July

Jul 29, 2013

Helen Thomas, 1920-2013

He left his home in Tripoli, Syrian now Tripoli, Lebanon, in the 1890s as a teenager. He had only a few cents in his pocket and a talisman containing the traveler’s prayer around his neck. This month, longtime White House reporter, often called “The First Lady of the Press,” Helen Amelia Thomas died. Her impressive…

Jul 19, 2013

Moussa Domit collection

Hello faithful readers! Happy summer! We know that the Lebanese community here in North Carolina schedules a lot of travel over the summer season to Lebanon and other areas to visit family, friends, or explore new places. So, if you are checking in on the Project through this blog or on Facebook, we have an…

Jul 31, 2012

120 years in North Carolina

For a quick primer on the history of the Lebanese community in North Carolina, check out this video below. It’s also available on our YouTube Channel. Thank you to Danica Cullinan for the video contribution.

Jul 23, 2012

Wine and Olive Diet

In 1896, the Fayetteville Observer noted (about halfway through the article) that “a number of Syrians… received a case of wine and olives from Damascus.”  “To the unitiated,” they reported, the olives were “not so nice tasting.” Of course, North Carolina is home to so many restaurants that started out by serving “the unitiated” masses.…

Jul 20, 2012

America Ya Hilwa

On July 14, 1916, Lebanese-American composer and pianist Alexander Maalouf wrote Letter to the Editor of The New York Times, announcing a new national anthem that he composed called “For Thee, America.” You can listen to more of his songs on our website or at the Library of Congress.

Jul 20, 2012

Calling on FDR

In September 1928, Mr. Michael Norman Mansour of Goldsboro, North Carolina, the owner Mansour’s Department Store (later called Hub Department Store) received two letters while in New York City on business from Franklin Delano Roosevelt urging him to support New York Governor Alfred  Emanuel Smith in his race for Presidency.  Having been a long supporter…

Jul 19, 2012

Cedars in the Pines: The Lebanese in North Carolina

Thank you all for your support during the premiere our full-length documentary, Cedars in the Pines: The Lebanese in North Carolina at the North Carolina Museum of History. Directed by Danica Cullinan and co-produced by Cullinan and Neal Hutcheson of the North Carolina Language and Life Project with Caroline Muglia as archivist and researcher, over 700 people…

Jul 12, 2012

Project Update

We are full swing into our summer schedule. We are working on our new website set to be released by September 2012. This site will act as a digital library containing all the photographs, documents, documentary clips and oral histories generously contributed by the Lebanese community. Visitors to the website will be able to browse…