Gertrude Kirk

This is an AUDIO only recording from 1981 and though re-mastered is raw and uncut. We suggest you use earbuds or headphones and listen in a quiet place.
This is the first of two recorded interviews we have with Gertrude Kirk. Gertrude was born in Bryson City, N.C. in 1905. In the 1920s, Gertrude's husband, William Deaderick Kirk, led the construction of U.S. Hwy. 176 up the mountain and through Saluda. The highway was built to replace the Howard Gap Road as the main road into the county from the southeast and was completed 1927. This is what eventually brought the Kirks to Saluda reside. She mentions in one of her interviews that when she first came through Saluda the road was dirt. Gertrude resided on Charles Street near the Episcopal Church. Gertrude passed away at the age of 76 on November 1, 1981, a few short months after this interview. She is buried at the Calvary Episcopal Church Cemetery in Fletcher, NC. The Kirks had two sons, Richard Rodney Kirk and William D. Kirk, Jr.
In this interview, jump into a conversation held 41 years ago (as of 2022) between Gertrude Kirk, Anne Osborne and Charlene Pace. On April 27, 1981, Charlene shared a collection of photos she had gathered for the publication of the book Saluda, NC: 100 Years 1881-1981. We only wish we could also be sharing the photos with you to accompany the audio, but if you have the book you can imagine what they are looking at. We apologize if the conversation is difficult to follow.
A few topics shared during the interview. (Audio duration 2 hours, 24 minutes):
• Gertrude has some wild tales to tell about Lillian Mills Mosseller, famous for her hooked rugs, now found in the home of presidents, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and in many famous homes around the world. (These are Gertrude's stories and we cannot validate their accuracy.)
• Apple trees and the Chisholm House
• Lovers Lane and Saluda crimes of passion.
• Daddy Hart and burials
• The original Saluda Library and its closure.
• Railroad tales
• Much more!
Over 40 years ago when Anne Osborne and Charlene Pace were working on the book, Saluda, NC: 100 Years 1881-1981, they conducted interviews with some of Saluda's oldest residents. Several were born in Saluda in the late 1800's or had been coming for the summer since the early 1900s. These interviews were captured on cassette tapes from 1980 to 1983. In 2010, shortly after the HSC was formed, these tapes were donated to the HSC's Oral History Committee by Marty Payton a friend of Anne Osborne, who is now deceased. With funding from a grant from the Polk County Community Foundation's Saluda Community Fund the tapes were restored and re-mastered. In 2012, the HSC released the oral history audio documentary, "Saluda, NC: Voices from the First 100 Years" in CD format, which shared a few brief snippets from these interviews. The full re-mastered but UNCUT versions of these interviews are now being uploaded to UA-cam for you to enjoy.
This is a project of the Historic Saluda Committee. Visit www.historicsaluda.org or visit us on Facebook at / historicsaluda for more information. Email: [e-mail].