Preserving Wilmington's Past

When you glance at Bellamy Mansion, you’ll see antebellum architecture and design, like the towering columns, wrap around porch and engraved frame to the porcelain door.  If you peek into the home’s windows, you’ll find a hidden history that lies within the arched windows and well-lit corridors.

Bellamy Mansion was not always a museum, but since it was built it has held the core of the Port City’s history. The home was built for Dr. Dillard Bellamy and his large family during the years leading up to the Civil War.

Dr. Bellamy chose its location because he could clearly see his business productions going in and out of the port at the riverfront, from his rooftop room purposefully made for this reason. His daughters helped design the house, choosing forest-tall columns and a wrap-around porch. African Americans, both free and enslaved, helped to bring the plan to life, ensuring the inclusion of specific architectural designs, including marble fireplaces and the open floor plan.

Through these windows, the Bellamy family witnessed the yellow fever tear through the city as well as the drastic changes that were happening due to the Civil War. After the family decided to escape Wilmington to ensure their safety, the home was invaded and dubbed the headquarters of the federal troops during the war.

Slavery was a prominent issue during the Civil War era and was something that the Bellamy family believed in, although Dr. Bellamy was known to always treat his slaves with respect. He built slave quarters on the property, which included bathrooms and bedrooms for the help.

“He saw slavery to be a sacred trust,” Eric Johann, a tour guide of Bellamy Mansion, said. “He made sure that anybody that was living here had their medical needs tended to, which he did personally himself. He hired a Wesleyan minister from Kentucky to give them all of their birthrights, death rights, to marry them if need be.”

Race and integration issues, such as slavery and segregation, continued a century after the Civil War when the Bellamy’s home was set on fire in 1972. No one was charged with the crime, but it is believed that the fire was set in response to the integration of public schools just a year earlier. Unlike other related acts of arson, the house was able to extinguish itself due to thought-out fireproofing, but full restoration was required.

This is one of the many ways the house stood the test of time.  Through societal changes and key transitions in American history, the house remained an icon in downtown Wilmington. These changes, however, raised concerns about the preservation of the Bellamy home.

Ellen Bellamy, one of Dillard’s children, lived in the house until she died at the age of 96 in 1946. As she neared her final years, she feared that her beloved home would be torn down because it had fallen into a state of disrepair. She saw apartment complexes go up and believed that Wilmington’s growth would result in her homes destruction.

As Ellen spent the majority of her life in this home, she witnessed the industrial transitions that the city of Wilmington was experiencing. Looking out of her bedroom window, she saw transportation change from horse and buggy to the first automobile. She experienced war switch from simple artillery to the complexities of the atomic bomb.

Nearly 40 years after her death, repairs began and small tours were given through a program that was started by friends and heirs of the Bellamy family. A few years later, in 1994, Bellamy Mansion was fully opened to the public. Because of local interest and support, tours began and restorations increased which helped in upholding its history.

The mansion gives at least five tours a day, and is enjoyed by tourists, visitors and educational tours, which include students from schools in the area. Through the tours, people hear the stories of the events that were seen through these windows.

“It epitomizes the rise and deterioration of things over time and the change of people and periods,” visitor Beverly Tyler said. “It depicts the way of life of a group of people that we really have lost.”

For museum-goers like Tyler, they understand the significance in preserving homes that hold an abundance of history. Bellamy mansion has a unique quality to it that sets it apart from other historical features in the Port City.

“Bellamy Mansion is very unique in its own sense,”Chloe Gatton, an information assistant for the public, said. “No other house is quite like it in Wilmington--it’s a cultural center for people to get together.”

This is exemplified by the quilts hanging on exhibit in Bellamy this month.  Though not historic artifacts, they were made by local artists, and show the ability the house has in remaining relevant as the years pass.

Although there are many old houses in Historic Downtown Wilmington, the Bellamy Mansion is symbolic of the town’s role in history and still maintains a presence with it’s story, while the city around it changes over time.

Those who have helped the museum grow have turned a historic home into a museum, wedding venue and a destination for events of all kinds. (hyperlink)Gareth Evans, the executive director, attributes that to the home as a whole.

“It’s a landmark,” he said. “Where it stands is easily one of the most recognizable places in the city.”

Bellamy’s successful renovation has encouraged other historic properties to complete restorations. Not only does preservation help keep history intact, but it brings in more value than a demolishment would, according to Evans.

“Bringing back something this iconic gave people a lot of hope for restoration,” Evans said. “Lots of things in the ‘80s were being fixed up, but this served as an anchor project.”

Visitor Beverly Tyler said that by looking at what the past has held, citizens get the ability to see what lies in the future. She believes that it is important for whoever lives in Wilmington to learn the history of where they are at and what it meant to people before their time. Tyler believes that preservations can make an impact on a community.

Those who encourage visiting preserved landmarks, such as the Bellamy Mansion, realize that without these places in tact, history would eventually be forgotten over time. 

“It’s different from other museums in the fact that it doesn’t concentrate on the items inside of the property, but it focuses on the home itself, the building itself and the grounds,” Gatton said.

Walking the grounds, or through rooms in the house, visitors can connect to national historic events.  The Civil War and Civil Rights movement caused physical marks such as burns from the fire that allow a more personal look into how these left marks on people’s lives.

Observation Field Assignment: Hawks Nest

In between classes, students begin to fill up Hawks Nest, the popular on-campus dining area that has multiple options for food. You can smell the aroma of Subway and Chick-fil-a as soon as 11 a.m. turns on the clock and Hawks Nest starts preparing for the routinely busy rush hour.

Industrial sounds, like metal beating against metal, are heard from the kitchen where workers are preparing the food in the back. Aramark workers switch out the food from breakfast to lunch, which will be ready for ordering and for grab-and-go. Other workers walk around the dining floors to wipe down the tables and sweep up the floors from breakfast messes. Brooms make a thud as they continuously come in contact with the broom pan when many workers are tidying up the sitting areas. This daily routine ensures that Hawks Nest is prepared for the mass of hungry students.

The doors that lead from outside squeak as they swing open, letting in an abundance of students at one time. People either head to Subway or to the main food court for lunch. Many students linger the sound of boots clicking as they hit the ground in a repetitive pattern. Some students bare the look of worry, assumingly to get lunch in enough time before class begins; others look around watchfully in search of meeting friends for a sit down lunch. Nearly every student that passes by carries a book bag on their back, which is packed full of the necessities for class.

The main area where all of the food options are located overflows with students that are trying to push their way through to whichever vendor catches their attention first. People then make their way to the seemingly never-ending lines at the registers. Once they have made it through checkout, students glance around in search for whomever they are meeting or for the best seat to enjoy lunch at. There’s a jangling sound of the spring when students push the button to get a spoon, fork or knife from the utensil dispensers before taking his or her seat.

Once people take a seat, chattering begins to blend in the many conversations that form at every table and it all meshes together to portray a sort of static. Keys clink as they’re tossed onto tables in the hurry to get to or unwrap their food. Aluminum cans clank as they pop open to wash down student’s lunches. Paper bags rattle and sound like the leaves outside crunching as people walk over them. Lunch is eaten simultaneously as conversations continue.

Other are glancing at their cell phones and making clicking sounds on their laptop’s keyboards. Lunchtime appears to be a multitasking hour among the students that chose to eat at Hawks Nest. Once people are done eating, bags start crunching one last time before students stand and toss them into the trashcans. Shoes click and clack against the tile floors and doors swoosh open again as student’s head back out of Hawks Nest.

A New Frozen Yogurt Venue, Fresh Berry

You can smell the aroma of sweet sugar drifting by as you walk down the frequented shopping center known as University Commons. Frozen yogurt has exploded in popularity around Wilmington and it has made its mark again--this time off of New Center Drive.

Brad and Francy Bauer opened this Fresh Berry, located at 341 S. College Road, on Aug. 21, this year. It is an extension of their parent store, located in Porters Neck, which has been open for about a year and a half. 

Frozen yogurt was not always on the Bauer’s mind, but after working in insurance for over 35 years, they sought a fun retirement that would give customers an enjoyable experience.

The quality they prided themselves on in the insurance business carried over to their new venture. After visiting their daughter in Arkansas and making a short trip to Fresh Berry’s headquarters in Oklahoma, they decided to make the move from Ohio to North Carolina, where it was “always sunny and always happy,” Francy said.  

“The taste, hands down made our decision. We tried them all and this was the best quality,” Francy said.

Brad describes this business as his fun hobby. Francy enjoys the interactions she has with the customers on a daily basis, as well as the warmer weather down south.

After learning the ways of the frozen yogurt industry at their first store, they sought to expand. They agreed that the location near UNC Wilmington was in their best interest due to the college students demographic and successful surrounding businesses.

The convenient location is what Francy enjoyed, because it is located right next door to TJ Maxx and Home Goods.

Convenience is not the only factor that has made this new business thrive in the community. Aside from selling frozen yogurt, they also offer Small Cakes, which is a cupcake bakery. The Bauer’s made the decision to co-brand Fresh Berry and Small Cakes after seeing how popular the cupcakes were on a national level. There are only about 25 locations in the country that offer these two brands in one business.

“[Small Cakes] have been at the Oscars and other venues--voted as one of the top 10 cupcakes in the United States,” Brad said.

They wanted to bring something to Wilmington that most places don’t offer. With co-branding, Fresh Berry offers frozen yogurt, cupcakes, smoothies and catering. 

All of the cupcakes are baked fresh daily and there are a variety of flavors to choose from. Frozen yogurt flavors are rotated every so often, but they make sure to keep the signature flavors, like tart, chocolate, vanilla and strawberry.

“I like the flavor and the consistency of the frozen yogurt,” said customer, Sam Joseph.

Brad and Francy agreed that there was not as much frozen yogurt competition in the area that people may think.

“We never bad mouth competition. We’re all in it together,” Brad said.

That sense of community has created a welcoming environment from nearby businesses, as most agree that each store is augmenting traffic for one another.

The healthier aspect of frozen yogurt drawn a huge demographic to these venues. Fresh Berry’s signature saying is that their yogurt contains beneficial live and active cultures. Since the opening, college students, families, and women have been the biggest customer base.

Each time a customer walks in, they are guaranteed to be greeted by an employee. Customer service and quality of product have been traits that Fresh Berry strives to keep to a high standard.

“The employees were pretty friendly, other customers were pretty nice, too,” said customer, Sarah Burgin.

Toppings are a huge asset to the frozen yogurt, as they add the finishing touches to the yogurt, and the Bauer’s ensure that they provide the best of the best. Fresh berries, hence the name, are guaranteed to be on the topping bar year round.

“Even in the middle of winter when I have to pay top dollar, I will have them out there,” Brad said.  “Never frozen berries.”

Going the extra mile for customer service and product quality has been no problem for the Bauer’s. They enjoy seeing parents come in with children to get them a ‘treat’ and knowing that they have found loyalty in their customer base.

Brad and Francy hope to open a new location soon, but for now they are working to develop their Small Cakes brand through catering and wedding cakes.

“We’re definitely developing a brand loyalty among customers,” said Brad. “They will keep coming back in and telling other people.”

5-Year improvement plan leads to property tax increase

Property taxes were raised from 33.25 to 37.00 percent this past fiscal year in order to help pay for the costs of Wilmington’s 5-year Improvement Plan.

On July 19, 2012, Wilmington developed a plan that will fix nearly all of the infrastructure problems throughout the city and New Hanover County. Wilmington’s 5-year Improvement Plan is a proposal to enhance and upgrade the streets, parks and recreation, and public facilities.

The Improvement Plan has a costly price attached to it, starting at $41 million. This has resulted in an increase on the citizens’ property tax of about 3.75 percent.

Cam Griffin, the budget director for New Hanover County, describes the 5-year Improvement Plan to be an, “allocated revenue stream to fund capital needs—primarily streets sidewalks, and some parks.”

Griffin says that the intentions of the plan are to upgrade the problematic sections, like the streets and sidewalks, that make up the city of Wilmington. In order to do this, the city has created a budget specifically for these needs and improvements. 

One of the many 'sidewalk closed' signs in downtown Wilmington used to stop people from entering construction zones, specifically due to the Improvement Plan. This was seen last Saturday and will stay posted until the construction is complete.

The budget for this project was approved in a City Council meeting on July 19, 2012 and a reevaluation of the taxes was made. The costs run up to an average of $41 million —this is a little over $8 million extra per year for five years.

Malissa Talbert, the communications manager for the city, broke up the costs that the $41 million entails. $35.2 million is going towards the streets and sidewalks, $4.2 million towards the parks and recreations, and $1.7 million is going towards public facilities.

Griffin says that the high cost was aggressive, but it is possible for the city. New Hanover County has stood behind the city in organizing this plan. All of the city residents are also county residents, so the same benefits will occur for everyone.

Lynn Heim, the budget director for the city of Wilmington states that they looked at borrowing money and at the costs that were already accumulated.

Wilmington previously had a 5-year capital plan and they used that prior knowledge to approximate how much they would need to spend. The plan is an 80/20 plan, which means that 80 percent  of the funds will pay off the borrowed debt and 20 percent will pay for the project itself.

In summary, the plan is being paid for by accumulating debt and raising the property taxes for citizens. Heim claims that the taxes rose from 33.25 to 37.00 percent. That increase went into effect for the fiscal year of 2013, which started on July 1, 2012 and ran to June 30, 2013.

Dependent upon the value of the citizen’s property, households can end up paying more or less in property taxes.

Heim states, “If a property rate went down, it is a possibility that they might pay a higher rate of tax.”

 

The property tax rate is now 45 cents per $100 of valued property. That 45 cents is a 3 cents increase per $100 from previous years. For example, a $200,000 valued house will most likely raise about $6,000 in property taxes based upon this increase.

Heim says that about half of the citizens will end up paying a higher property tax rate, while the other half will pay a lower tax rate. This is all dependent upon what the citizens’ property rate was reevaluated at.

This creates a concern for the citizens of Wilmington, but Heim says that most of the property values went down or stayed the same; therefore not many citizens end up paying more.

Talbert also explains that the tax raise is, “necessary for dedicated results, which is primarily for the maintenance and the new infrastructure.”

Lesia Heltzel, who has lived in New Hanover County her whole life, says the city does not do a proper job of informing the citizens of their plans. She was only somewhat aware that there was a tax increase due to the Improvement Plan. She views the Improvement Plan in both a positive and negative way.

“It is good for the city if it’ll provide more services, but bad if it is throwing the debt load on taxpayers,” she says. 

City administrations believe that the positive effects of the plan outweigh any potentially negative effects, such as tax increases. Jim Diepenbrock for the department of planning, development and transportation of the city of Wilmington, supports the plan.

Traffic is backed up on Randall Parkway due to the widening of the road, as seen by the city-posted sign. This was taken on Tuesday and the traffic will continue to be heavy until the infrastructure improvements are completed.

“It is very beneficial. We don’t have anything that has been approved for future development. It is very thorough and comprehensive; it can’t really do anything but help,” he says.

He states that one of the major benefits of the plan is that it is intended to be relevant for much longer than five years.

“It looks at things like stimulating the economy and addressing demographic changes both locally and nationally,” Diepenbrock says.

Heltzel claims that the city focuses on bringing in temporary jobs, like construction, versus permanent ones, such as bringing in a new industry. The creation of jobs, which will be mostly construction, will be a big help to the city, but she believes that it will only be temporary.

Citizens have wanted the local infrastructure to be upgraded and improved, and the city is making that happen. Unfortunately, both county and city members agree that there needs to be a tax raise in order to advance Wilmington.

During reevaluation years, it is possible that the tax rate can be adjusted. The 2013-2014 budget was approved on June 18, 2013 and no property tax was lowered.

Photojournalism across UNCW's Campus

UNCW faculty, Leona Baird and Suzi French, discuss their feelings after donating blood during the 12th annual SAAC Blood Challenge. This event was held on September 19th and was in partnership with the American Red Cross.

Gabrielle Revette, on behalf of Housing and Residence Life, illustrates the possible living options for incoming freshman at UNCW. Seahawk Saturday was held on September 21 in the Burney Center and featured information for potential new students.

Bridgette Fitch hands Sierra Shepherd a goody bag filled with candy and information to promote UNCW's Her Campus on Chancellor's Walk. Her Campus is an online magazine for students at UNCW and just launched this semester.

Alpha Chi Omega members anxiously wait outside of Lumina Theatre to hear "Kristen's Story." This event was held on September 24th and is a mother's account of acquaintance rape and depression.

Transitioning: Alan Beauvais

You can see him subtlety glancing down at his campus map. Confusion is apparent on his face—his eyes race from the paper to the building in the distance, as if he is trying to solve a mysterious puzzle in front of him. Discretely, he folds the map back up and puts it away, doing his best to appear confident like the other upperclassmen.

Alan Beauvais is not your average 22-year-old junior attending The University of North Carolina Wilmington. This past spring, he received his associate’s degree in Art at Brunswick Community College. He then decided to take the next step in his academic career and transfer to UNC Wilmington to earn his bachelor’s degree.

Beauvais has a vast interest in computer science, which also happens to be his major. He chose this particular school because of the innovative technology that is incorporated with the computer science department, as well as the advanced courses.

As great as the department seemed, he was fearful in the beginning of the process that he was not making the correct decision. “I was a little apprehensive about going to a new university. I had heard mixed feelings about UNCW.” Those mixed feelings were attributed to the change from a community college near home to a university further away.

A university has a different environment when compared to a smaller institution and Beauvais felt that from the start. “Being at a university feels more productive, and more like a community,” he claims. He experienced a change in routine, which definitely has been something for him to adjust to.

One of the biggest adjustments that Beauvais encountered in transferring was the distance, because he was not accustomed to being away from home for an extended amount of time. Beauvais says, “I’m a little homesick…it’s my first time being alone.” Fortunately, his home is not too far away, only about an hour, so he visits home every other weekend as a way to ease the change.

While he cannot go home every day, he found that becoming involved was the best way to transition naturally. At first, finding his place in a new town was a tough task, saying, “the hardest part was finding new people to hang out with and acclimating myself to living alone.” He felt that being a part of an organization would take his mind off of being away and feeling like the new guy, while introducing him to a variety of people.

A few weeks into the semester, UNCW hosted the annual Involvement Carnival, which is filled with booths for nearly every organization on campus. Beauvais used this to his best advantage, packing his schedule full with photography, running, French, and a computer-building club.

Many of these organizations were just for enjoyment, but the French club hit home for him. Beauvais’ great-grandmother was born in France and came to the United States later in life where she met his great-grandfather. French is a small tradition that reminds him of home that he can partake in at this new place.

So far, French has been his favorite club because of how welcoming the members are. He says, “It is a great way to learn about the French culture and make new friends. I guess it helped me find somewhere that I ‘fit in’.” As a transfer student, Beauvais made it a goal to find that place where he can feel at home at and this club has made Wilmington his new home.

His parents feel as though his adjustment as a transfer student has went fairly easily. “I was nervous and excited at the same time for Alan. He’s never been away from home for an extended amount of time so I was interested to see how he’d handle it, but things seem to be going well so far,” says his dad, Jerry. His parents have been very supportive in his decision to transfer and that encouragement has helped Beauvais know that he made the correct decision.

Beauvais misses the quietness and simplicity of his hometown, but he has enjoyed making new friends and exploring his new home away from home. “Getting a chance at a fresh start was probably the most positive thing about this transfer,” he says. That fresh start has provided him with a sense of freedom and a new feeling of being on his own.

Change was a difficult experience for him, but he excited to mark his territory at UNCW and finish his degree.