All About Women March-April 2017

MARCH-APRIL 2017

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Remarkable

Women OF THE HIGH COUNTRY

Rebecca Gummere RVs Cross-Country Make Time for

Ladies Night

Bob Meier Full Line of Handmade Pottery Items Including: Wedding Registries, Custom Dinnerware, Home Décor, and Consignment Orders.

585 West King Street • Suite D Boone, NC 28607 doeridgepottery.com 828.264.1127 Open daily from 10am - 6pm

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828.264.9111 C21MV.com 202 Southgate Drive Suite 19, Boone, NC 28607 Each office independently owned and operated

editor’s note

The federal observance of March as Women’s History Month — which highlights the contributions of women to events in history and society — turns 30 years old this year.

To celebrate, All About Women is proud to feature 15 remarkable women who are “making history” in the High Country.

Although they may not ever be recorded in the history books, these women’s achievements, service projects, innovations, and even simple acts of kindness make a significant impact on the quality of life here in our mountains.

A few of them you may recognize, but I’ll bet many will be new faces — it was important to us to highlight local women who may be flying under the radar or whose accomplishments are not as well known by our community.

At a photo shoot held at our office earlier this year, the qualities that make these women special were on full display as they made new connections, exchanged contact info, and even planned ways to collaborate in the future.

I want to thank our readers for answering our call for submissions of women you felt were champions, givers, pioneers, and mountaineers. I was pleasantly surprised by the number and quality of the recommendations we received, and I wish we could have included them all. But, if you don’t see your nominee in this edition, keep reading — you may very well see her in a future issue.

Looking ahead to upcoming issues, we invite you to take part in our summer Home issue by submitting your abode for a chance to be featured. More details are on page 47.

As I’m penning this note on yet another warm February day, with a trio of early daffodils brightening up my desk, spring is most definitely in the air.

Thanks to photographer Dawn Shumate for this super-serious photo of me.

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Name a woman who has been a mentor or source of inspiration to you — and why. publisher Gene Fowler My mother, Pam Davis, is an amazing woman who taught me how to live a life of compassion and strength.

As a child, my father became ill and my mother became sole breadwinner and caregiver for him and my sisters. In what could have and must have been an extremely stressful situation, I remember love, perseverance, laughter, and gratitude.

executive editor Tom Mayer

editor Anna Oakes editor@aawmag.com 828.278.3602

– Melanie Davis Marshall

Contributors

Part of me wants to be classy: bright colors, ethnic jewelry, a trademark flair. I’d aspire to sparkling eyes, radiant smile, mischievous sense of humor. I’d have a deep knowledge of the world, engaging in weighty repartee with influential people. My inspiration, Gwen Ifill, former coanchor of “PBS NewsHour,” host of “Washington Week,” died recently of cancer. A light has gone out for me in this world that badly needs light.

Candace Waters is a woman who has demonstrated grace and acceptance through many challenges including widowhood and single motherhood.

Her generosity and persistent faith has been an inspiration to me. When I think of a strong but feminine demeanor I want to emulate, she comes to mind. – Bonnie Church

production & design

– Sue Spirit

The woman who has been both a mentor and source of inspiration to me is my sister, Jill. Since we both work within obstetrics and gynecology, she has provided support and guidance both practical in terms of management ideas and suggestions and emotional, when facing a particularly difficult situation or circumstance. She also really changed her lifestyle in diet and exercise and that has inspired me as well.

– Heather Jordan

Heather Brandon The Children’s Council Bonnie Church Yogi Collins Hollie Greene Kacey Howard Heather Jordan Caroline Lawson Melanie Davis Marshall OASIS Kellen Short Dawn Shumate Sue Spirit

From my grandma: A sense of dogged independence. From my mother: a desire to always do for others.

Meleah Bryan Brandon Carini Kristin Obiso

– Anna Oakes

advertising Rick Tobin 828.773.0406

No woman has inspired my life more than my mom. A 30-plus year educator, a compulsive joiner and a runner to boot, she is a prime example of what a determined woman can accomplish. Let’s hope I inherited all the good genes!

cover photos

by Dawn Shumate

– Kellen Short Any reproduction of news articles, photographs or advertising artwork is strictly prohibited without permission from management. © 2017 Mountain Times Publications

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Contents

Special Feature

Remarkable Women of the High Country

17-30

FEATURES

32

32 34

Rebecca Gummere RVs Cross Country Ladies’ Night Out

Leisure 8 10

31

Travel Signs of Spring

Style 12

Fashionista

Health 14

Living Well

Homestead 31

Hillbetty Revival

Relationships 36 38

Week of the Young Child Sexual Assault Awareness Month

40

Mom’s World

IN EVERY ISSUE

8

3 6 16 42 44

Editor’s Note Women in the News Young at Heart By the Book All About Town

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WOMENINTHENEWS Boone Hair Stylists Participate in NY Fashion Week Three local hair stylists got a taste of the big city fashion scene by participating in New York Fashion Week on Feb. 13. Miah Zimmerman and Heather Rogers, co-owners of Canvas Beauty Bar in Boone, along with hair stylist Chelsey Shore, worked with designer and lead stylist Kenna of the Libertine fashion label to prep hair behind the scenes at New York Fashion Week before the models hit the runway.

Upon arriving at Skylight Clarkson Square, where Fashion Week takes place, the trio was greeted by 20 to 30 models in a small room, with three hours to style their hair in time for their show appearance. The stylists were shown a picture and told how to achieve the desired hairdo on each model. In this case, the style was reminiscent of a ‘90s grunge look.

“Every model had to have their hair, nails and makeup done in the three-hour time period,” said Rogers. “At times, there were anywhere from three to five people working on one single model.”

Zimmerman and Rogers said everyone was so friendly that there was absolutely no stress involved in the process.

“What we were expecting was actually completely different from what actually happened,” said Zimmerman. “We were expecting to get there and have it be madness with people yelling orders at us, but it was actually very calm and collected.”

Miah Zimmerman, Heather Rogers and Chelsey Shore wait backstage before the models arrive.

Photo submitted

- Brian Miller

Community Art on Display at Turchin Center

‘Hidden Talents’ will feature works in a variety of media by residents of the Junaluska community, including alcohol inks and painting.

Photo by David Brewer

“Pieces of the Puzzle: Community Outreach” will be on display from March 3 to June 3 at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts on King Street in Boone.

Led by Peggy Laine, outreach coordinator, the Turchin Center’s arts and education outreach programs connect the university arts resources to a diverse audience of students, arts patrons, teachers, and learners, creating an environment in which individuals of all ages experience the power and excitement of creating art. The exhibit features works from the Junaluska community, school children, Western Youth Network, Watauga Opportunities, Hospitality House and Raven Rock outreach groups.

“When participants let go of the voice that says, ‘but I am not an artist,’ they allow their creative spirits to soar,” Laine says.

Ladies Day at the Range April 22 Interested in learning to shoot or maybe just the safety basics of handling the firearms in your home. The Watauga Gun Club is hosting two NRA Women on Target clinics in 2017 for the ladies of the High Country, on April 22 and Sept. 23.

Women on Target is an NRA program to introduce women to firearms and help them to overcome fears, get unbiased instruction on firearm safety, and have a fun day at the range with other women. The event is for women, taught by NRAcertified women instructors.

The event is designed with the beginner in mind: those whose family members have firearms in the home, but don’t know how to operate or disarm them. The event will take place 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Watauga Gun Club on Appaloosa Trail, Boone, with lunch provided. The cost for the clinic is $40, with pre-registration preferred.

To register and for directions and more information, visit www.wataugagunclub.com.

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WOMENINTHENEWS Oncologist Yvonne Mack Leaves Boone Post After 19 years at Cancer Center At the end of January 2017, Yvonne Mack left her Boone practice after caring for more than 3,500 patients in her 19 years of service at the Seby B. Jones Cancer Center. She will begin working part time in Charlotte while still keeping her family home and roots in the mountains.

“As much as I love medicine, my first job is as a wife and a mother and that is the reason I am going part time,” said Mack. “When we first moved here my husband was a stay-at-home dad, and that allowed me to do what I love to do. My family gave to me, and now it is time to give back.”

In 1992, after eight years of medical training, the Mooresville native became a board-certified radiation oncologist and started her career as a clinical professor at the University of Florida. During that time, she met and married Maurice Williams of Waynesville, and together they have two sons.

While in Florida, an old friend informed Mack that Southeast Radiation Oncology Group in Charlotte was looking for someone who would be willing to serve as the first full-time radiation oncologist at the recently established Seby B. Jones Regional Cancer Center in Boone.

Mack quickly found an ally in Richard Sparks, then president and CEO of Watauga Medical Center, who helped the physicians doing cancer care establish a multi-disciplinary tumor board in 1999. Together, they discuss each patient’s case to create a treatment plan.

Typically, Mack worked through lunch and was always the last person to leave at night around 8-9 p.m.

When asked how she remains so positive, Mack shared a quote from one of her patients about the peace they had found in God. “If I live, I’m good; and if I die, I’m going home.”

- By Josh Jarman

Elderkin Receives Pat Summit Most Courageous Award For her dedication, commitment and courageous spirit, Appalachian State University women’s basketball head coach Angel Elderkin is a recipient of the 2017 United States Basketball Writers Association Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award.

Named after legendary Tennessee Head Coach Pat Summitt in 2012, the Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award honors individuals associated with women’s college basketball.

“This award is extra special to me because of its connection to Pat (Summitt),” Elderkin mentioned. “I was lucky enough to work with her and see what an amazing woman, coach and mother she was. She made such an impact on me, and what I learned from her still impacts me every day.”

Elderkin was diagnosed with Stage III Endometrial Cancer during the summer, but continued to coach the Mountaineers. During her chemo treatments, she would commute from Chapel Hill for treatments to Boone to continue being with the team for practices. She remained visible to her players throughout one of the toughest battles she ever had to fight.

Photo by Steve Behr AAWMAG.COM | MARCH-APRIL 2017

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Leisure

A section of the Blue Ridge Parkway near the Beacon Heights Trail. Photo Submitted

Travel

Five Secret Places To Go Are you feeling a bit tired of the crazy-busy world, wanting to get off the merry-go-round and be in a quiet nook for a while? I had fun thinking of my five secret places to go, all within an easy drive in the High Country.

My favorite short hike is the Beacon Heights Trail, off the Blue Ridge Parkway at Mile Post 305.2. I have a ritual of hiking the one-mile easy-to-moderate semi-rock scramble on my birthday. With an ice-cold beverage, snack, camera, journal, and pen in my day pack, I feel as if I’m setting out on an epic journey.

The trail ends at a gigantic outcropping of rocks with a view of layer upon layer of purple mountains. Usually I’m alone, perched on a comfortable rock seat, writing birthday thoughts in my journal, feeling the soft breeze, and listening to a towhee’s song.

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The Tuttle Educational State Forest, just northwest of Lenoir, is a wonderful place to stroll trails and listen to the talking trees tell about themselves. A wide variety of pines and hardwoods, rhododendrons and flame azaleas in season dot the rolling terrain and line the clear stream. I visited with my dog Ginger, who loved balancing and hiking on the 6-by6-inch wooden trail liners. You may have the place to yourself but for a friendly park ranger. Bring a lunch.

Every year I spend a day or overnight at the hermitages of Valle Crucis Conference Center, an Episcopal retreat near Valle Crucis. On a remote mountaintop, a scattering of well-appointed little hermitages with names such as Thomas Merton, Evelyn Underhill, and Julian of Norwich snuggle into the wild. Perfect for a quiet, contemplative stay, the hermit-

ages lend themselves to reading, writing, and just be-ing. For those wanting some physical activity, there is a two-mile trail down (and I DO mean DOWN!) to the main conference center grounds. Bring a lunch or food to cook, or take your meals at the main dining room. The cost is $60 for the first overnight, $80 for two nights, or a donation for a day stay.

Recently I discovered a haven that almost took my breath away. It’s the bonsai exhibit at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville. More than 100 specimens of ordinary plants, trees, and shrubs are kept in a miniaturized state. In this very quiet place, you can drift to a white pine, an Eastern red cedar, or a weeping fig. From May to November, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., you can sometimes be the only one experiencing these awesome trees. I was moved to write a few haikus, tiny three-

line poems that seem to go perfectly with the trees. Admission is free. Bring water and a snack.

Our group of Senior Scholars arrived at the Gray Fossil Site in Gray, Tennessee, in 2004, just four years after a Tennessee Department of Transportation road construction crew had unearthed the first of dozens of prehistoric animal skeletons. Hearing of the remains of tapirs, red pandas, woodland badgers, and a mastodon, all four-and-a-half to seven million years old, stirs the imaginations of visitors to the site. Archeology professors and students from East Tennessee State University and many volunteers have continued digging up tapir after tapir, causing some to exclaim, “Ho, hum!

Another tapir!” Now a natural history museum, the site invites people from all around the world to come and marvel. It can be a quiet, revelatory experience to view the digging site where the excavations began and to imagine what life was like way back then.

Go by yourself, or at least hang out alone when you get to these extraordinary spaces. You will find that with each visit you’ve discovered a unique way into quietness.

PUT SOME

SPRING IN YOUR STEP WITH

205B Long St. | Shamrock Square | Jefferson, NC (336) 846-9551 | www.libbyslook.com Mon – Fri 9:30 – 6:00 | Sat. 9:30 -5:30 | Closed Sundays sue spirit Writes poetry and essays about nature, spirituality, writing, and travel. She has a little cabin in the mountains. degreesoffreedom@frontier.com

Because of You...Celebrating 15 Years!

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Leisure

Signs of Spring Record These Birds & Wildflowers On Your Next Hike

BY KACEY HOWARD

From the ground to the sky, the High Country is listed as one of the most diverse areas for both songbirds and wildflowers. “Hunting” for wildflowers and songbirds is a great excuse to trek outdoors in the early spring months.

Curtis Smalling, a bird conservationist with Audubon NC, and Mark Rose of the North Carolina Native Plant Society identify wildflowers and songbirds you can spot this spring. Grab your camera to document your finds, but please leave the flowers and birds undisturbed.

WILDFLOWERS Photo by Annkatrin Rose

Photo by Annkatrin Rose

Photo by Annkatrin Rose

Bluets

Carolina Spring Beauty

Sanguiarian Bloodroot

Often seen blooming on roadsides in late March to early April, Bluets are a tiny pale blue wildflower with a yellow center.

Stems can grow up to 20 cm tall with one flower per stem. Bluets grow in shady areas with moist soil.

The Carolina Spring beauty grows vastly in rich wooded areas with five white or pink petals. Over 70 different species of insects have been known to pollinate on the flowers. The Spring Beauty begins to sprout in higher-elevation wooded areas in late March.

The Bloodroot is one of the first flowers that pop up in the spring, with eight to 12 white petals along a thick stem. A single leaf wraps around the stem as it provides for protection for the stem. You can often spot bloodroots along the Profile Trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway

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Pink Lady Slipper Orchid Perhaps one of the most photogenic wildflowers, the Pink Lady Slipper forms a hollow pink pouch as it blooms with heaving vining along the petals. Around the base of the flower form two oval ribbed leaves. Pink Lady Slippers are often found in the soil of pine and oak forests throughout May and June.

Photo by Mark Rose

The Pinkshell Azalea wildflower is a rare mountain wildflower that only grows in Western North Carolina. The Pinkshell Azalea grows along rocky roadsides and steep mountain slopes. The Pinkshell Azalea shrub can grow up to 10 feet with separate pink petals lining the vines. You can start seeing the Pinkshell Azalea around mid to late April.

Photo by Mark Rose

Photo by Annkatrin Rose

Pinkshell Azalea

White Trillium Covering the Blue Ridge Mountains, the White Trillium is among the most popular wildflower in spring. The White Trillium has a short, thick stem with a single white flower on top of three green leaves.

The odorless White Trillium is one of the largest trillium flowers as it can grow up to seven cm long.

Photo by Annkatrin Rose

Easily mistaken for an orchid, Gaywings have a smooth green stem with a cluster of petals at the top. Petals are typically smaller with shades of pink and white coloring. The Gaywings thrive in moist forest areas with partial sunlight.

Photo by Mark Rose

Photo by Mark Rose

Paucifolia Gaywings

Wild Columbine

Cut-Leaved Toothwort

The Wild Columbine flower is native to rocky slopes of eastern United States. The Wild Columbine is a larger wildflower as the stems can grow up to 35 inches.

Growing off the base of the stems is a single droop flower with yellow petals and red sepals.

The Cut-Leaved Toothwort is a white or pink flower with four petals, grown in a terminal cluster. The stem, lined with soft hairs, can grow up to 15 inches. The steam leaves often resemble teeth, which is why the name Toothwort was applied.

Toothwort wildflowers grow in moisturerich environments often along streambanks.

BIRDS

Indigo Bunting

The scarlet tanager is among the most recognizable springtime bird, with its blood-red body and jet black wings. Scarlet tanagers are medium size with stocky proportions. They stay nested at the tops of evergreen natural forests.

Photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren

Photo by Dawn Scranton McClarren

Photo by Kelly Colgan Azar

Scarlet Tanager

Mourning Warbler

The indigo bunting is solid blue with a shiny gray bill. When not singing from the tallest perch in the area, this small bird can be found at the edge of grasslands tucked away in the bushes.

The mourning warbler is a multi-colored songbird that nests in the forests of Appalachia. The mourning warbler has a gray hood, a yellow chest with black patches along the backside, and olive black wings.

The mourning warbler is one of the smallest songbirds found in eastern America.

Photo by Flickr user CheepShot

Photo by Kelly Colgan Azar

Photo by Flickr user Mike’s Birds

Yellow Warbler

Orchard Oriole

Gold Wing Warbler

The yellow warbler is a small songbird with a medium-length tail and a round head. It has a bright egg-yolk color with red streaks along the chest, and jet-black eyes. You can spot a yellow warbler on the tops of shrubs or small trees.

The orchard oriole is a rich chestnut-red color with a black head and tail. It is a slim songbird with a sharply pointed bill.

This songbird favors open woodland areas and can be found singing in open parks and orchards.

The gold wing warbler has a distinctive color pattern of its own with a silver-gray body, black and white patterned face and yellow patches on the crown and along the wings. The gold wing warbler can be found in the tangled shrubs of the Appalachian Mountains.

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Style

Fashionista From sassy to sophisticated, a local woman’s sense of style is highlighted by All About Women.

ALICE ROESS is a Blowing Rock resident, chairwoman of the Appalachian State Board of Trustees, and philanthropist.

Style : Classic, tailored, suits, pantsuits, solid colors, silks, cottons, linens. No synthetics, polyesters and/or rayons.

Fashion inspiration :

My mother greatly influenced my sense of style — a lady much before her time, very like Kathryn Hepburn. I’m very fond of designer Ralph Lauren/Polo and his simplistic lines.

The central dining hall at Appalachian State is named for Roess to honor her support of the university.

Favorite things to wear :

In the daytime, denims and cotton shirts or sweatshirts. For business, meetings and evenings, black crepes/silks or, in the winter, lightweight merino wools. Black always looks good and is so easily accessorized — and I do admit to having jewelry I enjoy wearing.

Photos by Caroline Lawson

Alice, an avid gardener, enjoys a mid-winter dose of greenery at The Mustard Seed Market in Blowing Rock.

Favorite color to wear :

Having served on the ASU Board of Trustees for the past eight years, my closet consists primarily of blacks and golds, but I must admit that I am very fond of navy, khaki and red!

Alice at home with her beloved rescue dogs.

Worst-ever wardrobe malfunction : Fortunately if I’ve had one, I’ve forgotten it! I always give considerable thought as to what to wear/when so that I’m neither overdressed nor underdressed.

Know a fashionista?

Nominate yourself or someone you know at editor@aawmag.com.

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Health

LIVING WELL

Xenoestrogen

Invaders

Xenoestrogens are invading your body? If you don’t do something about it, they could snatch your life (at least the quality of it). Sounds like science fiction, but according to a growing number of medical researchers, ‘tis true.

You have heard of estrogen. It is a hormone that stimulates our “bloom” into womanhood, regulates the menstrual cycle and facilitates fertility. A deficiency, as in menopause, can lead to bone loss, increased heart attacks, dry skin and early aging. Estrogen is vital to life when in balance.

Xenoestrogens have tipped the scale. These are “estrogen mimics” that enter the body from the environment. The body has a natural estrogen regulator called progesterone. Unfortunately, it can be overwhelmed by synthetic foreign estrogens, and soon exhausted. This could lead to estrogen dominance.

Estrogens are growth stimulants. An excess has been linked to tumors, fibroids and inflammation.

Some medical researchers suggest that a hyper-estrogenic environment could be a culprit in the increased incidence of diseases such as breast cancer, polycystic ovarian syndrome, menstrual maladies and obesity.

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Those us who live in our “high tech” world are bathed in a continuous sea of these estrogen mimics. It is almost impossible to escape. Some of the sources include:

MEAT AND DAIRY

furniture contain these toxins.

PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS Lotions, sunscreens, shampoos, makeup, and other cosmetics may contain estrogenic hormones.

Estrogenic hormones are fed to cows, pigs and poultry to increase their growth.

If they can be fattened faster, they will turn a profit faster.

EAT ORGANIC VEGETABLES/FRUITS/GRAINS (as fresh and raw as possible) Not only will that decrease your exposure to estrogens, but these “nutrient dense” foods will fuel your bodies detoxification efforts on a daily basis.

MEAT/DAIRY Eat products that have not been exposed to hormones and antibiotics.

VEGETABLES AND FRUITS Estrogenic pesticides are doused on vegetables and fruit throughout the growing season. Many are tested only very briefly before approval. Chemicals banned in one country return on imported products.

WATER Tap water, treated to reduce bacteria, can contain numerous toxins, including xenoestrogens. To make matters worse, we are storing our water in estrogenic plastic bottles.

Yes, it looks like the xenoestrogens have us under siege, but there are things that you can do to restore balance in your own personal environment.

EXERCISE It not only helps your lymphatic system to eliminate toxins efficiently, but decreases fat, a storage site for toxins.

REDUCE YOUR EXPOSURE Reduce plastics. Buy “green” home, garden and personal care products.

SUPPLEMENT SENSIBLY Drink green drinks that contain detoxifying nutrients such as milk thistle, spirulina, kelp, wheat grass and barley grasses and other green nutrients.

PLASTIC Soft plastics, used for everything from food packaging, intravenous drip bags and baby bottle nipples, are some of the worst offenders. Plastic wrapped food, heated in a microwave is particularly high in xenoestrogens.

HOME AND GARDEN CARE PRODUCTS

DRINK PURIFIED WATER

PVC plumbing pipes (that carry our water), household cleaners, lawn care products and even treated carpet and

Stop buying your water in plastic bottles.

Purchase a high-quality water filter, and store your water in glass bottles.

bonnie church Certified Life and Wellness Coach Author/columnist, motivational speaker Certified Trainer for TLS Weight Loss Solution

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young at heart

Photo by kakisky at Morguefile.com

Princess Power "I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened."

-Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars: A New Hope, 1977)

“Carrie Fisher died,” read Roger’s text message. Shocked and saddened by the words on the screen, I sat down.

Four days earlier…

When I heard the news that Carrie Fisher had suffered a heart attack, I jokingly thought, “I have a bad feeling about this.”

Carrie Fisher, best known for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the “Star Wars” saga, uttered the above line in “The Empire Strikes Back.” This notorious piece of dialogue, spoken by a cast of characters, appears in every movie, always at a time of apparent impending doom. We fans expect and eagerly await it, knowing that everything will work out in the end.

Unfortunately, not this time.

As the days went by, I stalked the web for news of Carrie Fisher’s complete recovery. Things seemed to be going well; headlines described her condition as “stable.” Therefore, Roger’s message took my breath away like a punch to the gut.

The news of Carrie Fisher’s death affected me more than I would have predicted. We never met, are in no way acquainted, and yet, Princess Leia, the character she made famous, had a huge impact on me. Am I obsessed with “Star Wars”? Absolutely! I have seen the movies countless times, can quote random dialogue and know the names of obscure characters. What keeps me enthralled?

It is impossible to pinpoint one aspect of the movies, and yet, Princess Leia was and continues to be a big part of the fascination.

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She gave orders; she was not intimidated by a 7-foot-tall Wookie; she carried a blaster and knew how to use it. She was a stark contrast to the popular Disney princesses of the day, who suddenly seemed somewhat pathetic by comparison.

Princess Leia was the first of a handful of powerful female role models who I admired and emulated —make that admire and emulate, as these women continue to influence my sense of self. My favorite book heroine, Amelia Peabody Emerson, as well as television characters Wonder Woman and Buffy the Vampire Slayer are the others. Fictional yes, but formidable all the same.

These women have several things in common — all are strong, self-reliant, smart, take-charge and funny! And, perhaps a bit sarcastic at times! But also, feminine, caring and occasionally, vulnerable. In short, these characters seem as real to me as any of the other women I have admired.

I sometimes have to remind myself that the actress is not the character. That being said, Carrie Fisher was just as inspirational (and sometimes as snarky) as her honey-bunned alter ego. Fisher may have hated things about the “Star Wars” saga — she was vocal over the years in her criticism of the dialogue as well as Princess Leia’s iconic hairstyle — but the fame allowed her to be an ambassador for causes close to her heart, drug addiction and mental health.

After “Star Wars,” Carrie Fisher moved

behind the camera, making a name for herself as a successful script doctor and author. She published seven books, including “Postcards From the Edge,” on which the movie of the same name is based, as well as “Wishful Drinking” and her most recent publication, “The Princess Diarist.”

Then, in 2015, much to my delight, she reprised the role of Leia, now a general, in “The Force Awakens;” she will appear in one final movie as she had completed filming on the next in the series before her premature death.

“If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.”

-Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars: A New Hope, 1977) Carrie Fisher may be gone, but she will never be forgotten — not by me or any of the other women who wanted to be like Leia. Her legacy lives on in us — the women she inspired and future generations who we will inspire in turn.

To Carrie, to Leia, to the rebel princess in each of us! The Force is with her, she is with the Force!

heather brandon Considers life to be one big anthropological field experience. She observes and reports.

She enjoys travel, food and wine and adventures with her husband, Roger.

Remarkable Women of the High Country

I

n honor of Women’s History Month, All About Women is proud to feature 15 women who are making their mark on the High Country through varied achievements, service projects, innovations, and acts of kindness.

S p o n s o r e d by B o o n e D r u g

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Remark able Women of the High Country

Champions W

omen who have achieved remarkable success or who are survivors of incredible challenges. This category is also for women who are champions for others, both as mentors and advocates.

By Anna Oakes

Mary Anne Redding

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Photos by Dawn Shumate

Mary Anne Redding knows that central to art is an exchange of ideas.

As curator of Appalachian State’s Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, Mary Anne is responsible for bringing local, regional, national, and international works to the Turchin. which welcomes more than 20,000 visitors each year to its eight galleries.

Since joining as curator in 2014, Mary Anne has brought exhibitions to Boone that are both relevant and awakening to the High Country community — from a collaboration of regional artists to showcase the headwaters of the New River, to a video sharing the experience of a woman of color working in a corporate office, to installations examining the influence of corporate agribusiness and biotech companies on the food supply.

“With each exhibition and program, Mary Anne taps into the power of the arts to raise awareness of issues pertaining to diversity, social issues, environmental awareness, education, and the strength of collaboration,” says Lynn Rees-Jones and Lindsay Miller, Mary Anne’s colleagues at the Turchin. “She thoughtfully researches, locates, collects, collaborates, writes, displays and promotes art. This creates opportunities for participants to learn more about themselves and the world around them as a result of visiting the Turchin.”

Mary Anne has more than 25 years of experience working as a curator, archivist, librarian, educator, and arts administrator. Prior to moving to Boone, Mary Anne was the curator of the Marion Center for Photographic Arts and chair of the Photography Department at Santa Fe University of Art & Design. Previously, she was the curator of photography for the Palace of the Governors/New Mexico History Museum. She has written and published numerous essays on photography and contemporary art.

“I think (art’s) most important role is to create a safe space where artists can talk about ideas,” Mary Anne says. “Art is a language, and anybody can enter into that conversation. We may not agree with everything an artist puts forth — there may be political, religious, or environmental differences — but it provides a safe space where we can leave our preconceptions at the door and come in and discuss whatever is on display.”

Denise Presnell If it takes a village to raise a child, Denise Presnell is calling a meeting of the village council.

A school worker for more than 23 years, Denise Presnell’s efforts extend well beyond direct support for students and their families. She actively forges new partnerships and facilitates initiatives to seek collaborative, communitylevel solutions to social problems affecting children in Watauga County.

“Denise never shies away from any opportunity to support the students she serves,” said Lisa Flanigan and Judith Winecoff of the Watauga Public Library.

As a social worker, Denise works with students who face challenges such as poverty, abuse, or neglect. She works tirelessly to connect families with resources to help them get by, whether it’s a government agency or a local nonprofit that can help fill in the gaps to pay for a heating bill, rent payment or car repair.

One of those groups was Quiet Givers, which was founded in part due to conversations with Denise about students’ needs. Quiet Givers went on to spearhead the annual Back2School Festival, which last year provided school supplies to more than 800 children.

In 2014, Denise convened a meeting of local faith leaders to help identify solutions to unmet needs in the county. Out of that effort came a project in which 12 churches provided food boxes to 200 families with school-age children over the summer.

Denise also partnered with the Western Youth Network to facilitate a Lunch Buddy program pairing mentors with local schoolchildren, and when a local member of the faith community approached her about the idea of a literacy mission — in which members of area churches volunteer to tutor children in reading after school — she quickly embraced the idea and worked to make the vision a reality.

In May will be the inaugural State of the Child Forum, an effort Denise has organized to bring multiple stakeholders to the table to recognize the prevalence of childhood trauma — which is linked to poor school performance, mental and physical health problems and criminal behavior — and equip the community with tools to address it.

Speaking to the Watauga Democrat in 2015, referencing a quote attributed to Harry S. Truman, Denise said, “It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”

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Donna Lisenby When dozens of trout and crayfish in Boone’s Hodges Creek suddenly went belly-up one summer day in 2010, Donna Lisenby was on the scene. From 2008-2014 she was the Upper Watauga Riverkeeper, part of a network of riverkeepers who monitor and advocate for the health of North Carolina’s watersheds. Officials learned that a nearby bank parking lot had been sealed just before a rain storm arrived, flushing the chemicals down storm drains and into the creek. Donna’s photos, video and presentations to local leaders helped raise awareness of the dangers of coal tar asphalt sealant, prompting the Boone Town Council to adopt regulations restricting their use.

Donna, a self-described “warrior for the planet,” has dedicated her life to being a champion of the environment. Two years earlier, she was kayaking up the Emory River in eastern Tennessee, collecting water samples in the wake of a devastating 1 billion gallon coal ash spill at the TVA’s Kingston Fossil Plant. She spent the previous decade as the Catawba Riverkeeper. Today, she is the Clean and Safe Energy Campaign manager for the Waterkeeper Alliance, the international organization led

by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and an outgrowth of an effort begun by fishermen in 1966 to save the Hudson River.

“My job is to work with Waterkeepers and

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partners all over the world to save the planet from climate change by keeping fossil fuels in the ground and holding fossil fuel companies accountable for their water and carbon pollution,” says Donna. “I also work to promote the vitally important transition to clean energy.”

Her work has taken her to Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Colombia, England, India, Indonesia, Italy, Norway, Senegal, and Vietnam.

Her work with Waterkeepers and partners all over the world has helped block construction of new coal plants, preventing 1.39 billion tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere; seen $545 million divested from fossil fuel companies; and, through litigation, forced companies to spend $5.4 billion to clean up leaking oil wells, coal ash ponds, and coal mines.

“One of my life goals has always been to walk the edge of the razor,” she recently wrote.

“Go farther, fly higher, ride faster, push back against power, bend the arc of the universe towards justice fearlessly and fully.

“We have this once-in-a-lifetime chance to make epic new memories and some new history,” she says. “Do some things we have never done before. The most important one is to try and save life on earth from the ravages of climate change.”

When she’s not traveling with Waterkeeper, Donna continues to call Sugar Grove home.

Remark able Women of the High Country

Givers T

hrough their service as volunteers and benefactors, these women set the example of how to give back and pay it forward.

By Kellen Short

Joan Hearn Wherever there’s a need in the High Country, Joan Hearn is there with bells on — and likely a costume as well.

With boundless energy, unflappable optimism and a permanent smile, Joan has devoted her retirement to addressing the community’s needs. From advocating for youth through the guardian ad litem program and promoting greenway expansion to caring for hospice patients and running in charity races, the 82-year-old’s volunteer resume reads like an encyclopedia.

Joan and her husband, Dick, moved to the Blackberry community in the mid-’90s and forayed into community service cleaning roadsides near their home. This year they mark 20 years with the Adopt-aHighway Program, a testament to the couple’s dedication.

Though Joan is inseparable from her husband of 62 years, Dick insists that his wife is the ringleader when it comes to charitable causes.

“Once she retired, that’s what she wanted to do, so I just encouraged her and sidekicked along and just enjoyed the ride,” he says.

A talented seamstress with a passion for nature, Joan developed a Mandy the Mayfly costume and helped craft creative skits about water quality that have reached nearly 7,000 area kids through programs with the Watauga County Cooperative Extension, says Wendy Patoprsty.

“She has a heart of service and wants to just help make our community a better place to live and be,” Patoprsty says.

In January, the Hearns celebrated their 25th polar plunge in the High Country, leaping into the frigid waters at Chetola Resort dressed as flamingos in pink feather boas. Susan Stuber, who met Joan almost a decade ago through the High Country United Way, says the event is a perfect analogy for how Joan approaches service.

“She is just fully committed,” Stuber says. “She jumps in.”

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Laurie Rivera She might have a graduate degree and 20 years’ experience in athletic training, but to dozens of Boone’s youngest residents, Laurie Rivera is simply “Toby’s mom.”

For five years, the Todd resident and her certified therapy dog, a Doberman-Rottweiler mix named Toby, visited Hardin Park School weekly to encourage and comfort students.

Until the pup’s recent retirement at age 10, the students read to the dog and enjoyed the unconditional love that furry friends share freely.

Especially for students with exceptional needs, these “Toby Tuesdays” became a powerful motivator for students to do their best in school and accept one another’s differences, says former Hardin Park teacher Kristen Heckle.

“It has been amazing to see some of my students who were nonverbal just a few years ago feel comfortable to read aloud to a classroom full of students,” Heckle says.

Laurie’s volunteer efforts with Toby are simply an extension of her calling to heal and to nurture.

As a certified athletic trainer at Appalachian State, Laurie provides physical rehabilitation for active adults recovering from injury and surgery. Clients say it’s her concern for their entire lives, as opposed to just their injuries, that helps restore their bodies.

“She’s probably, first and foremost, a really good listener,” says client Tom Van Gilder. “She becomes people’s psychologist or psychiatrist. That’s just the nature of Laurie.”

As an instructor and clinical coordinator, Laurie also is enabling a generation of students who wish to follow her example. Former client Pam Cline says Laurie’s passion for helping her clients live full and healthy lives is evident in her often-repeated credo: “I just don’t want to see people in pain.”

Jackie Millaway As matriarch of a fourgeneration family and a wife of almost 60 years, Jackie Millaway of Boone knows family is paramount. Except to Jackie, everybody is family.

Until her retirement in February, the 79-year-old worked full time at Rite Aid in Boone, where it became customary for shoppers to pop in for nothing more than a hug or a prayer request for Jackie.

When customers came

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up short at the register, she reached into her own pocket to cover the difference.

When a friend is facing illness or experiencing a loss, Jackie sticks an encouraging card in the mail or whips up a pecan pie. It’s her personal form of ministry, husband Munsey Millaway says.

“She’ll bake a pie sometimes and I’ll say, ‘Who’s that for?’ and she’ll say, ‘I don’t know. I haven’t been told yet,’” he says.

Those who try to return the favor with a gift for Jackie learn that she refuses to return a container empty, daughter-in-law Ponza Millaway says. The consummate giver will hide a trinket or a pack of crackers inside, continuing a ritual she inherited from her mother.

Boone resident Georgia Jones and her husband first met the Millaways a decade ago when the couples started gathering for lunch after Sunday services at Boone Advent Christian Church.

When Georgia’s husband passed away, Jackie insisted that she remain a regular at the weekly lunches. No friend will succumb to loneliness on Jackie’s watch.

“If I say I can’t go, they have to know exactly why,” Georgia says. “She always wants to know what she can do for you.”

Edie Miller Edie Miller gives of her time, money and energy as though she were a millionaire retiree with no responsibilities of her own.

But the Jefferson resident came from humble beginnings in the West Virginia coal fields, where she survived childhood polio and where chores included picking tobacco and working the hay fields.

“We always tried to help out,” Edie says.

“That’s back when everybody helped everybody.”

The generous attitude cultivated in her youth continues to drive her today. For decades, Edie has led teams in Relay for Life and the Ashe County Heart Walk, raising tens of thousands of dollars to fight cancer and heart disease.

With no children of her own, Edie is a second mother to youth at Bethany United Methodist Church. For eight years, she and her husband, Eddie, also volunteered with the Oxford Orphanage, picking up kids from the children’s home three hours away and

bringing them to the mountains for weekend getaways.

“Whether she knows it or not, she influences young people around her to see the importance of community involvement,” says Les Miller, youth director at Bethany.

With a flair for artistry, Edie also helps decorate for weddings and is a jack-of-alltrades with Ashe County Little Theatre and the Ashe County Arts Council.

She does all this on top of a 48-year career with United Chemi-Con, and even there, human resources manager Sandy Calhoun says Edie’s care shines through as she organizes service activities for employees.

“If one of their employees has a need — hospitalization, family in crisis — Edie’s the one that’s staying up until 3 a.m. baking and making candy to take to work the next day for a bake sale,” says friend Jane Lonon. “I don’t think she ever sleeps.”

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Remark able Women of the High Country

Pioneers F

rom entrepreneurs to innovators, these women are bringing new ideas, approaches and concepts to our community and to their organizations.

By Hollie Greene

Rebecca Eggers-Gryder A native of Watauga County, Judge Rebecca Eggers-Gryder grew up in a family of lawyers “discussing legal issues, playing with dolls and making music.” She drew up her first contract when she was 9 years old, concerning the care of her cats and, of course, it was notarized. As a result, it came as no surprise to those who knew Rebecca when she attended Campbell University School of Law after graduating summa cum laude from Appalachian State, and, later, when she was welcomed into her family firm as a full partner.

At the time there were only four other women practicing law in Boone, but Rebecca never thought of herself or them as being “women attorneys” or “lady lawyers.” “We were attorneys, period. We brought a different perspective to our practices.” Rebecca describes that during her 28-year tenure, “I found my niche in the area of family law, particularly custody cases and juvenile law.”

Three years ago, Rebecca began to consider becoming a judge. “I knew it was my calling in that I had do many years of trial experience in the district courts, and I had such a passion to help children. I left my comfort zone as a lawyer to step out and start a new career as a judge.”

Appointed and later elected as the first female judge in the 24th Judicial District, Rebecca looks back over a career of “firsts.” “I was the first woman to be elected as a president of the Watauga County Bar, the first to be elected president of the 24th Judicial District Bar, the first to serve as the county attorney for Watauga County and as town attorney for the town of Seven Devils as well as the first woman to be elected as the bar councilor in the N.C. State Bar.” As a judge, Rebecca explains, “It all boils down to one question: Is this decision best for the child? That question helps clear a person’s head in setting his/her priorities. Being a judge is keeping that perspective while applying the law fairly and justly.”

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Lesley Platek A native of Georgia, Lesley Platek has been lured by the same profile that caused botanists and explorers to catch their breaths in its awe. “With time on my hands and an urge to be outside, I started hiking. That is when I fell in love with Grandfather Mountain. To this day I can’t wait to get my first look at the peak.”

Following a conversation with Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation’s Harris Prevost and Jesse Pope, Lesley mentioned a volunteer program she started in Athens to teach tennis to people in wheelchairs. Their response was, “Great! You are now our new ‘volunteer’ volunteer coordinator!”

Kellen Short, former director of marketing and communications at GMSF, described Lesley as an “incredibly big-hearted person.”

“Starting in 2014, she built the nonprofit's volunteer program from scratch and got dozens of people from age 14 to 80 to contribute thousands of hours to the park,” says Kellen. “She made herself so indispensable that they turned her unpaid volunteer position into a full-time job.”

Lesley explains, “I was able to visit other places with great volunteer programs, such as the

Asheboro Zoo, Crossnore School, and Avery Humane Society. What I learned from my visits was that running a volunteer program was very much like being a coach. I needed to recruit quality people, train them, and build a teamwork atmosphere and keep everyone motivated.”

Grandfather Mountain has benefited from volunteers acting as ambassadors to teach and enhance the guest experience, Lesley says. “The biggest success

is knowing that when visitors leave the mountain they have a deeper sense of appreciation for Grandfather than when they arrived.”

Lesley enjoys driving to the mountain early in the morning. “I drive to the peak and walk across the bridge and spend a moment at Linville Peak by myself. I am smitten that I have the same view that Native American Indians, botanists and others enjoyed from the top.”

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Jay Ishaya Jay Ishaya, who prefers to go by “Ms. Jay,” is the media specialist at Watauga County’s Bethel Elementary School.

“She has established what is perhaps our best-developed program that allows students to experiment with robotics, programming, crafting, engineering, and computer science,” says Garrett Price, spokesman for Watauga County Schools. In addition, Jay hosts a "maker space" program on Thursdays during which community members are encouraged to visit the school to explore programming and other fields.

“She's a remarkable woman who is dedicated to imparting a solid tech education on the students at our smallest and most rural school,” Garrett says.

With several advanced degrees and an enthusiasm for both books and students, Ms. Jay harnesses print and digital media to enhance the literacies of the students and community surrounding Bethel School.

“We need to embrace technology, understand its strengths and weaknesses, and actively engage our youth in navigating the technologically advanced worlds they inhabit, and we need to do all of that without losing our core values and traditional skills,” Ms. Jay says. “It’s a tall order!”

Melissa Shore Born in Cortland, N.Y., Melissa Shore moved with her family to the Asheville area when she was 8 years old. An alumna of ASU with a degree in marketing, Melissa met her husband at her first out-of-college job. They have two sons, Tyler and Nevin, who are both on the autism spectrum.

After moving back to Boone in 2010, Melissa found there were very few resources, services, and choices for special needs children in this area.

She explains, “I spent a couple years ‘waiting’ for someone else to start a program. Finally, I decided that since I knew what the program looked like and I had the time and motivation, that I should go ahead and start this thing myself.”

With support from others in the community, Melissa started ABLE (Adaptive Baseball League for the Exceptional) Recreation, which serves children with special needs and their families by providing a variety of social and recreational activities. The main focus is an adaptive baseball

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program that is based on a program of Asheville Parks & Recreation.

“We are successful because of the support, willingness, and generosity of many volunteers, sponsors, and donors,” she says. Melissa’s vision for ABLE is that support will continue and the program will expand beyond the baseball league.

“I plan to continue to offer my time to anyone who is interested in broadening the options available to this population,” she says.

Melissa hopes her experience will encourage others to make a difference.

“I know nothing about baseball or other sports, and I am not an expert of special needs and disabilities. But, I am managing a baseball league for children with many different exceptionalities!” she says. “I want people to know that you don’t need a lot of time or money to make a difference in the lives of people and families who are looking for services, resources, and opportunities. You just need the desire to do it!”

Remark able Women of the High Country

Mountaineers T

hese women are preserving the heritage, music or lifeways of the mountains, or they’re conquering mountains through adventure.

By Anna Oakes

Laura Mallard As a geologist, Laura Mallard knows a lot about the ground — and about building a business from the ground up.

Laura is one half of the husband-andwife team that owns and operates Boonebased River & Earth Adventures, which in 10 years has grown from a single river raft to a full-service outfitter with four (soon to be five) locations in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee.

Around 2006, Laura, a geology lecturer at Appalachian State, and Grant Seldomridge, a river guide at a local outfitter, decided to start their own adventure company.

“We literally built it from nothing,” Laura says. “We bought a raft with his money he got as graduation gifts when he graduated from ASU, and some of my salary. Just buying that first raft was a huge commitment for us — that was our food money.

“We started running the business in the beginning out of our house, put a sign in the front yard, sold our cars, and both of us were the first guides,” she says. “We would both be out guiding trips together, and we hoped people would leave messages on the answering machine.” When they realized that meeting customers at their home in

Valle Crucis wasn’t optimal, they rented a garden shed near the Mast General Store. Still, they would have to leave a note on the shed door when they were out guiding trips.

“For a few summers, that’s how we ran it,” Laura recalls. Eventually, either Laura or Grant would stay back to man the phone while the other was out guiding. Their 15-passenger van served double-duty as their day-to-day vehicle as they juggled multiple jobs and raising a family.

But the business has continued to grow, now offering whitewater rafting, canoeing and kayaking, river tubing, caving, rock climbing, guided hikes, gem mining, and stand-up paddle boarding.

Eco-education is integrated into guided trips: “When we’re on the river, I tell people about the geology of eastern Tennessee, or we talk a little bit about the role the river plays in the ecosystem.”

Today, up to 20 guides work for River & Earth at the height of the summer season, and the business is active in local events and community service.

“We’ve fully dug into the local scene,” says Laura. “We try to support the area that supports us.”

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Courtney Baines Smith Courtney Baines Smith believes children should learn at a young age where their food comes from, a taste for healthy foods, and an appreciation of the bounty that nature provides. As a teaching student and former instructor in Appalachian State’s sustainable development department, Courtney set about getting her hands dirty — literally — to put this belief into practice.

Spring and summer 2014 saw the germination of Lettuce Learn, a program to help train and equip teachers with the materials and resources necessary to create healthy, sustainable school gardens. It began with a seed — a pilot project at ASU’s Child Development Center.

Weekly activities with 4- and 5-year-olds included lessons about the nutritional benefits of fruits and vegetables, gardening, measuring, cooking, recycling, and composting.

“Research shows that if a child takes part in growing food he or she is more likely to try it and like it – such as kale, carrots, lettuce — so the learning garden also encour-

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ages healthy eating,” Courtney said in a 2014 article with Appalachian Magazine.

After the pilot project was deemed a success, Courtney worked to raise money to expand the program to area schools through grants, fundraisers, and a crowd-funding website. The funds are used for teachers who attend a learning seminar over the summer, stipends for interns who support school garden programs, a budget for the gardens and miscellaneous startup costs.

Today, Lettuce Learn provides garden coordinators at the Child Development Center, Bethel School, Hardin Park, Parkway School, Valle Crucis School, and Mountain Pathways, and provides indirect support to learning gardens at Green Valley School, Mabel School, Two Rivers Community School and the Hospitality House. Courtney continues to serve as co-director and is an environmental science teacher at Watauga High.

Willow Dillon Willow Dillon learned to play ukulele at age 6. When she moved from Hawaii to Watauga County as a kid, there was only one problem: there weren’t many other ukulele players.

So, she took up fiddle and guitar lessons through the Junior Appalachian Musicians program at the Jones House in Boone, later followed by banjo and mandolin.

Her parents shared an affinity for old-time music, and her teacher, Cecil Gurganus, gave her plenty of CDs of oldtime fiddlers for inspiration.

“I just started listening more and more to them, and I became more and more interested,” Willow says. “Some fiddlers I listen to every day now.”

Around age 11 or 12, she started competing at fiddlers’ conventions. She joined a band, Strictly Strings, with other precocious teen musicians and their teacher, Cecil. They are regulars on the contra and square dance circuit and at other concert events, and they have taken home first place from several competitions, including the legendary Fiddler’s Grove.

At age 13, she discovered the music of her great-greatuncle, Marion Reece of Zionville, who was recorded by Library of Congress folklorist John Lomax in the 1930s.

“His style, from all the other fiddlers, he had some really unique songs that I had never heard before. His versions were so different from the regular versions,” Willow explains. “I definitely think he has a big influence on my playing. I don’t want his sound to die out. I definitely try to incorporate his style into my own.”

Willow has advanced from being a student to teacher, leading and assisting with classes at the Jones House and teaching private lessons in multiple instruments.

“I just got a new student the other day — it was the first time she ever picked up a fiddle, and she said, ‘I love playing fiddle so much’— it makes teaching so enjoyable,” she says. “I learn a lot from my students, too.”

Many will recognize Willow’s signature fox tail — made for a Halloween costume years ago, she wears it for fun and to entertain. “It’s just become a part of me,” she says. “I don’t know if it’ll stay with me,” she adds, but enjoys seeing the joy in kids’ eyes when they spot it. “That’s a lot of what music is about. Sharing it with the audience and making sure people enjoy it.”

Now, at the ripe old age of 16, Willow, who was homeschooled, is attending dual-enrollment classes at Caldwell Community College and will have an associate’s degree by the end of summer. She hopes to attend a music college.

“I’d also like to be able to travel to places and learn the styles of music, as many as I can, and just kind of be in the world of music for a while.”

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Homestead

Hillbetty Revival

Chickens The Homestead Staple

For those considering dipping into the hillbetty lifestyle, I strongly recommend starting with a few chickens, or 20. They are relatively easy to care for, make you breakfast, and even tuck themselves in at sunset.

I have been keeping chickens longer than I have been gardening. The first year was full of trial and error, and thankfully all the chickens survived and were healthy despite my meddling in their affairs. I have gone through a couple coops, different feed and water set-ups, and chicken breeds. The flock and I have settled into a good setup for both of us.

For each hen, you can expect three to four eggs per week if the light cycles are right. I have a few girls that lay every day when content. My favorite breed for egg production and health, even in cold mountain winters, is the buff orpington, although I also have some brahma and black copper marans.

I gather eggs every two or three days and keep mine in a bowl on the kitchen counter. The eggs are laid with a natural protective coating and do not require refrigeration until washed. I will wash them if they have any other coating on them picked up in the floor of the coop, as the shell is porous and can be contaminated if left in an unsavory condition for too long. Eggs will keep for up to eight weeks unwashed, on a counter out of direct sunlight, or six weeks washed in the fridge.

My black copper maran rooster is a handsome fella, gentle enough to be picked up, but tough enough to protect the flock. He has a couple of scars for his possum battles, but I have only lost a couple hens over the years to predators.

Roosters are not required, unless, like me, you are actually fond of that crow at

dawn, and 10 a.m., and noon, and pretty much whenever he feels like hearing himself.

I am fortunate to live in an area that allows me to free range my flock often. They are happy chickens searching for bugs, greens, and favorite dust bath spots. They clean their feathers by rolling in and kicking dirt into their feathers. It doesn’t make sense to me either, but it makes them happy. I have lost more than a few with my choice to free range, but I like having my girls wander about the farm behind me, clucking for treats. I have lost more to neighborhood dogs than to natural predators. I now only free range when I can be home to keep an eye on them.

I have found my ideal flock number is 20 hens with one rooster. They produce enough eggs for me to sell at $4/dozen to some regular friends to pay for their feed, treats, and even the occasional toy. I break even, and that is enough for me.

My most relaxing evening is sitting out in the porch swing, watching chickens. They each have a personality, and I can tell what is happening in the yard based on the various sounds coming from the flock. It’s a pretty expansive vo-

(Above) These girls are excited about a cottage cheese snack. (Left) Happy chickens will lay three to four eggs per week.

Photos by Melanie Davis Marshall

cabulary. By far my favorite noise is that of the rooster when I throw fresh veggies or a protein boost of cottage cheese. He calls in the ladies with a soft coo and then straightens up and walks around them, protecting them while they eat. I make it a mission to get him to eat a banana on his own every now and then, but he rarely cooperates.

Melanie Davis Marshall Melanie is a born-again Hillbetty attempting to revive her Appalachian roots. She lives in Boone with her two dogs, two horses, 18 chickens and one really old cat.

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Feature

Rebecca Gummere is Chasing Light on an RV Adventure

Rebecca Gummere of Sugar Grove has wanderlust. She always has. Maybe it’s from moving frequently as a child with her family or maybe it’s a byproduct of her adventurous spirit, but whatever the cause, it’s undeniable.

“Wanderlust really is a thing,” she insists, as if someone has tried to talk her out of it before. “I just get this restlessness where I have to go somewhere. My parents brought me up to be adventurous and we traveled a lot and lived overseas.

I’ve always had wanderlust.”

Wanderlust is one reason Rebecca, with her two boxers Conner and Beasley and her 19-foot Road Trek extended van, “Roadcinante,” has embarked on a ninemonth over-the-road journey around the United States. “I’ve always just wanted to take off and do a road trip,” she says, “and in the last several years both of my parents have died; I watched them decline and fade away. I’m realizing that life is short. I’m in my 60s and it felt like this is the time, while I’m healthy and physically can do it. And here’s the thing: I mentioned it to a lot of people and kept waiting for someone to talk me out of it, but I didn’t talk to one person that discouraged me! In fact, they all said they want to do something like that someday. So, I was like, ‘Well, I guess I’m going to do it then.

Am I crazy?’” she laughs.

Apart from a craving for adventure, Rebecca yearns to explore her faith as she travels. Ordained as a Lutheran pastor, she left the ministry in 2007 when she began working at OASIS, a women’s shelter in Boone. Somewhere along the way, Rebecca lost her faith and wonders how she came to feel so far from God and

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communities of faith. “It isn’t that they aren’t available,” she cedes, “but I have some really big questions, and the world is in a mess. I’ve experienced some big losses, but I’m open, wide open, and I think the expression of what we refer to as God comes in many ways. I think that also is a journey.”

Part of the beauty of any journey (though sometimes we can’t see it until it’s far behind us) is surprise, and Rebecca loves that. “I like the energy of turning on a dime,” she explains. “I like seeing things for the first time and the sense of what might be around the next curve. I get so excited traveling a road I’ve been on before but going past where I’ve never been.”

As she travels those roads, feeding her adventurous spirit as well as her spirit, Rebecca will write, just as she has done since she was 12 years old. Now, however, she will share her insights and adventures with her family, friends, and those of us who want to live vicariously through her via her blog, “Chasing Light.” “The blog is my effort to unpack the trip as it happens as well as to communicate with people,” she says.

Let the chase begin.

Look for Rebecca Gummere’s upcoming essay in O, The Oprah Magazine in April 2017. Follow her journey at www. chasinglight-ajourney.com and www. rebeccagummere.com.

Yozette ‘Yogi’ Collins Mom, television producer/writer, and obsessive internet researcher. Though her name suggests otherwise, she is not (yet) an actual yogi.

EXCERPTS FROM ‘CHASING LIGHT’ October 2, 2016 It’s as if I’ve lived with darkness for so long — the shadowy years after my sister’s death and following my infant son’s death; the demise of not one but two marriages; the dimming and then extinguishing of my parents’ shining lights ... that it has been easy to forget there even is such a thing as Light. … Maybe I let myself stay stuck, passively waiting for some big revelation or great announcement, or for the dawning of some new perception or understanding. … But, listen. I’ve decided I’m not waiting around any longer. Instead, I’ve given away most of my belongings, paid to store a roomful of stuff, rented my house to friends, and purchased a small used RV. And once I get the hang of living like a sardine, packed in here with two oversized slobbering dogs, and learn the ins and outs of my vehicle — how to manage the dark water and gray water, and how the propane and electrical systems work, and a host of other details I have yet to discover I need to know — I’m setting out on a journey of seeking, a pilgrimage of pursuit.

In short, I am “Chasing Light.”

January 7, 2017 Yesterday morning I got up while it was still dark and loaded up the rest of my stuff, tossed the dogs in the car, and drove up to my daughter’s to say our farewells. … Then we hugged for a long time and then hugged some more. Driving down their mountain lane, I fought the tears but

lost. I’d said my farewells to my son the night before via Facebook Messenger, because he is sick with some nasty bug. Put that on the list under the heading, “Times I’m Grateful For Social Media,” because we at least got to say goodbye.

The idea of not seeing my kids, the lights of my life, for months has hit me pretty hard. And as I get older, goodbyes are more painful. I cry pretty easily now.

I am starting to remind myself of my grandmother, who always teared up when we went to get in the car to leave after a visit. She never made a big fuss, just smiled and waved and mopped her face with a hankie.

chicola River. In the foreground children are splashing in the water and scampering over the trunk of a cypress tree, and scattered in the background are several young men. When I commented on the photographs, which are quite striking, the guy who poured my coffee said a fortysomething man had come in one day and said a friend had told him he was in one of the photos.

“He’d driven down from northern Georgia to see if it was true,” he said, and asked the man ‘Which one are you?'”

“The one in the hat,” the man told him without hesitation.

January 13, 2017

January 27, 2017 There are stories everywhere. All you have to do is ask. All too often I forget that. … I backtracked to a chocolate shop to get a cup of coffee and sit a spell and write down my thoughts. Hanging on opposite walls are two large framed black and white photographs. … On the other wall is a photograph of some people hanging out in the Apala-

Photos submitted

Carrabelle, Florida is a small town of about 1,300 people that sits unassumingly on St. James Island. There’s a stoplight in the middle of town, where down one way is Gander’s Hardware Store, Carrabelle Junction Coffee Shop, and the post office, and down the other is Harry’s Bar and Package, Just Right marine supply store at Carrabelle Harbor, and farther down the Coast Guard station. … Today was warm, around 70° with sun and high humidity. I have been walking Connor and Beasley all the way down the beach, which is about a mile and a half, and then we poke around and look for stranded starfish and horseshoe crab shell fragments, and maybe sit in the soft sand for a bit before heading back the way we came. … It was a slow walk back. On the drive home, the boys collapsed in the RV and snored and farted all the way back to the house. Right now they are at the foot of the bed, their deep rhythmic breathing a lovely backdrop as I work away. What ever would I do without them? These days I try not to think about that. I just try to soak in the wonderfulness of their love and the joy of their companionship.

In the background of the photograph he stands shirtless, waist-deep in the river, watching the other children. He looks to be maybe 20 years old. He is wearing a cowboy hat with the brim rolled up on the sides, and holds a beer can in one hand and appears to be taking a drag from a cigarette with the other. I marveled at the intersections — his friend who came into the coffee shop and looked at the photograph, recognized something, related that to his friend who drove a long way just to see if that really was his younger self hanging on that wall.

The photographer’s gallery was about three doors down. Both front doors were open and the hardwood floors creaked quietly as I wandered in, floating from photograph to photograph, amazed at how accurately he’d caught the details, like the squint of the eye or the tilt of the head, and how the moment had been captured, like the sad look on the man’s face as he knelt next to a dark-eyed pig with a

knife in his hand, or the stunned expression on the face of the newly baptized woman being lifted up out of the swampy river, everyone in white, everyone caught up in the fullness of the unfolding event.

February 8, 2017 Remember when you were a kid, how you could take a sheet or a blanket and put it over pretty much anything and instantly create your own private fort? … I still love that feeling of disappearing, but I suppose it would be odd to keep the habit of hiding in forts under tables.

So I bought a little RV. Inside, with the shades all drawn and my tiny copper strands of lights winking, I have that old lovely feeling – invisible enough, hidden away with my own thoughts. I get a little happy when I hit the open road, bouncing along inside my house-on-wheels. And pulling into a campground — like I did last Tuesday night at Skidaway Island State Park, just south of Savannah, Georgia, when I’d gotten all hooked up and fed the dogs and was able to heat up some frozen lasagna and open a bottle of red wine, neighbors to the left of me sitting around their campfire, talking in low voices — well, I pulled the curtains nearly all the way, just open enough to let in the crisp evening air and the hint of moonlight, and surveyed my small secret domain with the deepest satisfaction you can possibly imagine.

That feeling of disappearing might also be why I became a writer. When I sit down to write, I slip into what I call a “side world,” almost as if there is a small door I can slide through, because entering a story — whether it is a moment in my own life or something someone has shared with me or something I read about or something imagined — is like that created space from early childhood, with its vaguely opaque light and new perspective. … I’m now in Wilmington, North Carolina, visiting with old friends, heading to D.C. tomorrow for the annual AWP Writers Conference, where roughly 12,000 similarly afflicted people will gather to egg each other on in our forays through that side door.

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Feature

Oh What a Night Make Time for Ladies’ Night Out (or In)

by Kacey Howard

It’s that time of the week that soothes the soul, relaxes the mind, and warms the heart. It’s ladies’ night.

Knowing you have the best girlfriends, all you need is the perfect outing to complete the recipe for a fabulous ladies’ night out. No matter what age you are, “girls’ night” is a fun and necessary part of nurturing our friendships.

“All it really takes is one or two girls, and that’s ladies’ night out,” said Janice Pope, a professor at Appalachian State University. Pope enjoys her ladies’ nights out when she gets together with her book club. “When you are in a book club, you end up doing other things together,” said Pope. Pope knows there will always be wine and lots of laughter at book club gatherings.

For some women, relaxation is the key to ladies’ night. Billie Rogers, the events director for the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce, finds time to relax by sitting 34

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on the sofa at The New Public House with her friends drinking wine. “It can turn a not-so-great week into a pretty awesome week,” said Rogers.

“It is about being a sounding board for one another through everyone’s life journey,” said Jennifer Herman, the executive director of OASIS. Herman remembers her college ladies’ nights when she attended Appalachian State University. “We would go to the Caribbean Café and a dollar movie on King Street,” said Herman. Years later, Herman says her ladies’ nights are a little different — getting a pedicure and meeting at Basil’s on Tuesdays — but she still makes a point to meet with her girlfriends regularly.

“There is always a story; somebody has a great story to tell,” said Angela Kelly, the owner of Proper in downtown Boone. Kelly along with other local restaurant owners in Boone make time monthly to explore what Boone has to of-

fer. Whether it is a five-mile hike or knitting the night away while enjoying drinks at the Cardinal, Kelly feels fortunate enough to have girlfriends who revitalize the soul. “Ladies, when we get together, we have this power that is respected. I think we can use that power to do good things,” said Kelly.

Ladies’ night goes beyond drinking great wine and dining out. It’s planning time with people who appreciate the person you are rather than stressing to impress your friends. “It’s about being together, not about what you are doing,” said Herman.

Spending time with your friends is priceless. You make the rules, you call the shots, and everything else just falls into place. When you look around and see laughter, tears and everything in between, that’s when you know you have had a successful ladies’ night out.

LET’S GO LNO:

Ideas for your Ladies’ Night Out Need inspiration for ladies’ night out? Pick up the phone, pull out the calendar and plan one of these activities!

1. FOOD & GROOVE Boone offers plenty of both local entertainment and food, located in the heart of it all on King Street. Several restaurants located right on King Street can satisfy your appetite for whatever you and your girls are craving. Walk over to enjoy some live entertainment from local musicians at the Jones House. The Jones House offers a year-round concert series. Check joneshouse.org for a concert calendar.

2. TRIVIA NIGHT! Freshen up on your fun-fact knowledge and give it a try at trivia night. Several local restaurants in Boone, including Appalachian Mountain Brewery, Rivers Street Ale House, and Galileo’s, offer trivia night on different days of the week.

Sign up as a team and win prizes with new and old friends.

Boone has to offer. The Watauga County Arts Council offers weekly events, private Arty Parities, and clubs to participate in.

Michaels Arts & Crafts also offers a wide range of classes from jewelry making to learning how to decorate a cake. Michaels classes cost anywhere from $10-$15, and a calendar of all classes can be found online at classes.michaels.com.

5. FITNESS FRIENDSY Ladies’ night out just got a little hotter — literally. You and your girlfriends can sweat it out at one of the many fitness classes that Boone offers. Classes at the Paul H. Broyhill Wellness Center range from spin classes to water fitness. Neighborhood Yoga, located above Farmers Hardware on King Street, offers yoga classes of all levels. Finish your workout with your ladies with a healthy juice drink

from Juice Boone. Juice Boone offers a selection of freshly pressed juices and smoothies.

6. BOONE BULLETIN When you’re with your friends, stepping out of your comfort zone can seem a little less scary. Try something new.

Whether it is getting involved with a nonprofit or attending the Saturday morning farmers market in the summer months, there are endless activities for you and your girlfriends to jump right in. Pick up your local newspaper for calendars of events and club activities.

Want more ideas? Check out the LNO board on our Pinterest page at pinterest. com/aawboards.

3. BOOK CLUB, SOCIAL HUB Joining or even starting your own book club is a fabulous way to make sure you have a scheduled “ladies night out” every so often. Accompany your book club with potluck-style appetizers and a glass of wine. You can switch it up and have a book brunch one Saturday morning, along with mimosas, of course.

4. LAUGHS & CRAFTS Get your creative juices flowing and attend one of the many art classes that AAWMAG.COM | MARCH-APRIL 2017

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Relationships

Celebrate

Early Childhood Professionals and the Week of the Young Child

By the Children’s Council of Watauga County

As we celebrate the changing of the seasons and look forward to warm weather and fresh flowers that spring has to offer, The Children’s Council invites you to join us in celebrating our children and their caregivers in the High Country.

The purpose of the Week of the Young Child, April 24-29, is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs. The 36

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Children’s Council will be partnering with other agencies and businesses in the High Country to offer a week full of activities for all to enjoy.

The first and most influential caregiver a child interacts with is a parent, and for many, the second is a child care provider. The learning experiences and the bonds that are formed between children and their parents and teachers have a profound impact on their future cognitive, emotional, and social development.

For 40 years, The Children’s Council has worked to educate, support, and inspire child care professionals in our community by offering technical assistance, training workshops, early childhood conferences, provider appreciation banquets, and a resource library for teachers and families. We believe that if we invest in and support our teachers, they will work to do their best for our children.

2017 Week of the Young Child Activities Monday, April 23: Open House at The Children’s Council. Stop by between 1 and 4 p.m. for a snack, story time, art activity and a tour of our site.

The member fee for our Resource Library will be waived today.

Tuesday, April 24: Teacher Tuesday. The Children’s Council will be giving small treats to area child care providers, and we hope you will consider a small gift for your child’s teacher as well.

Wednesday, April 25: Breakfast of Champions. The Children's Council will host its annual breakfast at the Marriot from 7:45 to 8:45 a.m. An RSVP is required by April 15. Contact Mary Scott at 828-262-5424 if you would like an invitation.

Thursday, April 26: Bring a pack of diapers with you to The Children’s Playhouse and admission is free for up to four people or half price admission for anyone who does not bring diapers.

All diapers will go to our local Diaper Bank, Who Needs a Change? of the High Country. There will also be a healthy smoothie making demonstration for families, using ingredients from local farms. This will be hosted by Margie Mansure of the Watauga County Cooperative Extension. Time TBD. Friday, April 27: Family movie night at Watauga County Library at 6 p.m.

Contact Judith at the library for details at 828-264-8784.

Saturday, April 28: Children’s Fair from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at The National Guard Armory in Boone. Free admission. Your family can enjoy interactive games, informational sessions from businesses and organizations around the community, family portraits by Carolina Portrait Pros and more.

For more information on these celebrations or The Children’s Council’s programs and services, contact us at 225 Birch St. Suite #3 Boone, NC 28607; www.thechildrenscouncil.org; 828-262-5424; or mary@thechildrenscouncil.org.

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Relationships

Show Support for

Sexual Assault Victims & Survivors in April

by Kelsi Butler

Spring is an especially busy time of year for OASIS, as April is nationally recognized as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. OASIS Inc. (Opposing Abuse with Service, Information and Shelter) is the local nonprofit agency serving victims of domestic and sexual violence in Watauga and Avery counties.

OASIS was founded in 1978 by concerned community members who recognized a need for crisis intervention and support for survivors of interpersonal violence. Today, community support is just as important for OASIS as it was in 1978. The agency remains busy year-round, providing shelter, support, and advocacy for those experiencing violence, in addition to facilitating support groups, and prevention and education programs in our region to break the cycle of violence.

Every year, more people reach out to OASIS for help and support.

During April, OASIS will distribute teal ribbons to community members to help raise awareness about sexual violence and the frequency with which this crime occurs in our community. Awareness ribbons create conversation about a topic that for far too long has been shrouded with secrecy and shame. OASIS encourages local businesses and organizations to show their support for victims and survivors by participating in building awareness throughout the month.

You may show your support by posting the OASIS crisis line number on your marquee or social media page; you may hang posters in your place of business or distribute ribbons to customers; or you may donate to OASIS by visiting the agency’s website at oasisinc.org.

Also this spring, the 14th annual Midnight at the OASIS will take place Friday, May 19, at the Meadowbrook Inn in Blowing Rock. Tickets are $35, and there will be live music, Middle Eastern-themed heavy hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. All proceeds raised at this event are used to operate OASIS’s confidential, emergency shelter for victims and families fleeing intimate partner violence. To become a corporate sponsor for this event or to purchase tickets, visit oasisinc.org.

More information about OASIS services, community involvement, and upcoming events may be found on the agency’s website or by calling 828-264-1532.

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BY THE NUMBERS

1 of every 5 women will be victimized by sexual violence in her lifetime

Women between the ages of

1 out of 33 men may experience sexual violence

12 and 24 are at particular risk

In 2015-16, OASIS:

received over

1,900 calls

served 314 clients and 1 115 children

on the crisis line

provided shelter for 62 survivors and 45 children for a total of 2,289 bed nights

love THINGS WE

JEANS Miss Me Low-Rise Bootcut Denim with turquoise embellished pockets. Watsonatta Western World. 828-264-4540. SOCKS Blue Q Socks. $10.95. Shoppes at Farmers Hardware. www.shoppesatfarmers.com BOOTS Miss Macie tan leather Shawnee headdress boot.

Watsonatta Western World. 828-264-4540. RING Brilliant Cut Tangerine Garnet in a 14k White Gold Filigree Ring. Village Jewelers.

828-264-6559. www.villagejewelersltd.com BAG Scout 4 Boys Bag. $54. Shoppes at Farmers Hardware. www.shoppesatfarmers.com POTTERY We love EMPTY BOWLS! This bowl will be placed in the silent auction at the Empty Bowls Event, April 1 at Watauga High School.

Retail vailue $72. Doe Ridge Pottery. 828-264-1127. doeridgepottery.homestead.com

Relationships

mom’s world

Rewinding Our Life Being a product of the seventies and eighties, I grew up with the now antiquated cassette tape. When I was in elementary school, the tape recorder enabled my best friend Heather and I to make countless recordings of ourselves. I remember our rendition of Battlestar Galactica, where I was Apollo and she was Starbuck. Then there were

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the episodes of Star Wars yet to be unearthed by George Lucas which involved a very handsome and debonair Han Solo, a not-so-intelligent blonde Barbie as his girlfriend (whom we created), as well as the more down-to-earth Luke Skywalker.

I distinctly remember “acting out” the scenes as we were recording them, using the Star Wars figures and a Barbie Doll or

two that would be made to move up and down as we spoke their lines. Sometimes Barbie would be a little too spacey and ignorant, but we cared not since we were mainly interested in how Luke and Han got the job done.

We made news reports and our own commercials. As I got older, the cassette tape became how I shared and received

music. The miracle of the tape-to-tape recorder allowed us to make recordings of new bands we heard and make mix tapes.

I think the ďŹ rst music tape I got was a mix punk tape from a friend who lived down the street and put The Clash, The Kinks, and Iggy Pop on it for me. Throughout high school, there was the Bob Dylan tape “The Basement Tapesâ€? with The Band that I played endlessly in my old car (I think it was a Datsun) on my way to and from school. There were the tapes I got as musical love letters from my now-husband that spelled out messages in a great mixture of genres from the Rolling Stones to Grateful Dead to Led Zeppelin to the Beatles and others. In the more recent past, there was the tape I played in my 1980s Walkman (yes, a Sony Walkman) when I ran The Bear race for the ďŹ rst time seven or eight years ago in Linville. I had no iPod or smartphone or MP3 player.

Just depress the black rubbery button and play what you want to hear.

Now, I ďŹ nd myself thinking metaphorically about cassette players. There are moments when I want to hit “pause,â€? stop breathing for a second, and fully capture the signiďŹ cance of the event. For me, I think of my son Will’s graduation from high school. There was such elation, such depth of feeling, overowing love and

emotion, that I wanted to savor that very moment for a long time.

There are times when I want to hit “rewind� — sometimes to change the way I reacted with my kids in a stressful situation, sometimes to bring my heart and mind back to a time before some tragedy, and sometimes to ground my vision in my strong self, who I feel I am at my core when not having my foundation rocked by some unexpected event. I also think of hitting rewind when the passage of time weighs heavily upon my mother-soul: when I look at the refrigerator magnets and pictures and see Will at age 3 making cookies, Joe at age 4 playing soccer, Joe and Will with competing baseball card pictures from year to year through elementary school and into middle school, Ben’s stick person birthday card to my husband with big round faces with lines for arms and legs from many years ago, alongside wrestling schedules and track-wrestling numbers.

When they were young, I couldn’t wait for them to get more independent.

And now that they are older, I long to feel needed, as clichĂŠ as that sounds.

When my kids are going through physical or emotional pain, I want to fastforward, get them out the other side of it, somehow give them the life experience

that is so important without all the grief, tears, and hurt. I think to myself, “Can he really still be teething?� or “Will they ever stop coming into my room in the middle of the night with a nightmare?� or “Let’s skip puberty,� mentally just wanting to get through that time period. Rarely, I think of recording over something painful, trying to replace one memory with another.

Mostly, I think I wish that I had a cassette tape that I could go to every once in a while and hear their voices when they were infants, then toddlers, then schoolage kids, now that they are all getting on to adolescence and teen years. I hope that if I did so, I would ďŹ nd my responses usually loving, my parenting skills acceptable, my heart full, and my mind at peace. I hope that I would reect and feel good about how I’ve gotten them thus far — through this life that has two sides to every moment but whose 90 minutes goes by way too fast. heather jordan, CNM, MSN Comments or questions?

828.737.7711, ext. 253 landh@localnet.com

697 W K S | B , NC

.V J LTD. | 828.264.6559

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Echoes of Family

by Barbara Claypole White

White creates a world filled with music, heartache, mental illness, and, most importantly, a story about redeeming love.

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Past and present, loves lost and found, failed attempts and zealous restarts overlap in Barbara Claypole White’s latest novel, Echoes of Family. Set in both Carrboro, North Carolina and Newton Rushford, England, White brings generations, families and secrets together for a final coup de grace that ends with exciting new beginnings.

Through mania, depression, denial, countless hours of therapy and several visits to mental health facilities, Marianne Stokes remains haunted by her English hometown, where her mind began unraveling close to three decades prior. After a serious car accident that involved the death of an unborn child, the 47-year-old Marianne is catapulted back to the place where her 17-year-old heart was shattered when her boyfriend’s brother was killed and her unborn baby’s life was lost.

Taken in by the village vicar — who happens to be her first love — Marianne begins the slow process of trying to come to terms with her true self, warts, ego and all.

Using the voices of four narrators, White begins to disentangle the threads given to readers about Marianne’s and her vicar, Gabriel’s, childhood; the connection she shares with Jade, Marianne’s adopted daughter; and Darius, Marianne’s talented and effusive husband. Using these varying angles to tell their stories, White creates a world filled with music, heartache, mental illness, and, most importantly, a story about redeeming love.

During a eulogy, Marianne shares her experiences and explains the plight of someone struggling with mental illness: “On the way here, I passed the war memorial. I’m sure many of you did. That column of stone is a testament to the courage of young men who died fighting for their way of life. People like EmJ — and me — fight equally hard every day for the right to exist. She lost her life to a fatal disease because the noise in her head had taken over, like an invading army. But she never made a decision to enter the war.

Untrained and without weapons, she was thrown down on the front lines and told to fight. There is no reprieve when you have a broken mind; cease-fires are rare.

Even on good days, you know everything could change on a dime. Fear is your constant shadow.” Marianne continues to describe the difficulties of living with mental illness and the necessity of community support and the love of friends and family.

As Jade welcomes home her “Mama Bird” and Darius lovingly supports her as best he knows how, Marianne untangles the knots in her memory and, ultimately, finds her way home. “She collected her suitcase, cleared customs, and the moment the opaque glass doors whooshed open, she spotted Darius. He was standing next to a bunch of kids, eyes fixed on the doors. ‘Babe!’ he yelled. She launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck. The leather jacket fell to the floor, and — to hell with the audience — she kissed him as if nothing had ever mattered more. Now she was home.”

Carrying the philosophy that “life ultimately trumps tragedy” with them, each narrator finds a way to better understand him or herself — and, as a result, is willing to forgive and move forward.

Readers will fall in love with the voices in White’s work. Empathy for mental illness will be garnered from the novel’s pages — and the hope that Emily Dickinson immortalized will be found to “sing the tune without the words it never knew at all.”

About the Author A native of England, Barbara Claypole White lives in North Carolina and writes “hopeful drama with a healthy dose of mental illness.”

Her debut novel, The Unfinished Garden, won the 2013 Golden Quill Contest for Best First Book, and The In-Between Hour was chosen as a Winter 2014 Okra Pick.

About Echoes of Family, White explains, “With Marianne I deliberately set out to create a character who has done everything right to manage her disease — made smart decisions about meds, sleep, stress, and alcohol — and still something goes horribly wrong. Messedup brain chemistry is a potentially fatal illness that demands lifelong vigilance. It’s no different than heart disease or diabetes, but despite recent efforts, a broken mind is not viewed in the same way as a broken body. The stigma persist, and people continue to suffer in silence and isolation.”

In response to this character she has created, White says, “Preach it girlfriend, because in our efforts to be heard, we can never make too much noise.”

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828.264.5406 • www.jeffsplumbingandrepair.com AAWMAG.COM | MARCH-APRIL 2017

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ALL ABOUT TOWN WinterFest Fashion Show The Blowing Rock WinterFest Fashion Show was held at the Meadowbrook Inn on Friday, Jan. 27.

Proceeds benefitted the Women’s Fund of the Blue Ridge.

Photos by Anna Oakes

Top Left: A dress from Tazmaraz is modeled by Nickie Francz.

Top Right: Marianne Hall is ready for summer in this ensemble from Tanner-Doncaster.

Bottom Right: Corinna Dietrich models a blouse, floral pants and jacket from Almost Rodeo Drive as Ellyn Cooley of Tanner-Doncaster serves as fashion show emcee.

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ALL ABOUT TOWN

Elena Romagni and Patti Jupiter model fashions from J. McLaughlin.

Left: Meris Gant wears a bold floral print blouse, denims and platform shoes from Almost Rodeo Drive.

Right: Jenny Miller takes the walk in a casual outfit from Footsloggers.

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45

ALL ABOUT TOWN Young Professionals of Boone 5:01 The monthly Young Professionals of Boone 5:01 networking event was held Feb. 2 at Appalachian Mountain Brewery.

5:01 networking events are held on the first Thursday of each month; bring a business card.

Photos by Caroline Lawson

Pictured are Sarah Gunderson, Tara Brossa, Catherine Wallace, Paige Ulmer and Alanna Young.

5:01 events make for lively conversation after a day of work.

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YOUR HOME COULD BE FEATURED IN OUR MAGAZINE

Special Home Edition We will be featuring homes, whether owned or rented, old or new, that represent a strong personal perspective and unique style. Tell us what makes your living space special!

For more information and to submit your photos and descriptions, visit www.wataugademocrat.com/aaw/homeedition Deadline May 1. Home must be located in Watauga, Ashe or Avery County.

Formulated with natural and essential oils, these products will keep you coming back to the mountains.

Available at Boone Drug DeerďŹ eld, King St, Crossnore Drug and New Market.