Beauty Inspires Here
A
United Methodist Retirement Community
S AN ACCOMPLISHED ARTIST who loves to teach, Steven helps fellow Arbor Acres residents create beauty in our fully equipped studio. Betty impressed Steven with her first-ever painting of hydrangeas. “This place is all about doing your favorite things and finding new interests, too,� she says. At Arbor Acres, our residents celebrate the endless variations and possibilities of beauty. What is beautiful to you?
www.arboracres.org 1240 Arbor Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27104 336 -724 -7921
Winter 2017
26 58
7 From the Editor
By Jim Dodson
S TYLEBOOK 10 The Hot List
By Jason Oliver Nixon & John Loecke
13 The Educated Grape
By Ross Howell, Jr.
19 Hidden Gem
By Robin Sutton Anders
23 Prime Resource
By Waynette Goodson
26 Hunt and Gather
50
40 FEATURES
40 Rooms With a View
By Jim Dodson
Penny and Bill Spry’s empty nest atop the iconic Reynolds Building in downtown Winston-Salem rekindles a newlywed passion
50 Ghosts of Christmas Past
By Cynthia Adams
Meet the other — and otherworldly — Adams family, namesake of High Point’s Historic Adams Inn
58 Fire & Ice
By Noah Salt
A blaze on the patio brings folks together and takes the edge off of winter’s chill
By Ross Howell, Jr.
37 Almanac
By Ash Alder
LIFE&HOME 63 The Architect’s Son
By Peter Freeman
66 Season to Taste
By Jane Lear
69 Rituals of the Season
By Nancy Oakley
76 Winter’s Top Ten
By Annie Ferguson
79 The Language of Home
By Noah Salt
80 HomeWords
By Noah Salt
Cover Photograph by Amy Freeman 2 SEASONS •
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& DESIGN
Winter 2017
Fine Eyewear, Artwork and Jewelry 327 South Elm | Greensboro 336.274.1278 | TheViewOnElm.com Becky Causey, Licensed Optician Find us on Facebook
Vol. 2 No. 4 336.617.0090 1848 Banking Street Greensboro, NC 27408 www.ohenrymag.com Publisher
David Woronoff Jim Dodson, Editor jim@thepilot.com Andie Rose, Art Director andie@thepilot.com Nancy Oakley, Senior Editor nancy@ohenrymag.com Lauren Coffey, Graphic Designer Alyssa Rocherolle, Graphic Designer CONTRIBUTORS Cynthia Adams, Ash Alder, Robin Sutton Anders, Harry Blair, Annie Ferguson, Amy Freeman, Peter Freeman, Sam Froelich, John Gessner, Waynette Goodson, Laurel Holden, Ross Howell Jr., Jane Lear, John Loecke, Jason Oliver Nixon, Romey Petite, Noah Salt
with us in the latest beauty and wellness trends. Your look can range from subtle to the dramatic with our array of services such as hair, nails, skincare, and waxing. It’s the perfect time to go for that new hairstyle, blowout, rich color, keratin treatment, manicure, pedicure, or spray tan*. Relax in a warm and luxurious environment as you enjoy a massage, facial, or peel. Take advantage of all of these amenities in one of our three Triad locations, allowing for multiple appointments in the same day. These incredible experiences are provided by a multitude of independent salon owners. Each salon is located in a unique and beautiful suite that encompasses the artistic expressions of the stylist. Select suites are available to rent for entrepreneurs inspired to launch their own businesses, and established professionals seeking to enhance their careers. Gift certificates are available. *Not all services are available at all locations. Please contact the concierge for a complete list.
h ADVERTISING SALES Ginny Trigg, Sales Director 910.691.8293, ginny@thepilot.com Hattie Aderholdt, 336.601.1188 • hattie@ohenrymag.com Lisa Allen, 336.210.6921 • lisa@ohenrymag.com Amy Grove, 336.456.0827 • amy@ohenrymag.com Allison Shore, 336.698.6374 • allison@ohenrymag.com Lisa Bobbitt, Sales Assistant 336.617.0090, ohenryadvertising@gmail.com Brad Beard, Graphic Design
CIRCULATION Darlene Stark, Circulation Director 910.693.2488 Caldwell Court 2709 Battleground Ave. Greensboro, NC (336) 617-6260
4 SEASONS •
STYLE
& DESIGN
Oak Hollow Village 1231 Eastchester Dr. High Point, NC (336) 617-6260
St. George Square 603 – 690 St. George Square Ct. Winston-Salem, NC (336) 893-7978
SUBSCRIPTIONS 336.617.0090 ©Copyright 2017. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Seasons Magazine is published by The Pilot LLC Winter 2017
HOME IS WHERE THE HEARTH IS.
2020 Buena Vista Road, Winston-Salem, NC Offered at $ 1,895,000
Winston-Salem | golrb.com | 336 779 9200
FROM THE EDITOR
Mama Squirrel’s House By Jim Dodson
ILLUSTRATION BY HARRY BLAIR
E
very morning during our predawn walk through our neighborhood in Greensboro’s Old Starmount with the dogs, we pass three houses of similar age but in different stages of life. Two door up sits a fine old house in the throes of serious reconstruction, my family home of 40 years, as it happens, now owned by a nice lady and fellow gardener whose work crew is busy dissembling whole sections brick by brick. On the one hand, it’s sad to see rooms I once knew better than the creases of my hand disappear in a cloud of dust; on the other, nice to think the old place will soon have a new lease on life, my claim on it consigned to mortar and memories. Around the corner sits a fine old house in a shroud of tangled vines and overgrown shrubs, long neglected, its charming bay window and handsome Craftsman lines fading year by the year. Once upon a time, whoever built that house must surely have loved it, for it looks like a woodcutter’s cottage in a fairy tale, lost in a haunted glen. But a glimpse of its side yard reveals a garage crammed with so much blessed rusted junk, my wife ruefully jokes that the property is possibly being prepped for an episode of Hoarders. Still, it never fails to seize my attention — and fire my homeloving imagination — every time we pass by, whether under the cover of weekday darkness or the light of a Sunday morning. I think about the people who once lived there and never imagined what time would do to their dream house, if it was indeed that — rather like the dream house of George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life. As we pass, I wish it a fate similar to that of my mother’s house, hoping some angel of mercy will buy the property, gut the garage and bring the cottage back to life in the nick of time. The inner woodcutter in me aches to take my axe and pruning shears to the jungle that swarms it. House No. 3 is in much better kit, though it sat vacant most of the summer, a big, classic, white two-story affair bunkered by ancient shrubs and a walled back garden enclosing a patio and large screened porch. Near summer’s end, a work crew showed up to blitz the
Winter 2017
shrubs and rebuild the screened porch. A fresh coat of white paint was applied to the house, the lawn was fertilized and mowed, new plantings tastefully added. A few weeks ago, as we passed in the November dark, every room of the place was alight, and two young people, a woman and man, could be seen painting rooms, or refinishing floors. They were newlyweds, we decided, young marrieds hard at work on their first house, eager to make a house their home. The whole neighborhood, come to think of it, is turning over with new people, new families, new creative energy as the next wave of homeowners get down to the work of rehabbing restoring, reviving. This includes us, of course, and the fine old house we purchased just over a year ago. As it happens, we are only the second owners of a handsome bungalow built for the Corry family almost 70 years ago, a clan of talented builders and musicians who were happy to learn that a Dodson had bought Mama Squirrel’s house. That’s the lovely way her grandchildren pronounced Mama Merle Corry’s name, and how I like to think of her myself. I grew up with the Corry boys, and Mama Squirrel was one of my own mama’s best friends, almost like a second mother. Her house was always my favorite in the neighborhood, and I couldn’t believe our extreme good fortune to somehow wind up owning it four or five decades later, by some trick of fate or timing. Can a house choose its next inhabitants? I have wise friends who believe so, and I’m not so sure it isn’t true. Houses have their own kinds of souls, graced or haunted by the lives they’ve sheltered. That said, realistically we’ll only be here for a while — maybe 15 or 20 years, tops — before Mama Squirrel’s house passes into other hands, perhaps those of our children or some other kindly souls who will love it and renew it with their own with thoughtful updates. In the meantime, life’s sweet impermanence makes us happy caretakers of the now — and winter is the ideal time to take stock of the changes we’ve enacted and ponder further changes for coming days.
Can a house choose its next inhabitants? I have wise friends who believe so, and I’m not so sure it isn’t true.
SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 7
STYLEBOOK A brief accounting: With all due reverence but with a pragmatic gardener’s ruthlessness, I dug out the dead or dying 70-year-old azaleas and leggy hollies that hid much of the house from view, shortly before we painted it a beautiful earthy hue called “Keystone Gray.” I also removed a cluster of several dead or dying dogwood trees and saved an ancient Washington Hawthorn we named “George” from being swallowed whole by evil English ivy. On the slope around this grand old tree, I created a large area of mixed ornamental grasses that should be breathtaking in a few years. By early summer I’d also planted 18 trees on the property, creating my own mini-arboretum in a neighborhood known for its towering hardwood trees: Japanese maples, river birches, Cherokee dogwoods, Chinese cedars, flowering cherries and an Autumn Blaze maple that lived up to its billing quite nicely. Chances are, I’ll be pushing up daisies of my own before these young trees reach their peak of beauty, but that’s just nature’s way of saying it’s a true optimist who plants a forest he may never live long enough to fully enjoy. I also framed the front walkway with beds of French lavender, Russian sage and pink muhly grass that looked otherworldly beautiful by summer’s end, bordered to the east by a hedge of pink Knock Out roses. Several neighbors paused in their evening walks to comment about how pleased they were to see Mama Squirrel’s house and garden looking so lush. Inside, our first act of homage and revived homemaking was to brighten up juniper-paneled rooms (and cover some exotic Otto Zenke wallpaper in the foyer) with a fresh coat of paint aptly called “Ancient Linen.” We uncovered glorious wooden floors that had been hidden beneath Mama Squirrel’s beloved pink carpet far too long. Her favorite little den off the back side of the house is currently being transformed into a formal library and home office with
8 SEASONS •
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custom-made bookshelves, new carpet, gallery lighting and a set of handsome French café doors that lead to the vast screened porch we were somehow smart enough to leave alone. Before the cold weather fully sets in, we’re also having the gas fireplace fittings removed to allow a pair of fireplaces to host crackling wood fires once again. As I sit and review our progress this winter, planning the next phase of garden work come spring on the untouched “wild” corner of my backyard, I can’t help but think about Thomas Jefferson, who went broke working on his house and garden in his dotage. (He recovered some of his losses by selling 6,000 of his personal library books to the U.S. government to replace those lost when the British burned the Library of Congress during the War of 1812.) French wine and love of roses took their toll on the retired president, who claimed to be an “old man but a young gardener,” eager to learn to the very end. I’ve spent enough time lingering on the elevated grounds there to channel Old Tom’s passion for his house and garden. But as the estate he dearly loved passed through other hands, Monticello nearly became a ruin following Jefferson’s death in 1826. With all the restoration fever going on around my neighborhood, I perceive a much kinder fate for Mama Squirrel’s house, though who can say what unfolding years may bring. That’s part of the mystery and charm of owning and loving a house with history, former lives, a soul of its own. Speaking of souls, perhaps the right one will even eventually turn up in the nick of time to save the decaying cottage around the corner. What a fairytale ending that would be. For the record, watching my own boyhood house transform just 100 feet away with far more curiosity than grief, I’ve never felt more at home than in Mama Squirrel’s bungalow. It’s almost like the house chose us to carry on, with or without the pink carpet and Otto Zenke wallpaper. h
Winter 2017
Passport INTRODUCING
BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED. GLOBALLY INSPIRED. SEE WHERE IT TAKES YOU.
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1140 CREEKSHIRE WAY 336.768.8334
Ask a designer or visit ethanallen.com for details. Sale going on for a limited time.
©2017 Ethan Allen Global, Inc.
THE HOT LIST
Hail, Britannia!
Inspired by a recent trip, the Madcap Cottage gents channel a spirited splash of Brit wit brilliance By Jason Oliver Nixon and John Loecke, Madcap Cottage
Road to Canton
The timeless elegance of an English country estate comes to life with accessories such as the chic Canton Blue Lamp from Port 68 ($299). Turn this little lady on, and watch the night explode with fireworks. Available through Furnitureland South, 5635 Riverdale Drive., Jamestown, (336) 822-3000, furniturelandsouth.com
Table Tops
A trip to the incredible Wedgwood factory in the north of England is a must — not only to visit the working factory, but to tour the incredible museum that is administered by London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, finished off with lunch at the stunning, contemporary Dining Hall. But if a jaunt to the Stoke on Trent environs isn’t on your list, bring the magic home with the gorgeous coffee table tome Wedgwood: A Story of Creation & Innovation from Rizzoli ($60). Available through Sunrise Books, 7 Hillcrest Place, High Point, (336) 397-3755, sunrisebookshp.com
Petal Pushers
Summer blooms eternal thanks to the English garden-inspired Isleboro Eve wallpaper from Madcap Cottage for York Wallcoverings ($95.98 per double roll). Made in America by the country’s oldest wallpaper firm, Isleboro Eve will truly give you floral fever. Plus, the pattern features a revolutionary new substrate that makes installation super easy (taking down the paper is a snap, too!). Available through onekingslane.com
Garden Glory
Channel the bucolic charm of England’s fabled Cotswolds region with the fabulous Hatfield Bench from Currey & Company ($2,310) that will add instant élan and elegance to any landscape. Available through Furnitureland South, 5635 Riverdale Drive., Jamestown, (336) 822-3000, furniturelandsouth.com
STYLEBOOK
Mirror Image
Embrace a timeless reflection with the stunning Thornbury mirror from Howard Elliott ($700) that will work beautifully in any room of your home — from front hall to living room or den. Available through Pfaff’s Inc., 1550 South Stratford Road, WinstonSalem, (336) 765-1260, pfaffsinc.com
For the Dogs
Zip over to one of our most favorite Triad home stores, Trouvaille Home, for these one-off, vintage hand-painted cast iron whippet pedestal tables with marble tops ($3,495 for the pair). There’s no better perch for your martinis and Aperol Spritz cocktails, n’est-ce pas? Trouvaille Home, 938 Burke St., Winston-Salem, (336) 245-8965, trouvaillehome.com
Hotel Stories
Whilst in London, the Madcaps lapped up the luxe of the amazing and residential-styled leanings of The Kensington hotel, situated steps from the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the shopping and dining extravaganza of Brompton Road and South Kensington (think Oka, Bibendum, The Conran Shop). A brilliant bolthole of a bar, a charming eatery, and a top-flight, knowledgeable staff rounded out the cosseting experience. Genius. Doylecollection.com
Think Pink
Dreams and Thoughts take flight in the deliciously pink — actually, fuchsia — Premier notebook from London’s iconic Smythson of Bond Street ($110). Among our dreams: Buy a small manor house one day in Wiltshire with a clipped boxwood maze garden and a small goat named Elsie. Just in case you were wondering. smythson.com h
The Triad’s Leading Choice in Luxury Real Estate
403 Cascade Court • High Point • $594,000 3 beds , 3 Full baths. Resting on over 1.5 acres, this contemporary-stye home overlooks a beautiful pond scenery in Willow Creek!
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2571 Club Park Road • Winston Salem • $1,625,000 4 beds , 4 Full/2 Half baths. Amazing Renovations including Kitchen and Master Bedroom Suite and Roof! 2nd Bedroom on M/L.
1701 Reynolda Road • Winston Salem • $1,475,000 4 beds , 5 Full/1 Half baths. Breathtaking Foyer with original marble floor, New Gourmet Kitchen, Library, office and Large Master Suite on main-level!
3721 Coral Garden Lane • Winston Salem • $1,100,000 6 beds , 5 Full/2 Half baths. 2 MAIN LEVEL LARGE MASTER SUITES! Beautiful water front lot in Greenbrier Farm. Stained Wall Library with Fireplace.
4449 Bent Tree Farm Road • Winston Salem • $1,118,000 5 beds , 5 Full/1 Half baths. Outstanding Italian Style Villa in Bent Tree Farm on 2.32 Acres! Open Floor plan with Gourmet Kitchen and 2 story Great Room.
2515 Country Club Road • Winston Salem • $1,145,000 4 beds , 3 Full/1 Half baths. Built in 1987 with recent, Jaw Dropping, Improvements! Additional Master Suite on Second Level!
1042 Rockford Road • High Point • $1,099,000 6 beds , 6 Full/1 Half baths. Located on the most popular drive in Emerywood! Master Suite includes a sitting area with a marble tile enclosed fireplace.
18011 Mollypop Lane • Cornelius • $3,799,000 5 beds , 5 Full/3 Half baths. Long Range Views on Jaw Dropping Water Front Property! Over 10,000 Sq. Ft. including separate guest house.
John-Mark M. Mitchell Owner/ Luxury Broker 336.682.2552
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Zach Dawson Luxury Broker 336.416.2876
Mabeline Mitchell Executive Manager 336.406.6478
336.722.9911 www.GoMitch.com
STYLEBOOK
THE EDUCATED GRAPE
Somm and Substance
Three Triad sommeliers reval the passion — the challenge — of their chosen calling By Ross Howell Jr. • Photograph by Sam Froelich
W
ant to know more about wine but were afraid to ask? Well, there’s a cadre of friendly, articulate and ridiculously knowledgeable sommeliers scattered in our midst. They’ve been tested by the Court of Master Sommeliers, an educational organization “established to encourage improved standards of beverage knowledge and service in hotels and restaurants,” according to the Court’s credo. Administering its first Master Sommelier examination in 1969, the Court has become “the premier international examining body” for students of wine. What does a person have to know to pass the Master Sommelier exam? The brutally candid 2012 documentary film Somm gives you an idea. If you haven’t seen it, Julia Hunt can tell you. She’s the director of fine wines for American Premium Beverage, a company established in Winston-Salem in 1973, now owned by the R. H. Barringer Distributing Company and headquartered in Colfax. Hunt is an Advanced Sommelier. Her next step will be to Master Sommelier, the pinnacle of the profession. She’s sat for the MS examination three times. “It’s just extraordinarily difficult,” Hunt says. “You have to be Winter 2017
in control not only of your knowledge, but also of your emotions.” Hunt is currently taking a break from preparing for the exam, though of course every day she’s immersed in her subject. “The goal of the MS program,” Hunt says, “is to prepare Master Sommeliers so they’re able to go anywhere in the world, to any region of the world, and speak knowledgeably about the grapes and the wines produced there.” There are tough — some might say tortuous — steps along the way to that preparation. The first is the Introductory Sommelier Course and Exam. Over a two-day period, wine candidates receive an intense review of the world of wines and spirits, including knowledge, proper service and “deductive tasting” — a method for considering the color, clarity, viscosity, smell and other elements of wine. They must pass a rigorous exam. The second step is the Certified Sommelier Exam, a one-day test with three sections. First, candidates describe and identify four wines (two white and two red) using the deductive tasting method. Next is a written theory exam that establishes candidates’ knowledge and understanding of the world of wine, beverage and the sommelier trade. Last is a service test approximating a restaurant setting, where candidates must demonstrate salesmanship and knowledge while performing a variety of tableside tasks. SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 13
STYLEBOOK The third step to MS is the Advanced Sommelier Course and Exam. The three-day course gives candidates a template for upper-level study and a clear understanding of expectations for both the Advanced Sommelier Exam and the Master Sommelier Diploma. Due to the level of difficulty, the Court of Master Sommeliers carefully reviews all candidates’ experience and qualifications. The exam also covers three days, and, like the Advanced Sommelier exam, includes tests in service, theory and deductive, blind tasting of an increased number of wines: six. Finally, there’s the Master Sommelier Diploma Exam, which is administered by invitation only. This exam is similar in format to the Advanced Exam — though the theory test is oral, rather than written, and the scores required to pass each of the three sections are higher. Hunt has used her experience to help colleagues prepare for this demanding process. She majored in psychology at the College of Charleston, and happened into a job as host at a fine restaurant while she was a student. “The owners were Portuguese,” Hunt says, “and they were really into wine education.” As an employee, she was able to taste and discuss a range of sophisticated wines. “There were wines I couldn’t afford to buy even today,” she says. She found herself wanting to learn more. “When I started studying wine seriously, there weren’t many resources here in central North Carolina,” Hunt says. But she was taken under wing by a wine legend, the first American to serve as President of the Court of Master Sommeliers. “Fred Dame helped me with the most difficult part of the test, the blind tasting,” Hunt continues. Dame explained that only classically produced wines are used in the tests, and those were the wines candidates must learn. “You can sit down with a distributor who’ll let you taste a lot of very
good wines,” Hunt continues, “but if they’re not the right wines, you won’t learn anything.” When she’s helping candidates prepare for their exams, Hunt selects wines she knows candidates will need to able to recognize and describe. “We’ll taste a wine, and I’ll explain, ‘OK, that’s a fast ball down the middle of the plate, a white wine, mid-range acidity.’ What are the characteristics?” And she always makes a point of reminding candidates the quality of their table service is one-third of the exam. “I had so much help from mentors,” Hunt says. “I feel it’s important to give back.” One of the candidates Hunt has coached is Stacey Land, general manager at 1618 Midtown in Irving Park Plaza in Greensboro. She’s a hometown girl — born at Moses Cone Hospital — but got her start in her father’s restaurants in New York, where he had attended the Culinary Institute of America. “Food and wine have been part of my life since early on,” Land says. Over time, she worked her way up from bussing tables to managing the bar. “I always wanted to learn more,” she says. “Sometimes my dad and I would butt heads, and he’d say, ‘What do you know? You’re just a kid.’” At those times, she realized her father was right. But she knew she wanted to know more, and worked even harder to learn. “Being stubborn helps,” Land says with a laugh. “I was determined one day I was going to know as much as he did.” Land returned to Greensboro to attend UNCG, her mother’s alma mater, majoring in English and earning spending money working at restaurants. She planned to be a writer. “I even had a job for a while as a copy editor for Greensboro’s News & Record,” Land says. But the writing field was shrinking, and she found herself drawn back to the business she’d learned as a teenager and grown to love.
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STYLE
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STYLEBOOK Recently Land passed her exam to become a Certified Sommelier. When I ask her if she plans to continue her study, she smiles. “I love a challenge,” she says. “I’ll keep on till it gets ridiculously hard, but I expect I’ll keep going even then.” Land explains that wine holds a special appeal for her. Customers often have question after question, and she wants to feel she’s able to give competent answers. “The Introductory Sommelier Course and Exam teaches you to answer, ‘What is wine?’” Land says. Information is basic, but comprehensive. “The next level, the Certified Sommelier Course and Exam,” she continues, “approaches, ‘How is wine?’” Greater knowledge of the theory viniculture and taste recognition are required. “The Advanced Sommelier Course and Exam,” Land says, “prepares you to answer, ‘Where is wine?’” And to recognize and describe it wherever it’s produced on the planet. More than a year ago Land began working with “study buddy” Jacob (Jake) Assaf, who’s owner and — as he likes to say — “chief janitor” at Rioja! A Wine Bar, on Battleground Avenue just north of downtown Greensboro. A relaxed bistro, the place is decorated with the work of local artists. Special offerings include wine dinners and popular “Blind Tastings and Trivia” nights. Assaf grew up in Charlotte and came to Greensboro to attend UNCG. He majored in economics, and was thinking about studying for an MBA. But his thinking changed when he began stocking shelves and bussing tables at Rioja!. As his responsibilities grew, he concentrated on learning more about wine, exploring wineries in Spain, Portugal, South Africa and the wine-growing regions of the West Coast. “As I look back,” Assaf says, “I realize I was interested in wine even when I was a kid.” His family attended an Episcopal church that served real wine
for Communion. “I’m sure it was watered down,” Assaf says, smiling broadly. “But I could taste the acid, the tannins, and I thought, ‘This is really cool.’ “Having Stacey as a study partner was really important,” Assaf says. Seeing how serious Land was in her studies helped motivate him. He spent hours studying maps, memorizing wine-growing regions. He never missed a tasting or a study appointment. “We’re all pretty competitive,” he continues. “You don’t want to think someone else will succeed where you don’t.” Assaf and Land sat for the entry-level exam at the Angus Barn in Raleigh a year ago, and both passed. Last July they sat for the Certified Sommelier exam — again at the Angus Barn — and both walked away with certificates. “It was intense,” Assaf says. “I had this guy sitting next to me who reeked of coffee and cologne.” He was concerned the odors would affect his ability to identify the wines in the blind tasting. Then, when he was about to take the service portion of the exam, one of the candidates banged out of the banquet hall doors where the test was being administered. She was screaming and sobbing, and ran down the hall. “A Master Sommelier peered through the doors,” Assaf says. “He pointed and said, ‘OK, Jake, you’re next.’” “You can imagine how I felt,” Assaf adds. He learned later that in spite of the outburst, the woman had passed. I ask if he plans to sit for the Advanced Sommelier exam. “Stacey and Julia have really motivated me,” he says. “But in the end, it’s personal. And I’m competitive. So, yes.” Sara Guterbock, a Certified Sommelier, is sommelier and wine education director at Mutual Distributing Company, a distributor with locations in Raleigh, Charlotte and Kernersville.
THE 18 & 20 2017 SON SEA
High Point Ballet:
Land of the Sweets
December 23, 2017 11:00 AM & 2:00 PM High Point Ballet:
The Nutcracker December 20-22, 2017 7:30 PM
A joyful, dream-inspired story of heroic toy soldiers,sword-fighting mice, and glittering Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
Tickets to a Show & Gift Certificates make the perfect Holiday Gift!
Musical Thrones, A Parody of Ice & Fire: January 18 John Sebastian & David Grisman: January 20 American Spiritual Ensemble: January 27 Kit & the Kats: February 3 Emile Pandolfi with Dana Russell: February 14 Kit & the Kats Al Stewart: The Year of the Cat Tour: February 16 Heart Behind the Music with Alabama’s Teddy Gentry, John Berry, Lenny LeBlanc & Linda Davis: March 9 Shaun Hopper & Joe Smothers: March 23 On Golden Pond: April 5 Black Violin: Black Violin: Back by Popular Demand!: April 24 Back by Popular Demand! Dawn Wells: What Would Mary Ann Do?: April 28
Acts and dates subject to change. For the latest news, go to HighPointTheatre.com
For Tickets, call 336-887-3001
or visit HighPointTheatre.com
Winter 2017
SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 15
STYLEBOOK Her parents are from Germany; she grew up in a household “where there was always wine.” But when she was a “starving art student” at Virginia Commonwealth University and started working at a Mediterranean restaurant in Richmond, “I could tell the difference between a chardonnay and a merlot. That’s about it,” she says. As Guterbock speaks with me, she’s preparing for the annual “Dueling Sommelier Dinner” at Undercurrent Restaurant, on Battleground Avenue in Greensboro. “The internet has really accelerated customer interest,” she says. “There’s a real hunger for knowledge about wine.” But professional wine study, especially for an individual interested in educating others, “can be like jumping down the rabbit hole,” Guterbock continues. She tells me it’s taken her nine years to reach her professional goals. Along the way she’s even developed expertise in sake, Japanese rice wine. “That’s a lot of time when I wasn’t watching shows with my daughter,” she says, “or carving pumpkins, doing the things mothers and daughters do.” But the effort has been worth it. “A sommelier explains the dimensions of wine,” Guterbock says, “the grapes, the soils where they’re grown, the art of the winemaker, the culture of a region.” She nods and smiles. “When properly made,” Guterbock says, “every wine tells a story.” h Ross Howell Jr. is asking Santa for a bottle of Merry Edwards Winery 2015 Olivet Lane Pinot Noir. Suggested Sips for the Holidays “Alsatian gewürztraminer is lovely with the usual holiday fare of turkey and ham,” says Julia Hunt of American Premium Beverages. “Intense exotic floral
and spice aromatics are framed by a rich, ripe fruit mouth-feel with a crisp finish.” Hunt also recommends Beaujolais grand cru. Sometimes called “poor man’s Burgundy,” this wine’s gamay grapes, planted in the granite and slate subsoil of the designated 10 grand cru vineyards, “display dark red fruits and layers of complexity.” For Champagne, she recommends “cava from Spain, Franciacorta from Italy, or cap classique from South Africa.” Crafted by the traditional method — secondary fermentation in the bottle — they have “luxurious, fine bubbles and creamy texture.” Stacey Land says 1618 Midtown is featuring Champagne wines from LaurentPerrier, a chateau founded in 1812 at Tours-sur-Marne, France. Land recommends the ultra brut, the brut millésimé 2007, and the cuvée rosé. “All three are great with rich holiday meals,” she says, “and of course to celebrate the New Year!” Jake Assaf of Rioja! A Wine Bar recommends a selection of vintages for an unforgettable holiday season. These wines are dear enough in price that you’ll want to share them with family and special friends. Assaf recommends Louis Roederer, Champagne Rosé Cristal, 2006; Château Latour, Pauillac 1er Grand Cru Classe, 2009; and Domaine Jean-Louis Chave, L’Hermitage Rouge, 2012. “My favorite red wines for the holidays come from the Southern Rhône,” says Sara Guterbock of Mutual Distributing Company. “These spicy, layered, rich, berry-driven, grenache-based red wines from France are typically higher in alcohol and lower in tannins.” They come in a wide range of prices, from Châteauneuf-du-Pape to Côtes-du-Rhône Rouge. Guterbock also recommends dry rosés from France, Italy, Spain, or anywhere along the Mediterranean coast. “The wine should be redolent of fresh red berries and floral notes — crisp, clean, dry and refreshing,” she says. And Guterbock likes “copious amounts of bubbles” for the holidays. “Go for a well-respected domestic producer that makes sparkling wine in the traditional Champagne methods,” she says. “You’ll pay a fraction of the cost and reap all the rewards!” —RHJr.
Here’s to the seasons of Home and Family filled with Joy.
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16 SEASONS •
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Old Stuff Through a New Light Reconsidered Goods in Greensboro is a maker’s paradise By Robin Sutton Anders • Photographs by Sam Froelich
M
y 5-year-old made a big mistake when he passed on this errand. Wandering the rows of Reconsidered Goods, a whale of a shop in a warehouse on Greensboro’s Patterson Avenue next to Red Collection, I pass a shelf of old science beakers complete with those cool glass stirring rods; then a collection of art supplies (buckets of meticulously organized markers, colored pencils, paints, baskets of construction paper, envelopes and legal pads); a shelf of vintage cameras and camera equipment; a corner of small, assorted mechanical equipment parts. Scanning the room, my eyes land on a wall of colorful fabric bolts and, in the distance, what looks like silver utensils and China patterns. I’d heard good things about the “creative reuse center,” one of 42 across the country, but until now, I didn’t really get it. What is this, Christmas morning?! I do a double take at the 50-cent price tag on the next display: a box full of precut archival mat board, ready for framing. I begin to dream of all the hobbies I’ve wanted to pursue, being brought to fruition by the crammed aisles of this wonderland. I can’t write about this place — what if these crazy finds are gone when I come back? My fellow shopper has the same reaction when I ask her about the treasures she’s unearthed here. Jennifer Scott, Oak Ridge resident and owner of the Eclectic Calico shop in Winter 2017
Madison, makes frequent trips to Reconsidered Goods. “I’m almost afraid for the word to get out!” she says. But Scott is happy to spread the news. “They have piles and piles of scrap leather that I’ve made jewelry out of,” she says. “I’m always on the lookout for display pieces for my store — I found old, 1920s bird cages and a mid-century iron table base that my husband made into a beautiful table by adding a custom wooden top. Someone had even donated old playground equipment,” she remembers. “We were able to build a fabulous playground around it.” “It’s probably easier to tell you what we don’t take,” says Paige Cox, one of the center’s three cofounders, when asked about the donations accepted by Reconsidered Goods. “I draw a hard line at stuffed animals. This place could fill up with those.” Since her mission is to keep as much out of the landfill as possible, Cox has a mantra: “Keep it cheap and keep it moving.” Large furniture is a no because it takes up too much space. So is clothing — “unless it’s vintage,” Cox adds. And she passes on electronics (that includes VHS tapes). And no bedding or towels. Other than that, Reconsidered Goods is thrilled to accept your donation. In return, you’ll get a tax write-off and a decluttered house. Every item donated to the creative reuse center is touched about five times before it makes it to the shop’s shelves — which explains the store’s ordered aesthetic. “The biggest
Since her mission is to keep as much out of the landfill as possible, Cox has a mantra: “Keep it cheap and keep it moving.”
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STYLEBOOK compliment we get is how organized it is in here,” Cox says, explaining their process. “We have some wonderful volunteers who help us take donations, sort them, price them, place them and merchandise them.” Part of her job has an education slant. “Some of our items come in brand-new. We’re trying to create a mindset for people that reuse doesn’t mean ‘used.’ It could be an antique; it could be brand-new. We want to present items in a way that people feel like they’re shopping in a regular retail store.” Cox got the idea for Reconsidered Goods a few years ago when she and her sister visited Durham’s Scrap Exchange. Located in the Bull City’s Lakewood Shopping Center, the Scrap Exchange has been a Durham mainstay, “promoting creativity, environmental awareness and community through reuse” since it opened shop 26 years ago. Inspired by the union of creativity and environmental awareness, Cox wanted to get involved — full time. “I was working in a corporate environment and needed a change, and the joining of these two passions was such an instant attraction for me,” she says. “It was clearly my path in my very unplanned career plan.” Cox asked the Durham folks if they’d consider a franchise. They weren’t interested, but they offered to teach Cox all the tricks of the trade they’d picked
up over the years. “They have it down to a science. They gave me a binder, and I did exactly what they told me,” she says. Cox knew she’d be tapping into some of their clients by opening a similar store in Greensboro, but the Scrap Exchange directors didn’t care — in fact, they told Cox that “‘we all have too much stuff.’ Every city could have one, and we could all live happily ever after.” While Cox and her two co-founders, Martha Hughes-James and Joseph Edwards, were diligent about following the Scrap Exchange process, Greensboro’s Reconsidered Goods has a much different look and feel than the Scrap Exchange. Greensboro’s store reflects the Triad’s textile influence. “One of our most favorite items is Italian leather,” Cox says. “We get full hides from Tiger Leather. It’s a tax write-off for them, and shoppers come in to buy the leather to make journals or jewelry or to reupholster furniture.” There are also denim samples from VF, and mat board from High Point’s Graphic Dimensions. “High Point is just now finding out about us,” Cox notes. “We’re getting tons of calls about fabric and are starting to get great things in yardage.” For many of Greensboro’s artists, Reconsidered Goods feels like a community center. “We have tons of crafters and fixer-uppers who are looking for a place to hang out,” Cox says.
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STYLEBOOK Every Wednesday and Sunday, drop-in classes give newbies and old-timers a sample of the reuse possibilities. “Make It” classes have included instructions for leather feather necklaces, journals, crocheted coffee cup koozies and clay coasters. According to Cox, these classes bring a big turnout. “For a lot of our regulars, it’s their go-to place to unwind or meet up with friends, and they craft together,” she observes. “It’s a great thing that has naturally happened, and that I think is so beautiful.” Scott, who regularly strikes gold when she visits Reconsidered Goods, heads up her church’s ladies ministries. She planned a craft night that was a huge success. “We made leather cuff bracelets and did some shopping — in fact, it was hard to pull them away from shopping to do the craft,” she says. “There were 26 of us, and it was a great place to go and we all had a ball.” The center also serves as a popular destination for school field trips where, following a one-hour arts-and-crafts session in the store’s “Make
and Take” creative area, students brainstorm with an employee about the importance of reuse. “The average American throws away 4.34 pounds of garbage a day,” Cox says. She uses the statistic to challenge students to a family experiment. “If everyone took a week and looked at the waste they created in that time period, they could ask themselves how they could make less of an impact.” The idea, she says, is to encourage people to challenge the “throw-away- when-you’re-donewith-it” living habits. “Every little change in each household in the community adds up to lots of diverted waste in our landfills,” she says. “Teaching kids to think this way while they are young sets the tone for our future and creates good habits.” Robin Sutton Anders is a freelance writer and illustrator based in Greensboro, and co-author of the recently published book, Becoming Durham: Grit, Belief, and a City Transformed. h
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PRIME RESOURCE
Blessed Be the Piece Maker For Daniel Sebille, life is more than a colorful mosaic By Waynette Goodson • Photograph by Amy Freeman
Y
ou’ve probably never heard the name Daniel Sebille, but if you’re a Winston-Salem resident, you may have experienced his art. Ever tossed back a cold one at Foothills Brewing? You’re sure to have noticed the large Foothills sign in concrete on brick — that’s Sebille. The signs at Milner’s and Finnigan’s Wake? Also Sebille. What about the abstract pineapple mosaic at Bar Piña? That’s Sebille, too. Or perhaps a friend recently refurbished his kitchen with new cabinetry and a slate floor. Yes, that could be this self-described Bohemian businessman. From custom tile work to painting, from restoring furniture to Venetian plaster, from Italian stucco to mural and fountain design, Sebille prides himself on the breadth of his business, Sebille Custom Designs. “I always like to see things, and I’m framing them and cropping them and seeing colors and shapes,” says the Buenos Aires native. “My grandfather was a tailor — an art — and he used to play instruments. And my godfather was an architect. It’s in my genes.” If Sebille’s chiseled chin, salt-and-pepper hair and piercing hazel eyes seem familiar, he possesses yet another talent — acting. In Argentina, he got a job in a Pond’s Cold Cream commercial, one of three rugged gentlemen surrounding a fair-skinned lady, and he found his first calling. “I loved when we shot that commercial,” he remembers. “That was the trigger for me. There’s always a moment that ignites you to Winter 2017
do something.” Sebille can easily rattle off his favorite gigs: Ford (a couple driving a car through the Granada mountains), Wrangler and Levi’s (commercials in Argentina), Cinzano (billboards in Brazil), even a role as the “bad brother” in a Buenos Aires soap opera, which got him recognized on the streets. That was all back in the 1980s. Today he’s still with Marilyn’s Agency, and he does pro bono acting for short films at the UNC School of the Arts. “When it comes to acting, I’m a little shy to tell it,” Sebille says sheepishly. “I’m down-to-earth. I don’t want to come off as arrogant.” And he doesn’t, especially when he’s in the role of proud father talking about his daughter, Kalila. Like her dad, she’s also traveled full circle to return to school at UNC Wilmington. “She’s my universe. She’s my muse. She’s my everything. She’s very special in my life,” Dad gushes. “After she was born in Wilmington in 1996, we went to Argentina to introduce Kalila to my mother, Rose, and my family. I have Italian blood, and we’re a huge family.” He recalls his early days as a young newlywed while living in Madrid: “It was hard in the beginning, to be living in another country.” At the time he was making enough money from modeling to go to all the museums, take pictures and explore. It was here that he discovered his love of art and working with concrete. During a vacation in Italy, he found his passion for mosaics, which he later began trying for himself during a stint acting in Wilmington.
“I’ve had a long life . . . full of many things.” And . . . “Sometimes in your life, it’s good to do things for others without expecting anything back.”
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STYLEBOOK “I got up and went to the tile store and started doing them,” Sebille says matterof-factly. “I’d listen to music and cut the pieces. I don’t know where I got the patience. When you’re working with little pieces of mosaic, you have to go into such intricate detail; it’s not like the broad brush strokes of painting.” Italy has also kindled his clients. “We had recently returned from a trip, which inspired me to paint several pieces of art,” says Judi Russell, a juried artist with Associated Artists of Winston-Salem. “Sebille’s name was given to me as someone who could add a feeling of Italy to our kitchen. So I met with him, hoping to get a few ideas so we could make some decisions and move forward. “Instead of getting a few ideas, he was able to create my new kitchen,” she says. “It’s a reminder of the trip, and it feels like a personalized piece of art. We still enjoy the vibrant colors, and we continue to receive compliments.” While the former actor attended an industrial technical school, this “folk artist” is proudly self-taught, learning through trial and error. Some of his more intricate mosaics can take up to a month to complete. “I remember when I started my second mosaic, I thought, ‘I can’t handle this!’” Sebille exclaims. “But when I feel weak, it’s as if a big hand is pushing me . . . I have this extra thing that pushes me forward.” The Renaissance man not only finds inspiration from his travels. He’s also inspired by ancient Egyptian civilization, and he likes bringing back classic tile designs from the Byzantine period. He’s completed two mosaic reproductions of portraits of Simonetta Vespucci and Emperor Justinian I, recreating these masterpieces in his own style. While he has lived in the United States for about two decades, Sebille still speaks with a Spanish accent and tosses in lines like a philosopher poet: “I’ve had a long life . . . full of many things.” And . . . “Sometimes in your life, it’s good to do things for others without expecting anything back.” And . . . “I’m a believer; I believe in Jesus.” And . . . “Life is like an ocean with lots of waves, and then sometimes it’s quiet.”
What is his goal now? Simple. To work. That includes charitable work for Kaleideum, formerly the Children’s Museum of Winston-Salem, and Habitat for Humanity. “I enjoy what I do, and the outcome makes me happy,” Sebille says. “Also, I feel good when my clients are happy, too.” Whether it’s contract or residential work, he likes helping them take risks. “Sometimes you need that touch of color,” he says, noting the current white-onwhite Scandinavian influence. “Everyone has different tastes and different points of view, and some are picky and they won’t change for nothing, and then some say, ‘Paint this table pink.’ “In the end, this is not my house, and I tell them, ‘It’s your house and you’ll be living here.’” In an ongoing project, he’s working with Cindy Hodnett, director of public relations for the International Market Centers, to renovate her 1957 WinstonSalem dream home. “Sebille is helping me transform the house I bought two years ago,” Hodnett says, explaining that he has done everything from installing Italian tile floors in the sunroom and kitchen to painting kitchen cabinetry and refinishing key furniture pieces. “He came up with creative ideas that totally changed the entire aesthetic of every room and that takes each project from ordinary to extraordinary, she says. “My house has gone from dark and heavy to light, cheerful and unique, and Sebille’s artistic sense combined with his craftsman talents made it possible.” h Waynette Goodson is the editor-in-chief of Casual Living magazine and a frequent contributor to Seasons. Contact: Daniel Sebille Designs, (336) 782-2256, Facebook.com/SebilleDesigns, dansebille@yahoo.com.ar. Free consultation.
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SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 25
STYLEBOOK
HUNT AND GATHER
This American Life
Steven Burke’s and Randy Campbell’s astounding collection of American folk art buildings
F
By Ross Howell Jr. • Photographs by John Gessner or three decades Hillsborough’s Steven Burke and Randy Campbell have quietly been assembling what’s probably the largest collection of American folk art buildings in the United States — and maybe the world. “Some would say our fascination lies somewhere between obsession and psychosis,” says Burke, whose sense of humor is as dry as a good martini. Campbell nods in agreement, a wry smile crossing his lips. A Tennessee native, Campbell went to college in northern Alabama. He worked at a bank in Alabama before moving to Durham, where he managed accounting for The Regulator Bookshop and later for the UNC’s biology department. Now retired, he keeps his hand in the business by working two days a week at Purple Crow Books, Hillsborough’s iconic bookstore. Burke is the son of a U.S. Army officer with diplomatic postings, and spent many years in London. He first came to the Old North State as a Duke University student and later worked for the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. His serious collecting began in 1985, when he spent every penny of his $187 tax refund in a Brightleaf Square antiques shop in Durham. The three of us are having coffee in a sunny room in their five-building, Greek Revival compound called “It Had Wings,” eponymous with the short story by writer and neighbor Allan Gurganus. The compound was designed by Burke and Campbell after they purchased a vine- and poison ivy-infested piece of property in downtown Hillsborough in
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1991. Construction of the house wasn’t completed until 1994. Additional structures were built as the years passed. “We felt it was so unusual to find a vacant lot in an historic district, so we wanted to be very careful in what we designed,” Burke says. While it is their residence, “It Had Wings” is also home to their American folk art buildings collection, an assembly of 1,200 small-scale houses, churches and structures created by various craftsmen. Some of the structures are on display where we’re drinking our coffee. They feel just as much a part of the room as the table where we’re sitting, or the comfortable-looking chair in the corner, or the bookshelves and framed prints on the walls. That makes sense, given that Burke envisioned the collection as an organic part of his and Campbell’s “American places,” comprising three elements. First, the Greek Revival house and additional buildings on the property are historical in design, though new in construction. Second, the prints and architectural pieces displayed on the walls represent Burke and Campbell’s deep interest in 19th-century American architecture. Third, the American folk art buildings collection itself is incorporated into Burke and Campbell’s house, while two structures — the “Alden Pavilion” and “Fitzgerald Building,” named in honor of the two men’s families — were built to keep pieces as the collection grew beyond what the living space could reasonably hold. Burke leads me down the hall and through the house, room by room. The hallway and rooms are packed with a mindWinter 2017
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boggling array of churches, state capitols, skyscrapers, an ice rink, gas stations, windmills, factories, medieval castles, a zoo, schoolhouses, theaters, oil derricks, office buildings, carousels, lighthouses, garages, Ferris wheels, diners, a bowling alley, barber shops, drug stores and shoe repair shops. Iron furnaces. A row of store fronts. A greenhouse. Factory buildings. A brewery. A flour mill. Some are remarkably realistic. Others are the purest flights of fancy. “Not much is known about what led people to create these pieces,” Burke says. “There are very few articles written about them, and virtually no serious studies.” Burke and Campbell were left to conduct original research on their own. The small buildings before us are fashioned from wood, flour tins, galvanized buckets, ammunition boxes, hubcaps, cardboard, canvas, nuts, bolts, screws, scraps of rug and fabric — whatever might have been available to the maker. Some are small enough to rest in the palm of your hand. Others soar to a height of 6 feet. You could spend hours studying the ways in which house windows and shades are replicated. Or church windows. Or the columns and capitals of public buildings. Or faux stone and brick. Or cupolas and roofs. As we move along, Burke points out recognizable public buildings, some still standing, some vanished. Here’s Chicago and North Western Railway Station with a magnificent clock tower, built in Milwaukee in 1889, razed to the ground to make way for a freeway in 1968. Mount Calvary Holy Church of Winston-Salem, founded in 1929, survives in miniature, though the original was later replaced by a brick church. Thomas Alva Edison’s birthplace in Milan, Ohio, is covered roof to foundation, for some unknown reason, with postage stamps. Independence Hall in Philadelphia stands proudly in one room. A scarlet-colored, architec-
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turally inaccurate facsimile of the Alamo occupies another. Over here is San Francisco’s Transamerica Tower. And the Chrysler Building in New York City — made of corrugated cardboard. Assigning provenance to the pieces is nearly impossible. They are true folk art, made by anonymous craftsmen. Some pieces are relatively primitive and clumsy, while others are remarkably skilled in their handiwork. Sometimes a name is scrawled in pencil or etched in the underside of a roof, or on the base of a piece. These creations were more commonly made in New England or the upper Midwest — at least, the ones that survive. It’s quite rare to find a piece made in the South. “This form of folk art flourished between 1860 and World War II,” Burke says. “People knew how to make things by hand back then. It’s a skill certainly diminished these days.” Only about 10 percent of Burke and Campbell’s entire collection bears any sort of identifying marks. But through these few signed pieces and their own research, the men have been able to learn the personal backgrounds of some of the prolific and skilled craftsmen who fashioned the pieces in their collection. Ben Zirzow of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was a retired tinsmith whose specialty was snipping, pounding and welding old 5-quart oil cans to make 2-foot-tall garages with working overhead doors. Lawson Diggett of Florida began replicating American life in the 1920s and for more than 50 years rendered the Daytona Beach area’s public buildings, billboards, churches, airplanes and race cars just inches in size, selling many of them to tourists. Diggett’s remarkable recreation of the Daytona Beach townscape is housed in the Winter 2017
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Halifax Historical Museum in Daytona Beach. And there’s Charles Cole of Racine, Wisconsin — perhaps the most prolific artisan Burke and Campbell have collected. Until his death in 1943, Cole used old cigar boxes to make more than 60 different buildings — each one of them in triplicate — for his three children. Burke and Campbell have two of his renderings of the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, one painted to show the gold dome, and one unadorned. Cole also made a replica of
Winter 2017
the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia; Mount Vernon, Washington’s home; the Chicago Water Tower on Michigan Avenue, built in 1869; Grant’s Tomb, New York City; Zahn’s Department Store, a landmark in downtown Racine for nearly a century; the Racine Zoo, on the shore of Lake Michigan; and many gas stations, churches and public buildings. A father-son duo of artisans in the Burke and Campbell collection are of special interest to me because of a friend of mine. The collectors had bought a carved wood church from a dealer who had rescued it from a Minnesota landfill. Inside the removable bell tower of the church was affixed a piece of paper with the notation in German, “Zweig gemeinde der ST. JOSEPHS KIRCHE;” that is, “Branch congregation of St. Joseph’s Church.” Written in English on the paper was the further notation, “This church was built by Frank H. Aukofer Sr. 1884–85. Considering his not having any trade it is quite a piece of Art. Most of the work was done with a jackknife. It was repapered and painted by Frank H. Aukofer Jr. in January 1918.” I have a friend in Virginia with that unusual surname, “Aukofer,” so I make a mental note to get in touch with her after my interview. We’ve finished the rooms in the house, and Burke takes me out the back door to a folly just beyond a patio and flower garden. This is the “Alden Pavilion.” Its façade features three tall doors salvaged by retired Greensboro
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antiques collector Mary Wells, a longtime friend of Burke and Campbell. Atop the roof is a cupola Wells purchased from a dealer in Atlanta. The cupola was rescued from the country of Georgia on the Black Sea in Eurasia. No one’s quite sure how it made its way to the States. Burke opens a door to reveal additional small buildings, carnival rides and houses. An unusual group of small buildings with similar architecture occupies three complete shelves of a big, built-in bookcase. The small buildings depict many of the original structures of the village of Old Salem, the Moravian community in Winston-Salem. A lovely rendering of the Home Moravian Church stands 14 inches tall. Next to it is the Single Sisters’ House — first constructed in Old Salem in 1785 — and Salem Academy and College, the oldest private institution for women in the nation. These small buildings were fashioned over a period of more than four decades by unknown craftsmen, although some of the buildings carry notations hinting vague attribution to their makers: “R. B. C. Dec. 1939” and “W. M. Ball, 226 South Church Street.” Reminiscent of the Moravian “putzes,” elaborate Nativity scenes often featuring entire villages, many of the buildings were fabricated using art mat board, with details carved from balsa wood. There are now 17 buildings in Burke and Campbell’s Old Salem group, acquired through collectors in Winston-Salem and Mount Airy. We step back into the garden and over to the “Alden Building.” Burke opens its yellow door into a world of whimsy and amusement, all manner of carnival rides, a circus tent, fanciful castles and a “zoological park.” More houses, public buildings are sprinkled about, and here and there, a skyscraper, several Ferris wheels, a roller coaster. As I reflect on the myriad of items I’ve just seen. Burke shows me a copy of the collectors’ limited-edition book, American Folk Art Buildings: Collection of Steven Burke & Randy Campbell. The 96-page, soft cover volume includes color photographs of more than 500 examples of
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SHOP LOCAL Winter 2017
STYLEBOOK that she hoped one day the collection would be exhibited to the public. “People will go crazy over it,” she concluded. “Crazy over it,” sounds appropriate, doesn’t it, since collectors Burke and Campbell say their passion for American folk art buildings lies somewhere between “obsession” and “psychosis”? h Ross Howell Jr. is a frequent contributor to Seasons and its flagship O.Henry magazine. He is the author of the historical novel Forsaken. For information and responses about this collection: www.americanfolkartbuildings.org
buildings in the collection, along with rare newspaper and magazine articles about some of the structures and the artisans who created them. The book is available through Burke and Campbell’s attractive and comprehensive website, americanfolkartbuildings.org. Just how significant is this array of American folk art miniatures? Well, in a 2014 New York Times article about Burke and Campbell, the executive director of the American Folk Art Museum in New York, Anne-Imelda Radice, said she “flipped” when she first saw the collection. “It’s like a history of American architecture,” Radice commented, adding
Winter 2017
It’s a Small World, After All After seeing Steven Burke and Randy Campbell’s miniature version of St. Joseph’s Church fashioned by Frank Aukofer Sr, I emailed my friend in Virginia. A flurry of communications with family members ensued, and my friend learned that her grandfather, Frank Xavier Aukofer Sr., had emigrated to the United States from Germany and settled in Milwaukee. His son, Frank Xavier Aukofer Jr., born in Wisconsin, was her uncle. The family lived on Cherry Street in Milwaukee, near St. Joseph’s Church. The Milwaukee Historical Society digital collection includes a photograph of the now-demolished church — a building much grander than the one depicted by Frank Sr. The search continues for possible locations of a smaller, “Branch congregation” church. Remaining is the discrepancy between the middle initials “H” and “X.” Since capital letters written in cursive are so similar, it seems very likely the wooden church in Burke and Campbell’s collection was made by my friend’s relatives. Small world. RH Jr.
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Winter Almanac
P
By Ash Alder
erhaps no poem paints a more fitting portrait of this time of year than Thomas Hardy’s classic verse about a “blast-beruffled” bird whose joyful song pierces the silence of a dark and desolate eve like an arrow through autumn’s last apple. Set at the cusp of a new year, the poem’s haunting image of “tangled bine-stems” slicing the sky “like strings of broken lyres” invokes, at least for this nature lover, the bleakest yet most beautiful days of winter. Read: From darkness comes light. Behold phloxes and hellebores, snowdrops and winter-blooming iris, and the first glorious explosion of golden daffodils. Since the heaviest snows tend to fall in February, the full moon in this second month has long been called the Full Snow Moon. In 2018, however, February won’t have a full moon, and January and March will both have blue moons on the last days of each respective month. Reflect upon the ways you let your own light shine on these rare and energetically powerful nights. Cooler temperatures call for root vegetable stews and chowders thick with heavy cream and gold potatoes. Make enough and you can serve it up all week — a quick and hearty fix after a cold evening spent pruning rose bushes and deadheading pansies. Through the kitchen window, a brown thrasher gently swings on the suet feeder before disappearing with twilight. Soup simmers on the stovetop. Spring will be here soon.
Slice the Ginger
The Quadrantids meteor shower will peak on the night of Wednesday, Jan. 3, until the wee morning hours of Thursday, Jan. 4. Named for Quadrans Muralis, a defunct constellation once found between the constellations of Boötes and Draco, near the tail of Ursa Major, the Quadrantids is one of the strongest meteor showers of the year. Although a full moon may compromise viewing conditions, you won’t want to miss this celestial event. Twelfth Night (January 5), the eve of Epiphany, marks the end of the Christmas season and commemorates the arrival of the Magi, who honored the Infant Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. If you’re seeking a hangover cure following this night of merrymaking and reverie, ginger tea is an excellent and delicious home remedy. Here’s what you’ll need: 4–6 thin slices raw ginger (more if you like a tea that bites) 1 1/2–2 cups water Juice from 1/2 lime, or to taste 1–2 tablespoon honey or agave nectar (optional) And here’s what you’ll need to do: Boil ginger in water for no less than 10 minutes. You really can’t overdo it, so load up on ginger and simmer to your heart’s content. Remove from heat; add lime juice and honey or nectar. Sip slowly and allow your world to recalibrate.
Kissing Bough
Nothing spells romance like cutting a sprig of mistletoe from the branches of a sacred oak, apple or willow. The ancient Druids believed that the mystical properties of this plant could ward off evil spirits. Norse mythology renders it a symbol of love and friendship. During the early Middle Ages in England, mistletoe was used to ornament elaborate decorations made of holly, ivy, rosemary, bay, fir or other evergreen plants. Kissing boughs, as they were called, symbolized heavenly blessings toward the household. If you find yourself standing beneath one with someone you adore, consider it a heavenly blessing indeed.
Begin Again
In many cultures, the first day of the year is considered to be a sacred time of spiritual rebirth and good fortune — a time to cleanse the soul and reopen one’s mind to the notion that anything is possible. Draw yourself a lavender salt bath. Light a beeswax candle. Indulge your senses with woodsy and earthy aromas. Be gentle with yourself on this first day of January. Celebrate exactly where you are — in this moment — and allow yourself to imagine the New Year unfolding perfectly. Look out the window, where the piebald gypsy cat drinks slowly from the pedestal birdbath. Notice the bare lawn, the naked branches stark against the bright, clear sky. Experience the beauty of this barren season, of being open and willing to receive infinite blessings. There’s nothing to do but breathe and trust life. h
L U X U RY
COLLECTION
Thankful
I appreciate all the support that the Triad has shown to Tom and me over the past thirty years, and I look forward to continuing Tom’s legacy of compassionate professionalism in all that we do. On behalf of Tom Chitty Associates, God Bless, and Merry Christmas to all!
Barry S. Hardeman Direct Line: 336-420-2837 Email: tomchitty@tomchitty.com Website: www.tomchitty.com
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Winter 2017
“I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape — the loneliness of it — the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it — the whole story doesn’t show.” — Andrew Wyeth
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Rooms With a View Penny and Bill Spry’s empty nest atop the iconic Reynolds Building in downtown Winston-Salem rekindles a newlywed passion By Jim Dodson • Photographs by Amy Freeman
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“I
was worried that Bill wouldn’t want to live downtown,” says Penny Spry with a laugh. “Penny’s right,” husband Bill confirms. “I loved our gardens and our house and watching the water run in our pool. I suppose I was being terribly provincial.” “But it was time for a change,” she adds. “The children were all grown up and gone. It was just us rattling around in a great big house on Banbury Road. The timing was almost perfect . . .” “We were really just living in two or three rooms,” he allows. “The kitchen and den and bedroom . . .” “Then we heard about the Reynolds Building, that the top residential floor might be available. We had to come look. Everyone was moving downtown,” Penny enthuses. “So much youth and energy. The Arts District, all the great restaurants.” It’s a golden afternoon in late autumn in the spectacular 19th-floor apartment of Penny and Bill Spry, residents for less than a year atop the historic and lavishly restored former headquarters of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in downtown Winston-Salem. Sunlight streams through large west-facing windows of the apartment, illuminating a spacious gray-walled living room that looks like the most elegant but livable museum gallery one can imagine. A circular contemporary Thayer-Coggin sofa invites one to simply sit and take in the long views in three different directions, as do a pair of elegant 19th-century Louis XVI chairs (still stuffed with the original horsehair) and a comfortable sitting area near Bill’s strategically placed brass telescope. “It’s like magic when the sun goes down and the city’s lights come on,” Bill Winter 2017
confirms. “A great view of the night skies from up here.” It was the west view that turned him around. “For me, all it took was one look out the west window. You could see over the city to the mountains, the sunsets. Every evening the sunsets are different,” Bill adds. “Some of the most beautiful things in life are that simple.” “I’m an early morning person,” Penny says, “so I wanted the views of the east, the sunrise side of the building. Given our views and the other attributes of the building, it worked out wonderfully.” Translation: If this Reynolds Building apartment isn’t heaven for Bill and Penny Spry, it may be a floor or two just shy of it. Bill Spry, after all, a lawyer and private financial adviser, enjoyed a spiritual connection to the historic Reynolds Building even before he set foot in the apartment just over two years ago. During Reynolds’s corporate heyday, Bill’s father, Dennie, was general counsel for one of the company’s subsidiary firms. “I was friends with several of the CEOs’ kids growing up in Winston,” he explains. “So in the end, despite my early misgivings, living here feels a little bit like a true homecoming — doubly so since Penny was so excited and energized by it.” A Wake Forest – trained lawyer of seemingly boundless energy who cofounded and, for a decade and a half, directed the respected Children’s Law Center, Penny saw the couple’s flight to the 19th floor of the iconic building that served as the design model for New York’s Empire State Building as a passage toward an empty nest and a way to artfully downsize their belongings while making it easier to travel. “Bill and I have collected art for years, but with five kids and a big house — SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 41
“It’s like magic when the sun goes down and the city’s lights come on,” Bill confirms. “A great view of the night skies from up here.”
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two houses if you count the place we’ve had in the mountains for over 30 years — we’d also collected all sort of household stuff we just no longer needed or wanted,” Penny says, explaining that the move to their new 3,000-square-foot abode forced the couple to be more selective about the things they would bring with them. Some of the items, she says, “were old and treasured things we couldn’t be without. Other things are new. My taste tends to be more contemporary, Bill’s far more traditional. It’s been a great new adventure for us both, blending the old and new — a little like being newlyweds with their first apartment again.” A Charlotte-based designer, who recently decorated Winston’s Old Town Club, consulted in the very early stages of the apartment’s evolution from four different smaller apartments into one large one with two bedrooms, five baths and personal dressing/study rooms for each Spry, including an engagingly artsy west-facing space that serves as a library. The Sprys wanted to incorporate their own art and their treasured Steinway into the design, however, so they moved in a direction inspired by Jean-Louis Deniot. Penny and Bill were enamored with the clean and eclectic design concepts of the French designer as a way of fusing their individual tastes in furnishings and artwork with the historic legacy of their new home, down to the smallest detail. Here stands an Art Deco lamp that came from the Empire State Building. There lie two trays made from a pair of golden tobacco leaves, an Aubusson rug and glasswork by Dale Chihuly. One end of the living room is anchored by a striking pair of dramatic bronze figures — the soaring torsos of a mythic Adam and Eve — by acclaimed sculptor Frederick Hart, who among other things did the Creation Sculptures at Washington’s National Cathedral. Acquired many years ago, the monumental pieces made their journey up from the couple’s former Banbury Road house. Adjoining walls, meanwhile, host several dramatic pieces by contemporary artists, a Picasso, as well as original works by Pissarro in the entrance foyer — right next to the antique brass mail shoot box salvaged from the building by a friend when Philadelphia-based PMC Property Group was in the process of renovating the Reynolds property. “It’s a juxtaposition of styles that seems to work beautifully for us,” says thoroughly modern Penny. “But Bill even got his fireplace.” Indeed, looking as if it’s been there since the salad days of Richard
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Joshua Reynolds himself, stands a handsome stone fireplace with a trompe l’oeil interior that is so convincing a triple take is required in order to discern that the eye has been fooled. The fireplace mantel came from a historic salvage company. But that isn’t all the couple artfully managed to salvage. A gorgeous “painting” of an American Colonial scene fills almost an entire wall in their modest but elegantly contemporary kitchen — “It’s an hors d’oeuvres kitchen,” quips Penny. “I’m a terrible cook, but I make a mean hors d’oeuvres tray. Besides, we have a fantastic restaurant, The Katharine, right downstairs and a city full of great restaurants in every direction!” The “painting” turns out to be a salvaged section of panoramic woodblocked, hand-painted wallpaper from the building’s former corporate dining room just one floor up. But not just any old iconic wallpaper. You can see the same rare scenes in photos of the White House’s Diplomatic Reception Room that First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy used to great public acclaim in 1961 when she spent $12,000 on handmade French wallpaper depicting historic “Views of North America” in order to brighten up the drab public spaces of the presidential residence. The costly wallpaper was made by the firm of Jean Zuber, a company founded a few years before the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, the world’s oldest luxury wall covering firm. “So here’s a funny story,” chips in Bill, picking up the threads of a tale of how four gorgeous pieces wound up in the hands of the Sprys.
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Once the couple had decided to take four different apartments and meld them into one with three different views, they were chatting with one of the landlord’s foremen, who invited them upstairs to see the former boardroom and dining room used by Reynolds executives during the peak years of the company’s life. “We see these workmen tearing this amazing wallpaper off the wall and Penny, aghast, asks them what they are going to do with it.” “Throw it away,” came the answer with something of a Gallic shrug. “Can we buy it?” Penny asked, energized as always. “Buy it? Heck, we’ll give it to you.” The problem was the plaster — 4 inches of it that came fused with each removed section of wallpaper. The weight of the sections made framing and hanging them problematic until the plaster was painstakingly removed. Bill Spry explains the ornate wall covering’s origin. “Unbeknown to us at the time, but as we discovered later, the wallpaper was put there after the breakup of Reynolds in 1986, when F. Ross Johnson moved the company headquarters to Atlanta. Ed Horrigan, CEO and chairman of the board of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company when it was a division of RJR Nabisco, chose to stay in this building and decided to have the boardroom and dining room upstairs redecorated. That cost was about $38,000 back in 1986 — or, in today’s terms, about $80,000.” He pauses and adds with a wry smile, “We had no idea of the value of the paper. We valued it for historic reasons. However, we essenWinter 2017
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tially cut up $80,000 worth of wallpaper just to get four pictures.” The Sprys even made a special gift of one of the “Views of America” to a friend on the occasion of his birthday in the old company’s former executive boardroom, now an event space made available to the building’s residents. Their friend’s father had been CEO of Reynolds Tobacco at one time. “He cried. We cried. Everyone cried,” recounts Penny. “That’s how much this building meant to him — what a family affair it once was to many people in this city.” It’s that same newly awakening city they see out three sides of their splendid aerie — including a swell south view of the Wells Fargo building and Old Salem — that dazzles their friends and neighbors who come calling just to see the vista. “It’s easy to be blown away by the light and views up here,” confirms Penny, who says the mobility their apartment provides may be the coolest thing of all. Bill can now walk four blocks to his job, his youngest son having recently joined him at the investment firm. “Our other kids are pretty far-flung, and we love to go to Florida for a break every winter. We’ll all still gather during the holidays and summers in the mountains. But now Bill and I can be so much more mobile, can just pick up and go with much more ease.” “But why would we want to do that when we have all of this?” Bill thoughtfully adds, pointing to the distant Blue Ridge Mountains, where the sun has just sunk below the horizon. Soon it will be stars and city lights, another kind of dazzling light show from the 19th floor. h
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Jim Dodson has his own splendid aerie overlooking the Japanese garden of his Starmount home in Greensboro. Winter 2017
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Ghosts of
Christmas Past Meet the other — and otherworldly — Adams family, namesake of High Point’s Historic Adams Inn By Cynthia Adams Photographs by Amy Freeman
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art Christmas story, part ghost story, this tale centers on a magnificent High Point home that is nearly a century old. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Adams Inn is a place so spooky that real live ghostbusters once paid a visit and filmed the spectral activity in the attic. Mena Parrish, the longtime resident manager, says paranormal investigators videotaped a vortex in the attic space where spirits of children reportedly frolic. But more important than a few harmless ghosts, the inn’s real story is a love letter to preservationists. The gloriously appointed mansion shines during the holidays. Visits with Santa (even Scrooge) and open carriage rides make for a scene only Norman Rockwell could imagine. Decked out in all manner of beautiful bits and bobs, the inn sparkles, twinkles and dazzles . . . and delights visitors far more than its naughty ghosts scare them. Winter 2017
I
t might have been razed. Set in a desirable district with commercial creep, the former home of one of the state’s hosiery titans no doubt caught the eye of developers ready to jump in with bags of cash for just such a property. But not this one. This one survived the wrecking ball. Now the Adams Inn enjoys a vital fourth act. Its namesake, John Hampton Adams, a pioneer in High Point’s textile industry, couldn’t have guessed its fate when it was completed in 1918. How could he have foreseen that its rooms would one day entertain hundreds of guests — and occasional spectral visitors who go bump in the night? Elizabeth House, adjacent to the inn, is home to Mena Parrish. The properties offer an elegant glimpse into High Point’s past, even a few ghosts of Christmases past. Winter 2017
First, a bit of history. A century ago, the city was a furniture mecca, drawing manufacturers. Adams had relocated to High Point from South Carolina in partnership with James Henry Millis. They created Adams Millis Corporation, among the largest hosiery manufacturers. Blocks away from the Adams address was a new five-story Bank of Commerce building — considered a skyscraper at the time. The local newspaper once carried an account of how a “human spider” scaled the bank, thrilling onlookers. The Italian Renaissance Revival home “Hamp” Adams built was a standout that eventually became a landmark. Designed by architect Charles Hartmann, (who also designed Greensboro’s Jefferson Standard Building) the home featured a pastel stuccoed exterior and distinctive tiled roof. Inside there was plenty of eye candy: a grand staircase, an SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 51
impressive entry hall, and all the marble and interior finishes and flourishes of the era: soaring ceilings, high-sheen floors and ornate fireplaces. There were other special touches, including a library, music room and light-bathed sunroom, as well as a spacious kitchen and other comforts of the day. The residence included servants’ quarters, numerous bathrooms and a two-bay garage. It also featured a secret door and vault for stashing silver and valuables, bearing the Adams name on the vault door. Adams remained there for 13 years along with his wife, Elizabeth, and daughters Elizabeth and Nell. In 1931, the Adamses moved to a new Tudor home called Adamsleigh in Greensboro’s Sedgefield neighborhood. Adamsleigh was considered the Gate City’s grandest home. Its private and expansive grounds included a pond, gardens and a caretaker’s cottage. “Adamsleigh is four to five times bigger,” says Parrish, adding that the family remained at the estate until Hampton’s death in 1939.
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Meanwhile, back in High Point, the mansion at 1108 North Main entered a curious chapter. According to Parrish, it was rented by an Adams-Millis employee, but the Adams heirs donated it to the High Point YMCA. For many years, the grande dame served as the Y headquarters — a peculiarly challenging fit for an organization whose mission is centered on youth. When the YMCA relocated in 1961, the house, acquired by mortician Harold C. Davis, entered a curious third act. Davis received a funeral service license in 1948. At age 25, he founded the Harold C. Davis Funeral Home two years later. As a funeral home, the mansion housed both the living and the dead, with Davis’s private residence inside the mortuary. This was not an uncommon practice for morticians. As Kim Waters, daughter of a mortician explains, it was practical. Waters grew up above a mortuary in a grand antebellum home. (Few friends Winter 2017
came for play dates.) Funeral homes often operated local ambulance services, pressing both hearses and morticians into double duty. Waters was schooled to answer the phone appropriately, depending upon the need. In emergencies, her father slapped a siren atop the hearse, and off he’d go to an accident scene. The Davis children also grew up in rooms above the mortuary. According to Parrish, “they lived upstairs in what is now the inn’s Kincaid suite.” After Davis shed his own mortal coil in 1997 at age 72, the funeral home relocated and the grand house languished. Empty for two years, preservationists worried about its fate. In 2000, Act Four began, with the mansion’s acquisition and a much-needed rejuvenation. The Adams family home was repurposed as a historic inn, catering to guests who booked repeatedly during furniture and fabric markets, and special events. But even when there’s no occupancy, the inn is occupied. Just ask Parrish Winter 2017
and the staff, who made a comfortable peace with the other guests — from the other side. Some of the ghosts are pranksters; others are perpetual children who only wish to play in the former attic playroom. Some are restless cigar aficionados, just like “Hamp” Adams.
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y 2001, the transformation of the former residence/YMCA headquarters/funeral home into a 31-room inn had been completed. The JH Adams Inn, according to the new owners and innkeepers, incorporated the Hampton home as its heart. A.B. Henly and Robert Blakely, who initially bought and refurbished the Adams home, sold it to Don Angell. At his father’s death, son Gray Angell and his wife, Cristina, became the current owners. “Gray was not in the hotel business before purchasing the inn,” says Parrish. It has become a muchloved legacy property for the Angells. They made improvements and additions, SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 53
further expanding the property by acquiring the Elizabeth House, also on Main Street and adjacent to the inn. The revival of the mansion thrilled High Point as well as the next generation Grays. Come Christmas, the staff spends days decking the halls and prepping for an open house event that includes a Santa Claus on, site and carriage rides — all for free. An eerily appropriate Scrooge even appears in a nod to the popular Christmas ghost tale! The ghosts of Christmases past at the inn are an assorted lot. Conjecture is they include former residents, even the original owner himself. The inn’s ghostly activity inspired its own chapter in Ghosts of the Triad: Tales from the Haunted Heart of the Piedmont, by Michael Renegar and Amy Spease. Mena Parrish explains that she was once invited to buy the inn while she was the manager, living offsite with her husband, Dee, and two daughters in a century-old home two blocks away.
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One early evening six years ago, Parrish received a panicked call from an inn employee working the front desk. He told her that the lobby was filled with smoke. “No fire. It didn’t smell of smoke. It was more like an odorless fog.” When she arrived mere minutes later, it had vanished. The smoke had evaporated. The (sober and reliable) employee was baffled, but Parrish didn’t doubt his version of events. Later, psychics and sensitives said this sort of foglike apparition was commonplace when spirits gathered. Parrish was eventually coaxed to take permanent residence at the inn, given her long hours. “Often I didn’t go outside all day long,” she says. For four years, Parrish and her family lived in the original maid’s quarters before moving to Elizabeth House. Here she had her first brush with the paranormal during a routine evening. She describes a ghostly visit “from a gentleman that I think worked for the Adamses.” Parrish was sound asleep in bed, Winter 2017
awakened by insistent poking of her cheek. It wasn’t a gentle jab but a forcible one. She demonstrates with a forefinger. Parrish muses that “a gentleman who worked for the Adams family passed away in my room.” Standing in her former apartment, Parrish relates another experience. “My husband had an encounter. The oven timer went on — he would cut it off, go back to bed and it would go off again.” The stove hadn’t been used that evening, nor had they ever used the timer. Accounts of the inn’s resident ghosts and sightings grew routine. Staff and guests reported harmless encounters with friendly ghosts. “A lady working in the kitchen said a man walked through the cooler and into the walls,” says Parrish. According to description, “he looked a lot like Mr. Adams.” One family lived at the inn for two years, taking upstairs accommodation in Winter 2017
original Adams family bedrooms. Their young daughter came to breakfast and announced, “‘A bald-headed man was standing at the foot of my bed last night,’” says Parrish. “And she pointed to the portrait of Mr. Adams and said, ‘He was in my room!’” The inn’s repeat visitors have reported nothing unusual. Except for one peculiar complaint. “We’ve had people complain that this is supposed to be a nonsmoking inn,” says Parrish. “We’d send someone up to investigate and nobody was smoking. But Mr. Adams, the rumor goes, would stand there upstairs and have a smoke.” From time to time, inn staff noted noises emanating from the attic, adjacent to the main living quarters of the Adams family. Finally, a few years ago, paranormal investigators conducted their own research, using infrared cameras and video equipment in the attic. Detecting SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 55
“a vortex,” the sensitives recorded what appeared to be children playing. The attic was where the Adams children once played, and Parrish cannot account for its other uses.
T
oday, the mansion has the aura of a well-loved, polished and posh landmark property. The Parrish family remains in spacious quarters upstairs at Elizabeth House. Downstairs, Elizabeth House holds special events and private dinners. Parrish is a hardworking, contented fixture at the inn, which became a huge aspect of her life over the past decade. She is a self-taught designer, who ran a busy design business “before I fell into hotel management.” Her mother is a clothing designer. And she is a self-described “Christmas freak.” “I did a lot of home designs at Christmas and always decorated my house early.” Her lighthearted personality banishes any thought of ghosts — Parrish decorates with vigor, joined by a team of helpers. She enlists three or four people, “including the inn chef’s wife, Amanda, who also loves to decorate. The souschef, Mary, also loves to decorate.” The team festoons the inn immediately after Thanksgiving. “It takes three days . . . I used to have four Christmas trees!” They don’t stop until all of the property, including the courtyard and exteriors, are bedecked with cheer. “We decorate the Elizabeth House too.” As for her private quarters at Elizabeth House, Parrish starts even sooner, adorning her rooms a week after Halloween or early November. An entire
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room of the Parrish apartment is dedicated to gift-wrapping and decorations. She smiles gleefully while talking about the process of making things merry. Parrish extends the season as long as possible. “It takes me a long time to take it down because I don’t want to take it down . . . I leave it up until the Epiphany!” In the family’s inviting private quarters, Parrish uses traditional greenery along with lively splashes of red and green. She combines cozy displays of special family memorabilia. Dishes of colorful gumdrops along with stockings hung with care on the mantel combine for seasonal charm. She is expert at creating a homey sense of comfort. Parrish marvels at how well it works. “I love it here,” she says. The family rescues, Jack Russell and Pomeranian mix dogs, putter through the Parrish home, which is decorated with antiques dressed in a traditional mix of stripes and prints. Even the dogs’ beds are coordinated. “I have dog beds everywhere,” Parrish admits with a grin. On the last day of the annual holiday decorating marathon, the final flourish, swags of fresh greenery, go up at Adams Inn and Elizabeth House. All visible exteriors are festooned. Everybody seems to respect the holidays, Parrish jokes, and the only spirits to be found are in the bar downstairs at the inn. For teetotalers, the inn serves a proper English tea Monday through Friday, called “tea and teddy bears.” Winter 2017
“On the first Saturday in December, Santa comes to the inn and the High Point Uptown Stroll takes place,” Parrish says, an event that features carolers, performances and vendors, even a petting zoo. “We’ll have milk and cookies, hot chocolate and carriage rides. Scrooge usually comes and makes an appearance, too.” Despite the ghostly goings-on at the inn, the staff feels nothing so much as holiday cheer and good fortune. “We’ve never been rained out for the holiday open house!” Parrish says, adding they once had a welcome snow occur. “Between 2,500 and 5,000 come to the inn!” Last year, thousands waited to greet Santa or take a carriage ride. “There are lines down the street!” Visitors want to be inspired by the Christmas cheer, and just come to enjoy the inn, Parrish says. She displays a Santa collection throughout, keeping a few in her own quarters. The collection, formerly owned by her friend Mary Wood, includes rare ones that even sport real mink. By December 24, Parrish turns to her own guests, preparing a large family event that she cooks and caters herself. She is of Italian descent, and pulls out all the stops. “So we do a big Italian Christmas Eve, with four kinds of pasta, meatballs, and eggplant Parmigiana, with what Italians call ‘gravy,’” slang for sauce. She hosts 25 family members for dinner, gathering downstairs in dining area of the Elizabeth house, taking rare advantage of having full run of the place. “I can’t imagine not being here,” says Parrish, who genuinely loves living next door to the inn. She praises the Angell family as wonderful stewards, adding, “And I get to put a coat on to go to work!” It is mere steps from her apartment to the office in the former sunroom of the Adams house, but a healthy separation from work. Her husband, Dee, has finally adjusted to relaxing Saturday mornings versus his old habit of grabbing a leaf blower for daylong yard work. Sometimes, the couple escapes to their High Rock Lake home, for a “close and easy” getaway. It happens that this golden afternoon is their wedding anniversary. Dee pops in as Parrish discusses original features of the inn. Giving her a quick peck on the cheek, he darts back to work. The two may start their celebration with a toast at Cristina Gray’s, the inn’s restaurant and bar. This December will mark two years’ residency in their newest quarters inside Elizabeth House, where the Parrishes report being happy. Not all spirits are unhappy, they insist. Something remains at the Adams House Inn of those who once lived, worked or rested here, infusing a fine old mansion with the finer warmth of a family home. Cynthia Adams is a contributing editor to O.Henry magazine. The Adams family live with the pleasant spirits of the original owners of their Latham Park home. h Winter 2017
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58 SEASONS •
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Fire
& Ice
A blaze on the patio brings folks together and takes the edge off winter’s chill By Noah Salt • Photographs by Amy Freeman
T
he poet Robert Frost famously wondered whether the world would end in fire or in ice. That remains to be seen, but in the meantime, a warm patio fire on a chilly afternoon or starry evening just might be the perfect ending to a short winter’s day. For reference, consider the fire-loving Hazel family of Greensboro or the Goldmans of High Point, both of whom regard a combination of fire and ice to be the ideal way to bring family and friends together. “We built our outdoor fireplace two years ago,” explains Lisa Hazel, of Greensboro. “And it’s been in steady use ever since. Everyone in the family loves it — even our cat, Peanut.” A dozen years ago, she relates, the Hazels inherited a backyard in New Irving Park with a small stamped concrete pad and a space where a tennis court had formerly existed. “We’re a fairly outdoor family — all three of our kids play sports — and my husband, Rodney, and I wanted something that could let us all be outside together.” The solution was a rustic stone fireplace area with an in-ground hot tub, a design Hazel, a nurse at High Point Regional Hospital, and Rodney, an agent for Tyler, Redhead & McAlister, developed on their own by consulting design magazines and scoping similar outdoor fireplaces in the neighborhood. They sought the expertise of the aptly named Andy Sparks of 3rd Generation Sparks Masonry, who took their ideas and transformed the backyard into the ideal gathering spot. Their renovated patio features a handsome bluestone floor framed by a semi-circular stone wall and a dramatic fireplace made from rugged mountain stone and a decorative flourish in the form of a distinctive “H.” Comfy outdoor furniture and an oval ottoman are invitations for hours of firegazing “From the first day we used it in the late autumn two years ago, that became everyone’s favorite place,” says Lisa Hazel. “Our daughter has had birthday parties around the hot tub and the fireplace is used all the time in the colder months, especially winter. Everyone was just home for the Thanksgiving holiday and it will be much in demand the same way at Christmas. “The fire is a magnet for our family and the neighbors. We often eat dinner out there under the stars. The other night, we watched a satellite go by. So much fun.” She notes that husband Rodney is adept at finding wood in the neighborhood and even taught their three children, Spencer, Morgan and Parker, the proper way to split wood with an ax. “He now owns a wood splitter that he shares with the neighbors,” she adds. “But he still has the kids sometimes gather sticks for kindling. We all participate.”
Winter 2017
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I
n the case of talented High Point designer Stephanie Goldman and husband, Michael, a private label furniture maker, the home fires burn gorgeously in a large iron cauldron that contrasts beautifully with their sleek, mid-century Emerywood home, serving as the focal point of a stunning glass house that wraps around three sides of their patio. “One of our favorite things to do, especially on a cold clear night, is turn on the lights of our glass house and sit around the fire making s’mores with the kids (they also have three, ages 16 to 23) and drinking wine with friends,” says Stephanie, who owns Allen and James Interior Design on North Main in High Point. “For our family an outdoor fireplace is a perfect way to slow down and take our busy lives out of doors — it’s really an extension of our house. It’s also a great place to just sit and talk to your children, so relaxed and romantic . . . everyone feels at ease. We recently celebrated three birthdays this month out there by the fire.” The elements of stone, teak and steel come together splendidly to make the seating areas of the fire pit area even more beguiling. Their private gathering area was created by Outer Space Inc., one of the Triad’s leading landscape design firms, and includes a greenhouse at the rear of the property. “Outdoor fireplces are very popular for good reason. I hear more and more from our customers about their desire to spend greater quality time with family, especially out of doors,” Stephanie notes. “People are focusing on their homes these days because we all work so hard and travel, and it’s important to have a place that makes you slow down and feel safe. An outdoor fire is magical, a great place to entertain or simply bring everyone together at the end of the day to sit and talk and be together. We bought a glass house because we wanted to feel like we were living in the natural elements. Our patio fire is really my peace haven.” h
60 SEASONS •
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Winter 2017
SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 61
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PHOTO COURTESY OF BILL BLAIR JR.
LIFE&HOME
THE ARCHITECT’S SON
Tunnel Vision Revisiting High Point’s racing past By Peter Freeman
T
he Freeman clan is known to wax enthusiastically over family tales and encounters, especially when my Uncle George is the raconteur. Spirited at nearly 86, he continues to regale us with stories about family characters, assorted accomplishments, and growing up in North Carolina and in High Point in days gone by. Like my father, Bill, and grandfather Pete, George is a photography buff and has held on to an assortment of family film and paraphernalia. During a visit earlier this year, the conversation turned to the contents of an old box of 8mm movies that had been shot by my grandfather. George could see from the expression on my face that one particular reel marked “High Point Speedway” had caught my fancy. I had been designing concepts for the Petty Family Racing Museum in Level Cross at the time, and the stock car racing history of the Piedmont was fresh on my mind. “Pete,” my uncle said, “that one has your dad and me tagging along with our father at the High Point racetrack. Boy, was it dusty,” he recalled. That despite the fact that the raceway was billed as being dustless. “You’re not going to believe this, but as far as I can tell it was the first racetrack to have a tunnel to the Winter 2017
infield, and . . . it was designed by your granddad.” This last remark really captured my attention, and I swelled with familial pride to hear George describe the arena as “big and fast,” and in the eyes of some, “the finest raceway outside of Indianapolis.” After some discussion, my family decided to have the old films converted to digital files. Sadly, time had taken its toll on the brittle film, and no images were recovered on the speedway reel. The possibilities for spreading the story of the speedway and the city’s place in racing history seemed lost and hard to shake. To my delight, the industrious staff of the High Point Museum had already taken up the thread. With the service of Bill Blair Jr., the son of driver Bill Blair Sr., the museum launched its exhibit “When Racing Was Racing” in July. Blair Sr. was one of the two brothers who built and owned the TriCity Speedway, a half-mile oval located beside the mile-long High Point Speedway my grandfather designed. The exhibit focused on the early days of stock-car racing in and around High Point. Using photographs and memorabilia belonging to Blair Jr., the retrospective celebrated the personalities of the city’s racing past — Blair Sr., and other local heroes such as Fred Harb, SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 63
Bob Welborn, Jimmie Lewallen, Ken Rush and Jim Paschal. But the High Point and Tri-City dirt tracks represented a clear vision for the city’s future. Right in front of me was a photograph of the tunnel to the infield, the innovative design that had sprung from my grandfather’s imagination. I believe it may have been the first of its kind. This format would be widely imitated, creating new possibilities for future raceways. With grandstand seating for 10,000 spectators and parking for close to 50,000 cars, the High Point Speedway was state-of-the-art, according to Bill Blair Jr.’s account: The High Point Speedway was a one mile dirt oval billed as the fastest stock car track in the nation. It was completed in 1940. The only race that year featured open wheel Indy type cars. The first stock-car race was run on Sunday, May 11, 1941. Before the race, officials dumped several hundred pounds of calcium chloride on the surface, which was meant to give the cars better grip and also to hold down dust. The track was emblematic of broader possibilities: At the time, High Point was front-and-center to a blossoming racing scene that would eventually become the $3 billion industry it is today. But, as it always seems to, history intervened. The urgent, national focus on World War II necessitating gasoline and tire rationing put speedway racing on hold. The cost of the tracks’ upkeep led to their eventual sale and dismantling. The economic promise of High Point’s place in the racing industry went unmet. But all is not lost to time: On August 26, with much fanfare, a historic marker was unveiled during the exhibit’s run. Today it stands near the tracks’ location at Johnson Street and Scarlett Drive, a fitting symbol of the rich racing
PHOTOGRAPH FROM THE HIGH POINT HISTORICAL SOCIETY
LIFE&HOME
heritage of the Piedmont Triad, a glimpse at what might have been, and testament to a city perennially eyeing the next opportunity on the horizon. h Peter Freeman is a third generation design professional in High Point.
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LIFE&HOME
SEASON TO TASTE
Pot Luck
On a cold winter’s night, wrap your hands around a bowl of a hearty stew, a go-to sustenance of the South for centuries By Jane Lear • Illustration by Laurel Holden
A It’s difficult to separate stews from bogs, burgoos, chowders, gumbos, hashes, muddles, mulls and purloos, and frankly, I don’t want to even try.
66 SEASONS •
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stew, with its deep, soulful flavor and intoxicating aroma, is a stellar example of what can happen when household economy meets benign neglect. Often using as its main ingredient an inexpensive cut of meat, a stew is perfectly comfortable on a back burner while you tend to other things. It offers comfort and satisfaction, makes a great party dish since it’s at its best when prepared ahead, and ranges from homey (chicken and dumplings) to haute (boeuf bourguignon). The term stew, by the way, generally refers to a mixture simmered until it makes its own thick sauce. The technique is an unhurried, transformative one resulting in a spoon-friendly meal that is far more than the sum of its parts. Beyond that, though, things get murky. It’s difficult to separate stews from bogs, burgoos, chowders, gumbos, hashes, muddles, mulls and purloos, and frankly, I don’t want to even try. What distinguishes them all in my book is that they are thoughtful, unpretentious and highly adaptable to seasonal ingredients or the contents of your larder. And given our increased appetite for global flavors, the Persian chicken stew called fesenjan (with walnuts and pomegranate seeds), a Mexican posole (pork, hominy and chiles), a Moroccan tagine (lamb, prunes and apricots), or a Brazilian feijoada (black beans, bacon and chorizo) are well within the reach of any home cook with access to a good supermarket. One of the most famous Southern contributions to the genre is Brunswick stew. The standard line is that it originated in Brunswick County, Virginia, on a hunting trip in 1828, when Dr. Creed Haskins’s black camp cook, Jimmy Matthews, made a squirrel stew bolstered with onions, stale bread and seasonings. This provenance is hotly debated among aficionados in Brunswick County, Georgia, and Brunswick County, North Carolina. And let’s face it, it seems reasonable to presume that Native Americans in the region were concocting stews of wild game long before anyone else arrived on the scene. “In that sense,” writes John Egerton in his masterful Southern Food: At
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Home, on the Road, in History, “there was Brunswick stew before there was a Brunswick.” These days, the squirrel in Brunswick stew has been displaced by chicken or other domesticated meats, and additions include a highly peppered mélange of vegetables such as onions, potatoes, tomatoes, butter beans and corn. I tend to prefer it with rabbit or chicken, and even though the meat is traditionally shredded into long strands, keeping it in bite-size chunks makes a nice contrast with the tender vegetables. There are many other renowned stews to be found in the South, including the burgoo of Kentucky (similar to Brunswick, the concoction is unique in its use of mutton or lamb); the terrapin stew of Maryland and the Eastern Shore of Virginia; oyster stew, which you’ll find all along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts; and Pine Bark Stew, which is said to have originated along the Pee Dee River near Florence, South Carolina, in the 1700s. The true origin of the name is lost in the mists of time — there are as many hypotheses as there are recipes — but the dark brown stew incorporates freshwater fish such as bass, trout or bream into a flavorful slurry of bacon, potatoes, onions, tomatoes (sometimes in the form of canned soup and/or catsup) and often curry powder. And then there is the Frogmore stew of South Carolina and Georgia. Named after an old sea island settlement and sometimes called Beaufort stew or Lowcountry boil, this crowdpleasing jumble of shrimp, spicy smoked link sausage, corn on the cob, and often crab and potatoes is at home anywhere on the southeast Atlantic coast. Frogmore stew is eaten differently than other stews: After the ingredients are boiled, they’re drained before being heaped on a large platter and typically served outside on newspaper-covered tables, with an abundant supply of beer and wine. In other words, what’s not to love? A favorite stew of mine is one that does not have a Southern provenance, but it sure is good, and can be easily cobbled together for a weeknight supper or casual evening with friends. The star of the show is escarole, a type of endive that at first Winter 2017
LIFE&HOME glance looks much like a loose head of lettuce. Although the leaves turn a bit drab in color when cooked, don’t let that deter you. They also become supple and succulent, and their pleasant bitterness plays beautifully with two humble, often unsung ingredients: white beans and Italian sausage. This stew is a happy reminder that the word thrift is often a synonym for delicious. And if you’ve been wanting to incorporate more beans and greens into your diet, it’s a great place to start.
3 cups chicken broth 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into a few pieces 1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for sprinkling over finished stew 2 plum tomatoes, diced 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley Coarse salt and freshly ground fresh pepper
Escarole, White Bean and Sausage Stew
Heat the oil in a deep large skillet or other heavy wide pot over moderately high heat until hot. Brown the sausage, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, then cook, stirring, just until garlic is softened, a minute or so. Add the escarole and cook, turning with tongs, until wilted. (You can add the escarole in batches if necessary, depending on the size and depth of your pot.) Add the beans and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add the broth and bring to a gentle boil. (You can make the stew ahead up to this point. Let it cool completely, uncovered, before refrigerating, covered. Then reheat before continuing.) Stir in the butter, tomatoes and about half the parsley, then cook, stirring, until the butter is melted and the stew is hot. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the stew into warmed bowls and sprinkle with remaining parsley. Serve with olive oil and Parmesan. h
Serves 4 to 6 (the recipe can easily be doubled)
Like so much of my culinary repertoire, this stew hearkens back to my years at Gourmet magazine, where it was a staff favorite. The recipe was originally from American Brasserie, a cookbook by Chicago chefs Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand, and the only embellishments you need are a loaf of crusty bread and, for after, a crunchy green salad. If I can’t find escarole for some reason, I stir in leftover cooked kale, collards or other pot greens. And although diced plum tomatoes add freshness, color and a hit of acidity, if you can’t find good ones, then leave them out. If you’re fortunate enough to have leftovers, a spoonful or two makes a good topping for crostini. 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling over finished stew 1 pound bulk Italian sausage (sweet and/or hot), broken into bite-size pieces About 5 large garlic cloves, minced 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste 1 head escarole, washed, trimmed, and cut into 2-inch pieces 3 cups cooked or canned white beans such as great northern or navy (drained and rinsed if canned)
Jane Lear is a food and travel writer based in New York City and on the North Fork of Long Island. The former senior articles editor at Gourmet and features director at Martha Stewart Living, she’s written for numerous magazines, newspapers, and other publications. Although she’s lived up North for 30-odd years, there are some relatives in Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia who believe she is still going through a phase after college.
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RITUALS OF THE SEASON
Pining for Christmas In search of the perfect evergreen By Nancy Oakley • Photographs by Amy Freeman
W
here to start? With garlands of gold stars? Or the heavy wooden nutcracker and assorted animal figures hanging from the bottom branches? I opt for the treasured, fragile molded-glass ornaments, a sun and a moon with serene painted faces, and an old-fashioned St. Nicholas in splendid white robes. The next to come down are other glass figures: Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob and Tiny Tim Cratchit and Marley’s Ghost, gifts from my sisters a few Christmases back; and the old-fashioned policeman that my mother gave me, a replica of one that hung on her father’s tree. As I remove each hook, a shower of needles falls from the spindly Fraser fir that has borne these shiny baubles for the last month, and the aroma of ripe pine transports me to a sunny November afternoon with friends, all of us wandering on a mountainside near Roaring Gap in search of the perfect evergreens to ring in the holiday season . . . The Marthas, as I sometimes call my friends Missie and Sherrie, not only because of their enthusiasm for all things
Winter 2017
Martha Stewart, but also their ability to beautify any space, are experts at Christmas tree hunting. For them, only trees direct from Western N.C. farms will do. “You never know how long a tree’s been sitting out if it’s on a lot,” Sherrie says. “They’re not tied up. And they’re less expensive. Maybe it all adds up after you do all the driving, but it’s worth it.” “You can cut it right when you pick it,” Missie adds. The Marthas have been making the annual pilgrimage to the mountains since their children were infants. “The first year that we did it,” says Sherrie, “Jake (Sherrie’s elder son, now a teenager) was a baby, and Curren (Missie’s college-age son) fell asleep on the way home with a passie in his mouth,” as we barrel west out of Winston-Salem. Their dogs, a golden retriever and a golden doodle, crowd around my feet in the backseat. “We never invite the men,” Missie says of her husband, Jim and Sherrie’s husband, David. “Because we always get trees that are too big and they complain.” Missie’s cellphone rings. “Where are you?” she asks. It is her daughter Anna, 22, navigating as Curren follows, with Jake and his 12-year-old brother, Bouldin, in tow. “Get off on 40 and 421,” SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 69
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she commands. “Is it 40 or 421?” Sherrie asks. “I always forget.” “40 to 77 on up,” Missie says, and then picks up the thread of reminiscing about past excursions. “I just remember eating lunch on the tractor.” “Edna’s,” Sherrie recalls. “It was wonderful. Run by a sweet old couple. They served hot dogs. Then their trees went through a lull. Then we found another farm. They had hayrides. Then that one went through a lull.” That’s how it goes with the growing cycles of the various tree farms in the Carolina mountains, and the Marthas have developed a sixth sense at sussing out the ones with the freshest trees year after year. “Then there was the year Jim told my mother to shove the tree — ” “That was Sparta,” Sherrie cuts her off, explaining that was also the first year their parents, aka, “the Seniors,” started accompanying them. “Last year, it was just me, Missie and Pappy,” she says, remembering Missie’s dad, who died earlier in the year; her own father and stepmother preceded him a few years prior. Only the Marthas’ mothers are left; they prefer to skip the tree-hunt this year. “Last year we went to Maines,” Missie says, referring to Maines Choose and Cut Christmas Tree Farm. “It was cold, it was rainy,” Sherrie picks up the thread. “The place we’d been going to for years, the trees looked dead.” “It was the last stop,” says Missie. One of the tenets of Martha-dom: Never give up. As the Piedmont’s fallow fields and russet hardwoods begin to give way to higher elevations, the talk turns to the trees proper. “I’m getting a tree for the basement, a tree for the living room. I’m contemplating getting a tree for the urn out front,” Sherrie reflects. “I thought it would be pretty to see the lights from the inside.” “I’m not doing a tree,” Missie says emphatically. Empty-nesters, she and Jim have recently downsized to a downtown condo after selling their house with the tiny servant’s cottage that I rented from them for years. Anna and I are now neighbors in another old West End house divided into apartments that Missie’s family bought years ago and have continuously rented. “I’m in charge of Christmas this year,” Anna proudly told me over a glass of wine in an earlier conversation. “I’m going to put the tree right here in this corner,” she said, pointing to a space in her dining room with the 12-foot ceiling. We take a detour through Jonesville, passing antique dealers, general stores, the Bible Baptist Church, before returning to the Interstate. After the Stone Mountain State Park exit, we turn off on the next exit toward Roaring Gap and Sparta. “I forgot to bring rope,” Sherrie says “I never bring rope,” says Missie, who starts reeling off her list. “I’ll get a 10-footer for my mom, another for Anna. Nanz, what about you?” I pause for moment, because I hadn’t given much thought to the size of a tree. When I lived in the tiny cottage where space was minimal, it was a nobrainer: either a 5-footer or a tabletop. My elegant, 12-foot ceilings, like Anna’s, would dwarf a tree that size. But then, thought of climbing up and down a stepladder to decorate a 10-footer was daunting. “Maybe a 6-foot tree?” I say. “I’m getting two 7-footers and a 5-footer,” says Sherrie, as we slowly wind up the curving roads of Alleghany County, where a slight haze from the fall wildWinter 2017
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LIFE&HOME fires still hangs in the air. Legions of cars and vans, firs strapped to their roofs, are descending the mountain. “I’m starting to feel guilty about not getting one,” Missie says. “You could get a little one,” I suggest, knowing that she could spin her Martha Magic to make a tree of any size look spectacular. After the entrance to Old Beau, Sherrie hangs a left onto a side road, and there it is: Maines Choose and Cut Christmas Tree Farm. The golden lets out an excited bark at the sight of cows grazing on a sunny pasture, which gives way to row upon row of triangular evergreens. The driveway leads to a clearing, where dozens of cars, vans and pickups are parked in back of two small sheds. Crowds of families with small children, older couples wearing Christmas-themed sweatshirts, college kids in down vests and boots mill about sipping hot chocolate and downing Oreos. More folks traipse up and down the slopes between rows of trees, wielding long, white poles — measuring sticks for choosing trees of desired height to the soundtrack of buzzing chain saws. Anna and Curren and Jake and Bouldin have tumbled out and already retrieved a couple of poles, which the younger boys like to hold horizontally, and shake up and down, so the ends flap. “None shall pass!” Jake cries out, as he slams the end of one pole into the ground. “Sure thing, Gandalf,” I say. “Anyone want some gum?” Curren asks. He is the epitome of collegiate cool
in his wraparound shades. Bouldin runs up and grabs a piece. “Watch your step,” Missie cautions, pointing to the tree stumps on the ground, covered with hay and grass seed. “That’s quite a wind.” “It is a bit chilly,” I say. “It’s chilly,” says Curren. “It’s chilly,” Jake mimics him. “It’s chilly,” says Bouldin, keeping up with his big brother. “I think there’s an echo on this mountain,” I say, fumbling with the golden’s leash. He wags his tail while a fashionably dressed woman in a waxed Barbour jacket dotes on him. We split off into separate groups; I follow Missie and Anna to a patch of evergreens. “This one?” Missie suggests. “Mom! We don’t have the same taste!” says an irritated Anna. “I want this one. Big and tall.” “But it’ll take up the whole room.” “That’s the plan, Sam!” Sherrie moves about from one row to the next, her Martha radar quickly assessing each potential find. “Mom is picky about her trees now, Jake,” says Bouldin, as his older brother holds his wizard’s staff to measure a tall fir. Missie and I realize that most of the trees are, at the very least, 8 feet tall. “Do you have any smaller ones?” she asks a fellow passing by, carrying
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SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 73
LIFE&HOME a chain saw. “They’re few and far between,” he says. “But you might find some over by that apple tree,” he adds, pointing. We follow his direction, and out of the corner of my eye, I see it. It’s slimmer than the trees I’ve had in the past, and there are a few bare patches, but I don’t want something too fat or it won’t fit the space I’ve designated for it. I stop and look. “I like that little guy, too,” says Missie. “I’ll keep looking,” I say. “Don’t wander too far or somebody might nab it. You have to stay with it so the guy can cut it down,” she says. Who am I to ignore the advice of a Martha? I call Jake over to measure with the pole. “I dunno, Nanza,” he kids me. “This pole is strictly for shaking.” He then holds it up to the spindly tree. “Looks to be a little over 6 feet.” Soon comes the roar of the chain saw, and suddenly, before my feet is the tree that will usher in the Christmas season in a few days’ time. As I’m trying to visualize it with lights and ornaments dangling from its branches in the bright afternoon sunlight, I hear another blast from the chain saw. Missie has chosen a tree, after all. It is smaller, about 4 feet tall, and I can tell from the expression on her face that she’s uncertain where it will go in the condo. By now Sherrie has found her two 7-footers and the 5-footer for the outside stoop and we’re all waiting for Maines’ workers to load the trees onto the cars. Curren pulls around and after the trees are secured on the roof, Missie turns to me.
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“Holes!” She says. “We forgot to have them drill holes in the bottoms for the tree stands.” Later that evening, the oversight elicits smirks and knowing glances between the husbands, who meet us for drinks at the Tap back in Winston.
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LIFE&HOME
“I got three trees this year,” Sherrie tells David. “You’ll have to take a foot off of each one.” He looks over the top of his glasses at Jim and shakes his head. “They forgot to get holes drilled this year,” Jim says, taking a sip of his IPA.
M O N - S AT 1 0 A M -7 P M
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“I was good, though! I didn’t say anything.” He pauses. “But,” he adds with a wink, “If I’d been there, we wouldn’t have forgotten the holes.” How quickly days pass. . . As I remove the bare tree from the stand I chuckle about those holes. I need a laugh, for there’s something sad about taking down a Christmas tree. How for a month, the glory of the living room that once twinkled with lights and shiny glass works of art, will lie bare and forlorn on the street curb until it’s picked up. There is some comfort in the knowledge that the Marthas are going through a similar exercise: Missie divesting the red icicles and tiny pine cones and birds of her Charlie Brown tree; Anna plucking the giant candy canes off of her 10-footer, and the commemorative ornament of Reynolds Auditorium, a gift from her high school music teacher. At this very moment, Sherrie is unwinding handfuls of tinsel from Jake’s and Bouldin’s tree downstairs, strands and strands of white lights from her stunning living room tree and from the tiny tree outside, that, yes, looked beautiful when viewed through windows of her foyer. Unlike me, my friends are not sentimental about the winding down of the holiday. They are already potting paperwhites for winter, and planning the menu for New Year’s Eve. Because that’s what it takes to be a Martha. h Nancy Oakley is the senior editor of Seasons and its sister publication, O.Henry. Do you have a seasonal ritual? If so, we’d love to hear about it! - The editors
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SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 75
LIFE&HOME
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Winter’s Top 10
Gardening discussions, a seed swap, and some artful exhibits round out the season’s best offerings By Annie Ferguson
Frederic Church Exhibit
See wide-open spaces rendered on more than 50 massive canvases at Frederic Church: A Painter’s Pilgrimage, February 9–May 13. Reynolda House Museum of American Art, 2250 Reynolda Road, Winston-Salem. Tickets: reynoldahouse.org.
Seminars for Green Thumbs
Forget the North wind and snows and turn your attention to all things green with a series of free gardening discussions with topics including the planning of a three-season vegetable garden, proper pruning, “Totally Tomatoes,” and cultivating beautiful and sustainable lawns. January 8–April 26; dates vary; most start times are at 6:30 p.m. N.C. Cooperative Extension, Guilford County Division, Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch Library, 1420 Price Park Drive, Greensboro. Guilford.ces.ncsu.edu
Triad Home & Garden Show
The Triad’s original home and garden show is, well, a “home run,” with learning sessions, prizes and food trucks from local restaurants. A portion of the proceeds benefit Habitat for Humanity Forsyth. February 23–25, Winston-Salem Fairgrounds, Education Building. Free parking at Gate 5, 414 Deacon Blvd, Winston-Salem. Triadhomeandgardenshow.com
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New Year’s Eve Market
Get a jump on those New Year’s resolutions with the freshest of produce and other locally raised goodies — perfect for ringing in 2018 — at a New Year’s Eve Market. December 30, 7 a.m. – noon, Greensboro Farmers Curb Market, 501 Yanceyville St., Greensboro. Gsofarmersmarket.org
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LIFE&HOME
Annual Seed Swap
Slow Food Piedmont, with support from Old Salem Horticulture along with garden volunteers, holds this seed-swapping event for new and longtime heirloom seed growers. And what could go better with a swapand-share than a potluck lunch? January 20, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Old Salem Visitor Center, 900 Old Salem Road, Winston-Salem. Oldsalem.org/events/event/annual-seed-swap
Hidden Legacy Tour: AfricanAmerican Craftsmen in the South
Join curators and other experts from the Museum of Early Decorative Art for behind-the-scenes tours exploring the hidden legacy of enslaved and free AfricanAmerican craftsmen. Fridays in February, 2 p.m.–3 p.m., Tickets $20, Frank L. Horton Museum Center, 924 South Main St., Winston-Salem. Oldsalem.org/events/event/hidden-legacy-tour
Urban Archaeology: Proximity Print Works Tour
Preservation Greensboro’s 52nd Annual Meeting
Constructed in stages in the 1910s and 1920s, Proximity Print Works, the plant where Cone Mills’ fabrics were printed, is soon to be restored for a multi-use project including residential, restaurant and retail space. January 27. To reserve your spot on this limited-space tour, call Preservation Greensboro (336) 272-5003. 447 West Washington St., Greensboro. Preservationgreensboro.org/event
Learn more about the state of historic preservation in Greensboro at this meeting which also serves as Preservation Greensboro’s annual General Membership Meeting. The night includes tasty eats and the presentation of Preservation Awards. Check the website for forthcoming details. February 7, 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Greensboro. Preservationgreensboro.org/event
Replacements
Slow Gardening, North Carolina Style: Gardening for all Senses, all Seasons
If you missed Vivian Howard’s book signing at Replacements last month, don’t worry: In addition to perusing the retail giant’s massive inventory of seasonal décor, china, silver and collectibles, or its new outlet store, you can take advantage of its in-store activities. From creating tablescapes to choosing the best barware, you’ll be the envy of Martha Stewart at lunch-andlearns, demonstrations and more. Check the website for updates. Replacements, Ltd., 1089 Knox Road, McLeansville. Replacements.com
Slow gardening isn’t as lazy or passive as it may sound. It involves planning out carefully selected tasks so as to be productive without those senseless, repetitive chores. Learn how to avoid the rush and still make hay while the sun shines. March 22, 2–4 p.m. $10 for nonmembers, Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden, 215 South Main St., Kernersville. cienerbotanicalgarden.org/ kernersville-garden-horticulture-events.php
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LIFE&HOME
THE LANGUAGE OF HOME
Getting the Boot The dirty origins of “boot room/mudroom” By Noah Salt • Illustration by Romey Petite
N
ot long ago, recalling a rainy but delightful winter fortnight in the Surrey countryside of southeast England, we went in search of the meaning of “boot room” and came up appallingly empty-handed. Merriam-Webster flat-out insisted that no such word or compound phrase existed, while the venerable Oxford English Dictionary could only suggest a diversionary “bootleg” or a sadly Dickensian “bootboy” as a possible alternative. Yet anyone who’s set foot in an English or Scottish country house of any antiquity knows exactly what a “Boot room” is meant to be, including the dedicated purpose it serves — i.e., a place where one’s boots, shoes, walking sticks, winter attire and other outdoor paraphernalia are conveniently kept. On a lark, we tried the word “mudroom” and struck, as it were, pay dirt. A noun, North American: A small room or entryway where footwear and outer clothes can be removed before entering a house. Typical usage: “Shoes don’t come into the house — they are removed and stashed away in the mudroom” It’s certainly true that just about every sensible house in New England sports a “mudroom” of one kind or another, a highly practical anteroom where one is obliged to shake off snow, scrape mud from shoes and boots, or simply remove them to avoid tracking the outdoor elements inside. As a rule, winter coats and foul-weather gear are stored in such spaces. In our gentler Piedmont climes, not many suburban houses Winter 2017
come equipped with boot rooms or even mudrooms, per se, yet more and more, architects seem to be incorporating these practical little rooms into their traditional entryways — creating practical spaces with added function and style. This past summer, we called on friends in wilds of Davidson County who had transformed a repurposed 100-year-old cattle barn into a rustic showplace that included a wide entry space where family members and visitors were provided with their very own cubicle spaces complete with hooks and cubbyholes for stowing footwear. The floor was made of roughly polished bluestone that was designed to stand up to an army of muddy feet. Cushioned wooden benches and a bistro-like chalkboard for writing messages gave the room an added warmth and welcoming air. Some of the more inventive and ambitious mudrooms we’ve seen lately even incorporate washing machines and dryers into their designs. A few offer sinks, storage and cathedral ceilings. Type “mudroom” in the subject line of Pinterest and be prepared for a veritable explosion of New Age old-fashioned mudrooms. Napoleon may have quipped that he made all his generals out of mud, but there’s no reason for anyone to track muddy boots into his house — a lesson we learned the hard way early in life involving our muddy sneakers and Mama’s clean kitchen floor. That’s why, even if the phrase “boot room”exists largely in the fertile minds of those who own one (or simply crave one, with or without the romantic Surrey backdrop), we would like to aver that a room dedicated expressly to the purpose of keeping a house orderly and clean, regardless of the weather outside, is anything but a bootless enterprise. h SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 79
LIFE&HOME
HOMEWORDS
A Garden in Winter
During the Sabbath of seasons, plants are napping while gardeners are planning By Noah Salt
A
t lunch with a gardening friend not long ago, she bemoaned the end of the growing season and the onset of winter. “I really miss my garden. It was so beautiful this year. Now everything is so gray and lifeless. It’s downright depressing. No more blooms or fresh vegetables until April!” She gave me look that assumed that I shared her pain. I shrugged sheepishly. “Actually, I love a garden in winter — might even prefer it over summer.” She looked surprised, then amused — assuming, I suppose, that I was daft. She defied me to name two things a gardener could love about winter in the garden. “There’s no weeding, and a garden looks beautiful under a blanket of snow,” I came back. “OK, that’s two things,” she conceded with a laugh. “Why even have a garden if you look forward to not having a garden come winter?” “You still have a garden,” I pointed out. “It’s just taking a long winter’s nap. Gardens need to rest — and so do gardeners. Winter is the Sabbath of seasons. Life gone to root.” She didn’t appear terribly persuaded. Then again her roses are legendary, all the way to first frost and sometime beyond it. So I mentioned a few other charms I find with winter gardening. Winter is the most private season, I reminded her, a reflective time when, generally speaking, tools are cleaned and sitting idle in the shed and the daily maintenance demands of making things grow is at low ebb. The perennial borders are neat and tidy, the insulating mulch fully spread, the ground at parade rest. Colder, darker days turn the body and creative mind inward, inviting inspection and introspection, making winter afternoons ideal moments for planning, thinking, revising or just plain woolgathering while noticing the amazing architecture of dozing plants. “It’s the perfect time to build new beds and plan new paths,” I pointed out. “Because everything is bare and nature is stripped down, you see the architecture of the garden, lots of new places to go.”
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Case in point, I’d recently commenced clearing what I call the “Lost Kingdom,” i.e., the northeast corner of my formerly overgown backyard, an area where elegant Cherokee dogwoods, Carolina silver bells and young linden trees once flourished in the company of several large azalea bushes but were now completely shrouded by invasive wisteria vines, wretched English Ivy and Mahonia-bushes-gone-wild, the three worst plants known to man — or at least this man. The azaleas had grown leggy and thin but could probably be saved with judicious winter pruning, a wheelbarrow of fresh compost and some moderate spring fertilizing. Behind them I’d found all sorts of woodland plants just begging for liberation. Winter was the perfect time to get this job done. With winter’s arrival, I explained, my plan was to dig out every scrap of ivy and those offending Mahonias, save the dogwoods and silver bells, trim back the azaleas and build a new stone pathway to link the Lost Kingdom to my nearly completed Japanese garden on the opposite side of the yard. My friend laughed. “So no rest for you this winter. Be careful with old Mahonia shrubs,” she playfully warned. “They get mean when they’re old. You can easily lose an eye.” Restoring paradise is never easy, I agreed — but winter helps. First off, one barely breaks a sweat. And there are few if any critters to disturb, since all are safely burrowed underground snoozing the winter away. Because all the action is below ground, it’s easier to see your progress, revising as you go. “And if we’re really lucky this winter, it may snow,” I added, admitting that the sight of a garden under snow is one of the most soulful sights on Earth, perhaps the nicest thing about a garden in winter. My friend gave a little shiver, smiled, sipped her hot tea and asked why. Gardeners are the ultimate optimists, I told her. Regardless of the cold and snow, we know life is just waiting to bloom again. Even in the “dead” of winter, there lives a summer garden in every grower’s heart. “I can drink to that,” she said, lifting her cup of tea. “Here’s to your winter work and Lost Kingdom — and most of all, an early spring.” h Noah Salt will be wearing extra-thick gardening gloves this winter to avoid revenge of the Mahonias. Winter 2017
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