Transylvania County has a long history of charitable work and community-minded progress. One story of giving and service is that of the Friendship House. In the late 1950s two larger agricultural operations in Transylvania County relied on migrant workers for short term seasonal harvests. Thomas Farm on Everett Farm Road grew gladioli and Marlow Farm on Country Club Road grew beans. These workers often had families who would need seasonal care and safety as well.

It became clear to the community that the issue of migrant workers and their childcare was in need of attention. The Transylvania Baptist Association organized a Migrant Committee with member Rosa Norwood at the helm. The committee made the creation of a daycare center for migrant workers its mission and worked with the faculty at the all-Black Rosenwald school to utilize the building during the summer break from regular school activities.

In 1961 the Community Missions Committee of the Transylvania Baptist Association decided to make it their focus to provide education and childcare for the children of migrant workers. The Migrant Committee from the Transylvania Baptist Association came together with faculty from the Rosenwald School to create a solution for the issue of how to keep the children cared for and safe while their parents were working: Friendship House.

It was announced that Gertie M. Hemphill, a retired schoolteacher, would be the “housemother” for the daycare to be held in the Rosenwald School during the summer months. Sixteen children started at the facility, which was advertising for volunteers and supplies donations in the Transylvania Times.

Although many people were involved in different aspects of making Friendship House a reality, those on the front lines as caregivers were Alice Glaze, Betty Hunt, Alcovia McCall, Lillie Mae Madden, Audrey Manley, and Ada Smith. Ministers and workers also helped from churches in the communities of Little River, King Street, Pisgah Forest, Little Cove, Turkey Creek, and Bethel “A”. Several denominations also helped support the Baptist group’s work including Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches.

For 8-10 weeks, children were provided with caregivers in a safe, clean environment with routine, structure, and free meals. The logistics of the committee centered around determining the food, personnel, transportation, clothing, and instruction provided. The funding for Friendship House began with the church mission work and was upheld with individual donations as well.

In 1962 the group formalized under one specific mission and renamed themselves the Transylvania Christian Committee for Migrant Workers. They were able to provide 10-week care in the summer of 1962. The funding must have still been unsteady, because donations of food and blankets for naptime were sought through news ads.

By 1964 Migrant Committee report included the desire to have a separate location, as the need for migrant childcare was greater than just during the summer months when the Rosenwald school was being used for regular school activities. This led to the expansion of the group and its work into year-round assistance, which coincided with President Lyndon B. Johnson passing the Economic Opportunity Act as an anti-poverty program. It included initiatives for childcare for the marginalized and specific assistance for migrant workers. The well-known Headstart began a few months into the Act’s institution and replaced the Migrant Committee as the organization affiliated with low-income childcare and educational support.

In 1966 Headstart came to Henderson County, and then several months later, the grassroots programs like Friendship House for Black, Puerto Rican, Mexican, migrant workers, and economically disadvantaged whites all became encompassed by the umbrella of WCCA. Further transformation of services continued in the western North Carolina region in 1967 when Headstart in Henderson and Transylvania Counties became part of newly formed WCCA, or Western Carolina Community Action group. Jobs, housing, food security, education, and childcare were the focus, as well as providing support to facilitate those things. Gertie Hemphill, the director of Friendship House, was chosen as the director of the WCCA in Transylvania County at that time.

By 1971 the summer program was expanded beyond just migrant youth to serve many parts of the county including Quebec, Glade Creek, and Whitmire. Youth development services expanded into the schools, and by 1973 migrant worker support services split off into a separate program – the Summer Migrant Education Program. It was administered through county parks and recreation departments with many organizational partners such as law enforcement, news outlets, public health, and vocational rehab. Some services even became mobile in 1976, bringing needed resources to rural parts of the community.

Through time, WCCA was renamed WNCSource and continues to serve low-income families and people across the western North Carolina region. Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. This article was written by Local History Librarian Laura Sperry. Sources available upon request.