Edward Perry knew all the news that's fit to print and many other tidbits about the newspapers he sold.

Life Stories:For someone who was a keen observer of life in all its glories and travails, it seemed incredibly unfair for Bonnie Stone to lose her sight toward the end of her life.

On 300 acres in Orange County where hundreds of pricey homes now sit, the silo is the only hint that a languid herd of milk cows used to roam.

Life Stories:Ten years ago, Azalee Sain took her 12th trip to the Holy Land. She had always stayed at the same hotel, but she'd never had occasion to meet the manager, Mahmoud Nasser, until February 1998 as she was descending the staircase into the lobby.

A dyed-in-the-wool outdoorsman who towered 6 feet, 7 inches tall, Moreland Gueth epitomized a modern-day Paul Bunyan. He fought forest fires and tested his mettle in lumberjack competitions. Ax-throwing was one of his specialties.

Life Stories:More than 50 years ago, Audry Heatwole met a guy in English class at Goshen College in Indiana. On their second date, a rainy rowboat ride convinced him that she was the one for him.

Construction and reconstruction -- that was Jim Mealey. For years, he laid flooring and pieced together houses, designing artful additions to existing homes. When the physical labor wore him down, he discovered the deep massage technique of Rolfing an

Anne Hill was by no means what you'd call a party girl, but she did love a good social gathering.

To be or not to be: That is the question. To be funny? Cerebral? Quirky? Impassioned?

Life Stories: Mildred Hopkins was always turning words into stories in her head. After she moved to Raleigh in 1999, she sought an outlet for her literary musings.

Imparting the simple things he'd learned guided his life.

Life Stories:It was a big deal for a boy from a tiny village in Greece to get accepted into what was then the country's only law school. Thoughtful and intelligent, Christ Capetanos would have made a masterful attorney.

Jim Wight recorded world travel in thousands of slides.

Life Stories:Several decades ago, Barbara Watkins changed her first name to Nayo.

Reid Suggs played on UNC's first tournament team.