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Contributing reporter Katy Nelson reports today on how residents across Western North Carolina have, since the 1940s or before, documented their community’s history and development. Nelson writes:
“Much rural history documenting the people and progress of communities across Western North Carolina would be lost if not for scrapbooks like these, some dating as far back as the 1940s. Today, dedicated members of rural community clubs across the mountains are working to preserve these scrapbooks—some stored in closets and left to mold and disintegrate—while also thinking seriously about how to document the present for future preservation.”
Read the story here. And below, view selected images of scrapbook photos and a slideshow of those dedicated to preserving them.


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