Viewing search results for "Edgecombe Community College"
View All Posts

Church and County Histories from Edgecombe Community College

A set of church, family, and county histories from the library at Edgecombe Community College are now available on DigitalNC. These papers were written primarily by students at the college at include several family histories and histories of churches in and around Tarboro.

My favorite is “We Recollect. . . .” An Anecdotal History of Nash County, which was compiled by seventh and eighth grade students at Southern Nash Junior High. The history contains excerpts from oral history interviews with older residents of Nash County. The interviews contain great anecdotes about life in mill villages, schools, and professions. One passage caught my eye when I was paging through:

Q: How do you kill hogs the old way?

A: First, you shoot them between the eyes.

It’s from an interview with Sherwood Smith, whose store at Dortches was renowned for its traditionally-processed fresh meat. The interview starts on page 10 and includes Smith’s method for curing ham and the recipe for his famous sausage.Image


Oral histories and photos from Edgecombe County now available

The cover of the Agriculture in Edgecombe County event program

New materials from Edgecombe County Memorial Library are now online and include additions to the M.S. Brown Photography Collection as well as sound clips, transcripts, and photographs from the Oral History of Agriculture in Edgecombe County project.

The Oral History of Agriculture in Edgecombe County project was completed in 1987 and is comprised of interviews from farmers and those who worked in farm-related industries in Edgecombe County. This project culminated in a live event held at the Edgecombe Community College Auditorium on October 11, 1987 that included a lecture and discussion about topics covered in the oral history interviews. The event program reads, “the interviews vividly tell the story of how the country’s farmers, farm women, merchants, manufacturers, and extension agents helped shape farm life during a period of time characterized by involvement of the federal government, mechanization, the growth in size of farms, the decline of tenancy, and the loss of farm-related jobs.” The original cassette tapes containing the interviews have been digitized and transcripts are available for many of the interviews. These oral histories give a wonderful glimpse into the daily life of farmers in Edgecombe County, and speak to how farm life changed from the Depression-era through the late 1980’s.

Additions to the M.S. Brown Collection include more images of school life, events and parades, and houses and businesses in Edgecombe County, all taken by Tarboro citizen M.S. Brown.

To view these materials visit the links below:

To see more materials from Edgecombe County Memorial Library, visit their partner page or take a look at their website.

A photograph from the M.S. Brown collection showing people at the Tarboro tobacco market.


W.S. Clark Store Accounting Ledgers Now Online at DigitalNC

ledger page for Mrs. Judge Howard with products and prices

A snapshot from the 1899 Millinery Book Ledger

A new batch of materials from Edgecombe Community College in Tarboro, North Carolina is now online and available on DigitalNC. This collection contains several accounting ledgers from the late 19th century. These five account books are all from the W.S. Clark Store in Tarboro. The store, started by William Samuel Clark (1846-1923), was operated in Tarboro from the 1870s through the 1980s as a general store. By the 1950s, it operated as a department store that sold everything from furniture to clothing to groceries. It was continued for over 50 years after Clark died by his sons.

These ledgers were donated to Edgecombe Community College by his grandson, Clark Jenkins, and then they found their way to DigitalNC. They contain transactions of the wide variety of goods that people purchased, as well as the prices of various items, and indicate when customers made payments on their accounts. For example, in 1896, a pair of slippers cost $1.35 and a straw hat cost 15 cents.

Follow the links below to browse the items included in this batch:

To learn more from the Edgecombe Community College, click here to visit their partner page or click here to visit their website.

 


May Queen Fashion 1920s-1990s

We wrote about May Queens a couple of years ago, but can’t help showcasing them again. This time, we’re bringing you a gown per decade from North Carolina’s High Schools, Colleges, and Universities. (We picked 2 from the 1990s because we just couldn’t decide.)

Photo of Maude McCracken, May Queen in 1926

Maude McCracken, May Queen in 1926

 The Messenger Yearbook, 1926 (courtesy Durham Public Library)

The Lotus Yearbook, 1938 (courtesy William Peace University)

The Anchor Yearbook, 1948 (courtesy Gardner-Webb University)

B-Somebody Yearbook, 1958 (courtesy Edgecombe County Memorial Library)

The Zenith Yearbook, 1964 (courtesy High Point University)

The Golden Bull Yearbook, 1972 (courtesy Johnson C. Smith University)

The Circle Yearbook, 1986 (courtesy Mitchell Community College)

Arete Yearbook, 1990 (courtesy Queens University of Charlotte)

The Gate Yearbook, 1991 (courtesy Wingate University)


DigitalNC Blog Header Image

About

This blog is maintained by the staff of the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center and features the latest news and highlights from the collections at DigitalNC, an online library of primary sources from organizations across North Carolina.

Social Media Policy

Search the Blog

Archives

Subscribe

Email subscribers can choose to receive a daily, weekly, or monthly email digest of news and features from the blog.

Newsletter Frequency
RSS Feed