October 2022

The red brick Pearsall Memorial Presbyterian Church on the south side of Market Street flourished when Rev. Dr. B. Frank Hall was the pastor from 1949-1977. Hall was a theologian known for his eloquence in the pulpit and in his local newspaper articles. He had deep Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach roots, the family maintaining a…

Walking a coastal barrier island at the end of July 2022, a visitor near the mud flats notices a plump little bird with a long beak and short legs. When the shorebird scurries away, the human gives it no more thought. It is doubtful they knew this was a short-billed dowitcher, which had flown 2,000…

Beginning in the 1990s, Michael Kersting, AIA, conceived architecture no one dreamed possible, wowing the most seasoned veterans and raking in some of the most prestigious awards in the country. With each rock-star custom home, with each transcendent commercial project, the name Michael Kersting became more renowned and prominent. Kersting decided to become an architect…

The 2022-23 college women’s basketball season tips off in October with 20 hours of practice allowed per week per NCAA guidelines leading up to preseason games. At NC State, a new story will unfold when Wilmington’s Saniya Rivers makes her first appearance with the Wolfpack on Nov. 3 vs. UNC Pembroke. Rivers shocked her fans…

The concept of outdoor living is operating on a whole new level these days. We’re talking custom-built fireplaces, full-scale outdoor kitchens with pizza ovens, designer furniture, flat-screen TVs, and Pinterest-worthy greenery and lighting. It’s money well spent according to national real estate site Inman, which found adding an outdoor kitchen sees an average return on…

Walks along the Cape Fear River become more frequent and enticing for artist Helen Doemland with each treasure she finds. The treasures are pieces of driftwood that appear along the riverbanks following a storm near her newly built home at Riverlights in Wilmington. “One of the most amazing things about the wood is it will…

The notion of sticker shock may have originated in the 1980s, when shopping for a new car carried along with it an unexpected nasty surprise, but nowadays it’s just as seriously associated with a trip to the grocery store. Likewise, it is not uncommon to feel a pang of despair or trepidation when the bill…

Many of us grew up with friendly bear characters like Winnie the Pooh, Smokey the Bear, and the adorable Paddington. Those gentle, fun-loving fictional pals live in a special place and are great to have around, but of course, they are not real. In eastern North Carolina, no longer is there a secret world where…

By the late 20th century, the red wolf population had almost been wiped out, victim of an intensive predator control program as well as destruction of its habitat. The only states where they were found in the wild by the late 1970s were Texas and Louisiana, where they survived in the coastal prairie and marshlands.…

Styles of the 1990s dominated 2022s New York Fashion Week (NYFW) held in September in Manhattan.  Vintage and grunge are making a comeback, but with glitz. We brought together former Ashley High, now NC State women’s basketball star, Saniya Rivers and Oliver Clothing to showcase style trends of fall 2022. Oversized and longer length denim…