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From the 1950-1976 scrapbook
The reverse side of the postcard
Our latest batch of materials from the Wayne County Public Library includes some seriously cool scrapbooks that document almost a century of the library’s history. Ranging from 1910 to the 1990s, these seven scrapbooks contain detailed minutes, photographs, newspaper clippings, event paraphernalia and other ephemera.
One of the most exciting sections is the collection of letters from North Carolina authors—who also happen to be mostly women—in the 1950-1976 scrapbook. Several writers seem to have been invited for readings and events at the library, and they wrote letters back to library staff about their experiences.
From the 1950-1976 scrapbook
One of the most famous writers that visited was Betty Smith, who is probably best known for her novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (there are several materials about her already on DigitalNC, including this video interview). Although she was born in New York, Smith adopted Chapel Hill as her home town later in life and is still buried in the Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery. Along with the card that she sent to library staff (pictured above), the scrapbook includes a newspaper clipping with an interview of Smith where she encourages Chapel Hill to resist the push for industry and to preserve its small-town character.
“I hate to see commercialism,” she said. “They come in and tear up trees that took 200 years to grow, and pile them up and burn them to get rid of them. Then they stick out little trees—with wire holding them up. Why couldn’t we have a shortage of bulldozers!”
The second half of a letter from Doris Betts
Another well-known author included here is Doris Betts, who served as an English and creative writing professor at UNC Chapel Hill. Betts was born in Statesville, attended UNC Greensboro and eventually settled in Pittsboro. In her literary career, she produced six novels, three short story collections, a Guggenheim Fellowship, three Sir Walter Raleigh Awards and the N.C. Medal for Literature. Her archive is now part of the UNC Chapel Hill Southern Historical Collection at Wilson Library.
Other authors included in the 1950-1976 scrapbook include Inglis Fletcher, Bernice Kelly Harris, Mebane Holoman Burgwyn, Bernadette Hoyle, and Mertie Lee Powers.
You can see the full collection of scrapbooks here. To see more materials from the Wayne County Public Library, you can visit their partner page and their website.
The ripples of the Civil War still resonate throughout the United States, especially in the south. North Carolina seceded from the Union in 1861 and joined the confederacy in its fight to maintain the institution of slavery. North Carolina was host to numerous battles during the war and there has been much historical research of those encounters and how towns and people were affected by those tumultuous events. Primary source materials from the Civil War and Reconstruction era are useful for better understanding our past, present, and improving our future as fellow citizens of North Carolina.
Letter certifying that Hollowell was a prisoner of war
Now on our site you can read, though it may be disconcerting at times, original letters and correspondence from J.M. Hollowell, thanks to our partner Wayne County Public Library. Hollowell was a confederate soldier from North Carolina who was imprisoned by Union troops for a period of time during the Civil War. Included in this collection is a memoir, of sorts, by Hollowell that was published in 1939. Based on a series of articles he wrote in 1909 for the Goldsboro Weekly Record, this memoir published nearly thirty years after his death, gives the reader insight into the life, culture, and prejudices of a North Carolina citizen and confederate soldier. Reflecting the views of his peers at the time who were also fighting to maintain the status quo of slavery in the South during the Civil War, this collection of Holloway’s letters and writings gives insight into the daily thoughts of those fighting for the confederacy and how they reacted to Reconstruction, racial progress, and politics following the war. Explore J.M. Hollowell’s documents here.
War-Time Reminiscences and Other Selections by J.M. Hollowell
A few weeks ago, our partner Wayne County Public Library brought three over-sized materials for us to scan here at the NCDHC while they waited. The items were a beautiful map of Goldsboro from 1881, and two posters related the building campaign for a memorial building in honor of those from Wayne County who died in World War I.
While we scanned these items, folks from UNC Communications stopped by to see us in action. You can see the footage they shot of our scanning processes here.
Learn more about our partner Wayne County Public Library on their partner page, or on the Wayne County Public Library website.
Daredevil [1953], page 57
Daredevil [1953], page 60
DigitalNC is happy to offer two new yearbooks from the Wayne County Public Library. The yearbooks are from Eureka High School, located in Eureka, NC, which had a population of about 200 people at the 2010 census. These yearbooks offer a nice look into the life of a small community school during the 1950’s. Although it is described as a high school, both yearbooks feature 1st-12th grade classes. Yearbooks like these could be excellent resources for genealogy research, especially about this small community.
Eu-Re-Hi-Ke Daze [1952], page 60
You can view both yearbooks at the links below:
You can also view all of the yearbooks from Wayne County Public Library here.
To learn more about the Wayne County Public Library by visiting their contributor page or their website.
Newly digitized yearbooks from Wayne County Public Library are now available on DigitalNC.org. This batch features yearbooks from six high schools, dated 1955-1965. The high schools are from Wayne, Lenoir, Craven and Pitt counties:
- New Bern High School (New Bern, N.C.) – 1965
- New Hope High School (Goldsboro, N.C.) – 1964
- Dillard High School (Goldsboro, N.C.) – 1965
- Goldsboro High School (Goldsboro, N.C.) – 1965
- Bethel High School (Bethel, N.C.) – 1955, 1957–1958
- Grainger High School (Kinston, N.C.) – 1956-1959, 1961-164
In addition to this selection of yearbooks is a 1926 senior yearbook and scrapbook from Goldsboro High School called Just Seniors. The yearbook features portraits of the 66 seniors as well as mementos, newspaper clippings, postcards, pressed flowers, personal messages, and programs collected by the copy’s owner Louise Johnston Spoon.
From left to right, clockwise: Louise Johnston Spoon’s yearbook photo, page 12; 1925 Junior-Senior Banquet Program, p. 47; Postcards, p. 58; pressed flower and personal notes, p. 106.
To browse more yearbooks, click here. To explore more materials from Wayne County Public Library, click here.
From Carver High School in Mount Olive, N.C., 1961.
The Digital Heritage Center staff just uploaded several items that brought our partner Wayne County Public Library past a milestone: over 1000 items on DigitalNC! This summer we’ve been busy digitizing a range of Wayne County materials, including school yearbooks and all types of scrapbooks. The scrapbooks range from 4-H club records (pigs galore!) to several on the Major-League Baseball player and pickle salesman Ray Scarborough.
Most recently uploaded are the Wayne County War Memorial scrapbooks from 1923-1925. The two scrapbooks cover the 
history of the building from inception to completion, and are an excellent record of post-war sentiment in Wayne County. The building, which opened in 1925, was a monument to the Wayne County soldiers who fought in the first world war. For almost 80 years, it functioned as a community center, administrative office building, and recreational facility (an indoor swimming pool was added in 1935). It also served as a monument not only to World War I soldiers but to honor those who served in subsequent wars as well. Sadly, the building burned down in 2004; in its place the Wayne County Veterans Memorial was constructed. For more information on the memorials, visit the Wayne County Veterans Memorial website.
Also digitized are several yearbooks from two Wayne County high schools. The African-American Carver High School in Mount Olive, NC now has six volumes from 1959-1964 available, and Pikeville High School in Pikeville, NC has six new volumes from 1958-1961.
For all items from Wayne County Public Library, click here.
The NC Digital Heritage Center has just added more materials online from Wayne County Public Library including scrapbooks covering 4-H activities in Wayne County, Ray Scarborough, a major league baseball player from Mount Olive, and yearbooks from several Wayne County high schools including Goldsboro High School and Nahunta High School.
The 4-H scrapbooks are from the 1950s and show the focus on pigs in Wayne County’s 4-H program at the time. The scrapbooks also show in detail the amount of record keeping that 4-H members had to maintain to participant in the livestock and crop competitions. The scrapbooks include photographs, worksheets, and essays on “What 4-H Means to Me.”
To view more materials from Wayne County Public Library on DigitalNC, visit here.
Thanks to our partners at Wayne County Public Library, we have added 4 1971 yearbooks from 4 different high schools in Wayne County to DigitalNC. These yearbooks are:
Of note, the Goldsboro High School yearbook has several pages commenting on the second year of racial integration. While the yearbook states “…pupils, mingling with greater ease, were known more by name than color” it also noted that “the segregated stands at a basketball game show lingering misconceptions among GHS students” (images 11 and 20).
Additionally, several students from Goldsboro High School flew out to Hollywood, California to surprise Andy Griffith, a former GHS teacher, during a taping of This Is Your Life.
For a look at all 4 yearbooks, click here. To view the entire collection of DigitalNC’s high school yearbooks, click here. And to learn more about Wayne County Public Library, you can visit their home page, here.
DigitalNC is happy to announce that a new batch of 100+ photographs and ephemera from Wayne County plus selections of William T. Dortch’s personal bible are all available to view online. We would like to thank our partners at Wayne County Public Library for making this possible.
Two of the digitized photos are large photographs from around the time of World War I, depicting soldiers in Fort Bragg, N.C. and La Bazoge, France. The other photographs and ephemera in the collection speak to everyday life in mid to late 20th century Wayne County. Much of the material comes from Goldsboro High School, such as photos of cheerleaders and a resolution from the City of Goldsboro congratulating the Cougarettes on winning the state 4-A Girls’ Tennis Championship. Other photos include youth sports teams and many school portraits from New Hope School.
The portions of the personal bible of William T. Dortch contain primary information on the Dortch family tree. The fastidious documentation of marriages, births, and deaths stretches from the 18th century all the way to the turn of the 21st century.
To view all digital content from Wayne County Public Library, click here. And to learn more about the Wayne County Public Library, please visit their contributor page or website.
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.
