B+T Issue 6, June July 2014 by Broadway+Thresher

Broadway+Thresher The Gay Ruralist

B+T is Coming Out! The Family We Make Celebrating One Year Summer 2014 June|July

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Journal

t has been an amazing year. This June, Broadway+Thresher celebrates our one-year anniversary. We couldn’t be more proud of the five digital issues we’ve produced so far. With Issue 6, you’ll notice some changes to B+T. We are returning to our roots, sharing the stories of individuals and families living a rural lifestyle infused with urban influences.

You’ll also notice we’ve got a new tag line: While Rural. Urban. Inclusive. successfully described our intention at B+T; it didn’t speak directly to the heart of our mission. We are now happy to unveil The Gay Ruralist. Yes, you’ve read that correctly. The heart of Broadway+Thresher has always been informed by a gay rural point-of-view. When we conceived of B+T, our original intent was to share our stories, as gay men living proudly in a rural environment. We are thrilled to return to our roots and hope you’ll continue to join us on our journey. We also intend to focus primarily on individuals and stories from the Midwest—specifically focusing on travel, food, the garden, and home décor. It’s not our intention to alienate anyone from Broadway+Thresher, but instead to hone our focus, so we can best share amazing stories, products, and spaces offering them with a new, exciting perspective. The gay lifestyle is the human lifestyle and it’s our intent to show we are very much the same, living our lives no different than our neighbors. The theme of this issue is The Family We Make. It’s a fact we all have biological families, but sometimes those people, for whatever reason, cannot or are not active participants in our daily lives. Instead we create families, choosing people to celebrate with us our triumphs and tragedies. For the gay community especially, some families choose to end their relationships over their relative’s sexual orientation. Creating a new family then becomes vital. For this issue, we’ve asked our contributors to tell us about their families. With Issue 7 we’ll return to the typical format you’ve come to love, but for now, get to know us a little better. After all, you’re a vital part of our family. With our new focus, we’re happy to welcome our past contributors and also introduce some new faces. It’s no mistake Issue 6 arrives during Pride Month. This is our “coming out” party, sharing with you our new identity, developed over the years. We’re proud of who we are. We’re proud of where we live. And we do not make excuses for living an authentic life in our communities even if it makes some uncomfortable. Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to another amazing year. Andrew Kohn+David Gobeli

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Contents stories

3 ... Journal 7 ... Contributors 8 ... The Family We Make 14 ... B+T Celebrates 1 Year

the Gay Ruralist

53 ... Pandora Boxxessories 57 ... Dawes Arboretum 60 ... Ironstone Nest 68 ... Intersection

-front cover and left image by Rachel Joy Baransi

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Broadway+Thresher Co-Founders+Editors in Chief David Gobeli+Andrew Kohn Executive Editor Daniel W. Long Photo Editor Rachel Joy Baransi

The Blog BroadwayandThresher.com Subscribe BroadwayandThresher.com/subscribe Advertise BroadwayandThresher.com/advertise Customer Service info@BroadwayandThresher.com Contact David or Andrew David@BroadwayandThresher.com Andrew@BroadwayandThresher.com Connect Facebook facebook.com/broadwayandthresher Twitter twitter.com/broadwaythreshe Pinterest pinterest.com/broadwaythresh

Section Editors Ruth Coffey [Fashion] Mark Nickerson [Food+Drink] Anton Sarossy-Christon [Farm+Garden] Meredith Peters [Music] Contributing Writers Emily George Debi Ward Kennedy Jenna Kelly-Landes Deven Rittenhouse Stephie Swope Contributing Editors Emily Blitzer Kristofer Bowman Brice Corder Jackie Alpers Design Consultant Jodi Melfi Technical Advisor Donald Jones Editorial Advisor Michael Kennedy Intern Brittany Butler

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Broadway+thresher is an Ohio Limited Liability Company. Published bimonthly at 4058 Columbus Road, Granville, Ohio, 43023. For customer service visit BroadwayandThresher.com, or write to P.O. Box 473, Granville, Ohio 43023. For subscription information visit BroadwayandThresher.com/subscribe or email info@broadwayandthresher.com. ÂŠ2014 Broadway+Thresher, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproductions in whole or in part without written consent is strictly prohibited.

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C o n t r i b u to rs

Allison Silver Adelman

Emily George

Contributing Writer

Resident Mixologist

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Laura Atchison

Eric George

Contributing Writer

Contributing Photographer

Lucas Atwood

Lee Kirkpatrick

Contributing Photographer

Rachel Joy Baransi Photo Editor

Fashion Contributor

Mark Nickerson

spring, summer, fall and winter.

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Food Editor

racheljoybaransi.com

Kristofer Bowman Lifestyle Contributor

Meredith Peters Music Editor

theinventorialist.com

Ruth Coffey

Fashion Editor

Anton SarossyChriston Farm+Garden Editor terravitafarms.com

Evelyn Hoyt Frolking

Susan Studer King Contributing Writer

Contributing Writer artifloragranville.com

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The Families We Make B+T Editors and Contributors

e’re living in a time where the definition of family is no longer simply the relatives we are born with, but sometimes the family we have to create. The idea of a family only meaning a mother, a father, a set of siblings and extended relatives connected by blood is becoming antiquated as the world grows smaller and we live ever spread over the globe. Through adoption, friendships, the changing dynamic of marriages, the tragic loss of family by the simple act of coming out and living authentically to ones values, the creation of the modern family is as never seen before. No longer do we quietly exist with what we are given, but make connections and build communities around us—full of love and acceptance. In this initial re-launch of B+T, we’ve asked some of our editors and contributors to tell their stories about the families they’ve created. We bring you stories of traditional families, modern adoptions by samesex couples, friends becoming brothers and sisters, and husbands and wives—both straight and gay.

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Andrew Kohn - B+T Editor in Chief

moved to a rural community three years ago with my partner, Don, and a menagerie of animals, including five chickens strapped safely in the back of a new pick-up truck. We were on a mission to find an easier way of living, leaving the hustle of Washington, D.C. behind us. What we found wasn’t exactly the calm lifestyle we had anticipated, and while we don’t deal with unbearable traffic or a high crime rate, we care for a working farm and the anxiety it brings. Without even recognizing it, we’d become gay ruralists. Living on our farm, we had never thought of ourselves as different. We purchase hay like straight farmers. And we help birth lambs like straight farmers (albeit with perhaps a few more screams here and there). As we grew more settled in our community, it became apparent we weren’t alone. There were other gay men living proud and open. We didn’t recognize this initially for the simple reason that we don’t talk about politics or fashion on the farm. We don’t know the hottest Starbuck trend (an Oprah chai?) or care about what might or might not be happening to the Pines. When you remove topics of conversation deemed typical of gay men (by the media), it becomes more about the person than the lifestyle. It turns out our village of Granville, Ohio is the second gayest small community in Ohio, as determined by some very official looking study. Committed gay individuals and couples attend our church, hold respected positions within the community, and aren’t known to their neighbors simply as the “gay couple.” The diversity of rural living is extraordinary. We all have images of the typical small town, complete with Confederate flags and barefoot babies. And for some regions this is undoubtedly the truth. But there’s the amazing things–it’s true in some areas. And in others, it isn’t. Our lives, in comparison to when we lived in the city, are pretty dull. Sure we still sip gin and tonics as the sun sets, and we send text messages to gossip (although they’re less “Gurl, sale at Burberry” and more “Gurl, I think your goat is loose.”). We aren’t as politically active as we once were and we don’t own a dresser full of beautiful cashmere sweaters. We do know too much about muck boots and the intricacies of the county fair livestock judging process. Local banks by goats, for slaughter–a fact that still makes no sense to me. But we’re here. I could never say I don’t miss the city on occasion. There’s something to a fast-paced, high-energy environment. But any time I’m missing it, I can just take a scoop full of grain into the pasture and fend off nine goats–each with the hopes of eating it all by themselves. I could also look out my window and see an escaped llama running down the road (something that’s actually happened). We never intended to be gay ruralists. It just happened. But we’ll proudly own our title. Everyday we live openly, sharing our lives with our community, our friends, and the animals that roam our fields.

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Ruth Coffey - B+T Fashion Editor

’ve been provided a family larger than imagination. Multi colored, aged and cultured. I am the second oldest of ten children. Yes, I have nine siblings. No, there are no twins. No, they are not all biological. My brother Victor was born in Bolivia. No, my parents aren’t Catholic and no, they’re not wealthy. Frequently these clarifiers are followed by assumptions regarding my parent’s sex life and or amazement, often by women, of my mother’s fortitude. I had more than one childhood friend who was unable to recognize my mother unless she was pregnant. The first seventeen years of my life was spent mostly outdoors, sharing my room with at least two other people, wearing and using hand-medown everything and changing diapers. I swear I started babysitting when I was six, or maybe five. My large family means I’m inclined toward intimacy, sharing space, thoughts, feelings and going without. What I lacked in extracurricular activities and personal space I made up for in forced character building by sharing one bathroom with the entire family. I can now easily enjoy myself in the company of the rudest people in the smallest of spaces. It’s a gift, which continues to give wherever long lines exist. My siblings are some of my very best friends and some of the most interesting people I know, partially due to their own forced character building and partially due to the necessity of finding your own way when parents are too busy raising toddlers to micro-manage the direction of your life. We are a family of adventurers, explorers, entrepreneurs; we make a way, our own way from a lack of exposure to adult supervision. I don’t know anyone else who didn’t have a curfew at age fourteen on school nights. All of this has served me well as a traveler and transient. Since college I’ve yet to live anywhere for more than a year. I’ve hustled and shared small spaces all over the world and everywhere I go I discover more of my family. The East Coast provided poet sisters and musician brothers and a meditating partner. In Asia I found biologist brothers and dumpling making cousins. Africa had me adopt surfer sisters and artist brothers. West coast brought yoga and farm loving siblings and erudite aunts and uncles. The Midwest has provided my coffee loving twin. My family’s photos are absurdly beautiful and absurdly difficult to take. The intimacy required at a young age means I cannot abide small talk and I cannot love someone without adding them to my immediate family, in my mind there is always room for more though it is no small feat to remember everyone’s birthday. What is family but people who see and know each other intimately, who care for one another, whose door is always open no matter the fight, people who feed you and whom you feed. People who will carry you and whom you’ll carry. People you can sit beside in silence and with whom you can laugh until you’re sick. Relating by blood is a miraculous thing, relating by heart and soul, to me, is what this life is all about.

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Mark Nickerson - B+T Food+Drink Editor This was my first experience with the idea that family is something you can create, not just something you get at birth. It was an experience I would recreate when I moved to Texas a few years later knowing that I wouldn’t have the resources to be able to go home for every holiday or birthday. I built a new family in Austin. People who helped mold me into a better version of myself, knocking the rough edges off of my youth, slipping me an extra fifty bucks when I ran a little short, welcoming a Yankee kid into their homes on Thanksgiving and Christmas and singing happy birthday to me in the sweltering heat of Texas summers. I met a woman, married her and thus started a new family, a family of two, a wholly intentional family of our creation. Always restless I have moved a lot, and being married didn’t change that. Every place we went we built a new family. Strangers that became colleagues that became friends that became indispensable family members. From Texas to Chicago then the big leap across the Pacific to Singapore, we built little family units. Support groups that helped make the distance to our “real” families seem a little less daunting, their absence a little less painful. We had a Thanksgiving dinner in the middle of an early monsoon downpour in Singapore, surrounded by family members from a half a dozen different countries. The family we made out of the bits and pieces of other families scattered from around the globe became some of our my most cherished loved ones.

amilies are never easy. Families going through, or on the other side of, a divorce even less so. In the middle of what should have been the best couple years of my childhood, those last couple years of school before leaving home and starting “real life” my folks separated. I didn’t handle it well. I’d always had a difficult relationship with my father, and while I knew why my mother wanted out of the marriage, I still resented the hell out of her for the decisions she made. I loved my family and hated them all at the same time and was somewhat less than subtle in expressing my teenage fury. Predictably this only resulted in only more strain on a family already being torn apart. In many ways, my friends became my family. I was in The Boy Scouts and the high school band—neither group particularly popular in my small hometown—so we were a close-knit group out of a sense of survival. My reliance on my friends as my replacement family only made the bonds deeper. Some of them are still some of the closest friends I have. I learned and relied on them and discovered that family isn’t always just who you share a bloodline with, but it’s the people you can call at one in the morning when you need a place to stay because you are too angry to stay home and too scared to leave. It’s the people who help you laugh as everything you love comes to an end. A family is the people who accept you, attitude and all, and can give you a supportive hug while still telling you that you are being an insufferable ass.

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But as with every family I had known, the time came to leave them behind, to move on from Singapore and I decided that nearly fifteen years apart from my first family—the one I didn’t choose, the one that had been made before I was born—was long enough. And so we moved again, to my small hometown in Ohio to re-establish long since rusted connections to my family. I was nervous, uncertain. While we had stayed in touch and visited home from time to time, the idea of living again surrounded by the people who helped create my very existence was intimidating. Would I have a better relationship with my father, a man I respected but feared and didn’t know as well as I felt I should? Would I be able to get past the resentment for my mother? Would I be able to sit with my grandmothers and not feel the stabbing pangs of regret at having missed the funerals of my grandfathers? Would I be able to find peace with my sister, a woman whom I had once cruelly told that were we not related and she was not the sort of person I would want to have in my life? All I knew was I felt compelled to try. And what I discovered was this: Even with the family you are born in to, you still get the family that you make. You get to choose how you relate to these relatives. So I find myself, three years on in my old hometown, still building a family, but this time building it out of the pieces of my family tree that surround me every day.

Ashley Vuckovich - B+T Contributor

hat is family and what is the family I’ve created for myself ? This simple question has been nagging me for weeks and my first thought was “I don’t have a family.” And yet, that didn’t feel true to me. So what is family? I Googled to find out and here is the definition I relate to: “referring to biology: a group of objects united by a significant shared characteristic.” I’ve lived in New York City for the past twelve years and during that time I’ve seen a couple of long term relationships come and go. Yes, New York City can feel like the loneliest place on earth when you are here by yourself—so many people and yet so alone. But recently, as I find myself single in the city, I’ve realized I can still feel whole, happy and loved—all on my own. Who is the family that I’ve created? I am my family, my 11 year-old Chihuahua is my family, my friends in the city, and my best friends and parents who are all far away but who I talk to every day are my family. And, the people I see every day are my family because we are united by a significant shared characteristic— we are trying to survive in this crazy city. We are looking for human connection, love and a quiet space in the park. We are New Yorkers and we are humans. Jerson, my doorman, is one of my favorite people in the world; he makes my building feel like home. He greets me everyday, consoles me when I’m upset, makes feel good about myself when I’m sad about a break up, protects me by not allowing strangers come to my door, and most importantly, makes me laugh! I tell him that if he ever leaves, I’m moving out and finding another apartment too. That’s not necessarily untrue. Theo, the 87 year-old man who lives at the senior center at the end of my block, is amazing. During one of my recent conversations with him, he was dressed in all white: handsome and spunky as ever. He told me New York City was a big freak party and uniting our community by saying hi, making friends with the neighborhood kids and keeping tabs on our neighborhood was his medicine. When I see him, I feel inspired and his love radiates. He is my medicine. I know I can always count on the regulars and the people who work at my favorite café to make me feel like I always have a place to go. I can tell you what every regular does for a living, who they may be dating and their temperament. The same goes for the staff. Isabella, Ariel or Byron, who greet me by name when I walk in, knows my order, hook me up with free coffees, the best wines and provide conversation when I need it. No evening plans, no problemo, the café is only a block away. New York is filled with family and when it isn’t, I always have someone to call. That is how I’ve created my family.

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Celebrate. One Year of B+T

e’ve covered a lot of ground this past year‑from New York to Los Angeles, telling the stories of tastemakers, individuals and families that make the inclusive rural landscape so fresh. Take a walk down memry lane with us as we revisit some of our favorite stories and articles.

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On the farm with Beekman 1802

David Gobeli | photos courtesy Beekman 1802

or Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell life is pretty sweet right now. Their quickly expanding lifestyle brand, Beekman 1802, just completed and opened its flagship store, they have a reality show on the Cooking Channel, they were the one million dollar winners of the 21st season of CBS’s The Amazing Race, Josh moved to the farm permanently, and the couple got married on June 28th. Though, this recent success isn’t without years of hard work and dedication to each other. When Josh and Brent bought the 1802 Beekman farm in Sharon Springs, New York they had planned to use it as a weekend getaway. Every year the two left Manhattan and went apple picking in upstate New York, and that year decided to visit Sharon Springs, a progressive village of 547 residents about an hour drive west of Albany. On an apple picking excursion, the two saw the for sale sign at the property and it talked to them, “like a siren call” and they purchased it that weekend. Eventually the couple took in a herd of goats and its farmer, John, along with an attitude filled llama named Polka Spot. What started out a weekend getaway turned into a burden as the economy turned and both Brent and Josh lost their jobs: Brent as the Vice President for Healthy Living at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and Josh as an advertising executive. Struggling to keep the farm and apartment in the city, they took a gamble and started Beekman 1802, a brand with products that at first centered around the farm’s goats (goat milk soaps), and then expanded into other areas such as consumables, home décor, kitchen wear, garden tools, clothing, and cookbooks. Named after Judge William Beekman, who built the couple’s mansion and farm in 1802, Beekman 1802, celebrates art and artisans of rural New York. The Beekman memory and tradition plays a large role in the development of the brand. His face adorns shirts and aprons, a seed mix contains the varieties of vegetables his gardens once grew, and gives way to the annual Victorian festival. When starting the brand, they decided that Brent would move to the farm fulltime and grow Beekman 1802, and Josh would stay in the city, eventually finding a new advertising job and help support the business by working. They had a “year of sacrifice” in which they’d live apart and see how the business grew. One year turned into more, and the couple trudged on. Finally last year, the couple put their city apartment on the market and moved to the farm fulltime. Both Josh and Brent are from more rural backgrounds, Josh from Wisconsin and Brent from North Carolina, and Brent says they, “could not wait to get out of the rural environment and be in the city,” but after losing their jobs and starting Beekman 1802 out of desperation a latent passion for farming and a more rural life came to the surface. In retrospect, both now realize that their time in the city was already nearing an end and they had accomplished all they Broadway+threshersummer2014.............17

had wanted professionally, and the move to Sharon Springs, taking in of the goat herd, and beginning of Beekman 1802, was a fortuitous happy accident. They can’t say if the experience would have been so positive had, those years ago, they visited a different small town and bought a different farm, but fate had them travel where they did, and Sharon Springs has welcomed them with open arms. Both Josh and Brent made the efforts to get out in the village and learn as much about their neighbors as they could—what their passions are, their trades. “We’ve made a conscientious effort to know our neighbors, and know what their skills are, and try to work together to build something,” says Brent. When told that Sharon Springs is a one-of-a-kind place that doesn’t exist anywhere else, they respond with a simple, “There are treasures in every community, but often times we just don’t go around and look for them.” Their reality show, The Fabulous Beekman Boys, which first ran on Planet Green for two seasons and then switched to The Cooking Channel, chronicles them learning to be farmers, running Beekman 1802, and their life together. As viewers, we get an inside look at this relationship that, while outwardly different than many, has the same struggles and responsibilities of any couple, though not many get to deliver lambs to Martha Stewart’s house, or wrap thousands of bars of soap for an order for Anthropologie. Viewers see them bicker, laugh, throw tantrums, and generally be in 18.............Broadway+threshersummer2014

love as any couple is, and that has caused a lot of smiles on their fans’ faces. The show’s production company, World of Wonder, structured the show to highlight a couple—not a gay couple, not two people of a community different that the majority, but just a couple. Brent notes that two-thirds of the couples that do attend appearances are heterosexual couples and everyone that sees the show can witness different aspects from their own relationships and makes the show more universal. According to Brent, homophobia and prejudice are caused by misinformation and lack of experience, and The Fabulous Beekman Boys is the first show to ever be aired on TV that focuses on a gay couple in a long term relationship, and the TV community has loved it. Two of the most common emails they receive from fans is a woman saying that her husband would normally not watch a show about to gay guys, but has seen the show and it’s now his favorite, and from emails from parents who think their child may be gay and use the show as a way to start a conversation about acceptance. In the same tone, the show has opened up the rural countryside for the LGBT community. Those that have migrated to the city to feel accepted and have began to see that the stereotypical view of small town isn’t actually what was thought, and there is a move to leave large urban centers, discover small towns, and be accepting of oneself. By living like they do and on camera, Brent and Josh have shown that finding an accepting community, in any location is possible.

The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Dessert Cookbook

David Gobeli | photo courtesy Beekman 1802

here are a lot of buzz words floating around—heirloom, organic, local. Catch phrases like “living an authentic life”, YOLO, and “classic American.” Many brands are falling short of their claims, some are on the right track, and others are defining what it means to be heirloom, authentic, and local. Well, Beekman 1802, the lifestyle brand led by husbands Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, has once again set the bar on what other companies should strive toward. Their second cookbook, The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Dessert Cookbook (Rodale, 2013) is two hundred sixty pages of one hundred sugarcraving and, best of all, intriguing recipes. Like with their first cookbook, the recipes are divided into four seasons—winter, spring, summer and fall—but without all those pesky vegetables to get in the way. Spring has delights such as strawberry shortcake, creamsicle angel food cake, and chocolate pie. Summer looks towards sweet green tomato hand pies, plum upside down cake, and baked Manhattan. Chocolate soup and sugar plums round out winter, but my favorite season, fall, highlights a pancake cake, french toast bread pudding, and a tarte tatin. The pumpkin roll was exciting, and delicious, and the first thing I baked from the book (pictured left), but I have bookmarked just about every other page for future recipe testing. What’s most striking is the stunning photography and food styling. Photographer Paulette Tavormina and food and prop stylists Paul Grimes and Thom Driver have to be some of the most gifted professionals in the business. Both Paulette and Paul worked with Beekman 1802 on their first book and I’m happy to see their collaboration again. Their book takes what was superb and about The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook and sophisticated it in a way that is more classic and grown-up while always staying true to themselves and their audience. I especially love the space at the end of each chapter for the reader to record their own heirloom recipes. You only live once and The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Dessert Cookbook will make it much more delicious. The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Dessert Cookbook released September 10, 2013. See beekman1802.com for more information. See page XX for the new Beekman 1802 cookbook release—The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Vegetable Cookbook.

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Celebrate: The Wedding photos courtesy Ely Brothers Photography

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Yigit Pura: Tout Sweet Andrew Kohn | photos by Frankeny Images

igit Pura, winner of BRAVO’s Top Chef Desserts, found his love for pastry while growing up in Turkey. When his family moved to California, he turned down a scholarship to New York University to enter the kitchen in San Francisco’s The Meetinghouse. From there, Yigit has worked in the kitchens of Le Cirque 2000, the Four Seasons Hotel, Restaurant Daniel and the Daniel Boulud Brasserie. Still working in San Francisco, he currently calls Tout Sweet Pâtisserie home, infusing American flavors with French inspiration. Yigit says, “I want to make your heart smile from the moment you walk into our pâtisserie, lay eyes on our beautifully packaged pastries, cakes, verrines, cookies, tarts, pate de fruits, dessert sauces, fruit curds, jams, flavored marshmallows and other wonderful items.” We sat down with Yigit and asked him about his personal inspiration, the future of pastry and what he eats when he isn’t mastering a macaron or perfecting a parfait. B+T - Where do you draw your baking inspiration? YP - Inspiration for me is everywhere. That’s what’s so exciting about pastry making. Whether it’s a musician, a poem or a favorite travel destination, I like to explore what they would taste like on a sweet palette. For example, my Tesla line was inspired by Nikola Tesla’s unique vision to translate electricity into power. From that I created my passion fruit, yuzu and meyer lemon “electric” flavor profile, that is showcased in a petit gateau, marshmallows, pâtes de fruit and other confections. B+T - What is your favorite item to bake? YP - Picking a favorite item is like choosing your favorite child. <laughs> My favorite item changes every month. I’m always looking for the next best thing. I suppose it’s a blessing and a curse. I always try to get people excited to try our newest inspiration. But a few have struck a unique spot over the years, including our lavender pavlovas with lychee, our 5th element cake, and our Tesla tart. Each were created around a specific emotion, as opposed to a flavor pairing. B+T - What was your favorite treat growing up? YP - My favorite dessert of all-time comes from my homeland of Turkey. It’s called Tavuk gögsü and it is basically a dessert pudding made with chicken and milk. Add a little cinnamon on top and it’s perfection! A great chocolate-layered cake comes in at a close second! B+T - What new ingredient trends can we expect for 2014? YP - Why don’t you watch us at Tout Sweet and find out! (toutsweetsf. com)

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B+T - What’s your favorite casual meal?

B+T - At what age did you start working in the kitchen?

YP - I love Japanese food. Give me a great bowl of udon and I am completely satisfied.

YP - I began my culinary training in the pastry arts at the tender age of four in Ankara, Turkey. One of my fondest memories is of my mother making me a big spoonful of dark caramel. My first job in the United States was in the pastry kitchen at The Meetinghouse, a threestar San Francisco restaurant, where I worked for two years under chef and mentor Joanna Karlinsky.

B+T - Do you have a favorite restaurant and what’s on the menu do you love? YP - San Francisco is such a foodie city! Thankfully we have a widerange of excellent restaurants to choose from. I often go to Prospect for their cocktails and entrees, or Barbacco for their small plates. Both restaurants deliver beautifully. B+T - How important is family in your life? Who introduced you to your love of baking? YP - Family is everything. Be it my sister who’s my best friend in life, my loyal dog Maui, or my family at Tout Sweet who help me to create and push the envelope every day. I was introduced to baking since I was a toddler as our house was always full of family baking and cooking feasts, in the best Turkish fashion. But it was my father who really pushed me to pursue my dreams, no matter how unconventional, or crazy as they may have seemed. For this I’m grateful everyday!

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B+T - What are your plans for the future? YP - I’m hoping to expand Tout Sweet to several locations across the United States and internationally! B+T - Do you have a cookbook in the works? YP - Yes, I do have a cookbook in the works. It is titled Sweet Alchemy and will be coming out in early 2014. I wanted to break down the barriers for intimidation which people have when it comes to making really special desserts. I want to show people that they can create really wonderful desserts at home, given they can be patient, follow some simple science, and of course, by putting lots of love in it.

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Paul Redman’s Journey to Longwood Gardens

Andrew Kohn | images by Nicole McGrew

hat would you do if you had your own garden to manage, as well as 1,077 acres of our nation’s most prestigious public garden to lead? Paul Redman wakes up every morning to this reality. Not only does he cultivate his private collection of wisteria and peonies, but is also Director of Longwood Gardens, founded in 1906 near Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Originally established by Pierre S. du Pont, Longwood Gardens welcomes over a million visitors each year to explore its gorgeous four-acre conservatory, seasonal displays and attend one of the more than 400 events held each year. Growing up, my parents would take me to Longwood Gardens every year – if not multiple times a year. We would walk the grounds, check out the decorations and watch the amazing fountain light show (pre-Bellagio). I was too young to appreciate the diversity of plant life thriving within the gardens, but I was able to appreciate, even at an early age, the beauty contained within each rose or the awesomeness of nature on display in huge water lilies. Raised on a horse and cattle ranch in southeast Oklahoma, Paul began cultivating his love for gardening early in his life. He started raising turnips in an old horse pen in elementary school. If he was going to be allowed to grow something, it would have to useful to the family. After an initial career in accounting at Oklahoma State University, Paul changed his major sophomore year to Horticulture and Landscape Architecture with the support of his family and his mother’s keen advice: “You’re going to be poor.” Undeterred, Paul focused on horticulture with an emphasis in production. After graduation, he joined the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Kaua’I, Hawaii as their volunteer coordinator. Eventually, Paul became a horticulturalist/ botanist at the garden. After Hurricane Iniki devastated the area, Paul was on the search for his next opportunity, and decided to attend graduate school back home in Oklahoma where we specialized in an alternative agronomic crops project. It was after graduation that Paul chose to return to public gardens, and joined the Franklin Park Conservatory as their Director of Horticulture. For 12 years, Paul made it his mission to connect people with plants, educating the public about their natural surroundings, and is credited with helming the conservatory through an unprecedented time of growth. Not least of which saw the installation of numerous Dale Chihuly glass sculptures integrated in the surrounding floral landscape. Public gardens no longer

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belong solely to scientists, but have become open spaces for all, celebrating both the raw beauty of our natural world and inspired artistic expression. Living in Ohio, I have visited Franklin Park a few times over the past years. Not only does the conservatory house a geographic variety of plants – that range from cacti to orchids – but it also is home to an expansive community garden and hosts a farmer’s market during the summer months. No longer the exclusive home to elite garden club members and scientists, Franklin Park has embraced the Columbus community with open arms. At Longwood, Paul has been faced with, and met, a leadership challenge. While at the helm of a prestigious public garden, he still says the work is not done yet. Since coming to the garden in 2006, Paul has made subtle but significant changes. He has seen visitors increase from 750,000 to over one million. Membership has increased to over 75,000 individuals and families. Displays and programs have increased. And research has taken a leading role, working on the development of new plants and partnering with the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Delaware to teach the next generation of horticulturalists.

My job is to ensure Longwood’s leadership as a 21st century Garden—respecting our heritage while improving our infrastructure, embracing new technologies, and planning for the future. At the end of the day, Paul isn’t concerned so much about his own tenure at Longwood, but instead managing the legacy of the garden itself. He says it’s the “soul and energy” that drives his institution and hopes to continue on, and increase, the reputation and credibility of the gardens. Recently, Longwood has initiated its Beyond the Garden Gate program, highlighting stories of the people of Longwood – how the garden does exactly what it does. These personal stories not only document the history behind the exhibits but also shares a glimpse of that “soul and energy” – the heart of the very people that keep the gardens growing. Asked how he believes gardening will develop in the future, Paul foresees a return to gardening design and style through sustainable simplicity, using non-invasive plants that require less water and limited chemical intervention. Regional plants will replace exotic varietals, with aesthetics harkening back to the 1940s. As we look to the future, we should be aware of what we plant and Broadway+threshersummer2014.............33

how it interacts with our larger ecosystem. As I reminisce about time spent at Longwood Gardens, I distinctly remember the afternoon a mime put pepper in my mother’s drink because she wouldn’t join him in his mimery – it’s a legendary story in the family. As an institution, Longwood holds firm to a piece of my memory, forever. It’s a reminder of the important work Paul, and his team, do every day in southeastern Pennsylvania. Not only are they conserving our nation’s plant history, helping educate countless families about our natural world and creating gorgeous displays that both amaze and inspire; they’re bringing families together and creating memories that will last a lifetime. The spirit of Longwood is forever alive in every visitor that walks its many storied paths.

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Dining Out: The Inn at Little Washington

Mark Nickerson | photos by Lucas Atwood and The Inn at little Washington ou know you’re getting close to the Inn at Little Washington when you begin to get the feeling that you’ve driven into an Andrew Wyeth landscape. As US-522 dips and weaves its way through the idyllic Virginia countryside you also gain an appreciation, before you’ve even sampled the first bite, of Chef Patrick O’Connell’s culinary inspiration. It’s distinctly American: its rustic organic roots as plain as day, but elevated and presented with an unquestionable exactitude. A mere seventy miles from downtown Washington, D.C., Chef O’Connell’s Inn is more than just an escape from the city: The Inn at Little Washington is an escape from the ordinary. Observe the detail. From the 350 year old wooden floor in the tea room, shipped from southern France and then painstakingly reassembled complete with the original nail heads, to the perfectly hung striped silk wall covering in the main dining room, there isn’t a single wrong note. This care extends beyond the facility and into the actions of every employee. They operate with precision and focus to ensure that guests are catered to at every moment.

The details: Meals are available as either a la carte in a four course tasting menu or, for the more adventurous, there is an expanded “Gastronaut’s Menu” offered with or without paired wines. A Vegetarian Gastronaut’s menu is also available. The wine cellar consists of over 14,000 bottles representing over 2,500 different labels including wines from the increasingly well regarding Virginia wine country. Make reservations by visiting innatlittlewashington.com or by calling (540) 675-3800.

Most kitchens I’ve been in are noisy frenetic places with stress almost visible in the air. During our visit, an hour into dinner service, the loudest noise was Gregorian chants playing in the background. The cooks all moved quickly but calmly, with little wasted motion, and never yelling across the room to each other. Through it all, Chef O’Connell maintained an easy control, tasting and expediting dishes, answering our questions and even taking a moment to ask one of the food runners that he hadn’t seen yet that day how his afternoon was going. To even the most casual observer it is a telling sign of the focus which goes directly to the heart of the menu. Like the Inn itself, the menu is an ever evolving work of vision, dedication and refinement. The dishes will at first glance seem familiar—an ahi tartare, lamb carpaccio or quartet of oysters to start. Main course selections including beef loin, lobster or pork chop—but they are augmented by small touches that surprise the palate and turn the mind in unexpected ways while highlighting the seasonal and usually very local produce that are the hallmark of the Inn at Little Washington. A cucumber sorbet to accompany the ahi. Caesar salad ice cream dots the lamb loin carpaccio, giving a cool refreshment to the rich meat. Papardelle pasta with chanterelle mushrooms gets turned on its head with the addition of apricots and ribbons of country ham. The squab, a mainstay of fine dining is both elevated and also made more accessible when graced by blueberry vinegar and a zucchini crepe. In talking about how he designs his menu, O’Connell says that more than simply Broadway+threshersummer2014.............37

taking a classic dish and adding his own twist his goal is to bring “a little grandma” into each item as well. To bring those flavors of American exuberance and simplicity to the refined European inspired dishes that form the basis of his menu. The produce is seasonal and as a result the menu changes not with the shifting seasons but along with the vagaries of agricultural fortune. Some years cherries are abundant and incorporated a dozen ways in the summer menu. Others, they’re sparse and old favorites re-imagined to accommodate the shortage. Cultivating deep relationships with producers, many local to north-western Virginia, is the key to success, according to Chef O’Connell. With a list of over two dozen local producers, from hog, oyster and berry farmers to beekeepers and everything in between, he has managed to develop a network of partners that supply ingredients that set the tone for the menu. Between working in collaboration with his inhouse grower and having an understanding of what his producers are planting, O’Connell is involved in every step of food production. “All food has its own terroir,” says O’Connell. “When you work with these people year after year you learn that the strawberries grown on one farm will taste different than 38.............Broadway+threshersummer2014

those grown in another place. And that means I have to think about how I want those flavors to be used in the dish.” In addition to understanding what is happening with his growers, and building in redundancy by finding multiple high quality sources for his most critical ingredients, there is another element of collaboration that comes into play. It’s not uncommon for a grower, especially his in house farmer, Joneve Murphy, to approach him with a product and a suggestion for how to use it in his menu. A gutsy move, one might think, to approach a multiple James Beard Award winner, a chef known for his exacting standards and attention to detail and suggest something new for his menu. But Chef O’Connell thrives on the collaboration. “She might come in one day and say ‘Here, taste this,’ and hand me some vegetable I didn’t even ask her to grow,” his face lights up as he describes the scene. “And then she will go on and suggest I use it in a chutney and I’ll know I never would have thought of that myself, but it is exactly right.” It is this process of collaborative creation, albeit a process firmly rooted in his singular vision for what he has worked to develop, that increasingly provides a model for the modern American culinary scene. When he started in the

late 70s it was a situation born out of necessity. Before there was such a thing as a “farm to table movement” Chef O’Connell was doing whatever it took to make the meals he envisioned. At that time the infrastructure simply wasn’t in place to source his product through the traditional routes available to restaurants. No one was delivering to a small town an hour’s drive out of the closest city.

way that belies the intensity and energy that have driven the constant evolution of his vision. “Now everything else has to come up to that standard. And while you are working on that you find something else changes and sets a new even higher standard. And so it continues to grow. But it grows authentically. You can’t just impose your will on it. It’s a dialogue you have.”

“But this is where I knew I wanted to live and work. And I knew that there were enough people in this area that would appreciate and could afford what I wanted to create that I could make it successful,” explains O’Connell. And that insight has proved accurate. Starting small and growing incrementally over the last four decades the Inn has evolved from a small dining room with a cramped kitchen in a converted service station into a renovation of the town itself. It’s an evolution that was never planned in this way, but one that has grown organically as the need and the opportunity have presented themselves to a man with a simple vision for who he is and what he wants to do yet admits he never feels like he has arrived at palace where he is fully satisfied.

That dialogue has helped to re-imagine American cuisine. From a place where American chefs might have been a bit embarrassed about traditional American fare to a point where diners rejoice over dishes such as “A Chop of Organic Milk-Fed Pork with Sauerkraut Braised in Virginia Riesling, Local Apples and la Ratte Potato Puree.” It is food that reflects that rural tradition of making a meal out of what is at hand and, like Americans themselves, is the product of a melting pot of culinary traditions. There are no constraints of a singular ethnic point of view. Curried cauliflower resides alongside truffle-stuffed pheasant breast. The result is dishes that are elevated in such a way that Chef O’Connell insists they would hold their own against the very best that one could expect to find in a Michelin-starred European restaurant.

“You have patience. And you make an incremental change here or there. Maybe on a dish or maybe with a building. And you find a way that makes it better and so a new standard is set,” O’Connell explains in his soft spoken

And his audience agrees. In addition to the awards, the praise of food critics and reviewers worldwide, you can see his best reviews on any given night at the Inn: a packed Broadway+threshersummer2014.............39

house, the smiles of the guests and the uniquely happy hum of a dining room full of people enjoying a truly sensational meal.

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Chef to Chef As a part of our feature on The Inn at Little Washington, we arranged for Lucas Atwood, chef and owner of Snapshots Lounge and the Edit Room in Granville, Ohio to sit down with Chef Patrick O’Connell for a short series of “Chef to Chef ” questions. Lucas - Chef, like you, I am a self taught cook. I understand when you started out here you were working on a small wood burning stove with limited space. I am wondering, with those constraints, what dish did you choose to master first, and why? Patrick - That’s exactly the right word. Master. Too many people overlook that. It was Julia Child who first suggested to Americans that cooking was an art that could be mastered. It was her suggestion that this was a craft to be honed and that of another woman, Paula Peck, who wrote “The Art of Fine Baking” that inspired me to continually work at improving and mastering a dish. Paula Peck decided to master the croissant. So she would work at her recipe and once a year she would travel to France and compare the croissants there to what she was making at home. After nine years she finally reached a point where she liked her own croissant more. Nine years! For me, starting it out, I think there were two things I wanted to master. I wanted to master the creme caramel which I changed a little to use honey instead of sugar. But I also wanted a versatile main course so I mastered poaching chicken. Poached chicken can go with a variety of different sauces allowing you to present several different dishes. Lucas - You are known for running a very clean kitchen. Very particular. I have to confess that I get a bit messy. Were you always this articulate in your kitchen management or was it something that came with time? Patrick - Again, I have to refer to Julia Child. She once said “don’t be a cook who doesn’t like cleaning,” and I’ve always taken that to heart. This is all a part of the process and to master something you have to enjoy every step of experience. I enjoy cleaning, though now I have a larger staff and there is always someone else cleaning up. For me it was a therapeutic part of the cooking process. I was ordering my universe. This has now grown to other parts of the business. We get to look at old buildings and clean them up, re-envision their use as a part of the Inn. But yes, from the very beginning I was particular about these things. Lucas - I read a story once of how you connected with a guest who was sitting alone in your dining room, very sad and reading a book. You apparently had just read the same book and you were able to connect with her over that. I don’t suppose you happen to remember the book, do you? Continued on page 33

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Continued from page 31

Patrick - I don’t remember the book. It was some novel I think. I don’t get to read nearly as much these days. I’m sure I’ll remember the book though sometime later tonight or tomorrow. But I do remember the woman. One of our staff members told me that she was there because her husband recently passed and they had always wanted to dine here. I wanted to welcome her to our place but couldn’t use that as a point of entry to talk to her. So I talked about the book. This business is about connecting with people and so when I am going to go to a table I always need that point of entry. That point of connection other than just the food.

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Ahh, It’s Time to Get Away! styled by Ruth Coffey | photos by Rachel Joy Baransi

ime to get away.

Whether you’re heading to Miami, Mexico or Saint Tropez, Faherty Brand has you covered with high quality and great looking clothing and swimwear made from recycled polyester. Using twothirds less energy and ninety percent less water than traditional fabric, Faherty Brand’s commitment to eco-friendliness is equal to their great style. Faherty Brand is online at fahertybrand.com

on him: classic board shorts, $125; t-shirt by threads for thought Broadway+threshersummer2014.............45

top: cami underwire top in sumatra plangi, $110; convertible hipster bottom, $100 bottom: (left) one piece in aegean turquoise, $155; (middle) see above; (right) cami underwire top in japanese floral, $110; convertible hipster bottom, $100

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on him: classic board shorts, $125; bracelet by kiel james patrick; t-shirt by threads for thought 48.............Broadway+threshersummer2014

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B+T - T he G a y R u ral ist

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Orchard House

Bed and Breakfast  Event Space  Antiques www.orchardhousegranville.com  740-651-1850

Gay Owned and Operated in Granville, Ohio

Pandora Boxxessessories

Pandora Boxx

ight now is a time where it seems fashion hasn’t really clung to a definitive style. Just think: the 50’s, 60’s, 80’s and even the 90’s had a certain overall look but what about the new millennium? Hashtag re-hash, so the key word right now is individuality. Be different! Everyone is different and choosing a fun accessory can really show off your own unique personality. If you want to wear a rubber duck on your head then god dammit wear a frakking duck on your head (which I have by the way)! To help you out, I’ve chosen four accessories that are easy to cater to your own unique you. Make sure you show me your fabulous look using #imdifferent on my various social media outlets all conveniently linked to my website.

Little Hats! - A

The great thing about little hats is that everyone will think it’s cute. All things little are cute, like kittens, puppies, penises… wait strike that last one. Tiny little hats are so much fun and so easy to dazzle up yourself!

Found Object Accessory! - B It’s all about showing who you are through your accessories and so dig through your closet and see what’s lurking in there. Narnia? Grab a hot glue gun or some e6000 and make some “art.” The options are endless. You can use artificial flowers, old-fashioned keys or even creepy baby doll heads. My creepy baby doll accessory can be worn as a hairclip, brooch or you can stick it on your pillow and scare your partner. If you are single, well then scare your next trick.

Colorful Watches! - C I feel you should always wear one conversation starter. In this digital age we are slowly losing our ability to communicate with each other face to face. Wearing some type of unique piece can immediately give people an in to start a conversation. You may not know it but there’s this thing called a watch that can tell time and make a fashion statement. Swatch Watches were huge in the 80’s and since the 80’s keeps trickling back in whether we like it or not, these fit in perfectly. There are lots of vintage styles available on eBay and even some new styles at various stores. You don’t even need a battery because you’ve got your cell phone to tell time!

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A B D C

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continued from page 37

Post-Consumer Bags! - D Thankfully America the beautiful is finally realizing it won’t be so beautiful anymore if we don’t start taking care of Mother Earth. Plastic bags are one of the worst and easily remedied pollutants. Los Angeles was just the latest city to adopt a no plastic bag law. Huzzah! The bag you carry, whether it’s to the grocery store (if you eat solid foods, I prefer breath mints and air) or brunch with the ladies, is a great way to show off a little pizzazz. BlueQ (www.blueq.com) has a fabulously fun array of shopping bags, messenger bags, handbags and more. They are made from 95% post-consumer material and just so damn fun! Oh and 1% of their bag sales goes to support the conservation work of The Nature Conservancy. Help save the Earth and look sassy doing it.

Drag queen, actor, comedian, recording artist, writer Pandora Boxx is best known as a contestant on the smash hit RuPaul’s Drag Race (Season 2) on Logo and VH1 and can be found online at pandoraboxx.com.

studio

where flowers become art

www.artifloragranville.com Celebrating 10 years in 2014

A Walk in the Woods: Dawes Arboretum

Anton Sarossy-Christon | photos by Laura Appleman of Dawes and David Gobeli orty five minutes east of Ohio’s capital city, Columbus, you will find Dawes Arboretum tucked into the rolling hills of Newark, Ohio. Located on 1149 acres, the Arboretum is just waking up from what was a very cold winter! Each May, Dawes holds its annual plant sale, an event I look forward to as one of the highlights of the gardening year. Hundreds of rare trees, grafted, rooted, or seed grown by Dawes staff are offered first to Dawes members and then to the general public the following day. Prize selections such as Acer shirasawanum ‘Aureum’, Cladrastis kentukea ‘Rosea’, Gymnocladus dioicus ‘Espresso’, Liquidambar syraciflua ‘Goduzam’, and Pinus bungeana ‘Silver Ghost’ (a Dawes introduction) are only a few of the hundreds available for sale—for a tree lover, the sale is not to be missed! Dawes is famous for more than its annual plants sale, the Japanese garden, picturesque and photographed by countless bridal parties is undergoing a complete transformation this year. A new hillside stream is planned, the Japanese style structure has been rebuilt to its 1960s specifications, and the well-worn stepping stones have been re-laid. Broadway+threshersummer2014.............57

Though the arboretum is criss-crossed by walking and driving trails, so far no paved pedestrian trail exists. Construction on a handicap accessible trail is scheduled to begin June first with completion expected by the end of summer. The Âž mile trail will begin at the shelter house, go into the deep woods and end at the collection of flowering shrubs. Another exciting project underway is the American Chestnut project. In coordination with the American Chestnut Foundation, Dawes has planted several hundred 15/16 American Chestnut/Chinese Chestnut crosses. Once the dominant tree species in American woods, it was destroyed by a blight in the late 1800s. The American Chestnut Foundation has crossed the susceptible American Chestnut with the resistant Chinese Chestnut in an effort to breed resistance into the American Chestnut with the ultimate goal of re-introducing the American Chestnut to the wild. Test plots have been planted in several locations to observe the viability of this newest generation of trees. Peter Lowe, Nature Landscape Manager, explained that the seedlings were planted behind deer fencing and will be closely monitored for growth, habit, and blight resistance. The next step will involve seed testing (once the trees begin fruiting in 3-5 years) as it is important to test whether the offspring of these particular trees demonstrate the same blight resistance and growth habit as the parent plants. If 58.............Broadway+threshersummer2014

the seed tests prove successful, it is only a matter of time before the trees are strategically replanted throughout their native rangeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;stay tuned! For more information, visit Dawes at 7770 Jacksontown Rd. SE, Newark, Ohio 43056. Tel: 1-800-44-DAWES or online at: www.dawesarb.org .

My Ironstone Nest Laura Distin

grew up in Detroit proper. I am an only child to a single mom that worked three jobs to make ends meet and to afford to send me to private schools in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. My maternal great grandfather founded Leto Building Company which was then taken over by my maternal grandfather. My family was obviously not short on work ethic. Because my mother had to be absent quite a bit, I landed in the care of my grandparents quite often and watched my grandfather run a very successful business, which he eventually passed on to his son and it still runs strong to this day. Living in Detroit was an incredible experience and one I would not exchange, but it wasn’t always easy. There were certain streets I couldn’t ride my bike and certain houses I wasn’t allowed to go to. The houses were so close that I could hear my neighbors talking over dinner in the evening. I lived in and around Detroit for thirty-two years and had a very successful career in the legal field before meeting my current husband. I’ll never forget the day I learned where he lived. “Sun Prairie?”, I thought. “Where in the world is Sun Prairie?” I had grown tired of Detroit and was itching to move and apparently Sun Prairie, Wisconsin knew I’d need it before I did. I’d been refinishing furniture and dragging home curbside finds for twelve years by that point. I am also a habitual re-decorator having painted a dining room in a past home six times in two years but I never knew anyone would be interested in the projects I was doing in my home until I became a stay-at-home mom and discovered the world of blogs. Needing a creative outlet since I was suddenly at home with a baby that couldn’t speak following a very busy career, I decided to start a blog as well. Around that same time, I discovered Craigslist. Soon after that, I was invited to sell my furniture professionally at a popular sale and it has snowballed from there. What I loved most about setting up at that first show was meeting the people that were taking home my hand-loved pieces. It became very obvious fairly quickly that not only did I love refinishing furniture, but I received the most pleasure from sharing my mistakes and triumphs of furniture refinishing with other eager DIY-ers. I’ve tried almost every product on the market and have made quite a few mistakes and have learned the tricks of the trade, so I wanted to save people from spending too much money or wasting too much time trying to figure it out on their own. Becoming a resource for people has been become my greatest pleasure in this business to date. If I don’t know the answer, I will find it out for them. From the moment I took that step and started the blog, Broadway+threshersummer2014.............61

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my business has had a heartbeat of its own. Just the same, since I moved here my heart has been shaped to appreciate the wide open spaces, the corn fields, the horse pastures, the vast space and the ease of breathing. I had no idea when I moved here that I’d grow to appreciate the vast emptiness of the land of Wisconsin, as well as the chippy, worn paint on old doors from farmhouses the way I do now. I know long for a one hundred year old farmhouse with a barn on the property to call our own and acres of wide open space. Who knew that the girl from the heart of Detroit would grow to desire farmland and old, wellloved vintage items the way that I do now? I’ve carried my refinished antiques and re-purposed items to many shows now, and have even hosted my own right in our driveway. I now own a successful business here and we’re opening our first retail store right in the very heart of downtown surrounded by dairy farms in this city called Sun Prairie. I now know exactly where that is and I call it “home”. Laura Distin blogs at theironstonenest.com.

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A painting of Pam on her top horse, Eddie Eastman

Family Ties Evelyn Hoyt Frolking

hen we were kids, my sister and I lived in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio next door to a family with two little girls about our age. We quickly became best friends: playing together, starting school together, sleeping over together, bickering and then making up together. When our parents left the suburban environment for a rural setting where they wanted us to be able to spread our wings, our neighbor family was soon to follow. A small town then, Gahanna became our new home. We bought a few horses and began a journey into the horse showing world that spanned our childhood and kept us connected to horsesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;connections we maintain even today. My parents helped our close friends buy their first horse Cheyenne. Pam, the youngest daughter, got the bug in a serious way and her life with Chy, the dun colored gelding who lived out his years with her, took her to competitive show rings and later as a world-class trainer of hunters and jumpers. Eventually, that led her to become a much

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sought after instructor to generations of kids who became horse people themselves. Two weeks ago, Pam and her two little dogs were on their way to her stable just outside of Granville as they did every day, a place where rural begins just minutes from the village center, when a 19-year-old woman dropped her car off the side of the road, overcorrected abruptly and veered into Pam’s car, flipping her over several times. Pam and both of her dogs died instantly.

Olympics, take place. Two years ago, she contacted us to say she was relocating with her teenage son to our town, Granville, yearning to live a more simple life where she could dial back her life on the road and happily give riding lessons and where her son could enjoy a smaller—more stable—school environment. It hasn’t been lost on any of us today as we prepare to say our final goodbye that over the miles and the years our families have somehow come full circle. Without really recognizing it until now perhaps, we had made a family.

Today as I write this, my sister, mother and I will attend one of several memorial services being held for Pam. Her notoriety in the horse world spread far and wide and people from all over the world have traveled here, as well as Pam’s students, horse friends, and professionals, and a handful of long-time family friends like us. Pam spent much of her life in urban environments where large national and international horse shows, including the Broadway+threshersummer2014.............69

b+t