Burke County's people and their profiles rank as The Paper's No. 1 stories

A strong community newspaper has the responsibility of telling its readers what local governments are up to, how their tax dollars are being spent, who’s facing charges in the courts.

But we at The Paper believe we have another responsibility as well — to tell the story of the interesting people who live among us and the fascinating lives they lead, the contributions they make.

For that reason, we decided to make “People” our No. 1 news story for 2025.

Over the last year, you’ve read about Morganton’s Caroline Duncan, who decided it’s never too late to hike the entire route of the Appalachian Trail and to love every moment of the experience.

Not familiar with how the Civil Rights struggle impacted Black residents of Burke County? We shared the story of Bruce Hawkins, who battled prejudice and discrimination to become a true leader in our community.

Have you noticed the two energetic young women in downtown Morganton who look like they might be related? We shared the story of twin sisters Makenzie McGinnis and Madelyn Hogston.

Makenzie serves as Morganton’s Main Street Coordinator, while Madelyn is the communications and marking specialist for the Burke County Chamber of Commerce. Their offices are just across the Old Courthouse Square from each other.

“Ervin” is perhaps the most storied name in our county’s history — from Sen. Sam J. Ervin Jr., to Federal Court of Appeals Judge Sam J. Ervin III, to retired judges and brothers Jimmy and Bobby Ervin.

Bobby, soon after his retirement, sat down with The Paper to talk about growing up as a member of the Ervin family, about maintaining fairness and order in his courtrooms, and about what his future may hold.

An attorney who remains in practice and is in fact the longest serving member of the Burke County Bar, Dick Beyer, also talked with us about his life and the changes in the legal profession over the past 50 years.

Phil Scarboro has been in the restaurant business nearly as long as Beyer has been a lawyer, most recently as owner of the landmark eatery, Timberwoods.

Scarboro talked about the challenges of keeping his prices reasonable at a time when food costs are soaring and about how lucky he has been to have a core group of employees at the restaurant for decades.

Thea Yang and her family came to America nearly four decades ago as political refugees from Laos. She shared the stories of that flight for freedom and of their adjustment to life in America.

Thea, who is now values and culture director for The Industrial Commons, also spoke about the Hometown Walkabout program and how it works to bridge the gaps between the various cultures that make up Burke County’s diverse population.

Other stories highlighted Roger Duckworth’s brush with death during a Sunday service at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church; Lance Huss, a Drexel native named superintendent of South Mountains State Park; the Rev. Kevin Frederick and his work against domestic violence; Jim Pless, the man who keeps downtown Morganton green and beautiful; and Josiah Brown, who retired after a long career in law enforcement.

Sadly, Burke County lost some caring and influential people during 2025, and we told the story of their lives also.

One of the best-read stories of the year was a remembrance of the life of Morganton barber Burl Sain, who died in February, written by Editor Emeritus Bill Poteat.

Other memorial stories celebrated the lives of Dr. Gresham Orrison, attorney Doc Teele, political and business leader Jim Jacumin, and businessman and community stalwart John Greene.

And finally, a Veterans Day story which drew comment from many readers recounted the life of Robert Duckworth, a Burke County youth who survived five woundings in the Vietnam War, only to die in a traffic accident soon after his return home.

We were honored to share these stories of people with you in 2025, and we look forward to continuing that tradition in 2026.

(Bill Poteat is always looking for interesting people to write about. If you have someone who you think would make a great subject for a story, email him at bill@thepaper.media or give him a call at 828-448-0195.)

— BP