Stories, traditions, and people at the heart of North Carolina’s cultural life.
A collection of more than 400 stories exploring the traditions, artistry, and community life of North Carolina. From foodways and material culture to tribal arts, music, and the people who carry these traditions forward, Carolina Life & Lore celebrates the richness and diversity of folklife across the state.
Core Creek United Methodist Church by David Cecelski I recently took my mother back to Core Creek, the little community where her mother grew up. We went by the long dirt road that goes by her first cousin Glenn Hardesty’s farm, and along salt marshes and oyster bays far off the beaten path. There’s […]
by David Cecelski On Sunday afternoon I drove to Sonny and Jenny Williamson’s home in Marshallberg to pick up a few fig tree cuttings. Jenny had rooted them in pots for me earlier in the summer from a fig tree that has been at her family’s homeplace since she was a child. Her old […]
by David Cecelski A few days ago, I took my son and a friend tubing on the Dan River. We got on the river 6 or 7 miles upstream of Hanging Rock State Park and got off the river at the Laurel Springs Campground, on the park’s border, where an elegant hotel, now long gone, […]
by David Cecelski At Davidson College, the prestigious liberal arts school founded by Presbyterians in Davidson, in Mecklenburg County, in 1837, the Soda Shop has been a cherished part of student life for more than half a century. I was there earlier today and I can see why the students are so fond of the […]
by Jefferson Currie II You see, David Cecelski was supposed to go down to Lumbee Homecoming with me, because I over-researched my final paper in his class last fall. The paper showed up little late and now I owe him a trip to Robeson County. Since David, in his words, “punked out” on this trip, you’re […]
by David Cecelski I don’t know why, but that heat wave last week made me want soul food something terrible. So one of those 100 degree afternoons I went looking for a plate of ribs or barbecued chicken, greens and cornbread. You can find good soul food all over Durham, but I went toward Fayetteville […]
by David Cecelski Tonight at our beaver pond my mother and I picked our first wild blackberries of the summer. We had been waiting for the berries to ripen for weeks. We were afraid that, once they finally turned black, the birds might get them all before we could eat any, but we needn’t have […]
by David Cecelski One of my favorite fish markets is Tryon Palace Seafood Market in New Bern. I was there just yesterday. This little fish market is located in the shadows of Tryon Palace, the restored residence of one of our colonial governors, and just across an empty lot on the Trent River that used […]
by David Cecelski My mother and I were driving home from the farm this past Sunday. It was really hot, almost 90 degrees, and we were tired from the highway driving and all the beach traffic. We needed a break and something cold. As we drove through US 70 in Smithfield, the seat of Johnston […]
by David Cecelski These are photographs from a school field trip to Anathoth Community Garden in Cedar Grove. I was just chaperoning the trip for my friend Bob Robinson’s class of sixth graders, but I ended up weeding an asparagus bed, picking garlic and killing potato bugs. On a lovely spring morning, I thought it was […]
by David Cecelski To the Hardee’s Bunch—Carl Allen, Sid Baker, Truitt and Georgia Blackwood, Harper and Mary Bloodworth, Eugene and Barbara Elliot, Ed and Ann Evans, Ralph and Chris Hayes, Ruby Hicks, Ray and Christine Howard, Jimmy and Millie Ingold, Lewis and Joyce Luxton, Al Mann, Willard and Ruby Mize, Roger and Inez Pendergrass, Harold […]
by David Cecelski The glory of Carolina Beach is its old boardwalk. It’s a romantic place, where people of all ages share dreamy summer evenings. I was there last Saturday night and walked under a bright, near-full moon by the old arcades and pool hall, past the bumper cars, the Bingo parlor and the Methodist […]
by David Cecelski It is May now and my thoughts turn to Currituck Sound and May peas. The mainland of Currituck County is one of the few places in the state where May peas are a highlight of gardening and cookery. The humus soils and gentle, coastal climate there make for good growing conditions […]
by David Cecelski Yvonne Cecelski at Jean’s Berry Patch My mother and I went looking for strawberry fields today. We found them at Jean’s Berry Patch, a pick-your-own farm in Chatham County. The fields were crowded with customers picking the ripe red fruit. We picked a bucketful in 20 minutes. My mother enjoyed being […]
by David Cecelski The bakers at the South Estes Farmers Market in Chapel Hill remind me of the French chocolatier, Vianne, in Joanne Harris’s novel,Chocolat. (She is played by Juliette Binoche in the movie version of the novel.) Vianne is abeautiful, exotic woman with a passion for the good things of the earth, an almost magical […]
by David Cecelski I have lived here all my life, but I never cease to be amazed by what I discover as I travel across the state. Today I happened upon the Duke Farmers Market, a lunchtime market for the employees and patients at Duke Hospital in Durham. Everything there looked inviting, but what really […]
This is the time of year that the Appalachian Trail hikers are passing through the little town of Hot Springs, in Madison County. From their first step north in Springer Mountain, Georgia, they have been hearing stories about a legendary innkeeper in Hot Springs who is known to have a soft spot for the trail’s […]
by David Cecelski This past Saturday I was on my way to one of the big limestone caves in East Tennessee when I stopped for supplies at the Madison County Farmers and Artisans Market in Mars Hill. I was taking my 13-year-old son and a friend spelunking for the first time. Spring was just coming […]
by David Cecelski This morning my friend and I took a walk through Gibsonville, a small town west of Burlington. We were mostly just talking, but we were also exploring what the old mill town might have to offer hungry visitors on a Saturday morning. We started downtown on West Main Street and our first discovery was just […]
Yvonne, David, and Vera Cecelski at the family homeplace by David Cecelski My mother and I always go to our local farmers market on Saturday morning. Today we had a lovely, clear sunny day, a good crowd was there, and you could find the tail end of winter’s bounty—collard greens, cabbages, turnips, sweet potatoes—and the […]
by David Cecelski I discovered a real treasure yesterday on a trip to Fountain, a little town in Pitt County: the R.A. Fountain General Store and Internet Café. Operated by ECU English professor Alex Albright and his wife, Elizabeth, the store is a celebration of eastern North Carolina culture that should not be missed. On weekends, […]
by David Cecelski Yesterday I was looking for food for a paddling trip on the Deep River. My buddy Bland and I were headed to the river on a surprisingly warm, sunny, late winter day. Neither of us had been in a boat for far too long, and we were celebrating a free day, the […]
by David Cecelski Today is Blue Monday, a shad fry that is always held on the Cape Fear River, just below Lock and Dam #2, the day after Easter. I can’t be there this year, but I can dream of it: the crowd gathered on a bluff overlooking the Cape Fear, where the river, […]
“Watermelon man, butterbean man, save your bones for Henry Jones, for he don’t eat no meat.” Henry Jones (the Watermelon Man) I am totally, head-over-heels smitten by the stories about local cooks and gardeners that are squeezed in between the recipes in A Little Taste of Heaven Since 1857: Morehead City Heritage Cookbook. Take, for […]