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I don’t mean to bore you with something previously stated in this exact space, but newspapers – especially those, like us, covering smaller communities – are the best source of local history.

Our archives, which date back to 1914, contain pages and pages of history – from little known facts, to society, to sports, to major news events that occurred within the Roanoke-Chowan area.

For example, last week I was looking up some info on the now late Jimmy “Catfish” Hunter, a hotshot pitcher who played locally with American Legion Post 102 before launching a Major League Baseball Hall of Fame career with the Kansas City/Oakland A’s and the New York Yankees.

As part of my research on Hunter, I “hit” on a newspaper ad published in the June 18, 1971 edition of this newspaper. The ad wasn’t about Hunter, but rather about his American Legion baseball coach in Ahoskie, Albert “Al” Vaughan. I forgot that Coach Vaughan once owned and operated the Arrow Drive Inn, located just south of Ahoskie on US 13. That business, in its heyday, was a popular spot to hang out.

The ad focused on Coach Al’s golden fried chicken. You could sink your teeth into a chicken dinner (one-half of a chicken) for $1.40. That meal included French fries, slaw and rolls.

If you were hankering for larger servings, the ad boasted of a Family Box (8 pieces of chicken) for $1.95….a Bucket of Chicken (12 pieces) for $2.95….a Tub of Chicken (16 pieces) for $3.75….and a Barrel of Chicken (24 pieces) for $5.

And on every Thursday, the Arrow featured all you can eat chicken pot pie for $1.

“Whatever the occasion, Coach Al’s golden fried chicken will make it a feast. Call us first and your order will be ready when you arrive to pick it up. Or you and the family can dine at the curb in your car or in the Arrow’s exclusively decorated dining area that’s private and comfortably air conditioned,” according to the ad.

More research on Al Vaughan produced a story that told of his resignation in 1971 as a teacher and coach at Ahoskie High School to go into the restaurant business. Vaughan is a 1952 graduate of Ahoskie High School where he was a star athlete in football, basketball, and baseball.

Another story showed that Odie Bracy was the original owner/operator of the Arrow Drive Inn, which opened in February of 1961. The menu at that time featured country ham sandwiches, hamburgers cooked over charcoal, pit cooked barbecue, and pizza.

There were three serving windows at the front of the restaurant. The parking lot could accommodate as many as 75 vehicles. Music – to include rock and roll – coming from outdoor speakers entertained the customers.

In addition to the Arrow, Bracy also continued to operate the Tomahawk Restaurant (in Ahoskie) along with his brother, Randy.

Apparently, pit cooked barbecue remained a staple at the Arrow. In a newspaper ad from Nov. 8, 1976, customers could enjoy a barbecue sandwich for 65 cents, a barbecue tray for $1.55 or a barbecue plate for $1.95.

Other “bargains” from days gone by that I discovered in the News-Herald archives included a seafood buffet in April of 1980 at the College Inn in Murfreesboro. There, for just $3.95, you could treat yourself to fried shrimp, fried oysters, fried fish, steamed shrimp, fried crab cakes, cole slaw, boiled potatoes, hush puppies and lemon pie.

The College Inn was located at the corner of Main Street and Third Street, where the Speedway convenience store stands today.

As a side note, there were numerous black-and-white photographs (framed in sizes 16 x 20 and larger) hanging on the walls of the College Inn. The photography was by the now late Colbert Howell, former president of the North Carolina Professional Photographers Association. Colbert, a native of the Ashley’s Grove community in Northampton County, lived in Raleigh where he once had a studio on Glenwood Avenue. I worked for Colbert in the mid 1970s and among my duties was making those historical prints from his negatives.

If you were looking for last minute Christmas gifts in 1939, an ad from the Ahoskie Department Store in the Dec. 21 edition that year listed men’s dress shirts from $1.48 to $1.95; ties (in gift boxes) from 25 cents to 95 cents; and all-wool flannel robes for $5.85.

For the women on your shopping list, the Ahoskie Department Store had silk gowns priced between 98 cents to $2.95; silk and wool bed jackets from 98 cents to $1.95; and a box of linens (towels, pillow cases, bridge sets, napkins, and scarfs) costing 29 cents to as much as $1.95.

That same edition contained an ad from the Manhattan Café in Ahoskie that promoted to sale of imported and domestic wine, “to make your Christmas dinner complete.”

Using our archives, I traced the roots of the Manhattan Café to Nov. 15, 1919 at which time it first opened inside the Manhattan Hotel.

The Jan. 22, 1926 edition of The Herald had an ad offering a five drawer Oak Chiffoneer for sale for $6.98 at Sawyer-Browne Furniture Company in Ahoskie.

From Nov. 9-12, 1916, local women could shop at Wynn Brothers in Murfreesboro where Madame Grace corsets were offered for $1 to $8.50. There was even an expert at the store specializing in “scientific corset fitting.”

For men, they could visit Askew Brothers in Harrellsville, billed as the “headquarters for the old reliable American Fence wire” that was available to “fence in your hogs.”

In January of 1917, Harrell Brothers in Murfreesboro received 25 head of nice horses and mules and had them for sale at their stables.

Fast forward to 1978 where a full page ad for Larry Freeman Chevrolet-Olds listed a wide range of new and used vehicles such as a 1975 Chevy truck (V-8 with only 12,000 miles) for $5,495 and a 1977 Mercury two-door car for $4,495.

And, finally, a price from 1978 at Harris Supermarket in Ahoskie where one dozen eggs were 69 cents. In today’s world, you’re lucky to find one egg for that price.

Cal Bryant is the Editor of Roanoke-Chowan Publications. Contact him at cal.bryant@r-cnews.com or 252-332-7207.