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Mainstage series
Magician from America’s Got Talent and Penn & Teller’s Fool Us
JEKI YOO
Saturday, January 27 • 7:00 pm
Paulo Szot in Concert
Friday, February 23 • 7:00 pm
Family Fun Series
Yesterday & Today: The Interactive Beatles Experience Friday, March 15 • 7:00 pm
Comedy Series Star of Disney’s That’s S o Raven!
Magic for Kids!
JEKI YOO
Schoolhouse Rock Live!
Saturday, January 27 • 3:00 pm
Sunday, February 4 • 3:00 pm
GIVE THE GIFT OF TICKETS!
Rondell Sheridan’s “If You’re Over 40 and You Know It...Clap Your Hands!” Friday, April 5 • 7:00 pm
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Merry Christmas CALL TO SET UP YOUR FREE ASSESSMENT 910.692.6000 160 Turnberry Way, Pinehurst NC 28374 | pinehurst@osteostrong.me
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80 BRIDLE PATH CIRCLE Well maintained 3 BR / 2 BA brick home with lots of curb appeal. Split-plan home has spacious living area and beautifully landscaped back yard offering lots of privacy.
150 PINYON CIRCLE Charming 3 BR / 2 BA home on quiet street in Lake Pinehurst area. Home has been beautifully maintained and has transferrable Pinehurst CC membership.
556 STAGE ROAD Cozy 1 BR / 1 BA Cottage that comfortably sleeps four. Located in a quiet spot just outside of Carthage, this would be the perfect investment property or great golf getaway!
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102 SANDY RIDGE ROAD Attractive 3 BR / 2 BA home with open floorplan situated on a beautiful lot near the gate. Primary bedroom has access to screened porch!
120 WINGED FOOT ROAD Luxurious 2 BR / 2 BA townhome with nice open floorplan and fine finishes throughout. Home has spacious living area, gourmet kitchen and secluded primary suite. A must see!
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104 SANDHAM COURT Charming 3 BR / 2 BA townhome in popular 7LS community. Split plan home with spacious living area and cozy kitchen.
101 DUBOSE DRIVE Wonderful 3 BR / 2 BA single-level home situated on large corner lot. Home has open layout with beautiful finishes throughout.
612 S. MCNEILL STREET Beautiful 3 BR / 2.5 BA two-story home situated on nice double lot in the heart of Moore County.
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195 LAKE DORNOCH DRIVE Contemporary 3 BR / 3 Full BA, 2 Half BA home located in prestigious CCNC. Offers lots of space and light throughout with impressive Great room and cozy breakfast nook. A must see!
125 HEARTHSTONE ROAD Attractive 4 BR / 3.5 BA GOLF FRONT home in popular Fairwood on 7. House has been extensively remodeled and beautifully updated throughout.
106 MACE POINT Custom built 3 BR / 3 BA WATERFRONT home situated on secluded cul-de-sac with fabulous wide water views of Lake Auman!
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333 LONGLEAF DRIVE Single level 3 BR / 2.5 BA brick home a street back from the lake. Home sits high with unobstructed, picturesque views of Lake Auman!
104 BUTTERFLY COURT Appealing 3 BR / 2 BA single-level WATERFRONT home! Details include open floorplan, spacious kitchen and oversized Carolina room with gorgeous panoramic water views!
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1 AUGUSTA DRIVE Gorgeous 3 BR / 2.5 BA custom home in Mid South Club! Interior is open with solid oak flooring throughout the first floor. Totally immaculate with fine upscale finishes!
15 MCKENZIE ROAD E. Nice 3 BR / 2 BA home right in the heart of the Village of Pinehurst. Transferrable Pinehurst CC membership available.
25 GRAY FOX RUN Lovely 3 BR / 2 BA single-level brick home in quiet location. Home has been extensively remodeled and beautifully updated throughout. A must see!
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December ���3 FEATURES 69 Snowbird Poetry by Maura Way 70 Cherish the Thought 76 Crime at Lark Cottage By John Bingham 82 A New Home for the Holidays By Deborah Salomon Building traditions and contemporary elegance
92 December Almanac By Ashley Walshe DEPARTMENTS 17 Simple Life By Jim Dodson 22 PinePitch 25 Tea Leaf Astrologer By Zora Stellanova
29 The Omnivorous Reader By Anne Blythe
33 Bookshelf 37 Hometown By Bill Fields 38 Art of the State By Liza Roberts
45 In the Spirit By Tony Cross 46 Focus on the Food By Rose Shewey
50 Sandhills Photography Club 55 Out of the Blue By Deborah Salomon
57 Birdwatch By Susan Campbell 58 Naturalist By Todd Pusser 63 Golftown Journal By Lee Pace 100 Arts & Entertainment Calendar 117 SandhillSeen 119 Pine Needler By Mart Dickerson 120 Southwords By Emilee Phillips
49 Pleasures of Life By Tom Allen Cover Photograph by Rose Shewey
8 PineStraw
The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
A Lifestyle Boutique Exclusive. Timeless. Chic. Village of Pinehurst 910.295.3905 • 105 Cherokee Rd, Pinehurst, NC 28374
M A G A Z I N E Volume 19, No. 12 David Woronoff, Publisher david@thepilot.com
Andie Stuart Rose, Creative Director andiesouthernpines@gmail.com Jim Moriarty, Editor jjmpinestraw@gmail.com Miranda Glyder, Graphic Designer miranda@pinestrawmag.com Alyssa Kennedy, Digital Art Director alyssamagazines@gmail.com Emilee Phillips, Digital Content emilee@pinestrawmag.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Jim Dodson, Deborah Salomon, Stephen E. Smith CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS John Gessner, Laura L. Gingerich, Diane McKay, Tim Sayer CONTRIBUTORS Jenna Biter, Anne Blythe, Keith Borshak, Tom Bryant, Susan Campbell, Bill Case, Wiley Cash Tony Cross, Brianna Rolfe Cunningham, Mart Dickerson, Bill Fields, Meridith Martens, Mary Novitsky, Lee Pace, Todd Pusser, Joyce Reehling, Scott Sheffield, Rose Shewey, Angie Tally, Kimberly Daniels Taws, Daniel Wallace, Ashley Walshe, Claudia Watson, Amberly Glitz Weber ADVERTISING SALES
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OWNERS
Jack Andrews, Frank Daniels III, Lee Dirks, David Woronoff In memoriam Frank Daniels Jr. 145 W. Pennsylvania Avenue, Southern Pines, NC 28387 www.pinestrawmag.com ©Copyright 2023. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. PineStraw magazine is published by The Pilot LLC
12 PineStraw
The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
Scarlett Allison Christine Barrett Maureen Clark Joy Blake Donat Tracy Gibson Keith Harris Maribeth Hough Laurie Kornegay Ross Laton Christian McCarthy Melody Bell McClelland Meredith Morski Lesley Dacko Pacos Caitlin Richardson Brenda Sharpe Kate Shinkwin
From our home to yours,
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Savory Lunch Sandwiches Eat In or Take Away
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SIMPLE AUTHENTIC ITALIAN MARKET
Theatre Building | Village of Pinehurst | 90 Cherokee Rd., Suite 1C | Pinehurst, NC | Monday— Saturday 11a - 2pm
SIMPLE LIFE
Let It Snow Remembrance of a small Christmas miracle
By Jim Dodson
It’s December
ILLUSTRATION BY GERRY O'NEILL
and, without fail, I’m thinking about snow.
Thanks to Bing Crosby and Irving Berlin’s Oscarwinning song from the 1942 musical film Holiday Inn, the idea of a “White Christmas” is deeply ingrained in the psyche of anyone who loves the holidays. I’m no different. I dig everything about Christmas from the ancient story of a savior’s birth to the faux snow of sappy Hallmark holiday movies. But my love affair with the white stuff goes much deeper than that. My first taste of snow came in South Carolina in 1959, where my dad worked for a year at a small-town newspaper after he’d lost his own weekly newspaper in Mississippi. Shortly before Christmas, a freak snowstorm shut down the entire town for a couple days. My mother, who grew up in the Allegheny Mountains of western Maryland where it snowed heavily every winter, allowed my brother and me to take a large antique serving tray to the nearby golf course, where we would slide down the hill, along with every kid in town. All through town, snowballs flew through the air and snow angels spread their wings. The snow barely lasted a day, but it was nothing short of magical to this wide-eyed kid of 6. Better yet, we spent that New Year (and many thereafter) in snowy Cumberland, among my mother’s people, a wintry clan of big, blond, German aunts and uncles who seemed to celebrate the snowy season with roaring fires and lively gatherings. I remember going outside during a rowdy family New Year’s Eve party just to stand in the knee-deep snow outside my Aunt The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
Fanny’s house, marveling at the beauty and still silence of the falling snow. Not long after we moved to Greensboro in January 1960, it snowed there, too. My dad took me to Western Auto and bought me a Flexible Flyer sled. Our hilly neighborhood street got blocked off and briefly turned into a miniature Olympic bobsled run. In those days, long before global warming was a concern, it seemed to snow at least two or three times every winter across North Carolina’s Piedmont. This fact was confirmed at my recent 50th high school reunion, where the shared memory of several deep snows during the 1960s and ’70s seemed to be a popular topic of discussion. “I remember how exciting it was to go to bed when a snowstorm was predicted,” remembered my friend, Cindy. “Waking up to find it had snowed and school was cancelled was like Christmas morning all over again.” It was during those years that I made a silent vow to someday live in snow country. This idea was probably put into my head by my English teacher, Miss Elizabeth Smith, who gave me the Collected Poems of Robert Frost for winning the city’s O.Henry Award for short-story writing. The poet’s very name said winter and whispered to me like a siren call from Homer. Whose woods these are I think I know / His house is in the village though / He will not see me stopping here / To watch his woods fill up with snow. Someday, I told myself, that fellow will be me. After six years in Atlanta covering crime, politics and social mayhem for the oldest Sunday magazine in the nation, I turned down a job as a reporter in Washington, D.C., that for years I yearned for and took a job as the first senior writer for Yankee Magazine, moving to a bend of the Green River outside of Brattleboro, Vermont. The snow was already falling when I got there in late November 1983, taking possession of a tidy twoPineStraw 17
SIMPLE LIFE
room cabin heated only by a wood stove. I promptly got myself a retriever pup from the Windham County Humane Society and spent a glorious winter reading every poem, philosopher and piece of literature I could lay hands on. Walking with my dog in the blue dusk of an arctic evening, I came to love the brilliance of the winter stars and finally got to see the Northern lights. It was the most solitary and wonderful winter of my life. No surprise, I suppose, that my first wife and I eventually built a post-and-beam house on a forested hilltop near the coast of Maine, where we raised our babies to be outdoor adventurers, especially in winter when the deep snows came. My daughter, Maggie, was born at dawn after an overnight blizzard. I remember driving home to feed the dogs at our cottage on Bailey Island as the sun came out, illuminating a world made pure and peaceful by blankets of snow. I’d never been happier. On particularly clear and frigid nights, I would put on my red wool Elmer Fudd jacket and tote a large bag of sorghum pellets though the knee-deep snow to the edge of the forest where a family of whitetail deer and other forest creatures could often be seen feeding in the moonlight. That became the source of many bedtime stories I made up for my young adventurers. They still mention those silly winter tales to this day. One year, however, there was no snow on the ground right up to Christmas Eve. Our Episcopal church decided to hold its evening service in the Settlemeyer family’s barn. Maggie and her brother Jack played a sheep and a cow, respectively, in the annual Christmas Pageant and I was asked to bring along my
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guitar and play “Silent Night” to conclude the service. A large crowd in parkas and snowsuits turned out to fill the barn, shivering among the sheep pens as the ancient story of a savior’s birth was retold. At one point Maggie asked with a whisper if I thought it might snow that night. I assured her it probably would because Santa needed snow for his sleigh. The candles were lit and I played the beloved Christmas hymn, first performed in Austria on Christmas Eve 1818, in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. Since that time, the hymn has been translated into 300 languages. That night, as we all huddled together with the barn door firmly shut against a sharp northern wind, a Christmas miracle of sorts took place outside. When the doors were opened and we all filed out, pausing to exchange hugs and wish each other “Merry Christmas,” someone suddenly cried with a voice of pure childlike wonder: “Oh, look . . . it’s snowing!” Indeed it was — big, dreamy flakes floating down as if on cue from either Bing Crosby or Heaven itself, like an answered prayer. Whichever it was, by the time we reached our wooded hilltop, the world was pure white and the night was very silent indeed. We woke to two feet of fresh snow the next morning. No Christmas since has come without remembering that magical Christmas Eve. And that’s why I still hold out hope for snow every December. PS Jim Dodson can be reached at jwdauthor@gmail.com.
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“From My Home To Your Home”
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LICENSE TO DRILL
“James Bond” movies have seen an evolution of technology over time. From the special effects in “Dr. No” and the spiders in the bed scene to the CGI of “No Time To Die” and motorcycles jumping from rooftops, technology has enabled these amazing scenes. Technology has also rapidly advanced dentistry. As dentists we are able to provide advanced care for our patients with higher accuracy. From 3D milling and in-office crown production to 3D printing and 3D smile design, our office utilizes the latest technology with the support of advanced team training. While Bond had a “License to Kill,” our high-tech dental office has multiples licenses: A license to heal; A license to fulfill patients’ goals for dental health; A license to print; A license to mill; and, of course, A LICENSE TO DRILL.
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PinePitch Toys for Tots Eat in or drive thru at the 33rd annual Toys for Tots toy and food drive on Sunday, Dec. 10, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Beefeater’s Restaurant, 672 S.W. Broad St. in Southern Pines. Sponsored by the Mark “Brook” Westbrook Memorial Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, the cost is either a $10 per-plate donation, an unwrapped toy, or five cans or boxes of non-perishable food. Of course, more is always better. Santa will be on-site from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. The plates are chopped barbecue or grilled chicken, cole slaw, baked beans, rolls, tea or soda, and dessert. There are nuggets for the kids. Word on the street is Santa is a nugget kinda guy.
You Say It’s Your Birthday It’s Sandhills Community College’s 60th anniversary, and everyone is invited to attend the gala celebration on Monday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m., at BPAC’s Owens Auditorium, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. The event is for ages 13 and up and the dress is casual but, you know, decent. The lobby opens at 6 p.m. and the curtain rises at 7. The event is free of charge. Tickets can be secured in advance at www.ticketmesandhills.com.
Keeping Christmas Well The Uprising Theatre Company will present its inventive re-creation of Charles Dickens’ holiday classic, A Christmas Carol, on Tuesday, Dec. 19, at 7 p.m., at The Village Chapel, 10 Azalea Road, Pinehurst. Each show will begin with caroling, to get everyone in the mood. There will be additional performances on Dec. 20 and Dec. 21, also at 7 p.m. For tickets and more information go to www.ticketmesandhills.com.
Hitting (Some) of the High Notes HOLIDAY POPS: The Carolina Philharmonic will perform its annual Holiday Pops Concert that includes all the classics on Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m., at BPAC’s Owens Auditorium, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. For information call (910) 687-0287 or go to www.carolinaphil. yapsody.com. THREE-PART HARMONY: The Moore County Choral Society, performing with Moore Brass & Percussion, will hold its popular annual holiday concert, “The Light of Christmas,” at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 10, at BPAC’s Owens Auditorium, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. The cost is $20 for adults and $10 for students. Tickets can be purchased at ticketmesandhills.com or at the door, though the wise don’t wait. CLASSIC CONCERT: The Moore Philharmonic Orchestra will hold its annual holiday concert at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16, at the Robert E. Lee Auditorium, 350 Voit Gilmore Lane, Southern Pines. Admission is by any donation. For additional info go to www.mporchestra.com.
22 PineStraw
The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
Weymouth Wonderland
Elf on Parade Marching bands and Santa Claus. What’s not to like? The Southern Pines Christmas Parade will be on Saturday, Dec. 2, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Santa does the full loop, beginning at Vermont Avenue, down the west side of Broad Street to Massachusetts Avenue, across the tracks then back up the east side of Broad. If any additional information is necessary you can call the North Pole hotline at (910) 692-7376. And, if you missed him in Southern Pines, the jolly old rascal will be in Vass for its annual Christmas parade on Saturday, Dec. 16, at 11 a.m. There will food and vendors at the Vass Lakeview School, 141 James St., Vass. For more information call (910) 245-4677 or go to www.townofvassnc.gov.
Look Out Below The traditional Pine Cone Drop ringing in the New Year (a bit early) will happen on Friday, Dec. 29, near the railway station in Southern Pines from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. There will be live music, carnival games, face painting and early bedtimes for all. For additional information call (910) 692-7376. The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
The Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines, will hold its Outdoor Wonderfest and Market Friday, Dec. 1, and Saturday, Dec. 2, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and again on Sunday, Dec. 3, from noon to 4 p.m. There will be local vendors and artisans to fill Christmas gift lists, crafts, face painting and plenty of food. The marketplace is open to the public. Admission is by any monetary donation. For additional information visit www.weymouthcenter.org.
Lights, Wreaths, Action The Episcopal Day School will hold its 44th annual Candlelight Tour of Homes on Sunday, Dec. 3, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., featuring five unique Pinehurst and Southern Pines houses decked out in full holiday regalia. The tour’s tariff is $20 in advance and $25 the day of. For information and tickets you can go to www. ticketmesandhills.com or visit the Episcopal Day School front office.
A Tradition Like No Other The annual Murphy Family Christmas Concert features two shows at 3 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 17, at the Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. For information and ticketing for this must-see annual celebration of the season call (910) 420-2549 or visit www.sunrisetheater.com. PineStraw 23
STRETCH your body & your experiences
© 2023 Quail Haven Village
On any given day, you’ll find a range of options to fuel your passions, meet new friends and enjoy a lifestyle rich with interesting and exciting educational and engaging programs. Learn more about senior living at QuailHavenVillage.com or schedule a visit at 910.537.6812. INDEPENDENT LIVING | ASSISTED LIVING S K I L L E D N U R S I N G | R E H A B I L I TAT I O N A Life Plan Community offered by Liberty Senior Living
155 Blake Blvd. Pinehurst, NC 28374
TEA LEAF ASTROLOGER
Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)
A little heat goes a long way. When provoked — unwittingly or otherwise — your particular brand of fire belongs on the Scoville scale, ambushing the offender with fits of nausea, abdominal pain and/or any number of unmentionable side effects. Here’s the thing: They’re not out to get you, nor are they trying to hold you back. This month, new opportunities beckon. Best not to let the petty stuff distract you from seeing them.
Tea leaf “fortunes” for the rest of you: Capricorn (December 22 – January 19) Batten down the hatches.
Aquarius (January 20 – February 18) Mind what’s on the back burner.
Pisces (February 19 – March 20) Just text them back already.
Aries (March 21 – April 19) Try fluffing your pillow.
Taurus (April 20 – May 20) Salt will enhance the flavor.
Gemini (May 21 – June 20) It’s time to clean the mirror.
Cancer (June 21 – July 22)
What if the obstacle is the greatest blessing?
Leo (July 23 – August 22)
Consider adding “sun lamp” to your wish list.
Virgo (August 23 – September 22) You’ll get there when you get there.
Libra (September 23 – October 22) Abstain from the deviled eggs.
Scorpio (October 23 – November 21) You must believe it to achieve it. PS
Zora Stellanova has been divining with tea leaves since Game of Thrones’ Starbucks cup mishap of 2019. While she’s not exactly a medium, she’s far from average. She lives in the N.C. foothills with her Sphynx cat, Lyla. The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
PineStraw 25
FEATURING
Owens Auditorium, SCC
7:30pm
Maestro David Michael Wolff leads The Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra in a festive holiday extravaganza of your favorites featuring one of Broadway’s dynamic stars, Bobby Conte Thornton.
Tickets Going Fast!
www.carolinaphil.org (910) 687 0287
20th Saturday
January 2024 7:30pm Owens Auditorium Sandhills Community College
Get tickets while they last! www.carolinaphil.org (910) 687 0287 26 PineStraw
The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
Fireplaces are for children at C hristmas. BRICKWORK STONEWORK FIREPLACES OUTDOOR LIVING
910-944-0878
www.howellsmasonry.com 10327 Hwy 211 • Aberdeen, NC 28315
The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
PineStraw 27
THE OMNIVOROUS READER
Tales to Tell The journey of a lifetime
By A nne Blythe
Kelley Shinn spent a long afternoon in a
bar with poet Eric Trethewey some years back and told him a story that made him grab her by the shoulders and implore her to write it down.
Shinn had recently returned to the United States from a years-long trip abroad, a nomadic journey she organized to bring attention to the predicament of landmine survivors. As noble an undertaking as that might be, it was not the typical goodwill mission highlighting the plight of amputees whose limbs were blown off in war-torn lands. A single mother at the time, Shinn — who has prosthetic legs below her knees — was still recovering from her own physical and emotional wounds when she embarked on her global expedition in a tricked-out Land Rover with her whip-smart 3-year-old, Celie. The Wounds That Bind Us, her story chronicling that journey, went through many renditions before becoming the memoir published this year by West Virginia University Press. Shinn tried a series of short stories first. Next she rewrote it as a novel. “Then I had an agent from New York that was interested in it,” Shinn, now an Ocracoke resident, recounted at a reading at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill. “And she said, ‘You say it’s based on autobiography. Give me a percentage.’ So I wrote her back and said at this point, it’s 75 percent true. She goes, ‘Here’s my problem. It’s too unbelievable for fiction. You need to rewrite it as memoir.’” The narrative that came together over the next decade is a phenomenal adventure story that will pull you to the edge of your seat while marveling at Shinn’s candor, steely backbone, vulnerability and wisdom. She takes readers on this emotional ride with self-deprecating humor, artistic prose and a welcome
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hopefulness that oozes throughout the pages. There are times you want to sit her down, stop her from doing what she’s about to do and tell her the danger’s not worth it — think climbing onto wreckage of a bombed-out bridge in Bosnia high above the Neretva River to get the perfect photo. After all, there’s Celie to think about, the child she brought into the world after 52 hours of labor. Her daughter is her sidekick, a worldly little girl who loves her “to the moon and back.” Who will respond “I love you the whole universe” if Shinn succumbs to unnecessary risks? Overwhelmingly, readers are more likely to be cheering for Shinn, engrossed in a story that keeps them hungering for the next escapade while also hoping that any one of the many interesting people she encounters along the way can keep her in check. Shinn was a promising cross-country runner at 16 years old, when her body and life were forever changed by a rare form of bacterial meningitis initially misdiagnosed as flu. Although that’s not how she starts the memoir, she flashes back to that time in the hospital while thinking about landmine victims in Bosnia. “I’ve got more wires running around and through me than an early desktop computer,” Shinn writes. “A month ago my coach was talking to me about scholarships for cross-country. Lord in heaven, how I wish I could jump off this bed right PineStraw 29
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now and run, just run through the Metroparks, down the city sidewalks, run until my heart pounds in my chest, until the sweat breaks out all over my body and evaporates into thin air.” There is a sense throughout The Wounds That Bind Us that Shinn is running. Running, running and running. She’s racing away from the pains and sorrows of her childhood and abusive relationships while, at the same time, jogging slowly toward healing and enlightenment. Shinn scratches at deep wounds from being put up for adoption by her birth mother and raised by an adoptive mother who beat her “in a quick rage, with a stick, a belt or a hand.” She explores the mindset that pushed her toward doomed romantic relationships like the one with a scheming first husband who glommed onto her after the well-publicized settlement of her malpractice lawsuit. This is not a woe-is-me tell-all, though. Shinn describes unforgettable scenes such as the overnight stay in a brothel with Celie; the off-road thrill rides on steep, rocky terrains; and the beautiful landscapes of Greece. Her stories are filled with memorable characters, from cab drivers to their neighbors in the United Kingdom; from her Greek classics professor turned travel companion to the soldiers, farmers and others with bodies forever altered by landmines; from the many people who care for Celie; all the way to Athena, the Land Rover (a trusted character itself) that does the transporting from England to Serbia, Bosnia and Greece. It is well worth it to take the journey with Shinn, “that’s two Ns and no shins,” she jokes. She’s funny, daredevilish but relatable. That poet at the bar, a man she would have a relationship and son with, was right. Shinn’s story needed to be written. PS Anne Blythe has been a reporter in North Carolina for more than three decades covering city halls, higher education, the courts, crime, hurricanes, ice storms, droughts, floods, college sports, health care and many wonderful characters who make this state such an interesting place.
The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
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BOOKSHELF
December Books
FICTION The Exchange, by John Grisham What became of Mitch and Abby McDeere after they exposed the crimes of Memphis law firm Bendini, Lambert and Locke and fled the country? The answer is in The Exchange, the riveting sequel to The Firm, the blockbuster thriller that launched the career of one of America’s favorite storytellers. It is now 15 years later, and Mitch and Abby are living in Manhattan, where Mitch is a partner at the largest law firm in the world. When a mentor in Rome asks him for a favor that will take him far from home, Mitch finds himself at the center of a sinister plot that has worldwide implications — and once again endangers his colleagues, friends and family. NONFICTION Babusya’s Kitchen: Recipes for Living and Eating Well in Ukraine, by Returned Peace Corps Ukraine Volunteers Peace Corps volunteers created this cookbook from the recipes they learned while serving in the small towns and villages across Ukraine. The cookbook serves as a fundraiser for Ukraine Relief Efforts through the RPCV (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) Alliance for Ukraine as well as a culinary delight. In addition to the traditional Ukrainian recipes that “provide a window into rural living,” the volunteers include recipes that helped new cooks in a foreign country share American cooking traditions with international friends. The Secret Lives of Color, by Kassia St. Clair This unknown history of color tells the unusual stories of 75 fascinating shades, dyes and hues, and the vivid history behind them. From the brown that changed the way battles were fought to the white that protected against the plague; from Picasso’s blue period to the charcoal on the cave walls at Lascaux; from acid yelThe Art & Soul of the Sandhills
low to Kelly green; and scarlet women to imperial purple, these surprising stories run like a bright thread throughout history. St. Clair turned her lifelong obsession with colors and where they come from into a unique study of human civilization. Holidays on Ice, by David Sedaris No matter what your favorite holiday is, you won’t want to miss celebrating it with the author The Economist has called “one of the funniest writers alive.” Sedaris’ beloved holiday collection is new again with six more pieces, including a never-beforepublished story. Along with timeless favorites from Santaland are Sedaris’ tales of tardy trick-or-treaters (“Us and Them”); the difficulties of explaining the Easter Bunny to the French (“Jesus Shaves”); what to do when you’ve been locked out in a snowstorm (“Let It Snow”); the puzzling Christmas traditions of other nations (“Six to Eight Black Men”); what Halloween at the medical examiner’s looks like (“The Monster Mash”); and a barnyard secret Santa scheme gone awry (“Cow and Turkey”). The Country Bookshop has autographed copies. Museum Bums, by Jack Shoulder and Mark Small What do Hieronymus Bosch, the Roman cult of Antinous and the peach emoji all have in common? Butts, of course! Divided into six categories of keisters, this humorous history book takes you on a whirlwind tour of the finest rear ends in museums around the world — from the lusciously rendered bottoms of Renaissance paintings to the abstract curves of contemporary art. Heritage scholars and art educators Small and Shoulder pair illuminating social commentary, historical context and lively captions with captivating depictions of tasteful — if cheeky — bums in art. Including an angel slyly copping a feel in a 16th century triptych, a 25,000-year-old bodacious Venus, and Cezanne’s dreamy booty-ful bathers, this assortment of artistic behinds is both a celebration and study of the bounty of beautiful bottoms and their everlasting impressions. PineStraw 33
VISIT SOON! CLOSING FOR RENOVATIONS JANUARY 2, 2024 Reopening Spring 2024 with new features and exhibits!
discoveryplacekids.org
Children’s Museum in Downtown Rockingham
BOOKSHELF
CHILDREN’S BOOKS How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney? by Mac Barnett, illustrations by Jon Klassen It’s the age-old question. How does he do it? If anyone would have access to Santa’s secret file, it’s the team of Klassen and Barnett. With insider info, holiday hilarity and, well, dogs, this is going to be a must-have holiday book. (Ages 3-8.) The Christmassy Cactus, by Beth Ferry Oh, my, the cuteness. Cactus will poke her way into your heart in this delightful holiday story of a tiny green spiny cactus who holds her own against giant green shiny trees and proves that holiday wishes do indeed come true. (Ages 3-6.) The Met: 5,000 Years of Awesome Objects, by Aaron Rosen, Susie Hodge, Susie Brooks, and Mary Richards You’ll get lost in this history of art for children featuring 5000 years of the most unusual, bizarre, fascinating and awesome objects — practically a museum in itself. (Ages 8-14.) The Jules Verne Prophecy, by Larry Schwarz and Iva-Marie Palmer When Owen finds himself stuck in Paris for the summer with his mom, he is sure the whole vacation will be a boring flop, but a mysterious skateboarder, a rare Jules Verne book and a few new friends really turn things around. This wild ride of an adventure journeys through the most amazing sites in Paris, including the Eiffel Tower, the catacombs and a secret skatepark. (Ages 9-12.) PS Compiled by Kimberly Daniels Taws and Angie Tally.
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The Friends of Weymouth, Inc. Board of Directors and Staff wish you a healthy and happy holiday season. We welcome you to join us this month for some magical events.
May Your Days Be Merrier... December 1-3 “Weymouth Wonderland”: Outdoor Wonderfest
December 10 “Chamber Sessions”: Nicholas Susi, pianist
And Nights Be Brighter... December 21 “Live from the Great Room”: Joe & Larry Latingrass fusion
555 E Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines • weymouthcenter.org
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The Country Bookshop
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HARDCOVER FICTION
HOMETOWN
The Unscathed Christmas When bad things don’t happen to good people
By Bill Fields
Looking back on the Christmas season, I realize that we were lucky.
It wasn’t just that our family had a roof over our heads, that we always had enough food and presents to make us happy, or that we never let disputes occurring in our spirited Monopoly games that were an entertainment centerpiece escalate into unpleasantness. (The adults at the table even indulged very young me when I wanted to be able to put houses and hotels on Baltic Avenue even though I didn’t own Mediterranean.) Although a vicious intestinal bug did hit us one year with the ferocity of a Dick Butkus tackle, the miracle was that we survived each holiday season without serious harm. We didn’t have a fireplace, so there was no danger of a stray ember setting fire to G.I. Joe’s fatigues or tissue paper that had swaddled a something new from Collins department store. In place of the real thing, after one of my mother’s largest lapses in judgment, we were the proud owners of imitation logs illuminated by orange incandescent bulbs. The “flames” flickered from foil circles that rotated near the lights, although one would have needed a lot of enhanced eggnog to feel warm. Our fire threat came from another source. We had two sets of Christmas lights, those to decorate the camellia in the front yard and those to string on the Christmas tree in our living room. They were labeled “outdoor” and “indoor,” but the difference was less than that between Carolina and sky blue. The large bulbs on each strand seemed to approximate the heat of a glowing briquette charring a steak. Before moving on to white pines and later firs or spruces, we were a cedar tree clan. Even if we regularly filled the red stand with water, those things would get pretty crispy. It’s a wonder there was never a real fire next to the faux logs, not that there wasn’t a close call. The same angel that graced the top of our The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
trees for many years — well into the era of tiny lights that didn’t heat up — bore a melted spot from her years of service with the big bulbs. We skirted a lot of trouble around Christmas time, when you think about it. Nobody crashed when a neighbor got a mini bike. We avoided getting hit by a car when testing new tennis rackets by playing a set with an imaginary net out in the street. Lawn darts landed only in the rye overseed. Bruises and scrapes were the worst that came from tackle football. Dad somehow managed to get the barbecued chicken done when he
cooked out in the dark. Indoors, there were potential hazards everywhere. Owing to my father’s job at Proctor-Silex, there was gifting of irons for a few years, but no one ever dropped one of the heavy devices on themselves in their zeal to unwrap such a utilitarian present. Nobody tripped over the Hot Wheels track after I set it up to emulate the Rockingham drag strip, but I heard a few curse words when an adult stepped on a plastic soldier or Tinker Toy. Santa Claus never forgot to bring bags of walnuts, pecans and Brazil nuts. The pick that went along with the nutcracker could have been classified as a weapon of war so sharp was the point, but we escaped with minor puncture wounds for which a little mercurochrome would do the trick. A dab of butter took care of any burns from rogue Crisco escaping a cast-iron skillet. But the kitchen hazards didn’t stop at the stove. Man was going into space, but he also had time to invent the electric knife. The whir of the blades was part of the Christmas soundtrack as much as “Jingle Bells” or “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear.” Mom worried as Dad took on a turkey or a ham or a roast. There was the occasional grinding of metal on platter if he misjudged his cut, but fortunately the only red on the table came from the apple rings. PS Southern Pines native Bill Fields, who writes about golf and other things, moved north in 1986 but hasn’t lost his accent.
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A R T O F T H E S TAT E
Earthen Vessels From Seagrove to the world beyond, Ben Owen III shares his pottery By Liza Roberts
The work of Ben Owen III is earthen
and practical, but also brightly hued and sculptural. It fits in a hand for morning coffee, but it’s also the lofty centerpiece of elegant spaces across the world. From the Sun Valley Resort in Idaho to the Ritz-Carlton in Tokyo to The Umstead Hotel & Spa in Cary, where his sculptural vessels fill spotlit niches and his handmade plates grace every table, Owen’s art provides beauty and function. 38 PineStraw
Pottery is one of the oldest human inventions, going back to pre-Neolithic times. Earth into clay, clay into pots, pots into fire, vessels out. Also unchanged: all hands on deck to get it done. It takes a team to keep a wood-fired kiln’s flames stoked and blazing 24 hours a day for days on end. Like farmers raising a barn, potters fire a kiln together because they need each other. It’s what they do. Owen was born to this life, born with Seagrove clay beneath his feet. His father and grandfather, Ben Owen Sr. and Ben Owen Jr., built the foundations for Seagrove’s modern pottery community; before them, as early as the late 1700s, their forefathers arrived from England, making and selling clay vessels to early settlers. Owen III works today on the same The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
A R T O F T H E S TAT E
site his grandfather did. “He was a great teacher and a great mentor for me,” Owen says, “showing me the fundamentals, building all those skills.” Starting at the age of 9, Owen went out to his grandfather’s studio every day to make pots. During these sessions, his grandfather taught Owen technique and aesthetics as well as principles: how important it was to challenge oneself, to learn from mistakes, to greet change with enthusiasm, to eschew mediocrity. To “never sell his seconds.” “I’m continually trying to find ways to refine the technique and my process,” Owen says. “How can I make the piece even better than I did last time?” That commitment has taken his work not only all over the world but has paved the way for its inclusion in museum collections including the Smithsonian Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Gregg Museum of Art & Design, and in private collections. His work, in its various manifestations, has a timelessness about it, even when glazed in crystalline turquoise or lilypad green. “I’m always experimenting,” he says. “A lot of people know us for our red glaze, but in recent years, I’ve been making glazes from nature. Recreating things I’ve seen hiking with my son . . . looking at textures, lichen on a stone, moss on a tree. It’s interesting to think, Could I make a glaze that would create that effect?” Some of Owen’s pieces are finished in electric or gas-fired kilns, others in his wood-fired groundhog kiln. To witness Owen firing this kiln — a
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A R T O F T H E S TAT E
gourd-shaped, 30-foot-long structure dug partway down into the earth, hence the name — is to witness a multi-day, group massive effort, only accomplished a few times a year. One recent morning at his studio in Seagrove, Owen was busy completing a 5-foot-tall, 400-pound, bottle-shaped vessel for the Amanyara resort in Turks & Caicos, one of nine large pieces commissioned by the property. The fire in the kiln had been going for 12 hours, and it would be another 36 before it was done. Owen slid a few slats of wood into a slot in the side of the chamber, turning to laugh at a joke from his friend Stan Simmons, a fellow potter there to help keep the fire going at temperatures reaching 2,350 degrees Fahrenheit. Another potter, Fred Johnston, was also on hand. Both men had pots of their own in the kiln. They waited. “It’s like a jigsaw puzzle,” he said, gesturing to his kiln, explaining how he fits 400 pots inside. Part of it is tactical: some glazes do well high up, some pots need to be closer to the fire. Some of it is logistical. “Right now,” Owen says, watching flames shoot out
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A R T O F T H E S TAT E
of a blowhole-like chimney pipe, “Right now it’s heating up fast. Right now, there’s more fuel than there is oxygen.” Potters can’t always predict what will emerge from the fire, what that day’s particular combination of clay and heat, minerals and weather will produce. “Colors, or finishes on pots, are almost like sunsets,” Owen says. “Each day, it’s a little different, and depending on what’s present — just as the clouds, or the temperature, the atmosphere all affect the sunset, our glazes can react the same way. We learn to accept that. We try to control these things to the best of our ability, but we have to remind ourselves that our materials are constantly changing. And sometimes it can be a nice surprise.” A few steps from this kiln, in the late 1990s, Owen built his own studio, right behind the one where his grandfather taught him. The newer spot is spacious, with separate workstations for different kinds of clay. There are pots in various stages of completion, one already 4 feet tall. When it’s complete, this pot will be glazed an earthy blue, weigh about 250 pounds, and stand in the entry of a home in Greensboro. “In an era of instant gratification, where people can go to the big box stores or a mall for most of their daily needs, we can offer something different,” Owen says. “Especially when they can meet the maker, learn a little bit more about the process, and what makes a potter tick, and their particular style, and why they use that technique. The work becomes part of the fellowship.” Owen pictures his blue vessel in place, mentions the conversations he’s had with the collectors who’ve commissioned the piece. He welcomes the
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A R T O F T H E S TAT E
chance to work closely with the people who collect his work — some of whom were also collectors of his grandfather’s work — and to get to know them, just as he does with visitors to his region and his studio. The role of ambassador is another he embraces. “When you can find a way to develop a relationship with an individual customer or just people coming out to visit the area,” he says, “that gives us a springboard to tell people more about what the past has done, and what we’ve been able to build on over the last several generations.” He’s happy to go farther back, too, 280 or 300 million years or so, back to when the region was covered in the volcanic ash that gave birth to the clay he loves, and he’s happy to bring it back home to now, and to his legacy. “I just count my blessings that we’ve been able to support our family through the making of earthen vessels,” he says. “Really, the end product is how it is received by the people who use it.” PS This is an excerpt from Art of the State: Celebrating the Art of North Carolina, published by UNC Press.
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42 PineStraw
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The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
IN THE SPIRIT
Dissecting a Cocktail Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s eggnog By Tony Cross
As a child, I loved
PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN GESSNER
it when my mother broke out the eggnog during holiday parties. However, when I reached adulthood, I couldn’t stand more than a cup of the store-bought goop. That all changed a decade ago when I whipped up boozy eggnog from a recipe I found on Portland bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s blog. Not only is Morgenthaler’s version silky smooth, but the flavor profile is insane.
There’s no rum or cognac in this one — there is, however, añejo tequila and Amontillado sherry. Say what? I know, I squinted the first time I read that, too. The combination of a dry, nutty sherry and semi-sweet tequila is perfect for this Yuletide cheer. The first weekend that I made this a cocktail special when I was behind the bar, we almost sold out by Saturday lunch. Not only was it popular with our patrons, but our host, who worked the day shift, pleaded with me to give him any leftovers before we closed for Christmas. This is the best eggnog you’ll ever taste.
The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
Eggnog 12 large eggs 450 grams baker’s sugar 15 ounces Amontillado sherry 12 ounces añejo tequila 36 ounces whole milk 24 ounces heavy cream Fresh nutmeg, for garnish
In a stand mixer on low speed, beat eggs until smooth. Slowly add sugar until incorporated and dissolved. Slowly add sherry, tequila, milk and cream. Refrigerate overnight and serve in small, chilled cups. Dust with fresh nutmeg before serving. Makes approximately one gallon. PS Tony Cross owns and operates Reverie Cocktails, a cocktail delivery service that delivers kegged cocktails for businesses to pour on tap — but once a bartender, always a bartender.
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FOCUS ON FOOD
A Cottage for the Holidays New ways to celebrate old traditions Story and Photograph by Rose Shewey
In the cultural heart of Moore county — yes, I
mean Aberdeen — lives a family of three who celebrate Christmas a tad differently. That family is mine. Whether you have a religious or folksy perspective on Yuletide, holiday traditions have evolved over time. But with roots in the Old World and a heartfelt sense of nostalgia, my family preserves its own slice of “Old Christmas” in our home, similar in many ways to an Appalachian Christmas, and closely resembling the festivities of my childhood.
In the old tradition, Christmas actually doesn’t start until, well, Christmas Day, and is celebrated several weeks into the new year. A live tree or branches won’t be brought into the house until Christmas Eve, or winter solstice day at the earliest, and will be kept inside until the first or second week of January. Ornaments are mainly handmade. The Christ Child or St. Nicholas bring presents. Or, if you’re drawn to Nordic folklore as we are, little “tomten” takes care of the gifts. And the time leading up to Christmas? December always has been, in many cultures, a time of introspection and slowing down, as opposed to hustling from one event to the next. Embracing the darkest time of the year to find clarity, to reflect on the old and anticipate the new, may not be everyone’s cup of eggnog, but to us seems intuitive and in tune with the rhythm of the year. Though I was raised in the ’80s, what I am about to say might make you think I grew up in a Dickens novel. In my childhood, there was hardly any candy before Christmas Day, and we’re keeping it that way in our house. We mainly had nuts and fruit to nibble on, with the odd chocolate-covered gingerbread doled out by my grandmother. We didn’t make gingerbread houses every single year, but on those Christmases when we did, the hand-crafted gingerbread houses are among the sweetest, most magical memories of my childhood. In contrast to today’s custom of covering nearly every inch of your gingerbread house with candy, we mainly decorated ours with almonds and icing. While gingerbread houses — the first ones date back to the 16th century — are everything when you have kids, there are other ways to enjoy this whimsical Christmas tradition. This year, we are making cracker cottages for a savory version of the original. These salty, herb-infused holiday homes remind me of the plain and simple, yet timelessly beautiful, gingerbread houses of the past. Cracker cottages are no less enjoyable to build, and add a sense of calm and rustic charm to your tablescape and, of course, make an excellent appetizer and perfect addition to your charcuterie board.
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Almond Poppy Seed Crackers (Basic recipe yields about 30 crackers) 1 cup blanched almond flour 1 tablespoon golden flax meal 1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 3 tablespoons water Seed, dried herbs, powdered onion or garlic, to taste (optional) Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and mix with a fork until it resembles a dough. Roll out mixture between two sheets of parchment paper to about 3-4 millimeters thickness. Remove the top parchment paper and section dough with a knife or pizza wheel into desired cracker shapes. Transfer parchment paper with cutouts to a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until crackers turn golden brown (the outer edge will always turn darker then the center). Cracker Cottage Create your own template for a cracker cottage or print out a gingerbread house template from any of the free sources online. For a small cracker cottage, you will likely need to triple the basic cracker recipe; it’s best to work in batches and make more as needed. Prepare the dough as per the recipe above, but use your template instead of sectioning dough into crackers. Assemble the house right before use. To assemble, use cream cheese as “glue.” For intricate details, such as icicles, mix 8 ounces of cream cheese (room temperature) with one egg white and refrigerate until it has a firm enough consistency to pipe icicles and other decorative elements. PS German native Rose Shewey is a food stylist and food photographer. To see more of her work visit her website, suessholz.com.
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PLEASURES OF LIFE
The Forever Christmas Tree What goes around comes around By Tom Allen
Vintage is all the craze, a buzzword for
something that was once outdated but has become desirable and hip. Millennials, remembering those iconic treasures from their childhood, rummage through thrift stores for everything from clothes to kitchen utensils to furniture begging the label “retro.” Vintage Christmas qualifies. Holiday retro is in high demand. Take your mother or grandmother’s beloved ceramic Christmas tree. Popular in the ’60s and ’70s, by the time the earth-toned ’80s rolled around, the trees lost popularity, partly due to aesthetics, also because bulky cathode ray tube televisions were replaced by flat screens. Where to place Granny’s beloved ceramic tree became a challenge. My mother was gifted a 12-inch ceramic tree in the early ’70s, crafted by a friend who found a retirement hobby making funky owls and mushroom-embossed napkin holders, at a rural ceramics shop. The tree, dark green and flocked with ceramic snow, held multicolored translucent plastic bulbs. A 60-watt bulb, screwed into the base, illuminated the tree, which rested on a tea cart in the hallway of my childhood home. The tree was visible, and enjoyed, from my parents’ rocker recliners, but only for a few days in December. My mother, a minimalist before the word found its way into the urban dictionary, decorated a week before Christmas. I still remember the thrill of hearing the click of the tree’s on/off light switch, which produced that instant, multicolored illumination. Pure joy. Decorations came down a couple of days after the holiday. An elementary school teacher who cherished her holiday break, Mom disliked anything that might capture dust, like a ceramic Christmas tree. More dust meant The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
more cleaning, and more cleaning meant less time to enjoy her break. Though she and my dad enjoyed the tree for years, her pragmatic side always won out. No 12 days of Christmas for their tree, living or ceramic. My mother’s last Christmas was spent in hospice care, at an assisted living center. I brought her beloved ceramic tree and placed it on a chest of drawers, easy for her to see and enjoy from her hospital bed. The tree’s lights dissipated some of the room’s darkness and cushioned the sadness of her pending loss. That year, she allowed the treasure to stay up after Christmas. The tree was shining bright when she died on a snowy night in late January. Mom’s ceramic tree made its way home to our house, where we enjoy those same multi-colored lights from Thanksgiving until late winter. I would leave the tree up year round. Last year my wife drew the line on Valentine’s Day. No longer relegated to the yard sale bin as they were 30 years ago, mid- to late-century ceramic trees are in high demand. Whether made by a beloved aunt or mass produced in the U.S., don’t expect to snag a tree in your local thrift shop for 10 bucks. Vintage trees can go for several hundred dollars. Newer ones, their production outsourced overseas, are still pricey. Smaller versions can be found at Michael’s or Hobby Lobby. I’ve seen larger beauties at Gulley’s Garden Center in Southern Pines, and even on Etsy and Amazon. The Vermont Country Store, known as “purveyors of the practical and hard-to-find since 1946,” sells “Made in China” ceramic trees from $15 (5-inch) to over $100 (16inch). If you’re lucky enough to find one at an antique store, made years ago in the U.S. or by someone’s great-aunt, prepare to pay top dollar. Our millennial daughters care little for the Barbie ornaments and personalized creations of their childhood, but both have their eyes on Grandma’s ceramic tree. Sorry, girls, gotta wait on that one. PS Tom Allen is a retired minister who lives in Whispering Pines.
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SANDHILLS PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB
Long Exposure
Tier 1, 1st Place: Choose Your Thrill By Bill Buss
Tier 1, 2nd Place: Earth’s Rotation By Frank Lipski
Tier 1, 3rd Place: I’m Dizzy By Bill Buss 50 PineStraw
The Sandhills Photography Club meets the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m. in the theater of the Hannah Marie Bradshaw Activities Center of The O'Neal School at 330 Airport Road in Pinehurst. Visit www.sandhillsphotoclub.org. The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
SANDHILLS PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB
Tier 2, 3rd Place: Multiple Bursts By Bill Bower Tier 2, 1st Place: Splash Down By Susan Bailey
Tier 2, 2nd Place: Shimmering Shores By Kathryn Saunders The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
PineStraw 51
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The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
PineStraw 53
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The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
OUT OF THE BLUE
Identity Crisis Losing at the name game By Deborah Salomon
What’s in a name?
the footstone. And so he shall be remembered by his sons, Foster and Cooper. The answer, Shakespeare opines, is not Funny how names reflect the times. much, since “that which we call a rose Emma came back strong. The female would by any other name smell as sweet.” characters in HBO’s The Gilded Age are Sorry, Will, but I beg to differ. Bertha, Gladys, Agnes and Ada, still trailMy mother decided to name her only ing cobwebs but not for long, I predict. child Deborah, after her motherʼs Aunt The same producers chose Edith and Deborah, a farmer’s wife famous for her Sybil for Downton Abbey. We’ll see. pound cake. She insisted on pronouncGenerations of Southern gentlemen ing all three syllables. No multi-spelling bore mother’s maiden name as their diminutives allowed, at least in her presgiven name: Wylie, Harrison, Tyler, ence, not Deb or Debi or Debbie or Debby. Reynolds, Hunter, Gibson, Sloan. I susEspecially not Debra or Debora. Despite pect an inheritance issue. Also interesting, being instructed on its Biblical provenance — how show biz has come to value real names, Deborah was a judge and prophetess in Israel no matter how unglamorous. Roy Harold — from an early age I was unwilling to assume Sherer became Rock Hudson; and Norma Jean Deborah Boyles the mantle. Mortensen, Marilyn Monroe. Reportedly, Donald In the ’40s and early ’50s, my classmates answered Trump’s ancestors changed theirs from the unproto Sally, Susan, Martha, Carolyn, Dorothy, Mary and Jane. nounceable Drumpf. Yet Meryl Streep’s actor/daughters I remember one Sharon. In high school there was a fittingly remain Mamie Gummer and Louisa Jacobson. exotic Rachel. Sometimes, a name is played just for laughs: from the Tonys, How I longed to be an Ann. Three letters, no possibilities Silvios, Vitos and Salvatores populating The Sopranos emerges except Annie, which I would have embraced. daughter Meadow, a nod to the Earth-child monikers (River, Sky, That’s not the worst. I also inherited Great-Aunt Deborah’s Forrest, Willow) of the 1990s. last name: Boyles, which until I got married made me Deborah Unisex (aka gender-neutral or non-binary) names continue Boyles Berney. Before bullying was outlawed, once this trio apto puzzle. They are more popular for females, and include Riley, peared on a school document the boys (all named Bobby, Bill, Casey, Avery, Logan, Cameron and Hunter. The very thought Jim, John, Charlie and Mike) taunted me with “Deborah boils would make my grandmotherʼs Aunt Deborah turn over in her before she burns!” That wasn’t half bad compared to a classmate Guilford County grave. named Emma, who they called Enema. But the ultimate philosophical commentary comes from Somehow I survived. Once at college, out of my mother’s Johnny Cash, in “A Boy Named Sue,” which relates the violent earshot, I became Deb or Debbie. Whew! consequences of a name bestowed to toughen up a fatherless kid. But I will say one thing for the original version, which means I never thought about changing my name. It sounds OK, “bee” in some ancient tongue. All Deborahs were preordained even a bit retro-fashionable on a roll call where every third “busy bees.” Right on. female is Catelyn/Kaitlin/Catelynne. But I did adjust my Naturally, I was determined to choose simple, non-negotiable signature which, except on documents is, in the mode of e e names for my children: Jill (Dianne) and Wendy (Sue) for the cummings, simply . . . deb. PS girls; Daniel for the boy — an especially good choice, since little Danny morphed into grown-up Dan. Deborah Salomon is a contributing writer for PineStraw and The The stonecutter suggested Daniel for his headstone, Danny for Pilot. She can be reached at debsalomon@nc.rr.com.
The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
PineStraw 55
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The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
B I R D WA T C H
Wintering Waterbirds
Common loon
Ducks, geese and swans, oh my! Ring-necked duck Bufflehead ducks By Susan Campbell
The arrival of cold weather in central
North Carolina also means the arrival of waterfowl. Our local ponds and lakes have been documented to be the winter home to more than two dozen different species of ducks, geese and swans. Over the years, as water features both large and small have been added to the landscape, the diversity of waterfowl has increased significantly. Although we are all familiar with our local mallards and Canada geese, a variety of aquatic birds frequent our area from November through March. Certainly the most abundant and widespread species is the ring-necked duck, flocks of which can be seen diving for aquatic invertebrate prey in shallow ponds and coves. The males have iridescent blue heads, black sides and gray backs. They get their name from the indistinct rusty ring at the base of their necks. The females, as with all of the true duck species, are quite nondescript. They are light brown all over and, like the males, have a grayish blue bill with a white band around it. The most noticeable of our wintering waterfowl would be the buffleheads. They form small groups that dive into deeper water, feeding on vegetation and invertebrates. The males have a bright white hood and body with iridescent dark green back, face and neck. They also sport bright orange legs and feet, which they will flash during confrontations. The females of this species are also drab, mainly brown with the only contrast being a small white cheek patch. Interestingly, bufflehead is the one species of migratory duck that actually mates for life. This is generally a trait found only in the largest of waterfowl: swans and geese. There are several types of aquatic birds similar to ducks that can be identified if one can get a good look, which usually requires binoculars. Common loons can occasionally be seen diving for fish on larger lakes in winter, and even more so during spring and fall migration. Their size and shape are quite distincThe Art & Soul of the Sandhills
tive (as is their yodeling song which, sadly, they do not tend to sing while they are here). Be aware that we have another visitor that can be confused with loons: the double-crested cormorant. This bird is actually not a duck at all but is (along with its cousin the anhinga) more closely related to seabirds, e.g. boobies and gannets. It is a very proficient diver with a sharply serrated bill adapted for catching fish. It is not uncommon to see cormorants in their “drying” pose. Their feathers are not as waterproof as those of diving ducks, so they only enter water to feed and bathe. Most of their time is spent sitting on a dock or some sort of perch in order to dry out. Two other species of waterbird can be found regularly at this time of year: pied-billed grebes and American coots. Pied-billed grebes are the smallest of the swimmers we see in winter, with light brown plumage, short thick bills and bright white bottoms. Surprisingly, they are very active swimmers. They can chase down small fish in just about any depth of water. In some years, American coots can be quite abundant. These black, stocky birds with white bills are scavengers, feeding mainly in aquatic vegetation. They can make short dives but are too buoyant to remain submerged for more than a few seconds. Given their long legs and well-developed toes, they are also adept at foraging on foot. You may see them feeding on grasses along the edge of larger bodies of water or even on the edge of golf course water hazards. PS Susan Campbell would love to hear from you. Feel free to send questions or wildlife observations to susan@ncaves.com. PineStraw 57
NAT U R A L I S T
How Now Sea Cow Heeding the ocean’s call
Story and Photographs by Todd Pusser
Some songs just resonate. With his
recent passing, Jimmy Buffett’s “A Pirate Looks at Forty” has played on a near continuous loop on my radio. A perennial favorite, its opening refrain strikes a particular chord: Mother, mother ocean, I’ve heard you call. Wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall. You’ve seen it all, you’ve seen it all. As a kid, the ocean’s call was powerful. Fed on weekly doses of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, I could not wait to strike out on my own and explore the horizon line far beyond land-locked Eagle Springs. And now, like the middleaged mariner in Buffett’s song, the feeling of being born in the wrong century and unable to fit into the modern world creeps into the recesses of my mind from time to time. The second verse continues: Watched the men who rode you, switch from sail to steam. And in your belly, you hold the treasures few have ever seen. Most of ’em dreams. Most of ’em dreams. I frequently find myself daydreaming about those early Victorian-aged explorers who set off on years-long voyages across the globe, imagining their thrill in discovering new lands and encountering unknown animals for the first time. The closest I have come to that enchantment, happened while attending the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where a scuba diving class taken as an elective during my sophomore year introduced me to one of nature’s true marvels. To finalize our certification, we had to make a checkout dive in open waters beyond the gymnasium swimming pool. Over Thanksgiving break that year, the class journeyed down to Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, along the west coast of Florida, where warm, gin-clear freshwater springs provided the perfect environment to complete the scuba training. During our first dive, while kneeling on the sandy bottom 20 feet below the water’s surface, a large shadow passed over my head. Glancing up, I saw a wild Florida manatee swimming slowly by. Awestruck, in that moment I felt the same wonder
58 PineStraw
those early naturalists likely experienced when encountering such a large animal for the first time. It was actually Christopher Columbus who first wrote about the manatees of the New World, in his famed journal from 1492. Having encountered three manatees off the coast of what is now the Dominican Republic, he called them “mermaids.” For the uninitiated, a Florida manatee is a sofa-sized marine mammal that possesses a broad, paddle-shaped tail, two small flippers and a whiskered face reminiscent of a walrus, minus the tusks. True herbivores, with a propensity for dining on vast quantities of seagrass, manatees are often referred to as “sea cows.” How Columbus mistook such creatures for the voluptuous sirens of myth and legend is unknown. Granted, he had just spent six long, lonely months at sea, sailing across the Atlantic. Columbus later commented in his journal, more prudently, that “they were not as beautiful as they are painted.” For such large animals, manatees are quite curious and disarmingly docile. Swimmers and snorkelers from all over the world flock to Crystal River, the only place in the United States it is legal to enter the water with these endangered mammals. Incidentally, among the staunchest advocates for manatees over the last four decades was none other than that tropical troubadour Jimmy Buffett. In 1981, Buffett joined forces with then-Florida Gov. Bob Graham to form the Save the Manatee Club, a nonprofit organization that continues to this day to campaign for manatee conservation. Appearing in numerous public service campaigns, Buffett used his immense celebrity to raise awareness for the plight of manatees. He donated money to erect signs throughout Florida waterways warning speeding boaters about the docile mammals; and he was the brains behind the Adopt-A-Manatee Program, an ingenious initiative that engages and inspires the public and has raised millions since its inception in 1984. The adoption model has been so successful that it has been used by numerous conservation groups around the world to raise funds for the protection of other endangered species; everything from whales to gorillas have benefited from Buffett’s genius. Just this past winter, when a powerful cold front swept out of the Arctic Circle down to the Gulf of Mexico, I visited a waterway next to a nuclear power plant along the shore of Tampa Bay. Despite their large size, manatees lack an insulating blubber
The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
PineStraw 59
NAT U R A L I S T
layer like that found in whales. As such, the half-ton mammals are particularly vulnerable to cold water temperatures and can quickly suffer from hypothermia. Hundreds of manatees had crowded into the small canal, where warm water was being discharged by the power plant. Just as many tourists were packed onto a long wooden boardwalk overlooking the canal, gawking at the gentle giants resting in the murky green water. A young boy standing nearby looked up at his father with excited wide eyes and shouted, “Look at all of them!” Followed quickly by, “Wow. Just wow!” Once again, the ocean’s call was ringing loud and clear. PS Naturalist and photographer Todd Pusser grew up in Eagle Springs. He works to document the extraordinary diversity of life both near and far. His images can be found at www.ToddPusser.com.
60 PineStraw
The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
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The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
G O L F T OW N J O U R NA L
Sensory Overload The work of artist and architect Mike Strantz
By Lee Pace
Just over
170 golfers from 14 states as far away as Nebraska traveled to Asheboro the last week in October to play golf at Tot Hill Farm, a daily fee course designed by Mike Strantz. The event is called The Iron Maverick and is a conclave of avid golfers devoted to the quirky, renegade style of Strantz, who designed eight courses over a decade before succumbing to cancer in 2005. “Everyone here will tell you they are Mike Strantz’ biggest fan,” says Brett McNamara, one of the event’s founders and organizers. “I grew up in Rochester, where the best courses are Donald Ross designs. I saw Tot Hill 21 years ago and was just flabbergasted. I’d never seen anything like it.” Adds his lifelong golf buddy and fellow Iron Maverick organizer Landon Owen: “I was fascinated by the place. I said, ‘Who builds these preposterous courses?’ I thought, ‘This guy is going to be huge.’ I have played more prestigious golf courses, but Tot Hill is my favorite.” Which begs the question: If Strantz hadn’t died from tongue cancer in 2005 at the young age of 50, would he ever have made it to Pinehurst proper to design a golf course? We’ll never know, of course, but at least 25 percent of his remarkable but all too limited design portfolio was built within 45 miles of the village of Pinehurst. Twenty-five miles to the northeast is Tobacco Road, which The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
opened in 1998 with craggy edges, blind shots and dramatic ups and downs whittled from the site of an old sand quarry. And 45 miles to the northwest is Tot Hill Farm, which opened in 2000 on a rocky site in the Uwharrie Mountains near Asheboro, with an ever-present creek running through the course and an 1800s farmhouse converted into a clubhouse and golf shop. The course in the last year has had an ownership change and reopened in September after a significant operations and agronomic overhaul. “I have always been fascinated with Mike Strantz’ work and how he went about designing a course — he actually set up shop and lived on-site for every job he did,” says Pat Barber, who owns two courses in the Charleston area and bought Tot Hill in December 2022. “I’ve always enjoyed a good renovation, whether it’s an old house on the Charleston Battery or a golf course that has some potential. This is a special piece of property, has a unique story and is just one of a very few courses that Mike produced. All those things made it an appealing opportunity. We fell in love with the golf course, the land and the old farmhouse. The idea of bringing it back to life was exciting.” Tot Hill was built on part of a 400-acre parcel that had been in the family of Asheboro native Ogburn Yates since 1943. The family lived there during the summers, and Yates later raised cattle. In the 1990s, Yates said the family was faced with three options. One was to sell it, but “there were too many memories,” he says. Another was to let it sit idle. A third was to jump on the health of golf and residential markets, build a golf course and develop a neighborhood. PineStraw 63
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G O L F T OW N J O U R NA L
Yates owned a condominium at Pawleys Island on the South Carolina coast, and through a church there made friends with Doc Lachicotte, a prominent area businessman who was a partner in the mid-1980s creation of the Wachesaw Plantation golf community in Murrells Inlet and the subsequent idea to build a daily-fee course on land along the Intracoastal Waterway used as a fishing club. Lachicotte hired Strantz to design what would become the highly decorated Caledonia Golf & Fish Club. “I told Doc we were thinking of doing a golf course on an old family farm, and he said I should talk to Mike,” Yates says. “Doc said he’d bring Mike up here one weekend and let him look at the property. They got here and Mike said, ‘Let me walk around an hour or so.’ He came back and said, ‘You need to build a golf course here. This is a great piece of land.’” Strantz lived in the farmhouse for 18 months while drawing sketches of the holes during the evenings, and wandering the property by horseback and jumping on earth-moving machines during the day. The course opened in May 2000, and golfers from the beginning were wowed by the tee area of the par-3 third hole cobbled amid enormous rock outcroppings; the teardrop shaped green of the fifth hole set in another rocky and sandy setting; the “cave” built under the ground connecting the 10th and 12th greens; and the waterfall cascading down from behind the 15th green. “The piece of property is tremendous,” Strantz said. “I was brought in pretty much as a consultant at the beginning by Ogburn. We walked out on the property and looked at a few places. It kept getting better and better. I got across the road and I kept hearing this sound. I had to go see what it was. It was a waterfall and some big rock. I said, ‘Ogburn, you gotta do it.’ There was no question in my mind at that point.” Tot Hill has survived two recessions, the occasional flood like the one in 2003 where Betty McGee’s Creek washed out one green entirely and parts of two others, and the always evolving golf economy. By 2018, Yates
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G O L F T OW N J O U R NA L
and his partners were getting along in age and thought it time to find someone who would continue the Tot Hill vision. They met with a half dozen potential buyers before reaching a comfort level with Barber, who has been in the golf business for more than 20 years with Stono Ferry Golf Club and the Plantation Course at Edisto, both in the Charleston area. The course closed in May 2023 and reopened on Labor Day. All of the greens and bunkers were rebuilt, some drainage issues addressed, many of the cart paths resurfaced, and vast swaths of trees culled out to improve sunlight and airflow. The motor operating the waterfall on 15 was replaced, and the farmhouse restored for golf operations, a snack bar and a room dedicated to Strantz memorabilia. “Sensory overload is a phrase you hear often where Strantz courses are concerned,” says Greg Wood, the club’s director of operations. “Mike was at the height of his career when he was here, just coming off the accolades for Tobacco Road and before he did Bulls Bay.” Wood points to some of the drawings from Strantz’ pen that are hanging on the clubhouse walls and marvels at how closely the finished construction matched the illustrations. Also displayed are several sketches of potential logos for the club that Strantz drew, the eventual one featuring a horseshoe surrounding an animal skull and horns. When the new owners took over, they modified the logo in a rebranding effort using another Strantz option. “The exciting part is that Strantz the artist910-949-3000 gave us several options to use,” Wood says. Mike Strantz the artist and Mike Strantz the golf architect — they are one and the same and on full display in today’s Sandhills golf landscape. PS Chapel Hill-based writer Lee Pace has been writing about golf in North Carolina and the Sandhills for four decades. His latest book is Good Walks—Rediscovering the Soul of Golf at Eighteen Top Carolinas Courses, available from UNC Press.
The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
225 E 3rd Avenue Red Springs, NC 28377 4 bd 3 ba 5,200 sqft $549,000 Designed to capture the natural beauty of this iconic location within the town of Red Springs. The exquisite property features oversized porches crowned with ionic columns, and graceful sweeping architecture provides for several stained glass windows. Here today and yours tomorrow. Book your private showing now before it’s someone else’s dream come true.
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December ���3
Snowbird The Latin teacher finally did retire. Her balcony now bends toward the sea. She is in a high-rise looking down at birds. Gulls scream and fly north to the next resort. All that’s left now are pigeons on the patio. They scavenge through the purpling decorative cabbage. She hasn’t seen a pelican yet, just the same birds she came here to get away from. They look like feathered cataracts in a kale eyeball. She sees a buried Titan with umbrella pectorals. It struggles to emerge from beneath the sodden November sand, beaten down by so many tenacious dog walkers. He has his eye on her.
— Maura Way
Maura Way’s second collection of poetry, Mummery, was published by Press 53.
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’Tis the season for making memories. That act of remembering gives us pause. It makes us laugh. Sometimes it makes us cry. What follows are a few precious moments. If nothing else, each and every one of these recollections is a reminder to us all to hold those most dear as closely as we can.
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Cherish Let There Be Light December 1971 was cold and wintry. But then, it was always frigid in my small Midwestern hometown that time of year. Light poles on the main street were festooned with glowing decorations, the ground was blanketed in white, and a humongous fir tree was in its usual place on the square. Christmas trees were a big deal in our town. August Imgard, a German immigrant and local resident until his death in 1904, brought the first Christmas tree to America. He held that distinction for nearly a century until he was demoted like Pluto by some scholarly researcher who found evidence of an earlier tree’s appearance in another municipality — but it was still a big deal to us. It was a simpler time, the early ’70s. Families seemed closer; neighbors knew each other. I was the youngest of five siblings, and the oldest, Ken, was our undisputed leader. From making meals when our parents were at work, to organizing pickup games in the neighborhood, to finding the best hills for sledding, my brother was always in charge. He delivered newspapers and shoveled sidewalks to make a few dollars, which he shared. I looked up to him, literally and figuratively. With Christmas right around the corner, schools were out for the holiday, and the local stores were buzzing with last-minute shoppers, their red-cheeked, buttoned-up kids in tow. Hallmark-quality stuff. But something was missing. The tree on the square was dark, its wires having been cut by vandals. For weeks, it seemed, the blackout continued. The town’s head honchos were unwilling — or unable — to fix the damage to restore the lights. It was upsetting, to say the least, to my 7-year-old self. Where was the Christmas spirit? The kindness, the joy? Three days before Christmas, two teenaged boys worked outside for hours in below-freezing temperatures splicing together the wires on that huge tree. Ken and his friend John lit up the square in our little town just in time to light the way for Santa’s arrival on Christmas Eve. A reporter took a picture of those boys, and it was on the front page of the newspaper the next day. One of my sisters found it for me recently. For the record, I still look up to my big brother. ‒ Pam Phillips The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
the Thought Illlustrations by Harry Blair
A Special Lesson from my Orthodox Jewish Grandmother This story takes place in Chicago, Christmas Eve 1948. My religious Jewish family was getting ready to celebrate Hanukkah. My mother had received a phone call that my grandmother’s dentures were ready to be picked up. Rather than waiting for the Christmas holiday to be over, my mother went to downtown Chicago to the dentist’s office. She returned by late afternoon and placed the white box containing the dentures on the hallway table. I do not know what got into me, at age 12, and my sister, age 14, but we felt the Christmas Eve spirit surrounding us. Perhaps it was the lightly falling snow. With that we decided to go to the Kresge Five and Dime store and buy some little flocked Christmas trees. For 10 cents you could get a 2-inch snow-flocked tree with either a green or red stand. We bought two — one in each color. We took the dentures from the hallway table, wrapped the box in some tissue paper and put it on the mantel above the fireplace in the living room. Standing on the box were the two small Christmas trees. My sister and I invited my grandmother to come into the living room and get her dentures. When she saw the Christmas trees, she began her tirade in how disappointed she was with her granddaughters, Vivian and Charlotte. We were making a mockery of the Christian religion. To this day I can see her standing in front of us in her beige dress, covered in a large apron, her voice summoning the memories of the antisemitism she lived through in Lodz, Poland, before coming to America in 1904. Her granddaughters had made a joke about the Christian religion. The Christians let the Jewish people live in peace in the United States. On and on she lectured us. Every Christmas Eve, no matter where I am, I think of my Grandmother Peshe Epstein and her words of wisdom. My Hanukkah and Christmas wish for all would be that the world could hear and practice the lesson she taught us. May the memory of this wonderful woman be a blessing forever. ‒ Vivian R. Jacobson
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Grandmother’s House The year I turned 7, Christmas fell on a Sunday. For most families, that’s not a big deal. For my family, the weekend was the only time off from work for my parents and grandparents. My sister and I knew our parents would pack us up on Friday and “to Grandmother’s house we go” so that we’d all be together on the holiday. Because we would not be in our own home on Christmas Day — “the most wonderful time of the year” — I’m sure my parents grew tired of us asking, “How will Santa know where to bring our presents?” “When what to my wondering eyes did appear” on that Friday morning before we left — Santa had made an early trip to our house. In addition to the presents under the tree, he left a letter saying he heard about our dilemma, checked his “Naughty or Nice” list to see that we were in the correct column, and he and Rudolph delivered our presents two days early. Now in my 50s, I still believe in the magic of Santa. I was lucky enough to live it as a child and again through the eyes of my son. My wish for all children everywhere is for them to experience the same magic all year. “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!” ‒ Chris Dunn
A Gift in Layers Every year my father would stay up late on Christmas Eve to bake his special coconut cake. He’d start early in the day with his secret recipe printed on blue copy paper. I don’t know where the recipe originated. He’d have all the ingredients spread out in the kitchen along with the double-boiler pot he pulled out once a year to get the frosting just right. I’d stick around to make sure I could get the leftover crumbs in the pans and have the chance to lick the spatula and scrape what I could from the pot as he patted as much coconut as possible on the frosting of each layer, then around the sides when all the layers were in place. He’d smile and admire his masterpiece and leave it on the dining room table for Christmas Day, tempting the whole house with the sight and smells. I’d be just as eager to get my first piece of that cake on Christmas Day as I was to open presents. I’m sure I have the recipe tucked away somewhere, but I’ve never used it. It wouldn’t be the same. One Christmas after our father was gone, my brother — who inherited the cooking genes — surprised me with the cake. It will forever be one of my favorite memories.
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‒ Fallon McIver Brewington The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
My Personal Playlist I’d taken up the snare drum in the fourth grade. Dad was a drummer, so there was never any question what instrument I would choose. The next year, on Christmas morning, I remember seeing the red bow on my very own drum set by the tree. My parents worked hard to find it, and getting it was a sacrifice. But that was only the beginning. I played the drums in my room, one wall away from the living room. Night after night. My mother would tell you it never bothered her. Mothers are like that. Drumming became more than a hobby. It was like teenage therapy. And it was loud. I played that drum set in my first band in the eighth grade. That same set of drums can be heard on songs from Nathan Davis’ album Out of My Skin. Nathan was at the top of the music scene in Southern Pines and, somehow, I got to record with him when I was 15. The guitar is my primary instrument now, and it’s how I make my living these days playing with Whiskey Pines, and I am extremely grateful. I never really stopped drumming, though I sure can’t play like I used to. But every once in a while I can still feel the beat of a Christmas morning. ‒Tim Stelmat
Gran’s Chimney Folk I only knew one grandparent – Gran, my father’s mum. A great lady. At Christmas she would sing The Messiah while ironing, and tell stories, one of which was about the “chimney folk.” She told my brother Bill and me that they lived up the chimney and were always there at Christmastime waiting to find out what we hoped Santa Claus would bring us. She helped us make messages out of tiny bits of paper and, as they were carried up the chimney by the heat and smoke, she used her ventriloquist skills to squeak — a sound she assured us meant that the message had been received! It took a year or two after I stopped “believing” for me to give up on the chimney folk. After all, I had heard them. I even once got into an impassioned argument with my school chums over them, insisting they were real. How could they not know about them? When Gran first came to live with us, she produced an old, battered kitchen spoon which, from then on, seemed to be used to make everything, including brandy sauce for the Christmas pudding. The spoon had two jobs: first, stirring the sauce; and then the annual ritual of heating it over a match, filling its bowl with brandy and setting it alight while pouring it over the pud, which was then carried into the dining room, everyone cheering. The years went by and my wife, Camilla, and I made several moves, the last one leaving England for the U.S. in 1987, and the spoon came, too. It now does what it does best here in America, including, very soon, the ritual of brandy sauce and flaming pudding, bringing back all those precious memories of Christmas past, of Gran, and the chimney folk, too. ‒ Tony Rothwell
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Always in Our Hearts My husband, Trent, loved Disney World, Christmas and family. He wasn’t ashamed to admit it. Why would he be? He earned a Green Beret and already proved he was an intelligent and capable badass. A Disney affliction wouldn’t take him down a notch at all. We both loved the bubble of the resort; it gave us an opportunity to pretend our lives weren’t filled with war. In 2011 he decided he wanted his parents and mine to join us for Christmas at Disney — a large family vacation with all of us staying in one giant villa suite overlooking the Magic Kingdom. Every day at 5 p.m. the Magic Kingdom has a small and often overlooked ceremony when they play retreat and fold the U.S. flag that flies over the park. A family is chosen at the beginning of the day to assist with the task. It is random, but they look for a family wearing military affiliated hats or T-shirts. I decided that Christmas it would be us. I got up early and waited patiently at the City Hall building until I could ask for the gentleman who makes the selection. They told me it was random, but I begged my point. I was told to go wait at The Bakery on Main Street. After an hour and half I was approached by a gentleman who very kindly explained he didn’t normally do this. I told him this was going to be my husband’s seventh deployment. Trent didn’t have a good feeling about it. He brought our parents on this trip so our daughter could celebrate Christmas at Disney with her grandparents. He would have all his favorite things in one place, at one time. I explained that being honored as the veteran of the day was on his bucket list. His father was a Marine vet; my father was a Navy vet. The gentleman was moved, and he allowed us to retrieve the flag at 5 o’clock. As a family, we stood proudly for a tradition that Walt Disney long respected. My husband held that flag with pride. Someone took a picture of us all together, which we keep on a wall to remind us of that day. Two weeks later Trent went on his last deployment. He arrived home earlier than his battalion, to Walter Reed Hospital, where his whole family stood beside him one last time as took his last breath. We all went back to Disney the following Christmas, on a vacation he had planned. We brought a unit hat for the kind gentleman who had given Trent one of his last wishes and thanked him for the memory that will always be in hearts. ‒ Beth MacDonald
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The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
Gather Together This will be the first year that my mother, my sister and I will be able to celebrate all the holidays in the same place. Growing up in Norfolk, we would spend Thanksgiving with our extended family, then Christmas together with our own families. Marriage moved my sister to North Carolina, and work moved me to southwest Virginia. For over 25 years, we have had to choose which holiday to celebrate, and where. Do we get together on Thanksgiving or Christmas? My place or yours? My mother moved to Moore County in 2021, and my sister moved here earlier this year. Now the three of us are able to be together without having to rush to get back to our own homes, our jobs and our responsibilities in three separate cities. My sister and I have already planned a holiday schedule of events that includes everything from ice skating (or watching from the sideline) to baking cookies. No doubt, one weekend will be devoted to binge watching holiday movies with our mother, who watches them year-round! Tree lightings, local shopping, pumpkin picking . . . the moments today that will become our memories tomorrow are the most precious of all. ‒ Sandra Dales
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Crime at Lark Cottage Fiction by John Bingham Illustration by M ariano Santillan
The mystery story that follows was written by John Michael Ward Bingham, the seventh Baron Clanmorris, appearing first in The Illustrated London News around Christmas 1954. Bingham was the author of 17 thrillers, both detective and spy novels. During World War II, and for roughly two decades after, Bingham worked for MI5, the British secret service. He was the inspiration for the master spy George Smiley in John le Carré’s fiction. “He had been one of two men who had gone into the making of George Smiley,” wrote le Carré. “Nobody who knew John and the work he was doing could have missed the description of Smiley in my first novel.” The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
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he weather was foul. It had been snowing, off and on, for some days, but during the last few hours the temperature had suddenly risen, and with the departure of the cold had come the rain, pitting the smooth snow, causing it to fall with soft rustles and sighs from the branches in the coppice which surrounded the cottage on three sides. Bradley switched off his engine in the black-velvet shadows of the trees opposite the little gate; and went up to the gate, and saw that it bore the name “Lark Cottage,” saw, too, the soft lamplight gleaming through the chinks in the curtains of the front room. It had been dark for two hours now. A blustery little wind had arisen, sweeping in chilly rushes across the moors, driving the rain before it, and plunging into the little hollow in which the cottage lay. There was no other habitation in sight. Bradley unlatched the gate and walked up a narrow path and knocked on the door. For a few seconds he heard nothing. Then came the sound of footsteps, but they did not come to the door. He heard them pass in front of the door, then begin to ascend uncarpeted stairs. For a few seconds he stood listening, hearing the water drip from the eaves. A sudden gust of wind and rain, stronger than usual, caused him to turn up the collar of his raincoat. Suddenly, somewhere above him, a window was opened, and the gust of wind died away, and in the silence that followed a woman’s voice said: “Who is there? What do you want?” “You don’t know me,” he replied. “I am sorry to trouble you.” “Who are you?” “You don’t know me,” he repeated. “My name is John Bradley. It will mean nothing to you, I’m afraid. I got lost, and now I’ve developed car trouble. The clutch is slipping badly. I see there is a telephone line to your cottage. I would be most grateful if I could use it. I’ll naturally pay you for the call.” He looked up as he spoke. He could see the pale blob of her face in the darkness, peering down at him through the halfopened lattice window. For a second or two she said nothing. Then she said: “Wait a minute. I’ll come down.” He heard her close the window, and the sound of her footsteps on the stairs again, and the noise of the door being unbolted. He followed her into the little hall, and then into the living room. The room was a curious mixture of dark oak furniture, solid and enduring, and cheap modern bric-à-brac. In a far corner a small Christmas tree, obviously dug from the garden, stood in a red pot. A little girl, aged about 10, was decorating it with bits of silver tinsel. As he came in she held in
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her hand a small Fairy Queen, made of cardboard, and painted with some silvery, glittering substance. She was fair-haired and pale, and looked at him gravely, uncertainly; poised, as though prepared to drop everything and run at the first harsh word. Unhappy, thought Bradley; thin and unhappy, and none too fit. Aloud he said: “That’s a pretty tree you have.” For a second, warmth crept into the child’s face and lit up the grey eyes, and she seemed about to speak. Then, as the woman spoke, the child thought better of it, and the face assumed again its former cautious expression. “The phone’s on the windowsill.” Bradley swung around and looked at the woman. She was about 35, tall and sallow, with dark hair and eyes, the hair brushed back severely from the forehead. Her features were regular and, but for the fact that she was thin, and that her face wore a harsh, embittered expression, he would have considered her handsome for her age. Bradley said: “I suppose Skandale is the nearest town? Can you recommend a garage there?” She shook her head. “You won’t get a garage to come out at this time of night.” She paused and added: “I doubt if there’s even a garage open, now, in that dump.” “You are not from these parts?” She shook her head again and said: “I come from Brighton.” Bradley said: “You must find it a bit different up here.” But she was not listening to him. She was standing rigid, her head slightly on one side, as though she were listening. Her neck, her arms, her legs, her whole body was stiff. Bradley, glancing at her hands, saw that they were clenched and pressed to her sides. But the child was different. The child’s face was suddenly flushed and eager. She had stopped trying to fix the Fairy Queen to the top of the Christmas tree, and had turned her head towards the window, towards the front of the house and the garden path, and the gate through which a man would normally approach the cottage. She said: “Did you hear anything, Mummy?” The question seemed to break the tension. The woman said sharply: “Julia! Either get on with your tree or go to bed — one or the other.” The child turned back to her tree, but almost at once turned her head quickly to the window. Bradley heard the click of the gate, too. So did the woman. The noise came during a momentary lull in the wind, so when the woman said it was the storm blowing the gate nobody believed her, and the child ran to the window and looked out, thrusting the curtains aside, and peering into the night, kneeling The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
on the window seat, nose pressed against the pane. Bradley said: “You are expecting somebody, perhaps? Well, I won’t bother you any longer. I’ll be on my way. Maybe the clutch will last a mile or two, and I’ll do the last stretch on foot. I take it this road leads to the main road to Skandale?” The woman was staring towards the window, towards the child. Bradley thought: The child is eager, expectant, but the mother is afraid. At last she said: “It is at least 10 miles to Skandale. You would do better to stay here, Mr. Bradley, and catch the early-morning bus from the end of the lane. I can give you a bed.” “But if you are expecting somebody — “ “Nobody is coming.” There was a flurry of movement on the window seat, as the child Julia swung around and cried: “But, Mummy, it said on the wireless — “ “Julia! Come, it’s time for your bed.” She went to the window and took the child by the hand and jerked her off the window seat and towards the door. At the door she paused a moment and said: “You are quite welcome to stay the night. Julia and I share the same room, and I will make up the bed in the small room for you.” Bradley caught the strained, almost eager undertone in her voice, and knew that she wanted him to stay; knew that she was afraid and wished for his company in the house; afraid, even though as yet she had not said what she feared — or whom. “Very well,” he said mildly. “I will gladly stay. It is very kind of you.” He watched her lead the child out of the room, and heard them mount the stairs, and the sound of voices in an upper room, the woman’s sharp and scolding, the child’s plaintive. Then he went quickly to the window and looked out. The light from the room was reflected by the snow, so that he could dimly see the garden and path and the gate. But there was no sign of anybody. He had not expected to see anybody. He lit a cigarette and wandered slowly round the room, glancing at the books in the bookshelf near the fireplace, at the cheap watercolors on the whitewashed walls. On a table near the window stood a small silver tray. He picked it up and read the inscription in the middle, written in the impeccable copybook handwriting peculiar to such things: to fred shaw on his marriage — from his pals at the mill He replaced the tray and moved to the fireplace, noting the inexpensive china ornaments, the walnut-wood clock. In a light oak frame was a picture of a plump-faced man with fair, receding hair. In the bottom right-hand corner were the words: “To Lucy with love from Leslie.” The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
He wandered on, looking for something which he somehow knew he would not find; looking for the usual wedding picture, the wedding picture of Fred and Lucy Shaw. He was not the least surprised not to find it; not in the least surprised to find no trace of Fred Shaw at all, except for the silver tray and that, after all, was worth money. No trace, that is, until he came to the newspaper lying on the dark oak sideboard, and saw the double-column headlines, and read the text about Frederick Shaw, and how warders and police were scouring the countryside for him. Frederick Shaw, aged 42. Escaped from Larnforth Prison. Shaw, the murderer, reprieved because of what Home Secretaries call “just an element of doubt,” and serving a life sentence, with nine-tenths of it still to run. Shaw, the former overseer, respected in all Skandale, who once or twice a year got a little befuddled with beer; who was known to be on bad terms with his uncle, the Skandale jeweler.
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ood-natured old Fred Shaw, who never could explain how his cap and heavy blackthorn stick were found beside the battered body of the jeweler — or even what became of the money they alleged he had stolen. Bradley put the paper down quickly when he heard the footsteps on the stairs. Too quickly. As he turned away, the big pages slipped over the side of the polished sideboard so that when Lucy Shaw came into the room she saw it lying on the floor and said: “So now you know, I suppose?” “Yes,” said Bradley, “I know all right.” Now that the need for acting was past, she stood in front of the fireplace, massaging one hand with the other, staring at him with frightened eyes. A tall, gaunt woman, with a wide, sensual mouth. The harsh expression had left her face. He saw her lips quiver. “What are you scared of, Mrs. Shaw?” asked Bradley. “I’m not scared, I’m not at all scared. What should I be frightened of?” “That’s what I was asking,” said Bradley. He moved to the door and said: “I’ll go and get my suitcase out of the car.” He went into the hall and out of the front door and down the garden path to the car. She heard the sound of the car door being slammed. On the way back, he paused by the front door. Then he came into the hall and put down his suitcase. When he came into the living room he said: “Come outside a minute, will you?” She swung round and stared at him. “Why?” “Did your husband — did Mr. Shaw use a walking stick much?” PineStraw 79
“He always used one — almost always. He was a bit lame from a mill accident. Why?” And when he did not answer, when he only looked at her without saying anything, she repeated loudly, almost shrilly: “Why?” “Well, come outside a minute,” repeated Bradley, and groped in his trench coat pocket for his torch. She walked into the hall, and when she hesitated by the front door he said: “Come on, it’s all right. I’m with you and I’m six foot tall and quite strong.” The wind had dropped now, but the rain still fell; but softly, soundlessly, more in the nature of a moorland mist. The snow was becoming soft on the surface but was still deep, so that the footprints round the house showed up very distinctly in the light of the torch; so did the small ferrule-holes in the snow on the left-hand side of the prints. “I suppose he was left-handed,” said Bradley, more to himself than to Lucy Shaw, and saw her nod almost imperceptibly. He raised the torch beam a trifle and said: “See how he turned aside to look into the room? I suppose he saw me in there with you and Julia. I suppose he is waiting for me to go. Then he will come in and spend a few short hours with you, and perhaps take some clothes and money and go.” He heard a movement by his side, and looked round, and found she had gone back into the house. When he joined her in the living room she was sitting crouched in a chair by the fire. Her sallow face had turned white. She was trembling violently. Bradley said: “I think I had better go, after all. I’m keeping him out in the night rain. It’s the police job to catch escaped convicts, not mine. I was a prisoner of war once. I’ve got a sneaking sympathy for them. Poor devil!” he added softly. But she jumped to her feet, and clutched him by both arms, and said shrilly: “You mustn’t go! Please don’t go!” A thought struck her, and she added, almost in a whisper: “Before the gate clicked — you remember? — the child and I heard a sound. I think it was his hand, perhaps his fingernail on the windowpane, as he looked in through a chink in the curtains.” Bradley said: “I’m going, unless you tell me why you are afraid.” He pushed her from him, and she went and stood by the fireplace. After a while she said: “He thought I should have done more for him when he had his trial. He said he was with me at the time of the murder, and I should have said so too. “But he wasn’t, so I couldn’t say it, could I? After all, you’re on oath, aren’t you, Mr. Bradley?” “You’re on oath all right.” “So I couldn’t go and perjure myself, could I? I mean, could I?” “Men don’t kill women for not doing something, Mrs. Shaw.” He glanced at the gate. “The fire is dying, and there is no more wood. Where is it kept?” She looked up at him fear in her eyes, and said:
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“In the shed near the back door. I can’t go out there and fetch it. I’m not going out there alone.” “I’ll fetch it. Just come with me and show me where it is. Just come to the kitchen door with me.” He opened the kitchen door, and she stood with him, and pointed to the shed, a few yards away. The rain still fell, still soundlessly. Somewhere some water was running, gurgling down a drain. Otherwise there was no noise, either in the trees which pressed down upon the cottage or in the glistening bushes which edged their way to within a few feet of the back door. He shone his torch, first on the shed then on the bushes, and took a step forward, and suddenly stopped as the bushes shook violently and snow cascaded from them. Behind him he heard Lucy Shaw gasp and sob twice. “It’s probably only a rabbit,” said Bradley, and walked towards the bushes. For a second he shown his torch at them, then made his way to the shed and gathered a trugful of sawn logs and came back towards the kitchen.
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ucy Shaw stood watching him, afraid to go back into the house alone, afraid to go out into the night with him. She kept passing her hand over her smooth hair, nervously, restlessly, staring out into the night at him with her black, dilated eyes. The crash of the broken window, the broken living-room window, made her turn and scream; caused Bradley to break into a run; and woke up the child. Bradley heard her calling: “Mummy! Mummy! What’s that?” Bradley carried the trug with one hand and with the other pushed Lucy Shaw into the house and whispered fiercely: “Tell her I dropped a vase! Go on, tell her that!” When the woman had done so, they went into the livingroom and saw the stone with the piece of paper wrapped around it lying among the shattered fragments of windowpane. Bradley picked it up and smoothed out the paper, and saw, in capital letters, the word, ADULTRESS. He handed it to Lucy Shaw and said: “He doesn’t seem to think an awful lot of you, does he?” The curtains were stirring in front of the jagged hole in the window. Bradley flung the logs down by the side of the fire and said abruptly: “I’ve had enough of this! I’m going. You can sort it out yourself with your husband. It’s no affair of mine.” She flung herself at the door, ashen-faced, and stood in front of it, barring his way. “You can’t leave me here — alone!” “Who can’t?” asked Bradley tonelessly and watched the curtains billowing into the room as a sudden gust of wind struck them. “Where are the police?” gasped Lucy Shaw. “Surely the first thing they do is to send men to watch an escaped convict’s home?” The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
Bradley point to the telephone. “Ring ’em up and tell ’em so. Ask them where they are,” he said. “Go on — ring them up.” She ran to the telephone and lifted the receiver and listened. When a few seconds had gone by, Bradley said: “Perhaps the wire is down with the snow. Perhaps he’s cut it — you never know. They do it in books.” After a minute, the operator answered. Lucy Shaw held her breath for a few seconds to control her voice, to try to restrain the tremor. Then she said: “I want the police! Tell the police to come! This is Mrs. Shaw, Lark Cottage, Oak Lane, off the Skandale-Tollbrook road. Tell them it’s — it’s very urgent! My life is in danger! My — there’s an escaped convict — a murderer — trying to get in!” She replaced the receiver and stared at Bradley. He glanced at his watch and said: “They’ll probably be here in half an hour. Three-quarters, at the most. You’ll be all right till then, I expect.” He moved towards the door. She did not move, unable to believe that he was really going. “It’s no business of mine,” he pointed out for the second time. And when she clung to him and began to whimper, he said: “Don’t be daft. He won’t kill you for not perjuring yourself at his trial. He won’t even kill you for carrying on with this podgy-faced blonde brute.” He waved towards the picture on the chimney piece. “Once he’s in the house, you can appeal to him.” But she clung to the doorhandle, gaunt and unlovely, her black hair now in disarray, and when he tried to move her hands she suddenly flung herself against him, temporarily forcing him away from the door, and said: “It’s worse than that. He knew Leslie and I were in love, long before his uncle was killed.” “So what?” said Bradley and moved again towards the door. “You fool!” gasped Lucy Shaw. “Don’t you understand what I’m trying to tell you? Leslie — Leslie Bond — traveler for Fred’s firm, killed the old man, and stole the money, and planted the evidence against my husband, Fred Shaw — and I knew he had done it!” “Did you now?” said Bradley mildly. “What’s that to me?” “And I let Fred go on trial for it, and I’d have let him die for it, too — and he knows it, and that’s why he’ll kill me if you go before the police arrive!” “Fancy!” said Bradley staring at her. “And your friend, where is he?” “He left the country, saying he would come back when the case had blown over.” “And will he?” “No!” said Lucy Shaw bitterly. “Not voluntarily!” The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
As she spoke, her voice rose almost to a scream, and Bradley, watching the hatred flush her sallow face and stretch her mouth into a thin, straight line, knew that the end was at hand. “Where is he?” he asked abruptly. “In Melbourne, Australia, and I’ll damn well tell the police when they arrive!” “You may be charged as an accomplice after the fact.” “What the hell do I care!” shouted Lucy Shaw. “I’m not going to be done-in tonight, nor 20 years hence, to save Leslie Bond, and I don’t care who knows it!”
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radley said, woodenly: “If that’s the way you feel, and since you wish to make a statement, I don’t mind telling you now that the police are here already.” Lucy Shaw looked round. “Where?” “Here,” said Bradley, and put his hand in his raincoat pocket and produced his warrant card. Almost automatically his voice reverted to a routine drone as he continued: “I am Superintendent Bradley, of Scotland Yard. Sergeant Wood, I believe, has been listening outside that broken window. If you wish to make a written statement, I have some foolscap sheets of paper and a pen. “I must, however, warn you that you are not obliged to do so, and that anything you say, or any written statement you make from now onwards, may be used in evidence against you. I should perhaps add that your husband was recaptured some three hours ago within a few miles of the prison.” “What with you skylarking around, trespassing, making footprints, and breaking windows,” said Superintendent Bradley later to Sergeant Wood, “and me extorting confessions through fear and subterfuge, there’s been enough crime committed at Lark Cottage tonight to fill a sheaf of charge sheets. “Funny, how I always had an uneasy feeling about that case, even though I did collect the evidence which put Frederick Shaw in the dock. Lucky she didn’t attend the trial and know my face.” He filled his pipe and added: “The kid’ll be glad to be back with her father for Christmas. I reckon she hated her mother. So did I, if it comes to that,” he said, striking a match. “And so did I,” said Sergeant Wood. “I was frozen stiff.” PS Crime at Lark Cottage by John Bingham reprinted by permission of Peters Fraser & Dunlop (www.petersfraserdunlop.com) on behalf of the Estate of John Bingham. Lightly edited for space and style.
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STORY OF A HOUSE
A New Home for the Holidays Building traditions and contemporary elegance By Deborah Salomon • Photographs by John Gessner
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W
hen floral designer Matt Hollyfield meets a prospective client, he predicts her taste by reading her clothing: fine leather tans and browns, deep forest greens, a variety of textures whisper “Ralph Lauren,” a preference Melinda Taylor confirms. Her unusual new home in the Eastlake section of the Country Club of North Carolina won’t tempt Santa. No candy canes, angels or blue-and-silver snowflakes either. Instead, Hollyfield suggests wreaths, swags, tabletop arrangements and two trees featuring reds gone scarlet, blues in a muted navy and burnished golds. A close inspection reveals equestrian details. Melinda doesn’t ride but loves horses as a spectator sport . . . so why not, given the proximity? This Christmas will be the first in many years when Melinda and her husband, Doug, are the hosts rather than guests, usually of Melinda’s mother. Decorations are in place. Their home is ready.
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new house is like a blank canvas on which to paint Christmas; no outdated traditions, no faded ornaments. But the Taylors’ second home, built for eventual retirement, is perfect on multiple levels, starting with starting afresh. Because their primary residence is still Charleston, West Virginia, all the furnishings, equipment and fixtures are new and in accordance with Melinda’s master plan: a simple but elegant low country contemporary farmhouse wearing cream, sand, leather, smoky gray, green and brown hues sparked with metallic gold in unexpected places — all planned and executed by Melinda, an insurance executive by trade, a designer by avocation, and a details/neat freak by admission. Her whites glow. Pink azaleas were removed and replaced with white to extend the neutral palette. Even Beau, their yellow Lab, is vanilla. Gold accents pop in the custom-made range hood and the metallic gold kitchen sink with its lineof-sight view of the lake beyond the veranda.
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ore than a decade ago, Melinda and Doug began thinking about a retirement house, first in Asheville, which proved too chilly for Doug’s year-round golf aspirations. “We wanted it to feel more vacation-y than our two-story Colonial brick (in West Virginia),” Melinda says. Months later they drove to Pinehurst for a look. CCNC checked enough boxes for them to buy a lot and choose a model home. Construction, however, was delayed 10 years while Melinda underwent treatment for cancer, then COVID happened. Once she was declared cancer-free and their twin sons, John Logan and Preston, were off to college, the Taylors broke ground on their 5,000-square-foot, four bedroom, four-and-a-half bathroom vacation home, with dream home specialist Huntley Design Build wearing the hardhats. Obtaining materials during COVID proved arduous: windows took a year; the refrigerator, 19 months. Melinda was a five-hour drive from the action, which included a ceiling covered in floor tiles. Vinyl grasscloth graced another ceiling, and gold mesh panels in the built-ins flanking the living room fireplace added texture. She shopped the High Point Furniture Market and Facebook Marketplace but took measurements for drapes to be made in Charleston. That everything came together so well is a credit to Melinda’s vision.
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he newly popular “modern farmhouse” architectural style doesn’t comport with denim overalls and hay bales. Main floor living space, casually sophisticated, is open but divided into angles with high kitchen visibility. Clever doors that fold flat, then disappear, render the veranda an overflow living room for entertaining, furnished in fabric, not outdoor upholstery. Retractable screens and a stone fireplace help control temperature. Golf lockers line a back entrance. Each son has a bedroom and fantasy bathroom. The oversized suspended light fixtures, both Lauren and bell jar, are simply spectacular. A range of neutrals played out in moderately sized rooms make the large upstairs game room a shocker. Its 800-plus square feet are divided into a pool hall (blue felt on the table), a TV lounge, gaming table and bar. Wideboards the color of coffee grounds cover the floor, walls and ceiling. Man cave doesn’t come close. Melinda is proud of several chests rescued from inelegant circumstances and repurposed to glory. The fabric covering Beau’s favorite sofa is the same color as his fur, so it doesn’t show. True, this will be Christmas without a life-sized sleigh in the front yard. No stockings will hang from either mantel. White will replace twinkling colored bulbs on the trees, at least until the family expands. “When the boys get married and have children, this will be their home base,” Melinda says. Yo, Santa! In the meantime, on Christmas Eve the Taylors will host an open house for local friends and others coming from West Virginia. Christmas dinner: beef tenderloin, emerging from a kitchen that appears to have sprung from a magazine cover. “This is a year for establishing new traditions,” Melinda has decided, in a home she created and calls “my pride and joy.” PS
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River in the Sky
A L M A N A C
December By Ashley Walshe
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ecember is a waltz with what’s still here; a slowing down; warmth from new directions. These frigid mornings, dawn lingers. Through the kitchen window, soft light unveils a council of leafless trees, silhouettes of cottontails, a frostlaced landscape. As steam rises from the mug in your hands, you feel the sudden swell of loss. The sting of what’s not here. The emptiness of winter. You deepen your breath, allowing the wave of grief to pass almost as quickly as it arrived. Unexpectedly, a surge of joy follows. When resident birds pierce the rosepink silence with their silvery warbles and trills, you look toward the swinging feeders, eager to honor your end of the deal. The agreement is simple: You offer sustenance; they offer life. You set down the mug for the bundling ritual. Outside, the cold air enlivens you. Toting the bag of seed, you follow your breath to the wee, suspended altars. The winged ones disperse. Despite the crunch of frozen earth, the starkness of the skyline, the withering garden, a softness cradles these early winter days. Nature doesn’t mourn what’s gone like we do. As you refill the feeders, a cardinal whistles from a nearby holly; chickadees sing among towering pines. Winter isn’t empty, you remember. Nor is it quiet. It simply offers space for deeper listening.
The winter sky is a stargazer’s dream. These crystalline nights, don’t let the cold air stop you from getting intimate with Orion and company. Among the best-seen constellations this month — Aries (the ram), Triangulum (the triangle), Fornax (the furnace), Horologium (the clock) and Perseus — is a vast celestial river that begins at the footstool of the Hunter and meanders down, down, down to the southern horizon and Achernar, the constellation’s brightest star. Among the 48 original constellations catalogued by Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy, Eridanus requires a dark sky. It may be faint, but if you’re able to spot this massive star cluster — home to the so-called Eridanus supervoid and the Witch Head Nebula — surely you won’t regret the extra effort.
Light of Arthur Days are getting shorter. On December 21, the winter solstice marks the shortest day — and longest night — of the year. Ancient cultures birthed countless myths and legends about the solstice. Scots attributed the darkening days to a giant hag-goddess named Cailleach, queen of winter. Finnish myth tells of a shapeshifting witch who steals the sun and moon. Nordic people called the solstice “Mother’s Night,” believing that their goddesses gave birth at the season’s darkest hour to offer more light. In Druidic tradition, the Wheel of the Year now revolves to Alban Arthan, a winter solstice festival that celebrates the light of King Arthur, symbolically reborn as the Mabon (sun child). This much is true: From darkness comes light. May we trust the grand unfolding, honoring the journey from winter to spring again and again. PS
In a way Winter is the real Spring — the time when the inner things happen, the resurgence of nature. — Edna O’Brien 92 PineStraw
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A gift guide brought to you by Special Advertising Section
A Pair of Shoes
Under the Tree
Courtney’s Shoes is a labor of love between two very good friends who both really love shoes and also just happen to share the same name! Our collection includes shoes, bags, jewelry and now clothing from Cooper & Bailey’s, too, and you can now shop our shoes at Cooper & Bailey’s as well. We’re delighted to share this adventure with you!
Monday - Friday 11-5:30 • Saturday 11 - 4 135 Beverly Lane • Southern Pines, NC 28387 • 910.684.8546 • courtneysshoes.com
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Delicious Dinners
Serving globally inspired cuisines from a southern perspective, Ashten’s sources local ingredients to create a new menu each season. Give the gift of local food with a gift certificate to Ashten’s Restaurant & Bar.
Open Wednesday through Sunday at 5 PM 140 E New Hampshire Ave. • Southern Pines, NC 28387 • ashtens.com • 910.246.3510
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Handmade
Bags
®
Whether you’re shopping for a military spouse, a casual go-getter, a busy traveler, a party hostess or just want a gift that gives back, we have what you’re looking for. By investing in an R.Riveter bag, you are not only getting a beautiful and functional accessory, you are also making a positive impact on the world.
Open Monday & Tuesday 10 am to 5 pm • Wednesday - Saturday 10 am - 7 pm 154 NW Broad St. Southern Pines, NC 28387 • www.rriveter.com • 910.725.1010
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Facial Fillers
Bella Marie Aesthetics helps clients achieve ultimate skin health by providing the highest quality cosmetic and aesthetic injectables, utilizing proper medical grade products and integrating evidence-based skin health procedures. Call or Text 910.886.2228 • www.bellamarienc.com 375 SE Broad St. Suite F • Southern Pines, NC 28387
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Sparkly
Things
IKONIC KOLLECTION brings a modern Australian style, where new minimalism meets effortless cool, delivering subtle luxuries and versatile silhouettes. Shop our collection of ready-to-wear fashion, jewelry and accessories for the modern woman in your life - or just treat yourself.
105 Cherokee Road, Suite 1-G, Pinehurst, NC, 28374 • www.ikonickollection.com Monday to Saturday - 10am to 5pm • Sunday - 11am - 4pm • Holiday Hours May Vary
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Bedroom
Upgrades
DAHR means ‘home’ in Arabic, and our passion is to infuse Middle Eastern heritage into our store. Born as a furniture shop, DAHR has evolved into a diverse lifestyle brand blending fashion, design and décor. Explore handpicked treasures from local female artisans and global partners in our boutique downtown. Monday-Saturday 10am - 5pm • Sunday 12-4pm 168 NW Broad St. Southern Pines, NC 28387 • www.dahrlifestyle.com
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Sets of
Sleepwear
Knickers carries the finest quality lingerie, intimate apparel, sleepwear and loungewear for women and men. Contemporary, classic and casual, our exquisite garments are unrivaled in feel, comfort and style. Look fashionable. Stay comfortable. Sun-Mon: Closed. • Tues: Private Appointments Only. • Wed-Fri: 12-5. Sat: 12-4. Email info@knickers-lingerie.com or call 910-725-2346 • 150 E. New Hampshire Ave • Southern Pines, NC 28387
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Healing Crystals It’s not just a place... it’s an EXPERIENCE! Salt Rooms • Crystal Light Therapy BioMat Therapy • Aura Photos Massage • Cupping • Reiki Psychic Medium Readings Past Life Regression • Meditation Gift Shop • Kombucha and much more Spiritquest offers a wide variety of holistic modalities and services that allow us to create a customized healing experience to meet your individual needs. Spiritquest is where Science and Spirituality meet! www.spiritquestnc.com • 135 E. Pennsylvania Ave. • Southern Pines, NC 28387 (910) 444-2229 • Tuesday - Saturday - 11:00am to 5:00pm
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Ladies Golfing
Stay trendy on the green with Putter Girl! Explore our online shop showcasing the latest in women’s golf clothing and accessories in sizes XS-4XL. From chic water bottles to fashionable ladies golf polos, find the perfect gear to conquer the course.
www.puttergirl.com
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15% OFF
Perfect Pairings
in December! Our December pairing special is crisp, sweet and tart - Blood Orange Olive Oil and Cranberry Pear White Balsamic. Step into our unique shop blending Mediterranean ambiance and Southern charm, where you’ll find a variety of products to complement your cooking or to delight the food lover in your life. We’re happy to organize a gift basket for you or someone special.
thepinehurstoliveoilco.com • 105 Cherokee Rd • Village of Pinehurst • 910.986.0880 Monday - Saturday 10 am - 5 pm • Call ahead for curbside service
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Local Looks
Cooper & Bailey’s is locally owned and operated by a mother + daughter duo. Together we are curating our favorites of classic + trendy pieces of clothing for women, plus “Locals Only” gifts for her and for him in the Village of Pinehurst.
21 Chinquapin Rd Pinehurst, NC 28374 • Monday-Saturday 10AM-5PM • www.cooperandbaileys.com
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Marvelous Movies
The historic Sunrise Theater serves as a cultural center for our community, featuring live music, stage shows, the Met Opera and movies. Sunrise Theater gift cards make great stocking stuffers and can be used to purchase movie tickets, concerts, and concessions. And they NEVER expire!
NEW MOVIES COMING SOON!
250 NW Broad Street • Southern Pines, NC 28387 • www.sunrisetheater.com The Sunrise Preservation Group. Inc. is a 501 (c)(3) Tax-Deductible, Non-Profit Organization
december ����
To add an event, email us at pinestraw.calendar@gmail.com
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Although conscientious effort is made to provide accurate and up-to-date information, all events are subject to change and errors can occur! Please call to verify times, costs, status and location before planning or attending any events. TECH HELP SESSIONS. SPPL offers one-on-one Technology Help Sessions. A library staff member will sit with you to assist with accessing eBooks, learning how to use a new device, navigating a computer, and to answer any other basic technology questions. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. To make an appointment come into the library or visit www.sppl.net. PHOTO HISTORY. 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. The historical association will host an exhibit, “Southern Pines Then and Now,” featuring photographs taken 100 years ago and what the same area looks like today. Free admission. Water Department, 180 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines.
DECEMBER EVENTS Friday, December 1 LEGACY BRICKS. Now through Dec. 15, you can give a $100 tax-deductible donation to the Sandhills Woman’s Exchange and receive a personalized brick with a name and message. Info: www.sandhillswe.org. WEYMOUTH WONDERLAND. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. The Outdoor Wonderfest and Market is a fantastic occasion for the whole family to go walking in a Weymouth Wonderland. There will be local vendors and artisans, crafts, face painting, food and more. Open to the public. Enter with any monetary donation. The market will also be open Dec. 2 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Dec. 3 from 12 - 4 p.m. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org. LUNCH BUNCH. 11:30 a.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to dine on different cuisines each month as you visit different restaurants in the area. Carpool with friends or meet at the restaurant. Dining locations will be chosen the week before. Info: (910) 692-7376. CHRISTMAS CONCERT. 3 p.m. The New Horizons Band will give its Christmas Concert. Moore County Senior Enrichment Center, 8040 U.S. 15-501, West End. Info: (910) 947-4483. LIVE PLAY. 7 p.m. Enjoy watching A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play. There will be more showings on Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 3 at 3 p.m. Sunrise
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Christmas Lights Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 420-2549 or www.sunrisetheater.com.
Saturday, December 2 CRAFT DAYS. Children and their families can come by the library for Drop-in Craft Days and work on crafts at their own pace or take them home. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net. HOLIDAY MARKET. 9 a.m. Starworks Holiday Market opens to the public, featuring over 2,500 handmade glass ornaments and decorations. Starworks, 100 Russell Drive, Star. Info: www.starworksnc.org. KIDS SATURDAY. 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Families are invited to a monthly themed craft event to socialize and get creative. Geared toward ages 3 - 10. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642 or www.vopnc.org. CHRISTMAS PARADE. 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Enjoy local marching bands, activities and more at the Southern Pines Christmas Parade. Santa Claus will make an appearance. The parade will begin at Vermont Avenue and proceed down the west side of Broad Street to Massachusetts Avenue, cross
the railroad tracks, then back down the east side of Broad Street. Downtown Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. HOLIDAY CONCERT. 4 p.m. The Sandhills Community College Music Department presents a holiday concert. McPherson Theater, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info and tickets: www.sandhills.edu/news/calendar. CONCERT. 7 p.m. The Trinity Music Academy presents Handel’s Messiah. Trinity United Methodist Church, 239 N. Russell St., Troy. Info: www.trinitymusicacademy.org. LIVE MUSIC. 7 p.m. Pete O’Dea performs live. Starworks Café and Taproom, 100 Russell Drive, Star. Info: www.starworksnc.org SHAG SOCIETY DANCE. 7 - 10 p.m. Kick off the holiday season dancing to DJ Buck Crumpton spinning great tunes. Cash bar available and you may bring snacks for your table. A 50/50 drawing will be held. Admission is $10 (ages 21 and over). Down Memory Lane, 161 Dawkins St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 215-4054.
Sunday, December 3 CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE. 1 - 4 p.m. Get into the Christmas spirit with the annual Christmas
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CA L E N DA R open house at the historic 1820s Bryant House and 1760s McLendon Cabin. The Moore County Historical Association and Friends of the Bryant House will host the event so every Yule visitor can get a little taste of how early settlers celebrated Christmas. There will be hot cider, hot cocoa, cookies and entertainment. Free admission. Bryant House, 3361 Mount Carmel Road, Carthage. TOUR OF HOMES. 1 - 5 p.m. Episcopal Day School presents its 44th Annual Candlelight Tour of Homes. There will be five unique homes, decked out in holiday décor, in the Pinehurst and Southern Pines area. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Info and tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com or visit the Episcopal Day School front office. WRITING GROUP. 3 p.m. Are you interested in creating fiction, nonfiction, poetry or comics? Come to the Sunday afternoon writing group. Connect with other writers and artists, chat about your craft, and get feedback about your work. All levels welcome. This month will feature Terri M. Brown, local author, as the special guest. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: lholden@sppl.net. FAMILY FUN SERIES. 3 - 4 p.m. Enjoy a performance of A Christmas Carol. Recommended for ages K - 5. Owens Auditorium, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.
Monday, December 4 QUILTS OF VALOR. 12 - 4 p.m. Quilts of Valor meets the first Monday of each month to create lap quilts made especially for veterans. If you sew, bring your machine; if you don’t sew, you can iron or cut out fabrics for new designs. This is a free program. Moore County Senior Enrichment Center, 8040 U.S. Hwy. 15-501, West End. ANNIVERSARY GALA. 7 p.m. Celebrate Sandhills Community College’s 60th birthday. For ages 13 and older. Owens Auditorium, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.
Tuesday, December 5 BRAIN FITNESS. 10 - 11 a.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to enjoy short relaxation and brain enhancement exercises, ending with a mindfulness practice. Eve Gaskell will be the instructor. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. CRAFT NIGHT. 4 - 5 p.m. Teens and tweens, come to the library to make a fun craft. Supplies are limited. Register to reserve your spot. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.sppl.net or kbroughey@sppl.net.
Wednesday, December 6 FIRE SAFETY. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Learn helpful safety tips that can save your life. Classes are led by the Southern Pines Fire Department. Free of charge. Info: (910) 692-7376. LIBRARY PROGRAM. 3:30 p.m. There will be a special At the Library After School (ATLAS) program for kindergarteners through second-
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graders. Guest speakers from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences will read a story about dinosaurs and fossils. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.
‘Tis the Season for Fraiser Fir
HOLIDAY POPS CONCERT. 7:30 p.m. The Carolina Philharmonic presents its annual Holiday Pops Concert performing holiday classics. There will be an additional concert Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. BPAC, Owens Auditorium, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 687-0287 or www.carolinaphil.yapsody.com.
Thursday, December 7 CHRISTMAS CONCERT. 2 - 3 p.m. Second Choice Christmas Concert will have music from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. Moore County Senior Enrichment Center, 8040 U.S. 15-501, West End. Info: (910) 947-4483. MEMBERS PARTY. 5 - 7 p.m. ’Tis the season for Yuletide greetings and to say thank you to our members. Step back in time to enjoy the holiday cheer. The Shaw House will be decorated in seasonal items. Music will be provided by a harpist. Light refreshments will be available. Come and meet the board members. Free admission for Moore County Historical Association members and guests. Shaw House, 110 W. Morganton Road, Southern Pines. SOUL FLOW. 6:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Join a gentle flow guaranteed to soothe the mind, body and soul. A mixture of yin and restorative yoga. Great for all levels. Cost is $6 for residents and $9 for non-residents. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
710 S. Bennett Street, Southern Pines, NC 28387 910-725-0975 • www.one11main.com Tuesday - Saturday: 10 to 5:30
‘New Arrivals Daily
THEATER SHOW. 7:30 p.m. Moonlight, by Harold Pinter. The play runs Thursdays through Saturdays until Dec. 17. Burning Coal Theatre Company, 224 Polk St., Raleigh. Info: (919) 834-4001 or www.burningcoal.org.
Friday, December 8 BOOK SIGNING. 10:30 a.m. Join us at the Given Tufts Bookshop for a book signing with North Carolina author Arya Donahue, in support of her Christmas short story The Angel of Christmas. Books available for purchase at the event. Given Tufts Bookshop, 95 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. CHRISTMAS LIGHTS. 3 - 8 p.m. Adults 55 and older can come along for a drive through Highlanders Farm Christmas Lights Show. There will be coffee, hot chocolate, cider and ice cream available. Enjoy dinner prior to the light show. Cost is $10 for Southern Pines residents and $14 for nonresidents. Info: (910) 692-7376. KARAOKE. 7 p.m. Enjoy a fun night of karaoke hosted by Bo Gilbert. Starworks Café and Taproom, 100 Russell Drive, Star. Info: www.starworksnc.org.
Saturday, December 9 BREAKFAST WITH SANTA. 9 - 11 a.m. Sandhills Woman‘s Exchange hosts “Breakfast with Santa.” He will be at the historic cabin to hear all the children’s wishes. SWE member and local writer Joyce
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CA L E N DA R Reehling will be the storyteller. There will be face painting and holiday music. Cost is $30 for adults, children 6 and up are $10, and 5 years and under are free. Sandhills Woman’s Exchange, 15 Azalea Road, Pinehurst. Info and reservations: (910) 295-4677.
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onto the Beanstack website. Log the books that you read from Dec. 15 until Jan. 31 and be entered to win prizes. All ages are encouraged to participate. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.sppl.net.
HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Come to the Black Castle Books holiday open house where books will be buy one, get one free. Some restrictions apply. Black Castle Books, 952 Old U.S. 1, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 725-0197.
CHRISTMAS CONCERT. 2 - 3 p.m. Piano man Flint Long will be performing. Moore County Senior Enrichment Center, 8040 U.S. 15-501, West End. Info: (910) 947-4483.
WRAP PARTY. 11 a.m. Exchange wrapping paper, ribbon and gift bags and learn new techniques for making your presents stand out under the tree this year. Have lots of extra wrapping paper? Bring your unwanted rolls and exchange it with others. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.sppl.net.
READING ROOM. Everyone is invited to enjoy the Cozy Reading Room all day long. Grab a book, find a seat, and get started on your Winter Reading Challenge Goal. Also Sunday. December 17. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.sppl.net.
MET OPERA. 12:55 p.m. Met live in HD: Florencia en el Amazonas. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 420-2549 or www.sunrisetheater.com. CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE. 1 - 4 p.m. Enjoy oldtime decorations, warm apple cider and homemade cookies at the annual Christmas Open House. Tour three house museums built during the 1700s and 1800s. The event is free to the public and an opportunity to see how early Southern Pines and Moore County residents lived. The gift shop will be open for purchasing unique gifts. Shaw House, 110 W. Morganton Road, Southern Pines.
Sunday, December 10 CHAMBER SESSIONS. 2 p.m. Join us in the great room as we welcome Dr. Nicholas Susi, an innovative musician with a gift for keyboard brilliance. Tickets start at $30, kids 12 and under are admitted free. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org. STEAM. 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. Elementary-aged children and their caregivers are invited to learn about topics in science, technology, engineering, art and math
Saturday, December 16
Wrap Party and to participate in STEAM projects and activities. This month try our Lego challenge. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or kbroughey@sppl.net. CONCERT. 7 - 8:30 p.m. Moore County Choral Society with Moore Brass & Percussion presents their annual Christmas concert. BPAC, Owens Auditorium, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.
Monday, December 11 PHOTO CLUB. 6 p.m. The Sandhills Photography Club Annual Holiday and 40th Anniversary Dinner will include the presentation of the Stoffel Awards, the results of the Sports Competition, and the installation of the 2024 officers. Info: www.sandhillsphotoclub.org.
Tuesday, December 12 AARP TALK. 12 - 12:30 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to join AARP for a fraud talk. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. TEEN WRITING CLUB. 4 - 5 p.m. Are you interested in creative writing and storytelling, connecting with other writers, and getting feedback on your work? Join us for the Teen Creative Writing Club. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.sppl.net or kbroughey@sppl.net.
Thursday, December 14 GLASS BLOWING. 5:30 p.m. Glass blowing demonstration. Steve’s Comfort Cuisine food truck will be-on site. Tickets are $5. Starworks, 100 Russell Drive, Star. Info: www.starworksnc.org. MUSIC. 7 p.m. Enjoy a concert by the Frozen Charlottes. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 420-2549 or www.sunrisetheater.com. LIVE MUSIC. 7 p.m. Live music from Tony Low. Starworks Café and Taproom, 100 Russell Drive, Star. Info: www.starworksnc.org.
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Friday, December 15
Santa Paws
102 PineStraw
WINTER READING CHALLENGE. Track your books through the Beanstack App or by logging
BREAKFAST WITH SANTA. 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Children 12 and under are invited for fun holiday crafts and games along with enjoying breakfast with Santa. Bring a camera for pictures. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Cost is $5 and registration is required. Recreation Center Gym, 160 Memorial Park Court, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. CHRISTMAS PARADE. 11 a.m. The town of Vass is holding its annual Christmas parade. There will be food and vendors. Vass Lakeview School, 141 James St., Vass. Info: (910) 245-4677 or www.townofvassnc.gov. TRIVIA. 7 p.m. Put your brain to the test during trivia nights. Starworks Café and Taproom, 100 Russell Drive, Star. Info: www.starworksnc.org HOLIDAY CONCERT. 7 p.m. Join the Moore Philharmonic Orchestra for its annual holiday concert. Admission by any donation. Robert E. Lee Auditorium, 350 Voit Gilmore Lane, Southern Pines. Info: www.mporchestra.com.
Sunday, December 17 CONCERT. 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Enjoy the Murphy Family Christmas Concert. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 420-2549 or www.sunrisetheater.com.
Tuesday, December 19 BRAIN FITNESS. 10 - 11 a.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to enjoy short relaxation and brain enhancement exercises, ending with a mindfulness practice. Eve Gaskell will be the instructor. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. BINGO. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to play 10 games of bingo. Cost is $4 for residents and $6 for non-residents. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. HOLIDAY PRODUCTION. 7 p.m. The Uprising Theatre Company presents a re-creation of the Charles Dickens holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. There will be additional performances on Dec. 20 and 21 at 7 p.m. The Village Chapel, 10 Azalea Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.
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CA L E N DA R Wednesday, December 20
Sunday, December 24
SANTA PAWS. 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Santa didn’t forget his furry friends. Join Southern Pines Parks and Recreation along with Santa for pictures, treats and more. Martin Park, 350 Commerce Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE. 7 p.m. Come join Community Congregational Church for a service and special music presentation of Fantasia. Community Congregational Church, 141 N. Bennett St., Southern Pines.
Thursday, December 21
Monday, December 25
READ BETWEEN THE PINES. 5 p.m. Do you love reading and discussing amazing books? If so, join SPPL’s evening book club for adults, Read Between the Pines. Copies of the book are available at the library to check out while supplies last. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: mhoward@sppl.net.
MUSICAL. Experience a new take on a beloved classic in The Color Purple. Showings will continue through Dec. 28. Cameo Art House Theatre, 225 Hay St., Fayetteville. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.
MOVIE. 6 p.m. Come to a free screening of The Polar Express. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 420-2549 or www.sunrisetheater.com.
12.21 The Polar Express
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LIVE FROM THE GREAT ROOM. 7 p.m. Enjoy cocktails and entertainment as Weymouth welcomes Larry & Joe, the latest project of Larry Bellorín and Joe Troop. They offer a bilingual program of virtuosic fusion music, storytelling, humor and singalongs. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets start at $30. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org.
Unifying all Christians through Unifyingthe all Word of God Unifying all Christians through Christians through Three Distinct the Word of God the Word of God Three Distinct Three Distinct Sunday Worship Sunday Worship Sunday Worship Services Services Services
Thursday, December 28 MEDICAL MINUTES. 1 - 2 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to learn about different topics beneficial to the senior community. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. SOUL FLOW. 6:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Join a gentle flow guaranteed to soothe the mind, body and soul. A mixture of yin and restorative yoga. Great for all levels. Cost is $6 for residents and $9 for non-residents. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
Friday, December 29 FIRST EVE. 6 - 8 p.m. Bring family and friends to ring in the New Year early. There will be live music,
8:15amDistinct Communion Service Three Services 2nd & 4th Wednesday of the month 8:15am Communion Service Three Services 9:30am Distinct Family 8:15amService American Heritage Girls and Trail Life Troop 9:30am Family Service 11:00am Traditional Service 8:15am Holy Eucharist 1898 meet at Heritage Hall 11:00am Traditional Service
8:15amDistinct Communion Service Three Services
Holy Eucharist 9:30am Family 8:15amService 11:00am Traditional Service HolyService Eucharist 9:30am Service Family Family with
8:15am 9:30am Communion Service 9:30am Family Service Service Family 8:15am Communion December 17Service -9:30am 10:30amwith Carolina Brass 11:00am Traditional Service Children’s Sermon
December 24 - 10am Worship, 11:00am Traditional 5 pm11:00am Children’s Pageant, 9 pm Service Communion Children’s Sermon Traditional Worship December 25 10 am Communion Service Nursery is provided for all services. 11:00am 10 Azalea Road • Pinehurst • 910-295-6003 December 10 amWorship Lessons & Carols Traditional Join31 us- to discover www.tvcpinehurst.com January 1 10am Communion Service Nursery provided all services. www.facebook.com/tvcpinehurst what ismakes us for unique.
8:15am 9:30am Communion Service 9:30am Service Family Service Family with 11:00am Traditional Service 10 Azalea Road • Pinehurst • 910-295-6003 Children’s Sermon Join us to discover www.tvcpinehurst.com Three Distinct Services www.facebook.com/tvcpinehurst what makes us unique.
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Nursery is provided for all services.Fall Hours: Wed.-Sat. 10AM-5PM and Sun. 1PM-5PM 10 Azalea Road • Pinehurst • 910-295-6003 Join us to discover www.tvcpinehurst.com 104 PineStraw www.facebook.com/tvcpinehurst The Art & Soul of the Sandhills what makes us unique. 10 Azalea Road • Pinehurst • 910-295-6003 www.tvcpinehurst.com • www.facebook.com/tvcpinehurst
CA L E N DA R carnival games, face painting and more. The highlight of the evening is the countdown to the Pine Cone Drop at 8 p.m. Downtown Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
enjoy a brisk workout that focuses on balance and strength. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
Saturday, December 30
RESTORATIVE YOGA. 12 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Practice movements that may help alleviate pain and improve circulation. and well-being Bring your own mat. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
CRAFT DAYS. Children and their families can come by the library for Drop-in Craft Days and work on crafts at their own pace or take them home. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.
12.21
UPCOMING EVENTS Sunday, January 7 COMEDY SHOW. 4:20 p.m. Journey into the mind of a psychedelic astronaut during the comedy show A Better Trip. Cameo Art House Theatre, 225 Hay St., Fayetteville. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.
WEEKLY EVENTS Mondays
Live from the Great Room Monday through Friday. Cost for six months: $15/ resident; $30/non-resident. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
WORKSPACES. 7 a.m. - 3p.m. The Given Tufts Bookshop has a new pop-in co-workspace open on Mondays and Thursdays in the upstairs conference room. Bookshop floor and private meeting room by reservation only. Info: www.giventuftsfoundation.com.
CHAIR YOGA. 9 - 10 a.m. For adults 55 and older. Help offset body aches encountered with desk work. This is an accessible yoga class for bodies not able to easily get up from and down to the floor. Do standing or sitting in a chair. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
WORKOUTS. 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to get their workout on. Open
STRENGTH AND BALANCE WORKOUT. 11 - 11:45 a.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to
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GAME ON. 1 p.m. For adults 55 and older. You and your friends are invited to come out and play various games such as corn hole, badminton, table tennis, shuffleboard, trivia games and more. Each week enjoy a different activity to keep you moving and thinking. Compete with friends and make new ones all for free. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. BRIDGE. 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Enjoy games of bridge with friends. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
Tuesdays SLOW FLOW YOGA. 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. Adults 18 and older can join Brian O’Grady to learn how mindfulness can change your life. Bring your own yoga mat. Free of charge. Train House, Downtown Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. unitedwaymoore.com
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lthy holiday ea h y, p p a h a u yo h We wis d smiles. n a y jo f o ts lo h it w season
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CHRISTMAS LITURGICAL SCHEDULE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
Holy Day of Obligation Masses at Sacred Heart Thursday, December 7, 2023 – 6:00 PM Mass Friday, December 8, 2023 – 10:00 AM Mass
CHRISTMAS MASSES
Sunday, December 24, 2023 4:00 PM 6:00 PM 9:00 PM Caroling beginning at 8:30 PM Monday, December 25, 2023 at 10:00AM Tuesday, December 26, 2023 – No Morning Mass 110 NW Broad Street Southern Pines, NC 28387
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Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church 300 Dundee Road Pinehurst, North Carolina 910-295-6550 • www.SacredHeartPinehurst.org
The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
CA L E N DA R PLAYFUL LEARNING. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Come for a drop-in, open playtime for ages birth - 3 years to interact with other children and have educational playtime. Dates this month are Dec. 5 and 12. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642. HATHA YOGA. 10 - 11 a.m. For adults 55 and older. Increase your flexibility, balance, stability, and muscle tone while learning the basic yoga principles of alignment and breathing. You may gain strength, improve circulation and reduce chronic pain while practicing gentle yoga postures and mindfulness. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. BABY RHYMES. 10:15 a.m. Baby Rhymes is specially designed for the youngest learners (birth- 2) and their caregivers. Repetition and comforting movements make this story time perfect for early development and brain growth. There will be a duplicate session at 10:45 a.m. An active library card is required. Dates this month are Dec. 5, 12 and 19. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net. HEALING YOGA. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Adults 55 and older can try an entry-level class, for a mind and body workout that fuses dance moves with gentle aerobics, tai chi, and yoga. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
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GAME DAY. 12 p.m. Enjoy Bid Whist and other cool games all in the company of great friends. For adults 55 and older. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. CHESS. 1:30 - 5 p.m. Come join a chess group for all levels of experience. This is a free program. Moore County Senior Enrichment Center, 8040 U.S. 15-501, West End.
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CA L E N DA R TEEN TUESDAYS. 4 - 5 p.m. Teens in middle and high school can come to the library every week to connect with other teens in a fun and safe space. Each week is a different topic or activity. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.sppl.net. LINE DANCE. 4:45 p.m. Put on your dancing shoes and line dance. This is for beginners and is a free program. Moore County Senior Enrichment Center, 8040 U.S. 15-501, West End.
Wednesdays CHAIR YOGA. 10 - 11 a.m. For adults 55 and older. Help offset body aches encountered with desk work. This is an accessible yoga class for bodies not able to easily get up from and down to the floor. Do standing or sitting in a chair. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. BRAIN BOOST. 10 - 11 a.m. Test your memory while creating new brain connections. This is a free program. Moore County Senior Enrichment Center, 8040 U.S. Hwy. 15-501, West End. KNITTING. 10 - 11 a.m. Learn how to knit or just come enjoy knitting with other people. This is a free program. Moore County Senior Enrichment Center, 8040 U.S. Hwy. 15-501, West End. LEARN AND PLAY. 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Come in for an open play date with your toddler or pre-
schooler, where there will be developmental toys and puzzles as well as early literacy tips on display for parents and caregivers to incorporate into their daily activities. Dates this month are Dec. 6, 13, 20 and 27. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net. PIANO. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Join Flint Long to either play piano or just listen. This is a free program. Moore County Senior Enrichment Center, 8040 U.S. 15-501, West End. JEWELRY MAKING. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Come with friends to create fun designs and memories. Supplies are available. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. LINE DANCING. 12 - 1 p.m. Looking for new ways to get your daily exercise in and care for yourself? Try line dancing. For adults 55 and older. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
participate. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. BRIDGE. 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Enjoy games of bridge with friends. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. DANCE. 2 - 2:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Instructor Maria Amaya will introduce you to dance fitness in this class designed for anyone who wants to gently and gradually increase their cardio function, mobility, and balance and have fun at the same time. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. LINE DANCING. 2 p.m. The town of Vass will host line dancing for seniors every other Wednesday. Cost is $5 per session. Vass Town Hall, 140 S. Alma St., Vass. Info: www.townofvassnc.gov.
SLOW AND STRETCHY. 12 - 1 p.m. Adults 55 and older can flow through yoga poses slowly and intentionally, stretching everything from your head to your toes. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
LIBRARY PROGRAM. 3:30 p.m. At the Library After School (ATLAS) is an after-school program for kindergarteners through second graders who enjoy activities, crafts, stories and meeting new friends. Dates this month are Dec. 6, 13 and 20. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.
CHAIR VOLLEYBALL. 1 - 2 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Get fit while having fun. Free to
TAI CHI. 6:30 p.m. Come learn tai chi. There is no age limit and the classes are open to the
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CA L E N DA R public. Cost is $10 per class. Seven Lakes West Community Center, 556 Longleaf Drive, Seven Lakes. Info: (910) 400-5646. YOGA. 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Grab your yoga mat and head to Hatchet for a yoga session with Brady. Session cost is $10. Hatchet Brewing Company, 490 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.hatchetbrewing.com.
Thursdays WORKSPACES. 7 a.m. - 3p.m. The Given Tufts Bookshop has a new pop-in co-workspace open on Mondays and Thursdays in the upstairs conference room. Bookshop floor and private meeting room by reservation only. Info: www.giventuftsfoundation.com. MOORE COUNTY FARMERS MARKET. 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. The year-round market features “producer only” vendors within a 50-mile radius providing fresh, local and seasonal produce, fruits, pasture meats, eggs, potting plants, cut flowers and local honey. Crafts, baked goods, jams and jellies are also available. Market is located at the Armory Sports Complex, 604 W. Morganton Road, Southern Pines. GIVEN STORY TIME. 10 a.m. Bring your preschooler to enjoy stories, songs and activities. Dates this month are Dec. 7 and 14. Given
Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642. BALANCE AND FLEXIBILITY. 10 - 11 a.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to enjoy a class that will help reduce the risk of taking a tumble and increase your ability to recover. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. CROCHET CLUB. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to come with friends to create fun designs and memories. Supplies are available. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. ZUMBA. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to get and stay fit by joining the Zumba dance workout series. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. MUSIC AND MOTION. 10:15 and 10:45 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Does your toddler like to move and groove? Join us for Music and Motion to get those wiggles out and work on gross and fine motor skills. For ages 2 - 5. An active library card is required. Dates this month are Dec. 7, 14 and 21. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.
ADAPTIVE YOGA. 12 - 1 p.m. Adults 55 and older can enjoy yoga that meets you where you are, creating a sense of balance and ease by slowly increasing range of motion and mobility. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. CHESS AND MAHJONG. 1 p.m. For adults 55 and older. All levels welcome. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. MEDITATION. 1 - 2 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to connect with nature and with themselves in this 30-minute meditation. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. CABIN TOURS. 1 - 4 p.m. The Moore County Historical Association Shaw House grounds, cabins, and gift shop are open for tours and visits. The restored tobacco barn features the history of childrenʼs roles in the industry. Docents are ready to host you and the cabins are open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Shaw House, 110 W. Morganton Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2051 or www.moorehistory.com. IMPROVERS LINE DANCE. 3 - 5:30 p.m. Put on your dancing shoes and line dance. This is a free program. Moore County Senior Enrichment Center,
Worship Directory
110 PineStraw
The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
Worship Directory Come Worship with Us! CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE:
5:00 p.m. Lessons and Carols with Holy Communion
CHRISTMAS DAY SERVICE:
10:00 a.m. Celebrating the Birth of our Savior Visit our website: www.TrinityCF.net
425 Magnolia Road, Pinehurst, NC
You're Invited to AT CHRISTMAS EVE vimeo.com/brownsonchurch To worship with us online visit: BROWNSON CHURCH December 24 Carols and Candlelight CHRISTMAS EVE AT Service 11:10 of Communion, AM24 BROWNSONDecember CHURCH 6 PM Traditional Worship December 24 11:10 AM 11:10 AM 4 PM Traditional Worship Family Traditional Worship Service Family Service 44 PM 4 PM PM Family Service Family Service 6 PM Traditional Worship 6 PM of Communion, Service 6 PM 11:10 AM Service of Communion, Carols and Candlelight Service of Communion, Carols and Candlelight December 24 Carols and To worship with us online visit: Candlelight
To worship with us online visit: BROWNSON CHURCH vimeo.com/brownsonchurch To worship with us online visit: vimeo.com/brownsonchurch CHRISTMAS EVE AT vimeo.com/brownsonchurch
330 South May Street, Southern Pines brownsonchurch.org
COMMUNITY WORSHIP SERVICES
DECEMBER 24, 2023
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200 Beulah Hill Rd.,S. / Rt. #5 Family Service - 3 pm Candlelight Communion Services - 5 & 7 pm OFFERING WILL GO TO HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF THE SANDHILLS HELD BY
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PineStraw 111
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Eric Nall Owner/Operator (910) 691-9607 bigoakunderbrushing@gmail.com
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CA L E N DA R 8040 U.S. Hwy. 15-501, West End. TRIVIA NIGHT. 7 - 9 p.m. Come enjoy a beer and some trivia. Hatchet Brewing Company, 490 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.hatchetbrewing.com.
Fridays AEROBIC DANCE. 9 - 10 a.m. For adults 55 and older. Enjoy this low-to-moderate impact class with energizing music for an overall cardio and strength workout. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. JAM SESSION. 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. Do you like to play an instrument, sing or just listen to music? Come join a music jam session. This is a free program. Moore County Senior Enrichment Center, 8040 U.S. 15501, West End. TAP CLASS. 10 - 11:30 a.m. For adults 55 and older. All levels welcome. Cost per class: $15/resident; $30/non-resident. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W.
MOORE COUNTY’S SINGLE-SOURCE DESTINATION FOR SPORT SHOOTING ENTHUSIASTS
Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. QIGONG. 1 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Classes will consist of chair and standing movements that can help soothe achy feet, tight hips, lower back pain, and ease restriction in mobility. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. BRIDGE. 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Enjoy games of bridge with friends. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. LINE DANCING. 3 - 4 p.m. For adults 55 and older. If youʼre interested in learning dance moves and building confidence on the dance floor, this class is for you. Leave your inhibitions at the door and join in. Cost is: $36 for residents and $52 for non-residents per month. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. PS
WHY CHOOSE EASTWOOD OUTFITTERS? A LONG RANGE PRECISION SHOOTING SPORTS STORE You can count on personalized, one-on-one service every step of the way. We earn your respect by being there to answer your questions and we build our reputation on concierge customer services. We care deeply about the people we serve and the products we sell. Nothing gives us greater pride than seeing our customers delighted with the products we have helped them choose! Discover the difference at Eastwood Outfitters! 125 NC HWY 73, STE C, WEST END
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OPEN TUES THROUGH SAT 10AM – 6PM, AND BY APPOINTMENT • 910.420.8919
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The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
PineStraw 113
Arts & Culture
910-944-3979
Gallery Hours: Monday - Saturday 12-3pm Gallery • Studios • Classes
129 Exchange Street in Aberdeen, NC artistleague@windstream.net • www.artistleague.org
See How It’s Done Learn how to create your own art!!! Sunday, January 7, 2024 2:00-4:00pm Instructors Class Demonstration and Registration Event Start the new year off by taking an inspiring art class or workshop. On Sunday, January 7, visit the League and watch our instructors as they demonstrate the various mediums they will teach – then register for the classes that interest you. There will be preview demonstrations about classes in Drawing, Pastel, Colored Pencil, Oil, Watercolor, Gouache, Acrylic, Acrylic Pouring, Alcohol Ink, Fiber Art, Block Printing, Scratchboard, Silk Painting, Mixed Medium, Encaustic Wax, and Collage. Learn something new or advance your current skills. The exhibition of our instructors’ paintings will be hung in our gallery; which will remain open through Friday, January 26. Join us for a fun afternoon, chat with instructors, and enjoy light refreshments. Gallery Hours: Monday - Saturday 12-3pm
Ask Us About Becoming a Member • 129 Exchange Street in Aberdeen, NC Visit our website for many more classes. www.artistleague.org • artistleague@windstream.net
When you Support the Boys & Girls Club
Dreams 25 Really Do Come True Thank you, Elijah McCormick, and all those who supported our 25th Anniversary Celebration, for Making the Dream Come True!
25 Celebrating
YEARS
For over 25 years, the Boys & Girls Club of the Sandhills has provided a nurturing environment for young people in Moore County to learn, grow and develop to their fullest potential.
Change the life of a child forever.
Donate today! sandhillsbgc.org/donate
114 PineStraw
The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
Arts & Culture
MOORE COUNTY SERIES SPONSOR
Holiday Pops TUE, DEC 19 | 7:30PM LEE AUDITORIUM, SOUTHERN PINES Michelle Di Russo, conductor
Join your North Carolina Symphony at this festive concert full of holiday favorites you know and love!
New Location!
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons TUE, FEB 13 | 7:30PM OWENS AUDITORIUM, BRADSHAW PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, PINEHURST Curated by Jacqueline Saed Wolborsky, NCS Principal Second Violin
Hear the essence of the seasons captured in the music of Vivaldi’s most cherished concertos.
New Location!
Appalachian Spring TUE, APR 9 | 7:30PM OWENS AUDITORIUM, BRADSHAW PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, PINEHURST Curated by Samuel Almaguer, NCS Principal Clarinet
Evoking the “simple gifts” of an idyllic country life, Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring is among the greatest masterpieces of American orchestral music.
Subscribe to all three for just $99! The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
Encore Center • 160 E. New Hampshire Ave. Southern Pines, NC www.encorecenter.net
MAKE YOUR MARK
To advertise on PineStraw’s Arts & Culture page call 910-692-7271
arts
& culture
u o Y k Than COUNTY MOORE rs under for 10 yienafluence the
We are so happy to celebrate our decade of the very best beers with each and every one of you! Check our Instagram all month long for anniversary specials, tap takeovers & exclusive merch
ncsymphony.org 877.627.6724
VOTED BEST BEER SELECTION BY YOU, FOR YOU 910.693.7742 (SPGC) • www.spgrowler.com 160 W New York Ave • Southern Pines, NC @sopinesgrolwer • Follow us on Untappd
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910-944-3979 Thank you to our sponsors for contributing to the Thank you to our sponsors for contributing to the success of our Annual Fall Show and Sale success of our Annual Fall Show and Sale Thank you Gallery to our sponsors for contributing • Studios • Classes to the success of our Annual Fall Show and Saleto theto the Thank you to our for contributing Thank you our for contributing Thank you to ourtosponsors sponsors for contributing the Thank you to our sponsors forsponsors contributing to the Thank you to our sponsors for contributing to Thank you to our sponsors for contributing totothe success of our Fall Show and Sale success ofAnnual our Annual Fall Show and Sale success of our Annual Fall Show and Sale success of our Annual Fall Show and Sale success of our Annual Fall Show and Sale the success of our Annual Fall Show and Sale
COMFORT &JOY HARD-TO-FIND SIZES AND WIDTHS
65,000 items in stock | Men’s 7-17, 2A-6E | Women’s 4-13, 4A-4E
the shoe market
Family-Owned, Full-Service, High-Quality Comfort Shoe Store 4624 West Market Street • Greensboro | 336.632.1188 | theshoemarketinc.com
PET PORTRAITS PET PORTRAITS FOR LIFE! PET FOR LIFE!LIFE! Bob & PORTRAITS Bonnie Dougherty FOR Bob & Bonnie Dougherty Bob & Bonnie Dougherty PET PORTRAITS FOR LIFE!
SOUTHERN Bob & Bonnie Dougherty PET PORTRAITS FOR LIFE! SOUTHERN PINES PET PORTRAITS FOR LIFE! PET PORTRAITS FOR LIFE! Bob & Bonnie Dougherty PINES Brewing Co. PET PORTRAITS FOR LIFE! PET PORTRAITS LIFE! Bob &FOR Bonnie Bob & Bonnie Dougherty Offering online promotion for your art sales. Dougherty Brewing Co. SOUTHERN Bob & Bonnie Dougherty Bob & Bonnie Dougherty Tommy McDonell@leap4artnyc@gmail.com Offering online promotion for your art sales. PINES Tommy McDonell@leap4artnyc@gmail.com SOUTHERN Private Donors PINES Private Donors Brewing Co. SOUTHERN SOUTHERN Offering online promotion for your art sales. Private Donors Charles and MJ Hoch BrewingPINES Co. SOUTHERN PINES Tommy McDonell@leap4artnyc@gmail.com SOUTHERN Offering online promotion for your art sales. KC Sorvari Charles and Charles andMJ MJHoch Hoch Tommy McDonell@leap4artnyc@gmail.com PINES Private Donors Richard and Linnea Norland PINES Brewing Co. . Brewing Co KC Sorvari KCJude Sorvari Offering onlinefor promotion for your art sales. Private Donors Offering online promotion your art sales. Rich and Winkley Richard and Linnea Norland Brewing Tommy McDonell@leap4artnyc@gmail.com Brewing Co Co.. Tommy McDonell@leap4artnyc@gmail.com Charles andLinnea MJ HochNorland and Offering online promotion for your art sales. Richard
Offering online promotion for your artCharles sales. and MJ Hoch Rich and Jude Winkley SorvariDonors Tommy Private Donors Private TommyMcDonell@leap4artnyc@gmail.com McDonell@leap4artnyc@gmail.comKC Sorvari KC Richard and LinneaDonors Norland Private Richard and Linnea Norland Private Donors Rich and Jude Winkley Charles and MJ Hoch Charles and MJ Hoch Rich and Jude Winkley
Rich and Jude Winkley
Gallery Hours: Monday - Saturday 12-3pm
Sorvari KCand Sorvari Charles MJKC Hoch Charles and MJ Hoch
Richard and Linnea Norland Richard and Linnea Norland KC Sorvari Ask Us About Becoming a Member • 129 Exchange Street in Aberdeen, NCWinkley KC Sorvari Rich and Jude Rich and Winkley Richard and Jude Linnea Norland and Linnea Norland Visit our website for many more classes.Richard Rich and Jude Winkley Rich and Jude Winkley www.artistleague.org • artistleague@windstream.net
Therapeutic Massages Make Great Gifts! Make an Appointment Today! SATURDAY HOURS ARE AVAILABLE
Please schedule Saturday appointments on weekdays Kristie Hanshew
Licensed Massage Therapist, NC #2473
Aaron Barnes
Licensed Massage Therapist, NC #19808
Victoria Pender
Licensed Massage Therapist, NC #21245
Southern Pines Chiropractic, P.A.
Dec 3
44th Annual Candlelight Tour of Homes Episcopal Day School
Dec 4 Sandhills Community College 60th
Anniversary Gala
Owens Auditorium
361 NORTH BENNETT STREET SOUTHERN PINES, NC 28387 (910) 692 - 5207
Dec 10 The Light of Christmas
Owens Auditorium You can find a comprehensive list of regularly updated events from Cameo Art House Theatre on TicketMeSandhills.com 910.693.2510 info@ticketmesandHills.com
116 PineStraw
The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
SandhillSeen AutumnFest: Arts & Crafts Downtown Southern Pines Saturday, October 7, 2023 Photographs by Diane McKay
Jeremy Underhill (Marshall Arts Academy of Southern Pines)
Kami David, George Arno, Sarge
Guy, Jessica & Guy Dooley
Ella Wild, Sarah Hagerty of Troop 7G
The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
Team Ensemble Encore Theater
Meghan & Evelyn Dutcher
Paul Guay, Dave Jannone
Cole & Hannah Flournoy, Joni
Teresa & Elisabeth Remmenga
Nola, Jameson, Lindy & Brooke Seller
Yvonne Chempinski, Pinkie Castanien
Ashtyn, Yara & George Storms
PineStraw 117
WILDERS WAGYU SUBSCRIPTION BOXES - 100% FULLBLOOD WAGYU BEEF ORDER YOURS ONLINE AT WWW.WILDERS.COM OR SCAN THE QR CODE TO SEE OUR FULL HOLIDAY COLLECTION
www.wilders.com 118 PineStraw
(919) 551-8102
Follow Us: @wildersbrand
114 W MainThe Street, 27520 Art & Clayton, Soul of theNC Sandhills
December PineNeedler Give a Little! ACROSS
1. 100% 5. Shop tool Vegas 8. 11. Raymond Burr drama set in San Francisco 13. Expel from the body 16. Insane asylum treatment have it” 18. “The 19. Middle East expert 21. Make it and take it 24. Askew 25. Clickable image 26. Ashtabula’s lake 27. Mild- mannered we the lucky ones?” 29. “ 30. Baker’s dozen? to Billie Joe” 31. “ 32. “Ant-Man and the Wasp” star Paul 33. “Fantasy Island” prop 34. Bake ’em and take ’em 36. French name 39. Peter the Great, for one 41. Victorian, for one 42. “No problem!” 43. Accord 45. Become unhinged 46. Flight data, briefly 47. “Schindler’s List” extra 48. Fishing pole 49. Elon Musk company 50. Tramp 52. Not yours
54. Shake it and take (2 wds) 59. Bond, for one 60. Baldness 61. Lil X, rapper 62. Put on, as clothing 63. Mar, in a way DOWN
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Bake it and take it www.yahoo.com, e.g. v. Wade Coops up Beget “Without further” (plural) 7. Dampen 8. Skeptical 9. Taj Mahal locale 10. Albatross, e.g. 12. Eye affliction 14. Bake and take 15. 1980 - 90s boxing champ 17. “Listen!” of old 20. Atlanta-based station 21. Sense 22. Prod 23. Adapting a book for the screen, say 24. House party time 27. Anchor 28. Tokyo, formerly 29. Sydney’s country, for short what you sow” 32. “ 34. Islet
35. Retiree bank offering, for short 37. Face-to-face exam Verde National Park 38. 40. Become less flexible 42. Gets angry (2 wds) 43. Also 44. Newswoman Shriver 45. Achy 48. Takes a breather 49. Excursion
51. Sandwich filling 52. Norway capital a time . . .” 53. “Once 55. “Dear old” guy 56. “Rocks” Pan Alley 57. 58. Took a chair
Puzzle answers on page 107 Mart Dickerson lives in Southern Pines and welcomes suggestions from her fellow puzzle masters. She can be reached at martaroonie@gmail.com.
Sudoku:
Fill in the grid so every row, every column and every 3x3 box contain the numbers 1-9.
The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
PineStraw 119
SOUTHWORDS
The Third Wheel Keeping up with the big kids
By Emilee Phillips
“Don’t cry! Don’t cry! Shhhhhhhh,” my
“Hey, kid,” my older sister would say, “have you ever tried riding a laundry basket down the stairs?” The house we grew up in had sturdy wooden walls, impervious to laundry baskets. This was good for the walls. Not so good for me. Siblings are handy for all sorts of things, like teaching you words you didn’t know and weren’t supposed to use, or how to ride a bike — a learning experience that could combine both injury and vocabulary. I have two siblings, a brother and a sister. They are 10 and 11 years older than me, respectively, which made playtime a bit challenging. I was the laboratory rat used to test their theories, such as: How long was it possible to play hide-and-seek before realizing they weren’t seeking me at all? Or how long could they tickle me before I screamed? I don’t know what this training was for, but at least I developed strong lungs. Like all who share blood, we messed with each other often. The games frequently involved seeing which two siblings wanted to team up against the other one on any given day, for no particular reason. Who got the last Life Saver would spur an entire wrestling match in the living room. Perks of being so much younger and smaller than them included being able to wriggle into small spaces where they couldn’t reach me. Cons were that all they had to do was sit on me and I was conquered. On the weekends, my cardio was running through the house between my sister’s group of friends and my brother’s group of friends, acting as carrier pigeon for the top-secret messages. After they went to college, I had to entertain myself. I played dress-up with all the things they left behind until summer break. Making Halloween costumes out of my sister’s dance recital outfits was better than any Spirit Halloween store. My brother’s room was where I went for props. Christmastime was magical because it meant we were all together. They would make me hot chocolate, snuggle up with me and tell me tales of Santa. “Listen closely and maybe we’ll hear
120 PineStraw
sleighbells,” my sister would say on Christmas Eve. What I didn’t know was that, more than once, my brother climbed up on the roof, bells in hand, just to keep that magic alive. I was in denial about Santa quite a bit longer than my peers because of it. You must be thinking, “Ah, that’s so sweet!” And it was, but it balances out with the year my sister made me wrap my own Christmas present. She even told me I had to act surprised in front of Mom. I suppose we can chalk that one up to acting lessons. It could be lonely at times, growing up with siblings who were so much older, but it also gave me a built-in advice panel, tutors (for real subjects), great taste in movies and a sense of adventure from trying to keep up with them. That last bit only added to my mother’s gray hairs. I’ll admit, it’s hard feeling so far behind them in so many ways. Sometimes it’s like I’m in a race where I can never catch up. Forever the annoying little sister, I’m always looking for ways to be “part of the club.” We don’t see each other very often anymore, though we have a group text for important things like proving each other wrong, arranging the next gathering, or determining who has the honor of getting Mom socks for Christmas — a happy family tradition. To my mother’s dismay, my sister and I still occasionally throw ourselves down the stairs aboard various objects. We most recently upgraded to mattress surfing. The walls of her current house don’t hold up quite as well as those of our childhood home. Or perhaps the payload is a bit bigger. The good news is, these days if tears are shed, it’s because we’re crying with laughter, though we probably still don’t want our parents to know. PS Emilee Phillips is PineStraw’s director of social media and digital content. The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
ILLUSTRATION BY MERIDITH MARTENS
siblings would plead while glancing over their shoulders for a looming parent. This was the phrase commonly panic-whispered in our household after one of their “brilliant” ideas.
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Southern Pines
Buyer, Purveyor & Appraiser of Fine and Estate Jewellery 229 NE Broad Street • Southern Pines, NC • (910) 692-0551 Mother and Daughter Leann and Whitney Parker Look Forward to Welcoming You to WhitLauter. @whitlauter_jewelers