The Eunice Waymon Birthplace

A pedal organ has been found!

We are pleased to announce that a period Shipman Pedal Organ made in Highpoint, NC has been found a purchased for the Birthplace. In I Put a Spell on You, The Autobiography of Nina Simone, an organ is mentioned on page 14. "At the time I was born we didn't have a piano in the house, we had a pedal organ. When our house was burned down [referring to a house the Waymon's later lived in and not the Birthplace], the pedal organ was the first thing rescued out of the fire." Carrol Waymon confirmed this account and described the location of the organ in the Birthplace near the front door -- in what he called the "music corner."

A long way from 30 East Livingston Street

"I believe the next Nina Simone is in a third-grade classroom in North Carolina. I want to help that third-grader. I want to show children what the option of art looks like." Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, Tift Merritt, co-Chair of the 2007 Medal of Arts Awards, Raleigh, North Carolina

"Early in the evening, Merritt established a recurring theme in her call for taking the arts into the classroom. She said she often thought about great artists such as the late jazz musicians John Coltrane and Nina Simone, who were once children in North Carolina." The Raleigh News & Observer, Sunday November 18, 2007

Research often leads to new discoveries

Throughout this restoration process and the research involved, we have been amazed by the number of folks we have stumbled upon who within a few moments of discovery have left us in awe of their committment to making the world a better place. We don't intentionally set out to find these individuals or companies, but when we come across them we are humbled by their honesty and willingness to give back and help others. One such company that we discovered by researching historic "four over four" replacement sash windows is Smith Restoration Sash in Providence, Rhode Island. Justin Smith has a page on his company's website that moved us deeply. It is entitled, "Giving Back" and it begins with these words, "Having been afforded the opportunity to flourish as a small company through a combination of luck, access to capital and hard work Smith Restoration Sash actively participates in various organizations that are devoted to helping others achieve their own goals."

Justin Smith's website and his endorsement of Heifer International, Kiva.org, and the Fairplay Foundation impressed us so much that we are compelled to link to it here.

http://smithrestorationsash.com/index.html

U Can Help Save the House (a little at a time)

Because so many of you have asked, "How can I help?" - we have now set up a PayPal link for online tips and contributions through the Lucky Star Cooperative in Tryon, North Carolina. Just click on the "U Can Help" box above the recent posts on the main page and follow the easy instructions. You may contribute as many times as you like, but please know that if you are a U.S. contributor, your tip is non-tax-deductible. All contributions however will be used exclusively to help offset the costs of the Eunice Waymon Birthplace Restoration. Each contribution will receive a personal note of appreciation from us and if you include your address in the message box, we will send you a small token of our extreme gratitude compliments of the Lucky Star Cooperative, Tryon, North Carolina, USA. Come see us!

"Together we cannot fail."

Click on the links below to hear President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address and his first Fireside Chat entitled, "The Banking Crisis." Eunice Waymon would have been eleven days old on March 4, 1933 when President Roosevelt delivered his First Inaugural Address. Eight days later on March 12 President Roosevelt delivered his first Fireside Chat entitled, "The Banking Crisis." Listening to President Roosevelt's words helps put the late winter/ early spring of 1933 into a larger national context. Eunice's father, John Waymon would later take advantage of Civilian Conservation Corps programs in the Tryon area that were part of President Roosevelt's New Deal for America.

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrfirstinaugural.html

"In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things. Values have shrunk to fantastic levels; taxes have risen; our ability to pay has fallen; government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income; the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade; the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side; farmers find no markets for their produce; and the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone. More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment." President Frankin Delano Roosevelt, from the First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933.

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrfirstfiresidechat.html

Foundation work now COMPLETE

Foundation work is now complete thanks to Jim Peterman and No Problem Builders in Tryon, NC --we could not have done it without them. The house rested for nearly a year as we developed a plan on how best to move forward. The project was divided into three phases: foundation, wall work and interior. The house was sinking at the NE corner and without intervention, major damage was on it's way. Work began over the summer and by mid-November, the house was level with new sill plates and rim boards sitting on new brick piers. The old concrete block had been broken away and removed and for the first time the underside of the house could breath. The Eunice Waymon Birthplace is beginning to take on it's 1933 appearence. Much work still needs to be done, but the foundation is secure, the floor is level and the house is safe. Please view "Restoration Efforts" to see more photos and read about the lifting and leveling process.

Carrol arrives

Carrol returns to Tryon for what he is calling "the longest visit to Tryon since he left years ago," and Hayden receives a piece of coal found in the Waymon Garden to take with him back to Hong Kong.

July 4, 2006

The heat of July has arrived in Tryon and it is time for summer reading.

For a deeper understanding of Eunice Waymon and the contributions she made to American culture, we recommend: The United States of Appalachia: How Southern Mountaineers Brought Independence, Culture, and Enlightenment to America. Jeff Biggers, Avalon Publishing, 2006 (with special attention to pages 6-7, 9-12, 24).

Garden Soil Sampling

The results of the NCDA&CS Agronomic Division soil test conducted on the Waymon Garden in March have arrived from Raleigh. The soil class of the Garden is mineral with 0.6% humic matter with a weight per volume of 1.08. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) is 7.9 with the percentage of CEC being 78.0%. Acidity is 1.7 and the current soil pH is 5.9. The phosphorous index of the soil is 30; the potassium index is 33; and the percent of CEC occupied by calcium is 69.0%. The percent of CEC occupied by magnesium is 7.0% and the manganese index is 254. The zinc index and the zinc availability index are both 1307. The cooper index is 819 and the sulfur index is 29 with sodium at 0.1.

The Agronomic Division’s recommendation is Lime 10 lbs (10-10-10 or equivalent) per 1000 square feet. Currently, the lettuce is producing very well, cabbage has signs of cabbage worms on two plants. The recommended treatment by JV, our County Extension Agent is Dipel (Bacillus thuringiensis) which has been applied.

As we've noted on the "about" page, the restoration and interpretation of the Waymon Garden demonstration project is made possible through first hand accounts of Waymon family members as well as general research compiled by Richard Westmacott in his book, AFRICAN AMERICAN GARDENS AND YARDS OF THE RURAL SOUTH (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1992). Images from the Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information Collection of the Library of Congress are also being used in planning the restoration and interpretation.

Please note also that Farm Security Administration Best Practices (1932) have been included in the Waymon Garden restoration and interpretation to acknowledge (abeit conjecture) that J.D. Waymon would have had access to best practices through his contact with the Civilian Conservation Corps. These practices include the use of mulch as a moisture retainer and weed control in community gardens. The use of mulch is not traditionally associated with African-American gardens in the rural south. (R. Westmacott)

For more information on the Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Collection of photographs at the Library of Congress, please visit,

DOCUMENTING AMERICA at:

http://rs6.loc.gov/fsowhome.html

Spring at last

April arrived in Tryon bringing alternating cool and warm days that tempted the azaleas, dogwoods, and rhododendrons into full bloom this past weekend. Cemetery Hill and East Livingston Street have become filled with bright reds, pinks, whites, and yellows spilling out of every yard. The Eunice Waymon Birthplace and Garden is no different.

The garden is in full planting now with Carolina jasmine being added this past week in the rear east corner. The house received three test patches of whitewash this week using a formula of lime, water, and salt. We’d like to thank the U.S. General Services Administration for their historical preservation technical procedures on properties and uses of whitewash paint (09900-05), which assisted in the recipe.

It has become obvious from working the garden that natural cooling processes on the property are still at work which support Carrol Waymon’s memory of where he played as a child to keep cool in the summer. On a day that reached 80 degrees recently, the coolest corner of the house became the area just outside the front garden side window just beneath the “music corner.” Under the house at this spot is where Carrol played as a child to stay cool on hot days.

The warmest corner of the house is the SW corner outside the kitchen window. With a wood stove inside in 1933, this corner of the house must have been very hot during the spring and summer. By contrast, the garden side is moist, cool, and protected by the shade of the house during the hottest part of the day.