Who Were The Mordecais?

By Amber Nimocks,

Published May 6, 2011 at 12:44 PM EDT

An 18th century home and several other historic buildings sit on a tract of land on Wake Forest Road in Raleigh known as Mordecai Historic Park. Neighbors of the property are atwitter about the city's plan to build an interpretive center at the site. At one time, the Mordecais owned one of the largest estates in Wake County and were among the area's most powerful families. They were also one of the few prominent Jewish families in central North Carolina during the 19th century. Host Frank Stasio talks about the family's remarkable history with author Emily Bingham, author of the book "Mordecai: An Early American Family" (Hill and Wang/2004).

Amber Nimocks

Amber Nimocks came to The State of Things in January 2009. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a survivor of 15 years in the newspaper business. As a reporter and editor, her posts have included such exotic locales as her hometown of Fayetteville, Robeson County, Wilmington, Raleigh and Fort Worth, Texas.

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Frank Stasio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.

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