June/July 2015
SAND &MAGAZINE PINE The Great Burger Hunt Savoring the Sandhills
Second Chances
Cameron Boys Camp
The Interview John Dempsey
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2 | SAND& PINE MAGAZINE June/July 2015
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contents 12
18
Burgers & Cheese
SAND & PINE
There are times when there is nothing better than a burger. For the good of the community, we scoured the area for some of the best. You’re welcome.
20
Garden Variety
Second Chances
Tomato, tomahto, one thing’s for sure, it’s a fruit with an identity crisis. But you gotta grow them before you can enjoy them, and we’ve got you covered.
Cameron Boys Camp isn’t a summer retreat, but it isn’t a work camp either. It’s designed to help troubled boys develop skills to improve their lives.
Publishers Greg Girard, Amanda Jakl
E SA N D &MPAGIN AZ IN E June/July 2015
Editor Greg Girard greg@sandandpinemag.com
Creative Director Amanda Jakl amanda@sandandpinemag.com
The Great Hunt Burger Sandh ills Savoring the
Second Chances
Cameron Boys Camp
The iew Interv Dempsey
On the Cover Be honest. That burger is just calling your name. Well, you can’t have that one, but there are more than enough choices in our area to enjoy.
John
Photo: Anon
Word Geek Katie Schanze Ad Peddler Tiffany Abbey tiffany@sandandpinemag.com
Contributing Scribblers Darcy Connor, Kathy Dixon, Sundi McLaughlin, Anthony Parks Visual Alchemist Carter Beck
4 | SAND& PINE MAGAZINE June/July 2015
P.O. Box 892 Southern Pines, NC 28388 Tel. 910.315.0467 info@sandandpinemag.com www.sandandpinemag.com facebook: SandandPineMag
SP
© Copyright 2015. Sand & Pine Magazine is published six times annually by Sand & Pine, LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without written consent is prohibited.
What’s on the Web ....... 6 Good Reads ....... 7 Quicksand ....... 8 To Your Health ....... 17
26
30
At the Table
The Interview
Peaches, peaches, oh the peaches. So much one can do with that furry, sweet fruit. Peach pie, peach cobbler, grilled peaches, peach sangria, peach ....
John Dempsey has been a fixture in our community for 26 years. We sit down with the president of SCC and talk higher education past and present.
Music ....... 24 Shutter ....... 25 Puzzles ....... 33 Last Word ....... 34
editor note by Greg Girard
Y
ou may have noticed we like sharing quotes in Sand & Pine. In all honesty, it’s not something we do consciously, but as we build these pages different quotes seem to ring in our ears. I have two quotes hanging in my office: “The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shock-proof, shit detector. This is the writer’s radar and all great writers have had it.” Ernest Hemingway said that one. You gotta love Hemingway. “It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.” Those are Franklin D. Roosevelt words. If you don’t believe FDR was our greatest president, watch Ken Burns’ “The Roosevelts” and after, I promise, you’ll think he fell from above to save this country. Great quotes say very much with few words. Think Gettysburg Address or Yogi Berra.
So as we began developing the two stories on Cameron Boys Camp and our interview with John Dempsey, president of Sandhills Community College, a theme of second chances kept scratching at the back of my brain. We’ve all failed, but we’re not always lucky enough to get a second chance. You may have heard: “Second chances are not given to make things right. But are given to prove that we could be better even after we fall.” These stories are about second chances. As Dempsey said during our talk, “A lot of times people will say community college is a second choice institution. Maybe that’s true, but more importantly we’re a second chance institution.” Cameron Boys Camp is “designed to give boys a second chance.” I think everyone first realizes they’re human right after they fail. It’s what happens next that counts. For most of us, all we need is that second chance. www.SandandPineMag.com | 5
What’s on the Web ...
Good Reads by Darcy Connor
Anthony Parks, of Ice Cream Parlor fame, offers up his mix tape in the music column this issue (Page 24), so we thought the rest of the Sand & Pine family should share their favorite compilations. Greg, Amanda and Carter selflessly uploaded their carefully created music lists to both the SoundCloud and Spotify accounts. For a taste, check out Greg’s old timer mix below. Let us know what you think! Drop a comment on FB or share your mix at music@sandandpinemag.com.
“Driving East From Montana” circa 2000 Worrisome - Greg Brown If I Had a Million Dollars - Bare Naked Ladies Killing Me Softly - The Fugees Downtown Train - Tom Waits Trying to Throw Your Arms Around the World - U2 Great Big Sea - Boston For You Blue - The Beatles You Sexy Thing - Hot Chocolate ’Til it Shines - Lyle Lovett & Keb Mo California Stars - Billy Bragg & Wilco Beast of Burden - Rolling Stones Outskirts of Town - Willie Nelson & Keb Mo American Girl - Tom Petty Cry Love - John Hiatt Valentine’s Day - Bruce Springsteen You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away - The Beatles Over the Hills and Far Away - Led Zeppelin Sugar Magnolia - Grateful Dead
6 | SAND& PINE MAGAZINE June/July 2015
soundcloud.com/sand-pine-mag
open.spotify.com/user/ sandandpinemag
Picture Book National Geographic Kids Readers From rocks to sharks to butterflies to the Titanic, this series has the interests of young readers covered. Each book is filled with beautiful photography and interesting information, and will have your kids spouting facts about a whole number of topics. Even better, the books are written for different reading levels and jokes are scattered throughout. Why did the bat get kicked out of the cave? Because he had a bat attitude! Admit it, you laughed.
Preschool/Toddler DK Touch and Feel These classic board books have been given a fresh look, and they still entice the little ones with bright colors and various textures. Simple words add to the enjoyment and are a wonderful introduction to the animal world.
Elementary Who Was? Series The Who Was? Series makes biographies of people both historical and contemporary accessible to children through a combination of words and pictures. The list of subjects continues to grow with close to 100 biographies as of this printing. The series has also expanded to include famous events in history with the What Was? Series and the newest addition, Where Is? Series that explores famous landmarks, like the Grand Canyon and the Great Wall.
Middle School The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of the Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming Tackling the complexity and drama of the final years of the Romanov dynasty is no small feat, but Fleming digs deep and finds the human elements that culminated in the most dramatic demise of an empire in history. From the mysterious visionary Rasputin and his hold on the Romanov family to the inept leadership of Czar Nicolas to the rise of the communist state, Fleming guides us through the major events that led to the Soviet Union by juxtaposing the lavish lives of the Romanov family with the desolation of those they ruled.
For the Beach Death Wears a Beauty Mask and Other Stories by Mary Higgins Clark This list wouldn’t be complete without a beach read, and not many do it better than Mary Higgins Clark. Her latest arrived in April and doesn’t disappoint. This time around, Clark offers a collection of short stories. I tried to wait for the beach with this one, but it was too tempting once I received it for Mother’s Day. What makes this book special is the novella Death Wears a Beauty Mask, which Clark started early in her writing career and completed some 40 years later. OK, that’s all I’m going to say. I don’t want to give anything away. What sunset? What high tide? This one will keep you tucked under that umbrella hoping the day, and the book, will never end.
I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library. - Jorge Luis Borges
www.SandandPineMag.com | 7
Quicksand
5¢ The cost of the first 2-stick
Popsicle sold during the Great Depression. Children could share the treat for the same price as the single stick version.
2B Number of Popsicles sold annually.
11 Age of the Popsicle inventor, Frank Epperson, in 1905. Epperson invented the popular treat when he accidentally left out a glass filled with water, powdered soda and a stir stick overnight in freezing temps.
1923 The year Epperson
to clean up. The melting fiasco allowed the Dutch record holders, who created a 21-foot tall, 20,000-pound ice treat, to retain their title.
filed a patent for his invention under the name Eppsicles, but his children convinced him to change the name “Pop’s ‘sicles,” which of course was shortened to Percent of the average Popsicles. popsicle that is water. The other ingredients are sugars and The weight of preservatives. the attempted record-breaking popsicle created by Snapple on The year two-stick the first day of summer in 2005. Popsicle gets the pink slip after The strawberry-kiwi treat melted moms complain about their too quickly, however, creating messiness. a flood of sugary slush that And if you’re wondering, the most required the fire department popular flavor:
90
17.5 tons
SAND&PINE PINEMAGAZINE MAGAZINEJune/July December2015 2014/January 2015 8 |8 |SAND&
1986
APT APPS... and other tech marvels
OK, you cravers of all music live. Bandsintown Concerts keeps you locked into the local scene as well as up-to-date on when your favorite big-name acts are coming to town. It’s all based on your musical tastes. You can also call Anthony, Sand & Pine’s resident music expert, but I don’t think he’d appreciate all the phone calls. Available on Android and iPhone.
A Look Ahead
Road trip! Here’s a few events within a few hours drive worth checking out. For events with more of a local flavor, check out our Facebook page, updated daily. JUNE 13 Brew Stash Bash National Whitewater Center, Charlotte | usnwc.org
WHY: 6 K brew dash, 22 craft breweries and music...all day. JUNE 19-20 Peak City Pig Fest Apex | PeakCityPigFest.com
Helmed by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, presenter of last year’s “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey” and former student of famed cosmologist Carl Sagan, the Star Talk Podcast offers fascinating insights on our world and beyond. Well beyond. You don’t have to be a scientist to enjoy these discussions, as Tyson goes out of his way to make the universe not only accessible but also enticing by connecting lofty theories to everyday life. George Takei talking the legacy of Star Trek and Elon Musk discussing the future of humanity are just a few examples from this season of the podcast.
“
QUOTABLES Sponges grow in the ocean. That just gets me. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be if that didn’t happen. - Steven Wright
WHY: Forty-eight teams vying for the best BBQ in the area. Oh, and a beer garden, too. JULY 3-5 40th Annual 4th of July Powwow Cherokee | VisitCherokeeNC.com
WHY: W orld champion Indian dancers perform in the summer mountain air. JULY 15 Blues Crawl Southern Pines | SunriseTheater.com
WHY: Beers, blues and it’s local. Support local! JULY 16-26 Folkmoot Festival Waynesville | FolkmootUSA.org
WHY: 2 00 groups of dancers and musicians from 100 countries.
There, I guess King George will be able to read that. - John Hancock Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability. - Sam Keen
“
It’s simple: climate safety. Well, maybe simple in concept - and logic - but for some reason not enough of us “get it” yet. The idea behind 350.org is to galvanize us, all of us, to “preserve a livable planet” and reduce the current level of CO2 levels of 400 parts per million in the atmosphere to a planet-healthy level of 350 through education and grassroots effort.
www.SandandPineMag.com | 9
Quicksand DID YOU
KNOW? Sandhills Stadium 10 cinema offers $1 kid movies every Tuesday and Thursday at 10 a.m. throughout the summer. A combo snack pack, including popcorn and a drink, is just $3. For the list of movies, call 692-1140 or visit franktheatres.com.
JUNE 27-28 DUSK TO DAWN Southern Pines 50M | Register: UltraSignUp.com
JULY 4 HOMECOMING PEMBROKE KIWANIS CLUB Pembroke 5K, 1K Fun Run | Register: LumbeeHomecoming.com
AUGUST 29
QUICK TIP The long run in your training program can have several benefits: Respiratory and heart muscles get stronger, endurance improves and confidence increases. But overdo it and you’ll compromise your recovery time and raise your risk of injury. Here are three tips from Runner’s World that can help you maximize your long run benefits:
Slow Down: Experts recommend running at least
three minutes per mile slower than your race pace and even slower on hot days.
1 IN 8K MOORE FOR THE CURE Village of Pinehurst 8K, 1K Fun Run | Register: 1in8K.org
SEPTEMBER 19 ALZHEIMER’S COLOR YOUR WORLD Southern Pines 5K | Register: SJP.org
OCTOBER 24-25 DIA DE LOS MUERTOS Lillington 24-hour Endurance Run | Register: UltraSignUp.com
Watch the Time: Don’t run too long or the stress
OCTOBER 24
Sensible Distance: One and a half to two times
UWHARRIE 100 MILE TRAIL RUN Troy 100M, 100K | Register: Uwharrie100.com
on your body will outweigh the benefits. So if you’re training for a 5K, no longer than an hour. longer than your normal run.
10 | SAND& PINE MAGAZINE June/July 2015
Wellness Services Now offering: Nutrition Coaching • Wellness Coaching •
• •
Massage Therapy Exercise is Medicine
For more information or to make an appointment, call (910) 715-1811. Visit us online at www.firsthealth.org/fitness
1017-101-14
Home is where you lay your head. The Home Team – We Know Moore Mark & Karen Caulfield 190 Turner St. Suite D, Southern Pines Mark (585) 233-2237 Karen (910) 725-0220 kcaulfield@homescba.com mcaulfield@homescba.com
Finding Homes for Families Like Yours www.SandandPineMag.com | 11
BURG & CH Louis' Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut claims to be the birthplace of the burger. Louis’ has been in business 118 years, and still cooks patties in the original 1898 vertical cast-iron grills, which fourth-generation owner Jeff Lassen says locks in the flavor by cooking both sides at the same time. Served on toast rather than a bun, the burger can only be topped with cheese, tomato and onion (they’ve been known to kick you out if you ask for ketchup). Lassen says other condiments only detract from the taste of the beef, which is ground fresh every morning. “Do you want to taste what you’re eating or do you want to cover it up?” he states rather emphatically. No argument here. It’s safe to say we don’t have those types of restrictions down here, but on our Moore County great burger hunt, every chef we spoke with took as much pride in their burger creation as Lassen does in his century-old recipe. The burgers we highlight are by no means the only great burgers in town, they each simply offer a unique, and mouthwatering, take on an American classic.
12 | SAND& PINE MAGAZINE June/July 2015
GERS HEESE THE BURGERS SQUIRE’S PUB Revolutionary Burger A classic burger served with mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato pickles and red onion. Pair with: Guinness THE BAKEHOUSE Barcelona Burger Spinach, onions and cheese are combined with ground beef, topped with cheese and garlic sauce and served on a house-made burger bun. Pair with: Coca-Cola KENNY’S COUNTRY RESTAURANT Big Cheeseburger A huge hand-formed patty topped with white American cheese. Simple and delicious. Pair with: Sweet tea
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ASHTEN’S The Stilton Burger Eight ounces of Hilltop Angus beef topped with English Stilton cheese and savory bacon served atop a Broad Street Bakery bun. Pair with: Negroni or dry gin martini THE SLY FOX A Sheep in Fox’s Clothing Ground lamb, spinach, curry aioli and cucumber relish on a Broad Street Bakery bun. Pair with: Amber ale or IPA
THE CHEESES If you’re itchin’ to make a burger of your own, try some of these cheeses, courtesy of Angela Sanchez, proprietor of Southern Whey in Southern Pines: GERMAN BEER CHEESE & CAHILL IRISH PORTER | made in Germany and Ireland Washed with ale, German Beer Cheese has an almost gruyere texture to it. It’s a really great melter that has a punginess to it. The Cahill Irish Porter is an Irish Cheddar that has Guinness porter added to it before the whey is pressed out. For: Those who want to break out of their Swiss or American routine RED DRAGON | made in Wales A Welsh Cheddar made with whole grain mustard seeds, which give it a slight bite, and ale, coated in a bright red wax. For: Guys who like beer and those unafraid of something different PIMENTO CHEESE | made in-house Both traditional and Bacon Swiss varieties available. For: Southern food lovers HOOP CHEESE | made in Ashe County, North Carolina A classic yellow cheese with the red wax. Combine with Grafton for a flavorful twist. For: Burger traditionalists and kids who like those plastic cheese slices
14 | SAND& PINE MAGAZINE June/July 2015
BUTTERMILK BLUE | made in Wisconsin Named for its consistency rather than its ingredients, Buttermilk Blue won’t crumble like other blues. Not quite as tangy as Stilton, it’s a little creamier and a little meltier. For: The blue cheese lover
BURGER TIPS
How do you make the ultimate burger at home? Tips from the chefs of our featured burgers. • Start with a hot grill.
• Choose a meat with enough fat. Too lean of meat will dry out quickly. If you can grind your own meat, even better.
BEST
• Choose fresh meat over frozen. • Take the time to hand form your patties. Not only can you make the burger fit the bun, but you can choose your preferred thickness. BETTER
• Choose the best meat you can afford. Most of the burgers above are made with USDA Prime beef, the highest quality meat available (after Prime, Choice comes next, then Select). • Cook it to order. • If adding ingredients to the raw ground beef, make sure to include an adhesive, like bread crumbs or cheese.
GOOD
• Choose a sturdy bun. Avoid the “hamburger buns” and go for a Kaiser roll, or for a change of pace, try a brioche. • Be patient. Let the burger cook. Don’t smush it with a spatula, or even worse, use a grill press, which just pushes the juices out.
SP
www.SandandPineMag.com | 15
5k 7:30AM 1 Mile 8:30AM Awards 9:00AM
Race benefits:
A special commemorative medal will be given to the first 200 finishers and special awards will be presented to the overall male/female and master’s winners. Online registration: http://thepatriot5k.com
I EXIST
BEACH?
Michael A Leach, Agent 115 Westgate Dr Hwy 211 W Pinehurst, NC 28374 Bus: 910-295-7283 michael.leach.rakp@statefarm.com
PICK UP A COPY OF SAND & PINE MAGAZINE BEFORE YOU GO
16 | SAND& PINE MAGAZINE June/July 2015
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To Your Health! Avoid the Burn Forgot to re-apply sunscreen and now you’re burned. So whatcha gonna do besides howling in pain on the couch? Follow these five tips from the Skin Cancer Foundation.
Eatin’ Season/Eat in Season Gary Priest, of Priest Family Farm and president of the Sandhills Farmers Market, gave us the heads up on the freshest summer produce. MooreFarmFresh.com
1. Get out of the sun. It may take a few hours
for symptoms to fully develop. Start treatment as soon as possible.
2. Slather on some lotion. And do it often. Pick a lotion or cream that has vitamins C and E.
3. Drink up! Make sure to hydrate
with lots of water, but stay away from caffeinated beverages which can increase dehydration.
4. Pop some pills. Ibuprofen, not (see At the Table on page 26 for tips and recipe ideas)
acetaminophen, should be your drug of choice. It will reduce swelling and redness.
5. Know when to call it. If your burn
has a lot of blisters, or if you’re suffering from fever or chills, go get checked out by a medical professional.
Summer Fitness It’s the time of year when activities, picnics and vacation can wreak havoc on your regular exercise routine. To keep from falling completely off the wagon and help your transition back to real life run a little more smoothly, reset your expectations. It’s unlikely that you’ll stick with your regular routine, so adjust accordingly. If you’re less active, try to decrease your caloric intake or indulge in local healthy foods. -Kari Garbark, MS Program Manager, FirstHealth Fitness
Check out our Pinterest board for recipe ideas using these fresh ingredients! www.SandandPineMag.com | 17
Garden Variety By Master Gardener Kathy Dixon
/NCMGMooreCnty 18 | SAND& PINE MAGAZINE June/July 2015
Summer is here and so are tomatoes. Here are some steps to keep them growing all season:
1.
Tomato plants are hearty eaters. What they love is smelly, old fish fertilizer
2.
A weekly pruning is recommended to keep vigorous vines channeling energy into fruit.
and Epsom salt. Every two weeks water
The plant will have several main stems and from those, a
your plants with it. Follow the instructions
side shoot called an axillary bud will form. When you see a
for the fertilizer. For the Epsom salt, add
third leaf or stem form between the stem and axillary bud,
1 tablespoon of Epsom salts to a gallon-
pinch it off. This allows more sun to penetrate the leaves and
sized watering can and water. Watch your
helps the plant to produce nutrients all season long. Note: A
tomatoes grow, because they will! Use stakes
“determinate” or “bush” variety tomato plant does not need
and tomato cages for support. Some tomato
pruning.
plants can exceed 6 feet high.
3.
Keep an eye out for the little pest called a hornworm. Not only
Nature can be a wonderful thing. Splurge on it and enjoy your tomatoes!
will it de-foliate your plants, it is difficult to see. Check often. If you see your tomatoes are being eaten or that the tops of your tomato plants have no leaves, look until you find the culprit. Simply kill it.
Tip #1 To avoid burning your leaves, water early in the morning or evening.
Tip #2 Try a spray-bottle attachment for your hose that combines fertilizer with the water as it sprays out.
Tip #3 Some worms can have the white eggs of the braconid wasp on them. These are parasitic to the hornworm. If you want to encourage this garden-friendly wasp, don’t kill the worm. Put it on another plant away from your tomatoes and allow the eggs to hatch. It’s good to have friends in the beastie world at times.
www.SandandPineMag.com | 19
CAMERON
boys camp STORY & PHOTOS by AMANDA JAKL
20 | SAND& PINE MAGAZINE June/July 2015
un by Baptist Children’s Home for the past 70 years, Cameron Boys Camp (CBC) sits within 902 wooded acres and is designed to give boys a second chance through a highly structured outdoor educational program. This is no summer camp at the lake, but it’s not a work camp either. The boys arrive with a purpose – to develop the skills to “grow socially, emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually.” The campers are there by choice. Rather than a jail sentence, a stay at CBC is a declaration of intent. These boys want something more for their lives. The camp is a way to learn how to achieve that goal. Boys live in groups of up to 10 with two counselors. They build their own shelters. They cook their own food. They hike, camp, share their experiences and thoughts during “powwow” discussions and, most importantly, learn positive behaviors and self-worth. By removing all modern distractions - no Internet, no phones, no electricity – and incorporating a highly structured routine, campers work on all types of skills: tangible – woodworking and cooking – and intangible – relating and communicating to others in a healthy way. By connecting with the outdoors, the idea is for campers to connect with themselves. CBC is remote, not in the sense that it’s far from town – it’s only 15 miles from Southern Pines and 3.5 miles from Cameron – but that it’s on the eastern side of Hwy. 1. It’s one great expanse of farm land and woods. There is a middle-of-nowhere feeling to the area, but while it’s off the beaten path, rather than feeling isolated, the camp holds a welcoming air of simple tranquility. As I spent the morning with Jason Sullivan, education supervisor for CBC, and some of the campers at the site, it became very clear the camp had one simple goal: a second chance.
ROUTINE. “We get up at 6:30 every morning, clean our whole tent, then clean the whole campsite. There [are] a few jobs associated with that: raking the trails, cleaning our lanterns that we use at night, making sure all the miscellaneous tents are swept out before breakfast. We don’t do anything special when people come, it’s like this all the time.” - JOSH | CAMPER
SHELTER. “[Each tent is] the brainchild of the group. There’s no template. It comes from their imagination. [They] put it down on paper and then make it a reality. We have one tent that looks like a rocket ship because they were studying astronomy. There’s another one that’s supposed to look like a fish.” - JASON
CBC FACT:
THERE ARE NO NAILS USED TO BUILD THE TENTS. www.SandandPineMag.com | 21
TOOLS. The craft tent holds all the tools the campers need for camp life, whether it’s for creating the tents they sleep in or for crafts that help relieve stress. Every creation teaches a life lesson. Whittling, or carving, is a popular pastime. “Everything we used to make our tents is in here. We do everything by hand, there are no power tools. We can’t plug anything in. It’s not up to OSHA standards to use chainsaws with these guys. So they use their power tools, their own guns (he flexes his biceps and smiles) to do a lot of this work. They’ll haul these trees back on their own shoulders, cut ‘em down to size, they’ll do everything.” - JASON “[Carving] teaches us to express how we feel on a piece of wood or stress relief. It relaxes you to carve in wood, to make something, to make you feel accomplished. And it teaches patience.” - jake | CAMPER
FOOD. “This is where the magic happens. We cook two days a week.” - JASON
FAVORITE DISHES?
MAC AND CHEESE AND DEEP DISH PIZZA TOP THE LIST. THE REST OF THE TIME THEY EAT AT THE CHUCK WAGON BUILDING. 22 | SAND& PINE MAGAZINE June/July 2015
MIND. World Books and Audubon guides are the camp’s textbooks. “That’s our high speed internet,” jokes JASON. “Our classroom is all the acreage we’ve got. They like to take their clipboards and go out. That’s a lot of the reason why they’re here, they don’t do well in school. Sitting still, just even a classroom setting isn’t good for everybody. And here we don’t. We have [900 acres] and we’re able to take advantage of it, whether it’s writing by a tree or a lake or finding a new spot, they’re able to do that.”
“WE NEED TO FIX THE PROBLEM SO WE CAN GET TO BED RIGHT AND NOT WAKE UP WITH THAT ANGER AGAIN.” - JAKE
COMMUNICATE. “This is pow wow. We’ll light a fire, sing some songs and talk about our day. If our day is terrible, we’ll be honest with it - today sucked but this happened, Josh worked on this or Jake was able to overcome his fear of relinquishing control. We’ll also see the good things that happened throughout the day and acknowledge a guy.”
GOALS “We want a good family unit, we want to be able to resolve stuff all the way. We can share our feelings but we do that respectfully.” - JASON www.SandandPineMag.com | 23
Mix Tape BY ANTHONY PARKS
Osic. Even if we’re unaware of our
n some level, everyone loves mu-
attachment to it, we are all in a long-term, dependent relationship with it. Far beyond having a favorite band or album, we crave, rely on and are guided through our day by an endless concert of sounds and words. Have you ever watched a movie or a commercial that didn’t have music helping to shape the story? Imagine the absence of music from your car, a video game, the doctor’s waiting room or a clothing store. Ever since our parent’s first performance of “Wheels on the Bus,” music has been as natural and as important to us as the clothes on our backs. We love music, and like a favorite recipe or story, we love to share it with others. There was a time – a brief window in history – when sharing your favorite music was more than just a hobby or kind act. It was, dare I say, an art form. I am referring to the forgotten technique of making a mix tape. Now, my grandparents were happy to have the radio and my folks got together with friends and listened to albums, but I’m very proud to be a part of the first generation that was able to personally interact with the music we loved. Of course, nowadays you can literally tell your phone to play a song, but there is no anticipation or adventure in that. And that’s just it – a mix tape was a low quality, fragile and short-lived stepping stone on the way to wireless streaming data thingys, but it was yours. The mix tape was a two-sided novella, a coded message, a summer soundtrack, a declaration of love. The possibilities were seemingly endless, especially if you sprung for the 90-minute tape over the 60-minute. I mean that’s ten more songs if you time it right. Those of us fortunate enough to grow up in this era of original “data sharing” remember the feeling of having someone hand you a tape and say, “I thought about you when I made this.” You had the ability to say something important to someone when it was too difficult to speak the words yourself. Take Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes.” On a classic mix tape, it’s a way of saying, “I’m very much into you.” Whereas “November Rain” by Guns N’ Roses might suggest that emotions are running too high. Maybe you were going on a camping trip. Time to make your own soundtrack with “Mountain Song” by Jane’s Addiction, “Fire on the Mountain” by The Dead and, just for a laugh, “Dueling Banjos.” How you placed each song was of equal importance. You didn’t want to jump around too much – you couldn’t skip from a sappy love song to a Friday night rocker. Good mix 24 | SAND& PINE MAGAZINE June/July 2015
tapes had a theme or would at least build up to a certain feeling or emotion. Personally, I would create my little nuggets of music based on just that … the music. I wanted to share with others the songs that I was in love with at the moment, and I hoped that the listener would be quick to become a fan as well. When you made someone a tape it was their’s. It was a gift that you spent at least an hour making and just as long thinking of a quirky title, like “Great Tunes for Your Crappy Car,” “Summer 87 Beach Mix, part 2” or one of the best tapes ever given to me, “Funk Bomb!” The personalized titles, specifically crafted song list and maybe even the set of colored markers used just to decorate the tape cover, made giving and getting mix tapes a very special experience. As I look at my old tape collection the way a mathematician might look at an abacus, I realize how many great songs are resting there and how many memories are stretched out on those tapes just waiting for a rewind. Anyone have a tape deck?
If I made a mix tape today, this is what it would sound like … JJ Grey & Mofro- Every Minute The Revivalists- Masquerade Paul Pena- I’m Gonna Move Brett Dennen- Wild Child Rebelution- Closer I Get
The Wood Brothers- The Muse
Tedeschi Trucks Band- Midnight in Harlem Greensky Bluegrass- Leap Year
Driftwood- The Sun’s Going Down (to get
in the mood for their First Friday show) White Denim- At Night in Dreams
Gary Clark Jr.- When My Train Pulls In The Black Keys- 10 AM Automatic
Band of Horses- The General Specific Alabama Shakes- Don’t Wanna Fight Dangermuffin- Walk Into the Wind
To listen to this mix, check out What’s on the Web on page 6 for links and QR codes.
Shutter Inspire Us Submit your Shutter photo to shutter@sandandpinemag.com. Be creative, be inspirational, be you. Go on, make us shutter. Photos submitted must be original. By submitting a photo, you affirm the photo is your original work and you grant permission to Sand & Pine Magazine to publish the photo in any medium, under your copyright, in perpetuity. Submission does not guarantee publication. Photos must be high-resolution (at least 1MB) and submissions must include your full name, address and where the photo was taken.
Susan Campbell, Aberdeen (San Francisco)
“Taking pictures is like tiptoeing into the kitchen late at night and stealing Oreo cookies.”
Luke Verrier, Southern Pines (Oslo, Norway)
— Diane Arbus
Sam Wesson, Cameron (Reservoir Park)
John Jones, Southern Pines (Aberdeen)
www.SandandPineMag.com | 25
At the Table
Peaches “An apple is an excellent thing, until you have tried a peach.” - George du Maurier
All our peach information comes from Taylor Williams – retired peach farmer and current Agricultural Extension Agent with NC Cooperative Extension, Moore County. 26 | SAND& PINE MAGAZINE June/July 2015
Types of Peaches Available Qualities
Peaches Derby Candor
Clingstone Clingstone
June 8-20 June 9-21
Clingstone, split pits
Clingstone, incredibly
tasty Clayton
FS-Cling
June 20-July 1
Beautiful and reliable
Norman
Freestone
July 1-14
Good for canning and
Winblo
Freestone
July 4-10
Best of the season
peach, near freestone freezing Contender
Freestone
July 10-20
Second best, and more
reliable than Winblo
Freestone
July 20-Aug. 1 Aug 1-Aug 10
Peach Custard Pie
Source
NC Peach Growers Society, NC
Department of Agriculture and the NC Cooperative Extension
CHE A E
IN TH
Preparations Preheat oven to 400°F. In saucepan, combine 2 beaten eggs, sugar and flour. Add margarine and cook on low heat until butter melts, stirring constantly. Add vanilla. Fill unbaked pie shell with sliced peaches. Pour custard over peaches. Bake 8 minutes at 400°F. Reduce to 350°F and bake for 45 minutes or until set.
Our best white peach
S
Ingredients 9-inch unbaked pie shell 2 eggs, beaten 1 cup sugar 2 tablespoons flour 1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract 2 cups fresh NC peaches, peeled and sliced
Recommended for canning
LLS P I H
China Pearl
Freestone
SAND
Cresthaven
E
• Tree-ripened peaches are fragile, handle with care. • Eat within 3 days. Buy only enough to use, you can always buy more! • Peaches should not be refrigerated. Temperatures between 35F and 48F are the “kill zone” where flesh breaks down to mush. • If peach is soft, put in a fruit bowl; if peach is hard, keep in a paper bag until it is soft.
www.SandandPineMag.com | 27
“The primal experience of biting into fruit from the tree, gushing sweet
should be on everyone’s bucket list .” juice down the chin,
- Taylor Williams
How to peel fresh peaches
• Wash or rinse ripe peaches. Boil a pan of water deep enough to cover two peaches at a time. • Turn the burner on low. Keep at a low boil. Working with a slotted spoon, dip the peaches into boiling water for 30-40 seconds. • Remove the peaches with the spoon and plunge them into a bowl of very cold water. Peel the skin off the peach with a small paring knife. The skin should slip off easily. • Remove and place on a paper towel to dry slightly. Cut the peach in half right down to the pit. The peach should come away from the pit without trouble. Discard the skin and pit, and slice, dice or halve the peach depending on the recipe.
Devil’s Tramping Ground Tripel
Aviator Brewing Company, Fuquay-Varina This abbey tripel Belgian golden ale has a somewhat sweet honey flavor with floral nodes. Its light malt undertone and easy finish make this a very drinkable Belgian. 9.2% ABV
Pairings courtesy of Gerry Bateman, Southern Pines Growler Company
SPGrowler.com
28 | SAND& PINE MAGAZINE June/July 2015
Plowman’s Folly Saison
Southern Pines Brewing Company, Southern Pines A crisp and delicious French-style farmhouse ale with white wine characteristics showing combination of citrus with a touch of pepper and spices. 7.5% ABV
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www.SandandPineMag.com | 29
the interview
President, Sandhills Community College
John Dempsey s tory by greg gir ard
T
here’s probably a lot you already know about John Dempsey. After all, the president of Sandhills Community College has been a fixture in the community for more than a quarter century. He’s surpassed the founding president in longevity by a year already, and somehow his strong liberal tendencies in a conservative world under the pines haven’t been a detriment to his day job. But while we may feel we know John all too well from his position at SCC, involvement with several non-profit boards or reading his columns on travel and education, his greatest asset to the college and the community is his unwavering drive to improve lives. As John would put it, giving people the opportunity for a better life. John was born in Pennsylvania, the oldest of two boys to Jack and Rose Dempsey. He went to the University of Notre Dame for his undergraduate degree, joined the Navy and served in Vietnam, went to graduate school at the University of Charleston and then earned his Ph.D. at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He taught for a while at Charleston, transitioned into administration and then was offered a job as president of Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina. He served at Belmont Abbey for seven years before coming to SCC. I sat down with John in his office on the SCC campus to talk about his life, his work and his vision for a school that has become a foundation of this community. So how did you end up at SCC? I always came here. I’ve always been a golfer and my wife has been a horseback rider, so I always came here on vacations. One Christmas, Bob Barrett, who owned the Pinecrest Inn, called me and said, ‘hey, you ought to come down here and become president of the local college.’ And I said, ‘there’s no college in Pinehurst.’ He said, ‘well, it’s the community college.’ I knew nothing about community colleges. I didn’t even know what they were. And I said, ‘I’m not going to do that.’ And he said, ‘well come down and take a look at the place.’ So I came down and it didn’t look like any community college I was familiar with, so to make a long story short, I applied for the job and got it. And that was 26 years ago. It’s like this place was made for you. Yes it was! We have enjoyed living here immensely. Essentially, although it’s beginning to change a little bit, this 30 | SAND& PINE MAGAZINE June/July 2015
is a small town that’s full of interesting people and that is a very rare combination in life. So we’re thrilled to be here, love living here and love doing what we do. Take me back to 1989 when you first came here. What was your focus? I’ll be honest with you. I’ve followed two presidents. I followed the president at Belmont Abbey who was not successful. And I followed a very successful president here. And somebody told me [to] be sure to follow somebody who is unsuccessful because you’ll look like the hero. So I’ve had the experience of both and I’ve got to tell you, it’s much better to follow somebody who is good. And Raymond Stone, our founder, was very, very good. Essentially, all I’ve had to do is try to avoid screwing it up. He really set the tone. Sandhills has always sort of prided itself on being just a little different than most community colleges. We have a strong commitment to the arts. We’re the only higher education game in town – in a town that has pretty strong demands for culture and programming. And so our lecture series, our music series, those things are important in this community, perhaps to a larger extent than they are at most community colleges. Durham Tech can do all it wants to but it’s never going to be an intellectual beacon of Durham, North Carolina. Duke is going to play that role. So we play an unusual role in the community because of the nature of the community and it’s unusual because we’re an hour from any other college. So we’re a cultural center to a greater extent than is probably the case with other community colleges. But Raymond set this tone and it’s just been my job to preserve and enhance it where possible.
Any thoughts on transitioning to a four-year college? Yes, people have asked that, and because I came from a four-year college, people said, ‘ah, that’s a way of letting us know that this is the plan.’ I think maybe in the back of my mind when I came here I thought ‘maybe that’s a possibility.’ There are lots of differences between four-year colleges and community colleges. The two things about community colleges that I like are, because we are primarily a commuter school, it means we’re serving the education needs of the people who live in this community and are likely to continue to live in this community. My throwaway line is always, ‘Community is our middle name’ ... it is obviously ... and so I really like the idea that this is our service area, right here. The other thing I like is that this is an open admissions institution. We’re here for anyone that wants to come. That, of course, creates all kinds of challenges for an educator. I’m a teacher primarily and the thought of having students of widely varying levels of ability in class is fascinating to me. It’s about accessibility and opportunity, right? Absolutely! We have four core values. It’s schmaltzy stuff, but the truth is these core values really do dictate how we do things here. Probably the two most important core values are opportunity and excellence. We’re like the Ellis Island of the 21st century. People who have very little pass through us on their way to a brighter future. Sometimes I’ll stand up at a Rotary lunch and they’ll say ‘OK, you get two minutes to tell us about Sandhills’ and I say, ‘Sandhills takes people who would otherwise make $8 an hour and we turn them into people that make $18 an hour.’ And if you think that’s not the most important change in a person’s life than you don’t understand what economic realities are. These places are like 80 percent education and 20 percent social work. I like both parts of that. So it’s turned out to be a labor of love, but it’s a great place to live too. You still teach American Government? Why do you feel that’s important? I’d like to give a nice lofty answer. But, honestly, it’s fun. I like to teach. That’s why I got into the business in the first place. I didn’t go to graduate school so I could be a paper pusher. You have to be a bit of a ham to be a teacher and I am a bit of a ham. I enjoy the interaction with students. I enjoy being challenged by students.
A teacher with the responsibilities of a college president … Sandhills is the most interesting of the 58 community colleges in North Carolina because of the community and the way it embraces the college financially. One of the things I do is raise money, and this community is very generous. When we say we’re an open admissions institution, we really mean that. That means if you want to come here, you can come. We’ll make it happen. No matter your financial circumstances, and that’s because of the support we have of the [Sandhills Community College Foundation]. We’re able to do things for our facility. Community colleges are kind of bare bones operations to tell you the truth but we’ve got a sabbatical program and we’ve got a strong facility development program. We have a teaching and learning center, all of which has been funded by private gifts. So that makes Sandhills really an extraordinary place. You mentioned the cost of education. How do you keep it affordable? The foundation is there to do the things the state doesn’t do. The state doesn’t pay for sabbaticals for faculty. The state doesn’t pay for scholarships. We have a program called the Guarantors Program and this is a group of about 175 people who give us $1,000 a year or more that we can use in ways to keep kids in school. Many of our students are people for whom $500 is a life-changing amount of money. If somebody comes to me and says, ‘you know, I’ve got this kid in my class and it’s pretty obvious that his vision is not enabling him to see the whiteboard and I had a chat with him and he needs new glasses and he just can’t afford to get them.’ So we’ll get him glasses. Or we’ll fix the bald tires on your car so you can drive back and forth to school. Things that most colleges can’t do, we’re able to do because of the generosity of the community. They put their money where their mouth is. They really are very generous and supportive. Also, we don’t participate in the federal student loan program. I’ve been criticized for this, but I really believe the federal student loan program is the 2015 version of the house loan crisis in the last decade. Lending money to people who have no prospect of paying it back is just bad public policy.
So not to get overly sappy, but that really does tie into the www.SandandPineMag.com | 31
philosophy that this is a community. We look out for each other. A lot of times people will say community college is a second choice institution. Maybe that’s true, but more importantly we’re a second chance institution. There are a lot of people who take the wrong paths in life and they learn that, and hopefully they double back and they come to us and they get involved in programs that lead them on the right paths in life. There’s a tremendous amount of satisfaction in that.
and exacting exit standards. In other words, if you’re a nurse, you better know the difference between 9.86 and 98.6. I can’t tell you how many parents or sometimes county commissioners call and say that little Fritzy was thrown out of the nursing program and he was only 1/10 of a point short. And I say, well, I’ve got to be honest with you. That’s between Fritzy and the nursing department. I am not going to stick my nose into the academic rigor of our medical programs because they’ve got to be perfect. There’s no room for error. From an educational point of view, that’s challenge one. Challenge two is the bureaucratization of my profession. And of course, like every other business on the face of the Earth, we don’t have money for anything.
Twenty-six years is a long time to get a lot done. You’ve doubled enrollment ... Well, that’s true, but the pine trees are twice as tall too, you know. You’d have to be klutz not to double enrollment. Yes, Sometimes I’ll stand up at a when I came it was a little Rotary lunch and they’ll say over a 1,000 and now it’s ‘OK, you get two minutes to about 4,000. One of the things tell us about Sandhills’ and I that’s exciting is not only say, ‘Sandhills takes people who has the number grown, but would otherwise make $8 an hour the scope of the programs has grown. It used to be and we turn them into people seven guys who didn’t need that make $18 an hour.’ And if a whole lot of training you think that’s not the most operating a machine. Now there’s one guy operating important change in a person’s life that machine and he really then you don’t understand needs to be smart. Well, we’re doing that. We’ve got what economic realities are.” probably 125 people in the high-end manufacturing - John Dempsey programs. That’s fairly new to the college. That’s something very exciting.
“
What’s your approach to managing your staff and faculty? The truth is, we place great responsibility on our teachers. Great responsibility but no authority, and that to me is a recipe for disaster. I would much rather give people the authority to do things. If it turns out that they’re not able to do them, fine. I’m a big boy, I’ll get rid of them and I’ll get somebody in here who can do it. But I’m not going to stand around micromanaging how people teach algebra and sociology. I’m just not going to do that. Colleges that are over-administered are usually not very good places. Biggest challenges? Well, the educational challenge is open entry standards 32 | SAND& PINE MAGAZINE June/July 2015
Where do you see the college going? Is there a 5-year plan? What’s the vision? If we have some weaknesses, I think one of those is we have not been as attuned as we need to be to the needs of area employers. We are very good in terms of responding to the needs of First Health. We’ve got more medical programs than you can shake a stethoscope at. But the rest of the area employers, we need to be more sensitive and proactive in talking to them about what their needs are. Also, I’m 69 years old and I’m probably going to retire in about three years. So we have to make sure we have our new vice presidents operating at a level where they won’t even miss me.
You’re not in the rocking chair looking back on your career just yet, but can you share what you’re most proud of at this point? I think it’s pretty easy. I think I’m proud of the fact that we’ve given people a chance – our faculty, our staff – we’ve given people a chance, where it’s possible, to exercise all of their creative powers in constructive ways. Taking every one of those 4,000 students and empowering them to be all they can be – that’s the institution’s job. We are so lucky to be in this business. This is like a doctor’s office where everybody gets better. We have the capacity here for everybody to get better. It’s a great privilege to be in this profession.
SP
IT’S ALL RELATIVE
Puzzles DIFFICULT
Place numbers into the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains each of the digits 1 to 9. There is only one solution and no guessing is needed.
MODERATE
Puzzle me this... (puzzle answers found on sandandpinemag.com)
ACROSS 1. Diminutive being of folklore 6. Arrived 10. Disrepectful back talk 14. Oilcan 15. Yellow cheese coated with red wax 16. Small island 17. Egg-shaped 18. Gaming cubes 19. Portico 20. Revive 23. Rotational speed 24. 17th letter of the Greek alphabet 25. Jitters 27. Type of bet 32. Family 33. Vase 34. Daughter of one’s brother or sister 36. Sucrose 39. Probability
41. Unit of weight in gemstones 43. Delicatessen 44. Affairs of honor 46. Effort 48. Not (prefix) 49. Call to mind 51. Beaten 53. Creatures 56. Convert into leather 57. Long-leaved lettuce 58. Woman who sails a yacht 64. Off-Broadway theater award 66. Ark builder 67. Of an axis 68. Overfill 69. Nap 70. Ascends 71. Game of chance 72. Type of gun 73, Palm tree fruit
DOWN 1. Entrance 2. Marry 3. Exclamation to express sorrow 4. Go back 5. Refresh 6. Basic monetary unit of Ghana 7. Entrance 8. Parrot 9. Agent inducing vomiting 10. Sister 11. Caustic 12. Slant 13. Joins 21. Paroxysmal pain 22. Old cloth measures 26. Extol 27. Jail 28. Official language of Pakistan 29. Vacillation 30. Incline
31. Bitterly pungent 35. Relaxation 37. Drug-yielding plant 38. Outer covering 40. Slender 42. Bunches 45. Remain 47. Toward the sea 50. Antelopes 52. Lack of oxygen 53. In a cocked position 54. Aristocratic 55. Go swiftly 59. Obscurity 60. At that time 61. Fog 62. On sheltered side 63. Promontory 65. Self-esteem
HURTS SO GOOD
To solve the puzzle, place the given letters into the vacant cells in the top section of the puzzle to reveal a snarky quote about this wonderful season.
www.SandandPineMag.com | 33
Last Word Our Time at the Sunrise by Sundi McLaughlin
W
hen I moved to Southern Pines eight years ago, one of the things I found most intriguing was the Sunrise Theater on Broad Street. I have to say, I was a little intimidated to walk through its well-loved doors and it took some time for me to eventually find my favorite seat up in the balcony. I may have walked past it a few times – checked out the marquee, looked at the paper calendar fluttering in the breeze – but eventually my man and I made our way to a Thursday movie and settled into a delightful weekly rhythm. I mean, a movie with cold beer, hot popcorn and some delicious chocolates after a hard days work…how can you go wrong? A year later I fortuitously ended up working right next door to the Theater where I opened up a little shop and named it Mockingbird. One day a customer stopped in and we started talking about the Sunrise. I asked how they chose the movies and told her how I really would love to be involved with it all somehow. Well as it turned out I was speaking to Loretta Aldridge, who at that time was the chairwoman of the film committee that runs the movie portion of the Sunrise Theater (SunFlix). A few months later there was a vacant seat on the committee and before I knew it I was the chair of the SunFlix. What I didn’t realize at the time, but what is now one of my favorite things about the Theater, is that pretty much everyone who works the events you see at the Sunrise are your neighbors. We are a family of volunteers who try and make our town shine a little brighter. The theater is organized and run by a board of directors, which is helmed by our current president Craig Pryor. Craig calmly sets our course and navigates us through any tough decisions while always keeping an eye on the big picture. Next, of course, we have our amazing employees who keep the theater running smoothly while working side by side with our dedicated group of volunteers. From there, the different programs are broken down into subcommittees with each subcommittee chair residing on the board.
We have Jennie Whitehead running The Met Committee. She is in charge of the Opera, National Theater and the Bolshoi Ballet programming. The Ballet is new this year and is doing really great as a Sunday matinee event. Next we have Anthony Parks (owner of the Ice Cream Parlor). He’s the chair of First Friday. He has been organizing this for years and has become a pro, which is so joyfully obvious if you happen to have been taking part the last few years. SunEvents is helmed by Herb Cameron, whom you can thank for Blues Crawl, Murphy Family Christmas and Night of Bluegrass, just to name a few. Any live music usually has Herb in charge. Sunstage is our newest baby. We are doing our best to put together a group of thespians that can pour their heart and passions into this newest venture of live stage productions, which will be acted, produced and directed by local talent… maybe even you! And then there’s SunFlix, which is where I come in. Our committee views hundreds of movie trailers a year and then vote on our top choices. From there, I lobby L.A. to get the best films possible for a one-screen theater, which is two miles away from a Ten-Plex…don’t get me started…. Of course none of this would be possible with out the unrelenting drive of Executive Director Jessica Harrelson, whose tireless efforts are always keeping us looking forward, staying organized and raising the bar. With the constant growth of the Sunrise, the need for volunteers has become greater. We are always looking for people who are excited about the theatre. My hope is there will always be the next generation or recently transplanted newcomer to pick up where the ones before left off. The Sunrise is a place that is constantly seeking to do better. Not everything works, but what I love is our willingness to try. It’s a wonderful thing to be a part of something larger than you and to know that everyone is working towards the same goal. I’ll see you at the Sunrise!
Sundi McLaughlin is vice president of the Sunrise Preservation Group and chair of the SunFlix committee at the Sunrise Theatre. She is also owner of Mockingbird in downtown Southern Pines. Visit sunrisetheatre.com.
34 | SAND& PINE MAGAZINE June/July 2015
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