Living in the Neighborhood, p. 2

RECYCLE – MAKE IT A WAY OF LIFE

Every Wednesday, our neighborhood and the Town of Davidson awake to the bright red and blue curbside containers ready for recycle pick-up. If you already recycle, please continue and look for additional opportunities to reduce conventional waste products. If you do not currently recycle, please read this article carefully and give it a try.

At the start of the year 2000, the following fun facts were noted in regard to recycling:

• Americans use more than 67 million tons of paper per year, or about 580 pounds per person.
• Paper products make up the largest part (40%) of our trash.
• Each year, Americans throw away 25 trillion Styrofoam cups.
• Every Sunday, Americans waste 90 percent of recyclable newspapers. This wastes 500,000 trees on that day alone!
• Paper products use up at least 35 percent of the world’s annual commercial wood harvest.
• Each ton of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4,000 kilowatts of energy, and 7,000 gallons of water.

So why should we recycle? Hopefully the answer is obvious.

1. Recycling conserves our natural resources.
2. Recycling saves energy.
3. Recycling saves clean air and clean water.
4. Recycling saves landfill space.
5. Recycling can save money and create jobs.

“On a per-ton basis, sorting and processing recyclables alone sustain 10 times more jobs than landfilling and incineration. New recycling-based manufacturers employ even more people and at higher wages than does sorting recyclables. Some recycling-based paper mills and plastic manufacturers, for instance, employ on a per-ton basis 60 times more workers than do landfills. Product reuse is even more job-intensive than recycling.”

“In North Carolina, recycling industries employ over 8,700 people. The job gains in recycling in this state far outnumber the jobs lost in other industries. For every 100 recycling jobs created, just 10 jobs were lost in the waste hauling and disposal industry, and 3 jobs were lost in the timber harvesting industry.”

“While employment in the U.S. grew only 2.1% annually between 1967 and 2000, the recycling industry saw 8.3% increase in employment, and 12.7% growth in annual sales. In the year 2000, U.S. recycling industries included more than 56,000 public and private sector facilities that sustained 1.1 million jobs and had $236 billion in gross annual sales.” [Business impact information obtained from research by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR).]

Davidson was one of the first communities in the North Mecklenburg area to arrange recycling. The following items may be recycled:

Residents may also drop off some recyclables not covered above at the North Mecklenburg Recycling Center located at 12300 North Statesville Road. For more information, please contact the center at 704.875.1563. Hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday (7am - 3pm). [Directions: From Davidson, take I-77 to Exit 18. Turn left onto Harris Boulevard/Reames Road. Turn left at stop light (US 21) and travel north approximately 3 miles. The North Mecklenburg Recycling Center entrance is on the right.]

Examples of additional recycle items that are accepted at this center include:

Goodwill Industries also operates a donation center at this location. County residents can drop off items in good condition, including furniture, tools, books, toys, sporting equipment, household items, and used clothing.

PLEASE RECYCLE – FOR THE FUTURE OF ALL.

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WHAT’S IN A NAME?
NEIGHBORHOOD STREETS AND BYWAYS
[INSTALLMENT 6]

We continue our discussion of the streets and byways of the New Neighborhood this month with a history behind the names given the Cloyd S. Goodrum and Susan T. Goodrum Byways. With the exception of Fairview and Caldwell Lanes, the primary streets and roads throughout the neighborhood are named after Southern authors and writers. The narrow “byways” are all named for local people who were in the chain of title for property purchased for the New Neighborhood.

CLOYD S. GOODRUM BYWAY
SUSAN T. GOODRUM BYWAY

As with other names in our neighborhood, the name Goodrum appears frequently in the history of Davidson. The largest portion of land (53 acres of 73 acres) on which New Neighborhood is located was a part of the Susan T. Goodrum Estate, settled in the 1950’s. Susan was the daughter of Munroe H. Goodrum, proprietor of M. H. Goodrum and Company.

M. H. Goodrum and Company opened as a general store around 1903 and was considered by many to be the largest and most elaborate store that has ever been in Davidson. It was certainly the dominant store in the 1920s and was only challenged by Knox and Brown, the only other important department store in Davidson’s history. It was located in the block now occupied by The Village Store. The Village Store, in fact, has existed as everything from a variety store (1902), to a movie theatre (“Motion Picture Palace,” 1916), to a hardware store (1940s), and back to a variety store (1949). The Depression took its toll on M. H. Goodrum & Company such that, in the 1940s, this store was the only surviving part of the company.

Munroe H. Goodrum was a Davidson commissioner from 1925 to 1926 and the mayor from 1926 to 1931. The Goodrum families were members of the Davidson Methodist Church.

Cloyd S. Goodrum, son of Munroe Goodrum, was named manager of Davidson’s new drug store in 1914. This drug store was a brick building located just south of the corner of Depot Street and Main Street (current site of the Tom Clarke Museum). It was originally owned by Joseph White, known for his association with Davidson drug stores since 1897, and was known as White Drug Company. Residents referred to the drug store as “Doc” Goodrum’s store, but the store remained the White Drug Company throughout the 51 year period of Cloyd Goodrum’s ownership. Cloyd Goodrum served as a Davidson commissioner from 1926 to 1931.

My primary source of historical information is Mary D. Beaty’s book Davidson: A History of the Town from 1835 until 1937.

Next month, I will cover Twain Avenue and Clemens Place. Unless you have forgotten all of your high school English literature education, these are one and the same. I have actually heard some dissension among residents regarding the fact that two streets were named for the same person. However, not to worry, these two streets are among our shortest and, therefore, perhaps deserve a little extra attention.

See the printed version of the May newsletter for the minutes of the April 27, 2005 meeting of the Council of Stewards.