Record #:

10638

Author(s):

Morrison, Robert H.

Abstract:

William Byrd, the first author/explorer of the Great Dismal Swamp, was appointed by the royal governor of Virginia to a bi-state commission charged with surveying the North Carolina border. The survey began on March 5, 1728 and reached the Great Dismal on March 14. Byrd kept two journals, one for an official account and the other for his personal insights. The official journal was published 1841 and the personal journal was published in 1929. In both accounts, Byrd insisted that there was no wildlife in the swamp. Of the numerous explorers who ventured into the Great Dismal in Byrd's wake, including future president George Washington, not one mentioned the absence of wildlife.

Source:

The State (NoCar F 251 S77), Vol. 38 Issue 16, Jan 1971, p9-10, 26, il

Subject(s):

Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge; Byrd, William, 1674-1744

Record #:

10639

Author(s):

Styron, Nell Joslin

Abstract:

Vermont 'Bunny' Royster, native of Raleigh and grandson of the founder of Royster Candy, epitomizes the phrase 'local boy makes good.' Never afraid of hard work, Bunny was a bus boy as young man and eventually made his way to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he worked for THE DAILY TAR HEEL and CAROLINA MAGAZINE. After a career in the Navy, Royster moved to New York to work for the WALL STREET JOURNAL and became editor of the most famous financial newspaper in America. Royster retired at age 56 and went back to Chapel Hill to teach journalism at UNC.

Source:

The State (NoCar F 251 S77), Vol. 38 Issue 16, Jan 1971, p11, por

Subject(s):

Journalists; Royster, Vermont C. (Connecticut), 1914-1996

Record #:

10640

Author(s):

Roberts, Bruce

Abstract:

If no action is taken before August 8, 1971 the nearly completed Albert Schweitzer Memorial Hospital at Balsam Grove, NC and its surrounding 350 acres of land may never serve the need envisioned by its founders, Dr. Gaine Cannon and Dr. Schweitzer. Dr. Cannon died almost four years ago leaving a nearly completed hospital stacked high with donated supplies and furniture. His will stipulates that if any organization or individual takes over the hospital and makes it operational within five years of his death, the foundation would lease them the facility indefinitely for one dollar a year. If that condition is not met by the date above, all property will revert to his heirs.

Source:

The State (NoCar F 251 S77), Vol. 38 Issue 16, Jan 1971, p12-14, il, por

Subject(s):

Hospitals--Balsam Grove

Record #:

10641

Author(s):

West, John Foster

Abstract:

John Foster West goes behind the folklore to discover the recorded facts in the murder trial of Tom Dula. Dula, who was hanged for the murder of Laura Foster in 1868, is the subject of an enduring ballad and something of a folk hero in western North Carolina. In 1958, the Kingston Trio released a version of the folk ballad that was the number one song in the country. According to West, although Dula's case went to the state Supreme Court twice and the records from those trials are preserved by the State Department of Archives and History, no writer before him had ever bothered to examine the Dula records in detail. Through examination of court records and Wilkes County census records, West recreates the events that occurred in Ferguson, NC and fills out the missing details surrounding the case, including the unknown family members of the victim and the accused. West's book is entitled THE BALLAD OF TOM DULA; THE DOCUMENTED STORY BEHIND THE MURDER OF LAURA FOSTER AND THE TRIALS AND EXECUTION OF TOM DULA.

Source:

The State (NoCar F 251 S77), Vol. 38 Issue 16, Jan 1971, p16-18, 32, il, por, map

Subject(s):

Dula, Tom C. (Tom Dooley), 1845-1868

Record #:

10642

Author(s):

Butler, Lindley S.

Abstract:

Wright Tavern, located in the picturesque village of Wentworth, the county seat of Rockingham County, stands today as a unique record of travel in the 19th-century. Famed for its hospitality and good food, the courthouse tavern served senators, congressmen, governors, judges, and the people of the upper Piedmont. The tavern was constructed around 1810 by William Wright as an addition to a late 18th-century salt box house which was retained for a time as the innkeeper's quarters. The tavern was selected to become the first restoration project for the Rockingham County Historical Society who sponsored an archaeological excavation in conjunction with the State Department of Archives and History and the faculty and students of Rockingham Community College.

Source:

The State (NoCar F 251 S77), Vol. 38 Issue 16, Jan 1971, p19-20, il

Subject(s):

Taverns (Inns)--Wentworth; Historic buildings--Wentworth