Phil Jamison Talks About Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics The Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance Wednesday, October 28, 2015, 6 pm–7pm Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood Street Lord Auditorium, lower level Come hear Phil Jamison when he will journey into the past with stories – and a little music and dance– telling the history
Overlook Park on Sunset Mountain was a popular 19th century retreat for Asheville residents and tourists. The views were magnificent, especially on the overlook tower, and a boardwalk and paths made for pleasurable walks. A pavilion at the park provided space for a cafe, orchestral performances, dances, a theater, a beer garden and a casino. Few photographs exist of the pavilion.
Before there were bridges across the French Broad River, there were ferries. And then there were no bridges across the river, according to F.S. Sondley in A History of Buncombe County North Carolina, when in “1865 the Yankee invasion up the French Broad River burned the bridges at Alexanders and at what is now Craggy.
What were Asheville’s Sunday Blue Laws? They are a little hard to pin down and they changed over time. Sunday legislation in general featured the idea of “rest for toilers and the assurance of avoiding giving offense by noise and tumult.” Many cities and states had them, and some still do. It is still illegal to sell
HUNGRY FOR HISTORY Brown Bag Lunch Series Continues: Bring a bagged lunch and join us. Wednesday September 30, 2015 12 noon to 1 pm: Kevan Frazier: “Asheville and The Roaring 20’s” We inadvertently left off the time of this program in last week’s blog post, so are putting the word out again. Kevan Frazier is
HUNGRY FOR HISTORY Brown Bag Lunch Series Continues: Bring a bagged lunch and join us. Wednesday September 30, 2015 12 noon to 1 pm: Kevan Frazier: “Asheville and The Roaring 20’s” In celebration of the Allied Victory in World War I, the 1920s ushered in an era of what some believed would be permanent prosperity.
One of the more unusual aspects of public library service in Buncombe County is the existence of two library/ recreation center/fire station facilities in the City of Asheville. I know of no other locality in North Carolina with similar buildings. There are a few library and recreation center combinations and at least one library emergency
Everyone certainly remembers Helen—Miss Troy—winner of the first beauty pageant. Beauty pageants are not the popular, newsworthy events that they once were. Can you name Miss Asheville, Miss North Carolina, or Miss America 2015? I’ll wager you can’t (I couldn’t), so the answers will appear at the end of this post. Let’s take a look
I have worked in the North Carolina Room for over 22 years, and I never knew–or even had a glimpse–of this part of Asheville’s history: the huge impact of Jewish merchants on downtown Asheville. Whole blocks of stores on Asheville’s main streets, South and North Main, Patton Avenue and Haywood Street, were owned by Jewish