From the Editor

In December 1923, President Calvin Coolidge hit a switch that lit up a 48-foot Vermont Balsam fir tree with more than 2,500 light bulbs. It was the first lighting of the national tree in our history. It cost $5,000 to install underground lighting cables for the trees’ bulbs, and a church choir and a brass quartet of the Marine Band performed. President Coolidge agreed to push the button to light the tree but refused to speak at the event. In 1924, Coolidge almost put an end to the tradition before it began as he was reluctant to cut down a tree for the event, only agreeing to the ceremony again if a living tree was used.

While the event would eventually become a national tradition symbolizing unity and thankfulness, the original intent was to encourage more people to use electricity. The idea came from Frederick Feiker, assistant to the Secretary of Commerce.

He wrote: “The Society for Electrical Development was interested to have as many people use electric lights at Christmas time as possible, so I thought of this idea of having the National Christmas Tree at Washington, which would stimulate other people to have outdoor Christmas trees. In order to get this started, we had to get the President of the United States to light the tree. If you get the President of the United States two years in succession to do a thing, he will always do it.”

It seems to have helped. In 1920, 35 percent of homes had electricity. By 1930, it was 68 percent.

In 1945, after several years of no tree lighting ceremonies during World War II, President Truman lit the national tree and noted, “This is the Christmas that a war-weary world has prayed for through long and awful years. With peace come joy and gladness. The gloom of the war years fades as once more we light the National Community Christmas Tree.”

In 1983, 7-year-old Amy Bentham wrote the Make-A-Wish Foundation: “The Christmas tree that lights up for our country must be seen all the way to heaven. I would wish so much to help the President turn on those Christmas lights.” She did just that, joining President Reagan the same year.

The Pinehurst Christmas Tree Lighting will be December 3, and I hope many of you will be able to enjoy this community tradition. In a time of increasing turmoil and division, a tree lighting ceremony can still evoke a sense of community and help narrow, at least briefly, our broadening differences.

Happy holidays!

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

PUBLISHER/EDITOR Greg Girard greg@pinehurstlivingmagazine.com

PUBLISHER/CREATIVE DIRECTOR Amanda Jakl amanda@pinehurstlivingmagazine.com

ADVERTISING SALES Debbie Jordan debbie@pinehurstlivingmagazine.com

GRAPHIC DESIGN Steve Jordan

COPY EDITOR William C. Nelson

OUR GIRL FRIDAY Amanda Oden

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Robert Gable, Sundi McLaughlin, Dolores Muller, Robert Nason, Ray Owen, Sassy Pellizzari, Helen Ross, Whitney Weston

PHOTOGRAPHY Moore County Historical Association, Tufts Archives

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A Dance of Shadow and Light

BY RAY OWEN

Jill Hooper is an old soul, warm and instantly likable, and keenly perceptive of everything she sees. Born in New York and raised in Southern Pines, she is a classical-realist painter living in Charleston, South Carolina, and London. A gregarious recluse, she is active in the society of her patrons yet retreats to charcoal and paints to render her subjects beautiful in the play between shadow and light.

As a classical realist, Hooper is aligned with an art movement dating from the late 20th and early 21st century that places great value upon skill in drawing and painting. This movement combines elements of 19thcentury realism and classical antiquity, and exhibits a preference for order, harmony and completeness based on the artist’s observation.

From a young age, Hooper enjoyed drawing and worked under Jeffrey Mims, a Southern Pines-based classical realist of international acclaim. She went on to study with Charles Cecil in Florence, Italy, and apprenticed under Ben Long, assisting with his Crossnore fresco in Western North Carolina. “Being an artist was the only thing I was ever good at,” she explains. “I never questioned it.”

“It was wonderful having Jeffrey just down the road from where I grew up,” she recalls. “I would walk right down Massachusetts Avenue and there he was. That was pretty much the highlight of when my mother moved here. Also, my stepfather’s church is right next to Jeffrey’s Studio. It’s a wonderful community and it was easy to concentrate on my artistic studies here.”

“My friend’s family used to own the Jefferson Inn, which was so fun. We’d go to the top floors and play cards. One of my favorite things is the depot and the trains coming through town. It always offers possibility, doesn’t it? Seeing people going to an exciting destination. Sometimes, I’d take the train from Charleston to Fayetteville on my way here.”

“Don’t you love how Southern Pines has been home to such a remarkable number of extremely talented and skilled artists? It’s rather surprising that people like Jeffrey Mims, Paul Brown, Kamille Corry, and so many others are connected to the place.”

As for Hooper, she is the youngest living artist to ever be collected by the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston. Her work has been widely exhibited in France, England, and the United States and can be found in numerous private collections. She is also an artist-in-residence at London Fine Art Studios and an instructor at the American College of the Building Arts in Charleston.

A deep believer in fine drawing, Hooper is dedicated to working from life, not photographs. For her, it comes down to artist and model and the atmosphere around them. Flowing in that sweet spot

Jill Hooper teaching children to draw in Jerusalem in 2014.

between control and abandonment is the living pulse she attempts to capture in her renderings.

Many of Hooper’s models have never posed before, so it’s important that she respects her sitter. The faces of her portraits reveal this sensitivity, offering a view that’s authentic and raw, so evident in her work. “I think beauty is something that is genuine, something honest,” says Hooper. “That’s what appeals to me, not necessarily just an attractive person.”

When painting or drawing people, she’s really looking at a subject’s personality and focusing mostly on their eyes. She starts out with an idea of how she wants the person posed, but then they show up and their head tilts to the left, not the right, and they have their own body movement. “I have to adapt to whom I’m with,” she says. “That’s the great thing about working from life. It’s kind of a dance.”

For a major work, a large portrait, Hooper starts with a series of drawings to develop the composition. For example, if her subject was the Good Samaritan, she might think about how the body moves in generosity—the whole gesture of it. “The great thing about the Good Samaritan, it could be anybody,” she says. It could be someone in Afghanistan or right here on Broad Street, so you just have to consider your overall intention.”

“I am giving myself to it and when it’s going well, the subject has a life of its own and I’m letting it breathe as I become a part of it. It’s like a collaboration, even with an inanimate object such as a clove of garlic.”

“I love chiaroscuro, the strong contrast between light and shadow,” she muses. “I’m always mixing colors and drawing in my head. I suppose it’s a part of my nature. I love my charcoal, the way a line can push and pull, and help something recede or give action. I will pull charcoal right out of my own hearth and draw with it at times for fun.”

“I probably prefer drawings over paintings,” she continues. “Therefore, I need the light and I need the dark equally. Most people prefer painting and for the artist, the light just provides the color. When I paint, I think in light and dark, I don’t really think in color.”

As for inspiration, Hooper is really into Rubens and French painter Honoré Daumier. She also likes Spanish painter Diego Velázquez and she’s always liked Repin, a Ukrainian-born Russian painter. “As he added color, it’s not aggressive,” she says with consideration. “I really like his subject matter—he seems like a sensitive painter.”

“I’m very inspired by the 18th-century French painter Chardin who takes a very common object and puts it in its own vignette. I pull fruit off of the trees in

season and I love how this common little bruised pear is more beautiful because it’s bruised. I watch how it changes even as I’m painting it. All in all, I’m trying to give everything its own place, its own life.”

Hooper is endlessly refining her technique in a slow and exacting process that requires working all day with few breaks. “I’m very mission-oriented,” she says. “You have to be if you’re going to be a painter. A piece is done when you can’t figure out what else to do to make it better. I know when a drawing is done, but you have to live with a painting before you’re comfortable signing off on it. You always feel like it could be improved upon.”

In 2014, Hooper traveled in a medical van throughout Palestine and Gaza sketching people, then auctioned off drawings to raise money for St. John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital, a charitable provider treating patients regardless of ethnicity, religion or ability to pay. “I’ve been there many times,” she says. “I see how effective it is as a charity.”

“I want more out of life than painting pretty sunsets and models. I’ve felt as though peace in the Middle East seemed a little out of control. Though this is just a drop in the bucket, it’s helping desperate people that are very poor and taking some edge off of their despair. Maybe they’ll remember that someone from the US and UK cared enough to fix their eyes.”PL

’Tis the Season of Pie

Pies have been a staple of the human diet for centuries. The Ancient Greeks are thought to be the inventors of the pastry shell. The first published pie recipe dates back to the Romans for a rye-crusted goat cheese and honey pie. The earliest pies were primarily filled with meat and spices. It’s believed the fruit and sweet pies we are so familiar with today originated sometime in the 16th century. The English believe the first cherry pie was made during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

While it makes for good storytelling, there were no pumpkin or pecan pies at the first Thanksgiving in 1621, although historians note that some type of meat pie, fowl or venison, very well could have been part of the meal.

The role of pies in American culinary history evolved as colonists spread across the continent and began utilizing local ingredients. According to Time Magazine, there were three sweet pie recipes published in a cookbook in 1796. By 1947, there were 65 sweet pie recipes published in the Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking.

The apple pie, which we Americans like to call our own, also originated in England, with the first printed reference made in 1589. Some of our readers were kind enough to share their pie recipes for the holiday season. It is, after all, pie season.

Southern Pecan Pie

submitted by Judie Wiggins

Ingredients

1 unbaked 9 inch pastry shell 1 ½ cups pecan halves 3 eggs 1 Tablespoon butter 1 cup dark Karo syrup ½ teaspoon vanilla (I always add more) 1 cup sugar 1 Tablespoon flour

Directions

Heat oven to 350 F. Arrange pecans in bottom of pie shell. Beat eggs until light. Add butter, corn cyrup and vanilla. Stir until blended. Combine sugar and flour and blend with egg mixture.

Pour over nuts in pie shell and let stand until nuts rise to the surface. Bake for 45 minutes.

Buttermilk Custard Pie

submitted by Ellene Place

Ingredients

1 unbaked pie shell 2 cups buttermilk 1/2 cup butter 1 cup sugar 3 Tablespoons flour 3 eggs, separated

Directions

Mix flour and sugar together dry. Beat yolks lightly, add sugar and flour. Add this to buttermilk. Beat whites stiff, add to mixture last.

Pour into unbaked pastry shell. Bake about 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until crust is brown and filling firm.

Spicy Sweet Potato Pie

created by Anna Thomas, submitted by Karen Caulfield

Ingredients

1 unbaked pie shell 1½ cups mashed cooked yams 3 eggs, beaten 3/4 cup dark brown sugar 1 tsp cinnamon ½ tsp ginger ½ tsp cloves 1/4 tsp nutmeg 3/4 tsp salt 1 2/3 cups undiluted evaporated milk Whipped cream

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the mashed yams, beaten eggs, sugar, spices, and milk. Beat until well blended, preferably with an electric mixer. Pour this mixture into the pie shell and bake in a preheated 375 F oven for 55 minutes. Cool before serving and garnish with whipped cream.

Crook's Corner Atlantic Beach Pie

created by Bill Smith, submitted by Charlotte Lammers

Ingredients

1½ sleeves of saltine crackers ⅓ to ½ cup softened unsalted butter 3 tablespoons sugar 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk 4 egg yolks ½ cup lemon or lime juice, or a mix of the two Fresh whipped cream and coarse sea salt for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Crush the crackers finely, but not to dust. You can use a food processor or your hands. Add the sugar, then knead in the butter until the crumbs hold together like dough.

Press into an 8-inch pie pan. Chill for 15 minutes, then bake for 18 minutes or until the crust colors a little.

While the crust is cooling (it doesn’t need to be cold), beat the egg yolks into the milk, then beat in the citrus juice. It is important to completely combine these ingredients. Pour into the shell and bake for 16 minutes until the filling has set. The pie needs to be completely cold to be sliced. Serve with fresh whipped cream and a sprinkling of sea salt.

Photo by Photography by Tiffany

submitted by Amanda Jakl

Ingredients

1 unbaked pie crust 1 cup sour cream 3/4 cup sugar 1 egg 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons vanilla 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Streusel topping

1/2 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup butter softened 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 F. Prepare 1 single-crust pie crust and line a pie plate with it, trimming and folding edges under and crimping into a decorative scallop with your fingers. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the sour cream, sugar, egg, flour, vanilla and salt until smooth. Gently fold the blueberries into the custard mixture. If you stir the blueberries in too vigorously your whole pie will turn purple! Pour into the unbaked pie crust and bake in for 25 minutes.

Streusel topping: In a medium bowl combine the brown sugar and flour. Mix in the butter with a pastry cutter or just using your hands until crumbly. Mix in the chopped pecans.

When the pie crust and blueberry custard filling has baked for 25 minutes, pull it out of the oven and sprinkle the streusel over the top of the pie. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until filling is set and topping is brown. Watch your crust to make sure it doesn’t burn. Either use a crust shield or make a loose foil tent towards the end of baking to protect the edges of the pie from burning. Remove from oven and let pie sit for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cook chocolate and butter in medium saucepan on very low heat until melted, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; gradually add milk, stirring constantly until well blended.

Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in medium bowl. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Gradually whisk in chocolate mixture. Pour into crust; sprinkle with coconut and nuts. Please note filling will almost completely fill crust.

Bake 45 minutes or until top is puffed and browned, covering pie loosely with foil after 30 minutes. Filling will be soft, but will set while cooling. Cool 15 minutes, then refrigerate 4 hours.

Upside Down Apple Pie

submitted by Terry Nanney

Ingredients

6 Tablespoons butter, melted, divided 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup chopped pecans 1 package folded refrigerated pie crusts 1 cup granulated sugar 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 5 large Granny Smith or other firm apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch wedges

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 F. Coat a deep-dish pie plate with cooking spray and line with with waxed paper. Coat the waxed paper with cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine 4 tablespoons butter, brown sugar and pecans; mix well and spread evenly over the bottom of the pie plate. Unfold one pie crust and place it in the pie plate, pressing the crust firmly against the nut mixture and sides of the plate. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, and the remaining 2 tablespoons butter; mix well. Add the apples and toss gently to coat. Spoon into the pie crust.

Unfold the second pie crust and place over the apple mixture. Trim, pinch the edges together to seal, and flute, if desired. Using a knife, cut four 1-inch slits in the top crust. Bake for 60-75 minutes or until the crust is golden. Carefully loosen the waxed paper around the rim and invert the pie onto a serving plate while still hot. Remove the waxed paper and allow to cool slightly, then cut into wedges and serve warm. Or allow to cool completely before serving.

Southern Sweet Chocolate Pie

submitted by Brooklyn Smith

Ingredients

1 package Baker's German Sweet Chocolate 1/4 cup butter or margarine 2 cans (5 oz. each) evaporated milk 1 cup sugar 3 Tbsp. cornstarch 1/8 tsp. salt 2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla 1 frozen deep-dish pie crust (9 inch), thawed 1 cup flake coconut 1/2 cup chopped pecans

PL

Oranges

The orange tree first bloomed in China producing a small, inedible fruit. Indeed, according to genetic testing, the sweet, juicy version of the orange we know today never grew in the wild, but was engineered in ancient China. It’s believed traders and explorers brought the “China apple” to Europe during the 16th century.

Before the fruit traveled across continents, the color we know as orange was called yellow-red due to the lack of the color in nature (pumpkins had yet to be discovered and carrots had yet to be engineered into the color). When the orange fruit did arrive in Europe, in Old French the fruit was called orenge, taken from Arabic, which calls the fruit naranj. It was eventually adapted by the English to orange to describe both the fruit and the color.

Ponce de Leon is credited with planting the first orange tree in the Americas near modern-day St. Augustine, Florida. Today, oranges are the most commonly grown fruit in the world and there are more than 600 varieties. While Florida is the largest grower of oranges in the U.S., Brazil is the largest grower in the world, producing about half of the world’s orange juice.

Packed with Vitamin C, potassium and fiber, oranges help improve digestion, regulate blood sugar and yield a powerful age-fighting antioxidant. In the kitchen, oranges are one of the more versatile fruits for cooking and can accompany a plethora of foods, from breakfast and salads to dinners and desserts.

Orange Chicken

modernhoney.com / Serves 4

Ingredients

Sauce

1 cup orange juice 1/2 cup sugar 2 tablespoons rice vinegar or white vinegar 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1/4 teaspoon ginger 2 garlic cloves, finely diced 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes Orange zest from 1 orange 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces 3 eggs whisked 1/3 cup cornstarch 1/3 cup flour Oil for frying

Garnish

Green onions Orange zest

Directions

Orange Sauce: In a medium pot, add orange juice, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and red chili flakes. Heat for 3 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water to form a paste. Add to orange sauce and whisk together. Continue to cook for 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to thicken. Once the sauce is thickened, remove from heat and add orange zest.

Chicken: Place flour and cornstarch in a shallow dish or pie plate. Add a pinch of salt. Stir.

Whisk eggs in shallow dish. Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture and then flour mixture. Place on plate.

Heat 2–3 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Using a thermometer, watch for it to reach 350 F.

Working in batches, cook several chicken pieces at a time. Cook for 2–3 minutes, turning often until golden brown. Place chicken on a paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat.

Toss chicken with orange sauce. You may reserve some of the sauce to place on rice. Serve it with a sprinkling of green onion and orange zest, if so desired. Serve over white rice.

Mandarin Orange Salad

delish.com / Serves 4

Ingredients

3 cups baby spinach 3 cups arugula 1 (11-oz.) can mandarin oranges, drained 1 cup toasted walnuts 3/4 cup dried cranberries 1/2 cup shaved Parmesan Pinch of flaky sea salt Red onion, optional

For Dressing

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1 tablespoon orange juice 1 tablespoon honey 2 teaspoons poppy seeds 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a large bowl, toss together spinach, arugula, mandarins, walnuts, and cranberries.

In a medium bowl, whisk together red wine vinegar, orange juice, honey, poppy seeds, and mustard. Slowly pour in oil while whisking until incorporated. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine. Top with Parmesan and a pinch of sea salt.

Orange Dream Bars

crazyforcrust.com / Yield: 24 bars

Ingredients

Crust

1 cup unsalted butter 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling

½ cup fresh squeezed orange juice Zest of 1 orange 1 teaspoon orange extract 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 4 large eggs Powdered sugar for topping

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 9-inch x 13-inch pan with foil or parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Beat butter with a hand or a stand mixer until creamy, then add the flour, sugar, and salt and beat until a dough forms. (If you’re using a hand mixer it will take extra time.) Press the crust into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 18 minutes.

A few minutes before the crust comes out of the oven, prepare the filling. Place all filling ingredients into a blender jar and blend until smooth, a few seconds to almost a minute, depending on your blender. You can also do this with a whisk in a large bowl.

Carefully pour filling evenly over hot crust. Return to oven and bake until the top is no longer jiggly, about 20–23 minutes. Cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar and slicing into bars.

Notes: Don't strain the fresh squeezed juice. That pulp adds flavor! Make sure your crust is compacted firmly. Any holes in the bottom can cause the filling to leak through, ending in upside down bars. For crunchier crust, bake it for 22 minutes before topping.

Orange Cheesecake Breakfast Rolls

tasteofhome.com / Yield: 2 dozen

Ingredients

2 packages active dry yeast 3/4 cup warm water 1 3/4 cups warm 2% milk 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs, room temperature 3 tablespoons butter, melted 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 7 to 8 cups all-purpose flour

Filling

1 package soft cream cheese 1/2 cup sugar 1 tablespoon thawed orange juice concentrate 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze

2 cups confectioners' sugar 3 tablespoons orange juice 1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Directions

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, sugar, eggs, butter, salt and 5 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a firm dough.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, orange juice concentrate and vanilla until smooth.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll 1 portion into an 18-inch x 7-inch rectangle. Spread half the filling to within 1/2 inches of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 slices; place cut side down in a greased 13-inch x 9-inch baking pan. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake rolls for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Combine confectioners' sugar, orange juice and zest; drizzle over warm rolls. PL