Cliffside, its people have contributed much

Cliffside, its people have contributed much

By Zane A. Saunders
The Daily Courier, May 9, 1988

When I came to this county four years ago, I settled in Cliffside by chance.

At the time I knew nothing of Cliffside’s history. I knew the community was relaxed and quiet and few people, relatively speaking, lived there.

I could see that it had an impressive school, a park, a clock tower rising out of a field, a few churches, a mill, a smattering of stores and offices and not much else. I had no idea how drastically the town had changed over the years.

What interested me then about the town was its physical structure. I was told the clock tower came from the Memorial Building when it was torn down. I discovered the crumbling foundations on Whiteline and Island Ford roads and was told that mill houses once covered nearby hills.

Wandering through the woods, I discovered the remnants of the old roller mill, an old cemetery and, at the time, a working railroad.

Piece by piece I mentally put together the skeleton of the old mill village. At the Cliffside Homecoming this weekend I found its spirit.

Like many industrialists of his time, Raleigh Rutherford Haynes built a mill village. The village ensured his gingham mill of a large supply of workers within walking distance.

But Haynes’ village was different. It wasn’t a motley collection of frame homes perched precariously on the hillsides. It was a self-contained, ideal community.

It was Haynes’ home.

Although Haynes ruled his town he didn’t exploit his workers. He provided them advantages far beyond those typical of other mill villages, and far beyond those of many towns of the time.

He took care not only of the physical needs but he was farsighted enough to build schools and churches. During the Great Depression, when the state cut back teacher’s salaries to six months, the company he founded added an extra three months so the schools could stay open nine months. He sponsored a number of cultural activities, including a band and a library.

In short, he invested in his people.

That investment has paid off. Even though the town is long gone, its influence is not. The people who were nurtured in that benevolent, paternalistic environment have gone out, as Judge Hollis Owens said Sunday, to distinguish themselves in a wide variety of fields.

There are musicians, athletes, a movie director, lawyers, doctors, politicians, ministers, teachers and a host of other professionals with Cliffside roots. The county’s attorney, planner and manager are all tied closely to Cliffside.

Cone Mills, which acquired the Haynes properties, and nearby Duke Power are two of the county’s largest tax contributors and their employees combine to donate about 24 percent of the local United Way’s budget.

This is not typical of a place that no longer exists.

It is typical, though, of a rural people who were given a chance to improve their lives and their children’s lives, and pursued it vigorously.

Reprinted with permission from The Daily Courier. Copyright owned by The Daily Courier.