‘N.C. objects’ treasure hunt leads to Jacksonville

Continuing to explore “objects” from eastern North Carolina that have influenced the state’s heritage and culture, editors of Our State magazine selected “military identification dog tags” to be a key part of the story, which is featured in the September issue.

 

Contributing writer Kevin Maurer said that nearly 100,000 active-duty troops and National Guard members are currently serving in North Carolina, and dog tags remain standard issue. (They were first authorized by the U.S. government in 1906.)

 

The North Carolina Institute of Medicine, based in Morrisville, estimates that approximately 619,000 veterans currently reside in North Carolina, ranking the Old North State eighth among all states.

Onslow County has the fourth highest number of North Carolina veterans, trailing only Wake, Cumberland and Mecklenburg counties. That only stands to reason, as Jacksonville, the Onslow County seat, is home to several military operations, chiefly Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River.

Our State readers were invited to visit the newly opened Carolina Museum of the Marine in Jacksonville, a 25,000-square-foot facility that pays “tribute to the service, sacrifice and leadership of Marines and Sailors connected to the Carolinas.” Admission fees apply.

 

Another important object that has helped shaped North Carolina is the “soda bottle.” 

Contributing writer Bryan Mims (shown above) noted that New Bern is the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola, invented in 1898 by Caleb Davis Bradham, owner of Bradham’s Drug Store.

 

As early as 1893, he developed a concoction of “sugar, water, caramel, lemon oil, nutmeg and other natural additives” that he believed was a healthy cola drink. He called it “Brad’s Drink.”

Bradham renamed his beverage “Pepsi-Cola” in 1898, getting its roots from the word “dyspepsia,” meaning indigestion.

Bradham formed the Pepsi-Cola Company in 1902, and “Pepsi-Cola” became an official trademark in 1903. Bradham began selling his syrup to franchised bottlers. The company was serving customers in 24 states by 1910.

 

To complete the “interesting objects” circuit, Our State staff writer Rebecca Woltz welcomed readers to North Carolina’s “Spin City,” where 30 towering whirligigs twist and turn whenever the wind blows in downtown Wilson, the county seat of Wilson County.

The Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park is now a tourism destination of major proportions and has been a magnet for the development of other entertainment, arts, foods and beverage related businesses in the area.

Farm machinery repairman Vollis Simpson began making gigantic kinetic sculptures on his family farm in Wilson County as a just-for-the-fun-of-it hobby. Some of his creations were 50 feet tall or more. He attracted the attention of curiosity seekers.

 

After his death in 2013 (at age 93), the New York Times described Simpson as “a visionary artist of the junkyard…who made metal scraps into magnificent things that twirled and jangled and clattered….”

The Whirligig Museum curator says: “Simpson’s monumental, fanciful, wind-driven creations have been appreciated by millions of people.”

 

The Whirligigs are now officially classified as “folk art.” The structures incorporate reflective highway and road signs, HVAC fans, bicycles, ceiling fans, mirrors, stovepipes, I-beams, pipes, textile mill rollers, ball bearings, aluminum sheeting, various woods, steel rods, rings, pans, milkshake mixers and many more materials that form and support the moving parts.

 

Surely, there’s a bunch of worthy “North Carolina objects” that didn’t make the cut for the top 50. It must have been a difficult decision for the Our State crowd to winnow it down.

We could start a list of some of the coastal and eastern North Carolina items. 

Two immediately come to mind: Scuppernong grapes on Roanoke Island and the legendary tea pot in Edenton. Message me at swindsguy@gmail.com if you have other nominees.

The Edenton Tea Party was one of the earliest organized women’s political actions in United States history. On Oct. 25, 1774, Penelope Barker (shown below) organized, at the home of Elizabeth King, 51 women in Edenton, the county seat of Chowan County. Together they formed an alliance wholeheartedly supporting the American cause against “taxation without representation.”