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New Issues of Blowing Rocket Blasts Off On DigitalNC!

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newspapers

The headline of "The Blowing Rocket"

Thanks to our partners at the Watauga County Public Library, DigitalNC is proud to announce that brand new issues of the Blowing Rocket are now available online for the very first time! The new issues will bring DigitalNC’s collection of Blowing Rockets to an 89 issues, spanning from 1933 to 1950. Many of these issues have been preserved on microfilm, while others have been in the North Carolina Collection.

The Blowing Rocket covered local, state, and national new stories and served the greater Watauga County area in North Carolina for over three decades. While the paper received their namesake from Blowing Rock, other cities that received the paper included Boone, Valle Crucis, and Foscoe. Interestingly, the establishment of the publication precedes the space-race that captured the imagination and obsession of Americans in the last half of the twentieth century. Were the founders of The Blowing Rocket trendsetters, psychics, or did they just love puns? Read these issues and find out for yourself!

You can find the new issues of The Blowing Rocket online now on DigitalNC here. Interested in more materials from Watauga County? You can find our amazing partners at Watauga County Public Library online at their partner page on DigitalNC here, or at their website online here. Interested in more amusing paper names? You can find Ocracoke Island’s “Mullet Wrapper” online at NC Digital here, or a single issue of “Beans” online here.

New Issues of the Wilmington Morning Star Rise Into NC Digital

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newspapers

Headline from the January 1, 1923 issue of the Wilmington Morning Star
Front page of the January 1, 1923 issue of the Wilmington Morning Star
A cartoon of 1923's baby New Year observing an advertisement for Ideal Laundry.

Thanks to our amazing partners at the New Hanover County Public Library, DigitalNC is proud to announce that a brand new collection of The Wilmington Morning Star are now available online! These brand new issues cover the entirety of a single year, from sunrise of New Years Day to sunset of New Years Eve, 1923. These issues will join over twenty thousand historic issues of The Wilmington Morning Star already online on DigitalNC, which spans from 1867 to 1947.

An article titled "Skunk Army Invades Virginia Counties"

The Wilmington Morning Star was a daily newspaper that served New Hanover County for over a century, reporting local and national news to coastal North Carolina. Each issue covers topics of national concern, features advertisements from businesses across the east coast, and reports on the daily occurrences of coastal Carolina life. This batch offers a unique opportunity to read the daily experience of a Carolinian from exactly a century ago. Interested in what The Wilmington Morning Star was reporting on a hundred and one years before your birthday? This batch has you covered! Curious about how twentieth century Tar Heels observed Groundhog’s Day, Arbor Day, or President’s Day? This batch has an issue on each of those days! A search of the author’s “birthday issue” (October 29!) featured this amazing story about a skunk army, possibly one of the coolest articles in the entire collection (in her unbiased opinion).

You can find each of these 363 issues online now at DigitalNC here. Interested in reading more of this historic newspaper? Find DigitalNC’s complete collection of The Wilmington Morning Star online here. Thanks again to our amazing partners at the New Hanover County Public Library for making these issues available. You can find their partner page at DigitalNC online here, or discover their website online here.

New Community Connections covering 2001 to 2003 Now Available!

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newspapers underrepresented

Together with our partners at Buncombe County Public Libraries, DigitalNC is proud to announce that years worth of Community Connections issues are now available. Community Connections was a monthly publication that focused on supporting and highlighting Asheville’s LGBT+ community. The new collection includes almost a dozen issues spanning from 2001 to 2003, and are the most recent issues to be uploaded. They will join over a hundred issues currently online at NC Digital, which go as far back as 1987!

Cover of the November 2002 issue of Community Connections

Within the pages of Community Connections are local events, national news stories, and regular columns written by local Buncombe County residents. Local businesses often advertised their services in the paper, highlighting their support of the publications’ purpose. Each issue also includes a community calendar with meeting times for local groups, ranging from historical talks and potlucks to Wicca classes and pagan support networks. The publication provided a vital service to an often underrepresented community in North Carolina.

You can read the newest issues of Community Connections online at DigitalNC here. You can find more information about our partners at Buncombe County Public Libraries online, either at DigitalNC or at their website here.

Congregations And More Come to Life in New Winston-Salem Records

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memorabilia photos scrapbooks underrepresented

Thanks to our partners at the Winston Salem African American Archive, DigitalNC is proud to announce that nearly five hundred new records are now available online! This collection contains an astonishing variety of records from Winston-Salem’s African American history, and include records from businesses, churches, sports teams, and more. The records date from as far back as 1848 to as recent as 2020, covering nearly two centuries of history. While many of these records are from Winston-Salem proper, there are an astounding variety from towns such as Kernersville, Clemmons, and Lewisville.

A headline from The Spotlight with the article "TOTS CHOIR BEING FORMED AT NEW BETHEL"

The church records predominantly hail from Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches. There are mid-century Sunday Service Bulletins, newspaper features on prominent pastors, and many photos of churchgoers, choir-members, and church events. A personal highlight of this collection is the inclusion of The Spotlight, a monthly newsletter published by New Bethel Baptist Church. Each issue of The Spotlight featured updates on the lives of its congregation, schedules for church events, and photos of previous events. This batch includes seven issues of The Spotlight, ranging from 1956 to 1974 and chronicling over a decade of New Bethel’s flock.

Also included in this collection are an excellent series of records highlighting Black owned businesses from 20th century Forsyth County. Two issues of the N.C. Minority Business Directory provide resource guides for the years 1995 and 1992, and a set of photographs picture business owners relaxing, smiling, or working in their shops. Businesses featured in this collection include the Twin City Bus Line, WTOB Radio Broadcasting, and Wilson’s Grocery Store.

The cover of a football program from the Atkins vs. Carver game.

Perhaps the most colorful feature of this batch, however, is the amazing arrangement of sports records from Winston-Salem’s history. This collection has an amazing variety of material, from color photographs to football programs to sticky notes. The author’s personal favorite (perhaps of this entire batch!) are the two football programs from Atkins High School. Each of these programs feature amazing cover illustrations, photographs, and team rosters. The programs are filled to the brim with care and attention, with margins in each program featuring notes on referee signals, illustrated in an iconic mid-century copy.

If you’re interested in digging in to this treasure trove of Forsyth County history, you can find all of the new records online at DigitalNC here.

Temple Theater Scrapbooks Are A Dramaturgical Smorgasbord!

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scrapbooks

A poster for a production of "The Sound of Music" at Temple Theater

North Carolina’s thespians will be pleased to know that, thanks to our new partner Temple Theater, DigitalNC is now hosting four massive theater scrapbooks online! These scrapbooks cover the rich history of Sanford’s Temple Theater, a historic venue that was founded in 1925 as a vaudeville theater and soon became a center for all arts and culture in Lee County. The scale of these scrapbooks are monumental, and they hold every possible detail a dramaturge could hope for: from play programs to color photographs of productions, from newspaper clippings to blueprints.

A poster for a production of "The Glass Menagerie" at Temple Theater, featuring a glass unicorn.

One scrapbook contains original records from the theater’s early days in the 1930s, and includes original video rental invoices from studios such as Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer, Universal, and Fox. The rest of the scrapbooks cover the theater’s revitalization efforts, which began in 1981, as well as the early days of the theater’s status as a National Historic Site. Interested readers can see the variety of acts and events that took place during this period: including street carnivals and Dungeons & Dragons tournaments to raise money for theater. Almost every page is suffused with color and includes color photographs of the stage, complete play programs, or even posters advertising the theater’s productions. You’d be hard pressed to find a more comprehensive record of a historic theater’s operation, or more convincing evidence of the love and effort that goes into play production.

You can find these four new scrapbooks online at DigitalNC here. Interested in learning more about Temple Theater? Visit their partner page online at DigitalNC here, or find them online at their website here.

Chowan Herald issues covering 2015 to 2019 now online

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newspapers

Thanks to our partner at the Shepard-Pruden Memorial Library, DigitalNC is proud to announce that over a hundred brand new issues of The Chowan Herald have been digitized by our team in Elizabeth City. Many of these issues are from recent history, spanning from 2017 to 2019, with one special issue coming from 2003. They will join over four thousand issues of The Chowan Herald already online at DigitalNC, reaching back to the paper’s very first issue in 1934.

An article of The Chowan Herald titled "Olde Halloween Celebrated"
Front page of the Chowan Herald after Isabel hit the town September 24, 2003

The Chowan Herald serves the city of Edenton and Chowan County in eastern North Carolina, on the banks of the Albemarle Sound. The paper serves a vital role in the function of Chowan County life; recording local events, letters from community members, and changes in county infrastructure and business. Highlights from this batch include the “Pets of the Week” section (included in each issue), the weathering of Hurricane Isabel in 2003, and the celebration of “Ye Olde Halloween on the Green” in 2019.

In addition to these physical papers scanned in house by the DigitalNC satellite staff, we also added issues of the Chowan Herald from microfilm covering 2015 to 2017, thanks to funding by the folks at Shepard-Pruden.

You can find every issue of The Chowan Herald online at DigitalNC here. Interested in learning more about Chowan County History? Look at “Chowan County” online at DigitalNC here, or find the Shephard-Prudent Memorial Library partner page online at DigitalNC here.

A Mid-Century Schooling Comes to DigitalNC

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yearbooks

Thanks to our partners at the Henderson County Education History Initiative, decades of mid-century yearbooks are now available at DigitalNC! This batch contains almost fifteen issues of The Chief, the historic yearbook of Etowah High School in Henderson County. The yearbooks span from 1938 to 1960, recording student life as America prepared for, entered, and emerged from the second World War. They join thirty yearbooks already digitized in collaboration with Henderson County Education History Initiative, further expanding the area’s archival presence online.

Facade of Etowah High School with students posed in front of it. Image is black and white
Cover of the 1956 Etowah High School Yearbook

One of the most interesting recurring features within the new yearbooks is the annual feature on the North Carolina Apple King and Queen, the winners of a pageant celebrating North Carolina’s apple orchards. The pageant is split into several age divisions, with a junior, elementary, and senior king and queen announced each year and meticulously recorded within The Chief’s pages. The pageant would culminate in a King Apple Parade, which drew great crowds of spectators.

Interested in Henderson County history? You can find our entire Henderson County collection online at DigitalNC here, or visit our partners at the Henderson County Education History Initiative here.

New Scrapbooks Put The “Ugh” Back In “Hillsborough”

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memorabilia scrapbooks

A headline reading 'Ugh' Wins Another Victory

Thanks to our partners at the Burwell School Historic Site and the Historic Hillsborough Commission, DigitalNC is proud to announce that two new scrapbooks are now available online! These scrapbooks cover a pivotal period in the preservation of Hillsborough’s history, chronicling the formation and initial efforts of the Historic Hillsborough Commission during the town’s bicentennial celebrations.

A headline that reads "Hillsboro (ugh) Street Name Change Eyed"

One of the main missions of the commission’s early years was the renaming of then “Hillsboro” to a more accurate “Hillsborough.” The scrapbooks chronicle the efforts of the commission as they lobbied local politicians, raised awareness of the town’s history, and celebrated their eventual victory in time for the town’s two-hundredth birthday. Later clippings in the scrapbook record the organization and commencement of a “colonial pageant” on the bicentennial, wherein Hillsborough residents dressed in period garb and celebrated the town’s history.

You can find the new scrapbooks online here. Interested in learning more about Hillsborough’s history? Find the Historic Hillsborough Commission’s partner page online at DigitalNC here, or visit the Burwell School Historic Site’s website online here.

New Issues of the Roxboro Courier, Rocketeer Now Available!

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newspapers photos

Thanks to our partners at the Person County Museum of History, DigitalNC is pleased to announce that decades of local papers are now available online! Many of the new issues are from the Roxboro Courier, a locally owned and operated publication based out of Roxboro, as well as several issues of the Roxboro High School Student Newspaper. The student newspaper went by many names at different points during its publication, with the issues in this collection including “The Rocketeer,” or “The Roxboro Rambler.” Together, these publications reflect life in Person County through both an adult and adolescent perspective, providing two different lens to view history through.

The Roxboro Courier issues span as far back as 1942, and as recent as 1982. Included in this collection are two notable issues: the centennial and the sesquicentennial, Both of these issues are massive, with the centennial edition containing over a hundred pages of Roxboro history! Each issue recounts Person County’s past with articles on the county’s founding, interviews with longtime locals, and advertisements from local businesses celebrating the county’s history. While the sesquicentennial edition is somewhat shorter than the centennial edition, both are valuable insights into how past publications memorialized history. These issues will join a collection of almost three thousand issues of the Roxboro Courier already hosted on DigitalNC’s site.

A class photo from 1927 of Allensville High School's senior class.

Also included in this batch are a series of photographs from Person County’s past. The photographs display the workers at many of the mills and tobacco warehouses located in Person County, which bolstered the area’s economy for decades. There are even a few class photographs from Person County’s schools! Could any of the students pictured be featured in the new student papers? If you discover any connections, we’d love to know in the comments down below.

The Roxboro High School Student Newspaper’s new issues reach as far back as 1938, and as recent as 1969. The pages of this publication are only somewhat less regal than the Roxboro Courier’s anniversary editions, and are written with a humorous, satirical voice. Collections of jokes, gossip columns, and comedic superlatives can be found in each issue, as well as heartfelt goodbyes to graduating seniors or longtime teachers. While contemporary events are recorded in these issues, they’re oftentimes placed next to articles recording rumors overheard in the hallway. You can find the brand new batch online here, or our entire collection of Roxboro High School’s student newspaper online here.

The World Comes to Carolina in New Haywood County Scrapbooks

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Together with our partners at the Museum of Haywood County History, DigitalNC is proud to announce the addition of six new scrapbooks! This collection exemplifies the grand variety of content that can be found within scrapbooks, covering American news during the second world war, postcards and souvenirs from across the world, and the operation of home demonstration clubs. This astonishing array of subject matter and material from across the world exemplifies the increasing global awareness of North Carolinians throughout the mid-twentieth century, reflecting the growing perception of Americans as global citizens. And, as is typical for many of Haywood County’s scrapbooks, some are beautifully bound in engraved local leather.

Cover of the Morning Star Club scrapbook from 1976, a beautiful example of the leather engraved covers found on many scrapbooks from Haywood County
A postcard of Atlantic City at night.

Perhaps the most colorful example of global citizenship within this batch is the scrapbook of Mrs. Maggie Ellen Morgan, a world traveler that collected a vast array of postcards during her travels across Europe, America, and Africa. Each postcard has a beautiful illustration or photograph of the sights seen by Mrs. Morgan, along with occasional notes on her travels. These postcards not only reflect post-war tourism, but are in many cases historical artifacts that portray important cultural and historical sites during a time of reconstruction and reinterpretation.

You can discover these colorful (and oftentimes whimsical) postcards, along with the other new scrapbooks, online at DigitalNC’s website here. Interested in learning more about Haywood County history? Find our collection online here, or visit our partners at the Museum of Haywood County History at their website 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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