Newnan-Coweta Magazine, September/October 2011

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MAGAZINE

A Times-Herald Publication

Coweta

Artists September/October 2011 | $3.95

Michal TaylorPhillips

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On Our Cover MAGAZINE Established 1995 A publication of The Times-Herald President Vice President Publisher Editor Art Director Contributing Writers

William W. Thomasson Marianne C. Thomasson Sam Jones Angela McRae Deberah Williams Amelia Adams, Kimberly Campbell, Sara Fay Campbell, John Dailey, Nichole Golden, Holly Jones, Alex McRae, Elizabeth Melville, Tina Neely, Katherine McCall, W. Winston Skinner

Photography

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Circulation Director Sales and Marketing Director Advertising Manager Advertising Consultants

Naomi Jackson Colleen D. Mitchell Lamar Truitt Doug Cantrell, Kevin Dickinson Mandy Inman, Candy Johnson

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FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION, call 770.683.6397 or e-mail colleen@newnan.com.

Newnan-Coweta Magazine is published bi-monthly by The Times-Herald, Inc., 16 Jefferson St., Newnan, GA 30263.

Subscriptions: Newnan-Coweta Magazine is distributed in homedelivery copies of The Times-Herald and at businesses and offices throughout Coweta County. Individual mailed subscriptions are also available for $23.75 in Coweta County, $30.00 outside Coweta County. To subscribe, call 770.304.3373.

Submissions: We welcome submissions. Query letters and published clips may be addressed to the Editor, Newnan-Coweta Magazine at P.O. Box 1052, Newnan, Georgia 30264.

On the Web: www.newnancowetamag.com © 2011 by The Newnan Times-Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.

Michal Taylor-Phillips, who teaches art to Brooks Elementary students, also enjoys working on fine art at her home studio.

– Photo by Bob Fraley

6 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

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Contents

40

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

16 MICHAL TAYLOR-PHILLIPS

48 COWETA COOKS

Meet a young art teacher who also enjoys creating children’s illustrations during her hours away from the classroom.

24 AN ARTFUL GARDEN When Kyle James wanted some inspiration for her artwork, she went to work planting a garden.

28 THE HEALING POWER OF ART Her large scale mixed-media pieces are a form of therapy for Grantville artist Amber Dow.

34 THE PORCELAIN PAINTER Denise Reidelbach gives new life to treasures from the past with her porcelain painting.

40 YOUNG ARTIST HOPES TO INSPIRE OTHERS

Inspired by Walt Disney, recent Newnan High grad Hallie Jenkins hopes to one day inspire others with her artwork.

44 COWETA EXPERIENCING AN ART EXPLOSION

From new galleries to paint-your-own-art facilities, Coweta is seeing more and more interest in art.

52 A LOVE OF LIGHT One Cowetan’s obsession with searchlights turns into a unique business.

75 REFLECTIONS ON 9/11 Remember how Americans came together on Sept. 11, 2001? One local writer takes time to reflect on whether we’ve become better people over the past 10 years.

12

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The simple beauty of a fresh egg is celebrated with a recipe for Lemon Chess Pie.

58 SADDLE UP Cowetans are invited to attend a nationallysanctioned horse competition at Chattahoochee Hills this month.

62 TINA’S TIPS One local homeowner is ready to welcome fall with her colorful, newly-remodeled sunroom.

69 FALL FLOWER FESTIVAL St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Newnan will again celebrate fall with a Flower Festival and traditional English tea.

70 THOUGHTFUL GARDENING A native of Japan, the red spiderlily is a perennial unique for its fall bloom time.

78 LOCAL HERITAGE Famous U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was married in Newnan, and today the site of that ceremony still stands on East Broad Street.

In every issue 14 EDITOR’S LETTER 80 BOOKS 81 INDEX OF ADVERTISERS 82 I AM COWETA

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{ From the Editor }

On‘Bylines’ arlier this year a Senoia friend had a birthday so I offered to take her to lunch.

“Founders,” she requested, so to Founders we went.

Studying the menu, I caught the briefest glance of a man at the next table and decided I was hallucinating. “That sure looks like Joe Cumming!” I thought. I hadn’t seen my West Georgia College professor and friend in years. What would he be doing in Senoia?

Having lunch with his wife and a friend, it turns out. I rushed over to say hello. TV and movie celebrities come and go in Senoia these days, but it’s not often the town gets a visit from a former bureau chief of Newsweek, the man legendary for his civil rights reporting and, later, for mentoring young journalists at WGC. I was excited to hear he’d published a book, called Bylines, Writings from the American South 1963 to 1997.

Joe took the scenic route to journalism. He studied history and literature at the University of the South, landed overseas with the Navy three months after WWII ended, worked in the family building supply business in Augusta. In 1957, Bill Emerson hired him to be a reporter for Newsweek.

As a reporter, Joe had a front row seat for some of the well-known and lesser-known events of the civil rights struggle, from the violence of Bloody Sunday in Selma to a church meeting at Ebenezer Baptist in Atlanta. At Ebenezer, blacks were celebrating, of all simple things, finally getting to sit in the front seats on buses.

Joe calls the civil rights movement “our epic narrative of how the South, in a struggle with itself, shed the leaden burden of official segregation, enforced by law and silly ritual.”

He covered that history and became a part of it.

14 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

One year at WGC, the college newspaper sent three female staffers, including me, to a convention in Dallas, Texas along with our advisor, Joe. After workshop hours we wanted to see Southfork, but Joe insisted our J.R. be served up alongside some JFK, so he made us visit Dealey Plaza and the Texas School Book Depository. He knew what was most important.

I love the old newsroom stories Joe shares in his book, and the one I read aloud to both my husband and my publisher got the laughs I’d hoped for. Another of my favorite selections is from a 1977 piece Joe wrote for Esquire – for Esquire! – on the subject of “monogging.” Joe has monogged these many happy years with wife Emily, and after telling some tales that almost make you smile too much, he tempers them with this: “... I must say we have our problems, our fusses, our quick angers that sometimes leave lowgrade sulking of silence and body English for a few days. There are even some deep doctrinal differences that rise on occasion, threatening the countryside. But I think mostly we figure we’re pretty much on the same side against the beasts of the forests and need to help each other through the night.” I read it to a female colleague, and she sighed, “That’s beautiful!”

The whole book is. Joe Cumming is an artist who paints with words, and I am one of his greatest fans.

Much of this issue is about artists who create with paints and other supplies. I hope you’ll enjoy learning more about them all.

Warmly,

Angela McRae, Editor angela@newnan.com

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Stop by today and pick up your copy!

Coweta’s Greatest Generation Now Available in a Limited Edition Hardcover Book Recently The Times-Herald spent over a year highlighting the stories of surviving local World World II veterans in a project called “Our Greatest Generation.”

This award-winning series presented the stories of over 120 local men and women and was a favorite of readers young and old. Since the series ended, we have had countless requests to reproduce this collection of stories so they may be preserved for future generations and enjoyed time and again in their entirety.

We are pleased to announce the entire series has been published in a limited edition hardcover book with 288 pages that tell the stories and feature photographs of these proud men and women.

Pick up your copy today at The Times-Herald, 16 Jefferson Street, Newnan, GA 30263; order online at times-herald/store; or fill out the form below and mail with your payment to: The Times-Herald, c/o Book Order, P.O. 1052, Newnan, GA 30264

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Michal Taylor-Phillips, shown at her home studio, teaches art to Brooks Elementary students and also enjoys working on fine art in her free time. The piece opposite, titled “Dressing Up,” is part of her series The Children’s Hour.

16 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

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Newnan native expresses love of children through imaginative illustrations

By Kimberly Campbell | Photos by Bob Fraley he walls of Michal TaylorPhillips’ art studio are lined with paintings that depict the wonder of childhood. She has been building a series of works she’s called “The Children’s Hour,” a collection shown at The Veranda B&B in Senoia this past summer.

When she’s not drawing, TaylorPhillips is teaching art at Brooks Elementary in Newnan. She says she’s blessed to be able to teach art to kids

and aspire to be an artist in her spare time. Prior to becoming an art teacher, she worked as an illustrator, producing highly stylized figure drawings for magazines and advertising.

“When I took a teaching job two years ago, I found I could pursue art for fun again after many years of commissioned work,” she says. “This led me to a new venture into fine art and into work that is completely different for me.” The Senoia show was a kind of debut for her new genre, which she describes as figurative mixed media with the use

of collage and pastels.

Taylor-Phillips began drawing at an early age. “According to my mother,” she smiles, “I started drawing at age 3. Really, I didn’t understand what I was doing until I was 12. At that age, I actually had an epiphany that helped me. I began to draw what I saw, not what I thought was supposed to be there.”

Nowadays her art reflects the inspiration she has for children and the emotional nostalgia of childhood.

Her 11-piece collection shows children at play. Her first painting in the series, “In a Tree,” was inspired SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 | 17

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“Speed”

I want the people who see my art to recall joy, imagination and memories from their own lives as children. I want my work to make people happy.”

— Michal Taylor-Phillips 18 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

by her husband’s cousin, Madelyn.

Taylor-Phillips says, “The Children’s Hour is about the magic of childhood and remembering what it was like to be a child. I want the people who see my art to recall joy, imagination and memories from their own lives as children. I want my work to make people happy.”

Her young art students often ask

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“Bubble Bath”

for advice. She tells them, “Practice, practice, practice. There’s no secret to learning how to be an artist. You have to develop muscle memory.

Anybody can do it. Being a good artist is not always a result of natural talent!” Taylor-Phillips also stresses the process of creating art. “I learned that if every step of your process is good and sound that your final

product will turn out well.”

Taylor-Phillips grew up in Newnan and graduated from Newnan High School. At 16, she began working part-time at Scott’s Bookstore and stayed for 10 years, during which she painted murals inside the store.

“Mrs. (Earlene) Scott asked me to paint a mural and the project just SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 | 19

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Most recently, as part of a project with other local art teachers, Taylor-Phillips and about a dozen art students from area high schools painted a mural at Central Educational Center in Newnan.

They transformed a bare wall into a vibrant wall painting depicting different fields of study at CEC. 20 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

grew from there.” During her summers home from Savannah College of Art and Design, she started painting the walls above the bookshelves. There are now three murals in different sections of the store – one for southern authors, one as a tribute to Mrs. Scott and the bookstore, and one in the children’s section that portrays nursery rhymes and fairytales.

Taylor-Phillips also painted a mural at Elm Street Elementary. The PTO asked her to decorate their cafeteria wall and gave her creative license as long as the image was inclusive for many different children.

Taylor-Phillips felt there should be a

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Artist Michal Taylor-Phillips says she wants to share art with others, and being a teacher allows her to do that. “Idol Worship,” shown opposite, is from her series The Children’s Hour.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 | 21

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“Going Out” is the title of this piece by Michal Taylor-Phillips. Her work is currently on display at Fine Lines Art and Framing in Newnan. “I'm so excited to be a part of the downtown community again and to have artwork displayed somewhere,” she said.

22 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

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theme of children learning together.

The final product was three banners that were hung side by side. Her father helped her build the structures to suspend them.

The first painting is of two children planting a small plant, and the second shows two different children watering that plant, now grown bigger. The third image is twice the size of the others and shows the faces of six children surrounding a fully blossomed plant whose limbs are holding up a globe.

“I’ve always thought that growing plants are a perfect symbol for education,” Taylor-Phillips says.

She had to take a quarter off from college to complete the project.

During this time she was also working for the bookstore, and Scott allowed her use of the upstairs bookstore space as a temporary studio. “Painting the mural for Elm Street was a fantastic experience.

Also, with the money I earned, I was able to buy my first computer which is an indispensable art tool.”

Most recently, as part of a project with other local art teachers, Taylor-Phillips and about a dozen art students from area high schools painted a mural at Central Educational Center in Newnan.

They transformed a bare wall into a vibrant wall painting depicting different fields of study at CEC. Taylor-Phillips sketched the mural’s layout.

Asked about the future, a thoughtful and soft-spoken TaylorPhillips says, “I’d love to see my work in galleries because the kind of art I create is happy and innocent.

Right now, though, I’m enjoying being both a teacher and an artist. I want to share art, and teaching helps me do that.”

To see more of her work, visit michaltaylorphillips.com. NCM

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An Artful Garden

finds inspiration in her garden

By W. Winston Skinner | Photos by Bob Fraley

24 | NEWNAN â&#x20AC;&#x201C; COWETA MAGAZINE

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ome painters search for the perfect spot for artistic inspiration. Kyle James created her own.

“I planted so I’d have something to paint,” she said.

When James bought a historic home in Newnan, her yard was virtually a blank canvas. She began planting and landscaping – creating a patio area, paths she can see from her kitchen window, and plenty of colors, shades and textures.

A friend, Eve Davis, had a garden called Eve’s Garden in Atlanta. “I did a series of paintings about 20 years ago there,” James said.

“I learned a lot about plant combinations from her and what to look for.”

James comes from a family that grew things in her hometown of Darlington, S.C. “My mother is a great gardener, and my grandparents were, also.”

While living in an apartment,

Kyle James’ garden, which inspires much of her artwork, was created with a nod to family. The patio, for instance, contains rocks from the home where her mother grew up in Atlanta.

James concluded something important was missing. “I realized I was just starved for a yard,” she said.

Once she decided to live close to downtown, she began digging – planning and planting and creating.

She remembered she seemed to sense

what to do “kind of by osmosis.”

Recalling her Darlington upbringing and her family’s connection to the earth, James reflected, “I didn’t realize how much I already knew.”

The garden is the backdrop for many of James’ art projects, but it is SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 | 25

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also much more. “This is my sanctuary,” she said. “I really feel close to God, close to the people I love.”

The rocks in her patio came from the house where her mother grew up in Atlanta. “The house got torn down a few years ago,” James

said. She made three trips to get enough rock to create the patio filled with family history.

James – with a laugh – said if she ever moves, the rocks are going with her.

As she transformed her front and

back yards, she recalled her mother’s advice “to plant your garden for what you want to see from your windows.”

The view from James’ kitchen windows, she said, “is kind of my main view.”

James did not dream of moving

I planted so I’d have something to paint.”

— Newnan artist Kyle James, on why she created her garden sanctuary

26 |

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to Newnan, but she loves it. Her husband had attended Auburn, was familiar with the area and wanted to get out of the city. James did her homework. She was looking for â&#x20AC;&#x153;a nice town thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s old and has nice people.â&#x20AC;? She told her husband sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be willing to live in Newnan or Griffin and they began househunting.

The marriage ended in divorce.

By then, James had found a place to call home. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d made friends,â&#x20AC;? she said.

When James talks about growing up in Darlington, there is a touch of Tom Sawyer to the stories. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You made your own fun,â&#x20AC;? she said, noting she grew up in the days before soccer teams and cable television.

She learned to ride horses and to play tennis in the summer, but in South Carolina â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as in Coweta â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the summertime is hot.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We swam in the creek all the time,â&#x20AC;? James said. She used artistic terms to recall the swimming spot â&#x20AC;&#x201C; its black water reflecting the pristine blue of the sky, the surrounding trees, the rich moss.

In the background of her childhood were nature â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and art. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everybody in my family can draw.

Everybody paints and draws and writes and can make things,â&#x20AC;? she said.

Her father encouraged his daughters to study practical disciplines like law or accounting, but one of Jamesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sisters is an artist and the other a writer. James and her author sibling are working on a childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book, The Secret of Gunston Hall. The book is being done for Gunston Hall, the Virginia home of patriot George Mason. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always been a painter. I do enjoy working in different media,â&#x20AC;?

James said. In the last few years, she

has been drawn to watercolors.

Watercolors must be planned. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You have to think two steps ahead,â&#x20AC;?

James said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you have an idea in your head, you have to keep it in mind and work toward that.â&#x20AC;?

James favors large canvases. She is mostly a studio painter and sometimes creates a painting and comes back to it months later to give it the final touches.

She chooses all sorts of subjects for her work. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have done portraits.

I really enjoy doing landscapes,â&#x20AC;? she said.

James likes to start with something â&#x20AC;&#x153;in realityâ&#x20AC;? as she plans a painting or drawing. It gives her satisfaction to take â&#x20AC;&#x153;an image of something realâ&#x20AC;? and subtly alter its essence.

Kyle Jamesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; artful garden promises lots of authentic inspiration for paintings yet to come. NCM

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The Healing Power of Art

By Sarah Fay Campbell | Photos by Bob Fraley or Amber Dow of Grantville, art is more than just a pastime or pleasant exercise. Her largescale mixed media pieces are also a type of therapy.

“That is my way of releasing.

Some people may go jogging or biking. I paint or draw or go do volunteer work,” Dow said.

“It’s about removing stress from my life,” she said. “I like that I can create a piece of work, and it’s however I want it to be. It doesn’t 28 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

have to be the way somebody sees it.”

Dow journals faithfully and “I kind of notice when I need to produce a piece of art,” she said.

“When I start to get stressed now, I have to sit down and paint something or draw something.”

She’s helping to share the healing power of art with cancer patients and friends and family of those who have

battled cancer. Dow teaches art therapy at the West Georgia Health Cancer Clinic in LaGrange.

Dow’s most iconic artworks feature plaster torsos, embellished in various ways. Her students will be decorating their own torsos for the “Bodyworks – The Journey” exhibit at the LaGrange Art Museum.

Dow said many of her students

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Mixed media artist Amber Dow was born in Madison and raised in LaGrange. She now lives in Grantville with her husband, Grant, and son Tucker. Many of Dow's large-scale pieces are inspired by events in her life.

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I kind of notice when I need to produce a piece of art. When I start to get stressed now, I have to sit down and paint something or draw something.”

— Amber Dow 30 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

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say “it is really hard for me to go back to that place where I was” when things were at their worst.

But it’s important to revisit that place, if only for a little while.

Dow knows from experience. After a very close uncle died, “the one thing that helped me get through that was to make myself paint a picture of his face.” She painted the portrait from a photograph and “I just had to stare at him for a week.”

“I made myself do that and it was really hard. But because I faced it, straight on like that, I was able to deal with it,” she said. “It still gets me choked up, but I’m able to deal with it a little bit better.”

“I feel like other people should get to do that,” she said.

The torso works are about image. Her first, “Trying to Fit the Pattern,” was done in her final semester of college. It features a dress hanging on a canvas and images of medieval torture devices used on hysterical women. It was inspired by Dow’s nearly fatal battle with kidney failure her freshman year.

“The dresses were a direct reflection of the kidney failure and how ... you really don’t have any control over what happens to you in your life,” she said.

Over the years, the torsos became more solid.

“Behind each one, even though it does talk about imagery and how to be yourself, it’s also about how you deal with situations in your life, and you have to work through those,” she said. “Whether it be a piece that talks about how you feel disgusting because you gained 10 pounds, or how your health is crap at this point but it is going to get better, there is a way to deal with that.”

Dow also has her

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It’s always been that I want to add more,” she said. “I don’t want to just be narrowed down to a flat surface.”

— Amber Dow

Amber Dow has created many "torso" works, like the 3 x 4 foot pieces at right, which deal with body image. Students in her art therapy class at the West Georgia Health Cancer Center in LaGrange are making their own torsos for the upcoming exhibit "Bodyworks – the Journey" at the LaGrange Art Museum.

32 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

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carnival/freakshow series. She uses old drawings of Victorian ladies, and pictures from old magazines, and adds them to her paintings. “The Show Must Go On” represents a bit how she feels sometimes, dropping into the carnival.

“I try to portray some type of feeling. And a lot of my stuff, unfortunately, kind of ends up being weird,” she said.

“A lot of my stuff has a little evil twist. I want people to feel like I feel.”

Another piece, “Scars,” deals with bad experiences in childhood.

When bad things happen, “you can use it to hold yourself back, or you can move on and get beyond it,” she said. “It is scary, but it is more happy than sad for me.”

Not all of her art has that dark twist. “I do normal things too, like draw studies of birds,” she said.

Dow recently created a mixed media tribute to her grandfather, who is battling lung cancer. Called “Roots,” it’s centered around a photo she took of him on his tractor. He’s plowing his field, and a storm is brewing. Newspaper clippings and paint represent the roots under him – which run deep.

“I kind of wanted to do something a little more meaningful than image,” Dow said.

Dow’s other art is created through her graphic design business, Sikada Design. “It’s totally different from the other side of me,” she said.

“In graphics, you have to be pretty on it, and you can’t mess up.”

Dow has always worked in mixed media, which can mean almost anything.

“It’s always been that I want to add more,” she said. “I don’t want to just be narrowed down to a flat surface.” NCM See a gallery of Dow’s work at amberdowart.com.

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The Porcelain Painter

By Elizabeth Melville | Photos by Bob Fraley and Elizabeth Melville

34 | NEWNAN â&#x20AC;&#x201C; COWETA MAGAZINE

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hen porcelain painting originated over 2,000 years ago in China, artists – often called china painters – were highly sought after and their pieces coveted by the upper echelon of society.

Now, those who enjoy china painting as an art form are few compared with other mediums.

Coweta County’s Denise Reidelbach is an exception.

The art of porcelain painting allows Reidelbach to hunt treasures of the past and give them new expression. In the process, her hobby has helped her find her own artistic expression.

Art has always been something that came naturally for Reidelbach, whose talents were first nurtured by her parents. In a ceramics class in middle school she learned the basics of painting that established her foundation as an artist.

“I was always interested in art,” said Reidelbach, who says every margin of her Bible contained doodles from her time in church.

In ninth grade of high school, her father signed her up for woodshop, drafting and art. While she was especially doubtful about woodshop initially, she thoroughly enjoyed each class and the opportunity to create.

Reidelbach married young and her then-mother-in-law encouraged her to enroll in a porcelain painting class in Tampa, Fla. Reidelbach painted for three years, from age 18 to 21, until she had her first child and started moving around with her family.

Years later, Reidelbach would listen to pleas from her now former mother-in-law, with whom she remained close, to return to her

brushes to finish a pitcher and demitasse cup and saucer set she’d started working on in the 1970s.

“My ex-mother-in-law still had that set – I thought, ‘I have to find a class,’” said Reidelbach.

At the time, Reidelbach lived in Indiana, and her search for a teacher was fruitless. In 1990, she moved with her family to Coweta County.

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Denise Reidelbach says she spends a lot of time finding the antique pieces that serve as “canvases” for her porcelain painting.

I like to collect old pieces. My mother collected antiques, and it just rubbed off.

— Denise Reidelbach

36 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

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and, through the club, about teacher Syra Hansen of Powder Springs.

Reidelbach convinced herself she would take lessons for a few months â&#x20AC;&#x201C; just long enough to finish the pitcher and cup and saucer set.

Hansen initially discouraged her from starting off by painting roses because of their intricacy.

Reidelbach insisted and eventually got her way, finishing the set to the delight of her former mother-in-law.

Despite telling herself sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d walk away at that point, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I got hooked again,â&#x20AC;? she admits.

The classes continued until Hansen â&#x20AC;&#x153;kicked her students out.â&#x20AC;? Hansen had no more to teach them and sent them out into the world. Reidelbach hit the seminar circuit and learned new and interesting techniques from traveling teachers.

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Now, she paints for pleasure and shares the art of porcelain painting with students of her own.

Since returning to school for nursing, Reidelbach hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been able to paint as much as she would like, but she still carves out time weekly.

Her work ranges widely, and anythingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a potential canvas: glass, a sink, lamps, Limoges porcelain, jewelry, estate pieces and â&#x20AC;&#x153;anything that inspires.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I like to collect old pieces,â&#x20AC;? she says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My mother collected antiques, and it just rubbed off.â&#x20AC;?

She admits spending as much time antiquing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; finding the perfect â&#x20AC;&#x153;canvasâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as she does painting the piece.

She does a lot of portrait work, especially of her four children and five grandchildren, as well as her

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Portrait work is a favorite of Denise Reidelbach, who enjoys painting her children, her grandchildren, her pets, and even herself, opposite.

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menagerie of pets. She also finds inspiration in nature.

“Portraits are my favorite,” said Reidelbach. She’s also taken to silhouettes.

Because her pieces are usually sentimental, she gives most away to relatives or as gifts for special occasions.

“You put hours into it, and it’s something creative,” she said. “I like to give someone something that’s mine.”

But she also gets something back. “For me, it’s about relaxation. I get in my own zone to paint.”

That’s why Reidelbach began teaching a class from home about six years ago when she started caring for her ailing mother full-time. She needed something for herself when she couldn’t leave home often.

Her class meets once a week for four hours. She caps her class at six students in order to offer individualized attention.

Students learn to use a mineral-based, powdered paint that is mixed with liquid – usually oil or water – and applied to a porcelain surface. The piece is fired in a kiln an average of three to four times during the creation process, with additional paint applications between firings.

Reidelbach stresses that a student doesn’t need to have a developed talent for art to try porcelain painting. Willing painters can start by tracing until they become more confident with their artistic skills.

She encourages anyone who’s interested in her class to first consider joining The Delicate Brush Club to explore the art, and sign up for seminars, which are offered for beginners and the more experienced.

For more information, contact Reidelbach at 404-663-0045. NCM

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Young artist hopes to inspire others with her work

By Kristian Hammond, Journalism Intern

40 | NEWNAN â&#x20AC;&#x201C; COWETA MAGAZINE

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rt can be seen all over Coweta County. It is both powerful and inspirational, and it plays various roles in the lives of many. For some art is a hobby, and for others it is a career. Many have agreed that the murals, sculptures and paintings all over Coweta are breathtaking, and the works are as spectacular as their artists. Though not all of Coweta Countyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s artists are professionals yet, the future certainly looks bright for some.

Up-and-coming artist Hallie Jenkins graduated from Newnan High School with the graduating class of 2011. She is a resident of Newnan and will be attending art school in

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It’s all about making the piece come alive, and it’s amazing knowing you are the one that — Hallie Jenkins gave it that life.” the fall, majoring in Animation.

Though she has been interested in art for many years, it is more than just a pastime for her. She sees art as a possible career and future for herself.

“I plan to work in a major animation studio one day,” Hallie said. “My inspiration was really Walt Disney. I love how he inspired generations with his art, and I hope one day I can do the same.”

Hallie took art classes throughout high school, including 42 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

AP Art. She also took the AP art test.

She has done some art jobs for family and for Newnan High School itself.

She works with paint, charcoal, oil pastels and more. Her art portfolio ranges from portraits done in pencil to large pieces in oil pastels. Her favorite drawing was created with charcoal and oil pastels. It’s of an eye with the iris appearing as an American flag instead of a solid color.

The American flag is the only thing in color, and the rest of the picture is

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in black and white. This piece was entered in a Congressional art contest.

Newnan High School is also buying one of her works that depicts a raven perched on a glass bottle with a castle in the background. Pools and rivers cut along the side and middle of the picture as if on a map.

“I can’t really say exactly what it was that really got me interested in art,” she said, “but I guess I liked being able to express myself in another form other than speech and the written word. I love painting because of the vibrant colors that bring the piece of art to life.”

“But I also love drawing and using other mediums that bring those drawings to life and give them character,” she said. “It’s all about making the piece come alive, and it’s amazing knowing you are the one that gave it that life.”

Though Hallie is still young, she is determined and resolute, and knows what she wants. In addition to her studies in art, Hallie was also in the Newnan High School color guard, becoming captain for two years.

Hallie graduated with high honors in May of 2011 and was a member of the National Honor Society. She begins her studies at Savannah College of Art and Design in the fall. NCM

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Local artists pleased with growth in new art galleries, businesses

By Elizabeth Melville

George Charriez puts the finishing touches on a yellow jacket, the mascot of Georgia Tech, while completing another in his series of SEC mascot paintings. Charriez was part of a live window display at Flint Gallery of Panoply during a past Main Street Newnan Art Walk event.

oweta County’s art scene has exploded.

The nation may still be in an economic recession, but the art world has more avenues for involvement than ever before with artrelated businesses opening in Newnan, Sharpsburg and Senoia.

“People need to enjoy beauty,” said Pam Trued, past president of the Newnan-Coweta Art Association.

“Art’s where they turn to express themselves and get that sense of beauty and peace.

“It takes your mind off the bad things – off the 44 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

economy,” Trued continued. “When you create, you get absorbed into what you’re doing.”

Trued has been a member of the art association for approximately 15 years and she’s co-chair for the annual juried art show. She encourages more people to consider joining the association to have an outlet for expression.

“Our job is to encourage artists

in the community to produce and to show,” she said. “Plus, we give scholarships to students to encourage them to go on with their art.”

The art association embraces fine arts and crafts and prides itself on being inclusive.

“Anyone interested in art can join the association,” said Trued.

There are a number of volunteer opportunities, including the

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The Artist Within in Sharpsburg, at left, and the FAACE Gallery at the Veranda in Senoia, at right, are two of the new venues for local art lovers to explore.

Corinne Galla, above, opened Farrago in loft space in downtown Newnan last fall and leases exhibit space for the works of several resident artists. Lydia Ellis, below, works on a piece at Corner Arts Gallery & Studio, which opened in downtown Newnan in July.

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show in November. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have several artists exhibiting from the â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Pam Trued association in various locations throughout Coweta County,â&#x20AC;? said Trued.

The association meets the third Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Harriet Alexander Art Center on Hospital Road.

For more information, visit newcaa.com.

Art Association Vice President Jenny Jones opened Corner Arts Gallery & Studio on Jefferson Street in Newnan in July and serves as the director.

Our job is to encourage artists in the community to produce and to show ... invitation to serve on committees, or the community can take art classes and attend workshops to refine or develop their artistic talent.

Trued says art has always been alive and well in this community. The art association was established in June 1968, making it one of the oldest associations in the southern crescent.

The association annually participates in a juried art show, the fall and spring Art Walk in downtown Newnan and a Christmas

Jones has the work of 42 local artists â&#x20AC;&#x201C; mostly art association members â&#x20AC;&#x201C; on display. Corner Arts offers classes for adults and children.

Pottery, jewelry and baby items are also available for purchase.

Every Friday, Corner Arts hosts a group painting lesson, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Night at the Museum.â&#x20AC;? Jones hopes to start a One Man Show to feature the work of a local artist on a quarterly basis. Jones is also planning workshops and other events.

Farrago, an art gallery, opened in loft space on Greenville Street in October 2010.

Owner Corinne Galla leases exhibit space to feature the work of several resident artists and offers art classes to the public.

Farrago currently offers oil painting lessons that are primarily structured for adults of all ages.

Various workshops are planned for

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the fall and winter.

Contemporary art is what sets this gallery apart, according to Galla.

“We don’t shy away from the traditional – we’re bordering on nonrepresentational,” said Galla.

The gallery features eight local artists and is soon to include the work of a Florida artist.

Martha Ann Parks opened Flint Gallery of Panoply nearly six years ago to satisfy her clients’ requests for original artwork.

Flint Gallery represents 60 artists, both emerging and established, from Coweta and the Southeast. The gallery features paintings, photography, pottery, blown glass, handmade birdhouses and other items. The art gallery is changed quarterly but updated regularly.

All art is available for purchase, or the gallery can arrange for commissioned work. Artist studio

space is also available.

Flint Gallery holds monthly “Artist Talks” free to the public. They have an average of four artist receptions a year.

“We are excited that the art scene has exploded in Newnan, and it’s about time that it did,” said Parks, who also serves as chair of the Newnan Downtown Development Authority. “Newnan has a lot of talented people working and living here.”

Sharpsburg and Senoia can boast the same.

The Artist Within is an “art as entertainment” venue that opened in June in downtown Sharpsburg.

The studio offers easy-to-follow lessons in acrylic painting for adults and children, and customers take their paintings home the same day.

Owner and founder Julie Stone calls it an “oral paint-by-numbers”

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The Artist Within offers children’s classes and parties, group events or parties, and fundraisers with activities for organizations.

Fine Arts and Crafts Entrepreneurs, or FAACE, has teamed up with The Veranda Historic Bed and Breakfast Inn in downtown Senoia to provide a southside gallery with a selection of original fine art, crafts and affordable gifts for sale.

Artists who are members of FAACE showcase their work in The Gallery at The Veranda on a rotating, monthly basis. Visitors can find unique, smaller items handmade by the artists in a shop at The Veranda.

FAACE strives to support and educate artists and craftsmen on the business aspects of their work. To learn more about FAACE, visit their Web site, www.faace.org. NCM

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{Coweta Cooks}

By Amelia Adams | Photos by Bob Fraley

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Eggs courtesy of Donna Dougherty and Emeline Loughlin.

any of us feel a void in acknowledging the essence of art; however, an egg can amend that point of view.

Realizing that art usually demands sensual extensions, one can create a work of art by merely breaking an egg into a sizzling skillet of butter. The smell awakens us; the contrast of yolk to white stimulates our vision, while the anticipation of enjoying the egg on simple crisp toast enlivens taste.

Botanists do not recognize plant eggs; but almost all animals, certainly the human form, originate from an egg. While we Americans seldom consume any egg other than that of the hen, duck eggs are very popular in Europe. Our cultural forebears, the Romans, preferred the peacock variety to all others. If ever we decide to order up an ostrich offering, the yolk and white of a single egg can furnish a notable 10-12 omelets.

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Although Leif Erickson reported in 1000 B.C., “There were so many of them [birds] that it was scarcely possible to step between their eggs,” this staple probably did not make its way into the American diet until the Pilgrims imported chickens after their arrival. The keeping of eggs has been a popular farming practice and has certainly flourished in recent years as even city dwellers petition local officials to allow in-town coops.

A few decades back, I lived in the country for a few years. My husband built a handsome hen house, and we embarked on my romantic vision of gathering and enjoying our own eggs. After weeks 50 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

of rainy weather and a rooster attack which terrified me, the chickens were given away, save for two which made their way to our table: I could not endure a bite, still envisioning them on their nests.

Nowadays, I am the luckiest of cooks as two of my former English students, Donna Dougherty and Emeline Loughlin, keep me in eggs.

Although the girls share a mutual path, Emeline became entranced with chickens a bit earlier as a balm to her father’s departure to serve in the Navy in 1965. Her grandfather, Emil Mann, procured Golden Sebrights which Emeline and sister Mildred often cuddled in one of their

grandmother’s towels.

Emeline convinced her friend Donna to show chickens through the 4-H Club. Never forgetting their blue ribbons garnered in childhood, the girls continue to attend the yearly poultry show to update their knowledge as they both keep the highly desirable Buff Orpingtons and Black Copper Marans, which yield a show-stopping chocolate egg.

Donna raises the exciting Araucana of green and blue egg note, made famous by Martha Stewart.

Both Donna and Emeline give their flock names. Donna reports that her chickens love fruit and vegetable scraps and are often lectured by

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husband Matt if their laying falters.

With these enviable eggs, I have the basis for any of the three meals which constitute daily living.

Scrambled, fried or boiled, a single egg furnishes breakfast on toast, an English muffin half or bagel.

When cereal performs at breakfast, an omelet can certainly become lunch, especially on weekends. If a day has ended darkly, cheese scrambled eggs, bacon, grits and biscuits can lift spirits or at least calm troubled waters.

Hard boiled eggs frequently reside in my fridge.

I can make them into a notable chef ’s salad with any combination of meats, or delete the meat entirely to focus on vegetables. Perhaps one of my favored combinations in the latter category involve artichoke hearts, tomatoes, ripe olives, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, chopped scallions and the ubiquitous dice of eggs. With a simple salad dressing of choice, I travel to California, such is the enrichment of fresh flavors.

A decade ago, one of my dear teaching friends decided we could make money for an Advanced Placement American History class’s annual trip to Williamsburg, Va. I served as assistant cook and advanced this recipe as dessert. It was a hit.

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Andrew Allisonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s passion for searchlights has turned into a unique business lighting up events all over the Atlanta area.

52 |

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A Love of Light Andrew Allison’s searchlight obsession reaches to the sky

By Alex McRae | Photos by Bob Fraley and courtesy of Andrew Allison our years ago, Coweta’s Andrew Allison didn’t just see the light. He turned it on, flipping a switch that sent a massive 60-inch searchlight beam streaking toward the heavens.

“When it came on, my parents and my wife Angie came running outside and looked and their jaws dropped,” he says. “I couldn’t believe it, either. It was a feeling I can’t describe.”

Today, Allison’s business, Atlanta Searchlights, provides dazzling light displays for a growing crowd of customers who know that nothing draws attention and crowds like a beam of light blazing across the sky.

“People are drawn to it,” Allison says. “They look up and just stare and say how beautiful it is. I know how they feel.”

The business – which officially opened in

2010 – is new, but Allison’s obsession isn’t.

He says his mother swears the first word out of his mouth was “light.” She obviously wasn’t the only one who noticed his interest.

Allison says he was the happiest five-year-old in his Atlanta neighborhood when his father presented him with a batterypowered rotating emergency light like the ones mounted on police and public safety vehicles.

“I stuck it on my bike and pedal car and rode around and I couldn’t think of anything better,” he says.

When he was six, Allison’s family moved to a farm tucked into the corner where Meriwether, Coweta and Troup counties converge. The horses and chickens were

fine but Allison’s favorite farm activity was climbing to the roof of the barn at night, turning on his shortwave radio and listening to the cockpit conversations of pilots passing overhead on their way to Atlanta.

“That really got me fired up about flying,” he says. “I wanted to be a pilot, but I was still crazy about lights and never stopped collecting them.”

Allison earned an Aviation Management degree from Auburn University with hopes of becoming a commercial pilot. But when he graduated in the spring of 1990, Eastern Airlines had just filed for bankruptcy and Delta was laying off 400 pilots.

“The market was flooded with experienced pilots looking for work,” he says. “I knew I didn’t have a chance.”

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Corporate events like one for Ashley Furniture often have searchlights to add to the drama of the evening. The distant single beam, below at left, is just one of Atlanta Searchlights’ offerings. Below right, lights add to the excitement of an event at the Georgia Aquarium.

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Allison’s business credentials earned him jobs in private industry, and later with a major Atlanta home builder.

When the real estate boom started in the early 2000s, Allison’s coworkers rushed to buy and sell real estate. Allison used his spare cash to restore sports cars and purchase used generators and discarded lighting systems.

“My friends and family thought I’d lost my mind,” he says. “My wife asked me how

Allison’s spotlights now draw huge crowds to grand openings, church, corporate and sporting events at venues including the Georgia Aquarium and the Georgia Dome. many generators I needed. They didn’t understand.”

Allison’s collection soon included massive 60-inch air raid searchlights built in 1941 and ’42 and used during World War II. They were beat up, banged up and in pieces, but Allison nursed the aging generators back to life and lovingly restored the huge lights, with a big assist in the welding department from close friend Jared Jackson, owner of a Palmetto welding shop.

In the spring of 2010, Allison was finally ready to take his light show on the road.

The company’s first client was a Roswell family entertainment center called Area 51. The crowds were huge and a business was born.

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Andrew Allison’s searchlights have brightened events for a wide range of companies. Past events have included, opposite, a corporate event for Chick-fil-A, top, and a Bravo TV Network party in Buckhead.

Allison’s spotlights now draw huge crowds to grand openings, church, corporate and sporting events at venues including the Georgia Aquarium and the Georgia Dome. He even furnished some extra starpower when the Bravo TV Network hosted a party at a Buckhead restaurant. The business has also created some lighthearted moments.

56 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

Last year, Allison fired up a light in the family driveway. Angie came out and danced around in the glow but said it looked like the beam didn’t reach beyond a tree limb at the edge of the property.

Two weeks later they met a man in Peachtree City who said he had seen a “humongous” light in the sky while walking in his neighborhood,

over 15 miles from the Allison home.

“I told Angie that tree branch must have been farther away than she thought,” Allison says.

Allison never knows what to expect from one job to the next. He was puzzled when asked to set up in an open field for a church youth event in Lithonia. Then he found out the young people had been sent all

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over town and told to follow the searchlight back to its source, where a social event â&#x20AC;&#x201C; including a Christian rock band â&#x20AC;&#x201C; would be set up and waiting. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was like a treasure hunt with a light,â&#x20AC;? Allison says.

Allison has a special fondness for church events like that one. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have always loved the Biblical references to lights in the sky, especially the star that marked the birth of Christ,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Doing this has really encouraged my love of light.â&#x20AC;? NCM

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{Saddle UP }

Bouckaert Farm to host USEA eventing championships

By Martha A. Woodham | Photos courtesy of Hoofclix.com

ust over the Coweta County line in Chattahoochee Hill Country, nestled along the Chattahoochee River, is 8,000 acres of woodland and pastures that will be transformed into a city of horses the first week of September.

More than 700 of the best sport horses in the United States will trailer in for the 2011 Nutrena/USEA American Eventing Championships Sept. 8-11 at Bouckaert Farm.

This competition will attract hundreds of riders from across the country who range in skill from Olympic-level professionals to talented amateurs and juniors.

The U.S. Eventing Association-sanctioned event will pump millions into the economy of southside Atlanta.

Successful Georgia businessman and horseman Carl Bouckaert, himself an Olympian, made it happen.

Hosting the AEC and other premier competitions has been Bouckaert’s dream since he purchased the property, part of which was once known as Brown’s Lakes and open to the public for swimming. He has applied the same drive and creativity in developing the farm into a first-class horse show venue as he did to building Beaulieu of America in Dalton into one of the largest carpet companies in the U.S. Bouckaert Farm, or “Chat Hills” as it’s fondly known to eventers, comprises six barns for permanent stabling and a cross-country jumping course that stretches along the river plain. White-fenced dressage and jumping arenas with excellent footing are set onto the slope of a hill near the barns, and miles of trails wind through the woods. The farm’s centerpiece is a classic, U-shaped barn that could have been plucked from Bouckaert’s native Belgium.

“We would like to be the prime horse show venue in the Southeast as the venue of choice for the top three-day events, dressage and hunter-jumper shows,” he says. “We are earning a reputation for excellent facilities that are very competitor-friendly.”

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Carl Bouckaert competes in cross-country jumping.

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Carl Bouckaert jumps in past competitions.

Bouckaert, a slim, elegant man who is as at home on horseback as he is in a boardroom, is a sixth generation horseman. His father was a surgeon who loved to ride, and his grandfather and uncle were equine veterinarians. His cousin is Jean Baptiste, a renowned show jumper rider.

The eldest of seven children, 60 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

Bouckaert began riding at age 7, when his mother had her fifth child and his father bought the four older children a pony. Bouckaert, fascinated by the Roy Rogers Show that aired in Belgium, named the pony Trigger.

By his teens, Bouckaert was competing as a jumper rider.

During the winter, an off-season

for competition, Bouckaert, his father and cousin took long rides across the countryside, often jumping ditches and fences in their way.

“We basically did cross-country jumping [a phase of the eventing competition] before knowing that it existed as a form of competition,” Bouckaert recalls. Once he discovered “the military,” as three-day eventing

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is called in Europe, he was captivated by a sport that required expertise in three different disciplines.

Eventing’s three phases of competition take place over two or three days. This triathlon for equines includes dressage as a trial of a horse’s obedience to the rider; cross-country jumping to show the horse’s courage, athleticism and endurance; and show jumping to assess the horse’s fitness after the previous phases.

“I quickly came to the conclusion that you get a lot more for your money than just show jumping,” he says with a laugh. “The rest is history.”

That history includes competing in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, as a member of the Belgian equestrian team and placing in the ribbons at advanced three-day events in the U.S. Now he dreams of another Olympic ride at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. This past summer, he, his trainer Clark Montgomery of Fairburn and his son-in-law, professional rider Michael Pollard of Chatsworth, traveled to England to observe the test competition held over the newly built cross-country jumping course in Greenwich Park. The hilly course has a dramatic backdrop – the London skyline.

“If I can be one of the top five riders in Belgium, I could be on my way,” says Bouckaert, who spends Friday through Monday at the farm to train. He is doing his best to make sure the odds of making the team are in his favor: His two advanced horses, Cyrano and Raphael, are qualified to compete in the 2012 games, and he just bought an off-the-track Thoroughbred, Mensa G, to build his “bench strength.”

But first things first: Giving riders an excellent experience at the 2011 AEC is on his mind as he and event director/cross-country course designer Ritch Temple ready the farm for this fall.

“The AEC gives the lower level rider the chance to compete for a national title, which is incredibly invigorating and motivating, and the upper-level riders have a good time, too,” he says.

“We’ll take good care of them because these people are the foundation of the sport.” NCM The public is invited to attend the AEC, held Sept.

8-11.General admission is free. For more information and directions, visit www.chatthillseventing.com.

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{ Tinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tips}

Tammy Purcell, daughter Kaleigh, and even the family dog Max are enjoying the new sunroom which was redecorated just in time for fall gettogethers with family and friends.

62 | NEWNAN â&#x20AC;&#x201C; COWETA MAGAZINE

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A perfect room for

Fall Family

Fun

By Tina Neely | Photos by Bob Fraley and courtesy of Tina Neely

t’s that time of year. The weather is cooling off, school is in full swing, the leaves will be changing colors soon ... fall is here. What better way to enjoy cool evenings than cuddling up by the fire in a cozy cabin? That’s what Tammy Purcell and her daughter, Kaleigh, are ready to do in their new, beautifully remodeled sunroom.

The room was used by her daughter and friends only for their weekly Bible study, but Tammy wanted to use the room for that and so much more – as a warm family gathering place they all could enjoy, all the time. She found an idea in a magazine and then called me. We worked together to realize her vision, and the sunroom was turned into what is now the most gathering-in room in the home. What great ideas she had, and thank goodness for cutting out pictures of things she likes. We started with the pictures and the list of wants, don’t-wants and changes she wanted to make: Take out the carpet.

Replace with hardwoods. Add pine to the walls and wrap the beams. Add a new fireplace to change the look from a bright sunroom to a cozy cabin retreat. And add new lighting and wiring for a TV. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 | 63

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The little used sunroom at left was turned into a warm family gathering place for the Purcell family and friends to enjoy. Scenes at left show how windows were taken out and a fireplace installed.

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REMODEL With the help and good direction of a handy friend and his crew, the old carpet was torn out and new hardwood floors were laid. New wiring was run and recessed lighting was installed to give visual interest in the lighting of the room and to highlight what would be the new stacked stone fireplace. Two windows were taken out in the far corner. The wall was cut and framed in for the new fireplace specifically placed in the corner to give visual interest as soon as you enter the room. It was fitted with a vented gas log insert that

starts the flames burning with just a press of the remote. Tongue and groove pine siding was nailed from the floor all the way to the top of the ceiling. The ceiling beams were wrapped in cedar, and some of the cedar was even saved to make a basic box mantel for the fireplace. Windows and doors were trimmed out in pine to finish the look. The pine was stained, the stacked stone was added to the fireplace, and the cedar mantel was installed. Lastly, new lighting, a ceiling fan and flat screen TV were installed.

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DECORATING

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To make a room that the family would love to pile into and hang out in, we chose the fabrics first to create the warm cozy atmosphere. Custom Roman shades were chosen in a spice colored fabric, and a solid red love seat was placed and topped with pillows in coordinating fabrics.

Wicker chairs flanked the sides of the sofa with cushions recovered in a fun fabric called Flower Power-Chartreuse. Jute carpet rugs gave a look of texture but a soft feel, and coordinating lamps were placed around to provide the perfect lighting to set the mood.

Fun accessories and pottery helped pull it all together and give that great look of fall. Fresh and artificial magnolia leaves, squash, pumpkins, gourds, oak leaves and acorns were all used.

What started out as a vision, and ended up being only about a six-week project, turned into the familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favorite room in the house. Now itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perfect when snuggling up to watch a movie, filled with friends for weekly Bible study, or having coffee and quiet time by the fire. Tammy got exactly what she wanted out of this room, a wonderful, cozy retreat perfect for fall family fun.

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Spice-toned fabrics and fall accent pieces help give this room a cozy feel.

REMODELING TIPS * Collect magazine and book photos of ideas you like for the room to help you explain your “vision” and make sure your ideas are understood. * Make sure the flooring you choose is durable enough to stand up to your family’s demands. Large pets and lots of foot traffic can make a difference in what you should choose. * Instead of having to get into the small attic space to pull wiring – which for this project was basically impossible – two-by-fours strategically placed in measured increments were added to the ceiling area. This helped hide new wiring and give extra wood for nailing the new pine siding. * When staining wooden walls, try staining test strips first to make sure it dries to the color you want and to see if you need one or even two coats. Most importantly when staining, don’t glob it on. We learned that lesson the hard way with hurried painters. To save time in having to sand off the mess later, take time to stain it and then wipe it down with a cloth. NCM

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JANSSEN Piano Services

Fine Tuning and Repair Fall Flower Festival planned at St. Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s St. Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Episcopal Church in Newnan will host its second annual Fall Flower Festival and Traditional English Tea at 2 p.m. on Nov. 5, 2011.

The church will be filled with beautiful fresh flower arrangements reflecting the colors of the season. Fall Flower Festivals are a tradition going back many centuries in the Anglican Church and often are held around harvest time.

Visitors will be able to tour the church and view the arrangements while listening to sacred and classical music played by the church organist from the choir loft. Prior to tea time, there will be a flower arranging demonstration showcasing the use of foliage and flowers readily available in the garden.

A traditional English tea will be served in the Fellowship Hall, and each table will be adorned with fine china belonging to members of the Flower Guild.

Tickets will be available from the church office beginning Sept. 6, 2011 at a cost of $20 per person.

For more information, call 770-253-4264. NCM

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Ronald S. Weber, M.D. Board Certified Ophthalmologist Diseases and Surgery of the Eye

is now seeing patients at

Clayton Eye Center 1000 Corporate Center Drive, Suite 120 .PSSPX (" r

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{ TheThoughtful Gardener }

Red Spiderlily: Lycoris radiata Story and photos by Katherine McCall

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s Southerners, we know where our dead are buried. Some condescendingly call it “ancestor worship,” but we have stood amongst the headstones as the summer sun shifts through gray mossy tendrils warming our bowed heads while we read and remember. We feel sand sifting into the backs of our shoes, gnats worrying the corners of our mouth and eyes, while the air thrums with the thickness of the cicadas.

We listen as the patriarch or matriarch recounts the story – our story. We know this is our inheritance. We agree with Deborah Smith, in Blue Willow, when she says, “Family is everything. It defines you – the heart of your spirit, the heritage of your smile, not only the color of your eyes but how they see the world. You are bound by kinship. You add your own link to the chain, and that is where you strengthen or weaken what you have been blessed – or burdened – with.”

And we see the flowers, because there are always flowers, placed in honor and remembrance and as a symbol of life.

There are magnolias, crepe myrtles, old fashioned roses,

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One of the unique aspects of this perennial lily, which is also known as a naked lady, British soldier, surprise lily and rain lily, is its fall bloom time.

72 | NEWNAN â&#x20AC;&#x201C; COWETA MAGAZINE

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azaleas, forsythia, gardenias, daffodils, and if you visit the cemetery in the fall, red spiderlilies.

The red spiderlily is one of those venerable southern bulbs that is really not southern at all. Its native home is Japan, and although sources disagree on the exact time of introduction into the South, one account is kept alive in a tiny South Carolina town called Willington. It is not a plaque or headstone but rather small plastic bags containing brown, papery bulbs accompanied by a typed story of their ancestor’s journey to the American South. For the red spiderlily, this is family – descendents of those bulbs who witnessed the culmination of Commodore Matthew Perry’s diplomatic mission to Japan in 1853.

Dr. James Morrow, whose home Pleasant Grove was in Willington,

S.C., was the agricultural agent on one of Perry’s ships that sailed to Japan. For hundreds of years Japan had been closed to most of the world, ruled by shoguns who kept the culture locked in a medieval feudal society. Literacy, peace and the arts had flourished at the high price of freedom for the common people, who were strictly governed by intricate rules ordering every aspect of their lives. During the following year, Perry’s diplomacy began an unprecedented exchange of cultures between the Japanese people and the crew members of Perry’s ships. In particular, Dr. Morrow roamed the Japanese towns, seaside and countryside “gathering plants, visiting blacksmiths, observing silkworm cultivation, watching weavers, and chatting with farmers.”

Struck by the exquisite beauty of the

red spiderlily, Dr. Morrow sent some bulbs home to Pleasant Grove where they flourished and began to spread across the South.

One of the unique aspects of this perennial lily, which is also known as a naked lady, British soldier, surprise lily and rain lily, is its fall bloom time. The foliage has usually come and gone (or maybe not appeared yet) by the time the single stalk shoots up after a drenching fall rain.

These lilies are from the family Amaryllidaceae, and there are two divisions – one will sprout foliage in the fall after blooming (these are evergreen), and the other produces foliage in the spring before blooms.

Because the foliage arrives without a bloom, be careful not to cut it back as the flower needs the nutrients from the leaves to open.

It is a striking deep red with

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spider-like stamens emanating from the blossom. In Garden Bulbs for the South, Scott Ogden recommends, “Dark-leafed green aucuba and cream-variegated pittosporum make good glossy foliage companions. To soften the bareness of the tall, leafless stems, lycoris may be positioned among over plantings of Southern shield fern, maiden hair fern, Japanese anemone, and other shade loving perennials. A simple backdrop of mossy boulders or leaf-littered earth also affords a lovely, dramatic contrast.”

Yes, a simple yet beautiful way to remember a loved one at the graveside or a bright spot of color that appears in the fall to remind us that summer is drawing to a close. NCM 74 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

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Reflections on the 10th anniversary of 9/11

By John Dailey

t’s been said that the attacks on America’s soil 10 years ago were a defining moment, one compared to Pearl Harbor nearly 70 years ago. We stop on each anniversary of these events and pay tribute to the victims, rescuers who unselfishly took their last call, and the survivors.

We learned that day that it is possible for people to lay aside differences and acknowledge the fact that in a very real way we do depend on one another.

When talking with friends and acquaintances about the things we saw and heard that day and in the weeks following, I find so many things both moving and hard.

Deputy Chief Todd Moore of the Coweta County Fire Department told of the trip he made with a number of his colleagues to New York. Their mission was simple, to offer assistance and show support to the public safety workers there.

Moore told how the local community pulled together to answer the calls for the needs of so many whose lives were turned upside down. Not only did they support the fire department, but also in three days the community put more than $100,000 in a boot,

or a box, or just dropped it off to be delivered to charities set up for widows, children and other survivors.

His personal experiences are humbling. “Total devastation” was the

“On Sept. 11, 2001 the attacks claimed nearly 3,000 lives. Within a short period of time our eyes were no longer on the mundane problems of a routine day but instead on how we could help loved ones, neighbors and strangers. Do we still pay it forward as often as we did during those days and weeks?” way he described the scene at Ground Zero. The debris was of such magnitude that most will never see up close. It was a field of wreckage at least 8 to 10 stories high containing what was left from the crushing force of the weight of the World Trade Centers falling. What these men saw, heard and felt was both emotional and disturbing. New York City’s best were SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 | 75

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the heroes, and working tirelessly next to them were retired firemen, searching for sons and daughters, others looking for a dad or a brother.

These local firemen returned home to the same support that helped them go. Still holding onto emotions 10 years later, Moore still remembers the banners proclaiming “Welcome home” hanging from highway overpasses. As he arrived at his home his wife and children embraced him, calling him “their hero.”

Dr. Jimmy Patterson of First Baptist Church in Newnan served as pastor in a central Florida church at the time of the attacks. He described the moments when he and others on staff were practically speechless. But he also told of the young gentleman he had recently baptized and how that man would return a few weeks later to give his testimony of survival in one of the WTC towers.

Are we doing better as a culture since September of 2001? I asked another minister friend, Dan Stuecher, and he answered, “The world is on fire, John.” His answer was that evidence suggests no, we are

“In a time that we remember tragic events in our own land, I try to be more aware of how I might live better today than yesterday.

Endeavor each day to be a little nicer, kinder and better. If you don’t feel like being a little nicer to the co-worker, family member or stranger, think of how so many must have felt on Sept. 12, 2001, and how a single event made us stop and become one.”

76 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

not doing better. He said most people don’t have a real grasp of how close to the edge we’re all teetering in many respects, such as politically, economically and ideologically. Both Patterson and Stuecher said that, sadly, the urgency that brought in abundant numbers of people to churches after 9/11 declined within a few months.

On Sept. 11, 2001 the attacks claimed nearly 3,000 lives. Within a short period of time our eyes were no longer on the mundane problems of a routine day but instead on how we could help loved ones, neighbors and strangers.

Do we still pay it forward as often as we did during those days and weeks? I certainly have some work to do in my life, because there really are hardships on a regular basis that will not be heard on the news. Somebody is suffering terribly because of a lost job, a family that says goodbye to a loved one too soon, or a younger generation of children and adults not knowing what is before them in a world with such global uncertainty.

In a time that we remember tragic events in our own land, I try to be more aware of how I might live better today than yesterday.

Endeavor each day to be a little nicer, kinder and better. If you don’t feel like being a little nicer to the co-worker, family member or stranger, think of how so many must have felt on Sept. 12, 2001, and how a single event made us stop and become one.

I have a great admiration for public safety workers. I asked Todd Moore what he will do if it happens again tomorrow. Not a breath passed before he looked at me and said, “Let’s go.” NCM

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Fire damages First Street home

Wednesdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; a s fire at a vacant home on East Hill Street is being investigated as possible arson.

It is the sixth fire that has occurred in vacant homes on and around that street since November 2008, according to Coweta County Fire Department Assistant Chief Mitch Coggin.

The fire occurred Wednesda W y afternoon at 34 East Hill Street. Firefighters arrived within minutes to f find the approximately 950-square-foot f home fully involved in flames. The structure â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which belonged to W Woody W Wood â&#x20AC;&#x201D; was deemed a total loss.

On Thursday, Coggin said the incident is being investigated as â&#x20AC;&#x153;an intentionally l set fire.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;There was no electrical power or gas service connected to the structure,â&#x20AC;? said Coggin.

The string of suspected arson fires began on April 8, 2008, with a fire at 25 East Hill Street. The subsequent fires occurred: Aug. 6, 2008, at 23 East Hill Street; Nov. 20, 2008, at 33 East Hill Street; and July 4, 2009, at 2 East Murphy Street â&#x20AC;&#x201D; located in close proximity to East Hill. The home at 25 East Hill Street was targeted a second time on June 28, 2010, according to Coggin.

Anyone who may have seen any suspicious activi ty at or near 34 East Hill Street on Wednesda W y is

See FIRE,, page p g 2

By ELIZABETH MELVILLE L elizabeth@newnan.com

Newnan Fire Department personnel work to put out hot spots following a house fire on First Street in Newnan Thursday morning.

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The cause off a fir f e Thursday morning that heavily damaged a home on First Street near downtown Newnan remains under investigation.

The fire occurred at 12 First Street around 8:40 a.m., according to Newnan Fire Marshal Ricky Ayers. The property was a rental home belonging to Bobby Orr. r The renters were reportedly not at home when the fire started.

The fire erupted in an upstairs bedroom, according to Ayers.

Newnan Fire Department Station One on Jefferson f Street and Station Three on Temple T Avenue responded to the scene. Firefighters confined f the flames to the upstairs.

The department remained on the scene for about an hour and a half, according to Ayers.

No one was injured in the fire, but Ayers esti mates that more than half the home was dam aged or destroyed.

He estimated the damages between $50,000 and $65,000.

Fireworks safety urged by officials

By ELIZABETH MELVILLE L elizabeth@newnan.com

There will be alcohol served at one upcoming wedding reception at the Moreland Mill, but it is not clear whether there will ever be another champagne toast in the historic building.

The Moreland Town Council has been discussing ways to ramp up use of the millâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s meet ing room, but 2010 is drawing to a close with no resolution off the alcohol issue. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It seems like the more we Moreland Mayor Josh Evans, left, and City Attorney Mark Mitchell listen to discussion about possibilities for the historic talk about it, the more ques- Moreland Mill during a December meeting of city leaders. tions we have,â&#x20AC;? Mayor Josh Evans reflected recently. l There has been much discussion in recent months about whether or not to allow alcohol w to be served at the building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

R The town has offe f red a room in the former f textile mill as a R of Historic Sales Tax dollars to do the work and on the National Register

By W. WINSTON SKINNER leased meeting space for f years. seek a grant that could pay a back the Places, began as a drygoods store winston@newnan.com Some council members have funds Evans said a Rural Business d d th suggested ll i h

Mayor: S M Sewer line li upgrades d would expand millâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s offerings

As Georgians prepare for f New Year Y â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eve, experts urge consumers to consider safety f as they ring in 2011 and bid ffarewell to 2010.

Nationally, fir f eworks consumption increased 635 percent between 1976 and 2008, while fire works-related injuries decreased dramatically from 38.3 injuries to 3.3 injuries per 100,000 pounds off fireworks during that same time period, according to the most recent data available from the American Pyrotechnics Association.

John Conkling, a spokesman for f the American Pyrotechnics Association, attributes the steep decline in injuries over the years to the fire works industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s consumer safety and education initiativ i es during the last three decades. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fireworks can provide hours off wholesome, f famil y entertainment, but they must be used by adults carefully and safely,â&#x20AC;? said Newnan Fire Marshal Ricky Aye A rs.

Ayers warned adults against allowing children to handle any type off fireworks. Also, alcohol and fireworks do not mix.

Despite the decline in fireworks-related injuries, consumers should resolve to use only devices permitted by state law while adhering to safety warnings and instructions that appear on product packaging.

In Georgia, no one younger than 18 can purchase ffireworks.

Off ffi i l rn consumers to take precautions.

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The Centre and Visual for Perform Arts and ing Patrons of the Centre the nized humori recogand author st, column Lewis Grizzarist, author Marga d; Barnes, ret Anne who in Cowet wrote â&#x20AC;&#x153;Murde r recent ly a County â&#x20AC;?; and retired County Cowet s during his stop Schools Superi ntende nt a with Mckenz Blake Bass. off Dr. Marc ie Comer Guy and at Madras Cowet a former Educat County Board ion membe off Sumner introduced r Mike only living Bass, the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Look at award recipient. this facilit f at the progre y. Look the activitie ss. Look at all k off place here,â&#x20AC;? s that have taken Many of said Guy. those things the most made possibl were ng? Was e by having man like Blake it a Coweta Bass, recentl ney? Tim helm, said Blake Bass at the school County superinty retired Guy. ackson? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mr. Bass Or s, endent of t right here leaders was honore d supporter has been a hip and of the arts,â&#x20AC;? big arts. le School, suppor t for his Guy. of the said on?â&#x20AC;? said Sumne r said that turbul ent Sumne after a few years d Jackson though r said â&#x20AC;&#x153;flood waters the artist he may notthat even andreauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recede â&#x20AC;? began to tion himself, Bass be a great Schools in Coweta County to the local contrib when Bass tor told arts cannot uhelm in took the called into questio 2004. be our cann. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t â&#x20AC;&#x153;Conf idence even know carry e what restored w I was doubt a tune,â&#x20AC;? said if he can ,â&#x20AC;? Sumner this.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; He are all for said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We if he knows Sumner. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I f ever W from a bass e?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; And a treble Bassâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; leadersgrateful.â&#x20AC;? clef clef, from a Monet. hip style been to or a Picassof d him, But I do carry a â&#x20AC;&#x153;speak softly, has what heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rt off a know and here big stick,â&#x20AC;? done quipped in Coweta for the arts Sumne r .

County.â&#x20AC;?

As Bass akings He said he admire he said he accepted the straigh tforw song, d Bass award, f ard approa credit thandeserved a bit and the more instille d conf idence ch, ing to give. Sumner was willomehe in everyo ne â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mike sells worked has who said, said he with him. Sumne launching me short,â&#x20AC;? he the rememb into a soliloqu ered a num-r from William ber of And times he Shakes peareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;sy â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hamlet.â&#x20AC;? phone calls receiv ed rite â&#x20AC;&#x153;I learne ing â&#x20AC;&#x153;alarmi from Bass, relatd that Parrottâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;desperate ng newsâ&#x20AC;? of some in situation.â&#x20AC;?

School,â&#x20AC;? class at Newnan Mrs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Th act play he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was in High oneI

portt il 15 hingto n-bas ct Judge ed Senio r U.S. Thom Camp as Hoga had and denigâ&#x20AC;&#x153;disgraced n his rated diciary the f yâ&#x20AC;? action Hogan also feds had etter onto â&#x20AC;&#x153;chise said led a his forehe est of his life. ad f â&#x20AC;? ition to enten prison time, ced year on Camp to probatio his prison 0 hours sentence,n ce, pay off commu unde rgoa fine off regul w while ar he eatme continues nt progr s ago. am ncing Courtroom ichard J. Russe ll

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NCOM_78-84

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10:36 AM

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{ Local Heritage }

Francis Gary Powers and, opposite, the Newnan home where his first wedding was held.

Famous U-2 pilot had Newnan wedding in 1955

By W. Winston Skinner

here is no historical marker at 129 East Broad St. The frame house was for years the parsonage of Lovejoy Memorial United Methodist Church. On April 2, 1955 a wedding took place there. Francis Gary Powers, a native Kentuckian who apparently was an air traffic controller then, married Barbara Gay Moore, whose brother, Jack Moore, was Lovejoy’s pastor.

The bride, her mother and sister came from their hometown of Albany for the wedding. The bride wore a navy blue ensemble, a white 78 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

hat with netting and a white orchid corsage.

The couple left Newnan for a Miami honeymoon. They set up housekeeping in Albany and – according to some accounts – moved to California.

By 1960, the Powers had moved to Pound, Va., but he was often away – far away. Powers had become a U-2 pilot, flying over the Soviet Union and taking pictures of airfields, planes, missiles and military sites. He was a spy.

Pilots were expected to hit a self destruct button if their plane was downed in enemy territory. Pilots were uncertain, however, of how long they had to get away from a plane in

such an event.

When Powers’ plane was shot down over Sverdlovsk on May 1, 1960, Pres. Dwight Eisenhower said the U-2 was a weather plane that had drifted off course. Nikita Khrushchev soon announced both plane and pilot were in Soviet hands, and Eisenhower admitted the plane was a spy plane. In early 1962, the Kennedy administration reached an agreement to exchange Powers for Russian spy Rudolph Abel.

Barbara Powers and her husband were reunited in February 1962, but their marriage lasted only a short time. In October 1963, Powers married Claudia Sue Edwards Downey, a CIA psychologist.

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In the July 8, 1973 issue of Family Weekly, Powers stated the Air Force and CIA “did not honor the agreement to allow me to return to the Air Force without a loss of seniority for the time I served with the CIA.” At that time, Powers was “a skywatch pilot” monitoring freeway traffic for a California radio station.

Powers was killed in 1977 when his helicopter ran out of fuel while he was covering brushfires.

Barbara Powers – post-divorce – returned to Albany and worked at the U.S. Marine Corps Logistics Base. She married Ray Drake, whose father “used to buy up property for taxes,” according to Starla FerraraGreen, Ray Drake’s niece. Much of that land was near the base.

When we talked in 2008, Ferrara-Green said the Drakes planned to open a bar and built a building with that in mind – even having it wired for stereo. When they could not get a permit, they decided to live there.

Ferrara-Green said she remembered thinking the home was strangely designed before learning its origins.

The Drakes had a daughter. According to sources from Albany, Ray and Barbara Drake both died prior to April 2008. My efforts to locate the daughter – several times over a period of years – were unsuccessful.

The Drake family knew about Barbara’s marriage to Powers. “It was sort of our connection” to fame, Ferrara-Green reflected.

Sue Powers, a longtime docent at the Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas, died in 2004. Her son, Francis Gary Powers Jr., is a founder of the Cold War Museum.

Newnan’s visible connection to the Powers saga is the house on Broad Street. Career lawman Hugh Brown bought the house in 1972, shortly after he became Coweta County Police Department chief.

“We bought it from Lovejoy,” Hugh said. His grandmother and some uncles had been members.

Lovejoy had added a back room to the original structure, built about 1908. Hugh added another room.

When the Powers wedding took place, ceilings in the parsonage were 14 feet high. “I left the ceiling just like it was until a few years ago,” Hugh said.

When the house was between renters, Hugh was nice enough to let me take a look. There are three beautiful mantels – the one in the living room having a gorgeous old mirror. Hugh’s wife scraped paint off the tiles on the fireplace there, restoring them to their original beauty.

The house has woodwork which no doubt came from the R.D. Cole Company. I have been told that when several houses were being built in an area, “Cole Shop” would bring equipment and churn out beautiful mantel pieces, window trims and door cornices.

The old Lovejoy parsonage holds lots of history and is Newnan’s connection to one of the most significant events of the Cold War. NCM

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Bogmeadow’s Wish

By Terry Kay Mercer University Press, $26 Reviewed by Holly Jones In many of his novels – To Dance With the White Dog, The Book of Marie and The Valley of Light – Terry Kay writes about loss, love and life, or learning to live. In Bogmeadow’s Wish, his latest book, Kay adds another “L” to that list – leprechauns.

Cooper Finn Coghlan has heard stories of Ireland his entire life. His grandfather Finn emigrated from Ireland in 1938, but never returned. Finn often promised Cooper they would visit together, but with Finn’s recent death Cooper doesn’t see that dream coming true.

Yet, Cooper is heading to Ireland with his grandfather – or his grandfather’s ashes. Finn’s final request of his grandson was: “Let my ashes blow in the wind.

You’ll know the place when you come to it. I’ll be there, telling you.”

Cooper is listening, but he doesn’t hear directions or a specific place. He hears stories – his grandfather’s stories of the mythical Finn McCool who fell in love with beautiful Sally Cavanaugh; stories of Sean Malone, a “bare-fisted fighter” with “an angel’s voice”; and, of course, stories of leprechauns.

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One of Finn’s stories told how he caught a leprechaun “lazily napping under the cover of a hedgerow.” To escape, Bogmeadow the leprechaun haggled. He’d keep his freedom and his pouch of gold in return for bestowing “a blessing on Finn Coghlan, protecting him and anyone touching him.” Along with the blessing came one wish. Because Finn never used the wish, he passed it along to Cooper – or so the story went.

With only a week to find the perfect spot for his grandfather’s ashes, Cooper is wishing for a sign, or even Bogmeadow himself to guide him on his journey. What Cooper has instead is Sandy McAfee – outof-work actor, benign con artist and storyteller extraordinaire – who (unbeknownst to Cooper) has been hired to be Cooper’s tour guide.

Cooper realizes almost immediately that Sandy is taking him for a ride, although he’s not sure why. But Sandy’s stories remind Cooper so much of his grandfather that he can’t refuse the companionship.

The majority of Kay’s latest novel chronicles Cooper’s journey through Ireland with Sandy and the friends and enemies they meet along the way. Each destination brings Cooper closer to his grandfather’s past and his own future. And once again, Kay’s readers are blessed with a story of loss, love and life – this time with the bonus of a leprechaun, for luck.

The Tender Mercy of Roses

By Anna Michaels Gallery, $22.99 Reviewed by Holly Jones Jo Beth Dawson sees dead people.

OK, so right now she sees only one dead person. And sure, she did find the body of murdered rodeo star Pony Jones.

And maybe she has been putting away quite a bit of bourbon and Scotch lately.

But does that mean she needs to be haunted?

No. Quite the contrary.

Actually, the only reason Jo Beth has come back to Huntsville, Ala., where her life had previously fallen apart, was to see the rodeo where Pony was a main attraction. Jo Beth’s grandfather, Clint Dawson,

was one of the rodeo’s founders, and Jo Beth’s best friend Maggie is pulling heartstrings to get Jo Beth back to Huntsville and hopefully sobered up.

Of course, Jo Beth finding a dead body near her camper outside town throws a kink in Maggie’s plans, but it does start the beginning of an amazing story in Anna Michaels’ debut novel The Tender Mercy of Roses.

Written from the points of view of Jo Beth, Pony and Pony’s father Titus, the book is told as a mystery. Jo Beth once worked for the Huntsville police department solving murders like Pony’s, so that need for justice – not to mention the fact that Jo Beth can both see and hear Pony encouraging her investigation – is not a feeling she can ignore.

Titus merely wants to avenge Pony’s death. He lost his wife when Pony was born and has raised his daughter singlehandedly. A former rodeo star himself, he’s the one who taught Pony to ride the bulls – the first female to successfully break into that event. Titus isn’t worried about consequences; he simply wants to make Pony’s murderer pay. Besides, he can see and hear Pony too, guiding him to her killer.

Then there is Pony herself. She doesn’t understand how she was killed, or why she had to die at 26 years old.

But she does understand that she is

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Ankle & Foot Centers of Georgia . . . . . . . .55

dead, and that she won’t be allowed into heaven until she helps both her father and Jo Beth. Exactly why she has to help Jo Beth puzzles Pony, because the two women have never met – but that is just another part of the mystery.

Tender Mercy is a mystery, but it is also a ghost story, a tale of Native American traditions, a family saga and an unraveling of secrets. Most importantly, however, it is a book that you will not want to put down.

Heirloom Bulbs for Today

By Chris Wiesinger and Cherie Foster Colburn Bright Sky Press, $34.95 Reviewed by Angela McRae Heirloom plants get lots of buzz in today’s gardening world. Heirloom tomatoes have appeared in cooking magazines all summer long, and heirloom roses are billed as both handsome and hardy specimens for modern gardens.

One gardener who takes his heirloom plants seriously is self-proclaimed bulb hunter Chris Wiesinger, whose Southern Bulb Company in Texas works to “rescue bulbs and get them back into America’s gardens.”

Wiesinger’s Heirloom Bulbs for Today, written with Cherie Foster Colburn, is a beautiful and useful book that promotes these hardy plants (“the comfort food of the plant world,” claims the book’s jacket).

His passion for bulbs began early.

Bank of Coweta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 As a young boy, Wiesinger was on a BB&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 fall family trip to a local garden center Bowdon Denture Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67 when he bought what looked like a brown rock but was said to be a red Center For Allergy & Asthma . . . . . . . . . . . .5 tulip. He planted it. Five months later Charter Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 it was spring, and Wiesinger looked Chin Chin Newnan Chinese Restaurant . .51 out one day and saw his beautiful red Clayton Eye Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69 flower. When the foliage returned the following year, but no flower, he disCorner Arts Gallery Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 covered his bulb had rotted. He wantCoweta-Fayette EMC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83 ed to know why. That experience Coweta Medical Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 inspired him to study horticulture at Discovery Point Child Development Texas A&M, and as a school project he wrote a Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 business plan for a nursEmory Clark-Holder Clinic . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 ery start-up focusing on Farm Bureau Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 bulbs.

GMC Community College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Wiesinger said specimens which make it Heritage Retirement Homes into his “bulb hall of of Peachtree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67 fame” have to meet these The Heritage School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 requirements: come back Hollberg's Fine Furniture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 year after year, prove sucHome Helpers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 cessful with first-time gardeners, be low-mainJanssen Piano Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69 tenance, bloom for an Lee-King and Lee-Goodrum Pharmacies . .51 extended period, and Main Street Newnan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 have “showy or remarkMercer University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 able” flower features.

Cemeteries and old The Newnan Times-Herald . . . . . . . . . .15, 77 home sites are favorite NG Turf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21, 73 haunts for his bulb resNuLink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 cues, and the stories of Oak Mountain Academy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 how he found some of the bulbs make for entertaining readPalmetto Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 ing. His now-warped truck rotors, for Piedmont Newnan Hospital Sleep Center .2 instance, he traces back to the time he Piedmont Physicians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 and his dog Fischer were digging up Radiation Oncology Services . . . . . . . . . . . .3 some Grand Primo daffodils (and poison ivy, alas) and got their truck stuck The Ritzy Roost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 in the mud with some nosy – but Savannah Court of Newnan . . . . . . . . . . . .33 helpful – neighbors watching.

Southern Crescent Equine Services . . . . .61 The book also includes brief SouthTowne Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 vignettes about some historic sites which are home to heirloom bulbs, Spoon Sisters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 such as Eudora Welty’s home in StoneBridge Early Learning Center . . . . . .46 Jackson, Miss. (home of Hyacinthoides Table Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 hispanica, or Spanish bluebells) and Uniglobe McIntosh Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Bartram’s Garden in Philadelphia, Penn. (home of Narcissus ‘Telemonius VitalCare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 Plenus’).

Wesley Woods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 You can’t read a book like this West Georgia Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 without hankering to plant a few heirloom bulbs yourself, and Wiesinger November/December 2011 Ad Deadlines Published: November 4, 2011; helpfully includes planting and care A copy ofContract this book will be among the door Ads: September 28, 2011; instructions for the ones discussed. prizes given away at our Tea for Toys on Dec. 2.

New Ads: October 7, 2010. Call 770.683.6397 His resource list comes in handy as See page 42 for more details! for details and advertising information. well. NCM SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 | 81

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{ I am Coweta }

Carren Quinn

By Nichole Golden | Photo by Bob Fraley Carren Quinn is in her fifth year of teaching art at White Oak Elementary in Newnan. She studied at William Carey College in Hattiesburg, Miss., earning a degree in psychology with an internship in art therapy. Quinn’s “greatest joy” as a teacher is to instill in children the ability to express themselves through art.

How long have you called Coweta home?

My husband and I moved from Natchez, Miss., March of 2004. We moved to Newnan for my husband to begin serving as Minister of Music at First Baptist Church of Peachtree City. My boys were 3 years old and 7 when we moved here.

Now, my oldest is starting high school at EC! When did you first become interested in art?

As a child I loved to draw cartoon characters with my dad. It was not until high school with the instruction of my art teacher, Mr. Ravey, that I began to develop my abilities and desire for a future in art.

How can parents support art in public schools?

Well, I can personally say that I am very fortunate to have amazing support from my school’s PTO. I have been blessed over the past four years to be able to teach our students art with a supplemented income through our PTO. Parents who support their school’s PTO can directly affect their art program. I also encourage any of my parents that have artistic abilities to come to my classroom and interact with our students. I am thankful that here in Coweta the school board has continued to make the arts a priority.

How can parents encourage budding artists at home?

I encourage my students’ parents to always ask their child about the artwork they bring home from school. Parents should also take their children to see art. We have a great resource at the performing arts center ... use it! Also, allow their child to create. Parents should have a box of supplies available. It doesn’t have to be expensive supplies.

Something I hear students say that just breaks my heart is, “My parents do not want my work. They just throw it away.” I know as a parent you cannot save everything your child creates, but one should at least show that whatever their child has created is valuable to them.

Who are your favorite artists?

It is kind of like music to me, it depends on my mood! I guess my favorite would be Renoir. I have his art in my home. In college I studied Georgia O’Keefe and have an appreciation for her work. But really, I can enjoy any artist’s work, from Michelangelo to Andy Warhol!

What are your family’s favorite things to do in Coweta?

When my children were younger we loved to spend the day at the Newnan Utilities Park. Now that they are older, we enjoy a good game of bowling at Junction Lanes. Most of our time now is spent at Whitlock Park watching the boys practice and play soccer. NCM

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