SENC Winter 2017 by Becky Wetherington

SE WINTER 2017

North Carolina

bitty & Beauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s special brew Belhaven Museum

Simple Travelers

Craft Beer Explosion

A lifetimeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s collection of rare oddities

Leaving the grind behind for the open road

Are breweries ushering in a new suds renaissance?

SouthEast North Carolina

Winter 2017

No matter how you slice it...

Still Beulaville’s Favorite Restaurant! •Pizzas • Subs •Burgers • Appetizers •Lasagna • Spaghetti •All You Can Eat Salad Bar!

PIZZA VILLAGE

Daily Lunch Buffet, Monday ~ Saturday

811 W. Main Street (N.C. 24 West)

910-298-3346 Winter 2016

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Editor’s Note

What is that... thing??

SE North Carolina www.sencmag.com Issue No. 9

Staff / Credits / Contributions PUBLISHER Jim Sills EDITOR Todd Wetherington ASSOCIATE EDITOR Trevor Normile PRODUCTION/ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Becky Wetherington Content & Photography L.E. Brown, Jr. Jacqueline Hough Michael Jaenicke Nadya Nataly Trevor Normile Gary Scott Todd Wetherington CONTRIBUTING Writers Allison Barrett Carter Annesophia Alexander

When I was a youngster I had a fascination with collecting certain, well, unsavory items. During trips to Atlantic Beach each summer I would scoop up plastic pails full of small clams and haul them back home. A month later, my horrified mother would chuck the odiferous and quite dead creatures into a garbage bag and bolt out of my room. Another pastime was emptying random contents from my parent’s refrigerator into a mason jar, sealing it tight, and then letting the strange brew marinade in a dark corner beneath my bed for weeks on end. So, needless to say, when the chance to write about a museum full of unusual and downright deviant oddities and ends presented itself, the nine-year-old inside me jumped at the chance. The Belhaven Memorial Museum, as should be clear from the photos inside this magazine, did not disappoint. The sheer strangeness of the place was equaled only by the soulful commitment Mary Eva Blount Way made to her lifetime pursuit of the unusual. God bless her. And God bless Amy and Ben Wright, the owners of Bitty and Beau’s Coffee, a business that has chosen to place old

Advertising Becky Cole Alan Wells Evelyn Riggs Gary Scott CIRCULATION Lauren Guy SUBSCRIBE: Four issues (one year) $19.95 plus tax lguy@ncweeklies.com CONTACT senc.ads@nccooke.com senc@nccooke.com 1.910.296.0239

North Carolina outdated notions such as kindness and understanding ahead of its profit margin. Named for two of the couple’s children born with Down syndrome, Bitty and Beau’s is staffed with employees who have similar intellectual disabilities, men and women who have often struggled to find work or simply respect for much of their lives. The Wrights recently opened a new, much larger location in the Port City, and their unique business model appears to be paying off for both its devoted workers and its growing cliental. Craft beer brewing is another business just hitting its stride in southeastern North Carolina. In this issue, we take a look at just how much the trendy pursuit has impacted our local economy and join the brew scene in downtown Wilmington on a Friday night. We also hit the road with a young couple who have found a way to turn Friday night into a way of life. The Simple Travelers, as they call themselves, have said “so long” to the 9-5 grind and taken to the highway with their trusty pups in a converted Toyota Tacoma. Surviving by their wits (and with the occasional help of friends and family), these modern-day gypsies are a lesson in economy and the kind of adventurous spirit that seems to have been beaten out of too many of us these days. What do all these stories add up to? Hopefully one seriously entertaining read. And just possibly some small measure of comfort for those who, like myself, stray from the beaten path sometimes.

ON THE COVER Bitty and Beau’s Coffee Photo by Trevor Normile Southeast North Carolina Magazine is a publication of the Duplin Times and Cooke Communications North Carolina. Contents may not be reproduced without the consent of the publisher.

SouthEast North Carolina

Todd Wetherington, Editor Winter 2017

Mystery Photo Where in SENC is this?

Where in SouthEast North Carolina is this? A quick explanation, in case it’s needed: Every quarter, SE North Carolina includes a cropped-down version of a landmark or scene in one of SENC’s many signature communities. Try and guess where and what this photo shows. Hint: Located across from a historic courthouse, this artwork depicts one of our state’s favorite pastimes.

See page 53 for answer

Where we are this winter! CUM

BERL

WAYN E

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AND

SON

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BLAD

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DUPL

LENO

CRAV

JONE

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COLU

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SAMP

MBU

PEND

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PAML IC

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Look for features or mentions of these places in SE North Carolina and beyond: • ASHEVILLE 41 • ATLANTIC BEACH 22 • BELHAVEN 30 • BLACK JACK (GREENVILLE) 44 • CLINTON 27 • FAYETTEVILLE 9,10,11,61 • FORT MACON 9 • GOES, Netherlands 27 • GOLDSBORO 11 • HAVELOCK 10 • HOPE MILLS 60 • JACKSONVILLE 11, 60 • KILL DEVIL HILLS 34 • KINSTON 11 • NEW BERN 9,10,11,40 • STONEHENGE, UK 27 • TRENTON 53 • WALLACE 61 • WILTSHIRE COUNTY, UK 27 • WILMINGTON 10,11,15,18,36,40,51,60 • WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH 40

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Winter 2017

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SPECIAL

COLLECTION Consignment Shop

3503 Hwy 24 East • Beulaville (in the Blizzard Shopping Center)

910-298-3432

OPEN MONDAY-FRIDAY 9:30-5:30 SATURDAY 9:30-4:00 You’ll love our selection of quality clothing and GENTLY USED MERCHANDISE useful ~FIRST-RATE SELECTION items. Why pay more?

“Greenleaf Home Fragrance”

Need a great gift idea for that hard to buy person? Come by The Lighting Gallery and we can help you light up their holiday.

Giving thanks for MOST things (an ode to pumpkin spice) The world outside is brown and dead, the family still lies warm in bed. Into the kitchen now I tread, to make coffee for the Missus. Halloween is past, Turkey Day dispatched, forgive me, my digestive tract, but in fact it’s nearly Christmas. As I brew I detect a smell, an assailant of December. Foreboding now, like a glimpse of hell, seen in a fire’s ember. Under the chimney smoke drifting past the ice, the smell of sap and a heater clicking to life, “There it is!” I choke (sniffing the creamer twice). “Pumpkin tap-dancing spice!”

*A NOTE ON SAUSAGE Ever grill something up on a Sunday afternoon, only to find out you are not cooking food but, in fact, disgusting garbage? Then you might have accidentally purchased DiLuigi pumpkin spice sausage! Upon investigation, our man who spotted this learned it was a product of Massachusetts. Do they serve this in Faneuil Hall? Did some cranky Massachusite think it funny to send these disgraceful things to Sausage Country, USA? We may never know. Nor do we want to, particularly.

*A NOTE ON DOG TREATS For the other three seasons out of the year, Fido is perfectly happy eating the same meat-derived protein crunch day in, day out. Maybe the kind that makes its own gravy, once in a while. But since a dog is essentially the same thing as a human, dog treat scientists agree: come fall, dogs want pumpkin spice treats. For eight bucks plus shipping, Amazon seller “K9 Bytes” will happily send you eight fall-flavored ounces of homebaked dog treats. For that price, you might as well try one too (we recommend them with milk).

Feedback: LET US HEAR FROM YOU

Send letters to SE North Carolina at senc@nccooke.com, or mail to Editor, SE North Carolina, P.O. Box 69, Kenansville, NC 28349. 6

SouthEast North Carolina

Winter 2017

Contents Winter 2017

Features

In Every Issue

Snapshots

Grace 14

Bitty and Beau’s

Coffee and compassion

Simple Travelers

21st century gypsies

Channel

Turtle Rescue

Voice of America

Matthew’s Aftermath

Defenders of the deep

Saturnalia 30

Glorious oddities

Zack Mexico

Craft Beer Economy

Wilmington Zombie Walk

A bloody good cause

Hubb’s Corn Maze

Fun-filled labyrinth

Tryon Palace Christmas

Candlelight fantasia

EXTRAS 10

Playdates

Murmurs

Upcoming concerts, theater and more in SouthEast N.C. Papa Dad and the Nordic Santa!

People

Folk

Winter 2017

Battlefield bulletins

Psych Pop explorers

Brewery bonanza

Belhaven Museum

Civil War History Center

Shortwave revolution

After the flood

Contributions and quirks from interesting people in our region

The no-win scenario?

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WAYNE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL.EVEN BETTER. You know us. We are your friends and neighbors. You trust us to take good care of your family. Partnering with UNC Health Care has provided us with better access to world-class research, advanced technologies and patient care expertise. And, while you may see some new faces, you’ll continue to see the ones you’ve come to know and trust. We’re still your community hospital. Just better.

SouthEast North Carolina

Winter 2017

SE Snapshot

SE PICKS: Civil War sites

North Carolina

North Carolina Civil War History Center

Center will tell story of the Civil War from various points of view

undraising has started for a new North Carolina Civil War History Center in Fayetteville. When it opens in 2020, the $65 million state-ofthe-art center will tell the story of the Civil War and its aftermath from the perspective of an entire state. The North Carolina Civil War History Center is a part of the Division of State History Museums, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. The focus will be on the Civil War and Reconstruction in North Carolina. The Center is to be located at the site of the ruins of the former Confederate arsenal at Fayetteville. The four-acre History Center site will include a 60,000-squarefoot main museum built outside the U.S. Arsenal’s archaeological footprint, protecting the remnants of the asset seized by Confederate forces in 1861 and leveled by William T. Sherman’s engineers four years later. The existing 1896 E.A. Poe House and three Civil War-era structures are incorporated into the larger, interpretive plan. Organizers are trying to collect 100 family Civil War stories from each of the state’s 100 counties —

Fort Macon State Park This brick and stone fort was part of the United States costal defense system, guarding the deep-water port of Beaufort. At the outbreak of the Civil War, the fort was seized by Confederate troops. After a siege and bombardment in 1862, the Union forces recaptured it. During the rest of the war, the fort served as a coaling station for the Federal fleet at Beaufort.

New Bern Academy Museum

The proposed N.C. Civil War History Center will be near the remains of the historic Fayetteville Arsenal.

up to 10,000 stories. Stories will be collected by three methods: •Online submission by individual storytellers at the Center’s website nccivilwarcenter.org/sharea-story; • Oral histories gathered and recorded by story specialists in conversations; • Printed forms that can be completed and mailed to the Center at P.O. Box 53865, Fayetteville, N.C. 28305. For information or to make a donation, call 910-491-0602, email info@ncivilwarcenter.org or visit NCCivilWarCenter.org. SE Winter 2017

Originally a school house for both boys and girls, the New Bern Academy served as a hospital in the Civil War and in 1881 became part of the New Bern graded school system, which used it for classes until 1971. Today, the original classrooms are home to four permanent exhibits focused on the Civil War, New Bern architecture, and the history of the building itself.

Fort Anderson During the Civil War, Fort Anderson was constructed atop the ruins of colonial Brunswick Town. It served as part of the Cape Fear River defenses below Wilmington before the fall of the Confederacy. The purpose of the fort was to hinder movement of Union ships and to serve as a dropping off point for blockade runners. Today, it is one of North Carolina’s state historic sites and a working archaeological site.

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Play dates Upcoming things to do in southeastern North Carolina

FRIDAY, FEB. 3, 7:30 p.m. Thalian Hall, 310 Chestnutt St., Wilmington Tickets: $22-$37. “Clean” and great for ages 12-112 “For over two decades, the unforgettable caricature of veteran comedian James Gregory has stood grinning: his shirt un-tucked, his arms outstretched, a carefree welcome to a down-home, hilarious comedy experience. www.thalianhall.org/events.

August Osage County

Jan. 27-Feb. 13 Gilbert Theater, 116 Green St., Fayetteville. Admission $16 A look at the lives of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Oklahoma house they grew up in. Visit gilberttheater.com.

42nd Street

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

7:30 p.m. - Cape Fear Community College Wilson Center, 703 N. Third St., Wilmington $46-$95 plus taxes and fees

An Evening With Charles Lindberg • fri., feb. 24

SE Pick

The quintessential backstage musical comedy classic, 42nd Street is the song and dance fable of Broadway with an American Dream story and includes some of the greatest songs ever written, such as “We’re In The Money,” “Lullaby of Broadway,” “Shuffle Off To Buffalo,” “Dames,” “I Only Have Eyes For You” and of course, “42nd Street.” Based on a novel by Bradford Ropes and Busby Berkeley’s 1933 movie. Admission $22-$33. Ticket Central Phone: 910-362-7999.

Down East Folk Arts Society presents

Jan. 5-7 and Jan. 19-21, 2017

FRIDAY, Feb. 10

7 p.m. Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 1601 Raeford Rd., Fayetteville. Admission $8-$15

6:30 p.m., Trent River Coffee Company, 208 Craven St., New Bern. Admission $10-$16 Mark Weems hails from North Carolina and plays guitar, old-time banjo, fiddle and piano, but is best known as a singer and composer. Julie Glaub Weems is also a native of North Carolina who studied literature and music at Wake Forest University, before following her interest in Irish culture to work with the poor in Dublin for nearly seven years. Visit downeastfolkarts.org

‘Impressions to Modernism: Masterworks of Early Photography’ Exhibition • Feb. 9-April 8 11 a.m. William F. Bethune Center for Visual Arts, Methodist University, 5400 Ramsey St., Fayetteville. Free • Presented by Methodist University and the David McCune International Art Gallery. The opening reception will be held on February 9, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Visit davidmccunegallery.org.

SouthEast North Carolina

One of America’s greatest heroes and aviation advocates, known for his non-stop transatlantic flight to Paris in 1927. Featuring Tim Clark, a living history performer who will immerse the audience in the life of the aviator, who also made significant contributions to engineering, navigation, medical science and conservation, and became a Pulitzer Prize winning author. Visit ecaviationheritage.com

Anthony and Cleopatra

‘Little Windows’

Havelock Tourist and Event Center, 201 Tourist Center Dr., Havelock, Admission $55-$500

Winter 2017

The triumvirate of Rome is falling apart; the world approaches decay. An aging playboy, Mark Antony, chooses the love of the pasther-prime Egyptian Queen, Cleopatra, over duty to his country. Broken alliances, gossip, and war threaten to tear Rome apart as the mighty Octavius Caesar demands Mark Antony’s return. Visit sweetteashakespeare. com.

The Beach Boys

FRIDAY, JAN. 20 • 7:30 p.m.

Crown Complex, 1960 Coliseum Dr., Fayetteville. Admission TBA

The amazing yet true saga of The Beach Boys is well chronicled, and by any standard it’s one of the greatest musical stories ever told. Now this singular West Coast story continues with a global celebration that is befitting of the remarkable and enduring legacy of these Rock & Roll Hall of Famers. Visit crowncomplexnc.com.

Tim Meadows

FRIDAY, JAN. 27 • 7:30 p.m.

Goldsboro Paramount Theater, 139 S. Center St., Goldsboro. Admission $37 Time is 3 p.m. Jan. 27 at Goldsboro Paramount Theater, 139 S. Center St., Goldsboro. Admission $37. Tim Meadows is an American actor and comedian best known as one of the longest running cast members on Saturday Night Live, where he served for ten seasons. His trademark character, Leon Phelps (a.k.a. “The Ladies Man”) was created during his time on SNL and starred in his own feature length film. Visit goldsboroparamount.com.

Rodgers + Hammerstein’s

Cinderella

Tues., Feb. 28 & Wed., Mar. 1, 2017 7:30 p.m. CFCC Wilson Center, 703 North Third Street, Wilmington. Admission $46-$95 Tony Award-winning musical classic featuring an incredible orchestra, jaw-dropping transformations and all the moments you love. Call Ticket Central phone, 910-362-7999.

The Malpass Brothers

fri., jan.13 7:30 p.m. Goldsboro Paramount Theater, 139 S. Center St., Goldsboro. Admission $20 As authentic as stoneground grits, country ham & red-eye gravy… For the fans of classic old-time “real” country music. Visit goldsboroparamount.com.

featuring Vincent Gardner

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11 7:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at Goldsboro Paramount Theater, 139 S. Center St., Goldsboro. Admission $10-$18

The North Carolina Symphony Holiday Pops

Thur., Dec. 22 • 3 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.

Cape Fear Community College Wilson Center, 703 N. Third St., Wilmington. Admission $18-$57 plus taxes and fees Celebrate the most wonderful time of the year with this sparkling holiday spectacular. Carols will warm your heart with traditional holiday favorites. Be sure to visit Santa in the lobby before the performance! Call Ticket Central at 910-362-7999.

festivals

SnowFest • 1 p.m. Jan. 14 at Onslow Pines Park, 1244 Onslow Pines Rd, Jacksonville. Free. A Saturday in the park with family and friends

enjoying amusement rides, food, specialty vendors, and $5 snow sledding rides. Visit onslowcountync.go/parks

Wilmington Wine and Chocolate Festival • 7 p.m. Jan 29 11 a.m. Jan. 30 and noon Jan. 31 at the Coastline Convention Center and Event Center, 503 Nutt St., Wilmington. Admission $15-$75. Celebration of wine and chocolate highlighting premier wine makers and chocolatiers. Visit wilmingtonwineandchocolatefestival.com.

Stars Dance for the Arts 2017 • 6:30 p.m. Jan. 21 at 400 N. Queen St., Kinston. Admission $75-$100. Features “stars” in the Kinston

community who dance to raise funds for the Community Council for the Arts. Each couple performs expertly choreographed dances. Visit kinstoncca.com.

WinterFeast • 5:30 p.m. Jan. 27 at Bate Commons, Mattocks Hall, Carolina History Center, 529 South Front St., New Bern. Admission: $40-$45. Fresh, local, steamed oysters,

SE Pick Wayne County Jazz Showcase

The North Carolina Symphony Presents

chowders, shrimp and grits, and jambalaya prepared by popular local chefs, with delicious brews to boot. Visit tryonpalace.org.

10 a.m. - Crown Complex, 1960 Coliseum Dr., Fayetteville. A celebration of comics, cosplay, gaming, collectible toys, anime, Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, The Walking Dead and/or Vampires. Admission $15-$30. Visit crowncomplexnc.com.

Christmas at the 1897 Poe House

Ongoing through Jan. 8 • 11:00 a.m.

Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex, 801 Arsenal Ave., Fayetteville. Free Enhance your holiday season with a tour to enjoy Victorian decorations and a big tree in the parlor. Come to appreciate how people from the 1900s celebrated the traditions. Visit ncdcr.gov/ncmcf.

Live performance of Vincent Gardner. Visit goldsboroparamount.com. Winter 2017

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SouthEast North Carolina

Winter 2017

SE Grace

North Carolina

Bitty And Beau’s

Wilmington residents Amy and Ben Wright have turned their own first-hand knowledge of Down syndrome into a business that values kindness over profit. Bitty and Beau’s is a coffee shop unlike any other, where the java is served with a heaping dose of love and acceptance.

Simple Travelers

We’ve all been there. It’s 6. a.m on Monday morning and the urge to simply forget work and take that next exit to anywhere is nearly overwhelming. SENC hits the road with one couple who turned that daydream into a reality by turning their truck into a home.

Sea Turtle Rescue

Sea turtles are among Earth’s most ancient creatures, but their nests are surprisingly vulnerable to the ravages of human activity. One group of volunteers in Atlantic Beach is working to ensure that the offspring of these shell backed survivors remain safe and find their way to the sea.

se â&#x20AC;˘ grace

Bitty & Beau’s Coffee:

Changing perceptions,

one cup at a time Story by Annesophia Alexander Photos by Trevor Normile

Nested among a sea of cars on the lot of Wilmington’s Rippy Cadillac stands a massive building with something very special happening inside. Formerly a Hummer dealership, the 5,000-squarefoot space is now home to Bitty & Beau’s Coffee, an establishment with a story behind it as unique as its location. Twelve years ago Amy and Ben Wright welcomed the birth of their third child, Beau. Beau has Down syndrome, something the couple was completely unfamiliar with at the time, their first two children being typically developing little girls. Five years later, Jane (nicknamed Bitty because of her “itty-bitty” size) was born, also with Down syndrome. Statistically, having two biological children with Down syndrome is extremely rare. “So when we welcomed Bitty into the world, we knew we had to do something. When Beau was born, we were really concerned with his health and about learning everything related to Down syndrome. But when Bitty was born, we were just excited to have her. We felt like God was speaking to us to do something greater, to help others with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities. So it was a real turning point in our lives,” Amy remembers. Amy and Ben tried a variety of ways to raise awareness for those with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD), including hosting walks, benefit concerts,

and getting involved with the Special Olympics. In 2015, the couple decided to create the non-profit Able To Work USA, with a mission to help people with IDD find jobs and help employers find qualified candidates to hire. Statistically, over 70 percent of people with intellectual developmental disabilities are unemployed, but even greater than the employment need was Amy’s desire to influence how people felt about those with IDD.

“

We all know the first thing you ask somebody when you meet them is what do you do, so we know that jobs are important. It’s a sense of identity for a lot of people, something that people with IDD have never had. – Amy Wright

”

Convincing employers to think outside the box with their hiring practices proved difficult, so the couple was flooded with inquiries from people seeking jobs. “We all know the first thing you ask somebody when you meet them is what do you do, so we know that jobs are Winter 2017

important. It’s a sense of identity for a lot of people, something that people with IDD have never had,” Amy says. “Society has never valued them because of that. So I thought, if I can’t get other businesses to hire people with IDD, then I’m going to do it myself and demonstrate to the community how capable they are and what great employees they can be. I knew that if I could do that, then walls would start to come down, perceptions would start to change, and people would begin to have an appreciation for each other.” Amy knew she wanted to create a business where people with IDD could be successful and interact with the public. She just didn’t know exactly how to go about it. “Then it hit me in November of last year. I was in the shower, and I didn’t go into the shower trying to think of something huge, but I came out, wrapped my towel around me, ran out and said ‘Ben, we’ve got to open a coffee shop.’ He thought I was crazy, but within a couple of hours I was out looking for a place to put it.” Amy quickly found a home for her new idea, a quaint 500-square-foot shop on the corner of Wrightsville and Kerr avenues. With her husband’s support, Amy knew that this was the place to make her vision a reality, and the couple took a leap of faith. S outhEast North Carolina

Clockwise from top left: a marker reading “Abuja, Nigeria” signifies the visit of an African patron to Bitty and Beau’s of Wilmington. Customers line up at the register while employee Matt Dean takes their orders, the store’s “Wall of Thanks” on display in the background. Two men discuss college football over coffee. Bitty and Beau’s honorary bean roasts, ready to grind.

Only two months later the doors of Beau’s Coffee opened wide. Right out of the gate, Amy hired 19 employees with IDD. Positions included greeters, drink makers, registers, and servers, depending on each employee’s unique skill sets. “We thought, if the community comes, that’s great, and if not, then we’ve still created some much needed jobs.” Immediately, Amy found that her idea was working, perhaps even too well. Day after day people showed up at Beau’s Coffee, so many in fact that the small space couldn’t hold the crowds. “People were pouring out the door. There was no parking, limited seating. So we had outgrown the space even in the first week,” Amy remembers. Two days after opening, Amy got a call from the Rachel Ray Show, who discovered Beau’s Coffee through the powers of social media and wanted to feature Amy’s story. The news of the Wright family’s mission spread fast, and customers came from far and wide to show their support.

SouthEast North Carolina

But buying cups of coffee wasn’t the only way the community rallied behind the small family business with a big vision. “The father of one of our managers was out paddle boarding one day with Allen Rippy (owner, Rippy Cadillac). He told Allen our story, and Allen said that it sounded like we needed more space. A few weeks later Allen comes in and offers us this old Hummer building.” Immediately following, Thomas Construction came on board and donated the customization of the space as well. “Different people have supported this so that we could expand so quickly and move from a 500-squarefoot building to a 5,000-square-foot one, all because of the generosity of our community.” In July, Beau’s Coffee expanded into the new space. When Amy and Ben told Beau that the shop was moving into a bigger building and getting a bigger sign, he immediately asked if Bitty’s name could be added.

Winter 2017

“Even though they’re best friends, it hadn’t occurred to us to do that. We had just thought that this would be Beau’s thing, and then someday we would do something for Bitty. We never thought this would become such a defining part of our lives,” Amy explains. Beau’s wish was granted, and the newly named Bitty & Beau’s Coffee expanded their hours and increased the staff from 19 to 40 people with IDD. The new space now offers much more than just coffee. A separate conference room that seats eight can be reserved online, with larger groups able to gather in the back living room area that holds up to 30 people. Even though the physical space of Bitty & Beau’s is vast, the shop still offers its patrons the warm, cozy vibe of a closeknit family. A “Wall of Praise” in the kitchen area displays messages of love and encouragement that employees write to each other on Post-It notes. “The staff has become so close, and they really bring out the best in each

Clockwise from top left: notes posted behind the register remind employees, “Smile” and “You are amazing!” A patron places a pin on the coffee shop’s visitor board. Matt Dean thanks a customer at the coffee shop. Employees of Bitty and Beau’s coffee shop and owner (left, first row) Amy Wright work to serve up coffee and intellectual disability awareness.

other. Working here has created a whole social life for them that did not exist before,” Amy says. And the benefits to Amy’s staff don’t stop there. Each day the employees learn new skills and grow in their confidence and sense of self-worth. When speaking about Matt Dean, one of the original 19 employees of Beau’s Coffee, Amy’s passion for her staff is apparent. “Matt was so shy when he first started, and he has now blossomed into this confident man. He has even taken on greeter responsibilities in his church. Matt gets recognized in public for his work at Bitty & Beau’s, and he’s so proud of that. It’s not just about what’s happening here, it’s about how their lives have changed outside of here.” In the shop, Dean commands the room, a natural salesman, as other employees hustle to meet customers’ wants. They tell their life stories as the aroma of cracked coffee beans saturates the building. Patrons bring newspapers and talk amongst themselves.

“The managers are incredible, and Miss Amy has been a great lady to work with,” Dean says. “It’s been phenomenal working here. And it all started with one lady and one vision.” He’s also quick to brag about all of the accolades his boss has received this past year. Wilma Magazine nominated Amy as a “Women to Watch 2016” awards finalist, and she also won Wilmington Business Journal’s distinguished Coastal Entrepreneur of the Year for 2016. The recognition that Matt is most excited to share, however, is the accolades that continue to come from the Rachel Ray Show. The daytime television program has featured the coffee shop twice already, the second time even announcing that Bitty & Beau’s Coffee is now the official coffee of the show. It’s an unexpected honor that Amy and her staff are proud to share with the local community and their dedicated customers. As for the future of Bitty & Beau’s Coffee, the prospect of franchising is

Winter 2017

right around the corner. “From the time we opened, we’ve had hundreds of people contacting us wanting to open a Bitty & Beau’s. So we’re taking baby steps in the direction of offering franchises, but it has to be the right person, someone concerned with the social profit more than the financial one. They have to have a real heart and passion for what we’re doing,” says Amy. Even as the mission of Bitty & Beau’s Coffee spreads across the country, one thing customers should not expect to see in the near future is the addition of a drive-thru, at least not if Matt has his way. “I told Miss Amy that we should never get a drive-thru, because we are more about firsthand customer experience. We are more interactive with our customers. She agreed with me. I think she’ll listen to me.” Bitty & Beau’s Coffee is located at 4949 New Centre Dr., Wilmington, NC 28405. Learn more at www.bittyandbeauscoffee. com. SE

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se • grace

Simple Travelers 21st century gypsies Story by Allison Barrett Carter Photos Contributed There is something about hitting the road, living for the moment, travelling wherever I want on a whim with all of my possessions in the back of my truck that appeals to me. Yet like most people, I don’t do it. Pressures and responsibilities keep me rooted and tied down. In fact, I work hard to keep a traditional roof over my head and a reliable job. Usually I am proud of this fact, but there are also many days where the open road calls me and I wonder, “what if?” So when North Carolinians Kyra Demarte and Cody Frennea decided to buck traditional life in a bold way, I was immediately a voyeur of their travels. This young Wilmington couple recently decided to pack everything they could into Frennea’s Toyota Tacoma, sell anything that didn’t fit, and just drive. A page ripped from Kerouac’s epic novel, “On the Road,” perhaps. Demarte and Frennea are somewhat modern-day gypsies, living out a fantasy many of us never do. When I reached them by phone, they were with family in Colorado but had already travelled over 6,000 miles 18

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within the first month of their new lifestyle. They stayed in eleven states including North Carolina, Maryland, Maine, New York, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Texas and Colorado. That is quite a lot of ground to cover in a mere four weeks. But instead of sounding tired, the couple sounded elated. “We took the price of a roundtrip ticket to Europe and we are seeing the entire U.S.,” Frennea told me with pride. “It seemed bizarre to us that people feel like they have to leave the country to see something cool,” Demarte added. “We are seeing so many cool places right here!” Demarte and Frennea are both graduates of the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Demarte graduated in 2012 with a degree in Environmental Science. Frennea, who played soccer for UNCW for 2 ½ years, graduated in 2009 with a degree in Parks and Recreation, specializing in Outdoor Recreation Leadership. Clearly, these two decided early on that the great outdoors mattered.

Out of college, Frennea began working at Blue Surf Café, where he spent time in the kitchen. Demarte eventually joined him as an employee there. Anticipating the trip, they both also worked at Sweetwater Surf Shop and began saving every penny they could. They credit their friends from both workplaces as the support network that helped them achieve their dream. Eventually, though, it was time to move on and tackle the open road. The idea originated in Frennea’s mind. At first, he considered the adventure as a solo opportunity, a chance to spread his wings on his own. But one month before his departure date Demarte said they worried about the prospect of separation. After dating for two years they didn’t relish the idea of being apart, especially given Frennea’s soon-tobe-nomadic lifestyle. So they decided Demarte would join in the adventure. “Luckily, working together helped us learn how to be close and honest with each other,” Demarte said. “We get along really well.” Which is a good thing, as the couple is living in tight quarters these days. Leaving their pets behind wasn’t an option, so they had to find a way to travel with two more adults, one 50-pound dog and one 40-pound dog. Frennea already owned the truck and was determined to find a way to make it work. Tacomas aren’t the largest trucks on the market, but Frennea had some help modifying what he had. Among other adaptations made, a shop back in his hometown of Winston-Salem assisted Frennea in installing a 45-pound slideout fridge. This proved to be the most difficult part of their trip preparation. Frennea had two different possibilities which he had designed freehand, without diagrams or help. Eventually, the fridge was securely installed and fitted to run on a deep cycle marine battery. Frennea also created a water system from PVC piping to collect rain. The system is gravity fed and holds 6.5 gallons of water. Then the dogs and all other gear were packed in. Crowded to the gills yet feeling prepared, the couple left Wilmington with a bit of melancholy in mid-August. “Wilmington has always been a home for us,” Demarte said. While they had an adopted family at Blue Surf Café and Sweetwater Surf Shop they were leaving behind, the couple planned to use the first part of their road trip to see relatives. For Frennea, family was pretty close to Wilmington. He was born in High Point and raised in Winston-Salem, leaving to attend college on the coast. Demarte was born in Colorado but attended high school in Charlotte. Her family has since moved back west. Demarte and Frennea both have a sense of adventure and joy for life that is contagious. Watching the highlights of the couple’s adventures on their Instagram account, it’s hard not to be swept away with their love affair with the United States. They dance in front of Kokopelli men at the

Load up the pups and ride. Kyra Demarte and Cody Frennea spend their days seeing the states from a Toyota pickup, doing things others spend their youth only dreaming of.

Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, unapologetically kiss on the beach on Dauphin Island, and make faces underwater in Austin. While part of me hopes they continue to drive forever, taking me on a virtual tour of this wide, beautiful country, another part of me believes that they simply can’t last for years. How is it possible for them to be so happy doing this, I wonder from the comfort of my office chair, hot tea in hand, computer in front of me, and my squeaky clean toes buried in plush carpet piles? Yet for Demarte and Frennea, the challenge to embrace simplified living is part of the adventure. “We are learning how to live more efficiently,” Frennea said. “We go without some luxuries and most nights we sleep in a hammock.” Frennea told me him and Demarte buy whatever seasonal clothes they might need from local Goodwill stores but that they are already overflowing. There’s no more room in the truck, so they are headed back to Goodwill stores again, this time to donate. “We have already accumulated more clothes than we can handle,” Frennea told me over the phone, as I stared guiltily at my walk-in closet. “We shed layers as we go.” In a world of Konmarie books and ridding excess, Frennea and Demarte are prime examples of people living with only what they need.

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But they admit it has been daunting. Their first week out found them infested with chiggers, itching for a hot shower and a laundromat, and getting lost and setting up camp in the dark. It also turns out that modifying a Tacoma to hold a kitchen, tent, gear, dogs, people, and bedding can be a challenge. After one week on a road, the couple emptied the truck and reorganized everything, this time with a clearer understanding of what their needs on the road actually were. But these moments didn’t deter their gypsy-road warrior spirits at all. That beginning may have been enough to, at the very least, cause me to question my decision, but Frennea and Demarte just laundered, reorganized and pressed on. Maybe it is more of an indication of my mindset, but I kept looking for a crack in their laid-back armor. I thought there had to be a catch to life on the road. When I asked them what they miss most, they thought and said it was a freezer and a TV. But even then, it wasn’t as though the yearning for these devices kept them in agony; they had to think for a moment to even pinpoint what about their old life they missed, outside of friends. In the end, Demarte and Frennea almost convinced me to join them in the nomadic life.

They have a freedom that can’t be matched and seems almost worth the sacrifice of a pretty TV. They plan to travel for “at least one year, maybe more, maybe less” until they “find a place and fall in love with it.” When it comes to money, they are using their savings and staying at free campsites, which they find using freecampsites.net. But, if necessary, they will “find somewhere along the way to do some work.” In the immediate future, though, they are headed to the West Coast to do some surfing in California. And then, who knows? “The opportunities are endless,” Demarte admitted. “It is almost frustrating. The U.S. has so much to offer.” “But for now,” Frennea added, “home is where we park the truck.” --------------------------------You can follow Demarte’s and Frennea’s by following @thesimpletravelers on Instagram. SE

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se • grace

To the rescue The fight to preserve the next generation of sea turtles.

Story by Jacqueline Hough Photos by Dr. Matthew Godfrey

ach morning, from May to about October, a group of volunteers can be found walking carefully on the five-mile stretch of Atlantic Beach. One of those people is Atlantic Beach Sea Turtle Volunteer Coordinator Michele Lamping. She and others look for sea turtle crawls indicating a nest has been laid. From there, the nest is roped off while volunteers waits for the eggs to hatch in 50 to 60 days. Lamping and volunteers watch the nests in the evenings to ensure the hatchlings make it to the ocean. “We have as many as nine or 10 nests a year in that five miles,” she said. “It is not a whole lot but still a significant amount for a small area.” It may take a village to raise a child, but it takes more than a thousand volunteers to protect hundreds of sea turtles on the 330 miles of ocean-facing beaches of North Carolina. Of the seven sea turtle species, five are found in the state. The most common is the loggerhead. The odds are against sea turtles from the time they are born until they make their way to the ocean. During the trek, the hatchlings are faced with threats from predators, man made light and even plastic bags. The odds of surviving to maturity range from one in 1,000 to one in 10,000.

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All sea turtles found in the state are considered “protected species.” They’re listed on the Endangered Species Act as either endangered or threatened and are protected by state and federal law. Every species on the Endangered Species List has a “Recovery Plan,” which is a blueprint for actions necessary to restore the species sufficiently so it can be removed from the list. In the 1970s, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission began monitoring sea turtle nesting activities. This led to the development of the Sea Turtle Protection Program. Dr. Matthew Godfrey, biologist and Sea Turtle Program coordinator at the state Wildlife Resources Commission,

ABOVE: Three days after a sea turtle hatching event, project participants conduct an excavation, or inventory, of the nest. RIGHT: The nesting season in North Carolina began the first week of May 2016, with several false crawls (non-nesting tracks) reported from Onslow Beach in Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base. Winter 2017

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Last year, the Karen Beasley Censays the project has two primary ter took in more than 600 turtles due components: a sea turtle nest monito a phenomenon called “cold stun,” toring and protection program and a which occurs when ocean temperastranding and salvage network. tures drop and turtles lose energy to The monitoring and protection fend for themselves. program starts each May with more A cold stun event in November than 1,000 people contributing their came unusually early this year. The time as volunteers or collaborators. ensuing rescue effort in Surf City At this time, adult sea turtles bebrought nine turtles to safety. gin to lay their eggs on sandy oceanGodfrey says the Sea Turtle Projfacing beaches in the state. Every day, ect is important to monitor the status from May through August, nearly of the population and collect data on every foot of the state’s beach front how many nests are laid to evaluate is checked for signs of newly laid sea the status of the population. turtle nests. Godfrey adds without volunteers, “One of the ways we can monitor they would have very little informapopulations of sea turtles is to count tion about sea turtles. the number of nests they lay every “They invest countless hours and year,” says Godfrey. “If numbers go miles in monitoring and protecting up, we think that indicates the nestthese animals,” he says. “We could ing population is going up or down.” hardly get anything done without Sea turtle eggs take 50 to 70 days their participation.” to incubate and produce hatchlings. Lamping says there are a number Hatchlings will start coming out of of simple steps the public can take nest somewhere between July and to help the sea turtles. She recomNovember. mended turning off or shielding Godfrey says volunteers find these bright oceanside lights during nestnests and mark off spots with freshly ing season so turtles don’t get conlaid eggs. This protects the eggs from fused when trying to reach the ocean. being stepped on by beachgoers, or Light pollution is a major probdamaged by umbrella stakes. The lem, notes Lamping. She recomvolunteers also watch the nests durThe sea turtle nest inventory helps determends beach dwellers talk with their ing incubation. mine the success of the nest -- both the “They watch for any hatchlings to hatching success and the emergence success town officials about public lights. Another helpful step would be come out,” he explains. “Once all of (percentage of turtles that emerged from the for anyone walking the beach at the hatchlings are out, they will dig nest unaided by humans). night to use red filters on their flashup the nest and verify how many aclights. The red light will not distract tually produced hatchlings and what The entire island is covered by foot,” or deter the turtles. the success rate is for each nest. she says. “And we look for tracks and find Beachgoers should also secure their In addition to volunteers, state and the nests and rope them off and start dotrash and pick up litter so sea turtles federal park service personnel and biolo- ing nest protection with each nest.” and other animals don’t choke or begists at Camp Lejeune also lend a hand. The sea turtle stranding and salvage come entangled. Other partners include the Baldhead network runs year round and is set Finally, remove all chairs, umbrellas, Island Conservancy, the Audubon, and up to respond to sick, injured or dead cabanas and other obstacles overnight the North Carolina Coastal Reserve. turtles found along the coast of North to help provide safe movement for According to Godfrey, 2016 was Carolina. Sarah Finn is the sea turtle nesting sea turtles and fill in any holes advantageous for loggerheads. A record stranding coordinator. number of their nests were discovered “We have a network of volunteers who on the beach. “Sea turtles fall in the holes, get this year. go out and respond to that,” Godfrey exstuck there, die and can’t nest,” LampIn addition to being the volunteer plains. “They collect data or try and help ing said. coordinator of the Atlantic Beach Turtle those animals if they are still alive.” To report any nesting activity or Patrol, Lamping is an aquarist at the There at two dedicated sea turtle injured or dead turtles, call the NC North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll rehabilitation centers in the state — the Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores at 252Shores. Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and 247-4003. Volunteers are required to patrol Rehabilitation Center in Surf City and To learn more about sea turtles, visit every day, except during thunderstorms the Sea Turtle Assistance and Rehabilitawww.seaturtle.org. that produce lightning. tion Center (STAR) of Manteo.

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Winter 2017

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Hubb’s Farm, a-maze-ment park for Southeast N.C.

Clinton-area farm extends activities yearround, continues maze tradition

ubb’s Farm of Clinton will celebrate 10 years in business next year. A local landmark, the farm (previously called “Hubb’s Corn Maze”) is famous for its intricate designs and seasonal activities, which recently have been extended year-round. Dinosaurs, military men and more have graced the corn maze, built on John and Tammy Peterson’s farm on U.S. 421 North, Clinton. Each year, the farm has the maze cut into the “corn” field (actually, it’s sorghum, which lasts longer than corn) using GPS technology to create an intricate image only visible from far above. The maze is open from midSeptember to mid-November on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Those who survive the maze can stuff themselves silly with funnelcakes. Those who give up can still buy funnelcakes too, they just have to flag down a “Corn Cop” to help them out first. Aside from intricate mazes and carnival foods, much of the fun at Hubb’s Farm is over-sized: human foosball, a giant sandbox and big slides. There’s laser tag for the young’uns and space for smaller children and older adults to relax. The farm also welcomes guests during other parts of the year. Christmas on the Farm and a

viewing of Polar Express were on the schedule this fall and winter, and Valentine’s on the Farm, a drive-in movie and dinner event “designed for loving couples” (oo-la-la) is scheduled for February 11, 2017. Later, in April, the farm will host an Easter event for families with small

SE PICKS: Crop Circles Wiltshire, UK Are crop circles evidence of alien intelligence? Probably not. Still, like the Hubb’s Farm maze, they’re easy to appreciate. This circle, which appeared in 1990 in Wiltshire County, UK, was even used on a Led Zepplin album — because of course it was.

Goes, Netherlands In August 2009, this crop circle (at right) of a butterflyman appeared in the Dutch town of Goes. The massive design was about 2,000 feet wide, and made by about 60 students. Crop circles are often built using simple technology, such as surveying equipment and trampers, like in this photo (right, bottom) from the group Circlemakers.

Stonehenge, UK

A dinosaur maze is shown cut into the Hubb’s Farm sorghum field. The maze is part of the farm’s annual list of attractions.

children. An egg hunt with a twist, Easter eggs will be air-dropped onto the farm. Hubb’s Farm isn’t a franchise theme park, but it’s clean, family-friendly fun, close to home. More information about Hubb’s Farm can be found at hubbscornmaze. com. SE

Winter 2017

Back to England for a circle that’s a little harder to explain. In July 1996, the fractal design at right appeared in broad daylight in a field next to Stonehenge, near a busy highway. Small plane passengers taking photos of the area saw no formations in the crop 45 minutes before they appeared. To make things even creepier, some witnesses reported seeing the circles form in real time — under a swirling mist.

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SE Saturnalia

North Carolina

Belhaven Memorial Museum 30

What possesses an elderly widow to collect the kinds of antiques and artifacts that would give most people nightmares? While her motives remain a mystery, the surreal treasures of “Miss Eva” provide their own answer for the curious and connoisseurs of the bizarre.

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The Kill Devil Hills are alive with the sound of psychedelic garagetechno pop-surf rock. Sort of. Though their influences range far and wide, the five- piece band of Outer Banks musical misfits in Zack Mexico have created a sound that’s uniquely their own. Open minds and open ears required.

Craft Beer Goes Boom

Southeastern North Carolina is awash in breweries. With the hops hopping, Wilmington has become one of the premier destinations for craft brew devotees. Will the beer bubble burst or are we seeing a new renaissance in craft consumerism?

se • saturnalia

Downtrodden Treasures Belhaven Memorial Museum’s magnificent oddities

Story & Photography by Todd Wetherington

here’s a certain strain of Southern eccentricity that presents itself to the more blandly rationalminded among us as the compulsion to collect, to gather and store all manner of oddities from all categories of the human experience, from the mundane to the grossly compelling. Most of these curious compilers remain unknown until their deaths, when stunned relatives are confronted by decades of obsessively accumulated odds and ends. Such was not the fate, however, of a rare specimen of Gothic small town impracticality named Mary Eva Blount Way, whose wild menagerie of found treasures has been showcased at the Belhaven Memorial Museum since 1965. Fragments from a puzzle that could only be solved by its creator, the items housed in the museum, which range from Civil War artifacts to lovingly preserved medical oddities, stymie attempts to assign rhyme or reason. Housed in the top floor of the historic town hall in Belhaven, a windy nook of a town located on the north shore 30

SouthEast North Carolina

of the Pungo River, the museum is the last will and testament of a woman who, in the words of her husband, “never quite grew up.” Mary Eva Blount Way was born in 1869 at the tail end of Reconstruction. Her family was among the most prominent in North Carolina: William Blount, her great uncle, was one of the signers of the United States Constitution and served as the governor of the Southwest Territory (which included most of modern day Tennessee). She lived, it seems, in a manner that paid little heed to the conventions of “ladylike behavior” that prevailed in the late 19th century. She married a Quaker ship captain. She caught and dissected snakes for schoolchildren to inspect. She wrote poetry. And beyond all reason, she gathered and grouped whatever struck her fancy. In “The Story of Mrs. Mary Eva Blount Way” an unpublished autobiography, she relates: “I was born on a farm in Beaufort County on the day after Christmas and Winter 2017

I have had Christmas in my bones ever since...I was married June 24, 1887 at the age of seventeen and came to live in this old house (Beech Ridge) as a bride. It is located four miles from Belhaven. “I have five children and they are all married and live in five different states from Texas to North Carolina. My youngest son entered the service in 1942 and my husband died in July 1943, so, since then, I have been living alone here except for an accumulation of souvenirs and treasures of about 62 years of my life.” The collecting of things seems to have been an early, if not lifelong, pursuit for Way. Legend says it began with a gift of four antique buttons that were given to her by her mother-in-law, a small token of affection that would eventually grow to over 30,000 buttons. As word spread about Way’s mania for interesting objects, donations poured in from friends and neighbors who wanted to help build her personal collection. In 1940, during the height of World War II, “Miss Eva” as she was affectionately

known by the local residents, decided to raise funds for the Red Cross by displaying the treasures in her home for a small fee. The homegrown museum proved a sensation with the locals, so much so that it was extended to the family barn in order to showcase the more than 10,000 items that Way had collected. An article in the August 1951 edition of the Washington Daily News provides a snapshot of the elderly widow during the years when her museum of wayward objects was still growing. The writer describes her as “a woman who has never thrown away a thing... A housewife, snakekiller, curator, trapper, dramatic actress, philosopher, and preserver of all the riches of mankind…” Following her death in 1962, Way’s family accepted an offer of $3,000 from Belhaven residents in exchange for her entire collection, which was eventually housed at the original but defunct town hall in the heart of town. On April 1, 1965, the Belhaven Memorial Museum officially opened to the public. The curious, the bored, and the cockeyed have been filing through its doors ever since. “History is stranger than anything our imaginations can dream up.” That’s the assessment of Arthur Congleton, who has served as the museum’s guide for the last 20 years. Though he’s discussing a bit of Civil War political minutia (Abraham Lincoln’s attempt to jail a Supreme Court justice) he could just as easily be describing the conglomeration of loosely ordered “stuff” stretched across the former basketball gym’s dimly-lit vault. With it’s creaking hardwood floors and lingering odor of mothballs and mildew, entering the museum is a bit like stumbling upon an attic sealed from time for the last 150 years, an attic stocked by a spinster history buff who quite possibly moonlighted as a mad scientist.

“a woman who has never thrown away a thing... A housewife, snakekiller, curator, trapper, dramatic actress, philosopher, and preserver of all the riches of mankind…”

Winter 2017

“Can you imagine all of this in one lady’s house?” Congleton says, sweeping his eyes across the shelves, aisles and glass displays. “It would be fair to say she was eccentric. I think her attitude toward life was ‘Why not?’” Indeed. How else to account for a life spent compiling, among other things: a dress worn by a local 700-pound woman (she died in bed and had to be craned out the window); an unspent Civil War shell; a German World War I half-boot pulled from an amputated foot; fleas dressed in wedding costumes and arranged under a magnifying glass (supposedly a gift from gypsies who stayed on Way’s land); a human skeleton; an antique x-ray machine; an anchor believed to be from the War of 1812; several snakes (killed by Mrs. Eva), one stuffed, swallowing a wooden egg, another made into a necktie; various farm implements and decaying dolls; jars of home canned products, including one gelatinous mass labeled “chicken fat;” containers of dog teeth (circa 1950) and snake eggs (date unknown); a WWI machine gun; a stamp-sized Bible; and an April 15, 1865 edition of The New York Herald detailing Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. They’re all there, some marked with faded, handwritten labels, some placed in apparent random array, to be pondered but never explained. Any one of those items would be worth an historian’s interest. But they’re not, if truth be told, why most visitors make their way up the steep wooden staircase to the second floor of the old Belhaven Town Hall. What brings them in, what brought me in, are the things relegated to the back of the museum, like dark dreams suspended in liquid amber. Throughout her life, Way came to possess a series of medical exhibits, some of which were donated by a local doctor. Encased in jars of preservative, a one-eyed fetal pig, a S outhEast North Carolina

“So friends of mine, please all forgive My praising these downtrodden treasures, But they make my life so easy to live That my work becomes a pleasure.” two-headed kitten, and a harelipped dog peer out from their murky recesses. Two fawns, curled sweetly as if sleeping, share shelf space with a small, gape-mouthed shark. Round the corner and lower your gaze, and you’re confronted with what appears to be an especially unappetizing pot roast in a fish tank. Closer inspection reveals that it’s actually a 10-pound tumor removed from a female patient and carted off from Pungo District Hospital. There’s other things to be found there in the half gloom as well: a jar of baby copperheads, an eight legged pig, a slyly contorted octopus. But the museum’s most startling exhibit, by far, is its most human: three prenatal babies, one bent forward as if in prayer, placed side by side, the light from a nearby window illuminating their barely-formed features. They would be old by now, as old as Mrs. Eva perhaps, these peaceful siblings of chance, whose futures are forever locked inside their pale, silent anatomies. They slumber through the decades behind their murky glass, of this world and some other. And watching over them all, a dolphin’s skull smiles down from atop a curio chest. Amy Weston remembers the mummified squirrels. She remembers the antique dolls and collection of curled, ingrown toenails. But most of all she remembers the flea bride and groom. “Our class used to come here when I was in elementary school, and I just thought that was the coolest thing. Back then I convinced myself I could see the little man and woman through the magnifying glass,” says Weston, a 37-year-old Belhaven native who moved to Portland, Ore. a decade ago. According to Congleton the museum has approximately 1,000 visitors each year. He says many of them, after touring the niches and crannies of the room and its exhibits, have one simple question. Why? “They want to know what would possess a woman to collect all these things. I’m not sure there’s an answer for that?” he admits. The collection is the only clue left, it seems. Following her death, Mrs. Eva’s sprawling house at the edge of Belhaven stood empty for years until it was battered to the ground by Hurricane Isabel in 2003. “Her home is a real piece of art, filled with an amazing array of items, ranging all the way from a trillion buttons down to the finest china, and all is properly cared for, carefully labeled and displayed for the thousands of her eager visitors. Her feeling, humor, and grace when she reads poetry would put to shame some of the finest Broadway actors and actresses,” the Washington Daily News once reported. There’s a photo of Way propped against a shelf in the back of the museum. It show an old woman, late 70s perhaps, dressed in a long sleeve calico house dress holding up a dead rattlesnake that stretches from her shoulder down to her slippers. Beneath an unruly thatch of white hair, Way is grinning, like a child showing off a particularly neat, but possibly illicit, discovery.

Leaning against the shelf beneath the photo, what remains of the snake, its skin, is stretched across a piece of rough hewn lumber. “So friends of mine, please all forgive My praising these downtrodden treasures, But they make my life so easy to live That my work becomes a pleasure.”

Those words are from a poem Way wrote, “My Old Shoes” that she included in her autobiography. Though written in praise of sensible footwear, they could just as easily describe her attitude toward each of the fascinating relics she gathered around her in life. And maybe that’s all the explanation we need.

The Belhaven Memorial Museum is located on East Main Street, (or Business 264), on the second floor of the historic Belhaven Town Hall. The museum is open daily from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m., every day except Wednesdays. Admission is free to all visitors, however donations are accepted. The Belhaven Memorial Museum contains a number of medical exhibits collected by Mary Eva Blount Way (pictured below) over her 93 years. From Top: Glass jars containing a pair of prenatal babies, which were collected by a local physician; a mummified pig; several human tumors, including one weighing 10 pounds that was removed from a patient at nearby Pungo District Hospital, sit in a liquid-filled fish tank; a human skeleton keeps watch beside the skin of one of the many snakes “Miss Eva” killed throughout her life. Opposite Page: Clothing and other artifacts from the 19th and early 20th century are another facet of the museum’s collection.

se • saturnalia

Zack Mexico Sci-fi pop explorers travel beyond the Outer Banks

John Saturley has heard the comparisons people make in their efforts to label Kill Devil Hills band Zack Mexico. The voice — that sounds like Jim Morrison. The music— it has a bit of a Pink Floyd/Jefferson Airplane/Led Zeppelin vibe. Saturley and his longtime beach buddies have made numerous evolutionary leaps since their debut release in 2012, and along the way found an audience that likes its flirtations with surf rock, psychedelic pop and techo dance music with piercing guitar runs. While surf sounds appear to be the beginning, the five-piece band, with a few other floating members, has clearly transformed with each of its six CDs. “Every song has its own mood and moves,” said Saturley, the group’s lead singer and artistic director/leader. “We became the band we were from our many influences. I’m sort of the singer out of default.” Saturley, guitarists Matt Wentz and Jamie Brumbeloe and drummers Joey LaFountaine and Josh Martier form the core of the band, which also gets contributions from Stephen Brown, T.J. Harrington and Tyler Byers. “We’re basically a floating five-member band where everybody plays in other bands,” Saturley said. “So we’re sort of the result of our influences, from rock to jazz to pop to techno to other genres.” Even so, LaFountaine said Saturley is the visionary of the group. “Jamie and I were just playing when we started, but John was writing songs and had a sound,” LaFountaine said. “To me, we’re

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Winter 2017

like this weird art project, but the sound is exciting and everyone loves the creative process. When we’re noodling around with a riff we just have a way of influencing one another. We all listen to different stuff and point it out to each other. The band sounds like John’s band, and yet it’s all of us.” Zack Mexico led the way in at least one area of the Outer Banks town — getting bar crowds into the band’s original music. “Before we played here most bands were cover bands,” Saturley said. “We’re fortunate to have a place that supported us, and that backbone gave us the ability to travel.” The band tours in some of the state’s better clubs, including the Pour House in Raleigh, Pink Hook in Durham, The Garage in Winston-Salem, Boone Saloon in Boone and nearly every coastal pub of note. A new studio album will be released either this month or in January. It is a work Saturley feels shows the band’s progression. “It will be more about our influences individually than anything, and I believe it will show we can’t be pinned down,” he said. “Look, we’ve already made it further than I ever imagined, and we’re not stopping. My personal goal is to make soundtracks for movies, but to do that the secret is to just keep playing, keep evolving. So I would love to do three or four big tours a year." Saturley’s only statement about a preview of the new release was to say, “We’re heading in a further direction. Sort of going in a so much more dynamic direction. We’re past the times of wondering what kind of music we can make and into just putting it all out there and then seeing how it can be shaped."

Outakes

“Call Me Back” This song is nothing but pure fun. It starts with a lively keyboard ditty that wraps around the percussion to give it a dance feel. Saturley’s deep vocals pound in a rhythm with the bass guitar, while the lead guitar takes a joyride up and down the fret board. “Reputation” Psycho pop, rock and social acceptance are intertwined in this jam-like anthem. This tune is more like a rocker with punchy electronic accents and a faint yet clear message about judging people who smoke marijuana. The guitar work from the middleeight forward guides the mood. The band finds a nice way to have its “spacey” fingerprint while forging a bigger modern footprint. “Suzuki” Saturley’s vocals work perfectly on a song about “not falling in love again,” but knowing the scope of the challenge. His slowly sung words build nicely as the guitars and beat drive home the controllable and unmanageable chaos and perils involved of maintaining a relationship.

If your ears have yet to feast on the glory that is Zack Mexico, check out these cuts.

“Early Times” Fear not if your first reaction is, “that sounds like Jim Morrison.” One line of the song tells about the band’s journey — and everyone else’s as well. “This life has a way Of turning you into Something that you are not.” While not exactly poetic, it reminds us that the above phrase is easier seen in someone else than yourself. The point is that it begs you to compare your current situation to your many I’ll-never-act-think-ortalk-like-that preconceptions. “Bleed Out” This song contrasts with many of the band’s other tunes in that it blurts out its personality early, rather than building it up. Although mentioned early and often enough, Zack Mexico doesn’t overuse the “bleed out” catch phrase. While it tells the song’s premise quickly, the experiment shows that the band’s music can accelerate in new and different directions.

“Apocalypse” This short song (2:16) features a layering of instrumentation that makes it move quickly. Some artists would develop this completely backwards from the band’s approach. They found a way to make a normal beginning the end and vice versa. But the listener will only know that after digesting the final chapter. “Space Trash” This lyric-less song goes into deep hippy space land and could be the “druggiest” song the band has produced. “I Can Change” Zack Mexico tells you what is coming in the opening lyrics and then entertains you with its showmanship. It is a short song that makes you want more. “Surf sounds” This and other early songs such as “Lotte,” “Drawing Lines” and “Loggerhead and Lagomorph” from the “Celestial Kokomo” release in 2012 feature a distinct surf vibe that transforms into techno, perhaps best shown in “I’m Not Afraid of You.”

For information on the band, visit www.zackmexico.com

se • saturnalia

Craft beer

Southeast North Carolina is

eople walk the streets and laugh and smoke cigarettes and spend their dollars in the stores. It’s a downtown dream: people rubbing shoulders and spending time in the bubbling energy of commerce and culture. Bubbling, like beer. “[The breweries] have provided jobs ... but another thing in Wilmington is that as we continue

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Story and Photos: Trevor Normile to grow, people look at Wilmington as a craft beer destination,” says Jeremy Tomlinson, president of the Cape Fear Craft Beer Alliance. “That makes us one of the top brewing communities in the South.” And Tomlinson should know. The region represented by the Alliance is home to 10 breweries with two under construction and, maybe, three more coming later. He’s also the man to see for Winter 2017

tours of the area’s breweries. With his business, the Port City Brew Bus, he gives beer lovers a quick roundup of the local beer makers, among other things. As a tourism service, Tomlinson’s bus is directly dependent on the boom of local breweries over the past two and a half years. A few years ago, he and a partner were working with the University of North Carolina-Wilmington Center for Innovation and

economy:

buzzing with industry growth

“ ” -

Entrepreneurship when, he said, they began mixing with people in the town’s brew scene. After they saw businesses in other towns capitalizing on the tourismfriendly beer industry, they started an Indie GoGo effort to fund the Brew Bus. “Neither of us were brewers. I used to brew, but I wasn’t very good at it,” Tomlinson laughs. “We thought, how could we get involved? We saw that every

It’s a downtown dream: people rubbing shoulders and spending time in the bubbling energy of commerce and culture. Bubbling, like beer.

Photo: A brewer pours a handful of fresh hop pellets. By raising the legal limit of alcohol content in craft beer in the mid-2000s (“Pop the Cap”), breweries are open to experimenting with hoppy styles such as the ever-popular India Pale Ale.

community that had a certain number of breweries had some sort of transportation, so we decided to move forward with it.” The bus is just one example of the web being built around the town’s breweries, however. Dr. Stephen Harper is the Progress Energy/Betty Cameron Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship at UNCWilmington’s Cameron Business school. Winter 2017

In short form, he teaches management. Harper describes it as an “entrepreneurial ecosystem.” The source of the energy in a natural ecosystem is usually the sun. In Wilmington’s craft brew scene, it’s the suds. “Number one, it does help the economy, it provides a product and service,” Harper says. “The major impact, in many people’s eyes, is that it adds to the quality of life. S outhEast North Carolina

And two, is tourists. If there’s much time to think industry created 10,000 jobs and enough stuff in Wilmington, ‘Hey, what’s our impact?’ $1.2 billion in revenue, making people will say, ‘Hey we have to They’ve just been focusing it “the leading producer of craft check out the craft brew scene.” on making good beer,” he beer in the South.” Harper admits he is not a craft says. The Guild also states that beer connoisseur himself, but says “I think it’s been pretty $300 million in wages have the system in which craft brewing big, several breweries been generated statewide. This exists has secondary effects. have taken abandoned includes craft brew powerhouses Jeremy Stephen Tomlinson Harper As the beer is made and sold, it buildings, reworked like Asheville, which alone brings other services to the table. them, increased the tax houses 20 breweries. Larger craft Tomlinson identifies those he’s seen just value, some have even expanded out.” brew companies like Sierra Nevada, New in the last few years. And even though each brewery might Belgium and Oskar Blues have expanded “One of the areas I think Wilmington employ only a handful of people, that into the state as well, they note. is growing in, is the ancillary businesses. handful are employed in making their Still, not every side of an industry We now have electricians, plumbers, own product, not just reselling it for can be expressed in numbers and dollar pipe-fitters getting experience working someone else. signs. Dr. Harper’s description of the with the breweries,” he says. It’s not as though the industry is in brewing scene in downtown Wilming“Now when people come to the city, ton (and the rest of the region) as part there are experienced workers here. We’re of an “ecosystem” is farther-reaching also starting to get some specialized than plumbers and line-cleaners. businesses. I’ve noticed new draft lineIt’s a cultural boom, too. Neighborcleaning businesses here.” hood breweries are a part of the landOne of the difficulties facing the scape all over Europe; brewing hotspots industry now is that it’s still relatively in the U.S. are late to that party. new, at least in Wilmington. Front Street And it is a party—a trip downtown Brewery has been in business more than on a Friday night reveals a poignant 20 years, but the field of other craft cross-section of the imbibing public. brewers has only taken shape in the last College kids mob the town’s oldest bar, couple of years, according to Tomlinson. the Barbary Coast, while others crawl That creates strange legal areas for into a dark corner of Lula’s Pub, perbreweries, explains Harper. haps its most secretive drinking spot. “One of the issues that used to be But everywhere, people are interthe case is, you can brew there, serve acting, enjoying themselves, spending there, but can you bottle it? That’s being money. addressed,” he says. “It becomes a place to go ... to inter“The whole idea of to-go is being act with people,” says Harper. addressed.” “It’s not just beer, it’s like a restauStill, the growing pains may linger rant, they go for other things also. But somewhat. At the time of his interview, are people going downtown for the Tomlinson said the Alliance was planning craft beers? The answer is obviously an economic impact study for the craft yes.” brewers in the region. Asked whether the influx of brewDespite the renovation of millions of eries in the greater Wilmington area dollars’ worth of buildings (not just in could lead to a “peak beer” problem, Wilmington but throughout the eastern Harper says that so far, the growth part of the state), it’s still unclear how has likely had a positive impact on the much money the breweries have brought A vendor at the recent Lighthouse Beer businesses themselves. into the area. “I think they’re helping each other, But studies cost money, so the Alliance Festival, Wilmington, pours a glass of beer for a festival attendee. The event the rising tide raises all ships. You see is working with researchers at UNCdrew thousands. cooperation among the businesses ... Wilmington and planning events to they’d rather have people down there raise money for the study. Students may also be used to help perform the study, the dunkel, erm, dark. Some numbers than not at all.” This story also appeared in the winter Tomlinson said. are available for the overall craft beer edition of our sister publication, Carolina Why no guess on the impact already? economy, statewide. Brew Scene. Find them on Facebook or It’s actually simple, Tomlinson explains. The N.C. Craft Brewers Guild notes online at carolinabrewscene.com. “The breweries haven’t been taking that in 2015, North Carolina’s craft beer SE 38

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Tryon Palace Candlelight Christmas Celebration Annual New Bern gala opens window on 18th century holiday revelry

hen the main building of Tryon Palace burned to the ground in 1798, few New Bern residents would have predicted that more than two centuries later, the one time governor’s mansion would be among southeastern North Carolina’s most popular tourist destinations. It’s a good bet they also didn’t foresee that the Christmas traditions of their governor and the town’s most prominent citizens would provide inspiration for a 21st century holiday fete. Tryon Palace’s annual Candlelight Christmas Celebration looks back on 300 years of Christmases past with music, dancing, and holiday decorations, The celebration highlights the holiday festivities enjoyed by the families of Gov. Abner Nash (1780), John Stanly, who famously killed Gov. Richard Dobbs Spaight in a duel (1803) and resident George Dixon (1835). In the Commission House, the Mohn family hosts a classic 1950s Christmas Eve party. The 36th annual Candlelight Colonial Christmas Celebration returned to Tryon Palace in 2016 on Dec. 10 and 17, with new decorations and holiday vignettes illuminated by the glow of candlelight.

Along with scenes from different eras portrayed in the Governor’s Palace, visitors were also treated to circus acts such as fire eaters, sword swallowers, and acrobatics from the

Fireworks illuminate the sky over Tryon Palace during the New Bern landmark’s annual Candlelight Christmas Celebration.

Pickled Brothers Circus. They also experienced the magic of 18th-century magician Rodney the Younger, as well as a performance by the Tryon Palace Jonkonnu troupe. Christmas revelers warmed up with hot cider and cookies from Mack’s Cider House in the Trades Building before ending the evening with a show of black powder fireworks on Tryon Palace’s south lawn. For more information about the annual Tryon Palace Christmas celebration visit www.tryonpalace. org/candlelight. SE Winter 2017

N.C. Jazz Festival Wilmington’s celebration of one of America’s indigenous art forms will let loose for its 37th year in February. The festival was started in 1980 by Dr. Harry VanVelsor, a local dermatologist, and consummate jazz lover. In recent years it has hosted an array of talents from around the world, drawing jazz fans from Finland, Australia, and Italy.

N.C. Holiday Flotilla Drawing nearly 50,000 spectators each November, the Holiday Flotilla in Wrightsville Beach follows a 4-mile route through Motts Channel, Banks Channel and the Intracoastal Waterway before passing the judges’ viewing stand at Blockade Runner Beach Resort. With more than $10,000 in cash prizes going to the winners, the flotilla features boats decorated with holiday themes and glittering lights.

Warren Haynes Christmas Jam Curated and presented by Grammy Award-winning guitarist and Asheville native Warren Haynes, the Christmas Jam is a one-ofa-kind music marathon. Since 1988 the concert has provided an opportunity for the performing artists and local community to give back during the holiday season by raising money for the Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity.

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Voice of America

As Nazi propaganda flooded the European airwaves during the early years of World War II, another voice, one speaking of hope and democracy, was born. Come along for a tour of the last remaining Voice of America transmission station in the continental U.S. The war may be over, but the mission lives on.

Hurricane Matthew

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Wilmington Zombie Walk

Though their stomachs hunger for the warm delicacy of human flesh, these undead wanderersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hearts are in the right place. The ghouls take to the streets each year to scare up fun in the Port City and funds for a local food bank.

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RADIO

FREEDOM

Voice of America’s shortwave revolution Story & Photos by Todd Wetherington Additional photos contributed by VOA

hat is the voice of America? In the second decade of the 21st century, that’s a question that may be more difficult to answer than at any other time in our nation’s history. Is it the rural working class voters who turned out in force in November? Is it the white nationalists who gathered recently in Washington, D.C., hailing our new president with Nazi salutes? Is it the North Dakota pipeline protesters? Ask 100 people and you’re likely to get as many different answers. But there was a 44

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time, shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States’ official entry into World War II, when the answer to that question seemed clear: the voice of America was the voice of democracy. Situated some 20 minutes southeast of Greenville, the small corn field and horse pasture community of Black Jack seems an unlikely place for both the spirit and physical expression of that arguably more consonant era to make their last stand. Appearing on the horizon like a Mars space colony from a 1950s sci-fi movie, the Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station Site B is the last broadcasting site in the Winter 2017

domestic U.S. for Voice of America, a Cold War relic that has helped shape the world in ways that, outside of a few shortwave radio enthusiasts, most Americans know nothing about. The Voice of America (VOA) went on the air seven weeks after the U.S. entered World War II with its first live broadcast to Germany, Stimmen aus Amerika (“Voices from America”), which was transmitted on February 1, 1942. It was introduced by “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and included the pledge: “Today, and every day from now on, we will be with you from America to talk about the war... The news

Construction of The Edward R. Murrow transmitting Station,1921-62. Left: VOA employees work on the installation of transmitting equipment. Middle: Antenna towers and the main station near completion. Top Right: Horses haul off cleared timber.

may be good or bad for us – We will always tell you the truth.” The VOA originated with one very specific goal in mind: to use the power of the U.S. government and the nation’s radio transmitting potential to counter Nazi propaganda coming out of Germany. “There were commercial broadcasts but no government broadcasts at the time. Joseph Goebbels, who was the propaganda minister of Germany, began using shortwave broadcasts into England and had quite an impact,” explains Rick Williford, Site B program support manager. “The U.S. jumped into this seeing the power of Goebbels, so we hastily starting using commercial broadcasters in Cincinnati and New York as a response to the Germans, which proved pretty effective.” In the early 1940s, shortwave broadcasting was relatively unique, although AM radio was growing in popularity. But now the US saw a definite need for a radio broadcast that could circumnavigate the world. Within months of its first broadcast, 23 VOA transmitters were in place. The VOA originally fell under the umbrella of the War Department. In 1946, as World War II started winding down, the government began exploring other ways to use the power of the VOA. A newly ascendent Russia and the emerging Cold War would provide that opportunity, as America sought to thwart the propaganda of communist Eastern Bloc countries which, in turn, tried to electronically jam the U.S. transmissions. Together with newly-created shortwave broadcasts such as Radio Free Europe (RFE)

and Radio Liberty, the VOA played a crucial role in providing Eastern Bloc refugees with a link to the modern world. International radio had now become an instrument of American foreign policy. “I think they (RFE) were very instrumental in changing the whole heart and soul of that communist controlled region,” says Williford. “RFE and VOA have to take a role of at least helping to bring down the Berlin Wall from the other side. But it took us a lot of years...I guess our ultimate goal is to reach people out there who don’t know you but can still trust that they’re getting a voice they can depend on.”

Sitting in his office at the Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station, Williford, a 64-year-old former NASA field engineer, is careful to stress that the VOA’s mission is to deliver news, not propaganda, or at least not propaganda as it’s normally, and negatively, understood. “Our goal is to provide just unbiased news, promoting democracy along the way,” says Williford, a framed portrait of Murrow, the famed broadcast journalist, looming over his shoulder. “The concept was we were talking to regimes as the Cold War started to develop. We found there was a vacuum of Winter 2017

truth, of real news. People still wanted news instead of relying on the element that would silence freedom of speech; there was really a problem with that.” As Williford sees it, the VOA’s mission has been to transform societies not with guns and bombs, but by offering a glimpse at freedom, or through “soft diplomacy” as he calls it. “We always like to promote democracy, obviously, because the VOA charter is to promote the ideals of America. The highest ideal is the First Amendment, freedom of the press and freedom of speech. Therefore your high target areas are oppressive states, like Russia and Cuba.” Opened in 1963, the Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station is actually the last of three VOA sites that were built west, east and southeast of Greenville, hence its “Site B” designation. The locations were chosen to ensure the best “electronic propagation conditions.” Programs originating from studios in Washington were beamed via microwave to Greenville and were then relayed from there to Latin America, Europe and Africa. “We operated microwave links all the way from Virginia all the way down to Scotland Neck and then here at C site,” Williford recalls. “The receiver site would then transfer the programs to the two transmitter plants, A and B site. The A site was located out just north of little Washington. In 1995, with the advent of satellite communication, we closed C site; you no longer needed a central point to receive. In 2006, we decommissioned A site and moved all its resources to B site. So this is the last remaining facility.” S outhEast North Carolina

Above: Broadcasts are made from Site B’s main control room. Right: A 1950s era General Electric transmitter.

Site B covers 2,715 acres, most of which are dedicated to 40 antennas housed in metal towers that rise up like skeletal insects from the surrounding fields. “Basically we can broadcast from Moscow to West Africa to Prague,” says Williford. “The station was also built to cover the Southern hemisphere, all of South America, and Cuba.. In fact right now we’re doing broadcasts to Haiti because of the hurricane destruction.” While it would take a novel length article to describe in detail the inner workings of the station, basically the Voice of America broadcasts come to life like this: Programs produced at studios in Washington, D.C. are sent by satellite to Site B receivers. Transmitters at the station then send the signals to the antennas, which beam them out to their specific regions of the world. “We get the programming and our job is to put it on and keep these transmitters on air,” notes Williford. “Everything that happens at a regular radio station as far as getting it through the antennas and onto the air is what we do here.” As Williford explains it, the transmissions emanating from the remote station are something akin to sentient entities, with their own fickle moods that change with the seasons. “You have to use different frequencies depending on your target area because you’re using the ionosphere to bounce the signals off of, so you have to maximize your bounce point. So you’re assigned different frequencies in the winter and summer, because the density of the ionosphere changes.” Surprisingly, the technology that powers the broadcasts is far from the digital cutting edge. In fact, the station’s newest transmitters date from the mid-1980s, when digital components were first being introduced commercially. The station’s workhorses, however, are three 1961 model General Electric 46

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transmitters that produce a combined 750 kilowatts of what Williford describes as “brute force mechanical power.” Three 1950s-era transmitters, complete with fistsized knobs and pistol grip controllers, act as backups. Combined, the transmitters can produce approximately half a million kilowatts of output power. Due to the age of the technology, many of the replacement components, such as tubes and variable capacitors, have to be manufactured on site. “Nobody makes this stuff anymore. We had to set up shop here and do it ourselves,” says Williford.

“

We found there was a vacuum of truth, of real news. People still wanted news instead of relying on the element that would silence freedom of speech. – Rick Williford

”

Williford maintains that 21st century digital advances have had little effect on the VOA’s decidedly 20th century marching orders. “It hasn’t really changed the way we do things. There are advantages to both (digital and shortwave). For one thing digital is obviously less costly; it’s more efficient if you have content put on the web. On the other hand, this is radio, it’s free to air and it’s not subject to outside control. In China they censor the Internet; in Syria and Libya they cut the Internet off during their crisis. The government controls the infrastructure Winter 2017

so there’s only one way to get in, and that’s through radio.” Of the original 14 VOA stations, there are now eight left, including sites in Kuwait, Thailand, the Philippines, the Marianas Islands, Tinian, and West Africa. Having moved from the purview of the War Department, to the State Department and, now, the U.S. Information Agency, the VOA currently broadcasts in 42 languages to sites around the globe. The Middle East has become a particular hot spot for the VOA’s mission, says Williford. “Our station in Kuwait is upgrading a lot because of its location in reference to Iran and also to the Horn of Africa.” Having spent 27 years following the world’s history through the sonic lens of the VOA, Williford says he’s been particularly troubled by the decline in freedoms afforded news outlets in recent years. “Right now, freedom of the press to me is at one of its lowest ebbs, from what we saw in 2014 and 2015; it’s not getting better. And of course, with a lot of civil unrest in countries, it goes to almost zero. We have some places in South America where it looks like it’s turning away again. Even Mexico…” Strangely enough, Williford seems unconcerned by the dwindling number of VOA sites across the world. In fact, as he sees it, the encroaching obsolescence of the official external broadcasting institution of the United States may be the most appropriate tribute to its lasting significance. “My job is to basically put myself out of a job. That’s the ultimate goal in providing this, for the world to be peaceful and the U.S. to get along with the rest of the world. But sometimes the rest of the world just doesn’t seem to be cooperating. If you want to put it into a glorious goal, we’re trying to really build a world that puts me out of a job. At this age I’d kind of welcome that.”

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Wilmington

Cleaning up M Story: Nadya Nataly

October hurricane bashes Tar Heel state’s southeast corner with high winds and historic flooding

s Hurricane Matthew ripped through the Caribbean in late September, southeastern North Carolinians monitored the weather channels to brace themselves for the landfall of a potential Category 5 Atlantic hurricane. Whirling into October, Matthew was the fifth hurricane and second major hurricane of 2016. It made landfall in the U.S. on Saturday, Oct. 8 southeast of McClellanville,

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S.C. as a Category 1 hurricane with 75 mph winds. Matthew’s devastation left an estimated 680,000 residents displaced from their homes and hundreds of farmers scrambling to their fields to salvage what was left of their crops. Hitting the coasts of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, extreme rainfall caused the National Weather Service (NWS) offices to issue flash flood

Greenville SouthEast North Carolina

Winter 2017

warnings due to the amount of rain and storm surge flooding. The NWS estimated rainfall in amounts as high as 7 inches per hour. The extreme precipitation caused road washouts and flooded homes and businesses in the vicinity of Interstate 95 and 40. By Sunday, Oct. 9 Matthew finally steered away from the N.C. coastline and was downgraded to a post-tropical storm. The top wind gusts reported from Matthew were in Dare County, at 83 mph, and Lumberton, at 66 mph. Fayetteville experienced wind gusts of 62 mph. Meteorologists reported that the strongest wind gusts in the Carolinas occurred after the center of Matthew passed by. The Fayetteville region received

Fayetteville

atthew’s mess Photos: FEMA

over eight inches of rain in a six hour period on the morning of Saturday, Oct. 8. The downpour broke water-level records set in1954 by Hurricane Hazel. Even after the rain ended, rivers were still rising for days in several parts of the region. State officials made visits to assess damages in southeastern North Carolina. State Farm Service Agency Director Bob Etheridge visited counties in the hard hit region to address farmers’ needs and the extent of the damage to their crops. “You work all year, you invest hard work, all your money, your savings, and then this happens, and you have no control of it. It’s gone. They had a bad year last year, they needed a good year,” said Etheridge. “Now it’s two bad years in a row.

This is worse than last year, because at least last year you didn’t have the flooding and this time, with the rain it came and moved it.” Some state leaders, like N.C. Senator Thom Tillis, visited counties in need and volunteered with the Red Cross. Tillis lent a hand by helping to clean up mobile kitchens at relief location sites and distributed meals. “I’m out here to show support and ensure people understand we’re do-

ing everything we can to help them through the recovery of the hurricane,” said Tillis, while distributing warm meals to people who were still without power. With approximately $1.5 billion in damages to over 100,000 homes, businesses, and government agencies, the recovery from Matthew is going to take months. Though the floodwaters have receded, people are still picking up the pieces. SE

The downpour broke water-level records set in1954 by Hurricane Hazel.

Faison

Greenville Winter 2017

S outhEast North Carolina

Carrying on the tradition of BULK & MORE

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Scott Insurance & Financial, Inc Rodney Scott 404 N Kinston Blvd (252)568-3310 PO 375 www.nationwide.com/scottinsurance ScottInsurance Insurance Financial, Inc Rodney RodneyScott Scott Scott & &Box Financial, Inc Scott Insurance & Financial, Inc Rodney Scott Pink404 Hill 28572 (252)568-3310 404NC KinstonBlvd Blvd (252)568-3310 NNKinston 404 N Kinston Blvd (252)568-3310 So Sou Sour Source: ou ce 2013 013 Mun 01 M ic ich Re Re: e: Report. Base sed se d on o pre premium and los premium losss data. da Nationwi on PO onwi d PO de, theBox N Box Nati onwide N and Eagle and Nationwide is on o your r sside ar are e servic rvice rvi e ma arks o of Natio tionwid nw e Mutual nwid Mutual ual Ins In ur www.nationwide.com/scott 375 www.nationwide.com/sco 375 www.nationwide.com/scottinsurance We e Stand a d Fo For Yo You iss a se ervic rvice m rvice mark k of Nation ionwide wide Ag A ibus Agr ussine inesss Insurance ines In POe Box C Comp a 375 any. ©2015 Nationwide Mutual Insurance Com o ompa n Products und ny ny. un erwr e itte tten tte n by b Nat Nationw ion id ionw ide d Ag Agribusi Agri busi us ness sss Ins In ur F Farm land a Mu Mut M ual a Insu nsuranc nce Compan n Compa mpany, mpan y, Allie Allie llied Proper Proper operty and d Cas a asua asu lt Insu lty ns rance Compan mpany y and an AMCO Insurance Co Company. Home Office: 111 1100 L Locust u Street us Str ett Des Moin o es, e IA. GPOO 01711AO.2 AO O.2 2 (02 Pink Hill NC 28572 Pink Hill NC 28572 Scott Insurance &ty Financial, Inc Rodney Scott Pink Hill NC 28572

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SouthEast North 2017 And for doing theCarolina little thingsWinter right.

Farm safety means doing the little things right so that the big things go smoothly. That’s why Scott Insurance & Financial, Inc partners with the nation’s number one farm insurer. We believe in taking the time to teach and learn safety in all aspects of farming.

Zombies Infectious desire to feed Story: Nadya Nataly Photos: Contributed

or the last nine years, the streets of downtown Wilmington have been infested with bloody, gory and decaying corpses — zombies, to be

exact. The reanimated human corpses are all members of the Facebook group, Wilmington Zombie Walk, which consists of 300-plus people whose mission has been to collect food and money to support the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. Since their first walk in 2008, the group has provided over 27,000 meals and is growing bigger with each passing year. During the 2016 walk, the zombie walkers raised $2,160, close to $2,000 more than the 2008 event. For every $5 donated, 25 meals can be served to the underfed community serviced by the Food Bank. All proceeds from the Wilmington Zombie Walk are donated to the Food Bank. In addition to the nonperishable food items, monetary donations are collected through the

sale of T-shirts and beverages. This year’s festivities were held on Oct. 15 at Orton’s, 133 N. Front Street. By noon, participants waited to have their makeup applied by loWinter 2017

cal makeup artists who transformed them into grisly zombies prior to the walk. Separated into two groups, the first set of walkers participated in a pub crawl through local bars and restaurants. The group sauntered through downtown, wandering aimlessly as if infected with a reanimating virus. The second group was distinctly kid friendly, allowing children of all ages to experience a trick or treat walk by visiting merchants for delightful treats. The walk was followed by a costume contest, raffle drawing and group picture at the post office on N. Front Street. The friendly zombies were seen imitating television characters from The Walking Dead and Zombieland, while others paraded in their own uncannily blood-curdling ensembles. Morbid brides, prom queens, nurses, and even zombie killers played their roles seriously and made dressing up like a ghoul for an evening a memorable experience. SE S outhEast North Carolina

HTC Vive $799

Samsung Gear $99 Oculus Rift $599

Sony PlayStation $399

Exploring virtual reality

on a budget Story: Nadya Nataly

here was once a time when a child was more intrigued to play with the cardboard box the toy came in than the toy itself. As a child, my cardboard box served as an imaginary spaceship on a mission to Mars. The cardboard box though has been replaced by a virtual reality experience that can take one through the entire Milky Way Galaxy in a matter of minutes. In the last couple of years, virtual reality has become a sensory experience that is now accessible to all. No longer is the technology limited to IMAX movies. Virtual reality (VR) applications provide creative, immersive forays into the virtual world. Enjoying this new dimension on a smartphone has consumers itching to feast their eyes on the growing technology. Virtual reality is defined as a computer-generated simulation of a threedimensional image or environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real or physical way by a user, often through special electronic equipment such as a screen-fitted helmet or gloves equipped with sensors. Take the sensory gloves away, get rid of the helmet, add a smartphone, a couple of plastic lenses, some cardboard and assemble to make a virtual reality headset — talk about economical. Of course there are expensive options for powerful PC or gaming consoles, 52

SouthEast North Carolina

but with the use of a software-equipped phone, the cost can be as low as a few dollars. Seriously. It sounds futuristic, but people are accessing the VR technology with cardboard, Google Cardboard. There’s even a Google Cardboard store. A virtual reality Google Board can cost up to $9.99, while a DYI Google Board runs about $1.99 through Amazon or eBay. Brand new through the Google Store the cardboard will cost at least $25. It’s simple, just build the headset from the cardboard bits and place your smartphone inside. Companies like I Am Cardboard or Unofficial Cardboard also offer kits for $20. The VR content includes exploration of earth similar to Google Earth, but the demo allows the opportunity to fly around a cities, mountains and to explore space. There are other applications as well, it’s just a matter of exploring the store and finding the type of immersive experience one is looking for. VR is even compatible with YouTube and has capabilities of turning a cell phone’s camera into a VR camera that captures panoramas and sounds. There are other VR options also, like the Samsung Gear VR at $99, the Oculus Rift at $599, HTC Vivie at $799, and Sony PlayStation VR at $399. Each device offers different gaming and entertainment experiences. Though most customers are just Winter 2017

looking for entertainment, the true potential of the 3D world is just starting to unfold. It appears most of the devices offer approximately the same experience as much cheaper Google Cardboard, which can be assembled in three minutes. According to VR enthusiasts and experts, the new trend is not just a glorified View-Master for gaming, but a new medium that is still under construction. Professionals predict VR will be used in the film industry to capture VR stories by making movies feel less like films and more like live experiences. A new world of 3D design could also be on the horizon, as builders and architects learn to utilize the new virtual tools, in the process revolutionizing their respective industries. In the education field, 3D tools may provide hands-on experience for medical, chemistry, physics and astronomy students. For example, a medical student could practice open heart surgery without risks to a live patient using the VR technology. In other aspects of education, students could take “class trips” to different parts of the world from their classrooms. Bottom line: If the Crayon-smeared cardboard box of your childhood is no longer serving its purpose on missions to Mars, opt for a box that will bring the 3D universe to life at the click of a button. SE

North Carolina

Where in SENC is this? Fishing mural Davenport Law Office 111 W. Jones Street, Trenton

This season’s mystery photo: A mural depicting a lone fisherman trying his luck in the nearby Trent River takes up the entire west-facing wall of Trenton lawyer Sheri Davenport’s office building. The mural can be spotted across the street from the historic Jones County Courthouse just past the Trenton Mini Mart. The painting is just one of half a dozen murals that lend Trenton’s downtown the air of a small artists’s village. The murals were commissioned as part of a local beautification project. Over the past several years they have slowly but surely transformed the (Jones) county seat from a quaint, bucolic southeastern North Carolina town into a brighter and more inviting tourist destination.

Kinston-Lenoir County Parks & Recreation Department 2602 W. Vernon Avenue, Kinston NC 28504

252.939.3332

www.kinstonrec.com

Kinston-Lenoir County

Visitor & Information Center

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK

“Make us your first stop in Lenoir County” 101 East New Bern Rd., Kinston, NC 252-522-0004

Winter 2017

S outhEast North Carolina

“You will never truly learn to live until you learn to give. But A most powerful force, it can burn away anger, hate

day with Papa Dad was always an adventure for seven-year-old Dylan Northcutt. His father died three years ago and his16year-old brother, Jackson, was on the path to manhood. Some days they went to the market. Others were spent working in the yard and wood-crafting. Once they even went to the dog track and two Civil War cemeteries. But a standard trip was usually one that didn’t end until Papa Dad’s dusty white, nearly seatless van was filled with treasures from digs at yard sales, flea markets and tag-sales. One nippy North Carolina winter morning the van wiggled into the grass beside Dylan’s grandfather’s house filled to the brim — as usual. “Just the grand I wanted to see,” boomed Papa Dad, whose voiced echoed across the windshield and bounced around the driveway. “Go ‘round back and help me tote somethin’ out.” Jackson shrugged his 6-foot-2 shoulders and grimaced like he was forced to eat collards. Jackson meandered to the rear of the seatless van mumbling, “What’d he get this time?” Just then his sky-blue eyes gazed upon a burly figure lying in the van. “What in the world? Halloween is over Papa Dad.” Both boys gazed at the haunting figure, which looked more like a medieval monster to their four eyes. “It’s... It’s... Santa!” Dylan screamed in falsetto. “That’s creepy,” Jackson chimed in. 54

SouthEast North Carolina

The figure was neither spooky nor totally welcoming. Papa Dad took the reins of the conversation. “It’s the Nordic Santa,” he said as the two siblings began cackling, Dylan nearly falling over in laughter. “He is a combination of God and Santa and all of us,” said the portly, white-bearded Papa Dad.

It was about then that Papa Dad began dropping morsel hints he hoped his grandchildren would digest. One piqued Dylan’s imagination too much to let go. “So,” he said as he waited for full attention from his family. “Tell me more about this ... Northic Santa?” “Oh, you mean Nordic Santa,” Papa

Papa and

Nord Sant

Story: Michael Jaenicke “Look! He’s just returned from his trip to the North Pole. He’s got a bag of presents under one arm to give to Mrs. Claus.” “I don’t want to know his back story,” chirped Jackson. “Just tell me where we’re taking this. He’s heavy.” “Opposite the tree and to the left of the picture window,” Papa Dad instructed. Jackson bear-hugged Papa Dad’s find into place. Winter 2017

Dad said, glad that one of the boys took his bait. “He doesn’t look like a Santa,” Dylan said, thinking back to the Santa at the Townsquare Mall. “Are you sure you are looking closely?” “Duh,” Jackson said elbowing his brother. “Who believes in Santa? Or God? Oh, you mean the God that took our father? Anyways, that thing is junk.

herein lies the mystery of love. Love is universal and all-knowing. and sorrow. Even my magic is feeble compared to love.” Hey, Dylan, wanna go for a ride on my flying sled? Maybe we’ll go fishing in heaven.” An eerie silence then filled the room, as if no one were able to speak. They could only stare hypnotically at the Nordic Santa. They saw his fur-trimmed scarlet coat. His mammoth black boots. A

body! I’m home!” Those words were the calling card of Bella, the boys’ little sister, and enough to break the mood of any room with the twinkle of her 4-year-old bravado. “My little poot root!” Papa Dad wailed as Bella and Nana, Papa Dad’s soft-spoken companion of 52 years,

Dad

the

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Illustration: Trevor Normile gold timepiece that needed polish. His protruding cookie-filled belly that stuck out of his diamond-studded vest. His wavy beard under a steelychiseled chin. His intriguing eyes, which seemed to change color. His facial expression, which also seemed to slowly change as the boys remained in dead silence, unable to do anything but breathe and stare. “I’m home! I’m home! Hey, every-

entered the room. “Come here and see what we found — just for you.” “I love it. I love it. I love it. What is it?” “It’s some kind of hokey-pokey Nordic Santa,” Jackson said, tauntingly. “Enjoy fantasy land, Bella Boo.” If Bella had broken the spell, Jackson had shattered any chance Papa Dad had of telling more of the story. “A time will come …” Papa Dad Winter 2017

began, with a gleam in his eyes that mirrored the Nordic Santa. This Christmas would not come and go without more revelations coming to the windows of the large room, now home of the Nordic Santa. ••• Two weeks later — Dec. 24, 2016 — frost began to splatter the 24 panes of Papa Dad’s big den windows. The pine tree the children cut down in the mountains just outside Asheville was flashing, decorated with bulbs from years gone by. The three children lounged wearily in the big room having just returned from their final shopping caper of the season. Dylan, in his naughty way, liked to tease his family when they were quiet from exhaustion. “Nordic Santa, do you have the measles?” he asked. “The kind smacked on Jackson’s face?” “Oh, Nordic Santa, if you have the measles, I’m sure you will visit this place,” Dylan continued snottily. “Shuuut up, just shut shut up, Dylan, you t-t-talk too much. Just shut the heck up for five minutes,” Jackson stuttered, as he often did when agitated. “That’s my magic kit,” Dylan said, pointing to a present under the tree. “It’s even got wizard paper. I’m gonna put Merlin on top of it to guard my magic box present.” The children began speculating on the contents of the gifts under the tree. “My dance tu-took,” Bella said as Papa Dad let out a laugh that seemed to shake the tree. “If it ain’t cash, I don’t want it,” Jackson declared. “Cash or gift card.” “Alls I know is that one right there is my magic kit. So keep your hands off it!” Dylan proclaimed, as he hoisted an empty roll of wrapping paper, pointing his cardboard wrapper at the gift. S outhEast North Carolina

“That Nordic Santa doesn’t look like my Santa,” Dylan said. “He’s not like us.” “So, because he doesn’t look like you, you assume he’s not real; a fake?” Papa Dad asked. Just then in the corner of the room, so natural a movement the children nearly missed it, Nordic Santa appeared to scratch his nose. He blinked his eyes as a swirl of smoky rings began to cover Dylan’s wanna-be magic box. What happened from this point forward would seem like a lucid dream to the children, who wondered whether they were awake or sleeping. ••• “That Nordic Santa doesn’t look like my Santa,” Dylan said, as the statue came alive. “He’s not like us.” The other children watched, mouths gaping. “So, because he doesn’t look like you, you assume he’s not real; a fake?” Papa Dad boomed, taking charge of the situation. “Many of your school friends don’t look much like you either, Dylan.” The boy thought about the other children. There was the Asian girl who sat next to Dylan on the bus, who knew the best pranks to play on the children in the seat ahead. There were his tee-ball buddies: James, a black child who palled around with him since kindergarten, and Ayaan, whose parents moved here from faraway Bahrain and became fast Dodgers fans. They looked nothing like him either. “Don’t look with your eyes,” Papa Dad said. “They are limited. They have blinders that you and others put on them. They won’t allow you to truly see. Use your heart . ” “That thing’s fake,” Jackson said, but his conviction was fading fast. “God and Santa? And you and me. All of us,” Papa Dad said. “And the Nordic Santa is as alive as you and me.” “He can’t be,” Dylan argued. “Oh, isn’t he?” Papa Dad asked knowingly. Dylan thought of his trips to the cemetery to decorate his father’s grave site. He thought of how he felt his spirit during a song, or a prayer, although he still didn’t fully understand those things. Dylan remembered the times when he knew his father could see and hear him. “We are all of one spirit,” Papa Dad continued. “Me. You. Everything visible to your mental sight. 56

SouthEast North Carolina

“We are here to learn. The day of our birth and the day of our earthly death are one in the same. One day. Today. And everything around us, whether we think so or not, is indeed alive. We are Santa and we are god-like, not the God, But eternal. Like that box over there. Go kick it. Now did you hurt its spirit? No, its spirit is secure of its part in the universe.” Papa Dad pleaded with the children, “Look deep into the window panes. What you see is a direct reflection of yourself. And of God. And Santa, which is nothing more than a spirit we manifest, and in doing so makes it alive. Faith also appears to be unreal, but that is also not the case .” Jackson thought hard and concluded,

“window dressing.” “Exactly, but not in the way you are belittling it,” Papa Dad suggested. “Window dressing around the pulse of life. Love is a better word for it.” Something happened as the children pondered the concept of love and giving. “What about Jesus? Where does he fit into your theory?” Jackson asked sarcastically. “As real as you and me!” Papa Dad shouted. “And so are saints, angels and other gods people worship all around the world.” “But didn’t Jesus die on the cross, rise and go back up into heaven?” Dylan asked. “As you believe,” Papa Dad said. “He is alive. But isn’t it also true that he came back to earth and that he is a part of us? And that you can talk to him? The best way is through your heart and Winter 2017

through your actions. Damned be the judgmental tongue.” Dylan giggled at Papa Dad’s cuss. He blurted out wisdom not often heard from a child. “And Christmas is about giving,” the boy declared, and the thought became magical to him. ••• Seconds passed like days and minutes like years in the heads of the children. Their eyes from window to Nordic to the magic box. Magic box to Nordic Santa. They all felt a tingle, the electric instant before the bite of a chocolate, the first touch of a Christmas gift’s wrapping paper. An angel ornament on the tree began to pivot and one more miracle message remained to be uncovered. The Merlin doll still guarding Dylan’s magic box crackled to life in a flash, his plastic form giving way to flesh and fabric, the stars on his cape glowing brightly. “Are you are the seekers?” he asked in a voice that shook the home. “Uhhh,” Jackson began, too stupefied to speak. “We sure are,” Bella said boldly. “I’m ready for a trick! Make Jackson disappear! Bring him back after Christmas,” Dylan shouted, eyes wide. Merlin scratched his head and waved his other hand through his long beard. Merlin crossed his arms, blew a puff of stardust smoke from his lungs and began to speak. “Nordic Santa has taught you about spirit and now you will hear about love,” Merlin began. “You will never truly learn to live until you learn to give. But herein lies the mystery of love. Love is universal and all-knowing. A most powerful force, it can burn away anger, hate and sorrow. Even my magic is feeble compared to love. “Yet to get to it you must cross over into selflessness, a spiritual river that leads to an ocean of mental utopia. It will not be easy or simple. Nothing of value comes without mis-steps. It sounds simple, and it is, if you clear your minds and listen with your heart, as the Nordic Santa told you. “Become selfless and become enlightened into the flow of love.”

Merlin lowered his head and was devoured into his body-sized cape. The children looked at each other, and then back at Dylan’s hard plastic Merlin figurine. They talked a while, dozed off on the floor in front of the Nordic Santa, whose hand pointed to a Christmas tree sitting in front of the snow-covered window panes. ••• It felt like a different world when Bella burst up a few hours later and barked, “He came. He came. Nordic Santa came!” The euphoria of giftopening began. Everyone got what they expected, but Dylan, knowing the magic kit was within his grasp, saved it for last. In the excitement though, Dylan’s present was lost among the mountains of wrapping paper. The family searched, but never found it. It really didn’t matter, somehow he knew any trick in the box would never compare to what he had learned this Christmas season. ••• The Nordic Santa became a holiday tradition at the family’s home through the decades. Papa Dad died 22 years later. As an adult, Dylan forever remembered the pastor’s eulogy: “He was a man of character. A man of kindness. A man of God. A man who knew how to live and how to give to others.” Dylan had heard that before but was unsure when or where. Nana, who in that magical Christmas already seemed so old to him, was now too feeble to keep up the house. Before moving out, she called the kids to clean out the garage. Dylan nabbed Papa Dad’s oak bureau, the one

that used to sit in the living room. He tilted it back onto a cart and heard something shift within. In the bottom drawer: his magic kit, still wrapped. Bella, with a toddler at her side and child on the way, took Papa Dad’s old van. She smiled at the memory of their car trips. Jackson grabbed fishing gear and was set to leave when his youngest tugged at his jeans and pointed to the Nordic Santa, still covered in the corner. Bella stared at Jackson and then at Dylan. The fire in her eyes forced her brothers’ gaze to the covered icon. “I’ll take that thing,” Jackson said, trying to figure out how to justify possession of the Nordic Santa. “Well, Christmas is at my house this year. ” “Yes, I think you should take it,” Dylan said to Jackson, as he slowly put his arm around his brother’s shoulder. “Please do, but take care of him. Maybe you can make up a back story to tell us all at Christmas,” said Bella. A somewhat early snow began to fall as the children left Papa Dad’s house for the final time. They knew they could never go back, but also knew Papa Dad was with them. They felt his love, and it could never be washed from their minds. Each year after, the Nordic Santa appeared by the Christmas tree. Not a word was ever spoken about the siblings’ journey with Papa Dad, the man who helped them understand spirit and the way love multiplies when it is given or passed to another.

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Hollerin’ ain’t dead yet Hollerin’ may be a dying art, but two Hope Mills area folks are doing their part to keep the tradition alive. Robby Goodman and Iris Turner, both past winners at the world-famous Spivey’s Corner Hollerin’ Contest, jumped at the chance to host a new event—the World Wide Hollerin’ Festival—when the Spivey’s Corner Fire Department opted to discontinue its 40-year-old event in Sampson County. Goodman, a past winner of the Spivey’s Corner contest, was determined to keep the

tradition alive. The WWHF contest was held Nov. 5 after having been postponed from Oct. 8, when Hurricane Matthew struck. The weather couldn’t have been nicer for the rescheduled contest, according to the Fayetteville Observer. “Everybody’s been nice and they’re having a good time and they’re laughing and eating,” Goodman said. Seven adults and five children participated in the contest. Jim Grastie, 75, a multiple Hollerin’ Contest winner, was

A filmmaker’s filmmaker He was made a prestigious “Member of the British Empire” in 1998 for his services to Britain’s film industry. He came to Wilmington in 1984 when Dino de Laurentis first opened the major film studio there that helped earn the city the unofficial title of Hollywood East. And in 2010, he received the British equivalent of an Oscar for lifetime achievement for his contributions to cinema. Joe Dunton’s credentials in the film industry, both on a worldwide stage and in southeastern North Carolina, are practically legendary. Dunton was feted in November at the 22nd annual Cucalorus Film Festival, Wilmington’s revered and still growing celebration of talent and professionalism in the film industry for both major films and independent filmmakers, particularly those still working hard in the area. Those contributions include not only working with some of the world’s most famous filmmakers—Steven Spielberg, David Lynch, George Lucas, Stanley Kubrick, just to drop a few names—but has contributed innovations in cameras for television and movies that have become mainstream in film production. “He’s forgotten more about cameras and film than most people know -- and he’s right here in our community,” filmaker Francine De Colursey told the Wilmington Star-News recently. Dunton was appreciative of the Cucalorus honor. “It’s really nice,” he said. “I’ve been involved in Cucalorus since it was an 8-millimeter projector down on Water Street, and I’ve watched it build up from there.” Dunton’s technical contributions to film include the first “video assist,” a means for cameramen and choreographers to see immediate playback; he adapted an incredibly sensitive Ziess 50mm lens that could shoot scenes entirely in candlePhoto courtesy of Erica Dunton light, and pioneered in 70mm film production (movies are normally shot at 35mm). Lately, he’s helping develop a camera that shoots in four colors, not just the current RGB color format. Dunton’s not stopping anytime soon. He hopes to establish a film studio on the Cape Fear River to help independent filmmakers get a leg up in production with a local facility to aid their work. 60

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Fayetteville Observer photo/Andrew Craft

the adult winner. Daymain Herring, 10, of Fayetteville, won the youth category. Goodman and Turner plan to stage the Festival again next year on Oct. 8.

Engaging the community for 58 years Perhaps the most recognized and beloved police officer in Onslow County, Lt. James “XY” Brown recently got 2,600 reactions, 1,365 shares and 350 comments when his birthday was noted on the Onslow County Schools’ Facebook page. Brown serves now helping students cross busy streets, helps with traffic control at parades, road races and other special events and delivers court documents for the Jacksonville Police Department. “XY” has been a police officer with JPD since 1958—that’s 58 years, so long that no one on the force can remember a time Brown wasn’t suited up with the department, according to a report in The Daily News of Jacksonville. Whether he’s the oldest serving police officer in the state isn’t known: Brown refuses to divulge his age these days. It’s been almost a year since Brown transitioned from certified police officer to a non-sworn police services officer. And he has no plans to stop helping kids and others in town. Brown takes the time to speak with students and their parents, Direc-

Making it in a man’s world When Catherine Burns and Nina Page took over the former Two Doors Down bar on Fort Bragg Road, and changed the name to the Twizted Kitty, they put their band-booking talents to work. And in the process, the two Fayetteville area rockers are shattering what might be known as the glass ceiling for women in local live entertainment. One of their big ideas for the city’s newest local music scene is to provide a venue for multi-platform musical performances. “Soon we are going to do a music around the world show, which will have one band from every genre,” Burns said. The idea is still in the planning stages, and she is not sure how far she wants to go with it. But the idea is “all the rock bands just play with rock bands and all the hip hop just play with hip hop, and I want to see those people come together. I want all audiences to hear different things.”

tor of Public Safety Chief Mike Yaniero told the Daily News. Over the years it’s created a very positive interaction. “This is

truly what community policing is all about, engaging with our community,” Yaniero said. “He is truly devoted to the students at this school,” said Northwoods Elementary School Assistant Principal Lisa Marshall. When asked why he’s worked for the citizens for so long, he had just three words: “I love it.” — Amanda Thames The Daily News

Burns and Page are also local pioneers of sorts for the Fayetteville area. The local music scene has been largely maledominated, with male-fronted metal bands and male venue owners. Page is a vocalist in two local heavy metal bands—Forever Chained and Devil’s Daughters. Burns is a guitarist for the Devil’s Daughters. To make their new venture together work, Burns and Page will be offering some new and different entertainment options.

Nina Page (left) and Catherine Burns Photo: Michael Harris/ HF Music and Media Group

“Some bars have a particular thing they do, but we want to do a little of everything,” Burns told the Fayetteville Observer. That includes an open mic night and a Sunday night Guitar Hero tournament. “So far people seem to like it.”

Three state soccer championships ain’t too shabby Passionate and driven. A detail-orientated perfectionist. Authoritative and very much an incharge general. Mike Graybar uses all of these characteristics at his chiropractic office, where making adjustments are part and parcel of his trade. In the past six years the same characteristics provided the framework for a soccer program at Wallace-Rose Hill High School that is second to none. After the Bulldogs won their third NCHSAA 1A title in four years, fans in the stands who had traveled two-plus hours to the game chanted, “Graaay-Barr, Graaay-Barr.” The New Jersey native, who is the winningest 1A soccer coach since the Association went to four classifications in 2001, has also fostered the development of cultural diversity between Hispanics, whites and blacks through his involvement in the school and community at-large. Graybar’s son Ryan played on three title teams, as did his adopted Honduran son Kenny Seville, MVP of the 2014 title team. Yet many others have been guided as family members into the coach’s community family, which includes players and their families. The uniting force radiates enough to be compared to WRH’s Winter 2017

football guru Joey Price, who has captured four state titles in seven years in Duplin County, where pigskin passion begins at conception. Graybar, who is establishing a legacy at WRH, has helped a flock of players continue their education and play soccer in college, something he finds most gratifying as a coach. WRH soccer matches regularly attract thongs of spectators, sometimes more than show up for Friday night gridiron games.. And fans are active participants, clapping, shouting and second-guessing calls from the officials. Graybar, a former college player, carried WRH to a 121-11-4 mark the past five seasons.

Duplin Times photo / Michael Jaenicke

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‘I don’t believe in the no-win scenario’ Story & Illustration: Trevor Normile

n last issue’s Murmurs, I envisioned a scene from mid-20th century America: the unbridled prosperity that elevated a generation to a place, some believe, is gone forever. But that era also brought a new view of the future to popular culture, wrought in horror: dystopia. In the first half of the century, novelists like Golding, Bradbury, Orwell and Rand imagined a future of comprehensive unhappiness, caused, invariably, by something humanity could have prevented, had we not behaved like flocks of dumb sheep. That sentiment stuck around over the years, probably because it translates very nicely into films like Escape from New York and The Hunger Games. The common thread is this: “there is no hope for the future unless you do/ say/think [X]. Don’t be a sheeple. You’d damned well better realize I’m the enlightened one here and you are not.” I enjoy those stories, but can’t help but see the arrogance. I don’t believe in enlightenment, only ego, the selfpromotion of people who mistakenly believe others to be subjects of their own mental kingdoms. They prefer that the rest of us don’t know God created us equal, that the difference between Einstein’s theories and Ernest Saves Christmas is a ditch compared to the chasm between us and, say, iguanas.

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Unfortunately, loud people control the narrative — from the talking heads on T.V. to the neighbor who believes the U.N. is planning to invade America (despite the fact that (a.) there are more guns than people here, and (b.) gunloving U.S. Marines are scarier than U.N. Peacekeepers and outnumber them 10 to one). If you have believed every terrible thing those people shared on Facebook, you might not be in the best of moods currently. You know that next election, you’ll be told, again, that no one really likes the choices, but there is no way out. It’s a no-win scenario, so just pick one. Thankfully, Star Trek is here to help. “I don’t believe in the no-win scenario,” said Adm. James Kirk to Lt. Saavik, as all hope seemed lost in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. I sat there, stunned. The Orange Man and the Scary Lady won their primaries. All hope was lost, according to Everyone. And here, an imaginary starship captain from a thousand years in the future put a much-needed hand on my shoulder. So as America dove into the conundrum of Lesser Evil choosing, I escaped into Star Trek. I inhaled the rest of the films and continued with The Original Series. For three months the voyages of Roddenberry’s famous starship crew were my evening entertainment. Some called it campy, but no. This was amazing. Beyond the green women, the theft of a Vulcan brain, the improbable warp drives and the Winter 2017

illogical plots stood a greater truth: no matter what, there is always hope for the future. Unlike the postmodern world, which shanghais our hearts and beats us into submission, Star Trek taught us that if you are smart, quick and virtuous, even you can triumph against all odds. It also taught that if we can compromise, we can survive. Did we hear that one damned time during this entire election? Perhaps the next few years will be as terrible as the fear machine promises, or maybe my Trekkian fantasies are a glimpse into a truer future. Maybe we are miserable because there are those who profit off of us believing we are miserable, maybe it’s the division in our hearts that is fictional. In the film, we’re introduced to a now-classic example of a quandary: the Kobayashi Maru test. In that test, a Starfleet cadet is given a choice: violate neutral space to save the crew of a civilian freighter ship (and face certain war from the Klingons) or abandon the ship’s crew to certain death. It was a Catch-22. The point was to judge a cadet’s response to defeat. But a young Kirk did beat it. Given two choices that led to defeat, he invented a third one: change the rules. A good starship captain never gives up hope, never stops fighting for tomorrow. It’s a sad day when we need a television show to remind us of that. SE

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