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.
While in England, the theater group toured London and attended plays. During the trip, Norwood got to taste some of the foods and drinks such as tea with sugar cubes and crumpets, visit tourist sites such as Westminster Abbey and the London Tower, and truly embrace the culture of the UK.
She enjoyed how accommodating all of the public facilities are to tourists and citizens. Interested in traveling abroad, she is very fond of the geographical location of the UK, which would allow her to have easier access to other parts of Europe. She feels that the United States. are too isolated from Europe. History, being one of her favorite subjects in school, is another major influence in Norwood's desire to travel to the UK. The historical buildings, which are centuries old, are very intriguing to her.
Norwood, who is interested in becoming a politician one day, likes the political system in the UK. The aspects that appeal to her include the national healthcare system, the way in which the nation provided for its citizens -- which Norwood got to see while touring the public facilities, and the political unity. She favors the way the UK is able to pass laws faster and compromise on matters due to its unity.
Norwood hopes to attend a prestigious college in the UK, such as Oxford College, one of her top choices. Although her dreams don't lie entirely upon if she makes it into a prestigious school, she aspires to attend one and study politics, journalism, or other sources of media. After living five years in the UK, she would be able to become a citizen and pursue a career there.
During her free time, Norwood enjoys watching TV. Some of her favorite shows include Supernatural, Star Trek, and Doctor Who. Doctor Who, a TV show established in England, further aroused Norwood's eagerness to travel to the UK. Doctor Who created another possible career avenue for her to take -- T.V. show writing. The UK, having so much to offer to Norwood's adventurous young mind, led to her desire to eventually move to London.
Article by Jonah Neville[/caption]Amanda Tavares, veteran writer of the Den Echoes staff, has joined for another semester of working hard and representing Orange High School. Since this is her third year on the staff, she has become a well-developed journalist and strives to be the best journalist she can be. When asked why she has decided to take the course for a third straight year, Tavares replied, “I have really enjoyed the class the last couple of years, and it always helps when you have a great teacher that helps you develop to be the best reporter you can be.”
Outside of newspaper, Tavares enjoys playing soccer, reading, and shopping. Tavares says, “At a young age, my family introduced me to soccer and, ever since I can remember I have loved to play it.” Tavares’ love for soccer was only heightened when she visited her family in Portugal, where soccer is a very popular sport. Tavares says that her visit to Portugal was an amazing experience overall and she hopes to return there one day. Tavares was intrigued about the similarities and differences between American and Portuguese cultures. When she was asked if she would rather shop in America or Portugal, she replied, “I’ll shop anywhere with cute clothes.”
After high school, Tavares intends to pursue a career in mass communication. She is looking at colleges all the way from New York to South Carolina. She still is not sure about going to a two-year or four-year college, but she thinks she has plenty of time to decide on that in the future.
With mass communication in her future, she hopes honing the skills that she has developed in the past few years will help her reach where she wants to go in life.
As for where Dickerson has traveled, “I have been to almost every county in North Carolina, as well as Tennessee, Florida, both Virginia and West Virginia, South Carolina, and Washington D.C.” She would like to continue travelling in the future. As for where she would like to travel, she would really like to visit northern states, based on the fact that they have lots of snow. She likes the snow and thinks it’s pretty. She would also like to travel to Arizona because it has interesting sightseeing locations.
If there was one place Dickerson could travel to, it would be the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. “I want to go there because it’s pretty, and I love Australia itself because it’s always dry and sunny. They don’t really have dreary weather, like raining and cloudy days, because I don’t like rainy days.”
Dickerson would also like to go to South America, because she would like to see their numerous mountain ranges and bodies of water.
Of all the places Dickerson has been, her favorite place is Myrtle Beach, located in South Carolina. “I don’t like to go to Myrtle Beach for the typical reasons, like the beach and its tourist attractions, but for the more historical parts of Myrtle Beach. I also like it for camping,” she said.
Dickerson won’t shy away from telling anyone that she’s a history nerd, and as far as traveling goes, she has a bright future.