Thanks to our partner, Haywood County Public Library, a batch containing new issues of yearbooks from Bethel High School, Canton High School, Pisgah Senior High School, Waynesville High School, Tuscola High School, Clyde High School, and Crabtree Iron Duff High School are now available on our website. This batch includes yearbooks from the years 1943 to 1970.
The Mountaineer 1962 cover
To learn more about the Haywood County Public Library, please visit their website.
For more yearbooks from across North Carolina, visit our yearbook collection.
‘Dan’, the First Registered Plott Hound. Haywood County Public Library
Haywood County is home to the Plott family, the original breeders of the Plott Hound, North Carolina’s official state dog. The first Plotts (and hounds) came to North Carolina from Germany in the mid 18th century. The dogs were similar to hounds already in the colonies, but had larger heads and proved to be especially fierce fighters. When it was discovered that the dogs could hold their own against wolves and bears, they were in high demand among farmers who used them to protect their livestock.
In the 20th century, Plott Hounds were common in the mountains of western North Carolina and Tennessee. They gained national attention in the early 1930s when Life magazine ran a feature on the dogs, and then in 1946, when the United Kennel Club recognized them as a separate breed.
The Plott Hound was recognized as the North Carolina state dog in 1989, but the breed really hit the big time in 2008 when the first Plott Hound appeared in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
Group of Plott Hounds. Haywood County Library
Henry Vaughn ‘Von’ Plott with Plott Hounds. Haywood County Public Library.
When it comes time to take on your Thanksgiving turkey tomorrow, here’s hoping things turn out better for you than they did for “Turkey George,” shown here in a photo from the Haywood County Public Library. According to legend, “He got the name of ‘Turkey George’ because he also hunted a lot of turkeys. One time he placed a pen over a hole he had dug in the ground. He also dug a little ditch out from under the pen and scattered corn in the ditch, into the hole under the pen. When the turkeys went in they couldn’t figure out how to get out so they were caught. Turkey George crawled in to get a turkey or two and the brood flailed him with an inch of his life. Thus his name.”
To learn more about the Haywood County Public Library, you can visit their website.
It looks like paying your taxes used to be a little more straightforward. Here’s J. A. Turner’s tax bill from 1905, from the Haywood County Public Library.
This photograph of an outdoor baptism is one of my favorites from the Haywood County Public Library photos available on DigitalNC. Click on the photo to get to the full version, where you can zoom in to see the fascinating details.
Hopefully your holiday preparations won’t include anything so arduous as shucking a mountain of corn. This photograph and other wonderful images of North Carolinians working (and playing) from the Haywood County Public Library are now available on DigitalNC – enjoy!
Tuscola High School’s mascot, the Mountaineers (colloquially referred to as “The Mounties”) is appropriate for this campus, which is nestled in the North Carolina mountains (as you can see in the photo to the left). According to the school’s website, the school is “affectionately referred to as ‘The Hill’ due to our commanding view of the Smoky and Balsam Mountain ranges.”
In addition to the sweeping mountain views, a common sight in the 1973 edition of The Mountaineer is students arranging themselves into the shape of mountains. Apparently, this was the hottest formation for taking your club photo—especially if you got to be on the top.
The 1973 chorus officers
Who can say why so many students felt the need to literally climb on top of each other this year? Maybe they were trying to camouflage in their mountainous surroundings. Perhaps it is a social commentary on relationships or teamwork. Though we may never know for sure, there are plenty of examples in this yearbook for the intrepid researcher.
Perhaps one of the most obvious differences between these two eras is the way that the fashions and hairstyles changed. Long hair seems to be in style more for these smiling students of the 1970s. Perhaps their expressive pictures are a result of trying to stand out on a more crowded page. Their predecessors from the 1930s may not look as jolly, but at least they each have a couple of lines describing their personalities.
Pisgah High School officially opened on August 29, 1966 with an enrollment of 974 students and 49 teachers. The creation of the high school was in response to a desire to consolidate schools within Haywood County to two, replacing four other high schools in the area including Canton, Reynolds, Bethel, and Clyde High School. Pisgah High School today continues to educate the children of Canton, North Carolina.
1971 Senior Superlatives
Like Pisgah, Tuscola High School was created in response to Haywood County’s desire in 1963 to consolidate schools in the area. Originally, the school only taught sophomores, juniors, and seniors but in 1993 added freshman to the student body. The school today has over 900 students with approximately 90 teachers.
To learn more about the Haywood County Public Library, please visit their website.
For more yearbooks from across North Carolina, visit our yearbook collection.
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.
