Glencoe School in New Bethel Township, Rockingham County; photograph taken in 1980.
200 more slides from Rockingham Community College’s architecture slide collection have been digitized and added to DigitalNC. The slides show early architecture around Rockingham County, including houses, barns, farms, schools, banks, mills, and tobacco factories. Taken in the early 1980s, these photographs include multiple exterior as well as interior views of the buildings. Some of buildings still stand today and others no longer exist, but location, owners’ names, and building dates are included in the descriptions of the photographs.
You can learn more about these slides and the architecture depicted in the Guide to the Early Rockingham County Architecture Slide Collection. See more from Rockingham Community College on the contributor page and learn more on their website.
After seeing excellent “Dog Days of Summer” blog posts from our friends at NC State and Duke, we couldn’t resist following up with a few of our favorites from the many dog photos on DigitalNC.
No North Carolina-related dog feature would be complete without a Plott Hound. This photo from the Haywood County Public Library shows not just any Plott Hound, but the original: “Dan” was the first Plott Hound to be registered after the United Kennel Club recognized the breed in 1946.
The prize for cutest dog photo on DigitalNC has to go to this one, puppies in a basket, from the William Hoke Sumner collection at UNC-Charlotte.
This young man with a pack of Basset Hounds is heading to a dog show in Pinehurst in 1935. Photo from the Tufts Archives.
No hunting party would be complete without a dog. This photo, from the Davie County Public Library, shows a group at the Coollemee Plantation.
As this 1951 photo from the Braswell Memorial Library in Rocky Mount attests, there is no better reading companion than a dog.
And no dog loved books more than Jim the Library Dog, a fixture on the front seat of the Rockingham County Bookmobile as it traveled around the county in the 1930s. Photo from the Rockingham County Public Library. You can see Jim in action in the silent film showing the bookmobile that we recently shared online.
But our favorites have to be the dogs we spot occasionally in old yearbooks. Apparently UNC-Chapel Hill was a hotbed of canine education in 1977. We found two dogs in the Yackety Yack from that year. The photo at top is identified as Sarah Abercrombie, a senior from Dixmont, Maine, while the bottom photo shows Poco Medford, a graduate student from Carrboro. We trust that both Sarah and Poco put their education to good use and went on to long and distinguished careers.
Governor Robert W. Scott receives a “Bob Jr.” license plate in this footage of his inauguration and subsequent celebrations. Contributed by the State Archives of North Carolina.
Almost one year ago, we asked our partners for nominations of audio and video media from their collections to digitize, using funding from the Digital Public Library of America. From all corners of North Carolina came suggestions for moving images and sound. Some items were well documented, with descriptions or finding aids [?] in tow. Others were accompanied with the words “We think this is … but we really have no idea.” Thanks to George Blood, L. P., who digitized these items for us, and Andrea Green, our former Community Digitization Manager, we ended up with over 140 physical items digitized from 11 institutions.
Here’s an overview of what’s been added to DigitalNC to our new Sights and Sounds collection (some of our partners will be posting their digitized media on their own digital collection sites instead). Stay tuned over the next few weeks for more posts taking a closer look at some of our favorites.
Braswell Memorial Library
Throughout the 1990s, Mary Lewis Deans spearheaded an ambitious and well-documented oral history campaign in Nash County. She and her colleagues spoke with long-time residents about rural farming life, military service during World War II, segregation, and family traditions. Deans was businesslike yet friendly, no-nonsense and yet genuine. Listen to and read Deans’ oral histories.
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
Three of the films contributed by Charlotte Mecklenburg Library help document the history of Charlotte. The Charlotte Mecklenburg United Appeal campaign from 1952 shows numerous Charlotte places.
Davie County Public Library
From Davie County Public Library comes a two-part series on Davie County History, and a home video of local personality Louise Graham Stroud, who performed monologues as her self-created character, “Miss Lizzie.”
Cynthia Watts (left) interviews actress Joan Bennett in one of the Arts in Durham films contributed by the Durham Public Library.
Durham Public Library
Love Durham? Love the Arts? Love the late 70s? Some of our staff favorites come from Durham Public Library’s collection of “Arts in Durham” films. Produced by the Durham Arts Council, these films showcase local bands, dance groups, visual artists, and more. We’ll definitely be blogging about our favorite moments. Durham Public Library also contributed a taped lecture by Dr. Charles Watts on the history of Lincoln Hospital, and two-part coverage of the Durham County Centennial Parade of 1981.
Edgecombe Memorial Library
Tobacco Perspectives is an amateur recording of a two-night event in the early 1980s during which a historian, a political scientist, and representatives from farm, industry, and public health agencies lectured on the tobacco industry both past and present.
Rockingham County Public Library
We’ve already announced the bookmobile film from Rockingham County, but we’re still looking for someone who can identify the school that’s shown. In this film boys and girls eagerly peruse and check out books from local librarians. It’s even got Jim, the library dog.
State Archives of North Carolina
We were pleased to join for the first time with the State Archives during this project, as they chose a number of films that document the state’s history. Among the films from the Archives that we’ve added online are coverage of Governor R. W. Scott II’s inauguration and U. S. Coast Guard Appreciation Day (1970).
No Handouts for Mrs. Hedgepeth, 1968, documented a Durham family living below the poverty line. Contributed by the North Carolina Collection, UNC-Chapel Hill.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
From 1962-1965, the North Carolina Film Board produced films tackling some of the most pressing issues in North Carolina: race relations, education, and economic opportunity. Eight of those films join others from the North Carolina Collection and Southern Historical Collection at UNC-Chapel Hill on DigitalNC. As might be expected, some are about UNC and Chapel Hill. Fans of the Hugh Morton Collection will also see several films believed to have been filmed by Morton or his colleagues. There’s even footage of Mildred the Bear.
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
In 1960, Dr. Bertha Maxwell-Roddey became the first chair of what is now the Department of Africana Studies at UNC-Charlotte, which contributed three items related to her career. A scholar, educator, and community icon, one of these shows children in a classroom being taught by Maxwell-Roddey’s students. The others show a night of live poetry and music.
We hope you enjoy North Carolina’s Sights and Sounds. Click to view all of the films and oral histories together.
N.C. Digital Heritage Center staff members excited about their first visit to the Roast Grill.
One of the best parts of my job is getting out of the office and travelling around North Carolina to visit some of the libraries and museums that work with the NC Digital Heritage Center. We have partners all over the state and it’s always helpful and interesting for us to see their collections in person. Of course, we have to eat along the way, and while we’re always in search of new places to try, there are a few that we return to whenever we get the chance. Inspired by the end of the year “best of” lists, I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorites from on the road.
I should say first that this is not supposed to be a list of the best or greatest restaurants in the state. No objective criteria were used at all, it’s simply a collection of places I’ve enjoyed and hope that some of you do, too.
Barbecue: Fuzzy’s, Madison.
Whenever we visit our partners in Rockingham County, I like to go to Fuzzy’s. It’s a classic, old-fashioned North Carolina barbecue restaurant with good food and great service. Like many barbecue places, they’ve got a variety of food available, but I can only vouch for the chopped pork sandwich, hush puppies, and sweet tea, all of which are outstanding. I also enjoy the classic, big restaurants like Stamey’s in Greensboro and Parker’s in Wilson, but Fuzzy’s is a favorite because of its comfortable, local atmosphere. In an age where unique, regional restaurants are getting harder to find, I’m going to make sure that I treasure North Carolina’s classic barbecue joints for as long as they’re around.
Two asides about barbecue: first, I do not take sides in the Eastern v. Western barbecue debate. Or I should say, I don’t discriminate. I am an equal opportunity North Carolina barbecue enthusiast. I’ve enjoyed great meals in Lexington as well as in Goldsboro and refuse to cast aspersions on either delicious style of preparation. And second, I never hit the road without first checking one of Bob Garner’s essential guides to North Carolina barbecue restaurants. The recent compilation, Bob Garner’s Book of Barbecue, is a great resource.
Hot Dogs: Roast Grill, Raleigh.
I’ve never been anywhere quite like the Roast Grill. Tucked away on a side street a couple of blocks from the old state capitol in downtown Raleigh, with its iconic “Hot Weiners” sign out front, the Roast Grill is a classic hot dog joint that hasn’t changed a thing in decades. While I love the atmosphere at Dick’s in Wilson and have had a great chili dog at Royall’s Soda Shoppe in Elkin, the Roast Grill is in a class by itself [update January 2021: permanently closed]. There’s not much on the menu (“Well, we have hot dogs,” they explained on our last visit) and they’re well known for what they don’t have (don’t ask for ketchup). But the hot dogs are terrific and the ambience is impossible to beat.
Coffeeshop / Bakery: Camino Bakery, Winston-Salem.
Located in downtown Winston-Salem, just down the street from the main branch of the Forsyth County Public Library and its outstanding local history collection, the Camino Bakery is one of my favorite places in the state for coffee and baked goods. They take their coffee and espresso seriously and have terrific food, sweet and savory, including great cookies, fantastic quiches and a tomato pie that is reminiscent of top-notch deep dish pizza.
Lunch: On the Square, Tarboro.
Just down the street from the beautiful Tarboro Town Common, On the Square is a wonderful restaurant offering seasonal American food. It’s not a secret — we got there just before the lunchtime rush, when the line stretched to the door — but it’s definitely worth seeking out next time you’re in Tarboro. I especially liked seeing historic photos on the walls from the M.S. Brown collection at the Edgecombe County Memorial Library, many of which you can now find on DigitalNC.
Lunch Buffet: Orchid Garden, Fayetteville [Update January 2021: permanently closed]
Tucked into nondescript parking lot a couple of miles from downtown Fayetteville, Orchid Garden has some of the best Thai food I’ve ever had. The lunch buffet offers a wide variety of traditional dishes and is a hit with both locals and military staff from nearby Fort Bragg. Last time we were there they were running a special on dungeness crab. Nearly every table in our section was digging in to the long crab legs and from the piles of shells in front of them, some of them had been at it for a while. Our server clearly thought we were crazy when we opted to skip the crab. Orchid Garden is worth seeking out if you’re in Fayetteville. If you go, don’t make the same mistake we did. Get the crab.
Dessert: French Broad Chocolate Lounge, Asheville
Last time I was in Asheville I sent of picture of the French Broad Chocolate Lounge and said that I was working from our western office. If only. In addition to their world-class chocolates, the lounge offers great coffee, several varieties of unpronounceable Mexican drinking chocolate, baked goods, as well as beer and wine. It’s the kind of place you could spend a whole day.
As we continue our work digitizing and sharing North Carolina’s unique cultural heritage, we’ll be on the road again in 2015 and would love to hear your suggestions. Use the comments below to tell us about some of your favorite spots around the state and maybe we’ll see you there in the months ahead.
Headline in the Roanoke News, May 28, 1908 From the Halifax County Library
94 years ago today, on January 17, 1920, the United States officially became a dry country, as the 18th Amendment banning the sale, production, importation, and transportation of alcoholic beverages went into effect. However, in North Carolina, it had little effect as the state had enacted prohibition via a referendum vote twelve years earlier on May 26, 1908, becoming the first in the south to ban alcohol.
Moonshine still being destroyed in Davie County, 1912 From Davie County Public Library
Prior to the full country being under Prohibition, North Carolinians would drive to Virginia or South Carolina to procure their alcohol and bootlegging quickly became good business in the state and those early bootleggers who fixed up their cars to be as fast as possible laid the ground for race car driving and eventually, NASCAR. Once full prohibition was in effect across the country, moonshiners also did quick business. In DigitalNC there are several photographs and newspaper articles about those who were caught by police attempting to make or transport liquor and many more expressing editorial opinions for and against prohibition.
Sheriff captures 126 gallons of bootleg whiskey in Rockingham County, NC From Rockingham Community College
While nationwide prohibition ended with the 21st Amendment’s passage in 1933, North Carolina did not ratify the amendment and it was not until 1937 when the Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) system was set up in North Carolina counties to sell alcohol that prohibition officially ended in North Carolina. However, many counties still remained dry well after 1937 and post prohibition moon-shining and bootlegging was still a common occurrence in the mid 1900s. Today, Graham County remains as the only fully dry county in the state. To learn more about prohibition in North Carolina, check out this post from the North Carolina Collection and this article in NCpedia.
Officers in Spray pour illegal whiskey down the storm drain in the 1950s. From Rockingham Community College
Gentry Brothers Dog and Pony Show circa 1924
Several items are now available on DigitalNC.org from Rockingham Community College. Many of the items come from RCC’s special collections. These items include:
1887 Advertisement for Woman’s Heart Tobacco
- Images of checks, receipts, and advertisements — including the Woman’s Heart Tobacco advertisement (pictured right), which depicts the diverse terrain of a woman’s heart such as the “Volcano of Fury,” the “Ocean of Love,” and the “Mountains of Pride”
- Souvenir Postcards from a variety of small towns in Rockingham County
- Photographs featuring several mills and surrounding areas in Rockingham County, including the Lily Mill, Nantucket Mill, and Rhode Island Mill
- Photographs of Rockingham County residents and visitors, including portraits of Rev. Fenner S. Stickney and the brothers Samuel Hill and John Hill Boyd as well as the Gentry Brothers Dog and Pony Show parade (pictured above).
- Photographs depicting residents, workers, historical sites, and the mill in and around Avalon, N.C.
- Wright Tavern Guest Registers and Receipt books
Photographs from Rockingham Community College, recently added to DigitalNC, tell the story of a North Carolina town that is no more.
At the turn of the twentieth century, the mill village of Avalon in Rockingham County was home to more than 450 people. More than half of the population worked at Avalon Mills, which was the community center for the town, providing housing for residents social events. Images in the collection include a photograph of the Avalon baseball team, as well as the first picnic at the Avalon picnic ground.
In June of 1911 a massive fire swept through the mill, destroying it completely. Although there was some hope that the mill might be rebuilt, the village was eventually abandoned. Many of the residents moved to Mayodan, a nearby mill town. Interestingly, they moved not only themselves but their houses as well, by hitching them to horses.
