Bryson City Magazine

BRYSONMagazine CITY Free

October / November 2019

We’re Off OUR ADVENTURE AWAITS

CULTURE | SEASONAL FLAIR | COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS | GRUB1

WHAT IS CROSSFIT?

CrossFit is a training methodology that brings intensity and variety to functional fitness. Intensity is relative to your current fitness level. Friends, family, peers, and total strangers can all workout together. Movements are specialized to each individual. Anyone can participate.

Functional movements from: •Gymnastics •Olympic Weightlifting •Rowing •Running and more!

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CONTACT JAMA & AMY ANDERS AT CROSSFIT2232@GMAIL.COM OR MESSAGE ON FACEBOOK AT CROSSFIT 2232

What will you find at CrossFit 2232?

2232 offers hour long coach-led classes for all ages and fitness levels.

The coach starts with a discussion of the workout and does a demonstration of the movements, answers questions, and provides movement options Everyone will warm up together, set up, and then workout together. CrossFit 2232 has five coaches (three male and two female) and an open arm group of individuals from every background. At CrossFit 2232 you always have a coach, the programming is done for you, and the community support is unrivaled.

S

hopping is always a good idea!

Not your ordiNary geNeral store.

115 Everett St, Bryson City (828) 488-8010

Loose moose Souvenirs, gear & local goods 190 Everett St, Bryson City

(828) 488-8626

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Hello

Ashley and her husband Brian live in Bryson City with their two boys Evan, 13 & Owen, 8. A typical boy mom, she chases sports and school activities.

She has a passion for Swain County and pretty things.

I don’t know about you, but there is just something about fall that seems like a fresh start. Kids are back in school, routines come back in check, and I tend to reset and get back into the groove. Maybe that’s why this seemed like a perfect time to launch the magazine. Besides the fact that it is my favorite time of the year, I can’t think of a more picturesque setting to launch. We are full steam ahead, or as the cover mentions, “We’re Off.” Someone recently asked why I decided to take on the magazine and I chuckled and said, “because things are changing.” If seven years ago you would have told me that I could sit on the corner of Everett and Main, have a cold cider and eat dinner from a food truck, I would have laughed at you.

There is no denying that our little community has changed.

But the constant is how grateful I am that this is my home.

So whether you are a local, a seasonal resident, or just a visitor, I hope that you look around, enjoy the fresh air and find peace in the beauty that is Bryson City.

Ashley Butcher, Publisher

On the cover

We are loving it

John & Nina Crisp cruise in their 1967 Chevelle Super Sport on the Road to Nowhere.

Swain Football!

Photograph: Terry Bradley 4

Nothing says fall in Swain County like catching a game under the lights on a Friday night. ( Or in the sun on those early Saturday morning games.)

Contents BAEO, LLC Bryson City Magazine Address | 300 Everett Street Bryson City, NC 28713 Phone | (828)788-2020 Publishers, Accounts & Advertising Brian & Ashley Butcher brysoncitymag@gmail.com

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Cover Story | Let’s Go Culture | Stickball

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Contributors Tony Fortier- Bensen Terry Bradley Jim Casada Melissa Erzo Bryan Malloch Leslie Lossiah Sneed

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GIVE ME MORE Seasonal Flair | An Ode’ to October

Grub We

Visit us online at brysoncitymagazine.com or follow us on social media.

| On Wheels

facebook.com/Bryson-City-Magazine instagram.com/brysoncitymag

18 Community Connection | Let’s talk ...................................20 Let’s Get Social | Social media highlights ..........................22 Must Do | Local top stops & events...................................24 Up Next | Family Ties........................................................28

For more information about Bryson City Magazine or advertising rates please email or call (828) 788-2020.

brysoncitymag@gmail.com 5

P6 hoto: Terry Bradley

Adventurtes

COVER STORY

Awai

Take a drive with Melissa Erzo on mountain roads that sooth the soul.

T

here’s nothing quite like the experience of driving through the beauty of God’s Country, here in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

So many hidden treasures lie within the roads that lead to them. Imagine feeling the wind in your hair, the sunshine beaming down on you, the feel of the curves swirling and inclined as you travel up, up, up and arrive at a beautiful, cascading waterfall or a breathtaking view of the Great Smokies. This is much more than imagination.

Here, it is a reality.

Whether you are headed up to the Road to Nowhere on Fontana Road, which has an amazing view of the head of Fontana Lake, nestled among mountains and trees, or headed out to the Cherohala Skyway, a 43-mile National Scenic Byway and National Forest Scenic Byway that connects Tellico Plains, Tennessee, to Robbinsville, to take in the breathtaking showers of stars high upon a mountain top, you will never know what adventures lie ahead through the twists and turns.

I cannot tell you the therapeutic value of driving down a winding road and listening to those good ol’ country songs that help you process and let go of your woes.

The value of heading out to your favorite “spot” and just taking it all in or, one of our favorite past times, catching a big fish with the nightcrawlers you got from “Jack’s” (Great Smoky Mountain Bait and Tackle) is priceless.

Surrounded by water, from rushing rivers of the Tuckaseegee to Deep Creek to lakes like Fontana or Bear, its hard to find a road that doesn’t take you to breathtaking landscape.

Continued on Page 8

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Cover Story | We’re Off

On a personal note...

• WALK INS

• FAMILIES WELCOME

• WELLNESS PROGRAMS 709 MAIN STREET, BRYSON CITY, NC 28713 smokymtnchiropractic.com

828-488-9033

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For me, these mountains hold many memories, ranging from a difficult childhood, to the joy of learning how to drive and pulling off a 3 point turn in a church parking lot to be able to get my license. The many nights spent with friends after we got that first taste of freedom and our own vehicles, heading down to Lake Fontana to build a fire and swim underneath the light of the moon. The miles and memories are scattered with a few too many tear-filled car rides with my grandmother to come pick me up on some random mountain road because of my addictions.

Sometimes life deals a hard hand; I am forever grateful for these roads that have held my hand and continue to heal me.

These days the curves carry me to church on Sunday mornings, to yard sales, jobs, school functions, you name it. I know Balsam Mountain curves almost better than anywhere else because of the trips I’ve taken with folks to get the help they need with their addictions. I hope those miles helped them find their own strength to recover and live a better life. I’ve had laughter and tears throughout the miles and I would not trade any of the memories. These are the roads that no matter how far I ran, always led me home and helped to shape me through experience, into who I am today.

So much adventure awaits.

Hit the road and start making your own lasting memories, today!

“These curves

have carried me...”

Cutting Edge Studio

BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

828-736-2908

Photo: Terry Bradley

705 MAIN S TREET•BRYSON CIT Y

@kamistylist

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CULTURE l l a b k c i t S

Fall ball has a little different meaning in Swain County. Tony Fortier- Bensen takes a shallow dive into the history and culture of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ tradition of stickball.

Photo: Leslie Lossiah Sneed

ABOVE: Washakie Postoak running towards the goal with the ball, while blocker Israel Rodriguez tackles an opponent. Driver, Michael Slee looks on to ensure no foul play occurs.

Slee holds a hickory switch which is used to switch the player if a foul play occurs or if “Woye” is called and is not being acknowledged.

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O

n a grassy open field, two teams stand on the far sides of the field facing each other. The players walk slowly and menacingly towards each other, yelling war chants and imposing pre-game rituals and hexes on the other team. Once both teams reach each other, rules are discussed and the game starts.

This is the beginning of one of the oldest sports and a tradition passed down for generations among the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. It’s called stickball.

Nicknamed “Little Brother of War,” stickball is a sport that’s uniquely Cherokee, and it’s still played the same way it was long ago.

There’s no protective equipment; players wear nothing but shorts. The only game equipment is a hickory stick with a leather scoop at the end of it, poles at opposite ends of a field, and a ball made of leather or sinew.

There are very few rules and limited fouls also known as “Woye.” Players hit, bruise, punch, kick, knock down and do almost anything to prevent their opponents from advancing the ball and scoring points. First to 12 points wins.

Culture | Stickball In the past, the game was a way to settle tribal disputes as a last resort before going to war. Nowadays, it’s a sport that stirs up pride, teaches sportsmanship, and connects the players spiritually to their past ancestors.

The game is so ingrained in Cherokee culture that it grows from child to adult for Cherokee boys and serves as a passage to manhood.

As a child, they play it as a part of school games. When they get older, they play exhibitions before they play it seriously as grown men with hard bruising and brutality.

One player said stickball gives the Cherokee players a “sense of culture and community and belonging that is authentically, 100 percent, their own sport.”

Many people compare stickball to lacrosse, a fair comparison since stickball is the forebearer to the modern game.

However, there are some differences between the two games.

For one, stickball has barely any equipment and only few rules. Stickball rules vary among the teams and game to game, and some of them are even kept secret and only known between players.

The biggest stage in stickball, akin to the College Football Playoff, will be at the 107th Annual Cherokee Indian Fair on October 8th-12th in a battle between the EBCI regions of Wolftown, Painttown, Big Cove and Birdtown. All battles are held at the Cherokee Indian Fair Grounds. For more information about the Cherokee Indian Fair and festivities visit visitcherokeenc.com.

Those who come out to watch can expect some battering, some bruising and some tough hits, but most importantly, they’ll see one of the oldest sports played in its truest form.

PICK UP & DELIVERY

200 MAIN STREET BRYSON CITY, NC 28713 | PHONE: 828-506-5245 | WWW.THECHARLESTONBC.COM

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Photo: Bryan Malloch

”It’s mountain woodlands painted by a masterful brush ...”

AN ODE TO

OCTOBER IN THE HIGH COUNTRY

Seasonal Flair

A native son of the Smokies who grew up in Bryson City, Jim Casada is a long-established freelance writer with thousands of articles and numerous books to his credit. To receive his free monthly e-newsletter, order any of his books, or get information on his forthcoming memoir, A Smokies Boyhood and Beyond: Mountain Musings and Memories, contact him at jimcasada@ comporium.net or visit www.jimcasadaoutdoors.com.

Longtime natives of Bryson City, Swain County, or indeed any portion of western North Carolina will readily recognize the name John Parris. For an amazing span of forty-two years he wrote a thrice-weekly column, “Roaming the Mountains,” for the Asheville Citizen-Times.

He knew the mountains intimately and wrote from the perspective of an individual who was not only IN the mountains but was OF the mountains. One of his distinguishing literary traits involved writing pieces which captured the flavor of a season, and what follows is in part a tribute to his memory, something of an adaptation of a style he often used, and a tribute to October in the Smokies as I have known it from boyhood onward.

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ctober is fodder in the field waiting to be stripped, corn to be pulled for storage in the crib, and pumpkins dotting that field like splashes of orange scattered

by fairies.

It’s leather britches dried and ready to store; October beans pulled and ready to thresh.

It’s pumpkins, kushaws, candy roasters, and butternut squash, all gathered and stored.

They hold rich promise of pies and other treats in months to come.

It’s pantry shelves groaning with the bounty of summer and the quiet satisfaction of knowing that a summer of hard work has produced a comfortable buffer against the coming hard times of winter.

It’s the juicy tang of a Golden Delicious apple—cool, crisp, and providing tasty fare beyond compare.

It’s juice oozing from cane as the traditions of molasses making are renewed yet again, yellow jackets half drunk from feasting on the skimmings, and kids savoring a sampling of syrup as it nears finished perfection.

It’s molasses on the family table, wonderfully paired with home-churned butter to give a hot

cathead biscuit a college education.

October belongs not only to the farm and garden, for it is a month giving welcome relief from summer ‘s hard work through the ageless joys of hunting. This is the time of the aptly named hunter’s moon, a golden-orange orb which, in its gibbous fullness, seems so large when first clearing the eastern horizon one feels a long reach would let you touch it.

It’s a wide-racked old buck, neck swollen with the rut, easing along a woodlands trail while a hunter hopes against hope shifting winds don’t betray his presence.

It’s bushytails working high up in those golden sentinels of autumn, hickory trees, raining nut hulls to the forest floor in staccato-like regularity.

It’s a youthful hunter, carrying a little .410 shotgun passed down from his grandfather, sitting atop a log with barely contained excitement as he waits for a squirrel to show itself for a clear shot.

It’s that same boy roaming in the gloaming, a brace of squirrels in his pocket and a chest bursting with pride at having done it all on his own. He whistles or sings as he walks by a graveyard on the way home, or shivers involuntarily at the Continued On eerie eight-note call of a barred owl. He Page 16 13

Enjoy th

WITH SCE

October

The leaves will be turning this October and the pumpkins will be ready to be carved! The PEANUTS™ gang returns to the GSMR Pumpkin Patch this October. Ready for some family fun? PEANUTS™ The Great Pumpkin Patch Express returns to the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad for 2019! The excursions, which are themed after Charles M. Schulz’s classic story “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” will be departing from the Bryson City Depot in October of 2019!

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gsmr.com

the Ride

SCENIC TRAIN EXCURSIONS YEAR ROUND!

November

All Aboard THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride! This memorable journey will take you on an incredible journey! Believe in the magic this Holiday season!

800-872-4681 • gsmr.com

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Seasonal Flair | Ode to October knows there ain’t haints but nonetheless takes comfort as sounds he produces break the silence and soothe his worries.

It’s a hook-jawed male brown trout on the prowl, answering the ages’ old call to spawn in late fall.

It’s a fleeting glimpse and thumping heart as a pound of feathered dynamite in the form of a grouse takes flight from beneath your feet as you walk an old logging road.

It’s a hen turkey and her brood of half-grown poults busily working the edge of a remote pasture as they feast on grasshoppers chilled and stilled by the morning dew.

It’s a young boy and his doting grandfather searching patiently for a perfect dogwood fork from which to make a slingshot.

October is the benison of fresh venison, grilling over the coals and carrying the hunter and his family longingly back into a world we have largely lost as they celebrate a successful hunt by consuming nature’s rich bounty.

It’s squirrel and dumplings on the country table. This dish, long an important part of mountain culinary culture, is often served with baked sweet potatoes, so loaded with goodness that sugar oozes from them to offer a caramelized smell of indescribable wonder, on the side. Joining them will be a mess of greens cooked with several pieces of streaked meat and bits of turnip chopped amongst them, along with a bowl of freshly cooked apples, and a dish of pinto beans with chowchow to complete the feast.

It’s wandering through a sere field on a sunny day, watching dust devils dance in the distance while snacking on ripe ground cherries or the tangy pulp of withered and yellowed maypops.

October is fall flowers and seeds in their jubilant splash of colorful finery—the vivid purples of ironweed, pokeberries, and devil’s club; the rich yellow of goldenrod; the varied orange and gold hues of touch-me-nots; the eye-catching lavender of wild asters; the vibrant pink of smartweed seeds; the red of dogwood seeds and leaves; the scarlet of mountain ash and jack-in-the-pulpit berries; and countless colors of other blooms and berries catching the knowing eye with every bit as much visual appeal as fall foliage.

It’s mountain woodlands painted by a masterful brush with more hues than Continued from Page 13

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any artist’s palette could ever offer.

It’s persimmons turning from yellow to gold, ripening as the nights lengthen and the grip of cold weather strengthens.

It’s the heady aroma of a patch of pawpaws, ripe and inviting as their fruit falls to earth.

The month means hazelnuts littering the ground along the banks of branches and creeks, promising a full measure of natural snack pleasure as they invite squirrels and humans alike to savor their rich flavor.

It’s a young school boy rich with a pocket full of chinquapins, and that same lad entranced by a fetching lass with dark, shining eyes which match those chinquapins.

It’s a frosty morning late in the month, with a field of golden broom sedge transformed to a world of wonder as a million diamonds sparkle in the early morning sun.

Come afternoon on one of those bluebird sky days of Indian Summer which are part and parcel of October’s bounty and a blessing , a steep hillside adorned with the selfsame broom sedge, now dried and slickened by a day of warm sun, provides youngsters wild but joyous rides as they “sled” on a piece of cardboard.

It’s a time to fatten hogs with ample helpings of imperfect pumpkins, armloads of red-rooted pigweed, and special rations of Hickory King corn shelled from the cob by hand.

These are but a sampling of the sights and sounds, smells and sensations, of a mountain month of fulfillment. Whether you view October as a time to look back in longing to the splendor of summer, to look ahead to the challenges of winter, celebrate harvest time, or relish weather about as pleasant and predictable as it ever gets in this land of temperate rainforest, hopefully each of you derives some of the same satisfaction this time of the year has always provided me. It’s a grand time to celebrate life in that place of wonder which is Bryson City and Swain County.

Keeping kids healthy Because it’s the little things that matter.

Jill Langley, CPNP-PC Certified in Pediatrics

•SAME DAY APPOINTMENTS •VISITORS WELCOME • ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS •MOST INSURANCE ACCEPTED (828) 488-1970 120 VETERAN’S BLVD, BRYSON CITY

CREATE THE LOOK THAT’S RIGHT FOR YOU!

TEXTURES A FINE SALON (828) 488-1400

270 Everett St | Bryson City, NC

www.textures-salon.com

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GRUB WE

s l e e h W On

The food truck craze has reached our little corner of the world.

Here are a few of our favorites from around town.

The Charleston Food Wagon

The Rice Wagon

The Adult Grilled Cheese Butter and Toasted Bread Slathered w/ our Jalapeño Pimento Cheese and Two Fried Green Tomatoes...

(Melted), Served w/ Onion Straws!

Chicken Katsu Panko breaded chicken served with home made dipping sauce over sticky white rice and a side of Hawaiian Mac salad.

Food

Truck

noun, often attributive \ füd \ : something that nourishes, sustains, or supplies

e

Delicious

adjective de·li·cious | \ di-’li-sh s \ : appealing to one of the bodily senses especially of taste or smell e

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noun (1) \ ‘tr k \ : a small heavy rectangular frame supported on four wheels for moving heavy objects

Grub We

Big Laurel Foods

| On Wheels

South of Philly On the go

Fish Tacos Baja style, cod loins in beer batter, deep fried on flour tortillas with lime in the coconut slaw, pickled onions and chipotle crema. We suggest a side of Tater Tots.

Philly Cheesesteak Signature favorite is stacked with grilled Philly sirloin steak sliced and smothered in grilled onions, green peppers, mushrooms, and Provolone.

Chorizo Tacos Three soft flour tortillas filled with cheese, lettuce, salsa, sour cream and Chorizo.

The Chili Chomper 2

D o w n to w n B ry s o n C i t y #FallWeather #Patio #Community #Cider #OutdoorGear #Beer #FoodTrucks #Fun #Friends #Family #LetsGoToBCO 1 6 9 M a i n St r e et B ry s o n C i t y, N C 2 8 7 1 3

www

. B ry s o n C i t y O u t d o o rs . c o m 19

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LET’S GET

SOCIAL @brian83 #family #food #gooddays

Facebook

CALL TO SET UP YOUR APPOINTMENT

828-550-3923 OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE

SMSMPT.COM

@TerryBradley

OUR TEAM 22

#hiking #gooutside #playtime #deepcreek

Let’s Get Social | Social media highlights

Tag us for a chance to be featured

@debiwhite337

@nicole_huett

#tastebrysoncity #eggsbenedict #eggsbenny #taste

@BRYSONCITYMAG

The Bistro at the Everett Hotel @corybinks

#brysoncity #brysoncitync #brysoncitymag #brysoncitymagazine

in the next edition.

#photobomb #godscreations #greatsmokymountains

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It’s Fall Y’all

MUST DO LOCAL TOP STOPS & EVENTS

DARNELL FARMS

October and November in Bryson City is where the magic of a small mountain town in the fall is transformed into a holiday wonderland.

10/8-10/12

CHEROKEE INDIAN FAIR

DEEP CREEK GUARANTEED FAMILY FUN

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828.736.3944 BRYSONCITYGOLFCARTS.COM

10/ 31

Must Do | Local top stops & events

10/12

DOWNTOWN TRICK OR TREAT

5K FUN RUN

11/30

ENJOY THE VIEW

Spirit of Christmas

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REAL ESTATE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

FIND ALL OF OUR LISTINGS

www.YellowRoseRealty.com

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Up Next | December & January

OUR NEXT ISSUE...

TWO WNC LOCATIONS

HOURS

Monday-Saturday 10aM-6pM

Sunday

12pM-5pM

130 E vErEtt S trEEt BrySon City

828.506.1004

633 W ESt M ain S trEEt Sylva

shophumanite.com

24/7 ACCESS FOR MEMBERS

MEMBERSHIPS, DAY & WEEK PASSES AVAILABLE

PERSONAL TRAINING & CLASSES AVAILABLE

$5 DAY PASS & $20 WEEK PASS

488-3739

www.shiftwnc.com

80 SONGBIRD FOREST ROAD, BRYSON CITY

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