Pledging Allegiance

The stars and stripes. The star-spangled banner. Old Glory. Whatever the name the American flag is supposed to be treated with respect whether being unfurled for the first time or at the end of its life when it has become tattered and worn and no longer suitable to fly. From the Boy Scouts of America…

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Quality Time

What do dads and daughters the great outdoors homemade torches and canoes all have in common? In a word: community. Since the 1950s the YMCA has encouraged fathers to bond with their children through the Adventure Guides and Princesses program. The purpose is to get dads to switch off from an increasingly busy world and…

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Shorts

Lifeguard Reunion Jim Arnold and George Erkes are comparing their time as Wrightsville Beach lifeguards in the ’70s to the Wrightsville Beach Ocean Rescue squad of today. Erkes points out they didn’t have the same level of equipment. “We had one Jeep and we were lucky if it ran ” he says. They were under…

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A Rewarding Profession

It’s nothing personal. When a police dog takes down a suspect fleeing the scene of a crime he isn’t making a value judgment. The canine doesn’t care about guilt or innocence wrong or right. He’s oblivious to gender race color or creed. If he sinks his formidable teeth into an arm or leg he isn’t…

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Giant-Sized Dream

The big beach girl in the bikini is a landmark of sorts one that greets drivers coming and going from Wilmington on U.S. Highway 74. She stands next to a lagoon facing the road holding a beach ball in her upraised hand. Travelers on the stretch of highway between Delco and Bolton in Columbus County…

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Past meets Future

The color is so iconic it has its own name. Fire engine red. Studies show that fire trucks painted lime yellow (aka “national safety yellow”) have greater visibility and are involved in fewer accidents but for traditionalists only red will do. Frank Blackley Wilmington assistant fire chief of support services and the man in charge…

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Family Ties

When Wilmington photographer Millie Holloman posted online photos of the day she officially adopted her foster child Vera Wren she had no idea the pictures would go viral.

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Vacation Renovation

A Wrightsville beach house makeover is perfect for large family gatherings Cindy Morrison had just completed a total renovation on her California home when she thought why not keep the momentum going? The next project she had in mind was her parents’ East Coast beach house located on South Ridge Lane at the northern end…

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