For nine decades, Our State has made its way into homes across North Carolina, the United States, and the world. To celebrate, every month this year, we’re paying tribute to the readers who inspire us, offering a taste of our earliest recipes, and revisiting old stories with new insights. Follow along to find out how our past has shaped our present.
Jiminy Cricket! Did Walt Disney really live and work in Asheville before becoming famous?
Well, um, no. Despite the claims of a January 1985 article in The State magazine — and previous stories in other publications — it appears that the famed film producer never called Asheville home. So, alas, here we are, issuing a nearly 40-year-old correction.
For generations, locals claimed that a young, unknown Disney came to town in 1924 and landed a draftsman job with the engineering firm of Maj. Thomas A. Cox Jr. The story goes that the future animator, then only 23, was soon fired for drawing cartoon mice and other critters on his plats.
The legend gained credibility when The Asheville Citizen published a front-page story about it in December 1966, the day after Disney died. Unfortunately, our magazine fell for the fantasy, too, writing that “instead of concentrating on his engineering drawings, the young artist would create cartoon caricatures and design fancy subscripts in blueprint margins.”
But the story belongs on the cutting-room floor. For starters, Disney historians deny that the visionary ever lived in North Carolina. His biography indicates that he was already in Hollywood by 1923. Furthermore, local historians have thoroughly investigated the claim, poring over Buncombe County blueprints and other records without finding any evidence that links Disney to Asheville.
Despite our wishful reporting, the creator of Mickey Mouse never lived in our state … and now we look a little goofy.
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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.
