Western
Carolina
Booster
Grover C. Robbins has
been one of flit* main
forc*es in building* up the
resort town of lllowing
Rock ns well as promot¬
ing the interests of west¬
ern Carolina as a whole.
II
у
R. S. HILL. JR.
Mr. Kobbins sitting near the edge of the famous rock. (Photo by
Emerson Humphrey.)
he came to Blowing Rock. Since
that time he has worked in a num¬
ber of different fields: He was in
the taxi business, the nursery busi¬
ness. raising rhododendron, hem¬
lock. and other native plants; he
was in the theatre business, restau¬
rant business, has served as post¬
master. and mayor, and since 1933
has been the operator cf the Blow¬
ing Rock and the Rock Gift Shop.
When Robbins first came to
Blowing Rock the population was
barely 30, with guest accommoda¬
tions of a mere 500. There was no
Mayview Manor then, few paved
roads, and hardly any tourist facili¬
ties. Now the permanent popula¬
tion of the little resort town is
some 1.500, while tourist accom¬
modations reach nearly 3.000.
In 1919 Robbins was* married to
a Blowing Rock girl and since
then has reared six children and
is also a grandfather.
From 1923 to 1927 he was post¬
master, and during that time was
particularly instrumental in get¬
ting the present postoffice building
built when the old one burned to
the ground.
Similarly, when in 1927 he was
serving on the school board, he
helped build the present high
school building, personally doing
all the buying, the bookkeeping,
and the supervision of the new
structure.
In 1929 he went into the theatre
business, and in 1939 built the
resent motion picture theatre
uilding there.
When in 1933 the townspeople
of Blowing Rock felt that some¬
thing should be done about the
rock itself. Grover Robbins recog¬
nized the possibilities of the scenic
view both as a tourist attraction
and as an asset to the town. He
leased the property from the J. M.
Burnhart estate, and with his part¬
ner. the late Dr. Berrman of Blow¬
ing Rock, set out to build what
was to become a center of attrac¬
tion of that section of the state.
When Robbins first took over
the rock, there was no parking lot.
rather there was only a one-way
road out to the rock from the main
road. There were no rest rooms,
no conveniences of any kind, and
the place was entirely unkept.
Now. sixteen years later, there
are adequate parking spaces, there
are comfortable rest rooms, obser¬
vation towers, clean grounds and
paths to several points of interest
on the rock, and the Rock Gift
Shop, which is an attractive gift
shop and soda counter, with
friendly attendants, always anx¬
ious to give out tourist information
and services.
Again in 1934, this unassuming
man was an instrument in building
( Continued on page 18)
TREMENDOUS progress and
improvement has taken place
in the little mountain resort
town of Blowing Rock in the past
thirty years, 'tourist accommoda¬
tions and entertainment facilities
have been greatly increased, the
business section of the community
has been enlarged and improved,
the Blowing Rock itself has been
built from an abused and unkept
spot to one of western North Caro¬
lina's most famous and most beau¬
tiful points of scenic interest which
thousands of tourists visit each
year.
And. as many Blowing Rockers
realize, a large portion of this prog¬
ress and growth can be either
directly or indirectly attributed to
one man a man who for the past
thirty years has been an outstand¬
ing leader in the civic, commercial,
and social development of the little
community. That figure is Grover
C. Robbins, former mayor, present
Chamber of Commerce president,
and operator of the famed Blowing
Rock.
Since 1919 when he was elected
to the office of mayor for the first
time. Grover Robbins has served
as the town's high official for a
total of 18 years. He has been
either president or director of the
Blowing Rock Chamber of Com¬
merce constantly since its begin¬
ning in 1922. And his list of other
accomplishments and civic posi¬
tions all add up to point to him
as one of the community's real
leaders.
Grover Robbins was born and
reared in Penley, a small Watauga
County community ten miles east
of Blowing Rock. Finally, in 1917.
THE STATE. DCCCMOCR 3.
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