Posts by Jason Tomberlin

N.C. I.O.O.F.–Buttons From the Lew Powell Memorabilia Collection

November 5th, 2009

As a follow-up to Bridget’s post about the “N.C. I.O.O.F.,” here are several I.O.O.F.-related items from the Lew Powell Memorabilia Collection.

IOOF1

IOOF2

IOOF3

I have to say that I love the somewhat-racy button showing the lady’s leg, garter, and her “Tar Heel.”

WUN–TOO–TH-R-R-EE…Using The Phone In North Carolina, Ca. 1923

November 3rd, 2009

I love flipping through old phone books in the NC Collection; I’m always amazed at what I find. While looking at a Red Springs and Maxton, North Carolina, phone book from 1923 (Cp971.78 R31c 1923), I found the following list of instructions.

[Be sure to read the sections on "Always Call By Number--Not By Name," "Unauthorized Use of the Telephone," and "Attachments to Telephone."]

phone_book_instructions-1

phone_book_instructions-2

Cape Lookout Lighthouse Anniversay

November 1st, 2009

Cape Lookout

From the Cape Lookout National Seashore (National Park Service) webpage:

“On the evening of November 1, 1859, Lighthouse Keeper John Royal climbed the 216 steps to the lantern carrying a 5 gallon container of whale oil. Carefully stepping inside the giant glass lens, Keeper Royal filled the lamp with oil and installed and carefully trimmed the wicks. Then exactly at sunset, Keeper Royal lit the lamp and the new Cape Lookout Lighthouse shone its light out to sea for the first time.”

Happy 150th!

“Under The Oaks,” Elon University Blog

October 29th, 2009

I wanted to alert NCM readers to a new blog maintained and updated by Elon University’s Belk Library Archives and Special Collections staff, “Under the Oaks.”

Take a look and add it to your feed reader!

An Interesting Way to Advertise

October 29th, 2009

red_springs_phonebook_1951

This item was recently used in the North Carolina Collection reading room. I couldn’t help but notice the attached advertisement (which, I suppose, is the point), and I really couldn’t help but notice the service it offered.

Covered Bridge Over Richland Creek, Near Moffitt, NC

October 27th, 2009

covered_bridge

Covered bridge over Richland Creek, near Moffitt (Randolph County), North Carolina. Copied from an original in the NCC Photographic Archives.

History On A Stick

October 26th, 2009

The North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program was recently in the news. Read more about it here: N.C.’s roadside history markers generate 600K words.

If you have not seen or used the revamped Highway Marker database, I highly recommend checking it out: North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program.

Tercentenary of John Lawson’s A New Voyage to Carolina

October 25th, 2009

“In late December 1700, John Lawson and a group of eight Englishmen and Native Americans set off on a 500-mile, two-month trek into the Carolina backcountry. The expedition began in Charles Town and headed north and west as far present-day Hillsborough, North Carolina, and then turned east, ending up in the settlement of Bath on the Pamlico Sound in February 1701. During the journey, Lawson kept a detailed journal, made sketches and maps, and gathered specimens of plants and animals. This month, Documenting the American South celebrates the 300th anniversary of the first publication of Lawson’s journals…”

Read more from DocSouth’s highlight here.

Making Apple Butter

October 23rd, 2009

apple_butter

For your Friday morning viewing pleasure…

We think that this man and woman are making apple butter.

Bear Bryant In Chapel Hill

October 21st, 2009

Bear_Bryant

The first two years of the Mack Brown football era in Chapel Hill were pretty miserable. Back-to-back 1-10 seasons were hard to take, and the ABC (Anybody But Carolina) fans had a blast making fun of the Tar Heel football program. In fact, I distinctly remember a joke that was told during those years:

Person 1: “Hey, did you hear that Bear Bryant’s wife was moving to Chapel Hill for health reasons?”

Person 2: “No, I didn’t. Why?”

Person 1: “Her doctor told her that she needed to get away from big-time college football!”

Little did I know until recently that Bear Bryant has a true UNC connection (other than the one suggested in the not-so-funny joke). Lieut. Paul “Bear” Bryant was on the coaching staff of the North Carolina U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School, which was housed on the campus of the University of North Carolina during World War II. The image above comes from a game program in the North Carolina Collection’s UNC-related ephemera files for 1944.