No break for ‘stately, plump black Packard’

“North Carolina’s Governor Robert Gregg Cherry had automobile trouble. His stately, plump black Packard was one of the first cars to be examined under the state’s new compulsory-inspection law. It flunked. Faulty lights.”

— From Time magazine, Jan. 26, 1948

Tar Heels drank to V-J Day (while they could)

On this day in 1945: North Carolinians take to the streets to celebrate V-J Day, marking the imminent victory over Japan and the end of World War II. In Raleigh, the crowd on Fayetteville Street is joined by a hook-and-ladder bearing a “Victory is complete” sign on its side. Within an hour, Gov. Gregg Cherry has ordered a statewide suspension of alcohol sales.