Girl Scouts in North Carolina

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Nick Graham

photos

As the Girl Scouts of the USA celebrate their centennial this year, I wanted to look for historic images of Girl Scouts in North Carolina on DigitalNC. It’s clear that the Girl Scouts have been active throughout the state for many decades. Here are a few highlights from the handful of interesting photos and items relating to Girl Scouts on DigitalNC.org.

Girl Scouts in Greensboro welcome First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt during her visit to Bennett College in 1945. Image from the Bennett College Library.

 

 

Girl Scout receiving a pin during Scout Week, 1951, in Rocky Mount. Image from the Braswell Memorial Library (Rocky Mount, N.C.).

 

Girl Scouts in Ashe County, ca. 1940s. Image from the Ashe County Public Library

 

Girl Scouts in Burgaw, 1954.  From the Pender County Public Library

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18th Century Examination Books from Old Salem

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Nick Graham

memorabilia

Ten early student exercise books from the collections at the Old Salem Museums & Gardens are now available online at DigitalNC.  These fascinating volumes, primarily from the late 18th and early 19th-centuries, are the work of students from the Moravian community in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.  We will be digitizing more volumes from this collection later this spring.

 

 

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Early 20th-Century Brevard Newspaper Online

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Nick Graham

newspapers

The Sylvan Valley News from 1900-1911 is now available online through the North Carolina Newspapers project. The paper was published in Brevard and contains news from all over Transylvania County as well as updates from the “mountain metropolis” of Asheville.

Looking through the paper one gets a first-hand glimpse into the struggles and excitement of a small town emerging into the twentieth century.  Issues of civic improvement are often at the forefront as the citizens of Brevard make the case for pressing issues such as the addition of sidewalks and electric lights to their town.

The Sylvan Valley News was nominated for digitization by the Transylvania County Library.  More issues of this paper, including its successor, the Brevard News, will be published online this winter.

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Rescuing Artifacts from the Modern Greece

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Nick Graham

newspapers

After reading about the exciting work taking place this week on the coast as archaeologists and volunteers uncover artifacts from a sunken Civil War ship, I went looking through the North Carolina Newspapers collection for a mention of the wreck.

I found this piece, in the Fayetteville Observer from June 30, 1862, describing the wreck of the Modern Greece:

The last lines are especially notable: “It is believed that a portion of the cargo can be saved.  All will be saved if possible.”  Portions of the cargo are indeed being saved.  It has only taken 150 years.

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“Buy Local” Movement in 1907

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Nick Graham

newspapers

The more we read old newspapers, the more we find what we assumed to be modern trends showing up long ago. The Sylvan Valley News, published in Brevard in the early 20th century, was a strong advocate for the “Buy Local” movement. In those days, local businesses weren’t threatened by large discount chain stores or online retailers but by another recently-developed and extremely popular shopping alternative: the mail order catalog.

This front-page ad from February 22, 1907, puts it in very clear terms:

“In the long run more of your money will come back to you if you spend it at home than if you send it to Chicago or some other large city.  You spend a dollar with Smith, up the street.  Smith spends it with Brown, around the corner.  Brown is just as likely to spend it with you as with anybody else.  Did you ever think of that?”

Chicago, of course, was the home of Sears, Roebuck and Company.

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Real Photo Postcards Advertised in 1906

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Nick Graham

photos

We found this ad in an issue of the Sylvan Valley News, published in Brevard on August 10, 1906.  The “novelty” of creating custom postcards was a widespread phenomenon, resulting the creation of many thousands of rare and often unique images that seem especially striking when we come across them today.  Photographic or “real photo” postcards are actual photographic prints produced on postcard backs, enabling the users to mail them as they would a normal postcard.  While the act of simply mailing a snapshot doesn’t seem like a big deal today, it was in the early twentieth-century, as people around the country shared scenic and personal photos with ease.

There are several real photo postcards in the Images of North Carolina collection on DigitalNC, and even more in the North Carolina Postcards collection published by the North Carolina Collection.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Dora Mayberry, Cooleemee (Davie County Public Library).

 

John T. Etheridge of Rocky Mount (North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill).  Note the raccoon skin on the wall behind him.

 

Fisherman repairing a net in Morehead City (North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill).

 

Susie Sharp family photo, Reidsville (North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill).

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CIAA Celebrates Its 100th Year

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Nick Graham

newspapers photos underrepresented yearbooks

The 1965-66 Elizabeth City State University basketball team in dress attire with mascot Bobby Vaughan Jr. The photo was taken before the team headed to the CIAA tournament in Greensboro, N.C.

 

The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), founded in 1912, is celebrating its centennial as basketball teams from twelve member institutions and fans gather today in Charlotte to kick off the annual tournament. This article from today’s News & Observer tells the story of the CIAA basketball conference. 

 

The CIAA consists predominantly of historically Black colleges and universities. You can view materials from member schools past and present — including Elizabeth City State University, Chowan University (the first non-HBCU to participate in the conference), Fayetteville State University, Johnson C. Smith University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, North Carolina Central University, Saint Augustine’s College, Shaw University, and Winston-Salem State University — on DigitalNC.org. Some highlights are below.

 

Top players from the 1950 tournament, from the March 11, 1950 edition of The Carolina Times.

 

Ad from the February 21, 1953 edition of The Carolina Times.

 

 

 

Earl “The Pearl” Monroe and others. The Winston-Salem State College Rams brought home the CIAA trophy in 1967. Image from the 1967 volume of “Red and White,” the Winston-Salem State University student yearbook. 

Page from the 1958 edition of “The Ayantee,” North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University’s student yearbook, depicting that year’s CIAA championship team.

In 1992, Elizabeth City State University basketball coach Bobby Vaughan was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. Under Vaughan’s leadership, the basketball team won five CIAA Divisional Championships and two CIAA tournaments. Image from the 1992 volume of “The Viking,” the Elizabeth City State University student yearbook.

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Course Catalogs on DigitalNC

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Nick Graham

campuspublications

Course catalogs, student handbooks, and other campus publications from a number of institutions — including Brevard College, Campbell University, Chowan University, the College of the Albemarle, Davidson College, Elizabeth City State University, North Carolina Wesleyan College, and St. Andrews University — have been added to the North Carolina College and University Yearbooks collection. These materials, many of which date back to the nineteenth century, aren’t just about the course offerings and descriptions – they often include detailed information about admissions, tuition, campus policies, institutional history and mission, and student life.

I’ve especially enjoyed reading the various rules and regulations laid out in these volumes. Most of them apply to female students, and seem to be aimed at thwarting “improper” behavior. Some of my favorites are below.

Regarding dress:

 

 

From the 1930 Elizabeth City State Normal School Bulletin. In my experience, mothers are more likely to cause embarrassment to their children BY supervising the buying of school clothes.

 

 

From the 1944-1945 Students’ Handbook of Flora Macdonald College. Everybody knows that kerchiefs are only appropriate at buffets, duh.

 

 

From the 1961-1962 St. Andrews Presbyterian College Student Handbook. It’s a good thing they regulated the wearing of bermuda shorts. The sixties were crazy enough already.

 

Regarding behavior:

 

 

From the 1917-1918 State Colored Normal and Industrial School Catalog. I definitely don’t associate with anyone who hangs on corners. And note writing? Forget it, you’re no friend of mine.

 

 

From the 1945-1946 Students’ Handbook of Flora Macdonald College. Other kinds of windows might be okay. 

 

And, of course, regarding guns:

 

 

From the 1917-1918 State Colored Normal and Industrial School Catalog.  I know teachers college can be pretty rough, but just leave those guns at home.

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Applying to College in 1960

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Nick Graham

campuspublications

I found this application for admission in the Flora Macdonald College catalog for 1959-60. Looks like applying to college used to be a whole lot easier than it is today. This catalog is shared online by St. Andrews University.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Valentines at Elon College in the 1920s

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Nick Graham

memorabilia scrapbooks

These valentines are from scrapbooks kept by Elon College students in the 1920s, from the collections of the Belk Library Archives and Special Collections  at Elon University.  Click on each image to see the full scrapbook.

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