During World War I, Allied troops depended on gas masks to survive the use of chlorine and mustard gas. But the life-saving filter inside each mask required charcoal, the same ingredient being gobbled up by every train and home in the country. When scientists stumbled upon the same active ingredient in a natural replacement — nutshells and fruit pits — the United States looked to its children.
In North Carolina, civic and religious organizations in Wilmington, Winston-Salem, Warrenton, Reidsville, and other towns united their kids in a statewide search for peach pits, walnut shells, and hickory nut shells. After the seeds and pits dried in the sun, kids sprinted to designated collection sites at grocery and department stores across the state.
In Asheville, locals filled the Bon Marche department store barrel to the brim every week for three weeks straight, and in Orange County, four full barrels were cataloged over the course of a month.
By the time the war ended in November 1918, North Carolinians had compiled enough nuts and pits to fill 100 railroad cars, proving that even the youngest among us can be heroes.
Hitting the trail has never have been more popular, but getting started can be intimidating. Let super hiker Jennifer Pharr Davis tell you how to prepare for everything from a short day trip to a state-wide hike.
The 1960s architecture, croaking call boxes, and carhops toting plastic trays stacked with steaming fries and frosty shakes: What-A-Burger — the beloved North Carolina chain, not the popular Texas franchise — is a living remnant from a time when cars were king.
Memories of hitchhiking across North Carolina — and the United States — in the 1970s never dimmed for this author.
In North Carolina, Pig Pickin' Cake is an essential companion to any good barbecue (noun, not a verb).
