A Year-Round Guide to Franklin and Nantahala

To catch up on seasons 1-3, listen here. In 2001, some state lawmakers were engaged in a less-than-sweet debate: Which berry should be named the official berry of North Carolina?

Rosemary and Goat Cheese Strata

To catch up on seasons 1-3, listen here. In 2001, some state lawmakers were engaged in a less-than-sweet debate: Which berry should be named the official berry of North Carolina?

Away Message’s Season 3, Episode 1: A Different Kind of Red-Blue Divide

To catch up on seasons 1-3, listen here.


In 2001, some state lawmakers were engaged in a less-than-sweet debate: Which berry should be named the official berry of North Carolina? We tracked down the teacher and fourth-graders who started it all with a class project and got a lot more than they bargained for. Plus, meet the former state senator who voted against every new state symbol. His reasoning says a lot about the things we pick to represent us.

This story was published on Apr 24, 2019

Jeremy Markovich

Jeremy Markovich is a former Our State editor, and is currently the communications director for the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University. Find his newsletter, North Carolina Rabbit Hole, at ncrabbithole.com.