When residents of North Carolina purchase a new vehicle, they can choose among three standard license plates. The most common plate says: “First in Flight.” Two other choices are “In God We Trust” and “First in Freedom.”
All tagged mike parker
Mike Parker: April 18 – A Busy Saturday
This Saturday, April 18, promises to be a busy day for those interested in food and music. The CSS Neuse Foundation is hosting this year’s first “Breakfast on the Boat” on April 18. The event will begin at 7:30 a.m. at the CSS Neuse II, the replica gunboat in dry dock at the corner of Herritage and Gordon streets.
Mike Parker: Historic church and local people appear in online video
If you type “Ed Terry The Circuit Riding Preacher” into a Google or YouTube search, you will arrive at a link to a video that features a historic church in Lenoir County: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGn0l7ovnnc
Mike Parker: ‘Life’s Little Instructions’ struck pedagogical pay dirt
Thinking back to the years I spent as a classroom teacher sometimes makes me proud. One of a teacher’s most gratifying experiences is giving students an assignment that seems to resonate with them – well, most of them.
Mike Parker: The quest for liberty for women began early in the US
Although women did not have the guarantee of general voting rights until the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on August 18, 1920, women who owned property in New Jersey were allowed to vote from 1776 through 1807. Beginning in 1869, women in the Western territories won the right to vote.
Mike Parker: 21st Annual Karate Madness Open coming March 28
Competitors of all ages are eagerly gearing up to showcase the skills and techniques they have diligently worked to develop throughout the year at the Twenty-First Annual Karate Madness Open Championship.
Mike Parker: Pool of teachers drying up
In the modified words of “Cat’s in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin, “I long since retired” as a teacher. In June of 2011, I said my good-byes to students and staff at Farmville Central High School and entered the wonderful world of retirement.
Mike Parker: Remember Dr. Carver for more than peanuts
When I taught students the importance of limiting their research topics, I told them a parable centered on Dr. George Washington Carver. The story goes something like this:
Mike Parker: Attitudes caught, not taught
Is solving our community relations problems an important goal? What do problems with race relations and our city-county rift mean in our everyday world? The answer to the first question is “yes.” The answer to the second question, in a word, is “much.”
Mike Parker: First African American published poet bore name of slave ship
Phillis Wheatley’s name is probably better known by many high school students today than it was during my generation. Frankly, I never heard of Phillis Wheatley when I was cracking the books in my American literature class in 1967. I became familiar with a few of her poems as I constructed my syllabus for Major American Writers at East Carolina – at least two decades ago.
Mike Parker: Place names reflect Kinston’s history
Most citizens who drive through this city have little awareness that the street names preserve and reflect the city's history prior to the American Revolution. In December of 1762, the General Assembly passed an act to establish the town of Kingston on land belonging to William Herritage at Atkins Bank. Herritage, for whom Herritage Street is named, donated the first 100 acres of what became “Kingston” and later “Kinston.”
Mike Parker: Join the Navy and see a world of local history
On February 6-8, the CSS Neuse Foundation will offer a special event for those interested in local history from 1861 through 1865. The CSS Neuse Foundation is responsible for the CSS Neuse II, a full-scale replica of the original CSS Ram Neuse. This ironclad gunboat was outfitted and stationed here in Kinston.
Mike Parker: Dr. King: Student before Legend
Every school child knows – or should know – about Dr. Martin Luther King’s importance to the Civil Rights Movement. We have all heard stories about his fight for equality. We know he died on April 4, 1968, struck down by an assassin’s bullet as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
Mike Parker: The common sense of ‘Common Sense’
As we contemplate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, we cannot overlook one of the most significant works written not only to support the push for independence, but a work that also plainly argued that anything less than independence from Great Britain placed the colonies as second class citizens as long as that bond existed.
Mike Parker: The joy of spending time with family
As 2025 ended and 2026 was being born, I had the opportunity to spend a week with my children and grandchildren at North Myrtle Beach, SC. Each year, we try to travel somewhere together to put aside our jobs and daily demands and focus on family. This year, all my children and all but one of my grandchildren made the trip.
Mike Parker: As the year closes, my only resolution – practice gratitude
As 2025 draws to a close, I have realized how much complaining I have heard – and done – this year. I confess that fault to my shame. I have so much in my life that brings me joy. Yet, too much of the time I focus on the negatives.
Mike Parker: What do you want for Christmas, Dad?
Sometime around Thanksgiving, children begin firing the question that never seems to end until Christmas Day.
Mike Parker: Has the Spirit of Christmas Past died?
The National Retail Federation released its annual holiday forecast on November 6, predicting retail sales in November and December will grow between 3.7% and 4.2% over 2024. That figure translates into total spending between $1.01 trillion and $1.02 trillion.
Mike Parker: Christmas brightened hearts in Kingston
What DID Christmas look like around these parts 263 years ago, before the Revolution and our struggle for independence? At that time, this area was part of Dobbs County and pledged its allegiance to King George III.
Mike Parker: Harmony Hall schedules ‘Christmas Open House’ this Sunday
History aficionados will have an opportunity to visit the oldest structure in Kinston from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. on Sunday, December 7, when Historic Harmony Hall opens its treasures to interested members of the public.