FABULOUS NEW PRICES ON THESE OLD IRVING PARK HOMES
Stop Look Buy!
909 SUNSET DRIVE
Katie Keeps Selling Katie L. Redhead
GRI, CRS Broker/Realtor® 336.430.0219 mobile Katie.Redhead@trmhomes.com trmhomes.com
2009 DALTON ROAD
Tues.-Fri. 10-6pm Sat. 10-3pm www.StateStJewelers.com
211 A State St. Greensboro, NC (336) 273-5872
Smith & Libby TWO RINGS SEVEN MONTHS ONE BULLET
Now On View A fatal gunshot rocked the Reynolda estate and made national headlines in 1932. A millionaire tobacco heir . . . dead. His wife, the Broadway star Libby Holman, charged with murder. His best friend named as her accomplice. To this day, it is not known whether the death of Zachary Smith Reynolds, youngest child of R.J. and Katharine Reynolds, was by suicide, accident, or murder. This exhibition presents archival objects, news articles, and historical films and music to lay bare the mystery in all its fascinating complexity.
Oct. 15 | Nov. 18 Reynolda on the House
Oct. 28 | Nov. 4 Film Series: Sirens of the Silver Screen
Nov. 8 Drinks @ Dusk
Free admission and fun activities. Oct. 15: Aviation Nov. 18: Jazz
Featuring films with a connection to Smith and Libby. Oct. 28: Reckless (1935) Nov. 4: Sunset Boulevard (1950)
After the sun sets, Reynolda opens its doors to visitors 21+ for an evening of music, drinks, and art.
Presented by Mike and Debbie Rubin
2250 Reynolda Road, Winston-Salem, N.C.
reynolda.org/smith&libby
Major Sponsors
Presented by Leonard Ryden Burr Real Estate
Lead Sponsor
New Friends. New Experiences. At Friends Homes, fall is full of delightful treats, activities and celebrations. And with select studio and one-bedroom apartments and villa apartments now available, it’s the perfect time to join our active, welcoming community. Come experience firsthand the updated amenities, new wellness center and beautiful campus, including our range of independent living apartments, townhomes and cottages. Plus, you’ll get to sample our outstanding dining selections featuring seasonal menus with a variety of freshly prepared dishes to satisfy any appetite.
Life Plan Community
Call to sign up for a tour today.
GREENSBORO, NC 27410 | 3 3 6 . 3 6 9. 4 3 1 3 | FRIENDSHOMES.ORG
W H E R E H I STO R I C M E E TS M O D E R N
850 REVOLUTION MILL DRIVE, GREENSBORO | WWW.REVOLUTIONMILLGREENSBORO.COM | (336) 235-2393
This Community’s Bank. Working for TowneBank is so much more than banking. We’re involved in our community, in local businesses. We get to help families, individuals, and business owners. We’re not just a community bank... we’re this community’s bank.
Michael Diamond • 336-493-7227 TowneBank.com/Triad | Member FDIC
SVP, Private Banking Officer
October 2023
DEPARTMENTS 17 Chaos Theory
By Cassie Bustamante
21 Simple Life
By Jim Dodson
24 Sazerac 29 Tea Leaf Astrologer
By Zora Stellanova
31 Life’s Funny
By Maria Johnson By Anne Blythe
35 The Omnivorous Reader
FEATURES
38 Art of the State
53 Letting Go Poetry by Pat Riviere-Seel
44 Home Grown
By Cynthia Adams
54 Found Objects By Cassie Bustamante What’s old is newly loved
47 Birdwatch
60 Dogwood Farms’ Canvas of Color
By Liza Roberts
By Susan Campbell
49 Wandering Billy
By Billy Ingram
By Ross Howell Jr. Flowers by the acre, honey by the jar and views out of this world
104 Events Calendar 125 GreenScene 128 O.Henry Ending
66 Garden of Earthly Delights
Cover Photograph by Amy Freeman
made a space her own
By David Claude Bailey
By Cynthia Adams
Dr. Steve Ford tames a wooded beast 72 Agent Of Change By Maria Johnson How real estate ace Melissa Greer has 83 October Almanac By Ashley Walshe
6 O.Henry
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Fine Eyewear by Appointment 327 South Elm | Greensboro 336.274.1278 | TheViewOnElm.com Becky Causey, Licensed Optician
You’re welcome to explore all that Greensboro has to offer, from our tranquil lakes, to our award-winning regional and neighborhood parks, playgrounds, to our 100+ miles of well-maintained trails and greenways, and state-of-the-art entertainment venues. Your City government knows how important quality of life is when you decide to call a place home.
W W W. G R E E N S B O R O - N C . G O V
Want
to Sell? Inventory of homes for sale is at an all-time low. If you are considering selling your home, now is a great time! Scan the QR Code below to see a few automated valuation estimates for your home. As partners in the Triad’s largest locally owned real estate company, both Tyler Redhead & McAlister (Greensboro, Asheboro) and Leonard Ryden Burr (Winston-Salem), have professional agents ready to help.
Scan the QR Code below to see a few automated valuation estimates for your home.
336.274.1717 I trmhomes.com
336.779.9200 I golrb.com
ETHER
I
S
E
VE
G
.
G O T
RY THIN
Appreciating family and friends starts by planning your stay in the Crystal Coast. Enjoy 11 unique communities, 85 miles of coastline, and endless fun for all ages. We’re shaped by water, and after you visit, you will be too. See seasonal specials on amazing hotels and vacation rentals at CrystalCoastNC.org.
Built to your heart’s desire....
...custom homes and renovations 409-A Parkway Avenue • Greensboro, NC 27401 Todd Powley • Garyjobebuilder@yahoo.com
M A G A Z I N E
Volume 13, No. 10 “I have a fancy that every city has a voice.”
336.617.0090 111 Bain Street, Suite 324, Greensboro, NC 27406
www.ohenrymag.com PUBLISHER
David Woronoff david@thepilot.com Andie Rose, Creative Director andiesouthernpines@gmail.com Cassie Bustamante, Editor cassie@ohenrymag.com Jim Dodson, Editor at Large jwdauthor@gmail.com Miranda Glyder, Graphic Designer CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Cynthia Adams, David Claude Bailey, Maria Johnson CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Mallory Cash, Lynn Donovan, Amy Freeman, Bert VanderVeen, Mark Wagoner CONTRIBUTORS
Harry Blair, Anne Blythe, Susan Campbell, Wiley Cash, Ross Howell Jr.mBilly Ingram, Josephus III, Gerry O’Neill, Ogi Overman, Liza Roberts, Stephen E. Smith, Zora Stellanova, Ashley Walshe, Amberly Glitz Weber OUR RECENT INSTALL
ADVERTISING SALES
Marty Hefner, Advertising Advisor Lisa Allen 336.210.6921 • lisa@ohenrymag.com Amy Grove 336.456.0827 • amy@ohenrymag.com Brad Beard, Graphic Designer Jennifer Bunting, Advertising Coordinator ohenrymag@ohenrymag.com Henry Hogan, Finance Director 910.693.2497 Darlene Stark, Subscriptions & Circulation Director • 910.693.2488
Visit Our New Showroom
CARPET ONE
BY HENRY
2010 N. Church Street, Greensboro 336-379-1018 • www.carpetonebyhenry.com
12 O.Henry
OWNERS
Jack Andrews, Frank Daniels III, Lee Dirks, David Woronoff In memoriam Frank Daniels Jr. © Copyright 2023. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. O.Henry Magazine is published by The Pilot LLC
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
® ® ®
Contact Restoration Medspa Today For Your Complimentary Consultation!
Bridal gown care that goes above and beyond.
chaos theory
Through the Wringer Laughter, rinse, repeat By Cassie Bustamante
Questionable
choices? I’ve made a few. After all, I’ve been known to snip my own bangs when I get bored, despite the fact that my husband, Chris, thinks they’re “awkward”. I’ve attempted to pop deep pimples even though the results are always the same — a bigger blemish with a scab on top. The last time I did that, I even pointed to it as I said to Chris, “I will learn nothing from this.” But I’ve been known to make good decisions, too — like when I walked down the aisle — bangless, mind you — to marry Chris 20 years ago in late September, 2003. I know this to be true, because I’ve put him through the wringer in the two decades since saying “I do.” In fact, just a month or so after our nuptials, I tested the waters, accidentally, and discovered just how my new husband would handle a costly slip-up. That fall, I was employed as a personal trainer at Cross Gates Athletic Club, a family-friendly gym in Slidell, Louisiana. As is often the case in that profession, I worked split shifts, training in the early- to mid-morning hours and again in the evening. On one particular morning, my stomach churns, a cacophony of gurgling, rumbling sounds. You know the ones. I rush home for my midday break, parking my car in the driveway, certain I’ll pop some Pepto and be back on my feet. But things get progressively worse and the realization strikes: I’ve been hit with food poisoning. I call into the gym to cancel any remaining appointments and decide to move my car, a standard transmission VW Jetta, into the garage since I won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Once in the driver’s seat, I turn the key in the ignition, catching a blur of activity in the corner of my eye. In my unwell The Art & Soul of Greensboro
haze, I’ve not fully closed the door from the kitchen to the garage, and Charlie, our Houdini-like beagle, has spied his opportunity for freedom, shoving the door fully open with his snout. In my panic, I drop the clutch and the Jetta jolts forward, crashing right into our washing machine. Stunned, I glance back at the kitchen door, but Charlie is nowhere to be found. After turning the car off, I dash inside and find him trembling under our bed on the complete opposite end of the house. He’s petrified, but at least he’s safe. Back in the garage, I stare at the washing machine in disbelief. Nervously, I dial Chris. “Hey, so . . . um . . . I kind of ran my car into the washing machine,” I tell him, explaining the events that led to the collision. There’s a pregnant pause as I prepare for his wrath. Instead, he explodes in laughter. Once he’s able to speak again, he asks, “OK, well, does it still work?” “Lemme check. Oooooh, yes! Water is running!” I pause. “Scratch that, all the water is coming out at the bottom.” “OK, well, it’s no big deal,” he says. “We’ll go get a new washing machine this weekend,” he continues. “You’re all right and so is Charlie.” Another giggle escapes his lips and I picture him on the other end of the line, shaking his head. A week later, as Sears delivers our brand-new machine with the bonus free haul-away service for the old appliance, the driver says, “I’m not even going to ask what happened.” But I’ll tell you what happened. I discovered that I’d married a man who would help me find the lightness in tough situations and be by my side “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health,” with bangs or without. And while appliances can come with a high price tag, knowing I’ve chosen a great partner is priceless. OH Cassie Bustamante is editor of O.Henry magazine. O.Henry 17
DIG IN. RESTAURANT CONSTANCE
Charlotte. Dig into a culinary oasis where showstopping chefs, mixology magicians and pioneering restauranteurs are turning up the heat. Also on the menu, laughs worth remembering and plates made for sharing ensure this foodie destination is fit for every epicurean. Plan your trip at charlottesgotalot.com
@ charlottesgotalot
charlottesgotalot.com
WE WORK WITH ANY BUDGET
40% OFF
18 MONTH FINANCING CUSTOM CLOSETS I GARAGE CABINETS I HOME OFFICES I PANTRIES I LAUNDRIES I HOBBY ROOMS Terms and conditions: 40% off any order of $1200, 30% off any order $700 or more on any complete custom closet, garage, or home office unit. Not valid with any other offer. Free installation with any complete unit order of $500 or more. With incoming order, at time of purchase only. SPECIAL FINANCING For 12 months! (with approved credit) Available for a limited time. Call or ask your Designer for details. Expires October 31, 2023. Offer not valid in all regions.
Call for a free in-home design consultation and estimate
336-396-2300 closetsbydesign.com Follow us
Licensed and Insured • Locally Owned and Operated
simple life
Farewell to Golf But With Apologies to Sam Snead, Not Just Yet
By Jim Dodson
It began with a
ILLUSTRATION BY GERRY O'NEILL
few simple questions on a beautiful October evening last year as my best friend — and oldest golf rival — and I were walking up the ninth fairway of the club where we grew up playing and still belong. As usual of late, Patrick Robert McDaid and I were all square in our friendly nine-hole match. As we approached our tee shots in the fairway, he suddenly said: “Can you believe we both turn 70 next year?” I laughed. “If I forget, my aching left knee reminds me every morning.” Pat also laughed. “Isn’t that the truth.” I could tell, however, that something else was on his mind, the benefit of more than 58 years of close friendship. We began playing golf with — and against — each other the year we turned 12. “Do you think we’ll take one of those trips again?” he asked. We both knew what he meant. Over the 40 years I worked as a columnist and contributing editor for several major golf publications, my oldest pal and I had roamed the Holy Land of Golf, as we call it — Scotland, England and Ireland — more than half-a-dozen times in each other’s company, often on the spur of the moment with few, if any, arrangements made in advance, armed only with our golf clubs and hall passes from our wives. Before I could reply, he chuckled and added, “Remember that time in Scotland when you locked the keys in our rental car and we had to stay another night at that guest house near Southerness?” “How could I forget it? You’ve never let me live it down.” “The owners invited their crazy neighbors over just to hear your golf stories.” “Actually, it was your crazy fly-fishing stories they wanted to The Art & Soul of Greensboro
hear. You were more fun than a drunken bagpiper.” “Good whisky helped.” We hit our approach shots onto the green. I lagged my 20-footer to the edge of the cup and tapped in. As he stood over his 10-footer for birdie, he reflected, “I loved those trips. All those great old courses and golf on the fly.” As I watched, he rolled his birdie putt dead into the cup, sealing my fate with a 1-up victory. It was an annoying trend of late. His short game had gotten markedly better from years of regular practice, while mine had declined from benign neglect. I sometimes joked that moving to Pinehurst — the Home of American Golf, as it’s rightly known — was the worst thing I could have done to an aging golf game because I had no regular buddies to play with. I arrived there in 2005 a 2.5 index player and left a decade later a limping 10.5. All work and little play had left Jimmy one step closer to dufferdom. “I’m thinking we should do it one last time before the boneyard summons,” Pat declared. “You’re probably saying it because, for the first time in half-acentury, you’re regularly beating me.” “That’s true,” he admitted as we walked off for me to buy the beer. “But it would be even sweeter to finally beat you in some of the classic courses you love best.” Pat is a persuasive fellow, probably the reason he’s such a successful industrial go-to guy for one of the nation’s leading home improvement chains. To begin with, he’s blessed to the marrow with “the craic,” a delightful Irish slang word derived from Old English that denotes a natural ability to charm and engage almost anyone in friendly conversation. I’d witnessed my old friend work his Celtic magic too many times to deny its validity. Some years back while chasing the ball around Ireland, a mutual friend with a wicked sense of humor bestowed Pat the perfect nickname of “The Irish Antichrist,” owing to his supernatural ability to disarm and coerce a smile from almost everyone we met. More than once, I O.Henry 21
simple life must concede, we drank for free for the evening. Over his latest victory beer, I told Pat something Sam Snead said to me almost 30 years ago as we were playing the Greenbrier’s famous Old White course on a similar autumn afternoon. I was there to write about him for my “Departures” golf column. Sam liked me, in part because I was good friends with his best friend, Bill Campbell, the legendary amateur. Snead was almost an honorary son of Greensboro where he won the Greater Greensboro Open a record eight times, including six times at Starmount Forest, where Pat and I were soon sitting at the bar with our beers. “How old are you now, son?” Slammin’ Sam asked me that faraway afternoon. “Just turned 40, Mr. Snead.” “What a great age. That’s the prime of life — makin’ good money, got a wife and kids, probably playin’ your best golf ever. I wrote a book about that called Golf Begins at Forty. You should read it.” I promised to lay hands on a copy — when I got old. “But here’s the thing,” he went ahead. “Someday you’ll blink your eyes and be 70 or 80 years old. It’ll happen that fast, you’ll hardly believe it. You’ll suddenly be saying farewell to golf. That’s when you better grab hold of as many golf memories as you possibly can. That’s the beauty of golf. If you keep after it, you can play till your last breath. No other game on Earth let’s a fella do that.”
22 O.Henry
I watched him tee up his ball. “Just so you know,” he added over his shoulder, “I got plans to play at least to 100.” And with that, 81-year-old Samuel Jackson Snead striped a splendid drive to the heart of the 17th fairway. “So, who won the match?” demanded the Irish Antichrist. “That’s not the point,” I said as we sat at the bar. “Sam was just sharing a little golf wisdom about enjoying the game as one ages.” “Good for him. I guess this means we’re off to the Holy Land next year. By the way, I get at least four strokes a side.” “No way. Three for 18,” I said firmly, pointing out the threestroke difference in our official handicap indexes. This was nothing new. Over five plus decades, we’d argued about everything from the prettiest Bond girl to the absurdity of orange golf balls. A good friend, it’s said, knows all your best stories, but a best friend has lived them with you. Over 10 days near summer’s end, in the 58th year of our friendship, we played eight classic British golf courses during the heaviest rains in England’s recorded history. It was a slog, almost impossible at times as gale force winds blew our handicaps to pieces. Between us, we easily lost a dozen golf balls. But we had the time of our lives. Somehow, unforgettably, we ended up in a tie. OH Jim Dodson is the founding editor of O.Henry.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
10
HAPPENS HERE.
A course unlike any in the Pinehurst canon, No. 10 arrives in its full, natural splendor mere weeks ahead of the 2024 U.S. Open. Experience Tom Doak’s bold design beginning April 3, 2024 with our Premier Golf Package, where you can play No. 2, No. 10 & The Cradle . . . and unlimited additional rounds.*
PINEHURST.COM
®
SAZERAC
"A spirited forum of Gate City food, drink, history, art, events, rumors and eccentrics worthy of our famous namesake"
Lasting Legacy
Looking for a couples costume? One of you can sport an English tweed suit, white beard and round glasses — and don’t forget the trademark cigar — while the other wears a simple slip. Together, you’re a Freudian slip. Stop in the name of literacy! All you need is a whistle, a police cap and a “Grammar Police” tee to play the part. We’re happy to let you borrow ours. Colon or semi-colon — do we really need to go there? Another twofer? One person dresses as a dog-walker with a leash around the neck of the other, dressed as Santa. Subordinate Claus, anyone? Put on your most starched button-down and toss on a driving cap plus suspenders for added effect. Lastly, use black construction paper to cut out a comma and adhere it to your belly. You’ll be the most welcomed — and dapper — Oxford comma we’ve ever seen.
24 O.Henry
I know that you’re smiling down at me as I struggle with this, Saliba Hanhan. “You’re a writer, aren’t you?” you’re saying. “This should be easy for you.” You have a mischievous twinkle in your eyes and that smile incorporating every muscle in your face. Yes, Saliba, you were a chemist, a professor, a gourmet, a shopkeeper extraordinaire, a gardener, a cook and a masterful formulator of recipes. But you were also an astute philosopher, a lifelong student, and a collector of fascinating friends and interesting knowledge, which you generously shared with others. But your children — your daughter, Emily, and two sons, Easa and Omar, each of whom continues to share the glow and energy that kept us coming to your store, even when it was 30 miles away — were your real legacy, of which you were so justly proud. “I just got a cheese in that your friend Jim’s gonna love,” I can hear you saying, “but it may not be stinky enough for you.” And when we’d get home and start unpacking, I’d often find a heel of a Parmigiano-Reggiano or the bone of a Serrano ham that you slipped in. “You know what to do with it,” I can hear you saying. I don’t know what makes someone “great.” Fame? Fortune? Power? None of which you cared about. Your greatness went beyond conventional definitions of worldly accomplishments. What made you great was how you followed your heart, found what made you happy and then managed to share that happiness day in and day out with others. It’s a greatness that goes beyond the grave, which is why, once again, I can hear you saying, “David. That’s a bit too much. Calm down.” — David Claude Bailey
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
ILLUSTRATION BY MIRANDA GLYDER
Halloween — the one time of year that it’s acceptable to dress up like Blond Ambition World Tour-era Madonna. Every other time we don the look, we get nothing but sideeye from our office mates. We’re dropping some easy-to-pulloff holiday looks, inspired by one of our fav subjects: the English language.
APRIL 18, 1940 – AUGUST 2, 2023
PHOTOGRAPH BY JIM MCMILLAN
Unsolicited Advice
Saliba Isa Hanhan
sazerac
Sage Gardener Garlic has been around for at least 5,000 years, but its reputation has hardly improved. Esteemed by the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans for its medicinal properties, fed to workers, soldiers and oarsmen to increase their stamina, and touted for increasing sexual potency, garlic has long been “disdained by the aristocracy” and denigrated by love poets such as Horace, according to the Oxford Companion to Food. Never mind that Pliny the Elder listed 61 remedies prepared from garlic or that it’s still used in China today as an antibacterial, antifungal and antithrombotic agent. Admittedly, garlic’s after-odor is a tad odiferous — fetid, putrid, foul and rank, according to some of my former office mates. So one of the prime reasons I’ve been looking forward to retirement is eating as much garlic as I want, whenever I want. Garlic confit. Basque garlic soup. Aioli by the spoonful, ladled on a baguette. Garlicky harissa. Kimchi. Forty-clove garlic chicken à la Julia Child, who once wrote in The Boston Globe, “40 cloves
Calling All O.Henry Essayists Don't forget to enter our annual 1,000-word essay contest, themed "The Kindness of Strangers." Details can be found here: ohenrymag.com/ sazerac-september-2023.
may not be enough.” And with the arrival of fall, it’s high time to get it in the ground. According to the Central N.C. Planting Calendar, the ideal planting time for garlic is from September 15 to November 30. Don’t sweat the frost. As our warm fall temperatures shift to colder, freezing days and nights, the bulbs sprout and take hold, waiting for warm spring days to reach their green tentacles out of the hay covering them. (It’s called vernalization.) Garlic thrives on nitrogen, so top dress your plants in February with composted manure. And if you’re planting hardneck garlic (look it up), by all means harvest the scapes and pop them, sautéed, into an omelet with blue cheese. (Removing the scapes increases bulb size by as much as 30 percent.) The bulbs will fill out by summer, just in time for pico de gallo and pesto. Tie the harvested plants in bundles and hang them high from the eaves of a shed or garage for four to six weeks so they cure. By then, it’s almost time to put some of them back into the ground. (No need to worry about crosspollination because each plant is a clone of its parent.) Plant your largest cloves to get bigger bulbs next year. And, when vampires take wing on the night on October 31, think about baking a big batch of roasted-garlic, chocolate chip cookies (https://www.food. com/recipe/garlic-chocolate-chip-cookies-28771). Sink your fangs into that. — David Claude Bailey
Window to the Past Kids in the 1940s: ″Trick-ortreat, give us Fig Newtons to eat!″ Kids today: "′Made with real fruit?′ What else ya got?"
PHOTOGRAPH © CAROL W. MARTIN/GREENSBORO HISTORY MUSEUM COLLECTION
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Henry 25
Rock your space
INSIDE & OUT Create an impressive focal point with the timeless style and splendor of natural stone and stone veneer from SiteOne,® Your Home for Stone. Our knowledgeable experts can help you select materials and techniques and can connect you with the right contractor for any indoor or outdoor project. Let’s Rock! Visit Siteone.com/contactus/hardscapes or any of our local branches to learn more. 8605 Triad Dr. Colfax, NC 27235 336.996.4918
19730 Virgil H Goode Hwy. Rocky Mount, VA 24151 540.483.2737
QW HAPPENINGS & NEWS
E M P LOY E E OW N E D
26 O.Henry
• Getaway Special: Slip away for some “us” time. Stay one, two or three nights with dining credits. | ohenryhotel.com or proximityhotel.com • LIVE Music Wednesdays at PWB: AM rOdeO (Jessica Mashburn & Evan Olson) 6 PM | printworksbistro.com • O.Henry LIVE JAZZ: Every Thursday from 6-9 PM in the Social Lobby. See the artists schedule at ohenryhotel.com • Great News! PWB & GVG made three Top 100 in US rankings! Date Nights | Outdoor Dining | Brunch • Refresco Al Fresco: Relax in our lush dining gardens with cool breezes and shade. | lucky32.com, greenvalleygrill.com and printworksbistro.com
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE EDWARD ARMSTRONG FAMILY COLLECTION
sazerac
Just One Thing Whether or not you’re a fan of blood sports, history cannot be erased: Less than 120 years ago, some of the richest and most influential captains of American industry traveled hundred of miles to Jamestown to realize their most cherished dream — killing a dozen or more birds in one afternoon. In this photo taken in front of Deep River Hunting Lodge (most likely by renowned sports photographer J.C. Hemment), millionaire industrialist and lodge owner Clarence Hungerford Mackay, sporting the fedora, holds the leads of a pliant pack of bird dogs. The setters and pointers were trained by Englishman Edward Armstrong, whose family shared the photo and other artifacts on display at the High Point Museum in Field & Feathers: Hunting at Deep River Lodge, 1895– 1935. The gentleman standing next to Mackay with the handsome, dark mustachio is William Kissam Vanderbilt II, says Marian Inabinett, curator of the museum’s collection. The tall and dapper huntsman facing Mackay seems to be Reginald Ronalds, whose great-grandfather was Pierre Lorillard II. Deep River Lodge, designed by noted Gilded Age architect Stanford
White, was the grandest of a number of hunting lodges across central North Carolina. “It’s a forgotten story, but for decades America’s wealthiest men enjoyed hunting bobwhite quail that thrived among the woods and open farmland in the center of the state,” says Inabinett. “Also on display are a suitcase and steamer trunk with great travel stickers on them, a bottle of Champagne from the lodge’s wine cellar, lots and lots of ocean liner memorabilia, and even some steamship tickets for hunting dogs,” she says. The exhibit will be open through January 31, 2024. Other photos and images can be seen via the museum’s app and on its Facebook page. Info: www.highpointmuseum.org and www.facebook. com/HighPointMuseum
I help my clients sell their
homes no matter what the price!
Kathy Haines, REALTOR® Kathy Haines Homes By eXp Realty www.KathyHaines.com | Results@KathyHaines.com
336-339-2000 FIND ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Henry 27
Serving
THE GREENSBORO COMMUNITY FOR OVER 40 YEARS Family & Cosmetic Dentistry Dental Crowns & Implants
Welcoming New Patients 2511 Oakcrest Avenue • Greensboro, NC 27408
28 O.Henry
336-282-2120 The Art & Soul of Greensboro
tea leaf astrologer
ARTSTOCK STUDIO TOUR GREENSBORO ARTISTS’ OPEN STUDIOS
Libra
(September 23 – October 22) To (pick a verb, any verb), or not to (same verb). Such is the life of a Libra. On October 4, the existential turmoil will subside when Mercury (the messenger planet) enters your sun sign, offering the clarity of thought and speech you so desperately desire. Enjoy it while it lasts. The new moon solar eclipse on October 14 has the potential to incite some wildly dramatic changes. Treat yourself to a restorative day of self-care. Frankly, you’re going to need it.
Tea leaf “fortunes” for the rest of you: Scorpio (October 23 – November 21)
Turn the compost. Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)
Moisturize. Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)
Check the expiration date. Aquarius (January 20 – February 18)
Someone needs a larger pot. Pisces (February 19 – March 20)
The animals are trying to tell you something. Aries (March 21 – April 19)
Stick to the plan. Taurus (April 20 – May 20)
Don’t spoil your supper. Gemini (May 21 – June 20)
Phone a friend. Cancer (June 21 – July 22)
Consider the scenic route. Leo (July 23 – August 22)
Three words: mineral foot soak. Virgo (August 23 – September 22)
40 + LOCATIONS 20 + ARTISTS
Gallery Opening Party
October 19 th | 6-9 PM | 1250 Revolution Mill
Studio Tour - October 21st-22 nd
It’s funnier than you think. OH
Zora Stellanova has been divining with tea leaves since Game of Thrones’ Starbucks cup mishap of 2019. While she’s not exactly a medium, she’s far from average. She lives in the N.C. foothills with her Sphynx cat, Lyla. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Henry 29
WE HAVE THE RIGHT OPTION FOR YOU! Lyric
Phonak Audéo Lumity
At Doctors Hearing Care, better hearing is always our focus. Dr. Amy Kirkland, Au.D. and Dr. Melissa Westall, Au.D. are committed to provide each patient with an exceptional level of care and attention. Together, they have been the triad’s leaders in hearing technology for over 28 years.
Announcing our New Location:
Go to our website to find special offers on a binaural subscription of Lyric.
Kirkwood Commons 2616-F Lawndale Drive Greensboro, NC 47408
Call today to make an appointment!
2783 NC Hwy 68 South, Suite 109 High Point, NC 27265
Amy Kirkland, Au.D.
Melissa Westall, Au.D.
336-889-4327 www.doctorshearingcare.com
Lyric is not appropriate for all patients. See a Lyric Provider to determine if Lyric is right for you. Lyric, Distributed by Phonak, LLC ©2022. All rights reserved. MS108563
How is Medicare like your Smart phone? The more you learn about it, the easier it is to use... and even discover some new cool features! We now have three new classes on Medicare that are specifically designed to help you get the most out of your plans.
Call now to reserve your spot! Classes are offered several times a week, taught by independent brokers representing multiple companies (which means no bias to company).
The Health Insurance Shoppe 1175 Revolution Mill Dr., Studio 4 • Greensboro Certified Licensed Brokers
30 O.Henry
336.763.0776 HealthShoppeNC.com THN@HealthShoppeNC.com
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
life's funny
A Drop in the Bucket On second thought, better make it two or three
By Maria Johnson
It was a Halloween
ILLUSTRATION BY MIRANDA GLYDER
shocker, delivered by a small superheroine who landed on my front porch last fall.
I dropped a piece of candy into her plastic jack-o’-lantern, which was filled to the brim with treats. She looked down, cocked her hip and sighed. What? I thought to myself. What could this girl possibly not like about Laffy Taffy? Everything, apparently. “I don’t really like that. Could I trade for something else?” she asked, eyeing the other treats in the dish I held. I’ll be honest: My first reaction was to say, “What ever happened to saying ‘thank you?’ and trading with your friends later?” But her parents were standing at the curb, waving and smiling, so I smiled tightly and said through clenched teeth, “Sure . . . honey . . . how about a . . . Snickers?” She swapped and sprinted away. I closed the door and dropped my jaw. I had just been strong-armed by a pint-sized Wonder Woman. Later, I shared my distress with our grown sons during a weekly video chat. “OHMYGOD, Mom!” said The Older One. “You gave her one piece of candy?!” “What’s wrong with that?” I protested. “Don’t be that mom, Mom,” added The Younger One. “Look, she didn’t need any more candy. She had a bucket full, OK?” “OHMYGOD!!!” they hooted together. Apparently, I was candy-shaming the young lady. What was going on? Had the Halloween Handbook changed? For answers, I turned to a panel of experts, a few of my neighbors’ children, whom I invited over for lemonade and cookies one night. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Allow me to introduce them by name, age and what they’re considering dressing up as this Halloween: Sonja, 10, rat charmer, possibly reflecting her status as proud rat owner. Wilhelmina, 7, tiger, a decision she underlines by curling her hands into claws. Hendrik, 7, robot. Or possibly a pumpkin. Could go either way. Olivia, 5. The field is wide open. Could be a monster. Or a Batgirl. Or a cheetah. Don’t press her on this. Connor, 3, definitely appearing for the second year in a row as a T. Rex. Only bigger this time because he’s 3, not 2. To begin our session, I told them about my experience last Halloween. They nodded in sympathy — whether for me or the girl, I’m not sure. But they were polite. They agreed to guide me. Below are excerpts from our recorded conversation with my comments in italic. What is a normal amount of candy for someone to give out? How many pieces? Sonja: Like three to two. Or, if it’s a bigger piece, one. Describe a bigger piece. Sonja [holding fingers about 6 inches apart]: Like this long. A full-size candy bar? Sonja [nodding]: Like if you got a Kit Kat, it would be one. So, one Kit Kat would equal two what? Hendrik: Starbursts. Sonja: Two Snickers. Fun-size Snickers? Sonja [nodding]: Chocolate is really good. I prefer white chocolate. Hendrik: I prefer white chocolate. But then I also really like dark chocolate. But I like white chocolate better. What are some great candies? Sonja: KitKat, Snickers, Twix. Hendrik: Starbursts, Sour Patch Kids, Sour Punch Twists. O.Henry 31
life's funny Connor [loudly, in T. rex mode]: Mmmm! Olivia: Jelly beans. Jelly beans? Really? For Halloween? Any particular kind? Wilhelmina [giggling]: Rainbow! Olivia [giggling more]: Unicorn! Rainbow, unicorn jelly beans? Is that a thing? Hendrik [sounding world-weary]: No, that is not a thing. Olivia: I have a really good one: Cookies. Cookies in packs? Olivia: [Smiles charmingly, suggesting she would like to start a trend] Wilhelmina: Reese’s cups, and thennnnn Sour Patch Kids, and thennnn Giggles. OK, let’s be honest here: What are the worst candies? Sonja: I don’t really like those gummy hamburger things. Those are nasty. Sonja: Also, those gummies shaped like soda bottles. [Panel groans in agreement] They try to make them taste like soda. But they don’t. Anyone else? No one? There’s no other bad candy? [Silence] OK, next question: If someone is giving out Halloween candy, is it better if they hand you the pieces or let you pick it. [Panel responds in unison]: LET YOU PICK! So they would say, “Pick two or three pieces?”
[Panel nods] Connor [again as full-throated T. Rex]: I want MORE! [Then, sweetly] Can I have more lemonade? Yes, Connor. So, what’s the worst thing y’all ever got for trick-or-treat? Sonja: Pokémon cards. I don’t like Pokémon. And baseball cards. When I was a kid, the worst thing you could get was a small box of raisins. Sonja: I love raisins. But I’ve never gotten any. Hendrik: I love raisins, too. The white ones. Wilhelmina: Yummy! White chocolate! Sonja [firmly]: It’s not white chocolate! It’s yogurt. Olivia: I’d eat them, too. I’d eat one. Or two. Or three. Hey, do you know that cartoon, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown? Sonja: I don’t think I’ve ever seen it. OK, well, Charlie Brown goes trick-or-treating, and he gets a rock. What would you do if that happened to you? Sonja: I’d be pretty happy because then I could paint the rock. Gosh. That’s a great way to look at it. Olivia: I wouldn’t a bit be happy. Would you say anything to the person who gave you the rock? Wilhelmina: Thank you! And then I would paint it with a waterfall, and a forest, and flowers, and grass, and . . . Hendrik: You’re gonna need a big rock for that. You know what? Somebody told me they knew a dentist who gave out
Activewear + Luxury
9 Locations Across NC & VA • GreatOutdoorProvision.com
32 O.Henry
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
life's funny toothbrushes and little tubes of toothpaste. What would you think of that? Sonja: I would love it. Then you could have a doll’s toothbrush. Wilhelmina: If it wasn’t an electric one, I would use it for my stuffies. But if it was an electric one, I would use it for myself. Hendrik: I would be happy because . . . my dad uses my toothbrush. His broke. Sonja [defending their father’s dental honor]: It was an electric one. He used the battery part. Hendrik: Is the recorder still playing? Yes. OK, if someone gave you some candy that you really didn’t like, would you ever send it back? [Panel responds “NOOOO!” in unison, except for Olivia, who nods.] Olivia, you would? [Nods] What would you say? Olivia: I would say, “No, thank you.” Hendrik: Well, that’s a good answer. Olivia, would you ask to trade, like the girl did? Olivia: If I really didn’t like it, I would trade. But if I kinda liked it I would keep it. Hendrik: Connor wants another cookie. Ok, here, Connor. Last question: Do you guys ever trade candy? Hendrik: Oh, yes, yes, yes! Tell me. Hendrik: I’m trading Snickers for Sour Patch Kids. Sonja: I trade a whole bunch. I’ll trade Kit Kats for Snickers since I love Snickers. Olivia: I trade with Hendrik sometimes. Hendrik [turning to Olivia]: Oh, you trade some tricky candy! [Turning back to me] We have this habit. If Olivia doesn’t like it, I like it. And if I don’t like it, she likes it. This is a match made in heaven. Wilhelmina: They’re dating. Wait, are you guys dating? Is that true? Olivia: No! We’re not even close. Wilhelmina: They’re dating. Olivia: No! Hendrik: We only like each other! We’re not even best friends! We are nowhere near dating. Is there anything else about candy that’s important to know? Sonja: I don’t understand how some people will be walking around with huge sacks and I just have my little bucket. Hendrik: Connor wants another cookie.
Adventure + Comfort
There we have it. Chocolate and sour candies are best. Two to three pieces each. Pick your own. Rocks and raisins are acceptable. Olivia and Hendrick are not dating. And Connor wants another cookie. OH Maria Johnson is a contributing editor of O.Henry. Email her at ohenrymaria@gmail.com.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
9 Locations Across NC & VA GreatOutdoorProvision.com
O.Henry 33
FUNCTION, QUALITY & ELEGANCE LD SO
Michael Fuko-Rizzo of EV Properties is a master at bringing this classic 1927 Georgian beauty to a condition beyond believable
Chesnutt - Tisdale Team
Xan Tisdale Kay Chesnutt 336-601-2337 336-202-9687 Xan.Tisdale@bhhsyostandlittle.com Kay.Chesnutt@bhhsyostandlittle.com
www.kaychesnutt.bhhscarolinas.com
© 2021 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently owned and operated franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of Columbia Insurance Company, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate. Equal Housing Opportunity.
34 O.Henry
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
omnivorous reader
Read and Dead A librarian’s cozy mystery series By Anne Blythe
Librarians are good at deciphering
mysteries. Just ask any card-carrying library fan. They can be sherpas, of a sort, guiding readers from behind the confines of their reference desks to a world of information often only a bookshelf or computer click away. Some are good at creating them, too, as Victoria Gilbert, a former librarian-turned-mystery writer, shows in A Cryptic Clue, the first book in her new Hunter and Clewe cozy mystery series. Raised in the “shadows of the Blue Ridge mountains,” Gilbert has been a reference librarian, a research librarian and a library director so, in the vein of “write what you know,” it’s easy to see why the protagonist in her new series is Jane Hunter, a 60-year-old university librarian forced into early retirement and a new chapter in life. Gilbert’s Jane has tinges of Agatha Christie’s Miss Jane Marple in her, although she is a divorcee, not a spinster, who still wants to work for a living to pad her paltry pension. That desire to find a new vocation leads Gilbert’s chief sleuth to her new boss, Cameron Clewe — Cam, to those who know the 33-year-old unconventional multi-millionaire well — who was looking for an archivist and hired Jane sight unseen. Cam not only inherited tremendous wealth at a young age, but also an estate so large that it houses a private library, guest quarters and grand rooms where the well-to-do and those aspiring to affluence gather for glamorous galas, glitzy fundraisers and seasonal soirees. Although Jane describes her new boss as “leading man material,” he’s a nervous type whose lack of a filter makes him a blunt, often humorless, speaker. “I didn’t realize you were so old,” Cam says upon meeting Jane in his library. “And rather heavier than I expected, given that photo on the university website.” Jane, on the other hand, is a woman used to working with college students and the mother of a grown daughter, an actress with a middle name that might as well be “drama.” She checks herself instead of blurting out the first thing that pops into her mind. “That photo is a bit dated,” Jane responds, keeping her eyes on the prize she did not want to lose. Her Social Security payments wouldn’t kick in for at least two more years. She needs the work. Furthermore, she’s interested in sifting through and cataloging “the books and papers connected to classic mysThe Art & Soul of Greensboro
tery and detective authors” that have been amassed in Aircroft, Cam’s mansion. “As for my current appearance — years working in academia has taken its toll, it seems. But I am certain you hired me for my expertise, not my looks.” Such is the beginning of the relationship that brings two Sherlocks from very different circumstances together to solve a mystery that holds a reader’s interest through the very last page. The whodunit kicks off on a Monday at Aircroft after a charity fete over the weekend. Jane walks into the library on her first day of work, travel mug filled with coffee in hand, to find the body of Ashley Allen crumpled on the floor, “unquestionably, irrevocably dead.” After “fighting the urge to retch” and scanning the crime scene with a surprisingly calm detachment, Jane staggers into the hallway, slumps against the wall and slides to the floor. “There’s a dead body in the library,” Jane thought. “That room meant to be my workplace is now a murder scene.” It’s not just any body, either. Ashley was Cam’s ex-girlfriend, someone Jane had seen her new boss arguing with days earlier while touring the garden grounds. More than 100 people had been at Aircroft for the party the night before. Ashley had been there too, and was still clad in her silver sequined dress. “You do realize who will be their number one suspect, of course,” Cam says after seeing the crime scene. Quickly Cam decides to be proactive and use his resources to investigate Ashley’s death on his own. He turns to Jane for help. “I refuse to lounge around while the authorities build a case against me,” Cam declares. But, as his assistant Lauren points out, Cam is agoraphobic, rarely venturing out past the gates surrounding his home. That’s where Jane comes in. “I’ll need help collecting information from the wider community. Which is what I’d like you two to do,” Cam tells Jane and Lauren. “Bring me back any clues you uncover, and I can piece it together, and perhaps solve this case before the authorities start casting about for a scapegoat. Namely me.” The hunt for clues is added to Jane’s assigned duties. As Cam sets out to collect information from the kitchen staff and guests who had been staying in his house, Jane pursues the story outside Aircroft, casting about town for hints why the beautiful and O.Henry 35
omnivorous reader
The Art
of Living MEET CARL HEIN AND KARL STAUBER As highly skilled woodworkers, Carl and Karl love making things—furniture, bowls, jewelry, and more. Now, thanks to their efforts to bring a new fully-equipped and stand-alone woodshop to Arbor Acres, the men have a dedicated place to work and share with other residents. “We have a full collection of high-quality tools,” says Karl. “And safety is a key feature,” Carl adds, referring to detailed training sessions. Arbor Acres is happy to continue fulfilling the visions of our residents, who continue to make this place alive with their creative energy.
Discover life in all its shining brilliance at Arbor Acres. Arbor Acres is a Continuing Care Retirement Community affiliated with the Western NC Conference of the United Methodist Church. 1240 Arbor Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27104 arboracres.org • (336) 724-7921
36 O.Henry
wealthy Ashley has been killed, presumably by a fatal head wound delivered with a blunt object. There is no shortage of suspects, either. Ashley left a trail of aggrieved casualties from former romances, business ventures and injurious family dynamics. As Jane and Cam glean the many storylines from Gilbert’s cast of characters, suspects are added to and subtracted from the list. Jane’s landlord, Vince, a retired reporter from the local newspaper, and his girlfriend, Donna, a former secretary at the local high school, provide background depth to clues that Jane turns up from her sleuthing. In addition to the love interests and resentful entrepreneurs wooed and abandoned by the victim, readers meet the quirky Aircroft house guests, the detached Allen family — all of whom were to be left out of the deep-pocketed grandmother’s will — their housekeeper and others. Gilbert keeps her readers guessing while entertaining them with snippets about mystery writers and their wellknown characters, such as Archie, the droll narrator and sidekick to Nero Wolfe, the armchair detective brought to life by Rex Stout. As Jane and Cam cross suspect after suspect off their lists while unraveling the mystery of Ashley’s killer, they uncover new secrets and riddles that are tidily wrapped up at the end of the novel. As the two share a pizza with the riddle solved, it’s clear more sleuthing is ahead. “We could investigate those cold cases you mentioned, and maybe take on a few cases for other people,” Cam tells Jane. “Maybe focus on cases where justice didn’t seem likely to be served?” Jane adds. “Exactly,” Cam responds. Exactly, indeed. Gilbert’s fans will be looking forward to whatever comes their way. OH Anne Blythe has been a reporter in North Carolina for more than three decades. She has covered city halls, higher education, the courts, crime, hurricanes, ice storms, droughts, floods, college sports, health care and many wonderful characters who make this state such an interesting place. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Wealth Management Built Around You. Our clients trust that we’ll help them pursue tomorrow’s financial goals — whether it’s a comfortable retirement, funding a child’s education, the long-term success of your own business, or even the pleasures of travel and leisure you’ve always promised yourself.
J. Scott, CFP®, Senior Vice President/Investments; Phillip H. Joyce, Vice President/Investments; Christopher T. Barbee, CFP®, First Vice President/Investments; Jacqueline T. Wieland, AIF®, Senior Vice President/Investments; Allen Hammonds, Vice President/Investments; Paul A. Vidovich, CFP®, Branch Manager, First Vice President/Investments; Grant Gillespie, Financial Advisor; Karla D. Johnson, Financial Advisor; Chip Pegram, First Vice President/Investments, Portfolio Manager – Solutions Program; Gregory E. Gonzales, Senior Vice President/Investments
(336) 478-3700 | (844) 233-8608 | 629 Green Valley Road, Suite 211 | Greensboro, North Carolina 27408 Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated | Member SIPC & NYSE | www.stifel.com
Frances Giaimo Knows the Greensboro Market and Gets the Job Done! SO LD
IN
1D AY
305 Chillington Road, Greensboro, NC $527,000
SO LD
11 Devonna Ct, Greensboro, NC $450,000
SO LD
2400 Goldfield Ct, Greensboro, NC $620,000 Let me share with you what your home is worth in today’s market, let’s talk.
Frances Giaimo REALTOR, The Giaimo Group 336-362-2605 | francesgiaimo.com Top 2% of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network agents nationwide. It is my honor to assist you with your real estate needs and I thank you for allowing me to be your real estate Trusted Advisor.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Henry 37
art of the state
Waves, 2021, acrylic and collage (incl. paper, cheesecloth, nori) on linen, 60 x 80 in
Careful Chaos Chieko Murasugi’s art subverts order and changes perspectives By Liza Roberts
Abstract painter Chieko
Murasugi has navigated conflicting perspectives all her life. She holds a Ph.D. in visual science and works as an artist; she is the Tokyo-born daughter of Japanese immigrants who was raised in Toronto and lives in America; she is a former impressionist painter who has turned to visual illusion to anchor her geometric art. “I want to make the elusive, disparate, confusing, multi-
38 O.Henry
faceted nature of the world absolutely clear,” says Murasugi. “I want to be clear in my view that the world is unclear.” Illusions underpin this message; her interest in them is one of the few things that has remained constant in her life. As a scientist, Murasugi studied visual perception because she was fascinated by mysteries like 3D illustrations that seem to flip upside down or right-side up depending on the angle of the viewer, or the ghosts of afterimages, or the way the interpretation of a color changes depending on the colors that sit beside it. Now, as an artist, she uses phenomena like these to tweak a viewer’s perception, to make a picture plane shift before their eyes, to turn it from one thing into another. She populates these paintings with crisp, unambiguous,
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
art of the state
Which Way Home, 2023, flashe vinyl paint on canvas, 36 x 48 in
flat-colored shapes. “I have clarity and I have ambiguity at the same time,” she says. “And that’s really at the crux of my art. It’s the ambiguity, the clarity, the dichotomy.” Her art creates it, and she’s long lived it. Murasugi grew up in a “very white” Canadian suburb, “very clearly a minority.” As a child, her father, a descendant of 1600s-era samurai, showed her maps of Japan’s former reach across Asia, and told her “Americans took it away.” He told her about how American forces firebombed downtown Tokyo, and how he and her mother barely escaped with their lives. But these were not facts she’d been taught in school, or heard anywhere else. “I had taken world history, and I had not heard anything about the firebombings of Japan,” she says. “And so everywhere I went, I was presented with diverging, often conflicting, but very disparate narratives. Who am I supposed to believe?” When she was studying for her doctorate at York University in Canada, she recalls, her professors proudly touted the department’s significance in the field. Then she went to Stanford to do postdoctoral work in neurobiology and nobody had heard of her colleagues at York University. “Again, I had to shift my perspective,” she says. Fueling those shifts was an overwhelming curiosity, she says, “always wanting to know why. Why, why, why. Curiosity has been the driving force of my life.” Years later, when Murasugi left her accomplished academic career and the world of science for art, her viewpoint shifted again. In a deeply rooted way, she was coming home; she had always drawn and painted, and she studied art in college as The Art & Soul of Greensboro
In Loving Memory: Worlds Left Behind, 2023, acrylic on linen, 60 x 40 in
Moody Blues, 2023, acrylic on panel, 36 x 48 in
O.Henry 39
art of the state
Peridot, 2022, silk, polyester and ink on silk, 40 x 32 in (Sewn by Barbara VnDewoesNne)
The assistance you need to stay in the place that you
love
ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS THROUGHOUT THE TRIAD
Providing premium and affordable companion care, personal care and skilled nursing throughout the Triad.
Independently owned and operated
508-A Prescott St., Greensboro NC 27401 336-265-3500 | www.brightstarcare.com/s-greensboro
40 O.Henry
We’ve earned The Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval® which validates that we follow the highest standards of safety and care.
well as science. Even at the height of her successful scientific career as a professor and research scientist, Murasugi believed that she didn’t truly belong. She thought she wasn’t quantitative, logical or analytical enough, that “there was something that was missing in the way that I was thinking,” she says. With art, the opposite was the case: “I knew I could do it.” After she moved to North Carolina with her husband several years ago, this innate conviction took her back to school, to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for an MFA. There she met fellow artists she respected and joined with to co-found and co-curate an artist-run Chapel Hill exhibit space called Basement, which has earned a reputation as an incubator for emerging artists and which regularly exhibits their work to the public. Over the last 18 months, Murasugi has found fresh directions, resulting in a new body of work, called Chance, that explores randomization, color theory, chance and chaos. “My mother was basically dying when I began this series,” she says. “Her impending death, having to process her death, is what inspired it. And I continued it for about a year, because I was just The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Showcasing New Residential Construction October 21-22 | October 28-29
Open Houses
1-5 pm • Admission is Free
Virtual Tours
From the comfort of your home, tour our Parade homes online.
Parade of Homes magazines will be available at area grocery stores and outside Lowe’s Home Improvement stores. Access a digital copy online.
Sponsored by:
Download GREENSBORO PARADE OF HOMES app to map your tour!
GreensboroBuilders.org
Start Your Shopping Early and Beat the Holiday Rush! PLAN FOR RETIREMENT. Secure the Future. Certified Fiduciaries and Financial Planners here to help you and your employees attain financial freedom at retirement
Photo, Video & Audio Restoration Specialists digitalrestorationservices.com customerservice@digitalrestorationservices.com
CHRIS STANLEY, MBA, AIF®, CRPS Principal
BEN BAILEY, CFP® VP - Wealth Management
Corporate Retirement Plans | Wealth Management 7800 MCCLOUD RD, GREENSBORO, NC 27409 (888) 339-5080 | FUNDDIRECTADVISORS.COM
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Phone:336-508-7159 928 Summit Ave, Greensboro, NC 27405
O.Henry 41
KNEE PA I N ?
Cartilage Restoration Ligament Reconstruction Outpatient Joint Replacement Partial & Total Knee Replacements
STEVE LUCEY, M.D.
200 W. Wendover Avenue • Greensboro, NC 223 W. Ward St. • Suite B • Asheboro, NC 336.333.6443 • www.SMJRortho.com
HISTORICAL HORTICULTURE LIVES HERE
Old Salem and the Museum of Southern Decorative Arts Tickets and information at www.oldsalem.org
42 O.Henry
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
art of the state bereft.” Murasugi’s mother survived World War II “by chance” and always thought of her life as defined by that good fortune; this fueled Murasugi’s experimentation with art made, in part, “by chance.” Using an algorithm available on the website random.org to arrange her own colors, shapes and patterns into random arrangements and compositions, Murasugi created a series of colorful, geometric works. In late summer 2022, she posted these works on the Instagram feed of Asheville’s Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, part of her digital residency with the museum. She also exhibited them at Craven Allen, her Durham gallery. More recently, Murasugi has returned to the illusion-anchored canvases she began a few years ago — what she now refers to as her “old way of painting.” It has been “a huge struggle,” she says, because “the end point is unknown.” Unlike the work made with the guidance of the randomizing program, “the trajectory is not straightforward” with these newer, intuitive paintings. “It’s forward and backwards, left and right. I’ve always worked this way, before I went to the Chance series, and I’d almost forgotten how difficult painting is. Both fun, and excruciatingly difficult.” Some of the pieces currently underway will find their way to CAM Raleigh for a show called Neo-Psychedelia that opens Nov. 10. She will also have a piece featured and sold at ArtSpace’s ArtBash, a fundraising gala, on Nov. 18, also in Raleigh. Murasugi’s work has also been exhibited in museums in San Francisco, New York and across the South, and is in the collections of the City of Raleigh and Duke University. Its abstraction welcomes any interpretation at all; its subtle illusory elements gently subvert them. “People have said to me over the years: Your work is so beautiful. And I think, well, I hope it doesn’t stop there,” she says. “As long as they see that there were two ways of looking at it.” OH This is an excerpt from Art of the State: Celebrating the Art of North Carolina, published by UNC Press.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
HAPPY FALL
DON’T FORGET TO BRUSH THEM ALL Our mission is to exceed your expectations of what great dental care can be. Our team and practice is rooted in our core values of compassion, integrity, and expertise.
W E L C O M I N G N E W P AT I E N T S Call today to schedule an appointment (336) 282-2868
Graham E. Farless, DDS 2511 Oakcrest Ave, Greensboro, NC 27408 www.gsodentist.com Like us on Facebook
O.Henry 43
home grown
Mama and the Limousine Joy-riding with millionaires By Cynthia Adams
We strolled to our neighborhood haunt,
an Italian restaurant attached to a downtown hotel near our Mendenhall money pit. It was far easier to walk than deal with the hassle of parking — a perpetual problem for our historic Westerwood neighborhood. The joint offered decent fare and prices that fit our alwaystight budget. Given it was furniture market time, too, better known places were packed. Out front, a white stretch limo awaited. A curious thing — until I remembered market. “Some big deal furniture people,” I guessed. After spaghetti and generous pours of the house red, we left contentedly full, noting the limo and driver still outside. “Hey, I’m going to ask who the heck they’re waiting on,” I announced, emboldened by the Chianti. I tapped on the window glass. Then something (perhaps the wine again?) made me open the rear door behind him. The driver responded with a decidedly friendly Southern accent: “Hey!” “Hey! I’ve always wanted to see the interior of one of these,” I lied, and slid inside as my husband stood, arms dangling, looking appalled. He frowned at me, shaking his head. “It’s just some furniture people’s rent-a-limo,” I shushed him. Limos were commonplace during two times: prom night and the biannual furniture markets. The driver explained that his name was Richard and that, actually, I was wrong. He drove full time for the limousine’s owners, who were having dinner. The owners? At the neighborhood joint? He asked if I’d noticed the tag on the front: “Driving Miss Hazel,” a nod to the film Driving Miss Daisy. No, I mumbled. As I silently explored the posh interior and full bar, Richard suddenly coughed and pointed at two figures leaving the restaurant. “See? There they are now! I’ll introduce you.” My widening eyes followed his pointing finger; then my torso more or less froze along with the rest of my body.
44 O.Henry
As Richard leaped out to open the passenger side rear door, I hurled myself across the seat, jumping out the opposite side. Busted! As the smiling owners settled in, I stood outside with the door still ajar, blathering praise about the limo and apologizing. “Let us give you a ride,” insisted the owners, Dolen and Hazel Bowers. In for a dime, in for a dollar, what could I say? I stepped back inside, but I could feel the reluctant energy teeming off my husband as he slid in beside me. I knew without turning my head to glance at him that his face was red with embarrassment. Two blocks later, Richard dropped us outside our house. Given the scale of the limo, it seemed very small. “We’re having a neighborhood party next weekend,” I blurted out, desperately embarrassed. “Saturday at 7. Please come.” “We’d like that,” the Bowers replied. Friends of ours, we learned, lived on the same golf course near their befittingly unusual stucco home. Built in a semi-circular design, it was rumored to have an equally unusual interior — notable given its place alongside traditional Southern mansions. It turned out the couple had made a serious fortune in real estate holdings and development. They were known as personable and extravagant, if eccentric. The limo and driver, with its own custom garage, underscored the rumors. I promptly forgot the exchange until Saturday evening, with the party in full swing. My mother was in town to celebrate reaching a cancer-free landmark and things were hopping. Suddenly, the doorbell rang, which was odd, as everyone else came right in, following the music and party chatter. I answered the door and a uniformed man appeared into view. Richard. Richard sort of goose-stepped into the living room, stopping abruptly. Then, five words: “Announcing Mr. and Mrs. Bowers.” Doffing his cap, he retreated with a flourish. “Heddo,” said Hazel, adorably, her accent slightly unusual despite her being a local. She wore high heels and tottered into the room. Dolen followed. The raucous party grew absolutely silent. Richard insisted that he’d wait in the drive with the limo. When we explained we shared a driveway with our (intractable) neighbors, he decided to simply circle around the block. There was nowhere in a neighborhood that was planned during a The Art & Soul of Greensboro
home grown time of horse and buggies for a stretch limo, as I imagined what a scene endlessly circling presented. Mom, guest of honor (dressed in a suede midi-skirt and looking like a westernized Joan Collins), was enraptured and breathed she’d never been in a limo. Clapping, Hazel insisted she deserved a cruise in the limo. Delighted, Mama left in the limo to go God-knows-where. Richard took guests on limo rides as the night wore on, with the Bowers happily mingling. Everybody was happy. I’d concocted a menu that was a nod to an English high tea. We served little sandwiches, savories, cheeses and sweets — including biscuits and an English trifle. And, naturally, tea. The spirits were more popular by far. Dolen enthusiastically sampled everything, including some moonshine a guest brought. Praising the moonshine, he soon put the high in our high tea. Weeks passed, and my husband was working in a building mostly occupied by lawyers when he discovered that Dolen was there closing on a major business deal. You might guess the titan would have been wearing some Succession-worthy brand like Zegna. But no. Dolen had worn his favorite bib overalls. “I guess the man had nothing to prove to anyone,” my husband speculated. Serious wealth conferred a unique social passport; the Bowers traveled through life exactly as they wished with Richard at the wheel. Not long after that, Dolen died. Party particulars fade away in time, apart from how you felt. We felt especially fine that night, our guests chattering throughout the house, many settled on the staircase, laughing, sipping drinks. Hazel, who remained in the Triad, survived until last year. Mama, too, slipped away three years ago, yet she often remembered the Bowers, Richard and her thrilling ride to nowhere beneath a starry, clear sky. OH Cynthia Adam is a contributing editor to O.Henry magazine.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Don’t just meet. Meet Up. Elevate your meeting space.
Nestled in the heart of Southern Pines, our historic Georgian Manor Boyd House and 26 acres of curated gardens and grounds provide an unparalleled backdrop for any get-together. Planning a corporate retreat? Gather in grand style in The Great Room. Something more intimate? Book our cozy Boyd Library. For medium size meetings, our sunlit Garden Room and St. Andrews Room are ideal. When you host a dinner party in the original Dining Room overlooking our beautiful gardens, elegance abounds. Our Carriage House by the pond provides a private and idyllic escape. And what better place to host book club than surrounded by the spirits of literary luminaries in the NC Literary Hall of Fame, which has made its home at Weymouth Center for years. Discover how we can help you elevate your meeting space. Let’s meet up. Contact us at: meetup@weymouthcenter.org
555 E. Connecticut Avenue Southern Pines, NC 910-692-6261 • weymouthcenter.org
O.Henry 45
DECEMBER 7–10, 2023 S T E V E N TA N G E R C E N T E R F O R T H E P E R F O R M I N G A R T S
tangercenter.com/nutcracker 336-333-6500
PRESENTED BY
birdwatch
Enticing the Baltimore Oriole Red carpet treatment for an occasional guest Female Baltimore oriole By Susan Campbell
Northerners who
relocate to central North Carolina often ask me about birds familiar to them that seem absent here in our fair state. One that is close to the top of the list is the Baltimore oriole. Its striking plumage and affinity for sweet feeder offerings make it a real favorite among backyard bird lovers. Male Baltimore orioles are unmistakable with bright orange under parts, a black back and head, as well as two bold white wing bars. Females and immature birds are yellow to light orange with the same white wing bars. They have relatively large, yet pointed, bills, which are very versatile while foraging. Males sing a very melodic song made up of several clear, whistled notes. As it turns out, Baltimore orioles actually do nest in North Carolina — if you venture far enough west. In our mountains they can be found weaving their elaborate nests that dangle from high branches, often over water. Following two weeks of incubation, the young will spend another two weeks before they fledge. By mid-summer the adults spend their days in the treetops, looking for caterpillars and small insects to feed their growing families. However, since these birds winter throughout Florida and all the way down into Central America, you might spot a few as they pass through in spring or fall. There is also a chance one or two might spend the winter in your neighborhood if you have the kind of habitat they seek out in the cooler months. Should your yard be to their liking, they may return year after year, bringing others (presumably family members) with them. I know winter oriole hosts in the eastern half of the state who count a dozen or more birds frequenting their feeders October through March every year. Baltimore orioles will seek out areas with lots of mature evergreen trees and shrubs of which a significant portion bear some sort of fruit. These birds are relatively large and colorful so require The Art & Soul of Greensboro
thick cover for protection from predators — especially fast-flying bird hawks such as Cooper’s and sharpshinneds. Without this, it has been my experience that they will not linger long even if food is plentiful. Should they feel safe, the odds are they will settle in and become a regular backyard fixture. Baltimore orioles will continue to consume any insects they happen upon but will Male Baltimore oriole switch to a diet of berries and whatever fruit or sweet treats they find at bird feeders. They are known to enjoy not only suet mixes with peanut butter but also orange halves, grape jelly and even marshmallows. They also will avail themselves of sugar water from hummingbird feeders they find still hanging. There are special, large sugar water feeders made for orioles that usually contain partitions for placing other solid treats as well. Baltimore orioles definitely enjoy mealworms, too, should your budget allow. A few very lucky people have been treated to the out-of-place Scott’s oriole, as well as Bullock’s oriole, here in North Carolina. Interestingly, these mega-rarities have turned up at sites without any other orioles present. Keep in mind that we sometimes find western tanagers at feeders in winter. The females and immature birds of this species look very similar to female or immature Baltimore orioles, differing only in the shape of their bills and the color of their wing bars. Personally, I have had Baltimore orioles show up for a week or so but then move on. In spite of setting out the red carpet (including suet, jelly, oranges, mealworms and sugar water), they have not been enticed to stay long. Maybe this fall will be a different story . . . OH Susan Campbell would love to receive your wildlife sightings and photographs at susan@ncaves.com. O.Henry 47
Well-dressed windows are the ultimate crown jewels of a room We look forward to helping you make your house the home of your dreams – a place that energizes and inspires you!
Custom draperies, pillows, bedding, and upholstery Top treatments and Roman Shades
4915 Piedmont Pkwy. Suite 107 Jamestown, NC | 336-489-8712 | info@windowworksstudio.com
WINGS & Connecting Farmers, Food & Friends
FOOTBALL
Saturday 7:30am - 12noon
Wednesday (thru mid-October) 8am - 12noon All products come from within 100 miles of the Market, so you know they are fresh and local.
HOLD THE DATE MADE FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Arts, Pottery, Gift Market • A Greensboro Tradition for more than 20 years Sunday November 12 and December 3
GSOFarmersMarket.Org
501 Yanceyville Street at the Corner of Yanceyville and Lindsay
48 O.Henry
Come see our family for all your tailgaiting needs! HOPKINS POULTRY Proudly family owned & operated since 1929.
Doggett Rd, Browns Summit, NC, United States, 27214
336.656.3361
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
wandering billy
Grave Matters Creating cleaner, greener pastures at Green Hill Cemetery By Billy Ingram
“Never check an interesting fact.” – Howard Hughes
It may seem odd that someone pos-
sesses warm fuzzies for a graveyard, but my fond memories of Green Hill Cemetery go back as far as I can remember. At 10 years old, I convinced my younger brother and sister that my foot was stuck between the wooden ties of the railroad tracks along the western edge of Green Hill. With one ear on the rails, I could feel (or so I told them) the vibrations of a locomotive speeding toward us, imploring my siblings to run, to save themselves — there was no longer any hope for me. My sister’s first name is Rives, same as my mother’s maiden name. Mom’s family has a plot at Green Hill centered with a monument that simply reads “Rives.” When she was 7 years old, I told my sister that she had an incurable disease and was going to pass away soon, so mom and dad were just waiting until she died to carve the dates on this, her headstone. She cried and cried and I guffawed like a peg-legged pirate. Was I an awesome brother or what? It’s been a decade or so since I’ve wandered over to Green Hill, where I recently caught up with my one-time neighbor David Craft, who, alongside a dozen or so stalwart volunteers from the Friends of Green Hill organization, are selflessly assessing, sprucing up and restoring smaller headstones that, over time, have become unmoored by mudslides. These crafty citizens dig out those sunk several feet into the ground and clean covered-over carved marble tablets long ago toppled onto their backs, presently embedded into the soil. At a glance, they tend to go unnoticed, this multitude of mangled monuments, askew stones of all sizes and shapes, spires weighing hundreds, perhaps thousands of pounds, cracked and fractured, resting on their sides, primarily in the oldest tracts. “You’re walking and you see these gravestones fallen over,” David says about what spurred him into action, pointing out monoliths and burial sites in dire need of rehabilitation. “They’re in the wrong The Art & Soul of Greensboro
places, they’re broken, and these things are so beautiful, they’re almost like artwork. And I was kind of looking for something else to do.” David dubbed this merry band of recreational restorationists the “Billies” as a hat tip to his dad, Bill Craft — but he’d prefer if you didn’t preface that nickname with “Green Hill.” In his own way, David is advancing a legacy that took root more than a half-century ago, when his father began implementing his sylvan vision for Greensboro, one that continues to flourish and likely will for generations to come. As a teenager in the 1970s, I’d notice Bill Craft almost daily planting assorted flora directly across the street from our Blair Street home. Guilford County’s Johnny Appleseed, with persistent prodigality, transformed a perfectly ordinary two-block-long, grassy, creekside strip into a lush environ, what is now known appropriately as Bill Craft Park. With virtually nowhere left to dig at that location, he turned his attention to Green Hill Cemetery’s relatively sparse surroundings beginning in 1980, toiling in that soil for the next 20 years. When this self-taught botanist began his arbor days-turnedyears at Green Hill, there were around 100 trees dotting the 51-acre landscape. By the time Bill was done, he’d seeded an additional 400 saplings and shrubs, just about every species known or suspected to survive here: a rubber tree from China, live oaks from the coast, Florida palms, Atlantic white cedar, Chinese pistache, Savannah holly, Japanese maple, Tupelo gum, Colorado blue spruce, to name a few. Bill Craft passed away in 2010, his herculean efforts costing this city not one dime. Last year, David attended a seminar in Statesville led by Shawn Rogers, director of Jamestown’s Mendenhall Homeplace, on the proper methods for restoring and repairing marble, slate, and granite markers and footstones without being invasive or intrusive. A precision-oriented approach appealed to David, who likes “doing things with my hands, simple things.” He continues, “So we got permission to straighten [smaller stones and slabs], O.Henry 49
wandering billy
CASS 4008 - G Battleground Avenue • Greensboro, NC 336.292.1736 • www.cassjewelers.com Mon-Fri 9:30am-6pm; Sat 10am-4pm; Closed Sunday
SERVING THE TRIAD AREA Preventative, Restorative and Cosmetic Dentistry Same Day Crowns Bridges and Fillings
Dentures Dental Implants Clear Aligner Therapy Emergency Care
DR TARIQ JAH, DDS 2721 Horse Pen Creek Road, Suite 101, Greensboro, NC 27410 336.323.2822 • www.evergreendental.com
50 O.Henry
which is kind of within our skillset.” The goal for these Green Hill aficionados is to perform as many minor repairs as possible while raising money for larger, more difficult projects that will require heavy machinery and extensive expertise. In addition to this behind-the-scenes undertaking, there are two October happenings at Green Hill I’m personally looking forward to. Not far from the southern gate (near Fisher Avenue) stands a most striking monument, a 7-foot-tall depiction of a firefighter standing at the ready, carved in Italian marble, perched atop a 10-foothigh granite plinth. Dedicated in 1924, this became the annual site for a service devoted to Greensboro Fire Department personnel who had perished over the last year. For whatever reason, this custom ended around 1970, but in 2021 that yearly ceremony was revived with a well-attended memorial honoring the 16 line-of-duty and retired GFD deaths during that dormant period. On Saturday, October 7, at 2 p.m., the city will once again honor the fallen. Separately, for the 15th year, Ann Stringfield of the Friends of Green Hill Cemetery’s leadership team leads a tour on October 29 at 1 p.m. Her topic? “The Plants and the Planted” that inhabit the southern portion of Green Hill. Interested in assisting with restoration or want more info about these events, including rain dates? Visit: FriendsOfGreenHillCemetery.org. A couple of months back, I profiled Gerald Smith, a charming, colorful gentleman who’d recently published a terrific memoir entitled Cotton Mill Hillbilly. Sadly, Gerald passed away on June 26, but what a privilege it was to have met him. Before my time comes, I can only hope to be blessed with even a fraction of his enthusiasm for life and the abundant love that obviously surrounded him. OH Despite so many familial connections at Green Hill, Billy Ingram’s final resting place will likely be Potter’s Field.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
THE TRIAD’S
TOP SUSHI BAR
1941 New Garden Rd., Greensboro, NC
336.286.3000
Monday , Wednesday, Thursday , Friday 11:00a-3:00p (lunch) • 4:30p-10:00p (Monday, Tuesday , Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday - dinner) Tuesday 4:30p-10:00p (dinner only) • Saturday 11:30a-11:00p
YOU’LL LOVE YOUR NEW VIEWS THIS MONTH ONLY Renewal by Andersen Windows or Patio Doors BOGO 40% OFF Take an additional $50 Off Each Unit Purchased
336.808.0239 Cannot be combined with any other offers or promotions. Minimum purchase of 4 windows required. Offer expires October 31st, 2023. Call for details. +Review aggregator survey of 5 star reviews among leading full service window replacement companies. December 2020
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Henry 51
DO DOWNTOWN YOUR WAY THIS FALL. Whether you prefer two wheels or four, hit the road to explore the downtowns of Alamance County. The historic downtown districts of Burlington, Elon, Graham and Mebane are bustling with activity. Discover a variety of local shops, boutiques, galleries and museums. Enjoy authentic food experiences that feature fresh, locallysourced ingredients. Quench your thirst at a local coffee shop, wine bar or one of our many breweries.
Get off the beaten path this fall in Alamance County.
Discover everything our area offers at VISITALAMANCE.COM | 800-637-3804
October 2023
Letting Go Today the trees release their leaves. The wind a breath that calls the colors down to earth — wild dance with crimson, gold, and brown aloft in death, unfurling flaming fields and forest floor. If I could hurl myself like this into each ending, long for nothing sure or safe, but celebrate the letting go, descend, a woman trusting the fall. I’d release all claim to expectation, breathe the air of possibility, find beginnings everywhere. I’d settle down to loamy earth long enough to nourish life that waits, growing still in the summons from a savage world.
— Pat Riviere-Seel
Pat Riviere-Seel’s latest collection, When There Were Horses, is available from Main Street Rag Publishing Company.
The Art & Soul of the Greensboro Sandhills
O.Henry PineStraw 53
Found Objects What’s old is newly loved
By Cassie Bustamante • Photographs by Bert VanderVeen
I
f you’ve ever wandered the rows of a flea market or gotten lost in an antique store’s surplus of old oddities, you know that sometimes a certain piece calls out to you. Sometimes it’s a portrait of a woman you’ve never seen, but her image inspires a story in your mind. Maybe it’s the midcentury dresser that reminds you of sleepovers at your grandparents’ place, complete with rusty-orange shag carpeting and wood-paneled walls. Whatever it is, something compels you to bring it home and make it yours. We talked to five local homeowners and asked the question: What’s your favorite find? As a lover of all things midcentury — both furniture and accessories, such as McCoy pottery of the era — Linda Hiatt wandered into Lindley Park Vintage, known for its specialty in that particular era. The atomic stars were shining in her favor that Saturday and she discovered a Henry Rosengren Hansen table that was a perfect fit for her home’s aesthetic. “His pieces are hard to find,” she says. Not only did she score the table, but also found midcentury chairs that, while not designed by Rosengren Hansen, fit the vibe.
54 O.Henry
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Thrifter extraordinaire Seth Anderson has filled his family’s home with treasures found across the Triad’s many secondhand stores, not to mention his collection of paintings by his wife, artist Katie Anderson. Favorite find? How about a favorite nook, bursting with vintage gems? “My wife had done this large square encaustic (wax) piece a few years ago but we hadn’t found a home for it,” he says. The artwork serves as “the anchor” and is complemented by scores galore from the Habitat Restore, Salvation Army and several from Goodwill. “The chair I paid $3 for at Goodwill and spray painted, reupholstering the seat with a remnant from Reconsidered Goods.” Clearly, Anderson doesn’t play favorites with his shops either.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Henry 55
Writer Mallory Miranda walked into Antique Market Place with a mission: Find a vintage secretary’s desk. Why? “I wanted a desk that would serve one purpose.” What she didn’t want was a catchall. She fulfilled her quest in one of her favorite stalls, Dori’s Collection. The many compartments in a secretary “are perfect for squirreling away all my notes and tools for future writing adventures.” But the real bonus for a creative spirit? “The desk folds up to conceal all my messy ‘organization.’” To complement it, Miranda found a chair from another era that is a perfect match — its “soulmate” — at The Red Collection on Mill Street.
56 O.Henry
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Sometimes we find exactly what we’re looking for when we aren’t actually looking for it at all. Shante Kirlew, owner of AK London Lifestyle, a beeswax candle company, discovered a 1970s buffet on “a casual stroll” through Goodwill. “I wasn’t looking for anything specific that day, but when I saw her, it was love at first sight,” she says, adding that it harkened back to Saturday morning furniturepolishing sessions at her grandmother’s house when she was a child. It’s her favorite piece in her home for many functional and aesthetic reasons, but “most importantly, it triggers memories of the happiest time in my life.”
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Henry 57
When Kristen and Andy Zeiner moved from California to Greensboro in the spring of 2021, they were thrilled to be so close to “The Furniture Capital of the World” and outfitted their new Irving Park digs with staples from Furnitureland South. But their favorite piece is a Red Collection score, a late 1600s mule chest from Wales, which Kristen appreciates because her 95-year-old father, who lives with them, is Welsh. “It has the scent of many adventures in its travels,” she says. “We wish we could hear its stories.” Plus, adds Andy, “Trying to find something new of this quality and with this history would be impossible. And you can be almost certain that your neighbor won’t have the same exact one.” Adding a touch of golden whimsy, signed Michael Lambert "dancing" Modernist pottery, discovered at a California Goodwill for just $20, sits on top.
58 O.Henry
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Lastly, as a former vintage store owner, I had to play in the sandbox of treasures, too. In an old horse stable filled with abandoned finds of a furniture refinisher (and no remnants of horses, mind you), I came across this pair of veneered midcentury cabinets that appear to have been used in an office — hence the locks. After cleaning them with a vinegar solution, I painted them white and gold-leafed the frame of the facade. Inside, each has a shelf and ample storage. It might not surprise you to find that my makeshift nightstand is stuffed with approximately — no exaggeration — 150 books. OH
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Henry 59
Dogwood Farms:
A Canvas of Color Flowers by the acre, honey by the jar and views out of this world By Ross Howell Jr. • Photographs by Lynn Donovan
60 O.Henry
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Chris & Colt Crump
s you turn into the gravel driveway at Dogwood Farms in Belews Creek, you’re met with a field of yellow sunflowers stretching into the distance. Continuing along the driveway, you’ll pass brightly-colored zinnias, purple coneflowers, redbud trees and a brilliant red hibiscus. I park in the shade of an oak tree and get out of the car. The late-July morning air is still cool. I see Chris Crump, founder and owner of Dogwood Farms, step out of his tidy farmhouse. He’s flanked by his handsome, 11-year-old son, Colt, who wears a farmer’s cap — like his father. Two chocolate Labs lope up to complete the welcoming committee. They check me out with a few sniffs, then bound off to more interesting pursuits. Chris and I shake hands. There’s a touch of gray in his beard, and from his grip you recognize he’s a man who’s known years of labor. And he’s a man who’s mindful of legacy. “Did you notice the hibiscus next to the driveway?” he asks.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Henry 61
62 O.Henry
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
I nod yes. Chris tells me that the plant first grew at his great-grandmother’s home. It was later transplanted to his grandmother’s new house when it was built, and then to his mother’s. When his mother and father decided to move, he transplanted the red hibiscus to the farm. “Over the years we’ve separated the roots and given transplants to family members, friends and neighbors,” Chris says. “I think my grandma would really get a kick out of knowing it’s been shared with so many people,” he chuckles. Chris grew up in the Sedge Garden section of Winston-Salem. While his parents weren’t serious gardeners, his grandfather was. “My Grandpa was a huge gardener,” Chris recalls with a smile. The city of Winston-Salem had more of a country feel to it back then, he tells me. On vacant lots, neighbors often would cultivate community gardens. “I still remember the smell of the dirt when Grandpa would dig potatoes,” Chris says. Together they’d walk the rows, picking up potatoes and sacking them. After high school, Chris studied horticulture at Forsyth Tech Community College. Straightaway from earning his degree, he took a job with the North Carolina Department of Transportation. He worked for NCDOT for 25 years — much of that time, supervising teams who planted and maintained wildflower beds along our roadways. As his boss neared retirement, Chris realized the position would probably fall to him. It wasn’t something he wanted to take on. “I knew it was time to step away,” Chris says. He left NCDOT in 2001. He purchased his first parcel of land for Dogwood Farms — 24 acres — in 2003. The farm had been neglected for years and was overgrown with trees, bushes and vines. When Chris’s father took a look at the place, he said, “You’re gonna be working till you die if you buy all that land!” “It’ll be all right,” Chris remembers saying to his dad. “I’ll have plenty of kids to help me.” But 10 years passed before his son Colt was born. “I bought this place thinking I’d raise a bunch of kids here,” Chris says. “Turns out, there’s only one.” “But I think it all happened for a reason,” he adds. That reason’s about legacy, too. “In my mind, I’m laying the foundation for him,” Chris says, nodding toward Colt. “I want this place to be something he can build on.” “He’s an old soul,” Chris continues. “I feel like he’s going to be in some kind of heavy equipment. That’s his thing.” Chris tells me about Colt’s natural hand-eye coordination, about videos he’s shot of his son operating a 12-ton excavator, spinning it around to clean its tracks, skillfully manipulating the bucket to uproot trees from uncleared ground. “College isn’t going to be for him, and that’s fine,” says Chris. I ask Colt about his responsibilities at Dogwood Farms. “I do the honeybees, the honey,” Colt answers, grinning broadly. “We call it Colt’s Signature Honey.” Colt explains that the farm will be making its first “pull” from the five beehives on the property in the next few days. He describes the process of cleaning out the hives after winter, feeding the bees to keep them healthy, and spinning and putting the honey in jars so it can be sold.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Henry 63
When I ask him how long he’s been managing the bees, he answers, “Five years.” So Colt’s been a beekeeper from the age of 6. He scurries back into the house, since he’s getting materials together to enter sixth grade at Triad Baptist Christian Academy in Kernersville. Chris and I start walking toward the back section of his yard. “A friend comes over to help Colt,” Chris says. “He has a lot of experience with producing honey. He’s our bee mentor. Working with the bees has been a great learning tool for Colt — seeing how a business works.” We stop at the edge of the yard and look back toward the farm entrance and the field of sunflowers. “When I purchased this place, what I wanted to do had nothing to do with flowers,” Chris says. “I wanted to grow ornamental trees for landscaping.” Chris had done landscaping on the side and had several friends in the business, so he figured he would be able to establish a market readily. But the Great Recession brought home building nearly to a standstill. So he bided his time. Then a friend told him the Rockingham County Cooperative Extension office was offering a class on wholesale cut-flowers farming. He decided to attend, and it sparked an interest. But he wasn’t sure what route to take. He’d grown flowers to give to neighbors and grew sunflowers for dove hunting. And he’d always grown flowers along the property fronting the road. Then one day a young photographer stopped in and asked if she could take photographs of the farm. In exchange, she’d make family photos of Chris and Colt for free.
64 O.Henry
Chris figured, sure, why not? Later, the photographer said to him, “You need to charge people for coming out to the farm.” Chris answered, “Nobody’s going to pay to see this farm.” He shakes his head, smiles at me and says, “I was wrong.” In 2015, after going through a divorce, Chris decided to get serious about opening Dogwood Farms to the public. He’d also bought an additional tract of land that nearly doubled his acreage. That year, a professional photographer in Charlotte called Chris. She said she wanted to book four hours of shooting on the farm for clients flying in from California. “I’ve got some pretty colorful friends that love to pull my chain,” Chris laughs, telling the story. “So I said, ‘Is this a joke?’ She said, ‘No, a race team owner’s son and his girlfriend want to do engagement photos.’” “I said, ‘You mean to tell me there’s not a sunflower field somewhere between Santa Monica and Belews Creek?’ And she laughed and said, ‘Apparently not!’” “I said, ‘Absolutely, bring them on.’” Chris tells me four vans of equipment and people drove in the day of the shoot. And the pièce de résistance? “The photographer got one picture of a lightning bug that landed right on the girl’s engagement ring,” Chris says. “They told me that photo was used on billboard advertising for the ring designer out in California. I was blown away.” Interest in Dogwood Farms seemed to snowball from there, mostly on the internet. Photographers scheduled professional sessions. Individuals and families came to pick flowers and take photos, posting their images to Facebook and Instagram. He tells me people have visited Dogwood Farms from many The Art & Soul of Greensboro
states — even as far away as Europe. “Last year we even had refugees from Ukraine,” Chris says. Now we turn our gaze toward the back of the property. Chris tells me in the spring a pair of ospreys built a nest in a cell phone tower visible above the tree line. (Belews Lake is not far away.) He points out a dead tree nearby. “For weeks I’d watch two ospreys crash into that tree, breaking off dead sticks — four or five feet long — and carry them up to that tower,” Chris says. “It was amazing.” He turns and points toward the view on the horizon. “Those are the Sauratown Mountains, and you can see Pilot Mountain right there — it’s kind of hazy today — and right behind those trees is Hanging Rock,” Chris says. “That’s what brings people to this place — our views,” he adds. “The sunsets here are unrivaled.” Chris and I hop into his ATV to drive toward the back of the property. We pass another field of sunflowers planted later than the field at the farm entrance. They’ll bloom in a couple weeks. We go past the pond. Just beyond the pond, at the woods edge, are Colt’s beehives. Next is a field of zinnias with plump, green buds that will soon be in bloom, too. Take a moment to imagine that — a field of zinnias with blossoms of red, orange, yellow and pink, the colors of sunset. And I haven’t even mentioned the spring season at Dogwood Farms. “The spring flowers we had this year were just out of this world,” Chris says. People were in awe of his field of red poppies. When we reach a knoll, Chris stops and cuts off the engine. The sunlight is warmer now. When the breeze stirs, it’s soothing. There’s birdsong all about. Bluebirds, finches. Near the pond, a The Art & Soul of Greensboro
killdeer calls. Cicadas drone in the trees. The land rolls away from us into a valley thick with shrubs and saplings. Chris points to the tree line in the distance — the edge of his property. He tells me a little stream there feeds into Belews Creek. “The creek bed is rock,” he says. “Almost like a rock water slide.” He tells me one day that spot will be another great place for photographs. “It’s getting these last 10 acres cleared that’s the thing,” he sighs. “And making a way for people to get back in there easily.” Atop the knoll where we’re sitting are piles of raw earth, moved here when the pond was excavated. Chris explains he’ll use the earth to raise a roadbed through the ravine toward the creek. Where thickets grow now, he’ll plant Bidens cernua, called nodding bur-marigold. “Just think of all that valley as a river of yellow,” he muses. And that’s Chris Crump’s genius. He imagines a landscape canvas and sets about painting it with living things. He tells me after all the years, all the seasons, all the workdays on the farm, at day’s end, he will pause here a moment to reflect. “God got you to the end of the day and the sunset’s your reward,” he muses. “It’s like a tribute, so you can say to the good Lord, ‘Thank you.’” And that’s a legacy, too. “Sunsets here never get old,” Chris adds. OH For more pictures and information on the attractions at Dogwood Farms, follow Dogwood Farms on Facebook, @dogwoodfarmsupick on Instagram or visit www.dogwoodfarmsbelewscreek.com.
O.Henry 65
Garden of
Earthly Delights Dr. Steve Ford tames a wooded beast By Cynthia Adams Photographs by Lynn Donovan
W
hat would neurologist Steve Ford choose to do after years of healing others? Dr. Steve Ford’s former work life meant consulting with stroke patients, treating headaches, seizures, neurological issues or chronic pain. Most days were spent scrutinizing patients’ symptoms in a quest to solve what has been described as a “puzzle” inside a patient’s brain. After more than 43 years of stress-filled work attending those living with chronic pain, would the physician heed the admonition to “heal thyself?” Ford discovered the answer to that particular puzzle lay in the great outdoors. In the six years since his retirement, Ford seems to have found an avocation, carving a private woodland garden from the densely forested acreage at Willow Creek, a High Point suburb. Today, transformed, it is a dreamscape that covers some 2.5 acres. In bringing order to a thick, untamed landscape, he created four pockets of serenity, each designed for cocktail-sipping at dusk in an Adirondack chair or simply enjoying the water sounds, bird calls and, best of all — the soothing sounds of silence. Water factors heavily into the design of Ford’s gardens. There’s a swimming pool he and his wife, Gillian Overing — also recently retired from a career as an English professor at Wake Forest University — installed when they moved there in 2001,
66 O.Henry
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Henry 67
and places aplenty to relax into the charms of a green space tucked inside an urban neighborhood. Now his daily routine — “whenever the weather’s okay” — is to pull on work clothes and spend hours enhancing his personal vision of peaceful tranquility — toiling in a private retreat. After retiring from a high-stress area of specialization in 2017, Ford could have easily chosen a hobby with less headaches. But he found himself taming not one but three adjoining lots, uncovering all sorts of unexpected possibilities — and a new set of challenges. For instance, a charming footbridge he built to span the brook kept being washed away by storms. Palms held up in surrender, he explains he’s bowed to the inevitable. Other projects simply required dogged determination. Ford had to haul untold barrows of gravel, which he edged with wood, to create walking paths that wouldn’t also wash away during heavy rains and flooding. “All of the paths in the garden were created by me,” he says with modest pride. The couple has owned the property for 23 years. It offered wooded privacy on both sides of the early-1990 contemporary house, but the rear of the home opened to the Willow Creek golf course, allowing light to flow inside. Overing, who is British, was born in London. The pair met at Wake Forest “on a blind date set up by friends,” Ford explains. He did his residency at Baptist Hospital after graduating from The Medical University of South Carolina in 1979. “I was in my internship and she was in the first year of her professorship.”
68 O.Henry
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
His wife’s true passion, enjoyed since childhood, is horse riding, explains Ford. But his is gardening. Yet, as an Englishwoman, she, too, appreciates the outdoors. “Yes, Gillian enjoys the garden,” he says, smiling, pausing outside their contemporary home, proceeding through the garden gate towards the long, rectangular pool. The pool is flanked by Asian touches with an exotic deciduous tree in the corner. John Newman, a professional landscape designer and friend, helped design the Japanese-themed pool area. Brian Hanson, a fellow retiree and friend, created the Japanese lanterns, which sit near the pool, from concrete. The graveled pathways leading away from the secluded pool feature more and more native plantings. “I guess the underlying theme is that these are mostly plants that grow naturally in a shaded wetland,” Ford says. The couple’s border collie, Blanche, was obtained from a Charlottesville, Va., friend and breeder. Blanche (named for Blanche DuBois) is uncharacteristically disinterested in herding, Ford explains, but she excels at loyalty. Never far from Ford’s side, Blanche follows as he walks a path that leads to a shaded brook. The brook is fed by Abbotts Creek, one of their property’s natural side boundaries. As peaceful as the effect of trickling water is now, it seems idyllic. Less so, before. At first, the property was quite overgrown, so much so that even three The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Henry 69
years after they had purchased it, “we didn’t even know there was a creek,” given the thickness of the woods engulfing the house. “I’m a hands-in-the dirt person,” Ford explains. As he learned more about gardening, he considered being part of a gardening club for years — hard to do with his medical career, he inserts. With a nudge from fellow gardener Martha Yarborough, the couple opened the garden five years ago for a public tour to benefit the Davidson County Master Gardener program. At the urging of Yarborough, who devotes her own retirement to developing ornamental and vegetable gardens (see September, 2022 O. Henry, “Simple Abundance”) Ford took the Davidson County Master Gardener classes. Transformed by 2018, his garden was more than ready for public scrutiny. It was opened for public tour and featured in a North Carolina State Extension Master Garden video as an example of what other native gardeners aspire to:
70 O.Henry
“From the dazzling bluebells that cover ancient woodland in the spring to the bright meadows bursting with buttercups in the summer, wild flowers are what make our woods so beautiful, while providing precious nectar for invertebrates.” Citing a lettuce-lined path and poolside beds, as well as colonies of ferns along the stream, the introduction promised “. . . the diversity and expanse will amaze and inspire you!” Now Ford’s focus has turned exclusively to native plants. Walk down one of his pathways and you’ll encounter trillium grandiflorum, trillium x. flexatum, Carolina allspice, and more, each carefully labeled. There are masses of woodland wildflowers, narcotic in their beauty. There are grasses and sedges. Native ferns that volunteer (sometimes with a helpful assist from Ford). “The ferns include Christmas ferns, lady ferns, cinnamon ferns, shaggy shield ferns, Japanese painted ferns, ebony spleenwort, ostrich ferns and multiple varieties of maidenhair ferns.” The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Mosses, too. All plants that thrive in variable levels of light and high humidity. “Other flowering plants in the garden include Arum italicum (Italian arum), bear’s breeches, May apple, Solomon’s seal, bloodroot, Jack-in-the-pulpit, Japanese and native pachysandra, Arisaema dracontium, wild ginger and primroses,” Ford says, sometimes citing their botanical names. “More numerous are the native sessile and trillium cuneatum [or sweet Betsy] that were present before I got involved in the property and have continued to thrive without my cultivation. The same is true about trout lilies that have proliferated in the garden without my cultivation.” Then there is the tree canopy itself. “The trees that predominate are tulip poplars, sycamores, red cedars and sweet gums, providing the overstory. The understory is populated with American and kousa dogwoods and various Japanese maples, Stewartias, American and Japanese Styrax, deciduous magnolias, azaleas, camelias, rhododendrons, The Art & Soul of Greensboro
hydrangeas,” says Ford. “I could go on and on, but I think that sounds like enough.” Now Ford’s routine (when the couple isn’t traveling) is to sink his hands into the soil of the woodland oasis of his own design. Ford once planted Lenten roses, but he points out he is concerned they are too invasive and jokes about taking them out with weed killer. Those pushy Lenten roses, he says ruefully, have got to go. But as the skies grow grayer and a storm threatens, he heads inside with Blanche padding behind him. She plops on the floor at Ford’s feet where he has settled onto a sofa. The doctor smiles, reaching to stroke Blanche’s head. When asked the hour he looks mildly surprised, giving a telling answer. Since retirement he finds he has stopped wearing a watch. And his smile deepens with the soft sounds of a rhythmic rain as Blanche sighs contentedly. OH
O.Henry 71
Agent Of Change
How real estate ace Melissa Greer has made a space her own oing by the listing alone, real estate agent Melissa Greer was “meh” about the two-bedroom brick cottage that was built in 1941 and painted white. But she loved the street, a short, curved and somewhat hidden passage in Greensboro’s venerable Sunset Hills — nothing like the busy cut-through where she lived, just around the corner. “I like to be a little off the radar,” says Greer, who was house shopping for herself in 2004. Touring the place for the first time, she took her mother, a brother and a sister. That made four real estate agents in all. Greer’s mom, the late Johnnye Greer Hunter, a well-respected local broker, had raised a passel of property-savvy children, with four of her five kids making the business their life’s work. On that summer day, Greer, her mom, her sister, Johnnye Letterman, and her brother, Waban Carter, parked at the curb in front of the cottage, careful not to block the driveway, a real estate nono. They stuck to the brick walkway leading up to the dark green front door. No slogging through the grass like amateurs. Greer remembers liking the blue slate on the stoop, the replacement windows and the heavy, metal plaque of house numbers bolted into the wall by the front door. The place was cozy, classy, solid. The family walked in and commenced their counterclockwise tour: formal living room stretched across the front, formal dining room buttressing one end. Just behind the dining room, a small square kitchen with a step-down sun porch and a painted wooden deck beyond. Back inside, next to the kitchen, lay a den with its own full bath, which was a little unusual but could be changed, her family pointed out. They stuck their heads into the primary bedroom, a second full bath on the hall — this one with a funky fish design laid into the tile floor — and a second bedroom. What did Greer, the baby of the family, think of the home? She turned to her pack. They liked it. Greer paid asking price. “I’ll negotiate for other people,” she says. “Not so much for myself.”
72 O.Henry
PHOTOGRAPH BY ASHLEY POWELL
G
By Maria Johnson • Photographs by Amy Freeman
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Henry 73
S
he wanted to be a teacher, hence the degree in English education from UNC-Chapel Hill. But English-teaching jobs were as scarce as properly diagrammed sentences when she graduated, so she kept her job at Peppi’s Pizza Den in Chapel Hill, where she often waited on then-UNC basketball star Michael Jordan. Greer’s next job was serving at an upscale seafood restaurant in Hilton Head, S.C. Her nocturnal life caught the attention of her mother, who suggested that Greer return to Greensboro to work in her real estate business. “It was a strong recommendation,” Greer says, laughing at the memory. Johnnye Greer Hunter was a force, personally and professionally. As a young woman, Hunter dressed windows at the S.H. Kress & Co. five-and-dime store in downtown Greensboro. She was a hostess at The Lotus, one of the city’s first Chinese restaurants. She managed a local doctor’s office. She copped a real estate license in 1968. Greer remembers learning to read by quizzing her mom with questions from a real estate textbook. In the days before computerized listings, Hunter enlisted her children to help with removing and replacing pages in her looseleaf listing book. Later, when they could drive, the kids delivered paperwork and keys. They pulled and planted for-sale signs. Hunter worked for a local agency for several years before joining two other women to form their own company, The Property Shop. “She was one of the first women to become a leader in the real estate industry. Prior to that, most of the leaders were men,” Greer says. “I think the ’70s was a decade when that started to change.” In 1978, Hunter branched out again, starting Johnnye Greer Hunter & Associates with her daughter, Johnnye Letterman. Post-plate slinging, Greer’s first job with the family firm was answering phones and writing advertisements for homes. She made minimum wage. She asked her mom for a commission-only sales job. “I didn’t think it could be a whole lot worse,” Greer says. “It was.” After six months, Greer had not sold a single house. “You don’t like this, do you?” her mother asked. “No, ma’am,” Greer answered. Her mother diagnosed the problem and the cure: Greer had a bad attitude. She had 30 days to shape up. If she didn’t, her mom would help her find another job. On her mother’s advice, Greer hung a mirror on her office wall. When she talked to clients, she checked the mirror to make sure she was smiling. People can hear a smile in your voice, her mother assured her. Thirty days passed. Greer had sold four or five homes, nearly a million dollars’ worth of real estate. “It changed my life,” Greer says, pausing to remember the full impact of the moment. “It was enough for me to get a Honda Accord with a moon roof. She was making me drive a Pontiac Sunbird.”
74 O.Henry
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Henry 75
76 O.Henry
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
I
t’s hard to overstate just how good Greer is at her job. Among the 50,000-plus agents working in the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network across the country, she has been No. 1, in terms of transactions, for the last two calendar years. In 2022, she sold 192 homes, either as the listing agent or buyer’s agent. That averages out to more than three homes a week. Lately, the rate has been closer to five homes a week. In July, she closed the books on 19 homes. “It was a really good month,” she says, cautious of being too content. There are several reasons Greer kills it at work. She learned the business from her mom and older siblings. She puts in 12-hour days. She employs a small support staff and hires marketing specialists. She knows Greensboro thoroughly. She’s also a natural empath, who finds it easy to slip into other people’s skin and understand what makes them happy. It’s a valuable skill for sales people, whether they’re pushing pizzas, prawns, palaces or patio homes. It doesn’t hurt that she’s an easy talker with a self-effacing sense of humor and an ability to quickly find common ground with strangers. “That ‘U’ in conduct is coming in handy,” she says, recalling her report cards from Page High School. A so-so student, she had a lot of friends and did mostly as she was told, she says, dipping into the forbidden only if she was sure she could get away with it. Her mother sat on her shoulder. She still does. “Everything I do, I want her to be proud,” Greer says. “That’s why I don’t have a tattoo, even though I’ve always kinda wanted one. She would never think that was a good idea.”
H
er mom had a few maxims about real estate: Selling homes is a service, not just a sales job, because people’s homes are their havens. Location, location, location. If there’s something you don’t like about a home, you can change it, but you can’t change the address (see above). Greer’s cottage nailed the location part, being in a soughtafter neighborhood just a jog from downtown, UNCG, Friendly Center and other city pulse points. As for changes, Greer shaped the home to her liking, step by step. She painted walls and refinished hardwoods. She brought down the wall between the kitchen and den. She sealed off the full bath’s access to the den and opened it to the primary bedroom on the other side. She pulled off the old deck and replaced it with a sleek platform of composite planks fenced by black railings. She expanded and updated the kitchen, swallowing up the sun porch to create an even greater great room, an airy teal, white and gold space where Greer and her beloved rescue dog, Macy — named for R&B singer Macy Gray — spend most of their down time.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Henry 77
“That’s her favorite pillow,” Greer says, pointing to the furry, white cushion in the corner of her sectional sofa. “A friend of mine took her picture sitting on that pillow and posted it, and the real Macy Gray ‘liked’ it.” What’s Greer’s favorite Macy Gray song? The answer is quick: “I Try.” About eight years ago, Greer switched the lighting in the dining room, taking down the crystal chandelier that had once belonged to her mother and replacing it with a bowl-shaped fixture with gold ribs. It was the first change she had made to the house without asking her family’s opinion. Her sibs came to visit. Ugh, they said in different words. Maybe because they thought the new fixture was a tad industrial. Maybe because it was not their mother’s. Whatever the reason, Greer doubted her decision. But she let the fixture hang. “Now, they love it,” she says with a smile anyone could hear over the phone.
T
he podcast episode is called “Stranger Things in Real Estate.” Greer is sitting at her kitchen island, kibitzing with her friend and marketing guru, Dave Wilson of Tigermoth Creative in Greensboro. They started the podcast, Melissa Unscripted, back in 2019 to
78 O.Henry
keep Greer current on social media. Already she maintained a presence on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, now known as X. “I feel a real responsibility to stay relevant,” says Greer, who nonetheless bristles at the pressure on businesspeople to create and sustain an online brand. “I miss the days when you could do your own thing and disappear. Now that you have to do so much marketing, it’s hard to do that.” After a cheerful introduction, Wilson asks for examples of weirdness that Greer has witnessed in more than 30 years of selling real estate. She starts slowly. Once, she showed a home with a bedroom that contained nothing but two mannequins, both wearing clothes. Strange. What else? Wilson nudges. Well, once she listed a house with two large crucifixes hanging on the wall, on either side of the bed, in the primary bedroom. A mirrored disco ball hung from the ceiling. “I said, ‘You gotta pick one. We have to pick a theme,’” she remembers with a laugh. Wilson prods again: Have you ever walked in on anyone? “Yes,” Greer says. “I’ve walked in on couples, I’ve walked in on kids skipping school and smoking not-cigarettes. I’ve walked in on people taking naps.” Haunted houses? Wilson inquires. Oh, sure, Greer says. “There’s a website that one of my clients told me about called The Art & Soul of Greensboro
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Henry 79
80 O.Henry
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
diedinhouse.com,” she continues. “I’ve actually paid to search things because people want to know.” Wilson, the marketing man, embraces the curveball with arch humor: “So if we get anything out of this podcast that’s helpful for people buying, it’s diedinhouse.com.” Greer agrees by continuing full speed ahead. She’s afraid to look up her own house, she tells Wilson, but she used the feebased service to check her childhood home because she already knew someone had died in there. “My brother, when I was brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed, he’d hide under my bed,” she says. “And when my mother told me good night and the lights went out, he’d boost the mattress up and say, ‘Ooooou,’ — like a ghost — ‘is that you, George?’ That was the guy’s name. And I’d start screaming.”
T
he best thing about Greer’s primary bedroom? Well, no one has died in there. It’s brand new, the latest improvement. “It’s like a treehouse,” she says, walking into the high-ceilinged suite. To create the restful perch, which looks into a curtain of green, she ballooned the old bedroom beyond the walk-out basement. The lofted addition — which covers an outdoor living area below — allowed for the addition of a luxurious bathroom and substantial closet. “I’ve never had a walk-in closet, so this is cool to me,” she says, beaming as she shows off the space. It’s hard to believe that a woman who sells million-dollar homes regularly is tickled by such an amenity, but she insists her happiness is genuine. “I grew up in a small house,” she says. “I always shared a room.” The new suite, she says, makes the home’s vibe and size — now a little shy of 2,000 square feet — consistent with other upgrades. The new view allows her to appreciate one of them. The room overlooks a “pandemic pool” with a stony waterfall that gushes skin-friendly salt water. “It’s like swimming in a water feature,” says Greer, who likes to float with family and friends. “I call it a cocktail pool.” She overhauled the yard after the pool was installed in 2021. John Newman Garden Design in Winston-Salem, which also built the waterfall, painted the slope with a Japanese-inspired palette of stone, pine, maple, yucca and barbered, bonsai-style azalea, along with a custom Stonehenge-like bench. “I like the zen feel of it,” says Greer. Gradually, she says, she has grown to feel more at home in her cottage — and in her own skin. “There’s a part of me that’s trying to please other people, always. I don’t think that’s ever going to go away, and that’s a good trait to have in a Realtor, but you develop a certain confidence in yourself so you can create what you want and know that’s a beautiful thing.” OH
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Henry 81
Our primary mission is to develop students holistically and equip them to live and serve in a complex world in need of peace, love, and justice. 1725 NC Highway 66 South Kernersville, NC 27284 (336) 564-1010
www.bmhs.us All Faiths Welcome
Beware of Serial Cross Stitchers Landscape Design & Installation Landscape Maintenance Fine Gardening Services Irrigation & Lighting Services Greensboro | Winston-Salem | (336) 665-0291 | newgarden.com
82 O.Henry
1614-C WEST FRIENDLY AVENUE GREENSBORO, NC 27403 336-272-2032 stitchpoint@att.net TUESDAY - SATURDAY: 10:30-4:00 CLOSED ON MONDAYS AND SUNDAYS
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
A L M A N A C
October By Ashley Walshe
Birds of Autumn
O
ctober dares you not to look away. These early days of autumn, deciduous trees edging toward full glory, you wouldn’t dream of it. Brisk mornings enliven your senses. You can nearly taste the crispness through your skin. As golden light alchemizes a brightly colored skyline, yellow becomes more than yellow; red, sharper and truer; orange, otherworldly so. The merging of light and leaves mesmerizes you. There is nothing soft about this symphony of color. Nothing subtle. The dance is as stunning as molten gold. Trees become torches. Foliage laps against cerulean skies like ravenous flames licking silent blue heavens. This amalgam of color transforms your very being. You feel both awestruck and emboldened. Ancient and brand new. Suddenly, a gust of wind sends a wave of leaves swirling earthward. Another gust follows, releasing howling, coppery flurries. The wind goes rogue. Wave after furious wave, the leaves descend with reckless abandon. As starling murmurations flash across a brilliant sky, the fleeting beauty makes you ache. The paradox is arresting: The season has reached its full potential, and there’s nothing to do but watch it make a raging, riotous exit. Do not look away, you tell yourself. A shock of crimson shakes from open branches. Do not miss one glorious moment. October commands your faithful presence. As the trees free themselves of all adornment, you soften to their naked truth. This, too, shall pass. Hold tenderly this precious knowing — this visceral aliveness — and, in the next breath, let it go.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Yellow-bellied sapsuckers arrive; ruby-throated hummingbirds depart for warmer climes. Birds come and birds go. This month, as nature dazzles us with her warm and glorious hues, keep watch for white-throated sparrows, pine siskins and yellow-rumped warblers — winter residents whose songs are as distinctive as their field marks. Oh, Sweet Canada, Canada, sparrows whistle. Warblers perform their soft, slow trills. Pine siskins stun us with their harsh and wheezy zreeeeeeet. Winter is nigh, the birds seem to say. In other words: Enjoy the show.
There is a far sweet song in autumn That catches at my throat, I hear it in each falling leaf And in each wild bird’s note . . . — George Elliston, “Mine Own” (1927)
Flower of the Dead Nothing says autumn like a field of fiery marigolds. Or a tidy garland of them. Although October’s vibrant birth flower has long been associated with grief and loss, its uses have been — and continue to be — vast. Because their sunny orange and yellow hues are believed to dispel negativity — and to help guide wandering spirits to altars for the dead — marigold garlands are commonly used in religious ceremonies in Asia, Latin America and Mexico. They’re also a choice natural dye, companion plant and, depending on the variety, edible flower. Bust out a batch of marigold-and-saffron shortbread this season and see if you ever crave pumpkin spice again. OH
O.Henry 83
FALL
HOME and GARDEN A SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
Improve your home and garden with help and inspiration from these local businesses
Auctioneers of Quality Objects & Collections The Leland Little team is pleased to assist you with buying or selling exceptional items, including fine jewelry, fine art, modernism, antiques, fine wine, and collector cars. LelandLittle.com 919.644.1243 Hillsborough, NC NCFL#7452
A SHADE BETTER Custom Window Treatments
Visit our showroom today for your free design consultation 3912 Battleground Ave, Greensboro, NC 27410 | (336) 282-8880 | ashadebetter.net Monday - Friday: 10:00a - 5:00p | Saturday & Sunday: Closed
Broker/Realtor®
336.210.5337 mobile craig.mcintosh@trmhomes.com trmhomes.com
HOME....Is Where It All Begins
Come Join our Boxwood Family of Vendors Space Rentals Available Upon Inquiry
OWNERS JOEY MARLOWE AND JANA VAUGHAN
info@boxwoodantiquemarket.com | 336-781-3111 520 North Hamilton Street • High Point, NC 27262 Tuesday-Saturday 10am-6 pm | Sunday 1-6 pm | CLOSED Monday Photographed at the Old Emerywood home of Joey Marlowe & Chad Collins
JU
ST
L
T IS
ED JU
ST
L
T IS
8 W I L L E T T WAY
3 9 3 1 S TA R M O U N T D R I V E
SO
LD U
6 CLUBVIEW
ED
N
D
ER
CO
N
T
C RA
T
3 9 3 4 S TA R M O U N T D R I V E
COMFORTABLE • DEPENDABLE • TOUGH • LOCAL
Mark Littrell & Kim Littrell, Broker Owners Info@bluedenimre.com | 336-210-1780 | bluedenimre
BlueDenimRealEstate.com
Photography: KentonRobertson.com
LANCASTER
Discover High Fashion for the Home Sunday, October 8th | 2-5 PM
A Community Engagement Event Celebrating a Lifestyle of Beauty & Art Experience fine handcrafted upholstery introductions prior to their High Point Market debut. Original works by two of the Triad’s most beloved artists will be on exhibit and available for purchase. Frank Holder draws inspiration from nature, movement, flow, and beauty. His remarkable art radiates pure joy and leaves a mark on the imagination. The art of Setsuya Kotani imparts a sense of mystery, beauty, and a meditative stillness. His work is graciously on loan by The Artery Gallery of Greensboro. Lancaster supports and embraces the talent of local artists by showcasing their work, fostering the connection between art and design.
104 North Main Street, High Point | 336.431.6655 | LancasterCCU.com
Joyfully Built. Meaningfully
Different.
GarmanHomes.com | 919.584.9606 Garman Homes reserves the right to change plans, specifications. and pricing without notice in its sole discretion. Square footage is approximate and floorplans shown are representative of actual floorplans. All renderings, color schemes, floorplans, maps and displays are artists’ conceptions and are not intended to be an actual depiction of the home or its surroundings. Homesite premiums may apply and availability is subject to change. Please see Community Sales Ambassador for additional information. Garman Homes is committed to compliance with all federal, state, and local fair housing laws.
(formerly Shoppes on Patterson)
12,000 square feet, over 30 vendors Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @twinbrothersantiques 336-856-2171
2804 Patterson Street, Greensboro NC 27407 Open 7 days a week. Monday - Saturday 10 - 6 and Sunday 1 - 5
It is my goal to ensure you find the right home or attract the right buyer - on your terms!
Leslie Stainback Broker/Realtor® 3601 Lawndale Drive Greensboro, NC 336.508.5634 mobile Leslie.Stainback@trmhomes.com lesliestainbackrealtor
"We just wanted to express our deep appreciation for going above and beyond for my parents during this crazy time of real estate frenzy. Although it may be your job, you do it with grace and integrity, and that is hard to find. Your work has made a difference." -Rachel and Craig
FALL SALE GOING ON NOW!
Fine Furnishings for Every Room in Your Home Always at the Best Price!
210 Stage Coach Trail Greensboro 336.855.9034 www.pribafurniture.com
GET THE
DESIGNER LOOK
FOR LESS THAN YOU IMAGINED!
Free In Home Design Consultation
2,000 OFF
$
COMPLETE KITCHEN REMODEL
(336) 800-3893
SCAN TO CLAIM THIS OFFER
PAYMENTS AS LOW AS
AND
199/MONTH*
$
*Offer acceptance is based on credit approval
kitchenexpressnc.com
The minimum for a complete kitchen remodel requires all new cabinets and countertops.
525 North Wrenn Street, High Point, NC 27262 | 336.889.3333 Wed - Fri / 9:30a - 5:00p | Sat / 9:30a - 4:30p Cash & Carry / Bring your own truck, blankets, & men Etc for the Home Furniture Outlet
Remodeling, from start to savings. FALL OFFERS
$1,750 OFF AND 18 Months 0% Interest Tub/Shower Remodel or Full Bath Remodel Offer is valid through 11/30/23 and cannot be combined with other offers. Restrictions apply. Offer based on qualifying credit approval.
We design beautiful, functional spaces—and provide the quality products to finish the look. Best of all, our licensed, insured, locally owned and operated Re-Bath teams complete projects in days, not weeks. Schedule your free in-home consultation today. Greensboro Showroom (336)490-9299 2701 Branchwood Drive
REBATH.COM Proudly serving the Piedmont Triad
Complete Bathroom Remodeling • Tub & Shower Updates • Aging & Accessibility Solutions License No. 1114
SCAN HERE TO CLAIM THIS OFFER
Discover
SEDGEFIELD&GRANDOVER GRE E N S BOR O’ S PR EMIER G OLF COURSE COMMU NI TI ES
5505 MECKLENBERG
2 ANSON CIRCLE
4316 DOVERSTONE
4001 NEUSE COURT
UNDER CONTRACT
SOLD
4012 LEVEN DRIVE
4333 GRIFFINS GATE
SOLD
SOLD
SOLD
SOLD
3543 OLD ONLOW ROAD
4100 BRAMBLETYE DRIVE
2811 COUNTRY CLARE
3211 CABARRU
Jaree Todd, Realtor/Broker 336.601.4892 | Jaree.Todd@bhhsyostandlittle.com
President’s Circle | Chairmans Circle Platinum | Luxury Collection Specialist
Shop Seagrove! Handmade Pottery Capital of the United States Join us this Fall during our Saturdays in October Events! Find your perfect pottery pumpkin on the Potters’ Pumpkin Patch Trail at particiapating potters along NC Pottery Highway 705 in Seagrove, NC!
HeartofNorthCarolina.com | 800-626-2672 | #theHeartofNC
ARCHDALE • ASHEBORO • FRANKLINVILLE • LIBERTY • RAMSEUR • RANDLEMAN • SEAGROVE • STALEY • TRINITY
Scan our QR code and order your free 25th Anniversary 2023 Travel Guide
Go with the remodelers you trust.
TRUSTED NATIONALLY. LOVED LOCALLY.
Visit our Website for additional Kitchen and Bath Inspiration or call to speak to one of our Design Experts.
Call to Schedule an In-Home Consultation (336) 890-8005 DreamMaker-Remodel.com/Greensboro Independently owned and locally operated franchise. Copyright © 2022 Worldwide Refinishing Systems Inc. dba DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen by Worldwide®.
Everything these critters could want is in your home. We secure it so they can’t get in. In the fall, wildlife looks for safe places to nest for the winter. Sealing access points is the most effective and compassionate approach. Bats, rodents, squirrels, birds, raccoons, opossums, and groundhogs
How are we different from animal pest control? • We offer preventative solutions. • We secure your home from roof to foundation to prevent wildlife entry. • We do not use poisons or euthanize.
All work includes a 2-year guarantee • Wildlife Exclusion Specialists • Licensed Wildlife Control Agents • Fully Insured
336-525-5531 | RockyaRaccoon@gmail.com
shops • service • food • farms
support locally owned businesses
There are times when it’s smarter to lease than to sell your home. Call me when you think you’re there! I’ll be pleased to discuss how Burkely Rental Homes can help you. “I refer investors and renters to Michelle. I trust they are in good hands with her“. Katie Redhead
336-549-8071
MichelleS@burkelycommunities.com Sterling Kelly - CEO
O.Henry 103
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Join the effort. Visit www.triadlocalfirst.com.
October
Please verify times, costs, status and location before attending an event. Although conscientious efforts are made to provide accurate and up-to-date information, the world is subject to change and errors can occur!
2023
To submit an event for consideration, email us at ohenrymagcalendar@gmail.com by the first of the month one month prior to the event.
Weekly Events SUNDAYS PETTY TALK. 4:30–5:15 p.m. Megan Blake, The Pet Lifestyle Coach, provides great tips and real-time practice as you learn to connect more deeply with your four-legged best friend. Free. LeBauer Park, 208 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Info: greensborodowntownparks.org/calendar. BARRE CLASS. 10 a.m. Strengthen, tone and stretch your way into the week. Tickets: $10. Grandover Resort & Spa, 1000 Club Road, Greensboro. Info: grandoverresort.com.
TUESDAYS PELVIC HEALTH YOGA. 8:30–9:30 a.m. This Vinyasa-style flow class works toward lengthening and strengthening the pelvic floor and surrounding muscles. Free, registration required. Triad Pelvic Health, 5574 Garden Village Way, Greensboro. Info: triadpelvichealth.com/classes.
WEDNESDAYS WINE WEDNESDAY. 5–8 p.m. Sip wine, munch pizza and enjoy the soothing sounds of live jazz. Free. Double Oaks, 204 N. Mendenhall St., Greensboro. Info: double-oaks.com/wine-wednesday.
Ghost stories 10.21.2023 FAMILY NIGHT. 5–7 p.m. Enjoy an artdriven evening with family and friends in the studios. Free. GreenHill Center for NC Art, 200 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Info: greenhillnc.org/events.
THURSDAYS
LIVE MUSIC. 6–9 p.m. Evan Olson and Jessica Mashburn of AM rOdeO play covers and original music. Free. Print Works Bistro, 702 Green Valley Road, Greensboro. Info: printworksbistro.com/gallery/music.
JAZZ AT THE O.HENRY. 6–9 p.m. Sip vintage craft cocktails and snack on tapas while the O.Henry Trio performs with a different jazz vocalist each week. Free. O.Henry Hotel Social Lobby, 624 Green Valley Road, Greensboro. Info: ohenryhotel.com/o-henry-jazz.
MUSIC IN THE PARK. 6–8 p.m. Sip and snack at LeBauer Park while grooving to local and regional artists. Free. Lawn Service, 208 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Info: greensborodowntownparks.org/calendar.
EASY RIDERS. 6–8:30 p.m. All levels of cyclists are welcome to ride along on a guided 4-mile cruise around downtown. Free. Lawn Service, 208 N. Davie St, Greensboro. Info: greensborodowntownparks.org/calendar.
JAZZ LOUNGE. 6–9 p.m. Enjoy an evening of jazz while sipping cocktails at 1808 Lobby Bar. Free. Grandover Resort & Spa, 1000 Club Road, Greensboro. Info: grandoverresort.com.
WALK THIS WAY. 6 p.m. Put on your sneakers for a 2–4 mile social stroll or jog with the Downtown Greenway Run & Walk Club, which is open to all ages and abilities. Free.
104 O.Henry
LoFi Park, 500 N. Eugene St., Greensboro. Info: downtowngreenway.org/events.
THURSDAYS & SATURDAYS KARAOKE & COCKTAILS. 8 p.m. until midnight, Thursdays; 9 p.m. until midnight, Saturdays. Courtney Chandler hosts a night of sipping and singing. Free. 19 & Timber Bar at Grandover Resort & Spa, 1000 Club Road, Greensboro. Info: grandoverresort.com.
FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS LIVE MUSIC. 7–10 p.m. Enjoy drinks in the 1808 Lobby Bar while soaking up live music provided by local artists. Free. Grandover Resort & Spa, 1000 Club Road, Greensboro. Info: grandoverresort.com.
SATURDAYS YOGA. 9:30 a.m. Don’t stay in bed when you could namaste in the spa studio. Tickets: $10. Grandover Resort & Spa, 1000 Club Road, Greensboro. Info: grandoverresort.com. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
october calendar WATER AEROBICS. 10:30 a.m. Make a splash while getting a heart-pumping workout at an indoor pool. Tickets: $10. Grandover Resort & Spa, 1000 Club Road, Greensboro. Info: grandoverresort.com.
October Events October 1–31 PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT. From early black-and-white images of New York City to his renowned Hurricane Katrina series and more recent shots in color, John Rosenthal displays his work with that of 10 other North Carolina photographers he’s curated. Free. GreenHill Center for NC Art, 200 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Info: greenhillnc.org. FIELDS & FEATHERS. 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Discover photos and artifacts, Fields & Feathers: Hunting at Deep River Lodge, 18951935. Open through January 2024. Free. High Point Museum, 1859 E. Lexington Ave., High Point. Info: highpointmuseum.org. AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’. 6 p.m. Although not quite a biography, this musical revue evokes the delightful humor and infectious energy of renowned American jazz artist Fats Waller. Tickets: $28+. The Barn Dinner Theatre, 120 Stage Coach Trail, Greensboro. Info: barndinner.com/2023.
October 1 & 15 BLUEGRASS & BISCUITS. 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Enjoy live bluegrass and folk music while munching tasty treats from vendors. Free. LeBauer Park, 200 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Info: greensborodowntownparks.org/calendar.
October 1 JOHN CRIST. 7 p.m. No-holds-barred humor? Southern wit? Charming relatability? Find it all during the comedian’s Emotional Support Tour. Tickets: $25.75+. Steven Tanger Center, 300 N. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: tangercenter.com/events.
A Decade of Nature 10.08.2023 Tickets: $16. Virginia Sutton Somerville Theatre at Well-Spring, 100 Well Spring Drive, Greensboro. Info: ticketmetriad.com. CULTURE & CUISINE. 5–8 p.m. Discover local cultural connections to some of the diverse flavors of Mexico and the Caribbean from food makers via videos and live discussions. Plus, enjoy Taco Bros food truck grub for purchase. Free. Greensboro History Museum, 130 Summit Ave., Greensboro. Info: greensborohistory.org/events.
OCTOBER 5–30 FRIGHT FLICKS. Times vary. From Scream to The Shining, watch an array of cult classic horror films this spooky season. Tickets: $7+. Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St., Greensboro. Info: carolinatheatre.com/events.
October 6–8.
YES. 7:30 p.m. Owners of lonely hearts unite as the 55-year-old band performs live. Tickets: $45.50+. Steven Tanger Center, 300 N. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: tangercenter.com/events.
9 TO 5. Times vary. Pour yourself “a cup of ambition” and sit back to enjoy the musical that pokes fun at the corporate work life — “what a way to make a livin’.” Tickets: $22+. High Point Theatre, 220 E. Commerce Ave., High Point. Info: highpointtheatre.com/events.
October 5
October 6
DAVID THOMAS BROWN. 7:30 p.m. The North Carolina-born Broadway star and UNCSA alum performs in his home state.
ASHANTI & JA RULE. 8 p.m. Sure to “Mesmerize” you, the stars perform An Epic Night of Hits. Tickets: $100+. Steven Tanger
October 4
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Center, 300 N. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: tangercenter.com/events. JELLY ROLL. 7 p.m. With a library of music that spans country and hip-hop, the American singer-songwriter and rapper hits the stage with special guests Yelawolf, Struggle Jennings and Josh Adam Meyers. Tickets: $25+. Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. Info: greensborocoliseum.com/events. FIRST FRIDAY. 6–9 p.m. Head downtown for a night of live music and happenings stretching all the way from LeBauer Park and the Greensboro Cultural Center to the South End. Free. Downtown Greensboro. Info: downtowngreensboro.org/first-friday.
October 7, 14, 28 BLACKSMITH DEMONSTRATION. 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Watch a costumed blacksmith in action as he crafts various iron pieces. Free. Historical Park at High Point Museum, 1859 E. Lexington Ave., High Point. Info: highpointmuseum.org.
October 7 SYMPHONY DIRECTOR CANDIDATE. 8 p.m. The first music director candidate, Robert Moody, leads the symphony with Marquez, Lalo and Beethoven for one night — or many more. Tickets: $35+. Steven
O.Henry 105
october calendar
Handmade In House
Tanger Center, 300 N. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: greensborosymphony.org/events/list. FIREFIGHTERS MEMORIAL. 2 p.m. The Greensboro Firefighter Historical Society invites firefighters’ families, co-workers and friends to remember City of Greensboro Firefighters, listen to keynote speakers, and enjoy Pipes and Drum Corps hailing from Southeastern Virginia and Charlotte. Free. Green Hill Cemetery, Greensboro. Enter at gate across from 712 Wharton St. Info: gffhs.org.
October 8 AIR SUPPLY. 7 p.m. Together for almost 50 years, the members of Air Supply, not yet “All Out of Love,” join the Greensboro Symphony for an evening. Tickets: $39+. Steven Tanger Center, 300 N. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: greensborosymphony.org/events/list. A DECADE OF NATURE. 4–7 p.m. Celebrate 10 years of the Piedmont Land Conservancy’s Knight-Brown Nature Preserve with guided hikes, a creek crawl, scavenger hunts, live music, remarks from trail visionaries, a public art display, El Azteca taco truck, fun pops and adventure. Free. 221 Waterfield Lane, Stokesdale. Info: piedmontland. org/events-and-outings.
October 12 WALTER PARKES. 7:30. The renowned screenwriter and film producer speaks as part of Guilford College’s Bryan Series. Tickets: $60+. Steven Tanger Center, 300 N. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: tangercenter. com/events.
121-A WEST MCGEE ST. GREENSBORO, NC 27401 WWW.JACOBRAYMONDJEWELRY.COM | 336.763.9569
106 O.Henry
RECONSTRUCTION HISTORY RECONSIDERED. 6–8 p.m. Celebrated historian Fergus M. Bordewich discusses his new book, Klan War: Ulysses S. Grant and the Battle to Save Reconstruction, with a panel discussion featuring UNCG professors Mark Elliott and Deborah
Reconstruction History Reconsidered 10.12.2023 H. Barnes to follow. Free. Greensboro History Museum, 130 Summit Ave., Greensboro. Info: greensborohistory.org/events.
October 13–15, 20–22, 27–29 PUPPET SHOW. Times vary. Friday and Saturday evenings, adults are welcome to indulge in the puppet show, The Curse of Boneface. Sunday matinees welcome ages 6 and up. Tickets: $10. Fisher Park address provided upon ticket reservation. Info: jabberboxpuppets.com.
October 13 STATIC-X AND SEVENDUST. 6:25 p.m. Two bands born out of the ’90s deliver a night of metal and rock. Tickets: $39.50+. Piedmont Hall, 2409 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. Info: greensborocoliseum.com/events.
October 14 MEN CAN COOK. 5:30–8:30 p.m. At this Women’s Resource Center annual fundraiser, treat your senses to dishes made by men who are famous chefs in their own kitchens, enjoy live entertainment, bid on a silent The Art & Soul of Greensboro
october calendar auction, pose in a photo booth and sip small-batch wine, beer and spirits. Tickets: $50. Piedmont Hall, 1921 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. Info:womenscentergso. org/?page_id=848. ART TALK. 2 p.m. Join assistant director for strategic engagement Mei Méndez and Greensboro-based artist/curator Paula Damasceno for Making Room. Engaging their expertise in a family friendly environment, they’ll explore artworks and invite visitors to share their own perspectives. Free. Weatherspoon Art Museum, 500 Tate St., Greensboro. Info: weatherspoonart.org/calendar. RUBEN STODDARD. 8 p.m. The American Idol winner pays tribute to the legendary Luther Vandross. Tickets: $35+. Steven Tanger Center, 300 N. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: greensborosymphony.org/events/list. CODY JOHNSON. 7:30 p.m. The bullrider-turned-country-singer from Texas plays his original, heartfelt music. Tickets: $41+. Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. Info: greensborocoliseum.com/events.
PIEDMONT MOURNING PRACTICES. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. During this spooky season, all ages are welcome to learn about the different practices and traditions of mourning from African-Americans, Scots-Irish, Native Americans and Quakers in Early High Point. Free. High Point Museum, 1859 E. Lexington Ave., High Point. Info: highpointmuseum.org.
October 15 URBAN BURLESQUE. 7 p.m. Women’sempowerment artist Donalja James, The Voiceness, will guide you through a night of dance, spoken word and magical seduction with guest performances that will awaken the goddess in you. Tickets: $25+. Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St., Greensboro. Info: carolinatheatre.com/events.
October 17 HEILUNG. 8 p.m. Partake in a fully immersive ceremony that connects listeners with the elements of nature through music, dance and spirituality. Tickets: $36.50+. Steven Tanger Center, 300 N. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: tangercenter.com/events.
Art Talk 10.14.2023 October 18 ARTIST TALK. 6–7 p.m. Living in the Ordinary World artists Gadisse Lee and Tama Hochbaum discuss their work. Free. GreenHill Center for NC Art, 200 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Info: greenhillnc.org/events. DEEP RIVER LODGE STORIES. 10 a.m. Shanna Moore, co-curator of Fields &
Are you ready for
WINTER YET? Ski Packages available in France, Switzerland, Italy, Japan, and the US
Golf Packages available in Florida, Dominican Republic, Mexico
(all-inclusive — food, drink, hotel, lift tickets, airport transfers)
(all-inclusive — food, drink, hotel, green fees, cart, airport transfers)
Unique Shoes! Beautiful Clothes!! Artisan Jewelry!!! Shoes Sizes 6 - 11 • Clothes Sizes S - XXL
500 State Street, Suite A, Greensboro NC 27405 336-275-7645 • Tues - Fri 11am - 6pm • Sat 11am - 5pm www.LilloBella.com
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
336-603-8419 | info@tradewindstravel.com www.tradewindstravel.com
O.Henry 107
october calendar Feathers, recounts tales that did not make it into the exhibition. Free. High Point Museum, 1859 E. Lexington Ave., High Point. Info: highpointmuseum.org
October 19–21 LET’S MURDER MARSHA. Times vary. In this stage comedy, a happy housewife hopelessly addicted to reading murder mysteries overhears her husband discussing her upcoming birthday surprise. Could he be plotting her own murder? Free donation accepted. Gail Brower Huggins Performance Center, 815 W. Market St., Greensboro. Info: greensboro.edu/academics/arts/ performance-calendar.
October 19–20 MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL 2. 7:30 p.m. Cruise through “the change” with hysterical, musical high jinks. Tickets: $40+. Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St., Greensboro. Info: carolinatheatre.com/events.
Día de los Muertos
October 19
10.28.2023
JULIETA EUGENIO. 7–9 p.m. The renowned Argentinian saxophonist delivers a
night of new jazz sounds. Free. Oden Brewing Co., 804 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. Info: vpa.uncg.edu/home/ucls-23-24. TONY! TONI! TONÉ! 7:30 p.m. The band is back together to perform a night of hits. Plus, Raphael Saadiq delivers some of his solo songs. Tickets: $55.50+. Steven Tanger Center, 300 N. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: tangercenter.com/events.
October 20-22, 26-29 THE PRODUCERS. Times vary. The Little Theatre of Winston-Salem brings to life the Mel Brooks comedic musical. Tickets: $13.50+. Hanesbrands Theatre, 209 N Spruce St, Winston-Salem. Info: ltofws.org.
October 20–22 FOLK TALES. Enjoy a family-friendly theatrical premiere of three of Vera Aardema’s popular stories. Van Dyke Performance Space, 200 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Info: creativegreensboro.com.
October 20 HA CAPELLA. 8 p.m. The Straight Jokes! No Chaser Comedy Tour featuring Mike
SUPPORT IS ALWAYS WITHIN REACH
YOU’RE INVITED! Join us for a fun evening of wine, food and fashion to raise funds to support breast cancer screening for those in need. Early detection is crucial – learn more and schedule your mammogram at the event.
PERSONALIZED HOSPICE CARE AND COMPASSION FOR PEACE OF MIND WHEN YOU NEED IT MOST
TrellisSupport.org 108 O.Henry
|
Follow on Facebook for regular updates!
Tuesday
Oct. 17th
5:00 to 7:30pm Silent Auction Fashion Show Food Truck Live Band And MORE!
Thank you to our sponsors:
336-768-3972 The Art & Soul of Greensboro
october calendar Epps, Cedric the Entertainer, D.L. Hughley, Earthquake and D.C. Young Fly rolls (on the floor with laughter) through town. Tickets: $59.50+. Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. Info: greensborocoliseum.com/events.
October 21–22, October 28–29 BOO AT THE ZOO. 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Celebrate Howl-oween among the wild animals at the N.C. Zoo. Tickets: $9+. Info: nczoo.org/events/boo-nc-zoo.
October 21–22 PAW PATROL LIVE. Times vary. Take your kids on a live musical adventure to Pirate Day in Adventure Bay. Tickets: $20+. Steven Tanger Center, 300 N. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: tangercenter.com/events.
October 21 MUSIC OF JOURNEY. 7 p.m. Classic Journey Live will immerse you in the most-detailed replicated experience to date. Tickets: $30+. High Point Theatre, 220 E. Commerce Ave., High Point. Info: highpointtheatre.com/events.
UNLIVING HISTORY. 2–6 p.m. Geared towards children 12 and under, Ghoulash is an annual fall festival with costumed interpreters and Halloween-themed activities and led by the Greensboro Youth Council. Free. LeBauer Park, 200 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Info: greensborohistory.org/events. GHOST STORIES. 6–7:30 p.m. Following a half-hour of snacks and crafts, professional storyteller Peter Turner will tell spooky (but not too scary) tales for the young and old. Free. Historical Park at High Point Museum, 1859 E. Lexington Ave., High Point. Info: highpointmuseum.org.
October 25–26 THE THORN. 7 p.m. Often described as cirque meets the passion, this show combines dance, martial arts, aerial acrobatics and emotionally powerful performances to tell the story of God’s love. Tickets: $35+. Steven Tanger Center, 300 N. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: tangercenter.com/events.
October 25 ART TALK. 12:15 p.m. Curator of collections and head of facilities Elaine D.
Gustafson shares insights on the artworks featured in the Place gallery of the Making Room exhibition. Free. Weatherspoon Art Museum, 500 Tate St., Greensboro. Info: weatherspoonart.org/calendar. MAKE DINNER HISTORY. 6–7:30 p.m. Bland Simpson, NC Literary Hall of Fame author, who is also the pianist, lyricist, and composer for the Tony Award-winning Red Clay Ramblers, speaks while guests enjoy a tasty meal and honor this year’s Voices of the City award winners at the Greensboro History Museum’s annual dinner. Revolution Mill, Textile Drive, Greensboro. Info: greensborohistory.org/events.
October 26 WRITERS’ OPEN MIC. 6–7:30 p.m. Writers of all genres are welcome to sign up to read from their original works. Free. Scuppernong Books, 304 S. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: scuppernongbooks.com/event. OFRENDA. 7:30 p.m. This Dia de los Muertos celebration celebrates the lives of those who have passed on with a vibrant, colorful display and performance.Tickets: $20+. High Point
FALL NOVEMBER 18-19
BENTON
CONVENTION CENTER Winston-Salem NC
. handmade pottery . jewelry . glass . . wood furniture . sculpture . . fiber wearables . photography . . fine prints . craft demos . & more !
piedmontcraftsmen.org/fair/ @piedmontcraftsmen The Art & Soul of Greensboro
into a new style HARD-TO-FIND SIZES AND WIDTHS
65,000 items in stock | Men’s 7-17, 2A-6E | Women’s 4-13, 4A-4E
the shoe market
Family-Owned, Full-Service, High-Quality Comfort Shoe Store 4624 West Market Street • Greensboro | 336.632.1188 | theshoemarketinc.com
O.Henry 109
october calendar Theatre, 220 E. Commerce Ave., High Point. Info: highpointtheatre.com/events.
October 27–29 NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Times vary. Get in the Halloween spirit with a gripping, terror-filled, monochromatic play that brings all the fright of the cult classic to life. Tickets: $5+. Pam and David Sprinkle Theatre, 402 Tate St., Greensboro. Info: vpa.uncg.edu/theatre/ performances-and-events/productions.
October 27 CAR CRUISE-IN. 6–8 p.m. All makes and models are welcome to “cruise in” for free hot dogs, music by DJ Jorge and door prizes. Free. Antique Market Place, 6428 Burnt Poplar Rd, Greensboro. Info: triadantiques.com. DROPKICK MURPHYS. 7 p.m. Enjoy a night of Celtic punk music from this iconic band formed in 1996 in Quincy, Mass. Tickets: $29.50+. White Oak Amphitheatre, 1403 Berwick St., Greensboro. Info: greensborocoliseum.com/events.
Dropkick Murphys
WHEEL OF FORTUNE LIVE. 7 p.m. Guests are randomly selected to play a live version
beautisa
10.27.2023
greensboro
Every version of beautiful.
high point winston-salem
The following treatments are now available at our Greensboro location:
+ Botox® + Xeomin® Dermal Fillers + VI Peel® + Jaw Slimming + Excessive Sweating
A 2023 INC. 5000
COMPANY
110 O.Henry
4217 W Wendover Ave Suite E Greensboro, NC 27407 336.617.3072
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
october calendar of “America’s Game.” Tickets: $35+. Steven Tanger Center, 300 N. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: tangercenter.com/events. U.S. AIR FORCE CONCERT. 7 p.m. Featuring 52 active-duty musicians, the Concert Band is the official symphonic wind ensemble of the United States Air Force. Tickets: Free, limit four per person. High Point Theatre, 220 E. Commerce Ave., High Point. Info: highpointtheatre.com/events.
October 28 & 29 CEMETERY STROLL. Saturday, 10 a.m.– noon; Sunday, 1–3 p.m. Visit a different section of Green Hill Cemetery each day during “The Plants and Planted” walking tours. Admission: $5, cash only. Green Hill Cemetery, Greensboro. Info: friendsofgreenhillcemetery.org/Tours.
October 28
Nick Offerman 10.28.2023
NICK OFFERMAN. Join the actor, activist, author and woodworker — known as TV’s Ron Swanson — for a night of deliberative talking, mirth and music. Tickets: $35.75+. Steven Tanger Center, 300 N. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: tangercenter.com/events.
WILL DOWNING. 7:30 p.m. “The Prince of Sophisticated Soul” performs an evening of R&B classics. Tickets: $35+. High Point Theatre, 220 E. Commerce Ave., High Point. Info: highpointtheatre.com/events. DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS. 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Enjoy family entertainment and crafts while learning about the holiday celebrated in honor of the loved ones no longer with us. Free. High Point Museum, 1859 E. Lexington Ave., High Point. Info: highpointmuseum.org. CAN YOU DIG IT? 1–4 p.m. Discover what archaeology can tell us about the past with Archaeology Day demonstrations for the whole family, plus special activities for the Little Lions, pre-K to 3rd grade. Free. Greensboro History Museum, 130 Summit Ave., Greensboro. Info: greensborohistory.org/events. MOVES LIKE ASTAIRE. 6 p.m. Celebrate all of life’s holidays with performances by amateurs and professionals of Fred Astaire Dance Studios Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Charlotte. Tickets: $25. Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St., Greensboro. Info: carolinatheatre.com/events.
Are you ready to embark on a journey towards total well being? Our clinic specializes in the ancient art of acupuncture and herbal medicine. We offer a wide range of services.
Think of us as your new friend in the know! Bringing you the intel you need about happenings in and around Greensboro every Tuesday morning. Sign up for our weekly newsletter about what’s happening in Greensboro.
• • • • • •
Auto-Immune Conditions Digestive Health Facial Renewal Fertility Support Hair Loss Program Healthy Aging & Longevity
• • • • •
Long Covid Support Men’s Health Respiratory Issues Skin Conditions Women’s Health
We understand that every individual is unique, that’s why we create customised treatment plans tailored to your specific health goals. We believe in addressing the root cause of health issues, not just the symptoms, to promote lasting wellness. Your well being is our priority, and we’re here to support you every step of the way.
www.OHeyGreensboro.com
Dr. George Lamoureux, DAOM, L.Ac
1903 Ashwood Court, Suite B | Call for appointment 336-808-5288 Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 am - 1:00 pm and 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Henry 111
october calendar
• COPIERS/PRINTERS • IT SOFTWARE • DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT • MPS • FP MAILING • PURE ICE WATER 6 COFFE E OFFICES BEST FRIEND
g□t ink?
CONTACT KELLY OFFICE SOLUTIONS TODAY!
DEVON CHRISTENSEN
336-395-5116
KELLVOFFICESOLUTIONS.COM apagano@kellyoHicesolutions.com
dchristensen@kellyoHicesolutions.com
AMY PAGANO
336-601-9292
Guided Hike 10.29.2023 COLLAGE. 7:30 p.m. Get in the spooky spirit with special lighting, haunting music and non-stop scintillating performances by UNCG School of Music students and faculty. Tickets: $7+. UNCG Auditorium, 408 Tate St., Greensboro. Info: vpa.uncg.edu/home/ucls-23-24.
October 29 GUIDED HIKE. 1–4 p.m. Take a shaded 2.5–3 hour guided hike along Wells Knob Trail to the summit and back, approximately 3.5 miles and featuring views of countryside and Elkin Creek as well as a variety of flora and fauna. Free. Meet at the Wits End Road parking area, Thurmond. Info: piedmontland.org/events-and-outings.
October 31 NOSFERATU. 7 p.m. See the iconic silent movie, accompanied by acclaimed organist Mark Andersen live on the theater’s original Robert Morton Pipe Organ. Tickets: $8. Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St., Greensboro. Info: carolinatheatre.com/events. ALADDIN. 7:30 p.m. Discover “A Whole New World” as the Disney classic about a magical genie takes the stage. Tickets: $33+. Steven Tanger Center, 300 N. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: tangercenter.com/events.
112 O.Henry
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
L AW N DA L E SH OP P ING CENTE R • IRVING PARK
DOVER SQUARE • WESTOVER GALLERY OF SHOPS
LADIES CLOTHING, GIFTS, BABY, JEWELRY, GIFTS FOR THE HOME, TABLEWARE, DELICIOUS FOOD
1738 Battleground Ave • Irving Park Plaza Shopping Center • Greensboro, NC • (336) 273-3566
A L L IS RNW
DR
Lawndale SHOPPING CENTER
L AW
O W. C
N DA
SET D
R
LE
BR OK
R
ER
D
LE D
SU N
ND
EW
PE
PLAZA
GTO N ST
TE
RR
G R E E N VA L L E Y R D
Irving Park
M
HUNTIN
R TOV E WES
ST
BA NK IN G ST
E AC
Westover GALLERY OF SHOPS
M I L L ST
Dover
SQUARE
W. NO
BA TT L EG RO U
ND
RT H
WO O
DS T
CT
W E N DOV E R AV E
BE W.
OU GR LE
AV E
E AV
ST
ND
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
IN P
MER
E CAD GR E
TT BA
BE N J A M
SSE
KY
O.Henry 113
presents
Amahl and the Night Visitors Menotti’s
High Point University December 6th - 7:30pm December 7th - 7:30pm
UNCG Auditorium
For Tickets and Additional Information visit GreensboroOpera.org/tickets
December 14th - 7:30pm December 15th - 7:30pm
Supported in part by the Randall Thomas Johnson Guest Artist Program Endowment
Greensboro Ballet The School of
Creative Movement • Pre-Ballet •Ballet •Pointe Contemporary • Hip-Hop •Jazz •Boys Ballet • Adult Ballet
Are you hosting an event? Sell your tickets online with TicketMe Triad at no charge to you! Contact Karen Triplett at
info@ticketmetriad.com
910.693.2510
for details on how to get started selling your tickets online.
www.greensboroballet.org Tickets for The Nutcracker at the Carolina Theatre (Dec. 9-10 & 16-17) are on sale now! carolinatheatre.com
114 O.Henry
triad The Art & Soul of Greensboro
C.P. LOGAN
COMPOSITION IN PRIMARIES • 20” X 24” • ORIGINAL OIL
ARTSTOCK OPEN STUDIO SALE— OCT. 21&22 1206 W Cornwallis Dr GSO
www. CPLogan.com
FE FI FAUX INC 612 JOYNER ST, GREENSBORO, NC
336-312-0099
KRUTAN@TRIAD.RR.COM
DOING UNIQUE ONE OF A KIND FINISHES DOING WHAT OTHERS CAN’T
featuring
OLIVIA LANE
Singer/Songwriter and Host of "The Olivia Lane Show" on The Message radio
Join
RESTORATION PLACE COUNSELING
for their fundraising gala including a reception of culinary excellence, live music, and inspirational storytelling.
Thurs. Oct. 26
GREENSBORO COUNTRY CLUB 410 Sunset Drive s& Detail line s On Ticket
Inlay stain pattern designed by KNIGHT/CARR
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Henry 115
FALL KEVIN RUTAN’S
STUDIO SHOW
NOVEMBER 2ND & 3RD 11AM - 4PM EACH DAY
NEW WORKS ON CANVAS AND PAPER PLENTY OF TIME FOR FRAMING BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS
612 JOYNER ST, GREENSBORO, NC
CALL 336-312-0099 FOR MORE INFORMATION INSTAGRAM: KRUTAN2018
WWW.KEVINRUTANARTIST.COM
116 O.Henry
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
New Student Special
5 LESSONS
FOR $50 NO PARTNER REQUIRED. *NEW STUDENTS ONLY
fredastaire.com/greensboro 1500 Mill Street, Suite 105, Greensboro, NC 27408 336.379.9808
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Henry 117
Piedmont Opera presents Grammy-Award winning & UNCSA alum Tichina Vaughn in Verdi's
Il Trovatore Burning down the (opera) house on October 20, 22 & 24, 2023 The Stevens Center of the UNCSA Winston-Salem, NC PiedmontOpera.org Tickets start at $20.
118 O.Henry
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
NOVEMBER
11 at 2pm
Celebration
GALA & RECEPTION
LOVE ART• LOVE BALLET• JOIN US! AT HIGH POINT THEATRE
UNC GREENSBORO CONCERT AND LECTURE SERIES PRESENTS A WEEK OF NOT-TO-BE-MISSED MUSIC:
OCTOBER 28TH COLLAGE: a captivating performance featuring School of Music faculty and students in one riveting work after another
NOVEMBER 3RD CHRIS BOTTI: Grammy award-winning jazz trumpeter and composer, who has been the largest-selling American instrumental artist since the release of his 2004 critically acclaimed CD When I Fall in Love
Visit ucls.uncg.edu to get your tickets to Live Your Life with Live Arts! The Art & Soul of Greensboro
O.Henry 119
Practicing Commercial Real Estate by the Golden Rule Bill Strickland, CCIM Commercial Real Estate Broker/REALTOR 336.369.5974 | bstrickland@bipinc.com
www.bipinc.com
M A R ION Tile & Flooring
NEVER MISS AN ISSUE!
CERAMIC TILE • MARBLE • VINYL • CARPET • HARDWOOD
Porcelain & Ceramic Tile • Marble & Granite • Brick & Stone Hardwood • Luxury Vinyl Tile • Carpet • Bathroom Remodeling Barrier Free Showers • Certified Aging in Place Specialist Monday - Friday • 9am-5pm
4719 Pleasant Garden Road, Pleasant Garden 336-674-8839 | www.mariontile.com
Whether it’s your 1st purchase, you are Upgrading, or Downsizing I can help you through it. With more than 20 years as a Realtor. Working in realms from private ownership to FERC regulated projects.
Subscribe today and have O.Henry delivered to your home!
RealEstate by Wallette Wallette Shealey NC Lic#305407
Call me 336-405-2635
Visit
➛
TO SUBSCRIBE: call 910.693.2488 or email dstark@thepilot.com
online @ www.ohenrymag.com 120 O.Henry
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Living Information For Today
(L.I.F.T.) L.I.F.T. is a social support program that helps surviving spouses adjust to the loss of their partner. It gives participants the opportunity to socialize with others who share similar feelings and experiences. This program is both entertaining and educational, with speakers on a wide variety of topics. For more information on the L.I.F.T. program, please contact Hanes Lineberry Funeral Services at 336-272-5150.
Open seven days a week! 6428 Burnt Poplar Road • Greensboro (336) 662-0544 • triadantiques.com @ampgreensboro @antique_market_place
Shop Small Over 130 quality vendors in 45,000 sq ft
PERMANENTLY BEAUTIFUL TILE.
ncgroutworks.com Grout Works offers all of the services you need to restore your tile to brand-new condition. • Repair of cracked, crumbling or missing grout • Replacement of damaged or missing tile • Complete shower and bath restorations • Remove and replace caulking • Permanent color sealing • Grout cleaning
Get your
!
FREE ESTIMATE today
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Eric Hendrix, Owner/Operator ehendrix@ncgroutworks.com
336-580-3906
4 Reasons you NEED to hire a coach:
Motivation Education Accountability Encouragement
Small investment with big RESULTS! 2116 Enterprise Rd. Greensboro NC 27408 336-324-1140 www.tfwgreensboro.com
O.Henry 121
A R E A
DIREC
Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School 1725 NC Highway 66 South, Kernersville, NC 27284 (336) 564-1010 • www.bmhs.us
Focus: The largest private high school in the Triad. Outstanding college prep high school experience with exceptional academics, extracurricular activities and championship athletic teams. Aviation and Fine Arts programs. College Board AP Honor Roll Distinction. Full AP program with College Counseling Center. Class of 2023 awarded over 12MM in merit-based scholarships. Learning Support Program, All faiths welcome. Transportation available. Grades: 9-12th • Enrollment: 455 • Student/Faculty: 8/1 Admission Requirement: Admission is on a rolling basis. Tuition: $11,421-$15,573
B’nai Shalom Day School
804-A Winview Drive, Greensboro, NC 27410 (336) 855-5091 • www.bnai-shalom.org Focus: Experiential Learning, Jewish Values, Student-Centered Learning Grades: 8 wks - 8th grade Enrollment: 135 Student/Faculty: 8/1 *Lower depending on the age of Preschool students Admission Requirement: K-8 students are required to be Jewish or have attended a Jewish Preschool. Tuition: $13,270-$21,590
Caldwell Academy
2900 Horse Pen Creek Road, Greensboro, NC 27410 (336) 665-1161 • www.caldwellacademy.org Focus: The mission of Caldwell Academy is to assist parents from a biblical perspective in the instruction of their child by providing a classical and Christian education. Grades: Transitional Kindergarten – 12th Grade Enrollment: 530 • Student/Faculty: 15:1 Admission Requirement: We invite those interested to come visit our campus to learn more about our school and community. After completing an application, academic assessments are administered followed by student and parent interviews. Tuition: $7,738 - $15,993 depending on grade level
Canterbury School
5400 Old Lake Jeanette Rd, Greensboro, NC 27455 (336) 288-2007 • www.canterburygso.org Focus: Canterbury is the Triad’s only Episcopal day school, serving students from preschool to 8th grade. Students at every age are challenged academically, given room to grow spiritually, and provided opportunities to be leaders. Canterbury students graduate with the skills to be responsible citizens, capable problem solvers, creative thinkers, effective communicators, and respected leaders. Grades: Cubs (age 3) - 8th grade • Enrollment: 330 • Student/Faculty: 7/1 Admission Requirement: See website for details canterburygso.org Tuition: Early Childhood: $7,644 - $10,269 / K-8: $18,275 - $19,898
Greensboro Day School
5401 Lawndale Drive, Greensboro, NC 27455 (336) 288-8590 • www.greensboroday.org • gdsadmission@greensboroday.org THE GDS EXPERIENCE • Commitment to student safety & well-being • Exceptional preschool program • Rigorous and exciting academic program • Multitude of opportunities in athletics & the arts • Beautiful 72-acre campus Grades: Age 2–Grade 12 • Enrollment: 950 Students Average Class Size: 16 Students Community Cornerstones: Respect, Kindness, Integrity, Responsibility Admission Requirement: Admission on a rolling basis. Tuition: $11,955–$27,070, Financial Assistance Available
S C H O O L S
CTORY
High Point Friends School
Greensboro Montessori School
800-A Quaker Lane, High Point, NC 27262 (336) 886-5516 • www.hpfs.org
2856 Horse Pen Creek Road, Greensboro, NC 27410 (336) 668-0119 • www.gms.org Focus: Nurturing and challenging students to develop the skills and courage they need to unleash their full potential. Grades: 18 months old to 9th grade • Enrollment: 263 Student/Faculty: Under 3 years, 6:1; 4 years and older, 11:1 Admission Process: 1) Visit to get to know our School. 2) Apply to tell us more about your family. 3) Spend time with us with a student visit and family meeting. Tuition: $9,012 - $21,240 (current school year)
Noble Academy
3310 Horse Pen Creek Road Greensboro, NC 27410 336.282.7044 • www.nobleknights.org
Focus: Noble Academy empowers students with learning differences to pursue their highest potential within a comprehensive, supportive educational environment. Grades: 2 - 12 • Enrollment: 160 • Student/Faculty: 8/1 Admission Requirement: Average or above average intelligence, a dignosis of ADHD and/or a learning disability, including Central Auditory Processing Disorder and/or difficulties with one or more of the following: Attention, Processing speed or memory, Auditory processing, Executive functioning, Reading, Math, or Writing, and Academic fluency. Tuition: $24,900 for all grades. Noble Academy can offer financial assistance to families that qualify. Noble Academy also accepts the Opportunity Scholarship and the ESA+.
High Point Friends School is a private school with a public purpose committed to academic excellence focused on solving problems. A Friends education does not seek to inculcate a particular set of beliefs or doctrine; instead, it values the inherent worth and potential of each person. Our Educational Vision: • Create Scholars who think critically & solve problems • Cultivate Community that is welcoming & inclusive • Develop Leaders who are civically engaged citizens • Practice Service Learning to enrich the lives of our students & community Grades: PK3-12 • Enrollment: 111 • Class Size: 8-18 Admission Requirement: Application process for k-8 and rolling admission Cost of Attendance: $1,000 to $12,750
Wesleyan Christian Academy
1917 North Centennial Street, High Point, NC 27282 336.884.3333 • www.wcatrojans.org
Focus: At Wesleyan Christian Academy, we are developing Christian leaders and influencers built to impact their world for Christ. We partner with parents to provide a foundation rooted in biblical truth, exceptional academics for every learning level and unparalleled breadth and depth of student programming. The Class of 2023 was awarded $8.2 MM in merit-based scholarships and included 11 college athlete commits. Grades: Age 6 through 12th grade • Enrollment: 1030 Student/Faculty: 20/1 • Graduation Rate: 100% Admission Requirement: Priority Application Deadline of January 14, 2024; Applications accepted year-round. Tuition: $10,400-14,100. To apply or schedule a tour, visit www.wcatrojans.org/admissions
Westchester Country Day School
2045 North Old Greensboro Road, High Point, NC 27265 (336) 822-4005 • www.westchestercds.org Focus: WCDS is an independent college preparatory school that educates each child toward moral, academic, artistic and athletic excellence in a nurturing environment where students, teachers, and parents support one another. Grades: Pre-K through 12 • Enrollment: 460 • Student/Faculty: 7/1 Admission Requirement: Rolling admissions. Contact the admissions office for details and to schedule a tour. Tuition: $2,632 - $22,030
Thank you to our featured author, Mary Kay Andrews, sponsors, partners and all who attended and made our fall 2023 O.Henry Author Series event a huge success!
Presented by:
Supported by:
GreenScene Richard Green Memorial + Exhibition VanderVeen Photographers Studio Saturday, August 19, 2023 Rick & Susan Stone
Photographs by Bert VanderVeen
Rich, Audrey & Nicole Naviglia
Mike Jacke, Rina Baumann
Dave Taylor, David Horth, Shirley Horth, Anne Mason
Bekah Fairbrother, Heather Ferguson, Kayla Surrette
Nicole Naviglia, Sarah & Jason Miller
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Danielle & Charlotte Green
Thomas Green, David & Holly Devine
Lindsay & Graysen Hirth
Joan & Ron Sorrels, Jane Green, Thomas & Hudson Green
Liam & Mollie Grandidge
O.Henry 125
Share The Harvest
GreenScene
Each May through October, 2023 Volunteers at Work Share the Harvest’s network of volunteers collect, organize and distribute donated produce and goods to Triad agencies serving the hungry. Since 2012, volunteers have used their own vehicles to gather perishables from the N.C. Randall Quillian, John Kimes A&T State University Farm, the N.C. Cooperative Extension Office, church and personal gardens, grocery stores, and farmers markets for distribution to Guilford County nonprofits maintaining food pantries or Gloria McMasters offering meals. The Second Harvest Food Bank, BackPack Beginnings, The Food Pantry of the Triad, Mustard Seed Community Health and Produce to People are among numerous programs served by Share the Harvest. Larry Jamerson, Daniel Craft
Michelle Fagg
David Sharp
Linda Anderson, Ellen Dremann, Jenneh Irving
Deborah Pelli, Ashley Bonner, Linda Anderson
GreenScene TAB Arts Avant-Garde Gala The Colonnade at Revolution Mill Saturday, August 26, 2023 Photographs by Unkle Jesse the Photographer
Sandra Hughes
Nido Qubein, Dr. Daniel Erb
Michaela Leggett, Bob Page, Tosha Dukes, Brandon Smith
126 O.Henry
Carlvina Foster, Mariana Qubein
LaShon Hill
Shirley Caesar
Paula King, Franchone Bass, Victoria Wiley
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
GreenScene BIG Celebration Proximity Hotel
Tuesday, August 22, 2023 Adrienne Brooks
Frank McCain
Steve & Carlyn Bowden
Still Shots Photography by Ashleigh G. Crawley
Margaret & Howard Arbuckle
Emily Thompson, Marci Peace
Courtney Dabney, Tracey McCain, Elise Newsome, Tiffany Randolph
Nanah Fofanah
Walker Sanders, Atticus Simpson, Mae Douglas, Marcus Thomas
Uma Avva, Cynthia Tyler, Kim Gatling, Soumya lyer, Ravi Avva
Preston & Griselda Clark
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Valarie Tutuh
Tracey McCain, Cindy Adams
Tom & Linda Sloan
Kim Gatling, Jim & Jennifer Himes
Mike & Linda Diamond
Charlene Green, Allison Matthews
Soumya Iyer, Cathy Knowles, Mame Annan-Brown, Cassie Bustamante
Brandon Hunter, Adrienne Brooks, Heather Stewart, Jasmine Beard
O.Henry 127
o.henry ending
Grammar? The Horror! He’s not silently correcting what you’ve just said in his head
When people ask me what I do for a
living, I tell them I fix other people’s grammar — then explain I’m an editor. Do people tend to get just a bit self conscious about their speech patterns afterwards? Probably, and although I sense them choosing their words just a bit more carefully as they speak, they needn’t. I’m not silently correcting their grammar. I’m what’s referred to among English majors as a descriptive grammar guy. In my rarely humble opinion, prescriptive grammar, which is all about prescribing what’s correct while proscribing errors, is a lost cause. According to a 2016 Huffington Post poll, only 12 percent of respondents complained that improper grammar in a text message would bother them “a lot,” with 53 percent of respondents being bothered “somewhat” or “not very much.” Thirty percent responded that bad grammar bothered them “not at all.”
I saw that coming decades ago when I taught English and Latin at Salem Academy, where I’d scribble on students’ papers in red ink, “Not spelled that way — yet — but keep on trying.” Language evolves, changing hourly. (By the minute on the internet.) In certain historical eras, scholars tell us, it’s far more plastic. Methinks ours is one of them. According to the History Channel, Shakespeare’s name was spelled more than 80 different ways during his lifetime — including Shaxberd — my favorite. The HC goes on to point out that the Bard himself “never spelled his name ‘William Shakespeare.’” Instead his John Henry spilled onto paper as “Willm Shakp,” “Willm Shakspere” and “William Shakspeare.” So, according to the man who didn’t worry about spelling bee or not to be, we’ve been misspelling his name for centuries. That was, of course, before Samuel Johnson attempted to impose standard spelling and grammar on his fellow Brits with the 1775 publication of his Dictionary of the English Language. But back to our time. Let’s just tackle “to boldly go where no one has gone before,” my Klingon friends. OMG! Captain Kirk split
128 O.Henry
an infinitive — a faux pas worse than splitting some of those tetchy molecules on the atomic chart. He put the adverb “boldly” between the “to” and the “go” of the infinitive form. I myself was attacked fiercely by a religion prof at Wake Forest during my master’s oral exam for that very crime. That, however, is based on the Victorian world’s worship of the Romans and Latin grammar, where splitting verbs was anathema. But let’s not split hairs about it. And how about who/whom? For years, I’ve avoided “whom” in most sentences in O.Henry magazine. Why? Because I firmly believe something like half of our readers stop and wonder whether “whom” is right in any usage, while the other half come to a dead stop parsing the sentence and losing sight of the story. Yes, I hear you, grammar grannies and grandpas. Sometimes I’m one of you. My pet peeve, which sometimes has me shouting at my radio during All Things Considered, is the use of “and” for “to” with infinitives, as in “I’ll try and use correct grammar.” In a grammatically perfect world, one would say, “I’ll try to use correct grammar.” But does anyone really have trouble understanding the former? Does looking down at others’ speech elevate my social station or makes me feel superior and more educated than others? “Guilty,” I say. If you’ve read this far, you probably have your own peeve. “Would of,” “could of,” “should of”? The Oxford comma, which the Associated Press and this magazine abjure? If you were an English major, it might be the waning of the subjunctive mood. How about the conflating of its, it’s/ your, you’re/ they’re, there and their? The apostrophe is dying, folks, but the language isn’t. I like to compare what’s going on with grammar to what’s happened to Auguste Escoffier’s haute cuisine, once rigidly taught and slavishly followed in the finest restaurants. Now, fusion, the mixing of dishes from different cultures, is all the rage. In our melting pot of polyglot with English being universally accepted as the internet’s lingua franca, “standard” American English is getting fused, bruised and misused. And we might as well embrace it. So, fellow grammar geeks, I say that it’s over, and it’s high time to boldly go where no language has gone before. OH David Claude Bailey is a contributing editor to O.Henry. If you want to question or amend his grammar, mail him your corrections on the back of a $1,000 bill. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
ILLUSTRATION BY HARRY BLAIR
By David Claude Bailey
336-852-7107
2222 Patterson St, Suite A, Greensboro, NC 27407 Serving the Triad’s eyewear needs for over 40 years
GREENSBORO • WINSTON-SALEM SCHIFFMANS.COM