Franklinville library to celebrate 100th anniversary

FRANKLINVILLE --  The tiny, but mighty, Franklinville Public Library will celebrate 100 years of service at 2 p.m. Sunday, October 13. 

The birthday party will include comments from dignitaries, a display of historical photographs and refreshments from the Franklinville Diner.

Music will be provided by Bad Penny, made up of Gwen Auman and Ron Baughman. Library staff member Lois Warren and her husband Terry also will provide tunes.

The library was established in 1924, making it the first public library in Randolph County. John W. Clark, owner of Randolph Mills, promoted the idea of a library for the education and recreation of mill employees.

The company provided space for the library and set aside a fund to support it. Books were loaned by the State Library Commission, while Clark solicited donations and contributed some his of own books. The library became part of the Randolph County Public Library system in 1940, and the county took over direct operation in 2018.

The library is located at 111 Sumner Place. For further information, call 336-685-3100.

History prof to explore ‘Jack the Ripper’ case in Asheboro library talk

ASHEBORO --In the fall of 1888, the East End of London was terrorized by a string of brutal murders. The murders were attributed to “Jack the Ripper,” a serial killer who was never identified.

Join UNC-Greensboro history professor Dr. Jill C. Bender to explore “‘Jack the Ripper’ and Late-Victorian Crime,” 6:30 p.m. Thursday, October 17, at the Asheboro Public Library.

Jack’s victims were all impoverished women who lived on the margins of accepted society. The murders occurred at night, and there were no witnesses, no clues and no perceivable motive.

The police were at a loss and the murderer never caught.

Bender will place the crimes and the proposed suspects into historical context and consider what the unsolved case of “Jack the Ripper” tells us about late-Victorian society.

Bender is an associate professor of History  at UNCG, and author of the book The 1857 Indian Uprising and the British Empire, among numerous article and book chapters. She is currently working on a second book project in which she examines the famine era migration of women from Ireland’s workhouses to colonies in Australia, Canada and southern Africa.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call 336-318-6803.

WFU prof to explore slavery during Revolution in Asheboro library talk

Dr. Jake Ruddiman

ASHEBORO – What did slavery look like to combatants in the Revolutionary War — white, Black, American and European — as they traveled between regions?

Join Wake Forest University History professor Dr. Jake Ruddiman for “Is This the Land of Liberty? Soldiers and Slavery in the War of American Independence,” 6:30 p.m. Monday, September 30, at the Asheboro Public Library. 

The talk, supported by the Friends of the Library, is free and the public is invited.

Ruddiman will discuss his research into the travel writing of soldiers during the war. The campaigns of the American Revolution carried troops far from their homes and exposed them to unfamiliar enslaved societies. What did these military outsiders see and what did they record?

The war profoundly disrupted the institution of slavery, spreading charged rhetoric about liberty, levying new demand with mobilization and opening opportunities for freedom-seekers. What did Black Americans encountering soldiers traveling with the armies see? What new relationships could they make?

How did these observations and relationships then shape the course of the war? What were the relationships between wartime experiences and new streams of pro- and anti-slavery arguments in the Revolutionary states?

The answers, Ruddiman contends, connect the War of Independence with the generational transformation of the Revolution.

Ruddiman, who received his Ph.D. from Yale, is an associate professor of History at Wake Forest. His first book, Becoming Men of Some Consequence: Youth and Military Service in the Revolutionary War, explores the lives of young men in the Continental Army.

That project led to research into other aspects of the Revolutionary experience, including “Is This the Land of Liberty.” Across his research, Ruddiman’s work as a historian of Revolutionary America explores how people built their lives, reshaped their communities and constructed meaning for themselves and for posterity.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call 336-318-6803.

Learn how DNA led Cox family from ‘myth-tery’ to history in Asheboro library talk

 ASHEBORO – After years of thinking they were descended from Native Americans, one Randolph County family found out the truth through recreational DNA testing.

Join Lindsey Cox for “When Family History Turns Out to Be A Family Myth-tery,” 6:30 p.m. Monday, September 23, at the Asheboro Public Library.

Cox’s talk is free and the public is invited.

Cox will discuss about how her family found that the truth was far different than stories that had been passed down for decades: the family in fact was descended from an enslaved man named Frank Lytle.

Lytle was one of six children of Thomas Lytle, a white man who owned a plantation along Caraway Creek, and an enslaved Black woman whose name is not known.

Thomas Lytle acted to emancipate his children. Frank was freed in 1795, but his brothers and sisters had to wait until the death of Thomas Lytle’s wife in 1815.

Even then, the children and grandchildren of the sisters remained enslaved. The families were broken up in 1829 in the largest single sale of enslaved persons in Randolph County history.

As the families of Thomas Lytle’s children grew through the generations, they followed different paths. Some remain in Randolph County, but most migrated north and west. Some came to identify as white, and some as Black. Now, Lytles can be found all over the country.

Cox will share how her family — direct descendants of Frank, uncovered a remarkable family history.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call 336-318-6803.

WFU prof to explore ‘French Culture Today’ in Asheboro library talk

ASHEBORO – With the Paris Olympics coming up, gain insight into contemporary French popular culture with Wake Forest University professor Dr. Amanda Vincent in “French Culture Today,” a talk at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 18, at the Asheboro Public Library.

Vincent’s talk, supported by the Friends of the Library, is free and the public is invited.

Her talk will touch on France’s thriving music, film and comics scenes, as well as traditions that remain popular, such as gastronomy and regional culture. Vincent also will discuss how Paris and its region are being transformed for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

Her presentation will be accompanied by visuals and small display items. Typical French refreshments will be served. 

Vincent, who holds a PhD. in French Civilization from Penn State University, is an associate professor of French Studies at Wake Forest, where she teaches language, literature and cultural courses, as well as Business French. 

She travels regularly to France, and her research focuses on contemporary French culture.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call 336-318-6803.

Historian to examine southerners in French and Indian War during Asheboro library talk

ASHEBORO – Learn about the role of native Southerners in the Seven Years War, also known as the French and Indian War, in a talk by UNC-Greensboro History professor Dr. Greg O’Brien at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 11, at the Asheboro Public Library.

Topics covered will include the war between the Cherokees and colonists supported by the British Army, 1759-1761, and efforts of native people throughout the region to forge peace with each other during a time of imperial war.

O’Brien’s talk, supported by the Friends of the Library, is free and the public is invited.

O’Brien is head of the History Department at UNC-Greensboro. His research and teaching focuses on American Indian history, environmental history and early America. He has penned several books including The Native South: New Histories and Enduring Legacies, and The Ultimate Guide to North America’s Indigenous Peoples.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call 336-318-6803.

Rich Powell

 ASHEBORO – "An Evening with Rich Powell" will feature the nationally-known, Asheboro-based artist and illustrator talking about his work and his new cartoon collection "Ignore this Singing Pig," in a special Friends of the Library Sunset Signature Series event at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 22, in downtown Asheboro’s historic Sunset Theatre.

Music will be provided by local singer-songwriter Jack Gorham.

The event is free and the public is invited. The Sunset Series is sponsored by the Heart of North Carolina Visitors Bureau, the City of Asheboro and the Friends of the Randolph County Public Libraries.

Powell is well-known for his work in Highlights Magazine, MAD Magazine and many other publications. His syndicated cartoon panel "Wide Open!" won the National Cartoonists Society Silver Reuben award in both 2001 and 2002.

His line of humorous wildlife art, Callahan's Quest for Adventure, garnered him another Silver Reuben for Product Illustration in 2013, and the Our State television show that featured him illustrating Andy Griffith's "What It Was, Was Football" won the Emmy for Best Magazine Program at the 31st Midsouth Emmy Awards.

Powell’s talk will feature images of his work. A book signing will follow.

The Sunset Theatre is located at 234 Sunset Avenue. For further information, call 800-626-2672 or visit HeartofNorthCarolina.com.