A dramatic decade brings communities together around one more momentous event: a record-breaking storm that covers southeastern North Carolina in a blanket of snow — just in time for the holidays.
Let There Be Peace
During the Civil War, Christmas became a season of longing for soldiers and their loved ones waiting at home.
The 1980s: A Man of Grand Designs
Harvey Gantt arrives in Charlotte as a leader with vision, helping shape the city’s future as an architect and, following his election in 1983, as its first black mayor.
The 1980s: The City That Almost Wasn’t
By the early 1980s, downtown Asheville is struggling. But when a plan to jump-start the area threatens to alter its character, locals spring into action, taking steps toward a bright future.
The 1980s: A Reunion for the Ages
A quest to discover her roots inspired a Tyrrell County native to organize a homecoming for the descendants of the men and women once enslaved at Somerset Place Plantation.
The 1980s: City of Stars
A major film production finds its principal location in southeastern North Carolina, setting the stage for Wilmington’s new role as “Hollywood East.”
Safe Passage on the Intracoastal Waterway
Commercial and recreational vessels cruise a watery highway of natural and dredged channels, with one face toward the land and the other toward the ocean.
The 1980s: The Challenger Seven
One of the worst accidents of the American space program shapes a generation: In 1986, the nation mourns the heroes aboard the space shuttle Challenger, including two astronauts with deep ties to North Carolina.
The 1980s: The Bird Man
In Wilmington, a biology professor makes it his mission to understand and protect the waterbirds that nest along the North Carolina coast — and inspires his students to do the same.
