Reynolda and the Reynolds name are synonymous with Winston-Salem N.C. The first thing people think about when they hear the name Reynolds is cigarettes, but R.J. Reynolds, his family and their legacy are much more than just tobacco and cigarettes. The Reynolds name is everywhere and attached to nearly everything in Winston-Salem; there is Reynolda House and museum, Reynolda gardens, Smith Reynolds airport, Babock dormitory at Salem College, Reynolds High School, and Reynolds Auditorium at Wake Forest University just to name a few. R.J Reynolds, his family, and their …show more content…
legacy built Winston-Salem and will live on forever through their continued charitable donations and caring for others, a characteristic of R.J.
Reynolds himself. I have lived in or around Winston –Salem nearly all my life but have never once researched the Reynolds name or been to Reynolda House. I found the house to be amazing with all the thought and planning that went into its architecture and its functionality as a self-sufficient farm of its day; I for some reason have a hard time thinking that the early 1900s had skilled, intelligent people that could master such a feat. Touring Reynolda House, which is a museum and discussed later in this paper, was an adventure. Not only was the art breathtaking but the house was decorated as it was in R.J’s and Katharine’s era. While researching for this paper, it was easy to place myself back in that era at the beginning of what I am calling the Reynolds’ legacy. The Reynolda House museum is people friendly and a very nice tour in my
opinion. There was personal information on plaques about different rooms and different items, as well as personal quotes from family members. Today it has a dual function: one to display art and the other to tell the story of this wonderful family. The information desk gave me the name of their archive contact, Ms. Bari Helms, but after more than three attempts to contact her, I never received a response. The information desk also pointed me to the Forsyth county main library; in the library I was sent to the archives room. The librarian escorted me to a file cabinet and removed a large folder labeled “The R.J. Reynolds Archives”. There was a considerable amount of information, but it was scattered and many written works did not have completed cite information. This topic has an enormous amount of documented information; therefore, it has taken me a great deal of time to sort through all of this information. First the background of this legacy’s birth needs to be explored to find out where and how it started . Robert Joshua Reynolds (R.J.) was born in Patrick County, Virginia in 1850 where early on he ‘displayed a disposition to make his own way” (Writers 1). R.J. was raised on his father’s large tobacco estate; his father grew and manufactured tobacco for chewing which accumulated R.J.’s family a comfortable fortune, (Writers 1). His father, Hardin, was originally from Virginia, and his mother, Nancy (Cox) from Stokes County in NC. Together their farm had thousands of acres in tobacco where R.J learned to grow, manufacture and sell finished tobacco products in this family business. R.J. was exposed to a formal education at Henry, Emory and Stratton’s Business College in Baltimore; this is where he wasted no time in learning his business methods (Blair 336). He did not like the polished mannerisms but had “an orderly quick mind, a head for figures and an uncanny knack for reducing the principles of commerce to a point where they were understandable even to an illiterate horse trader” (Davis 1). Since waterways were non existent and railroads weren’t close, he would load a wagon with the twisted tobacco from his family’s farm and travel to several states, selling their wares or ‘peddling’ as it was called (Blair 336). In 1875, he left his father’s plantation, at age 25, and moved to Winston-Salem, as it is called now; he began his tobacco manufacturing company with $7,400 and continued the tobacco trade he had learned living on the family farm (Richard J. Reynolds (1850-1918) 34). R.J saw the strategic advantages in locating his plant at Winston-Salem; he is quoted as saying that he chose Winston- Salem because of “the benefit of railroad facilities, and on account of this town being located in the center of the belt in which the finest tobacco in the world is grown” (Forsyth 2). He threatened to put the main railroad out of business by creating a wagon train straight to their competitors, if they did not come more to Winston (Writers 2). It was during these early years of struggle, with adverse conditions, that R.J.’s real secret of success began to disclose itself; his ability “to reach a decision promptly, to act quickly and to back his judgment with all his worth give him a reputation among many of having almost an uncanny business intuition” (Writers 2). By 1888, he incorporated his business into the R.J Reynolds Tobacco Company (Blair 337). He was the first one to arrive for work and the last one to leave everyday; it was this untiring schedule that made Winston-Salem the largest and most substantial city in the Old North State in the early 1900’s (Writers 2). Merit was the standard by which each of his employees was measured. In 1908 his company began to manufacture its famous brand of smoking tobacco – Prince Albert; within ten years it was being distributed throughout the commercial world (Writers 1). By 1919, it was written that R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company “is not only the chief manufacturing establishment in this thriving City of Winston-Salem but it is the largest of its kind in the world, and because of it the city is known in many lands (Writers 1). R.J’s company went from 1 building in 1875 to 43 buildings by 1919 (Writers 1). In 1913 his company began the manufacture of cigarettes introducing the famous “Camel” brand (unknown1 349). He established progressive working conditions in his factory, with higher pay and shorter work hours (Tursi 110). All the literature found on R.J. told of his generosity to a multitude of charities. “The endowment of the first Winston-Salem hospital was made possible through his liberal donations and he was founder of the Slater hospital of Winston-Salem, the first hospital for Negroes founded in the South by a Southerner” (Slater Hospital). Another source stated “just six days before his death he signed $240,000 to build two hospitals, one black and one white, with an equal amount of money. This contribution finalized the view of R.J as one of the most democratic of citizens (Exhibits). He signed a petition for a property tax to pay for public schools and voted to approve an income tax (Tursi 183). He was a liberal contributor to colleges, orphans asylums, industrial and normal schools, Young Men’s and Young Women’s Christian associations, and to the great war-work movements” (unknown1). Because of Reynolds’ success,”Winston-Salem’s businesses, hospitals, orphanages, and colleges flourished” (Exhibits). On July 30, 1918, The Winston Salem Journal wrote: “The city’s civic, religious, and social institutions advanced with the growth of the tobacco company. The triumph of Prince Albert and Camel cigarettes caused factories to spring up all over the city, and attracted thousands of new people. By the time of his death in 1918 R.J. Reynolds had brought prosperity to an entire region of North Carolina” (Exhibits).
March 30, 1981 was a peaceful day. President Ronald Reagan was walking outside enjoying the fresh air when suddenly shots were fired. Six shots were fired in total, but only one shot hit Reagan due to a bullet that ricocheted. Luckily, Reagan was hit in the abdomen; therefore, he survived. The “mastermind” behind the attempted assassination was a man named John Hinckley. Hinckley believed by going through with this assassination it would be a romantic scenario for himself to confess his undying love for the actress Jodie Foster. Before long it was time for the Hinckley trial and after hearing his side of the story, the jury came to the conclusion that he was crazy. Hinckley was later found not guilty by reason of insanity and admitted to
Marvin Pickering was a science high school teacher in Will County, Illinois. Pickering was dismissed from his job after he wrote a letter to the editor of the local paper, Lockport Harold. The letter was sarcastically criticizing the way his superintendent and school board raised and spent funds. The superintendent and school board took offense to the comments within the letter and dismissed Marvin Pickering from his teaching job.
I am from a small town called Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania. It is along the Delaware River, about 25 miles northeast of Philadelphia. Bristol Borough was founded in 1681. This is the states third oldest borough, that was once a busy river port with important shipbuilding activities (Cohen 438). It is predominately residential, with the exception of Mill Street, the community's traditional commercial street. It includes fine examples of many major styles and idioms, reflecting the community's long history and its importance as a transportation and commercial center (Owen 133). The 28-acre Bristol Industrial Historic District includes the original town of Bristol and the residential area that extends northeast along the bank of the Delaware River (Owen 132). The Bristol Industrial Historic District is a significant collection of the factory and mill complexes containing elements dating from 1875-1937 (Owen 133). Among the mills is the Grundy Mill Complex. It is a visual representation of industrial growth of Bristol Borough. This mill was run by Joseph R. Grundy. The dramatic scale of later buildings stand as the source and monument to the wealth and power of Joseph Grundy (Owen 145). Joseph Grundy was the proprietor of the Bristol Worsted Mills, and one of the most prominent manufacturers and businessmen of Bucks County (Green 252). The Bristol Worsted Mills no longer run but the building is still standing. Bristol owes a lot to Joseph R. Grundy for his contributions to the people and the town itself.
Rosa Lee Cunningham is a 52-year old African American female. She is 5-foot-1-inch, 145 pounds. Rosa Lee is married however, is living separately from her husband. She has eight adult children, Bobby, Richard, Ronnie, Donna (Patty), Alvin, Eric, Donald (Ducky) and one child who name she did not disclose. She bore her eldest child at age fourteen and six different men fathered her children. At Rosa Lee’s recent hospital admission to Howard University Hospital emergency room blood test revealed she is still using heroin. Though Rosa Lee recently enrolled in a drug-treatment program it does not appear that she has any intention on ending her drug usage. When asked why she no longer uses heroin she stated she doesn’t always have the resources to support her addiction. Rosa Lee is unemployed and receiving very little in government assistance. She appears to
..., 1820-1865. Columbia Studies in American Culture Series (New York: Columbia University Press, 1942): 13-14.
Early Virginia's flourishing cultivation of tobacco drew a diversity of people, from fresh war veterans and former soldiers, to adventurers and ordinary people looking to recoup from former monetary losses. However the tobacco did not only alter the country culturally and economically, but it “ threw more wood into the fire.” It strengthened the infamous individualistic attitude the colonists had. The advent...
Brown, Victoria Bissel, ed. Introduction. Twenty Years at Hull-House. 1910. By Jane Addams. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 1999. 1-38.
"John William Waterhouse Biography." Artble: The Home of Passionate Art Lovers. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, a 2011 book. Print. The. Gilman, Charlotte.
6 vols. of a book. Salem Press, 2008. Salem History Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
Kelso, D. H. (2005, May 18). Williams Bradford. Retrieved February 28, 2011, from Pilgrim Hall Museum - Americac's Museum of Pilgrim Possessions: www.pilgrimhall.org/bradfordwilliam.htm
Carlisle, Rodney P. Handbook To Life In America. Volume VI, The Roaring Twenties, 1920 To 1929. Facts on File, 2009. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 30 May 2012
Andrist, Ralph K., and Edmund O. Stillman. The American Heritage History of the 1920s & 1930s. New York: American Heritage/Bonanza, 1987. Print.
In the painting “The Mason Children,” we catch a glimpse at an era and style of living now foreign to modern day America. The painting, whose artist is unknown, portrays three young children, an older boy and two younger girls, dressed simply in black and white but with elements of luxury: The boy carries a silver plated cane, and the older of the two girls has a chinese silk fan, as well as a necklace of red beads. This painting, in many ways, is a wonderful representation of life for the early Puritan colonists of New England.
Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier are two very prominent names in the field of architecture. Both architects had different ideas concerning the relationship between humans and the environment. Their architectural styles were a reflection of how each could facilitate the person and the physical environment. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House, is considered one of the most important buildings in the history of American architecture and Le Corbusier s Villa Savoye helped define the progression that modern architecture was to take in the 20th Century. Both men are very fascinating and have strongly influenced my personal taste for modern architecture. Although Wright and Corbusier each had different views on how to design a house, they also had similar beliefs. This paper is a comparison of Frank Lloyd Wright‘s and Le Corbusier ‘s viewpoints exhibited through their two prominent houses, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House and Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye.