Photo Credit: Sami Dickerson[/caption]As the USA gets older and more entrapped in the digital age, people can forget that there is more to life and more to history than cell phones and computers. The country that citizens know and love today was not always glamorous and sometimes involved making due with the means that were given to them. This meant war could not always be avoided and got messy, especially in World War II. Because of maintained pieces of history, like the battleship USS North Carolina in Wilmington, which was used in WWII naval fighting in 1942, citizens have a way to look back at some of the ways American citizens lived during wartime and how they kept the freedom that Americans cherish today.
Stepping onto the battleship North Carolina, or Showboat as she was called during wartime, is like stepping into a huge time machine. On the top deck, 20 mm gun mounts that had to be operated by four men and a Kingfisher airplane line the platform. Although these are pretty spectacular, the most obvious and astounding parts of the top deck are the massive cannons that rocket into the sky to do the most damage to enemy ships as possible.
Although the top deck is impressive and held the most advanced weaponry at the time, the lower decks are a different story. As soon as you go below deck, it is like a whole new world. The first part of the lower deck includes the mess hall, kitchen, movie section of the mess hall, the general store, the mail room, and the church. The mess hall was a large room that would hold hundreds of men if necessary. Because of the number of men on the ship, the kitchen had to support that number, so the kitchen is quite large as well. The church, on the other hand, is a very small section of the mess hall and holds a small pulpit.
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Photo Credit: Sami Dickerson[/caption]The third deck holds the crew’s quarters (including bathrooms), offices for the higher ranking officers, and different shops for the men who needed repairs, such as the laundry, cobbler, tailor, and print shops. In this deck, during the summer, it is extremely hot and uncomfortable. Even for a visitor who walks around the deck for a mere thirty minutes, it is stifling and unbearable.
On the third deck in the men's quarters, hundreds of men had to sleep side by side on small cots that hung from the ceiling. Other men had the privilege of sleeping where they worked. The bathrooms are completely open with no doors and no privacy and there was no toilet paper like citizens have today. Men who were wounded would get to sleep on a lower platform in isolation, so as not to infect the other crew members. Higher ranking officers had their own quarters that were spacious and came with the privilege of their own bathroom.
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Photo Credit: Sami Dickerson[/caption]Even though many would not think the battleship NC a fit place for people to live today, it was home for 2,300 men who served for the country in World War II. These men do occasionally stop by the battleship with their families to reminisce and tour the boat. Some men were recently present for the battleship’s reunion in May 2014.
Photo Credit: Mia Frenduto[/caption]A familiar face to many former CW Stanford students has arrived in the Orange High history department, and she couldn’t be more thrilled. “Oh, I love it,” said Traci Barger, referring to her new home as one of Orange High School’s social studies teachers. Barger remarked that she much prefers teaching high school students to middle school students, as they are more mature and responsible.
Barger comes to Orange after a year of teaching at a Durham charter school and ten years of teaching at McDowell High in Marion, North Carolina, as well as many years of teaching English at CW Stanford Middle School. Barger prefers Orange to many other schools she has taught at, listing the block scheduling unique to our school as well as the absence of recess as two of her new favorite things.
Barger is now serving as an American History I teacher, a change from her previous role as an English teacher at CWS. This is an exciting prospect for Barger, who actually received a degree in History from Appalachian State University.
“I believe that the truth can be stranger than fiction,” says Barger, reflecting on how she most enjoys teaching the “crazy parts” of history that you won’t often find in a textbook. Her passion for history is only matched by her passion for teaching--Barger remarked that she loves teaching kids and watching them learn.
Outside of school, Barger is an active member of her church and enjoys running, sewing, and reading. Among the things she is most intrigued by at Orange is Ag Day. She remarked that she is “curious” to experience this Ag extravaganza for the first time, but “not quite sure of what to expect.”
All in all, Barger is thrilled to be a member of the Orange High School family this year. Her excitement to be a member of Orange High’s faculty as well as her passion for both teaching and history prove that she will soon become a favorite teacher of many Orange High students.
All over the world people celebrate Valentine's Day, but most people do not know the reason that they are celebrating. The history of this holiday is about as cloudy as the meaning of love itself. There are Christian and Roman takes on the holiday.There are three St. Valentines in history which the Catholic church recognizes. One St. Valentine married soldiers to their lovers in secret. Emperor Claudius II had banned soldiers from getting married because he believed single men made better warriors. Another Valentine helped Christians escape from Roman dungeons. He would sign his notes "from your Valentine" to the jailor's daughter whom he fell in love with. During the Middle Ages this tale became increasingly popular.
Lupercalia was a Roman tradition that was like Valentine's day. Historians believe that Christians may have made a religious version of this holiday to celebrate. The Roman version was celebrated on the ides of February or better known as the date February 15. Lupercalia mainly commemorated fertility. Young women would put their name in an urn and single men would pull a name out and be with that women for the next year. Normally these pairings ended in marriage.
When Lupercalia was later made illegal, Pope Gelasius made February 14 Valentine's Day. The Middle Ages turned this into a holiday to celebrate love. This was also around the bird's mating season which people in that time took note of. This strengthened the idea that this time of the year was about love.
Valentine's day did not become extremely popular until the 1600's. Handwritten notes and small gifts soon became associated with the holiday. This is a day for everyone to celebrate an emotion that each person feels towards someone.