Polk County Glen
Enticing Visitors
For 60 years folks have become
increasingly drawn 10 a singular tract of
concent rated wilderness in western
North Carolina known as Pearson’s
Falls Glen.
Located in southwest Polk County
between Saluda and Tryon. the narrow,
secluded valley annually attracts some
11.000 nature lovers who may find
more than 200 species ol mixed-hard-
wood trees and other plants native to
this botanical wonderland of the
Pacolci River Valley.
Even at
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acres, the Glen lias
emerged as an
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ape area for families
looking for suminci fun, a hot spot for
school field trips and wildlife haven and
outdoor lab for botanists and other sci¬
ence-orientated professors.
A bubbling stream. Colt Creek, tum¬
bles against and around granite boul¬
ders. and parallels a quarter-mile
nature trail. A diversely lush array of
ferns (including maidenhair and the
rare walking fern, plus II other types)
escorts those ambling along the trail,
which eventually ends at the foot of the
cascading 90-foot waterfall.
The Glen reclines in a thermocline
wherein cold Northern winds overlap
warm Southern breezes to create a tem¬
perate zone that houses a unique dis¬
play of flora that makes the site a mccca
for plant specialists. Not surprisingly,
the Glen has been the locale for several
botanical discoveries: the big red trilli-
um. new varieties of rhododendron,
wild ginger, crowfoot, phlox and linden
(basswood).
The Glen peaks in the spring. From
March through May, it hosts a succes¬
sion of wildfiowers. First comes tooth-
wort. the anemones, duckweed, hepati-
ca, trilliums and various violets.
Dazzling blood root accompanies the
rare trout lily, showy orchid and Jack-in-
thc-pulpit. By late April, while Canada
violets dominate while foam flowers
pop up everywhere like miniscule fuzzy-
pink skyscr.q>eiv Bv May, devil’s bit
waves its white crooked fingers in
dense, ghostly colonics across forest
floors.
Subject of a booklet by the late,
world-renowned naturalist Donald
Culross Peattie, A Satura! History of
Pearson's hills, the Glen lias been desig-
Pearson 1 Falls tumbles 90 feet down into
a secluded Polk County valley .
nated a North Carolina Natural
Heritage Area, and is owned and over¬
seen by the Tryon Garden Club, whose
original membership rescued the Glen
from the woodman's ax many decades
ago. Today, various sites at the Glen arc
named after late, prominent members
of the garden club, such as the Doris
Pitkin Buck Rock, the Francis
l.ightcncr Ledge, the Ethel James
Chase Bridge and the Elizabeth
Webster Way Nature Trail, named after
the club president from 1916 to 1952.
The Glen is named after one Charles
William Pearson, an engineer who dis¬
covered the Blue Ridge hideaway while
hunting mountain passages for the
impending Southern Railroad in the
early 1900s. Instead, lie bought the
land for himself. But in 19.31 his son
needed to sell his share of the acreage
and was about to do so to a timber com¬
pany when the garden club stepped in
to buy it anil, by doing so. preserved its
beauty for future generations of out¬
door enthusiast*.
Located just off U.S. Highway 176.
four miles north of Tryon and three
miles south of Saluda, the Glen Is open
year-round except on Mondays and
Tuesdays from November I through
March I. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission is $1.50 for adults. 50 cents
for those ages 6 to 12 and free to chil¬
dren under 6. Picnic tables and rest
benches are interspersed along the
trail, which can be strenuous at times.
— Bill We ekes
Oldest Public University Library
Enters Third Century Of Service
From a slu-ll of IkkiLs in the first pres¬
ident’s office to more than 4.3 million
volumes in five main libraries and 1 1
departmental collections. the
University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill library has been a valuable
resource for UNC students and the
state’s citizens for more than 200 years.
Last month, the nation’s oldest pub¬
lic university library celebrated its
200th birthday.
As the library moves into its third
century of service, it offers the universi¬
ty community and others a chance to
reflect on where it has been, where it is
today and where it is going, says Dr. Joe
Hewitt, associate provost for university
libraries.
Age alone isn't the UNC library's only
claim to fame. It ranks 19th among
peer libraries, according to the
Association of Research Libraries.
Its strengths are measured by more
than just numbers. Besides a strong
general collection, UNC’s special col¬
lections are unique. Hewitt says.
“Among any group of peers of public
research universities, the special collec¬
tions here are especially distinguished."
Hewitt says. “We started (creating spe¬
cial collections) earlier than most, par¬
ticularly state university libraries. There
were very few special collections before
the 1930s."
Thc university began its venture into
that arena in 1909 under the guidance
of librarian Louis Round Wilson, who
successfully garnered endowments and
other support.
Today, its flourishing special collec¬
tions include the North Carolina
Collection, which tracks 400 years of
Tar I leel life and is the largest holding
of information on a single suite in the
nation, and the Southern Historical
Collection, which features 14 million
manuscripts dating from the 17th cen¬
tury that cover every Southern state.
Coupled with the Southern Folklife
Collection, the Rare Book Collection
and others, the information is an
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