Photos from Greensboro Fire Department in action.
Greensboro Fire Department photo from 1950.
With special thanks to our new partner, the Greensboro Firefighters Historical Book Committee, Digital NC now has an extensive collection of photos that explore the daily life of a firefighter.
The images show the hard work and dedication many firefighters put into their jobs to serve their communities. The collection includes newspaper clippings from local stories in Greensboro, images of the firefighters in action over the years, scrapbooks, department photos, and so much more.
To learn more about the Greensboro Firefighter Historical Book Committee, check their website to learn about the rich history of the Greensboro Fire Department.
Check out our NC Memory collection full of images representing the State of North Carolina!
404 E. Park Avenue, 2001
404 E. Park Avenue, 2002
Some excellent photos of the historic homes of Tarboro have just been added to our site thanks to our partner the Edgecombe County Memorial Library. These photos document many of the buildings of downtown Tarboro—some of which are no longer standing—and include some information about the structure’s history.
While many of the photos from the early 2000s are standard color prints, several of the older buildings, which have since been demolished, are preserved on color slides.
The Dennie Cox (?) House (1880s). Located on Highway 64, “half way to Rocky Mount,” before it was demolished.
Bridgers School (demolished)
This batch also included another ledger from W. S. Clark’s store. This ledger, from 1913, joins five other ledgers already on our site from Clark’s Tarboro store. Additionally, we’ve uploaded six minute books from the Edgecombe Magazine Club ranging from 1911-1952, as well as the 1928 Maccripine yearbook from South Edgecombe High School.
You can see the full batch of photographs, minute books, and the store ledger here. To see more materials from Edgecombe County Memorial Library, visit their partner page and their website.
Our latest batch of materials from the Braswell Memorial Library includes a set of photographs showing the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad in the 1970s and 1980s. The Will, List of Heirs, and a Decree of Sale of Lands associated with Samuel E. Westray who died on February 15th 1894 is also included. Other documents associated with the Rocky Mount (N.C.) area are scans of a Christmas Card from James Phillips Bunn along with an invitation to the Grand Celebration Ball.
There are photographs showcasing different aspects of the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad operation throughout the multiple locations across North Carolina. You can see derailed trains, individual parts of the trains, candid photographs of people near the railroad along with portraits of products being transported.
The Family Lines System train
You can view the Westray will, Bunn’s Christmas card, Grand Ball Celebration invitation and all Railroad photographs here. These materials are now apart of the NC Memory collection. To see more materials from from the Braswell Memorial Library you can visit their partner page.
Through our partnership with the Bertie County Public Library and Martin Community College, we now have many more editions of the Bertie Ledger-Advance. This batch of the Windsor, N.C., paper ranges from January 2016 until December 2021, meaning that it covers many of the major news stories still in memory.
March 11, 2020
Perhaps one of the most obvious topics that appears in these issues is the impact of Covid-19 in one of North Carolina’s small towns. The front-page coverage starts where you might expect: March 11, 2020.
Initial articles focus on preparedness; the March 18, 2020 issue announces Governor Roy Cooper’s mandate to close schools for two weeks and end gatherings of more 50 people. That was also the week that Bertie County declared a State of Emergency in order to receive resources for public health measures.
“The fact that we are so rural here in Bertie County gives us an edge. …We are not like Raleigh as it relates to populations,” Bertie County Emergency Services Director Mitch Cooper said.
Bertie County begins holding church services outdoors (March 25, 2020)
These issues go on to document the progression of the pandemic in a rural area. On March 25, 2020, Bertie County sees its first confirmed case; the state begins “Phase 1” re-opening on May 10, 2020; Bertie and surrounding counties experience spikes in the number of cases, including one from September 10, 2020. At the end of 2020, the paper also published a recap of the year’s major stories, noting that the “Pandemic dominated headlines.”
The coverage continues through 2021, when schools are finally scheduled to reopen for in-person learning in March 2022. Through each of these stories, its clear what a huge impact Covid-19 had on the lives of Bertie County residents—as it did for people across the state, the nation, and the world.
March 25, 2020
To see more news stories from this batch, you can browse by date:
- Jan. 20, 2016 – Dec. 28, 2016
- Jan. 4 2017 – Dec. 27, 2017
- Jan. 3, 2018 – Dec. 26, 2018
- Jan. 16, 2019 – Dec. 25, 2019
- Jan. 1, 2020 – Dec. 31 2020
- Jan. 7, 2021 – Dec. 30, 2021
You can also see more issues of the Bertie Ledger-Advance here or browse our entire collection of digitized newspapers in our Newspapers of North Carolina collection. To see more materials from Martin Community College, you can visit their partner page and their website.
Images from July 1977 in the Harnett County Public Library Children’s Outreach Program Scrapbook.
Thanks to the Harnett County Public Library, new scrapbooks are available on the Digital NC website. The collection includes memories from the Lillington High School Library Club, The Harnett County Public Library Children’s Outreach Program, the Harnett County School Board, and the Harnett County Library Scrapbooks (1967 – 1976 and 1982 – 1989). Included are newspaper clippings, photos of different activities and accomplishments, and much more!
Special thanks to our partner Harnett County Public Library. To view more from Harnett County, visit their partner page here.
To view our entire North Carolina Memorabilia collection, visit here.
DigitalNC has recently increased the number of available Transylvania County scrapbooks by 9, building upon our already considerable online collection of over 200. Many thanks to Transylvania County Library for scanning these images and sending them over.
Three clubs were featured in this upload:
These scrapbooks share photos and ephemera documenting club meetings, members, and events. Many community service events are highlighted within their pages. Not only do they give a look into the history of these clubs, but they also reflect changes in the local community. Fastidiously organized, the scrapbooks detail events such as construction of new buildings and beautification projects.
To search through all of the scrapbooks from Transylvania County, click here. And to view all other items from Transylvania County, check out our Transylvania County Library partner page.
Cutout from the McDowell County Agriculture Scrapbook
21 new scrapbooks and 10 new yearbooks from the McDowell County Public Library are now online at DigitalNC. The scrapbooks, all of which make up part of MCPL’s Greenlee Collection of Scrapbooks, date roughly from the 1910s to the early 1990s and document various aspects of life in McDowell County. From health and safety, to forest conservation, to arts and crafts, each scrapbook focuses on one of a wide range of topics. The scrapbooks’ pages consist largely of newspaper clippings from various local papers, such as the McDowell News, and a few more regional publications like the the Charlotte Observer. The materials provide a wealth of information for anyone interested in learning about topics of interest to citizens of communities such as Marion and Old Fort over the course of the 20th century. The scrapbooks are neatly organized and generally present their information in chronological order.
Cutout from the McDowell County military scrapbook, 1941-1945
The recent batch also features 10 more yearbooks from MCPL. These include four from Glenwood High School (1951, 1952. 1954, and 1957), two from North Cove High School (1941 and 1942). and one each from Clevenger College (1959), Old Fort High School (1968), Nebo High School (1968), and Marion High School (1968). Together the two sets of materials represent a treasure trove of resources for researchers of local history in North Carolina.
The new additions join a handful of other MCPL scrapbooks and yearbooks already online at DigitalNC. For more information, please visit the MCPL’s DigitalNC page or follow this link to their website.
Alamance County Prison Farm Inmates use Bookmobile
More than 30 new objects are now available on DigitalNC thanks to our partner, Alamance County Public Libraries. Items in this collection are more additions within the 6 month in-depth digitization effort documenting underrepresented communities in North Carolina.
Charles Richard Drew: Alamance County Memorial, page 3
This batch of materials tells important and powerful stories from Black communities in Burlington, Graham, and other townships in Alamance County. Below are highlights from the batch.
Several documents in the batch tell the story of Dr. Charles Richard Drew and his tragic connection to Alamance County. Drew was an internationally-renowned Black physician credited for developing improved blood storage techniques, which was important for establishing large-scale blood banks during World War II. He was considered to be the most prominent African American in his field and actively protested racial segregation in blood donation as it lacked any scientific foundation.
Tragically, Drew was killed in a car accident, while driving through the Haw River area of Alamance County in 1950. Many myths surrounded his death, all of which are covered in some of the materials in this batch. Learn more about Dr. Drew, his life, death and memory through the links below:
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 affected many communities in North Carolina ,especially with regard to school integration. This batch also includes several primary and secondary sources relating to the desegregation in Alamance county. Linked below, you can find a copy of the letter sent to parents of students in Burlington City Schools, announcing the upcoming change. In addition, there are several newspaper articles that document some of the lasting reactions. These items could be excellent tools for teachers who are looking for documents to support curriculum goals. Learn more about integration in Alamance County at the links below:
Black Youth Killed in Night of Violence, page 1
Responses to change are not always peaceful, as was the case in Burlington after integration. This batch also includes a selection of newspaper clippings that document the violence that occurred in May, 1969. A night of riots resulted in the death of 15 year old Leon Mebane, which is documented in several of the articles below. Material like these and others from this batch tell the important stories of many community members who are often underrepresented in mainstream formats. These items and all of the new additions are full-text searchable and available for research and teaching. Learn more about Leon Mebane, his family, and the Burlington race riots below:
Other highlights from this batch also include information about Alamance County Bookmobiles, Alex Haley’s Roots and connections to the county, genealogy in the African American community, and the legacies of segregated high schools in the area. Browse these materials at the links below:
- Embracing the Legacy- Graham High School
- Thomas Memorials: Comprising the Biography, Death, Funeral Service, Burial Rite and Reminiscences of Rev. Spencer Thomas and Sketches of His Churches
- The Negro Heritage of Graham, North Carolina, 1800’s-1985
- Morton Township, Alamance County, School District Daybook
- Various Records of the Public Schools in Morton Township, Alamance County
- The Industries of Burlington, North Carolina: A Historical, Descriptive and Statistical Sketch of the Town and Its Surrounding
- Clippings Concerning Alex Haley’s Research and Experience in Alamance County
Embracing the Legacy- Graham High School, page 46
To learn more about about the items included in this batch and other materials from Alamance County Public Libraries, please visit the contributor page or the website. To learn more about DigitalNC’s current digitization effort focusing on underrepresented communities in North Carolina, please view this blog post.
![Newspaper, Magazine Clippings Concerning the American Society of Furniture Designers [2016], page 10](https://www.digitalnc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/asfd_018.jpg)
Newspaper, Magazine Clippings Concerning the American Society of Furniture Designers [2016], page 10
![Newspaper, Magazine Clippings Concerning the American Society of Furniture Designers [2016], page 2](https://www.digitalnc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/asfd_004.jpg)
Newspaper, Magazine Clippings Concerning the American Society of Furniture Designers [2016], page 2
ASFD is an international, non-profit professional organization dedicated to supporting furniture designers and their positive impact on the market. Physically located in High Point, NC, ASFD’s library holds many types of interesting records and memorabilia relating to the furniture industry in North Carolina and internationally. ASFD’s collection of materials on DigitalNC documents the majority of its existence and is a useful tool for those interested in the furniture industry and its impact on North Carolina.
This batch contains newspaper, magazine, and web publications about the society’s activities during 2016. These focus on the Pinnacle Awards for exceptional furniture designs, the Luminary Awards, and other mentions of the organization in the media.
To learn more about the American Society of Furniture Designers, please visit the partner page or the website. To see more documents and memorabilia from other organizations in North Carolina, please browse the North Caroline Memory Collection.
Cross-section of the base of a human skull, from a Rex Messenger cover article introducing Rex Hospital’s new CT scanner, January 1982
From an article on the benefits of breastfeeding (Nursing Perspectives, September 1992)
A newly digitized collection of newsletters from Rex Healthcare Library in Raleigh, N.C., are now available on DigitalNC. The six newsletters range from 1977-2008. The Rex Healthcare Library collection reflects major changes in the life of a hospital over the the past four decades, from attitudes toward smoking, holiday celebrations, recycling, and childcare; to the advent of computers and new medical technology.
Rex Hospital opened in Raleigh in 1894. After relocating to different Raleigh sites in 1909 and 1937, it moved to its current location at Lake Boone Trail, Raleigh, in 1980. In 1995, Rex Hospital changed its corporate name to Rex Healthcare to reflect the variety of care facilities it provides. Today, the private, not-for-profit Rex is part of the UNC Healthcare system. It is one of the largest employers in Wake County, N.C. You can learn more about the history of Rex by looking at materials the NCDHC has digitized from them, including this history published in 1957.
Stanza from a poem in the August 1995 issue of Nursing Perspectives
Three of the newsletters — the Rex Messenger, the Rex Hotline, and Pulse — focus on general hospital staff, employees, and friends. The Messenger is the oldest newsletter in the collection, spanning 1977-1998. It includes extensive pieces on the history of the hospital and covers the hospital’s centennial celebration in 1994. Two other newsletters, Nursing Perspectives and CaREXpress, center on the patient care division of the hospital; while RCare specifically treats the hospital’s move to electronic record-keeping. The newsletters also ran employee profiles, gave updates on hospital procedures, printed poetry and fiction by hospital workers, and published letters from patients; and they report on activities Rex Hospital sponsored in the surrounding Raleigh community.
One feature in the January 1987 issue of the Messenger asked reporters to imagine what life would be like for Mandy Foster — the first child born at Rex Hospital in the new year — when she became a teenager in the year 2000. Several people suggested Mandy might work in the space program. Others speculated on how technologically savvy she would be. An RN reflected, “I’m not sure what the year 2000 will bring to the new baby, but I surely hope it will include the ‘human’ touch and won’t be all ‘machine-to-machine’ conversations or fetch-and-carry robots or ‘push-button everythings.’ ” (Read the full feature here .)
To learn more about Rex Healthcare Library, please visit their contributor page or the website. To see all of the newsletters available from the NC Digital Heritage Center, please visit here.
A Rex Hospital Data Control worker stands next to a horoscope bulletin board she designed (Rex Messenger, February 1979)
From the Rex Hotline (March 2, 2001)
![A page from the Cedar Mountain Extension Homemakers Club Scrapbook [1966-1967]. It documents the meeting held on May 18th. Held at the community center, the club members listened to a program on landscaping in the home. The page has a newspaper clipping of the event, two color photos of the members at the club, a clipping of a magazine of trees and plants, and a small, black-and-white illustration of a gardener that reads "Suggestions from the TAR HEEL GARDENER".](https://www.digitalnc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/default-5-1024x981.jpg)
