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Tuesday, February 22, 2022 / Published in African Americans, Asheville History, Buncombe County History, Community Member Posts, Forgotten People, Local History, Women

Occupations of Black Women in Asheville, 1890 Part II: Cooks

Over the next several weeks Buncombe County Special Collections will share five different posts by former Special Collections (NC Room) Librarian Zoe Rhine. Since “retiring” in January 2020, Zoe has continued to follow her research interests; investigating the lives of African Americans in the late 19th century. Do you have research or stories about Asheville
AshevilleAsheville LibraryLibrariesWomen
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Monday, February 14, 2022 / Published in African Americans, Asheville History, Buncombe County History, Community Member Posts, Forgotten People, Local History, Women

Occupations of Black Women in Asheville, 1890: An Introduction

Over the next several weeks Buncombe County Special Collections will share five different posts by former Special Collections (NC Room) Librarian Zoe Rhine. Since “retiring” in January 2020, Zoe has continued to follow her research interests; investigating the lives of African Americans in the late 19th century. Do you have research or stories about Asheville
AshevilleAsheville LibraryLibrariesWomen
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Monday, May 18, 2020 / Published in Asheville History, Buildings, Buncombe County History, Friends of the NC Room, Quirks & Kerfuffles

Canned Victuals

What’s in your pantry these days? I freely admit to having more canned food in my pantry than ever before. (I’m fond of canned, fishy things such as sardines, anchovies, salmon, and good tuna; canned tomatoes in a variety of forms. Not so fond of canned tomato juice; I prefer it in a plastic jug.
agricultureAppalachiacanned foodsFarmer's FederationfarmsFoodfood packingHickory Nut Gap FarmMountain Grownnostalgiatomatoes
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Tuesday, May 05, 2020 / Published in Arts, Buncombe County History, Crafts, Forgotten People, Oral History, Women

Elsie’s Story – Hidden Stories in Oral Histories

Working in local history archives at UNCA Ramsey Library and at Pack Library’s North Carolina Room, I thought often about the many fascinating stories that remain hidden in the oral histories of both collections. Until the interview is transcribed, the story remains untold. Few people will have the time or the patience to listen to the
AppalachiaArts and CraftsBeaconEdsel MartinMartinOral HistorySwannanoaTraditional CraftsWade Martin
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Thursday, March 26, 2020 / Published in Architecture, Asheville History, Buildings, Buncombe County History, Forgotten People

866 Hendersonville Road

How often have you driven on Hendersonville Road and wondered what this or that site used to look like before twenty-first century development? Let’s look at one address: 866 Hendersonville Road. This is what you see today. 866 Hendersonville Road was originally owned by Frank Mears. In 1945 Reginald O. Dodd purchased the stone building.
AshevilleDodd HouseFoodForest Manor MotelFrank MearsHendersonville RoadHotelsMotelsPostcardsTravel
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Tuesday, February 25, 2020 / Published in Architecture, Asheville History, Buildings, Buncombe County History, Forgotten People, Houses

Correcting the Record.

A few months ago some questions arose about a couple photographs in the North Carolina Room’s Special Collection. They show a group of African-American masons erecting a wall up against a building with a large “Drink Pepsi-Cola” sign painted on it. Zoe asked me if I could confirm the details in the description. Here’s part
BuildingJames Vester MillerManufacturingNeighborhoodsPepsiSanborn MapsSouthsideSouthside AveUNC Asheville
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Saturday, January 04, 2020 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, African Americans, Asheville History, Buncombe County History, Houses, Local History

Confronting the Legacy of N.W. Woodfin: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities

The Woodfin community, like many other Buncombe County communities is named for a man who enslaved human beings. If you’ve followed along in this series, you’ve probably recognized that to be a common theme among communities; they’re named for people of extravagant wealth. Wealth earned on the backs of enslaved black people. Indeed, our county
52 Weeks 52 CommunitiesAfrican AmericansAppalachiaBuncombe CountyBuncombe County HistoryCivil WarCommunity HistoryEducationenslaved peopleEnslavementlaborlawyersLocal HistoryNicholas WoodfinRailroadsSlaverySlavery in Buncombe CountyWoodfin
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Saturday, December 28, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, Architecture, Asheville History, Buildings, Buncombe County History, Houses, Local History, Photograph Collection

A “Worst” Asheville Album: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities

I remember “worst” Asheville. It’s the neighborhood where my Grandfather was born in a house with dirt floors, where I went to preschool (back when Crossroads Assembly was “West Asheville Assembly” located on Haywood Rd.), attended my first dance lessons (in the building where Asheville Greenworks is today), and went along with my mother to
52 Weeks 52 CommunitiesAppalachiabefore and afterCrossroads AssemblyEatieriesGentrificationHaywood RoadRestaurantsService StationStandard Pizza Co.Sunny Point CafeUniversal JointUrban AppalachiaWest AshevilleWest End BakeryWorst Asheville
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Tuesday, December 17, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, African Americans, Asheville History, Buncombe County History, Friends of the NC Room, Local History

Swannanoa: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities

I volunteered this week to create the post for Swannanoa in part because it has been my home for the majority of my life. I was educated in grades 1-12 in “the Valley” (as you will hear natives often call the community including Black Mountain and Ridgecrest). In the 20th century, Swannanoa was transformed by
BeaconBeacon BlanketsBuncombe CountyCharles D. OwenCommunity HistoryLocal HistoryManufacturingMill TownMill VillageRural HistorySwannanoaSwannanoa River
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