Tripodi's Delicatessen and Restaurant opened at University Mall on December 8, 1982. It offered Italian, Jewish and German food. Tripodi's was styled after the old corner New York City delicatessen. Among the items they made fresh daily were bagels, danishes, coffee cakes, turnovers, cream puffs, Italian flat breads, rolls, sausage, sauces, pasta and meatballs, cheesecakes, chocolate cakes, lemon cakes, carrot cakes, coconut cakes, Boston cream pies, sour cream choc squares, lemon squares, éclairs, cream horns, and a wide variety of cookies.

Tripodi's Delicatessen at University Mall in Chapel Hill

One of the most popular items on the menu was their Saucey Heel, a half loaf of Italian bread hollowed out and stuffed with two homemade meatballs and cheese, smothered in Tripodi's homemade Italian sauce. Other favorites included their Reuben sandwich, potato pancakes, and omelets.

Tripodi's Deli second location on Franklin Street

Dean Smith was a regular at Tripodi's as were most of his coaching staff including Bill Guthridge and Roy Williams. UNC football coach Dick Crum had a good luck table he would sit at on Fridays before a home game. He would have a slice of carrot cake with his meal.

Chapel Hill resident and big-band leader Kay Kyser, a regular customer at Tripodi's Deli

Billy Carmichael was a regular and when the place was full he would come in the kitchen and sit at the baking table and have his favorite meatball and bacon in a dish. Legendary Big Band leader Kay Kyser would come in for a late afternoon lunch and listen to music from the 1940's that the restaurant would play in his honor. The man who designed most of modern Chapel Hill, Joe Hakan, always fantasized about being a short order cook and gave it a try one day at Tripodi's.

Entrance of Tripodi's Deli at University Mall in Chapel Hill

Tripodi's also opened a little bistro on Franklin Street. 

by Charly Mann

1969 was the final year of a tumultuous decade in Chapel Hill history. While it was the few that got the fame and notoriety, it was the many that were the fabric, heart and soul of this great class.

Typical student attire and socialization between the sexes at UNC in 1969.

There were more than 12,000 students enrolled at UNC that year, but it was the five stars on that year's top ten basketball team and less than 200 anti-war and social activists, like myself, who got the media attention then and are highlighted in today's history of that year. In reality, the majority of the more than 2,000 seniors that year were primarily politically and socially conservative and were focused on getting an education that would lead to a career. A poll conducted by the Daily Tar Heel showed Richard Nixon and George Wallace had been the top choices of UNC students in the 1968 presidential election. And while most students enjoyed the music of 60s bands like Rolling Stones and the Beatles, only a handful of students emulated their bohemian clothing style or long-haired look. Male students' standard attire was khaki pants and button down Oxford shirts with loafers. Most coeds wore dresses or a skirt and blouse. It was not the hippie look that most associate with the 1960s that predominated Chapel Hill then but the frat look, and there were more than half a dozen clothing stores that catered to this style on Franklin Street.

This is the UNC Kappa Alpha fraternity with girlfriends decked out in Confederate army uniforms. They are honoring Old South Day which celebrates the virtues of the South before the Civil War.

The UNC Black Student Movement (BSM) was a new organization on the UNC campus in 1968 and 1969. There were still few black students on campus then, and most black students felt socially isolated and segregated from much of campus life. This is Preston Dobbins, UNC Class of 1969,  who was one of the founders of this organization.

To relax from the hours of classes and study, the main distraction was beer consumption which was enjoyed, often to great excess, by most members of the student body. The bigger difference at UNC between 1959 and 1969 was sex, with birth control pills becoming popular among UNC coeds, easy access to condoms throughout town, and little stigma or embarrassment among the males buying them (often in large quantities). When I spoke to students who attended UNC before 1965 only a handful ever admitted having a sexual relationship and that was primarily with a prostitute. By 1969 the number of UNC students reporting having sexual relationships while at UNC were 60% for men and 55% for coeds. 

Playboy was the most popular magazine among male UNC students in 1969. It was portrayed as sophisticated and intellectual with its well-written articles. In truth it was bought for the nude pictures of their "girl next door" playmates as this 1969 UNC dorm room photo demonstrates.

UNC Seniors Class of 1969
Top Row: Rose Little Grantham, Temple Grassi, Reginald Ogburn Graves, Nancy Louise Grayson
Row Two: Samuel Toler Greathouse, Jesse Franklin Green, Stephen Neil Greenberg, Carolyn Lois Greene
Row Three: Rebecca Evelyn Greene, Richard Harlee Greene, Mary Maxwell Gregg, Don Nelson Gregson,
Row Four: James Rowland Griffin Jr, Frank John Griffith Jr, Dorcas Corneilia Grigg, Sidney Ray Grimes Jr
Row Five: Steven Howard Grossman, Gregory Kent Grove, Richard Arthur Grubar, Patricia Elaine Guarino

UNC Student on phone in UNC dorm. There were no phones in the rooms, nor cell phones. As many as forty students shared a single hall phone in 1969.

In ancient times like 1969, before the cell phone and Internet, students spent a lot more time socializing. In those days almost everything was real, and little was virtual. While the technology of today is great for finding information or connecting with faceless people, in those days you learned to reach out to other human beings. Politeness was commonplace and people were much more energetic. Doing research for a class paper was much more difficult and students spent much of their time in the library. Today with a couple of "Copy" and "Paste" commands on the computer it is easy for students to plagiarize a composition on almost any subject.

1969 UNC coeds spending free time together before the Internet Age

by Charly Mann

Harold McCurdy was a truly extraordinary man, A UNC Kenan Professor of Psychology who was probably Chapel Hill's most knowledgeable resident and the epitome of what is referred to as a polymath. He was a man who excelled in many things and had an almost limitless capacity to learn and become accomplished in any subject that interested him. He came to UNC in 1949, the same year as my father, William Robert Mann, and they quickly became good friends. I learned much about McCurdy from my Dad.

Harold McCurdy - UNC Psychology Professor and Polymath of Chapel Hill

A subject that McCurdy was keenly interested in was what factors most contributed to someone becoming a genius. After considerable study of the lives of twenty geniuses McCurdy wrote The Childhood Pattern of Genius. His first conclusion was that genius was most common among children who spend the majority of their time with adults and little time with children near their ages unless they were siblings. His research actually showed that preteen children who are sent to school and must do their socializing with their peers are significantly impeded in their intellectual and character development. Boys he found are particularly impaired if they begin interacting with people their age before 14. His second discovery was that highly intelligent and socially mature children are usually immersed in the interests of adults around them, and are allowed the time and loving support to naturally master these subjects. Children who grow up in this kind of environment develop a high degree of intellectual and artistic creativity. Finally he found that most geniuses were given a high degree of family responsibility from a young age that builds self-respect and confidence. This often meant making things that could be useful or even sold, and at a minimum taking a major role in maintaing their home. What this all means is that home schooling is far better than public schools for primary education. Children, McCurdy found, are just not socially or academically mature enough for institutional education until they are teenagers. Children in fact are negatively socialized by having to spend their early youth interacting with other children, and become less creative and much more likely to have mental and emotional problems throughout the rest of their lives.

McCurdy was also an expert on William Shakespeare and wrote a book on his personality. He also did extensive writing and research on D.H. Lawrence and Emily and Charlotte Bronte.

McCurdy was an outstanding poet and several volumes of his poetry were published. Harold McCurdy died in Chapel Hill in November of 1999. The following poem by McCurdy showcases his genius and his love of God.

Meteor

When softly and slowly fell the other night
That meteor flaring through my screen of trees,
Maybe I only was privy to the sight.

Eastward it fell of great Orion's knees
And his dog Sirius; southward of Jupiter;
And it was very bright, brighter than these.

If others glimpsed it (as, say, Lucifer,
Or some dull chunk of matter being consumed),
Let their view of it be as they prefer.

To me it was a miracle, subsumed
Within the ancient mystery and profound
From which the whole starred universe once bloomed.

For look! I was alone on private ground
Awed by the starry heavens at Christmas Eve,
Yet sorrowful, and in self-pity drowned,

Pleading, as one who clamors to believe,
"Oh God, whom none can see and live, do you
Care in the least for us? Did you conceive

Us and this world and come incarnate too
To lodge here? "Me, Lord, have you loved? Me, heard?"
--And then, abruptly, silently, fell and grew

That flare of light, that bright, that lordly word

by Charly Mann

My Evening with Joni Mitchel and James Taylor

On Christmas Eve of 1970 I had just turned twenty-one and was managing the Record and Tape Center at 456 West Franklin Street. It was the largest record store in Chapel Hill history, and had a basement level that included a waterbed store as well as a high-end audio store. It had been a busy day for us, and I had been in the store since about 7:30 that morning. We opened at 10 AM and usually closed at 9 PM, but that night we stayed open until the last customer had finished shopping which was about 9:30. It was several degrees below freezing outside and I was eager to get home. I let my employees leave and started adding the day's receipts so I could place them in a deposit bag to drop off at the bank's night deposit window on my way home. As I was about to leave at 10:15 when there was a knock on the front door of the store from two bundled up people. Annoyed, I approached the door to say we were closed. As I got closer I noticed that the faces looked familiar. As I opened the door I saw in front of me James Taylor and Joni Mitchell, who were at the time the two most popular singer-songwriters in America. James' new album, Sweet Baby James, had been one of the top selling albums in the world since October, and Joni Mitchell's recent album, Ladies of the Canyon, had produced the radio hit, Big Yellow Taxi and her signature song The Circle Game, as well as the song Woodstock which was currently a top hit for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

Joni Mitchell and James Taylor did their Christmas shopping at the Record and Tape Center on Christmas Eve 1970

James explained that he needed to do his Christmas shopping and pleaded with me to allow him to buy some records. Of course I was excited about having James as a customer, but it was Joni Mitchell who I was most in awe of for her magnificent songwriting and incredible voice. I let them both in and James began going through our extensive racks of records and shelves of prerecorded cassettes. He said he wanted to first get some classical recordings for his Dad and I showed him where they were located. I told him to take his time, and explained how the rest of the store was organized. I then locked the front door, and it was just me, Joni, and James inside. Joni looked a bit bored and I offered to take her downstairs to see the waterbed store while James searched for gifts.

The Record and Tape Center opened on West Franklin Street in early 1970. In 1971 a second location was opened in NCNB plaza in downtown Chapel Hill.

Most of the lights in the store were turned off, with just a few security lights left on. I told James to come downstairs when he was finished shopping and I would then ring him up. I was excited about spending some one on one time with my idol, Joni Mitchell. As I recall we both sat on a large waterbed in our darkened basement lit only by several black lights. The long day and the surprise of getting to meet Ms. Mitchell in such an unusual way contributed to me being particularly awkward. I suggested we listen to the new Matthew's Southern Comfort album (which included a cover of her song Woodstock). She seemed delighted and holding the album noted how she had written that song. For some reason, which I have yet to understand, I assured her that she had not written than song, and it had been written by Ian Matthews, the leader of that group. For the record, I have an almost an encyclopedic knowledge of music facts going back to almost 1900, and Joni Mitchell was someone I was especially knowledgeable about, even before she released her first album, so I immediately recognized my mistake. Ms. Mitchell did not argue with my faux pax and remained polite and talkative until James came downstairs to say he had finished shopping.

Joni Mitchell in 1970. James Taylor had been her boyfriend for the last several months of that year.

I walked Joni and James back upstairs to the front of the store where the cash register was located and rang up the records and tapes James had chosen to purchase. The total was more than $110, a huge amount in those days (the average price of an album or cassette was about $3.50). As I gave James his total he began fumbling for his wallet and started to look a bit embarrassed. He said he had forgotten his wallet, and asked if he could come in the day after Christmas and pay for his merchandise. Being in the Christmas spirit and hoping to redeem myself from my embarrassing statement to Joni I said that would be fine.

James Taylor in 1970 at time of the release of his album Sweet Baby James

Early Saturday morning Joni Mitchell came into the store and presented me a personal check for the merchandise James had bought. (I still have a copy of that check somewhere.) I did think it strange that Joni paid for the gifts James got for his family. She was all smiles and seemed to enjoy seeing me again. I asked what they did on Christmas day, and she said they went out caroling. I imagine the Taylors' neighbors on Morgan Creek Road were delighted and surprised to hear and see Joni and James singing  in their yards..

James Taylor painting done by Joni Michell in Chapel Hill over Christmas 1970

The following Monday Trudy, James's mother, came into the store and asked if I would like to display a painting Joni Mitchell had done of James over Christmas. I told her I would be delighted (ecstatic was more like it). She brought it in, and I placed it in the front window of the store for at least two weeksbefore she came to collect it. I am not sure what that painting would be worth today, but I am guessing at least several hundred thousand dollars.

The first song of the music playlist at the top of this article is a rare recording of Joni and James singing live together in 1970. The second selection is James singing Joni Mitchell's Christmas song River.

by Charly Mann

In 1818 the University of North Carolina consisted of the following four buildings, Main Building (now known as South Building), Steward's Hall, East Building (now known as Old East), and Person Hall. Old East was an all purpose building in those days that housed 56 students in 14 small rooms, as well as having several classrooms. The Main Building was just four years old then, and had dorm rooms upstairs and most of the school's classrooms downstairs. The building looked far different then. It was not until 1861 that the small dome was added to the top of the building. The great entrance with the wide doorway was constructed in 1897, and the large porch supported by Roman columns was not added to the south side until 1927.

Map of Chapel Hill, 1818 - View large size

To the left of the Main building was Steward's Hall, a wooden building of 36 by 36 feet which contained four rooms. Two were for students to live in, one was a campus dining area, and the other was a kitchen with a brick floor. By 1818 the University no longer operated this building and it had become a private boarding house. The building was torn down in 1848 and replaced by Smith Hall (which is now the Playmaker's Theater).

Main Building at UNC, now known as South Building.  Upstairs were dorm rooms and downstairs were classrooms

Person Hall is the second oldest building on the UNC campus. It was completed in 1798, and was the site of the University's first graduation in July of that year. In those days students and townspeople simply referred to it as the Chapel. It was then the only church in town, and students were required to attended religious services there every day.

UNC's Person Hall, The UNC Chapel which all students were required to attend daily

First painting of East Building (now called Old East) from 1797

The second oldest home in Chapel Hill today is the Puckett house built in 1796 by the widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Puckett, and stands at 501 East Franklin Street. The Widow Puckett, as she was known, was a very enterprising woman. She rented several rooms in her house to students, as well as offering the best home cooked meals in town. In addition she provided a laundry service for students. Across the street from the Puckett house is Chapel Hill's oldest home built for William Hooper, a university professor. It is located at 504 E. Franklin St., and was recently the home of the great band leader and movie star Kay Kyser.

As you look at this map you can see that in 1818 Chapel Hill only had about a dozen houses and two stores, Trice's and Tom Taylor's store. You can now follow William D. Moseley walking through Chapel Hill in those days in a letter he wrote many years later to UNC professor Elisa Mitchell on  August 15, 1853. 

I would take a stroll through the village, beginning at Nunn's and going eastwardly down the Main Street, first by Mrs. Mitchell's on the right; Trice's store on the left; then Major Henderson's, James Hogg's immediately opposite; then Tom Taylor's store; then, on the left, Edmund Pitt's dwelling, then Tom Taylor's house, then (East of the Raleigh road) President Caldwell's , then Mr. Hooper's; immediately opposite to the latter was Mrs. Puckett's. This was then the principal street. South from Mrs. Nunn's Hotel was William Barbee's house, and then your house (Elisa Mitchell's). Then west was Panell's and Watson's homes. These I believe were at that time the houses composing the village; with two college buildings; and Person Hall, Chapel.

by Charly Mann

The University of North Carolina has one of the most beautiful campuses in the United States. It also boasts one of the top MBA programs in the nation, as well as one of the best urban planning programs. For the last 65 years UNC has strived to excel at something else, football, and has for the most part failed in this effort. The pinnacle for success in football is getting invited to and winning a major college bowl game. By 1940, there were four major Bowl games: The Rose Bowl, The Orange Bowl, The Sugar Bowl, and the Cotton Bowl. During the late 1940s UNC had a very good football team made up of several all-stars who had played football for the military like Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice. During the Justice era UNC got its first three bowl invitations to the Sugar Bowl in 1947, the Sugar Bowl in 1949, and the Cotton Bowl in 1950. Unfortunately, UNC was not a national contender, and lost all three of these games.

1929 UNC team captain Ray Farris and star halfback Strud Nash. The Tarheels went 9 - 1 for the season and were considered the second best team in the country that year. 

UNC desperately wanted to have a great football team, and in 1956 hired Jim Tatum away from Maryland where he had been one of the most successful coaches in the country. He had won the national championship in 1953 and in each of three other years his team had at least ten victories. He had also previously coached Oklahoma to a successful season and a bowl victory in 1947. In Chapel Hill his luck would change. In his first season Carolina won only 2 games, and the following two years his record was a mediocre 6 - 4. There were high hopes for his fourth season in 1959, but he was bitten by a tick and contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted fever and died at the age of 46 before the beginning of the season.

Jim Tatum, UNC football coach 1956 to 1958

Jim Tatum's tombstone is the most prominent in the Chapel Hill cemetery, and reminds those like me of his untimely death and the potential he might have brought to UNC football. Jim Hickey (1920-1997), Tatum's assistant, was UNC's head football coach for the next eight seasons (1959 to 1966). He only managed a single season with a winning record, but in that year UNC did something it had never done before... it won a bowl game.

In 1963 UNC had the best and deepest team it had ever fielded. It featured two All-Americans, halfback Ken Willard and end Bob Lacey. It also had a great quarterback. Junior Edge, who was a brilliant passer and a good runner. UNC went 9-2 that season, losing only one ACC game to Clemson, and to powerful Michigan State on their home field. UNC was invited to play in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida on December 28th against the Air Force Academy.

The UNC - Air Force game was rated a toss-up by sports experts and bookmakers, but the game turned out to be a blowout. The game was dominated by UNC's great fullback, and probably Carolina's best all around athlete, Ken Willard.

UNC fullback Eddie Kesler runs through Air Force defenders at 1963 Gator Bowl game in Jacksonville, Florida

The game began a little inauspiciously with Air Force winning the toss, but after that it was all Tarheels. UNC began its second possession of the game on their own 23. During that drive Willard had runs of 12, 24, and 10 yards. The Big Bull, as he was nicknamed, then smashed it in from three yards for the first score. UNC missed the extra point and with 2:31 left in the first quarter UNC had a 6-0 lead. When Air Force got the ball back they raced down the field to the Carolina 16 before being stopped by an interception at the ten yard line by UNC's Ronnie Jackson. UNC Quarterback Junior Edge then completed a series of long passes to get the ball within a few yards of the end zone and then ran it in himself for the next score. Carolina tried for a two point conversion to make up for the missed extra point but that failed, and UNC now led the game at 12-0 with 9:40 left in the half. The next Air Force drive stalled, and UNC raced down the field for its third touchdown led by second string quarterback Gary Black who threw a series of passes that culminated in a touchdown. Black also tossed another pass for a two point conversion giving Carolina a 20-0 lead. As the first half came to a close the Falcons seemed on the verge of scoring their first touchdown until UNC quarterback Junior Edge, now playing defense, picked off a pass from Air Force Quarterback Terry Issacson at the Carolina two yard line.

Carolina began its second series of the second half with Ken Willard having consecutive runs of 7, 10, and 7 yards. UNC halfback Eddie Kesler then scored from one yard out, and then Edge threw to All American Bob Lacey for another two point conversion giving UNC a 28-0 lead with 4:44 left in the third quarter. Second-string quarterback Black replaced Edge on UNC's next possession and led the team with several long pass plays. The most memorable was a pass to UNC tackle Gene Sigmon, who was made eligible to receive the pass by Carolina's unusual formation. The drive included six consecutive completed passes and ended when Black ran it in from the six yard line. UNC then kicked their first and only extra point of the game making the score 35-0.

UNC Quarterback Junior Edge scores a touchdown for UNC at 1963 Gator Bowl

Throughout most of the fourth quarter UNC used players with names even few loyal fans were familiar with. They were the Carolina third string team, and while they were prevented from running up the score, their defense continued to hold Air Force scoreless for the rest of the game, giving UNC its first ever bowl victory 35 - 0. UNC would not win another bowl game until 1972.

At the end of that day UNC Coach Jim Hickey was the most popular man in Chapel Hill. Ken Willard was voted the game's most valuable player. Hickey had three more seasons at UNC, all with losing records and in 1967 was replaced by Bill Dooley.

A victorious Gator Bowl UNC football team carry coach Jim Hickey on their shoulders

It was not long ago when a UNC college football coach's salary was not that different from that of most professors. Jim Hickey lived in a very modest house on Greenwood Road across from where it intersects with Stagecoach Road. Jim Tatum also had a modest house on Laurel Hill Road, and after he died his wife became a teacher at Durham Academy to make ends meet. In the 1930s the greatest football coach of all time, Knute Rockne, was paid only $10,000 a year at Notre Dame. Today UNC's head football coach Paul Davis has a contract through 2015 that is worth more than $2,000,000 a year, several times higher than any administrator or faculty member at UNC. I love Carolina football but I would rather see UNC recruiting top faculty for its students than spending millions on a football coach.

Contract for UNC football coach Paul Davis: Nov. 27, 2006 – Jan. 15, 2015
Annual Salary: $315,000
Bonuses/Perks:
• In order for UNC-CH to provide the coach with a compensation package that is competitive with other institutions, UNC-CH agrees to make supplemental compensation payments to coach in the following amounts:
o Sept. 2007: $750,000
o Dec. 2007: $250,000
o March 2008: $287,500
o June 2008: $287,500
o Sept. 2008: $287,500
o Dec. 2008: $287,500
o March 2009: $300,000
o June 2009: $300,000
o Sept. 2009: $300,000
o Dec. 2009: $300,000
o March 2010: $312,500
o June 2010: $312,500
o Sept. 2010: $312,500
o Dec. 2010: $312,500
o March 2011: $325,000
o June 2011: $325,000
o Sept. 2011: $325,000
o Dec. 2011: $325,000
o March 2012: $337,500
o June 2012: $337,500
o Sept. 2012: $337,500
o Dec. 2012: $337,500
o March 2013: $350,000
o June 2013: $350,000
o Sept. 2013: $350,000
o Dec. 2013: $350,000
o March 2014: $362,500
o June 2014: $362,500
o Sept. 2014: $362,500
o Dec. 2014: $362,500
• Coach shall receive a $157,000 retention bonus each year
• 1/12 his salary if the football team is invited to participate in the ACC Conference Championship
• 1/12 his salary if football team is invited to participate in a post-season bowl game other than an ACC first or second choice (non-BCS) bowl game or a BCS game
• 1/12 his salary if football team's graduation rate equals that of the undergraduate student body
• $30,000 annual expense allowance per year for entertainment and other purposes to advance the university's football program
• Coach shall be entitled to operate a summer football camp, for which he could receive outside compensation
• Coach shall be entitled to advise and comment on all proposed scheduling of university football games