Native Perspectives:
Of today’s one hundred Old Salem residents only two were born and raised here.
B
oth Bill Hoyt and Ann Waynick Hill are true natives who grew up here, went away for school and work, and came
back home to live. Their childhood memories are of an Old Salem that not only appeared to be, but actually was distinctly different from what it is today. William K. Hoyt, Jr. was born in 1943 when Salem was
pretty much just the hyphenated end of the towns that had merged thirty years earlier. The son of William K. and Miriam Hoyt, he and his wife Kathy now live in the house his par- ents restored in 1937–38, some twelve years before Old Salem Inc. was founded. It is the Ebert-Reich House, built in 1793. His father was on the first temporary board of trustees of Old Salem Inc. that drew up the by-laws of the corporation and got it chartered. The charter was approved on March 30, 1950 and filed with the Secretary of State on April 3, 1950. Mr. Hoyt continued to serve on the board for a number of years and both he and Miriam were actively involved in the development, growth, and promotion of Old Salem for the rest of their lives. “There were not a lot of kids nearby
when I was growing up,” Bill said. “My playmates had to come in (to Old Salem) or I had to go out to their houses.” He went on to say that he spent time with the night watchman who had taken in a dog Billy brought home that his mother declined to let him keep. There was only one night watchman who kept an eye on Salem College and Academy. He and the adopted dog were often accompanied by Bill as they made their early rounds. As a youngster, Bill also enjoyed his backdoor neighbors, Miss Ada and Miss Annie Allen and their sister Lolien Saunders. Miss Ada and Miss Annie were staunch supporters of Salem before, during, and
Spring/Summer 2010
after Salem’s restoration. One thing he remembers is the Allen sisters threading a maze of yarn all through their house with little prizes attached for him to find as he followed the yarn trail. They frequently had hand-made presents for their young neighbor. Miss Ada also taught him to paint. He has since given up the small brushes for only the big ones he uses on walls. Another memory of his early days is that his folks wouldn’t
let him have a bicycle for years and years because Main Street had so much traffic. This was in the days before the by-pass and all vehicles going north and south came right through the heart of Old Salem. He says he never did learn to ride a bicycle as well as he would have liked. For a number of years before he went off to school, Bill also played cornet in the Moravian band at Easter as it made its way through the neighborhoods of Winston-Salem in the pre-dawn hours before the sunrise service at God’s Acre. Bill also recalled having acquired a hand-me-down bull- whip from Johnny and Bradley Welfare. He became adept at cracking it to relieve the quiet of his neighborhood. After going to Summit School through
the ninth grade, there was a two-week stint at Reynolds High that didn’t last because of mandated changes in public school districts favoring neighborhood schools. So Bill went off to prep school at Woodberry Forest. That was fol- lowed by college years at Swarthmore in Pennsylvannia. Next came a three-year tour of duty with the Marine Corps. In Vietnam, Captain Hoyt commanded a tank company. Columbia Law School, in New York, was next. After graduation, Hoyt joined the
Old Salem residents Ann Waynick Hill and William K. (Bill) Hoyt, Jr.
Manhattan District Attorney’s office. He was an assistant DA in what is known as
11
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32