April PineStraw 2022 by PineStraw Magazine

ARTS CENTER

this month at bpac!

TICKETS TICKETS

BPAC BPAC

B BR RA AD D SS H HA AW W PERFORMING P ERFORMING ARTS CENTER

APRIL 7

APRIL 7 David Feherty LIVE OFF TOUR David Feherty

LIVE OFF TOUR APRIL 22

cHATHAM RABBITS APRIL 22

TROUBADOUR SERIES

cHATHAM RABBITS TROUBADOUR SERIES APRIL 28

bRANFORD mARSALIS & JOEY CALDERAZZO DUO

APRIL 28

bRANFORD mARSALIS APRIL 30 & JOEY CALDERAZZO DUO

TRAVIS SHALLOW CONCERTS ON THE GREEN W W W. S A N D H I L L S B PA C . C O M

ENJOY A FREE ROUND OF GOLF – AT – PINEHURST RESORT!

Jamie McDevitt

With over $30 million in sales in 2021, Jamie remains one of the TOP realtors in the area since 1998.

All you need to do is buy or sell a home with Jamie

64 SCIOTO LANE Pinehurst, NC

SELLING HOME EXPERIENCE

“Jamie is a true professional. If you need a realtor, there is no one better than Jamie McDevitt. The best decision I have ever made was to retain her to sell my house. Jamie and her team did a fantastic job.” - Terry Daly

910.724.4455 | McDevittTownAndCountry.com | McDevittProperties@gmail.com | 125 E. Pennsylvania Ave, Southern Pines, NC *Courses based on availability. Pine Needles/Mid Pines also available.

Smart real estate decisions mean not always following the pack You know your business, or the reason for holding your real estate investments, better than anyone else. We will spend the time to understand those reasons so we can provide you the information needed so YOU can make an informed decision. No one spends more time understanding what drives you than BabsonRE.

BOSTON CHICAGO JACKSONVILLE NEW YORK FAIRFIELD COUNTY SOUTHERN PINES/PINEHURST

John Ferrari, Principal 910.687.6407 • john@ BabsonRE.com

Licensed in NY State as a Real Estate Broker and is expected to be licensed in North Carolina for transaction purposes in the near future.

Hometown People, Hometown Coverage

Why Choose FirstCarolinaCare? Large Provider Network Connect with a large network of trusted and respected providers. Plans Made for You Plenty of affordable employer group and Medicare plans to choose from. Exceptional, Local Customer Service We understand your needs because we live and work right here with you.

(855) 265-2623 | FirstCarolinaCare.com/info

25% OFF

A ONE TIME FULL PRICE PURCHASE OF $150 OR MORE COUPON CODE

APRIL25

*Some exclusions apply. Cannot be combined with other promotions or discounts and excludes vintage bags. All sales are final.

124 NW BROAD STREET • SOUTHERN PINES, NC 28387 • (910) 693-7463

BEST PLACE TO BUY WOMEN’S SHOES BEST WOMEN’S CLOTHING BOUTIQUE

M-SAT: 10 AM - 5 PM • SUN: 12 PM - 4 PM monkeesofthepines.com • @monkeesofthepines For private events and parties, email girls@monkeesofthepines.com Photo: Colin Quaste Photography, Know Your Worth Media Thanks to: Retro Hair and Makeup, and Weymouth Center

April �� DEPARTMENTS 19 24 29 31 33 37 41 42 48 51 55 57 59 63 65 67 73 106 116 119 120

Simple Life By Jim Dodson PinePitch Tea Leaf Astrologer By Zora Stellanova National Poetry Month By Shelby Stephenson The Omnivorous Reader By Anne Blythe Bookshelf Hometown By Bill Fields The Creators of N.C. By Wiley Cash Art of the State By Liza Roberts In the Spirit By Tony Cross The Kitchen Garden By Jan Leitschuh Pleasures of Life By Tom Allen Crossroads By Bruce A. Sorrie Out of the Blue By Deborah Salomon Birdwatch By Susan Campbell The Naturalist By Todd Pusser Golftown Journal By Lee Pace Arts & Entertainment Calendar SandhillSeen PineNeedler By Mart Dickerson Southwords By Pamela Phillips

FEATURES 79 Pigeons

Poetry by Terri Kirby Erickson

80 The Zoo

Fiction by Daniel Wallace

84 The Beauty in the Barrens By Claudia Watson

The triumph of Tufts, Olmsted and Manning

90 Spring Forward

By Jason Oliver Nixon and John Loecke

The Madcap Cottage gents channel timeless trends to take your home from ho-hum to “Hello, gorgeous!”

92 Residential Renaissance By Deborah Salomon

Art dominates Grandma Boyd’s “cottage”

103 April Almanac By Ashley Walshe

Cover photograph and photograph this page by John Gessner 6

PineStraw

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

DURING THE MONTH OF APRIL

50% OFF

SELECT Anne De Solene French Bedding

Opulence of Southern Pines and DUXIANA at The Mews, 280 NW Broad Street, Downtown Southern Pines, NC 910.692.2744

at Village District, 400 Daniels Street, Raleigh, NC 919.467.1781

at Sawgrass Village, 310 Front Street Suite 815 Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082 904.834.7280

www.OpulenceOfSouthernPines.com Serving the Carolinas & More for Over 20 Years – Financing Available

Talent, Technology & Teamwork! Moore County’s Most Trusted Real Estate Team! D

SOL

SEVEN LAKES WEST • $1,360,000 328 LONGLEAF DRIVE New construction underway! Amazing 5 BR / 5 BA home on 6.64 acres in popular gated community Seven Lakes West.

ER UND

CT TRA

CON

WEST END • $995,000 215 SADDLE RIDGE Gorgeous 3 BR / 5 BA horse farm in the McClendon Hills equestrian community! This lovely brick home sits on nearly 12 acres w/ five acres of fenced pastures all around, and an incredible barn and workshop.

ER UND

CT TRA

CON

SEVEN LAKES WEST • $440,000

PINEHURST • $395,000

244 LONGLEAF DRIVE Immaculate 4 BR / 3 BA golf front home in gated Seven Lakes West. It is situated off 9th green of the Beacon Ridge golf course. This split plan home has wonderful open design and lots of great features.

82 DEERWOOD LANE Attractive 3 BR / 2 BA golf front home in popular Pinehurst No. 6 community. Home sits on a nicely landscaped lot along the 2nd fairway of the course and offers lots of great features!

ER UND

CT TRA

CON

SEVEN LAKES WEST • $1,150,000

PINEHURST • $995,000

344 LONGLEAF DRIVE Gorgeous 4 BR / 4 BA home in the Morganwood section of popular Seven Lakes West Gated community. Home is situated on nearly 5 acres w/a saltwater in-ground pool and has tons of lovely architectural features and finishes!

189 NATIONAL DRIVE Beautiful 4 BR / 5 BA golf front home w/ spacious and bright layout, situated on the 17th tee of popular Pinehurst No. 9. Home has amazing custom detail throughout that continues outside w/ an outdoor living space and large deck. ACT

NTR

SOL

CO DER

PINEHURST • $2,400,000

PINEHURST • $485,000

432 MEYER FARM DRIVE Beautifully built 5 BR / 5 Full BA, 2 Half BA custom home situated on 13th hole of Forest Creek’s North course. Home is spacious and impeccably maintained w/ exquisite architectural features and unsurpassed attention to detail throughout.

PINEHURST • $389,000

219 JUNIPER CREEK BLVD. Charming 5 BR / 3 BA golf front home on 4th green of the #6 course. Situated on a nicely landscaped lot this home offers postcard views down the fairway from the large screen porch in back.

1 PEARL COURT Charming 3 BR / 2 BA home in popular Lake Pinehurst area w/ great curb appeal. This home is incredibly open and bright w/ a spacious living room and dining area. This adorable home won’t last long!

IN MOORE COUNTY REAL ESTATE FOR OVER 20 YEARS!

#1 Selling Team In Moore County For Over 20 Years!

Top 1% of Real Estate agents Nationwide!

Mark Gentry Realtor Partner

Lari Dirkmart Realtor Partner

Steve Veit Realtor Partner

Martha Gentry Team Leader

Ginger Gentry Realtor Partner

“Great things in business are never done by one person. They are done by a team of great people.” — Steve Jobs

Hailey Gentry Team Coordinator

Deborah Cook Realtor Partner

David Sinclair Marketing Coordinator

Lin Bourgon Closing Coordinator

Teresa Miracle Listing Coordinator

Victor Uy Field Coordinator Judi Jimenez Weekend Coordinator

Moore County’s Most Trusted Real Estate Team for over 20 years!

Re/Max Prime Properties, 5 Chinquapin Rd., Pinehurst, NC 910-295-7100 • 800-214-9007 • Re/Max Prime Properties 5 Chinquapin Rd., Pinehurst, NC

www.ThEGENTRYTEAM.COM

• 910-295-7100

Welcome Spring Into Your Home

One of the best-kept secrets for home furnishings and decor, Southern Design Furniture carries multiple name brands such as the beautiful Bassett furniture featured here, as well as an assortment of accessories to add that little something extra to your home.

4909 Raeford Rd, Fayetteville, NC 28304 | 910.423.0239

Always a Step Ahead

April 2022

Thinking about selling your home? Contact us for a no-hassle, no-cost market analysis of your home's current value.

Serving Moore County and Surrounding Areas! 910.684.8674 | 120 N ASHE ST | SOUTHERN PINES, NC 28387

www.maisonteam.com www.maisonteam.com Let LetMaison Maison Realty Realty Group Group help help with with listing listing your homefor for sale sale this this spring. spring. Every Every home home we list is home goingunder under contract contract very very quickly! quickly! Going Going with going ourfirm firmfor for your your real real estate estate needs needs you you will get our 100%of ofour our marketing marketing and and 24/7 24/7 assistance assistance in 100% sellingthrough through the the closing closing process process and after. selling

Buy, Sell or Rent through us - we do it all! Buy, Sell or Rent through us - we do it all! 910.684.8674 | 120 N ASHE ST | SOUTHERN PINES, NC 28387 910.684.8674 | 120 N ASHE ST | SOUTHERN PINES, NC 28387

M A G A Z I N E Volume 18, No. 4 David Woronoff, Publisher david@thepilot.com Andie Stuart Rose, Creative Director andie@thepilot.com

Jim Moriarty, Editor

jjmpinestraw@gmail.com

Alyssa Kennedy, Digital Art Director alyssamagazines@gmail.com

Emilee Phillips, Digital Content emilee@pinestrawmag.com

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Jim Dodson, Deborah Salomon, Amberly Weber CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

John Gessner, Laura L. Gingerich, Tim Sayer

Family is Important Invest Wisely for their Future

With over 15 years of experience in the financial services industry, David Yoder has joined Menendez & Ritter Retirement Group to pursue his passion for helping clients reach their financial goals. Since 1991, the Menendez & Ritter Retirement Group has been developing lasting, meaningful, and open relationships, and David is ready to continue that legacy with you.

CONTRIBUTORS Jenna Biter, Harry Blair, Tom Bryant, Susan Campbell, Bill Case, Mallory Cash, Wiley Cash, Tony Cross, Brianna Rolfe Cunningham, Mart Dickerson, Bill Fields, Laurel Holden, Sara King, Jan Leitschuh, Meridith Martens, Jason Oliver Nixon, Mary Novitsky, Lee Pace, Todd Pusser, Joyce Reehling, Scott Sheffield, Stephen E. Smith, Angie Tally, Kimberly Taws, Daniel Wallace, Ashley Walshe, Claudia Watson ADVERTISING SALES

Ginny Trigg, Advertising Director 910.693.2481 • ginny@thepilot.com Jennie Acklin, 910.693.2515 Samantha Cunningham, 910.693.2505 Terry Hartsell, 910.693.2513 Erika Leap, 910.693.2514 ADVERTISING COORDINATOR

Emily Jolly • pilotads@thepilot.com

ADVERTISING GRAPHIC DESIGN

Mechelle Butler, Scott Yancey

PS Steve Anderson, Finance Director 910.693.2497

David Yoder - Financial Advisor 110 Turnberry Way | Pinehurst, NC 28374 | 910.693.2430 www.fa.wellsfargoadvisors.com/mrrg | david.yoder@wfadvisors.com

Investment and Insurance Products: NOT FDIC Insured NO Bank Guarantee MAY Lose Value Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member SIPC, a registered broker/dealer and nonbank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company. © 2021 Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC. All rights reserved. CAR-0122-00990

PineStraw

Darlene Stark, Circulation Director 910.693.2488 SUBSCRIPTIONS

910.693.2488 OWNERS

Jack Andrews, Frank Daniels Jr., Frank Daniels III, Lee Dirks, David Woronoff 145 W. Pennsylvania Avenue, Southern Pines, NC 28387 www.pinestrawmag.com ©Copyright 2022. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. PineStraw magazine is published by The Pilot LLC

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

LUXURY

415 Fairway Drive, Southern Pines

$2,475,000

4 bed • 7/1 bath

Pamela O’Hara (910) 315-3093 MLS 100297806

4 bed • 2/1 bath Jordan Burch (941) 350-7678 Julia Lattarulo (910) 690-9716 MLS 100315499

Location! Location! Location! This home is a short walk from the Southern Pines Brewery and downtown Southern Pines. It features an open floor plan with storage space, hardwood floors, a gas fireplace, large living and dining rooms, stainless steel appliances, a gas stove, granite countertops, and a tiled backsplash.

625 Overland Court, Vass

$355,000

4 bed • 2/1 bath Jennifer Nguyen (910) 585-2099 MLS 100314176

$1,799,000

Dunross Manor, built by Donald Ross in 1929 in Knollwood Heights on 2.3 acres. Beautiful chef’s kitchen, 1,900 sqft workshop, carriage house, fabulous outdoor kitchen, and breathtaking gardens.

301 Duncan Road, Southern Pines

$582,500

110 Hearthstone Road, Pinehurst

Welcome home in desirable Camellia Crossing community. Bright and open living room with fireplace, recessed lighting, and eating area. Kitchen with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, pantry, and island.

BHHSPRG.COM

5 bed • 4/2 bath

Karen Iampietro (910) 690-7098 MLS 100305682

9 Choke Cherry Lane, Pinehurst

$569,000

4 bed • 4 bath

Jim Hurt (540) 798-1792 MLS 100312436

Home was completely remodeled in 2017 by Druther Homes. Tremendous value in Unit 10 could be investment property with great rental potential, or lovely primary/ second home. Four ensuites grace the overall flow of this home along with a two-car garage and laundry room.

135 Lake Forest Drive SW, Pinehurst

$339,000 Jim Hurt (540) 798-1792 MLS 100308779

Beautiful lake front building lot on lake Pinehurst! Gentle slope to the water with a dock and seawall already in place. Build your dream home here and enjoy those Carolina sunsets! Short cart ride to PCC!

Located in the desirable Fairwoods on 7 Pinehurst Golf Community. You’ll appreciate the meticulous attention to detail of this elegant, recently renovated, light-filled home. This home includes all the amenities one would expect in a luxurious, custom, singlefamily residence.

114 Canterbury Road, Southern Pines

$525,000

4 bed • 2/1 bath Karen Iampietro (910) 690-7098 Donna Ryals (619) 925-1201

Dutch Colonial-style home with perfect proximity to downtown Southern Pines, Weymouth Woods and Paint Hill, and the Fort Bragg gate.

MLS 100315388

Lakewood Drive, Lot 56R, Pinehurst

$99,000 Debbie Darby (910) 783-5193 MLS 100299838

Buildable, 1/2 acre, wooded lot with 178 ft of golf frontage on Pinehurst Course #5 in the desirable Unit 1 neighborhood off St. Andrews Drive. Short ride to the club or to the Village of Pinehurst. Charter transferrable membership to Pinehurst CC available to buyer. City water and sewer available to this lot. Perfect opportunity to build your custom home.

Ask us about our convenient in-house mortgage services.

Pinehurst • 42 Chinquapin Road, Pinehurst, NC 28374 • 910 -295 - 5504 | Southern Pines • 167 Beverly Lane, Southern Pines, NC 28387 • 910-692-2635 ©2022 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently operated subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC

IMAGINE YOUR HOME TOTALLY ORGANIZED CUSTOM CLOSETS I GARAGE CABINETS I HOME OFFICES I PANTRIES I LAUNDRIES I HOBBY ROOMS

40% OFF + Free Installation Terms and conditions: 40% off any order of $1200, 30% off any order $700 or more on any complete custom closet, garage, or home office unit. Not valid with any other offer. Free installation with any complete unit order of $500 or more. With incoming order, at time of purchase only. 18 month financing (with approved credit) Available for a limited time. Expires in 90 days. Offer not valid in all regions.

Call for a free in-home design consultation and estimate

919-850-9030

closetsbydesign.com Follow us

Licensed and Insured • Locally Owned and Operated

SIMPLE LIFE

The Cowboy in Me Old Westerns are the cure for Yellowstone fever

By Jim Dodson

So, there we

ILLUSTRATION BY GERRY O'NEILL

sat, three old ranch hands around a blazing fire as a lonesome doggie let loose a howl at the moon.

“Sounds like that dadgum dachshund down the street got loose again,” grunted Harry, the quick-draw artist sipping his Buffalo Trace. “He’s pretty bad,” agreed Timmy the Kid, the tile-slinging merchant. “But that dang goldendoodle across the street ain’t much better. Got a howl on him like a stuck prairie dog.” Counting women folk (cowboy-speak for “wives”) there actually were six of us gathered round the elegant Tuscan terrace fire pit in Tim and Sally’s beautiful backyard where our brides were drinking excellent white wine and chatting about whatever suburban wives talk about when their husbands are talking like dim-witted ranch hands who have watched too many episodes of Yellowstone, the hottest show on cable TV. In case you’ve been livin’ under a flat rock in the woods, Yellowstone is the TV saga of rancher John Dutton and his proud but mentally unstable family, owners of the largest cattle ranch in Montana. They are in a perpetual war with an Indian reservation, the national park system and godless resort developers eager to turn their ranch into Club Med West. Think Dynasty with pump shotguns, F-bombs and luxury pickup trucks. Whether you find Yellowstone appalling or hopelessly addictive, Yellowstone fever has spread like a case of terminal kudzu across the lower 48, turning ordinary dudes like Harry, Tim and briefly me into mini John Dutton wannabes. As a result of the show’s surging ratings, there’s now even an official Yellowstone Merchandise TV Shop Collection peddling everything from home goods to coffee mugs for riding the urban range in your luxury pickup truck. Down at the auto mall, fancy rigs like the boys from Yellowstone drive can easily set you back 70K. Back at Christmas, just for fun, I bought the little missus — a.k.a. The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

my wife — an official Yellowstone ballcap and matching sweatshirt that reads, “Don’t Make Me Go Beth Dutton on You,” thinking she might ditch her daily green tea and morning yoga meditation in favor of going a little bit “Beth Dutton.” Every marriage needs a bit of spice. In case you been watchin’ way too much CNN and worryin’ about stuff like the future of democracy and the free world, Beth Dutton is the smokin’ hot, potty-mouthed, always drunk, oversexed, mean-as-a-rattlesnake daughter of John Dutton, the stoical, monosyllabic, unnaturally stone-faced daddy-rancher with obvious deep inner conflicts, who every now and then shoots some dumb sumbitch who wants his land or wanders uninvited onto it. Unfortunately, while I was over at Tractor Supply one Saturday mornin’ trying to decide how many head of cattle I might be able to raise on a quarter acre suburban lot, the little lady dropped off her sexy new Beth Dutton duds to Goodwill — her way of saying the drunk and nasty lifestyle of the modern TV cowgirl just wasn’t her cup of green tea, with or without the Tito’s chaser. For those of us who grew up in the 1960s idolizing cowboys like Gene Autry, Matt Dillon and Roy Rogers, not to mention the boys from Bonanza and the gals from The Big Valley, these Yellowstone folks aren’t exactly your polite, old-fashioned TV cowboy types who wear white hats, never seem to get dirty and always marry the pretty school mistress in the end. Must admit, after binging three full seasons of Yellowstone, I suddenly began to miss those kinder and gentler Hollywood cowboys I grew up with and had every intention of someday becoming. Sitting on a shelf in our library are a pair of small, well-worn cowboy boots, the only things on my feet for the first four years of my life. We lived in the rolling country north of Dallas, a neighborhood that shared a great big pasture full of horses and a burro named Oscar. Oscar belonged to me — well, my folks. But I fed and talked to Oscar every morning and sometimes got to ride him in the afternoon. I always figured Oscar and I would someday ride off into the sunset together, meet the right gal and finally settle down. Instead, we moved to the city where I rode a bicycle instead of a burro and PineStraw

SIMPLE LIFE

gave up my boots for a pair of Keds. The old-style cowboy in me never died, though. He even still shows up from time to time, like when — in search of the Golf Channel or an update on Ukraine — I stumble across old episodes of The Virginian or Maverick on some remote cable channel and watch the entire episode, remembering exactly what happens. Give me a classic John Wayne western or John Ford epic on TCM and I’m also good for the count. Several years ago, my wife surprised me with tickets to see Glen Campbell at an outdoor arena in Raleigh. Reportedly suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, Campbell was making his farewell musical tour. Unfortunately, a thunderstorm broke right at showtime, and Campbell managed only a brief appearance to sing one song before the show was canceled. He passed on not long afterward. I guess even rhinestone cowboys never die, though, as long as you have their complete hits on Spotify or Pandora radio. When folks drive like the Wild West in my town, I just sing along with Glen. Twenty-five years ago, I took my daughter, Maggie, then a precocious 7, on an unforgettable, two-month road trip to fish and camp the great trout rivers of the West. We tented beneath glittering stars by the Shoshone River and attended the Friday night rodeo in Cody. We took a rocking McKenzie boat down the Snake and camped for two days in Yellowstone, saw buffalo and a gray wolf, hiked for miles, and drank our bodyweight in root beer. For a full week we rode horses in the Colorado high country around

Durango and camped atop a star-strewn mesa in New Mexico. On the way home, we even bumped into the great-granddaughter of outlaw Jesse James near the Red River. She was a nice old lady with a killer smile. Though I didn’t tell my daughter this for many years, the cowboy in me was actually scouting out places where I could start a new life following a divorce — somewhere in the wide-open, Western spaces where I could stake a new claim, hear the doggies sing and never look back. It didn’t quite work out that way, but the trip sure healed something in both of us and bonded us like saddle pals on the old Chisholm Trail. The little memoir I wrote about our journey of the heart is still in print all these years later — and even got made into a film. Maggie herself now lives in the Golden West. I guess that’s why I was initially drawn to the saga of the Duttons of Yellowstone Ranch, hoping to find some comforting trace of the Western spirit — the inner cowboy — that lives in all of us. But after three full seasons of Yellowstone, I simply had enough. I went back to old TV Westerns and John Ford movies that never fail to deliver. My little missus — better known as my wife, Wendy — knew just the thing to perk me up. She brought me a nice big glass of milk and some Oreos as we settled in to watch a couple of my favorite episodes of The Big Valley. PS Jim Dodson can be reached at jwdauthor@gmail.com.

Lin Hutaff’s PineHurst reaLty GrouP

Village of Pinehurst | 910.528.6427 | linhutaff@pinehurst.net 20

PineStraw

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

If you want to know Pinehurst, you need to know Lin. 910-528-6427

OLD PARSONS ESTATE Private Estate. Over 2 acres. Rambling brick home with beautiful gardens and waterfalls overlooking a tranquil pond. D SOL

D SOL

20 NORTH HILLS DRIVE • FAIRWOODS ON 7 All brick, custom home. Carolina Rm with wall of windows. $820,000

185 CHEROKEE ROAD • OLD TOWN “Concord Cottage”. Charming. Tastefully updated throughout! $1,200,000

180 SUGAR PINE DR • LAKE PINEHURST COMING SOON. Total remodel LIKE NEW CONSTRUCTION. Stunning Cottage. $449,000

NT R CO NDE

T RAC

610 DIAMONDHEAD DR • LAKE AREA Lake Pinehurst rare find. Move-in ready! All brick, single level home across from Lake Pinehurst $389,000

NT R CO NDE

RAC

10 JUNIPER CREEK • PINEHURST NO 6 Golf front. All brick. Large rooms with Carolina room and expansive deck overlooking 15th fairway of the Pinehurst No 6 Course $489,000 ER UND

T CON

T RAC

1703 CABOT CIRCLE • BRETTON WOODS Desirable Bretton Woods, Updated with screened porch. Three bedrooms, two baths. $375,000

NOW IS THE TIME TO SELL!!

• WE HAVE CASH BUYERS IN ALL PRICE RANGES READY TO BUY • STAY IN YOUR HOME AFTER CLOSING IF YOU WISH • HOMES ARE CONSISTENTLY GETTING MULTIPLE OFFERS OVER ASKING PRICE

CALL LIN FOR A COMPLIMENTARY MARKET ANALYSIS OF YOUR HOME Lin Hutaff’s PineHurst reaLty GrouP 25 CHinquaPin rd., PineHurst, nC 28374 lin@linhutaff.com| linhutaff@pinehurst.net

Performing Arts

This Month is Sheer Poetry at Weymouth! Our gardens are in full bloom, we have every kind of music on our playlist, and we are celebrating National Poetry Month with “ExperieNCe Poetry” events all month long! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram where we will be posting a poem a day curated by revered NC poet and Friends of Weymouth, Inc. Board Member, Pat RiviereSeel. Join us each Sunday for casual readings next to our waterlily and lotus-laced pond. And don't miss our lively poetry slam, featuring poems performed aloud by some of our beloved local celebrities!

Live from the Great Room

Classical Music Sundays

Brittany Haas, fiddle, and Joe Walsh, mandolin, Bluegrass duo

Aurora Musicalis String Quartet performing in an intimate concert setting.

A Rooster’s Wife Production

$25 Supporters • $35 General

April 1 • 7 pm

$30 Supporters • $35 General Doors open at 6:30 • Cash Bar

April 10 • 2 pm

“Come Sunday” Jazz Brunch

Sponsored by: Deirdre Newton, Martha Parsons, Jack and Claudie Wells

April 24 & May 22 • 11:30 am - 2 pm April 24: Leroy Jones, jazz trumpeter and Preservation Hall Jazz Band Member. May 22: Peter Lamb and the Wolves, saxophone and nine-piece jazz ensemble Catered by Mason’s Restaurant and Grocery of Aberdeen/Genuine Hospitality Catering Supporters/General Tickets $40/$50 Band and Brunch; $25/$35 Music Only; Kids 12 and under $15 for Brunch, Free Show

Literary Writers-in-Residence Reading

“ExperieNCe Poetry” by the Pond

April 6 • 5:30 pm Pinehurst native Sara Johnson, author of the Alexa Glock Forensics Mysteries set in New Zealand. Free Admission Registration Required

April 3, 10, 17, 24 4 pm

“ExperieNCe Poetry” Slam Jam

April 20 • 5 pm

Sunday Salons National Poetry Month casual readings by North Carolina Poets. Bring your chairs and BYOB.

Local celebrities perform their favorite poems in a high-energy, fun competition.

Free Admission

Free Admission Registration Required

Thank you to our sponsors: Richard J. Reynolds III and Marie M. Reynolds Foundation; Gerald Claude Kirby Trust; NC CARES for Arts and the North Carolina Arts Council; Arts Council of Moore County; The Palmer Foundation; Marion Stedman Covington Foundation; The Cannon Foundation; Donald and Elizabeth Cooke Foundation; The Pilot

For tickets and more information, visit weymouthcenter.org 555 E. Connecticut Ave. Southern Pines A 501 (c)(3) organization

WONDERFUL 100 WONDERFUL 100

We’re celebrating 100 years of our historic Boyd House with 100 events in 2022

PinePitch Doin' the Bunny Hop

Kids can enjoy an “Eggstravaganza” of crafts, egg hunts and pix with Mr. Bunny beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 9, at Campbell House Park, 482 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Free to all, even those answering to the name Harvey.

Four Women, One Heirloom Join New York Times bestselling author Kristy Woodson Harvey as she talks about her new novel, The Wedding Veil, at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 5, at The Country Club of North Carolina, 1600 Morganton Road, Pinehurst. Juxtaposed against the drama of the Vanderbilts and the Biltmore Estate is the intriguing present-day story of Julia Baxter and her grandmother, Barbara Carlisle. While wearing the gorgeous Vanderbilt wedding veil is considered good luck, is it really? Tickets are available from www.ticketmesandhills.com. For more information go to www.thecountrybookshop.biz or call (910) 692-3211.

Live After 5 Feherty Unplugged The unchained — or perhaps unhinged, depending on your point of view — and incredibly funny David Feherty will go from the PGA Tour and major championship announcing booth to the stage at Owens Auditorium for his one-man stand-up show on Thursday, April 7, at 7 p.m., at the Bradshaw Performing Arts Center, Sandhills Community College, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. For information and tickets go to www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Double Dose of Lee The Judson Theatre Company returns with Lee Squared: The Liberace and Peggy Lee Comeback Tour, a unique evening of music and laughter on April 8-10 at the Owens Auditorium, Bradshaw Performing Arts Center, on the campus of Sandhills Community College, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Liberace, played by David Maiocco, lived a life of flamboyance and sparkle, and Miss Peggy Lee, played by Chuck Sweeney, is simply beyond description. The duo won the 2017 Bistro Award for Lee Squared. The performance on Friday, April 8, is at 8 p.m., while the shows on April 9 and 10 begin at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at www.judsontheatre.com and cost $25.

PineStraw

The 2022 concert series kicks off with The Embers, featuring Craig Woolard, on Friday, April 8, from 5:15 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Tufts

Memorial Park, 1 Village Green Road, Pinehurst. Picnic baskets are allowed, outside alcohol isn’t. Never fear, beer, wine and soft drinks are available for purchase, and there will be food trucks, food trucks, food trucks. For information go to www.vopnc.org.

Homes in Bloom The Southern Pines Garden Club presents its annual (in nonpandemic years) Home & Garden Tour on Saturday, April 9, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., where visitors have the opportunity to experience some of the Sandhills’ most elegant homes and gardens. The cost is $25 in advance and $30 the day of the tour. For information and tickets go to ticketmesandhills.com.

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

And They’re Off and Running Spring. Matinee. Races. The Pinehurst Harness Track, 200 Beulah Hill Road, Pinehurst, 1 p.m to 5 p.m., Saturday, April 9. Enough said. Bring sunscreen, floppy hats and plenty of folding money for, ahem, a side bet or two. The races begin at 1 p.m. and end at 5 p.m., or thereabouts. For information call (708) 921-1719.

It Looks Good for Its Age The wood sprites will be out celebrating the oldest known living longleaf pine on Saturday, April 23, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Weymouth Woods Boyd Tract meadow, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. The free festival will feature food trucks, music, turpentine info and a demonstration of a live, prescribed burn. So, how old is the oldest longleaf? It’s so old its squirrels are seventh generation. For information call (910) 692-2167.

Haute Couture Just about anyone who makes anything you can wear or walk in will be represented in the spring Fashion Show on Tuesday, April 19, at the Forest Creek Golf Club, 200 Meyer Farm Drive, Pinehurst. The buffet lunch and cocktails cost $65. Eve Avery, Marie and Marcele, Morgan Miller, J. McLaughlin, Monkee’s, Denker, Ikonic Kollection, Eclectic in the Village, Cooper and Bailey’s, Dunberry Resort Wear, and Perle by Lola will all be there. For info and tickets go to www. womenofthepines.org.

Jazz and a Bagel New Orleans jazz trumpeter Leroy Jones will perform on the lawn at the Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines, for Sunday brunch on April 24 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. For information and tickets go to www. weymouthcenter.org.

Home and Garden Extravaganza The Spring Home & Garden Expo at the Fair Barn, 200 Beulah Hill Road, Pinehurst, will have more than 40 companies showing their wares beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 22. For information go to www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Choral Society in the House The Moore County Choral Society will present “From Dusk to Dawn” at the Village Chapel, 10 Azalea Road, Pinehurst, on Sunday, April 24, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. For information and tickets go to www.ticketmesandhills.com. The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PineStraw

Our Promise, a personal learning experience focused on academic excellence and student success.

NC Promise, a value unlike any other. With NC Promise, undergraduate tuition at UNCP is $500 per semester for in-state students and $2,500 per semester for out-of-state students.

uncp.edu/ncpromise

CHOOSE A GLOBAL LUXURY SPECIALIST Luxury is captivating.

135 Saint Mellions Drive, Pinehurst

$2,250,000

MLS#306052

Wh e n y o u r p r o p e r t y i s e x p e r t l y ma r k e t e d a n d d i s p l a y e d o n h u n d r e d s o f we b s i t e s wo r l d wi d e , it's going to get noticed.

Our Luxury Property Specialists have a track record of representing some of the most significant properties of all time.

YOUR LUXURY IS OUR LEGACY. CATHY LAROSE

910-690-0362

ALEXANDER JACOBY

910-603-2103

CLarose@ HomesCBA.com

AJacoby@ HomesCBA.com

CRISTIN BENNETT

336-202-2858 CBennett@ HomesCBA.com

AMANDA BULLOCK

910-315-2127

BEVERLY GENTRY 910-975-0399

Amanda@ AmandaBullock.com

BGentry@ HomesCBA.com

DEBORAH LEONARD

LEE ANN GRAHAM

LESLIE RIEDERER

910-818-9651

336-287-8085

DLeonard@ HomesCBA.com

LGraham@ HomesCBA.com

910-690-2827 LRiederer@ HomesCBA.com

GI VE Y OUR HOME P ROP E RTY MA RKE TI NG UNL I KE A NY OTHE R. CONTA CT ONE O OUR L UXURY P ROP E RTY S P E CI A L I S TS TO A Y . 130 Turner Street, Suite A, Southern Pines | 910-693-3300

@CBAofthePines

TEA LEAF ASTROLOGER

Aries

wrights v ille

b e ach

beach resort

(March 21 – April 19)

You know those little peppers used on Thai menus to indicate the spice level of the dish? Well, it’s a three-pepper month for you, Aries. And while that may seem mild compared with the blistering, full-body high you’re accustomed to, perhaps it’s time to shift your focus toward the subtle energies in your life. Single? No need to go sending up flares. Love always finds you. But you’re not a dish for just anyone.

Tea leaf “fortunes” for the rest of you: Taurus (April 20 – May 20)

Get ready for a reality check. Or don’t. It’s coming for you either way. Gemini (May 21 – June 20)

When it comes to love, you’re only fooling yourself. Cancer (June 21 – July 22)

Somebody’s got shiny-penny syndrome. Leo (July 23 – August 22)

The door is unlocked.

Virgo (August 23 – September 22)

You’re going to have to speak up.

Libra (September 23 – October 22)

Don’t think of it as backtracking. Think of it as recalibration. Scorpio (October 23 – November 21)

Two words: healthy boundaries.

Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)

You’ll want to change your shoes for this.

Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)

Does the term “energy vampire” mean anything to you? Aquarius (January 20 – February 18)

You couldn’t wipe off that grin even if you tried. Pisces (February 19 – March 20)

You’ve already hung the moon. Now it’s time to enjoy it. PS Zora Stellanova has been divining with tea leaves since Game of Thrones’ Starbucks cup mishap of 2019. While she’s not exactly a medium, she’s far from average. She lives in the N.C. foothills with her Sphynx cat, Lyla. The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Spring Breaks Loose

From an impromptu getaway for two, to a spring break with the family, we have packages on the island of Wrightsville Beach that are perfect for any occasion. Our Resort Package is perfect for some fun in the sun; this two-night package includes two beach chairs and an umbrella, as well as breakfast in bed each morning.

blockade-runner.com 844-891-9707

PineStraw

W I N D O W S

P A T I O

D O O R S

PLUS

2 5 %

O F F

Y O U R

E N T I R E

O R D E R

Call today for Your FREE In-Home Consultation!

919.765.3391 SoManyWindowIdeas.com

Cannot be combined with any other offers. Minimum purchase of 4 windows required. Call for details. Offer expires April 30.

NAT I O NA L P O E T R Y M O N T H

Words and Music Riffs By Shelby Stephenson

iram Larew turns loose the syllables like steam on water in his 2021 book, Mud Ajar, from Atmosphere Press. His words do not sink up in stirred up mud. At times I feel as if I can almost see through the mud, as the poet shakes form and content to create Poetry.

In “Quiet Come” — All is up yes all is sky

In “Ode to the Edge” —

all arrows lift their grateful views sung-up like curves the call of bogs where edge surrounds

Listen to these few lines from “Mud Ajar,” the title poem — Here where beaks are barns that loop through when as rain lifts praise on trill of rakes.

In “Listened Twigs” listen to Larew’s lines — These trees a choir in early fine their waking limbs When snowflakes hear within themselves of how beginning sounds.

Every syllable sings: example, these words from “Sign a Lease” — When the skies boil or bloom go sweep the stoop.

Hiram Larew is the founder of Poetry X Hunger which inspires writers all over the world to combat hunger. In Mud Ajar, the music quakes and the sky blazes all over again. Shelby Stephenson was poet laureate of North Carolina from 2015-18. His recent book is Praises from Main Street Rag Publishing Company. The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PineStraw

EP SPECI LE

IST AL

STOP SLEEP APNEA & SNORING WITHOUT CPAP!

For people losing shut-eye to snoring and sleep apnea, studies show an oral appliance that is custom fit by a dentist may be all they need. Oral appliances are mouth guard-like devices. Patients like oral appliance therapy because it is comfortable, easy to wear, quiet, portable and cared for easily. Schedule an appointment today with Dr. Rebecca Fronheiser. She is a specialist in the field of Dental Sleep Medicine and has achieved DIPLOMATE STATUS from the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine. The oral appliance may be covered by your medical insurance company.

910.295.4343 www.pinehurstdentist.com 15 Aviemore Drive • Pinehurst, NC

THE OMNIVOROUS READER

Writing on the Edge Short stories that stick

By Anne Blythe

Joanna Pearson, a psychiatrist

in the Chapel Hill area, describes herself as a “lapsed poet” on the jacket of her new short story collection, titled Now You Know It All.

Yet, in the 11 stories that plumb the depths of the hearts and minds of a variety of flawed but intriguing characters, it’s clear that Pearson’s poetic touch is not on hiatus. The author deftly describes settings, backstories and eerie omens as the narrators of her minimysteries move toward precipices that will forever change their lives. These stories can be dark, tempting readers to turn their eyes away from characters whose hard-living and messy circumstances have pushed them to a point where they struggle mentally with what is and isn’t real. It’s difficult to read about James, the foster child (also known as

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

the Devil Boy), the therapist Miss Beth Ann, and her boyfriend in “The Films of Roman Polanski” and not be disquieted by the troubling, manipulative behavior on display in that story. In “Mr. Forble,” you might get creeped out as you read about the disturbed 13-year-old boy who tries to sic the miscreant from an internet hoax on his birthday party guests. Other characters we meet in Now You Know It All include two sisters at their grandmother’s rural Burke County home who hear about a boy tied up in the barn next door; a pregnant woman in her 40s reliving a previous brutal bout of postpartum depression; and a waitress/bartender wooed away from her small Southern town by a socialite eerily similar to Ghislaine Maxwell. Pearson builds compassion for her storytellers as they teeter toward their ominous misfortunes, while hooking readers with her descriptive writing. “There were ruins and fountains and a fury of beeping horns,” Pearson writes in “Rome,” the opener of the book. “Naked putti lounging fatly in marble. Gorgeous long-armed women in skirts PineStraw

OMNIVOROUS READER

A West Coast Lifestyle Boutique

Village of Pinehurst • 910.295.3905 105 Cherokee Rd, Pinehurst, NC 28374 34

PineStraw

and strappy sandals, and young men hanging out of their cars in mirrored glasses. Old men in storefronts arranged cheeses and sausages tenderly, as if they were tucking in sleeping infants while chattering tour groups trailed guides holding red umbrellas, and honeymooners licked perfect gelatos.” That’s how we meet Lindsay, an American college student exploring Rome with her friend Paul. They’re sick of each other, and as it is with each story in the collection, Pearson does not seduce her readers with an ordinary tale about a young couple exploring their feelings for each other as they travel together in a foreign land. Expect the unexpected. “We were finally seeing all the things — beautiful, famous things we’d waited all our young lives to see — but we couldn’t appreciate any of it any longer,” Lindsay said. Then comes the plot twist. After an unanticipated night of romance with Paul — and him spending the next day worrying about it — Lindsay sets out on her own for a day trip to the Tivoli ruins, leaving her traveling partner alone in bed in the hostel. Along the way she meets the Gooleys, a “seemingly wholesome family” of five blonde-haired girls, a Pentecostal father and mother who she believed to be pregnant. Not only does Lindsay come to realize the “wholesomeness” of the family she was touring the ruins with might be more of the “slippery quality” that sometimes accompanies such carefully crafted images, she also questions who she really is. Pearson’s stories rarely conclude with a clean-cut resolution to the many mysteries posed, leaving a sense of uneasiness that gives a nod toward the tumult of our times. In “The Field Glasses,” Pearson opens with the line: “For weeks my sister Clara had been warning me that there was something in the woods that wanted to eat the children.” And she closes it with: “There was another call, a different animal this time, joining in mournfully with the first, their voices rising in a strange duet, and I determined it must be two dogs, something wounded and wild in their voices. Through the dark of the trees, I imagined or heard the crack of branches. Something hungry out there. I waited for a figure — my sister, a deer, some other animal — to emerge.” That’s it. The end of the story. In Pearson’s world, the uncertainty lingers, leaving readers to long ponder not only what’s lurking in the woods but what truly lurks in the minds of the narrators. She shows us how the power of suggestion and expectation can shape her characters’ narratives, as well as our own. We never really know everything they’re thinking or how what’s roiling below the surface is going to lead to new discoveries. Pearson’s stories might be short, but they have a long-lasting impression while craftily making you think about life’s mysteries. PS Anne Blythe has been a reporter in North Carolina for more than three decades. She has covered city halls, higher education, the courts, crime, hurricanes, ice storms, droughts, floods, college sports, health care and many wonderful characters who make this state such an interesting place.

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

COME

EXPLORE WITH US

discoveryplace.org

Children’s Museum in Downtown Rockingham

Spring is here…

Take a break and let Howell’s Masonry do the hard work

BRICKWORK

STONEWORK

FIREPLACES

OUTDOOR LIVING

910-944-0878

www.howellsmasonry.com 10327 Hwy 211 • Aberdeen, NC 28315

BOOKSHELF

April Books

FICTION Search, by Michelle Huneven Dana Potowski is a restaurant critic and food writer, and a longtime member of a progressive Unitarian Universalist congregation in Southern California. Just as she’s finishing the book tour for her latest bestseller, Dana is asked to join the church search committee for a new minister. Under pressure to find her next book idea, she agrees, and resolves to secretly pen a memoir, with recipes, about the experience. Search follows the travails of the committee and their candidates — and becomes its own media sensation. A wry and wise tale, the James Beard Award-winning author’s food writing and recipes add flavor to a delightful journey. Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus Meet Elizabeth Zott: a one-of-a-kind scientist in 1960s California whose career takes a detour when she becomes the star of a beloved TV cooking show. Zott is not your average woman. In fact, she would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. Calvin Evans, her lonely, brilliant, Nobel Prizenominated colleague falls in love with — of all things — her mind. True chemistry results. But like science, life is unpredictable. Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show, Supper at Six. Her unusual approach to cooking proves revolutionary, but as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Laugh-out-loud funny, this must-read debut novel is studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters. Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist. The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Wingwalkers, by Taylor Brown One part epic adventure, one part love story, and one large part American history, Wingwalkers follows the adventures of Della and Zeno Marigold, a pair of Depression-era barnstormers who are funding their journey West by performing death-defying aerial stunts from town to town. When their paths cross with William Faulkner (a thwarted fighter pilot in real life) during a dramatic air show, there will be unexpected consequences for all. With scintillating prose and an action-packed plot, Brown captures the true essence of a bygone era, and sheds a new light on the heart and motivations of one of America’s greatest authors. NONFICTION Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau, by Ben Shattuck On an autumn morning in 1849, Henry David Thoreau stepped out his front door to walk the beaches of Cape Cod. Over a century and a half later, Ben Shattuck does the same. With little more than a loaf of bread, brick of cheese and a notebook, Shattuck sets out to retrace Thoreau’s path through the Cape’s outer beaches, from the elbow to Provincetown’s fingertip. This is the first of six journeys taken by Shattuck, each one inspired by a walk once taken by Thoreau. Along the way, he encounters unexpected characters, landscapes and stories, seeing for himself the restorative effects that walking can have on a dampened spirit. Intimate, entertaining and beautifully crafted, Six Walks is a tribute to the ways nature can inspire us all. PineStraw

CONGRATUL ATIONS T O T H E NC MEDIA & JOURNALISM HALL OF FAME CL ASS OF 2022

JACQUELINE CHARLES

JOHN DRESCHER

SUSAN ELLIS

Emmy Award winner, Pulitzer Prize finalist and correspondent at the Miami Herald

Contributing editor for The Assembly and former editor for The Washington Post

Brand director for SAS and the co-founder of Footpath Pictures

SUSAN KING

DRAGGAN MIHAILOVICH

ERNEST H. PITT

Distinguished professor and dean emeritus of the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media

Renowned producer for CBS’s 60 Minutes and winner of 11 Emmy Awards

Founder and publisher of The Winston-Salem Chronicle

The annual Hall of Fame celebration supports the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media and its work to develop future leaders. Visit nchof.mj.unc.edu to learn more about the Hall of Fame.

BOOKSHELF

CHILDREN’S BOOKS What’s Inside a Flower, by Rachel Ignotofsky Not your ordinary boring science book, What’s Inside a Flower is an art book, a science book, and the book any budding wildlife biologist would want. Stunning illustrations teach not only parts of a flower but the ways they interact with the world. This is the perfect book to welcome spring. (Ages 8-12.) Cat’s First Baby, by Natalie Nelson This oh-so-cute newborn baby book is perfect for everyone whose first child was a furbaby. Adding the real thing can be tough for everyone, but shared nap times, snack times and playtimes can bring the whole new family together. (Ages birth-3.) After the Buzz Comes the Bee, by Robie Rogge With illustrations by the Caldecott honor-winning Rachel Isadora and a fun flipthe-flap format, After the Buzz Comes the Bee may be everyone’s new favorite animal book. Perfect for lap-time reading. (Ages 3-6.) I’m Not Scared, You’re Scared, by Seth Myers Being big and furry doesn’t equate with being big and brave. That’s when it’s good to have a friend to help get you through the tough spots. (Ages 3-7.) Flames of Hope: Wings of Fire Book No. 15, by Tui T. Sutherland Dedicated Wings of Fire series readers will be waiting at bookshop doors when this final book in the Lost Continent Prophecy Arc hits the shelves. (Ages 9-13.) PS Compiled by Kimberly Daniels Taws and Angie Tally. The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Swim Has Arrived!!! GIFT CARDS AND WRAPPING AVAILABLE Tues - Fri: 12-5PM; Sat: 12-4PM Private appointments always available. Email info@knickers-lingerie.com or call 910-725-2346 150 E. New Hampshire Ave / Southern Pines, NC 28387

PineStraw

IN PERSON AND VIRTUAL APRIL AUTHOR EVENTS

KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY The Wedding Veil

Tuesday, April 5 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM at Country Club of North Carolina - CCNC Four women. One family heirloom. A secret connection that will change their lives—and history as they know it. The lineage of an exquisite, heirloom wedding veil, The Wedding Veil, creates an enthralling parallel between the marriages of two famous Vanderbilt women and two women who unexpectedly meet men they come to adore in the present.

DAVID MCKEAN Watching Darkness Fall

Wednesday, April 13 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM at The Pilot Watching Darkness Fall: FDR, His Ambassadors, and the Rise of Adolf Hitler by David McKean is a gripping account of how all but one of Roosevelt’s ambassadors in Europe misjudged Hitler and his intentions. Told through the lives of five well-educated and mostly wealthy men all vying for the attention of the man in the Oval Office, the book looks at the time leading up to and the beginning of WWII in Europe.

KEVIN MAUER

Damn Lucky

Wednesday, April 20 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM at The Pilot Casual drinks at Hatchet Brewing Company with the author following the event DAMN LUCKY: One Man’s Courage During the Bloodiest Military Campaign in Aviation History tells the true story of “Lucky” Luckadoo who flew some of the deadliest missions of World War II during the bloodiest military campaign in aviation history. Lucky served with the 100th Bomber Group during the early days of the bombing of France and Germany from England.

KATE MOORE

The Woman They Could Not Silence Wednesday, April 27 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM at The Pilot

From the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Radium Girls comes another dark and dramatic but ultimately uplifting tale of a forgotten woman whose inspirational journey sparked lasting change for women’s rights and exposed injustices that still resonate today.

CHECK THE STORE WEBSITE AND TICKETMESANDHILLS.COM FOR MORE EVENT INFORMATION 140 NW Broad Street • Southern Pines, NC • 910.692.3211 • www.thecountrybookshop.biz

HOMETOWN

The Spice of Time

When you see more salt than pepper By Bill Fields

I got a much-needed hair-

cut recently not long after eye surgery. My vision was limited to the other eye, but that was plenty to notice the clippings on the black cape when the stylist had finished. There was enough white on the cover-up to make it seem as if a polar bear had been in the chair.

Forty years after finding my first gray hair, on my 22nd birthday, there is much more salt than pepper to be swept up after getting a trim. It’s been headed in that direction for two decades, an inexorable journey that, like achy joints after a taxing day, is just part of the landscape when you’re north of 60. As P.G. Wodehouse said, “There is only one cure for gray hair. It was invented by a Frenchman. It is called the guillotine.” Don’t think for a minute I’m not grateful to have a head mostly full of hair at my age, regardless of its hue. I thank my maternal grandfather, B.L. Henderson, for whom a pocket comb remained a useful stocking stuffer as he made his way into his 90s, if one’s hair prospects are indeed rooted in that part of the family tree. Plenty of men are dealt a different hand, losing their hair, or most of it, at a relatively young age. The combover can be a comical reaction — see images of former Purdue basketball coach Gene Keady for confirmation. This is the ultimate losing battle, and the willingness of more folks to go the shaved-head route when faced with a bare The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

minimum is a victory not only for style but common sense. I’m glad I haven’t had to make that decision. A couple of years ago while getting a haircut down South, as I sat down in the chair, I asked the barber if he could do anything about all the gray I could see in the mirror. “Better to go gray than go gone,” he said. Those seven words of barber philosophy have become my mantra. If my father had heard them as he started getting lots of gray as he approached his 50th birthday, he might have avoided his brief hair dye experiment. Something looked different about his appearance as he sat down to supper one evening, but the real evidence was in the bathroom sink — black stains from the hair dye he had applied. We teased him so much that he never altered his appearance again. For the last decade of his life, he let his short flat-top go increasingly toward white, and set against his blue-green eyes it was a very handsome look. “No play for Mr. Gray” has been a catchy line for Walt Frazier to say in the “Just for Men” television commercials, but I’m not sure how accurate it is. If someone wants to dye his or her hair to maintain a look that has been theirs for years, more power to them. It’s none of my business. But tell me that singer Emmylou Harris doesn’t look gorgeous these days with that silvery hair of hers, and I’ll wonder what you’re smoking. When it comes to hair color, I’m leaning toward letting time tell its story. PS Southern Pines native Bill Fields, who writes about golf and other things, moved north in 1986 but hasn’t lost his accent. PineStraw

T H E C R E AT O R S O F N. C .

The Burden and Beauty of Home Carrying the weight of William Paul Thomas’ art

By Wiley Cash Photographs by Mallory Cash

I’ve met William Paul Thomas twice,

both times inside an art gallery. He wasn’t present for our first meeting, but his work was. In October last year, I encountered his portrait of Alexander Manly, editor of The Daily Record, which was North Carolina’s only daily Black newspaper, as part of the Initiative 1897 exhibit at a gallery show in downtown Wilmington. The exhibit featured prominent Black civic leaders in the years preceding the 1898 race massacre, a violent coup d’état that saw Wilmington go from being one of America’s most successful Black cities to a place 42

PineStraw

where racial terror and murder were used to take over Black-owned businesses and homes.

The second time I met William was in late February inside the Nasher Gallery on the campus of Duke University, where his portrait series Cyanosis was part of an exhibit titled “Reckoning and Resilience: North Carolina Art Now.” The subjects in the nine paintings in the Cyanosis exhibit are not as historically prominent as Alexander Manly, but they’re nonetheless important to William’s life. Each person is either someone he knows or someone he’s met during the course of a day, perhaps someone with whom he shared a passing conversation or a quiet moment that changed the trajectory of an afternoon. The name of the series is taken from the medical term that refers to the blue pallor skin takes on when it is not sufficiently oxygenated. The idea first took root in a portrait William painted of his young nephew Michael. He painted half of Michael’s face blue to emphasize the color of his skin. Soon, the use of blue grew to represent the presThe Art & Soul of the Sandhills

T H E C R E AT O R S O F N. C .

ence of deep emotions — perhaps trauma, fear or uncertainty — that lie beneath the surface of people’s lives while they present a calm face to the world. In an online interview with Artsuite, William shared the unifying theme of the series: “My question through those paintings is: What would it look like if that trauma or adversity was shown on the skin? Would it invite people to be kinder to each other?” On the day I finally met William in person inside the Nasher Gallery, Mallory, our daughters and I arrived half an hour early. While Mallory unpacked her camera gear and set off to scout the museum for places to set up, our daughters and I wandered through the exhibits with scores of other masked patrons. When we found the exhibit featuring William’s paintings, we paused and stood in front of them. The nine paintings are all closely cropped portraits of Black men in rows of three with a self-portrait of William sitting at the center. Each of the men is looking in a different direction, some of them seeming to stare right into the viewer’s eyes. Strips of blue color their faces in various places: across the eyes like a blindfold, over the nose like a mask, or covering the mouth like a gag. William arrived, and we all introduced ourselves to one another. I’d been following his Instagram for several months — which I will later describe to him as being “delightfully weird” — and I didn’t know what to expect from an artist who is wildly experimental and playful while still remaining earnest and sincere. The dichotomy a viewer might find in William’s work also seems present in his personality; he is formal but warm, thoughtful but quick to smile. He told us he had just returned home on a flight from Chicago after spending the weekend at a family wedding with his fiancée and their newborn daughter. We joked that he looked rested and photogenic for a man who’d spent the morning lugging bags, baby and Top row: Regine’s Brother, 2021, Lindsay’s Friend, 2018, Donna’s Son From Chicago, 2017. Second a car seat through airport terminals. His face softrow: Le frère de Nathaly, 2019, Leticia’s Dear Friend, 2021, Kenna’s Dad, 2019. Third row: Tamara’s ened for a moment at the mention of his being a Father, 2019, Lydia’s Only Caregiver, 2017, Stephanie Woods’ Fiance As An Icon of Piety, 2017. new father, and then he and Mallory got to work. Meanwhile, our 7- and 5-year-old daughters or because I was experiencing latent trauma, but because my skin is were feeling inspired after seeing the art in the museum. I tore pages pale and the blue veins were visible because the blood inside them was loose from my notebook and fished pencils from my bag, and we moving freely. found seats in the café and ordered snacks. I must have been feeling After we left the museum, we followed William across the Duke inspired myself because, like them, I began doodling on a blank page. campus to the studio where he teaches a painting class to undergraduBut I couldn’t stop thinking about the faces of the men I’d just seen in ates, which is just one of the courses he teaches at several nearby William’s paintings, that strip of blue still hovering on the edges of my universities. Inside the classroom, one of his students was behind an vision. When I thought of deoxygenated skin I thought of the videos easel, working on a project from his class. He greeted her warmly by I’d seen of Eric Garner and George Floyd, recalled their panicked name, and then I watched him return to his work on a portrait of a voices saying, “I can’t breathe.” I looked down at my hands, one holdman named Larry Reni Thomas, a Wilmington native known as Dr. ing a pencil and the other resting on the table, the blue veins rolling Jazz because of his extensive knowledge of the music’s history. The two atop the backs of my palms, not because my skin was deoxygenated The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PineStraw

T H E C R E AT O R S O F N. C .

More Lil-Helper Moments are Made on Mohawk

225 W Morganton Rd Ste B, Southern Pines, NC 28387 910.246.8046 totalhouseandflooring.com Kitchen • Bath • Interior Design Custom Closets • Hardwood • Tile Carpet • Vinyl • Window Coverings 44

PineStraw

men met when William was working on Initiative 1897. I asked William what interests him about painting people he meets. He lifted his brush from the canvas and considered my question, his eyes settling just above the top of his easel. “For a long time, my art had been contained within an academic context,” he said, a reference to his Master of Fine Arts degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and his teaching in the undergraduate classroom. “In the portrait work, it’s important that the people that I invite (to be painted) don’t always belong to that same environment, so I’m having conversations with people who don’t necessarily have the same ties to UNC or Duke. I meet someone at the bus station and we strike up a conversation, and that’s a person I’m making a painting of. I feel like I start learning more about this area, or where I’m at, via those conversations. That’s how I’ve chosen to break away from a strictly academic environment.” I ask him if he specifically looks for subjects outside of academic settings, and he admitted that he does, but that he’s also interested in introducing people to art who do not always think of themselves as being individuals who appreciate it. “Sometimes I make visits to places with people because of the location. The Ackland Art Museum in Chapel Hill is right on Columbia and Franklin, and buses run all around that area. So if I was talking to somebody and having a conversation about art, there have been times — if they have the time — I’ll say, ‘Let’s take this conversation to the museum.’ Since I’ve identified museums and galleries as places I love to be as an artist and as a consumer of art, a lover of art, I don’t necessarily expect people to share that same interest, but if you tell me that you are not interested in art but you have not been inside a gallery, I question that and I challenge it and say, ‘Then let’s go check it out.’ “I have relatives, friends, people I’ve met who feel like they don’t have a direct connection to art, and I disagree right away because I’m thinking, if you dress yourself in the morning or if you like a certain model of car or if you like a certain movie, these are visual experiences where you are making choices about the visual world that suggests that you have some interest in aesthetics even if you don’t identify as an artist or a person who likes art. You can treat the museum that way, where you intuitively defer to your own tastes and go in there and judge whether or not you like whatever you see or are disinterested or feel moved by it based on your own experiences and not whatever education you have.” When William considers how hesitant many people are to engage The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

T H E C R E AT O R S O F N. C .

with art, he views his casual discussions with strangers as an opportunity that might lead them to a museum visit or to their portrait being painted: “It’s really of interest to me to engage in conversations where I try to demystify or deconstruct wherever that idea comes from.” William is also interested in deconstructing the role art played in his own life, especially during his childhood. There could be no better representation of this than the bright pink concrete block that rested on the floor nearby. I’d already seen the block on his website, and I knew it had been painted to match a wall William’s mother had painted in the apartment where he’d grown up with his sisters in the Altgeld Garden housing project on Chicago’s South Side. He bent down and picked up the block at his feet. “I extracted a single cinderblock as a way to represent that memory,” he said. “It became a way to carry that experience forward as a part of my narrative. How much of her decision to paint that wall influenced my decision to become an artist? This domestic alteration, how did it have an impact on the way I see the world?” I asked him about the differences between being affected by the burden of memory and affected by the physical burden of lugging around a 40-pound block of cement. “I did that unconsciously,” he says, referring to the burden of memory, “and now I’m doing it consciously. I’m choosing to carry this weight with me.” He smiles. “There’s never any good reason to carry a cinderblock around with you, but there might also not be a very good reason to take any traumatic or negative moments that I experienced

as a child to have that affect me in the present, but nevertheless, for better or worse, the things we experience through our lives are carried with us. I’m definitely carrying home with me.” I thought of his newborn daughter, a baby born in the Triangle, far from William’s Midwestern roots. What role would her father’s art play in her own conception of art’s role in her life? How would she carry her childhood with her? He smiled at the questions, and then he rested the block in his lap as if it were a newborn. “I hope she recognizes art as a normal, central fixture of her life, whether she is personally creating things or paying attention to the world around her. I hope she recognizes that it’s something valuable and precious. “I hope she has an interest in exploring and discovery. I hope she gets to know Durham and North Carolina in a way that’s really intimate. I want her to carry with her how rich the world can be wherever she is as long as she’s paying attention.” If William’s daughter follows the example of her father — an artist who is constantly paying attention to his surroundings with an idea toward capturing the richness of a place and the people who inhabit it — I’ll bet she’ll learn to do just that. PS Wiley Cash is the Alumni Author-in-Residence at the University of North Carolina Asheville. His new novel, When Ghosts Come Home, is available wherever books are sold.

Your idea of investing today may be different tomorrow. We get that. Our Southern Pines office has options and guidance that grow with you. Here in Southern Pines, Philip is just one of many Schwab Branch Leaders ready to offer guidance and a wide range of investment options for your changing needs. Philip works to put you first. Even if you’re not sure what comes next.

Philip Bailey

Get started at schwab.com/southernpines

PineStraw

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Homeowners Association Services Managing A Community Can Be Time-Consuming, Stressful, & Costly

Services Include: Accounting Services • Online Portal for Residents Online Portal for Board Members • Emergency Call System available 24/7 Periodic Property Inspections • Contracting Services Annual Meeting Support • Reporting Maintaining Association Files

Property Management

Carolina Commercial Property Management offers HOA Services to manage your community so that you don't have to. Contact us today!

Blake Webb, CMCA • 910.690.4986 • blake@carolina-commercial.com • www.carolina-commercial.com 375 Pinehurst Ave, Ste 6, Southern Pines, NC 28374

Winners announced in The Pilot & and on thepilot.com April 13th

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PineStraw

A R T O F T H E S TAT E

Wild & Whimsical Anne Lemanski’s fanciful patterned creatures

By Liza Roberts

If you’ve seen any of Anne

Lemanski’s cosmic, colorful animal sculptures in person, you know they look as if they might twitch, or pounce, or slink on by. The skins that cover them — psychedelic prints and unexpected patterns — somehow add to this unlikely effect. Perhaps her multicolored tiger, or her ocelot, or her amazing rabbit, has emerged through a looking-glass portal from some magical realm and wound up in our own?

PineStraw

You’re not far off. Lemanski’s Spruce Pine studio is in fact an otherworldly laboratory of creation where she doesn’t just make an animal, she learns it inside out. She studies its physicality and psychology, figures out how its haunches tense when it sits back, how they loosen in a run, how its brow might scowl at distant prey. Then she replicates all of that with copper rods she bends, cuts and welds into a threedimensional sculpture, an armature. In an upstairs made of shipping containers, another act of creation happens, guided not by realism but by intuition. Here, she will create a skin for that armature, make it out of digital photographs or prints or collage or all three, and print it on paper. She will draw and cut a pattern as if she were making a dress or a suit, and sew it all on, piece by piece, with artificial sinew. Her tools — wire cutters and an X-ACTO knife — are the same, simple ones she has used for 30 years. She has no assistants. On a warm and wet spring weekend, Lemanski is learning mink. Her giant mastiff, Dill, sits nearby. Photographs of mink in every position and resolution surround her, filling a wall and every tab on her computer. She’s learning about what minks eat, how they’re bred for coats, about the recent killing of 17 million Covid-infected mink in Denmark. “Millions! I’m not exaggerating. I was horrified,” she says, shivering. The armatures for a few mink in different positions are underway; one is complete. She holds it in her hands. “Once the armature is done, that’s the most important part of capturing the animal,” she says. “I ripped this one apart like three times. And finally, one day, it just clicked.” With the armature complete, Lemanski moves on to the mink’s skin, leaning into the collages that form a significant counterpart to The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

A R T O F T H E S TAT E

her sculpture. Comprised of illustrated images from the pages of pre1970s textbooks, comic books, picture books, and children’s encyclopedias, Lemanski uses her X-ACTO knife to combine, say, giant squid with convertible cars, pigeons with mermaids, skeletons with alphabet blocks, chewing gum with polar bears. There are butcher’s maps for cuts of meat and colored-dot tests for colorblindness, and constellations and cockatoos — a century’s worth of illustrations shaken and stirred into a cocktail of nature and man, science and myth, technology, geometry, and things that are cool. A series made during Covid, Metaphysical Mineral, explores the properties of a series of eight different minerals. Quartz includes a high diver in a ’50s-era swimsuit, a white stallion and a swarm of bees. Sulphur gets a winding snake, a stick of dynamite and a cigarette. These individual component images are one of a kind and cannot be replicated; to do so would be to lose the unmistakable texture and character of the Ben-Day dots used in printing from the 1950s to the 1970s (made particularly recognizable by the pop artist Roy Lichtenstein). “I’ve tried [copying them], and it just doesn’t work,” she says. So when she uses these images in a collage, Lemanski tacks them down lightly with a little loop of tape so she can take them off and use them again. This technique also adds to the three-dimensional look of the collages once they’re printed. She credits a residency at Charlotte’s McColl Center with launching this kind of work. Inspired by the possibilities of the center’s largeformat digital printer, she made 12 small collages and printed them in huge dimensions. These prints ended up forming the basis of a solo exhibition at the center that also included sculpture, in this instance a “three-dimensional collage” that incorporated some of the printed collage animals themselves. A 4-inch image of an impala in one print, for instance, became a life-sized impala sculpture in the center of the room that she “skinned,” in a meta twist, in digital prints of the tiny image’s own fur. “That was a challenging piece to make,” she says. So was the Tigris T-1, a freestanding, life-size sculpture of a tiger balancing on a ball, that was acquired by noted collector Fleur Bresler for donation to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark., a career-catapulting moment Lemanski is still pinching herself about. Her work is also in the permanent collections of The Mint Museum, the North Carolina Museum of Art, the Asheville Art Museum and in many private collections. It’s even The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

found its way into wallpaper as part of a fanciful line of sly, butterflyand-bird-bedecked prints made in Schumacher’s Peg Norris collection, a collaboration between Charlotte gallerist Chandra Johnson and interior designer Barrie Benson. What’s next is what excites Lemanski most. Lately, she’s been working on an animal that’s captured her imagination for a while: a horse — a life-sized Appaloosa. “Who doesn’t love a horse?” she asks, as she works out the intricacies. “The hooves and ankles of a horse are extremely complex; they’re bulbous, they’re angular, and that’s where all the business happens.” Also in the hopper: her first piece of public, outdoor art — another large animal — to be cast in aluminum. It could mark the beginning of a whole new oeuvre. “I really am looking forward to the work I’m going to make in the future,” Lemanski says. “I think it’s going to be on a large scale, and I just want to keep pushing the work forward… It’s the unknown of the future that keeps me going.” PS This is an excerpt from Liza Roberts’ forthcoming book Art of the State: Celebrating the Art of North Carolina, to be published by UNC Press this fall. PineStraw

Get Preapproved Today

IN THE SPIRIT

Springing into Sours Variations on sunny weather cocktails

By Tony Cross

I’m happy to

PHOTOGRAPH BY TONY CROSS

report that spring is here. Finally. There are bartenders who might get more creative during the fall and winter months, and then there are hacks like me who get giddy as soon as the sun kisses my skin. I’m all about some warm weather. And what better way to start out this spring season than whipping up different sours? There are other styles of drinks I enjoy this time of the year, but for now, it’s all about the sours.

So, what is a sour, you ask? Simply put, it’s citrus, sweetener and spirit, combined into a drink. The daiquiri (rum plus lime juice plus sugar), probably my favorite drink ever, is a sour. Jennings Cox may have been the first to do it, mixing rum, lime juice and sugar, right before the 20th century, in Cuba — and for that, I’m eternally grateful. There are many other drinks with basically the same formula, and all are sours. But what about drinks that have sour mix in them? Like it or not — and I don’t — there are many restaurants and bars today that use sour mix, and I’m not speaking just of corporate-run restaurants where it’s pretty much out of the bartender’s control. Even some independent bars and restaurants use the high-fructosecorn-syrup-mess-of-an-excuse-for-a-mix as an ingredient. Bartender and author Derek Brown says it best in his book Spirits, Sugar, Water, Bitters: How the Cocktail Conquered the World: The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

“One of the things that helped bars like T.G.I. Fridays crank out cocktails for the masses was the use of sour mix. Powdered beverages then were not viewed with the total scorn we have for them today. In the 1970s, instant powdered beverages had taken a foothold all over the cultural landscape. The turn toward the worst versions (of sour mix) was ultimately done because they were cheap to make, cheap to buy, and saved a lot of time behind the bar. Later on, opposition to sour mix would become a red flag that craft bartenders hoisted in their war against bad tasting, chemicalladen cocktails. But this ingredient that would sour the craft rose to absolute dominance while the Bay City Rollers blared from the speakers and the bottom of their pants widened. One more reason to blame the ’70s.” Indeed. I don’t think there is anything wrong with prebatching ingredients before a busy night behind the bar (especially if you are alone with absolutely no one to help), or if you’re having to dish out a few hundred cocktails within an hour at a big event. If you’re making each cocktail to order, or making drinks at home, add each ingredient at a time, and if you couldn’t tell from Mr. Brown’s excerpt, ixnay the sour mix. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, here are a few sour recipes to complement your future suntan.

Marmalade Sour

This is an oldie but goodie from bartender Jamie Boudreau, owner of the whiskey and bitters emporium Canon in Seattle. What I like about his cocktail is how you can experiment with the ingredients. If you don’t have cachaça on hand, try another rum, possibly an Agricole. Or try a gin! The same goes with the flavor of marmaPineStraw

IN THE SPIRIT

Spring is the Time for New Beginnings Let Us Help You with Your Next Step!

lade. I think I had this on my bar menu years back. Hellaciously good. 2 ounces cachaça 2 tablespoons low-sugar orange or grapefruit marmalade 3/4 ounce lemon juice 1/4 ounce simple syrup (Boudreau recommends a 2-part sugar, 1-part water ratio) 2 dashes orange bitters 1 large egg white Edible flower (optional garnish) In a cocktail shaker, add ice and all ingredients (sans edible flower). Shake hard until shaker is ice cold and double-strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with flower.

You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like a Million Bucks

This is one of the first cocktails I put on my menu when I started getting into this whole drink thing. A twist on a whiskey sour, it’s my blatant rip-off of the Billionaire cocktail from New York’s Employees Only. At the time, I didn’t have access to the bourbon the recipe called for, so I substituted Four Roses. For the sake of convenience, I’m going to switch one detail in the specs. The original Billionaire recipe calls for absinthe bitters — and I did make that behind the bar — but a touch of absinthe will do. 2 ounces Four Roses bourbon 3/4 ounce lemon juice 1/2 ounce cranberry syrup* (do not exceed) 1/16 ounce absinthe 1 lemon wheel (garnish)

JESSICA ROWAN

Broker 910-585-5438

NIKKI BOWMAN

Broker/Owner 910-528-4902

760 B NW Broad Street Southern Pines, NC www.realtyworldofmoore.com

PineStraw

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, add ice, and shake like hell until you feel satisfied. Double strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with lemon wheel. *Cranberry syrup: Mix 1/2 cup of unsweetened cranberry juice with 1 cup (by weight) cane sugar in a pot over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved and let cool before transferring to a container and refrigerating. Syrup holds for two weeks. PS Tony Cross is a bartender (well, ex-bartender) who runs cocktail catering company Reverie Cocktails in Southern Pines. The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

D O N ’ T J U ST L I VE H E R E . . .

LOVE IT HERE.

LIVE at Quail Haven Village, a Senior Living Community, and... LOVE the picturesque location conveniently close to the Village of Pinehurst

LOVE the INSPIRE wellness program that helps promote an active lifestyle

LOVE the newly renovated garden apartment homes LOVE the continuing care on-site to provide peace of mind. Call 910.537.6812 to schedule a tour and see why residents don’t just live here, they LOVE IT HERE.

155 Blake Blvd., Pinehurst, NC 28374 | QuailHavenVillage.com A Life Plan Community offered by Liberty Senior Living.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN

To Everything a Season And spring is for digging in the dirt

By Jan Leitschuh

These are the best of days, weather-wise.

In the Sandhills, dogwoods and azaleas swell, turning our area into a fairyland. The garden stores and centers see a brisk business in April, as sunny days and pleasant temps lure folks out to tend their yellowed, pine-pollened yards. And the urge to grow a garden takes hold, to raise a few fresh vegetables for the kitchen. Now is a beautiful time to turn rich compost and a little lime into our garden beds, preparing the soil to receive seeds and tender transplants. It’s one of the ancient rites of spring, that calls to get our hands in the cold dirt. Some plants thrive in it, and some languish or rot away. It’s good to have a handle on which do what. Think of March, April and May as three different planting zones. In late February and early March, sugar snap and snow peas can be sown directly into the garden. They laugh at the cold and provide buckets of sweet snaps for salads, stir-fries and snacks. Other seeds that thrive in this time period are chard, spinach, turnip, radish, carrots, lettuce, arugula, beets, rutabaga and spicy mustard. Irish potatoes can go in too. Transplants of onions, broccoli, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi and collards can be set out during this time. Pots of parsley, mint and dill seed are herbs that thrive. If you dislike hot summer gardening and bugs, perhaps you will enjoy just planting an early garden for a fresh harvest. After all, the farmers markets are bursting at the seams come summer. April allows for further variety. Weather conditions are transitioning, and that is reflected in the soil temperatures. Our last frost date is in early April, meaning the probability is low for a killing frost. The nights are still chilly, but the days grow warmer. The soil, though transitioning, is still quite chilly and can rot certain seeds and even transplants. Choose seeds and plants suited for this situation. If you’re unwillThe Art & Soul of the Sandhills

ing to lose a few seeds or plants, early April can be a little tricky, but sound the all-clear after mid-month. Bush snap beans can be pre-sprouted or sown directly. Summer squash and zucchini can go in early, to try to outrun some of the emerging bugs. Plant any sweet corn this month. Set up that cucumber trellis and go for it, especially after the middle of the month. Southern field peas can start to go in and continue in succession through May. Some peppers can be planted mid-month, though if you are only putting in a few plants, you might wait until the last week of April. Sunflowers can be seeded in if you’d like to attract pollinators to your garden. And fennel is an herb that will thrive. In April, that itch to plant a tomato hits. Resist. Who doesn’t love a juicy, homegrown tomato? The garden shops and farmers markets are full of beautiful transplants, and lots of variety — heirloom, grape, slicing/sandwich, plum/paste, and more. Feel free to grab your favorites, but hold off planting them directly in the garden soil. Instead, pot them up in a nutrient-balanced potting soil, and bring your tray of transplants in at night if temps drop low. They will put on healthy root systems and good top growth and be ready to hit the ground running. I find rinsed milk cartons with a few holes punched for drainage to be economical and roomy, growing gorgeous tomato transplants. When the time comes to plant, dig a deep hole, peel back the carton and plant — in May. By then, the night temperatures are consistently in the 50s. The soil is warming up to receive the last of your garden’s spring input. Besides tomatoes, you can give heat-loving eggplant the same treatment. It will thank you with strong production. May is the time for direct seeding your okra, and winter squash will thrive. Sweet potato slips planted then will make some fun digging in the fall. Basil, a true heat-thriver, can be safely transplanted or sown — or both. Enjoy these upcoming spring days, pollen or no. Answer that ancient call to root about in the dirt. I know I will be. PS Jan Leitschuh is a local gardener, avid eater of fresh produce and co-founder of Sandhills Farm to Table. PineStraw

ff Hats O l’s ea to O’N rs ea 50 Y

195 American Fusion

Cuisine A Shop of Her Own Ace Hardware Against the Grain Agora Bakery and Café Anchored Canine, Mr. Stacey West A-Tent-Hut Sleepovers LLC Atex Technologies, Inc. Bakehouse Bare Roots Color & Hair Design Studio Be Our Guest Travel Company Beauty Counter, Melissa Lewis Bella Spa and Nails Belli Bambini Berri Bowlful Bikram Yoga Studio Bradshaw Capital Management Brixx Bull Room C Cups Capel Rugs Carolina Hurricanes Carolina Mudcats Carolina Philharmonic Castle Livery Chapman’s Cheerful Squirrel Chef Warren’s Collab Co. Color Street Consultant, Amanda Duffy Cool Sweats Cooper and Bailey’s Cotton & Grain Country Bookshop Crabtree Valley Mall Dapper Dog Mobile Grooming

The O’Neal School would like to thank the following businesses who gave so graciously to its Prom Gala Benefi fitt.

Durham Bulls Eagles and Angels Elite Academy of Dance Elliotts on Linden ETC Eve Avery Exhale...A Salon Eye Candy Family Eye Care of the Carolinas Fanatical Skin & Ink Fayetteville Woodpeckers First Bank First Capital Bank FirstHealth of the Carolinas Five Points Pet Resort Form V Chocolates Fresh Market Gamez Foundation Gentlemen’s Corner Grant Furh Foundation GreenHat Solutions Harris Teeter Healthy Kids Hollyfield Design Honeycutt Jewelers House of Fish Hugger Mugger Brewing Company Ironwood Jack Hadden Floral & Event Design James Creek Cider Jason’s Tire & Auto Jeanne Rhea, Mixed Media Artist Jersey Mike’s Jessie Mackay Johnny O’s Awards Karma Beauty Spa Kona-Ice of the Sandhills Kuhn Dental Associates

Lavender Restyle Market Lazy 5 Ranch Lil Bo Peep Lily Rose Lisi Italian Little Toy Shop Lowe’s Foods Main Street Home Loans Maren’s PANDORA and More Maria’s Mexican Restaurant Martial Arts Academy of Southern Pines Massage Envy Midland Bistro Misty Morning Ranch Mockingbird on Broad Moe’s Monkee’s Mosquito Authority My Gym Sandhills Nascar Hall of Fame Natures Own NC Symphony Neko Thai and Sushi Bar Oh Sew Sweet, Ashley Bonifer Opulence of Southern Pines Outback Papa Blue Mixing and Music Studio Papa John’s Pinehurst Olive Oils Pinehurst Resort Pinehurst Surgical Clinic Pinescones Pizza Hut Prem Nath Catering Publix Pulmonary Medicine/ Pinehurst Medical Clinic

www.ONealSchool.org

Red Bowl Reverie Riverbanks Zoo & Garden Roast Office Rodan + Fields Sandhills Bowling Center SANDHILLS FLY-A-WAY, LLC Sandhills Gymnastics Sandhills Pediatrics Scotland Motors Inc Seven Lakes Dance So Pies South Carolina Stingrays Southern Angel Donuts Splash and Dash Sport Clips Sunrise Theater Teramasu Texas Roadhouse The O’Neal School The Wine Cellar Tiki Tours Total Wine & More True Spec Golf TruFit Gym Thyme & Place Café US National Whitewater Center VA Composites Van Scoyoc Periodontics & Implants Vann Fine Art Portraits Village Wine Shop Villager Deli Yellowbird Southern Table and Bar Zaxby’s

PLEASURES OF LIFE

Egg-Dyeing for Empty Nesters An Easter without kids brings a basketful of memories

By Tom Allen

I’ve never been sure when

a parent qualifies as an “empty-nester.” Maybe when the only, or last, child has his or her place, when their delivery and return address changes.

The younger of our two daughters officially fledged in June of 2020 when, like her sister, she married just out of college. But from March until her wedding day, June 20, courtesy of a pandemic, the last half of her senior year at Meredith College was virtual. With campus housing closed and classes moved online, Sarah packed up and came home. We loved it. During the day, she continued her student teaching, online, with 20-plus kindergartners. After school, we cooked, ate supper together, played board games, and during visits from her fiancé, planned for a COVID wedding, with 15 guests instead of 250. Her presence also meant she was home at Easter, specifically, the Saturday before Easter, which in our family is egg-dyeing day. We, like many, have specific holiday traditions. Fewer, by far, at Easter than Christmas, but nonetheless beloved. Until last year, one or both daughters were home for the annual ritual. No fizzy tablets and water for us. The real deal — the sound of boiling eggs bumping against a pot, the pungent aroma of hot water and vinegar, and McCormick’s “Assorted Food Color and Egg Dye.” Four little vials — red, yellow, green, blue. The back of the box provides instructions for classy colors like “orange sunset” and “dusty rose.” When the girls were old enough to read, we challenged them to follow directions for other hues — 24 drops of red and 16 of blue make “pretty purple”; nine of green and three of yellow give you “mint green.” Or just squeeze this many drops of whatever and this many drops of whatever and see what happens. Traditions die hard. Soon-to-be-graduated and married Sarah, along with Mom and Dad, spread newspapers on the kitchen table. My wife boiled a dozen Dollar Tree eggs, their shells dinging against the pan when it hit that rolling boil. Sarah boiled the egg-dyeing water. Odd how the smell of boiled eggs and a teaspoon of White House Apple Cider Vinegar, like cinnamon at Christmas, becomes the smell The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

of Easter. Lilies, boiled eggs, and vinegar. Who knew? We mixed the vinegar and water in glass ramekins, the same ones used for years. I know. They make plastic cups for those kinds of things, but again, traditions die hard. Like a hot potato, gotta wait for the eggs to cool a bit, but soon, with newspapers spread, water and vinegar mixture ready, spoons out, the time for dunking and dying came. I’m a McCormick purist — red, yellow, green, blue. Sarah and her mother live on the edge, mixing this with that. No matter. There was laughter and joy, the essence of Easter. We left our creations to dry in the empty Dollar Tree carton. Then, as in years past, we placed the colored eggs in a basket of plastic grass. This would be the centerpiece on our kitchen table for the next couple of weeks. Last year, my wife and I found ourselves alone on the Saturday before Easter — empty nesters with a dozen cheap eggs. “You wanna dye eggs?” Beverly asked. “Sure,” I responded, admittedly without much enthusiasm. She boiled the eggs, but only six. I laid out newspapers. She heated the water. I added the vinegar. Same ramekins. Same McCormick colors. I dipped my three in red, yellow, green. She went for half-and-half colors with hers. Finally, our six dry eggs were placed in the centerpiece basket with plastic grass. We smiled. Traditions die hard. The saying goes, “We give our children two things — roots and wings.” Roots keep them grounded; wings give them freedom to be themselves. I’ve seen the cliché attributed to Goethe, Jonas Salk and the ubiquitous “unknown.” Their words convey wisdom and truth, but watching them fly can be bittersweet. New families are formed, new traditions are established. Some holidays the house is full. Others, the nest is empty. Fortunately, our daughters and their husbands live an hour north. The oldest is expecting our first grandchild, a boy, at the end of April. Even with an early arrival, he’ll be too young for eggdyeing this year. Ah, but next year, sometime before Easter, we’ll probably cover a kitchen table with newspapers, boil some eggs, bring out the ramekins, vinegar, and McCormick “Assorted Food Color and Egg Dye.” Who cares what colors he chooses? Traditions live on, like Easter’s joy and laughter. PS Tom Allen is a retired minister living in Whispering Pines. PineStraw

REN OVA TION S

TION VACA

FITTING YO UR LOANS TO YO UR LI FE

W H EN I T CO M ES TO F I NA N C I N G YO U R D RE A M S , NOT ALL BORROWERS ARE CREATED EQUALLY.

That’s why First Capital Bank offers personalized financing options for deserving buyers who may not be served by cookie-cutter products.

VEHICLES

HOME EQUITY LINE OF CREDIT First Capital Bank specializes in the personal touch. Whatever your personal loan needs, we have a loan program for you. If you are looking to buy a new boat or to refinance your car, we are eager to listen to you. With competitive rates, flexible terms and common-sense underwriting, we will respond to your inquiries promptly. BRIDGE LOANS Timing is everything, and that’s true in the loan business. If there’s a gap between a sale and a new purchase, and your buyer can’t finance the difference personally, we may be able to help. As a locally owned, community bank, we can often help bridge the gap.

RY LUXU

JUMBO LOANS Mortgages that exceed the FHFA limits deserve special care, and we deliver it. Our loan officers understand the local housing market, and bring an expertise that good ol’ Fannie and Freddie just can’t. If your buyer has a solid credit score and sufficient assets, we’re here to help.

TION VACA

Jeremy Johnson

Patrick Barry

Market President Commercial Lender 910.578.1704 NMLS#: 871550

REN OVA TION S

Commercial Lender 910.992.6029 NMLS#: 664865

WE LIVE LOCAL, WE DINE LOCAL, AND URGE YOU TO BANK LOCAL WE ARE ON MEETING STREET-NOT WALL STREET.

WE GET IT!

15 Chinquapin Rd Ste B • Pinehurst, NC 28374 • (910) 610-4343 • fcbcarolinas.com

RET AIL

CROSSROADS

Planet Sandhills North Carolina’s center of biodiversity

By Bruce A. Sorrie

In simplest terms, biodiversity

is the total number of animals and plants that occur in a certain area, say, a country or state. When asked, most North Carolinians would say that here in the Tar Heel State, biodiversity is highest in the mountains, with the extreme range of elevation and rugged topography, including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. A second area of biodiversity might be the outer Coastal Plain and barrier islands (including the Outer Banks), with its species-rich pine savannas, maritime-influenced plant communities, and huge numbers of nesting birds in summer and birds that winter there in the cold weather. Yet, when the numbers are tallied, it is the lesser known and often overlooked Sandhills region that comes out on top. And not just in one category — plants, for example — but in several others as well. This seven-county region (Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Lee, Moore, Richmond and Scotland), while not very large — 3,384 square miles — encompasses a wealth of natural habitat types, which in turn support high overall biodiversity. The Sandhills region overlaps three of the four major regions of the state, encompassing parts of the Piedmont and Coastal Plain

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

as well as the entirety of the Sandhills. Each of those regions has different geology, soil types and topography, and the natural habitats reflect that. In the Piedmont we see rocks when we walk through the woods, and rock ledges often front rivers such as the Deep and the Cape Fear. The Raven Rock State Park in Harnett County boasts one of the biggest ledges in the state. The brownwater (nutrient-rich) rivers of the Piedmont support wonderfully tall and shady forests on floodplains. In the Coastal Plain we have Carolina bays, some forested with pond cypress, some open ponds, which support unique plants and animals that have adapted to fluctuating water levels. We also see xeric “bay rims” (dune-like sand ridges) bordering the bays, and dryto-xeric flatwoods elsewhere. In the Sandhills, we encounter myriad streamheads where rainwater collects to form acidic and nutrient-poor blackwater creeks and swamps. The margins of these streamheads provide habitat for many species typical of outer Coastal Plain savannas plus endemics found nowhere else. These streamheads are embedded within some of the highest quality longleaf pine communities in the entire Southeast: Fort Bragg, Camp Mackall, Sandhills Game Land, Weymouth Woods - Sandhills Nature Preserve, Carvers Creek State Park, Walthour-Moss Foundation, Calloway Forest Preserve, Eastwood Preserve and others. Each section of the Sandhills has its own long and complex history, and each brings many products to the biodiversity table. Now, for the numbers. These have been generated by the ongoing North Carolina Biodiversity Project (nc-biodiversity.com), an online resource where anyone can read species accounts, see images, and view maps of the flora and fauna of North Carolina. Vascular plants (mosses, liverworts, lichens not included): Moore PineStraw

CROSSROADS

EXPLORE

County is No. 1 in N.C. with 1625 species (including non-natives that have become established); Wake is a close second with 1622; and Orange a distant third with 1548. Notably, Richmond (1475), Harnett (1450), and Cumberland (1436) counties all rank in the top 10 for plant diversity.

Delight in a world overflowing with exquisite home decor textiles & trims, elegant drapery hardware & designer wallpapers.

Butterflies: Moore tops the list with 120 documented species; Richmond (115) and Cumberland (114) are in the top five. Dragonflies and damselflies: Richmond is king of N.C. with 119; Moore is a close second with 117; Cumberland (115) is tied for third; and Harnett (110) is seventh. Grasshoppers and crickets: Wake is far ahead with 110 species; Moore (84) is second; and Scotland (70) is fifth.

PERFORMANCE Create with proven indoor & outdoor winners: Crypton Home, Bella Dura, Inside/Out & more.

Freshwater fishes: Richmond and Brunswick counties are tied with 91; Moore (81), Harnett (76), and Cumberland (68) make the top 10. Moths: Madison County in the mountains is No. 1 with a whopping 1352; Moore is 12th with 860. Birds: Inland counties cannot hold a candle to coastal ones when it comes to numbers of species of breeding and migrant birds. Dare County boasts 434 species; Wake a very impressive 343 is fifth; but, at 253, Moore is only 23. Mammals: The Sandhills region’s best is 38 species in Moore, far down the list, which is topped by Buncombe County with 66. Of course, these lists are not static and will change over time as biologists and naturalists document new additions. However, the fact that several Sandhills counties rank in the top 10 statewide in multiple species groups will likely not change very much. It is remarkable that the seven-county Sandhills region, which represents only 6.3 percent of the area of North Carolina, supports half of the state's vascular plants: 2,100 out of 4,200 species. We who live here are lucky indeed to have such diversity at our doorstep. PS Bruce A. Sorrie is a graduate of Cornell University and the author of dozens of scientific papers, including descriptions of 13 new species. He lives in Whispering Pines. The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

STYLE

If you want a golden rule that will fit everything, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. William Morris

MILL END THE

Est. 1936

STORE

Tuesday - Saturday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 2706 Bragg Boulevard Fayetteville, N.C.

910-483-2375 PineStraw

Overlooking the 18th green of Pinehurst No. 2 Sunday - Thursday | 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Friday - Saturday | 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. Pinehurst Resort Clubhouse • One Carolina Vista Village of Pinehurst • 910.235.8134 • pinehurst.com

- 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.

$119.99 $69.99. 40% off*

Unique NEW formula for better sleep.

• CBD • CBN

• Myrcene • Linalool

Ask us about our $50.00 coupon for participating in our Slumber Sleep Study

105 E Pennsylvania Ave Southern Pines, NC 28387 910.687.4367 www.ritualx.com *Introductory price of $69.99 (not including tax) A 40% discount off MSRP of $119.99. Offer ends 4/1/2022.

PineStraw

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

OUT OF THE BLUE

Ode to Weather, or Not Spring belongs to the poets

By Deborah Salomon

In our righteous concern with

climate change, I’m afraid we’ve neglected weather. Not the extremes, which uproot trees and flood neighborhoods. Those are News, with a capital N. I mean the other kind, perfect days the morning meteorologist dismisses with a sentence unless they connect to something else. Sept. 11, 2001, was such a day in the Northeast, so beautiful that most documentaries mention the brilliant, cloudless sky, low humidity and slight chill. I remember it as just that — the perfect autumn morning until . . . Certain physiologies seem finely tuned to the weather. Humidity makes a hot day feel hotter, a cold day colder. It just makes me cranky. But not all humidity is created equal. The minute I walked out the door that day last month when snow was imminent, I felt a certain damp chill that precedes the white stuff. I remember my mother called the chilly dampness “raw.” Very descriptive, more so than anything from the TV meteorologist wearing a tight red dress and lip gloss. That’s the thing. Weather is better experienced than described. I lived most of my life far north, where November always meant raw and people, especially skiers, welcomed a Thanksgiving blizzard. If you’re dressed for it, nothing compares to sun bouncing off fresh powder under a brilliant blue sky, no wind, temps in single digits or below, which make ceiling beams creak come night. I hear the sweaty golfers howling protest. They have a point, I guess, if you skip July through October. Beach day! Having packed the kids and their water toys in the car and driven a couple of hours, you want a clear sky with just enough breeze to stir the heat. Actually, the most impressive beach weather finds high, massive cloud formations racing from horizon to shore. No worry if they are a fluffy white. Gray merging to black — menacing but just as beautiful. Beauty exists in even the most destructive weather. An ice storm knocking out power for days inspires photographers to snap iceencased twigs sparkling in the sun. Hurricanes inspire pilots to fly into their eyes, which remain calm. Similar bravehearts chase twisters, documenting their power. My grandfather, a bricklayer with a penchant for mathematics, taught me about cloud formations, which determined whether he should water his enormous garden plot. He didn’t know Latin names, only what the clouds foretold. Then, when the thunder com-

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

menced, he said nothing, just nodded and smiled, since one man’s rained-out ball game is a farmer’s windfall. “Windfall” itself is a term coined in the 15th century; landowners gave fruit that blew off the trees during a storm to the serfs. Weather inspires music. Remember Gene Kelley dancing in Singin’ in the Rain? Etta James and Lena Horn crooning “Stormy Weather”? “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” from Butch Cassidy and Sundance? Then, “They Called the Wind Maria,” “Blue Skies,” “Candle in the Wind”? The Beatles’ prediction “Good Day Sunshine” and “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” from Stevie Wonder, who never saw a single beam. Technology has heightened our awareness: Get minute-to-minute details on the 24-7 Weather Channel or the weather apps. Without weather, art would be flat, dull. Van Gogh illuminated his subjects with the almost-tangible sunlight of Provence, but Michelangelo, in the Sistine Chapel, placed God giving life to Adam over a high, thin cloud cover, while Leonardo da Vinci posed Mona Lisa against what looks like smog. Spring weather belongs to the poets — soft rain, warm sunshine, aromatic breezes suggest romance, rejuvenation, rebirth of the insects, unfortunately. On the flip side, the Bible relates heaven dumping 40 days and 40 nights of rain, forcing Noah into ship-building. How about the wind that blew Dorothy clear out of Kansas? Who knew the deadly fog that smothered London in 1952 would be immortalized on a raincoat label? And now April, the cusp of spring. Wordsworth had his turn, as did Shakespeare. Hear it best, from an anthropomorphizing Ogden Nash in “Always Marry an April Girl”: Praise the spells, bless the charms, I found April in my arms. April golden, April cloudy, Gracious, cruel, tender, rowdy; April soft in flowered languor, April cold with sudden anger, Ever changing, ever true — I love April, I love you. Just don’t forget the umbrella. PS Deborah Salomon is a writer for PineStraw and The Pilot. She may be reached at debsalomon@nc.rr.com. PineStraw

MANIFEST YOUR VIBE

The Crystal Coast........... It’s more fun to play out of our sand. I can help you find the perfect coastal home.

Michael Stars Lanston Sport Lanston Jens Pirate Booty Paige Denim Just Black Denim Thread and Supply

Dixie Kenda Kist Jewelry Diff Sunglasses Minnie Rose Articles of Society Skeem Design Many other awesome lines!

judyferguson@kw.com

(252) 342-8239

@manifest.boutique

240 NW Broad Street • Southern Pines • +1 (910) 684-8825

COME & JOIN THE FAMILY

Judy Ferguson

Based in Pinehurst and Emerald Isle

Foxfire Golf Club

THE RED FOX COURSE

THE GREY FOX COURSE

The member’s favorite, this Pinehurst golf course offers wide manicured fairways and large elevated fast rolling greens. Fairway bunkers are strategically placed to grab the wayward shot and there is no lack of sand guarding the greens.

Widely considered the most challenging course, the Grey Fox features hilly terrain, several doglegs and towering pines. Golfers must avoid the sand and position the ball on the proper side of the fairway so that they get the best approach angle to the small greens.

MEMBERSHIPS AVAILABLE STARTING AT $265/MONTH For more information please contact: Brad Thorsky, PGA, Director of Golf Foxfire Golf and Country Club • 9 Foxfire Blvd • Pinehurst, NC 27281-9763 • 910 295-5555 • bthorsky@browngolf.net

PineStraw

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

B I R D WA T C H

Knock, Knock Who’s there? Red-bellied . . .

By Susan Campbell

Here in central

PHOTOGRAPH BY DEBRA REGULA

North Carolina, we are fortunate enough to share the landscape with six different species of woodpeckers. With pileateds being the largest and downys being the smallest, the red-bellied woodpecker is about in the middle. Often it is possible to identify these feisty birds without the aid of binoculars. And once you recognize their loud, rolling calls, you will likely realize how common and widespread the species is.

Found in mixed forests of the Piedmont, pine forests of the Sandhills, and into the flooded bottomlands of the Coastal Plain, red-bellieds are adaptable birds with a rather broad diet. They require sizable dead trees, referred to as snags, for both roosting and nesting. Their heavy chisel-shaped bills are the perfect tools for drilling a new home when need be. Typically, a new cavity is constructed each spring before nesting begins. Interestingly, both the male and female will take part in creating the new nesting space. However, birds may take advantage of exiting cavities in live pines (created by red-cockaded woodpeckers) in the Sandhills, if the entrance is large enough for them to squeeze through. Although adult birds do have a reddish wash on the belly during

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

the spring, it is their red head feathers that get people’s attention. The males have bright feathers from their forehead all the way down the back of the neck, whereas the red on the females is limited to the nape. The back, as with many species of woodpeckers, is covered with black and white barring. Young of the year are easily identified by mid-summer — they have gray heads with no red appearing until early fall. Given their size, red-bellieds are most often seen hitching along the trunks and larger branches of trees, searching for food. They both look and listen for insects of all kinds on, or even in, the bark. They can pry the wood away or will pound on the outer bark to uncover prey hidden underneath. However, they will take advantage of fruit or nuts later in the season. Since they are opportunists, it is not surprising that they also take advantage of bird feeders. Not only will you see them eating suet but also black oil sunflower seeds. Sugar water feeders may even be attractive to them. The birds can become a nuisance if they become too vigorous and break the feeding ports on hummingbird feeders in their attempts to reach the nectar inside. Red-bellieds are readily identifiable in flight, given the translucent white patches near the wingtips. Their size and undulating flight style also aid in identification. The fact that they tend to be vocal when on the wing at this time of the year also gives them away. So keep an ear out and an eye to the sky — one of these handsome birds may just get your attention sometime soon. PS Susan Campbell would love to receive your wildlife photos and reports. She can be reached at susan@ncaves.com. PineStraw

CELEBRATING 14 YEARS!

@bambooaboutiquesalon

s Spring itoCelebrate Dental Assistants the time and Dental Hygienists

Spring & Easter Decor and Flowers

910-692-7243 66

PineStraw

www.hollyfielddesign.com

We love our staff and celebrate their hard work and dedication!

330 West Pennsylvania Ave, Southern Pines 910-695-3334 • www.edwardmonroedds.com The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

T H E NAT U R A L I S T

Backyard Bandits

Observing the private lives of a raccoon family

Story and Photographs by Todd Pusser

As I was walking past our living

room window on a bright, winter’s night, something caught my eye. Out in the front yard, beneath a birdfeeder, stood a bandit. The full moon high above illuminated its distinctive hunched back, pointed ears, dog-like snout and bushy tail. Dexterous paws busily scooped up sunflower seeds from the ground, spilled earlier in the day by hungry cardinals and gray squirrels. I stood quietly and watched as the raccoon turned its attention to the birdfeeder hanging high above its head. Standing on its hind legs, while simultaneously extending its front legs upward, the rac-

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

coon grasped the feeder with its paws and slowly rocked it back and forth, emptying more seed onto the ground. The ease at which the precocious critter performed the task left me with the distinct feeling it had done this before. Over the next 15 minutes, the raccoon repeated this behavior numerous times, eventually emptying the birdfeeder of its contents. Satiated, or perhaps simply because there was nothing left to eat, the raccoon slowly ambled toward the edge of the yard and disappeared into the night, no doubt looking for more mischief elsewhere. With their striped tails, large eyes, and distinctive black and white markings wrapped around a cute puppy-dog face, raccoons are among the most recognizable of North American mammals. Incredibly adaptive and intelligent, they make their homes in a wide assortment of habitats ranging from remote forests to heavily urbanized cities. Growing up in rural Eagle Springs, along the western edge of the North Carolina Sandhills, raccoons were always present on the landscape but I rarely saw them. My most memorable childhood encounters with the crafty critters were among the pages of Sterling PineStraw

T H E NAT U R A L I S T

North’s Rascal and Wilson Rawls’ Where the Red Fern Grows, two beloved novels that still feature prominently on my bookshelf. It was not until I moved to a densely populated Virginia city that I was able to observe raccoons, outside in their natural environment, with any detail. Our 3-acre suburban yard bordered a tidal river and contained a mixture of loblolly pines and hardwood trees. One impressive tree, a tall sweetgum, with a large, open cavity about 15 feet off the ground, stood just outside our second-story bedroom window. One April morning a few years back, I noticed a raccoon curled up in a tight ball at the cavity entrance. The animal remained there for several days, rarely moving, except to occasionally lift its head and stare at me when I mowed the lawn. After a couple of weeks, I began to worry that the animal might be sick. Toward the middle of May, I woke one morning to find three tiny, young raccoons peering out from the cavity along with the larger animal. The raccoon had not been sick, as I had feared, but was simply pregnant and had given birth to a trio of impossibly cute kits whose antics provided hours of entertainment. Being able to observe the intimate details of the lives of animals is a rare treat, and so it became a morning routine, with a cup of coffee in hand, to watch the raccoon family for a couple of hours before work. Mother raccoons are attentive, loving and tender, and this one proved to be no exception. Throughout the day, she constantly groomed and nursed her young. As the kits grew, she would often leave the increasingly cramped tree cavity and bask quietly on a nearby tree limb, obviously treasuring a moment of solace from her rambunctious young. Over time, her routine became predictable. She stayed nestled in the tree cavity with her young for much of the day, occasionally basking on nearby tree limbs when it was hot.

PineStraw

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Empowering Our Students with Great Careers in 2 Years

MOSQUITO PROTECTION FOR YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR YARD Keep mosquitoes away.

Contact Aberdeen Exterminating today

WE OFFER FREE INSPECTIONS AND FREE ESTIMATES Yard Treatments Termite Control Household Pest Control PROTECTING HOMES & FAMILIES

Since 1960

FREE INSPECTIONS • FREE ESTIMATES

High Wage | Global Demand | Excellent Benefits Call (910) 410-1700. Visit www.richmondcc.edu.

910.227.3883

NC License #1975

www.aberdeenexterminating.com Member American Mosquito Control Association

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PineStraw

We are your number one source in the Sandhills for quality, American-made poly patio furniture. Many items in stock at our showroom on Morganton Rd, come on by!

Sam & Betty Glick

PineStraw

225 W Morganton Rd Southern Pines NC 910-725-0394 | www.greyfox-outdoor.com The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

T H E NAT U R A L I S T

The raccoon family utilized the entire yard but frequented the azalea garden and the patch of dirt beneath the bird feeders, where they eagerly gobbled up spilled sunflower seeds. Several times that summer, I observed the young foraging elbow deep in the river and marveled at the dexterity of their paws as they “washed” their food. By early fall, mother raccoon weaned her kits and sent them on their way. I am not sure where they eventually settled, but on occasion, I would see a young raccoon dash across a nearby neighborhood street late at night in front of my car and wonder if it might be one from our yard. We ended up moving away from that riverfront property over six years ago. From time to time, I still think about that mother raccoon and wonder if she might still be alive. With abundant food and adequate shelter — which our yard had in spades — raccoons can live for well over a decade. It is entirely possible she is. Perhaps this spring will find her raising another family of young kits inside the cozy tree cavity just outside our old bedroom window. Thinking about that now, I can’t help but smile. PS At night, she ventured out of the cavity to look for food, always returning by sunrise. Toward the middle of summer, she began to take her young on her nightly forays.

Naturalist and photographer Todd Pusser grew up in Eagle Springs. He works to document the extraordinary diversity of life both near and far. His images can be found at www.ToddPusser.com.

with DiamondGlow™

A next-level skin resurfacing technology that does more than just skim the surface

3X1™ TECHNOLOGY IN ONE, SIMPLE STEP EXFOLIATION Precise diamond tip helps remove dry, damaged skin

EXTRACTION High-power suction deep cleanses the skin’s surface and pores

INFUSION High level of skin receptivity allows SkinMedica Pro-Infusion Serums to deliver professional-grade results

910.684.1588 • 2105 Juniper Lake Rd Ste. A, West End, NC 27376 • spa-laserinstitute.com The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PineStraw

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY TO US! April 12th Come Celebrate With Us!

Where Food Meets Spirit.

Extraordinary Food in a Comfortable, Casual Atmosphere

Chef Driven American Fare Open Every Day

(910) 246-0497 • 157 East New Hampshire Ave • Southern Pines, NC • www.ChapmansFoodAndSpirits.com Like us on

Stay in the know by subscribing to PineBuzz, a weekly events email from

Subscribe today by visiting PineStrawmag.com 72

PineStraw

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

G O L F T OW N J O U R NA L

Stumbling Into Happiness When Pinehurst is the journey’s end

By Lee Pace

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN GESSNER

James Walker Tufts had no

grand design on a New England-style village nor wall-to-wall golf courses when he set off from Boston in the mid-1890s. He wanted warm weather and a reasonable train ride from the snowy North to establish a winter resort, and it was by pure coincidence that he happened upon some 5,000 acres of land for sale just west of Southern Pines, the suggestion coming from a Wilmington insurance man he met on the train.

Walker Taylor, legend has it, suggested that the train station in Southern Pines might be a good starting point for Tufts. It was right on two of the nation’s major north-south transportation arteries — the railroad and U.S. Highway 1. Well, “highway” might be a bit of a stretch for the 1890s, but you get the idea. There was cheap land available, and it was halfway between Boston and Florida. “It’s an old family story,” says Walker Taylor III. “I have no way of proving its authenticity. But my grandfather always said he directed Mr. Tufts to the Sandhills. True or false, he did get the Tufts’ insurance busiThe Art & Soul of the Sandhills

ness. He even opened an office in Pinehurst to service Mr. Tufts.” So, how did you stumble upon Pinehurst? Stan Bradshaw and his wife, Jean, were living in St. Louis in 1997 when they channel-surfed across a television showing of Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf. The episode featured Arnold Palmer against Jack Nicklaus, played on Pinehurst No. 2 in April 1994. Those shows were part competition and part golf travelogue, so the Bradshaws were intrigued with the history and ambience of the golfcentric village in the North Carolina Sandhills. “You know, we ought to look at that place,” Jean said. Stan agreed, and soon after they booked flights, rooms and golf times for themselves and Jean’s parents. They traveled to Pinehurst in November 1997, and while the men played golf, the ladies toured the village and checked out The O’Neal School, a college preparatory school on Airport Road just northeast of Pinehurst. Stan and his father-in-law were smitten. “But how are you going to get Jean to move to a golf resort?” Stan’s father-in-law wondered. “I’ll figure something out,” Stan answered. It turns out the women were so impressed with The O’Neal School that Jean was ready to move — lock, stock and barrel. Bradshaw was in the banking, capital management and hedge fund world and could “live anywhere within an hour of an airport,” and thus had the freedom to move wherever suited the family’s interests. They joined Pinehurst Resort and Country Club, bought two lots to the right of PineStraw

G O L F T OW N J O U R NA L

the fourth fairway of the No. 2 course in 1999, and built a house. “We say that the three things that got us to Pinehurst would be Jack, Arnie and The O’Neal School,” Bradshaw says.

COMBINING NEW TRADITIONS & CLASSIC CUISINE

BANQUET FACILITY WITH SEATING FROM 1 TO 100! GREAT BURGERS & SANDWICHES IN THE LOUNGE

www.beefeatersofsouthernpines.com

Dinner Mon-Sat 5-10pm • Lounge 5pm-until Monday-Saturday 5:00pm-10:00pm 910-692-5550 • 672 SW Broad St. Southern Pines, NC

VOTED THE WORLD’S MOST COMFORTABLE RECLINER

160-L Pinehurst Ave. Southern Pines, NC comfortstudio.net The Sandhills Original 910-692-9624 TEMPUR-PEDIC Showroom

Discover How Comfortable Life Can Be.

Nothing helps you relax and unwind like the unmatched comfort of Stressless®. You can feel the difference in our innovative comfort technologies, including BalanceAdaptTM, which allows your body to automatically and effortlessly adjust to your every move. Do your body a favor. Sit in a Stressless and let it discover the ultimate comfort that it has been missing. ENDORSED BY

The American Chiropractic Association now endorses the “Stressless” seating solution from Ekornes, the largest furniture manufacturer in Scandinavia. This premium line of reclining sofas and chairs provides comfort and quality through its adaptive features, including a unique “Plus” system that ensures correct support for both the head and lower back.

LOCATED ON PINEHURST AVENUE BETWEEN ARBY’S AND LOWE’S HOME IMPROVEMENT

PineStraw

Mark Reinemann grew up in Wisconsin and as a golfer “was always looking in the spring to travel somewhere warm for golf — typically either southwest Florida or Scottsdale,” he says. He and his wife over time came to prefer the green of the South over the brown of Arizona, though Florida

“But how are

you going to get Jean to move to a golf resort?” wasn’t their cup of tea. He visited Pinehurst in the late 1980s, loved the experience, and was introduced to the Country Club of North Carolina through a banking client and CCNC member, Jack Schwerman. “Jack invited us to stay at his house for a long weekend in 1988 and we just fell in love with CCNC,” says Reinemann, who served seven years on the USGA executive committee and retired from the banking business in 2016. “It was one of those ‘perhaps someday we could be a member here’ moments. Fast forward and here we are. “We love the charm of the area, the slight change in seasons, the grace and style of the people who live here and, of course, the world-class golf. We never deviated from our plan to move here full time once I retired and have absolutely no regrets. We just love it here.” Robert “Ziggy” Zalzneck was enraptured as well by CCNC and the Sandhills, on Christmas Day in 1967. At the time, he was a young accounting intern in Raleigh a long way from his Pennsylvania home. He was given access to CCNC by his boss, club co-founder Dick Urquhart, and had the place to himself on the holiday. The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Wes

LITTLE George W.

for

R e g i s te r o f D e e d s

The experienced choice: ◆ 28 years law enforcement experience with NC Div. of Motor Vehicles ◆ Custodian of records: driver’s license and motor vehicle registration ◆ Assistant Supervisor of License and Theft Bureau serving 18 counties ◆ Personnel , budget, legal and technological skills ◆ Expertise in document fraud identification ◆ Moore County Deputy ◆ My experience will allow me to work closely with legal community ◆ Instructor Sandhills Community College ◆ Volunteer Fireman SPFD for 35 years

Paid for by: Little for Moore County Register of Deeds

Full-Service Canteen Full-Service Canteen Screened Screened PatioPatio Social Events Social Events Game Day Gatherings Game Day Gatherings Family-Friendly Atmosphere

EventtoHall (Open to Event Hall (Open Public) Hall seats up to 200 Hall seats up to 200 Catering Available Catering Available AV Connections AV Connections Sound System

Family-Friendly Atmosphere

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

L T IT

Sound System

PineStraw

Celebrate the Beautiful Things Like a place you can trust to send your pet

Voted Best of the Pines for Best Place to Board Your Pet 6 Years in a Row Allison Sanders Broker, ABR, SRS

919.621.5911 ASandersRealty@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram @asandersrealty

Ask me about my listing special for new clients.

Proven in Quality Custom Building …Since 1978 NC HousiNg Hall of fame Certified greeN ProfessioNal Certified agiNg iN PlaCe/uNiversal desigN

www.expernutritionadvisor.com/southern-pines-chiropractic

Custom Homes - Renovations - metal Buildings Proudly Supporting Our Military. Ask us how you can receive your custom home plans for FREE.

Boarding Daycare Grooming 1495 Montrose Rd., Raeford • 1 mile from Carolina Horse Park fivepointspetresort.com • 910-904-5787 US Hwy 1 North, Vass • Beside Spay/Neuter Clinic • fivepointspetresort.com • 910-692-2275

A healthy future begins with proper nutrition Learn how nutritional care and whole food supplements can assist your immune system and improve your quality of life.

Southern Pines Chiropractic, P.A. Serving the Sandhills since 1991

Dr. Joseph D. Wahl, Chiropractic Physician Dustin Adams

PineStraw

(910) 295-1504 • www.danieladams.com PO BOX 3090, Pinehurst, NC 28374

361 N.Bennett Street •Southern Pines

910-692-5207 • www.ncchiro.com The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

G O L F T OW N J O U R NA L

“I played 36 holes and it was 70 degrees,” says Zalzneck, who later joined the club and has served as president. “It was the prettiest place I’d ever been my whole life. I’ve loved the place ever since.” Marty McKenzie is a lifelong Pinehurst resident and real estate executive who loves to wax poetic about the “magic bubble” of the village of Pinehurst — the winding streets, the thick tree canopy, the absence of visual clutter. “As human beings, when we try to describe something to people they’ve never seen, we always use the five senses — it looks like, tastes like, feels like — whatever. When you try to describe Pinehurst to other people and you think of those senses, you can’t find anything. Nothing comes to mind. Pinehurst doesn’t look like anywhere else,” McKenzie says. “People drive into the village and they’re absolutely paralyzed. They look around and say, ‘This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. How can I be a part of it?’ We take for granted we have the same status as the Washington Monument and Mount Rushmore — all of those are National Historic Landmarks.” That bubble once snared a first-time visitor to Pinehurst on the second-floor porch of the Magnolia Inn. It was there amid the century-old magnolia trees over Memorial Day weekend in 1994 that Jane Deaton of Sea Island, Georgia, opened her eyes to the magic of Pinehurst. “We arrived late the night before so we didn’t really know where we were,” she says. “I walked out on the balcony the next morning and thought, ‘Oh, my God.’ It took my breath away. It was

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

glorious. The village literally unfolded beneath me. I said, ‘I want to live here.’” That day, Jane and Brian Deaton found a real estate agent and within the week bought a vacant lot at the intersection of Culdee and McKenzie roads, just two blocks behind the Carolina Hotel. Their new home was finished at the end of 1998. Earl Ellis was a floor trader at the New York Stock Exchange in the 1980s and later a partner in a Wall Street specialist firm. Ellis and his wife, Anne, had a vacation home in Florida, but since Ellis, in his words, “liked Florida but didn’t love it,” they began scouting in the early 1990s for options, including the Carolinas and Georgia coasts. A friend was a founding member at Forest Creek Golf Club and suggested Ellis visit Pinehurst. The Ellises drove through town on the way back north from Florida and got a room at the Holly Inn one day in 1997. “I just fell in love with the village,” Ellis says. “The thing that’s intriguing about Pinehurst is that if you’re in Pinehurst, you’re in Pinehurst because that’s where you wanted to go. There’s rarely someone who goes through Pinehurst to get somewhere else. So, you don’t have all this transient traffic. Everybody is playing golf and laughing it up at the bars and restaurants. There was something special about the feel of the place. “It was like Brigadoon. It seemed too good to be true.” PS Lee Pace has written about the Pinehurst experience for more than three decades from his home in Chapel Hill.

PineStraw

Featuring collections from

DuneBerry.com | 833.438.6323 120 Market Sq. | Village of Pinehurst

Women • Men • Children A Celebration of the Resort Lifestyle

let us create your new dream kitchen in less than a week.

TRUST YOUR KITCHEN TO

masters of the craft

• ALL-nEW AMISH-MADE DOORS, DRAWER fROntS

• 1/4” SOLID WOOD fACInG • nEARLy unLIMItED COMbInAtIOnS Of WOOD, StyLE, COLOR OR fInISH • MODIfy & CuStOMIzE: CHAnGE, EXtEnD, ADD • InStALL DRAWER bAnkS, ROLL-OutS, AnD MORE

AmericA’s Finest cAbinet reFAcing & cUstOm cAbinetrY SERVING THE CAROLIN nd YEAR AS 22

S O l I d WO O d C a b I N E T R E faC I N g Lifetime Warranty

reAD OUr 5-stAr reVieWs OnLine!

PineStraw

ask about

woodreface .com

free hardWare with full kitchen reface.

Call for details. Mention CODE PS2204. Offer expires 5/15/22.

sa n d h i l l s

Est.1979

free

in-home consultation

910-255-0090 The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

April ��

Pigeons

As the day star rises over a frozen field, kissing the roofs of houses, the barren limbs of pin oak trees and the long arm of the church spire reaching toward the wintry sky, I can’t help but think of the rock pigeons we saw huddled wing-towing early last evening, on two ropes of electrical wire. We passed by them so quickly, I only glimpsed these dozens of dozing birds, though long enough to note their cozy coexistence, their companionable willingness to keep each other warm. Heads tucked into their necks, their chests puffed like rising pastries, most slept but a few, perhaps keeping watch, remained vigilant. Like twin strings of black pearls, they enhanced the beauty of the bright firmament that would soon fold them into its purpling light — their little bird hearts beating as one through the cold, dark night. — Terri Kirby Erickson Terri Kirby Erickson’s most recent book of poetry is A Sun Inside My Chest.

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PineStraw

The Zoo

Fiction by Daniel Wallace Illustrations by Harry Blair

e were listening to Vivaldi the night I died, the bed so soft, so warm, my wife of nearly half-a-century perched beside me with a cup of ice chips, there to wet my tongue, my lips. Even though I die at the end of it, this is not a sad story, really: I was very old, comfortable, cared for, weary, and loved, loved my whole life long, ready to fade into whatever night was waiting for me. And of all the moments I might have conjured to accompany me as I was leaving, it was our very first date that I recalled. Clara and I were grad students in English, just classroom friends,

PineStraw

weeks away from defending our dissertations — hers on lute music in Shakespeare’s early plays, mine on Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein and the birth of modern science. I’d always liked Clara, but I think everybody did. She was smart but didn’t seem to care that she was, and made the rest of us — who were battling with each other, always burnishing the myth of our own brilliance — seem dumb. She was also funny, and the kind of pretty I was drawn to. Her nose was just a little longer than one thought it might have been, her eyes too big. They were emerald green, though, and rested on her big cheeks like marbles. Her knees were oversized for her long thin legs, like two snakes that The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

had just swallowed one rabbit each. The truth was she wasn’t really picture-pretty at all, but carried herself as if she were, or didn’t care that she wasn’t, and that made her more beautiful than anyone I’d ever seen. She seemed wild to me, beyond anything I could ever capture. I was 27 and looked like a young man overly acquainted with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, by which I mean bookish in a sunstarved sort of way, shy around actual humans, shiny brown hair, still waiting for the peach fuzz on my upper lip to turn to fur. Somehow she let me know that she was free — “I’ve been kind of seeing somebody, but now . . . ” And she shrugged. And there we were. So we decided to go out for a beer one night. I picked her up in the first car I’d ever owned, an old Dodge Dart I’d bought used five years before, beaten and bruised, 210,027 miles and counting. There was a hole in the passenger side floorboard a mouse could have slipped through, and the engine was seriously flatulent. “Nice car,” she said, hopping in. She was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, variations on which seemed to encompass her entire wardrobe. “Is it new?” “Very funny.” “Kidding,” she said. “But seriously, it’s a real car, right?” “Ha ha.” “I’m just having fun with you.” She punched me in the shoulder. “But honestly, want me to give it a good push? Happy to.” She went on like this for a little while and stopped just before it became tedious. Maybe just a beat after it became tedious. But I was laughing. “For someone who doesn’t even have a car, you have strong opinions about mine.” “I kid you,” she said. “But seriously.” Off we went to a place called Brother’s, famous for its jukebox and onion rings and frosty beer mugs. We slipped into a booth and talked about what graduate students talk about — dissertation directors, anxiety, our cohorts, and more anxiety. That was the thing: It was fine and fun and comfortable; we just got along so well. Even after a few minutes together it felt like we’d been coming to Brother’s forever and talking about nothing and laughing — when this guy appeared, an apparition materializing from the dark of the bar beyond us. Tall, wiry, a small face made angular by a well-trimmed goatee, and eyebrows like a mossy overhang. Our age. He was wearing a black jacket and a black T-shirt beneath it and black pants, and I’m assuming black socks and underwear as well. He sat down next to Clara — they clearly knew each other — and he smiled at me and shook my hand. A strong grip. Very strong. Clara covered her face with her hands and moaned. “Jeremy,” she said, she sighed. “Jesus. Jesus Jesus Christ.” Jeremy looked at me and rolled his eyes, like we were having so much fun and now Clara has to come and ruin it for us. “I saw you and I had to say hello,” Jeremy said to her. Then to me, conspiratorially: “We were together, not too long ago. Clara and I.” Clara nodded, but it was a grudging nod. I’m sorry, she mouthed to me. Jeremy saw her. “You should be sorry,” he said. “Please,” she said. “Jeremy. This is not the time or the place for this.” Jeremy shook his head and shrugged. “I don’t know why. This used to be our place.” “Our place?” She mocked him. “We came here twice.” The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Someone put two quarters in the jukebox and “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” began to play. Clara looked at me. “We should go, Richard. This isn’t going to get any more fun than it already is.” “Richard,” Jeremy said. “What a great name. May I call you Dick, Dick? Great. So, Dick, about how long have you and Clara been an item . . . Dick.” I didn’t answer. I was in a difficult position: Clara and I really weren’t an item, yet; I didn’t feel it was up to me — or in my wheelhouse — to step up and eject the interloper from our midst. But then, slowly, Jeremy’s smile dimmed and died, and he looked at Clara as if she were a hideous thing. “You’re a coward, you know,” he said to her. “How could you just . . . disappear? No call back. Nothing. Not cool. Not how you break up with somebody.” He looked at me, back to her. “Just . . . not cool. In case you didn’t know.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as if she were about to plunge underwater. Slowly, she exhaled. “We didn’t ‘break up,’ Jeremy. We were never even really seeing each other, not like that. We were never even — .” She stopped, giving up the postmortem. “Listen. I’m sorry, okay? I should have called you or maybe written you back to say thanks and everything, it was great while it lasted but a talent-free hobo novelist who doesn’t know the difference between a semicolon and an ampersand is just not what I’m looking for in my life at this time. All the best, Clara.” Jeremy tried to rally with a comeback, but he didn’t have one. “I’m not a hobo,” he said. “Just . . . between places.” “For a year and a half,” Clara said. Poor Jeremy. He had been defeated. “Raindrops” ended and began again. Jeremy shook his head, stared off into the faraway-somewhere. He looked like he was standing on the shore of a deserted island watching the ship that was supposed to save him sail on by. “Okay, well, I feel like it’s time for me to hitch a ride on the next prevailing wind! But before I go, I have a message for you, Richard. You’re going to be me one day. You’ll have the time of your life with this one. You’ll be so happy. It’ll be like the world went from black and white to color. Then everything will go to shit and you won’t be happy anymore because Clara will move on, and it will suck for you, just like it’s sucking for me now.” By the look in his eyes he was taking a moment to relive some of the colorful times he’d shared with her, and he smiled. “But it will be worth it,” he said. “Because Clara . . . well, nobody is Clara.” Then he stood, and just as quickly as he had come was gone, a shadow fading away into the darkness of the bar. We paid up and left and walked to the car in the dusky quiet. We were a little unsettled. A breeze ruffled the trees but fell short of the two of us, standing on either side of my car now in the gravel parking lot. No stars out yet but the moon was rising, low still and smoky white. “Well, that sucked,” she said. “Yeah. Yeah, but — ” “But what?” “You have to admire his pluck.” “I love that word,” she said. “He’s not plucky, though. He’s . . . indecorous.” “Unseemly.” PineStraw

“Boorish.” Looking down like there was something on the ground for her to see, her hair fell into her face and it was as if a big CLOSED sign went up. Even after she pushed it back behind her ears it was hard to really see her. “Jeremy,” she said. “Such a mistake. What if every mistake you ever made followed you around for the rest of your life? Like a parade of mistakes. The too-small shoes you bought, the undercooked chicken. Jeremy.” “That would suck a lot.” “I was mean to him.” “He asked for it.” “Really?” I shrugged my shoulders. Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t, but I was on Clara’s side now. I looked back at Brother’s. I kept thinking Jeremy was going to follow us out here and stab me. “I think we should make a mistake,” she said. “Really?” “We need to do something,” she said. “That or go home. And I don’t want to go home. Let’s do something stupid that will follow us around forever like undercooked chicken.” “Sure,” I said, not really sounding like the devil-may-care-crazy guy she may have wanted just then. But what to do? I couldn’t think of anything: I’d always veered to the quiet, safe side of life. But she had an idea. “You know what we should do?” she said. “Or what we shouldn’t do, I mean?” She sat on the hood of the car and waited for me to join her. I did. This was as close as I’d ever been to her. “What?” “Go to the zoo.” There was a small zoo in Bellingham, somewhere between a real zoo and a place where a bunch of animals had been collected from around the world and housed by a larger-than-life intrepid explorer in makeshift pens and a pit for lions and tigers, a skinny elephant, a fence for the giraffe, a cement island for the monkeys. The animals didn’t look abused, just disappointed. “Great idea,” I said. “But it’s closed. It closes at dusk.” “Who said anything about it being open?” And she told me a story she’d heard, about an entryway at the bottom of the 12-foot-high metal fence, one you can slither through with ease, gaining access to the entire place. No alarms, no cameras. Just you and the animals in the dark. “I know the way.” “Sure,” I said, hoping to impress her with my newfound recklessness. I handed her the keys to the car. “Really? Seriously?” she said, like a kid. “You’re up for this?” Her face was so small I could cup it in one hand, and in the halflight of the parking lot outside of Brother’s she had the patina of a film from the ’40s. I think I was already in love with her. We got in the car and she looked at me, and it was as if she were saying, Are you ready? Because this is happening. If you’re going to wimp out this is your last chance. In just the few minutes we’d been outside night had fully fallen. A couple of frat boys came out of Brother’s braying at each other, and the tail end of a song comes out with them — “Raindrops.” “Let’s do this,” I said.

PineStraw

She started the car and winked at me as she revved the engine. “Big mistake,” she said.

t was a terrifically muggy night but with the windows down I could feel a cool undercurrent to the air. I remember thinking that one day it would be fall, then winter, then spring and then summer again, and that whatever was about to happen will have happened a long time ago. The wind made Clara’s hair go wild, half of it flying out the window like streamers on a bicycle, the other half in her mouth and in her eyes, blindfolding her for seconds at a time. “I’ve got this,” she kept saying. “No problem.” Then she looked at me, mock-scared with a frightened smile, like the other part of her was saying, Don’t believe me! There is a problem! I don’t have this! She took a sudden turn off of Greene Street, and then the road whipped around to the right, up and then down, the car beams breaking into what felt like a virgin dark. Just a pine tree forest, a forgotten road, nothing else. She pulled over to the curb and cut the lights and we were under the cover of night. “We’re here,” she said. Gradually the world around me came into focus, and over the trees I could see the throbbing red light at the top of the WRDC radio tower. I positioned myself in the world and I realized we were in fact right behind the zoo, near a farm, an overgrown pasture. She put the car in reverse, pulled back, angled it, then turned the lights back on, spotlighting the secret entrance through the fence. She raised her arms into the air, fists clenched: victory. “You’re pretty impressed with yourself.” “I am,” she said, nodding. “As I should be.” She turned off the car and threw the keys back to me. “It’s go time,” she said. The hole in the fence was big enough for a mandrill to crawl through. We got in on all fours. Neither of us said a word but communicated through hand signals and raised eyebrows and then suddenly — What’s that? Oh. It’s nothing. Continue . . . inching through the inky dark toward the animal quiet. The woods ended, and we were on a path, dirt and gravel first and then lightly paved uneven asphalt. A yellow light spilled on the elephant cage, that fenced-in patch of hard dirt no bigger than a poor man’s front yard. There was no elephant there now — he or she was sleeping inside. I’d been here a couple of times, thrown a few peanuts over this wall. Clara looked at me. She was so excited she seemed to be vibrating. She leaned in close and stood on her tiptoes to whisperyell in my ear: “We did it!” She held onto my elbow. “But it’s important to stay quiet,” she said. “That way they won’t know we’re not one of them. They’ll do things most people never get to see them do.” It turned out that animals in the zoo at night do what most animals do. They sleep. It was absolutely still. The elephants, the giraffes, the monkeys, the spiral-horned antelope — they were all asleep. You could hear them; it was the humming sound of a living forest. Blue-black shadows everywhere. An ibis had a bad dream and shrieked, and a striped hyena answered (maybe it was an ibis, maybe a hyena), then it was silence again. What lights there were were kept low, and the moon was hidden behind a cloud. It turned out that sneaking around in a zoo full of sleeping animals was not unlike sneaking around in a zoo The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

APRIL FICTION pond first, goddamn it.” with not a single animal in He sounded tired, and very serious. This it. Clara thought she saw had gone too far for me, and for Clara. She something and gave a little was frozen against my side, had stopped involuntary gasp and turned breathing I think, statue-still. I took her and — it was a rabbit. She hand and we jumped down from the wall. shrugged her shoulders, I had no idea now where the hole in the smiled, but I could tell fence was, but what choice did we have but she’d had high hopes for to try and find it? We ran into the woods. I this adventure. It hadn’t lived scratched my face on the lower branches of up to its hype. “We can go now a pine tree and could feel the stripes of blood if you want,” she said. across my cheeks. But we didn’t stop running. I did want to go. I wanted to The zookeeper could hear us, of course, and shined be back in the car talking about the light into the woods following our path. “Come what had just happened, how great out come out wherever you are, moron,” he said gleeit was and can you believe that we actually fully. He followed the sound of us, sweeping his light did that? Clara had no idea how careful I normally through the forest, coming closer. I had no idea where we was, how meticulous with my life, had no way of knowing that I was were. But we came to a huge tree, and I pulled Clara behind it, wrapa man who folded his pants at the crease and arranged his shirts by ping my arms around her until we were as small as two people could kind and, within kind, color, whose life-plan was to be invisible on be. The light of his flashlight fell all around us, but not on us. We were command, to follow directions, to go as far as a man with a Ph.D. in that close to being seen — inches away from being caught and caged. Frankenstein could go. So yes, I wanted to leave. But we were not. But she was just too defeated. He gave up. “Damn it,” he said to himself now, thinking we were If this were even our second date I would hug her, even kiss her long gone. until my kisses made her smile. A second date meant options. A first Then he turned around and headed back the way he came. date, you couldn’t — I couldn’t — do more than take her hand. There Still pressed up against me she looked up at me and smiled. was an old stone wall surrounding a duck pond, and I stepped up on “You did it,” she whispered. “You saved us.” She kissed me on the it. It was only 2 feet high. Clara looked up at me and sort of laughed cheek, but her eyes did not leave mine. “Richard,” she said, “that was and said, “What are you — ?” but before she could finish the sentence truly magical.” I had my hand out and she took it and I pulled her up to stand beside And I thought, I actually remember thinking this as we huddled me. “Listen,” I said. She listened and heard the same thing I did: together behind that tree: in thirty, forty, fifty years — whenever she almost nothing at all, just that humming sound. “Now listen,” and buried me — no matter what may have happened through the decades with my hands cupped around my mouth I shouted a quote from of our life together, this was what I’d remember, this night, the story the book I had memorized: “Learn from me, if not by my precepts, she’d tell too many times to our children, our grandchildren, our oldat least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowlest friends, the story of that night we broke into the zoo and woke evedge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native eryone up. And not because it was the best thing that ever happened town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his to us, but because it was the first. It set the tone, she’d say, for the rest nature will allow.” of our lives. That night at the zoo we were in our own cocoon, arms That did the job: The night blew up. The animals rose. Plodding encircled, closer than close. She burrowed into me, and we stayed that out of his concrete bunker pounded the elephant, the curious giraffes way for a while, longer than we needed to, until the night returned to loped into the moonlight, and the island of monkeys began to wildly its rhythms, until all the wild animals in the world went back to sleep. chatter. Every animal was baying and woofing and screeching. The So of course, out of all the moments of my life, this would be the animal world had awakened — just for us. one I chose to see me out. “Richard,” Clara said, still in whisper-mode. Wings flapped in I felt a chip of ice on my lips, a damp cloth on my forehead. I didn’t the dark above us, water roiled somewhere nearby. Clara grabbed my know if my eyes were open or closed, but it was all dark now, and getarm and pulled me close. Our shoulders bumped. “This is just . . . ting darker. I found my wife’s hand and held it. so great!” Her big eyes were wide, the size of saucers for a miniature “Clara,” I said. “Oh, Clara!” teacup. The moon, the stars, the sky, the animals of the Earth, this Yes, your name was my very last word, so sweet I said it twice. beautiful woman, all here, before me — and I felt as if I had created a “Clara?” Gwendolyn said, and she shuddered, seemed to freeze moment that had never been created before, never in the history of and harden as if she’d died herself. “Richard, who is Clara?” the world. And I was sharing it with Clara. And I might have told her, but it was a long story from a long time But I woke up more than the animals. The zoo actually had a ago, and by then it was much, much too late. PS keeper. I saw him before I heard him, the beam of his super-powerful flashlight bouncing off of everything. Daniel Wallace is the author of six novels, including Big Fish and, most “Who’s there?” he called out, in a deep voice. “You’re trespassrecently, Extraordinary Adventures. He lives in Chapel Hill, where he ing, assholes. And yes, it’s a felony, and yes, I will prosecute. Do directs the Creative Writing Program at the University of North Carolina. not think I won’t. Course I’ll let you spend some time in the hippo The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PineStraw

The Beauty in the

Barrens The triumph of Tufts, Olmsted and Manning By Claudia Watson Photographs by John Gessner

eneath the canopy of a brilliant blue June sky, the land lay battered. An abandoned tramway, used for hauling lumber and turpentine, stretched through a landscape marked by scraggly oaks and a few spindly pines. Wild hogs and sheep foraged the nearly barren sand. On that day in 1895, James Walker Tufts, accompanied by surveyor Francis Deaton and two other men, inspected a 100-acre parcel of his new landholdings in southern Moore County — the site for his proposed town. The first task was to settle where to place the survey stake marking the land’s center point. They made camp for the night in an old lumber shelter, boarded on two sides. The next day, Tufts walked to a broad, shallow, basinlike plot of ground. He had neither an ax nor the proper fatwood stake but succeeded in finding an old piece of timber, which he drove into the ground. Deaton marked the spot on his rough topographic map “Beginning Point.” Characterized by its rolling terrain and deep, coarse sand, and predominately covered by tall longleaf pine, the land once had been part of a 90-million-acre wilderness stretching from southeastern Virginia in the north, to eastern Texas in the west, and as far south as the upper half of Florida. The longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) could live up to 500 years, grow to 3 feet in diameter and reach a height of 120 feet.

PineStraw

Soon, this region’s harsh but beautiful landscape was under pressure. The tall, straight, longleaf timber did not go unnoticed by the steady stream of European settlers. They followed the Cape Fear River and its tributaries to the pine barrens of Moore and Richmond counties to find land for intensive high-yield farming. But the sandy soil was unsuitable, so they turned to the pine forests for their livelihood. The vital longleaf ecosystem was devastated, the target of exploitation: first for its lumber, to build homes, buildings and masts for ships. Later its resin was used to make tar and turpentine, essential naval store products that supported shipbuilding efforts. With the arrival of trains in the 1800s, the trees were felled to build railroad tracks. Ultimately, those railroads were essential to Moore County’s development and Tufts’ arrival. James Walker Tufts, a successful and wealthy entrepreneur from Massachusetts, was captivated by the area’s warm climate and therapeutic pine-scented air. He used his considerable wealth to locate and purchase nearly 6,000 acres to build a winter retreat in an area laid waste by decades of timbering operations. The project, seen as essentially benevolent, would provide respite and recreation for “the betterment of his fellow humans.” In particular, he focused on ailing individuals — including those with early stage tuberculosis who were mistakenly, and commonly, believed not to be The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

contagious — seeking a warm, dry climate while recovering. Learning quickly that all stages of the disease were contagious, he rebranded his retreat into an outdoor sporting venue, with recreation as its primary business. Tufts envisioned a charming New England-style village set in the 100-acre core of his land holdings. Armed with Deaton’s survey denoting the town’s center, and immediately after acquiring the land contracts, Tufts turned to the most prestigious landscape architecture and design firm in the country — Olmsted, Olmsted & Eliot — to design the town he imagined. Olmsted’s plans were renowned for the role that landscape architecture played in improving quality of life. His concept was that nature not only lifts the human spirit, but strengthens and restores it. He also believed that every human being, regardless of social or economic status, had a right to that experience. Tufts’ principles and Olmsted’s were synchronized. Olmsted, however, was in his 60s and affected by mounting health problems, including dementia, which soon sidelined him. During the summer of 1895, just as Tufts’ project was underway, Olmsted retired. That year, his stepson John Charles (“J.C.”) Olmsted and architect Charles Eliot carried the firm’s workload. Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. was busy with George W. Vanderbilt’s Biltmore estate project. Olmsted’s catalog lists Pinehurst village, but it was small compared to other projects. A visit report dated June 20, 1895, provided by J.C. Olmsted, indicates that Tufts initially spoke by phone with another member of the firm’s staff and provided his conceptual overview for the village. A general plan would cost $300, including supervision, planting that year, and time for a planting assistant. “Traveling expenses were extra. No visits were to be made by the firm, only by W.H. Manning that fall,” noted the proposal. On July 3, 1895, Tufts met with Fredrick Law Olmsted Sr. and J.C. Olmsted at their offices in New York, and within days the firm provided a plan for the town drawn in ink on linen paper. Tufts quickly accepted it and then, eager to see his vision move ahead, ordered 200 water oaks. The project’s 1895 promotional brochure said, “It is understood, of course, that the extensive plans that have been made for beautifying the village with greenery will require considerable time before they are carried out to completion. The wilderness cannot be made into a garden in a day, even with the most liberal expenditure of money, energy, and skill.” Warren H. Manning had joined the Olmsted firm in 1888 as its planting supervisor, where his extensive horticultural knowledge quickly expanded his responsibilities. Mentored by Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. in his early years with the firm, he oversaw over 100 projects, including planning the metropolitan park systems for Boston, Louisville and Milwaukee. In addition, he supervised the acquisition of thousands of acres for Vanderbilt’s Biltmore estate and, The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

beginning in 1893, became involved in planning its arboretum. Manning’s vocation had its roots in his New England childhood. He credited his father, an esteemed horticulturist and nurseryman, for his appreciation of nature. He absorbed his father’s fascination with plants of all types, particularly the newly fashionable American native plants. Though he did not have formal training in landscape design, he traveled extensively with his father to commercial greenhouses and gained experience as the manager of his father’s plant nursery. When Manning was 27, he wrote Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. seeking work and stressing his horticultural skills, particularly his success moving large trees. He wrote of his “knowledge of hardy trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants & the treatment & the effects produced by them.” He underscored his literacy in common and botanical names and botanical relationships. The Pinehurst village project progressed with J.C. Olmsted the lead partner. Designing the landscape without inspecting the site wasn’t feasible, so in September Manning was sent to meet Tufts and explore the property. He and Tufts traversed the 100-acre town site taking in the views from atop ridges and gaining knowledge of its topography as well as the natural scenery. When he returned from his visit with Tufts, he described the area as “largely sand hills laid to waste” from timbering. But he added with enthusiasm that it also held “long valleys with springs, streams, and narrow wetlands” with small trees, shrubs and herbs. The moist valley areas and wetlands were the most exciting and attractive for plants, birds and other wildlife. “The bottoms of the wet valleys are the natural winter and summer garden spots of the region and a constant source of delight to one who appreciates varied forms of plant life,” he wrote. The dry upland was less appealing. Here, scrubby and stunted oaks and spindly pine trees, either dead or deeply gashed, littered the area marked by tufty grasses and bare sand. It is “a ghastly ruin of fallen trunks, blackened stumps, and decayed branches, all testifying to the devastating methods of the turpentine distiller and the lumberman,” Manning said in the Pinehurst Outlook in December of 1897. “It became at once evident that an artificial means must be rePineStraw

longleaf pines that offered a glimpse of the forest that once covered the land. The hotel, town office, a store and community casino were placed in the center of the village. Evenly spaced trees and dense plantings would offer a naturalized effect throughout all of this. To achieve the lush setting for the town, Manning specified and located the trees, shrubs and ground covers based upon the location, carefully framing the views from cottage windows and the hotel to provide a verdant appearance in every season. The planting scheme recommended 222,600 plants in nearly 90 varieties, importing 48,000 plants from France and 1,500 from nine American nurseries. The balance of the plants would be purchased, collected later, or propagated at a nursery in Pinehurst. Realizing the initial cost would be great, the architects justified it by saying that the cost would be insignificant once the plants established themselves. “It is absolutely essential to making the vicinity of a village of the sort you are building agreeable and homelike in the winter,” the landscape plan argued. Evergreen shrubbery was primarily local and native material. “It was recognized . . . that native plants must be depended upon chiefly for the results we wished to secure, for they only could be procured in sufficiently large quantities to do, at a reasonable cost, the immense amount of planting that was required in the town,” Manning wrote later in the Pinehurst Outlook. He preferred native material because it was fully adapted to the local soil and weather conditions, and

sorted to if an attractive evergreen landscape is to be provided during winter, and an abundance of flowers during early spring, the most active season of visiting guests and residents, most of whom being from the colder states expect very different and more attractive conditions than those prevailing at their northern homes, conditions which would not be presented by the original landscape,” he wrote. Delivered Oct. 30, 1895, the landscape plan offered lushness in exchange for the dreary and monotonous landscape. “It will be replaced by a varied and interesting local scenery in which green foliage will form all the foregrounds, drape the buildings, afford shade on sunny days, and conceal the raw earth . . . with perennial verdure,” the plan noted. The comprehensive proposal recommended a heavy use of evergreen plants — preferably broad-leafed evergreens. An oval-shaped “Village Green” meant for active use was the plan’s central feature. Located in a broad, shallow amphitheater-like valley, it was surrounded by winding roads that hugged the natural grades, radiating outward from the green. Charming New-England style cottages, most with porches, were sited on uniformly sized lots along roads often named for trees — Magnolia, Dogwood, Laurel, Maple, Orange and Palmetto. The town’s layout provided an enhanced sense of space with the boundaries opening to new views. Near the railroad tracks, to the south, stood a dense grove of

PineStraw

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

needed less water, fertilizer and overall maintenance to thrive. As an added incentive, they remained balanced with nearby plants instead of overtaking the landscape like invasive species. The plan included dozens of native plants collected from private property or the swamps within about 100 miles of Pinehurst, but the effort became costly. “You better depend upon your greenhouse men to do your propagating from seed instead of attempting to root from cuttings, which would be very difficult if not impractical,” Manning suggested of the local native plants. “You will get more plants at less cost,” he added, offering an unconventional and less time-consuming method for preparing the seeds for germination. To help implement his plan, Manning brought in Otto Katzenstein, a German seedman who worked for the Olmsted firm and was enamored with native plants. Katzenstein would develop and manage the town’s nursery and crews who gathered plant material to use in Pinehurst. With the planting proposal approved, Manning shifted his attention to installation and began with the Village Green, which provided the central recreational setting for the community. Planted with rich layers — groundcovers, shrubs, and trees above — the Village Green provided an area for restful recreation and the study of nature. Selected for their growth habit and the various tints of green and texture they offered to the foreground, the trees and

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

shrubs provided an indistinct border. Multiple “plantations” were set upon the Village Green and anchored by evergreen (not coniferous) native trees — Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), evergreen oaks and Carolina cherry laurels (Prunus caroliniana). Then, the smaller groups of single trees and shrubs would spill out from the larger tree groups and blend into the foreground, creating a constantly changing play of light and shadow. The understory featured non-native camellia, boxwood, pyracantha, azaleas and cherry laurels (Prunus lauroceracus). These mingled in groupings with native sweet bay magnolia (Magnolia gluca), holly, gall-berry (Ilex glabra), wax myrtle (Morella cerifera), fetter bush (Lyonia lucida), and mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia). Wisteria would festoon the tall pines with its drooping clusters of flowers. Osmanthus, nandina, wisteria, elaeagnus and privets, all non-natives, would adapt and naturalize. The transition to the sunny central area of the Village Green required 40,000 groundcover plants. In that time, landscape architects commonly used non-native species for their visual appeal and ability to colonize, often filling a derelict space. Here, non-native Japanese evergreen honeysuckle, English ivy and periwinkle covered the trunks and branches of the deciduous trees, keeping the areas green with foliage, even in the winter. The unruly honeysuckle required regular shearing to keep it within borders and at ground cover height. Many experimental plots of grasses were grown from seeds secured from various parts of the county, but most failed to tolerate the conditions. Only winter rye grown from seed made a good start in the Village Green, but it finally drew Tufts’ ire. “Winter rye was bravely endeavoring to cover the whiteness of the sand. Patches of rye growing on the village green served only as a mockery of the word green and of the deep lush turf of the New England commons after which this area was patterned. On every hand, there was white, infertile soil,” Tufts wrote. Manning adjusted the plan and removed the unsuitable ground cover creepers and turf. Next, he recommended covering the bare PineStraw

sand with fresh pine straw and later planted dozens of longleaf pines. In the 1800s, lovely shade trees were becoming rarities, and lovers of arboriculture would travel miles to see them. An evergreen canopy was essential for Pinehurst village and would lend much-needed shade and character, not typically found in the South. Village streetscapes received 1,500 trees, and the homesites, 500. Native trees used throughout the plan included longleaf pines, red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), dogwoods (Cornus florida), eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) and sourwood (Oxydendrum arboretum). Oaks, the most essential of all native trees and known to sustain a critical and complex web of wildlife, were among Manning’s favorites. Drawn by their lofty canopies and color shifts throughout the seasons, he used willow oak (Quercus phellos), live oak (Quercus virginiana), and swamp laurel oak (Quercus laurifolia) as specimens to edge village streets and grace homesites. Today, the village’s landscape is full of the towering oaks, Southern magnolias and cedars planted between 1895-1898. Thirty-four of those trees on the village of Pinehurst property and bordering the Village Green are protected and designated heritage trees including several magnolias and hollies along the walkway near Given Memorial Library. In addition, dozens of other majestic trees at Pinehurst Resort and on private land continue to provide intrinsic value to the community. Most of the Village Green’s longleaf pines are at least 100 years old. At Pinehurst’s founding, the only remaining dense stand of longleaf pines in the area, known as the Pine Grove, became a favorite attraction. There, a friendly herd of deer shared their domain with gorgeous peacocks, attracting visitors with children in tow who enjoyed the teeter-totters and swings.

PineStraw

Manning specified the addition of 50,000 trees, mostly longleaf pines, for the Pine Grove site and the borders of the village. He also included exotic conifers known for their shape, texture and color in the landscape. Adapted well in the South, the graceful deodara cedar (Cedrus deodara), Japanese cedar (Cryptomerias japonica) and cypress augmented the native growth. The workforce completed the village center’s buildings, necessary infrastructure and 14 residences within about six months. With each area’s completion, Manning’s workers began installing the landscape. The updated general plan drawn in November 1895 for Tuft’s promotional efforts reveals the enormous scope of work required to connect passages full of scenery for the village, its roads, walkways, and finally, the homesites — where visitors observed the details more closely. The initial homesites were small and set back 36 feet from the street. Manning wanted to ensure that “each home then appeared to be set in its own private forest.” So, 13,400 evergreen ornamental shrubs, in addition to 500 homesite-designated trees, provided generous coverage, plant diversity and individuality to each lot. The early streets were 16 feet wide and built using sand and clay from a local pit. A sloped 16-foot shrubbery bed and 5 feet wide sand and clay sidewalks bordered each side of the road. The shrubbery beds absorbed stormwater runoff from the road and sidewalks, benefitting the ornamental trees, shrubs, and flowers planted there. The streets and sidewalk areas received 1,500 trees and 17,000 plants. Many of the evergreens used on the Village Green would be repeated for these areas but softened by clusters of mahonia and winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum). Low evergreen groundcovers, including St. John’s wort (Hypericum calcycinum), wintercreeper (Euonymus radicans) and many types of roses, covered the edges The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

of the planting strips providing seasonal interest. After working throughout 1895-96, Olmsted, Olmsted & Eliot ended their contract with Tufts. The firm recommended Manning to assume the project, which he did with vision and energy. He quickly established a farm with a large barn housing a herd of Holsteins and Jerseys cows, then in 1898, started Pinehurst Nurseries. Otto Katzenstein, who tended the town’s nursery during its founding, became superintendent. He propagated and grew nearly 100 varieties of native trees, shrubs and herbs that succeeded under the challenging growing conditions of the longleaf pine region and offered them to a broader community through a catalog. The catalog also offered a variety of non-native “thrifty” plants, including pansies, pinks, roses and a hardy form of the English violet, discovered in an old Southern garden. Those plants adorned the landscape of the Carolina Hotel on its opening day, Jan. 1, 1901. A winter resident wrote in the Pinehurst Outlook, “Looking out my window . . . I see planting spaces filled with native evergreen shrubbery — magnolias, holly, gall berry, bay flower, yucca, honeysuckle, ground roses, pansies and violets and the whole surrounded by a vast green lawn. Think of it — a pretty green lawn with violets in profusion right out in the open in January — as pretty as our own New England lawns in June.” While the involvement of Frederick Law Olmstead, Sr., in the village plan has often been a matter of conjecture, in a 1922 letter to Leonard Tufts, Manning wrote, “I know Mr. Olmstead’s personal interest in Pinehurst was a keen one, because of his sympathy with your father’s desire to establish conditions that would make it possible for people who were not well to come to Pinehurst and live for moderate costs . . . and I remember very well his keen interest in my report on conditions that I found there.” Over the next three decades, Manning continued to work with the Tufts family to extend their vision of the Sandhills. His national practice included more than 1,600 landscape projects throughout North America. One of the 11 founders of the

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

American Society of Landscape Architects, he is considered one of the most significant landscape architects of the 20th century and its first environmental engineer. Tufts’ vision and collaboration with the Olmsted firm and Manning’s ability to visualize the true nature of the place restored life to a land of nothingness — giving it, and us, a land of unexpected beauty. PS Claudia Watson is a frequent contributor to PineStraw and The Pilot and finds joy in each day, often in a garden.

PineStraw

Spring HOT TRENDS

By Jason Oliver Nixon and John L oecke

Forward Green Goddess

The Madcap Cottage gents channel timeless trends to take your home from ho-hum to “Hello, gorgeous!”

Gardening has had a massive resurgence since the pandemic began, so formerly forlorn front yards are displaying a newfound floral bounty. Trees have been trimmed, flowers are blooming blowzily, and stone masons have been busily crafting patios and terraces. But how to connect the interiors of your home with its glorious exterior? Bring the timeless, fresh charms of gardenplucked green hues within — whether in the form of paint, wallpaper, fabrics or rugs. As John says, “If it works in your yard, it will work in your home. And there’s no more cool, soothing neutral hue than green.” Think paint colors such as Soft Fern from Benjamin Moore and Dirty Martini from Clare, and fabrics such as Swans Island in Meadow Green from Madcap Cottage

Remarkable Rattan

Prince of Chintz

Leafy Luxe

Palmy, balmy interiors — inspired by a mix of the Beverly Hills hotel paired with a jigger of The Greenbrier and Palm Beach’s Colony Hotel — are bursting into bloom. Think traveler palms reaching hither and yon upon wallpaper and lemon trees scampering across sofas. Says Liz Vaughn, a guiding force at iconic Gazebo women’s retailer, “Gorgeous palm leaves march across the library at my home and have created a timeless vibe that is one part Dorothy Draper and another part classic escape. Stepping into this room is like taking a mini vacation, no plane tickets required. The color and scale of the grand palm print wallpaper absolutely dazzles our guests.”

PineStraw

Rattan is finally getting its moment in the sun after seemingly falling out of favor for a blip — but never at Madcap Cottage! And the woven furnishings are not just making star turns on covered porches but also in living rooms and other public spaces. Notes Morgan Cooper, the owner of the glamorous Hive, “Our clients are loving reinterpreted rattan that boasts a dash of unexpected whimsy and wonder. This is definitely not your grandmother’s rattan. And it might be going into a master bedroom or bathroom — not just a sun porch.”

The pendulum always shifts, n’est-ce pas, so should you really have kept those clothes from the 1970s that made you look like Holly Hobbie to use as so-called “nap” dresses now? Rewind to the 1980s. That decade’s go-to textile, chintz, is having a big resurgence, too. “It’s not the highly polished chintz that we remember from Mario Buatta in 1987,” says John. “And we adored Mario. But today’s chintz is a bit more relaxed, less polished, and with more negative space. Perfect for a sofa or an armchair.” The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Think Pink

“Pink is such a wonderfully flattering hue,” says John. “A pinkhued room will literally take 10 years off your face. And pink can be both feminine and masculine, so the shade can really work in any room of our home — from a living room to master bedroom or bathroom.” Our go-to pink shades include Pink Ground from Farrow and Ball, Rachel Pink from Sherwin-Williams, and Dead Salmon, also from Farrow and Ball. P.S. Our most favorite escape of late is stunning, pink-toned Manor House Room 23 at the amazing Duncraig Manor and Gardens in Southern Pines. Is it the pink walls that leave us feeling so refreshed?

Heavy Metal

We love using metallic finishes in home design schemes. But don’t think that we are referring to the old adage that “brass and glass equals class.” Think layered. Aged. Patina. Notes John, “Why not embrace metallics on a ceiling to bring light into a room that lacks luster? We often wallpaper ceilings with metallic finishes, and that gentle sparkle really brings a space to life.” A favorite is The Lost City of Silver from Phillip Jeffries — just heaven.

Fabulous Follies

Make an Entrance

Tried and True

Noted landscape architect Jeff Allen turns to classic, timeless garden elements to craft his magical, cooling sanctuaries. Here’s his garden go-to cheat sheet: 1. Boxwoods: versatile, beautiful and sculptural. These classic bushes provide shape and style to any garden and pair well with everything. They can be structural or architectural or can be used as an accent. With regard to the blight, there are varieties that are disease resistant, and there are treatments available. 2. Hydrangeas: dynamic, colorful and dramatic. You can't go wrong with large sweeps of hydrangeas for dramatic color. Underplant with bulbs to extend the bloom seasonally. 3. Pachysandra: my favorite groundcover. Used liberally in our landscape designs, pachysandra provides continuity with our planting compositions.

Ah, the great outdoors! But where to kick back and relax and sip a cool sauvignon blanc whilst shaded in splendor? Follies are all the rage in England, and these whimsical garden ornaments are quickly spilling across the pond. Think whimsical temples adorned with columns and plenty of space upon which to toss back on a daybed with book and hooch. Turn to Haddonstone, the England-based caststone manufacturer, for whimsical creations that range from temples to pavilions, pergolas and more. Plus, Haddonstone has a U.S.-based arm, so that makes the logistical bits all that much easier.

As we all paused over the past two, gulp, years, we turned our attention to fixing up our homes and addressed areas that had perhaps been long overlooked. One such space that has been a focal point for our clients has been the foyer. Says Anne Rainey Rokahr, the charismatic owner of Trouvaille Home, “The feeling one creates in the foyer sets the tone for the entire house and should therefore never be an afterthought and definitely not a family drop zone. Even if the rest of the house looks a little messy the foyer should always be pristine. And the foyer is the spot to go grand. Pair a spectacular chandelier (always on a dimmer), a one-of-a-kind chest, and a large mirror with a couple of yards of a fine fabric, and you’re on your way!” PS Jason Oliver Nixon and John Loecke are the duo behind Thomasville-based Madcap Cottage.

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PineStraw

Residential Art dominates Grandma Boyd’s “cottage” By Deborah Salomon • Photographs by John Gessner 92

PineStraw

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Renaissance The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PineStraw

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

he Breakers. Downton Abbey. Monticello. Taliesin. Fancy family estates — real and literary — set the tone with fancy names. What could be more dramatic than the opening line in Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca: “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” Locally, Weymouth — named for an English village — qualifies; and right next door, Inchalene, Celtic for “cottage at the edge of the woods,” adds its own mellifluous name to the list. The residence, designed by Alfred Yeomans, built in 1923 for James and Jackson Boyd’s widowed mother, Eleanor Herr Boyd, and now respectfully renovated, retains grandeur aplenty. During the Boyds’ heyday, Granny arrived from Pennsylvania in a private railroad car preceded by servants, supplies and silver. Once ensconced she kept tabs on her sons and grandchildren while hosting garden parties. Eleanor Boyd died in 1929, son James in 1944. Inchalene declined until purchased in 2005 by a historic homes renovator and his sister, from Palm Beach. Their plan, similar to the Boyds’, was to create a family compound with their elderly mother nearby. But mother died and an unfortunate construction-related incident aborted Inchalene’s rebirth. The grande dame of Connecticut Avenue was down . . . but not out.

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PineStraw

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

In the spring of 2011, Inchalene once again bustled with activity, as workmen readied it for a designers’ showcase benefiting Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities. The result: a double dose of classic opulence. Many furnishings from the showcase were still in place when the house was staged and listed for sale. Eric and Nelsa Spackey had been looking for a year. “I passed by one Sunday at 6 a.m., hopped the fence and listened to the birds,” Eric recalls. “The house had a good feel, a welcoming flow, positive energy.” “Í fell in love with it,” Nelsa adds. So impressed were they that in 2019 they bought the house and contents — lock, stock and Murano glass chandelier hanging over a hammered-copper dining table. What wasn’t included they tracked down at auctions, online and elsewhere. “We wanted (furnishings) related to when the house was built,” Eric says. Turnkey sales of this magnitude seldom happen. Neither does an entrepreneur like Eric Spackey, who grew up in Michigan, trained in finance, set up a cellular network, manufactured uniforms for the military, and is now involved in developing a James Bond-worthy electronic communications device — among other pursuits. “Sort of like Forrest Gump,” Eric says, as he kneads sourdough on the kitchen island. Besides baking bread, he cooks, cares for the horses, tends a garden, orchard and chicken coop. He plays the guitar and collects art, enough to transform the mansion into a gallery begging a docent. The first image inside the front door is a mother and child with cherries by Gilbert Stuart, whose other works include the iconic portrait of George Washington. Eric relates best to Fauvism, popularized by Henri Matisse. Upstairs hangs a dreamy likeness of Claude Monet’s daughter and granddaughter, by Monet’s son-in-law Theodore Butler. The Spackeys’ have four daughters and three granddaughters; living among them made him appreciate the soft femininity of these paintings, and the house. But not all his art is “pretty.” Eric displays Depression-era WPA depictions of factory workers in stark, angular forms. The Spackeys’ other residence is a waterfront villa in Puerto Rico, site of Eric’s businesses. After hurricane Maria hit the island in 2017, they looked for a safer home base. Eric considered Asheville, then discovered Moore County while working with a government official from Pinehurst. “I wanted more than a house,” Eric says. “I wanted a working farm with horses — and The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PineStraw

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PineStraw

this was close to the military.” Perfect! “I use the hayloft as a meeting place and the tack room as a bar.” As for Granny Boyd’s white stucco English Tudor cottage with mullioned windows: “The house itself is a work of art,” Eric says. To preview the interior he installed a 12-foot marble fountain adorned with lions on the circular drive. Inchalene’s footprint and layout remain virtually intact, except for a solarium added at one end and a second-floor master suite cobbled from several smaller bedrooms and a porch. The longitudinal layout, however, is both interesting and typical of estates unconstrained by lot size. A “shotgun” hallway bisects the main floor, allowing straightline vision from the solarium at one end to a small office at the other. Off it branch the kitchen, dining room, den, entrance hall, powder room and a curious bedroom with door leading outside. Often called a pastor’s room built to accommodate itinerant clergy, these front-facing bed/bath/sitting chambers also appear in homes with elders who could not climb stairs. Or, it might have doubled as an office where the chatelaine received tradesmen without allowing them into the house proper. To that use, the sparsely furnished room includes a desk and a floor lamp from the reading room of a New York City library. The kitchen, displaying art on a wall rail and countertops, introduces a color appearing elsewhere: the pale green of extra-virgin olive oil. Step down into the family dining area where hangs Eric’s talisman: a 10-foot-long, 450-pound Byzantine mosaic believed to be 2,000 years old that just happened to fit the wall over the table. Beyond that, the glass solarium surrounded by flowering shrubs sparkles like a diamond. In contrast, the den is dark, clubby, bookish, with oversized pieces upholstered in leather, a primordial man cave where gents gathered to solve world problems over cigars and bootleg brandy. That long hall opens out into the bright living room, where white sofas hint contemporary in contrast to an ornate gilded case piece in the dining room — imagine it coming from a Versailles tag sale, where Eric might have also found his musical clock, circa 1780s. The second floor master suite is a clutter of charming objects in hues to match antique Delft tiles surrounding this and other fireplaces. Here and elsewhere, wall-mounted TVs stream fine art when not in use. Down

100

PineStraw

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PineStraw

101

the hall, a “princess” bedroom is scaled and decorated for granddaughters, including a bathroom with a 3/4-sized tub and sink. Next to it, a rough-and-tumble boys’ room has bunk beds and a wall painted to resemble a barn door. Faux finishes appear on other walls, some resembling wood paneling; others textured Venetian plaster mimicking damask. Touch to believe. Completing Inchalene’s idyllic portrait are two horses joined by Frida (as in the Mexican painter Kahlo), an affectionate and intelligent German shepherd rescue, and Luna, a long-haired Himalayan kitty big as a watermelon. Eric insists that maintaining Inchalene’s acreage makes him feel connected. “The chickens produce manure for compost for the garden, a tie back to nature. There’s no better therapy than getting on my tractor. It keeps me balanced.” He finishes with a sweeping, “This was meant to be.” All things considered, maybe more Lorenzo de’ Medici than Forrest Gump. PS

Home & Garden Tour

Inchalene is just one of the homes on the Southern Pines Garden Club's Home & Garden Tour on April 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Buy tickets online at southernpinesgardenclub.com.

102

PineStraw

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

A L M A N A C

February April By Ashley Walshe

pril is a child of wonder, lord of the mud pies, the crown prince of play. Yesterday it rained so hard the earthworms learned to swim. Today, the peepers are peeping. The sun is out. The prince of play gathers the essentials: Large wooden spoon? Check. Mixing bowl and pie tins? Check, check. Measuring cups? Don’t need them. There’s a watering can full of rain on the back porch. Or, there was. The boy squishes across the yard, settles onto the floor of his squashy kingdom. Mud sings as sweet as any muse. But you must know how to listen. The boy closes his eyes, readjusts his flower crown and scoops up a wet heap of earth. He dabs a little on his face. He squelches his fingers through it. He digs into the mire with his toes. Eureka! This is what the mud said: In a large mixing bowl, combine two parts squish and one part rainwater. Wriggle your toes as you stir, mixing until the first hummingbird graces the first bearded iris. When the cottontail rabbits multiply, fold in a dash of wet grass and a fat pinch of redbud before transferring to pie tins. As the robins pluck their breakfast from the lawn, top with generous layer of dandelion leaves. Garnish with snakeskin, snail shells and a dollop of wisteria. The sun will take care of the rest.

April hath put a spirit of youth in everything. — William Shakespeare The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Fairy Rings

Spring is doing what spring does best. The earth is softening, once-barren landscapes now bubbling with tender buds and blossoms. In the garden, asparagus rises like birdsong. And after it rains? Enter Marasmius oreades, aka, the fairy ring mushroom. If ever you’ve stumbled on a near-perfect circle of these buff-colored, wavy-capped fungi, perhaps you’ve smiled at the amusing “coincidence.” Or maybe it spooked you, particularly if one popped up on your own lawn. (Note: These boomers are known to kill turf.) Myth and folklore refer to these circles as “fairy rings.” Can’t you almost see it? A wild band of wee folk dancing among these mushroom portals? Tempting as it may be to step inside a fairy ring, myths warn against it. Long of the short of it, those who are lured inside become captives of an unseen realm where hundreds of years can pass in a blink. On the subject of fair warnings: The fairy ring mushroom is actually a choice edible with a sweet quality that has made its dried caps the star ingredient of more than a few macaroon and cookie recipes. (Go on, look them up.) But this innocent wildling does have a toxic lookalike. Best not to harvest unless you know for sure. And, certainly, withhold from sautéing them.

Foxglove

How did the pretty foxglove get its name? Etymologists have spun many theories. In 1847, William Fox Talbot proposed that “foxglove” may have derived from “folks’ glove,” especially since the Welsh called the flower maneg ellyllon, aka, “fairies’ glove.” This much we do know: They are bumblebee magnets. If ingested, the common foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) is highly poisonous to people and animals. In this case, looks can’t kill. But one could see why the Scottish called them “witches’ thimbles.” PS

PineStraw

103

PROVIDING HOMEOWNERS WITH PEACE OF MIND

Voted “Best Authentic Pub” Two Years Running! 132 Westgate Dr. West End, NC 27376 910.235.0606

Visit www.DrumandQuill.com or our Facebook page for upcoming events Open 7 Days a Week! 40 Chinquapin Rd • Village of Pinehurst • 910-295-3193

Aging Life Care Professionals Accredited Caregiver Registry

“Customer Satisfaction One Job at a Time”

24-Hour Accessibility

VISIT OUR SHOWROOM AT 301 FIELDS DR. - ABERDEEN, NC

Full-Service Elder Care Firm 910.692.0683 | AOSNC.com

910-757-0505 HELP SUPPORT FRIEND TO FRIEND!

5k RUN & FREE CONCERT BY WHISKEY PINES

April 29, 2022 6:00-9:00pm Southern Pines Brewing Co. 565 Air Tool Dr. Southern Pines, NC

CMY

All proceeds benefit Friend to Friend. For more information and how to register please visit our Facebook even page or look for us on RunSignUp.com

Sexual Assault: An Issue We Can’t Run Away From

NATIONALLY ACCREDITED LIFE PLAN COMMUNITIES

BEST RETIREMENT/ ASSISTED LIVING COMMUNITY

RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION LAND DEVELOPMENT | REAL ESTATE

Call today to schedule your visit! 910-246-1023 or visit www.sjp.org

285 SE Broad St Suite B, Southern Pines, NC 28387 (910) 692-2731 • www.kirbycompanies.com

bestofthepines.com

Simply the

Best

Highlighting the 2021 Best of the Pines First Place Winners

19,000 Voters. Over 300,000 Votes. These are your winners! GREAT PRICING, SUPERIOR SERVICE, AND TREATING CUSTOMERS RIGHT.

Best Real Estate Agent

CLIENTS LOVE MY AVAILABILITY, DEDICATION, AND EXPERTISE.

Best Pre-Owned Car Dealership 1010 Old US 1 South Southern Pines, NC 28387

(910) 725-1111 • www.cooperautochoice.com

13 years experience

Chad Higby, Owner/Broker in Charge 910.986.3509 • Chad@Flatlisted.com FLATLISTED.COM, LLC

ChadHigby.com

bestofthepines.com Homestyles

Hop on In!

Cheers to Spring

Featuring: Brighton • Tribal • Corky’s Gretchen Scott • Lulu-B • Bogg Bag Simply Noelle • Hello Mello • Mud Pie

CHIC UP YOUR STYLE LOCATED DOWNTOWN 302 East Washington St | Rockingham, NC 28379 (910) 817-7494 www.simplychicmonogramboutique.com Hours: Tues-Fri 10:00-5:30 | Sat 10:00-1:00

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

710 S. Bennett Street, Southern Pines, NC 28387 910-725-0975 • www.one11main.com Tuesday - Saturday, 10-5:30

www.highcottonconsignment.com PineStraw

105

Arts Entertainment C A L E N DA R

Goat Snuggling 4/

Cornhole Tournament 4/

COMEDY SHOW. 7 - 8 p.m. Come enjoy an evening of jokes and laughter. Cash bar available. The Country Club of Whispering Pines, 2 Club House Blvd., Whispering Pines. Info and tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

JOY OF ART STUDIO. Painting, drawing and mixed media. Offering both private and small groups with safe distancing. Classes are held at Joy of Art Studio, 139 E. Pennsylvania Ave., Suite B, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 528-7283 or www.joyof-art.com or www.facebook.com/ Joyscreativespace/.

Saturday, April 2

BOOK SALE. This month’s sale is buy one, get one free on all books in the vault. Masks recommended in the book shop. Given Book Shop, 95 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642.

Friday, April 1

ART RECEPTION. 6 - 8 p.m. Come enjoy the opening reception for “Palustris: Turn Again,” featuring works by Linda Storm and Michael Selemi. The exhibition remains open through April 29. Campbell House Galleries, 482 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www. mooreart.org. LIVE MUSIC. 7 p.m. Brittany Haas and Joe Walsh perform in the great room at the Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Cost is $30 for Weymouth members and $35 general admission. For tickets go to www.weymouthcenter.org.

106

PineStraw

Although conscientious effort is made to provide accurate and up-to-date information, all events are subject to change and errors can occur! Please call to verify times, costs, status and location before planning or attending an event.

SCAVENGER HUNT. Pick up scavenger hunts at the Given Book Shop, Given Memorial Library or online at www.giventufts.org/program-and-events. The scavenger hunt will take you through the village of Pinehurst, and there will be multiple themes such as science, shapes, historic buildings and more. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst.

Duo Performance

SATURDAY KIDS PROGRAM. 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. In honor of the N.C. Science Festival, stations will focus on arts, crafts and experiments bringing science and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) alive for visitors. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642. ECOEXPLORE. 2 p.m. Join us for Intro to ecoEXPLORE! Learn about ecoEXPLORE, a program that encourages citizen science, and go on a guided exploration hike. Participants should wear whatever feels comfortable for a short hike and bring water. For kids grades K - 5. Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: www.sppl.net.

Sunday, April 3

MEDITATION WALK. 2 - 3:15 p.m. Join us for this monthly meditation walk, with your guide, Eve Gaskell. The group will meet on the outside patio area of the visitor’s center. If it is raining, the event will be canceled. Sandhills Horticultural Gardens, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info: harmonylifebalance@gmail.com. WRITING GROUP. 3 p.m. Interested in creating fiction, nonfiction, poetry or comics? Connect with other writers and artists, chat about your craft and get feedback on your work. All levels are welcome. The session will meet at the library. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: lholden@ sppl.net. SUNDAY SALONS. 4 p.m. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities invites you to “ExperieNCe Poetry” during National Poetry Month with casual readings

by poets currently in its Writers-in-Residence program. Bring your own lawn chairs and BYOB and join us by the pond near the Carriage House. Free admission. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org. NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK. National Library Week is a time to celebrate our nation’s libraries, library workers’ contributions and promote library use and support. Get a free library card and check out books. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst.

Monday, April 4

LIVE MUSIC. 8 - 10 p.m. The American Brass Quintet performs at the Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2787 or www.mooreart.org.

Tuesday, April 5

BRAIN FITNESS. 10 - 11 a.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to a new Brain Fitness class where Eve Gaskell will be the instructor. Free. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info and registration: (910) 692-7376. BOOK EVENT. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Kristy Woodson Harvey talks about her new book, The Wedding Veil. Country Club of North Carolina, 1600 Morganton Road, Pinehurst. Info and tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com. GOAT SNUGGLING. 2 - 3:30 p.m. Come out to Paradox Farm for a chance to cuddle the baby goats. Cost is $5. Paradox Farm, 449 Hickory Creek Lane, West End. Info and registration: www.signupgenius.com/ go/30e0d4ca4ad2ca2fd0-thesnuggle.

Wednesday, April 6

LIBRARY PROGRAM. 3:30 p.m. At The Library The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

CA L E N DA R After School (ATLAS) is a new after-school program for children K – 2 who enjoy activities, crafts, stories and learning. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net. WRITERS-IN-RESIDENCE. 5:30 p.m. Join as we welcome home Pinehurst native and current Weymouth Writer-in-Resident Sara Johnson, author of the Alexa Glock Forensics Mysteries set in New Zealand. Johnson will read from her new book, The Bone Track. Free admission. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www. weymouthcenter.org.

Thursday, April 7

GOAT SNUGGLING. 2 - 3:30 p.m. Come out to Paradox Farm for a chance to cuddle the baby goats. Cost is $5. Paradox Farm, 449 Hickory Creek Lane, West End. Info and registration: www.signupgenius.com/ go/30e0d4ca4ad2ca2fd0-thesnuggle. LIVE TOUR. 7 - 9 p.m. David Feherty, television announcer and professional golfer, brings you a live show with stories from behind the scenes. Owens Auditorium, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info and tickets: www. ticketmesandhills.com. FILM SERIES. My Neighbor Totoro. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.sunrisetheater.com.

Friday, April 8

LEE SQUARED. 8 p.m. The Judson Theatre Company presents Lee Squared: The Liberace and Peggy Lee Comeback Tour starring David Maiocco as Liberace and Chuck Sweeney as Peggy Lee in a night of music and laughter. There are additional performances at 2 p.m. on April 9 and 10. Tickets are $25 and available at www.judsontheatre.com. LIVE AFTER 5. 5:15 - 9 p.m. Join as Live After 5 kicks off the 2022 Concert Series with The Embers featuring Craig Woolard. The family-friendly event will have live music and fun kids’ activities. Food trucks will be on-site. Beer, wine and additional beverages will be available for purchase. Picnic baskets are allowed; however, outside alcoholic beverages are not permitted. Bring your lawn chairs, blankets and dancing shoes. Tufts Memorial Park, 1 Village Green Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.vopnc.org. MUSICAL. 7 p.m. Pinecrest Players present The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical. There are additional performances on April 9 and 10. Lee Auditorium, Pinecrest High School, 250 Voit Gilmore Lane, Southern Pines. Info: www.pinecrestplayers.com.

Saturday, April 9

CRAFT DAYS. Children and their families can come by the library for Drop in Craft Days and work on crafts

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

at their pace. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net. COMMUNITY YARD SALE. 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Enjoy shopping 30 - 40 individual outdoor booths offering everything from handmade crafts, modern tools and electronics, vintage and antique collectibles, and an assortment of everyday household items or clothes. A food truck will be on-site. The Bee’s Knees, 125 N.C. 73, West End. EGG-STRAVAGANZA. 10 a.m. Easter fun for ages 12 and under. The Easter Bunny is coming to town and will be joining us for his Egg-stravaganza. Kids can join in for a fun day with crafts, egg hunts and much more. Bring your camera for pictures with the Easter Bunny. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Free event. Campbell House Park, 482 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. BRUNCH. 10 - 11:45 a.m. The Sandhills Christian Women’s Connection will host a free brunch to honor wives of active military and first responders. The program will consist of a casual meal from Roast Farm to Table, a Health and Wellness Spotlight with Nina Kriesz and Macon’s Martial Arts, and an inspirational message by Deborah Savage, wife and mother of military members. Child care provided. Pinehurst United Methodist Church, 4111 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Register by email at sbrown1850@att.net or call (423) 987-9888. HOME & GARDEN TOUR. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. The Southern Pines Garden Club presents the Home & Garden Tour, where visitors can experience some of the Sandhills’ most elegant homes. Cost is $25 in advance and $30 the day of the tour. Info and tickets: www. ticketmesandhills.com. EGG HUNT. 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Children ages 9 and younger are invited to “eggsplore” Cannon Park for the annual Easter Egg Hunt. The Easter Bunny will be visiting after the hunts. There will be family activities, food and beverages for purchase. Cannon Park, 90 Woods Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.vopnc.org. CORNHOLE TOURNAMENT. 12 - 4 p.m. Join us for an afternoon of cornhole by the lake. Railhouse Brewery and food vendors will be on-site. It’s a double-elimination tournament with prizes for first and second place. Teams can be male, female or co-ed. Pre-registration preferred. Must be 16 or older. Aberdeen Lake Park, 301 Lake Park Crossing, Aberdeen. Info and registration: (910) 944-7275 or email aprd@townofaberdeen.net. HORSE RACES. 1 - 5 p.m. Come out for the annual Spring Matinee Races. Pinehurst Harness Track, 200 Beulah Hill Road, Pinehurst. Info: (708) 921-1719. PAINTED PONIES. 5 p.m. Join us for the 2022 Painted Ponies Online Auction. The auction will be hosted live

at www.eventgives.com/paintedponies by professional auctioneer Ben Farrell. All 15 horses and colts will be auctioned off. Anyone planning to bid on a pony must have an EventGives account. All proceeds benefit the Carolina Horse Park Foundation. Info: Shannon@ carolinahorsepark.com. CONCERT. 7 p.m. Honey Magpie performs. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www. sunrisetheater.com.

Sunday, April 10

CLASSICAL MUSIC. 2 p.m. The Aurora Musicalis String Quartet performs. Cost is $25 for members and $35 general admission. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org. STEAM. 2:30 p.m. Learn about topics in science, technology, engineering, art and math. Elementary- aged children and caregivers are invited to participate in STEAM projects and activities. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net. SUNDAY SALONS. 4 p.m. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities invites you to “ExperieNCe Poetry” during National Poetry Month with casual readings by poets currently in its Writers-in-Residence program. Bring your own lawn chairs and BYOB and join us by the pond near the Carriage House. Free admission. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org.

Monday, April 11

PHOTO CLUB. 7 p.m. The Sandhills Photography Club monthly meeting will be a competition with the subject “Faces.” It will be a hybrid meeting so attendees can choose to be in person or online. Info: www.sandhillsphotoclub.org.

Tuesday, April 12

GOAT SNUGGLING. 2 - 3:30 p.m. Come out to Paradox Farm for a chance to cuddle the baby goats. Cost is $5. Paradox Farm, 449 Hickory Creek Lane, West End. Info and registration: www.signupgenius.com/ go/30e0d4ca4ad2ca2fd0-thesnuggle. TRIVIA NIGHT. 6 p.m. Trivia questions from the ’80s. The Sly Fox, 795 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 725-1621 or www.theslyfoxpub.com.

Wednesday, April 13

HOLIDAY CRAFT. 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. Children ages 2 - 7 are welcome to join for a Hoppy Easter Holiday Craft activity. Instructor Mackenzie Mason will be providing instruction and assistance during the activity. Southern Pines Downtown Park, 145 S.E. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2463.

PineStraw

107

TIME TO WASH AWAY THE POLLEN HOUSE WASHING WINDOW CLEANING GUTTER CLEANING ROOF CLEANING DRIVEWAY CLEANING

CA L E N DA R FIRE SAFETY. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Learn helpful safety tips that can save your life. Classes are led by the Southern Pines Fire Department. Registration recommended. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info and registration: (910) 692-7376. BOOK EVENT. 4 - 5 p.m. David McKean will be chatting about his book, Watching Darkness Fall. Free event. The Pilot, 145 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info and tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com. ARTS LECTURE. 4 - 6 p.m. The Arts Council of Moore County and Sandhills Community College presents a lecture on “Brilliant Transformation: How African Metal Arts Inspired and Empowered African Lives.” BPAC at Sandhills Community College, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.mooreart.org.

DRYER VENT CLEANING

GET AN INSTANT QUOTE

Thursday, April 14

BUNDLE & SAVE!

New address: 3801 US-1 BUS, Vass, NC 28394

www.gentlerenew.com

LOCAL VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESS

Mailing: PO BOX 4211, Pinehurst, NC 28374

Shop local & handmade at Downtown Southern Pines’ own pottery studio and gallery Mon-Sat 10 to 5 or by appointment www.ravenpottery.com

WORKSHOP. 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. Join Kenealy Atkins for this Sandhills Horticultural Society spring workshop. You will learn simple grafting techniques to produce better wine, olive oil and various fruits. The class fee covers instruction and supplies. Class is limited to 20 people. SCC Horticultural Gardens, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 695-3882. LUNCH N’ LEARN. 10 a.m. The Sandhills Woman’s Exchange presents “The Story of Suffrage” by Mary Lou Bernett and Marcey Katzman. Cost is $25 per person and includes lunch and dessert. Sandhills Woman’s Exchange, 15 Azalea Road, Pinehurst. Info and reservations: (910) 295-4677 or www.sandhillswe.org. GATHERING AT GIVEN. 3:30 p.m. Writer and Master Gardener Dolores Muller will provide valuable ideas and hints to help you make your garden more attractive to hummingbirds. Be sure to join us and learn how you can have more of these beautiful birds in your yard. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642. FILM SERIES. Kiki’s Delivery Service. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.sunrisetheater.com.

Friday, April 15

FISH FRY. 7 - 9 p.m. Come enjoy a Good Friday fish fry with live music by The Whiskey Pines Band. The Country Club of Whispering Pines, 2 Club House Blvd., Whispering Pines. Info and tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com. OUTDOOR MOVIE. 8 - 9:30 p.m. Join for a free, family-friendly outdoor movie, Raya and the Last Dragon. Concessions will be available for purchase. Bring your own blanket or chair. Southern Pines Downtown Park, 145 S.E. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

Saturday, April 16

CORVETTE SHOW. 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. The Southern Pines Chevrolet/Buick/GMC dealership, 10722 Highway 15/501 in Southern Pines will hold a Corvette Show with awards and door prizes for Corvette owners. For information call (910) 783-7573.

Sunday, April 17

2 6 0 W. Pe n n s y l v a n i a Av e • S o u t h e r n P i n e s , N C • 3 3 6 - 4 6 5 -1 7 76 108

PineStraw

EASTER BUFFET. 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. The Sly Fox will be having an Easter buffet for $40 per adult and $15 for kids 12 and under. The Sly Fox, 795 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 725-1621 or www.theslyfoxpub.com. The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

CA L E N DA R SUNDAY SALONS. 4 p.m. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities invites you to “ExperieNCe Poetry” during National Poetry Month with casual readings by poets currently in its Writers-in-Residence program. Bring your own lawn chairs and BYOB and join us by the pond near the Carriage House. Free admission. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org.

Monday, April 18

WOMEN OF WEYMOUTH. 9:30 a.m. The Women of Weymouth committee will meet and have a guest speaker, Dotty Starling, Weymouth Center archivist and former Friends of Weymouth board member. Free admission. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www. weymouthcenter.org. CRAFT N’ CREATIONS. 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. Adults 55 and older can create fun DIY crafts. Cost is $6 for residents and $12 for non-residents. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info and registration: (910) 692-7376. BRITISH INVASION. 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. The Sly Fox will have a daily menu and events with a British theme. The Sly Fox, 795 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 725-1621 or www.theslyfoxpub.com.

Tuesday, April 19

FASHION SHOW. Women of the Pines presents “The Fashion of NOW.” Enjoy cocktails and a buffet lunch. Fashions from Eve Avery, Patricia, Marie and Marcele, Morgan Miller, J. McLaughlin, Monkee’s, Denker, Ikonic Kollection, Eclectic in the Village, Cooper and Bailey’s, Dunberry Resort Wear, and Perle by Lola. Tickets are $65. Forest Creek Golf Club, 200 Meyer Farm Drive, Pinehurst. Info and tickets: www.womenofthepines.org or email womenofthepines@gmail.com.

3703 Bragg Blvd. | Fayetteville, NC | 910-868-8319

BRAIN FITNESS. 10 - 11 a.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to a new Brain Fitness class where Eve Gaskell will be the instructor. Free. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info and registration: (910) 692-7376. BINGO. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to come play 10 games of bingo. Prizes given to the winners. Cost is $3 for Southern Pines residents and $6 for non-residents. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info and registration: (910) 692-7376. TEEN WRITING CLUB. 5 p.m. Are you interested in creative writing and storytelling, connecting with other writers and getting feedback on your work? Join us for the Teen Creative Writing Club. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or email: kbroughey@sppl.net.

INVEST IN YOUR SMILE – YOU’RE WORTH IT! Experience the Highest Quality Dental Care In a friendly, caring environment! New patients always welcome!

Wednesday, April 20

LIBRARY PROGRAM. 3:30 p.m. At The Library After School (ATLAS) is a new after-school program for children K - 2 who enjoy activities, crafts, stories and learning. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net. BOOK EVENT. 4 p.m. Kevin Maurer, author of No Easy Day, will give an author talk at The Pilot, 145 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines, followed by casual The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

State of the Art Technology | Golden Rule Dentistry Exceptional Customer Service Reach us by PHONE or TEXT at (910) 295-1010 | Find out more at WellenerDental.com

The right dentist can make all the difference. PineStraw

109

CA L E N DA R

Superior One-On-One Physical Therapy

- Neck or back pain - Shoulder, hip, knee, or elbow pain - Jaw pain - Balance issues - Muscle weakness - Vertigo

drinks at Hatchet Brewing Company, 490 SW Broad St, Southern Pines, NC 28387. Info: (910) 692-3211. SLAM JAMS. 5 p.m. Weymouth Center celebrates National Poetry Month with a high-energy event featuring local “celebrities” performing their favorite poems. Free admission but registration required. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org.

Thursday, April 21

READ BETWEEN THE PINES. 5 p.m. SPPL’s book club for adults meets to discuss this month’s book. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. To join, email mhoward@sppl.net.

Mac McLaurin, PT, DPT

SCHEDULE YOUR FREE DISCOVERY VISIT. 910.621.5003 www.restoreptnc.com

45 Dowd Circle Pinehurst, NC

CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE. 6:30 p.m. The guest speaker will be Michael K. Brantley, author of Galvanized: The Odyssey of a Reluctant Carolina Confederate. Meeting starts at 7 p.m. Open to the public. Civic Club, corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Ashe Street, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 246-0452 or mafarina@aol.com. FILM SERIES. Spirited Away. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.sunrisetheater.com.

Friday, April 22

EXPO. 10 a.m. Come out for the 2022 Spring Home & Garden Expo, our premier home show of Moore County. This year there will be more than 40 companies at the expo. The Fair Barn, 200 Beulah Hill Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-0166 or www.ticketmesandhills.com. LIVE MUSIC. 7:30 - 9 p.m. Chatham Rabbits performs. Owens Auditorium, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info and tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Saturday, April 23

LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED

PARTY FOR THE PINE. 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Join us at the Weymouth Woods Boyd Tract meadow for a free festival to celebrate the oldest known living longleaf pine in the world. Food trucks on-site. Enjoy music, activities, turpentine demonstrations and a live prescribed burn demonstration. Weymouth Woods Boyd Tract, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167.

MOISTURE CONTROL Encapsulations, French Drains, Dehumidifiers, Sump Pumps, Vapor Barriers, Water Removal

Solutions, not systems. STRUCTURAL REPAIR

Free inspections!

Termite Damage, Water Damage, Subfloors, Bathroom Floors, Framing Repair, Masonry Piers

Call (910) 673-8559 for your free inspection! www.crawlspacemedic.com

110

PineStraw

CRAFT DAYS. Children and their families can come by the library for Drop in Craft Days and work on crafts at their own pace. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

CELEBRATION. 12 - 3 p.m. Join the annual celebration of the many military children in the community. Cosponsored by the Kiwanis Club of the Sandhills. There will be a free cookout, kid-friendly activities and live entertainment. This event is open for everyone. Village Arboretum, 395 Magnolia Road, Pinehurst. Info: www. vopnc.org. DANCING. 6 p.m. Carolina Pines Dance Club invites you for a fun evening of social dancing — swing, line, ballroom, shag and Latin. Doors open at 6 p.m. Dance lessons at 6:30 p.m. Dancing until 9:30 p.m. Beginners and experienced dancers, couples and singles all welcome. Cost is $15 per person, cash at door. National Athletic Village, 201 Air Tool Drive, Southern Pines. Info: (724) 816-1170. CONCERT. 7:30 - 9 p.m. The Sandhills Repertory Theatre presents Pinecrest High School graduate Bradley Gibson, currently off a successful run on Broadway The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

CA L E N DA R as Simba in The Lion King, in a special one-night-only concert. He will sing some of his favorite songs from Broadway and beyond. Bradshaw Performing Arts Center, Owens Auditorium, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info and tickets: www.sandhillsrep.org or www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Monday, April 25

Sunday, April 24

MUSICIANS’ JAM SESSION. 6 - 9 p.m. Bring your own instrument and beverage or just come and enjoy the music. Attendees must have the COVID vaccination. Free admission. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org.

JAZZ BRUNCH. 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. Join us outdoors on the Weymouth Center’s beautiful grounds for live jazz from Leroy Jones, Columbia artist and jazz trumpeter from New Orleans. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info and tickets: www.weymouthcenter.org. SUNDAY SALONS. 4 p.m. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities invites you to “ExperieNCe Poetry” during National Poetry Month with casual readings by poets currently in its Writers-in-Residence program. Bring your own lawn chairs and BYOB and join us by the pond near the Carriage House. Free admission. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org. CHORAL CONCERT. 4 - 6 p.m. The Moore County Choral Society presents “From Dusk to Dawn.” The Village Chapel, 10 Azalea Road, Pinehurst. Info and tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com.= PRESERVATION WEEK. Preservation Week is a chance for museums and archives to show how they preserve community archives and support local history. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst.

LIVE MUSIC. 8 - 10 p.m. The Brooklyn Art Song Society performs. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2787 or www. mooreart.org.

Tuesday, April 26

Wednesday, April 27

SENIOR TRIP. 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Adults 55 and older can join us for an exciting baseball game at the Fayetteville Woodpecker’s Stadium. Enjoy lunch at the game. Cost is $24 for residents of Southern Pines and $48 for non-residents. Bus will depart the Campbell House Playground parking lot at 9 a.m. Info: (910) 692-7376. BOOK EVENT. 2 - 3 p.m. Kate Moore will be talking about her book, The Woman They Could Not Silence. Free event. The Pilot, 145 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info and tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Thursday, April 28

DOUGLASS CENTER BOOK CLUB. 10:30 a.m. Multiple copies of the selected book for the month are available for checkout at the library. Douglass Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or email: mmiller@sppl.net.

BARN DANCE. 6 - 10 p.m. Join Prancing Horse for dinner, dancing, a silent auction and travel opportunities. Proceeds benefit the center for therapeutic horsemanship. The Fair Barn, 200 Beulah Hill Road S., Pinehurst. DUO PERFORMANCE. 7:30 - 9 p.m. Branford Marsalis, saxophonist, and Joey Calderazzo, pianist, perform. Owens Auditorium, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info and tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com. FILM SERIES. Howl’s Moving Castle. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.sunrisetheater.com.

Friday, April 29

TEA AND TECH. 11 a.m. Do you want to become more comfortable with technology but aren’t quite sure where to start? This month’s topic will be the library’s online resources. Learn how to access the catalog, databases and more with your library card number and PIN. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.sppl.net. THEATER SHOW. 7:30 p.m. Encore Center presents Spitfire Grill. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. on April 29, 30, May 6 and 7. Matinee showings will be at 2 p.m. on April 30, May 1, 7 and 8. Encore Center, 160 E. New Hampshire Ave., Southern Pines. Info and tickets: (910) 725-0603 or www.tix.com/ticket-sales/encorecenter/6154.

Saturday, April 30

LEARN AND PLAY. 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Come by for free play for babies and toddlers with developmental toys and early literacy tips in the library. Southern Pines Public

TESLA HRC HAIR RESTORATION SOLUTIONS 125 Fox Hollow Road, Suite 103 Pinehurst, NC 28374 910-684-8808 | 919-418-3078 | teslahrc@gmail.com Anna Rodriguez • Confidentiality is ensured.

100% Guarantee

1650 Valley View Road• Southern Pines, NC Adjacent to Hyland Golf Course on US 1

910-692-0855 • www.WindridgeGardens.com Hours: Mon.-Sat. 10AM-5PM and Sun. 1PM-5PM

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Season: Mar-Oct

ALL NATURAL TREATMENTS

Environmental Friendly • Organic and Non Toxic Human, Pet & Plant Safe Veteran Owned Local Business

@zappermosquito zappermosq@gmail.com 910.308.7082 PineStraw

111

CA L E N DA R Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.sppl.net. SPRINGFEST. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Enjoy arts, crafts, food and entertainment, along with bike races. Don’t forget to bring your child’s electric vehicle for the Big Car Race. Downtown Southern Pines. SPRING STROLL. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. The Women of Weymouth will be at the Southern Pines SpringFest outdoor festival. Stroll by to see us at our booth and pick up some unique jewelry, art objects, plants, and vintage items, with proceeds going to support Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities. Downtown Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org. CONCERT ON THE GREEN. 6:30 p.m. Come out for Concerts on the Green, presented by BPAC. There will be great music, food trucks and local craft beer. Travis Shallow will be the first performer in the series. BPAC, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info: www. sandhillsbpac.com.

UPCOMING EVENTS Tuesday, May 3

ORCHESTRA CONCERT. 7 p.m. Attend the annual Pinecrest Symphony Orchestra Concert. Pinecrest High School, 250 Voit Gilmore Lane, Southern Pines.

Wednesday, May 4

BOOK EVENT. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. R. Cathey Daniels will be talking about her novel Live Caught. Free event. The Pilot, 145 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info and tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

LADIES WINE OUT. 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. The Women of Weymouth present their annual happy hour outside on the beautiful Weymouth grounds. The event features wine, hors d’oeuvres by Scott’s Table, raffles, silent auctions and great music by the Stone Dolls Trio. Cost is $35 for members and $45 general admission. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info and tickets: www.weymouthcenter.org.

Saturday, May 7

FUNDRAISER. 5 - 8 p.m. Join us for a Derby Day fundraiser event to benefit the launch of Weymouth’s new free after school program, Weymouth Equestrians, providing young people the opportunity to learn to ride and care for horses on Weymouth’s historic property. Enjoy bluegrass, bourbon and barbecue while competing in contests and a prize raffle. Mint julep toast and Derby watch party in the Boyd House. Cost is $90 for members and $100 general admission. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info and tickets: www.weymouthcenter.org.

WEEKLY EVENTS Mondays

WORKOUTS. 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to get their workout on. Open Monday through Friday. Cost for six months: $15/resident; $30/ non-resident. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info and registration: (910) 692-7376.

INDOOR WALKING. 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Improve balance, blood pressure and maintain healthy bones with one of the best methods of exercise. Classes are held at the same time Monday through Friday. Ages 55 and up. Cost for six months: $15/resident; $30/non-resident. Southern Pines Recreation Center, 210 Memorial Park Ct., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. GAME SHOW MANIA. 1 - 2 p.m. Adults 55 and over are invited to play famous TV games such as Jeopardy! and Family Feud. Southern Pines Recreation Center, 210 Memorial Park Ct., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. BRIDGE. 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Enjoy games of bridge with friends. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info and registration: (910) 692-7376.

Tuesdays

BABY RHYMES. 10:30 a.m. Baby Rhymes is specially designed for the youngest learners (birth- 2) and their caregivers. Repetition and comforting movements make this story time perfect for early development and brain growth. Dates this month will be April 5, 12, 19 and 26. There will be a duplicate session outside the library at 11 a.m. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 6928235 or www.sppl.net GAME DAY. 12 p.m. Enjoy Bid Whist and other cool games all in the company of great friends. For adults 55 and older. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

Mid-State Furniture of Carthage

403 Monroe St. Downtown Carthage 910-947-3739 112

PineStraw

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

910-944-3979

Arts & Culture

Gallery • Studios • Classes

On Reflection An Exhibit by Linda Bruening Opening Reception Friday, April 1, 5:00-7:00 This exhibition of new oil paintings by Linda Bruening will be featured at the Artists League during the month of April. The exhibition will be on display until April 30.

Gallery Hours: Monday - Saturday 12-3pm OIL AND ACRYLIC: Introduction to Oils for Beginners - Linda Bruening – Tuesday and Wednesday, April 12, 13, 9:30-3:30 Next Step-Oil Painting - Linda Bruening – Tuesday and Wednesday, April 19, 20, 9:30-3:30 WATERCOLOR: Travel Journal –Ink and Watercolor – Betty Hendrix – Monday, April 11, 10:00-3:00 DRAWING: Simple Perspective in Drawing - Laureen Kirk, – Monday and Tuesday, April 4, 5, 10:00-3:00 OTHER MEDIUMS: Intermediate/Advanced Alcohol Ink - Pam Griner – Wednesday, April 6, 10:00-3:30 Citra Solv Collage (& Resin Demonstration) - Carol Gradwohl – Thursday and Friday, April 7, 8, 10:30-3:00 WORKSHOP: Exploring Colored Pencil with Kate Lagaly – Monday, April 25 - Wednesday, April 27, 2022 - 9:30-4:00

Ask Us About Becoming a Member • 129 Exchange Street in Aberdeen, NC Visit our website for many more classes. www.artistleague.org • artistleague@windstream.net

•4

SEMI-ANNUAL •

POP UP IN THE PINES

April 8-10 only! Owens Auditorium @BPAC Tix: JudsonTheatre.com Season 9 Sponsors

E THEATR EMPLESHOWS.ORG E L P M T E T .774.4155

919

5.1.22

11 AM t o 4 PM SOUTHERN PINES BREWERY 565 AIR TOOL DR.

COMMUNITY SHOPPING EVENT POP-UP FAIR DEDICATED TO BRINGING: T HE B E S T B O UT IQ UE S HAN DM ADE GO O DS ART IS AN S F O O D T R UCK S A N D M O R E T O T HE AR E A

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

OAD8,!2022 R E H T R RE FO APRIL 21 - MAY O M E N O PineStraw

113

April 16 Adult Easter Egg Hunt James Creek Cider House

April 22-24 2022 Spring Home & Garden Expo Fair Barn

Arpil 23 Bradley Gibson in Concert BPAC’s Owens Auditorium

For More April Events Visit TicketMeSandhills.com 910.693.2516 • info@ticketmesandills.com 145 W Pennsylvania Ave, Southern Pines

We’re Fired Up! Traditional wood fired pizza, 9 owned and 4 local 1 operated. 8 5

6 3

2 4 910-637-0472

100 W. Main St. Aberdeen

114

PineStraw

S T A B

H A L O

A R G O

G O A T

A S K S

U N I T

R U N E

V A S E S

E R O D E

G E O D E

A G G R E G A T O R

S F T I E N L E G A C E O R L I P I N E G R R I E G R G O A V E E

E M I G R E E A P P A R E L

E A S E

N A I V E N E S S

S B M E I S D P G R A E A T I T M N E A R C S A L U L A A D M A A R

O P A R T

G E N I I

Y E G G S

A S E A

L I E F

Y A L E

T A N G

E G G O

D E A N

1 pizzeriagrazia.com 3 @eatatgrazia 1 6 9 7 4 8 8 7 PineNeedler 5 4 Answers 6 from page 119 8 3 1 5 4 7 9 8 6 2

9 6 2 8 5 3 4 1 7

8 7 4 6 2 1 3 5 9

2 8 3 5 1 7 6 9 4

7 9 1 2 6 4 5 3 8

4 5 6 9 3 8 7 2 1

1 4 9 3 8 6 2 7 5

6 2 8 7 9 5 1 4 3

5 3 7 1 4 2 9 8 6

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

CA L E N DA R TAI CHI. 1 p.m. Come learn tai chi. There is no age limit and the classes are open to the public. Aberdeen Parks and Recreation Station, 301 Lake Park Crossing, Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-7275. SPARK STORYTIME. 2:30 p.m. This Spark Storytime at Fire Station 82 is for ages birth through 2 and kids will have a chance to see firetrucks. Dates this month will be April 5, 12, 19, 26. Fire Station 82, 500 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 6928235 or www.sppl.net TABLE TENNIS. 7 - 9 p.m. Enjoy playing this exciting game every Tuesday. Cost for six months is $15 for residents of Southern Pines and $30 for non-residents. For adults 55 and older. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

Wednesdays

CHAIR VOLLEYBALL. 1 - 2 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Get fit while having fun. Free to participate. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info and registration: (910) 692-7376. BRIDGE. 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Enjoy games of bridge with friends. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info and registration: (910) 692-7376. TAI CHI. 6:30 p.m. Come learn tai chi. There is no age limit and the classes are open to the public. Cost is $10 per class. Seven Lakes West Community Center, 556 Longleaf Dr., Seven Lakes. Info: (910) 400-5646.

2022 MOORE COUNTY FARMER’S MARKET Producer only Fresh and locally grown

TWO DAYS A WEEK! THURSDAYS

604 W. Morganton Rd (Armory Sports Complex) Southern Pines, NC 28387 9am - 1pm ~ Year Round (Thanksgiving Week, Wed. Nov. 24)

SANDHILLS FARMERS MARKET IN PINEHURST. 3 p.m. - 6 p.m, starting April 20th. The market will feature local farmers, bakers, crafters and a N.C. fishmonger. Fishmonger only comes on Wednesday. Regularly featuring 20 or more farms plus entertainment and opportunities for kids. Tufts Park, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 687-0377.

Thursdays

MOORE COUNTY FARMERS MARKET. 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. The year-round market features “producer only” vendors within a 50-mile radius providing fresh, local and seasonal produce, fruits, pasture meats, eggs, potting plants, cut flowers and local honey. Crafts, baked goods, jams and jellies are also available. Market is located at the Armory Sports Complex, 604 W. Morganton Road, Southern Pines. GIVEN STORY TIME. 10 a.m. Wonderful volunteers share their love of reading. Stop by and join the fun. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info and tickets: (910) 295-3642. CHESS AND MAHJONG. 1 p.m. For adults 55 and older. All levels welcome. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info and registration: (910) 692-7376. CABIN TOURS. 1 - 4 p.m. The Moore County Historical Associations’ Shaw House grounds, cabins and gift shop are open for tours and visits. The cabins will be open Thursdays and Fridays with docents ready to host tours. Visit the restored tobacco barn featuring the history of children’s roles in the industry. Shaw House,

Spring Is the Perfect Time to Schedule Your Generator Maintenance.

3361 Mt. Carmel Rd., Carthage. Info: (910) 692-2051 or www.moorehistory.com. MUSIC AND MOTION. 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Does your toddler like to move and groove? Join us for outdoor music and motion to get those wiggles out and work on gross and fine motor skills for children 3 - 5 years old. Dates this month will be April 7, 14, 21 and 28. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net

Fridays

TAP CLASS. 10 - 11:30 a.m. For adults 55 and older. All levels welcome. Cost per class: $15/resident; $30/ non-resident. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info and registration: (910) 692-7376. BRIDGE. 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Enjoy games of bridge with friends. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info and registration: (910) 692-7376.

Saturdays

SANDHILLS FARMERS MARKET IN PINEHURST. 10 a.m. - 1 p.m, starting April 16th. The market will feature local farmers, bakers and crafters. Regularly featuring 20 or more farms plus entertainment and opportunities for kids. Tufts Park, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 687-0377. PS

Paul E. Gauthier D.D.S. C. Randolph Cockrell, D.D.S.

Includes An Extensive 35-Point Inspection to Ensure You're Prepared for Summer Storms!

Facility Courtesy of Town of Southern Pines

SATURDAYS

Downtown Southern Pines SE Broad & NY Ave. So Pines, NC 28388 8am - Noon ~ April 16-October 29 (No Market on Oct. 1st due to Autumnfest)

Dedicated to continuing the tradition of Family Dentistry since 1947

Facility Courtesy of Town of Southern Pines

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

GeneracNC.com 910-241-4752 FREE IN-HOME ASSESSMENTS AVAILABLE

Southern Pines Family Dentistry

655 SW Broad St Southern Pines 692-6500 PineStraw

115

SandhillSeen Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

West Southern Pines Center for African American History, Cultural Arts & Business Saturday, February 26, 2022 Photographs by Diane McKay

Christmas DeGarr Miller, Julie Birner

Isabella Liberatore, Gumdrop Hinson, Dava Double

Cynthia A. McDonald, Peggie Caple

Mitch “Gran’daddy Junebug” Capel, Nora Bowman

Martha Waddell Dickerson (sitting), Carolyn Penland

Alfred Dixon, Eddie Utley Dianna Ingram, Tina Gillis, Joyce Chalmers

Christie Davis, Ann Louise & Dr. Tom Daniel, Cathy Harpster

The Males of Distinction

116

PineStraw

Beth and Sam Walker

Pinecrest ROTC Charles Depouli, Jamia Staton, Jacob Renfrew, Troy Chadwick

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

The Art of the Perfect Sandhills Wedding Pick up a copy of the 2022 Bride & Groom at The Pilot’s office or online at pinestrawmag.com Duncraig Manor

Special Occasions Parties • Weddings Concerts • Lectures

and Gardens

LIVE Wedding Paintings By VLV Designs Want To Make The Best Day Of Your Life Last Forever? VLVDESIGNS.NET Victoria Valentinas

630-768-1388 victoria@vlvdesigns.net

Don’t let your skin concerns ruin your special day

Wedding & Event Venue

Contact us today for a tour! 910.725.1084 info@duncraigmanorandgardens.com duncraigmanorandgardens.com Photo credit - Jennifer B Photography

200 Beulah Hill Rd. Pinehurst, NC 910.295.0166 www.thefairbarn.org

brickcapitalvideo.com Terry McMillian • 919.356.1624 terry@brickcapitalvideo.com 140 West Main Street, Sanford, NC 27332

Whatever you fancy for your special day!

For All Your Wedding Lingerie Needs!

First dance for bride & groom Lessons for group dance

LINGERIE SLEEPWEAR LOUNGEWEAR MENSWEAR BRAS BREASTFORMS

Parents dance We make the experience enjoyable & relaxing Services: General Dermatology – Treatment for various skin, hair, and nail conditions

Pinehurst Dermatology,

120 Braemer Court, Pinehurst, NC 28374 910-295-5567

712 SW Broad St. Southern Pines NC 28387 910-725-1846 • 910-585-2572 carolinadanceworks@gmail.com

FOOD IS OUR FORTE. HOSPITALITY IS OUR PASSION. Catering to all your wedding needs

The Country Club of Whispering Pines

910.949.3000

ACTIVE DUTY Military Discounts

Custom, all-inclusive packages on a historic 200-year-old farm.

www.rubiconfarmnc.com By Appointment Only • West End, NC

LET US CREATE THE Perfect SMILE FOR THE Perfect DAY

make it the perfect

Experienced Event Planner & Culinary Team Exceptional Banquet Space for up to 300 guests

Tues - Fri: 12-5PM; Sat: 12-4PM Private appointments always available. Email info@ knickers-lingerie.com or call 910-725-2346 150 E. New Hampshire Ave Southern Pines, NC 28387

111 N. Sycamore St., Aberdeen, NC 910-757-0155 • www.eatatmasons.com 102 West Main Street, Suite 202 Aberdeen, NC • 910.447.2774 genuinehospitalitycatering.com

DR. JORDAN RIDGE D.D.S.

Photo : Jennifer B. Photography

Wedding

Gift Cards and Gift Wrapping Available

of DR. FRED RIDGE D.D.S. FAMILY & COSMETIC DENTISTRY

115 Turnberry Way Pinehurst, NC 28374 (910) 695-3100 www.pinehurstdentistry.com We’ll Keep Your Smile Healthy for Life

Events - Weddings Decorative Accessories - Fresh Florals 120 W. Main St., Aberdeen 910-944-1071

Pine ServiceS Vintage Watches Wanted

ENJOY SPRING PEST FREE

ROLEX & TUDOR Omega Hamilton Breitling Pilot-Diver Chronographs Military Watches Buying one Watch or Collection Confidential Cash Buyer

••CNAs, RNs Available•• but this past year hasLPNs, brought unique challenges that you Complimentary RNgrace Assessment with ongoing have handled with and professionalism.

910.425.7000 or 910.977.5656 www.battlefieldmuseum.org www.warpathmilitaria.com

and management Thank you supervision from all of us at care Bright Horizons Home Care! NC Licensed and Nationally Accredited

24 hour, 7 days a week availability • NO availability CONTRACTS REQUIRED 24 hour, 7 days a week

110-B Applecross Road • Pinehurst, NC 28374 NO CONTRACTS REQUIRED

for

ter

for

ter

for

(910) 420-8970 • @BeesKneesPinehurst 125 NC HWY 73, at the corner of 15-501

110-B Applecross Road Pinehurst, NC 28374

Award Winning Pressure Washing be

BUZZWORTHY FINDS at

Personal Care and Private Duty Nursing Medication Planning • Meal Preparation Medical Appointment Assistance every year, Your hard work and dedication is appreciated

Ed Hicks Vintage Watch Collector

910-227-3883

We are so proud and grateful to have such a wonderful staff of nurses!

910-246-0586

ter

Plumbing with Pride since 1965

Tired of running out of hot water? We’ve got your solution!

SERVICES HOUSE WASHING WINDOW CLEANING GUTTER CLEANING CONTACT US!

Gas • Plumbing • Remodeling • Water Heaters Drain Cleaning • Water Sewer

ROOF CLEANING DRIVEWAY CLEANING DRYER VENT CLEANING 910-986-9013

www.gentlerenew.com

24/7 EMERGENCY SERVICE | 910-295-0152 MENTION THIS AD FOR

25 OFF Any Repair

SandhillS RenovationS llC Remodeling • Windows Door • Siding • Sunrooms Screen Porches • Decks Termite Damage Repair

Large & Small Jobs

Call for All Your Home Needs!

910.639.5626 or 910.507.0059 Free Estimates & Fully Insured

Tree Removal Stump Grinding & Removal Trimming & Pruning 24/7Emergency Tree Services Call or Text 910.882.2802 for a Free Estimate www.precisiontreetrim.com Licensed, Bonded & Insured

TOM SWEITZER USPTA Master Pro National Pro of Year

MOBILE DETAILING WE COME TO YOU!

910-536-2394 • 347-488-4678 • www.rahsautospa.com @RahsAutoSpaLLC

WE ALSO PRESSURE WASH HOMES

118

PineStraw

Adult Drills & Mixers Jr Clinics & Camps tsmasterpro@aol.com 717-421-2209

legacylakestennis.net

The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

April PineNeedler

Hidden-

Hidden - in hue. colorful hue. in colorful

By Mart Dickerson

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Across ACROSS Chimney debris 1. 1960 63. carpets 14 15 16 1. 1960 carpets 64. Blood’s partner 6. Charges 6. Charges “Haste makes waste,” 17 18 19 10. Evil65. spirit e.g. 10. Evil spirit 14. Fortune teller's deck 20 21 22 66. Taro root 14. Fortune teller’s deck 15. Mosque V.I.P. 67. Southern 15. Mosque V.I.P. 16. Fencing 23 24 25 blade Pines streets 68. Anime 16. Fencing blade 17. Pond buildup genre 26 27 28 29 30 31 Fortune 17. Pond buildup 18. Not 69. yet final, at teller law 70. Congers 18. Not yet final, at law 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 19. Caroled 71. About 1% of the 19. Caroled 20. Ran illegal booze atmosphere 39 40 41 42 20. Ran illegal booze 22. Snooty one DOWN 22. Snooty one 43 44 45 46 23. Japanese laptop 23. Japanese laptop 24. Free1. Attempt 47 48 49 50 2. Angel adornment 24. Free 26. Distinctive 3. Cornstarch brand atmosphere 26. Distinctive atmosphere 51 52 53 54 55 4. Farm 30. Bauxite, e.g. animal 30. Bauxite, e.g. 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 31. "Dig5.in!"Grave marker 31. “Dig in!” Pointing out, as a in a rug 32. Like a bug in a rug32. Like6.a bug 63 64 65 criminal 33. Bank claim 33. Bank claim 7. Expat 66 67 68 "boot" 35. European “boot” 35. European 8. “___ on Down the 39. Top dog 39. Top dog 69 70 71 Road” 41. Memory loss 41. Memory loss 9. Dab 43. About 1.3 cubic 43. About 1.3 cubic yards 10. Soils by spraying yards 34. The lack of experience, 52. Wear away 44. Greek Earth goddess: 11. Eyeball benders sophistication Var. 44. Greek earth goddess: 68. Anime genre 53.that Crystal-lined 12. Spirits 42. Asian gambling live in a rock 12. Spirits that live in a 36. On the briny bottle 55. Andean animal destination Var. 46. Casting need 69. Fortune teller bottle 37. Dear, beloved (archaic) 47. “To ___ is human46. . . .”Casting need 58. Wander 13. Safe crackers 45. Clothing 70. Congers 13. Safe crackers 38. Ivy League school21. Bacteria 47. "To ___ is human 49. ___ pipe, plumbing 59. Jewish month 48. Bob Marley's genre discovered 71.byAbout 1% of the 21. Bacteria discovered material ..." 40. ____winkle, lavender by Theodor 60. Escherich Sour taste Theodor Escherich 51. Bouquet holders atmosphere flower 50. Baseball call 49. ___ 25. pipe,Precipitation plumbing 25. Precipitation 61. Frozen breakfast52. itemWear away material Down 42. Asian gambling 26. Questions 51. Salad tidbit 62. Campus bigwig 26. Questions 53. Crystal-lined rock 50. Baseball call 1. Attempt destination 54. Bell clap 27. Military detachment 55. Andean animal 27. Military detachment Clothing 2. Angel45. adornment 56. Length x width, for51. a Salad tidbit 28. Ancient alphabetic 28. Ancient alphabetic 58. Wander 48. Marley’s genre rectangle 54. Bell clapstone character 3. CornstarchBob brand stone character 59. Jewish month 51. Bouquet holders 57. Like some sugar 56. Length x width, for a 4. Farm animal 29. Information gatherer 60. Sour taste 29. Information gatherer rectangle 5. Grave marker 34. The lack of 61. Frozen breakfast 57. Like some sugar 6. Pointing out, as a experience, item 63. Chimney debris criminal sophistication 62. Campus bigwig 64. Blood's partner 7. Expat 36. On the briny 65. "Haste makes 8. "___ on Down the 37. Dear, waste," e.g. Road" beloved,(archaic) Puzzle answers on page 114 66. Taro root 38. Ivy league school Mart Dickerson lives in Southern Pines and welcomes9. Dab Southern Pines She can be10. Soils by spraying 40. ____winkle, suggestions from her67. fellow puzzle masters. streets lavender flower 11. Eyeball benders reached at martaroonie@gmail.com.

4 5

6 3

2 4

Sudoku:

Fill in the grid so every row, every column and every 3x3 box contain the numbers 1-9. The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

1 6 7 4 8 7

1 9

4 8

6 PineStraw

3 9 8 2 7 4 1 6 5

119

SOUTHWORDS

Buried Treasure By Pamela Phillips

“Sold for $7

to the young lady in the back.”

There was one other bidder. Maybe two. But less than a minute after hitting the auction block the box was mine. That’s how the eggs came into my possession all those years ago. Tucked away down a narrow dirt road north of Fort Bragg sit the remnants of an estate that once hosted some of America’s most powerful and wealthy families. Stately cottages, an opulent clubhouse and a Donald Ross-designed golf course welcomed guests who arrived in private railcars. Quiet and secluded, it was a paradise that many locals didn’t know existed. Set among longleaf pine forests and winding streams, the idyllic tract known as Overhills was acquired by Percy A. Rockefeller, a nephew of Standard Oil founder John D., in the 1920s and remained in the family for nearly 80 years — first as an exclusive hunt club and later as a working farm and family retreat. Percy’s great-grandchildren later decided to part with the beloved property, and it was sold to the U.S. Army. The sprawling acreage would provide additional training areas for Fort Bragg, but not before the barns and cottages were properly cleaned out. Which brings me to that sunny March morning in 1997. Scores of vehicles lined the road a quarter of a mile into the grounds. Overhills was an enigma, and people were curious. I parked and headed toward the sale. Walking amid shadows of the once grand estate, I felt as if I were in another time. Under rusting canopies, I joined the crowd inspecting odd farm implements, worn furniture and bags of golf clubs. Boxes overflowed with chipped pottery, dented pots and faded tablecloths. Not exactly priceless antiques. A yellow and orange plaid pillow caught my eye. Beneath it was a box containing an Easter basket, several bags of plastic grass and, at the bottom, a cardboard egg carton. I pulled out the carton expecting to find mismatched halves of plastic eggs. Instead, I discovered beautifully painted eggs with intricate flowers, birds and geometric patterns detailed in rich, vibrant colors. A box of masterpieces! I quickly closed the carton and put it back underneath the

120

PineStraw

Easter grass and ugly pillow. I looked around. Does anyone else know what’s in the box? When I emerged as the winning bidder, I collected the box and made a beeline to my car. At home I inspected my find. These were real, hollowed-out chicken eggs, certainly not Fabergé-class, but unique, and no two were alike. It wasn’t until years later that I researched and found that my “Rockefeller” eggs might very well be Pysanky. Pysanky are hand-decorated eggs traditionally made during the Easter season throughout Eastern Europe, most notably in Poland and the Ukraine. Symbolic of the rebirth of nature after winter, they are believed to bring good luck or have special powers, such as protection from evil spirits. The eggs are not painted but inscribed with wax using a special stylus known as a kistka and dyed using natural colorants. In the years since that day at Overhills, I often wondered about the eggs. Were they commissioned as gifts for the Rockefeller children? Picked up on a trip abroad? Created by a talented employee? I guess I’ll never know. Recently I came across Pysanky “eggspert” Joan Brander, a Canadian artist who learned the art form from her Ukrainian grandmother and teaches it to others. She graciously interpreted some of the motifs and techniques used in their creation, pointing out the degrees of difficulty. She even included a recorded snippet of the correct pronunciation of Pysanky. It’s PEH-sen-keh. Of course, I’d been pronouncing it wrong. Today Overhills lies hidden behind chain-link fencing, part of Fort Bragg’s Northern Training Area, the once-manicured golf course buried in overgrowth and the remaining structures crumbling from neglect. But one small piece of that fabled Overhills world lives on. Every spring, as Easter approaches, I pull out the cardboard carton and arrange the delicate treasures on a fancy platter. For a few weeks, as they have for the last quarter-century in my home, the Rockefeller eggs take center stage. PS A native of Ohio, Pamela Phillips has called the Sandhills home since 1987. She is working on her first novel. The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PHOTOGRAPH BY EMILEE PHILLIPS

Discovering the Rockefeller “nest egg”

Our Communities Feel Different Because They Are NATIONALLY ACCREDITED LIFE PLAN COMMUNITIES Independent Living | Assisted Living | Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation

Independent Living at Pine Knoll

Independent Living at Belle Meade

With a variety and choice of comfortable residences with convenience to attractive and purposeful senior living amenities, Pine Knoll offers history and comfort.

Surrounded by lush greenery, Belle Meade is a gated, resort-style community that offers a wide variety of senior living options, including spacious homes and lavish apartments.

Call today to schedule your visit! For more information, call 910-246-1023 or visit www.sjp.org.

Southern Pines

“Gratitude is an art of painting adversity into a lovely picture” -Kak Sri

Buyer, Purveyor & Appraiser of Fine and Estate Jewellery 229 NE Broad Street • Southern Pines, NC • (910) 692-0551 Mother and Daughter Leann and Whitney Parker Look Forward to Welcoming You to WhitLauter. @whitlauter_jewelers

April PineStraw 2022

Articles inside

The Zoo

The Beauty in the Barrens

Pigeons

Residential Renaissance

Spring For ward