Nov/Dec 2008 by Golden Isles Magazine

Downtown Then and Now • Soundtrack for Success • Cookie Exchange

GoldenIsles Nov/Dec 2008 Vol. 3 No. 4

MAGAZINE

20 40 UNDER

Culture and the Arts

on the Georgia Coast

Brunswick and the Golden Isles of Georgia enjoy the benefits of a vibrant cultural community that creates a full calendar of events year â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;round. With more than 25 organizations dedicated to the arts and humanities, coastal Georgiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rich and diverse cultural life truly offers â&#x20AC;&#x153;something for everyone.â&#x20AC;?

The celebration continues.

From the visual and performing arts, to heritage events, holiday festivals, and special programs at our many museums and historic sites, Georgiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cultural Coast celebrates the importance of arts and culture in everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daily lives.

The celebration continues.

Culture and the Arts on the Georgia Coast Afternoon on Ossabaw Va

For a complete listing of cultural organizations and the current calendar of events visit

www.goldenislesarts.org or call 912-262-6934

Culture and the Arts on the Georgia Coast Redcoat, Chris Johnson. Photographer. Courtesy of Brunswick-Golden Isles Convention & Visitors Bureau

16 CHRISTMAS COOKIE EXCHANGE Photo by Benjamin Galland

Nov/Dec 2008 FEATURES

31 DOWNTOWN THEN AND NOW with Cuffy Hise Sullivan

50 A SOUNDTRACK FOR SUCCESS Fight Songs for the Ambitious Set

52 THE BRADY BUNCH The Next Generation

62 20 UNDER 40 Meet this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s class of 20 young leaders under the age of 40, a top-notch group of go-getters

38 OntheCover Photo by Benjamin Galland

2 Golden Isles Magazine

THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS A Humorous Look at the Holiday

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DEPARTMENTS 8 EDITOR’S NOTE

10 CURRENT Success Stories/Heels and Ties

12 RITA TRUDEAU Artist’s Paintings Celebrate Life

15 SSI LOCAL Who Are These People?

18 BECOMING ISLANDERS Meet the Custers

24 SERENITY NOW! Manage Stress Before It Manages You

28 LOVE DOCTORS The Berman Sisters

52 A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS by Benjamin Galland

72 HOLIDAY CRAFTS Fun Ideas for Your Family this Season

81 PAIRINGS Coastal Kitchen Chowder

84 A SOUTHERN YANKEE

Journeys in Becoming a True Southerner

86 BULLBAT TIME A Lost Southern Tradition 4 Golden Isles Magazine

20 FULL-MOON KAYAKING Photo by Benjamin Galland

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GoldenIsles MAGAZINE

Celebrating the enchanting beauty, charming personalities, sophisticated lifestyles and rich history of the Georgia coast. Contact us: 247 Edwards Plaza St. Simons Island, GA 31520 (912) 634-8466 PUBLISHER C.H. Leavy IV ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Heath Slapikas RETAIL SALES MANAGER Burt Bray ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Stephanie Trent CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Frank Lane EDITOR Amy H. Carter DESIGN/ART DIRECTOR Bob Swinehart DESIGN ASSISTANT Stacey Willis DESIGN CONSULTANT Harlan Hambright FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHER Benjamin Galland CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Bobby Haven Golden Isles Magazine is published six times per year by The Brunswick News Publishing Co. Postmaster: Send change of address to The Brunswick News Publishing Co., P.O. Box 1557, Brunswick, GA 31521-1557. Periodicals postage paid at Brunswick, Ga. USPS-068180.

Submissions: Golden Isles Magazine is always in search of talented contributors. Unsolicited queries and submissions of art and stories are welcome. Please include an email address and telephone number. Submit by email to the Editor, Amy Carter, at acarter@goldenislesmagazine.com or by regular mail to Golden Isles Magazine, 247 Edwards Plaza, St. Simons Island, GA 31522. Only work accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope will be returned. Advertising: Information regarding advertising and rates is available by contacting Stephanie Trent by phone at (912) 634-8466 or by email at strent@goldenislesmagazine.com.

6 Golden Isles Magazine

Lamore

Harris

Presley

Williams

Lori Lamore worked as a journalist, editor and freelance writer in Washington, D.C., and Maryland for 15 years. She is a recipient of a National Newsletter Association Award for Instructional Journalism. As a D.C. reporter, Lamore represented her employer at the annual Washington Correspondents Dinners, during the elder George Bush Administration, where she had a ďŹ rst-hand glimpse into the lifestyles of the rich, infamous and downright silly. Bonnie M. Harris grew up in Tallahassee, Fla., and attended Florida State University with a major in accounting. She and her family moved to St. Simons Island in 1979. She practiced accounting in the Golden Isles professionally for many years. Her writing endeavors include a book to her ďŹ rst granddaughter, Kinslee, and articles published in The Florida Times Union. Her inspirational short story, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The boat that brought daddy homeâ&#x20AC;? was published by Guideposts and included in Guideposts Best Loved Stories. Bonnie lives on St. Simons with her husband, Mike, her golden, Annie and two cats. Ami Presley is a Toledo, Ohio native who recently found herself transplated in Coastal Georgia. She and her husband, Mike, have settled in Brunswick, where he had lived for many years previous. She spends her days teaching preschool, and her evenings writing, reading and all kinds of other creative things. In her free time, she is also the mother of six children â&#x20AC;&#x201C; three by birth and three by choice. Kathi Williams is currently the Assistant Editor of Coastal Illustrated. She moved to Coastal Georgia in 2006 by way of New Jersey, Illinois, Michigan and Massachusetts and immediately fell in love with the beauty and special community of St. Simons Island. Kathi is pleased to call the island her home now, and you can often ďŹ nd roaming the Village with pen and camera in hand and son, Declan, in tow.

Contributors

Custer

Morrison

Kaszans

Messer

Janna B. Custer A native of Athens, Georgia, Janna obtained her B.S. from UGA, her M.S. from Utah State University, and her J.D. from UGAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s School of Law. Before becoming a lawyer Janna worked in natural resources, serving as a research assistant for various land management agencies, as the Assistant Director of the Tennessee Wildlife Center, and as the Executive Director of the Stokes Nature Center in Utah. Janna and Clay are avid outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy hiking, backpacking, snow-skiing, and canoeing. Janna practices law on St. Simons Island at The Jordan Firm. Mike Morrison has been a reporter and freelance writer in and around the Golden Isles for 25 years. Over the years his pieces have appeared in The Brunswick News, The Georgia Times-Union, The Islander, and Golden Isles Magazine. A winner of more than 65 writing awards from state journalism organizations, he spends his free time contemplating re-hiking the Appalachian Trail or taking another extended backpacking trip around Europe. Dr. Rosemary Kaszans has been a resident of historic Brunswick since 1983, an enthusiastic advocate of historic preservation, the arts, and community awareness. She is a local chiropractor whose love of writing has produced three books and numerous articles, including her infamous run in the Harbor Sound in the 1990s as â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Rabid Environmentalistâ&#x20AC;?. Dr. Kaszans currently resides and works in the Windsor Park neighborhood, where she can watch rugby games from her front window. Josh Messer was born and raised in middle Georgia. He moved to St. Simons Island in January, 2006 with his now-wife, then-ďŹ ancĂŠe, Anna English Messer. Now a resident of Brunswick, Josh is a Personal Banker at the Coastal Bank of Georgia and a contributor to Golden Isles Magazine.

Congratulations to the 20 under 40â&#x20AC;Ś The leaders in our community who steal the spotlight!

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Nov/Dec 2008 7

Editor's Note As you can see, I have always been a dedicated celebrator of Christmas (and quite the fashionista, I admit modestly. All I can say about this ensemble is, while I feel sure I chose everything but the white tights, my Mama was still the boss of me here, so she put it all on me). To paraphrase a classic, holidays are the best of times and the worst of times. So much family and food and lights and gifts and stress. Do you get that vibe at Christmastime? I can’t remember a time that I didn’t, but only because I come from a family of perfectionists and there’s always one last ornament, one last garnish, one last dollar and one last Bloody Mary that we can throw on to make the celebration more fun. It always works. That’s kind of how every issue of Golden Isles Magazine goes here in our lovely St. Simons Island office (minus the Bloody Marys, sadly). For this, our second annual issue celebrating 20 young leaders of note in the community, we pulled out all the stops, and so did they. What a fabulous group they are, as I hope you’ll see in the things they have to say about themselves. To a person, each is warm and witty and charming and generous beyond reason, whether it’s the season for giving or not. Be sure to thank them the next time you meet one out and about. So many wonderful people have made great strides to help make this, our final issue of 2008, a festive and fun edition that I couldn’t possibly list them all for fear of leaving one out. To all of them and to all of you, I say thank you. I wish you all the merriest of Christmases, the happiest of holidays and a healthy and prosperous New Year. We all deserve it, no?

Amy H. Carter Editor

6 1

4 3

1. Crystal R. Ferrier 2. Brian Dolan 3.David Yarborough 4. Wendi O’Connor 5. Greer Brown

8 Golden Isles Magazine

6. Jill Geary 7. Christine Pierce 8. Amy Callaway 9. Jeff Bennett 10. Jay Roberts

15 16

12 10

11. Brooke Vallaster 12. Kathy Patelidas 13. Dade Brantley 14. Angie Heys 15. Troy Vollenweider

20 19

16. Kelly Bennett 17. Patti Fort 18. Brad McLelland 19. Emmitt Nolan 20. Mark Fritchman

20 20 40 40

UNDER UNDER

Nov/Dec 2008 9

Current

108&3 108&3 Heels Ties Comfortable couture? Believe it, ladies. This dark spruce suede heel from Cole Haan is equipped with Nike Air cushioning. Beauty and practicality have called a truce. The Pampered Foot, 3419 Frederica Road, SSI.

Be the belle of the boardroom in this red patent leather Taryn Rose pump. Don’t let the modest heel and fat straps on the open toe fool you – this shoe shows the ties who’s really boss. JF Thompson Fine Footwear, 1626 Frederica Road, SSI.

You don’t have to eat quiche to appreciate the bold blend of pinks and blues in this paisley print tie from Thomas P. Dent Clothier’s private label, especially when it’s paired with a Persian blue F.A. MacCluer button collar shirt. Both from Thomas P. Dent Clothier, 206 Redfern Village, SSI.

10 Go Golden G olden old ld den en Isles IIsl sles sl les Magazine Mag M aggaz azin inne

Ah, Italian leather. Rich burgundy with a peep toe and a sexy heel with a zipper up the back. Deﬁnitely makes the day-tonight transition, by Rafe´. The Pampered Foot, 3419 Frederica Road, SSI.

Conservative still shines in the classic pattern of this tie from JZ Richards. Paired with a crisp white Overton dress shirt, the old guard would approve. Both at Thomas P. Dent Clothier, 206 Redfern Village, SSI.

Robert Talbot paisley and stripes, accented with a Codia Maya ladybug cufﬂink – what’s not to love about this fashion-forward look? A combo sure to get you noticed! All from MJ Landis Clothiers, 3600 Frederica Road, SSI.

Current

Success Stories

Success comes early and naturally to Golden Islanders, and it has since the beginning of coastal time. The archives of local history are ﬁlled with success stories, both native and transplanted. Some of the most famous names in Golden Isles history made names for themselves before they reached the age of 40. They include:

Gen. James Oglethorpe, native of London, who was 37 when he founded the Georgia Colony.

Poet Sidney Lanier, native of Macon, who was 36 when he penned his famous poem, “The Marshes of Glynn.”

Robert Sengstacke Abbott, native of St. Simons Island, who was 35 when he founded “The Chicago Defender,” one of the nation’s most influential black newspapers.

Jim Brown, a native of St. Simons Island, was 21 when drafted by the Cleveland Browns. He retired from the NFL at 30 to pursue an acting career, appearing in a range of movies, from “The Dirty Dozen” (1967) to “Mars Attacks!” (1996).

Sea Island Co. founder Howard Coffin, a native of West Milton, Ohio, who was 38 when he acquired Sapelo Island, the purchase that eventually led him to Sea Island itself.

Louise Suggs, a native of Atlanta, who was 36 when she became the first golfer to win an LPGA Tour event three straight years. She won two of the major tournaments in women’s golf in 1946 at 23. Suggs was the Sea Island Golf Club’s first touring professional and a founding member of the LPGA.

Sea Island touring professional, Davis Love III, a native of Charlotte, N.C., was 23 when he won his first PGA victory at the 1987 MCI Heritage Golf Classic at Hilton Head Island, S.C. Nov/Dec 2008 11

The Arts

RitaTrudeau

Artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Paintings Celebrate Life 3 T OR Y BY ,OR I ,AM ORE s 0 HOT OS BY "ENJ AM IN 'A LLA ND 12 Golden Isles Magazine

Witness a child jumping in the ocean surf, feeling cool, gooey sand between his toes as waves spray and tickle his whole body. His hair askew, his eyes as wide as the sea, limbs spread to feel the sensation, and laughter of pure joy bursting forth from deep within. St. Simons Island artist Rita S. Trudeau’s watercolor paintings capture just such divine moments celebrating life. Take a close look at the faces of Trudeau’s subjects and you can see their personalities. As a member of the Portrait Society of America, one of Trudeau’s favorite subjects is the human ﬁgure, and many of her portraits are commissioned works. She began her career drawing the human form as a fashion illustrator in the 1940s for Read’s Department Store in Bridgeport, Conn. At a time when the fashion industry had no simple electronic means to produce images of their new clothing designs, the industry relied on artists’ pen-and-ink renderings. Each day the department store selected the clothing it wanted published in the newspaper. “One of the store employees would bring a piece of clothing, such as lingerie or a dress, and I would have to draw it by the end of the day to be printed in the next day’s newspaper,” says Trudeau. She also freelanced for New York Department Stores, drawing children’s fashions for backto-school catalogs. For a number of years her art took a backseat to family life as she raised her three daughters. However, since moving to the Golden Isles in 1991, she has become rededicated to her art. “Moving to St. Simons Island was the best decision I’ve made in my whole life,” says Trudeau. Not only

was the move right because her art has ﬂourished, but the coastal Georgia weather is much better than that of New England. “Winters in Cape Cod are long and dreary,” she says of her former home. Trudeau’s St. Simons Island studio and home is like a small, cozy gallery showcasing her work and her life. Each painting has a story. Her landscape of Michelangelo’s Plaza was painted on her Plein Air workshop tour of Italy. A

Family and friends are frequent subjects in her painting. The pale blue sunlight bounces off the sea and surrounds Trudeau’s granddaughter and toddler great-grandson in one painting. In another, the three young daughters of a friend dance on the beach as their pink dresses ﬂy. The sea or water is often a feature or subject in her work. “I am fascinated by water. It is always changing,” says Trudeau.

“I am fascinated by water. It is always changing,” says Rita Trudeau. landscape of the Maine coast reminds her of her brush with fame when she encountered Andrew Wyeth at an Italian restaurant in Maine. “I spotted a white haired man in a long nylon coat walk in. It was Andrew Wyeth, his son James, and his family celebrating his 80th birthday,” says Trudeau with a smile.

Trudeau’s favorite medium is watercolor because she enjoys how it has a way of surprising and forgiving the artist. “If I make a mistake, somehow the way watercolors blend, it always turns out all right,” says Trudeau. She jokes that if she painted in oil she would never ﬁnish a work because she would never stop painting corrections. Nov/Dec 2008 13

A number of Trudeauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s landscapes and still life paintings displayed in her home have been in exhibitions or will eventually be in a show. Others have been claimed by her daughters and granddaughter. She is donating one of her still life paintings to the Cassina Garden Club that will be used for a fundraising event next spring. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a painting of a bright orange, double hibiscus that pops off the canvas as though live. Trudeauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s works have been honored with awards from juried art exhibitions, including ones sponsored by the Georgia Watercolor Society, Okefenokee Heritage Center, Jekyll Island Art Festival, and the Georgia Coastal National Show. The ďŹ rst time Trudeau entered the Jekyll Island Art Festival, held each March, she won both ďŹ rst and second place for two of her entries. Whether itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a painting of a smiling freckled faced girl, a sunny day at the beach on St. Simons, or a single ďŹ&#x201A;ower, Trudeau manages to capture the inner essence of her subjects. But above all, Trudeauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s works celebrate the joy she sees in life. â&#x2013;

Rita Trudeauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s art will be on display during the November Glynn Art Association Show. A limited number of her prints are also available for sale at the Glynn Art Association Store at 319 Mallery Street on St. Simons Island. To commission a portrait, contact Trudeau via email: rstrudeau@bellsouth.net

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14 Golden Isles Magazine

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Meet

LOCAL

Who are these people? You know the ones I’m talking about. They drive around in their cars with stickers that say, “SSI Local.” Is this an exclusive group? If so, how does one join? When I think about a “real” SSI local, three people come to mind. First is Bill Strother. He is a real native. He was born here, raised here, went to the University of Georgia, came back and raised his family here. We met Bill and his wife, Debbie, when we arrived in 1979. They lived right down the street from us (with their two sons, Carlton and Clay. A third one, Stewart, was still to come). The island of Strother’s youth was much different from today. Bill remembers that back in his youth, young people hitchhiked wherever they wanted to go, including to Brunswick and back to the island.

“One day I decided to skip school. So, while hitchhiking across the causeway, a car did stop to pick me up. It was my mother! What a shock that was!” he recalls. Evidently, when it came to hitchhiking, safety was never the issue. Back then, you knew everyone. Those were also the days before political correctness. “Remember when Hurricane Dora hit our coast in 1964? “ Strother says. “There was much beach erosion and President Johnson came to St. Simons Island to see the damage. I rode my bike down to see him, proudly displaying a Goldwater bumper sticker.” Back in his day, there were no corporate jets thundering over the island, just Navy blimps from Glynco drifting quietly overhead. Lest one forget, the ﬁremen stationed on Demere Road always marked the lunch hour with a blast on their whistle at noon. Movies under the stars wasn’t a novel treat but a regular adventure at the drive-in theater. The

Story by Bonnie Harris ■ Photos by Benjamin Galland Nov/Dec 2008 15

Bill Strother

Bo Anderson

theater occupied the current post ofﬁce tract on Frederica Road. Bill had only four digits to remember in his home phone number. His address was Route 4, Box 177. Another person I think of when I think of a true “SSI Local” is Bo Anderson, owner of The Stitchery, a p on very popular needlepoint and yarn shop St. Simons Island. Bo also plays the harp in the Georgian Room at The Cloister. I met her about 10 years ago, when my children started having their families. Anderson has been instrumental in my completion of ﬁve large Christmas stockings (one for each of my ets grandchildren), two Christening blankets s. and numerous other hand made treasures. amented the loss of Often in the past few years, we have lamented our small quaint island. “St. Simons was a warm and nurturing place. Mothers stayed at home to raise their children. We had one car and

no air conditioning. We felt safe from any danger and had not a care in the world,” Bo recalls. Being young in a small town had many such advantages. “I truly miss our old library,” she says. “It had that wonderful musty smell of old books and had one of the best summer reading programs. Frazie Ledbetter was the librarian who Frazier crea created fun themes for the summer prog program.” A Anderson also fondly recalls her time as a student at St. Simons Elem Elementary. “W were so close to the ocean. “We In fact, from some rooms, you could see it. sett When the fog settled in, we really could hear the b ll buoys. b h was no air conditioning.” bell Of course, there It was during her harp years (starting at age 12), that Bo met another true “SSI Local,” Willou Copeland Smith.

SSI LOCAL

16 Golden Isles Magazine

Willou Copeland Smith Growing up local, Willou lived in Brunswick during the school year and on St. Simons Island during the summer. Her family had a home on Beachview Drive, right next to the Seagate Inn. “There was a hurricane before Hurricane Dora in 1964 that I remember,” she recalls. “We had a radio newsman, Johnny Lane, whose program gave news around the town for WMOG. He was the only newsperson that people listened to. Anyway, he kept saying that the hurricane would not hit us. So, we stayed in our house on Beachview Drive. That night, our living room ceiling collapsed. We awoke the next morning and saw that all the sea oats and sand dunes were gone. I found a lifeguard seat bobbing in water next to the front porch. We just did not have the weather forecasting system that we have now, so we all relied on Johnny Lane.” To this day, Smith leaves the island with just a chance of a storm headed our way. Summer days on the St. Simons Island of old brought the ice man every morning to the Copeland house, where the block of ice was put in the ice box. During the evenings,

Willou recalls sitting on the front porch with her family and listening to the neighborhood minstrels, the Washboard Band. “The band would play a couple of tunes, then for a tip, play a few more. Then, they would head to the house next door. It was like clockwork,” Willou says. “They always showed up in the evening” Willou left the Golden Isles after high school to attend Florida State University, where she majored in harp. While attending FSU, Smith was crowned Miss Tallahassee. She was a runner-up in the Miss Florida pageant and came home to win the Miss Golden Isles contest. She was later crowned a runner-up for the Miss Georgia title. “My daddy thought it was funny that I was given a PepsiCola scholarship in the Miss Florida contest,” Willou quips. Her father was the local Coca-Cola bottler. After college, Willou married. She and husband Bill moved to Cincinnati for four months, and then came back home. “After all, one must always return home,” she says. Now the next time you see a “SSI Local” sticker on a car in front of you, you’ll know what that means. But no matter how long you have lived here, I’m sure you’ll agree there’s no place like our home. ■

Nov/Dec 2008 17

Becoming Islanders

“Adventures abound on this island, and we don’t want to miss one of them. But it takes a long time to make a lifestyle transformation. We’re taking it one step at a time. The ﬁrst item on the list ? The cruiser bike.”

It was the first thing I had to have. The cruiser. Not just any cruiser, but the yellow one covered with daisies, trimmed with green rims, and thoughtfully finished with hibiscus stamped tires. This was a far cry from the bikes that had taken me through the mountain trails and open roads of Utah, but it was the perfect bike to begin my new life as an islander. For the last 10 years my husband, Clay, and I have lived, in Logan, Utah. An enchanting place, where we embraced the rocky mountain lifestyle. We bought snow shovels, snow boots, down jackets and enough fleece to clothe three families. We awoke early on winter mornings so that we could shovel the driveway and still get to work on time. Hot chocolate was regularly on the grocery store list, Bailey’s Irish Cream on the other list. Our Christmas tree came straight from the forest, found after hours of hiking through blankets of fresh snow. For recreation we left the resorts behind and took to the backcountry free-heeled, experiencing the immeasurable

Story by Janna B. Custer ■ Photo by Benjamin Galland 18 Golden Isles Magazine

rewards finding the perfect untracked slope on which to spend the day. When the snows lifted we rode our fat tires through red rock desserts and our skinny tires through lush valley floors. We made annual treks to hear elk bugling and wolves howling and climbed 10,000-foot peaks to see the raptors migrating. The adventures were endless, but as the years passed they became less novel and more of a way of life. We became, in a word, westerners. But we were far from family, and far from the ocean that had captured my heart long ago. So when it became possible for us to relocate our lives to St. Simons Island, where Clay is from and where I vacationed every summer growing up, we jumped at the opportunity. And therein started the plan of “Becoming Islanders.” Adventures abound on this island, and we don’t want to miss one of them. But it takes a long time to make a lifestyle transformation. We’re taking it one step at a time. The first item on the list? The cruiser bike. For you cannot immerse yourself in island living without first having the appropriate island transportation. Virtually everywhere we need to go is within a couple of miles, and there is no better way to get there than on a cruiser. A perfect day starts with a ride to the Village for an outdoor breakfast, followed by a trip alongside the ocean and marshes. If we’re lucky we’ll see the brown pelicans gliding inches above the water. Some days the porpoises are playing their favorite game of hide-and-seek, playfully emerging from the water before slipping below, leaving us waiting, eyes scanning, to see where they will rise again. An occasional owl glides silently to the tree by the marsh where he sits so still that I lose him when I accidentally look away. Persistent melodies greet us from birds that I don’t yet recognize by song. These are moments you miss when you take more convenient transportation. Later, we’ll ride to the Farmer’s Market to fill our baskets with fresh picks for lunch and then on to the grocery for other essentials. After lunch we’ll ride to visit friends, or to my favorite place, anywhere with ice cream. Clay fashioned a trailer for his cruiser that carries a cooler, chairs and an umbrella for a trip to the beach. There is a quicker way to get where we’re going, but we’re on island time. The cruiser provides the perfect start to our becoming islanders. What’s next? That debate has already begun. Sailboat or sea kayaks? SCUBA classes or fishing gear? Camping in the Okefenokee or a weekend on Little St. Simons? The choices are infinite; it’s just a matter of what to do first. We’ll ride our cruisers to the beach and continue this debate over wine as the sun sets behind us. One day this way of living might not be so novel to us, but we’re in no hurry to get there. ■ Nov/Dec 2008 19

Outside

M o l o l n u F

KAYAKING

Story By Mike Morrison â&#x2013; Photos By Benjamin Galland 20 Golden Isles Magazine

Moon River, wider than a mile, I’m crossing you in style some day. Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker, wherever you’re going I’m going your way.

Savannah’s Johnny Mercer evokes images of moonlight shimmering on glassy water with these memorable lyrics from the song featured in the1961 film, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” You figure Holly Golightly’s dreaming about gazing up at that big ol’ moon as she cruises aboard a luxurious yacht. That’s crossing it in style. You figure paddling a kayak on a fullmoon night is the last thing on her mind. But combine a full moon on a clear night with a Golden Isles tidal river, and you’ve got yourself a pretty stylish river crossing. With a few quick strokes, you can shift yourself out of the chaos and into the calm. Michael Gowen co-owns Southeast Adventure Outfitters. His company includes full-moon kayak trips on its menu of paddling opportunities. The moon, Gowen says, sheds a different light on the creeks and salt marsh. “Going out at night gives you a whole different perspective on wildlife,” he says. “Seeing the bioluminescence – the animals in the water that glow – and being able to hear the fish around you and not being able to see what’s making the noise, that’s what makes it interesting.” On a warm night in September, four nocturnal paddlers join guide John Howland for a moonlight trip on Three Dolphin Creek. Departing from SAO’s

Brunswick store on the edge of the Marshes of Glynn, the group paddles away from the lights of the shoreline into the darkness of nature. Except for the gentle splash of paddles and the muffled screech of civilization to the west, the salt marsh is quiet. The kayaks glide easily, powered by alternating strokes “Going out at night gives you a whole of double-bladed different perspective on wildlife. Seeing paddles. H o w l a n d ’s the bioluminescence – the animals in the demeanor matches water that glow – and being able to hear the calm of the salt the fish around you and not being able to marsh. The 32-yearsee what’s making the noise, that’s what old Atlanta native makes it interesting.” altered his career Michael Gowen co-owner course a while back, Southeast Adventure Outfitters turning away from commercial aviation for something more “I had a plan,” he says, “but that down to earth. changed after 9-11. I didn’t think I wanted He speaks softly, paddling effortlessly, to spend a lot of time up in the air after keeping a weather eye out, as the nautical that.” He was drawn to the coast. expression goes, for those who have “I like it out here,” he says, “especially entrusted him with their safety. He talks at night. It’s nice and quiet and peaceful about the flow of his life. In the dark, it’s in the moonlight. It’s not hot, and nobody easy to open up. has to wear moon screen.”

Nov/Dec 2008 21

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22 Golden Isles Magazine

The paddlers share the peace with him, spreading out in the darkness, their spots on the planet marked by green glowsticks attached to their PFDs. They fall behind, or surge ahead, seeking out whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s there to be found. The moon shines large and bright to the east, out over the Atlantic. A wood stork casts a brief moon shadow as it takes ďŹ&#x201A;ight. The paddlers pause in midstream, a warm wind in their faces. They look back at the lights of town, which seem so far away. The tail lights of cars, ominous red embers, climb the hunched back of the Sidney Lanier Bridge, then descend into nothingness. A massive car-hauling ship silently navigates the Brunswick River, headed out to the open ocean. The bridge, the cars, the ship, they might as well be a million miles away. Adriana Bumgartner of St. Simons Island is a radiologist who often paddles off into the wild to escape the rigors of her profession. Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on the night trip with her son, attorney Eric Bumgartner. Each is accomplished enough in a kayak to have no fear of venturing off alone, even in the dark of night. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the beauty of it,â&#x20AC;? Bumgartner says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you want to talk, you can hang back and talk. If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to talk, you can go on ahead.â&#x20AC;? She chooses the second option, to better absorb the ambience and observe the scenery. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so peaceful out here - the moon river, the constellation Scorpio in the southwestern sky, along with Jupiter and Venus,â&#x20AC;? she explains.

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A dolphin surfaces, clears its blowhole, then re-submerges. The paddlers peer into the night, trying to bring the sleek sea creature into focus, but the gurgling sound of its exhalation proves the only sign of its passage. The paddlers wonder where the other two are, out there in Three Dolphin Creek. Where the creek splits, each branch winding a corkscrew path through the marsh, the paddlers turn and point their bows toward home. A slight wind at their backs and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re nearly coasting, a stroke here and there to keep their course true. The lights on the shore come into sharper focus, and soon they arrive back at the dock. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You did a good job leading us,â&#x20AC;? Bumgartner tells Howland. Howland whimsically smiles, and you know what he must be thinking. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I get paid for this? I must be doing something right.â&#x20AC;? Or maybe, with Holly Golightly, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s singing a familiar song in his his head: hea h ead: ea d:

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Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re after the same rainbowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s end â&#x20AC;&#x201C; waiting â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;round the bend, my huckleberry friend, Moon River and me.

Nov/Dec 2008 23

Serenity Now! Manage Stress Before It Manages You

24 Golden Isles Magazine

By Amy H. Carter

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Success is a many splendored thing. It brings accolades, awards and monetary rewards. The money helps, too, when the doctor prescribes ulcer medications, mood stabilizers and sleeping pills to counteract the effects of all the stress that comes with being a success. Left unchecked, stress can take a dramatic toll on both mind and body.

“Stress causes anxiety, infertility, fatigue, insomnia, depression, anxiety,” says Dr. John M. Blumer, a family practitioner at the Glynn Family Medicine Center in Brunswick. “It can affect memory, decrease immunity.” Managing it is as simple as ﬁnding a hobby, turning off the phone and the pager every once in a while and, most importantly, accepting the fact that perfection is an unattainable goal. “We have to realize what we can control and what we can’t control,” says Rosemary Hayward, psychotherapist at the Stillpoint Counseling Center on St. Simons Island. “There are many factors within your control. One of them is your response to the stressors around you. They may be different from someone else’s because of our differences as individuals. There are certain things that stress some people out that don’t stress others out. You can’t change that. You can’t change your make-up in that way but you can change your decision in what you are going to allow to stress you and what your response will be because that is in your control.”

Along that line of thinking, Hayward recommends “The Serenity Prayer” – a plea for courage, wisdom and acceptance – to those she counsels. “I think that’s a wonderful thing to ground yourself with,” she says. Talking about stressors is another good way to ﬁnd peace, physician Blumer advises.

Dr. John Blumer Nov/Dec 2008 25

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Just verbalizing what is causing you stress can oftentimes be therapeutic in itself,â&#x20AC;? he says. Even as the pager clipped to his belt begins beeping with some urgent message, Blumer talks of his own stressrelievers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; time with his family, working on his truck, ďŹ shing and tinkering. A tackle box full of brightly colored ďŹ shing lures lies on the ďŹ&#x201A;oor behind his desk, a piece of machinery torn from the innards of his truck sits on the credenza nearby, and a tool catalog is within easy reach on his desk. Jokes about happy pills and sleeping aids notwithstanding, Blumer says he always tries to counsel change before writing a prescription. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I tell my patients to set aside time for themselves,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sometimes

you have to tell people that.â&#x20AC;? Hayward prescribes Hatha Yoga moves to her clients. Hatha is one of the least strenuous forms of yoga, and one more conducive to relaxation. Just 30 minutes of exercise three days a week is a great release for stress and tension, Hayward says. The same goes for a strong belief system, a spiritual view that focuses on the big picture. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Looking at the whole picture is important instead of getting caught up in the details of the moment,â&#x20AC;? Hayward says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Look at the whole picture and (question) how important are these details. Maybe theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re important maybe theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not so important.â&#x20AC;? â&#x2013;

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ProďŹ le

From left, Drs. Laura and Jennifer Berman

28 Golden Isles Magazine

L octors D ve

What kind of ammunition did Jennifer and Laura Berman use to trigger the new sexual revolution? Words. Not what you were thinking? They weren’t exactly what the medical establishment was thinking either when they took the world by storm via the Discovery Health Channel, Time, Newsweek, Elle and Vogue. Dubbed the Love Doctors and the Baby Ruths (after renowned sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer), sisters Jennifer Berman, M.D., 43, and Laura Berman, Ph.D., 40, found fame and – one would think – fortune talking about what no one else would: female sexual dysfunction. By telling women that, no, it wasn’t just in their heads, the Berman sisters gave women the words and the actions that helped them ﬁnd satisfaction. “This issue with female physiology was to have the medical ﬁeld acknowledge what they wouldn’t before, that sexual problems are not all in women’s heads and that there are physiological reasons why women experience problems in that regard,” says Jennifer. The sisters co-hosted the television series “Berman and Berman: For Women Only” on the Discovery Health Channel from 2002 until 2004, and cofounded the Female Sexual Medicine Center at UCLA in 2001. Today, Jennifer is in private practice in Los Angeles. Laura is director of the Berman Center

By Amy H. Carter

in Chicago and an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry and obstetrics/ gynecology at Northwestern University. She starred in a 2006 reality show on Showtime titled “Sexual Healing,” and her fourth book – “Real Sex for Real Women” (DK Adult) was released in October. The daughters of Dr. Irwin Berman, a retired colorectal surgeon who practiced in Brunswick and lived for many years on St. Simons Island

The Berman sisters jokingly refer to themselves as a “below the belt” family before moving to Florida in September, the Berman sisters jokingly refer to themselves as a “below the belt” family. Jennifer is a urologist specializing in women’s issues, and Laura is a sex therapist. Both sisters graduated from local high schools – Jennifer from Frederica Academy and Laura from Glynn Academy. They went separate ways after high school. Jennifer received her medical degree from the Boston University School of Medicine. Laura obtained her master’s degree in clinical social work and a doctorate in health education

and therapy at New York University. By virtue of being four years apart in age, the sisters didn’t spend much time together while growing up. That all changed when they found themselves gravitating toward the same career. “I’d like to have a great story, but honestly it just sort of happened,” says Laura. “Maybe in some small way I inspired her because I was practicing sex therapy as she was finishing her urology training right around the time that Viagra first hit the market. Sex was on the mind of her urology patients who all wanted to try it and we spoke a great deal about how Viagra might work for women and how important a mind-body approach to sex was. We were both comfortable with the subject in fields where our colleagues were pretending it didn’t exist.” Together they partnered in the start-up of a Women’s Sexual Health Clinic at Boston University School of Medicine. They started the first such center on the West Coast at UCLA a few years later, about the same time their first book on women’s sexuality, “For Women Only” (Henry Holt and Co., 2001) was published. Jennifer began blazing her own trail early by choosing the subspecialty of female urology in medical school. It’s only been in the last 30 years or so that the medical field recognized a need for specialists in female urology, and even sooner since women have felt welcome to specialize in the field. Nov/Dec 2008 29

“Now more and more women are going into the ﬁeld of urology because it is a surgical subspecialty that allows some degree of quality of life, in that there’s not a lot of emergencies, life and death situations or life threatening diseases,” she explains. “Certainly those exist within the ﬁeld, but it’s generally healthy people with issues addressed with surgery.” Laura found her calling while studying anthropology at the University of Vermont.

“I became fascinated by how universally sex drives societies and how differently we all experience our sexuality,” she says. “As I began to study to become a couples’ therapist I found that so many couples were struggling with sexual issues and so few therapists were comfortable dealing with it. Here was a problem I was comfortable talking about and could ﬁx, that would make a huge difference in peoples’ core experience of their lives and their relationships. It’s been the most rewarding career I could imagine.”

B y combining t h e i r specialties, the Berman sisters developed a holistic approach to sexual healing. “ S h e came at things from the psychological, emotional side and I came from the medical standpoint,” Jennifer says. “I was basically sort of surprised about the lack of information that we had about the female anatomy and the female sexual response and procedures didn’t exist as they did for men.” Both Bermans credit their parents – and the New York upbringing that preceded their move to St. Simons Island – for their own healthy attitudes about sex. “We never really had one talk. It was an ongoing conversation,” says Laura. “They never shied away from a question or made us think we were Dr. Jennifer Berman poolside on the cover of Los Angeles Times Magazine.

30 Golden Isles Magazine

wrong to ask. They taught us all the important stuff about protecting ourselves and making the right choices. But they also taught us The Berman sisters, Laura about the gift and Jennifer, moved to the that sexuality Golden Isles while still is. It’s a lesson I young and return every feel grateful to year to St. Simons and Sea have received.” islands for family vacations. Without the near-universal taboos about sex that most people possess, what subjects do the Berman sisters ﬁnd difﬁcult to discuss? “Nothing is really off limits for me in terms of having an open mind and being able to carry on a discussion about a topic openly and honestly,” says Jennifer. “I don’t necessarily always practice what I preach, but I do try to keep an open mind and not judge people or situations.” The same goes for Laura. “I don’t think I have any!” she says of taboos. “If you’re not uptight about sex it’s hard to be uptight about anything else.” Fantasies are another thing entirely, though. “Happiness comes and goes and my fantasy would be to be able to hang onto it and make it last sunrise to sunset or turn it into a drink that you could infuse as needed or desired,” Jennifer says. “It’s relaxing in the sunshine, no stress, no worries, no problems, children laughing and I’m with someone I love.” Once again, Laura is in tune with her sister’s sentiments. “I’m living my fantasy,” she says. “I have a wonderful and supportive husband, three amazing little boys, and an exciting career that keeps me interested and inspired. My parents are healthy and happy and I see them often. I get to travel, meet new people, and come home to bury my toes in the sand of the beaches of St. Simons at least once a summer. What more could you ask for?” ■ Nov/Dec 2008 31

31 Golden Isles Magazine

changing the face of

DOWNTOWN

an interview with Cuffy Hise Sullivan Story by Rosemary D. Kaszans

Nov/Dec 2008 33

A beautifully restored and triving downtown - hasn’t it always been so in our beloved port city of Brunswick? The answer, of course, is no. The thriving downtown Brunswick of the ‘50s and ‘60s had disappeared by the 1980s, as outlying malls became fashionable places to shop and the new social hub of the community. The downtown district fell into disrepair and disuse. But along came a new visionary, 24 years old, fresh from

34 Golden Isles Magazine

college with the youth and energy to turn downtown around. Cuffy Hise Sullivan was hired as Brunswick’s Main Street Manager in 1989. Now active in the historic preservation activities of Savannah, Hise Sullivan talked with Golden Isles Magazine about the beginnings of Downtown Brunswick’s revitalization. Hise Sullivan: “I was thrilled with the

raw materials available – a fantastic and compact core commercial district, a grid plan with thoughtfully provided pocket parks and public gathering spaces, and grand mostly Italianate commercial buildings. The Main Street Board of Directors - a fantastic group - were my allies. “The Brunswick Main Street program had gone through a difficult transition before my arrival. The former manager, who was a skilled event coordinator, had run a rather promotion-heavy program. After a disastrous festival, a great deal of money was lost, and community support of the program had crashed. Files and office equipment were dumped in the then unrestored Old City Hall, and I was brought in to ‘save the day.’ No pressure! However, after the longest first day on a job in the history of the world, I got out, met the business owners, talked to people, and began rebuilding a balanced program.” The Main Street approach utilizes four broad areas to encourage economic revitalization in historic commercial districts. These areas include organization (having a board and staff to focus resources on the downtown), design (ensuring best practices when it comes to structural revitalization), economic restructuring (providing small businesses with the resources to succeed) and promotion (instituting a campaign of events and advertising to help bring customers back downtown). Hise Sullivan was instrumental in bringing some of the features to downtown that make it so enjoyable today – Lunch in the Park, a program of free noontime concerts in Brunswick’s squares; an incentive program to install fire suppression sprinklers in downtown’s historic buildings; a loan program to encourage facade make-overs; and an economic plan for recruiting new businesses. But her favorite projects are also the ones that define downtown as we know it today.

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Hise Sullivan: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m most proud of the Streetscape. My daughters think I laid every brick downtown personally when they hear me describe it. This community facelift was one of the single most important public improvement projects downtown, second only to the revitalization of the City Halls using SPLOST funds. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m also very proud of the Waterfront Park. We learned of a grant that could help fund the work there only days before it was due, and worked around the clock to prepare and submit it in time. We were awarded over one million dollars as I recall, and I left before I could ever see the project completed. Now, I love to go down there and see the improvements to the Farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Market and the wonderful structure there.â&#x20AC;? Hise Sullivanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work in Brunswick attracted notice from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which hired her for its Washington, D.C. ofďŹ ce. She traveled the country sharing what she learned in Brunswick. After three years Hise Sullivan and her

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husband, Justin, returned to Savannah where Hise Sullivan went to work with the Savannah Development and Renewal Authority. Three years after that, Hise Sullivan â&#x20AC;&#x153;retiredâ&#x20AC;? to start a family, which now includes Leila Mary, age 7, and twins Fiona Jean and Verity Jane, 4 1/2. Now a consultant, she owns a professional organizing business and is currently working on contracts for the Georgia Historical Society and Historic Savannah Foundation, among others. Hise Sullivan is also the founder and managing director of two choirs, the Savannah Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Choir as well as Ensemble Con Spirito, a womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sacred music ensemble. Downtown Brunswick, however, remains one of her shining achievements. Hise Sullivan: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am always so proud to come to Brunswick, to see the beautiful streets downtown. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Myâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; oaks and crepe myrtles have grown and ďŹ&#x201A;ourished, the tree grates are lovely, and now thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the activity and quality of business I always dreamed of then. Seeing Old City Hall restored is a special thrill for me every time I walk by. My ofďŹ ce at the time was as yet unrestored, and my roommates were a large family of enormous wharf rats.â&#x20AC;?

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As any visionary worth an ounce of her ambition will tell you, though, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still work to be done. What would be her major concerns if Hise Sullivan were controlling downtownâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s destiny today?

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Hise Sullivan: â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are surrounding preservation and land use issues that concern me as I look at the community. I would enact a preservation ordinance and land use plan with some teeth. I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t tell you how surprised I was to see a suburban-style self-serve car wash - with neon - on Brunswickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grandest and most historic avenue (Union Street). â&#x20AC;&#x153;Also, as things grow and prosper,

currently vacant lots will probably experience growth and inďŹ ll. What does Brunswick want that to look like â&#x20AC;&#x201C; suburban-style development wedged into a historic plan â&#x20AC;&#x201C; or would the community prefer new development that is sensitive to the numerous historic resources already in place? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Only the community itself can answer that question.â&#x20AC;? â&#x2013;

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20 20 40 40

UNDER UNDER

Whether holding court before the bar or shaping young minds, doling out financial advice or offering a helping hand to those in need, this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s class of 20 young leaders under the age of 40 is another top-notch group of go-getters. The Golden Isles is blessed with so many energetic, talented young minds eager to grab the reins of leadership and put in as many hours as necessary to make Brunswick and the Golden Isles a better place to live and work. Golden Isles Magazine is proud to introduce you to 20 young leaders worth watching as they grow and mature on their climb to the top.

Coordinated and compiled by Amy H. Carter Photography by Benjamin Galland 38 Golden Isles Magazine

20 40 UNDER

Jeff

Bennett Age: 39 Hometown: Folkston Family: wife, Staci Bennett Education: B.S., business administration, Presbyterian College Occupation: Real Estate Appraiser/The Appraisal Center Civic Activities: vice chair, Boys and Girls’ Club Board; secretary/community invest committee member, United Way Board; Chamber Experience Committee Member; Day of Caring co-chair; Leadership Glynn When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? A professional basketball player. What inspires you? People who are willing to serve in some capacity for the good of the community. What do you dream about? I dream about a community where everyone is involved. It is amazing how much can be accomplished by working together. What would your ﬁght song be? “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC. I am not a fan of heavy metal music but that song really gets the blood ﬂowing. If you could live in any book, which would you choose? “Lost Horizon” by James Hilton. I think living in Shangri-La would be nice. What makes you happy? Reaching goals, being with my wife, giving back to the community, socializing with friends, hitting a drive straight down the middle of the fairway, and a victory by the Dawgs on Saturday. What do you regret? I don’t regret anything. I have my whole life in front of me and would hate to let regret get in the way of me living it. What personality trait do you most admire? Leadership What would you like for the world to know about you? That I am a great keeper of secrets.

Kelly

Bennett

Age: 29 Hometown: St. Simons Island Family: husband, Jason; parents, Randy Pigge and Pat & Pete Cooper; brother, Luke; sister, Dana, and brother-in-law, Jim; nephew, Cooper; grandparents, Bett Pigge of Waycross and Anne & Roy Hodnett; in-laws, Jannette & Wayne Bennett; brother-inlaw, Bryan; nephew, Carson. Education: B.A. journalism, University of South Carolina Occupation: District Field Representative, U.S. Congressman Jack Kingston (R-GA) Civic Activities: Brunswick-Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce Ambassador; Brunswick Junior Woman’s Club; Golden Isles Republican Women; Junior League of Savannah, Golden Isles project chair; Georgia Southern University Kappa Kappa Gamma house advisory board, secretary; Leadership Glynn 2007 participant When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? The boss, though this idea has changed a bit with age. What inspires you? The love, support, encouragement and positive outlook of my parents and my grandparents and my faith. What is your favorite quote? “Attitude is Everything,” from my grandfather Roy Hodnett. What do you put off? Learning to cook What would your ﬁght song be? “Proud Mary,” Tina Turner style. I just like it! If you could live in any book, which would you choose? “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen What personality trait do you most admire? Grace under pressure What personality trait do you least admire? Pessimism What would you like for the world to know about you? I prefer to remain out of the limelight most of the time which is why I enjoy my supporting role in the political arena helping others within the 1st District.

20 40 UNDER

Dade

Brantley Age: 39 Hometown: Brunswick Family: My bride, Lydia, and my kids, Maggie and Noah Education: Glynn Academy, Valdosta State College Occupation: Coastal Bank of Georgia / Merchant Services and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church / Director of Youth Programs Civic activities: American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life, Kiwanis of Brunswick, Diocese of Georgia Youth Commission, Habitat For Humanity Youth Council When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? A radio personality. If you could retire and start a second career, what would you do? I would want to be a global on-site vacation spot inspector. What inspires you? People helping others without expectation of anything in return. What is your favorite quote? “We need to embrace the simple truth that we were made to give ourselves to a cause greater than ourselves.” – Rob Bell What do you put off? Retiling my bathroom. What would your ﬁght song be? “Jerusalem” If you could live in any book, which would you choose? “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee What makes you happy? Enabling the dreams of others. What do you regret? Not trying harder in school. What personality trait do you least admire? Complaining. What would you like for the world to know about you? I place tremendous value in my friends. Friends give me a view of reality, and they can also safely and honestly give me feedback on my version of that same reality. Friends provide me with new perspectives, and they do this in total acceptance of who I am. I’ve got the best friends in the world. 40 Golden Isles Magazine

Greer

Brown Age: 33 Hometown: Sycamore Famly: wife, Laura; daughters, Maidee and McKenzie Education: B.A. in Economics University of the South; M.B.A., (Terry College of Business, UGA) Occupation: Private Financial Advisor, SunTrust Investment Services Civic Activities: president, Golden Isles Arts & Humanities Association; Vestry, Christ Church Frederica; ﬁnance committee, St. Simons Island Land Trust; advisory board, Keep BrunswickGolden Isles Beautiful What did you want to be when you grew up? An oil tycoon. “Dallas” was big in the ‘80s. If you could retire and start a second career, what would you do? I would love to travel and write for “Conde Nast Traveler.” What is your favorite quote? “If things do not turn out as we wish, we shall wish for them to turn out as they do.” – Aristotle What do you dream about? I dream about one day seeing my grandchildren, and sending them home to their parents after spoiling them miserably. What would your ﬁght song be? “I Feel Good” by James Brown If you could live in any book, which would you choose? With 20-month-old twins, I feel like I am living in “Goodnight Moon.” What makes you happy? Spending time with family and friends, especially when it’s on a boat. What do you regret? I used to think that I had regrets, until I realized that it’s the culmination of my past experiences that led me to the people and the ideals that I value most today. What personality trait do you most admire? Agreeableness. I always admire people who go out of their way to be compassionate and cooperative. What personality trait do you least admire? Neuroticism. Unpleasant emotional outbursts are too often unproductive and damaging. What would you like for the world to know about you? For better or worse, what you see is what you get.

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Amy L.

Callaway Age: 33 Hometown: Chino, Calif. Family: husband, Jack C. Callaway; daughter, Madison T. Callaway Education: associate of arts, Interior Design Occupation: real estate appraiser Civic Activities: Leadership Glynn 2007/2008; St. Simons Island Rotary; United States Marine Corps Veteran; Glynn County Commissioner-elect, District 1 When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a veterinarian. If you could retire and start a second career, what would you do? I would be a real estate appraiser all over again. I love it. What inspires you? The realization that I can make a difference. What is your favorite quote? “Whatever the mind can conceive it can achieve.” – W. Clement Stone (1902-2002) What do you dream about? I dream about what Glynn County will look like in the future. What do you put off? I put off getting my bachelor’s degree and cleaning the house. What would your ﬁght song be? “The National Anthem” What makes you happy? The good people and family that surround me. What do you regret? I regret nothing. All of my mistakes have been a learning experience and/or a life lesson. What personality trait do you most admire? Integrity What personality trait do you least admire? Selﬁshness What would you like for the world to know about you? That I cannot be controlled by others.

Brian

Dolan

Age: 39 Hometown: Ann Arbor, MI Family: wife, Keri, and son, Patrick Education: B.A., Lamar University; Master’s of Education, Troy State Occupation: executive director, The Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Georgia Civic Activities: Exchange Club, St. Simons Island Optimists Club, St. Simons Island Athletic Association When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Architect What inspires you? Reaching personal and career goals. What is your favorite quote? “If you don’t know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.” Yogi Berra What do you dream about? Retirement What do you put off? Working out/exercise What would your ﬁght song be? “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor and Hail to the Victors (University of Michigan) If you could live in any book, which would you choose? “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain What makes you happy? Wife Keri, son Patrick and good friends and family. What do you regret? Nothing. Every experience – good and bad – has helped me learn and grow. What personality trait do you most admire? Inner strength What personality trait do you least admire? Laziness What would you like for the world to know about you? I helped make a positive difference wherever I have been or will go. Nov/Dec 2008 41

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Crystal Renee

Ferrier

Age: 29 Hometown: Brunswick Family: father, Joe Ferrier; two brothers, Joe and Tad Ferrier Education: Glynn Academy, B.A. in Business, Auburn University; Juris Doctorate, Georgia State College of Law Occupation: Attorney at Ferrier and Ferrier, law partner with my Dad Civic Activities: treasurer, Brunswick-Glynn County Bar Association; probono Legal Services; volunteer, High School Mock Trial Competition; past vice president, Island Square Homeowners Association; Salvation Army bell ringer; Adopt an Angel at Christmas; participant in Marty Lyons and Boys and Girls Club golf tournament fundraisers When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Professional golfer or a lawyer What inspires you? Seeing others persevere in the face of adversity or when time are rough. What is your favorite quote? “Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucious What do you dream about? Becoming a mother. What would your ﬁght song be? “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor If you could live in any book, which would you choose? “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald What do you regret? Not spending more time and saying more kind words to my mother before she passed away. What personality trait do you most admire? Dependability/ reliability and sincerity and determination What would like for the world to know about you? While I lettered in six different sports in high school, won two state golf championships and went to college at Auburn on a golf scholarship, I also did pageants. I was Glynn County’s Junior Miss and Miss Glynn Academy 1997. I played the piano for 10 years and danced for 16 years. I graduated with a 3.96 GPA from Auburn in 2001. Very well-rounded!

42 Golden Isles Magazine

Patti

Fort

Age: 38 Hometown: Alma Family: husband Clint; sons, Evan(3) and Jake (21 months); parents, Roger & Joy Boatright Education: bachelor of business administration, University of Georgia Occupation: district director, Georgia Department of Labor Civic Activities: Rotary Club of Brunswick; Brunswick-Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce; Coastal Georgia Workforce Investment Board; Georgia Employer Committee; International Association of Workforce Professionals; 2008 honoree YWCA Tribute to Women Leaders What did you want to be when you grew up? A lawyer— always had an argumentative side. If you could retire and start a second career, what would you do? Personal chef — only if I don’t have to clean up the kitchen after myself. What do you dream about? My children’s futures. What is your favorite quote? Attitude is everything! What would your ﬁght song be? “Glory, Glory to Old Georgia”— I bleed red & black and love the state of Georgia! If you could live in any book, which would you choose? The Bible What makes you happy? A good book (or the opportunity to read any book) at the beach. Most admired personality trait? Staying calm under pressure Least admired personality trait? Chronic worrying What would you like for the world to know about you? I’m just an ordinary wife and mother, attempting to balance a career and family. However, I do take pleasure in successfully challenging the stereotype of being a working mom outside of the home while succeeding at being a great mother to my children.

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Mark

Jill

Fritchman Age: 39 Hometown: Marietta Family: wife, Amy; two sons, Asa (7) and Eli (6) Education: psychology and religion, Asbury College, B.A. Occupation: executive director of The Gathering Place Civic activities: coaching youth soccer team, speaking at local charities and civic organizations, lead teacher at Men’s Island Bible Study on St. Simons Island, Boys and Girls Club board member, member of The Chapel When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Major League Baseball player What inspires you? The underdog winning, my family, but mostly Jesus is my inspiration. What is your favorite quote? I have two: 1. “Everybody ends up somewhere. Few people end up somewhere on purpose.” – Craig Groeshel 2. “God’s ability to romance you is so much greater than your ability to run from him.” – Ty Saltzgiver What do you dream about? An entire community of people who are passionate about knowing Christ and making him known. What would your ﬁght song be? “You can close your eyes” James Taylor (yeah, I know but it ﬁres me up.) If you could live in any book, which would you choose? “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Suess What makes you happy? Watching people, especially my family, laugh ... hard. What do you regret? Not asking more questions, and discovering more answers. What would you like for the world to know about you? First, that I love my wife. Second, that I love my boys. Third, that I love my family and friends. And last, that I loved my God preeminently over them all.

Geary Age: 38 Hometown: born Somerset, N.J. Family: husband, Curtis; daughter, Kaitlin Education: B.A., Clemson University; teacher certiﬁcation, Atlantic Armstrong State University Occupation: administrator, Heritage Christian Academy Civic Activities: worship team, First Baptist Church, Brunswick; also teach Sunday School from time to time and serve in Women’s Ministry When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Child psychologist What inspires you? The look on a child’s face when they have an “I get it!” moment.

What is your favorite quote? “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV) What do you dream about? That HCA will be known as the preeminent educational institution in Glynn County. What do you put off? Ironing What would your ﬁght song be? “Let Your Glory Shine” If you could live in any book, which would you choose? “Little House on the Prairie” by Laura Ingalls Wilder What makes you happy? Being in God’s will. What do you regret? Not going into education earlier than I did. What personality trait do you most admire? Quick to listen, slow to speak. What personality trait do you least admire? Quick to anger. What would you like for the world to know about you? I am very passionate about what God has called me to do. Nov/Dec 2008 43

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Angie

Heys Age: 31 Hometown: Douglas Family: husband, Scott; daughters, Emma and Ally Education: Master of Accounting/B.B.A. from Georgia Southern University Occupation: certified public accountant Civic Activities: 2004/2005 Leadership Glynn Member; Brunswick Kiwanis Club; treasurer, Brunswick Community Concert Association and the Glynn Community Crisis Center (Amity House) When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Veterinarian If you could retire and start a second career, what would you do? Dietitian What inspires you? My children. What is your favorite quote? “LIfe is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” What do you dream about? The moments that have taken my breath away. What do you put off? Yard work, particularly weeding flower beds. What would your fight song be? “I Will Survive” – by Gloria Gaynor If you could live in any book, which would you choose? “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll What do you regret? Nothing. Every mistake I’ve made has made me the person I am today. What personality trait do you least admire? Hubris What would you like for the world to know about you? I value most the personal relationships in my life that have brought me to where I am today and continue to carry me forward. 44 Golden Isles Magazine

Brad S.

McLelland Age: 35 Hometown: Altanta Family: Single Education: Auburn University, B.A. cum laude; University of Alabama, J.D. magna cum laude Occupation: Attorney Civic Activities: Glynn County Bar Association; attend St. Simons United Methodist Church When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? A pilot If you could retire and start a second career, what would you do? Become a politician. What inspires you? Devotion to family and career. What is your favorite quote? “It is what it is.” What do you put off? Obtaining my pilot’s license. What would your ﬁght song be? “Hate It or Love It” by 50 cent If you could live in any book, which would you choose? “The Professor, the Banker & The Suicide King: Inside the Richest Poker Game of All Time” by Michael Craig What do you regret? My last trip to Las Vegas. What personality trait do you most admire? Sincerity What personality trait do you least admire? Dishonesty What would you like for the world to know about you? I have no real regrets.

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Robert (Emmitt)

Nolan Jr.

Age: 32 Hometown: Valdosta Family: Single Education: BA in History, Valdosta State University Occupation: Main Street Manager, Brunswick Downtown Development Authority Civic Activities: Charter member, The Chapel United Methodist Church; vice-chair, Glynn County Republican Party; Brunswick Exchange Club; United Way Professional Division Chair; Partners in Education Steering Committee Chair; Leukemia and Lymphoma Society; Brunswick Stewbilee Committee When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? When I was a child, I don’t think there was anything I didn’t imagine myself being when I grew up. What inspires you? Seeing people live out their potential, reach their goals and do well. What is your favorite quote? “Vision does not wait for something bad to happen, it pursues something desirable. Vision doesn’t stave off defeat, it opens the way to success.” – Daniel Quinn What do you dream about? That elected officials and people in positions of influence would always do what’s best for the people, not just serve their own interests. True statesmanship. What would you fight song be? “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” If you could live in any book, which would you choose? “Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest” by Stephen Ambrose What do you regret? Not spending more time with my grandparents when they were around What personality trait do you least admire? Status quo thinking What would you like for the world to know about you? I live my life by following the Golden Rule.

Wendi

O’Connor Age: 36 Hometown: Brunswick, GA Family: husband, Jim; twin daughters, Sydney and Carley (21 months old); mother, Connie Ringle; father, Bill Ringle; brother and sister-in-law, William and Stephanie Ringle, and 2-year-old niece, Tess Education: Brunswick High School; B.B.A. in accounting, Georgia Southern University; Louisiana State University Graduate School of Banking Occupation: senior vice president, CFO/COO, Oglethorpe Bank Civic Activities: YWCA board member; YWCA “Dancing with the Stars” planning committee; American Cancer Society Victory Board member; co-chair, American Cancer Society Relay For Life; American Red Cross Board of Directors; Brunswick Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce board member; 2006 YWCA Tribute to Women’s Leaders Honoree; Brunswick Junior Women’s Club “Young Woman of the Year” 2000; Leadership Glynn graduate; chair, Youth Leadership Glynn If you could retire and start a second career, what would you do? Party and event planner What is your favorite quote? “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. “ by Winston Churchill What do you dream about? I dream about raising happy, well-rounded children, a stress-free life, retirement at age 40, and vacations on a tropical island. What would your ﬁght song be? It may not be a ﬁght song but “Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison puts me in a good mood every time. If you could live any book which would you choose? “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum. Hasn’t everyone always wanted to see the yellow brick road? What makes you happy? The sound of my daughters’ laughter, seeing my husband smile, doing something nice for someone else, my career, spending time with friends and family, relaxing on a Sunday afternoon, cocktails on the beach at sunset – the simple things. What personality trait do you least admire? Pessimism What would you like for the world to know about you? I want the world to know how grateful I am for the opportunities I have been given and how lucky I feel to be the person I am today – the mother of Sydney and Carley, the wife of a wonderful husband, surrounded by family and friends, and working with a great group of people at Oglethorpe Bank who make it fun and interesting every day. I also want the world to know how much I appreciate and love this beautiful community that I call home and what a wonderful group of people live in the Golden Isles.

Nov/Dec 2008 45

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Kathy

Patelidas Age: 39 Hometown: Brunswick, now Darien Family: parents, John and Jean Patelidas; dog, MiMi; cat, Wilkes Education: Glynn Academy; Valdosta State Occupation: owner, Interior Shopping Service/design consultant Civic Activities: chair of the McIntosh County Chamber of Commerce board of directors; chair of the Blessing of the Fleet Steering Committee for 2009; YMCA of McIntosh Steering Committee; United Way volunteer; Ambassadors Program; Leadership McIntosh 2008 If you could retire and start a second career, what would you do? Architect or philanthropist extraordinnaire What is your favorite quote? “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” What do you dream about? A clean house and garage. What do you put off? Everything. I work better under pressure. What would your ﬁght song be? “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell If you could live in any book, which would you choose? “Hissy Fit” by Mary Kay Andrews What makes you happy? Boating/ﬁshing What do you regret? Not paying more attention in school. What personality trait do you most admire? A nice smile. What personality trait do you least admire? A wimpy handshake. What would you like for the world to know about you? That even though I may be single, it does not mean that I’m lonely. 46 Golden Isles Magazine

Christine Ferri

Pierce

Age: 37 Hometown: born in Philadelphia, moved to Brunswick at 8 years old Family: husband David; two sons, D.C. (6) and Sam (3) Education: Glynn Academy; B.B.A. in finance, Georgia Southern University Occupation: “retired” banker; currently working part-time for family business, Poppell-Eller; lucky enough to also be a stay-at-home mom Civic Activities: YWCA Board President; 2009 Tribute to Women Leaders Chair; YWCA Dancing With The Stars Co-Chair; Past Board Chair for American Red Cross; C.B. Greer Elementary PTA Volunteer Coordinator; College Place UMC Sunday School Teacher; CPUMC Methodist Elementary Fellowship (MEF) leader When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? A police officer/detective. I was inspired by the TV show, “Cagney & Lacey.” What inspires you? My kids. So much of what I do is influenced by them, by what kind of example I want to be for them and what I want their memories of our family to be. What is your favorite quote? “Life is Good.” What do you dream about? A time when people really treat each other the way they want to be treated. What would your fight song be? When things are going well, “Celebrate” by Kool & The Gang. When things are rough, “Love is a Battlefield” by Pat Benatar. Anything you love is worth fighting for. If you could live in any book, which would you choose? The New Testament of the Bible, IF I could know then what I know now. What do you regret? Not staying in touch with old friends, though Facebook is helping. What personality trait do you least admire? Rudeness What would you like for the world to know about you? I love my life and would not change one minute of it. Everyday when I wake up I remind myself of all the blessings God has given me. Ive found that if I focus on the things I can do something about and not on the things I can’t, life is much simpler. And simple is good. It’s not always easy, but when it works it’s awesome!

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James (Jay) L.

Roberts iV Age: 32 Hometown: Blackshear Family: wife, Laura Elizabeth Roberts; sons, Jack and T.G. Occupation: Attorney/Partner with Gilbert, Harrell, Sumerford & Martin P.C. Civic Activities: Admissions Coordinator for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Brunswick Division; Southeast Georgia Health System Ethics Committee Member; Glynn County Superior Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee Member; Coastal Georgia Chapter of Ducks Unlimited Committee Member; former Southern District Representative for Brunswick of the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? A professional basketball player. When I realized that was unrealistic, lawyer. What inspires you? Nature, my boys, my wife’s patience. What is your favorite quote? “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life . . . .” Henry David Thoreau from “Walden” What do you dream about? Winning the unwinnable case. Spending time at my family’s farm. Traveling. What would your ﬁght song be? “Road Goes on Forever” by Robert Earl Keen If you could live in any book, which would you choose? The ﬁrst half of “Something of Value” by Robert Ruark What do you regret? Harsh words spoken to loved ones. What personality do you most admire? Patience What would you like for the world to know about you? Prior to joining Gilbert Harrell, I served as a law clerk for the Honorable Anthony A. Alaimo.

Brooke

VallasteR

Age: 36 Hometown: Darien Family: Single Education: BS in Biology, Mary Washington College (now UMW) Occupation: Education Coordinator, Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve and Georgia Department of Natural Resources Civic activities: The Chapel; Fellowship of Christian Athletes; World Vision; Golden Isles Track Club; SRVA Volleyball; McIntosh County Family Connections Collaborative; St. Andrew’s Parrish D.A.R.; Friends of Sapelo; Georgia Coastal Education Group; Georgia Association of Marine Education; National Association of Marine Educators If you could retire and start a second career, what would you do? Photographer What inspires you? People who work hard to achieve their goals. People who sacrifice for others. What is your favorite quote? “What you accomplish in life is not as important as who you live your life for.” –- My Grandfather What do you put off? Cleaning the house. What would your fight song be? No favorite college fight songs, but “Momentum” and “Catchafire” by TobyMac are Ipod standards. If you could live in any book, which would you choose? “Bridge to Terabithia” by Katherine Paterson What makes you happy? Good food, time with family and friends, living on the coast, regular visits to Colorado. What do you regret? I wish Colorado were a little closer to salt water. What personality trait do you least admire? Wastefulness What would you like for the world to know about you? I map out my road trips to include stops at Chick-Fil-A restuarants along the way. Every good trip is made better with sweet tea and a chicken sandwich.

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W. Troy

David

Vollenweider

Yarborough

Age: 31 Hometown: East Point/Carrollton Family: parents, Margie Vollenweider and the late P. Rodney Vollenweider; sister, Tara Vollenweider-McCullen; two cats, Molly and Dillon Education: B.B.A. in management , University of West Georgia; certified professional of occupancy, National Affordable Housing Management Association Occupation: assistant vice president/commercial banker, Southeastern Bank Civic Activities: 2008-2009 Leadership Glynn; chair, Young Leaders Society of Coastal Georgia; chair, 2008 Taste of Camden Expo; 2008 Brunswick-Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament Committee Member; 2009 Taste of the Vine sub-committee chair; 2008 Glynn County Relay for Life Event Committee Member; 2008 Glynn County Relay for Life Team Captain; emcee, 2008 Brunswick-Golden Isles “Chamber Experience”; emcee, 2008 Camden County Chamber of Commerce “Steak Out”; Brunswick-Golden Isles Chamber Ambassador; Camden County Chamber Ambassador; member, former St. Simons Kiwanis Club; vice president, Golden Isles Bulldawg Club; active participant, Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Network (PanCAN) When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a racecar driver. What inspires you? The spirit and memories of my late father, P. Rodney Vollenweider. What is your favorite quote? “When it’s all said and done, a helluva lot more is gonna get said than done.” What do you dream about? All of my close family and friends living in the same community but I it will probably never happen. What would your fight song be? “Migration” by Jimmy Buffett with a close second being “Remember the Name” by Fort Minor. If you could live in any book, which would you choose? “Tales from Magaritaville” by Jimmy Buffett What do you regret? I regret the fact that I have a tendency to hold back and not open up to people that want the best for me. What personality trait do you most admire? I admire the ability to manage time well because I am not a good time manager. What would you like for the world to know about you? I would like the world to know that there is more to who I am than just being talkative and outgoing. I am very thoughtful, reflective, and I genuinely care about people.

Age: 39 Hometown: grew up in Brunswick Famly: wife, Amber; sons, Eli (14) and Jonathan (12) and daughter, Hannah (8) Occupation: pastor of St. Simons Community Church Civic Activities: Coaching little league teams through Glynn County Recreation Department; weekly column for The Brunswick News (since 1999); helping to guide our wonderful team of people at St. Simons Community Church into community involvement and support including Care Net Pregnancy Center, Living Well Ministries, The Gathering Place, Manna House, Habitat for Humanity, Faith Works and Sparrows Nest, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? A professional football player. I loved Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett of the Dallas Cowboys. I was willing to settle for being a pro baseball player as a second choice. If you could retire and start a second career, what would you do? I’d be a professional football player for the Dallas Cowboys. Okay, maybe an author instead. What inspires you? People of great character and courage, historical places that echo the sacrifices of people from the past. What is your favorite quote? “There is no growth in a comfort zone and no comfort in a growth zone.” What do you dream about? When I am not dreaming about being a professional football player, I tend to dream about making a difference in people’s lives for the sake of eternity. How can I and our team at SSCC truly make Jesus Christ more real to people? How can we help people truly fall in love with Jesus and lead them into a life changing relationship with Him? What do you put off? Way too many things, but specifically administrative tasks, yard work and washing the dog. What would your fight song be? Journey was an awesome ‘80s band, so I would say “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey. If you could live in any book, which would you choose? I would love to have been one of the children in “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis. How cool would it be to walk with Aslan the Lion? What do you regret? Letting fear hold me back at times from truly being the leader that I need to be. What would you like the world to know about you? I serve a great God, live with an amazing wife, and I love the opportunity I have to share God’s love and God’s Word with the people of the Golden Isles Community.

SOUNDTRACK

forSUCCESS Fight Songs for the ambitious set.

By Josh Messer What does it take to be successful? Undoubtedly it requires hard work, perseverance, a strong will and a positive attitude. Yes, those things, conventional wisdom tells us, constitute a veritable recipe for success. But have those sagacious elders who pass down such wisdoms ever considered the role that music plays in achieving success? Certainly the art form that has inspired us from the very dawn of our existence – inspired us to fight, to laugh, to love, to mourn and, in recent decades, to go out and get a really bad haircut – has some bearing on the success of an individual. In this brave new world, where iPods are pretty much standard gear, and fresh new music can be at one’s fingertips quicker than you can say iTunes, it’s easy enough for anyone to put together their own Soundtrack for Success. Think “fight songs” for the young professional – those songs that boost adrenaline, stir confidence, energize and inspire the spirit. Take the newest and youngest VP at the local bank for example. He may look a little funny at the traffic light, head-banging like mad in his Lexus – rocking out to Rage Against the Machine’s “Bulls On Parade” – all while wearing a $500 suit, but that’s what gets him pumped as he drives to the weekly officers’ meeting to make a presentation. And he doesn’t have to agree with the anti-establishment message in Zack de la Rocha’s lyrics to be driven by the rhythm Brad Wilks pounds out on the drums, or to be blown away by Tom Morello’s screeching guitar licks. It’s the rush he gets from the music that matters. That’s what gives him the fire he needs to go into the meeting and give a wicked-good presentation. achine

inst the M

Rage Aga

Or take the recent graduate from law school, up at 6 a.m. and out jogging before most people have had their first cup of coffee. As she strides through the neighborhood, fists pumping to the beat of “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child, she thinks about the big interview she finally got scheduled at the firm that happens to be her first pick. A graduate of UGA, she even has the Georgia Fight Song on her “morning jog” playlist. On the drive to the interview, she’ll be jamming to “Put On” by Young Jeezy – one of her favorites. Just flying high on the spell-binding magic of music. And she’ll do more than impress at that interview. Oh yes, she’ll exude confidence, competence and grit. She will get the job. 50 Golden Isles Magazine

Destiny’s Child

She’ll start out at the bottom of course – probably fetching coffee. But one day she’ll make partner – her heretofore unimaginable success, at least in part, attributable to Beyoncé’s empowering lyrics and the enduring musical genius of Jeezy.

Young Jeezy

Without a doubt, music has the power to transform one’s life – to spur a body on to victory, to success. Where would mankind be without music? Think of all it touches, all it affects. Imagine a political convention without at least a few good patriotism-rousing anthems. Bill Clinton is now inextricably bound in the collective consciousness to the song “Don’t Stop” by Fleetwood Mac. For good reason, too: it embodies the message he hopes people will associate with his party and with him particularly. And hey, it worked, didn’t it? He won two terms as President of the United States after all – with “Don’t Stop” blaring in the background through all eight years. Not to say that it was the song alone that did it, but assuredly it did help. Fleetwood Mac

Pick any football team in the NCAA, and rest assured they have a “fight song.” Sometimes it may not actually spell success for the home team, but the message is there. When they’re down and the game looks all but lost, what song do you think the band is going to be playing? That brings up another good point. Music can be an immeasurable comfort and a catalyst when a person is down and out and needs a good kick in the pants to get back going again. Take the small-town-hick-made-good. He’s the first in his family to graduate college, and now he’s in a salaried position in the human resources department of a local branch of a national company (I know, a mouthful, right?). Now, Small-Town Guy gets an offer for a promotion, but it means he’ll have to leave his small town for a large metropolitan city. He has to face the decision of either staying in his hometown with the people and the things he’s always known or shipping off to the “big city” in order to turn his job into a career. He loves his family and his town, but the move to the city does mean a substantially bigger salary. So, after listening to “A Country Boy Can Survive” on repeat for about 4 hours, SmallTown Guy is ready to trade in his dip can for a Blackberry and his cowboy boots for black wing-tips. He’s city-bound, and yes indeed, he will survive. Hank Williams Jr.

And there are songs for come-back-kids as well. Imagine a non-traditional student,, graduating with a BS in business at age 35. Unleashed on a whole new world of possibilities by her business degree, this woman has her whole life ahead of her. Musically, her tastes are more… “classic.” As she applies for positions online, she cranks “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor (yes, the song from Rocky III) out of her tiny two-inch computer speakers. Speeding down the freeway to an interview, she blares “We Will Rock You” by Queen – a rocking anthem that never dies. And will she find success in this world of movers and shakers? Unequivocally, the answer is YES, because she has a solid catalog of powerful rock ballads behind her – her Soundtrack for Success. Nothing can stop her. She has music on her side. Music is a powerful tool, and it can change a person’s life. So, all you successseekers out there, crank up your favorite heart-pounding, fist-pumping track, and go conquer the world.

Nov/Dec No ovv/Dec /D Deecc 2008 22000088 51 51

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H C N U B Y H C D N A R U B RADY

THE THE NEXT NEXT GENERATION GENERATION Story by Ami Presley 52 Golden Isles Magazine

“Here’s the story… of a man named Presley…” No, I didn’t mess up the words to one of the most well-known theme songs in television history. I am just singing the newest version of the story. Haven’t heard it yet? Well, I’m not surprised, as not many people have. But I will be more than happy to share it with you, as it is near and dear to my heart. This new version starts out with a man named Mike, who is the father of three boys. And this man meets a woman who is the mother of three daughters, and they fall madly for each other. That part is just like the old version. However, in the new version, the children are much older when the story begins, there are other households with former spouses involved, and the woman in this story is me. I am Carol Brady. Well, actually, I am Ami Presley. I was a divorced mom of “three very lovely girls” when I met Mike in 2007. We had instant chemistry, and blended our families before the year was out, creating a brood that included Kristen, 17; Jordan, 16; Michael Jr., 15; Steven, 14; Kevin, 9; and Chelsie, 7. Our mantle was quite full of stockings at Christmas time, as you can imagine. We set up house originally in Toledo, Ohio, our hometown. It was the eight of us in a three bedroom house with one bathroom. Talk about some adjustments! Luckily, the children also have other homes – the boys lived with their mom most of the time, while the girls split their time with their father. So, we weren’t all together all of the time. I credit this as our saving grace. The kids weren’t constantly on top of

each other, so they didn’t usually get on each others’ nerves, and Mike and I were able to have nights when we had the house to ourselves. But, there were also nights when our very large dinner table was full, and there were arguments over what to watch on television, who was sitting in whose spot on the couch and whose turn it was to play Guitar Hero. Our weeks were ﬁlled with school functions, sports activities, family functions, trips to the

mall and the park and the store… it seemed like we were constantly picking someone up or dropping someone off. It was wonderful. As you can imagine, having this many people in the family can be, to put it nicely, a bit of a ﬁnancial challenge. We started having some issues, and Mike and I were at our wit’s end trying to ﬁgure out what we would do. This was about the time that he was offered a job here in Brunswick. It sounded great, but what would we do about the children? Shared parenting in the same

town is one thing, but how would we make it work across the country? After much deliberation, a very tough decision was made. Mike and I would go ahead and move to Georgia, and leave the children in Toledo with the other halves of their families. We would have to endure long-distance relationships with them until we could get set up here in Brunswick, and then they could have long visits in the summer, when they weren’t in school. This new chapter in our family adventure just began at the end of August. I don’t know how it is going to end yet, but so far we are surviving. It is very difficult on both Mike and I to be so far from our children. Thank goodness for the Internet and unlimited long-distance phone service. It also helps that we are going through “kid withdrawal” together, and have each other for support. For me personally, the hardest part is missing the every day stuff, like packing lunches for school field trips or helping with unruly hair on picture day. I even miss the stompstomping of growing feet around the house, and the constant reminders about taking out the garbage and not slamming the screen door. We are really looking forward to bringing the kids down here and having our house full again. That’s the way it should be. That’s something we’ve known since that one day when this lady met that fellow. We knew that it was much more than a hunch. This group would somehow be a family. And that’s the way we all became the Presley bunch. Now if I could only find an Alice … ■

Nov/Dec 2008 53

Christmas Trees: WebsterĘźs Christmas Tree Farm, located just north of Darien, brings the cut-your-own tree tradition to our front door.

54 Golden Isles Magazine

A Few of My Favorite Things

Photos and text by Benjamin Galland

Nov/Dec 2008 55

Altamaha River: Nothing beats an early morning boat ride on the Altamaha River. With the winter sky arriving, expect crisp blue skies to burn the nightĘźs fog out of the air.

Catch your Own: Living in the Golden Isles has itĘźs perks, one being the plentiful amount of fresh seafood available. The only thing better than fresh shrimp is fresh shrimp that you caught. 56 Golden Isles Magazine

Oglethorpe Bank Congratulates

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Nov/Dec 2008 57

Oyster Roasts: Months with the letter ʻRʼ in them mean good months for oysters. Nothing says “fall is here” like a good oyster roast. On a cracker, with hot sauce, butter or straight-up, you really canʼt go wrong.

58 Golden Isles Magazine

Village Creek Landing (aka Coozies):

One of the best places to check out the night sky, itĘźs the only free public boat ramp on all of St. Simons Island.

Nov/Dec 2008 59

60 Golden Isles Magazine

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t

Let Your Wealth Sail Away

Downtown Brunswick: You have to love AmericaĘźs Broad and Main streets. BrunswickĘźs no exception, with Newcastle Street offering the Golden Isles the quintessential â&#x20AC;&#x153;down-townâ&#x20AC;? experience.

DONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T BE TOO LATE!

Now that the last deadline has past for filing your 2007 tax returns, it is time to complete your 2008 tax planning. The decisions and actions you take in November and December can be instrumental in reducing your 2008 tax liability. Remember, after December 31st, it will be too late! This is the time of year to schedule an appointment with your tax advisor, forecast your 2008 taxable income and consult on key decisions, such as: â&#x20AC;˘ Recognizing income in 2008 or defer to 2009 â&#x20AC;˘ Accelerating business expenses or deferring to 2009 â&#x20AC;˘ Evaluating business inventory levels â&#x20AC;˘ Sales of stocks or other investment assets â&#x20AC;˘ Portfolio management decisions â&#x20AC;˘ Timing of purchasing of needed business assets â&#x20AC;˘ Compensation issues â&#x20AC;&#x201C; bonuses or not â&#x20AC;˘ IRA, 401k, Simple Plan, SEP, or other retirement plan contributions â&#x20AC;˘ Contributions to charities â&#x20AC;˘ Gift planning â&#x20AC;˘ Evaluating your withholding and estimated tax payments

There are many other issues that need to be discussed with your tax advisor. Congress has passed several legislative packages this year that have changed the Internal Revenue Code, including the recent â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bailout Billâ&#x20AC;?. In these critical economic times it is imperative that you have the lowest legal tax liability possible. The fees you pay a tax advisor for viable tax planning will be returned to you many times over in tax savings. However, tax planning for 2008 can only be performed in 2008, not 2009. Therefore, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be too late! Moore Stephens Tiller LLC and MST Wealth Management are available to assist you with viable tax advice and portfolio management decisions. Please contact us if we can be of assistance. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Let Your Wealth Sail Away!

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Nov/Dec 2008 61

The Twelve Days of Christmas On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me . . . Twelve duffers duffing . . . Eleven beach bums sunning . . .

SLOT MACHINE

Seven slot machines sailing . . . Eight shrimpers shrimping . . .

WIN!

Four tourists calling . . . Three marsh hens . . . Words by 62 Golden Isles Magazine

Mike Morrison â&#x20AC;˘ Illustrations by Harlan Hambright

Ten kingfish jumping . . .

Nine dolphins dancing . . . Six kids a-playing . . .

Five golden tans . . .

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. . . and a Brunswick Stew recipe Two turtles nesting . . . Nov/Dec 2008 63

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CONGRATULATIONS TO TROY VOLLENWEIDER, JEFF BENNETT

Where the Occasion Begins...

AND BRIAN DOLAN Three of GoldenIsles MAGAZINEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S top 20 Under 40

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64 Golden Isles Magazine

Golden Isles

Tr y This: Hosting a Holiday Cookie Exchange

Story by Kathi Williams â&#x20AC;˘ Photos by Benjamin Galland Nov/Dec 2008 65

Wondering what gift to give your friends for Christmas that’s both tasteful and useful? Try a batch of your favorite holiday cookies and the recipes you used to bake them. And don’t just package them up in pretty tins and drop them by the house, invite everyone to your house and have them bring their favorite cookies and the recipes they used to bake them. It’s called a Cookie Exchange, and it’s a party with a purpose. That’s what Cissy Thompson did with members of her Marsh Hens Supper Club. For women who don’t like to bake or who have little time on their hands to do so, the Cookie Exchange is a fun way to get lots of good cookies to nibble on at home, and pick up some new ones and have fun reminiscing with friends. Marsh Hen Ginger Watson says its perfect for her because, “I don’t bake. I’m a great cook, but I just don’t bake.” Sue Sayer, Lisa Hamil and Julie Altman agreed that the cookie exchange is a great opportunity to try out cookies you’ve never had, especially new tastes from different cultures. In short, it’s just a fun way to ﬁnd your new favorite cookie! Hosting the Cookie Exchange: Ask each guest to prepare a half dozen or dozen cookies per participant, plus a dozen for the party. You can provide guidelines or suggest cookie types to each participant to avoid duplicates, such

66 Golden Isles Magazine

as rolled cookies, decorated cookies, or bar cookies. The “cookie” deﬁnition can be expanded to include candy, fudge, nut brittles and other homemade holiday confections. Make sure that guests bring containers in which to take home their cookies and copies of their recipe to share. Large sealable plastic bags may be good for some cookies, but decorated and more delicate cookies should be placed in tins or plastic containers with parchment or waxed paper. At the exchange, invite your guests to share their cookie stories. Many recipes may be family recipes with a history. Others may want to share baking anecdotes. For an added twist, make this a cookie decorating party by supplying undecorated sugar or gingerbread cookies in holiday shapes with a variety of icings, colored sugars, sprinkles and decorations and invite guests to decorate their own to take home. A cookie exchange works at any time of the day. You can prepare overnight egg casseroles, fruit and mufﬁns, and have a breakfast brunch for moms and children. You can hold an early afternoon swap to precede a holiday shopping trip. An evening swap can be accompanied by a Secret Santa gift exchange or a game of cards. A nice way to commemorate the exchange is to assemble all the recipes provided into a book for each guest. Add photos for an even more personal touch.

Financial Planning is no longer a choice . . .

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a necessity. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to meet with a trusted advisor.

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Nov/Dec 2008 67

Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies CISSY THOMPSON

3/4 c. butter, softened 3/4 c. ﬁrmly packed dark brown sugar 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. baking soda 1 12oz. package dark chocolate morsels

3/4 c. granulated sugar 2 lg. eggs 2 1/4 c. plus 2 Tbsp. all purpose ﬂour 3/4 tsp. salt

Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until blended. Combine ﬂour, soda and salt in a small bowl; gradually add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in morsels. Drop by tablespoons onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 350º for 8 to 14 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Ice-box Cookies (Courting Cookies) CATHY DOWDY

1 box light brown sugar 2 eggs 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Gingersnap Cookies DANA PARKER

2 sticks butter 3 1/2 c. all-purpose ﬂour (sifted, then measured) 1 tsp. baking soda 1 c. chopped nuts (pecans)

Cream butter and sugar until light. Add eggs and beat well. Add ﬂour, salt, baking soda, vanilla and nuts. (I do this with a big electric mixer, not a hand-held mixer.) Form dough into rolls about 1 inch round and 8 inches long. Wrap in waxed paper and twist ends. Refrigerate dough overnight or rolls can be frozen and baked as you need them. Slice about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick and place on cookie sheets lined with aluminum foil - do not grease. Bake at 350º for about 10-11 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cookies cool for a minute or two before removing from pan. Put on plates so they can ﬁnish cooling. Cookies should be crisp. Put in plastic bags or cookie tins. Baked cookies will also keep in freezer for a month or two. Cathy Dowdy’s grandfather started calling these cookies “Courting Cookies” because before Cathy’s parents were married, her mother used to make them and send them to her father where he was stationed in the Army. When he came home to visit, she would package them up and send him back with a batch too.

1 c. unsalted butter, softened 1 c. plus 2 Tbsp. sugar 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt 1/2 tsp. vanilla 2 lg. eggs 3 Tbs. molasses 3 c. all-purpose flour 2 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon 2 tsp. ground ginger Preheat oven to 325º F. In a large bowl, cream butter, 1c. sugar and salt until fluffy. Scrape bowl and stir in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in molasses until combined. Sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon and ginger into a bowl. Stir in wet ingredients until mixture comes together. Take care not to overmix. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Roll out chilled dough on a lightly floured board or between parchment or waxed paper. Use a round cookie cutter to cut the dough. Place on a non-stick or parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar while still warm. Cool on a wire rack. Dana’s recipe came from her grandmother, Doris, who “is the best cook in the world.” Dana says that Doris always had these cookies on hand. “She always said that ginger was good for you and would help a stomachache, so she would give you a couple ginger cookies before bed.”

The Marsh Hens Supper Club, from left front: Sue Sayer, Cissy Thompson, Lisa Hamil, Rita Thompson and Ginger Watson. From left back, Dana Parker, Julie Altman, Cathy Dowdy, Jayne Lambright and Cindy Hendley. 68 Golden Isles Magazine

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1 c. butter 1 c. white sugar 1 c. oil (not olive) 2 tsp. vanilla 2 tsp. cream of tartar

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Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, then oil and vanilla. Stir dry ingredients together, then gradually add to form dough. Chill. Roll into walnut size balls. Press with either a fork or the bottom of a stamped cup or a cookie stamp. Spring with sugar. Bake 10 min. at 350º. Makes a bunch!

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Sue says these are her “old faithfuls.” She’s not sure where the recipe came from. She’s always had it and uses it all the time because it’s foolproof and makes delicious cookies that keep well.

Microwave Peanut Brittle JAYNE LAMBRIGHT 1 c. sugar 1/2 c. white corn syrup 1 c. red-skin peanuts 1 tsp. butter 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. baking soda

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Grease or spray baking sheet or aluminum foil. Mix together sugar and corn syrup in 1 1/2 or 2 qt. dish (*large measuring cup with handle works well). Microwave on high for 3 minutes. Stir in peanuts. Cook on high for 3 more minutes. Stir in butter and vanilla. Cook on high for 1-2 more minutes. Add soda and stir quickly until light and foamy. Pour onto baking sheet or foil. Cool, then break into pieces. No need to clean the dish/measuring cup to make another batch. Jayne prefers to use non-stick aluminum foil and a large, heavy duty plastic measuring cup. Jayne’s recipe allows even novice and time-pressed bakers to make a quick batch of everybody’s favorite nutty holiday treat.

Nov/Dec 2008 69

Pumpkin Drop Cookies

Christmas Cookies RITA THOMPSON

1/2 c. butter, softened 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla 1/2 tsp. salt

CINDY MANN HENDLEY 1/2 c. granulated sugar 2 c. ﬂour

1 lg. egg 1 tsp. baking powder

Beat butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until fluffy. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture into the butter mixture on low speed. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Using about 1/4 of the dough at a time (leaving the rest in the refrigerator), roll to about 1/4 inch with a floured rolling pin. Cut with cookie cutters. Bake at 375º for 6 to 7 minutes. When edges are barely brown, take out of oven. Cool on wire rack. Frosting - I cheat here. I buy pre-made vanilla icing at the store and add enough cornstarch to make the icing very thick. I divide the icing into two bowls, and add a couple drops of red food coloring to one and a couple drops of green food coloring to the other and mix to have a couple different colors. Spread icing on cooled cookies and add any sprinkles, etc. that you like. The icing will harden on the cookies and it makes for easier packaging in your Christmas tins to distribute to family and friends. I tie the recipe card on the top of the tins as an extra personal touch. These cookies are an important part of Rita’s family’s Christmas traditions. This is her mother’s recipe and Rita “cheats” by taking the time-saving step of buying pre-made icing instead of making her own. Her daughters, now adults, still go to their grandmother’s house to make and decorate these cookies each year.

1 1/2 stick butter -- at room temperature 2/3 c. packed light brown sugar 2 eggs 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla 1 c. canned or cooked fresh pumpkin puree 2 c. all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1 pinch salt 2 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice 1 c. chocolate chips 1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans Preheat oven to 375º. In a large bowl, beat together butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla until light. Beat in pumpkin. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice, beating until blended. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop teaspoonfuls of batter 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until edges are golden, 10-12 minutes. Transfer cookies from baking sheets to a wire rack and cool. Yield 6 to 7 dozen 1 1/2-inch cookies. Cindy claims her middle name is “Betty Crocker,” but in all honesty, she admits that she found this recipe on the Internet while searching for a neat treat to whip up for her stepchildren at Halloween. These cookies also make a nice change from pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. (Cindy is in possession of a lip-smacking good recipe for peanut brittle, but won’t divulge the details.)

Bessie’s Strudel

JULIE CUSTER ALTMAN 2 c. flour 1/2 lb. butter 1 c. sour cream Cut butter into flour. Add sour cream. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate overnight. Filling: 1/2 lb. shredded coconut 1/2 lb. golden seedless raisins 3 c. broken walnuts 1 lb. maraschino cherries, cut in half and drained 8-10 oz. apricot jam (can use strawberry or cherry for variation) juice of 1 lemon (Bernice adds butter and 1 tsp. of cinnamon) Mix the above ingredients together. Divide into eight parts. Work with one part at a time, refrigerating the rest. Take one half of the dough and make a circle. Roll it out to be 8 inches long and 12 inches wide on a floured pastry board. Place filling along one thin side. Roll up. Carefully lift strudel and place on a greased cookie sheet. Tuck ends under. Bake at 400º for 10 minutes. Reduce to 350º and cook 35 minutes until golden brown. Julie’s husband’s great-grandmother, Bessie Altman, who was born in the late 1800s in Russia, made this delicious pastry during the holidays. Julie keeps the family tradition alive by making it for breakfast every Christmas morning.

70 Golden Isles Magazine

Holiday Party â&#x20AC;ŚOur Place or Yours?

S T R AT O N H A L L C AT E R I N G Complete event planning for showers, luncheons, rehearsal dinners and receptions

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Fun decorations for the whole family to make 72 Golden Isles Magazine

TEACHER’S NOOK

Educational Supplies

ome of the best memories of holidays past are those made around the kitchen table, shaping paper snowﬂakes and salt dough ornaments. Most everyone enjoys getting to exercise their creativity, and being an active part of their family’s celebration. Try these simple holiday decoration ideas to personalize your holiday celebration, and make some great memories your family will treasure always.

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Leaf placemats For any age, although younger children may need a hand YOU NEED: a collection of leaves (the more variety the better – sizes and shapes) 12”x18” poster board (or smaller if you have space issues at your table) Craft acrylic paints in autumn colors Small paint brushes Clear Con-tact paper Paper plates to use as palettes Old newspapers to cover your work surface (make sure your children are wearing old clothes or smocks, as acrylic paints do not wash out of fabrics once dry)

Nov/Dec 2008 73

Cover your table with the newspapers. Put small amounts of paint on your paper plate. Select a leaf, and gently cover one side with paint. Each side will give a slightly different effect. Once covered, gently lay the leaf paint-side down onto the poster board. Press down gently, making a print. Lift the leaf slowly, so you don’t smear the wet print. Repeat as often as you like. Feel free to experiment with patterns and color mixing. Once your paint is dry, cover your placemat on both sides with the Contact paper, leaving a slight border around the edge, to protect it from food spills. This way you can use them year after year. Variation(s): Once the paint is dry, cut the poster board into strips 6 inches long and 2 inches wide. Cover the strips with Con-tact paper. Use clear packing tape to attach the ends of a strip. Voila! Now you have matching napkin rings! You can also use this technique on purchased fabric placemats with fantastic results.

Holiday Wrapping Paper for any age YOU NEED: Large sheets or a roll of craft paper Cookie cutters in holiday shapes Craft acrylic paint Paper plates for use as paint palettes Glitter (optional) Old newspapers smocks to protect working area Cover your working area with newspapers. Lay out a sheet of craft paper. Put a small amount of paint onto a paper plate. Tilt the plate so the paint spreads out into an area large enough for the cookie cutter to ﬁt. Dip the cookie

74 Golden Isles Magazine

cutter into the paint, and use it as a stamp on the paper. Create your own patterns and freeform designs – there is no wrong way to do this. Once you are satisﬁed with your design, set it aside. If you’d like to make it a little extra special, sprinkle it with glitter while the paint is still wet. Once the paint is dry, your wrapping paper is ready to use. Variation(s): Use this cookie cutter printing idea to create placemats, using the techniques explained in Leaf Placemats. Make prints onto cardstock for homemade holiday cards or decorate plain gift bags. There are many possibilities.

Ginger-Graham Houses for any age YOU NEED: Graham crackers 8 oz cream cheese 2 Tbsp. confectioner’s sugar ½ tsp. vanilla Ziploc bag (one for each person) & scissors Edible decorations – dry cereal, raisins, ﬂaked coconut, chocolate chips, candies, etc. Tray or plate for building on

This simple variation of a classic is always fun, and can be enjoyed by all ages. Mix the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until well blended. This will make enough frosting for 3-4 small structures. Put mixture into the Ziploc bag(s), and snip off the corner. Use this to apply frosting to crackers, for less mess and waste. Younger children will need help assembling, but let older children build their own cracker creations, using the frosting as glue. Hint: if you have trouble getting your structure to stand,

put some frosting on your plate, and stick your crackers into it, to help hold it up. Once the structures are built, use the frosting to attach any variety of decorations. You can keep this a healthier activity by choosing dry cereal (like Cheerios), raisins or other dried fruit, instead of the typical candy décor. Make just one house, or make a whole village. This is a great activity for the whole family to participate in, and can easily become a yearly tradition. Have a camera handy to take pictures of the ﬁnished creations, so they can be thoroughly enjoyed. YUM! Variation(s): Add some food coloring to your frosting for colorful alternatives. Store-bought frosting or other frosting recipes may also be used. ■

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Nov/Dec 2008 75

The

Cassina Garden Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Christmas Tour of Homes 76 Golden Isles Magazine

Beautiful spaces. Colorful decorations. Cookies and cakes. It’s that most wonderful time of year again, time for the Cassina Garden Club’s Christmas Tour of Homes. This year’s tour – the club’s 24th – is slated for Saturday, Dec. 13. The Christmas Tour of Homes was begun as a fundraiser to help maintain the circa 1804 tabby slave cabins at Gascoigne Bluff on St. Simons Island. The cabins are part of a group of 10 to 12 cabins on the bluff, but are the only two that remain standing. Foundations of other cabins have been found on the site. “Because Cassina Garden Club raised money for their restoration through grants and by persuading the 1932 era county commissioners to also provide funds, Cassina was permitted to use the cabins for their meeting place and give guided tours, which we still do today,” says Denise Trethaway, publicity chair for this year’s tour. “In 1950 Cassina Garden Club

2007 Tour

2007 Tour was presented the deed to the cabins and to the land surrounding them.” To this day, proceeds from the sale of tour tickets, baked goods and crafts for sale in the club’s new Holiday Gift Market go wholly to fund cabin maintenance. The tour draws anywhere from 600 to 800 visitors annually, and generates roughly $14,000 for the club’s mission. “We often have bus loads of out-oftown visitors as well and numerous out-of-town guests who will stay at hotels featuring a discount for the tour weekend,” Trethaway says. “It has become a social event for family and friends alike.” More than 150 volunteers – club members and non-members – work to make the annual tour a success. Seven stops comprise the tour this year, which begins at the historic tabby cabins at Gascoigne Bluff. The

“tea cabin” will house the Holiday Gift Market, featuring a variety of creative Christmas gifts and decorations made primarily by members of the Cassina Garden Club. The meeting cabin will house the club’s bake sale, known far and wide as “The Best Bake Sale in the Southeast.” Five houses and the Island Design and Architectural Center are highlights of this year’s tour. IDAC will serve not only a rest stop, but will host demonstrations on topics related to home design at the top of each hour all day. The houses represent a variety of architectural styles and homeowner tastes, and many surprises sure to delight and intrigue tour-goers this year. They are: 2309 Bruce Drive St. Simons Island (Villa Suenos) This Spanish Villa sited on a promontory at the end of Bruce Drive on East Beach captivates its lot and surroundings, overlooking Gould’s Inlet and the Atlantic Ocean. In a past life, this was the site of T. M. Baumgardner’s home. Baumgardner, who served as landscape architect for the Sea Island Co. for more than 66 years, deﬁned the landscaping style for the Golden Isles. The current owners of this seaside lot have capitalized on the natural beauty and location of the site. Architect Keith Summerour’s design of Villa Suenos was inspired by a 15th Century castillo in Ejica, Spain. Look for exotic touches, like the entry door, which is actually a door Nov/Dec 2008 77

within a door. On the third level you’ll find an outdoor porch shaped a bit like a ship’s bow, and nautical themed light fixtures indoors, all of which maximize on the stunning ocean view. 240 St. James Avenue St. Simons Island (Hamilton Landing) Owned by one of Coastal Georgia’s best-known artists, this home and studio strongly reflect the owner’s personal style and sense of humor. The artist’s touch is evident before one crosses the threshold. A sign at the antique French Country front door defines this house as an “Atelier,” French for “artists’s studio.” Not to be mistaken for a lonely garret dwelling in Paris, this house/studio brims with life. Look for work by

78 Golden Isles Magazine

the artist/owner and other artisans well known in the Golden Isles. 321 Carnoustie St. Simons Island (Island Club) This comfortable one-year-old home overlooking the 17th fairway of the Retreat Golf Club is a congenial reinterpretation of the Low Country design popular in the coastal areas of the South. It has the elements one would expect: a slightly raised foundation, d o r m e r

IDAC

windows and comfortable porches. Rather than the typical board-andbatten siding, the house is ﬁnished in stucco. Inside, however, this is a thoroughly modern abode. Look for artful blending of modern conveniences and classic furnishings – an 1800 Maryland banquet table

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in the dining room, a German antique clock named “Franz” by the owners, the English antique linen press that houses the television. 128 Biltmore St. Simons Island (Island Club) A New England or English cottage this is not, even though that is what might be expected when observing it from the street. Yes, it has dormer windows and simple lines, and a tabby stucco exterior to ﬁt the coastal area, but inside it is full of surprises and unexpected treats. With John Bliven’s renovation expertise, Beverly Olliff’s keen eye for décor, and the owner’s desire to open and modernize the interior space, the house is much different from how it began. Its former life entailed many small spaces with walls and doors hindering ﬂow. What it is today, in the owner’s own words, is a consummate bachelor’s pad with room for family and guests upstairs when necessary.

Amy L. Callaway

Jeffrey E. Bennett

Ken Brady

Nicole Hamilton

5 Retreat Place, St. Simons Island, Georgia 31522 Ofﬁce 638-6385 Fax 634-0237 Wats 800-868-0678 appraisalcenter@bellsouth.net

1 Sea Oats Lane Nov/Dec 2008 79

Stop #7

Pay particular attention to the framed fashion photos that decorate the stairwell. These are mementoes of the owner’s career in the fashion and cosmetics industry and his many years’ association with fashion icons Halston, Borghese, Revlon and the venerable “Harper’s Bazaar.”

1 Sea Oats Lane St. Simons Island Built in 2003 as the “Coastal Living” Idea House, Keith Summerour’s sophisticated yet restrained interpretation of the historic beach cottage has created a stir since day one. The simple lines of its board-and-batten construction and composite non-rusting metal roof evoke fond memories of bygone eras. Sited on the closest lot to the beach in The Villas at Coast Cottages development, the house offers a near 180 degree view of ﬂora, sand and water. Architect and designer worked in harmony to seamlessly blur the line between indoors and outdoors. Enjoy the magniﬁcent view from the master bedroom and its private balcony porch. The subtle browns and blues blend in with sky and beach and make it feel like an enclosed part of the outside. Underneath the house is a hot tub and hammock. ■

The 24th Annual Cassina Garden Club Christmas Tour of Homes will be from 10 a.m to 5 p.m. Dec. 13. The tour starts at the historic tabby cabins at Gascoigne Bluff. Proceeds will fund continued maintenance of the cabins. Advance tickets are available for purchase for $25 on St. Simons Island at Pat’s Hallmark, Ace Garden Center, GJ Ford Books and St. Simons Island Drugs; and in Brunswick at Pat’s Hallmark at Colonial Mall, Hattie’s Books and The Market on Newcastle. Purchase tickets the day of the tour for $30.

80 Golden Isles Magazine

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Pairings

Feast on a New Fall Favorite:

that his crab bisque recipe is perfect to serve whether the weather is hot or cold because of the soup’s light texture. Also, the bisque’s flavor is mild and does not overpower the palette. Yet, there’s a slight kick from the Old Bay seasoning, and the garnish of chili oil and herb oil, which also adds a hint of color to the soup. “I try to create a symphony in your mouth,” says Domingo who, before moving to St. Simons Island about a year ago to become the Coastal Kitchen chef, was an executive chef and pastry chef for four and five star restaurants in Savannah. “I try to get all the taste buds working,” says Domingo of his recipes. To complement the cream-based crab bisque with its sherry accent, Domingo chose a chardonnay, in part because white wine is a traditional selection for seafood. But the chardonnay he selected, Hook and Ladder Russian River Valley, was refreshing in its complexity and airiness. The wine’s light, crisp texture was an excellent pairing for the savory bisque. The chardonnay tastes like a medley of rich fruit flavors as it delights your palette. This Hook and Ladder wine, which is a light gold, retails for approximately $24 a bottle. Here’s another idea for simple holiday gatherings: serve the crab bisque with seafood appetizers. Domingo suggests blackened sea scallops served over a cauliflower puree, and lump crab cakes with limechili seasoning that are served with a bacon, apple and sweet corn salsa. To get the same flavor found in the

Crab Bisque to Boast About

By Lori Lamore The holidays are approaching and you may be thinking about adding a new dish to complement your traditional Thanksgiving or Christmas repertoire. We turned to Val Domingo, chef of the Coastal Kitchen on St. Simons Island, who gave us a new twist to the classic Crab Bisque. 81 Golden Isles Magazine

Domingo’s version is light and delicate, instead of the usual thick consistency associated with crab bisque and chowder. The bisque is light because the roux is light, he says. Even though the soup is creamy, it makes a perfect starter to your holiday meal, while allowing you to enjoy the courses that follow. Domingo adds

crab bisque served in the Coastal Kitchen, you need to use the freshest ingredients in town. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I buy fresh, locally grown vegetables and herbs â&#x20AC;Ś as well as locally caught blue crabs for the bisque,â&#x20AC;? says Domingo. He also strives to buy organic produce when possible. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Occasionally, we run out of a featured dish,â&#x20AC;? says Domingo. This is because he buys fresh ingredients daily and can only estimate the amount to purchase based on his best guess of what the customers will want that day. Customers are sometimes disappointed when the nightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s featured dish sells out, â&#x20AC;&#x153;but they seem to understand once I explain that we serve only

fresh ingredients,â&#x20AC;? he adds. Your guests will deďŹ nitely not be disappointed when you serve this warm, wonderful holiday soup. Wishing you and yours happy feasting this holiday season. â&#x2013;

Crab Bisque Recipe serves 8-10 Ingredients Â˝ pound butter 1 Â˝ -2 cups ďŹ&#x201A;our 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 carrots 2 stalks of celery 1 white onion 2 cups roux

2.5 cups sherry 2.5 quarts of half-and-half 3 cups heavy cream 1.5 tablespoons kosher salt 3 teaspoons black pepper 1/8 Old Bay seasoning 8 oz lump crab meat

Directions Dice vegetables and set aside. Melt butter in a pot and stir in ďŹ&#x201A;our until thick. This will create a roux. Set aside. In a stock pot, sweat vegetables in olive oil over low heat for 5-7 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sweatingâ&#x20AC;? releases the vegetable juices, but never allows them to brown. Add roux to vegetables and stir until combined. Deglaze pot with sherry. (To deglaze, swirl or stir sherry in the bottom of the pan to dissolve cooked food particles that remain on the bottom). Stir and add milk, half-and-half, and cream. Continue to stir so vegetables do not settle to the bottom. Add the seasonings. Cook over medium-low to medium heat, stirring occasionally for 40-45 minutes. DO NOT LET THE BISQUE COME TO A BOIL. Stir in crabmeat and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Use a hand-held blender or table-top blender, puree until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings to your palate. Garnish with chili oil and herb oil.

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Humor

a I

SOUTHERN yankee By Lori Lamore

was certain as butter and biscuits that I knew all I needed to know about the Golden Isles when I moved here. After all, my Southern roots run deep and wide in Georgia, like Kudzu along the roadside — only in a good way. Well, as that once famous TV Southerner Gomer Pyle used to say, for those old enough to remember or who watch TV Land, “Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!” The good news is that most of my surprises have been delightful. For example, the people of the Golden Isles exceed the highest standard for Southern charm and hospitality. On the not-quite-so-bright-side, I have been slightly overwhelmed by the reptilian population and the dangers thereof that they present to life and limb.

Another thing that has caught me off guard has been local phrases that I had never before heard. Take for example the phrase, “Where do you stay?” In the North, staying implies temporary lodgings. So when people around here asked me this question, I would reply, “I’m not staying anywhere. I live here.” I got some odd looks from my answer until I figured out the intended meaning of that question. Now, as for my Mama, who moved to the Golden Isles with me and my young’uns, she took to her new town like duck in a lake during a rainstorm. And why wouldn’t she? After all she was born and reared in Telfair County. Like my Mama always says, “You can take the girl out of Georgia, but you can’t take Georgia out of the girl.” My adjustment, and that of my children, was a tad bit slower than my Mama’s. But once I got past all the surprises, we’ve grown accustomed to this place and are as happy as gnats under floods lights to call the Golden Isles our hometown.

“Gee, Mom, people really are friendly here.”

2. Acknowledge the elephant in the waiting line. Around here, people actually acknowledge each other’s existence in public and may even make small talk. Yankees pretend that there is no one else in a line and, most importantly, they avoid eye contact. In their mind, anyone who has the audacity to speak to them must either be a newly released mental patient or a criminal on the lam. In the Golden Isles, this Yankee odd behavior is seen as highly suspect. 3. Sand Gnats: The Invisible Enemy. We were prepared for the rodent-sized palmetto bug and have an arsenal of weapons to lure them to their doom. But how do you fight an enemy you can’t see? They appear from nowhere by the thousands to attack eyes, ears, nose, throat, all manner of skin right to the hair follicle on top of your head. Nothing will stop them. If the U.S. government could harness this insect’s tenacity and cloaking abilities, we would have the most brilliant weapon since the stealth bomber. 4. Alligator Neighbors. When I bought my home, there was no disclosure that alligators occasionally take up residence in the lake behind my house. Most recently a very hungry 13-foot gator spent a couple weeks in my lake eating fish, turtles and eyeing my dogs, cats and children. I felt like Captain Hook. When the gator saw me, it swam up to the bank. The kids and I decided it was best to remain inside for the duration of its visit. If I had been from the South, I would have said dinner crawled up in the yard, but I can’t quite get there yet.

Here are a few of the surprises that took my family and me a little getting used to as we adapted to Coastal Georgia, slow talkin’ and plenty of hospitality.

5. Speaking of Gators, how ‘bout them Dawgs? The week of the Georgia-Florida Game you’d best wear red and grab a pom-pom. The Golden Isles is one giant tailgate party from street to lawn chair to street. When asked about my UGA sentiments I just say, “I’ve been a UGA fan since my Mama first put me in black and red diapers.” That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

1. Hospitality. As my family and I drove through neighborhoods in search of a home, absolute strangers greeted us with waves and smiles. My kids kept asking, “Who’s that? Where do you know him/her from?” They were dismayed that I didn’t know 84 Golden Isles But Magazine these folks. soon my children were waving and smile back.

6. Traffic. What traffic? Natives complain about the bad traffic. In truth, it can be a teensy bit congested on St. Simons Island. But darlin’, you ain’t seen nothin’ until you’re stuck on the Washington Beltway for three hours and you’re three miles from home and you hear everyone speed-dialing their Congressman

to complain. Nowadays my commute to church, work and shopping is under 15 minutes. I love this town! 7. Flip-flops: The quintessential footwear for the Golden Isles. I had no idea they were acceptable attire for graduation, proms, weddings, funerals, Sunday service and even appropriate to wear early on a frosty morn. Look away, look away, look way down-right cold in Dixie. If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mind, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll cover my toes in winter.

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8. Sweater Weather. Sweaters, even 100 percent wool sweaters, come out when the temperature dips to 70 degrees F, which is equivalent to 70 degrees below zero to those born and raised in the Golden Isles. I itch at the mere thought. Get my lotion, please. 9. The flip-flop and sweater combination. My only thought on this winter ensemble is â&#x20AC;&#x201C; cold feet, warm heart. 10. Georgia Shrimp. Nothing could be finer than eating boiled shrimp a few minutes after it is caught. Try it and you will love it. 11. Low-country Boil: Whoa doggies! this dish was one of the most pleasant surprises for me and my family. This coastal concoction that melds the flavor of corn, potatoes, sausage, string beans and shrimp is a wellkept secret from the rest of the country, just like an old-family recipe. Some things are just too good to share.

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12. Shrimp and Grits. Here I go again with the shrimp, but who knew grits could be elevated to such a Cordon Bleu level by the pairing of this delectable duo. Move over Risotto. 13. Slow down, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re moving too fast. In our previous life up North, we were pretty much able to shop, eat and be tired all the live long day. We soon learned that here in the Golden Isles, some of our favorite restaurants close by 3 p.m. and some stories are not open on Sunday. This has been a great boon to our family life. 14. â&#x20AC;&#x153;May I hold that?â&#x20AC;? I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t understand why people kept asking to hold my various possessions. Did they admire them? When the woman ahead of me in a checkout line asked if she could hold my pen to write a check, it finally dawned on me that they were asking to borrow an item. Duh! Now hold that thought. 15. Golf Carts, not just for golfing anymore. They are everywhere, driven by everyone throughout the Golden Isles. Kids still dripping behind the ears pile in a sixseater golf cart to happily cruise my neighborhood. I am puzzled to learn that I am the only one in these parts to think that this might be a little bit dangerous. Oh well, with gas prices the way they are maybe I should join them to commute around and about town. 16. The beach, the marsh, the moss, the people. We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know how fast weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d fall in love with our beautiful new home. Taraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s got nothing on the Golden Isles.

Nov/Dec 2008 85

5*.&

Bullbat is a Southern nickname for the nighthawk, which takes wing to feed at dusk. Like the bullbat, Southerners once came out at dusk, too, to feast on gossip with a cocktail chaser. They called it “Bullbat Time.” It is more likely than not that the owners of Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation enjoyed Bullbat Time in their day. If the custom were still widely practiced, Hofwyl would no doubt be the talk of similar gatherings all over town. Now a state historic site and one of the few surviving antebellum plantations on Georgia’s coast, Hofwyl is on a short list of unprofitable state parks and historic sites Georgia is thinking of closing. What a loss that would be, and not just because Hofwyl offers that rare realistic glimpse back in time to the mythical Old South. Hofwyl is also proof that the old days weren’t all work and strife. While the grand dames of Hofwyl – Miss Ophelia Dent and her sister, Miriam – were indeed ladies whose afternoon receptions more likely included tea and/ or lemonade depending on the season, their family heritage certainly included recipes for spirits that would make any gathering a grand celebration. A recipe for Chatham Artillery Punch lives on in Hofwyl’s archives, written on a piece of ordinary note paper in Miss Ophelia’s hand. “That punch is to cocktails what a nuclear warhead is to a fistfight,” says Bill 86 Golden Isles Magazine

Photo by Bruce Whitmore

lu lbat

Giles, site manager at Hofwyl. The New York Times expressed similar sentiments in 1909 when reporting on the social preparations Savannah was making for a visit from President Taft. “Punch Brewing For Taft,” declares the headline on a news clipping pulled from Hofwyl’s archives. “Savannah Favorite Has Had Many Victims, Including Naval Men,” a prominent subhead adds. Another punch recipe that was likely served at Hofwyl dates to the mid1800s. The recipe for Egyptian Punch was brought from Egypt by Confederate Navy Admiral Franklin Buchanan of Baltimore, Md., a former U.S. Navy

ARTILLERY PUNCH (10 GALLONS)

EGYPTIAN PUNCH

1 pound green tea in 2 gallons cold water. Allow to stand overnight, then strain. 3 gallons Catawba wine 1 gallon St. Croix rum 1 gallon Hennessey Brandy 1 gallon rye whiskey 5 pounds brown sugar 2 quarts cherries Juice of 3 dozen oranges Juice of 3 dozen lemons 1 gallon Gordon Gin (will make it smooth) 12 quarts champagne

18 lemons 1 gallon Rum or Brandy two mixed 5 quarts of water 3 pounds of loaf sugar 2 nut megs 2 quarts of boiling milk

Mix tea and juices together ﬁrst, preferably in a cedar tub. Then add the sugar and liqueurs. Let this stock set for a week or two covered. When ready to serve add ice and 12 quarts of champagne. The stock and ﬁnished punch should both be stirred well.

Peel the lemons and let the rinds steep in the liquor for 36 hours. Add the water and grated nutmeg, sugar and the juice of lemons and the boiling milk. Stir well, strain through a ﬂannel bag, until perfectly clear. It will keep for years if bottled.

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Nov/Dec 2008 87

GOLDEN ISLES DINING BEACHCOMBER BBQ & GRILL

CAPTAIN JOE’S SEAFOOD

MATTEO’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT

319 ARNOLD ROAD / ST. SIMONS ISLAND

5296 NEW JESUP HIGHWAY / BRUNSWICK

5323 NEW JESUP HIGHWAY / BRUNSWICK

(912) 634-5699 “No shoes, no shirt, no problem!” Great BBQ and burgers just a block from the beach on St. Simons Island. Dine-in, family-size take out or catering. Worth the trip! You’ll LOVE the ribs! Open 11 am - 10 pm daily.

(912) 264-8771 Captain Joe’s Seafood features seafood, combinations such as steak and chicken, salads, an endless soup and salad bar and a children’s menu. Hours are 11 am to 10 pm every day.

(912) 267-0248 Matteo’s, “the place to eat Italian in the Golden Isles,” has been family owned and operated since 1983. Hours are 11 am to 2:30 pm and 5 to 9:30 pm Mondays through Fridays and 5 to 9:30 pm Saturdays.

BLACKWATER GRILL 260 REDFERN VILLAGE/ ST. SIMONS ISLAND

CATCH 228 228 REDFERN VILLAGE/ ST. SIMONS ISLAND

(912) 634-6228

(912) 634-6333 Blackwater features Low Country Cajun & Southern Coastal Cuisine in a casual, friendly atmosphere. Located in Redfern Village. Open Sunday through Thursday 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm; Friday & Saturday 5:30 to 10:00 pm.

We hope to “hook” you with our unique, just-caught fresh offerings, so you’ll come back again and again. Monday Night Football. .35¢ Wings & .35¢ Oysters. Saturday & Sunday Bloody Mary Bar Open.

BROOMELLI BOYS PIZZERIA

CHICK-FIL-A

760 SCRANTON ROAD/BRUNSWICK AT THE SCRANTON RD. ENTRANCE TO THE MALL

(912) 267-7075 Broomelli Boys pizza is made the traditional way – hand-tossed and cooked in a brick oven. Their dough, veggies, meats and sauce are all prepared fresh daily. Whole pies or by the slice. Dine-In/Carry-Out. Beer & wine. Open 11 am to 10 pm Monday through Saturday. BUBBA GARCIA’S REDFERN VILLAGE / ST. SIMONS ISLAND

(912) 634-0073 The only Mexican restaurant on St. Simons Island! Better than Tex/Mex! Open 11:30 am to 10:00 pm.

88 Golden Isles Magazine

70 GOLDEN ISLES PLAZA / BRUNSWICK

(912) 466-9911 Chick-fil-A provides patrons with chicken for all occasions through its catering service, and to come in to enjoy. Hours are 6:30 am to 10 pm daily, except Sundays. EL PORTO 3460 CYPRESS MILL RD./ BRUNSWICK

(912) 264-1619 At EL POTRO, we use only the freshest, highest quality and truly authentic ingredients, real steak, homemade salsa, fresh chips, real chile rellenos and much more. Every menu item is custom made and prepared to your order ingredients you choose. We combine authentic, quality ingredients with your preference to assure that you have the best possible dining experience at EL POTRO.

MILLHOUSE STEAKHOUSE 124 GLYNCO PARKWAY / BRUNSWICK

(912) 264-3424 Millhouse Steakhouse serves steaks that have been aged 28 days and cut for perfection. It also offers Cajun cuisine and old-fashioned desserts. Hours are 4 to 10:30 pm Sundays through Thursdays and 4 to 11:30 pm Fridays and Saturdays. SHANE’S RIB SHACK 315 VILLAGE AT GLYNN PLACE / BRUNSWICK

(912)264-4227 70 RETREAT VILLAGE / ST. SIMONS ISLAND

(912)268-2272 Dine In or Take Out, this is the place for ribs. BBQ, wings, sandwiches, salads and chicken tenders are also on the menu! Open daily 11 am to 9 pm.

Nov/Dec 2008 89

Save The Date Scenes from the 2007 Festival of Trees, clockwise from top: Judi Watson decorates the Sea Island Co.’s tree; Festival coordinator Whitney Butler and florist Edward Armstrong; Liz Slapikas, owner of Take Too.

December 4, 2008

2008 FESTIVAL OF TREES

An Elegant Evening Among the Trees Dinner and Live Auction of the Magnificent Trees 6:00 PM Deck the Halls Luncheon Holiday Décor Demonstration presented by Edward Armstrong Friday December 5, 2008 12:00 PM Jingle Bells & First Noels Public Presentation of the Trees Saturday, December 6, 2008 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM Call 912-265-1455 for more information, or visit our website at www.goldenislesfestivaloftrees.com All festivities are being held at Sea Island’s Clubhouse at Retreat on St. Simons Island Proceeds benefiting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Georgia.

Festival of Trees Spotlights a Worthy Cause The Golden Isles’ finest interior designers and decorators will create winter wonderland magic at Sea Island’s Clubhouse at Retreat on St. Simons Island when the 2008 Festival of Trees lights the way for three days of celebration beginning Dec. 4. This year’s festival will feature holiday styles by area designers including Harrison Design Associates, Oglethorpe Antiques & Interiors, Mary Bryan Peyer Designs, Judi Watson of The Cloister Flower Shop, Libby Britt of The Tortoise & The Hare, Edward Armstrong of Edward on St. Simons, Liz Slapikas of Take Too and more. The Festival of Trees was born of a need to sustain the programs offered to some 3,000 youths served by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Georgia. That agenda includes construction of the new Elizabeth Correll Teen Center at the intersection of Georgia Spur 25

and Cypress Mill Road in Brunswick. “The location is ideal and is very close to our original targeted area. We believe that this location will allow us to best serve the teens from both the mainland and the islands,” says Brian Dolan, chief professional officer of the Boys and Girls Clubs. Benefactor and former Golden Isles resident Pete Correll says an investment in its youth is an investment in the community’s future. “Our commitment to this project is not just financial. We want to see the future potential of Glynn County realized through the growth and development of our teens,” Correll says. This year’s festival kicks off Dec. 4 with the gala event, “An Elegant Evening Among the Trees.” Set amongst the majestic trees, guests will enjoy an extravagant dinner followed by a high-spirited live auction of the trees by celebrity auctioneer Steve Melnyk.

The festival continues the afternoon of Dec. 5 with the “Deck the Halls” ladies’ luncheon with guest speaker and renowned designer Edward Armstrong. Ladies will be entertained with a holiday décor demonstration that promises to inspire grand ideas for their own homes during the holidays. The beautifully adorned Festival Trees will open to the public Dec. 6 during the “Jingle Bells and First Noels” public viewing. Children of all ages are invited to come admire all the tinsel and trees as local children’s choirs perform seasonal favorites and Christmas classics. Holiday refreshments and pictures with Santa will also be available to all who attend. Seating is limited to these highly anticipated events so festival goers are encouraged to make reservations early. For tickets and more information please call (912) 265-1455 or visit www.goldenislesfestivaloftrees.com.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

NOVEMBER - DECEMBER EVENTS | OPPORTUNITIES | HAPPENINGS | GATHERINGS

November 29, 2008 2008 SAVANNAH HARBOR BOAT PARADE OF LIGHTS Christmas as only Savannah can do it, with Gen. James Oglethorpe sparking the festivities with the lighting of the Christmas tree. A parade of more than 60 decorated sailboats and yachts will cruise the Savannah River. Fireworks will close the evening. The celebration begins at 6:15 p.m. on the Riverwalk at Westin Savannah Harbor. Details: westinsavannah.com November 13: Urban Land Institute Presents “The Next Big Thing in Coastal Development” 5:00 p.m. at Bryson Hall in Savannah (next to Gallery Espresso on Chippewa Square). Panelists and speakers include James Langford of Linger Longer Communities speaking on “The Jekyll Island Revitalization.”

December 5-6: CHRISTMAS ON THE OLD PLANTATION

For more information and to register for the “Next Big Thing in Coastal Development” visit www.atlanta.uli.org or www.southcarolina.uli.org. November 21: The Golden Isles Arts and Humanities Association presents “The Meaning of Tea,” a documentary about the role of tea in world cultures, 7 p.m. at the Ritz Theatre, 1530 Newcastle St. Brunswick. Includes audience discussion with director Scott Chamberlain-Hoyt. Admission is $5; free to GIAHA members. Details: goldenislesarts.org

November 26-30: Dinosaurs will fill Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena when the award-winning BBC television series “Walking With Dinosaurs” comes to life in a stunning theatrical event. Details: www/artistseries.fccj.org

C l b Celebrate Ch Christmas i the h old-fashioned ld f hi d way with iha candlelight tour of Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation, 5556 U.S. Hwy. 17 N, Brunswick. Enjoy hot wassail and cookies with costumed interpreters and Civil War reenactors, 7 to 9 p.m. each day. Admission is $6 for adults; $3 for children under 17. Details: gastateparks.org/info/hofwyl December 13: Join the garrison at Fort King George for a traditional Colonial-style Yuletide dinner and an evening of Christmas cheer. Reservations required by Dec. 8. Tickets are $30. Details: 437-4770

The FCCJ Artists’ Series presents “The Christmas Music of Mannheim Steamroller by Chip Davis,” 8 p.m. at the Times Union Center’s Moran Theater, Jacksonville. Details: www. artistseries.fccj.org.

November 29 - January 1 Jekyll Island is transformed into “Holiday Island.” Santa comes to town for the Christmas Tree Lighting Festival. Caroling, stories, snow, high tea and more. Details: www.jekyllisland.com

December 19-21: A Christmas tradition not to be missed! Brunswick Mayor Bryan Thompson kicks off the countdown to Christmas Eve in his annual turn as Ebenezer Scrooge in GIAHA’s local production of “A Christmas Carol.” Onstage at the Ritz Theatre for three performances only. Details: goldenislesarts.org

Best

d e t a r t s Illu

l Coasta

In the “Best of Coastal Illustrated,” we will bring you select photographs of local events and social gatherings from the pages and files of the Coastal Illustrated. Check these pages to see who you know and what’s happening around the Golden Isles. Want to see more? You can access copies of the current Coastal Illustrated online at www.thebrunswicknews. com by clicking the Coastal Illustrated tab at the top of the home page. Taste of the Vine: The St. Simons Island Casino was filled with a festive crown for the Taste of the Vine fundraiser to benefit Coastal Coalition for Children. Proceeds from the event will be returned to the community through the Coalition, whose “primary goal is to prevent child abuse and neglect by building self-sufficient families,” says CCC Director Lorene Reid.

1. From left, Angela Swinson, Lorena Harris, Barbara Azambuja 2. From left, Betsy Holm, Denese Gentile, Lorene Reid, Denny Silva and Pam Wilson 3. From left, Judith Hall Manzer and Joyce Ledingham 4. From left, Julie Hunter, Brian and Sara Green 5. Nala Reimler with her pretty parasol

Rally for the Cure: The Brunswick Golden Isles Tennis Association (BGITA), a division of USTA, recently held a Rally for the Cure Tennis Tournament to benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation at Sea Island Retreat. Richard Ferguson took home first prize for singles. Elizabeth Martin and Vanessa Vakili won the Women’s Doubles competition. Christopher Paschal and Patrick Driscoll won the Men’s Doubles competition. 6. Marita Littlefield with Richard Ferguson 7. From left, Women’s Doubles winners Elizabeth Martin and Vanessa Vakili with 2nd place team Christine Nunneman and Pam Oberlin 8. From left, Men’s Doubles 2nd place team Alexander Vakili and Misha Christman with winners Christopher Paschal and Patrick Driscoll

Rhythm on the River: People of all ages came out to Mary Ross Park the evening of October 12 to enjoy the sounds of Fifth Street Band. The atmosphere was festive and fun. At intermission, gift certificates to downtown stores and gift baskets were raffled off to 13 lucky winners. More events like this are planned for the future. 9. Marty & Melissa Gensmer 10. From left, Stacy Bass, Jay Anderson, Meredith Hanock, Kim Sines, Theresa King, Charles King and Derrick Lassiter 11. Courtney Herndon and Heard Galis 12. Steve & Cathy Martin 13. Marcia & Don Stutz 14. Eddie & Allison Roberts

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Worship In the golden isles Bethel Evangel Christian Church 801 I Street Brunswick, GA 31520 912-265-3800 Pastor: Paul McKenzie Sr. Sunday Worship: 11:00 a.m.

Northside Baptist Church 935 Chapel Crossing Road Brunswick, GA 31525 912-265-3063 Senior Pastor: Dr. Craig Hartzog Sunday Worship: 10:30 a.m.

Brookman New Hope Methodist Church

Hwy 82 Brunswick, GA 31525 912-264-6200 Pastor: Ben Rainey Sunday Worship: 11:00 a.m.

Norwich Baptist Church 5661 New Jesup Hwy. Brunswick, GA 31523 912-265-0494 Pastor: Dr. Art Cyphers Sunday Worship: 10:30 a.m. & 6:00 p.m

Calvary Baptist Church 3105 Wildwood Drive Brunswick, GA 31520 912-265-1390 Preacher: Dr. Earl Boyette Sunday Worship: 11:00 a.m. & 6:00 p.m.

Pine Haven Baptist Church 176 Old Cate Road Brunswick, GA 31525 912-264-8487 Pastor: Sammy Chancey Sunday Worship: 11:00 a.m. & 6:00 p.m.

Coastal Baptist Church 7445 Blythe Island Highway Brunswick, GA 31523 912-269-3333 Pastor Larry Lane, ThD

St. Simons Presbyterian Church 205 Kings Way St. Simons Island, GA 31522 (912) 638-2220 Pastor: Rev. Bob Brearley Sunday Worship: 8:45 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.

Frederica Baptist Church 1700 Frederica Road St. Simons Island, GA 31522 912-634-2833 Senior Pastor: Whit Chapman Sunday Worship: 8:30 a.m. & 11:00 a.m. Golden Isles Church of God 200 Boswell Lane Brunswick, GA 31520 912-265-2621 Pastor: Todd Garner Sunday Worship: 10:35 a.m. Hosanna Tabernacle Church 36 Cornerstone Drive Suite 154 Brunswick, GA 31523

912-399-3910 Pastor: Julius E. Hope Sunday Worship: 9:30 a.m.

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Zion Baptist Church 1611 G Street Brunswick, GA 31520 912-264-3105 Rev: Craig Campbell, Interim Pastor Sunday Worship: 11:00 a.m. Zion Rock Missionary Baptist Church 3200 Gordon Street Brunswick, GA 31520 912-264-6188 Pastor: James C. Edwards Sunday Worship: 11:00 a.m.

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Parting Shot

Ready to Shine Christmas lights twinkle in the rays of a setting sun. St. Simons Island Lighthouse Gazebo/Photographed by Benjamin Galland

XX GOLDEN MAGAZINE 96 GoldenISLES Isles Magazine

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