1,172 research outputs found
Letter to Jan Else signed by Antigone Kotsiopulos and Ginny Webster
No full textThank you letter to Friends of the Gustafson Gallery member and department faculty member, Janet J. Else, signed by Department Head, Antigone Kotsiopulos, and Friends of the Gustafson Gallery President, Ginny (Virginia) Webster
Historic Webster Vol. 1 No. 3
No full textHistoric Webster is a newsletter of the Webster Historical Society, Inc., created at the Society’s founding in 1974. The publication helped to serve the Society's mission of collecting and preserving the history of Webster, North Carolina. Webster, established in 1851, was the original county seat for Jackson County.'VOLUME I NUMBER 3
Cook6ook Will Be
Ready 9n o lie :Jall
A cookbook containing mouthwatering local recipes,
pen and ink drawings of Webster, and "Growing Up
in Webster" sketches will be on sale in the fall.
Tho rocipe book1 which is being compiled by Florence
and Joe Parker Rhinehart , will have a hard
cover with a color picture of Webster as the dust
jacket. Joe Parker estimates that it will have approximately
200 pages, The book will be printed
in brown ink on off white paper, and will have a brown
cloth cover with a sketch of the former Jackson County
courthouse,
Original sketches of people and places in Webster
will be featured at the beginning of each of the II
divisions of the book, as well a throughout the 250
odd recipes.
A short history of the town accompanied by a
sketch of the courthouse will begin the book, Then,
in addition to the delicious recipes, the cookbook will
feature character sketches of some of the donating
cooks and several "growing Up in Webster" stories
written by Webster women of different generations,
Mildred Cowan, Mary Morris and other women who
grew up in Webster will be contributing their accounts ~
The book will conclude with a feature menu for
Christmas dinner with recipes, accompanied by a
story about Old Webster at Christmastime,
The recipes in the book were collected from cooks
in the area by Joe's mother, Kate Rhinehart, Florence
Rhinehart will draw the pen and ink sketches.
The price of the book has not yet been determined,
but it is estimated at 5 or be placed in a makeshift
"jail" on the school grounds, .
other harpenings at the July event will include
board splitt'ng lessons, booths of all sorts, sales of
cookies and cakes, old fashioned bonnets, a varied
display of mountain cr afts, and of course entertainment.
If you have suggestions for additional activities at
the Independence Day fest, contact Paul and Linda
Cowan, co-chairmen of the Special Events. and Projects
Comm ;:tee,
Webster, North Carolina
EDD DOUGLAS DAVIS
olie :Jirst Sheriff
of ~ackson County
Edd Doug Davis, known as Doog Davis, became in
1853 the first sheriff of Jackson County, With the
exce~ti.on of the period he lived, while sheriff, in
the Jail at Webster, he spent his adult life on his
large farm located between Webster and Cullowhee
Today this area is called Rolling Green, '
Sher iff ~Alvi s and his wife Nancy Allen, daughter
of Nathan Allen of Webster, were the parents of
seve~ sons and two daughters" Mro Davis, who died
at h~s home August 25, 1911, is buried in the family
P!ot m Webster Cemetery along with his sife, two of
his sons, Nathan A, and Joe W, and other members
of later generations of llivises,
The copy of the JACKSON COUNTY JOURNAL
from which the article is reprinted, and the tin-type
picture of Mr , ~Alvis reproduced here ar e are owned
by Cather ine ~Alvis of Big Ridge, Catherine is a
granddaughter of Sheriff Doug ~Alvis,
The following article was taken from THE JACKSON
COUNTY JOURNAL dated January 29 1906 - Webster
N,C, - Mr, E, D, ~Alvis ' '
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
The author of this article was born in Buncombe
County <now Transylvania) Sept, 4, 1827, My father
lived where the late George C, Neil lived to the time
of his death, on what was then known as Lamb's Cr rek
which was a tributary of Fr ench Broad river, It~
head waters were near where llividson's river has
its source, with which it ran parallel, but being much
smaller, It was then known as Ben llividson's river
but of late years the "Ben" has been dropped,
Ther e has been a postoffice at this place for more
than seventy years" Davidson's River postmaster,
Ben .lli vidson, was my great-grandfather.
When I attended school the course embraced
reading, writing, and arithmetic, My teachers were
Turn to page four , , , •
~ ·'We6ster 9s ~ackson County's Hometown"
April 1974
A fetter
:Jrom the President
Dear Friends,
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with one
step" and that step in compiling and collecting the
history of Jackson County has resulted in 5,000 copies
each of three newsletters of the Webster Historic
Society; nearly 300 members and ll3,500 to the Jackson County Board of Education
for the old Webster Elementary School because an
an idea whose time has come can't help but succeed.
The school will become the Jackson County Museum
of Living History. The fund-raising committee needs
your help with the Webster idea. If you know wher e
money is a·.11ilable - from individuals, corporations
foundations, etc. - tell us - we'll contact theU.:'
Many grants have already been applied for from foundations
and other sour ces such as the Bicentennial
Commission in N.C. and the America the Beautiful
Fund,
We are hopeful that the County budget for the
1974-75 fiscal year will include a generous donation
toward the effort to preserve Jackson County's History,
But for many of these potential grants we need
non-federal matching funds, '
Th.e next newsletter will be sent only to the membership
of the Webster Historical Society, If you
have not joined but are "infected by the contagious
~n?'usiasm" as the honorable Hamilton Hayes wrote,
JOm. no:v, Send 5.00 yearly
Associate (outside Western N.C.): 10.00 yearly
Supporting: 30.00 yearly
Life: 1.00 a day to begin with) for her little family,
During the thirty-four years that mother was postmaster
the Post Office was in three locations: first,
in a little building where Mr. Baker's shop and apartment
are now located; next in the old Masonic build·
ing between our place and the home of Mrs, Nancy
Ensley Potts; then back to the Baker Upholstery Shop
location; and last to the little building in the corner
of her yard across the lane from the Monteith home.
Because of the necessity of having the office convieniently
close to our home, the location changed as we
moved, The family moved from our old home (built
by Dr. C.Z. Candler's father at about the time of
the civil war) to Uncle Andy's house , then to the
Aunt Hicks Wilson house <now owned by the Potts)
later to the old jail <Mrs, Margie Penland's place)
which was the principal's home when my sister ,
Mrs. Ruth Allison Morris, was principal of Webster
High School, and finally to mother 's new home, built
after the old Candler house was torn down , on the
same lot which she had owned since my father's
dea.th,
When my mother was postmaster she loved her
work (though it did get aggravating at times she said)
and it enable her to make a living in her own yard
for the most part. She could keep an eye on Ruth,
Uln and me as we grew up, and grandpa too when
he was sick, while she looked after the post office
which was the social, as well as news center for the
community. Sometimes when we all gathered to watch
little Oscar Coward buck dance in the post office
vestibule things would get too noisy and we would
all be sent outside so my mother could do her work,
She wrote and read letters and orders for a few of
the patrons who could neither r ead nor write, and in
emergencies would open up the post offic e at night
and on holidays to better ser ve the community, Service,
honesty, integrity and independence wer e virtues of
great value to her, as they had been to her Godfearing
pioneering ancestors,
During the thirty-four years that my mother
was postmaster she was assisted to some extent
by the following : George Self, grandpa Moor e, my
sister Ruth, Mrs, Margie Penland, Mrs, Evelyn McKee,
Mr. Dan Cowan. When I became old enough I was
officially made assistant, or r eplacement, so I could
substitute occasionally when she was sick or away,
Dear to all of our hearts was the mail carrier, Arthur
Allman, who was always kind, cheerful, accomodating
and generous with rides to and fr om Sylva in his
truck for all of us.
HISTORIC WEJ~STER April 1974 Page 3
The Webster "Mail Box"
Some people have called the Webster Post Office
the "Mail Box" and frequently someone laughingly
remarks that it is surely the smallest post office
in the United States, They seem disappointed when we
tell them there are other smaller. We enjoy our
rather unique building, However, the size of the
building does not designate the size of the Post Office
housed therein.
The Webster Post Office is the oldest office in Jackson
County, It was established as Scott's Creek
(Haywood County) April 5, 1828. Jackson County
had not been established at that time, The Haywood
County and Macon County line was at that time the
Tuckaseigee River at Webster, The first postmaster
was Ulniel Brisson, appointed April 5, 1828, He
was succeeded by Samuel B, -Bragg December 17,
1828, The office was later discontinued for a brief
time and reestablished May 24, 1832 as Scott's Creek.
At that time William Thomas was installed as
postmaster serving till January 27, 1843, Thomas
was succeded by Allan Fisher.
When Mr. Fisher took the office he had a store
in Lovesfield, said to have been located near the
intersection of what is now highway 107 and ll6,
Presumable the post office was operated in his store,
The name of the post office was changed to Webster
on November 28, 1857 while Mr, Fisher was still
postmaster, He ser ved the office for 22 years which
was the longest time any postmaster served until
Mr s, Eugenia M. Allison was the postmaster in later
years. The second court held in Jackson County
was held also in this store. A great-grandson of his,
Mr. Allen Bergin Fisher, Sr .. , now lives in Addie
Community, Route I, Sylva, N, C.
On September 21, 1865 a Mr. George w. Stake
became postmaster and served until April 15, 1873,
Postmaster Cannon was the father of the late Lewis
Cannon of Webster . He was the grandfather of James
~ann?n of Cannon Brothers Gas and Oil Company
m Dillsboro and other descendents of Dillsboro and
the state of Washington,
Succeeding Mr, Cannon was Martin H. Lovelady
who ser ved thre
Teamroom Caverns: Looking at Learning in a Whole Language First/Second Multi-age Classroom
No full textHistoric Webster Vol. 7 No. 4
No full textHistoric Webster is a newsletter of the Webster Historical Society, Inc., created at the Society’s founding in 1974. The publication helped to serve the Society's mission of collecting and preserving the history of Webster, North Carolina. Webster, established in 1851, was the original county seat for Jackson County.newsletter of the Webster Historical Society, Inc.
VOLUME VII, NUMBER 4 WEBSTER, NORTH CAROLINA WINTER, 1981
National Leaders Come From Jackson County
From The Asheville Citizen, J anua ry I, 1932
Cullowhee, Dec. 31. (Special)-Jackson county has contributed some of Western
North Carolina ·s most distinguished native sons. These sons have gone out into
several sections of the nation and are now blessing their fellow men in several fields of
work.
The Rev. Dr. Fred Brown, for many years pastor of the First Baptist church,
Knoxville, Tenn., and at present president of the Southern Baptist convention, was
born at Glenville, in the heart of Jackson county's famous cabbage country. Dr.
Brown is the son of Horace A. and Laura Woodard Brown and is descended from fine
old mountain stock. Both his grandparents were pioneer Baptist preachers.
Dr. Brown received his early education in a semi-private school conducted at
Tuckaseegee, near here, by A. M. Dawson, a graduate of Western Reserve
University. His later education was received at Mars Hill college, Wake Forest
college, the Southern Baptist Theological seminary, and other institutions of higher
learning.
Dr. John Brinkley, of Milford, Kan., twice candidate for the governorship of the
Sunflower State, was born and reared near East La Porte, Jackson county. A
movement is now under way to change the name of his adopted home town in Kansas
from Milford to Brinkley in his honor.
Others have gone out from Jackson county to make distinguished names for
themselves. They include Wood Middleton, president of Draughton's Business
college, Winston-Salem. Holmes Bryson, form er head of the Ashe ville Chamber of
Commerce, Dr. Ed Bryson, mayor of Liberty, S. C., and Felix E. Alley, or
Waynesville, prominent lawyer and Democratic orator. Sara Whitesides Norton, the
mother of Felix Alley, was the first white child born within a radius of 40 miles of
Cashiers Valley, in Jackson county's beautiful Sapphire country.
Many of the natives of the county who still live within its borders are known far and
wide for their distinguished public services. Mrs. E. L. McKee, of Sylva, is North
Carolina 's first woman state senator and is former president of the North Carolina
United Daughters of the Confederacy, former president of the State Federation of
Women's clubs, and former head of the Southeastern Council of Federated Women 's
clubs. Mrs. McKee was a delegate this year to the national Democratic convention.
Judge Walter E. Moore, of Sylva, a member of the North Carolina superior court
bench and former grand master of North Carolina Masons, is not a native of Jackson
county, but has lived here for many years. Other distinguished adopted sons are Col.
Charles J . Harris, of Dillsboro, president of the Jackson County bank, owner of
extensive mining interests, and former candidate for governor of North Carolina on
the Republican ticket; Robert Lee Madison, of Cullowhee, founder of Western
Carolina Teachers college here; and Dr. H. T. Hunter. for ten years president of
Western Carolina Teachers college and prominent leader in the Western North
Carolina Live-a t-Home movement.
W. E. Bird, dean of Western Carolina Teachers college, and E. H. Stillwell, head of
the history department and author of a history of Western North Carolina, are both
natives of Jackson county. Dean Bird \\'as born at Qualls and Professor Stillwell was
born near Webster, the old county seat.
FRED BROWN JOHN BRINKLEY WOOD MIDDLETON HOLMES BRYSON ED BRYSON FELIX ALLEY MRS. E. L. McKEE
WALTER MOORE HARRIS MADISON H. T. HUNTER W. E. BIRD E . II. STILLWELL
Photogra ph s from
Rachel Brown Phillips,
The Asheville-CitizenTimes,
Woodrow Midd
le ton , Marshall R .
Bryson, Hannah Moore,
We bster Histori ca l
Society, C. J. Harris
Community Hospita l,
and the Special Collec·
tions of Hunter Library .
Western Carolin a
University.
Page 2, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Winter, 1981
Buchanan Loop Opens New Vistas
Spring. summer , and fall th r loo)l
is lined with the wildflowr•·s of
Western North Carolina .
The sort and rolling mountains of the Blue Ridge surround th e village and provide a constantly chan ging and inS)liring
panorama to the Webster residents .
Barns. old and no longer used. stand in meadows Filled
with b.-iars th a t de light th e sum me •· ben.y picker.
By AnneS. and John W.
McFadden, Jr.
Kate, George, Frank, Roythe
neighbors of the Webster
loop, and the loop itself, have
been an integral part of our
lives for the past nine years.
When it was narrower and
ditt carpeted we pushed little
Anmarie around it in her
stroller. It was a time of
evening marvel. We saw and
. tasted wild fruits-blackberries,
blueberries, crabapples,
plums, and s.trawberries. Bird
varieties abounded and wild
flowers entertained us with
ever changing and vibrant
colors.
About five years ago the
road was widened and paved
and the activities on it increased.
Websterites took to it
Webster Promenade
in numbers and joyously embraced
its potential. Joggers,
strollers, fast walkers, bike
and horseback riders , and
skate hoarders siezed the
opportunities the newly paved
road provided.
The wider cut opened a larger
panorama of natural
beauty. In the summer we
pass through the morning mist
grateful for its coolness.
Flowery shows are extrava·
gent and tasty wild fruits
tempt us to gather them. The
box turtles, snakes, cattle,
horses, cats, and dogs observe
our passing. Oftentimes, as
many as eight dogs will join
our jog ; glad to see each
other, rolling and playing all
the while like kids playing tag.
The fall brings cooler, crisper
more invirgorating air; a
peaceful stillness, and a burst
of color carpeting to cover the
hills. Sunsets are spectacular.
Wooly worms cross the road in
determined numbers and the
dogs still happily greet us.
In winter the loop has the
sparkle and color of crystal
coldness. It offers a time for
solitude and escape from over
heated houses. The dog escort
is smaller, the flowers are
resting and the birds are
quiet. It's time for the winter
star of the show, the skyline,
to captivate us .
Spring knows we are ready
for her, and the loop, like
nature, bursts once again into
activity. Leaves shyly begin to
cover bare trees. The pave·
ment and air mellow. Seasonal
friends return, newcom·
ers build, and gardens are
planted. Woodpeckers, hummingbirds,
and bluebirds join
the crows, jays and redbirds.
Little Ryan calls from his
The Don llens ley home in Kin~ ·s Mounta in
shadow. one of many new houses along
Bucha na n Loop. has •·eplaced the Nathan
Coward house.
play, " Hi, where are you
going?",and neighbors ex·
change smiles, waves, and
breathless greetings as they
pass.
The centerstone in the loop's
glitterin g_ .ring is the cemetery
on the knoll. Throughout all
the Seasons it reminds us of
the ·natural order of life. This
well kept hillside cradles residents
from ahtiquity to those
newly missed. We like to think
they are watching the loop's
promenade from their special
place.
The loop is a wonderous
slice of life. A turn around it
refreshes one both ))hysica lly
and emotionally and gives
nourishment to the roots of his
life.
Anne and .John McFadden .
as a vid We bs tt> •· joggers. know
th(' loop intim a t e ly .
\
\
WEB
CEME
!
KING'S MOUNTAII\.l
OL.O
~\J C.H.ANAN:
HOvS!l
FAANK.
Buc.I-\/INAN 'S
GARDEN
HISTORIC WEBSTER, Winter. 1981, Pa ge:~
Dirt roads and drives go off the loop in a ll directions and ofrer
the wa lker new pa ths to explore .
Along the village ma in street a re houses new and old . showing hi stor y and change. The
McKee l-louse. now owned by Lona McKee and R. L. ll askett . r eflects the Webster of the
nineteenth century.
Near the top of the loop is the Webs ter Cemetery where r est many town citi zens.
leader s of loca l. st ate. and na tiona l events.
Ml11 Lucy .. . without a doubt, no generation of Webster's
young people "escaped" the opportu:lity to break in their knees
on her hardwood floors!
None of us was immune to being approached by Miss Lucy
with the proposition to help clean her beautiful large two-story
house. It's important to understand this was not just any
ordinary cleaning job; it was an education in housekeeping as
there was ·a defiDlte way to clean everything, especially her
hardwood floors. These· floors had to be mopped across the
woodgrain-to minimize pulling up splinters.
Naturally, hovering close by on all the various jobs was Miss
Lucy herself, seeing that we did a meticulous job in every
respect ; if we didn't, we didn't lack for proper instruction for
improvement. But then, what better way for us to get an inside
look into the dozen or so rooms of the big historical home on the
corner which housed only one little white headed lady? And,
after all-the pay was good: a cookie (or two-GOOD
HOMEMADE ONES)-and a glas8 of Kool-aid. In those days.
that was not bad; at lea st we didn 't compla in . If we did a good
job, we might even be rehired at a later date, usua ll .v the next
summer for as I was growing up, Miss Lucy generally was only
in Webster during the summers. She spent the rest of the year at
the Crossnore School working daily with young people from all
over the country, and out of the . country as well.
Sometimes· Miss Lucy brought one of the Crossnore students
with her to Webster in the summer. I remember in particular a
German girl named Marion Ufinger, with whom I became good
friends. She was a very large girl and since I was large for my
age too, I concluded I must be of German " stock" as well.
"Miss Lucy's back," was a familiar comment among the
Webster folks in the spring as she returned to open and air her
house for summer living .. Soon a lawnmower could be heard
getting the yard in shape and the familiar vase of Queen Ann's
lace would appear on the front porch. Miss Lucy loved flowers
and would quickly be seen in her yard giving her flowers and
shrubs loving attention. For years, she had a beautiful mixture
of tame and wild flowers across the road from her house by the
road up the hill to Ha lls ' . Her peonies and roses wer e always
healthy and lovely as well. Many of the flowers are still there for
neighbors to enjoy and remember Miss Lucy by.
One of Webster's loviest southern ladies, Miss Lucy had
absolutely beautiful white hair which was always soft and clean
and neatly styled on top of her head. Generally dressed in a
clean pressed cotton dress, she spent the summer working in her
yard, walking up and down the street chatting with her neighbors,
and visiting both the Methodist and Baptist churches; by
the time she became a familiar sight in the village, she was gone
again for the winter.
Even though Miss Lucy never married or had children of her
own, upon reflection, I realize that young people really played a
major part in her life. At Crossnore or in Webster, she seemed to
relate to youngsters. I can recall my sister, Joyce, telling how as
she was growing up, Miss Lucy was their scout leader. She tOOk
them on camping, swimming, and hiking excursions and apparently
enjoyed working with them. As I was growing up, she 'was
older, and I'm not so sure my generation was such a joy to her! I
recall once Nell (Enslh Bryson) and I were lucky enough to
persuade her to let us play in the little "house" attached to her
garage. We had a ball that morning because the place was like a
real kitchen, with cooking utensils, flour , and everything. Well,
neediess to say, when Miss Lucy checked on us only to find both
us and the whole room snow white with flour from the cake we
we re in the process or ba king. She wasn 't very happy! For some
reason, she never did let up play there again; we just had to be
content trying to P"!!P through the window to see the room that
for one day had allowed us to be "ladies of the house."
To me, the Grove and "Big Lot" are synonymous with Miss
Lucy. She was the proprietor of both, and each of them offered
very special childhood environments for us youngsters. The
Grove was a wonderland all its own : cool, private, and intriguing.
We could play in the tall deep pines, and sit on the cool green
moss, with our childish imaginations taking care of the rest, unbeknown
to anyone, and no one (not even Miss Lucy) seemed to
object. Now, the Big Lot was another matter. It was a perfect
place (in fact, the only place other than the school playground)
for Webster youth to gather and play hall. Our chances of using
the Big Lot undisturbed for our ball games obviously were much
better when Miss Lucy was away! Being a partic.ular yard lady,
she didn't exactly appreciate her nice green grass being
s tomped out by dozens of active running and sliding feet.
Miss Lucy doesn't return to Webster anymore now, even in the
summers, and I'm sure her familiar presence is missed by the
rema ining neighbors who knew her so we ll. The beautiful old
house is still there, tall and distinguished from recent renovation
by its new owner, but the present generation of young folks
will miss the opportunity to wander through the house with
imaginations of yesteryear and to scrub the hardwood floors
with a little white headed lady as their overseer. Too bad, for
while they might have been a little awed by Miss Lucy, they
would have liked and admired her as alt other generations of
Webster youth did.
Page 4, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Winter, 1981
Making the Mountains of North Carolina Home
Webster Becomes Home
By Arnold R. Denker!
It all began while reading an
advertisement in our local
Florida newspaper describing
a vacation lodge in the mountains
of Western North Carolina.
The lodge was owned by
Mr. Ward of Wards' Cabins
located on the Tuckasegee
River near Dillsboro.
A telephone call to Mr. Ward
secrued the lodge for the first
week of August 1970 and we
could now show our five
grandchildren, who had never
been outside Florida, and who
had never seen a hill, much
less a mountain, the Great
Smoky Mountains!
The five grandchildren,
three boys and two girls, at
that time ranging in ages from
seven to fifteen years, were
greatly excited and their
minds were filled with
thoughts and dreams of expectation,
as their parents
gave their consents for the trip
and all proceeded to make
preparations for the motor
trip to the far away state of
North Carolina.
The trip was estimated as
about eight hundred miles,
and would involve two days of
travel time.
Our daughter, Jane joined
the party at Atlanta and soon
we entered the Great Smoky
Mountain State. A beautiful
sign at the border, just beyond
Clayton, · Georgia, bids us
"Welcome" . . and from there
a detailed hand drawn map by
Mr. Ward directed us to our
lodge.
Then followed a busy week
of sight seeing, picnicing, wading
the Tuckasegee, trying
out Sliding Rock, exploring
the Blue Ridge Parkway and
Water Rock Knob, and hiking.
This then was our introduction
to North Carolina and
having fallen in love with our
surroundings, we returned the
following year for the entire
month of August, and again
the third and the fourth year.
We decided that we should
spend the entire summer in
North Carolina and we purchased
a lot and built our
home across the street from
the old elementary school.
Thus was our second home
established in the quiet and
picturesque setting of historic
Webster, Jackson County.
Since this time we have
acquired some acreage nearby,
where we are presently
growing several thousand pine
trees, some of which are no~
five years old, and which we
shall market this fall for landscaping
purposes and for
Christmas trees.
Our garden plot is also
flourishing and helps to keep
our freezer and our pantry
filled with all sorts of vegetables,
both fresh and canned;
we also have strawberries,
grapes and blackberries
which we convert into jams
and jellies for our sweet teeth.
We have but one peach tree
and last year it was loaded
with the most delicious large
Maxine and Arnold Denkert show their daughter J ane Fohl
<center ) of Gaither sburg. Mar yland, the beapty of their new
homeland .
fruit that we were able to
supply the entire neighborhood.
Besides a house and garden
plot on our lot, we have two
other houses-actually they
are small apartments, consisting
of twelve compartments
each. And who do you think
occupies them? Why- Purple
Martins, of course! They keep
us entertained from March
until August each year, as well
as keep our yard and garden
free of flys, mosquitos, and
other flying insects.
Now this August 198 1 is the
eleventh anniversary of our
first visit to this s ta te. We love
our home and We bst er and the
many friendly, neighborly,
and helpful people. We shall
forgo naming them for fear of
overlooking someone, and besides
the list would be too long
for this column. Suffice to say,
we love them all and wish all
much joy, health, prosperity
and happiness.
In conclusion, may we add
the words of a church choir
anthem:
"Purge, from our hearts all
bitter thoughts of hatred.
Clense, Thou our minds
from every stain of sin.
That we may live ·in brotherly
affection, worthy to
have Thy Spirit dwell within."
Webster Historical Society
officers for 1981-1982 are:
MOdred Cowan, President
Box 186
Webster, NC 28788
Dale Coward, Vice President
Norton Road
Cashiers. NC 28717
Mary Morris, Secretary
Box 3
Webster, NC 28788
Jim Simpson, Treasurer
Box 126
Webster, NC 28788
Kate Rhinehart, Membership
Court House Square
Webster, NC 28788
Joe P . RhiDehart, Editor
1325 13th Street, NW No. 60Z
Washington, DC 20005
The officers would be glad to
hear from the society members
and the editor of Historic
Webster would be pleased to
receive manuscripts, photographs,
and story suggestions
for future editions of the
newspaper. When correspOnding
with the society, it would
be helpful if members would
identify themselves with their
relationship to Webster.
~/'. HISTORIC~
WEB8TE:R
Winter . 1981
Editor:
••• , }.. .. , ., ..• , 'I "' · ...
We bs ter. North Ca rolina 28788
Joe P . Rhinehart
Co n~ributor s: J anice Monteith Blanton . Arnold Denkert. J en·
ny Hunter. Anne McFadden. J ohn McFadden. J r .. Florencf'
S. Rhinehart
Published qua rterly by the Webster Historical Society and
printed by the Herald Publishing Company, Sylva, North
Carolina
Historic Webster Vol. 11 No. 1
No full textHistoric Webster is a newsletter of the Webster Historical Society, Inc., created at the Society’s founding in 1974. The publication helped to serve the Society's mission of collecting and preserving the history of Webster, North Carolina. Webster, established in 1851, was the original county seat for Jackson County.Dickson Sl ater
Box 164
Davi dson, NC 280J6
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HISTORIC~
••••••••••••••••••---"_;e_w_;s:.:,le::.t.:te:.:..r of the Webster Historical Society, Inc.
VOLUME XI, NUMBER 1 WEBSTER, NORTH CAROLINA SPRING, 1985
The Cowan_s, Webster __ C_itizens
On a late spring afternoon in
1927, Mary BridgerS, a first
year teacher at Balsam Elementary
School in Jackson
county, spotted a dapper
young man on the Rolling
Green Golf Course near Webster.
He was wearing knickers,
fashionable at the time,
and an English-style cap
typical of the "roaring '20's."
She was impressed. Louise
Parker, a fellow teacher and
roommate at Balsam, soon introduced
Mary to the young
man who was Claude Cowan of
Webster. After a short courtship,
Claude Cowan and Mary
Bridgers were married at the
Bridgers' home in Macclesfield,
North Carolina, on
Christmas Day, 1928. They
soon returned to Webster
where they have made their
home for the past fifty-five
years. Claude and Mary have
two sons: Claude Jacob
Cowan, Jr., of Fairview Road,
Sylva, and William Joseph
Cowan of Tucker, Georgia. Claude and Mary Cowan's lives have been spent in and for Webster.
Madison poems will bEf published in
Summer by Society
The Poems of Robert Lee
Madison, a compilation of
poems, some known and many
being published for the first
time, will be released by the
Webster Historical Society in
the summer.
Professor Madison, a Webster
resident, founder of Western
Carolina University, and
a classical scholar, wrote hundreds
of poems in numerous
styles. He often shared these
verses with his friends through
little printed cards that he
distributed, through greeting
cards, or through his lectures.
It has long been a goal of the
historical society to preserve
these literary pieces. With the
permission of Mr. Madison's
family, the professor's poetic
works have been edited by Joe
P. Rhinehart ami a beautifully
printed volume is in
publication.
Larkspur Press, an art press
in Monterey, Kentucky, is
printing the book. Gray Zeitz,
the owner, is a master printer
and a former student of the
world famous Victor Hammar.
Zeitz and Hammar's
work have been exhibited in
many galleries, including the
Golier Club in New York.
Then, by hand, he will stitch
the books in soft covers in the
chapbook style. The chapbook
was developed in western
Europe in the nineteenth century
and, at that time, was a
cheap method of making books
available. Zeitz has revived
the style and has made it an
art form.
The Poems of Robert Lee
Madison, printed in a limited
edition, will appeal to Madison's
friends and students, collectors
of art, historians, and
readers of all sorts.
Professor Robert Lee madison wrote poems on many
subjects and in many styles.
They also have two granddaughters,
four grandsons,
two great grandsons, and a
great granddaughter.
CLAUDE JACOB COWAN,
SR. was born on September 9,
1902, on the Cowan farm bordering
the banks of the Tuckasegee
River near Webster.
He was the fourth of eight
children born to William Lee
and Luthena Wild Cowan.
After high school he held a
number of jobs related to his
interest in the field of electricity.
This was during the era
when electrical power was
first being introduced to residents
of Jackson county. After
a short time as an electrician's
apprentice, Claude Cowan
became an electrician and installed
the electrical wiring for
many of the old landmark
buildings and houses in Sylva,
Webster and throughout Jackson
county. He briefly worked
for the Dillsboro Power and
Light Company before opening
his own electrical shop in
Sylva.
As the Great Depression decreased
the demand for electrical
services and appliances,
Mr. Cowan closed his shop and
took a job with the Mead Corporation
where he worked for
several years as an electrician
and turbine operator. Then,
desiring to establish his own
business, he left the Mead Corporation
and built the Webster
Grocery Store which he managed
until 1951. During this
time he also served as Jackson
county's electrical inspector.
In 1951, Claude Cowan sold
his business to accept an appointment
with the North Carolina
Department of Agriculture
as a state regional inspector,
an appointment not alt()gether
unexpected since, in
addition to his qualifications,
he had successfully managed
the gubernatorial campaign of
Governor Kerr Scott in
Jackson county in 1950.
Before concluding his adult
working career, Cowan accepted
an appointment by the
Jackson County Board of Edu-
Continued on page 2
Page 2, HISTORIC WEBSTER, SPRING 1985
Mary and Claude Cowan have shared 55 yt
Continued from page 1
cation as the county's attendance
counselor, a position he
held until his retirement in
1967. Although he enjoyed a
variety of work experiences
throughout his adult life, his
first love was politics, as
evidenced by his successful
management of numerous
political campaigns for state,
regional, and local candidates.
He is most proud of the campaign
he managed for his
brother, Roy, who was elected
clerk of the Jacksdh County
Superior Court in 1938. Roy
was re-elected without opposition
each term until his death
in 1946.
In 1962, Claude Cowan was
elected to the Webster Board
of Aldermen, a position he
presently holds at age eightytwo.
As alderman, he takes
great pride in the many improvements
made on the
water system which was little
more than a small spring-fed
reservoir a few years ago. Of
equal pride to him is the fact
that Webster boasts a zero
crime rate, a fact that he attributes
to good neighbors
watching out for good
neighbors.
In addition to Claude
Cowan's many years of service
as an alderman, he was
an active member of The
Woodmen of the World, a
fraternal organization dedicated
to community service. He
is also a member of the
Fraternal Order of Masons
and was elected Master of the
Dillsboro Masonic Lodge by
his brother Masons in 1948.
Claude is a member of the
Webster Baptist Church where
he was active in promoting
building improvements and
acquiring a new parsonage.
During his retirement, he
enjoys keeping abreast of
local, state, and national
political events, serving on the
Webster Board of Aldermen,
and keeping his yard well
groomed. In the past, he spent
much time transporting elderly
friends and neighbors to
church, doctor's appointments,
the supermarket, the
drug store, and, as he says,
"just about anywhere else
they need to go."
When asked how he feels,
one is likely to get the standard
answer, "Well, I'm still kicking,
just not quite as high!" He
continues to maintain that
great sense of humor which
has characterized his personality
for eighty-two years.
Some would say that the one
thing Claude enjoys more than
hearing a good joke is telling
one. But most of all he is
known to his neighbors as an
accommodating friend, always
willing to help those in
need of his assistance.
MARY BRIDGERS
COW AN was born on April 1,
1905, in Macclesfield, North
Carolina. She was the sixth of
twelve children born to Joseph
Caswell and Nancy Owens
Bridgers. She was graduated
from high school in Edgecombe
county and attended
Farmville Women's College in
Farmville, Virginia for one
year before transferring to
Cullowhee Normal and Industrial
School (now Western Carolina
University) in Cullowhee,
North Carolina, where
she studied to become a
teacher. Upon graduation
from college she accepted a
teaching position at Balsam
Elementary School in Jackson
county. The following year
Mary Cowan accepted a teaching
position at Webster School
where she continued to teach
until her retirement in 1965.
Much of Mary Cowan's adult
life was centered around the
classroom and the children
she taught. As a teacher she
was best known for her ability
to "teach the unteachable."
Her fellow teachers have described
her as a master teacher
who was applying unique
methods of motivating children
to learn as well as techniques
of behavior modification
long before these methods
and techniques were written
about in the textbooks. And
yes, if this didn't work, she
was not above bribing a child
with food, money, extra privileges,
or just about anything
else that worked if that was
what was required to teach the
vowel sounds or the multiplication
tables.
Although the 3 R's came
first, Mrs. Cowan's appreciation
and love for music, art,
science, and social studies
were what made her classroom
a fun place to be. Her
students produced more musical
programs (operettas)
than any class in the school.
Her love of music was contagious
and her students responded
enthusiastically by
singing, dancing, acting, and
playing in the rhythm band.
Mary Cowan's personal enjoyment
and participation in
these activities with the
children kept her young short
Cowan and Rhinehart were
always on call for town
By Joe W. Rhinehart
Claude Cowan and I grew up together in Webster, but
because Claude was my senior we did not become close
friends until we were older. As boys we attended Webster
School, but Claude was ahead of me.
Our relationship has been close since we married and
Claude moved over the river. Claude was indeed a friend
in need for any time I needed help Claude answered the
call.
We are both interested in our town's welfare and to be
of service we both became aldermen. Our biggest job as
aldermen has been taking care of Webster's water works.
If the water "went off," a neighbor would call either
Claude or me to ask what the trouble was. We would get
together and search for the problem. Many times it would
mean digging up a pipe line or cleaning out the springs
on Kings Mountain. The springs, for many years, were the
source of Webster's water. When a major problem came
up we met with the other alderman and the mayor to
discuss the problem.
Now in our mature years and since we are among the
few native Websterites left, we enjoy sitting on the porch
in the sun talking about the "Good Old Days."
Joe Rhinehart and Claude
Cowan visit at the post office.
of her years.
In the spring of each year it
was not unusual to see Mary
Cowan and her entire third
grade assembled in the Cowan
garden or on the lawn catching
everything from butterflies to
the praying mantis. At other
times of the year they might
be seen collecting rocks,
leaves, flowers, or just about
anything of interest which
could form the basis for a
scientific nature study. These
activities, she believed, provided
welcomed relief to the
children from the rigors of
mastering the 3 R's and also
motivated them to develop a
sense of inquiry about their
environment.
It was mastery of the basics
plus the many enjoyable
educational experiences which
endeared Mrs. Cowan as a teacher
and as a person to four
generations of students. Her
service spanned thirty-six
years.
In addition to the three-plus
decades as a teacher in the
Jackson County Public
Schools, Mary Cowan was also
active in various church and
community activities. Prior to
her retirement, she was an active
member of the Webster
Baptist Church where she
served for many years as a
Sunday School teacher and a
member of the choir. She was
active in the Women's Missionary
Society and participated
in numerous other church
activities and charitable
causes.
No review of Mary Cowan's
accomplishments would be
complete without some mention
of her more subtle attributes
which are no less important
than her impressive
career as a teacher. As a wife,
mother, and individual, her
life has exemplified a love and
concern for others, especially
those less fortunate than she.
Her many acts of kindness to
those who found themselves in
a state of misfortune will long
be remembered by the many
whose lives she touched. Their
need of food, clothing, medical
attention, or sometimes just a
word of encouragement, never
went unattended if Mary
Cowan was aware of the
circumstances.
There is yet another side to
Mary Cowan's personality.
She must believe that
"laughter is the hand of God
on the shoulder of a troubled
world." Even today, her sense
of humor is equalled perhaps
only by that of her husband,
Claude.
CLAUDE AND MARY
COWAN have shared fifty-five
years together in Webster.
Summer, 1985, Claude
Spencer Clark Trio "Su
concert.
Among their most treasured
memories are the many good
neighbors and friends whose
lives have touched them over
the years.
Among their most 1
the many good neigh
lives touched them ov
Together they have shared
the good times and the bad
times . They endured the
poverty and deprivation of the
Great Depression. They
shared the grief and sadness
associated with the many
relatives, friends, and
neighbors who were wounded
or killed in World War II,
Korea, and Vietnam. They
EdUCI
By Joe P .
In 1956 I had earned the ho1
address at the Webster Sci
what I wanted to say to the c
it would be good to recall hi!
Webster was a stable com
thirty-nine seniors grown up
years together, but so had m
unusual for the whole famil
studied under the same tea,
In my memories of those d
ly more like family than im
not only qualified to instruc
highlighted the highlights.
What I wanted to say abou
said about a dozen more wl
lives. But there were things 1
our third grade teacher diff
obvious. After years of heari
into Mrs. Cowan's room and
made an impression- soft,
to do what she wanted?
Educators, in more recer
the "whole child." In 1946 t
Cowan. She had us performi
SPRING, 1985, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Page 3
~ars with Webster Claude Cowan has
always been interested in
politics. He helped with the
rechartering of Webster
and has served on the town
board for thirty years. He
has managed many a prospective
office holder's campaign
- always successfully.
When Roy Taylor of
Asheville became a candidate
for the United States
Congress, Cowan took over
his Jackson county campaign
and from his Webster
home helped elect Taylor to
Congress for several
terms.
and Mary Cowan attend the
mmer Evening in Webster"
have sympathized with and
assisted their many friends
who fell victim to the
devastating flood of 1940 as it
ravaged homes and other pro-
;reasured memories are
bors and friends whose
er the years.
perty along the banks of the
Tuckasegee River where the
Cowans lived at the time.
But all in all, they agree on
one thing as they share their
memories with frequent intervals
of laughter and good
humor: that is, they have been
richly blessed and have seen
more good times than bad.
Claude Cowan (center) helped Roy Taylor (left)
plan, with Gerald Hardy, his 1960 congressional
campaign.
"Claude Cowan is more like a brother"
By Mildred Cowan
Claude J. Cowan is a cousin of mine, though he is more
like a brother. He is a son of the late William Cowan, my
father's brother, who lived next door to my family.
In this day and time my mother would be called a
workaholic, and she sometimes would call on Claude to
babysit me. He was a good entertainer. He taught me
games such as jacks tones, hop scotch and jump rope. He
even tried to teach me to make tatting lace, but all I could
do was tie knots that would not slip to make a loop. He read
stories to me and taught me children's songs.
At school he was several grades ahead of me, but he
would still look after me. Then I went to boarding school
and after that moved to Asheville where I lived for four
years. In the meantime Claude married Mary Bridgers
of Macclesfield and they began to raise a family. Those
years we were not as close as we had been.
After my father's death, my mother and I sold the old
home place and bought a lot in Webster from Claude's son,
Billy Joe. When we became next door neighbors again we
took up where we had left off and again resumed our
brother-sister relationship. He is my adviser, my handy
man, and my confidante. I feel wonderfully blessed to have
someone like Claude for a friend.
Claude Cowan operated a service station on
Sylva's Main Street in 1951.
ate the whole child Mary-Cowan's philosophy:
Rhinehart
10r to deliver the salutatorian
tool graduation. In deciding
:lass and its guests I thought
:blights of our days together.
munity, and not only had we
together and spent our school
any of our parents. It was not
y, parents included, to have
cher.
ays, teachers, who were realtructors,
teachers who were
t but also knew how to love,
tone teacher could have been
to passed through our young
hat made Mrs. Mary Cowan,
erent, and the first was very
ng our mountain twang, to go
hear her soft down east drawl
gentle- who would not want
t days, talk about educating
his was nothing new to Mrs.
ng in a rhythm band. She had
Mary Cowan's third graders dance in Webster School's
annual May Day Celebration, 1958.
us keeping poetry notebooks. We did molding clay
sculpture.
Mrs. Cowan was a great believer in good manners, including
eating habits. Once she had the home economics
students appear during our lunch period, and, for several
weeks, they taught us the correct eating form: napkins and
one hand in the lap and of course, a clean plate alwaysthe
clean plate was sometimes hard to come by, but we
were graded, and so we ate correctly.
Mrs. Cowan was a thorough teacher in the academics.
Every activity tied into another. In a social studies class
we made a list of community helpers- teacher, police,
minister. These words became a spelling list. Then one
leader became the theme for a composition. Then the subject
became a clay sculpture for art class.
I knew twenty-eight years ago the value of good
teaching, and I wanted to let my commencement listeners
know the value of a good teacher, and so I recounted these
same events and those of other teachers to the audience.
Now, after twenty-four of my own years spent in a
classroom, I know even more the value of education, and
though forty years have passed since those third grade
days of being forced to each cafeteria spinach, I still eat
with one hand and I still clean my plate.
Generations of Webster citizens owe much to Mrs. Mary
Cowan.
Page 4, HISTORIC WEBSTER, SPRING 1985
From The Cowan Scrapbook ...
Claude Cowan in Webster, 1918. The
photographs were taken in the Madison yard
and the R. L. Haskett house is in the
background.
Mary Bridgers Cowan, summer, 1928. A photograph by
Donahue Studios in Sylva.
Mary Cowan and her son C.
Mary Bridgers was a native
of Macclesfield, North Carolina.
She was about nine or ten
when she and her friend Rev a
Phillips took a buggy ride. J., about 1933.
Mary Bridgers and her
friends at Western Carolina
University. Louise Parker is
left center and Mary Bridgers
is beside her.
"Summer Evenings . . . "
Summer, 1985, will be an
exciting time to be in Webster.
The Webster Historical Society
is planning its third
season of "Summer Evenings
in Webster" for July and it invites
natives and visitors to
attend the events.
Scheduled for Sunday evenings
at 5:30 in the Webster
United Methodist Olurch, the
program this year celebrates
the theme of "Anniversaries."
Stephen Hamilton, the artist-
in-residence at So'lthwestern
Technical College,
will open the season on July 7
with a concert of vocal and instrumental
music by Johann
Sebastian Bach and George
Frederick Handel, both of
whom celebrate their 300th
birthdays this year.
Harry Cagle, the leader of
"Harry Cagle and the Country
Cousins," will present a
concert on his violin on July
14. Cagle, who is known
across the South for his traditional
playing, will be
presented in a solo performance
which will include
dance music, hymns, and traditional
mountain music.
John Parris, author, editor,
and columnist, will read his
" Webster Stories ;" stories
set in Webster or about Webster
people on July 21. This
year marks the 35th anniversary
of the publication of Parris'
first volume of collected
pieces, Roaming the Mountains.
The series will end July 28,
with the third appearance of
the Spencer Clark Trio.
Clark, his wife Mary, and
drummer Hoyle Roberson,
will feature the music of
Jerome Kearn, whose centennial
is celebrated this year,
and his friends . This
popular program will be presented,
as usual, on the lawn
of Hilda and Huck Hoffman
on North Main Street and
Buchanan Loop.
A reception follows each
program to honor the performing
artists.
Madison Poems In Sunset Program
A long planned e~ent of fhe
Webster Historical Society
will be realized on July 5,
when the Society releases it's
latest publication, The Poems
of Robert Lee Madison.
Webster Mayor James
Simpson will preside over the
outdoor program set for the
back yard of Court House
Square at sunset, eight
o'clock.
Chancellor Myron L. Coulter,
Western Carolina University,
Kate Moore Rhinehart,
and Louise Madison Bedford
will speak on the professor as
educator, community leader,
and family man. Society president
Mildred Cowan will
present the Madison family
with the first numbered copy
of the book. Jim Gray, editor
of The Sylva Herald, will read
selected Madison poems. The
program will open with guitar
music and end with Dr. Alexander
A. Lesueuer on the
flute.
Sunset was Professor Madison's
favorite time and the
village was often entertained
by his front porch guitar and
flute concerts.
All are invited to attend this
special event to celebrate the
hundredth anniversary of Mr.
Madison's arrival in Jackson
County.
Miss Lucy's Picnic
Planned For July 4th
The second annual "Miss
Lucy's Picnic" will be held on
Thursday afternoon, July 4, at
4:30 on the lawn of Castalia,
the former home of Miss Lucy
Hedden, now the home of
Hazel and John Fobes.
Last summer the Webster
Historical Society revived the
picnic which Miss Lucy originated
years ago as a community
celebration of the nation's
birthday.
Only once, just after the end
of Worl
Historic Webster Vol. 8 No. 2
No full textHistoric Webster is a newsletter of the Webster Historical Society, Inc., created at the Society’s founding in 1974. The publication helped to serve the Society's mission of collecting and preserving the history of Webster, North Carolina. Webster, established in 1851, was the original county seat for Jackson County.newsletter of the Webster Historical Society, Inc.
VOLUME VIII, NUMBER 2 WEBSTER, NORTH CAROLINA SUMMER, 1982
W. N. Cook Served Town's Needs
By Joe P. Rhinehart
For years, a familiar
figure on the roads and hills
of Webster was the
Reverend W. N. Cook, the
minister of the town's Baptist
Church. Not only did he
minister to his own flock at
the church by the river, but
he was a minister to the entire
village. Not a person.
was ill, not a person died,
not a disaster struck that
Mr. Cook was not called in.
He was a partner to the joys
and sorrows of the village
for sixteen years.
William Newton Cook was
born June 28, 1878, in
Caldwell County, North
Carolina. His parents ,
farmers in the county's
Globe Township, were
Margaret Hartley and
WilliamS. Cook. W. N. Cook
was one of eight children,
six brothers, Mack, Todd,
Dan, Charles, Gaither, and
Jacob, and one sister Cora
Ann.
The Cook family lived the
life of the mountain farm
family, working the hillsides
for food to eat, sell, or
barter, raising cattle, providing
for most of their
physical needs through their
own hard work. For their
spiritual needs, as with most
of their neighbors, they attended
the Wilson Creek
Baptist Church. The father
was a deacon of Wilson
Creek and W. N., as the rest
of the family before him,
was baptized by the Minister
J. M. Payne into the faith on
a cold winter afternoon,
December 15, 1893, when he
was fifteen years old.
The Reverend W. N. Cook began his service in Webster as
leader of the Baptist Church in 1917.
Within years W. N. Cook
was licensed to preach by
Wilson Creek, made a
member of the Caldwell
Baptist Association, and on
December 20, 1903, at
twenty-five, just ten years
after he joined the church,
he was ordained a minister
of the Southern Baptist Convention.
During these ten years the
young Cook had spent four
years attending the Lenoir
Baptist College and
Dear Frie nd :
Your sympathy and co-opera
ti o n durin g our soj o urn amo n g
you has been hi gHy a?pre ciated
for which y o u have o ur thanks.
May b!euin gs r e s t upon you
t his e ntire year .
Let us know your j oys, your
sorr ow s, y our n e e d s that w e
may b e able t.o h ~ lp y o u at any
time. Yo ur humble pas t o r,
W. N. COOK.
Business Institute and had
on October 13, 1898, married
Mary Lezinka Bean, the
daughter of E. C. and
Emeline Bush Bean of
Burke County.
The Cooks were soon immersed,
not just in their
church work, but into the job
of raising a family, and
within the years that followed
they became the parents
of nine children. They were
the twins, Dan and Margaret
(Applewhite), three other
sons, John Earl, William
Lee, and James Judson, and
three four more girls, Mary
Ann (Briggs J, Minnie
Elizabeth (Nipper), Grace
Pauline (Mathis), and Eula
Beatrice.
The early churches that
the Reverend and Mrs. Cook
served , and it was a
cooperative effort, with
Mrs. Cook serving as
organist, Sunday School
teacher, and missionary
society leader, were rural.
In those days, in the mountain
area, a minister did not
pastor just a church, but he
traveled to several ,
preaching several Sunday
sermons and leading
numerous church and community
events.
The early Cook churches
were Mountain Grove,
Blanes, Fork, and Sardis in
Carta. By 1911 they were
working with the Hickory
and West Hickory, the
Penelope, and the Brushford
Baptist Churches, all in
Caldwell and Catawba counties.
In 1916, the Cooks moved
to Jackson county and they
took over the leadership of
the Scotts Creek Church.
During this first tour of the
county, the Reverend Cook
not only served the Scotts
Creek Church, but from
September 1917 to December
1918 he ministered to the
Baptists of Webster.
The Webster Baptist
Church had been founded in
December 30, 1854, only
three years after the county
and its county seat,
(
Webster, had been established.
The years 1917-1918
would be Mr. Cook's first
(Continued on Page 4)
Mrs. Cook Helped
Minister Husband
By Mildred Cowan
"Miss Lillian" Stillwell
Coo was born March 28,
1874. She was one of two
daughters born to Richard
Siler and Martha Allman
Stillwell of Webster. She
died May 8, 1948.
Miss Lillian was educated
at Cullowhee Normal
School , now Western
Carolina . University. She
taught for many years in the
Jackson County public
schools system. Most of
those years, and possibly all
of them, were in the Webster
Elementary School. According
to records in the Jackson
Cuonty Board of Education
she retired in 1922. "Miss
Lillian" was a strict
disciplinarian, but she did it
in such a manner that her
students respected and loved
her.
"Miss Lillian's" first love
was her church. She taught
the adult ladies Sunday
School class for years ; they
would have no one else for
their teacher . She also
organized one of the first
Women's Missionary Society
at Webster and was president
of that organization until
she could no longer carry
on the work. After she
became too ill to attend any
church services she would
sit in the living room of her
home and watch, and even
count, the people coming to
church.
After " Miss Lillian's"
teaching experience she
married the Reverend W. N.
Cook, who came to pastor
the Webster Baptist Church
and had become a widow
some two years before. She
was his faithful wife and a
good mother to his young
children, James and the
twins, Dan and Margarget.
The older Cook children
were able to care for
themselves by that time.
The Reverend Cook was
pastor of the church sixteen
years and they lived next
door to the church until her
death.
Mrs. Cook had four
brothers . They were
Ephrim, a lawyer ; Edgar,
who taught in the history
and English departments at
Western Carolina University
; and Charles and Iverson
who were farmers . Her
sister was Hattie Stillwell
Bryson who moved with her
husband to Alabama.
Page 2, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Summer, 1982
Mr. Cook's Hymns
IN HIS NAME
THE PREFACE TO
IN HIS NAME,
BY REV. W. N. COOK
Published By
The Teachers Music
Publishing Company
Hudson, North Carolina
strong in the Lord, and in
the power of His might,
and that all who sing
these songs may be stirred
to a pure devotion to
the glorious gospel of the
Son of God.
This little song book,
"In His Name," is respectfully
dedicated to
all workers in the spiritual
harvest.
It is hoped that whereever
it may go and into
whose hands it may fall,
that it will be "In His
Name."
The chief desire of the
author is that it may be
the means of leading a
part of the teeming millions,
to the foot of the
Cross, and of helping any
who are weak to be
This little work is sent
forth In His Name, may
the Lord accompany it
with His divine blessings,
and God shall have all the
praise.
Hickory, NC 1916
FOLLOW JESUS
Follow Jesus at His word
Oft His mandates you have heard
With an humble heart fill the truth today
In life's pathway walk anew
As it is revealed to you
Be baptized since all your sins
He's washed away.
Chorus: Follow Jesus, follow Jesus, let His wondrous
Mercy, be no more disguised
Follow Jesus, follow Jesus
In the presence of the world
Oh be baptized!
Follow Jesus and obey
Ne'er from His example stray
If you're grateful for His mercy
Make it known
Wondrous blessing you will lose
If His bidding you refuse
Be baptized. Your gracious Savior
Gladly own.
Follow Jesus pardoned one.
Sacred duty never shun
If you love Him as you should
No longer pause
Felling 'til a solemn rite
With a spirit now contrite
Strong in faith go be baptized
As Jesus was.
THEY ARE WAITING FOR ME
They are waiting for me, o'er the shadowy sea
In the home on the deathless shore
There I'll meet them again, free from trials and pain
When my journey 'mid earthly scenes is o'er.
Chorus : They are waiting for me over there
Cherished friends who have gone from my side
They are waiting for me over there
Where the ransomed with Jesus abide.
They are waiting in light, on which falleth no night
In the beautiful land of God
And with them I shall sing praise to Jesus
Our King, who to save us a path of sorrow trod.
We shall speak no farewell by and by when we dwell
Where no parting is ever known
And there be no alloy in our infinite joy
When united we stand before the throne.
Pages from th
The Reverend W. N. Cook married Mary Lizinka Bean in 1898. They
came 1o Webster in 1917 for one year and returned in 1929. Mrs. Cook was
the daughter of E. C. and Emeline Bush Bean.
Mr. and Mrs. W. N. Cook were the parents of nine children. The family is shown with four of them (
right) Mary Ann, Minnie, John, and William Lee.
Summer, 1982, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Page 3
reCooks' Family Scrapbook
left to
Mr. Cook's second wife was Miss Lillian Stillwell, the
daughter of Martha Allman and Richard Siler Stillwell of
Webster.
You Are Co rdially Invited
To The Service•
:11 the
HAMBURG BAPTIST CHURCH
Preachi n-g Ench lsi and 3 rd Sunday Morcing
Sur.day Sobool Each Sundaoy , 10 A.M.
W . N . COOK. PASTOR
Elinor Cleveland West was the Reverend W. N. Cook's third
wife. Miss Nellie was the daughter of W. B. and Estelle Bailey
Cleveland. She was a teacher, banker, and Highlands
postmaster. In 1960 Mrs. Cook was the Macon County
representative to the North Carolina General Assembly.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
LOWELL BAPTIST CHURCH
Sunday School
Men's Bible Class
(Redmen's Hall)
10:00 a. m.
9:45a. m.
Worship Every Sunday 11:00 a. m.
Evening Worship 7:30p.m.
Prayer Meeting Wednesday 7:30 p. m.
W. M. S. Thursday 7:30 p. m.
(Before the Fourth Sunday)
Other Services Announced From The Pulpit
AIM-- Three Hundred in Sunday School
Page 4, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Summer, 1982
Reflections
by Janice Monteith Blanton
Mrs. Pearl Madison
Neatness and pretty
clothes, a beautiful smile,
piano playing, and a prim
walk are among the characteristics
that come to mind
when I think of Mrs. Pearl
Madison, my former neighbor,
teacher, friend, and
supporter.
My first recollection of
Mrs. Madison is that every
time Nell (Ensley Bryson)
and I saw her come out of
her house to walk up the
street to the post office or
store, we made every effort
to fall in behind her, at a
reasonable distance , of
course, to mimic her walk.
We were just kids - preschool
and early elementary
- and we thought she had
the most fascinating walk of
anyone around and that if we
could just learn to walk a little
like her, we'd have it
made. We thought she never
knew why we were shadows
in the distance as she went
up and down Webster's main
street; I wonder now if she
really did.
Aside from Mrs .
Aside from teaching, and
she did an excellent job, she
also played the role of
"social and music chairman"
for both elementary
and high school activities.
Any time the weather was
too bad to go outside, Mrs.
Madison always vivaciously
found " inside fun" for us.
She was a fantastically energetic
pianist and we could
always depend on her to
play lively songs for us to
sing. The nicest thing about
her was that she always
seemed to have as much fun
as we did. With bubbling enthusiasm,
she always sang
along and could be easily
persuaded to "sing another
one." We'd even dance once
in a while ; however, that activity
was apt to be quickly
followed by a visit from one
of the local preachers who
would promptly point out the
error of our ways and
there'd be no dancing for a
few months.
beauties of algebra with us.
But there was just no way
she convince me ; to me,
"pie are round, cornbread
are square."
Over the years, in various
psychology courses, I've
studied "Modeling" - that
is, that young people tend to
model themselves after certain
adults whom they admire.
Obviously, Mrs. Madison,
as did many others of
my Webster acquaintances
about whom I've written,
had a significant positive influence
on my life as I grew
up in Webster. Truly, she, no
doubt, served as a motivator
in my interest in art, music,
pretty clothes and many
other things. She was a good
role model for me and many
other Webster young people.
As I was growing up,
Webster was full of excellent
role models after whom we
could pattern our lives. We
were very lucky to have
around us adults who believed
in us and encouraged us
in every possible way. I hope
the present generation of
Webster youngsters are
equally fortunate .
Minister Guided
By Mr. W. N. Cook
By Ernest A. Fitzgerald
Nearly forty years ago I
arrived in the lovely
Webster Community as the
new Methodist minister.
Still in college and i!.l my
teens, I knew so little about
my task. Down the hill from
our parsonage lived a
remarkable man , the
Reverend W. N. Cook. Mr.
Cook was the Baptist
minister but was known and
loved across the mountain
country as one of God's
great souls. I sensed in him
a friend who would guide a
boy preacher on his way. We
spent many hours together.
Somehow we never knew
that we were separated by
denominations. We worked
side by side, and I profited
by this man's great wisdom.
To Mr. Cook I am a debtor.
An Old Testament write
once said, "And a man shall
be as a hiding place from the
wind, a shelter in the
tempest, a covert in the
storm, and as a rock in a
weary land." I once knew a
man like that. His name was
W. N. Cook.
Dr. Fitzgerald is now the
senior minister of West
Market Street United
Methodist Church ,
Greensboro.
Be Thou My Guide
By W. N. Cook
Be Thou my guide, 0 Jesus
mine,
The waves of sin, are
whirling fast.
And threaten to o'er power
me.
Be Thou my guide, til strife
is past.
T'is all that I ask be Thou
my guide,
0 keep in paths, where
Thou hast trod.
And bear me safely, o'er
death 's cold tide
Grant this, 0 Thou,
eternally God.
Madison's interesting gait,
we thought she had to be
about the prettiest lady
around ; she was always
very neat and had lovely
clothes. I don't think I ever
saw her, even in the early
hours of the morning, when
she wasn't dressed like
she'd come out of a mind
box, immaculate from head
to toe. Her hair always looked
as if she'd just come from
the hair dresser, and her
dresses, or skirts, were always
meticulously clean
and pressed. She represented
my and Nell 's idea of a
model whom we'd like to
look like when we grew up.
The Webster school
chorus functioned under the
leadership of Mrs. Madison.
She was both director and
pianist, which, to anyone but
her, would have been an impossible
task. Those in the
chorus never observed any
frustration on her part about
the dual role. With a bright
smile and a gleam in her
eyes, she could encourage us
to do about anything. I know
she was a master of persuasion
because one year she
talked me into singing the
high soprano of the "Lord's
Prayer" in a duet for a baccalaureate
service - all of
you who know me personally
know that my voice is so low
and deep I should have been
singing bass instead!
Cook Served Webster
In later years, when we
were students at Webster
School, Mrs. Madison continued
to play an important
role in our lives. She was the
eighth grade teacher there
as long as I can remember.
When the Sylva-Webster
High School was built she
taught there until she retired.
At school, no doubt,
she influenced many young
girls to take pride in their
dress and appearance, as
she did Nell and me.
There was one thing
though that Mrs. Madison
never did manage to persuade
me to believe. and
that was 71' r ... In the eighth
grade I had my first introduction
to algebra, and
I'm afraid I was a source of
woe to Mrs. Madison. I
argued a lot over the logic
(or lack of logic as I saw it)
of algebra . Mrs. Madison
even asked Mr. Ernest
Penland, our principal, to
come in and discuss the
(Continued from Page 1)
term in Webster but he
would return for two other
tours with the Webster Baptists
and fix himself almost
permanently in the town's
life.
During the years 1916-1921
Mr. Cook became the first
missionary of the
Tuckasegee Baptist
Association. A missionary
for a local association is, in
effect, the director of the
complete activities of the
association. As part of his
work with the churches he
founded The Tuckasegee
Baptist, the association's
newspaper, to keep the far
flung and hard-to-get-to
church's information.
During the same years the
Reverend Cook did not limit
his missionary work to
Jackson county, but he served
Western North Carolina
as a member of the State
Mission Board. The Cooks
also founded the area's first
Baptist Training Union.
Mrs. Cook passed away in
1921. Mr. Cook moved to
Murphy for a year and in
1922 he married Miss Lillian
Stillwell of Webster, the
daughter of Richard S. and
Martha Allman Stillwell.
Together the Cooks moved
east to Lowell. Again Mr.
Cook had found a perfect
partner for his profession
and his life. "Miss Lillian"
managed his home, reared
his children, and assisted his
ministry. In pamphlets and
church notices her picture
appeared beside his as his
equal in the operation of
their churches. Mter three
years in Lowell and four
years in Kings Mountain,
the Cooks returned to
Webster, familiar ground
for Mr. Cook and home to
Mrs. Cook. The Cook would
not leave the mountains
again. From 1929 until 1943
they led the congregation of
the Webster Baptist Church
and ministered to the
physical and spiritual needs
of the village. The Reverend
Cook gave up the Webster
Church after fourteen years,
in 1943, but the Cooks did not
leave Webster. For the next
five years they served churches
across Jackson and
Haywood counties, including
Webster, 1945.
In May of 1948 Mrs. Cook
died and in December Mr.
Cook married Macon county
businesswoman Nellie West.
Mr. Cook closed his Webster
home soon after that and
moved to Mrs. Cook's home
in Franklin. He no longer
held a pulpit but he continued
with his lifelong profession
of the ministry. He
led revivals, taught classes,
performed ceremonies,
always involved in the life of
his church and community.
He passed away in Franklin
in 1958.
/'Y'\. HISTORIC~
WEBSTER
Summer , 1982 Webster, North Carolina 28788
Editor : Joe P. Rhinehart
Contributors : Janice Monteith Blanton, Mildred Cowan,
Ernest A. Fitzgerald, Jenny Hunter, Minnie Cook Nipper ,
Florence S. Rhinehart, Joe W. Rhinehart.
Published quarterly by the Webster Historical Society and
printed by the Her ald Publishing Company, Sylva, North
Carolina
Historic Webster Vol. 2 No. 2
No full textHistoric Webster is a newsletter of the Webster Historical Society, Inc., created at the Society’s founding in 1974. The publication helped to serve the Society's mission of collecting and preserving the history of Webster, North Carolina. Webster, established in 1851, was the original county seat for Jackson County.IICII!IHIIL IIIli
Dear Webster Historical Society Members:
Beginning now, Jackson County will be alive with
American Revolution Bicentennial activities which are
part of those being planned nationwide to "strengthen
the approaching third century of American
independence." The Bicentennial commemoration will
preserve the past and promote the future through the
action areas of HERITAGE, HORIZONS and
FESTIVALS. Jackson County, Webster, Sylva and
Western Carolina University are eligible to official
designation as Bicentennial communities. This means
that each of these communities will be planning special
projects and programs within the areas of
HERITAGE, HORIZONS and FESTIVALS.
The master plan for the North Carolina American
Revolution Bicentennial celebration is divided into
four phases:
Phase I --Overture, 1972-1976
Phase 11--Year of Declarations, 1976
Phase III --Competition 200, 1976-1989
Phase IV-··Finale, 1989
The Jackson County American Revolution
Bicentennial Celebration will be planned by a steering
committee and a community council composed of
representatives from all organizations in the county.
The committee and council, appointed by the county
commissioners, will be announced soon. The Webster
Historical Society's past efforts have been a
meaningful beginning to J ackson County's celebration
of the Bicentennial and will be a significant part of the
exciting years to come. The Webster J uly 4th
celebration of 1975 will include the county's
designation ceremony and will be the first event in a
series of bicentennial celebrations county-wide.
"BE A PART OF SOMETHING GREAT."
Betty Price, Chairperson,
Jackson County American Revolution
Bicentennial Commission
President, Webster Historical Society
:;:;:::::::::::::;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;::;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:
Webster Cookbook Is Selling Well
Requests for copies of lhe Webster Cookbook are far
exceeding expectations. Thanks go to the many Webster
Historical Society members and cooperative businesses who are
participating in these sales. In truth , the cookbook is selling
itself as fr iends of friends and even strangers catch sight of it.
The publishers, Edw.ards and Broughton of Raleigh , North
Carolina have placed full page advertisements in State
Magazine, the Tar Heel Ba nker. and North Carolina Education.
These have already brought favorable response. WMSJ of
:::: generously adding the cause. Great credit goes lo the local sales ::::
:::: chairman, Joe and Kate Rhinehart of Webster who house the :;::
:::: cookbooks, do the bookkeeping, and sell, deliver, package, and ::::
::;: mail copies on request. ::;:
:::: In addition to the Rhineharts, copies of the Webster Cookbook ::::
:::: may be obtained from any of the following individuals or places ::::
::::of business: Betty Price and Marilyn Jody, Webster; Mildred ::::
·:::: Cowan, Webster; Archie and Ruth Crawford, Webster ; and ::::
::::: Mary Morris, Library WCU, Cullowhee; Mrs. Vernon Stroupe, ::::
::::: Sr., Asheville; Joe Parker and Florence Rhinehart, Bethesda, ::;:
::::: Maryland; Anne-Margaret Cloth Shop, Highlands Road, ::::
::::: Franklin, North Carolina; Cheddar Box Cheese and Gourmet ::::
::::: Shop, Dillsboro, North Carolina, Scotties Discount Store, ::::
::::: Simpson Chevrolet, Continental Beauty Shop, all of Sylva, North ::::
:~1:~:;:~:~~:;::::~::;::~;::~:;:::~;~::;:::~:~:::~;:~::;:~;:::~;::~:;::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~~~~
WEilSTEH. :\OHTH CAROLINA
First Jackson County
Court Formed In 1853
Asheville Citizen
May 22, 1932
The first court was organized
by Judge John W. Ellis, afterwards
governor of the State, at
the residence of Daniel Bryson,
Sr. on Scott's Creek, Monday,
March 3, 1853.
J. Newton Bryson was appointed
clerk of the court, and Allen
Fisher, c lerk and master in
equity . •
The sureties of these officials
were such men as W. H. Bryson,
John B. Allison, R. V. Welch,
John W. Dav is, Thaddeus D.
Bryson, and E. D. Brendle.
The second Superior Court was
opened Monday, September 19,
1953, at Allen Fisher's store
house, with Judge Dav id F.
Caldwell presiding. (Judge Caldwell
was the grandfather of Fred
C. Fisher, of Swain county, and
Miss Frances Fisher, author of
"The Land of the Sky"). E. D.
Davis was sheriff and J. Newton
Bryson, clerk of the court.
First Jury System
The first grand and petit juries
were composed of such familiar
pioneer names as Keener, Con·
' ley , Queen, Bryson, Brown,
Hooper, Dills , Alley, Allison,
Gibson, Wilson, Smith, Wood ,
Zachary, Hall, Norton, Shelton,
Hedden, Monteith, Sutton, Sherrill
, Henson, Allen, Buchanan,
Farley, Watson , Wike, Enloe,
Owne, Ensley, Ashe, Long, Dillard,
Davis , Parker, Parris,
Painter, Coward, Rogers, Hyatt,
Henderson, Moss , Middleton,
Potts, Parks, Shular, and Gunter.
The first case was placed on
docket for trial in the Superior
Court was State versus Adam
Mathis. The second was John B.
Allison and Woodford Zachary
versus Elisha Holden. The nature
of neither case is stated in the
record.
David Rogers, among the
youngest of these first county
officials, 40 years younger than
some of them was the last to pass
away. He died in the late Twenties
at his home in Cullowhee. At
the age of 94 he was as young and
sprightly in spirit as he was on
that autumnal morning in 1855
when he moved into the new
courthouse at Webster, as the
county's first clerk of the court.
The first State cOurts were six in
number and the judges and
lawyers proceeded from one to
another on horseback. For several
years prior to 1778 there
were no courts in North Carolina
unles they were single magistra·
cies which had jurisdiction of
petty offense and civil actions.
In 1868 these time-honored
though somewhat antiquated
courts were abolished and a
different procedure was adopted
by the state. Jackson county now
has the Superior court, and the
courts of the justices of the peace.
SPRING, 1975
Ottis Self ,
A Distinguished Citizen
By Mildred Cowan
Rubert Ottis Self, eldest child of Dr. William and Octavie Cowan
Self, was a distinguished citizen of Webster, of Jackson County, and
the entire stale of North Carolina. He was born at Franklin, North
Carolina in 1884. His parents returned to live at Webster where Ottis
attended public school. He was later a student at Cullowhee Normal
School, now Western Carolina University, and finished in the class of
1904.
He taught in the public schools of Jackson County in 1005; was
principal of Wakelon High School, Zebulon, North Carolina, in 1906;
and taught at Calvert in Transylvania County in 1907. He was
superintendent of public schools in Jackson County in 1908 and 1909.
During 1910 he was southern representative for the American Book
Company.
In 1911 Mr. Self became Clerk of the North Carolina Senate in
which office he served u,ntil19l9. During this period and until1940, he
held a number of Important positions in civil life and state
governments. He was active in the Kiwanis Club 'the Masonic
Knights of Pythias, and Odd Fellows Orders. Mr. Self's life and
career are further reviewed in a letter written by his daughter, Mrs.
Lura Self Tally, to me, her father's cousin.
Mrs. Tally is presently serving in the North Carolina Legislature
as 20th District Representative from Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Her letter follows:
North Carolina General Assembly
House of Representatives
State Legislative Building
Raleigh, 77611
Lura S. Tally March 18, 1975
20th District
Home Address: 3100 Tallywood Drive, Fayetteville, N. C. 28303
Miss Mildred Cowan
PO Box 116
Webster, North Carolina 28788
Dear Mildred:
Thank you very much for writing to me about my precious father.
shall try to write down a list of information for you.
Continued on Page 3
Historic Webster, Spring 1975, Page 2
Probable Date, the late Eighties
By Eliza beth Keys
Miss Margaret Anne Hunter,
our good neighbor on Caney Fork
Creek, is indeed an extraordinary
lady of 94 years <come May 3) ;
much kin d ness and a lov ing
heart. Also, Miss Mag twinkles
with bright wit in recounti ng
marvelous stories which are fond
a nd wonderful memories to her .
For ma ny, many yea rs, Miss
Mag has been a Special Person to
this writ er , but last week was our
firs t li te r a ry e ncount er in a
formal interview, for the "Webster
Hi s toric a l Soc ie ty News·
letter. "
Miss Mag emanates s trength ,
integrity, and in telligence. Her
delightful sophis ticat ion did not
spring from a ttending the Wo·
mens' College of Greensboro. Her
own nat ura l intellectua l curiosity
has kept her current and cognizant
with day to day events
local a nd world wide. Also, she
was an aware and observing li tt le
girl. Her brown eyes da nced as
she said that she and her younger
brother . Ra lph. were not greatly
im pressed with Sylva upon their
a r r iva l from Texas. 80 plus yea rs
ago. Texas. even in those days.
was known as " Big Country". so
the Smoky Mounta in hollows may
The hot el. a t this time. was the home and to right a re the servants Major Wells and Aunt have seemed cramped at first
business of Felix and Annie Ca rt er Leatherwood. Zelia Wells. The next three men are unknown . arrival. " The old g ray ho rse
The latticed banni ste rs and supp.crt-!!'!g cc!~mns.-cf-- Sca-:iX! neao. tli·c--c-o-:umu ·~ .1r-s-:-f' :·i :.: ::.ea ih-er --h~:ch cd :an pas: :ocn; by. n;od r;-o:
the porches were typical. at that time. of a number wood. with daughter Ethel and Ellen on each s ide . many houses in Sy lva then---!"
of houses in the Webster area. Standing as a group are her three older daughters. sti ll last in ~e r me.mo r~.
This picture was published in an early edition of May. Lee. and Belle. Leaning aga inst a column is The beauuful white . f1 ve ga ~l e
llis to1·ic \\'c bs tt·,·. but we th ought it wor th daught er Annie.Seatedwithpropped up fee tis Dr. Hunter H ~ m es t ea d,. where M1ss
1·epubli s hing beca use of the information furn ished Will Tompkins. The ot her people on the porch Mag has lived dunng her years
about the occupants of the porches b~· Mrs. Vernon cannot be identified. here. sta rted as a one room
Strou pe, Sr. , grandd a ughter of the F . H. In close proximity. about twenty fee t away, and cabin. bu ilt before her Daddy
Leatherwood's. Mrs. St roupe says. from what her back of the picket fence on the r ight ca n be seen a went West. That one-hundred-mother
Mrs . Lee Potts told her. most of the people portion of the Coward Hotel. home of Nathan year old cabin , pegged door and
can be identifi ed. Coward and hi s family . Both hotels were a ll. is st ill intact to see as pa rt of
To the left on the ups ta irs porch are Mr. and destroyed in the 19 10 disastrous fire which the Big House w ~ ich was .later
Mrs. Schreiber. On horseback. ha lf hidden by the originated in the Mount a in View. added by the builder , En cson
fence. is Joe Sher rill. On the lower porch from left Lovedahl from Sweden . Some of
:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:::::::;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::=:::::=::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::=::::::::;:;:;:
Robert lee Madison
Education in Western
North Carolina,
Nineteenth Century
By .Joe Parker Rhin eha rt
Educa tion 101 A
December t2. 1 !)5~
At Sylva, a Mr. Page from
Ma ine ta ught the first part of the
t887-1888 year and Mr. Madison
took over at the mid-term . A
sudden and serious illness prevented
hs fini s hi ng the year.
After a recovery trip to Alabama
a nd Tennessee, he returned to
SUi f
Editors :
Mrs. Louise Davis
Ms. Alice Harrill
Dr. Marilyn Jody
Circulation
Mana ger :
Mrs. J ennie Lou Hunter
Typists:
Mrs. Sar ah Barrell
Mrs. Jennie Lou Hunter
Contr ibutors:
Mrs. Elizabeth Keys
Mr. Claude Cowan
Dr . Richard W. Jobst
Miss Mildred Cowan
Mrs. Vernon Stroupe , Sr.
Ms. Belly Price
Sylva in time to teach the
t888-t889 term.
The public money of the distr ict
had been spent on patent desks,
(the first in Jackson county), so
the school operated as a subscri
ption school.
Here Professor Madison had
forty pupils, ages 6 to 23, in
classes ranging from ABC's to
F'rench.
The grading system was different
from present day methods.
A one merit card was issued to
each student for being present, on
time, good behavior, good lessons,
and abstention from dis·
turbing others. Five one-merit
cards were exchanged for a
five-merit card ; five five-merit
cards were swapped for a twenty
five-merit card; a nd four twenty
five-marit cards were traded for
a hundred merit certifica te. A
student could acquire a hundr edmer
it cer tificate every month if
his record was excellent every
day of the four school weeks.
After Mr. Madison assumed
duties as editorr of the Tucka·
seigee D emocrat~. in January 9,
1889, he divided his day between
classroom and newspaper duties .
All nights except Friday were
spent in school work . Friday
nights were given to the literary
society at the public hall.
Al the beginning of the fa ll of
1888, Madison had subscribed to
several leading educational jour·
nals. including Sc hool Journa l
and the Teac her's Inst it ute. and
had several leading educa tor 's
writings. Before the fa ll term was
over he had organized a group of
practice teachers. " As fa r as I
know th is was the first attempt
ever made to practice teaching in
this county." It was on a sma ll
scale and participa tion was voluntary
.
Madison stayed at Sylva, but
with an intention of starting a
public school. Here he became
impressed with the needs of a
perm a ne nt in s t it ution for this
mountainous section. The inst i tu~
tion would not only give the young
people better pre pa r at ion or
foundation for their future voca·
tions , but would a nswer the acute
need for preparing teachers for
the county and village schools.
"Fortunately fo r me and for
the educationa l future of th is
region , the genera l assem bl y of
t889 had abo lished the then
existing eight normal schools and
had provided in their stead the
money previously set apar t for
them should be expended for
teacher's ins titutes to be held
annua lly for the duration of a
week or more in each county in
the state.
The teacher 's insti tute lead to
the turning point in Professor
Madison's li fe.
the sta tely trees. as well as the
immense silo, were vict ims of
high wi nds in the past. There is
litt le need now for the ca ttle
fee ding s tation as Miss Mag no
longer continues Ra lph Hunter 's
registered Hereford herds since
his demise two yea rs ago. Ra lph
Hunter was the greatest a uthori
ty on Hereford cattl e and blood
lines in th is region. His da ta and
papers would be a prime acquisition
for the Western Carolina
University Archi ves.
Miss Mag knows so ma ny
things; such as, it is a fact tha t
Caney Fork Creek was so named
because the Master-Cra ftsman
Basket Weavers of the Cherokee
preferred the Caney r vi'k canes
above a ll others for their art
work. The superio rity of these
canes lies in the clim ate of the
Ca ney Fork Valley which is a
therma l pocket tha t protects the
canes from becoming brittle with
heavy freezes. Th us the ca nes
respond in flex ibili ty in working
into the exquis ite des igns and
techniques of basketry of the
Cherokee.
Miss Mag's Daddy, Mr . J ohn
Hunter , was the fi r st Caney Fork
resident to pay for posta l delivery
to his home. Then, the mai l came
by way of the new ra ilroad to
Sylva , was waggoned to Cull owhee
and East LaPorte , and
forwa rded by horseback up Caney
Fork, John 's Creek, and the
Rich Mounta in Section.
Earlier , John Hunte r had removed
to Texas a fter four year s '
active duty with the Confederate
Army . With his young wife ,
Minerva Brown Hunter , he esta·
blished his home is Sage, Texas,
where their three children were
born. The cat tle bus iness prospered
and all was well until Miss
Minerva came down with " Deser
t Feve r ". So, her hu s ba nd
brought her home, with their
little ones, to the beautiful Blue
Ridge to recover. For Minerva , it
was too late , but her three
children flouri shed - . the two
daughters pa ssed 90 years each,
a nd the son, Ra lph, atta ined 86.
Miss Mag reca lls her Grandmother
Brown's food preserving
from those ea r ly years. Little
gray, glazed ceramic jars were
the con ta iners. Hot cooked food
was poured into the hot. scalded
jars . and sea led with tissue pa per
soa ked in hot bees wax . This was
snugged down ta ut ov er the
mouth of the ja r with a str ing
winding a round the wa xed paper
overha nd at the top of each jar .
Sounds delicious. doesn't it ?
Miss Mag has greeted me so
oft en a t he r ever- hos pit ab le
home. I ca nnot count the times. It
is mostly the summer season
though. when I ride horseback up
that \Vav a nd vis it with my
wonderflil fri end. But. never unt il
our recent int erview. had Miss
I\ lag shown me the anc ient. hand
appliqued quilt. a fam ily heirloom.
It so im pressed me tha t I
inq uired about it at the Tryon
Pa lace Sympos ium which I re-
•ti a-ii cnded i11 '~c ' Be .
Nor tli Ca rolina . The discussions
of the Sympos ium we re con cerned
with Eighteenth Cent ury
deco r a ti ve Art s in the Early
Ame ri can Homes . T he Celebrated
a utho rity on Eight eenth
and Nineteenth Century Text iles.
Miss Mil dred B. Lan.icr of the
\Vill iamsburg Hcst orat ion Staff.
gave marvelous lec tures on Textiles
in the Southern Homes in the
sevent eenth and eighteen th centuries.
As I descr ibed as fully as
possi ble 1\liss Mag's qui lt. Miss
La nier and the class were very
much interested . Miss La nier .
without hav ing seen it. could give
only an educat ed guess rega rding
the. qui lt. However. it seems to be
one of the priceless sur vivors of
the age when glazed cott on chintz
was sti ll being imported from
Engla nd . The Rose Madder. and
brown India P rints were pre-cut
for quilting and a lso expor ted to
Ame ri ca f rom England. Miss
Mag's quil t is enha nced in value
on account of the hand woven
linen back ing. the " Mint Condition"
(a ter m meaning extremely
va luable J and " Made in Amer ica"
. A conservat ive guess would
place the quilt as t20 to t30 yea rs
old. Perhaps Webster Histo rica l
Society can help us to further
identify this ma rvelous treasure.
a nd oth ers which a re tucked
away in brides ' chests from long
ago. We need photographs in
detai l to submit for appraisa l.
We are certa in ly indebted to
MisS Mag for the interview---.
maybe there will be more.
Hlsloric Webster, Spring 1975, P age 3
The North Carolina Senate Is Pictured In Session in 1917. The inset is Robert OHis Self.
The Felix H. Leatherwood Family at Webster, North Carolina
September, 1891
Left to right and standing: Mrs. F. H.
Leatherwood, who before her ma rriage was Annie
Lavenia Cartsr ; da ughter Laura Belle, (Mrs.
Marcellus Buchana n, Sr. ), daughter F lorence
May (Mr s . J . E. Divelbiss, Sr .), daughter Lillian
Lee <Mrs. R. P . Potts. Sr. ), seated : daughter
Ellen Elvira (Mrs. G. C. Picklesimer), daughter
Ethel La vinia <Mrs . Coleman Cowan ), daughter
Anna Carter <Mrs . M. Donaldson Cowan ). In
front : only son, Roy F . Leatherwood.
Absent from the picture is the husband and
father, Felix Ha rrison Leatherwood, who was a
tra veling salesman for Sanford, Chambers, and
Alber s, drug wholesalers of Knoxville, Tennessee.
This family group picture, evidently made by a
traveling photographer (quite common in that
era) was taken just below the Mountain View
Hotel, home of Felix and Annie Carter Leatherwood.
In the background and enclosed with a fence
is the rose garden of Mrs. Leatherwood. On the
opposite side of the street is the home of Dr. W. C.
Tompkins, and above it is the Spake house, later
occupied by Garey and Ellen Picklesimer. and
still later by the Andy Allisons.
Picture and information furnished by Mrs.
Vernon Stroup, Sr. of Asheville, North Carolina.
Mrs. Stroup is a granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. F.
H. Leatherwood.
Ottis Self, cont.
-Continued irom page I
As you probably know, after his father died, my father taught in
the one-room school house there in Webster. - He received his
education from Western Carolina, during which lime he often ta ught
since a school master was needed; and he, evidently. was a most
alert and intelligent young man.
He later worked with the Wachovia Bank in Wilmington, often
commuting on weekends back to his beloved mountains and to his
widowed mother. A little later, he served with Wachovia Bank in
Statesville, North Carolina where he mel my mother , Sarah Cowles,
who was the local teacher of music. They were ma rried on the
Cowles family farm in the summer of 1918. During this lime, my
father was also serving in the Nor th Carolina Stale Senate as chief
clerk.(! have his gold cane). I am now having a picture copied which
included him in the legislative body of 1917. He was chairman for the
entire Stale for the sale of Liberty Bonds from 1917 through the end of
the war. Aboull920, he and my mother came to Raleigh. He, to begin
his career with the old North Carolina Corpora tion Commission
Oa ter, the North C~"oli na Utili ties Commission) with which he
stayed 30 years.
He and my mother had five children, of which four a re living. My
older brother, Bobby, died in infa ncy. My s ister s a r e Eleanor Self
McCall (Mrs. J. A. McCall) of Stone Mountain, Geor gi a and Mrs.
Nancy Self Stanley (Mrs. Lester Stanley) of Smithfi eld , North
Carolina, my brother is Capt. USN William Cowles Self, of Panama
Canal Zone and, of course, me, Lura Self Ta lly, from Fayetteville,
North Carolina. There are 14 grandchildren a
Historic Webster Vol. 6 No. 3
No full textHistoric Webster is a newsletter of the Webster Historical Society, Inc., created at the Society’s founding in 1974. The publication helped to serve the Society's mission of collecting and preserving the history of Webster, North Carolina. Webster, established in 1851, was the original county seat for Jackson County.~HISTORIC~
WEBSTB:R newsletter of the Webster Historica l Society, Inc.
VOLUME VI, NUMBER 3 WEBSTER, NORTH CAROLINA SUMMER, 1979
On the
Scene
with
Lawrence C.
Frizzell
"Preachers"
We had " Preachers" not Ministers,
in those days, and their
lot was a ra ther hard one. Their
pay , if you could call it that, was
pract ically nil, and the collections
at the services amounted
to very little, most of which had
to be forwarded to the higher
echelons of the church. The
members of the congregations·
helped out with food, clothing ,
and anything else that was seriously
needed. Thinking of their
plight in these enlightened
times makes me shudder. but at
that they weren't much worse
off than the rest of us.
It is interes ting to recall some
of these preachers at the Webster
Methodist Church. One was
named Cordell (my middle
name came from hirri ), but he
was before my time. Then we
had one named Richards, or
Pritchard, or something like
that, who rode a high spirited
gray horse. He frequently rode
to our house to spend the night
with us. I admired him very
much because he had the cou·
rage to ride a horse that always
seemed about to toss him over
his head. Then there was Mr.
John Peeler, who, like nearly
everybody else, chewed tobac·
co. His favorite was "Brown 's
Mule" , which he pronounced
"Brown's Mu·el". His wife was
on of the most cultured persons
in the area , who liked to quote
poetry and other famous sayings
. Mr. Clyde, a graduate of
Furman University, liked to
organize the boys of his congre·
galion, and hold prayer meet·
ings with them in the barn back
of the parsonage. Why he held
them there instead of the
church escapes me. He prea·
ched some very eloquent ser·
mons, and combined some of
them with acrobatics. On one
occasion, to emphasize a point,
he leaped to the top of the railing
around the pulpit and balan·
ced himself there briefl y. On
another occasion his sermon
was based on a text about the
care of th flock, or congre·
galion, and the refrain through·
out the sermon was "Fee my
Sheep". His two daughters,
Mabel and Helen, come vividly
to my mind to this day. They
and Stella Broyles, Edith
Moore, Florence Rhinehart,
Jessie Stillwell , Lucy and Myr·
tie Hedden, Lena Cowan, and
Gertrude and Ina Brown for med
a very interesting group
at the school.
ColorH"I F r izzdl 's ~..:o lumn now
is a re_gular l·ea ture in I-llS·
TORIC WEBSTER and in the
next issue he will write about
"Preachers.··
Gertrude Dills McKee
N.C.'s first woman senator
This oil portrait of the late Mrs. Gertrude Dills
McKee was placed in the North Carolina headquarters
of the General Women's Clubs in Raleigh as
a memorial to Mrs. McKee. Mrs. McKee served the
state in many ways-social, political and religious.
By Joe P. Rhinehart
Part one in a series or 3
"As the mo.untains stand graceful and sturdy in the clear mountain
air of autumn, so stood Gertrude Dills McKee," began an
Asheville Citizen editorial on the death of Mrs. McKee.
"Her charm was a compound of womanly gentleness, warmth of
spirit and unselfish interest in the welfare of friends and ru:quaintances.
Her smile won over the shy person and fairly infected all
those who came in contact with her. Her loyalty was firm and
unswerving, whether to friend or to principal which she considered
worthy.
"These attributes and a keen informed sense of social responsibility
were heavily invested in the progress of North Carolina.
Mrs. McKee received many honors. But they were more than earned.
"She was the first woman to sit in the Senate of North Carolina
and would have served a fourth term in that body had she lived.
Education and so.cial legislation were her particular. fields of interest.
Laws .which she sponsored or supported became model
statutes-which is a fair test of legislative ability .and accomplishment.
In the best .sense of the phrase, Mrs. McKee was a
typical 'woman in politics .'
"To club work she gave generously of her time and abilities. Her
efforts helped to put and keep the General Federation of Women's
Clubs in the forefront of North Carolina's progress. She was no less
devoted to the forwarding of public education-in the schools of
North Carolina, as a member of the State Board of Education ; in
the Greater Univ_ersity, as a member of the Commission on Consolidation;
in the colleges of North Carolina as a trustee of three in·
stitutions, and especially as a long friend and patron of Western
Carolina College (University). There at Cullowhee a building was
named in her honor, and several years ago the Women's College of
the University of North Carolina Cnow UNC at Greensboro) confer red
upon her an honorary doctor of laws degree.
"But as much as Mrs .. McKee was devoted to the people of her
region and state, her grace and charm found full expression in the
home as wife and mother. She was a winning hostess. Young people
were attracted to her and found her keenly alive to their interests.
She had a capacious sense of humor and the humanness. which goes
with it. She was unfailingly generous, and always without obstentation.
"The stamp of the mountains was upon Gertrude Dills McKee.
And the region which she loved happily is left with a deep impress
of her loyalty, kindliness, and good works."
continued on Page 4
Early Webster was a busy place
By JOHN Pi\KKIS
July 4- Gleanings from the
horse-and-buggy era , or who
remembers back when this
hi ll·top vi llage was called Webster-
On-The-Bridge?
For a stroll down memory
lane, come along and browse
through the musty, dusty files of
The Tuckaseigee Democrat.
ITEM: Folks got mighty ex·
cite<:t around here in July of
1879.
Frank Carter had struck it
rich and Webster was destined
to mushroom into an oil town.
Workmen bormg a water-well
at the Carter residence struck
oil at a depth of 65 feet.
"For a couple days," wrote
Editor Tompkins, "the exhala tions
were as pronounced as
ever issued from any oil can.
During the same time a bubbling
noise as of escaping gas
could be distinctly heard.
.Water drawn up had oil floating
on its surface ... But as the hole
deepened the noise ceased and
evidences of oil disappeared."
ITEM: There was no stopping
a girl of 13 from getting married
back '89, particularly if her
father happened to be the
county register of deeds.
" Quite a romantic affair occured
at Webster last Tuesday
night," wrote Tompkins.
"There was a festival at the
Methodist Church, and a pretty
miss of 13 and her lover were
present.
"The festivit ies broke up
about midnight, and the young
couple left for home, as was
supposed , in a buggy. But
instead of going home they went
to Sylva, where they were
married.
"The young lady is a daughter
of the Register of Deeds of
J ackson County, and had previously
gone into her father's
office and filled out a marriage
license, which was used at the
marriage ceremony. ' '
Tompkins reported that this
"genuine runaway marriage is
the latest sensation in Web-continued
on Page 4 Mrs. Emma Long Coward
Page 2, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Summer, 1979
Pages from a Webster scrapbook PhotographsfromlsabeiAI
itil'>:;i ' ~·If~ ~~.J-h,..,... c,,."' .._.,. ,'~ ....,..K~ C.,.,o-~_,
~·~~~t..~tj ,AYM<ofl.,..e.) w~.;~_, .. '"""'" <V,\..~
'0~ -A ,l"\.~ ;fo'O ..........
I
lison q:arlton, Annie Louise Madison Reed, and Kate Rhinehart
C "-""\ ftillwcJJ ~':J ~""...:'~ ~.~'f"~
if~"
HISTORIC WEBSTER, Summer, 1979, Page 3
;:....._). ~~1lo"e. _,""'Ff.,.ef
~.,.,J.A...1,"~"'e._.~"-1
~0~
Page 4, HISTORIC WEBSTER, SUMMER 1979
Mc:Kee was early leader
continued rrom P~ ge t
Gertrude Dills was born in
1886 in the little mountain
village of Dillsboro in Jackson
County. She was the daughter of
William Dills, legislator from
Jackson in 1889 and founder of
the town of Dillsboro. Her
mother was Alice Enloe Dills.
Mr. Dills was a business man of
unusual ability. Having three
daughters and no sons, there
seemed little likelihood that
there would be a successor to
his service. In his day there was
little or nothing known of the
possibilities of women's talents.
It would have warmed his heart
and the heart of every pioneer
worker for the women's movement
to have s.een the enthusiam
with which. his second
daughter was elected the first
woman state senator in North
Carolina.
At Peace College in Raleigh
Miss Gertrude Dills was president
nf her class and sorority.
In the class of 1905 she was graduated
with highest honors.
From her graduation until
her marriage to Ernest Lyndon
A worker
in the women's
movement
McKee, a pioneer industrialist
in Jackson County, on August
19, 1913, Miss Dills taught
school.
Mrs. McKee began her first
organization work during World
War I, when she began to attract
statewide attention for the
effective work she did for the
Salvation Army, Liberty Loans,
and savings stamp drives.
Mrs. McKee's first state office
came in .May of 1925 when
she was elected president of
North Carolina Federation of
Women's Clubs. She campaigned
for a survey of women in industry.
Although the survey
was never made, she did pursuade
Governor A. W. McLean
to order it, after he had decided
against it. However, it was finally
called off when a controyersy
_ arose over who should
conduct the investigation.
The women of North Carolina
were_ well represented when
they chose Mrs. McKee as their
leader. No matter where she
went she was fighting for the
rights of her fellow women.
At a convention in Asheville,
she told the Carolina women
that the ballot was the strongest
weapon of their sex. It was time
for them to start going to conventions
and primaries .and in
this way began to discharge
their responsibilities as citizens.
Mrs. McKee said that she saw
ation. At Charleston she was
chosen president by unanimous
vote.
Mrs. Eugene Davis of Wilson,
North Carolina, said, " If North
Carolina Club women could
have seen Mrs. McKee and
heard her address at the closing
session when she was presented
in her new role, they would have
thrilled with pride as the two
North Carolina representatives
did."
On her last day in Charleston
she reviewed the troops at Fort
Moultrie. " I know one thmg, 1
was thrilled," said Mrs. Mc.Kee,
who served as state and council
president at the same time.
In October of 1928 the North
Carolina division of the United
Daughter's of the Confederacy
<UDC) called her to duty as president.
At a meeting of this organization
in Asheville, Mrs. McKee
said, "We are filled with thankfulness
that we have lived to see
the day when the. South is the
best and safest place in which to
live." She predicted. that the
New South would eclipse all
other sections of the nation
since the foundation had been
laid by men of such sterling
quality.
Continued Fall. 1979
"The Merry Widow"waltz
A Webster Favorite:
continued from Page 1
ster," and elsewhere reported
the ceremony and named the
groom as Oscar B. Coward of
Sylva and the bride as Miss
Emma Long.
ITEM : Editor Tompkins believed
in using the pages of his
newspaper as a medium for
special ' 'bread-and-butter ''
courtesies.
To illustrate: "Mrs. Editress
Tompkins tenders Mrs. Capt.
Leatherwood her thanks for a
nice roll of Golden Drop butter,
the product of her Jersey cow. It
was nice. "
ITEM : By 1903 the young
folks had gone wild over Johann
Strauss' "The Merry Widow
Waltz. " It was all the rage. So
much so that Editor Tompkins
turned poet and aired his feelings.
It's The Merry Widow this
And The Merry Widow that;
It's The Merry Widow kiss,
And The Merry Widow hat.
" It's The Merry Widow craze,
And The Merry Widow dance;
It's The Merry Widow plays,
And The Merry Widow glance.
" It's The Merry Widow dinner,
And The Merry Widow waltz;
It's The Merry Widow sinner,
With The Merry Widow fau lts.
" It's a merry Widow wife,
And a Merry Widow brat;
I've a Merry widow knife,
And a Merry Widow cat.
''And if I die tomorrow,
Why let them play real loud,
The Merry Widow waltz song
For The Merry Widow crowd."
ITEM: J ust around the corner
a sorry fate , was waiting for
Webster. Folks over in Sylva
and down at Dillsboro were
getting ready to gang up and
move the county seat.
But in 1907, Webster was
going its merry way and mighty
proud of its progress.
to Miss Mamie Moore, later
Mrs. Eugene Bearden of Asheville,
for her portrayal of Marion
Warrington, writing that she
"shined out in all the grace and
loveliness of a daughter of the
Old Time South."
"Perhaps one of the best hits
of the even in~. " he said "was
'The Homespun Dress' sung by
Mrs. Holmes Bryson (later of
Asheville) "
ITEM: In '84, Editor Tompkins
announced to his readers
that he had a cow worth 1,000 for his horse," the editor
explained. "Felix Leatherwood
here in Webster has a yoke of
oxen which he wouln't begin to
give for Kope's horse.
"Cole Hall (grandfather of
former Congressman David M
Hall) won't give his dog, Car:
low , for Felix's oxen. Dr. Jim
Candler (grandfather of Dr.
Charles Candler of Asheville)
won't swap dogs with Cole, and
Y?Ur correspondent won't give
h1s red cow for the doctor's dog.
Ergo, the cow is worth greatly
over 7.00, and the
price of dry cleaning, I bought an $85.00 wedding dress. Somehow,
Miss Nan learned of my purchase and she apparently viewed the
situation differently. I later was told that while I walked proudly
down the aisle wearing what I felt to be a very practical,
economical, and beautiful dress, Miss Nan was sitting in the
audience in horror of the whole thing, feeling sorry for me and
lamenting over " what a shame it was that I was getting married in
a 'bargain dress'." Such was the closeness of our one big Webster
fami ly! Continued Next Issue
. , , . ~HISTORIC~
;~~r/' WEBSTEi newsletter ol lheWebsler Historical Society. Inc.
Summer. 1979 Webster, North Carolina 28788
Editor Joe P. Rhinehart
Contributors: Janice Monteith Blanton. Lawrence C. Frizzell.
John Parris, Annie Louise Madison Reed, Isabel Allison
Carlton, Kate Rhinehart, Jenny Hunter
P ~bli shed quarterly by the Webster Historical Society and
prmted by the Herald Publishing Company, Sylva, North
Ca rolina.
Women must be
interested in
politics
" Webster is still in the lead,"
Tompkins wrote. "One of her
progressive citizens, 0. B. Coward,
has put down the first piece
of paved sidewalk ever seen in
Jackson County. He has fin ished
up about 40 feet in front of
his store. "
Webster, North Carolina 28788
no reason for WDmen shying at
politics or politicians. " In these
days the woman who is not interested
in politics is neither an
intelligent_ or patriotic citizen.''
Mrs. McKee was chosen at
the biannual convention of the
Southeastern Co..uncil of
Women's Clubs which met in
Charleston, South Carolina in
1926, as the new president. The
chairmanship of the Council
was second only to the presidency
of the General Feder-
But now 50 years later there's
not a foot of paved sidewalk in
the town that died and only now
is coming back.
ITEM: Folks packed the auditorium
one night in 1908 to see
a cast of local talent present
"Under The Southern Cross", a
moonlight-and-roses epic of the
Civil War.
Editor-turned-drama critic
Tompkins tossed a big bouque
Historic Webster Vol. 4 No. 3
No full textHistoric Webster is a newsletter of the Webster Historical Society, Inc., created at the Society’s founding in 1974. The publication helped to serve the Society's mission of collecting and preserving the history of Webster, North Carolina. Webster, established in 1851, was the original county seat for Jackson County.WEBSTER, NORTH CAROLINA SUMMER, 1977
Judge Felix Eugene Alley
Felix E. Alley was born in
Whiteside Cove, Jackson County,
North Carolina on July 5, 1873. He
died in Waynesville, Haywood
County, North Carolina, January
6, 1957 at age 83, and is buried in
Green Hill Cemetery along with
his wife and other members of his
family.
On March 15, 1899, Judge Alley
was married to Mary Elvira
Hayes, a daughter of Alexander
Hamilton Hayes and Margaret
Leatherwood Hayes, of Whittier,
Jackson County, North Carolina.
Four children were born of the
marriage, three sons and one
daughter - Felix E. Alley, Jr,
J . Hayes Alley, Robert Cline
Alley, and Edna Louise Alley
(Mrs. J. W. Ray).
Judge Alley's father was Col.
John H. Alley, great-grandson of
Cedric Alley, remote ancestor of
the Alleys in the South, who came
from Liverpool, England some
years prior to the Revolutionary
War.
His mother was Sarah
Whiteside Norton, born August 8,
1828, and said to be the first white
child born in Whiteside Cove. She
was the daughter of B·arak
(Barackl Norton and Mary
Nicholson Norton.
Judge Alley received his
education by home study, in local
public schools and in Cullowhee
High School, later known as
Western Carolina Teachers
College. He was graduated in
1896, at the age of twenty-three.
In 1898, he was elected on the
Democratic ticket to the position
of clerk of the superior court of
Jackson County, and served one
term of four years, studying law
at home in the evenings.
In 1903, he was admitted to the
North Carolina Bar. Later, he
was admitted to practice in the
States of South Carolina ,
Georgia, Tennesse~ and Virginia,
as well as in North Carolina and
in the United States Supreme
Court.
In 1903, he opened a law office
in Webster, North Carolina, then
the county seat of Jackson
County. He remained in Webster
until January 1914, when he
moved to Waynesville, where he
resided and practiced law until
1933.
In 1905, during his practice in
Webster, he was nominated by
acclamation for the Legislature
on the Democratic ticket and was
elected.
During the term he served as
Representative in N. C. General
Assembly, he was influential in
getting increased appropriations
for the College at Cullowhee, and
its name changed to Cullowhee
Normal And Industrial School. At
that point it became a State
school for the training of teachers.
In 1910, Felix E. Alley was
elected Solicitor of the Twentieth
Judicial District composed of the
counties of Cherokee, Clay,
Graham , Haywood, Jackson,
Macon, Swain.
In January 1933, Governor J.
C. B. Ehringhaus appointed
Solicitor Alley Judge of the
Twentieth Judicial District to fill
a two-year vacancy caused by
the death of Judge Walter E.
Moore. In the June primary of
1934, Judge Alley was nominated
to succeed himself and was
elected in the November election
of that year. He served as a
Superior Court Judge for fifteen
years.
Judge Alley said of. his
family , in one of many
affectionate expressions, "My
wife has remained at home and
toiled incessantly in the rearing
of our children, so that I might go
out into the world and seek such
opportunities as were within my
reach. She and my hosts of
friends have made it possible for
me to achieve whatever of
success I have enjoyed. They
have made it possible for me to
give to my four children a better
chance in life than I have had -
the advantage of a college
education such as I yearned for
but could not have. They have
made it possible for me to give
my three sons their legal
education in the best law schools
in the State; and I have been
permitted to live to see them
enter the noble profession of the
law, which I love so much, with
success within their reach, and
waiting only for them to reach
out and grasp it. And so the dark
clouds pass ; but the blue sky
abides forever . I owe a debt to my
friends that can never be
repaid."
******
News release, May 11, 1952 -
Sunday, Ashevr.lle Citizen,
Cullowhee, N. C.
Two distinguished citizens of
North Carolina Judge Felix E.
Alley and D. Hi den Ramsey will
receive honorary doctorate
degrees from Western Carolina
Teachers College at the 59th
commencement program on May
26, 1952.
President Paul A. Reid
announced the granting of the
honorary degrees, the first in the
history of the institution.
Judge Alley, of Waynesville,
outstanding jurist and suthor,
will receive the degree of Doctor
Of Laws , while Ramsey , of
Asheville, newspaperman, civic
and education leader, will be the
recipient of the Doctor of Literature
degree.
Conferring of these degrees
will take place during the
graduation exercises on Monday
morning, May 26, 1952, at 10 a.m.
in Hoey Auditorium.
Final selection of the degrees
and recipients was made by the
Board of Trustees of the college,
which had considered candidates
suggested by a faculty
committee and approved by the
entire faculty."
Judge Alley, a native of
Jackson County, is an alumnus
of the college, having graduated
from Cullowhee High School,
from which Western Carolina
Teachers College developed.
Continued On Page 2
Lombard's Lodge (the Alley place> in 1800's. Whiteside Mountain in the background. Courtesy Frances
Baum ~arner Lombard.
Pa11e z HISTORIC WEBSTER, Sammer, 1177
Alley - C•t1118ed From Page I
He baa b-. an active public
speaker ill Western North CaroIIDa
and adjoining areas, addresline
political, religious and educational
groupe. In 1941, be was
tbe author of two published
boob "Random Thoughts And
the Musings of a Mountaineer,"
and " What Think Ye of ChristA
History."
Copy of news release In The
Allleville Citizen, Asheville, N.
C., Monday, January 7, 1957.
Waynesville - January 6, 1957.
Judge Felix E . Alley, a
Superior Court Judge for 15 years
and one of the best known
lawyers in Western North
Carolina, died in the Haywood
County Hospital January 6, 1957.
He was 83 years old.
Judge Alley was widely known
as an orator and author. He had
written two books as wen as
mountain ballads.
He was a seH-made man,
youngest in a family of ten
children. By working to earn
money and studying in his spare
time, Judge Alley became one of
the best educated and respected
jurists in the State of North
Carolina. He attended Cullowhee
High School, later Western
Carolina College, and the
University of North Carolina.
Survivinj! are the widow,
Mrs. Elvira Hayes Alley ; a
daughter, Mrs. J. Wilford Ray;
two sons, F . E . Alley, Jr., and J .
Hayes Alley, all of Waynesville,
N. C.; five grandchildren and
three great-grandchildren ; a son,
Robert C. Alley, <predeceased).
Funeral services were held for
Judge Alley, Monday at 3:00
p.m., in the First Methodist
Church of Waynesville. The
Reverend Earl H. Brendall
officiated, and burial was in the
Green Hill Cemetery.
Pallbearers were W. Roy
Francis, M. G. Stamey •. Alvin
Ward, Glenn Brown, James H.
Howell, Jr., and William Medford.
Honorary pallbearers were
members of the Bar of the 30th
Judicial District; Rufus Siler and
W. F. Swift. Crawford Funeral
Home was in charge of burial
arrangements.
As a jurist, Judge
wide recognition for
1111iform courtesy, impartiality
and fairness. In cases on appeal
from his court, he had a record of
93 per cent in affirmations in the
State Supreme Court.
A judge who believed in
tempering jtmtice with mercy, he
prided himself on the belief he
saved many men and women
from Jives of crime by giving
them a chance.
He was a devout Methodist, a
member of the First Methodist
Church of Waynesville, and
wrote extensively and delivered
many addressed on religious
themes.
Judge Alley was widely known
as a political campaign orator.
In the presidential election of
1932 he made 20 political
speeches in as many Western
North Carolina counties. He was
a delegate to the State
Democratic Convention and the
National Democratic Convention
that year and sup~,>orted
Roosevelt. In the 1916 elechon1 he
was a member of the Electoral
College and voted for Woodrow
Wilson."
Excerpt from article by Author
and Columnist John Parris, in his
July 7, 1957 Column In The
Asheville Citizen, "Roaming The
Mountains."
TO HIM, WESTERN NORTH
CAROLINA WAS HEAVEN
BY JOHN PARRIS
"WAYNESVll..LE - January
6, 1957 - Felix Alley was the
synonym
Mountaineer.
for Carolina
Nobody ever did more to give it
dignity and respect and none
ever wore the name more
proudly.
To him , Western North
Carolina was heaven and heaven
was his home, for the mountains
contained everything good and
big and wonderful in life - the
things that made people human.
Many will remember him
because he was their friend, their
neighbor , because he was
tolerant and just and kind and
humble, because he never forgot
his beginnings.
Felix Alley's story is really the
story of Western North Carolina
Colonel J . Heywood and Satah Whiteside Norton Alley, about 1870.
Judge Felix E. Alley's parents. Courtesy Frances B. Lombard
the origin, history,
characteristics, development,
and progress of the Carolina
Mountaineers.
No one will ever say h!' was a
man of distinction but all who
knew him will agree that he was
a distinguished gentleman.
Felix Alley was the synonym
.for Carolina Mountaineer.
From "Random Thoughts And
The Musings Of a Mountaineer-
1941, First Edition."
" When I was eight or nine
years of age, one of my brothers
made for me a banjo, using for
material a cheese hoop, a tanned
ground-hog skin, and wood that
he worked into shape with knife
and drawing knife , for the
banjo's neck. We made the
strings of " J . & P . Coat's Spool
Cotton," by twisting strands of
thread into the properly varying
sizes, and then waxing them with
homemade beeswax. When the
banjo was finished I soon learned
to play on it, not only hymns, but
ail the old mountain melodies
that I had ever heard; and for
years, being the only person in
that area who could play a banJO,
I made the music for the
mountain dances in my own
section and in the adjoining
counties, not only in North
Carolina, but on occasion, in
South Carolina and Georgia.
''There came a time when quite
a flood deluged our mountain
valleys. There were no bridges
spanning our streams .
Coincident with this disaster a
man by the name of Childs, and
his sister, both of New York City,
were waterbound at my father 's
home for several days. One day
this gentleman saw my banjo and
asked what it was, and I told hun,
it being the only banjo I had ever
seen up to that time. He asked me
to play for him. I told him I had a
broken string, but that I could
soon make another one. I asked
my mother for some thread from
her sewing basket, and then from
a spool of "J. & P. Coats" I made
and waxed a string and played
for the gentleman all the tunes I
knew. Wben I had finished he
asked to see the thread. He then
said: "I own the majority of the
stock in the Company that makes
this thread. I knew it was good
for many things, but did not know
before that it was good for
making banjo strings. When I
return to New York I shall send
you the best set of banjo strings
that I can find in the City." Upon
his return he sent me, not only
many sets of strings, but a very
expensive banjo, the best one m
fact that I have ever seen. It was
after this that I commenced
playing for the mountain dances.
At that time the "Trade-mark"
for this thread, which was seen
posted on the store fronts, trees,
and other public places, had on it
the picture of a barefooted hoy
standing on a brookside, fishing
with a line made of this thread.
Printed on the sign were the
words, "J & P . Coats' Spool
Cotton is strong." A few months
after my receiving the banjo
from Mr. Childs he wrote me that
he had induced his Board of
Directors to change the picture
on their advertisement, and soon
thereafter was seen posted on the
store fronts and other public
places the same advertisement
as before, but with the picture of
a barefooted boy playing a banjo
with strings made of J . & P .
Coats' Spool Cotton.
Legislator Alley
Receives Hero's
Welcome
Jackson County Journal, 1905 with several salutes, after which
they, in company with the other
Dear Editor ; representatives of the school ,
You ask if we have any news including two wagon-loads of
to write from Cullowhee? Most young ladies (that is to say about
assuredly, I must answer "yes". two tons of beauty) and a hack
Fortune has again visited us as a containing Prof. R. L. Madison.
school, and the great state of Mrs. Madison, and others, esNorth
Carolina, through the ef- corted Mr. Alley, who was acfo
rts of our worthy Representa- companied by Prof. J . N. W. In
tive, Mr. Alley. aided by Prof. front of the courthouse in WebRob!.
L. Madison, Hon. Walter E. ster, Prof. Madison gave public
Moore, Hon. C. C. Cowan, Prof. J . recognition to Mr. Alley's sueY.
Joiner, Prof. E. P. Moses and cessfullabors in behalf of Westothers,
has given us 1,000, in behalf of the faculty , the
student body and the entire
making, in all, from now on, an county and state, for his noble
annual appropriation of 3,500 special appropriation marks hy presenting Mr. Alley
is to furnish the new building with with a nice volume.
adequate furniture and to pay for Aiter a few brief, but hearty,
a heating plant. The furniture words of response from Mr.
has already been installed, but Alley, in which he paid a noble
has not been paid for yet. The tribute to Cullowhee High School
Legislature of No rth Carolina and its successfull leader , the
also changed the name of our entire party moved on down the
institution from "Cullowhee High street and halted in front of the
School" to "Cullowhee Normal residence of Mr. Alley. When he
and Industrial School"· Hence- had alighted and kissed his wife
forth, the work of the institution and little ones, the military
will be of a wider and more company again saluted him and
comprehensive nature. gave the school yell. In the mean-
On Tuesday, March 7, the time, our company had been
faculty and the la rger part of the increased by the presence of
students of Cullowhee High Judge D. D. Davies, Mrs. ThoSchool
met Mr. Alley, Repre- mas A. Cox and Miss Daisy
sentative from Jackson, at the Davies. After the ceremonies of
depot at Sylva , and escorted him the military company were over ,
to his home at Webster. The the party returned to the public
military company, under com- square and halted for lunch , after
mand of Mr. Thomas A. Cox, Jr ., which they all returned to Cul-j~~~
m~mmtiliijl~ij~~mffii~m~m~itl~illi~iliiiJt}}}}}}}}J
"Kidder Cole" From "Random Thoughts" ...
Now, in order to satisfy the
hundreds who are continually
writing me about it and asking
for copies of it, I will here tell the
story of my banjo ballad,
"Kidder Cole" It was composed
when I was sixteen years of age.
It was my first, last and only
attempt at poetry, and of course
there is not a line of poetry in it.
Except for the fact that Miss Cole
did not "change her name to
Alley," the ballad speaks for
itself, and adheres rather closely
to the facts as they occurred.
The ballad has been sung over
the radio from various stations
for many years. It is sung and
played with banjo accompaniment
wherever the mountam
melodies are used. The ballad
and various stories as to
its origin have often appeared in
many of the daily newspapers
and magazines, and the ballad
itself has been included in
several different editions of
"Folk Songs." Let it he here
understood, however, that all this
has been without my knowledge
or procurement. Like all songs
that are handed around by word
of mouth, many words, and
sometimes whole lines of the
ballad, have been changed. After
writing the ballad, I composed
(by earl the music or melody to
which the words are sung. When I
have heard it over the radio I
have observed no change in the
tune or melody, although some of
the words were slightly varied.
In its issue of October 10, 1936,
The State Magazine, of Raleigh,
North Carolina carried the story
and the correct version of my
ballad, the story having been
written by one of its reporters,
John A. Parris, Jr. , formerly of
Jackson County, and now a War
correspondent in Europe. Mr.
Parris published his article and
the ballad without my
knowledge. I here quote the lines
as they appear in the magazine:
"My name is Felix Eugene Alley,
My hest girl lives in Cashiers
Valley;
She's the joy of my soul
And her name is Kidder Cole.
I don 't know - it may have been
chance,
'Way last fall when I went to a
dance,
I planned to dance with Kidder
the livelong night
But I got my time beat by Charlie
Wright.
So, if I ever have to have a fight,
I hope it will be with Charlie
Wright,
For he was the ruin of my soul
When he beat my time with
Kidder Cole.
Wben the dance was over I went
away
To bide my time till another day,
When I could cause trouble and
pain and blight
To sadden the soul of Charlie
Wright.
I thought my race was almost run
When Kidder went off to Ander-
Sh~~ent to Anderson to go to
school,
And left me at home to act the
fool.
Page 3 HISTORIC WEBSTER, Summer, 1977
"Kidder Cole"
But she came back the following
spring,
And Oh, how I made my banjo
ring;
It helped me to get my spirit
right,
To beat the time of Charlie
Wright.
Kidder came home the first of
June,
And 1 sang my song and played
my tune;
I commenced trying with all my
might
To 'put one over' on Cbarlie
Wright.
I did not feel the least bit shv.
On the Fourth of the next JulY.,.
When at the head of a big dele-gation
I went to attend the big Celebration.
When the speaking was over we
had a dance,
And then and there I found my
chance
To make my peace with Kidder
Cole,
And beat Charlie Wright; confound
his soul!
Charlie came in an hour or so,
But when he saw me with Kidder
he turned te go
Back to his home with a saddened
soul,
For I'd beat his time with Kidder
Cole.
I've always heard the old folks
say
That every dog will have his day ;
And now all of Charlie's joy has
passed
For I've succeeded in beating
him at last.
Oh, my sweet little Kidder girl!
You make my head to spin and
whirl,
I am yours and you are mine,
As long as the sun and stars shall
shine.
Oh, yes, my Kidder Cole is sweet,
And it won't be long till we shall
meet ,
At her home in Cashiers Valley
Where she'll change her name to
Alley.
I like her family as a whole,
But I'm especially fond of George
M. Cole:
I believe I shall like to call him
'paw'
When I get to be his son-in-law.
Some of her folks I don't like so
well,
But I may some time, for who can
tell?
And after all between me and you
I'm not marrying the whole
dumed crew."
I will say here tbat Charlie
Wr ight whose name appears in
the foregoing lines is the same
man who performed the heroic
and miraculous feat of rescuing
Baty from the brink of a two
thousand foot pr ecipice on
Whiteside Mountain, a full
account of which appears in this
Volume, Chapter XXVI , at page
490, and following. (Ref. to book,
" Random Thoughts - . . . ",
(1941 )."
The material for the article on
J udge Alley was assembled by
Mrs. Edith Purcell Alley (Mrs.
Doyle Alley) of Maggie Valley.
E"cerpta from Address by Judge
Felb: E. Alley Accepttog New
Haywood County Courthouse -
September 19, 1932.
Judge Alley was selected by a
committee of the Haywood
County Bar Association to accept
the new Haywood County
Courthouse, on bebalf of the Bar
Association and the legal
profession of the Twentieth
Judicial District, September 19,
1932.
His address was a part of the
program in celebration of a day
and event memorable in the
history of Haywood County. The
audience was composed of
citizens from every section of
Western North Carolina,
including many state officials.
In speaking, he referred to the
new courthouse as "this Temple
of Justice," and congratulated
the architect who designed it, and
the artisans who constructed it.
He congratulated, individually
and collectively, the board of
commissioners who ordered it
and supervised it, and made of it
a courthouse designed to
accommodate the increasing
needs of a growing county.
He reminded his listeners that
as is ever the case in such an
undertaking like this, there were
those who opposed the
construction of any building at
all. And, there were others who
criticised the character of the
building during the course of its
construction, but, he said, "I
confidently believe that when
time has receded until we can
bave a perspective of events, the
universal verdict of our people
will be that our commissioners
have builded wisely and well,
because their work will endure."
"This courthouse is not the
result of the thought of any one
man or of the efforts of any one
man. It is the result of the
concensus of thought and the
combined efforts of all those who
believed that Haywood County
should keep step with modem
progress in this great State, and,
but for such cooperation, this
happy day would never have
dawned.
In the building of this
courthouse, as in everything
worth while in politics, in
religion , in business, and in civic
movements, success is achieved
only by unit of purpose, combined
effort, and concert of action."
"There are some features,
however, about this courthouse
which I did suggest, and which
were accepted by the architect
and the Commissioners; as, for
instance, the enlargement of this
room beyond the size
contemplated by the original
plans, and the installation of the
Judge Alley in his law office.
gallery. And there is another
feature which was my original
thought and suggestion , and
which was adopted by the
unanimous vote and approval of
the Commissioners , and for
which I am not only willing, but
pr
Facts tending to show the connection of the stomach with life, disease, and recovery.
No full textIntrod. signed: Charles Webster."[Works] by the same author": p. [4] at beginning.Mode of access: Internet
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