Today on the blog we’re happy to announce the addition of The Morrisville & Preston Progress, published in Morrisville from 1995-1999. This newspaper was contributed for digitization by Olivia Raney Local History Library, part of Wake County Public Libraries.

The Progress is a really interesting view into an area that has changed a lot in the last thirty years. During the span published in The Progress you can see a focus on development and growth, with articles describing the diminishing farm economy and the development around RDU airport and RTP. The article below, taken from the front page of the January 31, 1996 issue, talks about land being sold at a premium thanks to Morrisville’s convenient location.

The paper also covers Preston, a community in Cary. Most of that news centers around golf; Prestonwood is a large country club with an extensive course. The September 1998 issue highlights a celebrity golf tournament, the Jimmy V Classic, that brought players like Mia Hamm, Scott Wolf, and Michael Jordan among others.

Many of the early issues include a feature entitled “Our Neighbors Speak,” which posed a current events question to Morrisville and Preston residents to get their take. Topics range from proposed federal income tax changes, to college athletics, to more local concerns. In the example below from November 1995 a number of white residents were asked their opinion about rapid growth after the population of the Triangle surpassed one million.

Read about Morrisville local politics (and drama!), commercial and residential development, and ongoing cultural changes in The Progress, or take a look at all of the materials we’ve digitized for Olivia Raney Local History Library on their contributor page.

High Life, October 4, 1957.

A gap in newspaper issues available from Greensboro, N.C. has now been filled thanks to our partners at the Greensboro History Museum. Close to 200 new issues of the Greensboro high school student newspaper, High Life, are ready to view online. These additions fill in years ranging from 1927 to 1958.

Student actors in “Spring Fever”, November 22, 1940.

While High Life published sporadically, normally on every other Friday during the school year, they wrote substantial articles, creating a creditable newspaper that continued year to year. Besides commenting on student life, such as appointments of Homecoming Queens and awarding of senior superlatives, High Life also documented staff appointments, sports headlines, and goings on about town. They also made space for creative endeavors, like drawings and poems.

Graduating seniors, High Life, May 26, 1939.

Graduation, May 30, 1958.

To view more materials from the Greensboro History Museum, visit their partner page here. To be taken directly to the Greensboro History Museum web page, click here. To see more newspapers from Digital NC, visit our North Carolina Newspapers collection.

The Journal, March 12, 1973.

Issues of  The Journal, from August 25, 1972 to April 26, 1974 , have now been added to DigitalNC thanks to our partner, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Also known as The Carolina Journal, The Journal serves as the student newspaper for UNCC, covering topics from arts and entertainment to campus news. Marked by creative layouts, each cover page includes artwork reflecting the headline topic, nearby holiday, or student made visuals.

Cover page, November 16, 1973.

Student Rights at Stake, October 10, 1972.

To see all of DigitalNC’s digitized content from The Journal, click here. To see all uploads from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, click here, and to visit their homepage, click here.