North Wilkesboro and the Roots of NASCAR

A pit crew working during a 1954 stock car race

On May 18, 1947, the North Wilkesboro Speedway opened its doors to a crowd of more than 10,000 spectators who watched Fonty Flock win the first official race held there. The 5/8-mile oval dirt track was well-known for challenging the best of drivers.

Stock car racing fans and scholars have long acknowledged that the roots of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) are closely tied to the tradition of illegal moonshine production. Races between “runners” evolved into spectator events. The North Wilkesboro Speedway was among the first tracks recognized by NASCAR during its inaugural year of 1949. NASCAR’s first finale took place there, with the crowning of the first points champion, Robert “Red” Byron, in October 1949.

The speedway often has been called to as “The House that Junior Built,” a reference to racing legend Junior Johnson who began his career there at age 16. Johnson earned four of his 50 career NASCAR victories there, and continued his success on the track as a team owner.

The last NASCAR race at North Wilkesboro, won by Jeff Gordon, was held on September 29, 1996, with more than 60,000 fans in attendance.

Other related resources:

• Auto racing and NASCAR on NCpedia
• The holdings of the Department of Cultural Resources related to NASCAR
• The N.C. Sports Hall of Fame, at the N.C. Museum of History, of which Johnson is a member

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day subscribe by email using the box on the right and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

The Term “Air Conditioning” Coined

Stuart Cramer

On May 17, 1906, North Carolinian Stuart Cramer coined the term “air conditioning.” Though not particularly skilled as a textile executive, Cramer contributed significantly to the cotton mill industry by using his engineering and invention skills. In 1895, he established his textile business and, over the next 10 years, designed and equipped more than 150 (or roughly a third of all) cotton mills in the South. Cramer invested his profits back into his own mills, especially those in the community that came to bear his name, Cramerton.

A 1941 air conditioning manual in the collection of the N.C. Historic Sites

Though he got his start in cotton, Cramer is best known for the role he played in the development of air conditioning. The holder of more than 60 patents, he pioneered humidity control and ventilating equipment for cotton mills and installed scores of such systems in plants across the South. In a paper read before an American Cotton Manufacturers Association convention, Cramer was the first to use the term “air conditioning.” Though credit for the invention of air conditioning does not belong to one person, the biographer of industry giant W. H. Carrier attributes 11 technological advances and “outstanding work which later had a large part in the air conditioning industry” to Cramer.

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day, make sure you subscribe by email using the box on the right, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Temple of Israel—the Oldest Synagogue in North Carolina

On May 12, 1876, North Carolina’s first Jewish synagogue, the Temple of Israel, was dedicated in Wilmington. The Jews of Wilmington were part of the second wave of immigrants who arrived in the United States from Germany, and they worked primarily as artisans, merchants, and storekeepers. In 1855, Jews set aside a Hebrew section of Oakdale Cemetery in the city. As the community grew in the mid-1800s, the Jews in the area began to need a house of worship.

The initial plans for a synagogue were interrupted by the Civil War. About 40 families came together in 1872 to set plans for the church. Soon after they affiliated with the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. A local chapter of B’nai B’rith, a Jewish service organization, was founded in 1874. Samuel Sloan of Philadelphia was retained as the architect and plans were developed for a distinctive building in the Moorish Revival style. Construction began in 1875 and was completed the next year.

Rabbi Samuel Mendelsohn presided over the dedication in 1876. He went on to lead the Temple of Israel congregation until 1922. Eric Meyers, director of Duke University’s Center for Judaic Studies, said of the synagogue, “It represents one of the high points of Southern Jewish culture.”

The First Planetarium in the South

Astronaut Scott Carpenter prepares for his Project Mercury flight in 1962 as fellow Astronaut Walter Schirra and Planetarium instructor Dr. James Batten look on. Photo from the Morehead Planetarium

On May 10, 1949, the Morehead Planetarium opened on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. It was first planetarium in the South, the first planetarium on a university campus and the sixth planetarium to be built nationwide.

The planetarium was primarily a gift of John Motley Morehead III, an 1891 graduate and founder of Union Carbide Corporation. Construction took 17 months and cost $3 million, making the building the most expensive in the state at the time. It was supervised by Harvard astronomer Harlow Shapely and designed by the architects who worked on the Jefferson Memorial.

From the late 1950s to the late 1970s, the planetarium became a hub of NASA’s astronaut training program. The facility was used primarily to help astronauts learn to navigate by the stars in case computerized navigation systems failed. The program ended largely because of advances in the technology of those navigation systems.

In 1973, the planetarium added an observatory with a telescope managed by UNC-Chapel Hill’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, and, in 1984, it became one of the first planetariums in the nation to use computer animation in its shows.

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day, subscribe by email using the box on the right and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

The Atlantic Coast Conference Was Created

An ACC football trophy from 1968

On May 8, 1953, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) was created during the meeting of representatives from the Southern Conference in Greensboro. The initial members of the conference were Clemson, Duke, the University of Maryland, the University of North Carolina, N.C. State, the University of South Carolina and Wake Forest. The University of Virginia was accepted as a member later that year. Wallace Wade, the former Duke football coach who was commissioner of the Southern Conference, agreed to serve as the ACC’s interim commissioner as well.  Jim Weaver, the athletic director at Wake Forest, was named commissioner the following year.

The seven schools decided to pull out of the Southern Conference for two primary reasons. First, the Southern Conference’s 17-institution membership was making scheduling games in all sports very difficult. Additionally, the Southern Conference had banned post-season bowl games due to gambling and financial scandals, but some of the schools disputed the ban. The nascent conference elected to allow schools to play in bowl games as long as they did not profit greatly from the participation.

A number of new names were proposed for the new conference including Dixie, Tobacco, Blue-Gray, and the Southern Seven. Duke’s Eddie Cameron ultimately suggested the name that stuck: the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Other related resources:

• Sports-related articles on NCpedia
• The N.C. Sports Hall of Fame at the N.C. Museum of History

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day, make sure you subscribe by email using the box on the right, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

“Jimmy V.” Died of Cancer

Derrick Wittenburg and Jim Valvano at the 1983 NCAA championship game

On April 28, 1993, Jim Valvano died of cancer at the age of 47. Valvano was born in Queens, New York, played basketball at Rutgers University and had several coaching positions before coming to North Carolina State as head coach in 1980. In a series of inspiring and improbable last minute victories, he led the Wolfpack to the championship of the men’s NCAA basketball tournament in 1983. Sports Illustrated included the achievement as one of the top 10 sporting events of the 20^th century.

In 1992, Valvano was diagnosed with terminal cancer. In the final months of his life, he helped establish the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research, whose motto, “Don’t Give Up…Don’t Ever Give Up!” reflects Valvano’s eternal optimism. His last public appearance occurred when he received the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage from ESPN in March1 993.

The broadcast of his inspirational speech at the ESPY awards ceremony has become an annual tradition on the network and has helped the V Foundation raise over 120 million dollars for cancer research – a fitting legacy to a man who inspired a nation both on and off the basketball court.

Other related resources:

• Sports-related articles on NCpedia
• Images from N.C. State’s 1983 basketball championship in the State Archives
• The N.C. Sports Hall of Fame at the N.C. Museum of History

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day, make sure you subscribe by email using the box on the right, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Radio Broadcasting Began in North Carolina

O. Max Gardner giving a radio address at WBT circa 1929-1933. This image is now held by the N.C. Museum of History

On April 10, 1922, WBT in Charlotte received a broadcast license, becoming the first commercial radio station in North Carolina. Advances in radio took place in three North Carolina cities in 1922. In Raleigh, on the campus of what is now N.C. State University, engineers installed a transmitter and initiated experimental broadcasts in March 1922. Regular transmission began on October 16, the day before the State Fair. Later that year the campus registered the call letters WLAC, but the following year the station left the air after campus funds were no longer available.

In Charlotte initial broadcasts began on March 25, in the kitchen of radio enthusiast Fred Laxton. Within weeks WBT had set up a studio in the Independence Building downtown. In Asheville, WFAJ, owned by the local newspaper, began broadcasts on May 4 but failed the following year. WBT was thus the only startup that prospered.

WPTF in Raleigh originated as WFBQ in October 1924. Later known as WRCO, that station adopted its present call letters in November 1927. FM radio broadcasts in North Carolina began in 1942.

Other related resources:

• Radio broadcasting on NCpedia
• Democracy and the Media, an online exhibit from the State Archives
• Information on Reginald Aubrey Fessenden, a radio pioneer, from the Highway Historical Markers Program and the State Archives

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day, make sure you subscribe by email using the box on the right, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Baseball Legend “Catfish” Hunter

On April 8, 1946, famed baseball player James “Catfish” Hunter was born in Perquimans County.

Though Hunter excelled in a variety of sports in high school, his pitching skill was what stood out. Word spread fast, and soon major league scouts began to make the trip to Hertford to see him play. Though wounds from a hunting accident jeopardized Hunter’s prospects in the eyes of many professional scouts, the Kansas City Athletics had faith in the young pitcher and signed him to a contract.

Hunter was an immediate success with Kansas City, earning his first major league victory in July 1965 in Fenway Park in Boston. He pitched a perfect game against the Minnesota Twins after the Athletics moved to Oakland in 1968. After a contract dispute in 1974, he left the Athletics for the New York Yankees. He was the highest paid pitcher in baseball when he signed with the team in 1975. After retiring from baseball in 1979, Hunter returned to his native Herford, where he lived until his death in 1999.

Hunter’s numerous accolades include spots in the National Baseball and North Carolina Sports Halls of Fame, five World Series titles, and eight All-Star team appearances.

Other related resources:

• Sports-related articles on NCpedia
• The N.C. Sports Hall of Fame at the N.C. Museum of History

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day, make sure you subscribe by email using the box on the right, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Civilian Conservation Corps Established

CCC Workers planting trees in the western part of the state., crica 1936. Image from the State Archives

On March 31, 1933, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was established to provide work relief to men ages 18 to 25. In North Carolina the CCC had 66 camps, employing nearly 14,000 men in 47 counties.

One of the earliest of North Carolina’s camps was Camp John Rock in Pisgah Forest. Plans were laid for the installation as early as April 1933 and men began arriving from Fort Bragg on May 5 to construct barracks and other buildings. Eventually, 220 workers were assigned to the unit. Their major projects included fish and fawn rearing, road building and maintenance, trail improvement, reforestation and forest conservation. Their work is evident today throughout Pisgah National Forest. The camp closed in 1936 and the program was abolished by Congress in 1942.

Directed by Army officers and foresters, the CCC was famous for its semi-military discipline. Dismissed by some as “Roosevelt’s tree army,” the CCC initiated site development and improvements in nearly 2,100 national, state and private forest and parks across the United States. By the end of its run, 3 million men were hired by the CCC at an average salary of $35 per month.

Other related resources:

• The CCC on NCpedia
• Works Projects in North Carolina, 1933-1941, an online exhibit from the State Archives
• That Magnificent Army of Youth and Peace: The Civilian Conservation Corps in North Carolina, 1933-1942 from N.C. Historical Publications

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day, make sure you subscribe by email using the box on the right, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Carl Kasell and Charles Kuralt Help Launch WUNC-FM

Kasell and Kuralt at the WUNC Dedication. Image from the University Archives at UNC-Chapel Hill

On March 13, 1953, UNC-Chapel Hill students Carl Kasell and Charles Kuralt stepped up to the microphone for WUNC’s inaugural FM broadcast.

After getting its start as a student-run AM station in the 1940s, the station made its transition to the FM band with future broadcasting greats Kasell and Kuralt. The station went on a six-year hiatus in 1970, after being taken off the air by technical difficulties and returned in 1976 as a professionally-run National Public Radio affiliate.

Since its return, WUNC has produced several long-running programs—many of which have been broadcast nationally— including “Back Porch Music,” “The People’s Pharmacy” and “The Story with Dick Gordon.”

Both Kasell and Kuralt went onto distinguished careers in broadcasting. Wilmington-born Kuralt is perhaps best known for his long career with CBS, working on The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite and as the first anchor of CBS News Sunday Morning. Goldsboro native Kasell was the news announcer for NPR’s Morning Edition from its inception in 1979 through 2009, and has been the official judge and scorekeeper on the news quiz show Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! since its launch in 1998.

Other related resources:

• More on the launch from the University Archives at UNC-Chapel Hill
• Hear audio of the original broadcast from WUNC
• Radio broadcasting on NCpedia
• Radio pioneer Reginald Aubrey Fessenden from the State Archives

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day, subscribe by email using the box on the right and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.