August PineStraw 2013 by PineStraw Magazine

PLAY

Must be 62 or older.

After a lifetime of work, it’s time you relaxed and enjoyed yourself. There’s no better place to play than Belle Meade and Pine Knoll. These two beautiful, engaging communities offer an endless array of events and activities, plenty of fun-loving neighbors to share them with, and the added security of the St. Joseph of the Pines continuum of care should you ever need it. So let the fun begin.

CALL TODAY – 910.246.1008

Where life just keeps getting better. Southern Pines, North Carolina • www.sjp.org • 910.246.1008 A member of the St. Joseph of the Pines Aging Services Network continuing the legacy of the Sisters of Providence.

www.prudentialpinehurst.com

Golf Front - The Carolina

Custom home, gourmet ktchn, covered porch, deck. Great for entertaining! 3BR/2BA. $348,000 Text T1073957 to 85377

Carolyn Hallett 910.986.2319

Old Town Pinehurst

Wonderful natural light! Atrium w/waterfall & Koi Pond. Sep. Guest Suite. 3BR/3.5BA. $500.000. Text T971356 to 85377

Bettye Marcum 910.603.2686

CCNC Family Home

Heart pine flrs, 2 stone Frplcs, 5+ac; separate in-law suite. 6-Car Garage! 3BR/3BA. $940,000 Text T773070 to 85377

Carolyn Hallett 910.986.2319

Old Town Pinehurst

Spectacular views of Course #2! Elegant Dutch Colonial renovated in 2000. 4BR/4.5BA. $1,295,000. Text T1520016 to 85377

Emily Hewson 910.315.3324

Sweet Spot Cottage

Nestled between 4th Fairway & 5th Tee Course #5. Hardwood, walls of windows & more. $364,900. Text T814581 to 85377

Beverly Valutis 910.916.1313

Old Town Pinehurst

Premier location - near Club & Carolina Hotel. PCC Mbrshp available. 4BR/4BA. $598,000. Text T390878 to 85377

Eva Toney 910.638.0972

Horse Country

A Grande Dame bordering Walthour Moss Foundation. Beautiful! 5BR/4.5BA. $995,000. Test T443907 to 85377

Deborah Darby 910.783.5193

Knollwood Heights

Charming estate - A true treasure built by Donald Ross in the 1920â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s! 2.31 acres. 4BR/7.5BA. $1,650,000 Text T1029286 to 85377

Maureen Clark 910.315.1080

Log on to www.prudentialpinehurst.com FOR OUR Easy Search or Snap & Search with our FREE APP on your Smart Phone 910.295.5504 Pinehurst | 910.692.2635 Southern Pines

Weymouth Heights

Tranquil 1.2 acre setting in Southern Pines. Fabulous entertaining spaces! 4BR/3BA. $499,900. Text T1584767 to 85377

Mav Hankey 910.603.3589

Pinegrove Village

Remarkable 5,100sf home! More at: ww.220TallTimbersDrive.com 5BR/3.5BA. Text T1558300 to 85377

Team Townley 910.690.7080

Weymouth Heights

Masterful attention to details! Stunning architectural features. Pool 5BR/5+BA. $1,195,000 Test T1574145 to 85377

Maureen Clark 910.315.1080

Old Town Pinehurst

Shadowlawn - English tudor on 1.5 private acres of beautiful landscaping. Guest Cottage. 6BR/7+BA. $1,795,000

Text T256378 to 85377

Emily Hewson 910.315.3324 Get the free mobile app at http://gettag. mobi

ÂŠ2012 BRER Affiliates Inc. An independently owned and operated broker member of BRER Affiliates, Inc. Prudential, the Prudential logo and the Rock symbol are registered service marks of Prudential Financial, Inc. and its related entities, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Used under license with no other affiliation with Prudential. Equal Housing Opportunity.

August 2013 Volume 8, No . 8 FEATURES

43 Night Sea

Poetry by Deborah Salomon

44 Cool Dudes. Hot Wheels By Deborah Salomon

It’s a great view from the Porsche. Or even a vintage ‘Vette.

DEPARTMENTS

7 10 13

Sweet Tea Chronicles

The Omnivorous Reader

18 21

Bookshelf

The Kitchen Garden

Vine Wisdom

Postcard From Paris

31 33 35 39 72 82 91 93

95 96

Jim Dodson

PinePitch Cos and Effect Cos Barnes

Stephen E. Smith

Hitting Home Dale Nixon

Jan Leitschuh Robyn James

Christina Klug

49 The Circle of Life By Karen Mireau

A pioneering industry is growing here in the Sandhills.

54 Synesthesia By Laurel Holden

60 Aymar Embury Slept Here By Deborah Salomon

The perfect Weymouth Cottage, or so said the man who designed it.

71 August Almanac By Noah Salt

The pleasure of deep summer and the garden to-do list.

Out of the Blue

Deborah Salomon

Birdwatch

Susan Campbell

The Sporting Life

Tom Bryant

Golftown Journal

Lee Pace

Calendar SandhillSeen Thoughts from the Man Shed Geoff Cutler

The Accidental Astrologer

Astrid Stellanova

PineNeedler

Mart Dickerson

SouthWords

Bill Thompson

COVER PHOTOGRAPH AND PHOTOGRAPH THIS PAGE BY JOHN GESSNER 2 August 2013

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

Prepare Now for the US Open Peacock Alley Eloise Collection, Monet inspired floral print with ruffled corners, 100% Egyptian cotton in Coral

at The Mews 280 NW Broad Street Southern Pines, NC

910.692.2744

at Cameron Village 400 Daniels Street Raleigh, NC

DUXIANA at The Mews 280 NW Broad Street | Southern Pines, NC

919.467.1781

www.OpulenceofSouthernPines.com

Financing available

910.725.1577

DUXIANA at Cameron Village 400 Daniels Street | Raleigh, NC

919.467.1781

PineStraw M A G A Z I N E Jim Dodson, Editor

910.693.2506 • jim@pinestrawmag.com

Andie Stuart Rose, Creative Director 910.693.2467 • andie@pinestrawmag.com

Lauren Shumaker, Graphic Designer 910.693.2469 • lauren@pinestrawmag.com

Brianna Rolfe Cunningham, Graphic Design Intern Editorial Contributors

Deborah Salomon, Staff Writer Stephen E. Smith, Staff Writer David C. Bailey, Copy Editor Sara King, Proofreader Mary Novitsky, Proofreader

Contributing Photographers

John Gessner, Tim Sayer, Cassie Butler Timpy Contributors

Cos Barnes, Tom Bryant, Susan Campbell, Geoff Cutler, Al Daniels, Annette Daniels, Mart Dickerson, Liam Frank, Laurel Holden, Robyn James, Christina Klug, Jan Leitschuh, Meridith Martens, Karen Mireau, Dale Nixon, Lee Pace, Noah Salt, Astrid Stellanova, Bill Thompson

PS David Woronoff, Publisher Advertising Sales

Terry Hartsell, 910.693.2513 Kerry Hooper, 910.693.2489 Perry Loflin, 910.693.2514 Darlene McNeil-Smith, 910.693.2519 Darlene Stark, 910.693.2488 Meagan Powell, 910.693.3569 Johnsie Tipton, 910.693.2515 Karen Triplett, 910.693.2510 Pat Taylor, Advertising Director Advertising Graphic Design

Kathryn Galloway

910.693.2509 • kathryn@thepilot.com

Mechelle Butler Clay Culberson Maegan Lea Circulation & Subscriptions

Darlene Stark, Circulation Director 910.693.2488

PineStraw Magazine

910.693.2467 145 W. Pennsylvania Avenue Southern Pines, NC 28387 pinestraw@thepilot.com • www.pinestrawmag.com ©Copyright 2013. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. PineStraw magazine is published by The Pilot LLC

August 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Floor Plans to Fit

Any Lifestyle

New Construction homes by

Shepherds Ridge Subdivision- Aberdeen

12 Sold, 4 Pending

1,400 + sq. ft. starting at $151,900 • · Spacious garages · Professional landscaping package · Appliance package with black smooth top range, dishwasher and microwave · Smooth ceilings · Security system · New home closing orientation

www.ShepherdsRidgeSubdivision.com Sinclair - Vass 2,195 sq. ft. starting at $197,900 • 81

Sold, 1 Pending

• 9’ ceilings • 200 rolling acres with a community pond • Lots of open space in a picturesque rural setting • Moore County schools • 15 minutes to Ft. Bragg • 15 minutes to quaint shops of Southern Pines • 15 Minutes to Moore Regional and historic Pinehurst

www.SinclairSubdivision.com Forest Hills Pointe - Aberdeen 2,727 sq. ft. starting at $233,900 • 21

Sold, 2 Pending

• Functional, family friendly floor plans • Spacious lots • Granite kitchen countertops • Soaring ceilings • Feels like country living, but is conveniently located in Aberdeen • Easy drive to Ft. Bragg

www.ForestHillsPointe.com Birkdale Village at Mid South 3,041 SQ. FT. STARTING AT $299,900 • 25

Sold, 3 Pending

• TWO country club memberships included in purchase price • Gourmet kitchen • HardiPlank ColorPlus siding • Coffered, vaulted and cathedral ceilings • Energy efficient, security systems, pest defense system & more • Golf front lots available Birkdale Agents are currently located in the Camden Villas Clubhouse

www.BirkdaleVillageatMidSouth.com CALL TODAY for a private tour and see for yourself the awesome amenities when you visit one of these outstanding communities by H&H Homes!

190 Turner Street, Suite D | Southern Pines, NC 28387 910.693.3300 | Sales@LaroseandCompany.com

SweeT TeA chronicleS

The last Boy of Summer By JIM DoDson

later this month, our young-

PHOTOGRAPH BY WENDY DODSON

est will head out the door to college, the fourth and final sibling to jump the nest and fly away.

When I look at Liam — our Last Boy of Summer, as I think of him — I have to smile at what a fine and handsome young man he has become before our eyes, astonished at how rapidly our time together has passed. Near as I can tell, he’s had a decent final summer of freedom, as I heard his mother describe it to a friend the other day, an excellent time steering my elderly Buick station wagon around town and taking photos of events and people for PineStraw magazine’s Sandhills Scene section with his nimble Nikon camera. A month ago down in Charleston, during the first summer vacation we had all four kids together in nine years, Liam took photos of everything while his older siblings chattered away. The photos were nothing short of beautiful. He’s not only our quietest child but also perhaps the visual artist of the bunch. We met when he was three-by-three. By this I mean 3 years old and three feet tall, one amazingly cute little dude who looked a lot like the Teletubbies he loved to watch on TV. He was also obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine. Our first conversation centered around his encyclopedic knowledge — and my rank ignorance of — the popular TV series based on the beloved English children’s books. “Which is your favorite engine?” he asked the first night I appeared to take his recently divorced mama on a date. Hoping to make a good impression but unfamiliar with the Thomas series — my children, then nine and seven respectively, were just edging out of their Sesame Street years — I attempted a classic dodge. “I really like the green one,” I said, pointing to one of the half-dozen engines Liam had arranged in his official Round House train yard. Kids, alas, have a built-in bull detector. “Don’t you know his name?” he asked warily. “Horatio,” I bluffed, putting on my plumiest English accent. You could see the disappointment in his solemn brown eyes. He shook his head and released a long sigh, clearly dealing with an ignoramus and a fraud. “No. It’s James,” he calmly explained. “He’s Thomas’ best friend. He delivers the mail.” Compounding my grievous error, desperately hoping to redeem myself and make up ground, some months later, while dining with Wendy’s children and mine on the occasion of my daughter’s tenth birthday (dating had swiftly moved on to engagement and this was the first official meeting of the tribes on our turf in Maine), somehow the subject of Liam’s sweet obsession with the Teletubbies came up and I playfully wondered if we shouldn’t start calling Liam “Li Li the Tee Tee” in honor of his favorite morning TV characters. I thought this was the ultimate compliment, but he clearly thought otherwise. “No, Jim. My name is Liam,” he declared with wounded dignity, promptly raising an impenetrable wall of silence where I was concerned for the rest of a

festive and snowy weekend of sledding and hot chocolate, introducing her boys to our lives, including our big dogs. Neither of her boys had ever been around dogs. “The dogs are doing better than I am with Liam. I don’t think he’ll ever speak to me again,” I said to his pretty mama. “Give it some time,” she said, patting my arm. “Liam processes things slowly. This is a lot of change for him. He’ll come round in time.” As anyone who’s been there knows, blending families can indeed be tough sledding. Second marriages don’t always blend with ease, though despite my rocky start with Liam our band otherwise seemed to mesh remarkably well from the start, in part because the two middle ones, Jack and Connor, were close in age and shared a common interest in making music and playing video games and generally annoying the socks off their wise older sister, Maggie. She was now 10, an awkward age for girls, and having Liam to make a fuss over and tote around like the family mascot on her hip made for genuine rapid bonding — at least between them. She wasn’t the only one who found him irresistible. Anyone who met Liam was charmed by his quiet sweetness and his watchful brown eyes. My own Southern mother declared him to be the most “adorable little boy ever.” She was putty in his hands. Dogs and our summer vacations saved me. Liam and Connor had never owned a dog, so Bailey, our aging golden retriever who’d raised my children like Nana in the story of Peter Pan, became like a therapy dog in my behalf, a canine ambassador who provided a way for Liam and me to begin to connect. He was even more interested when — not long after our tribes were officially joined — I brought home a new golden retriever pup we named Riley the Rooster because he crowed like one when locked in the bathroom at night. He was soon out of the bathroom and in every bed of the house. That summer we began camping trips along the coast of Maine and I taught the boys how to make a proper fire and paddle a canoe, hoping to share our family’s love of the outdoors. By this point Liam’s passion for Thomas the Tank Engine and the Teletubbies was on the wane, replaced by his fascination with weather — the Weather Channel, to be precise. He was soon an expert on Bermuda highs and tropical depressions, the movements of threatening weather systems Our most memorable vacation came nine years ago this August, an ambitious two-week road trip in our big Ford Excursion down the East Coast to Williamsburg, the Outer Banks, Bald Head Island and Gettysburg. At Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Liam agreed to ride his first roller coaster by riding with me on the Big Bad Wolf, no small moment of grace in our evolution. After this epiphany, he and I went off to ride the Loch Nest Monster by ourselves — the looping coaster that initially frightened him — and did so probably half a dozen more times before the park closed for the evening. At Kitty Hawk, he and I were the first to the top of the monument — a fine point for checking out stormy weather on the horizon. Crossing the vast Pamlico Sound by ferry, he and I were the first to start feeding the shrieking flock of black-wing gulls that trailed the car ferry, prompting the others to join us. On Bald Head, while the others — now teenagers — did their thing, Liam and

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . August 2013

PINEHURST

CCNC

Adorable golf cottage located on Hole 12 of the #3 course of Pinehurst Country Club. Beautifully maintained, this charming home shows pride of ownership and offers beautiful wide golf views from secluded deck. Open floor plan, hardwood floors, spacious Carolina room. $298,000.

Gorgeous golf front home with lower level walkout! Hardwood floors throughout main living areas, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, crown molding. Split bedroom plan. Two gas log fireplaces. $585,000.

ElegantgolffronthomeintheCountryClubofNorthCarolina!Spacious,openrooms with wonderful light! Located on the 7th tee of the Dogwood Course, this home has widegolfviewsthatcanbeenjoyedfromeveryroominthehouse.AlovelyCarolinaroom isoffthekitchen.Great potential-pricedforupdating.$498,000

3 BR / 2.5 BA

4 BR / 3.5 BA

3 BR / 3 BA

www.30FirestoneLane.com

Code 1041

www.80LakewoodDrive.com

Code 1039

www.45LinvilleDrive.com

Code 1009

SOUTHERN PINES

ABERDEEN

OLD TOWN

This lovely and inviting home in Longleaf Country Club is absolutely pristine! Bright and open, it has lots of windows and light, and high ceilings. The gourmet kitchen is open to the family room and offers a spacious breakfast area, perfect for enjoying the privacy of the wooded back yard. $268,000.

This cute home on a large corner lot is freshly painted and ready for a new owner! Split bedroom plan, cathedral ceiling in living room, open dining/living. Great for first time buyers or investor! $145,500.

Quintessential Pinehurst Cottage with views of the famous #2 golf course and easy walking distance to the Village! Charming and beautifully maintained, this historic home offers high ceilings and moldings, hardwood floors, oversized windows, and lots of light! $469,000.

3BR/2BA

www.205HunterTrail.com

Code1036

3 BR / 2 BA

www.110RavenswoodRoad.com

Code 1037

2 BR / 2 BA

www.105PalmettoRoad.com

Code 986

PINEHURST

SEVEN LAKES WEST

Tucked away on its own little peninsula with water all around! One of the most unique locations in Pinehurst. The entrance drive is almost hidden so it's easy to miss, but once you see this lovely, sun-filled cottage on over an acre you'll be glad you didn't. Elegant and casual, this home has been tastefully updated. $419,000.

Gorgeous big water view w/eastern exposure sets off the 4 BR/3.5 BA lakefront custom home. From the spacious living room to the allure of sunshine in the Carolina Room, everything in this house is crafted to showcase natures splendor! $698,000.

3 BR / 2 BA

5 BR / 3.5 BA

This gorgeous all brick custom home is located in a quiet, wide cove with beautiful long views of Lake Auman. Built by Harris and Son, the home offers a light and open floor plan with hardwood floors, crown molding, solid surface counter tops, split bedrooms, sunny Carolina room, and many great upgrades and features. $635,000. 3 BR / 4.5 BA Code 882

www.86GinghamLane.com

Code 987

www.129ShawDrive.com

Code 993

www.135AndrewsDrive.com

PINEHURST

Enjoy sweeping golf views from this beautiful home in Pinehurst #6! This golf front home features hardwood floors, gas log fireplace, built-ins, gas range, and a true master suite with attached study/sitting room. Situated between the 9th and 18th greens, it is only a few steps to the first tee, the clubhouse, and the putting greens! $374,900.

A well designed, beautiful and spacious home! The home has a large screened porch and a large lot with fenced backyard. Walk-up attic storage over garage. The main level master suite has French doors to private office. Upper level features two guest rooms, a full bath and generous landing/bonus area. Freshly painted interior as well as beautiful new landscaping. $239,000. 3 BR / 2.5 BA Code 825

4 bedrooms plus an upstairs bonus room in this lovely home in a family friendly Pinehurst neighborhood! Beautifully kept and ready to move in! Split bedrooms, open floor plan, private backyard. Perfect for your growing family! $279,000.

3 BR / 2 BA

www.18CanterburyCircle.com

Code 1005

www.1340BurningTreeRoad.com

5 BR / 3 BA

www.23BerylCircle.com

View Floor Plans and Virtual Tours of Our Listings and See ALL Moore County Listings and Community Information at 8

WWW.MARTHAGENTRY.COM

Code 971

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

August 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Re/Max Prime Properties, 5 Chinquapin Rd., Pinehurst, NC 910-295-7100 â&#x20AC;˘ 800-214-9007

sweet tea chronicles

I talked about tides and time and went off to check out the historic lighthouse. He was thrilled when I let him drive the golf cart all guests were issued, though a bit worried when I mentioned we were technically breaking the rules. On the way home to Maine, I forced the tribe to endure the ninety-minute driving tour of the Gettysburg battlefield, long a secret vacation hope of mine, and only Liam politely indulged my love of history. The others — the teenage hooligans — hooted and joked around so mercilessly I eventually got disgusted and pulled off, got out, and set off on foot to see the battlefield on my lonesome, hoping to cool off. It was Liam who came to find me and calmly explain that “Mom had a talk with the others. They’ll be good now.” I went back and found the teenage hooligans sitting like members of a church choir. Mom had that look on her face. “That have something to say to you,” she said. “We’re sorry,” they said, almost in unison. “We really do want to do the rest of the tour.” They didn’t, of course. But it was nice to hear. That night — payback for the enforced history lesson — the boys kept us up all night claiming to hear drums and other ghostly noises out on the battlefield. Liam crawled into bed with us. Ironically, we were down on an island off the Georgia coast the week of Gettysburg’s 150th celebration this summer. One commentator observed, “It’s hard to believe it’s been just a century-and-a-half since the pivotal battle of the American Civil War. Look at how this nation mended its wounds and became the American family.” Unavoidably nostalgic, I was thinking somewhat the same thing — only nine years since that pivotal family vacation, and look how we mended our wounds and became an American family. Liam is still the same quiet, thoughtful and observant young man he always was, the ideal disposition for a budding photographer with a brilliant eye. He spent our week down on the coast photographing changing ocean skies and surfing, enjoying one last bit of sweet summer freedom before August ends and a new life at college begins. He’s come to dearly love the coastal life, a passion he’s quick to credit to our family life in Maine and many summer trips to the Carolina coast. Fortunately, the small college he’s headed to in New Jersey is, as he points out, is “only nine hours from home and less than a mile from the ocean.” I asked him the other day if he planned to take one of his old Thomas trains off to college with him, just to remind him of his happy childhood. Our big handsome surfer dude just smiled. “Mom has them safely boxed up. Maybe you guys should keep them for me.” I assured him we would do just that, and keep much more than that. PS

race to recovery

joint replacement program

capeable of getting you back in the game Whether your passion is golf, tennis or even taking walks with your spouse, when the pain of arthritis makes you consider hip or knee replacement surgery, there’s really only one choice. Only one joint replacement program in the Sandhills has been awarded two Gold Seals of ApprovalTM from The Joint Commission, the nation’s premier accreditation agency. And Cape Fear Valley is designated a Blue Distinction CenterSM for Hip and Knee surgery by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. Just two of the many reasons we’re CAPEable of keeping you in the game. For a referral to an orthopedic surgeon who is part of Cape Fear Valley’s award-winning Race to Recovery joint replacement program, please call Carelink at (910) 615-link (5465) or toll free at 1-888-728-well.

Cape Fear Valley has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval TM

Contact editor Jim Dodson at jim@pinestrawmag.com

www.capefearvalley.com

Hit and Running

UNCG Professor Emerita Lee Zacharias spins a shocking tale in At Random, her new novel set in Greensboro. It’s about a young boy killed by an operagoer returning home who was charged with felony death by motor vehicle. The plot twists and bends like a country road, provoking unexpected reactions from family and friends. Zacharias will speak and sign copies beginning at 4:30 p.m. on August 20 at the Country Bookshop in Southern Pines Information: (910) 692-3211 or www.thecountrybookshop.biz

The First on the Second

First Friday for August happens from 5 to 8 p.m. on August 2 beside (or inside, if raining) the Sunrise Theater in Southern Pines. All the way from Utah, the band, Desert Noises describes itself as nostalgic and comfortable, also distinctive and fun, with drums, bass and guitar reminiscent of The Lumineers and The Shins. Admission: Free with nonperishable food donation Information: www.firstfridaysouthernpines.com

Learning Lab

Follow-the-leader Joan Williams at her ever-popular, step-by-step oil painting class for beginners, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on August 19 at the Artists League of the Sandhills in Aberdeen.

Best Paw Forward

Five Points Pet Resort and Cared-For Canine & Cat will host their Second Annual Dog Show, 9 to 11 a.m., on August 24 at Carolina Horse Park in Raeford. Best-in-Show competition and dog agility demonstrations. Free admission for spectators. Information: www.carolinahorsepark.com/ events/dog-shows

Tuition: $70, includes supplies. Information: (910) 944-3979 or www. artistleague.org

August 2013 P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Manic Mozart

The Southern Pines Neighborhood Book Club will sponsor Amadeus, the Academy Award-winning film (1984) at 7:30 p.m. August 7, at the Sunrise Theater in Southern Pines. Mozart’s life and talent are chronicled by archrival Salieri, played by F. Murray Abraham. Deliciously insane, historically casual, terribly entertaining. Information: (910) 6928501 or www.sunrisetheater.com

wining and dining

Eat, drink and learn August 30 through September 2 at the 25th Annual Labor Day Food & Wine Festival in Pinehurst, themed Passport to the World. Guest chefs include former White House executive chef Walter Scheib and wine master Luis Torres. Oenophiles and gastronomes from all over the U.S. flock to this event; day trippers just as welcome. Information: (855) 235-8507 or www.pinehurst.com/pinehurst-food-wine-fest.php

The write Place

Stash the electronics and send kids in third, fourth and fifth grades to Write-On Camp from 9 a.m. to noon, August 5-7, at Weymouth Center in Southern Pines. Children will learn poetry, lyrics and fiction skills in an atmosphere that has inspired fine writing for decades. Instructors include John Amen, Cos Barnes and Malaika King Albrecht, editor of Redheaded Stepchild magazine. Campers will read their stories around a virtual campfire. Information and registration: (910) 692-6261.

nothing could be Finer…

The Arts Council of Moore County announces its annual Fine Arts Festival — an exhibit event begun in 1980 to showcase and sell the work of local artists — from August 2-30 at Campbell House Galleries in Southern Pines. Artists 16 and over may submit entries in acrylic, digital art, drawing/pastel, mixed media, oil, photography, print/printmaking, 3-D and watercolor. Cash prizes totaling $2,500 will be awarded. Exhibit free and open to the public. Opening reception and awards 6 to 8 p.m., August 2.

Trail Mix

Show up, collect a map and off you go in search of adventure, maybe treasure. The Ball Center of the Sandhills Horticultural Gardens at Sandhills Community College invites curious kids age 5 to 13 (but all ages welcome) to participate from 9 a.m. until noon on August 24. Refreshments served. Free admission. Information: (910) 695-3882 or www.sandhillshorticulturalgardens.com

Information: (910) 692-2787 or www.mooreart.org

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .August 2013

It doesn’t take all day to get a massage ... unless, of course, you want it to.

A typical treatment at The Spa at Pinehurst usually lasts 50-80 minutes. But with spacious lounge areas, saunas, whirlpools, a swimming pool plus healthy snacks and smoothies, you can relax all day. So call the Spa to schedule an appointment that will benefit you long after your treatment ends.

Receive 20% off treatments Monday-Wednesday.

Located next to The Carolina Hotel • Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina • 888.435.6957 • pinehurst.com

Cos and Effect

How do you want to retire?

Finding One’s Place

By Cos Barnes

Some weeks ago, to celebrate the sixtieth

anniversary of The Country Bookshop, I sat in the big wing chair in the window, reading. Within ten minutes I had four people in the window with me. That is indicative of the bookstore. It is the core, the center, the meeting place of not only readers, but of shoppers, friends and browsers. It draws us in because of all these things, but mainly because it is a place we like to be. When I first moved here, we had an errant Lhasa apso-Jack Russell mix who thought he was welcome anywhere my children were welcome. Former bookshop owner Cad Benedict and his staff called me frequently to come and get him. He was not a literary pup but a gregarious sort who felt very much at home at the bookstore. A new favorite haunt of mine is the “Kitchen” at the expanded health food market at Nature’s Own. If you get a seat at the big table in the center of the large room, you can talk to the chefs, the store employees, the owners and the myriad of people who inhabit it for lunch. I have taken two newcomers to the area who had never been and we had a hard time getting our lunch eaten because the clientele is so varied, friendly and interesting to talk to. And don’t we all love to visit the farmers market? Not only can we purchase the freshest in produce, we can buy cheese, baked goods, flowers and plants, and also sample exotic meals and concoctions. We are entertained by vocal groups, can watch experts at the hula-hoop, pick up some knitting hints, add to our jewelry collection, and enjoy the pets who are cavorting in the grassy space. Many years ago the church we attended remodeled a former home for the activities of its youth. The youth aptly named it “Our Place.” It is still called that and it serves the same purpose. It belongs to them. When my late husband was quite ill many years ago, he had a place he considered his own. He went there to pray, to think, to seek guidance and assurance, and to ponder his alternatives. I never went. He went alone. It was in the Pine Needles area, but I do not know where. That was his “place.” As for me, I never feel more at home than sitting on the bench outside of Denker’s. That is my place. PS Cos Barnes is a longtime contributor to PineStraw magazine. She can be contacted at cosbarnes@nc.rr.com.

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Daddy love

We’ll take Clyde Edgerton over Dr. Spock any old day

By sTePHen e. smiTH

The publication

of Papadaddy’s Book for New Fathers: Advice to Dads of All Ages will likely come as a surprise to many of Clyde Edgerton’s faithful readers. He’s never offered us a how-to book, and a detailed exposition on child-rearing may seem a curious undertaking for a writer who is known primarily for his fiction.

But any misgivings readers may have regarding the book’s instructive and entertainment values will vanish when Edgerton’s familiar persona emerges from the printed page. It’s immediately apparent that this is the same optimistic author who blessed us with Raney, Walking Across Egypt, The Floatplane Notebooks, Where Trouble Sleeps, The Night Train and other popular novels. This time out he’s giving us straightforward, lighthearted advice on our most important undertaking in life — the rearing of our children. But readers are bound to ask: Is Edgerton doing this baby-raising stuff for straight? The answer is an emphatic yes. He’s no child psychologist and doesn’t pretend to be, approaching the subject from his own unique

perspective and enhancing his delivery with his familiar brand of self-effacing humor. But there’s no denying that he’s very much on top of his subject, discoursing at length on the finer points of child-rearing — baths, diapers, neighbors who visit, nurses, depressed mothers, spoiled babies, games, lice, birthday parties, family meetings, earplugs and nightfeeding duties. (The best way for the husband to determine which breast should be used is to “sort of juggle both to see which one is heavier” — thank you, Papadaddy!) The chapter on childproofing the house is vitally important to new fathers and offers advice on rendering electrical outlets harmless; securing the latches on cabinet doors and drawers; setting the temperature on the hot water heater; storing household cleaners, chemicals and prescriptions; installing child gates; establishing chores; mounting smoke and carbon monoxide detectors; using the stovetop correctly; and securing firearms — all solid information a father might otherwise have to learn by trial and error. So what qualifies Edgerton as an expert on child-rearing? Simple enough: He’s been raising children for thirty years. His oldest daughter, Catherine, is an adult and his three younger children, Nathaniel, Ridley and Truma, range in age from 6 to 9. And he’s pushing 70 himself, time enough for anyone to hone his parenting skills. There’s no question that older fathers are capable of being better fathers — experience is the teacher of all things — and thus may be the bearers of good advice on many aspects of parenting. Moreover, you don’t have to be the world’s leading authority on children to write a thoughtful book of instructions. (I’ll take Edgerton over Dr. Spock all day long.)

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Giving advice can be as fatiguing as getting it, but Edgerton manages to maintain the energy in Papadaddy by sprinkling the text with “C.O.D.s” (messages for Considerably Older Dads) and letters he’s written to his children at significant moments in their lives: “In about three days you’ll be two weeks old. You’re doing just fine in many ways. You’re sleeping well for a tiny baby. Last night, for example, you woke up to feed at about 12:30 and again at about 4:30, and both times you went right back to sleep. We’re putting some drops in your eyes three times a day because of a common tear duct problem. You don’t cry unless something is very wrong. You look around, and you like to sleep.” There’s nothing earth-shattering in these random jottings, but they’ll probably come in handy when the child is old enough to read and appreciate the sacrifices, however mundane, his parents made when he or she was an infant. Edgerton doesn’t ignore the dilemmas parents confront when the child has outgrown his or her cuddliness, as when your naked, intoxicated seventeen-year-old daughter, accompanied by a dozen motorcycle gang members, also naked and intoxicated, drives a Harley onto the front lawn. “You walk out onto the porch and think, ‘This is not what I’d hoped for.’” Edgerton refers to these situations as the “Factor Bad,” and he suggests that you choose your battles and leave certain bad behavior alone — as with obsessive doorbell ringing and masturbation (not that there’s an obvious connection between the two). The remaining unpleasantness can be dealt with by using a simple formula such as FB (Father’s Behavior) = CB (Child’s Behavior) = Learning, which is broken down into Full Strategy, Exchange Strategy and Coercive Strategy, all of which is a trifle complicated. If the technical stuff gets you down, the text is amusingly illustrated with charming line drawings by Edgerton’s friend and fellow writer Daniel Wallace, the author of Big Fish, Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician and Ray in Reverse. So what if you have no children or you’ve already sent your progeny out into the cruel world? You’ll want to read Papadaddy’s Book for New Fathers anyway. Edgerton’s powers of persuasion are so nimble and his self-effacing humor so endearing that it’s impossible to ignore his insights into child behavior — and more importantly, our own. As with all of Edgerton’s books, there’s a genuinely warm smile that belies the seriousness behind the words — and these days, who can afford to ignore good advice from an old friend? PS

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Stephen Smith’s most recent book of poetry is A Short Report on the Fire at Woolworths. He can be reached at travisses@ hotmail.com. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P August 2013

Bookshelf

August Books Summer winds down do read on.

By Kimberly Daniels Lookaway, Lookaway by Wilton Barnhardt The director of North Carolina State’s Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing graces us with a brilliant satire of a leading North Carolina family. The book ignites comparisons with Tom Wolfe’s masterful satire. This brilliant book centers around Jerene Jarvis Johnston and her family: a successful but unfulfilled novelist brother, a husband whose political career failed to take off and floundering adult children. This book hits close to home, but this it is so good it will be read the world over. Love and Lament by John Millikan Thompson The author of The Reservoir returns with a book set in Chatham County, North Carolina, that follows a family through the eyes of Mary Bet. She is the youngest of nine children in the Hartsoe family, and she grows into a woman against the backdrop of Reconstruction and industrialization. Spanning from the Civil War through World War I, this is a novel that reveals much about the history of our area. The Gravity of Birds by Tracy Guzeman This book is the one you wait for. Guzeman is a debut author who delivers an intelligent thriller about family, art and road trips. A famed painter asks an art historian friend and honest art dealer to sell a previously unknown painting, but only after they find the whereabouts of the paintings, subjects. During their search they uncover secrets about family, art and life. The Life List by Lori Nelson Groomed for the position of CEO at her family’s cosmetics firm, Brett Bohlinger is devastated by her mother’s death. She is rocked again at the reading of the will, where her task to receive her inheritance is to complete a list of life goals that she wrote when she was 14. A handsome attorney guides her through the process. This book is a want to read in one sitting page turner that will move you from tears to laughter as you follow Brett along her journey. How the Light Gets In: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel by Louise Penny In Québec it’s a time of dazzling snowfalls, bright lights, and gatherings with friends in front of blazing hearths. But shadows are falling on the usually festive Christmas season for Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Most of his best agents have left the Homicide Department, and hostile forces are lining up against him. When Gamache receives a message from Myrna Landers that a longtime friend has failed to arrive for Christmas in the village of Three Pines, he welcomes the chance to get away from the city and finds out that the missing person is a very famous, very crazy poet. As events come to a head,

Gamache is drawn ever deeper into the world of Three Pines. Increasingly, he is not only investigating the disappearance of Myrna’s friend, s but also seeking a safe place for himself and his still-loyal colleagues. Is there peace to be found even in Three Pines, and at what cost to Gamache and the people he holds dear? Victims of Yalta: The Secret Betrayal of the Allies: 1944-1947 by Nikolai Tolstoy This is a “Bill Pick! At the end of the Second World War, a secret Moscow agreement, confirmed at the 1945 Yalta conference, ordered the forcible repatriation of millions of Soviet citizens, including prisoners of war, refugees and forced laborers who had fallen into German hands. The order was a death sentence for many as citizens returned to find themselves executed or placed back in forced-labor camps. This is the story of these people and the story of the British soldiers who allowed this to happen. Crazy Rich: Power, Scandal, and Tragedy Inside the Johnson & Johnson Dynasty by Jerry Oppenheimer The Johnson family made their fortune from baby powder and Band-Aids and throughout this long reign of wealth, from the late 1800s to today, this family has had plenty of drama. This unauthorized biography by the author who brought similar biographies of the Kennedys, the Clintons, the Hiltons and Martha Stewart, has scandal and tragedy in large doses. Provocative and well-researched, Oppenheimer delivers entertainment in this book about a very prominent family. Lincoln’s Citadel: The Civil War in Washington, DC by Kenneth Winkle This story is really about our nation’s capital and how it fared during the years of the Civil War. Winkle looks at the ebb and flow of the city as it evolved and pushed our nation toward modernity. Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture by Ross King Ross King’s award-winning book is about the construction of the fabled dome of Florence’s Santa Maria del Fiore, a feat of architecture that astonishes us even in the age of skyscrapers, and the Renaissance genius who made it happen. CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULT By Angie Tally Where’s Waldo? From Friday, August 2, until Monday, August 12, he can be found in twenty downtown Southern Pines shops and restaurants. Come by the Country Bookshop to check out the

August 2013P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

fun new Where’s Waldo Mini Books, sign up for this fun scavenger hunt and find out how you can enter to win fun Where’s Waldo prizes. How will I get to School this Year by Jerry Pallotta and David Biedrzycki. Some students ride to school in cars. Others rise early to catch the bus. W hat if you could choose your mode of transportation to school? Would you arrive on the back of an elephant or hop in astride a frog? Heading back to school has never been so much fun! Ages 4-7 Summer at Forsaken Lake by Michael Biel. Twelve-year-old Nicholas is not thrilled to be spending the summer in the country with his twin sisters. But when, on the first day of vacation, he meets a girl who throws the fastest curveball he has ever faced, is promised sailing lessons from his Great Uncle Nick and discovers a long lost treasure of his father’s, he quickly decides it may just be the most exciting summer of his life. Ages 9-12 Firecracker by David Iserson. One-quarter Catcher in the Rye, one-quarter Breakfast Club, one-quarter Clique and �like nothing ever before, Firecracker is the chronicle of the senior year of uber rich, spoiled genius criminal mastermind Astrid Krieger, who lives her Grandfather’s motto: “Forgiveness is for those who are too weak to hold a grudge.” Snarky, sarcastic, clever and above all hilarious, this fantastic journey with Astrid is a great summer read for anyone 14 to adult. Replica by Jenna Black. Sixteen-year-old Nadia Lake’s life is seemingly perfect. She is fantastically wealthy, has a world of opportunity at her fingertips, and has an arranged marriage with Nate Hayes, heir of the most powerful family in the Corporate States. Paxco, the Hayes’ family corporation, has pioneered human replication: a technology that every state and every country in the world would kill to have, and when Nate turns up dead, it seems someone has taken the initiative to do just that. North Carolina native Black, well known for her adult urban fantasy and paranormal romance, has written a new novel for young adult audiences that will keep readers on the edge of their seat. Ages 12 and up.

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hiTTing home

Small hands, Big heart confessions of an eternal mason jar girl

By Dale niXon

i know a lot more about home than I do

about garden. I love my home, being in my home and taking care of my home.

The garden? Well, I could kill kudzu. And the reason for that is because of my hands. When I was growing up, my grandparents planted and tended a garden that was twice the size of their house. Every summer was spent picking, canning and pickling to preserve the bounty of their garden. My grandparents had twelve children and thirty-three great-grandchildren, but I was the one with the smallest hands; the only set of hands that would fit inside the canning jars to be washed. While everyone else was weeding, watering and picking, I was positioned in front of the kitchen sink to ready the jars for the sterilizer. The sink was filled with hot, sudsy water. My job was to soak the jars, scrub the jars, then rinse and dry them. Not only was I relegated to the kitchen all day, but I was never allowed to look at seed catalogs, plant the tender shoots, stake up the saplings or run my fingers through the dense, rich soil. I was not included in any farming conversations nor given any instruction on how to raise the crops. No one wanted me to learn about gardening. They were the “green thumbs” in the family. I was the one with the small hands. I may not know about gardening, but if you want to know anything about the Mason jar, I am your girl. The Mason jar was invented in 1858 by Jason Landis Mason. It is molded glass that has a metal screw ring or band, a flat lid and a washer or gasket that bonds to the underside of the lid. I can tell you that the Mason lettering is raised on the side of the clear glass jar; that they come in pint and quart sizes; and that if you get your hand stuck in one, it hurts. You could break a wrist with the wringing action it takes to squeeze your hand out. The hand is always easier to go in than it is to come out. The summer I was released from my duties, you can just call me Scarlett. I raised my fist to the sky and declared: “As God is my witness, I will never wash a Mason jar again!”

From now on it would be cans of Del Monte, Stokeley, Jolly Green Giant and Bush’s for me. So, when my husband announced last year that he was going to plant a garden, I cried. Wringing my hands together and rubbing my wrists, I screamed at him, “I WILL NOT WASH ANY MORE JARS.” Bobby rarely knows what I am talking about, but this time he was dumb founded. “Dale, I’m not planting jars. I’m planting vegetables, and I’m only planting enough for the two of us to pick and eat.” He assured me that since I didn’t know anything about gardening, he would take care of everything. Wiping my tears, I said, “You mean there will be no canning? No sterilizing? No Mason jars?” He promised me there would be, “No canning. No sterilizing. No Mason jars. I’m just planting enough for the two of us to pick and eat.” Well, the man planted Silver Queen corn, two varieties of tomatoes, green beans, squash, cucumbers, red peppers, yellow peppers, green peppers and hot peppers. He planted just enough for the entire town to eat. When the bushels of produce started to “come in,” I knew we had no choice but to “put it up.” (A couple of farming terms I heard when I was a kid.) I knew there would be canning at the Nixons all summer. I also knew that between Farmer Bob and me, that I had the smallest hands. Back to the kitchen with a sink filled with hot sudsy water. Back to scrubbing jars, rinsing jars, drying jars and doing something I said I would never do again. You’ve heard the saying, “Cold hands, warm heart.” Well, I say, “Small hands and you become a jar washer.” I may not be a vegetable gardener, but if you ever need anyone to kill some kudzu, then I am your girl. PS Columnist Dale Nixon may be contacted at dalenixon@carolina.rr.com.

The kiTchen gArden

Sweet Stuff

The herb stevia is a growing factor here in moore county By Jan leitsChuh

An herb little-known ten years ago is sweeping

the food industry today after decades of trade restriction. Not only can you grow it in your own backyard and use it to sweeten your teas and smoothies without extra calories or cavities, the herb, stevia, is now being grown here in Moore County as a commercial crop for the first time.

A Sandhills August lull gives us plenty of peaches, eggplant, field peas and okra — and little other variety. Peppers droop and abort their blossoms in the heat, the berries and beans are gone. Tomatoes shrivel from diseases. But Billy Carter Farms of Eagle Springs is watching approximately twenty acres of organic stevia take hold and thrive in the late summer heat. Under contract to a Washington-state-based company, Sweet Green Fields (SGF), his goal is to expand that crop to twenty-five acres or more. Currently, much of the raw stevia used in U.S. products is imported from China. Carter was given proprietary seed from the SGF company, and grew out his own transplants in a tobacco greenhouse. Rather quickly, he found out a fundamental fact about stevia: It doesn’t germinate from seed very well. “Luckily,” laughs Billy, “they gave us a lot of seed.” Most of the plants a homeowner can buy from big box stores come from rooted cuttings, a more certain method of propagation. Sweet Green Fields, uses a special water-based extraction process to create a ninety-seven percent pure form of Rebaudioside-A, or “Reb-A,” a sweet component of the stevia leaf that is prized commercially. SGF then sells the extract to companies wishing to produce other products. Stevia is experiencing a surge in popularity due to its ability to sweeten food virtually without calories — that’s right, a zero-calorie natural sweetener. Because stevia extract may be up to 300 times sweeter than sugar, very little is needed for sweetening — yet it doesn’t raise blood insulin levels. The actual herb stevia also has little effect on blood glucose, and may even enhance glucose tolerance. The popularity surge might be attributed to the parallel surge in carbohydrate controlled diets for those with diabetes, obesity and other concerns, such as the fact we consume, on average, over 130 pounds of sugar apiece a year. Stevia is actually not new at all — it’s been used in Paraguay by indigenous populations for over 1,500 years, and as a commercial sweetener in Japan for decades. But in the United States, stevia was banned in the early 1990s unless labeled as a dietary supplement. This was a controversial ruling that was felt to be a trade restriction in favor of the makers of artificial sweeteners. Yet by 2008 the tune changed. Public interest in stevia grew along with Internet exposure, corporations took note and wanted a piece of the action, and in 2008 the stevia extract Rebaudioside-A was approved as a food additive. Immediately that year, Cargill produced an erythritol and stevia-based sweetener called Truvia. Small, nimble companies such as Zevia sodas quickly produced stevia-sweetened products. Just over a month ago Coca Cola announced

it’s first stevia-sweetened beverage, “Coca-Cola Lite,” to debut in Argentina. According to Billy Carter, SGF has been trying to make inroads into the Southeast for a few years. Much of the tobacco infrastructure coincides with the needs of the stevia crop — tobacco greenhouses for transplants, well-drained soils, and, to dry the crop, tobacco bulk barns could be deployed. A couple of years ago, the company established a foothold in Alabama and sought technical expertise from the universities of Georgia and South Carolina. Last year saw small production in the field. This year, reports Carter, the company is rapidly expanding acreage. The developments had been on Carter’s radar. “I probably would have approached them if they hadn’t approached me first,” he said. “They were interested in the organic angle.” Carter raises organic tobacco in rotation with organic wheat and other crops, and has experience with the complex USDA Organic certification process. Carter says his crop is a three-year project, possibly four: “We transplanted a little late this year. Organic system plans are fairly rigid.” About 40,000 plants are tucked into each acre. The low, shrubby herb is a member of the sunflower family. The plan is to harvest twice a year, mid-summer and late fall. After cutting, drying and baling, the product is threshed and the Reb-A is extracted by SGF. So promising is this area for the crop that Carter says a Raeford company with experience growing tobacco stock, Cross Creek Seeds, has been engaged and is putting in seed plots to grow stevia from seed. But the average kitchen gardener wanting to try sweet tea without consequences can buy stevia plants at many places locally that sell plants. Indeed, many local restaurants are starting to offer stevia beside the Sweet n’ Low and Splenda. Planting stevia is simplicity itself — dig a hole in a sunny, well-drained site or pot. Water as needed to settle the soil, and to establish. If drainage is poor, plant on mounds. Use good compost or a low-nitrogen fertilizer — nitrogen makes for rank leaves, with poor taste. As the soil heats up, I like to mulch with straw to protect the feeder roots and add winter protection. Leaves are slow to grow in early summer, then suddenly pop up lush, full and green. Best to cut at this time, or the plant will produce flowers at the expense of leaves. Cutting is like hitting the “reset” button, similar to basil harvesting. We’ve grown stevia in the ground at Cottage Garden Farms for six years now. It’s considered a weak perennial. Colder climates plant it as an annual, or pot it and bring it inside. The first two of our three plants died during a cold winter, but the third plant thrived. Come summer, we harvest a batch of snipped leaves, stuff them in the largest canning jar around and pour boiling water over them. We let this sit for a while, and then strain out the leaves. The sweet, pale green liquid goes in the fridge as a “simple syrup” to sweeten tea, yerbe mate, smoothies, fruit salads, fruity cocktails and more. Since the whole herb is said to have some health-promoting qualities, we prefer unrefined stevia when we can get it — the garden snippings.

Pinehurst Medical Clinic

Care when you need it . . .

Pinehurst Medical Clinic offers Saturday & Sunday Walk-In Clinics for Established Patients. Medical staff will be at: PMC East Building (205 Page Road in Pinehurst) every Saturday and Sunday mornings. Sanford Medical Group (555 Carthage Street in Sanford) every Saturday morning. We are here to provide treatment for acute minor problems, such as the flu, earache, coughs, etc. You must be a registered patient of the Pinehurst Medical Clinic/Sanford Medical Clinic to receive care at the walk-in clinics. You don’t need to call first or have an appointment, just walk-in – first come, first served. We conveniently bill your insurance as we would during a normal visit, with all required co-pays being paid at time of service. Follow-up appointments will be arranged if needed during the week. Evaluation of acute chest pain or dyspnea or any major problem should be seen in the Emergency Room.

New Patient Appointments Welcome Please call our New Patient Department (910) 235-2664 • (800) 272-5682 For more information and a complete listing of our physicians and specialties, visit our website: www.pinehurstmedical.com Walk-In Clinic Hours Pinehurst Medical East Walk-In Clinic 205 Page Road Pinehurst, NC 28374 Phone: 910-295-5511

Sanford Medical Group Walk-In Clinic 555 Carthage Street Sanford, NC 27330 Phone: 919-774-6518

Hours of Operation Saturday: 8:00am - 11:30am Sunday: 10:00am - 1:30pm

Hours of Operation Saturday: 8:30am - 12:30pm

August 2013P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

The kitchen garden

Commercial stevias often have many fillers, including dextrose and sugar alcohols, and not all use the water extraction process; dextrose is derived from corn, generally GMO corn. Some of the largest commercial brands extract sweet compounds with unpleasant chemicals like acetone, methanol, ethanol, acetonitrile and isopropanol (read the labels, do your research). Yet the herb itself is generally considered to be healthy. A 2009 review study found that stevia and its compounds have anti-hyperglycemic, anti-hypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, anti-diarrheal and immunomodulatory actions. Find a quality brand, if using a commercial product. My choice would be a “whole leaf” product or a water-extracted one. Baking with stevia is a little trickier, but can be done. Sugar is an essential chemical component in many recipes; for example, it allows cookies and other baked goods to achieve that nice oven-browned color. Fruit cobblers are probably the easiest baking use of powdered, whole-herb stevia. Kitchen-gardening aside, there are commercial baking mixes that allow one to substitute sugar cup for cup, and the Internet is now full of stevia-using cooks who have taken much of the trial and error out of the process. There are also commercial liquid extracts. About August, unless cut, stevia tries to shift over from making leaves to making seeds. The plant begins to form flowers. At this point, one could still use the leaves, but they are just not as sweet because the plant is devoting its energy to the next generation. The time to harvest is just before this happens. We cut stems and put them top-down into a brown paper bag to dry, not too closely packed. On a hot summer day, they might be reasonably dry by nightfall, and the bag protects the bright green color from the fading of sunlight. The stems are less sweet, so soon as I can, I strip the leaves off and discard the stems. Then I crumble the leaves roughly and store in jars or seal in airtight bags for later use. A food processor or coffee grinder can make a handful of dry leaves into a powder in no time. Use in any recipe that calls for powdered stevia. Undersweeten, until you get used to it.

Some people find the taste of whole leaf stevia a little strange, though I’ve come to enjoy chewing on a leaf while working in the garden. But give it an honest chance — mixed with stronger flavors like fruit, tea, coffee or in lemonade, it’s hard to tell the difference from sugar. If using a commercial brand, keep trying until you find one that works for you, as they all seem a little different, and you’ll likely find you have preferences. And start, perhaps, by just cutting the sugar in half and using a bit of stevia for the rest, adding cautiously — because too much stevia does have a bitter, off taste. Since peaches are still around, here’s a favorite summertime smoothie, all healthy stuff. Adjust ingredients to dietary preferences and what you have on hand. It tastes like an Orange Julius:

Stevia Julius

Two ripe peaches, cut, pits removed. A quarter of a whole lemon, or a splash of lemon juice (optional, but give it a citrus zing) A tablespoon or two of orange juice concentrate A ripe banana — frozen is nice A couple spoonfuls of yogurt Several springs of the whole herb stevia, or a couple of small packets commercial stevia Ice, to taste Pop it all in a good blender, hit the button for a few seconds, and then pour into a frosty mug. Garnish with a sprig of stevia. PS Jan Leitschuh is a local gardener, avid eater of fresh produce and cofounder of the Sandhills Farm to Table Cooperative.

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A Continuing Care Retirement Community 500 East Rhode Island Ave. | Southern Pines, NC www.penickvillage.org | (910) 692-0300 PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . August 2013

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August 2013P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Vine WiSdom

going green The quintessential summer wine

By roByn James

it’s hard to get through the summer without writing about vinho verde. Actually, make that impossible. This is the quintessential summertime wine. We may carry five different brands during the summer and maybe one during the winter for the snowbirds and seasonally confused.

When customers tell me they wish they could drink wine but they only want gin and tonic during the summer, I say: vinho verde. The response is the same: WOW. It’s crisp, bright, refreshing, with a small touch of effervescence and citrus. However, it is lower in alcohol than your gin and tonic, so you can sip it all day long with no worries. Popularity in the United States is swiftly on the rise; imports have increased nearly 500 percent in the last ten years. So far we are vinho verde’s biggest customer. Vinho verde (green wine) is actually the name of the coastal maritime region where the wines are made. Some people believe the name refers to the lush, green lawns of the area, but most say it refers to the importance of drinking the wines in their youth (greenness) like a nouveau beaujolais. The white wines of vinho verde are blends of unfamiliar Portuguese grapes such as arinto, azal, loureiro and trajadura. More and more producers are using alvarinho grapes, more familiar to us as the Spanish grape, albarino. Most of the wines are produced by large cooperatives because there are nearly 38,000 small growers with tracts literally planted in their backyards. The unusual vines are pergola-trained on high arches, usually with another vegetable crop or a driveway underneath.

The biggest bonus of these salient, pure, clean, fizzy treats is their price tag. You would be hard pressed to find a vinho verde over $10, with average prices in the $7-$9 range. Although there is a slight natural or induced carbonation to most of the wines, some co-ops make a sparkling vinho verde with a higher concentration of bubbles. These are delightful. More and more of the really tasty vinho verde rosés are showing up on shelves this year. With a little bit of the red grape, rabo-de-anho blended in, these are crisp and dry with influences of berry fruits such as strawberries and raspberries. Here are some of my favorite vinhos. Casal Garcia Sparkling Vinho Verde, Portugal, Approx. $11 Nose: Scents of white flowers, green apples and tropical fruits. Palate: The mouth is elegant and delicate, in a perfect harmony of the senses that takes us to its ending, fresh and alive. Vinhas Altas Vinho Verde Rosé, Approx. $8 A light, crisp wine with the freshest of red berry fruits, embedded in tight acidity and a soft, fruity aftertaste. This is a great apéritif for a warm day. Quinta De Aveleda Vinho Verde, Approx. $9 Careful viticulture takes the fruit of this estate-grown wine into bright scents of lime, white rose and pink grapefruit, with a mouthwatering persistence of flavor that sets it apart. It’s easy to drink a lot of this, chilled for a June wedding or July at the shore. I know of no other wine in the world that offers the fragrant pleasures of this white for anything close to $9. PS Robyn James is proprietor of The Wine Cellar and Tasting Room in Southern Pines. Contact her at winecellar@pinehurst.net.

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French Cut

It was magnifique — for all of three minutes

By Christina Klug

I can safely attest

that most of us love a good haircut. It’s not so much the end result that we seek, but the means of getting there — the massaging wash, the delicate brushing and fondling, the blowout, and definitely the products! Plus, let’s be honest, who doesn’t find a small amount of entertainment staring at yourself in the mirror for an hour, while somebody else pampers you?

I’ve been neglecting getting my hair cut since I moved abroad, partially because I wanted to grow out the very short bob I got the day before I left home for France, and partially because of my loyalty to Julie from Bamboo back home. I recently couldn’t stand it any longer and decided a fresh cut might be a nice little treat before a summer’s worth of sweat and tangles made me rip it out myself. A friend and I scheduled matching appointments at a place recommended to us, just in case I blanked on my nonexistent French haircut vocabulary words. True to character, I was running a bit late and had to sprint along Avenue Parmentier, annoyed that the numbers on the opposite side of the road were growing at a much more rapid pace than my own. I’ll blame my tardiness on my non-working French Yonger & Bresson knockoff watch I bought from the flea market that I insist on wearing, and not on my incessant inability to be on time for anything. Practically panting, as I passed over my purse and my balled-up coat, I felt like I was being judged twice: once for my tardiness and once for my Forever21 trench coat. From there, my hairdresser and I played an awkward game of cat and mouse as we both tried to compensate for the other in attempts to put on the salon robe. In my defense, it’s opposite of what we wear in the states. Just get me to the chair, I thought. The wash started out great, with closed eyes, ears attuned to the beautiful melodies of Nora Jones, and my body temperature finally reaching equilibrium. But what started out as a relaxing head massage continually moved past my hairline, until almost reaching my eyes, and I found myself uncertain if I had over-bronzed to his liking or if he thought I’d booked an appoint-

ment for my eyebrows as well. As I explained what I wanted, he not understanding much of anything, he started to laugh and assured me I need not worry. He laughed harder still as I showed him a picture of what I wanted because it was longer than my hair already was. Oops! He tried to persuade me to cut almost all of my hair off because it gets such bad tangles, clearly neglecting my rounder-than-round face. And as he brushed out my hair, I was fearful I might indeed be bald after the hour was over and politely suggested the use of Moroccan Oil, which he didn’t understand. That’s when I suggested we speak Spanish together instead. Once he started cutting, he brought over a stool that he sat on while he snipped away (apparently all French hairdressers do this) only hesitating to occasionally comb back his own hair as it fell into his face and slighted his vision. The cutting was fine until he started doing super tight twists that made my face look like it had endured plastic surgery, and then there was a technique of random chopping where he might as well have had his eyes closed. It reminded me of what I did to my own hair, circa ninth grade, when I wanted the layered Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen look. There was an occasion when he was on his knees. I pitied the poor fellow, covered in my blonde castaways, his white pants now partially black. But don’t worry, he made sure to immediately blow dry himself off. Since I couldn’t mask my laughing at the absurdity of all of it, I just had to act like I was ecstatic with the cut. Truthfully, he did a fine job, though a few inches isn’t too hard a task. I did love him for hooking me up with four different products, though I couldn’t exactly say, merci monsieur, because his painted nails and mesh top indicated he was flirting the gender line. The best part of the whole thing, though, was definitely as I was leaving and he asked if I had an umbrella. Since I’d gotten there, it had started pouring rain. In my indifference to the constant Parisian rain, I sometimes intentionally leave my umbrella at home. When he realized I was going to use my trench coat, he stood aghast, like how dare you, you stupid American girl, ruin my precious masterpiece? Though I was a bit disappointed that my hair, while perfect for all of three minutes, would soon be ruined, his face was totally worth it. PS Christina Klug, a former PineStraw intern, makes her fortune as an au pair in France.

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Out of the Blue

Cool Comforts

Air conditioning has changed life in the South. But what did we give up to be so cool?

By Deborah Salomon

I spent August

14, 1945 in an uptown Greensboro movie theater. My mother took me on unbearable afternoons, just to cool off. The dark, icy theater felt divine. Sometimes we sat through the feature twice before emerging to a blast of heat. So why, this steamy afternoon, were people running through the streets? They shouted that Japan had surrendered. World War II was finally over.

Odd, that a little girl would best remember V-J Day for the air conditioning. As much as the cotton gin and tobacco plant, AC changed the South. Summer became bearable. Y’all come. But Willis Carrier’s invention changed more than economics. Residential AC brought people inside, changing social interaction. After supper, instead of neighbors gathering on porches to sip tea, slurp watermelon and discuss politics, families retreated to the frigid living room where a magical new Dumont or RCA black-andwhite screen mesmerized with variety shows, major league ball games and news broadcasts. Not everybody had one. The haves were expected to invite have-not neighbors to sit in a semi circle around the tiny screen, in a darkened room. The kid with a television was guaranteed best friends at Howdy Doody time. After houses sprouted window units creating an ambient hum, summer would never be the same. Where have all the fireflies gone? The cans we used to kick? The narrow-necked glass bottles we used to spin? Where are all the fans provided by funeral parlors picturing Jesus with his heart showing? This came to mind when I picked up a black cardboard fan with wooden handle distributed by Boles. The black-and-white illustration is a carriage (maybe a hearse) drawn by two horses. Underneath — lordy, lordy — the establishment’s website. And under that, the slogan “You have only one opportunity…” Which reminded me of the sizzling August day several years ago when I kept an appointment at Boles to exercise my once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The lady representativecoordinator-salesperson was pleasant, matter-of-fact, not at all funereal. But what I remember most about Boles was the air conditioning. Heavenly. Which transported me back to a great-aunt’s funeral in the early 1950s when establishments were beginning to install this necessity. I never wanted to leave that peaceful, cool place — even though I was wearing a starched dress and patent leather Mary Janes, both as obsolete as Jesus-withthe-chest-X-ray fans. Given my memories of movie theaters, cafeterias and department stores, I’d say that AC stimulated the economy, since people who came to cool off usually made a purchase, if only a movie ticket and popcorn. Advantages aside, sometimes I worry that AC has spoiled us. Could mall rats survive a swimming hole? Sit, dripping wet, in front of an oscillating fan? Would Tennessee Williams’ characters have behaved the same if not heat-crazed? Would Porgy and Bess glisten with sweat? Men might still be wearing wrinkled linen jackets and the women, a wispy cotton fabric called lawn. Before air conditioning the evening meal was often cold and eaten after sundown, on the porch — certainly not cooked on a gas grill bigger than a chicken coop. Sundown came an hour earlier, which suited the fireflies just fine. Still, AC has to be among man’s greatest inventions. Once luxury, now entitlement, it blurs the seasons, erases the lazy hazy crazy days of summer excuse crooned by Nat King Cole. August renders me fuzzy, unfocused. AC makes it bearable, although I’d sooner be cooled by a stiff breeze sweeping across Ocracoke or the rocky Maine shoreline. One thing air conditioning hasn’t erased: the desire to lean back in a white wicker rocker, look up at the porch ceiling and let your mind buzz in circles, like an iridescent green bottle fly, about some silly subject which hardly deserves the attention. PS Deborah Salomon is a staff writer for PineStraw and The Pilot. She may be reached at debsalomon@nc.rr.com.

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Blue Jay

The noisy, crested blue jay is among the most intelligent on the wing

By Susan Campbell

The blue jay is

Photograph By Debra regula

one of those species most of us instantly recognize: a common bird of woodland and backyard. But how well do we really know it? This medium-sized raucous bird can be found at feeders or flying around in the tree tops at any time of the year, but it hardly seems remarkable at first glance. It turns out that they are more complex and unique creatures than you might think.

Jays are closely related to crows, which are a highly evolved species. As a result, jays, too, exhibit a relatively advanced degree of intelligence. They have complex social systems. Blue jays remain together as a family for a relatively long period and also mate for life. These birds have dingy gray under parts and upper parts that are various shades of blue with gray and black markings as well as a blue crest. Not only do they communicate with their voices but also with body language. Changes in their crest are one of the most obvious ways they express themselves. Not surprisingly, it is raised when an individual is alarmed or is trying to be intimidating. The unique black lines, or brindle pattern, on individuals is no doubt recognized by conspecifics. Interestingly, the pigment found in jay feathers is produced by melanin, which is actually brown. It is the structures on the barbs of the bird’s feathers that cause light to reflect in the blue wavelength. In addition to their bright coloration, jays attract attention with their loud calls. They make a variety of squawks and screams from a perch usually high in the canopy. Furthermore, they are known to mimic other birds’ calls, especially hawks. Whether this is an alarm tactic or they are trying to fool other species is not clear. The great early ornithologist John Audubon interpreted this as a tactic that allowed blue jays to rob nests of smaller

birds, such as warblers and vireos, that were scattered by the hawk sounds. But modern studies of blue jay diets have not found that eggs or nestlings are common foods. In fact, in feeding trials, this species is often outcompeted by other jay species, woodpeckers and blackbirds. Another mystery is why, in some years, these birds migrate and some years they do not. Blue jays are particularly fond of acorns. So it may be that, in years when oaks here are not very prolific, jays move southward in search of their favorite food. They are very capable of gathering seeds in a specialized pouch in their throat and carrying them to nearby holes or crevices, where the birds will stash them. It is clear, however, that blue jays have very definite nesting duties. Males collect most of the materials: live twigs, grasses and rootlets. The females create the large cup, incubate and brood the young birds. All the while the male feeds her and then forages for the tiny nestlings. Once the young have developed a good layer of down, the female will join the search for food for the rapidly growing family. It is not unusual for young jays to wander away from the nest before actual fledging occurs. But the parents are not likely to feed the begging youngsters unless they return to the nest. It is during this period that people may “rescue” the wayward youngsters. Also reports of bald blue jays are not uncommon. Individuals may show up at a feeder or bird bath that have virtually no feathers on their heads: just dark skin. At first this was thought to be caused by feather mites that can be found on all birds to varying degrees. But now it seems there are simply individuals that lose all of their head feathers at once instead of in the normal, staggered fashion. It appears this is more likely in adolescents who are undergoing their very first molt So the next time you notice one of these noisy, crested blue birds, take a closer look. Blue jays are fascinating — and full of surprises! PS Susan would love to hear from you. Send wildlife sightings and photos to susan@ncaves.com or call (910)949-3207.

The SPorTing liFe

Summer of ’54 A slower time in a cottage by the sea

By tom Bryant

“TommyP Tommy. Tommy. TOMMY!”

“What?” “I have to go to the bathroom.” We were perched in my dad’s 1951 Chevrolet Deluxe like a bunch of nervous yearling bird dogs getting ready to hunt. My sister, Bonnie, age six, was the one with the immediate problem. She was leaning over the front seat with a real anxious look. Billie, my other sister, age eight, was on the other side looking out the driver’s rolled-down window toward the realtor/rental office, where my father and mother were. My brother, Guery, age four, was up in the ledge of the back window saying over and over again, “I want to go to the beach. I want to go to the beach. I WANT TO GO TO THE BEACH!” I, Tommy, age thirteen, was in the front seat trying to maintain some semblance of order with my younger siblings, while Daddy and Mother were inside dealing with the rental guy. It was August 1954, and we were at Ocean Drive Beach for our annual summer vacation. I was rapidly getting a major case of claustrophobia after riding for four hours in a car crammed full of antsy kids and enough summer beach gear to last a family of six for two weeks. I was pretty antsy myself. The beautiful blue, rolling Atlantic Ocean, in all her majesty, was just a couple of blocks away. I could even hear the big waves as they slowly crashed on white sand beckoning us, “Hurry, hurry, you’re missing it.” “Bonnie,” I said to my uncomfortable sister. “Mother will be out in a minute and she’ll take you inside to the bathroom. So calm down.” My brother was still on the back window ledge trying to drive me crazy, saying his beach mantra over and over again. Mother finally came out of the office and took care of Bonnie while Dad got some last minute rental information from the agent in charge. Then we were off to check out cottages. That’s the way it was done in the early fifties at South Carolina beaches. No need for reservations. When you got ready to go to the beach, you went. After you got there was the time to find a beach cottage. In those days, the little beach towns were sleepy crossroads waking up when summer came

and boarding up when the cold winds blew down from the North. It’s ironic when I think about it now; the tide that changed the way things operated was the winter wind whistling in more than cold weather. It also blew in frigid souls from places like Ohio and Pennsylvania and Canada. Once those folks found the beautiful, unspoiled stretches of white sand beaches and slow rolling blue waves, the little towns with the names Cherry Grove, Ocean Drive, Crescent Beach, Windy Hill and Myrtle Beach would never be the same. Dad and Mother always got the keys to three or four cottages; we would drive down the beach to see if they fit the family’s criteria. As far as Mother was concerned, the house had to pass muster with two major items: a big screened porch and plenty of windows facing the ocean. Oh, the house also had to be oceanfront, none of this sound side location stuff for her. Dad was only concerned with the cost and enough room to handle a relative or two who might visit during the week. And the cost? I can remember that a hundred dollars a week was at the top end of what my dad would pay. He tried to talk the rental guy down to seventy-five; or if he was real lucky and things had been slow for the agent, he might even get the cottage for fifty. Fifty dollars in those days was a lot of money. The time inspecting the cottages to choose just the right one was torture for four kids required to the stay in the vehicle. Our parents were smart enough to know that releasing all of us before the beach house was chosen could extend the effort a lot longer than their cursory inspection would take. Once out of the car, getting all of us back in would be like herding cats. Part of my duty was keeping order and controlling Guery, who was trying to make a break for it out an open back-door window. It didn’t usually take long for Mother to choose the cottage she wanted. After that, we would unload, and Dad would take the extra keys back to the rental agency. Then we would settle down to a wonderful two weeks’ stay. Unfortunately, Dad could only spend the night before having to return home for work. As superintendent for City Products, an ice plant designed to ice railroad produce and peach cars for trains moving north, July and August were his busiest months. Rarely could he be spared from the plant for more than a

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day or two at a time. He would try to get back to the beach as often as he could. Beach cottages at that time were simple affairs without air-conditioning. Built with hardwood floors, big porches and covered decks, wide windows and ceiling fans, laid-back comfort was as near as the closest rocking chair. On this summer vacation, I had the best of all worlds. The bedroom I shared with my little brother had a huge double window opening right onto the screened porch. I arranged a folding cot outside the window; during the night I would crawl through the opening, wrap up in a summer quilt and let the ebb and flow of the ocean waves rock me to sleep. My first year as a teenager was all I hoped it would be. This summer vacation trip to the beach was icing on the cake. After the first couple of days, the family settled into a routine. I would wake early and just lie on my cot soaking up all the wonderful sensations: sounds of sea gulls crying, accompanied by the crash of the slow rolling tidal change; pelicans, on the way to favorite feeding grounds, soaring over the house using the updraft of warm, ocean breezes; and probably the best morning awakening call of all was the rich smell of frying bacon and eggs as Mother, busy in the kitchen, prepared for another day. As it happened that summer, the family was able to stay at the beach for an entire month. A favorite aunt of Mother’s visited and liked the place so much that she rented the cottage for the additional two weeks. The only caveat was that we stay with her during those final days of August. The summer of ’54 was one that I’ll always remember. Like most of that decade, it seemed to be a peaceful, gentle time. Looking back, it was as if the country was taking a break, resting after World War II and the Korean War and, maybe without knowing it, gearing up for the tumultuous times ahead. On the trip home after that wonderful time at the beach, my sisters and brother slept soundly in the back seat of the car. I sat on the front bench seat between Mother and Dad. School was to start in a few days, and I had a lot on my mind. “Did you have a good vacation?” Dad asked as we motored down the highway between fields of tobacco. “ Yes, sir,” I replied. He chuckled and said, “I’m glad you had fun.” My 95-year-old mother often says there is a season for all things. That summer season, my first as a budding teenager, was one of the best. PS Tom Bryant, a Southern Pines resident, is a lifelong outdoorsman and PineStraw’s Sporting Life columnist.

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We’ve Got Next

A historic U.S. Open — two, in fact — come home to the home of American golf. What a difference nine years makes

By Lee Pace

Just minutes after 7:30 p.m. the evening

of June 16, Justin Rose made par on the final hole at Merion, Phil Mickelson failed to make a birdie to tie, and the sterling silver, dual-handled U.S. Open trophy was officially the property of the slender and talented Brit. Ninety minutes later, in Pinehurst, Jack Bickart stood in front of a dinner group at the Carolina Hotel, the baton now passed from Merion to Pinehurst.

“I think we were all pulling for Phil,” said Bickart, vice president of sales at Pinehurst Resort. “But the fact that he finished second for the sixth time in the Open will make him that much hungrier next year. He’s played well at Pinehurst. It adds another great storyline to what should be a fascinating year and another great Open.” As they say on the playgrounds and pool halls, “We’ve got next.” With the image of Merion and the 2013 Open fresh in our minds, it’s worth looking ahead a year to June 2014 and Pinehurst’s next date with the global golf calendar. Here are a handful of interesting elements you’ll see next year, each one a contrast from the presentation of the 1999 and 2005 Opens at Pinehurst No. 2: • Not one event, but two. That’s a monstrous difference. For the first time in history, the men’s and women’s Opens will be held back-to-back in the same venue, the idea hatched in 2009 by David Fay, then the USGA’s executive director. Pinehurst had been set since 2007 for the men’s Open in 2014; Fay was working on Plan B for the women because a club originally planned for that year had backed out. “I thought if you could structure it right, a men’s and women’s Open doubleheader on the same course would be a good thing,” Fay remembers. “It had never

been done before. And Pinehurst was the place to do it.” Now Pinehurst will become the only facility on the planet to have hosted the U.S. Open for men and women; the U.S. Amateur for men and women; the U.S. Senior Open; the PGA Championship; and the Ryder Cup Matches. • No rough. The No. 2 course has been shorn of all its Bermuda grass rough during the 2010-11 restoration supervised by the design tandem of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. Competitors will find tightly mowed and painstakingly manicured tees, fairways and greens. Beyond that, the natural Sandhills venue of hardpan sand, wire grass, pine needles and whatever plants have “volunteered” for the summer months will line the fairways. This will be the first Open setup diversion from the strict template of narrow fairways and tenacious rough established in the early 1950s by USGA Executive Director Joe Dey and a key USGA volunteer official, ironically, Pinehurst’s own Richard Tufts. Crenshaw looked one day in 2010 at a patch of the kind of barren ground that was found in profusion in the Sandhills before the advent of water and chemicalinduced maintenance practices. “It’s potluck if your ball runs into this stuff,” he says. “But you can find it and get your club on it and keep playing the game. Tournament golf has gotten to be 99.9 percent ‘pound it out of heavy rough.’ To me, it’s very boring. I’ve gotten sick of it. There’s got to be something different from that. Yet that’s the mainstay of defenses put on courses. It’s anything but interesting. “I sense that other players feel that way also. And I think Mike Davis and the USGA recognize that. I think Mike has the idea that maybe, just maybe, you can have a U.S. Open that’s just a little bit different.” • Firmer greens. The convex putting surfaces on No. 2 were re-sodded in late 2010 with Penn G-2 bent as part of the restoration, and some two inches of thatch was removed in the process, a move that has softened the undulations by a whisker. They’ll putt at much the same speeds as they did for the previous two Opens — from 11.5 to 12.5 on the Stimpmeter. But the USGA wants them firmer by a measure of 15 to 20 percent, the calculations possible by way of a sophisticated device designed by USGA staff engineer Matt Pringle that measures the bounce and receptivity of a putting surface.

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The slopes on No. 2’s greens prevent the USGA and Pinehurst’s maintenance staff from grooming them to roll faster, or else putts will roll off the canted edges. But they can play firmer, requiring players to spin the ball harder from the fairway and plan their landing spots with more precision than before. For the Women’s Open in week two, the USGA will soften the greens up just a hair. “We want a 6-iron if it’s struck well from the fairway to bounce, bounce and stop,” says Davis. “The women can’t spin the ball as much, so the ball won’t stop as quickly if the firmness is exactly the same.” • The four-five flip. The No. 2 course that pros played in the 1936 PGA Championship included back-to-back par-5s at four and five. The eighth hole at the time was a long par-4 The pars on five and eight were switched prior to the 1951 Ryder Cup Matches, and since then five has been one of the toughest par-4s in golf and eight a short par-5 (though played as a par-4 in the first two Opens). Davis believes the relatively flat green on four is better suited to receiving long approaches and the treacherous fifth green is a better fit serving as a target for shorter approaches as a par-5. He also likes the angles better of playing four as a shorter hole with its original right-to-left dogleg. Thus the switch for 2014, with four playing as a par-4 and five as a par-5 from a new tee that lengthens the hole to as long as 575 yards. • Nearly 200 more yards. New or extended tees on two, five, six, eight, 11, 12, 16 and 17 can stretch the course to 7,485 yards. The footprint of No. 2 is quite landlocked with roads, private property and adjoining golf courses, so Davis’ options were limited in finding additional yards to combat the white-hot balls and clubs wielded by elite golfers in masterful physical shape. But working in concert with Coore & Crenshaw, Davis, for example, carved out a nook in the woods to the right of the first green for a new tee on the par4 second hole, stretching it to 503 yards, and found a patch in the trees behind the existing 17th tee to add eighteen yards. “Bill, are you opposed to a little more length?” Davis asked one day, surveying the teeing ground on 17. “It’s not a 4- and a5-iron shot like it used to be. Now it’s a 7-iron.” Coore said he had no problem with a new tee for the professionals but quickly added, “I can’t relate to it. A 5-iron 215 yards? I’m not opposed to it. I just can’t comprehend it.” • Two new hole locations. The architects added some space on the right side of the 15th green, closer to the bunker on that side, and on the front of the 17th green to allow Davis additional cupping areas. “On 15, you pretty much had to keep the hole near the center of the green,” Davis says. “You changed it four times and didn’t feel like you’d changed it at all. Now we have some room on the right. On 17, that little tongue at the front was too

August 2013P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

g o l F T oW n J o u r nA l

narrow and too sloped to put a hole there. Bill did some beautiful work, expanding that area. That will be a neat hole location in 2014.” • Fewer trees behind the 15th green. Taking down trees can be a dicey proposition anywhere, particularly on a golf course where they are often given exalted status by the rank-and-file — no matter that trees are bad for grass health, they restrict air flow, and they tend to distribute leaves and other debris into places that architects like Donald Ross never intended. Prior to the 1994 U.S. Senior Open, USGA and Pinehurst officials removed a row of trees behind the third green, opening up the view and providing an “infinity look”— a fall-off behind the green that appears from the fairway to run to infinity. They also cleared out some trees behind the 12th and 16th greens. “The tree-trimming is terrific,” Jay Sigel said at the time. “I wasn’t here 50 years ago, but I imagine this is what it was like.” The same process was done over the spring of 2013 on 15 — making the appearance of the stark “upside-down wok” of a green stand out even more. • A new view up the 18th fairway. Bell bottoms, wide lapels, platform shoes and geometric, low-slung buildings were staples of the early 1970s, and the Member’s Clubhouse at Pinehurst was forever a reminder of those days. Designed and built by the owners at the time, the Diamondhead Corp., the new wing of the existing clubhouse stood behind the first tee and 18th green of No. 2 in stark contrast to the classic appearance of the south façade. This year Pinehurst owner Bob Dedman Jr. has spent $3.7 million to renovate and update the interior and rebuild the outer façade to blend more harmoniously with the columns and arches on the south, the very ones looming in the old black and white photos behind golf greats like Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Billy Joe Patton as they collected their victory checks or trophies following Pinehurst competitions in the mid 20th century. “You’ve never seen a really good photo of the 18th hole from the fairway because the Member’s Club in the background didn’t fit,” Pinehurst President and COO Don Padgett II says. “This is going to have an iconic look, it’s going to look like it should have 50 years ago. It will be spectacular — for our members any day of the week and for spectators and TV viewers the weeks of the U.S. Open.” By early July the new facility was only partially open, but the exterior view was markedly improved. It thankfully will provide a distinguished and timeless backdrop for the next chapter in Pinehurst’s history to unfold in less than a year. PS

Proudly the only restaurant in town serving Certified Angus Prime Beef “You can taste the difference” -Vince, owner & butcher

Early Bird Daily call for details

SUNDAY BRUNCH 10:30am - 2pm

located in the Village of Pinehurst lunch: Mon - Sat 11 - 3pm icecream and coffee til 8pm

2176 Midland Rd - ironwoodpinehurst.com - 910-255-0000

Lee Pace’s book, The Golden Age of Pinehurst — The Story of the Rebirth of No. 2, is available online and on-site at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club.

• Domaine Vincent Stoeffler • Drylands • Duval Leroy • Edgebaston • Estancia • Falcor Winery • Famille Amirault-Grobois • Ferard-Brunal • Franciscan • Gilles Robin • Grey Stack • Groot Contantia • • Swallow Cellars • Tait • Tasca d’Almerita • Tenuta la Badiola Winery • Tenuta Polvaro • TGIC Importers • Trapiche • Trentadue • Vina Alicia • Water Wheel • Weingut Loimer • Wild Horse • Windisch • Winebow •

Enjoy an entire day of events and seminars, overnight accommodations and breakfast for $285* or choose which individual events you’d like to attend. For more information, visit PinehurstWinefest.com. Individual event tickets on sale August 1 at ShopPinehurst.com.

Ca Furlan • Candoni • Cantine Baroncini • Carletto • Casarena • Castello di Monseran • Château de Villeneuve • Château Gabaron • Clos Troteligotte • Conn Creek Winery • Constellation Brands • • Monchiero Carbone • Moncontour • Montes • Napa Angel • Nobilo • North Star Winery • Nugan • Olive Hill • Pascual Toso • Petra Winery • Reyneke Organic • Rio Perdida • Robert Mondavi •

Achaval Ferrer • Allegrini • Antinori Estate • Arel Wine Group • Argiolas • Barlow • Biltmore Estate • Bleasdale • Bodega Norton • Bouqueteau Chinon • Haras de Pirque • Hogue • Inniskillin • Kaiken • Kim Crawford • Lion’s Lair • Maison Albert Bichot • Marquis di Grignon • Mastroberardino • Michel Gay

Contadi Castaldi • Croze • Domaine Daumas Gassac • Domaine de Louvetrie • Domaine Galevan • Domaine Gerard Fiou • Domaine Laurent Miquel Robertson’s Winery • Ross Estate • Ruffino • Sherwood • Smith-Wooten • St. Rose • Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars • Star Angel • Ste Michelle Wine Estates Village of Pinehurst, NC • 910.235.8415 • www.PinehurstWinefest.com * Plus tax and service charge.

August 2013

Night Sea Last night I ventured to the sea When shattered by a shocking dream, Sleep no longer soothed. Strange, I saw the sea was sleeping, Almost still, as though at rest Between the tide of day, the tide of night. The water did not lap or crash or pull Against the hardened sand. The water rests as I could not. Beside the water children danced Their wings of silver shimmered In the waning moon A cipher in the blackened sky. Their lips formed words of distant, soundless songs Remembered well, From sun-drenched days on sun-bleached sand. With tousled sun-streaked hair. I watched, transfixed. The children danced until the blush of dawn Awoke the sea, no longer calm, Now rustling into day. Their wings slipped off and sailed a tiny boat Straight out until it reached the line Where sea meets sky And life meets dream. And angel children wait, again to play.

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Deborah Salomon

Cool Dudes, Hot Wheels It’s a great view from the Porsche. Or even a vintage ’Vette By DeBorah Salomon • Photographs by John Gessner

August 2013 P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

or the first few minutes, the ten men and nine women look like any other well-heeled, golf-tanned group meeting for coffee at an elegant Pinewild home. Then the banter starts, revealing the little boy residing deep in the souls of high-octane former CEOs. They are the few. They are the proud. They are the owners of Corvettes and/or Porsches which caravan through back roads — never highways — seeking adventure. Or maybe just a finger-lickin’ seafood lunch at Holden Beach. “We’re not about speed,” Dave Denny says. “We’re seeing the North Carolina nobody bothers to look at.” Vroom … Roll call, please: Judi and Steve Leggett, Corvette C6 Judy and Chuck Mills, Porsche Boxster Barbara and Bill Ainsley, Porsche Cayman Terri and David Birkhauser, Corvette Grand Sport Barbara and Marty Barrett, his-and-her GT3 and 999 Porsches Shelly and Dave Denny, Corvette C6 Kay and Bob Cormier, Corvette Grand Sport Joan and Don Power, Corvette C5 Rita and Walt Danker, Corvette Grand Sport Lone Ranger Lutheran minister Larry Wolff, Porsche 911S No one, so far, has presented with the reborn and much-coveted Stingray. Otherwise, BMWs, Mercedes or lesser brands not permitted. In fact, Bob Cormier traded his Miata for a Corvette to join the group. “We just wave at Mustang people,” Larry Wolff says. “It’s the same as a needlepoint group,” Barbara Barrett says. “Knitters aren’t invited.” But wives (most retired professionals themselves) are. Some even drive the beasts. “It’s something couples can do together,” Terri Birkhauser reasons. Exclusive? Expensive? Efficacious? Exactly. “They worked so hard, gave up so much family time, this is their reward,” Kay Cormier reasons. “I’ve never seen these guys smile like they do when they’re on a ride. It brings out joy…like all’s right with the world. “Yeah, most of us don’t smile much playing golf,” Walk Danker grins, wickedly. The group was drawn together in 2009, like nails to a magnet. Walt Danker, Don Power and Marty Barrett connected — where else? — on the golf course. Afterward, the motor mavens reconvened in Don’s “ESPN Room.” Conversation drifted to cars. “Marty said, ‘Let’s go for a ride,’” Don recalls. Each hopped into his bucket seat for a spin to Carthage. The bond was sealed. Word spread to other Corvette/Porsche owners living in Pinewild.

Hit the road, Jack!

From inception, these road warriors courted the journey, the pride of having 400 horses pull your buggy — not the obvious glamour of brightly colored sports cars tooling down a rural byway. Meticulously planned trips always have a destination. Their first — and most modest: Chapel Hill, for lunch. “It took all day to get

And they’re off!

Logistics play a huge part in the journey. Safety first, supervised by “technical director” Marty Barrett, the chief driving instructor at Turn One Motor Sports race track in South Carolina, who also raced with Porsche Club of America. Serendipitously, Bill Ainsley owns an engine repair shop. Drivers keep tires and

the 350-425 h.p. motors tip-top. “The guys lay out the itinerary,” Rita Danker says, at a planning meeting where beer is permitted, but never between destinations. Planners use an N.C. back roads atlas and apps. Restaurants are scouted and upscale B&Bs booked in advance. Recently, nine cars caravanned to Appomattox Court House National Park — and stayed at the famous Boar’s Head Inn. Each caravan has a leader, often Marty Barrett or Walt Danker, and a chase car. If more than eight cars participate, Marty breaks them into two groups. Cars keep a 50-60 foot distance and keep to speed limits on the winding roads. Drivers and passenger-navigators communicate, en route, by walkie-talkie supplemented by cell or text. When nature calls one roadie, everybody stops. At gas stations the flashy cars draw a crowd. “You see so many poor people in these towns,” Don Power says. “They smile and wave. A man almost fell off his lawn mower watching us go by.” Marty cannot recall a breakdown, flat or citation. However, an off-duty detective apprehended Larry Wolff trying to catch up with the group, at 80 mph. Larry shakes his head. “The shame, the embarrassment when I saw those flashing blue lights on a Chevy Volt.” The dazzled detective admired the cars, scolded Wolff and retreated.

PHOTOGRAPHS AT THE BOTTOM BY CASSIE BUTLER TIMPY

there,” Barbara Barrett remembers. Then, the unthinkable. The gals spotted a shoe store. Cardinal rule: Guys do not brake for antique shops or any other retail outlet, Krispy Kreme excluded. Only when the women steered their husbands to an ice cream parlor did they achieve a few minutes of power shopping. Since then, they have caravanned to Boone, Charlottesville, Monticello, Albemarle Sound, Amelia Island, Edenton. They have climbed lighthouses and visited battlefields, cemeteries and train museums. They have survived the happiest Happy Hours this side of the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. At 7 a.m. on departure mornings the group convenes at the Power home for Willie Nelson’s On the Road Again. Most wear appropriately emblazoned T-shirts and hats but, weather permitting, the cars go topless.

Boyz under the hood

These sports cars (cost: up to $75,000) represent way more than the stereotypical midlife crisis. Steve Leggett, for example, remembers seeing a gorgeous red Corvette convertible outside his school window. “Someday I’m gonna have that,” he vowed. Nearly half a century later, the retired executive achieved his dream. Dave Birkhauser, on the other hand, owned a Corvette in college. “Then I met this beautiful woman,” he says, gesturing to wife, Terri, an artist. Money was a problem: “I turned in the Corvette for food, a ’57 Chevy and my wife” — a wise decision, he admits. “But I always wanted another one.” The burning question remains, is a silver-haired granddaddy sexier in a sports car? “Yes!” Joan Power exclaims. “I’m just glad to see four wheels under him,” Judy Mills says of husband, Chuck, who totaled a motorcycle. “You’re too old for that. Buy a Porsche.” So he did. This cuts both ways. On one jaunt, the guys parked their rides outside a greasy spoon and went in for lunch. Before you could say double-barreled carburetor, two chicks walked into the restaurant. The glanced around, bewildered. “This wasn’t what they were expecting — more like hunky dudes,” Rita Danker says. Within the group, tight friendships have formed. “It’s not just cars; we like each other,” Rita continues. Members close ranks during tough times. They socialize at home, not just on the road. They volunteer together. But what must their children (and grandchildren) think when Granny swaps her rocking chair for white leather seats and her straw bonnet for a racing cap? The consensus: “We want to be like you, at that age.” Barbara Barrett: “Who says we’re old, anyway?” In fact, only after successful careers, only after children have been launched, only with reasonable health could this be possible. To them, 66 means the famous route from Chicago to Santa Monica driven by the Dankers, in their Corvette — not a year into Medicare. Walt Danker: “The sun glistening on the heather … makes you feel alive, rejuvenated.” Barbara Ainsley: “I smell the peach trees in blossom.” Rita Danker: “You come around a curve, look in the rear view mirror and see these ten cars behind you ….. ahh.” What a sight, that caterpillar of colorful sport models winding its way through the tobacco fields and villages and barbecue shacks of the Great American Southeast. Honk when you see them. Honk twice if you’re jealous. PS

August 2013P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

The Circle of Life The future of farming takes a watery root in the Sandhills By K aren mIreaU • PhotograPhS By John geSSner

Eco-Unusual

It looks like an ordinary greenhouse. As Don Gray opens the door to his operation, row-uponrow of robust seedlings stretch from one end of the airy structure to the other. But the unexpected burble of highly oxygenated water quickly makes it evident that something different — something very different — is happening. Here at Life’s Circle Farm in Raeford that Don propagates Aquagreens — an eye-popping array of “micro-greens” that are harvested as very young, tender leaves and may pack four to six times more vitamins and minerals than their mature counterparts. Just one nibble of these crisp, intensely flavored vegetables tells you that they are something special. From red giant mustard to mizuna to komatsuna and four kinds of bok choy, unusual varieties are Don’s mainstay crops. Unusual, yes. But then, Don Gray is not your typical farmer. Far from it. In fact, he shuns that term, or any ready category for what he does, although in many senses he is really a pioneer. He is one of a small number of world-wide practitioners of aquaponics, a sustainable organic food production system that provides fresh, nutrient-rich food without the use of pesticides, antibiotics or petroleumbased fertilizers.

Eco-Future

First practiced by the Chinese in 220 A.D., and also widely used by the Aztecs, the symbiotic techniques of aquaponics are experiencing a serious worldwide revival. By combining aquaculture (the farming of fresh-water fish) with hydroponics (or soilless agriculture) in a controlled, recirculating system, aquaponics merges the best of these two worlds. From the Bronx to Bangladesh to Barbados, aquaponics is considered the most efficient,

ecologically sustainable solution to world hunger, particularly in countries where resources are severely limited. The aquaponics techniques practiced at Life’s Circle Farm are a very progressive step forward in the science of controlled organic food production. Don is one of the visionaries who are helping make that happen. “It’s the future of farming,” Don emphasizes. “With aquaponics, we may literally be able to feed the world with higher-quality food, using less resources and with much less stress on the environment. It is a completely ecological selfsustaining system.”

Eco-Awareness

A born environmentalist and an educator at heart, Don grew up in England with a grandfather who taught him to forage for mushrooms, whelks and mussels, and as you might expect, wild greens. This fueled a keen life-long connection to nature that has led to projects with the Roanoke River Partners, The Nature Conservancy and other environmental groups. Thanks to his mother, who was a “foodie” before the term existed, Don also happens to be an accomplished cook who loves to experiment with fresh ingredients. “I want people to realize that there are a lot of foods that are good for us that we just may not yet be accustomed to. You just have to taste the freshness and richness of these greens to come to love them.” Local, trend-setting chefs are equally enthusiastic about having a reliable, year-round source of farmto-table produce that adds spice and crunch to their favorite recipes. They find having Don’s trademarked Aquagreens on the menu to be an ecologically and economically sound choice, eliminating the “miles-to-table” costs of packaging, transportation and storage.

Marianne and Warren Lewis, co-owners of Chef Warren’s, who are committed to sustainable and permaculture practices, are happy because Don provides varieties that they don’t have space for on their own farm. “It’s fun to introduce our guests to new sensations,” Marianne says. “Everything Don brings us is pretty to look at and tantalizing to the taste. They pair beautifully with our menu, especially with the fish we prepare.” “Don’s greens are beautiful and full of flavor, so they don’t need a lot of work to taste fantastic,” Chef Warren adds. “And we’re very much about community here — we love it that we can locally source what we serve.” Matthew Hannon, chef at Ashten’s in Southern Pines, also follows this philosophy. “We offer what we call ‘global cuisine with a Southern perspective’ and so we like to go directly to the farmer and bring that story to the table. Don’s Aquagreens, with tasty varieties from all over the world, fit right into that concept,” Matt says. “We also love that Don’s produce is all natural and hasn’t been exposed to herbicides, pesticides or chemicals of any kind. You can see it, you can feel it, and I think people can definitely taste it. They’re picked (and served) that day — you can’t get any fresher or better than that!”

Eco-Operation

Life’s Circle Farm (formerly Bent Pine Farm) is relatively new. The land was cleared only three years ago, with the greenhouse going up a year later and the first raft plantings put in just last fall. But since then, they have been harvesting up to 500 heads of micro-greens, seven days a week. Don serves as spokesperson as well as managing the day-to-day operation with the help of his nephew, Hunter Brown. “The whole thing is amazing,” says Brown. “There’s a big difference between what we grow here and what you can find in any store. From planting the seeds to harvesting the plants, it’s all done with attention and care, and it makes you really appreciate good food.”

Greens Grown At Life’s Circle Farm Leaf Lettuces: Over 20 varieties

Romaine Lettuces: Red Romaine, Green Romaine Asian Greens: Bok Choy: Black Summer, Vitamin Green, Red Choy and White Stemmed varieties Giant Red Mustard, Komatsuna, Mibuna Mizuma, Tatsoi Herbs: Basil, Mint Other Greens: Pea Shoots, Sunflower Shoots, Swiss Chard, Watercress

August 2013P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Eco-System

Beginning at the propagating tables, Don describes how it all works. The greenhouse contains four 80’ x 8’ x 1’ tall shallow tanks, lined with the same material used for swimming pools. With a flip of a few switches, nutrient-rich water begins flowing underneath the propagation table where seedlings are being started. This prevents the leaves from getting wet and prevents disease. The roots of the seedlings are then washed and placed gently into cones. These are placed in pre-cut holes in one of 20 floating movable polystyrene rafts that fit into the four tanks. Each raft section holds 128 plants. The youngest plants are placed at the beginning of the system, where they can take advantage of the first rush of water and nutrients. This water is highly oxygenated via the use of 80 “airstones” like those used in aquariums. These break the air into very small bubbles so that it can be more easily- assimilated by the roots. Don lifts a corner of one of the rafts to expose a dense tangle of thick, healthy root systems. As the plants mature, the individual rafts are moved down the tanks to make room for the new transplants. It takes only 20 days for a raft to travel from one end to the other of a tank and for the plants to mature — a greatly accelerated schedule from traditional agriculture — so right there we have the advantage of producing more food in less time. By the time the nutrient water has traveled to the end of the table, the nutrients have been absorbed and filtered by the roots of the plants. It is then pumped into a holding tank and then to tanks in a separate building where fish are being raised to provide the nutrients for the plants.

Oxygen Bacteria Grow Bed

Water

Fish Tank

Eco-Aquatics

This second building is where a little bit of symbiotic magic takes place. There, six 1,500-gallon, seven-foot-deep plastic tanks are stocked with thriving fish. Don and his partner raise tilapia, although virtually any freshwater fish (such as trout, catfish, bass and perch) are viable alternatives. “We chose tilapia because the fingerlings need less room and utilize the entire water column as well as a slightly warmer water temperature than other fish,” Don says. Don explains that the fish are an integral part of the system: The waste from the fish gravitates to the bottom and is siphoned out to 900-gallon tanks where it is settled out. Natural nitrifying bacteria are growing on netting (which increases the surface area) on the sides of the tanks. The bacteria break down the fish waste. From there the water flows into 350-gallon tanks, where we adjust the Ph. factor. It is then pumped back into the greenhouses, completing the cycle. In total, the entire system uses approximately 30,000 gallons of water, with 60 percent of this used in the plant tanks. Because it is a closed-loop system, aquaponics uses only 1/10 of the fresh water consumed in conventional fish farming or in traditional farming methods. The benefits don’t stop there. Almost anything can be grown this way, including herbs. It’s a completely natural process. The need for synthetic fertilizers is eliminated because the wastewater from the fish becomes the organic fertilizer for the plants. As the plants serve to purify the water,

Get To Know Your Asian Greens

Asian greens are very versatile and highly nutritious vegetables that are packed with vitamins and minerals. Most can be eaten raw, steamed, used in soups, stir fried or pickled. Bok Choy (Brassica rapa, subspecies pekinensis and chinensis): There are many varieties of Bok Choy, also known as Chinese Cabbage. All share a sweet and slightly crunchy texture that lend themselves well to stir fries and the addition to soups. Giant Red Mustard (Brassica juncea): The maroon and deep green leaves of Giant Red Mustard are both very pretty and tasty. The peppery leaves are very tender and the stems carry a nice crunch. Use like spinach or chard.

Komatsuna (Brassica rapa perviridis): Also called ‘spinach mustard.’ Komatsuna’s tender deep green leaves are indeed a good substitute for spinach in any dish. Komatsuna is also an excellent source of calcium. Mibuna (Brassica rapa japonica): Mibuna has slender, pencil-thin, spear-shaped leaves that have a mild sweet mustard-like flavor and are excellent steamed or in salads. Mizuna (Brassica rapa nipposinica): Also known as ‘water lettuce’, Mizuma’s glossy, serrated, dark-green leaves make it attractive on the plate. With its slightly peppery flavor, it resembles and can be used like arugula. Tatsoi (Brassica narinosa or Brassica rapa var. rosularis) Tatsoi’s dark green spoon-shaped leaves have a soft creamy texture and taste somewhat milder than mustard greens.

August 2013 P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

which is used again and again, the result is both ultra-healthy plants and edible fish, and an environment where no pesticides or antibiotics are needed. This does require 24-hour recirculation, as well as a cooling system for summer and heating in winter to maintain an optimum 72-degree temperature in the water. But it is very energy-efficient overall, and any energy consumption is a small price to pay for this exceptionally good, clean, organic food.

Eco-Community

The recycling continues outside the greenhouse. Just up the hill is a conventional garden of tomatoes, peppers, okra and other vegetables (although these, too, could easily be grown in the greenhouse). The rows are made of rich compost placed directly on the ground. Water from the settled fish solids is drained out into a separate tank and used to water these plants. Any overgrown greens culled from the greenhouse go directly into compost piles. The compost piles are supplemented with recycled waste from local businesses such as The Java Bean (120 lbs. per week), The Railhouse Brewery (2,000 lbs. per week) and Nature’s Own juice bar (300-400 lbs. per week), providing a recycling service to the community as well as adding bulk to the piles. Some of the waste from Nature’s Own goes into 18-gallon bins where red wriggler worms are grown. These are returned to the compost piles to aid in breaking down the plant matter. Some of the leftover greens feed the resident pet Silver Spangled Hamburgs, Bantams and Key West chickens on the farm, that also routinely provide a bonus of fresh eggs. “You can see that this creates a wonderful synergy not only within the farm, but with the environment, local businesses, restaurants and all of us who want the most healthy, nutritious food for our families that we can get,” says Don.

Eco-Education

Life’s Circle Farm is modeled, in part, on the urban farm begun by NBA basketball player Will Allen, who began an aquaponics experiment in Milwaukee as a program for at-risk kids. After a week working with Allen in his greenhouses, Don gravitated to Montello, Wisconsin, where he studied the techniques of aquaponics pioneers Rebecca Nelson and John Pade. Their 5000-square foot facility has become a mecca for those wanting to learn advanced aquaponics. “Like my mentors, I want to create community and take what I’ve learned and pass it along to others,” Don stresses. Plans for the future include evolving it into a teaching farm, building a dining pavilion for gourmet Sunday suppers and selling the fresh tilapia at local markets. In addition to restaurants, Don currently provides freshly picked greens for special events and parties as well as to select markets in the area. He gives tours to groups of school children, culinary classes or to anyone interested in exploring this fascinating alternative form of farming.

Recipes Chef Warren’s Zesty Greens From: Chef Warren’s—A Southern Pines Bistro 2 cups mixed Aquagreens™, leaves and stems Extra virgin olive oil 1 Tablespoon minced fresh garlic 1/2 Teaspoon lemon zest Kosher salt to taste Heat a wok or large frying pan to sizzling hot. Add a few drops of olive oil, chopped garlic and lemon zest. Add greens, sprinkle with a bit of kosher salt and stir fry for 20 seconds. Serves 2. Delish! Giant Red Mustard Pesto From: Ashten’s Restaurant and Pub 5-6 Giant Red Mustard leaves 2 Tablespoons minced ginger 2 Tablespoons minced garlic 2 limes, juiced 1/4 cup pine nuts 1/2-3/4 cup olive oil In food processor blend Giant Red Mustard leaves, garlic, ginger and pine nuts until it starts to form a paste. Slowly add olive oil and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. Enjoy. Great over white fish, tuna, or chicken. Serves 5.

Eco-Invitation

As the world population grows from 6.8 billion today to over 9 billion in the next 30 years, sustainable agriculture very well may become a necessity, rather than a novelty. “I want to become a center for local sourcing and educating others about the environment,” Don reflects. Food, community, and stewardship of the land are all things I am passionate about. It’s what really makes me happy.” Everyone is welcome to visit Life’s Circle Farm. To schedule a tasting tour or learning visit, call (910) 624-0347. PS Karen Mireau Smith is founder of Azalea Art Press, which publishes memoirs, poetry, fiction, literary nonfiction and imaginative children’s titles. She has a special interest in writing about art, design, community and the connection between good health and good food.

Where To Find Aquagreens™ On The Menu Ashten’s Restaurant and Pub 140 E. New Hampshire Avenue, Southern Pines (910) 246-3510 / www.ashtens.com Chef Warren’s—A Southern Pines Bistro 215 NE Broad Street, Southern Pines (910) 692-5240 / www.chefwarrens.com Rhett’s Restaurant, Personal Chef and Catering 132 W. Pennsylvania Avenue, Southern Pines (910) 695-3663 / www.rhettsinc.com Rue 32, 290 W. Pennsylvania Avenue, Southern Pines (910) 725-1910 / www.ruethirtytwo.com Wolcott’s Restaurant, 160 W Pennsylvania Ave, Southern Pines (910) 695-1551 / www.wolcottsrestaurant.com

August 2013P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Laurel Holden is a Southern Pines native who recently returned from the wilds of Vermont where she received her M.F.A. at The Center for Cartoon Studies.

Story of a house

Aymar Embury Slept Here History speaks at the Weymouth Cottage home of Hope and Michael Price By Deborah Salomon • Photographs by John Gessner

his shoemaker had no intention of going barefoot. Aymar Embury II was barely 30 when he was commissioned by the Boyd family, around 1910, to design the Highland Pines Inn. The Princeton graduate in civil engineering (and budding society architect) was already an item in the Hamptons. Chances are his crystal ball predicted newly fashionable Southern Pines would draw a similar crowd. So, along with the inn and outbuildings, Embury built himself a pied-a-terre in the pine forest where, eventually, he would design twenty-eight residences and public buildings. Smart move. Home ownership gave Embury a presence which survives today — perhaps more so locally than for designing New York’s Triborough Bridge, the Long Island campus of Hofstra University and scores of New York City landmarks. Lucky move for Hope and Michael Price, who practically fell into this historic residence. From what is known, Embury’s cottage was more utilitarian than showplace — two bedrooms, a living room, small dining room, kitchen, porches and office space. A servant or two may have lived in the full basement. However, with each successive owner, the cottage-office on two acres of prime Weymouth real estate grew, for better or for worse, in every direction. Embury, married four times (once to the landscape designer of East Hampton’s Grey Gardens estate, again to the descendant of a Colonial governor), would appreciate Hope

August 2013 P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Emburyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s living room foyer became a part-time dining room filled with family mementos. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . August 2013

August 2013 P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Collections everywhere — decanters, boxes, miniature soldiers.

and Michael’s illustrious lineage. Michael’s great-great-great-great grandfather James Birney ran for president twice, while another forebear was instrumental in founding the Kentucky Derby. Hope did some digging: “(Embury) eventually sold the cottage to Highland Pines Inn; the chefs lived here.” She also learned of a “wealthy single woman” owner who sent the chauffeur into town to fetch meat for her cats. A Rev. Garber occupied the house — more recently the Dalrymple family and the Morrissettes. “I feel a spiritual connection because my great-grandfather (a Carthage lawyer) worked with Tufts to incorporate Pinehurst,” says Ran Morrissette who lived with his young family in the cottage from 2000 to 2005. By then, towering trees choked the acreage. “The neighbors didn’t like it when we took down 40 or 50.” Yet the low cottage with butter-yellow clapboards and indented porch remained hidden behind foliage and gates, its provenance unknown to many. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . August 2013

The living room has several seating areas, one with an antique backgammon table and cock-fighting spectator chair (below).

The hunt commenced for a house with enough room for heirloom furnishings and art while accommodating grandchildren . . . 64

August 2013 P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

he Prices’ move to Moore County follows a familiar pattern. They lived in Georgetown, later exclusive Westmoreland Hills, and were deeply rooted in upper-echelon Washington, D.C. Hope’s stepfather served as director of overseas operations for the CIA; she was educated in Switzerland. Michael’s father manufactured Spaulding sports equipment. His stepmother sold her Georgetown row house to Jackie Kennedy following the assassination. Michael represented advocacy groups to Congress (i.e., lobbyist). Now semi-retired, he telecommutes from a small office off the master bedroom, perhaps Embury’s think tank. “And I served on every volunteer committee in Washington, including the Smithsonian,” adds Hope, now administrator at Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities. Links keep appearing. Hope’s mother and stepfather met in Southern Pines. Michael once dated the Carolina Hotel manager. But their vacation choice was usually Martha’s Vineyard or Maine, where Michael met Bob Tufts. Then, the possibility that their son-in-law, a physician, would be stationed

at Fort Bragg, led them here. Good-bye D.C. Hello Sunrise Theater, Chef Warren’s and neighbors who brought strawberries and cookies. “People say good morning to you, like Georgetown in the ’40s and ’50s,” Hope noticed. The hunt commenced for a house with enough room for heirloom furnishings and art while accommodating grandchildren, now numbering six boys. Downsizing wasn’t their intent. A Realtor presented Hope with almost thirty possibilities. “This is the only one I want to see,” she replied, attracted by the gardens and antiquity yet knowing little of the Embury connection. While still in Washington, Hope commissioned a signpost announcing Weymouth Cottage. They were on board. Michael measured, finding that their furniture — even the big pieces — fit. Wall space accommodated portraits, including a near-lifesize one of her mother, a stunningly realistic portrait of a Price patriarch, and several of Hope as a child, including a nude painted on gold leaf. She adored the coffered ceilings like those Embury used for the inn, the double fireplace, original strip wood floors and, especially, the grounds.

Breakfast room overlooks park-like gardens designed, perhaps, by Alfred Yeomans.

The layout, however, presented a challenge. A large space just inside the front door, perhaps Embury’s living room, became their foyer, painted an unusual taupe. This doubles as a dining room seating nine at a round table. Over the telescoped table hangs a chandelier embellished with gargoyle-like figures — Asian, tinged Harry Potter. “Pure whimsy,” Hope grins. Off to the right, Embury’s dining room makes an intimate “little library” while the room behind the foyer/dining room, enlarged by a previous owner, serves as a salon arranged into several seating areas, one with an antique backgammon table and cockfighting chair in which the occupant sits backward. Settees and other chairs belonged to matriarchs. The upholstery palette begins with soft rose and green, then explodes into a contemporary print at home in a Nantucket beach house. Hope’s kitchen is bright and adequate, typical of food preparation areas before the Viking, Wolf and Sub-Zero conquest. Beyond, a breakfast room famous for a hole in the floor used by a black snake (an excellent mouser) that inhabited the basement. Beyond that, a TV den, obviously from some post-Embury era. Through the door, a covered veranda shaded by a pomegranate tree, where chameleons scamper. The guest room, charming as an English nursery rhyme, has centuriesold bird prints and furniture painted by their daughter to match the floral fabrics. And while the master suite is neither spacious nor decorator-imprinted, the abstract painting of an orchestra over the bed, family mementoes and Michael’s adjoining office filled wall-to-wall with Kentucky Derby and Civil War paraphernalia (he’s a buff) illustrate what matters to this couple.

ore than an entity, Weymouth Cottage seems a parade of vignettes. Almost every room hosts a collection of miniatures. Across the dining room mantel marches a Chinese wedding procession numbering several dozen musicians crafted from clay, brought back by Michael’s grandmother, who made the voyage in 1926 by freighter. On the living room mantel, an 18th century Meissen monkey orchestra tunes up. A delicate wall shelf holds a group of microscopic soldiers and mice too tiny to dust, Hope says. The coffee table displays small antique silver boxes, while sleek turnedwood containers from the Smithsonian craft show top a cabinet. Civil War soldiers stand guard over the door into Michael’s office. Hope chose the little library to display a group of 19th century porcelain “fairing boxes” sold at country fairs. “Men bought them as souvenirs for their best girls,” Michael explains. Some feature beds and domestic situations. Hope selected her great-grandmother’s desk to spread out nearly onehundred tiny boxes contributed by three generations. “Every box has a story,” Hope says, fondly. In lieu of cash, their towering grandfather clock served as payment to Michael’s ancestor, an attorney. Miraculously, six small boys running through the house have not destroyed anything. Hope coaxes them outside with swing set, croquet court, Japanese water garden, pergola picnic area and sandbox.

August 2013P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Michael’s office — filled with Civil War artifacts — adjoins the master bedroom.

Terrace and gardens — more formal than the cottage — are absolutely gorgeous.

August 2013P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Croquet, anyone? Six grandchildren have a go . . .

f a house can be a soulmate, Weymouth Cottage has become Hope and Michael’s. “I just fell in love with this house. From the very first it felt like home,” Hope says. Not just any home. “I’m amazed that we’re living here,” she says. “It’s a huge historical responsibility yet a spectacular home to live in — and all on one floor.” Embury cottages and mansions still dot Southern Pines. After World War II the Highland Pines Inn became the U.S. Air Force Ground School. The handsome 110-bedroom facility was destroyed by fire in 1957. Aymar Embury II died in 1966 — rich, famous, lauded for contributions to the American landscape. His eldest child, Edward “Red” Coe Embury, born in 1906, followed his father into designing public facilities, notably the Central Park Children’s Zoo. Red and his brother Carl may have slept at Weymouth Cottage as children before their parents divorced. We’ll never know. Red died in 1990. But a century later, if a Realtor whispers “Embury” to a knowledgeable Sandhills homebuyer — it’s a done deal. PS

August 2013P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

The Pleasures of Deep Summer

By noah Salt

A tart and refreshing toast, if you please, to the slow rituals and reveries of August, summer’s traditional end, the month of going away and laying low. Deep summer, says poet Sam Keen, is when laziness finds true respectability, and our gardens begin to orient toward the autumn harvest. As summer’s lease expires, the first apples and pears begin to ripen and drop off the limb, grapes ripen on the vine, suntans deepen, summer novels are finished, lilies and lavender reach peak bloom, and gimlets and mojitos taste even more divine on the porch. In ancient Rome, this month was revered as a time of family rest and renewal, watched over by the goddess Pomona, one of the Numina guardian deities of home and garden whose job it was to look after a household’s fruit trees and gardens as the days grew noticeably shorter. In a normal year, the heat and stillness of afternoon lies like a fevered hand on a withered brow, although this year’s coolness and abundant rain has made an English summer of our Carolina gardens. Jove be thanked for the timeless song of the Brood II magicicada, the locust that filled lazy afternoons with its roasted-sounded mating call much of this summer. The brief courtship of the mysterious large-eyed bugs, which actually lasts only days, comes on a 17year cycle, and this year’s cicadas were the descendants of the same bunch Thomas Jefferson noted in his garden journal near the end of his days at Monticello. “I am an old man,” he also famously took pains to observe, “but a new gardener.” The Almanac Gardener knows exactly what he means.

“What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance.” — Jane Austen

The Garden To-Do List

* * * ** **

Water in the cool of morning. Pay special attention to potted plants on hot days. Apply extra mulch to control weeds and cool soil. Raise lawn mowers by a full inch to provide extra protection to grass Train vines on support structures Share cut flowers from your garden with a neighbor Paint and stack wood for drying Thin fruit trees and enjoy the first fruits of the autumn harvest

A Writer In The Garden “I walk without flinching through the burning cathedral of the summer. My bank of wild grass is majestic and full of music. It is a fire that solitude presses against my lips. — Violette Leduc, daughter of a French peasant and best-selling novelist

august Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

FINE ARTS FESTIVAL. 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Fine Arts Festival opening reception and awards ceremony. The exhibit will be on display through August 30. JAZZY FRIDAYS. 6 p.m. Enjoy a bottle of wine and dancing with friends under the tent while the Mike Wallace Quartet entertains you with live jazz music. FIRST FRIDAY. 5 – 8:30 p.m. A family-friendly event. Entertainment includes live music by Utah based band Desert Noises, food & beverages, and more.

FAMILY FUN NIGHTS. 5:30 p.m. Includes fun activities for the kids, take-home summer ideas, snacks and stories. MEET THE ARTIST. 11 – 2 p.m. Joan Williams. FARMERS DAY FESTIVAL. 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. Festival, carnival rides and games. Enjoy country, bluegrass, gospel and beach music.

ARTIST LEAGUE ExHIBIT. 12 p.m. – 2 p.m. “Small Gems of Art.” The Artists League will showcase the exquisite small and miniature works of art from full members. CIVIL WAR ExHIBIT. 3 p.m. . An extensive exhibit of the Battle of Monroe’s Crossroads can be viewed in the Clayton-Blair Museum at the Malcolm Blue Farm.

MEET THE ARTIST. 11 – 2 p.m. Dean Billings. About Art Gallery. Continues through the 6th. YOUNG WRITERS CAMP. Children will learn poetry, lyrics and fiction skills. Continues through the 7th.

BOOK CLUB. 11 a.m. Kids in grades K-2 are invited to attend the “Reader Rabbits” summer reading club. Pirates themed. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

BOOK CLUB. 11 a.m. Kids in grades K-2 are invited to attend the “Book Bunch” summer reading club. LUNCH AND LEARN. 12:30 – 1 p.m. The Essentials in Skin Care. Special guest: Kendyl with CosMedix. PRESCHOOL STORYTIME. 3:30 – 4 p.m. “Big Machines.” CLASSIC MOVIE. Amadeus. Sunrise Theater. 7:30 p.m.

FAMILY FUN NIGHTS. 5:30 p.m. Performance by the Temple Teens, of the Temple Theater in Sanford. Includes fun, hands-on activities for the kids, take-home summer ideas,snacks, and stories. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www. sppl.net.

ART CLASS. 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Draw It! with Sandra Kinnunen. In this beginning class, each student will learn essential tips, tricks and techniques. Cost $61. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange Street, Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979 or www.artistleague.org.

OLDIES & GOODIES FILM. 2:30 p.m. Free screening of the film based on Michael Oher’s memoir, starring Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, and Quinton Aaron. Adults enrolled in the Summer Reading Program will earn a book buck for participating!

ART CLASS. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Printmaking Made Easy – Monoprints, with Sandy Stratil. MEET THE ARTIST. 11 – 2 p.m. Nancy Yanchus. About Art Gallery. SANDHILLS PHOTO CLUB MEETING. 7 p.m. Member Competition: Windows and Doors. Judge: Tim Sayer.

WOMEN OF WEYMOUTH. 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. Tapas Dinner by Elliotts on Linden, “Asian Fusion,” and Silent Auction. TRIVIA NIGHT. 6:30 p.m. Thirty questions while you dine, do you have what it takes to win this battle of wits? Emceed by one of our own, and his decisions will be final. The Sly Fox.

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS. 9 a.m. The League of Women Voters of Moore County annual retreat. ART CLASS. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Journaling in Ink and Wash, with Betty Hendrix. PRESCHOOL STORYTIME. 3:30 – 4 p.m. “Gardening.” CLASSIC MOVIE. The French Connection. Sunrise Theater. 7:30 p.m.

SUMMER READING PROGRAM FINALE. 5:30 p.m. Everyone is invited to the Library for a special program to wrap up the Summer Reading Program. Storyteller Obakunle Akinlana will use drums and other African instruments to present fun and exciting stories. This event will also be an opportunity to cash in all remaining book bucks.

JAZZY FRIDAYS. 6 p.m. Enjoy a bottle of wine and dancing with friends under the tent while the Mike Wallace Quartet entertains you with live jazz music. Admission: $10/person. Reservations and prepayments are required for parties of eight or more. Food vendor on site. Cypress Bend Vineyards.

ART CLASS. 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Follow the Leader, Joan Williams, as she takes you through a step-by-step beginning oil painting class Cost $70, includes supplies. Artists League of the Sandhills. MEET THE ARTIST. 11 – 2 p.m. Michelle Satterfield. About Art Gallery. Continues through the 20th.

AUTHOR AT THE BOOKSHOP. 4:30 p.m. Lee Zacharias with At Random. This North Carolina gem of a book begins when a husband and wife leave an opera in Greensboro in 1991... and something terrible accidentally happens on the way home. This is a stunner novel. The Country Bookshop, 140 NW Broad St., Southern Pines.

ART CLASS. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Dipping Into Ink, with Sandy Scott. This is a beginning to intermediate class for students who wish to learn the medium of alcohol ink. Cost $80. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange Street, Aberdeen. Continues through the 22nd.

MEET THE ARTIST. 11 – 2 p.m. Caroline Love. About Art

ART CLASS. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Ink It Up, with Sandy Scott. This is a class for intermediate students who wish to learn advanced methods of control and use of unusual products to create contemporary and representational art with alcohol and acrylic inks. Cost $80. Artists League of the Sandhills. Continues through the 29th.

Gallery. AUTHOR AT THE BOOKSHOP. 4:00 p.m. Doreen Cronin with Click, Clack, Boo!: A Tricky Treat. She is also the author of Click, Clack, Moo!: Cows That Type.

MEET THE ARTIST. 11 – 2 p.m. Caroline Love. About

Art Gallery. AUTHOR AT THE BOOKSHOP. 4:30 p.m. Jason Mott with The Returned.

LABOR DAY FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL. Join us for the 25th Annual Labor Day Food & Wine Festival in Pinehurst. Runs through September 1. The theme for the Silver Anniversary is “A Passport To The World,” a weekend full of wine tastings, seminars and gourmet cuisine from across the globe. JAZZY FRIDAYS. 6 p.m. Enjoy a bottle of wine and dancing with friends under the tent while the Mike Wallace Quartet entertains you with live jazz music.

August 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Saturday

SENIOR EVENT. THE ANDY GRIFFITH MUSEUM. 8:30 a.m. Come see the largest collection of Andy Griffith memorabilia collected by his friend Emmett Forrest. We will visit the museum and enjoy lunch. FOOD DEMO. 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. Green Beans. Tender, ﬂexible green beans are a delight of vegetable lovers for their wholesome nutritional qualities. CHEF DEMO. 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Gourmet demo with free samples by Chef Hannon of Ashten’s Restaurant, using ingredients from our local farmers.

FOOD DEMO. 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. Peppers. How many different types of peppers can you name off the top of your head? PEACH DAY. 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Lots of free peachy samples from our bakers and farmers plus a Peach Dessert Contest sponsored by Better Be Ellerbe Peaches and InsidePinehurst. com with CASH prizes for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place winners. Live music by Anita Pawlack, authentic Russian Button Box performer.

FOOD DEMO. 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. Eggplant. Did you know that eggplant aren’t really vegetables, they are berries! Let’s create something special together in our demo kitchen with this wonderful fruit! Elliott’s Provision Co., 905 Linden Road.

Arts entertainment cA l e n dA r

August 1

August 3

North Carolina Maritime Museum. Includes fun, hands-on activities for the kids, take-home summer ideas, snacks, and stories. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

lection of Andy Griffith memorabilia collected by his friend Emmett Forrest. We will visit the museum and enjoy lunch. Cost is $20 resident/ $40non-resident (transportation and admission). Campbell House parking lot. Info: (910) 692-7376 or www.southernpines.net.

FAMILY FUN NIGHTS. 5:30 p.m. This • evening’s activity is a workshop provided by the

FARMERS DAY FESTIVAL. 6 p.m. – 9 • p.m. Festival, carnival rides and games. One

of the largest horse parades on the East Coast. Enjoy country, bluegrass, gospel and beach music. Entertainment also includes fireworks, mule show, arts & crafts, and antique tractor show. Food vendors on site. Continues through Saturday. Middleton Street, Robbins. Info: (910)464-1290 or www.robbinsfarmersday.com.

August 1 — 2

DOG SHOW. 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. Join the dogs and their handlers for the 2nd Annual Dog Show. Best in Show competition and dog agility demonstrations. NATURE’S TREASURER TRAIL ADVENTURE. 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Upon arrival receive a treasure map and begin your adventure visiting six areas of discovery. Ball Visitors Center of the Sandhills Horticultural Gardens. HEALTH SEMINAR. 10a.m. – 12 p.m. A health seminar at Jesus is King of Deliverance Ministries. FOOD DEMO. 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. Leafy greens.

FOOD DEMO. 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. Squash. This is a very interesting fruit due to its versatile styles. The smaller the squash the more delicious. Come see which one we pick to cook in the demo kitchen. Elliott’s Provision Co., 905 Linden Road.

SENIOR EVENT. The Andy Griffith • Museum. 8:30 a.m. Come see the largest col-

FOOD DEMO. 12 p.m. And 2 p.m. Green • Beans. Tender, ﬂexible green beans are a delight

of vegetable lovers for their wholesome nutritional qualities. Nevertheless, the lean vegetables are a very good source of vitamins, minerals, and plant derived micronutrients. Elliott’s Provision Co., 905 Linden Road.

CHEF DEMO. 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Gourmet • demo with free samples by Chef Hannon of

Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 215-5963.

Ashten’s Restaurant, using ingredients from our local farmers. Live music by Tom Compa. 1 Village Green W., Pinehurst. Info: sandhillsfarmersgreenmarket.com or (803) 517-5476.

August 2

August 4

MEET THE ARTIST. 11 – 2 p.m. Joan • Williams. About Art Gallery, 2160 Midland

•

FINE ARTS FESTIVAL. 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Arts Council of Moore County presents the annual Fine Arts Festival opening reception and awards ceremony, as a way for artists to showcase and sell their artwork. Features artists from all over the country. The exhibit will be on display through August 30. Exhibit is free and open to the public. Campbell House Galleries, 482 E. Connecticut Avenue, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2787 or www.mooreart.org.

JAZZY FRIDAYS. 6 p.m. Enjoy a bottle of • wine and dancing with friends under the tent

while the Mike Wallace Quartet entertains you with live jazz music. Admission: $10/person. Reservations and prepayments are required for parties of eight or more. Food vendor on site. Cypress Bend Vineyards, 21904 Riverton Road, Wagram. Info: (910) 369-0411 or www.cypressbendvineyards.com.

•

FIRST FRIDAY. 5 – 8:30 p.m. A familyfriendly event. Entertainment includes live music by Utah based band Desert Noises, food & beverages, and more. Free admission. The grassy knoll adjacent to the Sunrise Theater. Info: www. firstfridaysouthernpines.com. Key:

• • Art

Music/Concerts

•

Dance/Theater

•

ARTIST LEAGUE ExHIBIT. 12 p.m. – 2 p.m. “Small Gems of Art.” The Artists League will showcase the exquisite small and miniature works of art from full members. These are twodimensional works of art, done in oil, acrylic, watercolor, ink and other media. The exhibition and sale continues through August 28. Artists League, 129 Exchange Street, Aberdeen. Info: www.artistleague.org or (910) 944-3979.

CIVIL WAR ExHIBIT. 3 p.m. Paul Brill, a lo• cal Civil War Collector and historian, will speak. An extensive exhibit of the Battle of Monroe’s Crossroads can be viewed in the Clayton-Blair Museum at the Malcolm Blue Farm. There are no fees charged but donations are gratefully appreciated. Malcolm Blue Farm,1177 Bethesda Road, Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-7685.

August 5 — 6

MEET THE ARTIST. 11 – 2 p.m. Dean • Billings. About Art Gallery, 2160 Midland Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 215-5963.

August 5 — 7

YOUNG WRITERS CAMP. 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. • Children will learn poetry, lyrics and fiction skills.

• • Film

Literature/Speakers

• • Fun

History

•

Sports

H OME S TYLES

cA l e n dA r

Campers will read their stories around a virtual campfire. Weymouth Center, Southern Pines. Grades 3 – 5 welcome to attend. Info: (910) 692-6261.

August 6

BOOK CLUB. 11 a.m. Kids in grades • K-2 are invited to attend the “Reader

Rabbits” summer reading club. Pirates themed. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

August 7

BOOK CLUB. 11 a.m. Kids in grades K-2 • are invited to attend the “Book Bunch” summer reading club. Topic is pirates. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

LUNCH AND LEARN. 12:30 – 1 p.m. • The Essentials in Skin Care. Special guest: Kendyl with CosMedix. The Laser Institute of Pinehurst, 80 Aviemore Court, Suite A, Pinehurst. Info/RSVP: (910) 295-1130.

•

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

CLASSIC MOVIE. Amadeus. Sunrise • Theater. 7:30 p.m. Sponsored by Southern Pines

the

antiques of

Cameron 11 Antique Shops 3 Great Lunch & Coffee Spots All in the Historic Village of Cameron

Neighborhood Book Club. 250 NW Broad Street, Southern Pines. Info: (910)-692-8501 or www.sunrisetheater.com.

August 8

FAMILY FUN NIGHTS. 5:30 p.m. • Performance by the Temple Teens, of the Temple

Theater in Sanford. Includes fun, hands-on activities for the kids, take-home summer ideas,snacks, and stories. Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

August 9

ART CLASS. 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Draw It! • with Sandra Kinnunen. In this beginning class,

each student will learn essential tips, tricks and techniques. Cost $61. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange Street, Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979 or www.artistleague.org.

August 10 Off Hwy 1 Between Sanford & Southern Pines on Hwy 24/27 910.245.7001

www.AntiquesofCameron.com 74

FOOD DEMO. 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. Peppers. • How many different types of peppers can you name off the top of your head? Green, red, yellow, pickled peppers, peppercorns, the list goes

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Key: Art Music/Concerts Dance/ Film Literature/Speakers Theater Fun History Sports

ca l e n da r

on and on. Come find out what kind we will be working with in our demo kitchen. Elliott’s Provision Co. 905 Linden Road.

PEACH DAY. 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Lots of free • peachy samples from our bakers and farmers

plus a Peach Dessert Contest sponsored by Better Be Ellerbe Peaches and InsidePinehurst. com with CASH prizes for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place winners. Live music by Anita Pawlack, authentic Russian Button Box performer. Downtown Pinehurst. Info: sandhillsfarmersmarket.com or (803) 517-5476.

August 11

•

August 12

ART CLASS. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Printmaking • Made Easy – Monoprints, with Sandy Stratil.

Explore basic methods of making and enhancing monoprints. Cost $55. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange Street, Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979 or www.artistleague.org.

MEET THE ARTIST. 11 – 2 p.m. Nancy • Yanchus. About Art Gallery, 2160 Midland

Road, Pinehurst. Yanchus will be at the gallery through August 16. Info: (910) 215-5963.

SANDHILLS PHOTO CLUB MEETING. • 7 p.m. Member Competition: Windows and Doors. Judge: Tim Sayer. Guests welcome. Hannah Center Theater at The O’Neal School, Southern Pines. Info: www.sandhillsphotoclub.org.

August 13

WOMEN OF WEYMOUTH. 6 p.m. – 9 • p.m. Tapas Dinner by Elliotts on Linden, “Asian Fusion,” and Silent Auction. Call for reservations. Info: (910) 692-6261.

TRIVIA NIGHT. 6:30 p.m. Thirty ques• tions while you dine, do you have what it takes

to win this battle of wits? Emceed by one of our own, and his decisions will be final. The Sly Fox. 795 SW Broad Street, Southern Pines.

August 14

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS. 9 a.m. • The League of Women Voters of Moore County

annual retreat. All members are welcome to participate. Table on the Green. Info: (910) 673-1966.

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Key: Art Music/Concerts Dance/ Film Literature/Speakers Theater Fun History Sports PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . August 2013

cA l e n dA r

ART CLASS. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Journaling • in Ink and Wash, with Betty Hendrix. In this

beginning/intermediate class learn and practice a method of drawing in a journal that is simple and fun as well as easy to carry. Cost $55. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange Street, Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979 or www.artistleague.org.

•

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

•

CLASSIC MOVIE. The French Connection. Sunrise Theater. 7:30 p.m. 250 NW Broad Street, Southern Pines. Info: (910)-692-8501 or www.sunrisetheater.com.

August 15

SUMMER READING PROGRAM • FINALE. 5:30 p.m. Everyone is invited to the

Library for a special program to wrap up the Summer Reading Program. Storyteller Obakunle Akinlana will use drums and other African instruments to present fun and exciting stories. This event will also be an opportunity to cash in

Key:

• • Art

Music/Concerts

•

Dance/Theater

all remaining book bucks. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

August 16

•

August 17

FOOD DEMO. 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. • Eggplant. Did you know that eggplant aren’t

really vegetables, they are berries! Lets create something special together in our demo kitchen with this wonderful fruit! Elliott’s Provision Co., 905 Linden Road.

August 19

ART CLASS. 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Follow • the Leader, Joan Williams, as she takes you

through a step-by-step beginning oil painting class Cost $70, includes supplies. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange Street,

• • Film

Literature/Speakers

• • Fun

History

Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979 or www. artistleague.org.

August 19 — 20

MEET THE ARTIST. 11 – 2 p.m. Michelle • Satterfield. About Art Gallery, 2160 Midland Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 215-5963.

August 20

AUTHOR AT THE BOOKSHOP. 4:30 • p.m. Lee Zacharias with At Random. This North

Carolina gem of a book begins when a husband and wife leave an opera in Greensboro in 1991... and something terrible accidentally happens on the way home. This is a stunner novel. The Country Bookshop, 140 NW Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3211 or www. thecountrybookshop.biz.

August 21 — 22

ART CLASS. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Dipping • Into Ink, with Sandy Scott. This is a beginning

to intermediate class for students who wish to learn the medium of alcohol ink. Cost $80. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange Street, Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979 or www. artistleague.org.

•

Sports

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ca l e n da r

August 24

DOG SHOW. 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. Join the • dogs and their handlers for the 2nd Annual Dog

Show. Best in Show competition and dog agility demonstrations. Free for spectators. The event is sponsored by Five Points Pet Resort and Cared for Canine and Cat. Carolina Horse Park. 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford.

NATURE’S TREASURER TRAIL • ADVENTURE. 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Upon arrival

receive a treasure map and begin your adventure visiting 6 areas of discovery. All ages welcome but geared to ages 5 to 13. Free. Ball Visitors Center of the Sandhills Horticultural Gardens, Sandhills Community College. Info: (910) 6953882 or www.sandhillshorticulturalgardens.com

HEALTH SEMINAR. 10a.m. – 12 p.m. A • health seminar at Jesus is King of Deliverance Ministries, 550 Ashemont Drive, Aberdeen. Info: 910-944-5536.

FOOD DEMO. 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. Leafy • greens.Who doesn’t like a light summer salad?

It is a great dish to bring to a party, but how can you spice it up a little so your leafy greens can stand out and be the talk of the town? Learn what you can do to a summer salad in our Saturday demo kitchen. Elliott’s Provision Co., 905 Linden Road.

August 27

MEET THE ARTIST. 11 – 2 p.m. Caroline • Love. About Art Gallery, 2160 Midland Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 215-5963.

•

AUTHOR AT THE BOOKSHOP. 4:00 p.m. Doreen Cronin with Click, Clack, Boo!: A Tricky Treat. She is also the author of Click, Clack, Moo!: Cows That Type. The Country Bookshop, 140 NW Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 6923211 or www.thecountrybookshop.biz.

August 28 — 29

•

August 29

•

MEET THE ARTIST. 11 – 2 p.m. Caroline Love. About Art Gallery, 2160 Midland Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 215-5963.

•

AUTHOR AT THE BOOKSHOP. 4:30 p.m. Jason Mott with The Returned. The

• ••• •• • •

Key: Art Music/Concerts Dance/Theater Film Literature/ Fun History Sports Speakers PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . August 2013

t i s i V us

online

pinestrawmag

www.thepilot.com/

cA l e n dA r

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

Thursdays

August 30

604 West Morganton Road, Southern Pines.

LABOR DAY FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL. • Join us for the 25th Annual Labor Day Food & Wine Festival in Pinehurst. Runs through September 1.The theme for the Silver Anniversary is “A Passport To The World,” a weekend full of wine tastings, seminars and gourmet cuisine from across the globe. Info: (855) 235-8507 or www.pinehurst.com/pinehurst-foodwine-fest.php.

•

August 31

•

Mondays

MOORE COUNTY FARMERS MARKET. • 2 – 5:30 p.m. FirstHealth Fitness Center, 170 Memorial Drive, Pinehurst.

•

LIVE MUSIC AT CIRCLE M CITY. 7 p.m. Gather at the wild west town’s free music event. 74 Cowboy Lane, Sanford. Info: (919) 499-8493.

Tuesdays

ZUMBA CLASS. 7:35 p.m. No pre-regis• tration necessary. Cost: $10, cash or check. The

Fitness Studio, 1150 Old US 1, Southern Pines. Info: (631) 445-1842 or thefitnessstudioinc.com.

Wednesdays

SANDHILLS FARMERS GREEN • MARKET. 3 – 6 p.m. Cannon Park, intersec-

tion of Rattlesnake Drive and Woods Road, Pinehurst. Info: sandhillsfarmersmarket.com.

•

CLASSIC MOVIES. 7:30 p.m. The Sunrise Theater will show a classic movie every Wednesday night. Info: (910) 692-8501 or www.sunrisetheater.org.

• • Art

Music/Concerts

Fridays

CHILDREN’S STORYTIME AT THE • BOOKSHOP. 10:30 a.m. 140 NW Broad Street, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3211 or www.thecountrybookshop.biz.

FREE COOKING DEMO. 5 – 6 p.m. A • fun way to play with your food using quick, easy, in-season ingredients. Samples included. The Flavor Exchange, 115 E New Hampshire Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 725-1345.

Saturdays

MOORE COUNTY FARMERS MARKET. • 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. Downtown Park, Southern Pines. SANDHILLS FARMERS GREEN • MARKET. 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Village Green, Village Green Road West, Pinehurst. Info: sandhillsfarmersmarket.com.

FREE WINE TASTING. 12 – 4 p.m. • Elliott’s on Linden, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 215-0775.

Sundays

NATURE STUDY PROGRAM. 3 p.m. Join • a Park Ranger for a program to learn more about

WEEKLY HAPPENINGS

Key:

MOORE COUNTY FARMERS MARKET. • 9 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Armory Sports Complex,

•

Dance/Theater

the critters and plants that live in our magnificent longleaf pine forest. Weymouth Woods, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167.

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. ART NUTZ AND RAVEN POTTERY, 125 SW Broad St., Southern Pines. Come see the potter at work. Features art, pottery from local potters, handmade jewelry, glass and more. Monday-Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (910) 6951555, www.ravenpottery.com. ARTIST GALLERY OF SOUTHERN PINES, 167 E. New Hampshire Ave., 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. ARTISTS LEAGUE OF THE SANDHILLS, 129 Exchange St. in historic Aberdeen.

• • Film

Literature/Speakers

• • Fun

History

•

Sports

ca l e n da r

Exhibit hours are noon – 3 p.m., MondaySaturday. (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 & special appointments. (910) 295-4817, www.broadhurstgallery.com. The Campbell House Galleries, 482 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. MondayFriday 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. 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, Phyllis Andrews, Betty DiBartolomeo, Equine Sculptor Morgen Kilbourn, Diane Kraudelt, Carol Rotter and artist/owner, Jane Casnellie. Monday-Saturday 10:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. Fine oil paintings, commissions and instruction. Meet the artists on Saturdays, 12 – 3 p.m. (910) 255-0665, www. hollyhocksartgallery.com.

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS STILL KING OF THE SUPERBIKES

Lady Bedford’s Tea Parlour, 25 Chinquapin Road, Pinehurst. Features local artist Nancy Campbell’s original oil and watercolor paintings. Tuesday - Saturday 8 a.m. – 5 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.

• ••• •• • •

Key: Art Music/Concerts Dance/Theater Film Literature/ Fun History Sports Speakers

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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 Drive, Aberdeen. Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (910) 944-9440, www.skyartgallery.com. 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 Sandhills Horticultural Gardens (32 acres of gardens). The Sandhills Horticultural Gardens are handicapped-accessible. Daylight hours year-round. (910) 695-3882.

Bryant House and McLendon Cabin. Tours by appointment. (910) 692-2051 or (910) 673-0908. Carthage Historical Museum. Sundays, 2 – 5 p.m. or by appointment. Located at Rockingham and Saunders streets, Carthage. (910) 947-2331. House in the Horseshoe. Open yearround. 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. 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 Ave., Southern Pines. (910) 692-6261. Shaw House Property. Open 1 – 4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday. (910) 692-2051.

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

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

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

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

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

Sandhills Woman’s Exchange Log Cabin Open 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. (910) 295-4677. PS To add an event, email us at pinestraw@thepilot. com by the first of the month prior to the event.

PineNeedler Answers From page 95

August 2013P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Your Life in 1,000 Words Flannery O’Connor, who once described herself as a “pigeon-toed child with a receding chin and a you-leave-me-alone-or-I’ll-bite-you” complex, also said that those who survive childhood have enough writing material to last them for the rest of their days. Perhaps you agree? Pinestraw magazine invites you to share a brief chapter from your inimitable real life story — told in a thousand words or less — by entering our 2014 Magazine Memoir Contest.

How to submit:

Email your submission to davidclaudebailey@ohenrymag.com using the subject line “PineStraw Memoir Contest.” Be sure to include your name, telephone number and mailing address in the body of the email.

The guidelines are simple: Memoirs should not exceed 1,000 words. Original, unpublished manuscripts only One submission per entrant Deadline: October 1, 2013

Winning entries will be published in PineStraw magazine. Contest is open to any resident of Moore County.

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Maria Morcom, Leah Samaras

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Ryan Pollard, Connie Sutton, Dayla Cortes

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Amy Rosen, Carla Wennberg

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Sharon and John Alspach, John and Susan Pfisterer.

August 2013P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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Pinehurst July 4th Celebration July 4, 2013 Photographs by Jeanne Paine

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Mike Taylor, Lilia Stuart

Kayla, Cadence & Faith Winter Matthew, Margaret, Emma & Tom Leonard

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Iona Katz, Norm Ihrig

Irv and Selma Schwartzbach Sadie Small, Vivian Kelly

Mary Anne and Jaqueline Fewkes, Eleanor Fewkes, Amina Kahn.

Barry Buchele, June Rose, Tish Hagler Sandy and Stan Cochrane

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August 2013P�� 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

The Adventures of Coming and Going

By Geoff Cutler

Part of the fun of our summer vacation

is the coming and going. As a kid, we made the trip from Boston, and came out to Niagara Falls, crossing through Canada, and then back into the States at Port Huron. The final leg, a great relief to all after twelve hours of driving and my mom’s endless egg salad sandwiches, took us up Michigan 25, and at long last into the old resort my great-grandfather had built.

Those of the family living in Massachusetts still come that way. For us here in the South, it’s up 77 through West Virginia to Akron, Ohio. Then under Lake Erie on Interstate 80 to Toledo and across the new bridge into Michigan. Nappers in the car awaken along Route 75 to take in the urban collapse that was the once great city of Detroit. Looking out at the abandoned, windowless, sometimes roofless hulks that line the highway, one of the kids asks, “Dad, what the hell happened here?” It’s but a brief minus to what have always been long but amusing days on the road. When they were very little, the kids convinced us to stop in Cambridge, Ohio, and spend the night. Like all kids, they weren’t tired or anything. They just wanted to spend the night in a hotel. Run up and down the hallways. Swim in the cracked and over-chlorinated pool. Pilfer quarters from their mother’s purse for the vending machine at the end of the hall, and convince us to let them stay up past their bedtime to watch the television in our room. Where we pulled off, there was one hotel. A motor court, really, next to a truck stop gas station, next to a greasy spoon diner. And that was it. We ate Salisbury steaks and powdered mashed potatoes smothered in brown gravy. The waitress with the dark circles under her eyes and a pencil in her hair said the children were adorable and asked them if they wanted pie. The kids, their faces clothed in their dinner, asked why we couldn’t make food like that at home, and how come we never had dessert? After dinner, their little blue eyes turned red in the pool. They emptied the ice machine down the hall, and they sat up watching Disney movies. And the next morning — around 4 a.m. — they were up and pulling on our

arms to get out of bed and get on the road. Since that extraordinary waste of time, we’ve made it a point to do the trip in one day. Another time, our old four cylinder Isuzu Trooper blew out its muffler, struggling to come over the mountains of West Virginia. A woefully underpowered vehicle, we feared for our lives in that thing. It just wasn’t peppy enough to get out of anyone’s way. And with each twisting turn, you felt sure that it would flip over because it was so top-heavy. And when we’d finally managed to crest a hill and begin the descent, you’d look in the rearview mirror and here came a big rig, barreling down on our behind at terrible speeds. We limped off 77 into a particularly suspect neighborhood of North Charleston and found a muffler shop. While they fixed the car, I looked out the window of the filthy waiting room and saw my wife had put a blanket down at the edge of the parking lot and was playing duck- duck-goose with the kids. I should have traded that Isuzu in right there and then for something new and more powerful, which is what my mother did one year. She and my brother were coming out from Boston in a car she adored. It was an aged Acura and she was loath to give it up. And on this brutally hot and humid summer day, the air-conditioner gave out around Rochester, New York. My mother’s hair began to wilt and that simply would not do. They pulled off and found an Acura dealer who said he could fix it, but the cost would be more than the car was worth, and it would take a couple of days for the parts to come in. So they thought about renting a car and picking up the Acura on their return. But all they could find was a Toyota Tercel, and it didn’t have AC. Brokenhearted, but determined to get to Michigan without further delay, she gave the old one a tearful pat goodbye and drove off the lot in a brand spanking new one. There are so many of these silly stories, but I’ll leave off with a favorite. Somehow, little more than a toddler at the time, my daughter picked up a head full of Michigan lice. We’d been battling the noxious critters for days, and then it was time to head for home. My wife had emptied a jar of Vaseline onto the little one’s head and pulled a dozen or so clumped spikes of hair straight up in the air. The effect was of a punk rocker in diapers. At lunch, we popped her into a high chair at an out-of-the-way pizza parlor in some small town in Ohio and if you could just see the faces of the patrons who got a look at her. Perplexity wonder sheer horror. PS Geoff Cutler is owner of Cutler Tree LLC in Southern Pines. He is a regular contributor to PineStraw. He can be reached at geoffcutler@embarqmail.com.

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . August 2013

I N I N G

GUI

D E

MOORE COUNTY

FARMERS MARKET

“Food Demonstration By Rue Thirty Two Executive Chef Johnny Haas and Owner Shannon Smith Saturday, August 24th 9:30 - 11:30”

Tomatoes, Fruits, Veggies, Okra, Chicken, Jams, Meats, Flowers & Plants, Baked Goods, Prepared Foods, Crafts, Goat Cheese, Corn, Cantaloupes, Peaches, Blueberries, Watermelons Mondays- FirstHealth (Fitness Center) Facility courtesy of First Health 170 Memorial Dr • Pinehurst 2pm-5:30pm Will be open through October 28th

OpenYearRound•Thursdays- 604W.MorgantonRd (Armory Sports Complex) Facility courtesy of Town of Southern Pines Southern Pines 9am-1pm

Saturdays - Downtown Southern Pines Facility courtesy of Town of Southern Pines Broad St & New York Ave 8am-Noon Will be open through October 26th

Call 947-3752 or 690-9520 for more info hwwebster@embarqmail.com

Websearch: Moore County Farmers Market Local Harvest www.facebook.com/Moore County Farmers Market SNAP Welcomed Here

Proudly Serving Moore County for 33 Years!

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Monday - Saturday | 8:00am - 3:00pm

246 Olmsted Blvd. Suite C, Pinehurst (located near Jos A Bank)

www.themprestaurant.com | 910.295.1160

August 2013P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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

Doggone Days Leo (July 23–August 23) I am Leo, hear me roar . . . right? Wrong. Goodbye kitty. Put a sock in it. The biggest cats let the rest of the pride do the hunting — then just slide on in and enjoy the buffet. (Try playing “nice kitty,” and say “Much obliged!” before enjoying the kill, whydontcha?) Despite a mighty impressive roar, raging self-doubts start to leave after the trine early this month. Before August ends, big change comes with it. Your hunting grounds are about to expand, Killer. Virgo (August 24–September 23) Jumpy, ain’t you? There’s an itch you want to scratch soooo bad — and it has you all upside down. My charts say you can get away with a lot right now, Poison Ivy, with one little bitty exception. You look like you’re lying even when you’re not, so get a good mirror and practice. A smirk is not a smile, sugar. Even when things are going so good this month you can hardly believe it your own bad self, just smile and say something charmin’ — before anybody figures out what you’re really up to. Libra (September 24–October 23) Everybody’s going to start calling you Left Brain this month, cause that’s how smart you’re looking. Uh, huh. Then things get U.P.S.-delivery-man kinda sexy. With your astrological situation, let’s just say you going to wind up hotter than the love child of Bill Gates and J.Lo. Put the lid back on the mayonnaise jar and practice loosening up your dance moves. It wouldn’t kill you to write a thank-you note, either, saying, “Thank You, Miss Astrid.” Scorpio (October 23–November 21) Before my forced break up with Jose Cuervo, I was seeing more ghosts than the Long Island Medium. When Jupiter starts marching through your house, you start having your own kinda intuitions. Lightning flashes in the dark ain’t always detached retinas. Sooo . . . work it, baby. Fast thinking and intuition can come in awful handy. There’s one little secret you been hanging onto like it’s the last pack of Ho Hos. You sure you wanna keep carrying that load around, Sugar? Sagittarius (November 23–December 21) Your supernova days are the 14–17; that’s right. You gonna feel super-charged, too, and more than a little foxy, according to me and anybody else with a crystal ball. Waaay fine. But lay low and hang with your pals. You can eat grits, cheat at cards, lie about how many fish you caught — no problem. But whatever you do, do not mouth off at the boss. And if you don’t want a mullet, don’t mouth off to the hairdresser, either. You heard it straight from a (newly, usually sober) beautician/astrologer. Capricorn (December 22–January 20) You got a new Target charge card burning a hole in your pocket, with the stars exerting a mighty force in the House of Knock-Off Luxury Products. But you got some financial fixes to untangle before you go all Nate Berkus. Here’s what Astrid says: sweep the floors in your astrological house and wash some windows before you put one more geegaw on the shelf. You seen what happens to them hoarders, Honey? They got milk jugs piled sky-high and they start sleeping on them old Cabbage Patch dolls they got stacked everywhere. Aquarius (January 21–February 19) Lordamercy, if you want things to work in the love department, it’s time to change gears. You got a handful of gimme and a mouthful

of much-obliged, and nobody’s impressed. Your sweetheart ain’t buying it, either, cause you been talking faster than a Yankee with a speeding ticket. Switch to decaf, and hold onto your pantyhose, because things are going to move faster than greased lightning. One thing you got up your sleeve is going to work for you — just not this month. Pisces (February 20–March 20) Some people had rather climb on the roof to tell a lie than stand on the ground and tell the truth. You, my fishy, absolutely should not drink and dial — take it from ole Astrid — even if your sense of righteousness is screaming. Around the 10th, you might get it into your head to confront something else head on — fuggedaboutit. Two weeks later, you find yourself with a Moon Pie in each hand at the drive-thru ordering milkshakes. That’s as crazy as you ought to let yourself get, you hear? Aries (March 21–April 20) Sayin’ an Aries oughta go with the unknown is like telling a billy goat to make a ruckus. He’s gonna do it anyway. It gets him noticed. But what does it accomplish when he eats the sheets on the clothesline? You’re like that billy goat — royalty in the Redneck Empire. You got a powerful effect, some strange kinda magic. If you can restrain your wild self for about ten minutes, though, you’re liable to find out true love is right there in front of you, along with a lotta other things more appetizing than bed sheets. Taurus (April 21–May 21) You’re the bologna in somebody’s cheese sandwich, Darlin’; you just don’t know it yet. Sometime after the 4th, Venus slips into your house of love. Pay attention. You gotta sweet surprise coming on the 22nd, too, and opportunities are just about everywhere you look. Don’t you get your panties in a wad cause you think it is too good to be true. Look with love, not fear. You’re just skeered. F-E-A-R is just “false evidence appearing real,” toots. Gemini (May 22–June 21) Some temptations, a shocker-roo, and a complication are all on slate, you wild child. A full moon is going to rattle your world around the 20th. Sometimes you gotta let the card lie there, even when the fingers are itching and your mouth is saying “Hit me.” It is not exactly your style to play things straight or careful. You’re a cagey one, with more moves than a Gypsy debutante. Spell R-E-S-T-R-A-I-N-T before you get bedazzled and shake your booty. Cancer (June 22–July 23) Making sense of this month is like trying to meditate at Chuck E. Cheese’s. It’s tough. Don’t just do something. Sit there. Seriously, crab legs. The 14th is the one day you might trust your instincts — apart from that, find your place on the beach and sit tight in that beach chair, Honey. The tide comes and goes. It’s called ebbing. It ain’t no tsunami. 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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August 2013P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

August PineNeedler

By Mart Dickerson

National Hot Dog Month!

ACROSS 1. The Raven poet 4. 60 Minutes network 7. “More this ____ that” 11. Not front 12. 100 percent, as ingredients 13. Busy honey places 15. Things short-lived, lasting only a day 17. Historical age 18. “So ___ me!” 19. A difficult problem 21. Eisenhower’s nickname 22. Pine pitch 23. Heroin, slangily 24. * Quip part 3 27. Tire inflation measurement, Abbr. 28. Medieval, my lord...

7 Sudoku:

Fill in the grid so every row, every column and every 3x3 box contain the numbers 1-9.

30. Ancient Andean 33. “Mother _____,” payday in the mine 36. Rise up against 38. Made without ice 39. Paris street 40. ___ gin fizz 41. Courtyards, in old Rome 43. * Quip part 5 45. Email option 46. Exhibiting snootiness 48. Grassland 50. Biblical birthright seller 51. George Bernard _____ 53. * Quip part 6 56. Costa del ___, sunny 58. Born in the area 60. Amendment for women’s rights, Abbr.

6 1 3

8 5 7 8 9

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

61. Negatively charged particle 64. Breast milk ingredient 66. Exotic jelly flavor 67. 2:00 or 3:00 68. _______a girl! (2 words) 69. Hook, as in a net 70. “A Nightmare on ___ Street” 71. “Be quiet!” DOWN 1. ___ New Guinea 2. Earthy pigment color 3. Barely get, with “out” 4. Papal court 5. Fort just down the road 6. Appear 7. * Quip part 1 8. “With it” 9. Escapable 10. Adam’s apple spot 11. * Quip, part 2 12. * Quip answer 14. Not he 16. Bungle, with “up” 20. Amaze 25. “___ Gang” 26. Black sea city 27. Outdoor living spaces 28. Palpate 29. Boxer Spinks 30. * Quip part 4 31. Brings home 32. Reddish-orange 34. Bacchanal 35. Batman and Robin, e.g. 37. Certain digital watch face, for short 42. “The ___ Daba Honeymoon” 44. Vanilla, chocolate or strawberry, e.g. 47. Hot dog holder 49. Female sheep 51. Seat at Neville’s or O’Donnell’s 52. Seed scar where it attaches 53. Bed on a boat 54. In _____(2 words) hurrying 55. Explorer Vasco da ___ 56. Droop 57. Burden 59. Advil target 62. Egg cells 63. Act like a shrewish wife 65. “___ the season ...”

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Puzzle answers on page 80

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

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SouThWordS

The State of Who We Are

By Bill tHoMPson

over the course of the past

half-century (yeah, I’m an old guy), I have had the opportunity to travel around much of the country speaking to all kinds of groups. Regardless of my primary speech topic at the time, much of my little talks and subsequent conversations inevitably had to do with life in the South, particularly North Carolina, and the fact that I am a native of this wonderful state. (I’m a Tarheel born; I’m a Tarheel bred; and when I die I’ll be a Tarheel dead. That’s a recurring little jingle that keeps running through my mind, so I just thought I’d throw it in here.)

In all that traveling I have only talked with one group in which there was nobody originally from North Carolina. (That group was in Fuquay-Varina, by the way, right here in the state. That tells me there are a lot of folks who have moved here. Some folks say they moved here from somewhere else. Of course, they moved from somewhere else; they didn’t move from where they are. ) At some point during my visit with folks I am asked, “What makes North Carolinians different?” So I tell them. First of all, there is one broad characteristic. Every true North Carolinian, whether fortunate enough to be born here or smart enough to move here, has some kind of tie to the land. I don’t have any statistical proof, but I’m pretty sure most native North Carolinians are no more than two or three generations removed from the land as a direct source of income. Farming and the rural lifestyle are not just part of our heritage but give us a unique perspective on who we are and how we got here. Much of that tie to the land translates now to a concern for the environment. We want to keep, as much as possible, those natural things which we share with our ancestors: tall pine trees, clean air, clear rivers, majestic mountains, productive soil, birds and animals, and an ocean that laps on clean, sandy beaches. Then there are the more subtle cultural characteristics, things that just developed over the years that we now take for granted. At some point in the lives of most North Carolinians, particularly those who live along the border with South Carolina, we will serve boiled peanuts as an entrée. They are a delicacy plucked from the very soil that made us. Boiled peanuts are best served hot and salty and, of course, in the shell. Some insolent interloper once asked sarcastically if boiled peanuts could

be served on the half-shell. I cursed him with an eternal diet of sushi. The rural landscape and the land itself is such a part of our concept of North Carolina that we try to literally immerse ourselves in it as much as possible. To that end many of us have driven down a powder-dusty road as fast as we could go just to see how big a cloud of dust we could raise. When we stopped and the cloud of earthen residue settled around us, we could actually feel the past wash over us. It was sort of a dirty baptism, an initiation for those who moved here and really wanted to feel part of the heritage, also an assertion of our dirt road roots for those of us born here. The church plays a major role in the lives of North Carolinians. For many newcomers in a community, one of the first questions asked upon meeting the local folks, whether at the courthouse or the store or the beauty shop, is, “What church do y’all go to?” Almost everybody has at some time or other borrowed chairs from the church for a family reunion. In many communities the role of the church reaches far beyond serving as a conduit for the meeting of spiritual needs. In some cases it is the social center. In my youth, the church was the site of my first date. I sat beside the same girl for four nights during the spring revival, sang out of the same hymn book. She never acknowledged my assertion that it was a real date. Nevertheless, for a nerdy fourteen-year-old boy it was a memorable experience. Some North Carolina churches may serve as the political center of the community. Some churches do allow, even encourage, the minister to take a role in politics, particularly when it comes to prayer in the schools, liquor referendums, same-sex marriage and other controversial topics. However, most of the congregational participation is centered on more mundane matters such as how many patriotic songs can we sing on the Sunday before the Fourth of July and not erase the line between church and state. Should we allow political candidates on the premises during an election campaign? Can cars in the church parking lot display political bumper stickers? And the big decision: Can someone not a member of the church get married here and, if so, how much do we charge him or her? Weighty stuff like that. Probably an outgrowth of the community church is my description of most towns in North Carolina: A small town is a place where people care about you whether you want them to or not. That’s one characteristic that makes me glad I’m a North Carolinian. PS Bill Thompson is a speaker and author who lives just down the road, in nearby Hallsboro.

August 2013P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

ILLUSTRATION BY MERIDITH MARTENS

Several things make north Carolinians – native born or newly adopted – unique

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