Read and comment on Davidson News & Notes.

A memorial service is planned Wednesday, Jan. 31, at 2 p.m. at Lingle Chapel of Davidson College Presbyterian Church. Raymer Funeral Home of Huntersville is handling arrangements.

Born August 7, 1918 in Mecklenburg County Mrs. Withers was a daughter of the late Clyde Howard and Minnie McConnell Howard.  She was a member of Davidson College Presbyterian Church, a graduate of Kings Business College and together with her husband, owner and operator of Withers Electric Company since the late 40’s.She was involved in all the activities of her children and a member of the PTA in Davidson 20 plus years, longer than any other parent.

Survivors are her husband, William Feimster Withers, daughters, Elizabeth Estes (Dayton) of Richfield, N.C., Mary Sanders (Joseph) of Statesville, N.C. and Nancy Dishman of Davidson, sons, William “Billy” F. Withers, Jr. of Huntersville, Richard S. Withers (June) of Sunnyvale, California, David I Withers (Kathryn) of Nashville, Tenn. fourteen grandchildren, and five great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 9140 Arrowpoint Blvd., Suite 380, Charlotte, N.C. 28273, Barium Springs Home for Children, 156 Frazier Loop, Barium Springs, N.C. 28010 or Davidson College Presbyterian Church,  P.O. Box 337, Davidson, N.C. 28036.

Remembrances welcome. Click Comments below.

Yet another bright orange plastic fence now surrounds a cute brick bungalow one block down from us on Walnut Street. Bulldozers have poked gaping holes in its walls, and soon another piece of the neighborhood will be stripped of trees and grass down to the wet red clay that surrounds the old neighborhood now.

Bulldozers growl and beep, beep beep all day, pile drivers shake the ground, and lines of idling dump trucks haul dirt in and out. Maybe the fire department will burn another old home for practice. Welcome to the New Urbanist Planner’s process called Infill.

Read the rest of this entry and add your comments on the Davidson News & Notes site. CLICK HERE>

The project could create new construction traffic on neighborhood streets.

The line will connect a line at Catawba and Main (Fuel Pizza corner) to one at the foot of South Street. This new line will replace two older lines that run behind the homes on the south side of Walnut Street.

According to CMUD Project Manager Brian D. Pate, traffic on Main Street will not be affected because the line will be burrowed under the street.

It will cross the Alexander Trucking lot, go behind the car wash, go under the new Walnut Grove development. It will enter the woods, then travel around the baseball fields to connect in the area of the old South Street pumping station.

Mr. Pate said construction traffic will use South Street for access to the site. Spring Street will be another option, because of a cut-through granted by the developer of the Spring at Walnut Street development, which has begun demolition. Access to the site may also be made from Main Street.

According to Mr. Pate’s letter, delivery of equipment and materials will not be allowed on South Street. during school hours of 7 to 9 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m.

Work on the Walnut Grove and adjacent development has been slowed recently as developers await construction of the new sewer line.

Mr. Pate acknowledged that progress on the line is somewhat behind schedule, and that a February start is hoped for, depending upon weather. If all goes well, construction will be completed in June.

Mr. Pate returned my call promptly and expressed concern about minimizing the effect on the neighborhood. He can be reached at 704-391-4682 for any questions or comments.

DOCUMENTS

Jan. 2 letter and map from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities describing the planned sewer line work. CLICK HERE>

But then I read about Davidson’s whitewash pit in Ken Brotherton’s Lake Norman Piedmont History (vols 1 & 2). A founding director of the N. Mecklenburg Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the Davidson planning and zoning board, and founder of Brotherton Realty Co, Ken Brotherton wrote many historical essays about the Lake Norman area. Originally from Lincoln County, Ken lived in Davidson for much of his life.

These two volumes contain short essays that cover a wide range of history for the area that surrounds what is now Lake Norman. The essays shift back and forth from early settler days to things as recent as decisions surrounding the creation of the River Run subdivision.

And through these books, I’ve learned a good bit about parts of our neighborhood…what was once Walnut Grove Plantation. Apparently there was a brick factory on the east side of South Main Street in the 400 block. This, according to Mary Beaty’s Davidson history, is the current location of Alexander trucking. And near that, just east of the former brickyard, was the source of whitewash clay, used by local women to whitewash their hearths.

So while I can’t guarantee that you’ll find all your answers to curiosities uncovered by development, I do recommend taking a look at Ken’s histories. I picked these up at Main Street Books, but if you want, you can borrow mine…

Davidson Town Manager Leamon Brice made the request Monday in a meeting with Cornelius manager Anthony Roberts and representatives of the North Wilkesboro developer.

“I was afraid when I went that they had not been making earnest efforts. I think they have, but I want to see it,” Brice said in an interview Monday.

The proposed rail crossing is supposed to be the main entrance to Antiquity, The Village of Cornelius, a 1,000-unit residential and commercial development on vacant land east of the railroad tracks in downtown Cornelius. The development stretches from the Davidson town line south and west, to downtown Cornelius. The crossing would connect the massive residential project and a new shopping district to Catawba Avenue and Highway 115.

Davidson is concerned about the crossing because it appears that, at least initially, the only major entrance to the development will be via a newly extended South Street in Davidson. Venture Properties is in the midst of constructing a covered bridge that will connect the development to the end of South Street near Davidson Elementary School.

A 2004 legal agreement between Davidson and Cornelius requires a usable Cornelius entrance before Davidson will allow South Street to open. But deadlines in that agreement have come and gone without any sign of progress. (Read the agreement, CLICK HERE>)

Brice said the developer on Monday outlined plans for a temporary southern entrance via a new Market Street and existing Field and Zion Streets (see map on the developer’s website) in Cornelius. That zig-zagging route to Highway 115 and Catawba Avenue would incorporate new streets and existing streets, which would need to be widened. It was not clear Tuesday when work might on those streets might be completed.

The rail crossing to Catawba requires approval from the N.C. Department of Transportation and Norfolk Southern, who control the rail line. Brice said he asked Cornelius and the developer for a detailed timetable of meetings with railroad officials, expected approval dates and a construction schedule for completion of the crossing.

Brice said he told Roberts and the developer: “I need you to show me what you’ve been doing to get this approval, and I need a schedule of when you think you’ll get the approval and how long it will take to build.”

“Are you going to have 1,000 houses built before you get the Catawba crossing done, or 12? I really don’t know,” Brice said.

The developer has blamed delays on problems with Norfolk Southern and on businesses that would be affected by a new railroad crossing, among other things.

In August 2006, David Barger of Venture Properties told us the company had already spent “more than $100,000” on a preliminary plan for re-engineering the Catawba intersection. But, he said at the time they had run into opposition from the Cashion’s gas station in Cornelius and encountered sluggish response from Norfolk Southern. He said then that he hoped to have a construction permit in hand and to start construction by February.

WHAT THE CROSSING MIGHT LOOK LIKE

There has been a lot of speculation about how the Cornelius project will connect to downtown Cornelius. Right now, there’s a large earthen ramp that appears to suggest a bridge over the tracks. But that’s not the plan.

Cornelius officials and the developer told Brice they are planning a grade crossing with drop-down railroad gates on either side of the tracks. That means the area between the development and the tracks will need to be filled in to create a level area for a crossing.

The developer’s site plan (available online here) shows that Catawba Avenue would be extended across the tracks into the development. Along that extension would be a proposed future transit station and parking deck.

Whenever railroad officials give their approval to the crossing design, the developer could begin work on building up the grade around the tracks. Norfolk Southern then would build the crossing, according to Brice.

LINKS

Antiquity Cornelius marketing site, CLICK HERE>

Antiquity Cornelius site plan, CLICK HERE>

Meeting Street homes (one of the home builders in the project), CLICK HERE>

Cunnane Group (the second home builder in the project), CLICK HERE>

Post comments and concerns here …

I attended a dinner party in the cottage one night back in 1996, long before Robert and I started dating.  He had cooked a meal using his solar oven rather than using the oven in the house.  (It was summer, and he was trying to keep the cooling costs down.)  He served Peruvian pork stew, butternut squash, and asparagus.  I grew up in a meat and potatoes family, so all of these foods were new to me.  Now, I love asparagus and butternut squash (by the way, one of our neighbors, Bryan (Readling), grows fabulous butternut squash…).

When Doug and Rea (the Wright’s) bought the house from the Peck’s, they decided to do some upgrading to the cottage.  So Robert bought the house across the street, which was fortuitously up for sale.  So for nine years, he has lived across the street from the cottage.  We’ve seen several single friends live in the cottage, and its latest stint was as Rea’s office. 

We’re about to renovate our house, and fortuitously, the cottage is once again available for rent.   So Robert is returning to his former abode, but this time with me and our four felines.  We’re getting adjusted, but we’ll be here during our renovation, keeping an eye on the neighborhood from the other side of the street. 

It’s cozy in the cottage, but there’s gladly room for friends and neighbors, so drop by and see us sometime!  (And bring some asparagus or other food that you think I shoud try!) 

I had never contra danced before, and was nervous, but the lessons before the dance were easy to follow and there were so many experienced dancers that I was never lost for long.   There were probably 80 people that showed up, and while it was cold and dark outside, it was really warm and bright in the old gym behind the IB school.

So I was thrilled to discover that this was not a one-time event; Contra Dance Carolina plans to continue using the venue on a monthly basis.  The next dance is Friday, January 12 at Davidson IB Middle School, 251 South St.   If you’re not up to dancing, come listen to the music and watch your friends and neighbors having a grand time.

The dance class starts at 7:30; the dance itself starts at 7:45.  Admission was $7.    Hope to see you there!

Jetton Street will be closed from the Exxon Station to Davidson Gateway Drive from January 8 until January 12. During that time, CMU (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities) will be installing a sewer line. Inclement weather may delay the reopening of the street while work continues. For more information please call Town Hall at 704-892-7591.