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Hear Larkin and Eleanor Pearson in Their Own Words in New Wilkes Records

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audio memorabilia

Thanks to our amazing partners at Wilkes Community College, DigitalNC is pleased to announce that six new songs and poems are now available online! These new (old) recordings were performed on March 25th, 1944 by James Larkin and Eleanor Pearson. They were pressed into vinyl records, before being digitized and uploaded for the very first time on DigitalNC! This collection includes two songs sung by Eleanor, and four poems written and recited by James.

James Larkin Pearson was the second Poet Laureate of North Carolina. He lived much of his life in the mountains of the state, and was a prominent artistic and political voice during the twentieth century. Pearson published several popular issues of both poetry and prose, which were widely received during his life. He was also a prominent newspaper publisher, and used the paper to platform often controversial political views such as socialism and anti-war perspectives.

A black-and-white photograph of James Pearson sitting in a suit.
Pearson’s official portrait, taken December 1963. Photo is courtesy of Iredell County Public Libraries

In these recordings, Pearson’s poems reflect on his life in and around Wilkesboro, North Carolina. His rural perspective includes themes centered around the beauty of nature, self-sustainability, and forming connections within his community. A few poems include his ruminations on the second World War, which had yet to end at the time of the poems’ recording. He includes his wishes for world peace, which he believes will be attained not through the act of heroic sacrifice, but through heroic living. Throughout his poems, Eleanor occasionally provides commentary and her own opinions on James’ poems, occasionally correcting him on the poems’ context (ie., when and where he wrote them).

Eleanor herself performs the songs “At Dawning” and “I Love You Truly.” Both songs are performed without instrumentation, centering Eleanor’s vocal performance within the recording. The songs were popular folk songs performed by parlor and folk singers during the early twentieth century, and include themes of romance, love everlasting, and renewal. Eleanor and James’ creative endeavors intersect and run parallel to each other, reflecting the couple’s own relationship.

You can find these six new recordings online now at DigitalNC here. Interested in learning more about life in Wilkes County, North Carolina? You can find more materials (including many fantastic recordings) from our amazing partners at Wilkes Community College online now at their partner page here. Thanks again to Wilkes Community College for providing access to these beautiful poems and songs.

Explore Technology in the 20th Century with our new Primary Source Set

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primary source set teacher resources

Eight people are standing behind a long work counter, some working on various radio parts distributed across the work counter and others studying an informational poster titled “Dynamic Demonstration.”
Picture from Stephens Lee High School in Buncombe County, contributed to DigitalNC by University of North Carolina at Asheville.

The twentieth century saw a rapid expansion of the wave of technological innovation that had begun in the late 1800’s. As our society is consistently generating new and advanced technologies, looking back to these prior advancements can be both nostalgic and informative of how we got to today’s age of smartphones and AI. North Carolina had its fair share of historical moments with innovation, from the first successful flight of an airplane in Kill Devil Hills to the creation of the home remedy staple Vick’s Vapo-rub in Selma, NC. Below are some highlights from the primary source set to spark your interest in 20th century technology!

Photo of Orville and Wilbur Wright working on their first plane, one squatting and reaching across the cockpit space and the other leaning against the top of the wing on the opposite side. The workshop barn is seen in the background.
Contributed to DigitalNC by Person County Public Library.

Found on license plates across the state, North Carolina was the setting for the first successful flight of an airplane by Wilbur and Orville Wright. The full source from which this photo was pulled covers the journey to this flight and the various struggles the Wright brothers faced in their endeavor to take to the skies.

The 20th century saw a variety of technological advancement across sectors and professions, and this is another example of how transportation changed over time. From Asheville to Alamance County, electric streetcars became a new and exciting method of public transportation before the car was invented and public systems like this fell into decline. During their heyday, people across the state looked forward to riding on these new electric vehicles.

Photo of streetcars with multiple cars connected together. People are filling the cars and there are two individuals wearing sites and hats visible standing off the the side observing the streetcars and passengers while two other individuals also wearing suits and hats are hanging off the side of the first streetcar in the photo.
Contributed to DigitalNC by Alamance County Public Libraries.
Computers are lined up on tables and 4 are visible in the photo with a student at each computer. They are all focused on their computers and some are taking handwritten notes.
Contributed to DigitalNC by Sampson Community College.

Looking further into this era, the late 20th century saw a more widespread adoption of computer use and training. While many people had been contributing to computer technology for many years prior, it was not until the 1990’s that computers were more readily available. It was during this time that schools began incorporating them into education with the knowledge that these machines would define American labor and education moving forward.

Nearly every historical point in the 20th century was impacted in some way by technological developments, from the Cold War and the Space Race to the Civil Rights Movement. This primary source set highlights some of the ways that technological innovations of the 20th century changed daily life in North Carolina. We hope this source set invites you to consider all the ways technology has shaped our history and your life today!

Issues of the Bright Leaf Now Available!

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yearbooks

Thanks to the help of one of our North Carolina Community Contributors, we are excited to announce that four years of Gardners High School’s yearbook, Bright Leaf, are now available to browse on DigitalNC. Gardners High School was located on Route 4 in Wilson, North Carolina before being moved to Route 3 in Elm City, North Carolina at the start of the 1958 school year. This addition of yearbooks marks the first batch of materials related to Gardners High School to be available on DigitalNC.

The new yearbooks include:

The cover of The Brightleaf [1953], featuring an illustration of an oil lamp and flame next to a rolled diploma scroll in the middle of the golden cover.
The cover of the Bright Leaf [1957] that features long fields and gentle hills embossed onto the bottom half of the cover. A white illustration of a large cat with its mouth outstretched is located in the middle right area of the cover, and is diagonal to a large white embossed "57" that takes up much of the top half of the cover. The title "Bright Leaf" is printed in white towards the bottom.
The cover of Bright Leaf [1958]. The red cover features embossed stripe detailing, an illustration of the bust of two graduates embossed in white, and the title "Bright Leaf '58" printed in white.
The cover of Bright Leaf [1959]. The light gold cover features the title "Bright Leaf" written in a navy color across the lower half of the cover. Along with the title, the words "nineteen hundred fifty nine" are written up the left side of the cover in navy. In the upper half of the cover, the busts of two graduates are illustrated in navy.

Scrapbooks, Photo Albums, and Quilt Blocks in the Latest from McDowell Arts Council Association!

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photos scrapbooks

With the help of our partners at McDowell Arts Council Association, we are excited to announce the addition of new materials related to the culture and arts of McDowell County, North Carolina. McDowell Arts Council Association, also known as MACA, has been a pillar of the community since 1972, and its materials document over half a century of artistic involvement and expression in the county.

Scrapbook page for the Foothills Community Theatre production of Blithe Spirit. The cream scrapbook page features three images on the bottom right side that includes two portraits of an actress wearing a long silver dress and holding a bouquet, and an image of the same actress standing with an actor in a tux in a living room set. Cutouts of the production's programs and advertisements cover the rest of the page and include information on the time, dates, and location of the performance.
Foothills [August 1990-November 1996], page 24

Foothills Community Theatre, the performing arts center in Marion, North Carolina that was started alongside MACA in 1972, is the subject of three scrapbooks and two photograph albums from this batch of materials. DigitalNC visitors can browse the Foothills Scrapbooks for ephemera, publications, and press related to Foothills Community Theatre productions from 1980 to 1996. Visitors can also find photographs from several later productions in the two photograph albums Voices [1993]. Alongside these materials, another scrapbook includes general McDowell Arts Council Association activities from 1987 to 1996.

A picture of a page from the booklet "Stories Behind the Quilt Blocks of McDowell County". This page features six pictures of six different quilt blocks that adorn barns, garages, houses, and businesses in McDowell County. The quilt blocks and their names are captioned below each picture.
Stories Behind the Quilt Blocks of McDowell County, page 25

This latest batch is completed with three booklets that chronicle a more recent endeavor of the McDowell Arts Council Association called the McDowell Quilt Trail. Started in 2009 with inspiration from the Quilt Trail of Western North Carolina, the McDowell Quilt Trail project helped bring hundreds of painted wooden quilt squares to the barns, houses, garages, and public buildings of McDowell County. The project was retired in 2018 when over the course of nearly 10 years, 230 quilt squares had been successfully built, painted, and displayed across the county.

More information about our partner, McDowell Arts Council Association, can be found on their website here. 

More materials, including scrapbooks, magazines, poetry and literary booklets, and photographs can be found on McDowell Arts Council Association’s contributor page, which is linked here.

Barbecue, Biscuits, and More: New Primary Source Set on North Carolina Foodways

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teacher resources

People transfer crates of sweet potatoes from horse-drawn wagons to train cars.
Loading Sweet Potatoes

DigitalNC is excited to introduce a new primary source set on North Carolina foodways. From world-famous barbecue to special regional dishes like livermush, the Tar Heel State has a unique cuisine that many enjoy. More than being something for consumption, food has deep connections to the cultural traditions and social movements of North Carolina. The North Carolina primary source set explores how food has both influenced and been influenced by the state’s economy, politics, and culture.

Consisting of various written, visual, and audiovisual materials, the North Carolina Foodways set demonstrates key aspects of food history in the state through primary sources. The set also includes sections for context statements, background information, a timeline, discussion questions, and relevant outside resources. Here is a quick look at the North Carolina Foodways primary source set:

Three illustrated pigs dressed in hats and overalls play instruments in this poster for the 21st Annual Barbecue Festival.
21st Annual Barbecue Festival Lexington, NC

North Carolina Foodways

Timeline: 1903-2005

Whether it is barbecue, okra, or biscuits, food represents North Carolina and its people. The rich history and culture of the state are reflected through North Carolina’s unique cuisine, revealing how food plays a role in shaping community, social change, and state identity. Many foods are representative of North Carolina, but barbecue is one of the state’s most popular dishes. While the two main types of barbecue served in North Carolina are often a topic of debate, the beloved pork dish still brings people together through events like the Lexington Barbecue Festival. Similar public events celebrate other North Carolina foods, farmers, and restaurants. Multiple apple-themed festivals are held across the state, and native vegetables like ramps are celebrated in springtime events in western North Carolina. Although food festivals are an important way of bringing communities together, food can also create meaningful connections through the passing down of recipes from family member to family member, or through the creation of community cookbooks.

A newspaper article title about the student protests against segregation via lunch counter sit-ins in 1960.
“Students Protest Lunch Counter Segregation at Woolworth Store,” The Carolina Times

Food is also linked to North Carolina history and politics. The state has made several foods and food festivals official state symbols (e.g., the Scuppernong grape is the state fruit), but many of the bills introduced to create these symbols have been surprisingly controversial. Food is also rooted in inequality and social change. During the Civil Rights Movement, for example, Black activists like the Greensboro Four sat at “whites only” lunch counters to protest segregation laws in North Carolina and throughout the country.

Teachers, students, researchers, and anyone interested in learning more about the foodways of North Carolina can find the primary source set on our resources page. If you would like to provide feedback on this set or others, please contact us here.

Browse Over a Century of Literary Magazines From the Students of William Peace University

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campuspublications

With the help of our partners at William Peace University, we are excited to announce that 97 student literary magazines spanning from 1889 to 2024 are now available on DigitalNC. Although living in different worlds and times, generations of students at William Peace University were brought together through producing and reading publications such as this student literary magazine. As with the name of the university itself, the student literary magazine underwent several name changes throughout the years. DigitalNC browsers can view the entirety of this collection here, or, can browse issues from specific titles iterations with the guide below.

William Peace University student literary magazine titles:

The cover of the 1889 December issue of Voices of Peace.
A yellow magazine cover featuring scrawled writing that says "The Papyrus". A simple drawn pen is featured below the title.
The cover of the 2024 issue of Prism. The colorful pink cover page has a crayon like texture and features a drawing of a gray fridge. On the fridge are magnets, notes, and pictures. The title "Prism" cuts just across the top of the fridge.
Covers and titles of William Peace University’s student literary magazine over time.

More information about our partner, William Peace University, can be found on their website here. 

More materials including over 100 years of the campus yearbook The Lotus can be found on William Peace University’s contributor page, which is linked here.

Edgecombe County Chronicle Newest Title on DigitalNC

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newspapers

Masthead for Edgecombe County Chronicle. From top to bottom, left to right the text reads: "'More than a Newspaper - A Community Service.' Postal Patron Local. Bulk Rate U.S. Postage. PAID. Pinetops, N.C. Permit #3. Edgecombe County Chronicle." Between community service and postal patron local is an image of a building with two flags flying in front of it.
Headline from the first issue of the Edgecombe County Chronicle. Text from top to bottom reads: THIS IS YOUR PAPER.
Edgecombe County Chronicle (Pinetops, N.C.), April 21, 1966, page 1.

Thanks to our partner, Edgecombe County Memorial Library, as well as funding from the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), a new title has been added to DigitalNC’s ever-growing newspaper collection. Twenty-seven issues of the Edgecombe County Chronicle (Pinetops, N.C.) from the paper’s first year (1966) can now be viewed online. Published weekly, the 1966 issues focus on providing local news along with weekly updates on the war in Vietnam.

To view more materials from Edgecombe County Memorial Library, visit their contributor page here. To view more newspapers from across North Carolina, browse our newspaper collection here.

To learn more about Edgecombe County Memorial Library, visit their website here. Learn more about LSTA’s funding and impact here.

DigitalNC Staff Travel to Southwestern Community College for Community Scanning Days!

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maps memorabilia newspapers photos

Thank to our partner, Southwestern Community College (SWCC) and their Archival Revival Team, a new exhibit filled with community materials from our on-site visit in February along with batches containing campus-related materials from the college and one issue of the Swain County High School Student Newspaper are now available on DigitalNC.

In fall of 2022, faculty and staff at SWCC created the Archival Revival Project with the goal to collect, organize, digitize, and share college historical material to honor both the college’s story and significant contribution to the community. As part of this goal, the SWCC Archival Revival Team reached out to partner with DigitalNC to plan a community scanning event.

A table that has a laptop, newspaper, and photographs on it.
Variety of materials brought in by community members

In late February, DigitalNC staff packed their scanners and traveled to SWCC’s Jackson Campus and the Swain Center (formerly the Almond School) for two days of community scanning. Over the two days, folks from the community showed up with an amazing array of materials which included family genealogies, photographs, education-related documents, war food farm plan form, a Swain County High School student newspaper issue, and even a quilted banner! One of the best part of community scan days, however, is that while scanning, staff members get to hear the stories, lore, information and histories associated with the materials directly from community members which allows us to create a more robust and accurate record. All community member materials can be viewed in our newest exhibit, Southwestern Community College Archival Revival Project linked here.

Two individuals sitting at a table working on their laptops.
A quilted banner with images of a shield or coat of arms, bald eagle, and a ribbon with the text St. John's. Sylva.
Two individuals talking. The person on the left is pointing to an object on a table while the person on the right is working on a laptop.
Three individuals wearing the same t-shirt standing on top of a hill. Behind them is a town and mountains.

In addition to community materials, batches containing materials from SWCC were also digitized during the visit. These batches contain photographs of the college’s fun events like Spring Fling, campus and classrooms, employees, students, and more.

To learn more about Southwestern Community College, visit their website linked here.

To view more materials from Southwestern Community College, visit their contributor page linked here.

Individual slides down a blow up slide shaped like a sinking Titanic.
Spring Fling, 1990s
Two individuals in a forest looking upwards. The person on the right has their hand raised most likely to point something out.
Marvel Welch (right)

Learn About the Almond School in DigitalNC’s Latest Batch

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campuspublications memorabilia

Thanks to our partner, Southwestern Community College (SWCC), a batch containing Student Government Association (SGA) meeting minutes from the mid-1980s to early 2000s along with 20 contractor bid specification packets for materials to build the Almond School in Swain County from October 1943.

Cropped picture of the cover of a contractor packet. The text in the photo reads: CONTRACTOR. Material specifications for Almond School Building for The Board of Education of Swain County. Bryson City, N.C.
Portion of a contractor packet cover.

In the mid-1920s, several small schools located in and around the mountain community of Almond were consolidated into what was referred to as the Almond School. The original school was not used for long, however. A proposal by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to build a dam on the Little Tennessee River at Fontana to provide power and flood control literally sunk the school under the waters of a new lake in 1945. Fontana Dam, known for being the tallest concrete dam east of the Mississippi River, impounds the Little Tennessee River to form the 10,000 acre reservoir of Fontana Lake. According to community members we spoke to during our recent visit to Sylva, North Carolina, parts of the original Almond School can still be seen annually when the lake is drawn down beginning around September when the risk of floods are higher.

Section from a contractor packet titled "War Production Board Regulations." Below the title is written: "Section 7: All orders, regulations and instructions as issued by the War Production Board, Washington, D.C. shall be complied with by the successful bidder in the manufacture, delivery, fabrication, installation (where such is called for) or erection (where such is called for) of the materials called for under these specifications."

The contractor bid specification packets in our newest batch are for the Almond School’s replacement which was moved to Lauada. While this packets may not have the blueprint plans for the school, they provide an extremely detailed list, not only of the specific materials they were going to use, but the location of the proposed building, its priority rating, the nearest railway, payment schedule for contractors, bid deposits, how to format a bid and, interestingly, insight into how building construction was impacted by World War II through War Production Board regulations. According to an article in the August 30, 1943 issue of The Bryson City Times, the plans for the school called for 10 classrooms, principal’s office, teachers’ rest room, library, first aid room, book room, cafeteria, and auditorium. Today, the building continues to be used extensively by the community—though not as a primary school—serving as the primary hub for SWCC’s Nantahala School for the Arts Heritage Arts program, NC State University’s Swain County Cooperative Extension,

Two rows of first grade aged children. The front row is seated on a bench while the back row stands. On the far left is the teacher.
Picture showing the second Almond School in the background (First Grade Class, Almond School, 1949-1950)

To learn more about Southwestern Community College, visit their website here.

To view more materials from across North Carolina, visit our North Carolina Memory Collection linked here.

Information in this blog post was obtained through conversations with community members, WCU’s “Travel Western North Carolina” project, the TVA website, and the National Park Service’s Fontana Dam page.

See Some Summer Fun in New Swannanoa Scrapbooks!

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memorabilia photos scrapbooks

Thanks to our amazing partners at Southwestern Community College, DigitalNC is pleased to announce that three new scrapbooks and a beautiful binder of photographs are now available online in our new Swain County Cooperative Extension exhibit! The new books and images represent the rich history of community involvement in and around Swain County, especially the efforts of the county’s 4-H and agricultural extension clubs. They include materials that date as far back as 1955, up until as recently as 2009.

A black-and-white photograph of three cows next to their owners. A crowd of onlookers stand behind the cows and their handlers.
No matter how these cattle were judged, they’re all blue ribbon bovines in my book!

4-H and other agricultural extension clubs were established in the mid-nineteenth century to foster community engagement with local agricultural resources and practices. The scrapbooks record these programs in actions, including community cattle judging contests, workshops on canning and babysitting, and school field trips to farms and forests. Clubs were often supported by both state and federal agencies, and Swain County’s programs were so successful they even gained a visit from Governor Dan Moore! A full range of agricultural programs are represented in the photos and clippings found in this collection, and they’re an excellent representation of the variety of industries that can be found in North Carolina, from tobacco and corn fields to vintage photos of cattle, swine, and sheep.

A green scrapbook page captioned "WELCOME TO SWANNANOA 4-H CAMP!!!'. Three color photographs are glued onto the page: one of the camp sign, another of a wooded trail, and another of a log cabin. A caption next to the third image reads "This is #1. Cabins 1-4 house girls and cabins-8 house boys on the other side of the camp."
Camp Swannanoa has all the amenities you’d expect of a classic summer camp: log cabins, a mess hall, even an archery range!

One of the best-represented 4-H programs found in this collection is Camp Swannanoa, a local summer camp that hosted Swain County’s students during school-time breaks. Camp Swannanoa is the platonic ideal of a classic summer camp in the woods of North Carolina, complete with old-school log cabins, campfire songs, and an archery range. One scrapbook is completely devoted to Swannanoa, recording the course of a typical summer from the arrival of counselors to the departure of campers on the last day. The scrapbook also records events organized in the off-season, such as workshops on gardening and community-beautification projects. It’s an excellent representation of 4-H clubs’ impacts on local communities, and the other scrapbooks are full of similar stories.

You can find the new photo album and scrapbooks online now at DigitalNC here. Thanks again to our fantastic partners at Southwestern Community College. You can find more records relating to the Swain County at DigitalNC’s new exhibit, the Swain County Cooperative Extension, here. Interested in finding more records relating to 4-H clubs? Try searching DigitalNC’s image collections here, or our general holdings of 4-H history here.

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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.

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