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The Roxboro Courier from our newest partner, the Person County Public Library

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newspapers

An announcement from the September 28, 1927 issue, urging Roxboro farmers to attend a meeting about plans to grow many varieties of soybeans side by side to help determine which variety grows best.

More than 200 issues of The Roxboro Courier are now available from our newest partner, the Person County Public Library.  These issues, dating from 1922-1927 were published on a weekly basis. They contain stories pertaining to life in Roxboro, North Carolina, the county seat of Person County, as well as national news. In fact, the newspaper’s tagline “home first, abroad next” indicates interest in both local and national stories. Local news includes birth and death announcements, descriptions and predictions of the economic climate in and around Pearson County, information on local elections and legislation, event announcements, and more. National news stories recount all sorts of national happenings, large and small, from statements by President Coolidge, to a story about a New England champion turkey raiser.

An image from a November 23, 1927 news story about a New England champion turkey raiser.

Although the issues up on DigitalNC are from a 6 year span, The Roxboro Courier has a long history. The paper changed it’s name three times, starting out as The Courier in 1896. In 1910 it changed to The Roxboro Courier, then in 1929 to Pearson County Times, and again in 1943 to The Courier-Times, which is still running today with both an online and print version.

To learn more about the Person County Public Library, visit their website, or take a look that their DigitalNC partner page.

Six years of Washington Daily News now online

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newspapers

A front page headline from September 2, 1909 celebrates Frederick A. Cook’s trip to the North Pole and subsequent return to Lervik, Norway.

Issues of the Washington Daily News, contributed by the George H. and Laura E. Brown Library, are now available on DigitalNC. The Washington Daily News is a newspaper published six days a week, that started in 1909. The 1,441 issues now available digitally, span 1909-1914. The paper focuses on news from Washington, a small city located in Beaufort County, North Carolina, but also includes news as from the nation as a whole. While front-page headlines tend to tackle breaking stories from the American South, the United States, and beyond, shorter pieces recount municipal issues, meetings, social gatherings, and more.

A brief update on the repair of a local school in the September 3, 1909 issue.

The Washington Daily News still exists in both print and online form, and in 1990 the paper won a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for a series of articles exploring and exposing water contamination in Washington, North Carolina.

To learn more about the George H. and Laura E. Brown Library, visit their partner page, or take a look at their website.

Over 100 issues of The Franklin Times now available

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newspapers

A column in the Feb 11, 1910 issue urging boys from Franklin County to enter an upcoming corn growing competition.

Over 100 issues of The Franklin Times, provided by our partner, Louisburg College, are now up on DigitalNC. These issues are from 1909-1911, and were published on a weekly basis. Louisburg is the seat of Franklin county, and The Franklin Times reports on news taking place in Louisburg, Franklin County, North Carolina, and the United States. In fact, the tagline printed at the top of the paper reads “the County, the State, the Union.” Although some large national news stories are covered, many of the issues focus primarily on Louisburg and Franklin County. For example, one weekly column, “The Moving People,” tracks “those who have visited Louisburg the past week” and “those who have gone elsewhere for business or pleasure.” The column lists individuals who returned from trips and those who visited from afar. This is indicative of the paper’s local interest. Local meetings, contests, municipal issues, social events, and more are recounted each week.

Part of the “Moving People” column from the February 11, 1910 issue.

The Franklin Times was established in 1870, but still runs weekly with a print and online version. The Franklin Times website states, “it is the only newspaper published in the county and its content is focused on local government, local schools, the communities and the people who call this rapidly growing area home.” Although many years have passed, the focus of the paper remains the same.

To see more materials from Louisburg College, visit their partner page, or website.

Collection of Durham Funeral Programs Now Online

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memorabilia underrepresented

The first page of the funeral program for Mrs. Ethel Mae Clegg

The first page of the funeral program for John William Bailey

Hundreds of funeral programs and obituaries from the R. Kelly Bryant Obituary Collection, physically housed at the Durham County Library North Carolina Collection, are now up on DigitalNC. R. Kelly Bryant (1917-2015) was a historian with an extensive knowledge of Durham, North Carolina. In addition to being an active community leader with involvement in many organizations, he also collected the stories of thousands of African American residents told through funeral programs and obituaries.

This collection consists of digitized photocopies of the obituaries and funeral service programs that R. Kelly Bryant assembled over the course of his 70-odd years as a Durham resident. They are grouped together alphabetically according to surname of the deceased. The surnames “Adams,” through “Coachman” are now available, but we will continue to add more names to the digitized collection.

These materials are text searchable, and often contain genealogical information on their subjects including birth and death dates, maiden names, names of relatives, past residences, and places of burial. They cover funerals held from 1934-2013, and provide rich documentation of the African American community in Durham during this time. To learn more about Mr. Bryant and view his archival collection at Durham County Library, visit the finding aid. To see all of the digitally available programs, visit the  R. Kelly Bryant Obituary Collection exhibit page.

Also please take a look at other materials from the Durham County Library that are up on DigitalNC by visiting their partner page.

A page of photographs from the funeral program of Edward Beckford “Pe Wee” Boyd

Scrapbooks from our new partner, Nash Community College

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photos scrapbooks

A page in the 2012-2013 scrapbook dedicated to the annual hot do eating contest

Three scrapbooks and three photo albums from Nash Community College are now available on DigitalNC. Nash Community College was originally established as Nash Technical Institute in 1967. In 1987, Nash was given the authority to convert to a community college, enabling the college to offer a college transfer program, and to change the name to Nash Community College. From there, Nash Community College has continued to grow in size and program offerings.

Nash Community College has an active student life as depicted in three recent scrapbooks. Each scrapbook documents one academic year; one collecting images from 2012-2013, one from 2013-2014, and the last from 2014-2015. These scrapbooks were created by the Nash Community College Student Government Association to be entered in the North Carolina Comprehensive Community College Student Government Association (N4CSGA) scrapbook contest held at the N4CSGA annual conference. The three scrapbooks are bright and colorful, and are filled with depictions of social and community events from throughout the year. One annual event that seems to be a favorite is the college-wide hot dog eating contest, complete with students in hot dog costumes. Other events shown in the scrapbooks include talent shows, holiday celebrations, athletic events, club activities, and community service projects. These scrapbooks capture fun memories at Nash Community College with glitter and flair.

A glittery page in the 2014-2015 scrapbook showing the NCC holiday Fashion Show

A portrait of Dr. Geneva Chavis in the 1978 Nash Community College Employee Photo Album

Three older photo albums give a glimpse into life at Nash while it was still a Technical Institute. An album from 1978 collects photographs of Nash Tech employees, and is replete with wonderful 1970s style. Two other photo albums, which cover the years 1978-1981, show photos of student life, including graduation celebrations, holiday parties, and photos of the annual kite flying contest.

To take a looks at items in this collection, click the links below:

To learn More about Nash Community College, take a look at their partner page, or visit their website.

 

Students and faculty members flying kites during the 1980 kite flying contest

African American High School yearbooks from Huntersville now online

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underrepresented yearbooks

Group portrait of students in the National Honor Society from “The Trojan” 1963.

Four yearbooks from Torrence-Lytle High School, provided by Davidson College, are now available on DigitalNC. Torrence-Lytle High School opened in the fall of 1937 as Huntersville Colored High School. In 1953, the name was changed to honor two men who helped initially establish the school. Franklin Lytle was born as an enslaved person but became a prominent farmer and educational advocate, and helped acquire land for Huntersville Colored High School. Isaiah Torrence, also a farmer and a proponent of African American education, helped raise money to build Huntersville Colored High School. Torrence-Lytle High School was closed after the 1966 school year due integration mandates, and all of the students were reassigned to racially integrated schools.

Students in Advanced Biology class from “The Trojan” 1966.

The yearbooks available are from 1958, 1963, 1965, and 1966. Included are pictures of graduating seniors, class portraits, clubs and activities, sports teams, superlatives, classroom scenes, and a few candid shots of student life. These yearbooks provide an interesting look at an African American high school moments before integration. Like all of the yearbooks on DigitalNC, they are fully text-searchable.

Group portrait of Student Council members from “The Trojan” 1963.

To view these yearbooks, visit the links below:

To see more contributions from Davidson College, including other yearbooks, visit their partner page, and to learn more about Davidson College, visit their website.

A variety of new High Point newspapers now online

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newspapers

hpm_elmleaves00001

The cover of the first issue of Elm Leaves, dated October 31, 1938

A new batch newspapers and serial publications from the High Point Museum are now up on DigitalNC. These include new issues of the High Point High School’s school newspaper, The Pointer, as well as the Junior Pointer from High Point Junior High. Also included are issues of an elementary school newspaper called Elm Leaves from the Elm Street School in High Point, issues of The High Point Scout, and issues of The Young American.

Elm Leaves, an elementary school newspaper, offers many treats including coloring pages, stories, book reviews, jokes, and poems by students.

The Young American, published in High Point, also offers stories, poems, and book reviews, but is geared towards a slightly older audience. The purpose of The Young American, as stated in its first issue, is “to entertain, direct, and express the young American,” and the magazine is dedicated, “primarily to the young man and young lady of sixteen and nineteen years.” The publishers further state that at the time of publication, a variety of magazines for younger teens and adults existed, but they found a lack of available magazines aimed at teens aged 16 to 19, and believed The Young American could fill this gap.

To look through issues of these publications, click the links below:

To see other materials from the High Point Museum, visit their partner page or website.

High Point scrapbooks featuring articles from Piedmont Triad newspapers

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memorabilia scrapbooks

5 scrapbooks from the Heritage Research Center at High Point Public Library are now available. These intricately constructed scrapbooks are packed full of articles from newspapers published in the Piedmont Triad (the areas in and surrounding Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point). These scrapbooks hold articles from 1955-1959 and recount local news stories. Each page contains a matrix of carefully placed news clippings that are often overlapping or folded. Multiple images of each page were digitized to capture the full text of as many articles as possible. These scrapbooks were hand-indexed by the compiler and are now fully text searchable as well. Some of the newspapers represented in these scrapbooks are the High Point Enterprise, the Greensboro Daily News, and The Beacon.

A page in volume 40 contains a variety of articles from the High Point Enterprise concerning municipal issues. Multiple images of this page were captured so more of the articles are readable.

To view these scrapbooks, visit the link below:

These scrapbooks join several previously digitized High Point scrapbooks. To view these, and other materials from the Heritage Research Center at High Point Public Library, view their partner page, and take a look at their website.

Journals, Photos, and a Scrapbook from Davie County Public Library

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memorabilia photos scrapbooks

A page from Mary Jane Heitman’s scrapbook that includes photographs and memorabilia along with a handwritten poem musing about the future.

New materials from Davie County Public Library are now up on DigitalNC, including a set of 6 journals by James McGuire Jr., a collection of photographs of Arden Farms in Forsyth County, and a scrapbook compiled by Mary Jane Heitman.

James McGuire Junior’s journals take the form of Gude’s Pepto-Mangan Physician’s Memorandum books. Each page corresponds to a day of the year, and includes a short medical fact, often related to Gude’s Pepto-Mangan medicine, along with a space to write. James McGuire Jr., a prominent business man in Mocksville, North Carolina, wrote many short entries recounting topics such as the weather, travel, social engagements, shopping lists, and finances. The memorandum books themselves most likely originated from James’ father, Dr. James McGuire, a physician.

Mary Jane Heitman’s scrapbook tells the story of her life in photographs, news articles, postcards, handwritten musings, and illustrations from 1891-1927. Mary Jane Heitman was a teacher and historian from Mocksville, North Carolina, and her scrapbook recounts with fondness both her time as a student and a teacher. Each page is poetically constructed, and photographs and descriptions of friends and relatives are distributed throughout. The last page of the scrapbook includes a written tribute by one of her students from Salem Academy that was added after her death in 1962.

To see more materials from Davie County Public Library, visit their partner page, or take a look at their website.

James McGuire Junior’s entry from February 20, 1902 that describes the weather as cloudy with sleet at night.

 

McDowell County high school yearbooks now available

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yearbooks

The 1966 Nebo High School baseball team

Several yearbooks from various high schools in McDowell County, provided by McDowell County Public Library, are now on DigitalNC. Included are editions of The Nushka from 1963-1966 by Glenwood High School, editions of The Marionette from 1963-1966 by Marion Junior High School, editions of The Hylander from 1963-1967 by Marion High School, the 1966 Pioneer by Nebo High School, editions of The Arrowhead from 1963-1967 from Old Fort High School, and editions of The Pines by Pleasant Gardens High School from 1964, 1966, and 1967. The yearbooks join many previously digitized yearbooks from these schools. These yearbooks include photographs of clubs, activities, dances, sports, and more.

A sock hop at Marion Junior High in 1966

To view more materials from McDowell County Public Library, visit their partner page, or take a look at their website.

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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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