Montreat Minute 08/26/22

August 26, 2022

Know Where to Find Emergency Numbers?

A 2022 Montreat Sanitation Collection calendar highlights garbage/recycling and brush pickup days each month. Key contact numbers for fire, police, and water emergencies are listed at the bottom in red and black text.

Do you know where to find emergency phone numbers if your water turns brown after hours, you need a police officer or the fire department? Look at the bottom of your Montreat 2022 Sanitation Calendar. All three emergency numbers are listed and should be kept in a handy, accessible location. It can save you precious time.

If you don’t have the 2022 calendar, contact Town Clerk Angela Murphy at 828-669-8002 or email her at info@townofmontreat.org for a copy.

Volunteer Opportunities on Board of Adjustment

A wooden plaque with the seal of the Town of Montreat, North Carolina, featuring an archway labeled Montreat, the year 1967, and decorative foliage.

The Town has several openings on the Board of Adjustment, an extremely important Board in the Town of Montreat. Board positions are open to all residents, full and part-time, as long as there is a commitment by the member to attend the monthly scheduled meetings in  person. To learn more about the work of the Board of Adjustment, CLICK HERE. To apply for a position, CLICK HERE for an application or stop by the Town Hall for a paper copy. As the Mayor reminds everyone, the Town depends on volunteers. There are more than 70 volunteer opportunities on nine different boards and committees of the Town. We need your help!

Did You Know?

The image features the words DID YOU KNOW? in bold letters against a blue and green gradient background, with a large question mark partially visible on the right side.
A black and white photo of a vintage roadside building with an American flag, Phillips 66 gas sign, and an old car parked outside. Trees surround the building, and two people stand near the car.

Many Montreaters still remember the old grocery store (complete with a gas pump), post office, drug store, and the lean-to attached to the drug store that stood on Assembly Drive across from the current post office.  Driving by now, it is difficult to see that space and imagine the activity that occurred there. 

The first structure at that location, built shortly after the turn of the 20th century, served as the post office.  A second modest building, the Montreat Grocery Company, was soon added.  It was a ramshackle affair.  In 1914 the Executive Committee of MRA authorized the President, Dr. Anderson, to purchase those two buildings, add to them, and ready them for occupancy.  The plan was to have a grocery store, post office, drug store, hardware store, and meat market.  Reality scaled back the plan a bit, but by the 1920s the grocery store (with the telephone exchange upstairs), post office, and drug store and the lean-to were fixtures. 

You could buy quite a lot in such a small space.  What you could not buy, however, starting in 1915, was cola products.  The fine for either selling or providing such products was “not less than $25 and not more than $50.”  Compare this fine with the speeding fine of $5 – the Managing Committee meant business about cola sales!  Not until May 1926 was this prohibition repealed. 

The structures remained there until the late 1960’s, when the post office, store and a small luncheonette were moved to the Walkup Building and the iconic building was demolished.

Thanks to the Presbyterian Heritage Center, especially Nancy Midgette, for this glimpse from the past. Stop by the PHC for additional Montreat history and so much more.

Updates and Reminders

A hand writes the word REMINDERS in black marker on a white background, with a red underline beneath the text.

  • The Montreat town offices will be closed on Monday, September 5th in recognition of Labor Day. Sanitation services will resume on Tuesday, September 6th.
  • The Landcare Committee will meet on Wednesday, September 7th, at 9:00am in the Town Hall Community Room. More information and streaming instructions to come.
  • The Montreat Town Council will meet on Thursday, September 8th, at 7:00pm in the Town Hall Community Room. The agenda and streaming instructions will be available next week. The Public Forum will precede the Council meeting at 6:30p. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Questions?

Do you have Town-related questions you would like answered? If so, please send them to Angela Murphy at info@townofmontreat.org and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Have a great weekend!