An entrepreneurial spirit sometimes manifests itself from an early age. Case in point: the Hendersonville tyke who charged admission to her playhouse and later blossomed into a successful businessperson and civic leader. Melinda Lowrance was born to Alexander and Sarah Louise Gash Pilgrim in 1951. …
Johnnie Washington looks at the gravestone of Mary Maxwell at a cemetery on Green Mountain in Fruitland. It is believed that the graves of slaves and the ancestors of many local blacks are buried in the cemetery, which contains more than 60 fieldstones. Jennie Giles/TIMES-NEWS …
Some African American families in Henderson county are starting to celebrate Kwanzaa, a unique African-American celebration that focuses on the traditional African values of family, community responsibility, commerce and self-improvement. https://www.blueridgenow.com/article/NC/20051230/News/606079887/HT
Kathleen Featherstone Williams is a member of the Featherstone Clan and a native of Asheville, N.C. She was born on November 1, 1920. She graduated with honors in 1938 from Stephens-Lee High School in Asheville. She went on to the Stewarts Beauty School in Asheville, graduating in 1940. …
Mrs. Sandra Suber provided the community with beautiful hats from her shop in Mills River. https://theurbannews.com/our-town/2017/my-story-my-journey/
After serving as Principal of the Ninth Avenue School, John Marable played an important role in community organizations like the United Way, the Council on Aging and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. https://www.blueridgenow.com/article/NC/20010428/News/606057453/HT
Donald R. “Donnie” Parks, Hendersonville’s First African-American Chief of Police. Black Bottom The real estate bounded by Kanuga, Barnwell and South Church Streets once hosted “Black Bottom,” a hamlet of stilt houses occupied by members of Hendersonville’s African American townspeople. The houses, mostly built in …
George L. and Lavinia M. Potts first lived in a cabin George built on land he owned on Glassy Mountain. As he earned more money, he amassed acreage in East Flat Rock in the late 1800s and built a home and barn there and farmed …
Hendersonville’s annual Martin Luther King Unity Breakfast promotes understanding, collaboration and unity. https://www.cfhcforever.org/impact-insights/funds-in-focus/mlk-unity
Enslaved people built much of the original Carl Sandburg Home before the Civil War. https://www.blueridgenow.com/story/news/2021/02/26/highlighting-forgotten-slaves-built-present-day-sandburg-home-staff-uncover-their-stories/6804747002/