By Kirk Ross
Thanks to the efforts of the redoubtable Herb Bresky, I have in my hand an edition of Nyle Frank’s Carrboro Centipede (“Of the Pedes, By the Pedes and for the Pedes) dated Jan 20, 1971.
Under the headline “Carrboro Chosen as Capitol of the Invisible Kingdom,†King Nyle I outlines an ambitious agenda for the town, saying it will one day house numerous parks, luxurious shops, ecological improvements, mammoth sports arenas, libraries, excellent railroad service, Eiful [sic] Tower, Seine River, day-care centers and theatre groups.
Also, his majesty states, the town will have “elaborate entrance signs.†Then, between parentheses, is the following in all caps: “‘WELCOME TO CARRBORO: THE PARIS OF THE PIEDMONT’†That, as Herb points out in a note to this reporter, appears to be the earliest documented evidence of the phrase. Anyone have anything earlier? Let us know.
Where’s Larry?
No word yet on the whereabouts of one Larry Hayes (he’s said to be in San Francisco), but plenty of stories have filtered in over the last week after the former owner of Broad Street Coffee Roasters is alleged to have hired three men’s shelter residents to paint over the community mural at Jade Palace.
Plenty of people shaking their heads over the story and offering up tales from past encounters. Did you hear the one about running a T-1 line across Main Street under the train tracks in the dead of night?
While there has been a lot of shock and dismay over the incident, there’s also been a good number of people who want to use it as inspiration for another community-bonding event. Bully for that.
As news of the incident got out beyond the confines of the Carrboro-Chapel Hill Metroplex, one of the downsides was in how some folks react to anything with the name of either town stamped on it. (You have to remember that outside a ten-mile radius few people can make a distinction between Carrboro and the big city next door.)
A survey of the comments to a story about the mural on the WRAL website reveals a host of angry diatribes and the usual stereotyping we hear. According to some, we pinko/commie types deserve whatever misery befalls us. There is, also, plenty of sympathy — peppered liberally with derision, of course — for the people who painted the wall.
And then there is this comment from a truly conflicted soul: “I despise Chapel Hill and all surrounding areas, and the bleeding heart atmosphere that prevails, but I also feel anger at the evil deception that took place, even in Camelot!â€
OK, then. And don’t let it be forgot.
Corrections
Last week’s issue requires a few. For starters, Matthew Fiorentino (not Florentino) is the preferred spelling of the name of one of our correspondents.
Also, that mural was painted over on Tuesday, May 22.
And the final two sentences of Ken Moore’s Flora column should read:
“In addition, the town, if it really wants to pursue ‘green,’ will be wise to gate the driveway onto the site now and to place fencing at least as far out as the drip line of all the significant trees. Periodically, construction or other trucks are already seen parked beneath the shade of the old holly, and that means inappropriate treading on the old tree’s root system.â€