This is Progressive Wilkes County, 1948 [VT 128/DVD 50]

From the collections of the State Archives of North Carolina.
DVD.50 is a copy of VT.128, "This is Progressive Wilkes County, 1948." The promotional film takes a positive look at the Wilkes County area with an emphasis on its businesses, schools, churches, and cultural civic advantages, 34 minutes. Copy of VT.128 made August 2009 by Alan Westmoreland, State Archives Photo Lab.
The producer of "This is Progressive Wilkes County," Don G. Parisher, was a well-known and prolific filmmaker who produced at least thirty movies documenting and promoting towns in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida between 1947 and 1965. More information on Parisher and other local filmmakers can be found in this book: Main Street Movies: The History of Local Film in the United States by Martin L. Johnson (Indiana University Press, 2018).

[@germanshepherd2579]

It's a shame.... My Parents still live there who are retired and are ready to move out.. Absolutely no opportunities for young people growing up there. Only way is to leave..

[@dmkez]

I guess the Taco Bell we had in 1948 also had sinkholes

[@nathanwyatt8955]

I live in wilkes county and yes I know we have our share of issues in the county. Also I have traveled around the country and I thank god I live in wilkes believe it or not our county still has a few nice people lending a helping hand unlike others.

[@jamest.5001]

We still have the radio station! I love these videos! I been to Liberty Theater, we have had a new fancy theater with colorful lights, solar powered, but I haven't been to it, I'd rather go to Liberty! Only the parking isn't so great. It's awesome if you have someone pick you up! And the hotel isn't the center of anything now, it's apartments

[@jamest.5001]

Alot of things are still there building wise, you will not see that many ppl on the street over a year, unless it's the apple fest, or a car show! It's amazing so many things are still here!

[@JCinWilkes]

Why did all this great business leave my hometown?

[@williamwagoner7857]

Globalist's. All the manufacturing left for cheaper foreign labor and alot of the agriculture too. Combine that with the drug epidemic and you get what we have today. A dying community.

[@my83roadster4me]

Manufacturing didn't just leave Wilkes county. It left the whole country because people would rather have a cheap product than pay a little more for a good quality product made in the USA. The older residents of Wilkes have been through much worse times and they're getting through this just fine. You can quit a job one day and get a job at another business the next day. It's been a long time since people were able to do that anywhere in the country.

[@my83roadster4me]

This great business left your hometown because people would rather have a cheap product than a good American made product.
Why did you leave Wilkes?

[@eurekasevenwave2297]

Wilkes, to be perfectly honest, was a cursed town to begin with. Most of the industry in North Wilkesboro was concentrated in an area that was floodable, from the Yadkin River, and in both 1916 and in 1940 floods destroyed most of the property and industry there. It recovered from 1916, and by 1940, the main factory, the Wilkesboro Tannery, which is now Smoot Park, was inundated by floodwater and a fire caused by a chemical reaction from limestone.
Business probably picked up after the fact for a while but I doubt it ever fully recovered, and the Chinese/Vietnamese/Japanese/Koreans killed any chance of a comeback due to cheaper manufacturing costs compared to here. At this point, the "1950's golden age" of prosperity and manufacturing power is probably a pipe-dream. Can't see it happening unless we miraculously decide we want Made in America again, even with the markup in price.

[@johnneal5623]

William, it’s sad but you are right...

[@BrianHoff04]

The capable, industrious source of white american labor.
Well, that cleared that up.

[@dalepress1581]

It's so progressive it lapped us all and started over.

[@1JoyLyons]

I thought wilkes county was famous for Moonshine?

[@phoenixlinx847]

Most people were good looking back then. What happened?

[@JackF99]

29:50 Did he say what I think he said?

[@spinningorb]

Yeah - he did.

[@my83roadster4me]

White labor?

[@jamest.5001]

No bus ot taxi as far as I know, there is vans, the wta Wilkes transportation authority, but is nothing likes taxi, more like a bus service You schedule a day or more before,

[@plezjoyner4888]

I love this line at 29:50: "One of the principle reasons for the county's industrial stability is the capable industrious source of WHITE AMERICAN labor and cordial relations between management and employees..."
But I also noticed a lack of Confederate flags or any mention of the Lost Cause, although there were several mentions of the Revolutionary War. I guess there's no need for a Confederate flag if there are no Black people to terrorize with it!

[@evanmagnus3746]

Lol

[@BrianHoff04]

26 minutes in, have seen two people that weren't white.

[@ryanmathis8286]

It is in black and white...

[@patrickmeyer9905]

Now whats wrong with that?

[@Man-cv5ws]

@@patrickmeyer9905 nothing