GRANVILLE COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM: The State of North Carolina recently dedicated a roadside historical marker honoring Sam Ragan outside of the Berea Branch Library on US Highway 158. Ragan was born in the Berea community in 1915 and later became a prominent journalist and poet. He served as the first Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources beginning in 1972 under Governor Bob Scott and was named “Poet Laureate for Life” by Governor Jim Hunt in 1982.

In addition to his service to the State of North Carolina, Ragan served in World War II and was a reporter for the San Antonio Evening News before becoming an editor and columnist for the Raleigh News and Observer. His column “Southern Accents” was syndicated nationally and internationally, eventually becoming the longest- running newspaper column in U.S. history.

In 1968, Ragan purchased the Pilot newspaper in Southern Pines, where he continued writing the column until his death in 1996. Ragan was renowned for his poetry, and two of his six published collections were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. He was inducted into the North Carolina Journalism Hall of Fame and was instrumental in the founding of the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame. Local author Lewis Bowling published a biography of Ragan in 2020, “Sam Ragan: North Carolina’s Literary Godfather.” Bowling led a short program about Ragan’s life before the historical marker was unveiled.