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— LIFESTYLES Kings Mountain Herald November 23, 2000 December events in North Carolina BY ALAN HODGE Staff Writer Layout by Shelley Campbell Besides the Yuletide season, the month of December has also brought many interesting and memorable events to North Carolina over the years. Take a tour through the years of fasci- nating facts about the Old North State and the twelfth month of the year. December 17, 1903 was a day that not only changed North Carolina, but mankind as well. In one of the most important moments since humans took notice of the birds, Wilbur and Orville Wright made the first controlled flight of a motorized, heavier than air machine. Taking place at Kill Devil Hills on the Outer Banks, the Wright's flight was not the dare- devil act that many folks thought. Rather, it was the culmi- nation of several years of study, hard work, and experimentation. The 1903 expedition that saw the historic “First Flight” was actual ly the third year that the Wright brothers had been coming to the Outer Banks to conduct their fly- ing research. The month of December back in 1700 saw English explorer John Lawson make a trek across North Carolina. Lawson's jour- ney included a visit to the region that includes the Catawba River. While he was on his adventure, Lawson is said to have been per- haps the first white man to sam- ple barbecue. The ‘cue was served to him as a guest of the Santee Indians. Lawson described the meal as “fat bar- bacu’d venison which the woman of the cabin took and tore into pieces with her teeth.” Other Native American hap- Bossomer = penings during December in North Carolina history were not a congenial as the “barbarcu.” December 29, 1836 saw the Cherokee Indians surrender their tribal lands to the federal govern- ment in the treaty of New Echota. Soon, all but the group of Cherokees known as the Eastern band will be moved to Oklahoma in a march known as the “Trail of Tears”. Several sports events have made history and news during Decembers past. In 1892, the first intercollegiate football game played by African-Americans took place in Salisbury. In the contest, Salisbury’s Livingstone College beat Biddle University by a score of 4-0. In other historic December sports news, December 30, 1950 witnessed Duke University stage the most spectacular comeback in - NCAA basketball history by com- ing from a 54-22 deficit to defeat Tulane by a final score of 74-72. Rounding out sports news, December 4, 1994 was the day that Charlotte Smith of the University of North Carolina per- formed the first basketball dunk by a woman since Georgeann Wells of West Virginia had done the deed back in 1984. The War Between the States brought action to North Carolina on December 23, 1864 when a fleet of Union ships and troops attempted to take Fort Fisher near Wilmington. One method intend- ed to soften the fort up was to pack an old cargo ship full of gunpowder and drift it close by where it would explode. Unfortunately for the Yankees, the idea didn’t work and only produced a huge shower of sparks. Northern General Burnside described the action with the words “there’s a fizzle.” Record. Another Civil War ship with North Carolina December con- nections is the ironclad USS Monitor. Ten months after its bat- tle with the CSS Merrimack near Hampton Roads, Virginia, the Monitor sank December 30, 1862 in a storm off Cape Hatteras. The ship was being towed to Charleston at the time of the sinking. The Monitor- which is still on the ocean floor- was dis- covered in 1973. In a less than complimentary journal entry dated December 1838, English stage star Fanny Kemble writes that in her opin- ion North Carolina is the poorest state in the Union. Kemble goes on to describe the houses as “mean and beggarly.” She writes the people had a “squalid and at the same time fierce air.” Finally, Kemble comments on women using tobacco as “disgusting and disagreeable.” Shelby’s own O. Max Gardner made a bit of North Carolina December remembrance when as governor he held a spe- cial dinner in 1929 to showcase Tar Heel produce. Just a few items on the bill of fare included scuppernong juice, cigarettes, ham from Caledonia Prison Farm, and West Jefferson cheese... .. December odds and ends in North Carolina includes the 1906 opening of the Bijou movie house in Wilmington. The Bijou was the first full-time movie the- ater in North Carolina. Another December ditty was the 1990 closing of the original Hardee's hamburger place in Rocky Mount. December 1961 saw North Carolina’s first ski resort- Cataloochee Ski Ranch in Maggie Valley begin operation. Finally, December 1875 saw the Currituck Beach Lighthouse illu- minated. Every month of the year has an interesting past in our state. For a complete look at North Carolina’s history by the calen- Belmont and Cherryville will re-open Moniay November 26. Sony 4 for NOT DROPPED OFF B® WEDNESDAY, N OVEMBER 22 BY 5PM WILL NEED TO BE MAILED IN AND POSTMARKED BY 5PM FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24TH!! Wright Brothers National Memorial, Kitty Hawk Photo courtesy.of NC Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development dar, read Lew Powell's “On chronological order is “North This Day in North Carolina.” Carolina: Reflections of 400 Another good source of North years”. Carolina trivia arranged in Offices in Kings Mountain, ss ES sa
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