Montreat Minute 7/25/25
Convenience Center Hours Changed
The Town trash Convenience Center hours have been changed to 7:00 am to 7:00 pm seven days per week. The change was made for security and safety reasons as well as to better control usage. The dumpsters have been filling up quicker than normal, and non-Montreaters have been caught on video surveillance using the Center.
One of the reasons the bins have been filling up faster, besides use by non-Montreaters, is that people have been disposing of other items besides bagged household trash and recyclables. Other items such as furniture, lawn and household equipment, household building materials, and tires are not allowed. Essentially, the Convenience Center is for items that you would normally put in weekly curbside trash pickup. Thanks to surveillance cameras, violators are now being contacted to remove what they have deposited and possibly fined.
If you are depositing cardboard, please take time to flatten boxes as they take far less room than unbroken down boxes, which fill up the dumpsters faster and prevent others from using the dumpster.
One More Note About the Convenience Center
We know it can be frustrating when you load up your vehicle with trash, drive to the Convenience Center, and find the gates closed and locked. But please know that the solution is not to place trash or recycle bags outside the fence against the gates. By Town ordinance, doing so is considered illegal dumping and individuals may be fined. We apologize for the inconvenience of full dumpsters and are working on a system to alleviate such situations. Thank you for your patience.
PHC Flood Exhibit Reception July 29th
The Presbyterian Heritage Center will hold a community reception for its new exhibit, “Stories from the Storm: Hurricane Helene in Montreat”, on Tuesday, July 29th, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm at the PHC. Light refreshments will be served.
In addition to the compelling new exhibit, several Montreat residents, Town officials, and MRA leaders will share their accounts of the storm and its aftermath. Other current exhibits, such as “Scripture in Wood: John Mack Walker’s Appalachian Carvings” and “Mission Work & Montreat”, may also be viewed during the free reception.
Did You Know?
Until 1905, a home for orphaned and destitute children existed in Montreat. This institution fit well with the vision of one of Montreat’s founders, Weston Gales, that Montreat evangelize the “mountaineers” (his wording) living in the area. Montreat also opened a school in 1899 that educated children living in the surrounding neighborhood as well as those in the orphanage and others in Montreat.
The first direct reference to the orphanage is in Gales’ annual report dated January 1901. Gales refers to it as the “Belle Greene Home (named after its deceased founder) for destitute or orphaned children.” At the time it housed 10 children. He noted that sisters Carrie and Bertha Whallen [Whallon] “took up this work when Mrs. Green[e] laid it down.”
For most of its existence the orphanage occupied various rented houses. In May 1902, the Mountain Retreat Association conveyed a lot to the Whallons for the express purpose of building an orphanage. But the lot was not used for that purpose and was eventually returned to MRA. In 1903, a house owned by Getrude Ladd, located adjacent to the Community Building, served as the orphanage. But it burned that same year. The other locations for the orphanage are unknown until it moved into its final location, at the end of Oak Lane, in late 1904. This structure burned in January 1905. The children were moved to other institutions and there was no further effort to support an orphanage in Montreat.
Weston Gales and his vision for evangelical work clearly drove the support for the orphanage. In March 1902, he sent a letter to some potential donors commenting that “children in homes of destitution or of sin . . .need the love and care and Christian training they could have in The Childrens’ Home if only there was room to receive them.” He also advocated for an industrial school so that the children could become “good mechanics” and could also learn “domestic duties.” With Gales’ death in November 1902, the orphanage lost its greatest advocate. It seems that by 1905, when the building burned, no one had the energy to start over yet again. Robert Martin wrote that the managers (the Whallon sisters) needed to “take a rest.” Additionally, MRA was experiencing severe financial difficulties and soon negotiated a sale of the entire conference center to the Presbyterian Church in the United States.
We still have two mysteries about the orphanage: Who was Belle Greene, and when did she begin the orphanage? Which houses were used, other than the two mentioned above? If you have answers, help the PHC play History Detective and let us know!
Thanks to the Presbyterian Heritage Center, especially Nancy Midgette, for this glimpse from the past. Stop by the PHC for additional Montreat missionary history and so much more. Have an idea for a future “Did You Know?”? Let Nancy know at midgette@elon.edu.
Updates and Reminders
- We are extremely grateful and humbled in having received a $25,000 anonymous gift from a Montreat cottager for storm relief expenses. We offer heartfelt thanks to the donor and all those who have generously given to the Hurricane Relief Fund.
- Do you receive your own copy of the Montreat Minute or know someone who doesn’t? Sign up for the Sunshine List to receive the Montreat Minute and stay “in the know” about the Town’s happenings. CLICK HERE to sign up for the list!
- Do you receive Montreat Code Red Alerts, an emergency communications system used a number of times during the hurricane and wildfires? To learn more about Code Red or to be added to the list, CLICK HERE.
Questions or Comments?
Do you have Town-related questions or comments to offer? If so, please send them to Angie Murphy at info@townofmontreat.org and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Have a great weekend
