Azalea Magazine Fall 2015

PHOTO ESSAY:ABOVE AND BEYOND

MEPKIN ABBEY / COLLEGE FISHING NATIONAL CHAMPION / A BEACH INSPIRED HOME ARTIST KARYN HEALEY / A SYMBOL FELT 'ROUND THE LOWCOUNTRY / M&G RYAN MCELHENY THE ESSENCE OF EVA’S / THE MAKING OF OAK ROAD BREWERY / BARBECUE PIE

Sweet Collection Honey from the hives of April Aldrich

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F E AT UR E S FALL

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82 REEL GENT

Summerville’s resident beekeeper Following the lure of tournament bass does her part to pollinate the fishing, Summerville’s Patrick Walters nets first place Flowertown in the College Fishing National Championship

86 SAC RED GROUND

In a real-life Garden of Eden just outside Moncks Corner, you'll discover Mepkin Abbey

67 ABOVE & BEYOND Above the treetops and beyond the limits of an earthly tether, we gain new appreciation for the familiar landscapes of our daily lives

Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 5

CONT ENT S

/ Fall 2015

27

35 07 Editor’s Letter 12 Contributors FIELD GUIDE A brief look into our local culture 17 Seasonal Football 18 Q&A Ryan McElheny 21 Drink 22 Literary The 50 Books Every Southerner Should Read 24 Etiquette Email Etiquette SOUTHERN LIFE 27 Southern Spotlight - Art 35 Southern Spotlight - Community 38 Southern Spotlight - Food

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59

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OPEN HOUSE 59 Beachy Vibes This Johns Island home is a perfect place to relax and feel the soul of coastal living.

40 Southern Spotlight - Drink 45 Southern Spotlight - Food COLUMNS 47 Natural Woman

by Susan Frampton

47

51 Kids These Days

by Tara Bailey 55 Life & Faith

by Will Browning My Dog Skip Willie Morris

22

O N T H E C O V E R : Fresh Honey from the hives of April Aldrich / Photograph by Dottie Langley Rizzo 6 AZALEAMAG.COM Fall 2015

45

96 THE VILLAGE POET - Fall People

START YOUR DAY ON THE RIGHT FOOT. Or the left. Living here — with trails

that take you to a new school, parks, the Swim Club, the office, and all sorts

of destinations in between — you’ll rediscover the pleasure of leg-powered

transportation. And who knows the connections you’ll make along the way.

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E DI TOR’S LETTER

A Change of Perspective

I

n my family, we are all creatures of habit. At church on Sunday mornings, you will find us in the balcony; center aisle, second row. There is nothing particularly special about those seats, it just happens to be where we sat the week before.

A few weeks back, I was getting in the car with my son, Davison. He usually sits in the back behind the passenger seat, even when it's just the two of us. I tell him that he can ride up front with me, but he always responds, "no, that's OK." He's a creature of habit.

I don't know what caused him to switch it up that day, though I suspect it has something to do with him starting middle school soon. Whatever it was, he changed his mind, and instead of hopping in the back like usual, he asked me to wait and jumped up front with me. He then rolled his window down, keeping his face in the wind for our entire ride.

Within minutes, he was asking me questions. “Dad, are we sitting higher? Are you driving faster than usual?"

Nothing about the car or my average speed had changed; he had simply changed his perspective. Just moving three feet forward had altered his experience entirely. I think we could all use a change of perspective every once in a while.

In this issue's photo essay, "Above and Beyond,” on page 67, we asked photographer Virgil Bunao to do just that, to capture images of some familiar locals in a way many of us have never seen them before. It is our hope that these images offer you a new appreciation for the familiar: a change of perspective.

Will Rizzo Editor in Chief

Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 9

PROM OTION

Enjoy these titles delivered to your door.

Subscribe Today. a z a l e a m a g. c o m palmettomagazine.com

Will Rizzo Co-Publisher and Editor in Chief will@azaleamag.com Dottie Rizzo Co-Publisher and Managing Editor dottie@azaleamag.com Katie DePoppe Editor at Large katie@azaleamag.com Will Browning Faith Editor Jana Riley Staff Writer Susan Frampton Staff Writer

Contributors

It’s a big world out there‌ are you protected?

We provide concierge insurance services for high value homeowners and business owners in Summerville, Del Web, Moncks Corner, Goose Creek and Hanahan. Visit us today at our Summerville office (upstairs in Town Square), one of five Taylor Agency locations serving the Lowcountry.

Tara Bailey Rick Dunbar Jason Wagener Ellen Hyatt Elizabeth Donehue Charles Sweeney Virgil Bunao

Advertising Susan Frampton susan@azaleamag.com 843.696.2876 Susie Wimberly susie@azaleamag.com 843.568.7830 Azalea Magazine 114B E. Richardson Avenue Summerville, SC 29483 info@azaleamag.com www.azaleamag.com 843.478.7717

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F E ATURE D CONTR IBUTO RS

JASON WAGENER / Illustrator Jason started his illustrious art career when he won a coloring contest in third grade, subsequently entitling him proud owner of a Mickey Mouse dry erase board. He moved to the Lowcountry in 1990, and save an education at The Savannah College of Art and Design.

Virgil Bunao /Photographer

Virgil lives in Charleston with his beautiful wife, Courtney & two children, Jacob & Claire.

SUSAN FRAMPTON / Writer

JANA RILEY / Writer

Jana is a writer and editor living in Summerville with her husband, Dan. Jana enjoys adventures with her three favorite kids, Noah, Jude, Forest, and their dog, Alfie.

14 AZALEAMAG.COM Fall 2015

Susan is a writer who has happily called Summerville home for over thirty years. When not at her desk, she spends as much time as possible with her hands in the dirt, or thinking up new projects for her husband, Lewis—who wishes she would spend less time thinking.

TARA BAILEY /Writer

Tara is a writer and editor for SCIWAY.net. She is a Palmetto State native, and lives in Summerville with her husband and three daughters.

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16 AZALEAMAG.COM Fall 2015

PRESENTED BY

ORGANIZED BY

SEASONAL

$25,000 The cost to produce the Vince Lombardi Trophy that is made by Tiffany & Co. of New York.

600

The number of cows it takes to make one full season’s worth of NFL footballs.

Short Game

The average football game is over three hours long with only an average of eleven minutes of game play.

Football

With many of us glued to the couch this fall, here are some facts about the gridiron that you might not know

1943 The year the NFL began to require that players wear helmets.

In the Beginning American football grew out of English sports such as rugby and soccer and became popular on American college campuses in the late 1800s.

2nd Place

Superbowl Sunday is the second highest day for food consumption in the US after Thanksgiving.

Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 19

My favorite thing about the Lowcountry is the food.

Whether it's Beaufort or Charleston, you can always find unique, delicious food.

What is your favorite thing about living in the Lowcountry?

There are many things I love about the Lowcountry. The smell of pluff mud when you are getting close to the coastal marshes, the close proximity to the ocean, rivers and lakes and, of course, the friendly people. However, I would have to say that my favorite thing about the Lowcountry is the food. Whether it's Beaufort or Charleston, you can always find unique, delicious food.

have to say it would be very difficult to live without it.

What is your dream job?

Let me say first that I love my current job and Bossman, [hello Dana]. But, my dream job is to work for the Travel Channel so I can travel all over the world visiting with locals, trying the different cuisines, learning the cultures, and of course—for the cultural experience— sampling the beverages.

Is there a motto that you live by?

I cannot say that I live by any one motto alone, but there are two mottos that were passed along to me by my grandmother, my mother and my father that have stuck with me over the years. The first is 'Everything in moderation—including moderation' (the last part was added around 2010 by an unknown smart aleck). The second is 'Nothing good ever happens when you are out after midnight,' which I have found to be true many times and one that I try to live by most of the time.

Who or what are you a fan of ?

I am a HUGE fan of F3, which stands for Fitness, Fellowship and Faith. We are a group of super motivated guys that enjoy waking up before the crack of dawn and working out. All of the workouts are free and take place at local parks, parking garages and schools, and

20 AZALEAMAG.COM Fall 2015

What's one thing you've bought in the last five years that you could go the rest of your life without?

Q& A

R y an M c E lh e n y Air Systems Sales Hahn-Mason

all incorporate weekly fellowship meetings and devotions which are usually led by the workout leader or 'Q'. It has really changed my life physically, mentally and spiritually and I don’t see myself ever stopping.

Coffee or tea?

I say coffee. But since Summerville is the official Birthplace of Sweet Tea, I will have to start having a mason jar of sweet tea on occasion.

What's one thing you've bought in the last five years that you couldn’t live without?

The one thing I have bought in the last five years that I cannot live without is most definitely my iPhone. I'm not sure how we got along without receiving texts, emails and surfing the net back in the day, but these days I

A few years ago I bought a brush. I don’t need that anymore. (See picture.)

What is your favorite music?

For as long as I can remember I have been a huge fan of oldies from the late '50s to the late '60s. I think I must have been born in the wrong era, I mean, how can you not like that music?

What is your dream vacation?

I am blessed enough to get to go on my dream vacation to Marco Island, Florida, every year with my beautiful wife, Keri and two sons, Max and Jaybo. I can't think of anywhere else I would rather be.

What is your fondest memory of living in Summerville?

My fondest memory of living in Summerville is attending high school football games on Friday nights. The chill in the air, the smell of the freshly cut grass at McKissick Field, the boiled peanuts, the popcorn, the marching band and, of course, the opportunity to watch Coach McKissick and the Greenwave roll.

Great memories. AM

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Drinks

GIN GIN MULE Ingredients 6 mint sprigs 3/4 oz. fresh lime juice 3/4 oz. simple syrup 1 1/2 oz. gin 2 oz. carbonated ginger beer Preparation Place mint leaves in a shaker and gently muddle with the lime juice and syrup. Add the gin and the ginger beer.

Fill with ice and shake well. Strain into an ice-filled glass.

Garnish with sprig of mint.

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Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 23

Literary

The 50 Books Every Southerner Should Read In the “50 Books Every Southerner Should Read” series we’ve aimed to marry the literary classics with what some may consider more approachable and notable mass market works of popularity.

Indeed, it is difficult to encompass, even represent, all areas of the Southern literary canon with only fifty spaces, but the goal is to take the best mix­—from the widely acclaimed classics to young adult literature to more obscure, even controversial works—in an attempt to give readers a taste of the breadth and scope of voice that our region’s writers have to offer.

We want to hear from you. Visit azaleamag.com or join the conversation by becoming a member of our Facebook group, Azalea Mag Book Club. There you will find our comprehensive list in the series (so far) and have a chance to share your thoughts and opinions on what you’re enjoying most. Happy reading!

Why read it?

Although born in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1934, William Weaks “Willie” Morris spent the majority of his life in Yazoo City, Mississippi, a town he later memorialized throughout his writings. Best known for his lyrical and tender prose about life in the American South and small-town living, Morris, an accomplished student who graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and studied as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, later became known as the youngest-ever editor-in-chief of Harper’s Magazine. His first book and memoir, North Toward Home, was a bestseller that also earned him the prestigious Houghton Mifflin Fellowship Award for nonfiction and established his voice as a writer.

The memoir, My Dog Skip, originally published in 1995, is a coming of age tale that follows young Willie Morris from boyhood into adulthood alongside his beloved Jack Russell. A story which only rightfully belongs near Old Yeller and Marley and Me on one’s bookshelf, the novel is a nod to childhood nostalgia and what seems is every Southerner’s deep, sometimes inexplicable, connection to their dogs.

In 1999, the novel was made into a movie starring Frankie Muniz, Diane Lane and Kevin Bacon. In yet another bittersweet twist, Morris passed away just shortly before the movie debuted and was buried in the cemetery near one of his beloved dogs, Pete, who had moved with him from New York back to Mississippi years before.

Look Homeward, Angel Thomas Wolfe

24 AZALEAMAG.COM Fall 2015

Why read it?

Published in 1929 by twenty-nine-year-old Thomas Wolfe, Look Homeward, Angel is a semi-autobiographical work set in fictional Altamont (based upon the author’s hometown of Asheville, North Carolina) that follows the Gant family, especially young Eugene Gant, through the first two decades of the twentieth century. A novel in which Wolfe strives to capture the full complexity and enchantment of American provincial life, the list of themes and subject matters covered is quite lengthy. In fact, the entire novel is quite long—no doubt a testament to Wolfe’s ambition in creating a lyrical, poetic narrative while also detailing a boy’s coming of age story. A feat some critics believe was too ambitious for one book and not quite achieved.

Revised under the tutelage of revered editor, Maxwell Perkins, who also served as editor for both F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, the novel is best understood when read multiple times or in parts. Considered a necessity in the Southern literary canon, critic and essayist, John Higby best summarizes the lasting, quite magical, effects the novel has on readers: “This is the virtue of a long book about ordinary American experience. What is perceived as extraordinary will vary with the individual readers.”

Facing the Music Larry Brown Why read it?

Larry Brown was born and lived in Oxford, Mississippi, for all of his relatively short life. He was a late bloomer when it came to writing. In 1980 at the age of thirty, while working as an Oxford city firefighter, Brown struggled with insomnia and toiled to write four unpublished novels, one right after the other, in the wee hours of the morning while on duty. It would be two more years, in 1982, before his first published short story appeared in Easyriders, a biker magazine. Brown persisted in his larger bodies of work, and his first story story collection, Facing the Music, was published in 1988. It was a defining work, along with his next collection, Big Bad Love (1990), which catapulted him from literary obscurity to fame. He later won numerous awards for his writing.

Like his great influences, William Faulkner and Flannery O’Connor, Brown became labeled as a Southern gothic writer. Surely the presence of eccentric characters and violence in his works allowed him to be titled as such, but Brown’s writing style—quite different in its terse and succinct sentences, raw descriptions and blunt revelations—sets him apart as a writer all his own. Packed with anguish, desperation and tenderness, gritty realism and great insight into the general brutality of life, Facing the Music, at its core, sheds light on the most basic dichotomy of the internal human condition: good that goes bad and bad that wants to be good.

K AT I E DEPOPPE The editor at large for Azalea Magazine and the curator of The Azalea Room, the official blog of www.azaleamag.com Connect with her: Instagram @katiedepoppe

*Also licensed in Washington State

Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 25

Etiquette

7 Points on Email Etiquette

I

know I am not alone in the world of too many emails. We are bombarded, consistently, by digital correspondence. But because so much of what we do at work (and in our personal lives) is done via electronic messaging, perfecting email etiquette is crucial.

The following are a few tips and common courtesies to consider before pressing send:

ELIZABETH DONEHUE Arbiter of social graces, with a heart for simple hospitality and a tendency for adventure, Elizabeth lives in Summerville with her husband Wesley, baby boy Harlowe, and yorkie Gucci.

26 AZALEAMAG.COM Fall 2015

What is your subject?

Take the time to fill in the subject line. This should be a short phrase or sentence describing the contents and attachments of the email.

Keep it short.

Being clear and concise is key.

Break out multiple points or questions as numbered or bulleted items in all email correspondence.

Watch your tone.

Your tone can be easily misconstrued or misinterpreted, so make sure that your greetings and statements are clear, friendly and professional. Be thoughtful about the use of capitalized letters and punctuation, especially exclamation points, for these are helpful in evoking emotion but can be easily misunderstood if used incorrectly.

Email is not private.

Emails are never truly private.

Refrain from sending sensitive or confidential information.

Reply all.

Only use “reply all” when everyone on the list of addresses requires your response. Most of the time, it is sufficient to reply only to the person who sent you the message.

Timely response.

While junk mail and forwards can be ignored, business messages should be addressed within twenty-four hours and personal messages within one to two days.

Check it over.

Email is not as formal as a handwritten letter, but you should always be mindful of spelling, punctuation and grammar.

While the convenience of email proves useful, the courtesies naturally associated with more conventional forms of communication seem to be often overlooked.

Keep these considerations in mind and give all your emails a read-through before hitting send.

You will find that a little time and thought go a long way in building and maintaining communication and relationships. AM

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Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 27

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䤀渀琀爀漀搀甀挀椀渀最 漀甀爀 渀攀眀攀猀琀 瀀栀礀猀椀挀椀愀渀⸀⸀⸀

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圀攀氀挀漀洀攀 琀漀 琀栀攀 瀀爀愀挀琀椀挀攀 䐀爀⸀ 䨀攀昀昀 䈀愀猀椀氀攀℀

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⠀㠀㐀㌀⤀ⴀ㜀㈀㈀ⴀ㠀 簀 䌀栀愀爀氀攀猀琀漀渀䜀䤀⸀挀漀洀

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䴀琀⸀ 倀氀攀愀猀愀渀琀 ㄀㠀 圀椀渀最漀 圀愀礀Ⰰ 匀甀椀琀攀 ㌀ 㔀 䴀琀⸀ 倀氀攀愀猀愀渀琀Ⰰ 匀䌀 ㈀㤀㐀㘀㐀

Art Infused Artist Karyn Healey photographed behind her Summerville Studio

The Bold and the Beautiful A lifetime of artistic influence leads a local artist to discover her own unique style

by Jana Riley

Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 29

The Bold and the Beautiful

State Of The Art Maritime Museum, oil on gessoboard 13 x 20”; Healey in her studio

Y

oung Karyn Healey was scrambling. The art show was just about to begin at her Minnesota art school, and her piece was not quite finished. With the help of her teacher, she frantically glued cotton balls onto the body of her lamb artwork, which her instructor excitedly repeated was “really something.” Finally, they completed the job, and as Healey watched visitors flow through the space, she was shocked to see that not only did a large number of people come to see the artwork, but many of them stopped and looked at her work.

To the budding artist, this was the beginning of what she refers to as “the soup.”

“I think of my life and everything I’ve taken in, everything that has become a part of me, as one big soup,” explains Healey. “All visual memories are part of this soup, and so my art influences are just snatches of memories, all mixed together.”

Healey found herself drawn to art throughout her early childhood, all of which contributed to a deep intrigue in an art-centric lifestyle.

Flashes of her memories include walking through the enormous barn of her family friends who were metal welding artists and being overwhelmed by the scale of the pieces stored within. She recalls the artists’ home, unconventional and artistic, and thought, “this is how artists live.” Later, she remembers another family friend setting up an easel outside during gatherings, oil painting with an enormous straw hat filled with brushes atop her head.

“I just saw artists as so exotic, so cool, and so different,” Healey remembers. Other flashes of artistic influence burn bright in Healey’s 30 AZALEAMAG.COM Fall 2015

memory­—childhood nights spent falling asleep to the sounds of live jazz music in her living room; playing the French horn and piano from fourth grade to college; and the moment when the subject matter of a familiar painting changed after shifting her perspective, leading to a profound realization that art can “change how you see things.”

“All of these little bits and pieces of memories and experiences throughout my life added to the soup,” Healey shares, “But it took many years for the flavors of that soup to develop. If anything, I avoided a life as an artist for quite some time.”

As a child of the sixties and seventies, Healey credits television shows with emerging feminist themes like “That Girl” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” as heavily influential in the type of career she was interested in pursuing.

“I wanted to be on the forefront of things,” she explains. “I pushed fine art aside, because it seemed so nebulous. I wanted to be cutting edge, like my icons. Their lives seemed more hip; part of a different culture.”

Healey goes on to say that if there had been a show featuring a cool twenty-something artist back then, her life might have turned out differently, but those were the social influences of the day.

Healey focused her education on graphic design at Iowa State University, and for the first two years, waded through the standard art school coursework she saw as a hurdle in getting to the “real stuff.” After completing the requirements in art history, watercolor, illustration and painting, she finally got the opportunity to learn hand lettering, logo design and creative branding—the fundamentals and

Something profoundly else.

The seeds have been planted.

And great things are happening here.

A community is forming that celebrates gathering and gardens. Water and woods.

And getting back to the pure power of real.

This is Summers Corner.

New homes from the high $200s.

Dorchester District Two schools.

Grand Opening September 19

summerville, sc Hwy 61 & Summers Drive | SummersCorner.com Prices, specifications and availability subject to change without notice.

The Bold and the Beautiful

On Display Clockwise: Train Station oil on birch 16 x 12”, Industrial Building oil on birch 12 x 9”, Lighthouse Stairs oil on birch 8 x 10", Sunday Morning oil on canvas 8 x 10”, Ashley River oil on paper 6 x 6”

advanced techniques of design for which she’d been waiting. It was 1981, and Healey spent a great deal of time working with her hands and with tools like rapidographs and X-acto knives—work that required enormous focus and repeated attempts to get designs just right. These honed skills later proved to be “helpful in the soup,” she says.

Shortly after graduating college in 1983, Healey married her husband, Jim, and spent the next few decades moving from state to state with his job. They lived in the DC area, then the Midwest, Iowa, Virginia, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Florida, and with each move came a new job for Healey. She sought

out small ad agencies over big design firms, enticed by the opportunity to work one-onone with clients, deciphering their complex needs and translating it into something accessible and instantly relatable--a theme that would resurface in her artistic style later in life. For well over a decade, Healey worked at ad agencies until she fell into her role as a mother, and her perspective shifted again.

“As I watched how my children were inundated with consumerist messages from the media, I realized that by working in advertising, I was a part of that machine,” she explains. “I just didn’t want to be a part of that any longer.”

Healey switched her focus to volunteering, helping non-profit companies make their message “as slick, sexy and dynamic as a

Volkswagen car advertisement.”

From 2003-2008, she helped revamp a public school art appreciation program, helping students learn about famous paintings through all areas of their curriculum. Once she handed over the reins to a colleague, it was time to move once again— this time, to Summerville, South Carolina.

In Summerville, Healey struck up a friendship with neighbor and artist Karen Silvestro, a member of the Charleston Artist Guild. When Silvestro requested Healey’s help to market an art competition, she invited her to join the Guild (a requirement of working on the event), Healey did, though she still chose to not identify herself as an artist in any way.

But soon, Healey began receiving the Guild’s newsletters, and she was particularly drawn to one mention of a “plein air” painting class, focused on oil painting outdoors. She decided to jump in, and, in 2009, after a lifetime of navigating the fringes of fine art, she finally picked up a brush and began painting.

Painting quickly became an important and passionate part of Healey’s life, and she often found herself spending eight hours in front of an easel, painting with fervor and determination. In 2013, preparing for a Magnolia Plantation art event called the “Garden of Dreams Contest,” she began to research Charleston Renaissance artists.

The Bold and the Beautiful

“I didn’t know anything about the Renaissance artists,” Healey admits, “but I found a lot of them to be similar stylistically.

When everyone else zigs, I must zag, so I kept looking until I found one of them who did woodblock painting, and I thought, with my graphic background, ‘I bet I can make an oil painting look like a woodblock.’ And that’s when I did my first bold oil painting.

It doesn’t look like a woodblock exactly, but that’s how I translated it. That started me on my whole graphic thing.”

Healey took her newfound style and ran with it, applying it to industrial buildings, increasing the heavy outlines, simplifying shapes, breaking things down, and studying structure. Often, she would question herself, wondering if the style was “artistic enough,” or if she was just “creating coloring book pages,” but all that changed when she read the book Van Gogh: The Life, and stumbled across a style he used called cloisonnism, described as “a post-impressionist painting style with bold and flat forms separated by dark contours.”

“I read that and saw the paintings and thought, ‘That’s it. That’s what I do,’” Healey shares.

“And all of the sudden I’m really excited about interpreting this technique because there is a rich history in this form. I felt vindicated.”

Fine art and gifts by local artists A gallery of fine art and crafts all made by local artists.

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34 AZALEAMAG.COM Fall 2015

130 Central Ave. 843.871.0297 artcgalleryltd.com

Suddenly, the forms and shapes of Charleston and its surrounding areas became ripe with inspiration for Healey, and she became intrigued at the idea of painting oftendepicted Charleston scenes in a manner never before seen. Focused on taking a dynamic view, using directional lines to guide, and creating graphic, stylized pieces that “jump out at you,” Healey has perfected her style into a unique, beautiful and attention-getting form, everchanging as she produces work after work.

So far, the art has been well-received, earning Healey a place in a juried Piccolo Spoleto show and as a featured artist at the Charleston Artist Guild Gallery in 2015.

The artist attributes her artistic success to her husband’s support and, of course, “the soup.”

“At my age, because of that soup of influences, everything I learned in graphic design, color theory, all of my 2-D design work, all of the people, places and things that I’ve seen in my years, all of this comes together and marinates and gives me so much to draw from. I’m just inspired and intrigued; that is why it’s good to be an old lady painter.” AM Karyn Healey’s work can be viewed at karynhealeyart.com, or at the Charleston Artist Guild Gallery at 160 East Bay Street in Charleston.

This bacon jam is handmade right here in Summerville.

Whether you gift it or cook with it, we promise you need this. $15

Hand-dyed upstate with natural South Carolina indigo, these kitchen towels and scarves represent the Palmetto State in style. $15 - $25

Perfect for mulled cider, wine, and tea, or try one of their dozens of holiday dip, cookie, and casserole recipes.

Also available in a holiday gift envelope. $3.50 - $5

Handpainted wine glasses bring a dose of summertime to your holiday gifts. $20.95

Gourmet H O L I D AY G I F T G U I D E

Find the perfect gift this holiday season for the chef, foodie, hostess, or grillmaster in your life. And don’t forget ― we’re the home of Summerville’s Best Gift Basket, too. Ready-to-go from $15, or customized from scratch in minutes.

Four Green Fields

117-A “Short” Central Avenue, Historic Downtown Summerville fourgreen�ieldsgallery.com | (843) 261-7680

Open Sundays, October till Christmas

Crushed candy gives these Snaps cookies a burst of �lavor and a little extra crunch. $10.95

These incredible pottery salt & pepper shakers are pieces of sculpture for daily life. $60/set

Buy these the �irst time for their fun names. Come back for more because of how great they make your skin feel. $6

Handmade here in Summerville, these wine racks have been a customer favorite for years. $98 - $149

Handcrafted soy candles, featuring our exclusive Summerville Rain scent, and holiday favorites like Christmas Hearth and Apple Maple Bourbon. Available in jars, tins, and wax melts. $7 - $22

Sallie’s simple syrups are handcrafted from fresh, local fruit. Use them to perfect your holiday cocktails and desserts. $14

Hometown Healthcare Roper St. Francis Now in Summerville

There’s no place like your hometown. You know the faces at the store and your favorite restaurants.

There’s a sense of trust and connection that you can’t find anywhere else.

Roper St. Francis is happy to announce that we are now a part of Summerville. This summer, we will be opening three new locations, and we are excited to be a part of the Flower Town in the Pines.

To make an appointment with a Roper St. Francis family doctor in Summerville, call (843) 727-DOCS. Express Care Open Late, Walk-ins Welcome 1114 N. Main Street Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Sat., 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Sun., 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Roper St. Francis Primary Care Partners 9500 Dorchester Rd., Suite 362 (near Wescott Plantation) Mon.-Fri., 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Roper St. Francis Primary Care Partners 1112 N. Main Street Mon.-Fri., 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

www.rsfh.com/hometownhealthcare

Good Design Designer Gil Shuler with his dog, Noodle

SOUTHERNSPOTLIGHT Gil Shuler:Design

With Hope In Mind How one local artist’s design emerged as an icon of peace

by Jana Riley

On the evening of June 17, 2015, an unfathomable tragedy struck Charleston, South Carolina. A lone gunman entered Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the United States’ oldest black churches, attended a Bible study, and later opened fire, killing nine people and shaking the country to its core. The pain of the church members was felt by many, and in the wake of the incident, the people of South Carolina came together: marching in unity, beginning new conversations on race relations, and supporting the members of Emanuel A.M.E. and their families by raising millions of dollars in donations.

On the morning of June 19, 2015, Charleston graphic designer Gil Shuler entered his Mount Pleasant office and started sketching.

As a Charleston resident since 1983, and the owner of Gil Shuler Graphic Design for thirty years, he has a deep connection with the city and its residents. So when Charleston began to grieve, Shuler did too.

His heart heavy in the wake of the shooting, the artist felt compelled to create something to stand as a symbol of peace and support for the victims and their families. The final design, Shuler says, evolved fairly quickly and organically.

“I was thinking about Charleston, and things that represent the area,” Shuler says.

In my mind’s eye I saw these doves as the leaves, representing the nine who were killed.

“I thought about the foliage and the trees, which led me to the Palmetto tree. I went to the South Carolina state flag, and in my mind’s eye I saw these doves as the leaves, representing the nine who were killed, so I just started sketching and it evolved into

what it is now.”

When he finished the design that Friday, Shuler posted the image to his blog. With that, the design was released to the public and his artistic therapy session concluded. Little Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 37

With Hope in Mind

did he know that pressing “post” would set the course, in numerous ways, for the coming days and weeks ahead. By Monday morning, Shuler’s email inbox was flooded with requests for permission to use the image, questions about ratios and inks, and inquiries for larger image files. The artist prepared a file with different formats and sizes of the design and began sending it to everyone who requested, with one stipulation: if they made any profit from the use of it, all proceeds should be donated to the Mother Emanuel Hope Fund to support the families of the victims.

Within a week, the design was popping up everywhere and requests were still coming in from all over the country. The image was emblazoned on hats, bags, t-shirts and flags, turned into car decals and stickers, printed on giant banners hanging in the city, and even quilted into memorial blankets. Though Shuler can’t confirm that every cent of profit made from the sales of the items made it into the Mother Emanuel Hope Fund, he feels

certain that a large portion did.

“I got calls and emails from people telling me how much it meant to them, reassuring me that they donated the money, or telling me of their plans to donate their profits,” says Shuler. “I think most people did the right thing here.”

Though the pain of the tragedy will never end and no design can take away an inkling of hurt from the events that occurred, Shuler hopes that the image and all other efforts related to the incident will serve as a reminder for all members of the community to keep moving forward together in unity.

“Everyone felt horrible about this event,” Shuler says. “I’m glad people liked this image, but really what is most important is that change does happen and will continue to happen. It is my hope that the progress we’ve made as a state in the short period after the shooting won’t lose momentum. We must always remember.” AM

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SOUTHERNSPOTLIGHT Eva's Restaurant:Food

The Essence of Eva’s

The flavor of a landmark grows sweeter with time at the hands of Chef Jason Boutin

by Suan Frampton

The day Eva Hinson opened the doors to Eva’s to serve a hungry town, she was unaware that she was building a foundation. She didn’t use stone, bricks or mortar, but as sure as God made little green apples, she laid a foundation of hospitality that continues amongst those who understand the depth of her legacy.

40 AZALEAMAG.COM Fall 2015

Originally opened by her husband in 1944, and named Eddie’s, the restaurant closed for a short time. But when Hinson reopened on Main Street in 1953, her name was the one over the door. When she died at age ninety-six, her reputation as a Southern cook had spread far and wide, earning her the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest honor, and the admiration of the thousands who tasted her food and witnessed her authenticity.

Her “meat and three” restaurant became a Summerville institution, with many an important decision made over her hot breakfasts or slices of her apple pie. With her passing, many feared the town would lose an essential part of itself if Eva’s were no more. For three years, rumors were rampant.

But eventually, the torch was passed when Hinson’s grandchildren partnered with a new limited liability company to step in and reopen the doors to a renovated and refreshed Eva’s On Main, also bringing on board chef and general manager, Jason Boutin, to take over the kitchen. It was a bold move for Boutin. Taking hold of the apron strings that had tied the business together for so many years would be hard. There was tradition here, and, change would probably not come easy.

his degree at Trident Tech’s Culinary Institute, he honed his skills at some of the area’s best restaurants and country clubs before coming full circle back to Main Street.

She didn’t use stone, bricks or mortar, but as sure as God made little green apples, she laid a foundation of hospitality that continues amongst those who understand the depth of her legacy.

Home Cookin' A hearty breakfast; chef Jason Boutin.

Boutin was up to the challenge. As a teenager, his own culinary career had begun right across the square the day he applied for a dishwashing job at Alexander’s Station. Looking at him across the application, the manager said he thought his talents might best be used elsewhere in the restaurant, so he began waiting tables. He moved up swiftly through the ranks, and after earning

He has added his own touches to the menu—with his signature shrimp and grits and crab cakes among the new choices—but the breakfast club and the liver and onions crowd still find their old favorites on the menu, and the second-generation Eva’s cooks behind the counter. Extended hours offer a few evening dining options, and a Saturday and Sunday brunch brings in new faces every week.

Today the aromas from the kitchen bring comfort to those who remember, and welcome those who never knew the iconic founder, while the foundation of hospitality and authentic Southern cuisine remains as strong as ever. No doubt, Eva would be proud. AM Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 41

SOUTHERNSPOTLIGHT Oak Road Brewery:Drink

The Making of Oak Road Brewery A look at the arduous journey to Summerville's first craft beer brewery

by Rick Dunbar

On June 20, 2015, a crowd of enthusiastic craft beer lovers from Summerville and points beyond, who, for eighteen months, had patiently anticipated the day, poured through the glass doors of Oak Road Brewery (ORB) for its grand opening. But the journey to opening day was not easy.

Starting a craft beer brewpub in Summerville had long been 42 AZALEAMAG.COM Fall 2015

part of Brad Mallett’s overall plan since opening Coastal Coffee Roasters in 2010. In a coincidental encounter, he met Brian Cox, a trauma room nurse at the Medical University of South Carolina who had been brewing craft beer as a hobby in his garage since 2004. A friendship was forged and not long after, plans for a three-barrel system were shared; however, as life often goes, the long days required of a career and running a business took their toll, and the venture was put on hold.

Then, on a recommendation from Caleb Taylor of Homegrown Brewhouse, Mallett contacted Ben Bankey and Kyle Colston, associates and employees of North Charleston's Scientific Research Corporation, and as fate would have it, also business partners, who were in the process of looking for a location to produce and sell their craft beer. It was the perfect storm. The four shared their passions and discussed their common goals, and the deal was sealed. The major players of Oak Road were in place.

Brewing is a highly regulated industry in South Carolina. Opening a brewery is expensive and requires hard work. Additionally, to be the first to open in a town can be even more challenging since everyone is learning on the fly. The truth of those words came to light for ORB as they initiated the arduous process of obtaining

the proper licenses, satisfying the mountain of regulations and actively participating in the transformation of the remaining unoccupied space at Coastal Coffee Roasters to receive the brewing system and bring it online. “If it were easy then everyone would do it,” says Mallett. “It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears right down to the last minute. “

Brewing is a highly regulated industry in SC. Opening a brewery is expensive and requires hard work.

When you have a business comprised of four different individuals, the key to success is open communication and everyone pulling their own weight. Everyone has a job. As ORB’s brewmaster extraordinaire, Cox works his crafting magic toiling over the one-barrel system with six fermenters and three bright tanks. The process is labor intensive and involves sweating in sultry temperatures over boiling vats, shoveling spent grains and hops and hosing down equipment.

The nurturing and fine-tuning of the cherished brew from grain to glass takes from two to four weeks, depending on the desired style of beer. Clothed in a blue apron, safety glasses and black boots, Colston summarizes the process: “It’s a blending of art and science. It’s all about passion. It’s all about hard work. You have to want to do the hard work.”

After construction, overseen by Colston, was complete, Chris Filan Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 43

44 AZALEAMAG.COM Fall 2015

Oak Road

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Functionally decorated with octagonal barrel tables, black cushioned barrel chairs and stainless steel bar chairs numerous, microbrews are on tap.

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was brought in. His outgoing personality and spirited enthusiasm serve him well as the brewery’s bar manager, educator and brand ambassador. Filan shares bar duties with assistant, Cole Edens. Their territory is primarily the tasting room. Functionally decorated with octagonal barrel tables, black cushioned barrel chairs and stainless steel bar chairs, numerous microbrews are on tap.During the opening, there were seven: Vienna lager, a pale ale, a robust porter, an IPA, a blonde ale, an amber ale and a Belgian golden ale.

Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 45

Oak Road

And now, the brewery is the fulfilling piece in our community jigsaw puzzle

guerins

After a year and a half of hard work, Oak Road is up and running smoothly, but the guys behind it aren’t sitting still. Sometime in the future, the plan is to install a ten-barrel system along with bottling and canning systems. In the meantime, though, they are enjoying the fruits of their labor.

Earnest Hemingway once wrote, "It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” Journeying down the craft beer path—a venture not yet undertaken by anyone in a town famous for pine trees and sweet tea—has made all the difference for the partners of Oak Road Brewery. Despite all of the unpredictable hurdles, they simply kept on walking. And now, the brewery is the fulfilling piece in our community jigsaw puzzle—where creative passion and winning ideas ferment together with the best coffee, and now the best craft beer, in Summerville. AM

46 AZALEAMAG.COM Fall 2015

"Call it a happy accident, a twist of fate or maybe even comma karma" Pit Stop The BBQ pie; Dennis Baker in his kitchen

by Dennis in the cottage’s tiny kitchen, grow more delicious every day.

But it was Kay, found normally amongst the potting soil and plants in the garden, who inadvertently turned the culinary world on its ear when she took up her magic marker to make a sign advertising the restaurant’s menu items.

SOUTHERNSPOTLIGHT Baker's Cottage Kitchen:Food

As she painstakingly listed the perennial favorites, she never dreamed she was creating a savory tsunami that would sweep through Summerville and cause more than one driver’s head to swivel for a second look as they passed the big oak tree on Central Avenue.

Who could have imagined that a forgotten comma between the words “barbecue” and “pie” would trigger the turn signals of a continuous stream of customers, intrigued by the idea of a barbecue pie?

by Susan Frampton

Numerous requests for the item had the Bakers scratching their heads. But after a few laughs once the mistake was realized, it didn’t take long for Dennis to take the idea and run with it. Combining pulled pork with softly sautéed peppers and onions, and placing the mixture in a pie shell, he piled on his homemade pimento cheese and gently heated the entire concoction for a colorful, warm and bubbly pie that is destined to send the punctuation police packing.

There are those of us who live for Thursdays and the aroma of Pitmaster Seth Watari’s slow-cooked pork wafting from the cooker at Baker’s Cottage Kitchen. An offshoot of Kay and Dennis Baker’s Pond and Garden Center, the restaurant’s reputation for mouthwatering fare is flourishing, and the flavor combinations cooked up

You may order it by the slice with yummy sides as you dine in by the fire, or pop in on your way home to pick up an entire pie to go.

Be sure and read the signs carefully – you never know when Kay might accidently move an apostrophe and create another fabulous combination. Call it a happy accident, a twist of fate or maybe even comma karma, but Barbecue Pie is a dish that was meant to be. AM

The Comma Karma of Barbecue Pie A misunderstanding might have lead to one of the tastiest things this side of the Mason-Dixon

Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 47

WHEN YOU NEED LEGAL REPRESENTATION, CALL YOUR SUMMERVILLE ATTORNEY. Jenny Horne - Attorney & Counselor at Law

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N AT U R A L WOMAN

Driving Miss Crazy

O

by Susan Frampton

ur daughter bought a new car last week. That might not be an earth-shattering event in most families, but in ours, it’s a pretty big deal, and it started me thinking about cars in general. These days we’re in them as much as we’re out of them—they are like members of the family, and in many ways they define our lives.

There was nothing wrong with our daughter’s old car, a college graduation gift in 2007, except that when the accelerator was pressed, it sounded exactly like my grandmother’s Singer sewing machine, and squealed like a stuck pig when the brakes were applied. It blew 100% humidified, 95-degree air all summer long, and an exploding can of Coke forever christened the ceiling and seats with stains like a Rorschach test gone terribly wrong.

It was the perfect car for that stage in her life, and I will never for-

get the sight of her with the sunroof open and her hair blowing in the wind. Though it was time, it was still hard to leave the little car at the dealership. But there’s nothing like a functional left blinker, and new car scent with accompanying paperwork and payment book, to ease the pain of transition.

Our family makes long-term commitments to our transportation— a fact clearly demonstrated by the 2003 Yukon sitting in my driveway. It’s a little battered and bruised, but you would be too if you had run a 200,000-mile race. The bruising wasn’t all at my hands, though. My husband ran into it with the riding lawnmower early on—an event still referred to as “the lawnmower incident.”

Though none of us have ever kicked a black and white ball, for a few years the SUV labeled me a soccer mom, and in its early days, it popped kids out like a clown car at the sound of the morning school bell. Though I know change will be inevitable, despite its advanced

ILLUSTRAT IONS BY JASON WA G E N E R Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 49

N AT U R A L WOMAN

age, it still faithfully delivers me wherever I need to go, and from my perch on the ragged leather seat, continues to allow me to look down on lesser automobiles. Long may it roll.

• Acquisition • Disposition • Marketing • Financing

It sits in the driveway alongside my husband’s truck, which wordlessly speaks volumes about him. He firmly believes that everyone should drive a truck, and is suspicious of anyone that does not want to drive, or at least have access to a truck. He fails to realize that not everyone carries the equivalent of a toolshed everywhere they go; that few haul deer corn around in 55-gallon drums; and that even fewer regularly transport bloody, 300-pound wild hogs out of the woods.

Though one could conceivably grow vegetables in his cup holders, and things seem to mysteriously disappear once inside the doors, he treats the ten-year-old as tenderly as one might their first-born—washing and polishing the outside and wiping down the tires until they are shiny and black.

Heaven forbid that it receive a scratch, although there was the one time that he accidently shot a hole in it—an event referred to as “the time Dad shot his truck.”

Lately, I’ve noticed a theme marking our vehicles. Identical marks found on the passenger side of each one define me more than they do the automobiles, and I doubt it is a coincidence that they are located where I sit when my husband drives.

If my fingerprints are ever required by the FBI, CSI, NCIS or NBC, you can be sure they will easily be found embedded in the armrest of the passenger seat. On closer examination, they’ll also find that the hole stomped under the imaginary brake pedal on that side matches the exact dimensions of my foot.

I don’t think that I have always been such a nervous Nellie with my beloved at the wheel, but then I wasn’t always averse to riding roller coasters, jumping off cliffs or swimming with piranha, ei-

50 AZALEAMAG.COM Fall 2015

ther. I like to think that age has brought me a bit of wisdom, and I don’t care if that labels me a scaredy cat.

When he’s at the wheel, I’ve taken to reclining the seat to an angle to prevent my seeing over the dashboard and to lowering the sun visor to ensure that no sliver of windshield is visible. It’s better for everyone if I don’t see what is going on outside the car. It must be pretty distracting to have the seat next to you occupied by a screeching, twitching passenger who might unexpectedly throw an arm up to signal red brake lights six car lengths ahead or to shout “We’re all going to die!” repeatedly on the ten-minute drive to Home Depot.

And though I loathe to admit it, I’m pretty much like that no matter who is driving.

Call me crazy if you like—I’d like to see the statistics on the number of divorces incubated in cars. I know for a fact that I am not the only spouse in this seat, and there is probably a correlation between length of marriage and severity of condition. My friend Gina and I always choose to sit in the back seat when we’re together, regardless of whose husband is driving. I’m not saying that we always have a glass of wine to fortify us for the road ahead, but if we don’t, it’s because we’re out of wine.

Funny thing is, today when my husband rode with me to run some errands, I couldn’t help notice that he kept his eyes squeezed shut for a lot of the ride, and slid low in the seat. He mumbled something or other about riding roller coasters and jumping off cliffs, and then offered to drive.

We switched seats for the ride home.

As I lowered the visor, reclined the seat and fitted my fingertips into the grooves in the armrest, he looked over and shook his head, muttering under his breath what sounded suspiciously like, “blah, blah, blah…something, something…Miss Crazy.”

Maybe it’s just me, but that seemed a little judgmental coming from someone who crashed a lawnmower into something the size of an elephant. He swears I misheard, and that he was simply making conversation about the weather, but I have my doubts. Looking through my little sliver of windshield, it wasn’t hazy outside at all. AM Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 51

Rebuilding Summerville One Project at a Time Turn-of-the-century Summerville residence renovated for Old South Realty professional oďŹƒces by Garnet Construction

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K ID S THESE D AY S

Season Of Change

I

by Tara Bailey

could probably walk to my neighborhood elementary school backwards and blindfolded without so much as stumbling. My third and final child just began fifth grade, marking the beginning of the end of my family's twelveyear stint at said school. I feel like we should be eligible to collect retirement at the end of this school year, or at least be given a watch. I will even settle for a cake, except the teachers are the ones who deserve the cake. Yet, as wonderful as our experience at the school has been, I am ready to move on. After more than a decade, I can finally see

the light at the end of the reading log. But one thing does make me want to stop the clock: our after-school walk home. The fact that this ritual is coming to an end is nearly as painful as chaperoning a field trip the week of Thanksgiving.

Each day I smile when I see my youngest daughter's tuft of messy hair waiting for me at the cross walk. She usually still has her reading glasses on and is always in a jacket zipped to her chin. She passes off her backpack to me, and I tell her to tie her shoe while she airs complaints about lunch or the temperature of her classroom. She collects a few sticks for the journey home, and we say hello to the

ILLUS TRAT IONS BY JASON WA G E N E R Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 53

KIDS THESE D AY S

neighborhood dogs along the way, all of whom we know well by now. In the fall we scoop up giant sycamore leaves, and in the spring we stop at a mulberry tree and pluck its tangy fruits.

I no longer get this kind of reflective time with my older girls. Now they come home from school on their own, throwing the door open to announce the drama of the day and immediately retiring upstairs, not to be seen until dinner. But there was a time when I carried their backpacks and held their hands, too, guiding them home and discussing classmates and the injustices of cafeteria food.

Soon Halloween will be another childhood event lost to maturity and relegated to memory.

I always think of Halloween when walking home from school, as our route mirrors where we trick-or-treat.

It wasn't until last year that I realized this tradition was also in jeopardy.

Sometimes I think I had kids just to relive Halloween, and once my first daughter was old enough to trick-ortreat, I just assumed she always would.

In my entire life I have found no better place to trick-or-treat than our neighborhood streets. Shadowy oaks hover like ghouls and porch lights beckon from old houses that harbor plenty of stories, if not ghosts. Our neighbors are mostly older and good sports about the holiday, some even dressing the part and all of them friendly with the kids, inquiring about costumes and schoolwork.

54 AZALEAMAG.COM Fall 2015

Though the atmosphere of our neighborhood lends itself to Halloween without much store-bought flair, there was a time when I would sneak out while the kids were putting on costumes and create the "haunted trail." I affixed menacing skeletons in tattered garbs to the trees of a pedestrian path on our route, along with various glowing and shrieking fiends. The kids loved it, and of course, so did I. I was able to do this for about three years before they figured out that the path was haunted not by ghosts but by their mom. I let go of the haunted trail altogether when it ceased being a thrill for the kids, who eventually wanted to bypass it on a school night with limited time. But at least I still had homemade costumes and trickor-treating.

My oldest daughter dropped out of our family Halloween a few years ago when her friends began celebrating the holiday in the ironic ways that teenagers do. Last year my middle child found herself torn between wanting to be with us and accepting a better offer. In a surprise move, she opted for us, but immediately regretted her choice about two houses in. This year I will likely have only my fifth-grader

to make the rounds with, and I had better appreciate every minute.

Soon Halloween will be another childhood event lost to maturity and relegated to memory.

I should be thankful for these changes so I will be prepared for the day my husband and I look around our empty house and wonder why we ever thought we needed so much space. Each year when one of my kids opts to walk around the fair with a friend instead of us, I will be grateful that at least I will meet her at the gate by the end of the night. The hours my oldest daughter spends sequestered in her room train me for her eventual absence while allowing me to still call her down for dinner. I am not trying to prolong childhood by any means; in fact, I can't wait for the time when I buy only one gallon of milk a week. But that doesn't mean it doesn't shake me when something reminds me that, to quote Boy George, time won't give me time. I know that that one day I will buy my last bumper sticker that says, "My Money And My Kid Go To (insert favorite university)". Until then, I will savor each stick, leaf, and mulberry on the walk home from school. AM

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L IF E & F A IT H

The One Question Every Boy Needs Answered

H

by Will Browning ave you ever noticed the spark in a boy’s eyes when he walks under a high doorframe and reaches up to see if he can touch it?

waters, endure the pain of mastering a new skateboarding trick or devote hours to completing a role-playing video game.

A doorframe, although an ordinary thing, persistently grabs a boy’s attention. It’s baffling how a mind that darts between food, girls, sports and music can immediately fix on something so simple. But it does so for the same reason boys take risky leaps off cliffs into murky

A boy’s soul desperately seeks to have this question answered by someone, anyone. But the one person he longs to answer it? His dad.

The doorframe calls out to the boy and issues a challenge: Can you?*

Driving to my son Ethan’s first playoff basketball game, I was de-

ILLUSTR AT ION BY JASON WA G E N E R Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 57

LIFE & FA I T H

termined to answer his question for him. All I needed to do was identify an area he succeeded in during his game and then take an opportunity to encourage him afterwards.

That night, Ethan took the court with the starting five, playing small forward. I intently watched as he tore down his first rebound. He began to make his move down the court but neglected to dribble the ball before he moved his feet. The referee blew his whistle and made the call: traveling.

In hopes of helping Ethan move past this misstep, I yelled out, “It’s all right, buddy. You’ll get it next time.”

That wound up being a lie. Not only was he called for traveling the next time he gained possession of the ball, but he was called for the same offense five times in the first half. Soon the coach had seen enough and sent in a sub. Ethan slouched on the bench, dejected and defeated.

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As the team went back into the locker room, I thought about what I could possibly say to encourage him. When the team emerged onto the court, Ethan was back on the floor. I clapped my hands loudly, made eye contact with him and said, “Stay focused and slow down.” And for the next twenty minutes, I watched my son rip down rebound after rebound from the boards. He played like the first-half fiasco never happened.

And it hit me.

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As we rode home from the game, I said, “Ethan, I watched you do something tonight that I could never do.”

With his curiosity piqued, he listened more closely as I continued, “The

SERVING THE COMMUNITY WE CALL HOME. I woke the next morning to a little, folded note on my nightstand labeled, “Dad.” truth is I know few men on this planet who could do what you did tonight.

Most men crumble under pressure when it seems like all eyes are on them and especially when things aren’t going well. When the pressure was on, you shrugged it off like it was nothing. I am so impressed with how you handled adversity.”

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I woke the next morning to a little, folded note on my nightstand labeled, “Dad.” In Ethan’s unmistakable handwriting, the note read, “I am so grateful to have you in my life. Thanks for always being there for me.”

Something important had happened in that car the night before. At least for that moment, I answered my son’s question with a resounding yes.

And that question steadily resounds throughout a man’s life. He seeks assurance that he measures up. He wants confidence, when push comes to shove, that he will have what it takes. And it’s a simple two-worded question we impatiently entreat you to answer.

Can I? Will you answer that question for the boys in your life today? AM *Eldredge, John. Wild At Heart. Thomas Nelson, 2011.

Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 59

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Fine Dining An upscale farm table and bench blend seamlessly with modern lighting and chairs in the dining area

Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 61

When imagining the Johns Island homestead that she and her husband Ben, wanted to find, Jessica Pollock focused on just one word: home. A fan of beautiful yet livable spaces, Pollock not only wanted her environment to be aesthetically pleasing, but conducive to comfortably housing the enjoyable events and everydays of life: spending time stretched on the couch, hosting dinner parties, cooking in the kitchen, romping on the floor with her two young sons, Harvey and Jack, and playing fetch with their two large dogs.

After finalizing the decision to build instead of buy, the Pollocks chose a plot of land just down the street from the house they already shared. Already established in a lovely neighborhood, the couple wanted to maintain their routines, as well as their relationships with friends and neighbors. They also knew, by building in the same place, they would feel comfortable the moment they moved into the new home.

After living in smaller spaces in England and Germany for three years, the Pollocks craved the wide open spaces of coastal Southern homes, and found the perfect plan in the works of architect Eric Moser from Beaufort—known for designing open, beachy and family-friendly houses with wide front porches and a plethora of ceiling fans. The couple settled on Charleston-based New Leaf Builders to perfect the plan to their specifications and to build everything from the ground up. With a strong emphasis on 62 AZALEAMAG.COM Fall 2015

Wide Open Spaces Clockwise from top left: Large windows and open spaces allow for a bright, welcoming space; subway tile, marble countertops, and stainless steel create an airy feeling in the kitchen; natural colors and textures make this space home, sweet home.

What's Cookin' Elements of wood, glass, and metal provide interesting textural accents in the Pollock’s breezy kitchen.

Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 63

Day Camp Creative elements such as a porcelain Clockwise: A wood stove is a functional and unique focal point; the garden beckons; english conservatory-style windows offer lots of light; rhinoceros busta wide front porch with wicker furniture is perfectly Southern. Opposite Page: Family portraits and unique lighting spark curiosity; muted tones and reading and floral motifs create a relaxing atmosphere. teepee lend a fun, yet polished atmosphere to the nursery.

64 AZALEAMAG.COM Fall 2015

A Family Affair Fine Dining First row, to right: A sittingthe area creates a place of Deep, richleft hues differentiate dining room from the relaxation at the base of the neutral tones throughout the stairway; carefully curated artwork hangs in the nursery; tall ceilings and a bay rest of the home window offer a feeling of openness to the bedroom.

Second row, left to right: A perfectly-proportioned chair and low-hung artwork make the nursery perfect for its pint-sized occupant; form meets function in a guest bedroom with office setup; parallel his-and-hers sinks and closets allow for separate spaces in a shared bathroom. Third row, left to right: Board and batten ceiling, white slipcovers, and lots of windows create a coastal atmosphere; window treatments for the largepaned front door window allow for a feeling of privacy when needed; dark and light finishes form a perfect contrast in the bathroom.

Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 65

craftsman-style touches, the team at New Leaf Builders built nearly every element within the home and assisted in selecting the highest-quality materials within the Pollock’s budget.

Jessica knew a livable, airy home was absolutely dependent on the materials chosen­—from the varied-plank, driftwood finish walnut floors that make scratches virtually undetectable, to the wood-grain porcelain tile in the office and kids’ bathrooms—nearly everything is cleanable, washable or refinishable and adds an element of convenience. The Pollocks also opted for a dutch door leading into the kitchen, which allows Jessica to keep their young children with her as she’s cooking or cleaning, yet keep the view open to the rest of the house.

The couple chose a plan with an apartment-like master suite, relatively private with its own sitting room and fourteen-foot board and batten ceilings, and it didn’t take long for the room to become their favorite aspect of the house.

Sourcing the elements of the home was a labor of love for Jessica, and her eclectic, modern, and curated style is displayed through a wide range of pieces collected from England, flea markets and local furniture stores.

The home’s relaxed yet sophisticated feel runs throughout—from white washable slipcovers to muted wall colors and carefully curated vignettes —everything feels effortlessly styled and perfectly considered. Cheerful, welcoming, and open, the Pollock home is a perfect blend of warm, relaxed comfort and classic, chic style—a superb place to host guests, share meals and raise a family. AM 66 AZALEAMAG.COM Fall 2015

Warm Welcome Clockwise from top left: The Pollock’s stately Southern home welcomes with a wide front porch; the outdoor entertaining area is casual and comfortable; the garage and guest area reflects the charming nature of the main house.

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Above & Beyond ABOVE THE TREETOPS AND BEYOND THE L I M I T S O F AN E A RT H L Y T E T H E R , W E GAI N N E W A P P R E C I AT I O N F O R T H E F A M I L I A R LANDSCAPES OF OUR DAILY LIVES .

by S U S A N

F R A MP T O N

photos by V I R G I L

BU N A O

FARMLAND A heritage of hope runs deep through the soil of Dorchester County fields.

MIDDLETON PLACE Whispers of the past slip through long allĂŠes of trees and shrubs. Beyond that sea of green, Butterfly Lakes spread their wings in homage to the hearts and hands of those who have long loved this land.

DOWNTOWN S U M M E RV I L L E Summerville listens for the sound of a passing train and the peal of Town Hall’s bells to mark the passing of the hours. History lives on these streets, but new stories are written each day amidst and beyond the hustle and bustle of Hutchinson Square.

BUFFALO LAKE Gentle breezes send sunlight dancing along the surface of Buffalo Lake, where a noble beast, and local legend lent his name to a sprouting community.

S U M M E RV I L L E LU M B E R M I L L From seeds of the past, solid,​straight pines lay waiting to build the future.

INDIAN FIELD CAMPGROUND

Generations of “hallelujahs” hang in the air of Indian Fields Methodist Campground’s circle of worship outside St. George.

COLONIAL DORCHESTER

“I passed Dorchester, where there are the remains of what appears to have once been a considerable town: where there are the ruins of an elegant church, and the vestiges of several well-built houses.” – a 1788 traveler

SCHULTZ LAKE

​S​leek striped bass filled with the promise of a new generation slip upstream beneath the dark water of the Ashley River to spawn in the deep-water holes of Schultz Lake.

JOHN McKISSICK STADIUM

Years are measured in yards on the green grass of John McKissick Field at Memorial Stadium, where hundreds of young men have come of age, and a giant walked among them into history.

78 AZALEAMAG.COM Fall 2015

S U M M E RV I L L E ’ S RESIDENT BEEKEEPER DOES H E R PA RT T O P O L L I N AT E T H E F L O W E RT O W N.

by J A N A

R I L E Y

photos by D O T T I E

R I Z Z O

Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 79

April Aldrich is a dreamer. South Carolina born and Southern California raised, she is the type of dreamer whose dreams won’t quit; the type who sets her sights on a goal and won’t back down until it is achieved; the type who makes things happen. Thankfully for Summerville, Aldrich’s dreams are leading to a burgeoning honeybee population, an increase in pollination of the beautiful gardens and flora of the town, and a growing community of bee enthusiasts – not to mention a plethora of honey-themed products.

Back in Southern California, Aldrich spent a handful of years chasing a nursing degree, and through her courses became interested in natural and alternative medicine. Her research led to her realization that honey is a superfood of the highest caliber, with antimicrobial, antibiotic and enzyme properties that aid in better health, while also building immunity to allergens, illnesses and more. Aldrich was hooked and consumed every book, article or movie she could on the topic of bees and honey. She even decided to start her very own hive until she realized that in Los Angeles County, where she lived, keeping bees is illegal. Aldrich had to shelve her dream temporarily but continued to immerse herself in apiology for another fifteen years before making the move back to Summerville. “I joined the

Charleston Area Beekeepers Association the day I moved here,” she says with a laugh. “It was a long wait, but I finally got my bees.”

Aldrich spent the next few years setting up backyard apiaries around Summerville, working with the Beekeepers Association, and following Clemson’s master beekeeper program, thus far achieving the “certified journeyman beekeeper” level, while on track to eventually become a “master craftsman beekeeper.” Aldrich also penned a book, The History of Honey in Georgia and the Carolinas, which aligned directly with her passion for honey bees and the art of beekeeping.

In everything she does, Aldrich hopes to spread information about the importance of bees and help dispel myths, like the popular thought that bees are dangerous and aggressive. As she lights up a smoker and heads toward the hive, she explains why she is not worried about getting stung. “Bees are fairly docile creatures; if you leave them alone, they’ll generally leave you alone,” she explains.

“When you use a smoker on a hive, the smoke will mask the bee’s alert pheromones and make them want just to eat honey. As they eat, their stomachs get full and their stingers turn under, making it

Bees are fairly docile creatures: if you leave

80 AZALEAMAG.COM Summer 2015

difficult to sting you, even if they wanted to – which they don’t. They just want to do their jobs.”

Aldrich also aims to educate the public about how essential bees are to the world’s food system. “Around a third of what we consume comes to our table with the help of bees,” Aldrich explains. “Without bees, we’d have a huge problem. We are seeing a massive drop in bee populations, largely due to roadside pesticides, which commercial bees are heavily exposed to as they are trucked around the country.” For these reasons, backyard apiaries are crucial to boosting local bee populations.

Of course, while honeybees do a great job pollinating crops and aiding in the development of flowers and gardens everywhere, their primary focus is their sweet, sticky honey, and an enormous amount of work is needed to create it. A single jar of honey requires the work of 22,700 bees, all of whom only live around two weeks, generating about onetwelfth of a teaspoon per bee. The bees will have to travel collectively the equivalent of three times around the world per jar, with each foraging trip taking them up to four miles away from the hive.

As

Aldrich

maintained

her

backyard

apiaries

throughout

Summerville, collecting the delicious honey, storing, and selling it, an idea dawned on her. “I thought, I like to brew beer. I have a lot of honey. Mead, one of the most ancient alcoholic beverages, is made of fermented honey—I can ferment this!”

For thousands of years, the process of making a gallon of mead was a lengthy process that involved a year of fermenting. But recently, the mead-savvy community realized that by adding certain yeast nutrients during fermentation, the process could be shortened to a couple of months at most­—a boon for mead enthusiasts everywhere.

Aldrich took this newfound information and created a mead fermentation kit ideal for beginners or experts. The kit contains a glass carboy, an airlock and rubber stopper, a funnel, a siphon tube, thermometer tape, yeast, yeast nutrients and detailed instructions for making a gallon of mead.

“All that’s needed is two and a half pounds of honey and about forty-five minutes in your kitchen,” Aldrich says. “When it’s done fermenting, you have a sweet, drinkable alcoholic beverage that is about 12 percent abv [alcohol by volume]. You brew it like beer, but drink it like wine.”

them alone, they’ll generally leave you alone.

Summer 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 81

After selling out at a Charleston Area Beekeeper’s Association Honey and Bee Expo, Aldrich realized that people were just as interested in making mead as she was, so she set to work forming her company, appropriately named Must Bee Mead. The name is a play on words, as the term “must” is the name for a mixture of honey and water; it is must “bee-fore” it becomes mead.

Aldrich is working with new development Summers Corner off Highway 61, to plan and to build an apiary with approximately 100 hives on the land.

So far, Aldrich has seen huge success in the sales of her kits, which can be purchased at Coastal Coffee Roasters, Savannah Bee Company, homebrew supply stores and online, alongside jars

82 AZALEAMAG.COM Summer 2015

of local honey and her own honey-flavored lip balm. She is now looking toward the future, and once again, Aldrich is dreaming and hoping to open South Carolina’s first meadery, which will require an extensive network of apiaries to support its honey requirements.

“The mead industry has grown 130 percent since 2011, while craft beer producers have only risen 39 percent in that time, making it the fastest growing alcoholic beverage category in the United States right now,” she explains. “People love it, and a large apiary benefits the surrounding area by providing expert pollinators to help crops flourish. It’s really a win-win for the community.”

Currently, Aldrich is working with new development Summers Corner off Highway 61, to plan and to build an apiary with approximately one hundred hives on the land, which will undoubtedly cultivate a rich and flourishing environment for the neighborhood’s garden-centric focus. There’s also discussion of an observation hive, a honey extraction area and beekeeping classes, as well as an educational connection with local high schools and their agricultural classes.

Though the futures of Must Bee Mead, a Summers Corner apiary, and a Summerville meadery remain to be seen, one thing is for sure: it’s great to have Aldrich, her bees, and so many possibilities buzzing about town. AM

By Susan Frampton PHOTOS BY DOTTIE RIZZO FOLLOWING THE LURE OF TOURNAMENT BASS FISHING, S U M M E R V I L L E ’ S P AT R I C K W A LT E R S N E T S F I R S T P L A C E I N T H E C O L L EG E F I S H I N G N AT I O N A L C H A M P I O N S H I P

Summer 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 85

I

n the golden light reflected off the rippling water of a small lake south of Summerville, there is an artist at work. With an underhanded flip of his wrist, a smooth arc of shimmering line whips through the air.

The lure at the line’s end skips once, twice, three times, and slides through an impossibly narrow slot between a low hanging branch and the surface of the dark water before falling precisely into place at the base of a cypress tree.

For Patrick Walters, it is one of thousands of casts made in his twenty years on earth, and one of hundreds he will make this day alone. It is this kind of daily diligence that helped the college sophomore and his University of South Carolina (USC) teammate, Gettys Brannon, come from behind and win on the final day of competition in the College Fishing National Championship, hosted by Fishing League Worldwide, the largest tournamentfishing organization in the world. Catching fifteen fish over three days, with a combined weight of fifty-three pounds and two ounces, the pair competed against ten teams to become the top titleholders this past April on Lake Murray.

In addition to prestigious titles, Walters and Brannon earned the USC fishing team a Ranger Z117 bass boat and engine, plus $5,000.

The students also secured a slot in the Forest Wood Cup — hailed as the most prestigious tournament in all of bass fishing — hosted this year on Arkansas’s Lake Ouachita where only fifty anglers will compete for a $500,000 payday. It’s the grandaddy of all tournaments, and Walters still can’t quite wrap his mind around the chance to participate in such a career-defining event.

86 AZALEAMAG.COM Summer 2015

For this elite level of competition, Walters will train for hours each day, and will spend two weeks in Arkansas prior to the contest, becoming familiar with the characteristics of the lake.

Today, standing in the bow of the boat, the young Summerville man whips the rod through the air again and again, over fallen trees, into incredibly tight spaces and within inches of the distant shoreline.

Suddenly he wrenches the rod upward, and quickly reels in the line. A largemouth bass launches itself from the water, twisting and dancing as Walters wrangles it into the boat. He holds the glistening fish aloft before releasing it back into the lake. “About a pound and a half,” he estimates. “Yes ma’am,” he says, rinsing his hands and flashing his signature grin, “there’s a bunch more out here, and we’re about to lay the pipe to ‘em.”

Walters began salt-water fishing as a child, alongside his father and grandfather, the late John Tupper of Summerville. They did some pond fishing, and caught the occasional bream on the Edisto River, but the family primarily fished salt-water, until Walters’ first taste of competitive bass fishing with a friend in middle school set the hook and reeled him into the sport. “The suspense of the blast off [the tournament start] was so exciting,” he remembers. “It was organized chaos, and I loved it. When I got home that day I told my dad we needed to get into bass fishing.”

Walters fished a few more tournaments before he really learned the sport — he and his dad fished the first few from a flats boat, while all the other competitors fished from bass boats. “We looked like the oddballs,” he laughs. “But we started catching fish, and thought, ‘Hey,

this is good! Let’s get into it.’ So we bought a bass boat and just started—just spending time on the water and learning it.”

Walters makes it sound easy, but there is much more than simply getting a boat and adding water. Time on the water and preparation are the keys to mastering the skills and learning the fish. He spends hours studying water depth and temperature and maps to learn the contours of the bottom of lakes and ponds—sometimes going back ten years to learn how the bottom changes over time. He also watches others’ techniques on fishing programs and YouTube. But Walters says the real key is to “get out on the water yourself to develop your own style.” There is no replacement for putting in the hours.

He talks about the unwritten rules of etiquette for the sport. Even in his relatively short career, he has seen changes among participants and is disappointed with those who are not well-mannered on the water. “You have to be courteous out there, and some people don’t get that,” he says.

The rules for participation in collegiate bass fishing vary from school to school. Most school clubs don’t have budgets capable of providing all that the team members need to compete. At USC, anglers are allowed to keep the money and prizes won in competition to help pay their expenses, but when he and his teammate won the championship, they split the earnings with the school’s club. “It seemed only right,” he says. “We knew we wouldn’t be where we are today without their help.”

It is an expensive sport. A fast boat is essential when the tournament

requires a forty-mile one-way run across the water, and uses an entire tank of gasoline. And with tournaments all across the country, travel expenses can add up quickly. Sponsorship is vitally important to offset what the fishermen pay out of pocket for equipment, entry fees and travel. The college has team sponsors, and Walters has personally picked up several of his own.

The next test will come at the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship in Wisconsin, an eighteen-hour drive away. He will stop along the way to pick up USC’s team boat, specially wrapped in the Gamecock’s garnet and black. The sleek, powerful boat will make the team easy to spot among the tournament’s eighty-five entrants.

His parents, Todd and Leiding Walters, will make the journey to Wisconsin as well, and Patrick acknowledges how fortunate he is to have their support. Their pride in him is clear, and not solely for his skill with a rod and reel. Handsome, intelligent and wickedly funny, their son’s easy manner makes him immediately likable. His unfailing use of “yes ma’am,” “please,” and “thank-you” to the wait staff at the diner where we meet for breakfast, speak to his upbringing as a Southern gentleman.

It also keeps his cup filled with inordinate amounts of coffee and careful attention from our waitress.

Though he says he’d like to fish all day, every day, when not on the water, Walters is often found pulling all-nighters in the USC library—keeping the balance between his passion and his studies toward a business and management degree. But whether the future finds him fishing professionally or running his own business, there is no doubt the boy who grew up on the water will remain there in some way forever. AM Summer 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 87

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IN A REAL-LIFE GARDEN OF EDEN JUST OUTSIDE MONCKS CORNER, THE TRAPPIST MONKS OF MEPKIN ABBEY BEAR SILENT WITNESS TO THE TEACHINGS OF SAINT BENEDICT

by S U S A N

F R A MP T O N

photos by D O T T I E

R I Z Z O

Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 89

We, the monks of Mepkin Abbey, are responding to God’s call to live in solitude and silence in and for the Church according to an ancient form of radical Christian discipleship focused on seeking and finding God in a community of silence, where we “are of one heart and soul and everything is held in common” (Acts 4: 32-33).

On an overcast afternoon on the bluff of the fast-moving river, rain clouds hang heavy over the cluster of buildings nestled among the live oaks. Intermittent light peeks through the gray clouds, transforming the greens of a lush garden into clusters of variegated emerald jewels.

From a tower across the lawn, the peal of a bell resonates in the stillness. Silent men in the simple cassocks of Trappist monks appear from every direction, drawn to evening vespers in the adjacent chapel, as though by a powerful magnet.

Mepkin Abbey is home to fifteen monks belonging to the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance popularly known as Trappist, who live and work within its borders. Flanked to the west by the Cooper River, the abbey has rested on 3,100 acres outside Moncks Corner since its establishment in 1949. The land was gifted to an order of Trappist monks based in Gethsemani, Kentucky, by TimeLife founder Henry Luce, and his wife—playwright, ambassador and congresswoman, Claire Boothe Luce, for the purpose of establishing a new abbey. One could scarcely have imagined a more fitting use for this tract of land. In a world obsessed with sound and fury, it is an oasis of quiet tranquility and peace for the members of the order who 90 AZALEAMAG.COM Fall 2015

seek their Lord in silence borne of great reverence and introspection, and whose mission is that of work and prayer.

There are seventeen Trappist monasteries in the United States. Abbot Stan Gumula, the community’s elected spiritual father since 2007, explains the calling that draws these unique individuals to the vocation of hard work, deep prayer and silence, and what makes Trappist orders unique: “The basic difference between Trappist and Benedictine or Franciscan is that we are cloistered; none of the brothers leave the property unless it is to do the business of the monastery.”

The rhythm of life for the monks of Mepkin Abbey follows the desire of their hearts for prayer and work. Their schedule, or horarium, is arduous, raising them from sleep at 3:00 am for vigils, the practice of chanting the Psalms in anticipation of the coming of Christ. At this hour, the monks recite the songs of King David. Following the

the basin of holy water. Touching the water to their foreheads they make the sign of the cross. The chapel is elegant in its simplicity, its knotty pine ceiling supported by beams that intersect to form a square opening. The organ, played softly by a visiting Benedictine monk, begins the service. The notes of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” fill the room, and the words proclaim “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee.” tradition of Trappists since the fifteenth century, they complete all 150 songs over a two-week period, only to begin again. There will be six offices or prayer sessions throughout the day. In between, guided by St. Benedict’s teachings that they “live by the labor of their hands,” each will perform the distinctly “blue collar” work required by their individual roles in the daily life of the monastery, whether it be cooking, gardening, working with mushroom production or one of many other tasks. Trappists are vegetarians, and like most who work the land, their largest meal is in the middle of the day.

At the end of their work day and following a light supper served around 5:00 pm, vespers begin in the chapel. It is to this evening service that we find the brothers called to the chapel by the tolling bells.

One by one they enter the chapel, bow to the cross, and dip into

Though Mepkin Abbey receives donations from visitors, it is largely supported by the monks’ earned income—the work they perform themselves. One of the abbey’s unique undertakings has been the implementation of a mushroom production and packaging enterprise —an endeavor they took on as a revenue source in 2007.

Oyster and shiitake mushroom production might seem an odd choice, but the decision to pursue it was not made without great consideration of the business’s impact on the environment, as well as its contribution to the greater good. Continually giving back to the earth even as they grow, the mushrooms produce rich compost that replenishes vital elements to the soil.

“The mushrooms kept us linked to the land, and there is nothing wasted. We wanted to produce something that was very healthy, and they are a delicious, rich sources of B vitamins,” Father Stan says.

“We considered producing fruitcakes or jams and jellies—several Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 91

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monasteries do—but with South Carolina’s incidence of diabetes being one of the highest in the nation, that did not seem like the most responsible course to take.”

The fresh mushrooms produced by Mepkin Abbey are available in select stores, though the short shelf life of the oyster variety makes them more suited for immediate use by restaurants. They are also available in dried and powdered forms. Both the packaged mushrooms and mushroom compost are available at the abbey’s on-site store.

Mepkin Abbey’s commitment to the future of the environment was cemented in 2006, when under the direction of Father Francis Kline, the monastery placed the entire property into a conservation easement, preventing development of the land in perpetuity. John Frampton, director of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources at the time the easement was signed, calls the decision “a significant contribution to conservation, and a pledge that speaks volumes about the order’s true commitment to responsible land ethics.”

Conservation easements are a key tool for land protection within the state, carrying legal status that stays with the property even if it changes hands. They generally allow traditional uses like agriculture and timber harvesting, but restrict any largescale residential or commercial development, preserving the character of the land in perpetuity. A portion of the abbey’s property is planted in timber, and both loblolly and longleaf pines cover approximately 2,200 acres of the land. It is both a practical financial investment and one that reinforces their commitment to the land.

Visitors are welcome, and most come for the obvious natural beauty found here.

[The myriad plant varieties found among the winding paths, the labyrinth, and the native plants meadow provide a living, green backdrop for the peace that permeates every molecule of the grounds, which Father Stan explains best:] “People often speak of the peace they feel here. There are other places that are as beautiful and scenic. I believe that it is the spirit of those who live here that brings the peace to those who walk these paths. Without the monks, it is simply another picturesque tract of land. They are the peace that is found here.”

The oak allee welcomes all who pass beneath the grand trees’ majestic limbs. The view from the bluff offers the unique confluence of the Cooper River’s branches, and the panorama presented is without equal. Though there are areas restricted to the residents, guided tours of the grounds are available by appointment, families frequently bring picnics to enjoy on the grounds, and with permission, weddings are often performed.

Bequeathed to Father Francis Kline and the brothers of Mepkin Abbey by the renowned New York medical doctor, artist and art collector, Ugo Tesoriere, his works, along with his entire library and the contents of his studio, draw the interest of those familiar with his art. The brothers care for the collection as part of their mission to tell the artist’s story, and a number of works are available for sale each year.

Everything offered at Mepkin Abbey is tied to its spiritual purpose. A variety of retreat offerings, available by reservation, allow for individual silent or directed time at the monastery. The columbarium extends opportunities for an internment niche for the remains of affiliated members. A memorial to the fallen firefighters, the Charleston Nine, offers a place of pastoral beauty and reflection and features nine stones set in a circle with nine young live oaks, each planted in 2007, with the name of a firefighter at their bases.

A highlight of the monastery’s year is the annual Crèche Festival, which launches the holiday season for many, and drew over 8,000 attendees last year. Now in its twelfth year, the festival displays crèches (representations of the scene of Jesus’ birth) in every medium imaginable.

The order remains cloistered, though the world around it is changing. Currently, the brothers range in age from thirty-two to ninety, with most in their seventies. As though in warning, the abbey’s benefactress, Claire Boothe Luce once said, “Technological man can’t believe in anything that can’t be measured, taped or put into a computer.”

Father Stan, who entered the order in 1959 at the age of seventeen, admits that postulates this young are rare in today’s times, and he acknowledges that the order must adapt in order to attract a younger demographic to the vocation. Happily, though it certainly may not be measured, the Spirit of the Lord is alive at Mepkin Abbey, and its future looks bright. Currently, the monastery is home to four candidates for admission to the order.

It has also accepted two more to go on to the final stages, and another who has already been accepted, will join them in September.

As the light grows dim on the banks of the Cooper River this day, vespers conclude in the chapel, and there is time for personal prayer and light reading before darkness draws the monks to compline, or evening prayer. Soon, the grand silence will fall over the monastery, and the residents of Mepkin Abbey will bid goodnight to Mother Mary, and retire until the new dawn calls them again to work and prayer. AM For more information on Mepkin Abbey’s hours, retreats, Crèche Festival, mushroom products and more, visit their website www.mepkinabbey.org.

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S’more Please

A classic campfire treat, revisited

by Jana Riley

Fall 2015 AZALEAMAG.COM 95

Fall in the South beckons tradition and feelings of comfort, and the crisp air marks the departure of summer’s blanketing humidity, urging us once again to embrace the outdoors. From Friday night high school football games to weekend camping trips and meals under a canopy of oaks and pines, the season is ripe with opportunities to bask in its splendor. One true treasure of autumn is the bonfire. The warmth of the heat on your face, the enchanting glow of the coals, and the relaxed flow of conversation with friends and loved ones are only enhanced by the addition of an age-old favorite: the s’more.

Remaining virtually unchanged since the recipe was first published in a Girl Scout publication in 1927, the s’more traditionally consists of a sandwich of two graham cracker squares containing half of a chocolate bar and one toasted marshmallow. Yet to many Americans, the treat is much more.

Fond memories of first s’mores, best s’mores, and s’mores disasters are often shared as adults teach children how to assemble the scrumptious snack, and most people have a firm stance in regard to acceptable level of marshmallow doneness: for some, lightly toasted is the only way to go, while others sing the praises of a completely charred mallow.

A s’more is greater than a simple fireside snack: it is an experience, an opportunity for spirited marshmallow-themed debate, a teachable moment and an invitation to pause and recall the days of our youth. Though we know that the s’more, in all its simple glory, will continue to stand the test of time, we were inspired by its unique and well-loved blend of flavors to reimagine and celebrate the treat, and share with you some of our favorites here. Long live the s’more!

MASON JAR S'MORES SUNDAY

S'MORES DONUT

Ingredients

Ingredients

1 pkg JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding

Donut(s)

1 1/4 cups cold milk

Large Marshmallows

1 tub COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, divided

Hershey's chocolate bar

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Graham cracker crumbs

1 box graham cracker crumbs

Chocolate Syrup

3 large marshmallows per jar Preparation Preparation

Turn on oven to broil. Place donut(s) on parchment paper on

Beat pudding mix and milk in medium bowl with whisk 2 min.

baking pan. Put one marshmallow in the center of the donut. Place

Stir in 1 1/2 cups COOL WHIP and chocolate chips, set aside.

three Hershey's chocolate squares around the top edge of the donut.

Fill mason jar with alternating layers of graham cracker

Put pan under broiler and heat just until marshmallow begins to brown.

crumbs, chocolate mousse pudding mixture and COOL WHIP.

Remove from oven and lightly tap chocolate with the back of a spoon

Top with 3 toasted marshmallows.

to spread chocolate. Top with graham cracker crumbs and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.

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AUTUMN PEOPLE

by Ellen E. Hyatt When that loud, brazen sun is put in her place— low on the horizon—so she’s not coming at them, Autumn People know life is breathable again.

They step out on the porch, watch tumbleweeds, those puffballs of summer’s heat, Selfies (revered narcissism), and strife blow past and roll out of sight away from the hickory chips out back, fragranting and flavoring the small campfire.

Autumn People circle the fire, a beacon tender with light and warmth.

From an aerial view, they might resemble bees.

Their waggle dance (summer labor to find flowers, two million for one pound of honey) Done.

Propolis in place. A buzz of quiet comforts.

Later indoors, Autumn People sit unfussed around a table with an apple pie hub.

One empty chair reminds of winter’s approach.

But for now, on the stove top, in the making, perfect caramel sauce. When is it ready to drizzle?

Autumn People know. They listen for the sound of bubbles decreasing in size.

One spoon of honey added. Autumn People know to keep things simple, smooth, easy as pie.

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