As a part of the ongoing weekly series in honor of Twin City celebrating its Centennial, the Forest-Blade recently reached out to a long-time resident of the historic town, Nyla Price.
Price, who is 92-years-old and mother of two (Marsha and Drew Price) has lived in Twin City since she attended third grade in elementary school. Price is also a graduate of ECI.
"This is home to me and I love Twin City," says Price, who went on to say, "It's a lot different today than it was at one time." Indeed, Twin City wasn't always referred to as such, but was instead two separate towns. Those two towns were Graymont and Summit, and in 1921, due to the Great Depression and in order to survive, the two towns merged, becoming Twin City.
Price says the primary elements within Twin City have mostly remained the same today, but there are some notable exemptions. Price says of the missing elements, "When I first started living here, Twin City had around four or five grocery stores," but now there is only a singular grocery store in town. Price also says there was a shirt factory built in 1949 that was a long-time presence in the community.
"It stayed open for a long time and it gave a lot of people jobs here," she said of the now-defunct business. Price remembers that there also used to be a theatre in Twin City that was owned by Mr. Carr, and there were two post offices.
Price recalls that there were once "Tent Shows" residents would attend regularly. "That was the thing to do," she says, and in a town where special attractions are limited in their availability, this getaway was a significant opportunity for the community to come together.
There were also five churches that could be found within Twin City when Price was growing up, which included the Baptist Church, First Baptist Church, Primitive Baptist Church, the Methodist Church and the Church of God. Price regularly attended First Baptist Church growing up, but after getting married to her husband, she transitioned over to Primitive Baptist Church, which she still attends today.
While some elements come and go for Twin City, what has always remained the same is the spirit of the community and the passion each individual possesses for their beloved town. Price says, "The thing about Twin City is that everybody knew everybody," and it's because Twin City is such a small town, that it's not hard to build a rapport with the residents.
Of course, today people come and go, but the ideals of Twin City remain the same, and those ideals are to treat each other with kindness and understanding, and above all supporting one another. No one further exemplifies the spirit of Twin City and its ideals more so than its mayor, Matt Donaldson.
Price says of Donaldson, "He's a good mayor and I think he's really trying hard to represent Twin City and do what is best for the town. I think he is doing a truly wonderful job." Mayor Donaldson's leadership and care for Twin City continues a long line of excellence that has been cultivated throughout the years, displayed by a variety of elected officials. Price recalls that former mayor Eileen Dudley possessed the very same attributes that Mayor Donaldson possesses today. She goes as far back to also recall that former Mayor Jimmy Greenway was no different in this regard either. Price says, "I can't say anything bad about any of them really. They were all really good mayors, and they tried really hard."
With this type of leadership at the head of Twin City and the continued cultivation of the ideals ever present within Twin City, it's no wonder the town has made it 100 years. With no signs of slowing down, it's become ever apparent Twin City is here to stay! The Forest-Blade would like to express its gratitude toward Mrs. Nyla Price for taking the time to attend this interview and give us her perspective of what it means to live in Twin City. We humbly thank you and wish you the very best of health going forward. Here's to another 100 years, Twin City!
