“
— Mike Cavanaugh, Shop Manager
2024 US OPEN PLAYER
MICHAEL MCGOWAN
Physical fitness, balance and bone strength are important to me as a professional golfer. So I am proud to partner with Osteostrong of Pinehurst as one of my sponsors for the US Open.
© 2024
Quail Haven Village
Cover Photograph By Rose Shewey
Moore County’s Most Trusted Real Estate Team!
PINEHURST • $350,000
85 PINE VALLEY ROAD, UNIT 78
Great 2 BR / 2 BA golf-front condo overlooking several holes on Pinehurst #3 course. Upper, end unit with side balcony just a short walk to Pinehurst resort and PCC. Perfect for a golf getaway!
SEVEN LAKES WEST • $450,000
172 MORRIS DRIVE
Delightful 4 BR / 3 BA home in beautiful 7LW location. Home has been nicely updated to include remodeled kitchen, new flooring and has been freshly painted!
PINEHURST • $375,000 138 LOVE THIRTY LANE
Beautifully renovated 2 BR / 2 BA townhome in popular Lawn and Tennis. Hardwood flooring throughout main living areas and great inset wet bar in formal dining room.
PINEHURST•$155,000
TBD QUAIL RUN
Nice 1.05 acre lot in popular Clarendon Gardens. Location convenient to shopping, dining and the First Health hospital and local medical complex.
PINEHURST• $488,900
30 JUNIPER CREEK BOULEVARD
Beautiful 3 BR / 2 BA brick home in charming No. 6 community! Bright, open floorplan all on one level with fenced, private back yard with great stone water feature.
PINEHURST • $475,000 6 GREENBRIER LANE
Charming 3 BR / 2 BA golf front home in popular No. 6 community! Floorplan is bright and open with nice views of the course across the back. Just a short walk from the Clubhouse and driving range.
PINEHURST•$478,000
325 PINEHURST TRACE DRIVE
Wonderful 3 BR / 2 BA home in popular community! One of the newer homes in Pinehurst Trace, this home is spacious w/fenced back yard and loads of privacy.
PINEHURST • $415,000
4 BUR COURT
Charming 3 BR / 2 BA home nestled among longleaf pines and mature landscaping. Home is situated on quiet cul-de-sac and is immaculate!
CARTHAGE • $318,750 TBD PEACE ROAD
Beautiful, heavily wooded 25.07-acre parcel of land in the Moore County countryside!
IN MOORE COUNTY REAL ESTATE FOR OVER 20 YEARS!
Luxury Properties
SEVEN LAKES SOUTH • $649,900
251 W. DEVONSHIRE AVENUE
Unique 3 BR / 3.5 BA home overlooking the 10th green of the award winning Seven Lakes CC and golf course. Home has spacious design with spectacular golf and water views from nearly every room!
Wonderful 4 BR / 3 Full BA, 2 Half BA home on 5-acre tract in gated 7LN. Hardwood flooring throughout main living area, beautiful kitchen, nice upper loft area and amazing barn with upstairs apartment. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to own your own private haven!
SEVEN LAKES WEST • $635,000 225 LAKEWAY DRIVE
New construction almost complete! 4 BR / 3 BA twostory home with incredibly open and bright floorplan with nice upper level. Convenient to the main gate and a short walk to the pool and community center.
Unique 4 BR / 4 BA 3-level, waterfront home situated on nice double lot in private No. 6 location. Home is well-maintained with lots of space and an abundance of privacy. Transferable PCC membership available. PINEHURST • $895,000 17 LA QUINTA LOOP
Alluring
and
/ 3.5
BEACH BLAST BLOCK PARTY
Saturday, July 6 — 4:00 pm
Celebrate our Nation’s birth with an old fashioned backyard BBQ. Family fun with waterslide and other games. DJ King Curtiss of Star 102.5 spinning the oldies.
PEACH GRASS FESTIVAL
Saturday, July 27 — 6:00 pm
Bring your blanket or chairs and settle in on the lawn for a good old fashioned hootenanny with three groups with local connections. Headlined by the Low Tide String Band.
DRIVE-IN MOVIE ON THE GROUNDS
Saturday, August 24
Bring your chairs and blankets for a classic drive-in on the lawn. Experience Spielberg’s BFG on the big screen with popcorn, cold beverages, and candy.
Also! Register now for our Explorer of the World Camps. August 5-9 and 12-16. For rising 4th - 8th graders.
Volume 20, No. 7
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
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Emilee Phillips, Digital Content emilee@pinestrawmag.com
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Jim Dodson, Stephen E. Smith
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
John Gessner, Laura L. Gingerich, Diane McKay, Tim Sayer
CONTRIBUTORS
Jenna Biter, Anne Blythe, Keith Borshak, Tom Bryant, Susan Campbell, Bill Case, Tony Cross, Brianna Rolfe Cunningham, Mart Dickerson, Bill Fields, Meridith Martens, Mary Novitsky, Lee Pace, Todd Pusser, Joyce Reehling, Deborah Salomon, Scott Sheffield, Rose Shewey, Angie Tally, Kimberly Daniels Taws, Daniel Wallace, Ashley Walshe, Claudia Watson, Amberly Glitz Weber
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2024 Toyota Crown
The Belle of Star City
May her light shine on
By Jim DoDsoN
“I think you are really going to enjoy your Great Aunt Lily,” my dad says cheerfully. “She’s quite a colorful character. I call her the Belle of Star City.”
It’s a warm July morning in 1964. We are driving through the Blue Ridge Mountains to Roanoke, where I am to be dropped off at Great Aunt Lily’s apartment for the weekend before my parents take my brother, Dickie, on to church camp, then head to a newspaper convention in Hot Springs, Virginia.
He explains that Lily is my grandfather’s beloved youngest sister, a strong-willed beauty who spurned several suitors in rural Carolina before fleeing to Washington, D.C. There, she worked for years as a stage actress and theatrical seamstress.
“I suppose she was something of the family’s black sheep, but a delightful woman. You’ll love her.”
Though I fear I’m simply being dumped for the weekend on a boring maiden aunt, my old man turns out to be right.
Lily lives alone in a gloomy Victorian brownstone on Roanoke’s First Street, in an apartment filled with dusty antiques and Civil War memorabilia, including a Confederate cavalry officer’s sword she claims belonged to a Dodson ancestor who fought at Antietam and Gettysburg. There are also exotic paintings of classical nudes and wild beasts adorning her walls, including the stuffed head of an antelope, a gift from her “favorite gentleman friend” who passes through town every winter with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
On my first night with her, Lily — a large-boned, blonde woman, endlessly talkative, swimming in White Shoulders perfume — takes me via taxi to a Chinese restaurant in the Market District, where we dine with a snowy-haired “gentleman friend” she says was once mayor. He talks about the recent Kennedy assassination and makes a half-dollar coin appear from my ears, pointing out that Roanoke is called Magic City.
The next morning, Lily takes me to breakfast at The Roanoker Restaurant, a legendary diner where she knows everyone by first name. After that, we are taxied up Mill Mountain to have a close look at the famous Roanoke Star. The cab driver, Ernie, is a Black gentleman with a gold tooth and quick smile. Lily explains that Ernie is a true “Renaissance man,” a part-time preacher, former Navy cook, full-time house painter and her “dearest gentleman friend in the world.” Reverend Ernie is also her “business partner,” who occasionally drives her to estate sales and auctions to buy artwork and antiques, which Ernie sells to collectors, splitting the profits with her. The Confederate cavalry sword is one of their recent “finds,” which she hints might someday pass my way. This thought thrills me.
On the Sunday morning of my visit, we attend a small red-brick church to hear Reverend Ernie preach, followed by lunch at the historic Hotel Roanoke, the planned pick-up spot with my folks. Naturally, Lily knows the waiter, who brings me something called a “Roy Rogers” and her a small crystal glass. After we order our lunch, Lily discreetly removes a silver flask from her purse and pours herself a bit of ruby sherry.
She looks at me and asks if I’d like a taste.
I say yes.
She asks how old I am.
Twelve, I lie, giving myself an extra year.
She slides the glass across the table.
“Just a small sip, dear.”
During the two-hour drive home through the mountains, my folks are eager to hear about my weekend with the Belle of Star City. I tell them about her gentlemen friends and the interesting places she took me, and even mention the Confederate cavalry sword she promises to give me someday.
My dad glances at my mom. “I told you she’s a colorful character,” he says. “Glad you enjoyed her. But here’s the thing . . . ”
He reveals that Great Aunt Lily is about to lose her home and move to Raleigh into a special-care home due to what we now call Alzheimer’s. Lily is scheduled to move around Christmastime.
“In the meantime, sport, she’s coming to stay with us around Thanksgiving.”
My mother chimes in, “And since your bedroom is the bigger bedroom, sweetie, we’re hoping you won’t mind giving it up to Aunt Lily. You can bunk with your brother. It’ll just be temporary.”
Four months later, Lily arrives with a large wooden trunk and her sewing machine in tow. On the plus side, she tells me stories about famous men she’s known — the actor David Niven, golfer Sam Snead, Will Rogers. Even better, she keeps boxes of Lorna Doone cookies hidden under bolts of fancy cloth in her trunk, which she shares with me. One afternoon as we are having our daily cookie conversation, I ask about the sword. Lily gives me a blank look, then waves her cookie dismissively. “Oh, goodness, child! I gave that silly old thing to the church auction ages ago. I think I paid 10 dollars for it at a yard sale up in Fincastle.”
Predictably, as Christmas Eve approaches, my clean-freak mother begins to lose her mind over our private cookie sessions. My father says all Aunt Lily needs is a good hobby. So, he sets up her sewing machine and she goes to work behind closed doors with her machine humming for days.
It turns out to be quilted, floral potholders. Two dozen quilted, floral potholders.
“Lily thinks you can sell them in the neighborhood for Christmas money,” says my dad.
I am mortified. Two pals from my Pet Dairy baseball team live on our block, and so does one Della Jane Hockaday, who I hope to give a mood ring.
“Look, sport,” my old man reasons, “Aunt Lily is here for only a couple more weeks. Just let her see you go down the block selling them. You’ll make an old lady who has just lost her home very happy. Lily is very fond of you.”
So, I grit my teeth and do it early on a frosty Saturday morning a week before Christmas. To my surprise, I sell a half-dozen $5 potholders and make thirty bucks. Years later, my mom lets slip that she’d phoned every woman on the street to grease the skids, including Della’s mom. The next morning before church, my dad and I drive the remaining potholders to the drop-off box of the Salvation Army store.
He gives me an extra 20 for my trouble and insists that I tell Lily, if she asks, that her beautiful potholders sold out in just one morning.
But Lily never asks. Not long after the New Year, my dad drives his aunt and her big wooden trunk and sewing machine to the special-care home.
I get my bedroom back and never see Great Aunt Lily again. She passes away in the springtime two years later.
Every time I drive through Roanoke or eat Lorna Doone cookies, I think of her with a smile. PS
Jim Dodson can be reached at jwdauthor@gmail.com.
GrouP
photo by Tess Gillespie
Savory Lunch Sandwiches
by
Photograph
Matthew Gibson
Scarlett Allison
Christine Barrett
Maureen Clark
Joy Blake Donat
Tracy Gibson
Keith Harris
Maribeth Hough
Laurie Kornegay
Ross Laton
Christian McCarthy
Melody Bell McClelland
Meredith Morski
Lesley Dacko Pacos
Caitlin Richardson
Brenda Sharpe
Kate Shinkwin
PinePitch
Some Kind of Palooza
The Pinesapalooza is a free outdoor concert featuring local musicians on the grassy knoll next to the Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines, beginning at 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 20, and going until who knows when. For info call (910) 420-2549 or go to www.sunrisetheater.com.
Bocce is Back
The Backyard Bocce Bash, benefiting the Sandhills Children’s Center, takes place on Saturday, July 20, beginning at 8:45 a.m. at the Harness Track, 200 Beulah Hill Road S., in Pinehurst. Get rolling and put a team together for a good cause. For information and registration go to www.sandhillschildrenscenter.org.
Peach of a Night
Watch the Sandhills Bogeys’ last home game in the “Peg the Peach Night,” beginning at 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 21. The first 100 attendees will receive free peach ice cream from Stellar Scoops. We have no clue what “pegging the peach” means, but we’re pretty sure we understand free ice cream. The games are at Dempsey Field at Sandhills Community College, 3395 Airport Road, in Pinehurst. For additional info go to www.homeofgolf.com/peach-week/.
A Black Box Summer
The first of Judson Theatre Company’s three summer black box presentations, the musical They’re Playing Our Song, begins at 8 p.m. on Friday, July 19, at the McPherson Theater, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. The show runs through July 28. The second feature in the summer series, Mrs. Mannerly, starring Linda Purl, begins Aug. 2, at 8 p.m., and runs through Aug. 11. The triptych concludes with Tell Me on a Sunday, beginning Aug. 16. For information and tickets go to www.ticketmesandhills.com or www.judsontheatre.com.
You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat
The Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines, is celebrating the “Summer of Spielberg” by screening the movies of a certain Steven. On Wednesday, July 3, the theater will show Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, followed by Indiana Jones: The Temple of Doom on Thursday, July 11, then Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade, on Thursday, July 18, and closing out the month — for those who need a break from Harrison Ford — ET the Extra-Terrestrial, on Thursday, July 25. All shows begin at 7 p.m. Whips, hats and bomber jackets are extra. Visit www.sunrisetheater.com for more information.
Bookish
The Country Bookshop, 140 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines, will host Tita Ramirez to discuss her debut novel, Tell It to Me Singing, on July 8, from 6 – 7 p.m. Then, Beatriz Williams will be in the house on Sunday, July 14, from 2 – 3 p.m., to talk about her novel, Husbands and Lovers. And, last but not least, The Sway and the bookshop team up to present Tessa Bailey in an engaging conversation and book signing of her newest novel, The Au Pair Affair, from 7:30 –8:30 p.m., on Friday, July 19 at the Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. For information and to save a seat go to www.ticketmesandhills.com.
A Pinehurst Kinda 4th
Celebrate Independence Day early with a free concert and fireworks on Wednesday, July 3, at the Pinehurst Harness Track, 200 Beulah Hill Road S., in Pinehurst. There will be food, beverages and stuff to keep the kids occupied until the smoke show begins at 9:15 p.m. Then get up and at ’em on the day itself for the Independence Day Parade — pets included — in the village of Pinehurst, beginning at 9:45 a.m., at 1 Village Green Road. For additional information go to www.vopnc.org.
Candles and Cafés, Oh, My
The Met Opera takes the screen at the Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines, in Giacomo Puccini’s classic opera La Bohème, beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 27. Enjoy a little Parisian lifestyle circa 1890. Hum if you don’t know the words. Call (910) 420-2549 or visit www.sunrisetheater.com for more information.
Cancer
(June 21 – July 22)
Fancy the tapas sampler? This month kicks off with Saturn retrograde in Pisces. Rainbows and butterflies, yes. But also, reality checks. (Band-Aids don’t fix everything.) Ready or not, the new moon in Cancer will deliver a much-needed reboot on July 5.
And when Venus enters Leo on July 11? Aim those big feelings toward your deepest desires and watch the universe bend over backward to serve them up.
Tea leaf “fortunes” for the rest of you:
Leo (July 23 – August 22)
Ditch the predictive text.
Virgo (August 23 – September 22)
The proof is in the pie crust.
Libra (September 23 – October 22)
Best to let sleeping dogs lie.
Scorpio (October 23 – November 21)
Knock and the door will open.
Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)
Be sure to kiss them in the rain.
Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)
Try wiping the lens.
Aquarius (January 20 – February 18)
Stretch or be stretched.
Pisces (February 19 – March 20)
Locate your center of gravity.
Aries (March 21 – April 19)
Just add water.
Taurus (April 20 – May 20)
Three words: Less is more.
Gemini (May 21 – June 20)
Plant your tootsies firmly on the Earth. 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.
SUMMER
Photo: Colin Quaste Photography,
Civil War: Past and Present
Erik Larson’s The Demon of Unrest
By Stephen e . Smith
Books about the American Civil War sell themselves. Publishers know there’s a loyal audience eager to buy reasonably well-researched volumes about the most tragic event in American history, and that’s enough to keep the bookstore shelves stuffed with warmed-over and newly discovered material. But how does a Civil War historian appeal to a broader audience? Simple: link the events explicated in his book to the present or, even better, to the future.
Erik Larson’s The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War purports to do just that. Larson states in his introduction: “I was well into my research on the saga of Fort Sumter and the advent of the American Civil War when the events of January 6, 2021, took place. As I watched the Capitol assault unfold on camera, I had the eerie feeling that present and past had merged. It is unsettling that in 1861 two of the greatest moments of national dread centered on the certification of the Electoral College vote and the presidential inauguration. . . I suspect your sense of dread will be all the more pronounced in light of today’s political discord, which, incredibly, has led some benighted Americans to whisper once again of secession and civil war.”
The major news networks have been quick to focus on the book’s possible implications, and Larson has appeared on cable news, NPR, and at bookstores and lecture venues across the country to address the possible parallels between the people, places and events of the spring of 1861 and those of the upcoming presidential election.
Which begs two questions. First, is The Demon of Unrest a wellwritten, thoroughly researched history deserving of the intense scrutiny it is receiving? And second, does the history of the fall of Fort Sumter offer readers insights into the cultural and political divisions in which Americans now find themselves?
The answer to the first question is a resounding yes. Larson is a conscientious researcher, and everything he presents “comes from some form of historical document; likewise, any reference to a gesture, smile, or other physical action comes from an account by one who made it or witnessed it.” He has analyzed a myriad of primary and secondary sources and produced a narrative that proceeds logically from chapter to chapter, illustrating how a false sense of honor and faulty decision-making on both sides of the conflict facilitated the terrible suffering that would be occasioned by the war.
Larson accomplishes this by drawing on the papers and records of the usual suspects — Mary Chesnut, Maj. Robert Anderson (Fort Sumter’s commander), Lincoln, Edmund Ruffin, Abner Doubleday, James Buchanan, Gideon Welles, William Seward, etc. — but he also delves more deeply than earlier historians into more obscure sources, all of which are noted in his extensive bibliography. Much of what he discloses will be revelatory to readers of popular Civil War histories.
The disreputable activities of South Carolina Gov. James Hammond are a startling example. (Hammond is credited with having uttered the oft-repeated “You dare not make war on cotton — no power on earth dares make war upon it. Cotton is king.”) In May 1857, Hammond, an active player in the Fort Sumter narrative, was being considered to fill a vacant seat in the U.S. Senate, even though he was a confessed child predator who molested his four nieces. Hammond wrote in his diary: “Here were four lovely creatures, from the tender but precious girl of 13 to the mature but fresh and blooming woman nearly 19, each contending for my love . . . and permitting my hands to stray unchecked over every part of them and to rest without the slightest shrinking from it.” Hammond not only recorded his misdeeds, he disclosed his indiscretions to friends and suffered no negative political consequences when his pedophilia became public knowledge.
Larson reminds readers that Lincoln’s election also occasioned a demonstration at the Capitol. The crowd might have turned violent, but Gen. Winfield Scott was prepared: “Soldiers manned the entrances and demanded to see passes before letting anyone in. Scott had positioned caches of arms throughout the building. A regiment of troops in plainclothes circulated among the crowd to stop any trouble before it started.”
In a lengthy narrative aside detailing Lincoln’s trip from Springfield to Washington, Larson reveals that the president-elect had to hold a yard sale to pay for his journey to the inaugural and that despite precautions to ensure his safety, an elaborate subterfuge had to be undertaken to sneak Lincoln into the District of Columbia. He was accompanied on the trip by detective Allan Pinkerton, who was determined to foil a supposed plot to assassinate Lincoln before he could be sworn in.
What readers will find most surprising is the degree to which the 19th century concept of “honor” held sway over events surrounding the fall of Sumter. As South Carolina authorities constructed gun emplacements in preparation for a bombardment of the fort, mail service continued with messages to and from Washington passing through Confederate hands without being opened and read. While attempting to starve the fort into surrender, the city of Charleston also attempted to accommodate the garrison with deliveries of beef and vegetables, which Maj. Anderson rejected on the grounds that such resup -
ply was dishonorable.
After months of political finagling, the fort endured an intense 34-hour bombardment before being evacuated. Neither side suffered any dead or wounded; thus, the battle that initiated the bloodiest conflict in American history was bloodless.
The second question — Do the events that followed Fort Sumter’s fall suggest that violent consequences will likewise follow the 2024 presidential election? — is easily answered: No. Cliches such as Santayana’s “Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it” or Twain’s “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme” short circuit critical thinking. Nothing is preordained.
Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, who knows something about the Civil War, recently addressed this question in a commencement speech at Brandeis University. The text of Burns’ address is available online, and readers who believe we’re headed into a second civil war should read what Burns has to say.
The obvious message conveyed by The Demon of Unest is clear: Human beings are foolish, arrogant, and too often given to emotional irrationality that’s self-destructive. There’s nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes got that right. 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.
FICTION
July Books
The Briar Club, by Kate Quinn
Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of Washington, D.C., where secrets hide behind white picket fences. When the lovely, mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic room, she draws her oddball collection of neighbors into unlikely friendship — the English beauty Fliss, whose facade of perfect wife and mother covers gaping inner wounds; the policeman’s daughter Nora, who finds herself entangled with a shadowy gangster; the frustrated baseball star Beatrice, whose career has come to an end along with the women’s baseball league of World War II; and the poisonous, gung-ho Arlene, who has thrown herself into McCarthy’s Red Scare. Grace’s weekly attic room dinner parties and window-brewed sun tea become a healing balm on all their lives, but she hides a terrible secret of her own.
NONFICTION
Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age, by Kathleen Sheppard
The history of Egyptology is often told as yet one more grand narrative of powerful men striving to seize the day and the precious artifacts for their competing homelands. But that is only half the story. During the so-called Golden Age of Exploration, before men even conceived of claiming the story for themselves, women were working in Egypt to lay the groundwork for all future exploration. In Women in the Valley of the Kings, Sheppard brings the untold stories of these women back into this narrative, beginning with some of the earliest European women who ventured to Egypt as travelers: Amelia Edwards, Jenny Lane and Marianne Brocklehurst. Their travelogues, diaries and maps chronicled a new world for the curious. In the vast desert, Maggie Benson, the first woman granted permission to excavate in Egypt, met Nettie Gourlay, the woman who became her lifelong companion. They battled issues of oppression and exclusion and, ultimately, are credited with excavating the Temple of Mut. As each woman scored a success in the desert, she set
up the women who came later. Emma Andrews’ success as a patron and archaeologist helped pave the way for Margaret Murray to teach. Murray’s work in the university led to the artists Amice Calverley’s and Myrtle Broome’s ability to work on-site at Abydos, creating brilliant reproductions of tomb art, and to Kate Bradbury’s and Caroline Ransom’s leadership in critical Egyptological institutions.
The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum: The Rise and Fall of an American Organized-Crime Boss, by Margalit Fox
In 1850, an impoverished 25-year-old named Fredericka Mandelbaum came to New York in steerage and worked as a peddler on the streets of Lower Manhattan. By the 1870s she was a fixture of high society and an admired philanthropist. How was she able to ascend from tenement poverty to vast wealth? In the intervening years, “Marm” Mandelbaum had become the country’s most notorious receiver of stolen goods — and a criminal mastermind. By the mid-1880s as much as $10 million worth of purloined luxury goods (nearly $300 million today) had passed through her Lower East Side shop. Called “the nucleus and center of the whole organization of crime,” she planned robberies of cash, gold and diamonds throughout the country. The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum paints a vivid portrait of Gilded Age New York — a city teeming with nefarious rogues, capitalist power brokers and Tammany Hall bigwigs, all straddling the line between underworld enterprise and “legitimate” commerce.
The Secret History of Sharks: The Rise of the Ocean’s Most Fearsome Predators, by John A. Long Sharks have been fighting for their lives for 500 million years and today are under dire threat. They are the longest-surviving vertebrate on Earth, outlasting multiple mass extinction events that decimated life on the planet. How did they thrive for so long? By developing superpower-like abilities that allowed them to ascend to the top of the oceanic food chain. Led by Long and dozens of other extraordinary scientists, The Secret History of Sharks showcases the global search to discover the largely unknown evolution of sharks. They embark on digs to all seven continents, using cutting-edge technology to reveal never-before-found fossils and the clues to sharks’ singular story.
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Beach Hair, by Ashley Woodfolk
Bed hair? Don’t care! It’s time for a day at the beach. This celebration of fun, frivolity and a little frizz is the perfect read for a summer day at the beach, the lake, or even just a sprinkler in the backyard. (Ages 2-6.)
Ursula Upside Down, by Corey R. Tabor Toh-may-toh, tohmah-toh; po-tay-to, po-tah-to. We’ve all got our own way of interpreting the world, and for Ursula, well, her way is to see the world upside down. Or, maybe, we’re upside down and Ursula is right after all. However you look at the world, you’ll love looking at it through Ursula’s eyes in this charming picture book from the author of the Fox versus Fox learning to read series. (Ages 3-7.)
How to Catch a Polar Bear, by Stacy DeKeyser
The summer of 1948 is heating up, and 12-yearold Nick is looking forward to hanging out with his best pals, Ace and Penny. When the two of them decide to share a paper route, Nick is left to find other ways to fill his days. Lucky for him, his uncle opened a custard stand and needs help. It just so happens the custard stand is at the zoo, where a polar bear has escaped and some very unusual hijinks keep happening. Nick decides to volunteer to be close to the action — and score some free custard. This delightful romp of a historical novel rounds out the summer with a little mystery. It’s the perfect read for fans of Stuart Gibbs’ Belly Up and Katherine Applegate’s The One and Only Ivan. (Ages 8-12.) PS
Compiled by Kimberly Daniels Taws and Angie Tally.
Where Community and Active Living Meet
Introducing Penick Village’s Newest Expansion, designed to elevate your way of living.
Comfortable Living Spaces: Step into comfort with our 44 beautifully designed Independent Living residences, each thoughtfully crafted to provide you with a home that’s as comfortable as it is stylish.
Village Pavilion: In our state-of-the-art wellness building, you can engage in various activities, including Pickleball, personal training, and an overall focus on your health and wellness.
Comprehensive Healthcare: The Terrace, our health services building, will be enhanced and renovated, providing exceptional personalized care tailored to your needs.
Welcoming Community: Enter through our updated Welcome House, a space designed to safely welcome you, and your guests, into our community.
Penick Village invites you to join our community, where we’re not just redefining retirement living, we’re elevating it to new heights.
Learn more about our community , where you have the freedom to focus on your wellness and relationships while living life to its fullest . Contact us today. Call (910) 692-0300 , email info@penickvillage1964.org , or scan the QR code to learn more.
By Bill FieldS
The address
is 180 South West Broad Street, but I never needed a map to find it.
Universe of the Mind
The place where thought is free to roam
People pay their water bills there now. For many years, though, the building with the arched windows set back from the street was the Southern Pines Public Library. It was designed by well-known architect Aymar Embury II, who also was responsible for the structures on either side, the post office and a doctor’s office, and other homes, businesses and schools in the Sandhills.
It is difficult to imagine childhood without Embury’s creation, constructed in the late 1930s and expanded a decade later. The exterior is appealing. The magic, however, was inside.
I love libraries, and that affection began among the books and periodicals in that cozy space when I was a boy. We had some reading materials at home, of course, but the library offered a vast universe beyond the World Books and fiction on our modest shelves. And while the Greensboro Daily News landed in our driveway each morning and a couple of magazines arrived in the mail each month, there was a bounty of publications at 180 S.W. Broad: National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, TIME, Popular Mechanics, Field & Stream and many others.
I was always excited to go inside, even though in those days, more so than now, a library was a land of whispers. One’s enthusiasm had to be tempered. But I’m not at all sure I was using my inside voice when, as a third-grader, I pleaded my case to Mrs. Kathleen Lambourne, the librarian, to check out my first grownup book.
It was Willie Mays: My Life in and out of Baseball, by one of my baseball heroes as told to Charles Einstein. The cover featured “Willie Mays” in large script in the orange and black colors of the San Francisco Giants. The autobiography had 320 pages between its hard covers, a lot of words for a kid.
But Mrs. Lambourne was on my side. For the next couple of weeks, I found out a lot about Mays. Before long, I was checking out another adult title, Paper Lion, by George Plimpton, about the journalist-author’s brief turn as a quarterback for the Detroit Lions. The Englishborn Mrs. Lambourne, who held the position in Southern Pines from 1955 through 1969, didn’t have a hard time figuring out that I loved sports.
The library was a regular destination in my relatively freerange youth in a safe small town, whether on foot or by bicycle. It would be a lie to say I went there more often than to the downtown park, a ball field or a golf course, but the library was an important aspect of growing up — a place that offered calm, rewarded curiosity, and fostered a love of words.
Growing older, the two public libraries in my larger town hundreds of miles north from where that serene spot existed are valued locations in my current life. Many things are available digitally, a great convenience, especially when traveling. Nothing beats perusing the shelves. I regularly roam the stacks of biography and memoir, my favorite genre, and always check the displays for new titles and staff recommendations.
Working from home for the last 10 years, I enjoy a change of scenery, and a day or two a week I’ll go to either my main or branch library and settle in at a table for a couple of hours or longer to write. Sometimes, words that are coming slowly at my residence come more easily in the library.
I’m typing this on the eve of a week-long stay in Southern Pines, where no doubt I will spend time in the town’s current library on West Connecticut Avenue, which opened in 1995. While enjoying that pleasant space, I’ll have memories of the hours spent blocks away, the library card with the tiny metal plate a ticket to a world beyond what I knew. PS
Southern Pines native Bill Fields, who writes about golf and other things, moved north in 1986 but hasn’t lost his accent.
My Life of Crime
Confessions of a petty thief
By Janet Wheaton
It began and ended in the summer of 1962. I was a skinny, freckled child of 10 when we arrived on the base in late January of that year and moved into a red brick, three-story apartment building, one of several in a cluster surrounded by snowy woods and rolling hills. My father, mother and I were still grieving the loss of my older sister, who’d passed away two-and-a-half years before in the bedroom across the hall from mine, following a long battle with cancer. I remembered little about that time, and what I did remember I could not bear to articulate.
Even before becoming an only child, I was an introvert, a hybrid variety that growing up military often produces: self-reliant and independent, but always looking to make that special new friend. For a while, I thought that might be Denise. With curly dark hair and quick brown eyes, she sparkled with fun that winter morning when she plunked herself down in the seat next to me on the school bus. And — as well as a friend — I could use some fun. On weekends we took to the woods, careening down trails on our sleds, weaving between the trees and toppling into snowbanks. We hung up our sleds when spring arrived, bringing with it frequent rains that kept us indoors playing Clue on her bedroom floor. One afternoon in early May, a great volley of thunder seemed to announce the return of the sun. Temperatures climbed daily, and Denise and I grew restless waiting for the swimming pool to open. Time never passed so slowly. On our treks down the winding road to the Post Exchange and movie theater, we paused at the pool complex, nestled into the side of a hill, to check the prog-
ress of the water flowing from giant hoses into the big concrete basin. When Memorial Day weekend finally arrived, we were up and out early Saturday morning, our new swimsuits rolled up in beach towels and tucked under our arms, our thong sandals slapping the pavement.
After a quick change in the locker room, we scampered down the steps and hurled ourselves into the deep end of the sun-dazzled pool and — in shock — scrambled back out of the frigid water just as fast. But not for long. Denise had a plan: We would stand under the cold shower for as long as we could take it, then jump into the pool. It worked — for a minute or so, the water felt warm by contrast. We were able to swim a length or two before we had to climb out and rub ourselves dry while the blood returned to the tips of our blue fingers and toes.
Wrapped in our towels, we headed to the snack bar, where the aroma of potatoes frying in sizzling fat awakened in me a hunger long gone dormant. When I became the only one sitting at the dinner table between my parents, I lost all desire for food and any pleasure in eating it. But that day, as Denise and I waited in line clutching purses heavy with coins, I couldn’t remember ever craving anything the way I craved those french fries.
Under a big red umbrella, we slathered our hot fries with ketchup and devoured them, two and three at a time. After wolfing down that first carton, my resurrected taste buds cried out for more. We got back in line and ordered another round. This time we carefully dipped each fry into our well of ketchup and savored the crispy outer layer, then the warm, mealy center, sharing not so much as a crumb with the sparrows scavenging under the wroughtiron table. Afterward, we beached by the pool for an hour. A sense of well-being settled over me as I lay beside my friend, the sun toasting my backside and the concrete warming my full belly.
After school let out in June, Denise and I went to the pool almost daily, tossing the brown-bagged lunches made by our
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PASSAGES
mothers into the trash barrel at the gate. Economizing to make our money last, we drank water instead of soft drinks and limited ourselves to a single order of fries each day. By the end of the month we could afford only one carton between us, and we divvied up the fries as if they were precious jewels.
Come the first of July, our allowances made us flush once more. The water was warmer and we stayed in the pool longer, making us even more ravenous when we got out. Too often we splurged on two orders of fries apiece. Between that, our Saturday matinees, and PX-candy habit, we were bankrupt by the third week of the month. Denise’s dad refused her request for an advance, and I dared not ask mine. My father, a tall, barrel-chested lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps, had been a fighter pilot in World War II and Korea. Our household was clearly under his command, and I feared that approaching him about my allowance might be regarded as insubordination.
Broke and with no chance to restock our coin purses before the first of the month, Denise and I tried to distract ourselves by jumping off the high dive, doing flips off the low one, and playing Marco Polo with other kids from school. But it only made us hungrier. Forced to settle for the lukewarm sandwiches and fruit slices our mothers provided, we grew churlish with each other and envious of the people with plastic trays laden with burgers, soft drinks, and those plump, aromatic, golden fries.
As we changed in the locker room, I noticed Denise eyeing a
couple of women who laid their clothes on a shelf in their lockers, hung their purses on a hook, and closed the doors. Nobody ever locked anything. Down by the pool, she was silent as we settled in a shady corner. Six weeks of lying in the sun had given her a walnut tan. I was a rash of new freckles and peeling sunburned skin. Propped on her elbows, my friend glanced over her shoulder, then looked back at me.
“Those ladies . . . ,” she said. “They wouldn’t miss a dime or two.”
“You want to ask them for money?”
Asking was not what my friend had in mind. No, we would simply help ourselves. “They’ll never miss a few coins,” she insisted.
“That’s stealing. And if we get caught we’ll get in a lot of trouble.”
“Who’s gonna get caught?”
No way, I told her. But as morning turned into a french fry-less afternoon, her proposition began to seem less and less criminal. Walking home later on, we put together a plan: Denise would go into the lockers; I would be the lookout.
We committed our first heist the following morning, and it went off without a hitch. After entering the locker room together and changing into our swimsuits, we futzed around until the room was empty. Then Denise lingered inside near the lockers, and I dawdled outside the door while she carefully extracted a dime from one pocketbook, two nickels from another, until she’d collected enough for two orders of fries. If anyone approached the locker room, I
yelled our coded alert: “I’m going down to the pool!”
My taste buds were initially unconcerned with the method by which they’d been satisfied, and those ill-gotten fries settled happily in my stomach that first day. And the second and third. But on day four I was dragging a fry around in my ketchup when a woman stopped at our table.
“Excuse me, girls,” she said. I caught my breath. “If you aren’t using this chair, may I borrow it?”
“Sure,” Denise said with her easy smile, but I found it hard to meet the woman’s eyes. As she settled with her two kids at a nearby table, I couldn’t stop thinking that it might have been her money that paid for the fries I’d been eating.
“I don’t want to do this anymore.” I pushed my half-eaten carton away and laid the rest of my pilfered coins on the table. “You can have these.” Denise stared across the table at me as she chewed. Then she shrugged and scooped the coins into her hand.
“Yeah, OK,” she said, her tone changing when she added, “but you can’t ever tell anyone.” I promised I wouldn’t and left her there alone.
I stayed away from Denise and the pool for the next few days and took long walks alone in the woods behind our building, debating with myself exactly how much the word of a thief was really worth. Not much, I finally decided and mustered the courage to go to my parents and confess.
They were shocked, and I could imagine what they were thinking: Your sister would never have done such a thing! No, my sister, beautiful, smart, honorable, and beloved by everyone, including me, would never have taken a penny that didn’t belong to her — not for anything, and certainly not for a stupid slice of potato. That daughter was gone, and I was what they were left with. A thief. My mother sank down onto the couch and begin to cry. My father ran a hand around the back of his neck, cursing under his breath, and sent me to my room.
When I was summoned back half an hour later, he was sitting in his chair. “Come over here, Pumpkin,” he said, using the nickname I hadn’t heard in a long time and pointing to a nearby chair. He told me they were disappointed by what I’d done, but proud that I’d come to them. There was no way to give the money back since we didn’t know who the victims were, so there was nothing to be done — except to give me a lecture about honesty and integrity and to detail the dire consequences had we been caught. He agreed to say nothing to anyone, not even Denise’s parents — if I promised never to do such a thing again.
It wasn’t necessary for my father to forbid me to hang out with Denise, but he did. The pool and movie theater were off limits too. I suffered my sentence without complaint and spent my remaining summer afternoons at the base library, reading books from the adult shelves. I’d turned 11 that August and wasn’t feeling much like a child anymore. PS
Janet Wheaton taught herself to type on a second-hand manual typewriter that her father gave her at the age of 10, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She lives in Pinehurst with her husband, Bill, and is working on a memoir in essays.
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Feel Good Hit of the Summer
Story and p hotograph By tony CroSS
I started a small series on Reverie Cocktail’s Instagram page that I call “Vibe & Imbibe.” In each clip I pull out one of my vinyl records, give it a spin and create a cocktail from scratch. Some drinks were classics, while others were my own creation. In one episode I whipped up one of tiki legend Jeff Berry’s cocktails, the “Pago Pago.” The cocktail has a Puerto Rican rum base, with a touch of crème de cacao, Green Chartreuse, lime and pineapple. I first heard of the drink scrolling through Instagram (oddly enough), where Leandro DiMonriva (The Educated Barfly) made one. It looked so good that I did my own video of it. After shooting it, I decided to tinker with the measurements. I split the rum base with two Jamaican rums and made every ingredient equal parts. In the Pago Pago created, I used Queens of the Stone Age’s “Feel Good Hit of the Summer” from their second album Rated R as the background music. The song title stuck as the name of my new sleight of hand.
SPECIFICATIONS
1/2 ounce Smith & Cross
1/2 ounce Appleton Estate
1/2 ounce Green Chartreuse
1/2 ounce Tempus Fugit
crème de cacao
1/2 ounce lime juice
3-5 chunks of fresh pineapple
DIRECTIONS
Muddle pineapple chunks in a shaking vessel. Add remaining ingredients and ice cubes. Shake hard for 10-15 seconds and double strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass. No garnish. PS
Tony Cross owns and operates Reverie Cocktails, a cocktail delivery service that delivers kegged cocktails for businesses to pour on tap — but once a bartender, always a bartender.
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Animals on the Move
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Tier 1, 3rd Place: The Last Flight Out By Shanna Roberts
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Animals on the Move
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Tier 2, 3rd Place: Foodie By Susan Batts
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Tier 3, 1st Place: The Departing Herd By Pat Anderson
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Dream House
Home, sweet imaginary home
By deBorah Salomon
These days , what with high interest rates and low inventory, houseshoppers are lucky to find anything, let alone a dream house. This shouldn’t keep wannabees from daydreaming.
I do, although unlikely I will ever own another house, let alone anything dreamy.
In the past 16 years, I have written about more than 200 houses for PineStraw, sporting every possible feature, learning along the way that living space often defines a person. I’ve seen a classic mansion built during Pinehurst’s Gilded Age with a walkin closet retrofitted as a control room for systems — temperature, lights, alarm, locks, music. I’ve seen Alice’s topsy-turvy down-therabbit-hole abodes, and kitchens with gadgetry so fantastical it defies explanation. So, it’s only natural that, price notwithstanding, I would daydream my perfect home — and hope that you’ll do the same.
Heading the list: an ultra-powerful generator. I’m not satisfied with juicing up the fridge and the AC. For the duration of any outage I want lights, ice cream, a hot shower and CNN. Sure, I could endure a tepid shower, but without a hair dryer I’d be forced to hide under the bed.
I’d want at least two bay windows, with low window seats so the resident pet(s) could watch the world go by. No blinds, no shrubs to obstruct their view. However, a lilac bush should rise up below the bedroom window so that on cool summer nights I might open it a crack and drink in the perfume. I’ve actually experienced this one and believe me, it’s divine.
The kitchen must have a pot rack low enough for me to reach. This could be a headache for tall folk — I’m 5 feet, 2 inches tall. As for burners and/or sink in the island — also used as a breakfast bar — no thanks. Too much going on, too messy, potentially dangerous. But my island needs an electric outlet for the mixer/
blender/processor so I can spread out while baking.
Heated bathroom floors and towel racks don’t make the list, nor does a warm toilet seat. But a heat lamp over the shower exit would be lovely.
With a nod to yesteryear I’d appreciate a cold pantry: a shelved closet with a secure-fitting door and a window that could be opened on winter days to thaw the turkey or cool cauldrons of soup and prevent potatoes from sprouting. Even with two refrigerators and a screened Carolina room a cold pantry is useful, at least during the winter.
I’m a basics gal but might indulge in soft lighting glowing from trench ceiling moldings in living and dining rooms, perhaps upstairs hallways, which I’d leave on all night.
Swimming pools require major maintenance. No thanks. Lap pools, too specialized. But I just discovered plunge pools — long and narrow, 3- to 5-feet deep with submerged benches along the side, perfect for jumping in to cool off, or water walking, which is excellent exercise. A lot less expensive, too.
Now, the kicker: My dream house has only two TVs, neither jumbo. One would have a built-in DVD player for the stacks of perfectly good discs I have saved. They would be linked to a service provider that removes all ads for prescription drugs whose possible side effects include nausea, diarrhea, shingles, cancer, blindness, stroke and death.
Dream on, Deb. Ain’t gonna happen.
But wouldn’t it be nice? PS
Deborah Salomon is a contributing writer for PineStraw and The Pilot . She may be reached at debsalomon@nc.rr.com.
A Soaring Kite
The majestic swallow-tailed
By SuSan CampBell
The swallow-tailed kite is, without a doubt, the most unmistakable of birds in our state — and perhaps anywhere in the world. This large raptor with a long, forked tail is capable of endless, highly acrobatic flight. The size, as well as the long, narrow wings, may cause one to think “osprey” at first, but one glimpse of that unique tail gives its true identity away, even at a great distance. This majestic bird is black on top with a white head and belly, as well as white wing linings. As with all kite species, the bill is stout and heavily curved, but the legs and feet, instead of being yellow, are a grayish hue.
It has only been in the last decade that this magnificent species has become a regular in the summer months in certain locations of southeastern North Carolina. Individuals were observed mixed in with Mississippi kites along the Cape Fear River in the summer of 2003. In 2008 a pair of kites seemed to be defending a territory along the river, but no concrete evidence of breeding could be found. Swallow-tailed kites were finally confirmed as a new breeder here when a nesting pair was located during an aerial survey by the N.C. Wildlife
Resources Commission in May of 2013. Far more likely to be seen in coastal South Carolina and farther south, these birds have plenty of feeding habitat here, as well as tall trees for nesting. Their numbers are bound to increase in the years ahead.
Swallow-taileds are found in wet coastal habitat where their preferred prey — large flying insects — are abundant. Adults feed entirely on the wing. But, when foraging for young, this bird is so agile that it not only preys on bugs, such as dragonflies and beetles, it readily snatches snakes, lizards and even nestlings of other species from the canopy. Swallow-taileds are not at all choosey. Males forage for a good deal of the food for the growing family. The male will carry food items back to the nest in its talons, transfer to it to his bill and carefully pass it to his mate, who will tear it into pieces and feed it to their young.
This species is a loosely communal breeder like its cousin the Mississippi kite. Swallow-tailed pairs can be seen in adjacent treetops when they find a particularly good piece of habitat. Non-breeding males may also associate with established pairs. These individuals might bring gifts of sticks and even food to breeding females but, interestingly, these offerings usually go ignored.
Swallow-taileds have been found to consume a large number of highly venomous insects. Wasps and hornets are not uncommon food items, as are fire ants. This is possible because they have developed a much fleshier stomach than other birds. An adult kite may bring an entire wasps’ nest to its own nest and, after consuming the larvae, incorporate it into the nest. The motivation for this behavior is unclear.
In late summer, individual swallow-tailed kites can be seen almost anywhere in the state as a result of post-breeding dispersal. They may mix in with feeding or loafing Mississippi kites around agricultural fields or bottomland forest. Last July, I was fortunate enough to spot a soaring individual over Highway 421 adjacent to swampy habitat outside of Siler City in Chatham County. Should you spot one of these magnificent birds, consider yourself very lucky. PS
Susan Campbell would love to receive your wildlife sightings and photos. She can be contacted by email at susan@ncaves.com, or by calling (910) 585-0574.
Heroes Among Us
Some quiet thoughts in the woods
By tom Bryant
“They ask me, ‘What do you think about in the woods?’ I tell them all sorts of things, but actually I’m trying not to think of anything special at all.” — Gene Hill, A Listening Walk
Gene Hill, one of my favorite outdoor writers, once wrote, “The woods are where I go when I’m starved for quiet.” Easy to understand in today’s cacophony of noise in what we call civilization. Sometimes, for me, the urge to head to the woods is overwhelming. That’s when I grab my hunting bag, a dove stool, a couple of snacks and maybe a libation or two, and drive down to the little farm I lease for some restoration of my soul.
Like Hill, I try not to think about anything at all, but when I’m hunkered down in the stand of pines bordering the beaver pond, my mind just doesn’t stay still.
This last small-scale outing was different. Just as I was settling in, watching the pond, a pair of wood ducks splashed down right in front of me and swam to the far side. I don’t know why, but my mind cranked up like a runaway computer. With July coming, I started thinking about heroes. What the ducks had to do with that particular line of thinking, I don’t have a clue.
In my many years of watching and wondering, I’ve met numerous people I would place in the hero category. The most recent is Bill Berger, an interesting fellow I met at our breakfast club.
What I call our breakfast club is an assembly that meets at the Sizzlin’ Steak or Eggs restaurant at a table in the back, just right for a small party. A diverse gathering, this compact get-together would qualify in its own right for my list of heroes, but right now
my mind was focused on Bill Berger.
Bill was born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, home of the state’s first producing oil well, and it’s easy to see how he grew up in the oil business. His father was a major executive with the Phillips 66 Company, but according to Bill, it was not necessarily a good thing. The family moved quite a bit with his father’s responsibilities. Bill complained of living at one of the refineries when he was a youngster. “Naturally, Dad’s position with the company let us live in the largest, most ornate company house, but it was in the middle of the refinery’s tank storage area,” he says. “All I could see through our home’s windows were acres of gas holding tanks.”
Bill attended Oklahoma State University, where he met his lovely bride, Bonnie. They were married and after graduation, he entered law school at the University of Tulsa. Before finishing law school, as happened to quite a few young folks during that period of our history, he was drafted. He chose the Air Force and became a pilot flying a KC-135 refueling tanker plane.
After two tours in Vietnam, he mustered out of the Air Force and went back to law school. When I asked him about his experiences during the war, he merely replied, “Tom, let’s just say it was an interesting time.”
Bill finished law school, re-entered the Air Force and became a liaison officer to Congress. One of his duties included investigating military plane crashes.
He retired after 22 years of service, but not being the kind of guy to sit back in a rocker, he signed up as a consultant to the Federal Aviation Administration, where he accomplished such things as improving pilots’ working conditions in the cockpit, determining the best height for control towers, and helping to raise the mandatory retirement age for pilots from 60 to 65.
Bill and Bonnie live in Beacon Ridge. Their son, Scott, is a surgeon in Winston-Salem, and their daughter, Megan, is in the travel business in Wilmington.
Bill has never met a stranger and can talk to you with rapt
attention, as if you were the most interesting person he’s ever met. He even drives a happy car — a canary yellow Corvette.
The wood ducks splashed up from the pond and flew right at me. A wonderful sight, but my brain was already in running gear, moving about as quickly as those ducks, and I scarcely paid attention.
So who’s next on my impromptu list of heroes? How about the other guys at the men’s fellowship breakfast?
First there’s Bill Giles, a retired Presbyterian minister; then there’s Bill Dixon, a retired Air Force colonel; and Bill Hamel, a retired lawyer; and, of course, Bill Berger. A lot of Bills.
Next would be Fred Monroe, a retired construction contractor; Bob Harling, a retired oil man; Milton Sills, a retired educator; John Green, a retired teacher and coach; and me, a retired ad man and itinerant outdoor writer. If you combined all that time of living and experiences, you would have close to 800 years of practical knowledge and understanding of what makes the world go ’round, or so we would like to think.
As the sun slowly began its evening descent, a barred owl started calling from way back in the swamp. I could barely hear him. I picked up the dove stool, put my leftovers and trash in the pocket of the stool and headed back to the truck. I got to the field that the farmer had planted in corn. It was a little over knee-high, and the wind softly blowing across the newly planted stalks made sounds like ocean waves of a calm sea breaking on the beach.
I sat there for a bit watching another wonderful Carolina day come to an end and thought about Gene Hills’ quote from his book, A Listening Walk. I did more thinking today than listening on my impromptu visit to the beaver pond, but it did my heart good to realize that our country is full of heroes just like the ones I know in our neighborhood.
I cranked the truck just as the moon was coming up over the tree line. I felt good. My soul had been replenished. PS
Tom Bryant, a Southern Pines resident, is a lifelong outdoorsman and PineStraw’s Sporting Life columnist.
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Miller Time
Finding the spirit of golf in Pinehurst
By lee paCe
They are grouped together side by side in the new World Golf Hall of Fame in Pinehurst, these luminaries of the golf world of the 1970s: Lanny Wadkins, Hale Irwin, Tom Watson and Johnny Miller.
The museum that just opened as part of the USGA’s Golf House Pinehurst facility is organized around a locker for each of 160-plus inductees. Each display includes a photo and an assortment of memorabilia, and this quartet of golfers is represented by images from that 1970s era of long hair and shirts with wide collars and bright color palettes.
Each of the four won major championships, accumulated Ryder Cup points and fired ridiculously low rounds. And all carved a niche of some sort in Pinehurst.
Wadkins played at Pinehurst as a junior golfer from Richmond and later as a member of the golf team at Wake Forest University; he was runner-up in the 1969 North & South Amateur.
Irwin and Watson share the course record on Pinehurst No. 2, along with Gibby Gilbert, with 62s shot in the mid-1970s during the PGA Tour’s foray at Pinehurst, with Irwin winning the Colgate Hall of Fame Classic in 1977 and Watson winning back-to-back in ’78 and ’79.
And Miller has a 63 on No. 2 and collected first place in the 1974 Hall of Fame Classic. He shot his eight-underpar score in the second round and could have gone one lower if not for a missed 6-footer for birdie on the 18th.
“It was like one of those old Johnny Miller blitzes,” he remembers. “I dominated the course and scored a fairly easy 63, if there is such a thing.”
Fifty years ago. What goes around, does seem to come around.
That year the blond bombshell from Northern California scorched the PGA Tour with wins in three straight tournaments to open the season, took first in five others and banked over $350,000, a magnificent sum in those days. He drove the ball long and straight, smothered flagsticks with his irons, and seemed to have magnets drawing his putts to the cup. It was one year
COURTESY TUFTS ARCHIVES
PHOTOGRAPH BY TED FITZGERALD
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The quest for truth its sacrament, And service is its prayer.
To dwell together in peace,
To seek the truth in love, To the end that all shall grow in harmony, Thus do we covenant with one another.
You may be seeking a Faith Community that : embraces diversity and celebrates the inherent worth and dignity of every person, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, age, ability, or background.
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GOLFTOWN
following his U.S. Open win at Oakmont, when he shot a championship record 63.
The World Open was first played in November 1973, with an outlandish 144-hole format over two weeks. It was shortened to 72 holes in 1974, and the tournament coincided with the September opening of the $2.5 million World Golf Hall of Fame. President Gerald Ford attended induction ceremonies, and among the 13 original inductees were eight still living: Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Gene Sarazen and Patty Berg. Honored in memory were Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Francis Ouimet, Harry Vardon and Babe Zaharias.
Miller and Nicklaus were tied at 209 after three rounds, with Charles Coody and Bruce Devlin two back, and Bob Murphy and Frank Beard trailing by three. The 27-year-old Miller reveled in the challenge of going head-to-head against the 34-yearold Nicklaus.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if both of us shot in the 60s head-to-head,” Miller said. “I’ve held him at bay recently and I’ve had a lot of success against Jack, but I don’t talk much about it. I know he’s a better player than I am, but I’m not afraid of him.”
Miller and Nicklaus each shot one-over 72s, allowing Murphy and Beard to force a four-way playoff with 69s and 281 totals, three-under for 72 holes (only eight players beat par for the tournament).
The playoff started on 15, where TV cameras were set up. Beard scored a routine par on the par-3, leaving a birdie putt dead short that could have ended it there. Miller and Nicklaus got up-and-down from the fringe, and Murphy was eliminated after his tee ball found a greenside bunker.
Miller won the tournament with a two-putt birdie on 16 after Beard threeputted and Nicklaus missed a 12-footer for birdie. Miller hit a 3-wood to eight feet — “The best shot under pressure I’ve ever hit,” he says.
“To beat Jack Nicklaus in a playoff sort of capped off the year for me,” Miller says. “I enjoyed playing No. 2. It was perfect for my game. It gave you enough room off the tee, you had extremely difficult approach
shots, and if you hit it real bad off the tee, you had broom grass, sand and trees. To me that course is the perfect course for my game. It’s the kind of course I like to design. It’s the perfect test of golf because it’s got difficult putting, it accepts the approach shot fairly, and it penalizes the poor shot. It gives you enough room off the tee, versus most U.S. Open courses, which give you only 25 or 30 yards.”
A different Johnny Miller came to Pinehurst in 1979. He had been the talk of the tour in the early 1970s for his good play but now had become the talk of the tour for his bad play. He slid to 48th on the money list in 1977 and 111th in 1978, with only $17,400 in winnings. Miller hadn’t won a tournament since early 1976.
“What’s wrong with Johnny Miller?” the world wanted to know.
Miller responded that there wasn’t anything wrong that a bunch of birdies and a little confidence couldn’t solve.
“Before Pinehurst I played in the Lancôme in Paris and won against a good field, and that signaled that maybe I was ready to play well again on the U.S. tour. I came home a week or two later and continued my good play,” he says.
Miller opened with a 69 and then equaled his 1974 heroics with another 63. “It was amazing. It was like it was ’73 or ’74 all over again,” he said. Miller wound up losing in a playoff to Watson.
But Johnny Miller was back. Pinehurst will always be special to him for those weeks in 1974 and 1979.
“I almost can’t tell you how good the golf course is,” he says. “It might not be the hardest golf course in the world, but for pleasure, for going out and having a pleasurable time with a smile on your face, it can’t be beat. It’s hard to get mad when you play Pinehurst.
“It reeks of golf, it has a definite golf spirit, very similar to a Pine Valley or Augusta National or Cypress Point. It’s very blessed with that golfing spirit.” PS
The Johnny Miller story and many others were included in Lee Pace’s 1991 book, Pinehurst Stories — A Celebration of Great Golf and Good Times. Write him at leepace7@gmail. com and follow him @LeePaceTweet.
SUMMER OF SUN & SMILES
July ����
Cicada Rondeau
They don’t so much sing as plead
In their droning sound stampede.
I hope they find the love they need —
Something more than meet-and-breed.
Can that even be with insects —
To have sensations beyond touch?
Do they know joy as well as sex?
They don’t so much.
— Paul Jones
Paul Jones is a professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the author of the collection Something Wonderful.
Flowers of Freedom
The patriotism of petals
By EmilEE PhilliPs
Photogra Phs By John gEssnEr
A rose is a rose is a rose. And a flag is more than dyed fabric. Together they can evoke emotions filled with symbolism, lifting and carrying their message with it.
“I wanted to show the strength of an American flag but in a softer, more feminine way,” says Katie Tischler, a military spouse with a love of the outdoors who creates botanical art she dubs “Blossoms of Patriotism.”
The idea wasn’t born overnight. An old scrapbook filled with papers, photos and a single rose cemented itself in Tischler’s childhood memories. Puzzled at first by their commonplace nature, it took her a moment to realize it was a flower her dad had given her mom, kept as a memento of love. “It was brown by the time I saw it,” says Tischler, “but it was sweet when I saw it as a young girl, to see that they kept that.”
Now a card-carrying, certifiable, sentimental romantic, Tischler’s trade elevates pressed flowers to an art form. Her business, Pine Pressed Flowers, preserves flowers from any occasion. She began the business in 2019 preserving bouquets from weddings, funerals or any milestone with deep, personal meaning. Some of her work is simply for aesthetic purposes, but roughly 90 percent of her business consists of custom orders arising from these watershed events.
“Life is short, and there are only so many big days,” says Tischler. Her philosophy: If you want to preserve a memory, just do it.
The process is simple. You pick your frame size and floral layout, be it bouquet style, deconstructed or abstract, then in a few months, voilà, you’ll be met with a work of art. “I love the less literal, more organic look,” says Tischler.
The craft of pressing flowers demands four to six weeks of careful handling and rotating. In a world of instant gratification, the slow, precise technique adds to its charm.
Tischler’s floral flags take months to construct, between scavenging for the perfect assortment of flowers, pressing them and delicately arranging them. Each part of the flag, like a flower, serves its purpose. Each has its meaning. Tischler is mindful in her construction and searches for flowers that are local, typically trying to add dogwoods — the North Carolina state flower — to her flags.
Start to finish, flowers undergo subtle color transformations in the pressing process, rendering the creation of her floral flags particularly challenging. Tischler doesn’t use dyes to achieve her red, white and blue hues. To date she’s made five flags, the
first of which was donated for a charity gala for the nonprofit Shields & Stripes.
“Each of the flags are all so different, if you look closely,” Tischler says. Staring at one is like staring at a mesmerizing kaleidoscope and spotting something new each time you come back to it.
A typical week begins with the more mundane routines of processing flowers, documenting, collecting and labeling. But, later in the week, her creative headspace kicks in. Tischler doesn’t do layouts prior to constructing. She adopts the organized chaos of nature and just begins gluing. “I feel more free without a roadmap,” she says.
The routine in her home studio begins with a hot cup of herbal tea and noise-canceling headphones. The workspace is filled with hundreds of handmade wooden flower presses. “My husband cut wood for weeks,” she says with a laugh. The walls are adorned with glass panes of clients’ memories filled with every type of flower imaginable. Each flower takes time to deconstruct, keeping in mind it will need to be reassembled later on.
Tiny, delicate frames adorn one of the walls of the sunroom, each cradling a single pressed flower from a distant land. “Every
time my husband deploys he brings me back a flower,” Tischler says, smiling. One of those “contraband” flowers found its place between the pages of a medical book that he had tucked away beneath his mattress until he returned. “He claims not to be sentimental,” she says. But the flowers say otherwise.
Thrifted books have become a favorite way for Tischler to press flowers, especially for personal projects, as the sturdy old pages drink in the essence of the blooms with their superior absorbency.
Each piece she makes includes a certificate of authenticity and a “best practices” guide for preservation — it’d be a shame for your art to brown from overexposure to direct sunlight. On the back of the guide is an Aristotle quote she includes with every keepsake: “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.”
Included with each floral flag’s certificate of authenticity is a detailed list of all the flowers the frame holds. “I think it’s important to show your patriotism,” Tischler says. “I wanted to do it in a way that was my own.” PS
Emilee Phillips is PineStraw’s director of social media and digital content.
Ice Cream & Company
Scooping out the world of frozen treats
story and Photogra Phs By rosE shEw Ey
Ice cream is by far the most enticing frozen dessert on hot summer days — no argument here. But Southern summers are long, and even the most lickable scoop can taste flat after months of indulgence. Why not shake things up a little and expand your freezable repertoire? For a simple icy cold treat, try granita — even the fanciest kind requires little more than a flavorful liquid and a freezer. Or dive into the world of sorbets — add a scoop of berry sorbet to your Prosecco and call it a float. For the youngest (and young at heart), coconut water turned into popsicles will not only cool you down but replenish and nourish your body. Get the scoop on how to add variety to your frozen dessert spread. Brain freeze guaranteed!
Apricot Honey Gelato
If you thought gelato was just a ritzy name for ice cream, you would be (mostly) wrong. While gelato literally means “ice cream” in Italian, American ice cream and gelato aren’t made the same way, and as a result, differ in texture and density. To make a no-churn gelato at home, prepare a custard, chill, and fold in whipped cream. Freeze for about one hour and stir; repeat this twice more before allowing the gelato to fully freeze. For a seasonal fruit take, mix in fresh apricot compote and drizzle with honey.
Cold Brew Frozen Yogurt with Cacao Nibs
Cold brew coffee, yogurt and hazelnuts, sweetened with honey and a sprinkling of chocolate, is practically breakfast — and a healthy one, at that. Take your favorite frozen yogurt recipe (no-churn recipes are a good option if you don’t have an ice cream maker) and add a dash of cold brew coffee. Sweeten with honey instead of granulated sugar, and fold in dark chocolate chips or cacao nibs for a little crunch. It’s a fine way to start your day or a welcome pick-me-up in the afternoon.
Strawberry Sorbet with Pink Pepper
If you’re new to making sorbet — which, in essence, is pureed fruit and sugar — start with strawberries. With lots of pectin acting like a thickener, strawberries will make an exceptionally creamy sorbet, reminiscent of regular ice cream. For an out-of-the-ordinary twist, fold in pink pepper, which adds a spicy, citrusy note. To make an instant, no-churn sorbet, try this: Add 4 cups of frozen fruit with 1/4 cup honey and a dash of lemon juice to a food processor (not a blender) and mix until creamy.
Coconut Water
Popsicles
Get your dose of electrolytes on hot, sweaty summer days with coconut water popsicles. Add fresh or frozen fruit, such as pineapple, berries or kiwi; mix with a dash of fruit juice (lemon juice works well) for more flavor; add edible flowers for a whimsical touch. Coconut water is an excellent substitute for sports drinks, minus the added sugars and synthetic ingredients, and will keep you hydrated all summer long. These pops are even kid-approved — mix in a little honey if your babes have a sweet tooth.
Pink Grapefruit Aperol Granita
Granita is likely one of the most under-appreciated frozen treats outside of Sicily. This glittering, icy snow doesn’t require any special equipment — all you need is a shallow tray, a fork and a freezer. For a Grapefruit Aperol Granita, heat 1 cup of water with the zest of a grapefruit and about 1/2 cup sugar until the sugar dissolves. Chill, mix in 5 cups grapefruit juice and 1/2 cup Aperol, and freeze in a tray for about 1-2 hours, then start scraping with a fork from the edges to the center. Repeat every 30 minutes until the mixture has turned into sequined ice flakes. PS
German native Rose Shewey is a food stylist and food photographer. To see more of her work visit her website, suessholz.com.
A Visit from the King
Arnold Palmer’s sentimental journey
By Bill CasE
There is no denying he was a magnificent player.
Arnold Palmer’s glistening record of 62 PGA tour victories, including seven major championship titles, unquestionably ranks him in the highest echelon of golf’s greats. But it would be a stretch to place him at the top of that elite list. Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead all outperformed Palmer in terms of winning tournaments. And though there was a period when the Latrobe, Pennsylvania, native was the game’s best player, his dominance was relatively short-lived. Arnold won all seven of his major championships from 1958 to 1964.
But even if he was not the greatest golfer of all time, Palmer achieved unique success in the sport in other ways. From his emergence as a superstar in 1958 until his death in 2016, he reigned as the most beloved figure in the game; a man whose endorsement of a product, be it motor oil or an eponymously named beverage, ensured its success. Palmer’s enduring marketability brought him wealth far beyond that of any player preceding him. According to a Forbes magazine article some years ago, Palmer earned an estimated $875 million in endorsements, appearances, licensing agreements and golf course design fees. And golf prospered with him.
Timing was a factor. The televising of golf was gathering steam just as Palmer arrived. Blessed with loads of charisma, Arnold’s good looks, blue collar background and go-for-broke approach exuded a telegenic presence that appealed to men and women alike.
Thrilling come-from-behind triumphs in two 1960 majors, the Masters and U.S. Open, enhanced his mystique. The “charge” to
victory at Cherry Hills Country Club was particularly sensational. Palmer lagged seven strokes back after 54 holes. Prior to the final round, sportswriter-confidant Bob Drum (later a Pinehurst resident) told Arnie he had no chance, that he was “out of it.”
Defiantly, an enflamed Palmer drove the green on the opening hole, and with a deluge of early birdies, mounted a historic comeback to capture his only National Open.
Even before this triumph, his ever-expanding legion of adoring followers was mustering to form “Arnie’s Army.” Whether he won or lost, his troops whooped, hollered and cheered Palmer whenever he hitched his pants or tilted his head. And they never stopped.
Doc Giffin, Arnold’s longtime friend and personal assistant, succinctly explained Palmer’s magnetic appeal. “Arnold liked people, and people liked him because they knew he liked them.” His broad smile when photographed with fans was genuine; he never rejected an autograph request, painstakingly signing with a crystal-clear signature. “No shortcuts, no scribbling,” Palmer admonished many a fellow professional. “Look everyone in the eye and take the time to thank them.” This fastidiousness extended to fan mail, which he never threw away. With Doc’s assistance, the appreciative Palmer answered every letter.
Palmer was the King, but no life is without its hardships. In 1997, then 68, Palmer was diagnosed with prostate cancer. On the same day in 1998 that he received a final dose of radiation, he learned that Winnie, his wife of 45 years, had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. He would call it the worst day of his life. Winnie died in 1999.
Stephen Boyd with the King
By the time Palmer played in the 2004 Masters tournament — his 50th appearance — he grudgingly acknowledged it was time to start saying goodbye. “I’m through. I’ve had it. I’m done, cooked, washed up, finished, whatever you want to say,” he said. “It’s time.” It would be his final appearance in a regular Tour event.
Palmer was not, however, the sort to do nothing. He spent considerable time and treasure in the fight against cancer, funding hospital facilities in Pennsylvania and Orlando, Florida. He thrust himself into his multifarious business ventures with renewed vigor, attending engagements throughout the country. To reach far-flung destinations, Palmer, an accomplished and passionate aviator, piloted his own plane — a Cessna Citation X.
And he still played frequently, almost daily, at Orlando’s Bay Hill Golf Club, rounds featuring good-natured teasing between the King and his playing partners. Most importantly, he found a new love, Californian Kathleen “Kit” Gawthorp. Winnie and Arnold had become friends with Kit and her first husband, Al Gawthorp Jr., when Arnold competed in tournaments at Pebble Beach. Palmer and Gawthorp would later become involved in Pebble’s ownership group. Kit and her husband would subsequently divorce, and following Winnie’s death, Arnold and Kit began seeing one another. The couple announced their engagement on Oct. 16, 2003.
“Kit loves to watch sports, she loves to be at home, and I think that’s really what my dad needs,” observed Arnold’s daughter Amy Saunders. “I think he needed someone who enjoys the things he enjoys, and I think that everybody embraced Kit.”
During Kit’s visit to Latrobe in early May 2004, Arnold suggested they fly south to Pinehurst for an overnight sojourn. Palmer revered Pinehurst and wanted to show it off. Spur-of-the-moment travel was not unusual for them. With co-pilot Pete Luster manning the right seat, Palmer could fly his Citation X to the Moore County Airport in just over an hour.
For arrangements at the Pinehurst end, Arnold turned to his jack-of-all-trades assistant Giffin. The former Pittsburgh Press writer and press secretary of the PGA Tour started working for Palmer in 1966 and would continue to do so until Palmer’s death in 2016. Described in Kingdom magazine (a Palmer enterprise), Doc’s wide-ranging responsibilities included dealing “with everyone: writers, broadcasters, paupers, pretenders, potentates and presidents, including Eisenhower, Clinton and George W. Bush, to name three.” When in Latrobe, the two men typically gathered around 5 p.m. at Palmer’s home for what Giffin puckishly referred to as a “debriefing” — the mutual imbibing of a cocktail or two.
Doc knew the person to call in Pinehurst was Stephen Boyd, the resort’s manager of media relations and special services. Boyd joined the resort’s employ in the mid-1990s, after departing a similar position with American Airlines. Giffin asked him if he could arrange to have Arnold and his fiancée met at the airport, and if he could make hotel and dining
reservations for the couple.
“Of course,” replied Boyd. “When are they coming?”
“Tomorrow,” Doc said.
This was no problem for Boyd, who was used to last-minute requests. He asked which hotel the couple would prefer while in town and whether or not they wanted to play golf.
“I’ll let Arnold answer those questions.” Doc said. “He’s right here. I’ll put him on.”
Palmer told Boyd he had no intention of playing golf. “Arnold said he’d like to take Kit on a tour of Pinehurst,” recalls Boyd. “He wanted to share with her the things he had experienced here that meant so much to him.” He wanted to stay in the Manor Inn, a choice that surprised Boyd. At the time, the hotel was rather threadbare, lagging well behind the Carolina Hotel and the Holly Inn in the resort’s lodging offerings.
Palmer had a sentimental reason for his selection. The Manor was where he, his father, Milfred “Deke” Palmer and his dad’s buddies bunked on their golf vacations in Pinehurst during the 1940s and early ’50s. Those visits became a lifelong source of fond memories for the King.
The first occurred when Palmer was 18, and he was immediately smitten. “I loved Pinehurst. I thought it was the most beautiful place I’d ever seen. It was heaven, really,” said Palmer. Pinehurst’s No. 2 course bowled him over, too. It was “the best golf course I had ever played,” he said. “And this was in December, and it snowed about 6 inches. We had to go home because it was snowing so heavily.”
When Bud Worsham, Arnold’s close friend from junior golf, urged his buddy to consider joining him on Wake Forest University’s golf team, the young Palmer was all ears. Worsham
Arnold Palmer and his father, Deke (middle back row), and friends at The Manor
persuaded Wake’s athletic director to grant Palmer a full scholarship, employing the clinching argument “Arnold’s better than me!” The two would transform Wake’s golf team into a national powerhouse, with Palmer carrying off two NCAA individual titles.
With Pinehurst little more than an hour’s drive away, team excursions to play No. 2 were frequent. Arnold won his conference’s individual championship on the storied Donald Ross layout, though he was less fortunate in the annual North and South Amateur, where his best finish was a 5 and 4 semifinal loss to a UNC star named Harvie Ward.
When Worsham was killed in a car accident in October 1950, the devastated Palmer dropped out of school and joined the Coast Guard. Following a three-year stint, he returned to Wake Forest for an additional year. After leaving college for good, Palmer won the 1954 U.S. Amateur, turned pro later that year, and joined the PGA Tour.
The tour did not hold events in Pinehurst during the first 17 years of Palmer’s professional career but, when it returned to the resort in 1973, Palmer was invariably in the field. And, in September 1974, he was inducted into the new World Golf Hall of Fame in a ceremony behind No. 2’s fourth green.
Thirty years later, Palmer and his fiancée weren’t coming to Pinehurst for a ceremony — they just wanted to experience the town’s unique atmosphere. Boyd selected a suitable room at the Manor and ordered it stocked with Ketel One vodka and Rolling Rock beer, both Palmer’s favorites.
The next day Arnold, Kit and co-pilot Luster took off for the Moore County Airport. Kit relished flying with Arnold in the Citation X, even toying with the idea of obtaining a pilot’s license herself. She recalled a moment during one of their early flights together when Palmer pointed out the curvature of the Earth. “That was so neat,” Kit said. “The sun was setting, and it created a mystical picture.”
Boyd already enjoyed a favorable impression of the man. In 1994, while at American Airlines, Boyd was invited by Pinehurst CEO Pat Corso to attend a match between Palmer and Jack Nicklaus on course No. 2 for Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf. On the evening prior to the match, Boyd attended a reception where he marveled at how Palmer painstakingly greeted and chatted with each guest as if there was nothing he would rather do and no place he would rather be.
After Palmer’s Cessna touched down at Moore County Airport around 1 p.m., as they exited the plane, he asked Kit to take a picture of him posing with Boyd. Giffin had arranged for Palmer to have a Cadillac available (another Palmer endorsement) on the airport tarmac. “My car was in the airport parking lot,” says Boyd. “I told Arnold what I was driving, and that he should just follow me into Pinehurst.” But Palmer had other ideas. “Stephen, you get in with us and sit up with me. You can show us around,” directed the King.
As the luggage came off the plane, Boyd saw a set of golf clubs. “Mr. Palmer,” he said, “I thought you weren’t going to be playing golf on this trip.”
“I’m not,” replied Palmer with a broad smile, “but you don’t come to Pinehurst without your clubs.”
After first checking on the precarious state of the Carolina Golf Club, located near the airport, a course he had designed with associate Ed Seay in 1997, Palmer turned the Cadillac in the direction of Pinehurst and asked Boyd to provide an impromptu tour for Kit’s benefit. “I talked about the Tufts family, Frederick Law Olmsted, and the history of the village,” says Boyd. “I pointed out homes belonging to Annie Oakley, the Fownes family, Admiral Zumwalt, and others — just a quick historic overview.”
Palmer pulled up to the front door of the Manor by 2 p.m. He asked Boyd for a recommendation on a place to have a glass of wine. Stephen suggested the Pine Crest Inn, just a 200-yard walk from the Manor. “Of course,” responded the pleased Palmer, remembering the establishment. “That’ll be perfect.”
It was early in the afternoon, and the Pine Crest was empty of patrons except for Arnold and Kit, who sat at the bar. Andy Hofmann, wife of proprietor Bob Barrett, remembers their visit. The three chatted for a bit before Andy asked how Ed Seay was doing, knowing he was having health issues. Seay, Arnold’s course architecture partner, had stayed at the Pine Crest while designing Pinehurst Plantation, now Mid-South Country Club. The beefy former Marine had become a popular presence. Rather than answering Hofmann directly, Arnold looked to Kit to respond. “She shook her head,” says Andy. “I already knew Ed had cancer.”
Palmer took note of three stools at the bar displaying name tags of three renowned golf writers who had been entrenched regulars at the Pine Crest: Bob Drum, Dick Taylor and Charley Price. Palmer picked up his cellphone and called Giffin to inform him he was at the Pine Crest bar, sitting with Drum, Price and Taylor. “Doc knows those guys are long gone, and he thought I’d lost my mind,” Palmer told Boyd.
It was a beautiful spring day, and Boyd had arranged for the couple to have dinner around 5:30 p.m. on the outdoor patio at the Holly Inn. The Holly didn’t accept dining reservations on the
Arnold Palmer and Harvie Ward
patio — not even for a king — so Boyd stood in line for a table.
“I was watching for Arnold and Kit, who I assumed would walk up the hill from the Manor,” says Boyd. He caught sight of them right at 5:30, holding hands, as they rounded the corner of Cherokee Road with Palmer sporting his customary look — loafers without socks and a cashmere sweater, loosely tied around his neck.
Once the couple was seated, Boyd told them to have a wonderful evening and began stepping away. “Sit down!” Palmer ordered. “Have dinner with us.” Boyd stayed, but only for a drink.
Corso and his wife, Judy, happened to be dining on the patio that night as well. “What was remarkable is that everyone knew it was him, but no one chose to disturb them,” says Corso. Following dinner the couple continued their sightseeing. Among the stops was Taylortown, home of the resort’s African American caddies, several of whom — including the legendary Willie McRae — had carried Palmer’s bag over the decades.
Boyd joined them for breakfast the following morning at the Carolina Hotel, and afterward, the three sauntered slowly down the halls off the hotel lobby. Palmer inspected the historic photographs hanging on the walls as if they were treasured Rembrandts. Near the Cardinal Ballroom, one photo in particular caught his attention. “Come here, Kit,” he said. “That’s the guy.” He pointed to a picture of Arthur Lacey, the official involved in the most controversial rules dispute of Palmer’s career.
Lacey had been the captain for the Great Britain and Ireland side in the 1951 Ryder Cup at Pinehurst and became a resident of the village after marrying a local woman he met during the matches. In the 1958 Masters, he was the rules official at the 12th green when Palmer’s ball became partially imbedded. Lacey denied Palmer relief. Annoyed, Palmer made a double bogey with that ball but also played a second ball with which he made a par. Tournament chairman Bobby Jones overruled Lacey, concluding that the score on Arnold’s second ball was the one that should count. Jones’ ruling proved crucial to Palmer winning his first Masters. Nevertheless, debate swirled for decades.
On the patio of the Holly the evening before, Boyd had mentioned to Palmer that his old friend Harvie Ward was a Pinehurst resident. Not only had Ward been a golfing rival, he’d dated Winnie before she and Arnold married in 1955. Boyd passed along Ward’s contact information and Palmer did, indeed, reach out, visiting Ward at his home on Blue Road. It would be their final meeting. Ward died four months later.
After he and Kit left Pinehurst, Palmer sent a message to Boyd, telling him their visit “brought back a lot of old memories for me and reminded me how much Pinehurst has always meant to the Palmer family.”
Three months later, at the U.S. Senior Open at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, Boyd was assisting in the media center. The USGA assigned him to accompany Palmer’s group, keeping photographers at a proper distance and otherwise making sure that the King could get from point A to point B without too much difficulty.
It was uncomfortably warm in St. Louis, and the 74-year-oldPalmer and his aching back felt the heat’s effects. At one point, he began veering off to the right of center. Boyd asked him if he was
OK. Palmer assured him everything was fine. He’d spotted an old friend in the gallery and wanted to say hello. That old friend was baseball great Stan Musial.
Palmer’s trips to Pinehurst weren’t at an end after 2004, and every time he visited, Boyd was his man on the ground. On one trip, at Boyd’s request, Palmer recorded a video expressing his heartfelt feelings about the No. 2 course. When the King returned to Pinehurst in June 2007, for his induction into the North Carolina Golf Hall of Fame, Boyd’s connection with him deepened further. Palmer’s thank-you message was profuse in its praise. “Thanks for all you did from touchdown to takeoff for Doc, Pete (co-pilot Lustek), and me,” he wrote.
“Arnold went out of his way to make me his friend, not just someone who met him at the airport,” says Boyd. “For that I will always be grateful.”
Before passing away in 2016, Palmer made one final pilgrimage to Pinehurst during the 2014 U.S. Open. Reiterating his affection for the town and No. 2, he vowed, “I’m going to come back and play it again before I give up the game.”
The King would have if he could have. PS
Pinehurst resident Bill Case is PineStraw’s history man. He can be reached at Bill.Case@thompsonhine.com.
By JEnna Bit Er
SBEATING THE HEAT AT JUDSON THEATRE'S SUMMER FESTIVAL
unshine streams through the floor-toceiling windows like a spotlight.
“We do have a star in the Summer Theatre Festival this year,” Morgan Sills says from a bench just inside the lobby of the Sandhills Community College Bradshaw Performing Arts Center. Sills, the executive producer and co-founder of Judson Theatre Company, the professional theater company in residence at BPAC, pauses for a second, then smiles.
“Linda Purl is coming back,” he says.
The name bursts into the room. Baby boomers and millennials — perhaps even Gen Z cinephiles — recognize Purl, either as Henry Winkler’s girlfriend in Happy Days; Andy Griffith’s daughter, Charlene, in Matlock; or Jenna Fischer’s mom/Steve Carell’s love interest in The Office.
Regulars at Judson’s productions will also remember Purl from The Year of Magical Thinking, the one-woman Joan Didion play that ran for two weekends last August in BPAC’s McPherson Theater, in the company’s second annual summer series.
“I loved it,” Sills says, reflecting on Purl’s powerful performance of Didion’s masterpiece about loss and grieving. The material deviated from Judson’s typical summer formula: a bright and
fun musical, followed by a comedy — “hopefully one that people haven’t seen,” says Sills — and finishing with another musical.
This year’s summer series returns to that original, lighter formula, with a boredom-busting lineup beginning July 19 and ending Aug. 25. Each show will run for two long weekends, for a total of six straight weeks of airconditioned entertainment when you need it most.
As always, all three plays will be performed in the McPherson black box theater, a stage-less, intimate chameleon of a venue that can be configured to suit the production. It seats a maximum of 80 and, without traditional sets, asks the audience to use its imagination on the canvas of the four black walls.
“The middle’s back to comedy,” Sills says, describing Purl’s encore in an Emily Post-approved two-person play, Mrs. Mannerly, sandwiched between two musicals. “It’s a two-hander about a small-town, charm school teacher with a past, and the young man whose life she changes for the better.”
Purl performs opposite Jordan Ahnquist, known for his lead in New York’s production of Shear Madness, the interactive whodunit that holds the record for the longest-running nonmusical play in America.
“We’re opening with They’re Playing Our Song,” says Sills. The Neil Simon play, written with lyricist Carole Bayer Sager and com-
Daniel Haley and Morgan Sills
PHOTOGRAPH BY
DAVID SINCLAIR
poser Marvin Hamlisch, is loosely based on Sager and Hamlisch’s real-life romance and ran for more than 1,000 performances in Broadway’s Imperial Theatre. “It’s never not a hit,” says Sills.
The Emmy-Grammy-Oscar-Tony, or EGOT, award winner Hamlisch, who died in 2012, would have turned 80 this year, so Judson’s production is a tip of the cap.
“When you’re not laughing, you’ll be tapping your toes,” Sills says. “That score is so wonderful. It’s so late ’70s and rhythmic and catchy. There’s a whole lot of . . . Tell it to me, Mama! Listen to me, Baby! Huh. Huh. Huh,” he says, breaking into song.
Sills punctuates his rendition with Elvis flair, though a different Pressley — Jacob, with one more ‘s’ — will be playing the musical’s leading man, Vernon Gersch. Like Purl, Pressley is a Judson series veteran. This year marks the actor’s third straight season flying south for the summer.
Last year, Pressley belted his way through the rise and fall of a marriage in The Last Five Years and the year before saw his Sandhills debut in Gutenberg! The Musical!, a romp about two playwrights of a farcically inaccurate historical play about the inventor of the printing press.
“This show kind of marries the two,” Pressley says of this summer’s selection. “They’re Playing Our Song is a relationship show. It’s touching and sensitive and personal at times, but also the book is written by Neil Simon, so it’s witty, it’s clippy.
“It’s a fun read because of all the quippy little Neil Simonisms,” Pressley says of the great American playwright who created classics like The Odd Couple and The Sunshine Boys. “At the same time, I’m reading through thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, I have to remember all of this.’”
While Sills will direct Mrs. Mannerly, Daniel Haley, Judson’s artistic director and other co-founder, will reclaim his usual seat in the director’s chair for They’re Playing Our Song, as well as Tell Me on a Sunday, the festival’s final show.
“This is another little gem people don’t know about,” Haley says. “The music is by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and I think it would be difficult to find someone who doesn’t know who that is, right?”
Like Hamlisch, Webber, the Englishman responsible for classics like The Phantom of the Opera and Cats, also has an EGOT. Tell Me on a Sunday is a one-act, one-woman musical about a Brit who journeys to America in search of love. Like many of Judson’s summer picks, it has slipped the greater limelight. “You find these little gems that people don’t know about, and it’s really such a pleasure to bring them to people,” Haley says.
Selecting shows for the summer series that aren’t widely known or shown isn’t accidental, but it has been mildly prophetic. “I feel like we have our finger on the pulse because Gutenberg! was on Broadway this past year,” says Sills. Similarly, tick, tick… Boom! — another former Judson summer selection — was recently directed by Neil Patrick Harris at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C.
Purchase tickets to the 2024 Summer Theatre Festival by visiting ticketmesandhills.com or going to Judson’s website, judsontheatre.com. PS
Jenna Biter is a writer and military wife in the Sandhills. She can be reached at jennabiter@protonmail.com
Jacob Pressley, Linda Purl, Jordan Ahnquist
Little Gem
Good things come in small packages
By dEBorah salomon • Photogra Phs By John gEssnEr
Photographs on right are pre-renovation
“Perfect” is an imperfect word when applied to houses. But once in a blue moon, it fits: A small dwelling that, through careful staging, appears larger; a historic Pinehurst property neither castle nor Tara; furniture of several different periods and provenances that hangs together harmoniously; a hydrangea-lined walkway and a garden surrounded by a wrought iron fence, designed for sitting and sipping tea with neighbors.
The finishing touch is a sweet black Lab named Ritter, same as a Pinehurst street. Most mornings Ritter walks Judy Davis to The Villager Deli, where the owner enjoys breakfast and the dog greets friends, old and new.
They live in a cottage, circa 1,500 square feet, on the outer ring surrounding the estates Pinehurst is famous for. These cottages, built for teachers, shopkeepers, resort employees in the 1920s — later rented to military personnel -— are, one by one, being renovated as mini-showplaces for golf-loving retirees in search of mild winters, upscale amenities and likeminded neighbors.
Davis grew up in Virginia and South Carolina, worked in marketing in Ohio until retirement in 2013. Along the way she discovered Pinehurst while attending a Peggy Kirk Bell “Golfari” at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club. What followed became an odyssey of purchasing, renovating and moving out of several properties in this outer ring until she found her historic gem.
“You could call me a serial renovator,” Davis says with a laugh.
Beside the front door hangs a plaque proclaiming Sally House 1927, named after A.B. Sally, its builder.
This time the youthful grandma and former Pinehurst Village Council member had a new objective: aging in place. It meant two showers but no
tub — no sills to trip over. Instead of a conspicuous ramp out front, an attractive brick version slopes off the back porch. Topping her list of practicalities is a generator powerful enough to keep the whole house humming if Duke Power can’t.
Realtors recognize the aha moment when a client walks into the just-right house. Davis experienced hers when she noticed the door that separates the public area from bed and bathrooms. She saw beyond the dark, geometric wallpaper and a kitchen devoid of personality. With the assistance of architect Christine Dandeneau, familiar with the area from living a few blocks away, Davis assumed the task. “I didn’t want an open floorplan,” she says.
Since the house has no family room, great room or, in ’60s-speak, den, the living room is lived in. A scaled-down sofa is upholstered in a neutral toile print. The area rug is grasscloth, the side chairs comfortable, and the coffee table a contemporary Plexiglas over wicker. Press a button on the long console chest and a TV screen rises from its depths.
“I don’t like to look at a blank screen all the time,” Davis explains.
Topping it off while adding height and volume is an inverted hip ceiling done in a textured pattern. A variation of this mode appears on the dining room ceiling over an oval table with an unusual rough finish, where Davis holds meetings as well as dinner parties.
Beyond the lived-in room, Dandeneau enclosed a narrow porch for an office, with window seat and built-in bookcases displaying a first glimpse of Davis’ McCoy pottery, a prized American collectible from the mid-1900s, appearing throughout the house as vases, pitchers, mugs, teapots. This pottery, along with paintings depicting fruit, flowers and dogs, provides bursts of color against French vanilla walls uniting the rooms, as do original floorboards whose imperfections add character. Davis is particularly fond of stylized canine art by Stephen Huneck, an internationally recognized Vermont folk artist and creator of children’s books featuring, coinciden-
tally, his black Lab named Sally.
Dandeneau agrees that working with a small space requires ingenuity. Davis looked at a shallow closet in the dining room and saw a bar/storage nook. Off came the doors, in went cabinetry, a counter, unusual lighting fixtures wired into the sidewalls, the entirety painted a rich aubergine. She keeps the everyday dishes there, since the kitchen has only one wall-hung cabinet, back-lit to display fine china.
By some sleight-of-hand that kitchen — with exposed brick, multi-angled ceiling, wall-mounted shelves, footed cabinets and splashy art — does not feel cramped despite the gas range and refrigerator. Instead of an island, Davis placed an antique school desk and chair on a small rug, decorative and useful. Extending beyond the kitchen, an addition to the house provides space for stacked laundry equipment, a window and storage.
The result: European flair, American practicality.
Two bedrooms, also modest in size, prove that queen-sized beds fit just fine if other pieces are kept to a minimum. Two large and thoroughly modern bathrooms plus an adorable powder room might have surprised A.B. Sally in an era when nobody gilded the loo.
Who would know better than Ann Dixon, Mr. Sally’s granddaughter, who lives nearby in a similar cottage? The two met while dog walking. Dixon recalls visiting Davis’ cottage as a child and provides town history so important to its new owner/curator.
The result?
Adorable. Charming. Traditional yet trendy. Practical, personal and innovative. In a word . . . perfect.
“And the best part is I get to live here,” Davis says. PS
ALMANAC
July
By a shlEy walshE
July
is the scratch of wild bramble, a rogue rumble of thunder, the snap, crackle, pop of grasshoppers on the wing.
The soundtrack of summer is alive and swelling. As the temperature rises, the cicadas turn the dial from lusty to deafening. Gentle crescendos are for the birds.
Catbird sings of blueberries. Mockingbird, too. Red-bellied woodpecker gorges on fruit.
Among ditch daisies and dancing grasses, meadow-beauty and blooming Joe Pye, the crickets declare their sole intention. It’s time now, they announce. Let’s do this! We came here on a mission!
Life wants to live. All beings know some version of this tune. The dream of every cricket is next sum mer’s mating song.
In the garden, mantis munches on June beetles. Honeybees serenade blackeyed Susans. A watermelon whispers that it’s time, now.
One look and you know it’s true. Still, you give the rind a solid thwack.
Yep. Music.
As you gently twist the whopper from the stem, the cicadas scream with primal knowing. This is when you choose to slow down. Feel the weight of swollen fruit as you hold it close. Give thanks for the soundscape, the sweetness, the sweat on your brow.
Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the tree house; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill.
— Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
All That Glitters
Despite these endless summer days, the transience of this season is palpable.
Let’s do this, the crickets trill. It’s time now. Life as we know it depends on us.
Grab the binoculars. A Mars-Uranus conjunction will grace the Eastern sky an hour before sunrise on Monday, July 15. Look to Taurus (the white bull) for this rare glimpse of two planets, seemingly close enough to kiss.
On the subject of shining moments, jewelweed is having one this month, too. In other words: It’s blooming.
With its small-but-showy orange flowers (they do look like tiny charms dangling from slender stalks), you’re likely to spot this native medicinal along forest edges — especially near poison ivy. As Nature has arranged it, the sap from jewelweed leaves and stems can be applied topically to help soothe itchy rashes. Simply brilliant.
En Plein Air
Did you know that National Play Outside Day is celebrated on the first Saturday of every month? This Fourth of July weekend, turn off the screens. It’s time for some old-fashioned yard fun. Hopscotch. Double Dutch. Corn-shucking on the porch. Bust out the freeze pops. The hammock. The threadbare picnic blanket.
Is your kid the next eggand-spoon race champion? Watermelon seed-spitting extraordinaire? Double-dog dare you to find out. PS
THE “BARK & SOUL” ERAS
A photo contest celebrating all the eras of Sandhills pets
A photo contest celebrating all the of Sandhills pets THE “BARK & SOUL” ERAS
Step into PineStraw's pet photo extravaganza as we release our Readers’ Versions of their adorable com panions! From vintage charm of classic canines to sleek and styli sh felines, our gallery is a vibrant showcase of fu rry friends in every form.
Step into PineStraw's pet photo extravaganza as we release our Readers’ of their adorable com panions! From vintage charm of classic canines to sleek and styli sh felines, our gallery is a vibrant showcase of fu rry friends in every form.
Whether your heart belongs to a sparkly, bejeweled era or something more melancholy, our collection ce lebrates pets in all their photogenic glory. So join us as we dive into a world where every whisker and wag is a testament to the boundless joy our animal companions bring into our lives, and tur n the page to view who our front-runner and contest winner!
Whether your heart belongs to a sparkly, bejeweled era or something more melancholy, our collection ce lebrates pets in all their photogenic glory. So join us as we dive into a world where every wag is a testament to the boundless joy our animal companions bring into our lives, and tur n the page to view our front-runner and contest winner!
We love pets, and we know having pets can mean your floors need a little extra care. If you’re dealing with unfortunate stains or odors in your home, Spot On can help rejuvenate your floors and upholstery to get your home feeling good as new. We specialize in transforming old and dilapidated carpets, floors and upholstery into pristine and wonderful additions to your home’s interior. Not only are we committed to using cutting edge equipment and top quality products, one of our top priorities is the relationships we build with our customers. We’re always happy to work around your schedule to give you the best service possible.
Natural Food Treats
Frozen, Raw and Quality Kibbles
Food & Water
Bowls
Supplies
Toys
Flea & Tick
Treatments and Prevention
Litter Boxes and Accessories
Crates and Carriers
Grooming Supplies
Leashes & Collars
DR. LARA BARTL
Dr. Bartl will be offering referral dental services including treatment of:
· Advanced periodontal disease
· Treatment of fractured teeth (root canal/crown)
· Stomatitis treatment (full mouth extraction)
· Treatment of malocclusions
· Bonded sealants and tooth restoration
· Fracture repair
· Oral mass evaluation and treatment
Dr. Bartl has practiced small animal veterinary medicine for over 25 years and has been board certified by the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in canine and feline practice for over 15 years. She has practiced emergency medicine, primary care and now focuses on small animal dentistry. She served as an Associate Professor at the Virginia Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine for 10 years and recently completed advanced training through a dentistry and oral surgery residency.
Need a bigger backyard, or just looking to bury a bone in Pinehurst?
Is a fenced-in area on your wish list?
Looking for real estate closer to a dog park?
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.
JULY EVENTS
Monday, July 1
QUILTS OF VALOR. 12 - 4 p.m. Quilts of Valor meets the first Monday of each month to create lap quilts made especially for veterans. If you sew, bring your machine; if you don’t sew, you can iron or cut out fabrics for new designs. This is a free program. Moore County Senior Enrichment Center, 8040 U.S. 15-501, West End.
FOX TROT. 3:30 p.m. As part of Summer fREADom, a fREADom Fox Trot will take participants on a journey around downtown Southern Pines as they search for fox and bird mascots, who will be hiding in participating businesses. Completed stamp books can be turned in at the library for a chance to win a prize sponsored by a local business. Come to the library to meet your reading buddy, play some name games, and get ready to take them on an adventure. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. To make an appointment come into the library or visit www.sppl.net.
Tuesday, July 2
BRAIN FITNESS. 10 - 11 a.m. Adults 18 and older are invited to enjoy short relaxation and brain enhancement exercises, ending with a mindfulness practice. Eve Gaskell will be the instructor. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
Wednesday, July 3
FIREWORKS. 6 - 10 p.m. Enjoy a free concert and fireworks celebration. There will be children’s activities, food and beverages. Fireworks begin at 9:15 p.m. Pinehurst Harness Track, 200 Beulah Hill Road S., Pinehurst. Info: www.vopnc.org.
Thursday, July 4
PARADE. 9:45 a.m. - 12 p.m. Come to the annual Independence Day Parade. The morning will kick off with a pet parade. Tufts
Memorial Park, 1 Village Green Road W., Pinehurst. Info: www.vopnc.org.
CELEBRATION. 2 - 3 p.m. Join Community Congregational Church at a new venue to celebrate our nation’s birthday. Community Congregational Church, 141 N. Bennett St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8468 or www.ticketmesandhills.com.
MOVIE. 7 p.m. The Summer of Spielberg series will have a showing of Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 420-2549 or www.sunrisetheater.com.
Friday, July 5
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.
FILM FESTIVAL. 12 p.m. The Lumbee Film Festival showcases bold, original new films made by Native Americans, Indigenous filmmakers and American Indians, especially members of the Lumbee Tribe living in North Carolina and across the United States. UNCP Thomas School of Business Auditorium, 1 University Drive, Pembroke.
Saturday, July 6
SATURDAY STORY TIME. 10:15 a.m. Introducing our newest, once-a-month program for children from birth to age 5. Join us for stories, songs, rhymes and smiles where caregivers and young children can interact and explore the fun of language and early literacy. There are space constraints for this indoor story time. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.
SHAG DANCE SOCIETY. 7 - 10 p.m. The Moore Area Shag Society invites those 21 and over to a night of dancing. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with DJ David Pendergraft. A cash bar is available, and you may bring snacks for your table. A 50/50 drawing will also be held. Admission is $10 at the door for members and $15 for non-members. Down Memory Lane, 161 Dawkins St., Aberdeen. Info: (919) 622-2829.
Sunday, July 7
WRITING GROUP. 3 p.m. Are you interested in creating fiction, nonfiction, poetry or comics? Come to the Sunday Afternoon Writing Group. Connect with other writers and artists, chat about your craft and get feedback about your work. All levels welcome. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: lholden@sppl.net.
Monday, July 8
BOOK EVENT. 6 - 7 p.m. Tita Ramirez talks about her book, Tell It to Me Singing. The Country Bookshop, 140 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.
PHOTO CLUB. 7 p.m. Sandhills Photography Club monthly meeting presents “Concept, Vision, Passion.” Margo Pinkerton, also known as “The Barefoot Contessa,” will delve into the essential elements of creating a photograph rather than simply “takin’ pitchas.” She will showcase a selection of her images, discuss the creative process behind them, and explain why this approach is crucial for those aiming to elevate their photography. Guests welcome. Sandhills Horticultural Gardens, 3245 Airport Road, Southern Pines. Info: www.sandhillsphotoclub.org.
Tuesday, July 9
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 alignment and breathing. You may gain strength, improve circulation and reduce chronic pain as you practice gentle yoga postures and mindfulness. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
ART FESTIVAL SUBMISSIONS. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Arts Council of Moore County calls all artists to participate in the 44th annual Fine Arts Festival. Art delivery dates are July 9 - 13. Submission requirements can be found on the Arts Council website. Participants must be 16 or older. Info: (910) 692-2787 or www.mooreart.org.
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.
BOOK TASTING FOR TWEENS. 2:30 p.m. Tweens ages 9 - 12 are invited to discover their next great read. They’ll read a chapter from a popular book together, learn how to find a book that’s a good fit for them, and explore different genres and new library books at the “tasting tables.” Space is limited. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.
Wednesday, July 10
LIBRARY PROGRAM. 3:30 p.m. At the Library After School (ATLAS) is an afterschool program for children ages kindergarten through second grade who enjoy activities, crafts, stories and meeting new friends. This special session will feature “Senior Moments Players,” a fun theater group who will perform a play. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.
Thursday, July 11
MOVIE. 7 p.m. The Summer of Spielberg series will have a showing of Indiana Jones: The Temple of Doom. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 420-2549 or www.sunrisetheater.com.
Friday, July 12
COSMIC KARAOKE. 7 - 10 p.m. Join us for a karaoke night. After 9 p.m. attendance is restricted to adults 18 and over. Free and open to the public. Starworks, 100 Russell Drive, Star. Info: www.starworksnc.org.
CALENDAR
Saturday, July 13
CRAFT DAYS. Children and their families can come by the library for Drop-in Craft Days to work on crafts and color at their own pace. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.
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.
OPENING RECEPTION. 4 - 6 p.m. Attend a glass exhibition opening reception for “American Idols,” by John Moran. Free and open to the public. Starworks, 100 Russell Drive, Star. Info: www.starworksnc.org.
LIVE MUSIC. 6 - 8 p.m. Listen to live music with Laura Jane Vincent. Free and open to the public. Starworks, 100 Russell Drive, Star. Info: www.starworksnc.org.
Sunday, July 14
BOOK EVENT. 2 - 3 p.m. Beatriz Williams talks about her book, Husbands and Lovers The Country Bookshop, 140 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.
STEAM. 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. Elementary-aged children and their caregivers are invited to learn about topics in science, technology, engineering, art and math, and to participate in STEAM projects and activities. This month’s topic is space. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or kbroughey@sppl.net.
Monday, July 15
ART COMPETITION SUBMISSIONS. Arts Council of Moore County invites artists to enter the “Fall into Autumn” competition. Submit your best interpretation of the autumn theme. This is a juried competition open to 2D and 3D artists. Participants must be 16 or older. Info: (910) 692-2787 or www.mooreart.org.
Tuesday, July 16
BRAIN FITNESS. 10 - 11 a.m. Adults 18 and older are invited to enjoy short relaxation and brain enhancement exercises, ending with a mindfulness practice. Eve Gaskell will be the instructor. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
BINGO. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to play 10 games of bingo. Cost is $4 for residents and $6 for non-residents. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
Wednesday, July 17
PLAYTIME IN THE PARK. 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Kids, bring your parents out and join other friends for giant checkers, giant Jenga, bubbles, fun and more. You may meet some new friends. For kids ages 3 - 12. Downtown Park, 145 S.E. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
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, July 18
READ BETWEEN THE PINES. 5 p.m. Do you love reading and discussing amazing books? If so, join SPPL’s evening book club for adults, “Read Between the Pines.” Copies of the book are available at the library to check out while supplies last. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: mhoward@sppl.net.
MOVIE. 7 p.m. The Summer of Spielberg series will have a showing of Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 420-2549 or www.sunrisetheater.com.
OPEN MIC NIGHT. 7 - 9 p.m. Join open mic night at Starworks, 100 Russell Drive, Star. Free and open to the public. Info: www.starworksnc.org.
MUSIC JAM. 7 - 9 p.m. Attend an old-time jam session. Free and open to the public. Starworks, 100 Russell Drive, Star. Info: www.starworksnc.org.
Friday, July 19
PICNIC. 11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Adults 55 and older can join Parks and Recreation for a picnic lunch at one of the longest covered bridges in N.C. Take in the fresh air and hang with friends as we enjoy lunch at this historic hidden treasure close to home. Lunch and transportation on your own. Ole Gilliam Mill, 4699 Carbonton Road, Sanford. Info: (910) 692-7376.
AUTHOR EVENT. 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. Join The Sway, The Country Bookshop and bestselling author Tessa Bailey for fun, conversation and a book signing of her novel, The Au Pair Affair. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad
St., Southern Pines. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.
MUSICAL. 8 - 10 p.m. Judson Theatre Company presents They’re Playing Our Song. Shows will continue through July 28. McPherson Theater, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.
Saturday, July 20
BACKYARD BOCCE. 8:45 - 9:45 a.m. The Backyard Bocce Bash is a fundraising event for the Sandhills Children’s Center. Harness Track, 200 Beulah Hill Road S., Pinehurst. Info and registration: www.sandhillschildrenscenter.org.
PINESAPALOOZA. 4 p.m. Pinesapalooza is a free outdoor concert with local musicians. 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, shag, ballroom, Latin and line dancing. Doors open at 6 p.m. Dance lessons from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Dancing until 9:30 p.m. Beginners and experienced dancers, couples and singles all welcome. Cost is $20 per person, cash at the door. Tyson Sinclair Ballroom, 105 McReynolds St. (second
floor), Carthage. Info: (910) 331-9965.
Sunday, July 21
INTRO TO BIKE SAFETY. 2:30 p.m. The whole family is invited to get tips and strategies for staying safe and having fun on two wheels. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.sppl.net.
PEG THE PEACH NIGHT. 6 - 8:30 p.m. Come out to the last home game for the Sandhills Bogeys and celebrate Peach Night. The first 100 attendees will receive free peach ice cream from Stellar Scoops. If a player “pegs” the peach, everyone wins free medium popcorn from Carolina Cinema. Sandhills Community College, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.homeofgolf.com/peach-week/.
Monday, July 22
PUTT N’ PEACH. 6 - 8 p.m. Put your putting skills to the test during our Putt N’ Peach event. Enjoy free peach ice cream from Stellar Scoops and win prizes for a hole-in-one. It will be a peachy time with fun surprises. Wee Pines, 265 Central Park Ave., Pinehurst. Info: www.homeofgolf.com/ peach-week/.
Tuesday, July 23
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 alignment and breathing. You may gain strength, improve circulation and reduce chronic pain as we practice gentle yoga postures and mindfulness. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
WELLNESS CLASSES. 10 - 11:30 a.m. For adults 18 and older. Join us for different educational topics all involving information that can improve your overall mind, body and spirit. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
PRINCESS PEACH NIGHT. 5 - 8 p.m. Enjoy a fun night at Red’s Corner. Rockin’ Rollin’ Video games will be there, a peach hunt, and prizes for kids. All ages welcome. Activities are free. Red’s Corner, 901 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.homeofgolf.com/peach-week/.
BOOK CHAT. 5:30 p.m. Join a perfect blend of books and camaraderie at the Book Chat and Chill Night. Moore County Chamber of
Commerce, 160 W. New York Ave., Southern Pines. Info: mhoward@sppl.net.
Wednesday, July 24
PICNIC IN THE PARK. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Join Southern Pines Parks and Recreation’s monthly summer fun games, crafts and story time. Bring your own picnic lunch. A fun, free event for kids 12 and under. Memorial Park, 210 Memorial Park Ct., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
LIBRARY PROGRAM. 3:30 p.m. At the Library After School (ATLAS) is an after-school program for children ages kindergarten through second grade who enjoy activities, crafts, stories and meeting new friends. This special session will be a stuffed animal sleepover. Bring your stuffed animals (or reading buddies) for a three night “summer camp” sleepover. Pickup is all day July 27. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.
Thursday, July 25
DOUGLASS CENTER BOOK CLUB. 10:30 a.m. Multiple copies of the selected book are available for check out at the library. The Douglass Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: mmiller@sppl.net.
MEDICAL MINUTES. 1 - 2 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to learn about different topics each month beneficial to educating our senior community. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
RUN YOUR PEACH OFF. 6:30 p.m. Enjoy this walk/run along a 5K trail with modest inclines circling the Pinehurst community among the beautiful longleaf pines. The trail is gravel and pavement. All proceeds go to the Cancer Care Fund. Dress up in honor of a loved one or in your best peach attire. FirstHealth Fitness, 170 Memorial Drive, Pinehurst. Info: www.homeofgolf.com/peach-week/.
MOVIE. 7 p.m. The Summer of Spielberg series will have a showing of ET the Extra Terrestrial. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 420-2549 or www.sunrisetheater.com.
Friday, July 26
COMPUTER BASICS PROGRAM. 11 a.m. Learn how to navigate the internet, create files and take advantage of what the digital world has to offer. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: msilva@sppl.net.
PADDLE UNDER THE STARS. 8:30 p.m. Adults 18 and older will enjoy a nice mix of science and mythology about the night sky while kicking back in canoes or kayaks at Reservoir Park. Please bring your own canoe/kayak/paddleboard, flashlight and life jacket. Registration required. Free of charge. Info: (910) 692-7376.
Saturday, July 27
CRAFT DAYS. Children and their families can come by the library for Drop-in Craft Days and work on crafts and coloring at their own pace. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.
WELDING WORKSHOP. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Attend a hands-on welding introductory workshop. Starworks, 100 Russell Drive, Star. Info: www.starworksnc.org.
POWER CARS AND PEACHES. 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Sandhills Motoring Club will host a car show. Free and open to the public. Free peach ice cream, lawn games and more. Whiskey Pines will be playing. Weymouth Center, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.homeofgolf.com/peach-week/.
MET OPERA. 1 p.m. Met Opera in HD presents La Bohème. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 420-2549 or www.sunrisetheater.com.
MOVIE NIGHT. The town of Vass is hosting a movie night in the park. Info: (910) 245-4677 or www.townofvassnc.gov.
LIVE MUSIC. 7 - 9 p.m. Hear the live music of Bad Penny. Free and open to the public. Starworks, 100 Russell Drive, Star. Info: www.starworksnc.org.
Sunday, July 28
PEACH A PALOOZA. 1 - 6 p.m. Enjoy tours of orchards and the cidery, live music, fresh peaches and peach slushies. It will be a peachy time. James Creek Cider House, 172 U.S. 1, Cameron. Info: www.homeofgolf.com/ peach-week/.
Tuesday, July 30
TEEN BOOK CHAT. 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. Come to our “Teen Book Chat and Craft.” This program is for teens ages 13 and older. Share your favorite books, discover new ones, and connect with other teens who love to read. You may bring your favorite book to show others. Chat and make a bookish craft. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: kbroughey@sppl.net.
Keys to Your Next Home
Photo by: Shayla Velazquez
Wednesday, July 31
BARK IN THE PARK. 10 - 11 a.m. Bring your furry friend for fun games, crafts and a dog-tastic time. Free of charge. Martin Park, 350 Commerce Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Friday, August 2
MUSICAL. 8 - 9:30 p.m. Judson Theatre Company presents Mrs. Mannerly. Shows will continue through Aug. 11. McPherson Theater, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.
Friday, August 9
LIVE AFTER 5. 5:15 - 9 p.m. Dance the night away with the band Punch at Live After 5. Whiskey Pines returns to the stage as the opening act. There will be kids’ activities, food trucks, beer, wine and additional beverages. The Village Arboretum, 375 Magnolia Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.vopnc.org.
WEEKLY EVENTS
Mondays
WORKSPACES. 7 a.m. - 3 p.m. The Given
CALENDAR
Tufts Bookshop has a new pop-in co-workspace open on Mondays and Thursdays in the upstairs conference room. Bookshop floor and private meeting room by reservation only. Info: www.giventuftsfoundation.com.
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.
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. Improve well-being by practicing gentle movements that may 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.
GAME ON. 1 p.m. For adults 55 and older. You and your friends are invited to play various games such as corn hole, badminton, table tennis, shuffleboard, trivia games and more. Each week enjoy a different activity to keep you moving and thinking. Compete with friends and make new ones all for free. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
BRIDGE. 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Enjoy games of bridge with friends. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
Tuesdays
PLAYFUL LEARNING. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Come for a drop-in, open playtime for ages birth - 3 to interact with other children and have educational playtime. Given Memorial
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Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642.
BABY RHYMES. 10:15 a.m. Baby Rhymes is specially designed for the youngest learners (birth- 2) and their caregivers. Repetition and comforting movements make this story time perfect for early development and brain growth. There will be a duplicate session at 10:45 a.m. An active library card is required. Dates this month are July 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30. 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.
CHESS. 1:30 - 5 p.m. Come join a chess group,
whether you have been playing for a while or never played. This is a free program. Moore County Senior Enrichment Center, 8040 U.S. 15-501, West End.
LINE DANCE. 4:45 p.m. Put on your dancing shoes and line dance. This is for beginners and is a free program. Moore County Senior Enrichment Center, 8040 U.S. 15-501, West End.
Wednesdays
CHAIR YOGA. 10 - 11 a.m. For adults 55 and older. Help offset body aches encountered with desk work. This is an accessible yoga class for bodies not able to easily get up from and down to the floor. Do standing or sitting in a chair. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
BRAIN BOOST. 10 - 11 a.m. Test your memory while creating new brain connections. This is a free program. Moore County Senior Enrichment Center, 8040 U.S. 15-501, West End.
KNITTING. 10 - 11 a.m. Learn how to knit or just come enjoy knitting with other people. This is a free program. Moore
SATURDAYS
County Senior Enrichment Center, 8040 U.S. 15-501, West End.
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 on display for parents and caregivers to incorporate into their daily activities. Dates this month are July 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.
JEWELRY MAKING. 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. For adults 55 and older. Come with friends to create fun designs and memories. Supplies are on site. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
PIANO. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Join Flint Long to play piano or just listen. This is a free program. Moore County Senior Enrichment Center, 8040 U.S. 15-501, West End.
GROUP FITNESS. 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Adults 55 and older can flow through yoga poses slowly and intentionally, from breathing to movement, stretching everything head
CALENDAR
to toe. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
LINE DANCING. 12 - 1 p.m. Looking for new ways to get your daily exercise 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.
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. All materials included. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
DANCE. 2 - 2:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Instructor Maria Amaya will introduce you to dance fitness in this class designed for anyone who wants to gently and gradually increase their cardio function, mobility and balance and have fun at the same time. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185
New Arrivals
W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
LINE DANCING. 2 p.m. The town of Vass will host line dancing for seniors every other Wednesday. Cost is $5 per session. Vass Town Hall, 140 S. Alma St., Vass. Info: www.townofvassnc.gov.
IMPROVISATIONAL ACTING. 3 - 4 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Explore this dynamic and engaging art form, unleash creativity, embrace the unexpected, and share some laughter together. 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 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 Oct. 5. Tufts Memorial Park, 1 Village Green Road W., Pinehurst. Info: www.vopnc.org.
LIBRARY PROGRAM. 3:30 p.m. At the Library After School (ATLAS) is an afterschool program for children ages kindergarten through second grade who enjoy
North Carolina and South Carolina. We love what we do and We truly appreciate your referrals
540 NW Broad Street
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activities, crafts, stories and meeting new friends. Dates this month are July 10, 17, 24 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. 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. Hatchet Brewing Company, 490 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.hatchetbrewing.com.
Thursdays
WORKSPACES. 7 a.m. - 3p.m. The Given Tufts Bookshop has a new pop-in co-workspace open on Mondays and Thursdays in the upstairs conference room. Bookshop floor and private meeting room by reservation only. Info: www.giventuftsfoundation.com.
MOORE COUNTY FARMERS MARKET.
9 a.m. - 1 p.m. The year-round market features “producer only” vendors within a 50-mile radius providing fresh, local and seasonal produce, fruits, pasture meats, eggs, potting plants, cut flowers and local honey. Crafts, baked goods, jams and jellies are also available. Market is located at the Armory Sports Complex, 604 W. Morganton Road, Southern Pines.
GIVEN STORY TIME. 10 a.m. Bring your preschooler to enjoy stories, songs and activities. There will be no story time on July 4. 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 the ability to
CALENDAR
Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
MUSIC AND MOTION. 10:15 and 10:45 a.m. Does your toddler like to move and groove? Join us for “Music and Motion” to get those wiggles out and work on gross and fine motor skills. For children ages 2 - 5. An active library card is required. Dates this month are July 11, 18 and 25. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.
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.
STRETCH, STRENGTH, BALANCE. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Adults 55 and older can enjoy exercises standing or sitting to improve overall quality of life. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
ADAPTIVE YOGA. 12 - 1 p.m. Adults 55 and older can enjoy yoga that meets them where they are. Create 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. Bring a board and a friend. 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.
IMPROVERS LINE DANCE. 3 - 5:30 p.m. Put on your dancing shoes and line dance. This is a free program. Moore County Senior Enrichment Center, 8040 U.S. 15501, West End.
LITTLE U. 3:30 p.m. Introducing Little U, Southern Pines Public Library’s new preschool program for children ages 3 1/2 - 5. Join us for stories, songs, rhymes and activities that explore the world of books, language and literacy. Little U is a fun and interactive program designed to help preschoolers develop early literacy skills in preparation for kindergarten and beyond. Dates this month are July 11, 18 and 25. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.
SOUND BATH. 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. All ages can enjoy the rhythm and vibration of this medicine drum sound bath, moving body and mind into deep rest mode. Your body will be refreshed and your mind clear and quiet. A unique and ancient healing arts practice. Cost is $4 for residents and $6 for non-residents. Train House, 482 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
TRIVIA NIGHT. 7 - 9 p.m. Come enjoy a beer and some trivia. Hatchet Brewing Company, 490 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.hatchetbrewing.com.
Fridays
AEROBIC DANCE. 9 - 10 a.m. For adults 55 and older. Enjoy this low to moderate-impact class with energizing music for an overall cardio
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and strength workout. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
JAM SESSION. 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. Do you like to play an instrument, sing or just listen to music? Come join a music jam session. This is a free program. Moore County Senior Enrichment Center, 8040 U.S. 15-501, West End.
TAP CLASS. 10 - 11:30 a.m. For adults 55 and older. All levels welcome. Cost per class: $15/resident; $30/non-resident. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
QIGONG. 1 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Classes will consist of chair and standing movements that can help soothe achy feet, tight hips, lower back pain and ease restriction in mobility. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
BRIDGE. 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Enjoy games of bridge with friends. All materials included. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
LINE DANCING. 3 - 4 p.m. For adults 55 and older. If 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 a monthly membership. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.
Saturdays
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. The market runs through November. Downtown Southern Pines, 156 S.E. Broad St., Southern Pines.
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 at Tufts Memorial Park through October 5. Tufts Memorial Park, 1 Village Green Road W., Pinehurst. Info: www.vopnc.org. PS
photo credit: Timeless Carolinas
Gallery Hours: Monday - Saturday 12-3pm
129 Exchange Street in Aberdeen, NC artistleague@windstream.net • www.artistleague.org
LECTURE
John Singer Sargent
Presented by Ellen Burke
PAUL MURPHY IN CONCERT
John Singer Sargent personified the gilded age. His portraits, oil paintings capturing both the spirit of modern life and the grandeur of the old masters, won acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Join us as we explore the journey Sargent took with his watercolors.
Tuesday, July 16, 2:00-3:00 • $20 per person CLASSES
Watercolor Follow the Leader Sip & Paint – Kathy Leuck – Thursday, July 11, 6:30-8:30 $40
Follow along as Kathy Leuck shows you step-by-step how to create a lovely grape vine painting. Perfect for a class that includes wine! All supplies … and wine and snacks… are included. You are guaranteed to have a great time! All Levels
Fabulous Fibers - Connie Genuardi - Friday, July 12, 10:30-3:30 $59
By using mixed patterns, colors, solids & textures students will explore color mixing through fabrics. Beads, feathers or other objects may also be incorporated. All Levels
Travel Sketching with Watercolor - Ashleigh Corsino - Thursday, July 18, 10:00-12:00 $34
Let’s go on an adventure! Students will be introduced to the magic of travel sketching. Best materials and examples will be shared, followed by a demonstration and a chance to try you own travel sketching.
Gallery Hours: Monday - Saturday 12-3pm
Ask Us About Becoming a Member • 129 Exchange Street in Aberdeen, NC Visit our website for many more classes. www.artistleague.org • artistleague@windstream.net
Rev. Dr. Paul Greene Murphy, solo piano and saxophone: Spirituals, original compositions, hymns and American popular music
Dr. Murphy is well known in the Sandhills as a musician of many talents. On piano, he will play original compositions and his own arrangements of hymns and American popular music. On saxophone, he will play a selection of spirituals, accompanied on piano by Robin Lynne Frye.
Community Congregational Church 141 North Bennett St. • Southern Pines 910.692.8468
TICKETS: Sunday, July 14, 2024 at 4:00 PM presents
\www.communitycongregational.org
July PineNeedler 248 candles!
ACROSS
1. Spiritual leader
6. Capital of Ukraine
10. Swedish pop group
14. Pacific or Atlantic, e.g.
15. Land measurement
16. Colored horse
17. Prop bullet
18. Lager
19. Surprise attack
20. Went under water
21. What a cow chews
22. Paltry
24. Churn
26. Elevates
27. Skylark genus
30. Gorilla “king”
31. Joyful!!!
32. Beginning!!!
33. Time period!!!
36. Leaves out
37. Cease
38. Jeweled headdress
40. Congressional vote
41. Quench
43. Lay to rest
44. Effortless
45. Sea between Turkey and Greece
46. Quantity
49. Otherwise
50. Slovenly
51. America!!!
52. Dried-up
56. Flatten
57. Ledger, (abbr.)
59. Afloat on the briny (2 wds)
60. Medicine amount
61. Regulation
62. Biblical outcast
63. Water pitcher
64. Honey
65. Poem
DOWN
1. Loots
2. Organization concerned with civil liberties (abbr.)
3. Legume
4. Broke
5. Writing liquid
6. Capital of Afghanistan
7. Chilled
8. Before, poetically
9. Montpelier location
10. Decorative wall hanging
11. Gloat
12. Scoops out water
13. Raggedy Ann’s friend
21. National security agency, for short
23. Reaganomics decade
25. Trojan War Greek hero
26. Throng
27. Sailors’ “hey”
28. Crippled
29. Capital of Western Samoa
30. Curly
32. Beauty’s friend
33. Go out with
34. Region
35. Tale
39. Consumed
42. Neck cord to hold badges or IDs
45. carte menu
46. Cupid’s dart
Puzzle answers on page 118
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.
47. Large elk-like animal
48. Possessor
49. Organic compound
50. Bona
51. Calif. university
53. Spot
54. Spool
55. British peer above a viscount
58. Prompt
59. Boxer Muhammad
By Jim moriarty
The One That Got Away
Well, maybe it was more than one
Some folks are naturally blessed with a singing voice that could charm the stars out of the sky. Others are granted the inexplicable gift of mathematical brilliance or the ability to learn languages as effortlessly as drawing a warm bath. I, on the other hand, have been endowed with a singular knack for the big mistake. The cosmic screwup.
One might suppose that, over the course of time, this penchant for the monumental blunder would be cause for concern. Counseling at the very least, if not jail time. But, like bunions or getting the wrong order at the drive-thru, one learns to live with it. I like to think of these gaffes as the building blocks of my children’s future eulogies, should the worst happen to me — which seems, for the reason listed above plus the usual one, like a foregone conclusion.
Though picking one of my personal oopses over another is a daunting task, now that major championship golf has come to Pinehurst and gone toddling off toward Scotland, I’m forced to recall one such staggering miscue from my rather extensive list. It happened exactly 40 years ago this month, so you can see I’ve been at this thing for a very long time indeed.
I had just struck out on my own, hoping to find contentment and riches as a freelance writer and photographer equipped with everything I needed except talent, experience and a Will Work for Food sign handpainted on a piece of torn cardboard. As luck would have it, that year — 1984 — the Open Championship was being held in St. Andrews at the Old Course. Somehow I managed to talk the USGA’s magazine into allowing me to take pictures for them, and so off I went with the War Department at my side as a camera sherpa/assistant, and because July is also her birthday month.
Early in the week we went for a walkabout to familiarize ourselves with the old links, and we came upon Tom Watson playing St. Andrews’ 17th, the Road Hole. Watson, a five-time winner of the Open Championship, had claimed the claret jug two years in a row. Little did we know he’d
already done all the winning of major championships he was going to do. As part of his practice on 17, Tom threw a few balls down on the little patch of grass between the gravel road and the stone wall behind the green. We watched as he practiced caroming the ball off the wall and back onto the green, should he find himself in that predicament during play.
Sure enough, coming down the stretch on Sunday, Seve Ballesteros and Watson were tied with two holes to play. Seve, playing with Bernhard Langer, was in the twosome in front of Watson, who was playing alongside Ian Baker-Finch. As Seve parred the Road Hole, Watson flirted with the out of bounds on his tee shot and then hit a 2-iron over the 17th green, close to the stone wall.
Ballesteros was heading down the short 18th when Watson’s ball cozied up to the wall and the smart money — and the smart photographers — rushed down the home hole with him. In those days, photographers were allowed to walk inside the wall behind the 17th green, and I decided, if Watson was to bank the ball off the wall, save his par and go on to win a third straight Open Championship, I wanted a picture of it. It was like betting on a unicorn in the Kentucky Derby.
There was one other problem. I’m a skosh under 6 feet and the stone wall is roughly shoulder height to me. The War Department and I needed to get on the other side of it to take Tom’s picture, so I put all the cameras and lenses on the ground and tossed my wife over the wall like I was throwing an anchor overboard. Happy birthday, honey. I climbed over after her and positioned myself to shoot Watson face-on if he did, indeed, bump his ball into the wall. But he didn’t. As a precaution, I’d given the War Department a camera, which she used to take Tom’s picture. It ran in the USGA’s magazine with my photo credit — and me in the background.
Meanwhile, up ahead on the 18th green, Seve made a birdie three and pumped his fist to the north, to the south, to the east and to the west. It was such an iconic photograph it would become his personal symbol.
I got to watch it from halfway down the 18th. God bless her, the War Department didn’t even shake her head or lift her eyes skyward. At least not that I saw. PS
Jim Moriarty is the Editor of PineStraw and can be reached at jjmpinestraw@gmail.com.
