On March 14, 1967, Lady Bird Johnson, wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson, arrived in Jackson County, North Carolina. She had come to visit the Canada community elementary school. As a National Teacher Corps Demonstration Center, the Canada school was part of her husband’s Great Society vision for eradicating poverty in America. The Teacher Corps trained teachers to serve in underprivileged communities. In the Canada school, Ms. Johnson sat on a tiny chair among first-graders while interns, including a later Jackson County commissioner, conducted reading sessions with the children. Afterwards, she stopped at Western Carolina University to dedicate its library’s new wing and to praise Western for being the only university in North Carolina to serve as a Teacher Corps training center.
Recent Posts
Mountain Feist
March 21st, 2018
A Mountain Feist is a type of small hunting dog. Like the many others varieties of feists, it is not a specific breed. The ancestral [...]
Land Trusts
November 4th, 2016
Some of Appalachia’s most special places are protected through land trusts. These non-profit organizations work with private landowners and other organizations to protect places of significant [...]
Appalachian Trail Through Hikers
October 27th, 2016
The Appalachian Trail extends 2,160 miles from Springer Mountain in North Georgia to Mount Katahdin in northern Maine. “Through Hiker” is the name given to [...]
Carolina Lily
September 23rd, 2015
Have you ever seen a Carolina Lily? Did you know it is North Carolina’s official state wildflower? But take care to avoid mistaking it for [...]
Horses and Mules
April 30th, 2015
Although horses and mules have been replaced by tractors on most American farms, some farmers in Appalachia still use them, and many more remember having [...]
About The Digital Heritage Project
DigitalHeritage.org includes essays, video interviews, and other materials created by the students of Western Carolina University. It also includes regional lesson plans created by teachers participating in the Adventure of the American Mind project sponsored by the Library of Congress. Radio spots created by WCU faculty and students may be heard on stations WKSF-FM, WMXF-AM, WPEK-AM, WWCU-FM, and WWNC-AM. A print version is available each month in the Laurel of Asheville.
Tonya Carroll (B.A., 2007 M.A., 2009) with Bruce Frazier (Carol Grotnes Belk Endowed Professor in Commercial & Electronic Music) in the recording studio.