Thanks to our partners at the Davidson County Public Library, we have made available a new batch of materials from Churchland School, Lexington High School, and various churches in Davidson County. These include yearbooks from Churchland School and Davidson County Community College, which give researchers a glimpse of life in mid-century North Carolina and may include familiar faces! Additionally, we have added new issues of The Lexhipep, Lexington High School’s student newspaper, as well as one 1944 issue of an anti-alcohol newspaper titled To-Morrow.
Here we have new papers from the North Carolina Collection that have never been microfilmed! The North Carolina Collection originated in 1844 and is the largest traditional collection of library materials for any state. Learn more about the NCC here!
Here we have materials spanning three decades from our partners over at the Granville County Public Library! These additions include issues of the Oxford Public Ledger, a student paper from Henderson High School, and yearbooks from Henderson and Dabney, N.C.!
Thanks to our partner, Wayne County Public Library, a batch containing 18th and 19th century land grants for some of the earliest settlers of Wayne County; photographs of individuals protesting segregation; scrapbooks of materials detailing the history of Goldsboro City Schools; Goldsboro newspapers; family photographs; history of The Cultural Movement African Dance Company; and much more are now available to view on our website.
A portion of the materials in this batch were digitized by staff during a community scan day at the Wayne County Public Library. Using materials brought in by community members during the event, the Wayne County Public Library Community Collections exhibit has been added to DigitalNC.
Among the materials brought to Wayne County Public Library’s community scan day was a collection of family photographs spanning from circa 1880s to circa 1950s. Snippets of boating adventures, pets, children playing, architecture, and more can be found throughout the record. A small selection of these fascinating photographs can be viewed below.
The town of Pine Knoll Shores celebrates its 50th anniversary this year (2023). In commemoration, The Shoreline began a column in 2022 recounting some of the history of the area. Beginning in the February 2022 edition, several authors, including Barbara Milhaven, Phyllis Makuck, Martha Edwards, Walter Ellis Steele Jr., Michelle Powers, Deb Frisby, Jean Macheca and Susan Phillips, contribute small histories. The first is about a visit from Giovanni da Verrazzano, an Italian explorer, in 1524. In a letter to François I, then King of France, he described some of the native people he saw living along the coast (though it’s unknown whether they were in modern-day North Carolina or further north). The March 2022 edition follows up with a timeline of Pine Knoll Shores’ pre-history, from 1524-1954.
An illustration of a ship similar to the SS Pevensey, the remains of which lie near Pine Knoll Shores’ beach.
The December 2022 edition wraps up the pre-incorporation era with a careful mapping of how land was divided and sold along the coast as several of the beach towns we love today were formed. Now that we’re in the 50th anniversary year, we may get to learn even more about the beach town’s modern history—alongside articles from the present day.
Most unique in this collection is the 1910 High Point Buggy Company catalog. The catalog features a wide variety of High-Grade Buggies for customers to purchase. In addition to the Buggy catalog, High Point, known for being the Furniture Capital of the World, has produced numerous furniture catalogs, from desks to home furnishings.
Catalog images from the 1910 High Point Buggy Company Designers and Builders of High-Grade Buggers.
The newspapers in this added collection represent William Penn High School and Griffin Junior High School, both local Black high schools in High Point. From newsletters celebrating the 1953 Class Reunion to newspapers discussing the events at the local high school, The Students’ Pen and the Griffin Junior Citizen were staples in the community.
To see more of our partner, High Point Museum, visit here.
Over the next year, we’ll be adding millions of newspaper images to DigitalNC. These images were originally digitized a number of years ago in a partnership with Newspapers.com. That project focused on scanning microfilmed papers published before 1923 held by the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Special Collections Library. While you can currently search all of those pre-1923 issues on Newspapers.com, over the next year we will also make them available in our newspaper database as well. This will allow you to search that content alongside the 2 million pages already on our site – all completely open access and free to use.
If you want to see all of the newspapers we have available on DigitalNC, you can find them here. Thanks to UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries for permission to and support for adding all of this content as well as the content to come. We also thank the North Caroliniana Society for providing funding to support staff working on this project.
Known as the furniture capital of the world for its many furniture companies, High Point has made a name for itself when it comes to buying and selling furniture. Included in this collection are catalogs from several different companies such as the Union Furniture Company, The Sign of Distinction in Your Home catalog from Globe Furniture Company, and many more. You can also find toy catalogs from the Fil – Back Sales Corporation in the collection as well. Along with the furniture catalogs, annual reports from the town of High Point are also available. Reports such as “Hi – Lites” and “Focal Point” provide details on what is happening within the High Point Community.
Also included in the materials are yearbooks from T. Wingate Andrews High School, “Reverie”. The yearbooks cover the years 1969 – 1971 and explore student life at Andrews High School such as clubs, faculty, and homecoming festivities.
Finally, Digital NC has also made available 3 issues of The High Point Enterprise from July 1969. The issues cover Neil Armstrong’s historic landing on the moon in 1969 and discussion about the importance of his travels.
Special thanks to our partner Heritage Research Center at High Point Public Library and the High Point Museum for these wonderful materials! To view more from the HR Center, visit them here and here from High Point Museum.
Some say that high school student humor is a bit sophomoric; as evidence to the contrary, we’ve uploaded several student newspapers (thanks to our partner, the Granville County Public Library) that will at least make you smile.
This section also includes some stellar student profiles. One “Sophisticated Senior” lists her favorite pastime as “flirting” and her hobby as “catching beau.” A “Silly Sophomore” prefers to spend her time “eating” and aspires to be a “Bulls’ Eye Egg thrower.”
For a bit of darker humor, the 1967 senior class of J. F. Webb High School ran an extended graduation joke in the form of a “Last Will and Testament,” describing what each person left behind to an underclassman.
Items I and II leave “appreciation,” “respect,” and “esteem” to the principal and teachers. Item III leaves “old books,” “battered lockers,” and some hangout spot called “The Cave” to the student body in general. Item IV is where things start to get personal.
Many students opted for the “I leave my book, ‘How to Get Girls to Like You,’ to my friend Tommy” joke. A few, like Ellen Franklin and Wayne White, left treasured spots. Ronnie Daniel seems to be the only one who bequeathed a “kiss, bear hug, and a love lick on the top of his head.”
In Stovall High School’s paper, The Breeze, the back page is covered in miscellany briefs, including “A Second Grade Letter” by Margaret Gill. Even though Margaret didn’t seem to find it funny that her ducks drink so much water, it’s certainly entertaining to read.
This 1958 issue of Chapel Hill High School’s Proconian didn’t have the established humor section of some previous issues, though it did have a sassy note commenting on current affairs.
The full list of added newspapers (some by students and some for the community) includes:
To see more materials from the Granville County Public Library, visit their partner page or their website. You can browse all newspapers in our North Carolina Newspapers 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.
