Catch up on highlights you may have missed from last week’s Xpress — and see what we’ve got in store for you this week. Newspapers should be hitting the stands later this afternoon. Available at all Xpress distribution locations by Wednesday!
Tuesday History: The half-known life of Tempie Avery
Tempie Avery was a midwife, nurse and former slave of Asheville attorney and state senator Nicholas Woodfin.
Conference ties African-American past with future
The African Americans in WNC and Southern Appalachia Conference returns to Asheville for its fourth year Thursday, Oct. 19, through Saturday, Oct. 21. Originally organized to highlight research on the historical African-American presence in the region, the conference is broadening its scope this year with the theme, “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.”
Tuesday History: ‘We are born alone’
October was a significant month in writer Thomas Wolfe’s life. The Asheville native was born Oct. 3, 1900. Decades later, his first novel, Look Homeward, Angel came out on Oct. 18, 1929. Local responses were not favorable to Wolfe’s book.
Tuesday History: ‘On the highest hill in the town’
Anticipation for Col. Franklin Coxe’s Battery Park Hotel was evident in early newspaper reports.
Asheville School alum looks back at racial integration
Editor’s note: This article was submitted by Asheville School. On Thursday, Sept. 21, Oliver G. Prince Jr., class of 1971, addressed the Asheville School community on the 50th year of racial integration at the school. Prince and his classmates, Al McDonald and Frank DuPree, were the first three African-American students enrolled in Asheville School in 1967. […]
How to not die in the Smokies
When you think about the Great Smoky Mountains, your thoughts might not immediately jump to death and destruction. But that is exactly what adventure travel writer David Brill of Morgan County, Tenn., dives into with his new book, “Into the Mist: Tales of Death and Disaster, Mishaps and Misdeeds, Misfortune and Mayhem in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.”
Tuesday History: ‘More than a citizen’
“Dr. Battle was more than a citizen of Asheville; he was an institution,” wrote Asheville Times reporter James B. Caine in 1938. “He came here while this community was yet in its infancy; he watched, and materially aided in its growth with pleasure and pride.”
Tuesday History: The Asheville Club moves to Haywood Street, 1901
On Wednesday, Oct. 23, 1901, The Asheville Citizen offered readers a detailed description of the Asheville Club’s new headquarters built on the corner of Haywood and Government [now College] streets.
A Dance Through Time: The Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County hosts its second traveling gala
This year’s gala, “A Dance Through Time,” will transport guests back-in-time to three local historic sites: the YMI Cultural Center, Zealandia Castle and Sondley Estate.
A mystery in-deed: Who owns Pack Square?
Pack Square lies at the center of Asheville’s sense of itself as a city, but recent attention to the area — and the monuments to Confederate figures located there — has highlighted a curious anomaly of history and law: No one can say for sure who owns the piece of land where the Vance Monument sits.
Jones family burial ground at Biltmore honored by Sons of American Revolution
The sleepy resting place of Revolutionary War veteran Joshua Jones and his family turned uncharacteristically lively on Saturday, Sept. 7, as a memorial dedication ceremony hosted by Jones’ direct descendants brought family members, Biltmore staff and historical reenactors to the site on the western side of present-day Biltmore Estate.
Tuesday History: Asheville’s streetcars take a farewell tour, Sept. 6, 1934
After 45 years of service, the final seven street cars departed from Pritchard Park on Thursday, Sept. 6, 1934, heading toward West Asheville for one last ride.
Guastavino exhibit highlights architectural genius
Spanish architect and designer Rafael Guastavino left his mark at the Biltmore Estate and the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville. His legacy can be explored at a new exhibit in Black Mountain this fall.
Tuesday History: YWCA’s 75th anniversary celebration
“[F]or roughly half a century, two YWCAs operated in Asheville, operating the program that is the YWCA. And during all these years parallel programs were operating in our city,” says Thelma Caldwell, in her 1981 speech at the YWCA’s annual meeting.
MSD upgrades its infrastructure with capital improvement projects
To fulfill its critical mission and increase its capacity to deal with a growing service area and customer base, MSD is in the midst of a $266 million capital improvement project, which will help ensure that the community’s waste is properly handled and safely disposed of.
Tuesday History: Controversy surrounds the merger of YWCA’s two branches, 1970
On October 24, 1970, Virginia Bailey, president of the Asheville YWCA, shared with the Asheville Citizen the most common complaint the organization received following the announcement: “‘We want our white Y; it is as important to us as the South French Broad branch is to the blacks.’”
Monumental change
Asheville, N.C.
Local agencies work to improve water quality in Buncombe & Madison counties
This week, Xpress looks at the network of agencies and organizations working in Buncombe and Madison counties to improve water quality and position the French Broad as the region’s next great tourist attraction.
Tuesday History: The 1969 Asheville High School walkout, as recalled by Roger Ball
In 1969, Roger Ball was a senior at Asheville High School. He was also the school’s photographer. Before the walkout occured, Ball was asked by Principal Clark Pennell to capture the day’s events on his camera.
Montford bus stops offer local history
The bus shelters, located at both the north-and southbound-stops on Montford Ave. and Cullowhee Street, feature doubled-sided panels that provide an overview of four distinct aspects of the neighborhood’s history.