1950 and After
 |
| Downtown Stanley sometime around 1950 |
By 1950, five years past the ending of
World War II, the country was in the beginnings of a new prosperity.
The GI's had all come home from the war, and lots of them had taken
advantage of the GI Bill of Rights and continued their education, high
school and college. The Bill of Rights also aided in securing home loans. The
buying of new homes in turn brought about a building boom and the economy was good.
One fly in the ointment though, was the beginning of the Korean War. Many whose fathers or older
siblings went to fight in the Second World War now
were faced with being drafted or joining the fight
against the communists in what was called a "police
action" in Korea in 1950. That war was over in 1954 and the men and women who had
served came home.
Stanley Hero Killed
Herbert Henry Hoover, a test pilot, was killed on 14 August 1952 when the B-45 jet bomber he was
flying exploded. He and a companion bailed out of the plane, but unfortunately, Herbert's parachute
did not open. The other man fell to the ground uninjured.
Herbert H. Hoover was employed as a civilian test pilot and in that capacity he was the first pilot
to fly the Bell X1, an experimental prototype of the supersonic - faster than sound - aircraft.
The actual honor of being the first to fly faster than sound went to the military test pilot Chuck
Yeager.
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| Left to right: Juanita
Walker, Tom Black, Sara Helms, Mary Cloninger |
On Stanley Creek Bridge
In background is the Valentine Derr House which stood on a hill on the east side of Stanley Creek.
Valentine Derr was the Postmaster from 1856 until 1866 and this house served as the Stanley Creek
Post Office until 1861 when the Post Office was established in the new Carolina Central Railroad
Depot and called the Brevard Station Post Office. | |
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