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.
Why does this Haywood County town have some of the cleanest water in the state? It’s the result of the community’s efforts to keep the forests in its watershed pristine.
The spectacular views in North Carolina’s High Country aren’t just inspiration for writers, painters, and sculptors. Those landscapes — the rugged gray face of Grandfather Mountain, the vibrant fall leaves, the deep green meadows — are brushstrokes on Earth’s own canvas.
The sprawling vineyards and wide-open skies that stretch for miles across seven North Carolina counties offer relaxing getaways — not to mention some of the state’s finest wines — for Sunday drivers aching to escape the rush of city life.
Nothing lasts forever — and that’s what makes many of our cherished moments so special.
