State

The Hills of Rutherford There sire no towns of any size, no industries of any consequence and no spectacular scenery, but there are insiny interesting things to be found sifter you leave the regular lanes of trsivcl. Bif EDGAR ABER\ETIIY IT'S highly probable that when Rutherford County is mentioned the first things you think of are Chimney Rock, Lake Lure, and the popular vacation playground sur¬ rounding these striking scenic features. Maybe you'll also recall the thriving textile industry, which in¬ cludes Henrietta, Caroleen, Avondale, and Cliffside as well as the Forest City, Spindale and Rutherfordton areas. You may oven remember that Forest City has a national reputation as one of the best planned and most beautiful cities of its sire in the country. In all probability that’s as far as you’ll go, for that covers about all the average person knows about Rutherford County; the rest of it is virtually unknown to outsiders. Particularly is this true of the area along the upper edge, between Lake Lure and the South Mountains. This foot-hill country, adjoining Mc¬ Dowell and Burko counties, is com¬ pletely rural; it contains no towns of any size, no industries of conse¬ quence, no spectacular scenic features. In spite of that — or maybe because of that— it has its own peculiar charm. It includes, too, several things of more than passing interest. Bechtler’s Mint It was here that most of the gold was mined from which the well-known Becbtler coins were minted. The total value of the golden stream which poured from the Bechtler mint was more than $2,500,000. Some of the old mines are still being worked in a small way. Among these is the Gold Star mine, near Rutherfordton. This mine is less than a mile from U. S. Highway 221, not very far from the original site of the Bechtler mint. (It was later moved to Rutherfordton.) If you have any romantic illusions about gold mines, they will be quickly dispelled when you see one. A gold mine is neither more nor less glamor¬ ous than any other hole in the ground — a well, for instance. In the Gold Star mine the gold is found in the form of quartz ore, but in earlier days a great deal of free metal was washed from the gravel of stream beds, usually by slave labor. The streams of a certain section in the northeastern comer of the county, at the foot of the South Mountains, were especially rich in the precious metal, so much so that it became known as Golden Valley, and bears that name to this day. Also Produces Mica Gold is not the only mineral product of Rutherford; mica is also found, and is being produced today. As you probably know, mica is an essential material of war, and every effort is being made to get it out as fast as possible. Six miles from Golden Valley is the little community of Sunshine. I don’t know how it got its name; it was raining the day I passed through, and nary a ray of sunlight did I see. I did see the handsome high school building, which residents proudly proclaim is the prettiest in the county. It may well be all of that, located as it is in a grove of pines on a hill¬ top, with a nice view of some of the rolling hills nearby. The Golden Valley elementary school building makes no particular pretensions to unusual beauty, but there’s a unique circumstance of a financial nature connected with it. Forty or fifty years ago a citizen The log postoffice at Gilkey, Ruther¬ ford County. It is one of the smallest postoffices in the state. of the community, Mr. Abraham Hunt, died and left a bequest for the purpose of erecting a school building. A few years back when the slate got ready to put up the present building Mr. Hunt's bequest, amounting with accumulated interest to nearly $3,000. was added to the state appropriation, allowing the building to be much better than would otherwise have been the ease. Such cases may be common, but I’ve never heard of another just like it. Most of the communities in the Rutherford hills seem to have at least one unusual feature. In the case of Gilkey, it’s the little log postoffice, which you may have noticed by the roadside if you’ve ever traveled be¬ tween Rutherfordton and Marion by automobile, over U S 221. Union Mills is less than a mil.- off the same highway, about half-way between the two cities. From the name, you’d think it. was a textile town, but it’s not ; the name is derived from the sawmills and planing mills which used to be located here. It’s undoubtedly the prettiest and most prosperous-appearing little town I have ever seen. With its beautiful homes and handsome churches, it gives the impression of a better-class resi¬ dential section of some city rather than of a village back in the hills. A Fine Orphanage The Alexander Schools, Inc., is a rather unusual institution which is located here. As you probably know, most orphanages are 100 per cent charity institutions; they can receive ( Continued on page twcniy-two) e