Amid the Great Depression, thousands in Asheville and across the country took to the greens to try their hand at miniature golf.
Asheville Archives: City residents support clubhouse for women, 1917-26
Starting in 1917, the Asheville Club for Women began raising funds to finance a clubhouse. But World War I and the subsequent economic recession derailed the group’s plans.
Around town: The latest in music, magic, quilts and history
The Center for Cultural Preservation is hosting A Special Evening with Dom Flemons. Plus, the Folk Art Center marks National Quilting Day, Kim Ruehl celebrates the release of her debut book, “A Singing Army: Zilphia Horton and the Highlander Folk School”; and more!
Around town: Black History Month celebrations, live theater, virtual concerts and more
Rise Up: A Celebration of African American History and Culture returns for a second consecutive year with a virtual twist. Also: Asheville Wisdom Exchange launches; The Magnetic Theatre celebrates its first live performance of 2021; and plenty more.
In photos: Mixed-use development could replace historic Charlotte Street homes
As plans to redevelop 6.84 acres along Charlotte Street into a mixed-use development move forward, residents are rallying to protect a dozen buildings from demolition.
Around town: Actors and poets needed, plus new art exhibits and online events
Want to dance? The Wortham Center for the Performing Arts is hosting a virtual ballet workshop. Want to act? Montford Park Players is currently seeking actors for the 2021 season. Want a free stay at a local bed and breakfast? Submit your poetry to The Writers’ Workshop’s annual contest and see if you win.
New digital archive examines Nina Simone’s relationship with Langston Hughes
In 1949, poet Langston Hughes spoke at the Allen High School in Asheville. One of the students in attendance was Eunice Waymon, later known professionally as Nina Simone. In time, the poet and the singer developed a unique relationship, which author and N.C. State University professor W. Jason Miller is currently documenting in an online archive, Backlash Blues: Nina Simone and Langston Hughes.
Around town: The latest history talks, art exhibits and poetry contests
There are plenty of free virtual and in-person exhibits and educational opportunities in and around Asheville. Poets and visual artists are also being called to submit works for a pair of contests.
Black music and art takes center stage at the Buncombe County Special Collections
A recent collaboration between the Buncombe County Special Collections and local nonprofit Engaging Collections creates greater awareness and visibility of Asheville’s African American music and art.
WNC Historical Association celebrates Black History Month with new exhibit
“When All God’s Children Get Together” emerged from the 624-page book by the same name, written in 2015 by Andrews-based artist and public speaker Ann Miller Woodford.
Asheville Archives: Who from our city’s past?
As the year comes to an end, Xpress asked a handful of local historians to reflect on who from Asheville’s past would have been best suited to manage the many challenges and tragedies our community faced in 2020.
Asheville Archives: Ghost stories from the city’s past
This week’s Archives examines a pair of paranormal encounters described by local residents in the 1910s.
Asheville Archives: The life, work and impeccable fashion of W.O. Wolfe
Where the Jackson Building stands today, on the southeast corner of Pack Square, a monuments and tombstones business once stood. The business owner, W.O. Wolfe, died in 1922, but his life and personality were immortalized in his son Thomas’ 1929 novel, Look Homeward, Angel.
Buncombe board to vote on Vance removal recommendation
On Monday, Dec. 7, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will decide whether to accept the recommendation of the Vance Monument Task Force, a body jointly appointed by the county and city of Asheville, to take down the downtown obelisk that memorializes Confederate Gov. Zebulon Vance.
Asheville Archives: Air raid warnings sound in WNC, 1942
Starting in the summer of 1942, residents across Western North Carolina participated in a series of emergency blackout drills to prepare for potential air raids from the Axis Power.
Early reviews of Wilma Dykeman’s ‘The French Broad,’ 1955
Throughout 1955, local and national newspapers praised Wilma Dykeman’s debut book, The French Broad. A work of nonfiction, it earned the inaugural Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literature Award in October of that year.
Local nonprofit promotes Western North Carolina to the world, 1923-25
In 1923, business leaders in Asheville and surrounding counties were eager to promote the region to a larger audience of tourists and businesses alike. To achieve this goal, the group formed the nonprofit Western North Carolina Inc. The community was slow to buy in to the group’s mission until the organization brought in a well-known window as its vice president.
Asheville Archives: Initial reactions to the Shelton Laurel Massacre, 1863
On Jan. 19, 1863, Confederate soldiers executed 13 men and boys in Madison County accused of raiding properties in the town of Marshall. The action elicited condemnation both in North Carolina and other regions of a war torn nation.
WNC history as seen through Native eyes
The Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center celebrates National Native American Heritage Month with a pair of webinars examining the region’s early history as experienced by its indigenous peoples.
Asheville Archives: The 1918 influenza changes social norms
In October 1918, in the midst of a worldwide influenza pandemic, Asheville residents opted to wear medical masks as opposed to Halloween costumes.
Asheville Archives: City hounds the beloved and industrious Flower Women, 1920-30
In the 1920s, license fees, congested sidewalks and opposition from brick-and-mortar businesses threatened the continued existence of Asheville’s Flower Women — a group of female entrepreneurs who had been selling wildflowers in the city’s downtown since the latter half of the 19th century. “[T]he first flower stands stood up along the way when Haywood street was only a muddy road,” The Asheville Citizen reminded its readers on Dec. 13, 1926.