Articles in regional publications that pertain to a wide range of North Carolina-related topics.
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for The State Vol. 51 Issue 4, Sept 1983
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Record #:
8247
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Beginning in 1886, the State Weather Service was managed by both the United States Signal Service and the N.C. Agricultural Experiment, part of what was then the College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts (now North Carolina State University). The U.S. Department of Agriculture took over responsibility for the weather service in 1891 and renamed it the United States Weather Bureau. The Agricultural Experimental Station would send weather report telegrams to certain railroad stations where volunteers would then display signal flags that showed local weather conditions. In 1892, daily weather maps giving temperature, precipitation, barometric pressure, and wind direction were distributed to fifty locations across the state. A year later, 500 post offices throughout the state were receiving the forecast data reproduced on postcards by the railroad displaymen. Ever since it was established, the weather service, by whatever name, has lived up to its purposes of collecting weather data, disseminating practical information, forecasting weather, and warnings about frost or cold-waves.
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8582
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Reports are given every fall, informing tourists of the period when mountain forest leaves will be at their peak color. Predicting this peak, however, is impossible, according to former U.S. Forest Service employees Arnold and Connie Krochmal. Color change in leaves varies by species and by individual tree, and the Krochmal's argue that elevation has no affect on the timing of a tree's color change. Leaves that change from green to yellow or orange are experiencing a physical change as the green chlorophyll dies. When this happens, the yellow colors that were present are able to be seen, as they are no longer masked by the leaf's green pigments. Leaves that change from green to a red or a purple are undergoing a chemical change, as plant foods stored in the leaf are converted to different compounds known as anthocyanins.
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8583
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North Carolina fishermen waited every fall for the arrival of mullet fish. The author remembers an autumn scene in the 1950s near Carolina Beach when he helped Harper McQuillan and Ellis Freeman bring in the day's catch. Those who helped the fishermen bring in the nets received enough fish for a family dinner. The fishermen then loaded their trucks and headed to Wilmington. There, they received deflated prices because of all the fish other fishermen were brining in. Those days are now gone - there have been no mullet hauls along the golden strand in over twenty-five years.
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8584
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William Sydney Porter, also known as O. Henry, grew up in Greensboro. It was there as a young child that he befriended John Thom, who was the grandfather of John Thom Spach, the author of this article. The friendship appeared years later in the character of John Tom, in O. Henry's story “The Atavism of John Tom Little Bear.†At age nineteen, Porter moved to Texas seeking a cure for his tuberculosis. There, Porter lived on the ranch of Dr. James K. Hall, another native North Carolinian who had moved to Texas. Hall's son, Lee Hall, was a famous lawman and a captain in the Texas Rangers. O. Henry based the characters Ranger Lieutenant Sandridge and Ranger Lieutenant Bob Buckley on Lee Hall. Porter never became a tough lawman like Hall and he left the ranch for Austin, Texas. In Austin, Porter worked in several different jobs, including a bank teller's job at the First National Bank of Austin, where Porter was later accused of embezzling bank funds. He was convicted of the charge and spent almost two years in prison.
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8585
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Every year Cleveland County's smallest town, Belwood, hosts its Heritage Day celebration. Residents dress in 18th-century clothing, travel by horse to the community church where they have a town picnic and celebration. Belwood almost disappeared when the town lost its post office, businesses, and local schools. Local citizens, however, bought the old schoolhouse and teacherage from the county, preventing the demolition of the buildings. The State of North Carolina officially recognized Belwood as a town in 1978, thus ensuring that the town will not disappear.
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8586
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Cotton Ketchie is painting scenes from all across North Carolina. Ketchie began drawing sketches as a child. His only formal training came only in an introductory art course at Mitchell Community College. His hobby soon became his passion and as his talents grew, Ketchie was able to quit his job and begin painting full-time. Ketchie bases his studio at his home in Mooresville. From there, he travels across the state, from the mountains to the Outer Banks, finding scenes to paint. His primary goal is to paint scenes and places he fears may not be around for his children to see. Some of his more notable paintings and drawings include scenes from Currituck Lighthouse, Grandfather Mountain, Chinqua-Penn Plantation, and Ocracoke Island Lighthouse. Ketchie's art style, what he describes as “sensitive realism,†has been influenced by Bob Timberlake, Mel Kester, and Andrew Wyeth.
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8587
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Mollie Jordan of Isle of Wight County, Virginia, began writing for the Spirit of the Age in 1855. Her articles were notable not only because they were written at a time which saw very few female writers, but also because of the topics she wrote about. Mollie believed that women were the intellectual equals to men, and her articles displayed this conviction. When she married the newspaper's editor, Alexander Gorman of Raleigh, on December 4, 1855, her writings began defending the wife's role in the home, arguing that more respect should be granted to wives for their struggles. She also defended spinsters, arguing that a woman should not be forced into marriage and that those who chose not to marry still held an important place in society. Mollie soon became a co-editor of the newspaper, even taking over full operations when her husband was away. The Civil War greatly affected the Spirit of the Age. The newspaper was forced to limit the size of its paper and the decision was made to cut the women's section. During the later stages of the war, Alexander Gorman was forced to sell the newspaper. He died in 1865. Mollie had little money left because her Confederate savings were worthless. She persevered, however, and continued to raise her four children. Her feminist role is largely forgotten, but the topics she wrote about were truly revolutionary.
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8588
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Hummingbirds are magnificent creatures. They are the only birds that can hover and instantly switch to any direction. In order to fuel their amazing flights, hummingbirds eat half their weight a day in sugar. This would be the equivalent of a 170-pound man eating and burning 150,000 calories a day. Ruby-throated hummingbirds, the most common hummingbird in North Carolina, spend their winters in Central American and in southern Mexico. They make a 2,000-mile journey across the Gulf of Mexico to spend their summers in the southeastern United States. The author fell in love with hummingbirds when he placed a feeder in his yard. Since then, the author has enjoyed observing hummingbirds and their behaviors, such as fighting over rights to the feeder.
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8589
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Paul James “Hardrock†Simpson was born on September 2, 1904, in Guilford County. During his lifetime he ran over 160,000 miles and became a running icon. Hardrock began running as a high-school athlete in 1927. By 1934, he had run across the United States twice and had won the $1,000 Montreal-Quebec and return race. A graduate of Elon College, Hardrock worked as a postal carrier. He ran his entire life and spent each birthday running as many miles as he was old.
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