Pegasus, and what place better than a
theatre! She found work at the Theatre
Guild as a lowly ticket seller, but. at
least, she had her foot in the door.
She began writing more plays, all
about the mountain people from her
native Asheville region: first. Sun-up,
then The Shame Woman. She was fired
as ticket seller when the management
learned that she had submitted plays,
although Sun-up, which she wrote in
two weeks, was five years in gaining
recognition. It was first produced by
the Provincetown Players in 1923. then
opened in Chicago. London. Amster¬
dam. Paris and Budapest. It netted the
author over forty thousand dollars,
which Miss Vollmer donated to educa¬
tional work among her beloved moun¬
tain people.
Other plays followed: the Shame
Woman, The Dunce Boy and Trigger.
These never received the accolade
given Sun-up, but helped to establish
her as a recognised playwright.
In the early I930’s radio had come
into its own. and so Lula Vollmer
turned her talents to writing radio
serials. She w'rotc Moonshine and
Honeysuckle for the National Broad¬
casting Company, followed by Grits
and Gravy and The Widow’s Son. all
long-running serials. She was asked to
come to Hollywood as a script writer,
but according to her own words "was
miserable out there." Hollywood’s
idea of play production was not her
forte, so she returned to New York
to her home in Macdougal Alley, in
Greenwich Village. Here she turned to
a new written form, that of the short
story, and found a ready sale for her
brain children. Her stories were pub¬
lished in the Saturday Evening Post
and in Colliers. These were to be her
last literary expressions. She died May
2. 1955 in her home in Macdougal Alley.
Oddly enough. Lula Vollmer has
had scant mention among North Caro¬
lina writers. Richard Walser. in Liter¬
ary North Carolina, gives her a few
lines. Discovering North Carolina by
Nellie M. Rowe docs a better job: a
fairly good account of her life and
work, plus a picture of her. But to learn
more about her. I went to Twentieth
Century' Authors, edited by Stanley J.
Kunitz. where I found much of what
I have recounted. Apparently. Lula
Vollmer has been more recognised out¬
side North Carolina than in the state
itself. She is in Who’s Who, Our Land
and Its Literature by Lowe. British
and American Plays by Tucker, and in
American Drama from the Civil War to
the Present Day by A. H. Quinn.
22
4
Old Resorts Of
The Sandhills
Places famed years ago for their
water and gracious entertainment,
including one that still attracts many
diners.
By PATSY TUCKER
It seems that North Carolina has al¬
ways been a variety vacationland — at
least for the past 100 years or so and it
may be that we will have to turn the
clock back and take to some of the
simpler vacations of the past.
Around the turn of the century one
of the most popular pastimes for va¬
cationing North Carolinians was a
week or two spent at some of the min¬
eral springs in the state.
Grand hotels were located near
some of these springs and the setting
while mostly on the social side was
combined with a good dose of the
healthful spring water that was thought
to be beneficial to a person’s general
health — especially those suffering
from asthma or hay fever.
These hotels were rambling, gra¬
cious hostelries that offered any num¬
ber of entertainments of the day. good
food, good company in a somewhat
elite setting — and of course, the me¬
dicinal qualities of the springs.
Most of the elegant hotels have been
tom down, but at least one remains
standing and is still in operation as a
restaurant, and it rates well in the
Sandhills section where it is located.
Built in 1850 and open with the ex¬
ception of a short period during the
depression the Ellerbe Springs Hotel
(now Restaurant) has been in continu¬
ous operation since it was built.
The little community of Ellerbe is
located in Richmond County and was
the site of a hunting lodge built by a
wealthy South Carolina plantation
owner. Col. W. T. Ellerbe. In 1850 he
purchased 1.077 acres of land, built his
lodge and was the genial host of the
lodge. Large numbers of guests came
to the springs to enjoy the cool waters
and peaceful atmosphere.
Following the Civil War Col. Ellerbe
sold his lodge to T. C. Leak and later
Leak’s son. Tom. erected a 30-room
hotel, a dance pavilion and several
cottages. A rock wall was erected to
protect the spring and the present lake
and a swimming pool were built. A
power plant for electricity was located
at the lake — as were bath and boat
houses. Most of this work remains
today.
The dining room closed about the
time of the depression and Dr. Donald
McIntyre, a retired minister of the
Riverside Baptist Church in New York
City, bought the properly. Later it was
transferred to the Land Bank in Ra¬
leigh and then to Richmond County in
a tax settlement.
Just before World War II it was
leased to the U.S. Government for
training girls to work in communica¬
tions. It was during this time that
Eleanor Roosevelt visited the hotel.
Another illustrious person. Gover¬
nor Cameron Morrison attended
school there when the hotel was made
into a academy. Car races were held
early in the century and when the
Leaks operated the hotel it was the site
of a great deal of political activity.
The hotel was not only an important
resort in the state, but it was also a
popular meeting place for the area.
July Fourth celebrations were held, in
addition to the political rallies and
family reunions. It drew people by the
thousands to dance, swim, picnic and
of course to drink from the springs.
Following Dr. McIntyre’s purchase
the property was leased by the Boy
Scouts. The swimming pool and lake,
the wood trails once used by young
adults continued to be used, but by
young boys learning of nature, crafts
and working on merit badges.
The Boy Scouts maintained the prop¬
erty until the mid I960’s when Camp
THE STATE, march 1912
