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What's New - 2009
12/06/2009 Added photos to the James Price page in Where Are They Now?
12/01/2009 Is it December already? Where did the year go?
The Photo Of The Month shows a sad moment in Cliffside's history. After nearly 60 years the old store building was under the wrecking ball. Built in 1909, it was demolished sometime in the mid 1960s.
On October 9, at the 3rd annual Society Gathering, our handy audio recorder captured nearly every word of the speakers' remarks. Their subjects: Eugene "Cheetah" Lipscomb and H. C. Beatty. The transcripts are found in a newly-added Society Features section. Go to the Society page and click on the Features tab.
This site is sponsored for the month of December, and for much of 2010, by the McKinney-Landreth Funeral Home. Our thanks to owner Steve Carroll.
We've added two more pages to our Where Are They Now? series, for James Price and Harry Ingram, Jr.
11/03/09 Added an Update.
11/01/09 We've added the 1949 Cliff-Dweller to our yearbook collection. Thanks to Rachel Bridges Haynes for contributing it to the Society.
The Photo of the Month for November illustrates the danger of driving a steam locomotive near a field of dry broomstraw.
What a Gathering! Over a hundred friends of Cliffside came on Friday evening, October 9, to enjoy a program of history and memories. Read all about it on our Society page, just click the Society News tab.
Photos, photos, photos! About four dozen of them, taken at the Gathering and on Cliffside Day by Sherry Harris Phelps and Marilyn Moore Kerr, can be found in the Current section.
We've established a “Where Are They Now?” series, under Memories, Projects. To begin, meet Ed Hamrick and Myles Haynes.
Don't forget to check the “Things You Should Know” column on the front page for new information about Cliffside and this Web site.
November's sponsors of Remember Cliffside are Jim and Juanita Daves Haynes. We all thank you.
10/01/09
Our new friend from Ellenboro, Herb Brooks, sent us a copy of historian Bob Carlin's article "The Roots of Earl and Snuffy: Searching For The Banjo Along The North/South Carolina Border." It follows the trail of the first players to use the "clawhammer" method of banjo playing, whose greatest practitioner is Earl Scruggs. And the trail leads through Cliffside!
Sponsors of Remember Cliffside for October are Jim and Juanita Daves Haynes. They and all our sponsors are helping keep this Web site available indefinitely. You could help, too! Click the Application tab on the Society page, print out the form and sponsor one or more months. It's only $25 per.
We've just learned of an extremely talented writer in our midst, Barry Yelton, who resides on Beason Road in Cliffside. He's written an excellent Civil War novel based on his great-grandfather's service in the Confederate Army. "Scarecrow in Gray" is awesome, but don't just take our word for it, read the 16 glowing customer reviews on Amazon.com. We suggest you read this fine book. Perhaps he'll have copies for sale at Cliffside Day.
We've caught up with our Reader Comments. You'll find 16 of them, all very, very interesting.
We've added one more Cliffside High yearbook, the 1952 Cliff-Dweller. Please, if anyone has a copy of the 1949 yearbook, or for any year prior to 1937, please email us. If you'll loan it/them to us, we'll scan and return them.
In our Photo of the Month for October, you'll see the George Hill family gathered around Jim Dedmond's Austin American Bantam roadster.
09/01/09
A new feature this month is a column called “Things You Should Know.” It's sort of a bulletin board of info about this and that, and will always be located at the left top of the front page. One item is about this fall's Remember Cliffside Day (on October 10). “Things” might be updated at any time, not just the first of the month, so check it frequently.
October's Photo of the Month was taken on a sunny day in the Spring of 1954. You'll see a bevy of pretty girls frolicking along the river at the Crooked Iron Bridge.
Did you know that Hollis Owens, Sr. was in the Army Air Corps in France during World War I? We didn't either, until Ann Cargill sent us an old news clipping. You can read it and another article about Owens' retirement after 50 years of service at Cliffside Mills.
To help round out our list of crimes committed in Cliffside, here are two stories on the Big Bank Robbery of December 1969, in which desperadoes took $35,500 and vanished in the wilds along the river. Our own Baptist preacher, Rev. Lucas, borrowed a handgun from a sheriff and took part in the search. As far as we know, they were never apprehended. We've collected info on a number of crimes going back to 1916; all listed in our Felonies, Misdemeanors, Tragedies & Skulduggery section, accessed from History, Projects.
For this and the next two months, the sponsors of Remember Cliffside are the pride of Carlsbad, California, Jim and Juanita Daves Haynes. They and all our sponsors are helping keep this Web site available indefinitely. You could help, too! Click the Application tab on the Society page, print out the form and sponsor one or more months. It's only $25 per.
Even as late as the late 1960's small banks were not computerized. The Haynes Bank didn't number your account, they used your name! We learned this in a 1967 profile in the Charlotte Observer. The largest loan “our” bank would make was $40,000. But, then, 40 grand would buy a lot.
And, may we prevail on you to keep us with your membership fees. When does “your year” expire? You don't have to write us to find out, it's online! Just go to the Society Page and click the Membership tab. It lists all active members with each's expiration date.
We've neglected the Current section for quite some time, and, while we slept, a big new commercial structure was erected in Cliffside—the first in many decades. It's a Dollar General Store, at the corner of 221-A and Drugstore Street, and is a welcomed convenience for the people of Cliffside. Here are photos.
Not long ago the Cliffside High class of 1959 held their 50th anniversary reunion and, predictably, posed for pictures.
07/31/09
The Daily Courier recently published an important week-long series on the past, present and future of Rutherford County's economy. Usually we wait for the ink to dry on stories before we pester the Courier's publisher to let us to post them here, but we felt this series is too timely and critical to let these important articles languish in their archives. In the series (in The County section, under the History tab), there's a nice interview with Cliffside's Herman Jones.
August's Photo of the Month is kind of pertinent to the Courier's series: it's called The County. Who knew you could stand at Fairview and photograph Cliffside School and beyond, all the way to the northwestern mountains?
This month's Web site sponsor is Horton Landreth. We all give you our thanks.
07/12/09 We've remodeled the Poems of Cliffside (found under Memories, Projects), giving it a fresh new look. And we've added another poet, Janna Harris. 07/05/09
The additions this month are few in number but large in content. After more than a year of preparation, we've posted “Cliffside in 1930,” which includes the translation of the 1930 Federal Census for all Cliffside precincts (2,299 people); analyses of the census data; and a smattering of the news of the day in 1930. As you look through the census, if you discover any misspellings and/or incorrect information, please tell us.
July's Photo of the Month is of a rare occasion in Cliffside, a double wedding. On June 2, 1936, Paul Bridges & Hazel Haynes and Jim Spoon & Margaret Haynes (Robert E. Haynes' daughter) took their vows in Mr. Charley's back yard.
There's news of an upcoming event in Cliffside, on Saturday, July 18. It's "Give & Take," a flea market-like affair, but everything's free. If you live anywhere near Cliffside, we need you to contribute any useable items in your home you can do without. And, if you are in need of items that have been contributed, they are yours for the asking. Plus, we need volunteers to work in the school gym that day. Read all the details - then participate.
July's Remember Cliffside sponsors are Ashley and Ginny Reid. Many thanks from all of us!
06/01/09 As we were looking through the mill's old correspondence, we were struck by the interesting letterheads companies used in those days, a time when their stationery was their only feasible means of advertising. In Odds & Ends you'll find Ornate Letterheads of Long Ago.
June's site sponsor is Marc Dedmond's Carolina Trophies & Screen Printing, located in Shelby.
In 1975, Avondale historian Irene Roach Delpino, drawing on the memories of fellow residents, drew a very detailed map of her town as it was around the year 1950. Also, there's an aerial photo of the Haynes Mill and many of the homes in that village. They're in The County section (under History), on the Places and Photos pages.
In the era when people grew their own food, there was a community cannery in Cliffside. Operated mostly by high school and college students, it was open in growing season and catered to anyone who needed to "put up" their fruits and vegetables. In The Boys of Summer, Jim Ruppe relates the history and traditions of the cannery, which was located very close to his family's home.
Will the supply of Will Hames' photos of Cliffside's simpler times ever end? We hope not. He was a master at capturing provocative scenes, like this one in June's Photo of the Month. It's merely two men with a horse and buggy, but it raises so many questions. Who were they? When did they live? What were their lives like? Perhaps we'll never know.
05/01/09
There's another interview in our Living History series, with Jane Robinson Hamrick, on the Audio tab of the Media Center page. Jane, daughter of John and Maude McCurry Robinson, worked in the Haynes Bank for many years.
Our thanks to this month's Web site sponsor, Grover Haynes.
In Documents, Genealogy, we've added a list of the descendents of Robert Haney, ancestor of the Haneys buried in Cliffside Cemetery. Back in the 1800s, the Haneys owned considerable land in the Cliffside area. This document enhances our article on John Haney (Robert's son) posted previously in History, Family Stories.
Also in Documents, there's a descendents list for David Green, ancestor of Fred Davis Green, the object of our Photo of the Month for May.
In the Fall 2008 issue of The Cliffside Chimes, the Society's newsletter, there appeared a wonderful article by Gene Ingram in which he remembers his Dad, Bill. We've posted it here, in our Memories section.
In the Landmarks section, we've expanded a 1926 Sun article about the Lakeview flour mill with a description of the Lakeview Mills Certification of Incorporation, filed in May, 1916. It was a document that promised to make Cliffside—a one-industry town—into a much more diversified place.
04/02/09
A couple of changes to the site are worthy of your attention. First, the Town Map button has been removed from the main navigation bar. The map now occupies one of the tabs on the History page. The County now has its on button on the navigation bar (see left). This was done so the County section would have more prominence. Previously it was buried in the History, Projects list.
In the History, Profile section we've added a short profile of “Mr. Charley,” Charles H. Haynes, who was the head of the company (and the town) from 1917 to 1951.
In Documents, Genealogy, there's now a list of the descendants of Wilmon Jackson Wilson. If your surname is Wilson, Scruggs or Norville, you may be included. If you can add to this or any genealogical list found here, let us know, and we'll add your information.
In our Media section you can hear a 23-minute interview with Leavy Johnson Scruggs. She's the sister of the recently-departed J.D. “Dugan” Johnson, the widow of Thurman Scruggs and the mother of Dean, Joan and David Scruggs.
For yearbook fans, here's another for you: the Cliffdweller of 1951.
Hey, Society members! The Spring 2009 issue of The Cliffside Chimes is in the mail. You say you don't know about the Chimes? Then you ought to join the Society. You'd get four awesome issues a year. Each has six pages of Cliffside history and stories. It only costs 10 bucks a year, so come on, cough it up.
By the way, if your Chimes packet contains a self-addressed envelope, note the date at the upper right. That's your membership expiration date, soon to take effect, if it hasn't already. Please renew today.
April's Photo of the month is a picture we've seen before, but this one is much larger than one we've seen previously. And we have names of the folks in the photo.
In Odds & Ends, there are two new entries. One has examples of Cliffside Mill “script,” which the mill gave employees to use toward purchases from the company store. Another page has an example of “yesterday's email,” a telegram from 1932.
This month's site sponsor, once again, is Marc Dedmond's Carolina Trophies & Screen Printing. And, once again, William Wallace has sponsored another month. Many thanks from all of us.
We've added a page for another Cliffside landmark, the old dry cleaning building (which previously had been a movie theater). There are photos of the building and of some who worked there back in the 1950s.
03/01/09
The big feature this month is the story of the legendary Amos Owens, who lived in northeastern Rutherford in the 1800s, whose famous concoction “cherry bounce” added to his lore.
This month's Web site sponsor is James Price, our friend in Moreno Valley, California. And speaking of friends, William Wallace, of Cherryville, who works at Cliffside's Duke Power Steam Station, has just purchased two more months of sponsorship—October and November of the year 2014! This marks the tenth and eleventh month that William has sponsored. Our thanks to both James and William.
The Photo of the Month harkens back—but not too far back—to yesteryear, when men were men and little boys wore cap busters and cowboy apparel.
First there was Henry V. Davis, our deputy sheriff. Then came his son, H.V. Jr. Then came his son, Henry G. Davis, who lives in Belgium. At age 40, he visited Cliffside and reunited with his father. Read his profile.
And, adding to our growing list of Cliffside High yearbooks, here's the Cliff-Dweller of 1950.
Hey, cobwebs are accumulating in our Company Store! Git on in there and load up on some Cliffside paraphernalia!
02/01/09
February's Photo of the Month shows a long stretch of Cliffside Street as it's being repaved. Remember when the Company was profitable enough to maintain the streets—and houses?
Our thanks to Marc Dedmond's Carolina Trophies for sponsoring the Web site for February, and to all who recently purchased sponsorships, including the latest, Elizabeth Scruggs Grayson.
Nearly everyone remembers Solon Smart, who ran our hardware store. He was a major player in the county's Democratic Party, and in the Spring of 1984 there was a Solon Smart “Day.” The current and several former governors, and many other high-level politicians attended a tribute event over at Ben Humphries' Snuffy Jenkins Music Park. Details are here.
Jim Ingram has sent us a delightful Odd & End (that's singular for Odds & Ends), of a landmark none of you have ever seen. We guarantee it.
Our work on the 1930 Census of the Cliffside area is nearly finished, and may (we stress MAY) be included in our next update on March 1.
01/01/09
Appreciation is extended to James Price, sponsor of the Web site for January
From the photo collection of J.D. "Dugan" Johnson, his son, Clay, has contributed these of the sweet, young faces of the second and third grades in 1944.
There's a significant (33 page) new section in History, Projects. It's titled "Cliffside Obituaries," and is a collection of 116 death notices from over three decades. It's from a scrapbook created by Jessie Campbell Carpenter (1891-1984), from the family of Campbells that included brothers Luther, Clarence and William; and sisters Louella and Nora. Jessie was the mother of Daisy Carpenter Padgett and Polly Carpenter Webster Robbins, whose daughter, Linda Webster Poteat, contributed this material.
In a related document, in the Documents section, under the Genealogy tab, we've added a descendents list of Enos L. Campbell, which includes Jessie Campbell Carpenter. Supplied by Mr. and Mrs. Judson O. Crow.
Also in Documents, under Official Docs, there's Cliffside Mills' annual report to stockholders for 1902. It reveals, in facts and figures, what was happening in the growing town.
Dr. Rush Shull, a son-in-law of R.R. Haynes, was one of Cliffside’s physicians from 1912 until 1920 when he moved his practice to Charlotte. We have a four-tab page containing his profile; an account of an amazing adventure in 1941, where he barely escaped death; and an appreciation of the physician's first son, Joseph Rush Shull, Jr.
In the 1910's and 1920's families on the outskirts of Cliffside lacked one thing the in-town families had: electricity. Some in the Fairview community installed their own power lines and hooked up to the Mill's main source. Read "Do-it-yourself Electrification" in History, Articles.
Mr. Beatty was a man on the go, and was rarely found at the desk in his principal's office, as you see him in this month's Photo of the Month.
There are about 10 new Reader Comments for you to enjoy.
Don't forget to occasionally check the Archive pages for hints of stories you may have missed or want to read again.
And, because we have little else to do, we've revised the Photo Galleries/Photo of the Month index page.
Copyright © 2010 The Cliffside Historical Society