The Chatham News + Record

A Taylor family photo discovered by Antonio Austin as a part of his genealogical research.

Ch@t: 8th-generation Pittsboro native reflects on history, heritage

During Black History Month, the News + Record is featuring discussions about issues related to the African American experience in our Chatham Chats. This week, we speak with historian Antonio Austin, … more

2/24/21

In this file photo, members of Chatham County's two NAACP chapters involved in an effort to memorialize the six victims of racial terror lynching in Chatham stand on the steps of the PIttsboro courthouse. This same group was involved in the creation of the Community Remembrance Coalition. Front row, from left: Armentha Davis, Mary Harris, Larry Brooks and Mary Nettles. Middle row, from left: Vickie Shea, Cledia Holland and Linda Batley. Back row, from left: Glenn Fox, Wayne Holland, Carl Thompson and Bob Pearson. Pearson, a retired attorney and diplomat who lives in Fearrington Village, was responsible for getting the effort started.

CH@T: Inspired by ‘a conviction that our country was better than its worst days’

During Black History Month, the News + Record is featuring discussions about issues related to the African American experience in our Chatham Chats. This week, we speak with W. Robert Pearson about … more

2/17/21

Sunday sides collide

I love a thrift store. It’s like wandering into Aladdin’s cave. Sometimes that cave is empty and smells funny. But sometimes … Sometimes. Sometimes that darn cave is chock-full of … more

BY DEBBIE MATTHEWS, The Curious Cook | 2/10/21

A rendering of N.C. Freedom Park, which will be built in downtown Raleigh.

Ch@T: A way to recognize the struggle of slavery, Jim Crow and discrimination in N.C.

During Black History Month, the News + Record will feature issues related to the African American experience in our Chatham Chats. This week, we speak with Chatham County resident David Warren, who … more

2/3/21

Potato salad is a treat, just about any way it's prepared.

Curious Cook: Hopelessly devoted to spuds

“Warts and all.” When I write a column that’s what I give you. Good or bad, embarrassing or not, you get it all. Just sayin’. On an unrelated note, if my house caught on fire and I … more

BY DEBBIE MATTHEWS, The Curious Cook | 2/3/21

‘One Night in Miami’: A dynamic fictionalized overview of a real divide

In playwright/screenwriter Kemp Powers’ seminal “One Night in Miami,” Cassius Clay, mere hours removed from winning the heavyweight boxing title, mulls his impending decision to join the Nation … more

BY NEIL MORRIS, CN+R Film Critic | 1/28/21

Chatham’s top doc: ‘Don’t be fooled’ by COVID numbers. It’s still a significant threat.

Compared to other counties across North Carolina, the numbers found on Chatham’s “COVID dashboard” look positive. But don’t be fooled, says the county’s top physician. Dr. Andrew C. … more

1/21/21

Mulligan a standout in potboiling revenge flick ‘Promising Young Woman’

A movie thriller for the #MeToo movement writ large, “Promising Young Woman” is like a bit of stale “Hard Candy,” the 2005 film also premised around vengeance against a sexual predator that … more

BY NEIL MORRIS, CN+R Film Critic | 1/13/21

Pork chops — regardless of how you prepare them — are a tasty focal point of any meal.

Curious Cook: A meat for thee

“I like pork chops.” For my particularly lowkey husband, that statement is the equivalent of a fireworks and marching band declaration. I grew up eating chops made with the store-bought … more

1/13/21

Ashleigh Glover of Chatham Counseling & Wellness.

Leaning into the ‘new adventure’ of 2021

How are your New Year and life resolutions coming along? This week, we talked about that subject with Ashleigh Glover, a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate, whose personal experience … more

1/7/21

A finished dish of Chicken San Francisco.

Petey’s annual birthday tradition

For some reason, Petey doesn’t want me to sing “Happy Birthday” to him on his birthday. He does, however, want me to cook for him. Every year I make him an easy, yet complicated dish: … more

1/7/21

Blundering ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ is a long, hacky, joyless sequel

Late in “Wonder Woman 1984,” during a climactic scene in which the titular Amazon warrior princess confronts the baddie de jour with the consequences of his diabolical actions, the soundtrack … more

BY NEIL MORRIS, CN+R Film Critic | 12/30/20

Viola Davis, Colman Domingo, Michael Potts, Glynn Turman and Chadwick Boseman star in 'Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,' now streaming on Netflix.

Brilliance of Boseman, Davis shine in powerhouse ‘Ma’

With a raw emotionality that leaps off the page, the prose of playwright August Wilson finds its apt allegory in Tennessee Williams. While Williams spoke from his Southern upbringing, Wilson lends … more

BY NEIL MORRIS | 12/24/20

Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel star in 'News of the World.'

Paradoxical ‘News of the World’ doesn’t deliver a full story

For a film grounded in contradictions, “News of the World” is something of a paradox. It is about the power of storytelling but doesn’t tell an especially compelling story. It fashions a … more

BY NEIL MORRIS, CN+R Film Critic | 12/17/20

Chatham County is one of a growing number of counties featured in the Visit N.C. Farms app.

Chatham now a part of the ‘Visit N.C. Farms’ mobile app

With people relying more and more on their smartphones for information, mobile “apps” — application programs — have grown in popularity and usefulness. The Visit N.C. Farms app is a … more

12/16/20

A sampling of pastry chef Julie Jangati's tasty handiwork.

Holiday chat with a Pastry Goddess, Part 1

Last April, I started seeing these amazing desserts on LinkedIn made by one of the most talented pastry chefs I’ve ever seen. Her name is Julie Jangali. Julie and I have worked together on a … more

12/10/20

Scant context, lessons overshadow performances in Howard’s ‘Hillbilly Elegy’

J.D. Vance’s 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” is a sometimes confounding, always provocative overview of the author’s experiences as a second-generation Appalachia descendant raised as a … more

BY NEIL MORRIS, CN+R Film Critic | 12/3/20

A table full of Christmas cookies — some decorated, some awaiting icing.

It’s a Christmas miracle cookie!

This is the only recipe that I offer every year, because these cookies are spectacularly, astonishingly delicious. But their very humble looks are infinitely deceiving. Finished, they look less … more

BY DEBBIE MATTHEWS, The Curious Cook | 12/3/20

College focuses on ‘transformative lifelong learning’ for Chatham residents

Enrollment at North Carolina’s stellar system of community colleges typically goes up as the job market weakens. And while that’s been the case at some of the state’s colleges, it’s not … more

12/3/20

Pittsboro church works to ‘take a stand’ against injustice of racism

The Local Church, based in Pittsboro, has created an Anti-Racism Task Force to both address it and work to dismantle it proactively. This week, we speak with pastor Rev. Brent Levy and Katie Barnett, … more

11/26/20

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