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.
In North Carolina, spring brings the scent of fresh-cut grass and memories of helping Dad mow the lawn.
Nostalgic burger joints are like time machines, delivering something extra special that keeps us coming back.
This tiny city block in downtown Greensboro once had a gigantic reputation. Not so much for its charbroiled beef patties — though they, too, were plentiful — but for its colorful characters and their wild shenanigans.
In the 1950s, as Americans hit freshly paved roads in shiny new cars during the postwar boom, a new kind of restaurant took shape: the drive-in. From those first thin patties to the elaborate gourmet hamburgers of today, North Carolina has spent the past 80 years making burger history.
