Writer of Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry and Master Photographer
[Note: This was one of my favorite columns by legendary North Carolina writer Dennis Rogers. It originally appeared in the News & Observer, and later in Rogers’ book, It’s Bad News When the Bartender Cries. This is a summary of the story.] Lonnie Roberts owned a good mule and now it was dead and he…
Most people probably think politics is uglier than it has ever been these days. However, history is full of stories of physical fights and assaults related to politics, even on the floor of Congress. In North Carolina, one of the southeast’s last duels took place in Wilmington among two prominent citizens, Dr. William Crawford Willkings…
James H. Jones was a born as a free man in Wake County in 1831. His father died when he was an infant, and Jones learned brick masonry and plastering. In the 1850s, he started hiring himself out as a servant and waiter. When Union troops threatened Richmond in the summer of 1862, Varina Howell…
The Civil War ended this month 156 years ago. The final days wound down in North Carolina, so I’m sharing a passage from Galvanized in today’s blog: “When Sherman entered North Carolina, he ordered restraint from the men, unlike the devastation that had been wreaked on the rest of the South. Fayetteville, home of the…
Like many people, I’ve always been fascinated with pirate stories. The TV series “Black Sails” has been fascinating with its mix of fact and fiction, but we no longer have the movie service that shows it. In that show, there are several pirates of fame, even North Carolina’s own Blackbeard. But one of the main…
I always wanted a Swiss Army knife when I was growing up. It was a pretty handy tool and eventually that dream came true. While it was handy, I never thought about the Swiss Army being fearsome. I was wrong on that one. It’s been said that man-for-man, the Swiss Army is one of the…
North Carolina is a well-known retirement destination, offering everything from mountains to a beautiful coast and everything in between. While there have been some famous people to settle here after becoming famous, there are also some great legends and tall tales about others. One unsolved case is that of Jean Lafitte — a pirate, privateer,…
Most people are familiar with the Scopes “Monkey Trial” held in 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee. High school teacher John Scopes was put on trial for teaching evolution. The case drew national attention — which was exactly what city leaders wanted when they set up the whole thing. It was a PR stunt. Tennessee was one…
North Carolina is known as the “Old North State” and the “Tar Heel State.” The University of North Carolina’s mascot is the Tar Heels. But there isn’t total agreement on where the nickname started. When I was in elementary school, most of the attribution for the nickname had Civil War roots. The most common I…
In 1755, a law was passed by the North Carolina General Assembly for “relief of the poor and the prevention of idleness.” Later, in 1817, a tax was approved, and through private donations and will bequests, funding for the poor slowly came about. Not much was done formally until well into the antebellum period, when…