Posted in History, Tar Heelia on February 5, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
It’s not often that a story about numismatics makes the front page of the News and Observer, but it happened recently in the article “Humble Nickel from 1913 Likely to Fetch Millions.” What’s numismatics, you ask? You aren’t the only one! It’s the collecting and study of coins and other types of money. What’s so [...]
Posted in From the Stacks, History on February 4, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
I found this interesting article in the June 4, 1926 issue of The Pilot, then published in Vass, N.C. When I saw the headline about the state song, I assumed it would be about William Gaston’s well-known “The Old North State,” which we wrote about a few years ago in This Month in North Carolina [...]
Posted in From the Stacks, History, Tar Heelia, Tar Talk on January 10, 2013 | 2 Comments »
This what if began with a question found in the December 6, 1877 edition of The Farmer and Mechanic, a weekly paper published in Raleigh. Dr. W. Haw, an “analytical chemist” of Oswego, N.Y., wanted to know whether the poppy species that yields opium could be planted in the South. I resided a long time [...]
Posted in From the Stacks, History, Memorabilia Moment, Tar Heelia, Tar Talk on January 5, 2013 | 3 Comments »
The stack of Bibles on which Governor Pat McCrory took the oath of office earlier today included one believed to be the oldest associated with a North Carolina family in the state. The Durant Bible, as the volume is commonly known, was with George Durant, a 25-year-old Englishman, when he arrived on American shores about [...]
Posted in History, Just A Bite, On This Day, Tar Heelia, Tar Talk on December 17, 2012 | 3 Comments »
Following the Constitutional mandate that they gather on the first Monday after the second Wednesday of the month, the state’s 15 electors met at the old state Capitol building earlier today and cast their votes. The outcome of their balloting was as expected. Reflecting the Republican ticket’s victory in the popular vote here, the electors [...]
Posted in From the Stacks, History, Literature, Tar Heelia, UNC History on December 11, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Hannukah, the Jewish festival of lights, offered pale competition for Christmas—puny candles against a dazzling tree, ‘Rock of Ages’ against the tyranny of carols and decorations that took over the stores, the radio, the schools, and the imagination of all my friends. Parents billed Hannukah as ‘better than Christmas,’ an unintentional error that placed a [...]
Posted in From the Stacks, History, Literature, Tar Heelia, Tar Talk on December 7, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Seen on the sea, no sign; no sign, no sign In the black firs and terraces of hills Ragged in mist. The cone narrows, snow Glares from the bleak walls of a crater. No. Again the houses jerk like paper, turn, And the surf streams by: a port of toys Is starred with its fires [...]
Posted in Artifact of the Month, Events & exhibits, History, Tar Heelia on November 15, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
“If you don’t need it, DON’T BUY IT.” It sounds like the advice of a frugal mother, but during World War II those words were issued from the federal government to all Americans on the home front. It was only seventy years ago that U.S. citizens were asked to be judicious in their shopping, driving, [...]
Posted in History, tagged american dance festival, durham nc, madonna, richard maschal on November 14, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
In 1978, Richard Maschal of the Charlotte Observer visited Durham to cover the American Dance Festival. In a class of leotard-clad students, he recalled later, “One stood out. She had a beautiful face, the image, I immediately thought, of a Renaissance madonna….We sat on a bench, and I asked her name. ‘Madonna,’ she replied…. She [...]
Posted in DigitalNC, History on November 9, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Flipping through some issues of the Roanoke Beacon (Plymouth, N.C.) from 1898, I found their endorsements for the coming election, which were given entirely in verse. I don’t recall see anything like this in other papers. What a shame that it didn’t catch on. From the Roanoke Beacon issue published November 4, 1898.
