—Swannanoa Marker.
Goal: Erect Swannanoa marker
on Highway No. 70—landscape,
beautify, and light marker.
Estimated cost—$950.00.
Committee: Mrs. J. B. Nichols,
chairman; Mrs. J. M. Buckner,
Mrs. Elizabeth Brittain, Roy Alex
ander, Perry Alexander.
Swannanoa Marker
Travelers on Highway No. 70
through Swannanoa had no means
of knowing the name of the com
munity through which they were
passing. The State Highway has
not seen fit to erect even a simple
sign announcing Swannanoa. The
Swannanoa Commuity Council,
taking this into consideration, de
cided to build a sign that would
not only announce Swannanoa, but
would also beautify it.
A beautiful stone shaft was
erected at an intersection, with a
clear view from all directions. Two
redwood markers were attached to
the shaft, with SWANNANOA
beautifully done in large letters.
Underneath this is the legend
“Home of Beacon Blankets,” com
plimenting Beacon Manufacturing
Company, who has so generously
supported all community projects.
The marker, as well as the shaft,
was designed by Dr. Henry Jen
sen of Warren Wilson College, and
the lettering was done by Clar
ence Davidson, also of Warren
Wilson.
The corner where the marker
was erected was a deep unsightly
hole, overgrown with weeds and
a convenient catch-all for rubbish.
This was leveled with the highway
after the shaft was built, using
about 600 yards of soil for the
filling.
The soil excavated for the new
Community Clubhouse was used,
as well as some donated, by Bea
con Manufacturing Company. Top
soil was donated by Perry Alex
ander and hauled by Robert Dav
idson. Selmer Neskaug, with the
help of his Agricultural class of
Swannanoa High school, leveled,
fertilized, and planted the plot in
grass.
The Garden Department of the
Swannanoa Woman’s club appoint
ed a committee to beautify the
plot throughout the summer with
beds of flowers, consisting of Mrs.
J. B. Nichols, chairman, Mrs. J.
B. Buckner, and Mrs. Elizabeth
Britttin. Mrs. Nichols and Mrs.
Brittain donned blue jeans, and
with a hoe and spade, and helpful
suggestions from Mrs. Buckner,
planted the flowers. On this busy
highway, there were plenty of of
fers of help from passing motor
ists, who sped on their merry way
when the offers were accepted. In
a few weeks, the weeds took over.
With the temperature standing at
95 degrees, Mrs. Nellie Owenby,
Mrs. Norma Hussy, and Mrs. Nich
ols, after a days work at the Swan
nanoa Bank & Trust Company,
weeded the flower beds. Roy Alex
ander secured a hose and Mr. Nes
kaug watered the grass and flow
ers. Grassy Moore was employed
to mow and weed the plot for the
rest of the summer. He also plant
ed a row of cosmas across the
back, adding much to the beauty
of the marker.
The season was too far advanced
when the plot was finished foi
planting shrubbery. Dr. Jensen
gave advice on planting the shrub
bery. Mrs. W. A. Ward and Mrs
Nichols selected the shrubbery,
which was planted by the Nettles
Nursery. Flood lights were in
stalled by Beacon Manufacturing
Company, under the supervision oi
Arnold Powell.
The Garden Department of the
Woman’s Club is sponsoring a
Christmas scene during the holi
days.
WANT ADS SELI_PHONE 4101
Swannanoa Lacks
Reserve Power In
Opening Games
By Orren Bell,
Swannanoa High Sports Editor
King Basketball will lake a rest
a) s. H. S. until Jan. 6 when it
resumes through the middle of
February and then the county
tournament.
During the next couple of
weeks basketball wall be forgot
ten as the kids will be shopping
and making their plans for the
happy holiday season ahead.
Getting back to sports, let’s
look back at some of our prev
ious games this season. Our girls
have been completely outclassed
in every game played and have
lost by at least a 25 point margin
every game, but the team is com
posed chiefly of freshmen and
sophomores and you can bet that
after a little more experience
they’ll be hard to stop.
When taking a look at the
Warriors’ record, it’s a little hard
to understand how they haven’t
won at least three games out of
the five played.
In the first two ball games we
were beaten in the opening min
utes of play. But after a couple
of minutes we settled down and
played on even terms but couldn’t
gain back what we had lost in the
first quarter.
In the Candler game we led all
the way until the final quarter
when three of the first string
fouled out. We didn’t have the
reserve power to keep up the at
tack.
In the Mars Hill game the half
time score was 11-11 and we lost
that one by the margin of 41-21.
Can you figure it out? I can’t.
From all the students at S.H.S.
we wish you a Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year.
More About—
Robert Reese
From Page 1
daughters, Mrs. Blanche Hender
Frank Ledbetter; three sons, Clyde,
Terrell and John Reese; one step
son, Frank Watkins of Black
Mountain; one stepdaughter, Mrs.
Frank A. Sansosti of Aiken, S. C.;
two sisters, Mrs. Nell Padgett of
gtctc'etc'cic!c<€<c<c>«'etEtc>e'ctct««:<c'CiC<ci
Black Mountain and Mrs. Epsey
Mease of Portsmouth, Va.; two
brothers, Ben F. and Joe Reese of
Black Mountain; 16 grandchildren
and two great-grandchildren.
Pallbearers were Paul Turner,
Joe Hollifield, George Watson,
Lawrence Brandon, Ed Johnson
and Johnny Rice.
Honorary pallbearers were P. B.
Mayo. W. I. Willis, H. F. Kirby,
R. H. Rice, Claude Betts, R. H.
Reed Sr., R. G. Summey, Perry
Morgan, A. B. Chapman, W. M.
Pate, Willard K. Weeks, Dr. S. S.
Cooley, Dr. H. R. Miller, R. E.
Finch. P. H. Glenn, Charlie Shu
mate, R. S. Eckles Sr., and W. A.
Allison.
Harrison Funeral Home was in
charge.
More About—
Kickoff Dinner
From Page 1
3. Youth activity program,
sponsored by Swannanoa Commun
ity Council. Paul Young, chairman,
Mrs. Sam Alexander, George
Lemieux, Mrs. John Connet, and
the Rev. George B. Talbot.
4. Remodeling school auditor
ium, sponsored by Swannanoa
Parent-Teachers association. J. J.
Walden, chairman, Y. L. Medlin,
Sam Gant, Ulmont Baker, George
Young, and O. M. Alexander.
5. Street improvement, spon
sored by Men’s club. Dixon Con
nellv. chairman, Horace Stroupe,
and W. A. Ward.
6. Alternate project, establish
ing an Arts and Crafts group with
in the Woman’s club, sponsored
by Woman’s club. Mrs. Artus
Moser, chairman. Mrs. Lawrence
Wainscott, Mrs. Otto Linstead,
Mrs. Howard Patton, and Mrs.
Arnold Powell.
Work will begin on these pro
jects immediately. More about
each project will be released at
a later date.
W’illiam Holcombe and Miss
Vivian Bushang of the Carolina
Power and Light company were
hosts for the dinner.
Great interest in the 1952 con
test was shown and Swannanoa
has hopes of winning one of the
prizes offered by the Carolina
Power and Light company. The
cooperation of the entire com
munity will be needed to make a
success of the 1953 campaign. We
are hoping to make Swannanoa
“Carolina’s Finest Town."
Let’s go, Swannanoa.
(tc<ctctetctc'c«ctc'c(c(cire!ctctcictctcic(ctc«
END A NIGHTMARE
The nightmare is almost .
years old now. The nightmare 7°
millions of Korean people \
another terrible Winter is ■,)
upon them. A portion 0f l11051
pledge to your United <\n'..0ur
campaign will be used t0 \’CaJ
clothing to the war-ravaged ' v
rean people. K°
WANT ADS SELL—PHONE
410)
Plenty .
Of the Christmas
Spirit In This
Gift of All Gifts
• t
EXTRA SPECIAL
One Group of Watches
Swiss Movement
17 Jewels
$25
AT
Pellom
TIME SHOP
107 Cherry Street
Black Mountain
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Christmas
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