Building a better community has been at the forefront of The Daily Reflector's mission through its 125-year history of service.

From the early efforts to establish a teacher training school to making a case for university status and beginning a school of medicine, the newspaper's support of these milestones was always there.

(ENLARGE)

A CREW setting type to make plates for an edition of The Daily Reflector after World War II included a young Alvin Taylor, second from left. The crew used individual lead letters to make 'sticks' of type. Sticks built a 'galley,' and gallies filled a 'chase,' a frame the size of a newspaper page. At right, Alvin Taylor today.

And a small town at the turn of the century determined it could make a difference in shaping its future. It was done by drawing on the leadership of that time, including Gov. Thomas J. Jarvis and state Sen. James L. Fleming, who introduced the bill to establish an eastern normal school, which was first to be a two-year teachers training institution.

There was a legislative fight and spirited competition between eastern counties, but success was achieved here — provided it wasn't initially called a college. The publisher of that era was David Jordan Whichard, who was steadfast in his support for establishing the school.

The Daily Reflector, next published by David Julian Whichard, continued the support of what became East Carolina Teachers College as it grew into a four-year institution and added master's degree programs.

An enrollment boom in the post war World War II era led to a new debate on expanding the college's service to eastern North Carolina and the state. East Carolina College President Leo W. Jenkins proposed a School of Medicine be established here to address the growing need for physicians and medical services in the east. The paper, with David J. Whichard II and John S. Whichard as publishers, strongly supported the initiative, which initially proposed a modest start with a two-year program.

But it was considered a radical plan statewide and major opposition came instantly. Editorials of opposition appeared frequently as one of the greatest North Carolina editorial debates of the century ensued. The Daily Reflector had some allies, however, among them nondaily publications, as well as nearby dailies, The Washington Daily News and The Goldsboro News-Argus.

At times the Jenkins' proposal appeared doomed. But from all that, there came growing support from many counties of the state — where physicians were desperately needed — for a four-year school of medicine.

With the sentiment for the medical school growing, an agreement was made to train students for the first year at East Carolina, and then they transferred to UNC-CH, completing their training. That ultimately led to authorization to build a four-year school at the institution which became East Carolina University, providing the training of fully qualified physicians.

In the meantime an agreement was negotiated to use Pitt County Memorial Hospital, then under construction, as the medical school's clinical facility, a move which also was supported by The Daily Reflector.

During that era, the great social issue was the need to bring about racial desegregation of the community. One of the keystones of the medical school plan was to seek qualified minority candidates for admission. That had the newspaper's support. So did plans for desegregating the county's school systems, which was accomplished by building four new high schools to replace numerous small high schools.

In the Greenville district, Eppes High School was merged with Rose High School, then on Elm Street, creating a single high school.

Local leaders collaborated to bring these changes, as well as compliance with desegregating public accommodations.

Then came the era which ended tobacco support programs. While a major blow to the area, it was supplanted economically by the growth of medicine through the Brody School of Medicine, University Health Center and private medical centers and practices.

What would have been a difficult step during tobacco's era of supporting the economy came with the ending of smoking on the Pitt County Memorial Hospital campuses.

The newspaper now is a part of Cox Newspapers with D. Jordan Whichard III as publisher. A major printing operation routinely provides full color production for both news photography and advertising.

And the priority of its journalistic mission is still reporting and commenting on local issues, as well as developing community leadership. It comes naturally, considering the drive for East Carolina Teachers Training School, Brody School of Medicine and a better society for the community and the state.

Alvin Taylor began his newspaper career at 13 as a bicycle route carrier for The Daily Reflector in 1943. He moved into the paper's printing operation while he furthered his education, graduating from East Carolina Teachers College in 1951. He served with the U.S. Army in Korea, 1951-53, and received the Army Commendation medal. Returning as a reporter in 1953, he become city editor the next year. He later was named the newspaper's managing editor. In retirement, he has written a regular column and assisted with the opinion page.