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WNC Sanatorium

By Marie Craig

When growing up two miles west of Black Mountain, N.C., there was a huge hospital on the nearby tall hill for patients suffering from tuberculosis. The official name was the Western North Carolina Sanatorium. Looking through the woods surrounding my house at a slight northwest angle, I could see this long brick building. It was only about a half mile away, and on Sunday afternoons when I was young, my parents and I would walk up that steep hill and visit the patients. I remember how many there were, and that they were attentive to me because they missed their families back home. This was probably not a good idea at the time in terms of our own possibility of contracting the infectious disease, but no harm came. The hospital showed movies at night, and the families living nearby were invited to come watch for free, and I remember attending.

As I have pondered those days, I remembered the little creek between us, and the time we three honored an extra pine tree near it by making it our Christmas tree.

All of this has changed now, of course, and the TB hospital which operated between 1937 and 1989 is now named the Black Mountain Neuro Medical Treatment Center.  The huge blue spruces that were once in front of the long hospital have been replaced by small deciduous trees.  The huge grassy area of the sides of the big hill is the site of the Western Carolina State Veterans Cemetery. FindAGrave.com lists 9,274 burials there. An online source states the cemetery covers 42 acres.

In the book I compiled, “Davie Doctors Born Before 1900,” I discovered that Dr. Lester Poindexter Martin had been a member of the board of directors of this hospital in Black Mountain. Online, I found several pamphlets and reports. I found his name on the 1941-1942 Biennial Report: Dr. L.P. Martin, Mocksville, N.C.

As a researcher, I looked at each page of the 1940 US Census for that area to determine if the census had included names of TB patients of the three year old hospital, and they did not. However, the 1950 US Census (Enumeration District 11-29B) did include them on the last 11 pages. A quick study shows 314 people listed; 245 were patients, and 69 were employees. The patients’ birth states were listed, and they were from many states, one from England, and one from China.  Subtracting these, there were 203North Carolina  patients.

I found these quotes about the disease itself: “Tuberculosis (TB) is still a problem worldwide, but it is largely controlled in the United States. The discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century was a major breakthrough in TB treatment.”  “In 1943, Selman Waksman, Elizabeth Bugie, and Albert Schatz developed streptomycin. Waksman later received the 1952 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine for this discovery.”

Things change through the years. The good news is that TB has been controlled.  Even though it was probably dangerous for us to be around these sick people, I’m grateful that my parents showed compassion and were willing to bring a little joy to the patients.

Bothântaîocht not Scoraîocht

By Julie Terry Cartner

As someone who has always been fascinated by everything Irish, I recently found a blog written by Irish brothers, Owen and Mîcheâl Ô Sûilleabhâin. Each entry teaches an Irish word, translates it, and explains the term in in relation to Irish culture. Yesterday’s words struck a chord with me.

Prior to houses having several telephones, and definitely prior to cell phones and social media, people used to visit, especially on Sunday afternoons. As you probably know, people would sit on porches in nice weather, or inside if not, where they’d share stories over a glass of sweet tea, or hot tea, or coffee, and perhaps a slice of cake left over from Sunday dinner. People worked hard during the week, and Sunday was their day to rest and reconnect with friends, family, and neighbors. This lifestyle is one that the majority of folks, whether from the North or South, East or West, shares. Here they could catch up with what was going on in each other’s lives.

Here they could learn the news from each other. Here they could see who might need help and figure out how to offer said help. The conversations were deep and meaningful, the purpose was to enrich. Often, as the sun sank below the horizon in a blaze of color, as the evening stars peered out from behind clouds, as the fireflies began their evening dance, guitars, fiddles, and harps would come out, and songs would embellish the conversation. Storytelling would turn to the past, and as the children listened, they leaned about old uncle Sam or great-aunt Mary. Other times they’d sit spellbound as tales as old as time itself, stories of imps and elves, heroes and villains, wee folk and ogres were told and re-told. In this way, the stories, though perhaps enhanced by the re-telling, were passed on, generation to generation, never to be forgotten. Thus, the tales, both new and old, became strands of their lives, weaving together a connection as strong and bold as life itself.

If a neighbor needed help getting up hay, or a newly married couple needed help setting up their household, or if someone were sick and needed tending, that information would be passed along, and people would step up to do their part. If someone were getting married, or expecting a baby, or leaving to join the military, people would share that information, then shower the person or couple with gifts and well-wishes. All of these are in the spirit of botha’ntai’ocht, sharing stories and history for the sake of community.

Scoraîocht, on the other hand, is visiting for the sake of gossip, mean spirited tales told behind cupped hands, less interested in truth than in spreading scandal. Often, it’s just thoughtless, a way to get attention. Rarely is it based in truth, and even more rarely is it an attempt to elicit compassion, kindness, or community. Social media has made scorai’ocht even easier. Whereas gossip was often whispered with promises of … don’t tell … social media has enabled people to share gossip and make hurtful comments with third person distance.

We are better than that. Cell phones and social media are not evil, they are tools. Like any tool, they can be used for good or for harm. Ironically, people have never had greater ability to connect with others all over the world, and yet, in some ways, we have never been more divided. Think what we could do if we used social media to uplift rather than destroy.

It is said that the first step to solving a problem is to recognize the problem. The second step is to change or correct the issue. We must do better. Our children, our communities, our country and world need us to do better. Let’s bring back botha’ntai’ocht to our communities and remove scorai’ocht from our lives. When we believe that we belong, when we feel we are included, we work harder to win. In this case, when we build stronger communities that include everyone, when we work together to care for each other, when we share stories of the past to create a better future, we all win.

Seventy-Nine

By Gaye Hoots

I celebrated my birthday on July 20. The family was not here but I spoke with them by phone and the twins sent a video of them singing Happy Birthday. My neighbors had cake and champagne at the pool in the light of a beautiful full moon. I have lived the average lifetime of a US citizen so from now on I am on borrowed time and plan to make the most of it.

I plan to be back in Advance before the end of the month. Bob Potts passed away while I was gone, and I hope to visit Betty. She and Bob had been married for 72 years and were seldom apart. It will be a difficult adjustment. Another friend had back surgery and I plan to see her. Two other friends are in care facilities, and I try to see them whenever I am there. Another friend is 92 and lives in Hickory and a visit is scheduled. I hope to see everyone at church or for a visit.

My great-granddaughter Mia is still in the NICU at Baptist Hospital and this week her feeding tube came out and she had to be put back on the vent. This is disappointing but she is stable and aware of her surroundings. We are supporting her and Tiffany with prayers, and visits when possible. They have our love, and we are praying it will be possible for her to come home at some point.

Janine, a close friend from first grade, celebrated her birthday this month. Our graduating class is planning a reunion in September, and I am looking forward to that. My life has moved at a slower pace since COVID, and I enjoy it more. Maybe knowing my time is “borrowed” makes me appreciate it more.

This week I read about all the confusion caused by what sounds like a computer malfunction that caused flight cancellations and mass confusion. There was the assassination attempt that cost one life and seriously injured two others. This appears to be the action of a youth suffering from years of bullying and rejection from a school shooting club that was quoted as saying he was told not to come back. I believe he was trying to impress them by killing a high-profile candidate to prove he could shoot. He had researched both candidates, but this rally was within driving distance, and he came within an inch of succeeding.

It is humbling to realize just how vulnerable we are. This is another reason I avoid crowds. These political rallies cost taxpayers billions of dollars for security. This year was especially costly as candidates were eligible for Secret Service coverage for themselves and their families. There was no benefit to taxpayers. The rallies were for show. Those attending had already affiliated with the party whose rally they were attending. No one came with an open mind to change. Policies for both parties had a clear history so there was nothing to be accomplished and each candidate knew there was a risk, otherwise security would not have been requested.

Sadly, we are vulnerable but the risk and cost to taxpayers could be reduced by eliminatingthe rallies, the number of public appearances, and travel that taxpayers foot the bill for. Little of it is necessary and it would be hard to identify any benefit to those of us who foot the bill.

I hope and pray that our military is not subject to the same glitches and mistakes as we have seen this week. We need to project a strong image to other countries and eliminate our vulnerabilities.