by Johnnie Grant

Ms. Mae, as she is affectionately known, is an unpretentious and reserved woman who has seen many changes in Asheville for almost a century. Born in Rutherford County in 1904, she was the middle of thirteen children of John W. and Dovie Flack. After graduating from high school in Rutherfordton, she moved to Asheville in 1922.

“I moved to Asheville for jobs and educational opportunities; I was determined to be an asset to my family and my new community,” says Ms. Mae. “I was hired as a staff member in 1922 at the Biltmore Estate, and was an assistant to Cornelia S. Vanderbilt. [She was the] daughter of George W. Vanderbilt and mother to George H.V. and William A.V. Cecil.”

John Robinson, along with a number of other persons of African American descent, worked at the Biltmore Estate as well. It was while working there that Ms. Mae’s interest in exploring other career possibilities, especially cosmetology, took root.

“That same year, I can remember Cornelia preparing for her 21st birthday. It was an exciting time for her and for me. The house was decorated beautifully with fresh flowers, fresh fruits, food, and people of prominence were everywhere. Being close to the same age, she asked if I would help style her hair.”

Ms. Mae eagerly accepted the offer, and from there her interest in hair design grew. Not long afterward, Cornelia married John F.A. Cecil, “and I married for the first time, too.”

During the 1920s, Asheville was enjoying a booming economy, and new buildings were springing up everywhere. Ms. Mae recalls, “Battery Park Hill was being excavated, and dirt was moved south to form Coxe Avenue. The U.S. Post office sat where Pritchard Park is today, and the Pack Library and Central Trust Bank were built on Pack Square. I rode the electric street car trolley in 1922 for six cents, which was quite an efficient service but expensive at times for someone attending school, and walking was not at all a problem,” said Ms. Mae.

Asheville’s African-American community thrived and survived from the ‘20s through the ‘50s in spite of segregation, oppression, and the economic depression.

“Young folk went to black colleges and universities, some went as far away as Columbia University in New York, most with the intention of coming back to contribute to the building of Asheville’s black communities. Others took up trade and industrial arts which were taught in our black junior and senior high schools. We had a self-sustaining community of ironworkers, brick masons, carpenters, lawyers, barbers, beauticians, dentists, doctors, pharmacists, educators, jewelers, funeral home [owners], ministers, and restaurateurs.” Isaac Dickson built houses for black residents in such areas of the city as “Dicksontown.” African American contractor James Miller built Asheville’s police and fire department building, still in use today, as well as many other buildings.

There were more than twenty businesses on Eagle and South Market Streets, and B.J. Jackson moved his fresh vegetable and food market from Magnolia Street to South Pack Square. Ms. Mae continued to work at the Biltmore Estate, and in 1930 she began attending Lawrence’s School of Beauty Culture in the J.A. Wilson Building, 13 Eagle Street (later known as Stewart’s School of Beauty Culture, relocated to Bartlett Street in 1933.)

“The business and economy of the black communities in Asheville flourished with each member and segment of the African American communities banding together, and participating in the economic uplifting of our area - we had a mission!” exclaims Ms. Mae. “I finished beauty school, and owned my own beauty shop until 1991. I just stopped driving less than a year ago, and just recently sold my vehicle!”

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