Category: North Carolina

Interview: T. DeLene Beeland, author of The Secret World of Red Wolves

Red wolves are shy, elusive, and misunderstood predators. Until the 1800s, they were common in the longleaf pine savannas and deciduous forests of the southeastern United States. However, habitat degradation, persecution, and interbreeding with the coyote nearly annihilated them. Today, reintroduced red wolves are found only in peninsular northeastern North Carolina within less than 1 percent of their former range. In The Secret World of Red Wolves: The Fight to Save North America’s Other Wolf, nature writer T. DeLene Beeland shadows the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s pioneering recovery program over the course of a year to craft an intimate portrait of the red wolf, its history, and its restoration. Continue Reading Interview: T. DeLene Beeland, author of The Secret World of Red Wolves

Here Comes Hurricane Season 2013

The National Weather Service is in the middle of their National Hurricane Preparedness Week, running from May 26–June 1. The website provides a helpful Tropical Cyclone Preparedness Guide with meteorological information on hurricanes, the many hazards that occur both during and after the storm, and a checklist precautions to take to ensure your safety through the six-month hurricane season. Continue Reading Here Comes Hurricane Season 2013

North Carolina Icons: Sandhills

Our State describes the variety of the region: “Southern Pines is the horse capital of N.C., Pinehurst is the golf capital, and Candor is the peach capital.” Stretching into South Carolina and Georgia, the Sandhills are also known for a dry climate, sandy soils (hence the success of peaches), and vast Longleaf Pine forests that support threatened and endangered species like the Red-cockaded Woodpecker. Continue Reading North Carolina Icons: Sandhills

Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery Hosts Thomas Day Exhibit

Much like Marshall and Leimenstoll’s book, Dubrow describes the Smithsonian’s exhibit as, “doubly intriguing—combining his startlingly unique cabinets, bureaus, chairs, even a child’s Gothic-Classical style ‘commode’ (potty), architectural designs, with his extraordinary career.” Continue Reading Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery Hosts Thomas Day Exhibit

Interview: Lee A. Craig on Josephus Daniels

Josephus Daniels was a progressive, a warm-hearted family man, a man who genuinely cared about the country’s less-fortunate and down-trodden, at least as he defined them. Yet at the same time, he was a white supremacist, who used the coercive powers of the state to keep blacks in a socially and economically inferior state for generations. Continue Reading Interview: Lee A. Craig on Josephus Daniels

Interview: Tom Earnhardt on Crossroads of the Natural World

The first essay, “Three Elephants in the Basement,” allowed me to transport the reader back to a time not very long ago—just a comma and three zeroes ago—when the land that would become North Carolina was populated by three species of elephant and a menagerie of strange animals as large as any in Africa today. Continue Reading Interview: Tom Earnhardt on Crossroads of the Natural World

North Carolina Icons: Doc Watson

This week we revive our NC Icons series with a look at Doc Watson, number 51 on Our State magazine’s 100 North Carolina Icons list. The Deep Gap, North Carolina native and Grammy award winning singer/songwriter left a lasting legacy on traditional American music, revered for his influence on bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. Continue Reading North Carolina Icons: Doc Watson

Excerpt: Two Captains from Carolina, by Bland Simpson

In an excerpt from Bland Simpson’s nonfiction novel Two Captains from Carolina, we get a glimpse of Moses Grandy’s early career as a boatman—the freedom he felt on the water and the opportunities that lay ahead. Continue Reading Excerpt: Two Captains from Carolina, by Bland Simpson

New Omnibus E-Book: Nell Wise Wechter’s Stories of the North Carolina Coast for Kids

Available for the first time as an Omnibus Ebook, this collection brings together two of Nell Wise Wechter’s beloved stories of young people on the North Carolina Coast. These wonderful stories will entertain and enlighten readers of all ages. Continue Reading New Omnibus E-Book: Nell Wise Wechter’s Stories of the North Carolina Coast for Kids

Video: Bland Simpson reads from “Two Captains from Carolina”

In this video, Bland Simpson reads from his epic tale of race and war, “Two Captains from Carolina,” at UNC’s Bull’s Head Bookshop, November 13, 2012. Continue Reading Video: Bland Simpson reads from “Two Captains from Carolina”

Excerpt: The Fire of Freedom, by David S. Cecelski

In years to come, he would gain a wider reputation as a moving, eloquent speaker and a fierce debater. But at no time of his life was he a more effective orator than in those first months of freedom on the North Carolina coast. The prodigal ex-slave was always at his best among other former slaves. Continue Reading Excerpt: The Fire of Freedom, by David S. Cecelski

North Carolina Icons: Appalachian Trail, Part 2: Nature

Our featured North Carolina icon this week is the Appalachian Trail. There are thousands of different species of plants and animals along the Appalachian Trail, varying as the trail goes through different climates. There are 2,000 rare, threatened, endangered, and sensitive plant and animal species. Continue Reading North Carolina Icons: Appalachian Trail, Part 2: Nature

Southern Gateways: essential southern reading that makes a great gift

Our Holiday Sale is now underway! If you need some gift ideas for the folks on your list, our Southern Gateways catalog is a great place to start. Southern Gateways is where we collect of all our general interest books about this region we call home. Continue Reading Southern Gateways: essential southern reading that makes a great gift