The book Just Yesterday: North Carolina People and Places features photography produced by Bruce Roberts, described as "a prominent twentieth-century photographer." These prints cover everyday life, from ordinary tasks to people doing all kinds of work, capturing "the essence of life in North Carolina in the mid-to late twentieth century." The photographs have been divided by four geographic regions across the state of North Carolina: the Outer Banks, the East, the Piedmont, and the Mountains. For those who grew up in North Carolina or have lived here for quite some time, several of the images may be recognizable and nostalgic.

Beginning with the Outer Banks, there are countless photos of this unique area of our state. Some of the photos include images of many fishermen partaking in a time-honored tradition to our coastal areas. The Cape Hatteras lighthouse features prominently over a few pages, along with the Bodie Lighthouse surrounded by a light blanket of rare snow. One Stacy Franklin Guthrie was highlighted in a photograph, depicting the elderly gentleman next to one of many boats he crafted on his own property. Images from shrimping and fishing boats are brilliantly captured in both black and white and color, depicting large net catches of the highly valued seafood.

Closer to Wilmington's geographic area of southeastern North Carolina, the book next focuses on the East, with a full-page black and white photograph taken in Robeson County from 1959. It shows a father and son walking together next to a large oak tree, as the father holds a hoe. In his description, Roberts states that the son will assuredly use newer methods of farming, namely a tractor. Let us not forget that tobacco was once king in North Carolina, with photos depicting many instances of this crop and how it was farmed. Men walking through tobacco houses at an auction, women separating dried tobacco leaves as a result of the "flue-cured" process, and stories of men placing bricks in the bottom of their tobacco piles since "it was paid for by the pound."

The battleship USS North Carolina is also featured, in a photograph from 1961 returning to Wilmington "after being mothballed since World War II in the naval reserve fleet." Roberts talks about the statewide fundraising, where "thousands of students contributed dimes and quarters to the effort" of bringing the ship to Wilmington. 

Another notable photo in this section devoted to "the East" depicts Suzy Sterling, a white 18-year-old college student with a very young African American child sitting on her lap, staring into each other’s eyes. Sterling had "joined ninety-nine other North Carolina college students in the opening battle of a statewide interracial war on poverty." The photo was taken in Rockingham, NC, in an old two-room schoolhouse in which Sterling had been sent to work in a daycare, playing with and teaching the young students. The little boy in her lap had just fallen and was seeking attention when Sterling pulled him up onto her knees and they proceeded to have a staring contest. This image went on to be included as a full page "in the state of North Carolina’s official history book for eighth graders in 1992" and Roberts exhibited it at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

This book shares beautiful photos of people and places throughout the Piedmont and mountain areas of our state. It is worth a leisurely look at, to  appreciate the varied aspects of our state’s history over the last several decades.

The history of North Carolina is interesting, varied, and far-reaching, insomuch as it dates to our initial ties with England, well before Independence was declared. As a native of “the Old North State,” I have come to appreciate that history. If any North Carolinian ever faced the need or desire to learn about the history of this great state, then The North Carolina Manual would be one of the best resources to use. Fortunately, here at the Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History, we have almost every edition of The North Carolina Manual in print, ranging from the years 1913-2008.

According to J.D. Lewis, from his site The North Carolina Manual, The Manual was first printed in 1874 as a result of post-Civil War Reconstruction “and the resulting total rework of the North Carolina State Constitution in 1868.”  During that time, many North Carolinians were elected to public office for the first time and had no real concept of how state government operated. These newly elected officials needed a resource to consult that would provide “essential information about all branches of government, of which they were now a part.” The provenance and subsequent publication of The Manual is interesting, and merits a brief retelling of its own, before highlighting the contents and specific editions of The Manual in future blog posts.

As stated earlier, The Manual was first published in 1874, but the appropriations that were needed to continue printing it were not reauthorized. Not until 1903 was its second iteration published. At that time, it was authorized to be printed on a biennial, or every other year, basis. Again, according to Lewis, the manual was to contain the Constitutions of the United States and North Carolina, and “the names of all the Governors and other executive officers of the State, Judges of the Supreme and Superior Courts, members and officers of the two Houses of the General Assembly, with such other chronological and statistical information as may be deemed useful.”

There were to be 1,000 copies printed of The Manual and each Senator and Representative were to receive four each. One copy would also go to each officer of both houses of the General Assembly. A copy would be given to each State officer, including Judges of the Supreme Court and Superior Courts, one to the Governor of each state, and the NC State Library would receive ten copies. Any remaining copies would “be equally distributed in the several counties of the State to such parties as the said Secretary may elect.” It was also resolved “that in no edition of said ‘Manual’ after the first shall any name be reprinted except the names of those actually in office.”

In 1913, with the printing of that edition of The Manual, the General Assembly appropriated funds allowing for a thorough researching of the history of North Carolina’s government “since the early colonial era.”  There was, however, one stipulation included with the appropriations needed for that research: that in subsequent printings, most of that history would not be reprinted. As Lewis shares, the early twentieth century saw many changes within North Carolina’s government, namely, the creation of new agencies, boards, and commissions to help support a rapidly growing population. As we will see in future posts about it on this blog, The Manual became a vital resource for those serving in public roles, at both state and local levels.