On exhibit at Pack Memorial Library: “Folk Art of Southern Appalachia.” “Folk artists thrive in North Carolina, evolving through self-instruction and emulation of the work of others as well as upholding traditional methods of craft passed down through the generations.” “While a consensus definition is difficult, folk art generally refers to work done by untrained,
HeardTell followers will have a surprise when they pick up the Nov. 30, 2016 issue of Mountain Express. The cover story trumpets the inclusion of the Influential Eight, “some of those lesser-known folks who are quietly doing important work in the Asheville area.” Among those eight is North Carolina librarian Zoe Rhine. Read it and
HeardTell, the North Carolina Room blog was born on July 7, 2013 at Pack Memorial Library, Asheville, North Carolina. HeardTell‘s mother was Susan Toole and she was assisted in the delivery by N.C. Room staff Ann Wright, Betsy Murray and Zoe Rhine. Susan was working at Pack as an intern for her library degree. For one
Sometimes, everyone while driving down a street–like Haywood, Charlotte, Merrimon or Patton Avenue, names so common–stops and wonders about the name. “I wonder who Charlotte Street was named for? And sometimes, there are streets that wondering where the name came from is the last thing in the world anyone would think about. Like Page Avenue.
A college student was interning with the North Carolina Room and on her first day we were showing her around. We mentioned that, for history purposes, we’d kept our N.C. card catalog. We noticed she was looking around the room as if lost. She didn’t know what to look for because she didn’t know what she was
I was looking through a stack of photographs in the collection we received from the Patton/Parker family after the death of Mary Parker. This photograph intrigued me. The writing on the back of the photo upped my intrigue. I wasn’t familiar with any of the names. The Ravenel family lived at 2 Short Street in Biltmore. Short Street became Kitchen Place
Early one Monday morning in September, 1910, news reached Asheville that Mr. Herbert B. Race and his “mechanician” J. E. McCants had arrived safely in Greenville, South Carolina, and were expected to reach downtown Asheville by noon that day. The two had departed from Jacksonville, Florida, at the crack of dawn on Saturday, attempting a
The photographer only had about 30 days to get the above interesting picture. This is what’s missing. The building above as it appeared in 1909 as the Asheville Library building at 4 Pack Square South. It was for many years before that known of as the First National Bank Building. In 1889 the bank purchased two small brick buildings that predated
Throughout this past summer, the North Carolina Room at Pack Memorial Public Library presented a six-month series exploring “Asheville in the 1980s.” The series delved into the impetus for, and lasting results of, the City’s transformation during that critical decade. The programs attracted large and sometimes overflow crowds to Lord Auditorium. Now the entire six-program