When the Rev. Billy Graham visited Elon on the morning of Nov. 7, 1951 he was in the midst of a rise in national prominence that would one day lead to the label "America's Pastor." I saw that designation quite a few times on Wednesday when the famous evangelist and arguably the most notable North … Continue reading What Billy Graham told Elon students back in 1951
Author: madisontdawg
1956: The year Elvis visited Burlington and left high school gyms way behind
One of my favorite features we published during my second tour of duty with the Burlington Times-News was this one by Alamance County historian Walter Boyd. It's about the 18 hours music icon Elvis Presley spent in Burlington in February of 1956, including a performance at Williams High School. That story published in 2015, in … Continue reading 1956: The year Elvis visited Burlington and left high school gyms way behind
A year of new and welcomed challenges
From 2007 to 2016 when part of my job as a newspaper editor involved hiring college students as reporting interns I was often surprised by how many expressed an interest in writing for magazines. When I was a college student back during the dark ages magazine writing never once crossed my mind as a career … Continue reading A year of new and welcomed challenges
Throwback Thursday: A coach who set an example for us all
UNC and Duke are in the final hours today before another installment of the most intense rivalry in college basketball is renewed again. Dean Smith, the legendary coach of the Tar Heels, was right in the thick of it for decades. Smith passed away three years ago on Feb. 7. This is the editorial I … Continue reading Throwback Thursday: A coach who set an example for us all
History, irony and ‘Olympic Pride, American Prejudice’
Nearly everyone who knows much about the history of Olympic sports in the United States has heard of Jesse Owens. Many of them are aware he won four gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Most of those understand that as an African-American he did so under the glare of Adolf Hitler and … Continue reading History, irony and ‘Olympic Pride, American Prejudice’
Who do we trust?
"The Truth is Out There" and "Trust No One" are two phrases that for years were most closely associated with the murky conspiracy-rich TV series, "The X-Files." Today both define life in the United States of America. How we got to this point in our history was not a random evolution of human nature and culture. … Continue reading Who do we trust?
Remembering two incredible women
Over the past few days I ran across newspaper items I wrote in 2009 about the deaths of two significant woman but only available on pdfs. One I never met but who was a legend in her field -- basketball coach and advocate for cancer research. The other was someone very close to me who … Continue reading Remembering two incredible women
Throwback Thursday: Going medieval
This is a column I wrote more than 20 years ago when I used to let the chips fall in every direction. It about something a county elected official said in relation to polluted waters caused by hog farm mishaps or municipal waste. One incident in Onslow County, North Carolina led to a hog . … Continue reading Throwback Thursday: Going medieval
Retiring superintendent is serious about possible political bid. Just do it
Friday this came across my Twitter feed. "Huh," I thought out loud to no one in particular. Is Bill Harrison saying what I think he's saying? Does he want to run for statewide office after his retirement as superintendent of the Alamance-Burlington School System starts in June? Really? So after mulling it over for, oh, … Continue reading Retiring superintendent is serious about possible political bid. Just do it
The Elon football connection to … Bill Belichick?
The print issue of Sports Illustrated this week -- well, make that this month since it appears the magazine will no longer be published on a regular weekly basis -- contains an interesting story on the long-standing friendship of arguably the greatest NFL coach of all time and his counterpart on the collegiate level. I'm … Continue reading The Elon football connection to … Bill Belichick?
Madison's Avenue 