Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Maxwell Apartments



                                          This is how Maxwell Apartments Look Today

The Maxwell Apartments on 5th Avenue have had a colorful history. The retail spaces changed over the years. Early on, A & P Grocery Store operated by Ralph Martin was located in one section.  Lawrence Orr Radio & TV Sales and Services was located in another section.  Each of these businesses had strong followings.

Ralph Martin was offered an opportunity to move up to a larger store location with A&P.  He turned the opportunity down because of his desire to remain in Hendersonville. He and his wife started a Women's Apparel Shop on the Corner of Main Street and 5th Avenue. Ralph was very active in civic affairs and served as President of the Merchants Association.

B.Sims and Bill Powers opened a grocery store in the space vacated by A&P.  They called it B&B JAX -PAX and offered free delivery and credit to its customers, particularly those living in Maxwell Apartments and Ambassador Apartments just across the street.  These two popular natives served their community well.
B. Sims first opened a Night Club in the Edneyville section called THE TOP HAT.  It became a very popular spot for people of all ages.  Bill Powers became Chief of Police in Hendersonville.  His father, Otis Powers had been Police Chief  for many years.

                                          This is how the apartments looked many years
                                           ago.  A&P Grocery was on the left in the retail
                                          space and Lawrence Orr, Inc was on the right.

My brother, Art, loves to tell the story of his paper route in the area in the late 1940's when he delivered
some 225 Times-News to customers every afternoon except Sunday.  He brags about watching the TV
Pattern in Lawrence Orr's window after finishing his work.  TV was not much back then -- just a few programs and the TV Pattern for a couple of hours.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Night Photography by Hendersonville Camera Club Members

Here are some great images provided by the Camera Club of Hendersonville for your enjoyment.

Click on Slide Show --

Night Photography Slide show 

Architecture Slideshow

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Marketing Hendersonville

The Chamber of Commerce placed several of these highway billboards in important highway locations leading into Hendersonville. They paid off in a big way by encouraging tourists to take the suggested route.
This billboard was located at the intersection of U.S. 25 and U.S. 301 -- a very popular route leading north.

Most all of the Tourist Courts (We did not have fancy motels back then) were located on Greenville Highway.  Owners would stand at the edge of their property with flags in hand motioning drivers to select their Tourist Court for the night.

When watching folks waving people into their parking lots during the Apple Festival, I was reminded of these days back in the early 1950's in our town.