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March is always a busy month. As the weather turns warmer, people start getting out of the house more than during the cold, dreary winter months. And people start sending us more events to add to our community calendar section. (It’s on page 2 in the News Herald and on the front page, left sidebar in the Gates County Index.)

I encourage everyone to check out the list each edition. You may find something interesting that’ll catch your eye. There’s always something going on around here to enjoy!

Recently, I was looking back at articles I’ve written about in March in the past years.

Last year, much of my March coverage was about the primary election. Northampton County had a recount and some election challenges due to the close race for the local state house seat (for District 27). Eventually, the recount confirmed that challenger Rodney Pierce had unseated Michael Wray.

In 2023, I wrote about a variety of things happening. One that sticks out was the “prayer march” held in Murfreesboro by the Hertford County United group. They advocated for bringing the community together and putting an end to violence. A large group of people, including pastors from several local churches, came out to participate in the event. It was nice to see so many people there supporting the cause.

A lot of things were happening in March 2022. Two years after the pandemic started, local school districts changed their mask mandates to mask optional, a sign that things were slowly starting to ease up. In Northampton County, they hired their new county manager, Julian Phillips, and awarded the construction bid to the firm who was going to build the new courthouse. (That building opened last year.)

And Como native, Tobias Hill, made his appearance on American Idol, giving our rural part of North Carolina a national spotlight for a few weeks. That was quite exciting!

A year earlier, in March 2021, Conway native Deion Warren appeared on The Voice, also showcasing that amazing talent can come from right here in our area.

March 2020, of course, was much different than what anyone expected. Things started off as usual. I wrote a few stories about the election primary results, as usual, and I covered the Murfreesboro Chamber of Commerce annual banquet. But that was the last event before everything started getting shut down thanks to the pandemic.

After that, all my stories for the rest of the month were about covid responses. We’d never experienced anything like that before, and everyone was figuring out the best way to navigate a pandemic.

Looking back at the years before 2020 almost feels like looking at a different world. But many of the stories are the same kinds of things I’d write about today. Local government updates, happenings at our local school districts, interesting community events to bring people together, new businesses that opened, and more.

All these stories are just a brief glimpse into what happened in the Roanoke-Chowan area in the past. March can be an exciting month sometimes!

In my nostalgic stroll down memory lane, I also looked back at various columns I wrote in March as well.

Last year, I shared a fun one about similar words that are easily mixed up: like “hurdle” and “hurtle.” The first is the track & field sport that involves leaping over obstacles on the track. The second is “to move rapidly or forcefully.” (As in, throwing a baseball and then watching it hurtle through the air until it reached its target.)

In March 2022, I shared an interesting story about a blind person who did sports radio broadcasting part-time. Even though he couldn’t see the basketball game happening in front of him, he relied on his other senses – like hearing – to follow what’s happening. It was a really cool story. But what I liked the most about it was that it showcased how important it is to give someone an opportunity and support to do something they care about.

Inclusion and accessibility are important. Everyone should be able to have that same kind of support, regardless of any disability they may have. Inclusion may mean doing something different than usual, but it’s worth the work it takes to accomplish.

A funny thing happened in March 2021, and I couldn’t resist writing about it. You might remember that a large container ship got stuck in the Suez Canal, causing a watery traffic jam for several days. Perhaps we were all still a little loopy from months of staying at home for the pandemic at that point, but lots of people online had a lot of fun making jokes about the incident.

Mostly, it just reminded me of fond memories of summer trips to Camp Caswell and watching container ships float by on their way to the Wilmington Port.

Back in 2019, I wrote about Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day (observed annually on March 8). Both exist to shine a spotlight on pioneering ladies who have made awesome contributions to the world and those who are still striving towards equality. I personally appreciate the women who worked hard to make sure all ladies now have the right to vote.

I encourage everyone to take some time to learn more about important women in history – even local ones – who have made an impact. There is still a long way to go, but you can find plenty of inspiration in their stories.

And lastly, on a personal note, March always marks the anniversary of when I started working at this newspaper. That was back in 2017! Can you believe how fast time flies?

 Holly Taylor is a Staff Writer for Roanoke-Chowan Publications. Contact her at holly.taylor@r-cnews.com or 252-332-7206.