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Patrons visiting the Madison County Bookmobile
A scrapbook compiled by Mrs. Peggy Dotterer covering the life of the Madison County Bookmobile through pictures and press clippings is now available on DigitalNC. A former school teacher, Mrs. Peggy Dotterer started the Madison County Bookmobile in the 1950s and ran it for 15 years until her retirement in 1970.
Three days a week she traveled the mountain roads, serving 2000 regular customers. She drove 1000 miles a month, 12 months a year. The other two days she spent at Madison County Library in Marshall, 20 miles north of Asheville.
Entrance to the Madison County Public Library
Weekly columns in the newspaper kept patrons up-to-date about the comings (or not comings) of the Bookmobile. In the following column Mrs. Dotterer mentions that the radio station WWNC announces her schedule every morning.
These materials and more can be found in the scrapbook, which is available courtesy of Madison County Public Library.
Mrs. Peggy Dotterer
Several Yadkin County Home Demonstration Club Scrapbooks, from the collections of the Yadkin County Public Library, are now available online at DigitalNC. The scrapbooks were produced semi-annually by the Yadkin County Home Demonstration Club. The scrapbooks cover the club’s projects and events, and provide a unique snapshot of the social activities of women in rural North Carolina in the 1950s.
Some of the highlights from the 1957 scrapbook include “A Miss and Her Money,” a pamphlet published by the Institute of Life Insurance in 1956 to introduce money management to girls; several pages of recipes for refrigerator jams; rules for hosting and attending a tea party (p. 62); coverage of the annual Dairy Queen beauty contest; and an incredibly thorough treatise on the selection of household linens (p.92). The scrapbook also reports on the Home Demonstration Club’s participation in the Ground Observer Corps, a Cold War era civilian force which used binoculars or the naked eye to search the sky for threats from Soviet and Japanese aircraft (see photo).
Here is a 1956 recipe for Red Raspberry Jam featured on page 114 of the scrapbook:
Ingredients:
- 3 cups finely mashed or sieved red raspberries
- 6 cups sugar
- 1 package powdered pectin
- 1 cup water
Directions:
Combine fruit and sugar. Let stand about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir the pectin into the water, bring to boiling, and boil rapidly for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from stove and let stand at room temperature 24-48 hours or until jelled. Seal with paraffin and store in a freezer. Or it will keep several weeks at refrigerator temperatures. Makes about 6 glasses.
Early issues of the Asheboro Courier are now available in the North Carolina Newspapers digital collection. More than 500 issues, ranging from 1884 to 1912, have been digitized. The Courier was one of the first newspapers to be published in Asheboro, tracing its origins back to 1876. Unfortunately, few early issues are available.
The Courier, boasting the lofty slogan “Principles, Not Men,” favored the Democratic Party in its coverage and editorials, promoting Democratic candidates at the local, state, and national level. The local coverage of the paper appears to be excellent, and the long social columns and many letters to the editor suggests that the paper was a true community institution.
The newspaper merged with the Randolph Tribune in 1940 to form the Courier-Tribune, which is still being published, making it one of the 10 oldest continuously-published newspapers in North Carolina.
Early issues of the Highland Messenger, the first newspaper to be published in Asheville, are now available in the North Carolina Newspapers project. The Messenger began publication in 1840, when there were just a few thousand people living in Buncombe County. The initial goals of the paper were quite lofty. Here they are, as stated in the first issue:
“Our paper shall be devoted to Religion, Morality, Science, Politics and General Intelligence, having for its leading object the instruction and advantage of the people, wherever it shall be attentively read.”
Like most papers published in this period, much of the content relates to national news and politics interspersed with a wide variety of features and short pieces, with little space given to local reports. However, it is possible, through the many advertisements, court notices, letters, and editorials to get a sense of the issues and concerns of the village that would, by the early 20th century, grow into what another paper would come to call the “mountain metropolis.”
We have recently digitized and published online several histories of Randolph County, North Carolina. Nominated or contributed by the Randoph County Public Library, these volumes will be of interest to current and former residents, as well as anyone interested in the histories of Asheboro, Seagrove, and other towns and communities in Randolph County. All of the titles can be viewed in their entirety online and the text can be searched by keyword. The books currently available on DigitalNC are:
- Randolph County, 1779-1979, published by the Randolph County Historical Society and the Randolph Arts Guild.
- Sketches of My Asheboro: Asheboro, North Carolina, 1880-1910, by Sidney Swaim Robins.
- The Architectural History of Randolph County North Carolina, by Lowell McKay Whatley, Jr.
- The Story of Naomi Wise and the History of Randleman, by the Rotary Club of Randleman, N.C.
- Seagrove Area, by Dorothy Cole Auman.
- Dan Tucker and other Randoph County Heroes in Folklore, by Barbara Presnell.
There are a lot of historic buildings represented in the Images of North Carolina collection on DigitalNC, but it’s not often that you have a chance to buy one. I just saw through the Preservation North Carolina website that the Old Ashe County Hospital is up for sale.
For just under half a million dollars you could own the building that served as the community hospital for nearly 30 years. There are a
handful of historic photos of the building on DigitalNC, part of the large collection of images from the
Ashe County Public Library. Most of the photos show the exterior, including a couple of the dedication of the hospital, but there is one showing an
early operating room.
Ashe Memorial Hospital
Ashe Hospital interior
Among the many great photos from the Ashe County Public Library that are now available on DigitalNC are some interesting images showing people at work. Here are three nice interior shots showing, from top to bottom, workers making pipes, doing laundry, and making some of the renowned Ashe County cheese.
Among the hundreds of photos from the Ashe County Public Library that were recently added to DigitalNC is a wonderful scrapbook showing scenes from the early 20th century in Grassy Creek, N.C. “Grassy Creek Pictorial” was put together by the Ashe County Teacher Training Department and provides an interesting look at life in the rural community in the mountains on the North Carolina – Virginia border.
Thanks to our partners at the Appalachian Regional Library and Ashe County Public Library, new issues of The Skyland Post (West Jefferson, N.C.) newspaper are now available on our website DigitalNC. The microfilm issues are now ready for viewing in an easily accessible digital format! This latest batch of newspapers range from 1947-1952. You can view more issues of The Skyland Post (West Jefferson, N.C.) newspaper using keyword(s) and date.
To browse all of our newspapers by location, date, and type, take a look at our North Carolina Newspapers collection. To see what other materials they have contributed, visit the Appalachian Regional Library partners page. To learn more about what the library has been up to, check out the Appalachian Regional Library website.
As the Girl Scouts of the USA celebrate their centennial this year, I wanted to look for historic images of Girl Scouts in North Carolina on DigitalNC. It’s clear that the Girl Scouts have been active throughout the state for many decades. Here are a few highlights from the handful of interesting photos and items relating to Girl Scouts on DigitalNC.org.
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