So long, 2025! After spending nearly two years planning, preparing, and moving Special Collections materials into our new digs in Discovery Hall, it felt great to settle in last year and resume day-to-day collection management activities. This was especially true for the largest collection under the stewardship of Special Collections staff—manuscripts.

Last year, staff spent time catching up on processing new accessions and reprocessing older collections to improve discoverability. We also made significant strides towards processing portions of the largest manuscript collections in our care. This work included:

• Completion of a preliminary inventory of folders (over 25,000!) in the Star-News Image Archive (shout out to student employees Sarah, Hannah, Ry, Bella, and Kenzie for their hard work on this project!)
• Time spent preserving and describing materials in scrapbooks held in the Edwin E. Kirton Family Private Papers.
• Work towards (re)processing materials in the Herman Blizzard Rotary Archive with the assistance of a student funded through a donation from the Wilmington Rotary Club.
• Publication of a digital collection containing descriptions of 457 episodes of WHQR’s long-running program, Sounds Local, which is part of the WHQR Public Radio Archive.

In addition to the work described above, staff also completed processing for the following collections, which are now available for research use in the Center’s reading room. Learn more about how you can access these materials here. 

MS 110 The Hawk’s Eye: This collection contains material relating to "The Hawk's Eye," a regular feature article about Wilmington College published in the Wilmington Star-News during the late 1940s and the 1950s.

MS 211 John Jay Burney Jr. Personal Papers: This collection contains the personal papers of John Jay Burney, Jr. (1924-2010), a Wilmington attorney and former North Carolina state senator. Content represents all aspects of his life--personal, professional, and political--from his time serving in World War II in the 1940s to his North Carolina-based political and legal career that lasted into the early 2000s.

MS 392 St. Stephen A.M.E. Church Records: This collection contains material belonging to St. Stephen A.M.E. Church in Wilmington, North Carolina, from the mid-1800s through 2020. Material includes a poster of the officers of the church in 1896, a photograph of the church's interior, historical ledgers of meeting minutes and conference records, souvenir booklets and programs, newsletters, flyers, calendars, and construction funding paperwork. The majority of the material is focused around regular church services and special events, like Women's Day and Men's Day, from the 1980s to 2020.

MS 393 Earl Sheridan Papers: This collection contains materials relating to Dr. Earl Sheridan, a former Wilmington City Council member, UNC Wilmington professor, and NAACP chapter president. Much of this collection consists of newspapers and newspaper clippings (1981-2009) of articles written by or about Dr. Sheridan. Many articles discuss local and national civil rights issues for African Americans. Of note are stories that report on the NAACP’s opposition of the 1994 New Hanover County school bond referendum and on the police shooting of John Franklin Jones in 1989.

MS 399 Wilmington and New Hanover County Naval Affairs Committee Collection: This collection contains the materials of the Wilmington-New Hanover County Naval Affairs Committee, a City of Wilmington subcommittee responsible for coordinating the visits of foreign and American military ships to Wilmington during the 1980s to the early 2000s. Much of the records in this collection document the visits of military vessels to the Wilmington area between 1983 and 2000. Although most of these records center on the visits of foreign ships, especially British Royal Navy vessels, a small number focus on the arrival of American ships.

MS 400 Larry Kessler's Research Papers on Charlie Soong: This collection contains the research materials of Dr. Lawrence "Larry" D. Kessler (1936-2020), an author, researcher, and professor of East Asian and Chinese history. Part of Dr. Kessler's research papers focuses on China-North Carolina history, including certain significant individuals like Charlie Soong and Dr. Ma Haide. Other records include Kessler's research papers on the American missionary site of Jiangyin Mission Station and two missionary families.

MS 402 Gilbert H. Burnett Papers: This collection contains the papers of Gilbert H. Burnett (1925-2020), the Chief Judge of the 5th Judicial District of North Carolina from 1970 to 1991. This collection consists of materials related to Judge Burnett’s judicial career and community service advocacy, his publications and local television show, and his personal life, including life history, hobbies and interests, and military experience. Of note are newspaper clippings and correspondence documenting Burnett’s role as the preliminary hearing judge in the Wilmington Ten case.

MS 406 Bellamy Mansion Collection: This collection contains historical records from the mid-1800s to mid-1900s of members of the Bellamy family, down the Dr. John D. Bellamy (1817-1896) line, and related family members. A large portion of these records are related to the business dealings and financial matters of the Hargrove family, connected via Emma May Hargrove Bellamy, wife of John D. Bellamy, Jr. (1854-1942). Material also pertains to the Bellamy family home, the Bellamy Mansion on Market Street in Historic Downtown Wilmington.

MS 413 Marsden Bellamy Family Collection: This collection contains material related to members of the Bellamy family, mainly down the Marsden Bellamy (1843-1909) line, including photographs, correspondence, newspaper clippings, ephemera, and two family Bibles. Content largely relates to major life events, such as marriages and deaths, as well as Bellamy family ancestry, with an emphasis on material related to Chesley Calhoun Bellamy (1887-1957), son of Marsden, and Chesley's wife, Caroline Louise Mallett Bellamy (1891-1978). 

MS 420 Harry Bethea World War II Papers: This collection contains documents pertaining to the World War II service of Harry E. Bethea of Wilmington, North Carolina. Bethea served as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force as a bomber pilot in both the European and Pacific theaters. Included are documents from 1944 pertaining to his training and service in the United States before deploying to the European Theater. 

MS 423 Tolis Vardakis Collection of World War II Photographs: This collection contains approximately 165 photographs from World War II. Photographs document the European and Pacific Theaters, with emphasis on the invasion of Poland, Greece, and France, as well as on various types of bomber aircraft used during the war. Most photographs credit the Associated Press or International News Photos Inc. and are stamped as being part of "The Evening Bulletin Reference Library," the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania newspaper from which they were originally generated. Photographs date from 1939 to 1945.

Lower Cape Fear Historical Society Photograph Collection: This collection, on loan to the Center by the Historical Society, contains photographs of the Lower Cape Fear area around Wilmington, dating from approximately 1860 to 2007. The images capture people, places, artworks of Wilmington and its inhabitants, and notable area landmarks across that time. They also document members of and activities undertaken by the Lower Cape Fear Historical Society, with particular emphasis during the 1980s-1990s. This collection is also available to view through its digital collection counterpart. 

In 2018, the Center acquired the WWAY Television News Archive, a massive collection of over 6,000 items (mostly U-matic and DVC Pro tapes and DVDS) primarily consisting of news segments and b-roll footage produced by the WWAY television news station, a long-time ABC affiliate station. The recordings contain footage spanning the period from 1982 through 2012 that was created for local news broadcast. With grant funding received from the Council on Library and Information Resources’ Recordings at Risk program, approximately 8,000 local news clips dating from 1982 to 1997 have been made viewable and searchable in the WWAY Television News Archive Digital Collection.  

"Wilmington Family of Michael Jordan Watches National Basketball Association Draft at Home," 1984 (more info)

The digital collection contains a wealth of video footage and coverage of major local and national events. Several clips dating from 1983 show the fallout of “Operation Gateway,” a two-year joint investigation by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the federal Drug Enforcement Agency that uncovered a major drug smuggling ring in southeast North Carolina involving several prominent Brunswick County citizens. Coverage of local campaign activity for several United States presidential elections is also featured. Users can view clips documenting the early days of Wilmington’s film industry, particularly the productions of 1984’s Firestarter and 1985’s Cat’s Eye, alongside footage of high school and college commencement ceremonies, local sports match-ups, and county commissioners’ meetings. 

"New Hanover County Trial of Brunswick County Sheriff Herman Strong, Hoyle Varnam, and Steve Jackson Varnam for Smuggling Marijuana During Operation Gateway," 1983 (more info)

To view the collection for yourself, browse the available clips through the digital collection or use the keyword search box in the top right corner of the page to search for specific people, events, or topics. The digital collection currently only includes about 15% of the collection's news footage for the years 1982-1997, so if you’re having trouble finding coverage of something, contact the Center’s archivists for assistance in locating additional clips.

"Wilmington Independence Mall Back-to-School Shopping, Featuring Boy Who Wants to Dress Like Michael Jackson," 1984 (more info) 

This post was contributed by Sarah Creel, a student employee in the Center's Special Collections unit. Sarah is working to preserve and describe scrapbooks held in the Edwin E. Kirton Family Private Papers this academic year. 

Holiday cards are a way for us to connect with those we care for in our lives  —  to remind them of our appreciation or to simply say, “I was thinking of you.” Additionally, holiday cards are often saved by people as special mementos, and they can make their way into the archive. The Edwin E. Kirton Family scrapbooks, full of personal newspaper clippings, correspondence, and ephemera, provide a sneak peek into this holiday tradition during the mid-twentieth century in Wilmington. 

For Rev. Edwin Kirton and Mrs. Eunice Kirton, Christmas was a busy yet special time for them. Both Edwin and Eunice belonged to the Episcopal tradition, and Edwin served as the Rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in downtown Wilmington for over twenty years. The card below displays an illustration of a Christmas nativity scene, an image that would have resonated with the Kirton family as well as many in their community. 

The Kirton Family Scrapbooks also contain examples of homemade holiday cards with some creative flair. The card below was sent to the Kirtons by the Bluethenthal family, and it is constructed with white card stock and a piece of dried seaweed from Kure Beach attached to it. While quite different from the “typical” holiday card, it was a unique way for the Bluethenthal family to send their season’s greetings. 

Lastly, other holiday cards in the Edwin E. Kirton Family scrapbooks display the family’s connections outside of Wilmington. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Rev. Edwin E. Kirton was a member of the Governor’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. His active involvement in this state commission gave him a relationship with North Carolina Governor Dan Moore and his family. The card below is from the Governor who wishes the Kirton family a happy New Year. 

Overall, the Edwin E. Kirton Family scrapbooks contain a variety of holiday cards from the twentieth century. These cards show the different relationships the Kirton family had within and outside Wilmington, as well as the different types of holiday cards one could encounter in twentieth-century Wilmington. Finally, their preservation in the family scrapbooks also demonstrate the sentimental nature of holiday cards. 

Sources: MS 042 Edwin E. Kirton Family Private Papers, Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History.

Wilmington has been synonymous with the East Coast film industry for over four decades now, since producer Frank Capra, Jr. (1934-2007) [pictured¹] arrived in southeast North Carolina in the fall of 1983 to shoot Firestarter (1984), based on the 1980 novel by Stephen King and starring a young Drew Barrymore.

Capra, Jr. eventually decided to form a Wilmington-based company, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, with Universal Pictures’ production head Dino De Laurentiis (1919-2010). The company would work out of their newly built Carolco Studios, better known as EUE/Screen Gems Studios after its acquisition in 1996. At the same time, Capra, Jr. was named the President of EUE/Screen Gems in Wilmington. The studio facility would change its name again in 2023, when it was bought by Cinespace Studios.

Beyond work, Capra Jr. took quickly to the Port City, buying a house in the Hancock Park area of town and marrying a local, Deborah Ann Sprunt, who had previously been married to Kenneth Sprunt, Jr. of the Sprunt family. Capra, Jr. also joined the Wilmington Rotary Club [pictured²] in March 1997...

...though per this memo [pictured³] from January 4, 1999, his attendance in the two years since was lax, leading the Attendance Committee to note he should be dropped from the club's membership. However, he was listed again on the club's 1999-2000 roster for that next membership year and did not fall off until 2000-2001.

Capra, Jr. was the son of famed Golden Age director Frank Capra (1897-1991), best known for films like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) and It’s A Wonderful Life (1946). For many years, Capra, Jr. held an annual screening of his father’s holiday classic in town. To learn more about the filming of Firestarter and Capra, Jr.’s time in Wilmington, take a look at the Frank Capra, Jr. Collection.

Sources:

1. MS 250 Frank Capra, Jr. Collection, Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History
2. MS 215 Herman Blizzard Rotary Archive, Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History
3. MS 215 Herman Blizzard Rotary Archive, Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History

Every year, October marks American Archives Month, an advocacy initiative of the Society of American Archivists. Archival institutions across the country highlight their collections with activities and events to promote awareness of archival materials and the importance of maintaining historical records.

Here in North Carolina, the Society of North Carolina Archivists (SNCA) selects an annual theme for archivists across the state to follow when showcasing the work they do in making primary sources accessible to the public.

This year’s theme is North Carolina’s 250th, in honor of the nation approaching its 250th anniversary in 2026, and celebrates the “different peoples of North Carolina and the part they played in the history of the country” since 1776. Special Collections’ manuscript collections contain primary and secondary material that document significant national moments from the last 250 years. Here are some of the people of southeast North Carolina that have made an impact over the years:

18th Century

The Declaration of Independence was signed by three men from North Carolina: Joseph Hewes, John Penn, and William Hooper (1742-1790). Hooper lived in Wilmington at the time, where he’d been practicing law since 1764, and owned a house [pictured¹] on the Masonboro Sound from 1773-1801. He represented New Hanover County on the first Committee of Correspondence, coordinating patriot opposition to British policies in advance of the American Revolution. This work would lead to his election to both the First and Second Continental Congresses. Though he missed the approval of the Declaration on July 4, 1776, he returned to Philadelphia on August 2 and signed not far below John Hancock.

19th Century

The World's Columbian Exposition, commonly referred to as the World’s Fair, was held in Chicago in 1893 and was one of the largest of the fairs, with more than 27 million visitors from across the globe. Florence Hill Kidder (1850-1917) was appointed a "lady manager" for the state of North Carolina by the World's Columbian Commission and helped with the many North Carolina exhibits that were displayed in the subject-specific halls. Her colonial exhibit won an award [pictured²], and upon her return to North Carolina, she established the North Carolina chapter of the National Society for the Colonial Dames of America in 1894. Kidder lived with her husband, George, at 308 Dock Street in downtown Wilmington, where the home, known as the Kidder House, still stands today.

20th Century

Amidst the national civil rights movement, the New Hanover County school system faced community pressure and legal action for its lack of progress towards desegregating schools, as mandated by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954. Integration finally happened in 1968 and included the closure of the Black high school, Williston, where long-time educator and community leader Bertha Boykin Todd (1929-) [pictured³] worked as a librarian before moving to an administrative role at Hoggard High School. Racial tensions post desegregation ultimately led to violence and riots in 1971, when ten individuals, known as the Wilmington Ten, were accused of setting a grocery store on fire. Todd worked to sow peace and amity within the schools during this tumultuous time and later helped to exonerate the Wilmington Ten, all part of her ongoing activism and efforts to build multicultural relationships in New Hanover County. You can learn more about her life in the Bertha Boykin Todd Papers. 

Sources

1. MS 418 Relvin Vaughn (R.V.) Asbury, Jr. Papers, Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History

2. MS 083 Kidder Award and Certificate of Membership, Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History

3. MS 408 Star-News Image Archive, Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History