When the Ku Klux Klan announced a march in Tryon in the mid 1980’s, concerned citizens got together with law enforcement to determine an appropriate community response.  Downtown businesses were asked to close if they could, and people in town at the time of the march were asked to turn their backs.  The Klan march was uneventful.
The group of concerned citizens went on to become the Thermal Belt Friendship Council, dedicated to bridging racial divide and building unity in Tryon and surrounding communities. Founding member Ron Mosseller is credited with having the idea of celebrating the serious work of the concerned citizens with some fun – thus the annual Friendship Picnic was born.
It has been held every year since. In the early days of the
Council, members met for dinner in one another’s homes. Currently the group meets monthly on the second Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. at Roseland Center (meetings suspended during the summer, beginning again in September).  The group also meets for lunch at a local restaurant once a month on a Saturday at 11:45.
The Friendship Council coordinates the annual Dr. Martin Luther King celebration at the Tryon Fine Arts Center in January, celebrates the holidays with caroling at
the White Oak facility followed by a potluck dinner, and provides other programming throughout the year.  The Friendship Council is open to all and has no required dues.  Interested persons may just join in an event, come to a meeting, check the group’s website:  http://friendshipcouncil.homestead.com/ or contac interim President Donna Tatnall at 828-859-7099 or email her at: dtatnall@yahoo.com.
– article submitted
by Donna Tatnall