Record #:

23457

Author(s):

Kammerer, Roger

Abstract:

The author gives a series of local stories which include the collapse of the drawbridge over the Tar River in Greenville in 1899. Apparently, the accident occurred during a test of the newly repaired and renovated structure. As the span fell, five workers were thrown into the water. Although four of the men were rescued, John Worsley of Rocky Mount was killed in the accident. The Wednesday Afternoon Club was organized by a group of young ladies from Greenville in 1910. Meeting in Miss Helen Forbes's home, the club's purpose was to encourage the ladies' practice of domestic arts, such as cooking. The old beech tree on the corner of Washington and Third Streets in Greenville was cut down in 1908 by the city because it was blocking the sidewalk. The age of the tree was unknown, but it must have been old indeed considering that even the oldest person in town could not remember when it was planted. There was a fight in 1901, between two local boys, Hill Horne and Hassell Daniel, over the water pump in the yard of the Forbes' house in Greenville. Brandishing a small knife, Hassell stabbed Hill in the chest. Luckily for Hill, his breastbone stopped the knife from going very far. Jim Anderson, a friend of the two boys, quickly broke up the fight. M.R. Lang, a Greenville merchant, devised something new for the ladies of the town in 1891. In his store, Lang had a box with a large bell attached to it. When a lady placed a penny into the slot on the top of the box and a handkerchief under the bell, the bell rang and a small amount of perfume was sprayed onto the handkerchief.

Source:

Greenville Times / Pitt's Past (NC Microforms), Vol. Issue , Sep 1-14 2004, p6-7

Subject(s):

Pitt County--History