In 1960 Wake Forest was still recovering from the loss of its namesake college, the reason there was a town. Students and faculty had moved to Winston-Salem in 1956.
But the town government was not standing around weeping. The mayor was Ben Aycock, the commissioners were Stewart Newman, John Wayland, W.H. Holding, Nash Underwood and Paul Brixhoff, and in March they accepted a bid of $75,196 to build the new water supply lake on Smith Creek on land donated by Mary Bolus. Previously the town pumped its water up from a small impoundment that was also on Smith Creek.
The town built its original water and sewer systems in the 1920s at the same time it received permission from the state to discharge the resulting waste into Richland and Smith creeks. Now, however in 1960 the state was insisting the town treat its waste, and plans were begun for two small treatment plants on those same creeks. The state agreed the town could continue to discharge its untreated waste until the plants were complete in 1963. (Note: Since the town did not have a public works department or utilities department in 1960 the task of daily maintenance of the plants would fall on the police chief. The Smith Creek treatment plant was actually on Spring Branch, a tributary, and it was about where the roundabout for South Franklin Street and East Holding Avenue now stands.)
The big news of the year in Wake Forest was the Democratic primary in the gubernatorial race when the candidates were I. Beverly Lake Sr., Terry Sanford, Malcolm Seawell and John Davis Larkins Jr. At that time in North Carolina the assumption and the truth were that the Democratic primary winner would be the next governor. Sanford led in the primary with Lake second, and he called for a runoff held in June in which Sanford won handily with 56 percent to Lake’s 44. Every white Wake Forest resident except those who were comatose may have voted because they so fervently backed Lake, who had run a blatantly racist campaign. His ad in The Wake Weekly said, “The mixing of our two great races in the classroom and then in the home is not inevitable and is not to be tolerated.” He also blamed the NAACP for “fomenting racial unrest.”
In April, John E. Wooten Jr. had announced the county housing authority would build 40 units of low-income housing, and Evelyn Carter, Elsie Mangum, Pauline Harding and Fay Davis were selected to interview families about the need and design for the buildings. These duplexes, 20 of them, along North Wingate between West Oak Avenue and West Chestnut Avenue, were built in 1962.
Town residents had just raised $3,800, with $440.60 of it in a house-to-house cavass organized by Mrs. Nash Underwood (Janice), for a new activity bus for the Wake Forest school on West Sycamore Avenue. School superintendent Rufus Forrest and committee chairman J.L. Warren posed for a picture in front of the new bus in The Wake Weekly, which also printed all of the donors’ names.
Tony Trentini was supervising the town’s summer recreation programs with four Little League teams, free swimming lessons at the Holding Park pool and the North Taylor Street pool, the “white” and “colored” pools, the afternoon arts and crafts. There were no morning programs until after Vacation Bible School was finished.
Teens, properly chaperoned, flocked to the end-of-the-season dance at the Youngsville Teenage Club in June where Billy Shearon’s Dance Band, with Billy on the drums, Frank Swett on bass violin and Walt Barnes on guitar provided the music.
When the Fourth of July rolled around, most local businesses planned to close for the day while some, Royall Cotton Mill, Wake Finishing (Burlington Mills) and B&E cleaners, would be closed all week. Also, Carolina Telephone ads in June said holiday travelers could call if they would be late arriving because there were plenty of outdoor telephone booths. At that time, all Wake Forest telephone numbers began with EX5-. By October the telephone company was saying it would change to all numbers.
Some snippets: Tobie Holden took the first cotton bloom of the summer to The Wake Weekly office. It was found by Jonas Alston and Julius Kearney, “who live and farm on the Docie Holden farm on Rt. 1, Youngsville.” Deputy Sheriff Melvin Munn was a speaker at the Wake Forest Rotary Club and said Sheriff Robert Pleasants had 16 deputies. The annual softball game between the Wake Forest College All-Stars and Royall Cotton Mill was set for a Saturday in July. Some of the former college players were Tommy Byrne, Harry Nickolas, Jackie Murdock and Dicky “Lefty” Davis.
In July, during the 70th annual meeting, Luther L. Tuck, the captain of the Wake Forest Fire Department Station 2, was elected the vice president of the North Carolina Colored Volunteer Firemen’s Association. Also attending were Oscar Smith, Eugene Lucas, McKinley Mitchell, Bruce Lucas, Henry Hopkins, Matthew Williams, Tafford Richardson and Albert Harris Jr.
At the end of August, the Forest Theatre advertised its annual Back to School Cartoon and Comedy Show for the afternoon and evening of Tuesday, Sept. 6, between Labor Day and the start of school Wednesday.
R.W. Wilkinson died at 93 in late September. He built the Wilkinson Building in the northeast corner of Wait Avenue and South White Street and it housed a variety of stores and enterprises through the years, including an early movie theater, and still does. He married Ella Houston Holding in 1891 and their children included three doctors, R.W. Wilkinson Jr. and C.T. Wilkinson practiced in Wake Forest, had their offices upstairs in the Wilkinson Building and built almost identical brick houses on South Main Street with a shared double garage. Dr. James S. Wilkinson had a Raleigh practice. The story is that he moved the family home east on Wait, down the hill, to build the three-story building, and the family still owns the land where it stood, most recently home to the Hardee’s that has closed.
Wake Forest Baptist Church, organized on Aug. 30, 1835 with 17 members, was planning its 125th anniversary.
Luther Walker, Percy Parker and Willie Fogg, the livestock judging team for the New Farmers of America at the DuBois School, won the national livestock judging contest. Their teacher was Willie L. Graham.
In the fall there was a shortage of drain oil that Bernice Hobgood, town street superintendent, used to keep down the dust on unpaved streets. Thedward O’Neal, who lived on the unpaved section of Brooks, asked why the street could not be paved.
The school board appropriated money to build a gym at the new high school on Stadium Drive where R.H. (Rufus) Forrest was principal.
By the first of November Public Works Director Guy Hill and the town utility workers had already decorated the Elm Avenue water tank with Christmas lights and a cross.
Percy’s Place, Percy Massenburg’s store and barber shop at the corner of East Juniper and North Taylor had $9,000 damage from an early-morning fire. Massenburg was not sure he would rebuild since he planned to sell the business because of ill health. One of three fires over the weekend, “Tag” Timberlake said. Chief Albert Perry and Assistant Chief George Timberlake said fall brought house fires because of dirty chimneys.
The Seaboard Air Line Railroad and the Atlantic Coastline Railroad Company were about to merge.
If you went to the Forest Theatre about 9 Thursday night you could vote for Miss Wake Forest High School where there were 21 contestants.
Albert Perry was re-elected chief of the Wake Forest Volunteer Fire department which had 29 members. Dr. R.W. Wilkinson – a department doctor with his brother, Dr. C.T. Wilkinson – was the last active charter member. Other living charter members were Frank Keith and George Saintsing.
Guy Hill said five fire alarms not working – at North Main and North, at Pine and College, at South Main between Owen and Elm, South Main at the Baptist church and Wingate at the seminary entrance.
William Royall, a former mayor, was honored for serving 35 years on the Wake Forest Savings & Loan board. His father, Robert E. Royall, and Robert’s brother-in-law, W.C. Powell, along with T.E. Holding founded Royall Cotton Mill. William graduated from Wake Forest College in 1906, worked at the mill for 24 years and later was in the grocery business. His grandfather, Dr. William Royall, came to the college over 100 years ago to teach English, and his great-uncle was Dr. W.B. Royall, who taught Greek for 62 years.
There was to be an auction for farm tools at the E.G. Macon farm south of town which had been sold to a quarry.
Mack’s was holding a big pre-Christmas sale.
The Children’s Christmas Party at Wake Finishing expected to draw 1,200 people.
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One Response
Thank you Carlo for sharing this rich history of our town!