Volume 15 • Issue 6 July 2021
A Toast To Our Local Wineries & Breweries
Summer Thrills Are
Back Again!
STORIES INSIDE
Bill Dixon’s Buildings Joe Nitti’s Photography Mrs. Lois Hodges Crumpler on Main Willis Observatory July 2021
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DIANNE DA V ANT &ASSOCIATES Margaret Handley,
ASID
Dianne Davant Moffitt, ASID Pamela McKay, ASID Priscilla Hyatt Councill,
Banner Elk, North Carolina 828.963.7500 Stuart, Florida 772.781.1400 davant-interiors.com B
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2020 reminded all of us of what’s important. Going forward together is better. Going all in to help each other is best. And free advice is priceless when it’s backed by commitment and timeless values. We open doors to new homes, renovation projects, and new businesses with banking services provided just like a neighbor would, because that’s what we are. We are Piedmont Federal, neighbors helping neighbors since 1903.
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For those who seek an exceptional life Nothing Compares.
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NORTH CAROLINA VILAS
141 Little Harbour | Vilas, NC | PREMIERSOTHEBYSREALTY.COM
PremierSIR.com | 828.898.5022 Sotheby’s International Realty® and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered service marks used with permission. Each office is independently Equal July 2021ownedHand I Goperated. H COU N THousing R Y MOpportunity. AGAZIN 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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1,800 ACRES
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Home and community information, including pricing, included features, terms, availability and amenities, are subject to change, prior sale or withdrawal at any time without notice or obligation. Drawings, photographs, renderings, video, scale models, square footages, floor plans, elevations, features, colors and sizes are approximate for presentation purposes only and may vary from the homes as built. Home prices refer to the base price of the house and do not include options or premiums, unless otherwise indicated for a specific home. Nothing on our website should be 2021 construed as or T tax Sotheby’s July Hlegal, I G Haccounting COUN Radvice. Y MA GAZI International Realty® and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered service marks used with permission. Each office is independently owned and operated. Equal Housing Opportunity.
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NEW LISTING: $5,595,000
205 GOLDFINCH COURT This immaculate, one-of-a-kind mountain home designed by David Patrick Moses offers unparalleled comfort, design and custom features. At 11,559 square feet, it is perched over the spectacular mountains of Banner Elk with gorgeous views as far as you can see. The Elk River Club golf course and community’s airplane landing strip are also visible from this home’s spacious decks. Inside, 6 bedrooms and 8 ½ baths await; along with a full bar and entertainment area; upstairs and downstairs guest areas; over $1 million worth of artisancreated woodworking, stonework and fine cabinetry; and a flowing open floorplan. This breathtaking mountain retreat is made for comfort and entertaining and includes Miele appliances with three ovens, a whole-house generator, two laundry rooms, generous office space, central vacuum, screened porch with fireplace, a dog run, and a three-car garage. This is a must see for homebuyers looking for the epitome of luxury mountain living! 6
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FOLLOW YOUR DREAM, HOME.
NEW TO MARKET
FIRST TIME ON MARKET
659 Clubhouse A2 Spacious, well kept, three bedroom, beautiful condo. Lots of natural light and a spectacular deck. Take in the beautiful mountain surroundings with a morning coffee or evening meal.
129 Meadows Lane Breathtaking home for entertaining and overnight guests. Sleeps 13! Fully decked-out with spacious gourmet kitchen, fine cabinetry, steam shower, premium furnishings and lots more!
375 Summit Park Drive We’re calling this custom-built 5-bedroom, 7-bath home a mountain “retreat” with features galore! Walnut doors and floors, vaulted ceilings, 3-car garage, wine cellar and more!
7016/7015 Forrest Way 3.79 acres of the most beautiful wooded property the High Country has to offer. Nearby Elk River amenities including golf, fishing, swimming and equestrian. Come see!
61-R Raven Ridge Road 4.55 acres of prime wooded property at the tip-top of Raven Ridge. Nice gentle slope with a number of locations suitable to build. Never-ending views including Beech Mountain!
490 Clubhouse Drive G1 High Country condo living at its finest. Open and airy with just the right amounts of rustic design and sophistication. Jack Nicklaus signature course just out your door.
Lot 85 Wren Way One-acre, wooded and perfect for your new home. Close to the equestrian center, Robbins Sunset Park, Elk River Club amenities, airport, golf, hiking and more!
659 Clubhouse Drive F1 Spectacular furnished Elk River condo! Too much to list, but we’ll try: 2015 kitchen remodel, granite, hardwood floors, new AC, Jacuzzi, wallmounted TV and more!
901 Clubhouse Drive A1 Fully furnished, well-appointed, updated and move-in ready Elk River condo! Lovely custom cabinetry, Wolf brand gas range, granite countertops, tile floors and more!
Tricia Holloway . Engel & Völkers Banner Elk . 610 Banner Elk Highway Banner Elk . NC 28604 | Office: +1 828-898-3808 . Mobile: +1 561-202-5003 Learn more at bannerelk.evrealestate.com
©2020 Engel & Völkers. All rights reserved. Each brokerage independently owned and operated. Engel & Völkers and its independent License Partners are Equal Opportunity Employers and fully support the principles of the Fair Housing Act.
July 2021
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C O N T E N T S
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Realizing a Dream Owners of Booneshine Brewing Company and Grandfather Vineyard & Winery share their stories of turning a dream into a fun and fulfilling reality.
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For the Love of Music
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Three Decades of Appalachian Architecture
Talented mountain musician Mary Greene talks about her life and passion for music and education that has made her such a popular figure in the High Country.
Local design firm Appalachian Architecture has been responsible for the design of many popular High Country buildings since 1989.
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Discovering Main Street Main Street in Blowing Rock is home to many stores, restaurants and personalities. Store owner Mark Crumpler details his experience of building a successful Main Street business.
Wonderful World Photography Launches in Banner Elk Joe Nitti, owner of Back in Action Chiropractic in Banner Elk, has watched his passion of photography blossom into a new gallery at his office.
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At Your Service
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Keep an Eye to the Sky
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Lois Hodges has been serving customers at multiple restaurants in the High Country over a 75-year career.
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The Willis Observatory in Bakersville gives people the opportunity to learn about space and see what all awaits exploration beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
on the cover Nitti set up the cover Joe Nitti Joe shot for our July issue. It’s from a photo excursion that Joe took to Hawksbill Mountain where you can see Joe on a cliff’s edge with the Linville Gorge wilderness in the background. Joe enjoys exploring the hard-to-get-to places for his photography that he loves to share with others. We also have a photo spread of Joe’s photography in this issue with other scenes from around the High Country. Visit his website at wonderfulworldphoto.com. 8
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A Place to Gather, Explore, Connect
Headwaters provides a true mountain retreat with a strong sense of community. Nestled amongst some of the finest national parks in the Southeast and with miles of nature trails woven throughout the property, it’s the ideal destination for nature lovers who share a deep appreciation of the great outdoors. Call 866-402-9719 to speak with one of our property specialist.
headwaterswnc.com July 2021
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FRO M T H E PUB L ISH ER
A Publication Of High Country Press Publications
Editor & Publisher Ken Ketchie
Art Director Debbie Carter Advertising Director Jeffrey Green
Ken Ketchie
Watching the Breweries and Wineries Grow Up
Contributing Writers
It doesn’t seem all that long ago when we were just first hearing about a few folks talking about planting grapes and making wine on a commercial scale up here in the mountains. These gentlemen were ready to take their hobbies into a full blown business concept. In the summer of 2006, we did a story on Dick Wolfe in our August magazine about his plans for the Banner Elk Winery that he had just opened a couple of months earlier. It was somewhat a foreign idea that something like that could happen in the High Country. Not that grapes haven’t been grown in people’s backyards in the mountains, and probably a little wine has been made from some of those, but these folks were talking about acres and acres of grapevines and the equipment and facilities to turn those grapes into cases and cases of wine. It was along the concept of something you think about when you think of the famous Napa Valley wine region in California. Wolfe explained in the article his vision of encouraging local farms to consider growing grapes as a crop that could then be sold to wineries like the one he had just opened for large scale production and distribution of High Country wines. Wolfe had done his research and with the help of some professors at ASU had determined that such a vision could work with certain varieties of grapes suited for growing in the mountain climate. At the same time, Steve Tatum had planted a couple of acres of grapes on land adjacent to his home in the Grandfather Community just off Hwy. 105. He had planted 1,000 vines of 14 different varieties to see which vines would grow best in the mountain climate. In the fall of 2005, Steve and his son, Dylan, harvested their first crop of grapes and made 40 gallons of wine. Steve was very excited back then as he talked about the potential of a High Country wine region. And over in the southern part of Avery County, Avery native Jack Wiseman was also following his lifelong dream of growing grapes in the mountains. Jack had learned wine making from his grandmother as a young man and when he found himself living near Napa Valley in the late 1950s, he started dreaming about maybe growing grapes and making wine back in Avery County much like they were beginning to do in Napa Valley. We have been following these men’s visions and accomplishments ever since those early days as we have watched them build their production facilities, opened up their tasting rooms and invited the public to come enjoy their wines. Fast forward to this past year, and it’s easy to see that what they have imagined back in the early 2000s has now probably blown past all their expectations. Their parking lots are full, they are selling all the wine they can make, and they continue to add to their facilities. Our hats off to these wine pioneers as well as the beer brewers who have opened the door to a whole new world of opportunities for the High Country.
Harley Nefe
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Nathan Ham Jan Todd Sherrie Norris Tim Gardner
Contributing Photographer Tara Diamond 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. © 2021 by High Country Press. All Rights Reserved.
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Calendar of Events JULY 2021
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Lees McRae Forum Summer Music Series Shades of Buble, 828-898-8748
Blowing Rock Monday Concerts - Matt Primm, Krista Atwood, Micah Hein, 828-295-5222 15 Banner Elk Music in the Park - Smokin’ Joe Randolph, www.bannerelk.org 16 Summer Concerts at the Jones House - Strictly Clean and Decent, Dashboard Hula Boys, 828-268-6280 16 Florence Thomas Art School Class - Intro to Stained Glass with Ian Wilson, West Jefferson, 336-846-3827 16-17 Fine Arts and Master Crafts Festival, Sugar Mountain Resort, 828-898-5605 17 Todd Summer Concert Series - Melissa Reaves, 828-263-6173 17 Blowing Rock Art in the Park, Park Avenue, www.blowingrock.com 18 Blowing Rock Concerts in the Park - The King Bees, 828-295-7851 19 Blowing Rock Monday Concerts Abby Bryant & The Echoes, 828-295-5222 19 Lees McRae Forum Summer Music Series Ben Gulley, 828-898-8748 22 Banner Elk Music in the Park - Shelby Rae Moore, www.bannerelk.orgk 23 Symphony by the Lake, Chetola Resort, 28-295-7851 23 Summer Concerts at the Jones House - Belleville Rendezvous, Todd Wright Trio, 828-268-6280 24-8/1 K9s In Flight Frisbee Dogs, Tweetsie Railroad, 828-526-5740 25-8/1 Lees McRae Summer Theatre - America’s Artist: The Norman Rockwell Story, 828-898-5241 26 Lees McRae Forum Summer Music Series Masters of Soul, 828-898-8748 26 Blowing Rock Monday Concerts - Federico Eiguchi, Amy Marie Young, & Matt Primm on Piano and Viola, 828-295-5222 26-27 Florence Thomas Art School Class - Portraits in Watercolor with Ted Head, West Jefferson, 336-846-3827 27-8/1 Blowing Rock Hunter/Jumper I Charity Horse Show, Equestrian Center, www.brchs.org 28-30 Florence Thomas Art School Class - Fur, Feathers & Fun in Oil with Ted Head, West Jefferson, 336-846-3827 12
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Banner Elk Music in the Park - Tanya & The Roadrunnerz, www.bannerelk.org Summer Concerts at the Jones House - Pretty Little Goat Duo, The Appalucians, 828-268-6280 Florence Thomas Art School Class - Watercolor Beginner Technique with Ted Head, West Jefferson, 336-846-3827
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Lees McRae Forum Summer Music Series - Daniel Rodriguez and the Highland Divas, 828-898-8748 Blowing Rock Monday Concerts - Matt Primm, Krista Atwood, & Micah Hein, 828-295-5222 Blowing Rock Hunter/Jumper II Charity Horse Show, Equestrian Center, www.brchs.org/ Summer Concerts at the Jones House - Garrett Price and Megan Sheppard, Surefire, 828-268-6280 Beech Mountain Resort Concerts - Umphrey’s McGee, 828-387-2011 Banner Elk Art on the Greene, Historic Banner Elk School, 828-387-0581 Banner Elk Music in the Park - Split Shot, www.bannerelk.org Summer Concerts at the Jones House - Rebecca Eggers-Gryder, Tray Wellington Duo, 828-268-6280 Fine Arts and Master Crafts Festival, ugar Mountain Resort, 828-898-5605 Beech Mountain Resort Concerts Tedeschi Trucks: Fireside Live, 828-387-2011 Blowing Rock Art in the Park, Park Avenue, www.blowingrock.com Todd Summer Concert Series - Burnett Sisters, 828-263-6173 Art in the Park, Blowing Rock Memorial Park, 828-295-7851 Blowing Rock Concerts in the Park - Ashley Heath, 828-295-7851
Florence Thomas Art School, West Jefferson, florenceartschool.org
T H E
A R E A ' S
F I N E S T
A R T I S T S
Tony Griffin
www.artcellargallery.com July 2021
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Back in Action: Ensemble Stage Kicks Off Main Stage Performances with Fundraising Cabaret
nsemble Stage in Banner Elk is opening its curtains to their main been lucky enough to have her.” stage performances this summer season, starting with a special Hodos, a New York City native, is a multi-award-winning singer, actor, fundraising cabaret starring Laura Hodos benefiting the organiza- improv artist and cabarista. She has performed from Maine to Florida to Los Angeles and even internationally in Tokyo. People in the High Country tion after a difficult year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The professional theater normally begins its main stage performances may remember her from The Love List and Killing Time at Ensemble Stage. Hodos has also performed locally in the middle of June, but because with Blowing Rock Stage Company in staff were waiting for restrictions Leading Ladies and Daylight Spirits. to ease up, shows are scheduled to start at the end of July this year. Hodos, Lamont and Smith have “The last year has been really been friends for a number of years. difficult because of the basic cost of “She has such a bubbly persontrying to put on a production in proality, it’s wonderful to watch her and be a part of what she’s doing,” fessional theater,” said Gary Smith, Lamont said. Artistic Director for Ensemble Stage. Smith added, “She’s the type of Apart from the pandemic forcperson that when she walks into ing performances to be cancelled a room and you talk to her for five and affecting business, Ensemble seconds, you can not help but feel Stage has to follow the guidelines good and smile. She’s just one of from both, the CDC and the profesthose people, and then to hear her sional actor’s union. sing and see her talent is just icing “The actor’s union has a little on the cake. more stringent guidelines than Hodos agreed to do the benefit what everybody else is doing,” explained Lisa Lamont, Managing Di- Laura Hodos, a multi-award-winning singer, will perform in a cabaret because she understands how hard the past year has been for rector for Ensemble Stage. “Actors fundraising cabaret benefiting Ensemble Stage. Ensemble Stage. won’t be wearing masks, but we are “It has been a long and difficult and frustrating road,” Hodos said. “Evrequiring the audience to. There’s a whole list of things that the actor’s union is having us do to keep the performers and audience safe.” eryone I know has had to pivot and figure out how to make theater in the In order to host professional actors, like Hodos, there’s a lot of proto- time of Covid work, and I think that it has actually honed a lot of everycols Ensemble Stage has to fulfill. one’s skills. This cabaret show, I’m so proud of it. I love this show so much. “It’s been really trying for us to come to agreements and figure things I love music, and I always say that one song can bring back a thousand out,” Smith said. “The last year was really tough, but what made it so tre- memories. I love how theater, live performances and cabarets can bring mendous was the support we’ve gotten from the community of Banner back a thousand memories that you have and let you escape and have that tiny bit of remembrance of joy. That’s Elk. Residents, the businesses, the Town, the what I love so much about cabarets — it’s not Banner Elk TDA, the Kiwanis Club and many how these songs have affected me, but how other groups and people have been incredthey affect everyone as a collective. I think it’s ibly supportive with everything from really so cool and so fascinating.” encouraging words to donations of money If you do not get a chance to see the and gifts to help us keep going when we cabaret performance, there will be plenty couldn’t do anything. This year’s season is really dedicated to them. It’s a model to this town and what they have of other events happening this summer and fall at Ensemble Stage. On the schedule are two shows in the kids theater series, three main stage meant in their support for us.” An example of friends coming to support Ensemble Stage is Hodos’s theater shows includings comedies and a suspense thriller, along with cabaret show, which is titled Julie and Mary and Ethel and Babs, taking staged radio play. More information about the upcoming performances place July 17 and 18. The show is a tribute to four icons of Broadway: Ju- and ticket sales can be found online at http://www.ensemblestage.com/ lie Andrews, Mary Martin, Ethel Merman and Barbra Streisand. It features or by calling 828-414-1844. “We hope we can inspire people as much as we can to come back to songs that the audience may be familiar with plus others along with anthe theater and come see us and come have a good time and come have ecdotes and fun trivia tidbits. “It’s always a treat when we get the opportunity to have Laura Ho- dinner at the restaurants that are here and support this community that dos come be with us,” Smith said. “She’s a Cardinal Award winning actress. has been so incredibly supportive of us,” Smith said. By Harley Nefe She’s hard to book. She’s a tremendous singer and entertainer. We’ve 14
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Goldmine Branch Park Construction Underway Along the Middle Fork Greenway
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f you have traveled along Highway 321 near Tweetsie Railroad, you probably noticed some construction going on along the side of the road near where Blue Deer Cookies sits. That area is soon to be home to the Goldmine Branch Park which is another part of the Middle Fork Greenway that continues to grow between Boone and Blowing Rock. The Round-Up for the Greenway Fundraiser in 2019 raised $200,000 to fund this project and was matched by a $100,000 donation from Wells Fargo Bank and a $100,000 from Truist Bank. Two state grants that the Blue Ridge Conservancy applied for also helped complete the funding for this new trail area. This is an example of how local donations can grow in size by matching donations and grants. “There will be about seven parking spaces and access to hop on the trail. It dead-ends
right there for now, but we are doing feasibility studies from there toward Boone this year with the NCDOT,” said Wendy Patoprsty, Director of the Middle Fork Greenway Project. “From Gold Mine Branch on Niley Cook Road it will head south toward Tweetsie that will connect with the existing mile of trail that is on the ground.” The project continues to go in phases. The first phase is building the parking lot at Goldmine Branch and a bridge that will cross the river onto some property that was acquired last year to add another parking area off of Highway 321. Patoprsty said that area will include 29 parking spots with a rain garden to capture rainwater and stormwater before it drains into the river. “That area will also connect heading south toward Blowing Rock and will go into the woods. All of that section is going to be done by the end of this year,” she added. “The next phase will be about a half-mile of a natural surface trail that will dead-end at
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li nvillefall s wi ne r y.co m to see our schedule of Ev e n t s , L i v e M u s i c , & Fo o d Tr u c ks !
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The latest segment of the Middle Fork Greenway is under way here. the new gas station for now. That will begin to be built in the next four to five weeks.” The trail will then go through the culverts underneath Highway 321 and connect
CARLTON GALLERY Celebrating 39Years Bridge contruction going on now over the river at the Goldmine Branch site.
Mid-Summer Group Exhibition
“Exploring the Monumental Art of Landscape” back up to Tweetsie. That phase of the trail is currently working through the permitting process. “That is going to take some additional time because we are limited by the trout moratorium. We will probably begin that underpass construction in the spring when the trout moratorium is lifted in 2022,” Patoprsty said. “We are still fundraising for that underpass, but I think we are getting close to having its final designs, engineering and permitting. As soon as we can do that it will go to bid through Watauga County to get that built.” When that is done, there will be two miles of trail connected and then the waiting game begins with the feasibility study to continue the rest of the trail onto Boone where the Greenway Trail is at near Watauga Medical Center. There is also a feasibility study where the Greenway ends at Sterling Creek Park to investigate different routes from there through Aho. “The Blowing Rock section is fully funded for the Greenway and stream restoration construction. Right now, we are working with the Federal Highway Administration and the National Parks Service on the permitting that is needed for that section,” Patoprsty said. “We hope that will go into construction next year and be built out from Tanger Outlets and the trailhead there through the Foley Center. That’s about 1.2 miles.” Mosaic Civic Studio in Boone has been designing and planning the Middle Fork Greenway Project. “We’re excited to have a bunch of local faces working on this,” Patoprsty said. By Nathan Ham
July 24 – September 15 - Opening Reception: July 24, 11-5pm
ART FOR THE SOUL – TO LIFT OUR SPIRITS! PAINTINGS • CLAY • GLASS • SCULPTURE • WOOD • FIBER ART • JEWELRY Located 10 Miles South of Boone on Hwy. 105 Grandfather Community
TUESDAY-SATURDAY 10:00-5:00 • SUNDAY 11:00-5:00 8 2 8 - 9 6 3 - 4 2 8 8 • Call or check our website for workshop dates www.carltongallery.com • carltongallery@carltongallery.com
July 2021
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Recreated Avery County Barn Quilt Trail Gives Residents and Visitors a Great Way to Discover the Area
riving around Avery County, residents and visitors may notice many beautiful paintings of quilting squares displayed on historic barns and other buildings, which are all part of a newly recreated project. These decorative pieces of art are known as barn quilts, and most of them were created between 2008 and 2011, when the Avery County Arts Council developed a Barn Quilt Trail in the county. The driving trail featured many quilt squares showcasing the Appalachian heritage. “At the time, the Arts Council had a small grant, and they were able to encourage people to have these squares painted and displayed on historic buildings, their houses or any place that the public could see it,” explained Kate Gavenus, Director of Tourism and Economic Development for the Town of Beech Mountain. “It was a public art project as well as a quilt heritage project. It had multiple purposes, and it was also just very fulfilling for everybody that participated in it because they had some books of designs that you could pick from, and your design could be a traditional quilt square or just something that meant something to you.” In mid-2012, the Arts Council disbanded, and the website, brochures and all supporting information dwindled away. Until recently, there was no source of information about these works of art for residents and visitors who wanted to take a driving tour around the county. “That had been bothering me for several years,” Gavenus said. “Being here in the Visitor
Center, I need our entire community to prosper. Iwould have people come in, and they would say, ‘Oh, I see these pieces of art on buildings, and I don’t know what they are,’ and I would tell them about this beautiful idea that the Arts Council had fostered many years ago, but I couldn’t give them a route on how to experience it.” With the support of the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area and the Beech Mountain Tourism Development Authority, the trail has now been recreated. They were able to track down many of the original quilt squares and documented numerous others that were installed after the original quilt trail was established. The result is a drivable trail in three sections covering areas in Beech Mountain, Banner Elk, Newland, Crossnore and Linville, providing a good day’s entertainment for those interested in art, quilting, Appalachian heritage, old buildings or just a great treasure hunt. However, the new trail is just a start. “We have likely missed some quilt squares that should be featured on the trail,” Gavenus said. “We hope that the public will take an interest and let us know of others that can be added. While it takes time to get things on the printed maps, additions can be made quickly to the website, and put into print later.” More information about the trail and each barn quilt can be found at www.averycountyquilttrail.com. Maps can be requested online or by calling the Beech Mountain Visitor Center at 828-387-9283. By Harley Nefe
The map of the recently recreated Avery County Barn Quilt Trail shows drivable routes covering the locations of the painted squares around the area. Maps can be requested online at www.averycountyquilttrail.com or by calling the Beech Mountain Visitor Center at 828-387-9283
The demolition of Justice Dorm took place during summer and fall 2020. 18
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From Hobbies to Big Business Fermentation Has Been Good For the High Country By Nathan Ham
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raft beers and locally sourced wines have grown in popularity over the years in the High Country. From the earliest days of Dick Wolfe, Jack Wiseman and Steve Tatum planting grapes 20 years ago to the most recent expansion of Lost Province Brewing in June of this year, the local beer and wine industry has continued to provide strong economic benefits and great visitor destinations. Wolfe, an original co-owner of Banner Elk Winery, is said to have planted the first vineyard in the High Country, located in the Matney community in 2002. Wiseman, the owner of Linville Falls Winery,
has dedicated 70 years of his life to grapes and wine. “My grandmother taught me how to make wine when I was eight years old. Her family was German, and they made wine every year. I would pick the grapes, she would teach me how to squeeze them, she’d put the sugar in, and I carried that with me the rest of my life,” Wiseman said. Jack traveled to California after returning from the Korean War. He got into sheet metal work in Napa before learning how to make brandy at the age of 23. “I loved the wine part because I used the Napa wine to distill and make the
Tim Herdklotz and Carson Coatney started their brewing hobby with some recipes and empty space on Carson’s carport. Now, Booneshine Brewing has grown into a tremendously successful local brewery in Boone. Photo by Ken Ketchie 20
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brandy,” he said. Wiseman came back to Avery County in 1960 and already had plans in place for how to continue growing his wine expertise. “My dream was to someday plant grapes. It took many years before I could accumulate enough money and find the optimum place to plant grapes. I knew grapes wouldn’t develop and mature in Newland or Banner Elk, so coming from the south end of the county I knew our gardens were always better than the north end of the county. This place being a southeast exposure, I thought it would be a good spot,” he said. “We are the only winery that has
Dylan and Nicole Tatum are following in the footsteps of Dylan’s father, Steve, continuing Grandfather Vineyard & Winery that has grown from a small patch of land behind Steve’s house into a popular winery attraction. Photo by Tara Diamond
Grandfather Winery
Booneshine Brewing
Grandfather Winery
Booneshine Brewing
July 2021
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planted grapes from scratch and are using our grapes to make wine for our customers. Nobody else is doing that in Avery County.” About 20 years ago, Wiseman planted their first grapevines, and that birthed the Linville Falls Winery where they have been making wine for over eight years. He estimated that 50 to 60% of their business comes from people passing by on the Blue Ridge Parkway and that on any given Saturday or Sunday, you might see as many as 140 cars in the parking lot with license plates from all parts of the country. “The first year we did pretty well, it was, even more, the first year than I even dreamed. The next year we increased 2530%. In the ensuing years, we increased 25-30% every year,” Jack said. “We are so fortunate to be able to ripen grapes here to a high degree and make wine out of the grapes that we grow.” Wiseman said that this year they made approximately 11 times more wine than they did just two years ago. “The best thing about this winery is that I fulfilled my dream. The most comforting thing in my life is handing it down to my grandchildren. Since they have come and taken charge about 2.5 years ago, we have risen to the top. It was steadily increasing to that point,” he said. Steve and Sally Tatum at Grandfather Vineyard & Winery planted some grapes in the early 2000s after buying land near their home in 1999. They opened the winery in 2011. Just across the state line in Johnson County, Tennessee, Watauga Lake Winery, founded by Linda and Wayne Gay, opened in 2012 after they also decided to buy some land and plant some grapes in 2005 after retiring. The couple recently sold the winery to The Waterfront Group, a land development company that started Eagles Nest in Banner Elk. In the craft beer scene, Appalachian Mountain Brewery was the first craft brewery in the High Country to launch locally in 2013. AMB was purchased by the Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) based out of Portland, Oregon, in the fall of 2018. Blowing Rock Brewing Company was founded in 2013 as well, just after Appalachian Mountain Brewery. Blowing Rock Brewing is owned by Jeff Walker and Todd Rice and has two locations, one in Blowing Rock and one in Hickory, that allow for them to brew, can and distribute everything locally. “The original idea was always to bring patrons from around the state to Blow22
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ing Rock or the High Country in general.
THEN
Jack Wiseman of Linville Falls Winery in 2013
A view of the Linville Falls Winery and grapes behind it as seen in 2013
Jeff Walker and Todd Rice cut the ribbon at the opening of the Blowing Rock Ale House in 2013
Dick Wolfe of Banner Elk Winery in 2006
Linda and Wayne Gay in 2016, former owners of Watauga Lake Winery having sold in 2020
That’s how the High Country Ale was inspired,” Walker said. “We are completely statewide with our distribution and 100 percent of our beer is brewed in western North Carolina between our two breweries and 100 percent of the beer that we package and distribute is distributed within North Carolina.” Walker estimates that they have brewed over 100 different beers since they opened and have a very loyal following among craft beer enthusiasts in North Carolina. “We are finding that weekend travelers have turned into Saturday afternoon travelers or Thursday evening travelers because it has become so accessible. The onus is on us to deliver the beer quality that holds up to the destination lifestyle,” he said. “We are producing beers that resonate with the craft consumer, whether that is on a level with state brewers, regional brewers or national brewers. We are seeing people seek us out because of our placement statewide. Because of the quality of beer, they want to come to Blowing Rock and the High Country in general. Visitors are greeted with the type of experience they would expect from a destination brewery.” By having the two different brewing locations, Blowing Rock Brewing can do the bulk of their production and distribution from the Hickory location and save the Blowing Rock location for other side projects and beer testing. “Our brewery here off Sunset we refer to as our Ale House Brewery where we brew small batch production. That generally means beers we are experimenting with, quality improvements we are experimenting with and also unique styles,” Jeff said. “We acquired the Hickory brewery for the sole purpose of being able to produce all of the beer ourselves and distribute it statewide. It’s located where we can achieve the same efficiency that our competitors do. Because of that, we are able to focus on important things like supplying from local vendors, ensuring shelf life is lengthened because we can beer on a Thursday and it’s being distributed the next Tuesday and on the shelf later that week.” Walker said that Blowing Rock Brewing has doubled its sales over the last two years and employs around 50 people to get the job done. Rocky Justice is the brewing manager and plays a key role in overseeing beer production. She said they brew approximately 5,000 barrels a year between the
two locations and are proud to use a variety of local malts, circling back to the importance of keeping their brand as local as possible. “Recognizability is one of the most important aspects of craft branding in beer right now. Marketing has become this new trend of being up to snuff with what the market is around you. We are 100% North Carolina owned, operated and distributed here,” Justice said. Three other local brewing establishments opened their doors all in the last seven years. Beech Mountain Brewing and Lost Province Brewing each opened in 2014, Booneshine Brewing was founded in 2015 and moved to its new location at the industrial park in 2018. Lost Province recently added an additional location that opened in June of this year on Daniel Boone Drive. “I’m surprised and thrilled that we have come as far as we have. I didn’t really have an expectation of this kind of growth. I’m very pleased with it, but I didn’t expect it,” said Andy Mason, co-owner of Lost Province Brewing. “Last summer, I had four of my beers on draft, and we were buying beer from other people. It was at the point the demand was greatly exceeding the supply, so the idea was to go ahead and do the new taproom here along with the production brewery, which I am excited about. It’s going to give us a whole new set of opportunities on the brewing side. The number of possibilities we’re going to have here is really going to be opened up, and I’m really excited about it.” When the brewery first opened, the idea of canning and selling beer was not even on the radar. “Originally we thought we would just make beer for the pub and if we made some extra we’d sell it outside. Now, the wholesale side is one of our major drivers and one of our major outlets for our products. We are looking for that to expand. We are expanding our contacts with other grocery stores and venues,” Mason said. At Lost Province’s downtown location, Mason added that they are close to completing their porch project.
NOW
Jack Wiseman with his daughter-in-law Linda Wiseman and granddaughters Lindsay Wiseman and Jessica Boone
Blowing Rock Brewing co-owner Jeff Walker and brewing manager Rocky Justice.
Photo By Ashley Warren, Natural Craft Photography
Lynn and Andy Mason, owners of Lost Province Brewing in Boone at their new location
Aaron Maas, head brewer at Beech Mountain Brewing along with manager Will Young. July 2021
“We are going to enclose that with big windows on it so it can be a four-season room. When the weather is nice, we can open it up and let the breeze in. When it’s not so nice or when it rains, we can close it up. It has heaters and fans, and we’ll be able to use it all 12 months of the year,” he said. Lost Province has come a long way from their first year in business where Mason estimated that they produced just over 150 barrels of beer. “In 2019, we did just shy of 1,000 barrels. I think we did 157 barrels in our first year. Last year, we did about 900 in the covid-affected year. I expect the brewery downtown to continue doing about 1,000 barrels a year. I expect this new addition to produce between 3,000 and 4,000 barrels a year,” he said. “The average brewery in the United States produces 600 barrels a year. At 1,000 barrels, we’re already in the top 75% in beer production in the United States. At 4,600 barrels total, that would put us in the top 5 to 10% in the country.” Lost Province beers can be found in most grocery stores and specialty bottle shops, but one place where the brewery is considering expanding its reach is inside convenience stores. That will be made possible by the increased brewing capabilities that the additional location on the eastern side of Boone has to offer. “Right now, we are in a little bit of a pinch because we have the 10 barrel system downtown that is producing beer for the pub and now this location. I’m in a hurry to get this one open. I am hoping to have it producing beer by the end of July or the beginning of August,” Mason said. “We bought the big brewing system and the canning line, and there is a hard date for when they are coming to install the canning line so I have to be ready for it.” Beech Mountain Brewing, owned by the resort, started its operations with just a 20-gallon brewing system to now operating a seven-barrel system where each barrel contains 31 gallons of beer. “We were brewing less than a barrel at a time when we first started going,” said Will Young who manHIGH COUNTRY MAGAZINE
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ages the brewery. “It has been about nine or 10 years since we got this thing off the ground. We started in the winter, and we were brewing 20 gallons at a time as fast as we could. Now, it has gotten to the point where people are discovering the resort through the brewery, which is neat to see.” To go along with the larger brewing system, Beech Mountain Brewing also has a 15-barrel fermenter where they can doublebatch some of their most popular beers. “We added the 15-barrel fermenter at the end of 2020, so we went into this year with 15 barrels of additional fermentation and beer storage space, which increased our capacity by 50%, and we still had trouble keeping up,” Young said. Beech Mountain Resort’s food service industry employs about 20 people right now, which will increase to anywhere between 50 and 60 employees during ski season.
Craft Beer, Local Wine and its Economic Impact These hobbies turned business opportunities are bringing an economic boost to the High Country, whether it’s from visitors coming up here to check out the multiple breweries and wineries available, or the many employees working at each location. Wright Tilley, the executive director of the Boone Tourism Development Authority, has seen the popularity of wineries and breweries in this area grow steadily. “I think the North Carolina wine industry is catching up. Surry and Yadkin Valley were the biggest focal points for a while, but then when the wineries around here came together to go after their own AVA designation for the Appalachian High Country Region, I think that set the tone and told everybody that they are serious about wine up here,” Tilley said. Grandfather Vineyard & Winery is one of the stops on the Boone Area Wine Trail and provides a great setting for visitors to enjoy in Watauga County. “The appealing thing about Grandfather Vineyards is the location and the quality of their wines. They are putting out some really good wines over there. The fact you have the Watauga River coming right through there and you
can take a glass of wine or a bottle of wine and go sit down by the river or sit out on the decks looking at the terraced venue going up the side of the mountain. All while still having a view of Grandfather Mountain. It’s really beautiful scenery, good wine and a popular stopping point for people,” Tilley said. In the craft beer market, Watauga County features four breweries that are all making good, quality beer. “I think initially we were a little late getting into the craft beer scene. Asheville was the dominant player in that for a number of years, but then once AMB (Appalachian Mountain Brewery) broke ground and became the first one in the area, it took off from there. I was surprised by how quickly and how well-received AMB was coming out of the gate. Then Blowing Rock Brewing came along, Lost Province came along, Booneshine came along, everyone has been successful,” Tilley said. Booneshine’s expansion to “East Boone” came at a good time for them to be able to have the expansive outdoor seating areas when COVID-19 caused problems for restaurants and breweries all over the country in 2020. “I think Booneshine’s new property was a windfall for them, especially during COVID with the outdoor space, the way they have terraced the landscape out there, people can enjoy their beer and food offerings out there when the weather was good outside,” Tilley said. “They took a little bit of a risk going into an industrial area that did not have anything like them over there, but it has really turned out to be a popular spot and a destination for people that are coming up here.” The craft beer market was able to withstand a tough year in 2020. According to data provided by the Brewer’s Association, craft beer breweries in the United States still recorded $22.2 billion in sales during the year. There were 8,764 craft breweries that were operating in the United States at the end of 2020. With the local breweries that are operating at a high level in the High Country, it will be a fun ride to see how they all continue to add to their product lines and make the customer experience even more enjoyable. t
Appalachian State’s Fermentation Program Earning Nationwide Appeal L
ocal breweries and wineries have grown accustomed to working with the fermentation science program students from Appalachian State. Now, the program is starting to see students arrive from all over the country. “The program has been around since 2012 as a bachelor of science degree program. We merged with the chemistry department in 2018 to become the department of chemistry and fermentation sciences,” said Dr. Brett Taubman, the director of the program. “Students take 2.5 years of chemistry, 1.5 years of biology classes, a year of math and statistics. It’s a really rigorous program they go to before they even get to the fermentation science courses. Students will pretty quickly realize if they are cut out for this or not when they start taking chemistry, biology, calculus and all those courses.” Dr. Taubman arrived in 2007 and said he had the idea for this program when he first arrived, and there had been previous considerations of a program of this type at App State, but it never made it to the state level for approval. The program gained state approval in 2012. “With the growth in craft brewing, the growth in the wine industry and distillation, things were really starting to open up and so many businesses were opening up and getting into those industries. We saw a need, especially in this state. Between the craft breweries, wineries, distilleries, the Research Triangle area and all the biotechnology happening in the state, we really saw a need for the program at the time,” Taubman said. “The program is nationally recognized at this point, and we have students coming from all over the country. Students that make it through the program are well-trained and well-educated to take on whatever position they want to pursue in their professional careers. “They have a great analytical science background, they get plenty of hands-on production experience and they can focus on beer production, wine production, distillation or bioprocessing. Bioprocessing spans the range of everything from pharmaceutical development to environmental bioremediation. All of these industrial processes that involve fermentation are what we are training our students to do,” Taub-
man said. “The beauty of our major is that we essentially have 100% employment for our majors. We have more employers looking for our graduates than we have graduates to fill those positions. It’s a great major right now. There are so many industries growing that involve fermentation.”
Students from the fermentation science department at Appalachian State University learn about a wide variety of scientific processes that go into making beer, wine and other fermented items.
Louis Conradie, the wine production specialist and one of the professors with the fermentation sciences program, said even he has had his horizons expanded with all of the things that the program is capable of exploring. “Our goal is to focus more on fermentation science as a whole. A lot of people think just wine and beer, but we are trying to develop a program that is a lot more diverse and gives the students a bit more exposure to all of the fields of fermentation science. For example, the pharmaceutical industry needs students with these skills. With the COVID vaccine, there is not a lot of fermentation necessarily involved, but a lot of bioprocessing, and that is one of the courses students here take,” Conradie said. Many of the local breweries and wineries in Watauga County have benefitted quite a bit from the fermentation sciences
program, whether it be from being able to have some of their products tested in the program’s laboratory or from workers that went through the program and are highly educated and ready for whatever gets thrown at them. “All the businesses are doing phenomenally here. Lost Province just expanded and moved into its new tasting room and production facility, Booneshine moved into their facility a few years ago and are killing it, AMB continues to do well, Blowing Rock is expanding and doing great, and a graduate of ours from a few years ago left Booneshine recently and is opening up his own place down in Happy Valley. It continues to grow and there is a lot of room for growth still,” Taubman said. Andy Mason, co-owner of Lost Province Brewing, said they have three workers right now that came from the fermentation sciences program at App State. “We have hired two people permanently and one intern. We are a big supporter of the fermentation science department. We’re just thrilled to have that association and look forward to bigger and concrete associations,” Mason said. Booneshine Brewing also has plenty of hands-on experience with the fermentation science program. “Even before we were open, we talked with Brett Taubman over the program about how we can help them and they can help us. Ever since the beginning, we have maintained our close connection with the school for students. We have an open door for students that want to help volunteer here, several have turned into employees here. Two of our brewery staff are graduates of the fermentation program and another left here to go start his own brewery in the Lenoir area,” said Tim Herdklotz, co-owner of Booneshine Brewing. Vineyards and wineries benefit from the department as well. “The biggest asset I have is the fermentation science program at Appalachian State,” said Dylan Tatum, co-owner of Grandfather Vineyard & Winery. “Having a relationship with the university now is nice. It’s nice having that lab and I can send a sample over and get results back in an afternoon.” July 2021
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Grandfather Vineyard & Winery
Visitors to Grandfather Vineyard & Winery get a chance to enjoy some great local wines and listen to music outdoors throughout the warm weather months
Grandfather Vineyard & Winery: Then & Now Story by Nathan Ham • Photography by Tara Diamond
T
wenty-one years ago, Steve and Sally Tatum purchased a small plot of land in the Foscoe Community; boulders were bursting out of the sloping mountainside and the Watauga River ran right through the middle. The Tatums could never have imagined that piece of land would become home to the first producing vineyard in Watauga County and one of the busiest Tasting Rooms in the western part of the state. “After doing a lot of research, instead of planting Christmas trees like so many people were, I wanted to do something different. I started looking at varieties of grapes that may or may not work here. It was a shot in the dark when we first put these in the ground,” Steve said. It didn’t take long for Steve to feel like he had made the right decision with what to do with the land. 26
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“The grapes did excellent the first year and I thought wow, this kind of surprises me. After planting, you are always three to five years from getting your first har-
vest, but the vines did so well I thought this was going to work,” Steve said. “They did so well that we decided to cut all the trees down on the mountainside and added more plants. By the time these were in and coming along, the first ones were producing fruit.”
Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, and Marquette grapes were a few of the vines planted and some of the first harvested. As the vines aged and the fruit production increased, the decision was made to utilize the grapes there and open a tasting room on site. Next came the tedious permitting processes and construction that had to take place. “We jumped through all the hoops you have to go through to open a facility that makes alcohol. You have to get a federal license, a state license and approval from the county too,” Steve said. A small root cellar was already built on the property which served as the very first barrel room housing roughly 40 barrels of aging wine. Dylan Tatum, Steve and Sally’s son, began with these first barrels, carefully honing his skills as the winemaker. Dylan was a graduate of Surry Community College’s viticulture
Founded in 2011
This photo of the winery was taken from the rows of planted grapes. Numerous expansion projects have been underway at Grandfather Vineyard & Winery. program and had been working as a wine of hundred barrels and that’s still not mination of local hybrid grapes and wellknown varieties has allowed us to offer and beer representative after finishing his enough,” Dylan Tatum said. Dylan estimated that today at least an extensive list of wines and cater to business degree at Appalachian State Unihalf of their grapes come from within a all types of drinkers,” explained Tasting versity. The timing was perfect. “When we opened the doors to the 300-mile radius of Banner Elk. Continu- Room Manager and daughter-in-law, Nitasting room in May 2011, we thought ing to develop expertise in regards to the cole Tatum. Right now, Grandfather Vineyard & we’d operate three or four days a week. I elevation and climate of the High Counenvisioned it at that time of being a good try, married with new grape varietals and Winery has about five acres of planted grapes and 20 total acres of propretirement thing for me. Work erty for parking, tasting room three or four days, take three or and future expansion ideas. A vifour days off. But it was so much sion for a bustling Tasting Room work, it just didn’t turn out that and welcoming property has way.” Steve said. come to life under the direction At that time, most of the of Dylan and Nicole. grapes being used in the wine “We just acquired land across were being shipped in from Calithe river back in April. It already fornia on refrigerated semi trucks adjoins our property and our because the vineyard was so new goal is to build a new production and just getting started. One of facility over there so we can douthe goals over the last five years ble the size of our tasting room has been to pull in more grapes which would provide additional from the east coast, the Yadkin indoor seating and more space Valley, and places in Virginia, The entry gate from the road awaits eager vineyard guests. to offer tastings and live music Tennessee, and Georgia. “We found out very quickly that 40 additional growers, has led to an increase indoors. The expansion would also allow barrels just wasn’t enough, so about five in local fruit. “It’s really fun to educate us to grow our wine production. Right years ago we built a larger scale produc- customers about the varieties of grapes now, we are producing between 5,000 tion room which is home to a couple that thrive in our “terroir.” Using a cul- and 6,000 cases a year, but we would like July 2021
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Dylan Tatum and one ohis employees taste the wines first to make sure they are up to the standard set for customers to purchase for their own enjoyment.
to grow that to 10,000 cases a year. The options are endless,” Nicole said. Not only have the wine offerings and production facilities increased, but so has the continual flow of daily visitors. Steve and Sally have been overjoyed watching the recent expansion projects led by their son and daughter-in-law. “We are selling 95% of our product right out of the tasting room, and we are still having trouble keeping up. There is still plenty of room for growth through our tasting room and wine club,” Dylan said. “The fact that we do produce more wine now gives me more leeway to experiment with new styles and blends. I can take 100 gallons of a cabernet, play with it, do other stuff with it, and see what different wine we can make out of it. Before, we had to use every drop we had for our everyday core wines. Increasing production has allowed me to exercise more creativity.” This spring the property underwent several new enhancements including a pedestrian walkway, new gazebos, and additional parking and seating. With the added space, the days have been bustling and the weekend evenings have been filled with wine club events including barrel tastings, dinner pairings, and special concerts.
Sparkling Wine and Distribution Ideas
Winery workers will inspect each barrel and sample some wine from the barrels to make sure they have the same desired taste as they are supposed to.
One of the newest styles that the winery has been experimenting with is sparkling wine. “Dylan has been toying with sparkling wine over the last three or so years. He has quickly realized that the varietals that flourish best in the high country tend to be white hybrids that are usually high in acidity and early ripening making them perfect candidates for sparkling wines. This past year alone we have crafted seven different
Cleaning the equipment and the barrels are the most important thing that happens at the winery. An entire batch of wine can be ruined by an unemptied barrel. 28
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sparkling wines focusing mostly on dry whites and rose,” Nicole explained. Dylan is constantly working with the wines along with the help of three full-time assistant winemakers and several parttime assistants. Typically, the vineyard has anywhere between 20 and 30 employees on the payroll, depending on the time of year. The winemaking side alone is a full-time job and requires meticulous care and attention. Whites wines take approximately one year to go from grape to bottle while red wines take roughly two years. Every step is equally important to ensure a high-quality product at the end. The next step of growth that the Tatums would like to see
At left, Dylan Tatum and his father, Steve, in 2004 in front of the grapevines well before the winery was constructed. At right, Steve stands in the same place.
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happen is local and regional distribution. “Distribution is something we would like to do after we max out our tasting room retail. Once you go into distribution, you have to double your production overnight. You’re going to get less for each bottle so you have to do more. We’re not there yet, we’re going to see how much more we can do out of the tasting room,” Dylan said. “You don’t do this thinking you’re going to get rich, you do it because you enjoy the work.”
Bouncing Back from COVID-19
A winery employee prepares to pour the wine flights that will be sent out to customers to enjoy in the tasting room or outside.
Musical acts typically perform Thursday through Saturday at Grandfather Vineyard & Winery. utdoor musical concerts have become a big draw for the winery recently.
Like every other business in the area, Grandfather Vineyard & Winery had to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic that plagued the economy for almost all of 2020 and parts of 2021. The Tatums quickly found out that people were flocking to the High Country and were happy to take part in any activities that would involve being outdoors in some fresh mountain air. “When COVID hit in 2020, people started traveling more in the United States and I think they thought of Banner Elk as a small, safe town and we saw a huge increase in visitors last year. Being an outdoor venue, customers felt safe and could spread out. We’ve tripled our outdoor seating and modified our set-up to complete all service outdoors,” Nicole said. “A lot of people are coming up to the High Country in general. Our population is growing, and it seems like people are wanting to get out of the cities more these days,” Dylan said. Offering outdoor entertainment remained a priority for us even during covid as it provided a safe way for people to get out of the house, it allowed us to employ musicians all summer long and
Many of the new additions taking place at the winery involve expanded outdoor seating, complete with umbrellas for shade. Seating is also available down near the riverside. 30
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keep our staff on. This year we added Thursdays to the music lineup. I know we get so busy on the weekends that people struggle to find a parking spot and a place to sit. We are trying to market to our locals and second home owners by offering live music on Thursdays when it won’t be quite as busy, and patrons don’t have to worry about crowds. It’s been a success so far this season and next year we may even incorporate Wednesdays into the mix,” Nicole said.
The High Country Becoming a Wine Destination Wineries have started to pop up in different parts of the High Country, in what both Nicole and Dylan think will allow for Grandfather Vineyard & Winery to be part of a bigger “wine destinatin.” “We have four wineries here in our area, and we welcome more to come. The more wineries there are, the more people will want to come to visit. We have great relationships with the other wineries and hopefully, we will continue to grow the wine industry in the high country. Just because we’re not a big winery out west doesn’t mean you can’t find a really nice, average-priced bottle of wine, some local cheese and snacks and make a day out of sitting by the river that runs through our property,” Nicole said. “Wineries and breweries are important to North Carolina. There are many fairs and competitions across the state that recognize North Carolina wines. Recently, one of our wines was in the top 12 for showcase wines for the North Carolina Fine Wine Society competition. Dylan added that the more vineyards that sprout up, the
The Tatum Family has been at the forefront making the winery what it is today: Pictured here are Steve, Sally, Nicole and Dylan Tatum and their three pups. more interest people would have in the High Country wine Trail, which would benefit each of the locations with additional visitors and sales. It’s a win-win for all of us. “As we continue to expand, it’s important to us to continue to treat customers like family and provide a welcoming atmosphere for all. Our winery is more of a destination. Visitors will stay here all day listening to the music, packing a picnic and bringing their kids to play with the winery dogs. We feel incredibly lucky to call this our job. It’s been a blessing to watch the winery grow and see customers return year after year,” said Nicole. We couldn’t ask for anything else. t
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Booneshine Brewing Expands its Brand Locally and Across the State By Nathan Ham
B
ooneshine Brewing has successfully transitioned from summer I fell in love with the mountians and cool climate in the a carport dream into one of the most popular brewer- High Country. I ended up coming back to App State in the early 90s and got a degree in infories and tasting rooms mation systems. So, I ended up in the High Country. Owners with a business degree from Tim Herdklotz and Carson Presbyterian and a degree in Coatney took very different information systems from App paths to Boone, but at the end State,” Herdklotz said. of the day, they both found a His first career out of colshared passion for brewing lege was working at a company their beer. then called Stockholder SysTim, 53, was born in tems, Inc. (SSI) (now part of Houston but moved to CharFiserv), based out of Atlanta. lotte at a very young age where “I spent 20 years working he grew up. He ended up atin the electronic payments tending Presbyterian College Patrons gather around the bar inside the tasting room. business, specifically consumin the mid 80s and spent two seasons playing basketball at the collegiate level. That was when er-based bill payments. So, if you pay your bills online, the company I was with basically invented that. We also created the very he first got to experience what the town of Boone had to offer. “I needed to pick up some credits, so I came to summer school first PC-based banking application,” Tim said. “The job was at App State one year and took a computer science course. That based out of Atlanta, and I got tired of the hot summers there 34
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Founded in 2015
Booneshine offers a great outdoor seating space with food trucks and a beer garden. People are welcome to bring their chairs and their pets to sit outside. and re-evaluate his career path and look and always wanted to move back to the and was in the pre-med program. “While I was at Duke, my family at other opportunities. mountains from my experience here in “I worked as a manager at Backyard college. I found my way back to the high moved to Boone. We had come here several times, and my mom decided to get Burgers, and I had worked there during the country about 15 years ago. It wasn’t long after that when he de- her graduate degree at App State. My summers. I quickly realized I didn’t want to cided it was time to put an old passion to parents moved up here, and I would come go back to med school. I transitioned from home in the summers from Duke,” Coat- there to a job at Samaritan’s Purse workgood use in the High Country. “I was a homebrewer back in the early ney said. “Years later, when my parents ing with Operation Christmas Child managing warehouse operations 90s. A friend of mine that and logistics-type stuff for two was in software developyears,” Carson said. ment came to me and said While he was experiencwe should figure out how to ing these career changes, make our own beer. We went Carson quickly made up his to one of the only homebrew mind that he wanted to start shops in Atlanta and got the his own business. In April of ingredients they had avail2000, he started to put toable and made some beer. It gether plans for a bakery in wasn’t great, but we drank Boone. it. We really fell in love with “Stick Boy was born in that process, and it was the August of 2001, and we same time when craft beer Customers sitting at the picnic tables in the beer garden. started the bakery with cash was starting to get popular in decided to move back to Kentucky, I de- advances from seven credit cards and the U.S.,” Tim said. Carson Coatney’s story began in Hop- cided I wasn’t doing that. I wanted to stay about $70,000 of used equipment. Our staff was my wife and me, her sister, and kinsville, Kentucky, where he grew up here in Boone.” When it came time to begin applying one friend in a 1,000 square foot space near Fort Campbell in the western part of the state. Coatney’s academic career took to medical schools, that’s when Carson, next to a laundromat,” Carson said. “We him to Duke where he studied economics 45, said he decided to take a step back started really small and started growing. July 2021
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ing, Coatney was also expanding his successful business in town. He opened Stick Boy Kitchen during this time and had more on his plate with the two Stick Boy businesses in Boone plus the homebrewing hobby that he and Tim were slowly planning a business around. “One of my employees at Stick Boy was Patrick Sullivan, who later went on to open Basil’s,” Carson said. “Early on, we had a beneficial relationship that would both drive customers to his new restaurant and give us an outlet for people to try our beer. We wanted to start a brewery, but we didn’t want to do the whole tasting room thing. We wanted our initial focus to be brewing really good beer.” When the 1,200-square-foot space right next door to Basil’s became available, it truly felt like the perfect fit for Carson and Tim, and what would eventually become Booneshine. “In July of 2014, we rented the space next to Basils, and it took us a year to build that space out, In 2014, Tim Herdklotz and Carson Coatney are pictured here homebrewing and tasting a stout beer in Carson’s kitchen. They had just completed the brewing process for this beer. get our financing in order and purchase the equipment. When we started, we had three fermentation tanks, and it meant we could brew once one week and twice the next week at full capacity,” Carson explained. “The plan was to brew the beer, and Patrick would put the beers on tap in Basils and sell it. We sold our first beer on July 1, 2015.” To start with, Tim and Carson ran the whole show. “When we started the brewery, we didn’t have any employees. It was me and Tim in there. We were kegging the beer, cleaning the tanks, going out and making calls. We were a brand new, unproven brewery, but we had a few people sign on right away to put our beers on draft,” Carson said. “Pretty quickly, we hired a part-time brewer that was finishing up with a degree from fermentation science at App State. Within the first year, we had a small team of about five people, including the two of us.” Carson and Tim here inside their original 1,200-square-foot brewing space located next to As Carson pointed out, thanks to their previous Basil’s in Boone. The brewing space alone in their new building is about 4,000 square feet. career success, their passion for homebrewing had now turned into a second career. Being able to turn We enjoyed entrepreneurship and enjoyed developing staff and their hobby into a passion, while still making a little money and seeing things grow.” It was around 2010 when Carson and Tim met up through providing a major benefit to the community, was all that really a group of friends at a NASCAR race in Charlotte. After that, mattered. “Our goal from the beginning was to brew really good beer, they got to know each other a little bit more and began going on several fishing trips to the coast with friends. In 2013, the build really good relationships with bars and restaurants, follow two were enjoying dessert at Sweet Frog when Tim approached through on our promises and create products that helped them succeed,” Carson said. Carson with the idea of opening a brewery in Boone. As Booneshine Brewing began to market their product out“At the time, there weren’t any breweries in the High Counside of Basil’s, local stores like Peabody’s and Benchmark Provitry. I had already thought about it as a business opportunity. I sions were “super supportive” from day one and gave the busiam really into the science and chemistry of it. I enjoyed that part ness partners a great spot to sell their beers to both residents and of baking, but brewing beer is even more technical, geekier and visitors alike that made their way into Boone. more scientific. I really liked that aspect of it. I didn’t even have to think about it, it was, ‘Sure, let’s do it!’” Carson said. “For a couple of years, Tim would come over on a Saturday, and we Booneshine Brewing Grows Up would set up the brew system on our carport. We would have a Two years after Booneshine Brewing first started producrecipe picked out, and we had ordered our grain ahead of time ing beer, it quickly became evident that it was time to conon the internet.” sider some kind of expansion. Tim and Carson began figuring While they were learning more and more about homebrew- out how to go about expanding not only beer production and 36
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There are roughly 3,500 square feet of restaurant space for indoor dining at Booneshine Brewing with a mix of modern and eclectic lighting and bar stools made locally. They serve lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday. brand reach but also the possibility of adding a tasting room. “A lot of our conversation centered around what was the biggest brewing system we could fit inside 1,200 square feet. You need to have a system big enough where you don’t have to brew 24 hours a day to make enough product,” Tim said. “So, we started with a 10-barrel system, which is about 300 gallons at a time. We started with that even though it was oversized, but it allowed us to efficiently use
was quickly in package stores and places that didn’t have keg beer.” Tim said looking back on it, the name “Booneshine” was more of a joke at first, but then it started to grow into something that both he and Carson had envisioned. “We initially chuckled at the name Booneshine, but the more we thought about it, the more we liked it. We could call our beer Booneshine, but we could also market things that made Boone shine. It’s the people, the community, the
that space.” The marketing of their beer took off quickly with numerous places wanting to sell Booneshine products. “Right out of the gate, we were expecting to slowly sell some beer in the community, but everyone embraced us from the start, and it was fantastic. We had large buyers all over the county right from the start,” Tim said. “I remember when we first started canning, all of the sudden things accelerated and our brand
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The equipment at Booneshine Brewery includes the canning equipment that they have been utilizing since 2019. The wooden fooder (left) is a large barrel that is used for fermenting beer that can take on the character of the wood. weather, the outdoors, the university, it’s a fantastic place to live. The name has been embraced very strongly by the community,” Tim said. Booneshine IPA was their first beer and has remained a staple product of their beer lineup. Tim said it was a recipe that they first used brewing on Carson’s carport, well before they had ever made the first move to start the brewery. With popularity continuing to grow, it was time to find a new home for the brewery. “A couple of years in we had added three more tanks and there was no room to grow in that building, so we had started looking. Patrick knew and we knew that wasn’t going to be longterm. We started looking for places to expand, and there weren’t a lot of options,” Carson said. The first building they looked at was property owned by local businessman and former App State football player Tommy Sofield. Sofield, who owns U.S. Buildings, moved his steel building production off the mountain to a larger facility, opening up
space at the industrial park off of Highway 421. Carson said negotiations with Sofield went well; however, it ended up being another building just down the road that caught their attention. “We negotiated with the owner, called the broker and submitted an offer, got a counteroffer and signed it that day,” Carson said. After Booneshine was able to move into the new building, they could do about eight brews a week, whereas, in the previous location, they were able to do just one or two brews a week.
Booneshine Brings the Community Together Once Booneshine Brewing moved all of its operations to the industrial park, the idea of a tasting room was born. Giving people a place to come together has turned out to be one of the greatest successes of Booneshine when it comes to building a community and bringing folks together. The opening of the tasting room brought about the popularity of “East Boone.” “We decided just to start calling it East Boone and see if it
The cellar area of the brewery is where the fermentation tanks are. Booneshine has five 30-barrel tanks and seven 10-barrel tanks. The canning line cans about one case of beer per minute. A pallet of cans (right) is waiting to be filled and labeled. 38
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would stick. It has been fun. You wonder how neighborhoods get named, we were sitting around a table with friends trying to figure out what to call this side of town,” Tim said. The tasting room is the real crown jewel of East Boone and has brought so many people together, some through scheduled events and others just through spending an afternoon in the beer garden relaxing. “We’ve created a place where people can come in and share a beer and a meal together and have conversations at individual levels and group levels. We have so many nonprofit events lined up, we can support them and what they are doing. We have built something special that’s not just us, it’s the whole community,” Carson said. “When people say they are so grateful to have Booneshine in this community and thank us for being able to host events — that’s what is cool. The reason we are doing it here is a little bit different. There are lots of ways to make money, this isn’t the easiest way, but we enjoy it, and we feel like we have created something of value.” Tim said that being able to focus on the community and making the best beers possible meant much more to them than just selling high volumes of beer. “We haven’t been trying to sell as much beer as we possibly could across the state, we are trying to do it the right way and partner with the right customers, and we’ve done a pretty good job with that. We are trying to make Boone and the High Country a better place. It’s as simple as that,” Tim said. “If we make great beer and serve great food with great service in an environment where people are comfortable, if we do that well, then the community is going to be here. If community happens here, we feel like Boone is a better place. That’s why we are doing what we’re doing. We love living here. We get a lot of support from local businesses, and we want to return the favor, so we work with a lot of local farms and food suppliers as much as we can. That’s an exciting part of it as well. It’s how we are wired, we just want to make the High Country a better place.” Booneshine Brewing is still a relatively small brewery when you compare them with some of the major brewing companies in the country. However, being a small brewer is something that doesn’t bother Tim or Carson. “We have grown and come a long way, and we are really proud of what we are doing here. The scale of what we are doing on
If there are three or four good breweries somewhere, people will say, ‘Hey, let’s go to Boone one weekend and check out all the breweries.’ That’s a win for everybody, and we recognize that. That’s where that collaborative spirit comes in.” site has exceeded my expectations. We’re still a small company and our brewing team is a team of five guys and a couple of sales guys. The tasting room staff is pretty big, and we have the potential to continue growing. We have slowly chugged away and taken each step where there has been the opportunity,” Carson said. “This really is the culmination of our vision. This feels like we have done what we set out to do. Brew really good beer, self distribute it to a larger geographical area outside of Boone and build a really good team.” Booneshine Brewing was the fourth brewery in the area and the third one in Boone. They came along behind Blowing Rock Brewing, the first brewery in the High Country, as well as Appalachian Mountain Brewery and Lost Province Brewing. Carson does feel like there is still plenty of growth to be made for expanding the brand throughout North Carolina and turning Boone into a brewery destination. “We are a brewery, and we are passionate about brewing beer. The vast majority of our beer is still sold through wholesale channels to wholesale customers. That’s the part of the business that has the opportunity to continue to grow,” he said. “A big part of our brand growth is introducing people to our beer here on site. We are relying on locals, students and tourists, and I think we have done a good job of balancing our demographics. You have to be a really special brewery for somebody to travel somewhere just to visit your brewery, but if there are three or four good breweries somewhere, people will say, ‘Hey, let’s go to Boone one weekend and check out all the breweries.’ That’s a win for everybody, and we recognize that. That’s where that collaborative spirit comes in.” t
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As Mary Greene continues her performace career, she played at a recent tribute show for Dr. Charlotte Ross at the Hickory Ridge Living History Museum.
She may be most well known for her traditional Appalachian musical talents, but Mary Greene has achieved so much more. She’s spent her life being a dedicated folklorist and educator among many other titles. All of these experiences have grown organically and have become her different seasons of life. 44
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Mary Greene Master Artist of Mountain Music By Harley Nefe
T
he tunes of traditional music have been echoing off the Appalachian Mountains for a long time. When country folks gather with fiddles, banjos, dulcimers and more to pluck the strings of their instruments, it creates lively scenes that move audience members to socialize, dance and tap their toes like there’s no tomorrow. One Watauga County community musician who has been keeping the sounds of old-time music alive is Mary Greene. She was recently awarded the 2021 Folk & Traditional Arts Master Artist Fellowship from South Arts, which is a nonprofit regional arts organization empowering artists, organizations and communities, while striving to increase access to arts and culture. “The South Arts Folk & Traditional Arts Master Artist Fellowship is quickly becoming one of the premier accolades for traditional artists in the south,” said Mark Freed, Cultural Resources Director for the Town of Boone. Greene is one of only 15 artists across a tri-state region of Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee to receive the fellowship this year, and she is one of only five recipients in North Carolina. “Mary exemplifies so much about our region,” Freed said. “She grew up playing music in a local church and the schools; went on to perform and teach the mountain dulcimer; played in traditional oldtime string bands; documented shape-note singing; had a career teaching privately, in public schools and in community programs. Then adding in her curiosity, tenacity and care for the traditions and tradition bearers, she is the ultimate traditional musician and folklorist all rolled into one amazing master artist.” Greene is a traditional singer of Appalachian ballads and folk songs, a shapenote singer, a mountain dulcimer player, as well as a multi-instrumentalist. As a recipient of the fellowship, she was rewarded $12,000 to pursue lifelong learning goals and to continue her practice.
“It’s an incredible award, and I’m very grateful,” Greene said. “My older parents and relatives who loved homemade music were my first influence. Later on, I sought out other community traditional musicians who could teach me more of the old songs and instrumental styles. I found something I loved, and I just kept learning more every
the country on Castle Ford Road. Her father was a full-time farmer, and her mother was a school teacher. Greene’s parents met later in life and had two children. “My mom was part of the World War II generation when so many women’s sweethearts, as well as family members, were killed,” Greene explained. “So, my
From a photoshoot by Debbie DeVita in the 1990s, Mary Greene flashes her famous smile.
chance I got.” Music has played an important role in Greene’s life since she was just a child. Her love and admiration for the mountain music that so many in this area appreciate always kept her close to home. Greene still lives in the small house her parents built for her grandparents that is located opposite the farmhouse she grew up in. She lives north of Boone and out in
mother never married for many years, and when she did, it was to a man from what she termed as the older generation.” Greene’s father was born in 1897, and her mother was born in 1912. “My brother and I grew up here in the country, and our extended family had a lot of farmers,” Greene said. “There was a lot of music in the family, but nobody was a professional or anything.” July 2021
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(Top Photo) The Appalachian Cultural Museum presented a workshop, where Mary as the Director of Education taught students how to build and play cardboard dulcimers in the 1990s (Right Photo) Mary has taught people ages 8-94 how to play the mountain dulcimer in lessons and workshops for the past four decades. Greene’s respect and love of music comes straight from her father’s heritage. “My dad loved music; there was always singing in our home,” Greene reminisced. “He sang mainly hymns, and he whistled. He had a little song he would sing when he put us on the truck to go to work in the fields. It was ‘Get on Board Little Children.’” Music was a regular part of life through church, and as a result, Greene knows a lot of old Baptist hymns. She also learned shape-note singing from her church and family. The tradition of shape-note singing in Greene’s family traces back to her grandmother who sang out of the Christian Harmony tunebook of the 1800s. Her grandmother was also a ballad singer, and Greene still has her ballad box, which is a stationary box filled with handwritten lyrics to ballads and folksongs. At that time, staples weren’t available, so the pages were sewn together at the top with thread as needed. Most lyrics are dated and signed by the local women who shared it with her grandmother, and some papers date back as far as 1913. 46
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Greene’s father and his siblings attended shape-note singing schools, which were common in Watauga County in the first half of the twentieth century. One of Greene’s aunts played the pump organ for the family church. Greene’s parents sought out and found a piano teacher for her, hoping that she would learn enough to help with music at their church. Greene’s father also had hoped for a family gospel quartet, but he ended up with a duo — him and his daughter. “I became a church pianist very early in my teens,” Greene said. “I had the good fortune to be playing piano with a singing
leader named Grady Wilson, who taught and used the shape-notes. I also accompanied choruses in both elementary and high school years. I have continued my involvement in church music through most of my adult years.” She learned to play the piano from an itinerant teacher named Lucille Cooke, who offered piano lessons through the elementary schools. “Oh, that lady! She could make you love music,” Greene exclaimed. Greene’s parents arranged for both of their children to have lessons, and for Greene, those lessons were critical for
Mary looks in awe at her mentor, Ora Watson, a 1995 North Carolina Heritage Award recipient who played music for over 80 years. her development as a musician who could bridge both worlds of playing by ear and of reading standard music notation. “Daddy brought home a used piano on the back of the truck when I was five,” Greene said. “Once the piano was brought in the house, I would sit down and try to learn to play songs by ear before I was old enough for lessons.” When it comes to learning an instrument, Greene said someone has to have both opportunity and determination. “When you are a child, somebody has to give you access to that instrument,” Greene said. “That’s all about other people. Then what you do with that instrument once your hands get on it, that’s up to you.” Greene compared instruments to puzzles that you have to sit down and figure out how they work in order to get the different sounds. “I enjoy figuring out how to play new instruments by myself, but I also learn by being around other musicians,” Greene said. “Learners need to be around other people because they will show you things and speed up your learning process. Mrs. Cooke was so wonderful because I was always creating on the piano by ear, and I would bring in my newest personal composition, and she’d say, ‘Oh, that’s wonderful, Mary. Let’s learn how to write it down.’” Music continued as a passion of Greene’s through her elementary years at Green Valley School and into her years at Watauga High School. She learned to play the trumpet the first year Watauga’s band program was expanded to the county elementary schools. She received the Arion Award in music after her high school senior year then continued her trumpet studies at Appalachian State University. “I was really good at playing trumpet, but I laid
Mary Greene, Ora Watson and Amy Michaels of The Cacklin’ Hens provided entertainment at a Chamber of Commerce banquet in 1989.
With the assistance of Marshal Craven, owner and operator of Star Recording Studio in North Wilkesboro, Mary Greene helped Ora Watson record her music for future generations. July 2021
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Mary played along with Cecil Gurganus, Gil Adams and Rick Stone of the Laurel Creek String Band at one of their annual lineups, Walter and Barbara Pitts family’s Fourth of July fundraiser. it down to pursue my love of traditional music,” Greene said. She described herself as a perpetual student and said that anytime a door opened for her in music, she took it. If there was a spot available in a chorus or an opportunity to learn an instrument, she took it. “Watauga County public schools have a rich musical environment, and the band and choral programs here are fabulous and have wonderful teachers,” Greene said. One musician who had a huge impact on Greene was one of her professors at App State, Dr. William “Bill” Spencer. During Greene’s first year in the music department, she joined a guitar class in the program that Dr. Spencer had just recently founded. Greene made such progress that Dr. Spencer hired her as a student instructor her second year. She began teaching guitar as a sophomore teaching freshmen through graduate students under his supervision. Dr. Spencer’s main instrument as a classical musician was the bassoon, but he was also a country harmonica player and woodworker. Watauga County had a rich tradition of dulcimer players and builders, and Dr. Spencer became very interested. He became a student and friend of these traditional players learning their tunings and methods of playing. “He said, ‘People are going to these dulcimer builders, buying the instruments, and then just hanging them on walls because they don’t know how to play them.’” Greene recalled. “So, Dr. Spencer started the Appalachian State University Dulcimer Playing Workshop in 1978, which endured for about two decades.” Dr. Spencer included a visit to the traditional builders as part of the workshop week, which stabilized their income signif48
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Mary with Joe Shannon playing in front of a crowd in the 1980s.
icantly and built many long-term relationships. This workshop grew from about 60 participants to around 200 and featured the top national dulcimer teachers. Greene taught at and performed at this workshop for many years and was brought in contact with the best players from across the U.S. as a result. Dr. Spencer also loaned Greene her first dulcimer. “He showed me how to tune it and played up and down the melody string a bit, handed it to me and said, ‘Now go home and figure out how to play it,’” Greene said. “And that’s what I did.” Dr. Spencer recognized Greene’s strong interest in traditional music, and knowing that she needed an instrument, he surprised her one day as she was working as a breakfast waitress at Greene’s Motel. He presented her with a dulcimer built from pieces of kits from both Leonard Glenn and Stanley Hicks, who were renowned traditional musicians and instrument builders. “It’s probably the only one of its type in the world,” Greene related. As part of his research, Dr. Spencer wanted to document traditional musicians, and he invited Greene to help him make recordings by running the camera. By giving Greene this kind of opportunity, he introduced her to various individuals including Ora Watson, who became one of Greene’s greatest mentors. “I met Ora Watson and her husband one day when I showed up to film, and I remember being entranced by them,” Greene recounted. “At some point, I told her I wanted to learn this older mountain music, and she said, ‘Well, just come along and go with me!’” Ora Watson and Greene traveled to
festivals, fiddlers’ conventions and even musicians’ homes to meet other traditional musicians. Eventually, they started an all-women band with Beth Jones and Amy Michaels named the Cacklin’ Hens, which performed for the North Carolina Governor. “Mrs. Ora invited me into her musical world,” Greene reminisced. “It all goes back to being in the right place at the right time with the right people. In those moments of opportunity, I had enough sense to take advantage of them. My years with Mrs. Ora grew into a strong and enduring friendship.” Ora Watson showed off her many musical talents whenever she performed. She played the fiddle, banjo, mandolin and guitar. She had a tremendous repertoire of folk songs and ballads, as well as early country and bluegrass songs. Greene would later help Ora Watson gain recognition for her skills as a traditional musician. She received a North Carolina Heritage Award in 1995. Ora Watson played professionally from the age of 11 to 95 before passing away at the age of 96. “I was invested in documenting her life and music; she was truly a unique individual,” Greene said. “I’ve always been attracted to that combination of music and older folks, and I loved the lively ones who were still delighted in the joy of life and music. Ora was still dancing and fiddling around 90 years old, and she could rev up a crowd! She was the life of the party, and it was incredible to be learning from an older female musician like that.” While following in Ora Watson’s footsteps, Greene’s music skills flourished, and she was called to perform for many events and gatherings. At one of the venues, she ended up meeting a local fiddler named Cecil Gurganus. He already had an active
“I view myself as a comgroup named the Laurel Creek munity musician, and I try to String Band. Greene joined bring my older parents, our the group when Cecil’s guitar family, our way of life and player, his wife Julie, needed even our religious traditions to look after their small chilto life during my performancdren. Several years later when es,” Greene said. “I feel that I another opening developed am just one representative of a in the Laurel Creek group, larger culture that I treasure. I Greene suggested teaming up want to help my audience enwith Ora Watson and focusing ter and understand this world on featuring Ora and her rich with appropriate respect. My musical repertoire. family, community and local “Ora Watson really was church shaped much of who I a mentor for all of us young am and gave me the opportupeople,” Gurganus said. “Ora nities to grow as a musician. became our front person in a Later, our local university way, and she was our ticket Cecil Gurganus and Mary Greene played at a particularly memorable event, gave me the training and creto get into a lot of performTom and Barbara Perrin’s wedding in Celo, North Carolina in the 1980s. dentials I needed to document ing opportunities. We got to do and promote our regional herisome prestigious folklife fes“One thing about Mary is that she can tage. I credit a lot of people entival performances because of who Ora was. But I credit Mary for being really include everybody in the group,” couraging me along the way and pointing so good at capturing the audience and pre- he said. “She doesn’t want to exclude me in directions that have enhanced my senting Ora and her music. She is a natural anybody, and she has a way of drawing life so much. I hope that I can do that for people in so that everyone gets a chance some other folks along the way.” person on stage to front a band.” And Greene already has. Gurganus has now known Greene for to play. I’ve seen that over and over. She’s Mark Freed, who is the Cultural Reclose to 40 years, and they have played just got a real heart to include people in sources Director for the Town of Boone, many gigs together throughout that time. the music.” Music is a social activity, and with that said he owes a lot of debt and gratitude to He described her as being so full of life and comes many connections. Greene, as she paved the way for him and fun to be around.
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One of Mary’s Seasons
of Life
REMEMBERING THE APPALACHIAN CULTURAL MUSEUM: How Mary Greene Helped Document and Preserve Cultural Traditions
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n the late 1980s, Mary Greene became were developing the plan for the museum, played family photographs from around the involved with the Appalachian Cultural Dr. Cratis Williams, a great Appalachian 1880s to the 1920s. Greene sang the song Museum, which focused on the rich history scholar who founded the graduate program “Uncloudy Day” with mountain dulcimer acand cultural traditions of the Appalachian at Appalachian State University, said, “If we companiment and recorded the soundtrack don’t do anything else, we have to overturn of the slideshow. Mountains. “Mary’s song was really compelling,” “I was just coming along and had the the Appalachian stereotype.” “That was the central goal of the muse- Watkins said. “The opening show wouldn’t right set of interests and gradually had developed my organizational and academic um,” Watkins explained. “The theme of the have existed without Mary, and it set the abilities,” she said. “I was willing to work opening show was that one can’t under- whole tone for what the museum was about. She’s the only one who hard, and I loved working could have done that.” with people and presenting Greene also sourced many Appalachian traditions and of the images that the musehistory.” um used from her own family The Appalachian Cultural connections. Museum opened in 1989 and “She was very helpful in eventually closed in 2006. how she connected with peoGreene served as the Director ple,” Watkins said. “Mary is the of Education for the museum kind of person that everybody for several years, and she inienjoys having around. She tiated several programs that has always been interested in were very successful. what people are doing, and The museum’s former she was just a great person for director and retired history that job.” professor Dr. Charles “Chuck” Greene’s tasks included Watkins said he first came in doing things that she already contact with Greene when he had a passion for which inwas planning content for the cluded reaching out to people, museum. Mary with Dorlo Thomas, Administrative Director of the Appalachian Cultural hearing their stories, learning “I knew her background Museum, showing off the museum’s Outstanding Achievement Award from the their crafts, interacting in their in Appalachian Studies and Western North Carolina Historical Society in 1990. worlds, documenting and prehow she had the academic serving traditions, and passand personal background — that was good,” Watkins said. “We wanted stand mountain people by looking at what ing on the knowledge as a folklorist. “Mary has both an insider and outsider somebody who could connect with the lo- outside photographers have published. You cal community. We wanted to respect and can understand the culture best by looking ability to study folklife in the sense that include the people we were supposed to at family albums and seeing how people she’s not coming to the culture academically, but she brings an academic training to be interpreting. We needed someone who wanted themselves to be depicted.” And Greene helped with that concept. it,” Watkins said. “I think that has helped her could speak to those people, and Mary, of One aspect of the museum that impacted considerably and has made her the success course, was the ideal person for that.” Watkins further shared that when they visitors was this introductory show that dis- that she is.”
Pictured is the Appalachian Cultural Museum, which opened in 1989 and closed in 2006. One of Mary’s family’s large weaving looms was on display in the gallery. 50
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his role. Freed came to Boone to attend the Appalachian Studies graduate program at App State, and at the time, Greene was teaching a course called Appalachian Music, and Freed became her teaching assistant for a semester. “I would listen to Mary deliver her lectures about Appalachian music, and then I would help her carry instruments, recordings and things she brought to class back to her car, and we would end up standing in the parking lot next to her car for two hours after class,” Freed said. “We would have a 50-minute class, and then we would spend two hours by her car talking outside.” Outside of class, Greene and Gurganus invited Freed to play music with the Laurel Creek String Band. “It was head first into the tradition, which was very much why I came here,” Freed said. Beyond that, Freed graduated with his master’s degree in Appalachian Studies and was getting ready to go to Indiana University to get a folklore and ethnomusicology PhD. At the same time, Greene was working with the Watauga Arts Council to write a salary assistance grant to create a folklorist position for herself. After she completed submitting the grant proposal, Greene decided to go back to school instead and get her teaching certificate in hopes of teaching in the local public schools. The folklorist grant proposal received funding, and Greene recommended Freed for the position. Freed got the job with the Watauga Arts Council, which involved working with them and working at App State teaching the Appalachian Music course that he had assisted Greene with earlier in his career. Greene intentionally took herself out of the performing world and went into public school teaching. There she discovered that she absolutely loved working with grade school children. Greene was a K-6 general music education for Ashe County Public Schools at Westwood Elementary, where she had between 700 and 900 students she taught weekly. She was 3.5 years into that journey when her husband, Pat Baker, had a heart attack and unexpectedly passed away. “Pat was so sweet,” Freed said. “Pat would be at every gig, and he would be toting Mary’s instruments or watching their daughter, Kathleen, and he was so supportive and a really nice guy. When
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One of Mary’s Seasons of Life REMEMBERING THE 1 982 WORLD’S FAIR IN KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE: How a Group of Like-minded Folks Shaped Mary Greene’s Cultural Understanding
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ary Greene’s list of achievements would not be complete without mentioning her participation in the internationally acclaimed 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee. A World’s Fair is an exhibition of a wide variety of industrial, scientific and cultural items from countries around the world. At one end of the immense fairground, was the Folklife Festival, which is considered to be the longest running folklife festival in the history of the world. Greene found herself spending a lot of time at the six-month long fair because of support she received from her professors and knowledge she learned at Appalachian State University. Greene was a trumpet major at App State preparing to become a band director, but she had a feeling that there was something missing in her life. “I loved playing the trumpet, but I knew that being a band director was not exactly what I wanted to do,” Greene shared. “I couldn’t figure out a path to where I wanted to be.” With the guidance of her professors, she deepened her knowledge of folk music, so she soon changed gears and took an Appalachian Studies course under Dr. Patricia “Pat” Beaver in the Department of Anthropology. “This course was eye opening for me,” Greene said. “It was incredible to study my own culture!” With passion restored in her, she considered she wanted to be an ethnomusicologist, or someone who studies the music of different cultures. One of her professors, Dr. Herbert “Max” Smith, a classical music specialist, sponsored Greene in an independent study on the mountain banjo. Another professor, Dr. William “Bill” Spencer, sponsored Greene on an independent study on American folk guitar styles. She was also able to arrange an independent study with Rhoda Cherny, a viola da gamba player, who had studied ethnomusicology with Alan Merriam, the author of The Anthropology of Music. “Within the classical music network, my teachers saw me as a student who had a passion for folk music, but they had no way to frame it with relevant classes,” Greene said. “They worked with me to create independent study classes that deepened my knowledge of traditional music. About that same time, I became a library assistant with Dr. Charlotte Ross in the Appalachian Col52
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lection at Belk Library.” Dr. Ross was an authority on the folklore of the Appalachian Mountains, and was a protégé of Dr. Cratis Williams, who was a great Appalachian scholar and is considered the “father of Appalachian Studies.” Both of these individuals fed Greene a wealth of information and pushed her to continue pursuing her interests with the start of the Appalachian Studies graduate program. “These professors helped me become this person who is able to present knowledgeably about Appalachian music and folklore, and then I received the validation of earning my master’s degree,” Greene said. However, the support Greene received from faculty at App State didn’t stop there. “When you’re young, you can’t always battle for yourself, and my professors saw my interests moving in a certain direction, and they helped me,” Greene said. Dr. Beaver, who was the head of the ASU Appalachian Studies program at the time, shared with Greene the opportunity to ap-
Mary at the woodworking exhibition of the 1982 World’s Fair.
ply for an internship with the 1982 World’s Fair. Around the age of 25, Greene applied for the internship, and Dr. Beaver advocated for her to get the position. “She was so good for her students,” Greene reflected. “She saw an opportunity, and she knew that it would be incredible for me.” Greene received the internship, which quickly led to a full-time job in the Folklife Festival for her. Greene’s responsibilities included acting as the initial host to the new arrivals. Every Sunday afternoon, 50-70 musicians, cooks, craftspeople and scholars would arrive. “The first week I got so attached to the participants that when they left, I cried,” Greene said. “Then came another group, and they would be there for six or seven days, and then another group would arrive.” As time went on, Greene accompanied guitarist Etta Baker, of Morganton, and helped demonstrate social dance with the Irish American performances. She assisted traditional cooks in the foodways exhibition area and became a multi-tasking employee who could also provide introductions to folklore films and presentations as well as emcee on both the folklife stages. Greene met many performers, and in the evenings, the musicians from all these different traditions would gather to jam and Greene was a constant presence. “It was incredible,” Greene remembered. “I lived in one of the folklife houses for two months with the participants before I got a place to stay just one block away. I got to know a lot of people and was offered areas to grow in. It thrust me into the national world of folklife presentation.” At the World’s Fair, Greene met so many important figures including Ralph Rinzler, who was a mandolinist, folksinger and the co-founder of the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Rinzler was responsible for promoting Doc Watson’s rise to national recognition in its early stages. She also met Mick Moloney, who is a traditional Irish musician and scholar; Worth Long, who is an expert on African American folklore; and Mary Hufford, who became a prominent public folklorist. Getting the opportunity to meet this eclectic group of rising scholars and folklorists served as a pivotal point in Greene’s musical endeavors that helped launch her career and broaden her horizons.
Doc Watson, pictured here with his wife Rosa Lee Carlton, Steve Smith and Mary, would be the headliner performance at Appalachian State University with several other musicians being featured. they first had the DARE officer position in the public schools, he was the guy they identified right away to do that because he was so personable and friendly. He liked kids and loved being around people.” Greene said the staff and students at Westwood Elementary School really helped her get through this tough time, as she always had children hugging her in the hallways and coworkers to be with and talk to. Despite the heartbreaking loss of her husband, Greene excelled as a teacher and used her traditional music skills as part of the overall curriculum. While at Westwood Elementary School, all her fourth grade students learned how to play the mountain dulcimer. She also played the fiddle and called dances for her students at the same time. She wrote grants to purchase ukuleles, world music instruments and Orff instruments for her classroom and included guitar and uke instruction in her curriculum. She became a Level III Orff certified teacher and worked to improve her skills in music education constantly. “She brought to her classroom teaching the usual things expected of a public school music teacher, but she added extras that not every music education student in North Carolina is going to be taught,” Freed said. “Mary is rooted in it. She’s doing it as a mentor and a teacher and is passing it on. She has so much enthusiasm. Music is such a part of her life that it’s infectious, so she’s really great at teaching. She’s 110% most of the time. She’s excited to talk about traditional music and folklore. When you get her onto the topics that she is passionate about, she’s a ball of energy.” Freed described Greene as the type of
person who can make things happen. She tackled the project of creating a film about Watauga County shape-note singers and the local tradition in 2003-2004. Greene enlisted the help of two local shape-note singing leaders Clint Cornett and Neil Oliver. Cherry Johnson, the Director of the Watauga County Arts Council at the time, assisted in the grant proposal process. The project received funding from the North Carolina Arts Council, Folklife Section. Then the real work began. Approximately 200 shape-note singers from North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia participated in the making of the film. Greene had taken a class in video production years earlier with Joe Murphy at App State, which proved useful. The process of filming, editing, copyright research and coordination of people was arduous. But in the end, the film that was produced was a source of pride to the participants, Greene and the NC Arts Council. “Mary is a great example of how traditional music stays alive,” Freed said. “Mary has tapped into those roots and is excited about it. She just loves to welcome people in and share this music with others. She does it so easily because she’s so entrenched in the tradition, and that will be one of her bigger legacies — all the connections she’s made between people and the projects that she planted the seeds for in order for them to come to fruition.” Greene has since retired from Ashe County Public Schools, but she continues to teach for the Junior Appalachian Musician community program and gives private music lessons to students. “I have one young student who I’ve
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Mary Greene who is now 66 has been looking back over her career and reminiscing. She’s in the process of indexing and organizing all of her past memories, including this professional photo Jim Foreman took in exchange for a musical performance. been teaching how to play the mountain dulcimer who is already building instruments,” Greene said. “He’s 12, and it’s just in him to do this. I recently gave his great grandmother an old fiddle that was dropped off on my front porch some years ago. It’s not intact, and I’m hoping the puzzle of putting it back together will teach him more about instrument construction. I have another student who is almost 13 who has grown so much as a singer and guitarist in the last three years that we have been working together. I have been teaching him several styles of guitar playing, and he is really developing as a singer. I expect to buy tickets to hear him perform one day in the future! Music is something everyone needs in their lives, but certain children have a profound hunger to pursue it. I am privileged every time I get to work with one of these students and have the chance to help them develop that talent.” Since Greene was trained to be a band director, she learned to teach all of the concert band instruments including snare drum, saxophone, trombone and more. Over the years, she has learned piano, trumpet, guitar, mountain dulcimer, hammer dulcimer, mandolin, flute, penny whistle, concertina, ukulele and just about anything that someone places in her hands. “I think what’s so special about Mary is that she really just embodies so much of it,” Freed said. “She embraces the oldtime music as her heart and soul, but she 54
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can also read music and play trumpet in a marching band. To have both, I think, is really special. There are not a lot of people who really dive into the traditional stuff and who also do band, orchestra and school music education. That’s unique! Plus, she has status as an independent scholar and has managed to fulfill the role of a public folklorist often. She’s just such a unique person.” Greene’s plan has been to reenergize her traditional music life in her retirement, and the South Arts Folk & Traditional Arts Master Artist Fellowship gives her the funds and the focus to make that happen. Applications for the South Arts’ Folk & Traditional Arts Master Artist Fellowship were open throughout the fall and winter of 2020, and recipients were selected by a panel of folklorists and traditional artists. Applicants submitted samples of their work, descriptions of their practice and history and proposals for lifelong learning opportunities. “I’m usually pretty ambitious in whatever I try, so when I applied for the fellowship, I talked to an advisor at South Arts, and they advised me to make my proposal pandemic friendly,” Greene said. “It’s wonderful to receive this honor and funding because this will allow me to focus more on what I’ve been wanting to do, which is to continue to improve and grow my skills.” She said she plans to utilize the funds in two different ways. Greene anticipates visiting several research centers, such as
the Library of Congress, to look through archives to learn more about the history of Appalachian music. “One part of my proposal is digging into regional and national music archives,” Greene said. “There I will be listening to recordings and continuing to grow my own repertoire. I’ve already started to get some of this done through digitized online archives. A final goal of mine is to take some of the best songs and record them myself. Then the other part of the proposal is to attend national or regional gatherings.” She plans to network with other musicians including ballad singers, dulcimer players and shape-note singers. Greene expects these new learning opportunities will impact and expand her performance repertoire and teaching curriculum. “I’ve always tried to help other traditional musicians, so it’s exciting to have an opportunity to grow myself and to continue sharing this music,” Greene related. “I always want young people to know that if they have a passion about something and stay with it, it will yield very positive results in their lives. I see that happening in my own life because I had a God-given talent and love for music that I continued to work at over many years. It has given me so many opportunities that I never would have dreamed of when I was young!” For more information about Mary Greene and stories she has written about Ora Watson and other traditional musicians, visit www.marygreenemusic.com. t
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Appalachian 56
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Together by Design Bill Dixon Leads a Team of Four Who Have Been Together for 20 Years Story By Jan Todd Photography by Tara Diamond
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randfather Mountain’s Top Shop, the Animal Emergency Clinic of the High Country, Blowing Rock Market, and King Street Flats: What do they have in common? Like many iconic structures in the High Country, these buildings were all designed by the team at Appalachian Architecture, P.A. in Boone. Bill Dixon, who founded the firm in 1989, is quick to share accolades with his team of three: Project Managers, Leigh Blevins and Kelly Coffey, and Office Manager, Joyce Hagaman. The four — all natives of the High Country — have worked together for more than 20 years and consider one another “like family.” Dixon earned his Architecture degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and returned to Boone to open his own firm with just “one client and a business card,” he said. Coffey was the first to join Dixon, then Blevins about a year
On the rooftop of the Lifestore Bank Building are Bill Dixon, Leigh Blevins, Kelly Coffey, Bill Dixon and Joyce Hagaman.
Architecture July 2021
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Appalachian Architecture designed this 4-story building on Blowing Rock Road for AF Bank (now LifeStore) in the early 2000’s. To make the best use of space and adhere to green space requirements, a rooftop patio was installed for the employees to enjoy the outdoors.
the project, Dixon said. Many people don’t understand the complexity of an Architect’s job. Architects are often the conductors of a large and unruly orchestra whose members have differing goals and objectives. Yes, they do create the overall look and design of a building, but visual appearance is just the “tip of the iceberg.” Today’s buildings are complicated “living organisms.” Not unlike our bodies, buildings have skin, bones and brains with complex internal systems that have to work together. Buildings are temperature and moisture sensitive. They need to breathe. Buildings wear out and have life spans just like ourselves. Buildings must be safe, functional, economical and meet
later, and Hagaman about five years later. Their easy working relationship extends to clients and other partners in the construction process as well. “Being collaborative is part of our company’s culture,” Dixon said. “And that makes the results better.”
Building Blocks in the Process Appalachian Architecture designs both commercial and residential projects. Depending on the size, location, and scope of the project, a typical residential home averages 1-2 years from initial design to completion, while a commercial job may take longer. Once a client secures a site and decides to build, the Architect is one of the first professionals involved in
ECRS Building at New Market
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Hanna Family Mix Use, Main St Blowing Rock
July 2021
the needs of its occupants. Architects are involved in all phases of development from site selection, site planning, and feasibility studies to building design and selection of materials and colors. Their work involves design, engineering, managing, supervising and communicating with everyone involved in the design approval and construction process. On larger projects, this can involve over 100 people from inception to occupancy. Ultimately, Architects have to commit their ideas to paper for other people to turn into buildings. Drawing is just one of the many skills a successful architect needs to have in their tool bag. Architects have to be aware of local, county, state and federal building codes and zoning ordinances which vary from state to state and town to town. This not only includes addressing accessibility, public health, safety and welfare issues, but the details of creating safe and environmentally friendly buildings - from the overall structure to the smallest details of interior design. They need to be sensitive to the environment, their client’s needs and budget and the context of the buildings. Architects need to be good listeners, good communicators, facilitators and possess the ability to lead often fractious groups into consensus. It helps to be a good public speaker and be comfortable presenting ideas to committees, councils and commissioners. Architects often coordinate the work of many professional and engineers from the site work which could include survey, environmental and subsurface testing, civil engineering, structural, plumbing and electrical engineering to the building specialties including structural, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, fire safety and sound engineering. If a project is within town limits,
Main & Pine Mix Use, Blowing Rock
The Appalachian Architecture team has built a solid reputation for design and customer service in the High Country. From left: Joyce Hagaman, Bill Dixon, Leigh Blevins and Kelly Coffey. zoning issues and other ordinances must also be considered. “In the case of a recent hotel project, before we got involved, the Civil Engineer spent about a year with the Town Council and the Board of Adjustment to determine if we could build a 4-story hotel or a 5-story hotel,” Dixon said. The hotel is a great example of a community-based design which we strongly
St. Francis of Assis in Jefferson
advocate. The process included neighborhood meetings and input from Board of Adjustment, Planning Commission and Town Council. As a result, we completely changed the exterior of the building. The developer made compromises. The hotel franchise agreed to use finishes and materials reflective of the mountains, but atypical of their brand. The collaborative process produced a better building,
supported by the neighborhood and ultimately approved by Planning Commission and Town Council.
The Local Advantage Knowledge of zoning regulations and local ordinances is one advantage Appalachian Architecture holds over out-ofarea firms. Skip Greene, Owner of Greene Con-
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United Community Bank, Blowing Rock
struction, Inc. in Boone, has worked with Dixon and his team for 20+ years on various projects in the High Country. “In the Boone community, Bill Dixon is probably most up-to-date on building regulations and ordinances. He knows how to work with those in the Planning and Inspections Department, how to make the process smooth,” said Greene. “Most don’t realize the regulations related to parking, colors, and materials. While someone from outside the area may spend months digging through the ordinances to see if they can build what they designed, Bill already knows the rules,” Greene added. Greene’s company worked on the AF Bank (now LifeStore) building, located on Blowing Rock Road, with Appalachian Architecture in the early 2000’s. Ordinances dictated a certain amount of recreational space for the site, but the building was too large to allow room to meet
the requirement. “Bill worked with the Town and Civil Engineer and ended up putting the recreational space on the roof,” Green described. “That’s an example of his working with the Town, coming up with a creative solution that satisfied everyone.” Appalachian Architecture is also accustomed to handling considerations unique to the mountains. Kelly Coffey explained, “For a commercial project, accessibility is a big deal in the mountains, because of the lay of the land. We have to consider how people can get in and out of a property, and often have more limitations than we’d have on flat open land.” Rocks, water, and steep terrain are sometimes incorporated in the design. For example, the Animal Emergency Clinic of the High Country, located on Highway 105, was sited on a lot between a creek and the rocky face of a mountain. “If that wasn’t enough, it was in a flood-
Boone Point mixed use, Boone
plain,” Dixon added. “Kelly came up with a striking design for the building, with a portion of it cantilevered over the floodplain,” Dixon said. “David Linzey, the Owner, gave her complete freedom, and trusted us to come up with a solution that met his needs.” Linzey said, “The team from Appalachian Architecture was very accommodating, flexible, and had lots of great ideas that we didn’t even think about. I gave them a floorplan of how we wanted the interior laid out — the waiting area, offices, the exam rooms and treatment areas, and they handled the rest.” Linzey said he was so pleased with the firm’s work that he had them design his second building next door for the Pet Care Clinic. “The design for the emergency clinic was so well received by customers and people driving by, we wanted the same sort of look for our second building. The buildings have the feel of a mountain lodge. They’re not identical, but complementary, which is what we wanted.” It was important to Linzey to have a design team invested in his project, he said. “Being local, plus the fact that they all have pets, allowed them to get very involved with us in the project, and I think they had fun with it. They included some details, like paw prints embedded in the walls, to make the look unique.”
A Mountain Design
Bill Dixon, pictured here in 1993, earned his architecture degree from UNC-Charlotte in 1988 and set up shop in Boone in 1991. 60
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In addition to the mountain location playing a role in the physical design, it also influences the style of buildings, Dixon said. “We fit the design to the context of the mountains,” he said. “The fun part of my job is coming up with concepts, what a building looks like, how it is shaped. There’s a bit of mystery and magic to the process,” Dixon said. A building needs to fit within its environment, while having a “look” that
The Top Shop for Grandfather Mountain, designed in the early 2000’s, incorporates a design to withstand potential wind gusts up to 120+ miles per hour, annual snowfall of 53 inches, and a rocky terrain. is different than the building next door, Dixon continued. “I try to be respectful to the mountains,” he said, incorporating design elements and materials that complement the natural surroundings. “Our buildings are contextual. In Blowing Rock, buildings have a particular style. In Boone, we have a broader vocabulary, because it’s bigger with more
variety,” Dixon said. Sometimes the “look” of a building is the easiest consideration. For instance, in the early 2000’s, when Appalachian Architecture was selected to design the new Top Shop on the peak of Grandfather Mountain, Dixon and his team addressed some of the biggest challenges of his career. We wanted the building to serve the
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public yet disappear into the rocky crags of Grandfather Mountain. Wind gusts on the top of Grandfather Mountain reach up to 120+ miles per hour, and the average winter snowfall is about 53 inches. The Top Shop — housing an elevator, a gift shop, restrooms, and museum — is subject to brutal winds, ice pellets and temperatures that dip well
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below zero degrees. In addition, the rocky terrain limits access to water and septic options. In the busiest months of June and July, the original building would often run out of water completely. Grandfather Mountain’s goal was to make the Mile High Swinging Bridge wheelchair accessible which it had never been. This required an elevator which required three-phase power, which also became an issue prior to construction. To a great degree, the building was built around the elevator. “We worked with Greene Construction and spent the first year on top of the mountain drilling, looking for dirt for the septic, looking for places to put wells, and trying to determine how to get power to the top of the mountain. We couldn’t
place power poles up the mountain, because of the visual appearance plus the terrain was too rocky to place the poles,” Dixon recalled. In cooperation with Mountain Electric, the power lines were approved to be laid on the ground, encased in concrete. A new well was drilled at the top, and large retaining tanks were installed to hold water for use. During busy seasons, the well runs continually and the tanks replenish at night for the next day. The septic system was ultimately installed at the bottom of the mountain where there was dirt near the entrance on Highway 221. Next to the Top Shop, there are underground holding tanks that store sewage which is transported to the septic field as needed. At the time, the septic system is only one of two systems
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in the state that was approved to store and haul wastes to a remote septic field. The other system located in the fragile ecosystem of the Outer Banks. “All of this work happened before we even started the building,” Dixon said. When designing the building, Dixon worked with Sutton-Kennerly & Associates engineering firm, the same company that designed the structure of the Mile High Swinging Bridge. “We designed the Top Shop like Fort Knox. Its walls are concrete with about a foot of native Grandfather Mountain rock salvaged from the original building. The current building can withstand winds up to 200 miles per hour,” Dixon said. The Top Shop backs up to a large rock face. The new structure incorporated an elevated walkway, a “bridge to the
The Pet Care Clinic (left) and the complementary Animal Emergency Clinic (right), both owned by Dr. David Linzey and located next door to one another on Highway 105, feature a striking “mountain modern” with whimsical features such as inlaid paw prints. The Appalachian Architecture design team overcame such challenges as a steep terrain, a creek and a floodplain — considerations that are common in the mountains — to deliver a look that fit its surroundings. 62
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THE APPALACHIAN ARCHITECTURE TEAM
Kelly Coffey Bill Dixon
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ill Dixon was born in 1955, in the old Watauga County Hospital — which is now Founders Hall on Appalachian State University campus. Dixon founded Appalachian Architecture, P.A. in 1989. He and his team have built a solid reputation for Architectural design in the High Country. Dixon graduated from Watauga High School in 1973. His path to Architecture was a “long and winding road,” with jobs in construction and as an artist in between his schooling years. He earned his Architecture degree from UNC–Charlotte in 1988, and his license in 1989, then returned to Boone in 1991. He and his wife, Christal, have raised their family here. Dixon thrives on the challenge of orchestrating complicated projects and enjoys “creating healthy buildings for people to live, work, play and worship in,” he said, adding that his greatest strength is “assembling a great team.” It also helps that we love our job!
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ike Bill, Kelly Coffey grew up in Boone and also graduated from Watauga High School. She took four years of drafting classes while at Watauga High, and met her husband, Ivan, in class. Visiting job sites with Ivan — who worked at his grandfather’s construction company, Owen Coffey Construction — fueled her interest in architecture. She earned an Architectural Drafting degree from Wilkes Community College. At Appalachian Architecture, Coffey said a big part of her job is the “behind the scenes” coordination of all the disciplines (civil, structural, plumbing, mechanical and electrical) that comprise a building. Coffey said, “Listening is the key to good designs and relationships. We try to be open-minded and meet in the middle to make everyone happy.”
Joyce Hagaman
J Leigh Blevins
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eigh Blevins was born and raised in Ashe County, near Jefferson. She became interested in architecture “simply because I liked to draw,” she said. After she graduated from Ashe Central High School, she enrolled in the Architectural Technology program at Forsyth Tech. As a Project Manager at Appalachian Architecture, Blevins is involved in a project from the initial concept through construction. She helps develop the design, detail the construction and coordinates with consulting engineers and contractors. “I love the people I work with. We’re more family than co-workers,” she said. “My favorite thing about what I do is seeing a design become a reality, to see sketches become actual structures. It’s fulfilling to know I’ve been a part of so many successful projects.” 64
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oyce Hagaman grew up in Elkin, NC and graduated from Elkin High School and Surry Community College. She met and married Ted Hagaman, Jr. from Boone and they raised their family in Wilkes County. Serving as the Office Manager at Appalachian Architecture since 2003, Hagaman handles the payroll and tax work, accounts receivables and payables, as well as the overall operation of the office. One of her favorite aspects of her job is the relationships she builds with clients, contractors, and others in the industry. Hagaman said, “It’s also fun to tour our finished projects. It’s one thing to see a plan on paper, but quite another to see the project once it’s completed. It instills a great sense of pride for what can be accomplished when our client and team collaborate seamlessly.” Hagaman calls the crew at Appalachian Architecture the “dream team.” She said, “We are a family. Bill treats us as if we all own the company. I feel blessed to be a member of the team.”
Bridge”, built over a rare and protected international biosphere (one of only five in the world) that links the building to the mile high Swinging Bridge. It was two years from the demolition of the original Top Shop — which served the property from 1961 until 2008 — until the new Top Shop opened in 2010.
Dixon’s Path to Architecture Bill Dixon grew up in Boone and attended Watauga High School, where he took his first drafting class. At the time, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do as a career. After graduating from high school in 1973, Dixon attended UNC–Charlotte. He credits his High Country roots with his acceptance into the university’s Architectural program. After three semesters in Architecture school, he came back to Boone to learn construction. One cold winter day, Dixon was shivering from cold, working as a brick mason’s helper. “I was knee deep in mud, and I had an epiphany. I decided I needed to return to Architecture school,” he shared. He returned to UNC-Charlotte, completed his degree and earned his license in 1989. His humility has contributed to his success, said Blevins. “Our clients know that Bill will listen. He doesn’t have a big ego where it is ‘his way or the highway.’ We all listen and work with our clients to deliver what they want,” she said. Joyce Hagaman agreed. “I have a different perspective, since I am the Office Manager and don’t work with the clients on the nuts and bolts of design. I think anyone who works with Bill, Leigh and Kelly has a good experience. And it’s an experience they want to pass on to someone else. Our best advertising is word-ofmouth, from satisfied clients.” Dixon said he values the many longterm relationships he has with his team, clients and contractors, and “contributing to our community and my home town through thoughtful architecture.” Appalachian Architecture designs all types of buildings – single family residential, multi-family apartments and condos, restaurant, retail stores, medical offices, veterinarian clinics, churches, general office, parking structures, and breweries. Our list of clients includes a “Who’s Who” list of local and regional businesses, churches GoodwillNWNC.org and private clubs and institutions. t
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Main Street was bustling with cars and pedestrians enjoying their holiday weekend on July 3, 2021.
Main Street Blowing Rock Over The Years, Many Businesses Have Occupied Its Storefronts; Mark Crumpler’s Business Has Been There for the Last 38 Years Story By Harley Nefe
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lowing Rock has been incorporated for over 130 years, and ties of business owners that act as the lifeblood that has kept the since the beginning, it has always been home to a mix of busi- area alive all these years. One merchant who has been selling goods to the public off of nesses up and down the streets. In 2021, the small mountain town has more than 70 businesses on Main Street that include the Main Street for 41 years is Mark Crumpler, owner of The Brass post office, town hall, museums, real estate agencies, shops, restau- Exchange, Windwood Antiques and Windwood Home. Before his journey selling an eclectic selection of home decor rants and a variety of other establishments that entice residents and and accessories, Mark was born and visitors alike to browse about and see raised in Winston-Salem. what the area has to offer. “It was a great place to grow up, “Main Street is the focal point of and I still have fond memories of everyour little town of Blowing Rock; It is the center piece,” said Charlie Sellthing from Little League to still having many of the same friends,” he said. ers, Blowing Rock Mayor. “We have Mark attended public school, unique stores and restaurants that played a little bit of sports and evenvary in their menus from one to the other. Main Street itself has been the tually ended up at Appalachian State most popular point for our town for University in 1969 to study business many, many years.” administration and economics. Main Street wouldn’t be what it is However, before that, at an early without the many different personaliage of 16, Mark got exposed to anAnd here is same busy Main Street in 1940 66
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71 Businesses on Blowing Rock’s Main Street East Side Rustic Cabin Fever Camp Coffee Roasters Footsloggers U.S. Post Office Wells Fargo Bank Berkshire Hathaway Real Estate The Rug Company First Citizens Bank The Gilded Lily Neaco Blowing Rock Properties Final Touches The Boutique Collection
Carriage Trade Living J. McLaughlin The Spice & Tea Exchange ArtWalk Cross Trade We’re Good Sports Kilwin’s Tazmaraz Chic Boutique Revolution Clothiers & Co. Sunset Tee’s & Hattery Six Pence Pub Finley House Couture Hanna’s Christmas in Blowing Rock Wild Birds Galore
tiques through the line of work of his older brother, Tom, by going on buying trips to Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts. “Some people moved out of the apartments he was in, and they had very nice things, and the owners told my brother, ‘If you want to run a rummage sale, you can,’” Crumpler recalled. “That’s when Tom decided he wanted to go into the antique business.” Mark’s brother had an antique shop for years in downtown Greensboro, and he later moved to a bigger property in Thomasville. “I knew that I loved antiques and started collecting them immediately at the age of 18,” Crumpler said. “While at Appalachian, I would buy antiques in Tennessee and Virginia and sell them at my brother’s shop to supplement my income.” From the ages of 20 to 27, Mark worked with Tom at Crumpler’s Antiques in Thomasville. He helped run the operations and
Premier Sotheby’s Blue Ridge Realty J.W. Tweeds The Fig Leaf The Brass Exchange Gregory Alan’s Crown Gallery Bolick and Traditions Pottery Windwood Antiques Natural Beauty Storie Street Grille Monkee’s 100 West Union Serves You Right
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West Side The Speckled Trout Mellow Mushroom Blue Deer Cookies The Bee and The Boxwood The Last Straw Blowing Rock Market Blowing Rock Library Blowing Rock Town Hall Blowing Rock 1888 Museum Sunny Day Park High Country Candles Belles Martin House Gallery The Stable
sent out trucks all over the east coast to attend antique flea markets. This experience launched his career in the antique business. “I love antiques,” Crumpler said. “The age of them, the craftsmanship, the beauty. And there’s a science to finding antiques. It’s a skill of picking out what the public wants at a price that you can make money on.” Mark learned the skills with his brother, and at the age of 27, he resigned and struck out on his own. He started by going to home shows, flea markets and wherever else he could find to sell the same type of products. He eventually came back to the High Country to attend a flea market that was located in Blowing Rock on the corner of Main Street right across from Rumple Memorial Presbyterian church. “I came up here because I thought it would be a good market area to sell in, and I knew the area,” Crumpler explained. “I
Mark sitting on a tavern bench from the 1720s that he bought when he was 28 years old. It came from a pub, where it would hold the heat from a fireplace. He just recently put the bench up for sale.
The Mountain Thread Company New Leaf Homes Bald Guy Brew Coffee Roasting Najla’s Boutique Blowing Rock Real Estate Funky Tulip Almost Rodeo Drive Unwound Yarn Cafe Violette Celeste’s Beautiful Jewels Twin Creeks Town Tavern BRAHM
loved it up here. I just needed to figure out a way to make it work.” The flea market sold on Fridays and Saturdays, but not Sundays. Mark said he was selling items so well that he was looking for more opportunities. He then ran into Keith McDonald, who owns the Blowing Rock Gulf Service, which is also known as Blowing Rock BP Services. Mark explained to McDonald that he needed someplace to sell, and McDonald replied that they were closed on Sundays so Mark could sell there. “I had so many cars stopped at the Gulf, they made me move off that corner,” Crumpler remembered. He then moved across the street on the corner in front of the Scotchman Store for the next three summers. Bob Moody of Village Antiques suggested that Mark open a store in downtown Blowing Rock because he was doing so well. “Bob Moody got me landed here,” Crumpler said. Mark first opened a little store at the old theater, which he had for two years, and then he bought The Brass Exchange building in 1985. “I couldn’t see over the horizon if being in Blowing Rock was a goldmine, but it was a place that we thought would be great to raise our daughter, and the area had all of the things we wanted,” Crumpler said. Around the same time, Mark’s father was living in North Wilkesboro, and Mark decided to buy the old Blowing Rock Hospital, which by then was an apartment building, to move his father closer to spend time with his granddaughter. “He would work in The Brass Exchange on Sundays, and people who weren’t even purchasing anything would stop by just to July 2021
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(Left) Mark shopping in Ashbourne, a market town in Derbyshire Dales, England in 1988. He was preparing to put goods onboard the truck to take them back to the shipper in order to sell them in the U.S. (Right) In the late 1980s, Mark attended a home and garden retail show in Raleigh. This was only one of many shows he has gone to throughout his career of selling antiques and home decor. talk with him,” Crumpler said. “He got to see my success in Blowing Rock, and we got to enjoy the last six years of his life together.” Mark’s father passed away in 1989, and Mark said he will always cherish that time working with him. That same year, the building that Craig’s Grocery was in became available. “They offered it to me two years before that, but I was scared as a young person that people wouldn’t trade with me if I put Craig’s Grocery out of business, so I told him I didn’t want to buy it,” Crumpler said. “Then when they came back to me two years later and said, ‘We’re going to put it on the market, if you want to buy it, you need to buy it now.’ So, when they said they were absolutely finished, I thought it was time to step in there.” The building then became Windwood Antiques, but with the building came a lot of history. “When I took it over, we had to do some remodeling,” Crumpler said. “We decided to keep the meat cooler and refinish that, and that’s been a real point of interest in the store. I also bought late 1800 signs that say things like groceries, bakery and confectionery because I just wanted to keep the flavor
of the grocery store rolling.” In a way to grow his business, Mark began getting into international travel to gather antiques and home decor. “It gave me a leg up on buying goods domestically because I could have my own pieces that no one else had exactly,” he explained. Mark and a friend traveled to England to meet with a dealer who took them to places that had good antiques. “He got us set up with a shipper and a banker, and we were off and running. We bought two containers of items that trip, and that got it all started,” Crumpler said. “I went on from that to later traveling to India and France and taking more and more trips throughout the year. It’s just been a really exciting part of my life to be out there on the hunt.” Mark described the hunt as attending big antique fairs. One of them he went to was in an area that was 12 acres and there were 3,000 dealers present. To find antiques, he said you just drive through the countrysides until you see a sign that says antiques, then you hit the brakes. “You stay at pubs and meet locals, and it’s all just very exciting,” Crumpler said. “You get up before daylight and go out there with a flashlight at the fair to get first crack
The Brass Exchange Building
Windwood Antiques Building
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at it, and you work all day and get back home around 6 or 7 at night, have a meal, go to bed and get excited to do it again the next day. It’s just been a part of my life that I enjoyed and got great satisfaction just by thinking about the trips and then events and the many friends I’ve made.” In the beginning, all of his products were coming back to Blowing Rock. But at one point, Mark opened a home decor store in Kannapolis that he ran successfully for 28 years. And around 1992, he also opened The Brass Exchange Home at the Arboretum Shopping Center in Charlotte, which is still in operation. “We’ve been spread out some, but I’ve always had such wonderful employees and managers who have made a success of all of my businesses,” Crumpler said. “The key is having good employees who enjoy their work and to keep listening closely to what their wants and desires are to get the right products for them.” Though he acts as an absentee owner for some of his locations, Mark works behind the scenes to bring the products in, which is the heart of what he does — retrieving unique items from all over the world that people don’t normally see. In 2010, Mark rented the building for
Windwood Home Building
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Mark shares a joke with one of his guests, as he values customer relationships. Windwood Home, which is located in the Food Lion shopping center off of Valley Boulevard. It started off as a warehouse for his products, but has since transitioned to a retail store where he brings in furniture from China and Indonesia. At that location, shoppers can find anything from a candlestick to a bookcase. There are dining tables and chairs, and everything else one would expect to find in a niche furniture store. Apart from furniture, Mark still sells his beloved antiques at Windwood Antiques on Main Street. The Brass Exchange business is a little different and shifted from brass items to home decor. “One of my keys to my success over the years is when I go to my vendors, if I have gotten reductions or considerations, I’ve always made it a policy to pass that on to the public,” Crumpler said. “If I’ve saved 20%, then the public is going to save 20%.” Mark also said that he still buys from a lot of the same vendors as he did in the be-
ginning years. “Some of the companies I have bought from since 1979, and one goes back to 1974,” Crumpler said. “Many of the companies I buy from, they’ll tell me I’m the longest continuous buyer that they have.” Over the 40 years that Mark has been in Blowing Rock, he has seen the town and especially Main Street develop. Lots of businesses have come and gone throughout the years. Mark reminisced about Sonny’s Grill, which he said was a highlight to downtown and really impacted the time he has spent in Blowing Rock. “Sonny’s was so good because the children could walk there from school and go up and get a burger or an ice cream bar,” he said. “It was like after school care for us.” With the tight-knit neighborhoods that surround Main Street, Mark considers Blowing Rock a great place for children to grow up.
“The beauty of Blowing Rock has been that the residential circle around the commercial area has never let it outgrow and allow in large buildings,” he said. “The residential part of Blowing Rock has been the saving grace in my opinion of having that right kind of growth.” Mark also said he has always had a lot of respect for people who can work their own businesses like Jack Hall at Sunset Tee’s & Hattery and Thamena Hanna at Hanna’s Oriental Rugs and Gifts. “I’ve always been a cheerleader for Blowing Rock,” he said. “Everybody runs their own business. We all do our own thing.” Mark will tell you though that being a merchant in Blowing Rock is not the easiest profession to maintain. “I think one of the mistakes people make when they do come to Blowing Rock as a merchant is that they don’t realize you still have six months of the year that aren’t really productive,” Crumpler said. As Blowing Rock has become a more popular tourist destination, businesses are able to be more financially stable because people are starting to visit the area more year-round. “We’ve been very fortunate in that we have had very loyal customers, and now I’m selling to the daughters and sons of the many customers that I started with in Blowing Rock,” Crumpler said. “They’ll share stories of their parents buying from me over the years. It’s still a wonderful group of people to sell to.” He further said, “Anyone who has good products, people are going to shop there. Consumers know Blowing Rock well enough that they want to shop all the stores that have things that interest them.” Mark has been able to make it through the good times and the bad in Blowing Rock with his businesses still coming out alive and
In 1989, Mark bought Windwood Antiques, which was the former Craig’s Grocery. To keep the flavor of the old store, Mark still has signs that say groceries, bakery and confectionery on display. 70
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well on the other end. “We try to buy accordingly, and it’s not perishable merchandise that we deal in, so if it doesn’t sell this year, you can sell it next year,” he said. Blowing Rock has the distinction of being one of those tourist locations that is also friendly to the local residents that maintain a permanent residence. “People come to the mountain and visit Blowing Rock,” Crumpler said. “It’s an enchanting place. I feel like it’s been a Godsend to get sent to Blowing Rock and work all these years. It’s been a wonderful run.” Now, Mark has gotten to that point in his career where he is seeing a younger group of entrepreneurs emerging like when Craig’s Grocery passed the building onto him. “Seeing new blood that has a good work ethic is going to be the key to the success of Blowing Rock staying viable,” he said. However, Mark said Blowing Rock is his home, and he loves it. He doesn’t plan on slowing down or selling his businesses anytime soon. “I don’t know what else I would do,” he said. “Knowing that you can control your own destiny, and the more work you put in, the reward is success, and that’s a good feeling.” From starting on the corner at Keith McDonald’s gas station to owning multiple stores on the stretch, Mark has been in the middle of all the action on Blowing Rock’s Main Street. “I’ve been very blessed with the friends that I’ve made and the business acquaintances,” he said. “So much of this business is built on relationships.” One of the relationships that Mark established is his friendship with Main Street merchant Jack Hall at Sunset Tee’s & Hattery. “The first time I ever really met Mark was back when he was still selling on the street corner,” Hall said. “He’s managed to own several businesses and seems to do well with it. He’s as crazy as I am and goes right along with working seven days a week and doesn’t slow down, but that’s Mark. The best part about him is his character. He’s always in a spirited up mood and getting things done. He’s always pushing.” Hall has also been on Blowing Rock’s Main Street for many, many years as he said his store is either the third or fourth oldest business. He agreed that Main Street has changed quite a bit over the years and that business used to slow down after Labor Day in September. “You had a little bit of time in October when fall leaf colors are out, but that’s it,” Hall reflected. “I remember being in the store all day and not seeing a soul in the winter
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CUSTOM WORK SINCE 1989
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Mark bought The Brass Exchange building on Main Street in 1985. As the name suggests, it used to be centered around brass accessories, but now customers can find home decor. time. There were days where guys would be drinking coffee at Sonny’s and that would be about it, and other days they wouldn’t be there and you could bowl down the streets and not hit anything. It’s been quite interesting as the years have progressed, but it’s gotten better and better.” To make it through the stretch of time with slower foot traffic as a merchant, Hall recommends catering to what works. “You don’t have to cater to the richest people. You don’t have to cater to the poorest people. You just cater in general to everybody,” he explained. “Make sure that when they walk in that door, that you can turn around and sell them something, even if it’s just a postcard because it adds up. Back in the day, we paid our rent literally off of selling postcards. They were a quarter then, and we just sold that many postcards because there weren’t any other places in town that had postcards.” When Hall first came to Main Street, there were so many empty stores. “People would rent a place and open their business, and it would be really strong there in the summer and then all of a sudden October would hit,” he said. “You have to save money for the winter.” Blowing Rock has evolved through time, and foot traffic has improved year-round because of marketing strategies from the Town of Blowing Rock and the Chamber of Commerce. “The Town has given the viewpoint to the general public and the tourists that it’s a good place to come to,” Hall said. “I think they have done a great job keeping everything nice and comfortable. A lot of people don’t realize that we are just a couple to three hours away from Greensboro, Charlotte and Raleigh. People don’t realize the strength of day trippers because they just want to get away. That’s the lure of Blow72
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ing Rock is that you can drive two to three hours and be up here in the mountains and get away from everything, all the traffic in the cities and the headaches.” As with most quaint mountain towns in the High Country, it is always the small, locally-owned businesses that make the towns what they are today. “We’re starting our 36th year here, and It’s kind of funny because when we first started, everybody just looked at us and said, ‘You’re going to fail,’ but here we are,” Hall said. “We’re still hanging on as far as retail merchants go, but nobody is going to beat Hanna’s.” Hanna’s Oriental Rugs and Gifts is the oldest family-owned-and-operated business in Blowing Rock located on Main Street. It’s been around since 1919, and Thamena Hanna and her husband took it over in the late 70s from her in-laws. “Everybody knows Mrs. Hanna. She’s just Mrs. Hanna,” said Syeda Smith, an employee at the store. “Mrs. Hanna is amazing. She’s a tough little cookie. She’s sweet, and she’s kind. She’s a rug master, and she’s here every single day no matter what. Nothing can keep her out of this place. This is her life. It’s been an inspiration to watch her. She wants to make sure everybody is happy. If somebody ever goes home with something that they feel isn’t it, she’ll make sure that she does anything and everything possible to make them happy. I think that’s one of the reasons why Hanna’s has survived for as long as it has.” Smith has been in Blowing Rock for a little more than three years now. “I’m here to help out,” she said. “I love the store. I love the rugs. We have quite the collection. We have really rare antiques, and everyday I come to work and I feel like I’m working with amazing pieces of art. I don’t look at it as we sell rugs. We sell art, and a
rug really makes a room. It makes a room feel like home.” Through businesses like Hanna’s Oriental Rugs and Gifts, Sunset Tee’s & Hattery, The Brass Exchange, Windwood Antiques and many others, the shopping opportunities on Main Street provide a little bit of everything for guests to enjoy. “A lot of our visitors think that Main Street is a shopping mall,” said Charles Hardin, President & CEO of the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce. “The stores cover everything from T-shirts to souvenirs and trinkets to antiques and rugs. There’s lots of variety.” And with the variety of merchandise comes expertise. “All the store owners and employees are very knowledgeable, and the town is very people friendly,” said Charlie Sellers, Blowing Rock Mayor. The Town of Blowing Rock along with the Chamber of Commerce knows that everyone enjoys strolling up and down Main Street, so they do all they can to enhance that experience. “We’ve won lots of awards over the years for Main Street and the way we protect it,” Hardin said. “The Town has helped with that protection with special zoning and ways to keep it the way that it is because that’s what we hear — ‘I want it to be the same as it was when I came here as a child.’ So, there are a lot of codes and restrictions down here to try to do that. We still have our school here and our post office downtown. It’s not like most places where those things have drifted off. The data says most people come here for recreation in the High Country area, but if you have a nice shopping area that’s walkable, people really will enjoy it. Main Street is the most important asset of Blowing Rock. It is the heart and soul of the town.” t
A Shopping Center Location Expands Mark’s Horizons
Windwood Home Covers 7,000 Square Feet
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“It’s a lot of fun because you never n 2010, Mark Crumpler got the urge store because new items come in every know who’s going to come through the to expand his company once more week. “I search hard to find what I think is door,” Crumpler said. “We had a felwhen he rented the building for Windwood Home, which is located in the a good value and attractive accessories low come in, and he was the CEO of a Food Lion shopping center off of Val- and furniture,” Crumpler said. “I buy major furniture company, but he didn’t ley Boulevard. What once started off items in container loads, so the pric- want his own furniture in his house. He as a warehouse for his products, in the ing will be 30-40% under a normal re- wanted a different look. Our products past 11 years it has since transitioned tailer’s price. I also have the advantage are good enough to sell to a CEO of a major furniture cominto a successful retail pany, so I think we’re store where he brings in doing something right.” furniture from internaOne of Mark’s loyal tional factories in China customers, Pam Zielke, and Indonesia. is an interior designer “We started off by who hails from Indiana. storing the products in “I absolutely love cardboard boxes, and Windwood,” she said. we would unwrap one in “It is the best shop with front to show the items,” the most wonderful Crumpler said. “We things at superb prices. originally rented it for I come all the way from storage, and it kept getIndiana when I need ting stronger and stronsomething. I absolutely ger as a retail space.” do. Earlier, I was shopThe 7,000 square ping for a client who foot building holds everyMark stands in the 7,000 square foot building that is Windwood Home. lives in San Francisco, thing that can complete a home including furniture like tables, of having backup stock so people don’t and I will be shipping things to her, chairs, center islands and bookcases. have to order it and wait a long time for which I have done many times over the There are also plenty of items to decorate it to arrive. They can have it in their years.” Zielke learned about Windwood walls like mirrors and art or products to home that night.” Overall, the additional location through her good friend who lives in accessorize spaces such as lamps, pottery, has been a tremendous asset to Mark’s Blowing Rock. florals, chandeliers and more. “As an interior designer, everything Mark explained that some of his company. “It’s helped us grow, and as we here is very eclectic,” she said. “You accessories that he sells overlaps some throughout his other locations; how- grow, we are able to buy in larger quan- can find all levels of decorating from ever, anything of greater size can be tities and keep our prices down,” he antiques to brand new furniture, and he has other stores in Charlotte and found at Windwood Home because of explained. “Low prices keep us busy.” The business also brings a lot of en- also in downtown Blowing Rock. If the ample amount of space. Consumers never know what they joyment to Mark through all the differ- you can’t find it here, you can’t find it anywhere.” are going to find when they visit the ent people he is able to meet.
The space of Windwood Home allows for plenty of room for all of the unique merchandise that can make a house a home. July 2021
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PLACES TO DINE THIS SUMMER It’s the height of the summer dining season in the High Country, and there’s no better time to enjoy a casual lunch, a relaxing brunch or a romantic dinner. For your culinary inspiration, you’ll find dozens of fine establishments in the following pages. BANNER ELK CAFÉ
11 Rooms and Suites and 3 Cottages
Tasting Room & Restaurant Visit Our Outdoor Beer Garden in East Boone www.booneshine.beer
BANNER ELK. Located in downtown beautiful Banner Elk, the Banner Elk Cafe just recently opened their brand new bar and dining area that now connects all their many dining areas, and now provides a great place to meet for drinks and socialize before dining. The restaurant complex has two restaurants as well as four outdoor and covered patios. The Lodge Espresso Bar and Eatery has a friendly coffee-house atmosphere with a smoothie bar, fresh bakery, and gourmet food. Serving, delicious salads, seared Tuna, pizzas, pastas, and wraps. Best Bloody Mary and Cadlillac Magaritas in town. The Banner Elk Cafe serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Great food, ranging from eggs benedict to big, juicy burgers. For the healthy and weight conscience we offer grilled mahi and chicken sandwiches, salad bar, and homemade daily specials. Dinner nightly offering: Ribs, Steaks, Fish and always fresh and creative specials and from our talented Chef. Patios are large enough to entertain parties, great for group functions, rehearsal dinners & bridal luncheons. n 828.898-4040. www.bannerelkcafe.com. See ad on page 75
THE BEACON BUTCHER BAR BOONE. The Beacon Butcher Bar is
BOONESHINE BREWING COMPANY 465 INDUSTRIAL PARK DRIVE booNE , NoRTh cARoLINA 28607 74
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a labor of love from Tina Houston, owner of Reid’s Café & Catering Co. which has been established here in the High Country since 1999. The Beacon Butcher Bar is located in the heart of Boone adjacent to the iconic
Water Wheel. Just as we value beautiful ingredients in our catering, The Beacon procures the highest quality ingredients for their seasonal menus. We value the handmade and fashion from scratch details as small as the aioli and dressings we use, to housemade focaccias and pastries, slow-roasted meats, and naturally fermented pickles. We serve regional seafood, farm goods from our local friends, amazing coffee from Camp Roasters Coffee of Blowing Rock, as well as loose leaf teas and tisane from Bellocq Tea Atelier, with rustic handmade Italian pastries. We have all the things you need for dinner by Chef Sean McMullen; elegant salads, Neapolitan rustic pizzas, handmade pasta, grilled whole fish. The Beacon Market offers hand-cut meats, in-house charcuterie, housecured bacon, marinated olives, imported cheeses, hand-baked bread and so much more.. n 828-865-0087. www.boonebeacon.com. See ad on page 79
THE BEST CELLAR
The Best Cellar R e s ta ur a n t
BLOWING ROCK. The Best Cellar restaurant has been a favorite among locals for decades. Located in The Inn at Ragged Gardens in downtown Blowing Rock, The Best Cellar
PLACES TO DINE THIS SUMMER offers eleven elegant rooms, seasonal gardens and serves dinner daily. All dishes, including bread and desserts, are prepared each day on site. Reservations are suggested. n 828-295-3466. www.ragged-gardens.com. See ad on page 74
ingredients when available. Join them for inside or outside dining, or hang out in their front or back garden areas to enjoy their locally-brewed craft beer and breathe in the mountain air. n www.blowingrockbrewing.com. See ad on page 79
BLOWING ROCK BREWERY BLOWING ROCK. Blowing Rock Brewing
Company began with a single idea—to create a beer that captured the finest qualities of the High Country. In 2013 they opened their first brewery in the heart of historic Blowing Rock as well as the Blowing Rock Ale House & Inn. From that moment on, they made it their mission to not just craft the highest quality mountain artisan beer, but to create a high quality experience for enjoying their beer as well. Today, the Blowing Rock Ale House offers cuisine capturing the same mountain artisan feel as their beer with which it pairs. Their talented executive chefs construct menus incorporating their craft brews into locally sourced ingredients to create a dining experience unlike any other. Their chefs have dedicated themselves to creating gourmet selections that incorporate their craft brews and provide customers with a taste of the High Country. Just like their beer, all of the menu items are altered with the seasons, and consist of local, organic
BOONIE’S CHICAGO STYLE PIZZA BOONE. The idea came from Clayton Miller Jr, who was born and raised in Boone, but went to Chicago to help his brother there run his pizza restaurant there. And he fell in love with the Chicago Style Pizza. Now he is in back in Boone and just opened Boonie’s Chicago Style Pizza restaurant. A Chicago style pizza is a stuffed pizza with toppings on the inside and the sauce on the top. They’re thick and delicious! Boonie’s also has a thick deep dish cut style and a classic thin crust style. They also have a menu of special pizzas titled ‘Pizza Our Way” with interesting combinations of toppings. Or you casn make it “Your Way” and design your own toppings. The different sizes of pizzas include 10, 12, 14, 16 and 20 inches. The restaurant has other items on the menu as well including standard appetizers, pastas, salads, sandwiches and wings. As the restaurant’s slogan states,
The Banner Elk Cafe &
The Lodge Espresso Bar & Eatery Fresh Coffees, Salads, Pastas, Pizza, Burgers & Steaks, and Seafood Serving Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner | open 7am daily, 7 days a week
828-898-3444 or 898-4040
Welcome to the Banner Elk Cafe and Lodge! To limit exposure, we are using QR Codes for access to our online menus. Scan the code using the camera app on your phone, and you will get a pop up for a link to our website, which contains our two menus. We operate out of two kitchens, and there are menus for both. The red menu is our Lodge menu, and it represents a more Italian style of cuisine, while our blue menu is our Cafe menu, which represents more American/Traditional cuisine. Your party is welcome to order from Heither I G Hmenu, C O Ubut N by T Rordering Y M A Gfrom AZINE different menus, your food might come out at slightly separate times. We hope you enjoy!
Join us for live entertainment with Trivia night on Tuesdays from 6 to 8 pm and live music on our patio on Fridays and Saturdays from 6 to 10 pm. And in case of inclement weather, our stage will move indoors to our Tavern Bar. July 2021
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PLACES TO DINE THIS SUMMER Open 7 Days a Week • 7am-3pm Take Out and Delivery Available
Boone’s Original Bagel Shop Since 1988 Serving Breakfast and Lunch All Day Espresso Coffee Bar 14 Varieties of Freshly Baked Bagels Vegetarian & Gluten Free Options Available Featuring Deli Sandwiches, Fresh Salads, Home made Flavored Cream Cheeses, Omelettes, Pancakes, French Toast, and Burgers
• FREE DELIVERY! • Home of the Famous Bagelicious HISTORIC DOWNTOWN
516 West King St. • 262-5585 www.boonebagelry.com
Clayton or (his nickname) “Boonie” was born here, raised here, lived there and brought the pizza back, and that’s how Boonie’s came to be. n 828-355-3033. www.boonieschicagostylepizza.com.com. See ad on page 78
BOONE BAGELRY BOONE. Boone’s oldest bagel shop locally owned and operated since 1988, serves 14 types of freshly baked bagels and a wide variety of menu items including vegetarian and gluten free. Boone Bagelry is a full-service restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch all day. We are conveniently located on King Street in downtown Boone with patio dining available. Delivery service available. Support local. Taste local. Enjoy local. n 828.262-5585. www.boonebagelry.com. See ad on this page
BOONESHINE BOONE. Booneshine Brewing Company was founded by Carson Coatney and Tim Herdklotz in early 2015. Both had years of experience home brewing prior to opening Booneshine Brewing. They are passionate about brewing high quality beer and equally focused on connecting with people and tapping into what makes the community of Boone and the High Country shine. Sitting down and enjoying a beer with friends can be a sacred moment full of joy, laughter, celebration, and camaraderie. Booneshine Brewing offers a full-service tasting room/restaurant as
EAT CROW EAT PIE
EAT CAKE
EAT PIE
EAT CAKE EAT PIE EAT CAKE
Delicious Sandwiches
(Served on our homemade bread)
Pies • Cakes Dinner Entrees & Soups To Go British Specialties Upon Request
Catering
Social Distancing Policies In Place
828.963.8228 www.eatcrownc.com
Fabulous British Chef/Owner
Dominic& Meryle Geraghty
Open Tuesday - Saturday
Lunch Served 11am - 3pm 9872 Hwy. 105 S. in Foscoe 76
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Thoughtfully prepared meals from our family to yours. Gathering beautiful ingredients with an emphasis on house-made to order cuisine featuring NC seafood, local meats and produce from local farms. Offering a full bar, craft cocktails, fine wines and locally made beers. LUNCH: Tues.-Sat. beginning at 11am | DINNER: Tues. - Sat. beginning at 5:30 pm
171 Main Street • Banner Elk • 828-898-5656 louisianapurchasefoodandspirits.com
July 2021
PLACES TO DINE THIS SUMMER well as a beer garden and food truck. From our menu you will find snacks, small plate appertizers, salads, sandwiches, tortillas, flatbreads, a kids menu and desserts. Check our Facebook page for entertainment events from trivia nights to live music to special events. We have lots of outdoor space and plenty of parking. We’re located in East Boone. n 828-278-8006. www.booneshine.beer. See ad on page 74
EAT CROW BANNER ELK. Eat Crow is a wonderful little cafe specializing in fresh, delicious goods including a large variety of pies and cakes. These delectables are offered by the slice, or you have the option to order a whole one to take home and enjoy. We also offer fresh made sandwiches at lunch time that can not be compared to any other “sandwich shop” in the area. Since we know life can be very hectic, for your convenience we prepare whole meals and fresh soups daily that are ready for you to take home and heat up for your family. These entrees vary daily. We are always creating something delicious! All sandwiches are served on farmhouse or whole wheat bread. Choices of sides include fresh fruit, firecracker coleslaw or chips. We are open Tuesday - Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. and are located near Foscoe on Hwy. 105 between Boone and Banner Elk. n 828-963-8228. See ad on page 76
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GAMEKEEPER BLOWING ROCK. You haven’t fully experienced the region until you’ve dined at The Gamekeeper. It’s a true gourmet restaurant, with the perfect blend of upscale elegance and simple mountain charm. The Gamekeeper is famous for Southern favorites - ultimate in comfort food - prepared with creativity and originality, offered through an evolving seasonal menu that blends the traditional with the exotic, satisfying both the meat lover and the vegetarian. Housed in a 1950s stone cottage, The Gamekeeper is an upscale restaurant that offers an eclectic mix of Southern foods and mountain cuisine, offering a selection of unique meat dishes including mountain trout, buffalo rib eye, ostrich, duck and beef tenderloin. The friendly staff literally waits on you hand and foot, assuring that you’ll leave happy and satisfied. The restaurant is located off Shulls Mill Road near Yonahlossee Resort. n 828-963-7400. www.Gamekeeper-NC.com. See ad on this page
LP ON MAIN BANNER ELK. After 35 fabulous years in downtown Banner Elk - Chef-Owners Patrick and Laurie Bagbey have relocated their independently owned and operated restaurant to 171 Main Street, Banner Elk. Still in
BISON •
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HANGING TENDERLOIN
AAA FOUR DIAMOND RATING SINCE 2007 3 0 0 5 S H U L L S M I L L R O A D B E T W E E N B O O N E & B L O W I N G R O C K | (8 2 8) 9 6 3 -74 0 0 | R E S E R VAT I O N S R E Q U I R E D July 2021
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PLACES TO DINE THIS SUMMER
Go to the Mountains!
the heart of the community, the Bagbey family welcome you to join them at LP on Main. Gathering beautiful ingredients to thoughtfully prepare meals from our family to yours. With an emphasis on house made to order cuisine featuring NC seafood, local meats and produce from Trosly Farms, Springhouse Farms, Charlotte Frost Greenhouse and Heritage farms. Offering a full bar, craft cocktails, fine wines and locally made beers. n 828-898-5656. www.louisianapurchasefoodandspirits.com. See ad on page 76
RED ONION CAFÉ
www.BlowingRockBrewing.com Blowing Rock Ale House & Brewery
Blowing Rock Draft House & Brewery
BLOWING ROCK, NC
HICKORY, NC
Pizza Like You’ve Never Had Before BORN HERE, RAISED HERE, LIVED THERE
BROUGHT THE PIZZA BACK.
The Chicago Style Stuffed Deep Dish with Toppings on the Inside and Sauce on the Top
The idea came from Clayton Miller, Jr., who was born and raised in Boone, but went to Chicago to help his brother run his pizza restaurant. He fell in love with the Chicago Style Pizza and brought it back to Boone. Boonie’s new restaurant is now open next to the Holmes Convocation Center. Our Menu also features a thick deep dish cut style and a classic thin crust style pizza – plus appetizers, pastas, salads, sandwiches, wings and more. We also have a full bar with all of your favorites! 610 Blowing Rock Rd. Boone • 828.355.3033 • Dining Room Hours 11:00am- 9:00pm 78
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BOONE. The Red Onion Cafe has created its niche in the High Country for over 35 years by offering a welcoming atmosphere and an extensive menu at affordable prices. The Red Onion Cafe has something for
PLACES TO DINE THIS SUMMER every member of the family, including burgers, sandwiches, wraps, pizza, pasta, fish, steak and delicious homemade desserts. The Red Onion Cafe also offers several of the region’s top beer and wines to compliment any meal. n 828264-5470. www.theredonioncafe.com. See ad on page 79
STONEWALLS
BANNER ELK. The High Country’s premier steak and seafood house since 1985. Enjoy your favorite steaks, prime rib, chicken or baby back rib entrée or choose from the extensive seafood selection or daily specials. Serving daily from 5:00 p.m. in a casual, family-friendly dining atmosphere. All ABC permits. n 828-898-5550. www.stonewallsrestaurant.com. See ad on page 78
Over 35 Years in Boone!
828-264-7772 970 Rivers Street • Boone
Follow us on facebook for our daily food and drink specials
Indoor or Outdoor Dining www.cafeportofino.net
CASUAL SOPHISTICATION
CAJUN CHICKEN FETTUCINI • PESTO • CHICKEN FAJITAS WRAP SOUTHWESTERN WRAP • CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD • LASAGNA LOW COUNTRY SALMON • CHICKEN PESTO PIZZA TUSCAN RED PEPPER CHICKEN BOURBON GLAZED CENTER CUT RIBEYE ARTICHOKE DIP WITH TOASTED GARLIC FRENCH BREAD SOUP & QUICHE OF THE DAY... Outdoor Covered Patio Dining 227 HARDIN STREET IN BOONE
We have Wi-Fi!
828/264.5470 redonionboone.com
SERVING LUNCH & DINNER July 2021
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TOP:
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Hawksbill Mountain Overlooking Linville Gorge /
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BOTTOM:
Top of Yellow Mountain overlooking Roan Mountain
JOE NITTI
Grandfather Country Club with Grandfather Mountain in background /
Photography By
TOP:
BOTTOM: Hump
July 2021
Mountain on Appalachian Trail
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Locally owned and operated for over 35 years in the High Country
C E N T U RY 21 Mountain Vistas
C21MV.com | 828-264-9111 202 Southgate Drive, Suite 19 Boone NC Each Century 21 office is independently owned and operated
Proof 2 for 1/6-page ad to run in CML’s Winter 20 issue. (Note: all low resolution images resolved!)
Sunrise in Valle Crucis
In-home health care for short and long-term needs Compassionate care from trusted health-care professionals Locally owned and operated since 2003
When you need a helping hand Appalachian Home Care, LLC 7883 NC Hwy. 105 S., Suite E Boone, NC 28607 apphomecare.com info@apphomecare.com (828) 963-8233 82
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Budding Water Lily
TOP:
Linville Falls /
BOTTOM LEFT:
Profile Trail on top of Grandfather Mountain /
BOTTOM RIGHT:
July 2021
Misty Morning on Grandfather
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Old Barn in Banner Elk
Overlooking Linville Gorge
Butterfly Bliss
Sunflowers at Mast Farm Inn, Valle Crucis
Colorful Grapevine at Grandfather Winery
Tunnel on Blue Ridge Parkway
Chess Playing in Beijing China
Keeper of Cathedral in Ajijie, Mexico
Woman in Guadalajara, Mexico
Bed and Breakfast in St Augustine, Florida
Photography By
JOE NITTI
Holy Land of Old Jerusalem
The Appalachian Spirit
Jewish Quakers in Old Jerusalem
Egyptian Museum in Cairo
Vagabond in Sapa, Vietnam July 2021
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JOE NITTI
F
or 20 years, Joe Nitti has taken a newfound passion for photography and turned it into a desire to display some of his finest work in Banner Elk. Nitti, who has been a chiropractor by trade with successful offices in Virginia, Florida and now Banner Elk, will be adding a photo gallery inside his Back in Action Chiropractic Office. Joe said his desire to practice photography really started in 2000 when he took a trip to Europe to visit multiple countries. “When I bought the camera, it was actually delivered to the airport, so I never even used it before. I went through all of Europe not knowing if one picture would turn out,” Nitti said. “When I returned home and I had one of the photos blown up and saw how beautiful it was, I knew this was my passion from there on in.” Nitti lived in Florida and had a second home in Avery County for some time; however, he and his family, which included five daughters ages 6, 8, 16, 18 and 21, eventually moved to Banner Elk permanently. “We lived in Florida and had a second home here and spent so much time in the mountains, my passion is the mountains, and this is where I love. I love hiking, I love adventure, and I wanted to raise my five daughters in the mountains,” he said. “I had four very successful chiropractic clinics in Florida, so I moved up here, and I decided that I wanted to have my clinic The Nitti Family where I live in Banner Elk. My kids go to school here, this is where we wanted to be.” Experiencing new cultures and taking nature photos from different perspectives have been two of the major reasons why Joe said he wanted to expand his photography passion. “I have been fortunate to travel the world and have been through so many different countries. I’ve lived in South America; I lived in China for almost a year, so I was able to experience these different cultures and try to capture them through photography,” he said. “I started to venture out looking for some different angles for photography, camping places that are really rough and rugged, places people don’t go to because it’s too difficult to get to. The seasons are the most dramatic up here. When you are out
Photography By
A Passion For Photography Leads to New Gallery
on a trail when the weather is inclement, you’re not going to see people, but that’s really when you see the clouds move and the sun burst through in a different way. That’s when the magic comes out.” Nitti explained that if the weather is bad, that’s when you will likely find him outside trying to get that perfect, creative picture. “That gives me a different perspective that most people don’t see. Those things don’t always present themselves, it may not be a perfect time, but there’s always something. That’s what keeps me going,” Joe said. “The most important thing is I don’t want to view things like everyone else. I like to always capture what I’m seeing and trying to capture that with a photo, that’s my gift. The more that you see, the more you realize you wish you could live 100 lifetimes. There is so much to see, even if you don’t leave this area, there is so much to see. But when you do travel overseas, you realize how much there is — how different cultures are, the difference in topography. My trips are always geared toward what I can see and what I can capture.” Nitti photos are frequently recognized, and many have gone viral on the web with a number of his photos winning awards. Nitti is still in the process of converting office space to a photo gallery with lots of pictures on display on easels, walls and tucked neatly inside metal frames. Wonderful World Photography will be opening this month and a website (wonderfulworldphoto.com) will be launching soon with all of the details of his work and ways to purchase photos.
Joe Nittie doesn’t mind extreme weather conditions or challenging terrian where he feels like he finds some of his best pictures. 86
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WHERE MAIN STREET A ND LU X U RY MEE T
ASHLEY HUTCHENS
LOCATED ON THE BLUE RIDGE Parkway atop the Eastern Continental Divide, in
C 828.964.5438 O 828.295.0776
– a private enclave of 23 single-story luxury residences surrounded by lush natural
the idyllic village of Blowing Rock, North Carolina, awaits Chestnut at Blowing Rock scenery, unmatched views and modern conveniences. Redefining luxury living,
Ashley.Hutchens@PremierSir.com
Chestnut at Blowing Rock features open and airy living spaces, natural finishes and towering windows designed to showcase breathtaking vistas of Moses Cone Memorial Park and Grandfather Mountain State Park. The quaint and charming shops and restaurants of Main Street are minutes from your doorstep. Discover
ChestnutAtBlowingRock.com
elegant living in a casual setting at Chestnut at Blowing Rock.
ChestnutAtBlowingRock.com
Each office is independently owned and operated. Each office is independently owned and operated.
July 2021
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For Lois Hodges at 94 Serving Others Is Key to Long, Happy Life By Sherrie Norris
A
s the area’s senior waitress, and most likely one of the few employed individuals over the age of 90 in any local business, Lois Hodges has been providing service with a smile in and around Boone for the last 75-plus years. A longtime waitress with a true servant’s heart, Lois has most recently been employed at Chick Fil A; however, as a dining room hostess, she is currently unable to fulfill her duties while anxiously awaiting for life to return to normal for food service establishments. She has been missing her customers and coworkers, alike, saying that those three days a week she worked at one of the area’s most popular eateries helped her stay young and healthy. “I always got in a lot of walking when I worked, Thursday through Saturday, but since I’ve not been working, and if the weather is bad and I can’t get outside, I walk in my basement to keep physically fit,” she said. Most evenings, she walks 200 laps around her basement. And, age is just a number, she said. “I do not know what I’m supposed to feel like. I’ve never really thought much about it. I am just blessed to be able to do what I do.” Serving others has been a big part of life for this lady, who learned about taking care of others at an early age. Born and raised on an Ashe County farm in what was known as the Hemlock community, now Creston, Lois was one of 11 children, next to the youngest and the only one still living. She attended Hemlock School through 7th grade. “I didn’t want to go any farther. We had to walk two miles to the bus stop and I decided that was enough.” But, on the farm, she worked hard, hoeing corn and picking beans. “I left home at 16 to live with my older married sister in Mountain City, Tenn.”
This photo captures the beauty and youth of a young Lois Hodges “back in the day.” And that’s where a lifetime of restaurant work began. “I worked at The Elite Restaurant from day one until it closed several years later,” she recalled. “From there, I came to Boone and worked at the Daniel Boone Restaurant.” Her memories are still vivid of those early days.
“Because I was so young, I had to have a permit to work at the Daniel Boone and I could not work past 8 p.m.,” she shares. “I also worked at Angel’s Café, near the old Greyhound Bus Station in Boone. I lived upstairs in the home of Mrs. Bina Tugman on the corner near the courthouse on Water Street. She had a boarding house and rented rooms out to many
“I left home at 16 to live with my older married sister in Mountain City, Tenn.” And that’s where a lifetime of restaurant work began.” 88
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For six years, before the pandemic forced many dining establishments to close, Lois Hodges enjoyed working as a dining room hostess at Chick Fil A in Boone. of us girls who worked in town.” And, one of those girls was not kind to her, Lois recalls. “She stole from me and wore my clothes without my permission. I got disgusted and went back to Mountain City and worked at Elite until it closed.” Around the age of 19, she was back in Boone and worked at People’s Café in Boone, located about where the fire department currently is on King Street; she also worked at Skyline Restaurant on King Street, near the theatre, where Dan-
cy’s Shoe Store was for many years. “The owner was a very prominent Boone businessman and mayor, Watt Gragg, who was so good to us,” she says. “On Easter Sunday, in 1950, he took his waitresses to the Cone Estate in Blowing Rock for the sunrise service. It was so cold that morning, we just about froze! He bought us all red carnations and gave us each $1 and told us to do with it what we wanted. It’s kinda silly, I guess, but I started a savings account with mine.”
While working at People’s in 1949, she was walking down King Street one day when a handsome soldier called out to her as they passed. Roy Dean Hodges was home from the service, had already been overseas and was in the reserves at the time. “I will never forget that day,” Lois recalls with a smile. “It was the second day of April. He was so nice and friendly. We started talking and it just went from there.” Roy Dean eventually re-enlisted in the army, and the couple was married a year later, on March 2, 1950. The newlyweds moved to New Jersey where Hodges was stationed and they remained there for seven years. In the meantime, Lois worked at The Astor, a restaurant in Long Beach N.J., and later for the same owner at a diner near her husband’s base at Ft. Monmoth. During that time, the couple welcomed their first daughter; after they returned to North Carolina, they added twin daughters to their family in 1958. Lois stayed at home until the twins were about 4 years of age, then she went back to work, starting at the Town House Restaurant in Boone, where she waitressed for almost 14 years When Western Steer Family Steakhouse came to Boone, June 1976, she accepted employment there the first week it opened and was a fixture of sorts for the next 25 years. “I worked in the evenings, every Tuesday through Saturday, so I could be at home with my children during the day. For years, I was the only original employee,” she says. She was named Western Steer’s Employee of the Year in 1989,not just locally, but statewide. “That was such an honor,” she shares. She went to Asheville to accept her coveted award. It was especially endearing to her since she had been chosen over employees from the more than 500 restaurants in the chain. But, in the end, her loyalty and presJuly 2021
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Lois Hodges is surrounded by some of her favorite coworkers at Chick Fil A in Boone after stopping in for a visit recently. Left to right: Tori Slomp, Santiago Cardona (Assistant General Manager), Madi Simpson, Lois Hodges, Brooke Miller, (HR Director), and Michael Stamey.
A favorite photo of Lois, pictured here with her husband, Roy Dean Hodges, taken at his sister’s home in Ashe County following an afternoon ride through the countryside.
On Easter Sunday 1950 at the Skyline Restaurant in Boone. Lois Hodges is pictured third from left in a line of waitresses near the back. 90
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tige didn’t seem to make a difference. She was 60 hours short of a paid vacation when her husband had a heart attack. “I was told the company couldn’t afford to pay me for my vacation time that I needed to be with him, so I quit.” But, she missed her coworkers and her customers, many of whom requested to be seated in her section on every visit. “I have always tried to take good care of my customers and I wanted to make sure they were served their food while it was hot.” Soon after Lois left, the steakhouse closed, which by that time, was no surprise, she recalls. Things were not as they had been. Management had changed and so did most everything else. She applied for a job at Golden Corral when it opened. “I told them why I had left my former employment. I was 75 at the time and wasn’t sure that they wanted me, but they reassured me and I was there until it closed.” On July 26, 2014, Lois went to work at Chick Fil A and worked three days a week – Thurs, Fri and Sat – 11-4, until the dining room was forced to close due to the pandemic. Working as a hospitality hostess, her duties included clearing tables and offering drink refills. She loves working with younger people and especially the ones at Chick Fil A. “They have been so good to me – and do not treat me like an old lady, but like one of them,” she said. “One of my young coworkers has called to check on me and even brought me a gift at Christmas. They’ve done a terrific job during all this pandemic, and now after their remodeling, they are open again and just waiting for people who want to work so they can open up the dining room again. It’s hard to believe that people just don’t want to work. I’m ready when they say come in. We’ll just have to wait to see how all that goes.” A quiet, reserved lady who takes great pride in her work, Lois has never been one to boast. She just tries to do her best to make sure her customers have a pleasant dining experience. “There’s nothing hard about it, and if it’s something you enjoy — and I do—it’s not really work,” she adds. “ I believe that this is what God had in mind for me from the beginning and He’s been so good to let me hold up this long so I can continue.” Even though years ago in the restaurant business, she “probably could’ve moved up the ladder to management,” she says,
Mrs. Hodges At Home At 94, Lois Hodges has many happy memories of her husband and children and the life they shared together in their Rutherwood home where she continues to reside today. She has many reminders in her home of all that matters to her —faith and family as two of the most important. She never sees an idle moment and fills her time with such things as daily devotions, reading her Bible and other books, working puzzles and cooking. She keeps her dining room table always set and ready for company. She is pictured with a delectable chocolate pie she made in preparation for lunch with her daughter recently. It’s a pie that she’s been making for many years, the recipe for which was given to her by Don Hartley, “the cashier at the Town House Restaurant, who always loved to cook.”
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novels, especially series, and reshe never wanted to do anything ceives a new book once a month. except waitress. “I might live alone, but I’m not She has also loved to cook lonely,” she said. “I enjoy living food, as well as to serve it. “If I see and can always find something to a recipe that sounds good, I will do.” try it,” she says. “If I don’t like how She loves to be outdoors and esit turns out, I won’t make it again. pecially to walk, weather permitting. It’s just that simple.” “I try to keep my legs strong in Having reached her 94th birthcase I do get to go back to work,” day on May 18, Lois enjoys life and she explains. has always stuck closely to routine, And, yes, she still drives, anywith a calendar close by to mark where else she wants to go. “I don’t special dates. have any trouble driving and I go Prior to the pandemic, her out once a week for groceries and Mondays were reserved for visits to pay my bills,” she shares. “I like to the local nursing home, someto come and go when I’m ready. I thing she dearly misses but hopes don’t want to have to depend on to resume soon. someone else.” On Tuesdays, she cleans house. She has some arthritis in her Wednesdays were and still are rehands, but is healthy, overall; she served for lunch with her daugheats what she wants and takes no ter, Janet, and then, Thursdays, medication, “except for a lowFridays and Saturdays were her ofdose aspirin.” ficial days to work. She does have a concern for “Sunday is the Lord’s day,” she cancer that has run rampant in her said, and, as an active member at Lois Hodges at Golden Corral in Boone after starting family. “I have lost three brothers, Rutherwood Baptist since 1957, work there at the young age of 75. one sister, two sisters-in-law and she has served as a Sunday school two brothers- in- law to cancer. teacher and choir member. That’s the reason I have cancer inSince the onset of the pandemic, surance, but so far, so good.” her church did not meet, but has Occupying a special place in since returned to weekly services, her heart and mind is her family — “doing the safety measures, spacing her three daughters, Norma Jean, and wearing our masks,” she says. Janet and Jeanette, five grand-chilIn light of the current/recent dren and now, six great- grandpandemic sweeping the world, she children with the latest one born says, “I think it’s all part of God’s in April. will. We need to come back to God Among her greatest losses in — and when we do, like He said in life, however, includes the rehis word, He will heal our land.” cent death of her son-in-law, Bob She continued, “The riots and Trivett. “I went to help with him shootings and everything – it’s so when my daughter needed me bepathetic. I can’t hardly watch the Serving with a smile is what Lois Hodges has done for fore he passed. We are really said news anymore. Maybe 5 or 10 a lifetime, pictured here at Chick Fil A just before the and miss him terribly.” minutes and I have to turn it off.” COVID outbreak brought life to a halt for most of us. Does she have any advice for Her oldest daughter, a teacher the younger generation? in Doha, Qatar for 16 years, “bareif there is anything they can do to help her. “Just look up to God, be the best you ly got out just in time. We didn’t want her “I’m very blessed with special people can be and don’t be afraid to work.” to get stranded over there. in my life,” she added. Lois has missed working very much durShe’s retired now and lives in Richmond.” In her free time, Lois loves to work Her other two daughters reside in Zi- jigsaw puzzles, many of which she has ing the last year, she admits. “That’s all I’ve ever done and all I’ve onville and Hickory. framed for her family; she recently comLois avoided COVID, thankfully, and pleted one of 1,000 pieces which also ever wanted to do for a living.” Does she have any plans to retire? has had both vaccines, “But I have had found its way to a frame. She has also “No, I plan to work as long as I’m family members and know of several oth- enjoyed crocheting and knitting and also able, or as long as they will let me. ers who have been very sick with the vi- loves to read. I have no intentions of quitting. But, if rus,” she adds. Her favorite book is the Bible and she Friends and neighbors have been so spends about an hour every day with her it doesn’t work out, I’ll stay busy around the house. There’s always something to good to her, she said, especially in the last devotions. year, and call often to check on her to see She also enjoys reading mysteries and do if you want to work.” t 92
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LOOKING INTO
THE UNIVERSE
Willis Observatory Wants Colossal Educational and Community Outreach By Tim Gardner
T
he North Carolina the Willis family for generaHigh Country has tions, on which they built the many magnificent feaobservatory. It’s a place to tures, which seem to grow in use the latest technology for numbers every day. It would views into the universe in an be impossible to list them all. area of dark skies at a site But among the newest such where Vicky Ayers’ grandfawonders and facilities is one ther used to mine and shoe of the truly elite and unique horses for a living as well as science marvels of its kind in preach the Gospel of Christ. the Willis Observatory. With money from the sale Nestled between three of the property, the Ayers picturesque mountain ridges have made what many scienand spread across three acres tists and other highly knowlof open field along on Bear edgeable in the astronomy Creek Road, between Spruce profession proclaim to be one A metal sculpture done by Marvin Jensen of Penland (also in Mitchell County, Pine and Bakersville, the of the top observatories in the NC) welcomes guests to the Willis Observatory. Willis Observatory enjoys Southeast United States. relatively dark skies and sits 2,825 feet The Willis Observatory is dedicated Chris And Vicky Ayers Built the above sea level. Both usually make for an to the memory of Vicky’s brother, Mike Observatory to Give Back to the optimal observing opportunity. Willis. Mike was a lover of science Continue reading to learn more about Community They So Dearly Love who Chris said “described his beliefs as After selling a beach condo in Myrtle science-based.” Those who knew Mike this definite crown jewel among science Beach, South Carolina, Chris and Vicky best have commented that his remarkable complexes in general and astronomy faWillis Ayers turned to land that’s been in mind, wit, humor and personality were cilities in particular.
These sophisticated, premium telescopes at the Willis Observatory, which sit below a retractable roof, rank among the finest of their kind and are used to view the universe and for astrophotography purposes 94
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A most popular feature allows guests the opportunity to take photographs of the Moon by placing a Smart Cell Phone in the eyepieces of the telescopes at the Willis Observatory.
Messier 97 is The Owl Nebula. It is a starburst nebula approximately 2,030 light years away in the northern constellation Ursa Major.
Messier 13 is called the Hercules Globular Cluster and is a globular cluster of several hundred thousand stars in the constellation of Hercules
Messier 31 is the Andromeda galaxy - which Messier 51 is the Whirlpool galaxy. is an interacting grandis going to collide with our Milky Way galaxy. design spiral galaxy with a Seyfert 2 active galactic nucleus.It lies But that will be in 4.5 billion years. in the constellation Canes Venatici.
Messier 45 is The Pleiades, also known as The Seven Sisters. It is an open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot B-type stars in the north-west of the constellation Taurus.
Messier 101 is The Pinwheel Galaxy and is a face-on spiral galaxy 21 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major.
Spectacular pictures of solar prominences and flares shown above that human eyes cannot see without visual assistance can be viewed at the Willis Observatory with its solar telescope. July 2021
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(Left) Willis Observatory co-owners Vicky and Chris Ayers show off their Astrophysics 140 telescope. (Right) A metal sign recognizes that the observatory was built in loving memory of Vicky’s late brother, Michael Willis, a great lover of science.
enjoyed by many and that his mind was telescopes, including Astro-Physics 175 being interested in science.” Deep space astrophotography is difand Astro-Physics 140 telescopes, and a exceeded only by his heart. Chris Ayers hopes the Willis Observa- PlaneWave 20 astrograph for deep space ferent from planetary, lunar or solar photory isn’t just a place to stargaze, but also object astrophotography, which Ayers not- tography, and involves processing data a gathering place for the community and ed was one of the astrographs in the state. sets gathered by astrographs like the one Willis Observatory’s Lunt 152 solar at the observatory. Major universities a resource to help spur students’ interest in astronomy and science. Truly, the Wil- telescope provides close views of solar have some of the same equipment that lis Observatory not only is an observa- flares and prominences, and the accessible also is available at the Willis Observatory. professional binoculars on a 360-degree The University of Kentucky, for example, tory; it is a center for learning. “Our main goal is outreach to stu- mount have solar filters to allow viewing also has a 20-inch PlaneWave, designed dents,” he said. “There’s nothing more im- of the sun, and the moon during daylight. especially for deep space object astroThe Observatory’s Takahashi 300 re- photography. Willis Observatory colportant about our observatory than that.” “The universe is bigger, more com- cently dialed into the recent Great Con- lects photons from the universe for Deep Space Object (galaxies, star plex, and more wonderful clusters, and nebulae) and than any of us have imagthat data is used each year ined. Let us have curious, teach four students at nearexpanding, humble minds.” by Mitchell County High Having always been inSchool how to do astrophoterested in science and a tography. newcomer to astronomy, That class for Mitchell Chris Ayers said he’s discovHigh students will start in ered the astronomy commuAugust. Students for the nity to be “most helpful in class were selected recently. providing advice and other A student does not have to related assistance in building be gifted in science to do the observatory.” Two Ph.D. scientists, Dr. Andrew Zeidell (left) and Dr. Naveed Moeed are integral astrophotography, which He added that the obserparts of the Willis Observatory’s Educational Outreach and part of its Board of vatory is “a way for Vicky Directors staff, which includes members all highly-accomplished in educational is more like art. However, students will learn much asand I to give back to the and community endeavors as well as in the science field. tronomy in this class. There mountain community we were no costs associated love so dearly.” junction of Jupiter and Saturn. It excels at with the class and a previous fundraiser was successful for providing software Housing the Ultimate Astronomy lunar and planetary viewing. and external hard drives. A supplemen“It’s just incredible,” Chris Ayers and Related Science Equipment tal fundraiser also has been launched to stated. “Stargazing experiences can get All equipment at Willis Observatory is allow the observatory to provide some people interested in science, mapping the of the most modern and premium quality. astrophotography instruction via Zoom universe and studying how galaxies form Ayers stressed that “any amateur astronomer would be thrilled to have any piece of and change. “It’s a visceral experience, by Ron Brecher, who is on the Editorial especially seeing Saturn for the first time. Board of Sky & Telescope publication. our equipment.” The observatory has five premium That for many people is the gateway to The address to mail financial donations 96
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So you think you or something you own is old...What about the meteorite pictured above and in the next picture below that is a stunning 4.5 billion years old?
Chris Ayers pictured at the only Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) Launching Pad in the United States, which is on-site at the Willis Observatory. As the sign reads: All Aliens are welcome there! for the Mitchell High astrophotography class can be found at the end of this story. Two of the most special features of the Willis Observatory is a meteorite as well as a moon rock. Visitors can hold a 5.1-pound meteorite, which is at least as old as our solar system, 4.5 billion years old. Ayers couldn’t help himself in celebrating the Willis Observatory’s equipment and related science treasures. He commented: “Most observatories do not have stargazing telescopes and a solar telescope. Even fewer have stargazing telescopes, a solar telescope, and 24-pound professional binoculars with a Leonardo mount that allows the user to easily raise and lower the binoculars and to go in a 360-degree circle to view the entire universe. “All of our telescopes can be used for research. Two of our telescopes, the PlaneWave20, and our solar telescope, Lunt 152, are advertised as research-grade telescopes. We plan to have an outreach program to universities. Students will be able to conduct research with our telescopes.” “We have a narrow field telescope, our PlaneWave 20, which al-
lows us to get close in on targets, and a wide field telescope, our Astro-Physics 140, which enables us to get large nebula and galaxies. With these two complementary telescopes we can shoot well any Northern Hemisphere target in the universe. And our meteorite and moon rock are certainly scientific treasures. “Educational outreach will be a focus for Willis Observatory. Free admission is given to students, teachers, school employees and artists in Mitchell, Yancey, Avery and McDowell counties.” The observatory will open to the public starting July 1 and tickets can be ordered in advance at willisobservatory.com. Reservations are required and can also be obtained on the observatory’s web site.
Chris Ayers holds an actual piece of rock taken from the Moon and which is on prominent display at the Willis Observatory.
A Staff of Science Buffs of the First Order The Willis Observatory has a staff that besides Chris and Vicki Ayers, has twelve other noted professionals in their chosen professions, regarded by those who know them best as educational and community leaders as well as true science gurus. Part of Willis Observatory’s eduJuly 2021
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“If we can provoke that ‘Wow’ response, that moment of awe from seeing Saturn’s rings and Jupiter’s storms, maybe we can inspire the next scientists from Appalachia, and our mission is complete. I know that I would have loved to have had access to an observatory as a kid, and now we can give that to the community.” cational outreach are the efforts of two PhD scientists, Naveed Moeed, an astrophysicist with a degree from Kent University in England. Mooed has focused on astrophotography and subjects like near-earth objects and interstellar dust. The other scientist on staff is Andrew Zeidell, the “hometown physicist” with a doctorate in solid state physics. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia and works for the University of Nebraska. Ayers commented about Moeed’s and Zeidell’s work for the Willis Observatory: “Not many observatories are so blessed to have two individuals with doctorates on their staffs, but thankfully we do. They are so beneficial to the observatory. Dr. Zeidell and Dr. Naveed also do educational videos which are posted on the YouTube Channel, including one video titled “Nature’s Galileo: How Jumping Spiders See the Moon.” Ironically, Zeidell grew up on Bear Creek Road. “I honestly wish that this had existed when I was a kid,” he said. It wasn’t until he was in his 20s, studying to be a residential electrician at Mayland Community College, located on the Avery County-Mitchell County line, when an astronomy teacher became a mentor and encouraged Zeidell to pursue his doctorate degree. “Providing access to high quality telescopes to young students and the in Appalachia is key,” Zeidell declared. “If we can provoke that ‘Wow’ response, that moment of awe from seeing Saturn’s rings and Jupiter’s storms, maybe we can inspire the next scientists from Appalachia, and our mission is complete. I know that I would have loved to have had access to an observatory as a kid, and now we can give that to the community. Maybe they could go through the same route as me – to Mayland Community College – and then on to even
Those who sit at the Willis Observatory’s fire pit can enjoy the sounds of water flowing down Bear Creek.
The Willis Observatory’s Bounce Ball Courts are shown in the above pictured and Chris Ayers shows off its alien costumes in the below picture.
(Left-to-right) The Willis Observatory’s Bubbletron; 10-foot Earth Ball with child and mother enjoying; and Alien Photograph Op-Board (with High Country writer Tim Gardner, left, and co-owner Chris Ayers, right, modeling for those op-boards. 98
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higher education.” Zeidell added: “The observatory means a lot to me, because I come from the mountains and part of that is giving people from the mountains, who may have the interest but no other access to a resource like it. Our observatory can help them pursue higher education—like I did at Mayland Community College or elsewhere, then on to even higher education and enrich their lives.” The sentiment was echoed by Moeed. “If we can inspire just one child to a career in space or astronomy, then I feel we’ve fulfilled out mission. But hopefully we’ll inspire many more than that. The space sector is going to be a booming industry over the next two decades, and we will need more space scientists.” It’s even more important, as the focus of those industries is led a lot by science and astronomy, Moeed said, calling it “an exciting living science that is only growing in interest, especially with the kind of things that Elon Musk is doing with space.” Many in the field got their start in “backyard astronomy,” he said. That’s what they want to give visitors at the observatory. “Especially with the research-grade scopes we have, the kind of experience we want to give them is the kind of projects PhD students and researchers actually do in their work,” Moeed said. “Giving them a taste of what it’s like to do a sky survey, what it’s like to actually do an in-depth astrophotography project and just building the excitement of how professional astronomers and astrophysicists work.” Naveed said one goal could be to have students actually contribute to ongoing research projects around the globe, as many need a wide variety of data and information. The observatory staff also includes: Directors Danny Duncan and Tamara (Sam) Prospt and Jennifer Purves; Steven Thomas, Technician; and Kathy Pitman Birkhead, Media Consultant. The observatory’s Student-Teacher Educational Outreach Directors are: *Sam and Tracy Ledford Deyton, Mitchell County. The Deytons are librarians and media specialists in Mitchell County Schools. *Rachel Pedler, McDowell County. Pedler is a long-time chemist and longtime middle school science teacher in McDowell County. *Dr. Coleman Bailey, Avery County. A 30-plus years science, physics and astrology teacher on the high school and college 100
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Chris Ayers looks through the Willis Observatory’s ultra-powerful and rotating binoculars, which provide amazing and extra long-range views. level, Bailey has taught at Avery County High School and is currently Director of Alternative and Virtual Education at Avery Virtual Academy.
A Family-Friendly and KidFriendly Observatory “We offer many things of scientific learning and fun to anyone regardless of age, but our staff especially wants to see kids get excited and further-educated about science, particularly astronomy at an early age,” Ayers said, noting also the intrinsic, in-the-moment value of the observatory experience. With everything currently happening, Moeed also sees the worth in getting off the planet for a little bit. “Amongst all the stuff we’re seeing on planet Earth at the moment: climate change, politics,” he said. “It behooves us to take a view of the universe that makes us feel less alone and less isolated, especially in a world where children do feel isolated and locked into their digital worlds, to show them that there is something out there and there is a whole universe to explore.” Ayers explained the learning and fun values the Willis Observatory offers children in long detail, stating: “We have a premium binoviewer, which we can put in a telescope. Sometimes a child may have trouble adjusting to an eyepiece and a binoviewer is easier for them to look into. Our piers which hold our telescopes are height adjustable, but we have small secure step ladders which can be used. We
July 2021
have 24-pound professional binoculars with a Leonardo mount which allows the user to adjust the height of the binoculars on the fly. We also have water rockets that go up 375 feet that kids can launch. They are super safe and have parachutes. “For ages 3-5, we have a 10 feet Earth ball which can be rolled on the Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) Landing Pad. Additionally, we have astronaut helmets which the kids can wear. And one of our favorite features is photo opportunities with the’ Bear Creek Bears and aliens. In fact, some of our staff members will wear an alien costume and a mad scientist costume. We have a Bubbletron and kites and the educational videos we show are selected based on being understandable. And we will have Star Wars saga nights, which promises to be one of our most exciting happenings for children who visit the observatory. “We will use Zoom, Skype and other media resources to bring astronomy scholars and other space personalities to the observatory,” he said. “We do projection mapping and augmented reality light shows and we have solar system augmented reality cards and a pack of alien, flying saucer, and world destination augmented reality cards. Our UFO Landing Pad is the only one of its kind in the United States. Of course, we have a lot of fun with UFO’s and aliens, but it also gives our staff a chance to teach about the ETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute. “We also will host lectures, poetry readings and concerts at the observatory.
Chris Ayers shows off one of the two telescopes at the Willis Observatory that are used for astrophotography. It is a place that mixes learning with fun. We can do several types of Star Parties, but those we do for the general public will not only include amazing views of the universe and understandable astronomy educational videos they will also incorporate: a balloon buster contest, dance contest, playing with the “Bear Creek Band” (a comic-oriented animation of a band), holograms of spinning UFO’s and aliens, bingo, a huge library of sound effects, a who traveled the most distance to get to the observatory contest, poetry contest, astronomy quizzes, and astronomy jokes. “Those visiting can also play bocce ball, sip coffee around a fire pit, and play LED cornhole.”
Summation and Legacy Willis Observatory is more than just an observatory-so much more – as Chris Ayers shared: “We want to have a cultural place with a lot of different events that all make for a tremendous and lasting learning experience for all who come to it and I think that’s exactly what we have.” He also commented about the economic impact the Willis Observatory can have on the North Carolina High Country: “Dr. John Boyd, President of Mayland Community College, had the vision of western North Carolina as an astronomical paradise, and he saw how the Bare Dark Sky Observatory, located near Burnsville, NC, could have a major impact on the local economy. We are happy to be in Bare Dark Sky’s neighborhood and excited about our part in bolstering the local economy. We plan to partner with some local businesses by offering free admission to their customers periodically.” Ann Castro, a noted civic and community leader in the North Carolina High Country, who resides in Mitchell County, has high praise for the Willis Observatory. She shared: “Unquestionably, the Willis Observatory is one of the greatest happenings for our region. Its impact is tremendous and most beneficial and will be evident in many ways, especially from educational and tourism standpoints. I’m most proud that the observatory is part of our county, region, state and nation.” Chris Ayers concluded: “Nothing would make my wife and I happier than for some students to be so inspired by seeing the universe at the Willis Observatory that they dedicate their lives to a career related to space. That’s what we want the legacy of the Willis Observatory to be.” For more information about the Willis Observatory, its schedule, admission fees and how to become an observatory sponsor, visit its website at: willisobservatory.com; visit its Facebook Social Media page (https://www. facebook.com/Willis-Observatory); write via US Mail: Willis Observatory, 1456 Bear Creek Road, Bakersville, NC 28705; or phone (704) 604-0556. t
Exoplanets (planets outside the Solar System) can be explored at the Willis Observatory with its mighty PlaneWave 20 Telescope as Chris Ayers demonstrates beneath the Willis Observatory’s retractable roof, which opens with just an electronic button to allows views through the telescopes deep into the universe.
The Willis Observatory has these raiseable piers for the ease of viewing into the universe. July 2021
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Village Jewelers............................................... 264-6559............................. 1
Gamekeeper..................................................... 963-7400 ������������������������� 77
Windwood Home Furniture............................... 295-9600........................... 32
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{
See forever.
Together.
Hand in hand is a wonderful way to share the awe and delights that await you at Grandfather Mountain. Share the joy today and help us preserve it for tomorrow. B o o k t o d a y a t w w w. g r a n d f a t h e r. cJuly om 2021
}
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Parting Shot...
Saturday, June 26 at the Watauga Countty Farmers’Market Saturday,
I
Getting Back to What We Do Best
t’s the little things that we oftentimes take for granted. Maybe it’s a dinner out with your spouse or significant other, an evening listening to your favorite band, a weekend trip to one of the local farmers’ markets, or even just a stop in at a bar for a quick beer after work, many of those special occasions were harder to enjoy with the coronavirus changing how we lived. This summer, events have resumed, bands have dusted off their instruments and started playing, and once again, people are out and about enjoying time well spent with friends and family members. Nothing displays this closer return to normalcy than a Saturday at the Watauga County Farmers’ Market. Folks are back to gathering each morning and talking about their weekend plans, how things are going in their lives and what’s the latest gossip around the town. “Everybody is totally excited to be out and seeing the bounty of the farmers and crafters,” said Matt Cooper, president of the Watauga County Farmers’ Market and the operator of Lively Up Farm. “A year ago wasn’t so great, but the loyal customers kept us going. Everybody looks much happier than last year, you will see a little less mask wearing due to people being vaccinated and the mandates that have been lifted. There is definitely more social interaction than last year. Everybody is more informed and experienced with the pandemic.” 104
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Other businesses such as local breweries, wineries and event venues have been happy to get back to seeing folks in person and experiencing life the way we did a couple of years ago. “I’ve been missing the contact and interaction. We’ve had a lot of friendships formed here,” said Nicole Tatum, co-owner of Grandfather Vineyard & Winery. “People like to feel included and feel invited and see a hands-on, friendly experience.” Tim Herdklotz, co-owner of Booneshine Brewing, said that he’ll be happy to get back to how things were in July of 2019 when they first opened their taproom. “When we opened we had lots of customers checking us out from the very beginning and we were very busy right when we opened our doors. Then we got through the end of the year thinking we knew what normal looks like and then everything changed. We shut down for a while and did just takeout, so we are still trying to learn what normal is. We have been fortunate to come through as well as we have. The staff has done a great job through all of that,” he said. “I think we definitely have grown faster than I would have imagined. Having the food truck here now and the beer garden, we invested in that in the middle of the pandemic. We had long-term plans to do some of that but it just made sense as people started coming out of the pandemic time we had been through, having outdoor space was going to be sought out.” By Nathan Ham
2N D L Ma N OW OCA in Str TI ee O t, B PE ON low N! in gR oc k
Southern Charm in the High Country
HOME
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GARDEN
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GIFTS
215 Boone Heights Dr., Boone215 •Boone bbandminteriors@gmail.com www.thebeeandtheboxwood.com • Heights Dr., Boone • 960• Main Street, Blowing Rock bbandminteriors@gmail.com • www.thebeeandtheboxwood.com • 828.386.6212
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