May PineStraw 2019 by PineStraw Magazine

McDevitt town & country properties

A West Coast Lifestyle Boutique

CoolSweats in the Village of Pinehurst 910.295.3905 Monday through Saturday 10 am - 5 pm

More than a million cases of Skin Cancer will be diagnosed this year, and over 90% of skin cancer is caused by sun exposure.

May is National Skin Cancer Awareness Month Mohs Surgery removes skin cancer and examines the cells one layer at a time. It’s completed in-office in one visit, eliminating the need for several office visits. Mohs Surgery offers the best potential for a cure, up to 99%.

Pinehurst Surgical Mohs Surgery practice is re-opening in August with Dr. Stephen Vance.

With an undergrad and medical degree from UNC and an MBA from Duke, Dr. Vance’s incredible background also includes a Dermatology Residency and a Fellowship in Micrographic Surgery and Dermatologic Oncology. One remarkable physician with roots in the Carolinas.

Dr. Stephen Vance, Mohs Surgeon Board-Certified in Dermatology

5 FirstVillage Drive ∙ Pinehurst, NC (910) 235-2967 ∙ www.pinehurstsurgical.com

CELEBRATE BETTER SLEEP MONTH WITH A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP. If you are struggling to sleep well or know someone who is, Dr. Matthew Grafenberg, the only Board-Certified Sleep Surgeon in the Sandhills, is here to help. Schedule your appointment today.

Dr. Matthew Grafenberg Board-Certified in Otolaryngology & Sleep Medicine 5 FirstVillage Drive ∙ Pinehurst, NC (910) 235-2706 ∙ www.pinehurstsurgical.com

A FEELING THAT LASTS #PandoraMothersDay

MAREN’S PANDORA AND MORE 34 Pinecrest Plaza | Southern Pines, NC 28387 | 910.246.2733 Across from Belk | Lots of parking available Monday - Saturday 10 am - 8 pm | Sunday 1 - 6 pm © 2019 Pandora Jewelry, LLC • All rights reserved

May �� DEPARTMENTS 29 Simple Life By Jim Dodson

34 PinePitch 39 Instagram Winners 41 Good Natured By Karen Frye

43 The Omnivorous Reader By Stephen E. Smith

47 Bookshelf 51 Drinking with Writers By Wiley Cash

FEATURES 95 Four Egrets at the Reservoir Poetry by Terri Kirby Erickson 96 Up Against the Wall By Jim Moriarty When the canvas is a load of bricks

104 Champions Galore By Bill Case

Donna Andrews, the Sandhills’ only resident winner of a professional major championship, tees it up in the U.S. Senior Women’s Open

108 Too Much Stuff By Jan Leitschuh

Spring cleaning and decluttering in the Sandhills

110 When New is Old Again By Deborah Salomon Living good in this hood

123 Almanac By Ash Alder

55 Hometown By Bill Fields

57 In the Spirit By Tony Cross

61 Wine Country

63 The Kitchen Garden

By Angela Sanchez By Jan Leitschuh

67 The Pleasures of Life Dept. By Beth MacDonald

69 Character Study By Scott Sheffield

73 True South

75 Mom Inc.

By Susan S. Kelly By Renee Whitmore

77 Out of the Blue

By Deborah Salomon

78 Sandhills Photo Club 85 Birdwatch By Susan Campbell

87 Sporting Life By Tom Bryant

91 Golftown Journal By Lee Pace

124 136 141

Arts & Entertainment Calendar SandhillSeen PineNeedler By Mart Dickerson

143 The Accidental Astrologer By Astrid Stellanova

144 SouthWords By Jim Moriarty

Cover Photograph by John Koob Gessner 6

May 2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Timeless Linens

Whether you suffer from back pain or spend restless nights trying to get comfortable, The DUX Bed’s innovative spring design coupled with unique customizable features are designed to be flexible enough to let the shoulders and hips sink in, yet resilient enough to rise up and contour to the lower back. In a DUX bed, the spine is supported in a natural, relaxed position for correct sleep posture. Take advantage of this special offer to own the ultimate in comfort. Visit your local DUXIANA® store and discover the difference a DUX bed can make in your life.

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

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

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

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

2310 Midland Road, Pinehurst

18 Kirkton Court, Pinehurst

150 Crest Road, Southern Pines

Chance of a lifetime to own special property. 16.74-acres with 4 houses only minutes to Pinehurst Village. Zoned R-210 allows many uses from horse farm to golf course. 4 bed, 4 bath.

Custom waterfront, 3 levels, 4 fireplaces, elevator, slate terrace, and gourmet kitchen. Go to https://my.matterport.com/ show/?m=JY2fPKSrAoT 5 bedrooms, 6/1 bathrooms.

Chimbley house circa 1922 has been completely renovated into an elegant updated home. Surounded by spectacular gardens. 5 bedrooms, 4/1 bathrooms.

1720 South US Highway 1, Aberdeen

30 Laurel Road, Pinehurst

220 Merry Way, Southern Pines

$2,750,000 MLS 192774 Pamela O’Hara 910-315-3093

$1,550,000 MLS 192142 Deb Darby 910-783-5193

$1,300,000 MLS 190261 Bill Brock 910-639-1148

$1,400,000 MLS 193355 Jennifer Nguyen 910-585-2099

$1,199,000 MLS 188244 Emily Hewson 910-315-3324 Pamela O’Hara 910-315-3093

120’ of US Highway 1 footage and 1.48-acres. 4,000sf + building with land for sale. Owner might consider land, building, and business as a package deal. Full service restaurant started in 1991.

$1,150,000 MLS 190791 Deb Darby 910-783-5193

Totally renovated Old Town cottage circa 1917. Panoramic views of #2 golf course. Heart pine floors. 2 fireplaces. Detached 1 bed, 2 bath garage apartment. 4 bedrooms, 4/1 bathrooms.

205 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst

17.76-acre horse farm with trails galore. Gleaming hardwoods, stone fireplace, generator, barn with storage, and rolling pastures. Quiet and private. 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms.

795 South Diamondhead Drive, Pinehurst

25 Brookhaven Road, Pinehurst

Stately, serene setting on Lake Pinehurst. Impeccably maintained, water views, new master suite, 2 fireplaces, walk out lower level, beach, dock, and new decks. 3 bedrooms, 3/1 bathrooms.

Golf front Fairwoods on 7 with stunning views. Elegant custom home with main level master suite, and 3-car garage. 4 bedrooms, 3/1 bathrooms.

28 Middlebury Road, Pinehurst

135 Saint Mellions Drive, Pinehurst

36 Royal County Down, Pinehurst

Golf front on the north course built in the traditional Craftsman style. Stunning views and great entertaining space inside & out. 4 bedrooms, 4/1 bathrooms.

Golf front Pinehurst National #9, transferable PCC charter membership, 3-car garage, and upstairs recreation room. Built in 2005 with walk to club house. 4 bedrooms, 4/1 bathrooms.

Golf front home on the 11 th tee of the National Course. Open floor plan, kitchen with 6 burner gas stove with griddle, granite counters, 2 dishwashers, farm sink, eating nook, wet bar with ice maker, wine cooler. 4 bedrooms, 4/1 bathrooms.

$985,000 MLS 190955 Emily Hewson 910-315-3324 Pamela O’Hara 910-315-3093

$895,000 MLS 192262 Christine Barrett 910-420-0701

Old Town “Cottage Colony School House” circa 1917. Totally renovated with attention to detail and architectural integrity. 2 fireplaces. 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms.

$699,000 MLS 190015 Frank Sessoms 910-639-3099

$799,000 MLS 190504 Kay Beran 910-315-3322

Pinehurst Office

$875,000 MLS 193263 Jennifer Nguyen 910-585-2099

•

42 Chinquapin Road

•

Pinehurst, NC 28374

$695,000 MLS 192831 Marie O’Brien 910-528-5669

•

910–295–5504

8 Augusta Drive, Pinehurst

120 Woodenbridge Lane, Pinehurst

3 Pine Tree Terrace, Foxfire

Picture perfect golf front in mid south. Custom design build with 3 levels of versatile living/entertaining options. This home is a must see. 6 bedrooms, 4/1 bathrooms.

Golf front Pinehurst National #9, transferrable PCC charter membership, office, open floor plan, large bonus room, 3-car garage. Built in 2006. 4 bedrooms, 3/1 bathrooms.

Relaxed elegance built for wheelchair accessibility, pool with optional lift, hardwoods, and open floor plan. A must see in quiet neighborhood. 3 bedrooms, 2/1 bathrooms.

$569,000 MLS 190737 Deb Darby 910-783-5193

$559,900 MLS 192328 Frank Sessoms 910-639-3099

$439,000 MLS 189413 Deb Darby 910-783-5193

Find your new home from the comfort of your couch.

775 Saint Andrews Drive, Pinehurst $425,000 MLS 193287 Frank Sessoms 910-639-3099

Golf front, brick home with PCC Charter Membership. Built by Equinox in 2002. Hardwood floors. Golfers dream home. 3 bedrooms, 3/1 bathrooms.

330 Saint Andrews Drive, Pinehurst $339,000 MLS 192501 Kay Beran 910-315-3322

New construction in prime location. Close to the Village, shopping and schools. This open, flexible interior is filled with amenities from the spacious kitchen to the large deck. 4 bed, 3/1 bath.

VIEW

ALL

O F

O U R

Open Houses

There are certain perks that come with carrying the name Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices — one of the most admired names in business. Chief among them is offering you the home buying and selling tools, resources, and support you need during one of the most important transactions of your lifetime. It’s always nice to have a Great Neighbor at your side. Start searching for your perfect home with us online.

ONLINE BHHSPRG.com

Southern Pines Office

•

167 Beverly Lane

•

Southern Pines, NC 28387

•

910–692–2635

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.® Equal Housing Opportunity.

A REPUTATION BUILT ON INNOVATIVE DESIGN, CRAFTSMANSHIP, AND INTEGRITY 910.695.4271

WWW.CAMINADESIGN.COM

@CAMINADESIGN

PaulHarknessJewelry.com 910.695.HARK (4275)

PatriciaReilJewels.com 910.295.2824

110 West Pennsylvania Avenue â&#x20AC;¢ Southern Pines, NC

Easy Living

LakE PinEhurst

M A G A Z I N E Volume 15, No. 5 David Woronoff, Publisher Jim Dodson, Editor

910.693.2506 • jim@pinestrawmag.com

Andie Stuart Rose, Creative Director

910.693.2467 • andie@pinestrawmag.com

Jim Moriarty, Senior Editor

910.692.7915 • jjmpinestraw@gmail.com

Alyssa Rocherolle, Graphic Designer

910.693.2508 • alyssa@pinestrawmag.com

Sara Alvis, Graphic Designer

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Deborah Salomon, Staff Writer Mary Novitsky, Sara King, Proofreaders CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

John Koob Gessner, Laura Gingerich, Tim Sayer CONTRIBUTORS Tom Allen, Harry Blair, Tom Bryant, Susan Campbell, Bill Case, Wiley Cash, Tony Cross, Brianna Rolfe Cunningham, Mart Dickerson, Clyde Edgerton, Bill Fields, Laurel Holden, Jane Lear, Jan Leitschuh, Meridith Martens, D.G. Martin, Lee Pace, Romey Petite, Renee Whitmore, Joyce Reehling, Scott Sheffield, Stephen E. Smith, Astrid Stellanova, Angie Tally, Kimberly Taws, Ashley Wahl

PS ADVERTISING SALES

Ginny Trigg, Advertising Director 910.693.2481 • ginny@thepilot.com

155 SW Lake Forest Drive • Pinehurst Everything you can imagine in lakeside living is offered in this deceptively generous Lake Pinehurst home (4497 sq ft). The spacious main floor rooms are warmed by wood paneled ceilings and offer spectacular lake views. Enjoy the setting with a deck for entertaining or cooking-out off the gourmet kitchen. A cozy screened porch is accessed from master bedroom or kitchen. Each of the four bedrooms has a beautifully appointed full bath. Downstairs highlights include a dramatically finished family / game room and space (alternatively a guest apartment with full kitchen and outside access) that is utilized as an exercise room overlooking the lake. Located on a quiet cove surrounded by beautifully maintained homes, the atmosphere at night with soft, twinkling lights is enchanting. 4 BR and 4.5 BA. New Listing Offered at $938,000.

To view more photos, take a virtual tour or schedule a showing, go to:

Terry Hartsell, 910.693.2513 Perry Loflin, 910.693.2514 Dacia Burch, 910.693.2519 Patty Thompson, 910.693.3576 Johnsie Tipton, 910.693.2515 Samantha Cunningham, 910.693.2505 ADVERTISING COORDINATOR

Adele Conrad • adele@thepilot.com

ADVERTISING GRAPHIC DESIGN

Mechelle Butler, Scott Yancey, Trintin Rollins

Darlene Stark, Circulation Director 910.693.2488 Steve Anderson, Finance Director 910.693.2497

www.clarkpropertiesnc.com

Maureen Clark when experience matters

145 W. Pennsylvania Avenue, Southern Pines, NC 28387 www.pinestrawmag.com

Pinehurst • Southern Pines BHHS Pinehurst Realty Group • 910.315.1080

May 2019P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

140 North Valley • Southern Pines

451 Old Mail Road • Southern Pines

Loblolly, a Southern Pines historic treasure, located on a quiet, tree-lined street, is a lovely combination of unparalleled building elegance embraced by comfortable living features. 5BR, 5BA, 8,050 sf. Offered at $1,650,000

The jewel of Moore County’s horse country, Fox Hollow Farm is secluded on 10.52 acres with easy access to thousands of acres of equestrian land. 4BR, 4.5BA 5,276 sf. Offered at $2,200,000

8 Middlebury Road • Pinehurst

100 Lake Dornoch • Pinehurst

This stunning golf retreat, overlooking the “unforgiving” par 4, 12th hole of the North Course in Forest Creek, captures the views at every opportunity. 3BR, 3.5BA 4,425 sf. Offered at $930,000

This stunning contemporary home, poised over the 17th hole of the Dogwood Course, is characterized by rooms with a view. 4BR, 5BA, 2HB, 4,750 sf. Offered at $925,000

Maureen Clark

910.315.1080 • www.clarkproperties.com

14 Cumberland Drive • Pinehurst

Poised on 2.45 acres in the exclusive Forest Creek Golf Club, this elegant residence exhibits design perfection in the concept of one-floor-living. 3BR, 3/2BA. 4,787 sf. Offered at $1,550,000

1495 W. Connecticut Avenue Southern Pines Knollwood House, a Southern Pines landmark, is set on a knoll overlooking the Donald Ross designed Mid Pines Golf Course. 5BR, 5.5BA, 5,212 sf. Offered at $925,000

240 Woodland Drive • Southern Pines

Exquisite detail and finishes define character in this light-filled family home in popular Pine Grove Village. Downstairs master, 3BR, 3BA and playroom upstairs, open kitchen, 3 car garage, 3 living areas. Offered at $628,000

55 Shaw Road • Old Town

“Centerwood,” the log cabin in the Village. An enchanting property built at the turn of the century, this 5BR, 5.5 BA cottage represents a genuine piece of Pinehurst’s history. Offered at $1,000,000

Berkshire Hathaway HomeSercies and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.® Equal Housing Opportunity.Housing Opportunity.

Always a Step Ahead A Charming New Community in Moore County!

Nestled in the Sandhills, Parkway Meadows is Aberdeen’s newest pool and clubhouse community, featuring wide sidewalks throughout the neighborhood. Low HOA fees cover the community inground pool and clubhouse. Just a few minutes drive to Downtown Aberdeen and Southern Pines. Close to all shopping, eateries, and entertainment. Quick and convenient commute to Ft. Bragg. The community features included upgrades not found in the price range. Homes range from 2862 to 3145 SQ FT, and are priced between $266,000 and $295,000.

UNDER CONTRACT!

522 FOOTHILLS ST.

ABERDEEN 5 bed • 3.5 bath • $290,000 • 3,034 Sq.Ft.

419 PALISADES DRIVE ABERDEEN 4 bed • 3.5 bath • $275,000

412 PALISADES DRIVE

ABERDEEN 4 bed • 3.5 bath • $292,250 • 3,090 Sq.Ft.

210 VANDERBUILT COURT

ABERDEEN 4 bed • 2.5 bath • $292,000 • 3,067 Sq.Ft

5 Floor Plans Available for Pre-Sale! THE AMY

5 bed • 3.5 bath • 3,034 Sq.ft

THE BELINDA

4 bed • 2.5 bath • 2,862 Sq.Ft.

THE BRIDGET

4 bed • 3.5 bath • 3,090 Sq.Ft.

THE JANINE

4 bed • 2.5 bath • 3,067 Sq.Ft.

THE PAMELA

5 bed • 3 bath • 3,145 Sq.Ft.

Call for more info! There are over 600 real estate agents in Moore County. Amy Stonesifer is among the top 5. Amy Stonesifer is an award-winning REALTOR®. Out of more than 600 real estate agents in Moore County, she is consistently ranked among the top 5. Amy’s real estate firm offers both Property Management and Sales services. Maison Realty is closely knit with the military community because our agents all have a personal connection. The teams at Maison Real Estate Group and Moore County Living know that military homeowners need specialized individuals to take care of their homes while they’re away and to sell them quickly when their assignments change. More than a business, Amy’s firm has makes it a mission to give back to our community and express deep appreciation for our neighbors in uniform. Amy loves meeting new people, finding the perfect home for her clients, and advising them on why Moore County is the perfect place to live!

Serving Moore County and Surrounding Areas! 910.684.8674 | 135 E PENNSYLVANIA AVE | SOUTHERN PINES, NC 28388

www.maisonteam.com UNDER CONTRACT!

660 E. MASSACHUSETTS AVE. SOUTHERN PINES 3 bed • 3 bath $625,000 • 2,830 Sq Ft

35 TURTLE POINT ROAD PINEHURST 4 bed • 3 bath $450,000

UNDER CONTRACT!

175 E. NEW JERSEY AVENUE SOUTHERN PINES 3 bed • 3.5 bath $399,000 • 1,925 Sq Ft

165 E NEW JERSEY AVENUE SOUTHERN PINES 3 bed • 3.5 bath $379,000 • 1,1818 Sq Ft

675 FLINT HILL CHURCH RD. ROBBINS 5 bed • 4 bath $419,000 • 4,249 Sq Ft

114 BONNIE BROOK COURT ABERDEEN 5 bed • 4 bath $419,000 • 4,249 Sq Ft

165 PINE TOP DRIVE CARTHAGE 4 bed • 3.5 bath $400,000

UNDER CONTRACT!

230 SUGAR PINE DRIVE PINEHURST 4 bed • 3.5 bath $360,000 • 3,806 Sq Ft

610 W MAINE AVENUE SOUTHERN PINES 4 bed • 3 bath $350,000 • 1,915 Sq Ft

8 WINDING TRAIL WHISPERING PINES 4 bed • 2.5 bath $338,000 • 2,770 Sq Ft

160 KINGSWOOD CIRCLE PINEHURST 3 bed • 2 bath $229,000 • 1,890 Sq Ft

119 BLACKSMITH LANE RAEFORD 4 bed • 2.5 bath $215,000 • 2,150 Sq Ft

804 DOVER STREET SOUTHERN PINES 2 bed • 2 bath $88,000

6850 SHAWCROSS LANE FAYETTEVILLE 3 bed • 2 bath $79,000

LEASED

107 GRAYSON PLACE SANFORD 5 bed • 3.5 bath $330,000 • 2,900 Sq Ft

34 PEDLEY PLACE CAMERON 5 bed • 3.5 bath $292,000

733 SUN ROAD ABERDEEN 4 bed • 3.5 bath $290,000 • 3,234 Sq Ft

1107 N FORT BRAGG RD. SOUTHERN PINES 3 bed • 2 bath $255,000 • 1,968 Sq Ft

UNDER CONTRACT!

4964 ABERDEEN ROAD ABERDEEN 4 bed • 2.5 bath $198,000

340 YELLOWFOOT DRIVE RAEFORD 3 bed • 2 bath $178,000

Buy, Sell or Rent through us- we do it all!

910.684.8674 | 135 E PENNSYLVANIA AVE | SOUTHERN PINES, NC 28388

Mercedes-Benz of Fayetteville provides front door service to ALL of our customers. Upon request we will pick up your vehicle on a roll back at your door and provide you a vehicle during your service appointment FREE of charge. Call 910-487-0000 or visit our website at mercedesbenzoffayetteville.com to schedule your appointment.

Stay tuned for details on our new location 910-487-0000 mercedesbenzoffayetteville.com

3203 Bragg Blvd Fayetteville, NC 28387 mercedesbenzoffayetteville.com

A Touch Of Times Gone By Moore County’s Largest and Oldest Country Store

Patrick and Jo Milcendeau Owners

our Visit l bird ica trop adise par he nd t i h e b ! store

FREE! o Open t blic! the pu

A fu n for u place and nique ha find rd to gifts !

Dunrovin Country Store 5456 US HWY 1 • VASS, NC 28394 • 910-246-0814 OPEN DAILY • 9AM-6PM

MILES GEORGE

910-580-7143

HOME FOOD MARKET

CALICO CORNER FLORIST

105 YEARS OF SERVICE

Antiques • Garden Center • Interior Design Master Florist

Butcher Shop • Local Produce • Feed

117 N Main St. | Downtown Raeford | 910-875-3375 – David McNeill | 910-875-8245 – Jeremy Bowen

Termites Got Your Deck? We Can Fix That! Check it out in our June ad

BRICKWORK

STONEWORK

FIREPLACES

OUTDOOR LIVING

910-944-0878

www.howellsmasonry.com 10327 Hwy 211 â&#x20AC;¢ Aberdeen, NC 28315

Your luxury is our legacy. Introducing our Coldwell Banker Global LuxuryÂŽ program. With the prestige of the Coldwell Banker name, state-of-the-art technology, bespoke marketing strategies and one of real estateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most robust global networks behind them, our Luxury Property Specialists have a track record or representing some of the most significant properties of all time.

Call today to speak with one of our global luxury agents. 130 Turner Street, Suite A Southern Pines, NC 28387 (910) 693-3300

Coldwell Banker Advantage Toll Free: (855) 484-1260 www.HomesCBA.com

100 Magnolia Road, Suite 1 Pinehurst, NC 28374 (910) 687-4022

Introducing our new commercial division! Marcus Larose (910) 528-2244

Cathy Larose (910) 690-0362

Walt Williams (704) 450-5914

CLARK Chevrolet Cadillac

WE’RE YOUR HOMETOWN GM DEALERSHIP! WE ARE A SMALL TOWN FAMILY BUSINESS, NOT PART OF A LARGE DEALER GROUP AND WE RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF SERVING THE COMMUNITY AS WELL AS OUR CUSTOMERS.

• Full service dealership specializing in sales, service, parts, and collision repair.

SATISFYING CUSTOMERS FOR OVER 47 YEARS

• An honest dealership with no gimmicks, just an easy way of doing business. • Tell us what you are looking for and if we do not have in stock we will get it for you. LOCATED JUST 1/2 MILE FROM FIRSTHEALTH MOORE REGIONAL HOSPITAL ON DUNDEE ROAD IN PINEHURST.

35 DUNDEE ROAD • PINEHURST, NC | 910-295-6101 | WWW.PINEHURSTCADILLAC.COM

A R O M AT H E R A P Y BEGINS WELL BEFORE

YOU E N T E R OU R D O O R S The moment you arrive, everything seems to slow down. Your pulse drops.

Located adjacent to the historic Carolina Hotel • Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina • 877.398.4964 • pinehurst.com

Your mind clears. You forget all the worries of the day. And then your Spa treatment begins.

Choice Provider for Rehabilitation The Inn at Quail Haven Five Star Facility A complete rehabilitation center conveniently located on the campus of Quail Haven Village in Pinehurst. The Inn offers short-stay rehabilitation, outpatient therapy, long-term care, respite care, palliative and hospice care. Patients at The Inn are greeted by a clinical team whose members develop a focused treatment plan designed to help them regain skills and decrease the chance of hospital readmission. Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists work with patients to help them regain their prior level of function.

Call John Conner at 910-295-2294

Hours: Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. | 155 Blake Blvd. â&#x20AC;˘ Pinehurst

115 Davis Road â&#x20AC;¢ Southern Pines, NC 28387 910-692-2210 Visit our showroom online at www.hubbardkitchenandbath.com

SIMPLE LIFE

Dirty Hands, Happy Heart And other gifts from the universe

By Jim Dodson

When all else fails, Mulligan the dog and I head for the garden.

Possibly because I hail from a family of Carolina farmers and rabbit tobacco preachers, digging in the dirt is not only second nature and something that draws me closer to my maker, but also serves as a cheap and effective therapy in a world that seems increasingly shaped by the insatiable gods of work and money.

For many Americans, work has become something of its own secular religion. According to Gallup, Americans average more hours of work per year than any of our fellow developed nations, yet 87 percent of U.S employees don’t feel fulfilled by how they earn their living. That’s a staggering problem that helps contribute to rising depression and addiction across all sectors of society. In 1919, as Fast Company recently noted, 4 million Americans went on strike to demand fairer wages and a five-day work week — the beginning, historians point out, of the so-called American leisure class. As a result, weekends became enshrined in the culture. The bad news? We’re losing ground to our obsession to work longer and harder with diminishing returns, the average American working a full day longer than the 40-hour work week fought for by our early 20th century ancestors. Maybe you’re one of the fortunate ones who loves what you do. I certainly am, having enjoyed a varied journalism career and book-writing life that has taken me to places I only dreamed about as a kid. Today, I own the privilege of serving as editor of four robust arts-and-culture magazines staffed by a talented crew of folks across this state. We’re a merry band of storytellers and artists who love what we do and never take that gift from the gods for granted. How we spend our time away from the job says a lot about us, a lesson some of us had to learn the hard way. At age 30, in 1983, I was the senior writer for the largest news magazine in the South, the Sunday Magazine of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a magazine where Margaret Mitchell once worked and the South’s finest writers appeared. Over my seven years in Atlanta, covering everything from Klan rallies to presidential candidacies, I took only two or three full weeks of vacation. When I finally received the summons to Washington, D.C., for the interview I’d grown up hoping for, I felt utterly empty, burned-out, ready to find a new way of earning my daily crust. The unexpected epiphany came following my big interview in Washington when I phoned my father from the outer office of Vice President George H. W.

Bush. I’d been one of the first reporters to travel with Bush during the 1980 presidential campaign and gotten to know him fairly well — sharing a love of baseball, beer and New England. My dad asked how the job interview went. I told him it seemed to go well, save for one small problem: I wasn’t sure I wanted the job — or even to be a journalist any more. “I have an idea,” he said calmly. “Why don’t you change your flight plans back to Atlanta and stop off in North Carolina?” The next morning, he picked me up at Raleigh’s airport and drove us to Pinehurst. My Haig Ultra golf clubs were in the back seat of his car. They hadn’t been touched by me in years. For at that point, almost incomprehensibly I hadn’t played a full round of golf — the game I loved best — more than once or twice while living in the hometown of Bobby Jones. Instead, I’d worked myself into an early grave — or so I feared. After our round on famed No. 2 we sat together on the porch of the Donald Ross Grill and talked over beers about what I feared might be a premature midlife crisis, or worse. He could have laughed at my youthful angst. But he didn’t. My old man was one great fellow, a former newsman and advertising executive with a poet’s heart. My nickname for him was Opti the Mystic. After listening to me pour out my tale of existential career woe, he smiled and remarked, “I wouldn’t give up on journalism just yet, sport. You have a God-given talent for stringing together words and telling stories of the heart. I do, however, have a small suggestion for you. You may laugh.” “Try me,” I said, desperate for any guidance from Opti. “Perhaps you should try writing about things you love instead of things you don’t.” I looked at him and laughed. “What kinds of things?” I asked. He shrugged and sipped his beer. He was 66 years old, the age I am today. “Only you can answer that. Use your imagination. What do you love? You’ll find the best answer there. It may sound ridiculously corny to you, but try telling the universe what you love and you may be surprised at the results. The path is never straight. But trust your gut. One thing leads to another, including people.” Humoring him, I admitted that I loved golf and being in nature but didn’t know a soul in either of those worlds and couldn’t imagine how I would find my way into them. Once a single-handicap golfer, as I’d proven that day at No. 2, I couldn’t even break a hundred on the golf course anymore. Having grown up hiking and camping in the mountains and forests of my home state, it had been years

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May 2019

SIMPLE LIFE

since I’d been deep in the woods. I’d even loved mowing neihborhood lawns and working in my mom’s garden, but hadn’t done that in almost a decade. Still, something got into my head. Or maybe it was my gut. A short time later, I withdrew my name from consideration for jobs in Washington, quit my gig in Atlanta and took a 2-month writing sabbatical at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts at Sweet Briar College. It was springtime in Virginia. I wrote for three or four hours every morning, working on a novel about a Georgia farm family for a legendary editor at Harper & Row. In the afternoons, I took long walks through the pasturelands, fields and woods of beautiful Amherst County, Patrick Henry country. One afternoon I helped an elderly couple down the road weed their garden and took home a stunning bunch of peonies that reminded me of my mom’s garden back home in Greensboro. The novel was a dud. My heart was never in it. But the legendary editor, pointing out that books would come when the timing was right, insisted that I call Judson Hale at Yankee Magazine in New Hampshire. I followed up on his advice and soon found myself working as the first Southerner and senior writer in Yankee Magazine’s history. I got myself a pup from a Vermont Humane Society, lived in a cottage by the Green River and taught myself to fly-fish. My heartbeat slowed. I even rediscovered my lost passion for golf on an old course where Rudyard Kipling once chased the game. A few years after that, a story I wrote about a forgotten hero of women’s golf even landed me a sweet job at Golf Magazine and a decade’s service as the golf editor for American Express, a job that took me around the world and inspired me to take my dad back to England and Scotland where he learned to play golf as a soldier during the war. He was dying of cancer. It was our final

journey. The little book I wrote about, Final Rounds, became a bestseller that’s still in print. Opti had been right about all of it — the power of doing what you love, listening to heart and gut while expressing your desires and gratitude to a generous universe. Whatever else may be true, I am proof that one good thing — and more important, one good person — can invariably lead to another. Over the next two decades, I built a house on a forested hill on the coast of Maine, fathered two wonderful children and basically invested their college funds into a massive English garden in the woods. A dozen books followed, including Arnold Palmer’s memoirs. That job brought me home again thanks to a chance to teach writing at Hollins University in Virginia and simultaneously help my partners create distinctive arts-and-culture magazines that people in this state seem almost as passionate about as we are. Today, I consciously belong to an intentionally slower world, taking time to do the work I love but never failing to spend time in the garden with my dog, Mulligan. A golf round with my childhood pal never hurts, either. Perhaps I’ve just come full circle. In any case, friends tell me I’m more productive than ever. If so, that’s probably because dirty hands make for a happy heart, as an aging gardener once said to me. That aging gardener was my mom, who had a magical way with peonies and roses. May was her favorite month, the month where spring gardens reach their glory. Mulligan agrees with me that our roses and peonies have never looked better. PS Contact Editor Jim Dodson at jim@thepilot.com.

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May 2019P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

If Pinehurst has it, Lin can get it for you! Go to LinHutaff. com

315 N BEULAH HILL RD • OLD TOWN Charming! Completely restored Historic home with new addition. Indoor pool. New 3 bay garage. 6BD, 5 ½ BA. Offered at $1,250,000

815 LAKE DORNOCH DR • CCNC Stately, gorgeous, comfortable and casual living. Located on more than 5 acres, 3BD, 3 ½ BA. Finished lower level. Offered at $875,000.

645 S. DIAMONDHEAD DR • LAKE PINEHURST One of the most desirable locations on Lake Pinehurst! Seller has rebuilt most every area. Outdoor areas designed by Mary Francis Tate. Party on the patio in this unique property. 4BD, 3½ BA. Offered at $869,000.

14 GREYABBEY DR • PINEWILD STUNNING, golf front contemporary home with walls of glass from ceiling to floor. Amazing gourmet kitchen boasts Miele and Thermador appliances, plus Miele stainless Hood. Superb. 5BD, 4 1/2BA. Offered at $799,000.

145 HEARTHSTONE RD • FAIRWOODS ON 7 Golf Front 2nd hole. Custom. Very open with views everywhere. Nearly 4000 sq ft of single level living. Separate “His and Hers” Master Bath Suites. 4BD, 3 ½ BA. Offered at $699,000.

15 E MCCASKILL RD • OLD TOWN Walk to the Village! “Craven Long Leaf Cottage” was one of five bungalows built by the Sandhills Construction Co. during 1920 and 1921. Sellers have historically restored and modernized the cottage. 3BD, 2BA. Offered at $639,000.

235 HEARTHSTONE RD • FAIRWOODS ON 7 1st hole of Pinehurst No 7 Golf Course. Updated home with hardwood flooring, new kitchen etc. Focal point of home is the family room open to handsome kitchen and fabulous open porch. 3BD, 2BA. Offered at $595,000.

97 W MCKENZIE RD • OLD TOWN Enjoy the charm and character of Historic Old Town without turn of the century wiring. Large open rooms plus walls of glass to bring the outdoors in. 4BD, 2½ BA, plus Den. Offered at $589,000.

118 PINE RIDGE DR • WHISPERING PINES Exceptional opportunity for lakefront living! All brick Custom Home. Lots of decks and patios for outdoor living. Lower level has fireplace, additional office (or 4th bdrm)! New ROOF. 3 BD, 3 BA, 2 ½ BA. Offered at $539,500.

70 MAPLE RD • OLD TOWN Old Town Cottage with all the charm and character expected in the heart of the Village of Pinehurst. Large LOT, Pool Pool with Pool house and fence. Gentle updates. Heart pine floors in front room. 3BD, 2BA. Offered at $415,000.

6 SODBURY CT • COTSWOLD PINEHURST Stunning, Custom Townhome with over 3000 square feet of single floor living space. Oversized garage with separate workshop in rear and large Bonus Rm above. Tons of Storage! 3BD, 2 ½ BA. Offered at $365,000.

306 WARREN LAKE RD • ABERDEEN Remarkable, customized home in the newer section of Legacy Lakes Golf Club. Additional bath and large closet on 2nd floor. Use of Clubhouse, Pool and Tennis included in Association dues. Fabulous yard. 4BD, 3BA. Offered at $299,000.

ENERGY. EXPERIENCE. EFFORT.

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The Carolina Philharmonic presents

THE COSMOS & BEYOND

Friendly. at location: to Weymouth. to downtown thern Pines. WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 2019 | 7:30PM sed Robert Non-profit E. Lee Auditorium | Pinecrest High School | 250 Voit Gilmore Ln. | Southern Pines, NC ve our peeps. id we say riendly? A grand symphonic tour of galactic music, from Holst’s Planets to Star Trek, depicting the cosmos through voyages of the imagination. Several of the musical selections will be accompanied by mind-expanding images from outer space.

APPOINTMENT TODAY.

692.0449 Tickets starting at $30

with discounts for active military and students

r Profit. Plan Community. (910) Life 687.0287•www.carolinaphil.org The Carolina Philharmonic is a 501(c)3 non-profit

Arts Council of Moore County Campbell House, S. Pines Nature’s Own 95 Bell Avenue, S. Pines Sandhills Winery West End The Country Bookshop Southern Pines The Given Outpost and Bookshop Pinehurst Box Office 5 Market Square in Pinehurst Village

PinePitch Parade of Champions Come walk the fairways with the legends of the game in the second United States Senior Women’s Open Championship played May 16-19 at the Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines. Defending champion is Dame Laura Davies who won the inaugural championship last year at Chicago Golf Club. Eleven former U.S. Women's Open Champions are among those in the field. Ticket packages — some including a special screening of The Founders at the Sunrise Theater on May 13 at 5 p.m. with reception to follow at The Pilot — vary and are available at www.usseniorwomensopen.com. Tickets will also be available at the gate.

Spring into Antiques The Cameron Spring Antiques Street Fair takes place Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the heart of Cameron on Hwy. 24/27. All shops will be open and will be joined by 250 outside vendors. Food and refreshments will be available.

Author Visits Brownson Debby Irving, the author of Waking Up White will be at Brownson Memorial Presbyterian Church for a lecture and discussion on Monday, May 20 from 6 – 8 p.m. and again on Tuesday, May 21, from 9 a.m. to noon for a workshop, followed by a discussion period. A former community organizer and a classroom teacher for 25 years, she shares her struggle to understand racism and racial tensions, offering a fresh perspective on bias, stereotypes, manners and tolerance.

First of the Firsts The opening First Friday concert features Eric Gales on the First Bank Stage next to the Sunrise Theater on Friday, May 3. Music begins at 5 p.m., rain or shine. Beer available for purchase. No outside alcohol and, please, leave your dogs at home. There will be food trucks and fine music in great abundance.

Get Your Souvenir The Judson Theatre Company presents Liz McCartney and Bob Stillman in Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins. It’s the true story of one of opera’s most unforgettable stars. An eccentric and wealthy New York socialite believes she is an enchanting coloratura soprano and wants to share her gifts with the world. She becomes a sensation, draped in fabulous costumes, holding recitals at the Ritz. Unfortunately the truth is, Mrs. Jenkins can’t sing. But there’s more than one way to get to Carnegie Hall. The curtain goes up at the Hannah Center Theatre, The O’Neal School, 3300 Airport Rd., Southern Pines, on Thursday, May 9 at 7 p.m.; Friday, May 10, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, May 11 at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, May 12 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $38 and available at judsontheatre.com.

May 2019P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

The Rooster’s Wife Sunday, May 5: Rory Block and Cindy Cashdollar. The name says it all: Sisters of Steel. Delta blues guitar, steel guitar and lap steel superlative. Cost: $25. Thursday, May 9: Compton and Newberry. Preeminent practitioners of the real deal. Masters of old-time mandolin and banjo/guitar. Cost: $15.

Farmers al Fresco North Carolina food is expertly prepared by Chef Mark Elliott in this special fund-raising event for the Given Memorial Library and Tufts Archives at 6:30 p.m. on May 21 at Tufts Memorial Park on the Village Green in Pinehurst. Tickets are $80 and can be purchased at the Tufts Archives or www.ticketmesandhills.com. For additional information call (910) 295-3642.

Sunday, May 12: Fish Harmonics, The East Pointers. Take an adventurous dive into roots and modern folk music with first-class world music maestros. Thursday, May 16: Open mic with the Parsons.

Start Your Engines The second Sandhills Motoring Festival begins Friday, May 24 with an informal car show at Little River Golf & Resort from 5 – 8 p.m. The three-day event continues on Saturday with a rally and concludes on Sunday at the Concours in the Village with 125 automobiles parked on the Village Green and the streets of Pinehurst. Registration ends on May 15. For more information visit www. sandhillsmotoringfestival.com.

Saturday, May 18: The Gravy Boys. Natural storytellers who spin their tales through tight brother duet harmonies over a vintage acoustic backdrop. Cost: $10.

Sunday, May 19: Bombadil, India Ramey. Creative and heartfelt lyrics, lush vocal harmonies and thoughtful arrangement, contrast with a sassy spitfire and her Southern-gothic songwriting. Cost: $15. Friday, May 24: Yarn, Ashley Heath. Yarn plays roots music from the shadows of skyscrapers. Expect velvet blues with a touch of twang from Ashley Heath to open the evening. Cost: $15.

Best of the Pines

Sunday, May 26: The Allen Boys. Sacred steel comes to Aberdeen. Get ready to be happy. Cost: $25.

Explore pop-up booths from over 25 favorite local businesses vying for nominations and votes for “Best of the Pines” honors on Saturday, May 11 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Heritage Flag Company, 230 S. Bennett St. in Southern Pines. The vendors will be giving out samples of treats, products and services. There will be live music, beer from the Southern Pines Brewing Company and food from What's Fore Lunch food truck.

Unless otherwise noted, doors open at 6 p.m. and music begins at 6:46 at the Poplar Knight Spot, 114 Knight St., Aberdeen. Prices above are for members. Annual memberships are $5 and available online or at the door. For more information call (910) 944-7502 or visit www. theroosterswife.org or ticketmesandhills.com.

Thursday, May 30: Tim Carter Band. Grooving Appalachian, folk rock, funked-up, bluegrass, gypsy blues music. Cost: $10.

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2335 MIDLAND ROAD, PINEHURST $799,900

“High Peaks Cottage” originally built circa 1924 has been totally renovated and is situated on a double lot, has stunning curb appeal, an open floor plan, 4 car garage, 2 private circular drives, beautiful private terrace, split bedroom plan and all conveniently located between Pinehurst and Southern Pines.

Scarlett Allison | 910.603.0359 | scarlett.allison@sothebysrealty.com

25 BARRETT ROAD , PINEHURST $949,000

7 MAPLE LANE, PINEHURST $937,250

Spectacular home in Old Town Pinehurst built in 2007. Open floor plan, main level master suite, wet bar, 2 car attached garage, 4 en suite bedrooms and 2 half-BA.

Spectacular upgraded contemporary with 5500 sq ft, 5BR, 5.5 BA with 2 master suites, open floor plan, gourmet kitchen, amazing craftsmanship throughout, whole house generator, screened porch, fenced yard and more!

KEITH HARRIS 704.905.9338 keith.harris@sothebysrealty.com

10 DEEPDALE LANE, PINEHURST $729,000

426 MEYER FARM DRIVE, PINEHURST $845,000

Stunning, rare new construction in CCNC by Huntley Design Build Inc. Beautiful chef’s kitchen, luxurious master suite, elegant open floor plan, 3 BR, 3 BA and 3,369 sq ft.

Beautiful home poised on the 13th hole of The North Course in Forest Creek Country Club. Open floor plan, 7 BR, 7 full BA, 2 half BA, 6846 sq ft with a finished basement and theater room.

KEITH HARRIS 704.905.9338 keith.harris@sothebysrealty.com

SCARLETT ALLISON 910.603.0359 scarlett.allison@sothebysrealty.com

MELODY MCCLELLAND 910.528.4313 melody.mcclelland@sothebysrealty.com

Doing business since 1981

20 SHADOW CREEK COURT, VILLAS AT FOREST HILLS $324,999 Call or text Wes Harrison 910.315.8053

150 MCKEITHAN AVENUE, VASS NC $139,000 Call or text Wes Harrison 910.315.8053

170 PINEBRANCH COURT, SOUTHERN PINES $274,900 Call or text Connie Harrison 910.315.8052

85 PINE VALLEY RD., UNIT 68 PINEHURST NC $130,000 Call or text Connie Harrison 910.315.8052

34 DUNGARVAN LANE, PINEHURST #9 $87,500 Call or text Connie Harrison 910.315.8052

250 SUGAR GUM LN, LAKEVIEW CONDO #218 $139,900

Call or text Connie Harrison 910.315.8052

10 QUAIL RUN, PINEHURST (CLARENDON GARDENS) - $409K, 3BR/4BA, W/POOL Call or text Patrick Phillips 910.695.5795

285 SUGAR GUM LANE (32 ARONIMINK/ TOWNHOUSE) - $246K, 2BR/2BA Call or text Patrick Phillips 910.695.5795

19 SHENECOSSETT LN, PINEHURST #6 $319K, 4BR/3BA Call or text Patrick Phillips 910.695.5795

95 THUNDERBIRD LANE PINEHURST # 5 COURSE, $329,900 Call or text Rick Phillips 910.695.5795

THE HARRISON GROUP

CONNIE HARRISON 910-315-8052 connie@villagepropertiesnc.com WES HARRISON 910-315-8053 wes@villagepropertiesnc.com

THE PHILLIPS GROUP PATRICK PHILLIPS 910-639-0397 patrick@villagepropertiesnc.com

JEN PHILLIPS 917-558-0985 jen@villagepropertiesnc.com

RICK PHILLIPS 910-695-5795 rick@villagepropertiesnc.com

UNDER CONTRACT

VILLAGE OF PINEHURST RENTALS 221 JUNIPER CREEK BLVD. PINEHURST # 6 AREA, $295,000 Call or text Rick Phillips 910.695.5795

54 DEERWOOD LANE PINEHURST # 6 AR Call or text Rick Phillips 910.695.5795

We are in need of listings of houses to rent! 910.420.1045 | www.villagepropertiesnc.com

INSTAGRAM WINNERS

Congratulations to our May Instagram winners!

Theme:

Mothers

#pinestrawcontest

Next monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theme:

Fathers (For Father's Day)

Submit your photo on Instagram at @pinestrawmag using the hashtag #pinestrawcontest (Submissions needed by Monday, May 20th) PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May 2019

WHEN YOU HAVE AN

830-ACRE BACKYARD, y o u g o o u t s i d e a n d p l a y. Come home to rolling hills, open pastures, a nature preserve and miles of wooded trails – at Grande Pines just 10 minutes from Pinehurst Country Club.

Contact Broker/Realtor Pete Mace at 910.639.2883 or GrandePinesINFO@gmail.com to arrange a visit.

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*Exclusively listed with Carolina Property Sales, 280 Pinehurst Avenue, Suite 4, Southern Pines, NC 28387

G O O D NAT U R E D

Here’s to the Bs

By K aren Frye

A supplement for a healthy life

Author and nutritionist Adelle Davis believed that

through a healthy diet and taking the right supplements for your body, you could achieve a long life. In the 1950s she was one of the most highly respected authorities on healthy food and vitamins. One of her best-selling books, Let’s Have Healthy Children, would be a wonderful read for anyone today.

One of her most highly recommended vitamins is the B-complex — a combination of all the B vitamins in one tablet. Each B vitamin (there are a lot of them) has an extremely important function in the body. Taken together they give you the proper proportions to address any deficiencies. The food that contains the richest of all the B vitamins is brewers yeast or nutritional yeast. It’s easy to add to foods, juices or smoothies and is an excellent food for vegan and vegetarian diets. Before we had processed food (and white flour), when we relied on more natural whole grains, we could get adequate nutrients in our foods. Today, however, the food isn’t enough and a supplement can make a huge difference. The B vitamins are very important in the function of a healthy nervous system. If you are plagued with fatigue, B vitamins can increase your energy and stamina. B deficiencies can be the root cause of many skin and gastrointestinal issues. Adequate amounts of B vitamins can help alleviate anxiety and depression. There are many other advantages to keeping enough B in your diet. Deficiencies are common especially in the elderly. Even Alzheimer’s disease can be improved by adding B complex to the diet. Though the Bs work especially well as a team, they also have specific benefits individually. It is very common for folks to have low B12. This can be found in a routine blood test with your doctor. Folate, needed to make red and white blood cells, is another B vitamin prone to being low. And, while not scientifically proven, there have been personal testimonials of people using B1 to repel mosquitoes and other biting insects effectively. It’s been used with success among hikers, gardeners, athletes and, of course, those of us who just like to sit outside and enjoy nature. I’m sure you or someone you know can be outdoorsy and not be affected by annoying insects. They may have enough Bs in their system to emit an odor mosquitoes don’t like. On the other hand, perhaps you’re the one the bugs have decided to feast on and get covered in nasty bites. Just add B vitamins (or B1 alone) and you will be amazed. It’s a safer alternative to repellents containing DEET. Some of the richest food sources of B1 thiamine are egg yolks, brown rice, most nuts, legumes, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, plums, prunes, and nutritional yeast. If you decide that you want to take a supplement of B1, you can get it in a B complex or take it alone. Just make sure you get enough to effectively repel the bugs. The recommended amount of B1 to use is 25-50 milligrams several times a day. I have been adding nutritional yeast to my dog’s food for years as a natural flea repellent, too. Dogs love the taste, and it even slows down the aging process — for us and our pets. PS Karen Frye is the owner and founder of Nature’s Own and teaches yoga at the Bikram Yoga Studio.

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FACE

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TIME

Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?

Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?

Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence. Are they having speech difficulty? Is speech slurred, are they unable to speak, or hard to understand?

If the person shows any of these signs, time is important. Call 9-1-1 immediately. Brain cells are dying.

THE OMNIVOROUS READER

On the Lighter Side The study of humor can be serious business

By Stephen E. Smith

“Who was Alexander the Great’s

father?” my 11th grade history teacher asked (this was back in the day when educators expected students to know a little something about world history). Before anyone could raise his or her hand, my friend Norman Alton, slumped in the desk beside me, blurted out his answer: “Philip’s Milk of Macedonia!”

Norman wasn’t the class clown. He didn’t make monkey faces or squawk like a jungle bird. He was the class wit, a usually subdued presence whose occasional response to teachers’ questions exhibited a startling degree of wordplay and a remarkable, if somewhat perverse, intellectual insight. Philip’s Milk of Macedonia: Everyone laughed, even the thickheaded ones. Even the teacher. James Geary’s latest book, Wit’s End: What Wit Is, How It Works, and Why We Need It, explains how Norman’s agile, word-warping mind worked, analyzing the bits and pieces of intellect and psychology that conspire to make wit and its resultant humor a force in our lives. And Geary would seem to be the man for the job. He’s deputy curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard and the author of I Is an Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor and How It Shapes the Way We See the World, the New York Times best-selling The World in a Phrase: A Brief History of the Aphorism and Geary's Guide to the World’s Great Aphorists. The book opens with a dissertation on the pun. Punning is typically regarded as the lowest form of humor (make a pun and you’ll elicit a cho-

rus of groans), but it isn’t a simplistic exercise; it involves two incongruent concepts connected by sound and, if it’s a truly clever pun, it demonstrates a degree of insight that delights with its absurdity. “Puns straddle the happy fault where sound and sense collide,” writes Geary, “where surface similarities of spelling and pronunciation meet above conflicting seams of meaning.” Philip of Macedonia and Phillips’ Milk of Magnesia have nothing in common except, when spliced together, an unexpected degree of silliness and a certain similarity in sound and structure. Apparently, Geary counted the puns in Shakespeare’s plays: “There are some 200 puns in Love’s Labour’s Lost, 175 in Romeo and Juliet, 150 in each of the Henry IV plays, and upward to 100 in Much Ado About Nothing and All’s Well That Ends Well.” And he offers fascinating facts aplenty: Lincoln was an avid punster. The notion that Adam and Eve chomped into an apple is a misinterpretation of the Vulgate where the adjective form of “evil” malus, is malum, which happens to be the word for apple, thus fixing the misidentification of the apple as the offending fruit. Geary also includes enough obscure puns to last a lifetime, e.g., English essayist Charles Lamb was introduced by a friend who asked him, “Promise, Lamb, not to be sheepish.” Lamb replied, “I wool.” Lamb went on to write an essay entitled: “That the Worst Puns are the Best.” And when Groucho walked into a restaurant where his ex-wife was dining, he proved Lamb right: “Marx spots the ex.” All right, you can groan now. Geary then delves into “witty banter,” couching his observations in an original faux 18th century play riddled with contemporary allusions. Using research paper format (who among us wants to read another research paper?), Geary explains how the brain reacts to wit and humor, and in a slightly more interesting chapter he explores the neurobiological mechanism of wit — the ability to hold in mind two differing ideas about the same thing at the same time — asserting that comedians who are bipolar have an advan-

THE OMNIVOROUS READER

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148 East New Hampshire Ave. | Southern Pines Tues - Fri 11 to 5, Saturday 11 to 4 | (910) 692-3749 44

tage over their less afflicted peers. If you’re an oldtimer, you’ll be reminded of Jonathan Winters, who gave us Maude Frickert and Elwood P. Suggins from Bellbrook, Ohio, a yokel who’d seen “some 76” flying saucers. But Geary focuses on a more derivative and annoying comedian, Robin Williams, as a prime example of a bipolar individual who could make instant disconnected connections. He also presents numerous examples of individuals who suffered bouts of unrestrained wit, such as the case of a 57-year-old man who began constantly joking, laughing, and singing. “After the patient’s death, his wife discovered scores of Groucho Marx glasses, spinning bow ties, hand buzzers, and squirting lapel flowers in their garage. An autopsy showed asymmetric frontotemporal atrophy and Pick’s disease.” Neurological mechanisms notwithstanding, readers are likely to find their attention waning in chapters such as “Perfect Witty Expressions and How to Make Them” (can we be taught to be witty?), “Advanced Banter” and “An Ode to Wit,” which falls with a predictable thud. In an especially cringe-worthy chapter on “jive,” Geary explains “Dozens,” a form of interactive insult which is “a part of African-American tradition of competitive verbal invention” in which combatants face off before a crowd and “direct aspersions at their adversary’s shortcoming”: Your mother is so ugly that she has to . . . ” He also includes a lengthy out-of-date jive glossary — “Cat: A cool, witty person,” “Chippies: Young women,” “Eighty-eight (88): Piano,” “Knowledge box: Brain,” etc., — which is completely unnecessary. Do we need to understand the mechanisms at work in the creation of humor? Probably not. But quick-witted people charm and amuse us; we appreciate them, crediting them, whether they deserve it or not, with a high degree of intelligence. Any understanding of how the witty mind works only deepened our appreciation of their talent. And there’s much that’s entertaining and informative in Wit’s End; unfortunately, Geary’s use of various literary conceits and his incessant cleverness wears thin and eventually begs the question: Is it possible to be too clever when investigating cleverness? My old friend Norman Alton, who is by now on a first name basis with Phillips’ Milk of Magnesia, knew a good quip when he’d delivered one. He didn’t push it. As we all cackled, he remained silent and straight-faced, accepting our laughter as praise. PS Stephen E. Smith is a retired professor and the author of seven books of poetry and prose. He’s the recipient of the Poetry Northwest Young Poet’s Prize, the Zoe Kincaid Brockman Prize for poetry and four North Carolina Press awards.

May 2019P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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BOOKSHELF

May Books FICTION Tears of the Trufflepig, by Fernando A. Flores

This debut novel weaves in ancient myth, foodie culture and a modern Hunter S. Thompson-like journalist on the hunt for truth. Narcotics are legal in South Texas but there’s a new contraband on the market: ancient Olmec artifacts, shrunken indigenous heads, and animal species brought back from extinction to clothe, feed, and generally amuse the very wealthy. Esteban Bellacosa has lived in the border town of MacArthur long enough to know to keep quiet and avoid the dangerous syndicates who make their money through trafficking. He soon finds himself in the middle of an increasingly perilous, surreal, psychedelic journey, where he encounters legends of the long-disappeared Aranaña Indian tribe and their object of worship: the mysterious Trufflepig, said to possess strange powers. Flores's writing is already drawing comparisons as a wild Amor Towles. Tears of the Trufflepig could be the best book of 2019.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, by Kim Michele

Richardson Thanks to FDR’s Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project, Troublesome Creek got its very own traveling librarian, Cussy Mary Carter, hired to distribute reading material by packhorse. Carter's not just a book woman, she's also the last of her kind, her skin a shade of blue unlike anyone else. Based on the combined histories of the Pack Horse Library Project and the families with blue skin, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a novel of raw courage, fierce strength, and one woman's determination to bring a little bit of hope to the dark hollers.

The Guest Book, by Sarah Blake

The best-selling author of The Postmistress examines not just a privileged American family, but a privileged America. Moving through three generations and back and forth in time, The Guest Book asks how we remember and what we choose to forget. It reveals the untold secrets we inherit and pass on, unknowingly echoing our parents and grandparents. Blake’s triumphant novel tells the story of a family and a country that buries its past in quiet, until the present calls forth a reckoning.

Mistress of the Ritz, by Melanie Benjamin

A captivating novel based on the extraordinary real-life American woman Blanche Auzello, who secretly worked for the French Resistance during World War II. Blanche and her husband, Claude, are the mistress and master of the Ritz, allowing the glamour and glitz to take their minds off their troubled marriage, and off the secrets that they keep from their guests — and each other. In June 1940, the German army swept into Paris, setting up headquarters at the Hôtel Ritz. Suddenly, with the likes of Hermann Goëring moving into suites once occupied by royalty, Blanche and Claude must navigate a terrifying new reality. In order to survive — and strike a blow against their Nazi “guests” — they spin a web of deceit that ensnares everything and everyone they cherish. Based on true events, Mistress of the Ritz is a taut tale of suspense wrapped up in a love story for the ages.

Prairie Fever, by Michael Parker

Parker eloquently captures the desolate beauty of the Oklahoma prairie in prose that is both searing and lyrical as he tells the story of two teenage sisters in the early 1900s. Lorena is sensible while Elise is always lost in flights of fancy. When a

series of events leads them to realize they have feelings for the same man — their young schoolteacher — the two are driven apart by years and hundreds of miles. With poetic intensity and deadpan humor, Parker reminds us of how our choices are often driven by our passions.

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna, by Juliet Grames

A breakthrough debut novel about an Italian immigrant family set across two continents and 100 years. Told in a series of neardeath experiences and set in both Italy and the United States, this is a book rich with romance, murder, food, stories and ghosts. The prose is inviting and unexpected, the story immersive. With hints of magical realism, recalling the work of Isabel Allende, the underlying theme is ultimately about the changing role of women in a patriarchal culture over the last century.

NONFICTION Rough Magic, by Lara Prior-Palmer

In 2013, the 19-year-old London native and future Stanford graduate competed in the world's toughest horse race: the 1,000-kilometer Mongol Derby, a course in Mongolia that recreates the horse messenger system developed by Genghis Khan. Driven by a lifelong love of horses, restlessness, stubbornness, and the realization she had nothing to lose, Prior-Palmer raced for 10 days through extreme heat and terrifying storms, catching a few hours of sleep where she could in the homes of nomadic families. Battling bouts of illness and dehydration, exhaustion and bruising falls, she scrambled up mountains, forded rivers, crossed woodlands, wetlands, arid dunes and the open steppe to become the first woman to win the race and the youngest person ever to finish.

Truth Worth Telling, by Scott Pelley

One of the most experienced and award-winning correspondents in broadcast journalism, Pelley has been reporting stories for 60 Minutes since 2004. He served as anchor of the CBS Evening News from 2011 to 2017. Chatting face-to-face with world leaders and on the front lines of wars, Pelley has learned to identify the values that separate the people whose lives make a difference in the moments that count and the flaws that bring down even the most powerful. This book is about the humanity he sees in the most intense moments and serves as an inspiration for tackling the challenges in our own lives. Pelley will be at the Pinehurst Resort, 80 Carolina Vista Dr., in conversation with Kimberly Daniels Taws on June 6. Tickets are $35.

Spying on the South, by Tony Horwitz

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist follows in the footsteps of the young Frederick Law Olmsted who traveled the South in the 1850s as an undercover correspondent for the precursor of the New York Times. Using the pen name “Yeoman.” Olmsted journeyed by horseback, steamboat, and stagecoach, finding a land on the brink of civil war. His vivid dispatches about the lives of Southerners were revelatory and reshaped the man who would reshape the American landscape as the country’s first and foremost landscape architect. Horwitz rediscovers Yeoman Olmsted amidst the discord and polarization of our own time. Is America still one country? In search of answers, and his own adventures, he follows Olmsted's tracks.

BOOKSHELF

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

A Piglet Named Mercy, by Kate

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DiCamillo Oh, my goodness! If Mercy Watson wasn't already the cutest pig on the shelves, now readers get to meet her as a piglet — the fabulous toast-loving house pig, Mercy Watson. (Ages 3-5.)

Sweety, by Andrea Zuill All the young readers, and the young at heart, who truly embrace their inner oddball will absolutely fall in love with Sweety, a naked mole rat who is lovingly referred to by even her adoring Grandmother as a "square peg." Anyone who loves dancing, mushrooms, or rainy days will be delighted to have a little Sweety in their lives. (Ages 3-6.) Underwear!, by Jenn Harney

Getting a bare bear into his underwear after bath time is impossible for a tired papa bear when underwear makes great hair; can turn a cub into a superbear; and is so much fun to hide under a chair! But beware of a big scare. This simple silly rhyming romp is sure to have young readers giggling out loud. (Ages 2-5.)

When Your Daddy’s a Soldier, by Gretchen McLellan Deployments are difficult for everyone, especially the little ones. In this picture book, a young boy shares the pride, sorrow, joy and difficulties he, his mom and his sister experience while Dad is serving his country far away. With moving illustrations by Caldecott honoree E.B. Lewis, this powerful picture book serves as an homage to families who serve. (Ages 3-8.) The Line Tender, by Kate Allen

When Lucy Everhart sets out with her best friend, Fred, to create a field guide for their town as a summer project, she has no idea of the path it will lead her down. Budding marine biologists, young artists and anyone who just loves a darn good story will not be able to put this one down. (Ages 10-14.) PS

Compiled by Kimberly Daniels Taws and Angie Tally

May 2019P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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Upcoming

AUTHOR EVENTS New York Times best selling authors are coming to Southern Pines! Stop by The Country Bookshop to see and talk to them about their latest books.

May 1 at 4:00 pm

May 7 at 5:00 pm

High Five

The Road To Healing

ADAM RUBIN

From the creators of the New York Times bestseller Dragons Love Tacos comes a rollicking, rhyme-tastic, interactive high five competition--starring YOU! Discover the lost art of the high five and improve your slapping skills just in time for the annual high five contest! From hand-limbering stretches to lessons on five-ing with finesse, readers are guided through a series of interactive challenges, each goofier than the next. Acclaimed creative duo Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri have dreamed up another one-of-a-kind, laugh-out-loud book that kids will beg to read again and again.

May 8 at 5:00 pm MICHAEL KNIGHT

At Briarwood School for Girls

KEN WOODLEY

Prince Edward County, Virginia closed its public school system in 1959 in “massive resistance” to the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic Brown v. Board decision of 1954. The editorial pages of the local family-owned newspaper, The Farmville Herald, led the fight to lock classrooms rather than integrate them. The school system remained closed until the fall of 1964, when the County was forced by federal courts to comply with the school integration ordered by Brown. The vast majority of white children had continued their education in a private, whites-only academy. But more than 2,000 black students were left without a formal education by the five-year closure. Their lives were forever changed. A Civil Rights Reparations Story: The Road to Healing in Prince Edward County, Virginia, by Ken Woodley, is his first-person account of the steps taken in recent years to redress the wound.

May 17 at 5:00 pm

CHRIS PERONDI The Big Book of Tricks for the Best Dog Ever

It’s 1994 and Lenore Littlefield is a junior at Briarwood School for Girls. She plays basketball. She hates her roommate. History is her favorite subject. She has told no one that she’s pregnant. Everything, in other words, is under control.

Chris runs Stunt Dog Productions, a touring dog production show that performs more than 1,000 live shows every year with dogs that have all been rescued from pounds and shelters across the country. He has appeared on every major national TV show the country has to offer—from The Oprah Winfrey Show, to The Today Show and The Ellen DeGeneres Show and his is on a national 20-city book tour to promote the book, The Big Book of Tricks for the Best Dog Ever which is an indispensable, step-by-step guide featuring 118 tricks that strengthen the bond between owner and dog—and impress all who watch.

Meanwhile, Disney has announced plans to build a new theme park just up the road, a “Technicolor simulacrum of American History” right in the middle of one of the most history-rich regions of the country. If successful, the development will forever alter the character of Prince William County, VA, and have unforeseeable consequences for the school.

Chris will briefly share his original story and then share an abbreviated version of his famous show featuring cover dog, Vinny Valentino, performing tricks from THE BIG BOOK OF TRICKS FOR THE BEST DOG EVER. Chris will then go through a step-by-step tutorial on how he trained Vinny to do one of the tricks, so you can see the book’s approach at work!

From the award-winning writer of Eveningland and The Typist, Michael Knight, At Briarwood School for Girls is an incisive, witty, beautifully-written novel set at a boarding school in the Virginia countryside

The Country Bookshop 140 NW Broad St, • Southern Pines, NC • 910.692.3211 • www.thecountrybookshop.biz • thecountrybookshop

DRINKING WITH WRITERS

Blood Memory Five friends and a meal to remember

By Wiley Cash • Photographs by Mallory Cash

In his first poetry collection, 1998’s

Eureka Mill, Ron Rash writes about the connection he feels to his father, grandmother, and grandfather, especially their waking before dawn to work in textile mills. Rash refers to this connection, the connection to an ancestor’s experience without the experience itself, as “blood memory.”

I have always felt a kinship with Ron, and it is not just because our people come from the same places — the South Carolina Upstate and western North Carolina. I feel a deep bond with the experiences he writes about, the people he portrays, and the often disappearing landscapes he puts on the page. Is it blood that connects us? No, but when I read his work I feel like I understand Ron and the people he writes about as much as I understand my mother and father and the people who came before them. This is what I was thinking about — this blood memory — when I left my adopted hometown of Wilmington and drove across the state, where the Appalachian Studies Association was hosting its annual conference on the campus of the University of North Carolina-Asheville. Normally, I am not someone who enjoys conferences: the academic talk, the nametag gazing, the feeling that everyone there is vying for the same thing, whether it is publication, notoriety, or the keys to both. But I felt at ease as the elevation increased and the air cooled because I knew I would be spending the weekend with writers and scholars who view the world in much the same way I do. There were many people I was looking forward to seeing again or meeting

the first time during our stay in Asheville, but I would be lying if I said I was not giddy at the thought of spending time with Lee Smith, someone I do not see as often as I would like and someone I will go to my grave believing is the most charming and warm-hearted person in all of American literature. Along with novelist Silas House and his husband, writer Jason Howard, my wife Mallory and I had plans to have dinner with Lee in Asheville on Friday night before Saturday’s conference keynote event: a discussion between Lee and Ron Rash with me serving as the moderator. I had met Silas House a few times over the years, but I really got to know him after we spent an evening in Swain County, North Carolina, last spring, facilitating creative writing workshops and readings with groups of high school students from western North Carolina and New York City who were participating in a literary exchange program. I had never met Jason before, but I knew his work, much of it focused on Kentucky’s rich music history and environmental issues like mountaintop removal. For dinner, the five of us met at Rhubarb in downtown Asheville. Asheville has become a culinary mecca over the past decade, and while you may hear a lot about restaurants like Cúrate and Cucina 24, Rhubarb serves consistently incredible food comprised of regional ingredients. John Fleer, a Winston-Salem native and Rhubarb’s owner and chef, is the former executive chef at Blackberry Farm, and he was named one of the “Rising Stars of the 21st Century” by the James Beard Foundation. After a meal at Rhubarb that might include crispy fried hominy dusted with chili and lime alongside wood-roasted sunburst trout you can see how Fleer is steering into the 21st century with the roots of his Southern history fully intact. Rhubarb is one of my and Mallory’s favorite restaurants in Asheville, and we were proud to share it with Lee, Silas and Jason. Over dinner and drinks, I asked Silas how he had come to know Lee. “Over 20 years ago I submitted a story to a workshop Lee was teaching at the Hindman Settlement School in Kentucky,” Silas said. “And a few weeks later I went to one of Lee’s book signings. I was so nervous to meet her because I loved

DRINKING WITH WRITERS

her books, and I wanted to be in her workshop.” Lee laughed and picked up the story. “And when you came through the line and told me your name so I could sign your book, I said, ‘How funny. I just read a very good story by someone named Silas.’” “And it changed my life,” Silas said. And his life is still changing. His most recent novel, Southernmost, received rave reviews and kept him on a book tour for most of the spring and summer. Over the years, Jason came to love Lee just as much as Silas does. “I was in Washington, D.C. a few years ago,” Jason said, “and suddenly I heard Lee’s voice on The Diane Rehm Show. I dropped what I was doing and drove right to the NPR station. The receptionist asked me what I needed, and I said, ‘I’m just waiting on Lee Smith to finish her interview.”

Every Home has a Story, a Beginning, a Middle and an End.

Lee burst out laughing. “I came out of the studio, and there you were. It was like we planned it.” Before dinner, Mallory and I had discussed whether or not she should bring her camera gear, but we decided against it. We wanted to enjoy the evening talking to people we do not get to see that often. But Mallory did take one photo with her cell phone; in it, Lee, Silas, Jason and I are all squeezed onto one side of the table. If you did not know better, you might think we were family. The next afternoon, during the conference keynote, Lee, Ron Rash, and I spent an hour or so onstage in a packed auditorium talking about Appalachian writers and literature and issues specific to the region. “I think it’s important to be able to steer students toward writing that reveals something about themselves,” Lee said. “There’s value in seeing your life on the page.” “Robert Morgan did that for me,” Ron said. “And so did Fred Chappell’s book I Am One of You Forever.” After our discussion, we took questions from the audience. Someone stood in the dark theater and asked if any of us have ever felt slighted because of the place we call home or how we speak. “For me personally, that’s why I don’t want to ever lose my accent,” Ron said, “Because that to me is a rejection of your heritage. The way I look at it is, OK, you can make fun of my accent, but we can out-write you, we can out-music you, and we can out-cook you.” I agree with Ron. I am proud of the place and the people I am from, and I am proud to share stages and dinner tables with them. They feel like family. They feel like blood. PS Wiley Cash lives in Wilmington with his wife and their two daughters. His latest novel, The Last Ballad, is available wherever books are sold.

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HOMETOWN

A Sweet Ride On the road to the big 6-0

By Bill Fields

During a hectic season of business travel

— I’ve been to Florida so much I think convenience stores everywhere stock flip-flops — it hasn’t hit me yet but I’m sure it will.

My birthday will arrive and I’ll feel like one of those fast cars in a 1970s commercial — zero to 60 before you can believe it. It shouldn’t feel like a surprise, because what they tell you is true: The older you get, the more the calendar seems like it’s on speed. I remember the friends, balloons and food from 50. I can give you the birdies and bogeys from a round of golf on my 40th birthday. Even the festivities of number 18 are clear, despite a couple too many newly legal beverages. Veteran tip: Do not accept the offer of late-night Champagne from a well-meaning classmate celebrating a milestone of her own with friends — who came into the world on a May day at St. Joseph’s while I was being born at Moore Memorial — after draining the beer taps in the 28387. Happy Birthday, Beth Huntley, wherever you are. I forgive you. I also forgive author Fred Kaplan for omitting my birth in his book, 1959: The Year Everything Changed, published a decade ago. After all, there was a lot going on — the Space Race was on the first lap, and the Cold War was getting hot. Two months before I was born, Texas Instruments introduced the solid integrated circuit, the microchip. When I was four months old, International Business Machines unveiled the modern computer. As Kaplan writes, lots of wheels in different parts of society began turning rapidly in 1959, setting the stage for dramatic shifts in the 1960s and beyond. My arrival was upheaval aplenty for my family, a big deal even

though I weighed in at canned-ham size, a shade over 5 pounds, when Dr. Michael Pishko delivered me into a changing world. The attending nurse was Mrs. Luna Black, mother of sons Clyde and Marcus with whom I went through school. Mom saved my hospital baby ID bracelet that kept me from going home to Robbins or Raeford. It looks like a crafts project created by a patient someone who likes tiny things, with itty-bitty blue beads and my last name in white beads, on a short string that will just circle my ring finger now. My sisters were 12 1/2 and 14 1/2 years old at the time, with Johnny Mathis and Bobby Darin 45s to spin and wool skirts to sew. But from the moment my father came into the Southern Pines school cafeteria to give them the big news after my 10:42 a.m. birth on May 25, Sadie and Dianne loved me and cared for me, even when they would have rather been downtown with their pals having a fountain Coke at the drug store on Broad Street. I might have gotten to 60 without the support of my family and friends, but it would have been a harder ride with less joy, a journey I don’t wish to contemplate. I’m lucky to have my mother still, even though seeing her diminished is hard. Yet I miss my dad, who didn’t quite make it to 60, and wonder what more years would have given him — and us. Would he have ever talked about the war? What would he have thought about New York City? Would he have liked craft beer? Late in his life, when they were finally empty nesters, Mom told me, Dad talked of an RV in retirement, of seeing more of the country. When I’ve ventured to a new state — 48 now, lacking only North Dakota and Alaska — each trip has been at least a little bit for him, the man who finally got a son. On this birthday, more than most, he will be a candle that can’t be blown out. PS Southern Pines native Bill Fields, who writes about golf and other things, moved north in 1986 but hasn’t lost his accent.

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May 2019

IN THE SPIRIT

The Key to the El Presidente A delicious and historically important style of vermouth

By Tony Cross

PHOTOGRAPH BY TONY CROSS

Not long ago, I made time to drive to Durham to visit an old friend, Campbell Davis. I’ve known Cam for about six years; we did business together while he was representing the wine distribution company, Bordeaux Fine & Rare. At the time, I couldn’t get any quality white vermouth. BFR carried the Dolin catalog, which is represented by another distributor, Haus Alpenz. When I found out that BFR was representing Haus Alpenz, too, I was thrilled. It meant quick access to a variety of quality vermouths, liqueurs, and other mixers. In the time since Cam and I met, I got out from behind the bar and started up Reverie Cocktails and, as of this year, he opened LouElla Wine, Beer & Beverages in Durham. Within five minutes of Cam showing me around his newest venture, he handed me a bottle and said, “I bet you haven’t had this vermouth before.” Damn, Cam. He was right.

To be fair, Cam could’ve handed me any number of bottles that I hadn’t had before. Admittedly, the longer I’ve been grinding with Reverie, the more out of touch I’ve been with newer releases in the spirit and fortified wine category. It doesn’t really matter though; Cam’s quick description had me sold from the get-go. “This is Comoz Chambéry Blanc,” he said. “It’s the second Chambéry vermouth to ever hit the market. Dolin probably purchased the company just to soak up its only competition. It’s really good, but kind of different. A lot of wormwood comes through on this one.” Sold! After I returned home, I decided to read up on the Comoz Chambéry, and see what it was all about. I didn’t have to go far — Haus Alpenz’s online portfolio does an excellent job describing their products, along with its history, and cocktail recipes to boot. Jean-Pierre Comoz established the House of Comoz in 1856 making it, according to the spreadsheet from Alpenz, “the second vermouthier of Chambéry.” Dolin Vermouth de Chambéry is the oldest, dating back to 1821; Comoz just happened to be previously employed there. Jean-Pierre and company started producing a pale vermouth when they launched. But soon after in 1881, under the leadership of Jean-Pierre’s son, Claudius, they began producing a blanc vermouth, which contained flavors from a selection of wines, plants and fruits. They were the first producers of this crystal clear, semi-sweet vermouth. Dolin followed suit years later with their version of a blanc-style vermouth, sweeter and paler in color. Comoz Chambéry Blanc’s claim to fame was when it made its way to Cuba as the key ingredient (besides rum, of course) in the El Presidente cocktail. More on that in a bit. Unfortunately for the House of Comoz, sales and production declined in the mid-to-late 20th century. In 1981, the house shut its doors. They

IN THE SPIRIT

Bella

MSRP $113

BOTM Price $92

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continued production under contract, but never really seemed to get rolling. In the new millennium, they were non-existent. Enter Dolin. Today, through Dolin’s acquiring of Comoz and Haus Alpenz’s distribution, you can enjoy this Biancostyle white wine for under $20 a bottle. On its own, the Comoz is just a tad sweet with notes of cherry and stone fruits; it has a nice body to it as well. In a cocktail, I’d recommend starting with what it’s best known for — the El Presidente. Cocktail nerd, Camper English, wrote that, “The drink is credited to German bartender Eddie Woelke, who was working in Havana, Cuba. He may or may not have invented it, but it is believed he refined it sometime between 1913 and 1921.” He also goes on to say that the drink was probably named for President General Mario García Menocal y Deop. It soon became a favorite of the following president, Gerardo Machado. The recipe calls for white rum, blanc vermouth, orange curaçao, and grenadine. I would usually do a 2:1 ratio of rum to vermouth, but with this one, equal parts really let this vermouth shine. As you’re probably well aware, our local ABC doesn’t have much variety in quality rums. Start with Bacardi or Havana Club, but when you get a chance, grab a rhum agricole or a bottle of Caña Brava for a better quality drink. For the curaçao, use Grand Marnier. I don’t think the grenadine is a deal breaker, but if you decide to use it, make your own. It’s garnished with orange oil, with or without the peel. Personally, I like dropping a Maraschino cherry in mine. I’m not a huge fan of cherries in my cocktails, but I think eating it after having that vermouth is simply delicious. Now that the weather is warmer, it’s hard to have just one of these. For me, it’s a fast sipper. Nice and light with a ton of depth. You can pick up a bottle of the Comoz at Nature’s Own, but please, the next time you’re in Durham, stop into LouElla’s and grab one of Cam’s many offerings.

El Presidente:

Inner Beauty Wide Style MSRP $143

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Framer’s Cottage 162 NW Broad Street • Downtown Southern Pines • 910.246.2002 58

1 1/2 ounce white rum 1 1/2 ounce Comoz Vermouth de Chambéry 1 barspoon orange curaçao 1 barspoon grenadine Combine all ingredients in a chilled mixing vessel. Add ice and stir until proper dilution is obtained. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. Take a swath of orange peel, expressing its oils over the drink. You may discard or drop the peel into the drink. If you’re feeling feisty, go ahead and add that cherry. PS Tony Cross is a bartender who runs cocktail catering company Reverie Cocktails in Southern Pines.

May 2019P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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: The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

WINE COUNTRY

The Champagne Name It’s not just any old bubbly

By Angela Sanchez

Champagne is

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN KOOB GESSNER

classic, timeless, associated with elegance and class. It is a mark of distinction and celebration. The sound of the cork popping tells you something great has just happened. It gives you a feeling of fun and accomplishment at the end of something you have just achieved. The beautiful bubbles billowing up through the glass are a symbol of celebration the world over. There are countless bottles of sparkling wine made by various methods on store shelves and restaurant lists, but are they really Champagne? Of course not. Champagne is more than just a general term used to describe a wine with bubbles. Real Champagne can only come from one place in the world, made of certain types of grapes, with its production regulated by law. Champagne’s climate, topography and production — its terroir — are what make it unique from any other sparkling wine produced anywhere.

According to legend a monk named Dom Perignon accidentally discovered sparkling wine while making white wine in the Champagne region of France in the 1600s. While the story is a matter of folklore, his “method” is what we now consider méthode champenoise or the “traditional” method of making sparkling wine. Basically, a wine will undergo a second fermentation in the bottle, producing the bubbles we all love. All Champagne from the Champagne region of France is, and must, be made using this method. While other wines around the world are made similarly, it doesn’t make them Champagne. The method of production is the first key distinguishing real Champagne. The grape varietals and the growing region are the others. There are seven allowed grape varieties in Champagne. The most wellknown, and widely planted are chardonnay (adding acidity and structure), pinot noir (adding elegance, aromatic qualities and fruit), and pinot meunier (adding richness and darker fruit characteristics). The last four of the seven,

pinot blanc, formenteau, petite arbanne, and petite meslier, while not as widely used — accounting for less than one percent of plantings — can add brightness, rustic qualities and additional structure and intensity. Most Champagne consists of the best-known varietals and most producers depend on them to develop a house style that will be the consistent base for their non-vintage wines. This way, you will always have a bottle of Veuve Clicquot or Tattinger non-vintage Champagne that is consistently the same year after year ensuring you get what you expect. Knowing what grapes will go into the wines is key for producers and knowing where they are grown is the root of the entire production. The region of Champagne is located 93 miles northeast of Paris, an easy train ride away. It is 84,000 acres in total growing area and consists of four major growing regions, the Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne, Côtes des Blanc and Côtes de Bar. The AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) for Champagne was established in 1927, codifying its distinction and classification by law. Since producers must only use grapes grown in this region to produce Champagne, the vineyard land is highly sought after and among the highest priced in the world. The region consists of 320 villages or “crus,” averaging 18 acres each. The limestone and chalky soils allow for great drainage and, because they are porous, act as water reservoirs for the vines. The cool climate of the region is why chardonnay and pinot noir do so well there and produce wines that have longevity. Location, location, location! The climate and rugged terrain are unlike anywhere else in the world. It is special, unique, original. It is Champagne. The header on the Comité Champagne website reads “Champagne only comes from Champagne, France.” In no way does that diminish the beautiful and special sparkling wines made elsewhere in the world, festive and delicious in their own right. They can be consumed and enjoyed — perhaps even more often because of their easy access, price point and style — but should be called by their own names or style. Enjoy bubbles anytime you can. They make a regular day special and a special occasion more memorable, just don’t call them Champagne if they’re not. If you have never experienced the uniqueness and quality of Champagne, find a bottle and enjoy it. Celebrate its one of a kind style, history and terroir. That’s the best way to understand what makes Champagne, Champagne. PS Angela Sanchez owns Southern Whey, a cheese-centric specialty food store in Southern Pines, with her husband, Chris Abbey. She was in the wine industry for 20 years and was lucky enough to travel the world drinking wine and eating cheese.

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May 2019P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

THE KITCHEN GARDEN

Strawberry Fields, Now

Savor the sweet Sandhills berries

By Jan Leitschuh

Peak strawberry time is now. You know you want some.

Though you’ll find local Sandhills strawberries at farm stands and markets in late April, this delectable expression of spring hits its flavorful red stride in early to mid-May, then tapers off quickly after Mother’s Day as the weather heats up. So you’ll not want to procrastinate — though feel free to lollygag once you’re in your friendly neighborhood pick-your-own strawberry field, scooping up the juicy red berries. Going out to the farm to pick your own berries is just one of those “musthave” experiences. Grab a bucket, your appetite and the nearest kid. This is the time to unplug and savor a sun-warmed, sweet berry, passing onto the next generation the pleasure of gathering wholesome food sprung from the earth — and helping a local farmer hang on to the family farm, in the process. Spring for a strawberry ice cream cone on the way out. Yes, you see, we know you likely did not plant your Chandler, Camarosa or Sweet Charlie varieties last October, as your local Sandhills farmers did. You didn’t spend time and treasure enriching your soils. You didn’t need to hover over the weather reports and your strawberry beds all winter, covering and uncovering the young plants, trying to balance the frost protection versus the sunshine. You could this year, though, if you wanted your own little strawberry bed in the backyard. You can get a flat of strawberry “plugs” next October and plant the crowns level with the surface of your rich soil, watering in well. If not trying to support a farm on the springtime harvest, you can skip the tedious covering and uncovering and let them ripen on nature’s schedule. Keep your little patch free of weeds, and “groom” off the old leaves during the first winter, pick off most of the flowers that first spring to give the plants a chance to settle in and grow strong. Some farmers swear an extra little hit of magnesium makes the crop sweeter. Strawberries are one of the most expensive crops to plant commercially.

“Out of pocket, before you pick your first strawberry, call it $11,000 an acre, with plants, labor, soil treatment, plastic and drip irrigation,” says Taylor Williams, Moore County’s agriculture extension agent at the North Carolina Cooperative Extension in Carthage. N.C. Cooperative Extension has a list of local U-Pick strawberry growers. “We have seven in Moore and three in Richmond, three or four in Lee County,” says Williams, “one of which is certified organic, Olde Carthage Farm.” (Call the Extension at 910-947-3188 for more info on locations.) Sandhills strawberries are true culinary lovelies. Unlike grocery store berries, ours are tender and fully sweet, bred to be picked at peak ripeness rather than harvested while still hard enough to ship across several time zones and two or three mountain ranges. Sandhills strawberries are juicy things, sweet because they have the time to further ripen into something worthy of your grandmother’s strawberry shortcake recipe. “There’s a difference between one that is shipped across country firm and a little sour,” says Williams. “In the Sandhills, pick ‘em ripe, eat them within two or three days, then go back for more.”

Zen

Drop and Give Me

THE KITCHEN GARDEN

Growing up in Wisconsin, we cooked up our sweet strawberries with tart, chopped stalks of spring rhubarb for a tasty compote or our very own “Beebopareebop Rhubarb Pie.” The perennial northern plant loves colder climates and marries well with strawberries, offsetting their sweet seedy pulp with a companionable tang. While I have grown rhubarb here in the Sandhills, it was on irrigation and in afternoon shade. These days, I just see it in the produce department of a number of grocery stores come May, same time as strawberries, and snag it quickly for a hit of nostalgia.

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Bananas are another famous partner to strawberries. In season, use them together liberally on breakfast cereals or on morning smoothies as well as fruit salads and desserts. And speaking of desserts and famous partnerships, whipped cream just has a creamy affinity for Sandhills strawberries. Slice a cake round carefully in half. Slather one layer with whipped cream and berries, top with the other half and add more whipped cream and berries. Or slice open your favorite biscuit for a shortcake. Even simpler: crumble a pound cake into a goblet, layering berries and whipped cream. Top with the perfect berry. Strawberry pavlova has to be the ultimate elegant berry dessert. Whipped cream is nestled into a nest of crispy egg-white meringue, then the strawberries are ladled atop that. Add a dash of whipped cream to top it off, with a whole berry atop that. Yowza! Some folks are allergic to strawberries — imagine that! I was one such child, and would break out in hives even as I stuffed myself. Thankfully, it was something I outgrew. Curiously, folks allergic to birch pollen, they say, are also likely to react to strawberries.

May 2019P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

THE KITCHEN GARDEN

Berries are low-glycemic brain food. An excellent source of vitamins C, K, fiber, folic acid, manganese and potassium, they also contain significant amounts of phytonutrients and colorful flavonoids which make strawberries bright red. A springtime strawberry feaster may find that the fruit acids can be hard on your dental enamel, so be sure to brush after indulging and schedule your teeth cleaning after strawberry season when they might not be as sensitive. Sandhills strawberries are tender, and turn to mush fast. Don’t let their plastic container sweat, if you can. Moisture is their downfall. I like to store berries, all berries actually, with a paper towel between each layer to get an extra day or two in the fridge. Strawberry secrets include not washing the tender berries until right before using because of this deterioration soon after rinsing. Wash and handle them with care. Another flavor tip is to let them come to room temperature before serving — you get maximum flavor. Once picked, store in the fridge crisper and eat within a day or two. Strawberries do not ripen further so avoid those that are dull, or have green or yellow patches. Assuming you went berry-happy at the U-Pick and returned home with more than your strawberry-cobbler-loving self could absorb in a few days — hey, no shame, everyone does — you can preserve the excess. Some people will put up quantities of jam. You can also freeze whole berries for later smoothies, cooked desserts or even later jam sessions — simply rinse, remove the green cap and freeze whole on a cookie sheet. After 24 hours, pack them in freezer bags and use within a few months to prevent freezer burn. An elegant and clean dessert is a simple strawberry ice to celebrate the season. Grown-ups — just add a glass, a bit of rum and a little umbrella.

Strawberry Ice: 5 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened strawberries, thawed 2/3 cup sugar 2/3 cup water 1/4 cup lemon juice Directions: Place the strawberries in a blender or food processor; cover and process until smooth. In a saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes; cool slightly. Add to blender. Add lemon juice; cover and process until combined. Pour into a shallow freezer container; cover and freeze for 4-6 hours or until almost frozen. Just before serving, whip mixture in a blender or food processor. PS Jan Leitschuh is a local gardener, avid eater of fresh produce and co-founder of the Sandhills Farm to Table Cooperative.

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May 2019P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

T H E P L E A S U R E S O F L I F E D E P T.

Be Prepared Malevolent Mercury will strike again

By Beth MacDonald

I never gave any credence to things

like virtual chain letters, ghost stories, urban legends, or certain celestial events that are credited with affecting our wellbeing. The dire consequences if we should fail to pass them along, conjure them through a mirror, or change our travel plans never fazed me. All of that changed when Mercury went into retrograde last March.

When Mercury goes into retrograde it’s like a fortune cookie telling you to hide under your bed in the fetal position until that pesky planet goes back into prograde, whatever that is. But, make no mistake, Mercury was out to get us. The Old Farmer’s Almanac practically said so directly. Prograde may sound like a cherry flavored sports drink crammed full of electrolytes, but according to Google it’s a real live astrological term. And we were in desperate need of it. After having a series of impossibly negative days during this mystical Mercury interlude — the kind that makes you want to eat a pint of ice cream and cry into a bag of Doritos — I called my friend Sara. Everything was wrong. Whah, whah, whah. Her reply, “Mercury’s in retrograde.” Oh, fine. Would I be protected from it if I passed that message through Facebook to 10 friends? I had to go to a legitimate, reputable, scholarly source to research this phenomenon. I went back to Google. Of course, my studies at the University of Google taught me to go to the first link that popped up. The Old Farmer’s Almanac: the preeminent source on all things astronomy. Indeed, Mercury was in retrograde. That meant I could blame everything on that fact and that fact alone. Potential disasters included, but were not limited to, electronics going on the fritz; travel plans being disrupted; a state of confusion (how this differs from my every day life I’m not sure); and a preoccupation with the past. I’d also be blaming any future weight gain on Mercury. It still sounded like nonsense. I wasn’t a true believer until the Ides of March confirmed the credibility of my Doctorate in Googling. On a brisk morning, after my usual Friday Trash Dash/Cardio HIIT, I was energized and up for the day, ready to do some work. I needed a pen from my

car. How all the pens in my home ended up in my locked car is not relevant to this story but if you were to imagine the magic brooms in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice that’s not far wrong. I unlocked the car from the kitchen, proceeded outside, only to find the car door was still locked. I must have hit the wrong button. It was early. I’m blind. I went back in, looked at the correct button, watched the car unlock, went back out to the car, and it was still locked. Dang. Back outside with the keys. This time, I got a pen. Mission accomplished. Call me Ethan Hunt. I continued on with business as usual. An old friend from 20 years ago messaged me about some people we used to hang around with and how she ran into one of them. We reminisced for a little while over that. Ah, the good ‘ol days. Was I preoccupied with the past? I decided to switch gears and do some writing on the back porch. I left my phone inside. The second I closed the door I heard the wireless lock click. My eyeballs bulged. I checked my pockets for my phone. The only way to lock the door from the outside was with my phone paired near the lock. I pressed my face to the glass door; my phone was nowhere to be seen. How could this be? Now the dogs were barking at me from inside, like a chorus of lunatics. Fantastic. Surely, Mercury was to blame for this howling opera, too. Why does Mercury have to be so singularly unpleasant? Why can’t it make my hair soft, my hands surgically precise with eyeliner, or my bank account swell? It should have enough power to, at the very least, make my TV work for me and not against me — the volume is either too loud or too soft; I hit the wrong application button every time, and never know where to find which program on whatever media it’s streaming on. Mercury must have dug in for the long haul. Maybe Skynet could take over Alexa and play elevator music 24/7 or Siri could reply to a simple question with a stream of four-letter words or Google Maps could give me directions to places I don’t want to go, like Detroit. According to “The Never Wrong Old Farmer’s Almanac,” Mercury was in retrograde for almost the entire month of March. I believe it. Worse yet, it would be back in this bothersome position in July. So, in preparation, I’m cleaning out the dust balls, abandoned dog toys and unpaired socks from under my bed. I plan to be there with a bag of Doritos, writing chain letters on the 4th. PS Beth MacDonald is a Southern Pines suburban misadventurer who likes to make words up. She loves to travel with her family and read everything she can.

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May 2019P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

C H A R AC T E R S T U DY

A Chin Scratcher Stuck in the era of the presidential close shave

John Quincy Adams

James A. Garfield

Martin Van Buren

Chester A. Arthur

Zachary Taylor

Grover Cleveland

By Scott Sheffield

Whither hast thou gone, presidential whis-

kers? No American president has sported facial hair of any kind since Howard Taft left office in 1913, except for the mustache and goatee cultivated for a short time by Harry Truman after the 1948 election. Before Taft, no American president had gone without it since James Buchanan ceded the office to Abraham Lincoln in 1861, except Abe’s successor, Andrew Johnson, and William McKinley. During that era, the diversity of presidential facial growth ran the gamut of possibilities. Long sideburns, mustaches, mustaches with muttonchops, full beards with mustaches and without.

John Quincy Adams (1825–1829) was the first president to opt for a hairier facial appearance. This new look consisted of something between very long sideburns and muttonchops. He may have been emulating his father’s [John Adams (1789–1803)] sideburns, which were shorter but just as bushy as his. Martin Van Buren (1837–1841) was next to show some facial flair, sporting long bushy sideburns, followed by Zachary Taylor (1849–1850), who wore shorter, less ostentatious but still bushy sideburns as well.

Abraham Lincoln

Benjamin Harrison

Teddy Roosevelt

Ulysses S. Grant

William Howard Taft

In 1861, the first beard appeared on the face of a president. The beard, sans mustache, appeared on the face of Abraham Lincoln. In October of the previous year, Lincoln had received a letter from a young girl advising him that he should grow some whiskers in order to enhance his appearance, as well as his chances of winning the election the following month. Although Lincoln expressed concern in his reply to the little girl that people might consider doing so “a silly affectation,” he started growing a beard shortly thereafter. On his inaugural trip to Washington, D.C., the following February, his train stopped in Westville, New York, the hometown of the little girl, Grace Bedell. He called her from the crowd and proudly showed her his full-grown beard, saying, “Gracie, look at my whiskers. I’ve been growing them for you.” In 1865, Andrew Johnson, who became President after Lincoln’s assassination, was the last clean-shaven president until William McKinley took office in 1897. During those intervening years, the choices varied considerably. Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877) wore a closely cropped, but full, beard and mustache. My favorite, by the way. (Maybe because it looks like mine.) Rutherford B. Hayes (1877–1881) likewise wore a full beard and mustache but most definitely not a closely cropped affair like Grant’s. His beard cascaded well over his celluloid collar, just as his mustache flowed over his mouth, almost concealing it completely. James A. Garfield (1881–1881) was only in office six months when he became the second president to be assassinated in less than 20 years. While in office, though, he perpetuated the style of his predecessor with a free-flowing mane of his own, beard and mustache alike. At least you could make out his mouth. Chester A. Arthur (1881–1885) distinguished himself as the only president to adorn his countenance with the combination of muttonchops and

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May 2019P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

C H A R AC T E R S T U DY

mustache. Unfortunately, the hair on his face grew sparsely so he really wasn’t able to rock the style statement. Grover Cleveland, the only president to serve two nonconsecutive terms (1885–1889 and 1893–1897), wore only a full mustache. It was a bushy one, one that seemed to eschew trimming, but not on the scale of those belonging to Hayes and Garfield. Then there was Benjamin Harrison’s (18931897) beard. Similar to Grant’s in shape and length and well groomed, it also earns style points for color. Although he was only 56 years of age when he took office, his beard was totally white. I still like Grant’s the best. (Did I mention that his looked like mine?) As a result of yet another assassination, Teddy Roosevelt became president in 1901. William McKinley (1897-1901) had opted against any type of facial hair at all, but his successor wore a full mustache similar in size and shape to Cleveland’s. In today’s parlance, both Teddy’s and Grover’s mustaches would be likened to those of bull walruses, and come to think of it, probably were in their day as well. The last president to adorn himself with facial hair was William Howard Taft (1909-1913). His choice was a full-blown handlebar mustache. So why have the presidents’ faces gone hairless for over a hundred years? Around the turn of the 20th century, public health officials determined that tuberculosis, a scourge of the era, was an infectious rather than a hereditary disease. In this period of uncertainty about the disease, the theory arose that men’s beards could be repositories of tuberculosis germs. That pronouncement eventually led to the adoption of the clean-shaven look as the more healthful and therefore more desirable for presidential candidates, as well as men in general. Even after it was determined that beards posed no greater risk of contracting or transmitting tuberculosis than shaven skin, the damage was done. Facial hair didn’t return to men’s faces until the 1960s and never again (or at least not yet) to the faces of presidents. In the presidential races of 1944 and 1948, Thomas Dewey, the last candidate for the office to wear facial hair, was defeated on both occasions. It was said at the time that the public’s disapproval of his mustache may have contributed to his losses. So, is that it? Has presidential facial hair been relegated to the dustbin of history? I don’t think so. If Julian Edelman, the MVP of Super Bowl LIII, can wear a beard and have it shaved live on TV by Ellen DeGeneres, can the most powerful chief executive in the world be far behind? Maybe, if it’s a woman. PS Scott Sheffield moved to the Sandhills from Northern Virginia in 2004. He feels like a native but understands he can never be one.

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May 2019P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

TRUE SOUTH

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ILLUSTRATION BY MERIDITH MARTENS

situations that could only happen in the South. I’m not talking about moonshine, magnolias, accents or tobacco. Collards, however, are involved.

Exhibit A: One bitter-cold, sleeting January, my mother was hosting her luncheon bridge club gathering at her house (it’s worth noting, and also probably apropos to Only in the South, that my mother had lived in a different town for 18 years, and her bridge club had never replaced her; they’d used substitutes. For 18 years). Never mind that these were the ’70s, they were still — again, Only in the South — the days of linen tablecloths, sterling silver, crystal goblets, and what I term girl food: lemon bars, asparagus spears, and a chicken casserole concocted with Campbell’s mushroom soup. Somewhere between the shuffling and the cleaning, the disposal backed up, the dishwasher broke down, and water from ice-damming in the gutters began running down the walls. The luncheon was not a success. The minute the last guest left, my mother drove straight to Montaldo’s and bought herself a mink coat. (Also worth noting: All through my childhood, when I watched game shows on TV, and fur coats were the ultimate prize, my mother was very firm in her belief that no one under 50 should own a fur coat. She’d reached the required age, but only just.) However, she had to put the mink coat on layaway. That night, she told her mother, my grandmother, who lived in the ultra-sophisticated burg of Walnut Cove in Stokes County, what her day had been like. The next morning, my grandmother drove straight to Montaldo’s, bought the mink coat herself, and delivered it to my mother. Not so much because she

felt sorry for my mother — which she no doubt did — but because there was just no way that a daughter of hers was going to have anything on layaway at Montaldo’s. Exhibit B: A friend of my mother’s — we’ll call her Joan — was having a meeting at her house, necessitating finery, flowers, decorum, and girl food (see above). Minutes before the meeting, Joan smelled something awful. The maid had elected that particular morning to cook up a mess of collards (not girl food). Joan panicked. “You can’t cook collards now, Myrna!” she scolded, revolted by the stench, and that a dozen grande dames were about to descend into her stinking living room. (Did I mention the meeting involved debutantes? Also Only in the South.) “You’ve got to get rid of those collards!” So, Myrna did what she was told. She took the big pot of greens off the stove and emptied the whole malodorous mess down the toilet. Which promptly stopped up and overflowed. And no embroidered hand towels in a powder room, or asparagus spears with hollandaise, can overcome a clogged commode, collards, and matrons clad in ultrasuede. Exhibit C: My friend Betty grew up with an irascible, alcoholic mother. A real character, who I loved, but was, nevertheless, a drunk. Years later, at a party, Betty was talking to a friend who was married to another adult child of an alcoholic, in a family that might have had even more dysfunction and irregularities than Betty’s. Still, the son — we’ll call him James — had survived and thrived. Thinking she was delivering a compliment, Betty said, “Look at James. He’s successful. Normal. Happy. With all that was going on in his house, how in the world did he turn out so well?” The friend didn’t miss a beat. “Just like you did, Betty. Good help.” Debutantes, collards, Montaldo’s, and good help. Only in the South. PS Susan S. Kelly is a blithe spirit, author of several novels, and a proud grandmother.

Be here when a champion becomes a champion again. Join us to watch golf’s greats compete at the 2nd U.S. Senior Women’s Open. May 16-19, 2019 Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club usseniorwomensopen.com

Remembering

those who gave their lives and the One who gave His all.

Memorial Day Concert FEATURING

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May 2019P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

MOM, INC.

From the Podium A few words from an award-winning mom

By R enee Whitmore

My son, Kevin, just told me I was the meanest

mom in the world. I made him ride his bike for 30 minutes before he could come inside, and I told him he could not have Tootsie Rolls and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups before dinner. So, in his defense, I clearly am awful.

I am so honored. Meanest mom in the whole world. Wow. Out of all those other moms, me! Just a small-town girl with big dreams, hiding from my kids in my closet, armed with a box of Dove milk chocolates. So, I wrote a speech for when I accept my award. I walk up on stage with the best Beyoncé reaction I can gather. (Waiting for applause to die down.) Thank you. Thank you. Family. Friends. Please be seated. I am absolutely in shock right now. I am so blessed to be standing in front of you today. I truly wasn’t expecting this. (I try to run my fingers through my hair nonchalantly but can’t get past the tangles of dried chocolate.) Something like this cannot be accomplished alone. I stand on the shoulders of all the mean parents in the world who do not give in to every whim and demand their children make. Karen. Debi. Shelly. I feel like you guys should be up here with me. Karen, I saw you stop your daughter from standing up on the slide — so cruel. Debi, you only let your son be in two activities at a time — positively sadistic. Shelly, you didn’t buy your kid a third iced donut when he already had a sprinkled one and a glazed one — what were you thinking? Of course, this day would have been impossible without my long-suffering campaign manager, Kevin, who I sincerely believe will recover from my many

dastardly acts in the fullness of time. My message for you today is a simple one: If I can do it, so can you. You, too, can be meaner than you ever thought possible. So, join me in a toast. Let’s raise a second cup of coffee: To all the moms who make their kids play outside. To all the moms who don’t let their kids eat cookies and popcorn for dinner (lunch maybe). To all the moms who say no to a third dog or cat. To all the moms who do not let their kids go to school in the clothes they slept in the night before. To all the moms who pitched out their kid’s once-favorite toy that they haven’t touched in two years. To all the moms who enforce a bedtime. To all the moms who make their kids eat green beans. To all the moms who say “no.” To all the moms who recognize the purpose of toothpaste. To all the moms who teach their kids to clean up their own messes, love others and respect authority. This is for you. Hold your head up high and be mean. You can do it, too! World’s meanest mom. Wow. These are heady times when anything seems possible. When any ordinary mom can aspire to an achievement like this. Thank you. Thank you so much. I am honored. They like me. They really, really like me! (I make a mad dash back to my closet and my Dove chocolates). PS When Renee is not teaching English or being a professional taxi driver for her two boys, she is working on her first book

Key Dates:

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2019

Celebrate the success of your thriving & cutting-edge, middle-market company. We want to recognize the fastest growing middle-market companies in North Carolina and celebrate their entrepreneurial spirit, innovative business strategies, and skyrocketing revenue growth. Expansion of North Carolina’s economy is vital to job creation and continuing to innovate business around the state. To honor these pacesetters with rapidly increasing revenue and employment growth across the state, Business North Carolina

and Cherry Bekaert LLP, in conjunction with Regions Bank, are proud to host the 9th annual NC Mid-Market Fast 40 program. The top Fast 40 innovators will be honored at Pinehurst Resort in Fall 2019, and featured in the November issue of Business North Carolina magazine. Do you know a potential NC Mid-Market Fast 40 company? Is your company a catalyst for growth?

Nominations & Applications Open April 1, 2019 Nominations Close May 31, 2019 Applications Close June 14, 2019 Winners Selected July 22, 2019 Gala & Golf Event Fall 2019

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May 2019P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

OUT OF THE BLUE

The Brownie Effect A treat with a tasty purpose

By Deborah Salomon

Please don’t take this

PHOTOGRAPH BY TIM SAYER

recipe as an affront to PineStraw’s excellent food columnists — proponents, like myself, of healthy eating. Brownies don’t grow in the garden, so I’m not treading on Jan Leitschuh’s turf. They don’t boast fiber, or antioxidants. They are chock-full of gluten, fat and calories. But they do serve a purpose.

The Brownie Effect started in the early 1980s, when I worked part-time as a food/features writer at an excellent New England newspaper. The staff was youngish and famished so I brought cookies whenever I turned in an assignment. At first they stared at me like I was Mary Poppins and the Tooth Fairy rolled into one. Soon, I progressed to brownies still warm from the oven, but only on the Fridays when I was needed. “Why are you doing this?” they asked, between bites. “Because it’s Friday,” I explained. Brownies are what I do on Friday. Before you could say lickety-split I was hired full-time. I’d like to think this was because of my writing but . . . Word spread. Soon, employees of the ad department, circulation, even the publisher had business in the newsroom on Friday. Amazing, what a little chocolate and sugar can accomplish. I’m reasonably sure that several employers have wanted to dump me but dared not, fearing a brownie backlash. Even more amazing — how easy, foolproof and yummy these brownies are. No idea where the recipe came from, only that I made them for my children and grandchildren, for bake sales, picnics and funerals. I have shared the recipe hundreds of times. And so, in the interest of improving employer-employee, husband-wife, student-teacher, neighbor-neighbor relationships I feel compelled to share it with you, conversationally, like we were having coffee at the kitchen table. You’ll need a big (at least 3 quart), heavy pot, a heavy (not sleazy-cheap) 13-by-9 inch non-stick baking pan, a wooden spoon, a rubber spatula, measuring spoons and a 2-cup measuring cup. Into the pot, put 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 1/2 sticks butter, 4 tablespoons water, 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules. Slowly bring to a rolling boil, stirring often with wooden spoon. Take off

burner and add 2 cups (a 12-ounce package) semi-sweet chocolate chips. Stir until chips are completely melted, set aside. Crack 4 large eggs into a glass, stir well with fork and drizzle into chocolate, stirring all the time with the wooden spoon. Measure 1 1/2 cups flour; add 1 teaspoon salt and combine thoroughly with a tiny whisk. Mix flour into chocolate with the wooden spoon until smooth and no streaks remain. Grease pan or spray with baking spray. Scrape batter into pan and tilt to even it out. Sprinkle with nuts, if desired (See below). Bake at 350 degrees EXACTLY 35 minutes for brownies that are firm on top, fudgy inside. Let cool for 20-30 minutes, cut into squares. I can have them finished in 50 minutes. But then I’ve baked at least 3,000 pans. About the butter: I prefer stick margarine, but it must, by law, be labeled margarine. The only two brands available locally are Land o’ Lakes and Harris Teeter house brand. Imperial, Parkay, Mrs. Filberts are NOT real margarine suitable for baking. About the chocolate chips: They aren’t created equal. Must be a 12-ounce bag. I’ve tried every brand, found Harris Teeter and Food Lion house brands melt better than Toll House. Don’t use “dark” chocolate, in 10-ounce bags. Not enough chips, and they resist melting. About the flour: I use Walmart house brand unbleached for all my baking. Half the price of King Arthur, can’t tell the difference. About the coffee: Trust me. Subtle, but what a difference. About the nuts: People either love or hate them. I sprinkle sliced almonds over the batter, which haters find easy to remove. Warning: You must take boiling mixture off the burner and stir in chips until completely melted. Only then will it be cool enough not to “cook” eggs, as they are drizzled in. Brownies do not require baking powder or soda, which would turn them into cake. These brownies freeze beautifully. Brownies are as unnecessary to survival as Champagne or crab cakes. But they have worth. So think of this not as a recipe, not even a bribe. Think of it as a lesson in life, a theory on human relations, a method beneficial to baker and recipients. But only on Fridays. PS Deborah Salomon is a staff writer for PineStraw and The Pilot. She may be reached at debsalomon@nc.rr.com.

Sandhills Photography Club

Reflections

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 3300 Airport Road in Pinehurst. Visit www.sandhillsphotoclub.org.

CLASS A WINNERS 1st place: Lana Reebert - Parachute Not Required

1st place honorable mention: Debra Regula - After Dark Window Sticker

2nd place: Darryll Benecke - Nyalas Drinking

3rd place: Jim Davis - Flag Water Drop

May 2019P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

CLASS A WINNERS

2nd place honorable mention: Gisela Danielson Contemplating Rodin

4th place honorable mention: Kathryn Saunders - Sunset On The Lake 3rd place honorable mention: Pat Anderson - Symmetry

5th place honorable mention: Dale Jennings - Whispering Pines

6th place honorable mention: Marilyn Owen - Spatial Patterns

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CLASS B WINNERS

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2nd place honorable mention: Joseph Owen - NC Museum of Art 3rd place: Mariann Murphy Lamps Reflected in Mirror PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May 2019

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May 2019P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

CLASS B WINNERS

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CLASS C WINNERS

3rd place: Neva Scheve- Moonlit 2nd place: Gisela Danielson La Placita Soaring 1st place: Donna Ford - Looking Up

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: The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

B I R D WA T C H

Purple Reign For birdwatchers, the return of the purple martin marks the true arrival of spring

By Susan Campbell

For many bird enthusiasts,

it is not truly spring until purple martins return. Their unique and twangy song, high-flying acrobatics and glossy plumage easily distinguish them from the other members of the swallow family. But it is the speciesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; affinity for manmade housing that endears them to thousands of martin landlords across the United States. In fact, east of the Rocky Mountains, purple martins are completely dependent on gourds and multifamily housing to raise their annual broods. Nesting Martins love company and pairs may take up residence in close quarters with anywhere from a few other families to dozens of them during May and June. Established colonies have been known to include a hundred or more adults if space is available. In prime habitat, less experienced birds may delay breeding until a vacancy in the housing occurs.

Martins return to North Carolina from their wintering grounds in Brazil by late March. However, early individual scouts may be seen as early as late February. Experienced adults are paired for the season by early April. Both male and female share the nest building duties, producing a nest of pine needles

and leaves. The female lays five to seven eggs and patiently sits on them for about two weeks. After hatching, the young are fed by both parents for up to a month before they are strong enough to leave the nest. They remain associated as a family group not only with each other but also their neighbors in the colony until late July when they begin their journey southward for the winter. Purple martins are found where larger flying insects are plentiful during the warmer months. This is usually close to water given that their favorite prey includes dragonflies and damselflies, which tend to be abundant near ponds, lakes and rivers. For many years it was erroneously believed that martins were an ideal form of mosquito control. But recent research has shown that they do not pursue mosquitoes. This is almost certainly related to the mosquitoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s small size. Maneuvering to catch such tiny prey has virtually no energetic benefit. Also peak foraging occurs around midday, not at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active. Attracting martins requires some forethought. The birds need lots of room to soar and maneuver adjacent to their home. It needs to be in an open location at least 30 feet from human housing and 60 feet from the nearest tall trees (the farther, the better!). The gourds or house should be 10â&#x20AC;&#x201C;20 feet high and clear of any bushes, shrubs or vines. Open area around the pole and housing will reduce the likelihood of predation by mammals or climbing snakes. Once a few pairs of martins are successful breeding in a new location, they will not only become very site faithful but also attract other individuals. Indeed, countless people each year find that providing for purple martins and sharing in their summertime activities is the ultimate backyard birding pursuit. PS Susan would love to receive your wildlife sightings and photos. She can be contacted by email at susan@ncaves.com.

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May 2019P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

SPORTING LIFE

The Home Place Taking the road to fond memories

By Tom Bryant

PHOTOGRAPGHS FROM THE MOORE COUNTY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION

It was a perfect spring day. Most of the

pine pollen was gone, and a late night rain shower had cleaned the air as fresh as only it can be in the early morning. I was on the way to the little farm I lease for bird shooting, but really more as a place in the woods where I could get away from everyday hustle and bustle. Turkey season had been in for a week, and I had yet to venture into the woods to see if this would be the year I would be successful in my quest of bagging that long bearded, elusive bird.

My route to the farm takes me through the little town of Pinebluff; and on a whim, I turned down the road where my old home place sits up on a little hill. I left the Sandhills right after high school when I went to college. Soon after that, my family moved to Florida where Dad took over management of a large ice plant. The only thing holding me to the village was the home place where I grew up, so I only visited the little town when passing through the area. After my father passed away in the ‘70s, Mom sold the old house and I rarely visited. The small village held too many memories, and I was afraid that our home for many years wouldn’t look the same. I was right. As I drove slowly down our street, I realized that only the bare bones of good memories were left. The old place seemed to be listing a little to starboard and badly needed a coat of paint. The yard was overgrown and a ragged pickup truck sat in the front, right next to the porch. I eased by with only a cursory glance then drove on down the road to Pinebluff Lake. The lake still looked the same, although it has had quite a few improvements including a new pier jutting out over the spring-fed black water. I pulled up close to a picnic table, got out and walked down to the shore. A bright sun in a cloudless sky was high overhead, and the heat on my shoulders felt good. I

went back to the table, sat down, looked up to the headwaters, and memories tumbled over in my mind like falling dominoes. In the late ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s, Pinebluff was a great place for a youngster. With only about 300 residences, the little village could have been right out of a classic book like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; and as a kid, I could have played the main character. The small Village Grocery, where I had my first charge account, was only about two blocks from our house. I could buy a coke for a nickel. The local phone company was headquartered at Mom and Pop Wallace’s house with the switchboard in their living room. Our phone was on a party line, and the number was 212. Mom Wallace knew the whereabouts of all the kids and many of the adults. If you wanted the latest scoop and you were on her good side, all you had to do was give her a call. The police force consisted of the town constable, Mr. Deaton, and I have to admit he knew all the local kids and kept most of us under control. It wasn’t a hard job, though, and I honestly can’t remember any major law breaking in Pinebluff, or as far as that goes, in any of our surrounding towns. My parents very seldom locked the house, maybe when we went on vacation, and then only latching the screen door and turning the doorknob lock. Those were different days and a simpler time. Aberdeen was three miles away; Southern Pines, six; and Pinehurst, about seven or eight. The major highways were two-lane connectors with very few homes or businesses interrupting the pine forests on either side. Pinehurst was another world, and not many young folks ventured past the city limits. The village actually closed in the summer. Many of the downtown stores put plywood shutters over the windows until they reopened in the early winter when folks from the frosty North would reappear just like migrating birds. I had the opportunity to work for a brief time for Mr. Carl Moser, owner of The Pine Crest Inn. I was between colleges, having just graduated from Brevard Junior College and right before my adventure in the Marine Corps. This was a real experience for me and opened the door to a world I had no idea existed. It was during the middle of the Pinehurst season, and the hotel was maxed out with guests arriving and departing every day. I was hired as one of two desk clerks, and Moser also helped when the desk was really busy. Several

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May 2019P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

SPORTING LIFE

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of the guests were Canadian and repeat customers for years. They were treated like royalty by staff and owners alike. Pinehurst was like no other town in the Sandhills and seemed to play by its own rules. Moore County was a dry county at the time, not unlike many other counties in the state, but that was not to stop visitors from having a cocktail before dinner and a fine glass of wine with their entrée. The Dunes Club, a supper and dance club located on the outskirts of the village, was even rumored to have gambling for hotel guests. First class, top of the line music and floor shows were advertised in The Pilot. Law enforcement raided the place for illegal alcohol and gambling paraphernalia now and then, but it was rumored the raids were perfunctory at best. It was an awakening for me. I had learned in college that the little town of Pinebluff was an oasis, a place even in those days that was different, different in a good way. Pinehurst showed me that there was another world of wealth and influence that I only read about in books. I watched as an osprey flew high over the Pinebluff Lake and suddenly dropped like a bullet to catch a fish near the far shoreline. He was a magnificent bird, and he headed up over the little creek that helped feed the lake. Must have a nest somewhere nearby, I thought. I got back in the truck and took one last look before I fired up the engine and headed on down to the farm. As I drove past our old house again on the way out of town, I thought about all the changes that have occurred since I roamed the area on a bike with my loyal dog, Smut, at my side. The Sandhills area is still in a flux of change. More and more developments and homes are being built. Who would have thought that four new schools would be under construction all at once? Traffic on Highway 1 is a reminder that the laid-back slow times are gone, and we are becoming more and more like busy cities everywhere. That might not necessarily be a bad thing. I mean, after all, we have grocery stores galore, and I can remember when the A&P in Southern Pines was the only chain store around. Car dealers abound. Restaurants and sports bars seem to be everywhere. Fast foods and French fries are easy to find. We have more and more stuff. As I eased out in the southern traffic flow of Highway 1, a Pinebluff police car roared by me, siren screaming. He pulled over a big, black pickup truck right outside town. I noticed the New Jersey license plate, and I wondered if Mr. Deaton, the town’s constable from long ago, ever wrote a speeding ticket. PS

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The Amateur Spirit An enduring legacy of Pinehurst

By Lee Pace

PHOTOGRAPH FROM THE TUFTS ARCHIVES

An amateur is

one who competes in a sport for the joy of playing, for the companionship it affords, for health-giving exercise, and for relaxation from more serious matters. As a part of this light-hearted approach to the game, he accepts cheerfully all adverse breaks, is considerate of his opponent, plays the game fairly and squarely in accordance with its rules, maintains self-control, and strives to do his best, not in order to win, but rather as a test of his own skill and ability. These are his only interests, and, in them, material considerations have no part. The returns which amateur sport will bring to those who play it in this spirit are greater than those any money can possibly buy. — Richard S. Tufts Imagine a golf club every year having the very best players visit to compete for a title considered at the time among the elite competitions in the game. Imagine Walter Hagen and Horton Smith winning, envision the smile on Ben Hogan’s face when he finally, after years of incessant practice and yearning, wins his first professional event and the proverbial dam breaks on a Hall of Fame career. And listen for the words flowing from the

mouths of the pro tour’s luminaries, of Tommy Armour saying, “The man who doesn’t feel emotionally stirred when he golfs at Pinehurst beneath those clear blue skies and with the pine fragrance in his nostrils is one who should be ruled out of golf for life.” And then process it all with a decision that Richard Tufts made in 1951: No more professional golf. Our focus is the amateur game. Out goes the North and South Open with its half-century of history, in comes the North and South Senior Amateur for men and women. “Amateur golf is in our DNA,” says Tom Pashley, president of Pinehurst Resort & Country Club. “Amateur golf is where the game began at Pinehurst, and it’s such a privilege to host a championship like the U.S. Amateur. We love having the U.S. Open every 10 years or so, but playing the game at the amateur level and having fun are at the core of everything we do.” The occasion of the 2019 United States Amateur Golf Championship in August provides an opportunity to pause for a moment and consider the essential soul and character of golf, pay tribute to the values espoused by Tufts, the grandson of Pinehurst founder James W. Tufts, and remember that the pure golf experience is not from the professional tour but from the munis and clubs where the devotees go 36 holes with two-down presses and junk for a quarter and a cold beer. “Those words from Mr. Tufts are near and dear to how the resort operates,” says Robbie Zalzneck, the USGA’s director of the U.S. Amateur Championship who’s headquartered in Pinehurst. “Some will say that most of the guys in the Amateur will go on to professional careers, but the

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fact is they haven’t yet and are looking forward to competing in a national championship at Pinehurst truly for the sheer opportunity to raise a trophy and see their name inscribed with so many great golfers. We’ll have 312 of the world’s best amateurs, and a huge portion of our field will look at playing in the Amateur as the biggest thing they’ve ever done in golf, and they’ll be proud of it.” For half a century, Tufts stood guard over the game’s values as he espoused them in what he called the “Creed of the Amateur,” a passage delivered during a 1968 speech in which he accepted his induction into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. The words have been inscribed in bronze and sit on a plaque beside the 18th green of Pinehurst No. 2 and statues of Tufts and golf architect Donald Ross. “Richard Tufts did a great job of capturing what is so special about the game of golf,” says Robert Dedman Jr., whose family has owned the resort and club since 1984. “He really reflected the values that make golf so different and unique and why it resonates with so many people — having fun, overcoming adversity, the importance of courtesy, the integrity and self-control aspects of the game. They have been a part of our traditions at Pinehurst since 1901.” Tufts served the amateur spirit in a variety of capacities — from shepherding the Carolinas Golf Association into one of the nation’s most vibrant regional golf associations to reigning as USGA president from 1956-57 to running Pinehurst from 1935-62 with an eye toward preserving the sanctity of the game. He didn’t like artificial measuring devices, golf carts and slow play. He rued the discontinuation of 36-hole Saturdays in concluding championship events, believing the double round was an excellent test of physical and mental endurance. And he reluctantly ended what in 1951 was essentially a “major” pro competition, the North and South Open, when the players hinted they needed a larger purse to continue coming to Pinehurst. The “Creed” was his most lucid and direct assault on creeping commercialism in golf, but over the decades Tufts spoke and wrote with force and passion in trying to keep the amateur spirit intact. In 1934 he encouraged golfers across the Carolinas to compete in the Carolinas Amateur at Linville Golf Club: “There will be a reunion meeting with the emphasis placed on good times and good fellowship rather than good golf,” Tufts wrote in a letter of invitation. “If you can think of any argument for not being among those present, the entertainment committee is prepared to refute it.” In 1960 he told the annual meeting of the Southern Golf Association at Myrtle Beach that

May 2019P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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

the game is getting “soft.” He said the game was getting too expensive, that excessive demands were being put on green superintendents and that use of motorized carts by those who do not need them was “almost degenerate.” “The game’s standards are being lowered and subtly, bit by bit, golf is losing its character,” Tufts said. “Those unable to meet the challenge of the game seem to find a vicarious pleasure in destroying it.” In 1963, as captain of the United States Walker Cup team, Tufts told his players that their two goals were to retain the cup in the competition against Great Britain and Ireland and to cement friendly relations with “our friends” from across the water. “Failure in the first undertaking is acceptable if we succeed in the second,” Tufts said at a team meeting in New York, prior to departure for Scotland. “But the trip will be a complete loss if we win the match but lose the good will of our friends. We can stand criticism of ourselves as golfers but not as sportsmen and gentlemen.” In 1979 he wrote to an official of the company that bought the resort and club from his family nearly a decade earlier to decry the creeping commercialism in the game: “Amateur golf can be a most valuable antidote to the high pressure, artificial life we lead today,” Tufts wrote. “But only if the game’s ancient traditions and standards are maintained and golf is enjoyed for itself in friendly competition amid such natural surroundings as we find on the old links courses of Scotland. Golf should be a medium for relaxation and not commercialization.” Quite simply, he said in one speech, “Those days when we tried to build a center for true amateur golf here in Pinehurst will always be my happiest memories.” Tufts welcomed good people into the game of golf, applauding the decision of Pete and Alice Dye to enter the golf architecture business back in the 1960s, when Dye was an Indiana insurance salesman. “Mr. Tufts was the spirit of everything good in golf,” said Alice, who died at the age of 91 in February 2019. “He really was. He was the spirit of good sportsmanship. His portrait hung on the far wall in the clubhouse. Every time you walked in you stopped and looked at it. It was like a picture of Lincoln or something. You looked at it with a sense of awe.” PS Chapel Hill-based writer Lee Pace has written extensively about the Tufts family over three decades chronicling the history and evolution of golf at Pinehurst and across the Sandhills.

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Four Egrets at the Reservoir Four great egrets, the wands of their slender necks waving, wade through tall reeds and tranquil water to the sound of a kingfisher’s call. The tops of surrounding trees are lit from above, and the ground below them, shadowed. All is serene, from the gander swimming in circles to water striders, skating across the reservoir’s still surface. In summer, lilies bloom and multiply, their petals a delicate shade of pink. But the wedding-veilwhite of the egrets’ feathers is stark in early spring, against umber, sienna, and olive, and the evening air, cool and weightless here, where egrets come and go — like darkness and the light. — Terri Kirby Erickson PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

May 2019

Up Against the

Wall

When the canvas is a load of bricks By Jim Moriarty

May 2019P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOHN KOOB GESSNER

t’s a small space to launch big art. Scott Nurkin, muralist and musician, keeps an office around the corner from a giant likeness of the late Dean Smith he painted on the side of a building in Chapel Hill just because he thought it needed doing. Behind his desk in the Mural Shop is a wall of books from Old Masters to birds; golf to jazz; The Beastie Boys to Ansel Adams. The latter seems particularly appropriate. At one time there was a poster that hung in Adams’ darkroom — it may still — that was entitled “Ted Orland’s Compendium of Photographic Truths.” Orland had once been an assistant to the master landscape photographer. The highlight of the poster is a picture of Adams peeking out from beneath the cloth of his view camera that’s positioned to take a photo of what looks like a class of fourth graders. The caption says, “Even Ansel Adams had to earn a living.” Nurkin doesn’t have a view camera. He’s got an old Ford Ranger that needs a little work and enough extension ladders to storm the Alamo. He was last seen in Moore County on top of a cherry picker painting “Pinehurst” on the side of the smoke stack at the new brewery. Hey, it’s a living. In Carthage, his work includes an ode to tobacco fields and farmers on the side of the Marion Building; a tip of the cap to the Tyson and Jones buggy company in the parking lot of Fred’s Low Price Leader; and an homage to a World War I flying ace on the wall by Dunk’s Gym. Hey, it’s art, too. “You arrive on the scene and there’s a giant brick wall,” he says. “I pressure wash it and put masonry primer down. From there I have a drawing, something to go by. Then I sketch the imagery out on the wall and over the next few days, weeks, months, keep painting and painting and painting until you get to the finish line.” Nurkin grew up in Charlotte, the middle boy in a handful (five) of them. He went to Myers Park High School and Charlotte Latin, then Rhodes College in Memphis. After taking a “Semester at Sea” circumnavigating the globe, Nurkin began searching for a university with a stronger emphasis in art, winding up at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he ultimately got his bachelor of fine arts degree. During his junior year he studied in Florence at the Lorenzo de’ Medici School of Art. “That’s where I really learned how to paint. It was intimidating as hell, going from being one of the stronger artists to a place where everybody in the classroom wants to excel,” he says. “I was terrified a lot of the time.” When he got back to the states he began working as an intern for Michael Brown, a Chapel Hill mural painter 20 years Nurkin’s senior. Brown, also a UNC graduate, spent time teaching art in New York and working at the Guggenheim Museum before returning to North Carolina. “At some point someone asked me to do a mural. It was a big one, a four-story tall one,” Brown says. “So, I said, ‘OK,’ and the phone has been ringing for the past 30 years.” After graduation in 2000, Nurkin needed a job and Brown needed an assistant. “After the apprenticeship I begged him to have me be his full-time apprentice, which

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he agreed to do for some reason,” says Nurkin. “At the time, I was also touring as a musician so I was really loath to get an actual job. I would work, go out on tour for a couple of weeks and then come back and work a little bit.” Nurkin is the drummer in a pair of Triangle-area bands, Dynamite Brothers and the Birds of Avalon. Both released new CDs in the past year. A childhood friend of his, actor Ben Best, says, “He’s one of the best, if not the best, drummers in North Carolina.” Best is a graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts and his friends there included Danny McBride and David Gordon-Green who made a show for HBO called Eastbound and Down. “When they first started out they didn’t have any budget for music so we did a bunch of music for them,” says Nurkin. “They’ve been good to us since then, put some of our songs in their show and some of their movies as well.” In 2003 Nurkin and Brown went their own artistic ways, amicably. “I came to a crossroads when I left working for Michael. Do I want to do music full time or do I want to pursue art full time?” he says. At first, music won. “I started touring heavily. The Birds of Avalon had

a modicum of success. We very quickly got signed to a label out of California. They sent us to Europe a couple of times. We got to tour with some pretty big names. The Flaming Lips. The Raconteurs. Big Business. MudHoney. We were the perpetual opener.” In 2010 Nurkin married Erin, who he met at Chapel Hill’s now defunct pizza institution, Pepper’s. “Every Chapel Hill musician from the ‘80s on, some member of the band worked there,” says Nurkin. A year later they had their daughter, Finch, and the road lost some of its appeal. “We all kind of grew up,” he says. “Jumping in a van and touring, it’s just an insane thing to do in 2019. Touring is the one hour you’re on stage. The other 23 hours can be a nightmare. You’re in a van with six other people who smell terrible, you eat crappy food, you sleep on the floor. It’s not like we’re Led Zeppelin in a giant plane and bus. That one hour is the pay off and you go, ‘Oh, this is why I’m doing it.’ There was definitely a fire from 2005 to 2009. We were really hungry. We really wanted it. It just didn’t work out. I sure as hell tried. What’s living if you don’t do it?” There remained that minor detail of making a liv-

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ing, and Nurkin refocused his energy into painting. “It would have been a lot easier over the last seven or so years if I hadn’t had a competitor,” laughs Brown, “but if you gotta have a competitor you might as well have one you’re proud to be associated with.” Nurkin’s murals have shown up in places like the Bahamas — a friend from that “Semester at Sea” hired him for a couple of projects in Cape Eleuthera — and Coconut Creek in Florida. In downtown Chapel Hill he painted a mural-sized postcard “Greetings from Chapel Hill,” another labor of love. He was part of a mural festival in Charlotte. “They had 20 artists, five international, five national, five regional and five local. They give you a wall and you can paint whatever you want. We had three days to do a mural.” Nurkin devoted his wall to North Carolina’s endangered species. Because the painting had to be done quickly, he used spray paints, a technique he

employed on his tobacco field in Carthage, too. “I shunned it for so many years,” he says. “Then I started seeing these people doing these incredible, hyper-realistic paintings because, with aerosol, you can fade it in, spray it. The material works so much better for certain applications. You can work very, very fast.” One of the stories Nurkin likes to tell is about an art professor at UNC who asked his students to raise their hands if they actually wanted to be a professional artist. Nurkin was the only one to put up his hand. It’s still there. “Painting and drums were the two things I couldn’t not do,” he says. “It’s never occurred to me not to do them.” PS Jim Moriarty is senior editor of PineStraw and can be reached at jjmpinestraw@gmail.com.

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Champions Galore

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Donna Andrews, the Sandhills’ only resident winner of a professional major championship, tees it up in the U.S. Senior Women’s Open By Bill Case Photographs by John Koob Gessner

quarter century has gone by since Laura Davies and Donna Andrews battled head-to-head for a major championship title in the final round of the Nabisco Dinah Shore in Rancho Mirage, California. As the two came to the 18th tee that day, Davies, who was on the cusp of a juggernaut ’94 season in which she would win eight times on five different tours, appeared fully in command. She’d taken a one-stroke lead on the 17th and with only Mission Hills Country Club’s par-5 18th remaining, the Englishwoman — one of the most powerful drivers in the history of women’s golf — seemed in control. Davies elected to play it safe, but the strategy began backfiring when her blocked 4-iron off the tee found the right rough. Her recovery stayed in the thick grass and her third failed to clear the crest of the green, leaving her 60 feet from the hole. Meanwhile, Andrews was on offense. She hit two perfect 3-woods followed by a 6-iron third that covered the pin the whole way, settling 12 feet behind the cup. Davies three-putted, opening the door for a two-shot swing. “I told my caddie that there was no way I was going to leave a putt for my first major short,” recalls Andrews. She didn’t, drilling it in the heart. Andrews celebrated with a leap into Poppie’s Pond, becoming the first champion not named Amy Alcott (who took the dive in ’88 and again in ’91) to take the plunge. It has been an annual tradition followed by the championship’s winner ever since. Twenty-five years later, Dame Laura Davies, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and owner of 85 worldwide victories, including four major championships, still plays competitively. She comes into the U.S. Women’s Senior Open at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club May 16-19 as the defending champion, having won the inaugural championship last year at Chicago Golf Club by a stunning 10 shots. Depending on how you want to score Harvie Ward’s U.S. Amateur titles and Peggy Kirk Bell’s Titleholders crown, Andrews stands alongside Julius Boros as one of the few major champions to call the Sandhills home. She, however, comes into the Senior Open championship with a slightly different schedule. Andrews rises at 5:30 a.m. for her half-hour workout; feeds the horses at 6 a.m.; makes lunch for her two children, seventh grader Connor and third grader Sarah, and drives them to school at 7:15 a.m.; gives golf lessons at Pine Needles, where she is the lead teaching instructor, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., sometimes later; picks up the kids and heads home for farm chores and dinner with

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husband, James Tepatti. Oh, let’s not forget coaching the kids’ sports teams and selling houses for MLV Properties, a real estate agency where Tepatti is also an agent. Everyone needs to be somewhere. Some people seem to be everywhere. Players like Davies and last year’s Senior Open runner-up Julie Inkster — who, at age 53, challenged the leaders in the U.S. Women’s Open on Pinehurst’s No. 2 course in 2014 — still regularly play tournament golf and are likely to have an upper hand over those, like Andrews, who don’t. After a stellar 15-year LPGA career that included six victories, highlighted by the ’94 Dinah Shore, Andrews retired from competitive golf in 2005. While she relishes her busy life, it leaves little time to get her own golf game in shape for a major competition, even one on her home course. “In the past, I might have had an edge reading putts but the contours of some greens were changed in the recent restoration,” says Andrews. “I’m still figuring them out.” A native of Lynchburg, Virginia, Andrews came from a golfing family. Her father, Barclay Andrews, was a finalist in the 1961 Virginia Amateur, and both her brothers played the game at a high level. In Andrew’s mind, her involvement in other sports was critical in her development as a golfer. She played baseball, basketball, tennis and swam competitively. “Participating in other sports made me a better athlete,” she says. “I know it improved my hand-eye coordination which is essential for golf.” It’s a breadth of experience that she’d recommend to any young golfer who wants to compete at a high level. Andrew’s self-described “math brain” enabled her to focus on, understand, and practice good swing mechanics. “I got that from my dad,” she says of the former nuclear engineer who was so good at fixing things that “we never had a repairman in the house.” Donna developed an elegant swing with a relaxed and unrushed tempo. “Whenever I try to speed up, I get into trouble,” she says. In high school, Andrews easily made the boys’ golf team, slotting in as E.C. Glass High’s number one or two player. Her teammates enjoyed needling opponents saying, “We got a girl who’s going to kick your butt.” She took home trophies for winning Virginia girls’ statewide championships in ’83 and ’84, and captured the 1984 North and South Junior Girls Championship in Pinehurst. College coaches salivated over the prospect of recruiting Andrews. She chose the University of North Carolina (where she played alongside the current president of the PGA of America, Suzy Whaley) because she was interested in obtaining a “four year business degree from a great school — in case I needed a job.” Andrews was second-team All-American her senior year, finishing third in the NCAA Championship. She continued winning Virginia Women’s Amateurs (five altogether), all held at match play over the Homestead’s Cascades course. Combined with her two junior titles, Andrews reeled off seven straight Virginia state championships from 1983 to 1989. Pinehurst was the site of the most prestigious victory of her amateur career when she defeated three-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Anne Quast Sander in the final of the 1988 Women’s North and South. By then, she had become familiar with Sandhills golf where she and her UNC teammates often came to practice. Andrews became friendly with Pinehurst’s Director of Golf, Don Padgett, Sr., and even worked at the resort in the summer. Relying on a personal nest egg to finance her travels, Andrews turned professional in 1990 and played consistently enough to lead in the points race for rookie-of-the-year honors over Japan’s Hiromi Kobayashi with one

event remaining. What happened next still rankles. “The final points event was a tournament held in Japan,” recalls Andrews. “The organizers invited Hiromi, but not me.” Kobayashi did just enough to nose ahead of Andrews to win the award. In ’92, Andrews made a spirited run at the U.S. Open over treacherous Oakmont Country Club, leading early and ultimately finishing third. She would break into the winner’s circle the next year at the Ping-Cellular One LPGA Championship, finish ninth on the money list and tie with Helen Alfredsson for second in the U.S. Women’s Open at Crooked Stick in Carmel, Indiana, one shot behind winner Lauri Mertens. Golf Digest named Andrews the LPGA’s most improved player. In ’94, Andrews won three tournaments and finished fifth in earnings, the highlight being the Dinah Shore — a victory that confirmed to the 26-year-old that she really “belonged.” Having climbed near the pinnacle of women’s professional golf, she possessed the wherewithal to pursue another passion, purchasing a horse farm just outside Southern Pines where she bred Hanoverians. She suffered the first in a string of physical setbacks when back pain led to surgery in ’96. Once she was pain-free, she won again the following year. A sixth victory in 1998 coupled with several other high finishes placed Donna third in the money race, and she was a member of the USA’s victorious Solheim Cup team with a 2-2-0 record. Not long after she regained her form, injuries struck again. A fall from a horse in June 1999 caused a serious dislocation of her right shoulder and Andrews missed two months of competition. When she returned, she wasn’t the same player. She endured months of physical therapy before she could swing the club freely. Regaining some semblance of form in 2001, Andrews carded the lowest round of her career, a sizzling 62, in the second round of Tulsa’s Williams Championship, though it may well have been a shot lower. Her tap-in putt for 61 went in, but Andrews was concerned she might have struck the ball twice in the process. The television replay revealed no discernible evidence of a double-hit but, uncomfortable with the official’s ruling of no violation, she imposed the penalty on herself, and signed for a 62. She finished the tournament one shot behind the winner. Named to the LPGA Player Executive Committee, she served two years as president and, in another career offshoot, did periodic announcing gigs for ESPN at LPGA events. Andrews reinjured her shoulder in 2004 after getting in the middle of a real, honest-to-God dogfight. She began referring to herself as “Donna Rehab.” Though she managed four top tens, another shoulder dislocation in ’05 sidelined the 38-year-old for good. It was then that Peggy Kirk Bell offered Andrews a full-time instructional position at Pine Needles. “God hit me over the head,” she says. “Here’s your way out.” Informed in part by her own work with renowned instructors Davis Love, Jr. and Jack Lumpkin, Andrews’ easy manner and uncomplicated, to-the-point instructional style resonated with her students. In the same breath, she made another major life change, marrying boyfriend Tepatti, a transplanted Alabaman and successful developer. The couple had their first child two years later. The family atmosphere at Pine Needles, fostered by Warren and Peggy Kirk Bell, proved a natural fit. In her mind, the string of injuries left no lingering scars of what might have been. Things are as they were meant to be. “I feel I was brought to Pine Needles to continue the women’s golf tradition,” she asserts. “I love this family and this place.”

Andrew’s self-described “math brain” enabled her to focus on, understand, and practice good swing mechanics. Donna developed an elegant swing with a relaxed and unrushed tempo. “Whenever I try to speed up, I get into trouble.” she says.

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When the USGA announced in 2015 that it would be holding the first Senior Women’s Open in 2018, Executive Director Mike Davis acknowledged that the event was long overdue. “Let’s call it The ‘About Time’ Senior Women’s Open,” he said. In 2016, the LPGA informed its members that it would be holding its own senior women’s major in 2017 — the Senior LPGA Championship at French Lick, Indiana. The chance to play for two major titles was certainly welcome news for the women, but it truly became a dream come true when the purses were announced — $600,000 for the LPGA Championship and $1 million for the Open — dwarfing anything that existed before. So there will be plenty more than pride to play for when the pros descend on Pine Needles. But don’t expect the women to be grim and stone-faced about it all. Most will relish the chance to reunite with the contemporaries of their tour days. That includes Andrews who cherishes her many friendships with fellow pros. It’ll be more than merely a social occasion for the Pine Needles teaching pro, too. With shoulders healed, Andrews hopes to improve on the finishes in her three prior senior majors — tying for 20th in the 2017 Senior LPGA Championship and missing cuts in that championship and the Senior Open last year. Like so many of the players in the Women’s Senior Open, Andrews doesn’t lack for accolades. She’s been inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame, and the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.

In June, Boonsboro Country Club, where she first learned golf, will host the Donna Andrews Invitational, a top-level amateur event for females. Pine Needles has played host to three U.S. Women’s Opens in 1996, 2001, and 2007, and will host the championship again in 2022. The familiarity of the venue makes this a homecoming of sorts for several players. Stars who played in ’96 and are expected in this year’s Senior Open field include Inkster, Betsy King, Pat Bradley, Hollis Stacy, Beth Daniel, Patty Sheehan, Meg Mallon, JoAnne Carner, Jan Stephenson, and, of course, Davies. The championship promises to be especially fan-friendly. “We will only rope tees and greens,” says Matt Sawicki, the Director of Women’s and Senior Open Championships. ”It makes the event unique and allows an up-close and personal experience for spectators to walk the fairways with the legends of the game.” Last year, the indomitable 79-year-old JoAnne Carner, winner of eight USGA championships, lit the tournament candle when she stepped on the first tee, flipped her cigarette on the ground and hit the first ball ever in a United States Women’s Senior Open Championship. It’s Pine Needles’ turn to grow the tradition with a little help from its teaching pro. PS Pinehurst resident Bill Case is PineStraw’s history man. He can be reached at Bill. Case@thompsonhine.com.

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Spring cleaning and decluttering in the Sandhills By Jan Leitschuh

You never get enough ’cause there’s just too much stuff — Too Much Stuff, by Delbert McClinton

n my Wisconsin childhood, the first soft days of spring led to a vigorous and enthusiastic assault on accumulated winter crud by the women on my block. After being cooped up for months with the kids, they felt the craving for space, serenity and order. Children were shooed outside — no playdates needed, just a sweatshirt and orders like “Go play with your little brother, and not in the road.” Boom: The closet cleaning, organizing and disposal of the long winter’s detritus commenced. “I think the urge comes from prepping for spring, especially those gray, rainy weekends just before. It’s been a long winter, and we’re feeling stuck; we want to purge,” says Mandy Mosier of Clean Quarters by Mandy, an inhome decluttering service charging $40 per hour. “Or I could be cliché and say ‘new beginnings.’” These days, busy moms work outside the home, and stuff accumulates despite the increasing involvement of the male of the species. But stuff has weight, and they want to lift that weight off their household. But we’re busy . . . and there’s that inertia thing . . . and, so much stuff. It’ll wear you down, carrying around too much stuff Today, decluttering the homes of the busy and overwhelmed is big business, the purview of coaches, specialists and TV series, such as organizational guru Marie Kondo’s best-selling books and recent hit Netflix program Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. Another popular online resource is home organization website FlyLady. net. “Have you been living in CHAOS? FlyLady is here to help you get your home organized! She teaches you to eliminate your clutter and establish simple routines for getting your home clean!” FlyLady has you begin with a clean sink and expand from there, sending daily emails assigning small 15-minute tasks. FlyLady’s key values are selflove, patience and many small actions. It urges folks not to be perfectionists, noting that your home didn’t get cluttered overnight, so just drop the mental chatter, be patient with yourself and git ’er done. If your after photos look worse than others’ before photos, no self-flagellation. Note the change and keep moving forward. All this outside support speaks to a deep longing in our busy souls for space, peace and household order. So. What’s holding us back from serenity and home nirvana? Too much stuff, there’s just too much stuff “Our culture is to accumulate, gather things,” observes Mosier, wife of an active duty military man and veteran of 14 moves in the last 18 years. “Then we are working full time, so we don’t make time to throw things away after doing the cooking, laundry, shopping, dealing with the kids, trying to relax. There’s no time, it seems. It’s so much easier to shove something in a

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box in a corner or the attic.” “Moving as often as I do, it is in the forefront of my mind, knowing I’ll have to pack things up again. So this has forced me into a constant state of purging. I’ve learned to live a minimalist lifestyle,” she adds. Some spring-cleaners need a non-judgmental, outside eye to give them direction and help them stay focused. For others, simply watching a reality show about decluttering is the spark to clean things up and restore peace to the home. Local thrift stores report donations are up in the wake of the Kondo series. “Absolutely,” agrees Lucie Saylor, manager of the Emmanuel Episcopal Thrift Shop in Southern Pines. “I have been asking everyone who brings things in, ‘What’s going on here?’ I think a lot of it has to do with the weather. I’m sure the Coalition (Sandhills/Moore Coalition for Human Care), Friend to Friend, Whispering Pines (Thrift Shop), all of us are benefiting.” Marie Kondo’s method is full-bore. It begins by connecting with the house, and then simply piling all the clothes on a bed and looking for items to discard, thanking them first for their role in your life. Discard what no longer “sparks joy.” This can be problematic — do athletic supporters or Spanx or underwire support bras “spark joy” in you? (No denying they can be useful in certain situations.) After the winnowing, Kondo shows clients how to roll clothes and stand them upright in drawers, so all can be seen at a glance. Then she moves on to books, papers, sentimental items and everything else — kitchen, garage and the rest. You can pile it high . . . But you’ll never be satisfied Perhaps the real secret to Kondo’s decluttering success isn’t the simple sparking of joy but the massive disruption caused by disgorging all that stuff from its static place at the bottom of the closet or back of the drawer. Once it’s out, it must be dealt with. Besides making a visual impact — “Oh my! I have so much stuff!” — the shelves are now clear to wipe down, the floors easily vacuumed. Who wants to put all that back anyway? Plus, you’ve now found that beloved concert tee you thought you’d lost, and who needs to buy toothpaste when two full tubes still in their boxes surface? “I love Marie Kondo,” says Mosier, “and I did the ‘spark joy’ thing, but I think it can have some limitations. Say, when you’re sorting your sock drawer.” Persistence is the key. “It looks worse before it gets better” is a Kondo mantra. “You have to grab the mood when it strikes,” says Mosier. And carry on. The Kondo “mountain of stuff” method may not work for everyone. “A lot of our psychological block is that it’s already overwhelming, especially if you have children,” says Mosier. “I’ll break it down into categories for them. We’ll do all the dresses. Then all the T-shirts. When I leave, I might say, ‘Tonight I’ll have you do your sock and underwear drawer.’” It’ll mess you up, fooling with too much stuff While some sort by sparks of joy, others use the tried and true one-year rule. Kelly Sanders of Kelly’s Tidying and Organization, who also helps others organize, clean and declutter at $35 per hour, agrees with Kondo that “I personally find it easier to make a complete mess first and bring everything out, then start sorting.” Sanders, mother of two, is so disciplined and organized in her home life that she doesn’t have much in her closets to clean out. “I buy only the bed linen I need, then wash it and put it right back on the bed, so I keep the closet from overcrowding,” she says. “And as far as my own closet goes, most of my items are wash-and-wear quality in dresser drawers. So my closet is minimal.” But she is firm about discarding, sparks or no sparks. “If I haven’t used it in a year, it needs to go.”

May 2019 i�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Well it’s way too much . . . You’re never gonna get enough Mosier, as the wife of an active duty military man, is also tough on herself, but her approach to clients depends on their core values. “I don’t have a specific one-size-fits-all method because what motivates one person doesn’t motivate another. I try to connect to the main reason they contacted me in the first place.” She has new clients fill out a questionnaire detailing their goals, priorities and their “why.” It becomes her roadmap in dealing with specific client needs. One of Kondo’s principles is item visibility, and Sanders agrees. For her own home, where she is the strictest, Sanders stays organized by “constantly checking on things and seeing how out of hand an area or closet has gotten. The old saying ‘out of sight, out of mind’ is so true. If you can’t see it . . . it’s likely to become hidden with clutter.” Her home’s kitchen is an example. “I have open shelving storage so I see exactly where things go or need returning. Same goes for my closets. Everything is in sight. My son’s closet is by size and color so I know exactly what I’m looking for. I try to go crazy, clearing out seasonally.” As each one of the four seasons ends, she says, “I go through everything from that season as I’m putting it away in storage containers . . . clear ones with labels so I know what’s inside. I donate holiday decor items I’ll no longer use or sell my kids’ clothes that they’ve outgrown, to buy the new ones they need. I try to stay on top of clothes.” Ah, baby clothes. “A major question I ask in a first meeting: ‘Are you planning to have more children?’” says Mosier. “Women who are done having children can get rid of all this baby stuff.” It’ll hang you up, dealing with too much stuff Sentimental attachment is one factor both Sandhills organizers find trips people up. People often identify strongly with items imbued with memories. “Everyone is different,” says Sanders, “but basically I talk to them about being overwhelmed in stuff, and wanting to breathe. That it’s OK to let go of some things and only keep the most meaningful, something that meant something to you personally.” Our attachments can have deep psychological roots. “I think the biggest thing behind clutter is being attached to items,” says Sanders. “There’s guilt of letting it go because maybe someone special gave it to you, and you don’t want to disappoint them. Or, you believe it has sentimental value?” The “might-need-it-someday” mentality is also a clutter keeper. “I know several people who came up very poor and believed in keeping things until they broke or could pass them down,” says Sanders. “They now are able to buy things, but are mentally unable to let things go.” “My kids might want this one day” is another hang-up, but many find their offspring are rarely interested in grandma’s china or the great-aunt’s crystal. Use or donate, the experts advise. It’s a mental game. Mosier tries to connect with her clients’ “why.” “One lady is very attached to her things,” says Mosier. “She has dresses with tags still on them. Some are old and stained and torn but she was pregnant when she wore them. As a stay-at-home mom, she wears dresses maybe once a week to church. She went through them and had a hard time letting go. And the clutter in the house was damaging their marriage.” Yeah, it’ll tear you down, fooling with all that stuff Mosier’s tips for sorting clothing include asking: Is it classic or trendy? Does it still look new or fresh? Is it stained, damaged or torn? “Women are very appearance driven, and clothes are important to us, and we get attached to those things in a way I don’t think men do,” she says. Harking back to her questionnaire of stated goals, Mosier was able to ask her client, “Is this dress that you have never worn more important than your marriage?” She may practice a little tough love. “Sometimes I have to take a gruff approach with people. ‘You’re going to go through these dresses again.’ And then I sit there as they try them on. An outsider’s eye has no sentiment. Often, I’ll be able to offer some clarity and say, ‘Honey, you’re a beautiful girl and that doesn’t flatter you,’ or, ‘That dress doesn’t do you any favors.’” One client had trouble letting go of a large stainless steel silverware chest because it was a wedding gift, even though she had a set she preferred. The solution? Art. “We took one setting only — knife, fork and spoon — and had them framed in a shadow box with a meaningful saying about love and nourish-

ment, and she liked that,” says Mosier. “There are companies that will take your baby clothes, or your college tees, and turn them into blankets.” For bulky sentimental items, the organizers suggest up-cycling. Mosier turned her wedding dress into a baby quilt. “Now I have one baby blanket that my kids use, not 10, and it is meaningful.” Her husband’s old military uniforms were important to him, but taking up space, unused: “My mother-in-law took them and made two lap blankets for our two boys.” You know you can hurt yourself, fooling with too much stuff The massive disgorging of clothes frees up a lot of energy, say all the organizers. This is the payoff — space, peace, satisfaction, the big sigh of relief. “Start by focusing on the most cluttered rooms first,” advises Sanders. “After those are completed, the rest of the house will seem like a breeze and will be something you’ll want to do. Place seldom-used items in clear containers for easy storage and you’ll know how to locate them.” Mosier finds “the master closet seems to be the number one priority, followed by the kitchen, followed by the kids’ playroom. Most of us find it easier to get rid of our kids’ stuff, than our own.” Then there is the “where-to-discard-it” paralysis. A number of folks don’t want to consign the still-useful to landfills. “Some of it just has to go right in the dumpster,” says Mosier. “Then I like to suggest the Sandhills Coalition or Friend-to-Friend for useable items. People like the idea of helping others. Since I mostly work with women, I use Friend to Friend, the battered women’s advocacy agency, to help women let go. I point out that if this dress can help one woman in need get out and get a job to support her children, that’s an easy sell.” Mosier also likes the website RealReal.com for recycling upscale items on consignment. You know you can’t get a grip when you’re slippin’ in all that stuff For Mosier and Sanders, decluttering is a year-round activity they enjoy. “But I see why people might feel overwhelmed,” says Mosier. “I am naturally prone to this because of the way my parents raised me, and our constant military moves. I became a stay-at-home mom when we decided to have children, and that allows me to have the time to do something I enjoy doing.” She laughs: “If I was working full time, my house would probably be a mess!” PS Contact Sanders through email: Sanderskelly2820@yahoo.com or at 910-7055016. Contact Mosier either on her “Clean Quarters by Mandy” Facebook page, or by email: cleanquartersbymandy@gmail.com.

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When New is Old Again Living Good in This Hood By Deborah Salomon Photographs by John Koob Gessner

hat’s going on here? A row of compact houses set close together, no two alike, channeling the 1940s yet looking brand new. Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood? June Cleaver’s home sweet home? The MGM backlot? Maybe The Twilight Zone? No driveways, just a free-standing single-car garage accessed by a back alley. Some brick, some siding. Lots of covered front porches with tapered columns. But, once inside, Beaver’s mom would flip: granite countertops in open kitchens, mini-spa bathrooms, two-zone AC, recessed lighting, gas fireplaces, vaulted ceilings, porthole windows, gleaming hardwood floors. These aren’t condos or golf pied-à-terres, although a low monthly fee covering landscaping and maintenance enables residents to lock-and-leave. Military mommies jog behind three-wheeled strollers. Retirees ride bikes. Children splash in the pool adjacent to the community room and terrace, with built-in barbecue grills. Friendly dogs, potted geraniums and picket fences complete the picture. The Cottages on May is a concept development whose concept follows trends identified as new urbanism or urban redevelopment: living near downtown where services are within walking or bike range and neighbors within waving distance. Nobody narrates it better than Tim Venjohn, a South Dakotan who discovered Southern Pines while stationed at Fort Bragg. Now a Realtor working with designer Travis Greene of Legacy Home Construction, his explanation rings true:

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“Ten years ago, everybody was building modern houses — but Southern Pines is a bunch of old cottages. We decided to design houses to fit the neighborhood, to look 80 years old like the houses on either side.” While such a cottage was under construction, Tim got a call confirming their success. “Somebody asked about that old house we were ‘remodeling.’” After building about 20 cottages in the historic district bordering Weymouth why not reproduce an entire neighborhood? Sounds good, if a bit risky. The tract on May Street seemed perfect; its depth allowed walking trails that connect with downtown residential streets. Its location attracted Fort Bragg commuters. Some architecture reproduced existing one and two-story houses of an earlier era. Others featured a chimney, built for esthetic purposes only, and open rafter tails. “We really had fun doing this,” Venjohn says. “It was a culmination of an idea.” Small(ish) houses on modest lots, creative floor plans, quality materials and finishing don’t come cheap. However, Legacy had no trouble finding buyers for both spec houses and larger ones built-to-order — if the buyer prefers. Which these homeowners did.

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Although a lifelong horsewoman, as evidenced by her equine art, Beth Busichio’s cottage, done primarily in crisp navy and white, appears nautical: “Clean and classic,” says the graphic designer experienced in staging houses for sale.

Beth, while living in Florida, heard about Southern Pines horse country, came for a visit and fell in love. “But I didn’t want a (gated) golf course community.” Instead, the youthful grandmother looked for “the feel of a town, a place with low maintenance and young neighbors.” She didn’t need a horse farm but wanted something close to the boarding barn she visits daily. Beth found, but lost, a suitable house further south on May Street, also being developed by Legacy, which is how she learned of the new cottages. Because hers was built to order, “I did a lot of tweaking.” The coffered ceilings, a hallway picture rail, beadboard, a mantle in the kitchen, vaulted ceiling and living room fireplace walled over to accommodate an entertainment unit give an illusion of a space larger than 1,800 sq. ft. The rough-hewn barn door separating living area from the bedrooms adds “earthiness,” and is solid enough to be soundproof. The parking area was adapted for a horse trailer. Other spaces were designed around Beth’s furniture, much of it painted white, or shaggy-chic upholstery. Together, they are a page from Wayfair, her favorite source. She chose louvers for the windows, reminiscent of jalousies popular in Florida. Throw pillows, her décor insignia, are everywhere. Porthole windows in the master bedroom, which she admits is a little tight, mean more wall space for paintings and family photos. Beth wanted a corner lot to accommodate a wraparound porch, with fireplace. Here, she sits with Panda, her fluffy Australian sheep dog, and watches neighborhood action. “I love-love-love this house,” Beth says enthusiastically. “It has such a fresh, light feeling.”

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Ashley Holderfield is also a designer with a black and white fluffy puppy who lives at The Cottages on May. There, the comparison ends. She and husband Casey Holderfield now occupy a second neo-classic cottage built by Legacy. Their first house was on East Maine St. in the desirable Southern Pines district above the tracks. Its floorplan and giant porch were similar to Beth Busichio’s but in dark woods with earthy brown and forest greens. But in 2016, after only a few years and one baby, the cottage seemed small. “I loved living downtown but I wanted more of a yard,” Ashley says. “We looked in Pinehurst but loved Southern Pines where you can walk or bike downtown,” Casey adds. They already knew Tim and Travis — and decided to investigate the high end of the concept. What sold them was the lot bordering a pasture with open spaces beyond, a forever view. Here, they conceived what Ashley calls a modern two-story farmhouse with circular driveway, a Juliet balcony and industrial décor carried out in white, grey, black. At 2,600 sq. ft. the unusual layout accommodates the family, which besides 4-year-old Evie, now includes 10-month-old Willow. “Notice that there aren’t any edges” on furniture or surfaces — a safety measure — Casey points out. Almost all the furniture and fabrics are new, in gradations of that industrial gray palette, including tufted sofas and a round leather ottoman replacing a coffee table. Notice, too, that the enormous PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May 2019

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white quartz island separating the stark white kitchen with ceramic tile backsplash laid in a “subway” pattern would never be found in a mid20th century Carolina farmhouse. Nor would the metallic gold and silver fixtures. Certainly not the horizontal cable wiring replacing balusters on the stairway. Or the front door paneled in rain glass which admits light but distorts the view. “Ashley has these ideas in her head . . . ” Casey says. Separate dining rooms are phasing out, they noticed. Instead, a small corner of the open kitchen accommodates an oval hardwood table found at Habitat and painted white. Farmhouse or not, the uncluttered visuals are not only stunning, but suited to a young family seeking togetherness in open spaces. Equally iconoclastic is the layout with master suite and enormous bathroom with walk-in (no door) shower on the main floor. Toys are confined to an upstairs playroom, near the children’s bedrooms, with an office nook where Ashley can work with one eye on them. Throughout, white walls backdrop modern art by Ashley’s classmate, Lindsey Lindquist. The Holderfields have chosen to use their heated, air-conditioned carriage house for fitness equipment and storage. The covered back gallery running the width of the house has a wood-burning fireplace and, over it, a wall-mounted TV. Evie can feed somebody else’s horses through the fence. Ashley wanted a modern farmhouse that fit the equestrian landscape. Casey didn’t want anything that looked brand new. Both sought unobstructed views in a quasi-rural neighborhood close to downtown. This was a one-in-a-million find, they agree. The Holderfield home may not conform exactly to Legacy’s cottages-ofyesteryear concept but, with all satisfied, nobody’s looking this gift horse in the mouth. PS

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OPEN HOUSE & GARDEN PARTY

Light Bites • Drinks • Music • Resort Tours

Thursday May 30, 2019 4-7 p.m. Join us for an island experience celebrating 55 years at Blockade Runner Beach Resort. Free and open to the public Complimentary beverages provided by: Windham Distributing and Waterman’s Brewing Company READ MORE ABOUT THE HOTEL IN SALT’S JUNE ISSUE

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A L M A N A C

May n

By Ash Alder

The soft thud of a magnolia blossom crashing down upon the tender earth takes me back . . . Rope hammock swing. Soft light filtering through smooth green leaves. Love notes tied with twine to sweeping branches. We both knew it would not last. And yet we had our glorious season. Life is like that. Fleeting as a fragrant white flower. And as May blossoms burst forth in jubilant splendor, we cherish the transient, intoxicating beauty of spring, and relearn the sacred dance of loving and letting go. May is the beginning and the end. On the bookshelf, Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac hasn’t been opened since the crash-landing of yet another bygone romance that died on Easter weekend, years ago now. January, February, March, April. Four cozy months of essays read aloud in bed, yet if we took any morsel of wisdom from Leopold’s poetic reflections of the natural world, it was this: Life is an endless dance of change. This morning, I take the book to the front porch, turning to the dog-eared page of May — a fresh new chapter. As a black-capped chickadee draws quick sips from the nearby birdbath, I read about the return of the upland plover, what Leopold refers to as the “final proof of spring” in rural Wisconsin. Here, the final proof of spring is gone. We have landed on the fresh new chapter of May, a glorious season of its own.

Children are the anchors that hold a mother to life. — Sophocles Cinco de Mayo

Mark your calendar. The Eta Aquarid Shower peaks just before dawn on Sunday, May 5. You could witness 10—40 meteors per hour. Not exactly the return of Halley’s comet, but it’s a chance to catch a glimpse of the famous comet’s debris. Find yourself a soft spot on the lawn. Breathe in the aroma of Southern magnolia. Enjoy the show.

The Mother’s Moon

The Full Flower Moon rises on Saturday, May 18. Also called Mother’s Moon, Milk Moon and Corn Planting Moon, this month’s moon illuminates red fox pups, fluffy cygnets, and wildflowers everywhere. Speaking of lunar magic, The Old Farmer’s Almanac looks at the positions and phases of the moon to determine the “best days” for various activities. This month, the best days for planting aboveground crops are May 8 and 9 (plan now for July sweet corn on the grill). Plant belowground crops May 26. Cut hay May 1–3. Prune May 10–11 to encourage new growth. Can, pickle, or make sauerkraut on May 26.

’Tis like the birthday of the world, When earth was born in bloom; The light is made of many dyes, The air is all perfume; There’s crimson buds, and white and blue, The very rainbow showers Have turned to blossoms where they fell, And sown the earth with flowers. — Thomas Hood Gifts for Mama

Mother’s Day falls on Sunday, May 12. I think of my fourth-grade teacher, who asked us to bring in one of our mother’s high heels. Yes, just one. We spray-painted it gold, lined the inside with floral foam, and proudly stuck a dozen plastic flowers inside. Happy Mother’s Day to all. May you walk in beauty. Here are a few seeds of inspiration for the beloved mother figure in your life: • Daylily bulbs • Mexican tarragon for the herb garden • Azaleas • Ornamental pepper • Wax begonia • A new pair of shiny gold shoes

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Arts Entertainment C A L E N DA R

Anniversary Gala: Mira Foundation

Although conscientious effort is made to provide accurate and up-to-date information, all events are subject to change and errors can occur! Please call to verify times, costs, status and location before planning or attending an event. BOOKWORMS BOOKCLUB. Are you in grades K–5 and want to join a book club? Find the Bookworms display in the library to take home the book of the month, pick up your discussion questions and grab some activities. When you have finished reading the book, fill out the book review to post on the library’s wall. This month’s book is Island of the Blue Dolphins. Can’t read yet? Read along with a grown-up. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235. OUTPOST BOOK SALES. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday– Saturday. Monthly Sale — science fiction and DVDs mix and match — buy one, get one free, some exclusions apply. Given Outpost and Book Shop, 95 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 585-4820 or 295-7002. JOY OF ART STUDIO. Joy of Art Studio Creative Arts begins in June so sign up starts soon. Art for all ages, children and adults, lots of creative fun. Drawing, painting and mixed media. Joy also offers birthday parties, private lessons, home school curriculum and creative counseling. Unless otherwise stated, classes are held at Joy of Art Studio, 139 E. Pennsylvania Ave., Suite B, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 528-7283 or joyof_art@msn.com or Facebook link www.facebook.com/Joyscreativespace/ for a complete list of events this month. CITIZENS ACADEMY. Applications are being accepted for the Town of Southern Pines Citizens Academy. Sessions will be held through May on Tuesdays from 6 -8

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Seniors Trip

p.m., with a light dinner served starting at 5:30 p.m. The goal of the Citizens Academy is to demonstrate both the complexities and professionalism involved in providing town services and promote collaboration between residents and their government. Applications are available on the town website at www.southernpines.net. SANDHILLS WOMAN’S EXCHANGE. The Woman’s Exchange will close on May 18 for the summer season. Be sure to come in before then for unique gifts and a delicious lunch. It will reopen in September. Sandhills Woman’s Exchange, 15 Azalea Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.sandhillswe.org.

Wednesday, May 1 ART EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN. 9 - 11 a.m. This four-week course is designed for homeschooled students ages 9 - 17. It will explore art drawing with color and an introduction to painting. Classes meet May 1, 8, 15 and 22. The cost is $115 and includes materials. Hollyhocks Art Gallery, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst. Info and registration: (603) 966-6567 or exploringartellen3@gmail.com. WATERCOLOR CLASS. 1 - 4 p.m. This four-week course will introduce you to the basics of watercolor. No prior experience is necessary. Classes meet May 1, 8, 15 and 22. The cost is $175 and includes materials. Hollyhocks Art Gallery, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst. Info and registration: (603) 966-6567 or exploringartellen3@gmail.com. ART EXHIBITION. 3 - 5 p.m. Join us for the Sandhills Community College Visual Art Students’ Annual Juried Exhibition and Awards. The exhibition will be on display through June 7. Hastings Art Gallery, Sandhills

N.C. Symphony

Community College, 3395 Airport Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 696-3879. BOOK EVENT. 4 p.m. Adam Rubin creator of Dragons Love Tacos gives us High Five, a book to rediscover this lost art. It’s a laugh out loud book that kids will love to read. The Country Bookshop, 140 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.thecountrybookshop.biz. FOOD TRUCK. 4:30 p.m. Meat & Greek Food Truck. The food truck will also be at Southern Pines Brewing Company on May 8, 15, 22 and 29. Southern Pines Brewing Company, 565 Air Tool Drive, Suite E, Southern Pines. Info: www.southernpinesbrewing.com. KIDS NIGHT IN THE LIBRARY. 5 - 7 p.m. Wear your pajamas and bring your blankets. There will be family reading areas, games and activities to celebrate family reading. Free and open to the public. Given Memorial Library & Tufts Archives, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.giventufts.org. LADIES WINE OUT. 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. There will be music, a silent auction, raffles, wine, punch and appetizers. Cost: $10/Weymouth members; $20/non-members. Weymouth Center for Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261 or www.weymouthcenter.org. Tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com. SIP & SAMPLE. 6 - 8:30 p.m. Sip and sample a collection of wine, craft beers and appetizers from chefs in the Sandhills to benefit the Sandhill’s Children’s Center. There will also be a silent auction. Tickets: $65 per person. Fair Barn, 200 Beulah Hill Road S., Pinehurst. Info and tickets: (910) 6923323 or www.sandhillschildrenscenter.org.

May 2019i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

CA L E N DA R

Wednesday, May 1 — Sunday, May 5 CHILDREN’S BOOK WEEK. 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Stop by all week to celebrate and make book marks, check out books and more. Bring a friend and sign up for a free library card. Free and open to the public. Given Memorial Library & Tufts Archives, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.giventufts.org.

Thursday, May 2 MUSIC & MOTION STORYTIME. 10:30 a.m. This story time, especially for children ages 2-5 and their families, will incorporate stories and songs along with dancing, playing and games to foster language and motor skill development. Capacity is limited to 25 children and their accompanying adult per session. Check-in is required with a valid SPPL full or limited access card. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net. POTTERY CLASS. 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Maegan Lea of Fickle Pottery is teaching you how to make botanical or lace impressed pottery platters. Class size limited to 24. Cost: $50/Sandhills Horticultural Society members; $60/non-members. Ball Visitor Center, Sandhills Community College, 3395 Airport Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 695-3882. FOOD TRUCK. 4 p.m. Pink Pig Food Truck. The food truck will also be at Southern Pines Brewing Company on May 9, 16, 23 and 30. Southern Pines Brewing Company, 565 Air Tool Drive, Suite E, Southern Pines. Info: www.southernpinesbrewing.com. FINE ARTS LECTURE. 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Lecturer Ellen Burke will present: “Not Just a Pretty Face: Portrait Painters — Alchemist of Humanity.” Cost: $15/ Weymouth members; $20/non-members. Tickets available at the Campbell House. Weymouth Center for Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2787 or www.weymouthcenter.org. ANNIVERSARY GALA. 6 - 9 p.m. Join in for an evening of dining and music in support of the Mira Foundation, an organization that provides guide dogs to blind children. Ticket: $100 and includes appetizers, wine, dinner, entertainment and a live auction. Fordham at Belle Meade, 100 Waters Drive, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 246-1008. Tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com. CAMEO ART HOUSE. 7:30 - 9 p.m. Compton and Newberry at the Cameo. Cost: $12/members; $15/non-members. Cameo Art House, 225 Hay St., Fayetteville. Info: (910) 944-7502 or www. theroosterswife.org. Tickets: ticketmesandhills.com.

Friday, May 3 POT LUCK LUNCHEON. 12 p.m. Seniors 55 and older can participate in a free potluck lunch. Bring a small dish and enjoy great food and fellowship. Ten games of bingo will follow the lunch with prizes for winners. Cost: $2 for

Southern Pines Residents; $4 non-residents. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376 or www.southernpines.net/136/Recreation-Parks. FOOD TRUCK. 3:30 p.m. Rome N’ Round Pizza. They will also be at Southern Pines Brewing Company on May 10, 17, 24 and 31 at 3:30 p.m. and May 6, 13, 20 and 27 at 5 p.m. Southern Pines Brewing Company, 565 Air Tool Drive, Suite E, Southern Pines. Info: www.southernpinesbrewing.com. INK PARTY. 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. Celebrating alcohol inks and artists. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979 or www.artisleague.org. FIRST FRIDAY. 5 p.m. This First Friday will be featuring Eric Gales. Admission is free. There will be food trucks and alcohol for sale. No outside alcohol. Downtown Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3611 or www.sunrisetheater.com.

Friday, May 3 — Saturday, May 4 CAMERON’S ANTIQUE SALE. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Come and check out the spring antiques fair where all shops will be open and there will 250 outside vendors. There will also be food and refreshments available. All shops are located on Hwy 24/27. Info: www.antiquesofcameron.com.

Saturday, May 4 JR. FLEA MARKET. 9 - 11 a.m. Those ages 7 - 16 years old are invited to put their bargaining skills to the test and provide the crafts, toys and clothes, set your prices and collect the cash. Booth space for residents of Southern Pines is $5 and $10 per space for non-residents. Set up time for sellers is from 8 - 9 a.m. Bring your own 6-foot table. Downtown Park, 145 S.E. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376 or www.southernpines. net/136/Recreation-Parks. KIDS PROGRAM. 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Celebrate May 4 with May the Force be with you. Dress up as your favorite Star Wars character and use the force to discover the wonders of the library. Bring a friend and sign up for a free library card. This event is free and open to the public. Given Memorial Library & Tufts Archives, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.giventufts.org. STARLAB. 11 a.m. Teens in grades 6-12 are invited to preview the Starlab. From inside the inflatable dome, participants travel along constellations and view other cosmic occurrences. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net. DERBY DAY. 5 - 9 p.m. This Kentucky Derby-inspired party and social event will be the right mix of fun and flair for those who want to get down and derby. Expect the finest in fashion, food and entertainment while taking in “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports.” Cost: $100 per ticket. This is a 21-and-over event. Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Fayetteville. Info and RSVP: (910) 486-0221.

Two terrific Broadway stars in one sensational show! from Broadway’s Phantom & Mamma Mia

LIZ McCARTNEY Two-time Tony Award nominee

BOB STILLMAN from Souvenir’s Original Broadway Cast

a fantasia on the life of

FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS by

Stephen Temperley

Saturday, May 4 — Sunday, May 5 DOG SHOW. 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. The Moore County Kennel Club will hold its annual two-day all breeds show. The show continues through Sunday, May 5. Pinehurst Harness Track Upper Polo Field, 200 Beulah Hill Road S., Pinehurst. Info: (910) 528-6265 or www.mckcnc.com. CINCO DE MAYO. Come enjoy a taco bar and margarita flights. The event will continue through May 5 with chimichangas and burritos. The Sly Fox Pub, 795 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.theslyfoxpub.com. QUATRO Y CINCO DE MAYO. Stop by to celebrate with two unique tacos and margaritas. Cost: $20. Continue the celebration through May 5. Elliot’s on Linden, 905 Linden Road, Suite A, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 215-0775.

Sunday, May 5 STARLAB. 1 - 4 p.m. The Given Memorial Library, in conjunction with the Carthage and Southern Pines libraries, hosts the Starlab portable planetarium at the Fair Barn, 200 Beulah Hill Rd. S., Pinehurst. The venue was donated by the Village of Pinehurst. Open to all ages without charge, tickets should be obtained in advance from ticketmesandhills.com to ensure entry. ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN. 2 p.m. Guests can ponder origami’s simple messages and learn its history through signage, demonstrations and education programs during the opening ceremony for Origami in the Garden2. Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Fayetteville. Info and RSVP: (910) 486-0221. WRITING GROUP. 2:30 p.m. Interested in creating fiction, nonfiction, poetry or comics? Connect with other writers and artists, chat about your craft and get feedback on your work. All levels are welcome. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net. NATURE STUDY. 3 p.m. Guest speaker, Simon Thompson, will present “Birds of the N.C. Mountains.” This presentation will be held in the auditorium. Free and open to the public. Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167 or www.ncparks.gov. THE ROOSTER’S WIFE. 6:46 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. Rory Block and Cindy Cashdollar. Cost: $25/members; $30/non-members. Poplar Knight Spot, 114 Knight St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-7502 or www.theroosterswife.org. Tickets: ticketmesandhills.com.

Monday, May 6 EVENING STORYTIME. 5:30 p.m. Children ages 3 through 3rd grade and their families will enjoy stories and activities that foster a love of books and reading plus tips for winding down and getting the week off on the right track. Capacity is limited to 25 children and their caregivers per

Hannah Center Theatre Tix: JudsonTheatre.com

MAY 9-12 ONLY!

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CA L E N DA R session, and check-in with a valid SPPL card is required. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net. EVENING WITH AUTHORS. 7 p.m. Join us as we kick off a new series to highlight Moore County authors. Local authors will speak about their books and answer questions about their work. This event is free and open to the public. Given Memorial Library & Tufts Archives, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: www. giventufts.org.

Tuesday, May 7 BIKE TO SCHOOL. 6:45 a.m. Children attending Southern Pines Primary School will meet up at the Pool Park with park staff and will be escorted by staff and police to school. At the end of the school day kids can bike to the Pool Park to compete in a Bike Rodeo before parents pick them up at 3:15 p.m. Children participating must provide their own bike and helmet. Pool Park, 735 S. Stephens St., Southern Pines. Info and registration: (910) 6927376 or www.southernpines.net/136/Recreation-Parks. Registration forms can also be picked up from the school. BOOK EVENT. 5 p.m. Ken Woodley with The Road to Healing: A Civil Rights Reparations Story in Prince Edward County, Virginia. The Country Bookshop, 140 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.thecountrybookshop.biz. FOOD SERVICE. 5:30 p.m. Jaya’s Indian Cuisine at Southern Pines Brewing Company. Jaya’s cuisine will also be available on May 14, 21 and 28. Southern Pines Brewing Company, 565 Air Tool Drive, Suite E, Southern Pines. Info: www.southernpinesbrewing.com.

Wednesday, May 8 MEET THE ARTIST. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. This class will introduce children ages 5 - 8 to the art of Mary Cassatt and Vincent Van Gogh. Classes meet May 8, 15 and 22. The cost is $45 and includes materials. Hollyhocks Art Gallery, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst. Info and registration: (603) 966-6567 or exploringartellen3@gmail.com. BOOK EVENT. 5 p.m. Michael Knight with At Briarwood School for Girls, a novel set at a boarding school in the Virginia countryside. The Country Bookshop, 140 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.thecountrybookshop.biz.

Thursday, May 9 DOCUMENTARY. 10 a.m. The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo. Sunrise Theater, 244 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3611 or www.sunrisetheater.com. GATHERING AT GIVEN. 3:30 p.m. Dolores Muller, a Moore County Master Gardener Volunteer, will discuss

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how to garden successfully in the Sandhills. Bring a friend and sign up for a free library card. Free and open to the public. Given Memorial Library & Tufts Archives, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Event will also be held at 7 p.m. at The Given Book Shop, 95 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.giventufts.org. THE ROOSTER’S WIFE. 6:46 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. Compton and Newberry. Cost: $15/members; $20/non-members. Poplar Knight Spot, 114 Knight St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-7502 or www. theroosterswife.org. Tickets: ticketmesandhills.com.

Thursday, May 9 - Sunday, May 12 THEATRE SHOW. 7 p.m. Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins by Stephen Temperley. There will also be performance on May 10 at 8 p.m., May 11 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and May 12 at 3 p.m. This performance is presented by Judson Theatre Company. Hannah Center Theatre at The O’Neal School, 3300 Airport Road, Southern Pines. Info: www. judsontheatre.com.

Thursday, May 9 - Sunday, May 26 THEATRE SHOW. Memphis, a high energy musical with nonstop dancing and stories set against a backdrop of changing civil rights. Tickets: $19 - $32. For specific times and prices visit the website. Cape Fear Regional Theatre, 1209 Hay St., Fayetteville. Info: www.cfrt.org.

Friday, May 10 MOTHER’S DAY TEA. 12 p.m. Seniors 55 and older can enjoy finger foods and tasty drinks as we celebrate the women that mean the most to us. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 6927376 or www.southernpines.net/136/Recreation-Parks. MOVIE IN THE PARK. 8 p.m. Come see a movie as well as a performance from the 82nd Airborne Division Band and Chorus Jazz Combo Military Band. Concessions will be available for purchase. Don’t forget to bring your blanket or chair. Downtown Park, 145 S.E. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376 or www.southernpines.net/136/Recreation-Parks.

Friday, May 10 - Saturday, May 18 STARLAB. 11 a.m. The solar system comes to life through the STARLAB Planetarium, an immersive and interactive experience. From inside the portable, inflatable dome, participants travel along constellations and other cosmic occurrences. Shows are appropriate for families and children of all ages. Tickets are available to library cardholders first-come, first-serve at the circulation desk, up to one hour before the program begins. Shows will be held May 10, 11, 17 and 18 at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines.

Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

Saturday, May 11 EQUESTRIAN EVENT. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. This WHES Schooling Day allows competitors to school any and all phases. Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford. Info: (910) 875-2074. BUGGY FESTIVAL. 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Come to the Carthage Buggy Festival with over 125 food and craft vendors as well as entertainment and a showcase of classic cars, tractors and antique carriages. Downtown Carthage, 1 Courthouse Square, Carthage. Info: (910) 947-2331 or www.thebuggyfestival.com. KILN OPENING. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Join us for our Spring Kiln Opening. The large wood fired kiln will be opened to the public. Pottery in a variety of shapes and colors will be for sale and light refreshments will be served. The kiln will also be open on May 12 and 19 from 1 - 5 p.m. and May 18 from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Curry Wilkinson Pottery, 5029 S. N.C. Hwy 49, Burlington. Info: www.currywilkinsonpottery.com. POETRY SOCIETY MEETING. 9:15 a.m. - 2 p.m. This meeting will be for remembering and honoring Sam Ragan, North Carolina’s literary godfather. Free and open to the public. Weymouth Center for Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 6926261 or www.weymouthcenter.org. PURE BARRE DONATION CLASS. 9:30 10:30 a.m. Join Pure Barre to celebrate mothers with a special class to benefit Mollie Beeson and her daughter, Wallace, who has a gastrointestinal disease. All donations go to the Wallace Beeson Foundation. Suggested donation is $20. Pinehurst Brewery, 300 Magnolia Road, Pinehurst. Tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com. WILDINGS PROGRAM. 10 a.m. Take the nets down to the pond for some hands-on exploration of aquatic life. Geared toward 6–10-year-olds. Free and open to the public. Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167 or www.ncparks.gov. BEST OF THE PINES VOTERS’ RALLY. 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Come explore pop-up booths from over 25 of your favorite local businesses all vying for your Best of the Pines nominations and votes. Vendors will be giving out samples of treats, products, and services. There will also be music from three local musicians. Beer will be sold by Southern Pines Brewing Company as well as food from the What’s Fore Lunch food truck. Bring the whole family and see for yourself why these businesses are considered among the Best of the Pines. The Heritage Flag Co., 230 S. Bennett St., Southern Pines.

May 2019i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

CA L E N DA R SPLASH PAD RIBBON CUTTING. 11 a.m. Join Southern Pines Recreation & Parks as we celebrate the new edition to the Pool Park. Enjoy other cool activities such as Knockerball, yard games, live music and much more at this free event. Pool Park, 735 S. Stephens St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376 or www.southernpines.net/136/Recreation-Parks. FOOD TRUCK. 12 p.m. Cousins Maine Lobster Food Truck. Southern Pines Brewing Company, 565 Air Tool Drive, Suite E, Southern Pines. Info: www. southernpinesbrewing.com. MET OPERA. 12 - 3:30 p.m. Dialogues Des Carmélites (Poulenc). Sunrise Theater, 244 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3611 or www.sunrisetheater.com.

Sunday, May 12 EQUESTRIAN EVENT. 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. WHES Horse Trials. The horse trials will be: Green as Grass, Maiden, Beginner Novice, Novice and Training. Combined Tests: Green as Grass, Maiden, Beginner Novice, Novice, Training, Modified thru Advanced. Dressage Test of Choice: Any dressage test of choice. Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford. Info: (910) 875-2074. MOTHER’S DAY. 12 - 6 p.m. Join us for Mother’s Day and let mom enjoy the family around her. There will be an elegant feast with four courses and a dessert bar. Cost: $46.95. Elliott’s on Linden, 905 Linden Road, Suite A, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 215-0775. MOTHER’S DAY MEAL. Come enjoy a special feature for mothers on this celebrated day. The Sly Fox Pub, 795 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.theslyfoxpub.com. PITCHER PLANT HIKE. 3 p.m. Join a ranger for a 1-mile hike to see the three different types of pitcher plants. Long pants, insect repellant and closed-toed shoes recommended. Free and open to the public. Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167 or www.ncparks.gov. EXPLORATIONS SERIES. 3:00 p.m. Carolyn Shankle, Special Collections Specialist from the University of North Carolina — Greensboro, will present: “Revealing Community Through Cookbooks,” a unique look at local history in cookbooks from North Carolina. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net. THE ROOSTER’S WIFE. 6:46 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. Fish Harmonics and Easy Pointers. Cost: $20/members; $25/non-members. Poplar Knight Spot, 114 Knight St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-7502 or www.theroosterswife.org. Tickets: ticketmesandhills.com.

Wednesday, May 15 SENIORS TRIP. 8:30 a.m. Seniors 55 and older can join Southern Pines Recreation & Parks to travel to Raleigh to explore the gardens and grounds of the WRAL Azalea Garden and JC Raulston Arboretum. Cost: $9 for Southern Pines Residents; $18 non-residents. Bus will depart at 8 a.m. from the Campbell House Playground parking lot and return by 4 p.m. Campbell House Playground, 482 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. GOLF FORE AFRICA. 3:30 p.m. Join LPGA Hall of Fame golfer, Betsy King, for a demonstration golf clinic followed by a cocktail reception. Proceeds from this event will be used to fund clean water projects in Zambia. Mid Pines Golf Club, 1010 Midland Road, Southern Pines. Register online at www.golfforeafrica.org.

Thursday, May 16 MOVIE. 10 a.m. Frida, a biography of artist Frida Kahlo,

Discover Rockingham

who channeled the pain of a crippling injury and her tempestuous marriage into her work. Sunrise Theater, 244 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3611 or www.sunrisetheater.com. BOOK CLUB MEETING. 10:30 a.m. The Douglass Center Book Club will meet for discussion. Books can be picked up at the library. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net. MUSIC & MOTION STORYTIME. 10:30 a.m. This story time, especially for children ages 2-5 and their families, will incorporate stories and songs along with dancing, playing and games to foster language and motor skill development. Capacity is limited to 25 children and their accompanying adult per session. Check-in is required with a valid SPPL full or limited access card. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net. CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE. 6:30 p.m. The guest speaker will be historian and author, Jim Morgan. His unusual topic will be the 50 Union and Confederate officers who became mercenaries for the Khedive of Egypt. Meeting starts at 7 p.m. Open to the public. Civic Club, corner of Pennsylvania and Ashe St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 246-0452 or mafarina@aol.com. THE ROOSTER’S WIFE. 6:46 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. Open mic with The Parsons. Free for members, $5 for non-members. Poplar Knight Spot, 114 Knight St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-7502 or www.theroosterswife.org. Tickets: ticketmesandhills.com.

Thursday, May 16 — Sunday, May 19 EQUESTRIAN EVENT. Triangle Sandhills Spring Classic. Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford. Info: (910) 875-2074 or www.trianglefarms.com.

Friday, May 17 SPRING SPROUT. 10 a.m. Learn about the lifecycle of plants as we read a book, do activities and make a craft. Geared toward 3-5-year-olds to do with their parents. Free and open to the public. Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167 or www.ncparks.gov.

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BOOK EVENT. 4 p.m. Chris Perondi with The Big Book of Tricks for the Best Dog Ever. The Country Bookshop, 140 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.thecountrybookshop.biz. THEATER SHOW. 7 p.m. Imagine Youth Theater will perform Bugsy Malone Jr. Tickets are available at the door. Cost: $10/students; $15/adults. Taylor Dance, 250 D Olmsted Blvd., Pinehurst. Info: www.taylordance.org.

Saturday, May 18 CRAFT FAIR AND SALE. 7 a.m - 4 p.m. Come support The Father’s House Closet in Robbins for a yard sale and craft fair. The Father’s House Closet Robbins Ministries, 536 Bascom Chapel Road, Robbins. EQUESTRIAN EVENT. 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Part of the “Five Points CT Series” — Seasons in The Grove CT. The horse and rider with the lowest score from all three competitions in the series, at every level, will be awarded a championship ribbon and trophy. The Grove at Five Points, 1302 N. Horace Walters Road, Raeford. Info: (910) 875-2074 or www.thegroveatfivepoints.com. STEAM. 11 a.m. Craft tables will be out all day. At 11 a.m. join the library staff for a special “Space and Stars” event. This program is for children kindergarten through 5th grade. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut

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CA L E N DA R Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net. POLO IN THE PINES. 12 - 6 p.m. Join in the fun to promote community spirit and provide a family friendly event to benefit Preserve the Sandhills, Inc., and save parts of Buchan Field. Buchan Field, 2205 N. May St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6889. Tickets: www. ticketmesandhills.com. THE ROOSTER’S WIFE. 6:46p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. The Gravy Boys. Cost: $10/ members; $15/non-members. Poplar Knight Spot, 114 Knight St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-7502 or www. theroosterswife.org.Tickets: ticketmesandhills.com. THEATER SHOW. 7 p.m. Imagine Youth Theater will perform Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr. Tickets are available at the door. Cost: $10/students; $15/adults. Taylor Dance, 250 D, Olmsted Blvd., Pinehurst. Info: www. taylordance.org.

Sunday, May 19 ENGLISH CARVERY. 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Join us for a traditional Sunday roast with lamb, potatoes, carrots, gravy and mint sauce. The Sly Fox Pub, 795 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.theslyfoxpub.com. NATURE PROGRAM. 3 p.m. Learn about the red cockaded woodpecker and check out their cavity trees. Bring binoculars if you have them. Free and open to the public. Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 6922167 or www.ncparks.gov. THE ROOSTER’S WIFE. 6:46 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. Bombadil. Cost: $15/members;

$20/non-members. Poplar Knight Spot, 114 Knight St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-7502 or www.theroosterswife. org. Tickets: ticketmesandhills.com.

which includes wine. Proceeds to benefit Family Promise. Hollyhocks Art Gallery, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst. Info: (603) 966-6567 or exploringartellen3@gmail.com.

Monday, May 20

LECTURE. 6 - 8 p.m. Debby Irving will examine how she used her white-skewed belief system to interpret the world during her lecture, “I’m a Good Person! Isn’t That Enough?” Brownson Memorial Presbyterian Church, 330 S. May St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6252. Tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

WOMEN OF WEYMOUTH. 9:30 a.m. Business meeting at 9:30 a.m. followed by jazz, oldies and blues by John Tyson, playing trumpet and singing, and Bob Henderson on piano. There will also be a luncheon including tea sandwiches, salads and strawberry shortcake. See website for ticketing. Weymouth Center for Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261 or www.weymouthcenter.org. LUNCH AND LEARN. 12 - 1 p.m. Join Joe Grant, STARworks Glass Studio Director, for a free program on the STARworks organization. Bring your lunch and the Gardens will provide drinks. Registration required. Ball Visitor Center, Sandhills Community College, 3395 Airport Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 695-3882. EVENING STORYTIME. 5:30 p.m. Children ages 3 through 3rd grade and their families will enjoy stories and activities that foster a love of books and reading plus tips for winding down and getting the week off on the right track. Capacity is limited to 25 children and their caregivers per session, and check-in with a valid SPPL card is required. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net. EXPLORING ART. 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Join art educator and local artist, Ellen Burke, for an evening of wine and art appreciation. The topic is: “Golf Strokes and Brush Strokes: Artists Capture the Allure of Golf.” We will explore the artistic interpretations of the game of golf. Admission is $20

SANDHILLS NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY MEETING. 7 p.m. Members will share highlights of the first Central American SNHS field trip, birding in Costa Rica earlier this year. Visitors welcome. Weymouth Woods Auditorium, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167 or www.sandhillsnature.org.

Tuesday, May 21 WORKSHOP. 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. Debby Irving will hold a workshop on “Leveling the Playing Field: Interrupting Patterns of Privilege.” Brownson Memorial Presbyterian Church, 330 S. May St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6252. Tickets: www. ticketmesandhills.com. CHAPTER MEETING. 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. The League of Women Voters of Moore County will hold its chapter meeting and luncheon. The program presentation is “Water in the Sandhills: Issues and Solutions.” Cost: $15, advance reservation required. Little River Golf Club, 500 Little River Farm Blvd., Carthage. Info: charlottegallagher@gmail.com. JAMES BOYD BOOK CLUB. 2 p.m. Spring Fever, by Mary Kay Andrews. Free and open to the public. Weymouth Center for Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave.,

Dining Guide

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Dining Guide

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MOORE COUNTY FARMERS MARKET

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

Saturday May 4th 9:30 – 11:30 “Kids in the Kitchen Planting Tomatoes” with Junior League of Moore County Tomatoes, Strawberries, Fruits, Veggies, Jams, Meats, Flowers & Plants, Crafts, Goat Cheese, Prepared Foods, Baked Goods

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Lunch

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Tuesday - Friday 11:00am - 2:30pm Saturday Closed for Lunch Sunday 11:30am - 2:30pm

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Dinner

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Tuesday - Sunday 5:00 pm - 9:30 pm Saturday 4:00 pm - 9:30 pm

Call 947-3752 or 690-9520 for more info.

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CA L E N DA R Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261 or weymouthcenter.org. LIT WITS. 5:30 p.m. Join the library’s teen book club for 11-15-year-olds. You can check out your copy of this month’s book, Miles Morales Spiderman by Jason Reynolds, at the library from May 1 through May 20. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net. SPEECH AND DEBATE SHOWCASE. 6 - 8:30 p.m. Pinecrest High School Speech and Debate National Qualifiers Showcase. Outdoors, weather permitting. Free and open to the public. Weymouth Center for Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261 or weymouthcenter.org. FARMERS ON THE GREEN DINNER. 6:30 p.m. North Carolina food is expertly prepared by Chef Mark Elliott in this special library fundraising event with representation by local farmers. Tickets are $80 and can be purchased at Tufts Archives or www. ticketmesandhills.com. Pinehurst Village Green, 1 Village Green Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642. TRIVIA NIGHT. 6:30 p.m. Test your knowledge of TV and movie theme songs and possibly win a $50 Visa gift card. The Sly Fox Pub, 795 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.theslyfoxpub.com.

Wednesday, May 22 BIKE TO SCHOOL. 7 a.m. Children attending Southern Pines Elementary School will meet up at the Southern Pines Public Library with park staff and will be escorted by staff and police to school. At the end of the school day kids can bike to the Campbell House Playground to compete in a Bike

Rodeo before parents pick them up at 3:30 p.m. Children participating must provide their own bike and helmet. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info and registration: (910) 692-7376 or www.southernpines.net/136/Recreation-Parks. Registration forms can also be picked up from the school. TUTORING. 1 - 2:30 p.m. Become a tutor for the Moore County Literary Council and learn how during this orientation. There will also be training sessions on May 28 and 30 from 1 - 4 p.m. Read Moore Center, 575 S.E. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-5954 or email amanda@mcliteracy.org. SERVICE CELEBRATION. 4:30 p.m. There will be a program thanking all of the people involved with helping St. Joseph of the Pines. At 5 p.m. there will be a picture of everyone who was born or worked at St. Joseph of the Pines Hospital. Refreshments will be served. Pine Knoll Campus, 590 Central Drive, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 246-3145 or carolina.eddy@sjp.org. ARTISTS MEETUP. 5:15 - 7:30 p.m. Kimberly Daniels Taws will discuss “The Art of Creative Journaling.” Limited seating. Light refreshments will be served. Free admission. The Country Bookshop, 140 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info and RSVP: (910) 692-2787 or www.mooreart.org/artistsmeetup. WRITER IN RESIDENCE READING. 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Tammy Wilson, author of Idol Talk: Women Writers on the Teenage Infatuations That Changed Their Lives. Free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. Weymouth Center for Arts & Humanities, 555 E.

Fabulous Finds in Fayetteville

Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261 or weymouthcenter.org. GAME NIGHT. The chefs will show off their culinary prowess by showcasing some of the most interesting game meats. Elliott’s on Linden, 905 Linden Road, Suite A, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 215-0775. MOVIE. 7 p.m. Asbury Park: Riot, Redemption, Rock ’N Roll. Sunrise Theater, 244 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3611 or www.sunrisetheater.com. CAROLINA PHILHARMONIC. 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. Featuring a symphonic tour of galactic music. Lee Auditorium, Pinecrest High School, 250 Voit Gilmore Lane, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 687-0287 or www. carolinaphil.org.

Thursday, May 23 FINE ARTS LECTURE. 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Lecturer Denise Baker will present: “Artists & Muses: Lee Krasner Pollock, Elaine de Kooning and Georgia O’Keeffe.” Cost: $15/Weymouth members; $20/non-members. Tickets available at the Campbell House. Weymouth Center for Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2787 or www.weymouthcenter.org.

Friday, May 24 THE ROOSTER’S WIFE. 6:46 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. Yarn, with Ashley Heath. Poplar Knight Spot, 114 Knight St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-7502 or www.theroosterswife.org. Tickets: ticketmesandhills.com.

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May 2019i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

CA L E N DA R MOVIE IN THE PARK. 8 p.m. Come and see the movie Sherlock Gnomes. Concessions will be available for purchase. Don’t forget to bring your blanket or chair. Downtown Park, 145 S.E. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376 or www.southernpines.net/136/ Recreation-Parks.

Monday, May 27

Friday, May 24 — Sunday, May 26

Tuesday, May 28

PIG ROAST. Join us for the annual kick-off the summer pig roast with traditional Carolina-style barbecue and all the fixings. Cost: $18.50 per person; $9.75 for kids 12 and under. The Sly Fox Pub, 795 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.theslyfoxpub.com.

SANDHILLS MOTORING FESTIVAL. 5 - 9 p.m. Car enthusiasts will love this car show. The festival will continue on Saturday, May 25 from 4 - 7 p.m. and culminate with the “Concours in the Village” on Sunday, May 26 from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. The car shows are free and open to the public. Village of Pinehurst, 1 Village Green Road W., Pinehurst. Info: (910) 315-2918.

Saturday, May 25 FOOD TRUCK. 5:30 p.m. One Nine Drive Food Truck. Southern Pines Brewing Company, 565 Air Tool Drive, Suite E, Southern Pines. Info: www.southernpinesbrewing.com.

Sunday, May 26 MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT. 2 p.m. The Moore County Concert Band will perform its annual concert. This event is free and open to the public. Grand Ballroom, Carolina Hotel, 80 Carolina Vista Drive, Pinehurst.

MUSICIANS JAM SESSION. 6 - 9 p.m. Bring your instrument and beverage or just come and enjoy the music. Free and open to the public. Weymouth Center for Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261 or weymouthcenter.org.

Wednesday, May 29 SIP AND PAINT WITH JANE. 5–7 p.m. Join local artist Jane Casnellie for a fun painting class suitable for all levels, including beginners. No experience necessary and all materials included as well as your wine. Take home your own masterpiece. Cost: $35. Hollyhocks Art Gallery, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 639-4823 or www.janecasnellie.com. N.C. SYMPHONY. 8 - 10 p.m. The warmth and rejuvenation of spring comes alive with music. Tickets are available at the door but may be purchased at the Campbell House in Southern Pines up to two weeks prior to the concert. Lee Auditorium at Pinecrest High School, 250 Voit Gilmore Lane, Southern Pines. Info: (877) 627-6724 or www.ncsymphony.org.

KIDS’ MOVIE. 2:30 p.m. A free movie featuring everyone’s favorite ninja building toys. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

ROCK THE CRADLE CONCERT. 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. This is the premier of the 2019 Rock the Cradle Summer Concert Series and will feature Divine Past 9. No outside food or drink. Bring your own chairs or blankets. Pinehurst Resort, 80 Carolina Vista Drive, Pinehurst. Info: (855) 235-8507 or www.pinehurst.com. THE ROOSTER’S WIFE. 6:46 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. The Allen Boys and the Steel Wheels. Cost: $25/members; $30/non-members. Poplar Knight Spot, 114 Knight St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-7502 or www.theroosterswife.org. Tickets: ticketmesandhills.com.

THE ROOSTER’S WIFE. 6:46 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tim Carter Band. Cost: $10/ members; $15/non-members. Poplar Knight Spot, 114 Knight St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-7502 or www. theroosterswife.org. Tickets: ticketmesandhills.com.

PERSONAL STORYTELLING EVENT 7:30 - 9 p.m. The Time Of My Life brings personal storytelling (like The Moth) to the Sandhills. Help us celebrate what it means to be human. Beer, wine and snacks will be available. Cost is $10. Thyme & Place Café, 155 Hall Ave., Southern Pines.

Monday, June 3 LITERARY LUNCHEON. 12 p.m. Michelle Gable, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, will be speaking about her new novel, The Summer I Met Jack. This event is free and open to the

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THEATRE SHOW. Sandhills Repertory Theatre presents Gershwin on Broadway with an all-Broadway and New York City cast. We are bringing back Sandhills favorites from the Andrew Lloyd Webber show, Gay Willis and Michael Pizzi. This show is filled with music, narration of the Gershwins’ lives, and brilliant dancing. Tickets: $35/ general admission; $32 senior/military/Moore County active teachers; $20/students 18 and under and can be purchased at www.sandhillsrep.org or at the Given Library and Country Bookshop. Info: sandhillsbroadway@gmail.com or www.sandhillsrep.org.

WEEKLY EVENTS Mondays INDOOR WALKING. 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. Improve balance, blood pressure and maintain healthy bones with one of the best methods of exercise. Classes are held at the same time Monday through Friday. Ages 55 and up. Cost for six months: $15/resident; $30/non-resident. Southern Pines Recreation Center, 210 Memorial Park Ct., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

MASTER GARDENER TRAINING. 6 - 8 p.m. Receive a high level of training in all aspects of horticulture. Training fee is $85 for those accepted into the program. Moore County Agricultural Center, 707 Pinehurst Ave., Carthage. Info: (910) 947-3188.

UPCOMING EVENTS Saturday, June 1

Summertime is Shed Time!

Friday, June 7

Thursday, May 30

DISCOVERY HIKE. 3 p.m. Join naturalist, Tayt Stafford, for a 2-mile hike and hear frogs croak, see birds fly and maybe even flip some logs. Free and open to the public. Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 6922167 or www.ncparks.gov.

public. Hosted by The Given Memorial Library and Tufts Archives along with The Country Bookshop. Evergreen Music Room, Holly Inn, 155 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

MASTER GARDENER HELP LINE. 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. If you have a garden problem, a garden pest, a question, or if you want help deciding on plant choices, call the Moore County Agriculture Cooperative Extension Office. Knowledgeable Master Gardener Volunteers will research the answers for you. The help line is available Monday through Friday and goes through October 31. Walk-in consultations are available during the same hours at the Agricultural Center, 707 Pinehurst Ave., Carthage. Info: (910) 947-3188. WORKOUTS. 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to get their workout on. Cost for six months:

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It’s why I’m here. Dereda Porter, Agent 355 Pinehurst Ave Southern Pines, NC 28387 Bus: 910-692-1722 dereda@dereda.com Mon-Fri 8:30am to 5:30pm Evenings & Weekends by Appointment

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910.212.2722 132

May 2019i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

CA L E N DA R $15/resident; $30/non-resident. The gym is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info and registration: (910) 692-7376.

Tuesdays BABY BUNNIES STORYTIME. 10:30 and 11 a.m. (two sessions) This story time, reserved for ages birth to 24 months, will engage parents and children in early literacy brain-building practices. Dates this month are May 7, 14 and 21. Programs are limited to 25 children and their accompanying adult per session. Parents or caregivers must check in to story time sessions at the circulation desk up to an hour before the start time of each session with their valid SPPL full or limited access card. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net. TAI CHI FOR HEALTH. 10–11:30 a.m. Practice this flowing Eastern exercise with instructor Rich Martin. Cost per class: $15/member; $17/non-member. Monthly rates available. No refunds or transfers. Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Fayetteville. Info and registration: (910) 486-0221. TABLE TENNIS. 7 - 9 p.m. Enjoy playing this exciting game every Tuesday. Cost for six months is $15 for residents of Southern Pines and $30 for non-residents. For adults 55 and older. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

Wednesdays TAP CLASS. 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. For adults 55 and older. All levels welcome. Cost per class: $15/resident; $30/ non-resident. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info and registration: (910) 692-7376. STRETCH AND MOVE DANCE CLASS. 1- 2 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Enjoy gentle, low impact dancing to R&B and inspirational music. Cost per class: $15/resident; $30/non-resident. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info and registration: (910) 692-7376. YOGA IN THE GARDEN. 6 - 7 p.m. Improve flexibility, build strength, ease tension and relax through posture and breathing techniques for beginners and experts alike. Free for CFBG and YMCA members, $5/ non-members. Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Fayetteville. Info and registration: (910) 486-0221, ext. 36 or www.capefearbg.org. (Must register one day prior). Email questions to mzimmerman@ capefearbg.org.

CONTRACT BRIDGE. 1 - 4:30 p.m. A card game played by four people in two partnerships, in which “trump” is determined by bidding. Ages 55 and up. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

summer for interactive games, each week a new one that will provide challenges for kids, teens and adults to enjoy: Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

READ TO YOUR BUNNY PRESCHOOL STORYTIME. 3:30 - 4 p.m. Especially for children ages 2–5, this story time focuses on stories, songs and fun, with a special emphasis on activities that build language and socialization skills to prepare for kindergarten. Dates this month are May 1, 8, 15 and 22. Stay for playtime. This event is limited to 25 children and their accompanying adult per session. Parents or caregivers must check in to story time sessions at the circulation desk up to an hour before the start time of each session with their valid SPPL full or limited access card. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235.

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

FARM TO TABLE. Join Sandhills Farm to Table Coop by ordering a subscription of local produce to support our local farmers. Info: (910) 722-1623 or www. sandhillsfarm2table.com.

Thursdays GIVEN STORY TIME. 10:30–11:30 a.m. For ages 3 - 5. Wonderful volunteers read to children, and everyone makes a craft. Free and open to the public. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-6022. MAHJONG (Chinese version). 1 – 3 p.m. A game played by four people involving skill, strategy and calculation. Ages 55 and up. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

CONTRACT BRIDGE. 1–4:30 p.m. A card game played by four people in two partnerships, in which “trump” is determined by bidding. Ages 55 and up. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. JAZZY FRIDAYS. 6–10 p.m. Enjoy a bottle of wine and dancing with friends under the tent with live jazz music. Cost: $15/person. Must be 21 years of age or older. Reservations and pre-payment recommended for parties of eight or more. Soda, water and award-winning wines available for purchase. Food vendor on site. No outside beverages (alcoholic or non-alcoholic), coolers, picnic baskets or cooking devices permitted on premises. Birthday cakes, cheese trays and small items are acceptable. Anyone bringing in outside alcohol will be asked to leave with no refund. Cypress Bend Vineyards, 21904 Riverton Road, Wagram. Info: (910) 369-0411 or www. cypressbendvineyards.com.

PineNeedler Answers from page 141

CHESS. 1 – 3 p.m. All levels of players welcome. You need a chess set to participate. Ages 55 and up. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

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YOGA IN THE GARDEN. 6 - 7 p.m. Bring a yoga mat, water bottle and open mind to enjoy this all-level class to improve flexibility, build strength and relax. Cost per class: Free/member; $10/non-member per session or $30 for four classes. Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Fayetteville. Info and registration: (910) 486-0221. ZOOPENDOUS SHOW CHORUS. 7 p.m. Are you a woman who likes to sing? Zoopendous Show Chorus is a 501(c)3 non-profit women’s chorus singing acapella barbershop harmony. It’s not your grandpa’s barbershop! Come check us out at a rehearsal in the Dudley Center directly behind West End Presbyterian Church, 275 Knox Lane, West End. Info: (910) 725-9376 or Zoopendous Show Chorus on Facebook. FARM TO TABLE. Join Sandhills Farm to Table Co-op by ordering a subscription of local produce to support our local farmers. Info: (910) 722-1623 or www.sandhillsfarm2table.com.

Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays HISTORY OF PINEHURST TOUR. 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. (1 hour and 15 minutes each). Also by request. Experience the Home of American Golf on a guided windshield tour with Kirk Tours and learn about Mr. Tufts and some of Pinehurst’s celebrity patrons. Cost: $20/person. Departs from Pinehurst Historic Theatre, 90 Cherokee Road. Info and registration: (910) 295-2257 or www.kirktours.com.

Fridays GAME FRIDAYS. Stop by the library throughout the

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Arts & Culture

COLORS & CANVAS & CLAY Ben Owen III - pottery Jessie Mackay - paintings May 3-31, 2019 - Campbell House Galleries

Opening Reception, Fri., May 3 - 6-8p

Upcoming Events MAY 2 “Not Just a Pretty Face: Portrait Painters” LECTURE By Ellen Burke, 5:30p, Weymouth Center

Reservations Required - 910-692-2787

MAY 9-12 “Souvenir” JUDSON Based on life of Florence Foster Jenkins THEATRE Hannah Center Theater at The O’Neal School

MAY 22 Artists Meetup - “The Art of Creative Journaling” MEETUP 5:15-7:30p, The Country Bookshop

Reservations required - 910-692-2787

MAY 23 “Artists & Muses: Pollock, de Kooning & O’Keeffe”

LECTURE By Denise Drum Baker, 5:30p, Weymouth Center

Reservations Required - 910-692-2787

MAY 24-28 ARTour to Spoleto Festival USA - Charleston, SC ARTOUR Reservations Required - 910-692-2787

Become an Arts Council member today. It’s a great way to help our community flourish. Join now at MooreArt.org or call us at 910.692.ARTS (2787)

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May 2019 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

9 1 0 -9 4 4 -3979

Gallery • Studios • Classes Ink Party - Celebrating Alcohol Inks and Artists Exhibit Open May 3-23 Opening Reception: Friday, May 3 • 4:30-6:30pm

Art Appreciate Exhibit Open June 2-27

Opening Reception: Sunday, June 2 • 5:00-7:00pm Judge Jean Kolb Grunewald • www.artbyjean.com • Entry Open to Full and Associate Members •

Gallery Hours: Monday - Saturday 12-3pm DRAWING DRAWING BASICS II - PENCIL Laureen Kirk - May 22-23 (W/Th) 10-3

OIL & ACRYLIC OIL PAINTING WITH COURTNEY Courtney Herndon - May 15-16 (W/Th) 9-3:30 PAINTING NOCTURNES Harry Neely - May 20-21 (M/Tu) 10-3 and 6:30-8 COLORED PENCIL & PASTEL ANIMALS, BIRDS, OR PEOPLE WORKING SHAPE TO SHAPE - PASTEL Betty Hendrix - May 8 (W) 10-3

WORKSHOP CAPTURING LUMINOSITY IN A PAINTING Acrylic, Watercolor, & Oil Painting Workshop with Betty Car May 29, 30, 31

129 Exchange Street in Aberdeen, NC • www.artistleague.org • artistleague@windstream.net

LEE AUDITORIUM, SOUTHERN PINES

Arts & Culture

THANK YOU THE ROTARY OF PINEHURST…

…would like to thank its Sponsors, Members of the Community and fellow Rotarians for their support of the Rotary Club of Pinehurst and its Charitable Foundation. The contributions made to the Pancake Breakfast, (Special thanks to Ron & Michelle Jackson, major sponsors of the Pancake Breakfast for the past 3 years), the Holly Arts Booth, the auction and donations made by individual Rotarians provided funding for the following endowments: Shelter Box: Donation to the Guatemala Volcano Relief Fund Pancake Breakfast: Donation to the Marine Corps League Happy Feet: In cooperation with the Sandhills Boy’s and Girl’s Club, providing a new pair of shoes for students to begin school. Dictionary Multi Rotary 4 Club Project: Providing dictionaries for students in Moore County 3rd grade. RUSH: Rotarians United to Stop Hunger – Donations to local food banks. RYLA: Rotary Youth Leadership Academy Middle School Debates Program: Co-Sponsor with the English-Speaking Union.

Light Classics TUES, MAY 29 | 8PM

•

Wesley Schulz, conductor

The warmth and rejuvenation of spring come alive in selections from Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony and Sketches from Pinehurst, by North Carolina native and NCS veteran Terry Mizesko—plus music celebrating nature by Copland, Mendelssohn, and more!

Tickets start at just $18!* ncsymphony.org 877.627.6724 *Price does not include tax.

Tickets also available at:

Campbell House | 482 E. Connecticut Avenue The Country Bookshop | 140 NW Broad Street Tufts Archives | 150 Cherokee Road

Monetary Awards for high achieving students at Sandhills Community College.

Sponsorship of a Rotoract Club at Sandhills Community College and an Interact Club at Sandhills Classical Christian School Habitat Build: Participated in building a home for Habitat for Humanity Grant to Guatemala Literacy Grant to Polio Plus; the Rotary International Polio Eradication Project Grant to the Moore Free Clinic Grant to Moore County Literacy Council Grant to the Mira Foundation Grant to the First Tee, Sandhills Grant to Habitat for Humanity Grant to Prancing Horse Therapeutic Riding Academy

Model Rotarians, Bob Desjardins and Paul Bride provided substantial bequests to the Pinehurst Rotary Club’s Charitable Foundation. The Desjardins’ and Bride’s Memorial Funds will be used to continue the Foundation’s benevolent work in the local community. To donate or become a sponsor of the Pinehurst Rotary Club’s Charitable Foundation 501(c) (3), contact Ed Biebrich, Treasurer at PO Box 388, Pinehurst, NC 28370. Your donation will assist the Rotary of Pinehurst in continuing its compassionate work.

If you believe in “Service Above Self”, Come Join Us! Every Tuesday at Noon, Pinehurst Country Club www.rotaryclubofpinehurst.org

135

SandhillSeen

Wanda Banks, Ellen Vidovitch

Angie Grantham, Marie-Andre Rowland, Andrea Kaczorowski, Lisa Oldroyd, Staci Smith

Episcopal Day School Auction Boots & Bling March 3, 2019 Photographs by London Gessner

Ashly Graham, Nicole Droz, Heather Jackson Lucy & Greg Noble, David & Elizabeth Malan

Corina & Julia Albert

Ty & Jill Connett, Laura & Jeff Morgan

Mitch Lancaster, Adam Chalker

Erin Lancaster, Michelle Bailey

136

Tom Brereton, Tammi & Peter Hamm

Cricket & Mary Gray Crickmore

Selah & Angie Scott

Hershell & Christal Cole

Brynna & Robert Matzelle

May 2019 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

SandhillSeen

Joyce Pilewski, Margi Cross, Nancy Mack, Tina Arno, Gail Clakeley

Prancing Horse Barn Dance Fair Barn April 11, 2019

Photographs by Corinne and George Walls Sue Sedlak, Daine Cray

Bill & Anne Hauser

David & Sandra Greiner

Maggie & Alan Langley, Jo Ann Sluder

Paul Brennan, Judi Avist

Wendy & Brian Benjamin

Susan Lockley, Alicia Strother, Melinda Handke

John & Val Roberts

137

SandhillSeen

Rita Dinapoli, Julie Broome, Lorie Cox

Art in Bloom Arts Council of Moore County March 29, 2019

Photographs by Corrine and George Walls Richard & Donna Verrilli

Ellen Hailton, Patti Dellovade

Victoria Adkins, Linda Lindsey

Mary Ann & Dick McCrary

Bob & Barbara Gault

Marilyn Grube, Leslie Habets

Rita Menzies, Peter & Anne Holmes

Elaine & Dennis Porzio, Hartley Fitts

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May 2019 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

SandhillSeen

Mike Asbury, Cassidy Benjamin

Habitat Gala March 30, 2019

Photographs by Lenora and Faye Dasen

Kevin & Chelsea Krysty Katrina & Tom Denza

Jennifer Carlson, Karen Dulmage, Chelsea Chappell, Raquel Borras Theresa Nguyen, Kathryn Streahle, Megan Wagner

Sarah & Brandon Bearden

Kelly & Mike McNeill, Charlie Powers

Carolyn & Bill Clemons, Linda & Jim Webb, Helen & Burt Ozment

John & Mary Murrill Oakes Sherry & Tony Price

Nicole Johnson, Brad & Amy Albert

Alan Quirion, Ro Kachel

139

Join us to celebrate women’s golf and kick off U.S. Senior Women’s Open week with a viewing of The Founders film! Monday, May 13 Sunrise Theater, 250 NW Broad Street, Southern Pines, N.C. Doors Open at 4:30 p.m., Film Screening at 5 p.m. Reception to follow at The Pilot, 145 W Pennsylvania Avenue Visit usseniorwomensopen.com for details and tickets.

140

May 2019 i�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

May PineNeedler MOM RULES ! By Mart Dickerson

Across Mom Rules!

1. Exactly, three DOWN "words", 15 14 ACROSS (one is a letter) 1. Exactly, three “words”, (one is 1. After-bath powder a letter) 18 17 Face-to-face exam 5. Gets ready, for2.short 5. Gets ready, for short 3. Teen dilemma 10. “Scream” star 20 21 10.Campbell "Scream" star4. Movie houses 14. Bow, in a garden, i.e. 5. Mexican beaches Campbell 23 15. Allowed 6. Harshness 14. Bow, in a garden, i.e. 16. Jewish month 7. Beige color 25 26 27 28 29 17. Bowling alley 8. Dock 15. Allowed 18. Acquiesce 9. “Hurry up!”, 3 wds 34 33 16. Jewish month10. Native American from 19. Workbench attachment 20. Mom’s dinner directive Southwest 17. Bowling alley11. Blue-pencil 37 36 23. Rip 24. “___ Baby18. Baby” (Linda 12. Bouquet holder Acquiesce Ronstadt hit) 40 39 13. Poet’s before 19.wind Workbench attachment 25. Seeds, in the 21. More than want 42 43 28. Neville’s, O’Donnell’s, 22. Apple’s apple, e.g. 20.Drum Mom's The Bell Tree, and dinner directive 25. Mom’s best expression Quill i.e. 45 46 23. Rip 26. Seasoned broth and rice dish, 33. Bogged down (var.) 34. Salk’s conquest 24. "___ Baby Baby" 47 48 49 50 27. The fourth or lowest deck 35. Big wine holder (Linda Ronstadt hit) 28. Plantain lily 36. Misfortunes 55 54 29. IPAs, e.g. 37. Perplex 25. Seeds, in the wind 30. Throat dangler 38. Money over seas 58 57 28. Neville's, ODonnell'ss, 31. Tropical, edible roots 39. ___-tzu 32. Pebble 40. Law schoolThe class Bell Tree, Drum and 61 60 34. “Up ____scope!” Quilli.e.ie 41. Tower for cables, or guiding 37. Divisions of a large city aviators 33. Bogged down38. Mascara 42. Extreme happiness 40. Forum wear 44. “The magic34. word” Salk's conquest 41. “Guilty,” e.g. 45. Mom’s cheer “Give it ___!”, 10. Native american from Campus 35. Big wine holder 2 wds 43. Peacock neck57. feather, and is building raised when irked southwest 46. Fall (over) 58. Large group, as bees 36. Misfortunes 44. Annoy 47. Mom’s answer to “Why?”, 11. Blue-pencil 4 wds 46. Sorta 59. Icelandic epic 37. Perplex 54. Hunt for 47. Den denizen 12. Bouquet holder 38. Money over seas 55. Flash 48. Congers 60. Gaelic language 13. Poet's before 56. Breakfast area 49. Pig food 61. Asparagus unit 39. ___-tzu 57. Campus building 50. Cork’s country 21. More than want Like Santa's cheeks 58. Large group, bees school class 51. Birdbrain, or62. the bird 40.as Law 59. Icelandic epic 52. Lays down the lawn 22. Apple's apple, e.g. 41. Tower for cables,or 60. Gaelic language 53. Alrighty, then 25. Mom's best expression aviators 54. “___ Cried” Down 61. Asparagusguiding unit (1962 hit) 62. Like Santa’s cheeks 1. After-bath powder 26. Seasoned broth and 42. Extreme happiness

9 5 4 6 3

16 19 22 24

35 38 41 44

51 56 59 62

37. Divisions of a large city 38. Mascara 40. Forum wear

2 43. Peacock 1 3neck feather, and is raised when irked 5 44. Annoy 41. "Guilty," e.g.

46. Sorta

3. Teen dilemma Sudoku:

27. The fourth or lowest 1 8 4 deck

48. Congers

row, every column and 5. every Mexican beaches 3x3 box contain the numbers 1-9.

28. Plantain 3 lily 8

50. 9 Cork's 7 country

45. Mom's cheer "Give it ___!", 2 wds

54.on Hunt Puzzle answers pagefor 133

47. Den denizen

2. Face-to-face exam

47. Mom's answer to "Why?", 4 wds

rice dish, (var.)

44. "The magic word"

46. Fall (over)

Fill in houses the grid so every 4. Movie

6. Harshness

7. Beige color 8. Dock

Mart Dickerson lives in Southern Pines and welcomes 55. Flash 9. be suggestions from her fellow puzzle masters. She can "Hurry up!", 3 wds 56. Breakfast area reached at gdickerson@nc.rr.com.

29. IPAs, e.g.

30. Throat dangler

1 roots 31. Tropical, edible 32. Pebble 34. "Up ____scope!"

49. Pig food

51. Birdbrain, or the bird

7 2 4 Alrighty, 8 then 53.

52. Lays down the lawn 54. "___ Cried" (1962 hit)

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MAY EVENTS 5/1 LADIES WINE OUT!

Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities

5/2 Mira Foundation 10th Anniversary Gala Fordham at Belle Meade

Cinco De Mayo Trivia Night at R.Riveter R.Riveter

Compton and Newberry at The Cameo Cameo Art House Theatre

5/5 Sisters of Slide with Rory Block & Cindy Cashdollar

GivenTufts and Elliott’s on Linden present:

Farmers on the Green A Taste of North Carolina

the Rooster's Wife

5/9 Compton and Newberry the Rooster's Wife

5/11 Pure Barre Donation Class to benefit Wallace Beeson Foundation

Tuesday, May 21st

Pinehurst Brewery

5/12 Fish Harmonics, The East Pointers the Rooster's Wife

5/16 Open Mic with The Parsons the Rooster's Wife

5/18 Polo in the Pines

NC based Farm-to-Table meal on the Pinehurst Village Green at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets $80 (includes tax) Cash Bar

Buchan Field

5/19 Bombadil, India Ramey opens the Rooster's Wife

5/20 Debby Irving Lecture & Discussion Brownson Memorial Presbyterian Church

The food will be donated by Elliott’s on Linden. All proceeds go to GivenTufts

5/21 Debby Irving Workshop & Discussion Brownson Memorial Presbyterian Church

Farmers on the Green

The Village Green at Pinehurst Tufts Memorial Park

5/26 The Allen Boys, the Steel Wheels the Rooster's Wife

5/29 Tim Carter Band the Rooster's Wife

910.215.0775

Available at Tufts Archives or Ticket Me Sandhills: ticketmesandhills.com Questions: Call 910.295.3642

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May 2019 i�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

T H E A C C I D E N TA L A S T R O L O G E R

Stardust Memories

Forget the Vegas floor show and look to the skies for a spectacle you’ll never forget By Astrid Stellanova

If you’re a fan of the fantastic, find a good spot for

sky-watching around May 4–6 when the Eta Aquarids put on a show that will rival the Bellagio’s dancing fountains to dazzle us. This is one of the year’s best meteor showers. A waxing moon will mean low illumination, offering a good gander at falling stars galore. Star Gazers, try not to fall off your fishing stool when shooting stars reflect off the pond and fish jump right outta the water. If ya’ll should miss out, pass out or fall out, you get a second chance for gawking at something be-yoo-teefull next month when the Arietids occur on June 7. Taurus (April 20–May 20) There’s you, bullish and charged up, and then there’s everybody else in the room fighting for the leftover oxygen. You have big appetites, needs and dreams. If you weren’t so dadgum full of life force, it would be tempting to just lure your wild self into a padded room, lock the door and keep walking. But who can walk away? Boring you ain’t. Amazing you are, when you harness all that star power for the good. If you don’t find the discipline, you exhaust friends and confound enemies. Gemini (May 21–June 20) You can’t motivate some people, even if you gave them a job in a MoonPie factory licking marshmallow crème off spoons. Motivating somebody else in your life just ain’t your job, Sugar, but motivating yourself, is. Cancer (June 21–July 22) Third time’s the charm, and, Honey, you can bet your stars and garters you are gonna succeed. If you can tap, yodel or clog, or have a dog who can, get yourself to Nashville. The stars are in your favor. Leo (July 23–August 22) The enemy of your enemy ain’t necessarily your friend, Honey Child. You trusted a conniving devil, and you found out you don’t like sharing the same lumpy bed, do you? Kick ’em out and put ’em in your past. Virgo (August 23–September 22) Your secret desire may be to play Cher in a tribute band. Whether that happens or not, you will at least be able to find both an open mic and the courage to read that poem you wrote. Sometimes you gotta be you. Libra (September 23–October 22) Don’t just use your head as a hat rack. Modesty ain’t working right now. Put your good brain to use, Honey, and notice how opportunity is right smack dab in front of you. It’s your turn to show ’em what you got!

Scorpio (October 23–November 21) You’ve been so dang disconnected you don’t even know when to shout Bingo. Speak up, Sugar! Everything is pointing to the fact that you need to act. If you do, you avert a big old problem, and if you don’t, you won’t. Sagittarius (November 22–December 21) You got an epic surprise. Someone shocked you silly and sucked the sugar right out of your cheeks. In this case, it is plain wonderful to be wrong. You counted this someone out, but found they counted for something. Capricorn (December 22–January 19) Your mouth was wide as Texas but nothing came out. Stage fright, Sugar? Looks like it. Practice speaking up to somebody who gets your goat until the words comes naturally. Meantime, get yourself a good calming mantra. Aquarius (January 20–February 18) You buttered their butt and tore it up like a stale biscuit. Feel better? Vengeance was yours, and now you can mark that fool off the list. Focus on your better angels, not the avenging ones. Pisces (February 19–March 20) Sugar, you love who you love, and you just despise everybody else. Except, you don’t exactly say that. In the interest of world peace, end a grudge you’ve been nursing since fifth grade. Have some gumption. Aries (March 21–April 19) Lordamercy, watching Aries Star Children gets my eyebrows raised up so high my hairline has to beg for space. Let up on the ambition, and pick up on downshifting. You ain’t got to be first all the dang time. PS For years, Astrid Stellanova owned and operated Curl Up and Dye Beauty Salon in the boondocks of North Carolina until arthritic fingers and her popular astrological readings provoked a new career path.

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SOUTHWORDS

Reprieve at the Ryder Cup

By Jim Moriarty

When the United States

Senior Women’s Open begins at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club this month, I’m going to be pulling hard for Helen Alfredsson. The Swedish star has had a stellar LPGA career statistically similar to our local major champion, Donna Andrews. In fact, Alfredsson was the defending champion in the Nabisco Dinah Shore the year Andrews won it. Reporters aren’t supposed to have a rooting interest in such things, but I do. And there’s a reason why.

Eons ago I was taking Alfredsson’s portrait for Golf Digest. In those days Helen had a reputation for running hot on the golf course. She was also into yoga. The conceit of the photograph was simple enough. She was to pose seated on a box draped in black cloth against a black background. With the help of a couple of clear tubes, some talcum powder and a bit of forced air, Alfredsson would appear to be floating in air, sitting in the lotus position in peaceful meditation, with smoke coming out of her ears. What could go wrong? Me. What started innocently enough turned out to be, without exception, the worst day of my 35 years in golf. In order to make the photo look just right, it was necessary to hide the plastic tubes behind Helen’s ears. For some reason, I lit on the notion of Silly Putty. (Moms and dads, don’t try this at home.) I tested it on myself. Put a wad behind

144

each ear. Anchored the tubes. Squeezed the talcum powder. Voilá. It worked. I rented a conference room. Got all set up. Helen arrived. She got in position. I secured the tubes behind her ears, hidden in her lovely, long, strawberry blonde hair. As it turned out, there was one little problem I hadn’t taken into account. The warmth of her skin and the heat of the modeling lights melted the Silly Putty. It oozed into that gorgeous hair. There was no getting it out. The picture was terrific. Helen, not so much. When it became apparent what I’d done, I turned as pale as skim milk. She left in tears. We called the Silly Putty company and asked them what to do. Surely, rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide, something, would get the damn stuff out. Nope, they said. The only thing you can do is cut it out. Oh, and they advised against doing it in the first place. Now, you can’t write about golfers for 35 years without pissing off a few, but I’d never, ever, physically harmed one before. Awful doesn’t begin to describe how terrible I felt. The magazine sent her flowers. I sent her flowers. We offered to pay for a hairstylist. I wrote her a letter apologizing. No matter. Given what I’d so foolishly done, any gesture seemed woefully inadequate. Well, months passed, maybe a year or two, before I saw Helen again. It was at the Ryder Cup at The Country Club. I was in Boston taking pictures for Golf Digest. Unknown to me, Helen was also there doing color commentary — if memory serves — for Swedish radio. The media center was located in the curling rink. It was early in the week. I was coming out of the building and who should I see walking straight toward me but Helen Alfredsson. I looked at her. She looked me. I didn’t know if she’d cuss me or walk right past me, but I knew I had to say something to her. Before I could get a single word out of my mouth, Helen came straight up, threw her arms around me and gave me a big hug. Since that moment, Helen Alfredsson has been my all-time favorite professional golfer. There isn’t even a close second. PS

May 2019 i�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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