Volume 8 • Issue 2 October/November 2012
Autumn
Splendor
Cowgirl Rodeo Dying Hemlocks Racing Raymond Taylor Family Golf and more
October / November 2012
High Country Magazine
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High Country Magazine
October / November 2012
October / November 2012
High Country Magazine
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High Country Magazine
October / November 2012
Piedmont Federal understands that the time spent and experiences shared in the foothills and High Country make lasting memories. In fact many have chosen to make this beautiful region home, or a second home. Piedmont Federal can help you with a loan for a first or second home, with a mortgage that starts and stays right here in northwest North Carolina. Piedmont Federal Visit piedmontfederal.com or stop by our branch in Boone or North Wilkesboro. You’ll feel right at home.
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piedmontfederal.com Boone Branch 828.264.5244 • 1399 Blowing Rock Road, Boone, N.C. 28607 N. Wilkesboro Branch 336.667.9211 • 200 Wilkesboro Avenue,HNorth Wilkesboro, N.C. 286593 October / November 2012 igh Country Magazine
Todd Bush Photo
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High Country Magazine
October / November 2012
If YOu ARE HAvINg A HEART ATTACk, mINuTES CAN mEAN THE dIffERENCE bETwEEN LIfE ANd dEATH.
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your region’s heart hospital 828-315-3391
October / November 2012
High Country Magazine
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34
C O N T E N T S
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Saying Farewell to the Hemlocks as We Knew Them Not so long ago, mighty eastern hemlocks dominated the landscape around Lees-McRae College and the surrounding community of Banner Elk. Around 2002, however, the giant living monuments were brutally attacked by vicious predators about the size of a pinhead, the hemlock woolly adelgid. Now most of the giant trees are spindly dead shells of their former glory.
34 The Rodeo Way of Life
While some middle school girls are watching Friday night football, playing basketball or having sleepovers, 12-year-old Addie Fairchild is rushing through a rodeo arena atop Can Man, her horse.
46 The Ballad of Flamin’ Raymond
For Flamin’ Raymond Pennington racing is more than just a hobby. It is his very identity and being. He began his racing career in 1988 in Boone driving a 1974 Chevrolet Nova in the Stock 8 division and has been tearing up the track for more than 20 years.
58
Watauga Gun Club
66
Haunted Watauga County
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Boone’s TaylorMade Golf Family
Situated on 30 acres off of Castle Ford Road, the Watauga Gun Club provides a scenic area to shoot guns, hang out with buddies and learn about gun safety on the range.
In his new book, “Haunted Watauga County,” journalist and ASU graduate Tim Bullard recounts stories of the souls doomed forever to roam the mountains of the High Country. The book, a series of ghost tales and folklore, is both engaging and scary whether you are a believer or not.
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Long-time golfers around Boone know the Taylor family and the mark they made on the golf course, but few know the family left an even greater mark on the area’s history and local economy.
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on the cover Todd Bush Todd Bush provide us with the cover photo for this month’s issue. The view is from Wiseman’s View, looking into Linville Gorge. You can see more of Todd’s autumn shots and much more at his website. Check it out at:
www.bushphoto.com 6
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High Country Magazine
October / November 2012
READER SERVICES ABOUT US
The first High Country Press newspaper was published on May 5, 2005, and the first issue of High Country Magazine went to press in fall 2005. In March of 2012 the newspaper made the transformation to an online newspaper at our new website: www.HCPress.com. Our new “webpaper� is still packed with information that we present and package in easy-to-read formats with visually appealing layouts. Our magazine represents our shared love of our history, our landscape and our people. It celebrates our pioneers, our lifestyles, our differences and the remarkable advantages we enjoy living in the mountains. Our guiding principles are twofold: quality journalism makes a difference and customer care at every level is of the greatest importance. Our offices are located in downtown Boone, and our doors are always open to welcome visitors.
ADVERTISING & MARKETING
Our magazine is a wonderful way for businesses to advertise to our readers. Our magazines tend to stay around for a long time, on coffee tables and bed stands, and shared with family and friends. To find out about advertising, call our offices at 828264-2262.
BACK ISSUES
Back issues of our magazines are available from our office for $5 per issue. Some issues are already sold out and are no longer available.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography and page reprints are available for purchase. For sizing, prices and usage terms, please call our office. Some photos may not be available and some restrictions may apply.
FREELANCE OPPORTUNITIES
Writers and photographers may send queries and samples to the editor at hcmag@highcountrypress.com.
Contact us at:
High Country Press/Magazine P.O. Box 152 130 North Depot Street Boone, NC 28607 www.hcpress.com info@highcountrypress.com 828-264-2262 October / November 2012
High Country Magazine
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FRO M T HE PUB L ISH ER
A Publication Of High Country Press Publications Editor & Publisher Ken Ketchie Art Director Debbie Carter Contributing Writers Jesse Wood Paul Choate Harris Prevost
The Dying Hemlocks
I
Ken Ketchie
t’s been 10 years since the woolly adelgid showed up in the High Country and started to infest our hemlock trees. I don’t think anyone took much notice back in 2002 when it first started. And even if you did hear about the hemlock woolly adelgid, it seemed impossible that a little pest could possibly kill off all of our hemlock trees. Well, looking out over our green mountain forests this summer you could definitely see the effects that this invasive pest has brought to the High Country. Dotted across the landscape are the gray ghosts of dying hemlock trees speckled across rugged mountainsides and in clusters of tiny groves along streams and ravines. 10 years after showing up, this thing is well on its way to killing off all our hemlocks except those that have been saved by man’s intervention. There have been many people who did spend the time and money to save their hemlocks around their homes, and a number of the resorts have been attempting to save their hemlock groves on their properties. Also, Grandfather Mountain started chemical treatment back in 2002 to save 500 trees on their land, and is reporting a success rate of 86 percent. Probably most importantly, a group of scientist from Lees-McRae College began introducing a naturally occurring beetle in a grove of hemlocks at their school in 2003 that is now producing real results that may protect the new saplings of hemlocks that are beginning in the forest today, far away from the hands of man. But unfortunately, for all those mature hemlocks that we’ve grown up with, there’s not much hope that they can survive this initial attack from the woolly adelgid. We’ve reported on this story before. In the summer of 2007 our newspaper did a summer series on the infestation. I remember going home and checking the hemlocks around my house for signs of the pasty white substance that the adelgid produced. It would be another year before I saw those tell tale signs. Today those hemlocks are just about all dead. I was at a friend’s home near Grandfather Mountain this summer, and off his back porch was a beautiful tall healthy hemlock. He said he started treating a few of his trees 5 years ago. I found myself transfixed on the beauty of those trees – and remember thinking this was kinda like being in a museum – looking at something that is becoming rare to find and beautiful to look at. In this issue, our lead off story is about those scientist from Lees-McRae College and a local entomologist who first introduced the Laricobius nigrinus beetle to an area known as Hemlock Hill; and how after ten years there may be hope that the hemlocks won’t go the way of the American Chestnut tree and a new growth of hemlocks in the decades ahead will once again spread their beautiful evergreen branches across our mountain landscapes. 8
High Country Magazine
October / November 2012
Chelsea Pardue Clare Tager Contributing Photographers Freddie Georgia James Fay Heather Wolf Todd Bush Associate Editor Angela Rosebrough Finance Manager Amanda Giles
High Country Magazine is produced by the staff and contributors of High Country Press Publications, which serves Watauga and Avery counties of North Carolina
www.HCPress.com 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:
www.HCPress.com/Magazine 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. © 2012 by High Country Press. All Rights Reserved.
Mast Store
All You Need to Know About the Leaves
October / November 2012
High Country Magazine
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Calendarof Events Calendar # 1
OCTOBER 2012
2
Free Grief Support Group, Watauga County Public Library, 828-268-1247
3-7
ASU Theatre: Noises Off, Valborg Theatre, ASU, 828-262-3028
4
The Oak Ridge Boys, Holmes Center, Boone,
828-262-6603
4
Visiting Writers Series: Rachel Rivers Coffey,
ASU, 828-262-2871 4-7
Lees-McRae Performing Arts: Legally Blonde, the Musical, Lees-McRae College, Hayes
Auditorium, Banner Elk, 828-898-8709
5
Cellar, Blowing Rock, 828-295-9703
5
ASU Homecoming Football Game, October 6
Music on the Lawn: Soul Benefactor, Best Downtown Boone Art Crawl, downtown Boone
galleries and studios, 828-262-3017
11-13
Watercolor Techniques Class, Blowing Rock Art and History Museum, 828-295-9099 x 3001
Music on the Lawn: Smokey Breeze, Best Cellar,
12
5-6
ASU Homecoming, homecoming.appstate.edu
5-6
Ghost Train Halloween Festival, Tweetsie Railroad,
12-13
34th Annual Brushy Mountain Apple Festival, North
ASU Football v. Elon, Kidd Brewer Stadium, ASU,
Blowing Rock, 828-295-9703
6
13
6
13
6
Live Music: The Kimmels, Banner Elk Cafe, 828-898-4040
13
6
Art in the Park, American Legion Parking Facility, Wallingford Street, Blowing Rock, 828-295-7851
13
6
7th Annual Artisan Festival, Rumple Memorial Presbyterian Church, Blowing Rock, 505-400-7585
6
Mountain Home Music: Piano Man of the Blue Ridge, Blowing Rock School
Auditorium, 828-964-3392 6-7
Autumn at Oz, old Land of Oz
theme park, Beech Mountain, 828-387-9283
9
Meet the Candidates,
Watauga County Courthouse, Boone, 828-264-2225 10
High Country Magazine
October / November 2012
Mountain Home Music: Skeeter and the Skidmarks, Blowing Rock School Auditorium, 828-964-3392
828-262-2079
Live Music: Jonathan Maness, Banner Elk Cafe,
828-898-4040
Wilkesboro, www.applefestival.net
Ghost Train Halloween Festival, Tweetsie Railroad, www.tweetsie.com
www.tweetsie.com
Boone Heritage Festival, Daniel Boone Park and Hickory Ridge Living History Museum, 828-264-2120 Todd New River Festival, Cook Park, Todd,
336-846-9550
Music on the Lawn, Best Cellar, Blowing Rock
DON’T FORGET
EVENTS
Boone Heritage Festival The second annual Boone Heritage Festival takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Boone’s Hickory Ridge Homestead on the Horn in the West grounds. Attendees will spend a day celebrating Appalachian heritage with living history demonstrations and craft vendors, as well as live music and dance on stage. Interpreters in period clothing will show you how to make your own candles and crafts such as cornhusk dolls. Demonstrations include 18th Century skills such as cooking hearthside, weaving on a loom, throwing a tomahawk, shooting a flintlock rifle and more For more information, call 828-264-2120.
SATURDAY October 13
Todd New River Festival Todd is the archetypal small mountain town with a festival on the bank of the New River that will have your family talking about it and its charm for days. The New River Festival is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The musical line-up is always top notch with bluegrass and mountain music talent. The festival includes crafts, food and fun, gospel, a checkers playoff, storytelling, puppet shows, raffle drawings and performances. Hop on N.C. 194 to Todd for a real High Country treat. For more information, call 828-964-1362
SATURDAY October 13
35th Annual Woolly Worm Festival It’s time to name your woolly worm and whip them into shape for the Woolly Worm Festival in Banner Elk on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. The races begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday and continue all day until the final at 4 p.m. The winning worm receives $1,000 and is declared the official winter forecasting agent. In addition to the races, the festival features crafts, food vendors, live entertainment and more. More than 20,000 folks show up to take advantage of the family-oriented weekend. All proceeds go to support children’s charities throughout the country. For more information, call 828-898-5605 or visit woollyworm.com.
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OCTOBER 20 & 21
BlueRidgeEMC.com October / November 2012
High Country Magazine
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OCTOBER 2012...continued
13
Mineral City Heritage Festival, Downtown Spruce
Pine, 828-765-3008 13-14
Oktoberfest, Sugar Mountain Resort, 828-898-4521
14
Blowing Rock Jazz Society: Noel Friedline Quintet, Meadowbrook Inn, Blowing Rock, 828-295-4300
19-20
Ghost Train Halloween Festival, Tweetsie Railroad, www.tweetsie.com
20
Mountain Home Music: The Darin & Brooke Aldridge Band, Blowing Rock School Auditorium, 828-964-3392
20
Darrell Scott, J.E. Broyhill Civic Center, 828-726-2407
20
ASU Football v. Wofford, Kidd Brewer Stadium, ASU,
828-262-2079
20
20
Live Music: The Deleary’s, Banner Elk Cafe, 828-898-4040 Valle Country Fair, Valle Crucis Conference Center,
828-963-4609
Boone Boo!, downtown Boone, October 31
26-27
Lansing Haunted House, old Lansing school, www. lansinghauntedhouse.info
26-27
Ghost Train Halloween Festival, Tweetsie Railroad, www.tweetsie.com
27
20-21
Woolly Worm Festival, Banner Elk, 828-898-5605
24-31
Haunted Horn Haunted Ghost Trail, Daniel Boone Park,
31
25
25-27
Visiting Writers Series: poet and essayist C.S. Giscombe, ASU, 828-262-2871 North Carolina Dance Festival, Valborg Theatre, ASU,
828-262-3028
Boone Boo-Halloween Event!, Watauga County Library followed by a parade and trick or treating downtown, 828-262-4532
828-264-2120
Blowing Rock Halloween Festival, Downtown Blowing
Rock, 3-9 p.m., 828-295-5222
31
Halloween Monster Concert, ASU, 828-262-3020
Oct 31- Middletown, I.G. Greer Studio Theatre, ASU, Nov 11 828-262-3028
The Banner Elk Cafe
“CASUAL DINING FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY”
October 6, The Kimmels October 13, Janathan Maness October 20, The Deleary's Check our website at: www.bannerelkcafe.com for entertainment schedule and current promotions High Country Magazine
Open 7am Everyday Serving Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Daily
Monday Night Football $1.75 Domestics & 1/2 off Appetizers!
Live Bands on the Patio 6-10pm on Saturdays thru October
12
828-898-4040
10 The Lodge Pizzeria & Espresso Bar
$
October / November 2012
00 Large Two Topping Pizza expires October 31, 2012
Fresh Roasted Coffees and Espresso • 828-898-3444
Smoothie & Frappe Bar & Vitamin Supplements Muffins, Bagels Pastries & Breads Deli Subs & Sandwiches • Salads & Pastas Gourmet Pizza & Calzones
DON’T FORGET
EVENTS
Oktoberfest
Grab your beer stein, put on your lederhosen and head to Sugar Mountain Resort for the Oktoberfest celebration on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. An array of artisans and craftspeople open their stands at 10 a.m. each day. Youngsters have their very own place for fun at the Ski School Play Yard from noon to 4 p.m. A $10 fee per child per day includes hayrides, a chance to meet Sugar Bear and Sweetie Bear, and several Airwalk stations. Mountain bikers and families can hop on a 1.5-mile-long chairlift ride to Sugar’s 5,300foot peak. The 15-piece Harbour Towne Fest Band will provide Bavarian tunes from noon until 4 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. Visitors may also dine on typical German foods, such as Bratwurst, Knackwurst, German potato salad, sauerkraut and pretzels, as well as traditional American cuisine starting as early as 11 a.m. Admission and parking are free. Rain or shine, the festival will go on. For more information, call 800-784-2768, or visit oktoberfest.skisugar.com.
OCTOBER 13 & 14
Valle Country Fair Hands down, one of the best places for early Christmas shopping is at the annual Valle Country Fair on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Valle Crucis Conference Center grounds off N.C. 194. Admission is free and ample parking is available for just $5 per car. A whopping 150 craft vendors will set up shop to showcase all of their juried work. Food concessions include Brunswick stew, barbecue, chili, hot dogs, hamburgers, baked goods, homemade jams and jellies, freshly pressed apple cider and apple butter. Fairgoers will also enjoy a variety of live entertainment from musicians and dancers. Holy Cross Episcopal Church will sponsor the event. No pets are allowed. For more information, call 828-9634609 or visit vallecountyfair.org.
SATURDAY October 20
October / November 2012
High Country Magazine
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Boone Christmas Parade, December 1
NOVEMBER 2012
24
828-295-5222
2
Downtown Boone Art Crawl, downtown Boone galleries and studios, 828-262-3017
3
Slice of Bluegrass, Heritage Hall, Mountain City, Tenn.,
Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, J.E. Broyhill Civic
24
4
Center, 828-726-2407
6
Open Studio Tuesdays, Turchin Center, ASU, 828-262-3017
10
10
24
december 2012
1
14-17
ASU Football v. Furman, Kidd Brewer Stadium, ASU,
Operation Christmas Child National Collection Week,
1-27
1
15-18
Lees-McRae Performing Arts: Pride and Prejudice,
Lees-McRae College, Hayes Auditorium, Banner Elk, 828-898-8709
17
Peabody’s Charity Wine Expo, Turchin Center, Boone, 828-264-9476
17
Healing Arts Yoga, Turchin Center, ASU, 828-262-3017
17
Holiday Farmers Market, Horn in the West
23
Christmas in the Park & Lighting of the Town, Memorial Park, Downtown Blowing Rock,
828-295-5222 23-24
Horse and Carriage Rides, Visits with Santa, Chetola
Resort, Blowing Rock, 828-295-5535
24
Holiday Farmers Market, Horn in the West
24
Mountain Home Music: A Celtic Christmas, Blowing Rock School Auditorium, 828-964-3392
14
High Country Magazine
October / November 2012
Mountain Home Music: An Appalachian Christmas, Grace Lutheran Church, Boone, 828-964-3392
Festival of Lights, Chetola Resort, Blowing Rock, 828-295-5500
7
Fall Appalachian Dance Ensemble, Valborg, ASU, 828-262-3028
Boone Christmas Parade, Downtown Boone, 828-262-4532
Butoh Dance Theatre, Valborg, ASU, 828-262-3028
Collection sites around Boone, www.samaritanspurse. org/occ
Thanksgiving Kiln Opening, Traditions Pottery Studio, south of Blowing Rock, 828-295-3862
828-262-2079 12-19
Arts & Crafts Christmas Show, Downtown Banner Elk, 828-898-8395
432-727-7444
Christmas Parade, Main Street, Blowing Rock,
8-9
Downtown Boone Art Crawl, downtown Boone galleries and studios, 828-262-3017 SugarFest, Sugar Mountain Resort, Banner Elk, 828-898-9292
Choose & Cut season starts at most Christmas Tree farms on November 19
E L A S! S S L E A GR U N RO N ANP I
October / November 2012
High Country Magazine
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HCPress.com: Things Just Keep Looking Up O
n Feb. 29, 2012, we re-launched the High Country Press in a brand new daily all-online format. We have now enjoyed seven months on the World Wide Web and things continue to just get better and better. As with most new things, it started a little slow as people were still finding out about our new website, but we can now look back and feel proud of how far we have come in a relatively short period of time. Since going live on the web, High Country Press has published over 2,300 stories. Our website has been visited more than 300,000 times and received over 775,000 pageviews. After starting out with only around 4,000 visits per week back in early March, we are proud to say that we now have anywhere from 13,000 to 15,000 visits per week. We also celebrated a record month in August, when our website recorded almost 80,000 visits. We believe HCPress.com continues to grow in popularity due to our top-notch journalism, our user-friendly layout that groups stories into their appropriate categories and also our 100 percent free classifieds. Not only is our classifieds page free, it is also ex-
s - Online
www.HCPress.com
Wear or Nothing!
Come See Our New Line of Fall Boots
Watsonatta Western World Awesome Store - Since 1969 IN DOWNTOWN BOONE
711 West King St. • (828) 264-4540 Monday - Saturday 9-5:30 16
tremely easy to use. All you have to do is create a username and password, write a few sentences about your listing, add any pictures related to the listing and submit it. Regarding our stories, our most popular categories lately have been the news section, crime reports, real estate, upcoming events and, of course, with the election coming up, our politics section. We also just recently installed a new Upcoming Events “widget” on our front page in the left hand column, which is frequently updated with the biggest, most well known events taking place locally in the near future. Each item is a clickable link that will navigate you to one of our stories with more details about the event. There is never a shortage of engaging and thought-provoking content on our website and all of it pertains to local issues right here in Watauga and Avery counties. We may be on the World Wide Web, but at heart we are still your community newspaper. We thank you for reading us and we hope you will continue to visit our site as things keep looking up.
High Country Magazine
October / November 2012
By Paul T. Choate, Managing Editor
mountain
echoes
The High Country’s Real Estate Market ‘Continues to Boom’ I
n the past few months, the High Country Association of Realtors has touted the local real estate market with power phrases such as “the market continues to boom,” “best start to summer since 2008” and it keeps “getting better and better.” Traditionally, summer in the High Country is a strong buying season, and the good times will likely continue through leaf season, which is another strong period for realtors – especially with interest rates at an all-time low. In the latest report from the High Country Association of Realtors on market conditions in August, the organization reported sales hitting a three-year high and that the High Country hasn’t experienced back-to-back $30 million months since the summer of 2009. Since May, the report continued, 475 listings have been sold, the most in a fourmonth span since 514 were sold from July to October 2008. More good news is that listings are selling faster than the
previous year – with 213 days being the average time a listing was on the market in August. The positive reflections correlate with national trends reported by the National Association of Realtors and The Wall Street Journal. Gleaning from these glowing reports, one would think it’s too late to invest in real estate as the economy continues its slow-climb out of the black hole known as the Great Recession. But “buyers’ market conditions contin-
ue,” according to the August report. The median price of a home sold in August was $195,300, which is less than 2009 figures and about the same as 2010. For more information about real estate trends in the High Country, click to www.hcpress.com and scroll to our “Real Estate” page. Also, click to High Country Association of Realtors’ website at http:// highcountryrealtors.org. By Jesse Wood
High Country Real Estate Market - August Statistic Total Sold Dollar Volume Closed Sales Median Sold Price Avg Sold Price Avg Days on Market Total New Listings
Values $31,445,894 133 $195,300 $236,435 213 days 331
Year-to-Year +16.68% +38.54% -12.81% -15.78% -15.14% +6.77%
Month-to-Month +1.76% +9.02% -7.00% -6.66% -6.99% 0%
Source: High Country MLS, Inc. – High Country Association of Realtors
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High Country Magazine
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The Election is One Month Away
Jay Fenwick (D) Deborah B. Greene (U) Ron Henries (R) Barbara Kinsey (D) Fred C. Oliver (R) Brenda Reese (D)
November Saturday, November 3 – One-stop voting ends at 1 p.m. Monday, November 5 – Absentee Ballots Due by 5:00 pm Tuesday, November 6 – General Election Day Friday, November 16 – Canvass Day, 11:00 am
Watauga County Board of Commissioners
By Jesse Wood
18
High Country Magazine
October / November 2012
john welch vince gable
Jay Fenwick
martha jaynes hicks kenny r. poteat
Check out our political coverage at www.hcpress.com. For strictly politics, scroll over to the “Politics” page, where you will find current and past articles on the school board candidates and county commissioners races as well as political events such as rallies and fundraisers and nonpartisan events like the “Meet the Candidates Forum” hosted by Boone Area Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, October 9.
virginia roseman
www.HCPress.com
perry yates
District 1: Virginia Roseman (D) v. Perry Yates (R) District 2: John Welch (D) v. Vince Gable (R – Incumbent) District 3: Billy Kennedy (D) v. Tommy Adams (R)
brenda reese
Six candidates are running for three seats on the Watauga County Board of Education.
billy kennedy
Thursday, October 9 – “Meet the Watauga Candidates Forum” at courthouse at 5:30 p.m. Friday, October 12 – Close of registration for general election at 5 p.m. Thursday, October 18 – One-stop voting begins Tuesday, October 30 – Last day to request absentee, due by 5 p.m.
tommy adams
Six candidates are running for three seats on the school board. Though the race is nonpartisan, three are backed by the Watauga County Democratic Party; two by Watauga County Democratic Party; and one candidate is unaffiliated. Since this is a nonpartisan race, voting a straight-party ticket does not include the school board candidates. In parenthesis states the party – or lack thereof – that is backing the candidates.
October
douglas owen
Watauga County Board of Education
Important Dates for the General Election
robert griffith
e all know Mitt Romney is challenging incumbent President Barrack Obama, but who is running for the Watauga County Board of Education and Watauga County and Avery County Board of Commissioners?
Douglas Owen (D) Robert (Reo) Griffith (R) Martha Jaynes Hicks (R – Incumbent) Kenny R. Poteat (R – Incumbent)
debroah greene
W
Four candidates are running for three seats on the Avery County Board of Commissioners, and three of those four are Republicans. Avery County Board of Education candidates are not on the ballot.
ron henries
The Local Races
Avery County Board of Commissioners
barbara kinsey
lection Day keeps creeping closer and closer. Read below for information on the local races in both Watauga and Avery counties and important dates in the coming weeks for the 2012 election. And don’t forget to check the “Politics” page at www.hcpress.com for more detailed coverage of the candidates, races, fundraisers, rallies and more.
fred c. oliver
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mountain
echoes
Cranberry Festival in Shady Valley Takes Place Oct. 12 and 13 I
t is fall festival season in the High Country, and the Cranberry Festival in the small community of Shady Valley, Tenn., is one that deserves more attention that it receives. Just north of Mountain City, the annual Cranberry Festival, which takes place on Friday and Saturday, October 12 and 13 at Shady Valley Elementary School, raises funds for the school that was built under the WPA during the Great Depression in 1936. Because the school only has 50 students, it receives limited funding from the state and federal level and must raise funds “to keep
us in the 21st century,” said Diana Howard of Shady Valley Elementary School. Shady Valley Elementary School primarily exists because of a mountain range that separates Shady Valley from other sections of Johnson County. For students who reside in the community, Howard said travelling to other county schools would be impractical. Now in its 21st year, the Cranberry Festival was created two decades ago to bring political awareness of the school’s plight and raise funds for computers, other technologies, supplemental “leveled readers” and field trips that otherwise would have been impossible without the proceeds from the Cranberry Festival. “The whole reason for even starting the festival to begin with was to get the word out that we have a great school,” Howard said. According to a press release, the school is very competitive in areas of achievement on state assessments. The festival features storytellers, live
music, handmade crafts, wildlife exhibits, train rides, food vendors, auctions, fly-fishing demonstrations, a parade, a community yard sale and much more.
Friday, Oct. 12 5 to 7 p.m. – Famous Annual Bean Supper in the school’s multipurpose room 6 to 9 p.m. – Silent auction with dozens of items, winners declared at 9 p.m. 7 p.m. – Professional auction that usually includes Lt. Gov. of Tennessee Ron Ramsey Saturday, Oct. 13 11 a.m. – Day long festivities begin with a parade that marches down U.S. 421 to the TN 133 intersection, toward the school and onto the festival grounds.
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The GRAY GHOSTS Saying Farewell to the
Hemlock Forests As We’ve Known Them By Paul T. Choate
N
ot so long ago, mighty eastern hemlocks dominated the landscape around Lees-McRae College and the surrounding community of Banner Elk. Around 2002, however, the giant living monuments were brutally attacked by vicious predators about the size of a pinhead, the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA). As a result, a battle to save the trees ensued over the next several years and continues to
Photo by Heather Wolf 20
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this day. Despite some progress after releasing the Laricobius nigrinus beetle in the area beginning in 2003 and using chemical treatments to combat the HWA, much of Lees-McRae and Banner Elk now looks like a hemlock graveyard with many of the giant trees spindly, dead shells of their former glory. Around a decade into the battle, and with many casualties of war along the way, things may be looking up for the
It’s Been 10 Years Since The Woolly Adelgid Showed Up . . . And It’s Been Winning
Photo by Ken Ketchie October / November 2012
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Photo by Todd Bush
Heavy infestation of the woolly adelgid can kill trees in as little as four years. One-half the range of hemlocks in the Eastern United States is infested with the woolly adelgid, affecting 16 states from Northeastern Georgia to Southeastern Maine. 22
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surviving and infant eastern hemlocks in our region. Unfortunately, Hemlock Hill on the campus of Lees-McRae will likely never be the same. Prior to the infestation in the High Country, the HWA was already paving a path of destruction southbound all the way from the state of Maine. Looking north only as far as Virginia, the devastation of the hemlocks by HWA there exceeds even the haunting images from Hemlock Hill. Heavy infestations of the HWA can kill trees in as little as four years. The dieback of major limbs can occur within two years. One-half the range of hemlocks in the Eastern United States is infested with the HWA, affecting 16 states from Northeastern Georgia to Southeastern Maine. As the pest matures – and this occurs quickly, the insect produces a summer and winter generation each year – it also secretes increasing amounts of protective white woolly wax. Infested branches become covered with circular, fluffy white blobs that usually collect near the base of the needles. It is easy to spot the victims of the HWA. From a distance, the gray limbs are a dead giveaway. When the HWA invaded in 2002, Virginia Tech entomologists were interested in looking into ways to combat the HWA, as hemlocks in their area had already been heavily infested. Initially, chemical treatments were thought to be the way to help the hemlocks on Hemlock Hill. However, this method of treatment was controversial because it is sometimes not well suited for use on very old trees. Many of the hemlocks there were approximately 400 to 500 years old according to Dr. Gene Spears, professor of biology and chair of the Division of Science and Mathematics at Lees-McRae College. He also noted that using chemicals are sometimes not ideal because they can potentially hurt the possibility of introducing a predator species later. Lees-McRae College professors Dr. Spears and Dr. Stewart Skeate, professor of biology, worked in conjunction with Virginia Tech and local entomologist Dr. Richard McDonald, sole proprietor of Symbiont Pest Management, former biocontrol administrator of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and one of the leading researchers on HWA biocontrols in the nation, to
Hemlock Hill at Lees McRae College Not so long ago, Hemlock Hill had some of the most hemlocks in one area of any place in the region. Now the once beautiful forest looks like a hemlock graveyard with most of the giant trees spindly, dead shells of their former glory.
Photos by Ken Ketchie October / November 2012
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develop the plan of introducing the Laricobius nigrinus beetle – a natural predator of the HWA native to the Pacific Northwest – into the region. “It was basically a Ph.D. project, kind of a pilot study, to see the first introduction of this beetle into the area,” said Dr. Skeate. “Virginia Tech was looking for basically a study site because all the hemlocks up around Blacksburg were already decimated. So they were looking further south where the HWA had just arrived.” Through his extensive research, Dr. McDonald discovered that there were hundreds of eastern and Carolina hemlocks in the Pacific Northwest infested with HWA, but because there were also predatory beetles the trees were healthy and did not need treatment. The beetles were able to stave off significant damage caused by the HWA. The HWA is a primarily winter species, which is unusual for insects, though the summer generation of the HWA can cause damage as well. The Laricobius nigrinus, however, is a specialty predator and mirrors the winter HWA’s life cycle. The beetle eats about 97 percent or more of the winter generation of the HWA. It is the major natural mortality factor of the HWA during the winter generation and causes populations of the pest to crash. Predators in the genus Laricobius are essential to controlling the HWA and every other place in the world that has hemlocks has a Laricobius species feeding on HWAs during the winter. It should be noted that Dr. McDonald, along with help from Grandfather Golf and Country Club Superintendent Pete Gerdon, has recently discovered the natural predator for the summer generation of the HWA. The Scymnus coniferarum, a small gold and black lady beetle, appears to be one of the major mortality factors of the summer HWA.
Many of the hemlocks at Hemlock Hill were approximately 400 to 500 years old according to Dr. Gene Spears, professor of biology and chair of the Division of Science and Mathematics at Lees-McRae College. 24
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Dr. Richard McDonald Research is ongoing into this new find and the Scymnus has not been introduced into the area yet as with the Laricobius, but Dr. McDonald is optimistic about its potential. The plan to combat the HWA with natural predators was approached with “guarded optimism” at best, according to Dr. Spears. “We weren’t super-optimistic when we went into it. We just figured this was worth a shot; it was worth giving it a try and hopefully it would make a difference,” said Dr. Spears. “It was really more of a matter of: that was the only thing we could think of to do.” In 2003, Virginia Tech, Blue Ridge Resource Conservation and Development Council and Lees-McRae released 300 Laricobius beetles at Hemlock Hill. “We put 300 beetles at Hemlock Hill and that was nothing,” said Dr. McDonald. “It was like peeing on a house fire. So, of course, over time a bunch of those trees died, but that was where we were starting. We had to start somewhere. … If your woods are biologically on fire you’ve got to do something.” There were initially issues with being able to get enough beetles, as well as their lack of sufficient reproduction in order to multiply. “Initially these beetles were lab raised and that was the initial problem,” said Dr. Skeate. “It was very difficult to raise them in the lab and there was only one generation per year. So each beetle was costing somewhere around $5 per beetle.” Ultimately, it was decided that it would be easier to go out to Washington, collect beetles living in their
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“We put 300 beetles at Hemlock Hill and that was nothing, It was like peeing on a house fire. So, of course, over time a bunch of those trees died, but that was where we were starting. We had to start somewhere. … If your woods are biologically on fire you’ve got to do something.”
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Photo by Todd Bush
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In terms of the long-term health of the forest, the beetles were really the only answer,� said Dr. Stewart Skeate. Now that the Laricobius have had some years to reproduce and multiply, they have begun to establish themselves. natural habitat there and bring them back to Banner Elk. At that time Dr. McDonald began making trips to Washington to collect Laricobius beetles. Dr. McDonald said over the past several years, since the battle against the HWA began, he has been to Washington 40 times collecting or researching the Laricobius. Dr. Skeate said that once beetles collected in the wild started being introduced the species showed more reproductive vigor. He estimates that, in total, approximately 1,000 beetles have been released since the plan was developed and said that at present there are probably tens of thousands of Laricobius in and around Banner Elk. He also noted that the beetles are not a potential threat to any other species native to the High Country. Being that they are such a specialized predator, they will feed almost entirely on the HWA. “In terms of the long-term health of the forest, the beetles were really the only answer.�
Bringing Balance Dr. Skeate and Dr. Spears emphasize the need for balance in an ecosystem. When the balance is disrupted, tragedies such as
Photos by Heather Wolf
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“If you look at the Pacific Northwest, they have hemlocks there, they have HWA there, but they also have the beetles so they have a pretty healthy system there. The HWA is not going anywhere. It is here to stay. That’s why we need the predators to be here to stay as well.” Dr. Stewart Skeate the mass devastation of Banner Elk’s hemlocks can occur. “If you look at the Pacific Northwest, they have hemlocks there, they have HWA there, but they also have the beetles so they have a pretty healthy system there,” said Dr. Skeate. “The HWA is not going anywhere. It is here to stay. That’s why we need the predators to be here to stay as well.” Dr. Skeate said now that the Laricobius have had some years to reproduce and multiply, they have begun to firmly establish themselves. “Almost every tree you see that has HWA on it also has beetles on it now,” said Dr. Skeate. According to his observations, Dr. McDonald said that eight miles out from Lees-McRae College in any direction there is an established population of Laricobius. Now that the beetles are establishing their population there may be some hope. Around the campus there are many young hemlocks coming up and it is clear they are not heavily infested by the HWA. In fact, a few of the most resilient of the old hemlocks have survived near the top of Hemlock Hill. “I think it’s pretty safe to say now that with the Laricobius – the biological control – the hemlock is not really in danger of going extinct,” said Dr. Spears.
When hemlocks have every needle infested with HWA, the tree can no longer produce new growth. Photo by Dr. Richard McDonald
A tiny Laricobius nigrinus larva, just after hatching in the HWA egg sack (ovisac). Photo by Dr. Richard McDonald
Organic and Chemical Approaches Though the Laricobius has now begun to establish itself in the High Country, other methods to combat the HWA were also used after the invasion. Appalachian Tree Care has been a leader in treating hemlocks infested with HWA since 2003 by using a combination of organic and chemical methods. According to Ryan Franks, president of Appalachian Tree Care, it all depends on the type of hemlock as to how they treat it. 28
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A Laricobius nigrinus adult, recovered from Hemlock Hill back in 2005. Photo by Dr. Richard McDonald
October / November 2012
The organic method is preferred for smaller hemlock hedges. “Our approach is an organic approach so that’s kind of the thing that makes us unique,” said Franks. “We use an organic soap, which is nice because we don’t have to worry about messing anything else up.” The organic soap is sprayed onto hedges twice per year and Franks said it has proven to be extremely effective in staving off the HWA. He added that he prefers to avoid the use of chemicals if at all possible. Sometimes, however, chemicals are necessary. For larger individual hemlock trees Appalachian Tree Care uses a chemical called imidacloprid, an insecticide that acts as an insect neurotoxin. Franks cautioned that use of this chemical must be done carefully. If poured around the tree it could potentially toxify the groundwater and there is also the risk that much of the chemical would not be absorbed by the tree’s root system. To eliminate that risk, Franks said the best thing to do is directly inject the chemical into the tree with a “tree IV” of sorts. “It’s just like a person getting a shot: you’re not going to not get the treatment,” he said. Franks also explained the method he uses to assess if a hemlock is likely able to survive with treatment. When looking at the canopy of a healthy hemlock it should block out around 95 percent of the light. If as much as 50 percent light is making its way through the canopy it becomes questionable whether or not the tree can be saved, though he noted he has seen trees survive with treatment when 90 percent of light was visible through the canopy. “For hemlock trees that are valuable to a property’s landscape, spending $100 or $200 per year on treatment over the next few years is often preferable to spending potentially thousands to permanently remove the trees,” he said. Grandfather Mountain State Park also chose to go the chemical route after their hemlocks were invaded by the HWA in 2002. According to Jesse Pope, chief naturalist with Grandfather Mountain State Park, a management plan was put in place by 2003 and chemical treatment began in 2004, with great success. “We felt like, looking at some of the
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surrounding populations of trees, we were seeing serious decline and we felt like the [Laricobius] beetle introductions were going to take a longer amount of time than we could afford,” said Pope. During the first couple of years of the HWA invasion, Grandfather Mountain did lose some trees because they were so heavily infested by the time treatment began. However, Pope said they have not lost a hemlock to the HWA in at least five years. Grandfather Mountain State Park is treating approximately 500 trees and since treatment began in 2004 they have seen an 86 percent survival rate for hemlocks. Even some of the oldest trees along the Profile Trail survived due to imidacloprid direct injection, though Pope said it was “very expensive” to save them. Dr. McDonald conceded that, in retrospect, he probably would have recommended chemical treatment for the hemlocks on Hemlock Hill during the first few years of the HWA invasion. His concern at the time was the impact the chemical treatment might have on later biocontrol methods. “At the time we didn’t know whether, if we treated, if that would drive the beetles away,” said Dr. McDonald. Though the chemical treatments have
Photos by Todd Bush 30
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Grandfather Mountain State Park is treating approximately 500 trees and since treatment began in 2004 they have seen an 86 percent survival rate for hemlocks. Even some of the oldest trees along the Profile Trail survived due to imidacloprid direct injection, though Chief Naturalist Jesse Pope said it was “very expensive” to save them.
“The downfall [of chemical treatment] is that every couple of years we have to continue to treat the trees. The biological control – in reading the science, if you read the literature – it’s really a no-brainer that it is the long-term solution, so I fully understand LeesMcRae making that decision to go with the biological control. The downfall is it takes some time to get the [Laricobius population] numbers up.” Chief Naturalist Jesse Pope worked at Grandfather Mountain, Pope is supportive of the biocontrol methods. “The downfall [of chemical treatment] is that every couple of years we have to continue to treat the trees,” said Pope. “The biological control – in reading the science, if you read the literature – it’s really a no-brainer that it is the long-term solution, so I fully understand Lees-McRae making that decision to go with the biological control. The downfall is it takes some time to get the [Laricobius population] numbers up.”
Too Little, Too Late – For Some Dr. Skeate estimated that during the initial years of the HWA infestation, approximately 80 percent of the hemlocks at LeesMcRae were killed. “The unfortunate part is if we had been able to know what
Photo by Todd Bush
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Tips from an Expert #1
According to Ryan Franks, president of Appalachian Tree Care, you should never have bird feeders in or near your hemlock trees. Since the HWA does not fly it is typically transferred on the feet of birds. “If you’ve got birds jumping around in your hemlocks you’re pretty much just asking to spread the HWA around,” said Franks. Though getting the bird feeders away from your hemlocks obviously won’t completely eliminate birds perching in the trees, it is a simple way to reduce the risk of HWA spread.
#2
Franks says you should always make sure to mulch around your hemlocks. It may sound like an odd way to stave off HWA, but hemlocks are extremely sensitive to drought and without sufficient water they are at greater risk. Mulch helps to keep moisture in the soil around the tree during dry times. “The healthier a tree is, the more resilient it tends to be to pests and other diseases,” said Franks.
#3
You need to be very careful when using fertilizer, according to Franks. Never spread fertilizer too close to hemlocks. “The HWA is actually feeding on nitrogen in the hemlock trees and most fertilizer that folks use is primarily nitrogen,” said Franks. “If a hemlock tree gets fertilized with nitrogen it boosts the nitrogen level which tends to cause the HWA population to explode because they’re getting so much of what they are really after.
Photo by Todd Bush
was going on prior to this – if we were able to release the beetles as soon as the HWA got here – we may have been able to save the big hemlocks. But unfortunately we were probably about two to three years late in doing this and as a result we lost all these big hemlocks,” said Dr. Skeate. He also added that due to the devastation around Banner Elk, manly local residents feel the beetles were ineffective and a waste of time and money. The spindly reminders of the infestation all around the area are indications of only the negative side of a dark cloud that may have a slight silver lining. Dr. Skeate stressed the need for people to understand that the strategy was a success despite so many trees dying before the beetles established their population. “This beetle needs to be spread further,” he said. “We’re 32
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just looking at an area around Banner Elk. It needs to be introduced more to some of the national forests around here; it needs to be introduced along the Parkway and places like that. … It needs to be a broader effort to release these beetles and the government needs to get onboard.” He said this past winter a record number of the Laricobius were collected, suggesting further improvement in years to come.
‘Hemlock’ Hill The future of Hemlock Hill as a vast forest of the mighty trees is bleak. Even though the beetles have proven successful, Dr. Skeate estimates that once the dead trees fall someday other species will take their place as opposed to new hemlocks coming up.
Despite some progress, Hemlock Hill will likely never again be the place it once was. When the once mighty trees fall, other species will likely grow in their place. “Hemlock Hill is very unusual. You don’t typically see areas where one species like the hemlocks dominate. They’re fairly rare; usually hemlocks are fairly scattered,” he said. “Probably what is going to happen is the other trees, you know, the birches and the maples, will start to dominate instead. It will probably become more of a typical northern hardwood forest.” So for now, Lees-McRae and Banner Elk can take some
solace in the success of the Laricobius beetle, the growth of young hemlocks in the area and the few ancient hemlock titans that withstood the now decade-long siege by the HWA. As for Hemlock Hill, its name will likely never again reflect the place it once was. “The idea that in 500 years Hemlock Hill will look like it did before -- probably not. It will probably be a really different mix of species,” said Dr. Spears.
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The Rodeo Way of Life Story by Chelsea Purdue Photography by Freddie Georgia 34
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Addie Fairchild on her roping horse, Woody.
In Deep Gap, N.C., Addie Fairchild practices hard to achieve her equestrian dreams
W
hile some middle school girls are watching Friday night football, playing basketball or having sleepovers, Addie Fairchild is rushing through a rodeo arena atop Can Man, her horse. The 12-year-old Ashe County native competed in the National Junior High School Rodeo Finals in Gallup, N.M., this summer. She is the first-ever student in the High Country to qualify or compete at a national rodeo event. “Horses have been a part of my family since I was little,” said Chad Fairchild, Addie’s father. “We started out actually just having some fun horses. I did roping and
rodeo some all over the United States, and finally when Addie was born, it was time to settle down and put my time into her and the family.” For Chad, settling down didn’t mean quitting. Instead, he passed his passion down to his children. From the time Addie was a baby, he would carry her while riding. Since then, Addie has never been separated from the stables for long. As Addie grew older, she attended roping with her father. She also watched her cousin compete at rodeo events. Her eyes sparkled with excitement at the thought October / November 2012
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The Fairchild family, from left: Addie, Paige, Hondo, Chad and Gracie
of riding her own horse in front of crowds of people. “I’m competitive,” Addie said. “I could just see, when I would go to my cousin’s rodeo, I loved it. I wanted to be like her, and I like the challenge.”
The Competition
When Chad saw Addie’s interest in the sport, he was thrilled and immediately began to train her. She entered the Junior Southern Rodeo Association and qualified for her first rodeo finals when she was just 7 years old. Addie’s younger sister, Gracie, quickly followed in her footsteps. She became involved in rodeo and even competed against her sister in some events. Their brother, Hondo, continued the family tradition. At 5 years old, he is already goat tying, mutton busting and training to become more involved in the rodeo. This summer Addie received an opportunity to compete on the national level. With riders from 47 states and 36
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three countries, the event tested her skills on a new level. “The history is we can’t compete west of the Mississippi,” Chad said. “The East can’t compete with the cowboys and cowgirls in Texas and Oklahoma because they truly live the lifestyle.” But Addie showed those from the West that she can hold her own. She finished fourth overall for National Rookie of the Year and placed in the top 30 in barrel racing. Perhaps her biggest accomplishment was winning second place in the first round of ribbon roping, making her the first contestant from North Carolina to place in a round at the Junior National Finals. With that placement, she won a scholarship among various other awards. “Instead of just saddling up and going up on the hill to trail ride, you have a reason and a goal to work toward,” said Paige, Addie’s mother. “And as she gets older, her goal gets bigger with scholarships and saddles and chances to travel across the United States.”
October / November 2012
Addie in action at the Junior National Finals
“It’s a family sport for us. I like it because we’re with each other. We have to support each other.
Addie shows off her National medals
– Chad Fairchild
A Family Activity
With all three children involved in the sport, it has become a family activity. The children practice together, which helps each of them become better. Their schedules revolve around the sport, and each part is integral to Addie’s success. “It’s a family sport for us,” Chad said. “I like it because we’re with each other. We have to support each other. My wife [Paige] is a city girl, never been around horses or farming at all, and she’s an unbelievable rodeo mom. It’s just amazing how you develop enthusiasm.” It’s not just a hobby for the Fairchilds; it’s a way of life. Although many people in the West live the lifestyle, few people in the East do. Because rodeo isn’t as prominent in the East, they have to work hard to keep up with the competition across the country. “There’s not a lot of families that realize that it’s very, very competitive, very serious,” Chad said. “These kids practice every day that it’s not raining, and if it’s raining, they practice in the basement. It’s not something you just say, ‘Oh, I’m going to have a horse.’” The Fairchilds understand the level of commitment necessary to compete. Any disposable income they have goes into getting their horses into competition condition. Chad and Paige said that this sport is teaching their children valuable lessons, and that’s why it’s worth it. “It’s a team sport, but your team member is your horse,” Chad said. “Rodeo has helped all of my kids. It teaches responsibility. You don’t feed a football. You don’t feed a basketball. You just put it up in a bag. A horse has to be fed; he has to be in the very best condition. Not only does the contestant have to be an athlete; their animal has to be an athlete.” Addie and her siblings know that they have to care for their
Hondo riding the mechanical bull with Addie at the controls.
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Gracie, on her horse, Jezzy, practice roping.
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Hondo, loves riding his horse, Rango.
horses like a race car driver cares for his car. But they don’t just use the animals to win; they truly care about their wellbeing. “Our horses eat before we eat,” Chad said. “They get their vaccinations. One of the horses gets hurt and these kids are like it’s their own sibling getting hurt, maybe worse. It teaches a lot of love as far as care. You grow fond because that horse is helping you win. It’s a bonding.” That bond is part of what makes Addie passionate about the sport. It makes having to take care of her seem less like a job. Most days, it’s more like playing than a chore. 38
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“I like staying active, and I’m one of those people who love the outdoors,” Addie said. “When I’m having a bad day at school or something, I’ll come home and just ride horses and it makes me feel better.”
High Country Cowboys and Cowgirls
Three years ago, the Fairchilds realized that traveling to other competitions wasn’t enough for them. They decided they wanted to start their own rodeo in the High Country. In 2010, the High Country Cowboys and Cowgirls was born. “Once our kids got involved in Junior
Addie, on Can Man, her barrel horse
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The whole family practices together on a beautiful day in the mountains
SRA [Southern Rodeo Association] and got competitive, it was motivating to us to try to produce a rodeo in the High Country to help people see that rodeo is a way of life just like Friday night football,” Chad said. Although it’s not a large sport in this area, they have found that people are interested in learning about it. Some of those people would have never been interested in rodeo before, but now that it’s in their own community, they’re getting into it. “We’ve got the community asking, ‘When you going to have that rodeo?’” Paige said. Traditionally only members of the Junior Southern Rodeo Association would be allowed to ride in the rodeo, but at the High Country Cowboys and Cowgirls, children can pay a fee to participate. This means that a lot of new families are being introduced to the sport. Currently, the High Country Cowboys and Cowgirls is the largest rodeo in the Junior Southern Rodeo Association. In the past two years, it has brought in more than 3,000 spectators and competitors from North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Addie’s goal is to one day make it to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. She still has some work to do to achieve that goal, 40
High Country Magazine
Addie and Can Man run the barrels
October / November 2012
but she is positive that, with the help of her family, she can make it happen. When asked what it takes, her response was a four-part, simple lesson. “You’ve got to be dedicated, you’ve got to have the heart, you’ve got to have the ability to work at it and you have to want it on the inside.”
“When I’m having a bad day at school or something, I’ll come home and just ride horses and it makes me feel better.” – Addie Fairchild
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High Country Cowboys and Cowgirls present the 3rd annual
High Country Rodeo
The third annual High Country Rodeo took place Sept. 21 and 22. Last year’s event was very successful and this year was even better. Over 1,200 people attended on Friday and over 1,500 attended on Saturday. Organizer Gary Knight said that it “exceeded all our expectations.” The High Country Rodeo is a Junior Southern Rodeo Association (JSRA) event organized by High Country Cowboys and Cowgirls. The JSRA is the largest junior rodeo association east of the Mississippi River and sanctions more than 12 rodeos each year. “The event went great,” said Knight. “All the kids worked the hardest they have ever worked because this is the final event before the finals in Asheville taking place Nov. 15-17.” Photos by Ken Ketchie 42
High Country Magazine
October / November 2012
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unger has reached epidemic proportions in our community. The Hunger and Health Coalition is trying to alleviate some of that hunger. Your purchase of the “Christmas in the Mountains” CD for $10 will allow them to feed a family of four for one week. Leslie Shavell, the coordinator of the CD project, told us. “Our community has been so generous since the beginning of the project 6 years ago. The project averages about $30,000 each year, and all of those funds go toward ending hunger in our local area. Our End Childhood Hunger program will again be funded by Volume 6 of the “Christmas in the Mountains” CD.” The children are the victims of this terrible economy and as Compton Fortuna, the Executive Director of the Hunger and Health Coalition said, “The thought of a child going hungry is unbearable”. All the music and production of the CD is donated and the 80 retailers who give their precious counter space to sell the CD are so appreciated. Watch for the CD in early October in these locations and buy one for yourself or give them as gifts. Share the joy of music and give the gift of food to those who are going hungry. For more information about the project, to find a location, or to make a donation, please call 828-262-1628 or visit the website at hungerandhealthcoalition.com.
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High Country Magazine
October / November 2012
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High Country Magazine
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The Ballad of Flamin’ Raymond...
Making Sparks Fly T
ake the glitz and glamour of NASCAR, distill it like fine moonshine down to its very essence, and what’s left is a summer night at Friendship Racetrack in Elkin. The noise of the engines running for Fast Track Series Racing can be heard from afar, the track’s red dust sparkling in the klieg lights. Fans file into the stands, the Carolina red clay sticking to their jeans and boots. Babies wearing protective headphones hang onto their mothers’ hips as siblings climb into cars pretending they are ready to take off. Here, where $25 will buy a pit pass, and $25 covers a car’s entrance fees, a favorite driver is Ashe County’s Flamin’ Raymond Pennington. A feisty die-hard racer who embarks each weekend on a homegrown adventure, Pennington lives for the thrill of sparks flying as the cars slide on the dirt track and slam against the walls, the cheers of faithful fans soaring above the roar of the engines.
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STORY H i g h C o u n BY t r y MCLARE a g a z i n e TAGER October / November 2012
The sights and sounds of the races permeate every sense as things get underway. The track raffles off backpacks for school and the pit fills with generations of family members serving as pit crews, watching from folding chairs set up along the tops of their trailers. They all help out the drivers, quickly making repairs and adjustments, while the crescendo of noise becomes a bone rattling adrenaline rush. First come the qualifying rounds and then the real racing begins. Even 12-year-old drivers charge into a can race. The autograph signing of race cars, T-shirts, and programs attract all comers; faces weathered from hard work next to youngsters who have not yet left the mountains. They all revel in the spirit of pure Americana. For Flamin’ Raymond Pennington, racing is more than just a hobby. It is his very identity and being. He began his racing career in 1988 in Boone, driving a 1974 Nova #6 in the Stock 8 division.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY FREDDIE GEORGIA
The Spirit of Pure Americana October / November 2012
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Autograph Seekers and Signers gather to personalize the decorated race cars at Friendship Track.
“
Some of the customers at his shop talked him into giving racing a try. He agreed only if they would strip out the Nova for him so he could put in a roll bar. “I came to the shop one morning and parts and pieces were everywhere. They had stripped out that car and left me a mess, but there I started,” he fondly remembers. He has won awards for the most popular driver and for the best looking car in the years since. Now, a respected winner of seven Late Model Championships, he currently holds down second place in the Late Model Series with six more races to go. He conquers tracks
throughout the Mid Atlantic, on his own and without sponsors. Friendship Track outside Elkin is a favorite, a challenging oval just under half a mile around where cars going into the two turns are often half way off the ground. Aiming for the big ring $25,000 payoff in the Fast Track Series, Pennington is looking forward to the three critical races in Beckley, West Virginia that will determine this year’s championship. The national “Outlaw Fastrack Series,” holds its championship in Charlotte in November. Pennington, with the new sleek black race car he is saving for this occasion, is
RACING IS LIFE. THE REST IS JUST DETAILS.”
Raymond runs nose to nose fighting for position.
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Raymond at the wheel (with wheel in hand) on a moonlit evening at the Speedway.
Local youngsters explore the race cars before the competitions. Who knows who might be the generation’s winning driver!
aiming to be there. He has been the man to watch at racetracks few of the rules that have consumed our society and our lawin Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Lenoir, Antioch, Rural Retreat, yers. Like I could shoot without being told to leave or get back. Cars wiped out in front of my camera and sparks were hitting Thunder Valley, Bulls Gap, Wytheville and Gaffney, S.C. To fully appreciate Raymond and Sue Pennington, a trip my skin before I jumped out of the way!” A three legged shepherd mix named King serves as the enalong the winding roads of Ashe County to their garage and home is a late afternoon pilgrimage into the local color, cus- thusiastic official greeter, having lost his leg several years ago to a customer arriving for an inspection. Based on Raymond’s toms, and soft green hills of Appalachia. Owners of Pennington Auto Repair in Creston, Raymond and Flamin Raymond Pennington and his wife “Sizzlin Sue,” Sue (“Sizzlin’ Sue” to fans) are enjoy shared moments at the track and at home a dynamic couple in racing and in the mountains of Ashe County. in the life they share. Sue smiles proudly and says, “He can fix everything from a weed-eater to a bulldozer.” He chuckles and nods toward a riding lawn mower and a vintage racing Alpha Romeo, sitting alongside a host of other machines, waiting to be repaired with the skill that defines his reputation. He knows that the success of a race car is “all in how it’s set up.” His customers come from Boone, Chapel Hill, Mountain City and beyond. A sign over his desk at the shop reads, “Racing is Life, The Rest is Just Details.” On a September sunlit afternoon, Freddie Georgia, photographer and loyal customer, finishes her photo shoot; some of Raymond’s many trophies lining the top of one of his race cars. She also shot at the track, and took that experience to heart, noting that “It felt like the last of the American Frontier, with very October / November 2012
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Raymond is designer, driver, and mechanic for his winning race cars. With a little help from his friend and crew chief, Lynn Isaacs, he is off and running again after collisions on the track.
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“
Drivers put personalized messages on the back of their cars.
I’M OUT THERE RUNNING WITH THEM AND SOMETIMES RUNNING OVER THEM.
FLOATING ON DIRT.” Raymond Pennington long line of near misses and not missed injuries, King seems an appropriate mascot and shares Raymond’s sense of humor and sunny disposition. Beyond the shop on their thirty acres, a classic 1937 farmhouse sits on a hillside. He and Sue restored it themselves, digging out the basement, putting up their own siding and planting a garden each spring that brings in corn, tomatoes, greens, beans and other mountain bounty. In asking about Raymond’s genetic and odds-driven propensity for survival, he notes that his dad canned 20 bushels of beans before leaving the house to attend his 80th birthday party. Point well taken.
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Sue and Raymond’s mothers both enjoyed watching him race at the track until their passing, Sue’s mom in her 90’s and Raymond’s in her 70’s. The Pennington family has a shared passion for the track and the mad magic that happens there, especially with Raymond at the wheel on a moonlit evening. Back in the mid 1960’s Raymond, then just 21 years old, headed to the drag-strip down in Wilkes County, showcasing his super modified ‘57 Chevy. He had dreams of winning the $50 grand prize and was determined to take it home to Creston. Winning his first trophy and his first race, he remembers that night fondly. “I won! But I busted off my shifter and had to drive the whole way home in third gear.” That made for a long drive on winding mountain roads in the dark, but Raymond had fulfilled his first dream and was on his way, even in third gear. Shortly after, he traveled north to Pennsylvania to find work and became a shop foreman supervising heavy duty
equipment for International Trucks. He also found the love of his life, Sue, married her and brought her home to his North Carolina roots in 1985. They adopted their son Jeremy a year later. Three years later he officially started racing at the tracks. Purple became their chosen racing color, which is fitting indeed as his fans consider Flamin’ Raymond racing royalty. When asked how they chose his #6 , Sue replies, “Well, we married March 6, our son was six years-old, and that year Raymond’s favorite driver Mark Martin was running #6 – I was always pulling for Dale Earnhardt myself, but no matter, we were going with #6!” A moment of silence for Dale was observed before the conversation continued. Sue bowed her head and looked away; Raymond took a breath, and then wrapped his arm around Sue’s shoulders. Here in the birth state of American racing, the run means much more than mere sport. As Raymond’s sign says, “Racing
is Life.” Asked if she worries about him on the track, she says “Well, I figure he is safer on the track than on the road, as he and his buddies are all going around one way! I want to see him here to enjoy his family. I have had him this long – I want him to stick around!” Even “Sizzlin’ Sue” had a stint with racing at the Boone track where Raymond began and she worked in the pit. “Jeff Eastridge loaned me his car one evening and I came in second. I was sitting on pillows and had pillows at my back too. It was exciting, but one race car driver in the family is enough, ‘Dad’ himself, he is Enough,” she laughs. Over the years the shifter was not the only thing broken in his quest to become a top race car driver. Raymond notes “All the weird things always happen to me.” After a motorcycle accident in Maryland, Raymond landed a thousand feet from the scene “flying like a bird” before skidding on his back end using his knuckles as
“
Lynn, Raymond’s pit crew friend, was super, like Radar on MASH, he was always right there with the right tool or hands to help every step of the way. It’s cool and brave that Raymond races by himself, but when his
friends help just out of their love for him and the sport that’s amazing too!”
Raymond climbing into his race car under the watchful eye of Lynn Isaacs. 52
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Freddie Georgia about Lynn Isaacs
rudders. The cops had two questions, “Do you know how fast you were going?” and “do you know how you got all the way over here?” Raymond humbly acknowledged that he was ‘probably’ going over the speed limit, and as far as surviving his thousand foot trip? It had something to do with “The Man Upstairs.” Sue nods her head, “You see where he gets his wildness from?!” The EMS team that was transporting Raymond to the hospital also needed a bit of assistance from “The Man Upstairs” as in the midst of the transport the ambulance wrecked, throwing Raymond off the stretcher in the back. When the first responder in the back yelled at the driver asking what in the world he was thinking the driver yelled back, “Calm down, he’s gonna die anyway!” Raymond heard this and objected profusely. Upon arriving at the ER, he not only didn’t intend
Raymond’s purple Honda Shadow sports an eagle, a dove flying through a dream catcher and the script “Shadow of a Dream.” The bike won best motorcycle in the 12th Annual Ridge Run, 2012.
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Flamin Raymond’s collection of awards and trophies were too numerous to exhibit, so he and his dog King chose a few favorites for Freddie Georgia at his Pennington Auto Repair in Creston. Included in his many wins are seven Late Model Championships.
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October / November 2012
He and Sue hung traction off one of go to surgery.” to die but refused to let the staff cut off A Zen-like smile creeps over Rayhis $400 leather jacket. They saved him the doors of their farmhouse, but balked and he saved the jacket. “I hardly have when doctors suggested surgery. Ray- mond’s face. “Yep, I did meditation and a bone that hasn’t been broke” he says. mond remembers “I was told I would dealt with the pain,” he said. “I keep my have to live with the pain or do one of heart in everything I do.” “Kind of like Evel Knievel.” Another remembrance takes RayAnother encounter, this time with a two things, have surgery with the posmond back to an accident at 2 drunk driver while Sue was am in his shop prior to a race at the wheel of their family several states away. With his car, left Raymond with a broarm severely injured, he put ken neck. An insurance salesit back together with an ace man had smacked them in bandage, duct tape and alcobetween drinks or between hol, adding starter fluid to kill drinks and home. As he tried any infection, then left for the to drive away, Raymond journey and got to the track pulled the man’s keys out on time. of his ignition and asked if One of the only times he he would like to become acleft for the track without Sue, quainted with a lug wrench. Raymond’s good luck nearly The man declined and waited ran out. for the police to arrive. “I try not to let him go Raymond’s broken neck by himself,” she said, “and wasn’t diagnosed in the ER that time I was right, he got initially but a clever radioloa concussion.” By Raymond’s gist took a second look. A “Let me fix your tag, Dad,” Sue says. Raymond replies, “I don’t have to be account, “I was up against the call was made to Raymond PERFECT for this!!” All while wearing their signature purple. wall, but I was flying and deat home to tell him to come termined to win. The night back to the hospital immediately for treatment. Raymond didn’t sibility of that procedure paralyzing my before, I dreamed about a wreck and arm, or go to meditation school. I chose it happened just the way I dreamed it. leave right away. Sustainable “I finished my coffee Style meditation school, I knew better than to When I came to, I was holding the steerfirst, then went.”
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The Pennington’s dog, Tiny, has earned a reputation for “finding money.” Rumored to sniff out cash no matter where it is hidden, neighbors and strangers alike test their hiding skills at the garage. One by one they are forced to succumb to Tiny’s nose and intuition. One visitor even hid a bill on a ladder. Tiny nailed it. ing wheel just the way I had in my dream.” He put his car and his dreams back in the trailer in pieces, Shane Kelly drove him home, but soon thereafter, both Raymond and his car were ‘flying’ again. Other races posed the same life threatening obstacles. At one competition he took out seven billboards, some of the timbers coming through the car and breaking three of Raymond’s ribs. The next week he returned to the same track, raced and won. (The EMS team helped him wrap a sheet around his ribs so he could qualify.) In a separate race at Antioch, he took out billboards too, but this time a cable behind one of them “slung me back out on to the race track.” On that one, Sue dropped her video camera and, “tore up my knees getting to him as I pushed aside officials who said I couldn’t come onto the track to be with him” Raymond smiles at Sue, shrugs his shoulders, and says, “I’m getting better as a driver, don’t ya think?” Raymond’s competitors are sometimes kindred spirits and sometimes not. He tells of competing with “High Dollar Guys” and being the “Low Dog” where money is concerned to finance the sport. One competitor years ago in Boone, called Raymond the night before a race, taunting with, “You might as well stay home, your equipment isn’t good enough and you’re not good enough.” 56
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Raymond says, “The more I thought about it the madder I got. I worked on my car late into the night, thinkin’ about that call. It was a big purse and the winner would take all. The man who called me spun me three times but I went all over his car. Another guy dumped five gallons of water on his head after the race.” “I outdo some of the folks with money” he says, and at present is like many of the home-based racers who have no sponsors. However, recently a gentleman came “out of nowhere” into the shop and offered to help him, saying he wanted to bring a group to the track that weekend to watch Raymond race. A check and four new tires later, the man promised to stay in touch. He and his friends cheered Raymond on, those brand new tires hitting the red clay track on an Elkin Saturday night. A new generation of race car drivers also finds its way to Elkin and other venues for drivers to test their wings and learn the ropes. Richard Childress’s grandsons race as do many others. Raymond gives it his all and continues to run at the head of the pack. “I am out there running with them and sometimes running over them. Floatin’ on Dirt, a hundred miles an hour and four-wide” After sparks flew as his spoiler scraped the wall, his nephew, Garvey, cautioned “Don’t take the wall with you!” Jeremy and April’s daughters (Raymond and Sue’s granddaughters) Lily and
Emily, discuss which one of them will be the next female race car drivers and great niece Alexis and great nephew Troy, complete the fan club. Long time friends Lynn Isaacs, Steven Jones, and John Eller comprise with Sue a seasoned and expert pit crew. Whatever the outcome of this year’s Late Model Series, Flamin’ Raymond will return a hero. Folks love him as the kindest and gentlest Wildman in this part of North Carolina and its racing community. The day after the last race, Sue will join him in the garage, Tiny will find the money, and a charmed life will begin another circle, joyfully alive and flying around the red dirt track of dreams.
Raymond and Sue Pennington’s Pennington AUTO Repair is one of the premier car repair establishments in the High Country. A highly respected mechanic, Raymond will diagnose and take on problems and routine maintenance for a multitude of machines, cars being only one.
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As his wife says, “He can fix anything from a weed eater to a Bulldozer!” Testament indeed to a remarkable fellow. Take your business to Pennington and enjoy the day, the scenery, the stories and leave as a satisfied and loyal customer.
Pennington Auto Repair/ Pennington Racing Creston , N.C. 8am-5pm Monday-Friday (336)- 385- 6387 Ask for Flamin’ Raymond October / November 2012
High Country Magazine
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Watauga Gun Club 50 Years on the Range
W
ith a creek running through and hills surrounding the 30-acre property of the Watauga Gun Club, sometimes the wind blows from three directions at once, descending upon the shooting range in the valley and wrecking havoc on those scoping from more than 100 yards out.
That’s how it was for long-time member Wayne Green during a practice session as he steadied his .22 caliber rifle at a paper target in the fall winds. Afterwards, Green held up his latest effort – a target sheet punctured with a dozen tiny bullet holes. He seemed content but not exactly pleased. 58
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By Jesse Wood Photography by James Fay
Morgan Shaw participates in the monthly Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA) tournaments at the Watauga Gun Club in August. Shaw was shooting at the clay targets darting across the sky with a 12-gauge Browning Citori over-and-under shotgun.
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During a recent ATA Trap tournament, a shooter unloads his shotgun. As smoke from the recent round billows into the air, he prepares for the next round of clay targets. 60
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“It’s not too good. But with the wind blowing and a twenty two, it ain’t that bad from a hundred yards. You’re striving for the little circle, happy with the big circle and ain’t happy with that,” Green said, pointing to the few shots that were off the mark. The following day, the club held its monthly matches and a few dozen members tested their skills in a 100-yard tactical rifle shoot and a .22 caliber steel pistol rimfire match, where folks shoot at five steel targets, some shaped as animals, stars or states, as quickly as possible from 30 to 40 feet away. Also, the Watauga Gun Club hosts events that folks from afar attend such as the N.C. State International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) Championships. But all of these competitive and friendly events, albeit fun, aren’t why the Watauga Gun Club exists. “The club is here is to promote gun safety and give people a chance to practice and promote sportsmanship and things like that,” Green said. “The club was a here a long time before we did any competitions.”
“The club is here is to promote gun safety and give people a chance to practice and promote sportsmanship and things like that.”
The Original ‘One-Hole Group’
The club was founded in the late ‘50s or early ‘60s – depending on who you ask. Back then, it didn’t have a permanent home nor was it called the Watauga Gun Club. It was just an informal group of guys out shooting in the field or on a farm; one of those spots, for example, was located off of Dogskin Road in Vilas. After about 10 years of the core group of people shooting in different areas,
the Watauga Gun Club found a permanent home in the eastern part of the county off of Castle Ford Road in 1972. In the beginning, the gun club was mainly a benchrest rifle club, which is where shooters set up their rifle on a concrete table that has “all kinds of gadgets and gizmos,” as Vice President Gary Hoyle noted, to keep the gun steady for shooting up to 300 yards. The oldest facility on the club’s land shelters the numerous benchrest stations. “It’s the foundation of the club,” Hoyle said, adding that records from the original benchrest community in the ‘70s still stand today. “That means consistency in a very small group of bullets that we like to refer to as a one-hole group, all shots going into one hole,” Hoyle said. He added that benchrest isn’t as physically demanding as the other shooting sports. “It’s a lot of fun, a lot of satisfaction,” Hoyle said. Before the clubhouse was built on the Castle Ford Road property in the mid ‘80s, the members met in a Quonset hut situated on a hill overlooking the shooting ranges. The Quonset hut was divided into two sections. In one part, old seats from a defunct theater were used for the club’s meeting space, and the other half
The Watauga Gun Club’s 30-acre property is surrounded by hills, and a creek runs through it. On the right side of this image is the Quonset hut that used to be partitioned before the clubhouse that stands today was built in the ‘80s. One half of the hut was used as a gathering space while the other half was an indoor shooting range. October / November 2012
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During each tournament, somebody tallies the scores, and a safety officer presides over each event, facilitating the action. The numerous shooting sports involve concentration and fluid hand-eye coordination. was set up as a .22 caliber indoor shooting range. Aside from the new facilities and the increased membership, which currently sits at more than 200 today, not much as changed, said Green, who has been a member since 1980. He added, though, that the popularity of particular shooting sports ebbs and flows with the times. After benchrest, Green said trap shooting, which involves clay targets flying through the air, became the “next big thing.” Then the International Practical Shooting Convention (IPSC) sport – which is different than other traditional shooting sports, involves scenarios whereby the shooter and multiple targets move – became popular along with distance shooting. “Then it went from combat pistols to IPSC to IDPA. Now .22 rifles and pistols are coming back,” Green said. “Everything gets popular and fades in and out, and we always got plenty of people that stick with on thing.” The variety of sports provided something for everyone, but it also provided, according to the memory of Green, the only instance of internal turmoil within the club. The “jealousy” between the various factions, though, dissipated fairly quickly. “The pistol shooters were fussing at the trap shooters who fussed at the rifle shooters who fussed at the other members. It wasn’t good, but fortunately we got over it pretty quick,” Green said. “We had this president [at the time] who said this bs is going to cease – and it did. The president had checks to sign, and he didn’t sign them until everyone finally had enough and started helping
October / November 2012
each other instead of fussing with one another.” All in all, Green summed it up that experience as, “Yeah, we just went through a period of stupid there for a while.” Just as that is the sole instance for internal conflict, so too has there been an instance when some residents, who moved nearby after the “airplanes were flying,” complained about the noise. When the club first moved to Castle Ford Road, only six houses existed within four miles of the shooting range, and only one house was nearby the range, according to Green and Hoyle. It wasn’t until a few years ago when an out-of-town contractor built a few spec houses and, according to Hoyle, sold the houses to unsuspecting people, who somehow didn’t realize that they had purchased a “damaged bill of goods,” i.e., a home next to a shooting range. In describing the noise, Hoyle used a matter-of-fact metaphor: “It’s like living next to an airport. You’re going to have airplanes.” Just as some people purchased homes nearby unbeknownst to them, others have happily bought homes in the area because of the depressed home prices.
Good-ol’-Natured Ribbing
As land in the High Country continues to become developed more and more through the years and more neighbors are within shouting distance, the opportunity to walk on one’s property and shoot some guns isn’t like it used to be. This is part of the reason that the Watauga Gun Club has experienced hand-over-fist growth. Another reason, perhaps, is the social
aspect of shooting. Folks love to come out and hangout with guys – or gals – and shoot. Though Hoyle doesn’t shoot much at the range, he hangs out at the club to take care of the administration aspects of the range, teach classes and take part in the “[bs] sessions,” which is how he describes some of the camaraderie between the members. The atmosphere at the club ranges from encouragement to good-ol’-natured ball busting, and the way you are treated depends on how long you’ve been a member and how well you shoot your gun. “When you first get into competition, everybody is just as nice to you as possible and supportive,” Green said. “After they get to know you and you start improving, you better have sandpaper on your butt ‘cause they are going to chew on it every chance they get just to aggravate you.”
Community Support from the Watauga Gun Club
The Watauga Gun Club supports the Watauga High School Safety Team, which promotes citizenship, safe firearm handling and sportsmanship and is sponsored by the N.C. Wildlife Commission. The Watauga Gun Club provides financial support through coaching and the use of the facility for practice. Both middle school and high school students compete in archery, .22 caliber rifle, shotgun orienteering and animal identification. Also, the students are tested on safety and hunting knowledge. Scrimmages between school systems are held at the club and during some meets nearly 200 students compete in a single day. Also, gun club members have helped build Watauga County Habitat for Humanity homes. Numerous homes have been constructed nearby the shooting range off of Castle Ford Road – partly because of the depressed home prices nearby the range. In response to the tragedy that occurred this summer when Mitchell Allen Trivette shot Watauga County Sheriff ’s Deputy William Mast Jr. near Deep Gap, the gun club raised $7,000 for Mast’s widow and newborn and is currently raising funds to benefit Trivette’s two children. To support, these causes, contact Watauga Gun Club President Tom Bennett at bennetttmg@gmail.com.
Exercise the Mind and Body
Green, who is 60 years old and from Blowing Rock, has been shooting guns since he was in elementary school, where he and other kids would bring shotguns to school. He would take his gun on the school bus and store it in the principal’s office or teacher’s closet during the school day and retrieve it on the way home. As Green said, “It was a different world back then.” When he was four years old, he received his first gun – a Hamilton .22 break-open rifle, which his great grandfather bought decades ago along with a dozen steel traps for $4 decades ago. He has been shooting pistols since he was six years old. “The first gun I ever bought was .22 revolver, and the second was a 20-gauge shot-
CURTIS R. PAGE,
gun. The next gun was a 12-gauge shotgun,” Green said. “Then I bought a high powered rife and then I turned 16.” To Green, shooting is a hobby, and when he gets grouchy, his wife tells him to go to the gun club. “This is my therapy,” Green said. Green talks philosophically about guns and the concentration it takes to shoot one accurately. He recited a quote verbatim about Thomas Jefferson. Someone once asked Jefferson about exercise and Jefferson advised the person to “take a walk with a gun,” Green said. “That way you exercise the mind and the body.”
Defending Yourself
While some people like Green and Hoyle who grew up in rural
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Members of the club shoot a variety of guns – from rifles and handguns to shotguns and machine guns. Also, the marksmen shoot archery, too – all in the name of sport, target practice and self-defense. areas were accustomed to shooting guns for hunting and target practice, others like Bill Krupicka got involved with guns for selfdefense. At the club’s monthly match in September, Krupicka was shooting a revolver during the .22 caliber steel match. After his turn shooting, he recounted the tragic story of why he became involved with guns after starting out as as “anti-gun” Northeasterner. It was an incident that brought “reality” to these peaceful mountains, according to old news clips. In the fall of 1989, a 27-year-old woman named Jeni Gray was walking through downtown Boone on a Sunday morning when she was kidnapped and later brutally raped and murdered. Two weeks later, her body was found in the woods in the Triplett community of Watauga County. At the end of recounting this tragic tale, Krupicka, pulled a tiny handgun from his pants pocket, a .32 caliber Seecamp for which he had a N.C. concealed handgun permit. It was a gun so small it could be held in the palm of his hand. “If she were carrying something even as little as this,” Krupicka said, “I believe she would be alive today.” Over the years, the gun club has seen a different clientele, so to speak. What started out as a club – and to some degree still is – for fellas who want to shoot guns for sport, now involves those who have and are currently learning how to protect themselves with guns. Today, more women and families are members of the club than there have ever been, and the club teaches basic marksman classes for those new to guns. Monthly concealed-carry classes are taught each month, whereby those in the class must prove proficiency with their guns. Hoyle said the clientele in the concealed-carry classes has changed, as well, with more “middle-aged folks – what I call those in their 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s” who want to keep guns for protection. He said that if you want a gun for protection, it is a “good idea” to have a concealed-carry permit. Some of the gun-toting folks disagree with this permit, he added, because they consider it an infringement on the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitu64
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tion, which grants people the right to bear arms. Recently, gun laws were in the news locally and debated at a Blowing Rock Town Council meeting earlier this year, after which council members eventually passed an ordinance that prohibits guns in the town’s parks and recreation areas. The Watauga Gun Club had representatives at the meetings and disagreed with the outcome. “The liberal, left leaning government leaders in Boone and Blowing Rock have the feeling that we just can’t imagine anyone around our children having guns, and they have a point,” Hoyle said. But he added that the “bad guys” aren’t going to abide by these rules, and the folks who go through the trouble to legally register their guns, take safety classes and go through the concealcarry permit process, aren’t the people who people need to worry about inflicting harm on others
An Unwarranted ‘Bad Rap’
In general, many of the Watauga Gun Club members said that gun owners get a “bad rap” from liberals and the media. (Though gun owners tend to be conservatives, Hoyle noted that the Watauga Gun Club has members who are Democrats, too.) Club President Tom Bennett noted that folks usually only hear about the deadly shootings by criminals, such as the recent “Batman Shooting” in Colorado, where gun advocates are quick to point out that because of concealed-carry rules, law-abiding citizens weren’t allowed to have guns inside the movie theater where the shooting occurred to protect themselves and others. “It seems to be those incidents that give a bad taste,” Bennett said. “You only hear about the ones, normally, that are illegal and deadly.” But has Hoyle said, “99.9 percent of the people we see in the classes have been super upstanding citizens.” Green mentioned that gun owners are stereotyped as rednecks, but he cautioned that “stereotypes are never a good idea because we have had everyone from roofers to superior court judges as members.” To become a member, the approval process is thorough to weed out any
bad apples. After applying, prospects must undergo a background check where any criminal history is examined, addresses are double checked and references are reviewed. After that, the applicants come to a meeting and talk about themselves and why they want to join the club. Then, the potential members come back at the next meeting, whereupon that person is voted in – or out – by the other members. “It’s kind of funny in a way. You take most people look at gun people as rednecks and that kind of stuff. But especially in the early years, you just about had to be a deacon of the church before you could even apply,” Green said. “We do background checks to this day, and if you aren’t an upstanding type person, it could get a little tough to get in.” Just before the recession, the total membership peaked at about 300 individuals. Although membership is cheap with dues costing $12.50 a month, the compounding costs of the price of guns, permits, classes and, particularly, ammo can become expensive. Today membership is more than 200, although originally, the intent was to limit the club to 100 people from the standpoint of management and administrative simplicity. But, Green said, it got to the point that no one had a place to shoot anymore. The land off of Castle Ford Road is a beautiful piece of land that is surrounded by nature, and it is an ideal location to hang out with buddies and have an enjoyable, safe time with guns. Some come out to compete, some come to learn, some come to socialize and others do all three. “That’s what’s attractive to people. They can come and do their own thing,” Hoyle said, “and not worry about the rest of the world.” For more information about the Watauga Gun Club, click to www.wataugagunclub.com or call 828-264-6539. The Watauga Gun Club is located at 232 Appaloosa Trail. Drive down N.C. 194 towards Todd and turn right at Castle Ford Road and drive 1.7 miles. Appaloosa Trail is on the left. Entrance to the club is on the right immediately after the bridge.
Watauga Gun Club Vice President Gary Hoyle and his wife Sandy are one of the teams that teach monthly concealed-carry classes at the club. Check out their webpage at www.garynsam.com to learn more about their other gun safety programs.
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Bejeezus! By Linda Kramer
I
n his new book, Haunted Watauga County, journalist and ASU graduate, Tim Bullard, recounts stories of the souls doomed forever, to roam the mountains of the High Country. Covering news stories as a journalist for many publications across the Carolinas since the 1980’s including the Watauga Democrat, he has won many awards for his reporting. The book, a series of ghost tales from the news and local folklore, is both engaging and scary whether you are a believer or not. The folksy, newsy recollections are told in a style with clean lines and sharp edges. The 124 fast-reading pages are so rapid, you find yourself wishing for more. Bullard says, “As a child I would read and reread Dracula and Frankenstein and I used my experiences to turn my life into a haunted life, twisting tales into ghost stories, especially if they involved death. Death is a black curtain, I believe. We don’t know what’s on the other side. We question the supernatural; what goes bump in the night.” Bullard always Tim Bullard, author of Haunted wanted to write a Watauga County book that would keep readers up at night, disrupt their sleep and make their goose flesh rise, but he didn’t personally believe in the supernatural until this book. In Haunted Watauga County he recounts the many haunted trails in the High Country that look perfectly innocent but hold their own se66
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A Ghostly Tale crets. Captain William Riddle, a Tory, has been seen on misty midnight evenings riding his horse on Riddle’s Knob on SR 194, nine mies north of Boone. Phantoms allegedly prowl the Tatum Cabin at Horn in the West, heard by many people who will no longer spend the night there. Readers will also encounter the ghosts that inhabit the halls of Appalachian State Teacher’s College in Boone, the ghosts of Horn in the West outdoor drama in Boone and the legends of Seven Devils and the Moses Cone Manor in Blowing Rock. Perhaps the most significant telling, delivered with a documentary fidelity, is that of the Durham family; a case Bullard got involved with as a reporter that is human enough to make your blood boil and mysterious enough to satisfy your inner sleuth. On Feb 3, 1972, Bryce Durham, who ran Modern Buick in Boone, his wife Virginia, and their 18-year old son, Bobby, were found brutally strangled and drowned in the bathtub of their home off Townsend Road outside Boone. Every branch of law enforcement was employed, leads were followed, suspects were questioned and even Rufus Edmisten got involved, but all clues led to a dead end. Bullard says, “I didn’t believe in ghosts before I started this book, but halfway into the Durham murder investigation, I ran across unexplainable information that proved to me there was something more than a little out of the ordinary going on.” Bullard talked to Mrs. Karen Coffey Wood, owner of the Hilltop Diner outside Boone, who has lived in the house where the murders took place since 1997. Though there was plenty of talk and a haunted history, she bought it at a bargain price and wasn’t afraid to move in. She has had many experiences that will make you challenge your beliefs. She described to Bullard a fe-
male apparition that her daughter, Nicole, saw sitting on the sofa. At various times, Mrs. Wood heard footsteps running up and down the hall and when she laid down in bed at night she felt someone laying beside her, but no one was there. Electrical appliances also went on and off unexplainably. Every once in a while she still feels a presence but says, “I don’t feel like there is any evil here. I’m so used to it, it just seems normal to me. The dogs, however, still bark at the bathroom door and won’t go inside.” Karen tends to take things lightly and even though many people still come to the house including college students wanting to do research, she graciously accommodates everyone. According to Bullard, the Durham’s have inhabited the space around him since 1981 and believes that their ghosts have guided him and helped him write this book. He says, “I always felt a presence looking over my shoulder at night while writing. The family is with me to this day and adds, ”The purpose of writing the chapter on the Durham’s was to scare the person who committed the crime and make him afraid to go to sleep at night. To always be on his conscious.” Bullard believes the ghosts
want him to continue in his search for the killer and feels that they are watching him everyday and will to do so until the crime is solved. Although Bullard has his own theories about who committed the crime; and even though the investigation is on-going, with new evidence continuing to surface; 40 years later, the case is still unsolved. Let’s hope that Tim Bullard’s efforts, moral clarity, hard-earned sense of loss and nostalgic lament, do not go unrewarded for the sake of the friends and family who have lived through the horror and that they will also bring an ending for the spirits of the Durham’s themselves, allowing them to finally rest in peace. Tim Bullard will be present at a book signing of Haunted Watauga County at the Mast General Store in Boone on October 27 from 1-3 pm.
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Boone’s
TaylorMade
The 4th and 5th generation: (standing) Tom and Charles; (bottom) Kevin, Drew, Andy, Scott, David and Craig
By Harris Prevost
L
ong-time golfers around Boone know the Taylor family and the mark they made on the golf course, but few know the family left an even greater mark on the area’s history and economy. In 1849, Henry Taylor rode into Watauga County from Davidson on a one-horse wagon selling clocks. He settled here and in 1850 moved in with the John Mast family. Henry married Mast’s daughter Emaline the next year and the couple built their own home in Valle Crucis. Emaline died in 1880. Three years later, Henry Taylor built a country store 68
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in Valle Crucis. In 1897, at age 78, he sold half-interest in the store to his wife’s great nephew, W.W. Mast. They called their business the Taylor and Mast General Store. In 1913, when Taylor was 94, he sold his remaining half of the store to Mast and, as they say, the rest is history. One of Henry Taylor’s sons, Charles “Squire” Taylor, built and operated the beautiful Taylor House Inn in Valle Crucis. Like his father, Squire married a Mast, but she died early in their marriage. One of his sons, Gordon, had four sons: Charles, Edwin, Johnny and Tom. The Taylor family golf story begins
October / November 2012
with Edwin. The story is more about how a game brought four generations of a family together, through both good times and rough times, than it is about great golfing accomplishments, although there are plenty of those to go around. The four brothers were very athletic and could excel in any sport. The all were starting quarterbacks on the Appalachian High School football team (later called Watauga High). Charles was a three-year starter and then played quarterback for Appalachian State. Edwin and Johnny both started two years and Tom one year. Tom’s team, which
Golfing Fa mily included Miami Dolphins All-Pro Bob Matheson, was undefeated. Tom was offered a football scholarship at Wake Forest but instead chose UNC to attend pharmacy school. The age differences in the boys made it difficult for them to be close growing up. Charles was four years older than Edwin and Edwin four years older than Johnny, who was two years older than Tom. The last thing the star quarterback on the high school football team, who has all the girls chasing him, wants is for his ninth grade brother to be hanging around, and even more so, his fourth and fifth grade brothers. Something had to provide the connection that made them close as adults, and it was golf. Mention a “golf connection” back then and the boys would be puzzled. They did not play golf at an early age. Their father not only didn’t play golf, he had no use for the game. Oldest son Charles remembers, “He couldn’t understand golf, he thought it was a waste of time. He said, ‘This is the silliest game I have ever seen.’”
Golf Enters The Picture In the late 1950s, Edwin developed an interest in golf. He was a very successful head football coach at Beaver Creek in Ashe County at the time. He taught himself to play at the nine-hole Mountain Aire course, the only public course around. Edwin then taught Johnny and Johnny taught Tom. In 1959, Tom and Johnny signed up as caddies at the Boone Golf Club and on opening day they watched Wade Brown hit the first ball. They were hooked! In the early 1970s, all four brothers took lessons from Hound Ears’ pro Bob Kepler, who had retired as the golf coach at Ohio State. Kepler coached and taught several noteworthy golfers including tour players Ed Sneed and Tom Weiskopf, and some fellow named Jack Nicklaus. Edwin and Johnny were the most serious about the game and both were club champions. Johnny set up his own practice facility in his basement, complete with net and a video camera. Edwin had a number of swing improvement gadgets he was al-
The 4th generation (December 1995): Charles Gordon, John Bynum, Thomas George and Edwin Bingham Taylor October / November 2012
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Diamond marker to the right of #1 fairway at Boone Golf Club
ways fiddling with. Sam Adams said, “Edwin was a true student of the game. He was always thinking about the golf swing. He would call me up often to talk about a new swing theory of his and we would go check it out. We had dozens of impromptu sessions together.” Larry Nance, the sage of Boone golf, told Charles he always liked to play with Edwin and Johnny because he got free lessons watching them critique each other’s swing (Larry commented later that he wasn’t looking for lessons from Charles!). Edwin’s son Drew said, “Dad and John were like two peas in a pod the way they liked to analyze their golf swings.”
“My dad was my biggest influence,” Drew said. “He was a good player. He read every book he could get ahold of and also watched video tapes, which were just coming out in the early ‘80s. Dad was so detail oriented. We watched the videos together and he gave me a lot of pointers. Dad was a great football coach and he also coached me in baseball, basketball and golf. It’s tough having your dad as a coach, but he was so good.”
The Generations Become Connected The brothers played together every chance they could. Johnny and Tom always played Edwin and Charles. They became very close. They decided to pass their love of the game on to the fifth generation of Watauga-born Taylors . . . and also back to the third generation. That meant their golf-hating father! Edwin took his father out to the golf course a few times and taught him how to play, and in no time he was hooked! The man who felt golf was a waste of time ended up playing just about every day. He sheepishly admitted to his four sons that he was wrong. Gordon Taylor got to enjoy many enjoyable rounds of golf with his sons and draw closer to them. Edwin taught the game to his sons David and Drew. At first, seven year-old David and five year-old Drew went out with their dad and looked for balls and occasionally hit a few shots. Drew remembers he and David found 99 balls one day! Golf became more of a game about three years later. Drew was bashful at the time and wouldn’t even tee off on the first hole. He walked out and put his ball in the fairway. His uncle Tom said, “Drew really blossomed later.” 70
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Drew and Kevin, the golf professional Taylors
In Drew’s sophomore year of high school, he hurt his knee playing basketball and decided to focus on golf. That summer he shot a 69. He was the first golfer from Watauga High to go to the state championship as an individual contestant. David missed qualifying by one shot. David has his own first: He was the first Watauga athlete to be MVP of his team for four straight years. Drew accepted a scholarship to play for Sam Adams at ASU and played well. After school, he took the game even more seriously and turned pro. His best scores on the Boone course were a 63 on the original course and 65 on the renovated course. Drew tried qualifying for the U.S. Open and missed moving from the regional to the sectional qualifying by one stroke. In 2001, he entered the PGA Tour Qualifying School where he had to make it through three sections. He was one of the early leaders but he didn’t make it to the next level. Drew played in a lot of mini-tour events and during his time he played with future touring pros Deane and Brenden Pappas, Will Mackenzie and Garrett Willis. Drew said that MacKenzie was a free spirit who lived in his car and it was no fun riding with him in a golf cart! Drew is best known for his prodigious drives. He has driven seven of Boone’s ten par 4s: #s 1,4,5,7,9,12 and 15. Tom Adams said, “Drew’s talent is unbelievable. He could hit the ball a mile. I was playing with him and we started on the back side. After playing #s 17, 18 and 1, a frustrated Drew said, ‘Those last three tee shots I hit covered over 1,000 yards and I was one over par!” Charles played a little with his brothers, but he didn’t take up the game seriously until he was 35. His work, raising kids and playing softball were his primary interests before he caught the bug. He played great for a late starter and has an even par 71 at Boone to his credit with best front and back nines of three under each side. Charles’ claim to fame, though, is playing with Sam Adams when his 63 set the Boone Golf Course record (to be tied later by Charles’ nephew Drew and broken by his nephew Kevin!) Today, Charles has a 12 handicap. He usually plays three days a week and he helps organize his Boone Golf Club friends’ winter golf outings off the mountain. Charles’ son Craig was a great quarterback (naturally) for the Watauga Pioneers, and later for Elon. Craig lives in October / November 2012
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Kevin Taylor And The Golf Channel’s “Big Break” A popular reality television show is The Golf Channel’s “Big Break.” The show is similar to “Survivor” in that golfers have to compete against each other in feats of skill and head-to-head matches, and the losers got kicked off the golf course. Kevin Taylor watched his friend and fellow Tar Heel Tour competitor, Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey, compete on two “Big Break” series. A golfing friend had been watching Kevin and felt he would be great on the show, too. He recommended Kevin for an audition to the show and a scout for the show came to the Tar Heel Tour tournament at River Run Country Club in Davidson to check him out. “Big Break” scouts go to mini-tour events to select good players for the show. “I hit a few shots for him, then did an interview,” Kevin remembered. “I think they picked me for three reasons: I was different; I had long hair, a beard and ear72
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rings. Also, I could play. I believe Tommy ‘Two Gloves,’ who had just won the last ‘Big Break’ series, put in a good word for me.” Kevin’s “Big Break” took place in July 2007 on an Arnold Palmer designed course in Mesquite, Nevada, about 90 miles north of Las Vegas. The ReMax World Long Drive Championship takes place there. “There were twelve of us,” Kevin said. “I flew out from Charlotte to Vegas. We all met there and they had people bring us out to Mesquite in a convoy of cars, three of us in each car. They paid for our transportation, meals and lodging. We were there two weeks. “If you lost, you were out but you had to stay there to the end. You could not tell anyone whether you won or lost until after the show aired, which was that fall and winter. If we told, our signed agreement
October / November 2012
the Raleigh area and has a 14 handicap, and always is his father’s partner in the Boone Member-Guest Tournament. Scott was more interested in tennis and is now the Watauga High men’s tennis coach. They both got their golfing start early when Charles bought them a seven-club set of Sam Snead irons and woods. Craig and Scott were about ten years older than their cousins so they didn’t play together much growing up. Johnny taught his son Andy how to play, but like his cousin Scott, Andy, who now lives in Shelby, gravitated toward tennis. He regained an interest in golf later and sports a 10 handicap, which is pretty good for a surgeon with a family and little spare time. Just as the Taylors have a golf tradition, Andy follows the tradition of being a surgeon on his mothers’ side of the family. His uncle Bill Tate and late grandfather Lawson Tate have been wonderful surgeons for the people of Avery County for decades. Tom, a very good and knowledgeable player in his own right (and the best golf ball finder around). Tom’s best score is even par at Boone and a 69 on a course down state. He taught Kevin to play beginning at age eight. Four years later, Tom wisely turned his son over to Sam Adams in Mountain City, who, by that time had finished his career on the PGA Tour. Sam taught Kevin well and he quickly became a very good player. “Kevin is very smart, but he was bored in school and ended up having to go to military school,” Tom said, “and he was a little wild growing up, but he loved golf and wanted to be around golf. Golf was the bond between us during some pretty rough times. We still played golf when we were mad at each other and that kept us connected.” One thing that helped Kevin improve his game was working at the practice range at the Elk River Club. There he met Dicky Pride, a PGA touring pro who taught him how to think and score better. Kevin learned to “go low.” He held the Boone course record with a 62 until Jacob Eggers shot an incredible 58. Kevin still holds two and maybe three course records. He shot a 59 at Salem Glen, a fine Jack Nicklaus course near Winston-Salem, and a 60 at Tanglewood, site of the 1974 PGA Championship and numerous other professional tournaments. He doesn’t know if his 63 at the Davis Love designed Anderson Creek course located
❄ 2012 ❄ 15th AnnuAl Kevin and son, with father Tom Taylor
TenT SAle SLOPESIDE AT APPALALCHIAN SKI MTN.
between Pinehurst and Fayetteville still stands. “I was too aggressive on my birdie putt for a 61 and ended up three-putting,” Kevin remembered. Kevin had success on the Tar Heel mini-tour (now called eGolfTour). He finished high on the leader board in numerous tournaments and out-dueled his friend Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey, now a popular star on the PGA Tour, to win a tournament in Lexington, NC.
Here Come The Taylors! David and Drew and their cousin Kevin (Tom’s son) played all the time together. David was the best until Drew and Kevin caught up with him when they were 17. They made the game fun. Kevin remembered their times together. “It was awesome,” he said. “I would never trade that for anything in the world. Drew and David pushed me and I pushed them. None of us wanted to get beat. We were always trying to get better.” Drew said, “Kevin and I would play late when no one else was on
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required us to pay a $1 million fine. It was hard not to tell my family, especially since the filming and my exit from the show were a long time apart.” The first two days, Thursday and Friday, were for practice. Saturday was for filming promotions and interviews. Sunday, they filmed two matches. Twelve episodes were filmed over a nine-day period. “Breakfast was at 4:30 AM,” Kevin said. “We started at 6 AM because it was so hot. It was disgustingly hot--the heat index reached 136 degrees! We were out there only 1 1/2 hours at a time and we finished filming around 1 PM to avoid the afternoon heat. Stephanie Sparks was one of our Golf Channel hosts but we didn’t see our hosts much. “After we finished shooting for the day, we went back to the hotel for interviews. That lasted about 1 1/2 hours. They asked what we thought about our shots and what we thought about others’ shots. They could take something you said, cut it, and use it for another episode.” Kevin said he was hitting the ball very poorly when he played in the “Big Break.” He ended up in the elimination playoffs every round. Lose the elimination and you suffer the indignity of having to be filmed walking off the course by yourself. “Fortunately for me,” Kevin explained, “most challenges involved wedge play and I am a good wedge player. In my nine elimination challenges, I got through eight of them.” When Kevin finally had to walk off, only three more episodes and five players remained. Kevin’s incredible streak earned him the nickname “The Eliminator” among his fellow competitors. His great shots under extreme pressure put seven of his fellow competitors on the bench. Despite their trying to knock each other off, Kevin became very good friends with two or three of the players and friends with all the rest, except for one. “He was a jerk,” Kevin said. Kevin didn’t earn any money for his courageous 74
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play deep into the series. During each episode, there were chances to earn some side money but he didn’t win any of the contests. Kevin said the pressure was the greatest he has ever felt. “I was the most nervous I have ever been,” he remembered. “It was totally different from anything I have ever experienced. I didn’t know what to expect. The experience did make me more tournament ready--I won’t ever be as nervous.” Part of the problem was that contestants can’t get into a rhythm like they do in a regular golf round. “It could be an hour and a half to three hours before you hit your next shot, depending on the order and your point total. If you’re not hitting a shot, you are sitting on the bench,” he explained. “You couldn’t be somewhere else hitting balls.” When Kevin still had long hair, earrings and a beard, he was recognized by people who saw the show. Now that he is “clean cut,” he is not recognized that much. “People ask me what it was like and would I do it again,” Kevin said. “I would like to do it again. I will be much better prepared.”
October / November 2012
the course. Sometimes we would play with just three clubs and learn how to hit a lot of different shots. We would chip balls from every place imaginable and that made us really good short game players. Boone didn’t have a practice range then so we practiced as we played.” Kevin, Tom, Drew and Edwin played together a lot as a foursome team in various charity tournaments in the area. Since they won just about all of them, perhaps the Taylors were the “charity” the tournaments funded! The Taylors played in a cancer tournament one morning in Boone and Tom remembers, “It was captain’s choice and we were 18 under for 18 holes. During the round, Drew drove #9 from the blue tees and sank a 50-foot putt for an eagle. Then we went over to play another tournament in Mountain City that afternoon and won with 17 under. On the par 5 eighth hole, Drew holed his second shot for a double eagle!” The Taylor brothers played together regularly on Sunday afternoons before their sons were old enough, then they joined in. Tom remembers playing with David one Sunday when Kevin and Drew were in the group behind them. Drew drove the dogleg par four twelfth green and Tom quickly picked up his ball and placed it one inch directly behind the hole. Tom then ran down to the next tee, teed off, and started walking down the fairway. They heard Drew all excited and yelling about his drive. Ten years later they told Drew about their trick. We always had a good time doing something crazy,” Tom said. “Everyone was fun to play with.” Often, the Taylors got into Boone’s infamous “dog fights,” in which the best players served as captains and they chose teams. The bet was best two balls, no handicap. If the teams didn’t come out even, a point system was added. Twenty-five or thirty would play, and the Taylors were there in force. The common saying was, “Oh, Lord, here come the Taylors!” And, yes, all the Taylors have gone down together to play the course in Taylorsville!
828-898-5175 THE MATCH Kevin, Drew and David make a formidable three-man team--maybe the best ever family team in Boone . . . or are they? The question no doubt arises, “Could the Taylor boys beat the Adams boys--Sam, Tom and Austin--going head to head, each in their prime?” They are a generation a part so the match would be imaginary. Austin, Tom and Sam formed the nucleus of Appalachian State’s top ten ranked golf teams during their era. Tom and Sam are pros and Austin was a pro good enough to try qualifying for the PGA Tour before deciding to regain his amateur status. Sam joined the tour in the same class as Lanny Wadkins and Tom Watson and won one tournament and finished second in the Canadian Open. A better way to predict who would win is to ask those who would know best. Drew Taylor said, “We would have them off the tee but they would win the short game. I give them the edge, but I’ll tell you this, it would be a fun match!” Tom Adams had a short answer, “We have a PGA Tour winner on our side.” And from that PGA Tour winner, Sam said, “It would be a great match, but I think we could take them.” Maybe one day, they’ll play just for fun.
THE TRADITION CONTINUES Tragedy struck the Taylor family the day before 9/11. Johnny, the picture of health who neither smoked or drank, died of a heart attack. Not long afterwards, Edwin was diagnosed with a cancer that would derail his golf play and take his life. The family planted a tree for Johnny and Edwin down the right side of the first fairway at the Boone Golf Club. A granite memorial marker sits at the base of the tree. There is one very special outing where all the Taylors, three generations of golfers and non-golfers, gather, and that is on July 4th. The Taylor family reunion has been going for over 25 years. Naturally, it is held at the Boone Golf Club. All of Edwin’s, Charles’, Johnny’s and Tom’s families come and after the guys play
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golf, they enjoy a catered Bandana’s dinner at the clubhouse dining room. In earlier years, the focus was golf but now it is on family with lots of toddlers running around. What will be the future for Boone’s golfing Taylor family? Married life has been good for Kevin: He is settled down and is the doting father of two little ones. He is now an assistant pro at the Old Town Club in Winston-Salem, ranked among the top 25 golf courses in North Carolina. “I’d love to try the PGA Tour,” he said. “I’m not done playing. I love to compete. I would try if I got financial backing. All I have known is golf. I love the golf business and I love helping people have a good time on the course.” David lives in Greenville, SC, and he plays mostly with friends and family. His brother Drew keeps busy with work and family and playing a little golf, but no tournaments. Drew wants one last shot at qualifying for the U.S. Open, though. He played competitively with former local resident Jim Johnson who was a top player on the NIKE Tour. Jim qualified for the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco in 1998, made the cut and had Nick Faldo as a playing partner. Drew thinks he has it in him to do what Jim did. Drew’s passion, though, is the same passion his cousins share for the sixth generation Taylors. That passion will insure a bright future for the Taylor golfing tradition. Kevin is teaching his seven year-old daughter and Drew is teaching his sons. “I hope my sons want to play,” Drew said. I
Complete 4th, 5th and 6th generation Taylors gather for reunion and golf outing at Boone Golf Club on July 4th. The reunion has been taking place for over 25 years.
want to take them out there like my dad did for me and I want them to love the game like I do.”
Personal Note (From The Author) I had the privilege and joy of writing HIGH COUNTRY MAGAZINE’s golf articles since its 32-page premiere issue in 2005. During that time, all the golf courses in Avery and Watauga counties, plus every course close by, have been featured in articles. Also every High Country golf-related story I could think of has been written. In other words, I have run out of golf courses and run out of stories. Other writers will have interesting golf stories to share in future HIGH COUNTRY MAGAZINEs and maybe if a good story comes to mind, I’ll try to tell it. I am grateful to Ken Ketchie for the opportunity to be his “golf guy,” and to the many people who tell me how much they enjoy the articles. One person in particular has really touched me. He is a friend from way back. A mutual friend takes every article I write down to Charlotte and reads the whole article to him. For my blind friend: I’m sorry it’s over. I wrote some of these articles with you in mind. October / November 2012
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ADV E R T I S E R S I N D E X Please patronize the advertisers in High Country Magazine, and when you purchase from them, please be sure to mention that you saw their ad in our pages. Thank them for their support of this publication by giving them yours! Without their support, this magazine would not be possible. To all of All Area Codes are 828 unless noted. ADVERTISER
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October / November 2012
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Parting Shot...
T
Jim Morton
White Pumpkins
he mornings and evenings are getting cool, the nights are downright cold sometimes, the leaves are beginning to change color and pumpkins are showing up at local produce stands, landscaping companies and on people’s front porches. This can only mean one thing: autumn has arrived in the High Country. One eye-catching autumn decoration has been turning up around the High Country has many turning their heads and asking questions. White pumpkins, like the ones shown above in this picture taken at Mountaineer Landscaping Inc. along N.C. 105 in Linville, have become an increasingly popular fall decoration. Though white pumpkins are not “new” necessarily, they have been showing up in greater numbers each year for the last several years as a unique autumn decoration. According to Terry Brewer, owner of Mountaineer Landscaping, the 80
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pumpkins were made popular by Martha Stewart in the early 2000s and people have become increasingly interested in purchasing them in order to paint them. Due to their natural albino white skin, they provide excellent contrast for artwork painted on them. Though they are not typically used for cooking, they are very much edible and can be substituted for traditional orange pumpkins in recipes. According to Kim Knox Beckius, of the About.com Guide, “The texture and taste of the Lumina [a type of white pumpkin] variety is excellent for baking.” They are also a popular selection for those who want to carve them and use them as a Halloween decoration. Along with the traditional Jack-o’-lantern face carving styles, white pumpkins are also especially well suited for carving a ghost face or even a skull. Pumpkins have been a sign of fall for
October / November 2012
centuries, as well as being a popular Halloween decoration for many decades. According to Charong Chow, eHow.com contributor, After World War II, Halloween evolved into a celebration for children with costumes and jack o’lanterns carved from pumpkins. … In the early 1970s, pumpkins began to be bred for carving rather than eating. Pumpkins for carving dominate the market today and many people only eat pumpkins in pie once at year for Thanksgiving.” So if you want to put a different spin on your pumpkin pie, bread or other pumpkin-related creation, take Beckius’ advice and give a Lumina a try in your next recipe. Or, if you want a unique decoration piece to ring in the fall season this year, swing by your favorite produce stand, landscaping company or plant nursery and pick up a white pumpkin. Story by Paul T. Choate
October / November 2012
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