2011 Sept Beth Star.Qxp
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THE BETHLEHEM STAR, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2011 5 Classes offered at CVCC Alexander Ctr. for Education The Catawba Valley Interested in becoming a Community College Alexander Notary? Register for the next Center for Education (CVCC class to be held on Tuesday, The Catawba River- A Focal Point of Our History ACE) invites the public to regis- October 18, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 ter for any of the following p.m. One must be 18 to register Note: Residents of our area cross the and the Catawbas from the mid to southern ment's remains serve as a major archeologi- upcoming classes. The are with no criminal background. Catawba numerous times during a year, terminus of the river. The Catawbas were cal site at the Berry farm in North Carolina. located in lovely Taylorsville, NC The cost is $75.00. often with little thought given to its impor- most connected to the actual river and called The Spanish records of the time described a (located directly across the Always wanted to write more tance on the early history of our area. This themselves yeh isWAHh'reh, or People of the series of Indian settlement along the river street from Wal-mart). creatively? Take a creative writ- is the first column in a series on the River and had two branches, the Catawbas that were not affiliated with the larger Ready to enroll in college but ing class on Tuesday nights Catawba River. The first column will pro- and the Iswa. The Catawbas built bark-cov- Catawba and Cherokee tribes. Death from don’t know where to start? October 18-November 15 from vide an overview and information on early ered roundhouses, hunted the woodlands European diseases and conquest and assim- Come to the Alexander Center 6:00-9:00p.m. The cost is 50.00. residents near the river from about 1000 AD surrounding the river, fished the river, and ilation by these large tribes caused many of any Wednesday at 3:15 p.m. for a At this time the following to 1700. Following columns will trace river planted crops in the rich bottom lands. They these smaller native groups to disappear. Starting Points Session and classes have a senior citizen issues in later centuries including explo- had a holy place in the center of each village The death of 119 of Pardo's 120 men and the learn what to do to become a waiver: Excel Level 1, Word ration, floods, impact of pollution on water that was used for tribe meetings and reli- destruction of the fort at the hands of the Catawba Valley Community Level 1, CNA I, CNA II, and quality, and future issues. gious ceremonies. Before the arrival of the native residents brought an end to the College student. Linda Graham Phlebotomy. Call or stop by to The Catawba River originates in the Europeans, the Catawbas numbered in the Spanish colonization in the interior of North is the facilitator. inquire about or register for the mountains near Old Fort, North Carolina tens of thousands. The Iroquois called the Carolina. Interestingly, the artifacts found at Want to learn Spanish? The next upcoming classes. and flows through a series of lakes and free- Catawba "flatheads" because they, as well as the Berry Site have caused a major re-evalu- Beginning Spanish class will be Are interested in earning flowing stretches for over 200 miles until it many of the other Siouan-speaking tribes of ation of the history of Spanish exploration held each Thursday night, from your GED? Trying to get a job meets Big Wateree Creek to form the the area, practiced forehead flattening of along the Catawba River. 6:00-8:00p.m., September 22 - and never got your high school Wateree River at Wateree Lake in South male infants. Besides the Iroquois, tradition- The first serious mapping of North November 10. The cost is only diploma? Now is the time to get Carolina. The history of Alexander County al Catawba enemies included the Cherokee, Carolina's interior was supposedly accom- $65.00. Mary Beth White is the started on your GED. Morning has been continually impacted by the river Shawnee, Delaware, and several members plished in the 1670s by the German explorer instructor. and evening classes are offered. that forms our southern border. Native of the Great Lakes Algonquin allied with the and physician John Lederer on the commis- Would you like to learn sign For more information or to American Indians, Spanish conquistadors, French. Catawba warriors had a fearsome sion of Virginia Governor Berkley. Lord language? A beginning sign lan- register for classes, call the and other European explorers all used the reputation and an appearance to match: Berkley, like many Europeans at the time, guage class is being offered on Catawba Valley Community river and its edges as avenues for travel and ponytail hairstyle with a distinctive war paint believed that the Pacific could be reached by Thursday nights, September 26 - College-Alexander Center for exploration from very early times. Even pattern of one eye in a black circle, the other traveling westward from the Atlantic Coast November 1, from 6:00-8:00p.m. Education at 828-632-8221. though the damming of the river has in a white circle and remainder of the face no more than two weeks. Lederer was com- The cost for the class is $65.00. changed its appearance, one can stand at painted black. A proud people and danger- missioned to find this path. Today Lederer's free flowing sections of the river and imagine ous enemy, the Catawba immediately explorations and discoveries are highly criti- the sounds and sights of the early travelers. attached themselves to the interests of the cized and considered by some to be outright Without too much effort one might visualize English colonists after the beginning of set- fabrications. His maps did show the location HWY the native Indians moving stealthily in tlement in the Carolinas during the 1660s. of the Catawba River and the location of sev- 127 DISCOUNT STORE, INC. search of game, the jingling of the tack of the The Catawbas were here when Desoto may eral Indian villages. Lederer described a horses of the conquistadors, or the crack of have made his forays to the piedmont area in large settlement near the river called Suala, Home Furnishings • Lawn Equipment the whip to the oxen or draft horses pulling a the 1540's. Although they were friendly with a Spanish name. Conestoga wagon. The fertile bottoms the European settlers, the white man dis- James Needham and Gabriel Archer also Tools • Mulch • Stone along the river provided the necessary rich eases and alcohol decimated their numbers explored the entire area in 1671, and soils for habitat for diverse wildlife and pro- to the point that there were only 110 described this town as "Sarrah". This settle- 828-495-7107 vided the environment for the development Catawbas left in 1826. ment was likely a number of miles east of Fax: 828-495-7195 of early farms. The river has also been a The Cherokees, Indians of the six nations Joara and could have been near one of the 8514 Hwy. 127 North, Hickory, NC (In Bethlehem) very important asset to modern man and including the Senecas, and unaffiliated tribes tributaries of the Catawba including the industries. Uses of the river include dams for living along the river also hunted and fished Little Rivers of Alexander County. By the Hours: M-F 9-6; Sat. 9-2 [email protected] the production of electrical power, water in the areas near the river. The Catawbas time most English, Moravian, Scots-Irish, plants to remove water for drinking, person- had fierce battles with the other Indian and German settlers arrived in the area in NOW OPEN al irrigation systems, waste treatment tribes in the early years. They had more suc- the 18th century, Joara and many of the plants, textile mills, and water sports. The cess against the Cherokee than the other other native towns in the region had been The Wood Nest Thrift Shop impact of floods and the desire for a cheap tribes. In later years, after the return of the abandoned. Although the location of Joara, at Hwy. 127 Discount source of power were major reasons for the Indians of the six nations to the Ohio River Fort San Juan, and other settlements were damming of the river in a number of loca- Valley, the Cherokee and Catawba Indians forgotten, European inhabitants found tions. Rivers and lakes tend to serve as a developed an area of neutral ground along numerous native artifacts in certain areas of magnet for the development of human habi- the Catawba River that encompassed the the upper Catawba River Valley including tation. This desire for the development of area of present Alexander County. present day Alexander County. The arrival homes along the lake caused a great Early European Explorers and Residents of white settlers along the river ended the Beverly D. Teague, P.C. increase in the population along the south- The Catawba River was used as a means power of the Indian tribes living in the area. Attorney & Counselor at Law ern border of Alexander County. The value of of transportation for a number of early Although many of the Indian tribes aligned Certified Mediator land along the river far exceeds the land val- explorers. As stated earlier, the Spanish themselves with the European immigrants' ues some distance from the waterway. explorer Desoto may have made contact lifestyle, their relationship with the immi- Family Law & Asset Protection Unfortunately, the multitude of homes along with the Native American population along grants was the death knell for the strength of • Adoption • Divorce • Custody • Support the shores of the various lakes along the the Catawba about 1540.