Charlotte:struggling to keep our identity (Hickory, Graham: movie theater, schools, university)

[JanuaryGirl]

Originally Posted by anifani821

We have 2/3 of our population that has moved here from somewhere else.

What I want to do is come up w/ something that makes Charlotte singular and preserves its Southern roots.

I do agree - "Charlotte: Gateway to the New South" is a great definition, but what does that even mean. I came up with that several years back - dubbing Charlotte as the gateway to the New South.

But what does that MEAN and how are we expressing it in life here in Charlotte?

Charlotte: the place everyone moves for low taxes . . . ????

Yes, how is it expressed? What does it mean? That is what I wonder. We moved here mostly for low cost of living, since hubby works from home and kept his same job, and for the weather. But, obviously there are a million other towns/cities we could've moved to for that.

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by DNaomi

Yes, how is it expressed? What does it mean? That is what I wonder. We moved here mostly for low cost of living, since hubby works from home and kept his same job, and for the weather. But, obviously there are a million other towns/cities we could've moved to for that.

Charlotte: We're whatever you want us to be

LOL!!!!

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

LOL, so many people are so busy being part of a family that they forget about finding themselves (not in a selfish way).

I know how I was brought up in Michigan. It served me well in the MidAtlantic & will serve me well here. My mother always said that there wasn't much of a difference between Midwesterners & Southerners. That worked for me at face value. I understand it better after doing genealogy for 20 years.

Many of my families lived in Kosciusko County Indiana. One of their neighbors became famous. It's easy enough to find Ambrose Bierce's short stories online. I read his accounts (There are non-fictional accounts that you don't find in the text books.) because many from my family were in the same army. He referred to his war-time adversaries with respect.

People don't think about the men from TN, NC, &, yes, Alabama who fought in the Union armies. History is complicated. History books are not.

When Longstreet arrived at Chickamauga, it is documented that he spoke with a picket & did not realize that he was talking to a Union soldier until he asked the man who his commanding officer was.

One of my ancestors filed for a Revolutionaty War pension. He mentioned being at Kings Mountain. He died in Ohio.

Whether you are first generation of 12th generation, our history is intertwined. That includes those of us who have Native American ancestry.

You are so right, SB!

One of my ancestors fought for the Union, even tho his three brothers fought for the Confederacy. Two brothers were imprisoned and one was killed. The brother who was a Union soldier died in a Confederate prison camp.

The history of this state is not simple at all.

It should be noted (but never seems to be) that NC lost more soldiers in the Confederacy than ANY OTHER STATE. Yet, our state was not even really vested in that war and most soldiers readily expressed that they were "bound" to fight b/c they were North Carolinians, even tho they did not wish to even be involved. And what it did to the women who were left behind, trying to take care of farms w/o their men (many of whom never returned) had a profound effect on the economy as well as families. You can see why the next generation of sons felt obligated to stay close to home and help their parents rebuild farms. You can also understand why families often lived together for several generations, cause it took the work of all those members to "save" the family farm.

And, when looking at all of this in a larger perspective, one can also begin to understand why textile mills and furniture factories flourished - often w/ employees who also owned farms and were determined to find other sources of income so they could KEEP those farms.

[adavi215]

Originally Posted by anifani821

Charlotte: We're whatever you want us to be

LOL!!!!

That could be a good marketing scheme for Charlotte. I am beginning to think like this, when we say cities have a unique culture, how do we define culture? Essentially, could not the culture of those cities be micro-cultures from other places? If that is the case then these cities are really borrowing their culture from somewhere else. Example: Miami:Latin America, New York City: Blacks, Jews, Italians, etc. segragated in their own communities, El Paso: Mexico.

If these is the case, then no city truly has a unique culture, maybe more of a fragmented culture. Now follow me here guys, if this is the case then Charlotte is no different than these cities. I think the growing pains may stick out more with Charlotte because it is a newer "big city" kid on the block, largely due to the fact that it is just now being allowed to grow up; NC is still following its Rip Van Wrinkle tradition.

[vindaloo]

The home of Randolf Scott? Or, it used to be known as "First in freedom" because of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. That should put Charlotte up with Philidelphia (somewhat) in that arena.

[mullman]

Charlotte: A Beltline 30+ years in the making and still not complete.

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by adavi215

That could be a good marketing scheme for Charlotte. I am beginning to think like this, when we say cities have a unique culture, how do we define culture? Essentially, could not the culture of those cities be micro-cultures from other places? If that is the case then these cities are really borrowing their culture from somewhere else. Example: Miami:Latin America, New York City: Blacks, Jews, Italians, etc. segragated in their own communities, El Paso: Mexico.

If these is the case, then no city truly has a unique culture, maybe more of a fragmented culture. Now follow me here guys, if this is the case then Charlotte is no different than these cities. I think the growing pains may stick out more with Charlotte because it is a newer "big city" kid on the block, largely due to the fact that it is just now being allowed to grow up; NC is still following its Rip Van Wrinkle tradition.

Yes, micro-cultures are all over the country, except perhaps in rural areas. But in cities all over this country, there is still something you think about when you hear them mentioned.

For example:

NYC - entertainment, business and highly rated museums - as well as couture clothing and Diamond industry; Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building (and then all the villages - from SoHo to Tribeca to Greenwich, etc)

Philadelphia - Independence Hall, Rev War era history, fine museum and port city

Boston - Freedom Trail, Museum of Fine Arts, Franeuil Hall, Aquarium, Harvard, BU, Charles River, etc

Chicago - Sears Tower, John Hancock building, Art Institute, Field, Magnificent Mile, Navy Pier, Grant Park

See what I mean?

Even Cincinnati: Seven Hills, German community and Irish community (at one time, Cincinnati had more Irish in it than any city in IRELAND!!!)

I mean - it doesn't take much to come up w/ identities for other cities. We all know what they are famous for or we have some perception about what we will find there

Charlotte - NASCAR and banking (and banking's role is becoming increasingly lessened) Charlotte is not represented by NASCAR and banking! Most of the population here is not into NASCAR or Banking.

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by mullman

Charlotte: A Beltline 30+ years in the making and still not complete.

ROFL! yeah. soooooo on target . . .

Charlotte: we love NASCAR despite having inadequate road systems

[lovesMountains]

Charlotte - little sister of the south grows up (and out!)

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by vindaloo

The home of Randolf Scott? Or, it used to be known as "First in freedom" because of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. That should put Charlotte up with Philidelphia (somewhat) in that arena.

Good point but the problem has been that we have no actual paperwork to prove that claim. There are all sorts of other provenance that back up the statement, but w/o a document to prove it . . . makes it very difficult to stand on that claim. However, I have always liked this as a basis to build on w/ Revolutionary War history.

As others have pointed out, tho . . . w/ so little 18th C architecture to help substantiate that period of history . . . as in Charleston, for ex., we don't have much to build on to really point to our early Patriot billing.