The summer of 1933 was a steamy one in eastern North Carolina. Fortunately for residents of Tarboro, the town had a brand-new Olympic-size municipal swimming pool that held 300,000 gallons of water and the promise of a cool escape. Unfortunately, however, the relentless heat (and the resulting popularity of the swimming spot) made the water too warm to enjoy.
So in July, just three months after the pool opened, the town council hired an industrial refrigeration company to design and install a cooling unit for their new pool. It cost nearly $3,000 — more than $50,000 in today’s dollars — but by mid-August, Tarboro was home to what is believed to be the first and only refrigerated outdoor pool in the nation.
The “cool pool” was a hit: State and regional swim meets were held there often throughout the ’30s and ’40s, which helped put the town on the national swimming map — Tarboro swimmers won medals all over the country. The pool closed in the late 1970s, but childhood memories of cool summer fun remain.
To commemorate our 90th anniversary, we’ve compiled a time line that highlights the stories, contributors, and themes that have shaped this magazine — and your view of the Old North State — using nine decades of our own words.
From its northernmost point in Corolla to its southern terminus on Cedar Island, this scenic byway — bound between sound and sea — links the islands and communities of the Outer Banks.
Us? An icon? Well, after 90 years and more than 2,000 issues celebrating North Carolina from mountains to coast, we hope you’ll agree that we’ve earned the title.
After nearly a century — or just a couple of years — these seafood restaurants have become coastal icons, the places we know, love, and return to again and again.
