NOT ONLY the Raper clan but Welcome itself moved on. No longer a farming community, it has morphed into a budding suburb of Winston-Salem as announced by its current signpost of entry, “Welcome to Welcome: A Friendly Place,” with displays of small town activities such as Lions Club, Boy Scouts, Garden Club, Fire Fighters.
The Raper homestead no longer exists, having been burned for practice by the local Fire Fighters Association. It has since been replaced by an electrically wired, modest brick house with attached garage, close by a well paved road.
Frank and Julia’s children are all gone now. The boys seemed to have inherited their father’s frail heart in varying degrees. John, the youngest, died the youngest at sixty-two. Luther, Arthur, and Howard made it to the age of eighty. Blanche outlived them all, dying of natural causes at the age of nearly ninety-four. Each sibling married and started another generation. In total they spawned sixteen children, all of whom succeeded in obtaining good productive livelihoods. As in the past, the Raper descendants and their families continue to gather every five years in honor of their heritage.
Welcome to modern-day Welcome.
Homestead abandoned, used for firefighting drill.
