Buncombe County Name Game: The Book
If you would like a copy of the
Buncombe County Name Game Posts, they are now available in book form and can be
pre-ordered
Joe and I are very pleased with the quality of color printing of the
photographs and postcards and decided the color images justified the
expense. The over 200-page book is soft cover and spiral bound. The
color images are true postcard size and Joe has indexed the more than 200 posts
for easy reference.
Copies are being donated to state and local institutions and to the Library of
Congress.
If you would like your own copy, the cost is $35 for the book or $40 if you want it mailed.
Please send a check (payable to Mary Standaert) to:
Mary Standaert
POB 459
Montreat, NC 28757-0459
Email: mjmontreat@charter.net
If you wish for the book to be mailed, do
not forget to include your mailing address!
Also please include your email address so that we can confirm your order and/or
make arrangement for local pick up.
Times for local pickups in Montreat and Black Mountain can be arranged.
We order the pages
from a company in California and then assemble and bind the book ourselves.
We typically order in groups of 12 or more, so it is a bit of a process.
A true “hands on” business.
Sample Pages:
Buncombe County Name Game
A Covid-19 Pandemic Project
(March 19, 2020 – March 20, 2021)
Mt. Mitchell Observation Tower
“Where Life is Worthwhile.”
Mary
McPhail Standaert, PhD
Buncombe County Name Game: Mt. Mitchell State Park
Post #44 May 1, 2020 by Mary McPhail Standaert
44th Day of spring, 48th Day of Social Distancing, 37th Day of Stay Home/Stay Safe
Asheville resident and NC Governor Locke Craig designated Mt. Mitchell as the first NC State Park in 1915. His remarks were bittersweet as much of the area had already been heavily logged by timber barons who followed the practices of “slash and burn” and “cut out and get out”. Despite the deforestation, tourists still flocked to the summit for spectacular views. Mt. Mitchell rises 6,684 ft. above sea level and is the highest peak east of the Mississippi River. Early barometric measurements placed the elevation at 6,671 ft. and it was thought to be the highest peak east of the Rocky Mountains. Mt. Harney, South Dakota at 7,724 ft. holds that distinction.
Summit Mt. Mitchell, In the Land of the Sky. Circa 1915
Buncombe County Name Game: Pack Library
Post #49 May 6, 2020 by Mary McPhail Standaert
49th Day of Spring, 53rd Day of Social Distancing, 42nd Day of Stay Home/Stay Safe
The Asheville Library Association, founded in 1879, served those who could afford the yearly subscription fee. In 1899, the subscription library moved into the former First National Bank Building on the southwest corner of Court / Public Square. This castle-like structure purchased and donated by George W. Pack, one of Asheville’s greatest benefactors. Fees were eliminated in 1919 with the library after 4 decades, becoming free and open to the “public”, albeit not fully “public” as it remained segregated until 1961. The Market Street Library served the black population (opened 1927). The Castle was razed in the mid-20s, with the library reopening at the same location in 1926. In 1978, Pack Library moved to Hayward Street, the building designed in the brutalist style by Bertram King. The 1926 building became home to the Asheville Art Museum.
Pack Square, Asheville, NC. Looking East. circa 1905
Pack Memorial Library, far right. Asheville City Hall, center
Buncombe County Name Game: Montreat: Conference Center, College and Town
Post #54 May 11,2020 by Mary McPhail Standaert
54th Day of Spring, 58th Day of Social Distancing, 3rd Day of Phase 1 Reopening
The Mountain Retreat Association (MRA) was incorporated by the State of NC, March 2,1897 as a community for those broken in health while in Christian service. MRA purchased 4,500 acres, just north of Black Mountain, financing the venture by selling shares to the public. The first Christian Assembly was held June 20, 1897; Montreat Normal School established in 1916; and 140 private residences built by 1917. From 1897-1967, all activities and services were directed solely by MRA, with its president also the college president and de facto mayor. In 1967, the Town of Montreat was chartered and Montreat College became an independent organization in 1975. In 2004, the Montreat Conference Center, the major property owner in the cove, placed 2,500 acres with hiking trails into a conservation easement. Today, there are three major entities within the cove: the Conference Center, the Town and the College, each with Montreat in its name, each with separate leadership and revenue sources. Sometimes confusion occurs.
A Mountain View, Montreat. Circa 1910.
Buncombe County Name Game: Flood of 1916, The Aftermath
Post #61 May 18, 2020 by Mary McPhail Standaert
61st Day of Spring, 65th Day of Social Distancing, 10th Day of Phase 1 Reopening.
July 15-16, 22 inches of rain in 24 hours at Altamont Pass, northeast of Asheville. Then the rain stopped, the damage done. WNC cut off from the world; 830 miles of Southern Railway line damaged across the South. Along the 108 mile track from Salisbury to Asheville, not a mile unscathed. The 30 miles westward from Old Fort utterly destroyed. Mill Creek, a monster creating mudslides, undermining trestles, and blocking tunnels built to conquer the 9% grade from Old Fort to Ridgecrest. Southern Railway began repairs immediately, organizing work camps, men toiling round the clock. Displaced workers from mills, farms, shops manned the camps, paid $1.50 a day with room and board. With force of will and endeavor, freight and passengers reached Asheville using the Knoxville and Spartanburg lines by early August. Three thousand labored day and night on the Old Fort to Ridgecrest section. On September 15th, trains once again crested the Blue Ridge connecting eastern and western NC.
Washed out Trestle between Old Fort and Ridgecrest. Flood of 1916.
