Editors' Picks: Our Favorite Charlotte Magazine Stories of 2015
PICKING OUR favorite stories from 2015 wasn't an easy task. This year, we took to the clouds with the greatest female skydiver in history, reflected on what we expect from our city, and mourned tragedies with our neighbors. Below, revisit the best feature stories and essays from Charlotte magazine and www.charlottemagazine.com in 2015, as chosen by our editors and writers. These are stories that, whether you're reading them again or discovering them for the first time, will have you hanging on every word.
1. Grounded
Cheryl Stearns was on a mission to collect her 20,000th skydive, until things down on earth got complicated
By Michael Graff
2. Can Charlotte Make You Happy?
The lead essay from November's Happiness Issue
By Richard Thurmond
3. First and Last Words
A writer, a hermit, and Oreo cookies: The strange and sad tale of Cole Waddell's first magazine story
By Michael Graff
4. My Month Off Social Media
14 followers gained, 8 pounds lost, 0 regrets
By Matt Crossman
5. We Still Have a Race Problem
Why are we so afraid to talk about it?
By James E. Ford
6. Charlotte vs. Raleigh: Are We Rivals or Friends?
North Carolina’s two largest cities have grown up and become peers now. Cohorts! Friends! But sometimes old rivalries rise again
By Scott Huler
7. Behind These Masks: Hinds' Feet Farm
Why the family that built Lance crackers is now on a mission to help people with traumatic brain injuries on a farm in Huntersville
By Matt Crossman
8. Heirloom: The Story of a Meal
A raw nut, a chef, and a vision that could transform Charlotte’s food scene
By Leigh Ann Henion
9. Why a Black Pastor Feels Called to a White Church
From the September issue
By Lisa Rab
10. On the Fourth Day in Chapel Hill
A portrait of a reeling college town in its most difficult week
By Mike Ogle
11. Last Land on 485: The Oehler Family Farm
One farming family watched Interstate 485 creep closer to them from both sides for nearly three decades, until their land was the last link in the loop. They never protested. They never tried to stop it. But when they saw the road open in early June, a piece of their family was lost
By Stuart Watson
12. Steve Smith Has Something to Say
As he begins his final season in the NFL, the former Panthers star has more than a few words about icing up, carpool duty, and life after football
By Adam Rhew
And one more you have to see:
The Scars of Charlotte Chefs
By Kristen Wile
