Montreat Minute for October 31, 2025
Happy Halloween!
Bulk Pickup a Success!
Public Works Director, Barry Creasman, reports that Tuesday’s second bulk pickup of the year was a success for residents and the Public Works team. The team started early Tuesday morning and by day’s end had collected 77 cubic yards of bulk items, three dumpsters full. Items included 10 mattresses, two refrigerators, a washing machine, and countless other assorted items. “We ran two trucks and were able to complete all the pickups in one day.” Barry stated. “With a good crew and folks having everything at the curb and ready for us makes everything go much smoother.”
“What a great extra town service this is,” quipped one resident. Thanks to Public Works and residents for working together to reduce clutter in Montreat. Next year’s first bulk pickup will be Tuesday, July 7th, 2026. Start collecting now!
Firewise Update
Every November, Montreat submits an application to renew our Firewise status. The main objective of Firewise is to recognize communities that work together to prevent the spread of wildfire. A major part of our application is to show community involvement by reporting hours that residents spend clearing debris from their yards, pruning shrubbery, cleaning gutters, clearing your yard of leaves (see story above), and other similar work. You may also submit hours that you pay someone else to work on these tasks.
To ensure we receive our deserved Firewise status, please send Nancy Midgette (midgette@elon.edu) the number of hours that have gone into protecting your home and property from wildfire this year. Simply email Nancy with your street address and number of hours.
Thank you for being a part of our Firewise success!
Treasured Tree Walk Rescheduled for Nov. 12
The “Treasured Tree Walk” has been rescheduled for Wednesday, November 12, 2025 at 3:30 pm. Starting from the Nature Center. The walk will be led by Nancy Midgette of the Presbyterian Heritage Center and Jason Nanz, the MRA Ranger. It will feature a mix of Montreat history and nature including many of the Montreat Treasured Trees. The walk is approximately two miles and relatively flat. It is sponsored by the Montreat Tree Board, the Presbyterian Heritage Center, and the MRA Nature Center.
For a copy of the Treasured Tree Walk map (and tree/historical descriptions on the reverse side), CLICK HERE.
Did You Know?
Samuel Hall Chester, a Montreat resident from 1926 until his death in 1940, served as the Secretary for the PCUS Executive Committee on Foreign Missions from 1893-1926. Chester’s early annual reports reflect his financial frustrations, particularly low church contributions, which meant that he had no funds for missionary travel, let alone his own travel.
The tide began to turn, however, when in 1902 he first encountered Charles Rowland — one of Montreat’s founders, a strong Presbyterian, an ardent supporter of foreign missions, and the person who organized Montreat’s first Missions Conference. Rowland had met three young Presbyterian seminary students at a national ecumenical missions conference who had been appointed as missionaries but not yet sent out due to financial constraints. He agreed to raise funds to support Leighton Stuart, Lacy Moffett, and Fairman Preston, and to sponsor others to visit churches on behalf of mission work. Thus the Forward Movement was born, an ecumenical effort which Chester embraced and the General Assembly supported, that made direct appeals for the support of foreign mission work. Chester had found an ally. Rowland was appointed to the Committee on Foreign Missions in 1903 and remained a member until 1926, when Chester retired.
The Forward Movement was quite successful. In just five years the annual budget for the Committee on Foreign Missions doubled. Chester also embraced the Laymen’s Missionary Movement, founded in 1907 to encourage laymen to advocate for mission work in their home churches and to travel as they could to other churches. Not surprisingly, Rowland coordinated this work for the PCUS. Over the subsequent 19 years the budget grew to well over one million dollars annually, enabling considerable expansion in the foreign mission work of the PCUS.
Chester retired in 1926, at the age of 75, and moved to Montreat. Rowland, who resided in Athens, Georgia, did not have a Montreat home but remained quite active in the life of the community he had helped to found. He especially enjoyed attending the World Missions Conferences. One can only imagine the conversations that these two men must have had on the porch of the Chester home. Rowland outlived Chester by 24 years, attending his final World Missions Conference in 1963.
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. Have an idea for a future “Did You Know?”? Let Nancy know at midgette@elon.edu.
Updates and Reminders
- Did you know that you do not need to use paper compostable bags for your leaves anymore? You may place them in plastic bags as well. But just make sure the only thing going into the bags is leaves!
- Mark the Date of December 5th for the Christmas lighting of the Montreat Gate. More details to come.
- The Montreat Landcare Committee will meet on Wednesday, November 5th, at 9:00 am in the Town Hall Community Room. The meeting will be live streamed and everyone is welcome to attend. For streaming information, CLICK HERE.
- Do you receive Montreat CodeRedalerts, an emergency communications system used a number of times during the hurricane and wildfires? To learn more about CodeRed 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 Angela Murphy at info@townofmontreat.org and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Have a great weekend and don’t get tricked on Halloween!
