April PineStraw 2015 by PineStraw Magazine

Come enjoy the Southern charm and relaxed sophistication of Pinehurst & Southern Pines

Jamie McDevitt, Broker/Owner 910.724.4455 JamieMcDevitt.com Jamie@JamieMcDevitt.com

Amazing McLendon Hills horse farmâ&#x20AC;Ś..$549,000 at 460 Broken Ridge Trail

107 NE Broad Street Southern Pines, NC

Invite us in. We’ll bring results. 910.295.9040

28 Chestertown Road, Forest Creek This exquisite home has all the features you want – including two lots for a total of 5.35 acres! $1,575,000. Linda Harte 910.992.1767

25 Hearthstone Road, Fairwoods on 7 Stunning custom home with many exquisite features. PCC Premier membership, courses 1 thru 9. Over 3,000 square feet of gracious living. $945,000 Carol Carlyle 910.315.7777

3 Thunderbird Circle, Doral Woods Absolutely unique. Ideal inlaw quarters. Beautifully situated in Doral Woods. $389,000. Glen Theall 845.820.3276

140 Ridgeview Road, Southern Pines Beautiful custom built 5 bedrooms, 5 full, 2 half bath home on 1.02 acres in Weymouth Heights. $1,050,000. Debra Serino Brenner 910.315.9051

34 Augusta Drive, Mid-South Club Custom golf front home on 14th fairway. One level, soaring ceilings, impeccable condition. $529,900. Suzanne Colmer 910.639.9494

305 Trails End Road, Whispering Pines Beautifully maintained home with 7.2 acres and its own pond. Breathtaking views and complete privacy! $429,900. Bob Carmen 910.215.3764

1650 Youngs Road, Southern Pines Country French & Old World charm greets you at 1650 Youngs Rd, one of the most beautifully conceived mansions on 10 striking acres in Southern Pines horse country $1,995,000. Inge Dahl 910.690.3531

165 Halcyon Drive, Southern Pines Classic brick ranch on large private lot. Many updates. $389,000. Sally Thomas 910.215.6937

355 SW Lake Forest Drive, Pinehurst Terrific waterfront views of Lake Pinehurst. Wood floors throughout. PCC Membership. $545,000. Glen Theall 845.820.3276

www.BestPinehurstProperties.com

Suzanne Colmer Broker 910.639.9494

Bob Carmen Broker 910.215.3764

Linda Harte Broker 910.992.1767

Bob Brooks Broker 910.690.1575

Morgan Berkey Broker 910.691.2722

John McNeill Broker 910.638.9158

www.BestPinehurstProperties.com

Debra Serino Brenner Broker / Owner

910.315.9051

15 Barrett Road E., Village of Pinehurst Totally renovated one level home on 1.29 acre private lot. Hardwoods throughout, dream kitchen. 3000+ SF. PCC Membership. $539,000. Suzanne Colmer 910.639.9494

115 Graham Road, Village of Pinehurst Private one acre setting, English gardens, gourmet kitchen. PCC Membership $529,000. Debra Serino Brenner 910.315.9051

20 Muster Branch Road, Fairwoods on 7 Exquisite location, this hidden gem crowns the 6th and 4th fairways of the legendary Pinehurst No.2 course. $1,995,000. Debra Serino Brenner 910.315.9051

3 Briarwood Place, Pinehurst 5 minute golf cart ride to PCC! Membership available for transfer. Open floor plan. Upgrades throughout. Fenced yard. $319,000. Robert Brooks 910.690.1575

1050 Inverness Road, Southern Pines Totally updated. All brick ranch with Carolina Room and large deck. Fenced back yard. Very private. $325,900. Sally Thomas 910.215.6937

3546 Youngs Road, Southern Pines Location is everything and “Ripridge Farms”, overlooking the 4000 acre preserve of the Walthour Moss Foundation is as good as it gets! $1,250,000 Inge Dahl 910.690.3531

The Cottages at the Arboretum One level, maintenance free living with community clubhouse and pool. Granite, SS, hardwood floors. $270,000. Alex Reed 910.603.6997

Cedar Hill – Arboretum – New Construction. 3 Car garage. 4 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms, Great Room and Bonus Room. $344,900. Linda Harte 910.992.1767

240 Midland Road, Pinehurst This beauty crowns the signature 5th fairway on Legendary Pinehurst No.2. Walk or take your golf cart to the shops and restaurants in the Village of Pinehurst! $1,980,000. Debra Serino Brenner 910.315.9051

Patti Mahood Broker 910.723.8803

Glen Theall Broker 845.820.3276

Sally Thomas Broker 910.215.6937

Alex Reed Broker 910.603.6997

Inge Dahl Broker 910.690.3531

30 Chinquapin Road Village of Pinehurst, NC 910-295-9040

PINEHURST

$1,300,000

PINEHURST

$479,999

One of the original beautifully designed Cotswold units, this lovely home features outstanding quality in workmanship. Also Spacious living room and the gourmet kitchen offers a large center island and butler’s pantry. The master suite has a separate sitting room that also has access to the private patio. An oversized garage features an upstairs workshop and a large storage area. 3 BR / 3 BA 1 Sodbury Court

SEVEN LAKES WEST

$499,000

$258.000 $179,000 Southern Pines Pinehurst $199,900 Foxfire Lovely and pristine in Longleaf CC Lovely updated golf-front home Cute cottage w/nice renovations 3 BR / 2 BA 3 BR / 2 BA 4 BR / 4.5 BA www.205HunterTrail.com www.4DogwoodCourt.com www.17ChestnutLane.com

This beautiful home located on the 2nd green of the Magnolia Course at Pinewild. It is impossible to list all the incredible upgrades, but the kitchen might head the list! Includes two pantries. Open floor plan with window walls overlooking deck and lovely views. Many many more features. You just need to see this one! 3 BR / 2 BA plus 2 half baths 59 Glasgow Drive

PINEHURST

$285,000

“Talent, Technology & TEAMWORK” Moore County’s Most Trusted Real Estate Team

Seller to provide PCC membership ( including #7 & #9) & 1 year of dues. This stunning custom home in Fairwoods on Seven is located on an oversized, private lot overlooking the 15th fairway of the #7 course. Built by Pinehurst Homes, there are so many upscale features. The floor plan is very open and light with high ceilings. 5 BR / 5 BA plus 1 half BA 145 Brookhaven Road

$429,900

Perfectly charming aptly describes this lovely brick home overlooking a small scenic pond in one of Pinehurst’s nicest neighborhoods. There are inviting water views from the spacious living room, kitchen and informal dining area and from the master bedroom. There is also a downstairs area – a perfect mancave! There is a Pinehurst CC membership with this property. 3 BR / 2.5 BA 520 St Andrews Road

SEVEN LAKES WEST

$565,000

$585,000 Aberdeen $145,500 Pinehurst Fantastic, all-brick golf front home Cute home on large corner lot 4 BR / 3.5 BA 3 BR / 2 BA www.80LakewoodDrive.com www.110RavenswoodRoad.com

This stunning custom built home sits high on a hill overlooking Lake Auman and enjoys long lake views. Much curb appeal with beautiful landscaping. The back yard is fenced and very private with a gorgeous full sized swimming pool with concrete surround and a separate brick patio with pergola. The interior of the home is lovely with lots of oversized windows and hardwood floors. Covered oversized patio area and so much more. 4 BR / 4 BA 140 James Drive

Just like new describes this beautiful custom home on Lake Auman. Built by Bolton Builders, this home has been completely renovated on the interior. The screened porch has been enclosed to make a charming sun room with wonderful views of the water. Beautiful extensive landscaping with deck. A boat dock and nice beach area complete this spectacular home! 4 BR / 3 BA 103 Vanore Road

$329,000 $890,000 Longleaf CC $449,000 Pinehurst $239,000 CCNC Pinehurst $75,000 Pinehurst Custom Built Villa Overlooking Water Custom built all brick golf-front home Brick single story w/view of 17th green Covered porch & large fenced lot Updated Immaculate Golf View Condo 3 BR / $549,000 2 BA 4 BR / 4 Full & 2SOUTHERN Half Baths 1 BR / 1 BA PINEHURST $315,000 3 BR / 2.5 BA PINEHURST 3 BR / 2.5 BA $225,000 PINES www.16SteeplechaseWay.com www.110HearthstoneRoad.com www.8RoyalDornoch.com www.210StAndrewsCondo.com www.1340BurningTreeRoad.com

$1,295,000 $189,000 Pinehurst $269,000 Pinehurst $475,000 Pinebluff 7 Lakes West $635,000 Pinehurst Stunning custom home in Fairwoods on 7 Charming brick ranch home GorgeoustownhomeintheheartoftheVillage Open plan, gourmet kitchen, pool & more! Stunning All Brick Water Front 4 BR / 4 BA & 2 Half BA 3 BR / 2 BA 3 BR / 2.5 BA 3 BR / 2.5 BA 3 BR / 4.5 BA Great house in the popular community of Pinehurst #6! Built by Doral Builders and located just a short distance from the Clubhouse, Gorgeous renovation of historic “The Ivy” cottage built in 1925 and located on a very www.145SugarPineDrive.com www.6HollyHouse.com www.135AndrewsDrive.com Hardwood floors, skylights, cathedral ceilings, crown molding, screened porch this one story home has a www.105MastersWay.com great open floor plan with lots of light and great curb appeal! private beautifully landscaped www.170InverraryRoad.com lot overlooking the 10th & 11th holes of and a hot tub are just a few features of this well maintained home. On a nice quiet street. Just a perfect family home. 3 BR / 2.5 BA 4 Riviera Drive

PINEHURST

Charming interior offers hardwood floors, vaulted ceiling in the spacious great room, oversized kitchen and a covered rear patio. Super Condition! Pinehurst Country Club membership. 3 BR / 2 BA 140 Juniper Creek Blvd.

$420,000

PINEHURST

$899,000

Mid Pines Golf Course includes a Guest House. This is one of the best golf views in Moore County! There has been a major renovation to both the main house and guest cottage. Expansive, split level terraces allow for maximum enjoyment of outdoor entertainment. 3 BR / 3.5 BA 155 Crest Road

SOUTHERN PINES

$439,000

$269,900 $187,900 Pinehurst $185,000 Southern Pines $225,000 Pinebluff Pinehurst $375,000 Foxfire Great home in family- friendly neighborhood Stunning new construction condo Golf front new construction in The Pines Immaculate all-brick w/golf views Elegant & luxurious w/spacious rooms 5 BR / 3 BA 3 BR / 2.5 BA 3 BR / 2 BA 2 BR / 2 BA 4 BR / 3 BA www.23BerylCircle.com www.100CypressCircle.com www.153LaurelOakLane.com www.18ShamrockDrive.com www.10StantonCircle.com

This elegant home, built by Danny Strickland, features an attractive exterior of Hardiplank Elegant and historic “Lansmyr” is located on almost 2 secluded acres on Linden Road in Old Town. This gorgeous custom home, located on the 4th green of Pine Needles, won the Judges Choice with stone and brick accents. The interior is bright and open with high ceilings, lots of This gorgeous two story colonial home overlooks a magnificent terraced garden. Connected by a Award when it was built in 2000. Designed by Alan Walters, it features vaulted ceilings in windows, crown molding oak floors. The gourmet kitchen hasPinehurst center island and granite barrel $241,000 vaulted hallwayPinehurst with oversized Palladian door the expansive$895,000 living room and dining room the great room and$298,000 kitchen. ShiningSeven hardwood floors, lots of huge windows and light, brick Lakes South $279,500 Seven Lakes West Seven Lakesand South $199,000 countertops. There is an oversized screened porch that overlooks a private, well landscaped offer floor to ceiling triple bowed windows. There is great attic space w/ four large cedar closets. patio area overlooking the long golf views – this is a great house! Adjoining lot 103 can be Completely renovated 2-story home on cul-de-sac Gorgeous in the OldtheTown family backdining yardroom, master Charming golf front w/panoramic viewto payGreat backyard. Pinehurst membership available – buyer initiation fee. home w/private The foyer, sitting roomhome and bedroom feature original crystal Wonderful chandeliers purchased as well for additional privacy. golf front home 4 BA BR / 3.5 BA and sconces. Long regarded as one of 3 BR / 3.5 BA 3 BR / 3.5 BA 4 BR / 3BA 4 the BRfinest / 3.5homes BA in Pinehurst. 9 BR / 9.5 BA 4 BR / 3 BA 3 BR / 2.5 90 Gingham Lane 175 Linden Rd. 295 Central Drive

www.122DevonshireAvenue.com

www.11GraysonLane.com

www.50OrangeRoad.com

www.108Rector.com

www.117OxfordCourt.com

View Floor Plans andTours Virtual of Our Listings andListings See ALL Moore Information County at View Floor Plans and Virtual of OurTours Listings and See ALL Moore County and Community Listings and Community Information at

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

Military?!Check out our Military Advantage Program at www.MarthaGentry.com

April 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 2015

April 2015 Departments

13 Simple Life Jim Dodson

16 PinePitch 19 Southern Voices Stephen E. Smith

21 Instagram Winners 23 Cos and Effect Cos Barnes

25 The Omnivorous Reader Brian Lampkin

29 Bookshelf 33 Papadaddy’s Mindfield

Volume 11, No. 4

Features 65 Mama’s Garden

Poetry by Shelby Stephenson

66 A Mobile Feast

By Laurie Bogart Wiles

The third annual Concours d’Elegance rolls into the Sandhills

72 Fire and Rain By Karen Mireau

How fire shapes the longleaf forest

76 A Spring Garden of Verse

Clyde Edgerton

Bards across the state inform our own little version of Eden

80 Friendship and Flowers By Elizabeth Norfleet Sugg

A rich friendship anchors the 2015 Southern Pines Home and Garden Tour

82 Over the Rainbow By Deborah Salomon

For Shelley Thompson and husband Chip, nature’s palette makes this cottage chic

93 Almanac By Noah Salt

The beauty of rain and lilac madness

110 2015 Moore County Home Builders Association Home of the Year Awards

35 Seen and Unseen Chris Larsen

37 Vine Wisdom Robyn James

39 The Kitchen Garden Jan Leitschuh

43 Proper English Serena Brown

45 Out of the Blue Deborah Salomon

46 Sandhills Photo Club 49 Hometown Bill Fields

51 Birdwatch

Susan Campbell

53 Chasing Hornets Wiley Cash

55 Sporting Life Tom Bryant

59 Golftown Journal Lee Pace

94 April Calendar 127 Writer’s Notebook Sandra Redding

129 SandhillSeen 139 Thoughts from the Manshed Geoff Cutler

141 The Accidental Astrologer Astrid Stellanova

143 PineNeedler Mart Dickerson

144 SouthWords Tom Allen

Cover photograph and Photograph this page by John Gessner 6

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

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

www.OpulenceOfSouthernPines.com

Serving the Carolinas & More for 18 Years â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Financing Available

PineStraw

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M A G A Z I N E

Jim Dodson, Editor 910.693.2506 • jim@pinestrawmag.com Andie Stuart Rose, Art Director 910.693.2467 • andie@pinestrawmag.com Kira Schoenfelder, Graphic Designer 910.693.2508 • kira@pinestrawmag.com Lauren Shumaker, Graphic Designer 910.693.2469 • lauren@pinestrawmag.com

top perf rmer recognized as a

by The Joint Commission

an independent organization that accredits and certifies more than 20,500 healthcare organizations across the nation

contributing Editors Deborah Salomon, Staff Writer Stephen E. Smith, Staff Writer Mary Novitsky, Proofreader Sara King, Proofreader contributing Photographers John Gessner, Tim Sayer, Brandi Swarms Contributors Lavonne J. Adams, Tom Allen, Cos Barnes, Judith Behar, Laurie Bogart Wiles, Serena Brown, Tom Bryant, Susan Campbell, Wiley Cash, Brianna Cunningham Rolfe, Geoff Cutler, Al Daniels, Annette Daniels, Ann Deagon, Mart Dickerson, Clyde Edgerton, Bill Fields, Nancy Gotter Gates, Robyn James, Brian Lampkin, Chris Larsen, Jan Leitschuh, Anna Lena Phillips, Valerie Macon, Meridith Martens, Karen Mireau, Ruth Moose, Elizabeth Norfleet Sugg, Lee Pace, Jeanne Paine, Walt Pilcher, Sara Phile, Sandra Redding, Debra Regula, Noah Salt, cEmily Smith, Shelby Stephenson, Astrid Stellanova, Cynthia Strauff Schaub, Kathryn Stripling Byer, Bob Wickless

Choose a hospital that delivers exceptional care If you were looking for a hospital that provided exceptional care, you could pour over graphs showing compliance with every measure of evidence-based care. Or you could do it the easy way. The Joint Commission, an independent organization that accredits and certifies more than 20,500 healthcare organizations across the nation, has done the work for you. Their Top Performer award recognizes hospitals providing exceptional care. Cape Fear Valley has been recognized as a top performer in four areas: heart attack :: heart failure :: pneumonia :: surgical care A Joint Commission

top performer

Top Performer status means Cape Fear Valley Health provides the most up-to-date, scientifically based care as compared to anywhere in the country. And it’s right here in Fayetteville close to family and friends. When you choose Cape Fear Valley, you’re putting yourself in capeable hands.

David Woronoff, Publisher Advertising Sales

Pat Taylor, Advertising Director Ginny Trigg, PineStraw Sales Coordinator 910.693.2481 • ginny@thepilot.com Deborah Fernsell, 910.693.2516 Terry Hartsell, 910.693.2513 Perry Loflin, 910.693.2514 Darlene McNeil-Smith, 910.693.2519 Johnsie Tipton, 910.693.2515 Advertising Graphic Design

Kathryn Galloway 910.693.2509 • kathryn@thepilot.com Mechelle Butler, Maegan Lea, Scott Yancey Subscriptions & Circulation

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PineStraw Magazine 145 W. Pennsylvania Avenue Southern Pines, NC 28387 pinestraw@thepilot.com www.pinestrawmag.com

Knollwood Heights: “Homewood” sophisticated Colonial Revival style 9000+ sq.ft. estate was built as a “showplace” in 1930. Own a piece of history! Must See! 7BR/6FBA/2HalfBA. $1,590,000 Bill Smith 910.528.4090

Knollwood Heights: Charming estate designed by Donald Ross in the 1920s. Leaded windows, wide plank oak flooring, 3-Frplcs, & 2BR/2BA Carriage house. 4BR/7.5BA. Broker/Owner. $1,445,000 Bill Smith 910.528.4090

Pinewild CC: European Villa style home on Lake Pinewild. Quality finishes. Gourmet kitchen opens to dramatic family room. Elegant living room. Heated salt water pool. 3BR/3BA. Much More! $947,000 Pat Wright 910.295.6455

15 Acre Horse Farm: Charming 3BR/3BA Cottage. Adjoins Moss Foundation. 8-Stall Barn w/2- Run-in Stalls. Fire Ant Free. Upstairs apartment with its own outside entrance. 10-Paddocks. Electric Paddock Fencing. $867,000 Pamela O’Hara 910.315.3093

Horse Farm: 4BR/3BA Farm House with 2- fireplaces, 3000+sq.ft., on 14 acres with direct Foundation access. 7-Stall Barn, Lg Garage w/Workshop, 5-Run-ins, Lg Paddocks. Private & Quiet. Add’l land available. $825,000 Debbie Darby 910.783.5193

Pinewild CC: Beautiful, classic, brick home backs to the 7th hole of the Holly Course, plus a view of the 6th hole from the front of the house. Expansive living areas ideal for entertaining. 4BR/3.5BA. $785,000 Pat Wright 910.295.6455

Pinehurst #2 Reduced: Lovely 3BR/3.5BA home on 8th hole! Was $949,500 NOW $775,000! New heat pumps, HardiPlank exterior & Trex decking. Great golf views! PCC mbrshp 1-9 available. $749,500 Townley Team 910.690.7080

Weymouth Heights: Charming cottage circa 1930, designed by Aymer

Embury II. Two fireplaces, beamed ceiling in living room, main floor master w/study & fabulous bath, modern ktchn, hrdwd flooring. Guest House w/frplc, screened porch. Main House 4BR/3.5BA. $749,000 Maureen Clark 910.315.1080

Pinewild CC: Elegant home features a 2-story entrance foyer. 4BR/4.5BA. The formal dining room with easy access to a chef’s kitchen, custom cabinets, granite counters, breakfast room. www.40DevonDrive.com $729,000 Townley Team 910.690.7080

Pinehurst National 9 : Asian accents, 3BR, 3.5BA, golf front, single level. Maple flooring, wine cellar, and a great working kitchen. Ideal for entertaining! PCC Mbrshp. $695,000 Frank Sessoms 910.639.3099

Pinewild CC: Classic elegance with French country flair. REDUCED OVER $200,000 - Fantastic Deal! First Class Finishes! Gorgeous study. 2-Waterfalls on 1.4acres of beauty & privacy. 3BR/4.5BA. $649,900 Pat Wright 910.295.6455

text “BHHSNC305” to 87778

CCNC: Expansive one floor living on the 9th & 10th holes of Cardi-

nal Course. Custom designed 3BR/3.5BA home featues spacious, elegant rooms comfortable for two or easy for entertaining a crowd. Gourmet kitchen w/high-end appliances & butlers pantry. $1,250,000 Maureen Clark 910.315.1080

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Southern Pines: 910.692.2635 • 105 W. Illinois Avenue • Southern Pines, NC 28387 ©2014 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently operated subsidiary of HomeServices of American, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC.

Pinewild CC: Natural setting & beautiful views of Lake Pinewild from all rooms except the den. High ceilings, His & Hers Office spaces, wood-burning frplc flanked by built-ins. Lovely! 3BR/3.5BA. $649,000 Kay Beran 910.315.3322

Fairwoods on 7: This home has spacious rooms! Large kitchen & Carolina rooms with sweeping views of the 12th & 17th holes of Pinehurst #7. New heat pump in 2013. www.20FirestoneDrive.com $610,000 Townley Team 910.690.7080

Our Magazine The luxury lifestyle in Moore County is celebrated in a unique publication by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Pinehurst Realty Group Our own Luxury Collection magazine discovers and highlights all that is elegant living and resort properties in the Moore County elite neighborhoods. To see the Winter Edition luxury magazine go to

Pinewild CC: Fabulous view of Pinewild’s Holly Course & Lake. Every room has a view. Beautiful open floor plan. Great study. 4BR/4.5BA. $649,000 Pat Wright 910.295.6455

Mid-South Club: Stunning Southern Living designed home

in a Cape Cod style, fronts the 15th hole of the Palmer Course. Remarkable attention to detail and fine architectural features throughout. 4BR/3.5BA. Fabulous home! $599,000 Maureen Clark 910.315.1080

www.PinehurstLuxury.com

CCNC: Ideal golf retreat overlooks Dogwood Course. More than 3,000 sq.ft. of living space. Great room enhanced with a vaulted ceiling, fireplace & window-wall. Screen Porch & Deck for entertaining. Four ensuite bedrooms. $500,000 Bill Smith 910.528.4090

Weymouth Heights: Handsome brick Colonial on a large .75 acre lot, with heated pool & 324sf Pool House & Hot Tub. Beautifully landscaped fenced backyard. French doors, fireplace, built-in book shelves, remodeled kitchen w/granite. 5BR/3.5BA. Maureen Clark 910.315.1080

CCNC: Traditional, all brick home, quality built by Bowness. Deep crown moulding, smooth ceilings and hardwood flooring. 3Bdrms, 3Baths, dedicated office. $465,000 Bonnie Baker 910.690.4705

15 Acre Horse Farm: Charming Farm-Style house w/wrap around front porch. In-ground salt water pool. Studio Apt. over garage. 3-Stalls, Paddocks, Tack Room w/sink & fly system. 3BR/2.5BA. $465,000 Debbie Darby 910.783.5193

www.BBHSPRG.com We open Moore doors. Pinehurst: 910.295.5504 • 42 Chinquapin Road • Pinehurst, NC 28374 Berkshire Hathaway HomeSercies and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.® Equal Housing Opportunity.Housing Opportunity.

Pinehurst: Fabulous manor estate on over a half acre, across from Rassi Wicker Park. More than 3,500 sq.ft. in this 4BR/3.5BA beautiful home. Exquisitely appointed providing the epitome in comfort & convenience. $445,900 Pat Koubek 910.215.2869

7 Lakes West: Views of Lake Auman from this lovely 4BR/3.5BA home with a Bonus room that has a full bath. Beautiful hardwoods, kitchen w/granite, 5-burner gas cooktop, double ovens. Must see! $429,900 Marie O’Brien 910.528.5669

privacy! Custom built 4BR/3BA, +office, 2-story, low maintenance home on cul-de-sac. Hardwood floors, custom cabinetry, great floorplan. PCC mbrshp. $425,000 Frank Sessoms 910.639.3099

7 Lakes North: Lake Sequoia water front home with beautiful views of the lake and mature flowering landscaping. Well maintained & easy maintenance exterior. Boat dock. Lake irrigation. Flexible 3BR/3BA floor plan. $349,000 Linda Criswell 910.783.7374

Old Town Pinehurst: All brick home with over 2600 sq.ft. of elegant living space. Many upgrades. Hardwood in living room & dining room, Carolina room w/slate flooring overlooks private, landscaped patio & garden area. 3BR/3BA. $325,000 Bill Smith 910.528.4090

Perfect Pinehurst Get-A-Way: 3BR/2BA, PCC Membership 1-9, custom details throughout, hardwood, one level w/garage. $315,000 Debbie Darby 910.783.5193

SPCC: This home has it all….hardwood, open plan with spacious rooms, updated bathrooms, custom kitchen w/granite counters, beautiful Trex deck for outdoor entertaining. Overlooks old Southern Pines Elks Golf Course. 3BR/3.5BA. $299,999 Bill Brock 910.639.1148

Legacy Lakes: Gorgeous golf front condominium! Beautiful golf views. Access to Pool, Tennis, Club, and the Fitness Center. 4BR/3.5BA. $270,000 Eva Toney 910.638.0972

Pinehurst: Step inside for your Ah-Ha Moment! Warm &

Knollwood: Southern Pines home in great condition. New siding/windows/deck/front door. Easy commute to Fort Bragg. Wood floors, lots of light! Quiet neighborhood. 3BR/2BA. $239,000 Bill Brock 910.639.1148

Central Pinehurst: Extremely well-maintained, 2,000 sq.ft.,

Pinehurst Trace: 2BR/2BA, all brick unit with living & Carolina

brick home - hardwood floors, high ceilings, stone frplc & carolina room. NEW ROOF 2013 & HEAT PUMP 2014. More at www.10LoblollyCourt.com $230,000 Team Townley 910.690.7080

Pinehurst National #9: Enjoy the gated community and

inviting with lovingly embellished architectural details. Large deck overlooks lovely, serene & meticulously maintained grounds. 4BR/2BA. $249,000 Debbie Darby 910.783.5193

rooms, dining area, small office and breakfast nook. Over 55 community with clubhouse & pool. 1-Car Garage. www.240PinehurstTraceDrive.com $154,900 Team Townley 910.690.7080

www.BBHSPRG.com We open Moore doors. Southern Pines: 910.692.2635 • 105 W. Illinois Avenue

Pinehurst: 910.295.5504 • 42 Chinquapin Road

©2014 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently operated subsidiary of HomeServices of American, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeSercies and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.® Equal Housing Opportunity.Housing Opportunity.

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simple life

The Birds of Paradise By Jim Dodson

Maybe T. S. Eliot had it right about

Illustration by Kira schoenfelder

April. It is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory with desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain.

That was certainly the case for me thirty-five years ago this April when I ventured out to a rain-rutted ball field with broken fences, a few blocks from my house in midtown Atlanta, simply looking to write a sweet little piece for the Sunday magazine where I worked about the return of spring and rebirth of youth baseball in my racially mixed neighborhood. Truthfully, I hoped such a piece might provide a much-needed lift to my mood, complicated by the breakup of my marriage engagement to a local anchorwoman and the work I’d been doing of late, interviewing pointy-headed Klansmen in Alabama and writing about Atlanta’s dubious new designation as the “Murder Capital of America.” In short, it was a city under siege from a wave of terrifying murders of adolescent black kids that started the summer of 1979. More than a dozen young men had been killed by some unknown person or persons, their bodies grimly tossed into the Chattahoochee River. The police seemed helpless to find the perpetrators, and the city was on a knife’s edge of tension. Maybe sixty kids showed up for the League tryouts that warm April afternoon, barely enough to compose five teams. I watched them go through their drills and the league’s director, a slightly frazzled woman with gray hair and a clipboard, a tough old bird named Miss Brenda, divide them up into squads, leaving one team — the Highland Park Orioles — one player short. They were also missing a coach. Miss Brenda spotted me making notes behind the sagging third-base fence and walked over. “Hey, you know anything about baseball?” I admitted I’d played growing up in North Carolina. Baseball was my passion at that time. I was also personally subsidizing Ted Turner’s cellar-dwelling Braves with a season ticket and had just written a profile of Braves slugger Dale Murphy for a national sports magazine. “Great,” she said, “you can coach the Orioles. Their coach didn’t show up.” “Oh, really, no I can’t,” I protested. She gave me a hard look. “Why is that? You don’t like kids?” So I gave in. I really don’t know why. She handed me a list of twelve names and a shopping bag with fifteen Oriole orange T-shirts, all the same size. “I’ve got you guys scheduled for a first practice tomorrow. The season starts Saturday morning. You’re playing the Astros. Last year they won the league title.” I went back to my new apartment on the ground floor of an old mansion on Monroe Drive and opened a cold beer, wondering what I’d gotten myself into. Eleven players showed up for the first practice, seven black kids, four white.

Four players were head and shoulders above the rest — Alvin, Pete, his brother, Freddie, and Rodney. They were pals from the same block in Capital Homes, possibly the worst housing project in the city, a place so dangerous even the beat cops I knew well hated to venture there after dark. The Gang of Four, as I took to calling them from day one, filled the most vital spots on the field. Easygoing Freddie went to first, his chatty brother Pete pitched, Alvin took third and a fireplug named Rodney caught. Pete and Alvin would alternate at pitcher. Both had blazing fastballs and remarkable control. If the infield was anchored by four terrific athletes, the rest of the field was chaos, seven kids who’d never played organized baseball. Two didn’t even have decent gloves. The first of many financial investments I made in the team was to purchase a couple of fielder gloves the night before our first game. Another was to spring for a dozen (cheap) orange baseball caps. We got drilled that Saturday by the mighty Astros, a lopsided game owing in part to the fact that Rodney the catcher failed to show up. The fill-in catcher kept jumping out of the way of Pete’s fastballs. “His daddy won’t let him come no more,” Pete explained. “Why is that?’ “He don’t want him to get killed by the crazy man.” After the game, I drove the gang home in my aging Volvo wagon. On the way there, for reasons that elude me, I stopped at Woody’s and bought them chocolate milkshakes. Woody’s was a neighborhood institution, run by a couple of fastidious fellows who made the city’s best milkshakes and cheese steaks. The gang lived off a street ironically named Paradise Street. Pete directed me to Rodney’s house. I knocked and the door opened. A wary black dude stared at me and asked me what I wanted. I told him who I was and explained that we’d missed having Rodney at our first game. “He wants to play. But he ain’t comin’ no more,” the man said. “Why is that, sir?” “Cause all this killin’ shit goin’ on. I don’t want him walkin’ nowhere.” I nodded. “What about this. What if I agree to pick up Rodney and his friends and bring them home?” His gaze narrowed suspiciously. “Why would you do that?” “Because he needs baseball,” I said — choosing not to add that suddenly I realized I needed it, too. “You do that,” he said, “and he can play.” The next Friday afternoon we demolished the Chandler Park Yankees, who never even got a hit. The Gang of Four was incredible. After the game, I foolishly sprung for milkshakes again. Over the next eight weeks, as the grim body count from Atlanta’s missing and murdered children crisis mounted, we didn’t lose a game — won them, in fact, by lopsided margins, football scores. Pete and Alvin were basically unhittable. Ready Freddie was cool as a cucumber, and Rodney was born to catch. I started calling them all the Birds of Paradise. In a way, that’s what they were to me. We easily won the league championship in early June, wiping the field with the

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 2015

simple life

once mighty Astros. We got nice little trophies and Miss Brenda wrung my hand. “Thanks for helping out,” she said. “See you next spring.” “Thank you,” I said. “But I might have a job in Washington.” “Nah,” she said. “You’ll be back. The Birds will too.” On the way home, we stopped off at Woody’s for a final milkshake and cheese steak. The team was so rowdy the owners threatened to throw us out. The winter of 1980 was a busy one for me. I followed candidate George Bush across the frozen tundra of New England for the presidential primaries and went with him to Puerto Rico. I wrote more murder stories and hung out with the last gator hunter in the Okefenokee Swamp. Washington was still making noises, but the job offer didn’t come. Miss Brenda called right at the crack of April. “Tryouts are this Wednesday, Coach. I’ll let you have the same players who’ve come back.” The Birds of Paradise were all back. The routine resumed — adding a couple more from Capital Homes to the load. Naturally our first game was a no-hitter. Milkshakes and cheese steaks followed. The Birds of Paradise asked to see where I worked, so I brought them downtown to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. They were beautifully behaved, perfect manners all around — though on the way home, as usual, they ransacked my car. I suggested a team cookout at my apartment, hoping their parents might come. Only one white mother came. My new girlfriend helped out. The Birds had a glorious time playing my records and wrecking my home office, even finding my stash of Playboy magazines. We didn’t lose a game in season two. Our victory supper was held at Woody’s, of course. The owners now welcomed us. The best part came when Dale Murphy stopped by to say hello. The Birds went crazy. On a lark, I called up the president of the Buckhead youth baseball league and suggested we play an unofficial Metro championship. He liked the idea and sug-

gested we do it at their field in the all-white suburbs. I even drove Pete and Freddie out to see the field. Unlike ours, their field had lights, actual bleachers, a perfect grass surface, even a concession stand. A day later though, the Buckhead guy called me back and said we had to cancel. “Some of our parents think it might make your kids feel bad, given all that’s going on right now.” I took the Birds for a final round of shakes and steaks at Woody’s and apologized. A week or so after this, a self-styled music promoter named Wayne Williams was arrested for the murder of two adults and accused by Atlanta police of being responsible for twenty-three of the twenty-nine missing and murdered children. A year later he was convicted and is serving a life sentence. Not long after that, I left for Washington and eventually moved to New England. A decade later, I tracked down the original Gang of Four and invited them out to dinner in Buckhead with my wife Alison. Pete, Ready Freddie and Rodney showed up. Alvin was in the Army and couldn’t make it. Rodney was about to join the Navy. Freddie and Pete had both gone to college, Freddie on a scholarship. We had a fine time, talking about those remarkable baseball seasons, then we hugged and parted, promising to stay in touch. Not long ago I was in Atlanta on business and was pleased to discover Woody’s was still there, still packed, still selling great cheese steaks and shakes. I sat in a corner booth where the Birds used to gather, making way too much noise and horsing around, thinking how grateful I remain to them for ransacking my life when I needed it most. Wherever they flew away to in this world, I hope they know how much they meant to me. PS Contact editor Jim Dodson at jim@pinestrawmag.com.

April 2015P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

The O’Neal School would like to thank the following businesses who gave so graciously to its 44th Annual Auction. 2Q Nail Spa 9th of September Aberdeen Bead Company Aldena Frye Custom Floral Design Ashten’s Restaurant ATEX Technologies Bachman Personal Defense Solutions LLC Belk / Chanel Counter Belk / Ladies & Men’s Fragrance Counter Belli Bambini Bentley School Big Muddy Challenge Blue Horse Market Bob Timberlake Art in the Schools Program Botanicals Bradshaw Capital Management Brixx Wood Fired Pizza C. Cups Cupcakery Cagle Road Pottery Cameron & Company Capel Rug Carolina Ballet Carolina Horse Park Carolina Hurricanes Hockey Club Carolina Mudcats Carolina Panthers Carolina RailHawks Carolina Skin Care Carolina Woodcraft Chatlee Boat and Marine Chef Wallace Beeson Chef Warren’s Chick-fil-A Christy’s Hair Creations Clark Chevrolet Cadillac Inc Classic Apparel, Inc. CoolSweats Cooper & Bailey’s CrossFit 611 Crystal King Pottery D.K. Clay Pottery Dargan Moore / Edward Jones David A. Edrington, DDS, PA Dean and Martin Pottery Debbie Grayson Lincoln, Artist Deep River Sporting Clays Design Company Landscaping DeWitt’s Sporting Clays Discovery Kids Dr. Michael Henry D. D. S. Dr. Werner Meier, Artist

Drum and Quill Public House Edible Arrangements Elliotts on Linden Eloise Exhale...A Salon F & W Playhouse First Bank FirstHealth of the Carolinas Fitcorp Gym Foxfire Resort and Golf Framer’s Cottage Framesmith Gemma Gallery Gigi McGill Photography Gold’s Gym Golf Pride GourmetGiftBaskets.com Gracefully Rustic Gryphon Group Security Solutions, LLC Gulley’s Garden Center Hampton Inn Harris Teeter #212 Hawkins and Hawkins Fine Jewelry Designs Hickory Hill Pottery Hickory Tavern Homewood Suites Raleigh-Crabtree Valley Honey Baked Ham Honeycutt Jewelers Industrial Procurement Supply Ironwood Restaurant Italia jalphoto.us Jani-King Java Bean Plantation Karma Beauty Bar La Poblanita Mexican Cafe Lady Bedford’s Tea Parlour and Gift Shoppe Lancome / Belk Linderella’s Quilt Works, LLC Living on the Bliss Magnolia 61 Marie & Marcele Boutique Marlboro-Chesterfield Pathology, P.C. Martial Arts Academy of Southern Pines, Inc. Matilda Jane Clothing McNeill’s Pottery Mean Bean Coffee MeridianZero Miche Mid Carolina Gastroenterology Associates, PA

Mid Pines Inn and Golf Club Moe’s Southwest Grill Monkee’s of the Pines Moore Equine Mr. Baxter Clement, Musician Mr. Kevin Criscoe, Tennis Instructor Mrs. Diane Patenaude, Baker Ms. Catherine Martin, Artist Ms. Dian Ellis Moore, Potter Ms. Donna Saylor, Artist Ms. Jessie Mackay, Artist Ms. Kathy Leuck, Artist Ms. Katie Wilson, Swim Instructor My Hot Lunchbox Nature’s Own North Carolina Symphony North Carolina Zoo O’Quinn Pottery Organic Valley OtterBox Our State Outback Steakhouse Outerwall Papa Johns Paper Rock Scissor; Salon, Spa & Gallery Paraclete XP Peking Wok Pete’s Family Restaurant Pine Crest Inn Pine Needles Golf Club Pinehurst Coins Pinehurst Family Dentistry / Susan L. Buckland, D.D.S Pinehurst LLC Pinehurst Radiology Pinehurst Skin Center Pinehurst Surgical PJ’s Auto Care and Gourmet Coffee Play-Well TEKnologies Proscapes Pulmonary Medicine / Pinehurst Medical Clinic Quantico Tactical Railhouse Brewery Reaves Nursery & Landscape Red Bowl Asian Bistro REL Holdings Richmond Rentals River Jack Outdoor Trading Co. Rockin’ Rollin’ Video Game Party Ross Dress for Less Rugg Rats, Inc. San Felipe

Sandhills Academy of Gymnastics Sandhills Bowling Center Sandhills Cinema Sandhills Turf Shellie’s Party Supplies Sky Zone Trampoline Park SoPies Southern Pines Equine Associates SportClips Haircuts State Farm Insurance / Bill McClelland Swank Coffee Shop and Handmade Market Sweet Rosi’s Cakes and Creations Systel Business Equipment Co., Inc Tanglewood Farm Bed & Breakfast Taylor Dance Thai Orchid Restaurant The Bakehouse The Boys & Girls Club of St. Helena and Calistoga The Country Bookshop The Flavor Exchange The Fresh Market The Jefferson Inn The Mosquito Authority The O’Neal School The O’Neal School Booster Club The Pinehurst Olive Oil Co. The Skin Enhancement Center of Pinehurst Dermatology The Squire’s Pub The Sunrise Preservation Group The Venue by David & Company Salon The Wine Cellar & Tasting Room Theos Taverna Thomas Toohey Brown Photography Tom-Kat Embroidery & Design Traveling Chic Boutique Trident Marketing U.S. National Whitewater Center Unfinished Furniture Outlet Vivify Software LLC Walton’s Pottery Wet & Wild Emerald Pointe Wheel of Fortune White Rabbit Catering Windridge Gardens ZipQuest

PinePitch Three Dog Live

On May 2, following the awards ceremony for the 2015 Pinehurst Concours d’Elegance (see page 66 for more on the vintage auto competition), American rock band Three Dog Night will perform on the fairway of Pinehurst Resort. The band, which formed in 1968, racked up a dozen gold albums and recorded 21 consecutive Billboard Top 40 hits, seven of which went gold. Their well-loved hits, delivered in their unmistakable style, are performed by founding members Cory Wells and Danny Hutton on lead vocals and guitarist Michael Allsup. Paul Kingery (bass and vocals) and Pat Bautz (drums) complete the lineup. Concert starts at approximately 5 p.m. Tickets: $40 (auto show and concert). Pinehurst Resort. Info: pinehurstconcours.com.

A Watched Pot

Pollen aside, Seagrove is bursting with color this month — but especially on Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19, when Seagrove Area Potters Association presents its Celebration of Spring in Seagrove. Take the Pottery Highway (NC-705) up past Robbins to the country’s largest concentration of working potters (the back roads will get you there just the same) and see for yourself. Over fifty local potters open their studio doors for a weekend that includes kiln openings, tours, demos, special events, and, of course, a dazzling showcase of rare earthenwares. See website for map and complete list of participating potteries. Info: (336) 517-7272 or www.discoverseagrove.com.

Life is But a Dream

American composer Leonard Bernstein once described Hector Berlioz’s hallucinatory, dream-like “Symphonie Fantastique” as “the first musical expedition into psychedelia,” perhaps owing to the fact that Berlioz composed it under the influence of narcotics. On Thursday, April 9, at 8 p.m., the North Carolina Symphony will perform this popular Romantic era score in addition to Messiaen’s “Les Offrandes Oubliées” and Vieuxtemps’ Violin Concerto No. 5. Berlioz’s trippy symphony call for a total of over ninety instruments, including two harps, four bassoons, various horns, and a pair of low-pitched bells. See how the NC Symphony does it, and don’t miss the pre-concert talk with Timothy Haley in the Pinecrest High School Band Room at 7 p.m. Tickets: $30–65. Lee Auditorium, Pinecrest High School, 250 Voit Gilmore Lane, Southern Pines. Info: www.ncsymphony.org.

Sounds of Spring

The Moore County Choral Society’s 40th anniversary spring “Jubilee” concert will take place Sunday, April 26, at 4 p.m. Songs from the silver screen include old standards like “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and “Singin’ in the Rain” plus music from Rocky, The Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King and Harry Potter. Anne Dorsey conducts; Billy Bag-O-Donuts emcees; over 100 voices and a full orchestra will animate Hollywood old and new. Red carpet event includes scholarship awards presentation and will honor current members who have been with the Choral Society since its inception. Pinecrest High School, 250 Voit Gilmore Lane, Southern Pines. Info: www.moorecountychoralsociety.org.

April 2015P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

The Brightest Bulb

Crowning Glories

Saturday, April 4, marks the 64th running of the Stoneybrook Steeplechase, the official rite of spring in the Sandhills. Each year, nearly 10,000 people come to watch nationally acclaimed horses, jockeys and trainers vie for over $50,000 in purse money, but there’s something for everyone. Traditional tailgate, stick horse races, opening ceremonies, an expansive Kid Zone, vendor area, pub tent, beer tent . . . the list goes on and on. As for the hats: More is definitely more. The Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford. Tickets: stoneybrooksteeplechase.com.

The Sandhills Horticultural Society’s annual plant sale springs forth on Saturday, April 11, at 8 a.m., with perennials, woody plants and bulbs — all at bargain prices. While you’re there, consider drawing inspiration from the Sandhills Horticultural Gardens, little pockets of enchantment nestled among twenty-seven acres of woodlands and wetlands. The early bird gets the peonies. Sale ends at noon. Proceeds from sale support the Sandhills Horticultural Gardens and the students of SCC’s renowned Horticultural Program. Steed Hall, Sandhills Community College, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Call to preorder. Info: (910) 695-3882 or www.sandhillshorticulturalgardens.com.

Pop Goes the Gallery

Here’s how it works: three artists transform a vacant space for a four-day pop-up gallery featuring three distinctive styles of painting. On Thursday, April 30, from 5–9 p.m., preview the works of world traveler and colorist Jessie Mackay, award-winning artist Meridith Martens (PineStraw’s crack cartoonist also known for her portraits, abstracts, animal art, florals and corporate commissions), and realist painter Linda Storm. Friday, May 1, through Sunday, May 3, gallery opens at 11 a.m. at the former site of Hawkins & Harkness Fine Jewelry, 132 North West Broad Street, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 783-5599.

Trot on Over

Pinehurst Parks and Recreation Department and Pinehurst Driving and Training Club present the 66th Annual Spring Matinee Races on Sunday, April 12, at the Pinehurst Harness Track. First-time observer? Here’s the gist: Harness racing horses are of two distinct varieties, differentiated by their gait: the pacing horse, or pacer, which moves both legs on one side of its body at the same time; and the trotting horse, or trotter, which strides with its left front and right rear leg moving forward simultaneously, then right front and left rear together. You’ll catch on. And when you feel the pounding of hooves and experience the majestic power of equine athletes, you’ll be hooked. Gates open at 11 a.m. Opening ceremonies are scheduled for 1 p.m.; the first of eight races starts at 1:30 p.m. Bleacher seating; food and beverages available for purchase. Admission: $5 (free for children age 12 and under). Pinehurst Harness Track, 200 Beulah Hill Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 281-4608 or www.vopnc.org.

Second That Emotion

All you need to know in five words: Smokey Robinson live in concert. On Thursday, April 16, at 7:30 p.m., acclaimed singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson will bring his buttery tenor voice and timeless lyrics to the local stage, reminding fans why folk icon Bob Dylan once called him America’s greatest living poet. With a hit-making career that spans over four decades — Motown Records and beyond — Smokey has more than 4,000 songs to his credit. Among his most prestigious honors, which include the Grammy Living Legend Award, NARAS Lifetime Achievement Award and the National Medal of Arts Award from the President, Smokey is a Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Famer and Songwriters’ Hall of Fame inductee. He’s still got it. Tickets: $38 (balcony); $45 (orchestra and mezzanine); $83 (VIP and orchestra pit). Crown Theatre, 1960 Coliseum Drive, Fayetteville. Ticket: 1 (800) 745-3000 or crowncomplexnc.com. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 2015

Southern Voices

A Conversation with Frances Mayes By Stephen E. Smith Q. With your gift for luminous physical description, and vivid and affecting characterizations of family and friends, Under Magnolia is an honest and unforgettable memoir. What made you decide to write about your return to the South? A. Thank you for the kind words! After decades in California, I moved back to the South. The experience of returning after such an exile just naturally began steering my writing. I was thrown backward and forward for about three years by the assault of memories I didn’t even know I had. Much of that had to do with language. Suddenly I was back among those who spoke my native tongue. I’ll always marvel at the liveliness of Southern speech — so full of metaphor and hyperbole, quirks and vividness. This reconnection with the language of the South inspired me to get out my ink pen. Q. As a child you were filled with curiosity and a sense of discovery — always reading under the covers and searching for secrets. How did your upbringing in Fitzgerald, Georgia, instill in you this sense of wonder and adventure? A. Families all over have secrets and weird people and foibles, and mine did too. Beyond that, most of my wonder and adventure came from two sources, books and the place itself. I read my way around the library, as many writers have. At first I thought writers were all dead but when I learned that you could be a live writer, I got the idea that writing was the best thing one could do. When I was 9, I started a novel called Girl of the Highways. It was about a runaway — what I longed to be. But the place! I loved the moss-hung swamps with cypress trees growing out of black water. I loved the hot fields, the big smeary sunsets, the springs and brown rivers, the great shade trees, the short history of my town and how it came to overlay the land. Q. You still have many of your childhood scrapbooks and even your stilllocked childhood diary. Have you kept them with you as you’ve moved? Or, did you rediscover them? A. In the attic here, there are still four or five crates of memories that I have not yet revisited. I’ve always hauled everything from move to move. I like to change houses now and then, so tons of yellowed paperbacks, letters from college roommates, and scrapbooks with dried corsages falling out of them — all those make the sudden moves. Q. The tastes, sounds and smells loom large in Under Magnolia. What is your favorite Southern meal? Your favorite flower? Tree? Is there a special place that you hadn’t revisited until writing the book? A. Barbecued ribs are hard to beat, especially with sides of fried sweet potatoes, squash casserole, and corn bread. Best of all are the monumental Southern cakes — coconut, fudge, Lane cake, Lady Baltimore, nut cake, lemon cake. Praise the Lord! Flowers are blooming around the edges of most of my memories. I was fond of the tiny tea olive buds that I fed to my dolls, the blue larkspur the color of my mother’s eyes, and the heady scent of gardenias that turned brown at a touch. The iconic flower for me was the red Etoile de Hollande rose. My father planted a thousand around the cotton mill. Our house during bloom season was filled with these taut and haughty roses that were the same shade as my mother’s Fire and Ice fingernail polish. We had crape myrtle trees in our yard and I favored them because of the peeling bark. I wrote on it, pretending I was in Egypt writing

on papyrus. Somehow I associated Moses in the bulrushes with the curling bark. While writing the memoir, I went back to Gainesville, Florida, another place where I felt a metabolic connection with the land. It was good to get that down on paper. Florida is such a mighty landscape, if you look. Much of its power takes place under the surface. Those deep springs with erupting blue water and strings of lakes where linking underground tributaries allow alligators and fish to travel from lake to lake — I’ve always been drawn to the mysteries of Florida. Q. Etiquette was very important in your household. What were some of the traditions your family passed on to you? A. Living in Italy, which I do for several months a year, I am reminded all the time of the comfort of fine manners. The Tuscans share with Southerners an inbred courtesy. Much of that endures. People who move south from other parts of the country are stunned by the everyday give-and-take among strangers. While you’re waiting in the dentist’s office, taking the elevator, loading your groceries into the car, someone will talk to you. I could write pages about this — how to say it — this recognition among people. My mother told me, “Speak to everyone.” A lot of other mothers must have said the same because it still happens, just as it does on the streets of my adopted Tuscan town. Manners help keep away chaos and isolation. At our house, however, the order and serenity of the days were upended at sundown when the chthonic spirits took over. Q. Your other books feature recipes. Why is there no recipe for, say, Black Bottom Pie? I want to make it. A. I’ll post some on my blog! www.francesmayesbooks.com. My mother’s recipes are short on directions but I’ve figured out most of them. Maybe I’ll even tackle that Lane cake. Of the American cuisines, to me the, South’s is primo. I’m lucky to have moved back in time for the revival of farmers markets and cooks relishing local ingredients. What a thrill, the inventions around traditional food. Ever had baked peanuts? A fruitcake that made you think of a snowy Christmas morning in 1830 with someone playing the piano? Honeysuckle sorbet? Q. What surprised you most while writing this book? A. How fresh memory stays. Writing, I can again baptize the dog, feel my graduation pearls unstrung, rolling across the church floor. Q. What do you hope readers will take away from Under Magnolia? A. In Nicaragua once, we drove by a house, way out in the country. A family of maybe twenty were lined up on the front porch and my friend remarked, “Each one has his own philosophy.” I always remember that wise remark. Out of the way places — the fly-over places — are intense worlds of passionate lives engaged with a particular spot on this small whirling object in space. My memoir lies near that porch in the jungle. Another desire I have for a reader is to show that the dreary and reductive if . . . then . . . of psychology isn’t true. Your own will can trump how you were raised. And, this is hard to express, but I’m always in wonder over the mysteries of love — how it endures in a molten state even under the hardest strata. PS Frances Mayes will be at Weymouth Center on Sunday, April 19, at 4 p.m., for a lecture, $25. Call (910) 692-6261 for reservations

March 2015P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Instagram Winners

Congratulations to our March Instagram winners! The Theme was:

Everyone has a favorite chair, show us yours #pinestrawcontest

Next month’s theme:

“10 Things”

10 of anything. It’s PineStraw’s 10 year Anniversary, y’all!

Get Creative!

10 banana slices

Submit your photo on Instagram using the hashtag #pinestrawcontest (submissions needed by Friday, April 17th)

10 Books

New Instagram themes every month! Follow us @pinestrawmag PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 2015

Get out of the rain and into The Shop for these April Author Events

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1 AT 5PM EARTH DAY ART TALK WITH DENISE BAKER

Please join us for the second art talk with Denise Baker, the recently retired head of Sandhills Art Department. Denise has spent a life time “opening minds for a living” and researching art history. We all enjoy each others company and benefit from her lifetime of learning.

TUESDAY, APRIL 7 AT 5:30 MYP PRESENTS: KEL LANDIS - THE LITTLE BOOK OF DO

The Country Bookshop welcomes the MYP and professionals of all ages to a development series featuring speaker Kel Landis. Landis is a partner at Plexus Capital and previously served as the CEO of RBC Centura Bank and as a senior business and economic advisor to the Governor of North Carolina, the book is currently required reading for students at UNC School of Business.

THURSDAY APRIL 9 AT NOON ANN B. ROSS MISS JULIA LAYS DOWN THE LAW

Author of the popular Miss Julia series, Ann B. Ross is returning to the Country Bookshop for her latest book Miss Julia Lays Down the Law, where the steel magnolia has to solve the murder of a wealthy newcomer- whose bad attitude about Abbottsville leaves plenty of suspects.

SUNDAY, APRIL 19 AT 4PM AT THE WEYMOUTH CENTER FRANCES MAYES - UNDER MAGNOLIA

Frances Mayes, bestselling author of Under the Tuscan Sun, will discuss her latest book. Under Magnolia is Mayes’s coming-of-age in Georgia memoir. It’s an ode to the South and to the people who lived their passionate lives there. Populated with a cast of intrinsically southern characters—fatalistic, ribald, eccentric, and big-hearted you will not want to miss this literary legend speaking about her books and life. Tickets are $15 for members and $25 for nonmembers. For tickets & reservations call Weymouth: 910.692.6261

MONDAY, APRIL 20 AT 4PM DEBORAH FREEDMAN - THE STORY OF FISH & SNAIL

Please join us as we welcome the author of Blue Chicken to the bookshop for another brilliant book that explores the idea of books as a whole world. Mind bending and insightful with beautiful drawings we expect this to be a home run hit. For children ages 4-7.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22 AT 5:30 AT THE WEYMOUTH CENTER JEREMY HAWKINS - THE LAST DAYS OF VIDEO

The Country Bookshop is pleased to partner with Weymouth to launch a very special series featuring current and former Weymouth Writers in Residents. Hawkins is a fellow bookseller at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill and stayed in Weymouth to complete his debut novel THE LAST DAYS OF VIDEO. This interesting person and amazing talent has woven a hilarious story about the bygone era of video stores. The author will speak about his novel and about how his time at Weymouth encouraged and enabled him to write his novel.

THURSDAY, APRIL 23 AT 5PM DR. WILLIAM PRIESTLY BLACK CHATHAM HALL: A HISTORY OF EXCELLENCE

The Country Bookshop is partnering with the Chatham Hall Admissions and Alumnae departments to host a book signing with a most distinguished faculty member and school historian- Dr. William Priestly Black. One of the oldest and most revered prep schools in Virginia, Chatham Hall has been home to hundreds of girls since its establishment in 1894. American artist Georgia O’Keeffe studied and began her career at the school. After a fire badly damaged the school in 1906, Andrew Carnegie aided in the rebuilding process. Later, the widow of Coca-Cola’s first bottler, Mrs. Arthur Kelly Evans, and Lynchburg native John Craddock helped save the school from closing in 1928. The school and its students offered a tremendous contribution to the nation during World War II, even inspiring a visit from Eleanor Roosevelt.

THURSDAY, APRIL 30 AT 5PM DOUG LAPINS SWEET SUCCESS: A JOURNEY OF CHANGE AND CHALLENGE

The Country Bookshop 140 NW Broad St, Southern Pines, NC 910.692.3211

Cos and Effect

Woman’s Work If you need something done, just ask By Cos Barnes

Don’t ever tell a group of women they

Photograph by Denise Baker

can’t do something.

They will prove you wrong, as evidenced by the following: A Giving Circle gave a total of $15,000 to four nonprofit organizations in our county. The recipients were Communities in Schools of Moore County, which was presented the award to better share ways for children at risk to reach new heights; Girl Scouts N.C. Coastal Pines — to purchase uniform pieces and other insignia for two local troops in Midway and Southern Pines; North Moore Resource Center’s Hope Project — harnessing opportunities to support and promote through an educational preschool project; and Partners for Children and Families — providing free age-appropriate books for children and families with the most need. Grants were awarded by Ellen Airs at a reception at Weymouth. Members of the leadership committee are Caroline Eddy, Susie Buchanan and Liz Cox. Eddy remarked that a long-time dream of many came true that night. Members commit to making a $600 donation annually for three years. Each donation is divided with $500 in the giving pool, $50 for administration and $50 to Moore Women. It is managed by the North Carolina Community Foundation. Those of us who are in this endeavor remember the early stages, when it was only a dream. We are grateful we made it come true. At the early stages we met one dismal afternoon at Liz Cox’s Habitat office, wondering where to start. A local woman created a foundation which ensured us help, and with the direction of Mary Anne Howard of the Community Foundation, we were off. Women and children were our targets. Several get-togethers are held throughout the year, and the circle has become close as women of all ages join together to help others. I’ve been particularly pleased that so many women who were classmates of my daughters are on our roster. I’ll paraphrase a familiar quotation to prove my point: “If you want something done, ask a busy woman to do it.” Now I’ll tell you about the Junior League of Moore County. On March 27, they plan to hold Prom Project, during which high school girls can come and shop at their boutique at the Care Cottage in Pinehurst for that allimportant prom dress. They have all styles and sizes, one hundred already donated, and florist Aldena Frye has promised each shopper a boutonniere for her date. This enterprising group also does “Kids in the Kitchen,” in which they stress healthy eating and healthy living. They have an Academy for Success on Life Enrichment for sixth- and seventh-graders. Women willing to share their abundance with others. PS Cos Barnes is a longtime contributor to PineStraw magazine. She can be contacted at cosbarnes@nc.rr.com.

The Omnivorous Reader

The Good Kind of Trouble

By Brian Lampkin

Kelly Link has an

original mind. The stories in her newest collection, Get in Trouble (Random House, 2015, $25), are all off-center, strange but familiar, perhaps like the inside of a friend’s mind. You recognize much of the territory because you’ve shared many of the experiences, but it’s all slightly akilter and filled with magical thinking that doesn’t quite jive with your own view of reality. But this view is so interesting, so compelling, because it is an entirely fresh and unusual look at something you thought familiar and normal. You get to see the world differently, and we should all be grateful for this new look at the everyday world.

Get in Trouble is Link’s fourth collection of stories, and she has received extraordinary praise from writers like Michael Chabon (who says Link has “the most darkly playful voice in American fiction”) and Neil Gaiman (who calls her “a national treasure”). This national treasure has North Carolina connections — she received an M.F.A. from the UNCG in 1995 — and Get in Trouble’s first story, “The Summer People,” is set in rural North Carolina

where the economically struggling locals and the more affluent seasonal residents uneasily mingle. (The writing program at UNCG is a continuous source of literary fire. Here are just a few who are burning it up: poet and novelist Robert Morgan (Gap Creek), Pulitzer Prize winning poet Claudia Emerson, the 2014 Yale Series of Younger Poets winner Ansel Elkins, along with other established writers such as Steve Almond, Lynne Barrett, Julianna Baggott, Camille Dungy, Drew Perry, Rowan Jacobson, Tim Sandlin, etc.) Many of Link’s stories are set in spaces — imaginative or physical — that allow for a dreamy kind of overworld. In “The Summer People” Fran is in the midst of a brain-wracking fever so effectively described that it puts the reader in the same uncomfortably delirious suspension. The things that follow — toys capable of fanciful actions, creatures like fairies who inhabit a spellbound house — all seem part of the story’s own fever. Carved into the stairs of this house are the words, “BE BOLD, BE BOLD, BUT NOT TOO BOLD.” The quote, taken from Spenser’s The Faerie Queene, describes Link’s approach to storytelling. The emphasis is on boldness, on taking real chances with the limits of realistic fiction, but somehow tying it all back to a physical and emotional life that resonates with readers. In “I Can See Right Through You,” Link uses the alternate reality of the film world (again, a space easily adaptable to a confusion between what’s real and what’s not) to look at the spellbinding nature of lifelong friendship uncertain about its parameters. The “demon lover” of the story is both a character from a vampire movie franchise and a haunting and haunted exlover of his costar Meggie. The fantasy sexual world of the films constantly

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plays out in the “real” world Link has created for her characters — especially so when fans of the films want a sexual piece of the stars but cannot separate fact from fiction and demand real blood. But Meggie and her demon lover also have a shaky hold on reality and past and present are at times indecipherable. Which seems to me one of the great roles of storytelling. Stories commingle our imagined real world with the imaginative fictive world. Link’s stories are in many ways fairy tales in the deep tradition of Grimm’s. She uses stories as a means of exposing to light the dark, often unspeakable, visions and versions of reality our minds constantly process. Link gives us permission to enter worlds we often shrink from. Her boldness frees us to go bravely into spaces we might otherwise run from. “Two Houses” gives us another strange location: “This is how it was aboard the spaceship House of Secrets. You slept and you woke and you slept again. You might sleep for a year, for five years. There were six astronauts. Sometimes others were already awake. Sometimes you spent days, a few weeks alone. Except you were never really alone. Maureen was always there. She was there sleeping and waking. She was inside you, too.” This story is science fiction, I suppose, and there’s a Kubrick film lurking at the edges, but it’s also entirely about ghost stories and the necessity of them in our lives. Because, Link writes, “they were all ghosts now,” floating gravityless in their spaceship, more asleep than awake, and the implication for our own lives is clear. We’re all ghosts, or soon to be ghosts, sometimes sleepwalking through our lives. “Two Houses” makes us look at this ghostly doppelganger and it isn’t always pretty to look at, but maybe it’s necessary to trouble our lives with apparition. Link seems to know that this is “a good kind of trouble,” and woe to us all if we ignore the looming darknesses of our inner lives. Get in Trouble is a command. These stories demand an exploration of the hazy horizon separating the real and unreal. Link wants to trouble our minds with the “unnatural worlds.” In “Two Houses” she writes, “The candles were not real, but the cake was,” which, in one remarkable sentence, explores the role of metaphor, the future of technology and the simultaneous occurrence of separate realities. Read Kelly Link for a dreamlike trip to places you’re half-afraid to travel to, but know you’ll be glad you went. Winner of the World Fantasy Award, the Hugo Award and three Nebula Awards, Kelly Link’s previous books include Stranger Things Happen (2001), Magic for Beginners (2005) and Pretty Monster (2008). PS Brian Lampkin is an owner of Greensboro’s Scuppernong Books.

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B ooks h e l f

April Books Good reading for every taste

By Kimberly Daniels Taws and Angie Tally Three Many Cooks: One Mom, Two Daughters: Their Shared Stories of Food, Faith and Family by Pam Anderson, Maggy Keet and Sharon Damelio Get ready for Mother’s Day. The three women behind the blog Three Many Cooks pull together a delightful book with recipes that showcase their different approaches to cooking and life. The stories are told in alternating perspectives as the women discuss how their relationship with food has changed as faith, school, growing up, growing in marriage, new jobs (including a cookbook author, contributing editor to Fine Cooking, and Cook’s Illustrated executive editor) forced each to respond by changing and reconciling, understanding the power of the bonds between God, sisters, wine, and mothers and daughters. God Help the Child by Toni Morrison Bride, a young woman who is beautiful, bold and confident, is in conflict with her light-skinned mother, who denies her all forms of love. Bride has Booker, a man she loves and eventually loses to anger, and Bride has Rain, the mysterious white child she meets along the way. Bride’s mother, Sweetness, eventually learns: “What you do to children matters. And they might never forget.” Toni Morrison, a living legend of literature (Beloved, The Bluest Eye, and Song of Solomon), weaves another deeply striking tale. Inside the O’Briens by Lisa Genova The author of Still Alice and Left Neglected returns with a story about Joe O’Brien, an Irish Catholic Boston police officer with a family — a very stereotypical life. When he is diagnosed with Huntington’s disease, everything is turned upside down. Genova has written a revealing story following the insidious disease as it affects each member of the family and how each is forced to cope with Joe’s diagnosis and their own prognosis. Wonderful to read on your own or with book clubs. Sure to make you cry. Charlotte Moss: Garden Inspirations by Charlotte Moss In this beautiful coffee table book published by Rizzoli, Charlotte Moss gives us inspired examples of how to bring our gardens indoors and use our gardens as outdoor rooms. Moss is a renowned interior designer with many successful books (and houses) to her name, and the reader will be delighted by photos, menus and lovely advice. Mrs. Lee’s Rose Garden by Carlo DeVito In the years before the Civil War, the Arlington estate towered above Washington, and Mary Custis Lee was known as the “Rose of Arlington.”

Highly intelligent and charming, she spent most of her time in the gardens of the Arlington mansion with her mother, her husband Robert E. Lee, their daughters and Montgomery C. Meigs, who became the engineer responsible for building the Capitol. The founding of Arlington National Cemetery is told during the outbreak and pinnacle of the Civil War. This history of a rose garden is a story of mystery, honor, intrigue, love and pain that is still held within the walls of Arlington National Cemetery. They Are All My Family: A Daring Rescue in the Chaos of Saigon’s Fall by John Riordan and Monique Brinson Demery In April 1975, during the chaotic final days of the Vietnam War, Americans fled Saigon, leaving their Vietnamese allies and employees with terrible fates. Against this backdrop, John Riordan, a young banker, the assistant manager of Citibank’s Saigon office rescued his thirty-three Vietnamese staff members and their families: a total of 106 people. Ordered by Citibank to leave the country alone, Riordan defied this and secretly assembled all 106 Vietnamese in two villas. After Riordan returned to California with the 106 in tow, Citibank provided a million dollars to resettle their employees and offered jobs to the staff and spouses. Decades later, Riordan, now a Wisconsin farmer, is able to reunite with his friends after their daring adventure. They Are All My Family is an uplifting book that tells an amazing and never-before heard story. The Road to Character by David Brooks David Brooks writes a hopeful book that uses the stories of ten great lives to illustrate how we develop character. Brooks profiles people from across history and uses their lives to show how choices help us to build rich inner lives. Brooks writes about morality in a compelling way. A book you’ll read and recommend. Religion in the Oval Office by Gary Scott Smith Smith, chair of the history department at Grove College, has offered comprehensive and fascinating examinations of the role religion has played in presidential politics throughout our nations history by looking at eleven presidents: John Adams, James Madison, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William McKinley, Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. He pays close attention to historical context and America’s shifting values as he examines faith and its intriguing relationship with the Oval Office. CHILDREN’S BOOKS Click Clack Peep! by Doreen Cronin. Fans of Click, Clack, Moo and Diary of a Worm will delight at this new farm story from author Doreen Cronin and illustrator Betsy Lewin just in time for Easter.

B ooks h e l f

There’s more trouble on the farm, but this time Duck (Click, Clack, Moo) has nothing to do with it. There’s a new critter on the farm: an adorable (but loud) four-ounce puff of fluff who just won’t go to sleep, and whose play-with-me “peeps” are keeping the whole barnyard awake. (Ages 2-5) Join the Country Bookshop for a special Click, Clack, Peep! storytime and Easter egg hunt Friday, April 3, at 10:30 a.m. Sophie Mouse: A New Friend and Sophie Mouse: The Emerald Berries by Poppy Green Illustrated by Jennifer Bell. Fans of Kate DiCamillo’s Mercy Watson and Callie Barkley’s Critter Club will delight in this new series of chapter books tailor-made for young bookhounds. In A New Friend, the series debut, Sophie Mouse and her best friend, Hattie Frog, meet a new classmate and learn the importance of accepting others, ignoring false rumors and making new friends. (Ages 6-10).

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Destiny, Rewritten by Kathryn Fitzmaurice. Eleven-year-old Emily Elizabeth Davis has been told, for her entire life, that her destiny is to become a poet like her famous namesake, Emily Dickinson. But Emily has a very different secret career ambition that she suspects her English professor mother will frown upon. After losing the volume of Emily Dickinson’s poetry given to her at birth, Emily discovers it contains an important family secret. As Emily and her friends search for the lost book in used bookstores and thrift shops all across town, her understanding of destiny begins to unravel and rewrite itself in a marvelous new way. (age 8-13). The Last Dragon Charmer: Villain Keeper by Laurie McKay. On a quest to kill his first dragon and be fully accepted as worthy by his older brothers, Prince Caden inexplicably falls through time and space and lands in present day Asheville. Accompanied by his horse, Sir Horace, and Brynn, a young sorceress from his own time, Caden seeks to discover the secrets held by this strange new kingdom. (Ages 8-14).

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The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma. Nova Ren Suma’s poetic pondering of young lives, small mistakes and unclaimed guilt is hauntingly mesmerising. Readers tiring of Dystopian Fantasy and Sick-Lit will devour Violet, Ori and Amber’s intertwined story of walls, both figurative and physical, which hold captive. (age 14 and up). PS

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papa d a d d y

Perfectly Civilized

Up there in the hills, folks know how to conduct business with a personal touch

By Clyde Edgerton

It’s good to head to the

Illustration by harry Blair

mountains, and the native folks up that way may sometimes seem a little bit uncivilized . . . in the best of ways. People who may seem to be naïve can simply be honest, trusting and clear-headed.

A few years ago, my wife, Kristina, and I were visiting Ashe County, North Carolina, up in the very northwest corner of the state. The beauty and quiet of the New River and the Ashe County landscape near West Jefferson (thirty minutes north of Boone) struck us both. We asked thenstranger Bill Hutchins (we met him at a literary reading) if he knew of any cabin rental possibilities. “I’m about to go to France for a year,” Bill said, “and I have a cabin that will be available for the entire time. You’d be responsible for electricity, phone, and getting the grass cut once in a while. That’s it. I’m not charging rent.” “A year?” “That’s right. Do you want to see it?” I looked at Kristina; she looked at me. “You wouldn’t have to come up over three or four times,” Bill said, “unless you wanted to. I’ve got somebody who cuts the grass. You can pay him when you’re up here and you can call in to the electric company and phone company and change things over from my name to yours. It shouldn’t be expensive at all.” We told him we’d call him in a couple of days. Privately we worried that

something was amiss. We asked Bill to send some photos by email, saw the place, visited it, loved it — what a deal! — and said yes, we’ll take it. A few months later, we find ourselves in Bill’s little cabin on Willie Walker Road. I’m talking on the phone to a person I won’t name (she could get in trouble, as you will see). She’s from the Blue Ridge Electric Company. I give her my home address, phone number, Social Security number, credit card number — so I can take over the bill. She is very friendly and we have a nice chat about this and that, and I’m about to hang up when she says, “Listen, would you do a little something for me?” “Sure,” I say. “Would you go outside, around to the side of the house, and write down the meter reading up there and give it to me so we don’t have to send up a truck — save us a little money?” “Well . . . sure, by all means.” I walk out, kind of astonished, write down the meter reading, come back inside, and read it to her. She thanks me and that is that. Whenever I’m trying to explain the people-environment of Ashe County, I tell about what I was asked to do by an employee of the electric company. Well, heck. Her name was Polly. Thank you, Polly. I don’t think you’ll get in trouble in Ashe County. I’m confident of that. Or maybe I’m naïve. But I’m thinking Ashe County folks will refuse to allow company policy to trump common sense. At least the Ashe County folks I’ve met. PS Clyde Edgerton is the author of ten novels, a memoir and a new work, Papadaddy’s Book for New Fathers. He is the Thomas S. Kenan III Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at UNCW.

April 2015 P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Seen and Unseen

Keeping the Faith Can a mythic stone symbolize one’s spiritual beliefs?

By Chris Larsen

If I had known it was called a “fairy

stone,” my skinny insecure teen neck would have never known the comfort and security of the “cross” that has hung there, pretty much non-stop, since I was 10 years old.

I found it in a cigar box filled with my grandfather’s Army medals, ribbons and brass buttons. He could not remember ever seeing it before and was happy to give it to me. He was a pretty dedicated church guy, having helped found St. Paul’s in the Pines Episcopal church in Fayetteville and served as its senior warden for the first sixteen years. Having said that, necklaces were not his style. Spring forward some thirty-five years as I was getting an echocardiogram over at Pinehurst Medical, and the technician commented on what a beautiful “fairy stone” I was wearing. I had always thought it was petrified wood. She said they could only be found in a small area of the Shenandoah Valley. When learning of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, legend has it, fairies who lived in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains shed tears of sadness that turned to stone when they hit the ground. Remarkably they are shaped like tiny crosses. The one I have worn for most of my life is nearly perfect. The legend holds that possession of the fairy stone will ward off illness, accidents and even the curse of an angry witch. As far as good luck charms go, this one has been pretty weak. During the time I have worn this charm, plenty of bad luck has come my way — death of loved ones, near death for me, broken bones and a broken heart or two. But the cross is less about luck and more about faith — I have stopped

believing in the first and religiously embrace the second. Fact of the matter is, you have to believe in something. Many of the world’s religions celebrate their faith this time of year — the fairy stone cross I wear is a sign of my own beliefs and recognition of the Easter story. Myth, many proclaim, is something that never happened but is almost always true. Parables must be seen in much the same light. The object is to believe in something that cannot be proved. While the virgin birth and the Resurrection cannot be proven empirically, one can still believe. Scientists can prove the known universe began with the Big Bang. Hard to argue with that, but my question is simply this: Who lit the fuse? The great author J.M. Barrie once wrote, “The reason birds can fly and we can’t is they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.” It is at this time of year with Lent and Passover and even a few pagan rituals of the season, many think about their belief structure. I love Easter because of the forty days of darkness leading to the pure joy of Resurrection. Alleluia. I much prefer it to the twenty-four days leading up to Christmas when we Christians celebrate the birth of our King. Don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of overindulgence, but it does little to embrace the belief structure it purports to celebrate. I have a very close friend who is an atheist. She often tries to get me to explain my faith. Her very scientific mind cannot grasp concepts like the virgin birth or rising from the dead. Her natural cynicism hardened her views of the teachings of Christianity. This was always hard for me to understand, because she truly lived by the Golden Rule. Like a stone cross formed from the tears of native American fairies, belief in something makes us stronger, better, with a more complete life. PS Chris Larsen is a senior vestry member at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Southern Pines and a PineStraw contributor.

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Vine Wisdom

The Beauty of White Bordeaux Varieties not to be missed this spring

By Robyn James

Mention Bordeaux and the initial

Photograph by Brandi Swarms

vision is of the famous red blends of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, malbec and petit verdot.

Actually, one of the oldest grapes in Bordeaux is white: the sauvignon blanc grape which was crossed with cabernet franc centuries ago giving birth to cabernet sauvignon, king of Bordeaux and Napa Valley. But we want to talk about the queen of Bordeaux, the beautiful, aromatic whites. Less than 10-percent of Bordeaux’s production is white, but these are not wines to be overlooked or ignored. The most famous region for white is the Entre-Deux-Mer (meaning between two seas), particularly in the subregions of Graves and Pessac-Léognan. Entre-Deux-Mer is an area blessed with beautiful sunshine so the grapes ripen quickly and the growers are the first to begin harvesting in Bordeaux. The dry whites of Bordeaux, like the reds, are usually blends of up to seven different grapes, but the primary grapes are sauvignon blanc, semillon and muscadelle. Unlike the aggressive New Zealand style of sauvignon, these blends are either light and fruity or rich and creamy, depending on the winemaker’s preference. Sauvignon blanc is at its best when young and fresh. You can expect flavors and aromas of citrus, grapefruit, lemon, gooseberry and lime along with grass, passionfruit and honeysuckle. However, its blending partner semillon can be an ager, offering a rich, more oily feeling on the tongue. Look for flavors of baked apples and pears, crème brûlée, orange zest, ginger, figs, lemon butter and hints of chamomile. Muscadelle takes a back seat to sauvignon blanc and semillon, imparting a slightly floral, sweeter note to the mix. Light and fruity styles of Bordeaux typically have higher percentages of sauvignon blanc and no oak influence making them the more affordable

wines of the region. Chateau Baron La Rose Vieilles Vignes Bordeaux Blanc ($12) is a great example of this style under $12. It is 70 percent sauvignon blanc, 25 percent semillon and 5 percent muscadelle. Aromas of flowers, grapefruit and slightly vanilla hints. Fruity with green apple and slightly honeydew melon on the palate with a fresh finish. Chateau Tour De Mirambeau Reserve ($15) is another example of the light and fruity style. 40 percent sauvignon blanc, 30 percent semillon, and 30 percent muscadelle, it comes across as very floral and interesting with green apple influences. Chateau Graville-Lacoste Graves Blanc ($20), whose vineyards are located in the Graves region. This wine is 75 percent semillon, 20 percent sauvignon blanc, and 5 percent muscadelle. Their wines are totally fermented in stainless steel but because of the higher percentage of semillon, they have to ability to age longer in the bottle and offer a richer texture on the finish. The stony soil gives the wine a beautiful minerality. Chateau Magrez Fombrauge St. Emilion ($40) creates a white Bordeaux outside of the region of Entre De Mer following the rich and creamy style. 40 percent semillon, 30 percent sauvignon blanc and 30 percent of the rarely used sauvignon gris, this wine is aged in new oak barrels, offering a powerful, floral nose with toasted notes and a slight bitterness. Surely the most famous of all white Bordeaux, Chateau Carbonnieux ($54) of Graves reigns supreme. The intense gravel soil, along with small barrel fermentation, create an internationally famous wine that dates back to the thirteenth century. When young, the wine is fresh, pure and fruity with aromatic intensity. When mature, it develops notes of dried and preserved fruit. PS Robyn James is proprietor of The Wine Cellar and Tasting Room in Southern Pines. Contact her at robynajames@gmail.com.

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April 2015P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

T h e k i tc h e n ga r d e n

Gardening in a Shifting Climate As weather changes, so will our growing season

By Jan Leitschuh

And so another gardening year has begun.

Serious gardeners are planting — or have already planted — a number of items that don’t mind cold soil or light freezes: kales, potatoes, arugula, edible-podded peas, beets, spinach, lettuce mixes, collards, carrots, broccoli and more. Our sandy soil has wonderful drainage and can be worked early. In fact, many often plant their tomatoes, eggplant, okra and peppers a bit too early; these like warm soil, and I often wait until very late April or May. Our traditional frost-free date is April 15, but often there is no frost from early April on. Is it getting earlier? It’s hard to know these things from year-to-year observations. So when I learned of a recent Climate and Agriculture Conference in Pittsboro, designed to help farmers adapt to climate shifts, I signed on to learn more. How might shifting weather affect Sandhills gardeners as well? Ryan Boyles, director of the climate office with N.C. State University, shared the weather-trend snapshot for North Carolina at the recent conference for farmers. These are long-term warming trends, rather than year-toyear snapshots, he explained. Boyles took the conference through the farming year season by season. Future North Carolina winters: Over the next thirty to fifty years in North Carolina, there will probably be fewer very cold days, says Boyles; that is, days where the temperature doesn’t get below 32 degrees. The data suggests up to fifteen to twenty fewer cold days by mid-century and thirty fewer days by the end of century. “Basically, we’re losing almost a month of winter,” said Boyles. The trend also indicates fewer days of snow at lower elevations. It’s also possible there will be more hard cold days earlier in the North Carolina winter, though this isn’t fully verified yet, he said. “We watch the snowfall in Siberia,” he said. “Because the Arctic is taking longer to freeze over, it changes the weather track. Cold air builds up over Canada, and can affect the Southeast.”

Impacts/concerns: If we get enough hard chill in late fall and early in the winter, there is a risk of plants breaking dormancy far too early. On the other hand, some plants, such as fruit trees, need a certain number of freezing or “chill hours” to produce, and with fewer cold days chill accumulation may be slower. “Fruit crops will be the bellwether,” says Boyles. If winters are not as harsh overall, bugs and garden pests are not killed back as strongly and can proliferate during the growing season. Warmer winters overall mean more soil microbial activity, which is a good thing. Among many other things, soil microbial activity makes minerals available to plants, especially nitrogen from organic sources like compost. Some crops may also be grown later into the season. One interesting side note I learned: The source of our ice storms is . . . the North Carolina mountains! “Take away the mountains and you take away our ice storms,” said Boyles. “Air masses that originate in Canada come down the mountains and collide with the humid warm air masses from the ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Take away the Gulf of Mexico and North Carolina becomes a desert — due east is the Sahara. What happens in the oceans affects us here.” Spring in North Carolina: There will probably be more warm days in February and March. Along with the variable weather may come more tornadoes, more intense thunderstorms, quite heavy rainfalls, hail storms. “Fifty years from now, hail insurance may be a risk management tool for farmers,” said Boyles. Impacts/concerns: Fruits like strawberries or peaches may blossom earlier, at a vulnerable time when a sharp freeze could then damage essential blossoms; no blossoms means no fruit. Spring freeze protection might be needed for valued plants and crops. Another concern: Even if blossoms remain intact, will the insect pollinator populations be around when needed? Summers in North Carolina: Summers will likely be hotter in general, with more days of extreme heat. While annual rainfall will probably remain sufficient, weather patterns predict fewer days with rain. When it does rain,

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T h e k i tc h e n ga r d e n

the rainfall will often be intense. The longer warmth will probably add almost a month to the growing season in fifty years. Impacts/concerns: High heat can cause plants such as tomatoes and peppers to drop their blossoms, reducing yield. “Your AC bill will probably be higher,” said Boyles. “Soybeans may not be be flowering fifty years from now.” Capture of heavy rainfall, such a farm pond construction, might be useful to collect downpours when they come. With less-frequent rains, fungal diseases like powdery and downy mildew may actually go down; along with them, the current use of fungicides. “Growers will want to optimize water delivery,” said Boyles, since the desired inch-a-week may not be forthcoming. Conservation irrigation methods like drip irrigation can be useful and economical. Growers can also build the organic matter of their soils so it acts as a “sponge” or water reservoir; this practice also helps hold soil nutrients during heavy downpours. Autumn in North Carolina: The last frost date looks like it will stay about the same. But hard cold may come earlier in late autumn than has been common, as discussed earlier. North Carolina will likely experience fewer hurricanes — hurricanes that bring lots of important rainfall. However, those hurricanes that do come will be stronger and more intense, as the intensity is directly related to the warmth of the ocean. Boyles said that more Category 3, 4 and even 5 hurricanes may be seen. Impacts/concerns: Benefits include a longer growing season, so several rounds of crops may be possible, for example, spring greens, and then late tomatoes or peppers. While we’ve seen a cold winter this year, he said, after thirty years or so, the background warming will overcome the year-to-year variability. However, Boyles’ concluding remarks were optimistic. While many areas will be suffering from decreased rainfall, it looks as if the Southeast may get slightly more, though in fewer rain storms. “If you get 40 inches a year, it looks like a ten percent increase over the next thirty to fifty years,” he said. Finally, “humans are adaptable,” he noted, “and North Carolinians have seen this all before. We’ve seen huricanes, we’ve seen drought, we’ve seen intense thunderstorms and hail in the past, and we’ll see it in the future. We know how to deal with these things. Maybe better than the rest of the nation.” PS Jan Leitschuh is a local gardener, avid eater of fresh produce and co-founder of the Sandhills Farm to Table Cooperative.

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Endocrinology

Endocrinologists are experts in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with a wide variety of hormonal problems. Such as: Thyroid • Pituitary Parathyroid • Adrenal Pancreas • Testes Physicians who specialize in Endocrinology are also trained to care for patients with metabolic diseases of the bone.

Endocrinology Locations

Pinehurst Medical Clinic - East

205 Page Road Pinehurst, NC 28374 (910) 295-5511

Pinehurst Medical Clinic Our Endocrinologists: A “Consultation-Only” Practice

The Endocrinologists of the Pinehurst Medical Clinic maintain a “consultation-only” practice. This means they see patients who are referred to them by other physicians for an Endocrinology problem or issue. After seeing a patient, our Endocrinologist will report back to the physician who referred the patient. Working with the referring physician and the patient, the Endocrinologist will determine the most appropriate plan of care related to the Endocrinology problem or issue. Joleen Moore, FNP, Brooks Mays, MD , F.A.C.E., Olga Izotova, MD, Nanci Sullivan-Blackert, FNP, Stacey Hoiland, FNP

Our Endocrinologists do not become the patient’s regular physician. Instead, they provide care at the request of the patient’s regular physician.

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April 2015 P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

P r op e r E n gl i s h

April Fooling

My desk is a disorderly jumble, but somewhere therein lies the story

By Serena Brown

I once took part in an exercise in which

participants were handed two non-related objects and invited to make up a story about them. This was supposed to encourage creativity. As I was trying to imagine what elaborate April Fools’ hoax I might write for this month’s column, I looked around my desk. It’s a jumble of chaos, perfect for this kind of thing.

There’s the Christmas present for my brother-in-law that’s crossed the Atlantic twice in my suitcase and has been delayed in its third crossing, by mail this time, by the snow. I won’t describe the gift because there is a strong possibility that it will still be on the desk at the time this goes to press. A copy of Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, a shredder, a pair of riding gloves, several teetering piles of correspondence, a pen in the shape of a largemouth bass, more pens gathered into a Chocolat Charbonnel tin, some odd contact lenses, a cricket ball, a baby book, a tapestry, a small but diverse collection of feathers, two prehistoric mugs of half-drunk tea and a card I recently acquired at The Country Bookshop which quotes A.A. Milne: “One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.” From this diorama it’s quite hard to choose just two things, but let’s take the cricket ball and the feathers.

Once upon a time there was a cricket match taking place at the venerated Lord’s Cricket Ground, home of cricket and of the Marylebone Cricket Club. A sparrow was flying overhead, enjoying a bird’s eye view of the proceedings. The unfortunate creature must have taken its peeper off the ball, because much to the players’ surprise it was bowled out. It came tumbling out of the sky and fell onto the wicket without dislodging the bails. The sparrow was immortalized via taxidermy and to this day can be seen, perched on the ball that felled it, at the MCC Museum. I could put the cricket ball together with the tea mugs and tell you that during cricket matches, even at the very highest Test level, there is a break for tea; but who would believe such a civilized idea in the cut-throat modern world of professional sport? Let’s take another unlikely combination, say the riding gloves and the odd contact lenses. Believe, if you will, that in England every year, very often in April, a steeplechase of epic proportions takes place. The Grand National, as it is known, is run over four miles and three-and-a-half furlongs and thirty fences. In 1911, the race was won by twenty lengths by the redoubtable Glenside, one of only four horses of twenty-six runners to finish. Glenside was not much fancied by the public because he had fallen in the race the year before, was described as “broken winded” and was blind in one eye. Of course those among you with sporting blood will know how much of this is true and how much I’m indulging in seasonal leg-pulling. It’s said that the truth is stranger than fiction. No kidding. PS Serena Brown is a new mom and a treasured staff member at PineStraw magazine.

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April 2015P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Out of the Blue

Sweep Cleaning When in doubt, sweep it under the rug

By Deborah Salomon

April signifies more than showers

and flowers, meaning spring cleaning.

Hark, a rhyme mitigates that dreaded task. What’s the big deal? Cleaning is like banging your head against a wall; feels so good when you stop. Better than good. Virtuous. Smug. Proud. I calculate five degrees of clean: neat clean, messy clean, neat dirty, messy dirty and crazy clean. Several cleans may live under one roof, especially with teenagers involved. Entering their rooms can be like stepping through a shattered looking glass. The situation intensifies when people of different degrees share space . . . a college dorm, perhaps cohabitation — the only way to really know a prospective mate. Criteria are difficult if not impossible to codify. But, like the French, Dr. Freud and everybody else intones: Cherchez la maman. My mother’s house looked clean because she covered surfaces with neat piles of stuff. Bookshelves were full, coffee table stacked with coffee-table books and knickknacks, kitchen counters all but hidden by ladies’ magazines, small appliances, tea pots, cutting boards, African violets, napkin holders and “caddies” stocked with rarely used implements. She didn’t need clear counters because cooking wasn’t her thing. A shiny stainless steel electric percolator gathered scum while she drank instant. The microwave I provided to bake potatoes served as a bread box. But her hats were in hat boxes, her hangers turned in the same direction, her business papers arranged in folders. Of course she didn’t have three messy, squabbling, active, hungry children and a 100-pound dog. Just me, a traveling husband and a wonderful man who did the floors, vacuuming and bathrooms every week or so. She did teach me this: Don’t make dirt and you won’t have to clean. I never minded cleaning, given the time. My label is (slightly) messy-clean, which means stuff artfully strewn rather than in neat piles but an immaculate bathroom. In the broadloom-Hoover era, every afternoon, out came the vacuum. Every night, after the kids were down, I’d give the kitchen floor a once-over with a rag. Swiffer and Dyson were yet a gleam in nobody’s eye. I had some help, too, for a while. Trouble was, I spent half a day straightening things up and simmering beef-barley soup the helper liked (with fresh European rye from the bakery), another day locating what she had misplaced. She demanded certain cleaning products, preferred an Electrolux, scolded my children and scoffed at the black-and-white TV on which she watched two soap operas while doing the living room. But, I admit, Chanel No. 5 couldn’t touch the glorious PineSol aroma when I returned from the supermarket on Friday afternoon. And we talked — not something I’d attempt with a cleaning crew of

four dervishes who whirl through the house Dr. Seuss-style in an hour. I can’t remember spring/fall cleaning per se. The windows got washed when they were really awful. The furniture got moved when I had four male hands on deck, or when something rolled under it. I waited for a frigid winter day to self-clean the oven. But I hung sheets on the clothesline, yearround, for the freshness only wind bestows. Along the way I learned some valuable housekeeping lessons: Your refrigerator is a diagnostician. National Geographic magazine confirmed this by drawing personality profiles after perusing contents. Mine is clean but crammed, just in case. My fridge taught me that zucchini decomposes faster than any other vegetable and that unopened sour cream and yogurt last practically forever. And that taller people can see the top, so give the occasional swipe. Nothing happens if sheets are changed on Wednesday instead of Monday. Stray athletic socks and ripped cotton undershirts make the best rags. How one loads a dishwasher reveals more than a Rorschach ink-blot. Women dress for each other but clean for a reputation. Nothing mobilizes better than a bridge/book club luncheon. A studio apartment gets dirtier than a McMansion. I never found a foaming bubble that cleans a tile shower better than scouring powder and a stiff brush — preferably wielded by a teenager in need of gas money. Mini-blinds were invented by the devil. They are dirt magnets. Not even Mrs. Libman offers a successful device. So I just look the other way. A colorful, washable, sizable, rag kitchen rug absorbs drips and crumbs. Shake outside every few days, throw in washer every couple of weeks, replace when ratty. My last 4-by-6 footer cost under twenty dollars, lasted six months. What else can you buy for a dime a day? A pet actually promotes cleanliness since you wouldn’t dare leave fur, paw prints and slobber untouched, right? Any man who can change a tire and program a remote can clean a house. I mean, they do a bang-up job in the Army. At home, go with flattery. “Honey, you look so cute reaching up to dust the ceiling fan.” Should that fail, whip out the iPhone, snap him pushing the Swiffer (men appreciate gadgets) and threaten to post. Orderly is good; dirt is bad. But crazy-clean is nuts. Like an acquaintance who, after the dishwasher is loaded (don’t ask), the pots scrubbed and put away, she wipes out the kitchen sink with a paper towel and forbids its use until morning. Luckily, her refrigerator has a water dispenser. And her golden retriever sheds like crazy. PS Deborah Salomon is a staff writer for PineStraw and The Pilot. She may be reached at debsalomon@nc.rr.com.

Sandhills Photography Club

“Naturally Occurring Patterns in Nature” Competition Winners CLASS A WINNERS

6 CLASS A WINNERS 1 1st Place – Matt Smith – Veins 2 2nd Place – Kathy Green – Feathers 3 3rd Place – Gene Lentz – Yellowstone Limestone Terraces 46

7 4 Honorable Mention – Gary Magee – Rocky Wave 5 Honorable Mention – Gary Magee – Nature’s Underground Art 6 Honorable Mention – Diane McCall – Tidal Forest 7 Honorable Mention – Diane McCall – After the Bloom

April 2015P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

CLASS B WINNERS

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CLASS B WINNERS 1 1st Place – Barbara Gault – Dahlia 2 2nd Place – Mary New – The Black Rose 3 3rd Place – Joanne Lentz – Limestone Deposits Mammoth Hot Springs 4 Honorable Mention – Jo Ann Sluder – Monkey See Monkey Do 5 Honorable Mention – Tobe Saskor – Petal Patterns

Run for the Ribbons is an annual family celebration that raises cancer awareness and promotes healthy lifestyle choices including fitness, healthy eating and education on cancer prevention. Join us for our 5K and Family Fun Run 1K as families throughout the Sandhills community pledge to be active together to promote healthy lifestyles that help prevent cancer. All proceeds benefit The Foundation of FirstHealth’s Cancer CARE Fund and Discovery Place KIDSRockingham. Packet pickup is Friday, April 17, from 5-7 p.m. across the street from Discovery Place KIDS-Rockingham – or 7 a.m. race day at the registration tent. Cost of the 5K is $30 through April 14 (add $5 after April 14), and the 1K is $15 through race day. Registration is available at www.active.com. For details and updated information, visit www.firsthealth.org\ribbons, visit our Facebook page, or call (910) 695-7500.

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April 2015P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

H om e town

Downhome Mother Tongue You can take the boy out of Carolina, but not the other way around

By Bill Fields

I’m closing in on three decades of living

in the Northeast — a cup of coffee in Brooklyn followed by many years in Connecticut. But I don’t stand “on line,” root for UConn, keep the Christmas decorations up until the Super Bowl, ski, or believe a red light is a suggestion. Sweet tea, on the infrequent occasions I treat myself on the road, is still the best beverage not made from grapes or hops.

It isn’t necessary to know my tendencies or tastes, though, to figure out I wasn’t born and raised in a ZIP code starting with a 0. Despite what I might believe after enunciating “you all” with an enthusiastic and definitive two syllables, you just have to hear me talk. “Where you from?” the manager at a Mexican restaurant asked after I ordered a take-out burrito recently. When Arkansan Bill Clinton was getting ready to run for President, someone who had studied with him at Oxford said my voice reminded her of his. Over the years, New Englanders have guessed I am from Texas or Virginia. Occasionally, they get it right. My girlfriend, an Ohio native with speech as neutral as Switzerland, does an Oscar-worthy eye roll when I suggest that I don’t have much of a Southern accent. She is right, of course. You can take the boy out of Carolina, but you can’t take the Carolina out of the boy. I’ve never said “purt near” or “fixin’ to leave.” The first part of the day isn’t and has never been “mawnin.” “Milk” is one syllable, most of the time, anyway. I don’t sound quite like an older acquaintance — a native of Charlotte who has lived up North most of her adult life and spends the cold months in Florida — who remarked of this year’s harsh weather, “Y’all ah havin’ a hah-bul win-ah.” Still, I pronounce Mary, merry and marry the same and draw out plenty of vowels — more front porch than FM announcer. And I am as likely to drop a consonant at the end of certain words as a distracted T-baller is to forget about a playable fly ball.

They say that North Carolina is losing its drawl because of the influx of folks sick of “hah-bul win-ahs” who have moved there, particularly in the larger cities. The Southern Pines-Pinehurst area, ahead of the relocation curve, has always had plenty of transplants who sound different from those of us whose first car ride took us from the hospital around the Traffic Circle. We weren’t Mayberry. “Did you notice Gregory Peck has an accent?” Opie asks his father after leaving the movies in an episode of The Andy Griffith Show. “An accent?” “Well, he don’t talk like you do.” “Well, that’s because he’s a Northern person,” Andy says. “Someday, we’ll take a trip up there and you can hear it in the flesh.” I heard my share of Northerners when I was Opie’s age, and have now lived among them longer than I lived in my native state. I might shrug off snow more like them now, but I still don’t speak like they do. Every once in a while I’ll see myself on television, offering a sound bite about some golfer or golf tournament. It strikes me as the voice of about forty-five years ago when I got my first tape recorder and the family spoke and sang into it, amazed at how we sounded. Two years ago, when I took the dialect test that was so popular on the Internet, it placed me as coming from North Carolina as definitively as my birth certificate. I have since taken two other online dialect quizzes. “Are You a Rebel or a Yankee?” indicated I was “86 percent Dixie.” Another exam assured my roots with 85 percent certainty, adding, “That’s a Southern accent you’ve got there.” Yes, once and forever, it sure is. PS Southern Pines native Bill Fields never lived on Connecticut Avenue but has lived in the actual Connecticut for a long time.

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April 2015P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

B I R D WA T C H

The Mating Game It’s that time again

By Susan Campbell

So it is breeding season — once again. In the

bird world, that means singing, posturing, nest building and all sorts of other pair-bonding activities. Between birds of the same species (what ornithologists refer to as “conspecies”), it can get quite heated. And the aggression is not reserved for males: Females can get quite physical, especially in species such as hawks, where the females tend to be larger than males.

But there are situations that can be very confusing. In fact, I have been contacted for a couple of months already by folks who have a bird in their yard that is relentlessly attacking its reflection either in a car mirror or a house window. I hear about how the bird is either madly flying into windows or viciously picking at its reflection. The results can be messy, ranging from marred car mirrors to broken window panes, not to mention what excited birds often leave behind them. Some people report scratches on their windows when birds fly in feet first. These overzealous individuals are usually members of the thrush or mimic families: American robins, eastern bluebirds or northern mockingbirds. But northern cardinals may exhibit this behavior as well. We had a female cardinal here a number of years back that I nicknamed “Zena” for her unrelenting aggression toward her image in our car mirrors and windows.

What’s going on? As spring approaches, the changes in the length of daylight hours triggers the release of hormones related to breeding, and aggressive behavior follows. If you know anything about teenagers, this will not come as a surprise. Generally this situation only persists for two to three months (in birds), but sometimes it can go on for a good bit longer in species that have a longer breeding period. Conversly, when daylight wanes and the breeding season draws to a close, the birds’ tendency toward territoriality quickly wanes. What to do? In order to reduce the nuisance behavior of a particular bird, consider eliminating the reflection that’s triggering the aggression. Covering car mirrors is not that difficult. Covering the whole car (if windows or the windshield are involved) is do-able as well. But, when it comes to window(s) of your home, unless you have shutters, that can be a little tricky. You might want to start by eliminating whatever the bird is using as a perch — porch furniture, for instance. If that doesn’t work, you may need to resort to more drastic measures. Removing feeders that originally attracted the bird in the first place or cutting down the berry-producing shrubs might work. Otherwise, just enjoy the antics and wait a few months — until later in July or August when hormone levels will once again shift with the approach of fall. Only then will the seemingly crazed individual fade into the background. As to teenagers, that’s totally out of my field. PS Susan would love to receive your wildlife sightings and photos. She can be contacted by email at susan@ncaves.com, by phone (910) 949-3207 or by mail at 144 Pine Ridge Drive, Whispering Pines, N.C. 28327.

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April 2015P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

C h as i n g h o r n e ts

The Power of We

Two old friends and NBA journeymen reunite in Charlotte for a season-ending run

By Wiley Cash

The 2015 NBA All-Star

weekend just wrapped in New York City without a single player from the Charlotte Hornets appearing in any of the main events. The closest the Hornets got to All-Star status was second year center Cody Zeller starting for the USA team in the Rising Stars Challenge. While league royalty LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry dunked, shot and skilled their way further into popularity, the Hornets were back home in Charlotte resting their legs and focusing their minds on the remainder of the season. At least I hope that’s what they were doing.

With thirty games remaining on their schedule, the Hornets are 22–30 and sitting in a vulnerable seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings, just above the Miami Heat, who are also at 22–30. Hopefully, the Hornets’ best play is ahead of them, and hopefully the Heat’s worst play is still to come, but after the trade deadline, that may be wishful thinking. The Heat just traded for veteran guard Goran Dragic, who after seven years of back and forth between the Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets is finally hitting his stride as a pro. He’s one of the most exciting guards in the league, and he’ll add firepower and bravado to the Heat’s roster, especially considering that the team’s nucleus of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Luol Deng and Mario Chalmers is still intact. The Hornets, on the other hand, aren’t quite as intact: Kemba Walker, the team’s leader in points, assists, minutes and steals, underwent surgery for a tear of the lateral meniscus in his left knee in late January, and the team suddenly found itself without its on-court leader and spark plug who got the season off to an incredible start with a game-winning overtime bucket against the Milwaukee Bucks. On a positive note, the Hornets did something that most Hornets/Bobcats teams of yesteryear probably wouldn’t have done: They held steady, going 4–4 since Walker’s last game on January 23. There’s hope that Walker will return to the court by March 16 for a West Coast swing, but until then the Hornets must find a way to stay afloat. That’s where guard Mo Williams comes into play. A twelve-year, six-team veteran, Mo Williams arrives in Charlotte via trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he averaged 5 assists, 3 rebounds, and 13 points per

game this season, including a career-high 52 points against Indiana on January 13. It’s still unknown whether Williams will start at point guard or come off the bench to back up Brian Roberts, but one thing is clear: The Hornets need Williams to play well, and to play well immediately. Although most of the NBA’s veteran journeymen are consummate professionals, I’ve often wondered how difficult it is to join a team at midseason and give everything you’ve got for a cause that is only recently your own. Perhaps this transition will be a little easier for Mo Williams when he looks to pass the ball down low and sees his best friend, Al Jefferson, waiting with his back to the basket and his hands open wide. Williams and Jefferson have been friends for fifteen years, meeting first when Jefferson was an eighth-grade AAU standout whose coach would regularly take him over to a high school in Jackson, Mississippi, where a star named Mo Williams was electrifying crowds. The two men spent the 2012–13 season together with the Utah Jazz, where they cemented their friendship. After Williams joined the Hornets for his first practice with the team, it was apparent that he and Jefferson are excited to play together again. “Mo is a professional,” said Jefferson. “He is the guy that can help us with the leadership in the locker room and some of the scoring.” Williams sang Jefferson’s praises as well. “He is, in my opinion, the best low-post scorer at his position,” he said. “You have to show him attention and double-team him. If you don’t double-team him, he is going to score. I think I complement his game in terms of being able to knock down that open 3 when they do double him.” Hopefully, these two old friends will gel as well as they’re imagining. While often panned as the weaker of the two conferences, the East will be a dogfight going down the stretch. While the top of the conference, led by the Atlanta Hawks and the Toronto Raptors, is relatively fixed, the bottom half is a free-for-all with the Hornets, Heat, Nets, Celtics, Pistons and Pacers all separated by three games or less. Even at this point in the season, it’s nearly impossible to predict how the playoff picture will shake out, but if the playoffs started today, the Hornets would be facing the surprisingly good Toronto Raptors, who rank fifth in the league in scoring, which means the Hornets would need a couple of big games from Mo Williams. Hopefully he’s up to the challenge. On how he sees himself fitting with the Hornets as they try to hold on to their playoff spot and potentially make a late season push, Williams said, “I’m excited about getting that adrenaline going and playing for something. They have a chance to be really good.” Make that a “we,” Mr. Williams. We have a chance. PS Wiley Cash is a New York Times best-selling author whose second novel, This Dark Road to Mercy, was released last year. He lives in Wilmington.

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April 2015P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

T h e spo r t i n g l i f e

If Boats Could Talk Welcome to Bryant’s Marina

By Tom Bryant

There is a homily among fishermen

and boating enthusiasts, maybe several homilies, two of which are the happiest days in a man’s life are the day he buys a boat and the day he sells it, and a boat is a hole in the water into which you pour money.

I don’t know if I actually qualify for either of those sayings, for I’ve owned four boats and have sold none. And the boats I’ve owned hardly fit the big time purchase of a major watercraft. My inventory is pretty small: a sixteenfoot skiff that will carry up to a twenty-horse kicker, a twelve-foot Widgeon duck boat with a wide beam that will carry a ten-horse motor and will float in six inches of water, a seventeen-foot aluminum Grumman canoe, and a sixteen-foot Keewaydin white water canoe. If these boats could talk, my fishing, canoeing (white water and flat), and duck hunting would be great fodder for them. The sixteen-foot fishing skiff was my first boat and actually I didn’t buy it. It was my dad’s. It was used on rivers and lakes with a small outboard motor. I trailered it all over the country, mostly fishing, but later I camouflaged it for duck hunting. It sits on a trailer in the backyard, which Linda lovingly calls my marina. My first real purchase was the seventeen-foot Grumman canoe. It was bought primarily for a major expedition that I put together with two good friends and fellow paddlers. We planned to paddle the Haw River from its

source to where it joined the Deep River and became the Cape Fear. The trip would go all the way to Wilmington and the coast. The adventure would take almost two weeks, and we would need plenty of gear to support us along the way, thus the purchase of the Grumman. The boat was perfect for everything we planned. With its huge payload, we could load all the necessities and two of us could paddle her while the other adventurer would come along in his kayak. Well, the best-laid plans sometimes go adrift, literally. The Haw River was at flood stage when we launched at the small textile town of Saxapahaw, and the river commenced to turn us inside out. The aluminum canoe became lodged sideways on a rock right below a rapid, which was, as we later found out, most appropriately named Gabriel’s Bend. The keel of the boat was snapped like a matchstick, thus stranding the two of us on a small island in the middle of the raging river. Our partner made it to the dam being constructed for Lake Jordan. The rescue folks in Pittsboro were notified, and they alerted the search and rescue helicopters in Fort Bragg. But that’s another story, for another time. The Grumman was rescued from that ill-fated expedition, and I had the keel welded almost as good as new. There is still a discernable hump amidships; but, surprisingly, the canoe seems to track better in a wind on open water. That unplanned introduction to white water brought my next boat into the family, the Keewaydin sixteen-foot white water canoe. She’s a great little boat, and we have paddled most of the notorious, heavy rapid rivers in the Southeast. My white water canoeing days are a thing of the past now, though, which led me to my next boat. It was a Christmas gift from my bride, Linda. She bought the little twelve-foot Armstrong Widgeon duck boat and surprised me

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April 2015P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

T h e spo r t i n g l i f e

with it. The decked skiff is wide enough, if you stuff everything in just right, that there’s room for a couple of hunters, a dog and a few decoys. Most of the time it was just me and my great companion and good friend, Paddle, a small yellow Lab retriever. She made some duck retrieves out of the little Widgeon that are still remembered with amazement. She loved the little boat and any chance she could get, winter or summer, she could be found dozing in the open cockpit. Speaking of dozing, there was a particularly memorable duck hunt on Hyco Lake one early January. After a freezing run of about forty-five minutes up the lake, we came to our hunting spot. I anchored the Widgeon in the lee of a small cut angled out in the big water and tossed out a few decoys. The sun was just at the right point on the horizon to shine in the cockpit, so Paddle and I kicked back and hunkered down with the idea of warming in the sun. We both dozed, and Paddle woke me, whimpering. I eased up, peered over the gunnel of the deck and saw six big mallard ducks swimming around in our decoys. Needless to say, the next time I saw those ducks they were dots over the tree line. I haven’t used the boat in several years but am planning to crank her up next season and see if it’s as much fun as it used to be. I think I have one more boat in my future, not a boat really, but a fishing kayak. I haven’t been a kayak paddler, but I’ve done some research and discovered Field and Stream’s Eagle Talon sit-ontop kayak, which is rigged for fishing and looks to be perfect for Florida’s Chokoloskee Bay, right off the Everglades and surrounded by the Ten Thousand Islands. I like the little boat because it’s easy to transport; at 68 pounds I can still hoist her on top of the truck and tie her down. Everything I’ve read says that she’s very maneuverable and can glide silently across the water. Plus, if need be, she can take some rough seas. That’s the story on Bryant’s marina; and Linda says before another boat can enter the family, one of the others has to go. I’ll admit that four boats may be a little much; but who knows, Dad’s fishing skiff is actually going to our son, Tommy; the Grumman canoe is perfect for some tandem paddling on a quiet lake; the Keewaydin white water boat is rigged and ready to run the Haw, if some day I feel adventurous; and the Widgeon is decked out for next duck season. And I really, really need that kayak for fishing the swamps of Florida. It’s like having fun; a man can’t have too many boats. PS

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Tom Bryant, a Southern Pines resident, is a lifelong outdoorsman and PineStraw’s Sporting Life columnist. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 2015

April 2015P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

G o l f town J o u rna l

True Old School

photograph from Special Collections Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The passing of legendary UNC basketball coach Dean Smith brings his love for golf — and Pinehurst into focus

Dean Smith at Grandfather Golf and Country Club. By Lee Pace

The phone rang in the golf shop at Pine-

hurst No. 7 one May afternoon in the late 1980s. Head pro Lew Ferguson answered and heard the nasally voice of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith.

“Lew, I need a favor,” Smith said. “Michael needs a place to hide and play golf. Can you help?” Ferguson, a 1981 UNC grad, had gotten to know Smith while Ferguson was an assistant pro at the Country Club of North Carolina, and Smith would visit often to take lessons from CCNC pro Buck Adams and play the club’s 36 holes. Though the Chicago Bulls had yet to win one of the six NBA titles they would secure in the 1990s under the legendary Michael Jordan, their ascension was well under way, Jordan had become a certifiable golf nut, and as soon as the playoffs were over, Jordan was making a beeline to the course. And as always, Smith was looking out for his former players. Jordan needed some privacy and some decompression time. Ferguson secured tee times for Jordan and his entourage of fellow golfers, and Jordan would play dawn to dusk, sometimes with Smith joining the competition. Jordan became so enamored with No. 7, that years later he listed it as his favorite course in an American Express commercial. “Coach Smith would do anything to help out his players, and of course I’d do anything to help Coach Smith,” says Ferguson, who worked at Pinehurst from

1984-2002. “Coach was old-school. The personalized letters you’d get every time he visited — you don’t see that much anymore.” The collective worlds of sports, college basketball and UNC reminisced following Smith’s death on Feb. 7 at the age of 83 on his legacy of teaching, leading and innovating over nearly four decades as the Tar Heels’ head coach. And many told golf stories — Smith was an avid golfer, and the course provided a needed outlet for his competitiveness during the basketball off-season. A one-time golf coach at the Air Force Academy, Smith found respite from the pressures of big-time coaching while playing golf from early April but never after the October 15 start of basketball practice. His regular group included a chancellor, a psychiatrist and high school athletics administrator, and he played often with former Tar Heel players and coaches, fellow basketball coaches, and UNC staff and faculty. “The golf course was the one place Coach could get away from the work, the phone calls, all the demands on his time,” says current UNC Coach Roy Williams. “That’s one of the reasons I’ve been so passionate about the game as well. It’s four hours away from everything else. And we all love the competition.” Williams remembers teaming with Smith, who played as low as a 7 handicap, in two matches against Indiana coach Bob Knight. “He had a great deal of respect for Bob Knight,” Williams says. “We won both times and he was as happy after those matches as he had been in New Orleans after that first NCAA championship. I’ll always remember that competitiveness.” One of Smith’s favorite annual outings was to Pinehurst for the “Moesmith Tournament,” an amalgam of the names Moe and Smith — as in Doug Moe, a

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April 2015P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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former Tar Heel player and then a long-time NBA player, coach and general manager. Together they organized a trip that generally included five to six foursomes of guys like Jordan, Larry Brown, Larry Bird, George Karl and Eddie Fogler. They stayed at the Pine Crest Inn, Smith always in Room 208. “There was nothing special about that room; it was just his little nest in the Pine Crest Inn,” says Andy Hofmann of the Pine Crest ownership family. “Every year he’d check out and say he’d like the same room again. What a gracious man. He had time to speak to everyone and sign an autograph for anyone.” Smith made the drive from Chapel Hill to Pinehurst and back often and did so in his customary pedal-to-the-metal fashion. Once Lee Shaffer, a player under Smith in the early 1960s and later a good friend and golf partner, was riding with Smith headed north through the small town of Vass. Smith was pulled over for speeding. “Coach, I’ve told you before to slow down coming through here,” said the trooper, who let the coach off with another admonition to chill the gas pedal. Smith always insisted on driving on the various golf trips he organized around the country. One year he was driving his foursome down the highway from San Francisco to Pebble Beach in an SUV when Shaffer said, “You know you’re going 85?” “The speedometer must be broken,” Smith answered with a wry grin. Ed Ibarguen was head pro in the 1980s at the UNC facility, Finley Golf Course, and gave the coach a couple of dozen lessons over the years. “His normal swing was to take it back, drop his arms close to the body, with lots of lag and the clubface a little shut,” Ibarguen says. “His miss was a low hook. He was an excellent putter but a horrible chipper. We never called it the yips, but he was very yippy around the greens. Every other lesson it seemed like focused on chipping. That really bothered him.” Smith never liked to concede putts. “No one ever gave you a lay-up, did they?” he asked Shaffer, but he would submit to a “gimme” as measured by the length of the putter grip itself, not the standard “in the leather” measure. And his rule was if you took a mulligan on the first tee, you had to play the second ball — no choice. The coach was known for being bulls-eye with the putter when it mattered most. “He would always, always, always press going to 18,” says Shaffer. “If he was down, everything was riding on 18. More often than not, he’d make a birdie or a par. He could kick it into a different competitive level.” Adds Woody Durham, the long-time radio playby-play man for the Tar Heels: “Boy, what a clutch putter. Nine times out of ten, Coach Smith would make the key putt on 18.” Many marveled at the irony of Smith’s demise

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the last several years to dementia when it was his steel-trap memory and his brain’s appetite for details that so were so amazing. Pat McGowan first met Smith on the putting green at CCNC in the mid-1980s. McGowan was playing the PGA Tour at the time and was married to Bonnie Bell, daughter of Pine Needles owners Peggy and Warren Bell. Bonnie was a Carolina graduate, and Pat, a BYU grad and California native, had no dog in the ACC fight. So Pat and his brother-in-law, Alabama grad Kelly Miller, had fun playing the “outlaw in-law” card and pulling for Duke against the Tar Heels. McGowan was on a break from the tour and was playing in a charity tournament at CCNC that had Smith in the field as well. “We got to talking and, though I’d never met him before, he said he knew I was Peg’s son-in-law, he knew what place I’d finished at New Orleans that week and how much money I’d made,” McGowan says. “I was stunned. I felt guilty having pulled for Duke, and here the Carolina coach has been paying attention to my golf scores. “I immediately became a Tar Heel fan.” Smith never used profanity nor did he verbally berate his players. But he was astute with the subtle jab — both in basketball and on the golf course. A fivesome set off one afternoon at Treyburn Country Club north of Durham with Smith and Jordan playing Ibarguen, Shaffer and Bob Galloway. The threesome had a hefty lead through eight holes — Ibarguen remembers it being something like 6-up — when on the 9th green, Smith tended the flag while someone else was lining up a putt. “Boys, am I the only one who can tend a flag in this group?” Smith asked with the hint of a smirk crossing his face. “After that, Bob and I starting falling all over each other to tend the flag,” Ibarguen says. “Coach got into our head and we got distracted. They stormed back and we had to win the last hole to win the match. Bob and I laughed about that for years, how Coach got a subtle dig in at us and got us off our games.” In time, the pleasures of the game slipped away from the aging coach, who retired just before the 1997 season started. Shaffer was saddened the last time he played with Smith at Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham several years ago and they got to the par-5 6th and Smith thought they were on the 11th. “Golf had become too hard for him,” Shaffer says. “But in his prime, you should have seen his eyes light up on the golf course.” Lee Pace, UNC 1979, survived and lived to tell about being the supposed “A player” one time in a scramble event with Dean Smith on his team. PS

April 2015P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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Mama’s Garden Across the road, the rows of butterbeans, the turnip bed,

April 2015

strung peavines on tobacco twine, faint green on white. The collards shine. Sevin Dust showers the buds; the Cat’s Paw her shoe-heel stamps a tattoo on the plot she stoops over and shows her hem to the cukes and squash the green grass snake balances without difficulty.

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A Mobile Feast By L aurie Bogart Wiles • Photographs by John Gessner

April 2015P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

The third annual Concours d’Elegance continues an automotive heritage that dates to Pinehurst’s early days of the resort

he third annual Pinehurst Concours d’Elegance begins Friday, May 1, 2015 with the grand parade of cars along Carolina Vista, commencing sometime around 8:30 in the morning, followed by the annual seventymile round-trip road rally to Fort Bragg. On Saturday, May 2, “the emerald green fairways” of Pinehurst Resort open at 9 o’clock. Let’s hope for a repeat of last year’s two glorious days under cloudless cobalt blue skies with soft spring breezes. The awards ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. Around 5 p.m., legendary rock band Three Dog Night will perform. Their three No. 1 singles and eight top ten hits are still sung, word-for-word, by those of us who recall what it was to be young in the late ’60s. Tickets for the Concours are $40 — amazingly, that includes the concert. “The improvements to the Pinehurst Concours experience once again make our product unique in the collector car hobby show world, consolidates the weekend, adds greater value to our ticket, and improves logistics for everyone involved,” Jay Howard, president of the Pinehurst Concours d’Elegance, says. “The Pinehurst Concours has been a tremendous addition to our community for the past two years, and it’s exciting to see its continued growth heading into year three,” echoes Pinehurst Mayor Nancy Fiorillo. “I personally have been amazed to witness firsthand some of the world’s rare auto treasures. This is truly a valued ticket and a ‘must-see’ event in Pinehurst in early May.” Dave Droschak, director of communications for the Pinehurst Concours, observes, “It’s exciting to see this event grow in a state with such a rich automotive heritage. Pairing this event with such an iconic place as Pinehurst

Resort ensures the Concours will continue to grow as one of the premier events in North Carolina. People love coming to Pinehurst — and the resort is a key component of the Concours, which is held all over the country, in places such as Newport, Pebble Beach, Amelia Island and Hilton Head. We already are planning the Pinehurst Concours through 2017.” Among the cars you will see this year are a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2, a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, 1960 Fiat 600 Jolly, 1973 Porsche 911S Coupe, 1960 MG MGA Twin-Cam, 1953 Nash-Healey Roadster, 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle, 1937 Buick Model 81 Roadmaster, 1959 BMW 600, 1929 Franklin Model 137, 1957 Ford Thunderbird, 1961 Jajuar E-Type (XK-E) Series 1, 1964 Sunbeam Tiger, 1970 Oldsmobile Rallye 350, 1923 Duesenberg Model A, 1961 Porsche 356B Cabriolet, 1958 Maico 500, 1965 Shelby Cobra (289), 1967 Jaguar XKE, 1936 Dodge Brothers D2, 1934 Rolls-Royce 20/25, 1913 Ford Model T, 1974 Plymouth Roadrunner, and Porsche 1912. Bob and Debbie Cornman, of Van Argyl, Pennsylvania, are coming with their 1929 Franklin, Model 137 Sport Touring Car, manufactured by the H. H. Franklin Manufacturing Company of Syracuse, New York, which was one of the earliest American automobile manufacturers, operating from 1902 until 1934. One of the first successful air-cooled cars, the Franklin used double elliptical springs on all four wheels, and aluminum wherever possible in the construction, producing a high-quality, lightweight, dependable touring car. Only 150,000 vehicles were ever produced by Franklin, and the one you’ll see at Pinehurst represents one of the only 2-percent that have survived to this day. Designed by Dietrich, and called a “dual cowl phaeton,” it has a 132-inch wheelbase, six-cylinder engine with a three-speed manual transmission and 274 cubic inch displacement — 16 percent larger

than any previous Franklin engine — and rated at 60 net horsepower, reaching a maximum cruise speed of 45 whooping miles per hour. New, it cost $2,890 — more than most houses, in the day. This car has a great history so be sure to ask the Cornmans when you see them. Ever the visionary, James Tufts saw into the future and banked on motoring as a draw that would entice a growing influx of seasonal guests to Pinehurst. For that reason, he had his friend, Frederick Law Olmsted, America’s first and greatest landscape designer, architect of New York’s Central Park, lay out Pinehurst, its flora and fauna, and organic system of roads. Olmsted was ill then; indeed, there is debate as to whether he even stepped foot upon the sandy soil of Pinehurst. But let’s say he did, perhaps on his return to Boston after consulting on another of his masterworks, the Biltmore, 215 miles west, in Asheville. Tufts knew — somehow — that despite the obstacles he faced, ultimately he would succeed. Indeed, Pinehurst Resort became the first leisure motoring destination in the South. But don’t take my word for it. Instead, the voices of Pinehurst past bring to life this revolutionary time.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1910 “Pleased?” Mr. Gilbert McMillan replied to the question the desk clerk at the Holly Inn politely posed upon checking in. “Pleased? I should say I am! I’m delighted — and to be absolutely frank, I am astonished. When I recall that only the winter before last, most of the roads about here were cart paths and poor ones at that, leading nowhere and connecting with nothing, and that today you have roads — good roads — is little short of marvelous.” “You can’t imagine how it pleases me!” came a familiar voice. At his elbow stood a pleasant, well-dressed, bespectacled man of about middle age. “Leonard!” “Gil, there’s a small mob out front gawking at your machine,” declared Leonard Tufts, owner of Pinehurst Resort. “Surely mine’s not the first car to arrive for the season.” “Not the first and not the last — we expect over eighty! You’re the only fool who had the courage to drive any distance. Everyone else freighted theirs by train to Southern Pines.” Tufts had been eager for his Boston neighbor and fellow Tin Whistle’s arrival. McMillan had driven his 1929 Franklin, Model 137, Sport Touring Car partway to Pinehurst — a treacherous undertaking since no contiguous network of good roads had yet to be built in the South. “How long did it take?” “I had it shipped to Norfolk and from there I clocked 333.2 miles in 16.75 hours. “Edith?” “Arrives next week with Andrew, Ellen and John. “Albert Sise has Dartmouth Cottage ready for you.” “Thanks, but I’ll camp out at The Holly till the family arrives. It’s easier to make tee time on No. 2 if I stay here.”

“You’ll want to wash off the road,” Tufts suggested. “William,” he motioned to one of the hall porters. “Would you mind helping Mr. McMillan off with his dust-caked, London-made, mohair motoring coat before we have to sweep out the lobby, and have it sent to the laundry?” “Surely, Mr. Tufts, sir,” the porter replied. “I shall personally return the gentelmun’s coat furst thing in de mornin’, good as new,” and disappeared with the soiled garment through a door marked “Staff Only.” “Six o’clock in the dining room, then? Henry Fownes is joining us — so are Barber and Johnson, and my brother-in-law, Albert. All the cottagers have automobiles now. Pop left his Ford Model AC Runabout here after last season. All right, see you at six! The boys are as anxious as I am to hear your motoring adventures on the new Capital Road.” “There’s plenty to tell,” Gilbert McMillan moaned, shaking his head solemnly. Up a flight of stairs and down the hall he went, to a large, comfortable, tastefully furnished bed-sitting. McMillan was pleased but not surprised to see his luggage already delivered and unpacked. It had indeed been a long day — a long road-journey. He hung his pocket watch on the watch valet on the bureau and lay down on the comfortable bed, calculating, as he drifted into a heavy sleep, that he had two hours before he’d have to get up to dress for dinner.

Mrs. Medill McCormick of Chicago sat at the desk in her suite of rooms writing a letter to her husband. They had planned to travel to Pinehurst together for the season, but something to do with the Progressive Republican Movement cropped up and she came ahead without him. It wouldn’t be for long and she had plenty to keep her busy. He was taking the train down next week with their new Cadillac Model 30 in freight. She worried so about his sobriety, even though Dr. Carl Jung had assured her after he treated Medill in Zurich that he was cured of alcoholism. Still — Dearest — Greetings! Saturday morning I’m going with Freddie Bruce and his sister, Mary, for an outing in their Pickard Touring Car, which they had shipped down from Boston. My sister Silver Foil, Louise Elkins of Pittsburg, who is a scratch golfer, is joining us. A Mr. Briggs of Southern Pines is going to take us on a tour that is limited to twelve “adventurous automobilists” — three automobiles, four passengers to a car including the driver. He has adapted his touring car with “special equipment” and proposes to serve breakfast along the way and a picnic luncheon upon arrival, though where we are arriving at I am not entirely sure. We will depart from the Carolina at eight o’clock. The true delights of touring, he believes, come through appreciation of the joys of at least occasionally “communing with nature.” She put the pen down and got lost in thought. If only he could again be the way he was when they were first married, before he began drinking. . .

April 2015P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

“I recall one little township where I went and talked good roads until I was hoarse and after it was all over, some enthusiast in the back of the room suggested an appropriation of twenty-five dollars — and found few supporters, at that!” Leonard Tufts told Henry C. “Pop” Fownes, the first to arrive for dinner that evening at The Holly. “Hopeless, absolutely hopeless,” Fownes muttered. “We appropriated twenty-five thousand for the roads in Pinehurst,” Tufts continued. “Quite a sum, Leonard.” “First of all, we’ve discovered that good roads for our own personal benefit, and the benefits automobilists derive, are only incidental. Long before my father built Pinehurst, people had been hauling loads over rutted dirt paths that became ribbons of mud after a good rainfall. When Mr. Olmsted came over from the Biltmore to lay out Pinehurst, he told his sons, Freddie and John, and Warren Manning, who stayed on, the roads had to be built on a four-foot foundation of clay, otherwise they’d be useless. He maintained a good road was an investment that paid off in spades — and he was right. When Father bought a Model T truck from his friend up in Detroit, Henry Ford, in 1900 — the first to be shipped South, by the way — that machine could carry the load of a two-mule team in one-fourth of the time. Mr. Olmsted had the vision to build wide roads, too, knowing the population would increase. So when Father built the Carolina and constructed Carolina Vista straight as the crow flies to the golf clubhouse, Warren made it doubly wide, and especially where it intersects Azalea, anticipating the growing need to accommodate automobile traffic.” “There’s only one other straight road in Pinehurst, and that’s Linden Road, which leads out to the peach groves. On account of our modern roads, we find land values going up in jumps, in some cases ten to one,” Albert Sise chimed in, joining the duo. Sise, apart from being Tufts’ brother-in-law, was Pinehurst’s chief architect and contractor. “And the people who are buying land and building homes in Pinehurst have cars, every one of ‘em.” Now V. C. Johnson arrived. “I have been over some sixty miles of the road with Leonard in his capacity as president of the Capital Highway Association, and I am continually astonished at the beauty of the landscape and its varied character. I had been laboring under the impression that we were to be a bit handicapped in comparison to Northern roads, but I find that we’ve got a route through a wonderful country — a wonderful country — no exaggeration about it — that rivals anything north of Richmond!” “I see a developing future for the South as more and more people buy automobiles for the purpose of touring — and this is what the Northern tourist is looking for — broad fertile acres of farms, fine buildings, prosperous people, quiet hamlets, thriving towns and bustling cities with accommodations — real accommodations like we have here, in Pinehurst,” Tufts added.

“Are you pleased as our road building progresses?” Gilbert McMillan asked, the last to join the group. “Pleased? I should I say I am! Indeed I am delighted and I want everybody to know it, for the money is ready, work is on and nearing its completion. Good roads are a project dear to my heart and the hearts of automobile owners, who are now legion!” Leonard Tufts exclaimed.

In the dining room at The Holly, the soup course, stewed broth of mutton marrow bones, was being cleared away as a silver cart laden with a massive standing rib roast of beef was rolled in. “Medium rare, thank you, Joe,” Leonard Tufts instructed the waiter. “And yes, thank you, Yorkshire pudding and plenty of it. As I was saying, the ideal climate and the many out-of-doors attractions of Pinehurst are destined to make the resort a mecca for motorists as soon as the trunk line routes from the North are put in such condition that the village can be reached with comfort which is why, of course, our seasonal guests ship their automobiles here by boat or train.” “While Pinehurst has done wonders in road improvements,” McMillan picked up, “it is nevertheless unfortunately a fact that Pinehurst is almost barred for Northern motorists — as I can personally attest — by reason of the practically prohibitive cow-paths which serve as roads between Washington and Richmond. Since the battling armies dragged their cannon along these trails during the war, practically nothing has been down toward affecting improvement of this stretch.” “In the forty-five years since the end of the ‘War of Northern Aggression,’ as they call it in the South — and some of us fought in the war, might I remind you,” declared Pop Fownes, who was with Grant in the Second Battle of the Wilderness, “the footpaths trod by hundreds of thousands of soldiers, Union and Confederate, are in worse shape now than they were then! Imagine how the roads are to the South! Perhaps that explains why we have no Southerners season in Pinehurst — they can’t get here.” “I suspect,” Johnson interjected, “the scarcity of Southern guests in Pinehurst has to do with Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. I don’t know many aristocratic Southerners’ who freely socialize with us Yankees.” There was a reflective pause as the men around the table contemplated how in many ways, even down to the roads, the Civil War was still being fought on societal and racial grounds. James Barber broke the silence. “Leonard’s father was a man of great vision, but he planted his kingdom in the midst of a barren, isolated land. And though Pinehurst’s network of roads compare more than favorably with ours up North, here they connect with nothing more than . . .” “Cow-paths,” McMillan chimed in. “While the roads from Wilmington to Pinehurst are passable under favorable conditions, is that sufficient to induce many Northern tourists, at least at the present time, to ship their cars by boat to Wilmington for the purpose of reaching Pinehurst?”

“There’s no lack of interest in good roads,” Albert Sise commented. “So far, over sixty have already been freighted by train to Southern Pines. And it’s just the beginning of the season.”

“Because the great majority of the tourists who visit Pinehurst annually leave for their respective homes with a scant knowledge of North Carolina, Mr. Tufts intends to induce guests to become better acquainted with the surrounding country, its many historic attractions and general resources. Good roads are being built, radiating out from Pinehurst and looping back, the distance being calculated to cover a moderate length for a touring day, and guests will be furnished with descriptions of the various attractions along each route. These routes will extend out in a radius of some fifty miles from Pinehurst and will afford an agreeable change to those who desire to vary their enjoyment of golf, shooting, or other sports interspersing them with a day’s motor ride. A great trunk line from the North to the South is bound to be built, with or without federal aid, and while at the present time there are many links of roads, totaling in the aggregate hundreds of miles, there are some “missing links” still too strongly in evidence. I predict that within a period of two years these links will not be missing, and that many tourists may with comfort and pleasure take themselves and their families migrating from the Northland to the Southland without giving a moment’s thought to shovels and spades.” — Report of A. I. Westgard, Good Roads Examiner, Automobile Association of America, December 10, 1910.

“Listen to this,” Gilbert McMillan said to his wife, Edith, while reading the Illustrated Sunday Magazine over breakfast that morning. “Three million automobiles turn their wheels in this country.” “Who says so?” Edith asked. “Fellow named Edward Lyoll Fox.” “Doesn’t sound likely,” she said. “The fellow’s got a point,” her husband replied. “Our country’s population is ninety million. Divide that by three million. One of every thirty persons owns his car.” “Not possible.” “The law of totals says so and the law of totals does not lie, my dear,” he answered. “Sales in 1899 were 3,897 and five years later, 22,830 — six times greater. Ten years on and that number climbed to 127,287 — nearly thirtythree times greater — an increase of about 4,900 percent. In this year of 1912, that’s a billion dollars — quite a jump. “A billion dollars!” “More like three billion! Fox says a billion represents merely money spent in one year for new automobiles. “Another two billion was spent on parts.

That means tires, magnetos, carburetors, lamps, wind shields, all the little accessories. He goes on to say, Gazing into a crystal ball, it is possible to envision the automobiles of this country placed end to end, they would reach halfway around the world — a line of shining metal 12,400 miles long. “Does he take into consideration climbing and descending Mount Fujiyama?” “Really, Edith! Is the coffee still hot? Please pour me another cup, would you, darling?”

It was a week before Christmas as the foursome strode between the fourth and the fifth holes on Pinehurst No. 2, their caddies trailing close behind with their golf bags. “Last month, I was playing golf at a place called Brightwaters, on Long Island,” Donald Ross, who designed the course, said. “A busy parkway runs past the clubhouse. To settle a bet, two men had been sitting on the porch since daybreak to count how many automobiles would pass by between sunrise and nine o’clock at night. When I came off the course about lunchtime, they were still busily counting. Later that night, when they compiled the totals, they had counted over ten thousand automobiles.” “Never realized there were that many cars in the entire country!” “Neither did I.” “I did,” Leonard Tufts interjected. “Which man won?” James Barber, with his dry English humor, asked the Scotsman. “The one with the pointed beard!” Ross chuckled. “He guessed more than five thousand. Now, if ten thousand cars had passed through that little Long Island village on one Sunday, figure out how many cars would pass over the main highways of all the different states. You begin to realize three million machines is not an exaggeration! “Seems like the automobile business is swelling like the tide in spring.” “Automobiles are a luxury. Why would you need one when we have trolleys and trains and boats?” “Luxury? Automobiles are becoming very much of a necessity. Why, people are mortgaging their homes to buy an automobile. Soon more people will own automobiles than homes!”

“Joe, we’ve been invited to a reception at the Carolina next week to honor Nelson Cobb and Clarence Shaw,” Fannie Wesson said to her husband, Joseph H. Wesson, an avid wingshooter and son of the founder of the Hartford, Connecticut firearms manufacturing company, Smith and Wesson. Both he and his wife, herself a women’s trap champion and friend of Annie Oakley, had come to Pinehurst for the season to hunt quail and shoot trap. “Who in Croesus are Nelson Cobb and Clarence Shaw?” “I don’t know. Never met them. But I expect we will find out after they

April 2015P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

get here.” “Really, Fannie. You make no sense. Why would we be invited to a reception for two men we’ve never laid eyes on?” “On account of our Rolls Royce, I suspect. Here’s what the invitation says: ‘Messrs. Nelson B. Cobb and Clarence H. Shaw of Rockland, Maine are entour on a thirty-three-hundred-mile automobile trip in a Model 15, 30 H.P. Buick. They are leaving Rockland October 25th, journeying to Savannah for the races over the National Highway with an anticipated arrival of November 8th, and then leaving December 4th over the Capital Highway to spend a day in Pinehurst. They plan to reach home on Christmas Day, stopping at Raleigh, Richmond, Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Portland on the way northward.” “Messrs. Cobb and Shaw will undoubtedly find the roads to Washington very poor. Edith McMillan told me that Gilbert had such a rough time when he drove to Pinehurst from Richmond last month, he said at present the trip should be made only as an experience by an enthusiast,” Joe said. “Well, these two men must be terribly enthusiastic if they plan to drive over three thousand miles.”

CHRISTMAS DAY DINNER AT THE HOLLY — “Surprised that I remembered your name and your old table, sir?” queried the head waiter. “That’s the easiest part of this business. A good many we remember. The table is a matter of memory, and not difficult when you remember that I must recall your seat after taking you down once. If you want to start a guest right, call him by name and lead him to his old table. The secret of success in this business, however, is getting service. Few notice when everything is right, but they would be mighty quick if it wasn’t absolutely right. Ever stop to think what it means? Clean linen, silver, glass, china, flowers, sweeping, dusting? Ever stop to think that every one of these 200 tables is precisely the same? Well, it means something; doesn’t it? Perhaps you never noticed the uniforms breakfast, lunch, dinner. Oh, yes. There’s some detail in this business. Why, I even remember you drive a Stanley Steam Pleasure Car!”

SATURDAY MORNING, MARCH 26, 1910. Mr. Leonard Tufts, president of the Capital Highway Association, makes the following report of a recent trip from Pinehurst to Augusta and back in company with Mr. V. C. Johnson of New York in his 1910 4-cylinder Reo: “As near as can be estimated, when the Capital Highway Association was formed last June, only about sixty miles of road out of the two hundred and sixty was much more than cow-paths or cleared space between the fields or through the woods. The sixty miles had been graded to a certain extent and some attempt to a greater or lesser extent, to make a road surface. On this recent trip, however, it was found that only twenty-three miles of road had not been built and

a good deal of the so-called made road had been improved. A large part of the improvement and the building of the roads have been done entirely by private subscriptions, and the enthusiasm for good roads among the people along the Highway was great.”

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 1911 — Midseason’s commencement and the opening of the magnificent Carolina for the season, and the lobby is bursting with guests who have fled the cold and snow of the North to make Pinehurst their winter home. Highly esteemed manager Mr. H. W. Priest and his wife, Mrs. Priest, the hotel’s incomparable housekeeper, are one of the many reasons why the Carolina’s devoted clientele return again and again, season after season, since the hotel opened its doors on the first day of the twentieth century a decade ago. Months of planning and preparation and now, the very day! A staff of 500 — as well-trained as an army battalion — cater to every man, women and child — and yes! even dogs and horses! — a ratio of one to every two guests and the same at The Holly — an unheard of proportion, even in the finest New York hotels! Among the domestic ranks are chamber maids, scullery and kitchen maids, tea maids, valets, waiters, bellmen and bellboys, cooks and pastry chefs, laundresses, all feverishly readying the 250 rooms and forty-nine suites to ensure that nothing in luxury and convenience is lacking, while Pinehurst’s legion of gardeners and groundskeepers, the golf master and caddies at the clubhouse and at the Pinehurst Gun Club, the manager, trap boys and loaders, and even a gunsmith are ready and waiting. Back in the lobby, the bell captain, commanding a small army of hall porters with the gravity of a general going into battle, orders golf bags, gun cases, and tennis racquets to the rear entrance for transport to the clubhouses, while stacks of suitcases, steamer trunks, and hatboxes are methodically loaded onto brass “birdcage” luggage carts for delivery to guests’ suites, arrived and unpacked even before the guests set foot over the threshold. Under the portico, the Carolina’s fleet of MercedesBenz Mercedes-Simplex 60s ferry passengers from the railway station in Southern Pines, luggage arrives in the Resort’s new Federal Stake-Bed Truck. More than eighty guest automobiles are expected here this season and four mechanics were hired to take care of them. A garage had been built to accommodate guests’ automobiles. The air is vibrant with laughter, pierced with shouts and salutations and the barking of pet dogs. Women in veiled, ostrich-feathered hats wave their gloved hands to one another across the elegant, expansive lobby, delighted to be reunited once again, to spend winter in the famously healthful climate of the Sandhills, this community of wealthy Northerners who flock to Pinehurst, the “Newport of the South.” PS A native New Yorker who emigrated to Pinehurst from New Hampshire last year, Laurie Bogart Wiles is the author of a dozen books, specializing in memoir, biography, historical works, poetry and outdoor writing.

Jesse Wimberly conducting a prescribed burn

Fire & Rain How fire forges the future of our longleaf forest By K aren Mireau • Photographs by Fenton Wilkinson

Of Water and Flame

As I take my daily walk near my home on Powell’s Pond, I often stop and listen to the a cappella murmuring of the longleaf pines. I marvel at the diversity of life, from deer to blue herons, that pauses at the pond’s edge, still wild and free. I know without question that the untamed beauty of water and woods is what makes this a desirable place to live for all of us; but my awe is much more than a mere meditation — it’s a soul song, a prayer to the great gift of nature that has been given us. The love of woods and water may claim many of our hearts here, but we are more precisely an ecosystem born of fire. We live in a land defined by the power of flame and ash. I experienced this when I first moved to the Sandhills and hiked the woods of Weymouth and the Walthour-Moss Foundation. That spring I witnessed scorched tree trunks and the forest floor charred as far as the eye could see. It was April and the scent of smoke seemed to be everywhere. The meaning or purpose of this was a disturbing mystery to me. Who, I wondered, has done this? Why are the trees being burned? It took some time to discover the answer to this and the role history and human need (and greed) have played in shaping our hard-won landscape. What intrigued me most was this: that the magnetic beauty of our Sandhills owes its existence to those burned trees and the ancient relationship of human hands and fire. It’s a many-layered story, and because of its complexity, not easy to do justice. We’ll start at the beginning. Some 7,000 years ago the original Native Americans, the early Woodland People, lived mostly along our rivers and waterways, hunting, fishing and growing crops in the bottomlands. They relied upon

the longleaf pine forests for fuel for heating and cooking. They lined their village paths with pine bark, fashioned simple, functional baskets of pine straw and made torches of long-burning, resin-rich pine branches or “lighter’d wood” for everyday and ceremonial use. For the longleaf forest, fire was and is as essential as water. In nature, frequent lightning strikes routinely burn off the underbrush, preventing catastrophic blazes and baring mineral-rich soil necessary to longleaf seed germination. Akin to rain in a rainforest, periodic low-intensity fire is essential to all the phases of a longleaf’s life and to the flowering of wire grass, among other fire-dependent plants that live under its open canopy. The Native Americans were intimate with the ways of the longleaf; they periodically burned the brush under the pines to encourage the growth of tender browse for game, to clear the area of ticks, chiggers and other pests, and to create airy savannahs more congenial to hunting and travel through the forest. Although clearly fires existed in nature long before the Native Americans, this partnership became a critical part of the story of an often deeply misunderstood matrix — something ecologists now describe as a “fire-climax” community. Over the centuries, plant species, insects and animals evolved that thrived on frequent fire disturbances. At first glance, our longleaf forest, often called “pine barrens,” might seem a monotonous monoculture, with only a few turkey oaks, wax myrtles, gallberries and sweet bay shrubs dotting the grassy spaces between trees. The Sandhills is actually a subset of the forty different kinds of longleaf communities, but ours is by far the most unique, with 150 to 300 or more species of legumes, grasses and composites per acre, including the Sandhills lily, a species found nowhere else. Protection in the Sandhills is provided for thirteen rare or endangered bird and

April 2015P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

animal species like the red-cockaded woodpecker, Bachman’s sparrow, and the fox squirrel. And here’s something that greatly surprised me: ours is one of the most botanically rich, ecologically diverse ecosystems on Earth, rivaling even that of the tropical rainforest. We’re a hotspot in biological terms. Today our small remaining stands of longleaf forest in the Sandhills are considered the epicenter of biodiversity in the South. Both the wild grandeur and the economic importance of the longleaf were evident to the first explorers. By the time the Europeans arrived, our longleaf pine was already famous as “the reigning monarch of the American woods.” It was said that a squirrel could travel for miles from tree to tree and never touch ground. Sweeping over 92 million acres and 150,000 square miles from southeastern Virginia to the Florida peninsula to southeastern Texas, the longleaf forest represented more than a safe haven: It held the promise of economic prosperity for early settlers. This prosperity will be denied the estimated 200,000 indigenous people in North Carolina at the time of Columbus’s arrival. By 1700, almost 90 percent have succumbed to European-borne smallpox and the ravages of liquor. In May of 1830, Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act, forcing most remaining North Carolina Native Americans to lands west of the Mississippi and freeing 25,000 acres for development by white settlers. The 16,543 remaining Cherokee who resist are forcibly removed in 1838–39 in the infamous “Trail of Tears” resulting in the starvation and death of more than 5,000 people. It’s no coincidence that this shameful relocation portends the devastation of our longleaf pine. It will be more than a hundred years before we truly know what we have lost.

Of Timber and Turpentine

To understand this fully, we must visit our Sandhills in 1840. It’s dawn on Shaw’s Ridge, known now as our beloved Weymouth Woods, almost half a century before Southern Pines will develop into a peaceful destination for those seeking the healthful promise of this landscape. The air in 1840 is not exactly pristine. Fires smolder under the turpentine stills, and the 30-foot craters of pine pitch kilns spew coils of acrid blue-black smoke into the apricot-colored Sandhills sky. Like small, relentless volcanoes, they burn season upon season, casting a dark cloud across the Sandhills landscape. Our lands are less fit for cotton and tobacco than those farther south and turpentine is the only staple we can produce profitably. Already we have a nearmonopoly on “naval stores” (the products crucial to sailing ships) derived from the resin of our longleaf pine — timber, turpentine, rosin, pitch and tar. The green coppery-colored liquid known as resin harvested from our pines is not a sap, but a soft gum used by the tree to heal its own wounds. Its products have unlimited practical uses, from making soap, to serving an illuminate (prior to kerosene), to waterproofing the hulls of ships. Its medicinal properties have been known since Roman times. In the 1800s it is commonly believed that the essential oil released into the air here from the pines is a curative for tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases. Our longleaf has more heartwood than other pines, with strong, straight trunks that climb to impressive heights of 120 feet. Its supple, rot-resistant timber is recognized as second to none. The demand for ship masts and naval stores is dire now that the great European forests have been decimated. We contract (with price supports) with the British navy to provide the resources that enable them to dominate the seas, in turn making our forests an insatiable target for destruction and greed. Thanks in part to later inventions like the double-bit axe, the crosscut saw and the steam-powered log skidder, by 1892 over 7 billion board feet of timber exit the South along with close to a million barrels of pine products. The extraction of pine resin is not a pretty sight. First, “hackers” will cut a precise wedge-shaped box into the base of a tree to collect the gum that will “run like sweat” from the chevron-shaped gashes that “chippers” will successively slice into the bark. Then come the “dippers,” who will ladle the gum into barrels to be taken to the distillery, and “scrapers,” who will harvest the hardened remains of gum on the trees. The acres upon acres of pale, scarified

trees will be compared to a ghostly ocean of eerie “cats’ faces” and over time, many will weaken and die from repeated cutting and insect infestation. The 50-gallon barrels of resin are transported to the backwoods turpentine distilleries, where the gum is boiled to extract the essential oil that condenses into turpentine. It’s a tricky, imprecise and dangerous process, dependent in great part on the skill of the workers. There are frequent explosions and many workers are overcome by the toxic fumes. The molasses-colored residue, now called rosin, is a valuable household and farm commodity in itself, but it may be further concentrated into a sticky dark liquid known as tar. In turn, tar can be boiled down to produce pitch, which is used as a caulk on ship hulls and to waterproof ropes, riggings and cables. The introduction of portable copper stills in 1834 drives turpentine production ever deeper into the forests. By 1840, the quietude and unspoiled beauty of the Sandhills has given way to the clang of blacksmith anvils, the whine of sawmills, the ringing of axes mutilating the trees. The bellow of oxen, the tremble and rattle of carts hauling the 240-pound barrels of naval stores down wood plank roads (or “farmer’s railroads”) to be rafted downstream, mingle with the steam whistles of Wilmington & Weldon locomotives announcing their arrival in Southern Pines. All are sounds that ensure that soon no stretch of North Carolina forest will be left unscathed.

Of Ships and Sealing Wax

The exploitation of the pine forests turns us into a world economic player, and turpentine production is now an obsession. By 1850 Fayetteville is the inland center of all turpentine production. Some 785 stills litter our woodlands, ten times that of other states. It’s our economic backbone. By 1860, we are a $12 million dollar industry exporting 96.7 percent of the naval stores from the U.S., exceeded only by cotton and tobacco in other parts of the South. Thanks to speculators and visionaries like our own John Patrick Tyrant, who see not only timber, but the potential of the land for a tourist trade, towns and villages like Southern Pines will soon spring up like toadstools along the rail lines. The work force needed to produce naval stores is a nomadic, rough-and-tumble bunch, made up of slaves, outlaws and poor white laborers managed by white overseers. It’s a peonage. All work harder and under worse conditions than their cotton or tobacco plantation counterparts, living in shanties in makeshift camps. Skilled workers such as coopers and distillers are paid a premium. Most are given scrip to exchange for living essentials at the company store. With a seemingly endless supply of cheap land to be had, there’s no incentive to conserve. Once the trees are tapped out, the workers move on to the next stretch of forestland. All that’s left in their wake, and from that of the clear cutters who follow, are impoverished ghost towns and what William Faulkner bleakly describes as “a stumppocked scene of profound and peaceful desolation.” Speculation gives way to “factoring” — a system of the lending of capital and tools to new operations, inviting debt, abuses, corruption and, predictably, regulation. There are more than a dozen grades of pine rosin officially sanctioned. Grade names like Nancy, Isaac, George, Betty are indicative of the racial prejudices of the time, as the names of slaves are used to indicate the colors of rosin — the virgin or lightest rosin being the most highly valued. By 1909, the woods are exhausted. Overproduction and industrialization cause turpentine prices to crash. The boom is over and for now there is nothing to replace it. By 1930 only a handful of turpentine companies remain, along with a few furniture makers. Textile companies will re-emerge after World War II. Pulp and paper markets will join them in the 1950s. Both industries will contribute to longleaf woods being razed and replaced by faster-growing slash and loblolly pines. Health and golf resorts and the equine industry will further diminish the trees and add their imprint and personality to the area, but it will be the late 1900s before the “brown gold” of longleaf pine straw (now a $55 million industry) and the need for utility poles will provide a steady cash flow from the longleaf forest for the people of the Sandhills. For the longleaf forest, time has run out. Between 1870 and 1930, along with the Native Americans, most of the longleaf trees in North Carolina have vanished.

Of Waterways and Wire Grass

We sit on a unique slice of geology. Once covered by a shallow sea, the region was created over 20 million years by layers of clay, sand and sediment, making our sandy, fast-draining soil more akin to a “desert in the rain” than a rainforest. Water passes through quickly, taking nutrients along with it. The longleaf has an advantage — a taproot sometimes growing as large as its trunk that extends three yards into the Earth, with roots that allow it to utilize water some ten yards down. The longleaf is adept both at preventing erosion and retaining groundwater reserves for our use. It’s storm tolerant and thrives on our poor soil. This makes it more resistant to climate change than any other pine and potentially a crucial player in the effort to slow global warming. It’s one of the secrets of the longleaf forest that its true treasures lie hidden on the forest floor. The open longleaf canopy allows wire grass to flourish and it is wire grass that provides the key, the kindling necessary for quick, healing fires so necessary to the overall health of the forest. It’s this symbiotic ballet of flame and grass, smoke and ash that allows the rich diversity of other species to occur. Good water and waterways are of course essential to daily life and the economy in 1840, as they are today. Fortunately, innumerable stream heads, seeps and creeks dissect the Sandhills. Water is needed to run the turpentine distilleries and, before the railroads, for flat boating the barrels of rosin, tar and pitch down the streams and rivers to Wilmington for export. Steamboats never really take hold here. They make only a brief appearance, our waterways are either too shallow or unpredictable to make them practical year

round. Vapor explosions in the distilleries are common. A constant water source is also handy for putting out fires. Meanwhile, the toxic waste from making turpentine oozes into the sources of our drinking water, or soak into the forest floor. The trash and spillage from turpentine production are highly pyrogenic, and the frenzy for naval stores all but eliminates the skillful burning of the woods practiced by the Native Americans as well as other early settlers. The woods become a tinder keg and ripe for catastrophic fire. When natural lightning-induced fire is inhibited, branches and tussocks of native wire grass build up on the forest floor and fuel this kind of blaze, which can wipe out normally fire-resistant young seedlings and even mature trees. Indeed, in 1909, a spark from a locomotive sets a fire such as this raging in Weymouth Woods. Eyewitnesses report that “a wave of fire surged high above the trees, and with a sudden explosion, the forest was enshrouded in flames.” The town battles valiantly to save them, but tragically many trees are lost. Spurred by the marketing efforts of John Patrick Tyrant, who, in the early 1900s, offered free plots of land to doctors in the North, settlers and wealthy consumptives arrive seeking the curative air of the Sandhills. They come from a distinctly different type of forestland, and their fear of the dangers of fire help inhibit the local practice of regular burns. By the 1920s, this anti-fire dogma takes hold, with serious adverse consequences for the longleaf. The American Forestry Association (AFA) and the Forest Service mount misguided crusades to prevent forest fires. It is not until the 1930s that the work of naturalist and conservationist Herbert Stoddard begins to convince foresters of the ecological value of voluntary burning. The appearance of Smokey Bear in 1944 further encourages the public’s bias against fire. The ad campaign serves as the single most destructive program launched to suppress fire in the longleaf pine forest. It takes a small bird to put Smokey in his place. It is not until the 1980s and the advent of the Endangered Species Act and the protection of the federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker that the attitude toward fire changes significantly and the many mysteries of longleaf fire-dependent regeneration begin to come under scientific scrutiny and conservation management.

Above: Wiregrass flourishing one month after a burn Left: Longleaf pine alive and well after the burn April 2015P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Of Ecology and Economy

Today only 3 percent of our original virgin longleaf forest remains in the South, compared with 43 percent of global rainforest. Locally, there are currently two large protected blocks of local longleaf pine forest: the 120,000-acre U.S. Army installation at Fort Bragg, and 63,000 acres that comprise the Sandhills Game Lands in Hoke, Moore, Richmond and Scotland counties. Both practice prescribed burns, with Sandhills Game Lands burning 15–20,000 acres annually. As part of a concerted connect-the-dot conservation of our longleaf landscapes, the Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve stretches over 571 acres in Southern Pines. Donated to the state in 1963 by Katharine Boyd, widow of novelist James Boyd, it was the first institutional attempt to create a sanctuary for local ancient longleaf pines. A separate area of 153 acres (the Boyd Round Timber Tract) was added in 1977 and the limited-use park now covers almost 900 acres. The oldest known living longleaf pine in the world, 459+ years old, can be found here as well as living examples of the “cats faces” remaining from turpentining days. The Walthour-Moss Foundation, another primary conservator of the longleaf forest, was initiated by Ginnie and Pappy Moss in 1974 with acreage originally assembled by the Moore County Company in the 1920s. It now protects over 4,000 environmentally sensitive acres, with almost 1,200 of those purchased with funds raised by our community. “As part of our long-range forestry stewardship plan, we burn about 1,000 acres each year on a two- to three-year rotation,” Landon Russell, executive director of The Walthour-Moss Foundation, tells us. Perhaps our best-kept environmental (and economic) secret is the Sandhills Area Land Trust (SALT). SALT is one of the twenty-three land trusts that work in North Carolina and the only land trust formed for the purpose of providing ongoing protection for the Sandhills longleaf pine. Currently, 80 percent of local longleaf forest is held by private landowners who are presently not engaged in longleaf protection. “SALT’s primary mission is to protect and conserve the natural lands, water, open space, forest and farmland in our six-county area known as the Sandhills,” explains Nancy Talton, executive director of SALT. “This is achieved through building cooperative relationships with landowners and creating a strong community to provide a lasting public benefit. By preserving our ecosystem one family at a time, a landscape is created that everyone, especially future generations, can enjoy.” SALT also offers assistance to landowners located within watersheds and viewsheds in managing and preserving habitats and sites of historical significance. The role of a land trust is often misunderstood. Jesse Wimberley, SALT’s outreach coordinator, who has an uncanny ability to simplify and synthesize complex issues, is a fourth-generation Moore County landowner and knows all too well the challenges landowners face. “We’re devoted to quality of life here in the Sandhills,” Wimberley contends. “We’re not starry-eyed environmentalists. We realize that landowners need to make a living. We’re not against development, we are for making sure the natural beauty of our area will be there for others to enjoy.” SALT actively promotes preserving agricultural and forestland; increasing the number of people devoted to farming and forestry; the successful transfer of farms from one generation to another; and the expansion of the market potential of local agriculture, forestry and heritage through consumer education. Like PBS television, SALT is a privately funded nonprofit that depends upon donations from individuals and grants. “We work in two primary areas, looking to preserve both the natural and the cultural history of the region,” says Wimberley. “By connecting with individuals and creating voluntary, permanent legal conservation agreements to protect and manage the landscape and our local ecology, we benefit landowners in many ways.” The economic benefits to landowners are multi-fold: Tax exemptions, estate planning, the option of flexible preserved and non-preserved areas, and the reforestation and restoration of native habitats, are all ways in which SALT offers support. With only three full-time staff members, SALT also serves to promote agritourism and sustainable economic development through advocacy and technical assistance. To date they’ve leveraged $14 million in state and federal grants for farmland preservation, clean water management and

natural and cultural heritage. Which brings us back to the role of fire. The longleaf forest is truly unique in that it is an ecosystem that it is perpetuated by fire. It survives due to the maintenance of its open canopy through regular burns and the symbiotic relationship of the immense diversity that thrives beneath its boughs. One of the most dynamic and impactful things that SALT does is to educate landowners in how to manage their longleaf resources, including the use of controlled fire. As the landscape is restored, it also creates economic opportunities for families in the form of the natural resources that they own. Our longleaf forestland is essential to regulating our water supply through reducing flooding and recharging groundwater. Since 1991, SALT has been working to protect major watersheds in the Sandhills, such as the Deep River and Little River (which comprise the headwaters of the Cape Fear River) and Drowning Creek, where Southern Pines obtains its drinking water. To date SALT has protected 13,600 acres, including eighty-five miles of waterways. But what can we, as citizens and lovers of nature, do to help? SALT encourages us to get involved through their Hands to Lands volunteer program, by donating to SALT and other conservation organizations, by granting voluntary conservation easements or gifts of land, and by taking the time to learn about our local eco-history.

Of Missions and the Military

Although it was the needs of the British navy that fueled the initial destruction of the longleaf, it is one of the ironies of this tale that the military is one of the green angels now working to preserve the few remaining tracts of local forests. Pioneers and partners in the protection and restoration of longleaf ecology are Fort Bragg and the Department of Defense (DoD). It’s the express mission of the Fort Bragg Endangered Species Branch to manage lands for “the persistence and growth of threatened, endangered and native species within the Sandhills longleaf pine ecosystem.” This means, in part, the use of controlled burns to ensure the longevity of the longleaf pine. The 120,000 acres at Fort Bragg and surrounding areas serves to meet these conservation objectives and forms the core of the Sandhills Conservation Area. This land provides protection from incompatible development and encroachment, and serves as a buffer to the surrounding community. Fort Bragg and SALT are two of the founding members of the coalition of eleven organizations that make up the North Carolina Sandhills Conservation Partnership (NCSCP), all dedicated to protecting the unique environment of the Sandhills. Fort Bragg and SALT have a five-year cooperative agreement for compatible land use, which makes SALT the only land trust in the U.S. to be working alongside the military to protect the unique resources of the Sandhills longleaf pine forest.

Of Restoration and Regeneration

We’ve come a long way from the Sandhills of 1840. Environmental advocate E.O. Wilson has predicted that “the restoration of the once great longleaf forests will be one of the wisest investments the South can make for its long-term economic future,” as well as one of the antidotes to global warming. We can no longer afford to ignore the diminishment of our natural resources, but we can take pride in the fact that our community is one that places a high value on clean air, water and woodlands, and that there are those willing to do their part to make sure these resources exist for future generations. The next time the scent of smoke is in the air, when you walk our peaceful woods and hear the soft lull of the wind in the pines, you now know what an ancient sort of enchantment this is — a magic spell woven together by the history, beauty and diversity of our longleaf forest. With awareness and a helping hand from us, it will continue to live on. PS Karen Mireau is a poet, a publisher and a passionate student of alternative ecological and agricultural solutions. You can reach her at Azalea.Art.Press@gmail.com.

A Spring

Garden of Verse The House We Never Built

Headlights reveal a skeleton of branches and fence line, an overrun pasture. A thrush’s jukebox of songs. Imagine a station wagon pulling to the perimeter, Dad cutting the engine. Get out with us and sling your elbows across the metal gate. My father is a small-town realtor, and this, how we spend Sundays. Valleys like hammocks in the distance. No one has found this tract yet. Lean close, and you’ll hear dusk sow the new pines, blow the bugle of a flame azalea. The wild azalea croodle in a would-be buyer’s ear: dormer windows, wrap-around porch, heirloom tomatoes. Look, that sheet on the line is light setting sail across the green sea. Soon the monarchs will migrate up from Mexico, Dad rehearses, and even my mother can’t help secreting a yellow farmhouse from his glossy brochure and tucking it inside her wallet behind the Gulf card and school pictures. But for now my sister and I content ourselves scouting for a box turtle, an orb weaver like a pendant across a tree’s collarbone, that fertile place where all longing begins: beneath the field mint growing along the far wall of childhood. We haven’t reached the part when our parents close the door to our brick ranch behind them, disappear into the mosquito truck’s fog, suburbia, bills, and leave us to tend this imagined home.

Spring Of course the peepers — thumb green frogs who climb trees calling for what? Spring. They sing so loud they shake the air, trees loosen, sky folds in bolts of blue blue, blue. Between their delicate fingers, little paws, wrinkled back, they confound the season. Never stymied by that universal pull between tomorrow and night, they sing.

— Ruth Moose

For years still, my sister and I will huddle patiently in the back seat as our mother pumps gas or runs some errand, then unclasp her wallet and slip the paper house from its pocket, pass it between cupped hands like a thin, pulsing secret that could easily fly away.

— Emily Smith

April 2015P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Backyard Battleground

Rain In the night, rain on the roof and all I love safe in their sleep.

Garden Victory In the heat of the day I’m brought to my knees by a taunting hobo weed tossing its shaggy head between the caged tomatoes and high-strung pole beans.

Long ago, I had a lover who didn’t like the rain. He lives in Arizona now: dry spells, then torrents rushing through the canyons, flooding cobbled streets,

I yank its scrubby top and its taps dig in clutching the earth with stubborn resolve. We struggle in heated skirmish until at last, with a renting squeak it yields a vanquished root ball.

danger and excitement in wet minutes, steam and aridity after. So, too, with hurricanes — wind-swept torrents, banging and thudding

My backyard is a battlefield of flowers, the blossoms to each other most unkind. They fight for pride of place among the bowers so I can’t cultivate my peace of mind. They clearly spite my nurturing intentions by feeding well while growing more headstrong as I endure their riotous pretensions and ask, Why can’t we all just get along? Perhaps their green is nature imitating our drive to strive relentlessly for gain with artful guile so oft intimidating and leave each other caught out in the rain. By May if I don’t see a truce bouquet I’ll let the rampant kudzu have its way.

— Walt Pilcher

I hold up my routed foe, its roots like an old goat’s beard, and the pole beans rustle a cheer and the sun lays its heavy hand upon my back in praise for a clear garden victory.

as tree limbs fall, garden gnomes crash into cars and windows shatter. But ordinary rain, gentle and insistent, mutes other sounds, inviting sleep,

— Valerie Macon

washes out a day’s cares, nighttime fears, comforts the sheltered.

— Judith Behar

Gone I miss the day lilies. During their brief fling they flaunt their beauty like a strumpet in tangerine skirt calling attention to herself: “Look at me, look at me.” Each slender green bud unfolds at the invocation of the feverish sun. It infuses each blossom with enough heady color to last just one glorious day. Now the roadsides, unadorned, seem faded and bereft.

— Nancy Gotter Gates

Spring Sonata Windowed I watch the jonquils hesitate between green time and the golden act, myself uneasy with the old impact of memories their bright spears incarnate. Desire from recollection buds — how sate the seasonal upsurge to reenact spring’s orgies, how hoard my heart intact? Perennial love springs early, wisdom late. The winter heart bulbs rich beneath the frost, swelled by the rotting stalks of other years, rounding the ancient contour of its power from the eternal cycle of loves lost. Let me not anguish if my spring yet bears the periodic fever of a flower. — Ann Deagon

A Time Returned

Mapping

Oh, Mr. Eliot, you are wrong. April is not the cruelest month. It is a time of lilacs remembered with delight and desire, the redolence of hyacinths that takes us to a place where we know nothing,

Every spring she must have seen them returning, mottled green and marching from deep in the forest up to the stilts her pale pink house stood on,

And yet from winter’s memory all this comes, for who but those in winter can appreciate love without its trappings of lace and pearls? Who but those in winter no longer sigh at sudden frosts?

surfaced in earth. Was she surprised as I am to find the trillium, surfacing too each year? I follow her paths past bushy azalea and privet,

And who but those in winter savor days and know that Aprils do not last? — Cynthia Strauff Schaub

even as she kept planting closer to woods’ edge, out from her husband’s daylilies, rallying sunlight, toward the bamboo thicket where medicine bottles

countless snowdrops, daffodils. And her favorites, the variegated hostas — for each, she scribbled a name and a circle to mark the spot she’d planted it, on typing paper, the flaps of old catalogues, envelopes — script so quickly written that even her daughters hardly can read it. Which map is the last one, the true one? No one can tell. Still I’m walking as I remember her walking, looking to one side, the other, ivy invading, pots half-full with rainwater, then, by the hollow live oak, a single stalk, leaves the size of my hand, and flaring petals darker than old blood, deeper than new. I lower my knees to the leaf mold and see, in sepals, the pointing inner flower she must have seen — she must have knelt here too, with her trowel, leaned in close so the cool petals brushed her lips, letting loose the rare fragrance that lives between her inscrutable circles — constant, wild, unstoppable red. — Anna Lena Phillips

April 2015P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Lilacs Draping doorways, gracing fences, bordering the roads, a lush tumble of lilacs in bloom. I have been to Taos in the blistering summer when pungent lavender was a haze across neighboring fields, when cottonwoods released their faux snow. And later, in the fall,

Design, or Pythagorus Plans a Garden

when those same trees blushed a shade close to maize. But this blossoming is something I didn’t expect, as if time and nature conspired to create

Eighty, if a day, my neighbor, Miss Eleanor Prittle, long retired Teacher of mathematics, knows the way To plan her garden. Winter cancelled, She springs to start in geometrics — A perfect square, outlined first In mason’s twine, will help define The shape she’s staked, and furrows, Parallel, running deep, will surely make The place to drop in peas, potato eyes, And onion sets precise as numbers. “Your garden reminds me of your class,” I tease, “where you taught decimals, How to divide, the ways to keep Things perfectly aligned So the parts would add to something.”

this town’s backstage transformation. In Wilmington, for little more than a week, azalea bushes bloom with the same decadence before their papery blossoms wilt then fall like confetti. Afraid these lilac clusters are about to reach that same juncture, I awaken at the sun’s first nudge, when the air is still tinged with burnt piñon, a buffer against spring’s last chill. I snap photo after photo after photo, wondering if such abundance lessens value. Or perhaps this blossoming is simply an earthy reminder that nature is generous, and that our own spirits long to comply. — Lavonne J. Adams

Demeter’s Daffodil To dip into your corolla carefully one wintry finger and touch to my throat what I hear begin tuning up downwind, the little frogs chorusing cullowhee cullowhee, Cherokee shivaree down by the rain-swollen Tuckaseegee, what sweeter scent than the attar of you ever after come back to me, Golden Girl! My laughing daughter!

She stops her chores long enough To consider answering that thought: “I’d think you’re old enough to realize That everything resides in numbers, How these simple plantings will multiply To put fresh produce on the table.” Then, slapping her work-gloved hands On blue-jeaned hips, demands, “Take this end of my ball of twine And pull it out across the diagonal. I need to see whether I’ve erred Or laid this plot out fair and square.” The twinkle planted in deep set eyes Can’t deceive, as she huffs, mock indignant, “Do you really believe I taught you dullards How to add for nothing?” — Bob Wickless

— Kathryn Stripling Byer PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 2015

April 2015P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Friendship Flowers

Longtime friendships anchor Southern Pines Garden Club’s Home and Garden Tour By Elizabeth Norfleet Sugg • Photographs by Tim Sayer

s the weather warms, the first tendrils of grass emerging from the hardened winter ground, thoughts trip ahead to springtime rituals. For the thirty-five women who make up the Southern Pines Garden Club (SPGC), springtime means “show time.” On Wednesday, April 15, the club’s 67th annual Home and Garden Tour will showcase more than forty intricate floral arrangements, a product of winter planning and preparation. Tour day is the culmination of their efforts, but the buildup to their annual fundraiser has become a ritual of sorts. It has also become the meaningful backdrop to a story about friendship. Longtime club members Joanne Kilpatrick of Pinehurst and Margaret Page of Southern Pines, for instance, have been friends for nearly forty years. Following their inspired decorating gig at Penick Village and its annual Art Show gala, the pair gathers steam for their next creative outpouring, this time as leaders of one of two live floral demonstrations to be staged during this year’s home tour. Joanne and Margaret met in 1974, when their sons were classmates at Episcopal Day School, and began doing volunteer work together at the school and church. Flowers for the altar and special events at Emmanuel Episcopal Church eventually grew into a floral business which the women ran for ten years. The garden tour rolling around each spring was yet another outlet for them to share their talent and love of flowers. The flower arranging throughout the Southern Pines Garden Club Home and Garden Tour is one of its most delightful aspects, and the talent for executing this floral design work runs deep in the club. Each of the six featured homes is assigned a team of club members to visit the house six weeks before the tour to plan the arrangements. They decide which rooms need flowers, what types of containers to use, and explore color palettes. To offer a taste of what will

be on display April 15, Margaret and Joanne created a spring floral arrangement in stages that DIY readers can enjoy crafting for their own homes. When they share a flower mission, Joanne typically leads the design direction. As an accomplished painter, Joanne explains, “My artist side pulls in the design, and then Margaret picks right up on it, and she’ll say, ‘Why don’t we use this with that?’” Margaret adds, her smile ready, “And the brainstorming begins . . .” Joanne smiles back. “We go looking for things that look ‘arty,’ and then we just pull things together from there . . .” For one arrangement, Margaret selected a blue and white container for its rectangular shape, and then the two chose coral roses and tulips to complement the blue. There is so much pink in people’s yards, they say, that they decided to concentrate on another pastel shade, a soft blush of orange. When balancing their creations, Joanne and Margaret have a yin-yang approach. For example: tulips sweeping over the right side of the container are balanced with golden beets, wheat grass and green Fuji mums found at Fresh Market. “Tulips love to hang over . . . they like to do what they want,” Joanne says with a laugh. And so, with a touch of maternal good sense, Joanne and Margaret allow nature to inform their work. There is a seasoned wisdom to their creativity. Come see for yourself. PS The Southern Pines Garden Club’s 67th annual Home and Garden Tour will take place April 15. This year’s mix of homes includes three houses in Southern Pines’ lush Horse Country, two historic cottages on Pinehurst’s Carolina Vista, plus a fantastic layered backyard landscape with poolside and upper and lower porch views of the Cardinal course at the Country Club of North Carolina (CCNC). For tickets and information, visit www.southernpinesgardenclub.com.

S tor y of a h o u se

Over the Rainbow Chic colors rejuvenate centenarian cottage

By Deborah Salomon • Photographs by John Gessner

hen Shelley Thompson speaks of decorating with nature’s palette, she doesn’t mean swamp green, bark brown and sand beige. Rather, lemon yellow, hibiscus red, Caribbean blue, orchid purple, celadon. Burnt orange alone misses the cut unless paired with hot pink. “I love color,” she exclaims. Even cloud white pops on her solarium sectional. But when a raspberry martini sullied the snowy fabric, nobody panicked because upholstered pieces wear “shabby chic” slipcovers. “I stripped it off, doused it with club soda . . . no big deal.”

The clapboard cottage built in 1902 by the Bostonian McKenzies rests like a pot of gold at the end of a straight-and-narrow 200-yard driveway lined with sixty-one magnolias. The vista may promise Tara — hardly the case. Instead of columns, a wide Dutch door opens into a gallery of everything bold and beautiful, which makes sense since Shelley, an interior designer, rehearses merchandise here for Cottage Chic, her “lifestyle store” in Pinehurst. “My house is my laboratory,” she admits. Bring on the test tubes.

April 2015P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

This particular 4,500-square-foot three-story (plus basement) cottage on eight acres bespeaks the Pinehurst naissance, when James Tufts lured wealthy Northerners for winters of golf and entertaining. Perhaps the village under construction was not yet suitable, so McKenzie and two other families built far out on Linden Road. Rightly so, their enclave on an incline was dubbed Society Hill. The McKenzie cottage did not change hands for sixty-five years. During Prohibition, Shelley learned, a still in the barn infused the village with the aroma of gin. Twenty years ago, Shelley, her husband, Chip (an American Airlines

pilot), both from Gainesville and living in Raleigh, sought a place to raise their three young children. Chip’s sister lived in Pinehurst, which offered cosmopolitan appeal without urban congestion. They consulted a Realtor who showed them houses in Old Town. Nothing clicked. “Then he mentioned owning another house that wasn’t really for sale. Maybe, if we made an offer . . .” Driving up the magnolia-lined allée Shelley decided, “This is it. Whatever needs fixing in the house, we’ll fix it.” The Thompsons became only the third owners. Shelley found the residence built with loblolly pine structurally sound, possessing good archi-

April 2015P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

tectural features but dismally dark. The kitchen had been renovated only once. The light was excellent, the back staircase convenient and, despite smallish bedrooms and kitchen, public spaces were large enough to have once accommodated a crowd of Back Bay Bostonians. What a yummy project.

“I’m a purist,” Shelley insists, which means thou shalt not alter the footprint. Move no walls. Combine no chambers. Build no additions. She respected the center hall plan with dining room opening out onto a screened porch to the right, living room (to which a family room/solarium had been added) on the left. The wide entrance hall sets the tone with trompe l’oeil wallpaper mimicking a white brick garden wall covered with vines and butterflies, “. . . like in Edgartown, on the Vineyard,” Shelley says. Though delicate-looking, this wallpaper has weathered two decades and three children without a blemish, as have walls of Venetian plaster infused with marble dust and, in a powder room, a fresco technique. Furthering the garden image, a distressed bench crowded with bright pillows flanks the front door. Above and around it hangs a taste of the art within. No, that is not an original Matisse or Picasso. Rather, Shelley seeks artists who create in recognizable styles. Inspired by Van Gogh’s sunflowers, she commissioned an interpretation from North Carolina painter Norma Murphy. Every piece tells a story: Over the dining table, painted gray, hangs an improbably stunning chandelier of forged metal and Murano glass. The effect: a medieval crown dripping tears. Dining room wallpaper was hand-printed from textile blocks, then cut into strips before pasting within a molding border, creating art against which rests more art. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 2015

o Textiles led Shelley to color, pattern and, ultimately, interior design. She grew up in a 1970s Frank Lloyd Wright knock-off, done in white. “My mother was a big fan of Jackie O — the white sunglasses, the white carpet.” Grandma was a seamstress who taught Shelley to make clothes from Vogue patterns. “That’s why textiles were my first love.” Color became her second, as worldwide travel (marrying a pilot helps) expanded her smalltown viewpoint. “You look at pictures, but when you go to these places, things come alive.” Her rugs prove the points. The original floorboards, once stripped of stain, serve as backdrop for cotton-and-silk woven (in India) rugs of sensational colors and geometric, vaguely Scandinavian patterns. Huge or tiny, they are everywhere — strewn across the floors, on tables, hanging from the walls without contradicting traditional crown moldings, mantel, door frames, built-ins of a bygone era. Shelley insists they are washable, therefore practical. Nothing — including heavy sterling flatware and her collection of Depression glass — escapes daily use.

She does appreciate quirks, however. Take the lamp composed of two china vessels with a spigot in between, from a flea market. The small cabinet, once and still a spool holder. The chest from a dry-goods store, with shallow drawers marked Shakes, Drabs, Slate, Spools and Mile End. About furniture Shelley is adamant: Hers must be craftsman-built, nothing cookie-cutter or mass-produced. “I prefer really well-made reproductions — the English technique, with dovetails, where the insides of drawers feel like a baby’s bottom,” she says. Some pieces are painted, others natural woods, a few antiques. All are large but sparsely placed, to avoid a crowded look. She designed the massive double-decker coffee table built from plantation-grown mahogany, painted and topped with glass, allowing various displays underneath. “I change with the seasons,” including droopy drapes that clip onto rod rings, pillows, even slipcovers.

Nothing expresses Shelley’s purism more than the kitchen, which she remodeled without enlarging twenty years ago. Its modest size and simplic-

April 2015P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

ity — a round breakfast table in the middle and a single counter — seems European, totally different from the enormous food preparation areas typical of new construction. “It’s the way a kitchen should be. People forget that intimate spaces make life better, make great memories.” However, for airiness she enlarged the window, replaced wall-hung cabinets with open shelves displaying local pottery, installed under-the-counter refrigeration to supplement the conventional fridge tucked into the laundry room. A butler’s pantry larger than most apartment kitchens provides plenty of dish storage — and a trendy coffee bar. Again, Shelley chose retro greens, from celery to moss, typical of the 1950s — a hue she finds calming. A black-and-white checkered floor completes the throwback. Without glamour and gadgetry, her kitchen works.

The entire house works on a flow concept where rooms can be different but related. Shelley moves and rearranges paintings and furniture, which

come and go through her business. “When I got home from school I didn’t know where the furniture would be,” says daughter Samantha Thompson. The family granted Shelley free reign aside from a single calamity: “We revolted when she painted the laundry room salmon, after a trip to the Caribbean,” Samantha recalls. “That wasn’t us.” As for Chip, “He trusted me, like I trusted him to take me up in a small plane,” Shelley says. Chip enjoyed watching his wife’s style change, from year to year. “But like most guys, some of it was lost on me,” he admits.

This is not a grand residence, Shelley maintains, in the Tudor, Georgian or Federalist modes seen elsewhere. It may be large, with costly furnishings and original art. But at heart, this white cottage beyond the sixty-one magnolias remains a comfortable family dwelling showcasing Shelley’s profession. “It’s our first home that’s me,” she says. “I’m very happy here.” Happy, but not finished. “I still haven’t hit my stride.” PS

April 2015P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

e n core

BARGAIN BOX II NON-PROFIT THRIFT SHOP

Bene fits Moore Cou nty Charities & Nursi ng Schol arship s for SCC Stude nts Donations Accepted During Regular Business Hours

Tuesday-Saturday 10am-4pm 7299-A, 15-501 in Eastwood (Behind Wylie’s Golf Cart) 910-235-5221

Sunshine Antique & Mercantile Company Buy, Sell or Trade Specializing in Primitive & Country Furnishings Thursday- Saturday 10 to 5 Monday-Wednesday by appointment or chance 115 N. Sycamore St., Aberdeen, NC (919) 995-3488 shop • (919) 673-9388 or (919) 673-9387 cells

Friend to Friend’s

a thriFt boutique store

All Proceeds Benefit Survivors of Domestic Violence Tues 10:00-1:00 • Wed-Sat 10:00-4:00 125 S. Bennett Street • Southern Pines

910-992-4677 • friendtofriend.me

Buying Vintage

and Military Watches

Antiques & Newtiques 5336 NC Hwy 211, West End, NC 27376 (at the traffic light)

910-673-2065

www.westendpastimes.com

Spring Clearance Sale!

20% Off ROLEX & TUDOR Especially 1950s-1980s era GMT & SUBMARINER WARPATH MILITARY COLLECTIBLES 819 Hope Mills Road, Fayetteville Ed Hicks (910) 425-7000 edhicks82@aol.com • warpathmilitaria.com

All antiques, architectural elements & patio furniture

Sale ends Memorial Day

RAILSIDE

ARCHITECTURAL & ANTIQUES 123 EXCHANGE ST., ABERDEEN • 910-690-3089 • Wed - Sat 11 to 5

Homest y l es

One Eleven Main is Straight Up Southern!

Cameron

ANTIQUES FAIR SATURDAY, MAY 2ND Come Early, Shop ’til 5. Rain or Shine!

Tabletop, Home Accessories, Custom Upholstered Furniture, Jewelry & Accessories, Personalized Gifts and Monogramming Available.

OVER 350 ANTIQUE DEALERS! Village of Cameron

Just off US 1 on Hwy 24/27 between Sanford & Southern Pines

910-245-7001 or 910.245.3020

111West Main Street, Aberdeen Tuesday - Saturday 10 to 5 910-944-1181 www.one11main.com

www.AntiquesofCameron.com

Blinds • Shades Shutters • Drapes COMPLIMENTARY CONSULTATION

Advertise your services here! call (910) 692-7271 WWW.INSPIREDDRAPES.COM

WWW.BUDGETBLINDS.COM/SOUTHERNPINES

910.725.1055

Moore, Lee, Chatham, Harnett, Johnston and Cumberland Counties

910-848-3945

April 2015P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

“When I was about 10 years old, I gave my teacher an April Fool’s sandwich which had a dead goldfish in it.” — Alan Alda By Noah Salt

Lilac Madness

Esther Staley

In his delightful book A Contemplation Upon Flowers, North Carolina garden whiz Bobby Ward points out that in the language of flowers, white lilacs in bloom symbolize purity of spirit and youthful innocence, while purple lilacs speak of passion and first emotions of love. Anyone who grew up in the American Northeast or Midwest is familiar with the sight and smell of lilacs in late April — the truest herald of spring’s arrival in the North Country — and often misses them fiercely upon arrival. Take heart, Yankee transplants. Most lilacs require over 2,000 hours of temps below 45 degrees Fahrenheit in order to bloom, and fortunately there are several varieties that will do just fine here in North Carolina’s relatively warm zone 7–8 winters. The Almanac Gardener has had excellent luck with a variety called “Betsy Ross” that puts out beautiful white blooms and a wonderful fragrance. Fortunately, Descanso Gardens of Southern California has developed several varieties that may be found through your local nursery or purchased directly from several fine garden catalogs. These are taken from the company website: www.decansogardens.org.

Like the California Rose, Esther Staley (Syringa hyacinthiflora “Esther Staley”) produces fragrant, true pink blooms and can generally stand the heat and mild winters common in zone 9. This sun-loving shrub grows to about 8 feet tall in neutral or alkaline soil that has good drainage. Like other lilacs, the blooms of Esther Staley can be cut and added to floral arrangements.

Blue Skies

Sometimes called Monroe, Blue Skies (Syringa vulgaris “Blue Skies”) produces bluish violet blooms that are highly fragrant with a pleasant lilac scent. Blue Skies do not need the chill period like most lilacs do and will bloom in zone 9. In addition, Blue Skies is moderately tolerant to drought conditions but prefers locations with moist, fertile, well-drained soil. A final tip: lilacs need a neutral soil with a pH close to 7.0. If your garden is like most, the pH is closer to 5.0 than 7.0. You will probably need to add lime. Call your local Extension office and ask them about their soil-test kits.

Lavender Lady

A Descanso hybrid, the Lavender Lady (Syringa vulgaris “Lavender Lady”) was bred for the sole purpose of tolerating the heat found in Southern California. The violet- and lavender-colored curled petals of its highly fragrant blooms attract insect pollinators such as butterflies and bees. Reaching heights of 10 to 12 feet with about a 6-foot span, the Lavender Lady will successfully grow and bloom in zone 9.

Angel White

Another Descanso hybrid, the Angel White or White Angel (Syringa vulgaris “White Angel”) produces your typically fragrant lilac blooms in a snow white to creamy white color. Like the Lavender Lady, Angel White is a more heat-tolerant variety than most other lilac species and cultivars, so it will grow in zone 9. It grows up to 12 feet tall with a width of about 10 feet.

Excel

The Excel lilac (Syringa x hyacinthiflora “Excel”) is a hybrid of Syringa vulgaris and Syringa oblata. Known as early flowering lilac, the Excel can develop light lavender blooms seven to ten days before other varieties. It grows and blooms in hardiness zones 3 through 9, reaching 8 to 12 feet tall and 6 to 10 feet wide. Plant the Excel in full or partial sunlight, like other lilacs.

California Rose

Another lilac that does not require a cold winter chill to bloom, the California Rose (Syringa x hyacinthiflora “California Rose”) does not produce the typical purple- to lavender-colored blooms associated with other lilac bushes. Instead, it develops pale pink petals that are not as fragrant as other lilac varieties but still attract butterflies and bees.

Let It Rain Every spring, someone once said, is an astonishment — like the only spring. And if one Thomas Tusser who wrote One Hundred Good Points of Husbandry in 1557 can be believed, “sweet April showers do spring May flowers.” Curiously, here in North Carolina, April typically ranks as one of the moderately rainy of months, averaging 3.5 inches of precipitation, placing it behind July, June, August, March and September. Still, the astonishing factor of April is apparent to anyone who has eyes and a working nose this month, as gardens and neighborhood yards from here to the horizon return to life with a vengeance. A moderately rainy spring has many unseen benefits including an improved water table and natural hydration to plants. Too much and you have flooded basements and mold to cope with. The Old Farmer’s Almanac, incidentally, which correctly predicted the deeper cold of late winter and February snows, forecasts a warmer than normal April and May, with drier weather in the northern parts of the Southeast and wetter ones down south, possibly even a late spring tropical storm. Get your bumbershoots and Wellies out, folks. PS

Arts Entertainment C a l e n da r

Meet the Artist at Hollyhocks Art Gallery 4/

Luncheon

Dr. Elliot Frank in Concert

Wednesday, April 1

Thursday, April 2

TAX HELP. 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. AARP will be available on Wednesdays and Saturdays through April 15. Clients must register on-site; and there are no prior appointments by phone. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

STORYTIME. 10:30 a.m. Calling all 3- to 5-year-olds and their parents for stories followed by a craft. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642.

PRESCHOOL STORYTIME. 3:30 – 4 p.m. Join us for stories, songs, and fun, and then stay for playtime! Storytime is for infants and toddlers (ages birth through 5 years). Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

learn to dance the waltz. $10 per person. Class held at Pinehurst Dance Studio, Pinehurst Executive Center, 300 N.C. 5, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 331-9965.

• • •

ART TALK. 5 p.m. Denise Baker speaks about art and “opening minds for a living.” The Country Bookshop, 140 NW Broad St, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3211 or www.thecountrybookshop.biz. Key:

• • Art

Music/Concerts

•

Dance/Theater

•

•BALLROOM FOR BEGINNERS. 6:30 p.m. Carolina Pines Chapter of USA Dance invites you to •ROOSTER’S WIFE. 7:30 p.m. Hank Smith and Shawn Chase. Cameo Art House, 225 Hay St.,

Fayetteville. Info: (910) 944-7502 or www.theroosterswife.org.

Saturday, April 4

• • •

MEET THE ARTIST. 12 – 3 p.m. Come visit with Linda Griffin. Hollyhocks Art Gallery, 905 Linden

Film

Literature/Speakers

• • Fun

History

•

Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 255-0665 or www.hollhocksartgallery.com.

•

STONEYBROOK STEEPLECHASE. The 64th steeplechase will be held at the Carolina Horse Park. Tickets/info: stoneybrooksteeplechase.com.

•

MUSIC. 7 p.m. Jen Hillard performs. The Wine Cellar, 241A NE Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3066.

Sunday, April 5

•

EGG-TRAVAGANZA. 3 p.m. Learn about bird eggs and see a collection of them. There will also be an Easter egg hunt with a nature twist. Weymouth Woods Auditorium, 1024 Fort Bragg Road. Info: (910) 692-2167 or www.ncparks.gov.

Tuesday, April 7

•

BABY BUNNIES STORYTIME. 10:30 a.m. Parents and children will be engaged in early literary

Sports

April 2015P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

ca l e n d a r

Night at the Opera

Plant Sale

Run for the Roses

practices. Baby bunnies storytime is for ages birth to 18 months. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

•

MEET THE AUTHOR. 5:30 p.m. Kel Landis with The Little Book of Do. The Country Bookshop, 140 NW Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3211 or www. thecountrybookshop.biz.

•

BEGINNERS DANCE CLASS. 6:30 p.m. Come try the rumba, a slow romantic Latin dance, and have some fun with the swing! No pre-registration necessary. Cost: $10 cash. Pinehurst Dance Studio, Pinehurst Executive Center, 300 N.C. 5, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 331-9965.

•

Thursday, April 9

•

Wednesday, April 8

•

BLUEBIRD WORKSHOP. 10 – 11:30 a.m. Learn about the Eastern Bluebird. For Pre-K through 5th grade. Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Fayetteville. Info: (910) 486-0221.

•

• • Art

The MeT

Music/Concerts

•

April 25th Mascagni’s Cavalleria 12:30pm Rusticana/Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci Bolshoi BAlleT

or www.sppl.net.

LUNCHEON. Mary Garrish, painter of landscapes and other representative art, will be the featured presenter at the College Club luncheon. Info: (910) 603-5505.

April 19th Ivan the Terrible 1:00pm

Dance/Theater

LECTURE SERIES. 10 a.m. “American Families: Peales, Wyeths, Tollivers,” by Denise Baker. Weymouth Center, 555 East Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2787.

•

STORYTIME. 10:30 a.m. Calling all 3- to 5-year-olds and their parents for stories followed by a craft. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642.

•

MEET THE AUTHOR. 12 p.m. Ann B. Ross with Miss Julia Lays Down the Law. The Country Bookshop, 140 NW Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3211 or www.thecountrybookshop.biz.

• • Film

Literature/Speakers

TICKETS ThE MET $27 bolShoI $20 Available Online, at the Box Office or Over the Phone

• • Fun

History

•

Sports

For a complete list of show times

visit sunrisetheater.org or call

910-692-8501.

250 NW Broad Street Southern Pines, NC 28387

Oh Happy Day!

ca l e n d a r

•

BLUEBIRD WORKSHOP. 1 – 2:30 p.m. Learn why bluebirds are blue. Registration required. Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Fayetteville. Info: (910) 486-0221.

•

BALLROOM FOR BEGINNERS. 6:30 p.m. Carolina Pines Chapter of USA Dance invites you to learn to dance the tango! $10 per person. Class held at Pinehurst Dance Studio, Pinehurst Executive Center, 300 N.C. 5, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 331-9965.

SYMPHONY. 8 p.m. The N.C. Symphony will per• form Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz. Pinecrest

Introducing Haley & the Hound girls clothing

High School, 250 Voit Gilmore Lane, Southern Pines. Info: www.ncsymphony.org.

Friday, April 10

•

WINGS AND THINGS. 10 a.m. Come learn about animals that fly as we read a book, play some games, and make a craft. Weymouth Woods, 1024 Ft. Bragg Rd. Info: (910) 692-2167 or www.ncparks.gov.

•

Made in USA

131 N E B r oad Stre e t Sou t h e r n Pin e s, NC 28387 9 1 0 - 6 93- 1277 • O pe n Mon- Sat 10-5

Celebrating

10 PS

Years

of Art & Soul in the Sandhills

Don’t miss our anniversary issue in May Subscribe today!

$45/yr • In State $55/yr • Out of State 2 ways to subscribe:

Call 910.693.2490 or E-mail dstark@thepilot.com

belli bambini 165 NE Broad Street Southern Pines, NC 28387 (910) 692-6926

Pavers • Brick • Stone

ROCK GARDEN. 1 – 2:15 p.m. Dr. Robert J Ward speaks about creating a rock garden. Sandhills Community College, Owens Auditorium, 3395 Airport Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 695-2882.

•

LIVE AFTER 5. 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. The Band Punch will kick off the concert season. Food and beverages available. Tufts Memorial Park, 1 Village Green Road West, Pinehurst. Info: http://www.vopnc.org/tabid/93/ vw/3/itemid/1386/d/20150410/Live-after-5.aspx.

Saturday, April 11

•

PLANT SALE. 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. Join the Sandhills Horticultural Society for their annual sale. Steed Hall, Sandhills Community College, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 695-3882.

•

PLANT SALE. 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Perennials, shrubs, trees, groundcovers, vines, and herbs from the Weymouth Estate and Members’ Gardens. Weymouth Center, 555 East Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910)949-3999 or dolphin3999@gmail.com.

Moore County’s only full service masonry dealer with: Brick • Block • Pavers Natural Stone • Retaining Walls Starting at $195 per pallet • Many colors to choose from!

• Manufactured Stone & Much More!

Maintenance Free Pavers

Come in to see how Polymeric Sand can stop erosion & weeds

•

STORYTIME. 10:30 a.m. Calling all 3- to 5-year-olds and their parents for stories followed by a craft. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642.

•

MEET THE ARTIST. 12 – 3 p.m. Come visit with Jessie Mackay. Hollyhocks Art Gallery, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 255-0665 or www.hollhocksartgallery.com.

•

SPRING SEMI-FORMAL DANCE! 7–10 p.m. Carolina Pines Chapter of USA Dance invites you for an evening of fun, music and dancing. Cost: $11 cash at door. Elks Lodge, Country Club Circle, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 331-9965.

•

MUSIC. 7 p.m. Weston Wilson performs. The Wine Cellar, 241A NE Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3066.

•

Off Hwy 5 · 327 Fields Dr. • Aberdeen 910-944-1114 • MooreBrickStone@gmail.com Ask for Dennis, Charlie & Kevin

www.mrbrickstone.com

CONCERT. 7:30 p.m. This concert will feature the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra performing Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique. Huff Concert Hall, Methodist University. Info: (910)433-4690 or www.fayettevillesymphony.org.

••• • •

Key: Art Music/Concerts Film Literature/Speakers Sports

• • •

Dance/Theater Fun History

April 2015P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

fa b u l o u s f i n d s i n f a y ette v i l l e

A Fresh New Crop

Fine Furniture & interiorS SinCe 1945

at High Cotton Consignment

COMPLIMENTARY INTERIOR DESIGN SERVICE Sherrill • Bradington-Young • gat Creek - amiSh karaStan rugS • durham • maSSoud king hiCkorY • taYlor king

high cotton CONSIGNMENT boutique | 910.307.5353 3010 Traemoor Village Dr., Suite 190, Fayetteville, NC 28306

high cotton CONSIGNMENT | 910.483.4296 2800-4 Raeford Rd., Fayetteville, NC 28303

4299872

611 W. Russell Street • 484-7161 • Downtown Fayetteville www.homemakersfurniturenc.com

Consignment Bookstore

Home School Parents, Classroom Educators (K-12th grade), Daycare Providers, Student Teachers and Parents

Silhouette ~ Tom Ford ~ Ferragamo ~ Porsche Design ~ Valentino Calvin Klein ~ Christian Dior ~ Gucci ~ John Varvatos other Luxury Eyewear

www.metrospecs.us

910.221.0191

Come Shop & Consign with us

Pay less for curriculum and books! Get paid more for your educational consignments•Books •Games •Educational Toys They’re all here

The Pilgrim’s Journey Bookstore www.thepilgrimsjourney.com

886 Elm Street, Fayetteville, NC

201 South McPherson Church Road / McPherson Square Suite 105 in Fayetteville

(Located behind Eutaw Shopping Village next door to Eutaw Round-ABout Skating Center off of Bragg Blvd.)

dining guide

195 american fusion cuisine supporting local farmers

lunch tues-sat 11-3 dinner wed-sat 5:30-9:30 chef prem nath

195 bell avenue southern pines 910.692.7110 www.195americanfusion.com

Opening in April

MOORE COUNTY FARMERS MARKET

Tomatoes, Strawberries, Fruits, Veggies, Jams, Meats, Flowers & Plants, Opens April 20th - Mondays- FirstHealth (Fitness Center) Facility courtesy of First Health

170 Memorial Dr • Pinehurst 2pm-5:30pm Will be open through October 26th Open Year Round • Thursdays - 604 W. Morganton Rd

(Armory Sports Complex) Facility courtesy of Town of Southern Pines Southern Pines 9am-1pm Opens April 18th Saturdays - Downtown Southern Pines

Facility courtesy of Town of Southern Pines Broad St & New York Ave 8am-Noon Will be open through October 31th

Call 947-3752 or 690-9520 for more info. hwwebster@embarqmail.com Web search Moore County Farmers Market Local Harvest www.facebook.com/moorecountyfarmersmarket SNAP welcomed here

Restaurant Authentic Thai Cusine

Home of the award winning

Revolutionary Burger Come enjoy our Italian Atmosphere for great food with friends and family!

Smoke Free Environment

1720 US 1 South Southern Pines, NC 910-695-1161

Tuesday - Friday 11:30am - 2:30pm Sunday 11:30am - 2:30pm

Lunch

Dinner

Monday - Sunday 5:00pm - 9:30pm See our menu on MooCo under Oriental Restaurants

(910) 944-9299

We accept reservations.

Open 7 Days

Specials Change Daily Check out our web page www.TheSquiresPub.com

Tues., Wed., & Thurs. Fri. & Sat. Sun. & Mon. 5pm to 9pm 5pm to 10pm Closed

515 S.E. Broad St | Southern Pines, NC 28387 910-725-1868 | www.curtscucina.com

U.S. Hwy 1 South & 15-501 1404 Sandhills Blvd. Aberdeen, NC 28315

Taste Buds Blooming Here!

Carryout and Vegetarian Dishes

April 2015P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

ca l e n d a r

Sunday, April 12

•

MATINEE RACES. 1 – 4:30 p.m. Annual harness races with trotters and pacers. Pinehurst Harness Track, 200 Beulah Hill Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 281-4608 or www.vopnc.org.

CONCERT. 3 p.m. Pianist Dmitri Shteinberg re• turning by popular request. Weymouth Center, 555 East Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 691-6261.

•

WANDERING THROUGH THE WETLANDS. 3 p.m. Join a ranger to learn about some of the different wetland areas in the park. Weymouth Woods, 1024 Fort Bragg Road. Info: (910) 692-2167 or www.ncparks.gov.

•EXPLORATIONS SERIES. 3 p.m. A forum for adults featuring Ray Linville, presenting “Southern

Food Culture.” Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

Monday, April 13

•SANDHILLS PHOTO CLUB MEETING. 7 p.m. Member Competition on Flowers. Hannah Center Theater at The O’Neal School, 3300 Airport Road, Southern Pines. Info: www.sandhillsphotoclub.org.

Tuesday, April 14

•

BABY BUNNIES STORYTIME. 10:30 a.m. Parents and children will be engaged in early literary practices. Baby bunnies storytime is for ages birth to

18 months. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

•

LITERACY COUNCIL SPEAKER. 6 p.m. “The Teacher Who Couldn’t Read.” John Corcoran was illiterate until the age of 48. Tickets: $125/person. Proceeds to benefit the Moore County Literacy Council. Info: www. mcliteracy.org.

•

SMOKEY ROBINSON IN CONCERT. 7:30 p.m. Tickets on sale. Tickets: (1-800) 745-3000 or www.crowncomplexnc.com.

BEGINNERS DANCE CLASS. 6:30 p.m. Learn some new moves for your slow dancing and the exciting cha-cha! No pre-registration necessary. Cost: $10 cash. Pinehurst Dance Studio, Pinehurst Executive Center, 300 N.C. 5, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 331-9965. CONCERT. 7:30 p.m. This concert will feature the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra performing side-byside with the Cumberland County Youth Orchestra. Free. Huff Concert Hall, Methodist University. Info: (910)433-4690 or www.fayettevillesymphony.org.

Friday, April 17

•

Wednesday, April 15

•

Thursday, April 16

•

STORYTIME. 10:30 a.m. Calling all 3- to 5-year-olds and their parents for stories followed by a craft. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst.

•

FAMILY FUN NIGHT. 5:30 p.m. Shoe Box Cities. Children in grades K-5 and their families are invited to this program. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Key:

• • Art

Music/Concerts

•

Dance/Theater

dining guide

•

FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT. 7 p.m. Face painting and a movie. This month is Maleficent. Rassie Wicker Park, 10 Rassie Wicker Drive, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-1900 or www.vopnc.org.

•

CONCERT. 7 p.m. Dr. Elliot Frank, ECU. Classical guitarist in concert. Owens Auditorium, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Free admission. Info: (910) 692-6185.

•

RAEFORD RODEO. 7 p.m. A North Carolina High School Rodeo Association Rodeo event. Continues on Saturday, April 18. Mountain Mule Packer Ranch,1480 Carolina Horse Farm Road, Raeford. Info: (910) 885-1383 or www.nchsrodeo.com.

Saturday, April 18

•

EARTH DAY. Stop in for self-led crafts and activities. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

• • Film

Literature/Speakers

• • Fun

History

•

Sports

“It’s more fun to eat in a Pub than drink in a Restaurant” Open 7 days a week for Lunch & Dinner Live music every weekend

40 Chinquapin Rd. Village of Pinehurst To a d v e r t i s e , c a l l 9 1 0 - 6 9 3 - 7 2 7 1

910-295-3193 DrumandQuill.com

hot, sweaty, tiring, backbreaking Landscaping is

WORK

And we love it.

ca l e n d a r

•

CLENNY CREEK DAY. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Event full of vendors, historical re-enactors, food, items for sale, tours of the homes that are furnished to show how settlers of the day lived. McLendon Cabin, 3361 Mount Carmel Road, Carthage. Info: (910) 692-2051 or www. moorehistory.com.

•

STORYTIME. 10:30 a.m. Calling all 3- to 5-year-olds and their parents for stories followed by a craft. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642.

•

CELEBRATION OF THE MILITARY CHILD. 12 – 3 p.m. Events include an opening program, the 82nd Airborne Chorus and many games, pony rides, children’s activities and a cookout of hamburgers and hot dogs by the Kiwanians. Pinehurst Arboretum, 105 Wiregrass Lane, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 235-0271.

•

MEET THE ARTIST. 12 – 3 p.m. Come visit with Jane Casnellie. Hollyhocks Art Gallery, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 255-0665 or www.hollhocksartgallery.com.

PLandscape design PLawn & Turf Maintenance PIrrigation PLandscape Lighting www.heffnerlandscaping.com PPavers & Retaining walls PTurf & Ornamental Treatments P.O. Box 2611 • Southern Pines, N.C.

•

MUSIC. 7 p.m. Tim Wilson performs. The Wine Cellar, 241A NE Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3066.

•

NIGHT AT THE OPERA. 7 – 9 p.m. A quartet of Opera divas and divos. Tickets: $27 general admission. Pinecrest High School, 250 Voit Gilmore Lane, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 687-2087 or www.carolinaphil.org.

April 18 – April 19

•

TRANSIT— Family-Owned DAMAGE FREIGHT Since 1966 — A unique, one-of-a-kind furniture store selling new and transit-damaged furniture and new bedding at prices you can afford.

CELEBRATION OF SPRING IN SEAGROVE. 43 members will show a variety of new work. Info: www.discoverseagrove.com.

Sunday, April 19

•

OPERA. 1 p.m. Met Opera Live in HD: Ivan the Terrible. Tickets: $20. Sunrise Theater, 250 NW Broad Street, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8501 or www. sunrisetheater.com.

•

KIDS’ MOVIE. 2:30 p.m. It’s been a hard knock life ever since her parents left Annie with her mean foster mom Miss Hannigan. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

•

SPRING WILDFLOWER HIKE. 3 p.m. Discover some of the colorful spring wildflowers in bloom along the trails in Weymouth Woods. Weymouth Woods, 1024 Fort Bragg Road. Info: (910) 692-2167 or www. ncparks.gov.

•

BROYHILL EXPRESS UPHOLSTERY PRODUCED IN LENOIR, NORTH CAROLINA • IN STOCK AND READY TO SHIP

ITEMS PICTURED EITHER IN STOCK OR AVAILABLE BY SPECIAL ORDER 346 Grant Road | Vass, NC | Just off US 1 North (Next to Carolina Storage) 910-245-4977 | Monday-Saturday 10:00am - 5:30pm www.transitdamagefreight.webs.com | www.transitdamagedfreightnconline.com

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BOOK SIGNING. An afternoon with Frances Mayes. Acclaimed author of Under the Tuscan Sky and Under Magnolia. Special reading followed by a reception and book signing. Cost:$15 members/$25 non-members. Weymouth Center, 555 East Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261.

Monday, April 20

•

WOMEN OF WEYMOUTH. 9:30 a.m. “Demonstration: Spring Wreathes & Centerpieces,” by Matt Hollyfield. Weymouth Center, 555 East Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261.

••• • •

Key: Art Music/Concerts Film Literature/Speakers Sports

• • •

Dance/Theater Fun History

April 2015 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

ca l e n d a r

•

MEET THE AUTHOR. 4 p.m. Deborah Freedman with The Story of Fish & Snail. The Country Bookshop, 140 NW Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3211 or www.thecountrybookshop.biz.

Tuesday, April 21

•

BABY BUNNIES STORYTIME. 10:30 a.m. Parents and children will be engaged in early literary practices. Baby bunnies storytime is for ages birth to 18 months. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

•

WOMEN VOTERS LUNCHEON. 11:30 a.m.The League of Women Voters of Moore County will feature Sheriff Neil Godfrey as the speaker. He will discuss gun laws and how they affect Moore County. Table on the Green Restaurant, inside Midland Country Club. Cost: $13. Reservations required. Info: (910) 944-9611.

•

JAMES BOYD BOOK CLUB. 2 p.m. A Walk into April, by Sam Ragan. Weymouth Center, 555 East Connecticut Avenue, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261.

•

EARTH DAY. 2 – 5 p.m. Play games, make crafts and meet representatives advocating for our Earth. Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Fayetteville. Info: (910) 486-0221.

Enchanting Retirement… No entrance fees • Own your own home Age in place with all levels of care • World class medical minutes away Onsite Wake Forest Baptist Health Clinic

Beyond Expectations

•

CITIZEN’S ACADEMY. 6 – 8 p.m. A session conducted by the Southern Pines Recreation and Parks Department. Info: 910-692-8235. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

•

BEGINNERS DANCE CLASS. 6:30 p.m. Learn the basics for the lovely elegant waltz! No pre-registration necessary. Cost: $10 cash. Pinehurst Dance Studio, Pinehurst Executive Center, 300 N.C. 5, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 331-9965.

Let us build your dream home...

Wednesday, April 22

•

•MEET THE AUTHOR. 5:30 p.m. Jeremy Hawkins with The Last Days of Video. The Country Bookshop,

140 NW Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3211 or www.thecountrybookshop.biz.

CUSTOM HOMES REMODELING METAL BUILDING

Thursday, April 23

•

STORYTIME. 10:30 a.m. Calling all 3- to 5-year-olds and their parents for stories followed by a craft. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642.

•

BOOK SIGNING. 5 p.m. Dr. William Priestly Black with his book Chatham Hall: A History of Exellence. The Country Bookshop, 140 NW Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3211 or www.thecountrybookshop.biz.

•

BALLROOM FOR BEGINNERS. 6:30 p.m. Carolina Pines Chapter of USA Dance invites you to learn to dance rumba and swing! $10 per person. Class

••• • •

Key: Art Music/Concerts Film Literature/Speakers Sports

• • •

Dance/Theater Fun History

Proudly supporting the Military. Ask us how you can receive your custom home plans for FREE. WINNER OF 4 - 2014 HOME OF THE YEAR AWARDS! Certified Green Professional • NC Housing Hall of Fame

Daniel Adams, Owner

Phone: (910) 295-1504 • Fax: (910) 295-1549 Email: Danny@danieladams.com PO BOX 3090 • Pinehurst, NC 28374 www.danieladams.com

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 2015

101

all(910) 215-9700 or visit

www.pestmgt.com for more information.

Don’t let pests FOOL you this April!

ca l e n d a r

held at Pinehurst Dance Studio, Pinehurst Executive Center, 300 N.C. 5, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 331-9965.

Saturday, April 25

•

BIRD WALK. 8 a.m. Join Ornithologist Susan Campbell for a 2-mile walk to look for birds. Learn to ID birds by sight and sound. Weymouth Woods, 1024 Fort Bragg Road. Info: (910) 692-2167 or www.ncparks.gov.

•

SPRINGFEST. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Join us for arts, crafts, games, rides, food, entertainment, and more! Downtown Southern Pines, 132 SW Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 315-6508 or www.southernpines.biz.

your d n e f e D ith home w

•

STORYTIME. 10:30 a.m. Calling all 3- to 5-year-olds and their parents for stories followed by a craft. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642.

•

PLANT SALE. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Come buy new spring plants to start your garden at the Pinehurst Garden Club Annual Plant Sale. Pinehurst Fire Department, 405 Magnolia Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3798 or www.pinehurstgardenclub.com.

Termite and Pest Protection

Year Round Coverage Innovative Patented Technology $Affordable Payment Plans Environmentally Friendly

•

MEET THE ARTIST. 12 – 3 p.m. Come visit with Diane Kraudelt. Hollyhocks Art Gallery, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 255-0665 or www.hollhocksartgallery.com.

•

OPERA. 12:30 p.m. Met Opera live in HD: Cavalleria Rusticana / Pagliacci. Tickets: $20. Sunrise Theater, 250 NW Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8501 or www.sunrisetheater.com.

•

MUSIC. 7 p.m. Moonlight Shiners performs. The Wine Cellar, 241A NE Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3066.

•

Stationery

and Gifts

Every Bunny Deserves a Spring Break!

GAZING PARTY. 8:30 – 10:30 p.m. View the night sky and learn about the solar system. Bring a flashlight. Admission: $10 members/ $15 non-members. Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Fayetteville. Info: (910) 486-0221.

Sunday, April 26

•

WRITERS’ COMPETITION. Prizes will be awarded to the winners and first place winners will read excerpts. Reception will follow. Weymouth Center, 555 East Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261.

•

FILM SERIES. 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. This film about the celebrated scientist Stephen Hawking. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 6928235 or www.sppl.net.

•

CLIMBERS, HOPPERS, SWIMMERS. 3 p.m. Learn about frogs and toads. Weymouth Woods, 1024 Fort Bragg Road. Info: (910) 692-2167 or www. ncparks.gov.

•

JUBILEE CONCERT. 4 p.m. Presented by the Moore County Choral Society. A “Red Carpet” event of music from Hollywood and the Silver Screen. Pinecrest High School, 250 Voit Gilmore Lane, Southern Pines. Info: www.moorecountychoralsociety.org.

2160 Midland Road, Pinehurst 910-295-4333 102

••• • •

Key: Art Music/Concerts Film Literature/Speakers Sports

• • •

Dance/Theater Fun History

April 2015 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

ca l e n d a r

Monday, April 27

Who knew going to the dentist could be this much fun?!

•

SANDHILLS NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY MEETING. 7 p.m. Dr. Linda Carnes-McNaughton, program archaeologist for Fort Bragg, will present “Stewards of the Sandhills.” Weymouth Woods Auditorium, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Call 910-692-2167 for more information or visit online at www.sandhillsnature.org.

Tuesday, April 28

•

Providing our patients with the

HIGHEST QUALITY DENTAL CARE

•

BEGINNERS DANCE CLASS. 6:30 p.m. Come try the exciting and dramatic tango! No pre-registration necessary. Cost: $10 cash. Pinehurst Dance Studio, Pinehurst Executive Center, 300 N.C. 5, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 331-9965. JAM SESSION. 7 – 9 p.m. Bring a beverage and lis• ten to great music. Open and free to public. Weymouth

in a friendly, caring environment.

Center, 555 East Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261.

Wednesday, April 29

•PRESCHOOL STORYTIME. 3:30 – 4 p.m. Join us for stories, songs, and fun, and then stay for play-

time! Storytime is for infants and toddlers (ages birth through 5 years). Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

The right dentist can make all the difference!

New Patients are always welcome!

(910)295-1010 WellenerDental.com

•

RUN FOR THE ROSES. Taste of the Sandhills to Benefit Sandhills Children’s Center. Taste diverse wines and appetizers. Entertainment by Tom Compa. General admission: $60. The Fair Barn, 200 Beulah Hill Road S, Pinehurst. Info: (910)692-3323 or www. SandhillsChildrensCenter.org.

Thursday, April 30

•

STORYTIME. 10:30 a.m. Calling all 3- to 5-year-olds and their parents for stories followed by a craft. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642.

•

MEET THE AUTHOR. 5 p.m. Doug Lapins with Sweet Success: A Journey of Change and Challenge. The Country Bookshop, 140 NW Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3211 or www.thecountrybookshop.biz.

April 30 – May 3

POP UP GALLERY. Thursday 5 – 9 p.m.; Friday • – Sunday 11 a.m. Mackay, Martens, and Storm will be featured in a pop-up gallery for 4 days only. 132 NW Broad Street, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 783-5599.

Saturday, May 2

CAMERON ANTIQUES FAIR. Shopping • closes at 5. Rain or shine. Over 350 ANtique dealers. Downtown Cameron.

•

PINEHURST CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE. 9 a.m. doors open. 2 p.m. award ceremony begins. An

••• • •

Key: Art Music/Concerts Film Literature/Speakers Sports

• • •

Dance/Theater Fun History

103

Easter Sunday

4 Courses

2 Clubs

YOUR Membership!

WORSHIP SERVICES West End Presbyterian Church Easter Morning: 11am www.westendpres.church

Turning Point Worship Center Easter Sunday Service:10:30 am www.tpworship.com

Bethesda Presbyterian Church Sunday Easter Service: 11am www.bethesdapres.net

St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church Easter Sunday Mass Schedule 7am, 8:30am, 11am & 1pm (Spanish) www.st-anthony-of-padua.org

The Village Chapel

Easter Sunday Sunrise Service at the Carolina Hotel: 6:30am Communion Service: 8:15am Family Service: 9:30am Traditional Service: 11:00am www.tvcpinehurst.com

The Club of the Sandhills 4 Championship Golf Courses

Unlimited Golf at All Four Courses Unlimited Complimentary PGA Golf Instruction Swimming Pool & Fitness Center Access Exceptional Meeting Space for 10 - 345 Guests

Beautiful Wedding Venues Experienced Event Planner & Culinary Team Lodgings at CCWP Golf Courses Open To The Public For Membership, Events & Accommodations 910.949.4332

ACTive DUTY Military Discounts on All Memberships

Pinehurst United Methodist Church Easter Sunday Sunrise Service: 7:00am Traditional Service: 8:15 and 11am Contemporary Service: 9:40am www.pinehurstumc.org

St. Paul Lutheran Church

Easter Sunday Service: 9:00am www.stpaullutheransandhills.com

Community Congregational Church

Easter Worship Service with Communion: 11:00am www.communitycongregational.org

Emmanuel Episcopal Church

The Great Vigil of Easter/Holy Eucharist: 6:00am Breakfast and Egg Hunt following Vigil Service Rite II Service/Holy Eucharist: 9:00am Rite II Service/ Holy Eucharist: 11:00am www.emmanuel-parish.org

Brownson Memorial Presbyterian Church Worship at 9:00 and 11:10am www.brownsonchurch.org

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April 2015 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

P IN E S E RVI C E S

ca l e n d a r

exclusive car show that features vintage cars and more. Info/tickets: pinehurstconcours.com.

IN-HOME CARE SERVICES

•

COTE

TIMEWORKS

THREE DOG NIGHT IN CONCERT. 5 p.m. As part of the Concours D’Elegance, Three Dog Night will be perfoming following the awards ceremony. Tickets: pinehurstconcours.com.

Watch & Clock Specialist

Art Galleries

ABOUT ART GALLERY inside The Market Place Midland Bistro Building, 2160 Midland Road, Pinehurst. The gallery features local artists. Open Monday-Friday 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. (910) 215-596. Artist GAlleRy OF SOUTHERN PINES, 167 E. New Hampshire Avenue., Southern Pines. Features art and fine crafts from more than 60 North Carolina artists. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday-Saturday. (910) 692-6077.

www.CoteTimeworks.com

910.303.8346

106 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines

Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St. in historic Aberdeen. Exhibit hours are noon – 3 p.m., Monday-Saturday. (910) 944-3979. Broadhurst Gallery, 2212 Midland Road, Pinehurst. Showcases works by nationally recognized artists such as Louis St. Lewis, Lula Smith, Shawn Morin, Rachel Clearfield, Judy Cox and Jason Craighead. Meet-the-artist opportunities available. Monday-Friday (closed Wednesday), 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, 1 – 4 p.m and special appointments. (910) 295-4817, www.broadhurstgallery.com. The Campbell House Galleries, 482 E. Connecticut Avenue., Southern Pines. Monday-Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and every third weekend of the month from 2 – 4 p.m. (910) 692-4356, www.mooreart.org. The Downtown Gallery inside Cup of Flow, 115 NE Broad St., Southern Pines. Ever-changing array of local and regional art, pottery and other handmade items. (910) 693-1999. Exchange Street Gallery, Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange Street in historic Aberdeen. “It’s Southern, Ya’ll,” works of Pat McMahon and Betty DiBartolomeo. September 2-28. Regular hours noon to 3:00, MondaySaturday. (910) 944-3979.

Practicing the 3 C’s Care • Compassion • Comfort • Interactive Caregiving™ • Personal Care • Companionship Services • Home Safety Technology

(910) 246-8000 10677 Hwy 15-501 Southern Pines Southernpines-594.comfortkeepers.com Most offices independently owned and operated

223 NE Broad St. SouthErN PiNES, NC CouNtry dECor wEddiNg rENtalS MoNthly Craft ClaSSES www.graCEfullyruStiC.CoM

The Gallery at Seven Lakes at the St. Mary Magdalene building, 1145 Seven Lakes Drive. Just nine miles from the Pinehurst Traffic Circle up 211, this gallery is dedicated to local artists. Wednesday-Thursday 1 – 4 p.m. Hastings Gallery in the Katharine L. Boyd Library at Sandhills Community College, Pinehurst. Gallery hours are Monday-Thursday 7:45 a.m. – 9 p.m., Friday 7:45 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Saturday 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. HOLLYHOCKS ART GALLERY, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst. Features artwork by local award winning artists, Diane Kraudelt, Linda Griffin, Jessie MacKay, Julie Messerschmidt, Charles Roberts, and artist/owner, Jane Casnellie. Monday-Saturday 10:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. Sunday 4 – 9:30 p.m. (910) 255-0665, www.hollyhocksartgallery.com. Lady Bedford’s Tea Parlour, 21 Chinquapin Road, Pinehurst. Features local artists. Tuesday-Saturday 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. (910) 255-0100, www.ladybedfords.com. The Old Silk Route, 113 West Main St., Aberdeen. Specializes in Asian original art, including silk paintings, tapestries, Buddhist Thangkas and Indian paper miniatures. Monday, Thursday-Saturday 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. (910) 295-2055. SANDHILLS WOMAN’S EXCHANGE, 15 Azalea Road, Pinehurst. All merchandise at the Exchange is handmade by consignors who live in the community. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Lunch served 11.30 a.m – 2 p.m. (910) 295-4677. Seagrove Candle Company, 116 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Showcases art of the Sandhills and Seagrove area. Monday, Wednesday-Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., (910) 695-0029. SKY Art Gallery, 602 Magnolia Dr., Aberdeen. Tues.-Sat. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (910) 944-9440, www.skyartgallery.com. Key:

• • Art

Music/Concerts

•

Dance/Theater

•• •• Film Fun

Literature/Speakers History Sports

•

By the Project By the Hour Call for appointment

Pinehurst

910-315-3206 vickieaumaninteriors@yahoo.com

Where European Tradition meets Southern Charm

The Bakehouse & Cafe

Giving families

a brighter future with

compassionate home care.

Established 1948 Bakery Tues-Sat 8am-3pm Sun 11am-3pm Lunch Tues-Sun 11am-2:30pm Breakfast Tues - Sat 8 - 10:30am 910.944.9204 120 N. Poplar St. Aberdeen

24 hour, 7 days a week availability

NC Licensed & Nationally Accredited Home Care Agency

780 NW Broad Street • Suite 410 Southern Pines, NC

910-246-0586

105

A R T S & C UL T UR E 79th Season Presents

APPALACHIAN SPRING SAT, MAY 2 | 8PM Copland: Appalachian Spring Judd Greenstein: Change (World Premiere Orchestration) Bernstein: Overture to West Side Story Barber: Adagio for Strings Barber: Essay No. 2

Grant Llewellyn, conductor One of the most beloved pieces in the American repertoire — join us for this blockbuster season finale!

Thursday, april 16, 2015 7:30 PM Crown Theatre, Fayetteville

Tickets are also available in Southern Pines at: Campbell House | 482 E. Connecticut Avenue The Country Bookshop | 140 NW Broad Street LEE AUDITORIUM, PINECREST HIGH SCHOOL, SOUTHERN PINES

Tickets selling fast — Buy Now! ncsymphony.org | 877.627.6724

See participating sponsors at ncsymphony.org/contribute

106

For Smokey Robinson Tickets call: Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or Visit the Crown Box Office www.CrownComplexNC.com For Season Memberships and Info: (910) 323-1991 or (910) 303-3513 www.community-concerts.com

April 2015 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

A R T S & C UL T UR E

DON’T MISS IT!

Saturday, April 25 10am - 4pm Arts & Crafts Fair Downtown Southern Pines

Kids Block Games • Rides • Fun FOR MORE INFORMATION: WWW.SOUTHERNPINES.BIZ PROUDLY SPONSORED BY:

107

A R T S & C ULT UR E

SPRING 2015 CLASSES OIL and ACRYLIC

COLOR AND LIGHT – (NOVICE AND UP) Diane Kraudelt Monday, April 20, 9:30-3:30 $50 DISCOVERING IMPRESSIONISTIC JOY AND PASSION THROUGH COLOR (OIL) Laine Francis Monday/Tuesday May 4, 5 10:00-3:00 $80 ABSTRACTING ACRYLICS Deborah Kline Monday, May 18, 10:00-3:00 $40 OIL PAINTING WITH COURTNEY Courtney Herndon Wednesday/Thursday, May 20, 21, 9:00-3:30, $110

WATERCOLOR

BEGINNING/INTERMEDIATE WATERCOLOR Sandy Scott Wednesday/Thursday, May 20, 21, 10:30-3:30 $80

OTHER MEDIUMS

DRAWING AND SKETCHING Pat McMahon Monday/Tuesday, April 27, 28, 1:00-3:00 $40 GO WITH THE FLOW-BASIC ALCOHOL INK Pam Griner Saturday, April 11, 12:00-3:00 $40 Supplies Included. ALCOHOL INK AND BEYOND Sandy Scott Wednesday, May 13, 10:30-3:30 $40 ADVANCED ALCOHOL INK TECHNIQUES Sandy Scott Thursday, May 14, 10:30-3:30 $40

WORKSHOPS 2015

AUGUST 17 - 20 – “PUSHING THE ENVELOPE IN WATERCOLOR” Mel Stabin $590 SEPTEMBER 16 - 18 – “INSIDE ACRYLICS” Phillip Garrett $375 ET GALLERY EXCHANGE STRE

URNEY” “CREATIVE JO Jean Smyth Louise Price &

ion Opening Recept m 7p April 10th • 5 – 1st - 28th Show runs April

108

Check us out & register at www.artistleague.org 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen • 944-3979

April 2015 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

April PineNeedler Answers

ca l e n d a r

Studio 590 by the pond in Dowd Cabin, 590 Dowd Circle, Pinehurst. This historic log cabin is the working studio and gallery of artists Betty DiBartolomeo and Harry Neely. Fine oil paintings, commissions and instruction. (910) 639-9404. White Hill Gallery, 407 U.S. 15-501, Carthage, offers a variety of pottery. (910) 947-6100.

Nature Centers

2 – 5 p.m. or by appointment. Located at Rockingham and Saunders streets, Carthage. (9 10) 947-2331. House in the Horseshoe. Open year-round. Hours vary. 288 Alston House Road (10 miles north of Carthage), Sanford. (910) 947-2051. Malcolm Blue Farm and Museum. 1 – 4 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday. Group tours can be arranged by appointment. (910) 944-7558 or (910) 603-2739.

Sandhills Horticultural Gardens (32 acres of gardens). The Sandhills Horticultural Gardens are handicapped-accessible. Daylight hours year-round. (910) 695-3882.

North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame. 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Monday-Friday, at the Weymouth Center for Arts and Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Avenue., Southern Pines. (910) 692-6261.

Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve (898 acres). 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. (910) 692-2167.

Shaw House. Open 1 – 4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday. (910) 692-2051.

VILLAGE ARBORETUM. 35 acres of land adjoining the Village Hall on Magnolia Road, Pinehurst. (910) 295-1900.

Tufts Archives. 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., MondayFriday, and 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Saturday. (910) 295-3642.

Historical Sites

Union Station. Open 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Located in downtown Aberdeen. (910) 944-5902.

Bryant House and McLendon Cabin. Tours by appointment. (910) 692-2051 or (910) 673-0908.

To add an event, email us at pinestraw.calendar@ gmail.com by the first of the month prior to the event. Or go to www.thepilot.com and add the event to our online calendar.

Bethesda Church and Cemetery. Guided tours for groups by appointment. 1020 Bethesda Road, Aberdeen. (910) 944-1319.

Carthage Historical Museum. Sundays, Key:

• • Art

Music/Concerts

•

Dance/Theater

Sandhills Woman’s Exchange Log Cabin. Open 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. (910) 295-4677. PS

• • Film

Literature/Speakers

Visit

• • Fun

History

•

Sports

from page 143

Solution:

L A W S

A C H E

T A P S

I D E A

B A S S O

A M E B A

S S H O O E L K A E R B E E P O F F O R E N N B D F E B L E P T I S O U R W T Y E E E R D A

9 7 3 6 5 4 1 8 2

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Clapp Brothers Tractor & Implement

online @

www.pinestrawmag.com Spring Looks You’ll love Foxcroft, City Girl, Softworks Knits, Taylor-Brook Jeans, Pants, Winding River, Patty Kim Jackets • Missy, Petite, 1X and 2X • Ladies accesorries & apparel We Do Fashion Shows

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Monday - Saturday 10a.m. - 5p.m. 5485 US 1 • Just North of Southern Pines 910.695.2622

Let’s Get Planting! Spring is here! Come see all the Annuals, Perennial, Garden Supplies and Garden Art we have ready to bring color to your yard! We carry the largest selection of Trees and Shrubs! Knowledgeable Staff to answer all your gardening questions Visit our Military Museum, Antique Store & Year Round Christmas Cottage. A unique shopping experience! A family run business since 1974

445 S.E. Broad St. | Southern Pines 910-692-3223 | www.gulleysgardencenter.com Monday-Friday 9am-5pm | Saturday 9am-4pm

Now is the time to use fertilome’s azalea camellia rhodo fertilizer on all your trees and shrubs to keep them growing strong!

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Home of the Year 1m-1.5m Gold

2015

Moore County Home Builders Association

Home o f t h e

Year

s d r a Aw Event Sponsor • Builders FirstSource Gold • Ferguson Enterprises Silver • Superior Walls Silver • Blarney Stoneworks

Yates-Hussey Construction 33 Royal Dornoch Lane, Pinehurst The McCrann Residence was designed by Mark Dean of Imark Design and constructed by Yates Hussey Construction, Inc.. The building site’s beautiful views of Lake Dornoch greatly influenced the overall design approach. The property is shaped as a triangle with the small end at the driveway side which provided the design’s greatest challenge as the Garage had to be placed in front of the house. The solution entailed detaching the Garage from the house and treating it as a separate support building that visually screens the home’s entrance. Guests are invited to the Entry Terrace by walking around the Garage toward the sound of a water fountain and then arriving under the flat terrace roof at the large tumbled marble stairs that flow from the interior of the house. Upon entering the house the marble surface of the entry walkway and stairs is continued down the barrel vaulted Hall that connects the Entry Terrace with the rear lakeside Terrace and the views of Lake Dornoch.

Bronze • Aberdeen Exterminating Bronze • Chik fil A Bronze • Jon Coles Plumbing Bronze • Cary Granite Bronze • Service Building Supply Bronze • Parks Building Supply Bronze • Pest Management Systems

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April 2015 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

2015 Moore County Home Builders Association Home of the Year Awards

Home of the Year 1m-1.5m • Silver

Home of the Year 900-950k Gold

Huntley Design Build 5945 NC Hwy 73, Jackson Springs

Welcome to Green Acres Farm! As you navigate the one-mile serpentine asphalt driveway, you will pass a muscadine grape vineyard, multiple ponds and barns before arriving at this custom built home. Here you’ll find a home that takes you back in time to easy living ideas with multiple outdoor covered living areas.

New Showroom Samples are Here! HUGE DISCOUNTS on Fabulous Designer Furniture & Accessories

Red Brand Construction 104 Batten Court, Pinehurst

The objective was to construct a New England inspired home with southern charm and appeal that embraced the craftsmanship of days gone by while simultaneously utilizing state of the art techniques, materials and systems to create a modern, energy efficient home.

416 S. Elm St. High Point, NC 27260 • 336.887.1315 10:00am - 5:00pm Monday - Saturday M/C, Visa, AMEX, Discover

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2015 Moore County Home Builders Association Home of the Year Awards

Home of the Year 900-950k • Silver

Celebrated Kitchens Proudly bringing award-winning kitchens to the Sandhills since 1993 2014 Gold Home Of The Year Award Winner $625K-$700K, Bolton Builders, Inc. 2014 Silver Home Of The Year Award Winner $500K-$600K, BVH Construction Company 2014 Bronze Home Of The Year Award Winner $330K-$350K, BVH Construction Company 2014 Bronze Home Of The Year Award Winner $900K-$950K, Stewart Construction

Cabinets Made in the USA • KraftMaid • Kith Kitchens & Eudora Cabinetry • Smithport & More

Daniel Adams Construction 324 Shagbark Drive, Mt. Gilead

This gorgeous home was designed for casual family living. A bath for each bedroom, multi -level kitchens and laundry, many living areas – with a warm and inviting setting this home was made for entertaining. Every modern amenity was thought of during its construction complete with all the energy saving and audio features available.

Home of the Year 900-950k • Bronze

Creating Unique & Personalized Cabinetry for you… New Construction • Remodels • Residential • Commercial KITCHENS • BATHS GRANITE & QUARTZ COUNTERTOPS IN HOUSE DESIGNER

910-673-2768

1125 Seven Lakes Dr, West End, NC 27376

Monday - Thursday 9 to 4 Friday 8 to 12 or by appointment lacabinets@gmail.com

Discover Your Complete Remodeling

possibilities in Moore County’s largest tile showroom CELEBRATING 20 YEARS IN BUSINESS

GLASS • METALLIC PORCELAIN GRANITE • SLATE CERAMIC FLOORING WALL TILES

Stewart Construction 275 S. Highland Road, Southern Pines

Architectural detailing, inside and out, combine to create a stunning home. Carefully crafted, this Green-Certified home has many unique features. A wine cellar, geo-thermal HVAC unit, metal roof, expansive rear deck & porch and elevator are just a few of the many fine features of this stunning home.

BARRON Tile & Stone

1125 Seven Lakes Dr. • (910) 673-3884 Follow us on Facebook & Houzz • BarronTile.net

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2015 Moore County Home Builders Association Home of the Year Awards

Home of the Year 800-850k Gold

Masters Properties 170 Eagle Point Lane, Southern Pines

This dream home was built and designed by our wonderful clients from northern Virginia. This striking 5,561 sq. ft. home features a three-car garage and second floor open air porch with views of the 7th fairway in Mid South Club. The exterior is french country with solid wood doors and cedar shutters, stained beams, stone and brick finish work and a two-story turret. As you enter, you are welcomed in to a foyer with warm hardwood floors that opens up to the home office on one side and the exquisite dining room with a true coffered ceiling and gorgeous wainscoting on the other. There is also additional built-in butler’s pantry, home office, utility room and mud room with a dog wash station accessible by the side entrance. The master bedroom features a tray ceiling, access to the covered lanai, a huge walk-in closet and lovely bathroom with a soaker tub. Upstairs you will find three bedrooms with three full bathrooms. The basement is highlighted by access to the covered terrace and a fabulous bar area with builtin cabinetry, granite countertops and a wine fridge with plenty of room for the pool table and a home theater as well.

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April 2015 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

2015 Moore County Home Builders Association Home of the Year Awards

Home of the Year Silver

Home of the Year 625-700k Gold

Bowness Custom Homes Our owner had a special lot for which they designed a new home to take advantage of the views and to provide one floor living space. It was a lot of fun to see our owner’s excitement when they walked on the sub floor for the first time and realized what the rooms would be like. From there, we worked together to bring the house to fruition.

Home of the Year 625-700k • Silver

Bolton Builders 119 Callis Circle, West End

This beautiful lake front home was designed to fulfill all of the owner’s wish lish items. With breathtaking view of the lake, to the magnificent entryway that opens into a spacious great room and a very large kitchen that is a chef’s dream, this home is built with entertaining in mind. Naturally the extraordinary features are not confined to these entertaining spaces, they continue throughout the home. From the master bath’s large walk-in shower for two and its large expanse of glass, to the trey ceilings and sweeping curved stairway, this home is a beautiful combination of livability and style.

Bolton Builders 103 Andrews Drive, West End

With traditional style features and expansive views, this beautiful lake front home is every homeowner’s dream. With a large coffered ceiling and stone fireplace in the Family room, the large custom Kitchen and Breakfast area with a Screened Porch for effortless outdoor eating, this home is easy living at its finest. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 2015

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2015 Moore County Home Builders Association Home of the Year Awards

Pinehurst Homes

Home of the Year 500-600k Gold

7 Wake Forest Court, Southern Pines

Pinehurst Homes Inc. worked with Dream Home Design to create the home the owners had always envisioned as their retirement home. Due to the lot location this home was positioned and raised 16 inches to maximize being directly behind the Tee Box which provided a view of the complete hole with the Club House behind the Green. The main level home design consist of 2 bedrooms, office, spacious kitchen with breakfast, great room with custom coffer ceiling and real stone fireplace, Master with double vanity--large shower--private toilet & bidet, guest bath with large shower, powder room, oversize utility room, and screen porch with a custom built-in grill. The second level consist of a theatre/game room for grandchildren, bedroom, full bath, and huge storage area. The cabinets are custom, countertops are granite, all floors are either hardwood or tile, hardwood stairs, and many other upscale products and features. The exterior is Hardie Colorfast accented with real stone. The home also has a lower level that can be used as a shop or golf kart storage. The Clakeley’s are extremely happy with their custom home by Pinehurst Homes Inc.

Chuck & Mary Bolton

We are pleased to announce the 4 winners in the Moore County Home Builder Association “Home Awards” for 2014. We would like to thank our clients who allowed us to enter their home. We would also like to thank our affiliates who helped make these awards possible. With years of experience, Bolton Builders can offer you award winning designs with attention to detail and quality construction at a competitive price.

Home of the Year Gold Winner

Home of the Year Silver Winner

$625,000 to $700,000 119 Callis Circle, 7 Lakes West

$625,000 to $700,000 103 Andrews Drive, 7 Lakes West

Excellence in Remodeling • Gold Winner Excellence in Remodeling • Gold Winner

Remodel $90,000-$100,000 325 Doral Drive, Pinehurst

Remodel $55,000-$60,000 103 Ellens Point, McLendon Hills

GIVE US A CALL FOR A FREE CONSULTATION!

4317 Seven Lakes Plaza • 910-673-3603 www.boltonbuildersinc.com boltonbldrs@boltonbuildersinc.com 116

April 2015 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

2015 Moore County Home Builders Association Home of the Year Awards

Home of the Year 500-600k • Silver

Home of the Year 375-425k Gold

BVH Construction 344 Longleaf Drive, Seven Lakes West

This beautiful spacious home was designed and built to be extremely energy efficient. The home is heated and cooled with a geo-thermal system. Also an energy management system to ensure peak energy efficiency. This nearly 3800 square foot heated home includes a walk out basement, screened porch and other entertaining areas.

Home of the Year 500-600k • Bronze

Daniel Adams Construction 437 Homer Lane, Raeford

This home is a ‘Green Build Dream’. With green build items such as Low E glass windows, Energy Star appliances, GEO Thermal heating and cooling, solar panels on the roof, spray foam insulation etc. this home has achieved a HERS rating of THREE (3). Nestled in a clearing in the woods this home is a peaceful retreat for the homeowners. Each owner has their private work space, hers with book shelves and window seat, his offers a view to their orchard and garden. The living room/dining/kitchen/ living space all blend together for one cozy space. These happy homeowners love living in their comfortable NC Dream Green Home!

Jay-Kar Contracting, Inc. 1510 Youngs Road, Vass

Backing up to the Walthour-Moss Foundation and surrounded by equestrian properties this tranquil residence has many unique features. With a tongue and grove stained ceiling to the stone fireplace in the living room, a walk through tiled master shower, a wet bar and butler’s pantry just off of the kitchen, the custom built characteristics abound throughout. .

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2015 Moore County Home Builders Association Home of the Year Awards

Home of the Year 375-425k • Silver

Home of the Year 330-350k Gold

Daniel Adams Construction 1035 Seagull Drive, Woodlake CC, Vass

This modern home has features you will not see every day. The glass and steel staircase is elegant, contemporary and functional. The living room has floor to ceiling glass to take in beautiful lake views. With a motherin-law suite located on the bottom floor and two bedrooms and master suite located upstairs this home is built for family gatherings!

Home of the Year 375-425k • Bronze

Gary Robinson Construction 1 Glen Eagle Lane, Pinehurst

New Craftsman Style home by Gary Robinson Construction, LLC. This new construction has quality features throughout including granite countertops, hickory hardwood floors, rock fireplace, large wrap-around covered porch, and Nichi siding. Located on a quiet cul-de-sac in Pinehurst #6 this home is ready for a family to call home.

Pinehurst Homes 60 Everrett Road, Pinehurst

The Bell Residence is located in the beautiful Historical District of Pinehurst. The exterior features Hardie Colorfast, covered porches front and rear, metal entry roof, and Pinehurst brick pavers on the front and rear entries. This home is a true compliment to the Historical District of Pinehurst and sets a precedence for new construction. 118

April 2015 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

2015 Moore County Home Builders Association Home of the Year Awards

Home of the Year 330-350k • Silver

Home of the Year 250-325k Gold

Integrity Builders 3 Oak Lane, Pinehurst

With beautiful hardwood floors that flow from the grand entry to the open kitchen, breakfast nook, family room this home has style throughout! With exposed beams in the main living space it is abundantly clear that careful thought and consideration went into building this home. This custom built home is a fantastic example of quality workmanship.

Home of the Year 330-350k • Bronze

Bartlett Construction 123 Joel’s Circle, Carthage

This beautiful home has an open floor plan which allows spacious views of the overlooking pond. It consists of a three car garage, 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms with custom accents throughout. You will find beautiful hardwood floors throughout the main living areas, crown molding and a tiled fireplace that creates a lovely focal point in the living room. The kitchen features custom cabinetry, granite countertops, a working island and an adjacent breakfast nook with picture windows taking in the gorgeous views and tons of natural light. The master suite boasts a tray ceiling, a walk-in closet, a walk-in tiled shower alongside a garden tub and access to the screened in porch overlooking the pond.

BVH Construction 530 Lake Forest Drive SE, Pinehurst

This home was designed and built for a challenging lot on Lake Pinehurst. It consists of 5 bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms. Spacious entertaining area on lower level with kitchenette and a covered patio. Master bedroom and bath on the main floor with a private balcony overlooking the lake. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 2015

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2015 Moore County Home Builders Association Home of the Year Awards

Home of the Year 250-325k • Silver

Excellence in Remodeling Whole House 530-580k Gold

Daniel Adams Construction 965 St. Andrews Drive, Pinehurst

This split bedroom plan is designed for privacy for the Owner’s Suite, spa size master bath and master closet. There is a cozy kitchen with breakfast area just steps away from a quaint screened porch. Upstairs there is great space with full bath for bounce back kids, mother in law or could be used for a getaway office or media room.

MOORE COUNTY’S MOST TRUSTED PLUMBING COMPANY Service & Repairs | Remodels | New Construction Water Heaters | Water & Sewer Lines Leaky Faucets | Toilets

Pinehurst Homes 10 Everett Road, Pinehurst

The Woodbine Cottage is located in The Village of Pinehurst North Carolina in the Historical District. It was constructed in 1895. The home was purchased by Bart & Lynel Boudreau in 2013. The Boudreau’s contracted Pinehurst Homes, Inc. to renovate the existing structure and construct a master suite and garage with a bonus area above. The home had been vacant for many years and was in desperate need of repair. This was one of those renovations that seemed as though every turn held a surprise. The heart pine flooring was salvaged in 5 rooms and refinished. Landscape islands have been created in various areas adjoining the winding sidewalks. A gas lantern entry light directs your way to the front entry. The home has an original carriage house in the rear that was restored for golf kart, gardening, and storage. The Village of Pinehurst has regained a jewel with the Woodbine Cottage restoration. It is on The Village Historical Register and will remain a treasure for many years to come.

& Repair, LLC

Call Jeremy Lowder at 673-5291 120

April 2015 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

2015 Moore County Home Builders Association Home of the Year Awards

Excellence in Remodeling Whole House 530-580k Silver

Excellence in Remodeling

Whole House/Addition 200-265k Award of Excellence

Pinehurst Homes 125 Ashe Street, Southern Pines

Excellence in Remodeling

Huntley Design Build 300 Lake Dornoch, Pinehurst

This Colonial Revival home in CCNC needed updating and expansion for this family of five to live comfortably. The project started with refacing the existing home and adding a new garage to connect to the main house, changing the profile of the front elevation by adding a porch to the entry and extending the foyer.

Excellence in Remodeling Whole House 530-580k Bronze

Whole House 155-175k Award of Excellence

Masters Properties 10 Walnut Creek, Pinehurst

Excellence in Remodeling Whole House 125-150k Award of Excellence

Daniel Bureau 290 Becky Branch, Southern Pines

Excellence in Remodeling

BVH Construction 100 Pine Ridge Drive, Whispering Pines

100 Pine Ridge Drive was remodeled to correct drainage issues, mildew and dry rot. It was designed to create an open airy space with great visibility to the view of Spring Valley Lake. The overriding principal was to create a beautiful space that was functionally effective, barrier free and safe for persons with challenges in mobility and vision.

Building Rehabilitation 125k Award of Excellence

Pinehurst Homes 11298 Aberdeen Road, Aberdeen

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2015 Moore County Home Builders Association Home of the Year Awards

Excellence in Remodeling House Addition 90-100k Gold

Excellence in Remodeling House Addition 90-100k Silver

Pinehurst Homes 670 Donald Ross Drive, Pinehurst

Bolton Builders 325 Doral Drive, Pinehurst

This beautiful two story addition was designed and built to take advantage of the spectacular views of the famed Pinehurst #2 golf course. The design for the addition has an airy Screen Porch atop an all weather Sun Room. Its unique octagon shape was challenging and required great attention to detail.

This home originally consisted of natural red brick with a small shed roof. A new gable roof was constructed which allowed the front entry to increase in size by approximately 150 sf. The vaulted gable is architecturally enhanced by a custom made beam. The porch and sidewalk features real stone.

Excellence in Remodeling House Addition 70-80k Silver

Pinehurst Homes 865 St. Andrews Drive, Pinehurst

The Fabian home was constructed in the 80’s on Pinehurst Golf Course #3. Design to change the front entry and rear porch/deck area was provided by Pinehurst Homes, Inc. and Dream Home Design. A new storage area was also added in the rear. Columns were also introduced creating a Pinehurst cottage feel. 122

April 2015 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

2015 Moore County Home Builders Association Home of the Year Awards

Excellence in Remodeling House Addition 70-80k Gold

Excellence in Remodeling House Addition 55-60k Gold

Bartlett Construction

Bolton Builders

595 St. Andrews Dr, Pinehurst

103 Ellens Point, McLendon Hills

This project consisted of the renovation of the front entry with the addition of a coat closet and small powder room, the addition of a screened in porch and adjacent sun deck in the rear of the house with added storage space below and numerous interior improvements.

This project contained two phases: the first phase was opening up the Great Room to an enclosed breezeway with the second phase being the addition of a Bedroom and Bath on the upstairs Bonus Room. The successful remodel resulted in a beautiful look in keeping with the character of the existing home as well as expanding the livable area in an effective and useful way. Working with the clients to achieve the perfect design and look made this project a winner.

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2015 Moore County Home Builders Association Home of the Year Awards

Excellence in Remodeling House Addition 55-60k Silver

Excellence in Remodeling Kitchen Remodel Gold

Pinehurst Homes 435 Pinehurst Trace Drive, Pinehurst

The Shea residence is located in Pinehurst Trace in Pinehurst. The roof lines were duplicated keeping the character of the front entry. Access to the new addition is from the existing Living Room and Kitchen area. The windows, doors, trim, flooring, and fixtures were matched to keep the new addition consistent. MOORE COUNTY HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION

2014 EXCELLENCE IN REMODELING/KITCHENS

Bowness Custom Homes The owners purchased this 1980 home in the early 90’s and accepted the kitchen layout as is but had always been uncomfortable with the design. It wasn’t a square kitchen due to adjacent rooms intruding into the space that harmed the functionality and made the design process tricky. Within the old kitchen, a long narrow space had been designed for a breakfast nook, though it was never big enough to work. After several years of planning, we finally hit the right combination of remodeling, new cabinets and appliances to make a fabulous improvement to the kitchen and that long narrow space has become an important part of the kitchen. The new cabinets also generated far more storage space which was a double win for the owners. A small modification to the bay window made it a window seat which made the new office area of the kitchen a cozy space.

Award winning kitchen cabinetry designed and custom crafted by

HAROLD

LOCKLEAR CABINET & WOODWORK SHOP, INC.

910-521-4463 • locklearcabinets.com

S HOW R O OM AT K E E S • 1 0 4 E . MA I N S T. • A B E R DE E N

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April 2015 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

2015 Moore County Home Builders Association Home of the Year Awards

Excellence in Remodeling Kitchen Remodel Silver

Excellence in Remodeling

Bowness Custom Homes

The house had a 20 year old kitchen with the original appliances which was not functional for today’s living. The owners were very involved with the new design including the special backsplash - fossil fish in limestone. Hence the fish seen in the backsplash are millions of years old. With new cabinets, new appliances the owners are excited about their new kitchen.

A 1920’s house that had its kitchen area remodeled several times was still in need of a “real remodel”. The owners wanted to include a 12x14 breakfast area that includes a special window seat for reading. With removing the very small rooms and walls, a terrific kitchen was created. The owners now have a very special section of their home.

Kitchen Remodel Award of Excellence

New Homes & Remodeling | Value Makes the Difference Pinehurst, NC | 910-692-3782 | www.bownesscustomhomes.com PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 2015

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Ready, Set, Spa. Relax, Rejuvenate & Renew

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Coolsculpting Now Available! David I. Klumpar, MD Duke Trained Dermatologist & Medical Director, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Methodist University

Mia Piazza, LE Licensed Esthetician

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A $100 GIFT CARD EACH, ONE FOR YOU AND ONE FOR MOM

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APRICOT LANE SOUTHERN PINES *No purchase necessary. Some restrictions may apply. See store for details.

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Celebrate

YOUR MOMENT

110 NW Broad Street Southern Pines, NC 28387 910-692-2388

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April 2015 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

new owner of The Next Chapter Bookstore in historic New Bern. The shop is still packed with gently used and new books autographed by local authors. The scenic view is a must-see for those visiting the coast. Info: thenextchapternc.com

Just Out By Sandra Redding

Literary Events

April 13–16 (Monday–Thursday). Spring Literary Festival, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee. This four-day series features an impressive potpourri of national and state authors (free). Info: litfestival.org April 24–26 (Friday–Sunday). Blue Ridge Bookfest, Blue Ridge Community College, Flat Rock. Featured presenter, Joseph Galloway, one of America’s premier war and foreign correspondents, plus dozens of workshops and signings by N.C. writers. Info: blueridge.edu/blueridgebookfest April 25 (Saturday, 9 a.m.). A day-long series of poetry workshops sponsored by Press 53 and Jacar Press. Historic Brookstown Inn, Winston-Salem. Have lunch with Poet Laureate Shelby Stephenson. Optional Sunday workshop led by Rebecca Foust, 2015 Press 53 Award winner. Registration: www. press53.com/gatheringofpoets.html April 25 (Saturday, 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.). Annual Haiku Holiday Conference, Bolen Brooks Farm, Chapel Hill. All haiku writers and readers are invited to this free event. Morning presenters: Charlotte Digregorio and Terri Finch; afternoon workshop led by Lenard Moore, chairman of the society. Info: nchaiku.org/haiku-holiday

Book Store Updates

The staff of The Country Bookshop keeps customers happy by locally hand-picking an eclectic selection of books. Historical novelist Anne Barnhill says this cozy shop is one of her favorite places. “The staff is always courteous, knowledgeable and enthusiastic,” she says. “I love promoting my books in Southern Pines.” Info: www.thecountrybookshop.biz In February, Pomegranate Books of Wilmington celebrated the opening of Café Zola, a coffee and tea shop, inside the store. Specializing in books by local authors, Pomegranate hosts readings, children’s events, lectures and book clubs. If you attend Wilmington’s Azalea Festival on April 11, stop by for book browsing and a cup of tea. Info: pombooks.net In January, Scuppernong Books celebrated its first year in Greensboro. Book lovers flock to this popular downtown spot for books, camaraderie, coffee, tea, beer, wine and, perhaps, the busiest event schedule in the state. In addition to readings with national and local authors, the store hosts everything from a French conversation group to Zen meditation. Info: Scuppernongbooks.com Mary Jo Buckl recently became

C. Michael Briggs’ Guilford Under the Stars and Bars ($44.95) is a comprehensive, 300-page record of the Civil War in Guilford County. It is loaded with historical documents and events, photos and illustrations, driving tours, a list of Guilford soldiers who died in the war and an entire chapter on the long rifles made in Guilford before and during the war. And don’t miss the chapter on “Where is the Confederate gold buried?” Available at 3705-B West Market Street, Greensboro, or call (336) 274-4758. “When my daughter disappeared, the town gathered to search the frozen river,” begins one of Ansel Elkins’ poems in her newly published Blue Yodel (Yale University Press, $18 paperback.) “The Reformatory for misbehaving girls/ keeps its young vixens walled in,” begins another. You may remember Elkins’ name from a snarky New Yorker article about how the Greensboro poet spent three weeks writing poetry in a sleek New York hotel. Once you read her poetry, you’re unlikely to remember her for anything else.

Writing Lesson

In 2003, Fred Chappell, then poet laureate, suggested selecting master poets to mentor promising student and adult poets. Marie Gilbert, former president of the North Carolina Poetry Society (NCPS), volunteered to personally fund the project. The generosity of those two Greensboro poets resulted in the creation of the Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poetry Series. This project, administered by NCPS, annually appoints three stellar N. C. poets to critique the poetry of and arrange readings for at least two students and one adult poet. Greensboro’s Rosalyn Marhatta, a 2014 adult mentee, says she became much more confident after being mentored by Lynn Veach Sadler. “My task was to complete twelve pages of poetry in four months,” Marhatta says. “An overachiever, I wrote more. My mentor encouraged me to send poems out. If rejected, I was to send them to another publication the next day.” Over sixty-two people attended a reading at Greensboro Public Library. “I was so thrilled to see Kevin Watson and Fred Chappell in the audience,” Marhatta says, “so thrilled I forgot to take a picture with Mr. Chappell.” PS

IMPECCABLY PINEWILD 27 Glasgow Drive • $688,800 Pristene golf front home with top-notch features and upgrades throughout. This 4200sf custom home has comfortable flow and thoughtful design for any lifestyle. Contact listing agents for more details and showing appointments.

Kim Stout 910-528-2008 Rebecca cummingS 910-315-4141

Read a poem. Write a poem. Give a poem to someone you love. And do keep me posted on writerly happenings: sanredd@earthlink.net Greensboro writer Sandra Redding’s novel, Naomi Wise: A Cautionary Tale, is a riveting story about heartbreak and hope in a Quaker community.

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BRINGING NEW MEANING to APRIL SHOWERS! Even tornado drills can be fun when you’re a part of a community like Penick Village that harvests amazing friendships, strong support systems and a true sense of family. When a severe weather warning came through town these residents held an impromptu cocktail party while “seeking shelter” in a shower. Come experience this priceless sense of security and camaraderie.

A Faith-Based Not For Profit Continuing Care Retirement Community

500 East Rhode Island Ave. | Southern Pines, NC www.penickvillage.org | (910) 692-0300

P Aul B lAke & A ssociAtes

ESTATE LIQUIDATION & TAG SALE SERVICES Serving buyers and sellers in Moore and surrounding counties for over 30 years.

LICENSED & BONDED

Refer to The Pilot Newspaper for current sale dates & locations or go to ThePilot.com or estatesales.net

ESTATE LIQUIDATORS Paul Blake 910.315.7044 Chuck Helbling 910.315.4501

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April 2015 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Deandra Mosley

SandhillSeen

Tyanna Fisher, Amauri Chalmers

Southern Middle School Variety Show Friday, March 6, 2015 Photographs by Debra Regula

Sariah Thomas, Brianna Mason

Katy & Evelyn Ong, Essica Thomas, Tyler Gilbert Erica Williams, Kevin Kyle

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April 2015 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

SandhillSeen

Dr. George Veasey, Dr. Deborah Day, Danielle Veasey

David & Cathy Carter

Moore County Hounds Masquerade Hunt Ball Pinehurst Members Club Saturday, February 21, 2015 Photographs by Al & Annette Daniels

Charlie & Terry Cook, Bobbie & Ted Mohlman

Peter & Brook Maiello, Allison Burlngame, Shawn & Lisa Taylor

Grace Bell, Maggie Tally, Kate Liner

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Michael Lamb Interiors and Antiques 910.246.2177 128 W. Pennsylvania Avenue, Southern Pines, NC

April 2015 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

SandhillSeen 80th Builder’s Cup Award Luncheon Held by the Kiwanis Club Wednesday, February 25, 2015 Photographs by Al & Annette Daniels

Evelyn Monroe, Libby Marsh

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Jeff Hutchins and 80th Builder’s Cup recipient David Woronoff Wendy Russell, Al Carter, Melanie Gayle, Paula Crocker

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David Woronoff, Patsy Padden, Bobby Woronoff, Ruth Pellisero

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April 2015 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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SandhillSeen

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Penick Villageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 9th Annual Art Show Preview Party Friday, February 27, 2015 Photographs by Al & Annette Daniels

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R E A L E S TAT E O F T H E S A N D H I L L S

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April 2015 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

SandhillSeen

Dr. Fred McCashin

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Neil Schwartzberg, Leigh Allen Erin Kirkland, Dick Webb, Neil Schwartzberg

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April 2015 i�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

T h o u g h ts F r o m T h e Ma n s h e d

Joy In An Unlikely Place

By Geoff Cutler

The satchel of tins was about pulling my arm

out of its shoulder socket. All day we’d been schlepping from one decrepit shanty town to the next, gathering pieces of folklore and art that, for some reason only God would understand, the Haitians persisted in crafting despite lives of poverty and fear. The dictators Duvalier, Papa and Baby Doc, using the strong-arm tactics of rape and murder by the Tonton Macoute, had long since collected the country’s wealth and silenced political opposition to their rule. Along with the countless thousands of murdered Haitian people, foreign tourism also died. We were among but a few Americans to be seen in Haiti.

So why would a people as tortured and miserable as these devote such love and energy to an art that from squalor squeezed happiness and joy? Native paintings in vibrant primary colors, of festival, religious rite, ceremony and marriage. Metal scrap banged into sculpted tins representing totem animals and deities, harvest, fruits, vegetables and trees. Besides my mother-in-law, I wondered, who would buy this stuff? She was a member of a small group of concerned Americans who cobbled together a nonprofit called Haiti Eye-Care. In Haiti, glaucoma in children is common, and they lack proper care and medicine. My mother-in-law frequently traveled to Haiti to purchase the tins and canvas. That art was then flown back to the States, where it was sold at auction to the well-heeled of major metropolitan cities. In turn, the cash profits were returned to Haiti and used for medicine and treatment to combat eye disease. One year, she asked my then-girlfriend, her daughter, and me if we’d like to go with her to help commission the art. We said we would, and were soon on a plane bound for Port-au-Prince. There were no fancy conveyors at Toussaint Louverture International Airport. We deplaned onto the tarmac and right into a throng of pint-sized Haitian beggars. It’s a most unsettling way to arrive anywhere, but my mother-in-law said this was common among the population, especially the children, and to get used to it. I emptied my pockets of loose

change and dollar bills, and when the urchins saw I had no more to give, they danced away. As the cab wended through the broken and potholed streets of Port-auPrince, the reek of human waste singed our nostrils. Looking out the window of the car, you could see the rivers of sewage floating along in the gutter beside us. That night we stayed in a Catholic mission among sickened children and orphans. We slept on cots in an oppressive tropical heat and dozed to the sound of far-off gunfire. My mother-in-law said the Tonton Macoute were the likely source. Out for a little midnight terror on the peasantry. For the next few days we bought Haitian art: sometimes from small storefronts in and around the capital city, but more often from roadside shacks made of cinderblock, metal scrap and cardboard. These were the homes of some of the artists. Ordinary peasants, really, existing on the edges of life, but creating beauty nonetheless. My mother-in-law bargained for the art using a few learned words of Creole, but mostly she just held out the cash she was willing to pay, and the artists hungrily accepted. The sun blazed and the heat bore down on us as we moved from one place to the next. I wiped the sweat off my face and lit a cigarette in the shade. I began to reflect on all of the Haitians we’d met. They weren’t sad. They didn’t act like a tortured people, which they were, and are. They wore, instead, smiles. They were laughing. They showed an unlikely joie de vie. We’d taken a room in an old hotel, once glorious and brimming with international guests, now decrepit and empty, except for us. We sat on the pool deck, the pool half filled, or half empty, with dirty green water, and waited for some cheese and crackers to go with our sweating bottles of beer. A man came with half a loaf of stale white bread and individually wrapped American cheese slices. I asked my mother-in-law how it was that a people so brutalized and poor could be so happy, so full of joy. She said when you have nothing, you have to believe in something. Your survival depends on finding joy in the smallest aspects of your life. That’s why Haitians might see a ripe melon and paint it. The melon is a sign of bounty and sustenance, and thus, it’s to be celebrated, immortalized. Haitian art strives to ignore subjugation, poverty and hopelessness. It seeks joy. When you see a poor Haitian and his face is bright and smiley, he’s tamped down the daily horror of his life and latched onto the simple joy of life itself. In Haiti, the human spirit has been difficult to extinguish. One place to see the truth of this is in their art. PS Geoff can be reached at geoffcutler@embarqmail.com.

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Denker’s Welcomes

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www.pinehursthomesinc.com 140

April 2015 i�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

T h e A c c i d e n ta l A st r o l o g e r

A Little Wonderment What April fool doesn’t need that?

By Astrid Stellanova

When you’ve got April Fools’, Easter, Earth and Tax Days all on the calendar, it can be a challenge to stay upright, Star Children. But then, Mother Nature gave us springtime, duckies and daisies in April, too, just to compensate with a little wonderment. A shout out to those born under the sign of the Ram — Pharrell Williams, Robert Downey Jr., and Susan Boyle, for starters — proving you can’t go around generalizing about this sign. Huzzah to the most expressive eyebrows in the world, sported by that sexy Aries goat, Jack Nicholson. Oh, that’s right. Jack’s a Taurus, which means it would never work out. But he’s still my celebrity crush. Aries (March 21–April 19) You’re usually a take-no-prisoners kind of person, but this month you find yourself more laid back at last. A good thing, Darling. Why, you ask? Because you were just one John Deere away from thinking you owned the whole farm when you only bought one goat. The fault, dear Ram, lies in Aries’ stars — and big mouth. We are coming up on another Mercury in retrograde next month, which is going to leave everybody, even you, a little whack-a-doodle. So just make the most of your birthday, and if you have to sign anything, or commit to anything, do it sooner than later. You don’t like to avoid decisions, but you should next month. Learn the lyrics to Pharrell’s “Happy” song — because it would make a good anthem for the unsinkable Rams I know and love should you fall off the boat. Taurus (April 20–May 20) Life frustrations are finally going to let up and give you some peace. Recently, there has been a long string of crap-ola and uh-ohs to weather. Given your feisty temperament, you have really been on slow boil and about to bust wide open. Go let loose and have some fun. Get your mind off things. Let off some steam, and reset your attitude. If you don’t, life will be the same damned thing all over again . . . and it doesn’t have to be, Sweetheart. The number 9 is lucky for you right now, and you’ll notice it popping up. Gemini (May 21–June 20) If only the world would do things your way, right? Nooooo, it ain’t necessarily so. Sugar, you can’t call the square dance when you don’t even know the two-step. It’s time you stop trying to direct the universe and realize you’re in this big old astral schoolhouse with everybody else. We are all here to learn. If you feel pain, maybe it’s because your nose is stuck/wedged in somebody else’s business. (Another tip you might actually like: Somebody has a massive crush on you.) Cancer (June 21–July 22) You’ve had a correction in your life that must have been a huge relief; whatever it was, it frees you to move on. Now, you are able to pursue something that has been on your bucket list forever. You can try ice fishing, train a service dog, or learn sign language — or just take a sexy someone out for a five-course supper. Just don’t try to renege on a favor you promised someone close to you, because they are counting on it. Leo (July 23–August 22) It don’t much matter if you are a male or female; you have been pissy and on the outs with most of the womenfolk in your life. Take care of business — own whatever it is that happened, even if you still insist you didn’t do it — and restore order in the house. Would you rather be right, or be happy? Outside the house, things look great. You score Godiva for Hershey prices this month — investments and money matters are going right for lucky ole you. Virgo (August 23–September 22) There’s a fatalistic streak in you that sometimes thinks you don’t deserve good fortune when you find it. Honey, put on some Coltrane or Pharrell and purge that nonsense. Come the middle of the month you get a visit from somebody you forgot about who has always cared for you. They will bring you good news, and even a little good fortune, which you most assuredly do deserve. Someone never forgot a favor you did long ago, and they kindly repay it.

Libra (September 23–October 22) That medium in the road (Grandpa Hornblower never exactly understood the word “median”) may be directing you to some excellent destiny. And the medium may not have a crystal ball, or even look like a Swami, or know hand signals. That’s the beauty of life; help comes from unexpected sources this month. And take time to look up at the stars; there’s more than one astral event this month that will definitely have destiny-changing capacity for your future. Scorpio (October 23–November 21) You had a very serious scare, and a too-close-for-comfort call in the past weeks. It ain’t over just yet, Sugar. Here’s what Astrid would recommend. Pay closer attention. Know where you are putting your feet before you step in a very large pile of hoo-hoo and mess up them (very expensive) designer shoes. You have got to think about feeling good, staying well, and not just about looking good. Meanwhile, a seemingly inconsequential mistake is resolved in your favor. It will turn out to be bigger than you knew. Sagittarius (November 22–December 21) When my Daddy had his unfortunate incarceration in Birmingham, he asked to serve his time working in the kitchen because he loved to eat. This is kind of like your predicament this month: You get a lot more of what you will discover you might not necessarily like. Sorta like my Daddy having unlimited access to bad prison food. Here’s the best advice to navigate these waters: Be explicit; express your inner wishes clearly, because the universe could throw you a curve ball just for laughs. Capricorn (December 22–January 19) You lost something lately that really mattered to you. Maybe you don’t even realize it yet. But when you do, I suspect you will be in a tizzy. Astrid advises you to remember what Grandpa taught me. Fear is just False Evidence Appearing Real. It will come back. Meanwhile, read every important paper very closely. Do not sign or commit to do anything without caution and good advice. Stay cool, Sweet Thing. Aquarius (January 20–February 18) There’s a brown Buick in your garage that you would desperately like to transform into a red Ferrari. Just through wishful thinking. Honey, you are just like my Beau. He spends a lot of time wishing and hoping, with his rump in his old rump-sprung recliner. A red Ferrari-size dream is going to require some action on your part. Put a little English on that ball and get in the game, because if you rack ’em up, you will win ’em. Pisces (February 19–March 20) Somebody wronged you, it is true, and you have begun a grudge match. There ain’t no winning, Sweetheart. Even if you win, when it comes to revenge, you lose. Smile sweetly and go about your business. And don’t eat your anger, or you will wind up like Astrid — my sugar has just soared, Honey, since I discovered dark chocolate as the bandage for all wounds. Your luck is going to transform, but it will require you to pay attention and respond. PS For years, Astrid Stellanova owned and operated Curl Up and Dye Beauty Salon in the boondocks of North Carolina until arthritic fingers and her popular astrological readings provoked a new career path.

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2922 Camp Easter Rd, Southern Pines, NC

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April PineNeedler Spring! By Mart Dickerson

2 3 4 8 5 9 6

Throb Popular NY stadium Sun's name 17 18 19 Charged particle Brainy Try to reach (2 wds.) 20 21 22 23 24 Pinehurst #2 standard 10 Mr. O’Brien scores 25 26 27 11 Terminate, as a flight bread 7 12 Nosh SpringDeli songsters! 28 29 30 31 Charged particle 8 14 Painter Georgia ___ 32 33 34 35 36 to reach(2 9 Try 22 Sports official wds.) 37 38 39 40 O'Brien 10 24 Mr. Dine as a flight 11 25 Terminate, Came into life 41 42 43 26 Spring Mental hospital (abbr.) songsters! 12 44 45 27 Prophet who built 14 Painter Georgia ___ the Arc 46 47 48 49 22 Sport's official 28 Raps lightly 24 Dine 50 51 52 53 54 29 Notion 25 Came into life 30 Small lake 55 56 57 58 59 60 hospital, (abr) 26 31 Mental Tie down 61 62 63 who built the arc 27 34 Prophet Finland inhabitant Raps lightly 28 64 65 66 35 Watch dial 29 36 Notion Pallid 30 38 Small Springlake buzzers! 33 Russian ruler ACROSS 55 Stitch down 31 39 Tie Object Prejudice 40 ACROSS 34 Farming club (abbr.) 1 Young Scottish girl 56 Chicken brand 40 Finland Spring flower inhabitant 34 37 Main ave. in 41 Unhappy 5 Spring small flower 59 Visualization formations! Watch dial 35 piece! fromby Greece 42 Soft cheese 1 Young Scottish girl downtown Southern 61 South east (abbr.) 42 Teased playfully Pines (abbr.) 43 Nibble 36 Pallid 10 Taxi5 Spring Small flower piece! 62 Spooky 43 Kook 38 Spring beginning!Electronic sound signal 38 Spring Buzzers! 13 Sound of a sneeze 44 10 Taxi 63 Type of 44 Energy unit (abbr.) 40 Prejudice 15 City 39 Object bean Sound of a sneeze 45 Type of redcommunication 13manager 45 Initials for wartime 41 Unhappy 16 Kimono sash 64 water Canoeordinance propeller 40 Spring death flower formations! manager 15 City 46 Religious 42 Soft cheese from 17 Large sea snail 65 Spring flower! Teased 42 46 Operaticplayfully deep voice 49 Young woman's title 16 Kimono sash Greece 18 Stadium 66 Meddling 47 One-celled animal Kook 43 50 'love' (Italian) 17 Large sea snail 43 Nibble 19 Neither’s partner 48 Electrical current 44 Energy unit abr. 44 Electronic sound 51 Southern Pines Bakery buy 18 Stadium 20 Ocean DOWN 49 Initials Moolahfor wartime death signal 45 19 Neither's partner 52 In possession of 21 Goofs 1 Statutes, rules 51 Superman’s Ms.voice Lane 45 Type of red bean Stitch deep 46 Operatic Ocean 20 hair 55 23 Facial 2 Throb 52 Angel’s head ring 46 Religious water 47 One-celled animal Goofs 21root ordinance 56 Chicken 25 Red vegetable 3 brand Popular old NY stadium 53 Gets older 48 Electrical currant Visualization 23 Facial hair 59 title 49 Young woman’s 26 Babies 4 Sun’s name 54 Hot-looking 49 Moolah Red root vegetable South by east, abr 61 25 50 “Love” (French) 28 Basketball beginning 5 Brainy 57 Affirmative move 51 Superman's Ms. Lane Spooky6 Pinehurst No. 2 26 Babies 62bakery 51 Southern Pines 58 __ Lanka 31 Schnozzle standard scores 52 move 28 Basketball beginningbuy 63 Type of communication 60 Angel's Males head ring 52 In possession of 32 Love intensely 7 Nosh Deli bread 53 Gets older 64 Canoe propeller 31 Schnozzle 54 Hot looking 32 Love intensely 65 Spring flower! 57 Affirmative 66 Meddling 33 Russian ruler 58 __ Lanka 34 Farming club (abr.) 60 Males 37 Main ave. in downtown DOWN Fill inSouthern the grid Pines so every row, every (abr) column and every 3x3 box contain 1 Statutes, rules 38 Spring beginning! 1

Sudoku:

the numbers 1–9.

Puzzle answers on page 109

Mart Dickerson lives in Southern Pines and would welcome any suggestions from her fellow puzzle masters. She can be reached at gdickerson@nc.rr.com.

2 8

7 8 9 2 6 4 2 7 1 4 2 9 3 6 1 5 8

5 9

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southwords

By Tom Allen

April opens baseball

season, much anticipated by folks who long for the crack of the bat. The month of soft showers also welcomes the Masters, Augusta National’s celebration of green jackets, greener fairways, and championship golf. But what hot dogs are to baseball, pimento cheese sandwiches are to the Masters. And at a buck fifty, those sandwiches, wrapped in distinctive Augusta green cellophane, are themselves a birdie.

Pimento cheese, the “Caviar of the South,” is as Southern as grits and fried chicken. Most recipes list the same simple ingredients — grated cheese, pimentos and mayo. Generations have pulled up a chair to white bread sandwiches, oozing the iconic spread, or noshed on celery sticks smeared with the bright orange goo. The South may claim the cheesy paté, but according to food historian Robert Moss, pimento cheese was a Yankee creation, after cream cheese came into being, post-Civil War. Pimentos — sweet, mild red peppers — appeared about the same time. The mixture of the two became a best-seller up North, eventually crossing the Mason-Dixon, where the spread scored at picnics and potlucks. Although some Southerners still blend in cream cheese, classic recipes call for the sacred few. Here’s my favorite: Grate an 8-ounce block of sharp yellow cheddar and the same size block of sharp white. You pick the brand. Some folks use Velveeta, chilled in the freezer to facilitate grating. Be creative — Tailhook, Cabot, even good ol’ Kraft or Piggly Wiggly work well. Try a premiere North Carolina cheddar. Ashe County cheeses, sold by Jackson Brothers in Tramway, are worth the drive as well as a chat with Danny, the never-met-a-stranger owner. About grating — don’t buy packaged shredded cheese. Shreds are coated with cornstarch to prevent stickiness; this interferes with mixing and melding. Get a grater, with medium to large holes, preferably Mom’s or Granny’s. If you don’t own one, ask around. Don’t use a food processor. Hand-grating

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brings back memories. You may break a sweat — not to worry. Maybe that was Mom’s secret ingredient. Toss the grated cheeses into a big bowl, cover and let sit at room temperature. An hour’s rest will help the cheese and mayo bind easier. Next, add the pimentos. A 4-ounce jar is perfect. Here’s a tip. Buy diced, not sliced, unless you favor pimento strips. Drain and toss into the grated cheese. Some folks throw in the liquid. Personal preference. The juice gives the mixture an extra bite. The final ingredient is mayonnaise, about half a cup. Duke’s versus Hellmann’s brings cooks to blows. The Hatfields wanted Duke’s, the McCoys swore by Hellmann’s. Dare try a quarter cup of each? Finally, blend ingredients. Spoon or spatula? What about your hands, thoroughly washed and dried? Smush or stir for a few minutes, then transfer to a fridge container. Before chilling, treat yourself. Slather some between two slices of white bread, grab a glass of milk and enjoy. Repeat tomorrow, since pimento cheese, like homemade soup, tastes better the next day. Some folks add other stuff — Parmesan cheese, sour cream, garlic powder. One recipe lists chopped dill pickles. Heresy! Talk about sleeping with one eye open. For a kick, bump up the mixture with a couple shakes of cayenne pepper or a few drops of Texas Pete. Pimento cheese, like Mom’s pot roast or Granny’s fried chicken, is comfort food. Whether mounded on a celery rib or spread onto a cracker, this staple is the stuff and stuffing of memories — as Southern as an Easter outfit or a bank of pink azaleas. Speaking of azaleas. In 2011, PimentoGate shook Augusta National’s famed invitational. Ted Gregory, an Augusta restaurateur who prepared the legendary sandwiches forever, was booted out when the club assumed inhouse preparation. Gregory wouldn’t give ’em the recipe. World-class chefs couldn’t reproduce Augusta’s “caviar of the South.” Patrons complained. Controversy raged. Lesson learned: Don’t mess with good pimento cheese. That’s a double-bogey! Easter, the Masters, the opening day of baseball season — April blesses us with faith, food and celebrations. But like a ballpark frank, a sandwich at the first tee, or stuffed celery at an Easter Sunday brunch, food enriches the experience. Seems to me, that’s the true hole-in-one, the best way to knock it out of the ball park. PS Tom Allen is minister of education at First Baptist Church, Southern Pines.

April 2015 i�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Illustration by Meridith Martens

Caviar of the South Can you say pimento cheese?

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