Лит/
Requests for
information on State
A total of 3,471! request* for in¬
formation concerning North Carolina
were receive<l by mail by the Gover¬
nor's Hospitality Committee of the
Department of Conservation anil De¬
velopment during April, it was an¬
nounced recently by Director It.
Bruce Etheridge of the Department.
During March 2.523 inquiries "ere
received, in February 1.157. and in
January 855, making a total of 8,011
so far this year.
These inquiries received in April
brings the total number of inquiries
received since the state advertising
campaign started in July of 1037 to
82,812, including some 20,000 in¬
quiries received from the informa¬
tion booth in the North Carolina ex¬
hibit at the New York World’s Fair
last summer. This means that the
Governor's Hospitality Committee
of the Division of State Advertising
has been receiving an average of 2.500
letters a month for the 32 months
the state advertising program has
been in operation. During the peak
months of the spring and summer sea¬
sons the hospitality office frequently
received from 8.000 to 10.000 letters
within a single month.
Each of these 82.812 inquiries
has been answered with one or more
booklets about North Carolina pub¬
lished by the Division of State Ad¬
vertising. while thousands of personal
letters have also been written to those
asking for more specific information
than that contained in the various
publications. The greater number of
requests has been for the “North Car¬
olina, Variety Vaeationland” book¬
let designed especially for vacationists
and tourists, although many thou¬
sands of “Outdoors in North Caro¬
lina.” “Golf in North Carolina” and
of the other booklets have also been
distributed.
In all. more than -100.000 booklets
telling about North Carolina have
been distributed since the advertis¬
ing campaign started.
The Hiddenite is a precious stone
found only in North Carolina. It was
first discovered in Alexander County
about 1879. Hiddenite is a variety
of spodumeme. a well known silicate
of alumina and lithia. The crystals
are transparent and range from col¬
orless to light yellow, into yellowish
green, then into deep yellow emerald
green.
The 200i h anniversary celebration
of Black River Oha|>eI will take place
Sunday. June 2. The church i« lo¬
cated one mile from Ivanhoe, in
Sampson County. You drive on
Г.
S.
Highway 121 through Clinton to Har¬
rell's Store and then turn to the right.
Black River Chapel i- one of the
outstanding historic edifices in North
Carolina. It was the cradle of Pres¬
byterianism in Eastern North Caro¬
lina and the center and rallying place
for culture and evangelism for that
territory drained by the waters of
Colvin’s Creek. Moore’s Creek and
Black River.
In the Kirk Session pa|>ers. which
were destroyed by fire in the Imme of
Joseph M. Beatty, there was a record
of timber* donated for a chapel on
Blaek River in the year 1740. Many
outstanding ministers have preached
from it* pulpits.
The second church building was
erected in 1770 near the site of the
present one. Black River Chapel took
on new life from
177'»
to 1774 with the
arrival of a large number of Scotch
families from the Isle of Arran, many
of whom brought with them their
Kirk letters.
lu 1790, William Robinson, one of
the original elders, was instrumental
in securing for Black River Chapel
its first regular pastor. Rev. Colin
Lindsay. He was received with open
arms and rendered splendid service.
The present edifice was erected in
1-859. It is a commodious building with
its old gallery running across the back
and around both sides. In this gallery
the slaves of our grandfathers sat. In
1859 Black River Chapel was one of
the richest churches in the Presby¬
terian Synod. It is said that the com¬
munity was worth at least a million
and a half dollars. The people owned
many slaves.
On Sunday. June 2. the sermon will
be preached by Rev. R. Murphy Wil¬
liams, starting at II o’clock. Presen¬
tation of a memorial tablet will take
place at 12 o'clock. Lunch will be
served at 1 :00 p.m.. and an historical
address will lie delivered at 2:30 p.m.
A large attendance is expected. — Mary
Colvin Murphy.
Charlotte is Scene
of If if/ Festival
Mecklenburg County celebrated
the 1 «5th anniversary of the siguing
of the Mecklenburg Declaration of In¬
dependence with a gigantic festival.
May 19-22.
On May 20, 1775, more than one
year before the signing of the Ameri¬
can Declaration of Independence,
а
band of patriots met in the log court¬
house nt Charlotte, county seat of
Mecklenburg, and signed a document
declaring themselves free and inde¬
pendent of the rule of George III,
King of England.
The highlight of the celebration this
spring was an historical pageant which
was given on three nights. The climax
came with the coronation of the festi¬
val queen at a ball held the night of
May 21. Also on the program were
army maneuvers, speeches, parades,
concerts, tours, exhibits, a |>ot show,
u horse show, a flower show, street
dances and a marble tournament.
Plans for the festival were initiated
by the Charlotte Junior Chamber of
Commerce. Other civic, patriotic and
( Continued on page eighteen)
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