HISTORICAL MOMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER

African-American History in Salisbury – Part 2

The history of business in Salisbury is laced with threads of the African-American presence. This history has to be extracted from many sources and much research has to be done to get a clear picture.

Cook’s Cab Company

Started in the 1930’s, R. E. Cook operated the C. C. Taxi Cab Service until at least 1957. By that year, he also listed himself as an electrical contractor. The ruler was a Christmas give-a-way in 1940 and shows a phone number of 355 and an address as Main and Lake Sts. By 1950, the phone number had changed to 4500 and gave his address as 503 W. Main St. The address is now 405 W. Main St., due to the street number changes enacted by the City in October, 1952. The token from the late 1940’s is good for “One 25c Fare”. Obviously, he had more than one minted, but this is the only one to have ever surfaced..
With the addition of the extended prefix by the phone company, his phone number had changed to PI9-4500 in the 1957 City Directory and his address had changed to 110 Small St.



Jack Birckhead

The business card and a ticket to the Daughter Elks Ball show that Jack Birckhead had an orchestra. This evolved from his father, George Birckhead, having the most popular band in Salisbury in the 1920’s. Referencing the passbook from the Houston Savings Bank, the depositor, Mamie Birckhead, was probably the wife of George Birckhead since both of them are listed as living at 1707 N. Division St. The property is now two addresses, 1007 and 1009 N. Division St. Their son was Jack and he lived at the N. Division St. address all his life. He also worked for Albert L. Disharoon, the contractor, for nearly 50 years.



James Weatherly

One of the most entrepreneurial figures in the Lake St. area of Salisbury was Jim Weatherly. The first listing for a Weatherly is in the 1940 City Directory. There is a Weatherly’s Pool Room listed on Lake St., although no reference is made that it was owned by Jim Weatherly. As you can see in post cards, Jim Weatherly had at least two more businesses before 1950. Weatherly’s Auditorium and the Postal Card both had addresses of 219 Lake St. and phone numbers of 2846-J, which clearly dates them before 1950. By 1950, from material excerpted from the 1950 telephone book, his phone number had changed to 2-1410 (with no mention of the Pioneer prefix). The address was still 219 Lake St. That address was changed to 223 Lake St. in October, 1952 by the City. The entire block has been razed and no businesses on the East side of Lake St. remain.