In addition to the excellent music reviews and the hottest fashion tips of 1999, the recently uploaded student newspapers from Wilkes Community College offer an insider’s history of the annual music festival MerleFest. MerleFest began in 1988 and honors the memory of Eddy Merle Watson, son of music legend Doc Watson. What started out as a one-time event to fund a garden for people who are blind (Merle Watson Garden of the Senses) is now a huge source of income for the county and region. It is estimated that the “traditional plus” festival brings over $10 million to the region (source: Wilkes Journal-Patriot). Watch the festival grow through the years in these photographs and articles from the newly-digitized Cougar Cry student newspaper.
To view all items from Wilkes Community College, including yearbooks from 1968-1995, click here.