Sunday, February 10, 2013

The Mayors of Winston-Salem

It is day 10 of the 30 minus 2 days of writing hosted by Nicky and Mike of We Work For Cheese.  Today's prompt is "The Mayor".  Visit Nicky's page to see what the other long-suffering participants have written.

Winston and Salem merged into Winston-Salem and was officially incorporated in 1913.  Oscar Eaton was elected as the Mayor of Winston before the incorporation, and he served until 1917.  Until then there were mayors for both Winston and Salem.

Oscar B. Eaton
During Mayor Eaton's tenure, a lot was done to bring Winston-Salem into the 20th century such as the paving of First Street and the opening of the Salem Water Plant.  Also the Public Works department was established, and in 1915 the first police cars were purchased.

During our official 100-year history, Winston-Salem has had 18 mayors.  Of those 18, George Coan served two non-consecutive terms during 1929-1935 and 1943-1945.  There were two who served one-year terms.  R. J. Reynolds (I think you'll recognize that name) from 1941-1942, and J. Wilbur Crews from 1942-1943.

There were two mayors who served for 12 years each, Marshall Kerfees 1949-1961 and Wayne Corpening, 1977-1989.

The current mayor, Allen Joines has been in office since 2001.  The majoral election is coming up later this year, and Joines is seeking a fourth term.

Image Source:  Winston-Salem Mayors' Biographies.

16 comments:

  1. Well, that was interesting. I now know more about the mayors of Winston-Salem than I could ever imagine. ;)

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  2. I thought this might be about the Salem witches and the mayors who loved them.

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  3. That was very interesting. Here in Canada we seem to have problems with mayors lately. For instance the mayors of Montreal and nearby Laval resigned until an investigation into corruption has been completed. The mayor of London, Ontario would appear to have spent taxpayers money on his son's wedding. And in Toronto, the mayor was removed from office but reinstated by a court over using city funds to support his coaching of a football team. It appears he now overspent during his election campaign to the tune of some $40k which is illegal.

    Who would have guessed?

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  4. I don't know why, but I thought that US mayors were like the President in that they could only serve two terms.

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  5. I hardly know anything about my city's current mayor. Good for you to know something about the politics of where you live. R.J. Reynolds was from Winston-Salem...I never knew that.

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  6. Ziva- Thanks. These prompts are tough. A history lesson was all I could come up with.

    Linda- Sorry to disappoint you...different Salem. ;)

    nonamedufus- I think there are political issues at all levels - everywhere.

    Nicky- I hadn't really thought about it either. I'm not much into politics.

    Cheryl- Thank goodness for internet research. I thought the Reynolds name would familiar to most people. Winston-Salem was a large tobacco town.

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  7. Hey Linda! Damn, I want his shirt and tie! I'm gonna bring back some Georgian Glam! Indigo

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  8. The birth of a city, Linda! And you covered it beautifully!

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  9. It is hard to think back to when "police cars are purchased." That is wonderful stuff!

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  10. That was an interesting historical lesson!

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  11. I've often wondered about the mayors of Winston-Salem.

    Okay, I've NEVER wondered about them.

    But it was interesting to learn something I didn't know, even if I'll probably forget it in about 2 minutes.

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  12. You would make a good teacher. Every time I read your blog, I learn something. Incredible!

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  13. Sadly, I now know more about the mayors of Winstom-Salem than I do about the mayors of my current resident city.

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  14. I agree with KZ. I probably could not write a piece about the mayors of the city I live in, but I enjoyed your informative post.

    It is interesting about R. J. Reynolds and the two mayors who served for 12 years each. That's a long time for a mayor, isn't it?

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  15. Indigo- Interesting fashion, isn't it.

    Talon- Thank you.

    Katherine- Thanks, I'd like to see those cars.

    P.J.- Thanks, I had a little help from Google.

    MikeWJ- I will remember it about that long.

    Malisa- Thanks!

    K.Z.- Hey, I learned a lot, too. These challenges are always a learning experience.

    Sara- Our current mayor is going for his 4th term. I guess there's no limit.

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  16. I thought this might be Salem Mayor...Vampire Killer! ;)

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