Highway Event Is Happy Occasion on New Year’s Day, 1932

January 1st marks the 89th anniversary of the official opening, in 1932, of the highway connecting Brevard and Greenville. Then known as highway 284 in North Carolina (now U.S. Route 276, the southern portion of which is also known as the Greenville highway), the new connection added approximately 50 miles to the existing road, and linked Brevard to the then-new South Carolina highway at the state line. Brevard and Greenville were finally joined by a modern road.

Postcard of section of unpaved highway to Greenville, S.C. Undated

If you’ve ever traveled on the southbound 276 to Greenville, you will probably agree that even though 89 years may have passed, the highway is still “a remarkably fine piece of engineering construction throughout, and evidences unusual road building skill, particularly in the manner in which it negotiates the difficult curves and grades necessary to an ascent to the Head [Caesar's Head]” (The Greenville News, January 2, 1932).

The achievement was greatly appreciated by all in 1932, as residents of both Transylvania and Greenville counties rejoiced at the fact that a trip that once “called for an all-day journey and far into the night” could now be made in a little over one hour’s time. Transylvania farmers and truckers were very happy, since they now had two good markets at which to sell their goods, both within a short distance of home. The development was also hailed by members of the Brevard and Greenville Chambers of Commerce; these local business leaders were quite excited at the prospect of greatly increased economic activity between the two areas, particularly tourism. Indeed, the new stretch of highway now made it much easier for Transylvanians to go shopping in Greenville’s larger stores, and in general to enjoy the varied cultural offerings of a city considerably larger than Brevard. For their part, Greenvillians could more easily access our beautiful mountains. In the sultry summer months, Greenvillians could now quickly escape the oppressive heat of the city and enjoy the much cooler temperatures just an hour away.

To celebrate the opening of the new road, a splendid party was held on New Year’s Day 1932 at Caesar’s Head Hotel, the midpoint between the two towns. Organized jointly by the two Chambers of Commerce, the noontime gathering featured an “old fashioned turkey dinner” with “all the trimmings” for 200 people.

By all accounts, the party was a huge success; it was well attended by notables and residents from both towns, and the gathering was generally seen at the time as a pivotal moment in the region's history. All the local Brevard and Greenville newspapers covered the event, all of them very favorably. The following account, published in The Greenville News, perhaps best sums up the spirit of the occasion: “Fog and lowering clouds, together with chilly weather, made driving conditions unpleasant, but the disagreeable conditions were forgotten before the glowing fire in the lobby of the hotel and in the dining room, which was heated for the occasion. A spirit of friendship marked the event, many new acquaintances between residents at the two cities being made and old friendships renewed.” And that spirit of friendship between the two cities can still be felt today. 

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. This article was written by Anne-Monique Ransdell. For more information, comments, or suggestions, contact NC Room staff at ncroom@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.

Gaither’s Restaurant, A Gathering Place for the Holidays and More

For 37 years—from 1940 to 1977—Gaither’s Restaurant, also known as ‘The Grill’, ‘Gaither’s Grill’ or simply, ‘Gaither’s’, offered tasty food and good cheer to Western North Carolinians. Owned and operated by James “Jimmy” C. Gaither of Statesville, NC, and later on, his wife Addie Boykin of Middlesex, NC (they married in 1958), Gaither’s still holds the record of being the longest continually operating restaurant in downtown Brevard. In a 1972 interview with The Transylvania Times, Jimmy Gaither, who by then was an established figure in the local food business, shared his motivation for opening the restaurant: “Surveys showed that Brevard was the fastest growing town in WNC then. The Ecusta plant was just getting into operation, Brevard was bound to grow—so we opened [Gaither’s] in the same building we’re in now.”

Photo negative of Gaither’s Restaurant on South Broad Street, 1958

Today, Gaither’s former locale is occupied by Bracken Mountain Bakery. That site was 34 South Broad Street (42 South Broad Street today), which served as the restaurant’s home for most of its history. Initially, Gaither’s occupied a space at 32 South Broad Street, and it was also for a brief time located on Main Street.

Gaither’s was a diner-style restaurant, considered the first “modern” restaurant in the area at the time. It was known for its burgers, steaks, sandwiches and pie. At first, Gaither’s offered a typical diner or cafeteria-style service, but after Jimmy Gaither purchased the (previously leased) property on South Broad Street, the restaurant expanded to include a banquet facility for up to 100 people (called the Rhododendron Room) and a group meeting room (called the Dogwood Room) on the second floor. The classic diner experience was still available on the first floor.

Front of “A Christmas Menu” by Addie and Jimmy Gaither

Due to its spaciousness and location, Gaither’s was, for many years, a very popular meeting space for local civic clubs, such as the Kiwanis, Lions, Rotary, Jaycees, and the BP&W (Business Professional Women’s) Club. It was the venue of choice for many business functions, private parties, as well as large holiday celebrations. In Ecusta’s Echo magazine many celebrations were recorded as having taken place at Gaither’s Rhododendron Room. From employee baby showers to bowling team victory steak suppers, to Brevard Camera Club award banquets, to ”C” Shift gala parties that included games and movie-watching, many good times were had at Gaither’s, and many Transylvanians have fond memories of the place.

The Gaither family contributed a great deal to the food and cultural heritage of Transylvania County residents for nearly four decades. Gaither’s restaurant is still missed today—especially around the holidays.

Inside of “A Christmas Menu” by Addie and Jimmy Gaither, undated

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. This article was written by Anne-Monique Ransdell. For more information, comments, or suggestions, contact NC Room staff at ncroom@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.

Transylvania County’s First Public Rest Room for Women

At the dawn of the 20th century, public restrooms were hard to come by, and Brevard lacked a dedicated public restroom for women. But the town and surrounding areas were growing, and by 1918 there was a recognition that a restroom was needed for women to use when visiting and shopping in town. Keep in mind that back then, the main means of travel for most people was on horseback or horse-drawn carriages. Journeys were long and arduous. For women especially, it was quite complicated to heed the call of nature safely and hygienically. Around that time, a state law was passed that required the provision of sanitary services, and a Superior Court judge ruled shortly afterward that it would be fully enforced.

In an article for the Brevard News on February 15, 1918, Annie Jean Gash, the first president of the Transylvania Chapter for the United Daughters of the Confederacy (U.D.C.), offered the U.D.C. library as an ideal location for a new ladies’ restroom. “So it would seem the time has come to put through the long cherished —longer needed— project of adding a rest room and lavatory on the court house grounds under the library roof,” she wrote. It should be noted that back then the U.D.C. library was located near the gazebo and the building that currently houses the Veterans History Museum of the Carolinas, on East Main Street, just to the right of the courthouse.

UDC Library, Brevard, NC

For those who don’t know, the U.D.C. is an organization of women descended from men who served for the Confederacy during the Civil War. The Transylvania Chapter of the U.D.C. was chartered on June 7, 1911, with 25 original members. Its mission was to aid and to honor Transylvania’s Confederate Veterans. Among other activities, the U.D.C. held reunions and funeral services, secured and presented Crosses of Honor, granted scholarships, purchased metal markers for graves, and obtained government headstones. Beginning in 1912, the local U.D.C. chapter also opened and operated (on and off) Transylvania’s first library until 1944 when it became a public library supported by town, county, and state funding.

Based on newspaper articles and the U.D.C. meeting minutes of the time, it took a great deal of community networking and fundraising to make the ladies’ restroom a reality. By March 8, 1918, a Rest Room Committee had been organized and was comprised of members from all parts of the county. Committee members represented Brevard, Penrose, Little River, Selica, Rosman, Toxaway, Pink Beds, Island Ford, as well as various civic and religious groups. Mr. E.H. Norwood, a well-known local architect and concerned citizen, offered to create the plans for the room. The Transylvania County Commissioners Office committed to installing the necessary plumbing, as well as to giving $50 annually for the rest room’s maintenance. And the Town of Brevard agreed to supply the water.

In the span of just over a month, by April 26, 1918, plans had been prepared “for an addition of three rooms consisting of Rest Room, Red Cross Kitchenette and Lavatory for the U.D.C. Library Building on Court House Square.” Prominent men in town promised financial assistance and local businesses supplied hardware and materials. Funds were still needed to cover carpentry and painting work, and the Brevard News informed readers that “money for this work may be left at the Brevard Bank or with any of the merchants in town, marked, ‘For the County Rest Room'.”

The planned restroom was much more than just a closet with a toilet. In addition to providing the necessary sanitary amenities, the room was meant to be a place where women could sit back and relax for a bit. It is worth noting that our modern definition of “restroom” is derived from a kind of multipurpose lounge area found in early 20th century upscale restaurants, theaters and other entertainment venues. These places wanted to provide their patrons with a space for relaxation, and they were usually outfitted with comfortable chairs or sofas, plus the expected plumbing. Typically, these comfy pieces of furniture would be placed right next to the toilet and sink. This is why, when proposing a “county rest room”, Annie Jean Gash asked for “permission to build under the present back porch roof of the library a rest room, toilet and lavatory.”

Work on the ladies’ restroom began in early June and was completed by the end of the summer of 1918. The Rest Room Committee published one final request for money and furnishings. At last, Transylvania County women, and all other female visitors, would have a place to rest and relax when visiting the town or when attending to court-related matters. Also, the new addition would provide Red Cross workers with a small kitchen area where they could prepare refreshments for their entertainment events and fundraisers. A longstanding local ambition had finally been realized.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. This article was written by Anne-Monique Ransdell. For more information, comments, or suggestions contact NCRoom staff at ncroom@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.

Comedy Queen Jackie “Moms” Mabley, Part II

Last week’s Picturing the Past featured Loretta Mary Aiken. A brief account of major life events of her childhood provided some insight into how she came to create the comedic character Jackie Mabley. This week’s Picturing the Past will recount Loretta’s rise to international stardom as Jackie “Moms” Mabley, a.k.a. “The Funniest Woman in the World”. 

As previously mentioned in last week’s article, Loretta’s character Jackie Mabley disdained old men. Mabley’s dislike of old men was a central theme of her performances; her most popular jokes were about her lust for younger men and her rejection of older men, and today she is still best remembered for those jokes. “He was so old… he was older than his mother,” she would say, and “An old man can’t do nothing for me but bring me a message from a young man.” 

Moms Mabley vinyl comedy album cover “The Funniest Woman in the World,”

recorded at Tivoli Theater in Chicago, 1960

On the surface, Mabley’s jokes and tall tales sounded absurd and elicited laughter. However, the deeper messages of her zany comedy were the real value of her work and were the key to her enormous success. By portraying herself as a sexual being, while remaining affable and disarming in her goofy, clownish granny role, Mabley questioned and criticized the gender expectations and limitations of her day, as well as major societal and political issues such as racism, civil and women’s rights. 

Mabley’s maternal attitude towards her fans—whom she claimed as her ‘children’—and her kind and caring nature toward other performers, earned her the nickname of ‘Moms.’

In 1921, Moms Mabley disclosed her nontraditional sexuality, claiming that she identified as a lesbian and thus becoming one of the very first openly gay comedians. By today’s standards, it is debatable whether she was a lesbian or bisexual, since she also had relationships with men. “I tell them don’t let the old folks tell you about the good old days. I was there. Where were they at? The best time is now when you can go out with who you want, love who you want and as many as you want.” 

Surprisingly, her disclosure did not have a negative impact on her career. In fact, by 1923, Moms was packing the house wherever she went. She performed to standing room only audiences in New York’s best theaters such as Connie’s Inn, the Cotton Club, Club Harlem and the Apollo Theater. Eventually, she succeeded in making more money than any other comic performer of the time. At those famous New York venues, she entertained alongside musical giants Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington and Count Basie, to name a few. By the 1950s Moms was considered New York’s top nightclub comedienne. 

For thirty years Moms was the headliner at the Apollo Theater and a regular guest on a number of national television variety shows. She also performed on Broadway shows and on the big screen. In 1960, her first album became gold-certified, and from it, she earned the title “Funniest Woman in the World.” She went on to record many albums. In 1974, Moms had her first starring role in the feature film, Amazing Grace, which she was able to complete despite suffering a heart attack during filming. 

Loretta Mary Aiken’s career had spanned more than 60 years when she died at 78 years of age on May 23, 1975 in White Plains, NY. Thousands of mourners gathered to pay their final respects and a memorial service was held for her at Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church, her church of twenty-five years. Pastor Dr. Samuel Proctor, mentor and friend of Martin Luther King Jr., eloquently articulated Jackie “Moms” Mabley’s legacy by saying, “she could take sorrow and disappointment and lift something out of it, to cause us to objectivize: to put it on a screen somewhere and sit back from it and have a hearty laugh to keep it from destroying us.” 

Although she lived in New York most of her life, she always remained in close contact with her family and friends in Brevard. In 1997, Oaklawn Avenue in Brevard was briefly renamed Moms Mabley Avenue, in an effort to honor her in her hometown on her 100th birthday. However, some residents protested having to change their addresses and so the name was reverted to Oaklawn. 

Loretta Mary Aiken is one of the founders of modern American stand-up comedy and achieved fame like no other Transylvanian in our history. 

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. This article was written by Anne-Monique Ransdell. For more information, comments, or suggestions contact NC Room staff at ncroom@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.