Folks, look at this cute. Little. Bear cub. There he is in Asheville at the Biltmore Estate! Ooh, that’s him at the Old Well in Chapel Hill! Say, is that a lighthouse behind him? Yup!
Wouldn’t you like to see more of this bear? Wouldn’t you like to know his story? If so, then you’ve already figured out that bear cub advertising works.
The little cub in these pictures was 10 weeks old when legendary photographer and Grandfather Mountain proprietor Hugh Morton took him on the road. In April and May of 1972, the cub appeared in 28 programs on 16 television stations and was photographed being adorable in front of landmarks across the state. It was all part of a bond campaign to raise money to create the North Carolina Zoo. The strategy worked.
A contest to name the bear followed a few months later, promising mountain honey to the winner. Hobo was selected (other entries included Heffalump, Butchy Poo, and General Grant). After his big tour, Hobo went to live with other bears at Grandfather. He was a cute bear, but a bear nonetheless, and he sometimes got into tussles with his handlers. He lived for 17 years, until 1989, and was the first bear to be buried next to the picnic area.
But he’s still mostly remembered for being a cub. “If I win the honey,” a girl from Mooresville wrote in her entry, “please keep it and give it to the little bear for a treat.”
Growing up in North Carolina, the swelter of a late Southern summer was all about finding the best ways to cool off.
North Carolina pharmacists may not prescribe Pepsi anymore, but the sweet treats at these historic soda fountains can still cure a case of the blues.
The National Register of Historic Places has documented some 95,000 structures, sites, and districts across the country. In North Carolina, around 2,900 properties — from churches and cotton mills to farms, homes, and schools — have earned this designation. Now, these special spots representing our state’s history are known nationwide.
Boiled, brittled, or bagged at the ballpark, there’s a peanut for practically every time and place. We’re proud that so many of them come from eastern North Carolina — ranked fifth in the nation for peanut production — where a whole lot of legumes find purchase in our sandy soil.
