Ray Goza installs ceiling tiles at Fayetteville Regional Airport earlier this month. (David Kennard/Greater Fayetteville Business Journal)

Jobless rate data shows slight uptick locally

By David Kennard

Greater Fayetteville Business Journal

Cumberland County’s unemployment rate increased slightly in May, according to figures just released by North Carolina’s Department of Commerce.

The unemployment rate of 6.4 percent of the county’s labor force remains far lower than May 2020 when it was 16.9 percent at the height of COVID-19 disruptions.

“Historically, the end of the school year and start of summer have often seen a small pull back in employment,” said Robert Van Geons, President and CEO of the Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation (FCEDC). “With hundreds of good jobs immediately available in Cumberland County, we’re optimistic that our overall employment trend will continue improving over the next few months. For those looking to reenter the workforce, there is no better time than now.”

Van Geons also said Cumberland County’s .2 percent increase is in keeping with, or less than neighboring counties.

Robeson County recorded the highest unemployment rate among Cumberland County’s closest neighbors, but generally the trend has continued to improve in recent months.

Harnett County rose just slightly from 4.7 percent in April to 4.9 percent in May. Likewise, Hoke County’s jobless rate jumped from 5.8 percent in April to 6.1 percent in May.

Moore County went from 4.1 percent to 4.2 percent during the same period, and Robeson County went from 6.5 percent in April to 6.8 percent in May.

Sampson County posted the best results among Cumberland County’s closest neighbors, showing a jobless rate of 4.1 percent in May, up from April’s 3.8 percent.

North Carolina’s statewide average showed a very small increase from 4.4 percent in April to 4.5 percent in May.

From a big picture point of view, 92 out of 100 North Carolina counties saw their unemployment rate stay the same or go up, according to Van Geons. “So we appear  consistent with most of the state.”

Most economists generally consider a state of full employment to be anything less than an unemployment rate of 3 percent, due to frictional unemployment, which occurs as workers are in the process of moving from one job to another.

The period between April and May also saw a slight decrease in Cumberland County’s labor force from 125,987 to 124,640 — a loss of 1,347 workers.

Data released Wednesday also showed that the Fayetteville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) saw a labor force decrease from 145,824 in April to 144,306 in May — a loss of 1,518 workers. That compares to the Raleigh MSA that saw the labor force decline by 3,431 workers — 724,944 in April to 721,513 in May, according to the Department of Commerce data.

Editor's Notes: Farm fresh food available locally

By David Kennard

Greater Fayetteville Business Journal

I don’t like snakes. I’ve tried to like them, really I have. 

My earliest run-ins with snakes involve my grandmother’s garden, a magical place where my brother, sisters and I would spend several hours a day during our summer visits.

My grandmother, Dorothy, lived in a small town in central Kansas. That’s right, Dorothy, from Kansas. She had a scarecrow in her very large garden, but no tin man or lion — certainly no flying monkeys or munchkins; unless you count us kids.

David Kennard

I always grow a little nostalgic when I start seeing farmers markets pop up. 

Have a look on page 11 of this edition of the Greater Fayetteville Business Journal. Michael Futch’s story is part one of a two-part series on the District Summer Market at Festival Park. Watch for the followup story in the July 23 edition by Jami McLaughlin.

There is absolutely no substitute for farm fresh fruits and vegetables. And despite ad campaigns touting “farm fresh” or “organic” goods, I know what farm fresh means because I’ve eaten straight from my grandmother’s garden. I’ve picked cherries and shucked corn after pulling it from the stalk.

Like so many towns across the Midwest, wheat, soybeans and silage kept the local economy going. While farmers worked the fields, their wives and young children kept the gardens at home producing more exotic treats, such as peas, beans, sweet corn, cabbage, tomatoes and — easily my favorite, asparagus.

The small supermarket on the town square relied on fresh vegetables from the backyard gardens of the folks living nearby. In fact, when grandma would take us with her to do her shopping, it seemed like we often brought more groceries in than we’d take out.

I grew up in Denver, Colorado, and our annual pilgrimage to Kansas usually began right after school was out for the summer. My parents would point the Rambler station wagon east and we’d set out across the plains, usually arriving as the sun was going down. 

Grandma would get us up early the next morning to help her in the garden. We’d put on aprons and set out down the rows to pull weeds and pick out whatever was ripe.

That poor scarecrow guarding the patch of corn always made me feel a little sad. His faded overalls and tattered shirt got more faded and more tattered every summer.

I must have been in middle school when I saw the snakes in Grandma’s garden for the first time. Growing up in suburban Denver, I hadn’t had a lot of experience with snakes. But I’d seen enough television shows to know to stay away from them.

It took me quite a while to figure out that Grandma’s snakes weren’t real snakes at all. After my first squawk, grandma quickly walked over to reassure me that these were “Scare Snakes.”

She said they helped the scarecrow keep the birds away.

Upon closer inspection, I saw that her snakes were just rubber toys that you can buy at any toy store, and some were just pieces of fabric that she’d crafted that kind of looked like snakes. I’m not sure if they worked on birds, but they definitely worked on young boys.

After we’d collected enough food, or complained enough, Grandma would shoo us back up to the house to wash up before helping her with dinner.

My favorite: Soup of all kinds, cherry pie and of course, asparagus.

Years later, my wife and I have had gardens of different kinds and I’ve learned that small gardens are much better — for me anyway — than anything close to my grandmother’s.

For the last couple of years, I’ve had container gardens — mostly growing tomatoes, but I’ve experimented with sweetcorn and green beans and various other things.

Unfortunately I’ve never been able to duplicate my grandmother’s asparagus plants. I’m not giving up, though. Perhaps I’ll wander down to the farmers market in search of some farm fresh food.

David Kennard is the executive editor of the Greater Fayetteville Business Journal.

Cape Fear Botanical Gardens board members celebrate the event by conducting a traditional mortgage burning at the center. (Photo by David Kennard/Greater Fayetteville Business Journal)

Botanical Garden honors Huffs for many contributions

By David Kennard

Greater Fayetteville Business Journal

The Cape Fear Botanical Garden’s orangery now carries a new name: “The Ralph & Linda Huff Orangery.”

The Huffs were instrumental in raising funds to pay off the existing mortgage on the center, which serves as a gathering place, event venue or for its traditional use — a refuge for citrus trees during cold weather.

On Thursday, it served as the backdrop for a mortgage burning with about a hundred donors and guests looking on.

“Paying off the mortgage on this world-class building is a milestone worthy of a celebration and we are extremely grateful for your generous support,” said Keith Tilghman, president of the executive board at the botanical garden.

Susie McFadyen, vice president of development, pointed to the many gifts of time, work and money to see the project to completion.

“Linda and Ralph have been generous in sharing their success, and their altruism is reflected throughout our community.” McFayden said. “As we neared the end of the Campaign of Natural Growth, the Huffs stepped forward, offering to not only provide the funds needed to complete the campaign, but also to provide a gift significant enough that the care and maintenance of the orangery and the gardens that surround it would be provided for many years to come.”

“Therefore, I am so very pleased to announce that, from this day forward, this beautiful room in which we all stand will be known as the Ralph and Linda Huff Orangery,” McFayden said. “Linda, Ralph, we are all forever grateful for this latest example of your benevolence.”

McFayden said many others provided or helped raise funds to finish the project at the gardens.

Bill Pollitt, vice president of the executive board, pointed to others, connected to the fund-raising effort. Joan Allen and Harvey Wright were the two co-chairs of the Campaign for Natural Growth. Jay Wyatt also stood up to represent his mother, Dot Wyatt, “who not only served as the honorary chair of the campaign, but who also served for so many years as a volunteer and ambassador for the garden,” Pollitt said.

Pollitt asked Jennifer Sullivan to also step forward as well. 

“I am now giving the $3.1 million note and deed of trust from BB&T to Joan (Allen) and Harvey (Wright) and Jay (Wyatt) and Jennifer (Sullivan) and Keith (Tilghman) so that they can burn it, afterwhich, Jay and Charlene Wyatt will offer a toast for the occasion.”

Once the crowd moved to the Orangery Terrace where a fire pit stood waiting, those holding pages of the bank documents ceremoniously placed the pages into the fire.

Earlier, Tilghman explained the significance of the ceremony.

“Paying off the mortgage on this world-class building is a milestone worthy of celebration and we are extremely grateful for your generous support,” Tilghman said. “Being debt-free represents another new beginning. As we look to the future, we acknowledge our next important campaign is to grow our endowment. Average annual payout from the Garden’s endowments at Cumberland Community Foundation is a little over $100,000.”

Tilghaman said that to maintain the garden as a vibrant community resource, a payout of $200,000 to $250,000 annually is needed.

“We must now grow our endowment by an additional $2.5 million to $3.8 million to ensure that Cape Fear Botanical Garden will be a healthy, vibrant part of our community for many years to come,” he said.

About Cape Fear Botanical Garden

Cape Fear Botanical Garden was founded in 1989 on 80 acres located between the Cape Fear River and Cross Creek. The gardens feature many blooming ornamental plants, camellia, daylillies and shade gardens, as well as a butterfly stroll and Children’s Garden.

The gardens have hosted many special occasions such as weddings, business and military functions. Find more information at https://www.capefearbg.org/about-us/ .