New book reveals amazing facts about Tar Heel State

By Rose Hooper

Centuries later George Gist, son of a woman from a prominent Cherokee family and a fur trader from Virginia, was hunting in the area now known as the Cherokee Reservation. He had a hunting accident that forced him into a period of inactivity, during which he became fascinated with the marks white people made on paper. He called the papers "talking leaves" because he saw how people could communicate using a written language.

Gist, better known today as Sequoyah, labored for more than 10 years to create the 85 character Cherokee syllabary using characters, rather than individual letters. In 1821 the Cherokee nation adopted it as their written language.

During the American Civil War, William Holland Thomas, who lived among the Cherokee, recruited 130 of his tribal friends to form "Thomas's Legion." With a reputation for ferocity, the group earned the distinction of being one of the Confederacy's most distinguished fighting units.

Want to learn more fascinating facts, entertaining tales, bizarre happenings and historical oddities about North Carolina? Pick up T. Jensen Lacey's new book, "Amazing North Carolina," soon to be available at City Lights Bookstore.

You will discover why some people think the governor's mansion in Raleigh is haunted by Daniel Fowle, the state's first governor who lived and died there. According to the story, when Fowle became governor, he took his own furniture to the mansion, including his bed. Unfortunately, he only lived in the mansion three months before he died, though his bed remained in the house.

When Bob Scott became governor in the 1960s, he was too large to sleep in the bed and had it replaced with a bigger bed. After Fowle's bed was moved, the mansion began to be disturbed with mysterious knocking sounds. Some believed it to be Fowle's spirit.

Closer to home, Lacey relates of the "Goat Gland Brinkley"; that "Tuckasegee" means slow moving turtle; and that kudzu, which some medical researches believe can treat alcoholism, may become North Carolina's cash crop.

Other interesting facts include:

- The Confederate flag was designed by Orren R. Smith of Franklin.

- Doodling on the job caused Walt Disney to be fired from an Asheville construction company in 1924.

- The story behind Babe Ruth's first professional home run, which occurred during spring training in Fayetteville in 1914.

- The notable career of native Josephus Daniels, who, as secretary of the navy under President Woodrow Wilson, banned all intoxicants aboard naval ships. Legend says that sailors began drinking more coffee because of the ban, hence the term, a "cup of Joe."

"Amazing North Carolina" also tells the stories behind Pepsi-Cola, Vick's VapoRub, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and other innovations that trace their origins to North Carolina.

Also to Lacey's credit are more than 600 newpaper and magazine articles, several "Chicken Soup for the Soul" stories and two Native American histories.

Back to Archive: 02/20/03.