_ The State We’re In
Mountain Woman Saves
Historic Bridge
Tin* perseverance of one moun-
lain woman. Rachel Deal, has
saved a 66-year-old mountain
bridge.
The wooden footbridge served as a
crossover path from historic C.rossnore
School to Crossnore Presbyterian
Church as far back as the early 1920s.
The North Carolina Department of
Transportation decided last year that
the bridge, which crosses over U.S. 221,
had to come down because it was
endangering travel on the road.
It was then that Deal. 66. an active
senior citizen in Avery County and for¬
mer Charlotte Opera company singer,
took on the project to save the bridge.
“I had sentimental reasons and his¬
toric reasons for saving the bridge.” says
Deal, who grew up in Crossnore and
attended the Crossnore School, a
preparatory school for mountain chil¬
dren that dates back to 191 1.
Deal recalls when students would
walk hand-in-hand over the bridge to
attend church on Sundays.
The bridge drew attention of several
Crossnore School alumni in the state,
including State Treasurer Harlan
Boyles, who urged state officials not to
destroy the structure.
For several months. Deal wrote letters
to Governor Jim Hunt and President
Bill Clinton, and gathered several hun¬
dred signatures on petitions to appeal
to the stale about the bridge.
Although the state stood by the high¬
way department's decision and
removed the bridge earlier this year, it
surprised Deal by presenting her with
the bridge.
"This was the best news I had in
years." Deal says.
“I am just glad my efforts for history
and the school made a difference.”
Deal adds. "I am very happy about all of
this."
The Department of Transportation
moved the structure and placed it on the
square in Crossnore. located off of U.S.
221 North.
The bridge has been nicknamed
"Biidge of Memories” and was dedicated
at ceremonies held during Crossnore
School's 65th annual reunion July 15.
Deal, alumni president of the
Crossnore School, presented the school
with an engraved plaque that will Ik-
placed on the structure. It reads, "For
those that share the memories (1930-
95).”
— Judy A us ley
Charlotte Library
Tops In Nation
From electronic libraries to home-
work-help programs to community
frccncts, the Public Library of
Charlotte and Mecklenburg County
(PLCMC) has been paring the way for
new and innovative library program¬
ming.
And now it has been recognized for
its efforts.
The library was named the national
Library of the Year in June by Library
Journal magazine. PLCMC was selected
from 40 nominees from a pool of more
than 9.000 library systems nationwide.
The library was specifically cited for its
service to the Charlotte/ Mecklenburg
community, its creativity and innova¬
tion in coping with the changing needs
of its public and the role it plays by cre¬
ating programs that can be emulated
by other libraries.
“They {Library Journal) want to make
sure they don’t just look for wealth, but
how money is used and what other
institutions can model from us," says
Robert F. Cannon, executive director
of the PI.C.MC libraries. He says there
are plenty of libraries with more wealth
than PLCMC but few that use money as
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PICMC
PLCMC has attracted such speakers as
Kurt Vonnegut to its S’ovello series.
creatively.
One of the programs that was a
deciding factor in the PLCMC winning
was the I .earning Support Center at the
CityView Branch Library. This center
offers young people help with their
homework and lessons in how to use
computer technology.
Another new program that has
canted PLCMC much recognition is
Charlotte’s Web, an on-line computer
system available free to the public. The
program is sponsored by PLCMC and
The State/ August 1995
Y~
other local educational institutions.
Cannon says the jobs database, which
lists available jobs in the area, is the
most actively used part of the system.
In addition to bringing technology to
children and connecting the commu¬
nity through technology, library-users
can access the latest computer
resources in the Virtual Library. This
facility provides free computer train¬
ing, as well as access to information
databases. CD-ROMs and the Internet.
Located at the downtown Charlotte
branch, this library- is the fust of its
kind in the nation.
Another feather in the PLCMC cap
was its very successful Novello Festival
of Reading event held each year.
The PLCMC system, which has had a
100 percent increase in circulation and
use since 1989, opened in 1903 with
one main branch. It has since grown to
22 branches. With eight new libraries
under construction and new programs
being developed. Cannon says there
are many great tilings yet to come to
library-users in Mecklenburg County.
"With . . . the resources we have, no
one in the U.S. is doing what we're
doing, in my opinion.” Cannon says.
— Rachael iMndau
