Growing Up On Penderlea

Various links

By Renee Gannon, 2/2007

Life on Penderlea

The homesteaders who came to Penderlea beginning in 1934 were farmers, but the government also needed them to be carpenters, plumbers, roofers, laborers, tractor mechanics, blasters, electricians, painters and bricklayers. Hourly wages ran from $1.10 for plumbers to 60 cents for blasters and 15 cents for cannery workers.

Homesteaders worked alongside the civilian crews to build Penderlea. The wages, along with selling crops once farms were running, helped pay the homesteaders’ $60 annual rent.

The government advertised across the country for homesteaders willing to relocate to southeastern North Carolina. Most families ultimately came from the eastern part of the state, with a few moving in from the mountains.

But not just any family could resettle here. Homesteaders had to be white, married with children or children on the way, and had to be Protestant.

Families had to submit letters of recommendation from their pastor and from the county Extension agent. A federal agent would visit families for interviews and to see if they were poor enough to qualify. A ledger book had to be kept for a year that contained every piece of the family’s financial information: if eggs were sold for 5 cents each, it was marked down; if you bought a hairnet for a penny, mark it.

The entire family also had to pass a medical physical provided by a government physician in Burgaw.

The effort families went through paid off. For those who could endure the hard work and long hours, a better life awaited. Homes with indoor plumbing and electricity were a rarity in rural America. These utilities were standard features of each Penderlea home built.

Along with utilities, the first 10 homes featured a cathedral ceiling, tongue-and-groove pine paneling and oak hardwood floors in the living room, plastered walls, a bathroom split into two rooms on opposite sides of the hall, two bedrooms with a shaving port in the master bedroom, a screened porch, small kitchen and a tiny dining area. These 1,000–1,400-square-foot homes cost $1,700 to build.
The rest of the homes were built from six different, smaller and less-expensive designs that featured two to four bedrooms in 1,000–1,200 square feet.

The sustainable community provided almost everything needed from available resources. The timber cleared for farming found its way to the furniture mill and became construction material, paneling, furniture, cabinets, doors and the kitchen table. Truck crops such as beans, squash, cucumber, corn, strawberries and blueberries not only sold at market but also went to the cannery to help feed newly arriving homesteaders. And feed sacks were a valuable commodity for homemakers who made clothes and curtains out of the colorful, patterned sacks.

“I would ride on the wagon to the mill with my Daddy to pick out the feed sacks I wanted for my clothes. And I was proud of my clothes…we all were,” says Cottle. “Penderlea was a wonderful place to grow up because we were all the same. We did not have money, but we were rich in love, food and shelter. We children had everything we needed, we just didn’t realize at the time how hard it was on our parents.”