Freedom of the American Road 1955 - Wake County segment

story we go to North Carolina why North Carolina well only a few years ago the rural population lived largely in the back country far from the few main highways in what was called dirt road isolation but then the people of North Carolina decided on a bold rural roads program let's see how this investment is paying off you're now in a typical Farm Home in North Carolina it's morning and the family's day has begun father and son are on their way one to the farmer's market the other to his Factory job daughter has a few seconds longer everybody's on the Move now once life was lived pretty much around the farm but now 21,000 Mi of good secondary roads connect the farm to a wider world the old dirt road isolation is ended North Carolina's children no longer trudge to the old one room country Schoolhouse nearly everybody in the state lives close to good new highways like this one and good highways mean a good school transportation system good roads mean that children from scattered Farms can be picked up at all outlying points every morning they're on their way to Modern schools the New Roads mean that the farmers son can travel as far as 50 Mi to his job at the new Factory and the factory itself could not have been built here if it weren't for the New Roads the rural family can now work in Industry as well as on the land at one time remote from the Big Town the farmer now drives directly to the city market over good roads a saving in time and effort making possible new and diversified crops that can be delivered quickly a big factor in the rapid growth of North Carolina one of the dramatic changes in rural life is in the schools the old one room Schoolhouse has been replaced by the big Central School 15 years ago these youngsters living 20 mi apart would never have known one another nor would they have had the specialized equipment and training in one of the finest rural school systems in the country for the farmh housewife the highway leads now to the modern shopping center to the variety of goods and services she never had before Farm life has been transformed by the road The Horizon is constantly White the rural family looks beyond the nearby Crossroads for its social life and [Applause] amusement the good road leads to things people couldn't think of years ago it connects the life of the farm with the life of the town with the varied activities of people everywhere this is the payoff on the investment in good roads in North Carolina a fuller life all country people but North Carolina isn't stopping with its program of secondary roads its people have already decided to embark on a new program to improve their system of primary highways the first big investment is paid off and North Carolina will invest again confident of a return