A friend of mine and former graduate student employee here in Wilson just can’t get her mind off of all things North Carolina–even though she now lives over 700 miles away. She emailed me after hearing Sir Walter Raleigh–namesake of our fair capital city–mentioned in the Beatle’s song, “I’m So Tired.” Here’s a portion of […]
Archive for August, 2011
“He Was Such a Stupid Get”
Posted in Tar Heelia on August 31, 2011 | 17 Comments »
When textiles thrived, so did textile league baseball
Posted in History, Memorabilia Moment, Tar Heelia, tagged acme-mccrary hosiery mill, asheboro nc, mccrary eagles, nra eagle, randolph county nc, textile league baseball on August 30, 2011 | 5 Comments »
Textile league baseball was once huge in the Carolinas, and in 1937 the team representing Asheboro’s Acme-McCrary hosiery mill made it all the way to the national championship tourney in Wichita, Kansas. Here and here are some colorful recollections of the team — hat tip to randolphhistory.wordpress.com — including photos of not only players but […]
Prescribing a double dose of ‘Southern Exposure’
Posted in History, Just A Bite, tagged bob hall, southern exposure, stetson kennedy on August 29, 2011 | 1 Comment »
“At the birthing of our magazine in 1973, long lists of prospective names were prepared. What to call a journal that challenged and criticized the region, yet embraced it as our home? “It wasn’t long before the name Southern Exposure emerged as the obvious choice. Not only did the words carry the double message we […]
At 65 mph, who needs architecture?
Posted in History, Just A Bite, tagged frank harmon, jim schlosser, nc architecture, nc highways, raleigh nc on August 28, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
“… In rural parts of North Carolina where roads are small, it’s possible to see the face of a farmer coming towards you in his truck because you are both driving slowly. As often as not he will wave. (Imagine doing that on an interstate highway or a six-lane suburban throughway.) In the 200 or […]
Albert Rabil, Jr. Captures Post-WWII Rocky Mount
Posted in DigitalNC, From the Stacks, History, Tar Heelia, Tar Talk on August 26, 2011 | 6 Comments »
As archivists and librarians we’re frequently confronted with piles of books, letters, photographs…you name it. And it’s easy to become so focused on cataloging and describing them that we forget to actually stop and think about the stories they contain and the people who created them. That’s especially the case when the name doesn’t immediately […]
North Carolina Online Soil Survey Manuscripts
Posted in From the Stacks, History on August 26, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
A colleague with the US Department of Agriculture just sent me this link: http://soils.usda.gov/survey/online_surveys/north_carolina/ Soil surveys are produced by the National Cooperative Soil Survey, a joint effort of the United States Department of Agriculture and other Federal agencies, State agencies including the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, and local agencies. The Natural Resources Conservation Service […]
Edison liked nature but thought ‘Man is a fool’
Posted in On This Day, tagged asheville nc, grove park inn, harvey firestone, henry ford, john burroughs, thomas edison, weaverville nc on August 26, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
On this day in 1918: Concluding a rustic road trip that began nine days ago in Pittsburgh, inventor Thomas Edison, automaker Henry Ford, tiremaker Harvey Firestone and naturalist John Burroughs check into Asheville’s Grove Park Inn. The celebrity nature-seekers, who camped in tents by the mountain roads, were delayed along the way by crowds of […]
Court goes delusional over interracial affair
Posted in Just A Bite, tagged interracial intercourse, nc justice william b rodman, the long shadow of the civil war, victoria e bynum on August 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
“A stunning example of the absurd and twisted logic of race-based legal judgments in the immediate aftermath of Reconstruction was exhibited in an 1877 divorce case, for which North Carolina Supreme Court justice William B. Rodman wrote the final decision. “In granting a husband’s divorce from a wife accused of having an interracial affair, Judge […]
First in flight no match for latest in millinery
Posted in Just A Bite, tagged american heritage, carroll a deering, catherine m monahan, hamilton basso, j w dresser, outer banks, pisgah forest, shipwrecks, steamer elizabeth, thomas wolfe on August 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
“In talking with some of the people who live on the outer banks — bankers, they are called — I soon discovered that wrecks like that of the [Carroll A. Deering in 1921] have a way of serving as points of personal reference. One venerable gentleman who lives on Hatteras recalled that when the barkentine […]
