'Endless Chain' Pig Club in Mecklenburg County Is Success, 1949

By F.H. Jeter, Extension Editor, N.C. State College, as published in the Charlotte Observer, Dec. 19, 1949

Ray A. Kiser says that the endless chain pig club in Mecklenburg County is proving to be a great boon to the people also. This club has been underway over there now for three years, and the boys have grown out nice hogs. Purebred gilts have been passed on to other club members, and local farmers have been supplied with pork animals for a family meat supply.

The people of the county are having nicer and better meat on their tables because of the better hogs in their pens. These hogs were improved through the work of the endless chain pig club. The Mecklenburg 4-H club members met with those from Cabarrus County the other evening, out at the St. John’s Lutheran Church near Concord. There, prizes were awarded for the good work done in growing and exhibiting their pigs this past season.

Hal Price of Pineville Putting Learning in Action, 1949

By F.H. Jeter, Extension Editor, N.C. State College, as published in the Charlotte Observer, Dec. 19, 1949

An unusual and interesting bit of work is being done in Mecklenburg County now by young Hal Price of Pineville, Route 1. Hal has been a member of the 4-H wildlife club for over two years and has attended two of the camps held for these club members in late August at the Sandhill 4-H camp near Hoffman. 

Hal has come home from these camps and attempted to put into practice some of the good things learned at the camps, and now he has been commissioned to make a study of the mourning dove. He has secured traps and will catch the doves, leg-band them and release them according to an agreement he has with the State Wildlife Commission. He is assisting the commission in gathering all the data possible on the dove.

Hal is not only a student of wildlife but he also has a great influence in stimulating more interest in conserving the little wild creatures of the woodland and fields and streams of the Pineville section.

Farmers Federation News Cover, December 1930

Corn Is Backbone on North Carolina Farm, 1949

By F.H. Jeter, Extension Editor, N.C. State College, as published in the Charlotte Observer, Dec. 5, 1949

Years ago, there was a saying in North Carolina that the sheriff never sold out a man who had plenty of corn in his crib. Major William A. Graham, who served North Carolina so ably as one of its great Commissioners of Agriculture, used to assert that this saying was true and that over a long lifetime in that great reconstruction period when North Carolina was finding itself and getting back on its feet, he found out the truth of the proverb. It was perhaps another way of pointing out that with plenty of feed and food for men and beast in the crib, barn lofts, smoke houses, pantries and other snug storage places, a man and his family were secure against the onslaught of cold and privation.

That’s a happy situation and the good farmer and his family enjoys such a situation more often and more  completely perhaps than in North Carolina this fall. We have had our setbacks, it is true; but if we look across the state as a whole we find that things are in pretty good shape. Some good farming has been done this year. There is accord in the state between all classes of people. Prices for farm products have been fair—not good in comparison with the things we have to buy, but reasonably fair. We are getting along all right; better than most, I would say. That is not a matter for smug gloating or for any feeling of superiority but rather a matter for devout thanks.

YADKIN COUNTY

In Yadkin County, the folks are thankful this fall for the good yields of corn which they have housed. County Agent D.D. Williamson says that 15 Yadkin corn growers produced over 100 bushels and that 25 others grew from 75 up to 100 bushels per acre. The average yield for that county is much better than in 1948 and the growers say that by increasing production per acre they can grow their corn more cheaply and more economically. They do not have to use so many acres to get the amount of grain they need on the farm. 

These released acres are being put to pastures, hay and small grain crops that are not so costly to cultivate and are more easily handled with mechanical equipment. Yadkin always plants a rather large grain crop but the growers were delayed this fall due to the fact that the tobacco harvest was delayed two to three weeks later than usual.

STANLY COUNTY

Charlie Barbee of Albemarle, Route 4, in Stanly County, produced 129 bushels of corn per acre this year and has reported his yield for consideration in the state corn growing contest for the piedmont section. Mr. Barbee grew the NC 1032 hybrid and his corn was carefully weighed and a moisture test made before the final yield was recorded. The Stanly farmer said his yield would have been much better had it not been for that storm in the early fall that blew down the corn so badly that a large amount of the ears were damaged and had to be removed before the final weights were taken.

Welcome Home for Christmas, 1948

Called "The Homecoming," this Norman Rockwell painting was on the cover of 

the Saturday Evening Post November 26, 1948. 

Newest Kitchen Stove Burns Economical Kerosene, 1938

This ad from the Carolina Co-operator, 1938, promotes a new kitchen stove, one that burns "economical" kerosene. Off to the side, you'll also see mention of a modern refrigerator that promises "ice from oil heat!" 

"Whatever cooking test you put it to . . . speed . . . cleanliness . . . wide selection of heats . . . perfect control . . . you'll find the High-Power Perfection Range unsurpassed by any kitchen stove in the world . . . regardless of fuel. Thousands of enthusiastic women agree . . . it offers an easier, better way to cook!"

Helen J. Bess Wins National Volunteer Award, 1976

From National Notes, published by the National Extension Homemakers Council, December, 1976

Mrs. Cregg (Helen) Bess of Gastonia, 1977 state Safety Chairman, has been recognized for her efforts in organizing the Gaston County Concerned Citizens for Justice program.

Statewise, she won first place in the 1976 Adult Individual Award given by the North Carolina Rural Safety Council, and the Concerned Citizens for Justice placed fourth in the same awards program.

Nationally, Mrs. Bess was awarded one of the coveted National Volunteer Awards. This citation from the National Center for Voluntary Action reads:

The National Volunteer Awards—established to seek out and recognize, and thus inspire and encourage, extraordinary volunteer achievement in communities throughout the United States.

Citation—1975

Concerned Citizens for Justice—Mrs. Helen J. Bess whose distinguished volunteer service has improved the quality of life in the community. This achievement is worthy of national recognition by the National Center for Voluntary Action. George Romney, Chairman.

In a personal letter to Miss Bess, Mr. Romney said, “I am happy to inform you that your group has been selected as a Citation Winner for the National Center for Voluntary Action 1975 Awards Program.  The panel of judges agree that your group is truly deserving of national recognition.

The National Volunteer Awards Program is an important part of the National Center for Voluntary Action’s major goal: to stimulate new responses to America’s most pressing needs through the greater recognition, utilization and coordination of volunteers. Your recognition is for exemplary volunteer activities in the community.

We hope that millions of other people will follow your lead and continue to be motivated to become volunteers. We truly believe that through the contributions of millions of private citizens working together we can directly improve the quality of life for every person in America.”

Our congratulations and appreciation go to Helen Bess and to the Extension Homemakers of Gaston County for the work they are doing.

Britt Family on North Carolina Farm, 1915

Hunter Family 'Adopts' Neighbors' Kids, 1943

From the “Our Women Speak” column in the Progressive Farmer, December 1943 issue

Adopt the Neighborhood

In one Southern community at least, folks are not worrying about gas rationing or the rubber shortage,” writes Mrs. S.L. Coleman, Greenville, S.C. “They are too busy having good times at home. In Greenville County, out at Quadruple Springs Farm, Mr. and Mrs. Lee Hunter have fitted up a recreation room and ‘adopted’ the neighborhood since they have no children of their own. This generous couple keeps ‘open house’ the year-round, and neighbors of all ages like to gather there on summer afternoons as well as on winter evenings. For that reason, the country youngsters of this community are content without tearing off to the city and shows, and even the parents are beginning to form ‘gangs’!”

Wake County Family Builds New Home for the Holidays, 1938

These photos from the Library of Congress, taken in December 1938, show a Wake County family and the house that they built.

Mixing cement for the home he's building in Wake County.

Scotland, Durham, and Randolph County Farmers Who Won Production Contests, 1949

By F.H. Jeter, Extension Editor, N.C. State University, as published in the Charlotte Observer, Dec. 12, 1949

Scotland County farmers have ended their 10^th annual cotton production contest. C.S. McArthur of Laurinburg won the first prize of $50 with a yield of 761 pounds of lint cotton per acre on five acres. Gilchrist Brothers of Laurinburg won second place with a yield of 734 pounds of lint per acre, and Will McLeod, who farms one of the Z.V. Pate farms near Laurel Hill, took third honor with a yield of 717 pounds of lint. These winnings in the 10-year-old cotton growing contest were announced at a meeting of the Scotland County Farmers Club held recently at the Old Laurel Hill Church Community building. R.F. McCoy, president of Laurinburg Merchants Association, presented the prizes, as offered by his organization. Mr. McArthur was given a check for $50; Gilchrist Brothers, $30; and Will McLeod, $20.

This cotton production contest is the forerunner of North Carolina’s five acre contest and during the 10 years that the Scotland Farmers Club has been promoting this annual affair it has attracted the attention of the whole South. H.M. Morgan won the first contest with a yield of 897 pounds of lint per acre. The highest yield ever recorded during the 10 years was 1,210 pounds of lint per acre on five acres grown by D.D. Wilkinson in 1944. The next largest was an acre produced on the farm of Mrs. W.N. McKenzie Sr. by Sylvester Parker, who picked 1,192 pounds of lint per acre last year. J.G. Pate probably produced the third largest in 1942 with a yield of 1,074 pounds of lint per acre to take the top prize in that year.

County Agent E.O. McMahan says that Mr. McArthur, winner of the 1949 contest, planted his cotton on April first in rows of 40 inches apart. He chopped so as to leave a little over two stalks per hill to every foot of row. He fertilized with 600 pounds of 5-10-10 mixture per acre and then top-dressed with 200 pounds of a high nitrogen fertilizer. He dusted the cotton eight times to control the boll weevil using Benzene Hexachloride six times and Toxaphene twice. Dusting was started on June 21 and continued during the height of the boll weevil infestation. Even so, his yield of 761 pounds of lint is the lowest ever made in the long history of the Scotland County contest. Mr. McMahan said that this was perhaps the hardest year to make a crop of cotton in the recent history of cotton growing in that section. The remarkable thing is that Mr. McArthur and his nearest competitors were able to make as much as they did.

At the same time that the winners in the cotton contest were announced by the Scotland Farmers Club, they also announced the close of their three-acre corn growing event for this year. First prize of $100 U.S. Savings Bond was awarded to John McLaurin of Laurinburg with a production of 132.5 bushels per acre on the three acres. W.W. Thompson of Laurinburg took second place and a $50 bond with a yield of 109 bushels; and Fletcher Walters won third place and a $25 bond with a yield of 107.3 bushels. County Champion McLaurin grew the Dixie 17 hybrid and the runners-up grew the NC 27 hybrid. Clyde S. Stutts, cashier of the Commercial State Bank of Laurel Hill, presented the bonds to the successful corn growers.

During the five years that this three-acre corn contest has been underway, acre yields have steadily climbed from 70 and 80 bushels an acre during the first two years to 101.7 bushels by Gilchrist Brothers in 1947, to 129.2 bushels by John F. McNair and W.C. Bracy last year, and to 132.5 bushels by Mr. McLaurin this year. Dixie 17 has topped the acre yields both in 1948 and 1949.

Mr. McLaurin planted his corn on April 27 in rows 38 inches wide and 11 inches apart on the row. He first applied a ton of manure per acre over the three acres. This was followed by 125 pounds of 50 percent potash and then by 800 pounds of a 4-10-6 fertilizer at planting time. The corn received a side application of 600 pounds of nitrate of soda and it was planted on a field which grew soybeans the year before. Mr. McLaurin says that while his fertilizer use might seem a little heavy, it actually cost him only 30 cents a bushel for the corn produced. He is satisfied when he can make corn at such a low cost for the fertilizer used.

RANDOLPH AND DURHAM COUNTIES

Randolph County plans to hold its famous 100-bushel corn club meeting sometime this month. E.S. Millsaps says this meeting is to be staged by the Asheboro Chamber of Commerce and that the county prize winners will be announced at that meeting. However, Mr. Millsaps is certain that 39 men and boys in Randolph County have produced over 100 bushels per acre this season. He has figured that Randolph can now lay claim to 120 members in the North Carolina 100-Bushel Corn Club and some of the farmers over there have made this membership for three years in succession now.

W.B. Pace of Durham County also reports that careful checks have been made on the farms of 33 Durham County corn growers who are competing in the Durham contest this year. Quite a few men would not have their acres surveyed because of the heavy losses in yield which they sustained due to storm damage in September. However, the 33 men so far checked have produced an average yield of 93.1 bushels and 12 of them have made over 100 bushels an acre.

Boll Weevil Ate Cotton Profits, 1949

By F.H. Jeter, Extension Editor, N.C. State College, as published in the Charlotte Observer, Dec. 5, 1949

North Carolina farmers are tremendously concerned about how to make money through the use of additional crops, and how to save the money that they make. One good way to save money is not to let insects and plant diseases destroy what has been produced. One of the most surprising statement to come to my attention this fall is one by B.C. Lineberger of Lincolnton, who in his official capacity as a member of the National Cotton Council, said that this state has suffered a loss of $23,901,000 from cotton insect pests this year. Twenty-three million dollars is a lot of money. Mr. Lineberger estimates that our cotton crop was reduced by 18 percent this season, to far exceed the losses of last year when only seven percent was lost from attacks by insect pests.

In other words, the value of the lint and the seed lost through the depredations of the boll weevil alone in 1949 is 2 ½ times what it was in 1948. The loss was $9,622,000 last year and that was bad enough. Mr. Lineberger says we lost 143,000 bales of cotton and 57,000 tons of good cottonseed to satisfy the insatiable appetite of the boll weevil. Based on an average price of $150 a bale, the lint losses this year would thus amount to $21,451,000.

But this is nothing when compared with the loss of cotton over the entire South. The year 1949 was the worst since 1927. In that year the weevils cost the Southern cotton farmer the neat sum of $550,000,000. That’s why Mr. Lineberger is asking for a good attendance at the third annual cotton insect control conference to be held in Birmingham, Alabama, on December 19 and 20. He wants to see all the official people concerned with cotton growing and insect control present at that meeting so that unified steps may be taken for a fight on the weevil and other cotton pests. I think he is right and I hope we shall get some definite and easily understood recommendations on which all of us can agree, and then that we shall get ready next spring and try to save our cotton crop.

Helen Whitlock of Stanly County Is 1937 'Ideal 4-H Club Girl'

This ideal 17-year-old has made 374 garments, prepared 1,714 meals, canned 1,554 pints of food, improved three rooms, raised 76 chickens, and won an essay contest!

IDEAL -- North Carolina's "ideal" 4-H Club girl for the year is Helen Whitlock, 17, of Stanly County, who was second prize-winner in the 1937 Annual Cooperative Essay Contest. She was selected on the basis of her record as a club girl for the past eight years during which time she had 21 projects, making 374 garments, preparing 1,714 meals, canning 1,554 pints of food, improving three rooms, and raising 76 chickens.

In addition to the honor she also received an all-expense trip to the National 4-H Club Congress in Chicago November 26-December 4, where she competed for Southern honors.

Dynamite Returns 40 Acres to Production on Laton Farm, 1949

By F.H. Jeter, Extension Editor, N.C. State College, as published in the Charlotte Observer, Dec. 5, 1949

Quite a few North Carolina landowners are starting early this fall to remedy the drainage situation on their lowlands or bottoms. A.R. Laton of Jackson Springs, Moore County, has a 40-acre tract of fine land where all the old ditches have been filled up and the banks overgrown with bushes and trees. These had clogged the ditches so badly, he said, until the entire 40 acres was badly water-logged and impossible to cultivate, W.G. Caldwell, assistant farm agent, helped Mr. Laton place 14 cases of blasting dynamite to clear out the ditches. Now this 40 acres is one of the best fields on the Laton farm. It was worthless, however, until the dynamite was used. The water is now running clear and free and the land is well drained.

Extension Homemakers Start Welcome Newcomers Program in Alexander County, 1985

By Miriam Clark, October-December, 1985, issue of Tar Heel Homemakers

The Extension Homemakers Council has started a Welcome Newcomers Program in rapidly growing Alexander County. With the influx of many retirees and numerous businesses bringing in management people and employees, many newcomers have arrived. How could the Extension Homemakers help them to relate to our small county, become aware of facilities available to them and the opportunities an EH Club could offer?

A Welcome Newcomer Program seemed to be the answer. In November, 1984, Public Relations chairman Mrs. Lina Correll prepared a letter explaining the proposed program. It was hand delivered to 40 merchants, inviting them to participate. A follow up was made a week later for their decision. In some instances, a third visit was necessary. Their contributions were quite varied, from simply a business card to such items as pen and pencils to gift certificates. County agencies provided their literature and one grocery chain donated their plastic bags, in which to place all materials. Of course, EH provided our materials with an invitation to join a local club and attend the area’s open meetings. The most popular item was the TELETIP pamphlet put out by N.C. Agricultural Extension Service.

In December, the Taylorsville EH Club filled the first 25 bags. The county chairman met with five Public Relations Club Chairmen and procedures were set up for visiting names that would be received through the Chamber of Commerce, schools, and local merchants, plus those newcomers who would phone the EH office themselves. Each chairman had two filled bags to keep at home. Two bags were kept at the EH offices to be picked up when needed, and all completed information was relayed to County PR Chairman Miriam Clark, who kept the records.

By September, 41 families had been visited by seven EH members. When supplies were exhausted, the chairman took a list of all newcomers visited to the merchants, from whom more gifts were needed, to ask them for additional supplies. All were amazed at how many newcomers had been moving into the county and were happy to resupply the bags.

We have found there is no other way to acquaint a newcomer to all the agencies in Alexander County. These visits have answered questions newcomers have had. Already four ladies have joined an EH Club and two have been visitors. We invite them to place their names on the monthly EH Newsletter mailing list and hope they will consider joining in the future.

Our program is entirely free. There is no money involved either from the merchants or in reimbursement of volunteers to visit though sometimes a round trip can easily be 30 miles.

With continued support and participation from all seven clubs, Alexander County Council plans to continue the Welcome Newcomers Program through 1986.

Editorial Warns of Coming Shortage of Horses and Mules, 1936

From the editorial page of The Southern Planter, December, 1936

According to the last Census, there were on American Farms on January 1, 1935, 11,857 horses and 4,818,160 mules. In addition there were 500,000 work animals doing non-agricultural duties. That is, out of every 33 horses and mules now existing, 32 are on farms and one is in non-agricultural work. Of each 32 on farms, 29 are three years old and over; 3 are under that age.

The Horse and Mule Association of America has worked out some appalling data on work stock replacements for our farmers. To maintain a constant supply of work stock on our farms, it is necessary to have about 15 percent of the total horse population under two. This ratio will enable the young stock to replace old animals, and those taken by disease or accident. But, here are the actual figures for our states:

--Delaware: horse colts, 6.2%, mule colts, .6%

--Maryland: horse colts, 7.1%, mule colts, 1.6%

--West Virginia: horse colts, 7.4%; mule colts, 2.1%

--Virginia: horse colts, 8%; mule colts, 1.4%

--North Carolina: horse colts, 3.9%, mule colts, .1%

--South Carolina: horse colts, 2.1%; mule colts, .1%

We are not raising one-third of the colts we need. These figures are especially startling because of the fact the present crop of work animals is old, and many of them have been injured in recent years from overwork.

Wake County Tobacco Farm, December 1938

The following photos were taken in December, 1938, on a Wake County tobacco farm. I don't have any more information about the farm or the people in the pictures.

Grace Cockman Lowe's Contributions to Her Community

By Mrs. Joan F. Long, Lystra Extension Homemakers Club, Chapel Hill, as published in the Chatham County Herald after Grace Cockman Lowe’s death on Dec. 22, 1980

Mrs. Grace Cockman Lowe, 76, of northern Chatham died on Nov. 18 in Clapp’s Nursing Center in Pleasant Garden, N.C., after 2 ½ years of illness.

Mrs. Lowe, a native of Siler City, moved to northern Chatham County near Chapel Hill in 1932 when she married Donald Alexander Lowe. Mr. Lowe died in 1967.

She was an outstanding woman in her community. Due to her efforts in 1936, Homemaker Extension Clubs were organized in Chatham County, known then as Tomato Clubs. She was active in the Lystra Club until her illness. She served as Corresponding Secretary for the N.C. Executive Board for Homemakers Extension Clubs and was a delegate to the N.C. Council of Women’s Organizations.

While serving as Chatham County Council President 1963-64, she received the A&P Tea Company’s award for Outstanding Leadership. In 1955 she represented Homemakers Extension Clubs as a delegate to the United Nations, and in 1966 she was sent as a representative to the 21^st National Conference on Citizenship in Washington, D.C.

As a woman who wore many hats, she once taught school in Chatham and Randolph counties, managed a dining room at U.N.C.-Chapel Hill, and for 10 years ran a country grocery store. During the Depression in the 1930s, she worked with the Emergency Relief Program, helping to organize adult educational classes in rural areas. Her car was probably the first “bookmobile” in the county as she made library books and textbooks available to her adult students.

She was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary Post 6 and served as Chatham Unit President as well as District Vice President. She was a member of Mann’s Chapel United Methodist Church, where for many years she taught Sunday School, was local and district president of the Women’s Society of Christian Service, and was a counselor for Methodist Youth Fellowship.

She worked diligently to get electricity and telephones into her community.

Homemakers Extension Clubs have the following “Collect for Club Women.” It describes Mrs. Lowe’s life.

“Keep us, oh God, from pettiness, let us be large in thought, in word, in deed. Let us be done with fault finding and leaf off self-seeking. May we put away all pretense and meet each other face to face without prejudice. May we never be hasty in judgment and always generous. Let us take time for all things; make us grow calm, serene, gentle. Teach us to put into action our better impulses, straightforward and unafraid. Grant that we may realize it is the little things that create differences, that in the big things of life we are all one. And may we strive to touch and to know the great, common human heart of us all, and, oh Lord God, let us forget not to be kind! (written by Mary Steward)

Mrs. Lowe was the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. A. Carson Cockman of Greenesboro and the oldest of 10 children. She is survived by three brothers and four sisters.

Branch Banking & Trust Co., Wilson, NC, 1934

From an advertisement for Branch Banking & Trust Company in Wilson, N.C., as published in the Carolina Co-operator, December, 1934

The mayor of South Boston, Va., has urged farmers to deposit their warehouse checks in a bank and check money out as needed because "with two million dollars turned loose here in the past six weeks for tobacco alone," the "tricksters and skin game artists" have already swindled a number of farmers.

The mayor's message reminds farmers that bank deposits are insured up to $5,000 and the banks are much safer than "coffee cans, pockets, and bureau drawers."

It is a timely and needed warning. You will find the Branch Banking & Trust Company is a good place for both checking and savings accounts. Deposits here are protected by both the Federal Deposit Insurance and by our sound assets and careful management.

Capital and surplus $1,200,000.00

S.H. Anderson, Chairman of the Board

H.D. Bateman, President

R.E. Harris, Assistant Vice-President

J.D. Bobbitt, Assistant Cashier

S.S. Lawrence, Vice-President and Cashier

W.G. Smith Jr., Assistant Cashier

J.M. Sherwood, Assistant Cashier

E.B. Crow Jr., Trust Officer

J.E. Paschall, Assistant Cashier

W.B. Piner, Assistant Trust Officer

R.B. Cheatham, Auditor

Wilson, North Carolina

Mrs. Sutton of Haywood County Suggests Housewives Can Get More Rest, 1943

“Our Women Speak” from the Progressive Farmer, December 1943 issue

Mrs. Sutton’s Advice

“More rest of the housewife” is the slogan of Mrs. Sam Sutton, Haywood County, N.C. this is her plan for accomplishing it:

“Begin by lying in bed Sunday morning until 7:30. When you get up, start the fires, then milk. Get a quick breakfast of toast and leave off biscuits for once. Let everyone, big and small, carry the dishes to the big pan waiting on the stove. Wash glassware and silver in another pan. (Lots of large pans save time.) Rest all you can during the morning. After dinner, get out of the house into the fresh air. Ride and walk, rest again, eat a cold supper, and go to bed.

“You will feel wonderfully rested the next morning. After Daughter is off to school, fly into your work, but do not stick to one thing all day. When you get tired of hoeing, come in, cut out your dress, rest, and go back if the hoeing must be finished.

“Wash the next day, but do not try to wash everything on the place, and wait until the next morning to iron. When you get tired of a job, change to something else. The change will rest you.

“After supper, have Daughter wash the dishes and your husband to mop the kitchen while you lie down and get to sleep. Then make that dress and write that letter while Daughter is getting her lessons and getting off to bed. Have your books and magazines for your bedfellows, and lie back on plenty of pillows while you read a short story or finish that book. The first thing you know, your work will be done, yet you won’t feel all tired out as a result.

“Mowing lawns is a man’s job. Let him do it instead of running to town three times a week for a bolt, a pound of nails, or a piece of twine. One trip will take care of everything if you write everything down and do not let him forget anything. Do your part and do it well, but do not make a slave out of yourself. If you feel too tired to do a small job, lie down and rest, and you can get it done much more quickly when you tackle it.

“Yours for more work and plenty of rest.”

Dec. 7, 1941

Remembering Pearl Harbor, a video put on YouTube by the U.S. Navy at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDuwZGgwAZg, and read the president's Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day Proclamation at http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=121290.

Welcome to Williams Manor in Franklin County, 1936

“Williams Manor” by Alice Dugger Grimes, published in the Carolina Co-operator, December, 1935

It’s over in Franklin County and from this picture you can see that it’s one of the loveliest country homes in North Carolina. They do a lot of farming on the 350-acre tract, too.

Should you be longing to feast your eyes upon a lovely country home with all that implies, I can very readily suggest one to you that I think will meet your fancy—the country home of Mr. and Mrs. Simon Williams of Franklin County, situated about a mile southeast from Franklinton. Here you will be welcomed by a fine old Southern gentleman, 84 years of age, and his lovely wife, many years his junior.

This estate of 350 acres has been in the family nearly a century, and a large, re-modeled, colonial-type dwelling stands where formerly rows and rows of tents for the housing of the religiously inclined—for this was originally a famous old camping ground of many, many years back.

Mr. Williams brags with gusto that he has been a farmer for more than 60 years, never swerving from his allegiance to the soil. He has other interests though, both financial and civic. His farming activities embrace cotton, corn, wheat. His cotton acreage is, of course, much cut, but he tells me that he still makes his bale of cotton to the acre. He has discontinued the raising of hogs but keeps cows and chickens sufficient for home consumption.

Good Gardener

But it is as a gardener that I wish to write concerning him, for he is a superlative one. He tells an anecdote to the effect that he did not know one flower from another until after he was married, and now that each year, if possible, he loves them more and more.

His plantings have grown really to enormous proportions, all for love of them. He attributes all this to the influence of his wife, who is a garden enthusiast also.

Looking through the columned openings of the lower floor the other morning, I counted no less than 30 containers of cut flowers—and this in November. Roses of many varieties, among them the White American Beauty, marigolds of several hues and sizes, zinnias in abundance and of various shades, ageratum, cosmos, chrysanthemums; this is not unusual, merely quite every day. This wealth of flowers, together with the open fire and the several pieces of old mahogany furniture scattered around gave a glowing feeling of rarely encountered charm.

Leading up to the home grounds is a driveway of about one quarter of a mile, lined on both sides by a profusion of shrubs and flowers. I recognized crepe myrtles—several hundreds of them—spirea, forsythia, Japan quince, cosmos, iris, roses—the cosmos was the only plant in bloom.

Backyard is Beautiful

The rear lawn of “Williams Manor” is but a continuation of the front lawn. On these lawns have been planted more than 50,000 bulbs of 40 varieties—narcissus, jonquils, daffodils, and when these bulbs are in bloom, hundreds of people drive out to see them. One thousand rose bushes of 25 varieties of shrubs also lend their beauty to the carpet of green, and several large trees give dignity to the whole. One of these trees is a large symmetrical holly, teeming with red berries. Mr. Williams tells me that every year it is brilliant with berries, never an off-year, and that the leaves are without the usual thorns.

Mr. and Mrs. Williams are as enthusiastic concerning their vegetables as they are concerning their flowers, and in their vegetable garden, being picked daily regardless of the late season, are butter beans, okra, corn, turnip salad, onions, snaps, carrots, cabbage, parsley, peppers, cornfield peas, potatoes, tomatoes, salsify, and beets!

Pecan trees afford much of the shade on the rear lawn and furnish several hundred pounds of delicious nuts every fall. In the orchard one sees pear, peach, and apple trees. Grapes are here, too, bunch, scuppernong, and James. From the Concord grapes wine is made, and for more than 50 years Mr. Williams has been furnishing the Baptist Church of Franklinton with communion wine.

A great deal of the charm of this country home centers around its lovely mistress, formerly Miss Josephine Tucker, one of nine lovely sisters, who radiates her love of the beautiful and her enjoyment of the peace and bounty so readily felt at “Williams Manor.”

Which Raleigh Bank Had a Swastika in its Logo?

This letter promoting Citizens National Bank's Christmas Banking Club isn't dated, but I'd guess it's before World War II. Why? Take a look at the logo for Citizens National Bank...that black triangle with a swastika in the middle. 

According to Wikipedia: "The symbol has a long history in Europe reaching back to antiquity. In modern times, following a brief surge of popularity as a good luck symbol in Western culture, a swastika was adopted as a symbol of the Nazi Party of Germany in 1920, who used the swastika as a symbol of the Aryan race. After Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, a right-facing 45° rotated swastika was incorporated into the flag of the Nazi Party, which was made the state flag of Germany during the Nazi era."

The swastika on Citizens National is not the rotated swastika of the Nazi party, but I would doubt the bank retained it for long after the swastika became associated with America's enemies in World War II.

Here's a photo of Citizens National Bank in Raleigh taken in 1914, from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Citizens_National_Bank_Raleigh.jpg:

FHA Loans Fixing Up Rural Homes, 1970

Kitchen Before Remodeling with an FHA Loan

Farmers Home Administration’s 502 Rural Housing Loans

The family’s annual adjusted income cannot exceed $7,000 for the 502 interest credit loan and $9,300 for the regular 502 housing loan with 8 ½ percent interest rate. FHA lends only to families who cannot acquire loans from other lending agencies, such as banks or savings and loan associations.

FHA also has a 504 loan for repairing homes.

The 1960 housing census revealed that half of the nation’s 6 million substandard units were in rural areas. North Carolina had half a million substandard units in 1960, nearly 10 percent of the total number of substandard units in the nation.

Guidelines were broadened in 1970 to allow low and moderate income families in small towns with population of up to 10,000 to apply. Previously in 1965, applicants could live in towns no larger than 5,500.

At work in a modernized kitchen.

Before the home lacked a clothes closet.

The closet not only looks better, but garments don't  wrinkle and are easier to locate.

Now the couple can relax in their modern home.

Mrs. J.H.L. Miller of McDowell County To Preside Over N.C. Federation of Home Demonstration Clubs, 1943

“Our Women Speak” from the Progressive Farmer, December 1943 issue

We Congratulate Mrs. J.H.L. Miller

Mrs. J.H.L. Miller, McDowell County, N.C., newly elected president of the North Carolina Federation of Home Demonstration Clubs for the coming year, and the first woman from the western district ever to hold this high office. Mrs. Miller is also a member of the State Manpower Commission, the McDowell County Welfare Board, the state home economics committee of the Grange, etc. She has four children—two sons in the Army, one married daughter, and another at Woman’s College in Greensboro.