Tag Archive for: #wizsnews

TownTalk: Around Old Granville: Churches And Religion, Part 2

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Religious scholars and historians have labeled the general time frame between 1760 and 1800 as The Great Awakening, a time of religious revival that basically helped to shape – and reshape – how Christians viewed their relationship with their churches in the era before and after the American Revolution.

Granville County was established in 1746, and by the time the Great Awakening was taking hold in the American Colonies, three main denominations were prevalent here, said Mark Pace, local historian and North Carolina Room specialist at the Richard Thornton Library in Oxford.

They were Baptist, Presbyterian and Anglican – which morphed into the Episcopal Church after the Revolution, Pace said on the tri-weekly Around Old Granville segment of TownTalk.

But Methodism came on the scene in 1784, and with it, a few wrinkles.

“Methodists are interesting,” Pace said, “and it can be a little complicated.”

By the 1870’s, there were Methodist Protestants and Methodist Episcopal churches, he said. One of Henderson’s Methodist Protestant churches was located where the city’s iconic clock tower now stands; another, near McGregor Hall and the police station.

That branch of Methodism became part of the United Methodist Church when it was formed in 1939. The Methodist Protestants preferred to have individual control, much like the Baptists; they didn’t want bishops and dioceses to make decisions for them.

As for the Methodist Episcopal churches, there was a further split between the Northern and Southern churches in 1844 because of slavery, Pace said.

There was even a church of “O’Kelly-ites” in Dexter, he said, that existed until the 1870’s. James O’Kelly was an itinerant Methodist preacher who left the denomination and was an outspoken opponent of slavery as early as the 1780’s.

The Presbyterian Church took root in Old Granville in the 1760’s, again predating the American Revolution. The Mother Church is Grassy Creek Presbyterian, where the Rev. Mr. Stradley preached from 1840 until 1910 or so.

Stradley is but one example of a local pastor “that’s the heart and soul” of a community. Others include Rev. Reginald Marsh and John Chavis. Chavis, a free Black man who fought in the American Revolution and graduated from Princeton, often preached in Presbyterian churches throughout the area.

For more than 60 years – 1850 to the 1910’s – Marsh was a Baptist minister who was instrumental in the formation of Island Creek and First Baptist in Henderson, among others, Pace said.

In those days, church pews were more likely to be filled with black and white people – granted, they often sat in separate sections – but Pace said after Emancipation, there was a movement for freed Blacks to form their own churches and establish their own communities.

Shiloh Baptist Church in Henderson and Big Zion AME Zion Church between Henderson and Oxford are two of the oldest churches that fit that bill.

Many Blacks stayed with the Baptist Church and with the Presbyterian Church after the Civil War ended, but Pace said the Presbyterian Church was probably the denomination most devoted to abolitionism.

And there are a multitude of examples that still exist in the area today – Timothy Darling Presbyterian in Oxford, founded by George Clayton Shaw, and Cotton Memorial in Henderson, founded by Adam Cotton.

Walter Pattillo, a Baptist preacher, founded a lot of churches. He was born into slavery, Pace said, but it is believed he already knew how to read and write before he went to Shaw University to study theology.

Another one of those figures that gets involved in the community, Pace said: “they don’t go anywhere – they just stay here.”

No moss gathered under Pattillo, however. He is associated with establishing a long list of churches throughout the Old Granville area, including Michael’s Creek, Blue Wing near the Virginia line, New Jonathan Creek, Olive Grove, First Baptist in Oxford, Penn Avenue, Flat Creek and Cedar Grove.

Back in those early days, when most people farmed and were, for the most part, self-sufficient, Pace said the church provided the “social fabric” of a community. The church, or meeting house, or wherever the congregations met, were so much more than a place to attend a weekly service.

“People were heavily involved in the church,” Pace said, “and the church was heavily involved in your life.”

Church members could be summoned and tried before a church council for such sinful things as cursing, drinking, gambling, adultery, consistent absence from the church, or – Pace’s personal favorite – “general meanness.”

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The Local Skinny! City Council Votes To Keep B-2A Zoning For Businesses, Retail

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After receiving recommendations from a couple of different committees, the Henderson City Council voted unanimously on Monday to deny a request that would have allowed an empty retail space to be turned into a 16-bed “diversion center” for patients in mental health or substance abuse crises.

Back in November, Vaya Health officials told county commissioners that the space formerly occupied by Big Lots! on Dabney Drive was the best option they could find at the best price point. It would require a special use permit from the city, however, since the area is zoned for businesses and not hospitals or sanitoriums.

The matter was referred to the city Planning Board, which initially recommended to approve the special use permit request. But at a special called meeting in January, the City Council expressed concerns and had reservations about moving the project forward and sent it back to the planning committee for further review. The second time, the planning committee offered no recommendation.

So, the planning board reviewed the matter again in February and the Land Planning Committee weighed in as well at a March meeting, recommending the request be denied because the B-2A zoning is designed for businesses, including retail establishments and that any change could be detrimental to existing businesses.

Now, here we are in April, with the matter back before the City Council.

In reviewing the timeline of events, City Manager Terrell Blackmon said the consensus is that feel that an area zoned for business is not well suited for a hospital or sanitorium.

Council members voted unanimously to deny the request.

Vaya is looking for a location that could serve the region that includes Vance, Granville and Franklin counties, and Vaya reps told commissioners in November that they’d pitch in $1.5 million of the total amount necessary to upfit and transform the space, which would be somewhere north of $4.5 million. Vaya is looking for funding from the three counties to support the project.

WIZS previously reported that the main idea for the facility is to help take some of the heat off local hospital emergency rooms, which often aren’t equipped to handle the specific needs of individuals suffering from behavioral and mental health crises.

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Cooperative Extension With Jamon Glover: Communication, Pt. 5

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Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.

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Corbitt Preservation Association To Hold Spring Fling Saturday

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The plan for Saturday’s Spring Fling at the Corbitt Museum is to have trucks and tractors on display for the public to view and ooh and aah over, but when you’re dealing with vehicles that are as old as the Corbitts that are around here, Tom Burleson said “you keep your fingers crossed.”

The annual event will take place April 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and it’s a perfect time for folks to stop by and learn more of the history about the Corbitt family and its many contributions to the Henderson area, according to Burleson, vice president of the Corbitt Preservation Association.

Burleson himself grew up on Corbitt Road, he said on Wednesday’s TownTalk. And his childhood home was just up the street from the Corbitt mansion, that stood where Wester Realty now stands.

The Corbitts owned The Little Hotel and Mrs. Corbitt ran it back in the day, when Mr. Corbitt was busy cranking out trucks, military vehicles and tractors.

“We’ve got a good story to tell,” Burleson said. “We want to try to interest some younger folks.” His fellow Corbitt enthusiasts have “a lot of snow on the mountain,” he quipped and Corbitt Preservation Association events like the Spring Fling help to keep the history alive.

The association’s members are always on the lookout for Corbitt memorabilia and continue to collect it for display at the museum, located at 180 Church St. One recent addition is a promissory note dated 1917 signed by THE Richard J. Corbitt himself.

The company was founded in 1899 and produced horse-drawn buggies, Burleson said, then it morphed to motorized buggies, then automobiles, trucks and tractors. The Corbitt Company found its niche, however, in military vehicles.

One board member chugs down I-85 in his 1950 model truck that originally was purchased for use by the J.W. Jenkins Oil Co. in Henderson. “He gets some of the strangest looks,” Burleson said, but it’s just one of the trucks and tractors that’s still chuggin’ along.

Hopefully, it will be parked outside the Corbitt Museum Saturday.

Fingers crossed.

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Home And Garden Show

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On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.

  •  Farmer’s Market Opening
  • Get your soil samples turned in
  • Lawn mower safety
  • Purchasing transplants
  • Provide green house and cold frame ventilation
  • Check indoor seedlings daily

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The Local Skinny! Council Approves Creation Of Board To Oversee Main Street Program

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The Henderson City Council voted unanimously Monday to create a downtown advisory board that will take responsibility for overseeing the city’s Main Street program.

This action was taken as a way to stay in compliance with the state’s Main Street program, given a decision in March by the Henderson-Vance Downtown Development Commission to divest itself as the active board of directors and committees of the Main Street program effective June 30, 2024, according to information presented Monday by City Manager Terrell Blackmon.

One requirement for continued accreditation is that the program have a board of directors representing district stakeholders and
community members. The new advisory board will consist of between 5 and 7 appointed members who would be selected following an application process.

Blackmon said he has had conversations with state Main Street staff and they are aware of the changes that will be taking place. He added that city staff would continue to work in partnership with the HVDDC, but the city-appointed board would be responsible for the Main Street program.

The Main Street approach is centered around economic development strategies designed to transform the downtown area and revitalize and strengthen the downtown economy. Henderson re-established its Main Street designation in 2020 and uses a four-pronged approach to attain its goals: economic vitality, design, promotion and organization.

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TownTalk: Garry Daeke Discusses ‘Week Of The Young Child’ Activities

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That group of shiny pinwheels planted out front of the Franklin Granville Vance Smart Start office is a visual reminder to us all of the joys that children bring into our lives.

The pinwheel gardens that may be seen in other places across the tri-county area are symbols of joy, happiness and fun, said Garry Daeke, development coordinator at FGV Smart Start. “That’s what we want our children to remind us” of, he said on Tuesday’s TownTalk.

As part of The Week of the Young Child celebrations across the area, the FGV Partnership is hosting several events to promote awareness as it shows support for early learning, the healthy development of young children, as well as the adults – teachers, parents and caregivers – throughout the community.

Unfortunately, the main public event, Family Night, scheduled for Thursday at Vance-Granville Community College, will NOT be held as planned because of the risk of severe weather, Daeke said. It will be rescheduled.

He spoke by phone with WIZS from Sugar N Spice day care during Time Out Tuesday, when a group of select childcare advocates were “sent” to Time Out at as part of a fundraising effort. They could leave their time out spots when they’d reached their fundraising goal, Daeke explained.

It’s just one way the community bands together to support and promote child-centered programs in the three-county area, he said.

“It’s been a great morning so far for me,” Daeke said. Wednesday is Health and Nutrition Day, and he said he’d be at New Beginnings Child Care to enjoy some outdoor activities and healthy snacks with youngsters there.

Then, the 18-member staff will fan out across the three counties on Friday to visit different day cares and preschools for “Read to Young Children” Day. Daeke said staff will visit different classrooms to read with children – they’ll even bring along some books to share, he said.

 

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TownTalk: City Council Hears McGregor Hall Presentation

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The Henderson City Council held its regular monthly meeting Monday at McGregor Hall, giving Executive Director Mark Hopper an appropriate backdrop to emphasize the economic impact the performing arts venue has on the community as he asked the city’s elected officials for financial support.

In beginning his remarks, Hopper said he would try to condense six years of work into a 15-minute presentation. Using a multimedia approach, Council members heard from Hopper and saw videos recapping the significance of McGregor Hall in the larger community as well as on the lives of local performers.

With one full-time employee, five part-time employees and 300 volunteers, McGregor Hall has made quick work to become a stand-out venue in the greater Triangle area, Hopper said. McGregor Hall is under the governance of the nonprofit Embassy Cultural Center Foundation.

Through solid local partnerships and dedicated individuals and business sponsors, the venue has been able to accomplish a lot in a short time.

But, Hopper said, without some additional financial support from local government, the curtain likely will fall on McGregor Hall. One quarter of the venue’s total revenue goes to service the mortgage debt.

In a letter to City Manager Terrell Blackmon, and members of the City Council, Hopper outlined McGregor Hall’s needs – he’s asked the  Council for $75,000 to help keep the ship afloat. Hopper would like to get county leaders on board, too.

The cultural and artistic impact may be difficult to put a price tag on, but the most recent economic impact study shows that McGregor Hall has contributed $9.2 million to the local economy over the past four years – $5.1 in lodging bookings alone. McGregor Hall hosted more than 30,000 guests to its rental events, namely in the form of 15 weekends of spring dance competitions.

“What we need is help with our debt service,” Hopper told the City Council. “We will not survive 2025 without support.”

Hopper said that every single dollar of investment to McGregor Hall brings a return of $31 to the community.

About 40 percent of revenues come from ticket sales, which Hopper said is in keeping with the industry standard. Grant funding, rental fees and concessions each kick in 10 percent and 20 percent from local business sponsors.

It would mean a lot for local government leaders to put a price tag on what it means to have a top-notch venue in Henderson and Vance County that draws patrons from the Triangle to southside Virginia – both to watch performances as well as to be on stage for shows.

Hopper said McGregor Hall is helping to change the perception of Henderson and Vance County, one performance at the time.

“We’re bringing people together who otherwise wouldn’t interact on a personal level,” he said.

Following Hopper’s presentation, Council Member Garry Daeke said he hoped the full council would consider the request for funding as it continues through the budget process and “look at it in an affirmative manner.”

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