Before we leave Lake Norman behind, here's one more conversation with Michael Connor.

One of the joys of recording oral histories is discovering where a conversation can lead. Sometimes those moments become the heart of an episode. Other times, they deserve a moment of their own.

In this bonus episode, Michael shares stories that take us from family history to The Color Purple, Quincy Jones, and LeVar Burton—unexpected connections that reveal how deeply our stories, communities, and memories are intertwined.

It's one last stop at Lake Norman before we head to Jordan Lake for the final chapter of the Submerged Towns series.

Featured Voices:

Michael Connor – Community member sharing family history and lived experience.

Music credit:

"Sunshine" – Sister Sai https://sistersai.bandcamp.com/album/ideal-2

What happens after the water rises? The story of Lake Norman didn't end when the flooding began. In this final chapter of our Lake Norman series, we explore how communities adapted, rebuilt, and carried their histories forward. Through conversations with Michael Connor, Richard Eller, Chuck McShane, and Katie Dickinson, we discover that while landscapes change, memory endures—and preserving those stories is what keeps history alive.

Keep Exploring

• Page Leggett, "One Love." SouthPark Magazine https://southparkmagazine.com/one-love/
• Untouchable Panthers https://untouchablepanthers.com/
• "The Perfect Season." Our State Magazine https://www.ourstate.com/the-perfect-season/
• "The Fate of the Long Island Mill." Long Island History Project https://www.longislandhistoryproject.org/the-fate-of-the-long-island-mill/
• Hall, Jacquelyn Dowd, et al. Like a Family: The Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World. University of North Carolina Press.
• McShane, Chuck. A History of Lake Norman: Fish Camps to Ferraris.

Featured Voices

• Michael Connor – Community member sharing family history and lived experience.
• Richard Eller – Historian from Catawba County.
• Chuck McShane – Historian of the Lake Norman region.
• Katie – Huntersville resident sharing childhood memories of Lake Norman's creation.

Music & Sound Credits

Sound Effects

Small Lake Waves by Mick_ https://freesound.org/s/705035/ License: Creative Commons 0 (CC0)

Music

"Long Way" – Rexlambo Source: SoundCloud License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 (CC BY 3.0) Free Download / Stream: https://audiolibrary.com.co/rexlambo/long-way SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/rexlambo/rexlambo-long-way Promoted by Audio Library: https://youtu.be/EVvMLfDoJwQ

"Sunshine" – Sister Sai https://sistersai.bandcamp.com/album/ideal-2

Before Lake Norman existed, the Catawba River shaped daily life across the Carolina Piedmont. Farms, mill villages, churches, and family communities lined the riverbanks for generations.

But in the early twentieth century, that relationship began to change.

In this episode of Made in Carolina, we explore the early creation of Lake Norman and the growing influence of Duke Power along the Catawba River. Through oral histories and historical context, we trace how industrial expansion, the Great Flood of 1916, and hydroelectric development reshaped both the landscape and the lives of the people who called the river home.

Featuring the voices of historians and community members, this episode examines how communities experienced these changes differently—through opportunity, displacement, loss, and memory.

This is the story of when the river began to change.

Featured Voices

• Michael Connor – Family history and community memory
• Richard Eller – Mill villages and labor history
• Chuck McShane – Regional history of Lake Norman and Duke Power
• Katie Dickinson – Childhood memories of watching the lake form in Huntersville

🌊 In This Episode

• The Great Flood of 1916
• The rise of Duke Power along the Catawba River
• Hydroelectric expansion across the Carolinas
• Mill villages, farming communities, and displacement
• Watching Lake Norman take shape in real time
• Community memory and land loss

🎶 Credits

Created, produced, and hosted by Lolita Rowe

Original music by Sister Sai

Additional audio:

• “steady rain_wind gust 158.wav” by leo153 — Freesound.org (CC0)
• “Long Way” by Rexlambo — Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

🌐 Resources & Further Reading

• A History of Lake Norman: Fish Camps to Ferraris by Chuck McShane
• North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources — Flood of 1916
• Duke Energy Illumination: “From Great Flood, New Life for Catawba River” by Akeem Flavors
• French Broad Adventures — “Remembering the Flood of 1916”

💛 Support the Show

If this episode resonated with you, consider supporting Made in Carolina by sharing the show, leaving a review, or buying me a coffee.

Every bit of support helps sustain independent storytelling, oral history, and community memory projects like this one.

☕ Support the podcast: buymeacoffee.com/madeincarolinapodcast

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