Montreat Minute 07/22/2022
Don’t Miss the Comprehensive Plan Community Workshop This Tuesday
The Comprehensive Plan Committee has scheduled a Community Workshop to provide public input to the planning process. The schedule provides two different sessions in which you may participate. The first session will be on Tuesday, July 26th, from 10:00am to Noon. The second session will be that evening from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. Both sessions will be in the Community Room at the Town Hall and will be identical agendas, so select the session most convenient for you. They will begin with a short presentation followed by group idea activities afterward. Please stop by to give your thoughts about Montreat Tomorrow.
About the Comprehensive Plan Project: “Montreat Tomorrow” is an updated comprehensive plan for the town of Montreat. The future inevitably brings change, but Montreat can ensure that growth is careful and responsible, while preserving the tranquility that makes the community a beloved place today. The plan will be broad and include topics like land use, environment, transportation, and recreation. Montreat Tomorrow will result in short-term actions that respond to current challenges while also preparing for the future with long-term strategies designed to reflect the community’s desires.
Cottagers Annual Meeting Tomorrow
The Montreat Cottagers will hold its annual meeting tomorrow, Saturday, July 23, 2022, at 10:00 a.m., in Upper Anderson. Please come meet your friends and neighbors and hear updates from the leaders of the four main Montreat institutions — Town of Montreat, Montreat Conference Center, Montreat College, and the Presbyterian Heritage Center. Information will also be presented concerning Cottagers’ business, and Cottagers’ officers for the new year will be elected. Please join us!
PHC Ice Cream Social Also Tomorrow
“You Scream, I Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!” Here’s the scoop! Come to an old-fashioned Ice Cream Social at the Presbyterian Heritage Center tomorrow, Saturday, July 23rd, from 2:00 to 4:00pm. Come for a sweet and delicious summer treat. All ages are welcome! Much of the ice cream and all of the fun will be homemade. It will be a great opportunity to visit with old Montreat friends and meet new ones. Take this opportunity to check out the current exhibits in the PHC. Discover all the PHC has to offer, including the new replica of the Mt. Mitchell railroad. The ice cream and the fun are free! See you at the PHC!
Montreat Adult Summer Club a Celebration of Andy Anderson
Join us to celebrate the release of Andy Andrews’ book, A Machine Gunner’s War: From Normandy to Victory with the 1st Infantry Division in WWll, on what would have been Andy’s 99th birthday. Andy was Montreat’s first elected mayor, and many of you fondly recall Andy’s homemade ice cream at Summer Club and his delightful appearance in the Montreat Madness production Take a Hike in his fishing inner tube. Andy was involved in the war from D Day, June 6, 1944 to May 9, 1945 experiencing combat in 26 ground battles across Europe, including the Battle of the Bulge. For his service, he was awarded 4 Bronze Stars and 4 Purple Hearts. This program will feature video clips of Andy as well as stories about Andy shared by various members of the community, who knew him very well, such as Montreat College professor and acclaimed author, Dr. Bill Forstchen and local architect Maury Hurt.
Andy graciously shared his WWll experiences so that the ultimate sacrifice of so many young men will never be forgotten. We welcome this opportunity to salute and remember Andy Andrews, a remarkable and beloved American Hero.
The program will be held at 2:30pm in Upper Anderson. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated. Refreshments will follow the program.
Mark Your Calendar for the PHC Tour of Homes August 13 & 14
The Presbyterian Heritage Center is happy to announce the reprise of the very popular Tour of Homes on Saturday and Sunday, August 13 and 14, from 2:00 to 5:00pm. Tour eight historic homes and buildings including the Billy Graham Evangelical Association office. A general brochure listing the homes is available with ticket purchase.
Tickets are a suggested donation of $15/person, cash or check made payable to the Presbyterian Heritage Center.
Tickets are being pre-sold and are available at the PHC Front Desk (318 Georgia Terrace in Montreat), Monday & Saturday, noon-4:00 pm, or Tuesday-Friday, 10:00-4:00 pm or at the Montreat Post Office, Monday-Friday, August 1-5, 10:30am – 2:00 PM. Come see some historic Montreat homes and support the Presbyterian Heritage Center.
Did You Know?
Lottery lot request form (top) and name slip for lottery drawing (bottom)
From its inception Montreat was intended to have residences, both permanent homes and summer cottages. John Collins wrote up an idyllic description of Montreat, which he distributed widely and included a form for people to return if they were interested in leasing a lot. Lots were to be leased for 99 years.
Collins hired F. S. Odell, a New York surveyor, to lay out roads and lots and printed a plat of how Montreat would be designed – never mind that most of the roads had not yet been cut (Ed. Note: stop by the PHC to see the original map of Montreat). With plenty of interest, Collins scheduled a lottery drawing for August 31, 1898. To enter the lottery, each person paid $2 per lot lottery entry fee(many people wanted more than one lot). The $2 would be applied to the $50 cost of the lot! In the days preceding the drawing people scrambled over rocks and through brush to see which lots they favored. On the appointed day names were drawn randomly and when a person’s name was drawn they made their lot selection.
Many individuals could not be in Montreat on that day so they contracted with someone local to select a lot for them. Above you see Mary Holbrook’s entry into the lottery and the slip with her name on it that was used in the lottery drawing. Want to see the house she built? Drop by the Presbyterian Heritage Center to see this picture and so much more in our newest exhibit on The Early Years of Montreat.
Thanks to the Presbyterian Heritage Center, especially Nancy Midgette, for this glimpse from the past. Stop by the PHC for even more Montreat history.
Updates and Reminders
- The Comprehensive Steering Plan Committee will meet on Thursday, July 28th at 10:00 a.m. in the Community Romm of the Town Hall. For more information visit www.townofmontreat.org.
- The Montreat Board of Adjustment will meet on Thursday, July 28th, at 5:00pm in the Community Room of the Town Hall. For details of the meeting and streaming information, CLICK HERE.
- Support our Montreat Post Office by buying stamps. Our Post Office is very dependent upon income from stamps and package postage. Even if you are not a full time resident, please buy your stamps from the Montreat Post Office. We don’t want our Post Office to go away due to lack of business.
- The Town Sanitation Staff has been overwhelmed by the volume of trash this summer. Please remember several important facts about sanitation pick up:
- Do not put any bags out that are not in bear proof containers except on the morning of pickup. If you rent your house out, please make sure renters know about this policy. Sanitation staff should not have to pick up residents’/renters’ trash strewn by bears and other wildlife.
- No matter your location, please have your trash out by 8:00am on pick up day
- Please tie trash bags to facilitate removal by the sanitation team
- If you have cardboard boxes or other cardboard, please break down the boxes and lay all cardboard together
Questions?
Do you have Town-related questions you would like answered? If so, please send them to Angela Murphy at [email protected] and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Have a great weekend!