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Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.--------------------
Sep 09, 2010, 02:42:30 PM
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News: You must register and login to see all the boards and discussions.
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Author
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Topic: Frog Level (Read 389 times)
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ncmike1  |
Well, I see the old VC space is up for rent. What an idiot that landlord must be. Now he doesn't have ANY income coming from that space, and he had a good thing going before he kicked the VC/youth center out.
That whole area is never gonna be viable until someone decides to invest some money in it, and make it look nice. They keep talking about how it can be a great retail area...well nobody wants to shop in a rat hole. They need a major renovation to make it look more attractive, or it will languish in its current state.
AND NOW THE FROG LEVEL MURAL IS GONE! What a bunch of dunces.
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"I'm your Huckleberry." Preserving History in Haywood County http://www.francismill.orgA Knight's Oath: Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright that God may love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong. That is your oath. Above all: HONOR |
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Wayne |
Until Frog Level finds a way to offer more parking it will remain stifled.
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courey
Guest
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I agree, it's really a shame what has happened. I miss having the VC there, and it seems like such a loss to that whole little area. They definitely need to do something about that area, because it's such a waste of space as it is. I don't understand why they don't do *something* to try to renovate the outside of the buildings to draw more interest. I think the murals are great, though - I wish someone would finish the Frog Level one or re-do it, whatever needs to get that back in gear. I can't believe that guy included an un-authorised self portrait; how very unprofessional. ugh.
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ncmike1 |
Until Frog Level finds a way to offer more parking it will remain stifled.
Yes, parking is another issue, but not until they get a reason for people to go there.
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Logged
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"I'm your Huckleberry." Preserving History in Haywood County http://www.francismill.orgA Knight's Oath: Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright that God may love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong. That is your oath. Above all: HONOR |
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ronosa |
I know we have bounced this one before but the Frog Level area always has been a red-headed stepchild to the town ruling class-out of sight,out of mind. If Smoky Mountain Railway had gotten the lease from NS, there would have been more money poured into it than you could stand. GSMR would have been a large shot in the arm if they could have gotten the lease to the depot(if you can call it that) at Canton. I know, it's another throw back but Frog level was a pretty nice place in the 50's and 60's. You had two sore thumbs like the Tap Room and the Royal Cafe where the police had to frequent and ya'll thought the Soup Kitchen was a problem. Jolynn could have stood in the front window of the VC abd watched an 18 year old boy shot dead in the front door of the Tap Room. He just walked up and said somethig and the next moment he was gone. It was a place that did have it's disagreements. The law at that time was a lot different too-an arrestee could be perfectly health in the basement of the courthouse and be on his deathbed by the time he got to the jail on the top floor-this was a recurring type thing.
Frog Level merchants are probably lucky they got the improvements they did get. Until some development occurs that will make that area viable, the town won't fool with it. The buildings down there used to be owned by about 3-4 families; I don't know the makeup now, but they generally just wanted the rent with as little output as possible. In the end, it would be my guess that if GSMR had come in, Jolynn would have been out anyway. They would have raised the rent so high she could not have afforded it or at least made it difficult to stay.
I know, it's another diatribe of the past but one only has to have been here to see the transition this town has made from what it was to what it is, and dispite what some have said about the way it is now, I don't believe there is a one of you who would have been unhappy with Waynesville circa late 50's-mid 60's. I wish I could convey the feeling of the town in a way which could give you the feeling it had but let me put it this way. My parents moved in to their new house in 1955 across from Waynesville Drive-In. My grandmother lived in Hazelwood which was about a 3 mile bike ride. As an eight year old boy, I would ride from my house to my grandmother's without a worry. My mother usually gave me 50 cents which was a small fortune and I would stop both ways at the Open Air Curb Market since it was almost in the middle and get a coke and a Hershey bar without nuts for a grand total of 15 cents. She did not have to worry.
It was just a different place, a sustainable town without the Kmarts and Walmarts and the Ingles or Food Lions or BiLos. You could outfit your kids anywhere from Belk's to Barton's to Ray's to John Graham and it's predecessor, to the Toggery to the Shack and the store for teenage girls the name slips my mind and all of the places were reasonable.
The Toggery was sort of an upscale type place but still affordable. There was an elderly gentleman who worked there, his name was Mr. Carlyle. He was "the man" when it came to getting your shoes. You would go in and your mother would tell him what she was looking for. When they settled on the right pair, he would put them on you and lace them up "properly and tie them so neatly. I say that because Mr. Carlyle was a tall, slender man who always wore a suit to work and always looked like they could put a prop behind him and stick him in the window. Anyway, everything was just just so. He would then escort you to this machine which I can only compare to a fluoroscope and you would stick your feet in it and pray that you had toes when they came out. Actually, he was looking through a lens in the back to see where your toes were in the shoes. IF you had growing room, they went home with you if mom liked them.
Another experience we had was Saturday afternoons, particularly in the winter. My next door neighbor and friend, Billy and I would be dropped off by his mother at either the Strand or Park Theatres(the Park was where the Massie Mini Mall is and the Strand is where they advertise that Preserve. We would bounce out with 35 cents in our pocket which got us into a two-three movie matinee, 2 cokes, a box of corn and a candy bar. We were fixed for the afternoon and again, our parents did not have to worry. The Park Theatre later became a two story bowling alley with 10 lanes up and ten lanes down. It was pretty neat-we had a kids bowling league for a few years which was fun.
I have bent your ear a little much, but my point is that Waynesville might be wonderful to you because that is what you have now and probably the best it's going to get, but I am thankful to have had Waynesville when it truly was Waynesville.
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Logged
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When you're down to nothing, God is up to something.
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JoLynn |
Well, I see the old VC space is up for rent. What an idiot that landlord must be. Now he doesn't have ANY income coming from that space, and he had a good thing going before he kicked the VC/youth center out.
That whole area is never gonna be viable until someone decides to invest some money in it, and make it look nice. They keep talking about how it can be a great retail area...well nobody wants to shop in a rat hole. They need a major renovation to make it look more attractive, or it will languish in its current state.
AND NOW THE FROG LEVEL MURAL IS GONE! What a bunch of dunces.
If he would have just reduced the rent for us we would still be there. I guarantee you that the soap company that just moved out was not paying $1600.00 a month like we were.
I know Frog Level was viable in the 50's and 60's, Ronosa. I sure wish I could have seen it. It could have been viable now too. The landlords are too greedy to put money into the area and then you've got Jim Pierce who thinks he is the Grand Puba of Frog Level. If he had not called our landlord there would be a cafe and a VC in that building. And I promise you the Frog Level mural would be back. The owner of that building already gave us permission to put it back.
Maybe if everyone in Haywood County called the county commissioners, the beautification department and the zoning department we could get something done. Several of those building are in very bad condition and will soon become a health hazard to the surrounding community if they aren't already.
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