Mr. Editor:
As I told you Christmas I would write a letter for the good old Tribune of Concord, N.C., I will try to make my word good.
I came here just after Christmas but took sick and returned to gold old North Carolina. After spending several days with my family, I returned to the land of sand, sunshine and rain, which is bounded on the north by the 18th amendment and on all other three sides by the tree-mile limit. It is called Florida.
I found a great difference in conditions here in 30 days’ time. Lumber yards that were empty on the 17th of December were stocked to the full extent. Men that were working every day before Christmas were walking the streets begging for work and some were begging for something to eat. This is what is known as the dull season here, and jobs are hard to obtain. The tourists from the north are here and have but little work done at this time. I obtained work with Blandford Construction Co. But can not say how long the job will last. I hope to hold on till the Blue Birds sing in North Carolina.
We are having a rainy day here and a strong northeast gale. It is cool this afternoon but do not need any fire to keep warm.
I visited my first truck farm in this state today. It is located three miles west of the city, right in the swamps that have been drained. It is attended by an old man and contains 3 ½ acres. The keeper told me he had sold $1,750 in vegetables off of it this winter. I found green beans, egg plant, lettuce, cabbage, collards, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, spinach, carrots, onions, celery, beets, radishes, butter beans and corn growing just as we have in June and July in North Carolina. We had a cold wave here two weeks ago and they kept fires buring in the gardens to protect the vegetables from the cold.
The great real estate boom that has swept this country for a good while seems to have reached the top, especially among the east coast. I haven’t heard as much real estate talk in two weeks as I heard in one day before Christmas. I know of some that are trying to get their money out of what they bought last fall, but can’t sell. It is generally predicted that times will be better here by April 1st. I can’t say as I don’ t know. But I think some other part of the state would be a better paying proposition for an investment than the east coast, as everything is very expensive here. I hear a great deal of talk here of Western North Carolina and believe a man would make a wise investment in buying property there. This is a level country but can’t be compared with North Carolina, as the climate is almost the same the year round here. And no change makes it monotonous. Therefore, old North Carolina has this country beat by far.
Hoping to see my friends in the good old summer time, I remain,
W.R. Blackwelder
Tourist Camp W. Palm Beach, Fla.
1514 Lave Ave.
January 29, 1926
From page 2 of The Concord Daily Tribune, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 1926
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073201/1926-02-03/ed-1/seq-2/
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