Crisp Community Is Improving Itself, 1956

By Virginia Nance, Extension home economics editor at N.C. State College, Raleigh, as published in the October, 1956, issue of Extension Farm-News

Community spirit paid dividends to the Crisp community in Edgecombe County in the county’s Challenge Community Development Program during 1955—but the people haven’t stopped working. They hope their efforts will pay off again in this year’s contest, according to Robert Parker, chairman of the community organization.

Of the 95 white families and 30 Negro families in the community, more than 90 per cent of them participated and reported the improvements they had made.

County Extension agents and community leaders attribute Crisp’s community spirit to several active organizations—three churches, PTA at Crisp School, Boy Scouts, the Home Demonstration Club, and an active Teen-Age Club.

In the 1955 contest year, a total of 99 home grounds were improved, Parker said. There were 40 dwellings painted, 30 out-buildings painted, 37 standard mail boxes erected, 227 rooms painted, 17 automatic water systems added, 20 additions of running water to kitchens, eight bathrooms added, eight hot water systems, 51 closets and cabinets, and 43 homes properly screened.

In addition to the monetary incentive of $7,500 provided by the Peoples Bank of Rocky Mount for both Nash and Edgecombe counties to be used in sums of $750 each per year for five years, the Crisp community went one step further. The local community offered community prizes in several areas—livestock, home garden, home grounds, interior improvement, kitchen, and field crops.

One of the individual prizes in the 1955 local contest went to Mr. and Mrs. W.E. Lovelace for interior improvement. The Lovelaces, better known to all of their friends in the Crisp community as Bill and Elise, have two children. Their son “Cap,” is 10 and daughter, Carol, is 6.

In 1955, when preparations for widening Highway 258 made it necessary to move their home, the family decided it was time to do the complete renovation job to which they had been looking forward and planning for some time.

The Lovelace home is known as the old Eagles home since it was the one in which Bill’s mother, Fannie Eagles Lovelace, and her family were reared. It was occupied by her sister, Mrs. Sallie Eagles Tolbert, until her death in 1944.

It was Miss Sallie Eagles, too, in the summer of 1912, who started the Girls Tomato Club Movement. This was the first Extension work conducted for girls and women in Edgecombe County.

Mr. and Mrs. Walter Web Jr. won the award for kitchen improvement. The Webbs have a stronger attachment to their home due to the unusual coincidence that it was built by Mrs. Webb’s grandfather and stayed in her family until it was sold to Mrs. Webb’s parents in 1938.

The entire kitchen remodeling job was done by the Webb family, who work very closely together. In order to acquire the services of a neighbor, who was a more experienced carpenter, Mr. Webb paid him by sending someone to do his farming during his absence.

The Webb’s plans for the future include moving away two rooms in the back of the house, underpinning and adding a new porch and bathroom “if,” as Mr. Webb says, “tobacco brings enough this year.”

Other local winners include Mr. and Mrs. Tommie Jones for home garden; Mr. and Mrs. B.R. Bell for field crops; James Allen for livestock; and Mr. and Mrs. E.C. Mosely and Mr. and Mrs. Ashley Gay for outstanding improvement.

Some outstanding community improvements which helped the Crisp community win the 1955 contest are the community center where many local activities take place, and improvements on several churches. The Forbes Free Will Baptist Church probably had more improvement than any other. It was a wood frame building which members brick veneered. They added new stained glass windows and graded the lawn. In the future, they plan to add shrubbery and complete the landscaping.

Because this energetic and community-minded group of people wants to make even more improvements in their community during 1956 they have adopted the following goals as minimum requirements for 1956 community awards.  The goals were set up by a county committee composed of Extension personnel and representatives from each community participating in the contest.

1.       Get at least 50 families to participate in the program, or 80 per cent of the families, whichever is greater.

2.       Have at least six communitywide educational programs on farm and home projects, such as soil testing, mailbox improvement, tobacco grading, home food supply.

3.       Have at least two organized community-wide recreational programs during the year.

4.       Sponsor at least two community projects, such as a new community building.

5.       Sponsor one community tour or participate in county farm and home tour and report the number of families represented by attendance.

6.       Have designated reporter to report community activities to local newspapers and radio stations, and to assemble newspaper clippings for the judges to use.

The Crisp community, just one of many rural communities like it in North Carolina, has already made great strides toward making a good showing in the contest again this year. Many of the required meetings have already been held and the families are deep in home and farm improvements.

Officers for the Crisp organization for 1956 are Mr. Parker, chairman; Mrs. John Eagles, secretary; Mrs. John Mosely, publicity chairman; and James Allen, vice-chairman.

County Extension personnel aiding Edgecombe communities with the Challenge Program include Mrs. Eugenia P. VanLandingham, home agent; Miss Cleo Jones, and Mrs. Nancy Lewis, assistant home agents; J.C. Powell, county agent; R.L. Hendrix, C.H. Lockhart and Charles Cone, assistant county agents.