Community involved in dream for The Avenue

Lance Martin Daily

Herald Senior Staff Writer

ROANOKE RAPIDS — In a quiet ceremony Friday, a 47-page document carrying the hopes of a host of people for a new era along The Avenue — the heart of Roanoke Rapids — was signed and sent to the decision makers in Raleigh.

The pages represent the city’s bid to join the Main Street program, a nationwide effort to revitalize business districts and neighborhoods in hundreds of communities.

Mayor Drewery Beale signed the document, which the Roanoke Avenue Business Alliance will send to Raleigh for possible selection into the

Main Street program and a chance to help breathe new life into what has served as the heart of the city’s business district.

There is more than raw data in the application, Business Alliance President Kim Simpson said following the brief signing ceremony in the mayor’s office at city hall Friday.

There are numerous interviews and pledges of help from a host of local residents and officials. There are letters from the city’s legislative delegation, both on the state and national levels and there are essays, said RABA Secretary Sherry Wade.

“Roanoke Rapids is an unusual town in North Carolina Textile Mill history,” writes retired Roanoke Rapids High School art teacher Tina Gregory. “At the end of the 19 th century, our first investors realized the potential of the mighty Roanoke River to generate enormous power for production. To locate textile mills in an entirely agricultural county that was experiencing severe pressures in the post-war South meant the availability of many laborers, desperate for a way to support their families.” Eventually, Gregory continues, uptown and downtown merged into one.

“Founded in 1901, Roanoke Rapids has become a small, scrappy, determined town that had a product to be made, honest work for a day’s pay, churches to be built, baseball to be played and last, but not least, a school to build.”

Near the close of her letter, which details her students’ involvement with many art projects revolving around the city’s history, Gregory says, “The most important aspect of this small struggling city is its determination, its civic pride, its willingness to pull itself up by its bootstraps and go forward to work for things that matter.”

The narrative of the application discusses the history of the mills and their ultimate decline, a loss of more than 2,500 jobs from 1997 to 2003.

The narrative also talks, however, of hope, using the 39,000 cars a day traveling Interstate 95, the lakes, the Roanoke Rapids Theatre and other amenities.

“Rejuvenating the historic district is a long-term process and Roanoke Rapids’ leaders are acutely aware that a collaborative effort is needed, combining the skills and advantages of  both public and private sectors. The Main Street program can help Roanoke Rapids develop allies, advocates and leadership that is needed to make Roanoke Rapids a priority for the community and a major economic asset for Roanoke Rapids and Halifax County.”

The Main Street planners’ vision for encouraging the revitalization of The Avenue includes:

• Reopening the uptown Shelton Hotel, which closed in the 1940s.

• Revitalization of the uptown Imperial Theatre.

• Restoration of two circa 1897 turtle houses.

• A textile museum featuring the history of the U.S. textile industry, photos and clips from “Norma Rae” and even a Norma Rae Cafe as part of the museum.

• The auditorium of the high school was inaugurated by Douglas Fairbanks. “We want these days to return,” the narrative says.

“RABA and other leaders in Roanoke Rapids are attempting to replace the four original economic pillars — water transportation, railroad, paper products and textiles — with four new pillars — entertainment, tourism, historic preservation and a thriving Roanoke Avenue Historic District. Guidance and support of the NCMS (North Carolina Main Street) program is critical to our achieving this goal.” Numerous people worked behind the scenes to complete the application, Simpson said, including the Chamber of Commerce and the Halifax Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Allen Purser, president and CEO of the chamber, said, in helping with the application, one of the things surprising to him was, “I think there are a lot more businesses here (on the avenue) than people think there is. There is a tremendous amount of activity and one of the things in this is to put a focus on the assets we have.”