4,599 research outputs found
Dr. Rachel Webster, Astrophysics.
No full textThis record was harvested from a previous catalogue system and will be withdrawn in 2025. Information in this record may be superseded or incomplete. Visit this record in UMA's new catalogue at: https://archives.library.unimelb.edu.au/nodes/view/283133Half-length view of Dr. Webster standing alongside a telescope.
Inscription: Written on verso: "Dr Rachel Webster Astrophysics"202849
Item: [2003.0003.00108] "Dr. Rachel Webster, Astrophysics.
Author interview: Q&A with Rachel O’Neill on Seduction: men, masculinity and mediated intimacy
No full textIn this author interview, we speak to Rachel O’Neill about her recent book, Seduction: Men, Masculinity and Mediated Intimacy, which offers an ethnographic study of the ‘seduction industry’. In the interview, she discusses the seduction industry as part of a continuum of mediated intimacy, the ways in which neoliberal rationalities are shaping masculine subjectivity today, how the book relates to contemporary discussions surrounding consent and women’s sexual agency and the particular challenges of undertaking this fieldwork. If you are interested in this interview, you can read a review of Seduction on LSE RB here. Q&A with Rachel O’Neill, author of Seduction: Men, Masculinity and Mediated Intimacy (Polity, 2018
Historic Webster Vol. 9 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.new s let ter o f t he Web s ter Hi s torical Societ y. In c .
VOLUME IX, NUMBER 2 WEBSTER, NORTH CAROLINA SUMMER 1983
Church Celebrates 131 Years
The Webster United Methodist Church was founded in 1852. The church building
was photographed for a 1907 booklet and has changed little since tha t year. Photo by
Dan Hirt.
Church is "Outstanding"
Example of Classic Country
Religious Architecture
By Doug Swain
The Webster United Methodist Church is an outstanding example of the classic country
church built to serve rural America throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Typical of the type, the church utilizes a simple gable-roofed rectangular form entered on one
end to create a " temple form" which harkens, ultimately, to classical Greek architecture.
other classical elements are present in the building's cornice treatment, corner boards, which
refer to columns or pilasters, and in the modest triangulation introduced above the side windows,
which refers to a classical pediment.
Most of the building's architectural interest, however , is found on its entrance facade. This
face of the building is dominated by an engage bell tower which rises in two stages and
culminates in a splayed pyramidal cap which serves as the church's steeple. Gothic arched
''The entrance design
is high spirited and full of charm.''
vents are centered on all four sides of the tower 's second tier , just beneath its cap. A blind fan
and a diamond-shaped vent ornament its principal face above the church's entrance.
The building's entrance composition is truly outstanding. Gothic arched windows flank the
base of the bell tower. The corners of the base are supported by boxed Ionic columns with recessed
gothic-pointed panels. These columns carry an elongated basket arch under which entrance
is made into a sheltering portico hollowed out of the base of the tower. The door into the church
is surmounted by a Gothic transom and is flanked by sidelights with Gothic heads. Fluted Ionic
pilasters with Spearpoint heads divide the sidelights from the doorway. In total the effect of this
vernacular entrance design is high spirited and full of charm.
Doug Swain is a member of the staff of the Western Office of the Division of Archives and
History, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. Asheville.
By Joe P. Rhinehart
"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills," the psalmist David
wrote, "from whence cometh my help."
For 131 years, since 1852, Webster Methodists have been
following David's directions. And after 33 years of moving
from building to building they built a church in 1887 whose
steeple still directs their eyes and the eyes of passersby to
those hills.
Webster was founded with Jackson County in 1851, and two
years later Methodism was recognized in the new town when
the church conference changed the name of the Tuckaseigee
Circuit (the part of Haywood County that became Jackson) to
the Webster Circuit.
The Methodists of Webster joined with the town's Baptists
and Presbyterians in church services at the Court House until
1870. That year the three congregations moved into a building
(now the site of the Lucy Hedden house) that they shared with
the town school. The Methodists made up the largest part of the
congregations and they were awarded the use of the building
on the first and third Sundays of the month. The Presbyterians
used the building on the second Sunday, and the Baptists took
possession on the fourth Sunday. The fifth Sunday was left for
special occasions for all denominations.
On December 11, 1881, trustees of the church, William A.
Enlow. L. C. Hall, James M. Candler, Thomas M. Frizzell and
James W. Terrell, with the minister , George W. Spake, purchased
from William Bumgarner and his wife, Mary, a lot on
Main Street for 75.00 to J . T. Myers and his wife, M. J . Myers, for that parcel
of Main Street land.
Six years after the purchase of the property, 25 years after
its founding, and who knows how many ice cream suppers to
raise money for the new church, in 1887 the Webster Methodist
Episcopal Church, South, opened its doors. Through the hard
work of the members, men who helped with the construction,
women, who provided the furnishing , the church was raised.
Today's Webster United Methodist Church is not a great deal
different from 1887. If the door is opened, a visitor steps into a
"mountain classical" sanctuary. Red carpet now covers the
hardwood aisle, the gas lights have been replaced, a modern
piano sits where the old organ, played so many years by Ethyl
Leatherwood, did, and the portrait of John Wesley has been
moved. The sunlight still sifts through handblown frosted
pains, the parishioners sit on peged wide board benches, the
minister preaches from the hand fashioned pulpit, and the
communicants kneal at the carved altar . (See article on the
church's architecture on page 1.)
The membership of the Webster church has never been
large. Early rolls, 1870, list 379 white members of the Webster
Circuit and five black members. A recent report shows 25 on
<Continued on page 3)
Page 2, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Summer, 1983
Church Leaders Past and Present
Mr. and Mrs. George McConnell came
from over the river to the Webster
Methodist Church.
Joseph W. Rhinehart, Sr. was a longtime
member of the church Board of
Stewarts.
Nan Frizzell, who spent
years in Washington,
always felt that Webster
was her home church.
Louise B. Davis taught
the adult class ilt Sunday
school for many
years.
Martha Lavenia McLain McKee
0872-1953) held many roles in the
Webster Methodist Church.
Minnie Wild and her husband
Jake were "across the
river Methodists.
Ruth Allison Morris was the Sunday
school superintendent and
teacher in the Webster church.
Is a bella Allison Ca lton ,
daughter of Eugenia Allison,
lives in Florida and continues to
help the Webster church.
L. C. Hall, Sr. helped build and lead the
Webster Methodist Church.
Robert Lee Madison provided years of thoughtful
Sunday school lessons.
Church
Founded
in 1852
(Continued from page I)
the church list. The influence
of these people has always
been felt. The church has
always provided a full
spiritual program for its
members. The best of
teaching, lead years ago by
Robert Lee Madison, Ruth
Allison Morris, and Louise
Davis, more recently by Ray
Ledford, Kate Rhinehart, and
Sally McConnell, continues to
challenge its listeners .
Ministers who have spread
the doctorine through the
country, William Hicks and J.
R. Long, and those now filling
the highest Carolina pulpits,
Ernest Fitzgerald, Donald
Ellis, began their careers at
Webster.
The early membership
roles of Webster read like a
who's who in North Carolina:
Madison, McKee, Terrell ,
Alley, Enloe, Allison, Moore,
Fisher, Broyles, Bryson,
leaders of both church and
state.
The church, through its
history, has offered study opportunities
in its classes, its
summer Bible schools, its
Christmas and Easter programs,
its women's group,
and its youth group.
As population has changed
in Webster, the church has
altered its programs, but one
group that has always been
active is the women's
organization, now headed by
Sarah Barrett. These women,
many wives of the church's
early male leaders, have
often pulled the church
through with their spiritual
and financial support. Begun
in the early days of the church
as the Ladies Aid, the association
is now the United
Methodist Women. It continues
its active social programs
to its neighbors both
local and worldwide, its study
of religious questions, and its
aid to the church program.
Bordering the Webster
church is the parsonage for
the Webster Circuit. This
building, one of the few recent
buildings on Main Street, was
built in 1956. The original parsonage
was begun about the
time the church was completed
in 1887. In the early
part of this century, additional
rooms were constructed,
making a large, but
not particularly comfortable
home. After many freezing
winters, the circuit decided it
was time to build a modern
house, complete with central
heat and an electric stove.
(One minister , name no
longer remembered, and his
wife, lasted only one night
when the kitchen cook stove
damper got stuck.) By 1963
(Continued on page 6)
HISTORIC WEBSTER, Summer, 1983 Page 3
Reflections by Janice Monteith Blanton
Webster United Methodist Church
When I was in Webster recently for Mother's Day, I attended
Sunday school at the Webster United Methodist Church, my
borne church, with my mom. We sang "The Church in the
Wildwood" that morning, and Mrs. Kate Rhinehart told about
a time when Mr. Lewis Cannon was superintendent of the Sunday
School. She said he wanted to sing this song quite often and
that once she suggested they change the "brown" church to the
"white" church. He emphatically said " no" and that settled
that. Well, somehow the idea of the "white" church has stuck
in my mind the past few weeks since then, and I hope Mr. Cannon
will forgive me from his heavenly home for the following:
The Church on the Hill
(sung to tune of "The Church in the Wildwood)
There's a church on the hill in Webster,
No lovier church in the world.
No place is so dear to my childhood,
As the little white church on the hill.
Oh, come to the church on the hill,
To the church where my good friends all go.
Where the Gospel will be taught,
Where we all learn to love the Lord.
How sweet on a clear Sunday morning,
To see all my neighbors go by.
They proudly carry their Bibles,
On their way to the church on the hill.
From the church on the hill in Webster,
When I was growing up.
I received good christian training,
Which I'll use for the rest of my life.
Chorus :
Oh come, come, come, come - come to the
church in Webster, 0 come to the church on
the hill; no spot is so dear to my childhood,
As the little white church on the hill.
Yes, the Webster United Methodist Church will always be
very, very special to me for many reasons. It is the church
where I became a Christian ; it is the church where I received
excellent training in the Bible and Christian leadership; it is
the church where I was married; and it is the "love nest"
where I grew up being loved and encouraged by the adults of
the church.
I can easily recall many, perhaps incidental, but memorabl·~
church-related events during my years in the church: being
called down by a preacher for talking during a revival ; being
given chewing gum by Professor Robert Lee Madison between
Sunday school and church; being a student in various Bible
schools and the fun and learning that went with them ; being
pulled around on a large cloth to serve as a "shiner" for the
church floor that the young people had waxed ; being a part of
many, many M. Y. F. and church programs "ready or not! "
being a eater of the scrumptuous food prepared for various
social events by the fine cooks of the church; being a listener to
flannel-board stories told by one of our pastor's wives; being
excited over two handsome college-age workers we had work
with the youth one summer; being a baby-sitter for the Rev.
Don Ellis and his wife who, when I told him he didn't owe me
anything, always replied, "Well, I'll give you a 'free'
wedding," <I held him to it too ! l; and being a helper Mrs. Eva
Mae Davis decorate for my wedding.
Too many people to possibly mention at length come to mind
as I think of church members who have meant a lot to me during
my years in the church. Members of the church were good
people who loved God and loved one another. I cannot recall a
single significant conflict between members. At the top of my
list would have to be Mrs. Kate Rhinehart, because she was our
youth leader and the person who naturally had the most contact
with, and influence over, us young people. She unselfishly
gave of herself in ways that many adults will never know. She
believed in us and made us believe in ourselves. Others in the
Rhinehart family come to mind: Nannie Hart, whom I enjoyed
sitting and talking with and dearly loved; Joe, who, unbeknown
to many, was often responsible for the warmth of the church in
the winter as well as other maintenance ; and of course, Joe
Parker and Jim, who, in effect, were so close to me that I consider
them my brothers.
Other young people who were members of theM. Y. F. during
the time I was, who went through many of the same programs,
who took many of the same trips, (I know I don't have
to remind Jack, Joe Parker and Jim of how Nell and I always
got car sick!) included: the Allmans : Jimmy, Alan, and
Blake; Dickie McConnell; Paul Jr. Cowan; Jack Allison; Nell
Ensley ; Jeanetta Cannon ; and my sister, Billie Jo Monteith.
TheM. Y. F. was really a strong working force in the church
during those days taking responsibility for programs, singing,
janitorial work, and many other activities. Our Sunday evening
M. Y. F. meetings on the church lawn, on the pastor's
porch, in the church, or at Mrs. Rhinehart's hold very special
memories for me. I recall the Rev. Ellis as being one of our
most supportive pastors ; he attended our meetings and gave
us lots of positive attention.
Music has always been important to me, and I especially
remember the McConnell family in this respect. I loved to hear
Sally and George McConnell sing, and Anne Laura Cowan's
piano playing always fascinated me. Miss Nan Frizzell, about
whom I've written an earlier article, felt very strongly about
the church's music propgram and I really have her to thank for
my finally learning to play the piano when I was in high school.
Mrs. Lillian Madison introduced me to the "lemon"as a means
for clearing the throat for solo singing.
The Davises: Doug, Louise, Eva Mae, Myrtle, and Wood ; the
Penlands : Mrs. Penland and Aunt Dess; the Cannons : Lewis
Elizabeth, Jeanetta; the Madisons : Professor Madison and
Mr. and Mrs. Roe Madison ; theFulmers: the Nicholsons : Mrs.
Eugenia Allison ; Mrs. Fred McKee ; Mrs. Vearl Ensley; Miss
Lucy Hedden, and, naturally, my own Mom are some of the
folks whom I remember were going to the Webster Methodist
Church when I did. I loved each and every one these members
and have many special memories stores away about each of
them.
"Yes," there 's still a church on the hill in Webster (thank
God!) - the WEBSTER METHODIST CHURCH, and " No," no
spot is so dear to my childhood (and adulthood) as the little
"white" church on the hill.
Methodist Women Added Support
By Oberia Wild Hyatt
I grew up in Webster and I
often think of the good times
and good friends of my days
in the Webster Methodist
Church.
The women ot the church
called their organization The
Ladies Aid Society (now the
United Methodist Women).
The group met once a month
in the home of one of their
members. I can just see them
walking down River Road to
my mother's home. For other
meetings they climbed the
red clay hill to Webster. They
had several good times.
The ladies sponsored ice
cream, box and oyster suppers
. These community
events were well attended
and provided fun and enter tainment
for young and old.
These parties were one of the
ways the ladies raised money
for their special projects such
as church and parsonage
repairs. They really were
aides to the church.
Prepa ring welcoming
meals and directing the
" pounding" of a new minister
was another of the ladies' activities.
They always had din-ner
or supper ready for the
family and saw that it was
supplied with staples - a
pound of this and a pound of
that.
Some of the ladies I
remember include Lela
Moore, Eugenia Allison, Lillie
Broyles, Lillie Rhinehart,
Hannah Hall , Dean Frizzell,
Laura Moore, Gracie Hall
Brown, Ella Davis , Nora
Coward, Mattie McKee, Mag
Nicholson, Sallie McConnell,
and of course my mother,
Minnie Wild.
Mr. Lewis Broyles was Sunday
school superintendent
and was loved by all
Professor Robert Lee
Madison was one of the Sunday
school teachers. He
would teach the class with
tears running down his
cheeks.
Uncle Andy Allison would
sit in his pew during
preaching. He would get so
excited that he would shake
all over, but he never uttered
a sound.
My father, Jake Wild, Uncle
John Wild, and Mr.
George McConnell were
faithful church attenders
from our side of the river.
Page 4, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Summer, 1983
Webster Methodist Leaders Were
Coleman Hall, though he lived many years in
Mississippi, always supported Webster church.
Gracie Hall Brown, living in
Cullowhee, has continued her loyal·
ty to Webster church.
The Reverend and Mrs. Vero R. Masters
were in Webster in 193J.l933.
Eugenia Moore Allison and her daughter Ruth
were leaders in Sunday school and church.
Mr. and Mrs. Gene McCants
were entertained at a church
dinner in 1977. Sally McConnell
served the dinner.
Janet Highfill, daughter of the Reverend
and Mrs. T. G. Highfill, was three years
old when this photograph was taken in
the parsonage yard.
Rachel Hall in 1907 was Webster's oldest
church member.
Judge Walter E. Moore and his wife were
Webster church members.
Rachel McKee Hall and her husband, L.
C. Hall, brought their children up in the
Webster church.
Summer, 1983 HISTORIC WEBSTER, Page 5
Part of Many Community Events
The Reverend Dale Troutman
served Webster from 1979 until
1981.
Edith Moore Hall and Stella
Broyles Hall.
Mary Jane Fisher (Aunt
Molly), In 1939, was 90
yean old
Dr. and Mrs. Ernest A. Fitzgerald lead the Webster congregation in
1943-1948.
. .. - .;
j i:.~ t~: ·, 4
James W. Terrell was chairman
of the Board of Stewards
in 1907.
Lewis Cannon presided many
years as Sunday sc hool
superintendent.
Captain William A. Enloe was a long
time Webster church member and
church trustee.
Before Judge Felix E. Alley moved to
Haywood County he was a Webster
Methodist Church leader.
Lela Enloe Moore worked with
the Ladies Aid Society.
The Reverend G. A. Hovis
preached in Webster in 1936.
Lillian Gudenrath, Lily Broyles, and Mag
Hooker were church member s and
workers in the Ladies Aid.
Page 6, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Summer, 1983
Ministers Were
Life of Webster Village
By Lawrence C. Frizzell
Only a few of the Webster
Methodist Church ministers
are clearly remembered by
me, but two come distinctly to
mind.
I do not remember the first
one at all, but my parents
must have thought highly of
him because they named me
for him, my middle name being
Cordell. That is all I know
of him. (L. T. Cordell served
Webster in 1886-1888.)
The next one is also indistinct
in my mind. His name
was Richards or something
like that. (Could have been J .
S. Ragan, 1900-1901). He used
to ride a very spirited gray
horse when he came to visit
us. I used to think that horse
was about to run away or
throw his rider every time he
came around. That made me
admire him tremendously,
because in those days a good
horseman was something to
be admired.
The last two come clearly to
mind. The first was Mr. C. H.
Clyde, who served during the
early years of the century.
(1906-1908) He had two
daughters, Mabel and Helen,
who were very popular
among the students of our
new Webster school. Mr.
Clyde was a very ardent and
oratorical preacher, and put
on some spectacular performances.
One time he leaped
to the rail around the pulpit
and balanced himself there
for several seconds to emphasize
a point. On another
occasion he put on an impassioned
appeal to care for
those in need, ending each
sentence with "FEED MY
SHEEP" ! He loved to gather
a few of us boys around him
and pray for us. He did this in
the small barn back of the
parsonage instead of the
church, which always puzzled
me.
The fourth one was Mr. J .
A. Peeler. Again I don't
remember just when he served,
(1908-1910) but it was also
early in the century. As nearly
all other men in those days,
he chewed tobacco. And his
favorite "plug " was
"Browne's Mule", only he
pronounced the "mule" as if
it had two syllables, making it
sound like " mu-el" . He probably
had several children,
but I remember only one. His
name was John, and I rescued
him from drowning one day.
A bunch of us boys were
swimming in the river about
half way between the bridge
and the Hall house. There was
a big rock out in the river at
the upper end of the bend, and
another jutting out from the
bank at the lower end. The
water between the two rocks
was pretty deep and
dangerous for one who
couldn't swim. It was in this
deep stretch of water that
Walter Wild drowned in 1906.
John Peeler was one of the
boys swimming there that
day. I happened to be on the
rock at the lower end of the
hole when John started yelling.
We thought he was just
trying to kid us, but when I
looked up to where he was
about the middle of the deep
water I saw his face just as he
went under the water. There
was no question about his being
in trouble, so I dived in
and got to him just as he came
up and grabbed his arm and
started swimming for the
rock at the lower end. Just as
we got near the rock Frank
Coward got there to help, and
we got John up on the rock
and drained him. He was one
scared boy, and I never saw
him swim again. As we were
all probably swimming
without the permission
Historic Webster Vol. 3 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.WEBSTEK. MJKTH l'AK()LJ!\ ,\ FALL, 1976
Mrs. Lillie Cagle Rhinehart
Webster lost its oldest and one
of its highly respected citizens
when Mrs. Lillie Cagle Rhinehart
died August 26, 1976. She had
celebrated her ninety-fifth birthday.
August 13 with her family
and friends at the home built by
her husband in 1940 on the site of
the old courthouse. There she had
continued to live since his death
in 1944 with her son Joe and his
wife Kate Moore Rhinehart.
Mrs. Rhinehart, born August
13, 1881, was the youngest of lhe
ten children of Evan Harvey
Cagle and Margaret Barker Cagle.
Six brothers: Allen D., John
Wesley, Jason U. , William Coleman,
Candler Collins, and Jesse
Columbus; and three sisters:
Rachel, Cordelia, and Emma Etta,
preceded her in the family
line-up. She had one half sister,
Annie Cagle, through her father's
marriage, after the death of his
first wife, to Florence Hall Long.
Although Mrs. Rhinehart and
her immediate family had always
lived in Jackson County ,
her Cagle ancestors were first
heard of in the little town of Whynot
in Randolph County, North
Carolina. Some of those Cagles,
like so many families of those
early times, moved toward !he
western part of the state. We
Jearn of a Leonard Cagle in Haywood
County around 1815. 1n the
Haywood census of 1820 he is
listed as the head of his household.
An old deed shows Leonard
Cagle had bought property and
settled in the Hemphill section of
Jonathan 's Creek in the Ivy Hill
Township of Haywood County.
John Cagle, son of Leonard and
Rachel Fox Cagle, was the father
of Evan Harvey Cagle and !he
grandfalher of Mrs. Lillie Rhinehart.
Harvey Cagle, born in 1839,
came to Jackson County in 1859 to
teach , for twenty dollars a
month , in a four-month school on
Sutton Branch. He must have
boarded at the home of Jason
Barker who lived on Grasshopper,
a section of Webster Township.
Barker owned land there,
and it was not long before he and
Harvey , as partners , began securing
considerable property, most
of it through state land grants, in
this area. This property, known
as Jason 's Branch, was later
called Cagle Branch.
Jason Barker's daughter Margaret,
whose mother was Catherine
Cabe, and Harvey Cagle were
married February 21, 1861 by W.
C. Buchanan, J . P. Witnesses to
the ceremony, according to the
marriage certificate preserved
by Harvey's granddaughter ,
Mrs. Margaret Mason of Dillsboro,
were George Watkins and
Larkin Mooney.
Accoramg ro me ttoster ol
North Carolina Troops in the War
Between the States by John W.
Moore, Evan Harvey Cagle was a
private in Co. G. 69th N. C. Regiment
from Jackson County. After
his term of service in the Confederate
Army, he returned to Jackson
County where, like all other
white males twenty-one and over,
he was required to take the oath
of amnesty and swear allegiance
to the United States Constitution
and the Union of the States before
he could regain his citizenship
rights. (An account of this appeared
in Historic Webster, summer
issue, 1975.)
The Harvey Cagles, then established
themselves in the Webster
area and devoted their time
to farming, to the business of
community life, and to the rear-
Mrs. Rhinehart At Home In Webster.
ing of their family. Their youngest
child Lillie gives a delightful
account of living in the country in
"The Kitchen ," a chapter in The
Webster Cookbook.
Harvey at one time was a
justice of the peace and served
for seven years, 1901-1908, as the
postmaster at Webster. According
to Mildred Cowan's article
"The Webster Mailbox" (Historic
Webster, Volume I, Issue 3)
" His daughter Lillie recalled
serving as her father's clerk. Her
job was to separate, count, and
back stamp all incoming first
class mail, write money orders,
and make up route deliveries.
Mrs. Rhinehart states at that
time all Little Savannah (then
known as Harris), Long Branch ,
Cullowhee , and Cashiers mail
came through the Webster Post
Office. On February 18, 1908,
Harvey Cagle was succeeded by
his son Jesse C. Cagle, who
served as postmaster until June
27, 1908."
Lillie Cagle and Joseph Wayne
Rhinehart, a resident of Webster,
were married January 8, 1905 at
Webster by the Reverend Alfred
Davis. Mrs. Rhinehart was twenty-
three and her husband, twenty-
four.
The Rhineharts Jived in Webster
for a number of years where
Joe was associated with his
father Will Rhinehart in the
mercantile business. Joseph
Wayne, Jr. was born in Webster,
August 1909. He was an infant
when the big fire of 1910 destroyed,
along with a number of
other buildings, Webster's Mountain
View Hotel. It was at that
time owned by a Mr. Brown of
Asheville and managed by the J .
W. Rhineharts. Mrs. Rhinehart
describes vividly in an interview ,
published in the first issue of Historic
Webster. February, 1974,
her traumatic experience of that
memorable evening.
After that, the Rhineharts managed
hotels in Sylva and in Bryson
City, and lived for brief
periods in Canton and WinstonSalem.
On returning to Webster
in about 1915, Mrs. Rhinehart
settled once more into the community
in order that Joe Jr.
might enter school. Mr. Rhinehart,
meanwhile worked for a
number of years in Bluefield,
West Virginia before returning to
Webster to operate a general
store. He was still engaged in this
when he died in 1944.
All through those years, Mrs.
Rhinehart was quietly active in
community affairs. The Webster
Methodist Church counted her as
one of its faithful members in !he
Sunday School, and in the Ladies'
Aid - later called the Woman's
Missionary Society. She held for
years offices in both and was
church communion steward until
!he day of her death.
When the Webster Historical
Society celebrated its organization
in July of 1974, Mrs. Rhinehart
was chosen Mrs. Historic
Webster, a title she held along
with Arlhur Allman, Mr. Historic
Webster. The scroll presented to
her on this July 4 states: "In
respectful recognition of her seniority
as a citizen of Webster, her
quiet dignity and prudence, we
are proud to acknowledge this
lovely lady as neighbor and
appreciate her merits and contributions
to the community of
Webster."
Mrs. Rhinehart liked to reminisce
about early Webster but she
did not live in !he past. Her alert
mind was tuned to current happenings
on the national and even
"Nanniehart" In 1974.
international scene. Part of her
daily interest was life about her.
She exercised her citizen's right
to vote until this past summer
when she became too ill to take
part in !he primary.
"Nanniehart," as she was affectionately
called by her family,
was intensely Joyal to its members
and to her friends. There
were no finer grandsons than
Joe Parker and Jim, and she took
great pride in their achievements.
The welfare of son Joe,
especially when he worked away
from home, was her great concern.
She spent time and money
on carefullY. selected gifts for
!heir birthdays and special holidays.
Eagerly she looked forward
to visits from Jim and Cl~ire,
their young daughters Cheryl and
Valerie, and Joe Parker and his
wife Florence.
As long as she was physically
able, Mrs. Rhinehart loved to
"go." Uncomplainingly she traveled
in the Sixties to !he weddings
of both grandsons, one in
Georgia and the other in Kentucky.
"Nanniehart" loved flowers
and vegetable gardening and
spent many_ years working with
both. Even . after her physical
strength began to wane, she
supervised, or attempted to do so,
the planting and cultivation of
such. She also enjoyed simple
sewing and crocheting.
Although in her last years she
had to be content with reading,
visits from her neighbors, or
watching selected television programs
(The Little House on the
Prairie was her favorite), she
never spoke of being bored. Pride
in her personal appearance continued
to the very last. She loved
pretty clothes and frequently acquired
new ones. When she became
physically unable to visit
the hairdresser's shop in Sylva,
the hairdr.esser came at regular
intervals to her home in Webster.
Independence of mind and body
was an outstanding trait of Mrs.
Rhinehart. She had enjoyed all
her life great physical stamina
and, though partially paralyzed
from a stroke suffered fifteen
months before her death, she was
still determined to "do" for herself.
To her family this independence
at times became a
quiet stubborness which created
some problems. Nevertheless, it
was this factor that kept her alert
almost to the day of her death.
The neighbors miss Mrs.
Rhinehart's sitting in her rocker
in the living room or in the wheel
chair on the porch; but no one
will begrudge her her wellearned
rest.
As granddaughter-in-law
Claire remarked, "We shall not
mourn "Nanniehart's" death for
she lived a long and happy life
surrounded by those who loved
and cared for her.''
Fortunate indeed was !his good
woman who had spent !he greater
number of her days in !he warm
intimacy of family and small
community life.
Louise B. Davis
Acknowledgements for family
background information on Mrs.
Rhinehart are due Clarence Cagle,
Joe Parker Rhinehart, and
Mrs. Margaret Mason.
Page 2 HISTORIC WEBSTER, Fall, 1976
This article about her grandfather,
Captain James Wharey
Terrell, was written many years
ago by Annie Lizzie Terrell (now
Mrs. Carl Hoyle of Bryson City)
only daughter of Joel Keener
Terrell and Laura Viola Cooper
Terrell . The date of writing was
approximately 1929 during the
time Annie was a student at
Western Carolina Teachers' College.
She submitted it in an essay
contest which was being held on
the campus at that time. Information
for the article was
supplied by her parents and by
her cousin, William Ernest Bird,
Dean of WCTC, and also a grandson
of Captain Terrell.
that every drop of his blood
descended to him through Revolutionary
soldiers.
At the age of three years he
moved with his parents to Rutherfordton,
where, until the age of
fifteen , he had the advantage of
an academy until he had a fair
start in the common school branches.
This was practically all he
was able to go to school. He was
considered in that day and time,
a well educated man. His education
, however, did not stop with
this. He enjoyed literature and
had a love and appreciation for
the finer literary productions,
which even the so-called educated
man did not have.
In April 1846, he came to Bethel
The s ubject of this sketch , in Haywood County, to his GrandJames
Wharey Terrell, was born father Kilpatrick's and began to
on the French Broad River in learn the trade of tanner. He
Rutherford County, North Caro- spent three years learning the
lina, December 31, 1829. He was trade, but in the meantime spent
born in the house built by his his spare moments in reading
great grandfather, Thomas Wha- and studying books, in which he
rey, while Thomas was a paroled made cons iderable improveprisoner
in the Revolutionary ment.
War. James W. Terrell was the Six years of his life, from the
son of James Orville Terrell. His age of sixteen to twenty-two, in
grandfather was Joel Terrell of which he attended school, taught
Richmond, Virginia , who was school, and worked at intervals in
married , in 1799, to Martha the lanyard were the happiest
Williams, daughter of John Wil- years of his life. This happiness
Iiams , also a Revolutionary War was probably due to the fact that
soldier who followed Washington he was intimately associated
from Massachusetts to York with books. The time spent in
Town. His great-grandmother on study was not wasted. It was to
his father 's side was a Miss prove a stepping stone for the
Adams, a relative of John Ad- work which he later carried on.
ams. His mother was Ermina R. In January , 1852, J. W. Terrell
Kilpatrick and her mother was came to Quallatown , where he
Jane Wharey, daughter of Thorn- and Colonel William H. Thomas,
as Wharey who was also a then in the State Senate, became
Revolutionary War soldier. His partners in the tanning business.
great grandfather, Andrew Kil- .. After the Civil War, he was assopatrick
was a Revolutionary ciated with Colonel Thomas at
soldier and fought under Morgan Qualla in a general merchandise
at Cowpens. His grandfather, store. He remained there for
Joel Terrell , enlisted under Col- some time. He was then appointone!
Lynch of Virginia in 1780 at ed Director of the Western Divisixteen
years of age. He was sion of the Western North Carowounded
in the battle of Guilford. !ina Railroad Company, signed
Captain J. W. Terrell could boast by Secretary of State, H. J.
Captain Terrell In His Early Years. Picture from the archives of
Hunter Library, WCU.
Menninger and Tod R. Caldwell,
October 5, 1871. This certificate is
now in the possession of his
grandson Professor W. E. Bird,
Dean of Western Carolina Teach·
ers College. After this appointment
Captain Terrell went to
Alabama where he took a con·
tract for the construction of a
railroad. He also constructed a
railroad in Georgia.
In the Civil War, he served in
the Southern regiments. He was
mustered into the service of the
Confederate Army, April 8, 1862,
as Lieutenant in a Company of
Cherokees, was promoted to Cap·
tain of the Company, but was
later given the position of Assis·
tant Quarter Master. He was then
made Captain in Thomas' Le·
gion, which position he held until
the end of the war. Several times
he was placed in the hands of
Federal Troops. He was in the
last skirmish of the Civil War.
This skirmish took place at White
Sulphur Springs near Waynesville
in Haywood County on May
8, 1865. While Colonel Thomas
was camped on Jonathan's Creek
and Colonel Love, at Turnpike,
Lieutenant Robert Conley and
Captain Terrell with a squad of
white and Indian soldiers had a
combat with the Federals who
were stationed in Waynesville.
Some believe that Lieutenant
Conley fired the last shot in the
skirmish , but Captain Terrell
states in his own biographical
sketch, in one of the early copies
of the Jackson County Journal,
that he himself fired the last shot.
A marker, erected at Waynesville
by the United Daughters of
the Confederacy, indicates the
spot where the last gun was fired
in the Civil War.
Captain Terrell was a brave
soldier not shirking his duty even
though he was facing bullets. At
one time, while the Yankees were
attacking , Captain Terrell was
moving to safety some valuable
papers and office materials. The
Yankees were within the radius
of the bank shooting at him, and
the bullets were glancing on the
bank against surrounding walls.
He noticed one bullet especially,
and he finally found this one
which he carried many years as a
souvenir of this skirmish.
Prior to the Civil War, he held
two offices in the U. S. Government,
Postmaster at Quallatown
and Disbursing Agent for the
Cherokee Indians. An incident
that he would sometimes relate
was that in carrying the Indians'
gold in saddlebags on horseback
across the Smoky Mountains ,
from Knoxville, Tennessee, back
to Cherokee, he would be obliged
to spend nights at different
homes along the road. One dark
night he was compelled to spend
the night at a strange house. He
did not know the character of the
people. He was almost afraid to
go to bed, feeling the safety of the
gold was uncertain. In the night
he suddenly awoke to hear deep
breathing which seemed to come
from under his bed. As he lay
breathless trying to think what to
do, the person in the adjoining
room moved and he found he had
only heard this man breathing
through the wide cracks in the
ceiling.
He, at one time, while living at
Qualla, had a house burned in
which some gold was stored. The
family was at church. On returning
home, they found their home
in ashes. The ashes were sifted
but no trace of gold could be
found. It was believed the house
had been robbed and afterwards
set on fire.
About 1860 the Democrats of
Jackson County sent him to the
Legislature. His opponents were
Jas. M. Candler and William
Bumgarner. Captain Terrell received
451 votes , Candler 402,
Bumgarner 94. In 1880-81 Captain
Terrell was Representative in the
General Assembly. He manifested
great interest in the political
and educational affairs of Jack·
son County ; in fact he wrote and
had printed an account of the
formation of Jackson County. In
1865 he was elected Chairman of
the Board of Education. In a
report to the County Commission·
ers (the meeting being held in
Captain Terrell 's store) the
Chairman made a report that the
school fund as provided for was
3,593.11 and
had an average term of fourteen
weeks. Three colored schools ran
a term of twelve weeks at a cost
of $244.80. The office of the
Chairman of the Board of Education
was a bonded office. Captain
Terrell received school money,
paid the teachers, and was chair·
man of the committee for examination
of teachers. His associates
on that committee were
Dr. M. L. Love and Judge R. H.
Cannon. He said of his term in
office, "During my term of office
the schools were regularly held
and the teachers paid and no
complaint was made on that
score so far as I know."
Capt3in Terrell was married
three times . His first marriage
was to Miss Elmina Farley of
Quail a. She lived only a few
months. Afterwards he was married
to Miss Ann Eliza Keener
also of Qualla. To this union were
born six children two of whom
died in infancy. The four who
survive are Mrs. G. L. Teague of
Whittier, Mrs .. C. A. Bird of
Cullowhee, Mr. W. D. Terrell of
Washington, and Mr. J. K. Ter-·
rell of Qualla. After the death of
his second wife, he married Miss
Lula Woodfin of Franklin who
still survives. He has twentyseven
grandchildren, several
great grandchildren and two or
three great great grandchildren.
(His descendants today would, of
course , number many more. This
paper was writtm in 1929.)
Captain Terrell was a great
conversationalist. He enjoyed relating
incidents that took place
during his political career. He
would tell incidents which occurred
during his term as county
superintendent or in the legislative
halls, or in other offices.
Many times he would relate
things which had happened during
his school days and in his
Civil War career.
He was a great lover of poetry.
He composed a few poems, one of
which was "The Cherry Pie," a
humorous selection which he
often recited. He memorized several
poems in his youthful days,
which he never forgot, and would
recite them at times almost to his
dying hours. "Enoch Arden" was
one of his favorites that he
memorized and never forgot. A
Western North Carolina History
by Arthur says, "Captain Terrell
was led to give attention to the
customs and mythology of the
Cherokees, and to accumulate a
fund of information on the subject
seldom possessed by a white
man." These myths are in the
hands of his daughter, Mrs. C. A.
Bird.
Another trait of character especially
noticeable in Captain
Terrell was his interest in and
love for children. When he would
visit his grandchildren they, at
first sight of him, would rush to
meet him, almost carry him into
Continued On Page 3
Mrs. Ann Eliza Keener Terrell, Second Wife Of Captain Terrell And
Mother Of His Children.
Captain J. W. Terrell ...
Continued From Page 2
the home, crowd around him,
climb upon his knees, comb his
hair, stroke his beard, (he had
very fine sandy hair and a long,
well kept red beard) and say
their speeches for him. He in turn
would recite poems for them. He
enjoyed their pranks and was
amused at their witty sayings. In
his hometown it was a common
sight to see him going along the
street with a group of children,
all enjoying themselves together.
Captain T..-rell was not only a
leader in educational and political
affairs , but he was also a leader
in religious matters. Although his
forebears were for the most of
them Presbyterians, he united
with the Methodist Church in his
youthful days and always took
great interest in chUrch and
Sunday School work wherever he
lived. He was Sunday School
Superintendent for many years at
Webster where he had moved
with his family in 1878 to enter the
mercantile business. (He also
owned and operated a mill
there.) He paid liberally of his
means to the church. His house
was the preacher's home. They
often visited him and shared his
hospitality and profited by his
kind fatherly advice. Bishop McTyer
once came from a distance,
visited Captain Terrell and had
him accompany him to the Indian
school at Cherokee. Captain Terrell
was Chairman of the Board of
Stewards in the Webster church.
He and Mrs. Terrell were the
second members of that church.
Captain Terrell was present at
the first Quarterly Conference
held in Webster, December 22,
1860. He, as Chairman of the
Board of Stewards, aided in collecting
a brief historical sketch of
each of the churches in the Webster
Circuit. These facts were put
into pamphlet form and are in the
hands of his relatives now.
An incident which one of his
neighbors at Webster relates in
regard to Captain Terrell's socalled
"absent mindedness" is
rather amusing. Captain Terrell
always sat near the front during
the preaching .service. Often, it
was said of him, that he·, while the
preacher preached, would sit
motionless with his head bowed,
his chin resting on his breast, and
his eyes closed. People of the
congregation would say, " Well,
Captain Terrell is taking his
Sunday nap." But at the close of
the sermon, the preacher often
called on him to pray. As he
prayed, he would give almost an
analysis of the preacher's sermon
or rather he brought out
points in praying that proved this
was his own peculiar way of
thinking through Uie sermon.
As mentioned before, Captain
Terrell was a lover of books. His
love for goo
Historic 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
Episode 3: Rachel Wightman, CSP Staff and Author
No full textIn this episode, CSP\u27s Associate Director of Instruction and Outreach, Rachel Wightman, shares about her new book, Faith and Fake News: A Guide to Consuming Information Wisely, including how she became interested in the topic, what led to the creation of this book, and why this topic is so important today
Rachel Swarns Book Event: The 272
No full textA conversation with Rachel Swarns, author of The GU272: The Families Who Were Enslaved And Sold To Build The American Catholic Church (Penguin Random House 2023). The conversation was moderated by Georgetown Professor Adam Rothman and hosted by Georgetown's Center for the Study of Slavery and Its Legacies
Webster, Charles
Get PDFBorn April 4, 1793. Son of Charles R. and Rachel (Skinner) Webster. Graduated from Union College in 1813 and later Princeton Theological Seminary in 1817. He was Pastor of Presbyterian Church at Hempstead, Long Island in March 1818. He died December 28, 1862.https://digitalworks.union.edu/alumnifiles_1813/1047/thumbnail.jp
Historic Webster Vol. 9 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.HISTORIC~
11 r w :, I e: t e 1 o f 1 tv; Web s 1 e 1 H 1s t o 1 1 c a I Soc 1 e t y 1 n c
V-O-LU-ME- I-X, -NU-M-BE-R -4 --W-E-BS-TE-R, ~NO~RT~H CAROLINA WINTER, 1983
Edith Moore Hall, Mountain Lady
David McKee and Edith Moore Hall were in Webster when this photograph was
made. They were married in 1915 and moved to Sylva where Hall was in business.
The Webster School and the Courthouse are in the background.
By Hannah Lou Rawlson
On a frosty morning ,
February 18, 1898, Edith Enloe
Moore was born at 25 Oak
Street, Asheville, the first born
of Frederick and Lelanora
Enloe Moore. In the following
years she was joined by
Frederick, Jr ., Margaret
Hooker, William Enloe, and
Daniel Killian Moore.
When she was ten her father
passed away. His dying wish
was for the family to move to
Dillsboro, to be near her
mother's family. Following a
year in Dillsboro, Lela Enloe
Moore decided to move her
family to Webster because of
the excellent school there. And
when Edith was eleven years
old they moved into the Terrell
house. Soon though they moved
to the Hedden home.
During her years in Webster
she studied art and music
under the able direction of
Mrs. Robert Lee Madison. Today
you can see the results of
her art classes on the walls of
her home in Sylva. There are
various pastoral scenes and a
number of Gibson Girl
portraits.
One of her fondest memories
is of the Christmas season.
First, there was the opening of
gifts under the Christmas tree
at their home, then on to the
Lewis Broyles for Christmas
breakfast. She says she can
still taste Aunt Lily Broyles'
delicious boiled custard and
pound cakes. At night there
was the sumptuous Christmas
dinner at the home of Scroup
Enloe, Edith 's uncle, in
Dillsboro where all the family
gathered.
While living in Webster she
met and fell in love with David
McKee Hall, the eldest son of
L. C. and Hannah McKee Hall.
They were married Monday,
May 31st, 1915.
To this union were born five
children. The first was
Margaret Moore Hall (Mrs.
Joe Dowdle who now lives in
Continued on page 2
Edith Enloe Moore was born in Asheville in 1898. She was eight
months old when this Taylor photograph was made. After her father's
death, the family moved to Webster and was a school girl when this
photograph was taken. In 1981 the portrait of Edith Moore Hall was
painted by Laura Shuford, an Asheville artist.
Page 2, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Winter, 1983
Edith Hall inspires the family and COl
Continued from page 1
Asheville). David McKee Hall,
Jr., came next and at his death
was a member of the United
States Congress. Carolyn Hall
was next in line but she lived
only four years. Robert
Cromwell Hall was number
four. He is now vice-president
of North Carolina National
Bank in Asheville. Lela Moore
Hall was the baby of the family
and at her retirement was
head of the Welfare Department
of New Hanover County
in Wilmington.
Following the marriage
Edith and David moved to
Sylva where David was in
business. He owned and
operated the Sylva Supply
Store which is still an important
store in the town. They
lived first in the old Commercial
Hotel, which does not exist
today. They next moved into
the J ames McKee home
(James McKee was an uncle
of David's) where they stayed
until moving into the home on
Keener Street where she lives
today.
In September, 1938, death
claimed her husband and left
her with three children to put
through college and a son who
was crippled with osteomyelitis.
In 1944 Mrs. Carrie Bryson,
the house mother of Moore
Dormitory (named for Edith's
uncle Judge Walter E. Moore)
at Western Carolina Teachers
College, was leaving her position
to become the dietician
and manager of the college
dining room. Dr. H. T. Hunter,
president, and Ralph Sutton,
business manager of the college
came to see Edith and
asked her to take the job of
house mother. She insisted
that she was not capable of doing
the job. They told her that
they would be the judge of that
and if she would take the job
they would both shout. She
said she would do it if for no
other reason than to hear them
shout. She remained at the college
and university for twentythree
years where she was
also Assistant Dean of Women.
During the 1960's a favorite
prank of the men students was
a panty raid on the girls' dormitories.
When Moore Dormitory's
time came Edith Hall
met them at the back parlor
door as they were sneaking inside.
She slapped the first boy
who came through the door in
the face. She said, "There is
not one gentleman in this
crowd or you would not be acting
like hoodlums." Unable to
get past Edith the panty raid
was a failure. To the best of
anyone's knowledge, this was
the only panty raid in the
United States that was stopped
by a house mother.
In 1959 she was honored by
the State of North Carolina as
Mother of the Year.
When Edith retired, the girls
in her dormitory donated
money to have her portrait
painted. This picture was to
remain in the lobby of Helder
Dormitory. This was given in
love and appreciation for her
many years of service and
devotion to her job and to
The Moore children, Edith, William, Dan, F re(
house.
Western Carolina University.
David Hall: farmer, businessman Following her retirement
she did not sit back and take
things easy however. She has
been very active in the Sylva
United Methodist Church,
president of the C. J. Harris
Hospital Auxiliary, an officer
in Daughters of American Colonists
local chapter and the
Twentieth Century Club, and
on the board of the American
Cancer Society whose job was
to raise funds.
By Joe P. Rhinehart
Though a business and civic
leader in Jackson County,
David McKee Hall seems to
have had as his first love, his
land, his farm. He was successful
in business, and as a
young man, twenty six years
old, he took over the Sylva
Supply Company, and with his
business ability, he made it into
Jackson county's best
known store. He later engaged
in other business ventures -
the Sylva Supply Market, the
Mercantile Supply, the Pure
Oil Company - but farming
was his life.
Born in Webster at Sunnybrook
Farm in 1887, the son
of L. Coleman and Hannah
McKee.Hall, David attended
the Webster and Cullowhee
schools. He then left Jackson
County to attend North
Carolina State University in
Raleigh where he studied
agriculture.
The Jackson County Journal
said that he was "born and
bred on the farm." He was
"especially interested in the
farms and farmers of the
county, and endeavored in
many ways to better conditions
on the farms and to promote
better agricultural
methods, both in production
and in marketing. The results
of his labors along this line will
be felt in the county for many
years. He believed in good
farms , good homes, good
crops, good stock , good
marketing, and hard intelligent
and telling work, and
that in them lay the future prosperity
of the county, for he
realized the independence of
all the people of the town and
county."
David Hall married Edith
Moore in Webster in 1915, and
they became the parents of
five children, Margaret,
David, Carolyn, Robert, and
Lela Moore. They moved to
Sylva where he managed the
Sylva Supply. Mr. Hall passed
away in Sylva on September
30, 1938, a respected farmer,
businessman, and civic leader.
David McKee Hall was a
direct descendant of the
Reverend Joshua and Sara
Sellers Hall who came to this
area in the early 1800's. Their
oldest son, Joshua Hall, Jr.,
was married to Mary Jane
(Jennie) Queen in 1807. David
Fonzie Hall was their first
child, born on Savannah.
Following his marriage to
Rachel Wilson they made their
home in Webster. To this union
were born three children,
Lucius Coleman, Mary Jane
(Molly), and Laura. Lucius
Coleman married Magdelean
Angeline Allison. They had one
child, Florence. After the
death of Magdelean Angeline,
L. C. Hall married Hannah
Margaret McKee. To this
union were born three
children, Rachel Grace, David
McKee, and Lucius Coleman.
David McKee Hall married
Edith Moore in 1915.
Young David McKee Hall
David McKee Hall became the husband
of Edith Enloe Moore in 1915.
It was in 1959 that Edith Hall
was named North Carolina 's
Mother of the Year. It is true
that Mrs. Hall has presided
over nearly every club and
organization, civic and
religious and patriotic, in
Jackson county, but becoming
Mother of the Year is her
greatest honor and her most
natural one.
She and David Hall had five
children. Carolyn, their second
daughter, died at fou r .
Margaret married and lived in
Franklin until she moved to
Asheville to teach at the
Eliada Home for Children. She
has two children, Charles and
Carolyn in Franklin.
David, a Jackson county
lawyer, lived in Webster until
he was elected to the United
States Congress and moved to
Washington. He died in 1960.
His wife, Sarah McCollum and
their daughters Anne, Allison,
and Hannah live in Virginia.
Robert and Anne Osborne
Hall live in Asheville where he
is vice president of the North
Carolina National Bank. Their
children, Robert, Allen, and
David are Asheville residents.
Lela Moore Hall has retired
as Director of Social Services
for New Hanover County,
Wilmington, and now lives in
Sylva.
Winter, 1983, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Page 3
nmunity with love and understanding
!erick and Margaret, in front of their Asheville The Hall family home, Riverview, in Webster, sits on the banks of the Tuckaseigee River.
Four children who are her
monuments to motherhood
plus all the hundreds of
students she influenced at
Western Carolina University
plus the hundreds of children
and their children who use the
Jackson County Library
where she instituted the
Friends of the Library plus
children whose futures she
guided in PTA .. plus ... the
list could just go on- a monument
to the mother.
Her friends, neighbors, and
relatives recognize Edith
Moore Hall for all the things
she is.
"She is a devout Christian
woman and mother embodying
the Christian virture of
love and service in the finest
ways," wrote the Reverend
Milford V. Thumm, the former
minister of the Cullowhee
United Methodist Church.
Ann Enloe, her cousin in
Dillsboro, says, "She is the
proverbial 'Pillar of strength.'
All my life the whole family
has always been prone to 'call
Edith' or 'send for Edith' or
'tell Edith' first in any family
crisis."
Mrs. Reid, former Western
Carolina University president's
wife, in her nomination
of Mrs. Hall for Mother of the
Year, said, " Mrs. Hall comes
as close to being the idea
mother as it is possible for
anyone to be. She has inspired
not only her own four children
but all who know her because
of her unfailing courage, her
strength in the face of adversity,
her calmness and her
cheerfulness. Many of these
qualities are hers because of a
deep, abiding faith in God. She
has been tested many times,
some would feel that she has
had more than her share of
trials and tribulation, but her
courage has never weakened,
and she has given strength to
those about her. Above all,
Mrs. Hall enjoys life, and she
makes life pleasant for all who
come in contact with her. She
has poise, charm, and warm
friendliness. She loves people
and understands them, and
she is always ready to help
them. In return people love
her.''
Hannah Lou Brown Rawlson
is a frequent contributor to
Historic -Webster. She is a student
of local and family
history.
The Hedden House in Webster, home for eleven years, and the Sylva Supply
have been very important in Edith Hall's life.
The
Hall
Children
Carolyn
Margaret Moore
Robert Cromwell
David McKee
Lela Moore
Page 4, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Winter, 1983
Reflections by Janice Monteith Blanton
David McKee Hall, Jr.
The David Halls were my " employers" during my
teens in Webster. Come to think of it, many of my
neighbors were my employers in one way or another
as I grew up- I was a hairdresser for some, a cleaning
lady for others, and for the David Halls, a baby
or " child" sitter, as I'm sure their three daughters
would have preferred at the time I be called.
On the nights or weekends when I stayed with the
Hall girls, David (Mr. Hall as I called him) would
always pick me up and take me home. He'd pull up
in front of our house, usually on the way home from
the office, in his big black Buick (I think it was a
Buick), I'd jump in the car and away we'd "fly"
down the Webster hill to his house. Being paralyzed
from the waist down, David used a cane to accelerate
and brake the car. This, added to the fact that he was
a VERY fast driver, often served to raise the hair
on my head as we sped down the hill. Many times,
I silently wondered if we weren't going to end up in
the Allman's living room at the deep curve above the
River. Sometimes I suspected he gave me these exciting
rides just to test my nerves or for the pure fun
of it.
himself. Rather, he appeared to me to be a man with
very high goals and objectives which he was determined
to achieve.
Family-wise, I believe David was a lucky man. He
had an absolutely lovely wife and three beautiful, intelligent
daughters who thought their father was
a great guy. In fact, his beautiful wife was one of his
greatest assets and a great contributor to his
achievements. Mrs. Hall was one of the most
graceful and elegant women I've ever seen. Tall with
sparkling black hair and a very soft spoken voice and
sweet smile, she was very much in control of herself
and the Hall family arena. She was the "enabler"
in the family- the one who made things happen. She
was the organizing and stabilizing force of the family
and a very strong and compassiona te woman.
Child-sitting for the Halls meant that I saw very
little of Mr. and Mrs. Hall themselves. However, I
remember my teen-age interaction with that family
and feel very proud to say, "I used to baby-sit for the
Halls," because I admired the David Hall family
very much and feel that families like this are what
made Webster such a great place for me to grow up.
Edith Hall's family recipe
for pound cake
By Edith Moore Hall
This recipe was given to me by my greatgrandmother,
Mrs. Jack Allison, who got it from her
mother, " Nanny" Bryson.
POUND CAKE
1 pound butter
1 V. pounds white sugar
1 pound eggs ( 11)
1 pound flour
11h teaspoons vanilla
1'h teaspoons lemon
11! teaspoon salt
Cream the butter and sugar well. Add the flour and
eggs alternately, in small quantities, stirring constantly
until all are added. Mix in vanilla, lemon, salt
and beat well. Bake in a pan with a stem which has
been buttered and floured at 350• for 11h hours or until
done when tested with a broom straw.
With this cake at Christmastime, we like to serve
ambrosia. To one quart of orange sections, membrane
removed, add one quart sliced bananas and
one cup of freshly grated coconut. Sweeten to taste
and chill before serving.
I liked David and I certainly admired him. He was
instinctively likeable, very kind and friendly to me,
and my observation was that he thought a great deal
of his family and they of him. Usually when I was
there they were on their way somewhere so my opportunity
for observation was really minor, but the
children's Jove and admiration for their parents
came through in many ways in their absence. Once
David was playing some kind of hand game with the
children and they wanted him to try it with me. I approached
his wheelchair a little apprehensively and
he grinned and asked me to close my hand into a fist.
Then he pressed a spot on my wrist and asked me
to open my hand - I couldn't do it! The girls got a
great kick out of this.
Edith Moore Hall provided
home and support for family
I admired David because, in spite of his handicap,
he had in my opinion achieved considerable success,
both materially, career-wise, and family-wise.
Evidence of material success could be seen in the
Hall house - a lovely old, and beautifully restored,
house on the Tuckasegee River. Being a lover of
history and particularly of old houses, I was
delighted with the frequent opportunities for sitting
at the Halls. To me, spending time there was a
somewhat romantic experience and, I suppose, offered
me opportunity to dream of the day when I'd
Jive in such a home and setting myself. At times, the
girls and I would go out to the shallow parts of the
river and play and throw stones, and I would
periodically glance back at the house and revel in its
stately beauty. The house was essentially divided into
the "back" and "front. " The back part of the house
consisted of the den, kitchen, bath, and one bedroom,
and this was the heated area of the house where the
family Jived. The girls' rooms were in an upstairs
attic-type section off the den. I would go up and turn
on space heaters for them some time prior to their
bedtime so their rooms would be warm when they
went to bed. Being an adult who has to pay heating
bills on a large two-story house, I can now understand
the practicality of this arrangement. Actually,
the only other area of the house I ever saw in my
periodic stays at the Halls was the living room and
front foyer. I saw this area one Christmas when the
girls took me to see their large Christmas tree
located in the foyer. Now, you'd think that as intrigued
as I was with the house, I would have asked
the girls to see the rest of it or slipped around and
looked at the other rooms when they were asleep, but
I didn't. I stayed there all those times dying to see
the remainder of the house, but too conscientious to
peep and too backward or self-conscious to ask!
Career-wise, David, from all appearances had a
successful law practice. Also, at the time I stayed
with them he was a state senator; this perhaps
precipitated many of their social engagements at the
time. As a young person I was very impressed with
his professional status and personal achievements
because I surmised that to accomplish what he had
with his handicap must have required a great determination
and "stick-tuitiveness" which many socalled
normal people don't have. In my contact with
David, I never heard him complain or feel sorry for
By Dan K. Moore
I could write a book about my relationship with
David and Edith Hall, both one-time residents of
Webster. The legal relationship, that of sister and
brother-in-Jaw is only a foundation on which many
years of Jove, assistance, and support have been
built.
My mother, Lela Enloe Moore, died while I was a
freshman at the University of North Carolina. Since
my father had died several years previously,
thereafter, I made my home with my sister Margaret
Council and her husband Jim and Edith and David
- mostly with the Halls as Margaret and Jim frequently
moved because of Jim's work.
To say that the Halls furnished me a home is to tell
only a small part of the story. David provided me
with a job during vacation at the Sylva Supply or the
Mercantile Supply, he endorsed my notes at the oid
Tuckaseigee Bank so that I could complete my
education at the University and its Law School, but
equally important, both Edith and David always
gave me the support, encouragement, and advice
that every young person so badly needs.
When I returned to Sylva to begin my career as a
lawyer, I again had a home with the Halls plus their
continued assistance in every way possible, and it
was not until 1933, when Jeanelle and I were married
and established our own home, that I left the
Halls.
To summarize, life as I knew it, would have been
impossible without the Halls, otherwise, I might
never have studied Jaw or followed the path which
later took me from Sylva into different fields and opportunities.
To say that I will forever be grateful to
the Halls is the biggest understatement of the century.
Actually, words are insufficient to express this
gratitude.
By Margaret Moore Council
Edith Moore Hall has been more than a sister to
me since our father, Judge Frederick Moore, died
when I was not quite six years old. She, the oldest
of five children, helped our mother, Lela Enloe
Moore, rear us. While we thought she was often pretty
" bossy," as the years passed we reauze that this
was part of the responsibility thrust upon her when
she was only ten years old.
When Edith married David McKee Hall and moved
to Sylva, she was greatly missed in our Webster
home, but we soon realized that now we had two
homes, as she and David always made us feel so
welcome.
Our mother, having moved to Sylva, died in
February, 1924. After a brief attempt to keep her
home open, we rented it and made the Hall home our
headquarters. At that time my brother Fred was
working in Lafayette, Georgia, Dan and Enloe were
in school in Chapel Hill, and I was teaching in
Brevard.
My husband, James H. Council, and I were married
in the Sylva Methodist Church and our wedding
reception was given by the Halls in their home. Jim
was immediately absorbed into the family and has
loved and honored Edith and David as I have. Among
our happiest memories are those holidays spent with
them and their four children in their hospitable
home.
By Jeanelle C. Moore
My experience involving a relationship with Edith
and David Hall was one of the most rewarding and
happiest of my life. In 1933 I came to Sylva as the
bride of a handsome, young attorney Dan Moore,
brother of Edith. And if I had been hand-picked and
approved my first welcome into the wide, wonderful
world of the Moore family could not have been
more genuine and loving- a relationship which exists
today after fifty happy years of marriage to that
lawyer.
Edith became my sister, advisor only when I
sought advice, and my friend. Perhaps I can best explain
how I felt about this wonderful lady by telling
you that when our first child, a daughter, was born
·it was my expressed wish that
[Portrait of Rachel Smith]
No full textPhotograph of Rachel Smith (Johnson?), wearing a black lace collar and a dark shirt with a chain necklace. She has tousled hair and faces forward
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