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Okay - looked it up under mussel and evidently this mussel has only been found right around MECK and UNION here in NC. (Other areas in SC and GA) How interesting. Never have seen it and grew playing in creeks and hanging out around the Catawba River.
From what I could ascertain, looks like they hardly exist anywhere these days.
Carolina Heelsplitter in North Carolina (http://www.fws.gov/nc-es/mussel/carolheel.html - broken link)
I noticed lots of small clam looking shells at Jetton Landing on Lake Norman. I assumed they were some sort of fresh water clam.
When we first moved down here I was nuts over everything that wasn't New Jersey. Even though I'm a satellite radio listener I used to love scrolling down the FM band...look how many country stations are here as opposed to none back home. Radio ads for places in Greensboro? For a transplant that's pretty nifty. I'd watch the weather on the evening news and man...New Jersey was alllllll the way on the upper right of the weather map.
Go out to eat...I've never had pulled pork before, I don't think I've ever seen it on a menu, but I'm gonna give it a whirl and boy is it tasty.
Open up the sports page and I'm getting hit with nascar blazing on the front as opposed to the Rangers, Yankees or Giants. Well this is a switch but still a pretty cool one.
For the most part New Jerseyans...well...we're a great bunch of people. The way southern people express themselves is different yet still exuding a lot of warmth and kindness (unless some red head goes off on you and is ready to meet you at your house with a road map back to I-95 ).
After years of seeing the lower Manhattan skyline on the way to and from work I'm now hit with a lesser skyline, yet majestic in it's own way.
Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium, the Meadowlands Arena and Giants Stadium are replaced with a behemoth of a race track...something that given where I live I see every time I hit the gas in my SUV. I've never seen anything like this before..holy **** <pick your favorite four letter word, you kinda have two to choose from>
Then I quickly hated everything about it. Hated the skyline, hated the radio stations, hated seeing New Jersey way up on a weather map, hated the whole damn thing (except the track...that thing is really cool). As it turns out I hated everything not because it was something evil, but it was a hate based on the resentment I had grown to love the things that were more distinctly southern. How dare you sway me away my home state, a state that I loved and fiercely defended?
Why...I'll show you!!! I'll pack up, leave and head back home!!!! That'll show all of you!!!! <shakes fist>
Turns out the southern culture was still unique enough for me to still want to come back to. Which we did. In the end I found that I didn't want the same old, and that Carolina offered something different that went beyond retail and fast food chains. To me the culture is still there to an extent, but I'll believe anyone else over my own judgement any ol' day. I wasn't here when it was more decidedly southern than what it is now.
As Cubs said.. the issue isn't so much an idenity that people bring, but the city has to embrace it. Wburg, Savannah, Charleston, part of their charm is their history. Charlotte decided to become a banking center, and built a CITY in uptown. You mention NYC, and yes it has it's own vibe, but it is also it's own freaking country with it's size, but even then, it doesn't have one idenity, it has it's burroughs. Also Chi, SF and NY are much older cities. And what I mean is they were cities a long time ago, you are talking the 3 major ports for the US, until LA came along later. I think of Dallas, PHX, LA, some new cities that have grown and they have or are losing their idenity. Dallas aint so Cowboy as people think, I was quite disappointed when I moved there. Phoenix is new as well and has a deep SW flaire, but the city embraced it and built to it. It was a style of building which helped. Can't build too much "southern". But even then, then stuff built the last 10 years is generic at best. LA, outside of "hollywood" I think offers no culture to it's history. Charlotte has grown big in the last 25 years or so, so it means most of the people here haven't grown up here. Chicago and the others are big, but you have millions of people who grew up there. Unfortunatley turning back the time is tough, but I also never saw Charlotte, though older, as a historic city. I am not even are of any SIGNIFICANT historic district or historic buildings in the downtown. I mean look at the POS Polk building, they could restore it and use it and it just sits there, empty and tattered. Disappointing.
WULF - I really appreciate your weighing in on this. And I think you stated what I couldn't quite put my finger on. I have been thinking about what you said - that CLT decided to become a banking center. So the whole city was re-structured. That is what I really had not come to terms with.
See - the natives here did NOT decide this was a banking center. Some guys w/ money at BofA decided that, I guess. And city leaders happily went along with that. I think the taxpayers were all in their houses, living their busy lives and totally unaware that back in 1993 or so . . . plans were being put on paper to "change" Charlotte into something else. Heck, I still don't know what. To those of us who had lived here forever, Charlotte was just a big TOWN, kinda sleepy . . . more a town center w/ friendly burbs and bedroom communities. Now, going on 16 years later . . . we look around and think - uhhhhh . . . what happened to Charlotte?
When I was living in Kansas City, one of the wonderful reasons to be there included the great districts that provided a variety of things to see, hear and do. And historic buildings - really beautiful art nouveau buildings such as KCP&L building and Union Station - had been preserved and the city started pouring money into those areas, and created some terrific destinations. Now, KCMO has newly expanded the Light district and wow - it is a awesome destination in itself. I mention this to say I am all for progress and expansion and updating in the city. However, it needs to have some sort of "theme" or "reason" rather than just - here is some property - let's build something. I feel Charlotte has just torn down buildings and put stuff up, just b/c they could. No historic basis for it - nothing that ties in w/ the history of the city to actually anchor it.
After much reflection, it appears CLT has not built on its Rev War history the way W'burg, Charleston and Savannah have. Of course, Savannah has more of an antebellum feel than necessarily Rev War era aura. But it IS an identity. Plus, the waterfront helps w/ the renovation there - that became another interesting district.
Here in CLT, the gentrification in Dilworth was a natural progression, and was a grassroots movement/effort. However, the rest of the city has not followed that natural progression - it has been more "forced" and much evolved thru/ literally tearing down and putting something else on the site.
You pointed out that there are no significant historic buildings - a point well taken. It has to start there. And the identity has to be embraced throughout the city, w/ contractors playing on that identity in things they build all around the metro and burbs. It just hasn't happened here. The only area where I feel "Southern" is around SouthPark and even there, a lot of the construction has veered off into something incompatible w/ 18th C design. This city has not imposed a clear vision of what it should look like, and that is too bad, b/c if you are in Myer's Park, w/ the tree lined streets and 18th C style homes, you CAN see what I always thought CLT was supposed to be. How that got abandoned w/ design elsewhere, I don't know. In Charleston and Savannah, there are strict controls on design. I think our city has screwed up.
Anyway - really appreciate your thoughtful post. It helped me more clearly grasp what has happened here and why I feel Charlotte has no really defined identity - and has "lost" so much of its Southern feel.
See - I think newcomers want that Southern thing, too. I mean - they move South - they wanna know what it means to be in a Southern city. When people ask me - show me what "Southern" means - I have to tell them to go to Charleston, LOL.
Well, along the lines of what Brian was saying (and, I still think that we are long-lost relatives somewhere down the road )...
When I left Chicago, I HATED Chicago. Hated anything that had to do with it. Now, I moved to several southern places before settling in Charlotte, but, In Beaufort (SC) especially, I was so arrogant to my relatives/friends still stuck in the "frozen tundra". LOVED being in the south, with the lovely civil war-era history and the slow, genteel ways. Adopted as many of these ways as I could. Tried to change my accent. My oldest son loved Dukes of Hazzard as a boy and I bought him a confederate flag to hang in his window. I was a Southerner, by God!! And, all of those living in those northern cities were cursed!!
Then, I moved to Charlotte. Charlotte wasn't "the south" like Beaufort was and people resented my attempts at assimilation to "their" culture. I was told that I was "too much of a Yankee" on several occasions. I was confused. We went to Nascar races and festivals, my first county fair...but, still, I was the "Yankee invader". (now this was before most of y'all got here. this was late 80's, early 90's)
Going back to Chicago after a 25-year hiatus to see an uncle with an incurable blood disorder jolted me back (to reality?). Sitting at a table with people that looked like me who were talking about my family history...wow...that was weird. Going to people's homes that had faded into a distant memory...not to mention the fact of introducing my son to it all...was surreal. See, I hated Chicago so much that I rarely, if ever went back. Certainly not since my kids were old enough to remember it. THEIR history had become Beaufort & Charlotte and they did not know enough about the true experience of Chicago. (my youngest still doesn't. He hasn't been there with me yet)
That made me realize, good/bad/indifferent, just as Ani is very proud of her heritage (and rightly so, I might add), I also needed to be proud of who I am. No, I am not "too much of a Yankee"...because I was never a Yankee to begin with...but, maybe I AM "too much of a Chicagoan". That eye-opening trip was about 10 years ago now. That uncle has since passed away, as have others in my family, leaving only myself and a few cousins left. My kids did not know most of them and that is sad.
So, to pull this back to the original thread, I think that it is sad that Charlotte's history is fading into the memory bank of those that are natives. I think that the thought process of tearing down the old just to make new is wrong and is something that the future generations will resent. Charlotte is NOT typically Southern, but, then, maybe nothing is anymore.
CHI - a wonderful post. I know exactly what you are talking about.
When I lived in the Midwest, I felt like an "ex-Pat" - seriously!!! But I loved it. Others were very interested in my Southern roots and I was very interested in their traditions/roots, too. However, there were few Kansas natives that I came in touch with, b/c where I lived - on the border of KS/MO - almost everyone in my neighborhood was from the NE, other midwest states or often - Colorado. So I was very fortunate to learn about so many other traditions - from Polish/Cincinnati to Italian/NYC to Boston Brahma, LOL. It was fascinating to share our various histories/traditions. I never really thought what it meant to be a Southerner til I left the South.
I guess when I came back "home," I immediately realized things had changed in the years I was gone and I found that quite perplexing. Of course, some change is wonderful - Charlotte has so many more restaurants, pubs/taverns and neighborhoods than it did in the late 80s. To really understand how different things are, you have to imagine open fields for most of everything south of highway 51! It is hard to describe to newcomers - the explosive growth in 20 years.
Anyway, I totally get what you are saying. I accessed a lot of things I fell in love with about the Midwest - but even if I had stayed there all my life, I would never be a Midwesterner and no one would ever have considered me one, either, LOL. I was a transplanted Southerner and proud of it.
I think sometimes I am misunderstood when I post here. Just as I am a Southerner and will always be no matter where I live, anyone who moves here has his/her own history, as well. Living someplace does not change your roots/identity. That is why I want to celebrate the traditions of anyone who moves here - but at the same time - don't want to see this region lose its historical roots and traditions, either.
All the friends, except for one, that I have made since moving back here are from "somewhere else." I want them all to experience the South as I know it to be. At the same time, I want to learn how to make ricotta pie. I want to know about the Greek Orthodox church. I want my Italian friends from NY and NJ to teach me about their family's traditions at holidays - from food to particular quirky things their families liked to share/do. I want to welcome them to my world and learn about where they have been, what they feel they left behind and how I can help them find a niche here.
I am not into isolationism - and neither am I wanting anyone else to assimilate except in the sense of finding a comfort zone and feeling they have a warm, happy life here. That is how I was welcomed in the Midwest and I want people to feel good about their lives here as I did about mine back in Kansas.
I just feel sad b/c I don't feel that Southern vibe here that I used to feel. Maybe we need a good Southern rock group to spring from Charlotte, LOL. (Any garage bands out there that we all can support?) Maybe an outsider art museum . . . I don't know.
After reading I am this thread, first I am happy to fellowship with true Charlotteans. Also, I am a graduate of West Charlotte High, and I can tell you there that the history of Charlotte has not been lost. As far as comments about Charlotte being a banking city, it's been a banking town! This is not a new phenomenon. We got a Federal Reserve branch in the early 20th century as well as a mint in the late 19th century, the site of Mint Museum. That is one mistake I think we Charlotteeans make. Charlotte has been an established banking town for quite some time. I think much of the old character of Charlotte is still around. Take a look at Beatties Ford, Historic South End, and NoDa for some examples. I think what may be the problem is Charlotte is in a transition period. We are transforming from a medium sized town into more of a global center. I will use growing an afro as an example. There is what is called the "nappy" stage. Your hair is really matty, knotty, and kinky. It is quite an ugly stage but if you keep your hair growing, the afro turns out quite right. Charlotte is probably experiencing this. It may look like it is losing its southern character in all this new development but after a while it will smooth out.
Charlotte is the "New South." As a Black male some things I am glad Charlotte has moved on from and I particularly do not like the Confederate flag because it means something else other than Southern pride to me. But I still believe Charlotte to be Southern and kept its Southern tradition. Is it Charleston? No! That is a different type of Southern. Is it Atlanta? That is a different type of Southern. Charlotte is more of progressive heterogenous type of South, but in and of the South nevertheless.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Quote:
Originally Posted by adavi215
After reading I am this thread, first I am happy to fellowship with true Charlotteans. Also, I am a graduate of West Charlotte High, and I can tell you there that the history of Charlotte has not been lost. As far as comments about Charlotte being a banking city, it's been a banking town! This is not a new phenomenon. We got a Federal Reserve branch in the early 20th century as well as a mint in the late 19th century, the site of Mint Museum. That is one mistake I think we Charlotteeans make. Charlotte has been an established banking town for quite some time. I think much of the old character of Charlotte is still around. Take a look at Beatties Ford, Historic South End, and NoDa for some examples. I think what may be the problem is Charlotte is in a transition period. We are transforming from a medium sized town into more of a global center. I will use growing an afro as an example. There is what is called the "nappy" stage. Your hair is really matty, knotty, and kinky. It is quite an ugly stage but if you keep your hair growing, the afro turns out quite right. Charlotte is probably experiencing this. It may look like it is losing its southern character in all this new development but after a while it will smooth out.
Charlotte is the "New South." As a Black male some things I am glad Charlotte has moved on from and I particularly do not like the Confederate flag because it means something else other than Southern pride to me. But I still believe Charlotte to be Southern and kept its Southern tradition. Is it Charleston? No! That is a different type of Southern. Is it Atlanta? That is a different type of Southern. Charlotte is more of progressive heterogenous type of South, but in and of the South nevertheless.
You make a good point. After all, Charlotte's colonial history is rooted in folks coming down from the MidAtlantic. They brought their architecture & accents with them, then. History is rarely as simple as the history books make it seem.
It would be nice if more old buildings had survived, but as my mother always said, there's no use crying over spilt milk.
Once again adavi, I like your insight on things. I especially like the afro terminology in describing Charlotte's growing pains, to me it does makes sense. I also like afros as well.
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).
That eye-opening trip was about 10 years ago now. That uncle has since passed away, as have others in my family, leaving only myself and a few cousins left. My kids did not know most of them and that is sad. 
