Category: Uncategorized (Page 2 of 9)

THANK YOU to our sponsors, our volunteers and everyone who helped support the Saturday Afternoon Social! This year’s event raised over $5500 for the Museum.

We would ask that you patronize these businesses who give generously to benefit the Historical Museum. Without this community support, the Museum wouldn’t exist.

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While the Blue Ridge Parkway might seem like any other road in the high country— roads that evolved from ancient, native American trails— it is, arguably, anything but.

The 469-mile long “Scenic” as it was called at the beginning, here in Alleghany, might possibly be the most designed, discussed and disputed drive ever to be constructed in America.

The parkway was first proposed in the 1930s to connect the new National Parks at Mammoth Cave, Kentucky; the Shenandoah in Virginia; and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee & North Carolina, but Kentucky was dropped from the plan at some point.

New Deal funding was approved by the Public Works Administration in November of 1933 for this “national parkway” that would connect two national parks.

We, who live equidistant to both parks— the midpoint of the parkway is right here in the county— might think of the Parkway’s location as obvious. Questioning it would be as absurd as that of the sites of the New River or Stone Mountain or the Sphinx.

But, let’s consider time before our beloved road… before any blasting or grading began; before the building of the bridges, the overlooks, the fences or the trails; before the meticulous landscaping— down to the installation of individual trees and shrubs (!)— even before any land was acquired, a route had to be determined and decided upon.

This formidable dilemma was to be resolved only at the highest levels of the federal government.

From the beginning, the route through Virginia was reasonably undisputed, but by early 1934, Tennessee and North Carolina had already initiated what would become a contentious battle for the southern half of the parkway.

Tennessee wanted it to veer to the west, near Lexington, Virginia, continue to Damascus, then head south to Unicoi, Tennessee, and finally on to Gatlinburg— Tennessee’s “western gateway” to the Smokies.

North Carolina, however, wanted it to follow the path that essentially exists, today.

While politics surely influenced the final decision of Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes (and Franklin Roosevelt. Conventional wisdom says Bob Doughton, powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, privately agreed to support the Social Security Act if Mr. Roosevelt gave NC the parkway) the very public battle for the parkway was one of oratory— a noble debate of economics and engineering and, of all the intangible and subjective things, “scenic beauty.”

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We’d like to have you join us at our 3rd Annual Saturday Afternoon Social, for August 17, 11-2 at the Sparta VFW Hall. Make plans to come have food and fun while supporting the Museum – enjoy barbecue chicken sandwiches from Cookie’s Catering in Sparta NC, and enter to win. (If you’d like to donate an item to raffle, get in touch with us!)

Thank you to our corporate donors!

1. Alleghany Inn $100
2. B & T Tire and Automotive $100
3. Bottomley Evergreens and Farms $100
4. Carquest $100
5. The Cellar on Evergreen $100 plus three $50 Gift Certificates
6. Evan’s Sheds & More $50
7. First Community Bank $100
8. Foxfire Realty $100
9. The Gathering Place $100 plus $50 gift card.
10. Grandview Memorial Funeral Home $100
11. James Caldwell Construction $100
12. Skyline National Bank $100
13. Sparta Florist $20
14. Thomas Family Funeral Service $50
15. Donna & Edwin Edwards $100

We’ve already received several generous donations – some of the items to be raffled are:

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This is a petition signed by Sparta’s residents to (re)incorporate The Town of Sparta, in June of 1924. It includes both, “a majority of the resident free holders, and a majority of the resident qualified electors.”

Evidently, in 1924 “resident free holders” would be owners of land that was unencumbered by any financial obligation. And “resident qualified electors” would have been any other registered voters.

Sparta was originally incorporated in 1879, but in 1924 North Carolina changed its rules, so that the process for municipalities was handled through the Secretary of State’s office.

So Sparta, like many other NC towns had to go through the motions again. The paperwork submitted to the state, says, “the assessed valuation of the real estate in said territory is $253,650 according to the assessment for Taxes 1923.”

We found the original document at the NC Secretary of State’s website, here:

https://www.sosnc.gov/online_serv/ices/search/by_title/_land_records

A few years ago, our then mayor, John Miller, wanted a list of all the past mayors of the Town of Sparta. To his surprise and dismay, there wasn’t one. Not at the town office, not at the county office and not in any state record he could find.

He asked us about it. The Historical Society had less information than he did. So John mentioned it to his grandson, and Micah made it into a Senior Project. Last month, Mayor Wes Brinegar brought a copy of Micah’s research to us, and it was so interesting we used it as a base for the article in our Spring 2024 Newsletter.

The new list isn’t complete. There are still holes in the timeline, and we would welcome corrections and additions as we build this and other important records for our archive. Working as a community on projects like this, will make the information available for the next person who needs it.

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Have you always wanted to see Basin Cove and the Caudill Cabin up close but weren’t able to make the (8.2 miles round trip) trek ?
Well, here is an excellent way to see the park, courtesy of Lenny and Phil Caudill. The Historical Society didn’t help with this project, (but we sure wish we had!)
These videos are narrated by Lenny and Phill, great-grandsons of Alford Martin and Jannie Blevins Caudill. The historical information and cultural background presented is a result of decades of research and service work within Doughton Park and Basin Creek.

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What’s that? You want to see MORE for Christmas?

Well, here are just four of many in a collection of nutcrackers donated to Alleghany Historical Museum this fall by Delta Peterson. We are grateful and very happy to be able to display Mrs. Peterson’s collection of decorative, holiday nutcrackers and incense “smoker” figures.

In 1997, Steinbach nutcrackers premiered a new series to honor the beloved tale, “A Christmas Carol,” by Charles Dickens. These four design production-runs were limited to just 7,500 pieces, each.

Here’s one you might like- a photo of the Children’s Choir, ready for Christmas, at the old Piney Creek Methodist Church…

More for Christmas…

Beginning before 1911, Home Demonstration Clubs were a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative Extension Service.

From the North Carolina State University Libraries website:“Home demonstration clubs throughout the state had for many years provided farm women with instruction on topics such as canning, cooking, house beautification, sewing, and more.

“These clubs were an outgrowth of agricultural extension and outreach programs that later became known as North Carolina Cooperative Extension, which today is operated jointly by the state’s land-grant institutions: NC State University and NC A&T State University.”

The New Hope Club was the first one organized in Alleghany County, with Sparta, Vox, Laurel Springs, Whitehead, Roaring Gap, Piney Creek and others following in succession.

This Christmas Card holder was a project made by Clara Lyons Halsey who was a member at New Hope.

Photo from Milly Richardson’s family of a traditional, annual event in the mountains each winter: Time to kill hogs.

Though it benefited everyone- yielding delicious hams, roasts, ribs, bacon, sausage, pork chops and tenderloin- it, perhaps, wasn’t a job for the faint of heart.

My own Grandfather made my (married) mother and aunts wait in the house when they were killing and cleaning, but the entire family helped with the butchering, the sausage grinding, the canning, etc. that came next.

Another great addition to the Christmas exhibit, Ghosts of Christmas Past:

This vintage, two-story, Spanish-style dollhouse- FULL of fancy furniture with Mom, Dad and Sister and babies and babies(!) was donated to the Museum by Marylou Porter, formerly of Sparta, but now a resident of Lexington, Kentucky.

More vintage toy memorabilia from our Christmas Exhibit:
1940 Merita Bread End Label from the Alex Woodruff collection.

1 of 16, labels issued for the Lone Ranger Safety Club. Labels featured scenes from the Lone Ranger series including Tonto, Silver, Scout and others.

Paper Litho, Size: 2 3/4″ x 2 3/4″
(Currently listed at $49, online, by Trading Card Database!)

Lone Ranger Safety Club Members were issued a certificate, a Lone Ranger mask and a silver bullet pencil sharpener.
The certificate said:

It is the duty of every Lone Ranger Safety Club member to memorize and observe these rules at all times.

My Solemn Pledge to The Lone Ranger.

1. I promise not to cross any street except at regular crossings and to first look both ways.
2. I promise not to play in the streets.
3. I promise to always tell the truth.
4. I promise not to cross any street against red signal lights.
5. I promise to be kind to birds and animals.
6. I promise not to hitch hike or ask strangers for rides.
7. I promise to keep myself neat and clean.
8. I promise not to ride on running boards or fenders of cars.
9. I promise to promote safety at all times and encourage others to join this safety movement.

This is Sally and Sunny, “Cutout Dolls” that were donated by Elizabeth McCann Nester. They were sold in booklets for kids to carefully cut out- no die cuts or punch-outs, back then- and were a product of prolific illustrator and graphic artist, Beatrice Mallet (1896-1951) in 1939.

(And they’re an excellent addition to this season’s Christmas exhibit!)

When you’re in Sparta for the big parade, tomorrow, plan to stop by the Historical Museum and see the new Exhibit, Ghosts of Christmas Past.

Help support the Museum:

Pick up a book for that “person who has everything.”

And if you have something you’d like to loan for display this season, let Ross know. He will be there, tomorrow 11am-3pm, and as always, admission is free.

The nutcracker in the photo is one of Delta Peterson’s collection of smokers and nutcrackers currently on display.