This
week’s Picturing the Past article comes from the Digital North Carolina Blog by
the staff of the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center which features
highlights from the collections at DigitalNC, an online library of primary
sources from institutions across North Carolina. 

This image from the 1958 Balsam Grove scrapbook is a good example of the types of information and photos you might find; it shows newly placed town signs.

The
Transylvania County Library is fortunate to have numerous items available
online through the website (digitalnc.org) including newspapers, photographs,
high school annuals and Transylvania County architectural survey documents from
1990-91.

Their
recent entry titled, “Explore Over 100 Scrapbooks Documenting Transylvania
County Communities” featured our newest contributions.

From
Balsam Grove to Brevard, we’ve recently added over 100 scrapbooks documenting communities
and organization in Transylvania County. 
These scrapbooks were scanned by the Transylvania County Library, which forwarded
the scans to us for DigitalNC.  They
represent a number of organizations, many focused on community
development. 

·       
Community
Development Club of Balsam Grove (1954-2011)

·       
Community
Development and Home Demonstration Clubs of Cedar Mountain (1955-1974)

·       
Community
Development and Home Demonstration Clubs of Little River (1952-2011)

·       
Community
Development Club of Sapphire-Whitewater (1962-1983)

·       
Fortnightly
and Junior Women’s Clubs of Brevard (1919-1977)

·       
Home
Demonstration Club of Glady Branch (1955-1958)

·       
Little
River Band

·       
Friends
of the Transylvania County Library (1957-2006)

·       
Transylvania
County Library Children’s Department (1979-1998)

Community
development scrapbooks from the 1950s-1960s are common throughout North
Carolina.  These typically document
efforts at beautification of homes and public areas, upgrading infrastructure
like hospitals and sanitation, and fostering community spirit through local
gatherings.  These scrapbooks include
photographs, many with descriptions and captions, along with newspaper
clippings, and ephemera from programs and events.  Search all of them along with other items
from Transylvania County at the Transylvania County Library’s partner page, digitalnc.org/institutions/transylvania-county-library/
.

New items are regularly added to DigitalNC which covers
communities statewide.  Another 60 scrapbooks have been sent
from Transylvania County communities and organizations and will be added this
fall.

Photographs
and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina
Room, Transylvania County Library. Visit the NC Room during regular library
hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional
photographs. For more information, comments, or suggestions contact Marcy at [email protected]
or 828-884-1820.