All About Women September-October 2017 by Mountain Times Publications

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What was your best-ever Halloween costume?

PUBLISHER Gene Fowler

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Tom Mayer

Wonder Woman Underoos, red boots, and my mother’s “borrowed” gold lamé belt as a crown. I don't know how old I was then, but I would wear it again! - Heather Brandon While I enjoy decorating for fall and Halloween, I am not one to dress in costume frequently. I have a bumble bee costume that is reused as needed. With naturally frizzy hair, some fun clothes, and prank thick glasses, however, I was able to transform into a pretty convincing Professor Trelawney for a Harry Potter book release party once. - Melanie Davis Marshall

One of my proudest achievements in costume design came when I endeavored to transform into Ziggy Stardust (aka David Bowie). I ordered a metallic silver bodysuit from eBay and used masking tape and pink and purple fabric paint to achieve the vertical stripes of one of Ziggy’s space suits, affixed pasteboard to form the shoulder accents and collar and finished the job with a red wig and garish red boots I already owned from an impulse buy. I topped it off with a healthy dose of David Bowie swagger. - Anna Oakes

For my favorite Halloween costume I was a football referee. Since my dad was a referee, I borrowed his striped shirt, knee pants, whistle, and wool cap. Off I went with my friends, armed with soap, to attack our mean principal Miss McKenzie's windows. As we crept up her walk, she threw open the front door, welcomed us, and handed us O’ Henry Bars. - Sue Spirit

EDITOR Anna Oakes editor@aawmag.com 828.278.3602

CONTRIBUTORS Heather Brandon Children’s Council of Watauga County Bonnie Church Yogi Collins Marion Edwards Hollie Eudy Heather Jordan Caroline Lawson Melanie Davis Marshall Rob Moore OASIS Inc. Laney Ruckstuhl Kellen Short Sue Spirit

PRODUCTION & DESIGN Meleah Bryan Brandon Carini Kristin Obiso

ADVERTISING One year in college I dressed as a giant Juicy Juice box, complete with straw. It was a big hit on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. - Kellen Short

Bethany Higgins 828.264.6397

COVER PHOTO by Rob Moore

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CONTENTS

FEATURES 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 30

Halloween Costumes with Katie Boyette Valle Country Fair Melina LaVecchia Daniels Lauren Gioscio-Park Ineke Thomas Laura Kaufman Married to App State Football Pegge Laine

HOMESTEAD 09 10 11

Hillbetty Revival Eek-O-Friendly Halloween Pumpkin Carving Tips

LEISURE 32 34

Travel A Proper Tea Party

HEALTH 36

Living Well

FOOD & DRINK 38

Hispanic Heritage Month

STYLE 40

Beauty

RELATIONSHIPS 44 46 47

Mom’s World Children’s Council Domestic Violence Awareness

WOMEN WHO MAKE

18-25

IN EVERY ISSUE 06 07 42 48

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

September-October 2017 | 5

editor’s

note

There are quilters, knitters, and rug hookers, but crochet seems to be my family’s chosen craft, at least on my mother’s side. The afghan is chief among the crocheted works — it’s a unique, handmade, and functional gift for new homes and new babies — and my Grandma Leone always seemed to have one in progress. With the unﬁnished blanket draped across her lap, she kept one eye on her crochet stitch and the other on my sister and me. I love to see a colorful afghan thrown over a couch or chair, even in modern rooms — it adds a pop of color, a touch of comfort and tradition, and a feeling of home. I have three, one made by my grandma and two by my Mom, including one in App State black and “old gold.” But the craft extends beyond the afghan, to scarves, toboggans, and even a crocheted doll set my Grandma made me complete with doll, bassinet, and several changes of doll clothes. I loved it more than any Barbie doll. Grandma Leone made all of her own clothes, too — her standard uniform was the shift dress, in an endless assortment of patterns. My aunt Hope is a master seamstress, too, having made my cousin’s wedding dress and both of my high school prom dresses. As we head into the fall season and begin thinking of replacing outdoor activities with indoor ones, this issue of All About Women celebrates “women who make”: artists, crafters, and creators who work with their hands to make pieces of function, beauty, and meaning. Some have pursued their crafts full time, some are hobbyists, and some rise to the occasion for holiday festivities. As for me, I do wish I had more of a knack for crafts, as I’m so impressed by friends who, if they need or want something, simply make it — whether it be a new piece of furniture, a picture frame, or décor for their walls. I did learn to crochet at one time, but, as with driving a stickshift, that skill has since been forgotten. 6 | September-October 2017

The three afghans.

Over the past few years, I’ve been collecting pottery in a sea foam green glaze that I adore; I buy pieces from two potters, one in Roan Mountain and one at the Valle Country Fair, which is featured in this issue. (By the way, if you go, the trick is to go early, right when it opens, and you’ll beat a lot of the traffic that comes later in the morning.) Maybe I’ll pick up a new hobby eventually, but in the meantime, I’m happy to patronize my friends and neighbors, gradually adding to my collection of one-of-akind, functional or decorative (or both!)

works of art that add love and meaning to my surroundings and daily tasks.

A Clariﬁcation In our July-August “Home” issue, in the article “Life is Grand,” there were discrepancies as to the dates when some of the Grand Boulevard neighborhood’s historic homes were built. For a home with white paneling featured on the bottom of the left page of the article, county land records indicate the residence was built in 1890, but neighbors say the structure was built in 1930. For the home pictured above this one on the left page, town records indicate the house was built in 1910 and remodeled in 1970, but neighbors believe the house was not built until later, in 1925. The story misstated the family that built a home with a yard referred to as the “19th hole,” misstated the name of Grant Wilcox and misstated that town telephone operators received free rent. We thank everyone for providing input on our local history to achieve as much accuracy as possible. For more info about efforts to preserve and display the High Country’s archival memory, visit digitalwatauga.org. aawmag.com

Women in the News Carpenter Promoted to Beech Mountain Police Captain

Mayor E. “Rick” Miller (left) swears in Renee Carpenter (middle) as the new captain of Beech Mountain Police Department while her daughter Dani (right) holds the Bible during the Beech Mountain Town Council meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 8. Photo by Thomas Sherrill

he Aug. 8 monthly town council meeting started with a ceremony as Beech Mountain Police Department’s Renee Carpenter was promoted from sergeant to captain. Carpenter takes over the position formerly held by Tim Barnett, who was promoted to chief of police on Aug. 1. Barnett replaced Shawn Freeman, who left to be police chief in Black Mountain. With Carpenter’s daughter Dani holding a Bible, Mayor E. “Rick” Miller administered the oath, following which Carpenter was pinned with her new badge. “She’s been a fantastic officer, very loyal and dedicated to the town of Beech Mountain,” Barnett said of Carpenter. “I think we’re very fortunate and very blessed to have Renee with us.” Barnett noted that Carpenter started in 1992 as a dispatcher before becoming an officer after graduating law enforcement training in 1999. In 2008, Carpenter was promoted to sergeant and has since served as ﬁeld coordinator, training officer and instructor, as well as a physical training and communications instructor. — Thomas Sherrill

New Foundation Organizes Inaugural Walk/Run for Breast Cancer

he High Country Breast Cancer Foundation is a new nonproﬁt organization to raise money for local families affected by the disease by organizing events such as the High Country Walk/Run for Breast Cancer. The inaugural event will take place on Saturday, Oct. 28, at 9 a.m. in coordination with the Blowing Rock Halloween Festival. The walk/run will be a 5K fun run and walk, with turnoffs for a 1, 2, and 3K walk. The organization has set a goal of 200 attendees. The cost is $20 for adults, $10 for kids 6-17 and free for kids 5 and younger. A “sleep-in” option to support the cause is $10. The foundation was created by Irene Sawyer, a six-year breast cancer survivor who was diagnosed with a very rare, aggressive form of breast cancer in December of 2010. “After multiple surgeries and 18 months of chemotherapy, I started on the road to recovery,” Irene says. “One of the things that helped me through this journey was the support I received from my community.” Irene hopes to bring all of the businesses and organizations involved in supporting breast cancer awareness activities together under one umbrella. “With so much support within our community for this important cause, it is just a matter of time until a national organization comes to the High Country to organize a walk for breast cancer research,” she says. “While there are many wonderful breast cancer organizations nationally, the money they raise typically does not stay within the local community. My aim is to raise money to support cancer patients and survivors in the High Country.” For info, visit www.hcbcf.org. September-October 2017 | 7

Women in the News A-Lister Channing Tatum Visits Watauga Residents

Above: Actor Channing Tatum, left, poses with Bethel resident Allison Jennings, who hosted the celebrity and his crew at her home as part of a road trip promoting Tatum’s film Logan Lucky. Photos by Anna Oakes Left: Channing Tatum poses for a photo with Renee Boughman as Jackie Dunbar and Allison Jennings capture the shot.

ctor Channing Tatum and crew arrived in Watauga County in early August for a late evening cookout and campout at the Bethel home of Allison Jennings. The visit was part of an unconventional tour to promote the Steven Soderbergh-directed movie Logan Lucky, in theaters Aug. 18, which stars Tatum, Daniel Craig, Adam Driver, Riley Keough, Katie Holmes, Seth MacFarlane and Hillary Swank. Tatum (Magic Mike, 21 Jump Street) announced on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and on social media that he would be taking a crosscountry road trip to promote the ﬁlm, inviting viewers to suggest stops for #JimmyLogansRun. Allison said she got in touch with a family friend who is traveling with the #JimmyLogansRun crew, and the two arranged for Tatum’s visit to the Jennings’ Watauga County home. Allison, who is director of development for Watauga County Habitat for Humanity, hosts a couple of big get-togethers at her home each year, and so she and husband Mike re-created the mountain shindig for the Tatum crew, inviting about 30 friends and colleagues for a feast, backyard camping and a ﬁre pit. “We just wanted to do something different,” Tatum said. “Our movie’s about real folks, and that’s really what we wanted to do, just kind of do a road trip and get out with real folks.” Allison, who has spent years working on behalf of low-income families and individuals at Habitat for Humanity and the Hospitality House homeless shelter and crisis agency, called the experience “humbling.” “It’s just everyday life for me,” she said. “There’s just so many people in this world. Hanging out with somebody like Channing Tatum is just as important as hanging out with somebody that’s homeless. It doesn’t really matter — we’re all the same, and it’s kind of nice to bring it all in together.” 8 | September-October 2017

aawmag.com

Homestead

HILLBETTY REVIVAL

Tanning Hide PHOTOS BY MELANIE DAVIS MARSHALL

Hunting is a part of the hillbetty lifestyle, but I was looking for more uses and less waste in my harvest. The fur is beautiful and uses for leather galore, I began researching tanning techniques. I sought to go back to a traditional method and located great resources on a brain tan method. The premise is the brain of any animal is sufficient in emulsifying compounds to condition and tan the hide of that animal. The first step was to flesh the hide — removing any remaining fat and tissue. Most of my research recommended using a spoon or dull knife (or buying a special tool) to scrape the hide clean, but I actually made much cleaner, faster progress with my very sharp skinning knife. Initially, I tacked the hide to a pallet I had laying around, but after a puncture I moved it to a large sheet of plywood to reduce flexibility. Lesson learned. I soaked the hide overnight to loosen it up after the fleshing was complete with some baking soda mixed in as a deodorizer. Now, the tricky part was the fact that

I had not saved the brain of my deer. Thanks to a hunter in Montana, I located a recipe for fake brain. I am storing this away for the zombie apocalypse. Using six eggs, two cups-ish of mayonnaise, and water, I was on my way. There are varying recommendations on consistency; I went for more of a cream-of-brain soup. Over the course of the next couple of days, I hand-conditioned the hide each evening by working the mixture all over the exposed side of my hide. As this is worked in, you also want to stretch and move and “break” the hide into a softer, more leather feel. It is messy. The breakage can be tricky for fur-on, as too much working and the hair follicles release. I haven’t quite mastered it to a supple camping roll feel with fur on, but I am not done learning. After a few days of working the hide, I gave it a good wash with a lightly mixed dish soap and warm water to remove any excess brain mixture (or eggs, mayo, water) to prevent rot. After it was dry, I treated my leather side with a generous rub of neatsfoot oil and another overnight dry on my makeshift plywood rack.

To seal the deal, I smoked the hide over a very low heat fire. The resin in the smoke coats the leather for protection, sealing, and waterproofing. I started with a solid campfire to get a bed of hot coals and fashioned a teepee stake out of some old camping gear poles over the bed of coals. I soaked bark in water to ensure very little heat and billowing smoke. I clipped the edges of the hide around the teepee shape to funnel the smoke through the hide. My hide turned out pretty stiff when it was all said and done. I was a little too nervous about losing fur and didn’t work it quite enough. It did make a nice wall hanging, but I am looking forward to the next rounds and attempts at a softer, leathery feel to expand my usage options on the final project. Are truck seat covers too much?

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

September-October 2017 | 9

Homestead

Reusable tote bags are an eco-friendly way to collect Halloween bounty.

HAVE AN ‘EEK-O-FRIENDLY’ HALLOWEEN Halloween has transformed from a spiritual celebration of the harvest and a time to pay respect to departed relatives into a more lighthearted day for kids and adults alike. Billions of dollars are spent every year on everything from Halloween candy to costumes. Halloween may not be the most eco-friendly day of the year, but there are ways to make this beloved holiday a little less taxing on the environment.

REUSABLE PRODUCTS Investigate the ways items can be put to use year after year rather than having to buy entirely new items each Hallow10 | September-October 2017

een. It’s estimated that Americans use more than 380 million plastic bags every year, according to About News website’s environmental issues experts. Reusable tote bags have helped cut down plastic bag consumption when shopping at stores, while cloth or canvas bags also can make for eco-friendly alternatives to traditional Halloween totes. Have kids get into the habit of decorating their own canvas Halloween totes with fabric paint and other embellishments. The bag can be packed away with Halloween decorations and used year after year. Another way to reuse this Halloween is to store costumes and decorations properly so that they will not become damaged. Trends come and go, so a costume that was used a few years ago may

be useful again in due time. Take proper care with decorations so that they can be used for years to come.

CUT ENERGY CONSUMPTION Halloween is an easy time to reduce energy consumption at home. Fortunately, shadows and darkness ﬁt with the theme of the holiday, so dim the lights or leave them off and use soy candles to create that spooky ambiance. Reduce energy consumption during manufacturing and importing costumes by trying your hand at creative costumes aawmag.com

made at home. Many craft items and older clothing can be repurposed into clever costumes for people of all ages. Arrange for a costume swap with other people so that costumes can be rotated and used again.

ECO-FRIENDLY CANDY Halloween is largely about the treats. The candies and other items handed out at the door also can be customized so that they are more eco-friendly. Choose treats with minimal packaging or packaging that can be recycled. When possible, purchase treats from local stores, as this reduces fuel consumption and can help boost the local economy. Many organic and eco-friendly candy options are now available, so shop at organic grocery stores or health food stores to browse their selections.

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Stay close to home and do all of your trick-or-treating on foot to reduce fuel consumption. If rural conditions make it difficult to walk the neighborhood, plan a gathering where kids can trick-or-treat in one location, such as in a school parking lot or auditorium. When driving is an absolute must, carpool as much as possible.

USE SAFE MAKEUP Face paints and other makeup can transform ordinary people into just about any persona. However, very often makeup can contain lead or other metals, which not only can be harmful to personal health, but also the environment. Be sure to read the ingredients on makeup used and look for safe or even organic products. Halloween is awash in purple, orange and black. But this beloved holiday can be enhanced with a little green thinking as well.

September-October 2017 | 11

Homestead

America, turnips weren’t plentiful, so jack-o’-lanterns were instead carved into pumpkins. Today, many people carve jack-o’-lanterns, with some featuring just smiling or grimacing faces while others are far more artistic creations. These tips can help anyone carve a pumpkin.

Begin with a fresh pumpkin.

Look for a pumpkin with a green stem. If the pumpkin has been sitting around for too long or has been handled too much, the stem can get brittle and/or fall off. A thick, fresh pumpkin is best for carving.

Plan your ideas.

Halloween

Draw a plan for your pumpkin before you make your ﬁrst cut. Then transfer that design to the pumpkin with pen or a thin marker. Pumpkin-carving kits come with designs that can be “traced” by poking small holes to create the outline of the design.

Don’t cut all the way through.

Many professional pumpkin artists do not actually cut clear through the ﬂesh of the pumpkin. They carve and shave off layers of the outer rind until it becomes more translucent. The level of transparency can be adjusted based on how much skin is removed and as a way to add texture and shadowing. The more air that is allowed to penetrate the pumpkin, the faster it will start to degrade.

Pointers

Delay carving until the last minute.

Transforming pumpkins into cleverly carved creations is a Halloween tradition. Each October, glowing pumpkins take up residence near doorsteps and porches, adding to the magical ambiance of the season. Young and old spend time designing their themes and then taking knife to pumpkin to achieve the desired effects. Carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns can be traced back centuries to Ireland and a story about “Stingy Jack.” The tale involves Jack outwitting the Devil twice, the second time freeing the Devil from a prank in exchange for the promise that he would not claim Jack’s soul should Jack die. When Jack did die, God did not want the unsavory character in heaven, but the Devil could not claim Jack for hell. Therefore, Jack was relegated to roam the planet indeﬁnitely with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put that coal into a carved-out turnip. His ghostly ﬁgure was referred to as “Jack of the Lantern.” Later on it was shortened to “Jack O’Lantern.” When Irish immigrants arrived in North 12 | September-October 2017

Wait until the day before Halloween to begin carving. Pumpkins are a perishable item, and they’ll begin to rot as soon as you begin carving. Spritzing them with water can help them stay fresh, but there’s no turning back the clock once the ﬁrst cut is made.

Cut a hole in the back.

According to Brooklyn-based Maniac Pumpkin Carvers, cutting off the top of the pumpkin can affect its structural integrity and cause it to rot faster. Instead, cut a hole in the back of the pumpkin and use an electric light to illuminate it. LEDs are advisable because they don’t generate much heat, which can cook and rot the pumpkin from the inside out. With some creativity and a little know-how, anyone can create an eye-catching jack-o’-lantern. aawmag.com

Feature

‘Scissors, Glue and Imagination’ Local Artist Katie Boyette is a Halloween Costume Queen Until about 10 years ago, Katie Boyette’s Halloween costumes

Dressed as the Squid, Katie collects eggs from coop in Foscoe. Photo by Anna Oakes

didn’t have a lot of creative spark. At the time, she was a member of the Nth Degree Gallery & Studios. When October rolled around, she realized she was going to have to get imaginative for the gallery’s annual Halloween party. “Coming up with a creative costume was just kind of mandatory because it was an art studio,” Katie said. Katie is a local ﬁber artist whose craft is primarily focused in needlework and knitting, but she had just started experimenting with embroidery and wool felt. “I was using that in my art a lot. I had made something that I thought looked kind of like a circuit board, and I thought,

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The Eagle and daughter Sophia play a game of chess. Photo by Anna Oakes

oh — I could be a robot.” From there, she added elements like oven mitts for arms and paper mache to make the form. “That was pretty fun,” Katie said. “That was the first time I realized there’s a lot of potential to sew with felt. It’s very forgiving, it comes in every color. I knew how to sew, and I knew how to do paper mache, so it kind of took off from there.” Since then, Katie’s elaborate, contest-winning costumes have included a lobster, an eagle, a viking, a strong man and a giant squid. Last year, she sewed a stuffed shark onto a homemade wetsuit, made to look like a diver being attacked. Occasionally, Katie incorporates knitted elements such as the viking beard and hat she created, but they’re mostly sewn out of felt and other elements that she finds to be quicker. Although her costumes look complicated, she says she usually works on them last minute — sometimes starting as close to the holiday as the day before. “Generally, I’ll spend like a day or a day and a half just making a Halloween costume. That’s just kind of how I operate. I’m a procrastinator, but if I’m working on something, I have to finish it. I can’t change channels.” Katie’s ideas are unique, but to her, it’s just about considering what shapes the human form can be turned into. “I like animals, so I tend to have a lot of animal costumes, but then it’s like, well, what kind of animal could a human be?” she said. “I’ve had some pretty massive failures where I’ve had to abandon it and come up with something else last minute.” Before creating the diver costume being impaled by a shark, Katie attempted to turn her entire form into a shark. “It was a disaster,” she said. And other ambitious ideas haven’t quite worked out either. “Last year, I was gonna try to make a giant lizard carrying 14 | September-October 2017

Shark attack! Photo submit ted

a human in a cage. So the bottom half of my body was going to look like the lizard, and then I was in the cage. It was very elaborate, and as it turns out, near impossible to pull off.” But sometimes it isn’t about whether Katie can make the costume or not. Practicality can also get in the way. “Another time, I tried to make a little airplane that went around my waist,” she said. “But then I had this realization that it was just going to be impossible to navigate that at any party or event. Because sometimes, you can pull a costume off, but then when you think about wearing it all night and trying to talk to people and be around a bunch of people then you realize, that’s going to be miserable.” aawmag.com

One thing Katie won’t consider for her costumes is playing a character. She would much rather be an animal or something else recognizable. “I don’t play; I don’t do voices. I ﬁnd I do much better like, ‘oh, ha ha, you’re a human and you look like a squid.’” Katie’s artwork also incorporates similar elements. Lots of animals appear in her embroidery works, and she is no stranger to creating unexpected objects out of nontraditional materials. From stuffed monsters to soft sculptures of telephones, or even gas masks, Katie knows how to make just about anything out of fabric, felt and knitting needles. But she says it doesn’t require that kind of skill to create great costumes. “Think of it more as a construction project and you can really get creative with it — with very limited skills,” she says. “All you need is scissors, glue and imagination.” To see Katie’s work, visit www. katieboyette.com. View more photos of Katie’s costumes at aawmag.com.

Katie’s Tips for Making Creative Costumes 1.

“Think outside of the box.” You don’t want to be dressed like everyone else at the party with store-bought costumes. Get creative with your ideas and dress up as something you wouldn’t normally consider.

“Think about cheap things you have around your house. Cardboard does wonders.” Sewing felt is a great option, but for less experienced costume-makers, Katie says felt can be hot-glued on. She also recommends incorporating styrofoam, and paper mache.

Make sure the shape is something you can practically wear. Katie knows from experience that it’s important the costume can be practically worn. Think about “a shape or a thing you can turn the human form into, and then think about how you can turn the human form into that.”

Laney Ruckstuhl Laney Ruckstuhl is a former Watauga Democrat reporter who left the mountains for the big city in order to pursue her love of journalism. She is attending Boston University, where she is a reporter for the school’s radio station and an editor for the college paper.

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Open daily from 10am - 6pm September-October 2017 | 15

Feature

The Valle of Benevolence Valle Country Fair is High Country’s Premier Crafts Festival PHOTOS BY ANNA OAKES

Chrissie Callejas (above) is one of two vendors who have been with the Valle Country Fair all 39 years.

Since 1978, the Valle Crucis community has welcomed visitors to share in its celebration of the bountiful harvest that comes with fall. Surrounded by the golden glow of fall colors, the delicious smells of simmering Brunswick stew and sweet apple butter, and with a feeling akin to exhilaration, fair goers, volunteers, vendors, and exhibitors annually embrace the joy of a full day’s celebration of community, art, food, and fun. Preparing for its 39th year, co-chair Pam Conover describes the Valle Country Fair as “a great experience that allows everybody to come together as a community, to bond though service, and to build relationships and friendships.” Through the combined efforts of the area’s Holy Cross Episcopal Church and other organizations in Valle Crucis, the original mission of the fair remains the same: “to share Christ’s love through compassionate ministry.” All net proceeds from the fair, including a 10 percent tithe from 16 | September-October 2017

vendors, is funneled back into the community to support local charities and speciﬁc cases of those in need. Planning for the fair begins each year in January as committee leaders begin accepting exhibitor applications. These craftspeople are selected through a jury process, and new artisans are added to each year’s list of participants. Judges’ criteria includes variety, originality, and authenticity. Two vendors — Chrissie Callejas, pottery and porcelain; and John Dean, poplar bark baskets and vases—have been with the festival all 39 years. Seven other vendors have been exhibitors for over 25 years. A variety of traditional foods are part of the fair’s appeal and also part of the fair’s evolution. Pam describes, “Each year includes various reﬁnements that we hope improve, enhance, and allow more efficiency. For example, we now have a ‘take home’ option with food that we

haven’t prepared for in the past. Fairgoers are now welcome to take food home to those unable to attend the festivities or just for themselves to enjoy without having to worry about making a dinner after a day at the fair.” Part of a two-year rotation in leadership, Pam shares the role of chairperson with her husband. They have enjoyed several years of working with the fair as both volunteers and committee leaders. Pam explains, “the commitment necessary to make the fair a success is inherent when one experiences the camaraderie of working together and giving back to our community.” Given the fair’s beautiful setting, quality, and variety of artisans, the number of children’s activities, live music, traditional food, and a country theme, the Valle Country Fair relies on nothing more than offering participants the full experience of celebrating mountain style. It is a timeless appeal that brings more than 13,000 aawmag.com

to Valle Crucis each year. “The biggest challenge is the number of volunteers that are needed to run the fair,” says Pam. “Now that the fair has grown to over 13,000 visitors, the number of volunteers has not grown as fast, particularly in the food areas of chili, barbecue, Brunswick stew, and sausages. This year we have reached out to the community at large and are receiving support from other churches, the Valle Crucis Elementary School and social organizations to expand the volunteer base, with the motto ‘many hands make light work.’” The week before the fair, the fairgrounds are marked off and staked, the tents go up, vendors come and set up shop, and volunteers are sent in every direction to ensure no detail goes unnoticed. Finally, the day of the fair arrives. As Pam describes, “a successful fair includes, ﬁrst and foremost, good weather and lots of participants who leave anticiPaming the next year’s fair.” On Saturday night, vendors pack up. On Sunday, tents go down and stakes are taken out of the ground. Yet, the fair is not over. The day’s proceeds are counted and kept until the next calendar year, and

just as fairgoers are tucked into winter and beginning to thaw out in spring, the dollars they spent at the fair are ﬁnding their way to those in need of care. They are feeding, clothing, providing shelter and medicine for their neighbors and for their community. As committee members begin accepting applications, the Valle continues its benevolence. Enjoy this year’s celebration on Saturday, Oct. 21. Admission is free, parking is available for a fee, and all are welcome.

Hollie Eudy Hollie Eudy is an English teacher who loves stories, words and the Appalachian Mountains.

Above: Customers check out the pottery selection at a Valle Country Fair booth. Left: Renae Allison sells roasted nuts at the fair. Below: Fiber arts and seasonal décor are also featured items.

September-October 2017 | 17

Feature

Women Who Make Meet four local women who work with their hands to achieve beauty, function, & inner peace.

Photo by Heather Armstrong

Melina LaVecchia Daniels Ceramics by Lina LaV

elina LaVecchia Daniels, a Charlotte native, grew up with parents who worked in the culinary arts and interior design and surrounded their children with artistic expression in everyday life. That everyday expression made a deep impression on Melina and spurred her to seek a degree in art education with a concentration in ceramics from Appalachian State University. “I really wanted to teach people how to make things with their hands, not so much in a traditional sense but as a recreational and philosophical approach to the roots of making things,” explains Melina. “I was super-passionate about handmade, American-made goods and moving away from mass-produced factory goods. I was also really inspired by my parents because growing up with them as chefs I got to experience really exquisite cuisine.” Exquisite cuisine aside, Melina’s mother cooked a lot of family dinners for the family of six, always setting the table with beautiful china, ceramics, silver, and linens to create an experience. “Ceramics

as a whole art piece interacting with a meal…was my biggest inspiration in school,” Melina says. “I always had visions of completely handmade and illustrated tableware. My dad, working in culinary art, always said that your plate is your canvas and needs to be white because it is complementary to the food on the plate.” Melina knew she wanted to hone her ceramic-making skills, and in early 2012, while still a student, she looked on Craigslist and saw a brand new posting that listed a fully-equipped ceramics studio. “I called [the woman] and told her I was super-young and hadn’t graduated, but that I had a really intense passion to make ceramics,” Melina recalls. “Other people had already contacted her, but she felt I would use this space the best and that I needed to have it. It was a huge blessing and a one-in-amillion chance. It was really neat.” It has also paid off with the birth of Ceramics by Lina LaV, a ceramics company with pieces and collections that have garnered the attention of The Today

Show, companies like West Elm and Anthropologie, as well as steady traffic at the farmers market in Boone. “[Husband and artist] Jacob and I both really love meeting the people who are buying our work. When we hear stories of what it means to people, it makes our work feel so much more special,” Melina shares. Melina hopes her pieces will encourage people to surround themselves with beauty while they share meals together— an aspect of living more intentionally. “It takes at least eight to 10 days, with all of the ﬁring and drying periods, to create a cup, which is such a common object that it’s hard for people to spend a lot of money on it,” Melina recognizes. “The only people who can afford art these days are the elite. But, if we think consciously

and morally about where our money is going, we start coming back to buying clothes and pieces that were made here.” To see more of Melina’s work, visit www. ceramicsbylinalav.com or, on Instagram, @bylinalav. You may contact Melina by emailing her at Ceramicsbylinalav@ gmail.com.

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Lauren Gioscio-Park Welcome Juniper

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started stitching because it was someding,” thing I could do while breastfeeding,” says Lauren Gioscio-Park, mom of three d art she and sole creator of hand-embroidered niper, sells under the name of Welcome Juniper, named after her youngest daughter, 1-yearet, and old Juniper. “I needed a creative outlet, it was really hard to throw clay in my studio thing with a tiny little baby. I needed something portable.” Lauren’s work is a testament to thee types of handmade items her grandmothers were known for. “Both of my grandmothers were award-winning quilters. My dad’s mom, Granny, taught me a few stitches when I was in the fourth grade, [but] I wish I wasn’t such a brat when I was little, because I didn’t have an interest in quilting or embroidery, so I never asked my grandmothers to teach me. I feel like I’m doing this type of work so I can carry on their traditions of handmade items and needlework.” Growing up in Boone and studying interior design at Appalachian, Lauren expected she’d live in Boston or Charleston, but, well, love happened, and spresso after marrying Uijin Park, owner of Espresso News in Boone, she happily lives two doors ew up. down from the house in which she grew “The woods that are behind our housee are the woods I built forts in. It’s really sweet that our kids get to do that, too,” she says. 20 | September-October 2017

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Though embroidery was a means to scratch her creative itch, Lauren began selling her work via Instagram, an unexpected bonus. “I had been doing a little bit of embroidery and had learned from YouTube how to do the stitches,” she explains. “I started doing the alphabet out of flowers as practice and was on the letter ‘C’ when the mom of one of my really good friends saw it posted on Instagram and wanted to buy it. It kind of blew my mind that people would pay for it, and that it could be lucrative.” Unlike many embroiderers, however, Lauren designs her own patterns, making them truly one-of-a-kind. “I’ve never used someone else’s pattern; I always design everything that I stitch on my own,” she shares. “I design it in a sketchbook and make an iron-on pattern [from the design] or, typically, I draw it directly on the fabric. I’ll draw patterns out and then pick out the background fabric color and then the thread colors.” Depending on the complexity of the design, of course, it takes between six and 20 hours to complete a piece, and though Lauren enjoys selling her work, her heart is in making handmade items accessible to people more than making money. “I usually undersell myself because I try to make it more affordable for people,” she admits. “Everybody pushes to buy handmade stuff, but, ‘Hey, sorry, you can’t afford it.’” And while many of us are used to seeing embroidery primarily on pillows, Lauren enjoys displaying her work in quality hoops with exposed threads on the back, using straight stitches, and blending colors to make the finished piece look like a painting. “I’m so young compared to a lot of the women and men who typically do this craft. It’s like I’m an elderly woman at heart,” Lauren says. “It’s been a good fit, but am I an artist or am I just doing a craft? I still wouldn’t really consider myself as an artist with an art company. I just stitch something up and if people want to buy it, they can.” To see Lauren’s embroidery work, log onto Instagram and search for Welcome Juniper. To contact her, email her at welcome.juniper@gmail.com.

September-October 2017 | 21

Photos by Yogi Collins

Ineke Thomas Fiber Artist

s a fiber artist, Ineke Thomas of Blowing Rock finds she is more inspired by nature and by recycling items people normally throw away than by anything else. A native of Holland, Ineke (pronounced “Ee-nika”) spent her formative years in Indonesia, where her father took an accounting job due to a scarcity of work in war-ravaged Holland. Life in Indonesia seeded Ineke’s lifelong love of plants and animals which, in turn, inspires the fiber art she is recognized for now. “Nature inspires me,” Ineke explains. “When I grew

22 | September-October 2017

up in Indonesia, I was the only kid on a rubber plantation, so I sought my play companions and friends, so to speak, among plants and animals. I owned anything and everything from chickens to ducks to cats to dogs to a goat. They were my friends, so the tying into nature goes back a long time.” While she learned needlework and sewing as a child, it wasn’t until the birth of her first child in the early 1970s that she began making quilts. “The fiber art I do is really a development of quilting,” she says. “After I had filled aawmag.com

enough closets and trunks with quilts, I started exploring things that could go on the wall. So, I began to put them on canvases and stitch them carefully with invisible thread to make them ready to hang on the wall.” After friends and family encouraged Ineke to enter competitions and juried exhibitions, she did so with great success. “I was very fortunate to have been accepted at the

Halpert Biennial Exhibit, which ASU used to put on,” she recalls. “It was a competition open to people from the entire country. Since then, I have had different organizations seek me out as well as having had solo exhibits at the Turchin Center, Edgewood Cottage...and BRAHM in Blowing Rock.” Most recently, Ineke has moved away from only using traditional materials and is incorporating silk into her quilts—often from men’s ties—as well as some leather, shards of pottery pieces, and copper. “I have put pieces of my many quilts on a backdrop of wormy chestnut bark or sheet metal I have left in the open to rust. It looks very abstract and not traditional,” she offers. The result is quite stunning and draws the viewer in to the elements of the piece in a very intuitive way, espe-

cially considering Ineke is completely self-taught in traditional quilting as well as in her recent abstract expressions. She simply has had a need to create, originally, because her husband Lowell’s job required six different moves which uprooted her, her children, and the family’s dogs. “I had to look for something to ﬁnd peace in and, being somebody that was always exposed to needlework, I found it in needlework,” she says. Ineke is again seeking solace in her art after taking a break following the death of Lowell a little over a year ago. “It took me a long time just to pick up a needle again, at least six or eight months. But, in the last couple of months, I have started back into it. My husband and I were four months away from being married for 50 years. To have a companion and best friend for that many years leaves a big gap, a big hole.” Ineke can be contacted via the staff at the Blowing Rock Arts & History Museum.

September-October 2017 | 23

Laura Kaufman Niadele

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’ve always had a lot of challenges with my skin getting irritated or breaking out due to different cosmetics,” shares Laura Kaufman, creator of Niadele, a handcrafted makeup company. “I had poured so much money into trying to ﬁnd makeup that was good for my skin, and one day my mom said, ‘Why not make your own makeup?’ It was like a light bulb went off! I could picture me and the girls and having this company I could share with them. It was this exciting little seed of a dream, and I didn’t want to tell anyone because how dare I have this dream of a dream?” Secretly, it was off to the races. “I started trying free recipes, and I found these wonderful wholesale companies that were able to send me resources and books about good manufacturing practices and how to formulate products,” Laura explains. “In 2013, it was like a code I had to crack; I had to ﬁgure out how to do this!” Then, in 2014, Laura began a more focused approach, followed by taking a year to formulate, test, and make products that she would begin selling in 2015. “I had 24 | September-October 2017

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It was this exciting little seed of a dream, and I didn’t want to tell anyone because how dare I have this dream of a dream? - Laura Kaufman 10 or 15 friends who were excited about what I was doing and opted to be part of my test group. I’d make a new color and it would work for someone, so I’d name it after them. Really, it was one day after the other of just being committed to this project, and when it got to the point that I was having to restock samples and realized how much I was spending, I decided I needed to start a formal business.” Named for daughters Vivian Adele (6) and Nia (4), Niadele is a labor of love and meaningful example. “I wanted to incorporate the girls because I want to show them the beauty of self-care and being self-compassionate,” Laura explains. “I like the idea of having a ﬂow between self-care and creating as well as ‘mom life’ and working so I can model that for my girls.” Starting a company while working as the stay-at-home mother of two toddlers has been challenging, of course, but the support and help of husband Doug (as well as occasional babysitters) has allowed Laura to continue pursuing her dream by making her products from scratch in small batches, even creating custom colors for customers when she doesn’t have their shade. The hard work is paying off: Laura’s Etsy shop has garnered sales from Texas, Germany, and The Netherlands. “I love this,” Laura declares. “Every week I have people over and give a free makeover. I’m giving a gentle product to the community that’s nourishing and I’m getting to build friendships. It’s such a

good ﬁt, and I’m so thankful that I’m on this path. I’ve really enjoyed what’s blossomed from it. I love ﬁguring out what a person’s skin needs. I look at Niadele as being not just makeup but also skincare.”

Visit Niadele at www.niadele.com as well as Facebook. For consultations and more information, contact Laura at Laura@ niadele.com or via Facebook. Locally, Niadele is sold at Bluebird Exchange in Boone.

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

September-October 2017 | 25

Feature

Married to App State Football Mountaineer Coaches’ Wives Form the Ultimate ‘Special Team’ PHOTOS BY ROB MOORE

Beth Satterfield has never scored a touchdown, called a play or kicked a field goal. But she is just as invested in the success of Appalachian State University’s football program as the men who pass the pigskin. She and the 13 other women who are married to ASU’s coaches and support staff endure days of loneliness, sacrifice, and uncertainty for a lifestyle that isn’t always pom-poms and pep rallies. But those challenges are worth it, they say, to witness their spouses find success in careers that they love—and to play a quiet role in the development of the young men who lace up for the Mountaineers. “Being a coach’s wife, you’re part of the team, too,” Beth says. “You’re not out there making tackles and things like that, but you’re the glue that just kind of holds him up. We have got the best coaches’ wives on this staff who are very unselfish and very supportive of their husbands, and that’s what it takes.”

Chasing a Dream Beth Burleson and Scott Satterfield took their first date on Oct. 21, 1992, to the dollar cinema that used to stand across from Legends, where she politely declined popcorn and chuckled at Whoopi Goldberg’s antics in “Sister Act.” A star athlete on the track and field 26 | September-October 2017

team, Beth was excited to go out with the quarterback she had eyed from the edge of the track. The two clicked, and their college romance blossomed into a lasting partnership. They married in a simple ceremony at her hometown church after graduation in 1996. “We just thought we were going to live on love,” Beth says. “I guess that lasted about a month, then we ﬁgured out that we needed to get jobs.” After a couple of years back in her hometown of Spruce Pine—fairy tale for Beth, misery for Scott—she balked when he was offered a position coaching wide receivers at ASU. The couple had just purchased a house and car—could they afford to uproot their lives for a job offering just $7,000 a year? After getting an offer to teach at Hardin Park School, Beth reluctantly agreed to put their house on the market and make the 40-mile move. “I was a little scared to do that, but I knew that this was his dream, so I told him, ‘OK, you’ve got two years to make this work,’” she recalls. “If it doesn’t work, we’re moving back.” Just like that, everything worked out perfectly and life was easy. Except it wasn’t. At all. The house would not sell, and a teacher’s salary couldn’t cover all the expenses plus rent in Boone. The owners of the former Graystone Lodge heard about the Satterﬁelds’ dilemma and graciously offered a free room

at the hotel on weeknights. But weekends were booked solid, so Beth dragged suitcases between the hotel and their Spruce Pine house every Friday and Monday. After long hours at the stadium, Scott rode to his second job at Appalachian Ski Mountain, blowing snow until 2 a.m. to make ends meet. When Scott was offered a full-time, salaried position in April 1999 coaching running backs, it appeared their leap of faith was paying off. But the seasons to follow would continue to stretch the couple out of their comfort zone in new and different ways.

Married to the Game In college, Beth could run the 55-meter hurdles in 8.2 seconds. The 400-meter hurdles took her just over a minute. It’s lucky she was a pro with efficiency and discipline, because life never slowed down after that. Scott rose through the ranks with ASU football, serving as quarterbacks coach and helping lead Jerry Moore’s Mountaineers to three national titles and the epic defeat of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Meanwhile, the couple welcomed sons Bryce and Isaac in 2001 and 2003 and daughter Alli in 2004. Continued on page 28 aawmag.com

Pictured from left are Beth Satterfield, Kira Cardwell, Julie Hunt, Karolina Sirignano, Lauren Watts, Rebecca Woody, Rosa Ivey, Courtney McClellan-Brown, Kim Holt and Lindsey Thompson. Not pictured: Stephanie Sloan, Jonelle Clark and Christine Cruz-Ponce

Front row, from left: Kim Holt and Rosa Ivey. Second row, from left: Lindsey Thompson, Beth Satterfield and Courtney McClellan-Brown. Back row, from left: Karolina Sirignano, Rebecca Woody, Lauren Watts, Kira Cardwell and Julie Hunt. Not pictured: Stephanie Sloan, Jonelle Clark and Christine Cruz-Ponce

After three successful but challenging years away at Toledo and Florida International, they returned to the High Country in 2012, when Scott became ASU’s offensive coordinator and assistant head coach. He was named head coach that winter. With personal and professional success comes a hectic schedule. Between analyzing ﬁlm, leading practice, planning, academic meetings with student-athletes, team meals, devotions and travel to and from games, the coaches are occupied seven days a week, often late into the night. As a result, their wives and partners must be independent and self-sufficient, juggling their own careers, household tasks, and parenting with rare chances to enjoy their own pastimes. “To be a coach’s wife, you have to understand that there are going to be many, many times when you’re not going to have his attention,” Beth says. During spring recruitment, the ladies might not see their husbands for days at a time. A former TV reporter, Lauren Watts met her future husband, Justin Watts, when she was sent on assignment cover28 | September-October 2017

ing the Chattanooga football team. Early in their dating relationship, she got her ﬁrst taste of what it would be like to live alongside a college coach. “He disappeared off the face of the planet for two months,” she recalls. “What I didn’t know at the time was it was recruiting season. I thought, I guess he didn’t like me.” Courtney Brown, wife of cornerbacks coach Bryan Brown, can sympathize. Their 2- and 4-year-old children are often asleep before dad gets home, so she has learned to take advantage of every moment they can spend together as a complete family. Still, that sometimes gets interrupted. “I remember when my husband ﬁrst started, he didn’t have a social media presence, and that wasn’t required, but now that’s a huge thing,” Courtney says. “So even when he’s home, he always having to step out and either talk to a recruit or he’s tweeting. That’s a requirement; it’s not just like, I want to keep in touch. If he doesn’t do that, they won’t get the kids.”

Surrogate Families With so many demands on their hus-

bands’ time, the women serve as surrogate families for one another. They might gather for Friday morning workouts at the stadium, sushi dinners, Saturday tailgates, or even beach vacations together. Kim Holt, whose husband, Stu, coaches running backs and special teams, said she’s grateful to her girlfriends who support her when her pharmaceutical sales job requires her to hit the road. “What I have found, especially here, is that you have to rely on each other, because we’re all mostly living in places where we don’t have (extended) family,” Kim says. “There’s been many times where I’m working in Statesville and call Beth and say, ‘I’m running behind. Can you pick up the kids?’ It’s just been wonderful that we all rely on each other and help each other out.” They also join forces when it comes to helping out the team. Their informal roles with the football program make them familiar faces at Kidd Brewer. Beth says they often deliver meals to the stadium to allow the coaches to work through dinner, and they feed a portion of the team each week throughout the season. Even her mother, Jeannie, gets involved; her red velvet cake is a favorite among the aawmag.com

players. When recruits visit campus, the coaches’ wives are there to help answer parents’ questions and console mothers reluctant to part with their 18-year-old, 300-pound “babies.” Seeing the personal side of the program helps families become comfortable sending their sons to App, they say. “A lot of times if we can just get the kid and their parents on campus, they’re sold,” Beth says. “We just have such a unique environment and a welcoming environment here. When the mamas and dads see and feel the warmth of the people here, they’re sold. “The town of Boone and the Appalachian community—everybody helps with that. That’s just the way we do things here.”

Happy Appys Before her husband even took the job at App State, Kim Holt noticed something different about the atmosphere.

Coaches’ wives and kids were welcome to stop by campus—something far from guaranteed in the college football world. “Everybody kind of talks like that, ‘It’s a family atmosphere,’ but when you get down to it, our kids are incredibly comfortable when they come here,” Kim says. “That’s been a long-running culture, and Coach Satterﬁeld has continued that.” The genuine emphasis on community allows the coaches’ families to form close bonds with the athletes, too, Beth says. It’s gratifying to be part of the players’ transitions from meek freshmen to strong men, husbands, fathers, and leaders in their communities, she says. Those connections last beyond the athlete’s stint in Boone, Kim says. “Last summer, our whole summer our vacations were geared around past players’ weddings,” she says. “It’s not the four years and then we say goodbye.” Despite the challenges that accompany their unusual lifestyles, these leading ladies of App State football say all the negatives fade when game day arrives. Each win carries greater weight

for those who intricately understand the passion and sacriﬁce it took to get there. “It’s not just go on Saturday and see what happens,” Courtney says. “There is years of preparation for these games, and then to see your husband be successful at something he’s worked so hard for, it’s just wonderful.” Kellen Short Kellen Short is a former Watauga Democrat reporter who last year traded the Appalachians for the Rockies. She now writes about engineering at CU Boulder and returns to the High Country as often as possible. Reach Kellen at kellen.m.short@gmail.com.

Clockwise, from top right: The Mountaineer coaches’ wives sit together on a bus headed for New Mexico State. Photo submitted The ladies gather together at an App State football practice at Kidd Brewer Stadium in August. Photo by Rob Moore The Satterfields’ daughter Alli cheers on the Mountaineers. Photo submitted

September-October 2017 | 29

Feature

Photos by Caroline Lawson

‘Help Them Let Go of That Voice’ Pegge Laine Brings Art to the Community “Most adults have a voice in our head that says, ‘I’m not an artist; I can’t do this,’” says Pegge Laine, director of outreach for the Turchin Center for Visual Arts. “We look at a picture and say, ‘I can’t draw,’ but that has nothing to do with being creative and playing. I believe and stress that it’s the process, not the product. [At the Turchin Center], I create an inviting space with materials, and I invite people to play. It can help them let go of that voice.” It’s true: letting go of preconceptions, fears, and expectations is a key to creativity, but, to Pegge, the point isn’t as much what is created but the beneﬁts of the process. As a retired Watauga County school counselor, Pegge used art to help children express their emotions and feelings, witnessing how healing and healthy 30 | September-October 2017

it can be. Now, in her role at the Turchin Center, Pegge creates opportunities and spaces for both adults and children to create and heal. The oldest of six girls, Pegge grew up on a dairy farm in tiny Weddington, North Carolina, and though she didn’t have formal art lessons, she found an appreciation in art via nature. “We were outdoors most of the time. I have a real strong connection with the outdoors, and I see art in everything. Like, when I cut a tomato and see the texture and seeds in that. I can’t even serve a meal without having at least three different colors on my plate,” she laughs. Though she works in art as a retiree, Pegge originally received her undergraduate degree in education at UNC. Moving back home to be near her ailing

grandmother, Pegge taught at an elementary school and worked at an adaptive Outward Bound program, quickly realizing that the kids she met had a lot of needs beyond education, including the need for food, baths, and emotional healing and support. “There was a lot of poverty,” she recalls. “You couldn’t do this now, but I found that after work I would invite kids over for dinner and let them take baths. There were needs there. How can you learn when those basic needs are not taken care of? That’s kind of how I made the decision to study counseling.” Earning her graduate degree in counseling from Appalachian State and working as a school counselor, Pegge began using art as a way for students to get in touch with their emotions. “When aawmag.com

Pegge Laine instructs community members and college students in arts such as alcohol inks.

you’re a kid and something traumatic when I retired, but I really had not picked happens to you, you don’t have words for up a paintbrush until I was 55. It just kind it. For example,” she explains, “people tell of started me on this [artistic] journey.” you not to be angry, but there’s nothing Now, Pegge’s artistic journey includes wrong with anger, it’s the way we express creating opportunities for and connecting it. You need to ask yourpeople from different self, ‘Am I going to hurt backgrounds as they someone else or myself? experience and enjoy Is expressing anger this creating. “It’s just about way going to solve the opening people up to problem?’ If not, let’s the possibility of their look at other ways.” own creativity, to take After retiring, Pegge risks, to learn to see a began exploring expresmistake as perhaps a sive arts for her own new direction,” she exbenefit, truly painting for plains. “Art is about playthe first time in her life. ing with materials, enjoyShe actually was afraid ing the process, and just of paint until her teacher being. You really have told her to put it on the to be a kid again, let it - Pegge Laine canvas and that if she go, and let the process didn’t like it she could guide you.” wipe it off or cover it up. “It was kind of a During the school year, the Turchin natural fit to do this expressive arts thing Center offers “Blazing Easels” after school

“So many people think art is what’s on the wall, but really it is an expression of who we are.”

on Fridays for kids 7 to 12 years old. Also this fall, Pegge is excited to offer the community another two-day workshop called “Circles of Inﬂuence” as well as the ongoing open studio called “Inkalicious,” where people can come once a month and simply play with materials. “We put everything out and people can just create,” Pegge says. “I have a strong feeling that art promotes healing, growth, and a connection with other people and with the earth. So many people think art is what’s on the wall, but really it is an expression of who we are. It’s about the attitude and that everyone is creative. My job is to have the space and give you the permission to be creative.”

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

Turchin Center Outreach Programs The Arts and Education Outreach Programs of the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts at Appalachian State University are committed to connecting university arts resources to a diverse audience of community arts patrons, teachers, and learners to inspire a love of learning through the arts. Examples of Turchin Center outreach programs include Hidden Talents, a program in which adults in Boone’s Junaluska community discover their hidden talents as they explore collage, alcohol inks and painting; Boy's Night, in which adolescent boys in Bradford Trailer Park are encour-

aged to discover new things about themselves and the members of their community as they create art; Beyond Our Walls, which works with differently-abled adults at Watauga Opportunities to create work from the heart and strengthen self-esteem; The Artist Within, an expressive arts program for third- and fourth-graders; and WYN with Art, which works with the Western Youth Network in an afterschool program for at-risk adolescents. To see current and upcoming Turchin Center community outreach offerings, visit tcva.appstate.edu/outreach. September-October 2017 | 31

Leisure

TRAVEL

A Sugar-Dusted, Magical World: Holland and Belgium Up until this past spring, my best Easter ever was hiking off of the Blue Ridge Parkway in dense fog at Jumpinoff Rocks. Now all that has changed: I’m magically whisked off to Enkhuizen, a charming small town near the Zuider Zee in Holland. Our group of ﬁve is welcomed into the home of Hans and Geraldine, a small brick house with gardens bursting with blooms, for an Easter afternoon kaffee klatsch. Gerry ushers us right into the dining room to a table loaded with Easter delights: ceramic rabbits, yellow primrose, lighted candles, all kinds of Easter chocolates, petit fours, cheese with cumin, strawberries, grapes, a special Dutch cookie called stroopwafel (a thin wafflelike sandwich cookie with a sweet, chewy center), coffee, and tea. At each place Hans has arranged postcards of Enkhuizen, a tiny Dutch ﬂag, and a marshmallow egg in foil. After an hour of delightful conversation, Gerry brings out handmade bright-colored quilted chickens on sticks, one for each of us. But the best surprise of all, for me, 32 | September-October 2017

comes when I ask Hans and Gerry what life was like during World War II for Dutch children. Gerry says, “I was just a little girl when the war ended. I was 7.” I reply, “I was 7, too!” Gerry says, “I was born Aug. 20, 1938!” I reply with astonishment, “I was born Aug. 21, 1938!” Instant soul sisters, we hug and exclaim, “It can’t be true!” Who knows, with the time difference between the USA and the Netherlands, we may actually have been born on the same day. I never thought I’d be sailing on Dutch and Belgian rivers and canals at tulip time. Holland was one of the magical places we dreamed of as children. Hans Brinker and the silver skates, the Zuider Zee, windmills, wooden shoes, Dutch cheeses, the boy who put his finger in the dike, men’s billowy pants, women’s flyaway caps, Dutch bobs, double Dutch jump-roping, and tulips, tulips, tulips: all easily fit into our childish imaginations. On this trip we quickly add new experiences to our childhood repertoires: Men, women, children, and even babies tear by on bicycles, none wearing helmets. Four-

story-high bicycle racks hold hundreds of no-frills black bikes. Gigantic vintage sailboats crowd village harbors. Huge antique wooden houseboats are parked along the Amsterdam canals. Our boat canal passes over a superhighway. Our response to all of these: “Huh?? Did you see that?” Annemieke and Pieter welcome us to their tulip farm with steaming cups of herbal tea and molasses windmill cookies, the kind beloved by Dutch schoolchildren. As we sip and munch, they introduce us to their business: the growing, harvesting, and marketing of tulips. They’re assisted by young adults who have experienced difficulties obtaining and holding jobs because of various emotional and physical challenges. Next we are each invited to pick, or rather pull up by the roots, 10 tulips each to take with us back to our boat. By now we have discovered that, unlike in the USA, tulips are considered to be annual ﬂowers, not the beloved perennials we welcome each spring. They are yanked from the ground and bundled for market, aawmag.com

their bulbs lopped off and used as fodder for pigs. New bulbs for the entire Dutch tulip industry are shipped each year to Holland from Kyrgyzstan. Bidding Annemieke and Pieter goodbye, back to the boat we go with our bright-colored bouquets, to be stashed in our staterooms in handy vases cut from water bottles. Sometime this fall we will be surprised by a package in the mail from Annemieke and Pieter: tulip bulbs! A little bell tinkles as we enter Tilly Rose’s Tea Room in the small town of Flushing, Belgium. We have just jumped off a little wooden trolley bus to explore the old town, and have wandered, of all things, through a baby buggy museum (oude kinderwagens) with buggies dating back to the 1870s. Shivering in the chilly April afternoon, we’ve looked around for a place to get warm, hence Tilly Rose’s! We sit down and order hot chocolate. Cases of tempting pastries beckon, too, but we’ve just had lunch on our small ship. Dainty white wrought-iron tables and chairs are scattered about the room. China teapots dangle from the ceiling, and whimsical Alice-in-Wonderland-like half-teacups are glued to the walls. Lace curtains, pink tulips, and prayer flags complete the picture. Outside in the freezing cold are wooden deck chairs outfitted with blankets and pillows. Tilly brings our chocolate: a huge tray with two pint canning jars of steaming hot milk, spoons, and tiny plates filled with marshmallows, dark chocolate pieces, and pyramids of whipped cream. Ecstasy! We feel like queens at a tea party as we stir our sugary concoctions. We sip and sigh, then drag our feet as we leave paradise and head for the real world: the return trolley to our boat. Holland and Belgium in springtime: a sugar-dusted, magical world of sweet stories to tell and retell: of memorable people—Hans and Gerry, Annemieke and Pieter, and Tilly Rose—all inviting us for a scrumptious taste of life in Holland and Belgium.

sue spirit Writes poetry and essays about nature, spirituality, writing, and travel. She has a little cabin in the mountains. degreesoffreedom@frontier.com

Dutch Haiku Yanked up by the roots, tulips in Holland cry, “Ouch!” No resurrection. Happy pigs indulge, gorge on crunchy tulip bulbs, getting fat and fatter.

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Finally@skybest.com www.JETrealestateservices.com September-October 2017 | 33

Leisure

Elinor poses by the table at the third tea party in 2017. She was excited about the chocolate shoe. Photos submitted

A Proper Tea Party Like her Auntie Feather, my niece, Elinor, enjoys a proper tea party. For the past three years, we have hosted one at my mother’s home during her summer visit. It has become an eagerly anticipated annual event. One of the guests, Cameron, my friend Michelle’s daughter, so enjoys the party that this year she began a countdown a week in advance, much to her mother’s amusement. Do you have a niece, daughter or granddaughter who is tea party-obsessed? My tips and tricks will help you plan a successful party of your own.

Invite the Right People Because Elinor visits from Fayetteville, N.C., I invite my girlfriends and 34 | September-October 2017

their daughters. I am not excluding their sons — only one has a son, and he thinks tea parties are for girls. Wanting to keep the goodies for ourselves, we have done little to change his mind. This year, we were a party of 13 — eight ladies and ﬁve little ladies. The little ladies ranged in age from 2 to 10, and everyone got along beautifully! “I liked being with the older girls!” – Ruby, little lady

Planning Makes Perfect Little cakes and sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, and a delightful aromatic beverage — planning a perfect menu makes the party. At least I thought the menu was perfect until Elinor announced at last year’s party that

cucumber sandwiches are “disgusting.” I had to remind her that ladies keep such opinions to themselves. She also declined to try the scones. I kept the cucumber sandwiches on the menu because the adults like them. This year’s menu also included Key Lime Tarts, Raspberry Apricot Bars, Coffee Chocolate Blondies, Mini Veggie Quiche as well as store-bought popcorn and Dark Chocolate Pirouline rolled wafers. I made a pot of peppermint tea for the children; I offered my girlfriends both tea and chilled sparkling wine. Oh, and did I mention the chocolate shoe centerpiece that we devoured at the conclusion of the party? “I love tea and got to drink two cups!” – Cameron, little lady aawmag.com

Top Right: Even the weather is perfect. Top Left: Cameron, Elinor and Viviane pose together in Mummy’s garden. Bottom Left: Tea party selfie! Bottom Right: Cameron and Viviane are twinsies.

benches did not survive the day. Much to our surprise, it collapsed under us as we posed for a picture. We brushed ourselves off and gingerly composed ourselves on another bench for the photo. “I enjoyed watching Ruby, who had been pretending to be shy, yell, ‘Come on everybody, this way!’ as she led a charge of girls around the yard multiple times!” – Julie, lady

Keep It Clean Break Out the Good China Do you have china that never sees the light of day? Why not use it? Mummy breaks out her good cups and saucers for Elinor’s tea party. The girls are surprisingly careful with the fragile china and love showing off their mastery of the pinkyout-cup-hold. So far, we have not suffered any breakage.

Dress to Impress While we do not adhere to a strict dress code, we encourage guests to dress to impress. This can include a nice dress or slacks as well as princess costumes; superhero costumes or anything from Star Wars is also acceptable. Hats and fascinators are always suitable, as are long strings of pearls. I was wearing one such necklace this year when Viviane, my friend Lauren’s daughter, eyed my pearls appreciatively and said, “I like your necklace.” I immediately informed her father that his daughter has excellent taste in jewelry and that he was in trouble! “Tiaras are key to any good tea!” – Kristan, lady

“I liked the chocolate! And, dressing up!” – Viviane, little lady

Fun and Games Inevitably, the little ladies venture into Mummy’s gardens and proceed to run laps around the house (see chocolate consumption above). The ladies lounge on the porch, sip sparkling wine and occasionally wave to their children as they run past. Just kidding—we follow them around the yard to ensure that neither bones nor ﬂowerpots are broken. Alas, one of mummy’s garden

Two words… hand wipes! As the afternoon turned to evening and guests took their leave, I felt sure that all had a delightful time. Elinor hugged each person, sometimes multiple times, and yelled loudly, “See you next year!” She later told me that I was the best aunt ever. “That is correct,” I agreed, thinking about the time and effort that went into planning the party. “Don’t you forget it!”

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.

HAPPINESS IS...

Blowing Rock

Boone

(beside Food Lion)

(across from Post Office)

September-October 2017 | 35

Health

LIVING WELL

Breathe Like a Seal At times our life gets stressful, but probably not as stressful as the life of a Navy Seal during special ops. Yes, we all have to occasionally dodge a ﬁgurative bullet or two, but Navy Seals face the possibility of confronting the real thing. Stress sets in motion a cacophony of hormones that can undermine mental focus and the ability to intelligently respond to crisis. This is something a Seal cannot afford. Neither can you. Stress creates a cellular mess. It messes with the brain cells and the ability to learn and think clearly. It messes with the heart, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. It messes with the immune system, causing it to release compounds that can damage healthy cells. It even messes with our skin, reducing blood ﬂow and thereby accelerating the aging process. Weight gain, relationship issues and addiction are all associated with chronic stress. There is a simple way to clean up the stress mess: Breathe like a Navy Seal. When you breathe deeply, oxygen pours into every cell improving mental concentration and physical stamina. The infusion of oxygen helps you absorb vitamins and nutrients more efficiently. It creates more white blood cells to help with healing. Your muscle relax. Your blood pressure drops. Endorphins—the feel good hormones—are released. So why not take a deep breath? It costs you nothing but a little time. Here is the Navy Seals’ technique for controlling stress with breath. It’s called 4 x 4 or box breathing. 36 | September-October 2017

Step 1:

Step 4:

Find a comfortable chair or place to lie down.

Exhale for 4 seconds, emptying all of the air in your lungs.

Step 2:

Step 5:

Inhale for 4 seconds.

Hold your lungs empty for 4 seconds.

Step 3:

Step 6:

Hold air in your lungs for 4 seconds.

Repeat for five minutes, or as long as necessary to feel refocused and relaxed.

aawmag.com

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Resources and research on breathing and stress management can also be found at Harvard Medical Schools website: www.health.harvard.edu Remember: Always consult with your supervising health care practitioner before making any diet and lifestyle changes. bonnie church Certiﬁed Life and Wellness Coach Author/columnist, motivational speaker Certiﬁed Trainer for TLS Weight Loss Solution

(281) 734-6924 | 494 WEST KING ST SUITE ONE (across the street from Boone Saloon and next door to the Wild Craft Eatery) Follow us on Instagram for new creations September-October 2017 | 37

Food & Drink

Include Cuisine in Celebrations of Hispanic Culture Cantimpalitos

(Grilled Mini Chorizos with Potato Purée) Serves 6 2 pounds potatoes, cut into quarters 1/4 cup olive oil 6 cloves garlic 2 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons heavy cream 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage Salt to taste 36 cantimpalitos (mini chorizos)

Hispanic Heritage Month is observed Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 in the U.S., and celebrations of Hispanic heritage can focus on everything from Hispanics’ contributions in art, science, and sport. But no true celebration of Hispanic culture is complete without including cuisine. Hispanic cuisine is versatile, and chances are foodies from all walks of life 38 | September-October 2017

can ﬁnd a Hispanic dish that will please their palates and whet their appetites for even more. The following recipe for “Cantimpalitos (Grilled Mini Chorizos with Potato Purée)” from James Campbell Caruso’s “España: Exploring the Flavors of Spain” (Gibbs Smith) is simple to prepare and packs a ﬂavorful punch.

In a large pot of boiling water, boil the potatoes until soft. In a skillet, heat the olive oil and garlic together on medium heat for 7 minutes, until the garlic is cooked through, soft and brown. Drain the potatoes and put them in a food processor with the garlic, olive oil, butter, cream, sage, and salt. Purée well and set aside; keep hot. Heat a grill to medium-high heat. Thread cantimpalitos onto skewers, 6 pieces per serving. Grill for 4 minutes per side. Divide pureé onto 6 plates and top each serving with a skewer of grilled sausages. aawmag.com

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September-October 2017 | 39

Style

BEAUTY

Beauty Around the World I thought it would be interesting to research some of the beauty rituals that women around the world perform. In different parts of the world, the deﬁnition of physical beauty can differ quite a bit. American society places great emphasis on physical beauty. We discover that beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. Let’s start our journey in Thailand, where the Kayanlahwi women take having a graceful long neck to a whole new level. In their tribe, a long, long neck is a beautiful thing to behold. As young girls they begin to wear heavy coil brass rings around the neck, adding more and more until the shoulders are pushed down. This pushing down on the shoulders gives the illusion that the neck is being elongated. The men would in no way be interested in other women in the world with their unattractive little short necks, yuck! Next stop Iran — which just happens to be the nose job capital of the world — who knew? It’s a status symbol if you can afford a nose job, and many take it to the extreme by wearing a bandage on the nose even if they did not have the surgery. Yes, Iran has a whole lot of sculpting going on. Did you know there is a little country

in Africa called Mauritania where you can eat as much as you like? It’s really true. Women in Mauritania are deemed attractive if they are fat. The fatter, the more attractive. All you women under size 20 would wind up old maids if you lived in Mauritania, where hips rule. South Korea has a love affair with skin lightening. While we Americans are obsessed with the art of destroying our skin with tanning, women in South Korea are striving to be fairer than Snow White. Bleaching and lightening products are a booming industry. In South Korea our tanned, bronzed skin gets a big thumbs down. We spend a lot of time and money working on our pearly whites so we look good in all those selﬁes. If you belong to a certain tribe in Indonesia, you chisel your teeth (ouch). It seems that smaller, pointed teeth are desirable and a sign of affluence. Oh yes, and speaking of teeth, there is a current trend sweeping Japan where women of all ages are actually paying good money to dentists to make their teeth uneven and crooked. Crooked, imperfect teeth is viewed as cute and childlike. The practice is called Yaeba, which means double tooth. Go ﬁgure. While in Africa I visited the Maasai tribe, where the men and women beautify their earlobes by piercing and stretch-

ing them with weights until they almost touch the shoulders. The women embellish the lobes with ornate earrings. The men will loop the lobes over the entire ear when they want to shorten. I’ve seen several young folk right here in town sporting the lobe plugs in their ears. I wonder if they know the backstory. Lastly, let’s travel to Brazil — where beauty knows no bounds. Brazil is indeed the cosmetic transformation mecca of the world. Men as well as women are doing all kinds of body augmentations. Brazil has 3 percent of the world’s population yet performs 10 percent of all cosmetic surgery procedures. To name a few — eye lifts, nose jobs, breast augmentations, face lifts, tummy tucks, vaginal rejuvenations, penis enlargements, buttock enhancements (which have more than doubled in the past four years). Wherever you are in the world — You are Beautiful!

Marion Edwards Marion Edwards is a Licensed Esthetician, Professional Makeup Artist and Certiﬁed Trainer for Motives Cosmetics. She can be contacted at 828.773.1500.

September-October 2017 | 41

YOUNG AT HEART

Gallbladder Gone Bad Warning: Some scenes described in this article may not be appropriate for squeamish readers.

“It’s not your kidneys,” said the nurse as she ultrasounded my goopcovered abdomen, “but your gallbladder looks horrible!” Two years earlier… Roger and I were working outside when my back began hurting. What started as a dull ache in my left mid-back soon became an intense pain that I later described to Nurse Mummy (aka my mother) as “the feeling that I was breaking in two.” Based on my symptoms and the location of the pain, she thought it sounded like a kidney stone. That night, while a heating pad providing a small amount of relief, I reclined on the couch and tried to sleep. The pain went away sometime in the middle of the night, as suddenly as it had arrived. Later that week, I experienced episode two. The sequel was less intense but disconcerting nonetheless. My doctor was booked for the next month, so I went to 42 | September-October 2017

an urgent care center. I was poked and prodded; I peed in a cup. They sent me to the hospital for a pricy CT scan that showed nothing. “Inconclusive” was the official diagnosis, but based on my symptoms the doctor thought a kidney stone was the most likely culprit. For the next two years, I had occasional episodes. Because the discomfort was never as bad as the first time and always subsided quickly, I mostly ignored it. However, Nurse Mummy suggested that I schedule an appointment with a urologist and request an ultrasound of my kidneys, to see if there were any visible stones. I called and scheduled the first available appointment… for six weeks later. In the interim, Roger and I jetted off to San Diego, Calif., for vacation. On day three of what was supposed to be a sunfilled, relaxing week, I suffered a severe attack. The pain started soon after a delightful lunch of fried calamari, a roasted beet and goat cheese salad and cheesestuffed chile relleno. In retrospect, a poor choice for a gallbladder gone bad. That night was rough, and I had

several more less intense episodes as the week went by. The worst part was the bloating and the back pain, which made wearing a bra unbearable. Back to NC, I went to my urologist appointment, where the ultrasound indicated that my gallbladder, not my kidneys, appeared to be the problem. The urologist referred me to a surgeon; I got an appointment a month later. At this point, I was done with waiting. I called back the next day to check on cancellations—and success! I saw the surgeon later that week. We discussed bad gallbladders at length, because my symptoms were atypical. Gallbladder attacks normally occur after high fat or greasy meals, which I do not often eat. Pain normally presents on the right, not the left. Therefore, without an official ultrasound and diagnosis, he was not ready to suggest treatment options. Surprisingly, I got a second ultrasound appointment a week later. In the meantime, I researched gallbladders: causes of problems and foods aawmag.com

to avoid as well as whether surgery was avoidable. I learned that problems are more prevalent among women, and that cholecystectomies are one of the most common surgeries annually. I consulted with Nurse Mummy, who shared that we have a family history of gallbladder problems and informed me that since I had just become a woman of a certain age (40, she meant 40), this was my birthday present from nature. I would have preferred chocolates! The second ultrasound conﬁrmed what the ﬁrst had suggested. I suspected when I jokingly asked the technician if she had seen anything interesting in there, and she replied with a barely concealed look of abject terror that I should see a surgeon. I knew when the surgeon’s office called an hour later and informed me that I would be having surgery the next week. I began making plans. Although a cholecystectomy is an arthroscopic, outpatient procedure, I would have to be out of work for a few days; I needed someone to drive me to and from the hospital and to stay with me for 24 hours; and, I had to pay the surgeon’s office a $1,200 deposit.

“Is this normal?” I wondered. “What if the surgeon runs off with my money without removing my diseased gallbladder?”

cardboard, I asked what else they had; they had Cheerios. I scarfed down the cereal and was ready to check box number two, walking down the hall. My surgery was at 11 a.m.; I was home by 4 p.m. Once there, I quickly consumed three pieces of toast with almond butter. Clearly, organ removal had not affected my appetite, but I was sore and tired. I took the prescribed pain medicine that ﬁrst day; by the next day I only needed over-the-counter Ibuprofen. I needed none by day four. I tried to remember not to lift anything over 10 pounds; I had to do this for the next two weeks. I resigned myself to not doing any strenuous activity for four weeks. I refrained from picking at the glue holding my four small incisions together. Other than reducing my cheese intake, I found that I could eat my regular diet as long as I kept the portions small. I went to my post-op appointment two weeks later. Everything was healing nicely, but the remaining glue had started itching. As the PA removed it, he shared the results of my pathology report: I had a diseased gallbladder with acute and chronic cholecystitis and one large stone. In English, that means that my gallbladder was quite bad and could have disintegrated in an explosion of bile at any moment. Another two weeks passed, and I was surprised to ﬁnd myself back in the surgeon’s office. One of my incisions was red, puffy and sore. It was not an infection; it was worse! Upon examination, the PA described the red puffy area as a big zit or ingrown hair where my body was trying to purge an internal stitch. He gave me two options, pop it and pull out the offending stitch or leave it to work its way out. I chose the former; it was as unpleas-

ant as I expected. But, instant relief. I left the office feeling better but slightly disturbed to know that “internal stitch zits” exist. There have been no further surprises, and as I write this, I am approaching the six-week mark. My incisions are disappearing, I have gone back to the gym, and bills are arriving. No one wants to have surgery (well, not me, anyway), but I suppose it was good to get my diseased gallbladder removed (my internal debate continues as I receive each new bill). I do wish that the problem had been diagnosed sooner. To that end, take my advice: if you experience any of the same symptoms, speak up and ask your doctor if you might have a gallbladder gone bad! What I Paid I have Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance through my employer. My yearly deductible is $1,080.00. My yearly Coinsurance Out-of-Pocket limit is $4,388.00. Appointment with the urologist: $94.00 Consultation with the surgeon: $94.00 Ultrasound: $379.89 Radiology: $51.44 Surgeon deposit: $1,203.60 Hospital deposit: $1,200 Anesthesia: $202.41 Hospital: $2,466.64 Radiology: $31.55 Not having my gallbladder disintegrate in an explosion of bile: Priceless

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.

The day of my surgery arrived, as did the surgeon, but I was again surprised when the hospital requested a second $1,200 deposit as I was checking in. I begrudgingly handed over my Visa card, angry that the deposit had not been mentioned during my pre-op consultation. The next bit is blurry, but I had surgery and was soon back in my room. I immediately had to pee, thus checking my ﬁrst “must do before you can go home” box. I was also hungry. I requested something to eat, and the nurse offered saltines. Not being a fan of sodium-laden September-October 2017 | 43

Relationships

MOM’S WORLD

Punk Is Not Dead

Heather’s son, Will, at the Vans Warped Tour in July. Photos submitted

In complete disregard for dating myself, this year was my 25year college reunion. At times, it feels like a very, very long time ago. But sometimes, I don’t feel that far removed from the ideals and mindset that I had in my college years. It’s easy to wax nostalgic on that time in my life, but as I start to develop a new depth of relationship with my college-aged son, I have found myself looking for commonalities and ways in which we can connect on an adult level. When I was in school, you could say that I went through a hippie phase. My music was the Grateful Dead, late ‘60s music, Allman Brothers. Peace, love, and understanding were the underpinnings of my social outlook. I was probably a bit naive about the world surrounding me, and 44 | September-October 2017

a bit clueless about socio-political events, but I felt strongly about women’s rights, equality, social justice, and had a deep awareness of the socio-economic disparities in the world, having spent a semester in India as a senior in college. When my son started getting into punk and then hardcore metal, initially I dug deep into my past as an adolescent/ early teen around the age of 12 or 13, when I listened to The Clash and learned an appreciation of the sound, the driving guitar and drums, and the sometimes gravelly bare-bones singing that accompanied it. When I started listening to newer punk at my son’s suggestions, I can’t say I listened too carefully to the lyrics, but the music had a good beat and met the running tempo that I liked.

As time has gone on, I’ve taken a more active-listening role. My son has pointed out lyrics, asking, “You hear what they’re singing about, right?” If I stare blankly because I was just bobbing my head but not clearly making out the lyrics, he will spell out the lyrics and provide the background commentary so I can fully appreciate the point the band is making. To be honest, I’ve loved getting to know some of these hardcore bands and their lyrics. Yes, there is plenty of angst. Sometimes there is yelling. Some words might offend some people. But what I really like about this music is that many of these bands speak passionately about respect of all people, unity, and social justice. Frequently, their songs communicate a pressing call to action for aawmag.com

listeners to not just sit stagnant and go with the status quo. Many of the punk bands are fiercely pacifistic and anti-war — not against the soldiers who fight, but against the cost of life, the mental health impact, and the impact of capitalism on decision-making. In addition, a number of the bands encourage listeners to embrace their individuality and not just conform. The band Sum 41, in a song named “FatLip,” calls out, “I don’t want to waste my time/Become another casualty of society/I’ll never fall in line/Become another victim of your conformity/And back down.” Another female punk band named Bad Cop/Bad Cop sings in their song “Womanarchist,” “What social media was really going on?/ Opinions without action never gets anything done/...We have to stand for unifying/ Together, forever, the time is now.” When I think of the 1960s and the counterculture of that time, their message was equally disturbing to the older generations as some of these punk bands are to people in my generation now. But if you actually listen to the messages, they are really not that different. When my husband was talking to someone about our son’s music, he said that it wasn’t rock ‘n’ roll if it wasn’t “dangerous to the previous generation.” And maybe, that’s what I like about it, too. It’s a wake-up call to not fall asleep and sink so far into the daily grind that you forget that there are people suffering, people facing discrimination and violence, and people who lack a voice. For an early 19th birthday present for my son, I took him to The Warped Tour in Charlotte to see multiple punk and hardcore metal bands in early July. It was 90-plus degrees and I probably lost some more of my hearing, but we had a fantastic time, as we drifted from stage to stage. Some bands I more tolerated than enjoyed, but many of them I could really appreciate. One song that we heard

‘

Heather and son Will smile for a photo at the music fest.

But what I really like about this music is that many of these bands speak passionately about respect of all people, unity, and social justice.

’

was from an anarchopunk band called Anti-Flag named “This is the End.” Now before judging them for their lack of agreement with government, you must ﬁrst consider the intellectual message behind this song. It is exactly like the content that I explored in college in one of my cultural anthropology classes about “Images of Women” in which we discussed the socio-cultural impact of advertising and commercialism on body image for women. The official video has live footage interspersed with messages displayed in white words on a black screen. The lead singer belts out “Seems every station on the TV is selling something no one can be.” The messages comment: “More than 8.5 million people have cosmetic procedures in the U.S. per year,” followed in subsequent screens by

“This is the End...of self mutilation/of selfhatred/of hopelessness/of self-doubt/of marketing disease/of exploitation.” The type-set comments remark on models tending to be 23 percent lower weight than average women, about the estimated 10 million women and girls suffering from eating disorders, as well as the estimated 1 million men and boys suffering from anorexia. The band also comments on how 16 percent of people are affected by clinical depression at least once in their lives. Working with adolescent girls, teens, and women of all ages, these messages hit home. In my opinion, we should all be drawing attention to the media and commercialized messages of inadequacy that drives a lot of depression and unhealthy behaviors for those who don’t quite meet society’s idea of beauty or acceptable appearance. Not to mention, the band thoroughly rocked the song live. So, while I used to think of how crazy opposite I was from my son when I was 19, now I think, “yeah, I can get behind that message,” and I see that his anger and angst comes from his sense of what is right and just and fair and his frustration at the inequities. And despite our differences, we still can head bang to the same beat and smile at each other in our musical excursions. heather jordan, CNM, MSN Comments or questions? 828.737.7711, ext. 253 landh@localnet.com

September-October 2017 | 45

Relationships

Sculpting Little Brains BY MORIAH STEGALL, M.A. CHILDREN’S COUNCIL OF WATAUGA COUNTY

There are many ways in which to create a lasting legacy of kindness and creativity, to ensure that future generations will be equipped to provide for themselves, to cultivate a myriad of authentic relationships within a larger community. This is the goal of early childhood professionals. Understanding the difference between keeping a child for a day and fostering dynamic growth within a child is more than a skill. Helping to sculpt little brains — it’s a superhero talent! Did you know there are only 2,000 days between a child’s birth and the time they enter kindergarten? Did you know that a child’s brain is about 85 percent formed by the time they turn 3 years old? Child care professionals know this and understand the importance of providing high quality care for young children. Research has discovered important factors in building a healthy brain, and it may surprise you to learn it is not vitamins or educational toys. When studying the brains of young children, scientists found that emotional understanding of self and relationships with others are the foundation for all other learning. What that really means is that how young children feel about themselves, how others interact with them, and how children form relationships affect ALL other areas of growth and development. A young child’s emotional connection with 46 | September-October 2017

their caregiver, whether it is a parent or a teacher, is the driving force behind developing language skills. When a caregiver is responsive, attentive, and nurturing, a child learns that there is value in self and value in others. That concept leads to feelings of safety and security. Babies’ brains are wired to learn when they feel safe. Conversely, when a baby’s brain feels unsafe or unconnected to a caregiver, the brain switches on the ﬁght-or-ﬂight mode, and learning is paused. The early childhood period is a sensitive time in which caregivers can nurture young brains and help them develop to their fullest potential. Being trained to support a child both emotionally and physically through a challenge or struggle helps that child develop healthy stress management coping mechanisms and learn important decision-making skills. One of the ways in which the Children’s Council works to improve quality care for young children in Watauga County is by offering a variety of in-classroom technical assistance opportunities for professional child care providers. A key aspect of quality for children in child care is having supportive and stimulating interactions with their caregivers. Quality Support specialists tailor workshops to address improving teacher-child interactions and relationships. These workshops are done in a series, with research-driven

materials and in-classroom exercises to practice skills, and begin with a pre-series observation with follow-up observation to note areas of progress for each teacher. One of the participating teachers is Debra Feger, or “Ms. Debbi” as she is affectionately called by the children she cares for. Ms. Feger has been working with young children for 18 years, has a degree in early childhood education, and choose to enroll in the Quality Support program because “I was interested in getting more information to help my children. It was validating to see the videos where other teachers were doing the same things that I do in my classroom — that what I am doing is best practice. I was reminded of different ways to ask open-ended questions. That gets kids to think and helps them learn more language skills.” When asked how Ms. Feger utilizes the Children’s Council, she replied, “I love the various learning resources and support they have for teachers and for families. The kits kids can check out are fun. I know if I ever have a question, someone is there to answer it or help me ﬁnd the answer.” To learn more about the work the Children’s Council does with area child care centers, contact our office at 828-262-5424 or visit our website, www.thechildrenscouncil.org.

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Relationships

Raising Awareness of Domestic Violence in the High Country Founded in 1978, OASIS Inc. (Opposing Abuse with Service, Information, and Shelter) is dedicated to ending domestic and sexual violence in Watauga and Avery counties, North Carolina. OASIS works toward this mission by providing free, comprehensive emergency services, prevention and education, and a safe environment for survivors as they explore options for a violence-free life. For 39 years, OASIS has been striving to create a community of mutual respect and equality for all. Every year, in an effort to support victims of violence and raise awareness, OASIS encourages community members to come together in recognizing October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The connections inspired by DVAM build momentum to prevent domestic violence, a major public health, human rights, and social justice issue. This October, OASIS needs your help! You can get involved by wearing a purple ribbon during the month of October to raise awareness; inviting OASIS to speak

to your community group, church group, class, or other organization; or by making a financial contribution to support the work of OASIS. Throughout the month of October, OASIS will also be hosting a social media campaign through their Facebook and Twitter pages. Please like the agency on Facebook (/OASISBoone) and follow them on Twitter (@OASISBoone) to participate! Together, we can make a difference. All OASIS services are free and confidential. Services include a confidential emergency shelter for victims of domestic and sexual violence and their children; transitional and permanent supportive housing; local 24-hour crisis line in English and Spanish; free support groups; support during legal and medical processes; domestic and sexual violence prevention programs for children, teenagers, college students, and adults; community education and outreach; and collaboration with other agencies that offer complementary services.

For more information or to donate to OASIS, call their office at (828) 264-1532 or visit their website at www.oasisinc. org. For 24-hour crisis support, call (828) 262-5035.

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ALL ABOUT TOWN

Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting & Awards A celebration of the High Country business scene was highlighted by the presentation of seven community awards during the 68th Annual Membership Meeting of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce on Aug. 3. SkyLine/SkyBest served as presenting sponsor with Red Moon Hospitality catering dinner for over 470 attendees inside the Holmes Convocation Center on the campus of Appalachian State University. Photos by Kayla Lasure

Above: From left, Wysteria White, Gillian Baker, Wendy Patoprsty and Susan Jones share a hug after Patoprsty is presented the Baker-Jones Woman of the Year Award. Wendy is the project director for the Middle Fork Greenway, an effort to create a greenway trail connecting Boone and Blowing Rock. The award was presented by Appalachian Regional Healthcare System and Blue Ridge Energy in honor of longtime employees Gillian Baker and Susan Jones.

Right: The Sue W. Wilmoth Award for the Advancement of Tourism was presented to Michelle Ligon of the Boone and Watauga County Tourism Development Authorities. Pictured from left are Sheri Moretz, Wysteria White, David Jackson and Michelle Ligon.

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ALL ABOUT TOWN

Women’s Fund of the Blue Ridge Power of the Purse Luncheon The annual Women’s Fund of the Blue Ridge’s Power of the Purse Luncheon and Silent Auction utilized the image of Rosie the Riveter to emphasize the theme of “celebrating the empowerment of women in the High Country.” The event took place at the Linville Ridge Country Club on June 23, with more than 200 (mostly) women in attendance. It annually serves as the primary fundraiser so that the WFBR can distribute grants to nonprofit agencies serving women and girls in the High Country. This year’s Power of the Purse event raised more than $115,000. Photos by Jeff Eason

Left: Women at the Power of the Purse luncheon raise their glass in a toast.

Bottom Left: Cathy Williamson, dressed as Rosie the Riveter, discussed purse essentials at the Power of the Purse luncheon and silent auction fundraiser.

Bottom Right: From left, Elena Romagni and Megan Lynch, serving as co-chairs of the Power of the Purse event.

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ALL ABOUT TOWN

40th Annual Blowing Rock Fashion Show For the past four decades, the annual Blowing Rock Fashion Show has served as a benefit for health care facilities in the High Country. Since 1977, it has raised money for Blowing Rock. Now, it does the same for the Foley Center at Chestnut Ridge, which opened in January. This year’s event — the 40th annual — held at the Blowing Country Club on July 21. Approximately 180 people attended the event, which also included a silent auction and raffle. Photos by Jeff Eason

Above: Model Neal Orgain shows off a colorful outfit from Doncaster at the annual Blowing Rock Fashion Show.

Left: From left, Marty Couch is congratulated by Lynn Lawrence after being named 2017 Blowing Rock Woman of the Year at the annual Blowing Rock Fashion Show and Luncheon. Couch has been a driving force for the annual fashion show and for fundraising for the Foley Center at Chestnut Ridge.

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