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Hello, everyone. Hope your week has been good.

Today’s column is mostly not by me. That is, it’s some esoteric items plucked almost by random from “Carolina Chats” by Carl Goerch. (I suspect that originally there was an umlaut over the “o” in his name, and no “e” used.)

The best piece is “Miss Polly Ellison’s Stage Career.” It has to be the funniest thing I’ve ever read. Alas, it’s just too long to include in a column.

Moving on:

• – William Martin, convicted of perjury, was condemned to stand for two hours in the pillory, have both his ears cut off, and pay a fine of 40 shillings, which was done accordingly.
• – There are 120 students now at the University of North Carolina, despite the inclemency of the weather…

• – The Franklin Academy at Louisburg will be opened next Monday for the reception of students. Mr. Dickinson will continue as principal. . . The terms of tuition will be $10 per annum for reading, writing, arithmetic and English grammar, and $16 for the other branches of education. The price of board, lodging, washing, etc., will be about $70 per annum.

1808- On Friday last, Thomas Smith, recently convicted of horse-stealing, was executed at Smithfield in Johnston County in the presence of a vast crowd of spectators.

1812 – We have learned that War against Great Britain has been declared.

1815 -An epidemic of influenza is reported in a number of towns throughout the state. We recommend an emetic, to be succeeded by a cathartic, and a dose or two of Bateman’s Drops.

(Editor’s note: We called up Dr. Hubert Royster, of Raleigh, and asked him what he thought of the editor’s prescription. Doc said that it was in keeping with the medical practice of that date – puke ’em and purge ’em.) All from the book.

With that, let me conclude this piece. You can’t possibly imagine how much information of this kind is in “Carolina Chats,” the first printing in 1944. Carl Goerch, originally from New York, lived for a good while right here in our little riverside town.

Goerch wrote in the front of the book “Not Copyrighted. Help yourself to anything you want”

My thanks to Dick Leach who brought the book to my attention.

Hope we can all gather here next weekend.