Evince Magazine February 2017

Evince Magazine Page 1

Jo Ann Howard

Reports It’s Working Page 14

Telly Tucker

Providing a Sound Track for Moving Forward See Page 3

Page 2 February 2017

February Contents

Photo by Lona Kolinda

2 Editor’s Note

Editor’s Note

Didn’t Michelle Dalton take a great cover picture of Danville’s Economic Development Director Telly Tucker? I wish you could put Evince up to your ear and hear the beautiful music he plays. Read page 3 about this generous man who shares his talents with the community every day. Jo Ann Howard, also pictured on the cover, wants to thank the generous donors in the area who have helped build a hospital thousands of miles away. See page 14. That hospital has a connection to the old Bundt pan you might have in your kitchen. Read about it on page 28. Then follow Annelle’s recipe and use the pan to make a delicious dessert (page 29).

Dave Slayton can always find the right wine to serve and in “The Wine Spot” on page 24, he pairs it with generosity! If you need inspiration to be more generous, read page 23 “If Everyone Gives a Thread, the Poor Man Will Have a Shirt,” “Meditation Moment” on page 21, and “Changing Lives with Generosity” on page 22.

Of course, you’ll find your favorites: fiction by Telisha Moore Leigg (page 10), humor in “She Said, He Said” (page 4), healthy dining ideas in “Food for Thought” (page 12), a “Book Clubbing” review (page 20) and calendars of activities and events (page 16, 17, 18 and 25).

Every story and column is brought to you through the generosity of our volunteer writers and contributors. We hope you enjoy The Voice of Generosity.

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4

6

Telly Tucker Providing a Soundtrack for Moving Forward

by Joyce Wilburn The Voice of Readers She Said He Said / Snow Bunny?

by Dena Hill & Larry Oldham Where Can I Find an Evince?

Photo of Telly Tucker by Michelle Dalton Photography

February RAVE Edition of Showcase Magazine

OICE OF GENEROSITY

CEO / Publisher Andrew Scott Brooks President Director of Sales & Marketing Larry Oldham (434.728.3713) larry@evincemagazine.com

7 Renovation Reality / Part 11 by Carla Minosh 8 DIY: Do or Don’t? by Kristi Hall

Food for Thought

Berry Hill Resort: Southern Hospitality at Its Finest

by Stephanie Ferrugia 9 Second Thoughts / Thanks for the Memories

by Kim Clifton 10 When There Was No Blue / Fiction

by Telisha Moore Leigg 11 Spotting Exceptional Customer Service

by Joyce Wilburn 14 Jo Ann Howard Reports / It’s Working! by Joyce Wilburn 16 Calendar Clips 18 Calendar 20 Book Clubbing / Willis Duke Weatherford: Race, Religion,

and Reform in the American South by Andrew Canady

a review by Diane Adkins 21 Meditation Moment by Casey Molloy 22 If Everyone Gives a Thread,

the Poor Man Will Have a Shirt

by Carollyn Lee Peerman

Reflecting Forward / Changing Lives with Generosity

by Linda Lemery 24 Wine Spot / Pairing Wine & Generosity by Dave Slayton 25 What’s Happening in the Public Libraries 26 Finding Beauty & Peace in an Unlikely Place

by Barry Koplen 27 Hope & Life Spring Eternal

by Mack Williams 28 What’s the Connection

Between Bundt Cakes & Hospital Research?

29 Around the Table

Tunnel of Fudge Bundt Cake

by Annelle Williams Don’t Forget 30 Photo Finish to Pick Up the

On the Cover:

THE

2017 RAVE ABERCROMBIE OIL COMPANY, INC. AMERICAN NATIONAL BANK & TRUST THE DANVILLE FAMILY YMCA DANVILLE TOYOTA WILKINS & CO. REALTORS

Meet Some of Our Contributors

Editor Joyce Wilburn (434.799.3160) joycewilburn@gmail.com Associate Editors Jeanette Taylor Larry Wilburn Contributing Writers

Diane Adkins, Regina Christianson, Kim Clifton, Stephanie Ferrugia, Gail Gunn, Kristi Hall, Karen Harris, Dena Hill, Barry Koplen, Telisha Moore Leigg, Linda Lemery, Erica Lowdermilk, Rose Marotta, Carla Minosh, Casey Molloy, Bernadette Moore, Fred Motley, Larry Oldham, Carollyn Lee Peerman, Barbara Seamster, Rachel Shaw, Dave Slayton, Shirley Spalding, Jay Stephens, Beth Stinnett, Lisa Tuite, Melanie Vaughan, Dianne Whittle, Joyce Wilburn, Annelle Williams, Mack Williams

Business Manager Paul Seiple(1.877.638.8685) paul@evincemagazine.com Marketing Consultants Kim Demont (434.792.0612) demontdesign@verizon.net Lee Vogler (434.548.5335) lee@showcasemagazine.com Art & Production Director Demont Design (Kim Demont) evince\i-’vin(t)s\ 1: to constitute outward evidence of 2: to display clearly: reveal syn see SHOW Deadline for submission of March stories, articles, and ads for The Voice of Efficiency, is Monday, February 20, at 5:00 p.m.

Submit stories, articles, and calendar items to joycewilburn@gmail.com.

For ad information contact a marketing consultant or the Director of Sales & Marketing listed above.

Editorial Policies:

eVince is a monthly news magazine covering the arts, entertainment, education, economic development, and lifestyle in Danville and the surrounding areas. We print and distribute eVince free of charge due entirely to the generosity of our advertisers. In our pages appear views from across the social spectrum.

They do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. We reserve the right to accept, reject, and edit all submissions and advertisements.

EVINCE MAGAZINE 753 Main St. Suite 3, Danville, VA 24541 www.evincemagazine.com © 2017 All rights reserved.

Reproduction or use in whole or in part in any medium without written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited.

Sincerely,

Credits: Amber Wilson: hair; Catherine Saunders: skin care and makeup; Genesis Day Spa & Salon, 695 Park Avenue, Danville. Janelle Gammon: nails; Salon One 11, 111 Sandy Court, Danville.

Regina Christianson is a professional harpist and spiritual guide in the Celtic tradition.

Rose Marotta is a Girl Scout Leader for Troop 435 in Danville.

She loves Girl Scout cookies! See page 16.

Barry Koplen is a father/grandfather who loves to write, teach, and travel.

Gail Gunn is an ACN Independent Business Owner and a member of the Wednesday Club. See page 16.

We now accept Visa, MC, and Discover for ad payments

For subscriptions to Evince, email cindy@showcasemagazine.com

Evince Magazine Page 3

T

elly Tucker spends his days

travelling on business

or sitting behind a desk in Danville’s municipal building leading the city’s economic development efforts. When work is done and he returns to his River District condo, however, a Clark Kent/ Superman transformation occurs and a different person appears. Telly becomes an award-winning pianist who would be welcomed in nightclubs playing jazz at sunset or in churches playing hymns at sunrise. “Music is what I do especially after a stressful day,” says the James Madison University graduate who has been in Danville since 2014. “Occasionally, I’ll play with bands in Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Smith Mountain Lake, and Harrisonburg,” he adds as his fingers softly skip up and down the keyboard.

Telly planned to major in music and electrical engineering as a 17-year-old freshman at Morgan State University, but that changed very quickly.

“Music was so important to me but there were times when I worked on music every day and it became a job. I stopped enjoying music when it became work and I didn’t want that to happen,” he remembers.

That life-defining moment precipitated a move to JMU in 1999 where he changed his major to international business with a minor in Spanish. He explains why he chose those two options, “I had a very diverse group of friends and wanted to travel and share the gifts God blessed me with. I also recognized the world was getting smaller because of technology and economies were more global.” Learning a foreign language and owning a business seemed like logical goals. Living for a semester in Salamanca, Spain, confirmed he’d made the right choice.

“I didn’t want to come back!

Their appreciation for art and culture was appealing to me.

They enjoy the social aspects of life as opposed to working, working, working. Americans live to work. Spaniards work to live,” says the man who studied classical music as a child.

Telly has fond memories of his childhood in Lynchburg. The youngest of four children, he tells his story: “My mom and dad were both teachers from

Telly Tucker prepares for a concert. Photo by Michelle Dalton Photography.

Telly Tucker

Providing a Soundtrack for Moving Forward

by Joyce Wilburn very humble beginnings. There were six people in the house so we learned to share very early on.

Mom was a devout Seventh Day Adventist and she ingrained in us a sense of duty to give back.

As children we’d sing in nursing homes, provide gift baskets at Thanksgiving and Christmas and volunteer to help people in the community doing various things and accepting no pay even when it was offered. Mom taught that God provided us with everything we needed. We didn’t have to gather more things for ourselves, rather we should be more mindful of giving and helping others.”

Recalling that memory from his early years reminded Telly of a humorous kindergarten experience. He laughs while relating the incident: “I remember standing in front of the class and saying, ‘This summer we went to the beach and I got a tan!’” Looking at his white classmates, the young African-American boy continued,

“And all of you can get a tan too when you go to the beach.” As a six-year-old, he wasn’t aware of different skin tones. He thought his white friends just hadn’t had the same vacation opportunity he’d had. “We weren’t raised to see color,” he adds.

That training at home fostered an acceptance of people regardless of backgrounds, races, or religions. “Looking past the small things that make us different and focusing on the common love that binds us together is what I make a conscious effort to do,” he says. Telly doesn’t worry about there ever being a language barrier as long as a keyboard is nearby. “Music is another international language. It’s a way to bond with anyone whether they speak my language or not. We can all appreciate music and how it communicates across cultures, races, and socioeconomic levels.

It helps bridge gaps between groups of people.”

Combining his philosophy of life with his economic development career, Telly reveals his vision for Danville, “How unique it would be for this small city in Southern Virginia to become a beacon of light, welcoming people of diverse backgrounds.”

He believes it can happen. “This is an amazing community where people are working together to rebuild. I didn’t find that in other communities. The chamber, the city, the foundations, the colleges and others are all pushing in the same direction.

The only way for us to move forward is to hold hands and work together,” he concludes as he fulfils a request and plays a jazzy version of Amazing Grace.

Not only is Telly Tucker willing to lead the movement in writing Danville’s future story, he will also provide the soundtrack and an international language.

• Hear Telly Tucker play and speak at The Wednesday Club, 1002 Main Street, on Wednesday, March 1, at 3:45 p.m. This free event is open to the public, but seating is limited.

• For more information, call 434.792.7921 or visit www.

TheWedClubDanvilleVa.org.

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To the Editor: I want to express my congratulations on another wonderful year for Evince! Your monthly publication is a fabulous source for arts, entertainment, and life in the Danville area. It is a joy to read and you may never know how much the arts agencies benefit by this publication.

Speaking for the Danville Symphony Orchestra, we truly know the value of your efforts by the audiences we have at each concert. Your coverage is a key to making it happen. (December 2016 pages 14, 30, and 31).

Again, kudos to you. Best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2017.

Cheers, Charles Ellis We enjoyed the last DSO concert and look forward to the next one on March 4. Thanks for the nice email.

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and remembered we had a glass Bundt pan. She thought that it would look great! It did look great, but unfortunately, it didn’t cook on the inside. I remembered that when we made Anise Italian Cookies, I baked the batter in a loaf pan first and then sliced it and baked it again on a cookie sheet. So that is what I did with the Cranberries Christmas Cake. The cookies were hard, but great for dunking.

I also made another batch the right way for a Christmas party and gave out your recipe.

Thanks for making our holidays smooth and wonderful with your mouth-watering recipes!

Louise Early Louise, thank you so much for your very kind words and great ingenuity! The cranberry cake would make great Christmas biscotti—next year. I’m so happy that you enjoy the recipes as much as I do. Annelle

To the editor: To the editor: Annelle Williams has done it again! I made her Roasted Vegetable Galette (“Around the Table,” November 2016 page 29) when my mother-in-law, who is 93 and a great cook for the family and her church, was visiting during Thanksgiving. We loved it.

Next, I made the Cranberry Christmas Cake (December, 2016, page 29). My motherin-law suggested we bake it in a Bundt pan. I liked that idea

“Photo Finish” in the January Evince was outstanding! (pages 30-31) Both you and Von did a great job! Thank you for all you have done and for helping to make Danville Little Theatre’s The Altos a success.

Shirley Spalding It was a fun evening for everyone. I’m glad we could be there.

Letters must contain the writer’s name, address and phone number. Letters may be edited for space or style. Submission constitutes permission to use.

Tell us what you think.

Email your comments to joycewilburn@gmail.com or send mail to Evince Editor, 753 Main Sreet, Suite 3, Danville, VA 24541.

If you missed any of the stories mentioned above, they are still available at www.evincemagazine.com.

Snow Bunny?

Wasn’t that a beautiful snow we had last month? It was perfect... light and powdery. The sun made it sparkle against the blue sky.

Did you see the icicles hanging from the trees, shimmering in the sunlight? It was so pretty, we should use our snow pictures on next year’s Christmas cards.

It was a breeze to shovel paths on the sidewalk and driveway.

Sophie really appreciated her path to the backyard so she could find green grass. This all happened over a weekend so you didn’t go to work.

We were able to catch up on television shows we missed and even a movie or two. I cooked and baked whatever you asked for and the fire in the fireplace was so warm and cozy.

We couldn’t have had a more delightful weekend. I’ve already been breathlessly awaiting our next snow. I’ve looked at both the American and the European weather map but haven’t turned up anything promising.

unequivocally–that isn’t going to happen. I can give you many reasons why, but the simple answer is this: if I can’t have a Christmas tree in my room all year long, I’m certainly not going to shell out money for a week of frivolously playing in the snow, particularly after paying a huge sum of money to fly there. As far as our beautiful weekend last month, I think this is a typical “She Said, He Said.” The difference is going to be what did he do and what did she do?

I can agree on the beauty part, it was a nice snow. You did shovel a small fiveinch path for the dog to walk on to do her thing. She, however, went tromping through the snow like she was a wolf on skis, getting ice matted in her fur. My point being, she didn’t need a path to do her thing.

The four hours I spent cleaning the cars and shoveling the driveway and sidewalk were not what I would call a fun day.

Then you decided it was a great time to walk around the block with the temperature hovering around one degree. I had been wheezing, breathing cold air, laboring like a dog in the heat, all to make you safe and comfortable. Meanwhile, you were roasting chestnuts on the open fireplace and drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows. I survived and I was more than happy to go to work on Monday so I could escape the activity at the house.

She said He Said

I would love to go to one of the New England states to enjoy a white Christmas and ride through a park in a horse-drawn carriage. Now that I have next Christmas all planned, are you interested? I will be your little old snow bunny.

HE SAID

by Larry Oldham I hate to play devil’s advocate and I hate to be contrary but it’s in my nature, so I’ll do both.

Should we take a snow vacation in New England for Christmas?

Probably not, no. Let me say this

Ironically, I prayed for sunshine and 90-degree temperatures while you planned our next vacation, not to La La Land, but to the frigid snowcovered states of Connecticut or Maine. When you told me you were going to be my snow bunny, I never thought you meant that literally. Oh yeah, Happy Valentine’s Day. I still love you, Snow Bunny.

He Said / She Said can be found in Showcase Magazine.

Evince Magazine Page  5

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Evince Magazine Page 7

Part 11

by Carla Minosh Unlike shows on HGTV where home renovations are completed within 30-60 minutes, the Victorian house at the corner of Chestnut Place and Main Street in Danville has been under a transformation for 15 years. This series that began in April 2016 explores the truth of home renewal from someone who has been there and done that. If you missed any of the installments, visit www.evincemagazine.com.

A

delivery of stain-grade

lumber was dropped off

one frigid morning and I was told that a painter would be by to stain it later that day.

The roofers were scheduled to arrive the following morning and the lumber would have to be stained before then. The painter never showed. Anxious that the roofers would not be able to start the next day and the project would be delayed, I hauled the lumber and the paint cans inside and set up sawhorses in the rear parlor.

It was already a construction zone inside, and there was only plywood on the parlor floor, so what the heck.

I spent the entire evening and late into the night staining all of the lumber for the roof accompanied by loud music and a few cups of coffee. It took every drop of stain; they had calculated exactly right. By the time the crew came the next

Photo by Michelle Dalton Photography.

Renovation Reality

morning to start working, I was relieved that I could finally see the porch coming together.

They hauled all of the now-dry lumber outside, and the first thing they did was pick a few choice pieces of expensive, freshly-stained lumber, and chop it up to make a guide for the saw. Shaking my head, when I saw what they had done, the image flashed back to me some weeks later, when the job was delayed because they were just a few boards short of finishing the roof and had to order some more boards and some more stain! I would walk by their “saw guide” forlornly, looking at the sacrificed boards which I had worked on so hard to keep the project from stalling. I gained a new appreciation for people who have to deal with construction crews every day of their lives.

Just as the roof was being finished, our inside carpenter pulled us aside and said that he had walked outside to check on the new front porch and had called the inspector to take a look. He wanted us to be aware that there was a structural issue in the way that the porch supports were designed. We called the general contractor to let him know the inspector was coming. We all met on the porch at the same time. It seems that the horizontal pieces of the porch supports at the top, which anchored into the house, were connected directly into the downward sloping angled pieces, creating a joint between the two. This would never work.

Gravity would eventually force the angled pieces downward and outward and the entire thing would collapse. There was no way that the screws holding those two pieces together could ever withstand that weight. Cursing the draftsman who did the original drawings, we grabbed the pile of blueprints and shook them open. The draftsman was not to blame. The drawings clearly called for the roof trusses to be cut out of a single piece of wood,

not constructed from two pieces fastened together.

The contractor bowed to the inspector, and the agreed-upon fix was to slice the roof trusses in two lengthwise, and sandwich a steel plate between the two pieces. This steel plate would be manufactured to match exactly the curved shape of the roof trusses. This way, the steel plate would become the supporting element connecting the house and the perimeter cast-iron structure, with the original supports being decorative only at that point. It was not an inexpensive fix, and a retrofit to boot, but the contractor clearly didn’t follow the drawings, so he had no choice but to make it right.

Some months later, after the roof structure was completed and the roofer was to begin work on the slate roof, Tom and I took a quiet moment of reflection and sat on the church steps across the street to admire our treasure.

As we sat, we chatted about plans, expectations, ideas, and problems. After a while, I realized that I was talking and Tom was silent. When a lawyer is quiet, it’s bound to attract attention, so I sat

and stared in the direction of his gaze to try to figure out what he was noticing. After a moment of actually focusing on the porch, really looking at it, I saw what he saw. A disbelieving, “No!” escaped my lips and his quiet, tired, answering, “Yup!” was the only reply.

We sat there in disbelief, just staring, while a lone hunched figure moved into view, walking slowly up the hill. This greyhaired woman, burdened with so many layers of clothing, coats, and scarves that her wardrobe almost eclipsed her, made it to a brick post still standing where the long-gone front gate used to be. She paused for breath, leaned against the post and surveyed the construction, taking in the wide view of the new front porch. Briefly, she looked over her shoulder at us sitting across the street, our chins in our hands, then back at the porch.

Suddenly she straightened to continue her journey up the hill.

As she recommenced her trek, she pulled her face out of her scarves and proclaimed loudly to the sky, “Yep...It’s crooked!” and proceeded slowly up the street.

(to be continued)

Page 8 February 2017

DIY: Do or Don’t?

by Kristi Hall

Do-It-Yourself projects always look easy when someone else is doing it. Kristi Hall will test them for you and give her opinion about whether it’s worth your time and effort.

Spinach and ham quiche and seasonal salad tickled my tastebuds for brunch at The Mansion at Berry Hill Resort. Divine!

Food for Thought

Berry Hill Resort: Southern Hospitality at Its Finest

by Stephanie Ferrugia, Southern Dinner Belle Stephanie encourages you to think about whether or not what you eat when you dine out is healthy for you.

This month I decided to try a few DIY projects to spice up your living area. Both creations would also make great house-warming gifts.

I encourage you to use this as inspiration to be creative and make your space unique!

DIY Jewelry Holder

Supplies: • saucer (I bought one at a local store for $1, but you could use a spare one that you own.)

• craft paints – your choice • paint brushes • toy animal like shown in the picture (I used a dinosaur.)

• craft glue Directions: I covered the toy animal with several layers of blue paint. Make sure to let this fully dry, overnight is preferred.

Glue the feet of the animal to the middle of the saucer. Let the glue dry for at least an hour. Decorate the plate with your favorite jewelry.

You can switch it up and use this as a sponge holder/display at your kitchen sink.

DIY Popsicle Shadowbox Frame

Supplies: • large Popsicle sticks (I used 2 packs of 75.)

• craft glue • stain (optional) Directions: Create the shape you would like your frame to be. Mine is a hexagon and I used 130 of the 150 Popsicle sticks.

Put a small amount of glue on the ends of the sticks and overlap.

This project is time consuming but great for a rainy afternoon. I worked on it sporadically over two days. I liked the light wood but staining is always an option.

I would give these projects 5 out of 5 stars. Both crafts cost a total of $11.00.

They were super easy and will look trendy in any space.

While the hallmark of hospitality is rolling out the red carpet, Southerners tend to be creatively resourceful and use what we have. Nothing could be truer for Berry Hill Resort in South Boston with its half-mile, tree-lined, peagravel driveway. It is a natural transition for visitors to almost travel back in time as it paves the way for the majestic sight visitors will soon feast their eyes upon at the top of the hill. This first look at the stunning 178-year old Greek Revival mansion sets the stage for a truly unforgettable experience.

While I’ll take a visit to Berry Hill any day of the week (the property boasts a hotel, conference center, spa and three restaurants), I’ll take it twice on Sundays. The Sunday brunch restaurant, The Mansion, offers the comfort of home, a culinary experience for the books and a serving staff who simultaneously treat you like royalty and family. Food and Beverage Manager, Jonathan Teed, and his staff ensure that visitors feel like members of the Bruce family who built the mansion and plantation in 1835.

Nothing on the menu disappoints.

With healthy goals in mind, however, patrons can enjoy

the nutritional delights of quiche and the arugula salad. Quiche flavors vary, but the taste always delivers. I enjoyed a wonderful balance of meat and veggies: spinach, bacon, ham and cheese.

The arugula salad was dressed with fresh strawberries, candied walnuts (rich in omega 3, protein and fiber) and sliced red onion.

The refreshingly light strawberry dressing came on the side (always an excellent rule of thumb -salad dressings pack on those calories and fat grams) so you can regulate your intake. The portions are spot-on leaving you feeling satisfied, but not stuffed.

Whether you visit for sightseeing, a weekend away, or a rejuvenating spa treatment, remember to reserve a seat on Sunday at the brunch table. Be prepared to be treated like family and royalty – now that’s Southern hospitality at its finest!

• For more information, visit 3105 River Road in South Boston, Virginia, www.berryhillresort.com or call 434.517.7019.

The Mansion at Berry Hill envelopes its guests in cozy grandeur.

Evince Magazine Page 9 noticed steam on the mirror and bath towels carefully hung out to dry. R.L.’s bedroom was so worthy of military inspection that the only thing missing was a quarter to bounce off the spread. He sat quietly waiting for everyone to join him for breakfast. It made no difference that the moon was still on duty; his day had begun.

Second Thoughts

by Kim Clifton ©2017

Thanks for the Memories A note from Kim: I’ve shared the last name of two very important men in my life. The first was given to me by birth and the second by marriage. I lost my father in 2001 and my father-in-law in 2017. The piece below was originally published in 2013 when this man, who was like a second father to me, began his journey with Alzheimer’s.

My February column is being revisited as a tribute to him now that his journey has ended.

When you’ve lost your wife, overcome a heart attack, survived bladder cancer twice and had thugs practically burn down your house, wanting to swim in the ocean for your 86th birthday really isn’t too much to ask, although I thought it was when my father-in-law, R.L., suggested it. Not only was it a long drive for such a short stay, I was hesitant about how well he would do, since he wasn’t the person he used

to be. His mind had begun to play tricks on him to the point that the song and the dance didn’t go together. Sometimes it was harmless, such as when he went to work before remembering he’d retired 25 years earlier. Other times, it was risky, like the time he left the house in the middle of the night searching for the scout troop that he thought he’d lost camping in the woods. It was the start of a sad period in our lives with someone who had always been happy. Someone who used to be the life of the party. Someone who never met a stranger. Fairly soon, however, most people were strangers.

In spite of my protests, we took the weekend trip. “He’s up,” I had whispered to my husband, Robert, very early that Saturday morning. I knew the others wouldn’t be because we still had hours until dawn. “I’ve got this,” I’d told Robert, who needed the extra rest. Walking down the hall, I

“How about we all head down and watch the sun come up,” Robert suggested after the others started to stir. I would have rather stayed back with another cup of coffee and a good book, but I didn’t.

As it turns out, Robert’s idea was perfect. Not only did R.L. watch the sun come up; he practically stayed until it set. It had been a long time since I’d seen him that happy and that connected.

Later, while the others dressed for dinner, we went out onto the balcony. He talked about how much he missed my motherin-law. He talked about how he loved to go dancing on Friday nights with his friends. He talked about how he’d enjoyed his day on the beach. He remembered everything and he remembered it correctly.

I’ve been in this family since I was 16 years old and I can’t count the number of evenings I’ve sat on a porch with him at day’s end. That night he was the person I used to know. It felt good to visit with that R.L. again. There was a magic in the sea breeze that weekend that blew the clouds away, if only for a day. Not only did R.L. recall the good times from the past, he gave us good times to remember for the future. I’m grateful my reluctance to go on the trip fell on deaf ears. Else, I would have cheated everyone of this experience, especially R.L. The years that followed found it harder and harder for him to travel down memory lane… except for that one special birthday weekend when it was covered in soft sand and sea shells.

In loving memory R.L. Clifton, Jr. September 24, 1927January 13, 2017

Page 10 February 2017

“M

y father was a classical

literature professor at a

small college in Georgia before my mother and I moved to Boris…”

(Mandy Blue Eyes, aka Anna-Margaret Corinth)

sometimes just the agreement of what others see. Of course, there was always blue.

Now, I’m breathing life into another story, living another myth. “Icarus’s father,” I begin to my audience of Mean Keisha, 15-year-old Fallon, and Baby Kwon, all children, “was Daedalus and he was smart…so clever.” I choke up when I get to the part where the child falls into the sea. I think if there was no blue, how did Icarus know the difference between the sky and all that water he was falling into, you know before he drowned. Sea blue? Sky blue? All blues aren’t the same.

Yes, my father knew all the gods, Greek and Roman that is, and he set his ideas out for consumption like goose pate and caviar to starving men in our collegehousing-living room. Those men, always men, who ignored me (as they should) were never genteel, almost savagely sharpening their dissertations or theories with their discussions about the Bronze Age or classical textual criticism, their Homeric awe. Any given Saturday, I half-heard Sophocles or Seneca, vaguely suckled at the esoterically important font of the influence of Buddhism on the Roman world.

I grew up quiet, content in the context of ancient theories that didn’t seem to touch me. Those graduate students, those fellow professors, they all adored my father, adored these Saturday sessions and these dead gods— who they dissected like furious heathens between bites of the chocolate marbled candy balls my mother made. My mother, tightlipped, tried to call me from the living room, or at least convince me to have purpose and serve, but I didn’t do either. I remember just sitting at my father’s heels by his thistle-patterned, elegantlyworn armchair. Those Saturdays, with his professor friends and him sitting round holding court, Professor Corinth, this slim, long man, with the close-shaven face except for a mustache, this elegant teacher nodding and sipping coffee as he discussed the heavens, bemusedly relating the mythology of the underworld.

Hippomenes running after Atalanta risking his life in that race, and she raised by bears on a mountain top, although the daughter of a king, determined to stay a virgin, and Hippomenes could never have attained her, could never have topped her, except for Artemis’ interloping with her shining golden balls.

These were the tales I would overhear from him, those late Saturday afternoons.

My father said that for some ancient civilizations the color blue was not always there.

“But, Papa,” I said, “why?” I don’t remember now what I asked him one day standing by his old grey Ford Taurus. I really don’t.

I was 13, very pretty, and I was not philosophical. But I’ll never

Now, Mean Keisha and Fallon nod and Kwon listens too. I go back and pick up the beginning of the story. I must go back to the beginning. “…and he couldn’t get from the maze, that he built, and he couldn’t get free. It cost him something very important just to be free.” “Couldn’t he just stay…in the maze?” Fallon asks, but Mean Keisha looks at me and kind of wise and sad answers, “No.”

When There Was No Blue fiction by Telisha Moore Leigg forget his half-smile as he said, “Isn’t that some arrogance on your part thinking you should be so pretty and know the secrets of the world?” He smiled, winked at me, and I giggled. I remember he smoothed back my hair, tapped my nose with an index finger in the garage, where he fixed the bike chain on my pink girl’s 10-speed that I floated around campus on, wandering between the science and engineering buildings, rolling past the English hall, spiriting around academics too young to enter and too dreamy to care.

Let me be clear, it was always there, that color.

“But you know, don’t you?” I kept on every day and evening and morning, for a week. Over breakfast, I asked with my mother’s shushing and her “Eat, eat, you’re too small.” After school, and just before bed and my mother’s fervent prayers, I’d ask again and again. I remember it was not something I wanted, just something I wanted to know. We were genteel academic poor, living in free college housing. My father tutored for extra income. Still, years later and I can’t remember

what I asked him? Lost to time, that’s what that question is.

We just didn’t see it, so we didn’t claim it.

But I’ll never forget the fall of his face the last time I asked, his suitcase packed for I didn’t know where this time. My mother was stoic in a burgundy robe.

“When will you be back?” Mother started, and got no further. He stared beyond my blue eyes and kind of just sad-said, “The mystery is always better, Annagirl.” My mother went back to the bedroom. I think she cried to herself. My father never told me the answer to the question.

He was gone, totally gone, by the time I was 17. But by then Mother and I had moved beyond him to Boris. That question, any questions I would ask him, didn’t matter then. I wish I could remember better.

Now, in my thirties, beat-broken to saddle, in the small, backwater town of Sustain, Virginia, everything I ever wanted dead or divorced from memory, I know what you know is usually just what you see, maybe

And that you can have something right in front of you, and not even realize it exists, until someone tells you it exists. Well then, well sure then, it’s all you can see.

When I was about 13, my father told me that there was no blue in the beginning of most ancient civilizations. I didn’t believe him.

I thought it was a joke. A few years later, he and Mother’s love was a lost ship broken on the water, and he flourishing in some esoteric underworld Mother wouldn’t descend into. A few more years later, my own life a broken arrow sinew-ripped from the core, I remember those Saturdays, my father holding court, before Mother remarried into money in Boris and took me with her. Now, I believe blue is always there, maybe fading in and out, so we don’t always see it.

“Why, Papa, why wasn’t there any blue?” I said as I followed him from room to room, anxiously.

Something was different, not right.

I was 13, very pretty, and not very philosophical. Papa was leaving again, was packing his suitcase again, and I wanted him to stay.

“I don’t know,” he said, not quite absently but not quite with us either. He was putting in a shirt, grey socks, and a towel Mother washed, in his suitcase. He kissed my forehead. Please stay this time, I wanted to say. Leave things like they are, before you break them.

And I, dreamy and drowning in a sea of blue, had to let him go.

Evince Magazine Page 11

Spotting Exceptional Customer Service

by Joyce Wilburn

I was thrilled to receive a Kindle for a Christmas present only to be a little disappointed that I wasn’t born with the knowledge of how to use it. Fortunately, Sierra Johns, Technology Specialist at the Danville Public Library, came to my rescue.

I arrived at the DPL without an appointment and asked if someone could help me download a book. The person at the front desk didn’t hesitate, but asked that I wait just a minute. Then, Sierra appeared with a big smile and a helping attitude. We sat at the computer less than ten minutes and during that time, I had all the information needed to download a free eBook.

Sierra takes care of all the technology needs at the main branch of the DPL and helps patrons--usually with an appointment. Not only does she have the necessary knowledge, but equally as important, she has the right attitude for helping others. Thank you, Sierra, for providing exceptional customer service.

Evince and the Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce want to encourage and recognize exceptional customer service. When someone gives you exceptional service, please let us know. In 300 words or less, tell us what happened. Email your story to joycewilburn@ gmail.com or chamber@dpchamber.org.

Page  12 February 2017

Evince Magazine Page  13

Page 14 February 2017

Jo Ann Howard Reports:

It’s Working!

by Joyce Wilburn Have you ever made a donation to a non-profit organization and thought it might not make much of a difference? If you are one of the hundreds of local people or businesses who give to the Hadassah Hospitals in Jerusalem every year, Danvillian Jo Ann Howard has good news for you. It’s working!

Jo Ann traveled thousands of miles last December and January to view firsthand one of the two research hospitals that Hadassah, the American Jewish women’s organization, and their friends support. “The campus is mind-boggling, it’s so large,” she begins and becomes more animated with each detail. “Oh my gosh, the building is very modern and when I walked into the all-glass atrium and saw trees growing inside surrounded by Hadassah banners, I thought this is what I have been supporting for 43 years! Wow! Of course, I started to cry. I did that a lot,” she admits with tears in her eyes and a laugh in her voice.

“Everything was beautiful and everyone was smiling. One of my favorite places was the healing garden where patients can look out the windows at the trees planted by the Jewish National Fund. It had a special energy to it. It didn’t feel like a hospital,” she remembers.

plaques and other recognition pieces on the hospital’s walls, Jo Ann searched for Danville, Virginia. She knows it’s there somewhere, but her tight schedule didn’t allow for a lot of investigation. She then adds assurance that local gifts are being spent responsibly.

“The Danville community has sent money to help develop the hospital, purchase beds, sleep chairs and medical supplies.

We’ve always made sure that the notation on the gift states that it comes from The Friends of the Danville Chapter of Hadassah. We couldn’t have done all that by ourselves,” she comments with gratitude. The local chapter has 60 current members…and a lot of loyal friends.

• The first meeting of the Danville Hadassah, one of the oldest in the country, was held on April 28, 1918. The current officers are: President Martha Woody; VP Melanie Vaughan; Secretary Ronnie Mand; Treasurer Jo Ann Howard.

• For more information about the local group, call 434.251.0918. Their annual fund drive is held in the fall.

• For more information about the hospital, visit www.hadassah-med.com.

• For a related story, see page 28.

In case of a bombing, the lobby of the children’s pavilion can be converted into an emergency room.

Of course, environment is very important in the healing process, but it’s the teaching/ research that is happening behind closed doors that is making Israel a leader in medicine and patient care.

Physicians are tackling the world’s biggest medical challenges and turning scientific discoveries into life-saving treatments for diseases like breast cancer, ALS, MS, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and more. “Medical research is shared worldwide,” adds Jo Ann, “and patients come from all religious and national backgrounds.

Hadassah Hospitals are nondiscriminatory.”

While looking at the numerous

This is a model of one of the Hadassah Hospitals in Jerusalem.

Evince Magazine Page  15

Page 16 February 2017

Calendar Clips Clip it. Post it. Do it.

For more activities, see the calendar on page 18.

Wednesday, February 1 – Friday, March 31 Girl Scout Cookie Sales

This is the 100th birthday of the Girl Scout cookie! In Danville, a box of cookies costs $4. Sixty-five cents of each box goes to the troops.

The remainder benefits the Front row: Girl Scout Council to support Olivia Cummins, scout activities and pays the Piper Calhoun, Melissa Bolt Back row: Rowan Kirk, Rose Marotta bakery. There are nine flavors (Troop 435 leader), Kachina Smolinski, Mary of cookies. Customers can Smolinski (Troop 435 co-leader) Emerald Maotta buy cookies to be donated to the Marine Corp or make a donation. Girls learn five business skills when actively selling: goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics. Help girls learn these skills by buying directly from them, not parents, when possible. Booths are located at Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Hobby Lobby, and Lowe’s on Saturdays and Sundays.

To learn more, visit www.gsvsc.org or call 1.800.542.5905. (submitted

by Rose Marotta)

Wednesday, February 1 – Saturday, February 25 The Salt Marsh Suite

within that tradition, as well as times of silence, guided meditation, spiritual conversation, music, art, and walking outdoors. A simple lunch of soup, bread, and beverages will be provided. To help defray the costs, contributions will be accepted. To register, call 434.432.0316. (submitted by Regina Christianson)

Thursday, February 9 Throw Paint at Cancer

This free peer-to-peer support program helps cancer patients, survivors, caregivers and family members express themselves through art. Spanish speakers welcomed.

This eight-week session from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. is held at the Danville Museum of Fine Arts & History Swanson Studio, 975 Main Street. No previous art experience is required. All Joan Whitlock supplies are provided. Throw Paint at Cancer! is made possible with the generous support of Danville Regional Medical Center. Space is limited. Register at the Cancer Resource Center 434.421.3060 or email cllitzenberg@vcu.edu. (submitted by Melanie Vaughan)

Thursday, February 9 Opening of Doo Wop Motown & More Music Review

The wildly popular, audience-favorite musical revue is back! The 7:00 p.m. show focuses on sounds and favorites from Doo Wop groups, Motown and more. The audience will sing, dance and enjoy a wonderful performance of music entertainment at the Blackbox Theatre, 44 Franklin Street, Martinsville. Tickets are $15. For more information about other times and days, call 276.632.2800. (submitted by Beth Stinnett)

A new art installation at Piedmont Arts, 215 Starling Avenue, Martinsville, will transform the museum’s galleries into a salt marsh habitat, using video and sound.

This media arts installation and dance performance was created

by Virginia Tech professors Carol Burch-Brown and Ann Kilkelly.

Based on fieldwork and close observation of a North Carolina coastal estuary, Salt Marsh Suite is a collaborative video installation that combines art, science and technology to engage viewers in the beautiful, almost magical quality of the tidal marsh and the life within it, while giving a sense of the vulnerability of the marsh habitat. For more information, call 276.632.3221 or visit PiedmontArts.org. (submitted by Bernadette Moore)

Saturday, February 11 Riverview Rotary Valentine Dance

Saturday, February 4 The 16th Annual Danville Storytelling Festival

Sunday, February 12 Burns Night (Scottish Music)

From 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. this free event will be held at the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History, 975 Main Street.

For centuries, when people came together, they told stories that celebrated families and communities and passed along wisdom. Besides being a timehonored form of entertainment, storytelling opens doors into worlds of identity, imagination, listening and preserving traditions. Through songs, dance, poems and tales rich in humor, this event continues to entertain and keep alive the oral tradition of storytelling.

This year feature storytellers are Beverly Fields Burnette, Carrington Kay, Tammy Tillotson, Josephus Thompson III, Carla Mitchell Diggs, Fred Motley, LaTanya Pattillo, Gary Nichols and The Kummba Dance Company. For more information, visit danvillemuseum.org or call 434.793.5644. (submitted by Fred Motley)

Saturday, February 4 Celtic Spirituality Retreat

This event from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Chatham Hall will be led by the Rev. Dr. Christianson. Celtic Spirituality embraces creation as Godblessed and God-revealing. Early Christians found that it fit well with Christianity. The retreat will include times of reflecting on the wisdom

Help Rotary eradicate polio by attending this fundraiser at the Stratford Conference Center, 149 Piney Forest Road, Danville, from 8:00 p.m. to midnight. Reserved tables for eight are $225. Individual tickets are $25. Price includes appetizers, coffee, tea, desserts, music and dancing to JB and the Get Down Browns Band. Beer and wine will be available for sale. You must be 21 or older to attend. Also enjoy a photo booth and Valentine raffle. Contact any Riverview Rotarian or call 434.713.9996. (submitted by Barbara Seamster)

This opportunity to celebrate all things Scottish honors the Scottish poet laureate Robert Burns and is celebrated near his January 25th birthday.

Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 66 North Main Street, Chatham, will host this event starting at 3:00 p.m. as a benefit for the Emmanuel music program and Episcopal Relief and Development. Accompanied

by Celtic harp and guitar, Stephen & Regina Christianson will sing Scottish songs, including several by Robbie, recite Robbie’s poetry, and play Scottish dance tunes. A reception of light Scottish fare will follow. The suggested donation is $7 for adults, $5 for children. (submitted by Regina Christianson)

Wednesday, February 15

Just What Does Organic Mean?

The Wednesday Club, 1002 Main Street Danville, invites the public to this free event featuring Virginia Cooperative Extension Agent of Horticulture, Stuart Sutphin, starting at 3:45 p.m.

The term organic is a marketing tool for food providers to make their products more attractive to potential consumers. Many often refer to products as pesticide free or chemical free. Is

Evince Magazine Page 17 this terminology accurate? This program is designed to clarify terms and dispel myths. Sutphin is a Virginia Tech graduate in forestry. (submitted by Gail Gunn)

Thursday, February 23 – Sunday, March 5 Dream Girls the Musical

This show at Patrick Henry Community College, 645 Patriot Avenue, Martinsville, tells the story of a time in American musical history when rhythm and blues blended with other styles of popular music to create a new American sound. It follows a black, all-girl singing trio from Chicago and the behind-the-scenes reality of the entertainment industry. It is rated PG. Showtimes vary. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. For more information, call 276.638.8777 ext. 0460 or visit www.phccpatriotplayers.com. (submitted by Beth Stinnett)

Friday, February 24 Empty Bowls – God’s Storehouse

Empty Bowls is an international grassroots effort to fight hunger. George Washington High School students and artisans at the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History created bowls for the event which will be held at God’s Storehouse, 750 Memorial Drive, from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 and include a simple meal of soup, bread and water. Guests can keep one of the handcrafted bowls as a reminder of all the empty bowls in the community.

For more information, visit www.godsstorehouse.org, God’s Storehouse Facebook page or call 434.493.3663. (submitted by Karen Harris)

Tuesday, February 28 Cleansing the Mind & Body Series

Lifestyle dramatically affects the odds of avoiding a cancer diagnosis. Join this group at Karen’s Hallmark in the Danville Mall at 9:00 a.m. to walk. At 10:15 a.m., move across the street to Nature’s Essentials on Mt. Cross Road. Lifestyle literature will be provided by the local Cancer Research and Resource Center and Gingy Blakely will demonstrate the preparation of a healthy entrée, snack or dessert. Call the CRRC of Southern VA 434.421.3060 or email dwhittle@vcu.edu (submitted by Dianne Whittle)

Your therapy shouldn’t take the day off.

Tuesday, February 28 Barry Koplen Book Signing

From noon until 1:00 p.m. meet author, poet, and photographer Barry Koplen at the Danville Public Library upper level, 511 Patton Street. A writer for almost six decades, he will have three books available for purchase and signing: Three Minute Stories to Warm Your Heart (more than 100 stories); Kissology (a mystery for children of all ages and their parents), and Escape (a novel about a teenager trying to survive her parent’s divorce. Koplen taught creative writing, humanities, and English at Danville Community College. For more information, call 434.799.5195.

Upcoming

Friday, March 3 – Sunday, March 5 The Savannah Sipping Society

The Little Theatre of Danville will present this Jones, Hope, Wooten comedy at the Danville Museum of Fine Arts & History, 975 Main Street.

Four unique Southern women, all needing to escape the sameness of their day-to-day routines, are drawn together by fate—and an impromptu happy hour—and decide it’s high time to reclaim the enthusiasm for life they’ve lost through the years. The cast includes Patsi Compton, Liz Goodman, Jane R. Reid and Pat Shumate. For details, visit www.danvillelittletheatre.org. (submitted by Shirley Spalding)

Call us for a tour and to discuss a plan of care to fit your individual needs.

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We Offer 7 Days a Week of Rehab!

Piney Forest Health & Rehabilitation Center 450 Piney Forest Road • Danville, VA 24540 • 434-799-1565 PineyForestRehab.com

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Page 18 February 2017

February Calendar Abbreviation Key

• AU=Averett University, 434.791.5600 www.averett.edu • CRC=Cancer Resource Center 434.421.3060 • DCA = Danville Concert Association. www.danvilleconcert.org • DMFAH=Danville Museum of Fine Arts & History, 975 Main St. 434.793.5644 www.danvillemuseum.org • DSC=Danville Science Center, 677 Craghead St. 434.791.5160 www.dsc.smv.org • HNT=Historic North Theatre, 629 North Main St. Danville www.TheNorthTheatre.com 434.793.7469 • PA=Piedmont Arts, 215 Starling Ave, Martinsville 276.632.3221 www.PiedmontArts.org • The Prizery=700 Bruce St. South Boston 434.572.8339. www.prizery.com • TWC= The Wednesday Club, 1002 Main St. www.TheWedClubDanvilleVA.org

Ongoing

Guided Walking Tours – Millionaires Row, Holbrook Street and Tobacco Warehouse District. Danville Historical Society. www.danvillehistory.org.

434.770.1974.

The 1963 Danville Civil Rights Movement – The Protests, the People, the Stories. The Danvillian Gallery. 434.466.7981.

Danville Museum of Fine Arts & History (DMFAH) self-guided audio-visual tours. 434.793.5644.

Public Library Events. See page 25.

Reid Street Gallery Events.

See ad page 22.

Tai Chi with Wyona – Enhance breathing, calm the mind, reduce stress. Mondays 11:15am-12:15pm & 5:45pm-6:45pm; Wednesdays 3:30pm-4:30pm $6. Ballou Nature Center 434.799.5216.

Let’s Dance – Learn new dances, make new friends. Donna Robbins teaches a variety of dances in a fun atmosphere. A partner is not necessary. Adults 18+. Tues 7-8.30pm. Ballou Rec. Center.

434.799.5216.

Art with Judie – Learn how to paint with acrylic, oil, or water color. M/ TU – Times vary. Ballou Annex.

434.799.5216.

Kuumba African Dance – a great workout with live drumming and energetic dancing. Kids M/W 5.30pm; Adults M 6-7.30pm. 434.799.5150.

Prime Time Fitness – Lowimpact aerobics workout with a mix of various dance steps. Tu/Th 9.30-11am. Coates Rec. Center.

434.799.5150.

Zumba Classes – Hypnotic Latin rhythms and easy-to-follow moves create a one-of-a-kind interval training fitness program

with fun routines that tone and sculpt the body while burning fat.

434.797.8848.

Art with Flo – Wet-on-wet technique of oil painting. Ages 18+. W 9.3011.30am. Glenwood Community Center; 6-8pm, Ballou Annex.

434.799.5216.

African Rhythms by Nguzo Saba – West African dance to live drumming.

W 6-7pm. Pepsi Building.

434.797.8848.

Ballou Jammers – Acoustic musical jamboree. Bring a stringed instrument or listen. TH 3-5pm.

Ballou Rec. Center. 434.799.5216.

Friday Night Fun and Dance – Live music provided by the City Limits Band on the first, third, and fifth Friday. The Country Pride Band plays on the second and fourth Friday of the month. Ages 50+. F 7.30-10.30pm. Ballou Rec. Center.

434.799.5216.

February 1 (thru 25)

Salt Marsh Suite / Russell Hart: See page 16.

February 2

History United - Symposium for a Shared History: River District Event Center, 136 S. Ridge Street, Danville. 5-7pm a discussion about the importance of local history.

Katie Spencer, founding director of the Museum of Durham History, will speak on how collaboration can create an engaging historical narrative. Heavy hors d’oeuvres. RSVP http://bit.ly/SymposiumforHistory

February 3

National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine: DCA.

February 4, 11, 18, 25

Winter Farmers’ Market: 629 Craghead St.; 9am-1pm 434.797.8961

February 4

Spring to Green Gardening for Southside: Danville Master Gardeners. The Institute for Advanced Learning & Research, 150 Slayton Avenue. 8:30am-4pm 434.799.6558 16th Annual Storytelling Festival: See page 16.

Black History Review: local performers HNT $15/10 7:30pm Cabin Fever Music Series: Fuzzy Logic Community Market, 629 Craghead St. 7:30pm $8 at the door

February 5

Haven of the Dan River Region Super Bowl Party: proceeds benefit domestic/sexual violence victims.

Golden Leaf Bistro, 215 Craghead St. $40 5:30-11pm 434.483.5482

February 6

Danville By Choice – Quizzo: 2 Witches Winery & Brewing Co. 209 Trade St. 5:30-8:30pm. Sponsored

by Meet Up Monday and DBC. 4 rounds of invigorating trivia. Teams up to 4 people. www.facebook.com/

DanvilleByChoice

February 7

VA/NC Piedmont Genealogical Society: monthly meeting with guest speaker. Danville Public Library, 511 Patton St. 5:30pm-7:30pm 434.799.5195 ext. 8, option 2 1859 Coffeehouse Lecture Series – International Entrées: AU International faculty, staff and students will introduce an entrée from their home countries and tell about the culture and meaning of the entrée. AU Student Center, corner of Woodland Dr. & Townes St., multipurpose room, second floor. 7pm.

February 8

Living in a Conflicted World: TWC 3:15pm coffee; 3:45 program

by Dena Hill and Larry Oldham 336.592.0222 Preschool in the Galleries - ZipZapZop Theatre Co: PA. 9:30am and 10:30am. Free. bwilliamsvasquez@piedmontarts.org.

February 9

The Poetry Project: an evening of spoken word poetry AU Blount Chapel Mt. View Ave; Frith Hall off breezeway $5 7pm

February 10 (thru 12)

Side by Side by Sondheim: Roxboro Little Theater featuring music from Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Anyone Can Whistle and Pacific Overtures. Times vary. Kirby Theater. Roxboro, NC. $35. 336.597.1709.

February 10

Russian Revolution: DMFAH monthly lecture series Time TBA

February 11

Wonderwall: a Tribute to the Beatles: HNT, $20/15. 7:30pm.

Riverview Rotary’s Valentine Dance: See ad page 19.

February 14

History United Meeting and Davenport Celebration: 823 N Main St, Danville (former home of Carson Davenport) 5-6pm. Monthly meeting to network and encourage collaboration through history.

Celebrate renowned artist and Danville native Carson Davenport’s 109th birthday. www.historyunited.org Welcome to Medicare Seminar: Understand all the components of Medicare. Ballou Park Rec Center, lower level. 5:30pm. refreshments. sponsored by Humana. spaschal@ humana.com Dear White People: a satirical drama film focusing on escalating

February 2017 S M T

5 6 7 12 13 14 19 20 21 26 27 28

W T F S 1 2 3 4 8 9 10 11 15 16 17 18 22 23 24 25

racial tensions at a prestigious Ivy League college from the perspective of several African-American students.

Following the film there will be a conversation led by AU faculty and staff about the movie and how its themes relate to Danville in 2017. AU Blount Chapel, Mt. View Ave, Frith Hall off the breezeway.

February 16

Science after Dark: astronomy feature in DSC digital dome; educator-led journey through the night sky in the Cosmic Expeditions planetarium show. Use and create a star chart. Peer through telescopes at the nighttime sky (weather permitting). 5:30-9pm.

February 16 (thru 18)

The Pillowman: In an unnamed totalitarian dictatorship, a writer is being interrogated by two detectives who want to know why his stories feature gruesome plots about child murder and torture and why they seem to mirror a string of recent child murders in the area. This is a dark, twisty and utterly unforgettable masterpiece for adults. 7 p.m. AU Pritchett Auditorium, Mt. View Ave. $10 adults, $8 students/senior citizens (60+).

February 17

Art @ Happy Hour: 5-7pm PA; complimentary refreshments.

Anastasia: the first show in the DMFAH film series 7pm.

February 17-19, 23-26

Jackie and Me: the story of Jackie Robinson: Little Theatre. The Prizery.

Times and prices vary.

February 18

Crossing of the Dan Commemoration: The Prizery. 10am keynote speaker Dan McMichael portraying General Nathanael Greene; 11am wreath-laying ceremony; noon Brunswick stew lunch $5 Danville Heart Gala: Black-tie dinner, drinks, dancing, music, silent auction Atkinson Barn, 1832 Crane Road in the Mt. Hermon Community. $75 6pm-midnight American Heart Assoc Danville HeartChase event. linglemd@gmail.com

February 21

Health for All in the Dan River Region-How you can make a difference: CRC -Ballou Recreation Center, lower level. 11:30am-1pm Bring your lunch and a friend. Drinks and dessert are provided. Boxed lunches can be ordered in advance for $6.50. Call to make a reservation, 434.421.3060.

For more events see Calendar Clips on page 16.

The deadline for submitting information for the March calendar is Monday, February 20, at 5:00 p.m.

Please send just the basic information following the format on these pages to joycewilburn@gmail.com.

Evince Magazine Page 19 Johnny Peers & the Muttville Comix: a slapstick comedy act.

Johnny leads more than a dozen dogs through challenging and hilarious tricks. 7pm AU Pritchett Auditorium, Mt. View Avenue $5.

Dress as your favorite literary character. Light refreshments. $10.

434.203.8062 or 434.432.7789.

February 22

March 1

The History & Mystery of Randall Jarrell: TWC Dr. John Simpson will speak about the poet, essayist, novelist, and consultant to the Library of Congress. Free. Open to the public. 3:45pm 434.250.8755 CORE Ensemble of Ebony Embers: Vignettes of the Harlem Renaissance: A music theatre production that explores the life and times of AfricanAmericans who helped shape the Harlem Renaissance featuring African American poets Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and Claude McKay. AU Pritchett Auditorium. 7pm $5.

We’re

Upcoming Telly Tucker: Tickling Ivory in All Genres See page 3.

March 4

Danville Symphony Orchestra: 25th Season Celebration featuring a solo by flutist Janet Phillips GWHS free 8pm www.danvillesymphony.net 434.797.2666

March 18

Danville Historical Society Speakeasy-themed fundraiser: Pepsi Building, 661 Craghead St., $25 7pm- midnight. 434.770.1209 www.danvillehistory.org

February 24

on Danville!

Janet Donna Holley • Gibson Owner Owner

Canvas & Cabernet: DMFAH social painting class, pre-registration & payment required 6:30-9pm

February 24 (thru 26)

Southside Virginia Line Dancea-Thon: Pepsi Building & Ballou Recreation Center. 434.799.5216 Times and prices vary.

HOLLEY & GIBSON

February 27 (thru April 3)

REALTY COMPANY

Pottery Class: pre-registration & payment required $95/members $105/others. 6-9pm. 434.792.5355.

DMFAH .

339 Piney Forest Rd., Danville, VA 24540

Office: (434) 791-2400 Fax: (434) 791-2122 Visit our website at

February 28

Mardi Gras Party: 24 Reid Street Gallery Chatham; a benefit for Pittsylvania County Literacy Program 6-8pm. Costume contest w/ prizes.

www.eraholleyandgibson.com WE’RE SELLING HOUSESSM

Paula Deen’s

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olleCtion

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“Much More For Your Money!”

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530 Monroe Street Downtown Danville • 434.793.2911 www.mandmfurnitureco.com www.facebook.com/MMFurnitureCo

Page 20 February 2017

Book Clubbing A Review by Diane Adkins

Willis Duke Weatherford

Race, Religion, and Reform in the American South

by Andrew Canady

Since the 1980s, I have been a member of the YMCA. I’ve worn out shoes on the walking track and spent hours with my grandsons in the pools. Yet I knew almost nothing about Y history. This book changed that.

Andrew Canady, Assistant Professor of History at Averett University, has written a very accessible history of a man not known to many---Willis Duke Weatherford, an early leader of the YMCA in the South who in many ways was a key figure in the efforts to bring racial justice to the region. The Y movement called for interracial cooperation and recognition of the basic rights of African Americans as far back as the 1930s. Weatherford, who had first thought he would be a minister before he became a YMCA administrator, was part of that push.

Born in 1875, Weatherford’s Christian faith led him to a deep concern for the plight of African Americans. As a student, he became involved with the YMCA, which was often the only religious organization on a campus. At a Y conference in Wisconsin in 1894 he met George Washington Carver. The experience changed his life, starting what Canady calls a “slow awakening process” with regard to race. Later as an employee of the Y and barely in his 30s, he founded the Blue Ridge Assembly, a YMCA conference center in the mountains above Black Mountain, North Carolina, and later the Y Graduate School in Nashville.

Weatherford developed into one of the most important liberal voices in the South. For him, what was most important were relationships between individuals. He believed that social change comes when people begin to know one another and he provided occasions where blacks and whites could meet in an educational setting and engage in discussions about important issues. The fact that the races were together at a retreat center in the South was radical. Weatherford’s leadership made it happen.

Weatherford retired from the YMCA in 1944 and then embarked on a second career, teaching at Fisk University, a historically black institution. Later, at the age of 70, he took a position at Berea College.

He was an advocate for the power of education to improve the lives of those who lived in Appalachia, just as it did for African Americans.

While recognizing his achievements, Canady is clear on Weatherford’s flaws. His paternalism and his desire to avoid conflict with authorities over Jim Crow laws are just two examples. Despite his philosophy of “personalism,” he allowed the priorities of the organizations he worked for to take precedence over the establishment of equal rights, fearing that if he contested the laws of North Carolina, Blue Ridge would be forced to close.

Thus, in Weatherford’s life, there is much to admire, but also reflected there are the limits of good intentions. Weatherford’s approach, changing people one at a time, is too slow for justice. Not everyone will be convinced, and there is an undeniably important role of legislation in ensuring all people are not only created equal, but treated equally.

Diane Adkins is a retired library director. Dr. Canady has facilitated a film and discussion series about civil rights for the Pittsylvania County Library System for three years.

Evince Magazine Page  21

Meditation Moment

by Casey Molloy, RYT

The poses and breathing practiced in yoga were created to prepare the body and mind to sit for extended periods of time in meditation. Photo by Clark Davis.

W

e get out of life what we

put into it. This may sound

simple, but in fact it can be quite complex to comprehend.

Similar to the concept of karma, our thoughts, speech, and actions all influence what comes back to us. One of the challenges that lies behind karma is giving without expectation of something in return. We may find that we pray for specific outcomes, treat someone to a meal and expect they will treat us next time, or shower our boss with compliments in hopes of favoritism. While the first part of the act has good intentions, the expectation that follows implies an ulterior motive. When we take a deeper look at what we say and do, we also confront the reasons why we say and do those things.

Generosity is a valuable trait. The ability to be generous without expectations is the essence of the virtue itself. Consider what you have to offer others and the world around you. Each of us is unique, talented, and compassionate in different ways. To share your thoughts, conversations, and time with those around you

is a gesture of true trust and generosity.

Recently, many folks have “shared� opinions and beliefs via social media. This avenue of sharing often seems to impose serious levels of negativity. Rather than spending time learning from others and engaging in intelligent conversations and debating important issues, many people seem to be wasting their time and ours with endless rants.

Perhaps we should take a step back from this rushing current of information that is considered news and become open to the perspectives of others. Listening and offering an open network of support to our neighbors is what will prove to be beneficial for our overall well-being. Ultimately, it is not necessary that we all agree, that indeed would be impossible.

What is necessary for the survival of mankind is generosity. Offering a smile, time, or even space for reflection will surely prove to bring our hearts the joy and contentment we seek; in turn, we can recognize that those elements of life are even better when shared.

Page 22 February 2017

Reflecting Forward Changing Lives with Generosity

by Linda Lemery

W

hen I think of generosity,

I think of caring people who

offer other folks the chance for a better life by providing college scholarships, helping to own or repair a home, or experiencing something they wouldn’t normally experience.

For example, scholarships help students cover the costs of college.

Who funds these scholarships?

Perhaps civic groups fundraise and provide the money as part of contributing to community. Maybe individuals, who experienced academic success in college, correlated that with being wellprepared for the careers that helped them be financially successful. Because these extremely generous people are grateful, they contribute funds for scholarships hoping the recipients might have better chances at experiencing future career success and contributing to the world.

If Everyone Gives a Thread

the Poor Man Will Have a Shirt

by Carollyn Peerman Never think that what you have to give is too small to be appreciated. It isn’t. Your gift counts. When united with many other similar gifts, a great deal of good can be accomplished. Put your pennies in a jar and soon they will add up to a dollar. Think how rich you will feel when you give that dollar away to someone who really needs it. You will please and cheer the recipient. If you are holding on to what you have, you will never know the joy of freely giving.

The best thing you can give a man who has no shirt is a paying job so that he can buy a shirt.

Gainful employment will build up his self-esteem and self-respect.

This is the highest form of giving.

It fosters independence. Martin Luther King, Jr. put it this way: “Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the

philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.” In other words, the man without a shirt wouldn’t need to ask for threads to make a shirt if he had been employed with a good job in the first place.

You say that you are not in a position to do that or you do not have enough money to give.

“If you are not generous with a meager income, you will never be generous with abundance,” noted Harold Nye. If you see a need, then give to meet it. If you give only when you have been asked, then you have waited too long.

Your good deed of giving will light the darkness and the beam of light will boomerang back to you because what you give, you get.

Don’t you know that your returns in life are in direct proportion to what you give?

One of my work-study students shared that she had received the same scholarship for two years and wrote a note of gratitude for the financial help. When given a gift, it’s important to send the donor a sincere note of appreciation. When I give someone a gift, receiving a handwritten note is the response I value the most--far more than an email or text. I save those notes.

Having tangible evidence that I can read when times are tough reinforces the idea that I really did make a difference for someone at a particular time; knowing that encourages me to be as generous as I can with my time, energy, or gifts in the future.

Folks who volunteer for the Community Christmas Dinner understand that one special meal can make a huge difference for people who might otherwise not have that meal. Habitat for Humanity offers homes to people who cannot afford them. God’s Storehouse distributes food to people who might otherwise not have enough. The Community Foundation of the Dan River Region gives scholarships to students, funds to community organizations that target populations in need, and other initiatives. Area churches and homeless shelters help people

in need. Danville Regional Foundation offers internships, Make It Happen Grants for ideas that open up opportunities for everyone in the region, and other initiatives that benefit the area.

Rotary and Kiwanis provide local and regional philanthropy. Smaller groups give scholarships or help other target populations. The Danville Area Humane Society helps animals achieve a better life. Individuals give units of blood during a drive to restock the blood bank.

In the 1980s, I participated as a medical technologist on a mission trip to Roatan Island off the coast of Honduras. At that time, I couldn’t have afforded the flight, but due to the generosity of an anonymous donor, I went and performed lab work for Roatan residents as part of the medical arm of the mission trip; the non-medical arm built a school.

I learned first-hand about how generosity could change people’s lives, including my own.

Having been on both the giving and the receiving end of generosity has made me try harder to be a better person. I believe people give their time and resources out of gratitude for the many blessings they have.

They want others to share those blessings. Viewing life through the framework of gratitude makes one want to volunteer, to lend a helping hand. I suspect that’s also true for Evince readers, who are some of the most generous people on earth.

About the author: Linda Lemery is so grateful for her many blessings, including serving as Circulation Manager for Averett University Mary B. Blount Library. She welcomes reader comments.

Evince Magazine Page  23

Page 24 February 2017 What is your favorite food and wine pairing? Is it champagne and caviar, pinot noir and grilled salmon, sauvignon blanc and goat cheese, chardonnay and lobster, red zinfandel and barbecue, cabernet sauvignon and dark chocolate? Wait! There is another pairing that is the best of all.

2017 DSC Corks & Forks

Not long ago I had the good fortune to visit a place that many would agree is the most notable example of this pairing-Beaune, France. Beaune is the capital of the famous Burgundy wine region in eastern France where a former charitable hospital, Hospices de Beaune, is located. It was founded in 1443

by Nicolas Rolin, Chancellor of Burgundy, as a hospital for the poor and it received its first patient on January 1, 1452.

From the Middle Ages until today, the elderly, disabled, sick, orphans, women about to give birth and the destitute have all been welcomed. Now, the original hospital building is a museum and patients are cared for in modern hospital buildings.

The Wine Spot

Pairing Wine and Generosity

by Dave Slayton

a member of the Master Court of Sommeliers

course, vineyards--were made to it by grateful families and generous benefactors. Since 1859 the wines produced from its donated vineyards are auctioned in late

Over the centuries many donations--farms, property, woods, works of art and of

Since i spend my weekdays in a deadline-driven office environment without a view of the outside world, i crave time to absorb the beauty of these quiet spaces.

Painting allows time for that. it’s active observation. Most of my work is painted plein air (in the open air), and the practice has changed the way i see the world. in my mind’s eye, i’m continually making paintings as i observe the world around me. i have been transfixed by the way a tree is, at once, a negative shape and a positive one; the way that the white hue of a barn is altered by neighboring hues; and the way a field of golden grasses, upon closer inspection, becomes a surprisingly complex mass of colors.

See our website for more information about this award-winning artist.

We’ve got a loan for that!

Tai Chi with Wynona Witcher Tuesdays 10:00 - $10 per person

urban line Dancing with bryan Price Tuesdays 5:30 - Super fun dance moves will give you a fun workout!

Wednesdays 3:45 - 4:45 - ages 7-12. $55 per month.

Students will learn the elements and principles of art.

Multi-level yoga with lorrie laming

Wednesdays 5:30 - build your yoga practice and learn variations of each pose (for all levels). bring your own mat. $10 per session Thursdays 6:00 - a high-energy, dance based workout created for a healthier, stronger you.

neW

February

Valentine Dinner & Dance February 11- 6:00

Make your reservations on our website by Feb. 4 for this fun evening. $20 per person includes dinner by ChathamMooCa.

“Deep-enders” Show Opening reception February 12- 6:00-8:00

These incredible artists work and learn in the lower- or “deep”- end of averett university’s old swimming pool, and will have several of their works for sale through March 17.

late Winter art with Sweet Southern Design/ Heather bray February 25- 11:00

Paint an easy floral design on a repurposed window frame- a taste of Spring! Windows and all supplies will be provided, along with refreshments, for just $40.

Mardi Gras Masquerade Party February 28- 6:00

Fundraiser to benefit the Pittsylvania County Literacy Program.

Dress as your favorite literary character. Costume contest with prizes. $20 per person.

• The next Corks & Forks to benefit the Danville Science Center will be held on Friday, January 12, 2018. Mark your calendar!

Featured artist:

Mondays 5:30 - begin your week with a gentle yoga practice designed to relax and restore.

art after School with annette eberly

November to raise funds for the hospital. The selling prices for these wines exceed market prices because many of the buyers want to support the hospital’s operation.

y a D ’s e n i t Valen in Paris?

Weekly in February

Gentle yoga with lorrie laming

redeemed Zumba Fitness

As one writer describes it, “Wine is a generous beverage.

It makes us feel generous. You don’t see cognac auctions to benefit charity, but wine auctions are famous, from the Hospices in Beaune, to the Napa Valley Wine Auction, to the American Heart Association’s Hearts Delight” (Dave McIntyre’s WineLine). You can see this generosity locally at the very successful Corks and Forks fundraiser for the Danville Science Center. Corks and Forks demonstrates that the best wine pairing by far is wine and generosity. Cheers!

Debra Sheffer

We’re Your Community Credit Union

24 Reid Street Chatham, VA 434.203.8062 reidstreetgallery.com FB Reid Street Gallery

Follow us on Facebook and check out our website for more events and information…..www.ReidStreetGallery.com

www.piedmontcu.org

NMLS #402961

Evince Magazine Page 25

Pittsylvania County Submitted by Lisa Tuite

Special Events • Brown Bag Book Reviews: Wednesdays 12-1pm Chatham.

• Pajama Story Time: 10am February 1 Chatham. all ages.

• Harry Potter Book Night: 6pm February 2 Mt. Hermon.

• Music and Movement: 1010:30am February 3 Chatham. ages 0-5.

• Disney Reads Day: 12:30-1pm February 4.

• DIY Valentine Wreath: 5pm February 7 Gretna. $4.

• DIY Valentine Craft: 6pm February 9 Brosville.

• Pajama Story Time: 6:30 pm February 13 Gretna. Wear pj’s and bring a stuffed animal.

• Valentine’s Day Chocolate Party: 3-5pm February 14 Chatham.

• Bedtime Story Time: 6pm February 16 Mt. Hermon. Wear pj’s; bring a blanket.

• DIY Pressed Flower Candle Holders: 5pm February 21 Gretna. $2 • Digital Learning Day: February 23 Brosville 10am2pm. From 4-5pm, play with Sphero and the Ozobots.

Brosville/Cascade • Mario Monday: February 6.

4:30pm. Kart racing on the Wii. • Needlework Tuesdays: 10am.

• Dancercise Wednesdays: 9am Line dance your way to fitness.

• Book Bingo: Thursday: 6-7:30pm February 16. Win books and other prizes.

• Try It Thursday: 6pm February 23. Learn to macramé.

• Walk Fit Fridays: 9am Walk to DVDs from the library’s collection.

Chatham • Mother Goose on the Loose:

What’s Happening in the Public Libraries 11-11:30am February 6, 13, and 27 ages 0-3.

• Story Time with Ms. Angie and Friends:10-10:30am February 8, 15, and 22 ages 3-5.

• Computer 1 on 1 Help: Wednesdays 6-7pm.

• Bingo: 4-6pm February 2 Win books and prizes.

• 2nd Thursday Discussion Group: 4-5:45pm, February 9.

Conversations for adults.

Gretna • Group Fitness: Mondays and Thursdays 10am (not February 20) Adults exercise using DVDs from the library’s collection.

• 2nd Tuesday Recipe Club: 5:30pm, February 14. Theme is “Something Red.” Use a library book recipe to make and share a dish.

• Homeschool Connection: 2pm February 14 and 28. Take a virtual around-the-world trip through books, crafts and games.

• Wednesdays for Wees: 10am ages 3-5.

• Bingo for Books: 5pm February 28 Win books and other prizes.

Mt. Hermon • Knitting Group: 6:30pm February 6. Bring your own projects.

• Mother Goose on the Loose: Wednesdays 10am Stories and songs for ages 0-3.

• Preschool Pals: Fridays 10am Stories, rhymes and songs for ages 3-5.

• Hooks & Books: 6:30-8pm February 23. Crochet an amigurumi character. Basic

South Boston Public Library Submitted by Jay Stephens

Tuesdays • Itsy Bitsy PALS, 12:30-1:30 birth to age 2 • PALS 2:30-4:30 ages 2-7 • Tweens 4:30-5:30 ages 8-12 • February 2: Computer Class 6pm E-books

• February 14: Adult Crafts 1-2 pm For more information, visit South Boston Public Library, 509 Broad Street, or www.halifaxlibrary.org, or call 434.575.4228.

Danville Public Library

Submitted by Rachel Shaw

The Danville Public Library has finished remodeling the main floor. There is now plenty of space for tutoring, studying, working, and reading. The nine study areas are equipped with power strips to keep devices charged. Connect to the public Wi-Fi and stay all day. Check it out, sign up for a free library card, and enjoy over 80,000 items. The Friends of the Library has a book sale area with used books for purchase. Your library card also gives you access to digital comics, television, music, movies, audiobooks, and books.

Mondays • Free tax help from AARP: 10am-2pm - 434.799.2618 Tuesdays • Free tax help from AARP: 10am-2pm - 434.799.2618 • Genealogy Classes: 11am2pm - Use Ancestry.com; FindAGrave.com; court records • Book Club @ Westover: Second Tuesdays -11am-1pm • Minute to Win It: 3:30-4:30pm Complete mini-challenges each week and win prizes. Ages 13-18 • Crafter’s Corner: 4-6pm Wednesdays • Mother Goose on the Loose Storytime: 10-10:45am Ages 0-2 • Children’s Programs @ Westover: Third Wednesday 4-5pm Thursdays • Genealogy Classes: 11am2pm Use Ancestry.com; FindAGrave.com; court records • Mad Science: third Thursday 4-5pm Ages 6-12 Fridays • Preschool Storytime: 1111:45am Ages 3-5 Saturdays • Saturday Dadurday: Second Saturday 10-11am, Ages 0-5 • February 2: Teen Book Challenge: 3:30-4:30pm Utilize your knowledge of teen fiction to win the monthly book-related challenges, Ages 13-18 • February 6: Anime Club: Vision of

Escaflowne (TV-14) 3:30-5:30pm • February 7: Minute to Win It: 3:30-4:30pm, compete in minichallenges for a prize Ages 13-18 February 9 • Movie Matinee: Captain America Civil War (PG-13) 11am-1pm • Teen Movie Night: Star Trek Beyond (PG-13), 4-6pm • February 13: African-American Voices Author Talk: Von Wellington, 4-5pm • February 16: Mad Science: 4-5pm Explore science through fun experiments. Ages 6-12 • February 18: Family Movie Matinee: The Secret Life of Pets (PG) 10:30am-12:30pm • February 23: Keeping Oral Tradition Alive: A Storytelling Concert with Fred Motley, 6-7pm all ages • February 24: Trash to Treasure: 3:30-4:30pm an upcycling crafting experience ages 13-18 • February 28: Book Presentation by author Barry Koplen, 12pm, Kissology, Three Minute Stories, and Escape. See pages 17 and 26.

All programs are free but require registration at www.playdanvilleva.com.

For more information visit DPL, 511 Patton Street or the Westover Branch, 94 Clifton Street, www.readdanvilleva.org or www.facebook.com or call 434.799.5195.

Caswell County, North Carolina

Halifax County Public Library Submitted by Jay Stephens

• Wednesdays: Itsy Bitsy PALS 12:30-1:30 birth to age 2; PALS 2:30-4:30pm ages 2-7. Tweens 4:30-5:30pm ages 8-12 • February 6: Computer Class 3 pm E-books • February 8: Adult Crafts 1-2 pm • February 9 & 23: Art @ the Library 4-5 pm ages 5 -17

crochet experience is required.

• Family Movie Day: 10:30am February 25.

Unless otherwise noted, all programs are free. For more information, contact Gretna Library, 207 A Coffey Street, 434.656.2579; Mt. Hermon Library, 2725 Franklin Turnpike, 434.835.0326; History Research Center and Library, 340 Whitehead Street, Chatham; 434.432.8931; PCP Main Library, 24 Military Drive, Chatham, 434.432.3271; Brosville Library, 11948 Martinsville Highway 434.685.1285 or www.pcplib.org.

• February 16: Art for Adults 10am-noon, ages 18+ • February 21: Tea and Book Discussion Group 2:30-3:30pm For more information, visit Halifax Public Library, 177 South Main St. in Halifax or www.halifaxlibrary. org or call 434.476.3357.

Submitted by Erica Lowdermilk

• Mondays: 3:15-4:30 tutoring for K-12 students. Space is limited.

Registration required.

• Tuesdays: 3:30-4:15 Book Baggers. Ages 5-12 • Wednesdays: 10-11 Story time.

Ages 0-5 • Thursdays: 3:30-4:15 Teen Thursdays - games, crafts, reading.

Ages 12 – 18. Snacks served.

• February 23: Teen Cooking Lesson at the Cooperative

Extension Office. 3:30pm Registration required.

•February 25: Thomas Day, a free live performance directed by Mr. Fred Motley at 43 West Main Street, Yanceyville. 2PM. For more information, visit 161 Main Street East, Yanceyville, NC or www.caswellcounty.gov/library or call 336.694.6241.

Page 26 February 2017

W

teacher in me wanted to ask whether they also knew the word pulchritude, a word that suited the beauty they had returned to the windows.

ork was proceeding

quickly in the huge old

warehouse on Craghead Street. Even the first floor brewery was beginning to look ready for its kegs. On the way to my favorite spot, the old turret on the front right corner at the top of the building, I noticed a two-man crew installing new windows. Thanks to their progress, even street noise and chatty winds had become as whispers.

Weeks had passed since I’d last checked on the tower.

To my pleasant surprise, its ceiling had been completely repaired. Original brick walls had been restored; there was even a sturdy new floor. What amazed me most were the windows, especially the ones nearest the top of the turret, eyes of the building that had been in a state of rough disrepair. “These are the original windows,” said the taller of the two men while working. They had removed and restored them. Carefully, they were now reinstalling and recaulking all four sides of each window. Atop their scaffold, they appeared to be designers putting finishing touches on a new creation.

Painted with a dark gray primer, the windows and their panes looked like reclaimed pieces from a museum. As old as they were, they could have been that too.

“You guys did a great job,” I said as I reflected on the fact that, for the first time in my life, I was seeing the turret and its windows as if the structure had just been built.

“Thanks,” said the taller man. He’d said it softly, as if he were considering my compliment. Then he added, “We don’t ever hear that.”

Moved by his comment, I was shocked to hear that his team wasn’t praised on a regular basis. But they were already back at work and I backed away to take a few more pictures. Still, I was close enough to hear them talk. The shorter man’s remarks caught my attention when he stumbled on a word he was using; that word was sepulcher. Sepulcher?

I didn’t expect to hear that.

Immediately, the English

Finding Beauty and Peace in an Unlikely Place

by Barry Koplen

Instead, I took a step toward them and tossed a remark their way about the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

Saying that, I thought, would only be a step away from pulchritude. Immediately, they stopped and turned toward me.

“I went there six times,” said the taller man. “I was in the IDF, the Israeli army, for five years.”

Smiling broadly, I told him that I’d been an IDF volunteer near Beersheba, that my children lived in Beit Shemesh. It was his turn to be surprised.

Although I knew better, I wanted our conversation to continue. But I also knew I was interrupting them. Rather than talk about Israel’s defensive challenges, I remembered to ask for their names. “Clayton,” said the shorter man. “I’m Kyle Babineau,” said the taller, the former Israeli soldier.

He spelled his last name.

They were Virginians from Lynchburg. And they were impressive, so impressive that I decided to use a word I never use when saying goodbye to the people I meet as I scout the River District’s ongoing projects. Heartily, I waved at both men as I projected a most sincere “Shalom!”

The large three-story brick warehouse at 600 Craghead Street (pictured) that Barry visited was built in 1891 for the Danville Storage and Inspection Company. It sold tobacco by inspected samples and was the only establishment of its kind in the city. Liggett and Meyers used it for tobacco storage from the 1930s until the early 1970s when Davis Storage acquired the property.

Ballad Brewing plans an April 2017 opening in this space and will produce beer with a 20-barrel, stainless steel brewing plant and a 3-barrel small batch pilot plant.

Production capacity of Ballad’s system will be approximately 10,000 barrels per year. The upper levels of the building will house 56 apartments.

Meet author Barry Koplen.

See details on page 17.

Evince Magazine Page 27

I

t is written that Hope springs eternal in the human breast* but I’ve noticed hope in other creatures too. There’s the hope in a canine heart answered by the return of his desert-camo master from Middle-Eastern deployment (so far, no videos of jumping-upand-down-with-tongue-hangingout feline glee). Reptilian hope is more like cold-bloodied long-lastingness standing them in good stead even after their movie-star ancestors departed the red carpet millions of years ago. It’s no coincidence that hope is beginning to sound like life and will become even more apparent with examples from the plant world.

I see hope in the linear spaces between the bricks on the walkway in front of the Danville Science Center/Danville train station and other brick walkways throughout the city. In addition to the minute bits of soil available between the bricks for a seed to take root, the sun draws green life upward and it needs regular trimming as the result of the plant world’s hope eternal. Where moss has taken root in those spaces,

Hope & Life Spring Eternal

by Mack Williams, Natural History Educator Danville Science Center little rectangular moss gardens are growing, reminding me of colonial gardens laid out at Mount Vernon and Monticello.

Previously, on my drive to work at the Danville Science Center, leafy hands waved at me from the windows of abandoned buildings on Craghead Street. In winter, that wave looked quite bony.

Decomposing material within

must have acted as a nutritious soil for wind-borne, bird-borne, or squirrel-borne seeds or acorns to sprout and become inside-outside trees. As a part of the ongoing rehabilitation in Danville’s River District, the indoor-outdoor trees have been cut down and those Craghead Street buildings are being renovated and re-purposed.

Where once only limbs and leaves flourished, “Hope springs eternal

in the human breast” again. *Hope springs eternal in the human breast; Man never is, but always to be blessed: The soul, uneasy and confined from home, Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man

Page  28 February 2017

Evince Magazine Page 29

Tunnel of Fudge Bundt Cake

by Annelle Williams

I’ve hardly finished the Christmas sweet treats and it’s already time for another round of celebrations. February brings more partying with Valentine’s Day and family birthdays. When I was a little girl my mama made a Tunnel of Love Cake for my birthday. It began with an angel food cake. (I can still remember the tube pan hanging precariously upside down on a tall Coke bottle while the cake cooled). After it cooled, she cut the cake in half, scooped out some cake pieces (I ate the discarded pieces.) and filled the cake with chocolate pudding before replacing the top and icing it. I thought it was the best cake in the whole world!

Then in 1966 came the Pillsbury’s Best Bake-off second-place winner Tunnel of Fudge Cake. It was baked in a Bundt pan and featured a tunnel of soft fudgey goo in the center. How it didn’t win the million dollar contest I’ll never know, because everybody started baking it, including my mama. No more angel food cake. This cake brought instant popularity to the Bundt pan. I still use the one I received as a wedding gift in 1970.

The odd thing about this cake is that the original recipe instructions contained a packet of Pillsbury Chocolate Fudge Frosting Mix that is no longer on the market. Taking it off the store shelves created quite a stir. Bakers across America were in their kitchens researching to find another way to make the fudge center appear, but they had mixed results. The fudge center was created by the large amount of sugar in the recipe not allowing the center of the cake to firmly bake.

A biochemist working with the New York Times developed this recipe which seems to work every time. I added the raspberry touch.

Hazel Dickens ate part of the cake before the picture could be taken. She loved it!

Tunnel of Fudge Cake (from NY Times)

What’s the Connection Between

Bundt Cakes and Hospital Research?

The Bundt pan was created by H. David Dalquist, the founder of the Minnesota kitchenware company Nordic Ware. In 1950, he was approached by members of the Minneapolis Hadassah, a Jewish women’s service organization, who wanted a lighter version of an Austrian ceramic Kugelhopf -- a ring-cake pan with a center post and elegantly fluted sides that their mothers had used. Dalquist designed one made of aluminum and named it a Bundt pan. Bundt is a variation on the German word bund which means bond or community. In order to trademark the word, Dalquist added the “t” and thus, the Bundt cake pan was born. The Minneapolis Hadassah sold these pans to its members for $4 each. They used the pans to make Bundt cakes for

2 1/2 cups walnuts or pecans, chopped 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces, softened, plus more for greasing the pan 1 cup sugar 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed 3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla 1/3 cup vegetable oil 2 large egg yolks 4 large eggs 2 cups confectioners’ sugar 2 1/4 cups bleached all-purpose flour 3/4 cup natural cocoa powder 1/3 cup seedless raspberry fruit spread, optional

Place a heavy baking sheet or pizza stone on a shelf in the lower third of the oven. It will keep the oven temperature constant for the nuts and the cake.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. On a large baking sheet, roast nuts in the oven for 10 minutes. Keep watch. They will burn quickly. Pour into a bowl and add 2 tablespoons butter and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Toss well and set aside.

Generously butter the inside of a large 12-cup Bundt cake pan. In a bowl, beat butter to soften until it becomes fluffy. Add sugar, then the brown sugar and continue to beat until airy. While beating, if the bowl does not feel cool, place it in the freezer for five minutes, then resume beating. Beat in 3/4 teaspoon salt, vanilla and vegetable oil. Beat in two egg yolks. Crack the four whole eggs into a large mixing bowl. With a small knife, cut yolks and barely stir the eggs, minimally blending the whites and yolks. With the mixer on the lowest speed, beat the eggs into the batter in three batches. Mix in confectioners’ sugar and the cocoa. In a large mixing bowl, stir flour and nuts together. With a spatula, stir the flour-nut mixture into the batter. Pour the batter into a Bundt pan. Bake for 40 minutes.

bake sales. Proceeds from the sales benefitted the Hadassah Hospital, a teaching and research facility in Jerusalem.

Read more about the Hadassah Hospital on page 14, Jo Ann Howard Reports: It’s Working!

You cannot use the toothpick test for doneness, because the cake contains so much sugar that the center will not set but will remain a tunnel of fudge. You are dependent on a correct oven temperature and the 40-minute cooking time.

When removed from the oven, the cake will have a runny fudge core with an air pocket above the fudge. About 30 minutes after removing the cake from the oven, press the inside and outside edges of the cake bottom down all the way around to minimize the air pocket. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for two to three hours. Invert the cake onto a platter. Brush the raspberry fruit spread over the cake and let cool completely.

Questions or comments?

Email me: AnnelleWilliams@comcast.net I look forward to hearing from you!

Page 30 February 2017

Photo Finish

Averett’s Tia Yancey and Rachel Covington make sure everyone has refreshments.

Joshua Norris and Pittsylvania County Supervisor Jesse Barksdale talk before the event begins.

Averett University’s Center for Community Engagement & Career Competitiveness and Riverview Rotary hosted an America’s Sunday Supper on January 16 at the River District Event Center. Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King’s vision of people with diverse backgrounds interacting on personal levels, Sunday Suppers encourage people to share a meal and discuss issues that affect the community. This year’s conversation was centered on the theme, What Will You Stand For? Danville by Choice and History United also sponsored a Sunday Supper at 2 Witches Winery & Brewing Company on Trade Street. Evince photographer, Von Wellington, dashed between the two venues to capture both events in pictures.

Averett’s Angie McAdams (standing) and Cierra Gunter greet Keisha Averett and daughter, Shabrian.

Gary Tucker, Paul Nicholson, and Shekeva Frazier listen to the discussion.

All photos by Von Wellington.

For more info visit www.vonwellington photography.com or call 434.770.3553. See more pictures on Facebook.

Jenesis and Jada came to dinner with their mother, Wendi Goods Everson, Danville Regional Foundation Senior Program Officer.

Beth Bauman chats with Rev. Ron Johnson of Holbrook Street Presbyterian Church.

David Jones arrives early and checks-in.

Evince Magazine Page  31 Evelyn Riley, Rev. Allen Thompson of First Presbyterian Church, and Minister Malvester Muhammad share a table and a meal.

Paula Smith and Alexis Ehrhardt (foreground) trade ideas while Cheryl Nixon, Denice Thibodeau, Cassie Williams-Jones, and Sonya Wolen listen.

Danville Vice-Mayor Dr. Gary Miller, (end of table) gathers information from others at the table.

Tiffany Funderburk, Kitteria Mayo, Sheila Baynes, Eric Hash, and Bryan Price exchange ideas.

Clem Oliver, Kendall Ratliffe, and Ella Jones prepare for the afternoon of conversation.

Penelope Cruz and Jeanette Cruz arrive early to socialize.

The group at 2 Witches listens to Brendan Wolfe, managing editor of Encyclopedia Virginia.

Dalton Nixon and Cheryl Nixon arrive for an afternoon with friends.

Tonya Fullerwinder-Mayo, and her daughter, Rachal, mingle with the crowd.

Page  32 Febraury 2017