Was first 'Lost Colony' in Burke County?

If Hernando de Soto and Juan Pardo had been successful and established a series of permanent settlements, we might all be speaking Spanish in this country rather than English. That’s one conclusion that archeologist Rob Beck of the University of Oklahoma likes to tell people about when he describes the discovery of Fort San Juan on the upper Catawba River in Burke County north of Morganton.
That fort was established by de Soto’s men in 1567 – a couple of decades before Sir Walter Raleigh’s expedition set out from England and established a colony on Roanoke Island that disappeared – and became known as the Lost Colony.
The Fort San Juan story is told in a new episode of UNC-TV’s “Exploring North Carolina” series produced by narrator Tom Earnhardt of Raleigh and videographer Joe Albea of Greenville. It airs tonight at 8:30 p.m. and repeats Friday, Feb. 1 at 9:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 3 at 6 p.m.
The program describes how Beck and other archeologists, including David Moore of Warren Wilson College near Asheville and Christopher Rodning of Tulane, assembled the evidence that linked the 12-acre site in Burke County to a known site at Parris Island. S.C., where Spanish explorers established a fort in what then was called northern Florida.
From there the Spaniards set out to explore the interior, establishing forts near Indian villages. The hope was not just to convert natives to Catholicism, but also to build a road linking the East Coast with Mexico where the Spanish had opened silver mines. Evidently their belief was that the Blue Ridge Mountains were part of the same mountains they could see from Mexico – mistaking the Rockies for the Appalachian chain.
The natives evidently tired of the Spaniards at Fort San Juan and burned down the fort after 18 months. For hundreds of years the exact locations of the forts the Spanish established has been unknown, but the researchers believe they have amassed enough compelling evidence – partly with the help of an obscure Spanish diary that had been in the N.C. Department of Archives and History for a long time – that they have found the first Lost Colony.
Interesting that both the Spanish Lost Colony and the English Lost Colony were in North Carolina – putting this state, Dr. Beck said, at the epicenter of the Age of Discovery.

A better way to nominate?

U.S. Rep. David Price, D-N.C., thinks there’s a better way to select presidential candidates that the current wacky presidential primaries.
In fact, according to The News & Observer, he thinks there are at least two better ways – one Democratic and one Republican. Price, who has represented the 4th District (including Chapel Hill, Durham and part of Raleigh for nearly two decades, things the compressed primary system leading up to the Feb. 5 “Super Duper” primary om 22 states, ends too abruptly, the N&O reports. He prefers a system that would have five primaries each Tuesday during a two or three-month period ending in March, reports correspondent Karin Dryhurst, with Iowa and New Hampshire leading off.
As an alternative, the so-called “Delaware Plan” backed by some Republicans has merit. That plan would retain small state primaries at the start and save larger state primaries for later.
He is not, however, enthusiastic about a single national primary because it wouldn’t test candidates sufficiently and would heighten the influence of big political donations, the N&O story said.
Here’s a link to the News & Observer’s story.

More on the return of the American chestnut

Thank you for your excellent article, “Chestnut optimism survives deadly blight,” which appeared in the Sunday, January 20, 2008 issue of The Charlotte Observer. Thanks for the review of Susan Freinkel’s new book, "American Chestnut: The Life, Death and Rebirth of a Perfect Tree." I purchased a copy a few days ago, will read it, and add it to my collection of books about the American chestnut tree.
Another recently published book in my collection is "Mighty Giants: An American Chestnut Anthology," published by The American Chestnut Foundation. Chris Bolgiano is the Editor, and Glenn Novak, the Contributing Editor. Information about the book can be found on the American Chestnut Foundation’s Web site, www.acf.org, and once there, by clicking on the image of the book that appears in the banner.
It is inspiring to read about efforts to restore the American chestnut and even more rewarding to help directly with that effort. Members of the Carolinas Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation, under the direction of the Foundation’s Regional Science Coordinator, Dr. Paul Sisco, help pollinate American chestnut trees to produce hybrid nuts and later help harvest the nuts, store them over winter, and plant them in Chapter orchards in the spring. Members help test the trees for resistance to the chestnut blight to identify those displaying good American chestnut characteristics and good resistance to the chestnut blight so those trees can be backcross pollinated again.
Photo albums on the Carolinas Chapter Web site at http://www.carolinas-tacf.org/photographs.php explain many of the processes used in restoring the American chestnut tree. Scroll through the albums to see pictures of members helping pollinate trees, harvesting and planting nuts, and helping test trees for blight resistance. Information about how to join the Carolinas Chapter is found at http://www.carolinas-tacf.org/join.html.
Thanks for describing how you reclaimed wormy chestnut planks from an 80-year old barn to make a mantel to place over the wood stove in the cabin you are building. Your account reminded me of the poem by Trumbell Stickney, from “Chestnuts in November,” which appears in the book, Mighty Giants: An American Chestnut Anthology.
“The sweetness of all things are promises
That sings our souls a little further on
Toward that which may be found in what is lost
Which may come back again of what is gone.”
I, and many others, look forward to future articles in the Charlotte Observer about the American chestnut.
Doug Gillis, Vice President
Carolinas Chapter—The American Chestnut Foundation

The Sledgehammer's take on governor's race

Joe Sinsheimer, the Raleigh Democrat who altered North Carolina’s political landscape with his relentless pursuit of the misdeeds of former Speaker Jim Black and his allies in the state House, is out of state for a semester but still thinking about politics here. He’s in Vancouver, B.C., where his spouse, Toddi Steelman, an N.C. State University professor of forestry, is on a fellowship. Sinsheimer, nicknamed the Sledgehammer by some admirers, sent along his thoughts the other day about how the conventional wisdom in the 2008 governor’s race a few months ago will be affected by new circumstances. Here’s what he had to say. (I added a few obvious items in parentheses to fill out his shorthand references for those who can’t recall all the full names):

I was thinking this am about how much the political winds have shifted in NC recently. Six months ago, almost every political observer in the state thought the Dem nominee for governor was a lock:

1. Now the GOP could nominate a gubernatorial canidate (Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory) who is a moderate and has a significant political track record in the state's largest media market.

2. The Mecklenburg Dem Party seems intent on political suicide. First they embarrass themselves by putting up (state Rep. Beverly) Earle as a candidate for mayor and now they keep extending the (Nick) Mackey debacle (as a replacement for former Sheriff Jim Pendergraph). Today, we read Mackey has invited (Rev. Al) Sharpton to Charlotte to make sure the racial polarization on this issue hits 100%.

3. Both (State Treasurer Richard) Moore and (Lt. Gov. Bev) Perdue have been damaged by the Parton Theater disaster and continue to snipe at each other without addressing the top issues in the state (economy, health care, transportation funding and immigration)

4. (Rep.) Thomas Wright's refusal to resign keeps the Dem corruption issue alive through the summer.

5. There is a greater than 80% chance that HRC (Hillary Rodham Clinton) will now lead the Dem ticket in the state.

6. There is a small chance that (U.S. Sen. Richard) Burr could be on the national ticket.

7. Neither (state Sen. Ka) Hagan (D-Guilford) nor (Chapel Hill’s Jim) Neal has attracted any national support in the U.S. Senate race and are likely to be outspent by a 4-1 margin by (U.S. Sen. Elizabeth) Dole.

8. The state is likely to be in the midst of a serious recession by this fall which is never good for the incumbent party (at the state or federal levels).

Navy's 2003 dare: Hire your lawyers....

Word that the Navy has dropped five controversial sites in North Carolina for consideration of an outlying landing field no doubt has many northeastern N.C. residents relieved. But the Navy is still considering North Carolina by adding two new sites in this state to its list and three more in Virginia. Perhaps the Navy will do its required environmental study with more attention to detail this time, but it is also clear the Navy needs to start talking directly with local residents and figuring out if there is any way under the heavens to persuade local communities to welcome the outlying landing field. If the Navy can’t do that, its efforts probably are doomed on these N.C. sites, too.
Opponents of the OLF at a site near the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Washington and Beaufort counties won’t have too much time to celebrate. But their grassroots work in those rural counties has been a model of civic intervention and persistence against long odds. Five years ago, when it appeared that the Navy could put the OLF anywhere it wanted, Admiral Robert Natter said as much. When there were rumblings of a lawsuit in mid-2003, here’s what Admiral Natter had to say:
“I’m absolutely convinced this (project) can stand up to a legal challenge.... If anyone wants to throw money at an attorney, be prepared to throw more.”
Well, now. The local citizens didn’t have a lot of money to throw at lawyers. But the Southern Environmental Law Center took up their cause, and so did a team of lawyers from the Charlotte office of Kennedy Covington, which was looking for a pro bono case.
And they gave the Navy’s lawyers a thumping in federal court before U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle ruled the Navy had not done its homework in preparing its environmental impact statement. That was the first big victory by opponents of the OLF – and presaged Monday’s decision by the Navy to start all over again at other sites.

Thoughts on the N.C. GOP debate

Thursday night’s N.C. Republican gubernatorial debate gave voters more to think about now that the GOP race has Charlotte mayor Pat McCrory.
I don’t think there was a clear winner or loser; instead, I think the performance of the four probably reinforced impressions potential voters already had of McCrory, state Sen. Fred Smith, Salisbury lawyer Bill Graham and former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr, and introduced them to folks who didn't know much about any of them. These boys will have to get a lot more animated before there’s enough reason to call a clear victor, but it was worth watching.
Here are a few impressions I had of each – the upside and the down:
Fred Smith’s upside: He was animated, energetic and ready to dominate the discussion. The old Shrine Bowl All-Star football player was ready for action.
Fred Smith’s downside: His willingness to prolong the conversation so he could make one more point may have left listeners wishing he’d let the other fellows talk a little more – and did he really mean to suggest he didn’t think the lines of responsibility for schools should be clarified?
Bob Orr’s upside: He knows more about North Carolina law and how government really works than any of his opponents, after having helped Gov. Jim Martin and serving in the judiciary for 18 years. And he showed his sense of humor, gigging McCrory with an observation that McCrory must have hacked into Orr’s Web site on one issue – a play on a McCrory staffer’s claim that someone must have hacked into his Web site and deliberately misspelled governor as “governer.”
Bob Orr’s downside: He looked pretty grim at the forum’s outset; a smile and a friendly nod would have helped soften the image of a stern magistrate.
Bill Graham’s upside: He was cool, detached, clearly positioning himself as an outsider who thinks the political establishment in Raleigh has fouled things up thoroughly.
Bill Graham’s downside: He didn’t have as much to say about the issues as the other three and may have given the impression he wasn’t as well prepared.
Pat McCrory’s upside: Relaxed and almost jovial, McCrory smiled some, ticked off the points he wanted to make on specific issues and went out of his way to mention cities around the state that he thinks would benefit from his brand of leadership.
Pat McCrory’s downside: He may have come across as the big city pol with all the answers. McCrory does have a lot of answers, but the tightrope he has to walk is avoiding the impression that he has them all.

A pause or a recession?

Harry Davis is a professor banking at Appalachian State University in Boone and serves as the N.C. Bankers Association’s economist.
In an essay sent around Thursday by the association, Davis ponders the data and concludes that we may be in an economic pause rather than a recession.
His thoughts are worth pondering, even if he does says such things as “The data is....”
Here's the nut graf:
"Hopefully, the national economy is in a pause and not the beginning of a recession. If the Federal Reserve acts aggressively and housing finds a bottom, we may avoid a recession for now or at least set the stage for a short mild recession."
Want a copy of what Davis had to say? Send me an email at jbetts@charlotteobserver.com and I'll forward a copy.