Bruegger's Bagels is celebrating its 30th anniversary with free bagels for its customers.
Customers who come in by 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 25, will get three free bagels of their choice.
Sugarland bakery celebrates 5th anniversary with celebrity cupcake competition
Submitted by amweigl on 02/25/2013 - 11:41Sugarland bakery is celebrating its fifth birthday with a celebrity cupcake bake-off at its Raleigh location in Cameron Village
From 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, the public can watch celebrities paired with the bakery's pastry chefs have to create a cupcake based on a surprise theme. The winner will get $1,000 donated to the charity of their choice. The celebrities include WRAL anchor Debra Morgan, WQDR 94.7 morning deejay Mike Wheless, UNC football coach Larry Fedora and former "The Biggest Loser" competitors Ed Brantley and Heba Salama.
The event will kick off a month-long celebration featuring specials at the bakery's locations in Chapel Hill and Raleigh.
Plus, the bakery is sponsoring a month-long competition among local charities to win $500. Each charity will have an unique hash tag during March for their supporters to use on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook when sharing a photo of themselves at Sugarland with a sweet treat. The organization with the most posts that both tag Sugarland (@sugarlandnc) and include their organization's given hash tag will win.
To register a charity for the March competition, please contact Hannah Walker at hannah@sugarlandchapelhill.com.
For information about the bakery, go to sugarlandchapelhill.com.
Winter storm played a role in country club fire
Submitted by tleonard on 02/05/2013 - 11:47February 1948 found Piedmont and Eastern North Carolina in the grips of “the worst snow and sleet storm of 15 years.”
One News & Observer headline announced “All Traffic in N. C. Halted.”
Raleigh found itself under a nine-inch layer of ice and snow. Several cities in the state reported a shortage of fuel oil as they faced continued freezing temperatures.
State Fuel Oil coordinator W. Z. Betts, who said he had been receiving emergency requests in heavy volume ... appealed for careful use of remaining gallons. The State has no rationing system, he pointed out, and communities must use their own initiative in working out arrangements between oil users and oil dealers to prevent a crisis. Two cities, Greensboro and Durham, both shivering in temperatures in the low twenties, reported their fuel crisis were at hand.
Already the heating requirements for this winter have been 51 per cent greater ... than for the same period last winter.
In Raleigh, where an organized emergency oil allocating system has been operating for approximately a month, workers at City Hall yesterday doled out the last of a special fuel oil supply which had been stored at the city lot. -- The News & Observer 2/1/1948
In the midst of the storm, the club house at Raleigh’s Carolina Country Club burned to the ground, taking the lives of the club’s manager James E. Baker, his wife, Mrs. Baker’s mother, and the couple’s teenage children.
The Raleigh Times gave this account:
The firemen were called to the scene about 3:35 a. m. by Paul Garrison, son of Mrs. Ruby H. Garrison of 2503 Glenwood Avenue. Mrs. Garrison had been awakened by the sound of what she thought was a machine clearing the highway and later noticed the light reflecting on her walls from the blazing building.
It was also reported that a cruising taxi driver also noticed the burning building and with the aid of a two-way radio called the fact into the taxi headquarters, which relayed the information to the fire department.
Chief Lloyd said the three fire trucks were delayed from reaching the grounds of the fashionable club by a blinding snowstorm and icy streets but arrived at the scene in about 10 minutes. He said that the roof of the clubhouse was falling in when the firemen arrived and that “there was nothing we could do to save lives and very little that we could do to save property.”
The tragedy came only a few hours after a Saturday night dance at the clubhouse. Headwaiter Frank Constant, who has worked at the club for about 20 years, said he left the premises about 1 a. m. with three other waiters and a male hat checker.
He said that before going he and Mr. Baker had made a thorough check of the premises for fire hazards, inspecting two fireplaces which had been used during the evening, the furnace and all trash for possible smouldering cigarette butts.
When he left, Constant said, the Baker children and (their grandmother) had retired for the night and Mr. and Mrs. Baker were preparing to retire. He also stated that he noticed a stalled car in the driveway of the Country Club property as he was leaving.
Mary Frances Dillon ... reported to officers that when she, her escort and another couple became stuck in the sleet and snow about 2 a. m., she retired to the clubhouse to telephone for aid, rousing Baker at the time. She said she informed the club manager of smelling smoke, but he asserted that it was a green log smouldering in a fireplace.
Firemen and officers said they could not tell what caused the fire. Some laid the blame on a smouldering cigarette or perhaps sparks being blown on the floor from a fireplace. ...
Club officials would not estimate the property loss, but President Alfred Williams, Jr., said it was partly covered by insurance. He added that another clubhouse would be erected as soon as possible. It was the second to be destroyed by fire, the first in 1920 by reported defective wiring. -- The Raleigh Times 2/2/1948
Legislative Building was brand new 50 years ago
Submitted by tleonard on 01/30/2013 - 10:17When the 1963 General Assembly convened, it was in the brand new Legislative Building. Construction of the building had taken two years and cost $6.2 million. The building's architects considered the structure a "bargain" at a cost of $1.20 per Tar Heel citizen.
Features of the new structure included red carpets and a 28-foot diameter terrazzo mosaic of the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina. All this finery caused some to speculate whether lawmakers would be tempted to linger in session, but citizens could rest assured that the historic State Capitol building would not be abandoned.
Will the Old Gray Lady of Capitol Square be overshadowed by her gleaming younger sister down Halifax Street?
Most Tar Heels would say emphatically "no."
The gray granite Capitol building will continue to be a pride of the State, and will continue to serve as useful and important function in State government even though the General Assembly will no longer meet in her 19th century halls but will gather instead in the State House.
Simply because the Governor's offices will continue in the Capitol, it will be an important government structure.
The lawmakers are in town only four months every two years. The chief executive runs Tar Heel government in the meantime. And even working out of the 19th century decor, he will maintain a powerful hold over the gentlemen of the Assembly in their spacious, pyramidal quarters.
As the Assembly leaves it forever, the Capitol hums with gubernatorial activity, and still houses the offices of the Secretary of State and the state Treasurer.
Remaining, too, will be the immense historic tug of the Old Gray Lady, which has been the seat of Tar Heel government for 122 years.
Reflecting its historical value, the House and Senate chambers in the Capitol will be maintained in their present decor by the State Department of Archives and History.
General Services Director George Cherry, whose agency is in charge of Capitol housekeeping, promises she will get loving attention.
Cherry's schedule calls for a complete re-painting of the Capitol interior every three or four years. Her next refurbishing will probably come in 1964.
Her stolid granite superstructure, which periodically greens over with a patina of age, is ageless and needs little attention.
The departure of the Assembly was a blessing for Capitol furnishings, some of which date from Civil War days. They were beginning to show the wear of use. Now, that wear will be prized for its antique value.
The former chambers of the Assembly will probably continue to be used periodically, especially for swearing-in ceremonies, for meetings of the University of North Carolina trustees, and for historic occasions called by the executive branch of government.
The Assembly will leave its historic records in the Capitol. In small third floor offices, row on row of files contain the original acts of the General Assembly, irreplaceable records which are in the charge of the Secretary of State.-- The News & Observer 2/3/1963
One item considered a symbol of legislative government was missing from the modern state house. There would be no spittoons on the terrazzo floors. By 1963, pipe and cigarette smoking had replaced most snuff-sniffing and tobacco chewing habits. Not to mention that spittoons were getting harder to come by. They were mostly considered "antique" items by this time and would not "blend with the building's modernistic style."
O. Henry -- born and reborn
Submitted by tleonard on 09/11/2012 - 12:59
Today marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of William Sydney Porter. Writing as O. Henry, he became one of the country's most famous short story writers. Edward Garner wrote about him in 1962.
More than five million copies of O. Henry's books were published, and some of his magazine stories brought him 25c a word.
His "Gift of the Magi" is probably the best-known Christmas story with the exception of Dickens' memorable classic dealing with Scrooge and Tiny Tim.
"I'll give you the whole secret of short story writing," said O. Henry... "and here it is: Rule one, write stories that please yourself. There is no rule two," and, he added, "if you can't write a story that pleases yourself, you'll never please the public." -- The News & Observer 9/9/1962
Growing up in Greensboro, Porter "experienced boyhood adventures to match those of Tom Sawyer. One was his "'whaling expedition.'"
A Greensboro youth returned from a long absence with tales of having sailed on a whaling ship. His stories inspired Will to leave home for a like career. He took a friend with him.
"Our money gave out at Raleigh, and after spending all we had for something to eat, we decided to go home if we could get there," his chum related. -- Greensboro Daily News 8/10/1952
But though he grew up in Greensboro and spent much of his adult life in Texas, there's more to the story. According to the Austin American-Statesman in 1998, "O. Henry isn't really from any of these places. O. Henry is from a penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio. He went in near the end of the last century and emerged at the beginning of this one. He went in W.S. Porter, became prisoner No. 30664 and came out O. Henry."
Porter was accused and convicted of embezzling about $1,000 form the Texas bank where he worked and served 39 months of a five-year sentence. He spent his time in prison writing and took the pen name O. Henry when he was released.
In the 1980s, Greensboro businessman Seth Macon enlisted Senator Jesse Helms to try to win a pardon for O. Henry, but the try was unsuccessful. According to the attorney general's office, "Federal policy does not authorize presidential pardons of dead people.... The policy is based "in large part (on) the legal principle that a pardon, like a deed, must be accepted by the person to whom it is directed."
In lieu of a pardon, the group did receive a "warm letter" signed by President Reagan:
The pleasure this favorite son of Greensboro has given can never be calculated, if only because he never stops giving it. His message is irresistible and even instructive: that interesting things are happening all around us, and that every one of our neighbors is someone special. Anybody is a candidate to be an O. Henry hero or an O. Henry heroine." -- The Raleigh Times 4/3/1985
To commemorate the anniversary of O. Henry's birth, the Post Office today unveiled the O. Henry Forever stamp, the 28th in its Literary Arts series.
"In the stamp art, the author's portrait is set against a background image of the elevated rail in New York City, where many of O. Henry's stories were set. The portrait is based on a photograph of the author as a young man that dates to the late 1880s. Art director Ethel Kessler worked with artist Cap Pannell on his first stamp illustration for O. Henry." -- US Postal Service
Grab a 64-cent sandwich at Arby's on Monday, July 23
Submitted by AmyDunn on 07/22/2012 - 11:47 
Arby's is celebrating its anniversary on Monday with a deal for you.
Snag an Arby's Classic Roast Beef sandwich for just 64 cents.
What if ...
Submitted by tleonard on 07/18/2012 - 11:31
In the summer of 1969, as Americans excitedly watched the progress of Apollo 11, the White House had to consider the possibility that the mission would not be a success. Speechwriter William Safire was asked to prepare a statement for President Nixon to deliver in case of disaster. The National Archives has made the never-delivered speech available.
Read about Raleigh's reaction to the moon landing and hear the famous quote in Neil Armstrong's own voice here.
Centsible Saver first anniversary: Giveaway winners!
Submitted by AmyDunn on 07/15/2012 - 22:26Be sure to check to see if you are one of 17 winners in my first annversary giveaway extravaganza.
I asked you to weigh in with what you liked (and didn't like) about Centsible Saver and more than 160 of you entered to win. Thanks to all of you for taking the time to comment.
Stay tuned for a few tweaks to the blog in the coming weeks as we incorporate some of your suggestions and a few other improvements.
Now on to the list of winners:
Last chance: It's Centsible Saver's first anniversary so let's have a giveaway
Submitted by AmyDunn on 07/11/2012 - 13:32If you haven't yet entered to win, consider this your final reminder. The giveaway will close at noon Friday, July 13. I'll post the winners on Monday.
This week marks the one-year anniversary of the Centsible Saver blog -- hard to believe but true.
What better way to celebrate than to treat you folks to a giveaway or two....or 17.
Here's what I have up for grabs:
- one $10 gift card to Target
- one 2012 Attractions coupon book (lots of life left in this, including CVS and Walgreens coupons!)
- 10 News & Observer classic comics umbrellas (these are super cool, by the way)
- one coupon for a FREE half-gallon of Blue Bell ice cream (the good stuff from Texas)
- $5 in gift checks to KFC
- a Chick-fil-A men's tie, a small stuffed cow and a copy of founder S. Truett Cathy's book (for the Chick-fil-A fan)
- a coupon for a FREE bagel with cream cheese from Bruegger's
- a coupon for a FREE premium salad and a FREE iced tea from McDonald's
All you have to do is leave me a comment or question. Tell me what you like about the blog and what you don't like. Ask me a question or leave me a suggestion about how I can make the blog better in the coming year.
Be brutal. I can take it. I used to cover cops.
I'll choose 17 winners at random using random.org. Please enter only once and please make sure the email address you're using at newsobserver.com is current so I can easily reach you.
I'll mail all the prizes to the winners with the exception of the umbrellas. Those you'll have to pick up at our downtown Raleigh office.
The deadline to enter is Friday, July 13. Your lucky day.
FREE cookies for Chick-fil-A fans
Submitted by AmyDunn on 06/21/2012 - 07:00 
To mark 40 years of doing business in the Triangle, Chick-fil-A restaurants are celebrating Free Cookie Day this Friday, June 22.
Stop by participating restaurants between 2 and 6 p.m. to get your free chocolate chunk cookie.
The cookies, which are freshly baked at the restaurants, are a new item on the Chick-fil-A menu.
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Also, for those of you die-hard Chick-fil-A fans, pencil in July 13 on your freebie calendar. That's the date for Cow Appreciation Day when customers who dress up as cows are treated to free meals.
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