From The Pilot, June 27, 1984
Four newspapers (including two new titles) from the Person County Public Library have been added to our site along with a brochure about historic Hillsboro. The newspapers in this batch include a special issue of Southern Pines’ The Pilot celebrating the bicentennial of Moore County, most of the 2011 issues of The Courier-Times from Roxboro (some born digital), one issue of the Sampson Independent from 1995, and a few issues of Roxboro’s The News Leader from 1979.
One of the delights of the bicentennial edition of The Pilot is that it is full of little tidbits of Moore County history. One blurb celebrates the legacy of Flora Macdonald, the folk hero who helped Charles escape from Scotland after the Jacobite Rebellion. After she was imprisoned in the Tower of London and pardoned, she immigrated with her family to North Carolina (hence Flora Macdonald College, now St. Andrews University, in Laurinburg). According to this article, some residents of Moore County can claim her as an ancestor.
From The Pilot, June 27, 1984
Another legendary figure who makes a guest appearance in The Pilot (joke unintentional) is Amelia Earhart. Earhart visited the Moore County airport in 1931 in an autogyro, a precursor to the helicopter. Her visit was part of a long history of aviation in the area, which apparently tended to conflict with another hallmark activity: golf. One resident, hoping to get flights over the course banned, wrote, “I have long felt that the airoplane flying over the golf courses is a nuisance to the players. Today I was scared out of my wits, as well as others with me, when the plane shut off its engine and swooped down to a height of about 25 feet over our heads on the 16th hole, course 3… and coasted to the field amid laughter in the plane at our discomfort.”
To browse all of our newspapers by location, date, and type, take a look at our North Carolina Newspapers collection. To see more materials from Person County Public Library, you can visit their partner page and their website.
