The State Library of North Carolina will be closed on Saturday, January 19 through Monday, January 21 for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Normal hours will resume Tuesday, January 22.
holidays
Edmund Hoyt Fanning, a Carolina Christmas “card.”
Entertainer Edmund Hoyt Harding (1890-1970) was known as “the Tarheel Humorist.” He was a popular speaker in his day, with thousands of amusing stories that he tracked with a file card system, to make sure he didn’t tell the same group the same story twice. He was kind of a stand-up comedian, only the kind most at home performing in front of civic clubs logy after a big dinner, instead of a brick wall and tippling strangers. He was our state’s ambassador of goodwill, a title he earned in the 1940s from Governor Cherry. A native of Washington, N.C., he got involved in preserving and publicizing the historic town of Bath, becoming president of the Beaufort County Historical Society, and even penning a pageant called Queen Anne’s Bell in 1955 for the town’s 250th anniversary.
One way Harding expressed his humor was Christmas cards. He must have really liked costumes, as his Christmas cards from over the years picture him dressed up as: a bullfighter, Blackbeard the pirate, Uncle Sam, a Revolutionary War fifer, a Confederate drummer, a Lord Proprietor, an English beefeater costume, in a Roman toga, in Swiss lederhosen, a cartoon devil, and unavoidably, Santa Claus. The North Carolina Historic Sites has a collection of Christmas cards from Edmund Harding, a true Christmas “card” himself. Digital images of select cards may be found at http://collections.ncdcr.gov.
-T. Mike Childs
Who cares what’s for breakfast?
Delicious, delicious breakfast bagel.
This is a question that is often asked about posts on Twitter, Facebook, and blogs. From the surface, it may indeed seem silly for folks to expend time and energy posting pictures of breakfast bagels or fancy apricot marmalades.
We are wise to remember, however, that today’s Tweets could be tomorrow’s history. Consider that archaeologists spend great deals of time sifting through food waste dumps and fire pits to find remnants of what our ancestors ate to understand better their culture and diet. Consider also how much we enjoy Aunt Erma’s recipe cards, or even better, the 1960s family films to see what she put on the holiday dinner table (in this case, turkey).
We’re obsessed with food and its integral connection to understanding our culture — even if we think of it more as “why do I eat green bean casserole at the holidays even if I don’t like it?”. So, how can you learn more about North Carolina and its food culture of yesterday and today? Here are a few suggestions:
Carving the turkey at a holiday dinner.
From your computer
- Try searching Twitter to see what folks are eating today in North Carolina.
- Visit YouTube to watch what folks were eating at family events long ago.
- Vinegar sauce and more! At Flickr.
- Discover recipes from the North Carolina Digital Collections.
Get out and enjoy North Carolina food and culture!
- Home Movie Day combines Aunt Erma and Uncle George, nostalgia, hilarious clothes, and, of course lots of family meals. (In Raleigh, Saturday October 20th, 2012 from 1-4pm; other locations). Don’t forget the popcorn.
- Folks will be Tweeting about Krispy Kreme burgers and Twinkie logs once the NC State Fair starts on October 11. What will you be eating? Tell us or show us at Blue Ribbon Memories.
- Once you’ve tasted the barbecue at the State Fair, you can read more about it in a book from your local public library.
- Finally, help solve a War of 1812 mystery (dinner included) in Southport on October 19.
And don’t forget to Tweet, blog, and post to Facebook what you ate, saw, and experienced. You’ll be making history when you do it!
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is known throughout the world as an iconic leader in the fight for civil rights in United States. During his lifetime Dr. King was viewed as a revolutionary, a philosopher, a great orator and a controversial figure. His life’s work has been the subject of many books, documents, debates and recordings.
In this month as the nation honors Dr. King, the Government and Heritage Library would like to recommend a few books from our collection that focus on the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
A Testament of Hope: the Essential Writings of Martin Luther King Jr., edited by James M Washington.
-A collection of some of Dr. King’s most important writings including sermons, speeches and interviews.
Bearing the Cross, Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference by David Garrow
- Pulitzer Prize winning comprehensive biography of Dr. King and the movement he led.
Let the Trumpet Sound: the Life of Martin Luther King Jr. by Stephen Boates
-An award-winning biography on the life and times of Dr. King.
