“Technology is best when it brings people together!” – Matt Mullenweg
Technology is beautiful, fascinating, and even scary at times. Each year we see advancements that are cementing all humans as perpetual learners. Things will keep changing and we will continue to learn and grow with them.
This is exactly what the third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students at Franklin and Flat Rock elementary schools are doing. The computer classes at both schools will be participating in a typing competition. Annette Reece and Kaley Pruitt are the two school’s Computer Lab teachers; together they decided to create a competition for the students to showcase their typing skills. The competition will happen sometime this May.
In coordination with this event, Cassandra Johnson, the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History’s program and education director will be spending Friday, April 8 displaying some vintage technology, some of which is featured in this article written by Kate Rauhauser-Smith. This article was originally printed on May 31, 2020. We hope that you enjoy learning about some vintage tech
***
Eight men went fishing on Monday, July 8, 1895. It was a good day to go fishing, hot but with a breeze coming off the mountains. Farmers in the area were bringing in their wheat, rye and barley. Folks across the region were transfixed by reports of the sensational murder trial of Dr. Payne in Lexington.
A perfect day to go fishing but hardly a newsworthy event. The interesting thing about this outing on this particular day was the fishermen involved; “Messrs. JH Fulton, SC Franklin, JD Smith, George Fawcett, AL Bunker, Robt Bray and Lawson Trotter” as well as W.J. Boylin, editor of the Yadkin Valley News that reported the outing that week.
In 1895, this was a “fishing excursion” between friends, some of the movers and shakers of this section of the county. In today’s terms we might call this a networking event.
Jefferson D. Smith, Gertrude’s father and long-time Mount Airy merchant; college student George Fawcett was son of the president of the First National Bank and future director of the institution himself; city commissioner A. L. Bunker would also become a director of the First National.
Joseph H. Fulton, son of Winston Fulton and part of the family tobacco business, was an early financial supporter of the Cape Fear & Yadkin Valley Railroad, also became a director of First National Bank, and branched out on his own as a wholesale produce dealer.
Starting a successful business — and keeping it going — is hard. A fifth of all small businesses fail in their first year, another 30% don’t survive their second year. By the 10th year, fewer than a third remain.
The rules of the business world haven’t really changed that much over time. Identify a need and come up with a cost-effective way to supply that need. Buy low, sell high. Diversify risk. Location, location, location. Take advantage of opportunities whenever and wherever they present themselves. Surround yourself with a network of well-connected, skilled, competent people.
Business owners in this region have applied those basic principles for a long time, building a rural, pass-through county into a destination with several thriving industries over the 250 years Surry has existed.
As with any trade, having the correct tools to do the job is important to success. Things we think of today as commonplace or even outdated, were real game-changers once upon a time. Something as simple as carbon paper (1806), staplers (1878), rubber stamps (1883), or legal pads (1888) found their way into everyday use quickly.
Competition moved fast and every minute that could be saved or every expense that could be cut might make the difference between landing that new contract — or not. And Surry County businesses seem to have been very good at landing them.
With increased access to the outside world after the Civil War, communication with potential customers became vital, people the owners didn’t see every day. Business directories, similar to a phone book but with much more personal information, listed pertinent information about the state’s counties, industries, and resources along with people’s addresses, occupations, and marital status.
Such information was critical to traveling sales representatives and made the directory’s cost of $5 (equivalent to $140 today) worth every penny.
The earliest directory we have for Surry County was published in 1867 when the county population was recorded as 10,380. It shows four hotels, four manufacturers (two textile and two tobacco), and 13 merchants (mostly general stores).
By 1872, the county population had increased to 11,252 (an 8.4% increase) and there were now 10 manufacturers listed adding more textile and tobacco but also a shoe factory near Hamburg Street.
The coming railroad sparked a tremendous growth in business numbers and diversity as the train could carry more and heavier freight economically than horses. Population jumped 36% to 15,301. There were 10 hotels and boarding houses; 62 manufacturers now counting wagonworks, cabinet makers, coopers, distilleries, iron foundries, tanneries, and saddle and harness makers; and 48 merchants, some now specializing in tinware, fancy groceries, millinery goods, and stationers, equivalent to today’s office supply stores.
By the time our intrepid group of businessmen went fishing there were 20 hotels and boarding houses for tourists and traveling salesmen, visiting executives and customers; 86 manufacturers that didn’t yet include the sprawling furniture factories or the most famous textile complex; and more than 145 merchants.
This has long been a location that rises to every opportunity. It will be exciting to see where the future takes us.
Kate Rauhauser-Smith is a local freelance writer, researcher, and genealogist.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
Be First to Comment