Buncombe County Special Collections
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packnc
Friday, March 27, 2026 / Published in Quirks & Kerfuffles

Asheville’s Weirdest Facts and Fictions, Part III: Counterculture Curiosities

Welcome to the third installment of our series of blog posts about our region’s weirdest history! If you missed the first two, check out Part I (about some persistent local myths) and Part II (strange animal stories). This series is inspired in part by storyteller and author Liz Z. Pardue, who will be at Pack
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packnc
Wednesday, March 25, 2026 / Published in Quirks & Kerfuffles

Asheville’s Weirdest Facts and Fictions, Part II: True Tales of Eccentric Animals 

On March 31, storyteller and author Liz Z. Pardue presents Keep NC Weird! The Strange & Macabre History of Our State at Pack Memorial Library, a one-hour journey through the strangest history, most eccentric characters, and darkest folklore of the Old North State. In anticipation, we’re rifling through some of the weird tales we happen to know
Asheville
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packnc
Monday, March 23, 2026 / Published in Quirks & Kerfuffles

Asheville’s Weirdest Facts and Fictions, Part I: Dubious Legends 

“Keep Asheville Weird!” We’ve all heard it.[1] But what exactly is so weird about Asheville? How long has our region had a reputation for quirkiness? And how much of it is actually true? On March 31, storyteller and author Liz Z. Pardue presents Keep NC Weird! The Strange & Macabre History of Our State at
Asheville History
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packnc
Friday, August 16, 2024 / Published in Quirks & Kerfuffles

Pack Rats, Possums, and Other Beastly Bibliophiles 

Say hello to new mascots at Pack Memorial Library--and learn about animal visitors to our local library system, old and new!
Buncombe County Library SystemLibrariesPack Memorial Library
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packnc
Friday, November 17, 2023 / Published in Books, Quirks & Kerfuffles, Women

Vintage Vittles: Time-Tested Recipes from Special Collections 

Archives and special collections as kitchen reference materials? Why not! This past September, the staff of Buncombe County Special Collections went on a search through the historic cookbooks in our collection for recipes to try out and share. Here’s the “reading list” that inspired our potluck, and the recipes we shared. The Carolina Housewife by
Buncombe County HistoryFood
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packnc
Friday, April 14, 2023 / Published in Friends of the NC Room, Local Heroes and Heroines, Quirks & Kerfuffles, Woo-Woo Moments

The Case of the Missing Eggs

 “Collection…one of the best in existence” “…one of the treasures of our State” “… invaluable!” These accolades referred not to a collection of precious gems or rare artwork, but instead to one of bird eggs collected by renowned local ornithologist, John Simpson Cairns (1862-1895) of Weaverville. Cairns’ research contributed significantly to the field of modern
EnvironmentalismJohn Simpson CairnsOrnithology
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packnc
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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packnc
Thursday, December 27, 2018 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, Asheville History, Local History, Quirks & Kerfuffles

52 Weeks, 52 Communities: A Journey Through Buncombe County

Buncombe County has historically been one of the largest counties in North Carolina (Currently we rank number 19 of 100 in land area). In its earliest days, the county was nicknamed “The State of Buncombe” because its borders encompassed an enormous portion of western North Carolina straight to the Tennessee line (and for a short
Buncombe CountyCommunities
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packnc
Tuesday, December 11, 2018 / Published in Architecture, Asheville History, Buildings, Post Card Collection, Quirks & Kerfuffles

Strange, But True…..

On July 10, 1932 that headline began an article in The Asheville Citizen-Times. What follows is the column in its entirety. One of the new Adirondack cabins now being brought to Asheville and vicinity by the Consolidated Realty corporation ready to erect, has been opened at Lake Lure at the intersection of the state highway
Grove Arcade rooftop cabinLake Lure Cabin
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