Making Good Neighbors

Making Good Neighbors
Author: Abigail Perkiss
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 227
Release: 2014-03-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 0801470846

In the 1950s and 1960s, as the white residents, real estate agents, and municipal officials of many American cities fought to keep African Americans out of traditionally white neighborhoods, Philadelphia's West Mount Airy became one of the first neighborhoods in the nation where residents came together around a community-wide mission toward intentional integration. As West Mount Airy experienced transition, homeowners fought economic and legal policies that encouraged white flight and threatened the quality of local schools, seeking to find an alternative to racial separation without knowing what they would create in its place. In Making Good Neighbors, Abigail Perkiss tells the remarkable story of West Mount Airy, drawing on archival research and her oral history interviews with residents to trace their efforts, which began in the years following World War II and continued through the turn of the twenty-first century.The organizing principles of neighborhood groups like the West Mount Airy Neighbors Association (WMAN) were fundamentally liberal and emphasized democracy, equality, and justice; the social, cultural, and economic values of these groups were also decidedly grounded in middle-class ideals and white-collar professionalism. As Perkiss shows, this liberal, middle-class framework would ultimately become contested by more militant black activists and from within WMAN itself, as community leaders worked to adapt and respond to the changing racial landscape of the 1960s and 1970s. The West Mount Airy case stands apart from other experiments in integration because of the intentional, organized, and long-term commitment on the part of WMAN to biracial integration and, in time, multiracial and multiethnic diversity. The efforts of residents in the 1950s and 1960s helped to define the neighborhood as it exists today.

Mount Airy

Mount Airy
Author: Elizabeth Farmer Jarvis
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2008
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780738557403

Mount Airy got its name from William Allen's 1750 summer estate, eight miles from Philadelphia. For much of its early history, Mount Airy remained rural, with a thriving mill community along the Cresheim and Wissahickon Creeks, yet also accessible, connected to Philadelphia and the outlying towns by the Germantown Road. The 1777 Battle of Germantown brought the Revolutionary War to the village's doorsteps when George Washington's troops attacked the British. In the 19th century, when two railroad lines traversed Mount Airy, the old estates and farms gave way to a fresh grid of streets, fashionable new developments such as Pelham, and important institutions, including the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. Mount Airy contains many never-before-published images from family albums and historical archives, showing the area as it once was and how it grew to become one of the few neighborhoods in America celebrated for its racial integration.

Murder in Mayberry

Murder in Mayberry
Author: Donna G. Smith
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2012-08-17
Genre: Crime
ISBN: 9781478363941

In the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains lies the town of Mount Airy, North Carolina. "Mount Airy served as the inspiration for the fictional town of Mayberry featured on the hit television series The Andy Griffith Show. Much like its fictional counterpart, Mount Airy is still characterized by many of the qualities and values that endear Mayberry to so many people". Mount Airy is the hometown of Andy Griffith and is thought of as America's Hometown. Amazing true crime stories, from the real Mayberry, spanning the years 1892 to 1976. Some of the stories you will read may sound beyond belief. You may find yourself saying "It couldn't have happened in Mayberry,"but it did! The book contains 25 short stories that cover 35 murders. The story will take you from the murder to the conclusion of the trial.

A History of the Mount Airy, N. C. Commissioners' Meetings 1885-1895

A History of the Mount Airy, N. C. Commissioners' Meetings 1885-1895
Author: Dean W. Brown
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2010
Genre: History
ISBN: 1450047092

Minutes of the Mount Airy City Commissioners Mayor J. H. Sparger W. F. Carter G. C. Welch Commissioner J. M. Davis Commissioner W. E. Merritt Commissioner G. C. Welch Commissioner S. W. Gentry Commissioner B. F. Sparger Commissioner J. I. Belton Mount Airy, N. C. January 4, 1895 The Following amendments were ordered to the minutes of Dec. 4. Mr. Belton was not absent but late, about an hour. The matter of widening Main Street above the bridge north of town was continued, the commissioners not being satisfied with the damages allowed Mrs. Harris by the board of assessors. Mount Airy, N. C. January 14, 1895 The Board of Town commissioners met according to the agreement of the last meeting for the regular transaction of the business of the town. The meeting was promptly called to order at nine and a-half o'clock by the chairman. All were present except Mr. Sparger who is still sick. After correction, the minutes of the last regular meeting were approved. The Street Committee had no report. The Finance Committee had no report. The Committee for the sale of the mule reported no sale as yet. The chief of Police made the following report, which was approved. Cost of fines Collected in Dec. 75.30 Real Estate Tax Collected in Dec. 30.00 Special Tax Collected in Dec. 11.45 Due in December Gregg-Police for December 45.00 Allred-Police for December 30.00 Brunner-Street Cleaning 8.30 W. T. Taylor-Mule Board 10.00 John Glenn-Worked out fine 22.65 Dove Marion-Worked out fine 7.95 Alford and Juro Bower 2.95 Ed Conrad-Work on Rockford St. 4.40 Geo. Brooks- Garbage 1.25 The following accounts were allowed: Massey Smith 1.04 Worth and Welch-Quilts 1.50 The Treasurer made the following report: Balance from last year's report 13.67 Received of Gregg 271.19 Paid old Board Accounts and Vouchers 63.11 Paid accounts, damages, general expenses 228.78 Mr. J. L. Worth made statements before the Board in regard to gravel hauled off his place. The Town thought its former Board promised him 10 cents per load for gravel, but never paid him. After some discussion, Mr. Worth was allowed $40.00 for the former board's account and $9.00 for the gravel hauled in 1894. The matter of opening Main Street above the Railroad Bridge was continued until the next meeting and Mr. Belton was appointed a committee of one to see what the damages would be if the street was only widened on the east side, he is to report at the next meeting. There was no other business before the Board. Adjourned W. F. Carter, Chairman W. E. Merritt, Sec. Mount Airy, N. C. February 5, 1895 The Board of Town Commissioners met in regular session at the Town Hall and were called to order by the chairman at nine o'clock. All were present except Mr. Sparger, who is still sick. A committee was appointed to dispose of the mule reported that they had sold for $38.00 and purchased another one for $76.00. The report was satisfactory and the committee discharged. The Chief of Police made the following report, which was accepted. Cost and fines collected in Jan. 53.95 Real Estate Tax 400.00 Special License 12.00 Amount Due in February J. O. Gregg- Chief of Police 53.95 S. N. Allred-Assistant Police 30.00 W. T. Taylor-Mule Board 10.00 W. L. Banner-Street Cleaning 8.33 Geo Brooks-Garbage 7.40 D. M. Hodges-Board prisoners .80 Felix Cockerham-Worked fine on street 6.67 Due on Back Warrants 261.55 The Treasurer responded as follows: Received of Gregg-Chief of Police 151.00 Sold Mule 38.00 Pd. Balance on last report 7.03 Pd. Vouchers Total 153.49 Pd. Mule 76.00 It was moved and carried that the chairman appoints a committee to act with himself in ascertaining the cost of lots, buildings, and equipment for graded schools. He should have the power to spend what money is necessary for the above purpose and report at the next regular meeting. The secretary was appointed. W. F. Carter was unanimously elected and qualified as mayor for the term expiring May. Next Capt. J. O. Gregg was elected Chief of Police without

Memories of Mayberry

Memories of Mayberry
Author: Jewell Mitchell Kutzer
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2001
Genre: Andy Griffith show (Television program)
ISBN: 9780971100046

Step behind the characters and scenes in Mayberry, televisions favorite hometown, and discover ANDY GRIFFITHS real hometown, Mount Airy, North Carolina. Learn the secrets of the real Snappy Lunch, the Sheriff of Andys youth, and much more! The author grew up there during the same era, and reveals with humor and insight their hometowns influence on The Andy Griffith Show.

A Tale of Two Plantations

A Tale of Two Plantations
Author: Richard S. Dunn
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 553
Release: 2014-11-04
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0674735366

Richard Dunn reconstructs the lives of three generations of slaves on a sugar estate in Jamaica and a plantation in Virginia, to understand the starkly different forms slavery took. Deadly work regimens and rampant disease among Jamaican slaves contrast with population expansion in Virginia leading to the selling of slaves and breakup of families.

The Days of Afrekete

The Days of Afrekete
Author: Asali Solomon
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Total Pages: 159
Release: 2021-10-19
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0374721904

“I didn't feel like I was reading this novel—I felt like I was living it.” —Ann Patchett, author of The Dutch House From award-winning author Asali Solomon, The Days of Afrekete is a tender, surprising novel of two women at midlife who rediscover themselves—and perhaps each other, inspired by Mrs. Dalloway, Sula, and Audre Lorde's Zami Liselle Belmont is having a dinner party. It seems a strange occasion—her husband, Winn, has lost his bid for the state legislature—but what better way to thank key supporters than a feast? Liselle was never sure about her husband becoming a politician, never sure about the limelight, never sure about the life of fundraising and stump speeches. Then an FBI agent calls to warn her that Winn might be facing corruption charges. An avalanche of questions tumbles around her: Is it possible he’s guilty? Who are they to each other; who have they become? How much of herself has she lost—and was it worth it? And just this minute, how will she make it through this dinner party? Across town, Selena Octave is making her way through the same day, the same way she always does—one foot in front of the other, keeping quiet and focused, trying not to see the terrors all around her. Homelessness, starving children, the very living horrors of history that made America possible: these and other thoughts have made it difficult for her to live an easy life. The only time she was ever really happy was with Liselle, back in college. But they’ve lost touch, so much so that when they ran into each other at a drugstore just after Obama was elected president, they barely spoke. But as the day wears on, memories of Liselle begin to shift Selena’s path. Inspired by Mrs. Dalloway and Sula, as well as Audre Lorde’s Zami, Asali Solomon’s The Days of Afrekete is a deft, expertly layered, naturally funny, and deeply human examination of two women coming back to themselves at midlife. It is a watchful celebration of our choices and where they take us, the people who change us, and how we can reimagine ourselves even when our lives seem set.

This Tender Land

This Tender Land
Author: William Kent Krueger
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 464
Release: 2019-09-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1476749310

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! “If you liked Where the Crawdads Sing, you’ll love This Tender Land...This story is as big-hearted as they come.” —Parade The unforgettable story of four orphans who travel the Mississippi River on a life-changing odyssey during the Great Depression. In the summer of 1932, on the banks of Minnesota’s Gilead River, Odie O’Banion is an orphan confined to the Lincoln Indian Training School, a pitiless place where his lively nature earns him the superintendent’s wrath. Forced to flee after committing a terrible crime, he and his brother, Albert, their best friend, Mose, and a brokenhearted little girl named Emmy steal away in a canoe, heading for the mighty Mississippi and a place to call their own. Over the course of one summer, these four orphans journey into the unknown and cross paths with others who are adrift, from struggling farmers and traveling faith healers to displaced families and lost souls of all kinds. With the feel of a modern classic, This Tender Land is an enthralling, big-hearted epic that shows how the magnificent American landscape connects us all, haunts our dreams, and makes us whole.

The Tannery

The Tannery
Author: Michael A Almond
Publisher:
Total Pages: 338
Release: 2021-10-19
Genre:
ISBN: 9781646634873

"Far more than a legal thriller, though it is that . . . Some of this tale will sound disturbingly familiar to readers in the 21st Century, all the more reason to consider its lessons. History can come alive in a work of great fiction. This is one of those times." -Frye Gaillard, Civil Rights Historian, Author of A Hard Rain: America in the 1960s July 5, 1900, Wilkes County, North Carolina: The beautiful young daughter of tannery owner Jakob Schumann is found dead on the north bank of the Yadkin River, brutally beaten, a skinning knife in her chest. Who killed Rachel Schumann? And why? Ambitious Wilkes prosecutor Vincent Taliaferro has arrested Virgil Wade, a mulatto boy, and is convinced the case is open and shut. But local lawyer Ben Waterman is not so sure. Ben's investigation uncovers evidence that undermines the prosecutor's case and points in an entirely different direction. But can he prove it? Can he convince an all-White, all-male jury of Virgil's innocence? The Tannery transports readers to the turbulent world of the post-Reconstruction South. Reflecting issues prominent in today's headlines, themes of Black voter suppression and intimidation, the violence and depravity of vigilante "justice," and the rise of Jim Crow drive the narrative to its dramatic and surprising conclusion.

Factory Man

Factory Man
Author: Beth Macy
Publisher: Little, Brown
Total Pages: 469
Release: 2014-07-15
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0316231568

The instant New York Times bestseller about one man's battle to save hundreds of jobs by demonstrating the greatness of American business. The Bassett Furniture Company was once the world's biggest wood furniture manufacturer. Run by the same powerful Virginia family for generations, it was also the center of life in Bassett, Virginia. But beginning in the 1980s, the first waves of Asian competition hit, and ultimately Bassett was forced to send its production overseas. One man fought back: John Bassett III, a shrewd and determined third-generation factory man, now chairman of Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Co, which employs more than 700 Virginians and has sales of more than $90 million. In Factory Man, Beth Macy brings to life Bassett's deeply personal furniture and family story, along with a host of characters from an industry that was as cutthroat as it was colorful. As she shows how he uses legal maneuvers, factory efficiencies, and sheer grit and cunning to save hundreds of jobs, she also reveals the truth about modern industry in America.