Albert Schweitzer Memorial Hospital

 

Dr. E. Gaine Cannon, founder of Albert Schweitzer Memorial Hospital

Dr. Edward Gaine Cannon (1900-1966) was a Transylvania native who followed in the footsteps of his physician father by providing healthcare to rural mountain communities. He graduated from Berea College in 1925 before  attending medical school in Richmond, VA and Denmark. He also served in the Army for 12 years after earning his medical degree.

After retiring from a busy practice in Pickens, SC, he moved to Balsam Grove in Transylvania County for much needed rest and relaxation. Instead, he found a great need for medical care among the residents there and became busier than ever serving as the only doctor for miles. Inspired by the work of Nobel Prize-winning Dr. Albert Schweitzer, Dr. Cannon decided to open a hospital in his mountain community. He formed a close relationship with Dr. Schweitzer after traveling in Africa, and so when Cannon approached Schweitzer about naming the hospital in his honor, Schweitzer warmly agreed. To date, it is the only hospital in the U.S. to bear Schwetizer’s name.

Albert Schweitzer Memorial Hospital

Dr. Schweitzer’s philosophy of medicine included “Reverence for Life”. When put into practice, this meant that Dr. Cannon would give medical treatment to anyone regardless of their ability to pay. He requested that each patient bring two large river rocks each time they visited. The collection grew and was used as an exterior for the hospital building. Construction was slow, however, due to the fact that materials and labor were mostly acquired through donations and volunteer work. It was 11 years before the clinic was complete, and even then, that was only the outside.

A Christmas card sent by Dr. E. Gaine Cannon

Gaine Cannon died of a heart attack in 1966 without seeing his dream come to fruition. The community didn’t give up on his dream though, and in 1980, it opened as the Balsam Grove Medical Clinic. Unfortunately, it only operated for three years, due to their inability to secure doctors to staff the rural facility. The building has most recently been Brown’s Grower Supply and Nursery, though it isn’t open to the public at this time. The Board that managed the land sold it and used the profits to create the Balsam Grove Community Center, which is a hub for connection and community for residents today. A memorial was placed at the site to honor Dr. E. Gaine Cannon’s contributions to the community.  A biography of Dr. Cannon’s life can be read in Mountain Doctor by LeGette Blythe and is available at the library.

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

Austin's Art Shop

 

The Austin Family outside their shop at the East Main Street location, mid-1940s. From left to right: Mildred, Bill Jr., Joan, William, Jeannette, and Pat.

Austin’s Art Shop operated in downtown Brevard for 73 years. William Charles Austin and wife Mildred Galbraith Austin were both natives of New York and trained photographers. William was a disabled veteran of World War I who taught photography at the Southern School of Photography in McMinnville, TN before the family moved to Waynesville, where he headed a government operated school of photography. Mildred, the daughter of Irish immigrants, was a bookkeeper before being married and helping to run the business when the Austins moved to Brevard and opened a shop in 1925.

Their children were born in the various locations where they lived: Bill in Oneida, NY in 1921, Jeannette in McMinnville, TN in 1922, Pat in Brevard, NC in 1927, and Joan in Brevard, NC in 1929. The shop, originally called Austin’s Studio, first opened in the upstairs of the Lawrence Building on Jordan Street in 1925 and remained there until 1930. They offered Kodak cameras and equipment, photo processing, custom framing, and professional photography services.

Next, Austin’s moved upstairs to 22 Broad Street in the McMinn building, where it remained until 1939. The final move was to 11 East Main Street, where it stayed for the next 59 years. The 2021 business in the same location is “The Cherry Tree” today. The Wilkins Insurance Agency (which has undergone numerous name changes), was also operating out of the same location. William Austin managed the insurance agency, as confirmed by the 1930 Census which lists his occupation as “Insurance Office Manager.” Photography presumably became more successful, because by the 1940 Census, his occupation listing had changed to “Photographer, Employer.”

Tragedy struck the Austin family in 1954 when both William and Mildred were killed in an automobile accident after being hit by drunk driver on the way back from an Army reunion in Indiana. Their now-adult children came together to run the business in their parents’ absence: Pat was the photographer, Jeannette was the store manager, Joan was the bookkeeper, and Bill, along with Joan’s husband Dick Keirstead, was the custom picture framer. In addition, they were each very artistically and musically talented and involved in civic organizations in the community.

In 1959, Austin’s gave the store a major remodel and rebranded to the name “Austin’s Art Shop” to reflect new services and merchandise related to music such as records, instruments, accessories, sheet music, and instructional books.  They closed their doors in 1998 when Jeannette died of tuberculosis, though it was also the beginning of the digital age of photography and was seen as the right time to bow out.

In 2003, the Austin family donated their extensive historic photo collection to the Transylvania County Archives (a division of the JHPC). When the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room was built as part of the new library building in 2006, the photo collection fell under the stewardship of the county library. The Picturing the Past column would not be possible without this generous donation from the Austins.

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

Before Silvermont: The Rosman Home of Joseph and Elizabeth Silversteen

The Silversteen Family's Rosman Home, 1992

Before Silvermont was built in 1917, Joseph and Elizabeth Silversteen lived in a two-story house in Rosman. The distinctive one-story porch sheltered a central entrance and was supported by columns, giving the home a classical look. The Silversteens moved to Transylvania County in 1902 from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Their first home was intended as a “honeymoon cottage” – an antiquated term for a starter home -- until they began a family in 1905. A smaller house was built on the same site years later, which some say was a playhouse for their three daughters, and others say was housing for their cook. The small one-story, gable-front house is similar in style to the original dwelling.

The one-story house on the same property, either a playhouse or cook's quarters, 1992

Joseph Silversteen was a leading industrialist in Transylvania County at the time and was responsible for the name of the town Rosman, which was a blend of the last names of two of his business associates: Joseph Rosenthal and Morris Omansky. The Silversteens lived in the same community as the workers for their numerous businesses including: the Toxaway Tanning Company, Gloucester Lumber Company, Rosman Tanning Extract Company, and the Transylvania Tanning Company. Located near the intersection of New Town Road and West Main Street in Rosman, their home was often a center for Christmas celebrations that they opened to the public, including to their workers.

The Silversteens moved into their downtown Brevard mansion in 1917. Their original Transylvania County residence in Rosman stood for many years until structural damage left it beyond repair and it had to be demolished.

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

Carr’s Hill Baptist Church – the Historic Church Building

 

Carr’s Hill Baptist Church in 1993

Carr’s Hill Baptist church began in 1882. The congregation met at various locations in its beginnings as Dunn’s Rock Baptist Church (unrelated to the current Dunn’s Rock Baptist Church), ultimately building their own meeting house in 1903 on land donated by Carr Landreth. To honor Landreth’s generosity, the congregation renamed themselves as Carr’s Hill Baptist Church, referring to the new location on a hilltop.

Passers-by on the Greenville Highway will notice the classic look of the historic church building: white weatherboard siding with a green-gabled roof and an entrance tower adorned with a distinctive diamond-shaped louvered vent and topped with a pyramidal belfry. A two-story addition for Sunday School activities was added in the 1940s and matches the style of the original building.

In the winter, fewer leaves make the church more visible, and it draws attention with its annual nativity scene and message of peace. One of the oldest churches in the county, the congregation still meets today, albeit in a more modern brick building built just down the road in 1983 with ample parking. The congregation still owns and maintains the historic building. This well-loved sight is part of what makes the Cedar Mountain portion of the Greenville Highway so picturesque.

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