Small Town
Gan also Be
Rich & Proud
La Grange thrives in
middle of a prosperous
farming territory.
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йтш*
,J% * • • i ' wk
The »«hool plont ol Lo Gronge i»
о
modern
structure. At the Iclt is shown
о
portion of the
physical education building, in the center is the
clcmontory building ond to the right is
о
portion
of the high school unit. — i Photos by Poul
Berwick. I
The Lo Gronge Clinic ser.es
о
big oreo of Lenoir,
Woyne ond Greene counties. Two doctors stoff
the Clinic which is a public institution con¬
structed by the Town of Lo Gronge ond Lenoir
County for better health facilities in the area.
By PALL PLEASANT
In La Grange they say "Farming
Turns Our Tap,” and they say it truth¬
fully and proudly. For here is a farm¬
ing center which has prospered while
many other rural towns wept over de¬
clining agriculture.
Many of the citizens are farmers
who live in town and operate exten¬
sive holdings through the tenant sys¬
tem. Some of them farm 600 or more
acres. The consequence is that La
Grange is surrounded by large farms
operated in small units. It is a dairy
section, with at least ten dairies on the
edge of town.
Those who do not themselves own
or operate farms make their living by
trading with or servicing the farm own¬
ers and their tenants. In recent years.
La Grange also has grown as a resi¬
dential town. People working in other
places, such as the Kinston DuPont
Plant or Seymour Johnston Field near
Goldsboro, have their homes in La
Grange. A bus system takes them to
and from work.
In spite of its farm flavor. La Grange
has several small industries, including
a farm machinery assembly plant, and
a tobacco curer assembly plant mak¬
ing also tobacco flues and fuel tanks.
There is a cotton market, gin, and
hatchery'.
The town has its own newspaper,
bank, building and loan, a bustling
business section about two blocks
square, a large consolidated school
(elementary and high) and one of the
largest consolidated Negro schools in
the state. The latter, the Frink School,
is so excellent that Negroes from other
sections of the county have moved
into the area so their children may get
their education there. It was named
for a Negro educator who was a leader
of his race.
There is a library, Jaycecs, WOW.
VFW, Masonic Lodge, Rotary Club,
medical clinic, a recreation program
with Little League baseball. It is quite
a sports center, too, with tremendous
enthusiasm for high school athletics,
especially for the football team. The
town has a semi-pro baseball team,
with its own baseball park
Since 1954, La Grange has under¬
gone something of a religious revival.
In that year, none of the churches had
a full-time pastor. That is, all the
ministers of the La Grange churches
had more than one pulpit to serve.
Now, full-time pastors arc employed
by the Methodists, the Christians, the
Baptists, the Free Will Baptists and
Church of God, In addition to these
churches, the town also has a Presby¬
terian Church. There are numerous
colored churches in the town and
nearby rural sections.
The town's ABC store has the largest
sales of any in Lenoir, mostly because
of patronage from nearby dry Wayne.
In 1959 La Grange reorganized its
Merchants Association into a Chamber
30
THE STATE. October 31. >959
