Wayne County, NC - Heritage Series Reprinted with permission of the Mount Olive Tribune and cannot be reproduced without permission. Transcribed by Linda Harmon. Remembering Centennial "Our Heritage" By Claude Moore It seems like yesterday, but it has actually been 22 years since Mount Olive celebrated its 100th birthday. Preparation for the celebration began early in the years, but the highlights were the great parade held on Saturday, April 11, 1970, which was attended by more than 15,000 persons and the historical pageant depicting the history of Mount Olive. Many of the floats had been used at the Azalea Festival parade on the previous Saturday. It may have been one of the largest parades even staged in Wayne County. It was attended by Gov. Bob Scott, and other state and national notables. There were antique cars, bands, marchers, military units, horses, and a real stagecoach. The Mount Olive Tribune issues of April 7th, April 14th and April 21st carry many photographs relating to the continual activities as well as photographs of olden days in the area. During the Centennial there were various exhibits of artifacts displayed in the store windows downtown as well as at the college. It seems that a universal spirit of cooperation prevailed and all groups were involved in this celebration. The azaleas and other spring flowers were in bloom and Mount Olive as usual looked like a large flower garden. The Town of Mount Olive had its beginning after the railroad was completed in 1840. The railroad brought new life to the whole coastal plain from Wilmington to Weldon. In 1845, William F. Pollock, originally from Canada, and Benjamin Oliver of Duplin opened up a store on the railroad. A turpentine distillery was located nearby. The stop and the railroad was named for the Mount of Olives, just outside of Jerusalem. Dr. Gideon M. Roberts, the son-in-law of Benjamin Oliver, came to Mount Olive and in 1852 purchased a tract of land on the east side of the railroad from the Winn family (free colored) and in 1854 Dr. Roberts, Benjamin Oliver, Daniel K. Kornegay, Joel Loftin, David Maxwell and A. B. Humphey laid out some town lots around the depot and post office, Lemuel Kornegay was one of the early merchants in the town. The post office was established in 1853 with Dr. Roberts as the first postmaster. The post office was located in his medical office which stood at the northwest corner of Pollock and Center streets. Sometime after 1854, Dr. Roberts built his handsome home, the Elms, at 304 East James Street, the present home of Mr. And Mrs. Clyde Williams. Mount Olive continued to grow and in 1870, the town was chartered by an act of the state legislature. Senator David John Aaaron In the 1907 special edition of the Mount Olive Tribune there is a write up and photograph of ex-state Senator David John Aaron and of the interior of his drug store on Center Street in Mount Olive. He was not only a state senator, but was the proprietor of a pharmacy, a farm, and was the founder and editor of the mount Olive Telegram, the forerunner of the Mount Olive Tribune. Mr. Aaron came from an enterprising family. He was born in Warsaw, and was the son of Lipmann Aaron, a pioneer merchant and innkeeper in Warsaw who came originally from Worms (W pronounced like a V), Germany. His grandfather, Benjamin Aaron was a bodyguard of Napoleon Bonaparte. Lipmann Aaron married Margaret Swinson of Duplin, a daughter of Daniel and Charlotte Swinson. David John Aaron was born in 1850 and attended the Baptist Seminary, a private high school operated by the Baptists in Warsaw. He later attended Hillsboro Military Academy. For several years he worked as clerk in mercantile stores in Warsaw, Magnolia, and Wilmington. He was later mayor of Warsaw. Around 1881 he moved to Mount Olive and there he married Miss Hammie Abernathy, a daughter of Sheriff John Abernathy. Mr. Aaron was a strong supporter of the public education system and became one of the leaders behind the establishment of graded schools in Mount Olive. He was a Democrat in politics and in 1900 he was elected to represent Wayne County in the North Carolina Senate. He was reelected for a second term and while in the Legislature he advocated education and good roads. Mr. Aaron had a talent for writing and while he published the Mount Olive Telegram (1883-1890) he wrote many fine editorials and occasionally a poem. Mr. Aaron's pharmacy was a popular gathering place for the Mount Olive people. He had fine pharmacists and a modern fountain. The telegraph office was nearby. The doctors in Mount Olive at that time were: Dr. Malcolm Tatum, Dr. John B. Kennedy (Grantham) and Dr. William C. Steele. By 1907 Dr. Julian Faison had already moved from Mount Olive to Bennettsville, S. C. Mr. Aaron was an active Mason and a member of the Knights of Pythias of Mount Olive. He had two sons, Leroy and Dr. Leonard Aaron, both of whom were deceased by 1907. After writing this article. I visited the Maplewood Cemetery in Mount Olive, and found the grave of David John Aaron, 1850-1910, the grave of his son, Dr. Leonard P. Aaron, 1873-1909, and the grave of his sister, Martha Aaron, 1857-1909, and her husband, Nicholas Long, 1851-1920, and also a sister, Coran Ann Aaron, 1855-1935. Coran Ann Aaron operated a store in Mount Olive. David John Aaron had a brother, William E. Aaron, who married a daughter of D. Hussey of Warsaw, and lived in Mount Olive. He was the father of the late Emma Aaron Summerlin and others. Eleanor Roosevelt's visit recalled I well remember the hot, dusty summer day, June 11, 1937, when Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt spent the day in Wallace on the occasion of the Third Annual Strawberry Festival. I had seen Mrs. Roosevelt in Atlanta back in 1933 when she spoke at Rich's Department Store on her Val Kill Furniture project, and since I was only 18 years old then it was a thrill to be able to shake hands with the first lady. By 1937 Wallace was the capital of the strawberry industry in North Carolina. Mount Olive and Faison, a generation before, had led in the growing of strawberries. J. Aubrey Harrell was at that time Mayor of Wallace, and in 1835, he conceived the idea of a Strawberry Festival to publicize the town, the area, and to promote development. The Mayor had the support of the leading citizens of the tons and country. The Strawberry Festival in 1937 lasted for six days, but the highlight was on the fifth day (Friday) when Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of the president would be present for the festivities. She arrived on the early morning train and was escorted to the lovely home of Dr. and Mrs. John D. Robinson, the host and hostess of the honored guest. She then went to the Coastal Plain Experiment Station at Willard where she had breakfast with the director, Dr. Charles Deering and one hundred others. It was announced on this occasion that a new variety of strawberry was to be named for her and to be called the Eleanor Roosevelt. Mrs. Roosevelt was then driven to Penderlea to inspect the resettlement project. A pageant was given and also an old-fashioned square dance in which she participated. The party then returned to Wallace where Mrs. Roosevelt and other distinguished guests had lunch at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Robinson. I once spoke to the Colonial Dames at this beautiful home which was furnished in handsome antiques and was later destroyed by fire. In the early afternoon, the first lady spoke to a group of well over ten thousand people on the subject of how rural people were being helped to recover from the depression. This address was broadcast over a nationwide hookup. Others appearing on the program were: Governor Clyde R. Hoey; U. S. Senator Robert R. Reynolds; General Manus McClosy, Commandant at Fort Bragg; the Honorable Charles Johnson, N.C. State Treasurer; the Honorable Henry L. Stevens, Jr., former Commander of the American Legion (and later Superior Court Judge); Miss Beatrice Cobb, National democratic Committeewoman; Dr. and Mrs. John D. Robinson; Mrs. W. B. Murphy of Snow Hill; Mrs. E. L. McKee, State Senator; Mrs. W. J. Jones, the President of Pineland College; and others. The first lady was joyously and enthusiastically received by the crowds. She returned to Washington on the evening train. Forty-seven years have passed since this memorable occasion and I know that most of the honored guests are deceased. Dr. John D. Robinson died many years ago, but his widow, the former Llewellyn Williams is still living in Wallace, as is his son, Dr. John D. Robinson, an optometrist. The growing of strawberries declined in the Wallace area, and moved to the Chadborn area, but many believe that the Strawberry Festival gave Wallace the publicity which attracted industry and business which makes it one of the most progressive and prosperous towns of eastern North Carolina. ============================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Linda Harmon ==============================================================