North Carolina has a passel of weather forecasters

Bless his heart, Punxsutawney Phil is a loveable guy, but he bases his annual Feb. 2 Groundhog Day winter weather forecast on conditions in his hometown in Pennsylvania. 

So, who’s to blame skeptical North Carolinians for showing enough grit to find a few alternative sources for more relevant local weather predictions? 

First, in Wake County, there’s Sir Walter Wally, a groundhog who resides in the capital city of Raleigh at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences.

 

Two additional Wake County communities have their own prognosticators. The go-to groundhog in Garner is Snerd. He succeeded Mortimer, who reportedly grew too grumpy in his old age to charm the children. 

Snerd lives at CLAWS, a sanctuary and refuge in Chapel Hill in Orange County. The organization provides rescue and rehabilitation services for an assortment of wildlife species. 

In Apex, citizens get the weather forecast from Sylvia. She’s an armadillo, but it works the same way – if Sylvia sees her shadow, that means six more weeks of winter. No shadow is an omen for an early spring. Sylvia’s permanent home is at the Animal Edventure Sanctuary in Coats in Harnett County. 

In the Piedmont area, Stormy and Sunshine are two groundhogs who issue their winter weather predictions at the North Carolina Zoo’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Center near Asheboro in Randolph County. 

In the western North Carolina mountains at Chimney Rock State Park, near Lake Lure in Rutherford County, a groundhog named Pumpkin is the official winter weather prognosticator. He’s a “special needs” groundhog who is unable to resume a life in the wild.

 

Last but not least is Pisgah Penny, the famous white squirrel of Brevard in Transylvania County. Here, the people observe Feb. 2 as White Squirrel Day instead of Groundhog Day. Penny is the niece of legendary Pisgah Pete. She took over the weather forecasting responsibilities in 2022, when Pete retired.

 

Pisgah Penny

Pisgah Pete didn't go outdoors to make his prediciton. He waited for the spirit to move him whether to select the card for an early spring or the card for six more weeks of winter.

White squirrels in Brevard are quite plentiful, representing about one-third of the 5,000 squirrels that live in the city, along with nearly 8,000 people. 

The white squirrels are actually eastern grey squirrels with a mutation in their genes that makes their coats white. They have dark eyes and some grey streaks in their white fur. (They lack the red-eye coloration of albino creatures.) 

How the white squirrels came to settle in Brevard is quite a story. A pair of white squirrels were gifted in 1949 to Barbara Mull, who was 10 at the time, by her Uncle Harry Mull, who was visiting from Florida at Christmastime.

 

The white squirrels originally were part of a circus caravan that was involved in an accident while traveling in Florida. The squirrels got loose, but the circus moved on. Uncle Harry was one of the local men involved in the roundup. 

Barbara said her father wouldn’t allow her to keep the squirrels inside, but he built a large cage for them in their back yard. Barbara named them Snowball and Frisky. 

One day when Barbara’s grandfather was feeding the squirrels, one got loose (most likely Frisky). The one still in the cage “looked so lonely” that her grandfather released it. “I was so very concerned that my squirrels would get run over by a car or killed by some dog,” she said.

 “I never dreamed that they would survive, but over the months and years I would have people tell me they saw one of my white squirrels on Maple Street and then other places. Now, I enjoy seeing my white squirrels’ ‘great grand squirrels’ when I come home.” 

Minister’s comic strip exudes humor from the pulpit

The Rev. Karl A. Zorowski believes “God has a sense of humor.” 

Furthermore, Rev. Zorowski says that he believes he was called to enter the ministry to help spread that notion far and wide, using his talent as a cartoonist. 

Currently assigned as the full-time pastor at St. Peter’s United Methodist Church in Morehead City, N.C., Rev. Zorowski also is a panelist on “Faith Matters,” a weekly radio program that airs on 107.1 FM – WTKF “The Talk Station.”

 

In 2001, Rev. Zorowski launched his Christian-based comic strip, “Church Mice,” as an amusement – to get people to smile and laugh while engaging in spiritual thought. Now, by way of the internet, the comic strips are being enjoyed by a worldwide audience – in at least 150 different countries.

 

The imagery and symbolism associated with a lowly church mouse was introduced into literature many centuries ago. To be “quiet as a church mouse” meant to be silent during worship service. No whispering during the sermon. 

Other references to the proverbial church mouse depicted poverty and hunger. The early church did not provide a reliable source of food. 

Early Catholic and Orthodox priests were instructed to scrupulously prevent any crumb of the sacrament of Eucharist (the bread which is understood to be Christ’s body) from falling on the altar or to the ground, meaning that church mice had no crumbs to feed on. 

The main mouse character in Rev. Zorowski’s contemporary comic strip world is Reverend Cheese, who is the preacher at the fictional St. Camembert United Methodist Church. His congregants are a nest of mice who now eat rather well.

 

(Camembert is a cheese that was created in 1791 near the village of Camembert in Normandy, France. Similar to brie, Camembert is rich and creamy with a soft, edible white rind. As the cheese matures the curd softens, its color turns to a butter or straw hue and it develops a fuller flavor.)

 

It’s been an interesting journey for Rev. Zorowski, who was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., but grew up in Raleigh. His father, the late Dr. Carl F. Zorowski, served more than 50 years as a beloved professor at North Carolina State University and was the department head for mechanical and aerospace engineering. 

Karl, who started drawing as a child, said: “I wanted to be a cartoonist for as long as I can remember.” While attending N.C. State, he became a cartoonist for The Technician, the student newspaper. Karl created a comic strip about campus life named “Joe Rat” in 1980, which ran regularly up until he graduated in 1982. He earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental design/product design from N.C. State’s highly regarded School of Design. 

Karl found work as a designer and specialized in creating trade show exhibits. He later landed a job as an exhibits coordinator for the North Carolina State Parks system. 

But, his grand plan was always to produce a syndicated comic strip. In late 2000, Karl came up with a new strip called “Rat Race,” which was basically “an update of ‘Joe Rat.’” 

However, his proposals were rejected by all the syndicates. “I was really crushed,” Karl said. “For 20 years, I had dreamed about having my own comic strip. I believe in all sincerity that newspaper comics provide a balance to the bad news in the rest of the paper – they help keep people sane.” 

While attending a Wednesday night church service in December 2001, we were singing ‘Here I am, Lord’ and I felt the call,” Karl said. “I felt like God was telling me to do something, that He had plans for me, that He wanted me to be a minister.”

 

Here I am, Lord…I have heard you calling in the night,

I will go, Lord, if you lead me,

I will hold your people in my heart. 

Shortly thereafter, Karl’s best friend from college, David Bass, seriously suggested that Karl draw a Christian-oriented comic strip.

 

“David said God told him I needed to do a Christian cartoon,” Karl recalled. “I told him that was about the most ridiculous and dumbest thing I’d ever heard. The syndicates and newspapers didn’t want a Christian cartoon.” 

“But the thought wouldn’t leave me. It gnawed at me, so to speak. I sat down and started to sketch a mouse – a character more refined than a rat, but close – dressed in a pastor’s robe. I came up with the ‘Church Mice’ name. It all fell into place.”

 

Good things began to happen. Karl began his ministerial studies through Duke University’s Divinity School, a seminary supported by the United Methodist Church. Also, Karl met Cheryl Wilbur, a native of Denver, Colo, through an online Christian dating service. 

She worked as a children’s entertainer and performed professionally as “Skeedaddles the Clown.” They courted and the couple married in 2002. Now, they are raising two daughters. Aspen is a freshman at East Carolina University in Greenville, majoring in elementary education. Amber is three years younger and is being home-schooled.

 A photo of Cheryl in her clown costume is there in Karl's office, so she can watch over things.

There’s no more clowning around for Cheryl, but she maintains her business. named Skeedaddles Entertainment, to provide balloon artistry, balloon structures and face painting. 

Rev. Zorowski received his first pastoral assignment in 2004, serving as a part-time minister for a pair of small, rural churches in Franklin County, near Louisburg…while continuing to work his State Parks’ job. 

Later that year, when Rev. Zorowski was promoted to become a full-time pastor for two churches in Columbus County near Whiteville, it became necessary for him to resign from the State Parks. 

(He had been in Columbus County about three years when Rev. Zorowski was interviewed in 2007 by journalists David Snipes of the Tabor-Loris Tribune and by Amanda Greene, who was working for the Wilmington Star News at the time. Their stories have been helpful reference resources for these articles.) 

After nine years in Columbus County, Rev. Zorowski was appointed pastor at St. Peter’s in Morehead City in 2013. He will mark his 10-year anniversary in the pulpit here on (add date). 

 

Will the real Reverend Cheese please stand up? 

“You might say that in the “Church Mice” comic strip, Reverend Cheese is very much me, or I’m him,” said cartoonist and pastor Karl A. Zorowski. 

Here’s the official biography of Reverend Cheese: “The pastor of a small church of mice, he cannot understand why God chose him to be a minister. Reverend Cheese sometimes finds the Lord’s ways hard to understand. His faith is strong, and he really cares about the members of his church. Long-winded in the pulpit, he constantly battles the congregation’s desire to get out of church early so they can go to lunch.”

 

Reverend Cheese’s constant message is: “God really loves you.” Rev. Zorowski says: “I try not to get too preachy, but to still keep it spiritual. God told me to use my ability to draw and tell stories to point people toward God so they can see him.” 

Rev. Zorowski says going to church should be fun and not a chore. Living a faith-based life can have its humorous moments, and Rev. Zorowski wants to “seize the day.”

 

His goal is to produce one new comic strip a week, but it’s not easy to deliver a steady diet of “mice-sized sermonettes.” 

He said: “My mind is always searching for ideas, and they don’t always come when I’m working on my computer.” He will jot himself a note and tuck it into a folder for future development. 

A regular character in “Church Mice” is Deacon Coffey. His first name’s Deacon, but he’s far from being a church deacon. “He approaches his church life like a hobby. His view of religion is rather light-hearted, but he has good and Godly intentions. He proves time and again to be a help to the pastor, but his flaky views keep the preacher on his toes.”

 

Anne is a server at the local diner who presents a challenge to Reverend Cheese. “She is a good person and represents the viewpoint of those interested in God, but disinterested in organized religion.” 

A relatively new addition to the cast is Tina, the church music director. “Music is such a central element in the church, there are many opportunities that revolve around music. “Tina is big into contemporary praise and worship music, while most of the congregation share a collective opinion: ‘We do not like change.’ So, there are many, many story lines there,” Rev. Zorowski said with a wink.

 

“Church Mice” is definitely a not-for-profit venture, and Rev. Zorowski offers the comic strip free of charge to any spiritual publication that wants to print it. His mission is to make God “a little more approachable” to people. “I’m not an in-your-face preacher thumping a Bible and neither is Reverend Cheese.” 

The comic strip adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic and became an indispensable tool to maintain connectivity at Rev. Zorowski’s home church, St. Peter’s United Methodist Church in Morehead City. 

Rev. Zorowski said: “What makes ‘Church Mice’ worthwhile is when I get an e-mail message from someone who says it helped him or her take a new direction in life. I’ve been surprised with the following we’ve built up. I am unbelievably happy with how it’s all worked out. Give credit to my friend David Bass, who planted the seed.” 

“Within the United Methodist Church,” Rev. Zorowski said, “we talk a lot about John Wesley and prevenient grace, which is God’s active presence in people’s lives before they even sense the divine at work in their lives.” 

“‘Church Mice’ can be a catalyst through which prevenient grace can smile down upon us.”

Get ready for Groundhog Day on Feb. 2

Groundhog Day on Feb. 2 isn’t a get-off-from-work holiday…but, by golly, it should be.

EarthSky.org has confirmed that Groundhog Day already is a true “astronomy holiday” – falling midway between the December solstice and the March equinox. That means…come Feb. 2 winter is officially half over – certainly worthy of celebration. 

In Europe, the mid-point of winter was when clergymen would bless and distribute candles to people so they could have enough light to see them through the second half of winter. One source said the allotment was based on an assessment of how dreary the remaining weeks of winter would be. 

Supposedly, the Germans expanded on this concept by selecting an animal – the hedgehog – as a means of predicting the weather. If the hedgehog cast a shadow, there would be an early spring. If not, there would be six more grueling weeks of winter. 

German settlers arriving in Pennsylvania opted to continue the tradition, but since there are no hedgehogs in North America, they adopted the groundhog (also known as a woodchuck) as an honorable replacement. 

The most famous of all groundhogs is Punxsutawney Phil, who premiered as a “rodent meteorologist” in 1887 at Gobbler’s Knob, a wilderness area just a short distance from Punxsutawney, Pa.

 

The idea was concocted by Clymer H. Freas, editor of The Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper. He formed a group that became known as the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, and an entire ritual has been created, centered around Phil’s cameo appearance every Feb. 2 at 7:25 a.m. 

For the record, Phil predicts “six more weeks of winter” 84.3% of the time. Early springs are quite rare in Pennsylvania. Freas apparently grew tired of freezing; he resigned as the local paper’s editor in 1910 and moved to Florida. 

Today, life is good in Punxsutawney, which is about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. The town has about 5,750 people, and “Phil’s Burrow” is inside the Punxsutawney Memorial Library. There’s a viewing window, so passersby can peek in. Inside, patrons observe Phil from the reading room. 

He seems to enjoy the perks, such as a temperature-controlled burrow and food, water and fresh bedding provided on a daily basis by volunteers from the groundhog club. 

The town librarian said that Phil “sometimes goes out on fun adventures – a farm show, Pittsburgh’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, school appearances and assemblies, bus tours, weddings, baseball games. He’s a popular fella.” 

Before Christmas, he participated in “PJs & Pancakes with Santa and Phil” at the Gobbler’s Knob Visitors Center. Kids got their photos made with Santa and Phil. 

The town continues to relish its role in Groundhog Day. At last count, there were 32 “Phantastic Phils” located within the Punxsutawney community – large fiberglass versions of the famous groundhog. Each is painted to reflect the personality of the sponsoring business or organization.

The Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center opened in the town’s old post office building in 2007 to promote Punxsutawney as “the weather capital of the world.”

There is only one Punxsutawney. It’s a fun word for your mouth to say. The name was derived from the Native American word for sand flies, a gnat-like insect that was once abundant in the area, known as “ponkies.” The “town of the ponkies” became Punxsutawney. 

Punxsutawney High School athletic teams are known as the Punxsy Chucks (as in woodchucks). The mascot is an adorable furry creature.

 Did you know that North Carolina has its own assembly of critters who also work as weather prognosticators on Groundhog Day? We’ll go there next.

Hooray, ‘Brussels Sprouts Day’ will be here soon!

Here’s fair warning: “Brussels Sprouts Day” is Jan. 31. We all have to eat some. 

The problem is: Brussels sprouts are among the least popular of all American vegetables – ranking near the bottom along with asparagus, broccoli and cauliflower.

 

Kids absolutely hate Brussels sprouts, but they become an “acquired taste” for some adults. Indeed, Brussels sprouts have to “grow on you.” 

They are quite cute in appearance. Brussels sprouts look like “baby cabbages.” They flourished in the farm fields surrounding Brussels, Belgium. French Canadian explorers introduced Brussels sprouts to the Louisiana territory in the 17th century.

 

Does that make Brussels sprouts a “Southern food?” Not really. The crop prefers climates that can get a little frosty. Almost all commercial production is concentrated in San Mateo County, Calif., near San Francisco and San Jose. 

Sprouts grow on a stalk and each stalk may produce 15-20 sprouts...or even more. The plant may grow to be 2-3 feet tall. They get their sweet flavor if kept cool in the summer and exposed to frost. Sprouts should be harvested when they are bright green and before they turn yellow.

 

The leafy greens are loaded with vitamins A, C and K, potassium, calcium and fiber. 

Clifton Long Jr. of Medium.com, an online publishing platform based in San Francisco, said: “Through the efforts of talented chefs, the Brussels sprout has been given new life. A swanky take on this leafy green can be found on many menus; and it has become a trendy, healthy option.” 

“Brussels sprouts are a human-engineered strain of a plant called Brassica oleracea, which is also known as wild cabbage,” Long said. “Other strains include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, mustard greens and turnips.”

 

“Collectively, we refer to this family as cruciferous vegetables. They’re also called cole crops (that’s why coleslaw is a cabbage salad). Cruciferous is itself a reference to the flower petals that bloom in the shape of a cross.” 

“Your parents were telling the truth: brussels sprouts are good for you. Now, to make them tasty,” Long said. 

“Esther L. Ellis, a registered dietitian nutritionist, based in Chicago, said: “Brussels sprouts practically beg to be in the oven. For a melt-in-your-mouth side, roast and toss with something sweet, such as dried fruit or maple syrup, as well as something savory – anything from Parmesan cheese to sliced olives.”

 

Jeff Hitchcock, president of Hitchcock Farms in Salinas, Calif., offers several “pairing” suggestions for Brussels sprouts. At the top of his list is bacon, which works “from easy appetizers to impressive entrees.”

One of his favorite recipes involves shredded cheddar cheese with Brussels sprouts, bacon, onions and thyme. 

Hitchcock also recommended two other cheese recipes. Try combining tangy Pecorino Romano cheese with shredded Brussels sprouts, he suggested. “Toss with toasted pine nuts and capers and then christen with lemon vinaigrette.” 

“A rich pairing of fresh Brussels sprouts and blue cheese serves up a savory side made even better with crunchy accents of walnuts and dried cranberries.” 

Try chicken, Hitchcock offered. “Pan-sear chicken breasts in cider and then move to the oven for a slow roast. Finish the dish by pairing with an irresistible medley of halved Brussels sprouts, apple wedges and sliced red onions.”

 

To make vegan tacos, use Brussels sprouts and avocado slices as your taco filling, Hitchcock said. “Drizzle with a tomatillo and jalapeno salsa and celebrate the spicy vegan heat.” 

“Crunchy carrots are naturals paired with Brussels sprouts in a colorful dish that cooks up in just half an hour. Lime, garlic and sugar meld the veggies’ complementing flavors.”

‘Bear Town’ bears are everywhere; can you find them all?

Stubby and stocky statues of black bears are all over the place in New Bern, N.C. 

Collectively, they are a curious lot, challenging all who travel U.S. 70 to pause in “Bear Town” and look for their paws. 

Kim Grizzard of the Greenville (N.C.) Daily Reflector said there are more than 80 fiberglass/ceramic “Bear Town Bears” stationed throughout the city. They were introduced as part of New Bern’s 300-year anniversary observance in 2010.

 

The bear is more than a mascot, Grizzard said. Bears are “part of the heritage of North Carolina’s second oldest town.” 

“The bear is the symbol of Bern, Switzerland, the hometown of a group of settlers that founded New Bern” in the early 1700s,” she wrote. 

Each “Bear Town Bear” is an ambassador for the city, serving to welcome visitors and guests. Their sponsors have assigned the bears interesting names, designed to evoke a chuckle. Here are some of the local favorites: 

“Bear-ly Legal” is sponsored by Stubbs & Perdue Law Firm. Artist: Gee Vee Meyer. 

“Honey, I’m Home” is sponsored by Coldwell Banker Willis Smith. Artist: Donna Woodruff. 

“Dr. Paw” is sponsored by William Hand III Dentistry. Artist: Molly Knazek. 

“Tooth Beary” is sponsored by Kincaid & Purvis Dentistry. Artist: Glenna Davis. 

“Bearon De Graffenried” is sponsored by Union Point Park. Artist: Barbara Hesketh. 

(Baron Christoph von Graffenried of Bern, Switzerland, relinquished his office as a minor government official there because he wanted to find fortune in America. He is considered the founder of New Bern.) 

Bear Town Bears is operated as a joint project between the New Bern Tourism and Development Authority and Craven Arts Council & Gallery. 

The “Flag Bearer” bear at New Bern’s City Hall was replaced in 2020. The original statue washed away during Hurricane Florence in 2018.

 

“Flag Bearer represents our city, our state and our country,” said Matthew Montanye, Director of Public Works. He told WITN-TV that efforts to replace the bear ran into snags when the pandemic hit. 

“It actually took us the better part of six or seven months to actually get the bear manufactured and shipped to New Bern before we could have it painted,” Montanye said. 

The original artist Vicki Vitale-Farrow was asked to paint the new Flag Bearer, and she said she made a few additions to the statue to strengthen the symbolism and illustrate“freedom, patriotism and the love of the country.” 

She is also the artist of “Semper Fi,” the bear that greets folks at New Bern’s Coastal Carolina Regional Airport. The bear stands tall in the airport’s main lobby wearing his Marine Corps Dress Blue uniform. 

“It’s for all the Marines who come in and out of this airport and for what they do for our country,” said Vitale-Farrow. Semper Fi was assigned the rank of corporal.

 

One of the newest bears in town stands watch at Saint Paul Catholic Church. Its named is “Ursus Paulus,” which the Rev. Tom Tully said is Latin for “Paul the Bear,” reflecting the Catholic tradition. The artist is Sandy Bruno. 

Even though Saint Paul was not one of the original 12 companions of Jesus, he considered himself an Apostle sent by Christ, said Neela Kale, a writer based in the Archdiocese of Portland, Ore. 

“Paul was such a pivotal figure in the spread of the gospel that the Church has also applied this title to him, calling him ‘the Apostle to the Gentiles,’” she said.

Fall of New Bern was a Civil War milestone in 1862

Near the entrance to the Taberna subdivision off U.S. Route 70 south of New Bern, N.C., is the New Bern Battlefield Park, an important stop on the North Carolina Civil War Trails. 

About 30 acres of the original battlefield have been preserved, thanks to the efforts of the New Bern Historical Society. Around the visitors center and along the walking trails are 36 interpretive panels that recount the battle, and several fighting positions are still visible.

 

Early in the Civil War, Union Gen. Ambrose Burnside – the fellow with the ultra-bushy sideburns – was given the task of “disrupting the Confederacy’s supply chain” – the ports and critical railroad lines. 

“New Bern, N.C., figured prominently in these plans,” historians said, as “it was located along the new railroad that had been built to connect Fort Macon and the port of Beaufort (in Carteret County) with the rail hub at Goldsboro.” 

On March 13, 1862, 11,000 federal troops led by Burnside and supported by 13 gunboats under Commodore Stephen Rowan came up the Neuse River and landed at Slocum Creek (near today’s Havelock). Soldiers began advancing 16 miles northwest toward New Bern. Rowan’s gunboats advanced upriver shelling the shoreline just ahead of the federal advance. 

Awaiting the Union forces were 4,000 Confederate troops commanded by Gen. Lawrence O’Bryan Branch, positioned along a line running from Fort Thompson on the Neuse River to Wood’s Brickyard adjacent to the railroad tracks and westward from the railroad along the Bullen Branch of Brice’s Creek. Fort Thompson was about five miles below New Bern proper. 

Lawrence Branch, a native of Enfield in Halifax County, N.C., was well-educated. He attended the University of North Carolina and graduated first in his class from Princeton (N.J.) College in 1838 (at age 17). He went on to study law in Nashville, Tenn., where he also owned and edited a newspaper. 

In 1852, Branch relocated to Raleigh, where he continued to practice law and became president of the Raleigh & Gaston Railroad Co. He was elected to serve three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1855-61. Branch joined the Confederate army in May 1861 as a 40-year-old private. He was elevated to brigadier general in January 1862. 

The fighting at New Bern began early in the morning on March 14, 1862.

 

Initially, the Confederate troops, protected by the heavy guns of Fort Thompson, were able to hold their position, but the Union soldiers broke through defenses along the railroad track, as Confederate volunteer militia men immediately retreated after being exposed to Union gunfire. 

It was only a matter of a few hours until Branch’s men abandoned the fort in retreat. 

Historian Paul Branch of the North Carolina State Park Service said casualties were high, as the Union army reported “90 men killed, 380 wounded and 1 missing.” Confederates had “64 men killed, 101 wounded and 413 captured or missing.” 

The Confederate soldiers retreated to Kinston, about 35 miles inland, and many of the residents of New Bern evacuated. 

By nightfall, New Bern was occupied by Burnside’s army. The victory at New Bern provided the Union army with an excellent base strategically located on the mainland of North Carolina. 

New Bern would remain under Union control for the rest of the war, although Confederate forces made three unsuccessful attempts to retake the town.

 

James City emerged as ‘Mecca for freedom’ 

Union troops who occupied New Bern in Craven County during the Civil War in 1862 didn’t anticipate that this region of North Carolina would become a “Mecca for freedom,” attracting slaves and their family members who sought refuge. 

With the emancipation of all enslaved people on Jan. 1, 1863, the population swelled even larger. To accommodate all of these African-Americans, Union army officials chose to construct the “Trent River Settlement” in 1863.

 

Initially, about 800 homes for black families were built on confiscated lands south of the Trent River, formerly the property of Col. Peter Gustavous Evans, a Confederate officer. (Col. Evans was married to Ann Eliza “Lizzie” Morehead Evans, daughter of former North Carolina Gov. John Motley Morehead and Ann Eliza Lindsay Morehead.) 

A Union army chaplain, the Rev. Horace James, was brought in to organize and manage the Trent River Settlement. 

North Carolina historian Joe A. Mobley, writing for NCPedia, said Rev. James was a native of Medford, Mass., and an 1840 graduate of Yale University in New Haven, Conn. He was serving as pastor of Old South Congregational Church in Worcester, Mass., when the Civil War broke out. He enlisted as a Union army chaplain in 1861 and was assigned to Fort Monroe at Hampton, Va. 

Rev. James was placed in charge of supervising the care and employment of the many contrabands (escaped slaves) who fled to Union lines, according to Mobley. 

In February 1862, Rev. James participated in the expedition led by Gen. Ambrose Burnside that captured Roanoke Island, N.C. Burnside wisely appointed Rev. James as officer-in-charge of the contrabands who sought federal protection on the island. 

In this capacity, Rev. James created a settlement at Roanoke Island that became known as a “Freedmen’s Colony.” Not only were the newly freed citizens provided jobs, they built their own churches and schools, Mobley said. 

“The encampment at Roanoke Island was a model for the Trent River Settlement,” Mobley added. 

The settlement came to be known in 1865 as James City, named in honor of Rev. James.

 

He also reached out to “set up smaller camps in eastern North Carolina, including Beaufort and Morehead City.” 

Beaufort historian Mamré Marsh Wilson said “Union Town” was the name of the refugee camp for freedmen that was established on the north side of Beaufort in 1863, “above Cedar Street.” 

James received support from the American Missionary Association (AMA), a nondenominational abolitionist society formed in 1846 in Albany, N.Y. The main purpose of the organization was education of African-Americans, promotion of racial equality and the spread of Christian values. 

Dr. Maxine D. Jones, a history professor at Florida State University, said the freedmen’s schoolhouse in Beaufort was named Whipple School, in honor of Professor George Whipple of Oberlin (Ohio) College, who helped form the AMA. 

Wilson said that in 1867, the AMA helped build Washburn Male and Female Seminary and St. Stephen’s Congregational Church on Cedar Street in Beaufort. 

Two individuals who reportedly were connected to Washburn Seminary as adults were former slaves Pierre and Annie Bell Henry. They were married in 1843 and raised five children. The couple’s graves are located in the Old Burying Ground in Beaufort. 

Their epitaphs are from the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”