Some of the "Mill Hill" children who attended Delgado School when it was a
four grade School across the street car tracks on Colwell Avenue-1937-1938
four grade School across the street car tracks on Colwell Avenue-1937-1938
Leatrice Hobbs
James Walker
Some of the employees of
Spofford Mills. John Ray
Carl Nobles and John Ray
Spofford Mills. John Ray
Carl Nobles and John Ray
L.C. Jarrell & Mary Lily Watkin
Wilson Stanley & Luby Herring
employees of Spofford Mills
employees of Spofford Mills
Ernest Mayhan
Jennings Blanton
Delgado/Spofford Mills Association, Wilmington, North Carolina
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"MILL HILL FLASHBACKS"
Don't Play With Firecrackers
In the winter of 1937, three boys were permitted by their fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Foyles, to go back and warm themselves
around the cast iron stove in the back of the room in the old wooden building built to house the fifth and sixth grades of the
Delgado School. Until a year or so earlier, the school was only a four grade school built especially for the children of
families employed by the Delgado Mills, a local textile manufacturing plant. It was a cold day and the fire was burning
brightly as could be seen through the eisen glass window in the front of the stove.
One of the boys, who was old enough and big enough to be in a couple of grades higher, had brought some of the Zebra
brand firecrackers with him. Most all of the boys who had saved up a dollar or two would order their fireworks from the
Spencer Fireworks Company, and wait eagerly for them to come in by the old Railway Express Agency, especially before the
Christmas holidays. Quietly, he took the lid, sometimes called the "eye" off the top of the stove and dropped thee of his
Zebra firecrackers into the fire. Bang! Bang! Bang! Went the firecrackers when they exploded, and Mrs. Foyles was "fit to
be tied." To be sure all of the other children sitting upright in the old timey desks, eyes ahead, facing the black board and
their teacher were frightened.
The other two boys, just as surprised as their teacher at the big boy's action, were caught in the mischief. Mrs. Foyles,
however, was not buying their excuses. They were just as guilty. You guessed it!..Stay after school for a week, a 'C' on
Conduct on the next Report Card, plus you know what happened at home in those days. Parents weren't buying children's
excuses in those days, and double punishment was imposed.
The identities of the innocence of the other non-guilt boy is protected, but yours truly must own up to it. I saw the big boy
do it and it did not catch me by surprise.
Don't Play With Firecrackers
In the winter of 1937, three boys were permitted by their fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Foyles, to go back and warm themselves
around the cast iron stove in the back of the room in the old wooden building built to house the fifth and sixth grades of the
Delgado School. Until a year or so earlier, the school was only a four grade school built especially for the children of
families employed by the Delgado Mills, a local textile manufacturing plant. It was a cold day and the fire was burning
brightly as could be seen through the eisen glass window in the front of the stove.
One of the boys, who was old enough and big enough to be in a couple of grades higher, had brought some of the Zebra
brand firecrackers with him. Most all of the boys who had saved up a dollar or two would order their fireworks from the
Spencer Fireworks Company, and wait eagerly for them to come in by the old Railway Express Agency, especially before the
Christmas holidays. Quietly, he took the lid, sometimes called the "eye" off the top of the stove and dropped thee of his
Zebra firecrackers into the fire. Bang! Bang! Bang! Went the firecrackers when they exploded, and Mrs. Foyles was "fit to
be tied." To be sure all of the other children sitting upright in the old timey desks, eyes ahead, facing the black board and
their teacher were frightened.
The other two boys, just as surprised as their teacher at the big boy's action, were caught in the mischief. Mrs. Foyles,
however, was not buying their excuses. They were just as guilty. You guessed it!..Stay after school for a week, a 'C' on
Conduct on the next Report Card, plus you know what happened at home in those days. Parents weren't buying children's
excuses in those days, and double punishment was imposed.
The identities of the innocence of the other non-guilt boy is protected, but yours truly must own up to it. I saw the big boy
do it and it did not catch me by surprise.
MISS GERTRUDE LOUGHLIN'S SIXTH GRADE CLASS
DELGADO SCHOOL,1937-1938
DELGADO SCHOOL,1937-1938
Earl Cottle, 3rd Row Center died while in elementary school,
and Ernest Mayhan, 3d row, left of Earl was killed in combat
in World War II. Jennings Blanton, far right-2nd row broke
his left arm skating, when in the sixth grade.
and Ernest Mayhan, 3d row, left of Earl was killed in combat
in World War II. Jennings Blanton, far right-2nd row broke
his left arm skating, when in the sixth grade.
DEPRESSION YEARS ON "Mill HILL"
Hard Times
The Depression years for the residents of "Mill Hill" were very difficult and especially hard during the period of 1930-1934. The houses
that were provided to the employees and families of Delgado Mills were small, and the number of children to care for were large;
families with six, seven, and eight were not unusual. In many families at least two children slept in the same bed and in even larger
families, like my own where there were seven children, three sisters slept in one bed and a brother and I slept in another, but in the
same room.
"Mill Hill" was divided into two areas, the Old Hill and the New Hill. The houses on the Old Hill had outhouse for toilets, but the newer
houses on New Hill had built in toilets on the back porch. Each area had a boarding house, but most stayed in the new one, which was
operated by Mrs. Allen. Prior to my father moving the entire family to Wilmington in 1930-31, where he had a job in Delgado Mills as a
loom-fixer making $19.00 for a five day, 60 hour work week, he lived in Mrs. Allen's boarding house. Since my mother had five
children to care for while my father was away, he decided to take me with him and we stayed in the boarding house. I was only five
years of age and his work shift was from 6:00 o'clock PM to 6:00 AM, so he had Mrs. Allen put me in his bed and listen out for me
during the night. Of course that was not a pleasant experience for a five year old little boy along ways from his mother.
The period between 1933-1937 was especially hard for my family. In 1933-34 the market for certain types of cloth began to collapse,
and textile mills began to shut down. There were areas of Union turmoil and was not helpful at all to struggling plants. One day my
father came home from work and told my mother that the mill hands were told that the mill was going to shut down right away. My
mother whose name was Ethel asked a very nervous question. Walter, what are we going to do? My mother was pregnant with her
sixth child and she was worried.
In those days there was no welfare program, no unemployment compensation, and Social Security was unheard of. The only help my
mother received while my father was off looking for work, as far away as Alabama, was $5.00 each week. My mother would walk
several miles to a cheap grocery store in downtown Wilmington to buy flour, lard, rice, beans ans several cans of Salmon, which when
on sale were 3 cans/ 25 cents. Two grocery stores near the "Mill Hill", Mr.Knox's and Mr. Morton got in a price war with eggs and
were selling for 2 and 3 cents per dozen. "The History of the United State" by William Backus Guitteau, Ph.D, published by Houghton
Mifflin Company, The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1935. Quoting from page 739 regarding farm relief: "...In 1932
wheat sold for 30 cents a bushel and hogs for $2.00 per hundred weight. In that year it was estimated that the farm dollar had a
purchasing power measured in non agricultural commodities of only 36 cents. To pay for a $4.00 pair of shoes, for example, a farmer in
Iowa brought to town 20 pounds of butter and 12 dozen eggs." The text book went on to say that in the years 1932 and 1933 farmers
were overwhelmed and had to resort to desperate measures. Folks in the country did have food to eat while the city people,
especially, those dependent on shut down textile plants had very little food and clothing was a patchwork of overalls and flour sack
made dresses.
As a result of the shortage of food, my mother began to deny herself for the sake of her children and became very sick. The doctor
diagnosed her condition as pellagra, a disease caused by very poor nutritional deficiencies in certain vitamins and proteins. The
doctor prescribed a mixture of milk, raw eggs, vanilla extract, and sugar. My mother's health did improve and in July 1934 the sixth
child, a girl named Betty Lou, was born.
Union Turmoil
Conditions began to change in the economy as a result of actions taken by President Roosevelt and the U.S. Congress and textile mills
began to start up again. However, the plant where my father worked was picketed by out-of-town- pickets and some of the local
employees of Spofford Mills. An anti-union attitude developed and some former friends became agitated with each other. My father
needed work to support our large family and he was not very happy with the union pickets, especially, those that had come in from
other towns, and were referred to as the "flying squad"; a term that was supposed to strike fear in the anti-union mill hands.
One day the owners of the mill talked with my father and told him that if he could muster enough workers to break the picket line and
get the mill up and running, he would guarantee them jobs. I remember following my father to locations in Wilmington and listening
to him speak and appeal to groups of people who needed jobs. Many were afraid of the union pickets and were hesitant. My father
told all that if they wanted a job to be at the mill on Monday morning because they intended to break the picket line and open the mill
at 6:00 o'clock, one way or another. He promised to lead them through the gate, if they would follow him.
On Monday morning about five o'clock our whole family was up and watched my father leave home for the mill. He was dressed in his
work overalls and stuck a pistol in his pocket. He told my mode to listen for the sound of the heavy motors and generators, and if she
heard them, it meant they were inside the mill. Also, at ten minutes to sixth whistle would blow, which meant the mill was going to
start up at its normal Morning start-up time. We children and our mother were terribly frightened, especially having seen our father
put the pistol in his pocket. We lived about the equivalent of a block and a half from the mill, which was in direct view, but we could
not see the picket line. It was dark when my father left so all we could do was listen and pray, and hope for the sounds of the motors
and whistle. We waited and listened. Shortly before ten minutes to six we heard the motors begin to wind up and we had not heard
any gunfire. We knew then that the workers were inside. The whistles blew exactly on time and the mill was up and running, and a
pay check would soon be coming. More food and better clothing would become available for the "Mill Hill" families.
Better Days
After Spofford Mills reopened and was up and running in 1934, the "Mill Hill" people began to breathe a little easier, however, times
were still hard because the pay was very low and families were large. It was around 1940 or so before the minimum wage was raised
to 40 cents/hour. Loom-fixers and weavers and a few others in the Weave Room and other sections like the Spinning and Card Rooms
made a little more, but sweepers and those at the bottom of the wage scale got very little reward for some hard and dirty work. A
single sweeper in the Spinning and Card Rooms was required to keep both clean, empty the spittoons, and clean out the underside of
each carding machine. When the mill started a third shift (6:00 AM to 2:00 PM; 2:00 to 10:00 PM and 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM) and went
on a six day work week, a sweeper was paid $20.80 for a 48 hour work week. Time and a half was paid for the 8 hours on Saturday
and it was great to get those hours at 60 cents/hour.
Families began to recover and a few began to buy radios, listen to the World Series Baseball games and the Heavy Weight
Championship Boxing matches. Those that did not have radios would go to another mill workers house to listen. Some folks would
supplement their food by going fishing and a few even purchased small boats and had those small 9 horsepower outboard motors.
In
1934 the owners of the mill had a swimming pool built and it probably was the only outdoor pool in Wilmington. There was a pool in
the YMCA, but "skinny-dipping" was a necessity, because no one owned a swim suit, so a swimming pool on the "Mill Hill" was a
luxury no one who worked in a cotton mill ever expected to have. Until the time the pool was built most of the boys would go to the
'creek' swimming hole which was about 6 ft x 6 ft and was far enough away from the road, and the undergrowth so thick that
'skinny-dipping' was OK. The boys took their clothes off and hung them on the bushes. During the July 4th holidays many of the
families rode the street cars to Wrightsville beach, NC, rented bathing suits at the Lumina, and enjoyed a day away from the mill.
In 1936 the US Government passed the World War I Bonus Bill and many of the mill workers having served during the war were paid a
bonus. Some used the money to buy an automobile, as did my father, who bought a brand new Plymouth sedan for $650.00. One
weekend my father who ran the Weave Room, the Spinning Room boss, and two loom-fixers traveled to Washington, DC to see the
Washington Senators play the Detroit Tigers at the old Griffis Park Baseball Stadium. I was fortunate in that my father took me along
and I saw my first major league ball game. In Wilmington, the baseball team was the Wilmington Pirates, a farm team of Cincinnati.
Before World War II started the owners of the mill also had inside toilets installed on the back porches of the houses on "Old Hill."
The new houses on the 'New Hill' already had indoor toilets on the back porch. Life on the "Mill Hill" at Spofford Mills was similar to
that in other mill villages or Mill Hills as most were called throughout the South; hard work and barely enough pay to survive, living in
small mill houses and trying to get their children a high school education. That was a difficult task for many families, and some
children dropped out of school to work in the mill, or embarrassment because of inferior clothing compared to that of the downtown
children became a factor.
"Mill Hill" people caused the city folks to look down their noses at cotton mill people. The streets were dirt, the school playground
was dirt, no sidewalks, no grass in peoples yard-the dirt was raked because no one could afford grass, and some people thought that
"Mill Hill" people were trashy and dirty. The children of "Mill Hill" parents that attended that small 4 grade school, later extended to 7
grades, became professional golfers, lawyer, military officers, pilots, and high ranking National Guard officers and personnel. Some
became nurses and teachers, real estate developers, and other business leaders and law enforcement personnel. The reason-families
were poor, but honest hard workers, and to a large extent were church goers.
There were 2 churches and an Episcopal Mission, situated in a mill house on the "New Hill." One church was the Gibson Avenue
Baptist Church located on the boundary of the mill property, and the Delgado Presbyterian Church located on the corner of Church
Row, one of the dirt streets that contained about 8 or 10 mill houses. Families could choose either, and on Sunday Mornings the mill
people put on their best and attended Sunday School and Worship services at the church of their choice. The Baptist minister was
furnished a mill house as a residence, but the Presbyterian minister who had several churches to attend to, because none could afford
a minister every Sunday, lived in his own home.
Honesty Is The Best Policy
One year when school was out for Thanksgiving, a young boy from the "Mill Hill" went to the Cape Fear Country Club hoping he might
get a chance to caddy for one of the golfers. That was in the days when golfing was enjoyable; there were no golf carts to run over
you, and tee times were set by who got to the number 1 tee first. If you were in a hurry and wanted to go right away, you simply fitted
yourself between the foursomes coming off the number 9 green, and start on the number 10 tee. Some of the greens were sand and
required a person to "drag" greens. That was a lot easier than carrying a heavy golf bag, but you might not make as much money,
even though the club house paid the caddy and the "drag" the same amount-55 cents for 18 holes. The difference was that sometimes
the "drag" did not get a tip, whereas most of the time the caddy would get either a dime (from what the caddies called a "nub") or a
quarter from the more sympathetic and liberal golfers. Some of the golfers were very wealthy and would give the caddy a 35 cent tip.
As bad luck would have it, that Thanksgiving Day, the young boy was not able to "get a caddy" so he started home from the club
house. To get home he had to follow a path through the woods to Oleander Drive, cross over the road and across the number 5
fairway, then he had to jump a ditch, cross over the railroad tracks, and through a field of broom straw grass. Then it was up and over
the old Shell Road (now Wrightsville Avenue), go about another hundred yards by the "Mill Hill" swimming pool and then he was home.
When he reached the number 5 fairway on this Thanksgiving Day, he noticed a beautiful leather football lying in the middle of the
fairway and there was not one kid to be seen anywhere. Obviously, someone had forgotten and left the football where they had been
playing, or the club pro had come upon them so fast that the kids scattered rather than risk his anger.
The young boy looked all around and when he still did not see anyone, he picked up the football, jumped the ditch, crossed over the
railroad track, ran through the broom straw fast as he could to Shell Road, crossed over, ran by the swimming pool and was home. No
one saw him, and he had himself something that most "Mill Hill" kids would never have. Their parents were too poor to pay what a
leather football would cost.
The next question for the young boy to ponder was where was he going to hide his newly found possession. He knew that if his father
knew what he had done, he would be very angry and make him take it back. The mill house where he lived had an outhouse for a
toilet, and he knew that no one went near it unless for a dire and urgent need, so he hid the football behind the outhouse. It was safe
there and no one would ever know what he had done. It wasn't but a couple of hours later before his conscience began to work on
him. He began to think about getting caught, and what his punishment might be. The question that ate into his mind more than
anything else, however, what would his parents think? What would they do? What about all those times he had heard them talk about
honoring your father and mother. What about the folks at church? He knew very well that his grade school teachers, especially, his
fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Ficklin who had tried to teach her students the Psalms of the Bible, would be terribly disappointed. It did
not take very long before he realized that he had taken something that did not belong to him, and that the real owner would be
disappointed when he went back and could not find his prized possession.
The young fellow went behind the outhouse, picked up the football, and then it was back by the swimming pool, cross Shell Road,
through the broom straw, cross over the railroad tracks, jump the ditch and out to the middle of the number 5 fairway. H e looked
around and there was not a person to be seen. He hurried to the exact spot where he had picked up the football and placed it in the
grass where he had picked it up. It was exactly on the same blade of grass that it had been laying on when he found it.
That experience was a lesson the young boy never forgot. As long as he lives, he will never forget the feeling of guilt and the possible
alienation (not to mention possible punishment) from parents and friends. That night the young boy went to bed with a clean
conscience and had no trouble getting a good night's sleep. Later in life as he was training as an Aviation Cadet because he wanted to
be an Officer in the US Army Air Corps, he learned a lot more about an Honor Code and the honesty and integrity expected of an
officer and a gentleman.
That young boy was none other than the author of "Mill Hill Pilot" and was a Lieutenant Colonel and US Air Force Pilot. He served in
the military from 1943-1966 and was in World War II, the Korean War, and the early Vietn
"The Milk Wagon
One of the things "Mill Hill" kids like to do and was the most fun, was to hitch a ride on Mr. Vanderwal's milk wagon on school days.
Mr. Vanderwal owned the local dairy, which was a mile or two from the "Mill Hill." During the mornings he would deliver milk in the
neighborhood in his horse drawn milk wagon. He was usually in the area when the children were walking to school. Mr. Vanderwal
would sit up front driving the horse along the milk route. The horse probably knew the route by heart because he had made the daily
route many times.
On the back of the wagon at the bottom, was a lip just wide enough to stand on with your toes, if one held on at the top for dear life.
If you got in the center of the wagon you could avoid getting hit with Mr. Vanderwal's buggy whip as he swung it around the side
toward the rear to make the kids get off. If three boys were able to hitch a ride, the wagon would begin to tip the front of the wagon
upward. Mr. Vanderwal would have to stop and the kids would scatter and take off while he gave them a mouthful of choice words.
But he was kind hearted and never reported the children to their parents.
Halloween and Valentine's Day
There were many mischievous acts that mill children got into on Halloween and Valentine's nights. One of the tricks or pranks on
Halloween was to tie a rope to the front door knob of a neighbor's house with the other end tied to a tree and then go beat on the front
door and run and hide. Lots of fun watching the residents trying to get the door opened. However, when someone's outhouse got
push over, that became a serious matter.
On Valentine's night the custom was to go up to the front porch and put your valentines, mostly home made, on the porch floor, beat
on the floor with a stick or a rock, and run and hide in the bushes and sometimes under the porch. That was great fun for the kids
watching the front door open and watching your school kid sweethearts scooping up the valentines; but what a way to ask someone,
"Will you be my Valentine"?
(Note: Many of these stories are taken directly from a book,"Mill Hill Pilot" authored by LtCol. William J. Blanton & published in 1997.)
Hard Times
The Depression years for the residents of "Mill Hill" were very difficult and especially hard during the period of 1930-1934. The houses
that were provided to the employees and families of Delgado Mills were small, and the number of children to care for were large;
families with six, seven, and eight were not unusual. In many families at least two children slept in the same bed and in even larger
families, like my own where there were seven children, three sisters slept in one bed and a brother and I slept in another, but in the
same room.
"Mill Hill" was divided into two areas, the Old Hill and the New Hill. The houses on the Old Hill had outhouse for toilets, but the newer
houses on New Hill had built in toilets on the back porch. Each area had a boarding house, but most stayed in the new one, which was
operated by Mrs. Allen. Prior to my father moving the entire family to Wilmington in 1930-31, where he had a job in Delgado Mills as a
loom-fixer making $19.00 for a five day, 60 hour work week, he lived in Mrs. Allen's boarding house. Since my mother had five
children to care for while my father was away, he decided to take me with him and we stayed in the boarding house. I was only five
years of age and his work shift was from 6:00 o'clock PM to 6:00 AM, so he had Mrs. Allen put me in his bed and listen out for me
during the night. Of course that was not a pleasant experience for a five year old little boy along ways from his mother.
The period between 1933-1937 was especially hard for my family. In 1933-34 the market for certain types of cloth began to collapse,
and textile mills began to shut down. There were areas of Union turmoil and was not helpful at all to struggling plants. One day my
father came home from work and told my mother that the mill hands were told that the mill was going to shut down right away. My
mother whose name was Ethel asked a very nervous question. Walter, what are we going to do? My mother was pregnant with her
sixth child and she was worried.
In those days there was no welfare program, no unemployment compensation, and Social Security was unheard of. The only help my
mother received while my father was off looking for work, as far away as Alabama, was $5.00 each week. My mother would walk
several miles to a cheap grocery store in downtown Wilmington to buy flour, lard, rice, beans ans several cans of Salmon, which when
on sale were 3 cans/ 25 cents. Two grocery stores near the "Mill Hill", Mr.Knox's and Mr. Morton got in a price war with eggs and
were selling for 2 and 3 cents per dozen. "The History of the United State" by William Backus Guitteau, Ph.D, published by Houghton
Mifflin Company, The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1935. Quoting from page 739 regarding farm relief: "...In 1932
wheat sold for 30 cents a bushel and hogs for $2.00 per hundred weight. In that year it was estimated that the farm dollar had a
purchasing power measured in non agricultural commodities of only 36 cents. To pay for a $4.00 pair of shoes, for example, a farmer in
Iowa brought to town 20 pounds of butter and 12 dozen eggs." The text book went on to say that in the years 1932 and 1933 farmers
were overwhelmed and had to resort to desperate measures. Folks in the country did have food to eat while the city people,
especially, those dependent on shut down textile plants had very little food and clothing was a patchwork of overalls and flour sack
made dresses.
As a result of the shortage of food, my mother began to deny herself for the sake of her children and became very sick. The doctor
diagnosed her condition as pellagra, a disease caused by very poor nutritional deficiencies in certain vitamins and proteins. The
doctor prescribed a mixture of milk, raw eggs, vanilla extract, and sugar. My mother's health did improve and in July 1934 the sixth
child, a girl named Betty Lou, was born.
Union Turmoil
Conditions began to change in the economy as a result of actions taken by President Roosevelt and the U.S. Congress and textile mills
began to start up again. However, the plant where my father worked was picketed by out-of-town- pickets and some of the local
employees of Spofford Mills. An anti-union attitude developed and some former friends became agitated with each other. My father
needed work to support our large family and he was not very happy with the union pickets, especially, those that had come in from
other towns, and were referred to as the "flying squad"; a term that was supposed to strike fear in the anti-union mill hands.
One day the owners of the mill talked with my father and told him that if he could muster enough workers to break the picket line and
get the mill up and running, he would guarantee them jobs. I remember following my father to locations in Wilmington and listening
to him speak and appeal to groups of people who needed jobs. Many were afraid of the union pickets and were hesitant. My father
told all that if they wanted a job to be at the mill on Monday morning because they intended to break the picket line and open the mill
at 6:00 o'clock, one way or another. He promised to lead them through the gate, if they would follow him.
On Monday morning about five o'clock our whole family was up and watched my father leave home for the mill. He was dressed in his
work overalls and stuck a pistol in his pocket. He told my mode to listen for the sound of the heavy motors and generators, and if she
heard them, it meant they were inside the mill. Also, at ten minutes to sixth whistle would blow, which meant the mill was going to
start up at its normal Morning start-up time. We children and our mother were terribly frightened, especially having seen our father
put the pistol in his pocket. We lived about the equivalent of a block and a half from the mill, which was in direct view, but we could
not see the picket line. It was dark when my father left so all we could do was listen and pray, and hope for the sounds of the motors
and whistle. We waited and listened. Shortly before ten minutes to six we heard the motors begin to wind up and we had not heard
any gunfire. We knew then that the workers were inside. The whistles blew exactly on time and the mill was up and running, and a
pay check would soon be coming. More food and better clothing would become available for the "Mill Hill" families.
Better Days
After Spofford Mills reopened and was up and running in 1934, the "Mill Hill" people began to breathe a little easier, however, times
were still hard because the pay was very low and families were large. It was around 1940 or so before the minimum wage was raised
to 40 cents/hour. Loom-fixers and weavers and a few others in the Weave Room and other sections like the Spinning and Card Rooms
made a little more, but sweepers and those at the bottom of the wage scale got very little reward for some hard and dirty work. A
single sweeper in the Spinning and Card Rooms was required to keep both clean, empty the spittoons, and clean out the underside of
each carding machine. When the mill started a third shift (6:00 AM to 2:00 PM; 2:00 to 10:00 PM and 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM) and went
on a six day work week, a sweeper was paid $20.80 for a 48 hour work week. Time and a half was paid for the 8 hours on Saturday
and it was great to get those hours at 60 cents/hour.
Families began to recover and a few began to buy radios, listen to the World Series Baseball games and the Heavy Weight
Championship Boxing matches. Those that did not have radios would go to another mill workers house to listen. Some folks would
supplement their food by going fishing and a few even purchased small boats and had those small 9 horsepower outboard motors.
In
1934 the owners of the mill had a swimming pool built and it probably was the only outdoor pool in Wilmington. There was a pool in
the YMCA, but "skinny-dipping" was a necessity, because no one owned a swim suit, so a swimming pool on the "Mill Hill" was a
luxury no one who worked in a cotton mill ever expected to have. Until the time the pool was built most of the boys would go to the
'creek' swimming hole which was about 6 ft x 6 ft and was far enough away from the road, and the undergrowth so thick that
'skinny-dipping' was OK. The boys took their clothes off and hung them on the bushes. During the July 4th holidays many of the
families rode the street cars to Wrightsville beach, NC, rented bathing suits at the Lumina, and enjoyed a day away from the mill.
In 1936 the US Government passed the World War I Bonus Bill and many of the mill workers having served during the war were paid a
bonus. Some used the money to buy an automobile, as did my father, who bought a brand new Plymouth sedan for $650.00. One
weekend my father who ran the Weave Room, the Spinning Room boss, and two loom-fixers traveled to Washington, DC to see the
Washington Senators play the Detroit Tigers at the old Griffis Park Baseball Stadium. I was fortunate in that my father took me along
and I saw my first major league ball game. In Wilmington, the baseball team was the Wilmington Pirates, a farm team of Cincinnati.
Before World War II started the owners of the mill also had inside toilets installed on the back porches of the houses on "Old Hill."
The new houses on the 'New Hill' already had indoor toilets on the back porch. Life on the "Mill Hill" at Spofford Mills was similar to
that in other mill villages or Mill Hills as most were called throughout the South; hard work and barely enough pay to survive, living in
small mill houses and trying to get their children a high school education. That was a difficult task for many families, and some
children dropped out of school to work in the mill, or embarrassment because of inferior clothing compared to that of the downtown
children became a factor.
"Mill Hill" people caused the city folks to look down their noses at cotton mill people. The streets were dirt, the school playground
was dirt, no sidewalks, no grass in peoples yard-the dirt was raked because no one could afford grass, and some people thought that
"Mill Hill" people were trashy and dirty. The children of "Mill Hill" parents that attended that small 4 grade school, later extended to 7
grades, became professional golfers, lawyer, military officers, pilots, and high ranking National Guard officers and personnel. Some
became nurses and teachers, real estate developers, and other business leaders and law enforcement personnel. The reason-families
were poor, but honest hard workers, and to a large extent were church goers.
There were 2 churches and an Episcopal Mission, situated in a mill house on the "New Hill." One church was the Gibson Avenue
Baptist Church located on the boundary of the mill property, and the Delgado Presbyterian Church located on the corner of Church
Row, one of the dirt streets that contained about 8 or 10 mill houses. Families could choose either, and on Sunday Mornings the mill
people put on their best and attended Sunday School and Worship services at the church of their choice. The Baptist minister was
furnished a mill house as a residence, but the Presbyterian minister who had several churches to attend to, because none could afford
a minister every Sunday, lived in his own home.
Honesty Is The Best Policy
One year when school was out for Thanksgiving, a young boy from the "Mill Hill" went to the Cape Fear Country Club hoping he might
get a chance to caddy for one of the golfers. That was in the days when golfing was enjoyable; there were no golf carts to run over
you, and tee times were set by who got to the number 1 tee first. If you were in a hurry and wanted to go right away, you simply fitted
yourself between the foursomes coming off the number 9 green, and start on the number 10 tee. Some of the greens were sand and
required a person to "drag" greens. That was a lot easier than carrying a heavy golf bag, but you might not make as much money,
even though the club house paid the caddy and the "drag" the same amount-55 cents for 18 holes. The difference was that sometimes
the "drag" did not get a tip, whereas most of the time the caddy would get either a dime (from what the caddies called a "nub") or a
quarter from the more sympathetic and liberal golfers. Some of the golfers were very wealthy and would give the caddy a 35 cent tip.
As bad luck would have it, that Thanksgiving Day, the young boy was not able to "get a caddy" so he started home from the club
house. To get home he had to follow a path through the woods to Oleander Drive, cross over the road and across the number 5
fairway, then he had to jump a ditch, cross over the railroad tracks, and through a field of broom straw grass. Then it was up and over
the old Shell Road (now Wrightsville Avenue), go about another hundred yards by the "Mill Hill" swimming pool and then he was home.
When he reached the number 5 fairway on this Thanksgiving Day, he noticed a beautiful leather football lying in the middle of the
fairway and there was not one kid to be seen anywhere. Obviously, someone had forgotten and left the football where they had been
playing, or the club pro had come upon them so fast that the kids scattered rather than risk his anger.
The young boy looked all around and when he still did not see anyone, he picked up the football, jumped the ditch, crossed over the
railroad track, ran through the broom straw fast as he could to Shell Road, crossed over, ran by the swimming pool and was home. No
one saw him, and he had himself something that most "Mill Hill" kids would never have. Their parents were too poor to pay what a
leather football would cost.
The next question for the young boy to ponder was where was he going to hide his newly found possession. He knew that if his father
knew what he had done, he would be very angry and make him take it back. The mill house where he lived had an outhouse for a
toilet, and he knew that no one went near it unless for a dire and urgent need, so he hid the football behind the outhouse. It was safe
there and no one would ever know what he had done. It wasn't but a couple of hours later before his conscience began to work on
him. He began to think about getting caught, and what his punishment might be. The question that ate into his mind more than
anything else, however, what would his parents think? What would they do? What about all those times he had heard them talk about
honoring your father and mother. What about the folks at church? He knew very well that his grade school teachers, especially, his
fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Ficklin who had tried to teach her students the Psalms of the Bible, would be terribly disappointed. It did
not take very long before he realized that he had taken something that did not belong to him, and that the real owner would be
disappointed when he went back and could not find his prized possession.
The young fellow went behind the outhouse, picked up the football, and then it was back by the swimming pool, cross Shell Road,
through the broom straw, cross over the railroad tracks, jump the ditch and out to the middle of the number 5 fairway. H e looked
around and there was not a person to be seen. He hurried to the exact spot where he had picked up the football and placed it in the
grass where he had picked it up. It was exactly on the same blade of grass that it had been laying on when he found it.
That experience was a lesson the young boy never forgot. As long as he lives, he will never forget the feeling of guilt and the possible
alienation (not to mention possible punishment) from parents and friends. That night the young boy went to bed with a clean
conscience and had no trouble getting a good night's sleep. Later in life as he was training as an Aviation Cadet because he wanted to
be an Officer in the US Army Air Corps, he learned a lot more about an Honor Code and the honesty and integrity expected of an
officer and a gentleman.
That young boy was none other than the author of "Mill Hill Pilot" and was a Lieutenant Colonel and US Air Force Pilot. He served in
the military from 1943-1966 and was in World War II, the Korean War, and the early Vietn
"The Milk Wagon
One of the things "Mill Hill" kids like to do and was the most fun, was to hitch a ride on Mr. Vanderwal's milk wagon on school days.
Mr. Vanderwal owned the local dairy, which was a mile or two from the "Mill Hill." During the mornings he would deliver milk in the
neighborhood in his horse drawn milk wagon. He was usually in the area when the children were walking to school. Mr. Vanderwal
would sit up front driving the horse along the milk route. The horse probably knew the route by heart because he had made the daily
route many times.
On the back of the wagon at the bottom, was a lip just wide enough to stand on with your toes, if one held on at the top for dear life.
If you got in the center of the wagon you could avoid getting hit with Mr. Vanderwal's buggy whip as he swung it around the side
toward the rear to make the kids get off. If three boys were able to hitch a ride, the wagon would begin to tip the front of the wagon
upward. Mr. Vanderwal would have to stop and the kids would scatter and take off while he gave them a mouthful of choice words.
But he was kind hearted and never reported the children to their parents.
Halloween and Valentine's Day
There were many mischievous acts that mill children got into on Halloween and Valentine's nights. One of the tricks or pranks on
Halloween was to tie a rope to the front door knob of a neighbor's house with the other end tied to a tree and then go beat on the front
door and run and hide. Lots of fun watching the residents trying to get the door opened. However, when someone's outhouse got
push over, that became a serious matter.
On Valentine's night the custom was to go up to the front porch and put your valentines, mostly home made, on the porch floor, beat
on the floor with a stick or a rock, and run and hide in the bushes and sometimes under the porch. That was great fun for the kids
watching the front door open and watching your school kid sweethearts scooping up the valentines; but what a way to ask someone,
"Will you be my Valentine"?
(Note: Many of these stories are taken directly from a book,"Mill Hill Pilot" authored by LtCol. William J. Blanton & published in 1997.)
Marvin Beale
Gilbert Woodcock
Earl Cottle
Lawrence Cook
Inez Nobles
Virginia Branch
Jean Cook
Delgado Presbyterian Church
Wilmington, North Carolina
(The church where Jennings Blanton was baptized in 1937)
Wilmington, North Carolina
(The church where Jennings Blanton was baptized in 1937)
Two "Mill Hill" friends, Gloria
Blanton & Louise Watts
Blanton & Louise Watts
Spofford Mill's Master Mechanic
Lawson Ballard & Wife, Eva
Lawson Ballard & Wife, Eva
Two "Mill Hill" Ladies
Ethel Blanton & Eva Ballard
Ethel Blanton & Eva Ballard
William J. Blanton,
A mill house at the cotton mill
East Lumberton, NC
A mill house at the cotton mill
East Lumberton, NC
Spinning and Weave Room
Overseers, 1930s, 40s & 50s
Howard Sutton & WalterBlanton
Overseers, 1930s, 40s & 50s
Howard Sutton & WalterBlanton
THE STORY
Two Mill employees in Lumberton in 1928 after betting on the Presidential
Election. The loser, H.D. Dyson pushes the winner,Walter Blanton in a
wheelbarrow from the cotton mill to the City of Lumberton, NC Courthouse.
Two Mill employees in Lumberton in 1928 after betting on the Presidential
Election. The loser, H.D. Dyson pushes the winner,Walter Blanton in a
wheelbarrow from the cotton mill to the City of Lumberton, NC Courthouse.
Physical education and mental hygiene were Miss Gertrude Loughlin's special
concern for her students along with other subjects. She required us to develop
a note book with the various drawings of the body-circulatory, lungs,
respiratory, heart, skin, and the other anatomical parts of the body.
Smoking and drinking alcohol were the two worst things anyone could do to
their bodies, and you better not get caught smoking when going to the outside
bathroom, located in the pine trees of the playground. Sometimes when two
boys were at the bathroom, one would smoke, while the other watched for the
principal.
Miss Loughlin taught the students the foods that were good for healthy
growing children, and milk with all of its thick cream on top was especially
recommended. Of course that was in days when cholesterol was unheard of.
Fresh air and plenty of exercise and the right amount of sleep was necessary if
students were to remain healthy and not miss any of the school days. No
problem with exercise, especially with the boys. They formed wrestling teams
and at recess, they would spend most of the time wrestling with each other.
The girls were busy playing hop-scotch or other games.
No soft drinks or fast foods were available; brown bag lunches, or no lunch at
all until after school. Parents were too poor to provide for much other than
perhaps a biscuit or two with a slice of onion with mustard and maybe a piece
of fat back.
concern for her students along with other subjects. She required us to develop
a note book with the various drawings of the body-circulatory, lungs,
respiratory, heart, skin, and the other anatomical parts of the body.
Smoking and drinking alcohol were the two worst things anyone could do to
their bodies, and you better not get caught smoking when going to the outside
bathroom, located in the pine trees of the playground. Sometimes when two
boys were at the bathroom, one would smoke, while the other watched for the
principal.
Miss Loughlin taught the students the foods that were good for healthy
growing children, and milk with all of its thick cream on top was especially
recommended. Of course that was in days when cholesterol was unheard of.
Fresh air and plenty of exercise and the right amount of sleep was necessary if
students were to remain healthy and not miss any of the school days. No
problem with exercise, especially with the boys. They formed wrestling teams
and at recess, they would spend most of the time wrestling with each other.
The girls were busy playing hop-scotch or other games.
No soft drinks or fast foods were available; brown bag lunches, or no lunch at
all until after school. Parents were too poor to provide for much other than
perhaps a biscuit or two with a slice of onion with mustard and maybe a piece
of fat back.
Delgado/Spofford Mills
Wilmington, North Carolina
(Aerial View of mill & intersection of Shell Road and
Atlantic Coastline Railroad
Wilmington, North Carolina
(Aerial View of mill & intersection of Shell Road and
Atlantic Coastline Railroad
Delgado Elementary School, Wilmington, NC
Original Construction-1914; Grades 1-4; 5,6, & 7 O/A 1935
Original Construction-1914; Grades 1-4; 5,6, & 7 O/A 1935
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Photos
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