Saturday, August 30, 2014

Car Crashes Over Toxaway Falls

A car crashed over Toxaway Falls at 3:30 on Friday afternoon!  

A 1957 Ford was sent plummeting off the roadway after a fiery explosion.
This was all part of the filming of "The Whippoorwill", starring Robert Mitchum.  
The movie was released on May 10, 1958 under the title "Thunder Road".

Transylvania Times, September 5, 1957





Monday, August 25, 2014

School Bus Drivers Have Tales to Tell

Aston Heath, first Rosman School bus driver.
With school starting today it is a good time to remind drivers to be alert around school buses and in school zones.  Transylvania County Schools have been using school buses for around 90 years.  An August 27, 1925 Brevard News article stated, “High school pupils from Quebec, Lake Toxaway, Calvert and Cherryfield will be brought to Rosman on the school trucks.”  The first driver was Aston Heath. 

Other districts throughout the county soon added buses to transport children as well.  Heath was appointed mechanic for school trucks and buses in 1934.

Buck McCall, Vera McCall, Lyle Henderson, Warrior Owen, Van Owen, 
Azilee Owen and others, in front of Rosman High School.
In 1933 state regulations required that only students living more than two miles from school would be transported, all others must walk or find some other means to school.  State School Commissioner O.J. Holler stated that the young people of North Carolina were being ruined by “riding around too much” and it would be beneficial for them to walk regardless of the weather, even if a half-loaded bus past directly by them.

The school principal or superintendent was responsible for selecting and employing drivers, “according to the code of school laws, with a view to having him located as near the beginning of the truck route as possible.  Students may be employed for this work where it is deemed advisable.”

Transylvania County did employee student drivers for many years.  The job was considered a big honor.  It provided teens with some hard to come by money.  But there was also was a lot of responsibility associated with the position.  Student bus drivers had to have spotless driving records, maintain good grades and supervise bus riders who in some cases were older and bigger than the drivers. 

Student drivers were responsible for the safety of their riders, following bus driver rules and making certain other drivers followed the law as well.  Keith Parker related this story of being placed in a challenging position.  “Perhaps the most difficult situation was when I had to turn in a teacher for passing my bus, with the stop sign out and kids crossing the street already.  It was the Junior High School (the current Community Services building).  In those days they crossed in front of the bus. They jumped out of her way. She did get into trouble and really gave me every rationalization you can imagine: she was late, very careful, would never hit one of her kids, and how dare I, a mere high school student, turn her in, etc.  Until she died many years later, she never seemed to forgive me, but I hold my ground to this day that passing a stopped school bus by anybody has no excuse.”

Transylvania County student drivers had an excellent safety record through the years.  According to a May 1, 2013 article in the Raleigh News & Observer student bus drivers throughout the state actually improved the North Carolina school bus safety record.  It went on to say that North Carolina’s highway transportation record was unequaled.

This is even more remarkable when you consider the road conditions encountered by these young drivers.  There are many stories of buses not having enough power to make it up a mountain loaded, so students had to get out of the bus and walk up the hill then reload at the top. 

Keith Parker stated, “My route was East Fork and See Off, along with Island Ford and 276 to Brevard.  The bus was old and had a governor to limit the speed to 25mph.  The limited speed was a headache for others driving behind me, especially on Mill Hill (the part of US 276 from Rockbrook Camp to Connestee Falls).  I never reached the 25mph going up and was usually in granny low for that stretch in the morning.  I could pull the hoses off the vacuum windshield wipers and get a little more speed and power.

The East Fork route was the worst.  I turned off 276 at what is now the Connestee Fire Dept., up Big Hill and over into the Valley.  When the weather was good, all went well.  In the winter when the dirt road was frozen I could get the kids, but if it had thawed by afternoon, I could barely get off the highway before sinking the old Dodge to the axle.  Many times the kids had to walk from 276 all the way home or until parents picked them up at the top of the hill.  I never heard complaints from parents or kids.  They were just thankful for school.”

And Artie Wilson told this story, “I became a student school bus driver in the eleventh grade. My first route was the See Off and East Fork Route, all gravel roads at that time. These gravel roads presented a lot of trouble during the winter, many times having to put chains on just to get in and out.   In my senior year I had the Cedar Mountain route.  In September of 1964 in my senior year we had a flood which resulted in a portion of US 276 South below Connestee Falls being slid off, leaving only one lane of travel.  It was very interesting that for a few days when the bus got to this point in the road the school system directed us to let the children off the bus and walk them across where the road had slid off and then I drove the bus across and picked the children up on the other side.”

Parker also shared a story of fun and games when he had to drive a substitute bus, “a very old Ford with mechanical (not hydraulic) brakes and seats that ran the length of the bus, one on each side and one down the middle. I could double clutch it to help slow down but braking took both legs and all the strength this (then) 120 pound boy had.  And of course, the kids loved to slide forward into other kids.  Big party and little obeying the high school driver on those ‘sliding’ trips.”

During the 1959-60 school year Doris Chapman Raines, a junior at Rosman High School, became the first girl bus driver in Transylvania County serving as a substitute driver.  In her senior year Doris drove full-time.  She was paid $62.50 a month.  Doris drove both school and activity buses for many years.  She said she never really had any troubles and absolutely loved the kids and driving buses. 

A few years later Judy Wilson Reece was the first girl bus driver for Brevard High School.  Judy and Charlotte Ball were recruited to be drivers because “the boys tore the buses up to much.”  They spend the summer of 1963 taking bus driver lessons from Mr. Harmon.  Judy’s mom would drive them Calvert each day for training because she was worried about Judy driving the family car.  The girls then spend the day driving the school bus up and down the narrow, windy roads of East Fork.

Many parents were outraged at the idea of girl bus drivers.  They signed petitions and wrote letters stating that their children would not ride a bus with a “girl” driver.  After all the furor Judy said every child on her route from Hwy 276 up Island Ford Rd. to the intersection with Walnut Hollow and back, then into Straus Elementary was on board the first day of school.  Judy then drove high school students from Straus to the High School.

Judy proudly says that her bus required no maintenance during her first year of driving and only had one burnt out bulb the second year.

It was typical for bus driver jobs, although not the same routes, to be passed down through the family.  Judy’s older brothers, Deedie and Carrol, drove buses before her.  And younger sister, Brenda Wilson Ivers, now the Library’s bookmobile driver, drove a bus as well.

Kevin Reece, son of former student drivers Larry and Judy Wilson Reece, was a substitute driver during the final year of student drivers.  A February 28, 1988 New York Times article declared, “The Labor Department has announced that 17-year-olds must stop driving school buses in North and South Carolina after April 1, ending exemptions to the child labor laws that the two states enjoyed for two decades.  Under exemptions that had been renewed annually by the department, the two states had been allowed to hire 16-and 17-year-old bus drivers.  Employment of any school bus drivers under the age of 18 after April 1 will result in fines and possible court action.”  Later an extension was granted to finish out the school year but 1988 saw the end of student drivers for school buses.



Carroll Parker sitting on the bumper of the bus Keith drove in high school.
One final story on student drivers, Keith Parker’s younger brother Carroll was also a student driver but long before he was old enough to drive Carroll made his mark.

Keith shared this story.  The old Dodge was hard to warm up on cold days to leave my home on Island Ford Road and get up Mill Hill.   My brother Carroll, seven years younger was eager to help with my bus.  I usually started it to warm up long before departure.  We were at the breakfast table when the bus motor began to misfire.  Carroll begged to "help" and asked what he could do.  I said, "Go pull out the choke."  About three minutes later the motor stopped and he walked back in. I asked "What did you do?"  He said, "Just what you said, pull out the choke and here it is," handing me about 5 feet of choke cable from the dash to the engine.

Thank you to all the former student bus drivers who shared their stories.  Ask around and no doubt others will tell you tales of their bus driving days.


Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information, comments or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-3151 X242.

Monday, August 18, 2014

Brevard High Has Had Four Locations

The beginning of the 20th century brought rapid growth throughout Transylvania County.  The Brevard Schools, like the Rosman Schools featured last week, did not have the facilities to meet the growing demand for quality education.

Brevard High & Graded Schools, circa 1924
When T.C. Henderson became the Superintendent of Transylvania County Schools in 1905 he pushed hard for school improvement.  Between 1905 and 1911 money invested in schools jumped from $5,542 to $32,807—almost 6 times as much. 

Brevard High School opened in September 1908 on the corner of Broad and Morgan (facing the old library).  It had students in first grade through high school.  There were five teachers and 171 students.  An average of 34.2 students per teacher but the first grade teacher actually had 58. 

 The enrollment increased quickly and in 1919 the new high school (8th-11th grades) opened next door.  It included classrooms, labs, and a gymnasium and offered classes in domestic science, stenography and bookkeeping beyond the traditional courses.  The older building was then used for the elementary grades only.

Early photo of Brevard High School opened in 1925.
As enrollment continued to boom the new high school opened on Broad Street in September 1925.  It cost $90,000 and had 27 teachers.  An August 22, 1924 Brevard News article states, "In order to cut down the cost, the Board of Education cut out the swimming pool which was in the original plan."  This would have been an indoor pool in the basement of the school.  

Sometime after 1928 the original 1908 building was demolished.  The 1919 high school building continued to be used as the elementary school.

The 1945-46 school year saw the addition the 12th grade to the school system.  For that reason there was not a graduating class in 1946.  The Library has copies of all Brevard High School annuals from 1944-2014, except 1946.  Our understanding is that it was not published that year because there was not a graduating class.

On January 1, 1953 the Ecusta Band officially became the Brevard High School Band.  Mr. John Eversman was the director and Mr. Charlie Glass provided instruction for the 50+ high school band members.  All band instruments, uniforms and sheet music were also transferred to Brevard High by Ecusta.

The “new” Brevard High School opened in 1959.
The 1959 school year began with the opening of the “new” Brevard High on Country Club Road for $786,200.  It was Brevard’s fourth high school and has served for the longest period of time—55 years to date.

Picturing the Past will continue to feature Transylvania County Schools’ history for the next 4 weeks.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information, comments or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-3151 X242.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Lake Toxaway Dam Failed in 1916

On this day in North Carolina History,

"With a roar heard for miles, the earthen dam on Transylvania County's Lake Toxaway gives way during a storm. Water from the 540-acre man-made lake rushes south. Fortunately, residents have already fled to safety, and the 20 miles of near-wilderness en route to Walhalla, South Carolina, allows the flow to dissipate itself into a vast expanse of mud. 

The dam will be rebuilt in 1961, creating a 900-acre lake - the state's largest under private ownership." (1916)

Source: Powell, L. (1996). On This Day in North Carolina History.Winston-Salem, North Carolina: John F. Blair, Publisher.

Scene at edge of former Lake Toxaway basin.

Photo provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library; LMW L-51.

Monday, August 11, 2014

Women Active in Starting Rosman Schools


Methodist Church and 5-room school  in center at tree-line.
The first school in the Rosman area was a subscription school at the old Zion Church on the south side of the river.  Begun in the late-1850’s the school only operated for a few weeks each year.   Around 1900 the school was moved to the larger Presbyterian (later Methodist) Church across the river.

Elizabeth Silversteen and other women in the community took active roles in helping establish quality schools in Rosman.  Mrs. Silversteen petitioned the county for funds.  The Rosman Literary Society, with Elizabeth Silversteen as president, Lizzie Glazener, vice-president and Olivia Whitmire, secretary held fundraisers to provide for the school.  A March 5, 1909 Sylvan Valley News article states that a cake made by Mrs. A.O. Kitchens sold for $140.70 at a box supper.

Joseph Silversteen donated the property for the construction of a 5-room wooden school building.  It included elementary through high school students.  However, Rosman’s booming population quickly outgrew this school. 

Left:  1927 Rosman High School  Right:  1919 Rosman School
In 1919 the first brick school was constructed for $25,000.  The high school became accredited in 1923.  In 1925 school buses helped bring even more students to the Rosman School and once again there was a need for additional space.

So another brick school was constructed as the high school, grades 8-11, in 1927.  The lower grades remained in the original brick building.
Home Economics and Agriculture were added to the curriculum in 1927.  Beginning in the 1930s students could get lunch from the school cafeteria.   In 1949 business education classes were introduced.  The first football team was organized in 1959 with Bill Cathey as head coach.  Art and band classes were added during the 1972-73 school year.

Rosman High School’s first annual was published in 1948.  Although in 1947 a “homemade” annual was created.  A copy of that annual was recently donated to the library.  The library has many additional RHS annuals but a few years are missing.  If you have annuals you would be willing to donate to the Local History collection please contact us.  Annuals from 1948-1962 can be viewed online at digitalnc.org.

Across from the school was the Southern Grill, owned by Wilma Moore from the 1940’s through the early 1960’s.  It was a popular hang-out for students, where they could play their favorite music on the jukebox and dance.

Over the year the Rosman School has expanded and been remodeled many times.  Students in all grades were housed on the same location (although in separate buildings) until Rosman Elementary opened in the fall of 1975 across the river.  In 1975 the two original brick buildings were torn down.

Sources for this article included A History of...Estatoe Ford, Jeptha, Toxaway, Estatoe...Rosman, North Carolina compiled by Rebecca Suddeth and “Rosman High Through the Years” by Amber Broome, published in the Transylvania Times, December 27, 1999.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information, comments or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-3151 X242.

Originally the school cafeteria, this building later served as the first Rosman School gym.  The photograph is from a 1938 Transylvania County Schools Insurance Survey.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Digital Photos Laptop

Do you enjoy looking at old photographs? The Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room has an extensive collection of historical photographs from Transylvania County and now you can browse them easily with our Digital Photos Laptop.

Photographs are organized by the collection in which they are archived. If you find a photograph in which you are particularly interested, you may request a digital or print copy. Stop by during our regular hours to see the Digital Photos Laptop for yourself!




Monday, August 4, 2014

Rosman Bank Robbed Twice in the 1960s

In the early 1900s when the railroad and Joseph Silversteen’s tannery and then lumber company came to Toxaway (later Rosman), the little village quickly grew into a thriving town.
 
According to the 1916-1945 Sanborn Maps the population held steady at about 750.  This number likely included residents outside of the city limits.  The Federal Census lists the following population numbers for Rosman:   145 (1910), 527 (1920), 484 (1930), 529 (1940), 535 (1950), 419 (1960), 407 (1970), 512 (1980), 385 (1990), 490 (2000) and 576 (2010).

1924 Sanborn, Toxaway Tanning
Businesses identified on the Sanborn Maps include general, grocery, drug and feed stores, a barber, a movie theater, furniture and auto shops and J.R. Meece’s Dimension (Woodworking) Mill. 

The 1916 and 1924 maps show the Rosman Hotel on Broad Street south of the depot.  Sanborn Maps of Rosman, as well as Brevard and Pisgah Forest are available through NCLive.  The Library owns a copy of the 1924 Sanborn Map.  Color scans of the Rosman section can be seen at nchistoryroom.blogspot.com.

Burley White's Store
Business directories from 1902 to 1958 list various general stores operators through the years, including:   M.J. Glazener, W.L. Carmichael, W.B. Henderson, L. Young, H. Cook, O.L. Erwin, C.B. Glazener, W.E. Shipman, Burley B. White, J.W. Glazener, L.M. Glazener, L. P. Owens, E.T. Patterson, R.K. Powell, D.H. Winchester, D.L. Glazener, J.W. Owens, Dewey Burton and Mrs. Wilma Moore. 

As the logging, lumber and tannery business declined new businesses came to Rosman in the early 1960s. 
In 1961 Mitchell-Bissell announced it would construct a manufacturing plant outside of town on Highway 64.   Originally they made machine parts for textile companies but through the years their customer base has expanded and shifted to other industries.  Today, known as M-B Industries the plant was recognized in 2009 as Transylvania County’s Manufacturer of the Year. 

First Union National Bank (later First Union) operated a branch in Rosman from about 1962-1987. On October 26, 1964 at 10:45 a.m. two local men held up the bank, taking approximately $6000.  Rowell Bosse, the bank manager, was the only person in the bank at the time.  The North Carolina Room at the Transylvania County Library is named for Bosse.  Both men were arrested and served time in prison for the robbery. 

On April 29, 1966 Bosse was again the only person in the Rosman branch of the First Union Bank when it was robbed of $8868. 

American Thread, 1964
In 1964 the American Thread Company constructed a large modern plant to manufacture cotton thread for clothing on the outskirts of Rosman across from the old Calvert Prison.  In its heyday over 300 people worked at the plant.  In August 1991 American Thread became Coats America.  By 2003 as more and more clothing was being made outside of the U.S. it was no longer cost efficient for Coats America to operate here.  On September 30, 2003 the plant shut down. 

In December 2006 Excelsior Packaging purchased the property to make plastic packaging for microwavable food products.
1924 Sanborn Map, central Rosman


1924 Sanborn Map, east Rosman
Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information, comments or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-3151 X242.