Category: US History

#OnThisDay: US entered WWI, 1917, plus a Hurricane Helene Recovery Update

It was on April 6, 1917, that the United States entered World War I. As with World War II, the United States was slow to enter the fray. The war had begun in the summer of 1914. By the time the war ended in 1919, 28 nations on five continents were involved. The United States tried to remain neutral.

In my blog post today, I offer a condensed and simplified explanation of the timing and reasons why the United States eventually got involved in World War I.

When the war broke out in Europe, President Woodrow Wilson asked Americans to be “impartial in thought as well as action.” That was not easy for the 32 million Americans who were born in Europe or were first-generation children of immigrants.

Neutrality gave the United States an economic advantage as it could continue to trade with countries on both sides of the war. But as time progressed, a naval blockade of the North Atlantic by Great Britain and Germany’s retaliation with submarines made trade increasingly difficult.

The Lusitania. Photo from Library of Congress website

On May 7, 1915, Germany torpedoed the British Cunard ocean liner Lusitania, and 128 American passengers were killed. Germany promised to stop putting Americans in harm’s way on the seas to try to gain America’s favor. The Sussex Pledge, made in May 1916 after Germany torpedoed the French ship Sussex on March 24, 1916, injuring several Americans, held for a while.

President Wilson tried to broker peace negotiations in 1915 and 1916, to no avail, as he proposed “peace without victory.” On January 31, 1917, Germany announced it was renewing total submarine warfare against merchant shipping around Great Britain and in the Mediterranean Sea. Germany thought this would bring the defeat of Great Britain and its Allies before the United States could respond.

Wilson, however, used a 1797 statute that allowed the U.S. President to arm the merchant fleet.

The last straw for the United States was when British intelligence intercepted a message, which became known as the Zimmerman note, in which German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmerman proposed that Mexico should join Germany if the United States joined the war on the side of the Allies.

The deal Germany offered Mexico was that it would help Mexico regain what had become New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona in the United States! The Zimmerman Note also suggested that Japan should join Germany and the Central Powers in the war.

President Wilson called on Congress to convene in a special session on April 2, 1917. The House of Representatives approved a resolution to enter the war on April 4, and the Senate followed suit on April 6, thus entering the United States into World War I on the side of Great Britain and the Allies.

Let this be a history lesson for leaders within the government of the United States of America for how, step-by-step, world wars begin.

Hurricane Helene Recovery Update

It has been a month or so since I gave an update on Hurricane Helene recovery in North Carolina. Yes, even though that hurricane blasted through the mountains in western North Carolina more than 18 months ago, recovery continues.

NC Landslide Mapping: WCNC TV Channel 36 in Charlotte did a news segment on March 9, 2026 about NC Landslide Mapping. This is an early warning system for landslide alerts. In 2011, due to state budget restraints, the program was stopped. Although restarted in 2018, some counties in the mountainous western part of NC are not mapped.

The remaining counties need to be mapped and the counties already done need to be updated since the numerous landslides due to Hurricane Helene. Geologists map prior landslides because prior landslides predict future landslides – not when they will happen, but that they will happen. People can look at the data to help them make more informed decisions before purchasing land. NC will have a Landslide Awareness Week this summer.

Lake Lure, NC: During Hurricane Helene, Lake Lure (the lake itself, from which the Town of Lake Lure takes its name) was filled with storm debris. The recovery process has been overwhelming and tedious, but 18 months after the historic flooding caused by Helene, the lake is on the verge of reopening. Quoting from The Town of Lake Lure Facebook page from March 25, 2026: “The Town of Lake Lure, NC is pleased to report that the lake level has reached approximately 986.2 feet Mean Sea Level (MSL)—just 4.3 feet below full pond (990.5 MSL). These photos highlight the steady progression of refilling the lake, captured from the east edge of Morse Park facing the main channel.

Lake Lure, as seen from the top of Chimney Rock in North Carolina

“Crews from the North Carolina State Mission Assigned Recovery Task (SMART) Program continue working around the lake, removing remaining debris and helping restore the shoreline. To date, they have cleared more than 800 cubic yards of debris, and their efforts are ongoing.

“Additionally, work is taking place at the Washburn Marina – rebuilding the floating boardwalk and marina docks, constructing the marina tour boat docks, and fueling station, and building a new marina building to serve the public.

“These final steps mark meaningful progress as we move closer to reopening Lake Lure.”

US-64: On March 31, it was reported that one lane of US-64 is now open between Chimney Rock and Bat Cave, NC. It is hoped that the new highway, much of which had to literally be rebuilt along a new route after Hurricane Helene’s record-setting rainfall moved the Rocky Broad River, will be open by Memorial Day.

Restoration of The Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina continues, with completion scheduled for late in 2026. Heavy construction equipment will be traveling on open sections of the Parkway between US-70 at Asheville (Milepost 382.5) and Mount Mitchell State Park (NC-128 at Milepost 355.3) to access landslide repair locations beginning today, April 6, 2026. Motorists should expect delays behind slow-moving heavy construction vehicles.

Visitors to hiking trails along the Parkway are advised to continue to use caution as all restoration work has not been completed.

Rebuilding of Interstate 40: It goes without saying that the rebuilding of I-40 in North Carolina in the Pigeon River Gorge just east of the Tennessee line is an ongoing project of massive proportions. Portions of the highway collapsed, and some sections completely disappeared during Hurricane Helene in September 2024. Since March 1, 2025, there is just one lane open in each direction with a speed limit of 35 miles per hour. The latest estimates I’ve heard indicate completion of the project in late 2028.

Janet

The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.

Is The United States of America a Christian Nation? – Part 2

My blog post from yesterday grew to be too long, so I divided it into two parts. Before reading today’s post, it would be useful for you to read yesterday’s to put today’s post into context: Is The United States of America a Christian Nation? – Part 1.

As I stated yesterday, Christian Nationalists love to say that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, but you will not find the words “Christian” or “Jesus” in the Declaration of Independence or the U.S. Constitution.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits the United States from making any “law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

Americans, under our Constitution, are free to practice any religion they choose. They are free to practice no religion whatsoever. That is one of the bedrocks and beauties of the United States of America.

That is why I find the likes of U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth so dangerous. As I noted in yesterday’s blog post, he sees our current war in Iran as a holy war. But the United States of America does not fight holy wars. The day we start down that road will be the beginning of our demise.

One only needs to look at the history of Europe to see how differing interpretations of Christianity in government can create great conflict. When one monarchy favors Roman Catholicism to the detriment of Protestantism… or a monarchy favors Protestantism to the detriment of Roman Catholicism we see oppression and wars.

My Presbyterian ancestors experienced that struggle in Scotland and it, no doubt, influenced them to come to America in the mid-1700s. My ancestors on the Kintyre Peninsula of Scotland had to worship in secret in the 1600s in gatherings called conventicle because the monarchy favored Roman Catholicism at the time.

(One of the historical short stories in my book, Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories is about the Covenanters in Scotland and how they were punished for not espousing the Roman Catholic traditions.)

In Colonial America, religious freedom and religious overreach were issues. As noted in my Author’s Notes after “You Couldn’t Help But Like Bob” story in my short story book, fines ordered by the courts in Colonial Virginia were often to be paid to the Church of England or the Anglican Church.

There was no separation of church and state in Colonial America. In Colonial North Carolina, the Episcopal church held sway over the government. It was illegal in North Carolina for a Presbyterian minister to officiate over a marriage. Marriages conducted by Presbyterian ministers were not recognized by the Royal Government. My Presbyterian colonial North Carolina ancestors were on the wrong side of the law.

It is almost impossible for 21st century Americans to comprehend how life was in colonial times. That is why it makes it so easy for Christians in 21st century America to call for the Ten Commandments to be posted on public school classroom walls and courtroom walls. They do not grasp the danger – the slippery slope – such actions can lead to.

In their hearts and minds, they think they are doing a good thing. They think they are following Jesus’ instructions found in Matthew 28:18-20: “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

But Jesus did not say we are to make our governments Christian. Christianity is a personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as one’s Lord and Savior. It is not a belief to be imposed upon another human being. It is not a belief system to be used as a cudgel by a government. To see it that way is blasphemous and indicates a basic misunderstanding of Jesus Christ.

Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash

In Matthew 22:15-21 (as found in the New International Version of the Bible), the Pharisees try to trap Jesus by questioning him about paying taxes: 

Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

In Mark 12:13-17, that same encounter between Jesus and the Pharisees is recorded as follows in the New International Version of the Bible:

Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

Getting back to Matthew 28:18-20, yes, Jesus instructed us to spread the Gospel, but the Christians who want to force the Gospel on people by weaponizing the government with the Bible are taking the easy way out. They are taking a dangerous way out. The Bible and its words should never be used as a weapon.

Not once in the New Testament did Jesus force or instruct His followers to force His brand of religion on the government or on the people via the government.

A meme with the words of the First Amendment with the American flag in the background
The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America

Christians have countless ways to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others. Forcing the Gospel on people through our government is not one of them.

Janet

The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.

Rosenwald Schools

In yesterday’s blog post, I wrote about the passage of the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1870. It, on paper at least, gave black men in our country the right to vote.

Of course, voting was just one of the ways that people of color were discriminated against in the United States. Today’s post looks at a very important and impactful way in which one man set out to try to level the playing field when it came to education.

Julius Rosenwald was the president of Sears, Roebuck, and Company. Mr. Rosenwald, a white man of the Jewish faith, read Booker T. Washington’s autobiography, Up From Slavery, in 1910. The book opened Rosenwald’s eyes to the inequities between the education of white children and black children.

Rosenwald got involved financially and served on the Tuskegee Institute Board of Directors. In 1912, Rosenwald gave $25,000 to Tuskegee to help it build private schools for black children across the nation. Rosenwald gave his permission for $2,500 of that gift to be used to build five public schools for black children near Tuskegee, Alabama.

The idea and project grew perhaps beyond the two men’s imaginations or expectations. Over the next 30 years, 4,977 Rosenwald Schools, 217 homes for teachers, and 163 shop buildings were built in 15 states.

There were 787 Rosenwald schools built in North Carolina, which was more than in any other state. Eleven of them were here in Cabarrus County. Three of them were in the Harrisburg section of the county, and it is those schools – Bellefonte, Morehead, and Oak Grove – that I focused on in my three-part newspaper series in 2006, which I later published in Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 1. I do not have a photograph of any of those schools.

I drove by the Bellefonte Rosenwald School many times, but I did not know it was a Rosenwald School. In fact, I had not heard of Rosenwald Schools until about 20 years ago. I did not know Bellefonte was a Rosenwald School until after it had been burned down for practice by the fire department. That whole story is a sad situation. People making those decisions had no idea the value of the building. I think the architect’s sketch and floor diagram below are the plans used in the construction of the Bellefonte Rosenwald School.

Possible design of the Bellefonte Rosenwald School at Harrisburg, NC.

The Bellefonte Rosenwald School had two classrooms, whereas some of the schools had just one classroom. In 2023, the abandoned one-classroom Siloam (or Salome) Rosenwald School was moved from its original location in eastern Mecklenburg County, NC to the campus of the Charlotte Museum of History. It was restored and I took the photographs below in September 2024. (The museum’s website identifies it as Siloam School, but it was originally located on Salome School Road.)

Restored Siloam Rosenwald School moved to campus of Charlotte History Museum and restored in 2024
Classroom in restored Siloam Rosenwald School in Charlotte, NC, 2024

In 2006, I had the privilege of interviewing two women and one man, all in their 90s at the time, who had attended the three Rosenwald Schools in Harrisburg, NC. It was wonderful – and heartbreaking – to hear some of their memories of those days of racial segregation in our schools. I’m glad I talked to them when I did, for they are gone now. Much of their oral history would be gone with them, if I had not taken copious notes and published their memories.

Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 1, by Janet Morrison

If you would like to read more about Rosenwald Schools in general, including how they were funded and supported by their communities, along with some details about the three located in the Harrisburg section of Cabarrus County, North Carolina, look for Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 1 on Amazon in paperback and e-book and at Second Look Books in Harrisburg in paperback.

Janet

All history is local, but no history is just local.

#OnThisDay: 15th Amendment Ratified, 1870

It was on this date 156 years ago that African American men were given the right to vote when the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified.

Against a background of the American flag, the words of Section 1 of the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude—"
Section 1 of the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

You might be surprised to know that it was the Republicans who pushed for this amendment. Yes, the same party which today turns itself into a pretzel dreaming up ways to make it more difficult for citizens to vote is the party that fought to give black American men the right to vote in 1870. The irony!

The 15th Amendment did not address the fact that women of any skin color did not have the right to vote.

Section 1 of the 15th Amendment states: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude–.”

Although ratified in 1870, it would take the Voting Rights Act of 1965 before many black people were registered to vote. Laws varied by state and state legislatures – much like today – resorted to creative ways and wording in laws to restrict voting rights.

Popular opinion is that it was only southern states that restricted voting to white people, so I decided to do a little research into state laws prior to 1870. (Keep in mind that women were not given the right to vote by the U.S. Constitution until the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920.)  

I wanted to know if black men were allowed to vote in states outside the South before passage of the 15th Amendment in 1870. Out of curiosity, I randomly looked at New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

In the State of New York, there was a mish-mash of voting rights for black men. In the 1820’s it was unlawful for a black person who did not own property valued at $250 or more to vote. Slave owners along the Hudson River (yes, even New Yorkers owned slaves!) did not let their slaves vote. Some black men in the state’s cities were able to vote.

Although the “Black Laws” in the state of Ohio were repealed in 1849, African Americans were still not allowed to vote. An informative article about the history of laws regarding African Americans in Ohio can be found here: https://eji.org/news/ohios-black-laws/.

What about Pennsylvania? Quoting from “The Disenfranchisement of Black Pennsylvanians in the 1838 State Constitution: Racism, Politics, or Economics? – A Statistical Analysis,” by David A. Latzko of Pennsylvania State University’s York campus, as found at https//:tupjournals.temple.edu: “In 1838, Pennsylvania’s voters approved a state constitution that restricted the right to vote to ‘white freemen.’ Blacks had voted for many years in some parts of the state, but under the new constitution Pennsylvania’s black males could no longer vote.”

I found the following information on https://libguides.njstatelib.org/votesforwomen/timeline: In 1807, a new law restricting voting was passed by the New Jersey General Assembly: “Whereas doubts have been raised, and Great diversities in practice obtained through-out the state in regard to the admission of aliens, females and persons of color, or negroes to vote in elections… Sec. 1. Be it enacted …That … no person shall vote in any state or county election… unless such person be a free, white, male … of the age of twenty-one years, worth fifty pounds proclamation money….”

New Jersey adopted a new State Constitution in 1844, and people of color were still not allowed to vote.

In the decades after the ratification of the 15th Amendment, racists in various states passed laws to make it hard for minorities to vote. Such things as poll taxes and literacy tests were codified.

This was still in the decades of Reconstruction following the Civil War. Most of the former slaves had not been allowed to learn how to read or write, so the passage of literacy laws was a not-so-subtle way to prevent many black people from voting.

My conclusion is that people of color have been discriminated against in every state in the United States of America. Our nation has a long and sorted history of dividing ourselves based on the color of our skin.

It is that 250-year history that has brought us to 2026 – a year in which the U.S. Constitution gives all citizens — regardless of skin color or gender – the right to vote. But women and people of color must remain vigilant in every State to guard our right to vote.

In 2026, various State legislatures and even the United States Congress are working behind the scenes as well as blatantly in public to make it more difficult for all citizens to exercise their right to vote. The so-called SAVE America Act is currently being batted back and forth between the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

A segment of our society has been convinced by Conservatives that there is rampant voting by undocumented immigrants. Under the guise of putting an end to that problem — which has been proven not to exist — through passage of the SAVE America Act the Conservatives in Congress are working very hard to codify wording that will once again make it more difficult for many women and many people of color to vote.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. White men in America continue to be afraid of losing their power. It is a history much older and more widespread than the United States of America.

Janet

The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.

Mt. Pleasant Literary Festival – NY Times Bestselling Author Meagan Church

In yesterday’s blog post, https://janetswritingblog.com/2026/03/25/mt-pleasant-literary-festival-cathy-pickens-writers-workshop/) I introduced to you the second annual Mt. Pleasant (North Carolina) Literary Festival.

If you are a writer or you are curious about what makes a writer want to write, please read yesterday’s post and visit Cathy Pickens’ website, https://cathypickens.com/.

For the little village of Mt. Pleasant to attract famous authors is a feat for which the festival’s organizers deserve great praise. It started a couple of years ago as an idea. It has grown beyond their wildest imaginations. I can’t wait to see what the third annual festival holds in store for us in 2027!

This year’s festival attracted 16 authors. I’m still kicking myself that I was too late to register for Kate Quinn’s presentation on Friday night.

Mt. Pleasant Literary Festival 2026

After Cathy Pickens’ Writer’s Workshop, I was excited to attend a presentation by New York Times Bestselling Author Meagan Church.

I thoroughly enjoyed hearing Meagan Church and seeing her in person on Thursday evening. I read her first two novels and blogged about them (The Girls We Sent Away in my September 2, 2024 blog post, Books I Read in August 2024 and The Last Carolina Girl in my May 1, 2023 post, Some of the Books I Read in April 2023.)

The Girls We Sent Away, by Meagan Church
The Last Carolina Girl, by Meagan Church

I have much less time to read now than I did several years ago. I unable to read much of Meagan’s Church New York Times Bestseller, The Mad Wife, before it had to go back to the public library. I’m on the waitlist again so I can finish it.

She mainly talked about The Mad Wife and what led her to do the research and write it. She talked about the history of the term “hysteria” and how it has always been relegated to women.

The Mad Wife, by Meagan Church

She talked about how nervous or excitable women and women with such ailments as multiple sclerosis were misdiagnosed through the years as “just being hysterical.”

The most gut-wrenching part of her talk was when she addressed how rampant lobotomies were in the first half of the 20th century and the gruesome ways one particular man used an ice pick through a woman’s eye socket to perform a lobotomy. This led many women in vegetative states which, unfortunately, was the objective.

Meagan Church, during her presentation on March 19, 2026, at the Mt. Pleasant Literary Festival in Mt. Pleasant, North Carolina

She talked about how women have traditionally been omitted from medical studies – particularly drug studies – in spite of the fact that women tend to react differently biologically than men from certain drugs. She mentioned how women’s symptoms are often different from a man’s . It was only in the last 30 years that medical science began to acknowledge that and make a few exceptions in research.

It was a fascinating presentation, and the author and audience members were careful to avoid “spoilers” for those of us who have not read or finished reading the novel.

In a nutshell, Lulu is expected to be the perfect housewife in the 1950s in American suburbia. She collects Green Stamps (are you old enough to remember them? I am!) and tries to maintain her home just so for her husband, but cracks begin to appear in her life… and therein lies the story of The Mad Wife.

If you have not read any of Meagan Church’s books, I highly recommend them! Please visit her website, https://www.meaganchurch.com/.

Janet

The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.

The Cotton Economy of Cabarrus County

Last Tuesday, I blogged about the coming of the railroad to Harrisburg, North Carolina in 1854 (The Coming of the Railroad in 1854). After receiving several nice comments about the post, I decided to proceed with my plan to blog once-a-week about other topics I covered in my two books, Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 1 and Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 2.

One of my blogger friends who lives hundreds of miles from where I wrote my local history articles caught on to something I was hoping to convey: All history is local, but no history is just local.

The information contained in my two local history books does not just apply to Township One in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. Harrisburg and Township One have much local history that also applies to every small town in the United States.

Every town – big or small – in the United States started as just a collection of homes and perhaps a dirt crossroads. Roads expanded, railroads were built, family-owned grocery stores opened, electricity and telephone service eventually came. Even as Harrisburg’s history is unique to Harrisburg, it holds nuggets of the history and growing pains experienced by every town.

With that in mind, I hope a wider audience will get interested in my two history books. They are available in paperback and as e-book on Amazon and in paperback at Second Look Books in Harrisburg.

In 2009, I wrote a six-part series about “The Cotton Economy” for Harrisburg Horizons newspaper. Today’s blog post will hit on some of the details in those articles, for Cabarrus County, North Carolina was very much a cotton economy in much of the 20th century until textile mills moved to other countries.

Those six articles are in Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 1.

Seventy years ago, most of the fields around Harrisburg, North Carolina were planted in cotton. Today, there is not a single cotton field in Cabarrus County, as far as I know.

As late as the 1960s some Harrisburg school children had to miss school for two or three weeks every fall because their families depended on them to pick cotton.

Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, but that piece of machinery turned out to be a double-edged sword. The increase in cotton production the gin sparked in the 19th century resulted in an increase in the slave trade.

By 1850 the United States produced three-fifths of the world’s cotton. Unfortunately for the South, where the cotton was grown, most of it was shipped to New England or to England to be milled into fabric.

If you are of a certain age, you may remember buying towels and sheets manufactured by Cannon Mills. Headquartered in Kannapolis, NC by the mid-1910s the company was the largest towel manufacturer in the world, and in the 1960s was the world’s largest manufacturer of household textiles. Cannon had mills all over Cabarrus and other piedmont North Carolina towns.

For decades textile mills were the biggest employer in Cabarrus County. But Cannon Mills is no more. I see some “Cannon Mills” labels in some textile products today, but those manufactured in the 21st century were not made by the Cannon Mills I’m talking about.

The Cannon Mills I’m talking about was purchased by Fieldcrest in 1986 and then by Pillowtex in 1997. Over the years, the textile mills in Cabarrus County employed fewer and fewer people due to mechanization and manufacturing moving to other countries.

If memory serves me correctly, I believe at one time there were more than 20,000 people employed in the mills in Cabarrus County. When the 7,650 people who permanently lost their jobs when Pillowtex declared bankruptcy and ceased operations on July 30, 2003, it was the largest permanent lay-off in North Carolina history.

The first cotton mill built in Cabarrus County was not built by the Cannon family. It was the Locke Mill, which still stands at the corner of Church Street and McGill Avenue in Concord, NC. It was converted into condominiums around the turn of the present century.

As I told in Part I of my newspaper series, building that first mill was a formidable and risky undertaking. The spinning frames were shipped from Fishkill, New York by sea to Georgetown, South Carolina. From there, up the Pee Dee River to Cheraw, SC, and from Cheraw to Concord by six-horse wagons

The engine that ran the steam-powered plant was shipped by sea to Wilmington, NC and up the Cape Fear River to Fayetteville, NC. From there it was transported by horse and wagon. Locke Mill began operations in 1840.

As stated in Part I in my series, “When the 1850 US Census was taken, Concord Manufacturing Company reported that its steam-powered cotton factory employed 15 males and 55 females. The males were paid an average of $12.47 per month and the females were paid an average of $4.91 per month.”

But I have gotten way ahead of myself. Most of what I included in my six newspaper articles revolves around the little cotton gins that sprang up around Harrisburg in the 1800s.

By 1850, there was a water-powered cotton gin on McKee Creek here in Township One. It was located where present-day Peach Orchard Road crosses the creek and where there is now a plan to build a couple hundred houses. That is also where Robert and William Morrison’s grist mill was in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

Samuel Wilson’s cotton gin on McKee Creek was no small operation, even though that creek is too small to hardly be noticed today. According to the 1850 US Census, Mr. Wilson reported having processed 24,000 pounds of seed cotton valued at $30,000 the previous year.

To put that in perspective, that $30,000 would be well more than $1 million today!

Wilson’s cotton gin employed four men who were paid an average of $15 per month. The gin produced 1,080 bales of ginned cotton.

While some cotton gins were water-driven, others were powered by horses.

In his 1948 paper, “Some Sketches of Rocky River Church and Vicinity,” William Eugene Alexander explained how a horse-powered cotton gin worked. Quoting Mr. Alexander in part from my book, “ʻIt took four horses, hitched two abreast, and it took two boys to drive them…. There were no lint condensers to the gins, but the lint was blown out into the lint room like a snowstorm and a hand would gather it up in a basket and carry it to the cotton press in the gin yard, where it was baled.’” (Incidentally, it was late in the 20th century before “brown lung” was recognized as a disease caused by breathing cotton dust into one’s lungs.)

Mr. Alexander’s explanation continued, “ʻThe press was constructed with a large wooden screw pin, 10 or 12 inches in diameter. This press was probably 18 or 20 feet high, and was manipulated by means of long levers, to which a mule or horse was hitched for power.’”

This blog post is getting too long, so I will just mention some of the other cotton economy things I wrote about in the other five “installments” – all of which are found in Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 1.

Photo of the front cover of Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 1, by Janet Morrison
Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 1,
by Janet Morrison

As is prone to happen from time-to-time in industry, friction developed between the cotton farmers and the owners of the cotton mills. Farmers struggled to get a fair price for their cotton. The Cotton States and International Exposition was held in Atlanta, Georgia in 1895. Special train fares were advertised in the newspapers for farmers wanting to attend the Exposition. Among those farmers was one of my great-grandfathers.

There was a case of suspected suicide in 1907 by a 13-year-old Harrisburg girl who worked in a cotton mill. In my research, I found a newspaper article from Durham, NC from 1899 in which it was reported that several mills there had adopted a policy of not hiring children under 12 years old.

In my research, I also found a deed of trust at the courthouse giving the details of the purchase of machinery in 1901 for the construction of a steam-powered cotton gin near the railroad tracks by Harrisburg Improvement Company. Until electricity came into the village years later, that gin ran on steam power generated by an old locomotive steam boiler.

Have I whetted your appetite to want to read more? Look for my books on Amazon and at Second Look Books!

Janet

“All history is local, but no history is just local.” ~ Janet Morrison

How bad does it have to get before we use the 25th Amendment?

We have a Secretary of Health and Human Services who does not believe in science or medicine, including time-honored and scientifically-proven vaccines.

We have a Secretary of Defense who mixes a conservative evangelical religion with a statement that the U.S. will show “no quarter” as the war in Iran continues. “Giving no quarter” is in violation of international law. If the U.S. starts slaughtering its prisoners of war, we have surely lost our humanity.

The U.S. has an all-volunteer armed forces made up of people of various religions and no religious beliefs. It is not the Secretary’s place to inflict his religious beliefs on the troops. If the Secretary is a Christian, as he claims to be, I would like for him to tell me where in the Bible it quotes Jesus as advocating giving no quarter to anyone.

We have a Director of National Intelligence who said that only the U.S. President – and not the intelligence community — can determine when there is an imminent threat to our national security. It is ultimately the President’s call, but her answer on Capitol Hill yesterday made it sound like she and the intelligence community have no part to play in the process.

We have a chairman of the Federal Communications Commission who warned TV networks that they run the risk of not having their broadcast licenses renewed if they continue to report the full picture of the war in Iran. He also wants them to concentrate on “patriotic” programming this year.

We have a Secretary of Education who thinks so little of public education that she vowed to shut down the Department of Education. Perhaps she should go back to her former career in pro wrestling administration.

We have a Secretary of the Interior who is okay with opening national parks for extensive logging and oil drilling while taking down informational park displays that tell not only the good but also the bad and the ugly of our nation’s history.

We have an Attorney General who has difficulty answering questions in a way that might not align with what the President wants her to say. In fact, every Cabinet Secretary has that same problem.

All these people were hand-picked by Donald Trump to “serve” in those positions of power and influence. They also had almost 100% approval of the Republicans in Congress.

We have a U.S. President who announced on TV that a member of Congress “will be dead by June” as he took it upon himself to reveal that Congress member’s devastating diagnosis of terminal cancer without that Congressman’s permission. The fact that he turned to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and laughed was the icing on the cake! (Here’s a video clip, in case you missed it or don’t believe it: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-appears-to-confuse-who-is-president/vi-AA1YRwG1?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=69baf386c77447a397c28662c1c9bfb8&ei=22.)

We have a U.S. President who clearly has no filter. If a segment of a thought or fantasy pops in his head, it comes out of his mouth or gets splattered all over his Truth Social account in all capital letters.

We have a U.S. President who has repeatedly called the war in Iran an “excursion” instead of an “incursion.”

On Monday, Trump said, “The President of the United States, Gavin Newscom, said that he has learning disabilities, dyslexia, everything about him is dumb.” That statement is wrong on so many levels, in addition to the fact that Trump called Gavin Newsom “the President of the United States.”

We have a U.S. President who orders shoes for his rich Cabinet members. That would have been ludicrous and inappropriate even if he had bothered to ask them their shoe size… which he did not.

We have a U.S. President who has “decorated” the Oval Office like a house of horrors… which, come to think of it… that’s what it is now.

Our closest ally, Great Britain, is now in the awkward position of advising their King not to visit the White House in April because the U.S. President might embarrass him. (I think we can guarantee that Trump will embarrass King Charles. Belittle and embarrass others is what he does best.)

We have a U.S. President who started a war without the blessing of Congress or seeking the support of the American people. Then, in the middle of a sticky situation in the Strait of Hormuz and a worldwide oil crisis, he begged our NATO allies for their help.

When our allies said, “No,” Trump said, “We don’t need NATO…. We do not need the help of anyone.” What an arrogant and short-sighted thing to say!

He said this was a test to see if NATO would ever help us. How ill-informed he is if he is not aware of NATO’s response after September 11, 2001!

Donald Trump said, “I can take Cuba…  It’s a failed nation…. I can do whatever I want to with it.” What an arrogant and egotistical thing to say about a sovereign nation, even if it is on the verge of collapse!

In case you are not informed about Trump’s latest “pay-to-play” scheme, which promises to put our national security at risk like never before, please read my blog post from yesterday, https://janetswritingblog.com/2026/03/18/more-telling-things-about-trump-administration/.

I hope I never again hear Americans say, “We need a businessman in the White House.”

Just how bad does it have to get before we use the 25th Amendment?

If the 25th Amendment is not called for now, I shudder to think under what circumstances it would be put into force.

Part of Section 4, 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Of course, if we use the 25th Amendment now, we get J.D. Vance as our President. Vance was hand-picked by Donald Trump. Again, I shudder to think about that.

Perhaps that outcome is what is holding back everyone on both sides of the aisle from seriously pursuing the 25th Amendment.

Janet

The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.

More telling things about Trump Administration

Today’s blog post is a continuation of Sunday’s, Various telling things about Trump Administration, (which I meant to schedule for today but hit the “publish” button instead of the “schedule” button my mistake.)

As I said in Sunday’s blog, the nightly TV network news programs cannot cover everything in a half hour. Here are some things you might have missed hearing about.

Columns at what’s left of the White House

President Trump wants Corinthian columns on the new White House ballroom. Rodney Mims Cook, Jr., Trump’s appointee who chairs the Commission of Fine Arts, says there are Corinthian columns at the U.S. Capitol and the U.S. Supreme Court building, so he can’t imagine why the lowly Ionic columns were put on the White House 200 years ago.

The White House, Washington, DC. (Photo by Melo Liu on Unsplash)

Cook says he has not yet discussed with the President that the existing Ionic columns on the North Portico and South Portico of the White House should be replaced with Corinthian columns.

Example of an Ionic column. (Photo by Maik Winnecke on unsplash.com.)

As reported by The Washington Post, “The Corinthian would be inappropriate for the Executive Residence,” said Steven Semes, a professor emeritus of architecture at the University of Notre Dame and an expert in classical architecture, warning that it would ‘harm’ the original design of a building long known as the ‘People’s House.’

Example of a Corinthian column. (Photo by Ruben Hanssen on Unsplash)

“He added that the White House’s Ionic columns evoke ‘the character of dignity, grace and a kind of intimacy or domesticity,’ whereas Corinthian columns are ‘used to express the height of formality and monumentality’ for buildings such as the Capitol.”

The official White House response earlier this week was that there are no plans to replace the Ionic columns at the White House. How many times have we heard the Trump Administration say, “There are no plans,” only to see something like the East Wing of the White House become a pile of rubble?

The truth is not in these people.

Just you wait. We will wake up one morning to see piles of rubble where the Ionic columns now stand. Money is no object to the Trump Administration, unless you want to spend money to benefit human beings.

The wrecking ball being used at the White House is a metaphor for what the Trump Administration has done to our country and everything it stands/stood for.

Shoes

Perhaps the latest fiasco within Trump’s inner circle is that he decided to order wingtip shoes for each of the cabinet members (or, I’m assuming, only the male cabinet members), but he overlooked one detail. Shoe size.

 He (or one of his minions) guessed at what shoe size each person needed. It seems that Secretary of State Marco Rubio now must wear shoes several sizes too big. The pictures are laughable, but I doubt Secretary Rubio is laughing as he tries not to walk out of his gigantic shoes.

Do we not have one single department head in the Trump Administration who is brave enough to tell the President that they aren’t going to wear the shoes?

I read that he has also given these shoes to other VIPs and lawmakers he likes. I refuse to say the brand name and give the company any more free publicity.

It’s not enough that his people must mimic Trump’s every word; they must also wear the shoe brand he prefers, no matter what size they are.

It is more than a little jarring to know that in the middle of an illegal war, the U.S. President is thinking about buying shoes for his rich friends.

Has there ever been a more out-of-touch U.S. President?

The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Since President Trump put his own name on The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts last year, numerous artists have cancelled their appearances in protest.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC. (Photo by MIKE STOLL on Unsplash)

As a result, Richard Grenell, Trump’s appointed director of the facility, has now lost his job.

Trump could not let us think that the cancellations were a result of his naming the building for himself. It had to be someone else’s fault. It just had to be.

The beautiful, iconic living memorial to President John F. Kennedy will close on July 5 for two years for “renovations” and “upgrades.” I doubt it will resemble its old self when Trump gets through with it.

I choose to remember it the way it was. Trump can put his name all over it in flashing neon lights if he wants to, but it will always be remembered as it was in its original elegant form, and it will NEVER be thought of as “The Trump Center.”

Another baseball cap faux pas

It wasn’t enough that President Trump wore a baseball cap to the Dignified Transfer of the remains of the first five Americans killed in the war in Iran. Even after receiving criticism – or perhaps because he received criticism – for his inappropriate choice of head gear, he then used a photo of himself at the somber event to launch a “pay-to-play” scheme.

It begs the question, “Was the white “USA” baseball cap all part of a grander money-raising plan?”

It is inappropriate and disrespectful to our fallen military personnel and their families to use photographs of one of their flag-draped coffins and his baseball cap adorned head to raise money, and it is beyond the pale that he is using this photograph to offer donors national security briefings.

You didn’t know that? Please keep reading.

The soldiers killed in the first day of Trump’s war were Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Sgt. 1stt Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa; and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Spotsylvania, Virginia.

Mr. President, they were human beings. They were part of our all-volunteer armed forces. They volunteered to put their lives on the line from the people of the United States of America. They swore to defend the United States Constitution. Unlike you, they took their pledge seriously.

And now, Mr. President, you use a photograph of yourself in a ridiculous baseball cap along with the top of one of their flag-draped coffins in a pay-to-play scheme.

The request was signed “President Donald J. Trump.” Never Surrender Inc. paid to send it out for him. By paying to play, donors were told they would have “National Security Briefing Membership.”

Let that sink in for a minute….

Here is part of the online report from Navy Times on https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-military/2026/03/14/trump-fundraising-email-uses-photo-of-march-7-dignified-transfer-of-deceased-soldier/ which includes quotes from the pay-to-play scheme:

“’I’m the strong commander who stares down tyrants, obliterates terrorists, and never backs down,’ Trump states in the email. ‘This is for patriots ready to stand with that kind of unbreakable strength. Not for the weak or the wavering.’

“The email promises donors a series of private national security briefings and updates on ‘threats facing America… border invasions, foreign adversaries, deep state sabotage, and every danger the fake news hides.’

“’You’ll get the inside scoop DIRECT from me, President Trump,’ the email continues, ‘the leaders who’s rebuilt the greatest military in history, and put America First like no one else.’”

This scheme goes way beyond being inappropriate. What national security briefing details does Trump and/or Surrender Inc plan to share with donors? This goes beyond stupid and reckless.

Add this scheme to the trash pile of never-ending Trump money-making schemes. We can only hope this scheme fails like many of his other schemes. I mean, you have to be pretty inept to bankrupt a gambling casino, don’t you?

Janet

The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.

The Coming of the Railroad in 1854

I wrote a local history column for Harrisburg Horizons newspaper from May 2006 through December 2012. Before you residents of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania get too excited, I will clarify that this free weekly newspaper existed in Harrisburg, North Carolina.

Of the 175 newspaper columns I wrote, six were a series of articles I wrote about “The Coming of the Railroad.” This is an important local topic for without the North Carolina Railroad there would be no Town of Harrisburg, NC today.

It’s hard to imagine the town without a railroad today, even though in an effort to establish “high-speed” rail between Charlotte and Raleigh, the at-grade railroad crossings in Harrisburg were replaced with bridges in 2013. That’s a story for another day.

Imagine a rural farming community in 1854, about halfway between Charlotte and Concord. Was everyone excited about the coming of the railroad? Farmers were probably not happy about the piercing whistles of the steam engines scaring their livestock, but they were possibly pacified by the fact that the depot planned for the community would give them a convenient way to sell their agricultural products.

Photo of a steam train
Photo by Claud Richmond on Unsplash. (NOT a photo of a Harrisburg, NC steam train.)

Prior to the coming of the railroad, it is said that it sometimes cost a farmer half his profits to transport his produce to market by wagon. Poor roads and distances to markets prohibited the transporting of perishables very far.

Although Charlotte has a population of a million people now, in 1854 it had a whopping 1,000. The State of North Carolina decided it would be good for the economy to construct a railroad from Goldsboro, in the eastern part of the state, to Charlotte in the southern piedmont.

The State sold bonds in New York City to finance the project. Ten thousand shares were sold at $100 each.

Goldsboro was chosen because it had rail service to the port at Wilmington, NC. A railroad from the south to Charlotte and one from the north to Danville, Virginia, which threatened to extend a line to Charlotte, would surely mean that goods from western North Carolina would be shipped to Virginia or to the port at Charleston, South Carolina.

It was understood from the beginning that much of the construction labor for the project would be undertaken by slaves of property owners living along the rail right-of-way. Some of the slave owners were paid on a yearly basis for supplying their slaves for the project.

I found it interesting that wrought iron T-rails manufactured in Wales were used in the initial construction of the 223-mile-long railroad. The rails weighed 60 pounds per yard and were brought in through the port at Charleston.

In the early 1850s, a steam locomotive needed on average a cord of wood (that’s a stack of wood eight feet long, four feet wide, and four feet high) and 1,000 gallons of water for every twenty-five miles. A tender could carry that much wood and water. That is what dictated the approximate distances between some train stations.

That’s how the little farming community of Harrisburg, North Carolina got a train depot and the designation as Harris Depot on maps.

If you are interested in learning more about the North Carolina Railroad and the ways the coming of the railroad and depot changed life in a farming community in the early 1850s, look for my book, Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Books 1 and 2. Book 1 contains the first 94 local history articles I wrote, including the series about the railroad. Book 2 contains the other 84 local history articles I wrote, including more articles that reference the railroad.

Topics in the two books include such things as the blowing up of the King’s gun powder in 1771, a minuteman in the American Revolution, President George Washington’s 1791 visit, the 22-mile ring dyke the town sits in, general stores, family-owned groceries stores, education in the 1800s and three Rosenwald Schools, how the town got phone service and electricity, our Ukrainian doctor (Nicholas E. Lubchenko) who escaped from the Russian Army, the cotton economy of the area until the mid-20th century, Hurricane Hugo in 1989, floods, earthquakes, the building of roads and bridges, the changes necessitated by the high-speed rail project, mail service from the 1800s until the early 21st century, the construction of the Charlotte Motor Speedway and the running of the first World 600 NASCAR race in 1960… and much more.

Here are the links for purchasing the books on Amazon:

Photo of the front cover of Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 1, by Janet Morrison
Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 1,
by Janet Morrison

Book 1, in paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Harrisburg-Did-You-Know-Cabarrus/dp/1888858044/

Book 1, in e-book: https://www.amazon.com/Harrisburg-Did-You-Know-Cabarrus-ebook/dp/B0BNK84LK1/

Photo of front cover of Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 2, by Janet Morrison
Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 2,
by Janet Morrison

Book 2, in paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Harrisburg-Did-You-Know-Cabarrus/dp/B0BW2QMLHC/

Book 2, in e-book: https://www.amazon.com/Harrisburg-Did-You-Know-Cabarrus-ebook/dp/B0BXBQ1F79/

If you live in the Harrisburg, NC area, you can find the books in paperback, Tuesday through Saturday, at Second Look Books, 4519 School House Commons.

I hope my blog post today whetted your appetite for reading more about the history of our little town of 20,000 now. I imagine many of our local stories are similar to ones in your town’s history.

Janet

The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.

Various telling things about Trump Administration

I really try not to write about politics every day on my blog, but there are things happening that do not get coverage on the nightly news programs because there are just too many things for journalists to report on.

The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America

There’s the war in Iran. There are shootings and terrorist attacks. There’s Punch the monkey and his stuffed animal from IKEA in Tokyo. There’s the Kīlauea volcano blowing its stack in Hawaii. There are the women who were abused by Jeffrey Epstein and his rich friends who apparently are not going to face consequences in the United States like they are in Great Britain.

In a 30-minute news broadcast, minus eight to ten minutes of commercials, a host of happenings fall on the editor’s floor. Today I will touch on a few of those.

Trump’s attitude about the war in Iran

President Trump wants other countries to police the Strait of Hormuz. We’ll see how that goes. He also wants the crews on oil tankers to just be brave and go through the strait. Easy for him to say.

He wants China, France, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and “others” to send warships there to secure the two-mile wide passage. He says things will go “well” with the U.S. coordinating things.

The President said the U.S. may hit Iran’s Kharg Island a few more times “just for fun.” His cavalier attitude over putting American military personnel is harm’s way and spending U.S. tax dollars is deplorable. This is not a video game.

President Trump says he will know when the war is over because he “will feel it in his bones.” He started the war because he “had a feeling.” As a student of history, I don’t recall any other U.S. President approaching a war based on “feelings.”

Can you imagine the misogynistic outcry there would be if a female U.S. President ever said such a thing? She would be the last female U.S. President!

One day he calls the war “a war.” The next day he calls it “an excursion.” The objectives of the war change hourly.

If we get to have a Presidential election in 2028, I hope voters will remember the ramifications when we elect a President who is unable to communicate their objectives or their dependence on facts.

The FCC

After President Trump accused the news media of “intentionally misleading” the public in their coverage of the war in Iran, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr threatened to revoke broadcasters’ licenses.

We’ve heard these threats before from the Trump Administration, as they try to dictate news coverage.

This is an attack on the free press and a major foundation of our nation. Countries like Russia, China, and North Korea have state-controlled television. We cannot allow this to happen in the United States! If you want to watch and listen to state-controlled TV, you can watch Fox News.

Carr warned that a network’s coverage of the war in Iran will be taken into consideration when their broadcast licenses come up for renewal. In a social media post, Carr warned them that they still had a chance to “correct course” and stop broadcasting “fake news” and distortions of the war.

Carr wrote, “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.”

He accused broadcast networks of “running hoaxes.”

Carr doubled down on this in an interview with CBS News later on Saturday.

The trouble is that the law is left to interpretation now. Until recently, it was generally agreed that the news media should be free to report facts. Under the Trump Administration, they are being pressured to only report things that put Trump in a good light. This is what they have in autocracies like Russia, China, and North Korea.

Carr has encouraged broadcast networks to air “patriotic pro-America content” this year as we mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. But when a politically-appointed FCC Chair starts to dictate broadcast content, we and the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution are under attack.

When the politician in power gets to decide the definition of “public interest,” freedom of the press is in peril.

We have not heard the last of this. If push comes to shove, I imagine we will see a case going before the U.S. Supreme Court.

I only took one Constitutional Law course in college, so I’m no expert; however, I know under the First Amendment to the Constitution it is illegal for the government to censor free speech.

Print media

The President criticized The Wall Street Journal for reporting last Friday that Iran had damaged five U.S. Air Force tanker planes in Saudi Arabia. It seems he did not want that reported to the public. He insisted that four of those planes had “virtually no damage and are already back in service.”

He is so thin-skinned that he takes honest journalism as a personal affront.

He called The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal “Lowlife ‘Papers’ and accused them of wanting the U.S. to lose the war. He called journalists “sick and demented people.”

Janet

The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.