news-record.com

GREENSBORO - UNCG students have launched a project to record the recollections of residents who were once part of the Cone Mill villages that dotted northeast Greensboro.

Collected interviews will be archived at the Greensboro Historical Museum and in the UNCG University Archives. The research will be turned into neighborhood tours to help current Triad residents understand the history of the mill villages.

"We want to hear about everyday life - who used to live where, where people used to hang out, visit their girlfriends or boyfriends, where they had their first kiss - not just work, eat, and sleep," said Michelle Palmore, a student in the program.

History graduate students will work under the direction of Benjamin Filene, director of UNCG's public history program.

Armed with a 6-by-7-foot map of northeast Greensboro, students will canvass gathering spots in that section of town over the next two weeks.

The Cone Mill Villages - Revolution, White Oak, East White Oak, Proximity and Proximity Print Works - were built by the Cone Corp. in the early 1900s to house thousands of mill employees. The company began selling off the worker housing in the late 1950s.

They're inviting all current and former residents to share their memories by marking the location of events directly onto the paper.

The map will be available at the following dates, times and locations:

* Saturday, 10:30 a.m. - 1 p.m., American Legion Post 386, 1206 American Legion St.

* Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m., East White Oak Recreation Center, 1801 10th St.

* Sunday, Feb. 22, 2 p.m. - 4 p.m., Greensboro Historical Museum, 130 Summit Ave.

* Wednesday, Feb. 25, 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m., McGirt Horton Branch Library, 2509 Phillips Ave.

* Saturday, Feb. 28, 11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., Greensboro Central Public Library, 219 N. Church St.

For more information or if you have a Cone Mill village story to share, contact Benjamin Filene at (336) 334-5645 or at bpfilene@uncg.edu. For information on the Proximity School reunion, contact Paul Sams at (910) 949-3357.