From the upper porch of her house, a young Bayard Wootten could watch New Bern wake and stir, come and go, and fade with the light on the nearby Neuse River. This vantage point defined her work as a photographer: The first woman to take aerial photos, Wootten was also skilled at capturing the down-to-earth in her home state. Her portraits from the 1920s and ’30s, of potters and weavers, farmers and soldiers, mothers and children, showcase the dignity of everyday life. Her landscapes — a cotton field, a mountain homestead, a foot-printed dune — are both familiar and mysterious. Toward the end of her life, Wootten returned to the house where she grew up, and when she died there in 1959, she left a trove of some 600,000 photographs.
Little-Known Fun Fact: While living at this house, Wootten designed the first Pepsi-Cola logo for a neighbor, the pharmacist who invented the drink.
When it comes to spreading holiday cheer, the residents of this Chatham County town start early.
Our editor in chief shares a few treasured memories from her childhood home, a Christmas Eve night being one of the very first.
We took some, ahem, creative liberties when we combed through Our State’s archives to find a few favorite stories that carry the tune of a Christmas classic.
From decades-old family recipes to a centuries-old Carolina cookie, we’re filling our holiday tables with dishes that have stood the test of time.
