HC Magazine April 2016

Volume 11 • Issue 4 April / May 2016

INSIDE:

This Year's

APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN PHOTOGRAPHY WINNERS

READY for

Summer?

IN THIS ISSUE: ET & WNC Train Journey • 17 Year Old Soccer Star • Mega Construction Novelist Leigh Ann Henion • The Avery FFA & Gwen Clark • High Tech Guys Go Big April / May 2016

High Country Magazine

Thanks For Reading Us - Here's Our First of Six Issues For 2016

A

DI A N N E DAVA N T & A S S O C I AT E S EXCELLENCE BY DESIGN SINCE 1979

M A R G A R E T H A N D L E Y,

ASID

D I A N N E D A VA N T , A S I D PA M E L A M C K A Y, A S I D P R I S C I L L A H Y A T T,

B A N N E R E L K , N O RT H C A R O L I N A P O RT S A I N T L U C I E , F L O R I D A

828.898.9887 772.344.3190

W W W. D A VA N T - I N T E R I O R S . C O M B

High Country Magazine

April / May 2016

ALLIED ASID

Is finding the right mortgage one big BRAIN TEASER? ADVERTISERS

At Piedmont Federal, we specialize in a home loan process with NO SURPRISES. Few things are as exciting as a new home.

Some would tell you that few things are as complicated as a new mortgage. We work with our customers to keep the process simple. A great rate is just the beginning. Our loan officers do not receive commissions; their responsibility is to help you get the right mortgage with no surprises or hidden fees. On top of that, we never sell or transfer your mortgage. So the same team that helped in the beginning is available to help down the road.

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April / May 2016

High Country Magazine

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High Country Magazine

April / May 2016

RUSTIC RETREATS

Vilas, North Carolina premiersir.com/id/LUAC011216IHE 828.414.9400

Contact us today for a consultation on how your home can be marketed in the Carolinas and around the world.

PREMIERSOTHEBYSREALTY.COM Asheville | 828.277.3238

Blowing Rock | 828.414.9400

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Sotheby’s International Realty® and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered service marks used with permission. Each office isApril independently / May owned 2016 and operated.

H i g h Equal C o Housing u n t rOpportunity. y Magazine Property information herein is derived from various sources including, but not limited to, county records and multiple listing services, and may include approximations. All information is deemed accurate.

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C O N T E N T S

26 Sharing the History of Tweetsie

Most who live in the High Country today know little to nothing about the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad, although it's an important part of the area's history.

Find out what one local man and his peers are doing to share it's story with the folks who now call these mountains home.

26 36

36 From Ashe Rec to the UNC Pitch

When Brooke Bingham was 11 years old, she had never played soccer before. However, she was athletic and passionate. Next year, this Ashe County teenager will play for the legendary Anson Dorrance and his fabled UNC women’s soccer program.

46 A Wanderer of Wonders

Leigh Ann Henion, a gifted writer based in the High Country, renewed her spirit when she decided to travel to different parts of the world and observe some of earth’s “most dazzling natural phenomena.” Based on those trips, she recently published her first book, “Phenomenal: A Hesitant Adventurer’s Search for Wonder in the Natural World."

46

the Next 56 Nurturing Generation of Farmers

Over the past 30 years, Gwen Gentry Clark has taught hundreds of students in agriculture and horticulture classes, in addition to being the area’s Future Farmers of America advisor. A native of Yadkin County, Clark initially planned to teach at Avery High School for one year, but she fell in love with the area and a man named Dee.

66 Silicon Hollar

We’ve all seen Shark Tank and heard the term venture capitalists, which usually refers to some entrepreneur scout in Silicon Valley. But Startup High Country? This is a newly formed business along those same lines in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

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on the cover Todd Bush – Alone for some soli-

tude while backpacking a favorite and incredible section of the Appalachian Trail, approaching Hump Mountain in Avery County, sky conditions were completely socked in just before sunset. Storms were kicking around and it was a little worrisome being atop one of the regions high balds in these conditions. But it was lovely, moody and mysterious at the same time. Suddenly clouds parted just long enough for one or two shots for this image, then blindingly thick mist took over again and night fell swiftly.

Visit www.bushphoto.com 4 H iH g ihg h C oCuonutnrtyr M y aMgaagzai z n ien e April April / May / May 2016 2016

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High Country Magazine

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FRO M T HE PUB L ISH ER

A Publication Of High Country Press Publications

Editor & Publisher Ken Ketchie

Art Director Debbie Carter

Ready for Summer?

B

y April, our friends off the mountain are enjoying the signs and warmth of summer with greening trees and blooming flowers. Up here in the mountains, we're still waiting on spring. Although this year the month of March teased us with a string of warm days with higher than normal temperatures, the weekend of April 9 reminded us that cold weather is not done with us yet. The High Country saw snow showers and temperatures reaching in the teens that weekend! The flowers that did blossom during that warm spell are pretty much all shriveled up now.

While it seems it takes forever for summer to get here in the mountains, at our office, we are reminded daily that summer is not far off. We are already receiving a number of emails from towns and organizations that are busy gearing up for their summer events.

And that’s got us busy here at High Country Press Publications, as we, too, are getting ready for our summer publications. We’ll have three issues of our High Country Magazine coming up for summer – kicking off with our June issue, which is our annual “Welcome Back Summer Residents” edition. We’re also working on our summer Visitor Guide, which helps our summer visitors get the most out of their stay in the High Country. We’re also working on a new publication for this summer called “Home Magazine” that celebrates home ownership and all the projects that come with it.

Our sister publication, HCPress.com, a daily online local newspaper, is perhaps the best way to keep abreast of all the summer events coming up on the mountain.

Not only do we constantly update our site with the latest news information, we’re always publicizing upcoming events by announcing them at least two weeks out and publishing reminder stories leading up to each one.

Whether you’re hunting for live music, weekly concerts, gallery openings, art festivals, dinner specials, outdoor adventures, summer camps for the kids, family friendly activities, holiday programs or more, you’ll find everything you need to know this summer in one convenient place — HCPress.com.

So if you’re not a regular reader of our website yet, come check us out! We already have thousands of folks coming to our site everyday. It’s easy to read – new stories are posted to the top of the page, and you can scroll down the front page to see all kinds of news, events and features. You’ll be amazed at what you can learn about what’s going on in the High Country.

So summer is on the way . . . I’m looking forward to putting away my hats and gloves for the season and look forward to being at the Jones House for its weekly Concerts on the Lawn series!

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High Country Magazine

April / May 2016

Advertising Director Jeffrey Green Contributing Writers Jesse Wood Jessica Isaacs Kate Cahow Katie Benfield Allison West Tim Gardner

Contributing Photographers Todd Bush Peter Morris High Country Magazine is produced by the staff and contributors of High Country Press Publications, which serves Watauga and Avery counties of North Carolina

HIGH COUNTRY MAGAZINE P.O. Box 152, Boone, NC 28607 828-264-2262 Follow our magazine online where each issue is presented in a flip-through format. Check it out at:

HighCountryMagazine.com Reproduction or use in whole or part of the contents of this magazine without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Issues are FREE throughout the High Country. © 2016

by High Country Press. All Rights Reserved.

WE SUPPORT

SHOP LOCAL

April / May 2016

High Country Magazine

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Calendarof Events APRIL 2016

1-30

Grandfather Mountain Dollar Days, $3 Park Admission for High Country Residents, Employees & their Guests, www.grandfather.com

1-30

Mystery Hill Dollar Days, $2 Admission for NC Residents & Students, 828-264-2792

2

37th Annual Trout Derby, Blowing Rock, 828-295-5222

2

“Still Life with Oranges” Acrylic Painting Workshop, Watauga County Arts Council, 828-264-1789

5

Movies at the Museum: “Throw Down Your Heart” with Mark Freed, Blowing Rock Art and History Museum, 828-295-9099

7-9

Merlefest, April 28 - May 1, photo by William Sparklin

Spring Appalachian Dance Ensemble,

The Schaefer Center at ASU, 828-262-4046

8

Tweetsie Railroad Opening Day, Blowing Rock, 877-893-3874

8

Murder Mystery Weekend, The Green Park Inn, 828-414-9230

8-10 14-17

Ashe Little Theatre: “Lost in Yonkers” Ashe Civic Center,

336-846-2787

SAVOR Blowing Rock, Food and Wine Festival, Arty Party: Tree and Reflection with Raney Rogers,

Watauga County Arts Council, 828-264-1789 15-16

7

Cork and Canvas: Wine and Art Workshops,

Blowing Rock Art and History Museum, 828-295-9099

7

Village Vision Community Festival, Horn in the West, 8

7

Salamander Saturday, Grandfather Mountain,

7

12

Downton Abbey Dinner, The Green Park Inn, 828-414-9230

19

21

TAC Talks: Reflections on a Persistence of Vision,

22

22

CONTRA-TIEMPO Urban Latin Dance Theater, Scholars & Scones: Nazi-Looted Art During WWII,

Opera: “Cara E Cara” Ashe Civic Center, 336-846-2787

28-1

MerleFest, Wilkes Community College, merlefest.org

29

An Evening of Cherokee Stories with Lloyd Arneach,

Blowing Rock Art and History Museum, 828-295-9099 8

High Country Magazine

April / May 2016

TAC Talks: The Best in Motion Pictures,

Summer Concert Series: Laura Boosinger and Josh Goforth, Blowing Rock Art and History Museum,

828-295-9099 24

Blowing Rock Art and History Museum, 828-295-9099

28

Naturalist Weekend, Grandfather Mountain, www.grandfathermountain.com Blowing Rock Art and History Museum, 828-295-9099

The Schaefer Center at ASU, 828-262-4046

28

Boone Chamber of Commerce Business Expo,

The Boone Mall, 828-264-2225, www.boonechamber.com

16

Blowing Rock Art and History Museum, 828-295-9099

Blowing Rock’s Art in the Park, American Legion Grounds,

828-295-785

13

828-295-5500

28-355-4918

www.grandfathermountain.com

Corkscrew 5K at Chetola Resort, Blowing Rock,

16

Watauga County Farmers’ Market, Horn in the West,

828-355-4918 (See Sidebar)

www.savorblowingrock.com (See Sidebar) 14

MAY 2016

Southern Appalachian Ballads Workshop with Saro Lynch-Thomason, Blowing Rock Art and History Museum, 828-295-9099

26

Blowing Rock Farmers’ Market, Park Avenue,

828-295-7851 29

David Holt and the Lightning Bolts, Tweetsie Railroad,

877-893-3874

DON’T FORGET CARLTON GALLERY Celebrating 34Years EVENTS

SAVOR Blowing Rock

Formerly known as the Blue Ridge Wine and Food Festival, SAVOR Blowing Rock has become one of the top events of its kind in the Southeast. This incredibly popular four-day weekend includes wine tastings, pairing dinners, classes and seminars, a restaurant showcase and so much more.

For a complete schedule of events, check out www.savorblowingrock.com. Get your tickets now — you don’t want to miss this! Contact the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce at 828-295-7851 or by email at info@blowing rock.com for additional details.

APRIL 14-17

Watauga County Farmers’ Market

Opening Day: May 7 The splendor and vibrancy of spring in the High Country will come to life when the Watauga County Farmers’ Market returns to Boone for the 2016 season. Early birds and shoppers of all ages will clock to Horn in the West to catch up with neighbors, see what local vendors have to offer and reconnect with the community after a cold winter.

The market will operate from 8 a.m. to noon and will continue every Saturday through November. Call 828-355-4918 for more information or check out www.wataugacountyfarmersmarket.org.

Stick around for the second annual Village Vision festival, which kicks off at 12:30 p.m. and will include popular live music, performing arts, healing arts, kids’ activities, craft and local business vendors and more until 8 p.m. that night.

MAY 7

Winter &Small Works Exhibition Continues through April 30, 2016

Spring Group Exhibition

May 28 – July 15, Opening Reception May 28, 2-5pm

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April / May 2016

High Country Magazine

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echoes

mountain Premier Sotheby’s International Realty Expands in the High Country P

remier Sotheby’s International Realty now has a presence in Banner Elk and Blowing Rock with the 2015 acquisitions of The Sterling Company, Mountain Sotheby’s International Realty and Blowing Rock Gallery of Homes & Land.

Premier Sotheby’s is the real estate division of the The Blowing Rock Location Naples, Fla.-based The Lutgert Companies, which From left: Don Blair, Linda Tate, Brittney Tensi, Yvonne Ziel, Greg Buchanan, opened the 1,800-acre Linville Ridge development Jan Blair, Tony Hulbert, Zach Tate, Eric Ritchie, Lynn Hill in 1982. Serving as the exclusive marketing and sales brokerage of many other high-end developments, Premier Sotheby’s represents buyers and sellers of luxury homes and condos in Florida and North Carolina.

Premier Sotheby’s International Realty’s President and CEO, Judy Green, said that one goal of the company has been to “expand our footprint in the High Country.” The company, of course, is already well established locally with its Linville Ridge office, and also has a presence in Charlotte and Lake Norman.

“One of the reasons North Carolina is so important to us as a market and why we expanded our presence is that so many of our customers purchasing properties in Florida are from North Carolina and vice versa,” Green said. “It’s a very good feeder market both ways; it just made sense for us to expand our operations in North Carolina.”

Premier Sotheby’s is an independent franchise of Sotheby’s International Realty, the latter of which was founded by the famed Sotheby’s auction house The Banner Elk Location in 1976, several years after The Lutgert Companies From Left to Right (Standing): Derek Rowley, Lawson Fields, Mary Jernigan, started its real estate division.

Sarah Whitfield, Loretta Trayer, John Angel, and Gary Waters.

Green said that Premier Sotheby’s International (Sitting): Jenny Brown, Emily Bish, Melinda Eggers Realty has a “unique and far reaching marketing program,” one that spans the nation and throughout the globe with the ability to place listings on over 550 websites. Its single-family homes and condos. Special markets include watermarketing department has 18 employees that “focus every minute front, golf, farm & ranch, historic and ski properties. of the day” making sure each property has the requisite expoThis past year, Premier Sotheby’s International Realty recorded sure. a sales volume of more than $4 billion and closed on more than Asked about the types of properties that pique the interest of 5,200 sales, a year-over-year increase of 19 percent for both figures, Premier Sotheby’s, Green said that the company looks at proper- according to the company. Green noted that Premier Sotheby’s is ties that are not only luxurious, but also unique and special. one of the top affiliates of Sotheby’s International Realty, usually “We look at lifestyles, and we sell lifestyles,” Green said, adding ranked as a top three franchise among the brand per volume. that the property has to be one that Premier Sotheby’s would be Emily Bish, of the former Sterling Company in Banner Elk, and proud to put a sign in front of and one that meets the standards Don Blair, of the Blowing Rock Gallery of Homes & Land, both of the company. cited the power of the Sotheby’s brand when asked why they deProperties include new developments, commercial properties, cided to merge with Premier Sotheby’s.

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High Country Magazine

April / May 2016

DISCOVER OUR POSITIVE ALTITUDE!

The Banner Elk Office

The Blowing Rock Office Bish, who was the majority partner of The Sterling Company with Sarah Whitfield and Lawson Fields, noted the enhanced marketing, networking and international reach of Sotheby’s International Realty and the “referral network” and the “reputation and culture” of Premier Sotheby’s.

“This is an opportunity for us to be able to elevate what we can do for our clients,” Bish said.

In Blowing Rock, Don Blair, who was a partner of Blowing Rock Gallery of Homes with Jan Blair, Zach and Linda Tate, Lynn Hill, Greg Buchanan and Faisuly Scheurer, said that he immediately received calls and walk-ins just because of the Sotheby’s name after the changeover occurred in the middle of November.

Blair said that the partners of Blowing Rock Gallery of Homes & Land had been trying to figure out how they could expand their business reach on a global scale, whenever Premier Sotheby’s came knocking on their door.

“We knew the name and were interested in talking with them from that standpoint,” Blair said. “Understanding the power of their brand, we felt like that was going to take our marketing and sales efforts to a new level, a higher level and would enable us to really expand our business the way we wanted to.”

For more information, visit http://www. premiersothebysrealty.com or call 1-877425-6001.

By Jesse Wood

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High Country Magazine

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nestle in

echoes

nature

© 2016 Yves Delorme

Featuring Sieste by Yves Delorme and other fine bed and bath linens from around the world. Presented by DEWOOLFSON, manufacturers of European-inspired down bedding in the High Country.

OUR 33rd YEAR

mountain Valle Crucis Community Park Flaunts Attractive New Welcome Center Funded by Locals V

alle Crucis Community Park has served as a natural haven for citizens and visitors since 1983, complete with playgrounds for kids, fly fishing, summer music shows and other special events.

Now, the park has been graced with a new feature. In February, park officials opened a welcome center that houses a reception area, indoor space for community events, meetings and environmental programs, easily accessible public restrooms and an office for staff.

A capital campaign is currently underway to raise $260,000 to fund the welcome center’s construction, along with the purchase of 3.3 acres of land added to the park in late 2014.

It all started with a $40,000 gift from an anonymous private donor. The rest was raised through grants from foundations and donations by the park’s board of directors and by other supporters.

In total, park officials have now raised $190,000.

Caroline Gandy, the park’s executive director, said she hopes the community will rally together to help them raise the final $70,000 by the end of the year.

“In a lot of ways, when you visit Valle Crucis, you feel like you’ve stepped into the

past,” Gandy said. “But, really, you’ve just stepped into a community that truly values old-fashioned southern hospitality and neighborliness.”

The park has a history of bringing the community together. In fact, that’s how it was founded.

More than 30 years ago, the riverfront property was slated for development as an RV park. The community came together to block that development, purchase the property and create a nonprofit organization to manage the park.

Still to this day, the park is funded entirely by donations and use fees, Gandy said.

The new welcome center adds to the charm of the park, opening in the nick of time for warm weather.

“With the construction of the welcome center and the availability of space for displays and programs, we will be able to do a much better job of educating our visits about the native plants and animals that call the park home, as well as environmental issues that threaten our region,” Gandy said.

For more information on the park, check out vallecrucispark.com or call 828963-9239.

Story By Shannon Cuthrell

The newly constructed welcome center is pictured at Valle Crucis Community Park.

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High Country Magazine

April / May 2016

People’s Choice

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• Licensed Pesticide Sprayer • Septic Tank Installation • Hydro-Seeding • Excavating • Boulder Walls • Waterfalls

Hwy. 105 in Linville at the foot of Grandfather Mountain 828.733.3726 | Design • Installation • Maintainance Member: NC Nursery & Landscaping Association April / May 2016

High Country Magazine

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mountain

echoes

studio tour 2016

S

ummertime in the mountains – what better way to see the countryside than on a two-day Studio Tour! And to see the best Ashe County artists working in their own studios! On June 4-5 the Ashe County Arts Council will sponsor the Ashe County Studio Tour, a two-day, self-guided, free event in which twenty-four Ashe County artists open their studios to the public in twenty locations.

Tour participants will discover art studios located all over the county - in and around West Jefferson, Jefferson, Crumpler, Laurel Springs, Todd, Creston, Warrensville, and Lansing. Most of the studios are not usually open to the public, so this is a rare opportunity for people to see where these artists work and at select locations, to watch them as they create their art. And it doesn't hurt that getting there takes you through some of the most beautiful mountain countryside the High Country has to offer!

All art on the Ashe County Studio Tour

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High Country Magazine

is handmade, original work designed and produced by the artists in Ashe County. The artists have shown their work regionally, nationally, and internationally. Some have made their art for over four decades and some are relatively new to their art forms, but all have a passion for what they do and where they do it.

In the town of West Jefferson, see enjoy work from artists including Camille Morgan, David Bridge, the “Quilt Square Girls” Renee and Syndi Brooks, Talara Parrish, Jane Munroe Floyd, Berkeley Brown, Cheryl Williams and Dottie Baker.

Nearby you’ll see creations from Mary Ann Prack, Cynthia Dixon, Pat Morrison, Hollis Wild, Cheryl Roberts and Patrick Robertson.

Head over to Todd to see work from Jeannie Daubar, Helen Barnes-Rielly and Martha Enzmann.

Five miles from Warrensville, you’ll see art by Kelly Clampitt and Kim Hadley and

April / May 2016

George Kosinski. In Creston, check out work by North Fork Gallery in the Riverview Community Center to see work by Susan Meredith. Other featured artists include by Dawn Wicklow, Delores Somers and Jennifer Gardiner.

Tour maps are available at the Ashe Arts Center and there will be Studio Tour signs along the roadways to help people find their destinations. The studios are open from 10 am to 6 pm on Saturday, June 4 and noon until 5 pm on Sunday, June 5. For more information, contact the Ashe County Arts Council at 336-846-2787 or email jane@ ashecountyarts.org.

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High Country Magazine

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50 Pictures Selected from over 1100 Entries

13th ANNUAL Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition On Exhibit Now through June 4th

A

lready known as one of the premiere photography competitions in the Southeast, the Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition (AMPC) is as popular as ever. Now in its 13th year, the AMPC received a record-breaking number of submissions in the fall: 1,162.

Fifty of those images were selected as finalists to be exhibited in the Turchin Center in downtown Boone through June 4. Eleven of these photographs received awards or honorable mentions. With the AMPC coinciding with Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour, the winners were announced when Banff stormed through town in March.

Depicted in the following spread are the 50 finalists that showcase Southern Appalachia’s landscapes, culture and characters.

Photos selected in each category are shown on the following pages.

Winner(s) in each category are outlined in GOLD. 16

High Country Magazine

April / May 2016

Adventure 1

2

3 4

5 7

Adventure: Imagery depicting mountain sports such as climbing, kayaking, mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, etc.

1. Drew Bennett Open Water Workout 2. Dylan McKinney Soul Surfing 3. Eric Heistand Grandfather Mountain Men 4. Kristian Jackson Black/White Diamond

6

5. Lynn Willis Edge of a Dream 6. William Mauney Stateline Falls – Watauga River Race 2014 7. Brandon Jett Celestial Hangover April / May 2016

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Blue Ridge Parkway

3

Where the Parkway Meets the Sky 1

4

2

5

Blue ridge parkway - Where the Parkway Meets the Sky: A rotating category each year with a different theme.

6

1. Hanna Wilson Thunder Hill Overlook 2. Todd Feldman Raven’s Roost in Black and White 3. Alison E. Foster Carriage Trail Clouds 4. Andi Gelsthorpe Wrong Feet The Lump MP264.4 5. Scott Ramsey Picnic on the Blue Ridge Parkway 6. Sharon Canter Nightfall at the Manor 7. Andrew Caldwell The Sentinel 18

High Country Magazine

7 April / May 2016

Culture 1

4

2

5 3

6 7

CULTURE: Imagery depicting the people, their customs, traditions, architecture, and ways of life unique to the Southern Appalachian region.

1. Elle Olivia Anderson Robert with Christmas Dinner 2. Elle Olivia Anderson Tom and Roxie

7. James K. Fay Brother Carol 8. Maggie Flanigan Maggie’s Lights 9. James K. Fay Hanging the Top

Best In Show

h

3. Mitzi Gellman Boone Fork Baptism 4. Jason Tarr American Blessings

8

5. James K. Fay Killing Hog 6. Micah J. Henry Making Molasses, Alexander Co., NC

9 April / May 2016

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Our Ecological Footprint

4

1 5

6 2

7

3 environment: Imagery documenting environmental concerns in Central and Southern Appalachia.

1. Heather Wolf Turner Cannon Memories

8. Jason Tarr Down the Drain

3. Keely Kernan Cabin Creek 4. James M. Davidson Nest, found near Boone, NC, with plastic netting High Country Magazine

6. Adam Webster Polluted Paradise 7. Sam Brown Helping Hives

2. Keely Kernan Coal

20

5. Amy Morrison Hayden Oil Beauty After the Storm

9. Lynda Ward Aftermath

April / May 2016

8 9

Flora and Fauna

4

1

5

6

People's Choice Award

h

Flora and fauna: Imagery of plants and animals common to the Southern Appalachians.

2

7

1. Deborah Scannell Morning Catch 2. Raven Moffett Dripping Triptych 3. Halle Keighton Black Crow 4. Rob Moore Bo the Red-tailed Hawk 5. Chuck Almarez After the Rain 6. Steve Yocom Winter Fairy Tale 7. Jeffrey Stoner Al dente

3

8. Joseph Balcken Collection

8 April / May 2016

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Landscape

6

1 7

3

8

2 4 9 5 LANDSCAPE: Scenic imagery capturing the rich diversity and natural beauty of the Southern Appalachian region.

1. Skip Sickler Sunrise, Mile-High Bridge, Grandfather Mtn. 2. Cathy Anderson Widow Creek Falls

5. Nathan Sales Appalachian Nocturne 6. Kathryn Greven The North Star 7. Chris Almerini Frozen Linville Falls 8. Charles Johnson CJ Ice and Waterscape

3. Annkatrin Rose Forest Tunnel 4. Skip Sickler Grandfather Mountain – June 13, 2014

9. Tim Williams Wuthering 10. Robert Vance Rock, Water, Leaves

10 22

High Country Magazine

April / May 2016

and the winners are...

Best in Show

James K. Fay (pictured right) and the image Brother Carol (number 7, page 19) took top honors, receiving the “Best in Show” award. The image is a portrait of “Brother Carol” playing the banjo at the Pine Mountain Boys Gospel Jubilee in Ashe County. The setting is under a backyard shelter beside a tobacco field.

“It’s definitely an honor,” Fay said.

“There were so many great photographs in the exhibit. To just be a finalist in itself is an honor. I am definitely humbled.”

Fay will take home a cash award of $1,000 furnished through competition proceeds.

People's Choice Award

Photos by Ken Ketchie

Steve Yocom’s image Winter Fairy Tale (number 6, page 21) is the public’s pick in this year’s Footsloggers’ People’s Choice Award. Yocum will receive $350 cash award furnished by Footsloggers Outdoor and Travel Outfitters.

AMPC Category Winners Adventure

$250 gift certificate from Mast General Store Celestial Hangover by Brandon Jett (number 7, page 17)

Blue Ridge Parkway – Beyond the Black Top

$250 award from the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and a $250 gift certificate from Mast General Store Picnic on the Blue Ridge Parkway by Scott Ramsey (number 5, page 18)

Culture (tie)

$250 gift certificate from Mast General Store Robert with Christmas Dinner by Elle Olivia Anderson Tom and Roxie by Elle Olivia Anderson (numbers 1 & 2, page 19)

Our Ecological Footprint $250 award from Appalachian Voices and a $250 gift certificate from Mast General Store Nest, found near Boone, NC, with plastic netting

by James M. Davidson (number 4, page 20)

Flora & Fauna

$250 gift certificate from Mast General Store Dripping Triptych by Raven Moffett (number 2, page 21)

Landscape

$250 gift certificate from Mast General Store Wuthering by Tim Williams (number 9, page 22)

Honorable Mention

Our Ecological Footprint Aftermath by Lynda Ward (number 9, page 20) Landscape Appalachian Nocturne by Nathan Sales (number 5, page 22) April / May 2016

High Country Magazine

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Engineer Jim Miller is pictured next to Engine No. 11, which sits slightly southeast of the depot in Boone. The engine looks out at the tracks, which ran along what is now Rivers Street, in this photograph, which was captured in 1938.

Courtesy of the Cy Crumley collection at ETSU’s Archives of Appalachia.

Sharing the History of the ET&WNC Railroad

M

Photo by Greg Williams

By Katie Benfield and Jessica Isaacs 26

High Country Magazine

April / May 2016

ost people associate the name “Tweetsie” with the popular Wild West theme park in Blowing Rock.

While the park is no doubt a staple of modern culture in the High Country, the moniker was first bestowed upon the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad.

For more than 60 years, the ET&WNC traveled to and from Johnson City, Tennessee, Cranberry, North Carolina and, eventually, Boone. The little railroad meandered through the small towns along its route, carrying both passengers and important materials for the area’s growing industries.

The railroad remains a key component of High Country history, though many of the folks who today call these hills their home know little to nothing about it’s story.

There’s one man right here in Boone, Dr. David Spiceland, who’s on a mission to change that.

A professor of communications at Appalachian State University and an avid railroad enthusiast, Spiceland is part of the ET&WNC Historical Society — a group of like-minded histo-

Spiceland is pictured standing along Rivers Street on the campus of ASU. To the left, cars pass by him on the route that was once followed by the ET&WNC. To the right, you can see the Beasley Media Complex, which sits on the same lot that once housed the Boone Depot. Photo by Jessica Isaacs. rians who work to uncover and share the mysteries of the shortlived, much-loved Tweetsie Railroad.

Standing on the shoulders of authors, researchers, railroad enthusiasts who have come before him and many of his peers, Spiceland has worked hard for more than two decades to dig up the stories that can’t be found in official documents.

One day at a time, he’s retracing existing research, discovering unseen details, hunting for artifacts and tracking down new leads that will help tell the colorful story of the railroad that left too soon from the mountains.

Little by little, Spiceland and his peers are unearthing the mysteries of the ET&WNC — but finding the truth is not his only goal. He looks forward to the day when Tweetsie’s little-known history is shared and appreciated amongst the High Country’s modern community, and he has several ideas and plans for the future that can help make that day a reality.

ers establish a Tennessee corporation and fund the railroad they envisioned. Tracks were completed to Hampton, Tennessee by 1881 and the next year to the Cranberry mine.

Later, the founders saw an opportunity to incorporate an existing logging railroad that connected the Cranberry mines to sawmills in Saginaw, which is known today as the unincorporated community of Pineola.

The existing tracks were undergoing renovation when folks in the nearby community of Shull’s Mills, which boasted a growing logging operation of its own, expressed interest in bringing the Tweetsie's Engine No. 10 is pictured alongside a bus that was also operated by the ET&WNC Transportation Company. Pictured among the men standing before them are Engineer Sherman Pippen (far left) and Conductor Cy Crumley to his right.

A Brief History of the Railroad In the wake of the American Civil War, parties from the North and the South came together with a common goal: to establish a railroad system connecting Johnson City, Tennessee to the community of Cranberry, which was home to one of the largest veins of iron ore in the country, in Avery County, North Carolina.

Initially, financial constraints brought the slow-moving project to a halt on several occasions, with its founders often filing bankruptcy before moving from one phase to the next, and the railroad even changed hands between owners a few times throughout the building process.

Beginning in the late 1860's, bonds were issued to help foundApril / May 2016

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A group of men stand beside Engine No. 9 near the Boone Depot along what is now Rivers Street, close to the property that now houses ASU’s Walker Hall. Pictured third from the left is engineer Sherman Pippen. None of the others have been identified.

Additionally, an unidentified child is pictured sitting in the cab.

This image is believed to feature Nat Fletcher, agent for the Newland and Montezuma depots, on the left. Pictured to his right is a man that many enthusiasts believe to be Henry Ford, who often visited the area to visit notable industry leaders like Howard Marmon, who kept a summer home in Pineola. Courtesy of Johnson’s Depot.

Some important discoveries made by various historians over the years include but are not limited to: • A video that historians estimate was filmed around 1937, which shows the adventure of passengers traveling along the narrow gauge railway from Johnson City, Tennessee to Boone for a football game between the institutions now known as Appalachian State University and East Tennessee State University. The footage clearly depicts workers selling Coca Cola products to passengers on the train, as well as the breathtaking views of Grandfather Mountain and some of the football game in Boone. As you watch the video, you can clearly see the train traveling along what is now Rivers Street in downtown Boone. You can also point out landmarks that still stand today, like the Daniel Boone monument and the home of ASU’s founding Dougherty family, which has since been moved to the Mystery Hill attraction in Blowing Rock and restored. Use this link to check out the video on YouTube: (https://youtu.be/4Ws5_UPjDn8) • A collection of photographs depicting the railroad in Boone that sat undeveloped in a camera for more than 60 years. They were finally developed in recent years for publication.

• A poem entitled “Hill Billie’s Plea” written by Annette Vance in December of 1940 following the destruction of the railway by the storm. Little is known of the author, and the poem was included in the 1941 abandonment file at the National Archives. (Shown above.)

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April / May 2016

railroad to their own backyard.

The Dougherty brothers, founders of the teacher’s college that would later become Appalachian State University, were among leaders in the area who agreed that the town of Boone and its residents could also benefit from the connection by railroad to Johnson City and the townships in between.

Eventually, the tracks were completed and the railroad made its way to Boone by 1918 with passenger service beginning the next year.

Covering approximately 66 miles of mountain highlands, the railroad began in Johnson City and traveled on its route through Tennessee stops including Elizabethton, Valley Forge and Hampton, crossed over the Doe River Gorge and through Roan Mountain on its way to the state line.

Once in North Carolina, it continued through or near the communities of Minneapolis, Vale, Newland and Montezuma before dipping down into what is now Pineola. From there, it traveled up through Linville, around the towering Grandfather Mountain, through Foscoe and Shull’s Mills ending in Boone.

The stretch of the railroad from Johnson City to Cranberry was dubbed the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (ET&WNC), and from Cranberry to Boone was known as the Linville River Railway.

The narrow gauge railway utilized several steam engines, most built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in

Pennsylvania.

There’s no definitive explanation for how the “Tweetsie Railroad” earned its treasured nickname, but most folks believe the long and lingering “Tweet Tweet” of the whistle was its namesake.

When it pulled into Boone, the train traveled along what is now Rivers Street on the campus of Appalachian State to the depot, which was situated right at the intersection with what is now Depot Street.

The tracks formed an interesting Y shape on the property that now holds ASU’s Walker Hall, where the train would turn around and back into the depot before

This image comes from valuation records that were required by the railway of the federal government.

Pictured here, you can see the ET&WNC headed for Boone. To its left is the Daniel Boone Monument, and to its right is the football field located by what is now ASU’s Edwin Duncan Hall.

This photograph comes from the Archives of Appalachia at ETSU and is believed to be from the early 1930s. heading back on its way to Tennessee.

Although it was primarily constructed to haul logging materials and other cargo across the state line, the newly created system also served as an exciting form of transportation for local residents seeking transit to and from Boone and Johnson City.

It took almost 30 years to bring the railroad to fruition, and that’s about how long it operated before this short-lived

piece of High Country history seemed to disappear into the hills.

The Storm of 1940 In August of 1940, a storm recognized as Hurricane #3 began to stir in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Puerto Rico. Classified as a tropical storm by the time it hit the East Coast, it brought heavy downpour and severe flooding to western

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Graphic credit to ET&WNC Society President Chris Ford.

Engine No. 11 sits by the Boone Depot, ready to head back toward Tennessee. An engineer is pictured leaning out from the steaming engine as its conductor stands on the ground nearby. Details from the photograph suggest that the train was not carrying an excursion car, which means it was likely carrying both passengers and materials at the time.

Photo courtesy of ASU Public Relations and the Moretz family collection.

IN TENNESSEE: Johnson City.... mile marker 0 Bemberg........... mile marker 8 Elizabethton.... mile marker 9 Coal Chute....... mile marker ??

Hampton.......... mile marker 14 Blevins............... mile marker 20 Roan Mtn. ........ mile marker 0 Shell Creek....... mile marker 0 IN NORTH CAROLINA: Elk Park.............. mile marker 32 Cranberry......... mile marker 34 Minneapolis..... mile marker 36 Newland........... mile marker 41 Montezuma..... mile marker 43 Pineola............... mile marker na Linville............... mile marker 45 Now located in Newland behind the Courthouse

Linvlle Gap....... mile marker 50 Foscoe................ mile marker 55 Shulls Mills....... mile marker 57 Boone................ mile marker 66 30

High Country Magazine

North Carolina.

Devastated by excessive and reckless logging, the forestry and lands of the Blue Ridge hill country were left defenseless against the mighty floods, and much of the railway, which took almost four decades to complete, was destroyed in a matter of days.

By that time, the construction of more reliable roadways had for several years foreshadowed the railroad’s demise. Cars and buses were seen more frequently in town, and the ETWNC owners saw the future of transportation changing before their eyes.

“Road building materials were brought in, and you can see it in the cars in some of the photographs,” said Spiceland. “That’s

April / May 2016

the irony — Tweetsie was hauling in the seeds of its own destruction.”

So, when storm damage struck the railway, which had once represented the promises of a new era, they didn’t fight to bring it back to life. In fact, they were more than ready to let it go.

“There was terrific damage. You can clearly see in some of the old photos how much was destroyed and uprooted,” said Spiceland. “The abandonment was just when something magical left Boone. It was a sad ending, and, you hate to say it, but I really do believe they could’ve kept the railroad. It was losing money, but if they couldn’t just held on for 40 more years …”

In 1941, the Linville River Railway and all of the tracks between Boone and Cran-

These photographs depict the damage done to the tracks in the wake of Hurricane #3, which brought fierce winds and heavy floods to the High Country in 1940. They were taken by ET&WNC Company Vice President W.F. Blackwell and are included in the abandonment file in the National Archives. Pictured are locations including the entrance to Shulls Mills (top center), Shulls Mills (center), Newland (bottom center), the Shulls Mills depot (bottom right) and what is now the golf course at Hound Ears Club (far left). Photos courtesy of the Archives of Appalachia at ETSU.

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Spiceland found this prized model of ET&WNC’s Engine No. 12 at a train show off the mountain. You can see the real Engine No. 12 at Tweetsie Railroad theme park in Blowing Rock, where it’s still in action carrying park guests. Photo by Jessica Isaacs.

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berry were abandoned. The ETWNC continued to run for several years from Cranberry to Elizabethton, but the remainder of the railroad to Elizabethton was abandoned in 1950, along with most of its depots.

Nearly all of the depots have since been destroyed, although the one in Linville was recently moved to Newland and now sits behind the courthouse in Avery County, where local historians are working hard to restore it for the public to enjoy.

David’s Research Let’s fast forward to 1992.

Another 40 years after the railroad’s abandonment, Spiceland takes a teaching job at Appalachian and moves to Boone from out of state.

As an associate professor in communications, he’s focused on sharing his knowledge of the industry with aspiring journalists and media professionals at the university. As a history buff and railroad enthusiast, he’s excited to hear his new friends and neighbors telling tales of the mysterious Tweetsie Railroad that once called the High Country its home.

He knew little to nothing about the railroad when he got here, but as a newcomer to the town was more than interested in digging up its history. Upon looking for more details, he was surprised to find that few in the area seemed to have definitive information about its construction, its life or its abandonment.

His curiosity had been piqued, nonetheless, and he soon set out on what would be more than 20 years of research on the ET&WNC. The communications 32

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April / May 2016

pro channeled his inner historian, and he was ready to learn everything he could about the railroad.

He was prepared to face many of the rumors that continue to float around town about the railway’s perplexing past, and he was determined to differentiate between fact and fiction.

Finding the truth hasn’t been easy, however, and it’s been difficult to find accurate, reliable information.

Spiceland calls libraries, visits archives, interviews people who know about the railroad and who experienced it firsthand, and he collects photographs and maps from a vast array of websites, books and collectors.

As a member of the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Historical Society, he has access to both people who can share their knowledge of the railway and resources like maps, photographs and landmarks he uses to conduct his research.

He knows the route well that the ET&WNC once traveled, and he pays close attention when construction projects happen in its vicinity, just in case spikes and other artifacts are uncovered that might help tell the story.

“Whenever they tear up the road, I try to peek in and see if I can see anything,” Hunting for primary resources and artifacts is tough work, and it can be even more difficult to interpret the information once it’s in hand; but Spiceland knows that every piece of the puzzle is as important as the next, and he’s always ready to explore the possibilities behind each thing he finds.

“There’s a margin of error with histori-

cal research. You have to realize that you’re working to get as close to the truth as you can,” he said. “Sometimes you say, ‘Okay, I’m sure about this.’ Sometimes you say, ‘Well, it’s possible’ or ‘It’s probable.’

“There’s always someone that’s going to disagree with you. Some people say it’s not a valid form of research, but I think it is.”

The deeper he dives into Tweetsie’s past, the more difficult it becomes to find reliable details. Although most of the folks who rode or worked on the railroad have likely passed by now, there may be a few people in the area who have firsthand experiences to share, and Spiceland wants to meet them.

“Many people rode on it,” he said, “and there are very few people left who did.”

Stories and Documents Although they’re hard to come by, firsthand accounts and primary resources are Spiceland’s preferred methods of research. He’s also fascinated with learning the stories of the railroad that can’t be found in official documents, like those pertaining to Tweetsie conductor Cy Crumley.

“I’ve got pictures of him living in this caboose in the middle of where Walker Hall is right now,” said Spiceland. “He had this little punch with the shape of a heart, so he’d punch people’s tickets and it would leave a heart.

They called it ‘the railroad with a heart.’”

Spiceland also enjoys the tales of the ET&WNC stopping along its route to pick up passengers who weren’t at designated stops.

He’s amassed an impressive collection of materials and files on the railroad’s history, like aerial photographs of the route, pictures of the folks boarding the train at various depots, graphics depicting the trail of the 1940 storm, photos of the damage it did to the tracks, archived abandonment documents and so much more.

He has a copy of the only video footage known to exist that shows the inside of the cars as people travel to and from what is now East Tennessee State University and Appalachian State for a football game.

“This video includes the only video we have inside the cars,” said Spiceland.

The footage is what researchers call a “copyright orphan,” meaning that it’s creator and rights holders have not been identified, but Spiceland estimates it was shot around 1937.

He also has a host of incredibly detailed maps, all ranging from areas in or around Boone and Johnson City. Using these maps, he’s able to analyze and base his research on specific locations and details they include.

Many of the maps and photographs he’s collected help him find answers, but many leave him asking even more questions — like the image of a young child sitting in the cab of a Tweetsie engine.

“I’ve always wondered who she is. She may still be alive,” Spiceland said. “I have always wondered whey she’s up there in the cab.”

The photos often have historical markers that help him identify when and where they were taken, and he enjoys comparing images of the same location from dif-

Passengers on an excursion tour along the ET&WNC in the late 1930s are pictured on a stop near the Linville Gap shelter, which can be seen to the left of the railway and was located near what is now known as Invershield.

April / May 2016

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Pictured here, Appalachian State's Beasley Media Complex sits at the corner of Depot and Rivers streets in downtown Boone. The same property was once home to weetsie's Boone depot, and later a bus depot. Today, Spiceland works from an office in this building. Photo by Jessica Isaacs. ferent decades to see how much things have changed.

“That’s the kind of thing I like,” he said.

“I like showing the before and after.”

Occasionally, he’s able to identify structures in the old photographs that are still standing in Boone today, like houses near N.C. Highway 105 and Faculty Street that have been standing long enough to bear witness to the entire affair.

Spiceland said, “I’ve always wanted to go up to that house and say, ‘Hey, did you know … ?”

Past, Present, Future Today, Spiceland is still teaching students at Appalachian State, and he’s still on the hunt for answers to his many questions about the ET&WNC. He works in the oncampus Beasley Media Complex, which sits on the exact piece of property that was once home to Tweetsie’s depot on Boone.

Between classes, he can walk down the hall to the faculty lounge and look out at an expansive view of town. He often watches cars, buses, bicycles, skateboarders and pedestrians traveling up and down Rivers Street, imagining what it must have looked like when Tweetsie journeyed along that very route.

Although 75 years have passed since the Linville River Railway was first abandoned, Spiceland remains determined to unearth as much of the railroad’s secrets as possible and bring a greater awareness of its history to the community.

This plaque, which hangs on the porch at Café Portofino along Rivers Street, commemorates the ET&WNC and its history. It’s said that the building that now houses the restaurant, which sits directly next to the Beasley building, was once used for completing maintenance work on the engines.

“I wish Boone cared more about its history,” he said. “I want to celebrate the history of Boone and Watauga County, and I think one way to do that is celebrate the history of the railroad.”

As a member of the ET&WNC Historical Society, he takes every opportunity to get together with others who share his interest in the railroad’s mysterious story.

After all, the more we learn about the people and events that came before us, the more we understand about who we are and what it means to call the High Country our home.

“I’ve always loved trains — I guess I’m a little boy at heart. I love talking about the Tweetsie, even though I didn’t grow up around here. Not to be trite, but it’s an important part of our history,” said Spiceland. “The progress of a people, I think, is marked by their transportation systems — their roads, their trains, if they happen to have railroads. That brings us here and encourages some people to stay. It helps businesses survive, and the school, I think, depended on the train.”

“I love history and I love people’s stories. The more that we can record what these people did, the more it becomes important to who we are today and who we will be tomorrow. Who’s going to tell our story when we’re gone?”

In the future, Spiceland hopes to see historical markers placed around what was once the Boone Depot — an idea shared by his former student and railroad enthu-

siast Kyle Grove.

Additionally, he’s open to speaking to any local groups who are interested in Tweetsie’s history, and he’s encouraging folks who may have more knowledge of the ET&WNC’s past to come forward with any information that could be helpful to his research.

Right now, he’s working to raise funds to create a film project that will share what’s known about the railway’s past and to draw more attention to its history from local people.

If you’re ready to experience what little is left of the ET&WNC, stop by the Bemberg Depot, which stands abandoned near Elizabethton, Tennessee. Make time to visit the original Linville Depot, which has since been relocated to Newland and is being reconstructed behind the Avery County Courthouse — an open house will be held for the completed project on May 29.

As Spiceland continues his work to unearth the mysteries of the ET&WNC, he believes there are still landmark discoveries waiting to be made, with many artifacts and telltale photographs sitting with local families in their homes. Those hidden gems are what he’s looking for, and he hopes to hear from more and more local people as the secrets continue to unravel over the coming years.

If you recognize any of the people in these photos or have information that could help shed light on their history, Spiceland encourages you to contact him through the university. 

• 1866: The ET&WNC is chartered on May 24 in Tennessee. • 1879: Work on constructing the railroad continues after financial trouble.

• 1881: The railroad reached Cranberry, North Carolina and the iron ore mine. • 1882: The line officially opens to Cranberry on July 3.

• 1899: The railroad is extended to the community of Saginaw, now known as Pineola. Tracks on the North Carolina side of the Cranberry depot become known as the Linville River Railway.

• 1915: A sawmill is established at Shulls Mills, North Carolina. • 1916: The railway extension to Shulls Mills, which rivals Boone at the time in population, is completed in September.

• 1918: A $24,000 bond is issued and the railway is extended to Boone. • 1919: Regular passenger service from Johnson City to Boone begins in January.

• 1926: The ET&WNC Transportation Company is formed in December, and the beginnings of the bus service industry begins to undermine the rail service.

• 1940: Hurricane #3 encircles Boone, causing massive flooding across the High Country. • 1941: The rail service from Boone to Cranberry is abandoned on March 22.

• 1950: The railroad runs for its final time from Cranberry to Elizabethton, Tennessee on Oct. 16. At this time, rails are taken up from Elizabethton to Johnson City.

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High Country Magazine

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BROOKE BINGHAM

Pitch Perfect

By Allison West

“Hey, Mom, can I play soccer?”

T

hat question is asked on a yearly basis by an unscientifically bajillion pre-pubescent girls and boys dreaming of becoming the next Alex Morgan or Lionel Messi. More precisely, as of 2006, the U.S. was the number one country in the world for participation in youth soccer with 2.3 million boys and 1.6 million girls between the ages five to 19 registered with U.S. Soccer. Today, the U.S. has more registered girls playing soccer than all other countries combined. However, for numerous reasons – talent, passion, geographical location, time constraints, financial resources … or lack thereof – kids’ national team hopes can be quickly dashed.

But that doesn’t mean that the majority won’t spend some enjoyable years in rec leagues and travel leagues, high school and possibly college developing a lifelong love for the game as a player and a spectator. So when a skinny, toe-headed 11-year-old kid, sitting in front of her television in tiny West Jefferson, NC, transfixed by a professional soccer game, a game she had never even played before, asked that very question seven years ago, it seemed fairly ordinary. But 17-year-old phenom Brooke Bingham is anything but ordinary. Indeed, her journey thus far has been extraordinary.

In fall of 2017, Brooke, a homeschooled high school junior, will enroll as a freshman at the University of North Carolina,

Photos by Peter Morris

36

High Country Soccer Association's U10 Academy Girls team surrounds Brooke Bingham, who was recently appointed as the new team's coach. Says Brooke about why she wants to coach young girls, in particular: "Hopefully they will look up to me and ask for advice as I always looked up to (HCSA's) Kiki (Wallace) and Ben (Birdsong) when they coached me."

High Country Magazine April / May 2016

From scoring goals to achieving them, Ashe County soccer phenom Brooke Bingham is making a run for a strong finish. where she will major in Sports Management and play under legendary coach Anson Dorrance for a storied program that currently boasts a record 21 national titles. She hopes to help the Tar Heels add another title or four to the record books. Her dreams don’t end there, however. “I want to play professionally,” she says. “Going to UNC is not her final destination,” adds Martina Bingham, Brooke’s mother. The milestone is to get the U20 level of the national team – that level does CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, a FIFA World Cup qualifier), the Olympics.

She wants to do something with soccer. It doesn’t stop.” Brooke

In 2011, as a member of HCSA's U13 Girls team, Brooke proudly displays the first of many hardearned accolades. Her dedication has led to a soccer scholarship to play for UNC-Chapel Hill in 2017.

Brooke contemplates her options on the pitch as a defensive midfielder for Region III and ODP. April / May 2016

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provides an exclamation point: “It’s about setting goals. I’ve never really thought about stopping. My dream is to play for the (U.S. Women’s) National Team.”

In the fall of 2009, shortly after the query that set her future in motion, Brooke’s parents, Danny and Martina Bingham, signed her up to play with the Ashe County Rec League, where she spent her inaugural season under the mentorship of former German men’s national team player Ed Duerr. Even then Brooke began putting in the extra work, arriving early to practices where Duerr, already in his 70s then, taught her soccer’s main ingredient: how to pass. Duerr instinctively picked up on an undercurrent of raw skill, and told Martina that her daughter had talent. Around that same time, Kiki Wallace, director of coach-

“It’s about setting goals. I’ve never really thought about stopping. My dream is to play for the (U.S. Women’s) National Team.”

– BROOKE BINGHAM

Danny and Martina Bingham, Brooke's dedicated parents.

"I wouldn't be where I am without my parents," says Brooke.

Brooke (top left, back row) sports the black armband as captain with Region III in Como, Italy.

Brooke has played four times with the U18 and U19 U.S. Women's National Teams. Her dream, she says, "is to play for the U.S. Women's National Team."

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ing for Boone’s High Country Soccer Association (HCSA), had been scouting players to recruit for the club’s travel program and stumbled upon Brooke. The fact that she was a head taller than all the other kids certainly made her stand out, he says, but mostly Wallace took notice because “Brooke was one of the more engaged kids in the game. She was by no means a good soccer player, but she had the two ingredients – athleticism and passion – I was looking for.”

Wooed by Wallace and encouraged by an HCSA parent, Brooke and her parents made the transition in the spring of 2010 to HCSA’s newly formed U12 Girls B team, for which she played three seasons followed by an additional year with the U13 Girls team. In the world of youth soccer, Brooke’s entry into the game at age 11 was fashionably late. While the U.S. lags behind other soccer-obsessed nations, where children begin playing at ages 2 and 3, U.S. kids still receive their initial introduction to youth soccer programs around ages 4 and 5. Brooke had about seven years of catching up to do, which she proceeded to do in just two years with HCSA. Her progression was off the charts, recalls Wallace. “I thought she could develop into a good soccer player, but I had no idea the rate we would see Brooke develop over the next few years. I’ve never seen a player go from where she was as a player at 11 years old to where she was by age 13, and then 14, and then 15, and to where she is now.”

Now would be Brooke’s status as an elite athlete, a 5’ 8.5” attacking midfielder for the NC Fusion U18 ECNL team, and the first 2017 recruit for the University of North Carolina, where she will play for the storied program under legendary coach Anson Dorrance. But let’s back up. How has she reached this particular milestone?

Wallace credits Brooke’s off-field dedication. “You don’t excel at the rate she did unless you’re spending that extra time with the ball,” he points out. “Brooke invests in the two ingredients I believe are needed to become a special player and reach full potential. First, she spends hours upon hours of her own time with a soccer ball, training with a soccer ball. Many kids go out and kick around and goof off with a soccer ball, but Brooke puts in countless hours of purposeful training, and it’s fun for her. Secondly, she watches the game both in person and on TV. She is a student of the game and has a high soccer IQ because of the time she invests in watching the game.”

Brooke, on the other hand, gives props to Wallace in large part for instilling in her a categorical love for the game. “HCSA helped me so much because Kiki and Ben (Birdsong, a former HCSA coach who is

Photos by Peter Morris

Brooke works out with a personal trainer two to three times per week at Dynamic Fitness and Performance in Boone.

Currently the workouts are aiding in her recovery from an ACL tear she suffered at Interregionals in Florida last November.

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now head women’s soccer coach at Shorter University in Georgia) just let me have fun. That was a huge part in how far I made it.” Wallace acknowledges that HCSA’s philosophy is “that the game needs to be fun… I think kids get burned out when the game is no longer fun, mostly due to emphasizing results at the expense of the developing player skills.” But amidst the fun there was – and is – a white-hot competitive streak running through Brooke’s veins.

Unbeknownst to Wallace and Birdsong, Brooke watched the pair juggle and do tricks at practice and then headed home to mimic them … determined to ultimately best them. “I would go home and juggle for an hour because I wanted to do tricks better than them,” she says.

“Just seeing all the tricks they did, I said, ‘I’m going to do that one day.’”

That level of commitment and her Brooke goes strong to goal with NC Fusion ECNL. Her coach, Patrick Bridges, ever-impressive evolvement as a U13 says Brooke is "delightful" off the field, but "once it's game time, that look changes player, made it apparent, says Martina, and you do not want to mess with Brooke, case closed." that Brooke would benefit from the increased competition that could be found “off the mountain.” So the family made the decision to after returning from camp, UNC’s recruiting staff contacted NC move Brooke to Twin City Youth Soccer Association in Winston Fusion’s Andy Butler, the club’s then ECNL Director, and asked Salem, where she played on the U14 Girls premier team for one Brooke to come for a visit. year before making the jump to the Greensboro-based U15 Girls The Binghams headed to Chapel Hill to watch one of the Tar NC Fusion ECNL (Elite Clubs National League) team, where she Heels’ pre-season trainings. Afterwards, Dorrance asked Brooke to would be part of and play against the accompany him on a car ride. A bundle best girls in the country. Throughout of exposed nerves, Brooke went on a these many transitions, starting at age joy ride with the most famous women’s 12, Brooke was involved with North college soccer coach (one of the most faCarolina ODP (Olympic Development mous coaches, period) in the country. He Program), whose primary mission is to asked her about school, what her dreams identify elite level Region III (Southeastwere, what she wanted to major in, nothern U.S., spanning from Texas to North ing about soccer, Brooke recalls. Her Carolina) players and facilitate their senerves settled. And that’s when she knew lection to the U.S. National Team proshe wanted to play for Dorrance. But grams. The selection process takes place when did the coach know that he needed through state, regional and national her in a baby-blue uniform? “Anson told trials. Each year, Brooke survived the me one of the reasons he recruited me rounds of monthly cuts and was selected was because of my athleticism,” Brooke to attend Region III camp at Alabama’s says. But it’s the next reason that makes University of Montevallo in June. In her Brooke smile. “When he was watching third year she was selected to the Region me play the first time, I went in for a one – BROOKE BINGHAM III team. That distinction was followed v. one tackle with the goalie. The goalie by an invitation as an alternate for National Training Camp in totally wiped me out, but he said his comment to himself at the Arizona in February 2014, followed by a spot at Interregionals time was, ‘That’s Tar Heel material.’” “He said she also has an eye,” in Florida that November. Between Alabama and Florida, which adds Martina, “that she was incredibly athletic and could play all incidentally is where a UNC scout had honed in on Brooke, she positions. He said she was national team material.” squeezed in a last-minute camp to Chapel Hill. Remarkably humTrue, Brooke is nothing if not versatile: She plays center deble and unassuming, Brooke never imagined she had what it takes fensive back for national camp, defensive midfielder for Region to play for a program of UNC’s caliber. “I didn’t think I would be III and ODP and attacking midfielder for NC Fusion. “That’s able to play at that level. Doing ODP my last years I was probably helped me so much. I don’t think I would have been recruited the better player on the teams, but at the national camps I was by UNC if I only played one position,” Brooke speculates. The knocked back down.” Not too far down, apparently. The week Hall of Fame coach officially made her a scholarship shortly af-

“When (Anson) was watching me play the first time, I went

in for a one v. one tackle with the goalie. The goalie totally

wiped me out, but he said his

comment to himself at the time was, ‘That’s Tar Heel material.’”

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As of press time, Brooke is entering month four of the six- to nine-month recovery period, the majority of which is taking place at Boone’s Paul H. Broyhill Wellness Center. But she continues to work on gaining strength in her knee at Dynamic Fitness and Performance in Boone, where she works out for 30 minutes three times a week (down from her typical inseason regimen of an hour-long twice a week sessions), under the guidance of owners and strength and conditioning professionals Amy Elliott and Dave Shableski.

There she undergoes a series of exercises such as step ups, mini squats, leg presses and lunges.

Eventually she will reach the point in her recovery where she Brooke was 11 when HCSA Director of Coaching Kiki Wallace recruited her to play travel soccer for his U12 Girls can incorporate jogging, sprints, agility exercises, dribbling and B team. She had only played one season of rec soccer at that point, but "she had the two ingredients – athleticism shooting, scrimmaging and finally, competitive play. Despite the and passion – I was looking for," he remembers. setback, neither Brooke’s work ethic nor her enviable determinater the ride, says Martina. “Brooke wanted to jump out of her skin,” she laughs, “but tion has wavered. In fact, if it’s possible, her we said we needed to think about it.” They resolve has strengthened. “Tearing my ACL has made me realize not to take one minute didn’t have to think long.

After committing to an athletic scholar- on the field for granted. I am going to train ship at UNC, it would be understandable to even harder to get to the highest level posexpend less energy and reduce risk by tuck- sible for me. The road to success is not easy. ing into the metaphorical tailwind of secu- There are many challenges to overcome, rity. But that’s not Tar Heel material. Since like injuries.”

Encouragement came quickly to Brooke the offer, Brooke upped her game both physically and mentally, continuing to shine from numerous sources, including Coach on her club team; playing four times for the Dorrance, who just after the injury phoned U18 and U19 national teams; making an Brooke to say, “Make no mistake, you will appearance as team captain in Como, Italy, be back better than before”, and her curwith Region III last April; selected as one of rent ECNL club coach, Patrick Bridges, the top 11 players from a pool of more than who describes Brooke as “delightful,” “al80 of the best female soccer players at the ways smiling and laughing with her coaches prestigious 2015 Nike National Training and teammates”…until she hits the field.

Camp in Portland, Ore.; and most recent- The portrait Bridges paints of Brooke’s litly taking the pitch with the 98 Girls team eral game face underscores Dorrance’s conat Interregionals in Florida in November fidence in Brooke’s return to form: “Once 2015. It was there, in the final game of the it’s training or game time, that look changes and you do not want to mess with Brooke, last day, where she tore her ACL. As soon as she went down, Brooke says, case closed. She will find a way to beat you she knew the damage that had been done. or run herself into the ground trying. She “The trainer didn’t have to say anything,” does not want to come off the field, she she remembers. “My first thought was, ‘I just does not want to let her team down and she tore my ACL.’ Then I remember thinking to does not want to lose.”

Brooke’s competitive flair is built natumyself, ‘Why did this happen to me?’ I didn’t understand because I was in top shape. I was rally into her DNA. Martina, born in Stutcrying not because of the pain, but because I tgart, Germany, was a martial arts maverick as a kid, and Brooke says her mom’s killer knew how long the recovery would be.”

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instinct surfaces even during a so-called friendly game of pingpong. Dad Danny played basketball in high school in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio; middle sister Erin is a championship track star at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, NC; and oldest sister Kimberly, who recently graduated from Mars Hill College, is part of the four-person alliance that typically forms to beat Martina even at board games. Brooke’s frustration at her inability to execute intense training and daily workouts is straightforward: “Now that I’m injured, I look back and realize I should have done more.”

Her misgivings are both admirable and surprising. For the last five years she and her family have sacrificed what some people take for granted: time. Infinite hours have been spent in cars for thrice weekly round-trips to Winston-Salem and Greensboro for practices; club games and national team camps from Maryland to Virginia, Ohio to Indiana, Florida to California; hitting the pitch for daily workouts and training sessions. And somewhere between the soccer commitments,

“Always follow your dreams and don’t give up,” she asserts. “Set your goals higher than you think you can ever reach.”

– BROOKE BINGHAM

Brooke leads practice with the HCSA U10 Academy Girls, followed by some post-training socks and cleats modeling.

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there’s school. You know, learning things like math and science and language arts. Explaining why Brooke’s parents chose the homeschooling route is stating the obvious. But Brooke had actually been homeschooled right up until her freshman year in high school, when she attempted to transition to Ashe County High School, where she remained only through the first semester of her sophomore year. Suffice it to say that the public school academic calendar doesn’t exactly carve out time for students to attend national camps for weeks at a time.

“It was so stressful,” Brooke recalls of trying to juggle school and travel commitments. “But it worked out.”

But what if it didn’t? It’s a parent’s nature to make sacrifices for their child, but how do you know when the sacrifices are misguided, when it’s more of the parents’ desires than the child’s? How do you decide if your child isn’t good enough to put the entire family through such a rigorous daily challenge?

“Danny and I always thought we wouldn’t do it if she weren’t good enough,” explains Martina. “As a parent, that’s a difficult decision to make. We thought she was good, but we thought that’s because we were her parents. We questioned it a lot. I will say that if you see potential, go for it. But parental support is everything. I don’t care how much talent you have, you cannot do it without your parents.” And while the whole family makes sacrifices for Brooke, Martina adds, “Danny is the one who does most of the driving. I give him a lot of credit.”

Echoes Brooke: “I wouldn’t be where I am without my parents. Most kids burn out because their parents burn them out, but my parents have done a really good job,” she notes, praising the tightrope they walk between overwhelming pressure

and reasonable expectation. “Some parents on my team praise their kids and are happy with the level they are at. Mom and Dad have always said they are happy, but that I can always get better. They’re right, you can never be happy with where you are. You have to keep pushing.”

Which brings us back to what makes Brooke so unique: her relentless combative spirit. “Being competitive is a really big thing in soccer. If you lose the ball, you go get it back. You have to win it back.”

Brooke’s combination of “remarkable athleticism and technical proficiency” is undoubtedly special, purports Wallace, but “the part of Brooke’s game that kids should emulate is her work ethic, desire and dedication. She didn’t become a successful player by doing what millions of kids in America are doing in going to soccer practice twice per week and playing a couple games on the weekend. She has trained every day and worked hard to get where she is. She spends time with the ball every day, she’s in the weight room, improving her fitness, and watching games as a student of the game and not just a fan.”

Bridges accentuates Wallace’s point, stressing that Brooke “is a phenomenal athlete, but she also takes care of her body.

Brooke with HCSA Director of Coaching Kiki Wallace, who she credits as one of her primary inspirations. "I would go home and juggle for an hour because I wanted to do tricks better than (him)," she recalls of her years with HCSA. She keeps a healthy diet and works out nearly every day she is not at training. She’s always maintaining her fitness outside of soccer. … To be a special player you have to have a special mentality. Brooke has a mentality like I have only seen in only one or two players. Her training habits and

work rate are normally harder and more intense than actual games, therefore one of the main reasons she makes the game of soccer look so easy.” Plus, he adds, in what may be the most critical ingredient to success, “She is never satisfied with where she is. She has always been the best or one

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of the best players on the field, and for most athletes they settle at that point and become complacent. Brooke, on the other hand, is the opposite. If she is the best girl in the club, she wants to be better than the boys in the club. She’s constantly looking to be the best.”

Even now, as accolades and distinctions are discussed, Brooke, unsolicited, states, “I think my foot skills need to be better.” Having personally witnessed her command of the game on the field – the precision, the accuracy, the proficiency, the efficiency, the

Inside

Brooke Bingham She may eat, sleep and breathe the beautiful game, but Brooke reveals she also has a few other favorite things: Singer: Sam Smith Song: “Like I Can” by Sam Smith TV Show: “Criminal Minds” Movie: The Hunger Games (“all of them!!”)

Book: The Vision of a Champion by Anson Dorrance Food: Pizza and Pretzels, or following a long soccer weekend, a “hamburger and fries” Hobbies: If she’s not playing soccer, Brooke admits, she’s usually watching it. But she loves the outdoors and spends some free time hiking, swimming and fishing.

Inspirations: Kiki Wallace, Ben Birdsong, Kebrina Keys Professional Team: Liverpool Male Athlete: Steven Gerrard (former Liverpool captain) Female Athlete: Becky Sauerbrunn (USWNT defender, who Brooke says is “so good but doesn’t get noticed enough. I’ve watched her play and taken notes, and she doesn’t make bad plays.”)

Pre-Game Ritual: Listening to slow music, like Sam Smith and Adele. “I like getting really calm before I play. A lot of girls like getting pumped up, but I like getting calm. I picture myself on the field and think about what I’m going to do. I get so nervous before every game. A good nervous, though. That’s why I like getting really calm.”

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athleticism, the anticipation, the awareness – further improvement is hard to fathom. But you hang national team goals on mastery, not adequacy. “I never thought I would be where I am now,” she acknowledges. But her devotion to mind and body (eating healthy, drinking a lot of water, getting enough sleep, profound work ethic) is complemented by her faith. “My motivation comes from God,” she asserts. Martina concurs: “I subscribe a lot of Brooke’s success to our faith. She’s been blessed with a talent, being at the right place at the right time. But the odds have been stacked against her -- where we live, her injury. The injury was a setback, but I can see a divine intervention.

No matter what happens, she still comes out on top.”

Brooke’s ongoing hopes for the future involve soccer in manifold iterations: a tremendously successful college career at UNC, gainful employment with a professional team, the rare honor of representing the United States as a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team, and, finally, coaching … in college, for a club, wherever she can ignite a spark. “I think it’s important to have someone to look up to for motivation,” she insists, “to realize dreams really do come true. I would really like to coach younger girls in club soccer. Hopefully they will look up to me and ask for advice as I always looked up to Kiki and Ben when they coached me.”

As Brooke works diligently to return to fighting form in the next few months, she is concurrently fulfilling another future objective far earlier than anticipated -coaching a girls club team. HCSA was recently in need of someone (preferably female) to helm a U10 Academy Girls squad comprised of 10 nine to 10-year-old girls. Wallace’s thoughts immediately turned to Brooke.

“I knew she is currently rehabbing from injury and unable to play herself,” he says. “It’s a great opportunity for sidelined players to stay connected to the game.” In a nice twist, Brooke will be working directly alongside someone she herself idolized as an emerging player: Kebrina Keys, a former HCSA star who just wrapped up a four-year career as forward/midfielder for Appalachian State University’s Women’s Soccer Team. Keys will be leading the U9 Girls team. “I always looked up to her because she really loved the game and was going to play in college,” Brooke reflects. “And that’s what I wanted to do.”

Brooke is now on the other side of that equation, set to become a role model to the aspiring athletes under her charge. So what words will she impart as inspiration?

“Always follow your dreams and don’t give up,” she asserts. “Set your goals higher than you think you can ever reach.”

You mean like stepping foot on the hallowed grounds carved up by the cleats of Hamm, Chastain, Morgan, Wambach, Lloyd, Sauerbrunn? Because that’s not just a fantasy anymore, it’s a destination. The captivated little kid who asked her mom if she could play a sport she’d never played before is now making a run for a strong finish, soccer parlance for "scoring goals ... and achieving them.". And as Brooke works toward a high percentage shot as a USWNT player, Wallace, for his part, is ready to queue up, declaring, “I’ll be first in line to buy a ticket!” ♦

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P henomenal Journey First-Time Author and Boone Resident Leigh Ann Henion Comes of Age in Her Craft While Exploring Far-Flung Corners of the Earth STORY By Kate Cahow PHOTOS BY LEIGH ANN HENION

A

Paperback cover of Phenomenal, 2016

t 4,200 feet elevation, the air is cool and heavy with moisture – no heat to be had from Kilauea Volcano, the crater glowing in the distance. Leigh Ann Henion is encircled by a group of young hula initiates and their instructor Keikilani Curnan, privy to an ancient interchange of natural phenomena and spiritual practice about to take place.

Curnan and her students are present to pay homage to Pele, goddess of fire, who resides within Kilauea, the most active of Hawaii’s five volcanoes. Henion is present to bear witness to the event.

As Kilauea smolders, active yet docile beneath a mantle of sulfuric acid, the girls tune their voices to the volcano’s reflecting pitch. Their offering to Pele builds, sweet vocals expanding and merging into one. Henion takes note: “Each line of the chant is a flow of smooth lava, new slipping over old … a show of transformation, life longing for itself in molten stone and the soft tones of voices just beginning to come into their own.”

Lyrical and vivid, Henion’s words encapsulate a single moment in the weave of natures’ tapestry. One moment among many that culminates in what was for her truly the journey of a lifetime. A journey that took her to five continents and two islands over a period of five years. A journey with a firm intention: seek out and witness several of the earth’s most spectacular natural phenomena, then chronicle the entirety.

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“

If you pay close attention with all your senses you start to see connections everywhere all the time...

because everything is connected.

”

Her list of must-see marvels could surely turn many a seasoned-world travelers’ backpacks green with envy: • Tracking the world’s largest annual migration of wildebeest, zebra, giraffe and other hungry critters in search of greener pastures across Tanzania; • Camping out in a stilt village – or palafino – beneath the near-continuous raging of Catatumbo lightning storms on Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela; • Swimming in a sea of plankton-induced bioluminescence – or living light – in Vieques, Puerto Rico; • And gazing into the miracle of a monarchfilled sky on a mountaintop in Mexico’s Sierra Madres – over-wintering site of the entire North American Monarch population.

Leigh Ann Henion, pictured above, was privy to an upclose-and-personal performance of hula students chanting to Pele, goddess of fire, at Kīlauea Volcano in Haaii’s Volcanoes National Park. Hula, considered by native Hawaiians to be an ancient spiritual practice, honors the natural phenomena of their beautiful island home.

(See sidebar for a complete list of Henion’s phenomena chasing.)

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Horses from the village of Macheros, Mexico, can be hired to transport visitors to the monarch’s overwintering site at the top of Bald Mountain.

During her trip to Sweden to pursue the Northern Lights, Henion stayed in the original ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi. Each winter, the hotel is built with ice harvested from the Torne River, and each summer it melts back into the waterway. During the daylight hours, she had the opportunity to spend time with reindeer herders.

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In 2015, with the publishing of her first book, Phenomenal: A Hesitant Adventurer’s Search for Wonder in the Natural World, Henion accomplished her goal. Her effort has been praised by O, The Oprah Magazine, Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love) and Ruth Ozeki (author of A Tale for the Time Being), among others.

Penguin Press released the book in paperback recently. The publisher writes of Phenomenal, “Convinced that the greatest key to happiness … lies in periodically allowing herself to venture into the wider world beyond home, Henion sets out on a global trek to rekindle her sense of wonder …

[Her] wanderlust puts her in the path of modernday shamans, reindeer herders, and astrophysicists … seekers [who] trust their instincts, follow their passions, shape their days into the lives they most want to lead.”

Ozeki writes, “Reading Phenomenal will give you courage – courage to explore the world we live in … courage to explore yourself.”

And Gilbert, a favorite author of Henion’s, suggests the book poses a powerful question to today’s modern women regarding their love of and pursuit of adventure: “Is it possible to be a wife and mother and still explore the world? [Henion’s] answer seems to be that this is not only possible, but essential.” (Read sidebar for further praise of the book.)

Over the past decade and a half – and years before she put pen to paper on Phenomenal, Henion has proven herself a highly adept and gifted writer, focusing her talents primarily in the genre of travel writing. Her feature articles have appeared in The Washington Post Magazine, Smithsonian, The New York Times, Orion, Oxford American, Southern Living and Our State Magazine. She’s also a winner of the Lowell Thomas Award.

An assignment to cover the monarch migration for The Washing Post Magazine in 2007 sparked Henion’s epiphany to enlist her wanderlust in the shaping of her first book. Memories of the experience sustained her when three years later she was struggling with major life challenges: the birth of her son, questions and doubts facing all young mothers, insomnia, lack of time and energy to keep up with friends, with health issues, with her life outside the home.

In the introduction to Phenomenal, Henion elucidates her decision to pursue a wish list of natural phenomena she dreamed up years ago by asking, “Couldn’t exploring just a few of earth’s most dazzling natural phenomena … make the world similarly new again, reawakening that sort of wonder within me?”

The answer to that question was a resounding “yes!” And since then, whether at her beloved home in Boone, NC on the New River or somewhere on the other side of the world, Henion has been in pursuit of what she calls “an epic quest for wonder.”

Family, friends and fans gathered at Appalachian Mountain Brewery in Boone to celebrate with Henion the publishing of Phenomenal in March of 2015.

“

Writing is important to me because it’s how I make sense of things. It’s a process of discovery

”

— and often of self discovery.

Growing into Her Writer’s Skin I first met Leigh Ann back in 2002, a vivacious, lovely young woman, full of laughter and smiles. We shared a love of writing and talked about the challenges of freelancing.

Over the next 14 years I followed her career, impressed and inspired by her get-out-there-and-just-do-it attitude. Impressed by her talent.

Articles published in the country’s most prestigious magazines! A published and successful book! Wow! When presented with the opportunity to write about her for High Country Magazine, to hear her story, go back to the roots of her journey as a writer, well, how could I resist?

Henion grew up with a deep sense of place, and this certainly contributed to the type of writing she would choose to focus on.

A North Carolina native and child of public school employees, she’s lived in every corner of the state, including Perquimans County in rural Eastern North Carolina during her high school years. A house in the middle of a huge cotton field, the Perquimans River and Albemarle Sound nearby, cypress trees and Spanish moss.

She was an avid reader and lover of literature from early on. Books were nighttime companions – she snuggled up to and slept with the written word. Her mother fed and encouraged this love, and crafted tiny blank books for the young storyteller to record and illustrate her imaginings.

Wildebeest saunter in the middle of the road, blocking traffic as they make their way across Tanzania in search of green pastures.

“We’d been watching the largest wildebeest herd I’d seen in the Serenghetti, roughly 10,000 animals grazing and shuffling their feet in migration,” Henion writes of the experience.

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“I wrote my first novel in middle school,” Henion laughs, mirthful at the remembrance of this initial literary effort.

“It was a great adventure story about a girl and her grandfather out in the American Southwest. Everyone in my family took note. ‘Leigh Ann is writing a book!’” Her tone feigning their amazement.

Always enamored of stories and the story-telling process, Henion was drawn to other forms of chronicling the world around her. While pursuing cultural studies at UNC-Asheville she got excited about photography, recognizing the companionability of film and text to hone in on detail, to craft narrative.

After receiving her bachelor’s degree at UNCA, she headed north to The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Maine where she completed a graduate certificate in documentary studies. Quite the achiever when it comes to academia, Henion also holds an M.A. in Appalachian Studies from Appalachian State University, and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Queens University in Charlotte.

A year out from Maine, Henion found herself couch-surfing with friends in Boone, contemplating her next

April / May 2016

step. Amidst a childhood of occasional relocations and school changes, the High Country region was what she refers to as “the one constant in my life.” She grew to love the area while spending summers at Camp Broadstone in Valle Crucis. Still a dreamer and would-be purveyor of words and images, she hit on writing for the local newspaper as her next gig. She began attending the Mountain Times’ editorial meetings, back when Ken Ketchie was the publisher.

“There wasn’t a job for me, but I showed up and announced I’d like to write some feature articles,” she says. “I came up with ideas, gave myself assignments, and turned in story after story.”

The Phenomena in Leigh Ann Henion’s Phenomenal Monarch Butterfly Migration, Mexico Each year, nearly 250 million monarchs, from all over North America, gather in a small mountainous swath of land in Mexico to wait out winter. An assignment to write about this phenomena for The Washington Post Magazine partially inspired Henion’s larger pilgrimage.

Bioluminescence, Puerto Rico In Mosquito Bay, plankton-induced bioluminescence appears to mirror stars in the night sky.

Catatumbo Lightning, Venezuela The Catatumbo lightning—a near-continuous nocturnal lightning storm—rages more than 300 nights a year over the rivers that feed Lake Maracaibo.

Volcanic Eruption, Hawaii Kílauea has been active—as far as volcanologists know—since its formation roughly 300,000600,000 years ago.

Northern Lights, Sweden When Henion was in pursuit of the northern lights above the Arctic Circle, she drove a reindeer sledge and slept in the original ICEHOTEL.

The Great Migration, Tanzania This mammal migration—consisting of wildebeest, zebra, and other animals—constitutes the largest in the world.

Total Solar Eclipse, Australia A total solar eclipse occurs with the moon completely covers the sun, making its corona—and the movement of earth—visible. Henion witnessed one in Queensland, Australia, not far from the Great Barrier Reef.

Photos courtesy of Leigh Ann Henion, the US Geological Survey Department and other sources.

“I kept doing this until they finally brought me on as a staff writer and photographer,” she says.

In the end, her time at the newspaper proved the perfect training ground for a freelance writer. The day-to-day tasks of preparing for and conducting interviews, writing and rewriting copy, and working with editors became secondary to her as she crafted stories about the people inhabiting her adopted home.

“I fashioned my own version of Humans of New York – the King Street Stories,” she recalls, memories of her interviews bubbling up. “I’d take a photo of someone at

work, interview them, then pull a quote and publish it with the portrait.”

“I found that no matter what people’s occupation, whether a midwife, the guy who plowed the snow-filled streets of Boone, someone who worked at the old movie theatre or even the late Charles Church about his broccoli, they all had a kind of life philosophy that connected to their work.

“That was meaningful to me in so many ways. I was providing a conduit for people’s stories and that felt like a special role to play in the community. I loved the project, and I loved my time at the paper.

It was a great place to begin writing, to explore my curiosity.”

These many years later, as a young writer coming of age in her craft, a wife and mother, an English composition instructor at Appalachian until this past fall, and still a resident of her beloved Boone, Henion marvels at the trajectory her journey has taken – her journey to Phenomenal.

“It’s like I’m coming full circle,” she says. “I began writing at the Mountain Times with Ken Ketchie as my first editor, and now I’m celebrating the publishing of Phenomenal in his magazine.” Her voice rises, “What are the chances?”

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While tracking the Great Migration through Tanzani, Henion encountered hippos, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest and more. Scientists generally believe the event is related to weather. “These animals are not focused on a destination or goal,” she writes. “They are simply ... headed toward life, greenery ... toward wherever they seasonally need to be.”

Bringing the Journey Home to Bear It’s mid-December 2015 and I’m on the phone with Leigh Ann. She’s recounting some of the details included on the copyright page of Phenomenal. To say that the voice coming through the receiver is anything short of ecstatic would be a huge understatement.

“Kate! The Library of Congress referred to me as a woman shaman. Can you believe it?” Henion’s laughter is girlish, sweet and contagious. She is reveling in the experience, pinching herself with the delight of a hard-won accomplishment, yet absolutely cognizant of the huge effort it took to get to this place.

The Library of Congress has indeed referred to her as a woman shaman. The fact is, in the process of writing Phenomenal, also referred to as a spiritual biography and memoir, Henion came face to face with herself as an artist reaching a pinnacle in her craft, a modern-day shaman who believes in that which cannot be seen but can be discerned and felt with the senses, the heart.

Given the scope of the book – that she travelled to far-flung corners of the world to experience her list of seven natural wonders – and the huge amount of travel and logistics details she had to coordinate, she says she still marvels that the project came together as it did. It involved a very serious proposal, and a lot about it wasn’t clear in the beginning. But she kept repeating to herself, “I’m going to do this. It’s probably the most ambitious project I could think of but I’m going to do it.”

In hindsight she believes she was embarking upon a pilgrimage, though to what end she wasn’t certain. “I didn’t know it was a pilgrimage at the time. I could only sense the potential was there. That’s part of the story, why it’s extraordinary. I felt compelled to pursue this path.”

The experience left her with an enduring sense of interconnectivity – a feeling of being connected to all living things, including that which we can neither see nor explain. She could

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“

It’s like I’m coming full circle. I began writing at the Mountain Times with Ken Ketchie as my first editor, and now I’m celebrating the publishing of Phenomenal in his magazine.

”

What are the chances?

no longer look at one phenomenon without seeing a connection to another.

“I’d be standing on the edge of a volcano and learn about something called infrasound, a sound emitted by volcanoes that’s beyond the range of human hearing yet still can be measured,” she said. “Then while I’m gazing up into the Northern Lights I learn that they too emit this sound.

“If you pay close attention with all your senses you start to see connections everywhere all the time. And while you’re looking and experiencing, the extraneous falls away. You sense that you’re insignificant, yet somehow that makes you feel more significant in context of the larger experience because everything IS connected. We all are part of this big, amazing thing called life, and it is part of us.”

Later, when I ask Leigh Ann about her

writing process and why writing is important to her she pauses for a moment – a few moments actually. As a writer myself I understand her hesitation answering that question, the attempt to define and encapsulate on the spot feelings and self-knowledge that may not be readily accessible or easy to put into words. Not like the details of her stories and adventures. No, those are on the tip of her tongue. Eventually the words roll out.

“Writing is important to me because it’s how I make sense of things,” she says.

“It’s a process of discovery – and often of self discovery, of taking the world in, engaging with one’s thoughts. My thoughts often move at a rate that my mouth has trouble keeping up with. Writing helps me to center, to take those thoughts and express them in a way that allows others to experience or see what I’m seeing.”

And what she sees is often beauty to a reader’s eyes and ears: a sea of living light cascading over fingers submerged in the ocean; tiny dancers communing with a fiery goddess who resides in a volcano; lightning that crackles and rages over a lake nearly every night of the year, a bull elephant who charges her Land Cruiser – his tusks fully framed in the windows.

It doesn’t hurt that her capacity for

exploration, for following her curiosity, is nearly limitless. “The first step for me in my creative process is curiosity,” she offers. “I always have ideas. I’m interested and curious about almost everything. And when I have an idea that won’t leave me alone, that keeps coming back, well, those

Judy Matthews, a Monarch Watch volunteer from New York, caught up here in a swirl of butterflies.

She was one of the travelers Henion met while visiting the monarchs’ overwintering site.

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In Praise of Leigh Ann Henion’s

Phenomenal

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“This is a gorgeously written and deeply thoughtful memoir … that inspires endless self-examination and conversation – and hopefully maybe even some life-transforming adventures.” – Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love and The Signature of All Things “Leigh Ann Henion’s exhilarating book (and life!) is everything the title suggests and more … With moments of breath-stealing beauty, wild intelligence, and unrelenting honesty, Phenomenal is a true gift for everyone who’s ever been curious.” – Ruth Ozeki, author of A Tale for the Time Being.

“Even a cynic reading Phenomenal will yearn for a taste of wonder.” – Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) “Fleeting, extraordinary glimpses of something that left us groping for rational explanations in the quicksand of all-encompassing wonder.” – O, The Oprah Magazine “What would it be like to experience the world with a child’s sense of wonder? That is the question that Leigh Ann Henion succeeded in answering … Her quest was ambitious, inspiring her into encounters with Arctic reindeer herders, astrophysicists, and unforgettable lightning storms. A refreshing wake-up call to living in the natural world.” – Barnes & Noble Review

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ideas are often magical.”

Like the article she had published in Our State Magazine in January. A portrait of Boone, the title beckons to readers: “Welcome to the Southern mountain town whose personality is in its precipitation.” (Online at: https://www.ourstate.com/city-portraitboone-north-carolina/) Like much of Henion’s work, including Phenomenal, the piece is a study in place, impressions of a spot near and dear to her heart. It keeps coming back to her because readers are smitten with the work. As am I …

“The long-range views from Boone can make one feel small. So can the realization that, in this ancient landscape, not everything is under human control. Just as these mountains tend to make people feel either suffocated or cradled, Boone’s oft-extreme precipitation can be viewed as either frightening or empowering. Because it demon-

strates that we’re undeniably a part of nature, something larger than ourselves.”

Henion’s Phenomenal theme of thatwhich-is-grander-than-thee is perfectly present in the piece. As is her lyrical prose, her probing voice, her immense love and wonder of nature. She says of the reader feedback, “I don’t believe I’ve ever had a response to a piece like this. What’s really fantastic is this is my home, a piece about natural phenomena in my own backyard.

“There’s this amazing full-circle beauty here,” Henion marvels. “For the book I went on a global pilgrimage. I needed the reawakening I got from that journey. But in the end there’s nowhere I love more than my own backyard. It’s my favorite place on earth – looking out on the New River. The tremendous reader response to this piece has brought the wonder of my larger journey home to bear.” Just as the voices of

fans of Phenomenal from across the globe bear assurance that Henion’s journey as writer, as explorer of nature and hesitant adventurer in search of wonder and selfdiscovery will, indeed, continue.

My voice joins the chorus in appreciation of the personal journey her words and stories precipitated. Finishing the book left me with a strong desire to compose a list of my own phenomena to explore, piqued my sense of adventure and curiosity for the world around me, reawakened my shamanwithin. Following her lead, I envision myself traipsing to far corners of the earth – or at least pursuing the wonders of nature in my own backyard.

I am inspired and deeply touched by the opportunity to write about her journey outward and then back to the source – her heart. I thank you, Leigh Ann! Now, back to that list … 

Some new and different sights and experiences Henion was treated to on her wonder-chasing pilgrimage include Venezuelan street scenes and the traditional stilt dwellings of those who live on Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela (top left and lower right photos), the architecture and sculpture of the ICEHOUSE, and a meal served in a traditional lávvu – temporary dwellings of the Sami people of northern Scandanavia (lower left and top right photos).

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Future Farmers of America avery county

FFA Officers 2015-2016

Avery County High School

FFA Members 56

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Gwen Gentry Clark The Inspiring Leader Behind Avery High’s Blooming Agriculture and FFA Programs

By Tim Gardner

Gwen Clark

G

wen Gentry Clark could aptly be described as an interesting, likeable and colorful person. Those around her notice many great attributes, including: a strong love for God, her country and her family; noble affection for Avery County High School; an everburning eagerness to teach and inspire her students to reach their potential; and a seemingly endless energy that drives her to make a difference in the community.

Her professional career spans three decades of teaching agriculture and horticulture at Avery High in Newland, as well as growing the school’s successful Future Farmers of America program as its faculty advisor.

"I got the agriculture and horticulture bug when I was growing up, and it's never quit biting," Clark said with a loud laugh.

"It's like a disease for which there is no cure. My enthusiasm has never waned Gwen Clark speaks to a group of her students at Avery County High School. Many of the students for horticulture, agriculture and growing plants, Christmas trees, vegetables and who attend her courses in agriculture and horticulture are inspired by her passion for the fields of study, and are then motivated to get involved with the Future Farmers of America organization. practically anything else that will grow out of the ground.

“It’s a passion for me. I wanted to teach and share what I had learned about the topics to others. bachelor’s degree in agriculture education with a concentration It’s extra rewarding when your work becomes so important, and, in horticulture. often times, a passion for your students.”

After exploring several other teaching opportunities, she was A daughter of Bill and Mary Gentry and a native of the Yad- hired at Avery High the fall semester following her college gradukin County town of Jonesville, Clark graduated from Starmount ation, and she’s been teaching there ever since.

High School in 1982. She then attended Surry Community ColShe later earned a master’s degree from North Carolina A&T lege, where she received an associate’s degree in 1984. From University in 199. there, she transferred to North Carolina State University to at“I had originally planned to stay a year at Avery High and tend its nationally recognized agriculture program, and earned a then possibly go back to my hometown area and take a job there April / May 2016

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Avery High students Cade Jones, Bridgette Smith, Jared Jaynes, Cade Johnson, and Bri Cuthbertson work with Clark in an out building, using recycled paper from the school to build soil material. The shredded paper is combined with peat moss, mixed with water and allowed time to decompose. The decomposed material is then used to raise worms that enrich the soil, as well as to raise mushrooms. when a position came open,” Clark said.

“But, I decided to stay another year at Avery High and the rest is history. During my second year here I met my future husband, Dee Clark.

“I realized how much I love this area and its beauty, as well as the school, its students and all the friends I had made here. I've been offered other jobs through the years, but I never wanted to leave.

Avery County is a great place to live and work. I’m so glad this is where God chose to put me.”

Learning & Growing In the classroom, Gwen’s students apply the knowledge, skills and technologies they learn and eventually master to grow

intensively produced plants for non-food uses and for personal and social needs and wants.

Their work involves plant propagation and cultivation with the aim of improving plant growth, yields, quality and resistance to insects, diseases and environmental stresses.

“What happens in my classes is always different each day,” said Clark. “I use the North Carolina Course of Study for Agriculture Education, but I try to put a spin on it so that students can learn what they need to use the information in their lives now.

“They learn about plant biology, reading, writing, vocabulary, technology and sciences. They also incorporate math, his-

tory and how to daily use all subjects in life.

In some of the courses I teach, we focus on lots of different topics to explore, and we concentrate on life skills to a great extent.

“Record keeping, taxes, business practices and agriculture and horticulture trends are also focal points. Public speaking is important and my students practice that in my classes often. Most people call that presentations, but I like to work on skills that students will use in churches, volunteer organizations, fire departments and other local groups of which they are members.

“Naturally, the FFA also is an integral part of everything we do in class. It’s a large part of our curriculum — at least a third of it. Each student has a Supervised

Capital outlay school funds, donations, and grants helped establish this state-of-the-art greenhouse in 2010, which replaced two older greenhouses that were built in 1971. The greenhouse provides an irrigation and fertilization watering system and plenty of space to raise plants, hanging baskets, vegetables and cooking herbs, all of which the students sell through the annual plant sale in late May and early June.

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Avery Agriculture Teachers and FFA Advisors. Pictured are Lakean Stamey Byrd, Gretchen Holden Blackburn, Gwen Gentry Clark and Olivia Watson Haigler.

Gwen Clark is pictured with Dwayne Krege, Gretchen Blackburn, and Olivia Haigler, former students who are now agricultural education teachers.

Agriculture Experience project. They keep up with the activities they perform, how long it takes and money spent or earned on each. This promotes record keeping and budgeting.

“As FFA members, students can earn awards for their records. We also experiment with plants — seeding, transplanting, grafting and transplanting.”

Her students gain knowledge about numerous varieties of woody and herbaceous ornamental plants, including big and

Clark's leadership in the classroom has inspired many students to get involved with the FFA, but many have also gone on to pursue careers in agriculture education. Here, she is pictured (left) with Gretchen Blackburn, a former student who now teaches alongside Clark at Avery High and serves as an FFA advisor. little ones with a seemingly endless variety of forms, shapes and colors. They also learn about evergreens, especially Frasier firs, and their home county’s role as “The Christmas Tree Capital of The World.”

Essentially, the growing process is never ending, the plant palette is ever-expanding and their hard work results in a rewarding experience.

“Working in agriculture and horticulture is good exercise, which makes it good for the body,” Clark said. “It’s also good

for the mind, because there’s always something new to work with or another thing needing attention of some manner.”

Clark has detailed philosophies about the world of education and the practice of teaching.

"Some may disagree with my ideas, but any teacher or educator needs to discover what students can do and what they can become,” she said. “You have to remember that parents trust you with their most precious possessions — their children. Some-

Avery County Future Farmers of America 2015-16 Pictured are some of the 95 students who make up the 2015-16 chapter of Future Farmers of America at Avery High.

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Avery High students Jared Jaynes, Bridgette Smith and Cade Jones show the proper lab technique for the micropropagation of plants.

Jared Jaynes is pictured using the proper industry lab technique for micropropagation of plants.

times you spend more time with their children than their parents do. I like to say that students are 'somebody’s everything.'

“You are a teacher all the time, and you should make learning creative and fun. No one philosophy of teaching works in every situation and with every student. Some of the new teaching techniques that have gained attention the last few years are the same ones I used when I started teaching. They're not new, just different approaches.

“Some ways of teaching don't work and you have to quickly adjust to what your students need and will respond to. Teaching and working in education is not for the faint-hearted, quickly offended or those who think it's easy. You have to be totally devoted to the profession, and your family must believe in the same things you do about education and teaching.

“Many times, your life revolves around your teaching. I would tell any aspiring teacher or educator to make sure that being such is truly what you want. I consider teaching my calling. It's all about your students.

"All students can learn. They each learn differently, and it is your job to awaken this desire to learn. My students usually show me a side of them academically that they may not show in other

classes. It's rewarding when students realize that agriculture and horticulture are sciences and that some of the same topics they study are the same as they learn in their other classes.

“Teaching pays rewards that you may see many years later.

Sometimes you know students are learning immediately, but usually its years after they graduate that they come back and tell you they realize what they learned in your class.

“It reminds me of planting a fruit tree. When you get the tree, it’s small. You plant it, fertilize it, prune it, shape it, care for it, and then, in several years, the tree bears fruit. Students are the same. They need caring, nurturing, facts and time to mature and bear fruit of their own."

The greatest respect you can earn is that which comes from your professional superiors and peers and, as a teacher, those who learned under your tutelage. Those associated with Clark give her high marks.

"Gwen's students have performed well, and that's a direct reflection of her teaching ability," said Avery County Schools Superintendent David Burleson. “Through her hard work and dedication, Gwen has helped our FFA become what many consider the best in the entire State of North Carolina's school system. Gwen

“Teaching pays rewards that you may see many years later. Sometimes you know students are learning immediately, but usually its years after they graduate that they come back and tell you they realize what they learned in your class."

Students in the lab work with plants that are ready to be separated. Pictured are Cade Johnson (left) and Cade Jones (right).

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Jared Jaynes and Cade Jones are pictured with Clark as they work to transplant bedding plants, which students will water, fertilize and monitor as they grow. cares deeply about her students and has often sacrificed her own personal needs to provide their needs. “Another tribute to Gwen is that those involved in the State FFA competitions have repeatedly commented about how friendly, well-mannered and behaved Gwen's students are, besides how well they have succeeded in their studies and competitions. And that's through the example she has set for them as their instructor."

Avery High graduate Shayna Vance, who is now a junior at Wingate College, agreed with Burleson.

"Gwen was one of my favorite and best teachers. She is a lot of fun and really encourages students. She makes you want to learn. And she helps you develop, and then fuel, a similar love for horticulture and agriculture like she possesses."

Future Farmers of America Clark is particularly noted for her deft leadership as a primary advisor to the Avery Future Farmers of America program.

An intercurricular student organization for those interested in agriculture and leadership, FFA is one of three components of agricultural education.

FFA is not just for students who want to be production farmers; it also welcomes members who aspire to careers as teachers, doctors, scientists, business owners and more. For this reason, the name of the organization was updated to reflect the growing diversity and new opportunities in the agriculture industry.

The National FFA Organization remains committed to the

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Bridgette Smith waters bedding plants in the greenhouse at Avery High.

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"Some may disagree with my ideas, but any teacher or educator needs to discover what students can do and what they can become. You have to remember that parents trust you with their most precious possessions — their children."

Gwen Clark is surprised with a cake created by FFA alumna Amy Cooke Buchanan, who now works in the baking industry, on her 25th anniversary with the FFA in 2010.

Gwen Clark's horticulture teacher, LQ Thomasson, is pictured with his wife, Jean.

"He inspired me," Clark said of her teacher. "He pushed me to be my best and work hard in FFA. He believed in me and knew I had potential."

John Clark, pictured, graduated with honors in 2015 from Avery High, where he served as an Avery FFA officer and a Northwest Region FFA officer in 2014-15. He is now a student at North Carolina State University and currently serves as a 2015-16 State FFA officer.

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individual student, providing a path to achievement in premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

The FFA continues to help the next generation rise up to meet those challenges by helping its members to develop their own unique talents and explore their interests in a broad range of agricultural careers. They are still the Future Farmers of America, but they’re also the future biologists, future chemists, future veterinarians, future engineers and future entrepreneurs of America.

Under the umbrella of state associations, the FFA is made up of local chapters like the thriving one at Avery High. FFA programs are funded through sponsorships and individual donations at the local, regional, state and national levels. All levels include Avery FFA members.

To list the honors, accomplishments and good deeds of the Avery County FFA and its members would fill this whole magazine.

The FFA has a degree system consisting of: Greenhand Degree, Chapter FFA Degree, State Degree and American Degree.

Each has different requirements for FFA members, but all involve public speaking, parliamentary procedures, FFA activities, maintaining good records on your SAE and participating in FFA events.

There are 32 areas of Proficiency Awards for FFA students. Students earn these awards for their agriculture work outside of the classroom in fields such as raising cattle, working in and raising a garden, working in all aspects of Frasier Fir Christmas tree farming, working in grocery stores, welding, any jobs involving home improvements, mowing lawns and greenhouse work.

Also, there are various Career Development Events, which are competitions students can work on individually or in a team setting: Parliamentary Procedure, Public Speaking, Horticulture, Tool Identification, Agriculture Mechanics, Floriculture and Truck/Tractor Driving. The Avery FFA participates in 14 CDEs, and often places high in these events in state competitions.

Avery FFA members participate in an-

April / May 2016

nual local, state and national conventions and leadership conferences. Through these happenings, FFA members learn new ways to be leaders and practice skills in order to help them grow as such, and use them in all aspects of their lives.

This academic year, the Avery FFA is represented by State FFA Officer John Clark, who will travel, present leadership workshops and visit other FFA chapters to help them develop skills.

The Avery FFA was last represented by a State Officer, Kevin Jones, during the 1993-94 school year.

Most every FFA member earns the Greenhand and Chapter FFA Degree. The State FFA Degree is very exclusive and is only held by two percent of FFA members.

It’s the highest state FFA honor. Avery has had approximately 10 FFA members earn this distinction each year, and nearly 300 former FFA members have earned this award in the past — a most impressive feat, indeed. For the 2015-16 school year, Avery will have 11 FFA members receive this degree at the 2016 North Carolina FFA Convention in Raleigh in June.

The Avery FFA has had an astounding 11 American Degree recipients. The American degree is an acknowledgement of a five-year accumulation of work in agriculture, community, school, jobs and leadership positions.

In 2011, Jared Clark and Olivia Watson became the first recipients from Avery County. Following were Lakean Stamey in 2012 and Katie Stamey 2013. Six claimed the prestigious achievement in 2014: Michelle Cuthbertson, Dustin Clark, Shayna Vance, Carson Clark, Codie Hicks and Dakota Guy. Avery had the second most American Degrees of any FFA chapter in North Carolina that year. In 2015, Abigail Griffith claimed the degree. Avery has nine candidates for the honor in 2016, and those approved will be announced by the State FFA in July.

Clark said that she encourages others to support their school’s FFA and any career technical education courses and student organizations by lending their expertise and donating time, money and other services to help students in all levels of education.

Gwen Gentry Clark is pictured with her parents.

The Clark Family (from left): Dee, Gwen, Jared, Emily, and Carson.

Gwen Gentry Clark As a horticulture and agriculture buff, it seems that Clark was destined to marry someone with similar, or almost blueprint, interests. That came to fruition in 1988 when she wed Dee Clark of the White Pine Community, located between Newland and Crossnore. In fact, the two make their home on White Pine — a fitting name for the home of an agriculture and horticulture expert.

Her husband works with his family on the Clark Family Farm and Nursery, where they raise Fraser Fir Christmas trees as well

as nursery/andscape trees and shrubs. He has served on the North Carolina Nursery Landscape Association Board of Directors and he is active in helping with research to promote North Carolina agriculture products in the nursery industry.

The Clarks are the parents of two children: a son, Jared, and a daughter, Carson. Jared is a 2010 Lenoir-Rhyne College graduate, where he was a Teaching Fellow, a leader in the Campus Crusade for Christ and part of the Bears baseball team there. His degree is in Elementary Education and he has certifications to teach Middle and High School. He married is college sweetheart, Emily

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FFA Officer Jared Jaynes Meet Jared Jaynes. He's a junior at Avery High and an FFA Officer. He's on the Parliamentary Procedure team and will receive the State FFA Degree in June. In addition to leading several projects within the Avery FFA, he works in many areas of agriculture on his family farm and works with his friends in a greenhouse. Along with fellow classmate Bri Cuthbertson, he is conducting a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Project called "The Giving Garden." Together, the two are writing a grant, seeking donations and working to build the newest on-campus community garden at Avery County High School.

Pinnix. Jared teaches middle school in Catawba County and Emily does the same in Caldwell County. Carson is a junior at Meredith College in Raleigh, where she is majoring in nutrition and will graduate in 2017. She is active in the school’s nutrition club. She works as a nanny, and, like her parents, she loves to garden and helps work in the Meredith College flower gardens.

Jared and Carson have been active as leaders in the Crusaders Union in Bible study and mission work. In fact, Jared has traveled outside of the United States to work in the mission field.

As Clark’s professional repertoire keeps growing, she feels most gratified when the goals are achieved and she can look at her work with perspective.

"The gratification comes after you finish and you see the effect it has on students and their families," she said. "When

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you give to others to help them learn and maybe influence their lives in a positive way, you're giving the most important thing you can give, and that's the human element.

“Many of my former students live in Avery County and are in leadership roles. Some have served on Boards with Farm Bureau and Agricultural Extension. And some became teachers and law enforcement officers, while others have worked in church, government and countless other roles. It’s fun to teach the children of my former students. Seeing a student graduate high school is particularly gratifying. Remembering that a student has a dream and they get to live out that dream through your class is thrilling. Many dreams and goals have been shared in my classroom and I’m thankful to have witnessed them.”

About her teaching legacy, Clark said, “I want to be known

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“I pray God will let me know when I need to retire.

But as long as I’m able, I’ll still be active and work to help out as I am needed and wanted, regardless if I’m still teaching school or retired." as a teacher who cared, helped and worked hard and productively. I want students to look back and say that I’m a teacher who taught them something they can use each day. I’ve tried to do my very best with what I have been given to make people happy and teach them useful things. As a result, I’ve been able to experience life in a mighty way.”

Clark has enough years teaching to retire, but is unsure when that milestone may happen.

“I pray God will let me know when I need to retire,” said Clark, who also coached cheerleading at Avery for five years, worked with the majorettes in the Marching Vikings Band and helped establish the school’s National Technical Honor Society. “But as long as I’m able, I’ll still be active and work to help out as I am needed and wanted, regardless if I’m still teaching school or retired.

“I’m a lifetime FFA member and alumnus. My role may change, but the FFA will always be a part of my life. I’m not sure what else I may do when I retire, but I think opportunities for me to serve others will continue to be presented. The FFA Motto is ‘Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.’ My life runs parallel to that.” -Tim Gardner is a freelance journalist who makes his home in the North Carolina High Country of Avery County. He’s an Avery High graduate. Tim’s articles have appeared in national, regional, local and specialty publications.

-Pictures accompanying this story were supplied by Gwen Clark and Ken Ketchie.

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an opportunity to transform the region Meet Startup High Country

James Bance

Jeffery Scott

Chris Grasinger

Sam Glover

STORY by Jason Reagan

W

hen James Bance and Sam Glover gaze out over the High Country from Howard’s Knob, they see what we all see – downtown Boone arrayed before them; Grandfather Mountain’s stolid profile and the gorgeous “hollars,” hills and peaks that have captured the hearts of so many.

But James and Sam see something else – an opportunity to transform the region from solely a thriving tourist/university area into the next huge success story sweeping smaller cities across the nation such as Burlington, Vermont; Dublin, Ohio; and Boulder, Colo. It’s a success story that begins with smaller, tech-oriented startup companies and continues with the transformation of the local economy to a new elevation in better jobs and business opportunities.

Meet Startup High Country James and Sam form the core of Startup High Country. The nascent partnership is a hybrid incubator, startup accelerator and consultancy group. Wait. What does that mean?

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“What that means is we provide mentorship, software and web development services, physical space and, in some cases, we’ll be providing seed investments to local entrepreneurs who have an existing company or a new business idea,” James said.

The duo teamed up with Chris Grasinger and Jeffrey Scott, two longtime High Country residents and advocates for local entrepreneurship and, together, the group hopes to blaze a new trail with the vision of building a technology and entrepreneurial ecosystem to support quality jobs and provide investment opportunities for everyone in the High Country.

“In the High Country we have a fantastic variety of entrepreneurs in the area, we have a thriving university and high speed internet infrastructure,” Grasinger said. “We created a title and an organization to help brand and organize the efforts of connecting and accelerating these elements.”

“I can remember growing up and people always talked about distribution and sales going off the mountain, but the beauty of technology is that neither one of those is an issue,” Sam said.

Startup High Country co-founder James Bance operates out of the group's headquarters in the Greenhouse Building on Depot Street in Boone. Over the past 15 years, he has built a solid résumé in the tech and investment worlds, occupying roles in leadership, sales, marketing, and business development.

“The world becomes your market and there’s no need for overhead, shipping and warehouses.” “[Sam and I] had been blessed in that we’ve worked for amazing companies, like Google and Shoeboxed,” James said, adding that the duo “recognized that many of the residents here hadn’t felt the financial benefits of the 21st century. So, we set out with this completely audacious goal.”

the scar tissue that comes with the territory of starting a company,” James added. “We want to short-circuit a lot of the inevitable early mistakes that first-time entrepreneurs will make and then put them on a track to ramp up faster.” In fact, Startup High

The SHC Difference That all sounds great, right? Better jobs, a higher quality lifestyle, access to better technology. But can it really work here? Local residents have heard this before – the blossoming of a new startup and venture-capital paradise nestled in the Appalachian Mountains has to some extent been only a dream in the High Country for years.

The Startup High Country difference?

It boils down to experience. The four-person team has tons of experience as startup entrepreneurs – you might say they’ve climbed this tech mountain many times.

“We’ve all experienced the successes and

Country has already started mentoring and providing services for four companies.

It’s Business and It’s Personal For James, the startup culture has been part of his DNA for most of his life. He co-founded his first tech company at 21 after moving to the Bay Area from his native Wisconsin. Over the past 15 years, he has built a solid resume in the tech and investment world, occupying roles in leadership, sales, marketing and business development

at companies like Bazaarvoice, (a 2012 IPO), Adometry (which was acquired by Google 2014), AOL/Verizon and John Hancock. He knows his stuff.

However, James’ High Country journey started in Deep Gap. He and his wife, Sharla – along with their children, Blake and Mila, – moved to Blowing Rock from Austin (another American startup success) four years ago to be closer to Sharla’s parents, Deep Gap residents John and Vicki Unmack.

“They’re amazing people and have a heart for serving others so they’ve built deep relationships here. My wife and I decided to make the move to be closer to them.”

As happens so often with new residents, James and his family immediately fell in love with the outdoor life of the area from skiing to cycling. But the Great Outdoors will only take you so far when the siren song of Entrepreneurship calls.

A High Country native, Sam attended UNC-Chapel Hill and is known throughout the region as an innovative entrepreneur and growth leader. Over the past

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six years, he’s worked with several NC-based startups.

Sam helps them define core metrics, accelerate growth and scale product development. He recently launched and sold his first company, Zip-Services -- a technology platform aimed at disrupting the commercial laundry and linen business. Currently, he’s VP of Operations for Shoeboxed, Inc. Like James, he lives in Blowing Rock with his wife and dog.

Silicon Hollar While the High Country may never match the startup tech horsepower of Silicon Valley, Startup High Country believes the region can brand an appropriate moniker – Silicon Hollar. The name arose after a conversation with local entrepreneur James Bauler, referring to the deep, rich valleys (hollows or hollar as we say ‘round here).

Because SHC is already working with the Appalachian Regional Commission to attract angel-fund investors, the Hollar metaphor resonated immediately.

“Silicon Hollar is simply an idea, a concept to rally around, a place and a metaphor for the tech ecosystem here - much like Silicon Valley in California or Silicon Prairie in Nebraska,” James said, adding “it’s not an attempt to become, or to be thought of as another Silicon Valley, we don’t want that.”

Using a strong and memorable branding metaphor like Silicon Hollar has the potential to highlight the uniqueness of the High Country and leverage its strengths, along with technology, to set the standard as a beacon in rural Appalachia and to demonstrate what a successful tech community can look like.

“What I love about the [Silicon Hollar] metaphor is that is gives people in the area something to rally around and be proud of,” Sam said. “It’s a network of people interested in bettering the High Country through entrepreneurship and technology.”

“Most people have now heard of Silicon Valley, so the name will usually make some sense to individuals,” Chris said. “The truth is our Silicon Hollar will have its own unique personality - similar to the valley, we aim to be a hotbed for high growth entrepreneurship, but we also value adventure, outdoors, and the beautiful environment in which we live.”

Sam Glover grew up in the High Country and remembers people talking about distribution and sales going off the mountain. "But the beauty of technology is that neither one of those is an issue today,” he said.

Dale Yarborough is pictured collecting information for his company, Gidoa.

The business aims to provide transparency and accountability in the charitable donations industry.

It Takes a Community to Raise a Startup Setting a vision like Silicon Hollar and offering startup resources is all well and good, but to really succeed, Startup High Country will need community buy-in.

Fortunately, the High Country has already blazed a small-scale trail in both tech and other startups, thanks to a few local pioneers. A prime case study is ECR Software (ECRS) Corporation, a startup icon founded and headquartered in downtown Boone.

The company has not only transformed the way we shop, but has also helped lead a renaissance in “Main Street” development. Housed in a former auto dealership building, ECRS was founded in 1989 by Peter Catoe, who was a marketing student at Appalachian State at the time.

The software/hardware company holds the exclusive rights to their self-checkout register software– systems that allow consumers to easily scan, bag and pay for their 68

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Zak Ammar from Vixster is pictured with his crew. Vixster.com facilitates a peer-to-peer removal service for trash and recycling, pairing up drivers with customers for lots of options.

THE MEETING SPACE Dale Yarborough from Gidoa, videographer Jeff Bud, James Bance and Vixster's Zak Ammar are pictured above sharing ideas from SHC's downtown Boone office. James is part of a team at Startup High Country that mentors local entrepreneurs, "We provide mentorship, software and web development services and physical space," said Bance.

Miah Zimmerman and Emily Scarborough, with Jeff, Dale, and Zak

groceries at thousands of retail outlets across the country.

According to the company’s website (ecrs.com,) the local business offers a plethora of retails systems “from frontstore systems including point-of-sale and self-checkout, to comprehensive back office, warehouse, and inventory management solutions. Clients include grocers in San Francisco, Montana, Toronto, as well as beverage companies, breweries, healthproduct distributors, fuel suppliers and

healthcare systems.”

"When I was first approached by the core team at SHC, I was struck by their level of energy, optimism, passion and entrepreneurial vision they have for our community,” Catoe said. “In addition, I've also really enjoyed observing the Silicon Hollar meetings. It's very exciting and heart-warming for an old tech entrepreneur, such as myself, to see so many young entrepreneurs coming together within our community, and being excited about build-

ing great products and great companies,” he added.

Watauga County has also transformed the startup environment by becoming a Certified Entrepreneurial Community. In partnership with AdvantageWest Economic Development Group, the county launched a strategy in 2007 to create “overall business climate, policies, regulations, and opportunities to learn and grow [that] are simple to find and available.”

“When you put it all together you can

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THE GREENHOUSE

The historic Greenhouse building, located at 164 Depot St. in downtown Boone, was remodeled in 2007 by John Mena as a multi-use office space. Tenants have access to a shared lobby and meeting space, making it a perfect fit for the team behind Startup High Country.

see that SHC is filling a void that was present, because free enterprise can only be transformative within a community when entrepreneurship is valued and most of all, nurtured," Catoe added.

James says a key component to Startup High Country’s success lies in the already available resources at Appalachian State University. Local university contacts like Dr. James Wilkes, Sara Beth Hopton, Erich Schlenker and Ged Moody have helped pave the way by linking SHC with students and faculty who have a vision and drive to start new companies locally.

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Other community resources include Mike Quinto from Pulsara, James Bauler from Cruxolve, and Dave Walker from Ascent. “They have been integral in creating the momentum behind Silicon Hollar and we couldn’t have moved the needle without them,” James said.

ASU’s Transportation Insight Center for Entrepreneurship has also launched a unique enthusiasm for startups both among students and local community leaders. Directed by Schlenker, the center’s staff empowers those with new startup ideas and partners with them to research and crunch

April / May 2016

numbers to determine if there’s a market and viable business model. “Entrepreneurs can use the center’s office space and other on-campus facilities while center staff connect them with professional services, funding and mentors,” notes a recent report in ExitEvent.com “It’s easy to be excited about ideas and opportunities, but the difference between having success and not having it is being willing to start,” Erich said.

Real Results As SHC’s Silicon Hollar concept gains

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Local Tech Startup Makes Trash, Recycling Convenient

A

and recycling to the dump,” Ammar said. pp State grad student Zak Ammar, “I figured there had to be a better way.” who has networked with Startup High Ammar noted that two-thirds of the Country, likes to call the rural trash and repopulation in Watauga County resides cycling convenience stations outside of the outside of the city limits and that the rural city limits “inconvenient” when pitching his population of surrounding counties faces a new tech startup, Vixster. similar fate. Vixster currently operates in Vixster.com pairs a network of screened Watauga County and its surrounding coundrivers to residential and commercial custies. Development of the company started tomers who would prefer to pay for trash, in the winter and sales began in March. recycling and hazardous household waste A mobile app is planned for release this removal services rather than drive across town to the dump or to a more regional Zak Ammar, Founder of Vixster.com summer.

With recyclables filling up landfills “convenience” center. Customers have the option of scheduling a regular pickup time or enlisting a one- across the country, sustainability is a core principle in Vixster’s mission. Ammar said that 5 percent of revenue will go towards time pickup within 12 hours of signing up online.

Raised in Houston, Texas, Ammar received his undergradu- sustainability issues in the community.

“We are actively seeking ways to invest back into the comate degree at Texas State and is currently completing his MBA at Appalachian State University, where he created the idea for munity and leverage our resources to help out,” Ammar said.

For more information, click to www.vixster.com or contact Vixster at a social entrepreneurship competition.

“I thought it was ridiculous you have to haul your own trash Ammar at 1-802-587-2740 or zak@vixster.com.

meet that challenge, SHC plans traction, the group is seeing new to break new ground in software success stories blossom across the coding education. board.

“In order to stay competitive “We’re really focused on job globally, not just locally, we need and investment opportunities, and “I tell everyone, this is challenging work, but it’s good to get more of our kids exposed by getting several startups off the to software coding before they hit ground and funded within the next work. All we need is a few lighthouse companies -the post-secondary level,” James 12-18 months, they will quickly those companies that shine brightly and that others can said. He is among a growing nummake a really positive impact in follow and avoid the rocks. With Startup High Country, ber of startup leaders who believe job creation,” James said. we can invest in entrepreneurs ‘on the mountain’, so computer coding classes should be Promising young entreprethey don’t have to go ‘off the mountain’ to build their required in high school curricula. neurs, like Zak Ammar from Vixcompanies and fulfill their dreams,” Startup High Country "We’re really focused on codster and Dale Yarborough from Co-Founder James Bance says. “The easiest way to stay ing education,” Sam said. “We’re Gidoa (pronounced Gi-Dough), connected with the tech initiatives in our area is to sign hosting a summer camp - High stand out as success stories for up for the mailing list at siliconhollar.org and come out Country Coding Corps - with App SHC. Vixster, for example, is a to the events. We help curate the site, but it’s really a State’s Gear Up program, teaching trash and recycling service comrising 6-9th graders computer propany that facilitates a peer-to-peer public space for everyone to use; it’s a gateway to all graming through something they removal service for commercial things tech in the High Country.” all love - Minecraft. and residential customers. Think “You don’t have to be a computer programmer or “For most of us coding is a forof it as Uber for trash service. By work for a technology company to be involved. The eign language, but kids who make using a digital, GPS platform, usbeauty of a startup community is that almost anyone coding their native language will ers can create an account, request can get engaged. It takes many different disciplines to be well equipped to snag highan on-demand pickup – pay for drive success, not just tech. Designers, photographers, paying jobs and work at amazing it online, and Vixster will match companies like Google and Amathem with a driver in the same executive assistants, writers, project managers and zon, or even locally at ECRS,” vicinity to pick it up. Gidoa aims more, are all essential to the mix.”

James added. to provide transparency and accountability in the charitable donations industry. Both are finalists Making Headway in the Hollar for the recent 2016 Pitch Your Idea Competition at ASU. “We’ve had a really nice response from the community to what While most people can get on board with Startup High Counwe’re doing,” James said. try’s vision and enthusiasm, everyone involved also realizes the road ahead, like the region’s soil, will yield a lot of bumps, rocky obStartup: The Next Generation stacles and steep climbs.

Although the High Country offers many advantages for startup A tech-oriented community will wither on the vine quickly without a fresh infusion of talent and software experience. To incubation and recruitment -- Outside magazine has named Boone

Get Involved with Silicon Hollar

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“In order to stay competitive globally, not just locally, we need to get more of our kids exposed to software coding before they hit the postsecondary level."

– James Bance one of the “10 Best Small Towns in the U.S. – job creation has always suffered due to a variety of factors, including cost of living and geography.

“It’s no secret that there’s a serious lack of quality, high-paying career opportunities in the High Country,” James said. “It’s not an indictment on anyone here, it’s just a reality.”

And the future for the High Country may grow bleaker if economic strategies fail to adapt. According to the N.C. State Institute for Emerging Issues’ Future Work Job Disruption index, Watauga County outranks all other counties in North Carolina in potential job losses due to technology automation.

“I see SHC as an opportunity for our community to get ahead of the forecasts and take control of our future, to push back against that prediction,” James said.

“Let’s use what we know: creation, innovation, and technology to rewrite our community’s economic story.” 

“For most of us coding is a foreign language, but kids who make coding their native language will be well equipped to snag highpaying jobs and work at amazing companies like Google and Amazon, or even locally at ECRS.” – James Bance April / May 2016

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A MOMENT IN TIME - MarCH 24, 2016 S

oon the shell of the 340,000 square feet of residential, commercial and amenity space in The Standard of Boone development on Blowing Rock Road will be wrapped and interior finished. Cars will dot all five levels of the 155,000-square-foot parking garage as roughly 560 students unpack in preparation for the fall semester.

But for now, motorists and pedestri-

ans have an X-ray view of the massive student-housing project. The project first began in January of 2015 when crews demolished the old Red Carpet Inn, Scottish Inn and a number of old houses and apartments on this stretch of property that’s been blighted for years. The creek running through the property was then daylighted and parcels graded. Construction began this summer.

The Standard: By the Numbers • $42 million project • 561 beds (1, 2, 3, & 4 bedroom luxury apartments) • 12,600 square feet of commercial space • 300 yards from Holmes Convocation Center • 224-foot-tall crane used • 4,000 to 5,000 cubic yards of concrete used • 1,000 linear feet of creek daylighted • 340,000 square feet of residential, amenity & retail space • 155,000-square-foot parking deck with about 500 spaces

Photography by Todd Bush

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Building, Crane and Creek The four-story building is made of light gauge structural steel and constructed using a panelized metal framing system with joists and deck as the floor. The parking deck, which will accommodate about 500 spaces, was erected using precast concrete, and for about two months, 10 to 15 trucks were delivering precast pieces to the site.

The parking garage panels were 11-x-30 feet in size. Lifting these panels into place was a 224-foot-tall crane capable of lifting 300 tons without bucking.

The site is located in between Blowing Rock Road and Faculty Street. The creek that runs through the property has been daylighted and rerouted to the Faculty Street side of the development. The daylighting of the creek, which impressed the Boone Town Council, cost an estimated $2 million.

The Standard of Boone is located roughly 300 yards from the Holmes Convocation Center on Appalachian State University. The development is advertised as luxurious, amenity-filled student apartments.

Photos by Ken Ketchie

Landmark, Harrison and Stonegate The project is a joint venture between Landmark Properties, Harrison Street Real Estate Capital and Stonegate Developers.

Based in Athens, Ga., with over $1 billion worth of student housing developed and constructed in the past several years, Landmark Properties is a fully integrated real estate firm specializing in the investment, development, construction and management of high quality communities.

Based in Chicago, Harrison Street Real Estate Capital is a real estate private equity firm that manages $7.3 billion in assets through commingled funds and public securities products.

Based in Charlotte, Stonegate Developers is a commercial development firm with over 200 projects, including student housing, retail stores and restaurants, as well as mixed use and office developments, in the Southeast and Midwest.

Artist rendering of the finished project

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Parting Shot...

By

Ken Ketchie

Colleagues and friends surprised Dan Meyer at a recent Business After Hours event at Fairway Cafe in Boone on his 70th birthday.

Dan Meyer Turns the Big 70 and Announces His Retirement

T

he Boone Area Chamber of Commerce and the local business community came together on March 31 to put a special twist on the organization’s monthly After Hours get-together. It brought entrepreneurs from across the High Country together for networking like all After Hours events do, but this one included something special — a surprise party for Chamber President and CEO Dan Meyer on his 70th birthday.

In the wake of a huge show of support from his colleagues, friends and neighbors at the party, Meyer announced the following Tuesday his plan to retire from the chamber in August.

He has served at the helm of the chamber as its chief executive for 12 years, and before that served as the director for Appalachian Brian Estates.

“It’s just time,” he said in a release from the chamber. “I came to the chamber fully committed to making a meaningful contribution to the community that has become our home. Now it is time to fulfill other commitments.”

To the fresh eyes of new leadership, Meyer said he will leave behind a healthy, enthusiastic, fiscally stable chamber of commerce.

In the months remaining before his retirement, Meyer’s colleagues will be sure to express their gratitude for the work he’s done in the community, business related or otherwise.

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love and compassion in bringing people and businesses together,” said Barbara Armstrong, the chamber’s director of operations. “It doesn’t matter how big or small the business or person is — Dan always makes time to be there for anybody in need, whatever that need may be. It doesn’t have to be for chamber members, either.

“He is one of the most kind and compassionate people I’ve ever met, and he truly has a giving, loving heart to serve, no matter the capacity.”

During his tenure at the chamber, Meyer has been instrumental in developing new programs and advancing the organization’s work, including: Program Partners, Watauga Leadership Challenge, Young Professionals, ShopLOCAL Campaign, everGREEN initiatives, BOONE: My Hometown, securing the new office on West King Street, Hand of Hospitality Program with the Town of Boone, Signature Sponsorships of special programs and more.

Another milestone waits around the corner for Meyer, who will soon celebrate 50 years of marriage with is wife, Pam. In retirement, he looks forward to seeing more of his family, crossing some things off of his bucket list and continuing to grow in his faith.

“My grandchildren are my legacy and I want to spend quality time with them,” he said. “I also have a spiritual commitment to fulfill to be involved in mission projects locally and globally. Sharing the Good News of Christ is one privilege I cannot retire from.”

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