The Big Ditch – Summer 2025
Nice to See You, Summertime!
By Anna Mitchell, Local History Librarian
This photograph from our Local History Collection shows a group of friends enjoying salty summer breezes and a stroll through the sand – in their fancy swim clothes! They are certainly an image of a time gone by.
As we welcome the warm days of summer, we invite you to come into the Local History room. It’s a great place to cool off and learn some of your community and family history!
This photograph from our Local History Collection shows a group of friends enjoying salty summer breezes and a stroll through the sand – in their fancy swim clothes! They are certainly an image of a time gone by.
As we welcome the warm days of summer, we invite you to come into the Local History room. It’s a great place to cool off and learn some of your community and family history!
Wanna See Something Cool?
By Davia Webb, Reference Librarian
Humans landed on the moon on July 20,1969. We all know what the spacesuits looked like on the Apollo 11 mission, but have you seen the early prototypes of lunar attire?
Here is a photograph from one of our Special Collections on the Republic Aviation Corporation, a former aircraft manufacturer in New York. This photo depicts a 1960 working model of the “Moon Suit”, a two-piece lunar exploration suit. It features a tripod style seat, allowing the astronaut to curl up in the suit and rest. This model was unveiled in a diorama at the Science and Industry Exposition of the Long Island Fair in October 1960. Even though this suit was meant for doing space chores, it still warrants the “cool” categorization.
Humans landed on the moon on July 20,1969. We all know what the spacesuits looked like on the Apollo 11 mission, but have you seen the early prototypes of lunar attire?
Here is a photograph from one of our Special Collections on the Republic Aviation Corporation, a former aircraft manufacturer in New York. This photo depicts a 1960 working model of the “Moon Suit”, a two-piece lunar exploration suit. It features a tripod style seat, allowing the astronaut to curl up in the suit and rest. This model was unveiled in a diorama at the Science and Industry Exposition of the Long Island Fair in October 1960. Even though this suit was meant for doing space chores, it still warrants the “cool” categorization.
That’s Old News!
By Anna Mitchell, Local History Librarian
One longheld tradition of summertime is enjoying a ripe, juicy watermelon. This clipping from August 1977 shows James Coker of Goldsboro posing with a watermelon grown by his brother, Marvin. The watermelon grew to an astonishing 115 pounds!
You can read more local news tidbits from days gone by in the Local History room by using our microfilm collection!
[image caption: GIANT WATERMELON – James Coker kneels beside a 115-pound watermelon grown by his brother, Marvin Coker, in the Walnut Creek Community east of Goldsboro. Coker was able to produce the big melon by pulling all the other blooms and leaving the single melon to get all the growth from the vine. (Staff Photo by Ben Rollins)]
One longheld tradition of summertime is enjoying a ripe, juicy watermelon. This clipping from August 1977 shows James Coker of Goldsboro posing with a watermelon grown by his brother, Marvin. The watermelon grew to an astonishing 115 pounds!
You can read more local news tidbits from days gone by in the Local History room by using our microfilm collection!
[image caption: GIANT WATERMELON – James Coker kneels beside a 115-pound watermelon grown by his brother, Marvin Coker, in the Walnut Creek Community east of Goldsboro. Coker was able to produce the big melon by pulling all the other blooms and leaving the single melon to get all the growth from the vine. (Staff Photo by Ben Rollins)]
Writings & Retrospection:
The Journal of Caroline Hooks
By Anna Mitchell, Local History Librarian
In last quarter’s edition of The Big Ditch, we presented a local history mystery – the essay “Woman and Her Influence.” We believe this essay was written by Alice Dickinson, but the timing and circumstances surrounding the essay remain a mystery. That’s why when Local History Staff discovered this journal, we were thrilled to read a collection of beautiful writings – but this time without the mystery! The journal, included in a box of family Bibles and books belonging to the Hooks and Hollowell families, has a clear owner.
In an entry dated February 28th, 1850, Carolina Hooks wrote “Pleasures of Retrospection.” It is a work about the memory of days gone by.
(Image transcribed:
Pleasure of Retrospection.
There are some heart-entwining hours in life,
With sweet, seraphic inspiration rife;
When mellowing thoughts, like music on the ear,
Melt through the soul and languish in a tear!
And such are they, when tranquil and alone,
We sit and ponder on scenes long since flown;
And charmed by Fancy’s retrospective gaze,
Live in an atmosphere of other days;
While friends and faces flashing on the mind,
Conceal the havoc time has left behind.
Febry 28th 1850 C.HOOKS)
In an entry dated February 28th, 1850, Carolina Hooks wrote “Pleasures of Retrospection.” It is a work about the memory of days gone by.
(Image transcribed:
Pleasure of Retrospection.
There are some heart-entwining hours in life,
With sweet, seraphic inspiration rife;
When mellowing thoughts, like music on the ear,
Melt through the soul and languish in a tear!
And such are they, when tranquil and alone,
We sit and ponder on scenes long since flown;
And charmed by Fancy’s retrospective gaze,
Live in an atmosphere of other days;
While friends and faces flashing on the mind,
Conceal the havoc time has left behind.
Febry 28th 1850 C.HOOKS)
A majority of the books are inscribed by C. E. Hooks – Caroline “Carrie” Elizabeth Hooks. She was born in Wayne County in 1831 to Carter and Ann Hooks and moved to Arkansas where she married Amos Jarman. Some of the books are inscribed “C.E. Fitzgerald.” However her first husband, Mr. Fitzgerald, does remain a mystery. If you have insight into who he was, we would love to hear from you!
This particular journal ranges in dates from 1850-1851 and appears to be a collection of writings from her friends and family to her. The occasion is unknown, but the poems range in themes from friendship to the pain of loss.
This poem about grief is dated December 14th, 1850 in Waynesboro. It is a solemn text, with an addition written next to the bird that says “how sad it is to be alone.”
(Image transcribed:
Wakeful, I list you cooing dove,
Whose heart like mine, with grief is broken;
With mournful plaits she fills the grove,
While Silent tears my pangs betoken.
Methinks we share one common grief,
And for one love my vigils keep;
Partners in wo – ah, sad relief; –
Tis hers to wail, and mine to weep
Waynesboro Dec 14th 1850 W. C. [F??])
A majority of the books are inscribed by C. E. Hooks – Caroline “Carrie” Elizabeth Hooks. She was born in Wayne County in 1831 to Carter and Ann Hooks and moved to Arkansas where she married Amos Jarman. Some of the books are inscribed “C.E. Fitzgerald.” However her first husband, Mr. Fitzgerald, does remain a mystery. If you have insight into who he was, we would love to hear from you!
This particular journal ranges in dates from 1850-1851 and appears to be a collection of writings from her friends and family to her. The occasion is unknown, but the poems range in themes from friendship to the pain of loss.
This poem about grief is dated December 14th, 1850 in Waynesboro. It is a solemn text, with an addition written next to the bird that says “how sad it is to be alone.”
(Image transcribed:
Wakeful, I list you cooing dove,
Whose heart like mine, with grief is broken;
With mournful plaits she fills the grove,
While Silent tears my pangs betoken.
Methinks we share one common grief,
And for one love my vigils keep;
Partners in wo – ah, sad relief; –
Tis hers to wail, and mine to weep
Waynesboro Dec 14th 1850 W. C. [F??])
In Local History we are often reminded that every piece of our collection offers an invaluable glimpse into a specific moment in time. Through every letter, postcard, and pamphlet, we learn more about our community and are able to get a more clear view of our collective story. This book of writings to Caroline Hooks is a small piece of a much larger puzzle.
The front cover is inscribed “Miss C. E. Hooks.” The first page has a entry dated July 8th, 1851 written, one can assume, by Hooks’s father, Reverend Carter Hooks:
(Image transcribed:
Remember my daughter.
On the warm cheek of youth,
Smiles and roses have been blended
When I am gone forget me not.
Round is the ring and without end
So is my love to you my Child.
Affections renders trifles sweet.
July 8th 1851 C.HOOKS)
In Local History we are often reminded that every piece of our collection offers an invaluable glimpse into a specific moment in time. Through every letter, postcard, and pamphlet, we learn more about our community and are able to get a more clear view of our collective story. This book of writings to Caroline Hooks is a small piece of a much larger puzzle.
The front cover is inscribed “Miss C. E. Hooks.” The first page has a entry dated July 8th, 1851 written, one can assume, by Hooks’s father, Reverend Carter Hooks:
(Image transcribed:
Remember my daughter.
On the warm cheek of youth,
Smiles and roses have been blended
When I am gone forget me not.
Round is the ring and without end
So is my love to you my Child.
Affections renders trifles sweet.
July 8th 1851 C.HOOKS)
In the image below, the inscription on the left is of special importance – it is dated December 11, 1850 with the location of Waynesborough – a rare find!
(Image transcribed, left page:
It is not always May.
Maiden: that readst this simple rhyme,
Enjoy thy youth, – it will not stay;
Enjoy the fragrance of thy prime,
For O! it is not always May!
Enjoy the spring of love and youth,
To some good angel leave the nest
For time will teach thee soon the truth, –
There are no birds in last year’s nest
Waynesboro N.C. 16 Decr 1850)
(right page transcribed:
To Carry
Love is the gift which God hath given
To man alone beneath the heaven.
It is the secret sympathy
The silver link, the silken tie,
Which heart to heart, and mind to mind,
In body and in soul can bind.
Oct. 16, 1850)
In the image below, the inscription on the left is of special importance – it is dated December 11, 1850 with the location of Waynesborough – a rare find!
(Image transcribed, left page:
It is not always May.
Maiden: that readst this simple rhyme,
Enjoy thy youth, – it will not stay;
Enjoy the fragrance of thy prime,
For O! it is not always May!
Enjoy the spring of love and youth,
To some good angel leave the nest
For time will teach thee soon the truth, –
There are no birds in last year’s nest
Waynesboro N.C. 16 Decr 1850)
(right page transcribed:
To Carry
Love is the gift which God hath given
To man alone beneath the heaven.
It is the secret sympathy
The silver link, the silken tie,
Which heart to heart, and mind to mind,
In body and in soul can bind.
Oct. 16, 1850)
Dot Hood Turner, 1924-2007:
Community Member Spotlight
By Davia Webb, Reference Librarian
“As far as I’m concerned, there is no better place to live anywhere, and I guess I’m just one of the lucky ones”. -Dot Hood
Let me introduce you to Dot Hood, the woman who helped keep Goldsboro running. She was chosen for the Goldsboro News Argus column, “Personality in the News”, in September 1977 for her many contributions to the City of Goldsboro. In that same year, Hood became the assistant manager of the Goldsboro Chamber of Commerce after being there for 23 years as a secretary. While over two decades of service is impressive by itself, her work goes beyond that, in some of the places we know and love today. She served as the administrative assistant to the Downtown Association and the Berkeley Mall Association; the secretary to the Civic Coalition Club, the Postal Council Customer Service, and the Retired Men’s Club, where she was the only woman with a membership.
Let me introduce you to Dot Hood, the woman who helped keep Goldsboro running. She was chosen for the Goldsboro News Argus column, “Personality in the News”, in September 1977 for her many contributions to the City of Goldsboro. In that same year, Hood became the assistant manager of the Goldsboro Chamber of Commerce after being there for 23 years as a secretary.
While over two decades of service is impressive by itself, her work goes beyond that, in some of the places we know and love today. She served as the administrative assistant to the Downtown Association and the Berkeley Mall Association; the secretary to the Civic Coalition Club, the Postal Council Customer Service, and the Retired Men’s Club, where she was the only woman with a membership.
Hood also took part in the beautification projects around Goldsboro, including the dogwood tree planting project conducted by the Goldsboro Chamber of Commerce and the Men’s Garden Club in 1972-1973. Dot Hood was a significant part of our community for many years before she became a “Personality in the News”. In 1947, she was crowned the Centennial Queen to oversee the celebration of 100 years of Goldsboro’s History, as seen in the photo to the left. Now, we are celebrating Dot’s history as an active contributor to the Goldsboro we know today. While this introduction includes the years 1947 to 1977, Hood may have more story to be told if this quote is anything to go by: “My granddaughter told her father that I was too old to be doing the bump, and I told her that I’d be bumping when I turn 90 if I’m still able”.
Hood also took part in the beautification projects around Goldsboro, including the dogwood tree planting project conducted by the Goldsboro Chamber of Commerce and the Men’s Garden Club in 1972-1973. Dot Hood was a significant part of our community for many years before she became a “Personality in the News”.
In 1947, she was crowned the Centennial Queen to oversee the celebration of 100 years of Goldsboro’s History, as seen in the photo to the left. Now, we are celebrating Dot’s history as an active contributor to the Goldsboro we know today. While this introduction includes the years 1947 to 1977, Hood may have more story to be told if this quote is anything to go by: “My granddaughter told her father that I was too old to be doing the bump, and I told her that I’d be bumping when I turn 90 if I’m still able”.