Book excerpt: A compilation of over 250 vintage letters written by family, friends and business associates of Livingston N. Clinard of Salem, North Carolina. The letters document the personal experiences of a close-knit 19th century family and contain detailed eyewitness accounts of early business and social activities. Other letters discuss politics of the era, concerts and entertainment, local fairs, balls, temperance meetings, the railroad, tobacco, the marriage of Frank Clinard and the birth of several of his children. Also included are the hotel business in Athens, GA, descriptions of the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and correspondence about medications from World's Dispensary Medical Association used by Mrs. Livingston Clinard.