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Category Archives: The way we were

Adams Motor Grader

Sunday, May 14, 2017

When I see fine old machines, decaying and unlikely to ever run again, I feel something like pity. There’s something about well-made machines down on their luck that deserves our empathy. But people do restore these things, and that’s part of why I’m posting the photo. This one is for sale, and it’s parked alongside […]

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More Buffalo China

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

This blog gets a lot of visits from people who are interested in the history of Buffalo China. I would collect Buffalo china if I had anywhere to put it, but as things are I’ve collected only enough Buffalo china for the table, and no more than will fit in the kitchen cabinets. But recently, […]

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Rockford

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

These days we take bridges for granted. We seldom think about what travel was like when getting across rivers was a big deal. The earliest solution, of course, was to ford the river where the terrain was suitable. Then came ferries, and then came bridges. In one of my visits to Paris, I wondered aloud […]

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Buffalo china: A sad American story

Friday, February 5, 2016

I wish I knew much, much more about a now-defunct American company named Buffalo China. Yep — they were in Buffalo, New York. The company started about 1901, making a mishmash of porcelain products. In the 1920s and 1930s, they started marking commercial porcelain dinnerware for restaurants and institutions. For decades, they made incredibly excellent […]

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Vintage fire truck

Friday, May 15, 2015

While attending a community event recently in the little Stokes County community of Francisco, I sneaked into the fire station to get photos of their vintage Mack fire truck.

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Caboose for sale

Friday, August 29, 2014

How often do you get a chance to buy a caboose? This one is on U.S. 311 just south of Madison, N.C.

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How to find a dark sky

Monday, May 5, 2014

The dark blue areas are reasonably dark skies. One of the darkest areas on the East Coast is in West Virginia. Note that almost the entire state of North Carolina has ruined skies, with the exception of the Dismal Swamp in the northeast corner of the state. One of the cruelest, most magic-killing forms of […]

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What young'uns used to eat

Friday, February 8, 2013

The school cafeteria staff, circa 1960. Mrs. Martin is on the left. When I was in elementary school, we called the school cafeteria “Miss Martin’s Slop Shop.” Mrs. Martin has gone on to her reward, but we all owe her such an apology. I have often thought about Mrs. Martin’s made-from-scratch cooking and how lucky […]

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High school's permanent marks and scars

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Reynolds High School, N.C. Department of Archives and History A story in the Winston-Salem Journal this morning refers to “historic” R.J. Reynolds High School and mentions that the school is 90 years old this year. Not many high schools make it to that age, at least as still-operating schools, or make it to the National […]

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Murder, Mayhem and the Mother Tongue

Monday, September 3, 2012

The cover of the rare 1969 pamphlet Wallace Carroll’s “Murder, Mayhem and the Mother Tongue,” until now, existed only in the form of a pamphlet printed around 1969. A few are still in existence. At a reunion of former Winston-Salem Journal employees not too long ago, an old colleague gave me a copy if I […]

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