In the 1980s, when Jo Boone and her late mother left work at Broughton Hospital in Morganton, they felt for the homeless people they encountered on the dark streets. So the women began crocheting hats in bright oranges, yellows, and greens — colors that would be most visible at night. They hung some from trees where they could be easily grabbed, and took others to shelters. Friends joined the cause, and now, every Friday at lunchtime, you’ll find the “Catawba Crafters” around the community table at Lowes Foods in Hickory, crocheting things like medical bags for people in Haiti, and wheelchair shawls — shorter, with no fringe to catch in wheels. The group still makes hats, which Jo sometimes delivers directly to the homeless themselves. “They trust me,” she says of the people she still helps after all these years.
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.
