Blanket Town: The Rise and Fall of an American Mill Town

Serpent Child Ensemble, a Swannanoa arts group, will present portions of its documentary film, about the rise and fall of the Beacon Blanket Mill at the Bee Tree Fire Station Community Room on Sunday, February 20, 2011 from 2 til 4pm. The film's working title is "Blanket Town: The Rise and Fall of an American Mill Town." Dr Roxanne Newton will also give a short talk on the history of textile mills in North Carolina. This event is free and open to the public.

Serpent Child Ensemble, which produced the popular Way Back When series of plays at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts, is led by Jerry Pope and Rebecca Williams. "We've been collecting stories in the Swannanoa Valley for a long time," Williams said. "After the fire destroyed the plant, we were struck by how emotional people were about it - how attached they were to the mill as a symbol of the heart of this community. As we started hearing their stories, we realized that it was so much more than a place to work, it was a way of life." "We're interested in discovering how the changes in our small community reflect changes on a national and global scale," says Pope. "How does a town make the transition from a thriving mill town to what is basically a bedroom community for Asheville? How do people cope with job loss, and how do they maintain that healthy communal bond that the Beacon factory gave them?"

While the film is not completed, the filmmakers wanted to show the community what they've done so far and get some feedback. Additionally, Dr Newton, director of the Humanities and Fine Arts Division at Mitchell Community College, will give a multimedia presentation on mills and mill workers.

This project is made possible in part by a grant from the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is also made possible in part by a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council. It receives technical support from URTV, Woodland Productions, and bclip Productions. Partners in this project include the Swannanoa Valley Museum, Swannanoa Pride Community Coalition, The University of North Carolina, and Warren Wilson College. For more information about the project or to contribute photos or footage of the Beacon Mill or mill village call Serpent Child Ensemble at (828) 686-3922. In case of snow, the event will be postponed to Saturday,

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=194024960622106

SWANNANOA GROUP OFFERS FIRST PEEK AT BEACON MILL DOCUMENTARY FILM

PRESS RELEASE
IMMEDIATE
SERPENT CHILD ENSEMBLE
Contact: Jerry Pope
686-3922
jerry@serpentchild.org

SWANNANOA GROUP OFFERS FIRST PEEK AT DOCUMENTARY FILM

Serpent Child Ensemble, a Swannanoa arts group, will present portions of its documentary film about the rise and fall of the Beacon Blanket Mill at the Bee Tree Fire Station Community room Saturday, June 6, from 1 til 3pm. There will be a panel discussion with former Beacon employees led by Dr Roxanne Newton and a presentation of original songs about Swannanoa and the village by local songwriter Bert Brown.

Serpent Child Ensemble, which produced the popular Way Back When series of plays at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts is led by Jerry Pope and Rebecca Williams.
“We were so taken by the loyalty the Beacon employees, even after the mill had burned down,” Williams said. “We included many Beacon stories in the plays, but felt there was a bigger story to be told. The detail and scope we wanted to present called for a documentary.” “This film will really be about the idea of community as it has changed over the years,” Williams added. “Most of the folks who worked at Beacon started out as farmers, then became factory workers, and now live in the post-industrial economy. It’s the history of America right here in our little town.”

While the film is far from being completed, the filmmakers wanted to show the community what they’ve done so far and get some feedback. To this end, Dr Newton, director of the Humanities and Fine Arts Division at Mitchell Community College, will lead a public discussion of issues raised in the as yet un-named film. Five former Beacon workers will tell stories and give their input.

Bert Brown, grandson of longtime Buncombe County Sheriff Lawrence Brown, will present just a few of the many songs he composed for the Way Back When plays, including the popular “Swannanoa, Where are You Going.”

This project is made possible in part by a grant from the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is also supported by Swannanoa Valley Museum, Swannanoa Pride Community Coalition, The University of North Carolina- Ramsey Library – Special Collections, and Warren Wilson College.

For more information, call Serpent Child Ensemble at 686-3922.

Learn More About the Documentary Film at
http://beaconmilldocumentary.blogspot.com/2009/05/story.html

Documentary to recapture rise and loss of Beacon blanket mill

by Carol Motsinger
Asheville Citizen-Times
Sunday May 24

In the past decade, Jerry Pope and Rebecca Williams, of Swannanoa, have traveled the United States collecting oral histories to use as source material for plays and other art projects. But when they wanted to document how community has changed in America, they looked no farther than their hometown.
Founders of the socially conscious theater company Serpent Child Ensemble, the two are making a documentary about the rise and fall of the Beacon Manufacturing blanket mill. The movie will examine how the mill changed Swannanoa from farm country to a bustling industrial town and how, after the closing and destruction of the mill, the town in recent years has been searching for a new identify.
The mill, which was at one time the largest employer in Swannanoa, closed about seven years ago, a year before the sprawling factory was destroyed by a teenage arsonist.
"We were so taken by the loyalty of the Beacon employees, even after the mill had burned down," Williams said. "We included many Beacon stories in plays but felt there was a bigger story to be told. The detail and scope we wanted to present called for a documentary."
"This film will really be about the idea of community as it has changed over the years," Williams added. "It's the history of America right here in our little town."

Sneak peak
The filmmakers will host a panel discussion with former Beacon employees at the Bee Tree Fire Station Community 1-3 p.m. June 6. The program will feature a performance of songs about Swannanoa by Bert Brown that will appear in the film.
The event will also give residents an opportunity to get a sneak peek at excerpts from the film, as well as suggest material for the project, Pope said.
The Serpent Child Ensemble most notably produced the "Way Back When" series of plays at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts, but this is the first time the troupe has made a film. Pope said he's not sure when the film will be completed, but he plans to enter it into contests and hopes that PBS will find it well-suited for its programming.
"It's a sharp learning curve," Pope said of filmmaking. "We really know how to tell a story. What we are having to learn is the technical aspect."

More than a mill
So, what exactly is this story? The Owen family, who owned the mill, moved the Beacon mill to Western North Carolina from Massachusetts in the 1920s; the complex covered 40 acres. In addition to employing entire families in Swannanoa, it brought in workers from outside counties.
A town of doctor's offices, a movie theater and grocery stores sprung up to meet the needs of this growing population, Pope said.
But this development is only one of the aspects of the mill's story that attracted the attention of Williams and Pope. It's the emotional bond among the workers and between the owners and the work force that deserved to be captured on film, Pope said.
"When the mill burned down, we would see old people in their cars or pickup trucks just sobbing," Pope said.
And when they sat down with former employees to learn more about this connection, what they heard were tales of love affairs and practical jokes. They heard of the long lines of long faces who would line up to visit one of the Charles Owenses for advice or even a loan for a child's college career. (All of the owners were Charles Owens. Charles Owen II, for example, moved the factory to WNC.)
Although the mill's building is long gone, the relationships constructed within those walls still exist. There are even Beacon Manufacturing reunions every year, Pope said.
"What's going to make this movie interesting to people outside of Swannanoa is that it really is a metaphor for what's going on all over the country," Pope added.
"It's also a record of what Swannanoa is now, which will add to the story of the Southern mill experience."

Additional Facts
BEACON MILL TODAY

The Beacon Manufacturing blanket mill closed in 2002 and burned in a spectacular fire in September 2003. About 57,000 tons of debris was removed from the site after the fire, and in March 2005 the investment group Swannanoa Valley Properties bought the property for $1 million. The investors, including Bob Ingle and Gordon Myers, began a cleanup of the 42-acre site in late 2008, although they said development would have to wait until the economy recovers. The site could eventually include retail, commercial and residential components, investors said.

Find more about Serpent Child Ensemble online at http://serpentchild.org/

Beacon Mill Property For Sale

Sales Information for site of the former Beacon Blanket Mill

Fantastic development opportunity in Swannanoa.

42 acres with frontage on Hwy 70 and bordered by I-40.

Property was previously Beacon blanket factory.

7,770,000
($183,731.37 per acre)
42.29 acres

Beacon Property

202 Whitson Ave
Swannanoa, North Carolina 28778
County: Buncombe

Tiger Woods designing golf course on mountaintop overlooking Swannanoa

Excerpt from an article about Tiger Woods and the exclusive golf course and community being developed on the mountain ridge towering over Swannanoa and the Beacon Mill Village.

Woods the course designer plays salesman at Carolina project
By Jerry Potter, USA TODAY

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Tiger Woods was greeted by 1,000 people, who rode shuttle buses and drove cars to the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains on Saturday to visit the Cliffs at High Carolina, one of several golf course communities created by developer Jim Anthony.

Many were invited in hope that
they'd buy a home site on Woods' only course design — so far — in the USA.

But Woods' most persuasive comment came early in the presentation, when, without thinking, he looked at the crowd and said, "Y'all."
It drew a loud ovation.

"I do live in the South now," responded Woods, who has a home near Orlando.
Woods plans to have a home at High Carolina, which is 15 miles East of Asheville, in the community of Swannanoa about 4,000 feet above sea level. The course he's building is just in its early stages, and he said it might not be completed until 2011.

But that doesn't mean he's not working diligently on it while he's recovering from knee surgery that took him off the PGA Tour just after he won the U.S. Open in June.

Woods reiterated his intention to encourage players to walk the course, meaning there will be multiple tees so the course can play from 5,000 yards to 7,500 yards.
He also is determined to design the course so that players will have a chance to hit a variety of shots, but there won't be a lot of long forced carries.
Woods said he was able to walk about three months after surgery, and Anthony said his early visits to the site left him worried.
"He has probably put more steps on this ground at this stage of development than any architect we've dealt with," said Anthony, who has courses built by Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Fazio.
"He was up here climbing on boulders, and jumping from one boulder to another. I could just see the headline: Tiger reinjures knee on High Carolina rock pile."
Anthony said Woods once walked 22,000 steps through the property. And with that, he asked Woods to show the crowd the pedometer that was attached to his belt.

Mill the Around the Village Festival 2008

Mill the Around the Village Festival
September 2008

Excerpts from an article in Asheville Citizen-Times:

Dozens of Swannanoa area residents, business owners, nonprofit organizations and other supporters gathered on the grounds of the First Baptist Church to enjoy food, music, arts and crafts, information booths, homegrown produce, historical exhibits and children's activities.

The festival, sponsored by the Swannanoa Pride Community Coalition, also was designed to foster community spirit and to offer opportunities to participate in ongoing projects that will help shape the community's future


Jerry Pope and his wife, Rebecca Williams, had a booth promoting their documentary film project on the former Beacon Blanket mill, which was considered the heart of the Swannanoa community until it burned down in 2003.

Dozens of community members have taken part in the history project to tell their stories about pride in the mill and the community surrounding it.

"Rebuilding the community today requires an understanding and appreciation of the strong community it once was," Pope said.

"This project will help maintain a sense of identity for Swannanoa, preserve that identity in the face of rapid development, and teach newcomers what is culturally unique about this community."

A group of cheerleaders from Owen Middle School was painting faces and performing gymnastic feats for festival-goers, happily perspiring in a welcome sun that followed a cool, drizzly morning.
"I like living in Swannanoa, and it's important for our community to come together," said seventh-grader Brittany Creasman. "It's a beautiful place, and the people are nice; I want to stay here."

Fellow seventh-grader Jessie Craig said she's worried about development on the mountains that surround the valley.
"Especially in the fall, when the seasons are changing, you used to look up and see this beautiful scenery, but now it's just a lot of mud where they're building the golf course," she said. "When we're practicing (cheerleading), we can hear the dynamite.""

Swannanoa resident Maureen Dillow said the Swannanoa Valley is changing rapidly, "and we need to make sure people are participating in how that change happens."

"There is a lot of stuff going on in terms of development, and we need to be sure people are aware of what's happening," Dillow said. "This festival is a way to make people aware, and have fun at the same time."



A

The Community Folklife Documentation Institute

Project Directors Jerry Pope and Rebecca Williams traveled to Duke University to participate in the Community Folklife Documentation Institute. At the Insititute, they received professional-level instruction in documentary techniques, digital media, and the philosphy and ethics of folklife documentation. .

The Community Folklife Documentation Institute, is an initiative of the North Carolina Arts Council in partnership with the North Carolina Folklife Institute and Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies. Participants receive mentoring from accomplished professionals in the field, including folklorists, filmmakers, photographers, and audio documentarians.

PHOTO CREDITS:

(1) Rebecca Williams and Starr Oldorff edit their interview with Marvin Gaster using Final Cut Pro. Photo by Ronda Birtha.

(2) 2007-2008 community scholars and staff. Photo by Katherine Reynolds

Beacon History Day

Beacon History Day

February 23, 2008
First Baptist Church of Swannanoa

A day of celebration took place as members of the community came together to share stories, photographs, and other memorabilia related to Beacon Blanket Mill and the people who worked there.

Volunteers set up an Exhibit with historical photographs
taken from the Swannanoa Valley Museum archives.

Local residents showed up with stacks of photo albums with pictures to be scanned.

We conducted the story circle with 15 former Beacon employees who shared there stories and were filmed for the upcoming docuementary film.

Students from Warren Wilson College assisted in interviewing Beacon workers.

-----------------------------

Sample Interview Transcript:

Ruby Killoush - 3/13/08
by Rachel Brylawski

RB: The first question is: how long did you work at Beacon?

RK: Uh, I worked at Beacon for 13 years... and, uh, I enjoyed every minute of it. I met a lot of friends, and, um... I kept a lot of friends from Beacon when I lived there. We still, we still get together, and we still call and we still talk to ‘em, and a lot of them’s passed on that I miss.

RB: Um, so, um, what department did you work in?

RK: I worked in the spinning department, and of course I had never been in a, a mill before -- I had worked in a hosiery mill but that’s so much different -- when I went over there, it was, uh, amazing to see, the blankets and things that they made. But we were, the spinning, you, um, you had two frames, and you had like eight spools of roving that they brought to you and you would tie it in and spin it on the, the, spin it on the bobbin, and then course they were going to make the blankets, but lot of times we would be off talking or, the smoking booth was real close to me and I always liked to talk to everybody that was up there smoking, I didn’t smoke but I always liked to talk to everybody up there. And, um, lot of times you would get [clears throat] carried away, excuse me, you’d get carried away and, lo, your spinning, I mean your spinning frames would, you know, they wouldn’t run without you there helping, so you’d have a hard time getting caught up after you went back, but you had a lot of help, your friends would always help you.

Beacon History Day Announcement

Beacon History Day

Monday, 11 February 2008
WHAT: BEACON HISTORY DAY
WHEN: SATURDAY FEBRUARY 23rd 9:00 a.m.- 1:00p.m.
WHERE: FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF SWANNANOA- 503 PARK ST SWANNAOA


The Swannanoa Valley Museum, in partnership with Warren Wilson College, Serpent Child Ensemble, and the Swannanoa Pride Community Coalition, will hold a Beacon History Day, February 23 at the First Baptist Church of Swannanoa, 503 Park St in Swannanoa.

Community members are invited to bring by their old photographs of Beacon, the mill village, and downtown Swannanoa to be scanned into a computer and returned to them immediately. NO PHOTOS WILL BE KEPT – unless the owner wants to donate them to the Museum.

The “photo swap” will take place from 9 AM till 1PM. The scans will become part of the Swannanoa Valley Museum’s archives and possibly be used in a new documentary being produced by Serpent Child Ensemble about the Beacon Blanket factory and life in the Beacon mill village. Community members without photos to share are encouraged to come look at the Beacon history memorabilia that will be displayed on site. Coffee and snacks will be available.

Serpent Child Ensemble, which created the “Way Back When” series of plays at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts, based on oral history interviews with Swannanoa Valley residents, is creating a documentary film about Beacon and looking for people to share their stories about working at the mill and living in the village. SCE has received support for this project from the North Carolina Arts Council and the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University