Viewing entries posted in February 2014

Cooleemee, North Carolina Newspapers Now on DigitalNC

Issues of the Erwin Chatter and The Cooleemee Journal newspapers have just been added to DigitalNC. Both titles were recommended for digitization by Davie County Public Library.

The Cooleemee Journal was a weekly community paper. We’ve added issues from 1965-1970. The later issues are especially full of large and candid photographs of local events and citizens. The entire run contains local Cooleemee news.

Front page, Cooleemee Journal, September 23, 1970

Front page, Cooleemee Journal, September 23, 1970

Cooleemee Journal 1970-08-19 Picnic

Cooleemee Picnic, August 1970

The Erwin Chatter was a publication of The Erwin Cotton Mills Company. Like many company newspapers, it describes the activities of the employees both at the mill and beyond – with reports from the different departments alongside announcements of marriages, events, and local school news. We’ve posted monthly issues from 1944 until the Chatter was discontinued as a cost-cutting measure in March, 1954.

Erwin Chatter Front Page, 1952-01-01


Pie vs. Cake

Cake v Pie montageAs we at the Digital Heritage Center have pondered the question Our State has lain before us – Pie or Cake? Cake or Pie? – we decided to don our fedoras, flip open our notebooks, and delve back into our collection of North Carolina newspapers to see when and how these dueling desserts have turned up in press history. So, what did our decisively unscientific survey* turn up?

First Mention in the Papers

Winner: Pie, 1853

Pumpkin Pie, to be specific. It was mentioned as being on the menu in the December 1, 1853 (p.2/col.2) issue of the Fayetteville Observer, when describing a dinner of “Eighteen States” to be held in Albany, NY in honor of Connecticut. However, you may be arguing that you want to know about mentions in a NORTH CAROLINA context. Then we present to you:

First Mention in the Papers, Related to a North Carolina Event

Winner: Cake, 1855

The best Pound Cake, Fruit Cake, or Sponge Cake could each win you a premium of $0.25  at the Robeson Agricultural Fair of 1855, which is the earliest mention of pies or cakes we can find in relation to a North Carolina event. The Richmond County Fair of 1857 gave out prizes for the best Pound, Fruit, and Sponge Cakes, as well as the best Potato, Whortleberry, or Green Apple Pie. Our state fair only began asking for entries for cakes in 1870, with Sponge, Fruit, or Plain Cake.

Earliest Recipe Found

Winner: Cake, 1878

Cold Water Cake Recipe, Chatham Record, 10-10-1878

Cold Water Cake Recipe, Chatham Record, 10-10-1878

The Chatham Record, October 10, 1878 (p.4/col.2) lists “receipts” for a few cakes, although none of them are battling it out in the Our State contest. You’ll see Cold-Water Cake (right), Currant Cake, and a Lemon Meringue, the latter of which we took at first glance to be a pie but the bottom is lined with sponge cake so we counted it as cake. This is the earliest actual recipe we could locate in the collection.

Pie isn’t far behind, though. The January 2, 1879 (p.4/col.1) issue of The Chatham Record lists a receipt for Sweet Potato Pie, another North Carolina favorite.

Most Difficult / Largest Dessert

Fruit Cake Recipe, Asheboro Courier June 1, 1911

Shopping list for a 13 lb Fruit Cake, Asheboro Courier, 06-01-1911

Winner: Recipe for a 13-lb Fruit Cake from 1911

“Do not attempt to make the cake yourself unless you are experienced in this line; for this is the test of cake making…” Six months before Christmas, The Courier of Asheboro, June 1, 1911 (p.3/col.5), posted an examination of the making of Fruit Cake, complete with a recipe for a 13-pound version that would set you back $2.73 at prevailing prices. However, the author (Dorothy Avery Howard) warns you that Fruit Cake is no task for a young bride, as it is “called one of the most difficult to undertake.” Luckily, she provides a tried and true recipe which you can find in the paper.

Is North Carolina an Angel or a Devil’s Food Cake state?

Winner: Angel

Between mentions in social columns or posted recipes, North Carolina is an Angel Food Cake state by a margin of 6:1. Either we truly side with the Angels, or we keep our Devil’s Food Cake consumption under wraps…

Mrs. Marie Fogle, Firestone News, 07-25-1953

Mrs. Marie Fogle, Firestone News, 07-25-1953

Best Photograph of a Chef with Her Dessert

Winner: Mrs. Fogle and “Mary’s Pound Cake”

In the Firestone News, July 25, 1953 (p.6) we find Mrs. Marie Fogle who produces “a wide assortment of tempting, eye-appealing cakes.” The recipe for her favorite pound cake is included in the article. She is called an artist with a spatula, and from the looks of the cake in the photo we’d take one right now.

Overall Winner?

Heck if we know. We love them both and now we’re pretty sure North Carolina chefs have been mastering them all for years. If you can beat our findings using newspapers on DigitalNC.org, get in touch and we’ll dub you master chef.

* margin of error +/- 3.14159


Now Online: High School Yearbooks from Chatham County

Pittsboro High School

Another North Carolina county now has high school yearbooks available in DigitalNC, thanks to the Chatham County Public Library.  Yearbooks spanning 1949-1964 from Pittsboro High School in Chatham County are now online. Pittsboro High School opened in the early 1900s and closed in 1972 following the integration of Chatham County schools. During that time it served as the main school for grades 1-12 in Pittsboro, NC.

To view more materials from Chatham County Public Libraries, visit here.

PittsboroHSdrawing


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