- Title
- Our State
-
-
- Date
- September 2001
-
-
- Place
- ["North Carolina, United States"]
-
Our State
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tar heel people
by Lynne Brandon
photography by Burke Salsi
History in the Making
Lynn Salsi's books preserve the stories and images
of people who helped build our state.
A > a child, Lynn Salsi was a
/Ж
voracious reader, often
checking out 10 books at a
/
1 time to satisfy her
-А- Ш
appetite for
knowledge of long-ago places and
people. I hat passion would later
drive her to learn about the
people who have had an impact
on our state and to compile and
preserve photographic records of
North Carolina’s history for
generations yet to come.
Salsi is an oral histonan of
eminence and energy, with five
books m print to date and several
more currently in the works. Last
Novcmlxr she received the
prestigious Willie Parker Peace
I listorv Award from the North
t arolina Society ol Historians for
linages of Carteret Comity.
The author launched her
whirlwind career while working
in public relations for Barnes &:
Noble bookstores. It was there
that Salsi realized she wanted to
do more than read about history;
she wanted to document it. The
public relations job had been the
latest stop
ш
a journey that
included earning a degree in
journalism Irom the University of
South t arolina, then working as
fashion director and in personal
development for Bclk Department
Stores. In the late 1980s, she
moved to Greensboro with her husband
and look the Barnes & Noble job.
Ihrough exposure to authors, writers’
groups. educators, and historians.
Яа1м
learned that the Arcadia Publishing Co.
Eubanks through mutual friends. At the
time, Eubanks had recently retired as
media coordinator of C arteret County
Community College and had
spent much of her life capturing
memories on film. The aspiring
author and the accomplished
photographer decided to
collaborate on the book. Research
quickly became a full-time job,
and Salsi left her public relations
job last winter to devote all of her
energy to writing.
Scouring for memories
Like Salsi. Eubanks has a
passion for preserving history. "I
consider myself a documentary
photographer and have been
collecting photographs for years,
hoping for the chance to preserve
memories somewhere besides a
cluttered desk drawer." One of
her most memorable experiences
was photographing the first
cannon salvaged from the
shipwreck believed to have been
the Queen Anne's Revenge, the
long-lost flagship of Blackbeard
the pirate.
Salsi and Eubanks have
traveled over much of coastal
North Carolina scouting for
photographs and recording family
histories. To date, their efforts
have produced three hooks for
Arcadia Publishing: Images of'
Cirteret County (1999). Voices of the
Crystal Coast (2000). and Images of
Craven County, set for immediate release.
Two more “Voices" books arc planned:
Voices of the Piedmont and Voices of
was Uiokmg for writers for us “Images of
America" senes — books of photos and
commentaries about cities and counties
Hearing voices: By recording Ray Hicks’ stories, oral
historian Lynn Salsi reaches out to a wider audience.
across the country. With the support of
family and fnends. the pieces fell into
place for 4aKi to write the hx«k about
Carteret Counts-.
Salsi met local photographer Erancis
32 Our Sute September 2001
