Fall 2012 Tyrrell County’s Country Magazine Published Quarterly
Cover Photo by Neli Lemme
Columbia and Tyrrell County celebrates its community with the 21st annual Scuppernong River Festival. The day kicks off with a Main Street Parade featuring regional businesses, organizations, clubs, schools and more. Enjoy a day FULL of activities - arts & crafts vendors, classic auto show, music & entertainment, canoes & boat tours along the Scuppernong River, youth rides & amusements AND tasteful treats that would please anyone’s pallet. At sunset, watch fireworks on the waterfront and end the day with the concert featuring Terence Lonon & the Untouchables. For more information, contact the Town of Columbia at 252 796-2781 or the Tyrrell County Visitor’s Center at 252 796-0723.
3 small photos from www.townofcolumbianc.com
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Photo by Neli Lemme
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INGRID & NELI LEMME
Quote of the Quarter
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“Columbia will honor its natural, cultural, economic, and human resources while taking advantage of opportunities to develop, grow, and prosper, thus securing an improved and sustained economic future and quality of life for current and future residents.” www.townofcolumbianc.com
DEAR READER
Lady of the Quarter Mrs. Leigh Anne Schreckengost
A School Resource Officer and all around kind and good lady who creates the most beautiful wreath for doors and walls. nnn
Happy 10th Wedding Anniversary Tammy & Eric Brown www.ScuppernongGazette.com
Finally, the Scuppernong Gazette is back! My daughter-in-law & copublisher Neli and I needed some time to heal after my husband and our editor-in-chief Sunny Lemme passed away from cancer 20 month ago. I have traveled a lot since then and finally got to meet Neli’s parents and family in Bulgaria Tammy & Eric took finally a well deserved vacation for their 10th wedding anniversary to Montauk, Long Island, NY with their friends. Eric did a lot of surfcasting and went on a 2-day tuna trip with the Viking Fleet while Tammy spent some time at Gurney’s famous Sea Water Fall 2012
which was a wonderful and educational experience that we like to share with you in this issue as well. We hope that you will send us your stories and photos about Tyrrell County again in the future, as you have done in the past. Wishing ya’ll a wonderful fall! Love, Ingrid and Neli Spa where she enjoyed a massage and a facial.
...On the Board Walk... Couple of the Quarter
Holly & Josh Fassnacht got married September 1st, 2012! Congratulations!
Website of the Quarter
Tyrrell County Online Yard Sale with 472 ‘likes’ shooting for 500 members! On Facebook
Lady of the Quarter
School Resource Officer Leigh Anne Schreckengost
Man of the Quarter
Willy Phillips, the owner of Full Circle Crab Company
www.pocosinarts.org
Business of the Quarter The beautiful “flower power florist & boutique”
Teens of the Quarter
Baby of the Quarter
Josephine Harper Exum. Her happy parents are Russ Exum and Sarah Spear Exum.
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Our Lady Cats Volleyball Team, these girl will be donating $2000 to the American Cancer Society! wwwchs.tyrrell.k12.nc.us
Kid of the Quarter
These kids at the Eastern 4-H Center and Summer Camp! www.eastern4hcenter.org
Business of the Quarter “flower power florist & boutique”
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Photo by Neli Lemme
flower power florist & boutique Unbelievable, how time is flying! The beautiful flower and gift shop “flower power florist & boutique� in downtown Columbia is celebrating already its first anniversary! Congratulations! Hey stop by and register for a change to win one of the weekly door prizes, until the Scuppernong River Festival! Bonita Brickhouse, the owner and florist is with all due respect, a creative lady. It is a pretty shop! This florist & gift shop for all occasions is located at 303 Main St. Columbia, NC 27925, Phone(252) 796-1010!
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Spruill Farm
Spruill Family Home Place Farm Conservation Project likes to DONATE their Spruill family farm for perpetual conservation and some combination of low-impact public access, organic or sustainable farming, ... www.spruillfarm.org
-Jack Spruill
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Photo by Ingrid Lemme
Welcome to Spruill Farm We are deeply committed to a perpetual conservation and low-impact access program for our family land on the South Shore of Albemarle Sound. This land has very special meaning for us, well beyond its having been our Spruill “Home Place� since 94. For all these years its farmers, their families and untold visitors have taken great pride in the diversified crops growing in its rich soil, savored the dusty smell of peanuts being harvested, reminisced and shaded under its pecan trees, marveled at its 00+ year old Scuppernong grape vine, picked figs from its prolific bushes, fished for White Perch or whatever would bite from its shores, waded and splashed in its shallow sound waters been intimidated by the mystery of its wet swamp and been scolded by Osprey nesting in very old Bald Cypress trees growing in chest-deep sound waters. These are experiences we want to share with the generations to come. We are deeply concerned about the fate of our natural world and recognize the value that reconnection with nature provides. To us, these 110 acres with 1,600 feet of sound shore are an amazing outdoor classroom - a place to understand our dependence on the land and waters and to preserve and inspire reverence for the wonders of nature. There is a long tradition of sharing this land and the sound shore with visitors. We want to expand that access and classroom in a perpetual way. The following pages (on the website) should help you understand why and what we are offering.
-Jack Spruill
www.spruillfarm.org
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Megan Lane Photography:
Baby of the Quarter Josephine Harper Exum
“Another baby born this past month ( August) who's Mom and Dad I had the pleasure of photographing their engagement session and wedding! Isn't Miss Harper the cutest?” Harper’s proud parents are Russ Exum and Sarah Spear Exum. www.meganlanephoto.com
Kids of the Quarter We found this photo on the Eastern 4-H Center and Summer Camp Facebook page and since we love Tyrrell County crabs, this is the one! Congratulations Kids of the Quarter! The Eastern 4-H Center is owned by NC State University. The Center hosts youth and adult groups all year and camps during the summer season. www.eastern4hcenter.org
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MEETING NELI’S FAMILY IN BULGARIA I traveled recently to Bulgaria to meet my daughter -in-law (and co-publisher) Neli’s parents and her family for the first time and celebrate Easter with them. Neli’s large family, as well as the majority of the population (76 percent), are Christian Orthodox. Bulgaria’s constitution guarantees religious freedom, but designates Orthodoxy as a "traditional" religion and Easter is a big celebration. It was a wonderful experience getting to know her family and a real adventure to discover her fascinating home country. Since I don’t speak the language, poor Neli had to translate the entire time for my son and myself. Bulgaria is a beautiful country in Southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south and the Black Sea (which is actually of precious turquoise www.ScuppernongGazette.com
blue) to the east. Bulgaria's location was a historical crossroad for various civilizations and as such it is the home of some of the world's most ancient and amazing cultural artifacts. Prehistoric cultures began developing on Bulgarian lands during the Neolithic period. Its ancient history was marked by the presence of the Thracians, and later by the Greeks and Romans. The emergence of a
1878 resulted in the Third Bulgarian State, recognized in 1908. The following years were marked by several conflicts with its neighbors, which prompted Bulgaria to ally with Germany in both World Wars. In 1946 it became a communist republic with a single-party system until 1989, when the Communist Party allowed multi-party elections. After 1990 Bulgaria transitioned to democracy and a market-based economy.
unified Bulgarian ethnicity and state dates back to the First Bulgarian Empire, which dominated most of the Balkans and functioned as a cultural hub for Slavic peoples during the Middle Ages. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for nearly five hundred years. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–
Neli’s father Penko came to Sofia International Airport to get us with his Diesel Jeep®, because we had a lot of luggage. I was as nervous as one can be; meeting Neli’s Dad for the first time - and I think, so was he. Penko drove us for 3 hours through Bulgaria’s precious countryside to their home and business in Radnevo. Radnevo is a small city in southern Bulgaria with a population of over 13,000 and the home of internationally recognized footballer Andrey Zhelyazkov. I don’t know what I expected, but what I found was beyond and then some. Neli’s mother Elena, her sister
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Yordanka and her Grandmother welcomed us with open arms and after we had settled into our bedrooms they started feeding us, for 10 days. Elena baked for us Banitsa, a traditional Bulgarian food prepared by layering a mixture of whisked eggs and pieces of cheese between filo pastry dow that she then baked in a special oven, located in the lower part of their big house. (I gained 5 lbs.) It was a wired feeling meeting the kind and softspoken woman that is Neli’s mother. I had met Neli about 6 years ago for the first time in Montauk and when she married our son in NC, she became ‘my’ daughter. We celebrated Easter somewhere in a little resort in the idyllic hills of Glavan, which we reached after about an hour drive from Radnevo. Here we were served a baked lamb, homegrown vine and Rakia with sweet breads and Banitsa
and huge bowls of salads and www.ScuppernongGazette.com
walnuts, and then some. Bulgarians know how to celebrate Easter! Penko had asked the local teacher Mrs. Slavova to take us all on a history walk on Easter Sunday and to our surprise we found out that her daughter works as an anesthesiologist in a hospital in the city of Wihlemshaven (located on Germany’s northern coast) where my younger son was born. The world is so small! Mrs. Slavova explained that the stonewalls that she pointed to and that were now barely recognizable, were once part of a huge castle hovering above Bulgaria's crossroad for various civilizations. The emergence of a unified Bulgarian ethnicity and state dates back to the First Bulgarian Empire, which dominated most of the Balkans and functioned as a cultural hub for Slavic peoples during the Middle Ages. Bulgaria is home of some of the world's most ancient and amazing cultural Fall 2012
artifacts, of which many are displayed in the new Stara Zagora Museum of History that we visited as well. The teacher is also a beekeeper and she produces the finest organic honey this writer has ever tasted!
On another day we were invited for a family feast at ‘The Mayor’s’ house. Neli’s younger sister’s boyfriend Tihomir Tasev is the mayor of a small Bulgarian country village, with storks breeding on lampposts and all. I took a lot of photos of the storks feeding their little ones in their nest, which they couldn’t understand until Neli explained that we don’t have storks in the US. - ‘So what bird delivers the babies in America?’ continues next page . . .
.... Nearly every house was detached and nearly every garden has a solid fence or a wall around it, with a little red roof to keep the rain off the rendered mud brick construction. One can easily imagine that the gardens will be overflowing with organic produce when harvest time comes around. We learned that for centuries almost every Bulgarian had a garden to feed their family and all of Neli’s family members have gardens as well. They are so lucky; they get to eat their own homegrown vegetables and fruits, including honey, dairy, all kinds of meats and eggs. All gardens have fruit trees, mainly apricot, cherry, peach, apple, pear, plum and perhaps a third of the plot is vineyard. A five hundred lbs of grape harvest is not unusual, used mostly for wine and for ‘Rakia’, an aperitif that is served with these amazing salads that always precedes dinner. I loved the taste and consistency of a battered flat round piece of meat until I found out that I had eaten cow tongue…
Nesebar, which is probably the most famous seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea. Its abundance of historic buildings prompted UNESCO to include Nesebar on its list of World Heritage Sites in 1983. Often referred to as the "Pearl of the Black Sea" Nesebar is a one of the most prominent tourist destinations and seaports on the Black Sea. Nesebar has on several occasions found itself on the frontier of a threatened empire, and as such it is a town with a rich history. The ancient part of the town is situated on a peninsula (previously an island) connected to the mainland by a narrow man-made isthmus, and it bears evidence of occupation by a variety of different civilizations over the course of
One of my favorite excursions was visiting the ancient seaside town of www.ScuppernongGazette.com
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its existence. We visited fascinating outdoor and indoor museums explaining the more than three millennia of everchanging history of the area. Neli’s roommates from college met us in Nesebar so they could see and hug her again and meet her American family. Neli had studied at the university of Varna, which is the largest city on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast and commonly referred to as the marine (or summer) capital of Bulgaria. Neli’s Dad took us all for a wonderful lunch with a breathtaking view over the Black Sea and we ate huge salads and tiny fried fish, which tasted like the turquoise sea they came from. ~ Ingrid Lemme
Couple of the Quarter Holly & Josh Fassnacht
Holly & Josh Fassnacht got married September 1st, 2012 at Holly's parents house in Kilkenny, NC. The groom's parents are Scott Fassnacht and Edwinna Sexton of Columbia, NC. The bride's parents are Jack and Ellen Cahoon of Kilkenny, NC. Josh's father, Scott Fastnacht was the best man and Holly's mother, Ellen Cahoon the maid of honor. Adam Cahoon, Holly's older brother took all the wedding photos and members of the family and friends cooked a delicious wedding fest for about 150 guests. Holly and Josh, who both went to Columbia High-school, love the outdoors, hunting and fishing and reside in Kilkenny.
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Photo by Adam Cahoon
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Photo by Neli Lemme
Old Salt Oyster Bar Scott McLaughlin, a native of Tyrell County who purchased the old Ben Franklin Store, decided he wanted to open an oyster bar here in the building. Scott had envisioned a bar in the middle of the restaurant that would almost run the length of the room 90 ' of bar total. Scott, John (my husband) and myself, worked together to create the interior design which is almost completed. We exposed the original brick walls, the original wood floors and dressed up the tin ceilings to create an amazing appeal. My husband John is the craftsman who constructed all the interior work on the building. I am the General Manager of the restaurant. John and I (Northern Kentucky natives) have lived in the Outer Banks area for 12 years now. Old Salt Oyster Bar will offer oysters, seafood, steak, chicken, pasta and salads. It will feature a full bar. We are hoping to open sometime in November or possibly December. We would like to attract people from all over eastern North Carolina and want to offer a relaxing atmosphere with a small town welcome.
Shari Crail,
General Manager Old Salt Oyster Bar
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Man of the Quarter: Willy Phillips Willy Phillips, the owner of Full Circle Crab Company, Inc runs a clean seafood wholesale, retail and take-out business, specializing in local products. He is a highly respected member of his community. His business packs and sells thousands of bushels of local crabs, soft shell crabs, all kinds of fish and oysters in season. He also carries tackle and bait and issues the new salt water fishing licenses. His storefront offers a large variety of whole local fish and filets, the famous smoked shrimp and the to-die-for bacon & crabmeat wrapped jumbo shrimps. You also may find local produce like the famous Mattamuskeet sweet onions and grapes and during
the winter month he sells the freshest and finest local oysters. Recently Mr Sidney pulled up in his tractor for a cooked to order seafood lunch at Full Circle's roadside seafood kitchen. Willy ( < photo on the left, he is the person on the right with a light blue shirt ) said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We don't care how you get here, pull in for a delicious, fresh seafood meal.....Full Circle......every day.â&#x20AC;? - Willy and Full Circle gives back! The NC Coastal Federation's motto is "No Wetlands, No Seafood". To help celebrate the Federation's 30th birthday and in appreciation of all of their work to keep NC waters clean and productive, Full Circle provided, fresh, hot, and delicious seafood at their event in Manteo. Willy is married to Feather Phillips, founder and executive director, Pocosin Arts. Say hello to Mr. Phillips at the Full Circle Crab Company, located at 1366 Highway 64 East Columbia, NC - Phone: 252 796 9696 www.fullcircleseafood.com www.ScuppernongGazette.com
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Willy Phillips says on his website: The first boat I named Full Circle was a boat I found abandoned in the marsh up Bath Creek. It was built by an old boat builder from Pamlico Beach, Wilson Foster, who could build a skiff in a day, and a deadrise in a week. The boat had been abandoned because it was worn out and not worth the effort to repair. I was short on money so I replaced stem, transom, bottom boards, and put in a new air cooled Briggs & Stratton cast iron 9 hp, and made it into a crab boat. The Briggs and Stratton had no clutch so when you cranked her up she went. I used that boat for a couple of years trot lining for crabs in Bath Creek. Then I built the second boat named Full Circle. She was all juniper with a deep deadrise in the entry and a flat skiff run aft. She had a 25hp Evinrude, and then a 40 hp Mariner. On the Pamlico I would trot line for crabs in the morning and keep the small crabs (no laws then) for my eel pots in the afternoon. The eels would be sold and some kept to be salted for my crab trotline for the next morning. That’s one full circle-crabs for eels, eels for crabs. When fishing crab pots, the boats turned in a circle over the pots, because we pulled by hand, and remember my boat didn’t have neutral, so that’s the second full circle. But the third and most important had to deal with the circle of life in which I was privileged to participate.. There was a song when I was coming up called “Will the Circle be Unbroken”, combining the southern rockabilly of the time with the old blue grass masters. It was this translation to life that helped inspire the name Full Circle: taking the experience and practical wisdom of the older fishermen and boat builders to make a successful career out of fishing. In regards to the business, one of our core philosophies is that by keeping people connected to their food source they will pay more attention to the health of the resource upon which that food depends. So water quality/habitat issues become more than an abstraction, they are a measure of the richness that nature can provide. Full Circle Crab Company employs 10-20 local people, buys from 100 fishermen over the year, supplies food to thousands of locals and tourists alike, and slips in the not so subtle connection to our responsibilities to be a good neighbor, and to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. “The circle of life – may it ever be full.” Willy Phillips, Owner Full Circle Crab Company and Seafood Market www.fullcircleseafood.com
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Decima et Quinta Decima Modo Typi Join Pocosin Arts and visiting artist, Beth Ireland, Saturday, November 3rd for a day of turning, carving and cooking using historic pecan wood from the site of Pocosin Arts new Scuppernong Riverside Lodge and education facility. About the guest artist: Since 1983 Beth has specialized in architectural and artistic woodturning. She has taught workshops throughout the U.S. with venues including Massachusetts College of Art, The Center For Furniture Craftsmanship, Anderson Ranch, Arrowmont, Peters Valley Craft Center, The Brookfield Center, and The Connecticut School of Woodworking to name a few. She has produced her own video, Turning Outside the Box, and was a guest star in two episodes of Cultivating Life, originally produced for PBS. She has also traveled extensively throughout the U.S. in her van that contains a mini workshop and personal living space, teaching wood handcraft. For more about Beth visit: www.turningaroundamerica.com and www.bethireland.net Want to participate in the fun? Turning participants will need to bring their own mini lathe or to carve bring your own carving tools or you may just want to observe. Participation is limited to 10 turners and 10 carvers. Registration is $35 and includes wood and dinner. Call Pocosin Arts at 252-796-2787 by October 22nd to reserve your space. www.pocosinarts.org Need a Place to stay? The Brickhouse Inn, is a short walk to Pocosin Arts and is located at 415 Main Street, Columbia, NC 27925 Phone: (252) 766-3333 The Dalton House Inn, less than a five minute drive from Pocosin Arts is located at 109 Ramp Rd, Columbia, NC 27925 Phone: (252) 796-0381 Pettigrew State Park, about a 15-minute drive from Pocosin Arts is located at 2252 Lake Shore Road, Creswell, NC 27928 It features family campgrounds, drive-to campsites. Each campsite has a picnic table and grill. For reservations call 877-722-6762 www.ScuppernongGazette.com
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Breakfast at Columbia Crossing Columbia Crossing Restaurant & Good Times Tavern is located in the heart of Columbia, NC and Neli and I went there one morning for breakfast, and a good breakfast it was. This relatively new restaurant (opened in 2009), located across the street from the Tyrrell County Visitor Center on the main stretch, offers also lunch and dinner as well as live music, karaoke, and other entertainments at the tavern. Breakfast was delightful!
Our host was the lovely Ms. Cassy Waters who invited us to have a seat anywhere we liked and within notime we had our first cup of freshly brewed coffee in front of us. Neli and I both ordered Veggie Omelettes with bacon, and were happy we did.
Columbia Crossing Restaurant and Good Times Tavern 306 Scuppernong Drive, Columbia, NC 27954 Phone: 252-796-1300
“FROM DIRT TO SHIRT” The Partnership for the Sounds is now carrying a specially designed t-shirt made in North Carolina entirely out of organic cotton grown in North Carolina.
These one-of-a-kind shirts cost $20, and are available exclusively at the North Carolina Estuarium, the Roanoke/Cashie River Center, and Partnership facilities in Columbia. For more information please call the Partnership for the Sounds 252-796-1000. www.partnershipforthesounds.org
Bearing the PfS-exclusive slogan “deliver us from weevils” on the back, the shirts offer a unique way to support both the Partnership and sustainable North Carolina agriculture. All the cotton for the shirts was grown organically in central and eastern North Carolina, and the shirt maker, TS Designs, is located in Burlington, NC. Each shirt even has a code printed on it that allows you to trace its path “from dirt to shirt” – or all the miles it covered on its way from field to gin to thread to cloth to final product. These tees traveled less than 750 total miles before reaching the Partnership, which is a remarkably short journey for an article of commercial clothing. Join the Partnership in promoting sustainable agriculture and North Carolina-based business! www.ScuppernongGazette.com
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COTTON GROWN ORGANICALLY IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA
www.ibxhotline.org
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ADVERTISING WORKS! SCUPPERNONG Gazette 436 Bridgepath Road Columbia, NC 27925 252-796-4513 www.ScuppernongGazette.com email NeliLemme@gmail.com
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