High Country Magazine | Vol 6 Issue 3 | December 2010

Volume 6 • Issue 3 DECEMBER 2010

Bringing Home the Tree

DI A N N E DAVA N T & A S S O C I AT E S Excellence By Design Since 1979

B A N N E R E L K , N O RT H C A R O L I N A 828.898.9887 S T U A R T, F L O R I D A 772.287.2872 W W W. D A VA N T - I N T E R I O R S . C O M

B

High Country Magazine

December 2010

240 Shadowline Dr., Boone, NC • 828-264-2000 Open Monday through Friday 10am - 6pm • Saturday, 10am - 4pm • Closed Sunday www.thestonejewelers.com

December 2010

High Country Magazine

1

2

High Country Magazine

December 2010

Sugar Mountain Resort 1009 Sugar Mountain Drive Sugar Mountain, NC 28604 828-898-4521

SkiSugar .com

December 2010

High Country Magazine

3

38 C O N T E N T S

18

Banner Elk Christian Fellowship

18

From a steel plant in South Carolina to a steeple in the North Carolina mountains, Carl Clawson, Jr. has been moved by faith to lead Banner Elk Christian Fellowship for more than 30 years. From its humble beginnings in family living rooms and a damp, musty basement, the fellowship of up to 300 attendees now thrives in a beautiful building, with Christian ministries reaching near and far.

26 Our First Woman Mail Carrier

Addie Hardin Clawson defied stereotypes and critics as the first woman postal carrier in the High Country. On horseback and by vehicle, shovel and axe in tow, she trudged through blizzards and any number of other conditions to faithfully deliver the mail.

30 Bread of Life

Thanks to the generosity of churches and other community groups in our mountain home, Bread of Life, a project of Hospitality House of Boone, serves nearly 100,000 meals per year to the less fortunate.

on the cover

Bringing Home the Tree

Artist Sally Nooney created this acrylic painting, titled “Bringing Home the Tree,” for the December/January cover of High Country Magazine. Sally is a self-taught painter, specializing in acrylics, oils and watercolor.

After moving to North Carolina in 1987 with her husband, Frank, Sally decided to seriously pursue her creative talents, and in 2001, she opened the Sally Nooney Gallery. She currently teaches private lessons and workshops out her studio.

Her work is enjoyed by both private and corporate clients for her fine art as well as her decorative art, having created numerous custom works on furniture, floor cloths, murals, canvas and paper.

“For me, painting is just an experiment,” she said. “It’s all about playing and enjoying yourself.”

The Sally Nooney Gallery is located at 7137 Highway 194 South in Banner Elk. For more information, call 828-963-7347 or click to www.sallynooney.com.

26 4

High Country Magazine

December 2010

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. We publish the newspaper weekly and currently publish the magazine seven times a year. Both are free, and we distribute the newspaper and magazine in Watauga and Avery counties. Our newspaper is packed with information that we present and package in easy-to-read formats with visually appealing layouts.

The 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.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

We are now offering subscriptions to High Country Magazine. A one-year subscription for seven issues costs $40, and we will mail issues to subscribers as soon as they arrive at our offices from the printer. To subscribe, call our offices at 828-264-2262.

Your Mountain Proper ty Specialists™

828.264.5111 • 800.264.6144

P.O. Box 2617 Boone, NC 28607

antastic Homes For The H idays!

Four F ol

Enjoy 50 Mile Views! Spacious Blue Ridge Vista Unit, just outside Blowing Rock. $157,500. MLS#93907.

Beautiful Log Home, 5 acres. Large decks, lovely views. $294,500. MLS#90891.

Great Location! Quality built 3BR/2.5BA home near Watauga Medical Center. $279,000. MLS#88104.

Priced To Sell! Quality built 3BR/2BA home with country cottage feel. 1 acre with pond. $259,000. MLS#89446.

View Our Website For Complete Inventory!

WWW.AdVAnCedReAltyBOOne.COm

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.

... or Nothing

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.

ADVERTISING

Obtain information about advertising in our publications from our sales representatives by calling 828-264-2262 or emailing us at sales@highcountrypress.com.

Contact us at:

High Country Press/Magazine P.O. Box 152 130 North Depot Street Boone, NC 28607 www.highcountrypress.com info@highcountrypress.com 828-264-2262

WATSONATTA WESTERN WORLD Best Selection & Best Prices in the High Country Since 1969

711 West King St. Downtown Boone • (828) 264-4540 • Mon - Sat 9-5:30 December 2010

High Country Magazine

5

C O N T E N T S

60

38

The One, The Only Melissa Reaves Whether it’s eight people listening or 80,000, Boone’s Melissa Reaves holds nothing back when she takes the stage. We take a biographical glimpse at the accomplishments, pains and pitfalls, brushes with celebrity and creative explorations of the area’s most well known singer.

54

Turning House Into Home

60

Youth Return to Agriculture

54

Celebrating 30 years in business and 25 years at their current location on Highway 105 in Banner Elk, Tatum Galleries is a local leader in home furnishings and interior decorating. With its roots in Steve Tatum’s handmade furniture business, the company has flourished thanks to Sally’s Tatum’s good taste and a high number of repeat customers.

D E P A R T M E N T S

8 10 14 48 72

From the Publisher Calender of Events Mountain Echoes WInter Dining Guide Parting Shot: Ski Season Big Business

SEE ADVERTISERS’ INDEX ON page 70

6

High Country Magazine

December 2010

Although the number of people becoming farmers has declined rapidly over the years, enrollment in the vocational agriculture program at Johnson County High School in Mountain City is at an all-time peak. The awardwinning program and its students are leading the way in alternative agriculture technologies, growing their own food for sale to the public and gaining hands-on experience in varied career fields.

December 2010

High Country Magazine

7

FROM T H E PUB L ISH ER

A Publication Of High Country Press Editor & Publisher Ken Ketchie Creative Director Courtney Cooper Graphic Artist Extraordinaire Tim Salt Prepress Color Technician Patrick Pitzer Advertising Sales Ken Ketchie (right) and Gerry Richardson, in 1981 after returning from a road trip to buy a typesetting machine.

A Tribute to Gerry

T

he sudden, unexpected death of a dear old friend has a haunting way of sticking with you for a while. You miss not having a chance to talk about the good old days one more time and to acknowledge what a wonderful impact such a relationship had on your life.

I lost such a friend when Gerry Richardson died on October 24 in Boone at the age of 63. Gerry burst into my life 30 years ago, when I was just getting started in the newspaper business in Blowing Rock. Gerry was the type of personality who would appear out of nowhere, make a lasting impression—and then disappear just as fast. His excitement would fill a room. Gerry wasn’t one to boast, but his worldwide experience certainly fascinated my young newspaper staff. He was from Chicago, had served during the Vietnam War and was fluent in Chinese. He had worked for political campaigns across the country, loved sports, and was a bit mysterious, but what stood out about Gerry was how passionate he would be about whatever it was he was doing at the moment. Lucky for us, he became passionate about our little weekly newspaper.

Gerry was a thinker and a talker, and he could write. And write he did. He loved the news, loved going to meetings and loved to tell the story. Although a diehard Democrat, you would never know it through his reporting. He would tell both sides of every story, presenting the facts, letting all sides speak—and let his readers come to their own conclusions. Gerry introduced our newspaper to community journalism and made us realize the importance a newspaper can play in small towns and communities.

It was in May 1982 when Gerry landed an exclusive interview with then-Governor Jim Hunt. How he pulled that off is still a mystery to me. Gerry ended up accompanying the governor in his car for an afternoon as the governor traveled through the mountains.

We thought we had hit the big time. And looking back, it was a big turning point.

And then he was gone. I remember him coming by my house on the way out of town with a box of personal belongings that he was ready to depart with. He thought I should have them. One picture still hangs on my wall. He would reappear now and again. He showed up at our newspaper’s 20th anniversary party smartly dressed and looking good.

A bit mysterious…as always.

He came back to Boone for good eight years ago. He had developed multiple sclerosis and was slowly having a harder time getting around. When we started the High Country Press in 2005, he showed up for a writers’ meeting, offering advice, giving us encouragement—a fire still in his belly, but his body was letting him down. He retreated to his computer, staying connected to the world and his friends. He never complained, but he must have gotten tired of it all and slipped away on a fall night, alone…as he would.

He left a lot of us missing him. I wish I had a chance to tell him how much I appreciated him, and for teaching me the importance of community journalism. God bless you Gerry.

8

High Country Magazine

December 2010

Beverly Giles Associate Editor Anna Oakes Contributing Writers Anne Baker Celeste von Mangan Amy Fiedler Jason Gilmer Becky Alghrary-McRee Contributing Photograhers James Fay Peter Morris Lonnie Webster Todd Bush Greg Williams

High Country Magazine is produced by the staff and contributors of High Country Press newspaper, which serves Watauga and Avery counties of North Carolina

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

HighCountryMagazine.com Reproduction or use in whole or part of the contents of this magazine without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Issues are FREE throughout the High Country. © 2010 by High Country Press. All Rights Reserved.

December 2010

High Country Magazine

9

Calendarof Events Calendar # 1

December 2010

10

So Pretty It Hurts Exhibition Reception, Looking Glass Gallery, Plemmons Student Union, ASU, lookingglassgallery.appstate.edu

10

Night Before Christmas Carol,

Ashe Civic Center, West Jefferson, 336-846-2787

10

Melissa Reaves Holiday Show, Char, Boone, 828-266-2179

10-12

Preseason Ski Clinic, three days of non-stop individual instruction from accomplished skiers and certified instructors, Sugar Mountain Resort, 828-898-4521

10-12

Studio K: The Nutcracker, Farthing Auditorium, ASU, 828-265-4111

11 11

Beech Mountain Winterfest, January 8-9

Boone Christmas Parade, King Street, Boone,

29

828-262-4532

29

Hayride and Bonfire, Beech Mountain, 828-387-9283

Moravian Mountain Christmas, Laurel Ridge Camp,

31

New Year’s Eve Celebration, Beech Tree Bar and Grille, Beech Mountain Resort, 828-387-2011

31

New Year’s Celebration, Sugar Mountain Resort,

Laurel Springs, 888-831-5922

11

Christmas Parade, downtown Newland, 828-260-3205

11

Holiday Sing-Along, Hayes Performing Arts Center,

Blowing Rock, 828-295-9627 11-12

12

SugarFest, Sugar Mountain Resort, 828-898-4521 Messiah Sing-a-Long, Rosen Concert Hall, ASU,

828-262-3020

16

17-19

Holiday Fresh Market, American Legion Hall,

Blowing Rock, 828-295-7851

Ensemble Stage Company: Christmas in Blowing Rock 2, Blowing Rock School Auditorium, 828-919-6196

18

Santa Visit and Tree Lighting, Fred’s Gazebo, Beech Mountain, 828-387-9283

24

Skiing with Santa, Appalachian Ski Mtn., 828-295-7828

24

Christmas Eve Service, Beech Tree Village,

Beech Mountain Resort, 828-387-2011 10

USSA Holiday Slalom and Giant Slalom Competition,

Sugar Mountain Resort, 828-898-4521

High Country Magazine

December 2010

828-898-4521 ext. 233

31

New Year’s Eve Extravaganza, Appalachian Ski Mtn., 828-295-7828

January 2011

7

Fresh Friday Jam Session, Appalachian Ski Mtn., 828-295-7828

7

Downtown Boone Art Crawl, downtown Boone galleries and businesses, 828-262-4532

8

National Winter Trails Day, try snowshoeing for free, Sugar Mountain Resort, 828-898-4521

8

Ladies Park Night, Appalachian Ski Mtn., 828-295-7828

8-9

Winterfest, live music, bathing beauty contest, big air contest, village rail jam, cardboard box derby, food, demos and sales, Beech Mountain Resort, 828-387-2011

DON’T FORGET

EVENTS

CLOTHING BOARDS BOOTS SKIS HELMETS

AREA’S NEWEST & BEST

SKI & BOARD

RENTALS

SHAPE SKIS DEMOS PERFORMANCE JUNIOR SNOWBLADES

EVERYTHING TO GET YOU ON THE SLOPES!

Great People.

Great Equipment.

Great Service.

Reserve Your Gear Online: www.SkiCountrySports.com

Snowshoe Guided Tours ALL

WINTER

Snowshoe tours are offered every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at Sugar Mountain Resort. The program includes a one-hour tour and snowshoe rental. Adult tours are for snowshoers 12 years or older, and children’s tours are for 8to 11-year-olds. On National Trails Day, which is Saturday, January 8, Sugar Mountain will offer snowshoe tours free of charge.

The Nutcracker Hundreds of dancers, more than 400 costumes and interchanging sets bring the spectacle of a big city production to small town Boone each year with the annual performance of The Nutcracker ballet

by Studio K Dance Workshop. This year, the dance studio will present the production on three days—Friday, Saturday and Sunday, December 10 through 12, at ASU’s Farthing Auditorium.

FRIDAY Dec. 31

New Year’s on Snow and Ice FRIDAY to

The High Country’s area ski resorts invite everyone to ring in 2011 on the snow and ice this December 31, with torchlight skiing, fireworks displays, moonlight ice skating, parades, live music, a breakfast buffet and more. Plan ahead and make your reservations for New Year’s Eve at Appalachian Ski Mtn., Beech Mountain Resort, Sugar Mountain Resort or Hawksnest.

SUNDAY Dec. 10 to 12

828/ 898-9786 800/ 528-3874

ACROSS FROM THE ENTRANCE TO SUGAR MOUNTAIN IN BANNER ELK

www.SkiCountrySports.com

ONE-STOP HOLIDAY SHOPPING! • GIF TS

Y• P OT T ER

JEWELRY •

F U R N I T U R E • H A N D C R A F T S • A R T • C O L L EC

T IBL E S •

H A NDB

AG S

HANDBAGS AND TOTES

Baggallini • Miche • Scout • Britto • Hadaki Toss • Cinda B • Emilie Sloan • Laurel Burch Lilly Pulitzer • Bella • Lolita • San Diego Hat Co

LOCAL ARTISANS

Turtle Old Man Jewelry Elkland Handwerkes Furniture Moss Creek Jewelry • Don Haywood Jewelry Jay Shiavone Jewelry Evergreen Dreams Chainmaille Jewelry Fall Creek Woods • Tonya’s Bows

MADE IN THE USA

Janska Clothing • Arias Windchimes Droll Yankees Birdfeeders • Tervis Tumblers Rada Cutlery • Byers Choice Carolers Old World Ornaments • West Paw Designs

BABY GIFTS

Stephan Baby • Smart Gear Toys Beba Bean • Mud Pie Baby • Bobux

JEWELRY & FOOTWEAR

Crystal Creek Designer Jewelry • Oka B Sandals Me Beads • Andi James Earrings • Sanuk Snoozies • Pali Hawaii Sandals

MON-SAT: 10-6 • SUNDAYS 12-5 • HISTORIC DOWNTOWN BOONE • 828-264-8801 December 2010

High Country Magazine

11

Martin Luther King Day Celebration, January 17

11

Kruger Brothers in Concert, January 29

Septuagenarian Party, free skiing for anyone 70 and

Boardercross Series Race, Beech Mountain Resort,

12

Martin Luther King Day Celebration, Ashe Arts Center,

13

Dance Showcase by Momentum, Varsity Gym dance

Harmonia Baroque, Ashe Arts Center, West Jefferson,

L.A. Theatre Works: The Real Dr. Strangelove,

23-27

High Country Junior Race Series Giant Slalom,

25-27

12

older, Sugar Mountain Resort, 828-898-4521

16 17

West Jefferson, 336-846-2787

21 22

14

22

15

23

Balé Folklórico de Bahia, Farthing Auditorium, ASU, ASU Theatre: The Other Shore, Valborg Theatre, ASU,

828-262-3028

Sugar Mountain Resort, 828-898-4521

27-30

Todd Wright’s Valentine’s Evening, Rosen Concert Hall,

828-262-4046

Farthing Auditorium, ASU, 828-262-4046

Boardercross Series Race, Beech Mountain Resort,

ASU, 828-262-3020

336-846-2787

Appalachian Philharmonia, Ashe Civic Center, West Jefferson, 336-846-2787 828-387-2011

studio 208, ASU, 828-262-3028

USSA Slalom and Giant Slalom Competition, Sugar Mountain Resort, 828-898-4521

828-387-2011

Balé Folklórico de Bahia, February 15

Lees-McRae Performing Arts: A Lie of the Mind,

Hayes Auditorium, Lees-McRae College, Banner Elk, 828-898-8709

Blowing Rock Winterfest, downtown Blowing Rock, 828-295-7851

29

Kruger Brothers in Concert,

Hayes Performing Arts Center, Blowing Rock, 828-295-9627

30

High Country and Boardercross Series Races, Beech Mountain Resort,

828-387-2011

February 2011

4

Downtown Boone Art Crawl,

downtown Boone galleries and businesses, 828-262-4532

5

Shred for the Cup: Big Air,

Appalachian Ski Mtn., 828-295-7828

6

High Country Junior Race Series,

Sugar Mountain Resort, 828-898-4521

9-12

11

New Play Festival, I.G. Greer Studio Theatre, ASU,

828-262-3028

26

Third Rail Jam, Beech Mountain Resort, 828-387-2011

Fresh Friday Jam Session, Appalachian Ski Mtn.,

26

Ladies Park Night, Appalachian Ski Mtn., 828-295-7828

26

Coffee House Talent Night, West Jefferson Methodist Church Hensley Hall, 336-846-2787

27

Shred for the Cup: Rail Jam, Appalachian Ski Mtn.,

828-295-7828

11-13

Downtown Boone Art Crawl, February 4

College Fest Weekend, Beech Mountain Resort, 828-387-2011

828-295-7828

12

High Country Magazine

December 2010

DON’T FORGET

EVENTS

CARLTON CelebratingGALLERY 28 Years

Winterfest at Beech Where else would you celebrate winter and all of its glory-at the ski slopes, of course! At Beech Mountain Resort’s annual Winterfest celebration, taking place in the new year on Saturday and Sunday, January 8 and 9. Enjoy live music, the storied Bathing Beauty Contest, a big air contest, a village rail jam, cardboard box derby, food, equipment demonstrations and sales at the ski shop.

JANUARY 8 and 9

Winterfest in Blowing Rock Celebrating its 13th year, Winterfest is a four-day festival that takes place Thursday to Sunday, January 27 to 30, 2011, at various locations in downtown Blowing Rock. Kick off the event on Thursday by dining at WinterFeast, a culinary extravaganza of the area’s finest restaurants. Friday, spend time in the area’s shops, restaurants and attractions and end the day with an intimate concert. Saturday features the Winterfest Polar Plunge, Chili Challenge, Wine Tasting and Auction and more. There’s something for all ages, from kids’ activities to adult game shows to ice carving demonstrations. Enjoy hayrides, hot cocoa and a festival unlike any other.

JANUARY 27 to 30

Winter Exhibition

The Strength Behind PAINTINGS • CLAY • GLASS November 26 - March 15

Your Securit

SCULPTURE • WOOD • FIBER ART • JEWELRY

10 Miles South of Boone on Hwy. 105 Grandfather Community

Call or check our website for workshop dates

Call for Winter Hours

828-963-4288

www.carltonartgallery.com • info@carltonartgallery.com

The Strength Behind Your Security

Downtown Boone Art Crawl EVERY

The events calendar tends to slim down a little over the winter months, and if you’re not a ski or snowboard buff, it’s sometimes hard to find something fun to do. Thankfully, the Downtown Boone Art Crawl takes place all the year round-every first Friday of the Month beginning around 5:00 p.m. View new art exhibitions at a number of galleries, dine out at diverse restaurants, shop special deals at downtown businesses, enjoy live musical performances and make an evening of it with friends.

FIRST FRIDAY

December 2010

High Country Magazine

13

mountain

echoes

Insider tips, fascinating facts, conversation starters and fun stuff to do

Celebrate Winter’s Fun Side

Blowing Rock’s 13th Annual Winterfest

G

et out of your winter-induced state of hibernation and join the village of Blowing Rock for

January 27 to 30

Saturday, January 29 Saturday’s festivities begin early at 9:00 a.m.

the 13th annual Winterfest. This lively, jampacked

with a raffle and silent auction, held in the Blowing

four-day event is Thursday to Sunday, January 27 to

Rock School Cafeteria on Morris Street with pro-

30, 2011. Tickets are available online at www.blow-

ceeds benefiting Mountain Alliance. At 10:00 a.m.,

ingrockwinterfest.com or at the Blowing Rock Visi-

watch contenders take the Polar Plunge into Che-

tors Center at 7738 Valley Boulevard. Prices vary. For

tola Lake. From 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., taste a vari-

more info about Winterfest, call 828-295-7851.

ety of chili concocted by the pros at the annual Chili

Thursday, January 27

Cook-Off. Tickets are available at the door. A wine

An array of culinary delights from restaurants in the Blowing Rock area come together at The Manor House Restaurant at Chetola Resort beginning at

tasting will begin at 2:00 p.m. at the Meadowbrook Inn, followed by a wine auction at 4:00 p.m.

Sunday, January 30

5:30 p.m. Following dinner, a concert by the local

A pancake breakfast kicks off Sunday morning

duo channing and quinn will take place at the Blow-

at 8:00 a.m. at the Blowing Rock School Cafeteria.

ing Rock School Auditorium at 8:30 p.m.

After the breakfast, drink hot chocolate while en-

Friday, January 28

joying free hayrides, or watch an ice carving dem-

Events begin at 3:00 p.m. in downtown Blowing

onstration in Memorial Park at 1:00 p.m. The final

Rock with free hot chocolate and hayrides. At dusk,

event, a Winter Paws Pet Show, will take place at

a bonfire will be held in Memorial Park.

2:00 p.m. in the Blowing Rock School Gym.

By Anne Baker

High on ASU Hoops

E

heights it hasn’t seen in some time.”

The women’s team is in a similar position, as

xpectations for the men’s and women’s basketball

10 lettermen, including all five starters, are back

teams at ASU are high this season, with the men

from a team that won the second most games in

picked to win the North division and the women picked

school history (23) and collected the inaugural

second in the Southern Conference. The men will only

Women’s Basketball Invitational championship.

play three home games before January, so there will be

Among the returning players, there are three

plenty of chances to catch them in Boone in 2011. They

all-conference players--guard Sam Ramirez and

return 12 players and are led by reigning Southern Confer-

posts Anna Freeman and Ashlen Dewart. “I think

ence Player of the Year Donald Sims, who averaged 20.4

the potential [to meet the expectations] is there,”

points. He’ll get help from guard Omar Sanders (a transfer

said Freeman, who averaged 10.5 points and 8.4

from Coastal Carolina) and Jeremi Booth.

rebounds last season. “We’ve got every-

Last season the men played Wofford for the Southern

body back and some good talent

Conference tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament, but lost. “We’re hungry to build on the success from last year,” said first-year coach Jason Capel, who takes over after Buzz Peterson left for UNC-Wilmington. “This is a great group of young men who only want to get better and take Appalachian State to 14

High Country Magazine

December 2010

that we’ve brought in.”

For more information about ASU athletics and tickets, call 828-262-2079 or click to www.GoASU.com.

By Jason Gilmer

mountain

Wipe Your Paws!

echoes

Avery Humane Society Constructs New Animal Shelter

T

he Avery County Humane Society

help reduce care costs for shelter animals.

has been gifted with a $1 million

As always, there will be opportunities to volunteer a number of ways.

grant from a local benefactor to build a new center in Newland.

The remainder of the challenge grant relies on pledges and donations to ensure

The new center will be centrally located on New Vale Road behind Ingles

the full efficiency of the center. There is

and feature an astonishing 21,128 square

even opportunity to have part of the build-

feet of staff and animal space. Half of the

ing named after you.

If you are interested in having a room

area is entirely for animal care, while the rest of the center will have play areas and

or wing named for you, a business or

adoption rooms for families to interact

organization, call Catherine Morton at

with the animal before adopting.

November marked the beginning of the

Several rooms will be devoted to humane education programs and gatherings that invite

first stages of construction of the new center.

the public to the center, such as birthday par-

The design of the building is intended to be

ties. The design of the veterinary clinic will pro-

welcoming and open to all visitors.

vide low-cost spay and neuter services and will

828-733-9265. For more information about the center or how to donate, click to www. averyhumane.org.

December 2010

By Jourdan Jenklin

High Country Magazine

15

mountain

echoes

Starting the New Year Off Right S ince the dawn of age, literally Babylon

ing year. But be warned, doing too much work

about 4000 years ago, there have been

on New Year’s Day could mean that you will

massive celebrations to usher in the New Year.

spend the entire year working hard and that

As time went on, gypsies and saints alike de-

you won’t get a vacation that year.

veloped their own traditions to ensure that the

My family has always celebrated with a

New Year would be a success. Now Americans

few activities that are meant to bring good

have their own quirky superstitions conceived to

luck. During the countdown, eat a grape at

make the most of the New Year’s celebrations.

each stroke of the clock to symbolize good

Eating a large feast on New Year’s Eve is

health for each month of the year. Right before

supposed to ensure that the next year will be

midnight, open all the doors of the house--this

fruitful and plenty. Having collard greens and

releases all of the old year’s bad luck. The next

black-eyed peas at the table represents paper

activity requires just a bit of cash. Just after

money and coins. Serving lamb symbolizes

midnight, take a handful of dollars--it does not

wealth in the New Year. Many people stock

matter the amount--and carefully sweep the

their cupboards full with food and their wallets

cash into the house with a broom. This act is

full with money.

supposed to bring money into the household.

Even wearing new clothes on New Year’s

Remember what you do on New Year’s Eve

Day symbolizes success. Some superstitious

and Day is supposed to represent the coming

people go as far as to work on New Year’s Day,

year. Avoid crying on these two days, because

saying that it ensures productivity in the com-

you may spend the next year crying. Although

these tips and tricks are mere superstition, it’s always fun to celebrate the New Year with family and friends. Keep them around; having these important people with you can only mean good and happy things in the New Year.

By Jourdan Jenklin

The Hemlocks! The Hemlocks!

Lowell Hayes’ exhibition at the Turchin Center captures the beauty and character of the hemlock, a tree species that is rapidly declining in the Southern mountains.

Turchin Exhibition Captures Life and Death of Eastern Hemlocks

A

suite of 11 large paintings by renowned

before traveling. A two-story exhibition hall

Appalachian artist Lowell Hayes enhanced

at the Turchin will also house a site-specific

with real forest materials like bark and branches

installation by Hayes that measures 18

went on display December 3 at ASU’s Turchin

feet by 20 feet and includes a nearly 40-

Center for the Visual Arts. Called The Hemlocks!

foot section of dying hemlock tree beside it.

The Hemlocks!, this powerful collection cel-

Other works in The Hemlocks! The Hemlocks!

chian residents will see only the ghosts of trees

ebrates the beauty and mourns the imminent

measure as large as nine feet by 19 feet and de-

that once reached 500 years of age and grew

loss of the vast Eastern hemlock forest, which

pict the still, dark sanctuary one enters beneath

nearly 200 feet tall. “Tsuga canadensis” ranges

has been fatally attacked by sap-sucking insects

a grove of towering hemlock trees. The exhibi-

throughout all the colder regions of the eastern

called hemlock woolly adelgids.

tion also features articles on the hemlock’s

United States, but in the Southern states they

plight written by Sam Calhoun and published

are expected to disappear within a decade.

“This suite constitutes a tribute to the hemlocks and a celebration of feelings we experience when we are with them,” Hayes said. “The

in High Country Press.

Hayes, now in his 70s, has been painting the

To view images from The Hemlocks! The Hemlocks! click to www.lowellhayesartist.com.

exhibition is dedicated to every person who has

Appalachian landscape and its people for 40

The Turchin Center is located at 423 West King

contributed to the conservation of hemlocks

years, but the bas-relief hemlock canvases are

Street in Boone and is closed Sunday and Mon-

and the control of the hemlock woolly adelgid.”

his most evocative and focused work to date.

day. Admission is free. For more information,

The mixed-media canvases by Hayes will remain at the Turchin through March 19, 2011,

16

High Country Magazine

As the Eastern hemlock forest continues a rapid die-off, future generations of Appala-

December 2010

call 828-262-3017.

SUNALEI PRESERVE

With over 300 of the 1,000 acres having been designated as a permanent natural preserve, Sunalei is truly a community within a park. Carefully balancing homes with the stirring landscape of a giant mountain and its surrounding valleys, Sunalei Preserve is a way to live within the environment – to experience it, to enjoy it and to protect it.

A Careful Balance.

Custom homes from $595,000 Home sites from $200,000

828.263.8711 • BOONE, NC www.SunaleiPreserve.com www.BlueRidgeRealty.net

December 2010

High Country Magazine

17

From Underground to Mountaintop > The

Story of Banner Elk Christian Fellowship Story by Becky Alghrary-McRee Photography by Peter Morris

Pastor Carl Clawson’s life-changing conversion led to his total devotion to Jesus Christ and the founding of non-denominational Banner Elk Christian Fellowship.

18

High Country Magazine

December 2010

“ People...just want to continue their commitment and worship of the Lord no matter where they are.” > Carl Clawson, Jr., pastor of Banner Elk Christian Fellowship

F

rom a small group of Christian believers who began meeting in their homes in Banner Elk with a dynamic preacher who was once called the “Wild Man,” a little white church on Woods Lane has grown to be one of the most thriving churches in the High Country area.

Banner Elk Christian Fellowship now enjoys attendance at Sunday services of 250 plus worshippers and is a welcoming place for year-round residents, vacationers and area students.

The pastor of this popular non-denominational church is Carl Clawson, Jr., who first came to Avery County in the 1960s after graduation from the University of Georgia.

“I came up here in 1968 and 1969 and brought several of my good friends along,” Clawson said. “I got them jobs at Sugar Mountain, and we ran the rental department and I worked the ski patrol. At that time I was not a Christian— they even called me ‘Wild Man.” Clawson grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and said he just really fell in love with the mountains. “There wasn’t much up here in the 1960s. You could hardly find a hamburger in Banner Elk unless you went to Ruby’s (a family-owned restaurant along Highway 184).

After going back to Greenville and working at a steel company, Clawson had what he calls his “conversion experience,” and the rest is history.

“I had always gone to church with my parents growing up, but I didn’t really believe,” he said. “One day I was arguing with my brother about Christianity because I did not believe the words of the Bible. As we talked—and argued— the Lord appeared to me in a vision right in the middle of the conversation. I knew I was at the ocean, and I began

to walk out in the water. I walked farther and farther and finally the water was up to my neck. At that point the Lord said, ‘This is the way of your life. This is the direction you are going. Turn around and come back to me or continue to go on as you are.’ I continued to talk and argue with my brother, but when he asked me to just try to ask Jesus into my life, I agreed and said I’d try anything once. I knew then that Jesus was my savior and this was my salvation.”

Years later, Clawson noticed that the beginning of Psalm 69 in the Bible states: “Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold.”

He continued his job at the steel factory, but Clawson began going in extra early so he would have time to study the Bible. “The steel plant became less important to me, and working with young people became more important,” he said. “I had gotten married by that time, and I talked with my wife, Susan, about going to seminary, but I didn’t think I would be accepted. I told myself, ‘If I’m accepted, and if I can sell my house, I’ll go.’” Not only was he accepted, but his house sold within a week.

While a student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Clawson still did not think he would become a pastor but would perhaps work with youth. After his first three months at Wake Forest, he was asked to be a youth leader at Wakefield Central Church in Zebulon, North Carolina. “During my first year I didn’t make very much money—I remember I only had one pair of shoes.”

When the church’s pastor was called to another congregation, Clawson became the interim minister, conducting four funerals his first year. He also pastored at Hillside Bap-

December 2010

High Country Magazine

19

Carl and Susan Clawson stand in front of their lovely home that Carl built himself.

tist Church in Clayton, North Carolina.

Susan helped Carl through school and worked as a receptionist while they were at Wake Forest. “She has always been my secretary, or assistant, and has been heavily involved in the church,” Clawson said. “Her father was preacher at the large Green Street Baptist Church in High Point where she was from.

While I was at Wake Forest, he was traveling there from High Point to teach. Susan’s great-grandfather was the first Baptist missionary to China.”

From Hillside Baptist, Clawson came to the mountains, mainly because of the ministry called His High Places.

“It was a ministry of other ministers,” he explained. Owners of houses in Sugar Mountain let the ministry use their houses for free to host pastors and missionaries for vacation time—usually ministers who had a crisis at their church or who needed a break.

Some of those ministers wanted to join Banner Elk families for study and worship, and that led to the formation of Banner Elk 20

High Country Magazine

December 2010

Christian Fellowship.

The congregation of Banner Elk Christian Fellowship began meeting a little more than 30 years ago—just one or two Banner Elk families who got together in living rooms to pray and worship. One of the very first families in the church was Bob and Martha Barinowski. Bob said he wanted to live in Banner Elk but wanted to be sure there was a church for him there.

“I had the conviction that I would visit for three years, and if there was no church of choice, I would either move on or start one.” Along with several other families, they became the nucleus of the church to be. “We have no members—we are a fellowship,” said Barinowski. “We have a big ministry to students and to vacationers in the summer. We are fortunate to have Carl as our preacher. He is a gifted man and also a good carpenter, and a great athlete.”

From those living room meetings, the fellowship’s numbers grew, and for a time they met at the old Lees-McRae presidents’

During construction of the Banner Elk Christian Fellowship, Paster Clawson continued to lead church services as usual.

home, Hemlock Hall. Then they moved into the building on the curve going into Banner Elk owned by Ed Hardin that now houses several businesses, including The Art Cellar.

“We were in the basement there for eight to 10 years, and everyone teased and called us the ‘Underground Church,’” Clawson said. “I knew that everyone who came there really wanted to worship. It was one narrow room with stone columns in the middle, and it was damp; when it rained, it flooded. We had my

grandmother’s piano that would get out of tune weekly.”

Both Clawson and Barinowski said they had to gather mushrooms from the room before service. The room held about 75 people, and the church soon outgrew the space. “We couldn’t shoehorn another person in there, and it was time for us to look for another place. We had saved about $60,000,” Clawson said.

“In building the church I was committed to not borrowing any money—I figured that if the Lord wanted us to have a building

December 2010

High Country Magazine

21

Construction of Banner Elk Christian Fellowship was completed 18 years ago. The first service in the lovely mountain church was held July 4, 1992.

and property he would provide what we needed.”

As he started to look for suitable land to build a church, a local dentist, the late Dr. Perdue, another early participant, suggested the present location as a good spot. However, the church could not afford the entire parcel of land that now comprises the adjacent Sugar Woods. “We bought the land on the right of the road coming up, and some other men bought the adjoining property that was part of the parcel,” said Clawson. “This was about 1990, and in 1991 I was able to have the road built.”

Clawson is truly a gifted carpenter and built much of the church himself with the help of Beech Mountain’s Hicks brothers and their cousin. While growing up, Clawson worked with his father, Carl Clawson, Sr., who built Furman University.

Carl’s grandfather, William, built Winthrop University, so he had a good background in carpentry. He had help from a local architect in drawing up the plans.

“I wanted it to be a country church, but I wanted it to be wider so people could be close and more involved,” Clawson said. Construction began in March 1992.

During construction, the fellowship began meeting at the new church, first with folding chairs on the plywood floor— but no windows and no insulation. The first service was July 4, 1992, and by 1993 the church was complete.

The beautiful door of the little white church is very symbolic, with the stained glass top of the arched doorway depicting a cross and crown, signifying the work and glory of Christ. There are also symbols of bread and wine. The door itself is made of cherry wood, symbolizing the blood of Jesus, and the panels of the door are arranged in a cross shape.

22

High Country Magazine

December 2010

Banner Elk Christian Fellowship services have never been cancelled.

“ In 1993 when we had 40-plus inches of snow…I was the only one at the service.” > Carl Clawson, Jr., pastor of

Banner Elk Christian Fellowship Banner Elk Christian Fellowship is an inter-denominational church.

“Since this is a destination area, we don’t want anyone to feel like they don’t fully belong, so we don’t really have a roll of members, but we do have a directory,” Clawson said. “It’s kind of a joke, but we say if you come to church three times you’re a member. We have people who have considered this their church home in the mountains and been faithful for 30 years.”

The church has several ministries, including small groups and Bible studies.

With the church’s Yoke Fellowship prison ministry, individuals meet weekly with three to four inmates. The church also helps with banquets and different projects at the prison throughout the year.

December 2010

High Country Magazine

23

Locally, the church helps throughout the community and has youth involved in short-term missions and who have become full-time mission workers. Both of Clawson’s daughters were in Africa for a year. “We just had a fundraiser at the church recently for some who are planning to go to South Africa over Christmas break, and we have a girl who just returned from Tibet,” Clawson said.

Susan’s family has long been involved in leadership roles in the Baptist Church, and the Clawson’s daughters Annie and Jill have likewise devoted their lives to helping others through their work in the church. Annie and her husband work with Wine to Water, a mission group out of Boone that seeks to bring clean water to those in need. Jill works in Young Life and leads the college ministry at Banner Elk Christian Fellowship.

Reggie Hunt and Vern Collins of Boone were in Clawson’s discipleship group while students at ASU. Now, Hunt is pastor of Cornerstone Church in Boone and Collins is youth pastor at Boone United Methodist Church. “They are like my own

Top: Sue Stanton sings on the worship team while Alex Dale accompanies on the guitar. Right and below: Debbie Stone and others in the congregation respond to Pastor Clawson’s inspirational messages and the worship team’s uplifting music.

24

High Country Magazine

December 2010

“ We have no members— we are a fellowship.”

Bob Barinowski, one of the church founders >

children, and I’m proud to see how well they are doing,” said Clawson.

The church emphasizes prayer and worship, and it has a praise team. “They perform contemporary music and also traditional hymns,” Clawson said. Clawson grew up in the Methodist Church, attended Baptist Seminary and later attended the Presbyterian Church, and he sees similarities in their worship styles.

“I would say that our doctrine is very similar,” he said. “The government of our church is by elders, and in that instance we are more like the Presbyterians than the Baptists. We have five elders, and they can serve as long as they wish or are able.

“I do not baptize infants, but I do a dedication service where the baby is dedicated to the Lord until he or she is old enough to make a decision for Christ,” he added. “I do all my baptizing in the river [at the] back of the Lees-McRae campus.”

Banner Elk Christian Fellowship services have never been cancelled. “There was one time in 1993 when we had 40plus inches of snow, that I was the only one at the service,” the pastor said with a laugh. “We lived on the Lees-McRae campus at that time, and I snowshoed all the way to the church because I didn’t want someone to be there and want to come to church and no pastor there. We have people who come to our service from Boone because they know I won’t ever close.”

From those few meeting in living rooms to the 75 in the underground room, the church has grown tremendously.

“I thought we would probably have about 150, but we have grown to 200 to 250 at a service, and sometimes even 300,” said Clawson. Several years ago, he removed the back of the church and extended it, which made room for a large lovely fellowship hall.

“We serve a larger population than just the local one,” said Clawson. “I feel like there are people who just want to continue their commitment and worship of the Lord no matter where they are. If we are preaching the gospel and welcoming people, they will come.”

Dr. Ed Powe and his wife, Margaret, of Grandfather Golf and Country Club, have a 24-year involvement with the church. Powe first met Carl Clawson when he sought entertainment for the young people staying at his summer condo one hot August day.

“We went to Edge of the World Outfitters, where Carl was the manager, and he took us whitewater rafting,” Powe remembered. “He fed us a good lunch and recommended a good restaurant for dinner and told us about his church. We went to dinner at the restaurant and to church the next morning, and we’ve been there ever since.

“Carl Clawson is an outstanding preacher and leader who is full of hope and encouragement,” he continued. “Our congregation is made up of people from many different backgrounds, but all are in agreement and supportive of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

w

> Banner Elk Christian Fellowship Service Times: Sunday Service Times 8:45 a.m. Communion 9:30 a.m. Sunday school 10:30 a.m. Worship

Directions:

From Boone or Linville on N.C. Highway 105, turn onto N.C. Highway 184 (Tynecastle Highway) and drive 2.7 miles. Turn left on Banner Creek Road and follow the signs.

December 2010

High Country Magazine

25

Feeding

Those Less

Fortunate

to those Volunteers ser ve food

26

High Country Magazine

December 2010

waiting in line for a me

al at the Hospitality Ho

use in Boone.

Bread of Life Soup Kitchen Offers Meals to Community Story by Anne Baker

I

n a time when many of us are sitting down to jam-packed holiday meals full of gourmet culinary creations, we can be quick to forget about those around us who are less fortunate.

That’s where Bread of Life Soup Kitchen, a service of the Hospitality House of Boone, comes in.

“In regard to the holidays, this program is vital,” said Jill Kuykendall, Hospitality House director of development.

“There are many families who will not have a holiday meal without our help.”

The Bread of Life program has been in existence for more than 20 years—it was established in 1986 after Jim Thompson, Hospitality House’s former executive director, had the idea that the community could help the Hospitality House serve meals to the homeless.

When a group of ladies from St. Mary of the Hills Episcopal Church in Blowing Rock decided to volunteer its time to make this possible, the idea became a reality.

“It grew from there, and we now serve nearly 100,000 meals per year,” Kuykendall said.

Now, hundreds of additional volunteers from other churches, civic groups and even ASU dedicate their time to Bread of Life, which is open every day serving breakfast, lunch and dinner to community members.

“You do not have to be a resident of our program to eat a meal at the shelter,” Kuykendall said. “That means we’re feeding many community members each year who could be defined as ‘food insecure’ or those who do not know where their

next meal will come from.”

Food for the program comes from the Second Harvest Food Bank in Hickory, Food Lion of Blowing Rock, The Emergency Food Assistance Program and private individuals. Volunteers see about 50 to 65 people at lunch and dinner daily; however, that number is expected to increase as the holiday season approaches.

Because of this, the Hospitality House offers its “Christmas Dinner in a Bag” program, which gives community members

of the Hospitality House, located at 302 West King Street in Boone, before Tuesday, December 22.

“This is an easy way to get involved and help make sure someone less fortunate in our community has an enjoyable holiday,” Kuykendall said.

Besides being busy during the holiday season, the Hospitality House is also in the midst of completing a new shelter, located off Bamboo Road at the corner of Brook Hollow Road and Health Center

“In regard to the holidays, this program is vital. There are many families who will not have a holiday meal without our help.”

Jill Kuykendall, Hospitality House director of development the opportunity to purchase vegetables, fresh fruit, dried potato mix, muffin or roll mix, cake or desert mix, canned ham, coffee, tea bags or canned juice for a family of two to four people or a family of five or more people.

Preparing a food bag is a good way for individuals, church groups, civic clubs and school groups to get involved during the holiday season; after purchasing the above items, place them in a brown paper bag and leave them at the front office

Drive in Boone. Not only will the new building increase the shelter’s capacity from 35 to 62, it will also feature a commercial grade kitchen for the Bread of Life program.

“We’ll finally have space and proper equipment on which to prepare and serve meals for Bread of Life,” Kuykendall said.

“Our new dining room will seat 72. Right now we are operating out of a residential kitchen, and the only table we have seats about six.”

December 2010

High Country Magazine

27

Bread of Life By the Numbers In 2009: • •

Delivering You Quality, Value, and Personal Service

10% OFF

Now thru Dec. 24, 2010

Not to be combined with any other discount Must present this coupon

Turning Nature's Beautiful & Rare Gemstones into Your Fine Jewelry for Over 20 Years

99,748 meals were given 83 percent of meals

served per day were covered by church or community groups at an estimated value of $22,800

•

684 Food Boxes were distributed feeding 1,840 people

•

53,747 pounds of food

was donated by Food Lion, a Second Harvest Food Bank provider

About the Hospitality House T

he Hospitality House of Boone has been in existence for 25 years and is a private, nonprofit crisis intervention agency that provides assistance for adults and families in homeless situations.

Emergency shelter, supportive housing and permanent housing is offered through the Hospitality House. The emergency shelter can accommodate up to 20 people with three overflow beds and two transitional housing facilities with space for 18 individuals. Eight apartments are offered through the permanent housing facility.

Residents can also receive supportive services depending on their employment, education and medical needs. Other services are coordinated with area agencies to meet the physical, social and emotional needs of residents.

The Watauga Crisis Assistance Network (WeCAN) is also a program of the Hospitality House, providing help to those within the community who are not

currently homeless but are facing a crisis situation such as eviction, electric cutoffs, heating fuel shortages and even prescription drug needs.

Last year alone, the WeCAN program was able to provide more than $60,000 to help 290 households purchase fuel and assist with high electric costs.

The Hospitality House is unique in that it is the only homeless shelter in a seven-county area, including Ashe, Avery, Alleghany, Mitchell, Wilkes, Watauga and Yancey. According to statistics from the North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness, there are more than 1,300 homeless individuals on a given night in this seven-county region.

w

THE MARTIN HOUSE ON MAIN STREET NEXT TO THE PARK IN BLOWING ROCK

828.295.7700 • 888.229.4367 w w w.ge m s by ge mini.com

28

High Country Magazine

This rendering depicts the new Hospitality House that is currently under construction and scheduled for completion in early 2011.

December 2010

The Bread of Life program, a service of the Hospitality House in Boone, offers breakfast, lunch and dinner to those within the community. Volunteers pose for a picture while preparing meals to those participating in the Bread of Life program. Students, church groups and civic groups often volunteer their time with the Hospitality House.

Hopefully, the Hospitality House will be able to move to the new shelter by midJanuary; after more than 12 months, construction attention has been turned inside to finish up ceilings, cabinets, windows and flooring. “The new shelter will make the program much more efficient and take us to a new level of service to the community,�

Kuykendall said.

A dedication ceremony is planned for

Friday, February 4, 2011, at 1:00 p.m. at the new facility. This will be followed by the Hearts of Hospitality Ball, held later that same day at 6:30 p.m. at the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center on the campus of ASU, where guests can enjoy cocktails, a dinner buffet, music by Todd Wright Band and a silent auction. Tickets are $100, with proceeds benefiting the shelter.

While the annual Hospitality Ball is

one way to support the work of the Hospitality House, there are many opportunities available, whether it is by monetary donations, food donations or by donating time.

Regardless of what you choose, these are ways everyone can become involved in the work of the shelter this winter, helping not only those in need but also yourself as you spread holiday cheer.

December 2010

w

High Country Magazine

29

Clawson addie Hardin

First Woman Mail Carrier of the High Country Story by Celeste von Mangan snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom “ Neither of night stays these couriers from their

swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

Most people have read or heard this quote, or at least part of it before. The main office of the New York City Post Office first adopted it as a sort of mail carrier’s code of honor or unofficial motto, and it is inscribed in stone there. The Greek historian Herodotus actually wrote the quote in his histories, and it originally referred to the Persian couriers of the time, in the 4th century B.C. For one icon of the United States Postal Service who personifies what dedication, determination and courage truly mean, we could add “nor floods, nor blizzards, nor mudslides, nor petitions, nor gossipmongers” to the quote. That icon is Addie Hardin Clawson, first woman mail carrier of the High Country. She scandalized people in the mountain communities by accepting a position in Watauga County as a rural route mail carrier in 1936.

30

High Country Magazine

December 2010

Rural Mail Routes High Country residents are still talking about the 2009-2010 winter. Old-timers liken it to past winters when piles of snow collected from various storms, driven by howling winds on a regular basis. Digging and shoveling became our preferred cardio and resistance training exercise, admittedly by default. Some people hunkered down during the roughest times, but most had to keep working and driving through the recurring snowstorms.

Addie endured 30 winters as a mail carrier operating out of Boone. As the first woman mail carrier of the High Country, Addie was also one of a few women nationwide who worked a rural mail route. The rural routes were considered to be fit only for men in these rugged mountains and elsewhere. Addie scored in the top three on the Civil Service Examination. She was offered a temporary position as mail carrier from the Boone Post Office on King Street, for just the milder spring and summer months. Addie accepted the position, and her temporary job lasted for 30 years. Routinely,

December 2010

High Country Magazine

31

Thomas Hardin and Chanie Brown Hardin had a total of nine children, including Addie, pictured here on her mother’s lap. Addie’s father Thomas died when she was a young girl, but her mother Chanie lived on and for many years was known in the Boone area as a sort of wise woman, harvesting herbs and sharing her knowledge with those in the community. Courtesy of Betty Lou Wells Collection

she delivered mail in any and all weather, delayed only three times by two blizzards and one historic flood.

Petitions, Pants and a New Chevy Some men were angry that a woman was hired to deliver mail along Rural Route 1 in Boone, North Carolina. The year was 1936, and women were expected to deliver babies, not letters and packages. Many women of Watauga County were aghast: Addie donned pants so she could ride her horse astride and traverse treacherous mountain roads in a car. A petition was circulated to have Addie removed from her new job. Ladies and matrons complained to the pastor, who was wise enough and honest enough to tell them to mind their own business. The petition soon fizzled, and the gossip eased up.

Addie had accepted her new position before she had a car and she could not yet drive one. Just days before she was to begin work, Addie bought a new Chevrolet on a Friday and learned to drive that weekend. By Monday, she was cruising along King Street to start work—and what would turn out to be a lifetime career.

32

High Country Magazine

December 2010

By Horse and Through Blizzard Addie’s Chevy could only take her so far on her mail route before she had to change over to a horse, though not before she made the New River crossing over at Pine Run Road in her car. Bland Clawson, Addie’s husband, would be waiting with her four-legged transport, a tall, pretty Tennessee Walking Horse tacked up in a western saddle replete with a big horn. Saddlebags stuffed full of cards and letters would be transAddie at age 20 ported just like cowboys stored gloves, jerky and other essentials in similar bags. Addie would ride her horse for the parts of the route best suited for hooves, the areas that went deep into the hollows and along rocky ridges. When she reached a certain point where a car could again travel, Bland would trade the horse for the car. Addie would then return to the post office after the final stretch of Route 1 was completed for the day. She accomplished this feat six days per week.

The blizzard of 1936 was the surprise element that saved Addie’s job.

“She started in the spring, and they thought winter was over,” said Betty Lou Wells, Boone resident and Addie’s

daughter. “It came soon after she started the job. They said a woman couldn’t deliver mail in the winter. ” Roads in Boone were closed for three weeks after the blizzard of ’36, and that was when the powers that be had to give Addie the job permanently. She was delayed a bit, but the sleet, snow, wind and high drifts did not stop her.

“They did not have a leg to stand on after that,” said Betty Lou.

The Ford Model A and the Jeep It became apparent, though, that the Chevy had to go, as the numerous stream crossings and rocky terrain caused challenges for that type of car. A Ford Model A had a higher undercarriage better suited for the rough roads, or, as the case may have been, no roads.

“She had the Chevy, then a Plymouth, then the Model A,” recalled Betty Lou. “She wore the Chevy out and the Plymouth and I guess the Model A. Dad sold the horse—it was a family horse—and then he had the mule. That caused a lot of excitement on her route. She used to ride by our school, and children were so excited when they saw her on the mule. They pointed and yelled out, ‘There’s Miss Addie on a mule! There’s Miss Addie on a mule!’ I think she had the mule just that one year.”

When 1950 rolled around, Addie’s brother suggested she buy a jeep. He worked up in Michigan in the automotive industry, and the army used this type of vehicle extensively. Addie’s broth-

“Addie’s story really is an automotive history story,” said Julia Taylor Ebel.

Transitioning through the decades with a variety of automobiles, including the Jeep she acquired in 1950, Addie strove to cover more territory more efficiently as far as delivering the mail. Apparently, she accomplished this goal as her initial route enveloped 24 miles and was ultimately extended to 53 miles.

December 2010

High Country Magazine

33

“They said a woman couldn’t deliver mail in the winter.” ~ Betty Lou Wells, Addie’s daughter

Addie’s Story Retold A

ddie’s story is retold in a book for young people ages 5 to 105.

The author of Addie Clawson: Appalachian Mail Carrier is Julia Taylor Ebel. Addie is a great aunt to Julia’s husband.

Since her book was published, it has become a part of school and educational programs. Julia and Betty Lou Wells traveled to Washington, D.C. to take part in an educational session about Addie for the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Children read Addie Clawson and completed a tour of the museum that was based on the book.

Julia considers Addie to be one of the females who was on the edge of roles for women.

“I have visited about 50 schools since this book came out,” said Julia. “Addie’s story is about believing in yourself. Students at some point hear ‘You can’t do this’ because you are too short, you’re a girl, you don’t know how...such messages can be spoken or implied. But Addie’s example says, ‘You can.’ I show the students photos of Addie and ask them to describe her. ‘Determined’ and ‘courageous’ are words I hear.”

Copies of Julia’s book, published in 2002 by Parkway Publishers, Inc., are available at local bookstores and the Watauga Arts Council.

Book Signing and Workshop O

n December 18, at Black Bear Books in Boone, Julia Taylor Ebel will sign copies of Addie Clawson: Appalachian Mail Carrier and present a workshop called “Priceless Gifts Without Price: Keeping Our Stories and Passing Them On.” Join Julia for a workshop and discussion on ways to pass along your own stories and your own heritage.

Julia is the author of five books that keep stories from Watauga County in a variety of ways. Drawing from her experience in writing,

34

High Country Magazine

December 2010

she will look at the pen, the camera, the garden and more as elements in the process of passing on your stories—priceless gifts for the holidays and all seasons.

The workshop will be from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 18. Check the High Country Press newspaper for announcements about the workshop.

w

Opposite

page,

left:

The

blizzards

that

hammered the High Country in 1960 left drifts up to 18 feet high in a six-week period, yet Addie still managed to get the mail delivered, missing only

The Area’s LARGEST Selection of Home Textiles

one day.

Opposite page, right: According to Julia Taylor Ebel, author of Addie Clawson, Appalachian Mail Carrier, people in Boone and the surrounding area would wait for Addie to blaze a trail through the roads after it snowed. In this photo, we can just make out petite Addie behind the wheel of her vehicle, delivering the mail after the blizzard of 1960. Photos courtesy of the Betty Lou Wells Collection

Your Complete Decorating Source

BEDSPREADS • COMFORTERS • SHEETS • CURTAINS • DRAPES • TOWELS • QUILTS TABLE LINENS • SHOWER CURTAINS • RUGS • PILLOWS • BATH ACCESSORIES

CELEBRATING er-in-law traveled to Michigan to bring one back for her.

“It was the first jeep in the county,” said Betty Lou. “One of those with the canvas tops. It must have been very cold, sitting in there; I don’t know what kind of heat it had.”

Eventually, the jeep was traded for yet another car, a station wagon.

YEARS!

S

S

RTAIN CU BATH BED

&

DISCOUNT PRICES • BARGAIN LOFT

1950 Blowing Rock Road • Boone, NC • Across from Lowe’s Hardware • Open Daily • 828-264-8321

A Very Christmas Mail Carrier Every Christmas Eve, some packages and letters would arrive at the Boone Post Office after Addie had already left on her regular daily mail route. People ordered many gifts from catalogs—Montgomery Ward and Company and Sears Roebuck. Knowing this, she would finish her usual work, go home, eat dinner, then return to the post office and gather all the mail and packages together: Santa Addie made sure no child was without a gift for Christmas Day. Betty Lou recalls another fond Christmastime memory as relates to her mother.

“There were just two carriers at the Boone Post Office at the time,” she said.

“People would leave Christmas cards and money for postage. Miss Addie did a lot of stamp licking, and I used to help her.”

From Scandalous to Sublime Over the years, Addie’s dedication to her work and to the community made her a much beloved figure. What was considered scandalous behavior at first came to be viewed as sublime acts of generosity.

“Quite often, my mother would go to December 2010

High Country Magazine

35

“Addie’s story is about believing in yourself.” ~ Julia Taylor Ebel, author Addie Hardin and Bland Clawson were married in December of 1924. Bland helped his wife carry out her duties as a mail carrier, especially in the early days of her job. He met her twice along her mail route so she could switch from the car to the horse then back again to the car. Bland maintained a small family farm in Watauga County, replete with peacocks and goats.

Opposite page: Addie and Bland had three daughters, Rosa Lee, the oldest, pictured in the middle and flanked by twins Betty Lou and Mary Sue.

PEEPERS ARE OUR PASSION

Antiques on howArd

Furniture • Primitives Glassware • Jewelry vintaGe ClothinG Pottery and more!

BLUE RIDGE VISION LOCATED IN THE BOONE MALL 828/264-2020

OPTOMETRY

36

High Country Magazine

December 2010

828.262.1957

199 Howard St. • Boone, NC 28607

the grocery store or pick up prescription medicine,� said Betty Lou. “Not many people had cars in those days. Those along her mail route would leave a bushel of apples, or potatoes or cake or something like that for her. They told her any time she found something at the mailbox like that to just assume it was for her.

Now, mail carriers are not as free to do things for people.�

Thirty Years and Three Days Missed In her 30 years, Addie missed only three days of delivering the mail. Once during the blizzard of 1936, and the second time during the flood of 1940, which according to Betty Lou and others in the High Country stands today as “the flood that all of our floods are measured by,� washing out train tracks and bridges.

Addie was able to make it to the post office, and she got someone to ferry her across the New River.

The third and last missed day occurred when the blizzard of 1960 hit Boone. “The winter of 1960 was similar to the winter of 1936,� said Betty Lou. One popular photo of Addie after that storm shows snow so high—42 inches—she had to dig mailboxes out with the shovel she always carried with her; her other ever-present tool was an axe.

Addie retired in 1966, when her temporary job ended 30 years later.

w

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Purchase any item with “Pink� on it and a portion of the proceeds will go to our local Wilma Redmond Fund.

The Wilma Redmond Fund provides free mammograms to underinsured women of the High Country

Dande Lionand Shooz The

Shiraz

&

a shoe and wine salon

Shoppes at Tynecastle 4501 Tynecastle Hwy. Banner Elk, NC 28604 5IF %BOEF -JPO t 4IPP[ 4IJSB[ 8*/&

Monday - Saturday 10:00am to 5:00pm December 2010

High Country Magazine

37

The

Biggest

Voice in Boone Melissa Reaves Has Crossed Countries and Oceans to Perform, but Boone Keeps Calling Her Home Story by Anna Oakes

38

High Country Magazine

December 2010

S

he opened for Robert Plant in England, played Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair, boldly sang at Harlem’s Apollo Theater and was featured at the world’s biggest music conference.

“She should be world famous,” one friend said. “And we have her here.”

Photo by James Fay December 2010

High Country Magazine

39

C

ould an injury be any worse for a guitar player? Probably not.

Singer and strummer Melissa Reaves broke her left hand—her fretting hand—late this past summer when she tripped during her nightly run.

Realizing she couldn’t play the guitar for seven weeks (it turned out to be 12 or 13), she scanned her list of upcoming bookings—should she cancel dates, or could she pull a rabbit out of a hat? Luckily, that first week of shows were in the Boone area, and Melissa was able to call in favors to fellow musicians, who played guitar while she sang. But lined up the following week were gigs in Virginia and West Virginia. The dilemma was the impetus the veteran rocker needed to forge ahead with her new interest in dance music, until now a tentative experiment at best.

“I decided to unveil my dance music and just go for it,” said Melissa. “That was the deadline I needed and a swift boot from the universe to get serious about the dance/electronic direction I so enjoy.”

Doug James, classical guitarist and professor at Appalachian State, was among the friends who filled in for Me-

tal, improvisational and always in the moment. With her signature long blonde tresses flailing and her face lifted to the sky, her voice effortlessly sashays between octaves, untethered and with force, but with power to spare.

“Her diversity is so ridiculous,” says David Brewer, a Boone-based musician and music writer. “She can absolutely go from these hyper-rhythmic avant garde guitar freakouts to just absolutely breaking you down with amazing, goosebump-raising soul-funk. She’s not a one-trick pony.” lissa locally, and later he saw a show Melissa threw together using her laptop and a toy keyboard she found in a dumpster.

“It was just so entertaining and refreshing,” he said. “That’s Melissa. Her ability to make something from nothing.

That’s really amazing with her.”

Inspired by her mother’s Aretha Franklin albums and often likened to Janis Joplin (though she dislikes the comparison), Melissa’s music crosses over genre boundaries of rock and funk and soul to territory that is experimen-

From Boone to Bob Jones (and Back).

Melissa was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1967. Melissa’s mother and father planned for her to attend school at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina.

“That was their dream,” Melissa reflected.

But two days before Melissa’s fourth birthday, her father took his own life. Melissa’s mother, Michelle Johnson, moved the two of them to Fleetwood, just northeast of Boone in Ashe County, North Carolina, to stay with family. “We went to

“When Melissa walks on stage, you are only going to sound better than you did before.”

David Brewer, musician and writer Boone because we always loved the mountains,” said Michelle, speaking from her home in Utah, where she is a nurse. The family attended Bibleway Baptist Church in Boone and remained in the area until Melissa, Michelle’s only child, was old enough to attend school in Greenville.

It wasn’t until Melissa was much older, though, that she discovered how her father had died, because her mother kept it a secret for many years.

“I found out on my own that my father killed himself,” stated Melissa. Angry with her mother for some time, she eventually forgave her. “It is what it is.

She did what she did,” resolved Melissa. “Her having to plow through all of that and raise a child and figure it out and make a living, it just makes her even more strong in my eyes.”

From first grade to 10th grade, Melissa attended the private schools of Bob Jones University, one of the most conservative re- Melissa sang in a band called Strange Brew in the Virginia Beach area in the early ‘90s.

40

High Country Magazine

December 2010

Melissa and her long-time friend Masa Takahashi take a break during recording sessions in the mid-1990s. Masa played guitar in Melissa Reaves and the Willys and continues to collaborate with her on music projects.

ligious institutions in the United States.

In school, her mother recalled, “she was a good student, but she would rather be playing other stuff than schoolwork.”

Melissa showed an early interest in theatre and did a little bit of acting. “She never wanted to be a teacher or a missionary, which I would have liked her to be,” her mother said.

“She loved music. She got that honest,” explained Michelle, who sings and plays piano by ear. Melissa began lessons on a quarter-size violin around age 5. Melissa’s formal violin training continued for 17 years, and along the way she learned to play the piano as well. “All of a sudden, one day, she said she liked rock ‘n roll. She started singing, and that was it,” remembered Michelle. “I’m thinking, you know, this is cute, but this is not what I wanted for her.

But I tried my best to encourage her.”

The Chick Singer in a Redneck Band.

Melissa was around 15 when she saw an ad in the paper seeking a female lead for a band. She called, and they told her what tunes to prepare.

“I got my mom to take me out to this weirdo house in South Carolina where these redneck biker types were doing a band. They were doing like Southern rock and roll, and they wanted a chick singer to do Joan Jett and Pat Benatar and stuff like that. So my mom got in this redneckville situation, and she’s just

having a freakin’ cow, but she did it.”

Melissa doesn’t remember what came of the audition, but it was her first experience with a microphone and singing with a band.

A single act, though, would turn Melissa’s life—and her mother’s—upside down. In the 10th grade, Melissa was expelled from Bob Jones Academy for drinking a beer. And though she recalls feeling somewhat relieved at escaping the ultra-religious school, she admits, “I never had a bad experience. I’m grateful for my experience there, honestly, I

December 2010

High Country Magazine

41

Left: Stacy Heydon, award-winning producer and guitarist for David Bowie and Iggy Pop, produced Melissa’s first album. Above: Melissa opened for Robert Plant in Nottingham, England, in 2000. Photo by Elizabeth West

really am. And I’m appreciative of my mother’s sacrifice to send me there.”

While Melissa was relieved, her mother was devastated; it was a tumultuous time for the family. The church Melissa and her mother attended in Greenville happened to have an academy, and Melissa enrolled there to complete the 10th grade. Then, mother and daughter returned to Boone, where Melissa en-

rolled in public school at Watauga High School in the mid-1980s. “That was a culture shock,” said Melissa.

At Watauga High, “I tried everything,” she said, and shortly after, her frequent partying led her to drop out of high school.

“That’s the truth,” she said, quietly, as if the revelation still stung. “I was fortunate enough to be able to get enrolled at Watauga Christian Academy, and I say fortu-

nately because I was running out of places to graduate,” she said. “I finally graduated honestly by the skin of my teeth.”

In Boone, Melissa sought out bands like the ones she sang with in South Carolina.

“When I got up here, I pursued that and found some other redneck bands that I could be the chick singer in,” she recounted. “And you know what, I could be embarrassed about it, but I think it gave me the experience of rocking and not just being some mealy-mouse chick singer.”

EXPERIENCE THE LUXURY OF LEATHER .

Wesley Hall VISIT OUR SHOWROOM THURS-SAT OR BY APPOINTMENT • 828-898-6110 • TOLL -F REE: 1-866-561-5858 V ILLAGE OF S UGAR M OUNTAIN • BANNER ELK, N ORTH C AROLINA Located in the Village of Sugar Mountain, on Hwy 184. Turn at the entrance of Sugar Mountain Ski Resort onto Sugar Mtn Drive, second right onto Dick Trundy Lane, first building on the left.

42

High Country Magazine

December 2010

www.maplesleather.com

Melissa Reaves speaks at a Lilith Fair presser in Charlotte in 1999 along with other leading female musicians Sarah McLachlan, Mya and Sheryl Crow.

These were tough guys, and she had to stand her ground with them. “All these experiences really, really did shape me.”

Melissa went from one band to the next. She played violin in a band called Faux Pas. Then, Melissa spent three or four years as the lead singer for a band called The Union. It was in 1988 when Beth Carroll—then a freshman at ASU— first saw Melissa perform with The Union at Amadeus, a bar located where Boone Saloon is today. “She just blew me away with her voice,” Beth said. “The rest of her band was good, too, but she’s the one that really stood out.” The Union had great crowds and great times, Melissa said, but “we all partied in different ways. You could come and hear great music, or you could come and hear great music and see us fight each other on stage.” One final argument led to the group’s demise. “I’m surprised it lasted that long,” said Melissa.

Around that time, Melissa’s partner committed suicide, and to cope, she par-

tied heavier and heavier. As part of Warehouse 66, her next band, Melissa started to look beyond party bands and take music a little more seriously, ambitiously booking shows and taking a more formal, structured approach to performing.

White Girl at the Apollo.

Within a year or two, though, Warehouse 66 fizzled out—and Melissa almost did, too. Her partying, drinking and drug use had reached an all-time

high, and it had to stop. She moved in with her mother in Hampton, Virginia, around age 23, hoping to find a better job and a reprieve from her partying lifestyle in Boone. She got into the music scene in Virginia, and one of her first bands there was called Strange Brew.

And also during that time, Melissa entered a contest—and won. It was a nationwide contest for a chance to perform at the Apollo Theater in New York, and Melissa was selected to represent her region. “I couldn’t believe that I won, but I did,” she said.

CALL ANY OF OUR REGISTERED HAIR-HYPNOTISTS

We care for hair and Skin 174 S. DEPOT STREET • DOWNTOWN BOONE • December 2010

262-3324

828/

High Country Magazine

43

Rockin’ the Holidays

M

elissa’s most recent release was 2008’s Holidaze—the holiday album she’d been saying she would record for years. The album features Reaves along with keyboardist Dave Fox, drummer Nik Hope, bassist Zack Page and guests, including guitarist Jeb Holmes, trumpeter Ken Wilmont and local artist Banister Pope.

The 10 tracks include a funky rock rendition of “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer,” a slinky jazz funk take on “White Christmas” and a New Orleans-style romp through “Walking In A Winter Wonderland.”

And for the ninth year, Melissa performed her annual Holiday Show at Char in Boone on December 10, featuring several special guests. Each year, Melissa throws together an all-star cast and a setlist filled with crazy antics and surprises.

“It’s a surprise to me what I break out for the show,” she said. “I like for it to trump the year before.”

w

Melissa’s original recordings have ranged from rock and blues to experimental and, most recently, a seasonal release, Holidaze.

“I was going to sing a blues tune,” she said, “and then decided to sing an Aretha Franklin tune, which was not a good idea. I mean, I nailed it, that wasn’t a problem, but I was just a white chick, and they didn’t want to hear that. And I don’t blame them. But I didn’t know any better; I was just doing the best I knew how.”

The song? “Respect.”

Unlike a couple of other singers, she didn’t get yanked off the stage, but she was booed before she even started singing.

“It was a necessary experience for me,” she said. “You’ve got to be able to figure out what you’re going to do with that. You can’t run off crying, for Christ’s sake.

She added, “At the end of the day, for your first performance in Manhattan to be the freakin’ Apollo Theater, that’s a good day—I don’t care who boos at you.”

Back to Virginia. Heretofore, Melissa’s fingers had rarely strummed the 44

High Country Magazine

strings of a guitar, but a new band member would change that. Strange Brew’s newest guitarist started bringing an acoustic on stage, and Melissa started fooling around with it, eventually proficient enough to be “for real playing guitar.” Shortly after, she played her first solo gig.

“I played, like, the same four songs over and over,” she laughed. Maybe so, but it was enough to suggest to her that music could be a self-supporting venture. With a few more songs under her belt, Melissa happened to meet Stacy Heydon, a guitarist for David Bowie and Iggy Pop and an award-winning producer now based in Los Angeles. Stacy would produce Melissa’s first album, Fall from Grace.

“I had no idea who I was working with,” she said, but Stacy showed the young musician the ropes in the studio. “I learned so much from him,” Melissa re-

December 2010

called. “He was hard on me and expected a lot.” The resulting album—and the chore of marketing it—was a springboard for the fledgling guitarist and vocalist. “[I thought,] I’m really doing this,” she said.

But at this point, Melissa was living in Virginia Beach and reeling from a recent breakup. “I was like, ‘Why the hell are you here? I hate it,’” she remembered.

“And, of course, I came running back to Boone.”

From Boone to Boston (and Back).

Back in the North Carolina mountains, Melissa met Elizabeth West and began a seven-year relationship that greatly bolstered Melissa’s success as a musician. Elizabeth had the organizational skills Melissa lacked to tackle all of the mundane, gargantuan tasks required to build a music career—the

“You just turn her loose, and things take off by themselves.”

Doug James, guitarist and ASU professor

Of late, Melissa Reaves has taken to her computer to record her own electronic dance music. She unveiled her dance tunes at venues during her recent tour. Photo by James Fay

research, the contacts, the letters, the phone calls, the bookings.

“She was the person for it. I’m not that type of person; I’m not good at it,” Melissa acknowledged. “It’s amazing what she did, now that I look back on it. [She] forwarded my career in leaps and bounds, more than I’ve had before or since.”

The two moved to Boston, where Elizabeth attended grad school, and Melissa started touring, including in Manhattan, where she hired a publisher.

One evening in Boston, Melissa, who frequented open mics and jam sessions, dropped by a blues jam, where she met longtime friend Masa Takahashi. After playing together, they exchanged numbers, and Melissa gave Masa one of her CDs. Masa learned every tune on her CD note for note—and had suggestions for ways to improve them.

“I was also looking for somebody who I could play with,” said Masa, who now resides in Maine. “She was looking for a band.”

Together, Masa and Melissa, along with Dave Cardin, formed Melissa’s first band performing her music, Melissa Reaves and the Willys. The band played Manhattan often, driving back to Boston late at night, and Melissa held random jobs, often painting. Melissa ramped up her touring schedule, traveling the college circuit from Memphis to Ohio to the Deep South and playing between 150 and 200 dates a year, putting many miles on the car.

“It always amazes me that she makes things work,” Masa said. “Even if her car breaks down in the middle of the road and we’ve got to get there in two hours or something, she somehow makes it work.”

Melissa’s publisher and her company put up the money for her next album,

Sentimental Anthem, which would have the benefit of international marketing.

Melissa attended music industry showcases to increase her exposure. By now, Melissa was touring all over the country with her band and on her own, and Elizabeth had finished grad school. They got out of Boston—but not before their vehicle was stolen and Melissa suffered a debilitating concussion from a brutal bicycle accident.

Next stop was Mooresville, North Carolina—the closest place to Boone where Elizabeth could find a job.

It was there, in 1999, that Elizabeth entered Melissa in the Charlotte area talent search for Lilith Fair, an all-female touring festival founded by singer Sarah McLachlan in the late ‘90s. The winner of the contest would have the opportunity to perform on the festival’s Village Stage.

Skepticism, not excitement, greeted the news.

“I just thought these things were just silly, like, c’mon, it’s rigged, it’s not gonna happen—I just had a bad attitude,” Melissa explained. After all the performances, Melissa waited impatiently in the crowd, lamenting the waste of time that could have been better spent at home. Then, the judges announced the winner. “I friggin’ won that thing!” Melissa said. “I could not process it. I was so excited. I was shocked.” She performed at the Tremont Music Hall in Charlotte and was invited onto the festival’s main

stage at the end of the night.

That fall, she and Elizabeth purchased a rustic cabin at the base of Bluff Mountain near West Jefferson—a return to the High Country once again.

In a Yacht on the French Riviera.

In support of Sentimental Anthem, Melissa continued to leapfrog from one music conference to another, including the LMNOP conference in New Orleans.

At a presidential suite party there one night, Melissa casually sang jazz tunes while her friend accompanied her. The concert from a couch must have reached the right ears, because it led to an invitation for Melissa to participate in a “Women of the Millennium” showcase in 2000 at MIDEM—a major international music industry conference held in Cannes, France—“a big, big, big deal.”

By that time, Melissa had incorporated the use of echo pedals into her rock ‘n roll performances, which allowed her to sample herself while playing live. “I didn’t know of any other female artists doing that kind of thing at the time,” Melissa told a newspaper earlier this year.

In Cannes, she rubbed elbows with mega-heavyweights of the industry. “It was strange, honestly. At one point I’m at MIDEM, then these people from Norway invite us over to their yacht on the French Riviera to eat salmon from the

December 2010

High Country Magazine

45

Melissa performs at the Harvest House Performing Arts Center in Boone in early November. Photo by James Fay

Ice River. It was just like, what is going on here?” Melissa remembered.

MIDEM was a two-week, 24/7 schmooze-fest that consumed the French Riviera city, and by night, Melissa sought stage time at local clubs. At one popular nightspot, Le Salon, she met a roadie for Joan Jett, who introduced her to Alex Harvey, writer of “Delta Dawn” and other major hits. Melissa performed with Alex at Le Salon, and her powerful vocals found their way to John “Hoppy” Hopkins, the tour manager for AC/DC. Later, Melissa was performing a blues tune at another venue and looked over to see John, tears in his eyes.

“He told me later that he was just moved, moved by the music,” she said.

46

High Country Magazine

“I love that someone would still be in his 50s, late 40s…and still be moved to tears by music. I just love that.”

Melissa returned home to North Carolina but soon after received a call from John, who wanted her to come back to the U.K. He put her on a plane and ushered her into an English studio, where she recorded two tunes, and they talked contracts and international marketing.

She played venues like the Kashmir Klub and 12 Bar in London around recording sessions. Bjorn Stokes of London wrote to her after seeing her Kashmir Klub show: “Never in my 23 years have I been so mesmerized as I was last night watching Melissa play.”

Melissa’s jaunt in the U.K. was about

December 2010

up, and she was scheduled to depart on a flight home the next day. But after a phone call that evening, John insisted, “We’ve got to change your tickets. We just got an opportunity to open for Robert Plant.”

With help from her guitar tech, Steve Honest (tour manager for Culture Club), Melissa and company hopped in a car headed for Nottingham. Robert watched Melissa’s show from the wings, and she got to spend about 45 minutes with the Led Zeppelin frontman backstage. “We were both just like having a cow,” she said, referring to herself and Steve.

After a couple of whirlwind trips to Europe, Melissa and Elizabeth finally returned to their quiet mountain home.

John was now co-managing Melissa’s career along with Elizabeth, and he provided the financing so Melissa could do music full time. She continued to play big conferences and festivals, especially in the Northwest.

But by 2002, Melissa and Elizabeth weren’t getting along. Worsening relations eventually led to a rough breakup.

The fabric of connections and phone calls and bookings, the marketing and all the press releases, the ins and outs of the business, tediously woven together behind the scenes by Elizabeth over the past seven years—well, it unraveled. Everything came to a screeching halt.

It couldn’t have come at a worse time, because John and her team members from the U.K. and Nashville were coming to town to watch Melissa do a show at Boone’s Black Cat. She rocked the house, but afterward, Melissa and her U.K. backers drifted apart, perhaps because they sensed the tumult in her career and personal life.

Pursued by a Man Chasing a Parade Float.

Melissa took a break for a couple of years. She funded her next CD, Rough Cuts, using her own money. She did a few shows. She took a hard look at her career.

One summer several years ago, The Mountain Times asked Melissa to ride on its Fourth of July parade float in Boone, and she obliged. The float was traveling

Melissa and her partner, Jennifer, on the back deck at their home in the Vilas area. Photo by James Fay

on King Street, about to turn on Water Street, when a man came running after the float yelling, “Hey Melissa! Melissa!” “I didn’t know him from Adam,” she said. The man introduced himself as Jimmy from Nashville and asked her to have dinner with him.

As it turns out, Jimmy is the drummer for Jerry Lee Lewis and has worked with country stars such as Chet Atkins. Jimmy introduced Melissa to the Nashville music industry, and she’s been recording and playing showcases there ever since.

“And that’s where my career has gone lately,” she added.

Melissa continues to tour around the country. Over the past few years, she has turned a more concerted eye to her experimental music work, often working with experimental and jazz artist Dave Fox in Greensboro. She explains, “I was always doing that, but I never felt like it was taken seriously. I just thought it was weird and didn’t trust it.” She recently composed experimental works in collaboration with modern dance choreographer Alex Smith for a few shows at Manhattan’s Merce Cunningham Studios. She’s in the process of recording an album with Dave Fox that has a New Orleans blues vibe, as well as a concept project with Dave called The Meldavians. A few of Melissa’s experimental works are posted on her website.

“She’s a true artist exploring far corners of her art,” emphasized David Brewer. “Melissa could frown and sing covers and make money, and take the easy way out, but she doesn’t seem particularly interested in that.”

Under the name of DJ Luscious, Melissa has also forayed into the world of dance music—ranging from trance to pop—by creating mixes on her computer. A huge fan of electronica, Melissa hopes to incorporate dancers and visual elements in her dance music shows, which she calls AVANTDANCELECTRIC. “That’s been a ton of fun,” she said. “This is my new frontier.”

And Melissa continues to be in high demand as a guest artist in the region.

“Everybody knows Melissa’s name. All the musicians want her,” David said. “When Melissa walks on stage, you are only going

to sound better than you did before.”

“You just turn her loose, and things take off by themselves,” noted Doug, who plays with Melissa in a band called The Deciders. “[We] often describe her as a force of nature. [It’s] mysterious to me why she isn’t more famous than she is.”

For years, Melissa thought she could be successful at music living anywhere, but now she acknowledges that she would probably be further along in her career had she been in a music town like Nashville or Manhattan, where she has more solid relationships and business contacts.

But “I’m not in the business of regretting,” she quickly adds. “There’s no sense in even going there.” And, she notes, now more than ever, it’s easy for independent

artists to efficiently market themselves from even the remotest of locations.

“Boone’s my home. I have had an incredibly supportive community in Boone for many years, a community that I feel is my ‘family’—I can’t imagine not coming back to that love and support,” she said.

“There are none better than her in the area,” said David. “And yet she is still out there duking it out like the rest of us, just trying to make a living.”

w

www.MelissaReaves.com

At Melissa’s website, you can listen to tunes, check tour dates and order CDs

December 2010

High Country Magazine

47

Winter Dining Guide W

e may be a small town, but you would never know it from the variety of our restaurants. We could tell you what we think or ask the restau-

rant owners to give us their opinions—However, this month we decided to see what actual customers had to say about this issue’s featured restaurants.

Read on about these fabulous dining destinations . . . and Bon appétit!

48

High Country Magazine

December 2010

Winter Dining BAYOU Smokehouse

BANNER ELK “We went on all-you-can-eat ribs night [who does that!!!]. The ribs melted in our mouth” … “cajun food in the mountains? WOW what a surprise!!! The gumbo was just like New Orleans”…

“An extensive menu of veggies was great for the vegan in our group”…

Cafe´ Portofino

Sandwiches, Pastas & Steaks

Dining 5 Star es the Pric t u o h t i w sual in a Ca here!

Atmosp Dining All Day

“loved the creoles and ettouffee”…

828-898-8952 • 130 Main St. E. www.bayousmokehouse.com

the BEST CELLAR

BLOWING ROCK “This may well be the best restaurant in Blowing Rock”…

“We enjoyed lunch on the front porch overlooking the beautiful garden”… “salad of duck breast and goat cheese that made me want to cry!”…

“For dinner, I enjoyed mussels and my husband had trout, were superlative”… “recommended for anyone wanting a quiet, scenic atmosphere with great food and wonderful service.”…

828-295-3466 • 203 Sunset Dr. www.ragged-gardens.com

970 Rivers Street • 828-264-7772 • w w w. c a f e p o r t o fi n o . n e t Southwestern • Sandwiches • Salads • Tempting Lunch & Dinner Specials

FeastSenses A

FOR YOUR

ELECTRIC SUNSETS

ECLECTIC MENU

SUNDAY JAZZ BRUNCH

THE BISTRO

BOONE ”Despite its unassuming location this is a gem of a restaurant”…

LIVE MUSIC

DELICIOUS VIEW OF LINVILLE GORGE

“I’ve eaten here quite a bit and the food is sublime”… “several vegetarian options to choose from”… ”Fabulous soups and a wonderful menu that has something for everyone. The atmosphere is wonderful with an intimate setting.

Overall a wonderful choice for special occasions”…

828-262-5585 • 516 West King St. www.boonebagelry.com

H I S T O R I C R E S TA U R A N T AND BAR

W W W.CANYONSBR.COM MENU, VIEWCAM AND LIVE MUSIC SCHEDULE ONLINE

HIGHWAY 321 • BLOWING ROCK, NC • ALL ABC PERMITS • 828-295-7661 Serving Lunch & Dinner Daily 11am until... • Reservations suggested for parties of five or more December 2010

High Country Magazine

49

Winter Dining BOONE BAGELRY

BOONE “Toni Nicstro, owner, is a stand up, community involved guy!”…

“The food is great and there is always a wonderful variety to choose from”…

“The bagels are homemade daily and it shows”…

“Love the breakfast special – 2 eggs, toast or bagel, potatoes and coffee – out of this world”… “thoroughly enjoy their Bagelicious – a local’s favorite”… “breakfast is served all day. I stop by every chance I get!”…

828-262-5585 • 516 West King St. www.boonebagelry.com

CAFÉ PORTIFINO

BOONE ”a local ski instructor recommended it to us. It was the best meal we had in Boone or Blowing Rock”… ”garlic cheeseburger with sweet potato fries, the best burger I have ever had”…

Fresh Italian Cuisine

”The entrees and wine we had were phenomenal, the Italian won-tons, a must try item”…

Exquisite Authentic Thai Cuisine

Daily Lunch Specials Lunch Hours: Mon-Fri 11:00-3:00 Sat-Sun 11:30-3:00

Also Open for Dinner Every Day: Mon-Sun 5:00-10:00

* Serving beer and wine * 173 Howard Street in Downtown Boone 828-268-0434 Fax: 828-268-0439 chadathai-nc.com

Sushi Moguls...

For skiers of all abilities and appetites.

828-264-7772 • 970 Rivers St. www.cafeportofino.net

CANYONS

BLOWING ROCK ”The views are as good as any in the Blue Ridge Mountains”…

“Grandfather Mtn. from the deck is worth the trip. Great food and service”… ”The food is abundant, well priced and delicious”…

Live Music Daily Specials All ABC Permits

“The sunset view is a delight”…

“Sunday brunch was a treat - with live jazz”… “this place is our favorite restaurant!

We will definitely return to Canyons next time we visit”…

Located at Boone Mall next to TJ Maxx 828-355-9800 • Tues-Sat 11-9 Sun 12-5:30

www.primosrestaurantofboone.com 50

High Country Magazine

828-295-7661 • 8960 Valley Blvd. www.canyonsbr.com

December 2010

Japanese Steak House and Sushi Bar 2124 Blowing Rock Road, Boone 828/ 264-7976

Serving Lunch and Dinner Seven Days a Week

Winter Dining CASA RUSTICA

BOONE ”What a pleasant surprise! Chef Bowling is turning out some excellent meals here. Don’t miss this place!”… ”I ordered Piatto Di Mare. It was excellent! Very tasty and a lot of crab meat, shrimp and scallops over linguini in a delicious white wine sauce”… “service and food was great”…

“We will definitely return when we visit Boone again. Everything was outstanding”…

828-262-5128 • 1348 Highway 105 www.casarustica1981.com

CHA DA THAI

BOONE ”Cha Da Thai is at the very top of our list of places to eat”…

“The menu indicates how spicy a dish might be. I like it Thai hot! “… ”Having been to Thailand several times... Well we have just hit pay-dirt, especially since the chef is Thai”…

“No cheap imitations here! It’s an absolutely perfect Thai dining experience”…

“Great Thai in Boone - Who knew!”…

828-268-0434 • 173 Howard St. www.ChaDaThai-NC.com.

GAMEKEEPER

BLOWING ROCK ”The Gamekeeper is set in a stone cottage down a winding road in the N.C. mountains. There is plenty to choose from”. . . “be brave enough to try their game specialties. You won’t regret it”… “try at least one of the appetizers rattlesnake sausage, ostrich, buffalo, and a cheese plate. Out of this world!”…

“Great atmosphere and amazing food!” . . .

“Best brunch ever”…

828-963-7400 • 3005 Shulls Mill Rd. www.gamekeeper-nc.com

Serving

Lunch & Dinner

Restaurant, 828-898-TXLA (8952)

Open 11:30 am daily - Located in the Center of Village Shoppes One block from the stoplight in Banner Elk December 2010

High Country Magazine

51

Winter Dining MAKOTO’S

BOONE ”Makoto’s is my absolute favorite place for sushi”. . .

“I drive up the mountain to eat at Makoto’s. Their table show and Japanese food are delightful”. . . ”exceptional options for sushi and sashimi”. . . “large selection of Japanese beers and sakes!”. . . ”The food is always excellent. Delicious sweet carrots at lunch”. . . “the sesame chicken, the teriyaki steak, yakiniku and scallops are all excellent.”

828-264-7976 • 2124 Blowing Rock Rd www.makotos-boone.com

www.gamekeeper-nc.com 828-963-7400

The Manor House Restaurant at Chetola Resort

seasonal dishes local organic produce best veggie plate in town SHULL’S MILL ROAD BESIDE YONAHLOSSEE

Cozy. Delicious.

Open Thursday - Saturday Also open Wednesdays until the New Year Open nightly Dec 26th through New Year’s Day and in addition the Sundays of both M.L.K. and President’s Day weekends RECOMMENDED BY:

Turner South, Southern Living, Our State, WNC Magazine, Our State Signature, US Airways Magazine, Mountain Living, UNC TV

CATERING IS AVAILABLE AND ALSO A PRIVATE ROOM FOR YOUR SPECIAL EVENT 52

High Country Magazine

December 2010

And Open to the Public.

Sushi Bar Fridays and Saturdays 5:30 - 9:00 pm

3 Course Prix Fixe Dinner Menu - $26 Headwaters Pub

Thursdays-Sundays 5:30 - 10:00 pm

Winter Hours

Breakfast: Daily 7:30 - 10:00 am Dinner: Thur. - Sat. 5:30 - 9:00 pm

828-295-5505 www.chetola.com

Winter DINING • Winter Dining MANOR HOUSE Restaurant

BLOWING ROCK “I highly recommend—an upscale dining experience. The service is outstanding, great diversity of wine and beer”… “the food was top notch. The chefs’ creativity and thoroughness of the overall end result of a dish was just wonderful”…

“So very cozy! Everything was delicious! One thing we loved, we weren’t rushed”…

“Great little date spot! Delicious food, attentive staff without being annoying. It is sure to satisfy and have you thinking about your wonderful night afterwards!”

828-295-5505 • Chetola Resort. www.chetola.com

PRIMO’S

BOONE ”I found Primo’s for lunch and am so glad I did”…

“Primo pie was honestly one of the best pizzas I have ever tried”…

“The owners invited us to come back and hang out on their patio later that evening because they would be having live music”… ”Best Italian in Boone, hands down.

Great service and the portions are huge.”

828-355-9800 • 1180 Blowing Rock Rd www.primosrestaurantofboone.com

RED ONION café

”A fantastic diverse menu—from grilled salmon to portobello wrap to chicken salad melt to pasta”…

“The Red Onion has a wonderful menu for children and a full bar for adults.

Great cocktails, wine and beer list”…

828-264-5470 • 227 Hardin St. www.theredonioncafe.com

VIDALIA

BOONE ”nicest greetings we have received in years”…

“We loved the lunch”… ”We ate here twice on a recent trip, enjoyed the crab cakes, the tenderloin steaks”… ”mountain trout and beef tenderloin.

The food was truly outstanding, all perfectly prepared”…

BOONE ”one of the best moderate-priced restaurants in Boone”… “well prepared, tasty meals with fresh ingredients”…

828-263-9176 • 831 West King St. www.vidaliaofboonenc.com

December 2010

High Country Magazine

53

Tatum Galleries

Everything You Need to Make a House a Home Story by Jason Gilmer • Photography by Peter Morris 54

High Country Magazine

December 2010

Tatum Galleries has a family feel to it, and not just because the whole family will sit on the furnishings. Sally Tatum (at right) who owns the store with her husband, Steve, works alongside her daugher, Jesse Rose Blalock (at left), as interior designers. The Taums’ son, Dylan, has also worked in the gallery.

C

ustomers who don’t shop at Tatum Galleries too often will have a hard time finding coveted items from their last visit when they return.

When something is sold, the showroom gets a quick remodel. It must be done to keep the shop looking full.

“It takes a while to go through [the store],” said Sally Tatum, one of the coowners of the gallery on Highway 105.

“People say it takes three runs to go through and see everything.”

And that’s if you walk slowly and are quite observant. A painting may not catch your eye on the first pass, but it could be exactly what you’re looking for. Same with the mirrors, lamps, sofas or coffee tables.

Sally and her husband Steve opened Tatum Galleries 30 years ago and are celebrating their 25th year in their current location. The shop has become a favorite of seasonal and full-time residents who are looking for that special piece to fill out their living rooms.

What used to be a showroom for Steve’s handmade furniture has turned into a complete interior design business that sells

high-end furnishings. If customers want a room redecorated, that can be done. If they’re looking for a unique piece of furniture out of oak, that can be made.

“We’ll do anything—we’ll do one window or the whole house,” Sally said.

“A lot of decorators won’t do that. One window may lead to more because it may make everything else in the room look like it needs to be redone, too.”

This isn’t just a husband-and-wife business, as daughter Jesse Rose Blalock is a decorator and son Dylan has worked in the store and woodshop. He has studied viticulture and is currently at Appalachian State studying business to help with another family venture.

The multi-faceted Tatum Galleries has grown through the years while keeping the same client-friendly attitude that makes people come back year after year.

While the furniture and products on the floor are reasons for its longevity, it isn’t everything. In fact, Steve is certain he knows why the business has done so well for so long.

“Sally has always had very good taste,”

he said. “That’s probably what has made this store do so well over the years. It’s her taste paralleling her clients’.”

In The Beginning

For several years, the Tatums had two Golden Retrievers that understood boundaries. They sit at the threshold of the woodshop and look into the showroom.

There was nowhere else for the dogs to go.

When Tatum Galleries moved, after five years of operating out of a small shop a mile up the road from its current location, there were only two rooms. Steve built furniture in one room, and Sally sold it in the other.

Working together wasn’t a problem then and isn’t now. They enjoy each other’s company and some days don’t see each other too often. Even when the business was small, Steve would be doing his part of the work in the woodshop, and Sally would be selling his wares.

“We wouldn’t see each other unless she needed me to help move a piece of furniture to someone’s car,” Steve said. “Now, there’s lots of times I won’t see her all day. She’s going this way and I’m going that way.”

December 2010

High Country Magazine

55

From Great Rooms to Grapes

The Tatums’ Grandfather Vineyard and Winery

F

rom the back porch of Steve Tatum’s new wine tasting room, there is an exceptional view of Grandfather Mountain.

Because of that view, Steve decided to name Watauga County’s first winery Grandfather Vineyard and Winery.

“We want to somehow encompass [the view] into the label because that’s a familiar site, at least around here,” Steve said.

“You see it and you know what it is.”

Steve is in the process of getting his bottle’s label approved by the government. The process of getting the winery started has taken years.

Steve planted 14 varieties of grapes in 2003 on the backside of his land near his home, knowing that the grapes would take a few years to produce usable fruit. He joined the North Carolina Wine Growers Association and knew about the time it took to obtain licenses to sell his wine.

Three years ago Steve built a building on his land to house a tasting room and another room to produce the wine. He has an office in the back room where he mixes wines and tastes the product.

Carboys full of aging vino made from St. Croix and Catawba grapes, along with many others, sit on racks, and there is a large bucket of crushed grapes readying for the next stage of fermentation.

56

High Country Magazine

His tasting room’s location, which will have an entrance off Highway 105, should be a prime location for tourists.

“It’s in a tourist area where people are looking to do things like this and go out and spend their money and take

December 2010

home something from the mountains,” Steve said.

The tasting room, complete with a 17-foot bar made of white oak, is almost ready to open, but Steve needs some product to sell. He’s making wine, but it isn’t ready yet. His hope is to open sometime next year.

A friend of his who has a winery in a more out-of-the-way location in North Carolina sold 450 cases last year.

“If that’s any gauge, we should easily be able to double that and then some,” said Steve. “Maybe 1,000 or 1,500 cases. We’re going to have to have the product.”

There’s a High Country Wine Growers Association that has at least 30 members, Steve said, and he can buy grapes from them when needed to produce wine. There’s also the option of buying wine from others vineyards and putting his label on it.

Cold weather can be a problem for the grapes that Steve is growing, but as long as he doesn’t have a frost in April, the vines should produce lots of fruit. That wasn’t a problem from ’03 to ’08, but the grapes were hampered in ’09 by frost.

Steve, who homebrewed his own beer for a while, isn’t the only Tatum working the winery. His son Dylan studied viticulture at Surry Community College and is currently studying business at Appalachian State.

“I want him to be here and work this place,” Steve said. “He knows as much about this place as I do.”

w

“We’ll do anything— we’ll do one window or the whole house.”

Sally Tatum

In the basment of the gallery is where Steve Tatum builds his custom furniture. Tatum Galleries began years ago as a place to sell Steve’s items but has evolved into much more.

O

ur 30 years of log home industry experience gives us the unique ability to mesh your lifestyle needs with a quality log and structural heavy timber design to create the perfect log home for you.

Give us the opportunity to bring your log home dream to life.

Call us at (800) 564-8496 for more info or an appointment to show you first hand our products and workmanship.

2999 US Hwy 221 NortH JefferSoN, NC 28640 (800) 564-8496 www.LogSAmeriCA.Com iNfo@LogSAmeriCA.Com

Oohs

and

Aahs

come standard in our log homes December 2010

High Country Magazine

57

“Sally has always had very good taste.

That’s probably what has made this store do so well over the years.”

Steve Tatum

Most of the employees at Tatum Galleries have worked there for years. Employees of the business are: (left to right, standing) Mikalla Shepherd,Steve Tatum, Summer Hays, Josh Story and Tracy Moore, and (left to right, sitting) Sally Tatum, Jesse Rose Blalock, Kelly Rucker and Salvadore Mondragon.

Before opening Tatum Galleries, the Tatums were in the ski business. Sally, who is originally from Charlotte and has an education degree, met Steve when they both worked for French-Swiss Ski College. Steve, who went to high school in Burlington, was a member of Beech Mountain’s Ski Patrol for 20 years.

The two moved to the area in the early ‘70s, met and got married in 1978. Steve graduated from Appalachian State with a degree in industrial education, primarily woodworking.

“But I never taught,” he said. “I got a good deal on a woodshop that was closing up, so I bought it and started doing woodwork.”

His furniture became so popular 58

High Country Magazine

that they needed more room and more furniture, so the Tatums figured out a way to fix both problems. They found some land and built a new shop, which is their current location at 5320 Highway 105 in Banner Elk. That helped make more space for furniture but didn’t help Steve build it quicker. To fix that, the couple began looking for other companies who specialized in making solid wood furnishings. Now they sell pieces from North Carolina, Georgia, West Virginia and other places in the stores.

“Steve couldn’t make furniture fast enough, so we had to start buying solid wood pieces,” Sally said.

December 2010

Need For More Space

As the business grew, the shop had to also. When more showroom floor was needed, Steve’s woodworking shop was moved to the basement.

It’s still there now, but he’s not as active as he once was. A few years ago Steve got into making wine, and he currently grows grapes and plans to open Grandfather Vineyard and Winery in the coming months. Because of this, he has help in the shop. Salvador Mongragon has been with the Tatums for six years and builds a lot of the furniture with Steve’s help.

“We make mostly custom furniture,” Steve said. “We do have some pieces on the floor, but not too many.”

He has a highboy and lowboy, which are similar to chests of drawers, along with some hall tables for sale.

“We have a lot of things that a lot of homes need,” said Sally. “We can’t carry everything, but we try to carry the things that are the biggest needs for people.”

Store manager Summer Hayes has been with the business for 14 years and does a lot there. She’s one of the first people who you meet when walking in.

The Tatums had to add on to their store 15 years ago, about the time they were paying off the initial mortgage on the place.

They doubled the size and a few years ago added on a back porch when they began selling Summer Classic outdoor furniture.

They’ve also added a small warehouse, which Josh Story has run for three years, to the side of the building.

When they moved into the current building, customers would come in to look and they’d notice how nice pieces looked together and how well Sally had decorated the rooms. Without meaning to, the Tatums added a new aspect to their business.

“People came in and liked what I did to decorate our showroom and they’d ask me

to come to their house,” Sally said. “I’d go after hours and see what they want to do.”

Decorating Homes

The upstairs room at Tatum Galleries isn’t just another showroom. In the corner are the five lines of upholstery that the gallery uses and in another room are books of wallpaper to choose from.

When someone wants something decorated, there are lots of choices to make and this is the place to start. The gallery had to employ more decorators as business improved, and Sally wasn’t able to keep up with all of it.

Along with Sally and daughter Jesse Rose, decorators Kelly Rucker and Tracy Moore help with the workload.

Customers are asked about their style, what they’d like to redo and about a budget. Some people just want one room redone, while others want the whole house remodeled. Sally once did a home with six bedrooms, two living rooms and a game room where the owners had only a coffee table and end table.

“We try to use what they’ve got, because that’s what I believe in,” Sally said.

“I don’t want to go out there and say, ‘we

can’t use any of this.’ Unless we can’t.”

A lot of their customers are repeats, people who’ve had a room redone and come back years later for others. Many are also seasonal homeowners and Tatum Galleries has decorated homes in other states, too.

“It’s been a major part of our business,” Sally said. “We are a little different from most decorators; well, we’re a lot different from most decorators, because we have the resources. We have the stuff on the floor that we can take off the floor to their house.”

w

SEVEN DEVILS NORTH CAROLINA

The “other” mountain community located off Highway 105 between Boone and Banner Elk. Enjoy tennis, winter activities, the Zip Line or just relax. Our cool summer breezes will refresh and invigorate you!

! e d u t i t l A e v Positi DISCOVER OUR

FOR A BROCHURE OR INFORMATION:

(828) 963-5343

Ad Sponsored by the Seven Devils Tourism Development Authority December 2010

High Country Magazine

59

Story by Amy Fiedler • Photography by Lonnie Webster

Learning to Do, Doing to Learn Johnson County High School Leads the Way in Alternative Agriculture

60

High Country Magazine

December 2010

Terri Evans measures the dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity and temperature in the raceways that hold a total of 25,000 pounds of fish.

H

ands-on learning takes on new meaning for the vocational agriculture students at Johnson County High School in Mountain City, Tennessee. Four students, standing almost shoulder to shoulder in a spotless processing room, expertly wield sharp knives as they filet one fish after another. They are efficient and quick as they filet the fresh tilapia that sits cooling on ice. The students in this program will raise, process and sell approximately 70 tilapia fish per week, or an estimated 25,000 pounds a year.

The tilapia is grown from tank to table in a 9,000-square-foot greenhouse—described as an “intensive-indoor-recirculating aquaculture system that can grow a variety of fish and plants in a symbiotic environment”—that is heated and cooled using geothermal energy. The students sell the fish to the general public directly from the greenhouse for $5 per pound, which is a good deal considering that the current price for Honduras-raised tilapia at local grocery stores is anywhere from $4 to $10 per pound.

According to Tracy Dugger, head of the aquaculture program, local walk-in

business accounts for the majority of sales even though the department would like to eventually sell to nearby restaurants as well. The high school’s state-ofthe-art processing facility will hopefully help make this a reality. He claims what is music to any farmer’s ears: “Our supply can’t meet the demand.”

Vocational agriculture is not a new concept. It began in 1917 with the passage of the Smith-Hughes Act, which provided for federal assistance to states to promote vocational training in public schools in the areas of agriculture, home economics, and trade and industry. At the time, one-third of the U.S. population lived on farms.

Even with studies indicating fewer children are following in their parents’ farming footsteps today, enrollment in the vocational agriculture program at Johnson County High School is at an alltime peak. It is misleading to believe that the only work available in agriculture is traditional farm work. The program description notes that “there are over 300 career fields in agriculture ranging from farming to landscaping to designing farm equipment or greenhouses.”

December 2010

High Country Magazine

61

“Vocational agriculture actually teaches you something.”

- Johnson County High School student

A large number of the students in the program are looking toward a future career in teaching agriculture, a promising indicator given that one of the greatest challenges facing vocational agriculture today is a shortage of qualified agricultural educators. Courses available to freshmen beginning the program are as varied as the industry itself and include agriscience, forestry management, small animal care and even floral design. The program provides students a chance to get hands-on experience in the classroom while “developing leadership skills, work habits and attitudes necessary to any industry.”

“Vocational agriculture actually teaches you something,” one student bluntly stated.

In addition to an aquaculture green62

High Country Magazine

house, the high school is also home to three other greenhouses that also serve as classrooms. One greenhouse boasts a tropical paradise complete with towering banana trees and miniature waterfalls.

Hydroponically grown vegetables available year round are what some say may be the “wave of the future”. The hydroponic greenhouse can produce on 1/5 of an acre what it would what it would take multiple acres to achieve using more traditional farming methods. Hydroponic greenhouses don’t require tractors or other large farm machinery, and the days of depending on the weather’s effects on outdoor crops are over.

Students hone their marketing skills as they help facilitate direct sales out of the greenhouse during the school year and summer, selling an estimated 200 pounds

December 2010

Left and middle: Erik Arnold, Sierra Harry and Wayne Nave tend to tomato plants in the greenhouse.

Above right: Kayla Potter, a junior in the vocational agriculture program, harvests hydroponic cucumbers in the aquaculture greenhouse.

Tracy Dugger, head of the aquaculture program, says that the students “can’t filet enough fish to meet the demand.”

December 2010

High Country Magazine

63

Tracy Dugger assists Elizabeth Dugger as she catches tilapia that were placed in the purge tank 24 hours prior to being fileted.

64

High Country Magazine

December 2010

Jean McEwen uses lettuce grown in the Johnson County High greenhouse in the school’s cafeteria.

M ill R idge

P.O.A, Inc.

VACATION R EN TA L S Open all Year

“A High Country Resort Community” Close to all attractions, shopping,

of produce each week. People line out the door to buy the best-seller: $2-per-pound tomatoes. In an remarkable example of truly keeping it local, the hydroponic vegetables are not only sold to the community but are also provided to the school cafeteria and served on the daily lunch menu. The money generated from these sales goes directly back to the school and

to the school’s chapter of the National FFA (Future Farmers of America) Organization. Products for sale include tilapia, koi, goldfish, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, mums, poinsettias, vegetable and bedding plants and hanging baskets.

A large percentage of the vocational agriculture students are also members of the school’s National FFA Organization

Banner Elk Winery The High Country’s Premier Winery

Open for Wine Tasting and Tours Tuesday through Sunday Noon - 6 p.m.

Closed Monday

restaurants and ski slopes

Swimming Pool • Tennis Courts

Hwy 105 in Foscoe 229 Clubhouse Dr. Banner Elk, NC 28604

828-963-4900 Fax 828-963-4925 www.millridgeresorts.com

From the light in Banner Elk 1 1/2 miles North to Gualtney Rd. Turn left 1/4 mile

828.898.9090 or 828.260.1790 www.BannerElkWinery.com December 2010

High Country Magazine

65

Harvey Harvey Burniston Burniston teaches teaches vocational vocational agriculture agriculture at at Johnson Johnson County County High High School School in in Mountain Mountain City, City, Tennessee.

Tennessee. He He has has received received aa variety variety of of awards, awards, including including the the National National Agriscience Agriscience Teacher Teacher of of the the Year, Year, and and was was named named to to the the USA USA Today Today All-USA All-USA Teacher Teacher Team Team where where he he was was honored honored for for “changing “changing society, society, one one student student at at aa time.” time.”

66

High Country Magazine

December 2010

Enrollment in the vocational agriculture program at Johnson County High School is at an all-time peak.

Mark Ward demonstrates how to filet tilapia fish in the school’s state-of-the art processing facility. Students are responsible for raising, processing and selling the tilapia, which is sold at the high school’s greenhouse every day from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

chapter, which has twice been honored as the state Program of the Year by the National Association of Agriculture Educators. Founded a few years after the vocational agriculture program, FFA now has more than 523,309 members belonging to chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Nationwide, 34 percent of National FFA Organization members live in urban/suburban areas, 39 percent live in rural non-farm areas and 27 percent live in rural farm areas.

The organization is not restricted to farming and animals, or, as the saying goes, “It’s more than cows, plows and sows.” Members can expect to actively learn meaningful life skills that are useful on or off the farm. Students are eager to share some of the organization’s benefits, which include building a strong work ethic, assistance in preparing for college

and development of public speaking and leadership skills.

“I have been very lucky to develop lifelong skills that will last me a lifetime,” said Hannah Dugger, chapter vice president.

In a modest classroom decorated with inspirational, handwritten quotes such as “It is your Attitude not your Aptitude that determines your Attitude in life,” Harvey Burniston, a teacher for almost three decades, discusses the vocational agriculture program. He is friendly, non-assuming and eager to answer any questions.

Harvey prophesizes that hydroponics is “the small family farm of the future.”

He points out that despite the economic crisis, sales from the greenhouses are thriving.

“People buy more plants now; we have sold out of all vegetable plants for the past two years,” Harvey said. He believes it is

December 2010

High Country Magazine

67

An Award-Winning Educator Vocational agriculture teacher Harvey Burniston’s inspirational career in education has garnered him a number of regional, state and national awards, including: • National Association of Agriculture Educators State Teacher of the Year • National Agriscience Teacher of the Year • USA Today All-USA Teacher Team • U.S. Forest Service National Leadership Award • Johnson County Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year

Facts from the FFA Following are statistics provided on the website of the National FFA (Future Farmers of America Organization.

• The FFA has 523,309 members in 7,487 chapters in all 50 states, Puerto

Rico and the Virgin Islands.

• 38 percent of FFA members are female • Collectively, FFA members earn more than $4 billion annually through their hands-on work experience • Agriculture is the nation’s largest employer with more than 24 million peo-

ple working in some phase • FFA members learn advanced career skills in 51 national proficiency areas ranging from food science and technology to agricultural communications to wildlife management to production agriculture

Olde

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BUYING, SELLING, OR INVESTING IN REAL ESTATE, CONTACT

est. 1919

Sundries

TODD A. RICE BROKER / REALTOR

BLUE RIDGE REALTY & INVESTMENTS, LLC

Sugar Top

NOW IS THE TIME FOR ACTION!

Resort Sales

“Step back in time… Walk along the worn wooden floor and plunk yourself down at one of the two J-shaped counters...” ~New York Times

HOMES , LAND , STUDENT HOUSING , COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

877/ 962-1986 LOCAL : 828/ 263-8711 MOBILE : 828/ 773-9491 EMAIL : TRice@BRRI.net www.ToddRiceRealEstate.com TOLL FREE :

68

High Country Magazine

Dennis Lacey–Broker

Enjoy Breathtaking Views Prices Starting at $149,000

Enjoy one of our daily lunch specials!

Treat yourself to an old fashioned chocolate soda, a real vanilla coke or fresh squeezed orangeade!

December 2010

617 W. King Street 828-264-3766 YOUR PRESCRIPTION FOR A GOOD DAY!

828-898-5226

www.SugarTop.com

303 Sugartop Drive • Sugar Mtn, NC

due to a combination of a poor economy, which means there are more backyard gardeners growing their own food, and a higher level of food safety awareness, meaning people want to know where and how their food is produced.

An award-winning teacher, Harvey has had a huge impact on his students.

Most of them describe him in one word: inspirational. His students say he is the type of teacher who draws the most introverted student from the back corner of the classroom and helps shape her or him into a successful public speaker.

Julia Lipford, the chapter chaplain of the National FFA Organization, said, “He has a gift, a true gift for seeing potential in his students. He brings out the best in everyone.” Harvey laughs as he says the leadership class he teaches is filled with “top-notch students who keep you on your toes.”

An early winter chill hangs in the air and the vocational agriculture greenhouses are still producing foot-long cucumbers, aromatic basil and dill, and buttery bibb lettuce. These students are living up to their organization’s motto: “Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.”

Products for Sale Products currently for sale at the Johnson County High School Greenhouse include: Lettuce Cucumbers

Cherry Tomatoes (Beefsteak tomatoes ready after Christmas) Poinsettias Tilapia Filets For more information, call the greenhouse at 423-727-2670 or the aquacenter at 423-727-2693.

w

Banner Elk Realty “THE ONLY NAME YOU NEED TO KNOW IN MOUNTAIN REAL ESTATE”

Curtis R. Page, DDS, PA

When you get serious about wanting superior, knowledgeable service in buying or selling real estate in our beautiful High Country, then contact Banner Elk’s oldest full time brokerage firm. Put 30 years experience in our local real estate market to work for you!

We are committed to professional service.

John D. Davis, III Owner/Broker

30

YEARS

828.898.9756

PO Box 336, 415 Shawneehaw Ave Banner Elk, NC 28604 Downtown • Beside The Red Caboose www.bannerelkrealty.com

For Adults & Children

Crowns • Bridges • Veneers • Implant Restorations • Cosmetic & Restorative Dentistry

516 NEW MARKET BOULEVARD • BOONE, NC • 828-265-1661 (Located Across From Boone United Methodist Church) December 2010

High Country Magazine

69

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 our advertisers, a most sincere thank you.

All Area Codes are 828 unless noted.

ADVERTISER

PHONE

PAGE

ADVERTISER

PHONE

PAGE

A Cleaner World............................................... 265-1888 ���������������������������� 6

Gems By Gemini.............................................. 295-7700 ������������������������� 28

Abbey Carpet & Floor . .................................... 265-3622 ������������������������� 71

Gladiola Girls................................................... 264-4120 �������������������������� 29

Advanced Realty.............................................. 264-5111 ��������������������������� 5

Green Leaf Services, Inc................................... 737-0308 �������������������������� 71

Antiques on Howard ........................................ 262-1957 �������������������������� 36

Haircut 101...................................................... 262-3324 ������������������������� 43

Appalachian Energy ........................................ 262-3637 ��������������������������� 2

Hawksnest Tubing and Zipline.......................... 963-6561 �������������������������� 15

Appalachian Ski Mtn........................................ 295-7828 ��� Inside Back Cover

Headwaters at Banner Elk, The...................... 866-200-3290 ����������������������� 23

Avery County Humane Society.......................... 733-9265 �������������������������� 71

Jo-Lynn Enterprises, Inc................................... 297-2109 ���������������������������� 2

Banner Elk Realty............................................. 898-9756 ������������������������� 69

Logs America, LLC........................................... 963-7755 ������������������������� 57

Banner Elk WInery............................................ 898-9090 �������������������������� 65

Makoto’s Japanese Steak House & Sushi Bar... 264-7976 �������������������������� 50

Bayou Smokehouse & Grill............................... 898-8952 �������������������������� 51

Manor House Restaurant, The........................... 295-5505 �������������������������� 52

Bear Creek at Linville........................................ 733-5767 ���������������������������� 7

Maple’s Leather Fine Furniture ........................ 898-6110 ������������������������� 42

Beech Mountain Resort.................................... 387-2011 �������������������������� 25

Mast General Store .....................................866-FOR-MAST ������������������������ 9

Best Cellar, The................................................ 295-3466 �������������������������� 52

Mill Ridge........................................................ 963-4900 �������������������������� 65

Bistro, The....................................................... 265-0500 ������������������������� 50

Mountain Construction Enterprises, Inc............ 963-8090 ��������������������������� 2

Blue Ridge Realty & Investments / Todd Rice.... 263-8711 �������������������������� 68

Mountain Land............................................. 800-849-9225 ����������������������� 64

Blue Ridge Vision ........................................... 264-2020 ������������������������� 36

One Venue Range / Jim Watts....................... 843-709-4969 ������������������������� 2

Boone Bagelry................................................. 262-5585 �������������������������� 52

Page Dentistry.................................................. 265-1661 �������������������������� 69

Boone Drug Sundries....................................... 264-3766 �������������������������� 68

Planet Tan........................................................ 262-5721 �������������������������� 35

Boone Mall...................................................... 264-7286 �������������������������� 59

Primo’s............................................................ 355-9800 �������������������������� 50

Café Portofino.................................................. 264-7772 ������������������������� 49

Red Onion Café................................................ 264-5470 �������������������������� 51

Canyons.......................................................... 295-7661 ������������������������� 49

Rustic Rooster.................................................. 898-5161 �������������������������� 37

Carlton Gallery................................................. 963-4288 �������������������������� 13

Seven Devils.................................................... 963-5343 �������������������������� 59

Casa Rustica.................................................... 262-5128 �������������������������� 53

Shannon’s Curtain, Bed & Bath........................ 264-8321 �������������������������� 35

Cha Da Thai..................................................... 268-0439 �������������������������� 50

Shoppes at Farmers Hardware.......................... 264-8801 ������������������������� 11

Dande Lion, The............................................... 898-3566 �������������������������� 37

Ski Country Sports........................................... 898-9786 �������������������������� 11

DeWoolfson Down ...................................... 800-833-3696 ���������������������� 21

Stone Jewelers, The......................................... 264-2000 ���������������������������� 1

Dianne Davant & Associates . .......................... 898-9887 ��Inside Front Cover

Sugar Mountain Resort..................................... 898-4521 ���������������������������� 3

Doe Ridge Pottery............................................ 264-1127 �������������������������� 29

Sugar Top Resort Sales.................................... 898-5226 �������������������������� 68

Echota......................................................... 800-333-7601 ��������� Back Cover

Sunalei Preserve.............................................. 263-8711 �������������������������� 17

Finder’s Keepers Antiques................................ 898-1925 �������������������������� 33

Tatum Galleries & Interiors............................... 963-6466 �������������������������� 41

Fred’s General Mercantile Co........................... 387-4838 ������������������������� 71

Vidalia............................................................. 263-9176 �������������������������� 52

Gaines Kiker..................................................... 295-3992 �������������������������� 43

Watauga Insurance Agency, Inc........................ 264-8291 ������������������������� 13

Gamekeeper..................................................... 963-7400 ������������������������� 52

Watsonatta Western World................................ 264-4540 ���������������������������� 5

70

High Country Magazine

December 2010

Style

FIND YOUR

REFINED

DISTINCTIVE

BOLD

On Sale Now!

LAMINATE

CARPET • HARDWOOD • TILE • LAMINATE 221 Boone Heights Drive • Boone, NC 28607 828-265-3622 • www.abbeycarpet.com David Warren, Store Manager

EVERYTHING YOU’LL NEED FOR FUN ON THE MOUNTAIN.

Fred’s

Mercantile Co. l a r e n e G of business 29 years

Ski Rentals rentals Snowboard Snowboard rentals

Wildbird Supplies Snowsport

accessories Grocery & Deli Sleds

Ski Rentals Hardware

Hardware Clothing WildbirdClothing Supply Grocery & Deli

Sleds

Gifts

KitchenGadgets Gifts Open from 7:30 am to 10:00 pm every day 501 Beech Mountain Parkway • Beech Mountain, NC 828-387-4838 • www.fredsgeneral.com December 2010

High Country Magazine

71

Parting Shot...

By

Todd Bush

Ski Season BIG BUSINESS A

s the cold weather sets in, the start of the ski season is a highly anticipated time for skiers and snowboarders alike, but the value of North Carolina’s ski areas is also felt economically, and not just recreationally.

Research conducted by RRC Associates of Boulder, Co. on behalf of the N.C. Ski Areas Association (NCSAA) found that the North Carolina ski industry had a record season last year—in fact, more people came to the state’s six ski resorts than Carolina Panthers home football games in 2009 (671,554 to 586,000).

This record amount of people contributed to the total economic value of the ski resort industry to North Carolina: $146 million for the period covering the 200910 season.

“The ski industry has grown slightly every year,” said Kim Jochl, president of NCSAA. “It’s not just an industry that’s gone backwards and lost jobs—it continues to be reliable.”

72

High Country Magazine

Total Visits 671,554 Total Revenue $32,526,608 Year-Round Employees 96 Seasonal Employees 1,557 Capital Expenditures $3,341,237

The study takes into account the sum of employment value and capital improvements, along with economic multipliers that include the indirect and induced effects of the industry’s impact. The focus of the analysis was the winter season during which the ski areas operate—mid-November to March— and did not include summer value.

Primary sources of information for the report included surveys of skiers and snowboarders at N.C. ski areas and a survey of the ski area operator, which documented total volume of business, revenue, expenses, days of operation,

December 2010

employment and capital expenditures.

Other findings revealed that total revenue was $32,526,608; year-round employment was 96; seasonal employment was 1,557; total payroll was $8,700,000; and capital expenditures for the N.C. ski industry as a whole were $3,341,237.

The study also included statistics from the Tourism Development Authority occupancy tax collections, supporting lodging expenditures from visiting spending.

These figures are broken down by area, revealing that gross revenue from lodging operations in Boone from November to March of last year sits at $4,447,408; Banner Elk, $1,140,019; Beech Mountain, $2,292,519; Blowing Rock, $2,633,227; and at Sugar Mountain, $2,956,045.

NCSAA members include Appalachian Ski Mountain, Beech Mountain Resort, Cataloochee Ski Area, Sapphire Valley Ski Area, Sugar Mountain Resort and Wolf Ridge Ski Resort.

By Anne Baker

North Carolina’s Only

FLEX TICKET

Your Session Starts When You Do! new Flex Ticket is good for an eight-hour session that *Our begins when you purchase your ticket.

*Expanded night hours beginning at 5:30 p.m. every night.

Late Night Skiing!

ICE SKATING ARENA 12 noon - 2:00pm 2:30pm - 4:30pm 7:00pm - 9:00pm

5:30pm - Midnight Fridays & Saturdays in January & February

*

also Now ber m Dece 0 26-3

*

North Carolina’s Only Burton Progressional Park

November 25 to March 20

JUST OFF US HWY 321 BETWEEN BLOWING ROCK AND BOONE

appskimtn.com

828-295-7828

800-322-2373

appterrainpark.com

December 2010

High Country Magazine

C

IT’S MORE THAN A NEW PHASE OF DEVELOPMENT— IT’S A NEW PHENOMENON. Introducing Chalakee, The Best Echota Yet.

Echota became the most successful community in the history of the High Country with 70-mile views, the perfect location between Boone, Banner Elk and Blowing Rock, and a host of resort-style amenities. Now comes Chalakee, a new community of condominiums and townhomes resting on a dramatic plateau moments from Echota On The Ridge. Views will be incomparable. Interior finishes will dazzle. Surprising features will include built-in grills on spacious decks. One-, three- and four bedroom residences are available with one-bedroom condominiums starting at just $199,900.

Call 800.333.7601 to arrange a visit.

Or visit EchotaNC.com/Chalakee for more information.

C HALAKEE THE BEST E CHOTA YET

Visit our sales office located at Hwy 105 S, the entrance to Echota at 133 Echota Pkwy, Boone, NC. D

High Country Magazine

December 2010