This was how a new bench was described, while being set in place in an informal dedication ceremony, held after the meeting.
What began as a rainy and stormy day ended in a dry and inspiring occasion at Rock Cliff Farm.
The storm kept attendance at the meeting low, but all the key players were there and the meeting was a huge success. The revised By-laws and Policies and Procedures passed without question. The slate of officers for nomination was full of familiar names (see sidebar) It was the dedication of all these individuals that helped the Association rise again.
After some congratulations to new directors, we were delighted to feast on a variety of homemade baked goods, including Persimmon Pudding!
Then it was outside for the bench dedication. Maude Wells had set aside some money in her will for a bench and memorial honoring the early members of the B.W. Wells Association who worked tirelessly to preserve the farm.
Ken Moore was able to obtain a bench through the NC Botanical Gardens. . It’s unique design of hand made native oak was contoured for optimum seating comfort.
We were honored to have in attendance Ed Bradley, one of the four persons honored on the bench plaque. Ed was the “muscle” of the old organization, performing all the hard physical labor.
It was a truly spectacular event to make our growing club official, and memorialize our predecessors.
Photo by: Carol Williams.
At that time farmers traditionally cut drainage ditches into their sloping fields to control erosion, but it was costly, time consuming and hindered new machinery.
After some careful consideration and trial and error, Mangum discovered a terrace method of farming. The terrace involved plowing and planting a wide ridge with a slope gentle enough water could roll off without the use of ditches.
Mangum’s terraces were widely copied in other parts of the country and became the accepted method of controlling erosion on moderate slopes.
Charles Ray terraced the entire 90 cultivated acres of the farm in the early 1900’s using a mule and plow.
These Mangum Terraces qualify Rock Cliff Farm for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.
Jean Harrison and Margaret Wineinger together head up the Archiving Committee. They have happily undertaken one of the most tedious, but most important tasks of the growing B.W. Wells Association.
The immediate task at hand was cleaning, recording and storing the materials from the back room of the studio. Books, magazines, papers and even some paintings were deteriorating due to silverfish and mice.
Volunteers donned rubber surgical gloves to sort through and clean the myriad of materials. Uncovering interesting bits of history, the group cleaned and catalogued.
There were several amazing finds of pertinent information on the natural or cultural history of the site, as well as a $5 dollar bill in an envelope to be donated to a Trust Fund. We’ll make sure to forward that for B.W.
After three sessions the back room is complete! It’s far from over though, the house contains some items, and then there is the aftermath of trying to get all the archived material organized
All buildings and structures weathered the storm, but as expected the trails received a lot of damage. Several large trees were uprooted from the wind and fell across the trail. A tremendous amount of debris also accumulated.
With our resident Boy Scout Troop and new cadre of Association members, we split up and began work.
The bulk of our work was clearing debris off the trail, so that you could follow it! A daunting task, but we got it done.
In Spring Branch Bay, north-west of the house, a large old oak tree uprooted and it’s crown lay across the trail. A large American beech tree had also fallen, it’s root pulling up a section of trail due to its’ size.
Thanks to Jayme Bednarcyzk for picking up the lunch enjoyed by all. New and old members stayed for a tour of the house and farm.
When I viewed the site in April 2003, the water level in the river was so high that parts of the peninsula near the diversion point were submerged. At some time in the future, the eroding power of the water will carve a short-cut across the peninsula. The river will start to abandon its original course along the bow. Then the bow will begin to fill with sediment as the flow of the river no longer scours along the length of the peninsula. As more time passes, the sediments will form a bank near the cut-through place, isolating the bow from the main channel. The bow will retain a considerable amount of water, but it will be shallower than along the main flow route. This geological feature is called an oxbow lake.
To see an illustration of this peninsula, use www.mapquest.com, and search for the address 2201 Bent Road, Wake Forest, NC. The peninsula is slightly north and west of this address. Mapquest also has available an aerial photo of this area.
Oxbows are features of ancient rivers, that have meandered along curving paths, and finally make a shortcut, isolating the bows. You can see these features clearly in maps of the Mississippi River. Notable examples are found near Memphis, Vicksburg and Greenville, MS. Eventually the oxbows may fill completely with sediments, resulting in an area of land that is loamy and great for agriculture. The Yazoo Delta of the Mississippi, famous for its agricultural soils, consists of oxbow after oxbow that have filled with loam.
Hughen Nourse –Vice President
B.W. was riding a train to Wilmington, NC when he noticed a wildflower meadow and began thinking of plant communities, which led him to his pioneering research to identify these various communal relationships between plants & ecosystem habitats.
Throughout Wake Forest there are signs to BW Wells State Park which led members of the Wake Forest Garden Club for years to wonder: what lies beyond the pad locked gates. Last year they arranged a tour. The members who attended the passionate tour lead by Ranger Brian Bockhahn, stepped back in time, started to think about the man who had walked these grounds, and began to dream of a way to share his legacy with others.
Our vision is big but not by today's standards. There will be a visitor center and modern bathroom conveniences added to the park, but the dream is to provide for visitors a quiet sanctuary for contemplation, research, and study, just as it was in the 1950's when the Well's retired there.
We have many projects, of which there are two, Wild Flower Nature Walk and Wild Flower Meadow, which dovetail beautifully with the NC Wild Flower Preservation Society's Mission: "Promoting the enjoyment and conservation of native plants ad their habitats through education, protection and propagation…"
Project plan for Grounds
o 2003 - 2004 Identify surviving native plants
o 2004 - Controlled burn and observation
o 2005 - Reintroduce native plants/wildflowers
Jayme Bednarczyk - Grounds Committee Chair
As we’re growing we are in need of help on each of our project committees. Many of these are a committee of one, and will need any help that is out there.
Archiving: help is needed on various work days cleaning and preserving historical materials and heirlooms.
Buildings: could use anyone with architectural experience or contacts with a construction company.
Grounds: if you can use a chainsaw or even a garden hoe, you can lend a hand with the ongoing projects.
Public Relations: Help with various promotions and events outside the park.
Education: field trip leaders and researchers are needed.
Ways and Means: anyone with contacts or experience working with non-profit organizations are sought.
Membership: it’s not just licking stamps, we need help with membership drives and recruitment.
Please consider helping in one or more areas, thank you!
Carol Williams
Marlene Kinney
Barbara Massenburg
Alexander Osborne (LIFE)
Aaron Osborne (LIFE)
Ed Osborne, Jr (LIFE)
If you have any information about the following please contact Brian Bockhahn at 676-1027, or email Brian.Bockhahn@ncmail.net
Naming of Ziegle’s Rock
Moonshine Trail rock markers
History of John Davis
History of Wyatt Mangum
Lowery home sites
Pet Cemetery information
PO Box 1901
Wake Forest NC 27587