Isaac and Sarah Malke Michalove immigrated from Lithuania, Russia and came to Asheville in 1890. Isaac, a pioneer Jewish merchant, operated the Michalove Wholesale Grocery company. Isaac and Sarah’s daughter Hattie, born Sept. 20, 1890, married Barney Pearlman and they immigrated in 1901, coming to Asheville in 1908. Barney operated several groceries, and then opened a small store on Patton
The North Carolina Room, Pack Memorial Library currently has on exhibit through September, four exhibit cases highlighting Asheville Tourism Souvenirs. Of course, the exhibit set us on a research binge, trying to find out all that we could about the local souvenir trade and how it developed. This is the fifth of an ongoing series, sharing some
The North Carolina Room, Pack Memorial Library currently has on exhibit through September, four exhibit cases highlighting Asheville Tourism Souvenirs. Of course, the exhibit set us on a research binge, trying to find out all that we could about the local souvenir trade and how it developed. This is the fourth of an ongoing series, sharing
The Appalachians have long been noted for the rugged individualism of their inhabitants. The terrain was and is difficult, limiting its occupants’ employment. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century the area was conducive to small farms, cottage industries and the lone artisan. With rhododendron, mountain laurel, chestnut, hickory, willow and oak prevalent in
The end of June marked the end of a year-long $68,000 Digitization Grant awarded to the North Carolina Room, Pack Memorial Library, by the State Library of North Carolina, made possible through funding from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The main part of the grant enabled us to begin the scanning of our
A Social for the Friends of the North Carolina Room was held Wednesday, June 24th, 2015 at the Rankin House Inn. The oldest frame house in Asheville, it was built in 1848 by William Dinwiddle (1804-1879) and Elizabeth Lightfoot Roadman (1804-1908) Rankin. It was the perfect place for a gathering of people who love local history. The
WLOS anchor Frank Fraboni was looking for answers to an ASK 13 question about what ever happened to the oversize coffee pots that used to be at the entrance to the Homeland Park Tourist cabins in East Asheville just past the WNC Nature Center. He landed on our HeardTell blog post we had written last November about tourists courts, so came to talk to North
If you missed hearing Jon Elliston back in March for the kick-off to our Brown Bag Lunch series, here’s your chance. Lots of people who couldn’t make it at lunchtime, thought we should schedule an evening event. The Brown Bag lunch was actually Jon’s idea, of a way to present to a small group in an informal
Malaprop’s Book Store and Cafe isn’t where it started out. The book store opened in 1982 at 61 Haywood Street. O’Henry’s Bar and Restaurant was next door at 59 Haywood Street. It might help newcomers to town to know that these two sites are the current homes of Southern Charm Boutique (which recently replaced Origami Ink) and Sensibilities Spa. As Malaprop’s owner