SE
North Carolina Fall/Winter 2014-15
MIKE’S FARM
How a Christmas tree farm became a destination for family, friends and food
Also in this issue: Kindred Spirit
Bird Island offers a secluded beach with a bit of mystery
A Coyote’s Life
A look at the underground world of human trafficking
What’s a Peanut Boil?
A stylish, yet down-home gathering of family and friends... and boiled peanuts
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S1022 Not all companies are licensed or operate in all states. Not all products are offered in all states. Go to erieinsurance.com for company licensure and territory information. Fall / Winter 2014-15
SouthEast North Carolina
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Editor’s NotE:
North Carolina Climb in, roll down the
windows and let’s hit the road Welcome to the inaugural issue of SE North Carolina magazine. Our staff conceived this publication with a very basic idea in mind: to highlight interesting people, places, and events in southeastern North Carolina in a way that honors the history and idiosyncratic spirit of the region. While finding new ways to feature some of the familiar figures and attractions of our small corner of the state, we’ll also seek out subjects off the beaten path, such as the small town musicians and artists, isolated communities, and inspired eccentrics found along the byways and back roads of our rapidly changing society. With each issue, our staff at SE North Carolina will strive to bring readers compelling stories and photos presented in a singularly creative style, one that, much like the area where we live, mixes new ideas with time honored customs, tradition with Our magazine stubborn individuality. seeks to be a With that mission in mind, we’ll vehicle for also be seeking outside contribupreserving the tors who can add their own voices truly unique and ideas to our coverage of this increasingly diverse neck of the landscape, woods. With their help, we hope to mental as well strengthen our connections, bring as physical, of fresh insights and, hopefully, throw southeastern in a few surprises as well. North Carolina. As a magazine dedicated to highlighting the individual characteristics of the region that haven’t yet fallen prey to commercial assimilation and global trends, our magazine seeks to be a vehicle for preserving the truly unique landscape, mental as well as physical, of southeastern North Carolina. So climb in, roll down the window, and let’s hit the road. Who knows what we’ll find out there?
Todd Wetherington Editor
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Mystery Photo
Where in SENC is this? Where in Southeast North Carolina is this? A quick explanation, in case it’s needed for our beloved new readership: Every quarter, we plan to include a cropped-down version of a landmark in one of SENC’s many signature communities. Try and guess which town we took this photo—it’s a rural farming town with a backbone of bustling businesses. Though commerce is booming here, this town is still a reminder of the farming-rich land it came from. Turn to page 81 to find out if you guessed correctly.
see page 81 for answer
FEAtUrEd ArEAs
Are you in SE North Carolina?
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Goldsboro....................73 Kinston .....................9,74 Bentonville .................71 New Bern ....................50 turkey ..........................66 Beulaville ...............49,74 Kenansville .................72 richlands ...............12,72 Morehead City ..............9 Jacksonville ...........23,75 rose Hill ......................82 Maple Hill ....................74 Burgaw ..........................9 Elizabethtown ..............9 Whiteville ....................23 Wilmington ..24,42,72,74 Wrightsville Beach .....42 Bird island...................36
• Fall / Winter 2014-15
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/ Table of Contents
Fall / Winter 2014-15
North Carolina
Features Entertainment 12
Mike’s Farm
24
Greenfield Lake Amphitheater
The area’s spot for down-home cooking, family gatherings, hay rides and holiday events
An evening in Wilmington’s outdoor music venue. Good music, good weather, great times
30
42
Travel 36
Bird Island
42
Lush legacy
50
Rivers
Shopping Holiday shopping ideas for the budget-minded spend-thrift
24
Way off the beaten path, and over the water is a lonely mailbox waiting for your letter Airlie Gardens is an inviting green-space that remains a hidden treasure to tourists and long-time Wilmingtonians alike
A look at river living through the eyes of one of its longtime neighbors
In Every Issue People 58 66
74
9
The Coyote Life Ducking and dodging, living life with an eye on the future and one over his shoulder. A Coyote’s story
Kinston chef goes nationwide with her upscale cooking
Great dishes of SENC
23
Deployment Local guardsmen head out to serve in the Middle East
Our Picks:
Movies to send your soldier
49
Profiles Profiles on some of the people in our region who make our world go round and their contributions
A Chef’s Life Our Picks:
Peanut Boil A family gathers for fun, catching up, music and... peanuts. Spend the day at an old-fashioned peanut boil
SE-Snapshots
Family Musician Castellano finds his success in doing what he loves
Our Picks:
Three albums you’ll love
71
74
Bentonville Historic battle-ground celebrates its 150th anniversary
Our Picks:
Great American stories
Events
72 82
Check out Play Dates for upcoming events in Southeastern N.C.
Humor Trevor Normile dives into a meaty subject with all the energy he can muster
Feedback: WE WANT YOURS!
With our inaugural issue of SE North Carolina, we’re naturally curious about what kind of reception we’ll get. Please let us know what you think. The magazine is slated to be published quarterly, beginning with the spring 2015 issue. While we’ve put a great deal of work into this first edition, the product is a work in progress. We hope the information and features herein will be the kind of information you want and will look forward to each edition, in portraying our corner of North Carolina in an interesting and honest light.
Content:
SE North Carolina
Staff / Credits / Contributions PUBLISHER Gary Scott EDITOR Todd Wetherington
senc@nccooke.com Like our features and information this time? Let us hear from you. Got suggestions for future stories? Let us know. Got any thoughts on how this magazine can be improved? We’re all ears. Send us a message at the address above. ATTENTION WRITERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS! If you’re interested in submitting content for consideration to be included in this magazine, let us know that too. We’re looking for some quality work from all areas of southeastern North Carolina.
Advertising:
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Trevor Normile
senc.ads@nccooke.com
PRODUCTION/ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Bryan Pinkey CONTENT & PHOTOgRAPHy Jacqueline Hough Nadya Nataly Trevor Normile Bryan Pinkey Gary Scott Todd Wetherington ADvERTISINg Alan Wells Evelyn Riggs Gary Scott Marlane Carcopo
Want to reach southeastern North Carolina with your products and services? SE North Carolina is the newest, greatest way to reach a sophisticated audience with advertising that will help brand you and tell your business story at an attractive cost. Email us to find out more information.
Intangibles:
senc@nccooke.com Tell us what’s on your mind and anything else you’d like to share that would help us provide southeastern North Carolina with a magazine you’ll be excited to look forward to four times a year!
CONTRIBUTINg PHOTOgRAPHy Richele Cole ADvISORy Debby Scott
We have made every effort to maintain the accuracy of information presented in this magazine and assume no responsibility for errors, changes, or omissions. Inclusion should not be construed as a recommendation or endorsement. Likewise, omission represents only a lack of information at publication time.
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SE / Snapshots
North Carolina
It’s all in ‘A Chef’s Life’ Kinston restaurant owner scores national hit with PBS-TV series on upscale country cooking
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Story and photo by Trevor Normile
eality television often leaves a little bit to be desired in the... erm, reality department. But “A Chef ’s Life,” the unscripted story of a local couple running a hip little eatery in Kinston, is gaining acclaim as a true paragon of the genre. The PBS show, soon to enter its third season, follows Vivian How-
The show revolves around Howard and Knight’s restaurant, a bastion of rural flavors re-invented ard and her husband, Ben Knight in their pursuit of flavors that are pleasantly country-fied but not necessarily country-fried. The show is as much about the ins and outs of running a high-end restaurant in Southeastern North Carolina as it is about the food, and it paints an honest portrait of those involved. As of October, “A Chef ’s
Life” was PBS Food’s top-rated program. Howard, a Deep Run native who met her husband working in a New York City restaurant, gave up a short career in advertising before discovering her true calling: the craft of cooking. The show revolves around Howard and Knight’s restaurant, Chef and the Farmer, a bastion of rural and rustic flavors re-invented. There, the couple and their staff take their ingredients—much of which are grown and collected locally—and reinterpret the good old-fashioned recipes the South is known for. An example: a dish of chicken and pastry at Chef and the Farmer is similar to grandma’s recipe, but with an added crunch or acidic flavor to make it more diverse. For those who value good family entertainment, quality culinary vision or just enjoy looking at food, “A Chef ’s Life” should certainly satisfy. See she show on UNC-TV playing Thursday and Sunday nights, or on this or other channels according to the schedule found at the following link. For more information, visit www. pbs.org/food/. The Chef and the Farmer restaurant is located at 120 W. Gordon Street, Kinston. SE Fall / Winter 2014-15
SE PICKS: Dining Holland’s Shelter Creek Restaurant 8315 N.C. Hwy. 55, Burgaw, 910-259-5743 Holland’s is known for its fresh seafood and offers hearty platters of (among other things) catfish, clams and frog legs. Yep, you read that right—frog legs. A finer delicacy you’ll find nowhere; Holland’s frog legs are fried up with a hint of Cajun kick. It’s not true what they say, about frog legs tasting like chicken. The little pond-kickers are far more complex; fishier than chicken, more fowl than fish.
Melvin’s Hamburgers 133 W. Broad Street, Elizabethtown, 910-259-5743 For over 75 years, Melvin’s has served up what many believe Continued from page 00 are the best burgers... in the world. Here’s a review from one apparently happy customer: “Pure deliciousness! Probably had 50 people in line ahead of us and we still got our food within 10 minutes! I have never witnessed a hamburger joint that can work as quickly as this place! Amazing!” Yeah, that about sums it up.
Sanitary Fish Market & Restaurant 501 Evans St., Morehead City, 252-247-3111 In 1938, Ted Seamon and Ted Garner opened a fresh seafood market on the waterfront. It started with 12 barstools and a kerosene stove. Today, the popular seafood restaurant is run by the Garner family and features fried, steamed, and grilled seafoods with their famous hushpuppies. New dishes include shrimp & grits, seafood quesadillas, and grilled cheese with pulled flounder.
SouthEast North Carolina
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SE /Entertainment
North Carolina
Mike’s Farm
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Mike’s Farm. Take a hayride through the woods or sit in rocking chairs with sweet tea. Pick a pumpkin from the patch or peruse Mike’s country store. A place of high rustic majesty, Mike’s Farm is a restaurant on a plot of farm land. And it’s also much more. Take a tour of one of Southeast North Carolina’s favorite destinations for dinners, date-nights, wedding-days, Halloweens, Christmases, and just about anything in between.
Greenfield Lake Amphitheater 24
What on Earth could Wilmington have in common with ancient Greece (well, other than the beards)? How about a totally sweet amphitheater? We look into the Greenfield Lake Amphitheater, and their recent hosting of legendary country-rawk group Drive-by Truckers. It’s about the music, the beer... and the moss.
Holiday Shopping
30
Need some holiday shopping ideas? Not to worry, staff writer Nadya Nataly is very good at shopping, and she will help with that. You’ll find a selection of top-shelf gifts under $200, for both men and lady-folk. Build a gift box, find your man a stylish (yes, stylish) sweater or shop shoes for your lady. Check it out on pg. 30.
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From its humble beginning as a Christmas tree farm, Mike’s Farm has grown into a kind of local Mecca for special events. Mike’s Farm offers more than a little of everything for a fun, relaxing outing.
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Story: Jacqueline Hough Photos: Trevor Normile, Bryan Pinkey
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Gary Scott, Todd Wetherington
hen you walk inside the country store at Mike’s Farm, the first things you notice are the Christmas trees. It could be April or it could be September, but the trees will be decorated for Christmas. In fact, Mike’s Farm got its start from the holiday. It all began with owners Mike and Theresa Lowe. They planted the trees in 1983 in the back of a field. Mike Lowe remembers those days well, because they didn’t know where the planting would lead. “We didn’t have a plan for selling trees or anything,” says Mike Lowe. “It just kind of evolved into other things.” ‘Evolved’ is an understatement. The 79-acre estate is more than just a farm. It has a country store, bakery, hayrides, animals and a purpose-built barn for events.
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SE / Entertainment But in 1983, it was just a few trees and a 14-by-18-foot building with little knickknacks for sale. “Looking back at it now,” says Mike. “I can’t believe we did it. All we had was Christmas trees.” The evolution continued with the addition of the bakery in 1994 and the opening of the restaurant in 2001.The restaurant doubled in size by 2006. In the beginning, the Lowes didn’t call what they were doing ‘agritourism’ or ‘entertainment farming.’ “We called it ‘trying to make a living off of the farm we have,’” explains Mike. A visit to Mike’s Farm is more than just a trip, it’s a daylong adventure. In the fall, visitors can take hayrides to the pumpkin patch, then take the kids to feed the goats. After working up an appetite, the family can visit the farm’s famous restaurant for homestyle cooking—and plenty of it. Everything comes in bowls just like Mom cooks back home: fried chicken, country ham biscuits, and homemade macaroni cheese. Most importantly, it’s all-you-can eat, all made from scratch. That includes the farm’s acclaimed 10-layer cakes with homemade chocolate icing. So serious is Mike’s Farm about those 10-layer cakes that one of their employees is solely dedicated to making them, in order to keep up with demand.
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Mike Lowe’s a hardworking man, as are all the folks at Mike’s Farm. He and his crew are often preparing for the next day and even for the following weekend—with the coming month in the back of their minds.
Story continued on page 20 14
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SE / Entertainment
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South East North Carolina
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SE / Entertainment Story continued from page 14
“It’s our most popular selling item,� says Theresa. “She does nothing else because she doesn’t have time for anything else, the demand is so high for the cake.� With their (ahem) roots in Christmas Tree planting, the folks at Mike’s Farm understandably take Christmas pretty seriously. People drive for miles to come to the Festival of Lights tour, a 30-minute ride around the farm set to Christmas music with lights and a live Nativity scene. Along with the tour, visitors get a Christmas dinner show, and in an ongoing tradition, children get to eat supper with Santa on Wednesdays in December. Theresa says many people have shared their memories of coming out to the farm as children. “It means a lot to us when people tell us that Mike’s Farm has become a family tradition for them,� she explains. Mike’s Farm is a place to make memories, and the Lowes realize that. A new addition to the farm, simply called “The Barn,� is an ornately decorated structure on the back of the property. Inside, visitors can hold anything from family reunions to weddings. With the bakery producing homemade wedding cakes on-site, the farm is well-equipped for matrimonious events. The Lowes know this because they’ve tested it. Their daughter, Caitlin, was married in The Barn in April 2014. Caitlin grew up on the farm. A picture of her at age two sits in a box on the strawberry counter. In it, she’s eating a strawberry. A few years ago, Caitlin went off to college to earn a degree in business. Then she returned to work in the family business. Now, Caitlin Lowe Lafferty and her husband, David, work at the farm, which might someday become theirs. 20
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Mike’s Farm is a year-round business, with the busy season in October through December. The slow visitor time is January through April, they say, but work never really stops at Mike’s Farm. “We are here five days a week at least,� says Theresa, though at Christmas time, the crew puts in closer to 80 hours a week. However, both Lowes admit that being at the farm doesn’t bore them. “It don’t get old,� Mike jokes. “We do.� With the Lowes spending so much time at Mike’s Farm, they sometimes find they haven’t left enough time for themselves at Christmas. Theresa always manages to get a tree
up, but she says it’s never turned on until after the holiday. “Sometimes I leave my tree up through February,� she said. “This is when we enjoy our Christmas.� Mike says, for them, it is a small sacrifice to be involved in the Christmas traditions of others. “We are able to make their Christmas happy,� he explains. SE
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SE / Snapshots
North Carolina
Jacksonville and Whiteville Guardsmen deploying to Middle East Families of 120th Infantrymen say farewell in poignant ceremony at Wilmington church
H
eartfelt words and tight hugs were shared as 200 local troops suited up for a long deployment. Members of the National Guard’s 120th are leaving their family and friends behind for the next 10 months for a mission called Operation Spartan Shield. The mission is designed to foster partnerships with Kuwaiti Land Forces to work toward collaborative training and sharing opportunities between Jordan and the United States. “You just have to stay strong,” said Donna Deck, a seasoned military wife whose husband has already been through two deployments. “You get really nervous, but you have a good family support. I have my mother and father-in-law, and of course my kids are my encouragement. So you just kind of make it through it.” Making it through the first deployment is something newlyweds Megan and Michael Spence are determined to do. “The biggest thing [is] not knowing when I’ll get to speak to him or what’s going on,” Megan said. “I love you, be safe, and just come home,” was Megan’s final message as she hugged her husband goodbye. The 120th has been deployed twice into Iraq in 2004 and 2009. The National Guard said the experience those troops gained during that time will be vital to their success in Operation Spartan Shield. Alpha Company, from Whiteville and Bravo Company, from Jacksonville,
SE PICKS: films to send Blue Ruin This 2013 thriller offers a grimly comic and brutally violent look at revenge and its destructive grip on two families. The film plays out like a parable in which both sides merely act out their roles, powerless and resigned to their fates.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? An epic achievement by Coen brothers that is as much an inspired translation of Greek mythology and Biblical lore as it is a humorous portrait of the 1930s South. Three men escape from a prison chain gang in search of wealth and salvation. On their way, they meet a one-eyed Bible salesman, a condemned bluesman and even.. the Devil himself.
Trollhunter
U.S. Army National Guard Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Robert Jordan, North Carolina National Guard Public Affairs/Released
are the two companies of the National Guard’s 30th Infantry Brigade that are deploying. A mobilization ceremony for family and friends was held Oct. 4 at Northside Baptist Church in Wilmington. Adapted from WECT.com with permission. See original story at http://www.wect. com/story/26709893/hundreds-of-localtroops-say-goodbye-to-loved-ones. SE Fall / Winter 2014-15
Made in the “found footage” style of the Blair Witch Project and the Marble Hornets “Slenderman” saga, Trollhunter follows the tale of three college students in their pursuit of trolls in Norway. Excitement and danger befall the group while they track the foresttitans—and the titular Trollhunter himself—with their camcorder. Conspiracy. Action. Trolls. Awesome.
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Greenfield Lake Amphitheater An old idea in a new, louder millennium
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aybe the ancient Greeks and Romans were on to something. While it’s a good bet that the concertgoers who frequent Greenfield Lake Amphitheater in Wilmington aren’t coming out for a history lesson, the fact remains that they’re taking part in a ritual that dates back to the days of fifth century gladiatorial games and myth-shrouded theatrical performances—events not unlike the typical rock show—that took place in large, semicircle arenas built for maximum visual and sonic impact. All of which matters not a whit to the large gentleman with the impressive beard, “Live Free or Die” T-shirt, and piratical bandanna, as he hoists his beer in salute during a recent show at Greenfield Lake starring Athens-by-way-of-Alabama rockers Drive-by Truckers. “Now we’re rocking, baby,” offers the hirsute fan, propping his ample belly on the lip of the stage and leaning in for a closer look at his spotlit heroes, who are working up a suitably sweat soaked ruckus on the amphitheaters domed stage. As this particular music enthusiast would undoubtedly point out, those who traipse through the gates of Greenfield Lake Amphitheater needn’t concern themselves with the musty past, not when this particular pleasure dome has such a multitude of riches to offer. Located just a few blocks from downtown Wilmington, the venue sits beside its namesake, Greenfield Lake, which itself is part of the 250-acre Greenfield Lake Park. The lake was originally a network of creeks at Greenfields, a rice plantation developed in 1730. The open-air theater was built in 1962 on the south side of the
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Story: Todd Wetherington Photos: Gary Scott & Todd Wetherington
Fall 2014
South East North Carolina
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park, and was originally equipped with wooden benches left over from the 1938 premiere of “The Lost Colony.” In 2009, the amphitheater underwent a $1.2 million renovation that included an expanded cover for the stage, an adjoining stage house with shower and dressing facilities, new concession and restroom buildings and a landscaping upgrade. Though Greenfield Lake Amphitheater is owned by the city of Wilmington, the heavy lifting of marketing, promoting and organizing the events is handled by others, including local web designer Peter Mills, who operates the venue’s webpage, greenfieldlakeamphitheater.com, and Wilmington radio station 98.3 The Penguin. Belying its tranquil setting, the amphitheater has played host to some of music’s heaviest hitters. Besides the Truckers, who come back year after year, recent shows include hard blues phenom Gary Clark Jr., Southern-fried rockers Gov’t Mule and the Tedeschi Trucks Band, as well as New Orleans favorites Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue. Far from catering solely to rockers, the amphitheater also features country artists such as Charlie Daniels and Lyle Lovett, and acts as uncharacterizable as Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. The venue also holds an annual production of Shakespeare on the Green every weekend during the summer. As an added bonus, each performance features a special guest, Mother Nature, who brings the unpredictable element of weather into play for 1,200 lusty music and theater fans, as well as the musicians and actors. And if all of that seems like just more dry historical facts that can’t possibly do justice to this perfectly placed gathering spot, here’s a few images and observations I took away from my own Greenfield Lake experience: the last filtered rays of late evening sunlight stretching across the lake and lighting on pine limbs draped in Spanish moss; shards of wah-wahdrenched guitar and harmonized vocals balanced in wave after wave of liquid sound; fans surging forward after the final song, chanting for the time-honored tradition of “The Encore;” a refreshing draught of cheap beer spilled from the cup of a concertgoer onto the body parts of nearby celebrants. It’s all part of the Greenfield Lake Amphitheater experience. So sure, maybe the Romans had lions and chariot races, but they didn’t have $5 beer, Marshall stacks, and 50 shades of professional concert lighting. And they didn’t have Spanish moss. SE 26
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Greenfield Lake Amphitheater has hosted some of today’s biggest
names in entertainment in almost every genre of music. Scenes here show the Drive By Truckers and Tedeschi Trucks Band. Fall / Winter 2014-15
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2014
Tree Lighting & Caroling Friday November 21 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. FESTIVAL SATURDAY November 22 & MORE! 2:00 - 7:00 p.m.
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Master holiday shopper Shopping tips for $ 200 or less
J
ust like Santa, make a list and check it twice. The problem isn’t necessarily the holiday season, but more so the amount of cash that will be spent on family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and all of the cute little ones that rely on you to deliver their letters to Santa Claus. Be a smart and creative Santa this holiday season. Make a list, set a budget, and start small: at the end of the holiday season not feeling bankrupt may be the ultimate personal Christmas surprise. The earlier the shopping spree begins, the better the bargains and deals will be. Bargain shopping is not defined as being cheap, but equates to being savvy and resourceful.
Make Your Own Surprise Gift Box: A gift box filled with all of the essentials for him or her is a creative gift idea. Sneaking a peak at her favorite makeup in her cosmetics bag is okay too. Buying all of these essentials can cost about $50-$100. Shopping at the big box retailers can easily provide all of the essentials with which to lavish the woman or man of your choice. For Her: Take note of the brands of various lip glosses, concealer, chapstick, eyeshadow, blush, primer, eye liners, lip sticks, foundations, and mascara. A known fact: a woman can never have enough makeup. Purchasing a collection of these items can be cost-efficient and score mega points with the special lady. For Him: Buying for a manly-man can be so frustrating. Never fret, simplicity at its best at a decent price will save the day. Surprise him with all of the grooming essentials. Stock him up with a traditional wet shaving set (shaving cream, after shave, the classic straight razor), a bottle of his favorite cologne, face and body wash, hair products and even some Gold Bond powder. Step In Style: TOMS (www.toms.com) has really expanded beyond their classic styles, and for the holidays they offer a wide range of “his” and “hers” boots, brogues, sneakers, and eyewear priced from $75-$100. The
Online Flair
Story: Nadya Nataly collection also follows the “One for One” model, giving a pair to a person in need for every item purchased. So, not only are you buying a gift for your loved one, but making a charitable contribution. InStyle for Nine West: InStyle (Nine West outlets or www.ninewest.com) introduces its largest offering of expertly crafted and editor-designed shoes, handbags and jewelry for her. With footwear priced from $79 - $139, the six new styles offer consumers a multitude of sophisticated, runway-inspired designs for premium prices. Seasonal favorites star alongside fall staples such as the heeled ankle bootie, zipper-detailed flats and lace-up stilettos. Building upon last spring’s wildly popular jewelry and handbag collection, a convertible clutch and satchel featuring leopard and gold accents complement the edgy elegance of the silver and gold jewelry priced from $40 - $229. Tell Time Together: Q&Q, (store.smile-qq.com) offers a unisex line of efficient, cost-effective and colordriven watches that just recently debuted in the U.S. this spring. These watches add a fun pop of color to any outfit and are just $40. The link above will introduce you to the full collection, which include several different designs. Splurge a little and get matching watches for him and for her. Keep Him Warm: Frank and Oak (www.frankandoak.com) has unveiled their most popular fall item, the gorgeous merino wool sweaters. They’re extremely comfortable and warm, not too hot. This is the perfect sweater for him during the chilly months of Southeast North Carolina, with easy colors to match almost anything. They cost $55 and are available in eggplant, army, and stone colors. Now he can dress in style just in time for Christmas dinner. One Stop Shop: Here’s a pro-tip: don’t bother with the holiday rush at department stores. LeJolie (www.lejolie.com) offers must-have luxurious designer items and makes it easy to buy them. From new arrivals to sale items, shop around and pick your favorite gifts. Simple. Priced at $10-$200 depending on sales and brands, LeJolie features brands like Nautica, Hermes, Ralph Lauren, Dolce & Gabbana, Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klien, and even Louis Vuitton. SE Fall / Winter 2014-15
Southeastern North Carolina bloggers offer some unique and surprising perspectives on fashion and lifestyle. Check out these online sources for fashion passion. SoSheWrites, Miss Dre, Wallace Fashion & Lifestyle www.soshewritesbymissdre.com Andrea Davis gives readers a once in a lifetime opportunity to personally connect with a fashionista. She chronicles her day-to-day experiences in clothes, hair, nails, makeup, marriage, parenting, self-help, and music. SoSheWrites provides sincere stories with no filter that truly inspire new looks and new perspectives. With fun tips on how to be fabulous, don’t be surprised if your hair and nails suddenly change color. Moda & The Mar, Morehead City Fashion http://modaandthemar.blogspot.com/ Moda & The Mar chronicles Maggie’s journey into personal style in coastal Morehead City. Through chic and sophisticated looks, M&TM proves that there’s no age limit on playing dress up. Maggie’s gorgeous modern style blurs the lines between preppy, boho and edgy. Exploring different outfit ideas, shoes, and accessories with Maggie makes finding the ideal look for a typical day at work or running errands fun and refreshing. Don’t hesitate to click on the shopping tab to score the exact styles highlighted or even something more unique. Rebecca Lately, LaGrange Fashion www.rebeccalately.com/ Rebecca Lately makes couponing and thrifting look good—so good. RL is known for sharing effective tips on finding the ultimate deals and dressing fashionably without breaking the bank. With endless topics ranging from purses, shoes, and beauty products, RL makes being a working mother of three and—still looking your best—look easy.
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SouthEast North Carolina
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SE / Travel
North Carolina
Bird Island
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Airlie Gardens
42
Down east, at the bottom of Top Carolina, there’s a little island with a mailbox on it. Two miles along the beach from the pier at nearby Sunset Beach, the lonely little mailbox only sends mail one-way. That box is owned by a spirit. Take a trip to the Kindred Spirit Mailbox in this feature story.
Alternate realities! Phantasmagoria! Exotic wildlife! Flowers! We bring you a photographic essay on Airlie Gardens, Wilmington’s 67acre spectacle of incredible beauty and wonder. Built in 1901 as a private garden, it’s now a public park full of heart-stoppingly alluring flora and fauna.
Rivers 50 (an essay) Placid. Seductive. Deadly. Editor Todd Wetherington examines the dual nature of the rivers he has been drawn to over the last four decades, with their deceptive beauty and hypnotic mystery. From childhood fishing trips to the aftermath of a fatal car accident, the water gives and the water takes away.
SE / Travel
That box is own
O
n the map, a small dotted line always separates the Carolinas. Perhaps if they in Raleigh one day will build us a real wall there, then that line will no longer be dotted. But for now, it is. And under the most easterly dot is an island, and on the island is a postal receptacle. They say a man by the name of Frank put the box there, but I believe he doesn’t own it. That box is owned by a spirit. A treasure of the ocean, the hurricanes try to steal the box sometimes, but it always finds its way back to the dunes of Bird Island. The mailbox, simply labeled “Kindred Spirit,” always contains pens and paper—and many, many letters. Unlike most mailboxes though, this one requires no stamps and the postage only travels one way.
Story and photos: Trevor Normile
Visit the site twice and you’ll find the box wasn’t quite where you left it. Storms and fleeting dunes seem to hide the little black mailbox differently with each visit. Bird Island is a strange, haunting place unto itself— just barely a part of North Carolina, it’s maintained by the state and isn’t part of any county. Separated from South Carolina by a small inlet to the southwest, it was once only reachable at low tide, until a storm filled the inlet with sand years ago. The beach now runs continuously across the island and nearby Sunset Beach. Beyond the beach are vast dunes on the edge of which the mailbox is nestled. Look out from the box, and you’ll see vast and breathtaking marshes that continue forever. Beyond Forever is a place called Dead Backwater, where the
intracoastal waterways join. Far past Forever and Dead Backwater, the world begins again. Today, Bird Island is a nature preserve; the state purchased it in 2002 as a haven for endangered animals like the loggerhead sea turtle. The narrow beach is easy to travel, and a nautical fortune in sand dollars can be found along the way. When traveling to the mailbox, folks say to watch for the nearby American flag, but it’s not always visible from afar. Instead, aim for the inlet’s maw. The box is about two miles west, at the
ed by a spirit
The Kindred Spirit mailbox lures visitors from all over the country, whose last test is the two-mile walk from the pier at Sunset Beach. Those who reach the mailbox are rewarded with an empty beach, serene scenery and a mailbox full of astoundingly personal letters to read. It’s okay to read them—that’s part of the fun. Fall 2014
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edge of vision. Walk, and pace yourself. The long trek forces one to breathe deep the salty wind and take ample time to consider the message they’ll leave the Spirit. After a time, the edge of vision becomes the edge of the world. And then you’ve reached the mailbox. Aside from the occasional visitor, the site is usually vacant, with only the sound of the waves and gulls keeping company. It’s possible to meet another person there, but those who take the time to sit with the Spirit are usually happy to either speak awhile or sit quietly and write.
And what they write can be stirring. Inside the notebooks are wedding proposals signed by men and bridesto-be, fingerpaintings from children, drawings, jokes and letters to longdead loved ones that the Spirit will, in trust, deliver. There are more: prayers, wellwishes, compliments on the weathered driftwood benches and more saturate the thin, sandy pages of the notebooks. The stories, like the account of a fifth-grader named “Ana” getting sun poisoning over Labor Day weekend or that of a family honoring the life
of their deceased father, are eventually removed and replaced with fresh notebooks. Whether the letters are picked up by the Kindred Spirit, or simply in the kindred spirit by a group of unknown locals, is hard to know. The mailbox among the dunes is a haunting place, on a lonely little island that reached out in a storm. The hurricanes try to steal the box sometimes, but it always finds its way back to the dunes of Bird Island. They say a man by the name of Frank put the box there, but I believe he doesn’t own it. That box is owned by a spirit. SE
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Lush legacy Story & photos: Todd Wetherington
W
alking through Wilmington’s Airlie Gardens, a visitor may have the distinct sensation of being not so much transported in time as borne away to an alternate reality, one where buildings are made of multihued glass bottles, butterflies and swans float by unexpectedly, and streams of Spanish moss hang shimmering from ancient oak trees. Created in 1901 as a private garden for the Pembroke Jones family, Airlie Gardens’ 67-acres just a stone’s throw from the Intracoastal Waterway at Wrightsville Beach now serves as a lushly flowing public park filled with a riot of azaleas, camellias, magnolias, and wisteria. With its combination of formal gardens, wildlife, historic structures, walking trails, sculptures, and 10-acres of freshwater lakes, the garden offers a true escape from the work-a-day world just outside its gates. For those familiar with its phantasmagoric landscapes, it should come as no surprise that Airlie Gardens served as inspiration for the intricately detailed, mythically themed paintings of folk artist Minnie Evans, who moved to Wilmington with her mother in 1893 and worked as the gatekeeper at Airlie from 1948-1974. After Evans’ death in 1987, artist Virginia Wright-Frierson designed and built the Minnie Evans Bottle Chapel at Airlie Gardens in her memory. The chapel has since become one of Airlie’s central, and most unique features, consisting of hundreds of brightly colored bottles arranged in the form of a giant butterfly, a human face, and a tree inhabited by birds, among other designs. Like Evans’ paintings, Airlie Gardens gathers history, art and nature into a singular experience, otherworldly, absorbing and unmistakably southern. SE
Airlie
Gardens
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Airlie Gardens’ 67-acres now serves as a lushly flowing public park filled with a riot of azaleas, camellias, magnolias, and wisteria. With its combination of formal gardens, wildlife, historic structures, walking trails, sculptures, and 10-acres of freshwater lakes, the garden offers a true escape from the work-a-day world just outside its gates.
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Fall / Winter 2014-15
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Fall 2014
SE / Snapshots
North Carolina
SE PICKS: Music Gary Clark Jr. Live Gary Clark Jr. A blistering two-CD set from the young Texan who has inherited the mantle of Contemporary Blues Savior. The Clark originals captured here leave the studio versions, and most other contemporary blues players, in the dust.
For Beulaville musician, it’s all in the family
F
Castellano finds success doing what he loves Story and photo by Todd Wetherington
rom the photos of his son that line the top of his lovingly-worn Martin acoustic guitar, to his memories of growing up in a household filled with the sounds of ’70s folk rock, family has always been a driving force in Justin Castellano’s journey from home-
Castellano’s bookings have ‘exploded’ and now include regular gigs in Charlotte, Charleston and Morehead town musician to seasoned road performer. For Castellano, the journey
began at his parents’ house in Beulaville during informal jam sessions with his father, Ronnie Castellano, an instructor at Duplin Music Academy in Rose Hill. At 16 the budding musician was hired on for his first paying gig, playing for patrons of the Country Squire Restaurant in Kenansville, where he would perform regularly for the next two years. While enrolled at East Carolina University to study classical guitar, Castellano passed on a chance to attend the Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts, chosing instead to hit the road playing solo shows. Since that time, Castellano says his bookings have “exploded” and now include regular gigs in Morehead City, Charleston, South Carolina and his current home base, Charlotte. “I always tell people that Bob Dylan quote, ‘If you wake up doing what you love, then you’re successful.’” SE Fall / Winter 2014-15
He is Legend Heavy Fruit Wilmingtonbased psychedelic sludge-rockers He is Legend kept the black magic bubblin’ with this year’s Heavy Fruit. Painfully talented, painfully swanky and at times just straightup painful, this album is as catchy and haunting as it is heavy and brooding. Support local music!
PTSD Pharoahe Monch
Monch’s fourth studio album release proved to be the emergence of a new topic to weigh on the hip hop scale—PTSD. Bold, yet lyrically loaded with grenadelike bars, Monch effectively addresses topics on gun violence, heartbreak and redemption in a metaphorical reference to the sufferings of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD features guest appearances from Black Thought (The Roots), Talib Kweli, and other artists. Songs like “Broken Again” or “Rapid Eye Movement” are just two of 17 songs guaranteed to make one fall in love or reconnect with hip hop.
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SE / Travel
Rivers Story and Photos: Todd Wetherington
I
n my memory of the moment, a few brief seconds from a distant late summer afternoon, I never see the wave coming. I don’t feel its impact or have time to gasp in fear. I simply open my eyes and understand that I am submerged, held paralyzed to the bottom of the softly churning ocean floor by a force dumb, cold, and utterly indifferent to human life. The awareness is instant and numbing: I cannot be here; I cannot move or even fathom if I’m facing sky or earth. I open my mouth in panic to the murky brine and in that moment I am released, thrown sputtering and senseless onto the shore. And no one comes, not my parents, not the other family members who have joined us for our day at the beach, not a single kind stranger runs to comfort me. No one saw; no one understood. But I knew. The ocean was not my friend. At some point in our lives we each have to define our own personal relationship with water. At an early age, I found that I belonged to the rivers, not the oceans. I grew up at the confluence of two rivers, the Neuse and the Trent in New Bern, and spent many childhood summers playing in or near a third, the Pamlico, in Oriental. During those years, I developed a kind of secret fascination with their sly, enigmatic characters, their personable yet mystic natures so different from the vast, alien hostility of the Atlantic and other oceans. There were early morning and midnight fishing excursions with my father and uncles, the moon on the water, mist rising over the pier, and I would fall asleep on the beach, dreaming, to the rhythmic, murmurous tide. Along the rivers, there was no shortage of details to fascinate a young mind: the dried out husks of old fishing vessels abandoned to weeds and time; translucent jellyfish like pale spirits of pain and wonder; red and blue crab pots strewn in the waters around the homes of the “river people,” the eccentrics, dreamers and misanthropes that are inevitably
Bay River near Bayboro
At some point in our lives we each have to define our own personal relationship with water. At an early age, I found that I belonged to the rivers, not the oceans.
SE / Travel drawn to the ramshackle edges of human society. And there was, always, the smell, a mixture of decay and newborn life, of creatures abandoned on the shore with the receding tide, storm debris and sulphurous mud mingled beneath the turbid surface. But I was also aware, as I grew older, that the rivers had another face, deceptive and deadly. Like oceans, rivers also claim their victims and demand their sacrifices. But what the rivers take, they often give back as well. I worked for six years as a journalist in Halifax County, a part of the state known for the bass fishing along the Roanoke River and the popular tourist getaways of Roanoke Rapids Lake and Lake Gaston. Every year, as regularly as house fires, murders, or the wrecks along nearby Interstate 95, the water would take someone: a child, a careless adult, an inattentive motorist. One night during my time there, a man driving two young teens to a basketball game turned down a road he believed led back to town, a road that terminated in a dimly-lit boat ramp. It was early winter, and there were no signs along the road indicating that just past the dull amber street light of the cul-de-sac and a low wall of rocks, only the black frigid water remained.
I tried to imagine their confusion, their terror as they found themselves enveloped in a cold darkness deeper than night, only a few yards from shore, but lost, irrevocably. I was there when rescue workers pulled the empty car to the surface and searched for the boys’ with spotlights and diving gear beneath the river’s surface. And I was there several weeks later, when they pulled the youngest one’s body from the water a few miles away, placed him in a boat and brought him back to shore. A cop told me that the boy, almost miraculously, was able to use his cell phone to place a call to his parents after he freed himself from the car that night, as he struggled to swim, to understand where he was and why this was happening. His parents were out, and so their answering machine picked up, recording the last words they would hear from their son, a message they would find days later. “I’m dying. I’m dying.” There were others: the homeless man who washed up behind the residence of one of the wealthier families in the county, one arm gnawed away and his flesh like curdled milk; the jet skier that crashed into a buoy; others that have simply faded from memory. Since I returned home to New Bern five years ago, the rivers of my youth have
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claimed their own casualties, their placid surfaces lulling the inexperienced into a false, and deadly, tranquility. I know their moods, these rivers. I’ve seen them, like fickle children, sooth and then lash out unexpectedly. And I know other things now, since I took up kayaking along the Bay River with my wife last summer. I know how the water can turn on you, in league with the wind, to set a thin, metallic note of terror coursing through your chest; how time on the river bends and ebbs like the current, receding from its landlocked counterpart faster and faster with each turn down another unmapped channel; how sound, a dog’s yelp, a drunkard’s cackle, doesn’t so much travel across the water as simply materialize in the brain, a pure ghost twin of its original source. And I’ve learned to accept that the river cares not a damn for me, just another of its wayward spawn who lavishes it in myth and romance, even as it ravishes our homes, carries off our pets and children, and makes a sad joke of our pretensions of dominion. It would gladly suck us all down and seal us over, eternal, implacable, without a trace. But I still love it out there. I still come, again and again. Like my father, grandfather and uncles before me, I still belong to the rivers. SE
Neuse River near New Bern
Fall 2014
South East North Carolina
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Beulaville Pharmacy People You Know and Trust!
Mon.- Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. Sat. 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
SouthEast North Carolina
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Owner/pharmacist Chris Dixon and the staff of Beulaville Pharmacy provide personal and professional service that you’ve come to expect from them over the years. Beulaville Pharmacy also offers a good selection of gifts and other merchandise.We’re your friends... We’re your kind of people.
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For a dinner date, lunch meeting or Sunday brunch, come and enjoy an eclectic menu utilizing local foods with a metropolitan flair!
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www.shutterproduction.com Fall / Winter 2014-15
SouthEast North Carolina
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We sell only USDA CHOICE American BLACK ANGUS Beef
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SE / People
North Carolina
Coyote Life
58
In thousands of American Dreams, he’s been but a spectre. SE North Carolina interviews “Carlos,” formerly one of an army of human traffickers responsible for sneaking illegal immigrants into the United States. “Coyotes,” they call them. Those days now long behind him, Carlos shares all.
Peanut Boil
66
People Profile
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Boiled peanuts are as much a part of the Southeastern palette as pork barbecue and sweat tea. They’re a simple thing, just underripe peanuts, salt and water. But the Hudson family of Sampson County shows readers a thing or two about goober peas. See, when the Hudsons settle in every year with family and friends, it isn’t really about the peanuts.
Did you know... ...Kinston is home to a jeopardy winner? ...There’s a parrot sanctuary in rural Duplin County? ...an organic family farm in Maple Hill produces everything from Cornish hens to shiitake mushrooms? Probably not. That’s why you have us. Read about the interesting things folks are doing around Southeast N.C.
SE / People
The
CoyoteLife
SE / People
CoyoteLife The
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ver the years, southeastern North Carolina has experienced a large influx of people of every race, color and creed. Immigrants from as far away as Vietnam and the Caribbean have made the Southeast their home. A majority of these immigrants though are from Latin American countries like Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico. For the most part, they raise their children in rural communities and instill a mixture of the motherland and good, old fashioned Southern values. For some, living in the sticks is a way to settle down. For others, it’s a place to hide. Such is the case of one Duplin County resident, we’ll call him ‘Carlos,’ who at the time of his interview with SE North Carolina requested to remain anonymous. Carlos has been vetted to the extent an illegal immigrant can be, and even further still. His request, he says, stems from his past connections with illegal human trafficking at the southern U.S. border, working as a “Coyote,” a peoplesmuggler. In 1982, Carlos was convicted and served a year in jail. By 1984, he was still on the border, crossing more immigrants and continuing his life as a Coyote. “When my daughter was born in ’85, I knew I had to stop trafficking,” says Carlos, as he recounts his story. “I had already been incarcerated and I did
not want her to grow up worried that I’d be in and out of jail or not.” The man called Carlos has been living in the United States for over 30 years and in North Carolina for the last 14 years. Prior to moving here, Carlos’ travels took him all around the world. A proven jetsetter with passport stamps to Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico and many other countries, he merely smiles when asked to recount his experiences. “I’ve been through a lot in my lifetime and am happy that I got to travel before settling down,” he explains. Carlos seems like a typical Latino man in his early ’60s, but like many immigrants, he has a “coming to America” story that he’s never shared publicly until the Duplin Times newspaper approached him about his work as a Coyote in the late 1970s and mid-1980s. “I am not proud of some of the things that I’ve done, but I am finally at peace,” he explains, in gravelly Spanish. “I’ve already paid my debt to society. Surprisingly, I came from a well-to-do family in Honduras. My father was a community leader and activist.” Carlos wears a little jewelry, but not too much. At least, not anymore. Dressed in black, the grey in his facial hair is one of the few clues to his age. At this stage of life, he should be gearing up for retirement, not dodging deportation for fear of life and limb. Still, it’s not hard to picture a dashing young man sitting there, dust-covered from a border run. Carlos was born in the coastal city of San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Today, it’s considered one of the most violent places on the planet. Carlos’ parents were a well-to-do couple with estates and leadership positions. He was
the oldest of six and college-educated with a degree in accounting and a year-and-a-half of law school under his belt. “I wanted to be just like my father,” says Carlos. Carlos’ father was one of 14 men that helped orchestrate the 1954 strikes in Honduras. On May 24, 1954, Time magazine reported the strike as the first of its kind and the cause of the paralysis of Honduras’ north coast banana industry. As a result of the strike, more than 40,000 workers refused to work and 40 million ripe bananas rotted. Carlos’ father and colleagues worked together to fight for the labor rights of the banana workers, who were underpaid and oppressed. The strike later influenced labor and politics nationally. When asked how he became a Coyote, considering how influential and prominent his family was, Carlos laughs. “Well, it got to a point my family had to flee Honduras. My father was accused of being a communist. So my mother, my youngest sister, my father, and I, being the oldest of six, left. We sold some property and to this day I have no clue what was the end result of them. I was about 18 years old and recently graduated from school.” Carlos explains that his father’s work went beyond the labor strikes. “I witnessed my father trying to help the Honduran country. My father was a leader and founder of the syndicate-union that aimed to help workers,” he says. “I truly was inspired and this confirmed that I wanted to do this sort of work when John F. Kennedy came to visit Honduras, in 1961-1962, before he was murdered. He
The 1954 Banana Strikes 1. Carlos’ father was a member of the first committee that helped orchestrate the 1954 worker strikes in Honduras. 2. Citizens, at least 40,000, rallied in the streets alongside the syndicate leaders to demand higher pay, better benefits, and safer work conditions. The result of the strike influenced labor laws and national politics. 3. The Honduran women were the first to implement the demands and conditions created by the strike. 4. Every year the country celebrates Labor Day on May 1 as a result of the strikes.
Story: Nadya Nataly Photos: Trevor Normile and Nadya Nataly spoke about equality. I remember JFK was interested in helping bring more freedom to Hondurans.” Carlos witnessed his father in and out of jail during his efforts to break the country’s military rule. He also witnessed the murder of one of the syndicate leaders who worked alongside his father. “Seeing these people all die for what they believed in and hearing JFK speak just inspired me and pushed me to be a freedom fighter too. I wanted to be an activist. My father was always in jail. We got a threat that they were going to put my father in a body bag, so we fled. I helped my father leave the country. I was able to help them successfully reach New York City.” After ensuring his father, mother, and youngest sister were secure in the U.S., Carlos returned to Honduras to begin law school. He was responsible for the care for his four younger siblings and his own sons. During his time in school, one of Carlos’ professors, also an advocate and supporter of his father, inspired the young student further. “I felt that I could take over the world. I became an activist, spreading knowledge to the people trying to educate them. I finally became like my father. There was a point that I won a mayoral election. I worked really hard to implement laws and regulations that would make the undisclosed city a distinguished city and improve the state of the country. I started fighting with my colleagues. I started to accuse them of stealing from the people, murder, and extortion. “All of these things led me to also have to flee from Honduras also. Our homes, farms, practically the family estate that belonged to my father, were completely gone. Now, my father and I were both accused of communism,” Carlos remembers. “People from every direction were against what we were trying to advocate, which was a better democracy and union of our country. We were the ones in the trenches trying to help people become property owners, question government, and ensure that they got what they were working for at retirement and health benefits.” Needing to get the rest of his family to safety, Carlos prepared to sneak into the states. Upon arriving at the Mexican border, he met people who would help them cross, but before he could gather money for the crossing, he learned all seven
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SE / People members of his family were already in MacArthur Park, in Los Angeles. “I got in debt. Serious debt,” Carlos says, shaking his head in disbelief. I didn’t know how I was going to pay these people the $1,000 for each of us…that was $8,000 that we couldn’t afford.” Carlos had to face his debt—or lose his life. “The woman that helped my family get to America asked if I knew how to drive an 18-wheeler. Before I knew it, in less than 24 hours, I had a green card, passport, a truck, and a stack of money in my pocket. I was to work for her until my debt was paid off. That was my welcome to America.” Starting work as a Coyote, Carlos started moving people across the border. In a short period of time, less than two weeks, he was able to pay off he debt to the smuggling organization. “It was quick money,” he says. “When they saw that I was able to move quick on my feet they offered me a permanent position and I willingly accepted it.” Carlos continued to work with the organization for three years. He moved those seeking the American Dream—as he often sarcastically called it—from deep in South America to China. “If you must know I became an international Coyote,” he added. “I moved people from China and Africa. It was challenging, but I made groups and mixed everyone in together. The difficult part was bringing Chinese or even African immigrants who didn’t speak English or Spanish, and only spoke in their native tongues. I brought them anyway.” Carlos’ lifestyle was transformed. With a laugh he says that having at least $20,000 to $30,000 in his pocket was just chump change. He brags about his expensive cars, luxury homes and lavish trips wherever his heart desired. “It was a lovely experience. There was times I didn’t get to keep the money, but it was there to enjoy.” Before transporting customers, Carlos remembers leaving his jewelry, excess
cash, and any other personal items behind. “To this day, the head of operations has kept my safety deposit box. I still don’t know exactly who he is to this day. I would love to meet him; he has my money, my cars, and my homes and all of my jewelry.” Carlos says that often, he boarded people on flights to the U.S. or crossed them over himself. He also says that his work gave him a sense of fulfillment. “I finally got a chance to help people in Honduras like my father did, but in a different way. We helped the country for years and we
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didn’t get compensated. We were well off, but this organization gave me an opportunity to help people. I was helping the ‘American Dreams’ come true and I was getting paid for it. I liked it.” When asked to describe a typical day on the border, Carlos provides intimate details. For the most part, he never worked the border alone. “It was a team of us. The best part was when we got into action. That’s when it got good.” At the Rio Grand River, lookouts provided surveillance east, west, north and
south of the American border. Each Coyote had a satellite phone, he called them ‘bricks’ for communication. “We had a total 40 miles monitored. When the bricks would ring it meant it was clear, we had minutes to get everyone across. It all happened very fast. Immigration would only track us for 70 miles until we reached Highway 666 [now called U.S. 491] in New Mexico,” he explained. “Ironically, we used to pray to the devil on U.S. 666 as a tradition for good luck.” Once they reached the highway, Coyotes would call each other on the satellite phones to check in. The following day, it was time to start preparing the next trip and the next group. “We worked 24/7 at one point,” Carlos remembers. Although the trips followed a formula, Carlos says that travelers’ stories were always different. “People on these trips talked about their poverty. People who sold their last to try to come to America to find a better life; people who had nothing to live for in Honduras. I understood that these people were in dire need; they didn’t have anything. Can you imagine not having anything to your name, not having a place to live, or food to eat? This was their opportunity to find something to work for.” When business was slow, Carlos frequented other countries to recruit more travelers. His efforts as a human trafficker were illegal. His business used corruption as shield and sword. His clients however, didn’t see it that way. “We were just talking about the border, but when I used to go back to Honduras or other countries looking for [customers] families that stayed behind showed me love and gratitude. They fed me, celebrated me, and accepted me into their homes,” he explains. “It’s funny but true, but I was trusted with virgin daughters of so many parents to cross the borders because I ensured that they all got to their destinations unharmed, untouched and still virgins. I was trusted by so many.”
By 1981, Carlos says he’d built a reputation of being among the best in the trafficking business. With the excess money and extravagant lifestyle he provided his wife and son, Carlos felt invincible. But the longer he worked the border, the more the business changed. “We started to work with border ranch owners who wanted to take advantage of the cheap labor they could get from the immigrant worker,” he added. “I started making more money when I started to guarantee the people a job on the other side. I took good care of my people.” Carlos also recruited one of his younger brothers. Together, they worked the border and created a partnership with ranchers and farmers. Carlos flooded the farms with people overnight. Demand grew, but Carlos soon discovered that the farmers were paying the workers only a few cents an hour and mistreating them. The retired Coyote describes a night he and his brother set out to visit one of the farms. “We were shocked at what we discovered,” Carlos says solemnly. “They had a man hanging from a tree by his feet. They poked and sodomized him with their sticks. My brother and I, along with a colleague, hid in the woods and witnessed the torture that took place all night and right before dawn they set the man’s body on fire.” Disgusted and outraged, the three escaped the without being spotted. He alerted the organization they worked for and began plans to abandon their deal with the farmers. Carlos’ days as a Coyote were numbered from there; the corruption of the border patrol, he says, began to exceed his own business’s. Carlos says his job was to get his clients across the border. If one died or disappeared, it was his ass on the line. “I knew that what I was doing was illegal. I made my money and kept things moving. However, the border patrols wanted more money. They sometimes threatened to take the women I had with me if I didn’t pay more. It got bad.” Carlos and his organization decided to stop paying off the border patrol and farmers. “The same authorities who used to be on our side got mad. I believe they’re mad still today. They got so mad that they made us
“I had a green card, passport, a truck, and a stack of money in my pocket. I was to work for her until my debt was paid off. That was my welcome to America.” the bad guys and crowned themselves the heroes by ‘unmasking’ our operations. But they’re all mad because they were no longer getting their hands greased.” Then, in 1982, Carlos made a run with a bigger group than usual. Successfully crossing 95 percent of his group, he stayed behind to ensure everyone got across safely. “I usually was the first one to cross, but the group was bigger than what I normally allowed,” says Carlos, shaking his head. “As the last 10 people got ready to cross we got caught by immigration. By this point, we were at war with the border patrol.” Detained and identified as a Coyote by a member of the group, Carlos was arrested. “I kept my mouth shut. They wanted to know who I worked for and offered me immunity, but I did not spill a single word. At the end of all of this is when I was convicted for human trafficking. I was later accused of not paying certain taxes, at least that’s what I heard. I didn’t really speak good English then. I spent a year in jail and was released on good behavior.” Out of jail, Carlos was deported to Honduras and quickly made his way to the Mexican border to reconnect with the organization that had, he later found out, paid for his release. “I got back to work, but this time I supervised more than I traveled,” Carlos explains. In 1984, Carlos met a woman who would later become his wife, and by 1985 they had their first child. “Because of my work, I disconnected with my first wife and mistress,” he says. “I lost touch with them and my sons suffered. But when my first daughter was born, I knew I had to make changes.” Settling down in Texas, Carlos lived a quiet life working as an auto body spe-
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cialist and focused on raising a family. “I knew it was time to wrap it up,” he said. “Eventually, we spent a large portion of our time running away from my past. We lived in Miami, New Jersey, New York, and now we’ve been in [Duplin County] since the World Trade Center towers fell. I’ve raised my youngest two children in North Carolina and dedicated my life to ensuring that they had everything they needed and desired.” Carlos’ children went to high school in North Carolina and also received degrees at state universities. “My ‘American Dream’ became watching them grow up, not living how I lived. I wanted them to receive a good education and become hardworking professionals. I didn’t want them worried that I would be killed or that I’d be arrested. Though my son researches Fidel Castro and the politics of Honduran government, and my daughter has some activist projects that she takes on, I ensure that they don’t follow in my footsteps.” Carlos retired officially from trafficking in 1991. Twenty-three years later, he works quietly at his construction business and rarely likes to socialize. “People still call me to this day, requesting that I come help them flee their countries, but I tell them I can’t.” Retiring meant Carlos would never be able to return to his country. The organization he worked for was not supportive of his retirement. Recently, Carlos underwent deportation and removal proceedings by the U.S. government as a result of his criminal conviction 32 years ago. In spite of his death threats in Honduras, Carlos’ days in the U.S. are numbered. “It’s not something I am excited about. I plan to find another country to live in. Honduras is just not safe for me,” he explains. “I want to go back to Honduras, but there are threats agxainst my life. I can’t go back. I am basically a hit.” SE
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SE / People
Goodness, how
Delicious
T
he art of boiling a peanut lies in its simplicity —you take a peanut, put it in some really salty water, and you heat it up. Soggy peanuts might seem quizzical, alienesque, even downright unappetizing to the rest of the peanut-eating populace. Peanuts should be roasted and—in extreme cases—fried in-shell until they’re crunchy. Right? Wrong. Boiled peanuts are as much a part of North Carolinian cuisine as pork barbecue, blueberry pie and sweet tea. Like those other foods, they’re best enjoyed in the shade, among friends. The Hudson clan of Sampson County would be happy to provide a demonstration. Far off the path, near the town of Turkey, Cece and Jart Hudson keep that tradition alive with their
Jart and Cece Hudson’s annual summer celebration started out as a birthday party for their son about 15 years ago, but has morphed into a community event each year. The boiled peanut is still the star of the show.
SE / People annual peanut boils. Mr. Hudson himself is a peanut farmer, and their country home plays host to a vast gathering of friends and family once a year. The soundtrack is bluegrass gospel jangling from the porch, and the scenery is a small forest of longleaf pines with people under them. A wide peanut field at the edge of the property shines under the setting sun. About 15 years ago, the Hudsons threw their son a birthday party, for which they boiled many peanuts. And then it began. Family and friends enjoyed the delicacy so much they never left. Or rather they just kept showing up every year. “Judging from the crowd, I’d say we have quite a few more than we’ve had in years past. We’ve always had a good crowd, but we’ve tried to expand our invitation to more members of the community. Everybody here is ei-
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ther the friend of somebody we go to church with, we work with, do business with, the friend of a family member or someone we’re close to in the community,” Mrs. Hudson says, catching her breath for a few moments during the celebration. “That’s really what it’s about, getting the people in the community together.” As she speaks, hundreds of visitors slurp down peanuts all around. A large cooler of the beans sits at the end of a table of sweet tea and more up front. There isn’t a line—the procedure is simple, expedient: grab a small box, the kind of receptacle one might receive french fries in at the state fair, and stuff that sucker with as many boiled peanuts as it will hold. Then, grab a seat and start eating. Try not to get sticky, and be sure to have plenty of napkins. The boil has a sense of community that’s rare to find elsewhere. Old folks and young sit together, and faces
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aglow with cell phone radiation are refreshingly few. It’s loud, it’s alive—it’s relaxing. Archie Parker moved to Virginia in 1951. He’s still there, except when he’s here, working his way through some boiled peanuts. Mr. Parker says he has a brother in Warsaw, but he’s originally from Sampson County. In a faintly familiar accent, the man emphasizes his speech elliptically. “I come to visit my brother and to get some boiled peanuts, because I looove boiled peanuts. Everybody’s so nice, you couldn’t ask for nothing [more]. The weather’s nice, the music, the scenery around it, everything’s beautiful,” Mr. Parker, like many at the boil, is a legacy peanut eater—he didn’t pick them up just yesterday, the food was likely a part of his palette growing up. “You’ve got to kind of acquire a taste for boiled peanuts. Like oysters or something, you’ve got to acquire a
taste for it.” Eating a boiled peanut is nearly as easy as a eating roasted one. It’s just like the difference in barbecued and baked chicken; the taste is similar, but one’s messier than the other. That’s kind of what makes it fun. Be sure to remove any eyeware before popping open a properly boiled peanut, you’re likely to get wet from a few of them. Unlike a fried peanut, the shell isn’t intended for consumption (although it probably won’t hurt you). The best boiled peanuts open easily with a wet burst of salt water. They’re soft and soggy all the way through. Like Mr. Parker, David Hudson of Turkey has had his share of boiled goobers. He remembers eating them as a boy growing up in the South. “I just like the taste of them. Back when I was small, we planted one acre. The real tiny peanuts, you had to eat them fast to feel like you’d eaten any. That’s where it started from, we started
boiling peanuts every year,” he says. “You’ve got to grow into it. You don’t just eat them the first time. When I worked at the Clinton post office, I’d carry some peanuts up there. They’d taste of them and say ‘how y’all eat those soggy things?’ They didn’t want them .. It’s like chicken, you’ve got so many ways to cook chicken, just like peanuts. You got salted peanuts, boiled peanuts, different flavors, you’ve got hot peanuts, like up at the state fair.” Cece Hudson says the family often digs the peanuts the day before the annual get-together. The peanuts are just a little premature for traditional harvesting, but perfect for boiling.
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CeCe Hudson (left) and her husband, Jart, hold an annual peanut boil for friends and family at their home near Turkey. While the peanuts are good, that’s not the whole story.
After washing the peanuts, a friend of the family boils them in a large vat with a large amount of salt. The beans retain their familiar peanut taste, though a precious few have a hint of something akin to vinegar—a pleasant compliment and likely a product of the youth of the individual peanut. But while the peanuts are superb in flavor, the annual cook-out isn’t really
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SE / People about them. It’s about bonding. Ask a table who’s occupying an empty seat, and they respond, “you are!” Take Brantley Hattrich of Charlotte and Lizzie Bundy of Raleigh, for example. The engaged couple spent their afternoon in the shade of the eating tent with Lizzie’s family. Hattrich says he first tried boiled peanuts at last year’s party. This year, three empty peanut baskets sat before him— and he swears that he’s not just being a good fiancée. See, folks in Sampson County tend to have big families, the type that take many years to meet. So events like the Hudsons’ peanut boil are a good chance to catch up. “My first time ever having them was last year. I loved them from the very beginning, I had two or three bowls last year; I hope to eclipse that record this year,” Mr. Hattrich says with a laugh. “I’m just learning more about the family each passing month ... I love it, I met a bunch of new family last year, I’m meeting new family this year, so it’s good seeing all the new people.” Ms. Bundy echoes her fiancée’s sentiments. “I stopped at one today, but I’ve probably had three or four before. My fingers started to cramp up, so I stopped,” she explains. “It’s nice, I like seeing this side of the family. Outside
of this I only get to see them a few times a year, so it’s nice to be able to come to a little get-together like this.” As the sun begins to set over the nearby peanut field, Mrs. Hudson flashes a smile when asked whether her family’s holiday was really about the peanuts, or something more. “You got me,” her face reads. “Jart’s family has always done boiled peanuts in a big way. They’d boil a lot of them and sit on his grandma’s back porch and eat them. He said he’d listen to the older generation talk about politics, Richard Nixon, and there again, it’s about family and friends and the community,” she explains. “We’re not celebrating anything, it’s not a birthday, not a holiday, not an anniversary. I think it’s good for our young people to continue to see us do that. With all the social media and everything, I think you get away from the personal experience of sitting down and shooting the breeze with somebody.” SE
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SE PICKS: Books Blood Orchid: An Unnatural History of America Charles Bowden The late journalist Charles Bowden looks back at America’s troubled beginnings and gives a glimpse of its future through the drug wars ravaging the Mexican border. Published in 1995, it reads like a warning from the past that has yet to be heeded.
Bentonville revisited Historic site plans for Civil War battle’s 150th anniversary to be observed in March, 2015
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housands of military historians from across the country will descend on Bentonville Battlefield March 21-22, 2015, to become Confederate and Union soldiers in the last major battle reenactment in the Civil War’s 150th anniversary commemoration. They will re-create one of the largest battles fought on North Carolina soil. The public is invited to watch all of the action. Nearly 5,000 re-enactors are expected for the two-day event. Advanced tickets for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity are on sale now. Tickets may be purchased online at www.150thbentonville.com, at Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site, The March 1865 or by calling (910) 594-0789. Checks can Battle of be mailed to Bentonville 150th Event Tickets, P.O. Box 211, Newton Grove, Bentonville NC 28366. involved 80,000 Tickets for the re-enactment are limited Confederate and and advance purchase is strongly encourUnion troops. aged to guarantee availability. The battle scenarios Saturday and Sunday require tickets. All other activities at the 150th anniversary event—lectures, house tours, music, demonstrations and more—are free to the public. The Battle of Bentonville, fought March 19-21, 1865, involved 80,000 troops and was the last Confederate offensive against Union Gen. William T. Sherman. Bentonville Battlefield interprets the battle and field hospital, where many Confederates were left in the aftermath. Bentonville Battlefield is located at 5466 Harper House Road, Four Oaks, NC 27524, three miles north of Newton Grove on S.R. 1008, For more information, visit www.nchistoricsites.org/bentonvi. SE Fall / Winter 2014-15
The Killer Angels: A Novel of the Civil War Michael Shaara After three decades, Michael Shaara’s “The Killer Angels” remains a vivid account of the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863. Seventy-thousand Confederates are moving north to Pennsylvania; General Robert. E Lee wants to deal a mortal blow to the Federal army. Shaara’s book is a lasting masterpiece— an account that looks beyond the dates and numbers to the flesh and blood.
Welcome to the Monkey House Kurt Vonnegut
Vonnegut’s novels may be standard-issue for high school English courses (as they should be), but the author’s short story prowess sometimes goes under-appreciated. “Welcome to the Monkey House” has as eclectic and entertaining a selection of shorts as you’ll find anywhere. Vonnegut masterfully wove intricate little universes into each of his short stories, so try and find a hard-back copy: you’ll need the extra support for a lifetime of reads and re-reads.
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Play dates Upcoming things to do in Southeastern North Carolina We Kept Our Courage SATURDAY, DEC. 6
10 a.m., Fort Fisher State Historic Site, 1610 Fort Fisher Blvd., Kure Beach The Confederate infantry unit will conduct the manual of arms and firing demonstrations at 11a.m., 1p.m. and 3 p.m. to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the very first battle of Fort Fisher that took place in December 1864. Civil War re-enactors will set up displays of camp life and talk with visitors about the life of the soldiers, sailors and Marines from both sides of the campaign. Throughout the day, Fort Fisher will be firing the site’s 32-pound Seacoast Rifled and Banded cannon while costumed interpreters will be on hand to interpret the drill and equipment of the massive rifled cannon that would have been found at Fort Fisher during the attack. Free Admission.
SE PiCK The Water and the Wood ONGOiNG EXHiBiT Onslow County Museum, Wilmington Street, Richlands Native American canoe and more. Tues.-Fri., 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday closed. Admission $2 adults, $1 kids.
Liberty Hall Christmas Candlelight Tour FRiDAY, DEC. 5 and SATURDAY, DEC. 6
6:00-8 p.m. Friday, 5:30-8 p.m. Saturday, Liberty Hall Restoration, 409 S. Main Street (N.C. 11), Kenansville A Liberty Hall Christmas tradition since the 1960s, the antebellum home of North Carolina’s Kenan family, now a restored plantation museum, is featured with 15-minute guided tours for two evenings that include historic characters telling tales of the Kenan family and life in early 1800s in rural eastern North Carolina. Through candlelight tours, the museum offers a unique experience through sights, sounds, and delightful aromas that will help visitors relive that period of history. Admission $10.
OCA – The Clothesline Muse SUNDAY, MARCH 29, 2015
7:30 p.m., Kenan Auditorium, UNCW, 601 S. College Rd., Wilmington Featuring the extraordinary voice and songwriting talents of six time Grammy-nominated vocalist Nnenna Freelon, The Clothesline Muse is a unique theatrical experience exploring the role of the clothesline in African-American culture. Freelon’s fierce, inspired music blends with the expressive dance of choreographer Kariamu Welsh and vibrant, visceral art of Maya Freelon Asante, bringing to life rich traditions that emerged out of the seemingly mundane act of washing and hanging clothes. Woven together through powerful words and dialogue, The Clothesline Muse is a celebration of the significant role women and domestic workers have played in African-American history and culture. General Admission: $20 plus tax.
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Sevendust (Acoustic)
FRiDAY, NOV. 7 9 p.m., Ziggy’s By The Sea, 208 Market St., Wilmington
Beethoven & Mozart N.C. Symphony Orchestra
In support of their acoustic album, Time Travelers & Bonfires, Sevendust will be playing the third and final leg of their acoustic U.S. tour featuring the A.Z. rock band. Visit ziggysbythesea.com for more information. Advanced Admission $20 and day of $25.
6:30 p.m., Riverfront Convention Center, 203 S. Front Street, New Bern
A Stroll Through the Past SATURDAY, DEC. 13 5-9 p.m., Bellamy Mansion & Burgwin-Wright House, 503 Market St., Wilmington
SUNDAY, FEB. 8, 2015
Jorg Widmann: con brio Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 3 Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 Christoph König, conductor Alina Ibragimova, violin. Pre-concert talk at 6:30 p.m. with Finley Woolston, Classical Music Announcer/Producer at Public Radio East WTEB, or William Robin, North Carolina Symphony Scholar-in-Residence.
The annual festive holiday evening filled with music, dancing, costumes, and refreshments. A historic old-fashioned Christmas night of decorations, costume interpreters, and a miniature animal petting zoo. Take a fun trolley ride or candlelit stroll through downtown Wilmington. Admission: Advanced Adult (Until Dec. 1): $20; General Adult: $25, Children (5-12): $5, Children under 5: Free.
At the Gallery: Duke Ellington
FRiDAY, NOV. 7 7 p.m., Bank of the Arts, 317 Middle St., New Bern Duke Ellington is honored for his 50 years as a jazz orchestra band leader and pioneer of American music with musicians Heather Pierson and Shawn Nadeau. General admission $20; Craven Arts Council members $15.
Edwin McCain
THURSDAY, NOV. 13 9 p.m., Ziggy’s By The Sea, 208 Market St., Wilmington
SE PiCK
Known for his Billboard hits “I’ll Be” and “I Could Not Ask for More,” Edwin McCain will be making his first appearance in southeastern N.C. at Ziggy’s By the Sea in Wilmington. The alternative and indie rock guitar player will be performing a mix of songs from several of his albums. Info: ziggysbythesea.com. Advanced Admission $15 and day of $20 or $30 Gold Circle (Front Row).
FRiDAY, JAN. 23, 2015 7:30 p.m., Parmount Theatre 139 S. Center St., Goldsboro
Coffeehouse: An Evening of Songs From Broadway FRiDAY, JAN. 16, 2015 7:30 p.m., Paramount Theatre, 139 S. Center St., Goldsboro
A compilation by Diane Belmont and Jayson Keeton of a collection of songs, past and present, drawn primarily from contemporary musical theatre, including shows such as Blood Brothers, The Bridges of Madison County, Chicago, Company, Follies, The Last Five Years, Legally Blonde, Wicked and others. General Admission Tickets: $10/each; $8/each for groups of 15+.
Black Violin
“Wil B” Baptiste and Kevin “Kev Marcus” Sylvester, classically trained viola and violin players who go by the name Black Violin, are a welcome revelation for their ability to meld highbrow and pop culture, “Brandenburg” and “Breakdown,” into a single genre-busting act. The band’s most recent album, Classically Trained, is the follow-up to their 2007 self-titled debut which is a good introduction to their groundbreaking blend of classical, hip-hop, rock, R&B, and even bluegrass music. The duo’s recent performance venues have included the Harlem Apollo Theatre and Broadway’s New Victory Theater. General Admission Tickets: $20. Fall / Winter 2014-15
Polish Festival
SATURDAY, NOV. 1 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., St. Stansilaus Church, 4849 Castle Hayne Rd., Castle Hayne Annual event featuring Polish food and traditional Polish dancers. Kids’ activities and entertainment from “The Chardon Polka Band” and special guest “Karolinka,” a children’s Polish folk group out of Charlotte. The festival also features a craft sale, raffles and more. Free admission and free parking.
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SE / People
Catherine Hardee Jeopardy winner
North Carolina
Ces Erdman
Parrot Sanctuary operator Ces Erdman of Wilmington spends much of his time working in a hotel. When he’s not doing that, he’s with the birds in their handbuilt aviaries between Beulaville and Pink Hill in Duplin County. He and two friends operate the Cape Fear Parrot Sanctuary, soon to be the largest of its kind. Erdman is president of the Sanctuary. “It’s a dream come true for me,” Erdman says. “It’s a labor of love, I want to be here.” The Sanctuary cares for about 60 orphaned birds, but Erdman’s goal is to provide for as many as 500 in the future. Originally from Richmond, Va., Erdman studied music at UNC-Greensboro. He grew up raising parrots in a bird-friendly home. CFPS is located on private property. For information and directions, go to www.capefearparrotsanctuary.org or call 910-471-2186.
Nelson & Mary James Organic farmers
When a severe broken leg forced Mary James to reevaluate her teaching career in the 1990s, she decided to pursue her dreams about a better farming future for her and her husband, Nelson. “I am a visionary. My biggest goal was to build a small processing operation so we didn’t have to take our hogs to one place to be killed and another to be processed before we could market the meat,” James said. Now the couple’s 35-acre farm near Maple Hill in Pender County produces vegetables, flowers, plants, rabbits, ducks, Cornish hens, free-range chickens, brown eggs, and pasture-raised hogs. They’ve recently added shiitake mushrooms and more herbs to the mix. Another dream is to introduce more people to agriculture as an enterprise. “You can’t get more farmland. When the older people pass on, if their children need money, they’ll sell the estate.” That vision made James one of the first selected for N.C.’s new Farmer-to-Farmer Mentor program, allowing her to share her enthusiasm and experience to help other small farming operations.
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Kinston resident Catherine Hardee extended her 15 minutes of fame into a four-day winning streak which concluded on Monday, Sept. 29, earning her a grand total of $97,201 on the popular national game show Jeopardy. Fans cheered her on, but it was the hometown crowd that made the most noise. The fandom for the North Carolina native was so great that Kinston’s Mayor proclaimed Sept. 23, 2014 as “Catherine Hardee Day.” Catherine holds a master’s degree in history from Liberty University. During her scholarly years, she earned MVP for three years while part of Liberty’s Quiz Bowl team. Interestingly enough (as her Jeopardy streak lasted four days), this was her fourth attempt to make the show.
Jenny Sikorsky Concert promoter
Jenny Sikorsky’s volunteer position of helping push performances at Wilmington’s Greenfield Lake Amphitheater developed into an assistant’s role to the concert promoter with New Orleans-based HUKA Entertainment. “I wish that I could say that the couple shows a week [that I work with] was my only gig,” the 35-year old Maryland native said. By day, she’s manager for a Wilmington area self-storage company. “I’m [HUKA’s] local representative in Wilmington, since they are based out of New Orleans. I do a little bit of everything. From contacting the tour managers to making sure everything they need is waiting at the venue, to staffing the employees, to making sure we stay on schedule the day of show,” Sikorsky told SE North Carolina. “If somebody tells me that they had a great time at the show, I feel that I have done my job well.”
Maj. Gen. Joseph Osterman
MARSOC Commander at Camp Lejeune
“Make The Wise Choice�
Serving all of Duplin County, Randy Wise and his staff offer a great selection of ďŹ ne jewelry including watches, necklaces, earrings, and diamonds, diamonds, diamonds! Plus a big selection of Southern Gates and John Wind jewelry.
8JTF +FXFMFST The U.S. Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MARSOC) bid farewell to one commander and welcomed another during a ceremony aboard Stone Bay at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Aug. 6. Major Gen. Mark A. Clark relinquished command of MARSOC to Maj. Gen. Joseph L. Osterman before a crowd of nearly 400 inside the MARSOC headquarters auditorium. Osterman takes command following a tour in Afghanistan from December 2012 to March 2014 as the deputy chief of staff, joint operations, with International Security Assistance Force, and then as the deputy commanding general at Marine Corps Combat Development Command in Quantico, Virginia. Osterman received his commission as a second lieutenant through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps Program at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Osterman started his career as a rifle platoon commander with 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. Osterman has deployed in support of operations to Somalia; Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Iraq and Afghanistan. He said he hopes to continue the work Clark has done at MARSOC and that it is a phenomenal privilege for him and his family to join the unit. “We look forward to working with all of the members of the command,� said Osterman. “To Major General Clark, I want to say thank you for everything you have done and I look forward to carrying on the legacy.�
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100 Front St. (On the Corner) Kenansville
910-275-0311 Expert Jewelry Repair • We Buy Gold!
)PVST .PO 'SJ t 4BU
Margie H. Hunter, DVM Angela B. Butler, DVM Owen B. Martin, DVM
PH: 910-293-3348 FAX: 910-293-3006
1472 NC 24 & 50 Warsaw, NC 28398
warsawanimalhospital@gmail.com www.warsawanimalhospital.com
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Your Other Family Doctor Fall / Winter 2014-15
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We Can Help You!
Accounting Solutions by Gail Harper
Duplin County’s Original
Farm Equipment Dealer
Count On Us!
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Call for an appointment
910-296-6466
140 Routledge Road Kenansville
...Still Number One For Sales and Service!
KENANSVILLE
EQUIPMENT CO., INC. 110 N. NC 11 Hwy.
●
Kenansville
910-296-0777
Open Mon.-Fri. 7:30 am-5:30 pm; Sat. 8-noon
Bush Hog Clegg Grady, Owner
“For all your farming and gas needs” At Calypso Farm Supply we carry everything you need for your farming needs. Fertilizer, seeds and chemicals. Switch out your tank today for FREE! We offer LP-Agricultural Farm and Home Heat. Stop by or call us today!
Calypso Farm Supply A Harvey Company
3036 NC US 117 North • Calypso, North Carolina
Phone: 919-658-5530
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SouthEast North Carolina
Fall / Winter 2014-15
Stra P
SPECIAL
COLLECTION $POTJHONFOU 4IPQ
Specializing In
Hydraulic Hoses & Oil Filters
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Auto, Truck & Tractor Parts
Turner Auto Parts 370 N. E. Center St.
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OPEN MONDAY-FRIDAY 9:30-5:30 4"563%": :PV MM MPWF PVS TFMFDUJPO PG RVBMJUZ DMPUIJOH BOE GENTLY USED MERCHANDISE VTFGVM ~FIRST-RATE SELECTION JUFNT 8IZ QBZ NPSF
Strawberry Patch
/08 01&/
Monday - Saturday 10am-6pm Closed Sundays
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Stop in to see what we have for you!
Chiristmas Open House
Faison
Owners Ryan & Charles Turner
The
Nov. 15th 6-9 pm & 16th 1-6 pm
• •
910-267-0621 910-267-8461 Toll Free
•
1-888-286-8117
“Greenleaf Home Fragrance�
21/2 miles from Pink Hill, Hwy. 11, going toward Kenansville. Corner of Maxwell Mill Road
252-568-3739
Since 1971
Westwater Country Ham The Way It Was Meant to Be!
Westwater Country Hams cures hams the old-fashioned 1277 NC 24 Bus. and NC 50 • Warsaw, N.C. way—the way you remember it... like it ought to be. Over 40 WE SHIP UPS DAILY • VISA, MASTERCARD years experience and thousands of satisďŹ ed customers say we know how to do it right!
910-293-7294 800-868-2055
SERVPRO® of Lenoir, Duplin, and Jones Counties and of Wayne County offers a complete line of cleaning and restoration services. Our trained technicians are on call 24 hours a day for emergency situations that demand quick response.
Our Professional Services Include:
•Drying and Dehumidification •Water Removal • Deodorization • Antimicrobial Treatments •Structural and Contents •Carpet Cleaning Cleaning •Upholstrey Cleaning •Fire and Smoke Damage • Document Drying Restoration •And Much More!
661 Sussex Street, Kinston 28504
Naturally beautiful solutions for thinning hair begin and end here
It’s all about The Blend!
The Blend Hair Studio, Inc. of Wallace is a "boutique" hair replacement clinic/hair studio, serving a discriminating and exclusive clientele who value personal service that is both intimate and high end. After all, we're not only providing specialized hair loss solutions. Our clients choose The Blend because of the relationships we share with all of our customers. The Blend's relationship with our clients is an equal partnership, providing you with a service that keeps you looking good and feeling good. It is a relationship based on integrity, kindness, honor and respect. Joseph & Danette Tew
200 off
$
24 Hour Emergency Service
910-275-1881 252-208-7888 800-219-1298
YEARLY COMMITMENT
of Lenoir, Duplin & Jones Counties of Wayne County
Independently Owned and Operated
FIRST TIME WEARERS
The Blend Hair Studio, Inc.
Like it never even happened.
404 E. Main St. • Wallace • 910-285-0007 www.theblendhairstudio.com
Medical / Dental Services in Convenient Locations Goshen Medical Center is fully staffed with Board Certified physicians to serve the medical needs of Southeastern North Carolina citizens. Office hours are by appointment Monday – Friday. Evening appointments may be available in certain offices. We offer Family & Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Dental and OB-GYN.
Faison
Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine & OB/GYN 444 SW Center St. 910.267.0421
Sampson
Faison
Dental 460 SW Center St. 910.267-0951
Warsaw
Greenevers
Plainview Family Medicine 360 E. Charity Rd. 910.289.3086
Beulaville
Kenansville Women’s Health/ OB/GYN 212 N. Duplin St. 910.296.0790
Wallace
Family Medicine, Pediatrics, OB/GYN 516 Beamon St. 910.592-1414
Warsaw Wellness / Family Medicine 113 S. Pine Street 910.293.7246
Family Medicine / Pediatrics 119 Crossover Rd. 910.298.3125
Pediatrics /Internal & Family Medicine 110 Eastwood Dr. 910.285.2330
Jacksonville
Warsaw
Clinton
Clinton
Mt. Olive
Mt. Olive
Goldsboro
Goldsboro
Family Medicine, Pediatrics, 1200 Hargett St. 910.219.1082
Whiteville
Family Medicine 326 Columbus Corners Dr. 910.212.6613
OB/GYN Dental Family Medicine 603 E. College St. 908 N. U.S. Hwy. 421 906 N. U.S. Hwy. 421 910.293.3900 910.299.0991 910.592.1462 Family Medicine Family Medicine 130 N.E. Center St. 325 N.C. Hwy. 55 W 919.658.2505 919.658.5900
Bolton
Family Medicine 213 Ninth St. 910.212.6918
Trenton
Family Medicine, Family Medicine, Family Medicine Homeless Care Site Pediatrics 104 E. Lakeview Dr. 200 W. Ash St. 2701 Medical Office Pl. 252-448-4321 919.731-4941 919.267.8680
Goldsboro *Coming Jan ‘15 Family Medicine 80
South East North Carolina
Fall 2014
Dental, Wellness Center 104 Adair Dr.
/ Mystery Photo SE
North Carolina
Where in SENC is this? Conner Drafting and Design, Richlands
It’s Richlands! All right, maybe our hint was a little too easy this time. Before it became Conner Drafting and Design, the building was a bank and a museum. Built in 1927, it was the third First Citizens Bank built in town. According to owner Paul Conner, the building’s back door had a shotgun pellet embedded in it until recently, from a botched bank robbery many years ago.
Retail Store: 8FE 'SJ t 4BU t $MPTFE 4VO 5VF Phone calls & orders taken Monday-Saturday
Slaughterhouse: .PO 8FE &BSMZ .PSOJOH .JE "GUFSOPPO t 5IV CFGPSF B N. Call to schedule late day slaughterhouse appointments
CHECK OUT OUR NEW HOURS!
s l l e W
SINCE 1982!
PORK & BEEF!
750 CROOMSBRIDGE RD., BURGAW
Call 259-2523 OR 1-800-821-5121 We have whole & half pigs for BBQ Fall / Winter 2014-15
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SE / Humor
North Carolina
Trevor Normile
A Lovecraftian device of fearsome power!
L
(and the self-cooking chicken)
iterally—and I do mean objectively— the only downside to eating meat is the cost of it. Fine, yes, some folks have health and moral concerns about it too, but they’re not part of this thought experiment. While very delicious, meat is also expensive to raise and package. Energy from the sun is broken down into sugars by plants, which are then broken down in bellies of animals, which are then broken down in my belly. Meat’s at the wrong end of the
So what are the hairy-faced meat-lovers like me to do? energy chain, which makes it costly. Plus—and our agriculturally-savvy readers can attest to this—market prices fluctuate depending on feed prices, livestock disease, consumption and more. But it tastes so good. So what are the hairy-faced meatlovers like me to do? Give it up and start munching kale and cattails? And what about the electricity it takes to cook meat—much more than vegetables and grains? Should we 82
SouthEast North Carolina
just give up cooking meat and use the cash we save to buy hybrid cars? Those things sound terrible, and they are. The answer is much simpler actually: we just back that energy chain up a link. You see, it’s all a question of efficiency. We harness the energy coming out of the animals against the animals themselves. Their poop. We use their poop. To cook them. The Kenan Institute at UNC-Chapel Hill recently performed a feasibility study on turning animal dung into electricity, and what they found was more than a little interesting. The institute concluded in August that conditions are favorable for a largescale digester operation here in Duplin County. Here’s how it works: a plant takes hog lagoon slurry, leftover plant matter, poultry litter and more from farms and “digests” it in a treatment machine. Methane and other things are extracted and the heat of the process kills most of the bacteria. The stewed horror produced by the machine can then be applied to the fields as fertilizer. Better yet, it’s actually less smelly than the usual field spray. That fuel then can be used to make clean power, much cleaner than from a coal-fired plant. I think it’s a great idea. Besides, this
Fall / Winter 2014-15
isn’t 1890 Britain. It’s 2014 America. We can—and will—find better energy sources than coal. Anyway, we have the heat and we have the meat. Now to put them together. Rose Hill, a town in this county, is a regional hub for poultry and pork growers. With livestock powerhouses like Murphy-Brown and House of Raeford nearby, the town could be at the cutting-edge of a new energy harvesting economy. But perhaps the town of Rose Hill itself has the most important piece to this puzzle: The World’s Largest Frying Pan. This two-ton fricasseeing titan can cook a staggering 365 chickens at a time and measures a dizzying 15 feet in diameter. Whether or not it’s the bona fide biggest pan in the world is irrelevant. It’s damn big. All we need is a hookup from the local electricity co-op, maybe even a special line to a plant fired by methane from animal farms. Send that juice to the back of the pan (toss in some Tesla coils for sinister effect) and the World’s Largest Frying Pan becomes the World’s Largest And Also First Animal-Powered Frying Apparatus. So, Rose Hill gets a Lovecraftian device of fearsome power and I’ll be awarded a patent for the selfcooking chicken. Everyone wins. Well, except maybe the chickens.
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Your Bridge to Success for 50 Years!
www.jamessprunt.edu 910-296-2400
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Life insurance is more than a policy, it’s a promise. (910)296-1486 www.ncfbins.com Matt McNeill LUTCF Agency Manager roy.mcneill@ncfbins.com
Teddy Bostic
Agent Matt McNeill Kenansville
Dean Johnson
Nick Bell
Agent Kenansville
Agent Kenansville
dean.johnson@ncfbins.com
nicholas.bell@ncfbins.com
LUTCF Agent roy.mcneill@ncfbins.com teddy.bostic@ncfbins.com
An Authorized Agency for
Doug Pierson
David Jones
Agent Agent *North CarolinaBeulaville Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. Beulaville
Agent Beulaville
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Lynn Mobley
*Farm Bureau Insurance of North Carolina,doug.pierson@ncfbins.com Inc. lynn.mobley@ncfbins.com *Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Co., Jackson, MS *An independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
david.jonesww@ncfbins.com
Duplin County Farm Bureau
/ .BJO 4USFFU t Kenansville, NC 28349 $SPTTPWFS 3PBE t #FVMBWJMMF /$ THIS ARTWORK CANNOT BE ALTERED, REVISED, RESIZED OR REBUILT BEYOND CHANGING THE AGENT PHOTO OR CONTACT INFO. CONTACT MADGENIUS WITH ANY QUESTIONS AT COOP@MADGENIUSINC.COM
(910) 296-1486 (910) 298-8400
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www.ncfbins.com *North Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. *Farm Bureau Insurance of North Carolina, Inc.; *Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Co., Jackson, MS *An independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
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