May PineStraw 2023

Puppy Pals is a family fun action-packed show where adopted and rescued dogs perform spectacular stunts and breathtaking feats. Watch as they lead the puppies and audience through challenging and comical tricks as the pooches show everyone who is really boss! Full of surprises and laugh-out-loud canine comedy this performance appeals to children and adults.

These amazing homeless-to-high flying rescue dogs are fan favorites and have performed for millions.

Puppy Pals’ unique and creative style earned them a top quarterfinal spot on Season 15 of America’s Got Talent. The show features the world’s most elite dogs that will captivate the audience with their incredible athleticism, speed and aerodynamics!

MONDAY, MAY 1, 2023

OsteoStrong is a unique place where you can go to improve your overall health by focusing on the one thing we all have in common: a skeletal system. At the OsteoStrong Pinehurst Center, we will work with you to help you experience a positive change to your skeletal system. Results are visible as you improve your bone density, muscular strength, balance, and overall health!

MONDAY, MAY 1, 2023 CALL

OsteoStrong is a unique place where you can go to improve your overall health by focusing on the one thing we all have in common: a skeletal system. At the OsteoStrong Pinehurst Center, we will work with you to help you experience a positive change to your skeletal system. Results are visible as you improve your bone density, muscular strength, balance, and overall health!

OsteoStrong the we are

WHO

WHO CAN BENEFIT?

• Anyone with Osteopenia or Osteoporosis

• Anyone with Osteopenia or Osteoporosis

• Pre and Post-Menopausal women

• Pre and Post-Menopausal women

• Anyone resistant to pharmaceutical treatment

• Anyone resistant to pharmaceutical treatment

• Deconditioned patients needing strength and balance training

• Deconditioned patients needing strength and balance training

• Anyone with balance and fall risk

• Anyone with balance and fall risk

• Individuals experiencing chronic pain or poor posture

• Individuals experiencing chronic pain or poor posture

• Anyone in need of post-physical therapy strengthening

• Anyone in need of post-physical therapy strengthening

910.692.6000

910.692.6000

Moore County’s Most Trusted Real Estate Team!

SEVEN LAKES WEST • $60,000

113 BANBRIDGE DRIVE

Remarkable opportunity to own a triple golf front lot in sought-after 7LW community.

PINEHURST •$132,000

48 POMEROY DRIVE

Nice golf front lot situated between the 2nd green and 3rd hole of the Holly course in Pinewild CC.

SEVEN LAKES NORTH• $52,000

TBD FIRETREE LANE

Large lot nicely situated in 7LN location.

PINEHURST • $115,000

45 RIDGELAND STREET

Beautiful lot in gated community of Forest Creek. Lot has been cleared and is located in a cul-de-sac that offers tons of privacy.

JACKSON SPRINGS •$499,900

32 WOODLAND CIRCLE

New golf front construction of a 4 BR / 3 BA home in desirable Foxfire Village East. Situated on a corner lot off the 11th tee of the Foxfire Resort and Country Club West Course.

PINEHURST • $449,000

815 BURNING TREE ROAD

This beautiful, 3 BR / 2 BA brick home in the popular Lake Pinehurst area has light, open and split design with nicely updated bathrooms and kitchen.

PINEHURST • $395,000

715 ST. ANDREWS DRIVE

A unique and charming, 2 BR / 2 BA golf front home nestled among the pines along the 15th fairway of Pinehurst course No. 5. This A-frame home offers beautiful views inside and out!

CARTHAGE • $430,000

522 ABBEY ROAD

Gorgeous, 3 BR / 3 BA home in the Fox Grove Community offers an open and inviting floorplan with lots of nice features!

SEVEN LAKES WEST • $30,000

169 JAMES DRIVE

This sloping corner lot on the water is only for access to the 1,000 acre spring fed Lake Auman with its marina, beach, and boat docks in the gated community of Seven Lakes West.

FOR OVER 20 YEARS!

Luxury Properties

Moore County’s Most Trusted Real Estate Team!

PINEHURST • $275,000

45 BECKETT RIDGE

Great, golf front lot in desirable and amenity rich, Fairwoods on 7!

PINEHURST • $298,000

TBD GRAHAM ROAD

Great corner lot in historic Old Town Pinehurst! It is just a few blocks from the heart of Village of Pinehurst with its quaint shops, pubs, and restaurants.

JACKSON SPRINGS •$212,000

168 SECOND WIND COURT

Picturesque lot located perfectly in a gated equestrian community. Offering a peaceful and serene setting amongst the towering pines!

PINEHURST • $859,500

110 HIGH POINT ROAD

Exquisite 4 BR / 3.5 BA custom brick home in a prime location. Beautifully remodeled with lots of high-end finishes and exquisite details.

CLARENDON GARDENS • $1,275,000

260 QUAIL RUN

Grand gated estate on 3.2 acres in beautiful location offering tons of privacy. Built in 1920, the 8 BR / 6.5 BA home has been beautifully restored – you have to see it to appreciate it!

PINEHURST • $785,000

24 GREYABBEY DRIVE

Gorgeous, 4 BR / 4BA brick home nestled on a beautifully landscaped corner cul-de-sac lot in the desirable, gated Pinewild community.

FOREST CREEK • $1,225,000

116 BROOKFIELD DRIVE

Beautiful newly constructed, 4 BR / 3.5 BA home with open living concept. Hardwood and tile floors throughout and featuring a great patio in back with beautiful brick fireplace, perfect for entertaining!

PINEHURST-OLD TOWN • $760,000

70 PAGE ROAD

Beautifully renovated, 3 BR / 2.5 BA home nestled on a great lot in the Pinehurst Historic Old Town District and just minutes away from the heart of the Village.

PINEHURST • $750,000

1 EVANS LANE

Tucked away in a hidden cul-de-sac in the Donald Ross area, this lovely one owner custom, 3 BR / 2 FULL BA / 2 HALF BA home offers a quiet, private lot and over 3700 square feet all on one story!

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

FEATURES

Browse Inventory, Get Pre-Approved, or Complete Paperwork

CURBSIDE PICK-UP & DELIVERY AVAILABLE FOR YOUR NEW CAR!

Check out our Advantage Plan that is guaranteed with every purchase.

PINEHURST TOYOTA ADVANTAGE PLAN

At Pinehurst Toyota, we’re more than just a dealership. We’re a family. Every time you step onto our lot, our goal is to make sure you are 100% satisfied with your visit, whether you’re looking to purchase a new ride, secure financing for that vehicle, have your current auto serviced, or buy genuine Toyota parts. You can count on our staff to make you the number-one priority. Interested in joining the family?

LIFETIME LIMITED POWERTRAIN WARRANTY

YEARS NO COST MAINTENANCE*

COMPLIMENTARY LOANERS

Now Available All-New 2023 Toyota Crown

Thanks to your support, we have won: Best of The Pines 2021 for the #1 Dealership Service Department. Schedule your appointment today to experience #1 Service

5 YEARS ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE*

OUR BEST PRICE DIFFERENCE**

COURTESY CAR WASH WITH EVERY SERVICE

100% CUSTOMER SATISFACTION GUARANTEE***

FABRIC FOR LIFE

Listening with gratitude

“What does a woman need to study medicine for?” her father, a judge, grumbled, dismissively.

“To heal,” was her steadfast reply.

Gudrun Marie Rueckert went on to care for countless women in Washington, D.C., not only as their OBGYN, but as their friend and “sister.”

When her own health failed in 1993 and she retired, her patients returned the caring with heartfelt missives: pages upon pages upon pages of laughter, tears and life’s lessons distilled.

Supreme Court Justices, housekeepers, Nobel Laureates, taxi drivers, diplomats, housewives, movie stars, artists, doctors, dancers, directors, lawyers, CEOs, queens — gave her their courage when Gudrun needed it most.

Today, my mother’s sweet voice joins those of her “sisters” to form the warp of a living blanket, and the souls I meet, the weft. It whispers:

She danced her dreams, lifted by art, music & hope, but another voice called...

MAGAZINE

Volume 19, No. 5

David Woronoff, Publisher david@thepilot.com

Andie Stuart Rose, Creative Director andiesouthernpines@gmail.com

Jim Moriarty, Editor jjmpinestraw@gmail.com

Miranda Glyder, Graphic Designer miranda@pinestrawmag.com

Alyssa Kennedy, Digital Art Director alyssamagazines@gmail.com

Emilee Phillips, Digital Content emilee@pinestrawmag.com

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Jim Dodson, Deborah Salomon

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

John Gessner, Laura L. Gingerich, Lolly Nazario, Tim Sayer

CONTRIBUTORS

Jenna Biter, Keith Borshak, Tom Bryant, Susan Campbell, Bill Case, Mallory Cash, Wiley Cash, Tony Cross, Brianna Rolfe Cunningham, Mart Dickerson, Bill Fields, Meridith Martens, Mary Novitsky, Lee Pace, Todd Pusser, Joyce Reehling, Scott Sheffield, Rose Shewey, Stephen E. Smith, Angie Tally, Kimberly Daniels Taws, Daniel Wallace, Ashley Walshe, Claudia Watson, Amberly Glitz Weber

ADVERTISING SALES

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

Samantha Cunningham, 910.693.2505

Kathy Desmond, 910.693.2515

Jessica Galloway, 910. 693.2498

Terry Hartsell, 910.693.2513 Erika Leap, 910.693.2514

ADVERTISING GRAPHIC DESIGN

Mechelle Butler, Scott Yancey

ADVERTISING COORDINATOR

Rebah Dolbow • pilotads@thepilot.com

PS

Henry Hogan, Finance Director 910.693.2497

Darlene Stark, Circulation Director 910.693.2488

THE STORE Est. 1936

Specializing in custom window treatments, pillows, bedding & more

910-483-2375

2706 Bragg Boulevard www.themillendstore.org

SUBSCRIPTIONS

910.693.2488

OWNERS

Jack Andrews, Frank Daniels III, Lee Dirks, David Woronoff In memoriam Frank Daniels Jr. 145 W. Pennsylvania Avenue, Southern Pines, NC 28387 www.pinestrawmag.com

“Love what you do.” And I do.

Babette Augustin, Owner

Gudrun Marie Rueckert in Weilburg, Germany 1942. May 9, 1924 - November 3, 1997

Your source for home decor textiles, unique drapery hardware & an inspiring wallpaper resource library

Have you lost that flossing feeling?

If so, please contact our office for an appointment with one of our hygiene team members. Cumulatively, they have over 100 years of experience in dental hygiene. They will help you regain that “flossing feeling!”

UNDER CONTRACT

$1,950,000

7 bed • 5 bath

Julia Lattarulo (910) 690-9716

Jennifer Nguyen (910) 585-2099

MLS 100352455

Nestled in the Village of Pinehurst, The Cottage Colony School House is steps away from shops & the Pinehurst Resort and golf courses. This beautiful, turn-key home has been renovated, remodeled, and is fully furnished!

$949,000

3 bed • 2.5 bath

Debbie Darby (910) 783-5193

MLS 100360852

Find this new, custom waterfront home on Lake Troy Douglas in McLendon Hills, a gated lake and equestrian community just minutes from Pinehurst!

$899,000

4 bed • 3.5 bath

Marie O’Brien (910) 528-5669

MLS 100371296

$750,000

3 bed • 3 bath

Linda Criswell (910) 783-7374

MLS 100372622

This all-brick home is located on a corner lot in a gated golf community. Find an enclosed rear porch, a large partially covered rear patio, mature landscaping, and a two-car garage.

$589,000

3 bed • 3 bath

Debbie Darby (910) 783-5193

MLS 100354707

You won’t believe the space in this Middleton Place townhome! It has a finished basement & an in-law suite. It includes landscaping & road maintenance. Enjoy the versatility this home offers

$470,000

4 bed • 3 bath

Bob Bannon (336) 420-6766

MLS 100375505

This home is located in the pristine, gated golf community of Pinewild CC featuring 48 holes, Lake Pinewild, and a picnic area. You’ll find this listing on a corner lot with a charming front porch.

$400,000

Linda Criswell (910) 783-7374

MLS 100363829

This rare offering of a golf-front lot is located in Fairwoods on 7, a premier couse of Pinehurst Country Club. Located at the end of Firestone Drive, there’s a gentle slope from front to back.

$355,000

3 bed • 2 bath

Debbie Darby (910) 783-5193

Callan Nagle (703) 303-8968

MLS 100377717

This charming, brick ranch is the perfect place for gatherings. This spacious lot is to be enjoyed by gardeners and entertainers alike. Less than half a mile to the boat ramp on Shadow Lake!

Ask

This stunningly modern home was professionally renovated from top-tobottom. Located on a quiet cul-de-sac, you’ll find a fully-fenced back yard, perfect for outdoor entertaining.

10 Kinbuck Court, Southern Pines

Lot 271 Hearthstone Road, Pinehurst

32 Ashley Court, Southern Pines

5 Onyx Lane, Pinehurst

224 Beths Point, West End

205 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst

32 Shadow Drive, Whispering Pines

55 McMichael Drive, Pinehurst

Cadillac Joe

While some of his dogwoods are long gone, the legend lives on

by Jim DoDsoN

As spring broke this year, I had a startling realization.

I may be turning into Cadillac Joe.

His real name was Joe Franks. Mr. Franks and his delightful wife, Ginny, and their two boys, Joe Jr. and Chuck, lived across the street in the old neighborhood where I grew up. I was good friends with the Franks boys. My mom was one of Ginny Franks’ closest chums.

Big Joe was a highly respected lawyer in town, though that’s not what made him something of a local legend.

Every spring, the Franks family lawn burst spectacularly into bloom with luscious beds of mature azalea bushes Joe had planted and groomed. During the peak blooming stage, usually around Easter, a constant stream of cars cruised slowly past his house just to take in the impressive floral show — rather like people do at Christmastime to look at over-the-top lighting displays. And thanks to several hundred pink and white dogwood trees that bloomed along the street just as the Franks’ yard exploded in color, Dogwood Drive lived up to its name, including a magnificent Cherokee Brave (pink) and Cherokee Princess (white) that proudly stood for more than half a century.

Over the years, our street — and the Franks house in particular — found their way into numerous newspaper feature sections and a host of top gardening magazines, including a couple big spreads in Southern Living magazine.

What made the show bigger than life was that most Sunday mornings throughout spring and summer, Big Joe Franks lov-

ingly washed or waxed his Cadillac in the Franks family driveway while playing the music of Frank Sinatra. His neighbors must have been fans of Ol’ Blue Eyes because nobody I know of ever complained. My mom even took to calling him Cadillac Joe. Looking back, I’m half convinced Cadillac Joe’s music is the reason I have a thing for Sinatra today.

“Dad sure loved that Cadillac and his azaleas,” Joe Jr. confirmed with a booming laugh when I tracked him down by phone. “And, of course, Sinatra. That was the music of his life. Waxing that Cadillac and growing those azaleas were his passions.”

Joe, the son, is something of a legend, too. He grew up to become a beloved athletic trainer and successful men’s football and women’s golf coach at Grimsley High School. The playing field at Jamieson Stadium is named for “Little Joe Franks,” as my mom called him. Today, Little Joe is semi-retired and lives in Danville, Virginia, where his wife, Dr. Tiffany McKillip Franks, is in her 14th year as president of Averett University.

“So how are your azalea bushes doing?” I asked him.

“The college has plenty of them. I don’t have my dad’s thing for growing them, but I do have a Cadillac Escalade just like Dad. And I recently picked up a second one, an ATS two-door coup. Really nice.”

I wondered if Joe had any idea how many azalea bushes his dad, who passed away in 2001, planted and groomed to perfection.

“At least 250,” Joe said, explaining how Big Joe’s favorites were red, white and pink azaleas. “If you recall,” he added, “there was a huge peach-colored one by the front porch. It was probably seven or eight feet tall.”

I remembered this bush and almost hated to inform him

that the bright young college professor who owns the Franks house today is growing artichokes where Cadillac Joe worked his magic each spring.

“Yeah, by the time my mom was ready to give up the house,” Coach Joe told me, “the plants were showing their age and had probably seen their better days. I guess they just dug them up.”

“Don’t worry,” I said, pleased to inform him. “I think I might be channeling Cadillac Joe these days.”

Six years ago, my wife, Wendy, and I moved back to Dogwood Drive, purchasing an old house that sits two doors from the one where I grew up. As she got to work restoring the house’s interior, I got to work outside. To date, I’ve planted more than 30 trees in my yard, including five dogwoods, a trio of southern redbuds and several cherry trees that outrageously bloom every spring. I’ve also planted 24 azaleas and 17 hydrangeas.

A garden-loving psychologist wouldn’t be wrong in suggesting that I’m rebuilding the blooming street of my boyhood. I hail from an old Carolina clan of farmers, gardeners, preachers and storytellers, after all, and grew up hearing legends of the dogwood tree’s origin, one of which holds that long ago the dogwood was a mighty tree — like the oak — that was used to make the cross on which Jesus was crucified. Because of its role in the death of Christ, the legend goes, God both cursed and blessed the little tree. It would never again grow large enough to be used as a cross for a crucifixion. Yet it would also produce beautiful flowers in the spring, just in time for Easter, with pet-

als shaped like a cross, clustered berries resembling a crown of thorns and specks of red that symbolized drops of blood.

Over the half a century since I’d lived on our street, most of the dogwoods disappeared from yards. In fairness, dogwoods generally only live anywhere from 40–70 years, and the beauties I remember were probably at least already middle-aged. Even so, we count no more than 15 dogwood trees on the entire street.

For that matter, azaleas are also dramatically thin on the ground these days. Maybe they are just too finicky for casual gardeners and the new generation of busy young families that inhabit the neighborhood to keep up with, requiring annual trimming, fertilizing and mulching in order to flourish.

In truth, I was never terribly keen on planting dogwood trees and azaleas bushes until we moved back to Dogwood Drive, at which point a mysterious desire overtook me. Perhaps I am becoming Cadillac Joe 2.0?

Little Joe Franks was pleased when I mentioned this botanical phenomenon.

“That’s great,” he said. “Now all you need is an old Cadillac and the music of Sinatra!”

He may be right. For the moment at least, an aging Subaru and Mary Chapin Carpenter will have to suffice.

Maybe someday I will be remembered as the legend of Outback Jimmy. PS

Jim Dodson can be reached at jwdauthor@gmail.com.

LOCATION! Situated on nearly an acre of land with more than 340 feet of golf frontage on the world-renowned Pinehurst No 2 Golf Course, site of the soon to be the 2024 U.S. Open. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to own a home on Pinehurst No 2 - Donald Ross’s crowned jewel. Stately home.

Location, Location, Location. This LOT is the crown jewel. Surrounded by an oasis of Golf and steps from the newly renovated Pinehurst National Clubhouse. Walk to the 1st tee, walk to the 10th tee, walk to lunch, walk to dinner and walk to all club activities. MOVE-IN-READY. Seller has invested over $700,000 in renovations sparing nothing in either materials or quality of design.

Executive home on Arnold Palmer designed Golf Course with over 7000 square feet of living space.Gorgeous home, amazing detail throughout, 4 ensuite bdrms, wine room, home theatre, workshop, fitness room and more. Private, Golf front LOT. Puppy personal shower. High-end construction with “Superior Walls.” $1,585,000

If you want to KNOW Pinehurst,

320 INVERRARY RD FAIRWOODS ON 7

$1,725,000

170 EAGLE POINT LANE

MID SOUTH CLUB

135 SAINT MELLIONS PINEHURST NO 9

PinePitch

Happiness is a Swift Carriage

For over 30 years, the Carriage Classic in the Pines has been one of horse country’s premier equestrian events. Drivers and passengers in formal dress and wellappointed carriages negotiate mazes and compete for prizes. Held at Big Sky Farm on Tremont Road in Southern Pines, the combined test for all levels will be on Friday, May 5 with dressage and cones. The pleasure classes begin at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, May 6 and Sunday, May 7 concluding at approximately 4 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday. For more information, see moorecountydrivingclub.net or contact Cheryl Bacon at (910) 309-7624.

Zoom, Zoom

The three-day, sixth annual Sandhills Motoring Festival revs up in the middle of the village of Pinehurst with a block party and live band on Friday, May 26, and ends on Sunday, May 28, with the Concours in the Village and an awards show. The Concours is free and open to the public and runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with more than 160 classic and collector cars competing in various categories. For more information and specific times of events go to www.sandhillsmotoringfestival.com.

Welcome Back

First Friday returns to the grassy knoll — well, OK, the Sunrise square and the First Bank Stage, 250 N.W. Broad Street, Southern Pines — on Friday, May 5, at 5 p.m. The Cinco de Mayo headliner is Daniel Donato bringing his cosmic country western sound. For more information call (910) 420-2549 or go to www.sunrisetheater. com. It may be a new year but the old rules still apply. No rolling or strolling coolers, and please leave you dogs and cats at home.

PHOTOGRAPH BY DIANE MCKAY

Sally Lawing

All That Jazz

Enjoy a night of music for a good cause on Friday, May 19, when the acclaimed Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon performs in a benefit for the West Southern Pines Center for African-American History, Cultural Arts & Business at the auditorium at 1250 W. New York Ave., Southern Pines. Cost is $75. For additional information and tickets go to www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Dig Down

The Village Heritage Foundation hosts its Spring Garden Party on May 2 from 4-6 p.m. at Timmel Pavilion in the Village Arboretum, Pinehurst. Refreshments, wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served. Tickets are $30 per person with proceeds supporting the garden’s planned enhancements. In the event of rain, the venue will be the Fair Barn, 200 Beulah Hill Road S., Pinehurst. For tickets and information go to ticketmesandhills.com.

Hitting the Literary High Notes

You’ll be able to rub dangling participles with two of North Carolina’s literary giants on backto-back evenings on May 9 and 10. First up is Lee Smith, who will read from her new novel, Silver Alert, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 9, at the Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave. She’ll be followed by Daniel Wallace, who will discuss his memoir This Isn’t Going to End Well: The True Story of the Man I Thought I Knew at 5 p.m. on May 10 at The Country Bookshop, 140 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Folks, it just doesn’t get any better than that.

Taste of the Wild

Join PineStraw magazine for a special farm-to-table dinner from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24, when Mark Elliott of Elliott’s on Linden and Saif Rahman of Vidrio in Raleigh collaborate on a three-course meal sponsored by Wilders Wagyu at the Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Cost is $100 and space is limited. For information and tickets go to www.ticketmesandhills.com.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN GESSNER

Taurus

(April 20 – May 20)

Shakespeare was a Taurus. And while most born under this sensual earth sign tend to be loquacious, few have a gift for reading the room. If you think you’re an exception, perhaps you’re right (but you’ll never know). Regardless, when benevolent Jupiter enters your sign on May 16, consider it a green light to ask for what you really want. Good things are coming. And when they do: “To thine own self be true.”

Tea leaf “fortunes” for the rest of you:

Gemini (May 21 – June 20)

The answer hasn’t changed.

Cancer (June 21 – July 22)

Water what you plant.

Leo (July 23 – August 22) Make a U-turn.

Virgo (August 23 – September 22)

You’re overmixing again.

Libra (September 23 – October 22) Keep your chin up.

Scorpio (October 23 – November 21)

There’s more than one way.

Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)

It’s time to cull your “friends” list.

Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)

Say it in a letter.

Aquarius (January 20 – February 18)

Get ready to flex some new muscles.

Pisces (February 19 – March 20)

Deep listening requires deep stillness.

Aries (March 21 – April 19) Go back three spaces. PS

Zora Stellanova has been divining with tea leaves since Game of Thrones’ Starbucks cup mishap of 2019. While she’s not exactly a medium, she’s far from average. She lives in the N.C. foothills with her Sphynx cat, Lyla.

Heart of a Poet

Time, place and eternity meet in Indigo Field

By Stephen e . Smith

Onthis sunny late-March afternoon, Marjorie Hudson occupies rarefied space: She’s standing in the footprints of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sherwood Anderson and Thomas Wolfe, reading from her beautifully wrought first novel, Indigo Field, at the Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities. Her bright eyes (they might be blue or green; the afternoon light plays tricks) stare out from a shock of white hair (she’s accurately penned the description “white-blonde hair” for a character in her novel), and she’s smiling the smile of one who’s realized her dream via pure, implacable determination. In the words of Keats, she’s surprised everyone, including herself, with “a fine excess,” writing that strikes the reader almost as a remembrance. Now all she has to do is sell her masterwork. The literary world needs to know about Indigo Field, and readers need to snatch it off bookstore shelves or download it online.

Hudson is a Midwesterner who settled in North Carolina by way of a lengthy sojourn in Washington, D.C., where she worked for a nature magazine that kept her indoors much of the time. “We all worked such long hours we hardly got to go outside,” she says. “All it took for me to jump ship was a visit to a friend (in North Carolina), a rainbow over a farmhouse, and I was hooked. My days were full of freelance writing assignments, sunbathing in the yard, gardening, and pond swimming. Whippoorwills chanted outside my window, a sound I’d never heard before. When frogs took over the pond one night in a massive mating ritual, it was better than any nature documentary.”

Thus Indigo Field evolved into a decidedly Southern novel featuring Southern characters immersed in a regional history that emphasizes a strong sense of place. Even so, there’s no forced, ersatz Southernisms in her dialogue, no Hollywood “y’alls,” and, thank God, there’s not a subhuman Faulknerian Snopes in sight.

Her characters speak authentically, and they never propagate a phony gesture. Somehow she’s acquired the ability to absorb the Southern landscape she’s adopted as home.

She came by this invaluable knowledge by happening into the perfect job. “One of the many freelance jobs I took to pay the rent was copy-editing novels at Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill,” she says. “I had never read much Southern lit before, and reading the novels of Clyde Edgerton and Jill McCorkle, and the stories of Lee Abbott and Larry Brown was like going to grad school. How a novel all fit together was fascinating. How a short story was constructed was beautiful. And the language! I was learning the rhythms of speech and turns of phrase from my neighbors, my new husband, and these stories. I turned to my computer and started a story of my own.”

Hudson’s prose style is clear and concise, and she preserves a delicate balance of empathy for characters who come alive with startling authenticity. Her leapfrogging plot turns sustain the story’s energy and propel the reader ever forward. The Regal House Publishing promotional material provides an accurate precis. “In this novel of moral reckoning, the unjust outcome of a murder trial, and the chance accident that follows, result in a feud that raises the spirits of the dead, forcing enemies to become allies in order to survive.”

Good enough. But the novel’s beauty is more than fancy footwork, deft plotting and the able handling of points of view. Hudson writes with the heart of a poet. Her prose has been worked on (in the best sense) to get rid of that worked-on feeling. Take this transitional passage from Chapter 49: “This great wind rode the eye of a rogue hurricane and spun out lightning and whirlwinds like warriors of a great army. These warriors flattened all they touched, and chose what they touched with care. They touched the new homes of wealthy people and left the old derelict home of Poolesville, the farmhouses of widows, the trailer parks of the destitute, damaged but still standing. The wind brought lightning strikes so pervasive that many small fires lit rooftops, tall trees and last year’s broomsedge in Indigo Field. . . . This wind skipped from high spot to high spot, so that places that had been raised up were laid low, and places that were low and humble remained intact.”

The writing of Indigo Field took up almost 30 years of

Swim Has Arrived And Remember Mother’s Day May 14!

LINGERIE SLEEPWEAR

LOUNGEWEAR

MENSWEAR BRAS AND BREAST FORMS

GIFT CARDS AND GIFT WRAPPING AVAILABLE

Sun-Mon: Closed.

Tues: Private Appointments Only. Wed-Fri: 12-5. Sat: 12-4. Email info@knickers-lingerie.com or call 910-725-2346

150 E. New Hampshire Ave Southern Pines, NC 28387

OMNIVOROUS READER

Hudson’s life — with time out to write and publish an acclaimed short story collection, Accidental Birds of the Carolinas, and a history/travelogue, Searching for Virginia Dare. “I had 450 pages (of the novel) by 1998, but I didn’t know how to end it and I knew it needed revision.” She set Indigo Field aside, finished a different novel, sent it out, got discouraged, went to graduate school, and all the while the novel kept getting longer and longer. Hudson recalls: “I kept adding layers of things I was fascinated with: parrot colonies, Nike missile sites, archeology. As it got longer and longer, unbeknown to me, New York’s acceptable novel length had gotten shorter and shorter. It was roundly rejected.” So Hudson turned to a small press, Regal House Publishing in Raleigh. Regal reminded her of Algonquin in the old days: “Small, feisty, locally owned. I even knew one of the editors,” she says. “I submitted my 50 pages. They asked for the rest. I got the call a couple of months later. I was still revising. Cutting mostly. I had a whole new version by the time Jaynie called and said ‘Yes.’”

Indigo Field was chosen to be part of Regal’s “Sour Mash Series,” a selection of books centered on the American South’s sense of place and history. Hudson was in the place described by Flannery O’Connor: “The Southern writer operates at a peculiar crossroads where time and place and eternity somehow meet.” After living in North Carolina for almost 40 years, Hudson is a Southern writer, and she’s pretty proud of that.

She’s come a distance, a far piece, to stand before an audience at the Weymouth Center — and all the other audiences she’ll be entertaining in the months to come. She has a novel to sell. It’s demanding work, but Marjorie Hudson is surely up to the task. 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.

Scarlett Allison

Christine Barrett

Maureen Clark

Joy Blake Donat

Tracy Gibson

Keith Harris

Maribeth Hough

Ross Laton

Christian McCarthy

Melody Bell McClelland

Meredith Morski

Lesley Dacko Pacos

Caitlin Saunders

Brenda Sharpe

Kate Shinkwin

Susan Ulrich

READY FOR HIRE.READY TO RETIRE.

FirstCarolinaCare members come from all over North Carolina and all walks of life. But they have one thing in common: They’re part of our community. And here, our community always comes first. That means having access to trusted providers, personalized help and a service team that resolves 97% of issues on the first call. From the mountains to the coast, we’ve got you covered.

Many members. One community.

FirstCarolinaCare.com/together

May Books

FICTION All the Pretty Places, by Joy Callaway

In Rye, New York, in the Gilded Age, Sadie Fremd’s dreams hinge on her family’s nursery, which has been the supplier of choice for respected landscape architects on the East Coast for decades. As the economy plummets into a depression, Sadie’s father pressures her to secure her future by marrying a wealthy man among her peerage, but Sadie’s heart is already spoken for. Rather than seek potential suitors, she pursues new business to bolster her father’s floundering nursery. The more time Sadie spends in the secluded gardens of the elite, the more she notices the hopelessness in the eyes of those outside the mansions — the poor, the grieving, the weary. Sadie has always wanted her father to pass the business to her instead of to one of her brothers, but he seems oblivious to her desire and talent, and now to her passion for providing natural beauty to those who can’t afford it. When a former employee, Sam, shows up unexpectedly, Sadie wonders if their love can be rekindled, or if his presence will simply be another reminder of a life she longs for and cannot have.

The Making of Another Motion Picture Masterpiece, by

Tom Hanks

From the Academy Award-winning actor and bestselling author, Hanks’ debut novel is the story of the making of a colossal, star-studded, multi-million-dollar superhero action film . . . and the humble comic book that inspired it. Part One of the story takes place in 1947. A troubled soldier, returning from the war, meets his talented 5-year-old nephew, leaves an indelible impression, and then disappears for 23 years. Cut to 1970. The nephew, now drawing underground comic books in Oakland, California, reconnects with his uncle and, remembering the comic book he saw when he was 5, draws a new version with his uncle as a World War II fighting hero. Cut to the present day. A commercially successful director discovers the 1970 comic book and decides to turn it into a contemporary superhero movie. We meet the film’s extremely difficult male star, his wonderful leading lady, the eccentric writer/director, the producer, the gofer production assistant, and everyone else on both sides of the camera. As a bonus, interspersed throughout the novel are the three comic books all created by Hanks himself.

The Postcard, by Anne Berest

Luminous and gripping to the very last page, The Postcard is an enthralling investigation into family secrets, a poignant tale of mothers and daughters, and a vivid portrait of 20th century Parisian intellectual and artistic life. In 2003, an anonymous postcard is delivered to the Berest family home. On the front is a photo of the Opéra Garnier in Paris. On the back are the names of Anne Berest’s maternal great-grandparents, Ephraïm and Emma Rabinovitch, and their children, Noémie and Jacques — all killed at Auschwitz. Fifteen years after the postcard is delivered, Anne, the heroine in this autofiction, is moved to discover who sent it and why. Aided by her chain-smoking mother, family members, friends, associates, a private detective, a graphologist and many others, she embarks on a journey to discover the fate of the Rabinovitch family and then the identity of the person who sent the postcard. What emerges is a moving story of a family devastated by the Holocaust and partly restored through the power of storytelling that shatters long-held certainties about Anne’s family, her country, and herself.

NONFICTION

His Majesty’s Airship: The Life and Tragic Death of the World’s Largest Flying Machine, by S.C. Gwynne

The tragic story of the British airship R101 — which went down in a spectacular hydrogen-fueled fireball in 1930, killing more people than died in the Hindenburg disaster seven years later — has been largely forgotten. Gwynne resurrects it in vivid detail, telling the epic story of great ambition gone terribly wrong. Airships, those airborne leviathans that occupied center stage in the world in the first half of the 20th century, were a symbol of the future. R101 was not just the largest aircraft ever to have flown and the product of the world’s most advanced engineering — it was also the lynchpin of an imperial British scheme to link by air the far-flung areas of its empire from Australia to India, South Africa, Canada, Egypt and Singapore. There was just one problem: Beyond the hype and technological wonders, these big, steel-framed, hydrogen-filled airships were a dangerously bad idea.

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

The Astronaut’s Guide to Leaving Planet Earth, by Terry Virts

At some point, every kid wants to be an astronaut, and with this guide, they’ll get their zero gravity feet on the right path. With a handy space info guide, space travel history timeline, pick-your-path career planning tips, and fun “ask an astronaut” Q&A, this fabulous guide is perfect for budding astronauts and curious young scientists. Autographed copies are available at The Country Bookshop. (Ages 8-14.)

The Seasons Within Me, by Bianca Pozzi

Sometimes the day is gray outside, but other times its gray inside you. Almost always the best way out of a gray day is to find a good friend who will sit with you until the rainbows shine through. This important book emphasizes that, while things aren’t always perfect, there’s always hope when supportive friends are nearby. (Ages 3-8.)

The Fantastic Bureau of Imagination, by Brad Montague

The Department of Dreams, the Cave of Untold Stories, the Planetarium of Possibility. These are all divisions of the FBI. That’s right, the Fantastic Bureau of Imagination. Whoosh down the whooshscilator and dive into possibility, fun and imagination. (Ages 4-8.)

Woo Hoo! You’re Doing Great!, by Sandra Boynton

Sometimes it just takes a little enthusiasm to change the world. Celebrate positivity, grand achievements, special days (and silliness) with this fun new gem that’s the perfect graduation gift alternative to Oh, The Places You’ll Go! (Ages 5-adult.) PS

Compiled by Kimberly Daniels Taws and Angie Tally.

Women of Weymouth present Annual Ladies Wine Out

May 3 • 5:30 - 7:30 pm

Wine, Women, and Weymouth! Appetizers & desserts by Scott’s Table, wine bar, wine raffle, wine pull, auction items, mystery boxes, and great music!

$45 Members /$50 Non-Members

Celebrate Derby Day!

Horses Benefit Kids

May 6 • 5 - 8 pm

BBQ, Bourbon, Bluegrass: Derby Day Watch Party to benefit Weymouth Equestrians. Held at: Lyell’s Meadow, Walthour-Moss Foundation.

$100 Members /$125 Non-Members

Writers-in-Residence Reading

May 9 • 5:30 pm

Lee Smith will read from her new novel, Silver Alert.

Free Admission/Registration Required

Fascinatin’ Strawberry Festival

May 15 • 10 am - 1 pm

Women of Weymouth’s final meeting of the season and lunch featuring Strawberry Shortcake Parfait, culinary arts contest and prizes, music by the Carolina Jr. Philharmonic, and a Talbots fashion show!

$30 Members / $35 Non-Members

Young Musician’s Festival June 4 • 2 pm 30-40 area young musicians under the age of 18 perform for credentialed adjudicators and receive cash prizes at varying levels of performance.

Free Admission/Registration Required

For tickets and registration visit weymouthcenter.org

Thank you to our sponsors: Cindy & Robert Candler; Richard J. Reynolds III and Marie M. Reynolds Foundation; Gerald Claude Kirby Trust; Penick Village; North Carolina Arts Council; Arts Council of Moore County; Marion Stedman Covington Foundation; Donald and Elizabeth Cooke Foundation; The Pilot 555 E. Connecticut Avenue, Southern Pines, NC

A 501 (c)(3) organization

PETE AND JOANNE MACE WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO THEIR SON, JUSTIN MACE . WE ARE PROUD TO SEE HIM FOLLOW IN THE LAND MAN FOOTSTEPS. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BUYING OR SELLING OUR TEAM IS HERE TO HELP . WORKING WITH BUYERS AND SELLERS FOR 30 YEARS IN MOORE COUNTY!

LAND FOR SALE

JUST LISTED

NO CITY TAXES - NO HOA NO MOBILE OR MODULAR HOMES

JACKSON SPRINGS, NC 27281

LOT #3 - 143 MCBRIDE ROAD - UNDER CONTRACT

LOT #4 - 169 MCBRIDE ROAD - UNDER CONTRACT

LOT #5 - 2063 DERBY RD - 5.09 ACRES

LOT #6 - 185 MCBRIDE RD - 10 ACRES

LOT #7 - 192 MCBRIDE RD - 5 ACRES

LOT #8 - 178 MCBRIDE RD - 10.01 ACRES - SOLD

LOT #9 - 164 MCBRIDE RD - 12.18 ACRES

LOT #10 - 152 MCBRIDE RD - 14.96 ACRES + POND

LOT #11 - 136 MCBRIDE RD - 14.33 ACRES + POND

LOT #12 -116 MCBRIDE RD - 8.72 ACRES

LOT 13 - 104 MCBRIDE ROAD - UNDER CONTRACT

FOXFIRE AREA

11.07 ACRES

$132,480

MLS: 100368000

9.22 ACRES

$110,640

MLS: 100368003

8.23 ACRES $98,760 UNDER CONTRACT

10.04 ACRES $130,000 MLS: 100368031

4

4

GRANDE PINES

2.41 ACRES LOT 50

$125,000

6 ACRES LOT28B $225,000

10 ACRES LOT 94B $275,000

16.7 ACRES LOT 97 $350,000

OTHER LAND

2.15 ACRES - GATED

7018 HARRISON LANE WEST END, NC

2285 STANTON HILL RD CAMERON, NC

4 BR,2.5 BA, 1.32 ACRES NO CITY TAXES NO HOA

2295 STANTON HILL RD CAMERON, NC 3 BR, 2 BA, 1.32 ACRES NO CITY TAXES NO HOA

4056 SILVER LANE WEST END, NC

BR, 3.5 BA, 1/2 ACRE $449,500

338 NC HWY-15-501 CAMERON, NC

BR, 3.5 BA, 1.22 ACRES $449,000

JUSTIN MACE REALTOR

"ONLY THE PINES COVER THE SANDHILLS BETTER"

Talking Heads

Life in the booth

By Bill FieldS

PGA Tour turned up in the Sandhills during the early 1970s for the first time in two decades, it was a big deal for a sportsloving kid.

I was excited to attend the U.S. Professional Match Play Championship not only because my golf heroes were going to be in town, but because, on pro-am day at least, so were some of my sports television heroes who were teeing it up as celebrities.

At that point in my life, it probably was a toss-up whether I wanted to be Julius Boros, Arnold Palmer or Jack Nicklaus when I grew up; or Don Shea, Charlie Harville or Woody Durham.

Shea was the sports anchor at WTVD in Durham. Harville delivered the sports for WGWP in High Point. Durham handled sports for WFMY in Greensboro and in 1971 became the “Voice of the Tar Heels” on radio, a role he would have for 40 years.

During the 6 o’clock local news — depending on the preference of my parents and/or the trustiness of the antenna on our roof in Southern Pines — one of those sportscasters came into the house.

I wanted to be them. What could be better than talking sports, and getting paid to do so?

Sooner rather than later, I got to find out — about the “talking” part, at least. During senior year of high school, I hosted a weekly radio show on 990 WEEB, “Pinecrest Sports Spotlight.” One Saturday morning a record might have been set for most interview subjects in one room as most of the state champion girls’ basketball team and coach James Moore crammed into the studio.

Thanks to being in a television production class at Pinecrest that utilized the school’s closed-circuit television system, I was a TV sports anchor myself. The scripts were handwritten on carbon paper. I sat between Christine Morgan (news) and Janet Caldwell (weather). A high school with a broadcasting class was novel in the 1970s, prompting a reporter from The Sanford Herald to visit one morning.

I mentioned Woody Durham in one of my quotes to the re-

porter, but what I said was overshadowed by what I was wearing during the show in a photograph run by the Sanford newspaper: garish plaid sport coat paired with perhaps the widest collar ever manufactured showing outside my jacket, wings ready for takeoff. The best I can say about that image now is that I had a nice full head of dark hair.

Although I was in the broadcast sequence of journalism school at UNC, almost all of my experience during college was in print, not on the air. After graduating, there were jobs in newspapers followed by writing and editing positions on magazines.

My TV experiences were limited to occasionally appearing as a golf expert offering perspective on the sport’s history or hot topic of the day. (Over the last couple of decades, that’s usually been Tiger Woods.) But in 2017, I was asked to work as a researcher/ statistician for NBC Golf Channel’s golf broadcasts. I’ve worked about a dozen tournaments annually since I first filled in as a replacement for someone who had left the position.

My microphone only allows me to talk to a colleague in the graphics department, but I’m just feet away from the pros who are talking to viewers. It has been quite an education for an inkstained scribe to be a part of live television in a supporting role as I provide information and otherwise be as helpful as possible to the hosts.

I work most often with Dan Hicks but occasionally other broadcasters such as Terry Gannon, Mike Tirico and Steve Sands. They are as good at their jobs as the athletes they are covering. Without hesitation, I can say the teenager in the loud jacket could not have made his way up the on-air broadcasting ladder regardless of how much effort he put into it. I gravitated toward the media lane I should have been in.

To young dreamers out there who watch today’s top-notch announcers do their thing and imagine being in their headsets one day, work hard. Then work harder. And dress better than I did. PS

Southern Pines native Bill Fields, who writes about golf and other things, moved north in 1986 but hasn’t lost his accent.

Whenthe

Christine Morgan, Bill Fields and Janet Caldwell

Beads on a String

Silver Alert with Lee Smith

By Wiley Ca Sh p hotographS By m allory Ca Sh

Silver Alert is Lee Smith’s 15th novel, and, if you believe her, it’ll probably be her last. How can this be true? How can the writer who gave us Ivy Rowe of Fair and Tender Ladies and the Cantrell family from Oral History be done with crafting memorable characters with expansive histories?

If this is true, if Silver Alert is indeed Lee Smith’s last novel, then at least readers will be left with several new characters to remember. There’s Dee Dee, a buoyant young aesthetician living under an assumed name who’s in Key West to hide from a past she can’t shake. There’s Dee Dee’s client Susan, a wealthy woman who seems too young to be locked in the throes of dementia. And then there’s Susan’s husband, Herb, a tough old guy from up north who, with his swollen prostate and weak bladder, can’t help but long for the days of his youth.

Silver Alert is everything readers want from good storytelling and sharply drawn characters; the book is alternately hilarious and heartbreaking, wise and lighthearted, sly and deeply profound. It’s the kind of novel that only Lee Smith could write, and it will remind readers to be thankful that she has given us so many.

The idea behind Silver Alert came to Lee a little differently than the ideas that spawned her previous novels. Several years ago, when she and her husband, writer Hal Crowther, were driving back from a winter vacation in Key West, they began spotting signs on U.S. 1, alerting readers with the words “Silver Alert,” complete with the make and model of a vehicle. Neither Lee nor Hal had ever heard of a silver alert, but they’d seen amber alerts that are issued when a youth goes missing, and they soon pieced it all together. They pieced together a story, too.

“We decided that it was an elderly guy who found a set of car keys in an old golf shoe, and he’d taken off in his car with the mani-pedi girl from the assisted living place.”

Lee and Hal had a few laughs on their drive home, speculating about where the man would stop on a trip that might end up being his final burst of freedom.

“There’s never been a more natural plot,” Lee tells me. “That’s the number one plot in literature: ‘Somebody takes a trip.’ And number two is, ‘A stranger came to town.’”

If there’s a stranger who’s come to town in Silver Alert, it’s Dee Dee. She’s from the mountains of North Carolina, and her cheerful beauty belies the dark secrets of a life of poverty that has been suffered in the shadows of sex trafficking. She seems to be the only person who can settle Susan during her bouts of confusion, a continuous struggle that has overwhelmed Herb, whose

existential angst is fueled by grieving for his wife and the sense that their life together is over.

“Bless her soul,” Herb thinks on the novel’s opening page, “and damn it all to hell.”

Herb’s sarcasm and cynical nature, especially after his and Susan’s kids stage an intervention and force the couple into selling their home to move into an assisted living facility, could have easily soured the reader’s soul — at one point the narrator even says that Herb “hates everybody that’s young, everybody that’s having fun” — but Lee doesn’t allow that to happen because soon even Herb is buoyed by Dee Dee’s infectious optimism, and it’s that optimism that inspires Herb to abscond with his yellow Porsche, Dee Dee riding shotgun.

I ask Lee how she so convincingly wrote a character like Dee Dee, someone who maintains her spirit in spite of the trauma and struggle in her past.

“Well, I think in part that is a form of self-defense,” she says. “It’s a way of putting a little shell around yourself.”

In the novel, Dee Dee has spent time at the fictional Rainbow Farm in northern Florida, which is a home for women who are hoping to escape life on the streets. It’s the kind of place that Lee knows pretty well after working with organizations like Thistle Farms outside of Nashville, Tennessee. According to the organization’s mission, it’s a “nonprofit social enterprise dedicated to helping women survivors recover and heal from prostitution, trafficking, and addiction” by offering a place to live and the opportunity to learn a professional skill. While at Rainbow Farm, Dee Dee learned to be an aesthetician, something that felt natural to Lee, who admits, “I love the beauty shop type of stuff.”

Dee Dee’s work and her relationships with new friends like Susan and Herb lead her to believe that the terrible fates of life are far behind her and getting farther away every day, even if they do still exist somewhere in her past. Throughout the novel, Lee brings the reader’s attention to this time continuum,

CREATORS OF N.C.

including one moment when Dee Dee is watching moonlight move across a deck, thinking, “I am happy I’m so happy I will remember this for the rest of my life.” The book’s narrator steps in at that moment to add “and she would too.”

If Dee Dee is living in the moment while thinking about the future, Herb is living in the past while dreading what’s ahead. While he attempts to care for Susan, he continually “feels himself slipping back, back, back through time” to his first love, a woman named Roxana, whom he met when they were children in Buffalo.

Given Susan and Herb’s predicament of being forced into assisted living, it would be easy to read Silver Alert as a kind of elegy to aging, but I read it as the opposite. I read it as a celebration of life along the time continuum. It’s about the past, present and future existing in the space of our minds regardless of what our bodies are doing.

“I find incredible solace in that,” I tell Lee.

“Yes,” Lee says. “Here I am, almost 80 years old, and I think this might very well be the last novel I write. But I still have everything existing in me just like you said, all these ideas and memories are still there. You can do that with a novel.

“But things are sort of coming to me now in smaller scenes and short stories, smaller things like beads on a string, and you can see that in this book.”

If you were to look back over the novels that Lee has published, beginning with her debut The Last Day the Dogbushes Bloomed in 1968, you could see the beads on a string, the long continuum that has taken her from her hometown of Grundy in the Virginia mountains down to Hillsborough, North Carolina, and various parts of the state where she’s lived and worked.

“In your early work, it seems that you were investigating and chronicling the place that you came from in southwest Virginia,” I say. “And then in your more recent work, maybe beginning with Guests on Earth and Silver Alert, it feels like you’re investigating your place in the larger world after leaving the mountains of your youth.”

“I think that’s true,” Lee says.

“As you’ve spent more time writing about life outside of the place you call home, do you feel your work is somehow getting more personal?”

“In a funny way, yes, I think so,” she says. “I write my fiction very much from real life. And so, when I had those closer ties to the mountains, that’s what I wrote about. And some of the other places I’ve lived since then that have interested me.”

Beads on a string. The long continuum. Grundy, Hillsborough, Key West, Florida, and the incredible characters and stories born from these places. It’s all there in Lee Smith’s novels, and regardless of whether or not she ever writes another one, it always will be. PS

Wiley Cash is the Alumni Author-in-Residence at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. His new novel, When Ghosts Come Home, is available wherever books are sold.

Mama Don’t Bake

A simple cheese-less cheesecake

Story and photograph By roSe SheW ey

I talk about diet and nutrition as

weather. Practically never.

To be honest, diet-talk is a regular snoozefest, in my book. But aside from lacking entertainment value, arguing dietand nutrition-related issues is a no-win undertaking. Having self-studied nutrition for over a decade, I have come to understand that opinions, as well as science, vary tremendously on the subject and — as anybody who survived the great margarine craze knows — change fundamentally from time to time. Throw in body image and weight loss issues, and you’re in for some potentially awkward discussions. No thanks.

Still, despite all the controversies, can we agree that nutrient-dense foods are an excellent choice? I wouldn’t do this cheesecake any justice if I didn’t touch on the fabulously valuable ingredients this recipe calls for. I am talking about

chia seeds, dates, almonds and cashew yogurt, as well as blackberries and even agar. For most health-minded chefs, particularly in the plant-based kitchen, there is something incredibly satisfying about adapting and healthifying conventional recipes. Substituting less nutritious ingredients with nutrient-rich, minimally processed foods to create a dish that looks, tastes and feels like the original is uniquely rewarding.

Take cheesecake, for example. To be clear, there is nothing wrong with regular cheesecake. I’ll be the first to grab a slice off the dessert buffet, but if I can have something of equal quality made with more wholesome ingredients, I will choose the more nourishing version every time.

So, does this cheese-less cheesecake taste like, well, cheesecake? It does. The yogurt gives it that tangy flavor, the texture is creamy and lush but firm enough to maintain its shape beautifully. On a scale of New York-style cheesecake to thick custard, this falls somewhere in the middle. And the proverbial cherry on top? This is a no-bake cake.

No-Bake Blackberry Chia Cheesecake

Soak dates in boiling water for 10-15 minutes. Line the bottom of a 6-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Drain dates and squeeze out any excess water. Place all ingredients for the crust into a food processor and blend. Scrape down sides frequently while blending until you have a sticky, slightly coarse paste. Press the crust evenly into the bottom of the springform and set aside.

Mix yogurt with chia seeds and maple syrup and refrigerate. Stir the mixture occasionally to maintain an even texture. Pour coconut milk into a small saucepan, add agar flakes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 6-8 minutes (or according to package instructions), stirring frequently. Meanwhile, add berries to a high speed blender and puree. Transfer berries to a large bowl and add coconut agar mixture, whisk to combine, then quickly incorporate the chia yogurt. Taste for sweetness; you may want to add more maple syrup if you like sweeter cakes, and promptly pour cheesecake mixture into the springform. Transfer cheesecake to the refrigerator and allow to set and chill for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight. Serve with fresh fruit or coconut cream. PS

German native Rose Shewey is a food stylist and food photographer. To see more of her work visit her website, suessholz.com.

Crust

90 grams (8-10) dates, pitted

100 grams (1 cup) ground almonds, blanched

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Cake

340 grams (12 ounces) yogurt — I used store-bought cashew yogurt

55 grams (5 tablespoons) chia seeds

70 grams (about 1/4 cup) maple syrup, or more, to taste

1 can (400 milliliters) unsweetened, full fat coconut milk

3 tablespoons agar flakes (not powder)

300 grams (2 cups) blackberries, fresh or defrosted

much as I talk about politics and the

Take It Outside

Patio

By tony CroSS

There’s nothing quite like springtime in the Carolinas. Minus the pollen, I love everything Mother Nature has to offer this time of the year: the longer days, the warmer mornings and the cozy evenings. I even love the bees dancing from flower to flower. But I especially love that it’s patio cocktail weather. Not too cold, not too hot. . . just right. And with that, I’ll get right to it. Here are a couple of cocktails worthy of sharing on any patio — and one if you’re poolside, too.

Bee’s Knees

Speaking of pollen, this three-ingredient cocktail is perfect for shaking up and sipping outside, while the worker bees do their thing. Though I’ve seen the drink attributed to a Frank Meier, who worked in Paris at the Ritz Hotel in 1921, and also to Margaret Tobin Brown, “Molly Brown,” in an issue of the 1929 Brooklyn Standard, the exact origin of the Bee’s Knees is unknown. It was probably created during Prohibition. The lingo in the States during that time frame had “the bee’s knees” right in there with “the cat’s pajamas.” More than likely, the honey was added to bathtub gin to mask the smell and soften the taste. But who cares who created this classic? It’s easy to make and incredibly balanced. Here’s how you do it.

2 ounces gin

3/4 ounce lemon juice

1/2 ounce honey syrup*

Lemon twist for garnish (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaking vessel, add ice, and shake hard for 10-15 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe.

*Honey syrup: Combine 2 1/2 parts honey (you’re not doing it right if it’s not local) to 1 part hot water and mix until honey is dissolved. Once cooled, pour into a glass container, seal tight and refrigerate.

Colletti Royale

This spin on a margarita adds blood orange juice and rosé Champagne. How could you pass on that? It was created by bartender Julie Reiner at her bar, Clover Club, in New York City in 2013 for Valentine’s Day. Though I could drink this any day of the year, it tastes especially good outside during the month of May.

1 1/2 ounces reposado tequila

1/2 ounce Cointreau

1/2 ounce St. Germaine Elderflower liqueur

1/2 ounce blood orange juice

1/2 ounce lime juice

2 dashes Angostura Orange bitters

3 ounces rosé Champagne

Combine tequila, Cointreau, St. Germaine, juices and bitters into a shaker with ice and shake until vessel is chilled. Strain into a

cocktails that’ll make you social

Spring is the Time for New Beginnings Let

wine glass that’s filled with ice. Top with rosé Champagne, and garnish with a blood orange wheel.

A few notes: It’s hard to find blood oranges, especially during the warmer months. If you’re in a bind, you can substitute regular orange juice and Solerno Blood Orange liqueur (a fabulous addition to your home bar). Also, rosé Champagne isn’t cheap, so by all means find a less expensive, sparkling rosé that you would drink on its own.

Corona Cocktail

For those of you headed to the beach or pool who can’t take bar tools with you — or just don’t want the hassle — I give you the Corona Cocktail. That’s not an official name or anything. Actually, I don’t think this drink has a name, I’m just calling it that. But stay with me. All you’ll need is a shot glass for your measuring tool. I’m sure you can find it in yourself to let one of those tag along.

1 bottle Corona beer

1 ounce blanco tequila (splurge and make it Don Julio)

2 ounces orange juice

1/2 ounce grenadine

Squeeze of lime

Ready? Drink the Corona until the beer is level with the top of the label. Add tequila, orange juice and grenadine. Squeeze the lime into the bottle and pat yourself on the back: You’re officially a card-carrying mixologist. If you’re going to be one, however, you cannot, should not, and will not use store-bought grenadine — unless it’s an emergency and the ingredients are quality. Small Hands Foods, Liber & Co. and Jack Rudy are a few companies that make great grenadine. Better yet, save your money and make it at home. Equal parts turbinado sugar with POM pomegranate juice over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Voilà! Now get out there and be social. PS

Tony Cross is a bartender (well, ex-bartender) who runs cocktail catering company Reverie Cocktails in Southern Pines.

May 9th, 5pm

May

May

The Queen Is Dead,

Long live the king!

By tony roth W ell

Soundsharsh doesn’t it? But that’s the way it’s been for a thousand years.

As London, and much of the world, prepares for another large helping of English pomp and circumstance, I can’t help thinking back to a cold, gloomy February day in Whitby, Yorkshire. The year was 1952. I was at a boarding school, in a spelling class. We were 9-year-olds. The door opened and in came a teacher who announced he had sad news — King George VI had died. He asked us to bow our heads in a minute of silence, after which he told us that Princess Elizabeth was now our queen.

King George had been an unassuming monarch, rather overshadowed by Winston Churchill in the public eye, and the truth was we didn’t know much about him. Yes, his head was on the back of our pennies and thruppenny bits but we had no real impression of him.

However, matters royal were about to change as year-long preparations were made for the coronation of our new queen. England had had a tough time of it since the beginning of World War II in 1939, and we were still suffering from shortages, rebuilding, even rationing. Now here was something we could all look forward to.

It wasn’t long before the date of the coronation was announced — June 2, 1953. Over a year of preparations lay ahead, and England went into overdrive. Long-made plans were dusted off for the service in Westminster Abbey, the procession, the invitation list and, out in the country, celebrations and street parties were planned in every town and village. Meanwhile, all manner of coronation merchandise was popping up in shops. I still have my treasure trove — a commemorative mug, a special coronation crown coin, first day cover postage stamps, a paperweight, the souvenir programme and BBC’s Radio Times for coronation week, in its original binder.

The big news was when the BBC announced that the coronation was to be televised, though only a handful of people had

access to a set. My brother and I had recently watched TV for the first time when the English FA Cup final was shown in a hut in our village to a packed audience. The reception was terrible. Every vehicle that went by produced a snowstorm over the screen, but it was still very exciting. We heard our parents discussing getting a set and did all we could to encourage them. Then suddenly it was there. A beautiful, mahogany, floor-standing piece of furniture containing a tiny 12-inch screen behind double doors placed next to the fireplace in our living room.

The day of the coronation finally came. TV coverage began early, and we were all gathered round the cathode ray tube — my parents, brother Bill, our corgi Taffy and myself — at our house south of Manchester in northwest England with the Radio Times in hand. It perfectly reflected the all-consuming mood of patriotism and coronation-mania the country was experiencing. The pages were devoted to every conceivable aspect: the “Form and Order” of the 2 hour, 50 minute service with the crowning expected at approximately 12:30 p.m.; the symbology of the many trappings of the monarchy; the glorious music and who would be singing; a map of the route from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey where a congregation of 7,000 would await the young queen; and, after the service, the much longer route back to Buckingham Palace to be cheered on by the huge crowds who had come from all over Britain.

Even the Times’ advertisements were in on the act. Shell Oil did it with poetry:

Along Pall Mall, along St. James

Old buildings echo with the din

Old streets remember famous names

Lord Byron, Wellington and Gwyn

While Guardsmen’s plumes awake the air

Like pigeons in Trafalgar Square.

Two days later the United States had its moment with a radio tribute to coronation week titled “A Star-Spangled Salute,” starring Burl Ives, Gregory Peck, Sam Wanamaker and Master of

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN GESSNER

Ceremonies Ben Lyon.

My most vivid memories of the day are the arrival of the queen at the Abbey to the ear-splitting acclamation “Vivat! Vivat! Vivat! Regina”; the glorious coronation coach (it was black and white television, of course, but we were assured it was gold); and the massive, Union Jack-waving crowds lining the processional route.

In the year 1066 William the Conqueror was the first monarch to be crowned in Westminster Abbey, and 957 years later, on Saturday, May 6, King Charles will be the 40th monarch to process up the Abbey’s aisle. Once seated on the throne he will have the St. Edward’s crown, made in 1661 for Charles II, placed upon his head, and Camilla, as queen consort, will wear the crown made for Queen Mary in 1911. Incidentally the St. Edward’s crown weighs 4.9 pounds, which will explain the care exercised when it is being placed on Charles’ head.

The contrast between the two sovereigns, mother and son assuming the throne almost exactly 70 years apart, could not be greater — a pretty, sheltered, 25-yearold queen, and a 74-year-old, twice-married king. We are promised a somewhat scaled back service in the Abbey to that of the late queen, the king being sensitive to Britain’s current economic and social climate, but there will be three days of events and concerts and a national holiday on the Monday. For millions of Brits born after June 1953 and seeing their very first coronation, it will be a truly memorable occasion with celebrations up and down the country and glasses raised to the newly crowned sovereign — “Here’s a health unto His Majesty.”

Meanwhile our KCIII commemorative mug has just arrived. PS Tony Rothwell moved to Pinehurst in 2017, exchanging the mind-numbing traffic of Washington, D.C., for less traffic, better weather and the vagaries of golf. He spent 50 years in the hotel business but in retirement writes short stories, collects caricatures, sings in the Moore County Choral Society. He can be reached at ajrothwell@gmail.com.

Hats Off to Hats

With a little help from the royal family

By ruth mooSe

I miss wearing, seeing, buying hats. Queen Elizabeth always wore the most elegant, most becoming, absolutely stunning hats. Hats that matched her outfits. Perfect hats. Of course, she did have at her command and fingertips the finest millinery in the land. And she did them proud. What are the chances a newly crowned King Charles III can do half as much for the humble hat?

My grandmother, a country preacher’s wife, owned two hats — one for summer, one for winter. Summer’s hat was a flat pancake of black straw with silk daisies. Winter’s hat was a black felt cloche with a feather or two. She would never have gone to church bareheaded.

Nor without her gloves.

The last time I wore a hat was to a funeral. I had, on a crazy whim, gotten some fairy hair for fun. It was a sort of passing fancy, and the funeral for my sister-in-law was totally unexpected. I could not go to a funeral sporting red and blue and green fairy hair. Since it was January, I dug my black felt cloche from the top closet shelf and very respectfully went to the funeral. I was the only one there wearing a hat.

My mother was not a hat person, so I must have gotten my “hats” gene from my grandmother.

My Great Aunt Denise sold hats in the Peebles department store in Norwood, North Carolina, the town where she lived. It must have been the smallest store in the Peebles chain, yet she sold the most hats.

Every December Peebles paid for Aunt Denise to take the

train from Hamlet, North Carolina, to New York to buy for the store. They knew every woman in town depended on her to “know” the market.

When the women of Norwood came into Aunt Denise’s Peebles, they went directly upstairs to the mezzanine, where Ladies’ Ready to Wear had mannequins with no arms, nor legs, that sat on tables wearing hats in every color, shape and fabric. Wide hats, tall hats, hats with flowers and feathers. Spring hats were pink and yellow, fluffy as frosted cakes. Some had veils or netting. All had ribbons. Fall and winter hats were serious in grays, blacks and browns. Gray hats hugged the mannequins close. They were the colors of rain and fog. Black hats were dark as night, and the women in Norwood knew they had to have at least one for funerals. It might have a feather or a veil, but it had to be a solemn piece.

No salesperson, male or female, ever knew their Ready to Wear clientele better than Aunt Denise knew hers. “Mrs. Cohen, when I was in New York last week and saw this hat, I knew it was just for you. I said to the designer, ‘I know just the lady for that hat.’” And then she’d add, in a whisper, “I only bought one. You won’t see yourself coming and going in this town. No ma’am.” Then she’d hold that hat up like a prize trophy, and Mrs. Cohen would start to reach for it, but Aunt Denise would step back, still holding the hat aloft. “Here,” she’d say, “let me put it on for you.” Then she’d lift it lightly, lay it on like a crown. “There,” she’d say, “don’t you feel like a queen now!”

Do you suppose Charles will feel so good? PS

Ruth Moose taught creative writing at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill for 15 years and tacked on 10 more at Central Carolina Community College.

Working Without a Net

The bold, acrobatic Carolina chickadee

By SuSan CampBell

The chickadee is one of the most beloved feeder birds across the country. Central North Carolina is no exception, but “our” chickadee species is the Carolina chickadee, merely one of five different chickadees commonly found in the United States.

Chickadee species are quite similar, but the Carolina averages the smallest — less than 5 inches in length. It also has a range that extends farthest south: from central Florida, throughout the Gulf States and across to central Texas. The Carolina chickadee overlaps with the more widely distributed black-capped chickadee in parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois. Black-cappeds and Carolina chickadees are very challenging to separate in areas where they are both found. Subtle differences such as the coloration of the edges of the wing feathers and variations in the calls are used to tell them apart. Here in North Carolina, black-cappeds can be found at the highest elevations of the Appalachians.

Carolina chickadees reside in a variety of woodlands across the state, from the mountains to the Outer Banks. They feed on everything from insect larvae to seeds and berries. Their stout, pointed bill is a useful tool for both picking at and prying open food. And these little birds are quite the acrobats: They have very strong feet, which enable them to easily cling upside down when foraging. Carolina chickadees are regular customers year-round not only at our sunflower seed feeder, but on the suet cage feeder. They are very bold, driving off woodpeckers and wintering warblers to get at the protein-rich offerings.

Our chickadees are not migratory, so the same individuals are around from day to day. Family groups will associate from summer through late winter before the young wander away in search of mates of their own. If they are to do so, it has to hap -

pen quickly, because the breeding season starts early for these little birds. Carolina chickadees are looking for empty cavities or a small snag by the end of February. Nests of soft materials are built during the month of March. A thick outer layer of mosses or shredded bark is lined with animal fur or plant down. The nest conceals the eggs and insulates the young during the cool days and nights of early spring.

It is fun to watch female chickadees during their nest building. They are the busy architects with the males looking on, defending the territory from other chickadees or competing nuthatches. Clumps of fine cat or dog hair (puggle undercoat is very popular in our yard) will be gathered by the mouthful if available. Otherwise, chickadees will, believe it or not, seek out mammals such as raccoons and pick loose strands of fur to take back to their nests.

A pair of chickadees may raise four to six young in a year. If eggs are lost to predators or the weather, they may try again, provided it is not too late in the season. Often chickadees are replaced by bluebirds or titmice in birdhouses come May or June, once their young have fledged.

So keep an eye out. You may find you have a pair of these feisty birds that has set up housekeeping nearby, or perhaps you will see a new family of chickadees descend on your feeder like the Flying Wallendas. PS

Susan Campbell would love to receive your wildlife sightings and photographs at susan@ncaves.com.

The Next Adventure

And the gift of mentoring

By tom Bryant

“The only thing crazier than a duck hunter or a mountain climber,” the Old Man repeatedly said, “is a really dedicated fisherman — a man who will fish where he knows there are no fish, just as long as he’s fishing.”

— Robert Ruark in The Old Man’s Boy Grows Older

We were all grouped around the kitchen table, more or less in a relaxed mode after a full morning of duck hunting. The kitchen table was in the duck-hunting lodge that we lease along with five corn-planted impoundments right on the Pamlico Sound and only a few miles from Lake Mattamuskeet. It was the last day of duck season.

There were seven of us, not exactly the Magnificent Seven, unless you talk to us after a successful day in the duck blind. Then you would surely think we were the most proficient duck hunters and outdoorsmen in the whole South.

This was not one of those days, unfortunately. Duck shooting had been sparse. We saw ducks, but they were working over the Pamlico and refusing to drop into our impoundments. “This ain’t exactly how I planned to end duck season,” Bubba said as he pushed back in his slat-back chair and ambled over to the refrigerator. “I’m gonna end the pain a little with a cold beer. How ’bout you guys?”

“I’ll join you,” I said. “Then I’m gonna take a nap.”

Bubba handed me a beer, “Well, maybe the fishing will be better this spring. Art, I hear you’re going down to Belize to try your hand at saltwater fly-fishing.”

“Yeah. As a matter of fact, I brought my fly rod so you could give me a couple of lessons.”

Bubba is an accomplished fly fisherman and has fished Costa Rica as well as Belize. “Well, this ain’t exactly the right kind of weather,” I said, since the wind had picked up and the

temperature was dropping, “but get your rig and we’ll cast a little in the backyard.”

We all trooped out to the yard right off the miniature enclosed back porch where we kept our guns and wet waders. Art had his fly rod all put together and ready to go.

As he limbered the rod back and forth slowly, Bubba said, “Art, it’s all in the wrist.” He had tied a small weight to the line to imitate a tiny fly and commenced to let line out as he moved the rod in rhythm with the line.

A pickup truck slowly eased down the drive toward the barn camp — an old barn converted into living quarters located a couple of hundred yards behind our lodge. The guys who lease the camp are some of the finest duck hunters in the area, and they do it the hard way. They hunt on the Pamlico Sound in powerful jon boats in all kinds of weather. None of that impoundment hunting for them.

There were three of them in the group, and they have become our good friends, sharing meals, libations and hunting stories . . . some of them even true. We always look forward to their company.

The truck slowed to a stop, and we waved at the pair in the front seat. Two black Labs were in the bed of the truck, and they were watching us intently.

Art continued, with Bubba’s instructions, casting the fly out into the yard, and he was really getting the hang of stripping line off the reel when Jim Overman, sort of the ringleader of the barn camp crew, hung his head out the driver’s window and shouted, “Hey Art, I really think you’d have better luck if you got closer to the water.”

That was the way it was in those days, and it hasn’t changed much even today. We’re either hunting and thinking about fishing, or fishing and planning a hunt. The outdoor group I hang out with is never far from an open air event/outdoor entertainment.

For me, this love affair with sportfishing started at a young age and was as natural as breathing. Like so many sports in the outdoors, there’s often a driving force, most of the time an older individual or a host of friendly, experienced sportsmen. With

me, it was my family. My dad, for sure, and my granddad, along with several uncles who took me under their wing and let me go with them when they were heading to the woods hunting or to the creeks and rivers fishing. I learned by watching and obeying instructions, not as a kid, but as someone really interested in learning how to do it right. They never talked down to me, but I was expected to act in a manner respecting their age.

One late summer afternoon, my dad, granddad and uncles were gathered on the long front porch of the old home place making plans for a fishing outing to Florida.

“I figure if we go down there in mid-March it won’t be too cold, and maybe we can hook on to that big bass that Tom keeps talking about,” Dad said. Uncle Tom fished the St. Johns River at Astor where Granddad had a fish camp, and he was constantly talking about the 8-pounder he pulled in after only an hour on the river.

The conversation drifted from when the best time to go would be to what kind of fishing gear to take. Meanwhile, I was sitting in the corner rocker like a bird dog on point. The more they talked, the faster I rocked, hoping against hope that they would let me go with them. Finally, I couldn’t stand it anymore. “Can I go?”

Dad looked over at me and said, “Son, you’ve got school and we’re gonna be gone a week or more. I don’t believe Mr. Workman would let you miss that many days.”

Mr. Workman was the principal of Aberdeen Elementary

and a kind, likable man. I was sure I could convince him that I should make the trip. Convincing my folks sitting on the porch looked to be another matter entirely.

Granddad was sitting in the swing listening to all the plans and after a while, he said to the group, “Let the boy go with you, that is if he can clear it with the school folks. You can take my truck, and while you’re there, I want you to pick the remainder of the fruit on the orange trees next to the house. We never get it all when we’re there right after Christmas, and this would be a good opportunity to finish it up. Tommy could climb the trees and get the high fruit.”

Granddad had planted a small orange grove right after he bought the Florida property, and it was just beginning to produce enough fruit to share with the family.

So that’s how I got to go on my first major fishing outing with the adults. Mr. Workman said I could go, the only requirement being that I write a paper about my experiences on the river.

We had a grand time on that trip, and I often think back to my conversations with Dad and my uncles on the St. Johns. They treated me as a trusted member of the party, and I learned a lot about fishing. But more importantly, I learned the value of close family ties. PS

Tom Bryant, a Southern Pines resident, is a lifelong outdoorsman and PineStraw’s Sporting Life columnist.

Ten Spot

Adding to the Pinehurst allure

By lee paCe

Tom Doak was about 10 years old when he started taking family vacations and tagging along on his father’s business trips from their home in Stamford, Connecticut, to eminent golf destinations like Pebble Beach, Cypress Point, Harbour Town and Pinehurst. He had learned to play on a local municipal course named Sterling Farms, and it didn’t take much for the golf bug to bite. And there was a nascent sense that designing golf holes might be a cool way to spend a life.

“When I was a kid, all I wanted to do was to go outside and play,” says Doak, now 62. “When I discovered golf, I was amazed that such a large parcel of land would be devoted to a game. It’s a safe space where it’s OK to be excited about a good shot, to curse a bad one, to laugh at your friends, and to revel in the beauty of nature.”

One of his father’s business associates gave him a copy of the World Atlas of Golf, an early 1970s tome with text and images of courses from California to Scotland, Florida to Australia. “I pretty much memorized the book,” he says.

On a visit to Hilton Head, Doak picked up a small hole-byhole guide to the Harbour Town Golf Links, which had just opened a few years earlier and was the toast of the PGA Tour and the golf world for the way Pete Dye routed the holes through the Spanish oaks and around the fingers of Calibogue Sound. The hole descriptions were crafted by Charles Price, the noted golf historian who was living in Hilton Head at the time, and was friends with Dye and island developer Charles Fraser.

“It had a diagram of every hole and a description of how to play it, just two or three sentences, very simple, something a 10-year-old could understand perfectly,” Doak says. “It hit me — this is why golf

holes are built a certain way. I saw all these great golf courses at a very early age, and I thought, ‘They are all great, but they are totally different.’ I got a great understanding early on that there’s not a simple answer to why a golf course is great.”

He’s been chasing those answers ever since.

Doak pursued a degree in landscape architecture at Cornell University, graduating in 1982 and spending a year in the United Kingdom visiting more than 170 golf courses and caddying for two months at St. Andrews. He landed a job on Dye’s construction crew and helped build Long Cove Club on Hilton Head, then spent six years building courses for Dye while moonlighting as a writer, establishing a niche with Golf magazine as its golf course architecture chief. In the late 1980s, he began compiling short critiques of the hundreds of courses he’d played and seen and giving each a numerical rating of one through 10. The musings were first intended just for a network of friends but evolved into his 1996 book, The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses

Pinehurst No. 2 was featured in that book as one of 31 courses designated as “The Gourmet’s Choice,” certainly with a 10 ranking, and Doak lauded the layout and the Donald Ross-designed green complexes. “Unquestionably his masterpiece, and a certifiable work of genius,” Doak wrote.

After the 2005 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, sometime around the 2008 U.S. Amateur held on No. 2, Doak was traveling through North Carolina with an intern on his now-established Renaissance Golf Design firm. They stopped in Pinehurst, and he walked the golf course again.

“I first saw No. 2 in the early 1970s,” Doak remembers. “I was 10 or 12 and was visiting with my parents. I’ve seen it at various times over 40 years. It’s always been one of my favorite golf courses. What made it cool was a bunch of little stuff, little ridges, touches of wire grass here and there. The strategy of the fairways stood out. There used to be places on the golf course where the fairway would widen out behind a bunker and you’d try to get way over in the left

Endorsed by Phillip Dutton –Eventing Olympian Sabine Schut-Kery, Dressage Olympian McLain Ward, Show Jumping Olympian

corner of the fairway to get at a pin on the right side of the green.

“On that last trip, it seemed like all of that had gone away. They were narrowing it up for major championships and getting the grass to grow nice and thick. All the texture and angles were gone. That’s what made the golf course — all the subtleties. I said that if I were to rate it again, I’d give it a seven or eight — but not a 10.”

He put his opinions out for the world to see on the message board of GolfClubAtlas.com. Among the comments he made was that No. 2 looked “like an aged relative with dementia. It was sad.”

Tom Pashley, at the time the marketing director for Pinehurst before ascending to the CEO position in 2014, saw the comment and printed out the entire thread of the message board conversation and passed it along to Don Padgett II, the president and CEO of the resort from 2004-14. Doak’s opinions were among a handful of observations that marinated in Padgett’s mind and led to the club hiring Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw in the fall of 2009 to strip the course of its monochromatic green, and restore the textures and haphazard features and boundaries of the holes as they existed when Ross arrived at his final routing in 1935.

On this Sunday morning Doak smiles over breakfast at the Track Restaurant in Pinehurst, just minutes before driving 2 miles south to the site of the No. 10 course he’s building for Pinehurst on property that once housed the Dan Maplesdesigned Pit Golf Links.

“I didn’t expect them to listen to me, and I know that’s not

the best way to get the job to help them fix it,” he says. “But it was a great golf course and was not going in the right direction, and I just said something. Fortunately, Bill and Ben said pretty much the same thing, just much more subtly.”

In the decade since, the design operations of Doak and Coore & Crenshaw have each thrived as the golf marketplace has embraced their respective styles of hands-on attention and their preference to working on rugged, sandy landscapes, where ample drainage allows a limitless palette of design features. While working on the No. 2 restoration in 2010-11, Coore routed a course for Pinehurst that was going to be Pinehurst No. 9 — this before the resort bought the former Pinehurst National course in 2012 and made it No. 9. Now in the post-COVID glow of the golf industry explosion in general and the robust demand among members and the traveling public for Pinehurst’s existing nine courses, Pinehurst owner Robert Dedman Jr. and Pashley believed in 2022 it was time to pull the trigger on the new course.

Coore and Crenshaw was booked several years out but Doak had a hole in his schedule that would allow him to move construction personnel to Pinehurst in late 2022 and through the fall of 2023 to build a new course that could open in time for the 2024 U.S. Open set for Pinehurst. Now the little kid who was smitten with the look of Pinehurst No. 2 in the early 1970s before it got greened-over is leaving his mark in the Sandhills, positioning his course among some 40 others he’s designed, includ-

GOLFTOWN JOURNAL

ing the standouts at Pacific Dunes, Cape Kidnappers, Barnbougle Dunes, Ballyneal and Streamsong.

“We’ve got a really cool piece of land,” Doak says as he navigates his truck through the sand and rough-cut passages of the pine forests and the stone quarry that sat there before a golf course was first built in the 1980s. On this morning, crews are just days away from beginning to sod some of the early fairways.

“This ground has more variety and a different feeling to it than any of the other courses at the resort,” Doak says. “There is a lot going on on this land. The course will start gentle, then it gets more dramatic at the quarry and then reaches the high ground, where we’ve got great long-range views. It’s a big piece of land, and you feel like you have all the pieces of the puzzle. It gives you the opportunity to do something really different.”

Doak is undaunted putting his ideas into the dirt in such close proximity to one of the world’s top courses. He designed Sebonack Golf Club on Long Island in the shadows of two of his favorite courses, The National Golf Links and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, and built The Renaissance Club next door to Muirfield on the Scottish coast. He ignores the pressure and embraces the inspiration.

On one of his visits to Pinehurst, he stayed in Dornoch Cottage, the former Donald Ross home sitting near the third and fifth greens of No. 2.

“I’d take our guys out early in the morning and look at those greens,” he says. “‘This is what a great green looks like,’ I’d say.”

On this Sunday morning, Doak admits to having experienced a challenging day on Friday with his shapers, trying to get a couple of greens to look just so.

“I said let’s go to No. 2 and see what great greens look like and get back in the game. ” PS

Lee Pace has written over four decades about all of the golf architects at Pinehurst, from Donald Ross to Gil Hanse. Contact him at leepace7@gmail.com and follow him on Instagram at @leepaceunc.

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

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

THE RED FOX COURSE

THE GREY FOX COURSE

Mallard Ducks

It is late afternoon and a pair of mallard ducks is paddling the length and breadth of Lake Katharine, their webbed feet working beneath the waterline. The male’s hunter green head is iridescent in the sun, his bill the bright yellow of summer squash. But a female is harder to see. Her mottled, brunette feathers blend with the aquatic vegetation, which will help her protect the nest she has yet to build, the eggs she has not yet lain. Today, however, this hen seems content to bob for plants and small fish while swimming around the lake with her mate, the two of them silent as rubber ducks floating in a child’s bath — or an old married couple eating their supper on separate trays.

— Terri Kirby Erickson

Terri Kirby Erickson’s seventh book of poetry, Night Talks: New & Selected Poem s, will be released in October 2023.

The Acorn and the Tree

Sharing the gifts of love and life

By Jenna Biter • Photogra Phs By L oLLy nazario

Mothers do big things. They plan weddings and crisscross the country (sometimes the globe) to visit children and babysit grandchildren. They do small things, too, like pack lunchboxes, sort smelly laundry, and cheer from the sidelines in excited shouts or whispers. Better than anyone else, mothers navigate awkward, in-betweensized things, like bad breakups or even worse grades.

Mom often does it all without audience or recognition. Sixteen-year-olds don’t remember when she changed their diapers or cooed nighttime lullabies. Her love becomes expected. Some moms relearn calculus only to teach it. Others drive to college in the middle of the night like it’s no big deal. Above all else, moms expertly watch.

She watches, drives, coos, changes, navigates, cheers, sorts, packs and plans. At root, a mother does. Her world is a deep sea of verbs that almost always includes sharing. Mothers and children share hugs. Some share daily conversation. And then there are the lucky few — like these five mothers and their children — who share passions.

Hannah Mebane Louisa and Walter Mebane

Two-and-a-half-year-old Walter takes his tot-sized violin out of its case a second time. Meanwhile, big sister Louisa asks Mom if she can add a heart-shaped sticker to her practice chart. The 6-year-old violinist just cycled through “Mississippi Stop Stop,” the first rhythm to her first song: “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

“Sure,” Hannah Mebane says.

Hannah started playing the violin at Pinehurst Elementary in fourth grade. Fast forward a few decades, and she has taught music and orchestra in Moore County for 11 years. But 2023 will be her last. Hannah has her hands full with kids, a part-time real estate gig, and plans to go from private lessons to a full-time, Suzuki-method studio. There, Hannah will be able to teach even more kids the way she teaches her own.

Pam Owens Travis Owens

Tucked off a backroad — where wildflowers grow tall and dew perpetually clings to emerald grass — sits an old cabin that a trio of fairy godmothers should inhabit. But sprites are nowhere to be found, only sloping candlesticks, jugs with full bellies, and a family of four professional potters hard at work to keep the legacy of Jugtown Pottery alive.

Like the clay they shape with their hands, the Owenses seem to have surfaced from the North Carolina ground. Vernon practically has. Coming from a long line of Seagrove potters, he grew up just around the corner. Pam had to move a little farther. With New England pottery-making in her blood, she originally came south to apprentice with Vernon. Then she returned to marry him, and together, they passed the cumulative talent of generations on to their children, Travis and Bayle.

“I stayed, as a baby, in the room where my mother was working,” Travis says in an easy Southern drawl. “That’s my memory of being very small: being in the workshop, especially with her.”

Tracey Greene Claire Greene

Eleven-year-old Claire Greene practices on her balance beam at home while her mom, Tracey, gives pointers. Up next, 5-year-old Caroline tries a move with instruction from Claire.

“I help train her,” the big sister gushes. “She can already do a bridge, and her cartwheel is getting a lot better.”

Like mother, like daughters.

From ages 4 to 14, Tracey participated in competitive gymnastics. The sport was her lifeline. After her mom, Pat, died from breast cancer, coaches became like second parents. For Claire, gymnastics, as well as dance, provide similar support. They have been her throughline from one military move to the next.

“I started gymnastics when I was 2,” Claire says with a broad smile. “I remember some pictures of us doing stuff together: me mocking Mom, wanting to do what she was doing.”

Then the roles reversed. Watching her daughter compete, Tracey yearned to join in and soon did. She has been tumbling every Wednesday night since an adult class started at Sandhills Gymnastics this January.

Barbara Burley

Nikki Windham

At only 14 years old, Barbara Burley sat at the hospital bedside of a sick child she would babysit. From then on, she knew that she wanted to be a nurse. She pursued a nursing degree and didn’t look back for decades. For 47 1/2 years, Barbara worked nights in the pediatric unit at Moore Regional Hospital. Her last night was New Year’s Eve 2020.

While the night shift wasn’t easy, it allowed Barbara to take her daughters, Beth and Nikki, to and from school, attend their every practice and game, and sometimes even get some sleep.

“She was always at everything. I thought her schedule was great as a kid,” Nikki says. “I didn’t realize how hard it is until I had my children and started working the night shift. You just don’t sleep.”

Nikki graduated from nursing school exactly 25 years after her mom. Thanks to Barbara’s good reputation, she got her first nursing job at Moore, where she worked in the neonatal intensive care unit. Ministering to children must run in the family. Beth also works with kids as a pediatric occupational therapist in the county.

Christina Baker

Amara Baker

Christina Baker points past the fence. “Here comes Amara.” Back from an hour-long lesson, the teenage brunette rides toward the Baker family’s barn on a matching horse named Zeppelin. Amara dismounts, unlatches her helmet, and shelves her tack before hosing down the retired racehorse. She started riding more than a decade ago, first falling for the flat-out speed of foxhunting, and then the discipline of eventing. Inspired by her daughter, Christina decided to take the reins herself.

“Having a teenager is difficult,” Christina says. “I’m not even close to the center of Amara’s world anymore. But, as long as horses are a big part of her world, sharing that activity lets me have a special little place in it, even if it’s just for a one-hour ride.”

Back to the Future

Revitalizing West Southern Pines

By a nn Petersen

The land tells its own story. Hope, creativity and adaptability are its chapters. History is alive at 1250 West New York Avenue.

In 1923, the town of West Southern Pines was chartered as one of the first African American townships on the East Coast. Jim Town was the slang expression for it in those days, either in reference to James Bethea, who owned the general store and other property in the new township; or because of the Jim Crow laws of the day, explains Kim Wade, an expert on West Southern Pines’ history.

The citizens of the new township, often earning as little as 50 cents a day, dreamed of building a Rosenwald School to ensure their children’s education. Julius Rosenwald, the co-owner of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and his wife, Augusta, Jewish immigrants from Germany, established the Rosenwald Fund in 1917 “for the betterment of mankind.” Among its contributions, the

Rosenwald Fund (in common cause with Booker T. Washington) helped build schools in an effort to strengthen rural Black communities in the United States.

With little more than hope to drive their funding, the community raised $6,000, above and beyond municipal taxes, to match the grant from the Rosenwald Fund. Four acres were donated by William and Emma Junge as a site for the school. The land was cleared by the community, and the school was completed in 1925. In the 1940s the Rosenwald School gave way to a more modern structure, and the property became West Southern Pines High School. While the name implied the school was for students in higher grades of secondary education, it was actually the school all children of color attended, regardless of age or grade level. Though the town charter was rescinded in 1931, the community, and school, strove to maintain their viability. A gym and lunchroom along with multiple wings of classrooms were added.

West Southern Pines Rosenwald School, 1925

Many West Southern Pines alumni are still in Moore County. Some, after living successful lives elsewhere, have circled back home. Dorothy Brower, a member of the high school’s last graduating class, is just one example. She returned after a career that included being the director of the Orange County Campus of Durham Technical Community College and the affirmative action officer. Other alumni include Shirley Bowman, Dorothy Douglas Jackson, Walter Powell, Martha Dickerson, Jennifer McCall, Carolyn Penland, Bill Ross and Tessie Taylor.

Retired Lt. Col. Vincent Gordon came back after his stint in the service, followed by his work as an administrative officer with the census bureau in Washington, D.C. When Gordon, one of four sons of a school principal and a Moore County Schools teacher, returned, he was armed with the kind of experience that would prove invaluable when 1250 New York Avenue eventually transitioned to the Southern Pines Housing and Land Trust.

In the 1960s, it was the hope of then-Superintendent Bob Lee to desegregate Moore County Schools and create a heterogenous school system with equal access to education, regardless of race. While Lee and his family endured hateful threats, he worked tirelessly to achieve that goal. With the support of a fearless school board, the dream became a reality and, with desegregation, West Southern Pines High School would become Southern Pines Elementary School.

In 1995, my eldest daughter, Katie, was 5 years old, and my husband, Bruce, and I hoped for what all parents desire: a creative, inspiring, sound education for our children; an education where they would be loved and nurtured. Our decision ultimately fell to Katie and her soon-to-be principal, Blanchie Carter.

I remember walking through the halls of Southern Pines Elementary, trailing behind Blanchie and Katie. As Bruce and

I checked out the surroundings, our loquacious child peppered Blanchie with comments and questions. When we reached the media center Katie turned to us and announced: “This will be my school.” And it was.

There was one drawback to the school at that time. The playground was a treeless desert, a home to unrelenting heat in the late summer and blistering winds in the winter. Periodic dust tornadoes would flit across the barren land. It was a place that bred anger and frustration for the students and the teachers. Riddled with sand spurs, the playground made recess, meant to be a healthy break in the day, anything but. It was, instead, a time to endure.

I signed up to co-chair the playground committee for the PTA. Our goal was to raise $25,000. Bruce, as he was prone to do, signed on to help. We ended up raising 10 times that amount. Fueled by both hope and good luck, we started searching for someone with expertise to help us with the playground. We discovered one of the world’s premier designers of parks for children, an Englishman, was on the teaching staff at the N.C. State School of Design.

Enter Robin Moore. His first lesson was to teach us we were not building a playground, but rather a discovery park. He was right. Blanchie Carter Discovery Park was born.

Moore led us to Dr. Nilda Cosco, a native Argentinian who is an expert on learning through play, also on the faculty of the N.C. State School of Design. She earned her reputation as a leader in the field by working with economically, physically and mentally challenged children in Buenos Aires. I like to think there is a magical matchmaking component to the Blanchie Carter Discovery Park. Shortly after Moore and Cosco began to collaborate on the park in West Southern Pines, Bruce and I

Blanchie Carter Discovery Park today

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN GESSNER

received notice of their marriage.

By 2006 the Blanchie Carter Discovery Park was built. The New York Times ran a feature on the park. Southern Living magazine came calling. Students read about the park in their national Scholastic magazines. James “Pygie” Pugh showed up with his D-6 bulldozer to cut the peripheral trail. Interns came from England to work with the students. Hope and curiosity had carried the day.

Mary Scott Harrison, the principal of the school following Blanchie’s retirement, recognized the extraordinary benefit the park served. Discipline problems dissipated. Both students and teachers were happier. Teachers designed lessons that could be taught outdoors. The school nurse created a walking club that met each morning and walked the peripheral trail.

The staff at Southern Pines Elementary School was as good as any in the country. With the likes of Elaine Simon, Barbara Kelly (Smith), Mamie Allen, Damita Nocton, Edith Moore, Annie Osterman, Liz Lyndsey, Elizabeth Strickland, Toni Hyman and Jane Kschinka, led first by Blanchie Carter and then by Mary Scott Harrison, children thrived. Four years after Katie enrolled at the school, Jennie, her younger sister, entered the magic that was SPES. Jeff Moody, a retired track star turned elementary gym

teacher, knew each child’s name. He could spot the gift Jennie possessed as she raced around the track. “She’s fast. Be patient and let her lead the way. She’s a runner,” he told us. Jennie’s running career, which eventually led her to Dartmouth College, began on the SPES track.

I have not cried when my children advanced from one educational level to another with one exception: I cried the day they both left 1250 West New York Avenue.

In 2020, Southern Pines Primary School (having supplanted Southern Pines Elementary School) was rendered outdated, and the property was vacated. Students of both Southern Pines Primary School and Southern Pines Elementary School enrolled in their brand new school on Carlisle Street. With that change, the land readied for another new chapter.

The school board offered the land up for sale. There were struggles as the community sought to, again, purchase the land. As stories have a way of doing, this one came full circle when the land, primed for a new beginning, became the property of the Southern Pines Housing and Land Trust, an effort led by Vincent Gordon.

The purchase was driven largely by descendants of those who had attended the original Rosenwald School who hoped to not

Work and play at the Blanchie Carter Discovery Park, 1998

only embrace the history of the land, but to preserve Blanchie Carter Discovery Park as a learning venue for all children of Southern Pines to visit and enjoy. The final payment for the land was made by the Town of Southern Pines. Council member Mike Saulnier, who understood the importance of preserving the park, gave birth to a solution that resulted in a contract between the town and the Land Trust.

The former school now proudly houses the West Southern Pines Center for African American History, Cultural Arts and Business. But hopes and dreams need funding to be realized. With a strong board of directors; Executive Director Sandra Dales; Director of Operations Nora Bowman; the relentless efforts of Tom, Lori and Rachel Van Camp; and an army of volunteers led by Susan Ward, who has managed the maintenance of the park, the weekend of May 19-20 will be filled with events to further the goals of refurbishing both the auditorium and Blanchie Carter Discovery Park.

On May 19, the auditorium where I once watched colorful Christmas pageants will play host to a jazz concert featuring Nnenna Freelon, a seven-time Grammy nominee. Tickets are on

sale now at ticketmesandhills.com. With luck, similar fundraisers will become annual events. There will be an invitation-only dinner and auction on May 20 recognizing the contributions of the community, including businesses like the Pinehurst Resort, First Citizens Bank, First Bank and The Friends of the Pinehurst Surgical Clinic. Attendance will likely exceed 350.

Hope has never left 1250 West New York Avenue. Some hope for a museum that embraces the history of West Southern Pines. Others hope for a commercial revitalization of businesses there. A youth basketball team meets in the gym to practice, and the players hope for victory while their coaches — who refinished the gym floor themselves — hope the young players will learn the lessons of collaboration and teamwork. Moore and Cosco have returned to work on the rebirth of the Discovery Park, hoping the land will not only enhance the lives of local children, but serve as a training center for teachers studying early childhood development. It remains a place where dreams can come true. PS

Bruce Cunningham and Ann Petersen were awarded the Governor’s Volunteer Award for their work on the Blanchie Carter Discovery Park.

Bruce Cunningham working on the Blanchie Carter Discovery Park, 1998

The Quest for Liquid Sunshine

Story and P hotogra PhS by todd P uSSer

Documenting the lives of extraordinary fish in ordinary places

For over two hours I have been watching fish. Despite wearing a thick wetsuit, I am beginning to feel a bit chilled. Adjusting my face mask and stretching my legs in the swift current, I quietly exhale into my snorkel. One fish, just 7 inches long and sporting a pale blue head covered in distinctive white bumps, picks up a rock and drops it into its nest. Swarming around the blue-headed fish are hundreds of neon cherry-red fish, each the length of my index finger.

The kaleidoscope of colors flashing above the pyramid of rocks resembles a vibrant coral reef. However, as the cold water rushing down the back of my wetsuit reminds me, this is certainly not the tropics. Instead, I am lying face down in a knee-deep creek that flows through the foothills of North Carolina, near the town of Morganton, paying witness to an annual rite of spring.

Fumbling with the controls of my underwater camera, I suddenly feel that I am being watched. Lifting my head from the water, I see a fisherman standing just a few yards away. Through the condensation inside my face mask, I can see that he is wearing green waders and is holding a long fly rod in his right hand. He has a puzzled look on his face.

Removing the snorkel from my mouth, I mutter, “Hello.” There is an extended pause.

“Son, what are you doing?” the fisherman finally responds, with a distinct Appalachian drawl. It is obvious that the last thing he expected to see on this warm afternoon in his favorite creek was a man decked out in full scuba gear, like some lost Jacques Cousteau, holding a camera contraption that resembles something out of The War of the Worlds.

“I’m photographing fish,” I reply. Another pause.

“You taking pictures of trout?” he asks.

“No,” I respond. “I am taking photos of a bluehead chub.” Confused look once again.

“A what?” the fisherman asks.

I motion for him to step closer. “Right in front of me,” I say, pointing to spot in the shallow creek, “is a chub nest.”

Cautiously, the fisherman moves closer.

“Look for the large pile of rocks,” I say and motion again.

Staring intently through the reflections of trees and the blue sky on the surface of the water, I see the fisherman’s eyes widen with surprise.

“Oh, wow,” he exclaims. “Look at all those bright red minnows with white fins!” There’s that drawl again, pronouncing minnows as “minners.”

“Those are greenhead shiners,” I say, eager to impart a biology lesson. “They are all lit up in their breeding colors and are spawning in the chub nest. The rest of the year, those minnows are drab in color and are not nearly as bright as they are right now.”

The fisherman’s interest is thoroughly piqued.

Dragging myself up out of the water, I make a wide berth around the chub nest and approach the fisherman with my underwater camera housing in hand.

He asks, “What’s that fish you are taking pictures of again?”

I scroll through photos on the LCD of my camera, stopping at one in particular. “It’s called a bluehead chub,” I say, pointing to the photo of the blue-headed fish with white bumps on its head.

Recognizing the fish right away, the fisherman proclaims, “That’s a hornyhead. I catch them sometimes fishing for trout.” Hornyhead is an angler’s generic term for chubs within the genus Nocomis, of which seven species are found in North American waters. During the spring mating season, male chubs develop white bumps or tubercles on their heads, which they use to hit other males off their nests, somewhat like antlers in white-tailed deer.

“You say that’s a chub?” the fisherman asks. “And it builds a nest?”

“Yes, sir,” I answer. “The male chub will drop one rock at a time, building up a nest in just the right spot of the stream to

attract a female. There may be hundreds of rocks in a nest. Those bright red minnows will school over the nest and drop their eggs in there as well.”

“Well, I’ll be,” says the fisherman. “I had no idea that was happening in this creek.”

This is a typical response I hear from people. These miniature “coral reefs,” full of bright colorful fish, which some biologists affectionately call “liquid sunshine,” are among the state’s most spectacular wildlife spectacles and are frequently overlooked.

“You from around here?” the fisherman asks.

“No. I’m from Virginia, but I grew up down in the Sandhills,” I said. “Each spring, I make a special trip out to the mountains just to photograph these fish.”

“That’s dedication,” the fisherman proclaims. Indeed. It has become an obsession for me.

I did not elaborate, but for the past decade, I have traveled from West Virginia to Alabama trying to photograph the different species of chubs and the various brightly colored minnows that use their nests. Chubs are what biologists refer to as “keystone species.” They play vital roles in maintaining the overall health of any creek or stream in which they occur. An incredible 27 species of minnows have been documented using chub nests for reproduction.

North Carolina is home to three species of Nocomis chubs. The bluehead chub is found throughout the Piedmont and foothills, in rivers that drain into the Atlantic Ocean. The river chub is a denizen of the mountains, swimming in streams that drain into the Tennessee River. The bigmouth chub is found only in the

northwest portion of the state in the New River Drainage. Each river drainage in the state possesses a different suite of colorful minnow species that spawn over chub nests and I have been trying to document them all. In the Dan River Drainage, north of Winston-Salem, I have photographed spectacular golden-black mountain redbelly dace and bright pink crescent shiners spawning over bluehead chub nests. I have sought out the endemic pinewoods shiners, whose rose-wine bodies, coupled with bright white heads, liven up the chub nests in the Tar and Neuse Rivers — the only places in the world where the species is found. In the Chatooga River, near Cashiers, I watched a northern water snake snatch a yellowfin shiner from a school of several hundred spawning over a chub nest. And just a few miles from my childhood home, I once photographed bright orange redlip shiners spawning over a bluehead chub nest, with equally colorful rosyside dace, in waters just 8 inches deep.

As we stood there in the creek, beneath a canopy of oak and tulip poplars, I could tell that the fisherman was eager to get back to it. Smiling, I say, “Good luck with the fishing.”

“Same to you,” he responds. With that, he lifts up his fly rod and continues walking downstream, disappearing around a bend.

I put on my face mask and snorkel and lie back down in the creek with camera in hand. The underwater fireworks show is still going off. It seems that even more greenhead shiners have joined in the fray. If ever there was a misnamed fish, surely it must be them, with their bright red bodies and milky white fins. I see nary a green head among them.

I notice the bluehead chub pick up yet another rock and drop

it on top of the nest. I wonder how many times it has done that over the past few days. No doubt, hundreds of times. I chuckle to myself, thinking how my dad would appreciate its work ethic.

Suddenly, a female chub appears near the front of the nest, head facing into the current. Through a wall of neon red fish, I see the bright white bumps of the male’s head as he eases up beside her. In an instant, he arches his body in a semicircle around the female. Frantically beating tails from side to side, the pair release a cloud of sperm and eggs into the pile of rocks. It’s all over in a second. The female quickly darts off upstream and the male returns to guard duty, occasionally picking up rocks and dropping them back down. His constant mouthing of the rocks helps to aerate the precious eggs and prevents silt from accumulating on them. All the while, the greenhead shiners continue to swarm around the chub in dense waves of red.

Recently, biologists from Clemson University have shown that the greenhead shiner’s closest relative, the more appropriately named yellowfin shiner, will not spawn in the absence of a bluehead chub. The species relies entirely on the chub for successful reproduction. More surprisingly, their research has revealed that chubs may need shiners just as much as the shiners need the chubs. Their relationship is mutually beneficial.

As I continue to take photos, I begin to notice other species of fish swimming around the nest. A pair of central stonerollers, whose large lips hint to a lifestyle of scraping algae off rocks, skirt the rear edge of the rock pile, just behind the main swarm of greenhead shiners. Two dozen rosyside dace, with broad, contrasting black and red stripes running down their sides, swim above the shiners. Nearly 4 inches in length, they are considerably stockier than the greenheads. Rounding out the mix are a half dozen warpaint shiners, so named for their striking red, yellow

and black facial markings.

The abundance in life in this one little spot of the creek is staggering.

I lift my head from the water and see the fisherman returning from downstream. I fail to notice that another hour has passed by.

He has a large smile on his face and I see he’s had some luck. Now, along with his fly rod, he is carrying a stringer with two large rainbow trout in tow. As he approaches, he says, “Still at it, I see.”

“Yep,” I say taking the snorkel from my mouth. “The action has been pretty good.”

“Same,” he says. “And thanks for showing me such a cool sight.” He nods toward the chub nest.

“My pleasure. I always enjoy sharing.”

“By the way,” he casually remarks. “There’s an even larger chub nest downstream a couple hundred yards, just around that bend.” He motions toward the direction he just walked. “I would have never noticed it before. Must be 500 fish on it.”

“Really?” I say, perhaps overenthusiastically.

“Really,” he says walking slowly by. “Have a good day.”

“You too,” I smile. “Enjoy dinner,” I say, pointing to the trout. The fisherman nods and continues walking upstream, eventually disappearing from sight.

Glancing at my watch, I see that there are still a few hours of daylight left. Perhaps that other nest will be worth checking out. Gathering up my camera gear, I slowly make my way downstream. PS

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

By a mBer Ly gLitz WeBer • Photogra Phs By L aura gingerich

Ladybug, Ladybug Fly

away home

Children’s voices lilt and pitch as they pile out of minivans in a dirt parking lot and file down a well-tended forest trail deeper into the woods. It is a cool morning with a mist in the air and the sun dappling through the pine trees. They pass animal pens and an apple orchard. Hens cluck to the anthem of a large Black Copper Maran rooster. Goats bleat and a large sow snuffles into her feed trough.

As the children shuffle down the sand path into a forest clearing and settle onto log seats around a stone fire circle, a woman’s voice begins singing softly: “Good morning dear friends/so glad to see you.” It is a gentle, untrained voice that carries a smile in it as the children settle into rapt attention.

This is the daily ritual at Ladybug Farm, Shawna and Jared Fink’s 16-acre Pinebluff farm that hosts a variety of nature immersion classes and other programs. Such attentiveness on the part of preschoolers may be difficult, if not impossible, for most parents to imagine. Is it magic that holds them spellbound on their log seats, cradling a hot cup of tea from homegrown tea leaves and nibbling at freshbaked bread? If so, it is a magic made wholly by the woman with kind eyes singing on the other side of the circle.

Shawna did not grow up with a farming background in her home in upstate New York, though she did live in a rural community “with more registered dairy cows than people,” she says. Her father’s garden offered a place for special time spent together after her parents’ divorce, and

long walks in the woods accompanying him in his hunting and trapping were treasured. “I didn’t realize at the time how important and sacred nature was to me, but now, reflecting on it, I think it led me here today,” she says.

For a woman so integral to this family farm and forest school, it was a gradual metamorphosis — Shawna never even intended to leave her hometown. After starting a degree in art and art therapy, she changed over to education. Preparing herself for the New York State school system, Shawna added a concentration in high school math to her undergraduate degree in elementary education and special education with an art minor. “I love doing things, and learning, and I’m a

believer you can just keep learning your whole life,” Shawna says.

The following year, Jared’s job took them to Pennsylvania, where Shawna planted the first of many rudimentary gardens that would follow her from place to place.

“We had a little apartment, and we were on the second floor so I had no yard,” she says. “I asked the neighbor, ‘Can I put a few things in the garden?’ A couple of months later, it’s like beans, huge cosmos, sunflowers, a little bit of lettuce and a couple of carrots — enough to feel that connection to the earth.”

Shawna finished her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction while in Pennsylvania. “The plan was to return to New York. A lot of people were pushing me toward administration and leadership, but then you’re so disconnected from the children,” she says. “So, curriculum and instruction was a great

outlet for me.” It also gave her the opportunity to begin incorporating Waldorf school principles into her educational philosophy.

With that degree complete, Shawna was ready to find work in her field, and Jared was willing to follow wherever that led. They searched from Florida to Hawaii to Thailand before a cousin in Sanford pointed them toward North Carolina. An interview with Hoke County, followed by an immediate job offer, brought them south.

It was a difficult start for a first-year teacher and a daily battle. “I felt I was needed there, but I was also passing the gardens of Aberdeen Elementary every day on my commute from Moore County, and I really wanted to be at that school,” she says. Shawna joined Aberdeen as a third-grade teacher the next year, and her “heart fell in love with it.”

While at Aberdeen Elementary, Shawna taught inclusion to a third-grade class containing children of different ages and varying abilities. Children with special needs, as well as those considered gifted, all had to be tested at a third-grade level. Using differentiation and small groups, she got amazing test results, winning The Growing to Greatness Award. She led nationwide classroom management workshops through FoodCorps, sharing the feasibility of getting kids outside and managing children in an outdoor setting with other teachers.

“There’s something so wholesome to me that even when I was teaching, gardening was something that I did,” Shawna says. Third-grade curriculum included the functions of the stems, roots, leaves, area, perimeter — answers to all of which were to be found hands-on in the garden.

“The kids knew, every Friday, you bring your boots, you’re going out rain or shine in the garden and doing things. So, I was already doing that a lot, and it filled my soul.” She experienced the growth of a child who had required police restraint in his own home, isolated by severe behavioral issues, for whom a daily start in the garden was life-changing.

“I saw the changes that happened in my children when I allowed them to go out in the garden every morning,” Shawna remembers. “It just changed the whole dynamic, responsibility level, the attitudes of my children, it was incredible.” She gloried in watching her class develop a connection to their food, fondly remembering a precocious child’s exclamation,“OMG, this broccoli doesn’t even need ranch dressing!”

After advocating for the interests of her self-contained classroom and the individuality she felt necessary for the success of all her children, mass curriculum changes caused

her to depart public education. Unsure of her next step, she knew the one constant was that it would involve nature. “To see children who don’t have that connection to their food develop that connection really changed me, and so when I left teaching that was still a very big part of what I wanted to do,” she says.

The road to Ladybug Farm continued to meander, as she launched a landscape consulting business but missed working with children. Motherhood came and with it a resurgence of her interest in childhood education, the richness of Waldorf and myriad other doctrines offering enrichment to the whole child.

The Finks’ final move to their Pinebluff land and the adventure of building their own home while living in a fifthwheel RV brought another whirlwind of activity. “We were in the camper before we even had a well dug, and borrowed a hose from the neighbor’s house,” Shawna says. “We could have workmen running power tools or air conditioning, but there just wasn’t enough for both.” Their second child was born and the family moved into the completed home when he was 6 months old. “We made the most of it, and I was so happy, and excited, but it was nice when we moved into the house. We called it our castle, because it seemed so big.”

Throughout the frenzy of construction, a newborn, and building the infrastructure of a fully functioning farm, Shawna continued to host play dates and draw her community into the nature they had cultivated. As the farm grew

she began hosting field trips for local schools and her dream along with it. “I want children and families to develop a connection with nature. I want a community — that is my goal. A community-based farm where people can come to develop a connection with nature. The school started from there, with a few children in the fall.” The first session hosted an autumnonly program, which eventually grew to a full year.

Like the apple orchard that started as a testing ground for cider varieties, the programs at Ladybug Farm have blossomed naturally over time. The Nature Immersion Forest

Kindergarten for 3- to 6-year-olds led organically to the Nature Immersion Forest Homeschool program, as children who aged out of the first group couldn’t bear to leave the farm entirely. The kindergarten, now in its fifth year, has grown to two days a week, as Shawna adds more Waldorf rhythm and handicrafts. The Finks finished their hoop-style greenhouse, which grew from a desire to create a wheelchair-friendly space with wide aisles and raised beds. Forest classes benefit from the extended growing period and are able to harvest the fruits of their labors before summer vacation. Adults wanted to join the community,

sparking a Winter Greenhouse Gardening Program. Jared continues to expand his passion project, LBF Carpentry, with the twin goals of crafting heirloom furniture while offering community workshop space and woodworking classes.

As full as life is at Ladybug Farm, it remains an integrated part of its Sandhills community. “I really like chocolate, but you can’t grow chocolate here,” Shawna says with a smile. “So everyone thinks, ‘Oh you’re self-sustaining, you don’t need anyone else.’ No, self-sustainability is never going to be the goal — you can be community sustainable. And you can go to Java Bean and get your coffee beans. And then go here and get something else. But you’re always going to need your community.”

The home Shawna and Jared built looks out on a garden, bees from their apiary buzzing through the celery stalks while ducks waddle into a stock pond. In early spring, the white “castle” on the hill will attract its namesake ladybug in droves, carpeting its southern walls in the sunshine. The insect has brought a fitting name to this 16-acre farm. Dainty and colorful, they may not seem particularly fierce and yet one ladybug can decimate 5,000 aphids over the course of its lifetime. It is a telling reminder of the power a single person can have on their own environment. One Shawna Fink keeps in mind, as she tends deep roots of her own at Ladybug Farm. PS

Aberdeen resident Amberly Glitz Weber is an Army veteran and freelance writer. She’s grateful for every minute spent out of doors, rain or shine.

A Legend Slept Here

Should the spirit of Rassie Wicker return to his modest Pinehurst cottage, finding pipe and slippers — let alone his bed and a hearty breakfast — might pose a problem. Rooms have been added, space repurposed. The house now sports two front and three back doors, two full-size dining tables, a living room and a sitting room, plus a kitchen without defining walls or a Sub-Zero. Narrow hallways and a warren of cubbies, closets and pantries fulfill the owners’ requirements in clever ways, none of them glamorous, all of them practical.

Which suggests a kinship between Wicker, who built the cottage in 1923, and Bob and Lisa Hammond, whose purchase in 2017 initiated changes accomplished mostly with their own hands during weekends, while sleeping in a backyard cabin/guest house.

Bob, a retired optometrist, and Lisa, an almost-retired nurse, bring extensive construction know-how. Bob added some doors, sealed others. He crafted the footed Shaker-style kitchen cabinets, built tables with a skill tempered by homeowner pride — not unlike Wicker’s own.

A mystical connection, perhaps?

Rassie Wicker, born in 1892 to a carpenter/cabinetmaker father employed by Leonard Tufts, grew up to be a force in Pinehurst history. After graduating from a one-room schoolhouse he continued studies at what would become N.C. State University, returning to Pinehurst as surveyor-civil engineer and self-styled Moore County historian.

Reimagining the Rassie Wicker Cottage

By DeBorah sa Lomon

Photogra Phs By John gessner

After serving in Europe during World War I, Rassie married Dolly Loving, had two children, and in 1923 built a home on Dundee Road. Over the years Pinehurst’s “Renaissance man” helped configure village streets and greenspaces. He died in 1972, and Rassie Wicker Park was named in honor of him in 1995.

The Wicker homestead had been updated and well-maintained when Bob and Lisa discovered it while living in a three-story brick Federalist in Holly Springs. Lisa wanted an old house to restore in retirement. Golf sweetened the deal for Bob.

“What about Pinehurst?” he suggested.

Like other retirees, Lisa pictured something walking distance to the village. Availability for these prime locations was, as usual, tight. Then, while driving out of Pinehurst they spotted the Wicker cottage, its brown shakes painted yellow, in a neighborhood Tufts intended for resort employees.

The cottage had been remodeled in the late ’90s, but Bob wasn’t thrilled with its flat roof. Nevertheless, the guest cottage and workshop were a plus, as was the acre of land. They returned to take a look. Soon after, by chance, Lisa met Rassie’s granddaughter, Jill Wicker Gooding, who still keeps a house in Pinehurst.

“This house was meant to be, for us,” Lisa concluded. “We felt an instant connection.”

With help from a contractor, the two medical professionals from Ohio converted space to better uses, even locating a stall shower outside the bathroom proper. They added 900 square feet onto the back, forming a living-dining room with walls sized to fit their furniture, including dining and coffee tables crafted by Bob. In another life, the coffee table was a flatbed trolley carrying wood around a lumberyard. “She finds a picture, I make it,” says Bob.

A sun porch was converted (with beadboard paneling and ceiling-height windows) into a guest room — bright and charming as a treehouse. “Dolly’s kitchen” became another bedroom, while the new kitchen-without-walls spread in several directions. The master suite was cobbled from three original bedrooms. That unattractive flat roof gained a pitch, with its rafters removed and reinstalled as shelves. The yellow exterior shakes are now a fresh vanilla.

Some wide knotty pine floorboards, full of character, come from trees Bob estimates were 400 years old.

Furnishings, many family heirlooms, are more homey than elegant. “This is our style, no high-end antiques,” Lisa says. Some enjoy a secondary use, like the carpenter’s bench with attached vise that became a kitchen island — Bob cooks, too — with a school desk (Lisa’s mother was a teacher) anchoring one end. A butter churn and bottle capper became lamps.

“Our goal was to renovate while honoring the past,” says Lisa.

Several tones of sea blue and bright navy flow from room to room. Previous owners had finished off the guest cottage, now with covered deck, perfect for visiting family.

No secret documents or family jewels were plastered into the walls, but they did discover a formal handwritten message from father to son inside a medicine cabinet, dated September, 1923: “Made by J.A. Wicker for Rassie E. Wicker.”

The yard offered additional surprises from the plant-loving Wickers. In 1986 Jill Wicker Gooding wrote to her grandmother Dolly on her 90th birthday: “I remember the round-leaf sweetgum when it was too small to climb and I remember the sunken garden before the ivy took over.”

Sweetgum trees were impacted by blight, but the one Rassie moved to his yard lives on. Lisa dug out the brick-walled sunken garden, now ablaze with azaleas. Bob built a window box to fill with pansies. Incredibly, the original wooden picket fence still stands.

Inside and out, among early 20th century cottages built to draw residents to a fashionable winter mecca, this one stands apart. In 2017, Rassie Wicker Cottage was awarded a Pinehurst Historic Plaque by the Village Heritage Foundation, which recognizes the preservation of historic buildings, both grand and simple. It hangs above one of the front doors.

“We think Rassie would be proud,” Lisa says, and smiles. PS

ALMANAC

May

By a shLey Wa L she

Among the Wildflowers

May is the nimble bard, back again, rendering tales of romance and revelry.

When the peonies sing out and the black snake sheds his winter skin, the bard slinks in with an age-old poem, jubilant and familiar. You recognize the words but the tune has changed.

It’s more florid, less restrained.

A bard never sings the same song twice.

The poem is a constellation of roses, a bouquet of wild songbirds, a quivering fawn, wet from birth. It is a bluebird’s first flight, a canopy of tree frogs, a fox kit emerging from the den.

It’s a tale of first love — a whisper, a giggle, a kiss — a sacred song between two hearts and the ancient, flowering magnolia.

The rhythm quickens for the ballad of the bee and the lady’s slipper; the waltz of the foxglove and hummingbird; the butterfly’s ode to red clover.

Honeysuckle on the tongue, the bard weaves from wild place to formal garden, from strawberry patch to rabbit burrow, from poppy field to chrysalis.

She sings of earthworms and spring rain; soft grass and bare feet; the boy and his mud castle.

Listen for the girl in the sunhat. Snap peas on the trellis. Dandelions and cartwheels and picnic baskets.

The wind sings along, carrying her tune through the leafed-out trees until we are nectardrunk and flushed. Each word pulses with ecstasy. We cannot help but sing along.

National Wildflower Week, celebrated during the first full week of May, is spring at its finest. The air is sweet. Roadsides and meadows are bursting with life and color. The pollinators are here for the party. Perhaps you know that in 2016, the North Carolina Wildlife Federation launched The Butterfly Highway project in response to the alarming decline of native bees and monarch butterflies. This conservation restoration initiative continues to expand its “network of native flowering plants” to help sustain our pollen- and nectar-dependent wild ones.

Interested in adding a “Pollinator Pitstop” to the map? Visit ncwf.org/habitat/butter fly-highway, where you can find N.C. native pollinator seed packets, discover what’s blooming this month, and learn more.

The word May is a perfumed word . . . It means youth, love, song; and all that is beautiful in life.

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, journal, 1861

The Great Mother

Creation stories of the Lenape and Iroquois people evoke images of a great cosmic turtle carrying the world on its back. Surely all mothers have felt like that turtle from time to time. This year, Mother’s Day lands on Sunday, May 14. Perhaps fittingly, World Turtle Day is celebrated this month, too — on Tuesday, May 23.

The Eastern box turtle, N.C.’s state reptile, begins nesting at the end of this month. Although common across the state, the Eastern box turtle population is declining. When next you see one, wish it well. She could be carrying eggs — or tending a clutch of tiny, delicate worlds. PS

To add an event, email us at pinestraw.calendar@gmail.com

arts & entertainment

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

TECH HELP SESSIONS. SPPL offers one-on-one Technology Help Sessions. A library staff member will sit with you to assist with accessing eBooks, learning how to use a new device, navigating a computer, and to answer any other basic technology questions. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. To make an appointment come into the library or visit www.sppl.net.

PHOTO HISTORY. 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. The historical association will host a new exhibit, “Southern Pines Then and Now,” featuring photographs taken 100 years ago and what the same area looks like today. Free admission. Water Department, 180 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines.

MAY EVENTS

Tuesday, May 2

BRAIN FITNESS. 10 - 11 a.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to a Brain Fitness class. Eve Gaskell will be the instructor. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

EXHIBITION ON SCREEN. 10 a.m. “Vermeer: The Greatest Exhibition.” There will be a second showing at 7 p.m. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 420-2549 or www.sunrisetheater.com.

BRUNCH. 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Enjoy a Mother’s Day brunch with fun Victorian parlor games, fellowship and tasty snacks. For adults 55 and older. Cost is $2 for residents and $3 for non-residents. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

TEEN HOMEWORK SPACE. 4 p.m. Working on a group project, homework, or just looking for a space to commiserate as you’re working on things? Visit our Teen Homework and Collaboration Space. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.sppl.net or email: kbroughey@sppl.net.

GARDEN PARTY. 4 - 6 p.m. The Village Heritage Foundation will host its Spring Garden Party with food and refreshments. Timmel Pavilion, 105 Rassie Wicker Drive, Pinehurst. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Wednesday, May 3

LINE DANCING. 2 p.m. The town of Vass will host line dancing for seniors. There will be other dancing sessions on May 17 and 31. Cost is $5 per

session. Vass Town Hall, 140 S. Alma St., Vass. Info: www.townofvassnc.gov.

LADIES WINE OUT. 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. The Women of Weymouth present their annual happy hour outside on the Weymouth grounds. The event features appetizers and desserts by Scott’s Table, a wine bar, wine raffle, wine pull, auction items, mystery boxes and great music. Reserve your tickets by May 1. Cost is $45 for members and $50 for non-members. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org.

Thursday, May 4

BOOK EVENT. 1 p.m. S.C. Gwynne will be in conversation with Kimberly Daniels Taws to talk about his book His Majesty’s Airship: The Life and Tragic Death of the World’s Largest Flying Machine. The Pilot, 145 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

SOUL FLOW. 6:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Join a gentle flow guaranteed to soothe the mind, body, and soul. A mixture of yin and restorative yoga. Great for all levels. Cost is $12 for residents and $17 for non-residents. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

TROLLEY CRUISE. 7 - 9 p.m. Join the Sandhills Trolley Company for a “May the Fourth Be With You” cruise. Hatchet Brewing Company, 490 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Friday, May 5

CARRIAGE CLASSIC. 8:30 a.m. Spectators can watch drivers and passengers in formal dress driving well-appointed carriages negotiating mazes and competing for prizes. The event, in existence for more than 30 years, will be at Big Sky Farm on Tremont Road in Southern Pines. Classes begin Friday morning with dressage and cones. Pleasure classes start at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, May 6 and Sunday, May 7, concluding at approximately 4 p.m. Saturday, noon Sunday. For more information see moorecountydrivingclub.net or contact Cheryl Bacon at (910) 309-7624.

LUNCH BUNCH. 11:30 a.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to dine on different cuisines each month as you visit different restaurants in the area. Carpool with friends or meet at the restaurant. Dining locations will be chosen the week before. Info: (910) 692-7376.

CONCERT. 12 p.m. The New Horizons Band will join the Bach’s Lunch Concerts. Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 350 E. Massachusetts Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 986-0352.

FIRST FRIDAY. 5 p.m. Come to First Friday where Daniel Donato will be performing. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 420-2549 or www.sunrisetheater.com.

TROLLEY CRUISE. 7 - 9 p.m. The Sandhills Trolley Company is offering a Cinco de Mayo trolley cruise. Hatchet Brewing Company, 490 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Saturday, May 6

GOAT YOGA. 10 - 11 a.m. Come enjoy a yoga class with goats. Must be 12 or older to attend. Bring your own yoga mat, towel and water. Ithika Acres Creamery, 4273 Gainey Road, Raeford. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

KID’S SATURDAY. 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Families are invited to a monthly themed craft event to socialize and get creative. Geared toward ages 3 - 10. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642.

PAGES OF THE PINES. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Meet authors and illustrators of the Sandhills and surrounding area at the second annual “Pages of the Pines, a Festival of Books Celebrating Local Authors.” Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

BOOK EVENT. 1 p.m. Patti Callahan Henry will talk about her latest book, The Secret Book of Flora Lee. The Country Bookshop, 140 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

TROLLEY CRUISE. 1 - 2:30 p.m. The Sandhills Trolley Company offers a Pinehurst history cruise and walking tour. Pine Crest Inn, 50 Dogwood Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

DERBY DAY. 5 - 8 p.m. Join us for a Derby Day watch party fundraiser to benefit Weymouth Equestrians, our new free afterschool program held in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of the Sandhills. The Derby Day party features bluegrass, bourbon and BBQ, best-hat and bestdressed contests and a prize raffle. Cost is $100 for members and $125 for non-members. Lyell’s Meadow, 128-342 Mile Away Lane, Vass. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org.

DERBY DAY DANCE. 6:15 p.m. The Moore Area Shag Society hosts DJ Ron Russ for its monthly social. This month’s theme is “Dancing on Derby Day.” Cost is $10 per person. A cash bar will be available. Down Memory Lane, 161 Dawkins St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 215-4054.

TROLLEY CRUISE. 7 - 9 p.m. Sandhills Trolley Company offers a Brews on the Trolley Cruise. Southern Pines Brewing Company, 565 Air Tool

Drive, Southern Pines. For information: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

SALSAFEST PARTY. 7 - 10 p.m. Come celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a Salsafest party. Cost is $25 per person or $45 per couple. Carolina DanceWorks, 712 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 725-1846 or carolinadanceworks@gmail.com. Info: (910) 725-1846 or carolinadanceworks@gmail.com.

Sunday, May 7

PAGES OF THE PINES. 2 - 4 p.m. Attend a series of short writing workshops on topics like journaling and self-publishing. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

Monday, May 8

PHOTO CLUB. 7 p.m. The Sandhills Photography Club monthly meeting will be a presentation on “Finding Inspiration in Our Photographic Lives” by Canadian photographer Kas Stone. Guests are welcome. Sandhills Horticultural Gardens Visitors Center, 3245 Airport Road, Southern Pines. Info: www.sandhillsphotoclub.org.

Tuesday, May 9

AARP TALK. 12 - 12:30 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to join AARP for a fraud talk. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

TEEN WRITING CLUB. 4 p.m. Are you interested in creative writing and storytelling, connecting with other writers, and getting feedback on your work? Join us for the Teen Creative Writing Club. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.sppl.net or email: kbroughey@sppl.net.

WRITERS IN RESIDENCE. 5:30 - 7 p.m. Join us as New York Times bestselling author Lee Smith reads from her new novel, Silver Alert. Free admission, registration required. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org.

Wednesday, May 10

GAME DAYS. 2 p.m. The town of Vass will begin hosting game days for seniors. There will be another game day May 24. Vass Town Hall, 140 S. Alma St., Vass. Info: www.townofvassnc.gov.

BOOK EVENT. 5 p.m. Daniel Wallace will be in conversation with Kimberly Daniels Taws to talk about his memoir This Isn’t Going to End Well: The True Story of the Man I Thought I Knew. The Country Bookshop, 140 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Thursday, May 11

GATHERING AT GIVEN. 3:30 p.m. Library Services and Archives Director Audrey Moriarty will talk about the library's first year as a municipal library. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642.

Friday, May 12

CONCERT. 3 p.m. The New Horizons Band will have its final concert with pop, jazz and classic band entertainment. Senior Enrichment Center, 8084 U.S. 15, West End. Info: (910) 986-0352.

LIVE THEATER. 7 p.m. The Effects of Gamma Rays on the Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds. There will be more performances on May 13, 14, 19, 20 and 21. Sunday performance is at 3 p.m. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 420-2549 or www.sunrisetheater.com.

Saturday, May 13

COMMUNITY YARD SALE. 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Enjoy shopping 20 - 40 individual outdoor booths offering everything from handmade crafts, modern tools and electronics, vintage and antique collectibles and even an assortment of everyday household items or clothes. A food truck will be on-site. The Bee’s Knees, 125 N.C. 73, West End. Info: (910) 420-8970. HORSE EVENT. SPEA War Horse Event Series. The event continues through May 14. Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford. Info: www.carolinahorsepark.com.

Monday, May 15

STRAWBERRY FEST. 10 a.m. Feed your passion for sweets and fashion at the Women of Weymouth’s final meeting of the season. The meeting will conclude with an outdoor luncheon, featuring strawberry shortcake parfait, music by the Carolina Jr. Philharmonic, and a Talbots fashion show. Reserve your tickets by May 6. Cost is $30 for members and $35 for non-members. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org.

ADULT STORY TIME. 12 - 1 p.m. Meet in the Eric Nelson Room for an adult short story readaloud. Bring your lunch, snacks or coffee and sit back to listen. No prep work required. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642.

PUPPY PALS LIVE. 7 - 8 p.m. Puppy Pals is an action-packed show where dogs perform spectacular stunts. Owens Auditorium, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Tuesday, May 16

BRAIN FITNESS. 10 - 11 a.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to a Brain Fitness class. Eve Gaskell will be the instructor. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

BINGO. 11 a.m - 12 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to play 10 games of bingo. Cost is $4 for residents and $6 for non-residents. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

BOOK CLUB. 2 p.m. The James Boyd Book Club meets for this month’s book. Free admission, registration required. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org.

TEEN BOARD GAME NIGHT. 4 p.m. BYOG (Bring Your Own Game) or use one of ours. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.sppl.net or email: kbroughey@sppl.net.

BOOK EVENT. 5 p.m. The Country Bookshop and Eloise Trading Company are hosting Susan Gravely, founder of Vietri, to talk about her book Italy on a Plate. Eloise Trading Company, 111 W. Main St., Aberdeen. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Wednesday, May 17

BOOK EVENT. 11 a.m. Joy Calloway returns to talk about her book All The Pretty Places. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

WHITEHALL BOOK CLUB. 2 p.m. Southern Pines Public Library’s book club for adults meets to discuss this month’s book. The book club is open to the public. Whitehall Property, 490 Pee Dee Road, Southern Pines. Info: mmiller@sppl.net.

Thursday, May 18

HORSE SHOW. Triangle Farms Sandhills Spring Classic ‘A’ Horse Show. The event continues through May 21. Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford. Info: www.carolinahorsepark.com.

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

CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE. 6:30 p.m. The guest speaker will be journalist and author Richard Quest, discussing his book I Held Lincoln, A Union Soldier’s Journey Home. Meeting starts at 7 p.m. Open to the public. Civic Club, corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Ashe Street, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 246-0452 or mafarina@aol.com.

Friday, May 19

TEA AND TECH. 11 a.m. Are you interested in learning how to access eBooks on your Kindle, iPad, or other device? Learn all about downloading eBooks, audiobooks and other resources with the Libby app. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: msilva@sppl.net.

FAMILY CAMP OUT. 7 p.m. Join us for a campout under the stars. Enjoy family games, snacks, fun and a story by the campfire. Must provide your own tent. Space is limited to the first 20 families. Cost is $10 for residents and $14 for non-residents. Downtown Park, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

PERFORMANCE. 7 - 8:30 p.m. Enjoy a night of music with Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon to benefit the West Southern Pines Center for African-American History, Cultural Arts & Business in the auditorium at 1250 W. New York Ave., Southern Pines. Cost is $75. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

TROLLEY CRUISE. 7 - 9 p.m. The Sandhills Trolley Company will travel back in time to the 1980s. Southern Pines Brewing Company, 565 Air Tool Drive, Southern Pines. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

DANCE SOCIAL. 8 - 9:30 p.m. Join Carolina DanceWorks for a dance social. Carolina DanceWorks, 712 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 725-1846 or carolinadanceworks@gmail.com.

Saturday, May 20

TROLLEY CRUISE. 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. The Sandhills Trolley Company offers a coffee-tasting cruise where you will learn about coffee roasting. Pine Scone Cafe, 116 Brucewood Road, Southern Pines. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

MET OPERA. 1 p.m. Don Giovanni, live in HD simulcast. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 420-2549 or www.sunrisetheater.com.

DANCING. 6 p.m. Carolina Pines Dance Club invites you for a fun evening of swing, line, ballroom, shag and Latin. Doors open at 6 p.m. Dance lessons at 6:30 p.m. Beginners and experienced dancers, couples and singles all welcome. Cost is $15 per person, cash at door. National Athletic Village, 201 Air Tool Drive, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 331-9965.

JAZZ CONCERT. 7:30 p.m. The Carolina Philharmonic will have jazz headliners with an orchestra for the opening night of the Pinehurst Jazz Festival. 5 Market Square, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 687-0287 or www.carolinaphil.org.

Sunday, May 21

STEAM. 2:30 p.m. Elementary-aged children and their caregivers are invited to learn about topics in science, technology, engineering, art, and math and to participate in STEAM projects and activities. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

Tuesday, May 23

SENIOR TRIP. 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to visit the historic House in the Horseshoe. Lunch will follow. Cost is $7 for residents and $10 for non-residents. Campbell House, 482 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

TEEN HOMEWORK SPACE. 4 p.m. Working on a group project, homework, or just looking for a space to commiserate as you’re working on things? Visit our Teen Homework and Collaboration Space. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.sppl.net or email: kbroughey@sppl.net.

Homestyles

Wednesday, May 24

TASTE OF THE WILD. 6 - 9 p.m. Join PineStraw for a special farm-to-table dinner. Chef Mark Elliot and chef Saif Rahman collaborate on a threecourse menu. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Thursday, May 25

DOUGLASS CENTER BOOK CLUB. 10:30 a.m. Multiple copies of the selected book are available for checkout at the library. The Douglass Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: mmiller@sppl.net.

CROSSFIT WORKOUT. 5 p.m. Southern Pines CrossFit is having its annual tribute to the fallen while supporting Gold Star teens. Compete in the Gold Star Murph challenge. Southern Pines CrossFit, 105 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

SOUL FLOW. 6:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Join a gentle flow guaranteed to soothe the mind, body, and soul. A mixture of yin and restorative yoga. Great for all levels. Cost is $12 for residents and $17 for non-residents. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

CONCERT. 7 p.m. Sandhills Repertory Theatre presents “Valjean, Cosette and a String Quartet.”

Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8501 or www.sunrisetheater.com.

Friday, May 26

HORSE SHOW. Sedgefield at the Park Memorial Day Classic NCHJA ‘C’ Show. The event continues through May 28. Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford. Info: www.carolinahorsepark.com.

MOTORING FESTIVAL. 5 p.m. The Sandhills Motoring Festival will start with a block party and live band and end on May 28 with the Concours in the Village and awards show. The Concours in the Village is free and open to the public and runs from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. There will be more than 160 classic and collector cars competing in various categories. Visit the event website for specific events each day of the festival. Village of Pinehurst. Info: www.sandhillsmotoringfestival.com.

TROLLEY CRUISE. 6:30 - 9 p.m. The Sandhills Trolley Company’s wine trail cruise will visit the Sandhills Winery and partake in wine tasting. Pollywog’s Play Pad, 155 Hall Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Saturday, May 27

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

TROLLEY CRUISE. 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. The Sandhills Trolley Company offers a Buggy Town cruise through Carthage. Pine Crest Inn, 50 Dogwood Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

MOVIE. 7 p.m. Althea. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 420-2549 or www.sunrisetheater.com.

TROLLEY CRUISE. 7 - 9 p.m. The Sandhills Trolley Company will have a Brews on the Trolley Cruise. Southern Pines Brewing Company, 565 Air Tool Drive, Southern Pines. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Sunday, May 28

MOVIE. 7 p.m. Citizen Ashe. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 420-2549 or www.sunrisetheater.com.

Tuesday, May 30

TEEN WRITING CLUB. 4 p.m. Are you interested in creative writing and storytelling, connecting with other writers, and getting feedback on your work? Join us for the Teen Creative Writing Club. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.sppl.net or email: kbroughey@sppl.net.

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

Wednesday, May 31

SELF DEFENSE. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Learn situational awareness and basic warning signs in this beginner self-defense class. Led by the Southern Pines Police Department. Class is free but registration is recommended. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday, June 3

DANCE PERFORMANCE. 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. Gary Taylor Dance is having a spring student concert performance of Romancing the Dance, Junior. Owens Auditorium, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Sunday, June 4

FESTIVAL CONCERT. 2 p.m. The Young Musician’s Festival Concert provides an opportunity for 30 - 40 area young musicians to perform for credentialed adjudicators and receive cash prizes at varying levels of performance, from the third through the 12th grade. Free admission, registration required. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org.

Saturday, June 10

SUMMER FESTIVAL. 12 - 6 p.m. The town of Vass is hosting its annual summer festival. There will be a car show, vendors, food trucks and a kids’ zone. Sandy Ramey Keith Park, 3600 U.S. Highway 1, Vass. Info: www.townofvassnc.gov.

WEEKLY EVENTS

Mondays

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

SING FOR FUN. 9 - 10 a.m. Adults 55 and older can sing for fun while reaping the physical and mental benefits of a choir experience. Learn various songs from all genres. Cost per month is $36 for residents and $52 for non-residents. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

CHAIR YOGA. 9 -10 a.m. For adults 55 and older. Help offset body aches encountered with desk work. This is an accessible yoga class for bodies not able to easily get up from and down to the floor. Do standing or sitting in a chair. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

STRENGTH AND BALANCE WORKOUT. 11 - 11:45 a.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to enjoy a brisk workout that focuses on balance and strength. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

RESTORATIVE YOGA. 12 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Practice gentle movements that may improve

your well-being, help alleviate pain and improve circulation. Bring your own mat. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

TAI CHI. 1 p.m. Come learn tai chi. There is no age limit and the classes are open to the public. Aberdeen Parks and Recreation Station, 301 Lake Park Crossing, Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-7275.

GAME ON. 1 p.m. For adults 55 and older. You and your friends are invited to come out and play various games such as cornhole, badminton, table tennis, shuffleboard, trivia games, and more. Each week enjoy a different activity to keep you moving and thinking. Compete with friends and make new ones all for free. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

BRIDGE. 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Enjoy games of bridge with friends. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

SOUTHERN SOUL LINE DANCING. 6 p.m. No experience necessary, put on your comfy shoes and groove to some funky tunes with funk master Terry Julius. For adults 18 and older. Cost is $6 for Southern Pines residents and $9 for non-residents. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

MUSIC BINGO. 6 p.m. Music Bingo with DJ Mike. Come have a blast and try to identify the tune before the next song starts. Southern Pines Brewing Company, 565 Air Tool Drive, Southern Pines. Info: www.southernpinesbrewing.com.

Tuesdays

PLAYFUL LEARNING. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Come for a drop-in, open playtime for ages 0 - 3 years to interact with other children and have educational playtime. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642.

HATHA YOGA. 10 - 11 a.m. For adults 55 and older. Increase your flexibility, balance, stability, and muscle tone while learning the basic principles of yoga alignment and breathing. You may gain strength, improve circulation and reduce chronic pain practicing gentle yoga postures and mindfulness. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

BABY RHYMES. 10:30 a.m. Baby Rhymes is designed for the youngest learners (birth through 2) and their caregivers. Repetition and comforting movements make this story time perfect for early development and brain growth. There will be a duplicate session at 11 a.m. Dates this month are May 2, 9, 16 and 30. An active library card is required. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

HEALING YOGA. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Adults 55 and older can try an entry-level class, for a mind and body workout that fuses dance moves with gentle aerobics, tai chi, and yoga. Free of charge. Douglass

Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

GAME DAY. 12 p.m. Enjoy bid whist and other cool games all in the company of great friends. For adults 55 and older. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

SPARK STORYTIME. 2:30 p.m. This Spark Storytime at Fire Station 82 is for ages birth through 2 and kids will have a chance to see fire trucks. Dates this month are May 2, 9, 16 and 30. Fire Station 82, 500 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

TEEN TUESDAYS. 4 - 5 p.m. Teens in middle and high school can join us every week to connect with other teens in a fun and safe space. Each week is a different topic or activity. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.sppl.net.

TRIVIA. 7 p.m. Trivia with DJ Mike. Current events and pop-culture. Winner gets a brewery gift card. Southern Pines Brewing Company, 205 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www. southernpinesbrewing.com.

DANCE. 7 p.m. Take a country western group class. Cost is $15 per person. Carolina DanceWorks, 712 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 725-1846 or carolinadance -

CALENDAR

works@gmail.com. Info: (910) 725-1846 or carolinadanceworks@gmail.com.

TABLE TENNIS. 7 - 9 p.m. Enjoy playing this exciting game every Tuesday. Cost for six months is $15 for residents of Southern Pines and $30 for non-residents. For adults 55 and older. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

Wednesdays

CHAIR YOGA. 10 - 11 a.m. For adults 55 and older. Help offset body aches encountered with desk work. This is an accessible yoga class for bodies not able to easily get up from and down to the floor. Do standing or sitting in a chair. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

LEARN AND PLAY. 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Come in for an open play date with your toddler or preschooler where there will be developmental toys and puzzles as well as early literacy tips for parents and caregivers to incorporate into their daily activities. Dates this month are May 3, 10, 17 and 31. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

LINE DANCING. 12 - 1 p.m. Looking for new ways to get your daily exercise in and care for yourself? Try line dancing. For adults 55 and older. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave.,

Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

SLOW AND STRETCHY. 12 - 1 p.m. Adults 55 and older can flow through yoga poses slowly and intentionally, matching breathing to movement, stretching everything from your head to your toes. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

CHAIR VOLLEYBALL. 1 - 2 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Get fit while having fun. Free to participate. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

BRIDGE. 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Enjoy games of bridge with friends. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

DANCE. 2 - 2:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Instructor Maria Amaya will introduce you to dance fitness in this class designed for anyone who wants to gently and gradually increase cardio function, mobility, and balance while having fun at the same time. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

SANDHILLS FARMERS MARKET. 3 - 6 p.m. The Sandhills Farmers Market features some of the wonderful farms, nurseries, bakeries, meat and

egg providers, cheesemakers and specialty food producers our area has to offer. You will find this incredible mix of vendors through October 1. Tufts Memorial Park, 1 Village Green Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.vopnc.org.

LIBRARY PROGRAM. 3:30 p.m. At The Library After School (ATLAS) is an after-school program for kindergarten through second graders who enjoy activities, crafts, stories, and learning. Dates this month will be May 3, 10, 17 and 31. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

TAI CHI. 6:30 p.m. Come learn tai chi. There is no age limit and the classes are open to the public. Cost is $10 per class. Seven Lakes West Community Center, 556 Longleaf Drive, Seven Lakes. Info: (910) 400-5646.

YOGA. 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Grab your yoga mat and head to Hatchet for a yoga session with Brady. Session cost is $10 and includes a pint of our DILLIGAF lager. Hatchet Brewing Company, 490 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.hatchetbrewing.com.

DANCE. 7 p.m. Take a social foundation group class. Carolina DanceWorks, 712 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 725-1846 or carolinadanceworks@gmail.com. Info: (910) 725-1846 or carolinadanceworks@gmail.com.

CALENDAR

LIVE MUSIC. 7 p.m. Enjoy live music during the SoPines Sessions. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 420-2549 or www.sunrisetheater.com.

Thursdays

MOORE COUNTY FARMERS MARKET.

9 a.m. - 1 p.m. The year-round market features “producer only” vendors within a 50-mile radius providing fresh, local and seasonal produce, fruits, pasture meats, eggs, potting plants, cut flowers and local honey. Crafts, baked goods, jams and jellies are also available. Market is located at the Armory Sports Complex, 604 W. Morganton Road, Southern Pines.

GIVEN STORY TIME. 10 a.m. Bring your preschooler to enjoy stories, songs and activities. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642.

BALANCE AND FLEXIBILITY. 10 - 11 a.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to enjoy a class that will help reduce the risk of taking a tumble and increase your ability to recover. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

CROCHET CLUB. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to come with friends to create fun designs and memories. Supplies are on site. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center,

1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

MUSIC AND MOTION. 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Does your toddler like to move and groove? Join us for outdoor Music and Motion to get those wiggles out and work on gross and fine motor skills. For 2 –5-year-olds. Dates this month are May 4, 11 and 18. An active library card is required. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

ADAPTIVE YOGA. 12 - 1 p.m. Adults 55 and older can enjoy yoga that meets you where you are. We’ll be creating a sense of balance and ease by slowly increasing your range of motion and mobility while maintaining your natural abilities. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

CHESS AND MAHJONG. 1 p.m. For adults 55 and older. All levels welcome. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

MEDITATION. 1 - 2 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to connect with nature and with yourself in this 30-minute meditation. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

CABIN TOURS. 1 - 4 p.m. The Moore County Historical Association’s Shaw House grounds,

cabins, and gift shop are open for tours and visits. The restored tobacco barn features the history of children’s roles in the industry. Docents are ready to host you and the cabins are open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Shaw House, 110 W. Morganton Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2051 or www.moorehistory.com.

TRIVIA. 6 p.m. Trivia with Hallie. Current events and pop-culture. Winner gets a brewery gift card. Southern Pines Brewing Company, 565 Air Tool Drive, Southern Pines. Info: www.southernpinesbrewing.com.

ORCHESTRA REHEARSALS. 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. The Moore Philharmonic Orchestra has weekly rehearsals. Membership is open to youth and adult community members and there is no fee to join. Wellard Hall at Sandhills Community College, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.mporchestra.com or email moorephilharmonicorchestra@gmail.com.

DANCE. 7 p.m. Take a master group class. Carolina DanceWorks, 712 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 725-1846 or carolinadanceworks@gmail. com. Info: (910) 725-1846 or carolinadanceworks@ gmail.com.

TRIVIA NIGHT. 7 - 9 p.m. Come enjoy a beer and some trivia. Hatchet Brewing Company, 490 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.hatchetbrewing.com.

CALENDAR

Fridays

AEROBIC DANCE. 9 - 10 a.m. For adults 55 and older. Enjoy this low to moderate-impact class with energizing music for an overall cardio and strength workout. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

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: (910) 692-7376.

MAY EVENTS

a monthly membership. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

DANCE. 7 p.m. Take a newcomers group class focusing on waltz and rumba. Carolina DanceWorks, 712 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 725-1846 or carolinadanceworks@gmail.com. Info: (910) 725-1846 or carolinadanceworks@gmail.com.

Saturdays

MAy 2

MAy 2

QIGONG. 1 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Classes will consist of chair and standing movements that can help soothe achy feet, tight hips, low back pain and ease restriction in mobility. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

Village Arboretum Spring Garden Party Village Arboretum Timmel Pavilion

Village Arboretum Spring Garden Party Village Arboretum Timmel Pavilion

MOORE COUNTY FARMERS MARKET. 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. The market features “producer only” vendors within a 50-mile radius providing fresh, local and seasonal produce, fruits, pasture meats, eggs, potting plants, cut flowers and local honey. Crafts, baked goods, jams and jellies are also available. Downtown Southern Pines, 156 S.E. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.moorecountyfarmersmarket.com.

MAY 4

BRIDGE. 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Enjoy games of bridge with friends. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

“His Majesty’s Airship” by S.C. Gwynne

“His

Author Event

MAY EVENTS

MAY 6

MAY 6

MAy 2

LINE DANCING. 3 - 4 p.m. For adults 55 and older. If you’re interested in learning dance moves and building confidence on the dance floor, this class is for you. Leave your inhibitions at the door and join in. Cost is: $36 for residents and $52 for non-residents per month. Cost is for

MAY 15

MAY 4 MAY 15

The Pilot Goat Yoga

SANDHILLS FARMERS MARKET. 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. The Sandhills Farmers Market features some of the many wonderful farms, nurseries, bakeries, meat and egg providers, cheesemakers and specialty food producers our area has to offer. You will find this incredible mix of vendors through October 1. Tufts Memorial Park, 1 Village Green Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.vopnc.org. PS

Ithíka Acres Creamery

MAY EVENTS

MAY 19

Puppy Pals Live - Interactive Puppy Show Owens Auditorium

“His

“His Majesty’s Airship” by S.C. Gwynne

Author Event

A Night with Nnenna Freelon

MAY 19 A Night with Nnenna Freelon

MAY 6

MAY 24

MAY 24

MAY 4 MAY 15

MAY 25-26

“His

WSP Center for African-American History, Cultural Arts & Business Auditorium

WSP Center for African-American History, Cultural Arts & Business Auditorium

The Pilot Goat Yoga

Ithíka Acres Creamery

Taste of the Wild Weymouth Center For The Arts & Humanities

Puppy

Taste of the Wild Weymouth

Puppy Pals Live - Interactive Puppy Show Owens Auditorium

Gold Star Murph 2023

MAY 19 A Night with Nnenna Freelon

Southern Pines CrossFit

WSP Center

Puppy

You can find a comprehensive list of regularly updated events from Sandhills Trolley Company and Cameo Art House Theatre on TicketMeSandhills.com

MAY 24

Taste

You can find a comprehensive list of regularly updated events from Sandhills Trolley Company and Cameo Art House Theatre on TicketMeSandhills.com

Center For The Arts & Humanities

Puppy

MAY 25-26

Gold

910.693.2516 • info@ticketmesandHills.com

910.693.2516 • info@ticketmesandHills.com

Gold Star Murph 2023

Southern Pines CrossFit

You can find a comprehensive list of regularly updated events from Sandhills Trolley Company and

You

Theatre on TicketMeSandhills.com

$28

Create a collage and learn about abstraction and shapes - July 20. 3:00-5:00 $28

Learn about a famous artist and create an artwork using acrylic paint on canvas inspired by the artist. July 27, 3:00-5:00 $28

OIL AND ACRYLIC: Impressionist Landscape - Courtney Herndon - May 8, 9, 10:00-3:30 $108

Explore Abstraction - Linda Bruening - May 12, 13, 9:30-3:30 $132

Intro to Oils for Beginners - Linda Bruening - July 31 & August 1, 9:30-3:30 $135

Color Mixing – Courtney Herndon - August 5, 10:00-3:30 $54

A Night with Nnenna Freelon

Next Step-Oil Painting - Linda Bruening - August 7, 8, 9:30-3:30 $120

Using Cold Wax Medium w/Oils to Paint Abstracts and Abstracted Landscapes - Jude Winkley - August 26, 9:30-3:30 $81

WATERCOLOR: Multi-Dimensional Silkscreen Watercolor II - Cathy Brown - May 10, 11, 10:00-12:00 $58

Watercolor on Rice Paper – Pat McMahon - May 15, 16, 10:00-12:00 $48

A benefit for the West Southern Pines Center for African-American History, Cultural Arts & Business

OTHER MEDIUMS: Beginning Scratchboard - Emma Wilson - May 2, 10:00-2:00 $53

Intro to Encaustic Wax - Pam Griner - May 18, 1:00-3:00 $40

Mix It Up! - Carol Gradwohl - May 24, 25, 10:30-3:00 $104

Beginning Alcohol Ink - Pam Griner - August 23, 11:30-2:30 $46

Friday, May 19, 2023

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM EDT

West Southern Pines Center Auditorium

1250 West New York Avenue

Having earned seven Grammy nominations, including the latest for her recent album Time Traveler, Nnenna Freelon brings her distinctive take to contemporary Jazz. Whether performing an exquisite original, putting her spin on a soulful cover, or redefining a standard from the Great American Songbook, Nnenna delivers the message in an unforgettable way!

Tickets: $75

Horse Movement & Anatomy Workshop Morgen Kilbourn Instructor

Workshop dates: May 22-26, 9am – 5pm

Tuition: $600

Join us for a week of hands on equine sculpture learning. This class is tailored to meet each student at their level.

Historic Lucks Cannery www.facebook.com/ walkerartstudiosnc/

Horsing•arounD

An exhibition of horse related artwork in all media

Opening Reception

May 26th from 5pm - 8pm

Show dates May 26-July 21,2023

Who doesn’t love horses? This show is for everyone who loves horses in all their shapes and sizes. Bring your art to display; paintings, drawings, sculpture, and crafts.

Skill Level: Beginner - Advanced

Scan to Register

365 Fernandez Loop, Ste 205 Seagrove, NC 27341 walkerartstudios@gmail.com

Scan to Register

For more info, email: walkerartstudios@gmail.com

SAT, JUNE 10 | 8:00 PM

Concert Supporter: The Cypress of Raleigh A Little Night Music

FRI, JUNE 16 | 8:00 PM

Classics Under the Stars

SAT, JUNE 17 | 8:00 PM

Harry Potter vs. Star Wars

SAT, JUNE 24 | 8:00 PM

Cirque Cinema

Tango Caliente

SAT, JULY 8 | 8:00 PM

The Catalinas

SUN, JULY 16 | 8:00 PM

Concert Sponsor: Raleigh Windows & Siding

Presented by TRINITY AME ZION CHURCH and and sponsored by Rip & Julie Van Camp

SandhillSeen

Founders’ Day Forest Creek Golf Club

Friday, February 17, 2023

Photographs by Marjorie Ludwig & Susan Goodman

Sue Lambert, Joan Power, Lisa Webb, Carol Tilton

Kathy Evans, Faith Clay

Wendy Schmidt, Nancy Schmidt, Lisa Webb

Sue Neuh (Founders’ Day Chairman)

Pauline Carter, Michelle Straub, Phyllis Hinman, Betsy Laflin, Kathy Striebel, Carole Damone, Nancy Kinney

Susan Mason, Bev Valutis, Debbie Weeks

Sue Huston, Marjorie Ludwig

Elise Van Pool (guest speaker), Sue Goodman (Reciprocity President)

Leslie O’Brien, Sandy Everhart, Jennifer Forsman, Cynthia Weller, Dorothy Gibson, Jan Heldman

Elizabeth Sammons, Janice Davis, Jan Minoff

Elizabeth Kimsey, Gerry Turk

Cathy Broutsas, Carol Kavanaugh, Julie Gilbert, Angie Kompathy, Kathy Schlagel

Kim Vandervort, Lisa Web, Jan Minoff, Sandy Everhart, Jennifer Forsman

SandhillSeen

Pinehurst Matinee Harness Races

Pinehurst Harness Track

Sunday, April 2, 2023

Photographs by Diane McKay

Mayors Carol Haney, John Strickland, Robbie Farrell, Don Boito Jean Neil, Kathy Evans

Scott & Michele Murphy

Susie Williams, Mallory Stiver, Frank Riggs & Shilo

Paula Wellwood, Mike Keeling

Homer Hochstetler

Kathy MacNeil, Cindy Edgar, Eryn Irrera

Peggy Lewter

June Buchele

Mayor John and Rev. Cynthia Strickland

The Osterman Group

The McLeod Family

Tim Warrington & Yeti

May Pine Needler Riddles

ACROSS

1. Actors, as a whole

5. Build on (2 wds)

10. Unable to speak

14. Cemetery sights

15. Our county

16. Buffalo’s relative

17. What word has 3 consecutive letters?

19. Drug cop

20. Australian runner

21. “A Doll’s House” playwright

22. “The of a Nation”

23. Knocking sound (hyph)

25. Coffee additive

27. Tiny

28. What is black when you get it, red when you use it, and white when you throw it away?

31. Banana leftovers

34. Big ape

35. Regret

36. Historical periods

37. Social engagement

38. Allocate, with “out”

39. Balaam’s mount

40. Group of ships

41. Gives high-fives

42. What has keys but no locks, space but no room, and you enter but can’t go out?

44. Kid’s game and you're it

45. Held tightly to

46. Con man

50. Dislike, and then some

52. Back in style

54. Charlotte-to-Raleigh dir.

55. Castle protection

56. Absorbent feature

58. Work in the newsroom

59. What word reads the same upside down?

60. Decorative case

61. “I, Claudius” role

62. All thumbs

63. “ and now” DOWN

1. Machine for dicing or making ice

2. Scent

3. Muzzle

4. “For shame!” sound

5. Lab slide objects, often

6. Accomplish, as thou might

7. Blockhead

8. Incisive

9. “ the fields we go”

10. Crazy person

11. Not protected, as a knight

12. Cause for a lawsuit

13. Per

18. Toys with tails

22. Mass of ice

24. Cobblersʼ tools

26. Mouth off

28. Belief system

29. Car

30. Bottom of the barrel

31. Mountain top

32. European language

33. Comfy spot (2 wds)

34. Like a neglected yard

37. Brio

Puzzle answers on page 129 Mart Dickerson lives in Southern Pines and welcomes suggestions from her fellow puzzle masters. She can be reached at martaroonie@gmail.com.

Sudoku:

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

38. Cocoa holders

40. Quad

41. Lays out, in the arena

43. Drunk, in slang

44. Driving force 46. Defeat decisively 47. Choppers, so to speak

48. Arise

49. Tree sap

50. “Absolutely!” in church

51. Be an omen of

53. Ashtabula's lake

56. Tire meas.

57. After expenses

The Pinch Hitters

Now you see them, now you don’t

Michigan, and attendance at the game was beyond meager. As the afternoon wore on — Wrigley didn’t have lights in those days — like an advancing glacier, folks just naturally inched closer and closer to the field. The ushers didn’t care. They were freezing, too.

By Jim moriarty

Theyear was 1959. I know this because my father, who was largely estranged from our family, took me to see the sensational new movie Al Capone, starring Rod Steiger. What 8-year-old kid can’t wait to see a gangster get his brains beaten in with a brick in dramatic black and white?

I was in my father’s charge that first week in May because my mother and both of my older brothers were off scouting colleges. It was a thing, even back in those days. My presence, under duress I’m sure, was not about to dissuade my father from his usual pursuits. The good news for me was that one of those pursuits involved watching the Chicago White Sox play the Boston Red Sox at Comiskey Park. Late in the game, a pinch hitter was announced. Ted Williams. My father leaned over to me and said, “Watch everything No. 9 does because one day you’re going to want to tell your children you saw him play.” I don’t remember a damn thing about what Williams did. I’m going to guess it wasn’t much, since 1959 was the only year of his career when he didn’t hit over .300. We were both in a slump, I guess.

Skip forward, if you’ll indulge me, to early May of 1974. A college friend of mine who was living in northern Michigan came south to visit, carrying a brown paper bag full of smoked chubs, and we bought tickets to watch the Atlanta Braves play the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field. The sky was pewter gray, and the low that day was 32 degrees. If it got over 50 in the afternoon, it couldn’t have been by much. The wind was howling off Lake

My friend, his bag of smoked fish, and I finished the second half of the ball game in lovely seats right behind the first base dugout. Being a generous soul, he was passing his chubs up and down the row, sharing with anyone who wanted to sample this freshwater delicacy. Sitting next to us was an older man and a young girl, about the same age I had been that day long ago at Comiskey, who I took to be his granddaughter. Having skipped school in the middle of the week, she was a devout and vocal fan of the home team with a spanking new Cubs hat to prove it. Grandpa was equally enamored of smoked fish. It was a genial grouping of box seat interlopers.

Late in the day, the seventh or eighth inning, a pinch hitter was announced. It was Henry Aaron. Roughly a month before, Aaron had broken Babe Ruth’s home run record. When he came out of the dugout, swinging a bat to loosen up those old muscles, I leaned over toward the little girl and said, “Watch everything No. 44 does because one day, you’re going to want to tell your children you saw him play.”

I confess, recycling this bit of generational guidance made me feel rather fine and noble.

As swiftly as that bit of wisdom tumbled from my windchilled lips, that sweet little girl turned to me and, in language so colorful it would have made a tugboat captain faint, reinforced her undying love of the Cubs and her utter and complete disdain for anyone, including me, who might get in the way of a complete and total Chicago victory.

Fifteen years had passed and I was still in a slump. PS

Jim Moriarty is the Editor of PineStraw and can be reached at jjmpinestraw@gmail.com.

Photo by Tim Sayer

LORI WEST

PURE BARRE SOUTHERN PINES & CLEAN JUICE SOUTHERN PINES

Lori West opened Pure Barre Southern Pines in 2016 and Clean Juice Southern Pines in 2018 with her husband, Lane. They acquired Clean Juice Mayfaire and Cape Fear in early 2023.

• Areas of Service: Barre Fitness, resistance and strength training, increase flexibility and mobility. Plant based Nutrition, cleansing and healthy convenient on the go food options

• Mission: To inspire others to be healthy in body, strong in spirit

• What Sets Pure Barre Apart: “The positive and supportive culture. It’s celebrating the little and big things. You come to experience health benefits and leave feeling like you’re part of a family.”

• Most Proud of: Her professional integrity

• Advice For Young Women Starting their Career: “Trust your gut - your instinct. The dream you are chasing was planted in you, not others. Don’t look to others to validate you. And DO NOT SETTLE!”

1764 Old Morganton Rd. Ste 1764 Southern Pines, NC 28387

910.246.2164

www.purebarre.com

118 Brucewood Rd Southern Pines, NC 28387

910.725,2077

www.cleanjuice.com

Photos by Lolly Nazario

CANDACE BROCK

FIVE POINTS PET RESORT

Candace opened Five Points Pet Resort in Raeford in 2004 and expanded to a second location in Vass twelve years later. She has a team of 40 dedicated employees between both properties.

• Education: Clemson University, BS in Animal Science

• Background: Candace developed a love for animals growing up on a cattle farm in Raeford

• Mission: To place your “family member” in an environment that provides clean, controlled, secure, fun and loving care.

• Areas of Service: Boarding, grooming and coming soon — training

• What Sets Five Points Apart: A combined 75+ years experience in the pet care field and the longevity of the staff.

• Special Awards: Voted Best of the Pines for “Best Place to Board Your Pet” seven years in a row!

• Best Thing About Being a Woman in Business: “The support that other women in business have offered to me and being able to pay that support forward to other young women.”

• At Home: Candace’s husband Billy plays an instrumental supporting role in the business. They have two adult children — a daughter at Appalachian State and a son in the military.

Photos by Lolly Nazario

PATRICIA PHILLIPS & VERONICA LLOYD

MONKEE’S OF THE PINES

A shared passion for fashion and the opportunity to work alongside each other drove this mother-daughter team to purchase the Monkee’s of the Pines franchise in 2019. They opened a second location in Pinehurst last year.

• Offerings: Upscale women’s and men’s accessories, and women’s clothing and shoes.

• What Sets Monkee’s Apart: Always being different by providing unique fashion and staying ahead of the latest trends.

• Awards & Recognitions: Best of the Pines winner for Women’s Apparel, Shoes and Accessories for multiple consecutive years, a top performing Monkee’s franchise and an award winning social media page among Monkee’s franchises.

• Proudest Career Accomplishment: Our latest project of incorporating Le Feme Chateau’s unique Italian handbags into our inventory and becoming a distributor of the brand into other Monkee’s franchises.

• Advice for Young Women Starting their Career: Be patient. Success is a journey.

• At Home: Patricia is the mother of four adult children, Cale, Veronia, Victoria and Virginia, and two grandchildren, Emma and Cody. Veronica is happily married to her husband, Jason, and enjoys getaways to the beach, yoga and Pure Barre.

KATIE STAFFORD

OPAL SALON

Katie Stafford opened Opal Salon in October of 2021. Opal now has 5 stylists and 2 estheticians on staff.

• Background: A Moore County native with a passion for hair, Katie worked locally for 10 years before opening her own salon.

• Areas of Service: Opal specializes in women’s color, cuts, extensions, blowouts & styles, along with lash extensions & facials.

• What Sets Opal Apart: Opal donates a percentage of product sales to local shelters & uses cruelty free products

• Special Awards: Katie was awarded the 20 Under 40 award from The Pilot in 2022.

• Advice For Young Women Starting their Career: Be confident in your passions and you will do great things.

• Best Thing About Being a Woman in Business: “Being a part of this empowering community and the friendships I have made with clients along the way!”

9 Camelia Way Southern Pines, NC 28387

910.638.6267

@opalsalonsp

AUDREY FRANCIS

BELLA MARIE AESTHETICS

After time to pause and reflect during COVID-19, Audrey Francis pivoted her seventeen year nursing career to open Bella Marie Aesthetics in downtown Southern Pines.

• Education: Sandhills Community College ADN, University of North Carolina BSN, UNCGreensboro MSN, Wake Forest University CRNA

• Services: Botulinum Toxin Injections, Dermal Fillers, Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) & Platelet Rich Fibrin (PRF) Treatments, Pen & Radio-Frequency Micro-Needling, and Medical Grade Skin Care

• Mission: “I love to highlight the body’s own natural healing properties and how to harness that through use of PRP or PRF. After seeing those modalities used for years as regenerative medicine in the operating room, it makes so much sense to use them for regenerative cosmetic treatments.”

• Biggest Lesson Learned in Business: Take responsibility for everything you do, well or poorly; don’t make excuses, own it and fix it.

• At Home: Military spouse, and former military, with three children- 16, 8, 6. “The youngest has special needs but has already given us more than she could ever need us to give her.”

Photo by Lolly Nazario

JORDAN HUBBARD,DDS

HUBBARD DENTAL

After establishing her practice in 2020, Dr. Hubbard has made it her mission to treat all patients like family. Oral health plays a big role in overall physical wellbeing, and she wants patients to leave feeling better than ever.

• Education: Dr. Hubbard graduated from the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Honors College in 2013 with a BS in biology and a minor in psychology in just three years. Afterward, she attended The University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry, where she earned her Doctorate in Dental Surgery.

• Areas of Service: Hubbard Dental is a general dentistry office that is able to do many advanced procedures. Doctors are trained in many specialty procedures including but not limited to, pediatric care, geriatric care, airway dentistry, infant frenectomies, orthodontics, cosmetic dentistry, laser dentistry, and root canal procedures.

• Special Awards and Qualifications: Dr. Hubbard was awarded the top 20 under 40 award from The Pilot in 2022. She has graduation certificates from The Breathe Institute and The Tongue-Tied Academy. She holds a certificate in forensic odontology and is the Vice President of the North Carolina chapter of the American Association of Women Dentists. She is a member of the American Dental Association, The North Carolina Dental Society, The Academy of General Dentistry, The Mommy Dentists in Business, The Sandhills Study Club and The Junior League of Moore County.

• Most Rewarding Part of Being a Woman in Business in a Small Community: “I feel as if this community is truly supportive of small businesses. There are many of us here, and I feel like it’s such a blessing to have my business here.”

• At Home: Dr. Hubbard has two sons - Beckett (3) and Wells (2) - and baby number three on the way with her husband of seven years, Shane. “I love being outside and gardening. Growing flowers is one of my favorites (specifically, dahlias)! My favorite pastime is reading – and I love a good murder mystery. Using a new recipe to cook a meal for my family is another thing I love and I feel a strong belief in Sunday dinner.”

155 Turnberry Way Pinehurst, NC 28347

910-695-3050

HubbardDentalNC.com

Photo by Lolly Nazario

Together, Katie Wyatt & Ashley Van Camp have been the driving force to establish Weymouth Equestrians, coming in 2023.

KATIE WYATT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

• Background: 15 year veteran Executive Director in the arts and professional violist.

• Career Accomplishments: John F. Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow; a founder of the U.S. “El Sistema” movement of music for social change.

ASHLEY VAN CAMP

IMMEDIATE PAST BOARD PRESIDENT & OWNER OF ASHTEN’S

• Background: Eight years of NYC performing arts and culinary experience. 26 years as a local business owner and restauranteur.

• Career Accomplishments: Owns and operates Ashten’s in downtown Southern Pines.

WEYMOUTH CENTER

• Mission: to provide a place of inclusivity by offering literary and cultural experiences that inspire and enrich the lives of our community.

• Areas of Service: live community events including chamber music, literary readings, humanities lectures, jazz concerts, and creative youth development programming.

• Writers-in-Residence: Our Writers-in-Residence program hosts up to 150 North Carolina writers each year and we are the home of the NC Literary Hall of Fame.

• Recognitions: The Boyd House is listed in The National Register of Historic Places and was awarded a Certificate of Achievement by the National Wildlife Federation.

• On the Horizon: Weymouth Equestrians, a new afterschool program creating access for all young people to learn about the equestrian experience, at Weymouth’s historic barn. Army veteran Kelly Dobert is leading the program.

Photo by Molly Tobias

RITA HAIRSTON

MAIN STREET HOME LOANS

Main Street Home Loans was founded in 2018 and Rita Hairston was one of the first LOs to join the company. As her business blossomed, she expanded to form a team of her own -the Hairston Home Loan Team.

• Education and Background: BA in international business, marketing, and finance from UNC-P. Worked in commercial real estate before joining the mortgage industry in 2017.

• Mission: To provide a personalized approach to the mortgage lending process and superior service to clients and industry partners

• Areas of Service & Expertise: Specializes in VA loans, Conventional, FHA, Jumbo, FHA 203k Renovation, USDA, and Conventional loans

• Proudest Career Moment: “being recognized by my company as one of The Great Eight on the sales team. The other seven finalists have been in the business for well over ten years and after just six years in the business my production aligned with the top originators in my company.”

• The Biggest Lesson Learned in Business: If you don’t try or take risks you will always wonder what could have been.

• At Home: Rita is the mother of two amazing children Bill, (8) and Hattie Mae, (5). She and her super supportive husband Lash are both natives of Moore county and will celebrate nine years of marriage!

75 Community Road Pinehurst, NC, 28347

910.690.5511

www.hairstonhomeloans.com

Photo by Lolly Nazario

CHRISTIAN MCCARTHY & TRACY GIBSON

Tracy Gibson, a Moore County native and Christian McCarthy, a military spouse put their diverse backgrounds to work for their real estate clients. They’ve formed a unique duo that has your residential buying or selling needs covered with no question about the Pines they can’t answer.

• Background: A combined 14 years of Moore County residential real estate experience.

• Areas of Expertise: Specialize in PCS military moves and family relocations, residential real estate, luxury properties.

• Mission: to provide incredible customer service through clear and consistent communication and attention to detail with the upmost integrity and honesty in every transaction.

• What Sets Us Apart: an unmatched knowledge of the community based on our combined personal experiences;

- six kids in six different locals schools

- past residency in five different Moore County towns

- members of local country clubs

• Proudest Career Accomplishment: “We’re showing our kids how to run a successful business!”

• At Home: Tracy is a busy mom to three teenaged daughters and Christian to two boys and a girl.

PINES

INTERNATIONAL

BRITTANY BROWN, AU.D., CCC-A

AUDIOLOGY OF THE SANDHILLS

Brittany Brown, Doctor of Audiology is the proud owner of a well established, all-women practice dedicated to providing exceptional care to their patients. She took ownership of Audiology of the Sandhills in 2022.

• What Led You to This Career: ”I have a family member with hearing loss. Seeing the struggles and successes they have been through sparked an interest in Audiology. During my freshman year at Appalachian I was able to shadow this audiologist and I knew that was the career for me! I love being able to help people get back to life!”

• Education: Appalachian State University, B.S., Louisiana Tech University, Doctorate in Audiology.

• Mission: to provide a patient-centered approach to your hearing care needs, whatever they may be, using state-of-the-art equipment and the most advance technology

• Areas of Expertise: Diagnostics and treatments for hearing loss and tinnitus

• Proudest Career Accomplishment: “I have two fantastic locations, phenomenal staff, and a reputation for always being there for my patients!“

• Advice for Young Women Starting their Career: Do what you love and love what you do!

• At Home: Married her high school sweetheart with two daughters and a Jack-Russell terrier

BRIANNA VINCENT,PA-C

BLOOM PRECISION AESTHETICS

Since 2015 Brianna Vincent has spent countless hours perfecting her craft. She opened Bloom in 2022 with the goal to bring the best aesthetic techniques and services to our town.

• Background: Her photography background and business in Southern California sparked her passion for aesthetics. After working as a Physician Assistant in Family Practice and Pain Management, she found the niche of medical aesthetics combined her love for anatomy and physiology, scientific development and personalized patient care with creativity and artistic expression.

• Areas of Service: Full facial assessments and advanced facial balancing with dermal fillers (Juvederm, Restylane, Radiesse), Neuromodulators (Botox and Dysport), Biostimulators (Sculptra and PRP/PRF), RF Microneedling, Lasers and medical grade skincare.

• What Sets Bloom Apart: “I started Bloom because I want to break the stigma associated with aesthetics; this is a luxury service but I do not believe it should be exclusive. We will give expert opinion and advice on how to accomplish your goals without pressure or guilt.”

• Biggest Lesson in Business: “You will never find the ‘perfect balance’ (although I thought I could), but you CAN focus your talents on something that inspires you and makes you want to keep bringing your best self to the table in order to serve others.”

VICTORIA VALENTINAS VLV DESIGNS

Victoria Valentinas is the President and Principal Designer and Artist of VLV Designs, a full service interior design and custom art company that she opened in May of 2020.

• Education: Graduate of High Point University’s Interior Design and Studio Art programs

• Background: Started in product development and visual merchandising in the furniture industry and a passion for textiles and quality craftsmanship bloomed.

• Mission Statement: We take ordinary spaces and make them specialty places! We take ideas to the next level, creating functional beauty in the most unique form. We believe in bringing your personal vision to life by gathering your favorite things while adding new pieces to create a beautiful, harmonious design.

• Specialty Services: Specialty room design packages, custom bedding and window treatments, faux finish paint treatments, and custom art including wall art, faux finishings and murals.

• What Sets Us Apart: The quality and service that comes from over a decade of experience working directly with some of the country’s leading furniture manufacturers such as HGTV HOME Collection and ED by Ellen Degeneres through product development and furniture design.

• Awards: “ I am very proud that my mural for the Humane Society of the Piedmont won an award from the American Society of Interior Designers.”

• Best Thing About Being a Woman in Business: Being able to make a difference in the lives of those who make up our community by creating beautiful, joyful and less-stressful spaces.

ANGELA NISWENDER

KUMON MATH AND READING CENTER OF SOUTHERN PINES

Mother of three and professional instructor Angela Niswender opened Kumon of Southern Pines in the fall of 2022.

• Education: A graduate of Colorado Christian University with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology

• Background: Former preschool teacher and Assistant Director of a preschool center in Colorado.

• What Led You to this Career: “I have always loved working with children...Kumon offers such a unique learning model where student learn to become more self-reliant through increased self confidence. Like all Kumon Instructors, I have a true passion for education and an earnest desire to help children succeed.”

• About Kumon: Kumon is an after-school academic enrichment program that uses individualized lesson plans for math and reading designed to help kids learn independently.

• Who Does Kumon Serve: Students from preschool to 12th grade

• Biggest Lesson Learned in Business: You are the only person that can hold you back from your goals.

LAURA BARMORE

CAROLINA CONCIERGE & CO.

For twenty years, Laura Barmore has owned a second home in Pinehurst with her husband. In 2018, she moved to the area full time and later opened the boutique property management company, Carolina Concierge & Co.

• Background: Retired New York City Financial Analyst & Master Gardener.

• What Led you to This Career: “I’ll never forget coming down to visit our vacation home and arriving late at night to open the front door to two inches of water running all over our Brazilian cherry floors. I wish I had a property manager then!”

• Mission Statement: When you’re not here, I am.

• Scope of Service & Expertise: Maintain the well being of your primary residence or vacation home while you are away, with close attention to every detail; “white glove” concierge services include but are not limited to; frequent inspections of interior, exterior, and the grounds of your home with recommendations of “best practices” for maintenance, ensures that appliances, electrical, plumbing and security systems are operating properly, cleaning services, package and mail delivery, owner/guest arrival and departure services and a Master Gardener’s eye on the landscaping.

• What Sets Carolina Concierge & Co. Apart: “Our strength is in our attention to detail, ensuring that your property is protected and professionally managed. We customize the oversight management plan based on your needs with the goal of allowing you to be worryfree while you are away and without the maintenance hassles once you are here so you can totally enjoy your Pinehurst experience.”

• Advice For Young Women Starting their Career: ”Listen to your customers first. You can tell them how great your business is later. Those small details that I pick up on while listening to my customers needs are exactly how I will treat your home. The details are key!”

lbarmore55@gmail.com

540.462.7794 | carolinaconciergeandco.com