These are a few of my favorite things...
No, not raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, but these are a few of my favorite North Carolina things. Each day I get a newsletter AVL Today as an email message which updates me on events and news of what is happening in Asheville. It’s always a fun morning read to see the variety of goings-on around town.
This past week they strayed a bit from events and included a list of things that were invented in North Carolina. I love lists like this. First and foremost, I love North Carolina. It is a wonderful place to live. I always love visiting the North Carolina pavilion at the NC State Fair (the best state fair in the land in my opinion) and seeing all the crops grown in our state (we’re number one in sweet potatoes, you know) as well as some of the products that call the Tarheel State home.
AVL Today’s list included some of my favorites. Let’s take a little journey through that list. They ordered the list chronologically, based on the year it was invented and came on the market.
Vicks VapoRub: This is a true stalwart of my childhood. If you had a cold or any kind of chest congestion, my mother gave you a good rubbing on your chest of Vicks VapoRub at bedtime. Even though we use it only occasionally these days (being blessed to not have had a cold or congestion in quite some time), it is great comfort knowing we always have a jar of Vicks in the medicine cabinet. It has that unforgettable menthol smell (a very distinct aroma which I happened to like). I have also learned that if you have a cough, as you climb into bed for the night you can rub Vicks on the bottom of your feet, cover them with a pair of white cotton socks and by morning, that cough will either be gone or much less annoying. I know that sounds a bit bogus, but I tell you it is true. Seriously. Absolutely true.
Vicks was created by a pharmacist in Selma, NC in 1890. That’s over 133 years of mighty menthol.
Pepsi-Cola: There’s a definite dividing line between Coke drinkers and Pepsi drinkers. I gave up all sodas years ago, but my childhood was all about Pepsi.
Pepsi was for North Carolinians; Coke was for Georgians. And yes, there is a difference. If you visit New Bern, NC (where Pepsi was invented in 1893) you can explore an entire store devoted to Pepsi and Pepsi memorabilia. Pepsi started out named “Brad’s Drink” (after pharmacist inventor Caleb Bradham) but later, after a brief fling as Pep-Cola, became Pepsi-Cola by rearranging the letters in the word “Episcopal” of which Mr. Bradham was a faithful member of that denomination in New Bern. I can’t vow for the truth of that story, but as an Episcopalian myself, I think it is a good story worth repeating.
Lance Crackers: Lance still makes its home in Charlotte, NC where Philip Lance roasted his own peanuts into peanut butter in 1913 and spread them on crackers. You can buy them in gas stations as well as grocery stores, but the ones I enjoyed usually came out of my mother’s pocketbook. She loved her “nabs” and was seldom without a pack or two. Ironically, the name “nabs” came from a shortened form of Nabisco which was a competitor of Lance. But a nab is a nab is a nab and it is usually a peanut butter cracker sandwich. I still get a craving for a pack every so often. My husband finds this mysteriously weird
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Cheerwine: I have always thought of Cheerwine as a Charlotte thing so I was surprised to discover it was created in Salisbury, NC in 1917. There isn’t even a hint of actual wine (other than the fact that it is the color of red wine) and the “cheer'“ might be because people enjoyed drinking it or it may just be a variation of cherry which is the flavor of this soda. It always struck me as a commercial version of the old fashioned Cherry Smash soda fountain I would get when I went out with my grandfather to the local Drug Store (as it was called in those days). Buxton Chicken Palace here in Asheville has a Bourbon-Cheerwine Slushy on their menu; I haven’t tried it but it certainly can boast being about as local a beverage as they come.
When I was just starting to serve as the Dean of the Cathedral of St. Paul in Burlington, Vermont and was quite homesick for North Carolina, one of the youth showed up at a church gathering with a can of Cheerwine for me. What a delight! He had brought back a good supply of Cheerwine from his recent trip to see family in Charlotte and I will always remember how special his gift was. Food (and drink) definitely connect us to our home and to others.
Mount Olive Pickles: I don’t want to start a fight but I will avow that there is no pickle as delicious as a Mount Olive Pickle. Mount Olive is a small town in North Carolina that has been making outstanding pickles (my favorites are the sweet gherkins) since 1926.
Because of bad weather the annual Pickle Drop on New Year’s Eve got cancelled this year (Tom and I were all set to attend) but it remains on my bucket list.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
Growing up in Raleigh, I had no clue that there were any other doughnuts in the world other than the hot and fresh yeasty Krispy Kreme doughnuts. They were actually invented in an Old Salem coffeeshop in 1937 but quickly spread to other spots in the state. Going to get a dozen doughnuts at Krispy Kreme on a Saturday morning was a family affair when I grew up. In our family of five we each got to pick two doughnuts and the “extra” two were always the glazed ones.
I know my Dunkin’ friends (especially those who live in Massachusetts) can’t believe anyone prefers Krispy Kreme over Dunkin' but in my humble North Carolina opinion, there isn’t even a comparison especially when the sign outside a Krispy Kreme glows red with the words “hot now.” That sign is only lighted when the doughnuts really are hot. You need to stop. You really do.
I can’t claim to be Tarheel born but definitely will boast of being Tarheel bred from age 2 and beyond. I am going to pause here and will continue this list of my made in NC love and loyalty products in next week’s blog.
In the meantime, I would love to hear about your favorite “inventions” (food and other sorts) from the place you call home.
Thank you for your weekly essay, Jeanne. I look forward to reading it.
I grew up in Maryland, the state that Northerners say is south and Southerners say is north. This might explain my love of food from just about anywhere. And, as a Marylander, I have to say blue crabs steamed with Old Bay seasoning are the best in the world. Hands down.
As for North Carolinian food, Pepsi - no, no, no; my mom made the best dill pickles ever; and, Vick's Vapor rub has helped me through many colds and flu. Mom used to also put it on face over my sinuses. It made my eyes water like crazy. I would rub it off when she left the room.
Now it is time to watch the women's Final game (which sadly the UConn women are not playing. Sigh.)
Thank you for this lovely trip down memory lane! I too, experienced the every-cure that is Vick's VapoRub! My paternal grandmother preferred a sock coated with wintergreen and pinned around her neck with a safety pin, but my maternal grandparents (and hence my mother) was all VapoRub, all the time!! I was never a drinker of Cheerwine, but I had to make a Cheerwine cake once, so I know those people are out there. And nabs were also very important in my life, though my favorite snack memory is going to a country gas station with my grandfather and getting a Banana Flip, my favorite Mickey's Cake!!