SHELBY - Can we connect with this $6.5 Million Venture?

On the front page of the Local & State section of today's Charlotte paper is a big story, complete with color pictures telling of a $6.5 Million Repository of Music & Cultural History getting ready to go online in Shelby.

My immediate question after reading the story is wheter there is an opportunity for the Historic Cleveland County Speedway in Shelby to partner in the "Cultural" portion of this well-funded endeavor to gain some additional recognition?

The project aims to boost tourism for Shelby & Cleveland County, NC. One of the stated objectives of the new center, launched by the non-profit Destination Cleveland County to lure tourists to the economically depressed county, is to "focus on education and stories that explain the area's cultural history." I think all of us on this site would accept the premise that the story of auto racing in Shelby and Cleveland County, NC is an important part of the cultural fabric of the region and deserves appropriate recognition.

With the VCS getting ready to come about it seems to me that some sort of joint alliance with this multi-million dollar deal could boost our profile. In the least, a nice letter from Jeff & "W" along with appropriate news releases to the writer of this article in the Charlotte paper could point out that there is another big deal getting ready to happen in Shelby. Just a thought. Here's the story as it appears in today's Charlotte paper with original headline & photos.

In Shelby, the sweet sound of progress
Repository of music and cultural history edges to completion
By Joe DePriest
jdepriest@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Monday, Jan. 30, 2012

SHELBY - From the outside, the 105-year-old former Cleveland County Courthouse in downtown Shelby looks pretty much as it always has.

But within its walls, a major makeover is going on. If things go well, by year's end, the local landmark will become the Earl Scruggs Center: Music & Stories of the American South, a regional music education and performance center.

Restoration work that began in the spring of 2010 is almost finished; the next phase is creating interpretive exhibits.

Named for Cleveland County native Earl Scruggs, five-string banjo virtuoso and bluegrass music pioneer, the center will showcase all kinds of regional music, from gospel to jazz. It will also focus on education and stories that explain the area's cultural history.

Planning for the $6.5 million project began in 2006, and it was launched two years later by the nonprofit Destination Cleveland County as a way to lure tourists to an economically depressed county.

That same year, Destination Cleveland County opened the Don Gibson Theatre a few blocks away, in the renovated 1939 art deco State Theater. The 400-seat performing arts venue is named after Gibson, another local music legend. Now in its third season, the theater continues to book nationally known performers such as Grammy winners Shelby Lynne and Richard Marx.

Things have moved more slowly for the Scruggs center.

"We announced the fundraising campaign in 2008 - a few weeks before the bottom fell out of the economy," said project chairman J.T. Scruggs, a nephew of Earl Scruggs. "We've still got some money to raise, but with the times, we've been pretty successful."

The center has received county and federal grants along with donations from businesses and individuals.

Vision guides project

Earl Scruggs, who grew up in the Flint Hill section of rural Cleveland County and now lives in Nashville, has given his blessing to the project. He and his sons, Gary and Randy, have made several local personal appearances in support of the center.

On Jan. 6, Scruggs turned 88 and was the subject of a profile in the Jan. 17 issue of the New Yorker magazine. Entitled "The Master from Flint Hill," the piece was written by Scruggs' friend, entertainer Steve Martin.

"Some nights, he had the stars of North Carolina shooting from his fingertips," the article begins. "Before him, no one had ever played the banjo like he did. After him, everybody played banjo like he did, or at least tried.

"...A grand part of American music owes a debt to Earl Scruggs. Few players have changed the way we hear an instrument the way Earl has, putting him in a category with Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Chet Atkins, and Jimi Hendrix."

J.T. Scruggs, along with other members of Destination Cleveland County, met Martin last year after his concert in Charlotte.

"He's a neat guy," Scruggs said. "We told him he has a standing invitation to the grand opening of the Scruggs center. He said he'd be there if his schedule permitted."

Brownie Plaster, chairperson of Destination Cleveland County, said the vision of Earl Scruggs is helping guide the project.

Against the advice of his mother, Scruggs left his third-shift job at a Shelby textile mill in 1945 and headed to Knoxville, Tenn., to give a shot at a music career. He first tasted fame playing with bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe's band and went on to even greater fame with Lester Flatt.

In the late 1960s, Scruggs turned in a new musical direction, growing his hair long and joining his sons, Randy and Gary, to form the country/rock Earl Scruggs Review.

In Shelby, visitors to the center will see footage of Scruggs talking about his musical journey.

"In it, he says 'If there's a bright light shining out there, I want to go toward it,' '' Plaster said. "He also said 'You can't encore the past.' We want to take his vision of reinventing himself and help Cleveland County come out stronger than before."

The Scruggs Center will make use of 100 oral histories collected from people around the region. Snippets from these voices will be heard at several points on the first floor; on the second floor education center, computers will be available so people can listen to complete interviews. Also on the second floor will be a gallery with rotating exhibit space and a meeting room in the former courtroom.

Plaster called the renovated building "a jewel box. ... It'll glisten."

Telling 'the whole story'

Elementary school principal Tropzie McCluney got involved with Destination Cleveland County as a board member because she wanted to make sure the African-American side of the story was included. She remembers when blacks couldn't set foot on the first floor of the courthouse and "colored" restrooms were in the basement. Stores around the court square were off limits to blacks.

"All children don't know the story," McCluney said. "They just see the town. They don't know the whole story."

She thinks diversity and change will keep the project from getting stagnant.

"We want a center that will keep people coming," McCluney said. "We want them to say, 'Hey, they've got something new there. Let's go back.' "
DePriest: 704-868-7745

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/01/30/2970440/in-shelby-the-sweet-sound-of-progress.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy

As we do attempt to publicize our goings-on in Shelby, I would submit that John Carter here in Charlotte would be a media member who should be cultivated and " courted ." John anchors the morning and Noon WBTV Channel 3 TV newscasts in Charlotte as well as hosting and producing the Carolina Camera TV series covering interesting and often offbeat/upbeat events and locations around North & South Carolina.

What makes John a natural for Jeff & "W" to approach is that he is a graduate of Shelby's Crest High School and former member of the NC State Senate representing Cleveland County, NC. He has featured Shelby in the past on his Carolina Camera stories and newscasts. I believe the VCS and Historic Cleveland County Speedway would have natural appeal to John. I have no idea whether he has any interest in auto racing, but he sure seems to like to feature Shelby. Here's his TV Station bio and e-mail that could be used at the appropriate time for contact. Just another thought for favorable publicity.

JOHN CARTER - WBTV - Channel 3 - Charlotte

John Carter

John Carter is the co-anchor of WBTV News This Morning and WBTV News at Noon.

Hometown: St. Charles, Missouri, just across the Missouri River from St. Louis.

Family: Mom, Shirley, is a Missouri native but his dad, Billy, is from North Carolina. They were married in Foristell, Missouri and lived in nearby St. Charles. When John was nine, his family moved to Shelb y and he's been in North Carolina ever since. John and his wife Becky currently live in Charlotte.

Education: Three years at Owen High School in Swannanoa then senior year at Crest High School in Shelby . After high school, it was off to Appalachian State University in Boone where John graduated with a degree in Communication Arts with a concentration in Broadcasting.

Career: Not long after graduating from ASU, John began working at WBTV as a news assistant. Over the course of the next few years, John had many roles at WBTV, including general assignment reporter, consumer reporter, Western Bureau Chief/reporter, news producer/consumer producer, and news producer/managing editor. He was also host of the popular Carolina Camera feature, traveling across North and South Carolina to bring back stories of interesting and unusual people, places and things.

Following his work on Carolina Camera, John left WBTV and formed his own video production business. He also opened what turned out to be a very successful comic book shop that he later turned over to his brother Allan.

During his time away from WBTV, John became very involved in politics and was elected to the North Carolina Senate, representing the 25th District which was made up of Cleveland , Gaston, Lincoln and Rutherford Counties. John chose not to run for a second term because of family and business considerations.

When he left the Senate, he began work with Mecklenburg County as a Public Information Specialist where he supervised the county's video production work and acted as a county spokesperson. Just a few years later, WBTV came calling again, and John returned to the station to anchor the WBTV News Morning Show and later, WBTV News at Noon.

Honors: Over the course of the years, John has won numerous awards and honors for his video and journalistic work. He's also a recipient of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, which is North Carolina's highest civilian award.

Personal Cause: In late 2005, John was diagnosed with prostate cancer, the number one cancer in men in the United States. He's done a series of stories on his diagnosis and continues to do updates on his treatment as well as stories on the latest in medical research and technology. Following a third biopsy, doctors were not able to find any cancer, so John is now being treated under a "watchful management" program. John works closely with the American Cancer Society to get out the message about the life saving importance of early detection. If you'd like John to speak to your group, church or association about prostate cancer, contact him at jcarter@wbtv.com .

Hobbies: John's favorite activity is spending time with family and friends. He's also an avid reader and regularly visits schools to talk to students of all ages about the importance of reading (contact John about coming to your school at jcarter@wbtv.com ). He loves sports as well. John is a regular runner (but he readily admits he's not fast, although he's steady) and has participated in many road races in Charlotte and across the Carolinas. He completed his first marathon (the Myrtle Beach Marathon ) in 2007. He's coach of the WBTV Softball team as well as a player. He has season tickets to the Carolina Panthers, loves skiing in the N.C. mountains and going to ASU Mountaineer football games. He plays golf as often as he can with his son Jerry, brother Allan, and good friend and co-worker Chuck Roads...he's also been to Tampa to play golf with former co-worker Chris Suchan. John is also a collector of sports cards, action figures and other memorabilia.

Email: jcarter@wbtv.com

email on the way. Thanks, Dave

Would be an excellent idea since both are very much a part of the cultural heritage of the area.

"So they loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly....Hills that is.....swimming pools.....movie stars!"

Dave, that's certainly something to consider. Cleveland county's stock car heritage is without question. With the rebirth of the speedway, the timing is perfect,