Good ol’ gentleman Colonel Chatham joins us this week to opine on the trials of men’s fashion. Apparently at this point in time, men just had to wear too many clothes!
Well Colonel Chatham, you may not have had to suffer the horrors of high heels, but I see your point. Good thing the times have changed!
To wrap up our four-week series on the history of the Pittsboro Memorial Library, nothing seems more appropriate than this article on the humble beginnings of library service in Pittsboro. It’s hard to believe that we’ve gone from a few shelves in a living room to a sustainably-built 25,000 square foot beauty! We owe much to the citizens who first dreamed of a library in Pittsboro and the friends and sponsors who have brought us to where we are today.
Click the image to enlarge for easier reading. Below the article, you’ll find links to even more photos and writings about the Pittsboro Memorial Library’s dedication ceremony, building, and more. We hope you’ve enjoyed this blast from the library past!
Library Dedication Attracts Hundreds (Part One) (Part Two) (Photo)
New Library Required Hard Work and Generosity (Part One) (Part Two)
See you next week!
As we continue highlighting the media coverage of the “old new” library, it’s interesting to note how much has changed since then. The article below proudly boasts of the “magazines, records, tapes, and films” that were available at the Pittsboro Library of the 1970s.
Looking for something to do on a Friday night? The library had you covered – you could check out an 8mm or a 16mm film to watch at home, along with the projector and screen you’d need to watch it. Hankering for the latest Marvin Gaye or Lynyrd Skynyrd album? They had that, too – on vinyl, of course!
These days you’re more likely to take home a DVD, a CD, or simply download an Ebook to your Kindle or iPod. Still, it’s nice to know that even though the format may have changed, the library has always Pittsboro’s go-to source for “more than just books”.
Continuing on with the opening of the Pittsboro Memorial Library in 1973, you can see below the architect’s sketch of the new library building. Below that, read the article about how the Friends of the Library made it all happen! If you’d like more information about the present day Friends of the Library group, please visit their website. Finally, the bottom image describes some of the features of the new Pittsboro Memorial Library. Pretty stylish! Click any of the images to enlarge. See you next week!
The cover story of the August 9, 1973 issue of the Chatham Record featured none other than our esteemed predecessor, the Pittsboro Memorial Library! The next few entries will chronicle a bit of library history, from the construction and opening of the Pittsboro Memorial Library to our bright and spacious young Chatham Community Library. Click on the image below to read the full article about the groundbreaking of the Pittsboro Memorial Library and what it meant to the community.
More to come next week! Check back every Monday at 4:30pm, or subscribe to CCL on the Record via RSS.
As I write this on Saturday the 31st, Pittsboro is in the middle of a chilly, misty morning shadowed by a solid cover of gray clouds. Weather.com claims that the rain will be here all afternoon, bringing the month of March to a typical rainy close. What’s the perfect solution to a cool gloomy day? Warm oatmeal cookies, if you ask me. Next time a Spring shower falls on Chatham County, stay off the wet roads and spend the afternoon with this cookie recipe from 1961 (click for a larger image):
If you’re wondering about the “salad oil”, you can simply use vegetable oil or any bland-tasting oil that won’t interfere with the flavor of your cookies.
Attached to the cookie article is a report on forest fires from the year of 1960 showing the price of damages and the causes of fires. Next to it, you can get a glimpse of what the “personals” section was like in 1961!
Have a great week, Chatham, and stay dry!
Electricity is something we take for granted today. No longer do we mostly survive on candles, with only a few lucky people able to afford electricity; now just about everyone has electricity and fancy scented candles are the luxury! Electricity came to Pittsboro in 1922, and almost forty years later this celebration of National Electric Week ran in the Chatham Record. Click on the image below to read a larger version.
From February 9, 1961:
Don’t miss the “odd fact” in the upper left! Also, it’s a little late for Valentine’s Day references, but I couldn’t help but leave in the cheery ad for Roberts Jewelry & Soda Shop.
National politics make their mark on every part of our nation, from the biggest cities to the coziest North Carolina towns. From January 1961:
“HAVEN – President John F. Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson can come to Siler City if the going gets too rough in Washington. There’s a haven here for them as indicated by the photo above showing a city limits sign at the western end of town on highway 64. Normally it reads: “Siler City – Bird Sanctuary.” Some enthusiastic Kennedy-Johnson booster pasted a bumper strip over the word “BIRD” — and it was spelled b-i-r-d and not B-y-r-d. (Staff Photo)”
