A December 1935 article about President FDR’s visit to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Eight more years and over 300 issues of the Roxboro Courier are now available, courtesy of our partner, the Person County Public Library. Previously, our collection only held issues dating from 1922-1927, but this expands our collection to include issues to 1935. The paper itself has a storied history, changing its name several times since it started as the Courier. Later on, in 1943, its name changed again, when it consolidated with the Person County-Times to become The Courier-Times, which still runs today.

The Courier has a large number of national and international headlines, reflecting its tagline of “Home First, Abroad Next”. Locally, the Courier mentions political developments and elections, bonds and public votes, and news about local residents, including birth and death announcements. Nationally, the Courier followed important stories, including news about Presidential elections and what politicians were doing, and what news was happening around the country. On occasion, international news also made the Courier, as in the example on the right, when Italy’s Premier Benito Mussolini invaded and occupied Ethopia.

To browse through other materials from the Person County Public Library, visit their partner page, or take a look at their website.

A May 1926 edition of the Mount Airy News. Articles include a local citizen celebrating their 90th birthday and information about Mount Airy High School

Twelve years and over 600 issues of the Mount Airy News have been digitized and added to DigitalNC, courtesy of our partner, Surry Community College. These scans are brand new, with DigitalNC now containing March 1917 through September 1929. While the Mount Airy News is now published six days a week, the newspaper was only published once a week at this point in time. The Mount Airy News services Mount Airy and Surry County, and joins fellow Surry County newspapers including the Chatham Blanketeer and the Elkin Tribune.

An article announcing a meeting between NC Governor Morrison and VA Governor Trinkle

Looking through the Mount Airy News today, we can learn a lot about what concerned the people of Surry County nearly a hundred years ago. In one October, 1922 issue, the main headline was a meeting between North Carolina Governor Cameron Morrison and Virginia Governor Elbert Lee Trinkle to talk about building roads between Mount Airy and the nearby towns of Sparta, NC, and Stuart, VA, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Mount Airy. Looking through the pages, we can see praise for local teachers and school board members, an article about local farmers joining a cooperative association, and an editorial piece denouncing women who are uninformed voters, when they recently earned the right to suffrage.

Reading these articles gives us an idea of what life was like in Surry County and Mount Airy at the time, and it is invaluable to us. To browse through other materials from Surry Community College, take a look at their partner page, or check out their website.

A 1986 article about a rise in black bear sightings in Warren County

Nearly twenty years and over 600 issues of the Warren Record have been newly digitized on DigitalNC. While our collection previously only included issues from the years 1929-1938 and from 1959-1970, this new addition includes over a dozen years stretching from 1970 to 1989, which helps our collection become that much closer to being complete. Published since 1896, the Warren Record is a weekly newspaper that serves the readers in Warrenton and Warren County, NC. Many of the articles include local news concerning citizens or Warren County. For example, the 1986 article above was about the alarming increase in black bear sightings in Warren County and advice for readers about what to do in case they see one.

A 1970 article about the changing census in Warrenton from 1960 to 1970.

Many articles written in this time period were about other municipal issues, like elections, political developments, and census data. In the August 1970 article on the left, the Record announced that Warrenton’s population had dropped 7%, from 1124 residents in 1960 to 1046 ten years later. Warren County’s population also heavily dropped that decade, with its 22% drop being the largest on a percentage basis of any county in the state.

A 1989 article about the advent of cable television coming to Warrenton and Norlina.

Other articles were simply about local developments that could interest residents of Warren County. In the May 1989 article on the right, the Record announced that Warrenton and Norlina would be receiving cable television within the next year. People living in nearby Henderson already had cable, and the same company would be rolling out 12 channels to customers at a cost of $8 per month, with an extra dollar for every additional television.

To browse through other materials from the Warren County Memorial Library, visit their partner page or visit their website here.

A September 1948 article about the success of the Farmer’s Day celebration.

Three more years and nearly 4000 pages of the Wilkes Journal-Patriot have been newly added to DigitalNC, courtesy of our partner, the Wilkes County Public Library. While the collection previously held editions of the Journal-Patriot from 1933 to 1947, these new editions brings our holdings to the year 1950. Based out of North Wilkesboro in the northwest part of the state, the Journal-Patriot services Wilkes County.

Published three times a week, the Journal-Patriot covers local headlines, often local municipal developments or political events. The annual Farmer’s Day celebrations were always very popular, with the newspaper regularly advertising them to attract residents. In 1948, the celebration had a parade that was two miles long, and featured an address by former Governor (and later Senator) J.M. Broughton. These Farmers Day celebrations were famous throughout Wilkes County, with the 1949 celebration having a record crowd at that time, and a record of nearly 125 floats, units, or groups on the roster.

An October 1949 article about that year’s Farmers’ Day celebration

Having this new influx of pages from the Journal-Patriot helps us increase our representation of newspapers from the mountainous parts of the state. To browse through other materials from the Wilkes County Public Library, take a look at their partner page, or visit their website.

Courtesy of our partners, the Murphy Public Library and the Nantahala Regional Library, almost 30 more years of the Cherokee Scout have been newly digitized. That brings our collection to nearly 2500 issues, stretching from 1923-1971! These are brand new to DigitalNC and we are proud to present them. Published weekly, The Cherokee Scout serves Cherokee County, where it remains a staple to its readership of nearly 10,000.

Because of the long time-span of papers now in our collection, it is fascinating to see what sort of issues were being discussed throughout the community’s history. For example, in 1938, UNC’s President Dr. Frank Graham visited Murphy and toured the construction of the Hiwassee Dam and the village set up by the Tennessee Village Authority to bring electricity to the county. As World War II began a few years later, many men from the county enlisted in the different branches of service.

Later, in the 1950s, many of Cherokee County’s children were vaccinated for polio. Inventor Jonas Salk was written of very fondly in the Scout, as Cherokee County had to have numerous money drives for polio in the prior decade. Unusually for newspapers in North Carolina, the Scout also included news from Georgia, including market prices in Atlanta, due to its close proximity.

Having this newspaper in our collection brings us a wealth of valuable knowledge about how Cherokee County residents interpreted important events at the time and how they were affected. To browse through other materials from these partners, visit their partner pages: Murphy Public Library and Nantahala Regional Library.