American Mystery X: The Lost Colony, Roanoke, NC

The first and perhaps greatest mystery in American history is the fate of the lost Roanoke Colony. While our nation’s past is smattered with enough legends to fill a Nicholas Cage movie, the disappearance of an entire British colony ranks high.

The Lost Colony, as it is now colloquially called, was established on Roanoke Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Colonists traveled from England in a series of three voyages beginning in 1585, overseen by Sir Walter Raleigh, who had been granted charter for the colony by Queen Elizabeth I. Voyages were led by artist John White, whose granddaughter Virginia Dare was the first English child born in North America.

In 1587, after failing to receive supplies from the motherland, White returned to England to request assistance from Sir Walter Raleigh, but the presence of the Spanish Armada caused the Queen to halt the sail of all ships for fear they would be overtaken by the enemy. Three years passed before White was able to sail back to America.

When White returned to Roanoke, he discovered that the settlers and their homes were completely gone - not burnt to the ground, not with arrows and tomahawks in the trees and rotting carcasses strewn about, but more as if the colony had never existed. All he found was the letters “CRO” carved into a tree and the word “Croatan” etched into a post. Unable to search deeper inland because the Queen apparently only allotted White to travel with the wimpiest crew of ocean-crossing explorers, he was unable to track down the missing colonists, who were never seen or heard from again.

Recreation of medieval-style fortress possibly used by Roanoke settlers.

One can’t blame people for getting antsy and a little anxious while waiting for help for three years. Today, people get cranky if they have to wait an extra three minutes for their latte, heaven forbid the milk steamer is working a little slow today and the line is extra long. Three years for the necessities while in the middle of the strange, tempestuous badlands that were 16th century America must have seemed like an eternity.

And while the feasibility of an alien abduction or cannibalism might be better suited for another Nicholas Cage movie (you’re welcome, Hollywood), the reality, according to most historians, is far more plausible.

The going got tough, and the tough got creative.

Historians believe the colonists, scared for their future and lacking in resources and supplies, joined a tribe of Native Americans, which seems to be a much more plausible theory among a group that considered siding with the Spanish rather than wait for help from the Brits. The colonists had a synergistic, collaborative relationship with the Native Americans, who showed them it was possible to survive off the land. Historians are now beginning to trace their trajectory, using British residents claiming to be relatives of those on the original journey to descendants of Native American tribes where people have been born blue-eyed and fair-skinned. As Jesse Pinkman would say, “Yeah, SCIENCE!”

Textbooks illustrated a much bloodier scenario, where the non-white, non-Christian “savages” tore through the colony, killing every single person they encountered and eliminating all evidence. Contrary to that gory theory, remains of disemboweled settlers (or any settlers at all) have never been discovered.

But why would a jingoistic take on history ever want students to think the earliest settlers got along with the Indians, let alone left to join them when things got rough? Unlike later settlers, these early pioneers were not looking for real estate. They were looking for riches. Therefore, the Indians did not pose a threat. It was no different than traveling to another country today. You like the people who live there and respect that this land is their land, not yours. Without the underlying sense of “olde tyme gentrification,” things will probably stay on the right side of harmony.

Looks friendly to us!

Manteo, the Native American Croatan chief who’s name was adopted for the town where The Lost Colony’s historic site now resides, allegedly assisted the colonists during their first winter and became a steadfast ally to the settlers. It is easy to see why they left their defunct colony to meld with a group of people who obviously had no problems navigating and surviving off of the land. However, that is too big a pill to swallow in a history class meant to instill some form of national pride - that settling on American soil was God’s will, that the Native Americans were little more than savage heathens, and that no English-speaking colony actually failed! (And how dare us to have suggested otherwise!)

In 1937, to commemorate the 350th anniversary of Virginia Dare’s birth, Paul Green’s production, The Lost Colony, debuted, depicting the settlers early days in America up until their mysterious disappearance. In 2012, the play celebrated its 75th season, ensuring the continuity of the story of the people of Roanoke and the civilization that vanished.

Not a bad spot for a play.

When we visited The Lost Colony, we met with Charles Massey, who oversees marketing efforts for the annual production. Massey supports the theory that the settlers ditched their colony to live with the natives because he possesses common sense. As a long-time North Carolinian, Massey understood why the harsh winters that plague the coast on an annual basis quickly became unlivable.

Part of John White’s job was to accurately measure and illustrate images of the landscape, despite having no experience as a cartographer or geographer. One of these maps, entitled La Virginea Pars and dated to 1586, was discovered in 2012 to be an exact match to an ariel photograph taken in modern times. Symbols on the map, studied by researchers at the First Colony Foundation, are believed to indicate that some colonists moved inland and possibly to Jamestown, as they were instructed to do if survival was threatened.

La Virginea Pars.

According to Massey, during the construction of a highway some time ago, workers uncovered remains believed to belong to members of the Lost Colony. This discovery, however, was quickly covered up. Massey also said that a newly discovered map, indicating exactly where they could have settled is now covered by a golf course. He could think of a few reasons why people would not be too keen on closing down a white man’s paradise to excavate bones.

After our meeting with Massey, we watched a film at the visitors’ center about the Lost Colony. To our dismay, the film depicted exactly what our middle school textbooks had - that the colonists were probably chased off and murdered by Indians. Deflated, especially after such an enlightening conversation with a man who was not a park ranger and is a lifelong devotee of the history of Roanoke, we heaved a collective sigh and went on our way.

And by that, of course, we mean we realized that the red-man was responsible for the failure of Roanoke, before going out and buying an SUV and playing a round of golf. Forget you read any suggestion otherwise about the fate of the Roanoke colony and rise for the flag salute!

Dining Review: Clyde Cooper's Barbecue (Raleigh, NC)

Uniquely Carolinian and remarkably tasty, Clyde Cooper’s is a barbecue joint unlike any other. In the heart of downtown Raleigh, Clyde Cooper’s has been a Carolina-style barbecue institution since 1938, and both it’s owners and long-time patrons have no problem letting you know they are the best in the business.

While barbecue has gained the reputation of being a largely Southern cuisine, there are four main regional styles of barbecue in the United States - Carolina, Kansas City, Texas, and Memphis. Carolina barbecue consists of pork which is dry rubbed with spices and smoked in a vinegar-based sauce. Kansas City barbecue is steeped in a thick, sweet sauce after it’s cooked. Texas barbecue is made with a tomato-based sauce and smoked over hickory wood to give it a distinct flavor. Memphis style is slow cooked over a pit and prepared either “wet” or “dry,” meaning with or without sauce.

Clyde Cooper’s is now owned by a husband and wife team, but the man responsible for its namesake ran the restaurant for more than 50 years. His delicious barbecue was not the only thing making Clyde Cooper a local hero. He was one of the first restaurant owners in the area to completely dismiss segregation, happily allowing patrons of any race to not only eat at his establishment, but to also sit wherever and with whomever they wanted. Talk about progressive dining!

The meat at Clyde Cooper’s comes either sliced, chopped, or coarse, which was pretty confusing for two people who have had about as little experience with barbecue as possible. That’s not to say it never enticed us, but growing up in the Midwest and Northeast, barbecue generally meant pulled pork bathed in store-bought sauce and served in a crock pot at family reunions. We both picked sliced barbecue sandwiches, topped with coleslaw and served with hot, fresh hush-puppies and pork rinds. The meat was so tender it nearly melted. The vinegar-based sauce was tangy, zesty, and spicy without being overpowering. Every table comes equipped with extra sauce for diners looking to drench their dish in even more spicy, vinegary goodness.

Clyde Cooper’s also offers barbecue chicken and baby back ribs along with classic sides like collard greens and steamed cabbage.

The establishment recently celebrated their 75th anniversary with a giant party and a fundraiser for the SPCA, which might seem a little ironic seeing as they are a predominantly meat-based restaurant. But hey, any friend to the animals is a friend of ours.

A meal for two cost less than $10, which was completely unfathomable coming from a place where the average cocktail costs the same amount. It seems as though the prices, much like the recipes, haven’t changed since the store first opened. If you’re in the Raleigh area, check out this fiery favorite and sample some incredible Carolina-style barbecue.

Clyde Cooper's Barbecue
109 East Davie Street, Raleigh, NC

919-832-7614

Gone With The Wind Exhibit, North Carolina Museum of History

One of the coolest things Raleigh, North Carolina offers is a free state history museum, which permanently houses an entire floor dedicated to the state's history as well as several rotating exhibitions. For the past fews months, and extended by popular demand, the museum has been home to an exhibit of memorabilia, costumes, and artifacts from the American classic Gone with the Wind. 

As a kid, I coveted a copy of the film my grandmother had taped off cable in 1987, intact with the archaic commercials and fuzzy sound. I didn’t care that it took six hours to watch an already lengthy movie. I swooned over the period costumes, the tangled romances, and the devastatingly handsome Clark Gable.

Alex's note: I grew up having only watched the movie once, in numerous segments, in my 7th grade English class. It wasn't until this January, after buying the movie on DVD for Alexa, that I had a chance to watch it all in one sitting. I found it to be much better than I had remembered. From a cinephile's point of view, it had some groundbreaking cinematography and set design. To use actual outdoor settings rather than studio lots or, even worse, indoor sets to mimic the outdoors, and to do this in full glorious Technicolor, was nothing less than impressive. And I won't lie, that Clark Gable is devastatingly handsome.

Original painted storyboard from the "Atlanta is burning" scene.

The exhibit was a behind the scenes look into a film I’ve loved since childhood. It included original storyboards, photographs, and notes from cast members. Hattie McDaniel, who played Mammy and subsequently became the first African-American to win an Academy Award for the role, sent thank-you notes to nearly every member of the production team, several of which appear in the exhibit. Because segregation was an ugly reality, even in Los Angeles in the late 1930s, McDaniel and the other African-American actors used separate dressing rooms and waited in separate areas between takes. It wasn’t until Clark Gable stepped in and demanded equal treatment for the black actors, threatening to walk off the set, that on-set segregation was done away with.

The film, even in its time, provoked mixed reactions for its portrayal of African-Americans. Butterfly McQueen, who was a dancer before starring as Prissy in Gone with the Wind, famously stated that she struggled with the role as it was difficult for her to play such an unintelligent character.

Alex's note: I've found a lot of the criticism for the film's portrayal of race to be overly PC. The fact is that there were domestics like Mammy and Prissy and they were slaves and they did speak in a certain vernacular. To dismiss historical accuracy as racism is misguided at best, but to make these claims without knowing the back-story of its actors demanding an integrated set is just foolish.

Other artifacts of note were original sheet music from the Gone with the Wind score, a copy of the novel owned by Butterfly McQueen, and the Oscar statue won by Vivien Leigh for Best Actress. Video footage of the 36 screen tests shot in the search for Scarlett O’Hara played on a screen, including one with Paulette Goddard who appeared in Modern Times and The Great Dictator with Charlie Chaplin.

Alex's note: As a Chaplin fan, I admire Paulette Goddard quite a lot. She is probably my favorite of Chaplin's leading ladies in his feature films, but her personality and affect would have made her a terrible choice for Miss Scarlett. If there had been a scene where we met Scarlett's street-wise cousin from the North, then Goddard would have been a shoe-in!

Butterfly McQueen's copy of the novel.

Sheet music to the original score.

Vivien Leigh's Oscar for Best Actress.

The costume section included the outfit worn by Bonnie Blue Butler in the fateful horse riding scene and the straw hat Scarlett wore to the barbecue at Twelve Oaks.

Bonnie's equestrian outfit.

Scarlett's "Shantytown" dress.

Scarlett's hat for the Twelve Oaks barbecue.