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November 2018
FEATURES 59 Lost Cause
Poetry by Martha Golensky
60 A Walk on the Wild Side
By Jim Dodson Behind the scenes at the astounding Greensboro Science Center
68 A Tar Heel Thanksgiving
By Jane Lear Over the river and through the woods . . . from mountains to the coast we go for a feast rich in the tastes and traditions of North Carolina
72 G.I. Joe
DEPARTMENTS 23 Simple Life By Jim Dodson 26 Short Stories 29 Doodad By Maria Johnson 31 Life’s Funny By Maria Johnson 33 Omnivorous Reader By Stephen E. Smith
By Billy Ingram Photographer Joe Bemis recreates the drama of World War II
78 Green Acres
By Billy Ingram Living above The Farmer’s Wife, proprietor Daniel Garrett enjoys both country and urban living
89 Almanac
By Ash Alder
37 Scuppernong Bookshelf 39 The Pleasures of Life Dept. By Maria Johnson 45 Papadaddy’s Mindfield By Clyde Edgerton 46 Drinking with Writers By Wiley Cash 49 The Evolving Species By Cynthia Adams 53 True South By Susan Kelly 55 Birdwatch By Susan Campbell 56 Wandering Billy By Billy Eye 91 Arts Calendar 113 GreenScene 119 The Accidental Astrologer By Astrid Stellanova 120 O.Henry Ending By Sandra Redding
10 O.Henry
November 2018
Cover Photos and Photograph this page by John Gessner
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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M A G A Z I N E
Volume 8, No. 11 “I have a fancy that every city has a voice.” 336.617.0090 1848 Banking Street, Greensboro, NC 27408 www.ohenrymag.com PUBLISHER
David Woronoff Jim Dodson, Editor • jim@thepilot.com Andie Stuart Rose, Art Director • andie@thepilot.com Nancy Oakley, Senior Editor • nancy@ohenrymag.com Alyssa Rocherolle, Graphic Designer CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Cynthia Adams, David Claude Bailey, Harry Blair, Maria Johnson CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Mallory Cash, Lynn Donovan, Amy Freeman, Sam Froelich, John Gessner, Bert VanderVeen, Mark Wagoner
A custom-fit investment plan is just a conversation away Done right, a financial advisor works with you to develop an investment plan designed to help you meet your unique goals. We can help you create your personalized plan, and we’ll review it with you on a regular basis to help keep you on track. Working together is all about you. Call for a complimentary portfolio consultation.
CONTRIBUTORS Ash Alder, Jane Borden, Grant Britt, Susan Campbell, Wiley Cash, Tony Cross, Clyde Edgerton, Billy Eye, Ross Howell Jr., Billy Ingram, Susan Kelly, Sara King, Brian Lampkin, Meridith Martens, D.G. Martin, Ogi Overman, Romey Petite, Angela Sanchez, Stephen Smith, Astrid Stellanova
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Private Client Group Alex Sigmon Branch Manager 806 Green Valley Rd. Greensboro, NC 27408 Phone: 336-545-7100 www.wellsfargoadvisors.com Investment and Insurance Products:
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14 O.Henry
November 2018
©Copyright 2018. 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
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Simple Life
The Wisdom of Stars When in doubt, look up . . . and within
By Jim Dodson
“When I have a terrible need of — dare I say, ‘religion’? — then I go outside at night and paint the stars.” — Vincent Van Gogh
Most mornings when I’m home,
several hours before sunrise, rain or shine, you can find me sitting in an old wooden chair in my front yard, the day’s first cup of Joe in hand, soaking in the deep silence and looking at the sky. I don’t paint the stars but I sure enjoy gazing on them with the aid of my iPhone’s nifty Star Guide, allowing this Earthling to identify constellations and the seasonal movement of planets. Even on cloudy or rainy mornings, Star Guide — like Superman’s X-ray vision — can penetrate the clouds, a reminder that a glorious universe and a lovely mystery await just beyond, always there. As spiritual practices go, my predawn ritual was born on a forested hilltop near the Maine coast 30 years ago. A serious early riser since boyhood, I began stepping outside simply to see how my neighbors fared overnight, especially on November’s sharply colder nights, heralding another hard winter on the doorstep. The “neighbors” I speak of were the woodland creatures that surrounded our peaceful kingdom off the long-abandoned Old Town Road that ran through a 500-acre forest of birch and virgin hemlock pocked with kettle holes from the receding Ice Age, woods dense with fiddlehead and cinnamon ferns, laurel hells and wild vernal springs. Like the stars overhead, they were always there, palely loitering at the edge of the yard in the moonshine and starlight: the small clan of whitetail deer that The Art & Soul of Greensboro
fed off the sorghum pellets I provided through the harshest nights of winter; a flock of wild turkeys that displayed absolutely no fear of our dogs; the massive lady porcupine who waddled through the backyard from time to time (I nicknamed her Madame Defarge after Charles Dickens’ infamous revolutionary knitter), pausing to feed on my frost-wilted hostas; not to mention a young bull moose that hung around our neck of the woods for almost two years, apparently looking for a girlfriend, an age-old story. Perhaps the toughest creatures by far were the tiny black-and-white chickadees that showed up at our side-yard feeders after the coldest Arctic nights imaginable, day-after-day, season-after-season, year-upon-year, no more than a handful of feathers and a tiny beating heart, teaching me something about the divine force at play. Our house was a simple post-and-beam affair, a classic Yankee saltbox that I designed and helped build with my own hands, made of rugged beams hewn from Canadian hemlock. Those beams spoke to me at night, especially as we both aged, cracking and sighing and settling year after year. The surrounding gardens took me almost two decades (and most of my kids’ college funds) to build, beginning with the ancient stone walls of the farmstead that once existed on our hilltop more than a hundred years before us. Our predecessors grew corn and pole beans. I grew English roses, lush hydrangeas and heavenly lilacs, not to mention hostas as big as Volkswagens. Part of my annual November ritual after topping up my woodpile was to erect my Rube Goldberg plant protectors that could withstand being buried for months in the coming snow. Back then, I believed this was my little piece of heaven, the rugged homestead I’d made for my family on a star-swept hill in Maine; the place I would quietly spend the balance of my days on Earth, writing and woolgathering, walking the spring and autumn woods and the Old Town Road with the dogs, forever revising my ever-changing garden, feeding the locals and memorizing the stars of the northern firmament in frosty autumn darkness. Over those two decades, I saw super moons and dozens of shooting stars — and once even November 2018
O.Henry 23
Simple Life
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24 O.Henry
November 2018
the shimmering Northern Lights. I loved that life and held it against my bones as long as I could. And then I let it go, have never been back, though I still have dreams about that house, those woods, those deep snows and frozen stars, not to mention my former woodland neighbors. But home — this home, Carolina — unexpectedly called and I couldn’t ignore the summons. My late Southern grandmother, a grand old Baptist lady who knew the Scriptures cold, loved to say — like Thoreau, like the poet T.S. Eliot, like her husband Walter’s own grandmother, a gentle natural healer her neighbors called Aunt Emma — that life is simply a great hoop, a sacred circle, that the end of our explorations is to discover the place where we began and know it for the first time. For better or worse, I have followed this cosmic script with the faith of a mustard seed, and now I am blessed to have beautiful Southern stars and an old forest of a different kind sheltering overhead, the towering oaks of my boyhood neighborhood, guardians of different early morning companions that are just as wild in their own suburban ways. In place of Madame Defarge and a lovesick moose, we are visited before dawn by feeding rabbits and an owl that dolefully hoots like clockwork down the block as I sit back and study the stars, sipping my coffee, marveling at the scene overhead, as glorious as any medieval cathedral or walled City of God. Spiritually speaking, I suppose I am what a dear friend calls a cosmic wanderer, a religious mongrel in love with the writings of the Sufi poet Hafiz, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the Upanishads, a little Ralph Waldo Emerson, a lot of Billy Collins and Mary Oliver, a dash of Joe Campbell and Charles Wesley’s hymns, spiced by the Bhagavad Gita and the mystic Meister Eckhart, all nicely summarized by the wisdom of my old friend Katrina Kenison, who wrote in her splendid book Magical Journey, An Apprenticeship in Contentment: “We are all one. We need only look more deeply into the nature of who we really are to see that our sense of isolation is an illusion and to have our separateness ameliorated by union. I might be but one small thread in a vast fabric, but there’s comfort in imagining the eternal interplay between my own small, temporal life and all there is.” They’re all with me in the starry darkness, this merry band of voices. With luck, if there is a wind in the darkness, the large Canterbury chimes I gave to my bride for our 15th anniversary — that took me the better part of an entire spring afternoon to hoist and secure in the massive white oak out back — may play three or four notes, sometimes sounding like a Buddhist bell calling one to mindfulness, other times — and I swear on my worn-out copy of Walden that this is The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Simple Life
gospel truth — the first five notes of Amazing Grace. I cannot explain how or why this happens, but I’ve heard it with my own ears and believe it with my own heart. Likewise, I can’t explain or justify why most things happen in this passing life — joy, sorrow, tragedy, redemption — but grace certainly helps one face the day, whatever it brings.
November brings forth the two brightest planets in the Southern sky, Mars and Venus, gracing dusk and dawn like a blessing and benediction respectively while Orion, lord of our coming winter’s nights, rises below Taurus and the Pleiades in the East as Summer’s Triangle fades in the West. The clear autumn sky never fails to make me feel both puny and thrilled by the knowledge that this same unchanging sky shone over Plato and Aristotle as they taught their students, Galileo on his balcony peering at the clockwork heavens, Marcus Aurelius penning his soulful Meditations on a lonely Roman frontier, Jesus praying in the wilderness, English lords signing the Magna Carta, Jefferson jotting notes about human independence, Lincoln speaking at Gettysburg, women marching for the vote, four brave college students sitting down at a whites-only lunch counter, the discovery of the God Particle and a phone that can see through clouds like Superman. Beneath November’s clear and changing skies, as the soul leans inward, I use my iPhone’s wondrous Star Guide to identify the stunning moons of Jupiter, suddenly remembering C.S. Lewis’ observation that, contrary to our collective belief, we are not the center to the universe because “the center of the universe is actually everywhere.” Jesus’ version of this ancient truth may be the greatest metaphor of all for describing the potential transformation of human consciousness yet to come — that the “Kingdom of Heaven” is not somewhere up or out there — but patiently waiting for discovery deep inside us. Perhaps human consciousness is beginning to understand that the force we call “God” is simply a streaming river of light and unconditional love that flows everywhere and through everything, as true and present as the stars that literally surround our small fragile planet wreathed in clouds or hidden by the brightest light of day, reassuringly there though we can’t — or choose not to — see it. Not long ago, I read somewhere that the late astronomer Carl Sagan — a confirmed agnostic — believed there may be as many stars as there are grains of sand on Earth, billions of stars in hundreds of universes bearing untold numbers of unimaginable gifts. The November star child in me sure hopes this proves true. God only knows what adventures await us. OH Contact Editor Jim Dodson at jim@thepilot.com. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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O.Henry 25
Short Stories Mountain Man
And no, we don’t mean Grizzly Adams, but acclaimed photographer Jeff Botz, whose panoramas of the Himalayan Mountains will be on view for the month of November starting on the 2nd, at Ambleside Gallery (528 South Elm Street). “I do not consider myself a documentary photographer, nor are these photos travelogue,” says Botz, who considers his work “visual poetry” that captures the wonder of being in so stunning a natural environment. Hence the show’s name, Vessels of Wonder, a concept Botz further emphasizes by pairing the photos with meditations on mountains and spirituality, from John Denver’s folk-rock classic “Rocky Mountain High” to verse by Persian poet Rumi. The fusion of images and words — not to mention the thousands who have flocked to Botz’s past exhibits in Charlotte and Hickory — are all clear indications of an artist at his peak. Info: amblesidearts.com.
Feet Accompli
At 28, it has, quite literally grown by leaps and bounds. The NC Dance Festival brings together professional modern dance choreographers from across the state to share their creative visions. Showcasing a wide variety of dance movement, performances range from contemplative to playful. For, er, kicks, check out the innovation in action at 8 p.m. on November 9 at Greensboro Project Space (219 West Lewis Street) and November 10 at Van Dyke Performance Space (200 North Davie Street). For information and tickets: (336) 373-2727 or danceproject.org/festival.
26 O.Henry
November 2018
Waist Not Wanted
Food season is officially upon us, but avoid gorging yourself and bingeing on junk food — and packing on the pounds — with a little education from Greensboro Children Museum’s Adult Cooking Classes. Kicking off the series on November 3, Chef Anders Benton of GIA demonstrates how to prepare his seasonal favorites (which students get to sample in a multicourse meal). On November 5, you can learn all about mindful eating (think: butternut squash, cherries and quinoa), make your own granola on November 10 and vegan desserts on the 15th. If all of this sounds a little too healthy, just enroll your kids in the Tween, Teen and Kid Cooking Classes on the 9th, 16th and 17th, respectively. The topics? Pies, pie-decorating and fruit pies. Sweet! To register: gcmuseum.com.
Go for Baroque
Though originally written for an Easter mass, Handel’s Messiah has, over time, become a staple of the Christmas season. After all, the entire first part of the choral work is about the birth of Christ, making it a fitting component of December church services. Additionally, there was an abundance of sacred music for Easter, but not so much for Christmas. Curiously, Handel wrote the work at a time when he was underappreciated; London audiences had yawned at his previous season’s works, so the composer worked feverishly in the late summer of 1741, writing from morning till night, before The Messiah’s debut the following spring in Dublin. The layered, exuberant choral piece wowed audiences and forever sealed Handel’s reputation as one of the greats. Hear for yourself as Jay Lambeth conducts Greensboro Oratorio Singers, featuring soloists Caroline Crupi, soprano; Emily Schuering, Mezzo; Jacob Wright, Tenor and Daniel Crupi, Bass in the company’s 65th performance of The Messiah. As a part of the Music Center’s OPUS series, the concert, starting at 7 p.m. on November 27 at the Carolina Theatre, is free and open to the public — something truly worth rejoicing. Info: gsomusiccenter.org.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Oh, Beautiful!
Greensboro Beautiful, to be precise. The nonprofit dedicated to keeping the Gate City gleaming is capping off its 50th anniversary with an exhibition of works by local artist and “North Carolina’s painter” Bill Mangum. To raise money for Greensboro Beautiful, Mangum was commissioned to paint the city’s four public gardens (Gateway, Tanger, the Arboretum and Bog Garden), but as he engaged in the project, the number of paintings grew to 50. Charming vignettes — a solitary bench amid a profusion of pink azaleas, an iris in full bloom, the remains of a tree trunk in fall — began to fill the artist’s studio. See all 50 of them in the exhibition, which runs from November 7–17 at the Art Shop (3900 West Market Street), and appreciate not only the green in Greensboro, but its entire palette of vivid color, as well. Info: greensborobeautiful.org.
View to a Kiln
Need some extra plates, mugs and vases for your Thanksgiving table or to give as gifts? Then head to Curry Wilkinson Pottery (5029 South NC Highway 49, Burlington) on November 17, 18, 24 and 25 for the opening of the wood-fired kiln, which was completed this past summer. Enjoy light refreshments in a rustic farm setting as you peruse the salt-glazed, slip-trailed earthenware that has become a signature] style for Wilkinson, a former apprentice of Randleman’s Thomas Sand — and another vessel of a time-honored North Carolina art. Info: currywilkinsonpottery.com.
Ogi Overman
One of the best attributes of music is that one may use it to either celebrate or commiserate. This is especially applicable this month, because after Tuesday, November 6, we are going to be doing one or the other. So here are a few shows that will either soothe the soul or the savage breast. May the better women — and in some cases men — win.
• November 2, Koury Convention
Center: OK, so the venue is, um, unconventional, but it’s hosting one of my very favorite living crooners: Babyface. Not only has he written and produced no fewer than 26 No. 1 R&B hits and won 11 Grammys, he is also one of the most successful producers ever. Betcha didn’t know he was given his moniker by the funkiest bassist on Earth, Bootsy Collins.
• November 3, Ramkat: You may remember a couple of years back, The Collection graced the cover of this very magazine. My friend and colleague Grant Britt predicted that great things were in store for this local ensemble and, as per usual, he nailed it. They just released their third album and are touring nationally, knocking on the door of becoming a household name. • November 8, Cat’s Cradle: Rarely
do I send folks to the Triangle, but this one is simply too good to pass up. Two of my all-time heroes, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Dave Alvin, are on the same bill. I promise you, this will be well worth an extra gallon of gas. But who will warm up whom?
Out on a Limb
“I think that I shall never see/A poem as lovely as a tree,” wrote journalist and poet Joyce Kilmer. We’d wager Doug Goldman, a botanist for the U.S.D.A., would heartily agree. As chronicled in these pages earlier this year, Goldman has devoted his energies to cataloguing and preserving the wide variety of trees and shrubs in Greenhill Cemetery, many of them planted by the Gate City’s “Johnny Appleseed,” Bill Craft. Learn more about the array of roots and branches swathed in glorious fall colors on November 10 and 11, on a Green Hill Botanical Tour with Goldman as your guide. Tours begin at 1 p.m. at the Wharton Street gate. To reserve, send an email to: friendsofgreenhillcemetery.org.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Ogi Sez
• November 10, Greensboro Coliseum: Again in a departure, aside from my dear friend Amy Grant, I rarely list contemporary Christian acts. But MercyMe is literally in a class by itself. Try 57 multiformat No. 1 songs, the first platinum and double-platinum recording in CC history, and a movie starring Dennis Quaid about their leader. • November 30, High Point Theatre:
I try to make my life and my music revolve around one word: Harmony. So it should come as no surprise that my second favorite vocal group (behind the Mills Brothers) of all time is The Manhattan Transfer. I get chill bumps just thinking about it. November 2018
O.Henry 27
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Doodad
The Faces of Revolution One artist’s mission to democratize portraiture and preserve the past
Holiday Gift Guide blockade-runner.com/christmas/
Dorothy Sheppard Davis Brewer, in progress
When painter Suellen McCrary
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF SUELLEN MCCRARY
moved her studio to Greensboro’s Revolution Mill two years ago, curious walk-ins included folks who remembered the workspace from another era when the mill turned out flannel from 1898 to 1982.
“They had all kind of stories to tell,” says McCrary, who specializes in portraits. “Some of them said they’d worked there, or their grandparents had worked there.” To honor that history, McCrary pitched a project to the mill’s current owner, Durham-based Self-Help Ventures Fund, which acquired the complex in 2012. In return for a monthly stipend, McCrary would spend two years painting oil-on-panel portraits of 25 people connected to the mill, whether they’d worked on machines bolted to the maple floor, handled clerical duties, or lived in the mill village. At the end of the project, the portraits would join the permanent historical collection at the mill, now a hive of live-work-play development. The portrait subjects would receive free prints of their likenesses, making possible an otherwise costly keepsake. The price of an original oil portrait can range from $3,000 to six figures. “I was looking for a way to democratize portraiture,” says McCrary, who solicited subjects on a Facebook page called Cone Mills Villages — My Family’s History. A dozen former Revolution employees have reached out to her, and she has completed a few portraits, but she wants to round up more applicants. “I would love to get a cross section,” says McCrary, 60, who grew up in Greensboro and attended Page High School with the children of mill families, though she didn’t personally know them at the time. Now living in High Point, McCrary hopes to capture the faces and stories of her schoolmates’ families while there’s still time. She recently painted 101-year-old Dorothy Sheppard Davis Brewer, a former mill inspector. “This is a generation that’s passing, so I’ve got to get moving,” says McCrary. — Maria Johnson OH Contact Suellen McCrary at smccrary4@gmail.com or (336) 848-3900. She’ll post progress shots of the project on her Instagram account, @suellenmccraryart.
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O.Henry 29
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Life’s Funny
Sneaking Up on Cool Waiting for the other shoe(s) to drop
By Maria Johnson
My younger son called from college the
other day. Strange. Was someone sick? Hurt? In trouble?
“ARE YOU OK?” I answered quickly. He was. He was lighthearted, in a good mood, eager to talk. Hmm. Suspicious. We chatted about his classes, his housing situation, his plans for the upcoming fall break — all good. “So . . . listen,” he finally said. “Are you doing anything this afternoon?” I wondered if he could feel my eyes narrowing. “I’m working on a story,” I said. “Why do you ask?” “Well, there are there these shoes,” he said. At this point, I should tell you that the boy is a fool for athletic shoes. Not just your run of the mill kicks. I’m talking high-end sneaks “designed” by pro athletes and entertainers. Adidas’s Yeezys by musician Kanye West. Nike’s Air Force 1 by rapper Travis Scott. Kobe 11 Elites and Jordan South Beaches, both by Nike, anointed with the endorsements of former NBA stars Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan respectively. Let me be clear that my son does not OWN all of these shoes, though by dint of a good-paying summer job and online haggling, he has acquired a few specimens that have garnered the respect of folks in the know. Last summer, I witnessed other young men turning to study his feet as we walked down the street. My son did not acknowledge their acknowledgment. Later, when I asked him if he’d seen them checking out his shoes, he nodded. A slight smile bent his lips. Apparently, when one is cool, one stays cool about it. But there is a price to pay. One must be vigilant about one’s cool. Which was why he was calling. He wanted me to go to a hipster store in downtown Greensboro and enter a raffle for pair of shoes called Nike Blazer Mid Off-White All Hallow’s Eve, which are exactly what they sound like: mid-rise canvas shoes with an orange swoosh for Halloween because, I dunno, wearing a pair of orange socks wouldn’t be enough. The deal was, each person could register only once, and he and his roommate had already signed up at a Raleigh store so, if I wasn’t doing anything, maybe I could go downtown — by the end-of-the-day deadline; no pressure — and register for the shoes under my name. Whoever won the raffle would get the “opportunity” to buy the sneakers at the full retail price of $130. If either one of us won, he promised, he would pay me back. Sigh. An hour later, I walked into the store, where I was the oldest person by, oh, 30 years. “Howyadoin?” said a guy behind the counter. He was helping someone else, but he paused long enough to scan me. His eyes stuck on my feet. I would be lying if I said I hadn’t anticipated this. Before leaving the house,
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
I’d pulled on some black woven athletic shoes, which I thought were, you know, pretty dope in a post-menopausal, calcium-taking, small-SUV-driving kind of way. He lingered on my feet. Taking a cue from my son, I did not acknowledge his acknowledgement. It did not occur to me until later that he might have been looking at my lace-up ankle brace, and that it was entirely possible that no one wearing an orthopedic device had ever entered the store before. As a result of my ignorance, I stayed cool. I would nod a lot and speak only when spoken to. “Can I help you?” said another guy. “Yeah, I’m here for . . .” My mind froze. I needed to get the word right. What had my son called it? A drawing? A cake walk? A raffle? Yes! “. . . the raffle.” I nodded. “What size?” I looked down at my feet. “Thirteen.” “What color?” Color? I almost said off-white, naturally, but it’s a good thing I didn’t because — as my son would explain later under eyes that were rolling like a slot machine — Off-White is the label of Virgil Abloh, who recently became the first black artistic director of men’s fashion at Louis Vuitton. The collaboration of Nike and Off-White is what makes the shoes special. Ohhhhhhhhhhh. I consider it a small act of God that the sales guy prompted me before I could answer. “Black or tan?” he said. “Tan.” I had a 50 percent chance of being right. “Check your email on Wednesday,” he said. “If you win, they’ll send you an invoice.” I nodded. He nodded. Cool. A few days later, my son was home on break. The shoe raffle had been held the day before. Neither of us had gotten an email. Oh, well. My kiddo was sitting on the couch that night, perusing his phone, when he started laughing. His roommate, who’d gone with him and registered for the raffle on a lark, had won. “Maybe he’ll let you wear one of the shoes,” I said. My son looked appalled. He pulled up a website, stockx.com, an Internet aftermarket, which showed that a pair of never-worn All Hallow’s was selling for more than $700. His sole brother’s plan: Sell the shoes and buy a similar pair for a hundred bucks. My son nodded. I nodded. Cool. OH
Although Maria Johnson, a contributing editor of O.Henry, doesn’t always walk the walk, she sure can talk the talk. You can reach her at ohenrymaria@gmail.com. November 2018
O.Henry 31
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The Omnivorous Reader
Beyond Jaws The tragedy of the Indianapolis revisited
By Stephen E. Smith
Just when you thought it was safe
to go back in the bookstore, there’s a new best-seller about the worst shark attack ever — a book that details the feeding frenzy, past and present, that surrounds the sinking of the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis on 30 July 1945.
Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic’s meticulously researched and artfully constructed Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man is the latest in a plethora of books, history specials, movies, documentaries, TV news features, etc. that has, since the cruiser disappeared into the Philippine Sea 73 years ago, contributed to the lore surrounding the demise of the ship and crew that transported the first atomic bomb to the island of Tinian. If you’re a reader with a basic knowledge of American history, you’re no doubt familiar with the tragic story of the Indianapolis. If you aren’t, anyone who’s seen the movie Jaws will be more than happy to tell you all about it, just as Quint, the shark hunter (played by Robert Shaw), told them: After delivering the components for the bomb, the Indianapolis was cruising at night when the Japanese submarine I-58 fired two torpedoes into the ship, sinking her in 12 minutes. About 300 crew died in the torpedo attack; another 900 went into the water. No lifeboats were launched, no actionable distress signal was transmitted, and the men had only flimsy life preservers and makeshift rafts to keep themselves afloat. Many of the crew died of saltwater consumption, others simply despaired and committed
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
suicide. When the survivors were located almost five days later, only 316 remained to tell the story. Figures vary as to the exact number of the men taken by sharks, but experts theorize that the majority of those attacked had already died of exposure. Still, the horror engendered by a shark attack — the possibility of being eaten alive by a silent, subsurface predator — has resonated through popular culture. To their credit, the authors aren’t obsessively concerned with sharks, focusing instead on a post-rescue conspiracy surrounding the Indianapolis disaster. In the months immediately following the sinking, the story was eclipsed by news of the surrender that occurred after the dropping of the atomic bombs, but a bureaucratic feeding frenzy began as soon as the survivors were rescued. According to Vincent and Vladic, Navy brass, intent on covering up their incompetence, subjected the ship’s captain, Charles B. McVay III, to a court-martial in which he was convicted of “hazarding his ship by failing to zigzag,” although zigzagging was not required or even recommended in the area in which the Indianapolis was cruising. In an unprecedented move, prosecutors brought in the commander of the I-58, a former enemy combatant, to testify against McVay. The Japanese captain stated emphatically that zigzagging would have made no difference in his attack on the Indianapolis, but McVay was found guilty anyway. He was blamed for the disaster, a reprimand was placed upon his service record, and a deluge of hate mail followed him for the remainder of his life. No other American captain has ever been punished for losing his ship to a torpedo attack. Whether out of guilt for his lost crew or the emotional distress brought on by a failing marriage, the former captain of the Indianapolis committed suicide in 1968. Vincent and Vladic’s account doesn’t end with McVay’s death. They examine in detail his eventual exoneration. In 1996, a 12-year-old Florida November 2018
O.Henry 33
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boy, Hunter Scott, took an interest in the story of the Indianapolis and initiated a letterwriting campaign. He was supported by survivors who wanted to honor their late captain and by Sen. Bob Smith, who offered a congressional resolution that finalized McVay’s long-delayed vindication. But the reprieve didn’t come easy, and the military machinations and congressional intrigues surrounding the McVay hearings are at the heart of the book. As the congressional inquiry neared its conclusion, Paul Murphy, one of the men McVay had led into harm’s way, wrote to the committee reviewing McVay’s court-martial, objecting to a previous report upholding the Navy’s original court-martial findings: “They contain falsehoods, statements taken out of context, and plain mean-spirited innuendos about our skipper and others who have attempted to defend him . . . The Navy report contained personal attacks on Captain McVay’s character. They were unwarranted, and in most instances, unrelated to the charges against him. On behalf of the men who served on the Indianapolis under Captain McVay, I would like to state our deep resentment and ask: Why is the Navy still out to falsely persecute and defame him?” Most of the available histories of the Indianapolis sinking — Fatal Voyage, Left for Dead, Out of the Depths, Lost at Sea (there’s also a bad movie starring Nicolas Cage) — focus on the suffering of the crewmen abandoned by a Navy too busy or too disorganized to notice that a heavy cruiser had gone missing. The Vincent/ Vladic book is, by and large, an update on the Indianapolis story and concludes with the August 2017 discovery of the ship’s remains, now a designated war grave, in the North Philippine Sea, bringing to a close the ship’s eight-decade saga. “For the families of the lost at sea,” write Vincent and Vladic, “the news stirred high emotions, bringing back memories many had sealed away for decades. After nearly three-quarters of a century, children, nieces, nephews, and grandchildren were finding the peace that their parents and grandparents had sought for so many years.” This cathartic effect notwithstanding, one thing is certain: With only 19 Indianapolis survivors still living, the finger-pointing and recriminations will soon enough cease to matter. OH Stephen E. Smith is a retired professor and the author of seven books of poetry and prose. He’s the recipient of the Poetry Northwest Young Poet’s Prize, the Zoe Kincaid Brockman Prize for poetry and four North Carolina Press awards.
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November 2018
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Scuppernong Bookshelf
Ladies of Literature Celebrating women writers among November’s releases
Compiled by Brian Lampkin
It’s November 2018. A month of real meaning for
the future. This is also a month full of great new books by women. Let’s celebrate women writers as we anticipate a future with more and more women in places of power. November 6: Beyond the Call: Three Women on the Front Lines in Afghanistan, by Eileen Rivers. A riveting account of three women who fought shoulder-to-shoulder with men in Afghanistan and worked with local women to restore their lives and village communities. They marched under the heat with 40-pound rucksacks on their backs. They fired M16s out of the windows of military vehicles, defending their units in deadly firefights. And they did things that their male counterparts could never do — gather intelligence on the Taliban from the women of Afghanistan. November 6: Monument: Poems New and Selected, by Natasha Trethewey. Two-time U.S. Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Natasha Trethewey’s new and selected poems, drawing upon Domestic Work, Bellocq’s Ophelia, Native Guard, Congregation, and Thrall, while also including new work written over the last decade. November 6: Grits: A Cultural and Culinary Journey Through the South, by Erin Byers Murray. For food writer Erin Byers Murray, grits had always been one of those basic, bland Southern table necessities — something to stick to your ribs or dollop the butter and salt onto. But after hearing a famous chef wax poetic about the terroir of grits, her whole view changed. Suddenly the boring side dish of her youth held importance, nuance and flavor. She decided to do some digging to better understand the fascinating and evolving role of grits in Southern cuisine and culture as well as her own Southern identity. November 13: Bringing Down the Colonel: A Sex Scandal of the Gilded Age, and the “powerless” Woman Who Took on Washington, by Patricia Miller. In The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Bringing Down the Colonel, the journalist Patricia Miller tells the story of Madeline Pollard, an unlikely 19th-century women’s rights crusader. After an affair with a prominent politician left her “ruined,” Pollard brought the man — and the hypocrisy of America’s control of women’s sexuality — to trial. And, surprisingly, she won. November 13. Becoming, by Michelle Obama. In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America — the first African American to serve in that role — she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the United States and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare. November 20: Tony’s Wife, by Adriana Trigiani. From the Jersey shore to Hollywood, New York City to Las Vegas, the hills of northern Italy and the exuberant hayride of the big band circuit in between: Tony’s Wife tells the story of the 20th century in song. Adriana Trigiani is the bestselling author of seventeen books, and is cofounder of the Origin Project, an in-school writing program that serves more than one thousand students in Appalachia. November 27: The Collector’s Apprentice, by B. A. Shapiro. Shapiro has made the historical art thriller her own: “B.A. Shapiro is back with a platinum potion of art, love and scandal, set against the big backdrop of Paris between the wars. If you can put The Collector’s Apprentice down, you’re made of stronger stuff than I am. I read it in one sumptuous sitting. This is a big story, from a big talent.” — Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean. OH Brian Lampkin is one of the proprietors of Scuppernong Books.
November 2018
O.Henry 37
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Pleasures of Life
Penn-ultimate Pleasures North Carolina’s first family of swing is still going strong
Front row: Dixie and George Penn; back row: Elaine, Elizabeth, Georgianna and Vaughan Penn By Maria Johnson
After 60 years, how do Dixie and
PHOTOGRAPH BY LYNN DONOVAN
George Penn keep the sparkle in their music and marriage?
Dixie, 77, whips out a small battery-powered device -- her iPhone. “We go to bed with this every night,” she says. “He has his, and I have mine.” “Sometimes she says, ‘Turn it down,’ “ he says softly. Sharing YouTube music videos is a guilty pleasure, far different from the days when they embarked on the entertainment and romance business. Back then, in the mid-1950s, they were teenagers. Dixie ran to the radio and jotted down the lyrics of songs she wanted to learn. George, a saxophonist, drove his arrangements of popular tunes over to her house on the pretense that he just happened to be passing through Gretna, Virginia, a speck of a town 30 miles from where he lived in Danville, a slightly bigger speck. “That’s kinda how you . . .” Dixie starts. “Snowed your mother,” George says. Sixty years will do that to you. You finish each other’s sentences, know each other’s paths, pitfalls and punch lines. Dixie and George anticipate each other, whether they’re sitting in the formal living room of the home they’ve shared in Madison since 1968, or performing for the thousandth time — no exaggeration — in front of an audience that laps up their jazzy, swingy, big-bandy sounds. These days, their performances happen mostly in the lobby of Greensboro’s O.Henry Hotel.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
The Penn family — either the full gang of six or some permutation of Dixie, George and their four daughters — play the hotel’s free jazz series regularly. On December 8, all of them will convene at the hotel for a special concert celebrating the couple’s 60 years of marriage and 62 years of making music together. “Music is the heartbeat of that household, for sure,” says Victoria Clegg, who curates the jazz series. “It’s just remarkable to me that that’s how George and Dixie met, and then that they had four daughters who are so incredibly talented.” The best way to see the arc of their lives, Dixie says, is by decade. She hands over an outline written in her flowing hand. Here’s a fleshed-out version: 1940s: She’s Got Talent Nine-year-old George Penn sees 7-year-old Dixie Hendrix in a talent show at the Belk-Leggett department store in Danville, Virginia. Dixie wears a pinafore and belts out “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah,” from the Disney film Song of the South. She wins first prize. Perhaps blinded by her success, she does not see George. 1950s: The Spark Dixie is 16 and somewhat of a celebrity in the Greater Gretna area because a) she has her own weekly radio show, a 15-minute segment sponsored by her home-builder father, b) she is the drum major at Gretna High School and c) she gives free baton twirling lessons to local kids. “You know how people love it when you do things for their children,” she will say later. One day, she gets a letter from Charlie Price, leader of the Russ Carlton Orchestra in Danville, who heard about her singing ability. He invites her to audiNovember 2018
O.Henry 39
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Pleasures of Life tion. George is a saxophonist in the band. This time, Dixie sees him. He is 18 and headed to Virginia Tech. He has a girlfriend. She has a boyfriend. Not for long. They marry while George is in college, on January 3, 1959, during Christmas break. They travel to gigs on weekends and see a variety of behavior: fights, frat boys licking beer off the floor, audience members unplugging the band’s speakers and plucking the drumsticks from a drummer’s hands. They play on because audiences are generally respectful. Appreciative. Fun-loving. The Penns are having fun, too. They are in love. With music. With each other. 1960s: New York, New York George graduates, mothballs the horn, and takes a job in the New York City office of Gem-Dandy Inc., maker of belts, suspenders and sleeve garters. They live in the suburbs. Dixie joins the Larchmont Junior League and its a cappella group, The Soundettes. She also sings in the community chorus, which is directed by bandleader Lew Anderson, formerly Clarabell the clown on the Howdy Doody television show. Anderson knows Doc Severinsen, a trumpeter and future bandleader on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show. Severinsen does a concert with the chorus. Dixie solos with “Lullaby of Broadway.” George dusts off the saxophone and jams with local musicians. Their daughters inherit the entertainment gene. Baby Vaughan wails in perfect pitch. The next two girls, Elaine and Elizabeth, possess angelic voices, too. One day, George announces they’re moving to Madison, the company headquarters in Rockingham County, north of Greensboro. Dixie is dumfounded. She doesn’t want to go. But Madison grows on her. 1970s: Children, children and more children Georgianna is the fourth and final package of perfect pitch. Dixie and George gig from time to time with the Red Vests, a Dixieland band in Eden, or with the Dave Cook Combo from Danville. Mostly, they herd children in a swirl of school, church, sports and song. They provide musical instruments. Piano lessons. Turntables and tape decks. The basement becomes a rehearsal space. When the rhythm picks up, the floor shakes under the linoleum in the kitchen above. 1980s: Politics as Usual Dixie graduates from UNCG in 1983 with a degree in therapeutic education and a minor in recreation. She becomes director of the MadisonMayodan Recreation Department, a joint effort of The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Pleasures of Life the side-by-side cities. She juggles playgrounds and small-town politics. She also manages La Vogue, the family band. Hey, it’s the ’80s. Here’s the rule: If you are in the family, you are in the band. Most of the time, it works well. Except when it doesn’t because . . . four teenage girls. They fight over clothes, jewelry, and everything else. But something happens when the band kicks in. The girls sing and smile and focus on the music. You can’t sing upbeat songs and be angry. Music breaks the circuit. Every gig confirms what George and Dixie know: they are happiest while performing. Taking big vacations? Bleck. Spinning around the dance floor as consumers of music, not creators? Boring. “We tried doing what other people did and it didn’t work,” Dixie will reflect later. “We went back to doing what we wanted to do, and we were so happy.”
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1990s: Empty Nest The girls, now young women, scatter. Vaughan goes to Los Angeles to write music for TV and movies. She will share the stage with Emmylou Harris, Darius Rucker and Huey Lewis and others. Elaine, who was an All-American basketball player at Greensboro College, moves to Wilmington, where she makes environmental documentaries and continues to perform. Elizabeth jumps into entertainment production at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia. Georgianna takes a turn at Busch Gardens, too, then joins Vaughan in Los Angeles. They appear as extras on shows including Bay Watch and the medical drama E.R. Dixie and George visit them on the set and meet an actor, a nice fellow also named George . . . Clooney. Back home, Dixie and George play with a combo called “50s Plus,” a nod to 1950s music. The Penns are in their 50s, too. Family life is changing, but all is not lost. Lyrics.com and cell phones small enough to carry to bed are on the horizon. 2000–2018 (condensed): The Flock Returns Slowly, the far-flung family coalesces back in North Carolina. Vaughan, a writer, singer and producer, lives near Charlotte. Elaine, who does motivational speaking, music and marketing, lives in Madison. Elizabeth lives in Greensboro. A physical therapist, she directs rehabilitation at the UNC Hospital in Eden. She continues to do musical production. Georgianna lives in Greensboro, too. She is a freelance writer and does marketing for Charlie’s Soap, the Madison-based company that George The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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November 2018
O.Henry 41
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Pleasures of Life
went to work for when he retired from Gem-Dandy. Dixie retired from the parks and rec job, for the third time, last year. The flock flies loosely under the banner of Penn Family Music, which means at least two people named Penn will show up. Getting everyone together is rare, but the reunions often happen around a show. “It’s the highlight of our music, having them all together,” says George. “I can’t tell you what joy it brings,” says Dixie. Sometimes, they team up with the Greensboro Big Band, directed by Mike Day. The whole crew will play for the Piedmont Swing Dance Society on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The anniversary show at the O.Henry Hotel will happen a few weeks later. Dixie and George probably will sing a duet. They sang together for the first time last October. They trilled another love song for church seniors this past September. This tickled Dixie — but not in the way you might expect. “His mouth goes so funny, I cannot watch him,” she says. “I thought I would die. I laughed halfway through the song, waiting for it. Then, I started crying because when he came in, it was so beautiful. His harmony was so beautiful.” Did she feel he was singing to her? “No,” she says flatly. “I gotta find a third song,” he says softly.
Celebrating five years of O.Henry Jazz
By Georgianna Penn Sergio Ward, of WQFS 90.9’s Jet Set Jazz Radio, often refers to O.Henry Jazz as “the gift that keeps on giving.” It certainly is for me and my family. I’ve been performing with my sisters and parents, George and Dixie Penn, for several decades in the Triad and we are blessed to be a part of the O.Henry Jazz Series. Picking up the mantle of earlier jazz clubs — Sammy’s, Green’s, Plantation Club, Sam’s Canterbury Inn — Thursday Cocktails & Jazz at 5:30 p.m. and Select Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. feature practically every subgenre — Dixieland, Swing, Blues, Bossa Nova, Cole Porter, a little Gershwin and whole lot of the Great American Songbook — all of it originating from the magical space of the Social Lobby of the O.Henry Hotel. It’s a favorite spot for CEO and chief design officer Dennis Quaintance, who often makes it a point of stopping by on Thursday evenings. “It’s just very meaningful when you see this sort of joy emanating from this room,” he says, explaining that the thriving O.Henry Jazz Series is an affirmation of his vision and that of his friend and guiding spirit for the hotel’s design, the late Don Rives. With the Algonquin Hotel as inspiration, Rives The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Pleasures of Life
made sure the high-ceiling space was welcoming with rich paneling, warm lighting and plush furniture arranged for easy conversation. “Even the moldings break up the sound differently than if that was just a flat ceiling, so it ends up being acoustically warm and not acoustically hot,” Quaintance notes. But it’s the musicians who conjure the magic. Five years ago, at the recommendation of well-known musician Jessica Mashburn, who was working at the Green Valley Grill, Quaintance hired Neill Clegg (sax, flute, clarinet), husband of series curator Victoria Clegg. She suggested his colleague at Greensboro College, pianist Dave Fox. A few years later “first call” bassist Matt Kendrick, came aboard. The O.Henry Trio was born. “It’s about the intention and this sort of love and passion by Victoria, by Neill, by Dave and by Matt . . . their energy is palpable,” Quaintance observes. Perhaps because each of them is “a singer’s musician,” as Victoria Clegg puts it. My own experience working with the Trio is like attending a master class, though Neill Clegg will tell you that jazz should be a conversation between the singer and musician. The creativity is in the conversation and that’s what makes it intimate for the listener. “One of the nicest things that happens at the O.Henry is when you see the musicians and the vocalists take someone back in time,” says Victoria Clegg. Little wonder the first show drew 130 people, many of them still regulars. For the musicians, “It’s a big community sandbox,” Victoria Clegg continues. “You now have this great place to show your wares in the fashion in which they should be displayed.” Steve Haines, a bassist and professor of music in UNCG’s Miles Davis Jazz Studies program, appreciates the cultural significance of the series: “Victoria and her friends at Quaintance-Weaver have put a feather in the cap for music in Greensboro.” Tapping local talent instead of musicians from elsewhere is the cornerstone of the program. “The foundation is that we’re people who live here . . . and so, it ought to be sort of neighbors being gracious to neighbors,” Quaintance says. “It’s astonishing to me the musical talent that exists, not just in the jazz genre, but in general.” Victoria Clegg considers each performance a gift “and every week it’s wrapped differently depending upon who the artist is, a different package,” she says. “I always think if O.Henry could speak he would say, ‘job well done, job well done’ with this little grin on his face.” OH For schedule of shows visit ohenryhotel.com.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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O.Henry 43
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44 O.Henry
November 2018
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Papadaddy’s Mindfield
It’s a Sign
A conversation with two small friends
By Clyde Edgerton
In a recent Star News letter to the editor,
ILLUSTRATION BY HARRY BLAIR
the writer suggested that the presence of a “Thank You, Jesus!” sign in a certain front yard was the reason that every tree in that yard stood tall after Hurricane Florence passed through — while many trees elsewhere had been blown down. I was walking through my neighborhood with a couple of moles. They are blind of course, but they have smart phones that warn them if they are about to walk into something. Their names are Willy and Scottie. Smart moles — schooled in religion. They live under different yards in my neighborhood. They were talking about the issue. Willy: What about somebody who wanted to buy a “Thank You, Jesus!” sign, but couldn’t find one because they were all sold out? Scottie: Their trees would be saved because they thought about it in their mind. Willy: Are you sure? Scottie: Well . . . I don’t know for sure. Maybe the leaves would have just got blown off, but the trees would have stayed stood up, I’ll betcha. Or something like that. Willy: Do you think the people over at your yard will get a “Thank you, Jesus!” sign? Scottie: Oh, they already did — because they lost some trees, then read that letter to the editor. They got six signs. They put one in the trunk of their car, and one in their truck, one on their boat, and one in front of the dog house. Willy: That’s just four. Scottie: Oh, and one in the backyard. And one on top of the house. Willy: On top of the house? Scottie: Lightning. Willy: And I’ll bet you if you take care of poor people and do unto others as you would have them do unto you, like Jesus said, then that means your trees won’t get blowed down, too.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Scottie: No. No. No. It just matters that they got that sign in your yard . . . or in their car or back pocket. It don’t matter what you do. It’s like churches. No church trees got blowed down during the hurricane because of all those signs that churches put in their front yards. Willy: Oh . . . you sure? Scottie: Yep. God didn’t let any trees get blowed down in any church yards. Willy: What if they did get blowed down? Scottie: It’d be because they didn’t have the right sign up. The only thing that matters is if you got the right sign up. It’s all about signs. It’s like that in everything in the world. If you got the right sign and a fence around you, everything is okay. I even heard about a family who had a “Thank You, Jesus!” sign, and half of it was in their yard, and half was in their neighbor’s yard. One little prong thing was in one yard, and one little prong thing was in the yard next door. And the family next door had every one of their trees left standing after the storm — just like the family that owned the sign, and nobody could understand. You know why nobody could understand? Willy: Why? Scottie: Because that family next door drank wine and beer and were Democrats. Willy: Whoa. But didn’t Jesus drink wine? Scottie: No, no. He drank grape juice. Willy: How do you know? Scottie: It’s simple. He turned the water into wine but when him and all the others at that wedding started drinking it, it hadn’t had time to ferment. Willy: Oh. That makes sense. Scottie: It all make sense . . . if you know enough about religion. OH Clyde Edgerton is the author of 10 novels, a memoir and most recently, Papadaddy’s Book for New Fathers. He is the Thomas S. Kenan III Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at UNCW. November 2018
O.Henry 45
Drinking with Writers
After the Storm
Over cold ones at Flying Machine, writer Kevin Maurer remembers the impact of Hurricane Florence
By Wiley Cash • Photographs by Mallory Cash
When I moved to Wilmington in
2013, Kevin Maurer was one of the first friends I made. Over the years, I have gotten to know his family, and he has gotten to know mine. We have played on the same intramural basketball and football teams, and we have suffered losses and injuries, bonding over our bruised bodies and equally bruised egos. But what has informed our friendship more than anything else is the writing life. We regularly have dinner or drinks and talk about our decisions to become writers, and the effect our work has on our families and our friendships with people outside the publishing industry. A few months ago, I chronicled one of our conversations on Twitter, and it was retweeted over 1,200 times and responded to by writers as various as Neil Gaiman and Mary Alice Monroe, all of whom agreed that the writing life never gets easier, no matter who you are. 46 O.Henry
November 2018
Kevin is one of the most successful writers I know — the New York Times best-selling co-author of No Easy Day: The First-Hand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden and American Radical: Inside the World of an Undercover Muslim FBI Agent; and a celebrated journalist who has written about the war in Afghanistan as an embedded reporter — but he is also one of the hardest working. Our conversation once again turned toward the writing life when we met at the new Flying Machine Brewing Company in Wilmington a few days following my family’s return to town after evacuating in advance of Hurricane Florence. Kevin’s family had evacuated as well, but he had stayed behind to cover the storm and its aftermath for statewide and national news outlets. Flying Machine Brewing Company, which is set to open in early November, is on Randall Parkway, where it sits along the cross-city trail and has views of the lake at Anne McCrary Park from its two-story patio. The interior of the taproom feels both enormous and inviting, with clean lines and industrial seating that mirrors the sheen of the brewing equipment that brews all the beer on-site. Borrowing from the name, flying machines and parts of flying machines inform everything from lighting fixtures to wall art to the pulls on the taps behind the bar. Although they were not open for business before Hurricane Florence hit, Flying Machine jumped into the community effort after the storm had passed by offering free purified water to anyone in need of it. There were plenty of people in need, and there still are. Because of this, Flying Machine has pledged to donate a portion of their proceeds from their grand opening to local nonprofits. As Kevin and I settle in at the bar, we are delivered a round of beers by The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Drinking with Writers
co-founder David Sweigart. He offers us the “Passarola” Brut Pilsner and the “Electric Smoke” Alt Bier, and he lets us know we are being served the first beers poured and sampled in the brewery’s history. Kevin and I agree that the honor of sampling Flying Machine’s first pours is made even sweeter by the fact that both beers are delicious. I ask Kevin about what it was like to write about Wilmington before, during and after Hurricane Florence. As he takes a sip of his lager, I mention something he wrote in an article about the aftermath of the storm: Wilmington has become a city of lines, he wrote. Lines to get food. Lines for gas. Lines to get supplies. “That was the hardest part of covering the storm,” Kevin says. “The waiting and watching people wait.” He stares at the wall across from us where a huge mural of a globe featuring the words “Wilmington N. Carolina” hovers above us. “I watched people sit in their driveways and wait for the water to rise, and I watched it get higher and higher by the hour until they decided they couldn’t wait any longer before they left and took whatever they could carry.” My family and I evacuated to Asheville, and we waited there, desperate for knowledge about what was happening on the coast, in Wilmington, in our neighborhood. I told Kevin I could not imagine being among those who were waiting here in town. “It’s interesting,” he says. “My whole career has been spent covering crises around the world: war, famine, insurrection. It’s been hard to see some of the things I’ve seen, but I always get to come back home. Covering Florence was different. This is my home.” After we finish our beers, Kevin and I are invited into the production area, where gleaming stainless-steel tanks tower above us. Taproom manager Marthe Park Jones, who has spent years working in the Wilmington craft brewing community, and retail manager Grant DeSantos, recently arrived from Asheville, where he managed retail for a major brewery, give us a tour and introduce us to a group of brewers who have spent years working and studying at breweries around the world. When the tour is over we stand around talking about the storm, and the long road the community and region have ahead. Later, on our way out to the parking lot, Kevin and I make plans to get our wives together for dinner that evening at a local restaurant that has recently reopened. The city is gathering itself and moving forward. Wilmington and its people — both the long residing and the recently arrived — are no longer waiting. OH Wiley Cash lives in Wilmington with his wife and their two daughters. His latest novel, The Last Ballad, is available wherever books are sold. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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O.Henry 47
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48 O.Henry
November 2018
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Thanksgiving in Hell’s Half Acre
The Evolving Species
Praise be to the Butterball Talk Line
By Cynthia Adams
Just like Babs Streisand sang, “Memories
may be beautiful and yet/ What’s too painful to remember/ We simply choose to forget.”
Yet I cannot forget the damn turkey and start having flashbacks in October. Come Thanksgiving, as I bow my head in submission to those elders who refuse to break with a deadly culinary tradition, I always remember my friends at the Butterball Talk Line. I keep them on speed dial. These noble women (and one man) stand by to save us from “last-minute snafus, flubs, and foul-ups.” Our annual family flirtation with salmonella is definitely the latter: a colossal fowl-up. These noble Butterball people save lives and field 100,000 calls. Every. Single. Year. So, while the experts at Butterball side with me, they could not solve our ancient culinary conundrum. My grandmother and mother determinedly baked a lethal Thanksgiving turkey each year due to the ancestral recipe. A great-great-great-great grandma, one who was rumored to have killed a tax collector with a fire poker, was banished to the colonies. It is unclear if she did or did not flee Ireland with a copy tucked under her skirts of Grandma’s Most Foul Recipes. Remember, great-great-great-great grandma was an accused murderess. Fast-forward to her descendant Pat McClellan Tucker, my grandmother, a
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
heckuva cook. This scrappy lady could have written Ted Nugent’s Kill It & Grill It. Call it cell memory of the tragic starvation in Ireland, but she ate anything with feet and a face. And, she perpetrated our Irish exile’s dangerous practice that should have killed us all. Keep a stuffed bird juicy by this method: Warm the oven, put the turkey in for a few hours, then turn off the oven and let the bird sit in solitary overnight. Thereafter, the bird idles in a toxic salmonella stew. Somehow, some way, nobody died at the table. (Well, except my grandfather.) Actually, most of the menfolk on my paternal side fell dead prematurely. But those of us descended on the maternal line prevail. We have developed salmonella-resistant genes. Go ahead, 23 & Me! Test us! We are the missing link when it comes to eating partially cooked fowl and surviving! We developed adaptive survival, especially when eating undercooked turkey. There was little irony in this. Vegetables, on the other hand, were cooked until they turned gray in surrender, then drowned and dredged them in yellow margarine. The women made green-bean-and-mushroom-soup casserole, topped with a pile of French’s fried onions. Also, mashed potatoes, of course, and creamed corn that became a surreal, sallow yellow. They baked sweet potato casserole, swimming in margarine and brown sugar, smothered with toasted marshmallow. You could hear arteries clogging at the Thanksgiving table . . . a sort of strangled, muted congestion in the lower register of human sound. In Hell’s Half Acre, the idea that excess is best prevailed. My mother and grandmother began baking pound cake, along with pumpkin, sweet potato and pecan pies after Halloween. November 2018
O.Henry 49
The Evolving Species
Together, we will discover what it means to capture the moments that really matter.
336.621.2500
www.hospicegso.org
2500 Summit Avenue | Greensboro, NC 27405
Remember a loved one in a special way this holiday season.
Make a gift of $10 or more to Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro’s Light Up A Life program, and your honoree will receive
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50 O.Henry
November 2018
Learn more at www.hospicegso.org/light or call 336.621.2500.
They worked themselves into a fever, assembling dishes from educational TV’s Forgotten Foods documentary. You know what these are — dishes that have fallen from fashion. Like pear salad, stuffed with cream cheese, dolloped with twee bits of green pepper for garnish. Congealed salads, too, which meant, Jell-O with floating bits of shredded carrot and canned pineapple. Occasionally (“for color”) my mother veered off into a green Jell-O concoction with cream cheese, whipped cream and nuts. Or tomato aspic. They stuffed celery with pimento cheese and piped whipped egg into egg halves, garnished everything with pimento bits, then dusted that off with paprika. They assembled relish trays, with watermelon pickles, beet pickles, and bread-and-butter pickles. Olives and pickled onion were also dotted around. Also, like N.C. chef Vivian Howard’s family, mine also lacked the self-control for appetizers, so my grandmother and mother served everything all at once. At the very last, the night before T-Day, they prepared the dressing and stuffed the turkey . . . oh dear God, the stuffed turkey. Because a WBTV cooking show host once extolled the value of adding apple to the sausage dressing, my mother altered her recipe, with tragic results. Thereafter, chopped apple was in the mix. The dressing the women in my family made required crumbled biscuits, sausage (“with fresh sage!” my grandmother would trill) onion and other dried spices. The unfortunate modification to this was the chopped apple. “It keeps things moist,” my mother would say, well satisfied. Moist was a watchword, mind you . . . only part of what scared me stiff about the stuffed turkey. The next day when my mother would pull the cooled-down turkey out of the oven, only a slight bit of the poor creature looked cooked, at least to my eye, as my father would heartily prepare to slice and dice the bird. I couldn’t look, as spoons full of the grayish dressing with a pound of chopped apple bits were placed around the platter. The turkey, which did appear brown on the outside, was admittedly very, very moist. (Wait — was it perhaps raw? I wondered) Yeast rolls, which had been patiently rising, awaiting the turkey’s exodus from the oven, were popped in last. At the table, I pushed the obligatory piece of turkey aside and ate some of the hundreds of other items that abounded. “She’s always been a picky eater,” my mother would say, eyes narrowing. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
The Evolving Species
Once I grasped the perils of the lukewarm baked turkey method, which was as soon as I could spell salmonella, I’ve battled my mother. She was apoplectic when she watched me prepare a bird during a Thanksgiving visit years later. “That is not how we make a turkey in this family,” she muttered, tight lipped. We crossed swords. “It’s dangerous, Mom.” “Nobody died!” my mother shouted, clutching her pearls. “I never killed any of you!” her face reddened, looking the image of Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment. “Not for lack of trying,” I muttered. My mother stood up as if to jump in her Lincoln Town Car and head home to Norwood. “It isn’t safe, Mom!” I bleated. To make my point, I called the Butterball hotline as she watched, her jaw set, arms crossed like she was General Patton. There was no one, nada, who would endorse the ancestral method. Afterward, Mom didn’t exactly clutch her heart but she looked ashen. To keep the peace, I did as she insisted, but refused to stuff the damned thing and baked the dressing separately. (She stood up again at this rebellion, clearly upset.) And I further refused to add apple, which makes the dressing a sodden mass. I now call the ancestral recipe, Trussed Up Tragedy, which you can read in my book, Jim Jones’ Greatest Hits: How to Prepare Turkey for a Mass Suicide. Luckily, thanks to that aforementioned genetic mutation, we did not die en masse at the Thanksgiving table. We had the good graces to die elsewhere. (Just think: Had Thanksgiving originated in Ireland, my murderous great-great-great-great could have innocently offered that tax collector a leftover turkey sandwich, and nobody would have been the wiser.) The preparation of turkey appears to be a mystery for the ages, however. Over time, Butterball has expanded from 11 helpful helpers in the 1980s to more than 50 today, and they will take a staggering number of desperate calls straight through December. The Butterball reports are tragicomical: callers who discover an ancient turkey in the bottom of a rusty freezer and hope it’s edible, or wonder if they can fast-thaw a stone-cold bird in the dishwasher. Or, the multi-tasker who questioned if they can thaw the turkey in the bathwater with baby. The Butterball people listen, give counsel, and wish you well. They even text. Count the good people at Butterball among your blessings this November. That number, dear readers, is 1-800-BUTTERBALL (1-800-288-8372). OH
KICK BACK AND HAVE SOME FUN!
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November 2018
O.Henry 51
3 3 6.379.0699 | P RIN T WO RKSBIST RO . C O M
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NOVEMBER HAPPENINGS
Here are a few things to do at our places. • Winter Hotel Specials: Book your winter weekend getaway at OHenryHotel.com or ProximityHotel.com. • O.Henry Tea: A family tradition! • Thanksgiving-To-Go: Let us do the cooking! Order
traditional favorites by Nov. 19 at GreenValleyGrill.com.
• • •
336.379.8200 | P RO X IMIT Y H O T E L . C O M
3 3 6 . 8 5 4 . 2 0 0 0 | O H E NR Y H O T E L . C O M
O.Henry Jazz & Package: See the schedule and learn more at OHenryHotel.com. Songs from a Southern Kitchen: See the schedule and learn more at Lucky32.com. Fall Menus: We’re featuring favorites from the farm: butternut squash, apples beets and more...oh my!
Visit our websites to see the latest happenings.
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November 2018
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The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Family Dinners
True South
The more they change over time, the more we need them
By Susan S. Kelly
Sure, sure, it’s turkey time, but how about
the other 364 dinners someone needs to dream up, whip up, order up, serve up, and clean up for the hungry hordes? It’s been said that every family has a 10-meal rotation that they unconsciously stick to. Chicken, pork chops, spaghetti. Tacos, brats, pasta. Then it’s leftover night, or pizza night, and the rotation begins again.
In direct opposition to this menu stasis theory is the fact that, like everything else on the planet, family dinners change and evolve. At first, they’re wild, untamed things, with high chairs and thrown food. In time, bibs are replaced with napkins, and manners. The toddler turns 6, and learns to set the table. Actual conversation takes place during a family dinner, unless you make the mistake of asking a 7-year-old about the movie he saw, because a 7-year-old’s synopsis tends to last through dessert. Then comes school. School, school, school. Tired of hearing about school, my mother decided to select a topic for discussion during our family dinners. “Tonight we’re going to talk about art,” she said one memorable table time. Muteness ensued. Cornbread was consumed. The experiment was an abject failure. Family dinners cannot bear that burden. Like nature itself, they have to wander all over the place and sprout in different directions. Also like nature, there’s an exception to every absolute: My children had friends whose parents, over Sunday dinner, would pay their kids a dollar if they could summarize the sermon at church. Their dinner table topic stayed on point. My sister handled the nightly kitchen table convos by asking everyone what the worst and best parts of their day had been. Her husband’s answer never varied: worst — getting out of bed; best — getting into bed. Every family dinner has its accoutrements other than food. On television shows, families had sodas at dinner; only milk was served at our table. I longed for a spinning lazy Susan in the center of the table, bearing ketchup and Texas Pete bottles on its swiftly appointed rounds. I’d have settled for an upright napkin holder, so you could fish another out when yours fell out of your lap, or The Art & Soul of Greensboro
got sticky or shredded — a yearning that probably explains why I tend toward cloth napkins now for family dinners. Still, I hid those cloth ones away one Christmas so we could use holiday-themed ones, and didn’t find them until the following September. And still, family dinners had proceeded right on, with the one-ply paper ones. Happy is the day when evolution gets ’round to when children can cook, rather than complain, about the unfamiliar vegetable, or the texture of the meatloaf. Then, each family member can “take a night” on a vacation, or a Wednesday. They delightedly pick the menu, proceed to shop, prepare, serve and wash up, while you contentedly enjoy the sunset, or the news. As long as you’re also content to foot the bill for tenderloin filets, or dine cheerfully on boiled hot dogs. A new era of family dinners is ushered in when girlfriends and boyfriends arrive on the scene. No more dishing out from pots and pans on the stovetop; time to up the game and make an impression with actual serving dishes. Flowers in a vase. Not candlelight, though: too much of a statement. Where there once was a clamor over who gets to say the blessing grows the nervousness of who gets picked to say the blessing. Every family experiences years when organizing a dinner together centers around sports, meetings, babysitting and jobs, a task on a par with planning the invasion of Normandy. I wrote a novel whose plot included a family member who’d died unexpectedly. Of the grief-stricken moments of daily minutiae that followed, the most sorrowful was the evening the mother opened a kitchen drawer and gazed at the placemats. She realized that the rotating stack of four — checkered, straw, quilted — would now resume as three. The pattern of family dinners had been forever altered, hammered home by a detail as devastatingly simple as a pattern of placemats. Still, families consist of only two, too. My husband and I light candles every night. After 60, low lights are beneficial. Even the food looks better. Fifty in a field for a reunion, four for chicken tetrazzini, a pair on stools at the counter with a bowl of soup. Breakfast for dinner. The Sunday steak. Take-out. A USPS delivery from a specialty service with every ingredient, plus recipes, included. Or just the specialty of the house — one of those 10 meals. In the end, only three ingredients truly define a family dinner: Food. Conversation. People. OH Susan Kelly is a blithe spirit, author of several novels, and proud grandmother. November 2018
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The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Birdwatch
To Screech His Own
The spine-tingling call of the Eastern screech owl belies its size and appeal
By Susan Campbell
Listen! An eerie trill or
spooky shriek from out of the darkness at this time of year just might indicate the presence of an Eastern screech owl. Territorial adults readily use a mix of screams, tremolos on different pitches and long trills to advertise the boundaries of their home range. And their vocalizations are remarkably loud for a bird that stands only about 8 inches high. They are commonly found in forests all over North Carolina, but they particularly thrive in thick pine stands, so much of our Piedmont habitat is ideal for them. Furthermore, they are with us year-round.
Eastern screech owls can be either a dull gray or a rich rufous color, with tufts of feathers on the head giving them an eared or horned appearance. But don’t expect to spot them easily, even though they roost during daylight hours. Their dark splotches and vertical striping along the breast and belly provide excellent camouflage against their favored roosting spot, trees, where they may be sitting close to the trunk or peering out of a cavity. As is the case with most raptors, males are larger than females. Nonetheless, females have higher pitched calls. Your best bet for spotting one is to watch for belligerent crows or flocks of songbirds signaling their presence by frenzied flight and raucous calling. This species is found throughout the Eastern United States, as well as along the Canadian border and in easternmost Mexico. Although they may wander somewhat outside the breeding season, Eastern screech owls are not The Art & Soul of Greensboro
migratory. These diminutive owls breed in the springtime. A female simply lays up to six white eggs on the substrate at the bottom of the cavity. Incubation takes about a month and then the young birds take another month to develop before they fledge. All this time, while the female remains on the nest, her mate will hunt nightly for the growing family. Pairs, who usually stay together for life, favor old squirrel or woodpecker holes, as well as purple martin houses and the occasional woodduck boxes. Pairs of screech owls will readily take to boxes made to their exact specifications, not surprisingly. Eastern screech owls eat a wide variety of prey. Rodents make up a large portion of their diet, but they also readily catch frogs, large insects and other invertebrates including crayfish and even earthworms. They have been known to also feed on roosting birds and the occasional bat. Screech owls are very much at home feeding on mice, rats or voles that can be found around bird feeders at night — as well as moths and beetles attracted to outside lights. Screech owls are patient, adopting a sit-and-wait strategy before pouncing on their prey and swallowing them whole. Owl gizzards are specially adapted to digesting the soft parts of the creatures they eat and then balling up the bones, fur and other indigestible bits into an oval mass that is regurgitated each day. Favored roost sites or nest cavities can be found by locating piles of these masses (or pellets, as they are referred to) on the forest floor. Unfortunately screech owls often hunt along roadsides and are prone to being hit by cars as they swoop low over the pavement to grab a meal. But overall Eastern screech owls are a successful species that has adapted well to the changes humans have made to the landscape. So spend some time outside after dark and train your ears for the trill or tremolos of our Eastern screech owl. These cute little birds are anything but scary once you get to know them! OH Susan would love to receive your wildlife sightings and photos. She can be contacted by email at susan@ncaves.com. November 2018
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Wandering Billy
A Tale of Two Firehouses The glory days — and blazes — of Fire Station No. 5
By Billy Eye
“A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body.” — Benjamin Franklin
A couple of months ago, I was meander-
ing down South Mendenhall when I came across the detritus of a life one might expect to find after someone passes away — mounds of clothing, bed sheets, tableware, coat hangers, curtains, appliances — all crowding the sidewalk. Over the next few weeks, I watched as that home on the corner of Walker and Mendenhall underwent a facelift for the next tenant.
This old house has a storied background, having served as the second home to Greensboro Fire Station 5 beginning in 1919, erected to house one of the city’s new, motorized fire trucks first put into service in 1913. Fire Station 5 moved to a new, much larger facility at 1618 West Friendly Avenue in 1964 (now home to 1618 Seafood Grille and Leon’s Style Salon). That’s when the place at 442 Mendenhall became UNCG’s first men’s dorm. Or so rumor has it. I’d always wondered, however, if that were actually true. I could find no evidence of it, so I contacted the University’s archivist Erin Lawrimore who told me: “That’s a bit of a trick question, because while a number of the male students in 1964 did live in the former firehouse at Mendenhall and Walker,
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it wasn’t considered a dorm. It was private housing and considered ‘off campus.’ But because that was where the men students were living, people have referred to it as the first men’s dorm. Technically, the first men’s dormitory on campus was Phillips Residence Hall, which was completed in 1967.” That this former firehouse is a single-floor, three-bedroom residence should give you some idea how few men attended UNCG’s first class in 1964 after it made the transition from Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. A bit of fire department lore: Greensboro’s first major blaze occurred in 1849, wiping out our entire business district, which was being established around the corner of Market and Elm. That incident spurred officials to purchase a hand-drawn pumping engine equipped with two cisterns of water. In 1871, our all-volunteer department was equipped with its first hookand-ladder truck, one that had to be dragged into action by the very men charged with putting out the fires. That proved insufficient when, only a year later, flames once again tore through the middle of town, wiping out the courthouse, a hotel, a bank, some law offices and W.C. Porter’s drugstore. Porter rebuilt his drugstore and it was there that a teenage William Sydney Porter (aka O.Henry) worked. The city built its first official firehouse in 1888 at 109 West Gaston, now Friendly Avenue, to shelter a newly purchased horse-drawn steam engine nicknamed the General Greene. Fire Station 5, originally West End Hose Company No. 1, was established near the corner of Mendenhall and Spring Garden around 1897 to serve the developing College Hill neighborhood. By that time, Greensboro possessed a small fleet of horse-drawn hook-and-ladder trucks, so firefighters no longer had to exhaust themselves pulling their rigs behind them. The city was proud of their equine teams. According to a 1984 history of the Greensboro Fire Department, “One horse in particular seems to have The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Wandering Billy stood the test of time and is still remembered. ‘Prince’ was the most photographed and talked about horse of the times. It was reported in the Raleigh Post in 1901 that the horse was given liquor after each fire call. The money was contributed by men who hung around the station. It was stated that he drank the ‘very best rye that was available . . . one pint at a time’.” After the company moved a block north in 1919, to that aforementioned house on Walker and Mendenhall, the original Firehouse 5 was converted into a car repair shop and remained so into the 1960s when it was known as Ben’s Garage before becoming the second location of Monnett Carpets in the 1970s. In 1979, The Browsery used bookstore opened on the bottom floor, an ideal complement to Schoolkids Records next door. Ben Matthews, proprietor of The Browsery, remained in business at 547 Mendenhall until the late 1990s. It’s been a convenience store since the turn of this century with the upstairs serving as a residential loft that’s been the site of some awesome parties over the decades. Our first professional (paid) firefighters took up residence at 319 North Greene in 1926, in a six-bay firehouse designed by Charles C. Hartmann with a dramatic Italianate exterior featuring gray granite window trims and columns. That magnificent building still stands, attached at the hip to the Marriott Hotel downtown. One modern day Guilford County firefighter, Brian Dunphy, has a terrific idea — convert that palace, long unused, into a museum dedicated to the Greensboro Fire Department, long considered one of the finest in the nation.
***
Looking for a unique, out of the way place to take friends and family visiting for the holidays, a casual, cozy spot to enjoy some sui generis–infused cocktails along with amazing, yet inexpensive, light meals? Check out Freeman’s Pub and Grub on Spring Garden and Elam, located in a one-time grocery store of the same name from the 1920s. Eye never fails to have an enjoyable time there, whether for lunch, dinner, or a little afternoon delight. On the other side of town, Gibb’s Hundred Brewing Company has brought much-needed excitement back to State Street with a huge selection of beers, some of the finest brewed right there on site, attracting a lively crowd. Some fantastic entertainers have performed there including one of my favorite bands, Grand Ole Uproar. OH Billy Eye is O.G. — Old Greensboro. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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The Art & Soul of Greensboro
November
Lost Cause Doing battle with the autumn winds,
I’ve watched this drama unfold
the fragile leaves present their colors.
for days now as though I were
They shake their pointed fingers
at a sporting event — rooting for
in a wild dance, then regroup.
the underdog, though I realize
In the end, there is no reprieve;
it’s truly a lopsided contest.
strength overcomes determination.
In the autumn of my years,
The forlorn maple tree shivers,
I too am buffeted willy-nilly
gives up all pretense of modesty.
by the winds of inexorable change.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
— Martha Golensky November 2018
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AWalk on the
Wild Side Behind the scenes at the astounding Greensboro Science Center By Jim Dodson Photographs by John Gessner
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A
wise man keeps his child’s heart. Or so advised the ancient Chinese sage Mencius. As I dip a hand in the waters of Hands-On Harbor at the Greensboro Science Center, where five cownose rays are gracefully circulating in their pool, a lovely female ray rises to the surface and allows me to touch her silken back. For one sweet moment, my child’s heart is back. Schedules and deadlines suddenly fall away. “Oh, wow,” is about all I can manage. Both Erica Brown, the Center’s marketing manager, and senior aquarium keeper Karla Jeselson laugh. “A lot of people have that response,” says Jeselson, explaining how the stingrays are naturally curious about human beings and conditioned to come to an orange ball at feeding time, twice a day, beginning with a full meal before the Center’s official 9 o’clock opening time, followed by an afternoon snack. As a result of such conditioning, the aquarium staff once managed to attach a stylus to the ball that permitted the rays to paint on canvas, images that are now sold in the museum gift shop. “The little male ray is particularly good at art,” she confides. “We fish people don’t generally give names to our animals but between us, we like to call him Picasso.” This charming introduction to the natural wonders — and constant surprises — of the Greensboro Science Center serves simply as the prelude to a delightful before-hours walking tour of the museum’s diverse exhibits that include the spectacular Wiseman Aquarium (named after former VF Corp. CEO Eric Wiseman and his wife, Susan), an outstanding Animal Discovery Zoo, not to mention the award-winning Science Museum, which vividly explores everything from dinosaur bones to the starry firmament. The three-in-one destination makes the museum unique in North Carolina and only one of 14 such facilities nationwide to earn accreditation by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums and the American Alliance of Museums. My purpose in calling on the Science Center this cool morning is pretty simple. First is to make up for lost time. After I left my hometown in 1977, chasing a journalism career that took me from New England to Africa, I missed the remarkable transformation of what was then called the Nature Science Center into a spectacular showcase of science, technology and the wonders of the natural world.
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Paradise in our own backyards, as a close friend and proud member of the Center likes to say. My only point of reference, in fact, was the Gate City’s original Junior Museum of Greensboro, so dubbed by the local chapter of the Junior League that established it in 1957. It was a decidedly modest affair that featured — if memory serves — a few science exhibits highlighted by a nearby petting zoo with a few woodland creatures kept behind chain link fences and live snakes on display, all set down in the forest of Country Park. I remember live deer, a fox, a few monkeys, an alligator and maybe even a live black bear being the star attractions. As I confide to Erica Brown during our eye-opening tour of the Center’s 35-acre campus, I can’t believe what I’d missed. “That’s something we frequently hear from people who’ve lived in Greensboro their whole lives but never checked us out,” she explains with another knowing smile. “When they see what is here, they’re always impressed and usually become regular visitors or members. There’s always something new to see and learn.” In my case, impressed didn’t quite cover it. Over the course of a full morning, I see live sea horses, a mama Giant Pacific octopus straight out of Jules Verne and penguins being fed by hand. I meet Tai the red panda and Duke the silvery gibbon, exchange quizzical stares with a family of curious meerkats and watch a maned wolf doing his early-morning calisthenics in a patch of meadow sunlight. I see Drogo the komodo dragon and watch a female lemur named Reese receive her annual physical exam from staff veterinarian Sam Young and his able tech assistant. I also meet Sheldon the barn cat and Sidney the cockatoo, explore “Prehistoric Passages,” and learn interesting things about the human body in Health Quest Gallery. Had I wisely thought to bring along my trusty knee brace, I might even have tackled Skywild, GSC’s extraordinary aerial adventure park, a roped obstacle course with seven different treetop challenge courses and three levels of difficulty that allow visitors and kids of all ages to get in touch with their animal spirits high over the forest floor. Suffice it to say, having found the heartbeat of my own inner child again, however briefly, the other purpose of my visit is to hear from the Center’s indefatigable president and CEO, Glenn Dobrogosz, how this diverse and multifunctional wonder ship of science, nature and environmental sustainability came to pass. Long a destination for local school groups and church field trips, the Center’s dynamic period of growth kicked into overdrive in 2000 when the voters of Greensboro passed a $3.5 million bond to create a new Animal Discovery Zoo, setting the scene for the arrival of a new president and CEO with even more ambitious plans in mind. Appalachian grad and Raleigh native Dobrogosz arrived in Greensboro in 2004 with a resume that included the impressive revival of several leading zoos and a bold vision of growth that was supported by a board uniquely composed of forward-thinking civic, business and local foundation members, all of them eager to see the Center grow into a genuine destination park. Animal Discovery Zoo opened to wide acclaim in 2008, doubling annual attendance from 125,00 to more than 250,000. One year later, an expanded planetarium that features 3D and laser projection technology also debuted. The real watershed moment came in 2009, Dobrogosz says, when he approached the City Council with a long-range vision that included construction of an aquarium and a number of expanded exhibits that would make the Center, as he puts it today, “a one-stop shop for science, technology and environmental education.” “If you recall that time,” he says, “the Great Recession had The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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hit and Greensboro was still recovering from key economic losses going back further than that. It was, in short, a challenging time for everybody. The city was not your typical destination or tourist city.” He reels off the standard old jokes about Greensboro being “Greens-boring,” and suffering from “Charlotte envy.” But not everyone was laughing. “Then mayor [Yvonne Johnson, Greensboro’s current mayor protem] and the council listened to our plan to create a signature three-in-one model that included North Carolina’s first inland aquarium combined with a zoo and asked how much we needed to make such a vision happen. Quite frankly,” he adds with a laugh, “I was taken by surprise.” The result was a $20 million bond referendum that not only passed by a wide margin when it was placed before Guilford County voters that autumn, but also attracted a bevy of new corporate and private sponsors that funded the aquarium and enhancements of the Animal Discovery Zoo, setting new attendance records when the Wiseman Aquarium opened in 2013. “It was really a gift to — and from — the people of Greensboro,” Dobrogosz adds. “But it was really just the beginning of what we hoped to accomplish.” He points out that in a city where tourism was never regarded as a major economic driver, the Center today is the No. 1 most visited attraction in Guilford County — a unique resource for the nearly half a million visitors who flock there every year now. Following an expansion of the aquarium that was completed in 2017, along with a newly reimagined dinosaur gallery, the Center broke attendance records yet again. The big news coming out of the Center’s annual “See to Believe” Gala this past October? A capital campaign called “Think Big” that doubled its goal of raising $6 million to fund new educational programs and a major expansion called “Revolution Ridge — Life on the Edge.” Scheduled to open in 2020, it will connect the American Colonists’ fight for freedom among the fields and forests where the Center now stands, with the plight of endangered species across the globe. The vision includes habitats for endangered pygmy hippos, an okapi forest for rare creatures called “forest giraffes,” a Cassowary Cove (strikingly large and dangerous birds from New Guinea), a Greensboro water garden, a greenhouse complex designed to educate visitors on plants essential to the survival of animal and man, a learning plaza with Chilean pink flamingos, plus a home for endangered cats called Precious Predators. An expanded animal heath center will provide state-of-the-art medical care serving up to 1,000 wild animals, birds and reptiles. A new multiuse amphitheater, meanwhile, will host concerts, science programs and outdoor events of all kinds. If everything goes as planned, the good news for Center stalwarts still grieving over the recent passing of the Center’s aging tigers, Axl and Kisa, will be a pair of endangered Malayan tigers in an expanded endangered tiger breeding center. Delighting kids of all ages, the campus will also be home to a world-class old-fashioned carosel funded by the Greensboro Rotary Club. Finally, the campus’ current buildings will unThe Art & Soul of Greensboro
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dergo a major architectural makeover that unifies the complex and allows space for public artwork. This year, the Center also acquired the former home of the Greensboro Council of Garden Clubs, scheduled to be transformed into the SAIL Center (Science Advancement through advanced Learning), a facility for educators, and a venue for lectures and seminars. “It’s very exciting time at the Science Center,” Dobrogosz enthuses. “It’s amazing to think how far we’ve come, with a talented staff of more than 50 — many of whom come from this community — and hundreds of dedicated volunteers and docents who have come to love this place and do inspiring work with our visitors. “In this respect, we are unlike any other facility in the state,”Dobrogosz contends, crediting his staff, the museum members and sponsors for making the Center a “primary destination” with a bright future. Indeed, over the course of four hours I learn about monarch butterflies and howler monkeys, watch a 16foot anaconda get fed her monthly rabbit, make meaningful eye contact with a shy fossa from Madagascar and learn about the conservation of coral reefs. A paradise indeed, as my friend had told me. But there is still so much to see and learn about. My morning walk on the wild side ends far too soon, downstairs, where I chat with longtime curator of reptiles and invertebrates Rick Bolling about his 40-year career at the Center. He joined the staff in 1977 and will retire a few days after Thanksgiving this year. “My first job was cleaning the glass of the snake enclosures. I thought that was very exciting work,” he remembers with a laugh. “When I got here very few people seemed to know about this facility. We were a nice little museum that educated schoolkids and gave people a taste of wildlife and science.” The last 15 years, he says, have been nothing “short of incredible” thanks to Dobrogosz’s infectious “can-do passion.” “Over the years, he has brought much-needed energy and fresh vision to the zoo and museum,” says Bolling. “The education the public gets about conservation and animals and all sorts of science is nothing short of incredible.” Bolling says that upon retirement he hopes to take a trip out to see Yellowstone National Park “before it burns up.” Would he miss his daily life at the Center, we naturally wonder. “Of course I’ll miss it! It’s been my life’s work and I count my blessings that I was a small part of our amazing growth over the years,” he says, gazing into the distance. “Every day here is different, always exciting, always new. This facility is really a big family that includes the animals and the people who support the Center. “In fact,” he adds with a sly grin, “I’ve told everyone don’t be surprised if I come back to work as a docent. That way, I’ll never have to leave.” OH Jim Dodson wrangles writers and editors in the zoo that is O.Henry magazine.
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A Tar Heel Thanksgiving Over the river and through the woods . . . from mountains to the coast we go for a feast rich in the tastes and traditions of North Carolina By Jane Lear • Photographs by James Stefiuk
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Southern Thanksgiving typically occurs around a table so crowded with platters and serving bowls there is barely enough room for glasses and flatware. A sausage and cornbread dressing may jostle for space with oyster casserole and hot, lighter-than-air biscuits; rice and cream gravy may vie with braised turnip greens dotted with crisp bacon. And then there’s the roast turkey, with its burnished, crackling skin, taking center stage. It’s a wonder anyone has room for dessert. It wasn’t always so — many Southerners considered Thanksgiving a New England (that is, abolitionist) holiday well into the 20th century — but now we happily, gratefully come together on the fourth Thursday in November to honor and sustain ties to family, friends and, of course, place. Generally speaking, the South is a cornucopia of numerous cuisines, and when it comes to North Carolina in particular, the variation is remarkable, sweeping as it does from the hills and hollows of Appalachia to the lush Piedmont — with its low, rolling hills, it’s as rumpled as a collard leaf — and on down a broad swath of Coastal Plain to the Atlantic. And while it’s true that a simple, almost austere bowl of soup beans and cornbread seems a world away from a lavish platter of deviled crab, they are both products of an abundant region. They are products, too, of the complex, bittersweet melting pot that was the antebellum South. European explorers and settlers brought, among other provisions, pigs, cattle, chickens, wheat, apples and turnips. Along with the slave trade came rice, okra, collard greens, black-eyed peas, peanuts, sorghum and watermelon. And all the newcomers relied greatly on Native American foodstuffs, including seafood, corn, beans, squash, sweet potatoes, chestnuts and low-bush cranberries, once common to the wetlands of Pamlico Sound. And so when I was asked to come up with three side dishes that exemplified, respectively, the mountains, Piedmont, and coast of North Carolina, there was an astonishing array to choose from. At the end of the day, though, I realized that at Thanksgiving, none of us is really interested in complicated food, with lots of bells and whistles. What we crave is food that is sumptuous yet straightforward, rich yet not cloying. The flavors that speak to us are profound and nourish us on several different levels. Take, for instance, sorghum mashed sweet potatoes. North Carolina, which grows almost half the country’s supply of sweets, designated the tuber the state vegetable in 1995. Most of the production is in the sandy soils of the Coastal Plain, but sweets are grown all over the state, including the mountains. What really gives this recipe its Southern Appalachian cred, however, is the sweetener used: sorghum syrup, which is the cooked-down juices of the tall canelike sorghum plant. It’s not as assertive as molasses (a byproduct of refined-sugar manufacturing), but its depth charge of flavor really resonates. In addition to having a great affinity for sweet potatoes, sorghum is wonderful swirled into butter. “I can’t tell you why sorghum syrup blended at the table with soft butter tastes better on a hot biscuit than putting the two on separately,” wrote Ronni Lundy in her instant classic, Victuals: An Appalachian Journey, with Recipes. “I can just tell you it does, unequivocally. And that’s why generations of mountain mamas have taught their babies how to do this.” Sweet potatoes, by the way, are not yams. A true yam (the word comes from the West African inhame, pronounced “eenyam”) is a starchy, unsweet tuber that originated in the tropics, and although you’ll find it in African, Caribbean, Philippine and Latin groceries, odds are it isn’t piled in a big heap at your local Harris Teeter or Food Lion. Not only are sweet potatoes not yams, they’re not real potatoes, either, but The Art & Soul of Greensboro
a member of the morning glory family. Given its Latin name, Ipomoea batatas, it’s not a huge linguistic stretch from batata to patata and potato. To further confuse the issue, back in the 1930s, promotors of Louisiana-grown sweets used the word yam to distinguish their crop from those grown in other states, and the misnomer became the basis for an enduring culinary myth. When it comes to a green vegetable at Thanksgiving, lots of folks are happy with Brussels sprouts or broccoli embellished with crisp bacon or toasted nuts. There is nothing wrong with these delicious options, but I am always eager for the first frost-kissed pot greens of the season. Many people consider them sweeter than they are at other times of year, and their opinion has its basis in fact. In response to cold temperatures, the greens break down some of their energy stores into sugars, and so are at their peak flavorwise. Southerners tend to simmer a variety of greens together, and each has its own character: Collards are mellow and meaty; turnip greens are sharp and spicy; and kale provides a sturdy underpinning and plays well with the others. In the recipe below, a satiny béchamel sauce rounds out the natural bitterness of the greens and lifts them into the realm of the extraordinary, especially with a little help from glossy, rich chestnuts. Like most home cooks, I don’t have the time or inclination to roast and peel chestnuts at home. That job, not nearly as romantic as it sounds (your fingers burn, bleed, or both), falls squarely in my “Not No, but Hell, No” category. The pre-roasted chestnuts in a vacuum-packed jar — available almost everywhere this time of year — are excellent, a true convenience food, and do the job beautifully. They are, however, from Italian, not American chestnut trees, and therein lies a tale. The vast majority of American chestnuts — an estimated 4 billion trees — succumbed during the mid-20th century to chestnut blight, a fungus that thumbed a ride on imported Asian trees. This great American tragedy has all but been forgotten, except by many in rural communities — from the North Carolina Piedmont to the Ohio Valley, from Maine to Florida — whose economy depended upon the “redwood of the east.” It grew tall (often 100 feet or more), fast, and as straight as a column, providing rotresistant hardwood for houses, fences, and furniture — from cradle to coffin, as it were. A single mature chestnut could reliably produce 6,000 nuts every year. High in fiber, vitamin C, protein and carbohydrates, they were a boon to both settlers and their livestock, as well as an intricate web of wildlife, from pollinators to birds and bears. These days, dedicated plant scientists and volunteers are breeding and planting blight-resistant trees to repopulate our eastern woodlands. The widespread effort is led by the Asheville-based American Chestnut Foundation, and you can find out more at acf.org. One of the things I’ve long found interesting about Thanksgiving is the widespread presumption that all Americans eat exactly the same food, the sort conjured by Norman Rockwell’s sentimental 1943 painting Freedom from Want (a.k.a. “the Thanksgiving Picture”). But in my experience, plenty of families happily veer far from this ideal based on their heritage and local bounty, and they don’t give it a second thought. Dressing is an excellent example of what I mean. (Yes, most Americans call it stuffing, even those who prefer to bake it separately instead of inside the bird, but “dressing” is still widely used in Southern circles.) It never occurred to me until I was almost grown that different families have different takes on this traditional accompaniment. While at college, I went home with a Midwestern roommate for the holiday, and the hearty caraway-spiked rye bread, sauerkraut and apple rendition her mom served was worlds away from my mother’s cornbread dressing with sage and onion. I was stunned and amazed. Since then, I’ve broadened my outlook and, emboldened by an 18-year tenure at Gourmet magazine, I’m not shy about trying something new. November 2018
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and sweeter they are when cooked. Sorghum syrup is available at many supermarkets and online sources. Because some brands are cut with corn syrup, make sure the label reads “100 percent sorghum.” 6 pounds sweet potatoes, scrubbed and pricked with a fork 1 stick unsalted butter, melted 1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream, warmed through 2 tablespoons sorghum syrup, or to taste Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper 1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Put the sweet potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until extremely tender, at least an hour or more. Let cool, then halve and spoon the flesh into a bowl, discarding skins. 2. Mash the sweets with a potato masher until smooth, then stir in butter, half and half, and sorghum. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Creamed Greens with Chestnuts
Serves 8 Keep the turnip greens separate after chopping — they’re added to the pan after the thicker-leaved collards and kale have cooked for a while. No turnip greens? No problem. You could substitute mustard greens, with their radishy hotness, or chard, which turns especially silky when cooked. 1 large bunch each collards, kale and turnip greens, tough stems discarded and leaves coarsely chopped (about 20 cups total; see above note) Coarse salt
Homemade cornbread or a mix of cornbread and a store-bought country loaf is my usual base, but then I roll up my sleeves and have fun. For years, I made a sausage and fennel dressing, sometimes enlivened with cranberries or dried cherries. Prosciutto, pancetta or bacon is always good in a dressing — all are lighter than sausage — and pecans provide a nutty, irresistible crunch. The combination of chestnuts, apples and leeks is a serendipitous one, as is chard, golden raisins and pine nuts. And on this most inclusive of holidays, dressing is extremely versatile. Chorizo and fresh green chiles push it in a Southwestern direction; andouille and dirty rice (instead of bread) give it New Orleans flair. One Chinese-American friend in Winston-Salem makes a heavenly concoction that involves dried Chinese sausage, shiitake mushrooms and bok choy, for crunch. You get the picture. This year, however, in the wake of Hurricane Florence, my thoughts are with friends and family in Wilmington and elsewhere in the Old North State. We all love our oysters, and even though I’ll probably kick off my Thanksgiving Day celebration with a few dozen on the half shell, incorporating them into my dressing doesn’t seem like overkill. Chopped, they won’t come across as a disparate seafood component, but will add richness and a deep savoriness to a simple herb and onion dressing. We’d miss them if they aren’t there. Happy Thanksgiving! Here’s hoping you find room for just one more bite.
Sorghum Mashed Sweets Serves 8
You’ll find a number of different sweet potato varieties at supermarkets, especially this time of year. In general, the deeper the flesh color, the moister
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3/4 cup dry white wine 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided 2 large shallots, thinly sliced 1 bay leaf 1 cup jarred vacuum-packed chestnuts, coarsely chopped 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups whole milk 1 1/2 cups heavy cream Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg 1. Wash the greens well; shake off the excess water but don’t dry completely. In a large sauté pan, cook the collards and kale with salt and wine over moderately high heat, covered and turning with tongs occasionally, until wilted. Reduce heat to moderate and cook, turning occasionally, until almost tender, about 15 minutes. Add turnip greens and cook, uncovered, until wilted. Transfer greens to a bowl. 2. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in the sauté pan over high heat. Add the shallots and bay leaf and cook, stirring, until shallots are softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in chestnuts and cook about a minute more. Discard bay leaf, then stir in greens to incorporate and set aside. 3. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over moderately high heat. Whisk in the flour, then gradually whisk in the milk and cream. Bring to a simmer, then simmer, whisking constantly, until sauce thickens slightly and just coats the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes or so. Whisk in nutmeg and 1 teaspoon salt to taste. Stir sauce into greens and cook over moderate heat until all is heated through. The greens can be chopped a day ahead and refrigerated in a resealable plastic bag. The sauce can be made a day ahead and refrigerated, its surface covered with parchment paper; reheat before using. (If necessary, thin with a little milk while reheating.)
Oyster Dressing à la Gourmet Serves 8
You can assemble this dressing, without the oysters, up to 2 days ahead, then refrigerate it, covered. Before baking, bring the dressing to room temperature and stir in the oysters. About 2 loaves country-style white bread (not sourdough), torn into 3/4-inch pieces (about 12 cups), or a mix of white bread and your favorite cornbread, broken into 3/4-inch pieces 8 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces Extra-virgin olive oil (if necessary) 2 medium onions, finely chopped 1 1/2 cups chopped celery 1 tablespoon minced garlic 3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme or 1 tablespoon dried thyme, crumbled 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage or 2 teaspoons dried sage, crumbled Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper 2/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley 1 stick unsalted butter, melted 18 oysters, shucked, drained and chopped 2 1/4 cups turkey or chicken stock (or store-bought low-sodium chicken broth) 1. Preheat oven to 325° with the racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Butter a 3- to 3 1/2-quart baking dish. 2. Spread the bread pieces on 2 baking sheets and bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Let bread cool, then transfer to a large bowl. Leave oven on and put 1 rack in the middle of oven. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
3. Cook the bacon in a large heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 10 minutes. Let drain on paper towels, reserving fat in skillet. 4. If bacon rendered less than 1/4 cup fat, add enough olive oil to skillet to measure 1/4 cup. Add the onions, celery, garlic, thyme, sage, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to skillet and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to bowl of bread, then stir in bacon, parsley, butter, and oysters. Drizzle with stock, season with salt and pepper, and toss well to combine. 5. Transfer dressing to the baking dish. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes more. OH Jane Lear was the senior articles editor at Gourmet and features director at Martha Stewart Living. November 2018
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Gallery
G.I. Joe Photographer Joe Bemis recreates the drama of World War II
By Billy Ingram • Photographs by Joe Bemis
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o celebrate Veterans Day, photographic artist Joe Bemis (featured in O.Henry two years ago) returns with another panoramic gallery recreating famous engagements in American military history. Under the banner of Victory Productions, he’s been known to depict soldiers in the field in Napoleonic times, even aerial dogfights during WWI, but his main concentration is on the Revolutionary War and World War II. For the most part, Joe organizes photo shoots with historical re-enactors, like these images representing the 1st Infantry Division, The Big Red One and the 82nd Airborne at Operation Market Garden, using actual Jeeps from WWII, even a ’39 BMW motorcycle. You have to admire his dedication: Joe dug the 8-foot-deep gun emplacement for his Kuban Bridgehead ’42 photo series himself. “I don’t want to glorify war with my photos,” he says. “But Nazis were the world’s greatest bad guys.” Other photographs in this collection depict Russians and Germans at the Eastern Front. “A lot of guys I’ve met own their own Jeeps, tanks and halftrack vehicles,” Joe tells me. “You can’t really find a Panzer or a Tiger tank because they don’t exist outside museums anymore, but you’ll see some guys with German motorcycles.” Nazi staff cars are more plentiful thanks to the Volkswagen Thing phenomenon. After all, the VW Thing was an automobile very similar to the Kubelwagen manufactured for the West German Army in WWII for use as staff cars, retooled slightly for sales in the United States in the mid-1970s. On occasion Joe will take advantage of battle re-enactments produced for the public. He’ll arrive before the gates open and stay after-hours to stage photos with the participants. “I’ll grab a couple of guys and set the shots up because I have very specific images in my head that I want to recreate,” Joe explains. The last WWII re-enactment he attended was at Latta Planation in Huntersville, North Carolina. “That was one where I actually ran around in the battle while the action was happening, so I was able to get some shots that nobody else could get because I was at different vantage points,” he recalls. For re-enactors it’s a very expensive hobby when it comes to weapons and outfits, especially so for Revolutionary War troops. “A buddy of mine is a tailor,” Joe notes. “He makes his living creating those uniforms.” Re-enactors are often ex-military, cops, history professors and curators. “Even when no one can see them they’re still in character, staying very accurate to what would have been happening around them at that time,” Joe continues. He is currently immersed in depicting the Japanese side of the second World War, in particular Zero and Kamikaze pilots. Airplane interiors were shot at last year’s Warbirds Over Monroe event, where aircraft seen in the motion picture Tora! Tora! Tora! were on display courtesy of the Commemorative Air Force out of Texas. “I was able to get in contact with the lead pilot Michael Burke and he gave me access to the planes for the interior shots,” Joe told me. “Even though they are not actual Zeros, they’re Navy trainers that were painted to look like Zeros because, from a distance, you couldn’t tell the difference. It felt so cool to be in those planes that actually flew in that movie.” Although it was released well before he was born, Tora! Tora! Tora! from 1970 is one of the photographer’s favorite movies. “I watched that with my grandfather,” Joe remembers. “I never thought in a million years I’d be able to sit in one of those planes.” Max Lee is the main model in those photos, he adds. “He has the complete Japanese fighter pilot uniform. He even had the ceremonial sword on his dress uniform.”
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Photographed at a studio in New York, for in-flight scenes 1/18th scale model Zeros were used. “They’re accurate right down to the rivets,” Joe notes. Meanwhile, Joe Bemis is applying his considerable talents to photographs he shot inside a restored German U-boat captured by the U.S. Navy in June 1944, currently on display at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. That U-505 was captured by the U.S. Navy in June 1944. As for future Victory projects, “We’re going to Normandy next year for the 75th anniversary of D-Day,” Joe says. “That’s always been a dream. They’ve pretty much gotten every surviving C-47 to perform a fly-over over Normandy, paratroopers are going to drop over the historical drop zones. That hasn’t been done since D-Day. I can’t wait.” OH For more recreations from America’s military past, visit VforVictory.us. The next Warbirds Over Monroe air show will be on the 10th and 11th of this month, featuring the Memphis Belle B-17F Flying Fortress from the 1990 movie, Memphis Belle, the P-51 Mustang Swamp Fox, a German ME262, the very first jet-powered fighter, along with more than a dozen other historical aircraft. Held yearly at the Charlotte-Monroe Executive Airport in Monroe, N.C., ticket price for veterans and current military personnel is only $5, while kids under 12 get in free. Billy Ingram is writing a book about his career as a movie poster designer working for the major Hollywood studios in the 1980s and ’90s. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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Green Acres Living above The Farmer’s Wife, proprietor Daniel Garrett enjoys both country and urban living By Billy Ingram • Photographs by Amy Freeman
W
ould you believe me if I told you there’s a charming country home downtown, just steps away from Hamburger Square? As Daniel Garrett, owner of this urban oasis put it, “You can take the farm boy off the farm, but you can’t really get the dirt from underneath the fingernails.” Garrett is purveyor of The Farmer’s Wife antique store at 339 Davie Street the cream filling in the only cluster of storefronts that survived a series of fires in the 1980s that wiped clean the Davie Street business sector. The area was once a thriving district with two- and two-story buildings on both sides of the avenue rivaling those on South Elm, one block west. Garrett recalls, “My neighbor told me the story that, when the big fire was across the street where they were in the process of building [Greensborough Court], he said he got on top of his building and hosed it down, afraid that sparks might jump the street and spread to here.” Garrett established his original antiques boutique on South Elm. His shop opened doors in the middle of a struggling downtown between Lewis and Lee streets (now Gate City Boulevard) in 1982, when just about every other downtown establishment had migrated to shopping centers and malls in the suburbs. “When I first started the business 36 years ago,” Garrett tells me, “you could rent a building on South Elm for $300 or $400 a month for a good sizedspace. Of course, now people want $1,200–1,500 or more.” It was a different environment then. “We were moving into a wholesale antiques district, and we knew that, there was no retail,” he says. “It was outof-state people coming to buy items then take them somewhere else to sell for more money.” Garrett had a notion to own a place of his own downtown, so when his neighbor on Davie told him about the building next to his being foreclosed on in 1994, that it was to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, he decided to check it out, mostly out of curiosity. “There were about 25 or 30 people there.” To his surprise, “At the end of the auction I was the last one to bid. It was serendipity, I guess.” Built around the turn of the 20th century, this former grocery wholesale distribution center is crowned with a decorative, galvanized metal cornice. The upper two levels are fronted in brick, accented with limestone trim above and below the windows. To call the purchase a fixer-upper would be a laughable understatement. After years of neglect, it was — how shall I put this politely — a dump. The kind of place you’d deposit a dead body if you didn’t want it found. It was a roll of the dice. Downtown wasn’t the most hospitable environment back in the mid-1990s. Daniel Garrett recalls, “That first year I had power tools stolen, paint stolen.” After Southside and City View Apartments went up on the other side of the tracks, and the train depot was resurrected to serve as an all-purpose transportation hub, “It all became a little bit more gentrified, you might say,” he says. This home is remarkably quiet considering it’s situated practically on top of
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
the railroad tracks. When I told him one of the reasons I enjoy living downtown is the sound of the trains, Garrett replied, “Well, you have to love the trains because they’re right there.” Indeed, the reason for this cluster of four buildings’ very existence was proximity to the rail yard, the original Southern Railway system’s freight depot was located right next door. It’s a bit of a mystery as to the exact date this place was constructed. The first tenant I can pin down was George T. McLamb wholesale grocers, who moved here from Lewis Street in 1906. McLamb’s neighbor at 337 Davie, in a nearly identical building, was the National Biscuit Company, one of over 100 satellite bakeries for the company we now know as Nabisco. McLamb closed up shop around 1912. Another wholesaler, Transou Hat Company, traded chapeaus at 339 Davie before the address was once again home to a succession of wholesale grocers beginning in the 1920s until the mid1960s when the building was vacated. Primarily used for storage after that, for brief periods in the 1980s it housed a college professor or two. November 2018
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Entering the living areas on the floors above the street level storefront is like stepping into a country farmhouse that somehow sprouted in the heart of the city. Raised in Pleasant Garden where, as he put it, “You’re related to everybody and everyone knows your business,” the décor reflects Garrett’s small-town upbringing. His grandfather made one of the tables and two of the cabinets in this living room. You would think an old structure like this would be dark, but it’s remarkably bright inside. Large picture windows to the front and rear flood the rooms with natural light. Plus, Garrett cut a horizontal window into the livingroom wall to take advantage of sunlight emanating from a skylight on the other side. A heavy eight-paned garage door slides to one side, leading to another wing of the home used mostly for storage. “We had to do things a little at a time,” Daniel explains. “I didn’t have the money to just do everything at once. I replaced windows one or two at a time.” A new roof was needed, the electrical wiring and plumbing had to be redone, “I had a very small budget to rehab the building. So when that money ran out we had to stop.” A new kitchen was installed about five years ago. The store’s original front doors were flat and drab so a more inviting entrance with an Italianate feel was created. The project was a familial effort, “My brotherin-law, who had just retired from the post office, was a huge help at that time. He was wanting projects to do and he was one of those persons who was handy and could do things like that.” Until five or six years ago, off the kitchen, a dilapidated freight elevator sat stuck in place, “My brother worked for an elevator company and he said, ‘You’ll never get this to pass inspection’ so it was removed,” Garrett explains. His bedroom on the floor above is one enormous warehouse-sized space with a 25-foot-high ceiling and three massive picture windows on the western-facing wall that overlook the park across the street behind Natty Greene’s.
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s for the impressive and ubiquitous exposed brick walls and lightly colored hardwood floors, Garrett says, “This is exactly the way it was before I bought it, I haven’t unpainted or repainted the brick.” Because 341 Davie was built first, his southern-facing wall was that building’s exterior wall. The floors are imperfect but, “I’m leaving them that way. I can live with imperfection,” he allows. “I’d rather have it the way it was, and how it was used, versus getting too slick or sophisticated.” A mirror in need of resilvering is a favorite item. “I like that one because it doesn’t make me look as old. It’s so fuzzy, it doesn’t necessarily tell the truth,” Garrett jokes. Numerous wooden architectural touches from building exteriors lend both scale and intimacy to these cavernous spaces. Pointing to a large mantel positioned just below the bedroom ceiling, Garrett explains its provenance: “I bought that in Liberty, North Carolina, years ago. It’s actually the cornice from the top of a building that I had mounted to the wall.” A large armoire stores dishes and glassware, because, “You have to have big things in a room this large; if you
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have a bunch of little things they just get lost,” Garrett notes, adding, “That’s why I did this line of prints down low, to pull the ceiling down to a more human scale.” Also on display are a variety of mortars and pestles, “I’ve been collecting them for 25 or 30 years, one at a time. I don’t know why, I’m just infatuated with them.” The pride of his collection is a windup fly swatter, an odd ornament from the Victorian age. “An antique dealer had it in his house,” Garrett explains. “I told him, ‘If you ever want to get rid of it I want to buy it.’ It would have been used in the middle of a table, with the same sort of mechanism that a clock would have. It supposedly keeps the flies away.” In one corner there’s an antique writing desk while a rustic pie safe with perforated metal screens, manufactured around the time this place was built, hides a television and a collection of books. Everywhere you look there are bound volumes on just about every subject, many detailing the life and works of world renowned artists and photographers, about which the homeowner remarks, “Like Thomas Jefferson said, ‘I can not live without books.’” “I was a design major in school,” Garrett says. “I ended up getting a degree in art education from UNCG. I did teach for a couple of years.” As an itinerate art teacher for the Greensboro Public Schools, he moved from one school to The Art & Soul of Greensboro
another. “I rotated with instructors who taught music and physical education for fourth, fitth and sixth graders,” Garrett recalls. Following that stint, he taught art at Mendenhall and Kiser junior high, but ultimately gave it up for the same reasons many in the profession leave: “I quit teaching because I got tired of filling out forms and lesson plans that no one ever looked at.”
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charming brick patio with a European flair awaits at the rear of the building. Beyond it is an English country garden populated with miniature shrubberies, stone pottery, a wispy Bonsai tree, with quirky accents that include a rusty, antique metal lamppost base. The hearthstone from his grandfather’s fireplace has been repurposed for a bench that, Garrett recalls, ”Took four men and a couple of 12-packs to move.” A neat row of tall ginkgo trees, along with Japanese and Ming maples, shields any view of the train depot behind them. It’s a far cry from the mess that he inherited when he moved in, “Where we’re standing right now was trashed; you couldn’t even grow weeds back here.” What could be more cosmopolitan than living above your store? Today a large portion of Garrett’s antique business, The Farmer’s Wife, is dedicated to flower arrangements, “I used to go to the farmers market and pick up a couple November 2018
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of bunches of flowers,” he explains. “I put them in the shop so as to not look so stuffy or stodgy.” When customers began to purchase them, “That mushroomed into people wanting me to do something with them for events or birthdays. It’s not something I was planning on happening, but now flowers are probably 65 percent of our business.” Downtown Greensboro began roaring back to life in the 2000s. “I don’t know what started the resurgence of people wanting to come back to downtown,” Garrett reflects. “I think younger people are wanting the convenience where you can walk to businesses versus having to drive a car.” He found himself the beneficiary of a trend that few would have predicted back in 1994. “Next door they’re renting a man-cave for $1,200 a month . . . and it’s dark. In hindsight, this was probably the best business decision I ever made.” The arduous journey that began with his hand being the last in the air at a sidewalk auction more than three decades ago has been completed, more or less. “It will always be a work in progress,” Garrett assures me. “But, as of June of this year, I paid off the mortgage. It’s finally mine.” OH Billy Ingram first moved downtown in 1997, to the mystification of almost everyone who inevitably commented, “Why would you want to live there? There’s nothing but bums down there.” The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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The Art & Soul of Greensboro
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November 2018
O.Henry 87
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November 2018
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
A L M A N A C
November n By Ash Alder
Hollowed pumpkins filled with dahlias. Acorns, gourds and pheasant feathers. Cinnamon and clementine. November is a holy shrine. Can you feel that? The vibrancy among the decay? The veil between worlds is thin. In the garden, the holly gleams with scarlet berries, beckons bluebird, warbler, thrasher, and — do you hear those lisping calls? — gregarious flocks of cedar waxwing. We too offer fruit. Some for the living, some for the dead. Altars lined with flickering candles, candied pumpkins, marigolds and copal incense are lovingly created in remembrance of deceased loved ones, who are believed to return home for El Día de los Muertos, a Mexican holiday celebrated Oct. 31 through Nov. 2. Sweet bread, warm meals, soap to cleanse the weary soul . . . Imagine celebrating Thanksgiving with that kind of spirit. Or better yet, try it.
For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad.
— Edwin Way Teale
Seeds of inspiration for the November gardener:
· Enjoy the quiet hour of morning, the sweet gift of Daylight Saving Time (Sunday, Nov. 4). · Day after Thanksgiving, sow poppy seeds on the full Beaver Moon for a dreamy spring. · Feed the birds. · Force paperwhites, hyacinth and amaryllis bulbs for holiday bloom. · Stop and smell the flowering witch hazel.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
The Eleventh Hour
Best known by nom de plume George Eliot, Victorian-era novelist Mary Anne Evans so loved fall that she claimed her very soul was wedded to it. “If I were a bird,” she wrote, “I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” No surprise she was born in November, the 11th hour of this season of swirling leaves, snapdragons, goldenrod and falling apple. Sesame Street’s googly-eyed Muppet Cookie Monster was born Nov. 2, on the Mexican Day of the Dead. You want cookie? In the spirit of life and death, try pan de muertos instead, a sweet bread baked in honor of departed loved ones. The below recipe came from a sweet-toothed friend who isn’t afraid to wake the dead.
Pan de Muertos (Mexican Bread of the Dead)
Bread: 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup milk 1/4 cup warm water 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons aniseed (or 1/2 teaspoon anise extract) 1/4 cup white sugar 2 eggs, beaten 2 teaspoons orange zest Glaze: 1/4 cup white sugar 1/4 cup orange juice 1 tablespoon orange zest 2 tablespoons white sugar Directions: Heat butter and milk together in medium saucepan. Once butter melts, remove mixture from heat, then add warm water. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour, plus yeast, salt, aniseed, and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Beat in the warm milk mixture, then add eggs and orange zest and beat until well combined. Stir in 1/2 cup of flour and continue adding more flour until the dough is soft. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (allow 1 to 2 hours). Next, punch the dough down and shape it into a large round loaf with a round knob on top. Place dough onto a baking sheet, loosely cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until roughly doubled in size. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool slightly, then brush with glaze. To make glaze: In a small saucepan combine the 1/4 cup sugar, orange juice and orange zest. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 2 minutes. Brush over top of bread while still warm. Sprinkle glazed bread with white sugar. November 2018
O.Henry 89
NOVEMBER EVENTS 11/3 Wedding Show Show
The Garden Outlet 11:00 am
11/4 Fall Wine Dinner Dinner
11/9 Music For a Great Space presents GEM Collaborative Concert
Christ United Methodist Church 7:30 pm
11/14 Easy Asian!
Melt Kitchen & Bar 5:00 pm
Cooking Class
11/6 Harvest Dinner
Reto’s Kitchen 6:00 pm
Cooking Class
Reto’s Kitchen 6:00 pm
11/7 Harvest Dinner Cooking Class
Reto’s Kitchen 6:00 pm
11/8 Dementia Talk Lunch & Learn
Lusk Center 12:00 pm
11/16 Maker’s Mark Bourbon Dinner Dinner
Grandover Resort 6:30 pm
11/25 Jingle Bell Jazz
11/28 Holiday Appetizer Party
The Tasting Room 5:30 pm
Reto’s Kitchen 6:00 pm
Concert
11/27 11/29 Holiday Appetizer Party Holiday Appetizer Party Cooking Class
Reto’s Kitchen 6:00 pm
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November 2018
An Evening with C.S. Lewis at the Odeon Theatre
2-4
11/
Apple Pancakes & Celebration — Greensboro Farmers Curb Market
17
11/
November 1–18
SOUL TRAIN. 7:30 p.m. The vibes of Roy C, Shirley Brown, TK Soul and Peggy Scott Adams inform the Legends & Heavy Hitters of Soul Tour. Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St., Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com
November 1–December 9
November 2 & 3
A RUN OF PUCK. Chuckle at the tangled webs of mortals and faeries in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Triad Stage, 232 S. Elm St., Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 272-0160 or triadstage.org. BEAUTIES AND BEASTS. Maybe, maybe not. Artists express contemporary angst in Dread & Delight: Fairy Tales in an Anxious World. Weatherspoon Art Museum, 500 Tate St., Greensboro. Info: (336) 334-5770 or weatherspoon.uncg.edu.
PATCHES. 2 p.m. & 9 a.m. Quilt thou be mine? The handiwork of the Forsyth Piecers and Quilters Guild is on view at the organization’s Quilt Show. Gateway YMCA, 1300 S. Main St., Winston-Salem. Tickets: forsythquilters.org.
November 1–February 3
LEWIS CANON. Catch actor David Payne’s star turn in An Evening with C.S. Lewis. Performance times vary. Odeon Theatre, Greensboro Coliseum Complex, 1921 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. Tickets: (800) 745-3000 or ticketmaster.com. FINCH WITH A FLAIR. Catch the first holiday art show, featuring the works of area artists and artisans such as Phyllis Sharpe, James Quinn and Hilary J. Clement. Historic T. Austin Finch House, 17 E. Main St., Thomasville. Info: the-finch-house.com NO PLACE LIKE HOMECOMING. Aggie Homecoming, of course. Hear no less than three concerts: The Go-Go Concert, featuring BackYard Band and TCB (11/2); the Homecoming Concert, with Cardi B, 2 Chainz, Ella Mai, Lil Baby and DJ E Sudd (11/3), and the Gospel Concert with headliner Kirk Franklin (11/4). Performance times vary. Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. Tickets: (800) 745-3000 or ticketmaster.com.
WARHOL OF FAME. And considerably more than 15 minutes’ worth. See Andy Warhol: Prints, Photgraphs and Polaroids from the Collection. Weatherspoon Art Museum, 500 Tate St., Greensboro. Info: (336) 334-5770 or weatherspoon.uncg.edu.
November 1–February 17, 2019. SWINGIN’. Or revolutionary. The turbulence of the 1960s play out in art at 1960s: Survey of a Decade. Weatherspoon Art Museum, 500 Tate St., Greensboro. Info: (336) 3345770 or weatherspoon.uncg.edu.
November 2
MASTRO OF FINE ART. 6 p.m. Peter Mastro, that is. Meet the abstract artist and nibble on light hors d’oeuvres. Jacob Raymond Custom Jewelry, 121-A W. McGee St., Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-9569 or jacobraymondjewelry.com. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
November 2–4
Bobby Bones Red Hoodie Comedy Tour at the Carolina Theatre
30
11/
November 3
AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 5 p.m. Meet Robert Gipe, author and illustrator of the novel, Weedeater. Scuppernong Books, 304 S. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com. QUEUE UP FOR CUE. 5 p.m. Stamey’s serving at the second annual BBQ Fundraiser for Chrysalis Counseling & Consultation Center. Irving Park United Methodist Church, 1510 W. Cone Blvd., Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 852-0626. AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet Erica Danielle, author of Married to the Backslider. Scuppernong Books, 304 S. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
November 3 & 17
FLAME THROWERS. 10 a.m. Costumed interpreters prepare a fall harvest meal over an open hearth. Hoggatt House, High Point Museum, 1859 E. Lexington Ave., High Point. Info: (336) 885-1859 or highpointmuseum.org.
November 8
GLOBAL CONFLICT. 5:30 p.m. Charles Knight discusses the role of North Carolina during the Great War, a companion to the North Carolina World War I traveling exhibit. High Point Museum, 1859 E. Lexington Ave., High Point. Info: (336) 885-1859 or highpointmuseum.org. AUTHORS, AUTHORS. 7 p.m. Meet poets Sarah Rose Nordgren and Jenny George. Scuppernong Books, 304 S. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com. November 2018
O.Henry 91
Arts Calendar November 9
AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet Elly Lonon, author of Amongst the Liberal Elite: The Road Trip Exploring Societal Inequities Solidified by Trump (RESIST). Scuppernong Books, 304 S. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
November 9 & 10
DANCE AT A GLANCE. 8 p.m. The North Carolina Dance festival returns for the 28th year. Greensboro Project Space gallery (11/9), 219 W. Lewis St., and Van Dyke Performance Space (11/10), 200 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 373-2727 or danceproject.org. UN BEL DI. 7:30 p.m. & 2 p.m. Make that two “beautiful days” of Greensboro Opera’s production of Madama Butterfly. UNCG Auditorium, 408 Tate St., Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 272-0160 or greensboroopera.org.
November 10
AUTHORS, AUTHORS. 7 p.m. Meet poets Wayne Johns and Claire Milligan. Scuppernong Books, 304 S. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com. BUZZY. 7 p.m. The Greensboro Swarm returns to the nest for its season home opener. Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. For tickets and a full schedule: (800) 745-3000 or ticketmaster.com. THE ALLURE OF ALLURED. 8 p.m. Classical guitarist and baritone Colin Allured strums and sings at the Crown. Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St., Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com. WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS. 6:30 p.m. Right here in the Gate City! French foods and wines, music and an auction fill “A Notable Night . . . in Paris,” the Greensboro Symphony Guild’s fall gala to support music education programs of the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra. Proximity Hotel, 704 Green Valley Road, Greensboro. Tickets: gsoguild.org. SWING DING. 7:30 p.m. Shake a leg to the tunes of Josh Preslar, courtesy of Piedmont Swing Dance Society. Tickets available at the door. Vintage Theatre, 7 Vintage Ave., Winston-Salem. Info: (336) 508-9998 or piedmontswingdance.org.
Welcome Home 4 Charleston Square Ascot Point
SOUL MUSIC. 7 p.m. The spirited sounds of Christian rockers MercyMe fill the air. Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. Tickets: (800) 745-3000 or ticketmaster.com.
November 10 & 11
TALK TO THE TREES. 1 p.m. And walk among them, too, on a guided, graveyard tree tour with U.S.D.A. botanist Doug Goldman, (featured in the May issue of O.Henry). Green Hill Cemetery, southernmost gate, Wharton Street, Greensboro. Admission is $5. To reserve: info@friendsofgreenhillcemetery.org.
November 10 &11; 16–18
OZYFEST. Meaning, Community Theatre of Greensboro’s annual production of The Wizard of Oz. Performance times vary. At additional cost, join cast members at Lunch with Dorothy prior to the opening performance. Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St., Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com.
November 10 & 24
OLD KING COAL. 10 a.m. Lightning may not strike twice, but he does. Watch the Blacksmith in action. High Point Museum, 1859 E. Lexington Ave., High Point. Info: (336) 885-1859 or highpointmuseum.org.
November 11
TO YOUR HEALTH. Noon. Women’s Health Symposium, courtesy of Greensboro Hadassah, offers the latest on women’s health issues. Jewish Federation Building, 5509 W. Friendly Ave., Greensboro. Info: (336) 897-7143 or hadassahgso@gmail.com. TALES FROM THE CRYPT. 2 P.M. Forensics expert Jacque Perkins presents “Toe Tag Chronicles,” courtesy of Triad NC Chapter of Sisters in Crime. High Point Public Library, 901 N. Main St., High Point. Info: murderwewrite.org. OPUS CONCERT. 3 p.m. Choral Society of Greensboro and conductor Jon Brotherton perform Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man — A Mass for Peace. Christ United Methodist Church, 410 N. Holden Road, Greensboro. Info: gsomusiccenter.com. AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 3 p.m. Meet Patrice Gopo, author of All the Colors We Will See. Scuppernong Books, 304 S. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
November 11 & December 2
THEY GOT IT MADE! 11 a.m.–4 p.m. As in, MADE 4 the Holidays, featuring the works of local artists, craftsmen and artisans. Greensboro Farmers Curb Market, 501 Yanceyville St., Greensboro. Info: gsofarmersmarket.org.
November 12
AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet Ben Fountain, author of Beautiful Country Burn Again. Scuppernong Books, 304 S. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
November 13
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PEEP SHOW. 7 p.m. Long before Facebook and Google, there were voyeuristic L.B. “Jeff” Jeffries (James Stewart) and his girlfriend Lisa (Grace Kelly), protagonists in Hitchcock’s classic Rear Window. Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St., Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com.
November 14
WAR EFFORT. 10 a.m. Larry Cates leads the discussion, “Suspicion and Sacrifice: High Point’s Experience of the Great War.” High Point Museum, 1859 E. Lexington Ave., High Point. Info: (336) 885-1859 or highpointmusuem.org. OPUS CONCERT. 7:30 p.m. Mike Lasley conducts Greensboro percussion ensembles, including N.C. A&T’s. Van Dyke Performance Space, 200 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Info: gsomusiccenter.com.
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November 2018
THE WIZARD OF OZ. 7:30 p.m. That would be Julia Gillard, Australia’s first female prime minister and speaker at the Bryan Series. Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. Tickets: (800) 745-3000 or ticketmaster.com.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Arts Calendar November 16
OPUS CONCERT. 7:30 p.m. Peter Perret conducts Philharmonia of Greensboro through a program of Berlioz, Dvorak, Bartok and Brahms. Dana Auditorium, 5800 W. Friendly Ave., Greensboro. Info: gsomusiccenter.com. HERBIE-VORES. 7:30 p.m. The UNCG Spartan Jazz Collective, plays selections by Herbie Hancock. The Crown, Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St., Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com.
November 17
ART FÊTE. 6 p.m. Artists Kim Maselli, Sue Webb, Amy Gordon and Becky Denmark anchor the Holiday Art Show (through 1/1/19) and reception. O’Brien Gallery, 307 State St., Greensboro. Info: (336) 279-1124 or email: kathylovesart@aol.com. APPLES TO APPLES. 8 a.m. Because, after all, it’s Apple Pancakes & Celebration Day. Greensboro Farmers Curb Market, 501 Yanceyville St., Greensboro. Info: gsofarmersmarket.org. WARRENTED. 6:30 p.m. Learn about the minimum documentation required to prove Native American descent. Morgan Room, High Point Public Library, 901 N. Main St., High Point. Info: (336) 883-5637 or email ncroom@ highpointlibrary.gov. OPUS CONCERT. 7:30 p.m. Greensboro Concert Band and conductor Kiyoshi Carter deliver a medley of sweet sounds. Dana Auditorium, 5800 W. Friendly Ave., Greensboro. Info: gsomusiccenter.com.
PAUL BEARER. 8 p.m. As in, the multimedia presentation Live and Let Die: The Music of Paul McCartney, part of Greensboro Symphony’s Tanger Outlets Pops Series. Westover Church, 505 Muirs Chapel Road, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 335-5456, ext. 224 or greensborosymphony.org.
November 17 & 19
KRAFTWERK. It’s that time again: Piedmont Craftsmen’s 55th annual craft fair. Benton Convention Center, 301 W. Fifth St., Winston-Salem. Info: piedmontcraftsmen.org.
November 17 & 18; 24 & 25
FIRED UP. 9 a.m. (Saturdays) and 1 p.m. (Sundays). Traditional salt glaze and contemporary wood-fired pottery are available for purchase. Curry Wilkinson Pottery, 5029 S. NC Highway 49, Burlington. Info: (336) 260-5059 or currywilkinsonpottery.com.
November 18
ART FOR KIDS’ SAKE. 10 a.m. Browse among local, handmade scarves, jewelry, soaps and more at the Hand Crafted Artisans Bazaar, supporting preschool scholarships. Early Childhood Engagement Center, Temple Emanuel, 1129 Jefferson Road, Greensboro. Info: (336) 292-7899 or tegreensboro.org.
November 19
Your Veterans Day?” Greensboro History Museum, 130 Summit Ave., Greensboro. Info: (336) 373-2043 or greensborohistory.org.
November 21
FEAST FARE. 8 a.m. Pick up those last-minute items for your holiday table at the Pre-Thanksgiving Market. Greensboro Farmers Curb Market, 501 Yanceyville St., Greensboro. Info: gsofarmersmarket.org.
November 23–25
CRAFTY. Credit card season begins with the Craftsmen’s Classics Christmas Art & Craft Festival. Opening times vary. Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. Info: greensborocoliseum.com.
November 24
SWING DING II. 7:30 p.m. Life gives second chances, so does Piedmont Swing Dance Society. Cut a rug to the dazzling sounds of the Penn family (see page39). Greensboro Shrine Club, 5010 High Point Road, Greensboro. Info: (336) 508-9998 or piedmontswingdance.org.
November 27
VET-ING PROCESS. 10:30 a.m. Capt. Harry Thetford, U.S. Navy, Retired, leads the discussion, “So How Was
OPUS CONCERT. 7 p.m. Greensboro Oratorio Singers perform Handel’s Messiah under the baton of Jay Lambeth. Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St., Greensboro. Info: gsomusiccenter.com.
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November 2018
O.Henry 93
Arts Calendar
November 28–December 1
DIFFERENT STROKES. Cheer on the athletes at USA Swimming’s 2018 National Championships. Competition times vary. Greensboro Aquatic Center, 1921 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. Info: greensboroaquaticcenter.com.
November 29–December 1
GOOD SKATES. Catch Disney on Ice presents Mickey’s Search Party. Performance times vary. Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. Tickets: (800) 745-3000 or ticketmaster.com.
November 30
FUNNY BONES. 8 p.m. Bobby Bones, that is. He brings his Red Hoodie Comedy Tour to the stage. Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St., Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 3332605 or carolinatheatre.com.
WEEKLY HAPPENINGS Mondays
BUZZING. 10 a.m. Your busy little bees engage in a Busy Bees preschool program focusing on music, movement, garden exploration and fun in the kitchen. (Members only). Greensboro Children’s Museum, 220 N. Church St., Greensboro. Preregistration: (336) 5742898 or gcmuseum.com. CHAT-EAU. Noon. French leave? Au contraire! Join French Table, a conversation group. Scuppernong Books, 304 S. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or s cuppernongbooks.com.
Tuesdays
READ ALL ABOUT IT. Treat your little ones to story times: BookWorms (ages 12–24 months) meets at 10 a.m.; Time for Twos meets at 11 a.m. Storyroom; Family Storytime for all ages meets at 6:30 p.m. High Point Public Library, 901 N. Main St., High Point. Info: (336) 883-3666 or highpointpubliclibrary.com. ONCE UPON A TIME. 2 p.m. Afterschool Storytime convenes for children of all ages. Storyroom, High Point Public Library, 901 N. Main St., High Point. Info: (336) 883-3666 or highpointpubliclibrary.com. ’TOONS FOR TOTS. 3:45 p.m. From October 30– December 4 kids can tap into their inner Pixar with a course in digital animation. Greensboro Children’s Museum, 220 N. Church St., Greensboro. To register: (336) 574-2898 or gcmuseum.com. PINT-SIZED GARDENERS. 3:30 p.m. Instill in your kiddies a love of gardening and edible things at Little Sprouts (ages 3 to 5 years). Greensboro Children’s Museum, 220 N. Church St., Greensboro. To register: (336) 574-2898 or gcmuseum.com. PAGE BURNERS. 3:30 p.m. Literature inspires kids’ meals made with fresh ingredients at Book & Cook (through November 27). Greensboro Children’s Museum, 220 N. Church St., Greensboro. To register: (336) 574-2898 or gcmuseum.com. PICKIN’ AND GRINNIN’ 6 until 9 p.m. Y’all come for Songs from a Southern Kitchen, featuring: Sam Frazier & Eddie Walker (11/6); Elliot Humphries & Freddie Alderman (11/13); Stained Glass Canoe (11/20); Emily Stewart, Kasey Horton & John Howie
Jr (11/27).1421 W. Wendover Terrace, Greensboro. Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen, 1421 W. Wendover Terrace, Greensboro. Info: (336) 370-0707 or lucky32.com/fried_ chicken.htm. CREATIVE KIN. 5 to 7 p.m. Moms, dads, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins: Enjoy a free evening of artistic expression at ArtQuest. GreenHill, 200 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Info: (336) 333-7460 greenhillnc.org. MUSSELS, WINE & MUSIC. 7 until 10 p.m. Mussels with house-cut fries for $15, wines from $10–15 a bottle and live music by AM rOdeO — at Print Works Bistro, 702 Green Valley Road, Greensboro. Info: (336) 379-0699 or printworksbistro.com/live_music.htm.
Wednesdays
TO MARKET, TO MARKET. 8 a.m. until noon. The produce is fresh and the cut fleurs are belles. Greensboro Farmers Curb Market, 501 Yanceyville St., Greensboro. Info: gsofarmersmarket.org.
Thursdays
TWICE UPON A TIME. 11 a.m. Preschool Storytime convenes for children ages 3–5. Storyroom, High Point Public Library, 901 N. Main St., High Point. Info: (336) 883-3666 or highpointpubliclibrary.com. ALL THAT JAZZ. 5:30 until 8 p.m. Hear live, local jazz featuring Dave Fox, Neill Clegg and Matt Kendrick (aka the O.Henry Trio) — and featured guest artists Karon Click (11/1); George Stewart (11/8); Nishah DiMeo (11/15); Vinnie Ciesielski (11/29). All performances are at the O.Henry Hotel Social Lobby Bar. No cover. 624 Green
Golden Gate
Habitat • Alembika Cut Loose • Prairie Cotton Iguana • Parsley and Sage Luukaa • Grizas • Kleen Comfy USA • Chalet Cheyenne • Heartstring Et’ Lois • Lee Andersen
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94 O.Henry
November 2018
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Valley Road, Greensboro. Info: (336) 854-2000 or www. ohenryhotel.com/jazz.htm. JAZZ NIGHT. 7 p.m. Fresh-ground, fresh-brewed coffee is served with a side of jazz at Tate Street Coffee House, 334 Tate St., Greensboro. Info: (336) 275-2754 or www. tatestreetcoffeehouse.com. OPEN MIC COMEDY. 8–9:35 p.m. Local pros and amateurs take the mic at the Idiot Box, 2134 Lawndale Drive, Greensboro. Info: (336) 274-2699 or idiotboxers.com.
Friday
THE HALF OF IT. 5 p.m. Enjoy the hands-on exhibits and activities for half the cost of admission at $5 Fun Fridays ($3 on First Fridays). Greensboro Children’s Museum, 220 N. Church St., Greensboro. Info: (336) 574-2898 or gcmuseum.com. Fridays & Saturdays NIGHTMARES ON ELM STREET. 8 p.m. A 90-minute, historical, candlelit ghost walking tour of Downtown Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 905-4060 or carolinahistoryandhaunts.com/information.
Saturdays
Saturdays & Sundays
KIDS’ CRAFTS. Idle hands are the devil’s workshop — unless you enroll Junior in one of three structured activities at Greensboro Children’s Museum: Art Studio encourages making art in all kinds of media; at Music Makers kids can
shake, rattle and roll with percussion instruments; while Get Moving! inspires physical activities. Times and dates vary. Greensboro Children’s Museum, 220 N. Church St., Greensboro. Info: (336) 574-2898 or send an email mailto: marketing@gcmuseum.com.
Sundays
FOOD OF LOVE. 11 a.m. Chow down on mouthwatering Southern brunch fare (biscuits, anyone?), courtesy of Chef Irvin J. Williams, while students from the Miles David Jazz Program serenade you with smooth jazz. The Historic Magnolia House, 442 Gorrell St., Greensboro. Info: (336) 617-3382 or thehistoricmagnoliahouse.com. HALF FOR HALF-PINTS. 1 p.m. And grown-ups, too. A $5 admission, as opposed to the usual $10, will allow you entry to exhibits and more. Greensboro Children’s Museum, 220 N. Church St., Greensboro. Info: (336) 5742898 or gcmuseum.com. MISSING YOUR GRANDMA? 3 p.m. until it’s gone: Tuck into Chef Felicia’s skillet-fried chicken, and mop that cornbread in, your choice, giblet gravy or potlikker. Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen, 1421 W. Wendover Terrace, Greensboro. Info: (336) 370-0707 or lucky32.com/fried_ chicken.htm.
To add an event, email us at
ohenrymagcalendar@gmail.com
by the first of the month
ONE MONTH PRIOR TO THE EVENT.
Arts & Culture
TO MARKET, TO MARKET. 7 a.m. until noon. The produce is still fresh and the cut fleurs still belles. Greensboro Farmers Curb Market, 501 Yanceyville St., Greensboro. Info: gsofarmersmarket.org. THRICE UPON A TIME. 11 a.m. Hear a good yarn at Children’s Storytime. Scuppernong Books, 304 S. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
GENIUS AND JAVA. 11:15 a.m. With a cup of Joe as inspiration, create that masterpiece at Coffee and Canvas, which pairs painting and sipping. Cost is $5 and includes art supplies and bean. Griffin Recreation Center, 5301 Hilltop Road, Greensboro. Info: (336) 373-2928 or email Latrisha.Carmon@greensboro-nc.gov. WRITE IS MIGHT. 3 p.m. Avoid writer’s block by joining a block of writers at Come Write In, a confab of scribes who discuss their literary projects. Scuppernong Books, 304 S. Elm St., Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com. JAZZ ENCORE. 6:30 p.m. Hear contemporary jazz cats Wally West & Cathy West (11/3); Bronwen Bradshaw, Ariel Pocock, Chad Eby, Steve Haines (11/10); Gary Hastings, Turner Battle, Neil Clegg & Steve Ware (11/17) and Sonya Bennett Brown with Matt Reid (11/24), while noshing on seasonal tapas at O.Henry Jazz series for Select Saturdays. O.Henry Hotel, 624 Green Valley Road, Greensboro. Info: (336) 854-2000 or ohenryhotel.com. IMPROV COMEDY. 10 p.m. on Saturday, plus an 8 p.m. show appropriate for the whole family. The Idiot Boxers create scenes on the spot and build upon the ideas of others, creating shows that are one-of-a-kind — at the Idiot Box, 2134 Lawndale Drive, Greensboro. Info: (336) 274-2699 or idiotboxers.com
Arts Calendar
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
November 2018
O.Henry 95
Arts & Culture
22nd Annual Holiday Benefit
The Carolina Hotel
80 Carolina Vista, Pinehurst
96 O.Henry
November 2018
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
MERIDITHMARTENS
state of the ART • north carolina
Benton Convention Center • Winston-Salem, NC
Dead and Gone • Original Artwork Oil on Linen Canvas • 36” x 48” • $3,500
HOTEL PACKAGES AND TICKETS: PiedmontCraftsmen.org
Arts & Culture
NOVEMBER 17-18
www.meridithmartens.com
f MeridithMartens.Artist • 910.692.9448 Artist: David and Veronica Bennett - Metal • Creative design by Vela Agency
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
November 2018
O.Henry 97
GUNTER HAUS Art Studio GREENSBORO EARLY MUSIC COLLABORATIVE NOVEMBER 9, 7:30PM (336) 350 - 3741 Christ United Methodist Church Angie Gunter For tickets or call 336-638-7624 or visit ticketmetriad.com GUNTERHAUS.COM
STUDIOGHA@GMAIL.COM
GUNTER HAUS Art Studio GUNTER HAUS Art350 Studio (336) - 3741 Angie Gunter (336) 350 - 3741 GU N T E R H A U S.COM Angie Gunter
STUDIOGHA@GMAIL.COM
G UNTERHAUS.COM @GUNTERHAUS_ART_STUDIO
S T U D I OGUNTERHAUSART GHA@GMAIL.COM Cookie, 12 x 16 in Oils
Your wish is my Brush’s Command
ANNUAL HOLIDAY SHOW & PARTY SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 6-8PM
FEATURING OUR GALLERY ARTISTS • LIVE MUSIC & WINE FINE ART & ONE OF A KIND GIFTS FOR YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING!
307 State Street, Greensboro (336) 279-1124 • www.tylerwhitegallery.com
Arts
& CULTURE 98 O.Henry
November 2018
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
J N A GREENSBORO HOLIDAY TRADITION The sounds of the season ring bright and clear with holiday melodies new and old. DECEMBER 1 | SAT | 8PM DECEMBER 3 | MON | 7:30PM CHRIST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 410 N HOLDEN RD, GREENSBORO
C
FREE FAMILY MATINÉE PERFORMANCE A concert “for kids from one to ninty-two” DECEMBER 2 | SUN | 3PM
C.P. LOGAN
VAN DYKE PERFORMANCE SPACE 200 N DAVIE ST, GREENSBORO
Tickets are available at www.belcantocompany.com and 336-333-2220.
“BUR-MIL PARK” • 22”X28” • ORIGINAL OIL
T IC K E TS
CONNIE P. LOGAN - ARTIST/TEACHER
www. CPLogan.com
GENERAL : $30.00 SENIORS (65+) : $25.00 COLLEGE STUDENTS : $10.00 H.S. STUDENTS & YOUNGER : $5.00
Arts & Culture
T N B
Sponsored by
November 9, 2018 @ 7:30 p.m. November 11, 2018 @ 2:00 p.m.
UNCG Auditorium (408 Tate St.) FREE Parking
Tickets: $15 - $85 (336) 272-0160
GreensboroOpera.org
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Puccini’s
MADAMA BUTTERFLY November 2018
O.Henry 99
GUIDE to GIVING Established 1993
Carolina Adoption Services is a nonprofit agency improving the quality of life for orphans and vulnerable children domestically and internationally on a daily basis.
Established 1902 Established 1988
We are a dropout prevention organization with a mission to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life by connecting needed community resources with schools.
Carolina Adoption Services’ vision is to create opportunities for every child to grow and develop in a loving, caring, and safe environment. CAS has been serving families in the Triad for the past 25 years through international and domestic adoption and home study and support services. Over 5,000 children have been adopted due to the community’s support. Consider partnering with CAS this upcoming year as they expand their domestic adoption program and advocate for the adoption of children with special needs.
If we truly believe that children are our future, and if we truly wish to end the cycle of poverty in our community, then we must invest in providing resources that poor children need to stay in school and achieve in life, such as a one -on- one relationship with a caring adult, a marketable skill to use upon graduation, post high school eduation, training and/or employment.
630 North Elm Greensboro, NC 27401
122 North Elm, Suite 301 Greensboro, NC 27410
336-275-9660 www.carolinaadoption.org
336-691-1268 www.cisgg.org
To promote the right of every child to a permanent, safe, and loving family. We believe in families. Since 1902, Children’s Home Society has worked to build strong families and communities in North Carolina. Each year, CHS serves more than 18,000 children and families, with services ranging from adoption and foster care to family education to post-adoption support. With help from friends like you, CHS will create even more families. Please consider making a difference in the life of a child with your gift to Children’s Home Society today.
P.O. Box 14608 Greensboro, NC 27415
800-632-1400 www.chsnc.org
Established 1980 Established 1999
The Greensboro Children’s Museum engages all children and families in hands-on, fun, learning experiences which contribute to their growth and development through play, creation, outdoor exploration and STEM activities.
Established 1968
To conserve and enhance the beauty and ecology of our community through public and private cooperation.
Each day of the week, the Greensboro Children’s Museum fills with children who are excited to make-believe they are pilots or paramedics, actors or doctors, campers or mail carriers; to climb 30 feet in the air on the Neptune XXL Climbers; and to see the chickens in The Edible Schoolyard. With the support of the community, learning through play is accessible to all. Your $25 gift to GCM this holiday season will enable a family of three to enjoy the Museum at a reduced rate every Friday evening and Sunday!
When you connect with our mission to conserve and enhance the beauty and ecology of our community, you gain the satisfaction that comes with contributing to our community. Each year, thousands of volunteers lend their time and energy to our tree plantings, litter cleanups, educational programs, and free garden events. When you connect with Greensboro Beautiful with financial support, you make it all possible. And because of our 50-year partnership with the City of Greensboro, 100% of your contribution is used for projects, events, and programs. You make a visible difference!
220 N Church St. Greensboro, NC 27401
1001 Fourth Street Greensboro, NC 27405
336-574-2898 www.Gcmuseum.com
336-373-2199 www.GreensboroBeautiful.org
Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro enhances quality of life by providing expert interdisciplinary care, consultation, support and education for those affected by serious illness, death or grief. At Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro, generous community support ensures that no one is denied care due to an inability to pay. In addition, contributions allow us to provide services for children coping with illness and loss and to offer grief counseling and educational programs for the community.
2500 Summit Avenue Greensboro, NC 27410
336-621-2500 www.hospicegso.org
GUIDE to GIVING Established 1996 Established 1961
With respect for all life, we will lead the community in efforts to eliminate animal cruelty and the tragedies of pet overpopulation through an aggressive spay and neuter program. The Humane Society of the Piedmont performs over 8,000 surgeries for shelters, rescues and the general public in 8 counties and is making an impact on the number of homeless animals who end up in overwhelmed and over populated county and rural shelters. We are making a difference for low income pet owners and their furry friends on a daily basis through our low cost wellness services!
4527 West Wendover Avenue Greensboro, NC 27409
336-299-3060 www.hspiedmont.org
Established 1966
We build thriving communities by protecting and renewing our historic and architectural treasures. WHY GIVE: Great communities have great history! Have you participated in our explorations of Proximity Mill, or walking tours of neighborhoods? Perhaps you shopped for vintage materials at Architectural Salvage? We are a non-governmental membership organization that partners with citizens like you to help our city maintain a tradition of history, adaptive reuse, recycling and tourism. Join us in 2019 for tours of the neighborhoods, including the Tour of Historic Homes & Gardens in Lindley Park! P. O. Box 13136 Greensboro, NC 27415
336-272-5003 preservationgreensboro.org
To develop, sustain, and ensure the social welfare, cultural heritage and continuity of the Jewish community through the creation and growth of endowment funds.
$77 Million in Assets 22 years strong $67 Million distributed to charities around the world Superior investment performance Trusted for our flexibility & excellent donor services 5509-C W. Friendly Avenue Greensboro, NC 27410
336-852-0099 www.JewishFoundationNC.org
Established 1987
Turning Entrepreneurs into Business Owners Since 1987, the Nussbaum Center has provided resources and support to small business owners in the form of classes, networking events, office space and one on one coaching. Our programs focus on 4 key skills every business owner needs to grow their business. Financial support from the community allows us to provide these programs at little to no cost. Businesses who engage with the Center are significant providers of new jobs, innovation and economic vitality. Help the Nussbaum Center further its mission to make entrepreneurship the key growth driver in Greensboro. 1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Greensboro, NC 27406
336-379-5001 www.NussbaumCFE.com
Established 1904
The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.
Established 1977
To serve our diverse community of seniors and their families by advocating and providing supportive services that enhance the independence, health, and quality of life of seniors.
Help Us Continue to Make an Impact. When you contribute to The Salvation Army, you make a lasting difference in the community. You are helping men, women, and children find hope through the Christ-centered services they receive.
10,000 individuals are turning 65 every day. Every month we respond to hundreds of requests for Meals on Wheels for homebound seniors, medical transportation, assistance with home repairs, caregiver support and information about programs for active seniors. Your financial contributions will help ensure that seniors and their families receive the services and support they need to age well and live independently.
1311 S. Eugene Street Greensboro, NC 27406
1401 Benjamin Parkway Greensboro, NC 27408
336-273-5572 www.salvationarmyofgreensboro.org
336-373-4816 www.Senior-Resources-Guilford.org
DECEMBER 8-9 • DECEMBER 15-16 AT THE CAROLINA THEATRE Ask about our beloved Tea with Clara pre-events • December 8 & 9 at 1:45pm Ticket sales at 336-333-2605 www.carolinatheatre.com Event Info: www.greensboroballet.org
Recipes fRom the old city of
JERUSALEM Middle Eastern food is naturally good for you. Jerusalem Market provides you with complete foods with all good nutrients, good fats, the food is natural fuel. Loaded with protein, nutrients, and vitamins, Middle Eastern food is naturally engineered for the most beneficial effect on the body.
N ThIs mENTIOrECEIvE D N a aD
10% OFF
“You Will Be Pleased”
CaTErING markET plaCE DINE IN TO GO
310 South Elm Street • Greensboro, NC 27401 336.279.7025 | Mon-Sat 11am-9pm | www.jerusalemarket.com
D O W N T O W N G R E E N S B O R O. O R G
modern furniture made locally
511 S Elm St. | Greensboro NC 27406 | 336.370.1050 areamod.com
We love Dogs, and more important,
DOGS LOVE US!
Specializing in doggie happiness WE OffEr: dog daycare • sleepovers grooming • webcams
705 Battleground Ave.
www.DogDaysGreensboro.com
D O W N T O W N G R E E N S B O R O. O R G
Next Revolution IN PROGRESSIVE LENSES
STARTING AT $350 INCLUDING ANY FRAME IN THE STORE
226 S. ELM STREET, GREENSBORO, NC 336 333 2993 OscarOglethorpe.com
Interior Design • Furnishings • Accessories • Art • Gifts
www.AspenGSO.com Apparel, Accessories & Gifts
VIVID i n t e r i o r s
227 S. Elm Street Downtown Greensboro
513 South Elm Street , Greensboro, NC 27406 336.265.8628 www.vivid-interiors .com
Open Tuesday-Sunday 11:00- 7:00
Come. Sit. Heal. We strive to provide complete care for our patients. Preventive & Wellness Care • Hospitalization Medicine / Surgery • Dentistry • And more ...
Dr. John Wehe 120 W. Smith Street • Greensboro NC | 336.338.1840
w w w .do w n t o w n gre e n sbo ro an imalhospital. com The Art & Soul of Greensboro
November 2018
D O W N T O W N G R E E N S B O R O. O R G
O.Henry 105
Gobble, Gobble come stitch turkey with us!
Specializing
Business & Services
in • golf club repair, • custom club fitting, • and we sell new and used golf clubs.
improper equipment can wreck your golf game
kelly’s golf
1614-C WEST FRIENDLY AVENUE GREENSBORO, NC 27403 336-272-2032 stitchpoint@att.net
2616-C Lawndale Drive • Greensboro, NC 27408
336.540.1452 • www.kellysgolf.com
MONDAY-FRIDAY: 10:00-6:00 SATURDAY: 10:00-4:00
Saturday, November 10 • 10am - 6pm Ten Thousand Villages of Greensboro Biggest Sale of the Year—One Day Only!
Bag Sale 25% off your entire purchase!
Artisans have been paid in full. No coupon needed. Offer valid on 11/10/18 only. Not valid for sale merchandise, consumables, Oriental rugs, cards, Fairgift Trade Retailer Since 1946 previous purchases, and may not be combined with other offers. 1564 A Highwoods Blvd Greensboro NC 27410
336-834-4606 greensboro.tenthousandvillages.com
Your premier Fair Trade retailer in the Triad since 2004
Thankful and Grateful FOR YOUR PATRONAGE
Gibsonville
Antiques & ColleCtibles
Full of History, Antiques & Charm 106 E. Railroad Ave, Gibsonville, NC • (336) 446-0234 Downtown Gibsonville behind the Red Caboose
GibsonvilleAntiques.com • Mon-Sat 10-6 & Sun 1-5
106 O.Henry
November 2018
ASHMORE RARE COinS & MEtAlS Since 1987
• 30+ years as a major dealer of Gold, Silver, and Coins • Most respected local dealer for appraising and buying Coin Collections, Gold, Silver, Diamond Jewelry and Sterling Flatware • Investment Gold, Silver, & Platinum Bullion
Visit us: www.ashmore.com or call 336-617-7537 5725 W. Friendly Ave. Ste 112 • Greensboro, NC 27410 Across the street from the entrance to Guilford College
COME TEST DRIVE YOUR NEW OFFICE CHAIR FOR ALL YOUR OFFICE PRODUCT AND FURNITURE NEEDS Now in our new location. Locally owned.
Free Next Day Delivery in the triad area on over 30,000 office products 3402-C W. Wendover Ave. | Greensboro, NC 336.275.2871 | www.carolinaofficemachines.com
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Pottery in the Southern Tradition
Security & inveStigative conSulting ServiceS
Continuing the Tradition
336-668-0025 | www.davidcolepottery.com Fall Hours – TUE thru SAT 10-5 Highway 68 In Oak Ridge
Get your company on the path to success
Security Risk Consultation Executive Protection & Investigative Brokering Emergency Preparedness • Active Shooter Planning Threat Assessments (Behavioral, Corporate, Residential and Personal) • Travel Risk Management Pre-Employment Assessments • Advisory Counsel and Support Security Guard Brokering
Grateful for your referrals!
Yvonne Stockard Willard Realtor™, Broker, GRI
call us today to discuss your business and personal needs.
336.897.3101 114 N. Elm St. Ste. 302 • Greensboro, NC 27401 corporate@signalzero.us • www.signalzero.us
336.509.6139 Mobile 336.217.8561 Fax
allentate.com
yvonne.stockard@allentate.com www.allentate.com/YvonneStockard
717 Green Valley Road, Suite 300 • Greensboro NC • 27408
Practicing Commercial Real Estate by the Golden Rule Bill Strickland, CCIM Commercial Real Estate Broker/REALTOR 336.369.5974 | bstrickland@bipinc.com
Voted Best Menswear Store 2015, 2016, & 2017 LOCALLY OWNED SINCE 1963 JACK VICTOR HART SCHAFFNER MARX BALLIN TROUSERS
www.bipinc.com
BILL’S KHAKIS BERLE TROUSERS REMY LEATHERS GITMAN BROTHERS BARONI CLOTHING 34 HERITAGE JEANS CUSTOM SUITS & SHIRTS
JACK VICTOR
the HUB ltd 2921-D Battleground Ave. • Greensboro 336.545.6535 | TheHubLtd.com
MONDAY-SATURDAY: 11 AM - 5 PM OR BY APPOINTMENT
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
November 2018
O.Henry 107
Business & Services
May your days be You won’t find them in ordinary kitchens. Or at ordinary stores.
Merry and Bright!
Sub-Zero, the preservation specialist. Wolf, the cooking specialist. You’ll find them only at your local kitchen specialist.
SHOP LOCAL FOR BEST PRICES We Service What We Sell & Offer Personal Attention 336-854-9222 • www.HartApplianceCenter.com
2201 Patterson Street, Greensboro, NC (2 Blocks from the Coliseum) Mon. - Fri.: 9:30am - 5:30 pm Sat. 10 am - 2 pm • Closed Sunday
Sewing Machines • Vacuum Cleaners/Supplies Authorized Husqvarna, Viking, Pfaff and Brother Dealer Repair and Service Classes and Machine Instruction 1710 Battleground Ave. • Greensboro, NC
336.274.6793 • www.mckinneysewandvac.com Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri 10:00am-5:30pm Wed 10:00am-1:00pm • Sat 10:00am-3:00pm
Give a
POLARIZEDPLUS2® SUNGLASSES
Joyful Gift 2222 Patterson St. #A Greensboro, NC 27407 336.852.7107 www.houseofeyes.com Only one block from the coliseum.
MJ-11393 House of Eyes November 2018 Ad.indd 1
108 O.Henry
November 2018
10/5/18 10:06 AM
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
shops • service • food • farms
BUY L It’s
support locally owned businesses
CAL
S E A S O N
Light Up the local holiday spirit! November 15th thru December 31st For more information visit buylocalseason.com
OUR CUSTOMERS ARE YOUNG AND THE YOUNG AT HEART. THEY ARE THE CLASSIC AMERICAN BEAUTY OR THOSE LOOKING FOR THREADS THAT ARE UNIQUELY ON TREND.
boutique boutique 8 0 9 G REEN VALLEY R OAD SUI TE 101
| 336-944-5335
T U ES- F R I • 1 1 - 5 : 3 0 | SAT • 1 1 -3
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
November 2018
Join the effort. Visit www.triadlocalfirst.com.
O.Henry 109
shops • service • food • farms
support locally owned businesses
Home Holidays for the
PLEASE ADOPT Loving pets need loving homes Older dogs make great companions When adopting, make vaccinations and spay/neutering a priority Benessere Animal Hospital hopes adopting a new family member will be at the top of your list this holiday season
Thanks and Happy Holidays - Team Awesome
Dr. Janine M. Oliver
1052 GRECADE ST. | GREENSBORO, NC 27408 Conveniently located in Midtown
336.897.1505 | www.BAHpetcare.com
“I couldn’t be happier with my renters, or my rental income” Brantley White
Burkely Rental Homes client
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.
110 O.Henry
November 2018
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Join the effort. Visit www.triadlocalfirst.com.
shops • service • food • farms
support locally owned businesses
Give O.Henry as a Gift
Call 336.617.0900 OR . . .mail payment to: P.O. Box 58 • Southern Pines, NC 28388 $45 in-state • $55 out-of-state
and have it delivered to your home! The Art & Soul of Greensboro
November 2018
Join the effort. Visit www.triadlocalfirst.com.
O.Henry 111
BedStu Gabor Think! Lior Paris Judy P Milla
Unique Shoes! Beautiful Clothes!! Artisan Jewelry!!! Shoes Sizes 6 - 11 • Clothes Sizes S - XXL
507 State Street, Greensboro NC 27405 336-275-7645 • Mon - Sat 11am - 6pm www.LilloBella.com
501 State Street Greensboro, 27205 336.274.4533 • YamamoriLtd.com
112 O.Henry
November 2018
10:00-5:30 Monday-Friday 10:00-3:00 Saturday and by Appointment
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
GreenScene
Don & Kristy Milholin
Angela, Scott, Caroline & Lily Harris
Hearts for Hope
Out of the Garden Project
Friday, September 21, 2018 Photographs by Lynn Donovan
Cedaris Orr, Kemaya Truitt, Brittany Cleckley, Douglas McCollum Kari Baumann, Susan Roach, Tricia Conrad, Susanne Purnell
Ava & Aurora Milholin
Lisa Jo Adornetto, Dorothy Murphy, Nikki Keech, Vicky Councilman
Ken Maines, Sheryl Booth, Doug & Barbara Moser
Kim Trone, Rachel Cohen
Julie & Dan Dutilly, Donnica Harris
Bob & Jean Marie Buckley
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Jeff & Leann Spencer
Paul & Janet Kershaw
Bryan Starrett & Lauren McSwain-Starrett
Piper Davis, Emmett Richardson
November 2018
O.Henry 113
GreenScene
Megan Gallik, Hailey Kater
Cameron & Katie Muir
Voices Together Benefit Music at Big Purple
Saturday, September 29, 2018 Photographs by Lynn Donovan
Katelynn Derengowshi, Scott, Susan & John Dean
Dawn Brisotti, Leslie Evans, Jennifer Ganger Ken Kinka, Karen Foster
Robert Sneed, Laura Redd, Teresa Class, Sue Hunt
Jeanne Johnston, Rob & Pat Arnett
JoAnn & Larry Currie
114 O.Henry
Anthony & Sierra Laricchiuti
Kate Tobey, Lyn Koonce
November 2018
Pat Murphy, Jeannie Duncan
Jim Halsch & Sue Hunt
Virginia & David Sullivan
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
A Latham Park Lovely
1 2 0 7 G R AY L A N D S T R E E T Truly an ADORABLE house in Latham Park! Covered front porch invites you into this cozy home. Updated kitchen with walk out to the free standing garage/storage shed. Enjoy your expansive deck and fenced back yard, perfect for entertaining! Hardwoods throughout, renovated bathroom with glass enclosure. Walking distance to Johnston Park, just short blocks! Bring your buyers to this one of a kind home before it is gone!
Chesnutt - Tisdale Team Xan Tisdale 336-601-2337
Kay Chesnutt 336-202-9687
Xan.Tisdale@bhhsyostandlittle.com Kay.Chesnutt@bhhsyostandlittle.com ©2018 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently operated subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.® Equal Housing Opportunity.
Make it the
BEST
ONE YET!
211 A State St. Greensboro, NC (336) 273-5872
DIAMONDS • CUSTOM • ONSITE REPAIR
www.StateStJewelers.com
Diamonds · Custom · Onsite Repair
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
November 2018
O.Henry 115
GreenScene
Caroline & Daniel Crupi
Lessons for Life Gala Music Academy of NC
Friday, September 28, 2018 Photographs by Lynn Donovan
Ben Prickett, Danny Rogers, Robert Frederick
Angela & Kennedy Talton
Emily Ford-Coates, Abby Hall, Alisha Homer
John Trotta, Brad Dickerson, Colleen Chenail
Antonela Frasheri, Christy Wisuthseriwong Stephanie Booth, Hannah Napper
Kate Larson, Lee Kirkman, Laura Coffee, Kellie Burgess Pauline Cobrda, Pam Murphy, Mandy Ryan
Stephanie Foley Davis, Katherine Miller, Elizabeth Leddy Ochoa, Mandy Ryan Ryan, Grace & Alisha Homer
Kayla Burgess, Patsy Keyser
116 O.Henry
November 2018
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
GreenScene
Alisha Lemons, Azalea Yon
Anna Claire Kewish, Jenna Carroll
GSO Fashion Week Sponsor Event
Wednesday, October 3, 2018 Photographs by Lynn Donovan
Fabian Farrington, Brian Brooks, Rhett Blanchard
Darien Payne, Camille Nesi
Andrew Norman, Lesley Hobbs
Yvonne Ngo, Agustina Araldi
Witneigh Davis, Giovanni Ramadani
Jazmin Harward, Jasmine Box, Sophia Jolly
James “Smitty” & Debra Smith
Jill & Brian Clarey
Jon Eric Johnson, Kyle Britt
Robin Mack & John Davis
Maria Sollecito, Jerome John
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
November 2018
O.Henry 117
Be your own kind of beautiful ...
Irving Park
Clothing, Accessories
Gifts & More!
1804 Pembroke Rd. • Greensboro, NC 27408 (Behind Irving Park Plaza) • 336.763.7908 Mon. - Fri. 11-5:30pm & Sat. 11-4pm www.serendipitybyceleste.com
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
118 O.Henry
November 2018
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
The Accidental Astrologer
Romance, Recklessness and Destiny
For the November-born, excitement is written in the stars By Astrid Stellanova
Creative Ole Abe was an Aquarian, like four other notable U.S. Presidents. But then, you
knew that, right Star Children? So when Abe Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving holiday in 1863, it was a good idea that nobody could resist, no matter which side of the Mason Dixon line they lived on. But did you realize another holiday figures into the stars this month? Do the math — November-born are conceived around Valentine’s Day, which means they are the stuff of romance, recklessness, destiny, or a maybe a little bit of all. — Ad Astra, Astrid Scorpio (October 23–November 21) Star Child Scorpio, you see someone through a forgiving lens, who by even the most generous descriptions would be called weird. As weird as a mating fruit bat. You are virtuous and hold on tight when another might cut bait and leave that bat behind. Return the favor to yourself and forgive the things you are privately self-critical about. It’s a necessary liberation and will set you on your highest course. Sagittarius (November 22–December 21) Darlin’, let ole Astrid lay it on you straight: Don’t hang with the night crawlers. As tempted as you are to enjoy newfound popularity, a few of your new hangers-on are not exactly top-shelf stuff. And maybe be a little less generous about picking up the bar tab. Capricorn (December. 22–January 19) Shew, Sugar, you were right all along. And as much as that is true, revenge ain’t as sweet as you think. Don’t shove your Mama overboard. By the time you read this, I hope you will find it in your heart to let it go so you can face everybody over the turkey table and smile. Aquarius (January. 20–February. 18) Time’s a-wastin’. Get your house in order before the holidays so you won’t be high, dry, and too lonely in the run-up to Fa-La-La Season. The only relationship you haven’t lost lately is with your Chia Pet, Sugar. Setting things straight with YouKnow-Who will require an apology and some soul-searching. All worth it. Pisces (February 19–March 20) In a parallel universe, you got your due credit. But in this one, you did not. You must chase the thing you deserve credit for, and be sure you get top billing the next time you invent a self-wringing mop electric toilet brush. Cause, really, Honey Bunny, most are not that creative. Aries (March 21–April 19) Stuff went down and nobody was happy. Like a honey badger, you just don’t care much either. Good thing, because you are already on to the next thing and you are leaving the drama behind. If anybody’s nose is still out of joint, hand ’em a splint and a smile. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Taurus (April 20–May 20) You haven’t moped this much since Burt Reynolds died. Honey, it may not be about Burt, but it might be about your recent inclination to go all nostalgic. The next time Smokey and the Bandit is on TV, just change the channel for gawdssake. Gemini (May 21–June 20) You may think the party can’t start without you, but Sugar, get a grip. Are you a self-declared disaster area? Or are you just ticked off because a genuine chance to make a big entrance didn’t happen? Think about it: If you throw the party, you get to control the spotlight, too. Cancer (June 21–July 22) This isn’t the time to take a stand about small and petty. In the name of world peace, let the jerk who rains on your party slink off into the night. You are about to have a wonderful holiday and nobody can change that. Get ready to make merry, Darlin’. Leo (July 23–August 22) It hasn’t gone unnoticed that you have launched a self-improvement program. Points for that, Honey. If you keep this up, somebody is going to surprise you with a declaration of love that might take your breath away, but do keep your hand on your wallet, as they might take that too. Virgo (August 23–September 22) Someone near and not so dear makes you grit your teeth and suck in your temper. You try to set a good example before this feckless fool. While you’re at it, try dividing by zero. Same outcome. Give them an air kiss and lickety-split, moving on fast. Libra (September 23–October 22) Your best work happens when you let go and let loose your natural charms. You don’t have to be Jim Carrey funny, Honey, just rely upon your dry wit, and good times and best outcomes find you. By next month, you won’t be able to keep up with all the invites. OH
For years, Astrid Stellanova owned and operated Curl Up and Dye Beauty Salon in the boondocks of North Carolina until arthritic fingers and her popular astrological readings provoked a new career path. November 2018
O.Henry 119
O.Henry Ending
The Other Woman
By Sandra R edding
Every November, the Craftsmen’s Christmas Classic lures hundreds through the doors of the Greensboro Coliseum. Most shoppers discover that chatting with talented artisans while selecting unique treasures adds to the thrill of the hunt.
Several years ago during my own annual spree, I selected two pillows embroidered with sprigs of lavender, a signed print of a rooster painted by Bob Timberlake and a pine-scented Christmas wreath to brighten my front door. Deciding I’d surpassed my budget, I headed for the exit, then stopped when I spotted a group of healthy plants, each one anchored in a piece of pottery. The face of a woman was etched onto one. The potter, a dark-haired woman, smiled and made her pitch: “This one is magic,” she said. “If you look after her, she’ll keep you well.” “I have a husband,” I answered. “We look after one another.” Despite my protest, good sense (or was it my heart?) convinced me to hand her the required $20. As she placed the pot, as well as the other items I’d purchased, in a box, she promised I’d never regret my decision. That windy afternoon, while placing the items in the back seat of my convertible, I took a closer look at the countenance adorning the pot. Tiny white bird feathers surrounded her face.
120 O.Henry
November 2018
Noticing her enigmatic smile brought to mind the Mona Lisa. At home, when I shared my unique purchase with my husband, Joe, he grinned as he touched the green leaves cascading from the pot. I wasn’t surprised. He’s always been fond of plants, even ones that didn’t produce tomatoes and cucumbers. “What we have here,” he explained, “is an Asparagus Fern. With sufficient water and occasional sun, it should do well.” “No, what we have is another woman,” I teased. “The potter who sold her to me promised I’d remain healthy as long as I took care of her.” Though I don’t approve of polygamy, the other woman has happily remained with Joe and me for nearly 14 years. I named her Virginia after my mother, whom I still miss though she died three decades ago. Most of the tiny feathers that once surrounded her face have disappeared, but the fern stretching out of her still remains as vibrant green as the day I purchased her. As for me? Despite being diagnosed with osteoporosis three years ago, I still do Yoga, Tai Chi and walk at least 5,000 steps daily. I have more than a few wrinkles now, but I’ve earned them, and though Virginia has sustained a crack or two, her cheeks still remain rosy. Both of us are fortunate. In addition to having one another, we also have Joe. OH Sandra Redding, a retired Greensboro writer and teacher, now enjoys practicing yoga and creating scrapbooks that display her grandkids’ excellence. Every afternoon, she watches a movie with her husband. The Craftsmen’s Christmas Classic’s next visit to the Greensboro’s Coliseum will be November 23. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
ILLUSTRATION BY HARRY BLAIR
Despite cracks and wrinkles, love blooms eternal
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