Civil War Books Abound During 150th Anniversary Years
By Pat Taylor
What's in a Name? - Quite a Lot, If It's Vestal
It's an old Southern tradition, naming the firstborn son after his father, and in many cases linking generations before that.
Meningitis Scare Strikes a Bit Too Close to Home
The recent outbreak of meningitis due to tainted medicine has brought back memories from the early 1950s — of a victim of the virus when it, like polio and tuberculosis, was a largely uncontrolled, dreaded and often fatal disease.
Recommended Reads on the Civil War's 150th Anniversary
By Pat Taylor
Quite a Surprise Visit from the Tax Man
Many of us who grew up in a simpler time worry that government has grown so large and complex that it is no longer manageable. A good example of this concern came up recently when the N.C. Department of Revenue dipped into my daughter's bank accounts - unannounced - over a tax return from 2008.
Awash in an Sea of New Technology
I t started as a tiny trickle and over the years became a flood. What once seemed like the root of modern salvation has grown to be a tangled laurel hell, binding time and energy to itself, often with no discernable gain in our quality of life. It is both a blessing and, increasingly, a curse. Amazingly, we're probably still on the front end of its development.
Morgan’s Book Valuable Addition to Historical Record of U.S.
For most Americans, the period between 1803, when the Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the U.S., and 1850, when the California gold rush was at a frenzy, is a blank canvas.
Morgan's Book Valuable Addition to Historical Record
Lions of the West
Shaara Tells War Stories Through the Eyes of Those Who Have Lived Them
In typical fashion, historical novelist Jeff Shaara has again taken his readers to the frontlines of a major military operation, this time to the island of Okinawa, near the end of World War II.
River Is Old, but Interlopers Are New
A river still runs through Ashe County, as it has since the African continent and the Americas collided 500,000,000 years ago and pushed up the mountains called the Blue Ridge. The New River defines Ashe as much as the mountains that surround it, and is better known. The New is but a riffle here, easy paddling with few rapids and none of consequence.
A Book Filled With Complex Characters
It’s a complex web John Hart weaves here, a tale full of mixed-up characters with holes in their souls.
A Book Filled with Complex Characters
BY PAT TAYLOR
Guide Packed With Information
When you need information in a hurry, there’s still no better way to find it than a guidebook.
Holding History Up to Your Shoulder
For most people, history lives in a dusty world inhabited by small, bespectacled men in brown suits sitting alone in spaces lit by large windows, poring over ancient text.
Male terrier mix found at Swank Coffee shop in downtown Southern Pines
Male terrier mix found at Swant Coffee shop in downtown Southern Pines
Young Eagles To Soar
Young Eagles have to learn to fly, and that's the intent of an event at the Moore County Airport this Saturday, May 21. Any student from age 8-17 can experience the freedom of flight by coming to the airport from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for a free airplane ride.
I Can Say I Knew Steve Martin When
Sometimes the stars line up and the gravitational pull of the moon exerts just the right influence and great things happen. Or maybe it’s just luck.
A Great Opportunity for Local Anglers
Now that we’re seeing a few warm days, the movement of fish from deep water to shallower water for pre-spawn activity is certainly going to speed up.
Ten Books Still Worth Reading
As a lifelong reader, I delight in -finding books that never got read on the first pass and delving into them. Some weather time well; some don't.
Firefighters: Most Noble of Volunteers
Every year about this time, when the first real cold snap comes along in December, my thoughts turn at some point to the local volunteer fire departments.
A Disneyland of Old-Time Engines
It is, without a doubt, the most amazing event in Moore County that you may never have heard about. The event is called “100-Plus Years of Progress,” and it offers an annual walk through the history of mechanical invention in the last century.
Stranger Than Fiction: Halloween Thoughts on Spooky Experience
To this day, there is no way to explain it, other than to say there was a loose spirit in the house. A ghost, if you will.
Old Friends: More Precious Than Gold
One of my favorite songs of all time has always been "Old Friends," by Simon and Garfunkel, from their "Bookends" album.
A Father's Gifts: Confidence, Purpose
Our greatest gifts to our children are to instill self-confidence and a sense of possibilities. Our greatest challenge is to guide and direct, to define boundaries while leaving open doors, without trying to make them just like us. Our greatest joy is watching them stretch their wings and fly with purpose.
An Unexpected Air Show Up in Carthage
Among the more serendipitous moments of my four years in Moore County was a recent hour at the Gilliam-McConnell Airport in Carthage, watching a small corps of vintage airplanes taking off.
Indentured Servants College Athletes Are an Exploited Class
What if someone suggested that we start a billion-dollar-a-year business, using college students as the primary labor source, and structure it so that they get paid little or nothing while everyone around them gets showered with money?
When Spring Training Meets Walt Disney
Finally, I can check another item off my bucket list: spring training. After 53 years of baseball fanship and decades of musing about the intimate, relaxed pleasures of watching the best of the best tuning up for a long season to come, an opportunity finally presented itself.
Moving Send-Off for a Fallen Brother
As he came near the end, he seemed to be silently saying, “Miss me, but let me go.”
Getting a Perspective on Modern Life in Iran
By Hooman Majd
Book on Battle Coincides With Anniversary
Long, Obstinate, and Bloody: The Battle of Guilford Courthouse
Visiting the Uhwarrie: Big Fun Right Next Door
The fiery colors are all gone now, whisked away by a windy November weekend and scattered around the forest floor.
A History of Nation's Capitol
Washington Burning
A Father Looks Back at Son's College Career
My little boy has graduated. Wearing a baseball uniform under his cap and gown, my boy of summer walked across the stage, picked up his sheepskin, and suddenly he is out of college.
Frazier's Story Is 'Gift to the Reader'
Thirteen Moons
