Smoky Mountain Living, February 2016

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

Celebrating Southern Appalachians THE

TASTE OF THE MOUNTAINS | BALSAM RANGE BLUEGRASS | LOVE IN THE DIGITAL AGE | IN PRAISE OF MOSS

Local Flavors to Where & What to Eat Now

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 • VOL. 16 • NO. 1

smliv.com

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING

SURRY COUNTY SONKERS | WILDFLOWER HIKES | BREVARD’S BIG EASY

Outdoor Adventures, Indoor Temperatures Bat Survival Hangs in the Balance

College Town. Riverfront.

Your Favorite Home.

CULLOWHEE R IVER CLUB, conveniently nestled between Western Carolina University and the scenic Tuckasegee River in Cullowhee, offers something for everyone. Residents here will experience life in a vibrant university community set in a tranquil splendor of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and less than an hour’s drive from Asheville.

The Cullowhee River Club Master Plan thoughtfully blends unique residences with generous conservation areas that preserve the natural attributes of the land.

The Grand River Lodge, with its sweeping views of the Tuckasegee River will be the center of community life and planned activities. The Lodge Restaurant will offer distinctive cuisine and superior service in an atmosphere of rustic elegance. The charming River Pavilion will be a favorite late afternoon gathering place, and outdoor activities will abound with recreational amenities including a Swimming Pool, Tennis Courts, River Park, Boathouse, Boat Ramp, and Hiking and Biking Trails.

CULLOWHEE R IVER CLUB offers an exciting variety of home choices suited for primary, second-home, or retirement living. Riverfront and Mountain homesites are available and our Home Plans Collection includes Cottages, Townhomes, Lodge Cabins, and Lodge Condos with a range of sizes to suit your needs and lifestyle. For more information on our community and home plans collection please email us at Info@ CullowheeRiverClub.com, or call 1.877.258.2522

Western North Carolina’s newest and most exciting residential and recreational community!

Cottage

Visit CULLOWHEE RIVER CLUB and experience our casually-elegant mountain and riverfront lifestyle with a two-night Lodge Cabin

DISCOVERY LIFESTYLE PACKAGE ...just

omes Townh

99

$

per couple

For Reservations Please Call:

1.877.258.2522

or Email Us at: Info@ CullowheeRiverClub.com Condominiums

All renderings are artist concepts only and are subject to change without notice.

6I[HPU [OL 7YVWLY[` 9LWVY[ YLX\PYLK I` MLKLYHS SH^ HUK YLHK P[ ILMVYL ZPNUPUN HU`[OPUN 5V MLKLYHS HNLUJ` OHZ Q\KNLK [OL TLYP[Z VY ]HS\L PM HU` VM [OPZ WYVWLY[` ;OPZ KVLZ UV[ JVUZ[P[\[L HU VɈLY [V ZLSS VY H ZVSPJP[H[PVU [V I\` YLHS LZ[H[L [V HU` LU[P[` VY YLZPKLU[Z VM 5L^ @VYR VY HU` V[OLY Z[H[L VY Q\YPZKPJ[PVU ^OLYL WYVOPIP[LK I` SH^ VY ^OLYL WYPVY YLNPZ[YH[PVU PZ YLX\PYLK I\[ OHZ UV[ `L[ ILLU M\SÄSSLK PUJS\KPUN registration in New York under the Martin Act, on behalf of Cullowhee River Club, LLC, or anyone acting with the knowledge of Cullowhee River Club, LLC. Cullowhee River Club, LLC is not incorporated EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY in, located in, or a resident in the state of New York. Current development plans are subject to change without notice, and some photographs may depict areas not within the project. There is no guarantee that facilities, features, or amenities depicted or otherwise described will be built or, if built, will be of the same type, size, or nature as depicted or described. We will use your contact information to provide you information about us, except where prohibited by law. We are in compliance with Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. We have not and will not discriminate against you because of your race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status or handicap.

everything for life

63 North Main Street • Downtown Waynesville • MastStore.com (828) 452 -2101 • Othe r Dow ntowns: Asheville • Hendersonville • Valle Crucis • Boone Winston-Salem, NC • Knoxville, TN • Greenville • Columbia, SC

Contents

FEATU RE STO RIES

TASTE OF THE MOUNTAINS Chefs, brewers, distillers, bakers, farmers, and country cooks are preserving traditions and redefining the flavor of Southern Appalachia, from A to Z. PAGE

46

UNBRIDLED LOVE The horse’s power to elevate the human spirit is nothing short of amazing. Today, a handful of organizations are seeking to lift the spirits of horses that have fallen upon hard times, and use recovery to the benefit of horse and human alike.

BY JO HARRIS

PAGE

60

GATHER ROUND THE FLAME One of humanities oldest traditions, fire gatherings have long met needs both practical and spiritual. That tradition lives on as community fires foster personal growth and create connections.

BY LAURA ARMOUR

PAGE

66

Contents SWEET APPALACHIA

DEPA RTME N TS

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

17

Comforts for the mountain soul—from a fiery cold remedy to a lush, mossy carpet, a woman’s conflicted romance near life’s end, and new ways to show love in the digital age. Plus: One Appalachian mill town finds rebirth in bluegrass.

MOUNTAIN EXPLORER

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

29

Coping with chilly temperatures is an individual affair. While one little frog stays put (freezing solid until spring arrives), human thrill-seekers turn indoors for climbing adventure. A growing cohort of stitchers is creating quilts that both embrace the past and look optimistically to the future. And whether its books in Bryson City or the Big Easy in Brevard, travelers can find plenty to do as winter rolls along.

ON THE COVER Surry County’s distinctive fruit dessert—the sonker—is the inspiration behind one of North Carolina’s newest culinary trails, and the centerpiece of a festival held annually in October.

SURRY COUNTY TOURISM PHOTO

Good Living 4

FROM THE PUBLISHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

CROSSWORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 AT THE PARK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

MEET OUR CONTRIBUTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 PHOTO ESSAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 STORIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Southern Appalachian Mountains Gallery Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Select Lodging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

The Gateway to the Smokies Half Marathon starts in beautiful downtown Waynesville and finishes three blocks away in the historic Frog Level community in front of Frog Level Brewing Co.

MAY 14

2016

7:30 am

START SmokiesHalfMarathon.com

Sponsored by the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce, this race wanders through the neighborhoods of Waynesville and onto scenic rural roads before finishing in Frog Level.

Paid for in part by HCTDA www.VisitNCSmokies.com WWW.SMLIV.COM

5

Town &

Fall in love with Blue Ridge, Georgia’s

favorite mountain town, where small town charm meets uptown shopping and dining. Luxury mountain cabins, breathtaking views, hiking trails, waterfalls, beautiful mountains and friendly people.

Country

Blu eRidge Mount ains.com

6

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

FROM THE PUBLISHER Community

When I first moved to the Smokies, my wife and went hiking nearly every VOL. 16 • NUMBER 1 Publisher/Editor . . . . . . . . . . . Scott McLeod scott@smliv.com General Manager . . . . . . . . . Greg Boothroyd ads@smliv.com Sales Manager . . . . . . . . . . . Hylah Birenbaum hylah@smliv.com Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . Katie Knorovsky editor@smliv.com Editor-at-Large . . . . . . . . Sarah E. Kucharski sarah@smliv.com Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . Travis Bumgardner travis@smliv.com Graphics . . . . . . . Micah McClure, Emily Moss Finance & Admin. . . . . . . Amanda Singletary Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Greg Boothroyd, Whitney Burton, Amanda Bradley Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scott Collier Contributing Writers . . . . . . . Laura Armour, Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, Ashley English, Mark Lynn Ferguson, Dawn Gilchrist, Jo Harris, Michael Reno Harrell, Don Hendershot, Holly Kays, Charli Kerns, M. Linda Lee, Debby Maugans, Jeff Minick, Tim Osment, Fred Sauceman, Garret K. Woodward Contributing Photographers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cheryl Allagood, Glenn English, Brittany Garner, Jo Harris, Holly Kays, Meg Reilley, Bonnie Waigand, Garret K. Woodward Contributing Illustrators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Mandy Newham-Cobb Smoky Mountain Living has made every effort to insure listings and information are accurate and assumes no liability for errors or omissions.

For advertising information, contact Hylah Birenbaum at 866.452.2251 or hylah@smliv.com.

For editorial inquiries, contact Katie Knorovsky at katie@smliv.com.

Smoky Mountain Living assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. Queries should be sent to Katie Knorovsky at katie@smliv.com.

weekend. With only one infant child in tow, we would look forward to these all-day adventures, 8- or 9-hour treks to balds or waterfalls or secluded mountaintops that would leave us satisfied and exhausted by the time we made it back to the car to head home.

As more kids came and they got older, our hiking life grew more abbreviated. Don’t get me wrong, Lori and I spent plenty of time in the woods with our kids and they all love the outdoors. But as the oldest hit her teen years and the others aged up, there was serious competition for time. We still got our kids outside, but most times it was shorter hikes or family car camping trips instead of long treks to backcountry wilderness areas. Still fun and great family time, but just different.

I was thinking about that transition in “our hiking life”— sounds like a book title or an essay topic—while reading recent stories about the surge in visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Seems the Smokies, which is the most visited national park in the country, is once again attracting record numbers of visitors—around 10 million annually—after a few years of decline. Park officials attribute several factors to the increase, but also admit that budgets have not kept up with the increased usage.

This situation hit home for me, literally. My youngest son is a senior in high school. He has a job, plays sports, and hangs out with friends. Again, he gets out to play in the woods, but it’s more often with his friends than with us.

But in a few short months, we’ll be looking for ways to fill time that previously was dominated by children. I’ve been semi-surreptitiously piling up hiking and camping ideas and books, mapping out two- and three-day cycling trips around the Smokies for Lori and me. I’ve thought about it often as a future without full-time kids at home looms just over the horizon: I love my kids, but I also look forward to spending time alone with that girlfriend who became my wife.

But I’m worried that the Smokies and that other great park in our region—the Blue Ridge Parkway (which is also seeing a surge in visitors)—will be challenged as they try to maintain the visitor experience. The terrible truth is that of all the things our leaders choose to spend money on, some of our most precious national treasures are being pushed to the bottom of the list.

This is one of the best seasons to enjoy the wildness that makes the Smokies so unique. The crowds are gone, and so it’s easier to get up close and personal with the backcountry. It’s also a good time to snuggle up with a laptop and dash off a letter to those who make decisions about park budgets and such, reminding them of how these great places hold a special place in your heart.

— Scott McLeod, publisher

This is one of the

best seasons to enjoy the wildness that makes the Smokies so unique.

©2016. All rights reserved. No portion of this magazine may be reprinted without the express, written consent of the publisher.

Smoky Mountain Living is published bimonthly (Dec/Jan, Feb/Mar, Apr/May, Jun/Jul, Aug/Sep, Oct/Nov) by SM Living, LLC, 144 Montgomery Street, Waynesville, NC 28786. Periodical Postage paid at Waynesville, N.C., and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: please send address changes to Smoky Mountain Living, PO Box 629, Waynesville, NC 28786.

Crossword answers Puzzle is on page 9.

WWW.SMLIV.COM

7

Not just for our championship golf course

Not N ot just just u t for foor our ur picturesque mountain weddings

FIND US LIKE US FOLLOW US

2 0 1 5 - 2 0 1 6

SEASON PERFORMANCES

AQUILA THEA AT TR TRE IN SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE’S THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES February 27th 2016 at 7:30 pm MILLION DOLLAR AR QUAR RTET T March March 24th 2016 at 7:30 pm

Not just N j ffor our rustic-chic i hi clubhouse l bh

TOMÁŠ KUBÍNEK: EK: CER RTIFIED T LUNA ATIC T AND MASTER OF THE IMPOSSIBLE April 8th 2016 at 7:30 pm

But because the experience is...

Emotional.

Sensational.

Unforgettable.

LaurelRidgeGolf.com 8

DISCOVER THE ARTS

C CLAYTON LAYTON CENTER CENTER F FOR OR THE THE AR ARTS TS on the campus of Mar Maryville yville College

502 E. Lamar Alexander Pkwy.

Pkwy. Maryville, Maryville, TN 37804

BOX OFFICE: 865-981-8590 ClaytonArtsCenter ClaytonArtsCenter.com r.com .

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

ACROSS THE MOUNTAIN Crossword

1 Bright red hot dogs, two words 5 Southern breakfast dish 8 Common high-alcohol content ale style, abbr.

9 All right, for short 10 Spread seeds 11 Southern Appalachian soda flavor, _____ Basil 13 Engrave 15 Brewer’s need 17 Type of TV 19 ____ Lure, outside Asheville 21 Luxury being made in North Carolina from rainbow trout eggs 23 ___, shucks!

24 Operate 25 Renowned chef in Asheville, Elliott _____ 26 Barbara Kingsolver’s ____-Appalachian food 27 Wrong prefix 28 Shape with a knife 30 Tree that is a symbol of strength 31 Fire pottery or make bread 32 Recipe direction word 33 It’s west of Asheville, abbr.

GLENN ENGLISH PHOTO

Across

25 DOWN

Down 1 Drink production facilities 2 Debut on the stock market, for short 3 ___ paws, largest native edible fruit in the U.S. 4 Appalachian tradition, ____ and corn bread, two words 5 Chins and jaws 6 Craggy crest 7 Blue color 11 Quail or duck 12 Pal of Piglet 14 Work on jerky 16 Knoxville Brewing Company that helps train craft beer brewers, two words 18 Pink lady ingredient, it might come after cotton 20 Valley near Charleston, West Virginia, famous for high quality salt 22 Has no more left, two words 25 Corn 27 Honey-based wine made by the Bee & Bramble in Fairview 29 Kombucha is a fizzy fermented ___ , out of Asheville

Answers can be found on page 7. BY MYLES MELLOR • ILOVECROSSWORDS.COM

WWW.SMLIV.COM

9

AT THE PARK Community

Welcome Spring With A Wildflower Hike B Y H O L LY K AY S

W

inter can be a long, cold affair in the mountains, but the annual emergence of early spring wildflowers signals that warmer weather is on its way. Celebrate winter’s end with one of these flowery trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

• Chestnut Top Trail. Though only a mile long, this trail offers one of the park’s best wildflower shows — which is saying something, seeing as the Smokies as a whole is considered a national wildflower hotspot.

“This is one of the most diverse spring wildflower habitats in the Smokies,” said Dan Pittillo, a retired botany professor who’s

AQUATIC CONSERVATION GETS RECOGNITION After decades of conservation and restoration, the the Little Tennessee River Basin, which includes the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, has been named the country’s first Native Fish Conservation Area.

Recognizing a cooperative approach to stream conservation, the designation reflects the area’s incredible diversity of stream life — which includes more than 100 species of fish and 41 aquatic animals considered rare at the federal or state level — and the effort that’s gone into conserving and restoring those systems.

Stretching from north Georgia and

10

acutely familiar with all the park has to offer plant-wise.

Accessible from T.N. 73 near the junction of Little River and Laurel Creek roads, the trail climbs steeply from the parking area and flattens out to a gentle grade. From mid-March to early April, look for trillium phacelia, Dutchman’s breeches and viola.

• Porters Creek Trail. One of the park’s best early spring flower hikes, this trail in the northwest section of the park is a 7.2mile out-and-back of moderate difficulty.

“If you only hike the first mile, you'll be rewarded with 35 to 40 species of flowers,” said Danny Bernstein, an Asheville hiking guide and author of the soon-to-be-published Forests, Alligators, Battlefields: My Journey through the National Parks of the South.

“But I can't resist the urge to say that you'll also see a family cemetery up the steps and an old barn and home site.”

For more adventurous souls, a backcountry campsite at the end of the trail can allow plenty of time to take it slow and enjoy the flowers. But pay attention to the forecast when planning a hike so early in the year. Depending on the weather, you could pass the hours in a sea of flowers, or battle snow the whole way up.

• Mount Sterling Gap to Cataloochee, via the Little Cataloochee Trail. Mainly downhill, this shuttle hike is an easy to moderate 5.5 miles that gives a tour of the stages of springtime.

“The trail extends from earlier spring flora down to mid-spring flower zones,” Pittillo explained.

During the early weeks of spring, hikers will find trillium, meadow rue, Dutchman breeches, bluets, violets, and plenty more.

But along with burgeoning spring, the trail boasts the markers of history. Historic cemeteries, old foundations, restored cabins, and metal artifacts testify to the park’s past as home to hardworking mountain farmers.

• Kephart Prong Trail. This easy 4-mile roundtrip is a breeze to access from the North Carolina side of the park.

“Though the main attraction is the CCC camp at the beginning of the trail, you’ll also enjoy early spring wildflowers,” Bernstein said.

About 8 miles north of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center on U.S. 441, the trail boasts shows of trillium and violets through March and early April.

across North Carolina into Tennessee, the Little Tennessee River Basin includes the Little Tennessee, Tuckasegee, Oconaluftee, Nantahala, Tellico, and Cheoah river systems. A myriad of governmental and nonprofit agencies have worked to accomplish impressive milestones in aquatic conservation, including reintroduction of four endangered fishes into Abrams Creek in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

GOING GREEN Phase one of a three-year plan to make the Great Smoky Mountains National Park more energy efficient came to a close with the park’s purchase of new

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

equipment using a $239,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Park’s Initiative.

The purchases include five gasoline mowers converted to run on propane, three low-speed electric vehicles for campground use, and a pair of electric car-charging stations at each of the park’s two visitor centers. At each of the visitor centers, one of the two chargers is a D.C. fast charger, making the Smokies the first national park to install these faster stations.

Together, the improvements will help the park reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 40 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, according to the DOE, which has already approved funding for year two of the plan.

MEET OUR CONTRIBUTORS

Fred Sauceman

Community

F

ew folks know Southern Appalachian food quite like Fred Sauceman. His latest book, Buttermilk and Bible Burgers: More Stories from the Kitchens of Appalachia, pays tribute to everything from the power of Tennessee buttermilk to the dignity of the barbecue pit. He writes with fondness about the people behind our culinary traditions in the “Taste of the Mountains” feature in this issue of Smoky Mountain Living. A native of Greeneville, Tennessee, Sauceman lives in Johnson City, where he is senior writer and associate professor of Appalachian Studies at East Tennessee State University as well as the news director of the college’s public radio station, WETS 89.5 FM. Here he shares more highlights of a life spent eating well.

What is your favorite Appalachian food tradition?

Every October in Kingsport, Tennessee, a group of Cuban exiles and their friends get together to roast a pig and to remember. They’ve been doing it since the early 1970s. The person who started the tradition, Dr. Eduardo Zayas-Bazán, now 80, is a veteran of the Bay of Pigs Invasion. He was wounded and spent a year in prison before coming to the United States. He now lives in Miami but returns to East Tennessee, where he taught Spanish for many years, to reunite with his friends around a roasting pig and plates of black beans and rice. The event has been so special to me over the years that I created a documentary film about it.

LYGIA STALLARD PHOTO

What’s an underexplored part of Southern Appalachian food?

Sometimes people assume that Appalachia is this monolithic place, or that the only immigrant influences are German and Scots-Irish. That is far from the truth. In Pocahontas, Virginia, for example, descendants of coal miners who came over from Central and Eastern Europe gather every October in the fellowship hall of a Catholic church to make paprika-seasoned Hungarian cabbage rolls, stuffed with pork. They sell about 5,000 of them. In Knoxville, Tennessee, there is a fast-foodstyle restaurant that features the cooking of the Philippines. Johnson City, where I live, was once home to a vibrant community of Albanians.

John and Olga Kovach sold hot dogs at the bus station downtown and then went home to cook food they remembered from back home.

Pomegranate on Main in Greenville, South Carolina, celebrates the cuisine of ancient Persia. And some of the best Cuban food I’ve ever eaten was in the mountains of northern Georgia.

What’s next for you?

My next book will be a history of Ridgewood Barbecue in Bluff City, Tennessee. It has been in business since 1948, on the same spot, in a beautiful mountain hollow, owned by the same family. The Proffitt family maintains its allegiance to the old ways, cooking fresh hams with hickory wood, some of it from the family farm. The sauce is a secret recipe known only by two people, owners Larry Proffitt, a pharmacist, and his daughter Lisa, a registered nurse.

WWW.SMLIV.COM

Michael Reno Harrell

W

hen your family provenance in Southern Appalachia goes back to the 1700s, chances are good you’ll have more than a few yarns to spin. Growing up in the Tennessee River Valley, Michael Reno Harrell listened to and played roots music, folk, bluegrass, and blues. Now a resident of North Carolina’s Burke County, the singer and storyteller brings together the music of his childhood with the storytelling traditions of his heritage for a unique performance style that delights audiences around the country.

“Creating lyrics made me aware of how important the use of story is in connecting with the audience—not only in the songs themselves but also in the spoken introductions for those songs,” he explains.

Read Harrell’s tale of connecting with a stranger in the back-page Stories column in this issue of Smoky Mountain Living, and learn more about Harrell—including upcoming performance dates—at michaelreno.com.

Debby Maugans

A

s one of the masterminds (and food lovers) behind Farmer and Chef South— a food-loving collaboration that published the cookbook Farmer and Chef Asheville in 2014—writer Debby Maugans takes to the bonds of the food community like a fly to honey. “I love to hear stories about relationships between our farmers and chefs, like the farmer who showed up at the back door of a restaurant asking if the chef wanted a grocery sack of ramps just picked after last night’s rain,” says Maugans, who contributed to the “Taste of the Mountains” food feature in this issue of Smoky Mountain Living. By day the Asheville resident works for The Old Mill in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, developing recipes, styling food, and marketing the mill’s stone-ground grits and cornmeal.

Learn more at farmerandchefsouth.com.

11

Bonnie Waigand Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Jo Harris Jonesborough, Tenn.

The petulant weather of late Winter brings with it the promise of gentler days ahead. Here, our readers share some of their fondest memories from warmer days.

Cheryl Allagood Bear On The Square Festival, Dahlonega, Ga.

No matter how long the winter,

Cheryl Allagood Mountain Farm Museum, Cherokee, N.C.

spring is sure to follow.

— Proverb

Jo Harris Del Rio, Tenn.

Cheryl Allagood Cades Cove, Tenn.

In March the soft rains continued, and each storm waited courteously until its predecessor sunk beneath the ground. –John Steinbeck

Bonnie Waigand Roaring Fork, Gatlinburg, Tenn.

Bonnie Waigand Newfound Gap Road, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Cheryl Allagood Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Each issue of Smoky Mountain Living features photographs taken by our readers. Send us your best photos showing what makes Spring in Southern Appalachia special—from the flourish of new foliage to a long-anticipated day outdoors or even a new beginning of a more personal nature.

Email photos to editor@smliv.com by February 19; include information on where the photo was taken and by whom. Readersubmitted photos are unpaid but may be rewarded with publication in our nationally distributed magazine. Connect with us at smliv.com, facebook.com/smliv, and on Twitter and Instagram @SmokyMtnLiving.

Cheryl Allagood Cataloochee Valley

COME COM SEE E the colors off hope p The Crossnore School is so much more than a children’s home. There are opportunities here to eat, shop and explore. We invite you to come spend an hour or the day – there’s something for everyone! Feel free to explore on your own, or contact the School for a guided tour.

Just minutes away from Grandfather Mountain and the Blue Ridge Parkway!

P.O. Box 249 | 100 DAR Drive | Crossnore, NC 28616 (828) 733-4305 16

info@crossnoreschool.org

www.crossnoreschool.org

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

SWEET APPALACHIA COMFORTS FOR THE MOUNTAIN SOUL BOOTS ON THE GROUND This vintage, undated photo shows Laura Thornborough in her element—relaxing on a boulder in her beloved Great Smoky Mountains. A native of Knox County, Tennessee, Thornborough was an accomplished photographer who also wrote books on topics ranging from etiquette and housekeeping to her favorite, the mountains where she grew up. Her Smokies photographs offer intimate glimpses of pre-park life in the Smokies. “When I look at this image I see a woman comfortable in her own skin, a woman who accomplished much,” says Mike Aday, the librarian-archivist for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. “She seems relaxed, calm, and poised, exactly what you expect of someone who was so at home in the mountains.” Her magazine article, “Americans the Twentieth Century Forgot,” appeared in the April 1928 issue of Travel—then the country’s most widely read travel magazine— bringing a romanticized depiction of Gatlinburg and its environs to a wide audience. “I think that she was every bit as responsible for the establishment of the national park as was Jim Thompson, Horace Kephart, or Carlos Campbell,” Aday says.

NPS, GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK PHOTO

WWW.SMLIV.COM

17

THE VIEW FROM HERE Sweet Appalachia

The Fire Inside

BY ASHLEY ENGLISH

18

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

For decades now, I have carried supplies in my purse that would make any scout proud. Come across a word I don’t recognize? My mini Webster’s Dictionary stands at the ready. Somehow acquire a random paper cut at the bookstore (it happens)? Bandages and antibiotic cream are on hand. Eyeglasses become a bit wobbly? My mini glasses screwdriver can be deployed in seconds. When I became a mother in 2010, my preparedness went into overdrive. Now there are always snacks on hand to satiate sudden hunger in little bellies, sunglasses in the event of intense sunlight (and the attendant whining it elicits), and back-up socks in the car and my handbag alike, because five-year-old boys are drawn to muddy puddles and creek beds like moths to a flame.

Which is why when I became quite ill two winters ago, I was completely caught off guard. I thought I was too prepared to come down with a sickness so intense it removed my ability to taste or smell for six days. I could barely take a deep breath, let alone enjoy the aroma and flavor of the from-scratch chicken soup my husband lovingly made for me. When I began thinking over the winter wellness protocol I’d been implementing to keep my young son and susceptible-to-bronchitis-spouse healthy, I realized I’d overlooked caring for myself. I hadn’t been dosing myself with a spoonful of the homemade elderberry syrup I was dutifully giving to them. I hadn’t really been inhaling the germ-fighting essential oils I was diffusing in a pot over the wood stove, in the area beside where my son plays. I hadn’t been getting adequate sleep, or running a humidifier at night, or taking steam baths with eucalyptus oil. In short, I wasn’t nearly as prepared for what might befall me as I was what might do asunder the other members of my household.

It was during that unforeseen bout with illness that my dear friend and RN/herbalist Maria gave me a bottle of her homemade fire cider. An infusion of apple cider vinegar and hot, warming herbs like garlic, horseradish, ginger, and optional additions including turmeric, ginseng, and hot peppers, fire cider was created by renowned herbalist Rosemary Gladstar in the 1980s. Suggested as a means of moving out phlegm and congestion, herbalists both amateur and professional have been brewing up batches of it each autumn, in advance of winter ailments, ever since. Vinegar as a folk

Suggested as a means of moving out phlegm and congestion, herbalists have been brewing up batches of fire cider each autumn.

MEG REILLEY PHOTOS

I

like to think of myself as a prepared person. Perhaps my brief stint as a Girl Scout in early adolescence left a mark so indelible that I took on “Be Prepared” as my personal lifelong mantra.

Fire Cider Recipe YOU WILL NEED: ½ cup freshly grated horseradish root ½ cup freshly grated ginger root ¼ cup freshly grated turmeric root 4 large garlic cloves, minced 2 fresh hot peppers ¼ cup chopped ginseng root, fresh or dried (optional) Apple cider vinegar Honey and lemon, (to serve)

TO MAKE: 1) Place all of the chopped herbs and the peppers in a lidded glass container. Pour enough vinegar on top to cover by two inches. Cover with the lid, and place in a cool, dark area such as a pantry or cabinet for four weeks.

2) Using a mesh sieve, strain off the solids. Return the infused vinegar to the glass container and store as before.

Alternately, you can leave the herbs in, where they’ll continue infusing the vinegar, and then strain off the solids per tablespoon upon use.

3) Take vinegar in 1-2 tablespoon doses as needed. You can take it daily, on a preventative basis, or acutely, at the time of need. Serve sweetened with hot water. I typically put two tablespoons in a mug, top with boiling water, and sweeten with several teaspoons of honey and a squeeze of lemon juice.

remedy has a long and storied use in the Southern Appalachians.

As detailed in the Foxfire Book Series, it was suggested as a treatment for coughs and sore throats, while Edain McCoy (descendant of the famed Hatfield-McCoy lineage) writes of its use in purportedly curing headaches in Mountain Magick: Folk Wisdom from the Heart of Appalachia.

This winter, I’m prepared. After Maria’s remedy proved so helpful (my senses returned the day after taking her blend), I knew I needed to incorporate fire cider into my own home apothecary. Inspired by Maria and Rosemary’s concoctions, as well as one that local herbalist and herbal Juliet Blankespoor of the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine has on her website, I created the following recipe. It takes four weeks to infuse, which even further emphasizes the need for advance preparation. From my home to yours, may it prove helpful in your own attempts at readiness for whatever winter throws your way.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Candler, N.C., homesteader Ashley English is the author of seven books. See smallmeasure.com.

WWW.SMLIV.COM

19

ROOTS Sweet Appalachia

Gathering Moss

W

hose lawn is greener? If you ask Annie “Mossin’ Annie” Martin, it’s likely the one covered in moss.

The Brevard author and businesswoman has made it her mission to champion all things bryophyte. That comes naturally in the biodiverse microclimates of Western North Carolina, where some 450 species of moss grow in between sidewalk cracks and on rock precipices, deep in the woods and on rooftops.

“Mosses make my heart smile,” says Martin, who runs a landscape business called Mountain Moss on the edge of Pisgah Forest. Timber Press published her book, The Magical World of Moss Gardening, last fall. She’s as likely to be spotted climbing a ladder propped up against a construction site—in the hopes of salvaging a specimen before the bulldozers have their way—as she is teaching folks of all ages about the wonders of these ancient land plants.

Here she shares a few highlights and tips for wannabe mossers: What’s so special about moss?

When the dew drops encapsulate the spore capsules, there is no doubt how magical mosses really are, from the verdant expanses of green to the tiny details. My purpose in life is to be a mosser and to create moss joy everywhere.

What are some moss misconceptions?

It surprises people that they actually have to take care of moss when landscaping with it. Most people see it growing in nature and assume it will be just as easy for them. When you’ve got moss in your own front or back yard there are some maintenance duties: Keep leaf litter off, clear debris, provide supplemental water to encourage growth.

Maybe the biggest surprise is that many moss species grow in the sun. Most people have fallen prey to the universal thinking that all mosses grow in the shade, require moisture, and live on the north side— it’s a surprise to me that they haven’t noticed moss on the high rock precipices that are totally exposed to the sun. Most people equate moss to a flatness of a grass lawn, whereas those are just the ones growing sidewise. There are also upright mosses and they can have all different shapes.

20

“It’s key to introduce the appropriate species for your microclimate. My biggest piece of advice: start small. Choose a focal area that you can create as a feature in your garden.”

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

— Annie Martin

Your Base Camp for Mountain

Adventure!

KICKOFF EVE NT Culinary Gala

learn more:

Learn more and order an autographed copy of The Magical World of Moss Gardening at mountainmoss.com.

Mosses also have all hues and variations of green that are possibly imaginable, so I am amused when interior decorators refer to paint as “moss green.” To me, “moss green” encompasses the entire range of green colors in the spectrum.

Thursday, Mar ch 10 5:30 to 7:30 pm Laurel Ridge Country Club Waynesville NC

TICKETS Haywood Cham ber Members: $35 Non-members $40 VIP: $60

LUXURY CABINS

& FAMILY CAMPGROUND

Smoky Mountain News The Mountaineer WNC Magazine

Mile post 324.8 on the Blue Ridge Parkway between Asheville & Boone

Spruce Pine, NC 877-308-2888 or 828-765-2888

www.bear-den.com

What’s a benefit of moss gardening?

If you had a moss lawn instead of a grass lawn, it would use one-ten thousandths of the water required.

With a moss lawn, there’s no need for a drenching soak. It needs a light mist for a maximum of three minutes, three times a day.

What tips do you have for beginner moss gardeners?

The first step to moss gardening is to let it grow in naturally—stop fighting it. Encourage growth by removing leaves. It’s key to introduce the appropriate species for your microclimate. My biggest piece of advice: start small. Choose a focal area that you can create as a feature in your garden. Don’t expect to accomplish a huge expanse and convert your entire yard, unless you have big pockets or you have a legitimate source for acquiring your moss. Don’t buy it dry and don’t buy it in a plastic bag—I abhor the little bags of moss or sheet moss. And please do not steal from our protected national forests.

The sights… the seasons…

the lifestyle.

Have it all at Deerfield – extraordinary surroundings, activity-filled days and nights, an extensive list of amenities – all in one of America’s most desirable retirement destinations minutes from historic Biltmore Estate, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Asheville’s vibrant downtown.

Call to schedule a visit and learn how you can live the retirement of your dreams, and never shovel snow again – just enjoy it!

AN EPISCOPAL RETIREMENT COMMUNITY

1617 Hendersonville Road Asheville, NC 28803 800-284-1531 828-210-4592 deerfieldwnc.org WWW.SMLIV.COM

21

READING LIST Sweet Appalachia

A Tale of Two Souls

BY JEFF MINICK

Katherine Reid is dying.

It is 1966, and her doctors are unable to diagnose her illness. The energy that had brought her success in an Atlanta advertising firm has now deserted her: she retches up most of the food she tries to eat, and her body has become an arena of mysterious aches and pains.

One of her physicians, a kindly older man, tells Katherine: “A hundred, hundred-twenty years ago, we used to tell patients like you, patients we had no hope of curing, to go west, move to the country …”

The 38-year-old executive takes this advice. She sells her house and her controlling interest in the advertising firm and buys a small cabin set deep in Georgia’s Appalachian Mountains. Burdened by the necessary supplies for survival and the wreckage of her past— a high-school love killed in Korea, a dead baby, a ruined marriage—she undertakes the harrowing trip to the cabin, where she expects to live and eventually die in isolation.

But Katherine is not alone. Vietnam veteran Danny MacLean has also fled to these dark woods as an escape from the horrors of war and what combat has done to him. He too has suffered losses— the girl he loved has spurned him, and his best friend died in his arms in battle—and there is the possibility that he committed murder when he blacked out one night in San Francisco.

For weeks the 20-year-old Danny remains hidden in the forest, watching Katherine, observing her, studying her, until finally he becomes obsessed with her. He tracks her into town when she goes to buy food, destroys her car to keep her from leaving, and keeps her from dying during a snowstorm. When he finally allows Katherine to meet him, his obsession becomes hers as well.

Diane Thomas’ In Wilderness gives us this story of two tormented souls whose inner demons and despair stand in sharp contrast to the natural beauty around them. As she shapes the connections between Katherine and Danny, Thomas unsparingly shows us both the need for human love and the dangers of passions gone amuck.

To say more here about the plot would ruin this fine story for readers, but much more can be said about the book. For one, Thomas often writes here as a poet while at the same time creating a story so intense and driving that I found myself reading too fast and skipping other obligations simply to keep turning the pages and following the story.

Here, for example, is a passage exemplifying Thomas’s craftsmanship.

“Late one afternoon she lights a lantern in anticipation of the evening, hangs it from a brass hook on the porch, then makes her way down to the pond. She keeps a bar of soap there now, wedged under a

22

rock. It’s easier and more relaxing on a warm afternoon to bathe there in the cool stillness than from a pan of water in the cabin. She parts the dense branches of the budding alders—and stands motionless, stunned. The air above the pond has turned into a swirl of iridescent spangles. Mayflies. So many they have dimmed the copper sun.”

Thomas writes passage after passage with this sort of taut beauty, yet as I say, the intensity of In Wilderness and of Danny and Katherine drives the story forward.

Thomas also has a gift as rare among writers as a Mercedes Benz in a monastery: the ability to employ sex and eroticism as scalpels to cut away the masks worn by fictional beings and to show us what lies behind those masks. Sex in modern literature is often just about the sex, which is a definition for pornography, or else it is mishandled so badly that it leaves the reader feeling squeamish, like a high-school sophomore beside a date in the movie theater suddenly confronted with two people on the big screen flopping into the sack.

As Thomas Foster writes in How To Read Literature Like A Professor, “describing two human beings engaging in the most intimate of shared acts is very nearly the least rewarding enterprise a writer can undertake.”

Yet in her story Thomas handles this scalpel like a talented surgeon, using the erotic desires between Katherine and Danny to reBantam Books, 2016. $26. veal each other not just to themselves, but to us as well.

Here we learn more, much more, about desires they have hidden, even from themselves, about the healing and the pain of passion, about the hunger and the harm bred by solitude and loneliness.

Here is Katherine after one charged encounter with Danny:

Thomas unsparingly shows us both the need for human love and the dangers of passions gone amuck.

“Who is he, this boy with a man’s voice and old eyes, this boy she has let come into her life so completely? How much is there of him to know? It doesn’t matter. He and she are so alike in all the ways that count. They two in all the world have found each other, recognized each other as members of the same lost tribe. And she has emigrated with him to some wild and undiscovered country.

How lucky she is, luckier than anyone who’s ever lived.”

To learn whether that luck holds will require reading In Wilderness.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

The

Octopus Garden

SMOKE SHOP

Western North Carolina’s premier smoke shop. Offering only the best in locally made glass, tobacco accessories, hookahs, water pipes, and much more.

The Octopus Garden is here for all of your smoking and tobacco needs.

Seven locations serving Western North Carolina.

828.232.6030

YOUR SOUTHEASTERN SEED COMPANY open-pollinated, non-GMO and regional favorites

Order your FREE seed catalog at www.sowtrueseed.com/ catalog for our full range of 500+ vegetable, herb and flower varieties.

Sign-up for our bi-monthly newsletter and receive a 15% OFF welcome coupon code.

Gardening tips, contests and seasonal updates.

828-254-0708 | sowtrueseed.com | Asheville NC

WWW.SMLIV.COM

23

LISTEN HERE Sweet Appalachia

“Being in the Colonial, a smaller venue of 300 folks, presents a very intimate setting for our concerts, which gives off a very special vibe that radiates throughout the building—there’s not a bad seat in the house,” said Caleb Smith, guitarist for Balsam Range.

Held every first Saturday of the month, from January through April, the series brings together musical friends of Balsam Range. Acclaimed performers like country star John Driskell Hopkins (Zac Brown Band) to Canadian folk sensation The Sweet Lowdown hit the stage, where each partakes and shares in the universal language—music.

“It’s a homecoming event for us. We love using the facility because of its incredible sound, the feel of the room, how nice it is, and its wonderful history,” said Darren Nicholson, mandolinist for Balsam Range. “And I’ve learned that the community has started to count on it year after year as well. From day one, the series has always been about quality—quality guests, quality venue. And we’re very proud of that.”

Back Home

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

S

ituated in the heart of downtown Canton, North Carolina, the Colonial Theatre is surrounded by buildings with signs saying “For Rent” or “For Sale” in the windows. It’s the single remaining cultural crown jewel of a community that has seen better years.

One could hit a golf ball from the theatre’s parking lot and hit the nearby Evergreen Packaging paper mill—the economic heartbeat of Canton. The two entities are vital bookends of a town without seemingly anything to put on the shelf. But that doesn’t mean the community drive to reclaim its glory is dead, with the Colonial being the catalyst for positive change.

“When you start tracing the recovery of a small town, it usually centers around entertainment,” said Town Alderman Zeb Smathers. “And for us, that starts with the Colonial—we want people to believe that small towns like us can bounce back.”

Built in 1932, the theatre has remained a beacon of culture and pride ever since. Although it did fall in disrepair in past decades (with a renovation in 1992), a push in the early 2000s brought the old building back to life. It has withstood several economic declines and a devastating flood in 2004, only to remain a place of curiosity and possibility. “[The Colonial has] an ambiance and intimate charm that creates an indelible experience for visitors in the likes of the famed Fox theatres,” said Canton Town Manager Seth Hendler-Voss.

In 2000, it was listed on the Register of National Historic Places and also nominated for a “Momentum Award” by the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2014. The IBMA nomination comes as a result of innumerable shows at the Colonial by Haywood County’s beloved musical sons Balsam Range. The bluegrass group, who won the 2014 IBMA “Entertainer of the Year” award, has called the theatre home for its highly successful Winter Concert Series the last five years. Headlining each sold out show, the band also uses the series to showcase an array of acclaimed regional, national and international string acts.

24

Acclaimed bluegrass act Balsam Range with John Driskell Hopkins from the Zac Brown Band (above, left) backstage during their Winter Concert Series at the Colonial Theatre (top) in Canton, North Carolina. GARRET K. WOODWARD PHOTOS

And alongside the world-class talent, what remains at the series’ core is Balsam Range. Rising into the upper echelon of bluegrass music over the last few years, the band recently took home the 2015 IBMA for “Song of the Year” (“Moon Over Memphis”) and “Vocal Group of the Year” (second year in a row), with Tim Surrett being named “Bassist of the Year.” Surrett was also named the head of the Board of Directors for the IBMAs, a position that not only will expand the reach of the genre, but also brighten the spotlight the band has placed on the Colonial.

“It’s the centerpiece of the town. It’s just home for us,” Surrett said. “It’s nice to come home after a long year on the road and play for friends and family. Each series is a new beginning and energizes us for the upcoming year.” www.balsamrange.com.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

Look closely into the mountains of North Carolina and you’ll discover a place unlike any other. Hendersonville calls out to all to seek out and explore new experiences year-round.

Stroll through our downtown Main Street filled with boutiques and eateries or find a trail that will take you to new heights in DuPont State Recreational Forest. Belly up to a cold brew at Sierra Nevada Brewery or indulge in regional wine tastings, its all up to you!

Be moved. Because that’s what happens in Hendersonville.

1.800.828.4244

visithendersonvillenc.org WWW.SMLIV.COM

25

LOCAL LORE Sweet Appalachia

The Sap’s A Risin’

BY ANNETTE SAUNOOKE CLAPSADDLE

I

haven’t received a decent love letter in years.

Before readers assume I have just thrown my husband under the bus, let me clarify. As a high school English teacher, I used to celebrate the discovery of at least a few passionate, devotional love letters left errant on my classroom floor every year. These were prime opportunities to provide tangible examples of how and why to employ proper grammar.

With great joy, I would transcribe the text for my students (of course never disclosing names) and ask the class to suggest corrections or enhancements. Imagine pledging your unwavering affection to your 15-year-old soulmate only to realize that you have ended your declaration with a preposition.

True. They never cared too much either, but I was highly amused. Unfortunately, thanks to prolific usage of cell phones, texting, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, I do not get the “good stuff” anymore. However, I try to remember that this blight is merely another transition in the long life of mountain courting, a practice that we become even more cognizant of this time of year.

Spring is a dynamic season for these bountiful mountains and generative valleys. Green shoots of floral promise skim mulch beds just as wildlife uncurls from its cradle. We emerge from our own hot cocoa-induced slumber ready to exercise, clean, and even love. On the heels of Valentine’s Day idealism, spring is prime season for courting.

Since finding our true love comes with neither an instruction manual nor matching heart-shaped lockets, we are resigned to engage in a series of prescribed, normalized rehearsals called dating, or as our ancestors have called it for centuries, “courtin’.” In his 2006 guide, The Tao of Willie: A Guide to the Happiness in Your Heart, Willie Nelson reminds us that “99 percent of the world’s lovers are not with their first choice. That’s what makes the jukebox play.” The act of courtin’ itself is not simply a means to end, but a ritual of entertainment in itself—and quite a public ritual at that.

While current social norms are changing, wooing has long included the seeking of approval, both from the one being wooed and

26

the parents of the intended woo-ee. One must declare his (as is the custom) intentions prior to the first public outing. Public approval does not end there, of course.

As Jessica Hager explained in her 2011 article in this magazine, “Love and Marriage in Appalachia,” young men often carried on a Welsh tradition of gifting an intended fiancée with a carved wooden spoon: a love spoon. This spoon was frequently adorned with specific symbols such as Celtic knots or wheels. The gift symbolized an unending ability to provide for his intended bride, not to mention proof of his wood-crafting skills for this future in-laws’ discernment.

While we recognize the wedding ring as the most common symbol of infinite commitment, golden bands have not always been affordable. My own mother is rumored to have given my own father an ultimatum: “Either we get married or I am buying a car.” They did both eventually, but delayed the exchange of expensive rings (she wearing a modest opal) for a number of years, using their savings instead to “buy dirt” as my father describes their first land purchase. The same is even more common of earlier Appalachian families. Love spoons and wedding ring quilts appear to have stood as placeholders for such offerings, though quilts were more likely gifts from family members or friends, not the spouse.

The act of courtin’ itself is not

simply a means to end, but a ritual of entertainment in itself— and quite a public ritual at that.

MANDY NEWHAM-COBB ILLUSTRATION

The Cherokee have a similar custom of adorning a new couple with a quilt—in this case, a solid white blanket. While the couple begin the ceremony with each wearing a blue blanket, their unity is sanctioned by the removal of these separate covers and their joining as one under the white blanket.

There are probably no courting practices more public than those dating from the American colonies through the Victorian period: bundling and joggling boards. In Courtship, Sex, and the Single Colonist, Andrew G. Gardner explains the biblical origins of the bundling board and bundling sack, referencing the story of Ruth and Boaz’s premarital night together spent on the floor of a thresh-

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

ing room. Bundling boards are as they sound, a large plank separating the two lovebirds in the woman’s shared bed; while a bundling sack functioned like a two-sided sleeping bag.

Though the premise for such a seemingly liberal practice was to determine the couple’s true compatibility, there were also very specific guidelines for such an intimate exercise. The woman’s parents would be nearby in their own bedroom, there would be no physical contact, and all underclothes were to be kept on. There is surely nothing more communally awkward than a first-date sleepover with mom and pop. Joggling benches are a hybrid of a wooden bench, rocking, chair, and porch swing found commonly in the Southern city of Charleston, South Carolina. The bench is pliable and its footing allows the sitter to subtly bounce while seated. It became rumored custom for couples to begin their courtship at either end of the bench and then slowly make their way closer as the bench’s motion naturally drew them together.

Unfortunately, not only for myself, but for humankind, a group of teens recently taught me a new term that they felt essential for inclusion into my vocabulary: “Netflix and chill.” It sounds more harmless than it apparently is, but what’s most interesting about the concept is that from a tradition of “spin the bottle” and “post office,” courtin’ or dating has evolved into a casual blurred-line of shared space.

The bundling boards and joggling benches have been exchanged for dually occupied love seats and online message boards. The new circular symbols of infinity are DVDs. Willie’s jukebox has been supplanted by a carefully curated iTunes playlist.

One might be tempted to proclaim the end to true romance with such informal, high-tech courtship practices infiltrating future generations of courters, but if we dig below the surface, not much has changed. Public declarations of commitment—in this case Facebook relationship statuses—still abound. Handcrafted gifts of assurance are exchanged in the form of iPhone passcodes. And, if love is true (or at least for the moment), the community will approve of the union with a thumbsup emoji.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle is an awardwinning author and member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

WWW.SMLIV.COM

27

MOUNTAIN EXPLORER ROVING THESE HILLS AND VALLEYS

SIGNS IN THE SKY From the Judaculla Rock’s 1,548 petroglyphs to the hiking trail commemorating the 1775 explorations of naturalist William Bartram, the places along North Carolina’s new Blue Ridge Heritage Trail embody the history and culture of the region. Words and photographs on the trail’s 69 wayside signs illustrate many aspects of the region’s natural and cultural heritage including that of the Cherokee, traditional music, agriculture, and craft. Interactive kiosks have been installed at five North Carolina Welcome Centers, located at gateways to the region, to help travelers find their way along the trail. Visit BlueRidgeHeritageTrail.com to see all the sites on the trail, learn which is closest to your location, and download the accompanying brochure. The Blue Ridge Heritage Trail is a program of the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Partnership. JERRY JONES PHOTO

WWW.SMLIV.COM

29

OUTLOOKS

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Sue Cameron collects data from one of the bats.

Mountain Explorer

HOLLY KAYS PHOTO

Going Batty B Y H O L LY K AY S

F

rom hard hats to oversize coverall waders to—scariest of all—slacks and a blazer, I’ve worn some pretty interesting costumes in the line of duty as a journalist. But the get-up required to join in on an annual cave survey of hibernating bats easily tops the list.

I’d barely pulled into the parking lot of Linville Caverns before the layers started coming at me. Baggy sweats to pull over the clothes I’d come in. A white Tyvek suit, the kind you see Hazmat crews wear. Rubber boots and gloves, duct tape attaching their edges to the suit, and then a second Hazmat suit over the whole shebang. I had to leave my reporter’s notebook and headlamp, trading them in for waterproof paper and a plastic headlamp-helmet combo that could be Lysoled upon our exit. Even my camera had to be swathed in saran wrap.

And all this just to step into a cave whose cement walkways accommodated hundreds of tourists annually, each less carefully attired than me.

A multitude of bats—more than a hundred of them—used to fill the cave as well. The sight of them, flitting around the cave entrance 30

before eventually settling in for winter hibernation, is something that the cave’s owner, Sarah Davis, remembers well.

“I absolutely loved them,” she reminisced, showing our group— which besides me included two biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission—the way in.

Inside, the cave was damp, smooth, and quiet but for the trickle of water and fall of our own footsteps. Green-tinged mineral deposits gleamed in the dim light—caused by an unwelcome algae, but nonetheless beautiful—and limestone formations stood sentry, appearing tantalizingly smooth and silky. I could see why someone would want to spend an afternoon walking through the caverns.

But the hundreds of bats Davis recalled from decades past were nowhere to be seen. The outing was more like a scavenger hunt than a hibernation spectacle. Long minutes elapsed between each

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

White-nose syndrome has

decimated populations of cave-hibernating bats, with the death toll in Eastern North America nearing six million.

discovery of a bat clinging to cave rock, the entire survey done in less than an hour.

The culprit in all of this was obvious—it was white-nose syndrome. The insidious funguscaused disease first showed up in a New York cave about 10 years ago. Since then, it’s spread down the Eastern seaboard, reaching North Carolina in 2011.

The disease has decimated populations of cave-hibernating bats, with the death toll in Eastern North America nearing six million. In the five years since white-nose reached North Carolina, little brown bat populations have dropped by an estimated 92 percent, while northern long-eared bats have declined by 78 percent and tri-colored bats by 77 percent.

With numbers on the downturn year after year, I reflected, scientists must sometimes feel like powerless observers of disaster rather than heroes with the weapons to avert it. As one of the biologists with me in the cave said, even if whitenose disappeared tomorrow, it would be a long time, if ever, before bat populations recovered.

Not that there aren’t glimmers of hope. Last spring, for instance, the U.S. Forest Service released a group of white-nose-free bats in Missouri. The previous fall, they’d had the disease,

Of the seven bats spotted in Linville Caverns, this one showed signs of white-nose syndrome.

HOLLY KAYS PHOTO

but apparently there’s a native soil bacteria that “breathes out” a compound that keeps the fungus from growing. It was a rare moment of celebration in a field of research that can often be just plain depressing, but it will take plenty

more research to arrive any kind of large-scale, practical solution.

Meanwhile, rank-and-file biologists will continue their careful tallying and data-gathering in hopes of contributing toward a solution.

“Here’s one,” someone called out, the triumphant phrase echoing off limestone walls.

Smaller than my fist, the little bat slept suspended from the ceiling, the picture of peace.

The scientists descended to take their readings—body temperature, swabs from the surrounding rock and, finally, from the bat’s furry body. As the q-tip rubbed against his fur, the little guy roused, giving a squeak like that of a fussy newborn before settling back to sleep.

He was one of seven we found that day.

Seven. In 2006, biologists had counted 95.

Just as white-nose syndrome can be a depressing subject to study, it can also be depressing to write about. What would summer be without the nearly invisible wings of flying mammals flitting across streetlights? Or, on a more practical note, pest control without bats’ prolific insect munching to keep populations in check?

There has to be a happy end to this story, I continue to tell myself. But what, exactly, might it be? Time will tell.

DISCOVER PROPERTIES & COMMUNITIES AT HOME AND ON THE GO ON beverly-hanks.com

When you’re ready to search for a home that’s as breathtaking as our mountain views.

MOBILE On the top right corner of your screen, click:

NEARBY PROPERTIE S

HOME

for prices and photos.

Advanced searches and detailed community information.

<RXȇOO ȴQG WKHUH DUH PDQ\ ZD\V WR OLYH LQ Western North Carolina. We eliminate the guesswork by providing the photos, the analysis, and the community search tools you need.

COMMUNITY OFFICES LOCATED THROUGHOUT THE REGION Downtown Asheville North Asheville Biltmore Park Hendersonville Waynesville Lake Lure

866.858.2257 customerservice@beverly-hanks.com

beverly-hanks.com

EQUAL HOUSING

OPPORTUNITY

WWW.SMLIV.COM

31

FIELD GUIDE Mountain Explorer

Wood frog – Rana sylvatica

BY DON HENDERSHOT

Wood frogs are found from the

I

t’s a beautiful late winter day and the hills are alive with the sound of, well—hoarse ducks? If your late winter sojourns take you into wet areas, keep your ears open for the croaking or “quacking” of wood frogs, Rana sylvatica. These small woodland frogs are generally the first amphibians to breed in the Southern Appalachians—egg masses may be found as early as February.

The wood frog is three to four inches long and ranges in color from a coppery green to dark brown.

They have two prominent ridges along their back and a black Lone Ranger mask covers the eye. They live in primarily forested habitat and converge at intermittent vernal pools and/or any low-lying area that will likely hold water for a couple of months to mate and deposit eggs before retreating back to their brushy refuge.

Appalachian mountains of North Georgia to northern Canada, western Alaska to the Upper Midwest of the U.S.

WOOD FROG FACTS Wood frogs are the only North American frog found north of the Arctic Circle. They are the most widely distributed amphibians in North America found from the Appalachian mountains of North Georgia to northern Canada, western Alaska to the Upper Midwest of the U.S. They make the perfect cryonics poster child.

While other frogs hibernate by burrowing below the frost line, wood frogs simply crawl beneath the leaf litter. You can imagine what that means when it’s 30° F in northern Canada — yep, frog popsicle.

These amazing creatures can freeze solid; up to 65percent of their body-water can turn to ice, blood does not circulate and their heartbeat and breathing cease. When temperatures rise above freezing they thaw out, none the worse for wear.

Wood frogs can utilize vernal pools because the eggs can metamorphose from egg to tadpole to frog in as little as 45 days.

Frogs evolved during the Devonian Period, more than 300 million years ago. Fossils of frogs as we know them today date back 190 million years.

And one more cool thing — should you chance upon a vernal pool filled with tadpoles, pay attention as you approach. Scientists believe wood frog siblings can recognize each other and the tadpoles will clump together in familial groups.

32

Wood frogs have two prominent ridges along their back and a black Lone Ranger mask covers the eye.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

GO WILD Mountain Explorer

HIGH POINT CLIMBING GYM

BY CHARLI KERNS

M

otivation tends to drop with the temperatures for most, and as winter wears on hibernation can seem more appealing than exploration.

However, keeping up performance levels or getting that rush is simpler than venturing into the woods 365 days out of the year.

Adrenaline lovers can head inside to one of these three adventure centers.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURE CENTER Asheville, North Carolina With their grand opening in December, the Smoky Mountain Adventure Center is a microcosm of Asheville. Located in the River Arts District, SMAC’s combination of climbing-oriented gym and gear rental offers a one-stop shop for Western North Carolina’s outdoor enthusiasts as well as travelers.

Visitors can start their morning with a smoothie or coffee at the center’s bar before heading to yoga class and later the climbing gym. Then they can make an afternoon of fishing on the French Broad with the shop’s supply of poles, tackle and bait. Get a local cider or microbrew from The Asheville Hangout, an upstairs bar, and end the day on SMAC's outdoor deck looking over the river and the Biltmore Estate.

828.252.9996; smacasheville.com.

ROCKY TOP SPORTS WORLD Gatlinburg, Tennessee Just an hour away from one of the 20 biggest athletic programs in the nation, Rocky Top Sports World is all about the athletic arena. RTSW mirrors the University of Tennessee in what it can provide aspiring young athletes in sports such as soccer, football, volleyball, and wrestling, among others. The 80-acre campus opened in July 2014, featuring turf fields and new hardwood courts.

While most of what Rocky Top Sports World offers is traditional sports, what places it among alongside other adventure sports center is both its proximity to mountains and its partnership with neighboring action-sports business. The view of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is unprecedented. Among RTSW’s partners are Smoky Mountain Outdoors rafting and CLIMB Works Zipline Canopy Tour.

865.325.0044; rockytopsportsworld.com.

WWW.SMLIV.COM

COURTESY OF ROCKY TOP SPORTS WORLD

Bring It Inside

Chattanooga, Tennessee High Point brings together a world-class climbing gym with a top-level fitness gym to send anyone’s game to the next level.

The biggest location in downtown Chattanooga offers 30,000 square feet of inside and outside lead, top rope, and auto-belay walls, as well as High Point Climbing Gym in two 15-meter speed climbing and Chattanooga, Tennessee. two bouldering walls. The outside DONATED PHOTO wall is especially eye-catching with its transparent material construction.

A third the size of downtown’s gym, the Riverside location is no less intense. The layout and equipment direct more toward bouldering with 3,000 square feet worth of challenges as well as campus and hang boards.

Both centers also have a strong focus in cross-training with multiple rooms for yoga, aerobic, and weight exercise classes. Professional climbing instructors are also on hand for those interested in developing their skills along with their fitness.

423.602.7625 (downtown) and 423.475.6578 (Riverside); highpointclimbing.com.

33

IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD Mountain Explorer

The Beauty of Bryson HUSBAND-AND-WIFE TEAM TIM OSMENT AND DAWN GILCHRIST EXPLORED BRYSON CITY, NORTH CAROLINA, IN SEARCH OF THEIR FAVORITE HALLMARKS OF SMALL-TOWN LIVING IN SOUTHERN APPALACHIA— FRESH COFFEE, SMART BOOKS, AND GOOD EATING.

T

he best way to enter the jewel-like town of Bryson City, North Carolina, is along Old Highway 19. From westbound 74, exit at Ela in order to see, at least for a few miles, what things were like a couple of generations ago. On Old 19 visitors see the Bryson City that existed before it became a respite for tourists taking a break from the cascading lights of Cherokee’s casino. On Old 19 visitors can see what was here before the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad’s success prompted the restoration of early 20th century buildings, a restoration that causes international backpackers and Southern sightseers alike to stop and admire the wrought iron, the rustic woods, and the many window boxes with their profusion of color.

On Old 19, which eventually becomes Bryson’s Main Street, a faded sign at Bear Hunters’s Campground, slightly askew, advertises “Boiled Peanuts and Fresh Pork Rinds.” Down the road a bit, an aged barn supports a large slogan whose looming letters invite travelers to Rock City to “See Seven States.”

And except for the kudzu creeping higher up the barn’s roof, little else has changed along this strip since the 1960s, when Tim and I were growing up in a much-more isolated Western North Carolina. However, once you pass the old IGA market; the fruit stand promising Amish cheese, fresh eggs, and Greasyback beans; and the Catholic Thrift Store, the loveliness of this little town seems miles away from the hard scrabble years when dollars were difficult to come by and logging trucks were a more common sight than the modern-day vanloads and SUVs full of eager sightseers.

With only five stoplights along Everett and Main streets, visitors can crisscross the entire downtown in about 20 minutes. So, in order to do Bryson’s offerings justice, we suggest beginning at the intersection of the two streets, at the Heritage Museum and Visi-

34

Downtown Bryson City, N.C., is a small town full of great things, including shops, restaurants, a brewery, and a scenic railroad. MAX COOPER PHOTO

tors’ Center. Once the Swain County Courthouse, the museum is filled with exhibits that include an old log cabin, a 1905 bank vault, historic maps, farming and logging tools, and interactive displays for children, as well as images of mountain life from bygone eras, and a solid collection of publications by local authors, naturalists, historians, and “experts.” Though not an official National Park Service welcome center, friendly volunteers offer advice, directions, and, if you’re lucky enough to catch him, David Monteith, a Swain County commissioner, who rewards his captive audience with lively opinions and local stories.

Just outside the museum is the Cork & Bean Bistro. Once the Bryson City Bank, the restaurant opened in 2010 and is well known throughout the region for its chicken pesto crepe (augment the crepe with the available Brie, you will be happy you did). Since then, the proprietors have added the Everett Hotel to the old bank building: a boutique lodging with rooftop gathering spaces, fine linens, and burlap and brass room numbers. However, you need not be there for a full night or even a full meal to enjoy the restaurant’s warmth and beauty. The staff are a skilled mix of locals and exotic wanderers who welcome everyone, even those just dropping in for a glass of wine, an appetizer, or a cup of coffee.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

Moving down the block, I found Ashley Hackshaw (writer, wife, and mom) volunteering at the Marianna Black Library Used Bookstore. As I talked with Ashley about her Bryson City blog, “Li’l Blue Boo,” (a trove of information and photos from around town), she told me that numerous people stop in to ask directions, request information about the history of the building (it used to be Bennett’s Drug Store), or to just chat about books. The drugstore’s original soda fountain now serves

As one strolls through the heart of the town, it becomes evident that Bryson is thriving, not in spite of, but because of, its variety of identities.

as the bookstore’s centerpiece. The day we visited, it was piled high with art books covering specifics from 20th Century German works to 1960s Pop Culture. Hackshaw herself was just visible in this bibliophile’s dream, cheerfully ensconced behind the counter, poring through the stacks.

Crossing Everett Street and the always-visible Tuckaseigee River, we stopped in at La Dolce Vita. Owned and operated by mother/daughter team Gianna Carson and Pat Tagliarini, the main attractions were classic cupcakes, (made with real butter, real flour, and lots of local eggs), a coffee and a biscotti, or, for the truly “epicurious,” an avocado gelato (say that 10 times fast). The feel in La Dolce Vita is an engaging combination of Appalachia, with its local crafts advertised on a table near the creaky screen door; mom’s kitchen (one of Giana’s children was sitting at the counter doing homework); and a rural savoir faire, as seen in the exotic flavors and the Wi-Fi password reminders on the walls.

This Italian/Appalachian bakery is in many ways a perfect representative of what has come to pass in Bryson City over the past decade.

As one strolls through the heart of the town, taking in the homemade aroma of buttery grits cooked with cream at Everett Street Diner; young people sampling beer and local bands at Nantahala Brewing Company; native sages enjoying a wrap and a cup of Joe at Mountain Perks; or children swinging in display hammocks at Bryson City Outdoors, it becomes evident that Bryson is thriving, not in spite of, but because of, its variety of identities.

There is a melding here of a strong sense of traditional culture with an eye to the future that appeals to nearly everyone. And that nostalgic appeal is well represented less than a mile out of downtown. Approaching the popular Deep Creek campground and adjacent Great Smoky Mountains National Park, folks are transported back in time as they drive past the iconic Mountain Dew and Nehi bottling plants. So, whether you’re interested in tubing, bicycle or paddleboard rentals, a 1900’s drug store now brimming with esoteric literature, or train conductors and bluegrass music, visitors and residents alike both love and find love in this tiny town, Bryson City, that has managed to embrace yesterday, today, and tomorrow with open arms.

Race ME

I’M IRISH REMS RE RREM EM MSSBUR M SSBURG SBU BBURG UURG R G D R.

7

O’CLOCK

IN NT THE HE H E

After party & entertainment sponsored by the Abingdon Music Experience.

For more information visit

WeRunEvents.com All proceeds benefit the JMH Foundation.

Top: La Dolce Vita serves up Italian-style treats with an Appalachian flair.

Left: The Cork & Bean Bistro features farm-totable dishes and local craft beer. DONATED PHOTO

WWW.SMLIV.COM

35

Come discover

MEDITERRANEAN & ITALIAN CUISINE 1863 S. Main Street • Waynesville 828.454.5002 Hwy. 19/23 Exit 98 LUNCH & DINNER TUES. - SUN.

www.pasqualesnc.com

“Pasquale's is a must visit every time I am in town.

Twice if possible. Every dish I have tried has been fabulous, the salad is delicious, the prices are amazing, and the staff and atmosphere are awesome.

Put it on your list!”

— Sally Smith Ganis 1798-117

36

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

IN GOOD TASTE Mountain Explorer

Jamie’s Creole Brasserie:

44 East Main Street, Brevard, N.C. y Open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and for Sunday brunch, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. y 828.883.3388; jaimescreole.com. y

BRITTANY GARNER PHOTOGRAPHY

The Big Easy in Brevard

T

he old Grover’s building in downtown Brevard has a long history of providing townspeople with basic commodities, whether Chevys or filing cabinets. Louisiana-born chef Jaime Hernandez adds beignets and fried frog legs to that tradition.

Since opening last October, the long vacant storefront at 44 East Main Street—formerly a car dealership, office supplier, and furniture store—has done brisk business as Jaime’s Creole Brasserie. It helps that Hernandez came to town already vetted: Recognized by the national publication Best Chefs of America, he earned a Western North Carolina following at his now-defunct Marshall restaurant, Pork & Pie. Original oak floors, a mix of communal tables and private nooks, an open kitchen, and exposed steel beams set a convivial backdrop at Jaime’s. Forget the bread basket; here it’s all about airy pork rinds to get you thirsty for the restaurant’s extensive wine list, local beers on tap, and creative cocktails. That all warms up the palette for a menu that reads like the greatest hits of Creole classics, albeit with a Southern twist, from catfish po’boys to mountain trout meunière—a French preparation that involves dredging the fish in flour before roasting the filet, served with a creamy hot sauce.

“We’re bringing a little bit of New Orleans to the mountains,” says Hernandez.

Lest you think Big Easy fixings on the edge of Pisgah Forest may feel like a crawfish out of water, rest assured that Jaime’s embraces its setting. That’s in part thanks to an interior accented

with salvaged architectural elements from around Western North Carolina, including a teak hostess stand built from the stair posts of a 19th-century mansion and antique carriage doors repurposed as room dividers in the cavernous space.

Wood-fired pizzas star regional toppings like Benton’s country ham and pickled corn. With a couple of weeks of advance notice, diners can order a cochon de lait—a whole roasted boneless pig cooked over an open fire, which serves a dozen. Sunday brunch cues live Cajun music and a buffet.

And whether dining in for brunch, lunch, or dinner, beignets are always a welcome idea for dessert—because what meal isn’t improved by a flourish of powdered sugar and a helping of deepfried pastry?

If dining at Jaime’s gets you in a Louisiana state of mind, pick up some turtle soup to go at Market at 36, the restaurant’s new specialty shop next door stocked with regional and Gulf Coast artisan goods, butchered meats, deli, and catering.

WWW.SMLIV.COM

37

LIVING HISTORY Mountain Explorer

Fabric of Our Life

BY MARYELLEN KENNEDY DUCKETT

E

very homemade quilt tells a story. The “words”—including the fabric, pattern, style, and stitching—reveal clues about where, when, how, and, in many cases, why the quilt was made.

And, for many 19th- and early 20th-century Southern Appalachian families, the “why” was survival, says Butch Helton, manager of the Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, Department of Tourism’s special events office. Helton’s organizes the annual A Mountain Quiltfest (see sidebar), a five-day celebration of all things quilting.

“The original Smoky Mountain quilting tradition wasn’t about design,” adds Helton, a Pigeon Forge native whose grandparents lived within the boundaries of the present-day Great Smoky Mountains National Park. “It was about needing a good bedcovering because you lived in a house without insulation. I remember my grandmother telling me that sometimes in the winter they’d wake up to see snow on their quilts.”

Back then, quilts often were made from usable remnants of old clothing and blankets. Mothers would set up quilts in the living or common room, and the entire family was expected to pitch in and stitch. Says Helton, “I have quilts that have been in our family a long time. It is part of our heritage. Our ancestors were making quilts just to keep the family warm. The quilts have patterns and designs to them, but for fabric, a lot of times, they used whatever they had that would provide the most warmth.”

Of course, quilting isn’t a uniquely Appalachian or even American craft. Marie D. Webster’s 1915 treatise on the subject—Quilts: Their Story and How to Make Them—traces the origins of applique and quilting back to ancient Egypt. The first “American” quilts likely were expensive, decorative versions imported from Europe or brought to the New World by colonists. And, among the most recognizable and coveted quilts handmade in the United States are those crafted by the Amish. Known for their fine craftsmanship, uncluttered design and bold graphics, Amish quilts commonly reflect religious and cultural values and family ties.

Yet, while the Smoky Mountain region isn’t the birthplace of quilting, the folk art is deeply rooted here and continues to flourish. The weekly Wednesday quilting bee at the Appalachian Arts Center in Norris, Tennessee, celebrates the region’s quilting heritage—and gives quilters a chance to collaborate on a group quilt or join in the lively conversation while working on their own hand-sewing project.

The Center is craft cooperative launched in the 70s as an outlet for low-income Appalachian women to sell handcrafted items, including pottery, weaving, blown glass, general sewing, and quilting. Today, men and women are among the 60 to 70 juried artists who volunteer at the center and show their work in the onsite gallery.

“We’re keeping the Appalachian arts alive and moving them along,” says Maynardville, Tennessee, quilter and songwriter Carol 38

The quilting traditions of the Smoky Mountain region are celebrated through trails, sewing days, and even a Quiltfest. DONATED PHOTOS

See & Sew NORTH CAROLINA

y QUILT TRAILS OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA: Drive seven scenic routes to see over 200 quilt squares painted on the sides of barns and other buildings. quilttrailswnx.org y $5 QUILT CLUB, March to December, every second Saturday at 10 a.m. or the day before at 10 a.m. or 5:30 p.m. (choose one session) at Asheville Cotton Co., Asheville.

Pay $5 for the initial quilt block kit (instructions provided).

Subsequent kits are free provided you bring your completed block to the next class. ashevillecottonco.com

TENNESSEE

y HAND-SEWING DAY, Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Appalachian Arts Center, Norris. Free and open to the public. Bring a sack lunch. appalachianarts.net y A MOUNTAIN QUILTFEST, March 15-19, LeConte Center, Pigeon Forge, Tenn. More than 550 quilts on display plus quilt appraisals (fee by appointment), lectures, and beginner-to-expert classes. Free admission. Lectures and classes $20-$65. mypigeonforge.com

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

1798-88

Ostrom, who taught herself to quilt nearly 45 years ago. Ostrom—who says she has “lost count” of the number of quilts she has made—typically crafts quilts on her own. It’s the community and creative energy of the weekly quilting bee, she says, that draws her to the Center each Wednesday. Adds Ostrom, “We’re adding on to the tradition, using modern techniques and traditional ones. There are some quilting purists who want things to stay all hand-quilted and even suggest you grow your own cotton, but that isn’t practical any more. Both hand-sewn and machine quilts are considered authentic now. It all evolves.”

A basic quilt is made of some soft batting or filler sandwiched between two layers of fabric and stitched in patterns or tufted through all thicknesses. The Log Cabin design—considered by many as the quintessential American quilt—is the theme of this year’s A Mountain Quiltfest, and is Ostrom’s favorite quilt to make.

The traditional pattern (open to interpretation by the quilter) features a center square surrounded on all sides by strips of light and dark fabric sewn in sequence.

American quilters who could afford a sewing machine (patented in 1846, and available mail-order from Sears Roebuck & Co. for $20 or less by the 1890s) readily embraced the new time-saving technology by 1900.

“There are antique quilts made back in that era that may not have been machine quilted but they were machine pieced,” she explains. “Women were not stupid.

They were busy back then washing clothes by hand, and making soap and making candles. They were looking for ways to save time. So if they had access to a machine, they would use it to machine piece the quilt.”

Today, quilt-design software makes it easy to incorporate digital images and intricately stitched embellishments. And, high-tech quilter sewing machine and quilt kits with patterns and pre-cut fabric make it possible to create quilts in hours rather than days or weeks. But for Ostrom, making a quilt—even a machinestitched one—isn’t about how fast she can finish or how fancy the result.

“I don’t aim for speed,” she says. “I try to do a good job. And, when I am making a quilt, I feel a connection to this place and to the early Appalachian settlers. I feel like I am continuing a tradition and updating it some, which is what they did, too.”

Cocke County, Tennessee

The Adventurous Side of the Smokies

For your next Smoky Mountain adventure, give us a holler! yallvisitthesmokies.com

423.625.9675

WWW.SMLIV.COM

39

DETOURS

A

t the crest of a gravel path in a sylvan corner of Oconee County, 7 miles northeast of Walhalla, South Carolina, a 1,617-foot-long tunnel cuts through the blue granite of Stumphouse Mountain and abruptly dead ends at a bare rock wall. The curious story of this tunnel and why it was never finished begins nearly 200 years ago.

Mountain Explorer

In the 1830s, South Carolina statesman John C. Calhoun proposed that a rail line be built from Anderson, South Carolina, to Knoxville, Tennessee. He and others envisioned a direct route west from Charleston to foster trade between South Carolina and the Ohio Valley. Calhoun even trekked through the Blue Ridge Mountains on foot in search of a “Carolina Gap” through which to run the railroad.

Despite his early endeavors to win support for the project, the charter for the Blue Ridge Rail Road was not issued until 1852 — two years after Calhoun’s death. It was slated to run 195 miles over and through the mountains, via a series of tunnels. “At the time,” says Jennifer Moss, Assistant Curator/Education Specialist for the Oconee Heritage Center in Walhalla, “this was the largest construction project that the State of South Carolina had ever attempted.”

The largest of the three tunnels planned in Oconee County, the tunnel through Stumphouse Mountain, was designed to be 5,682 feet long, with four shafts reaching from the top of the mountain down into the tunnel.

Construction began in 1853. The 500 men who labored on the tunnel were primarily Irish immigrants who established a settlement dubbed Tunnel Hill above the construction site. Once “notable for its seclusion and wildness,” as one 19th-century visitor described the area, the workers’ village was subjected to smoke from steam engines, soot from the blacksmiths’ furnaces, and constant noise from men blasting through the rock at all hours. For explosives, they used black powder manufactured from potash and charcoal at the mill at the foot of nearby Issaqueena Falls.

To create the tunnel, a “heading” team drilled clusters of horizontal “shot holes” along what would be the top of the structure. Miners

Tunnel to Nowhere

BY M. LINDA LEE

LARRY GLEASON PHOTO

Issaqueena Falls Follow the path down the hill from the tunnel and in a short distance, you’ll come to the lookout for Issaqueena Falls. The most accessible waterfall in Oconee County, this frothy 100foot-high chute is named for a Creek Indian maiden.

As the legend goes, Issaqueena fell in love with Allan Francis, a white trader. Before she could marry him, however, she was captured by the Cherokee. One day, she overheard the Cherokee planning a surprise attack on the trading post where her lover was living, nearly 100 miles to the south. In a valiant effort to warn him, she escaped the Cherokee camp on horseback and rode to save him. It is said that she named several geographical

40

points (including the towns of Six Mile and Ninety Six, the terminus of her route) along the way, according to their distance from the Cherokee village.

Thanks to Issaqueena, the colonists thwarted the Cherokee attack, and she and Francis were married. The couple fled north to Stumphouse Mountain, where they hid from the furious Cherokee in a hollowed-out tree, or stump house. Eventually, several warriors caught up with Issaqueena, who ran to a nearby waterfall — now Issaqueena Falls — and threw herself into the cascading water. The Cherokee assumed she must be dead and abandoned their quest. Issaqueena, however, had jumped only to the first tier of the falls, where she hid behind the veil of water. As the romanticized story goes, the couple eventually moved to Alabama where they lived out their lives in peace.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

drilled the holes three-feet deep using a steel drill that was struck alternately by two men, each wielding an 8-pound sledge hammer. The agonizingly slow process required three hours to drill one hole, into which the men inserted explosive charges and fuses. “Benching” teams followed, drilling holes vertically into the floor of the mountain. These would likewise be set with black-powder charges, extending the opening downward in a stair-step effect. It was extremely hazardous work, for which the workers were paid a paltry wage of $1.19 to $1.68 per day.

Visitors are invited to explore the Stumphouse Tunnel (entrance pictured) or merely sit outside and ponder its history. LARRY GLEASON PHOTO

Plagued by shady contractors and lack of funding, the project finally came to a halt with the first volleys of the Civil War in 1860. None of the three tunnels in Oconee County were ever completed, and the Blue Ridge Rail Road ultimately extended only as far as Walhalla. It was rumored that deserters from both sides hid out in Stumphouse Tunnel during the war.

In 1951, Clemson University bought the tunnel, recognizing its constant temperature of 58 degrees and 90 percent humidity as ideal conditions in which to age Clemson blue cheese. More than 50 years later, in 2007, a coalition of local conservation groups raised money to preserve the property, which was being threatened with residential development. Their efforts succeeded, and Stumphouse Tunnel and Issaqueena Falls are now conservancy properties managed by the City of Walhalla.

Today the ill-fated tunnel welcomes visitors to walk its dark length and ponder the marvel of its engineering. In winter, water drips from the shaft above; in spring, mountain laurel frames the entrance. In all seasons, Stumphouse Tunnel endures as an eerie monument to its builders.

WWW.SMLIV.COM

41

ADVERTISING SECTION

AROUND BACK AT ROCKY’S PLACE The Ultimate Folk Art Gallery in the South!

Representing a plethora of self-taught artists.

Best selection by artist “Cornbread” in the Universe! Established 2002.

3631 Hwy. 53 E. at Etowah River Rd. Dawsonville, Ga. • 706.265.6030 aroundbackatrockysplace.com Sat. 11-5; Sun. 1-5 THE JEWELER’S WORKBENCH The Jeweler’s Workbench specializes in unique handcrafted jewelry, limited edition watches, kinetic art and other artistic gifts and treasures. Featuring over 50 artists from the Great Smoky Mountain region and from across the country. We offer on-site repairs and custom design and work.

80 N. Main St. • Waynesville, N.C. 828-456-2260 • thejwbench.com

SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS

GUIDE

T

he Southern Appalachians have a rich artistic history. As long as folks have lived in these majestic landscapes, they’ve been molding, shaping and putting together items that serve not only practical purposes but also aesthetic ones, too.

From weavers to potters, painters to metalsmiths, glassblowers to woodcrafters, these artisans reflect generations of heritage and innovation. Promoting and perpetuating this beauty are the galleries that are as unique and varied as the artists themselves.

42

EXPLORE

MARK OF THE POTTER The oldest crafts shop in Georgia in the old Grandpa Watts’ Gristmill, celebrating over 45 years in the same location. Mark of the Potter features handcrafted pottery, a potter working weekends, and other crafts. Don’t miss the best view on the Soque River with generations of huge brown and rainbow trout (protected, of course).

706.947.3440 • markofthepotter.com ROBERT A. TINO GALLERY Robert Tino is one of the most celebrated artists living in the southeast. He has painted the beauty of Tennessee and North Carolina for over 40 Years. Working in oils, acrylics, or watercolors, each painting is a flourish of color, depth, and texture. Leisurely shop thru the gallery for notecards, art tiles, limited edition prints and custom framing.

381 Main St. • Highlands N.C. 828.526.9333 812 Old Douglas Dam Rd. • Sevierville Tenn.

865.453.6315 www.robertatinogallery.com SEVEN SISTERS GALLERY Discover something different at Seven Sisters Gallery, a staple in charming, historic Black Mountain since 1981. The gallery has one of the broadest ceramics collections available, plus furniture, original artwork, jewelry, and more.

Everything is made in the U.S.; much of it is local.

117 Cherry St. • Black Mtn, NC 28711 828.669.5107 • 7sistersgallery.com Mon.-Sat. 10-6; Sun. 12-5

Southern Appalachian Galleries

THE

Experience Southern

Ultimate

Appalachia as

Folk Art Gallery in the South!

recorded, documented, and collected by the

THE BEST SELECTION by artist “Cornbread” in the Universe!

students of Rabun County, GA—and shared with the world through The Foxfire Magazine and The

1798-84

Foxfire Book volumes.

Take US 441 to Mountain City, GA. Turn onto Black Rock Mtn. Parkway. One mile up, follow the brown signs.

www.foxfire.org • 706.746.5828 Monday-Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

3631 HWY. 53 E.

AT ETOWAH RIVER RD.

DAWSONVILLE, GA 706-265-6030 aroundbackatrockysplace.com HOURS: SATURDAY 11 TO 5 & SUNDAY 1 TO 5

BEETHOVEN’S VIOLIN CONCERTO Stefan Jackiw, violin

ROMEO AND JULIET Shen Lu, Piano

March 12

February 13 • 8pm Mendelssohn Hebrides Overture

VERDI’S REQUIEM April 16

Strauss Metamorphosen

ZUILL BAILEY RETURNS May 14

Beethoven Violin Concerto

2015/2016 S E A S O N DANIEL MEYER MUSIC DIRECTOR

• THOMAS WOLFE AUDITORIUM • DOWNTOWN ASHEVILLE

EXPLORE

CALL FOR TICKETS: 828.254.7046 www.ashevillesymphony.org

Southern Appalachian Galleries

43

ARTIST OF THE

SUSAN MARIE DESIGNS With visionary talent and skills acquired in thirty-three years as an award-winning goldsmith, Susan Marie transforms nature’s most exceptional gemstones, diamonds and pearls into wearable contemporary elegance. As a G.I.A. Graduate Gemologist, she selects the most vibrant and highest quality cut stones to create fine jewelry.

Four Biltmore Ave. • Asheville, N.C. 828.277.1272

BLUE RIDGE

“Sunrise in the Smokies”

TPENNINGTON ART GALLERY Teresa Pennington is a self-taught colored pencil artist who renders, in amazing detail, the scenery and landmarks of western North Carolina and beyond. See her distinctive work at TPennington Art Gallery in downtown Waynesville, N.C. 15 North Main St. • Waynesville, N.C. 828.452.9284 • tpennington.com

A colored pencil drawing in a Series of Four Seasons of the Smokies, a continuous grouping from winter through fall.

1798-122

15 N. Main Street Waynesville, NC (828) 452-9284 tpennington.com

86-40

“LIVE F REE”

BY J ENNY

B UCKNER

WHERE ART DANCES WITH NATURE FEATURING OVER 125 REGIONAL ARTISTS 98 N. MAIN ST. • WAYNESVILLE NC • MONDAY-SATURDAY:10-5:30 828.456.1940 • WWW.TWIGSANDLEAVES.COM 44

EXPLORE

TWIGS AND LEAVES GALLERY Stroll down Main Street in Waynesville to find a unique gallery where art dances with nature.

Browse through an unforgettable collection of nature-inspired works by 140 primarily regional artists and crafts persons. Take home a piece of art that echoes the wonder of nature.

98 N. Main St. • Waynesville, N.C. 828.456.1940 • twigsandleaves.com VISIONS OF CREATION With over 40 years of experience, Roberto creates contemporary and one-of-a-kind fine jewelry in gold and silver. Each hand-crafted piece has its own unique properties. Most are Limited Editions and signed. Roberto is constantly creating, evolving and designing new and innovative pieces.

100 Cherry St. • Black Mountain, N.C. 828.669.0065 • visionsofcreation.com WAYNESVILLE GALLERY ASSOCIATION The Waynesville Gallery Association is represented by 11 unique galleries: Art on Depot, Burr Studio, Cedar Hill Studio, Earthworks Gallery, Gallery 86, Grace Cathey Sculpture, The Jeweler’s Workbench, the mahogany house art gallery and studios, TPennington Art Gallery, Twigs and Leaves Gallery, and Village Framer.

The group promotes and participates in Art After Dark which happens the first Friday evening May through December. waynesvillegalleryassociation.com THE WILLOWS POTTERY Creating functional handmade stoneware since 2003. Specializing in custom dinnerware and vessel sinks, we are proud to provide an excellent selection of locally made gifts.

7273 S. Main St. • Helen, GA 706.878.1344 • thewillowspottery.com

Southern Appalachian Galleries

##11 Music FFestival estival ##11 FFestival estival for Kids ##11 FFestival estival for Camping ##33 Outdo Outdoor or FFair/Event air/Event

More than 2,000 sq. ft. of fine American crafts.

Arts/Crafts Selling Arts/Cr afts Arts & Entertainment

SSPRING: PRING: May 12-15 122-115 | FALL: FAL FA A L: Oct Oct. 220-23 0--223 0

22016 0 016 FFor or eevents, vents, sche schedule dule & tickets: A beautiful beautiful mountain camp setting

Black Mountain, NC Kids under 110 0 yrs, FFREE! REE!

ADVANCE ADVANC A E tickets only. only.

A destination in Black Mountain for over 33 years.

117 CHERRY ST BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC

828.669.5107 s e v e n s i s t e r s g a l l e r y. c o m

EXPLORE

Southern Appalachian Galleries

45

In Jonesborough, Tennessee, an annual farm-to-table dinner in August transforms Main Street into a dining room, complete with an impressively long table that seats 216. APPALACHIAN REGIONAL COMMISSION PHOTO

C

hefs, brewers, distillers, bakers, farmers, and country cooks are preserving traditions and redefining the flavor of Southern Appalachia, from A to Z.

BY ASHLEY ENGLISH, M A R K LY N N F E R G U S O N , K A T I E K N O R O V S K Y, DEBBY MAUGANS, AND ANNA OAKES

PHOTOS COURTESY: SURRY COUNTY TOURISM (TOP) APPALACHIAN REGIONAL COMMISSION SADRAH SCHADEL (ABOVE)

PHOTOS COURTESY: SADRAH SCHADEL (TOP) FRENCH BROAD CHOCOLATES

WWW.SMLIV.COM

PHOTOS COURTESY: GEORGIA FARM TRAIL (TOP) HARVEST TABLE • DICKINSON SALT GEORGIA FARM TRAIL

47

COURTESY OF HARVEST TABLE

To Appalachian Cooks, With Love

BY FRED SAUCEMAN

I

nterstate 81 bypassed their business over half a century ago, but Pam and Grant Hall keep making Dip Dogs on the Lee Highway between Chilhowie and Marion in Southwest Virginia. Those red-dyed dogs, dipped in a secret batter, fried, and painted in mustard, are so popular that customers sometimes have trouble getting into the parking lot on Friday nights to pick up their call-in orders. The Halls work seven days a week, 51 weeks a year.

In beautiful Bullock’s Hollow, near Bluff City, Tennessee, pharmacist Larry Proffitt keeps on barbecuing fresh hams, just like his enterprising mother, Grace Proffitt, once did. “Stay with the pig until he makes a hog,” she often told him. And he has.

Salespeople stop by Ridgewood Barbecue just about every week to sell Larry on the idea of an electric cooker. “Push a button and forget about it,” they say. But Larry Proffitt and his employees keep cutting hickory wood to fuel the barbecue pit.

They keep tending that fire. Electricity and gas have no place in the enterprise.

In Greeneville, Tennessee, Jerry and Donna Hartsell carry on a soup-bean tradition that began in the 1950s, when Britt’s Grill employee Reagan Walker decided to add a ladle of beef stew to

48

the daily pot of lard-seasoned soup beans. With a scattering of chopped onions, Beans All the Way was born. And this iconic Appalachian meal of soup beans and corn bread continues to nourish souls and stomachs at The Bean Barn today.

Near the community of Bear Wallow in Western North Carolina, Duke Universityeducated Jeff and Chris Owen and their three sons forego vacations. When you raise a herd of some 60 goats, weekends at the beach are not an option.

Milking must go on. And that milk is converted into artisanal goat cheese at a place called Spinning Spider Creamery.

At his self-described “hole-inthe-wall business” on Highway 411 in Madisonville, Tennessee, Allan Benton employs the most precious element of Appalachian cooking: time. Refusing to give in to the market pressures of producing country ham in six weeks, Allan ages his pork for more than a year.

At Eastern Kentucky’s Sustainable Mountain Agriculture Center, Bill Best celebrates Greasy Cut-Shorts, slick and tender green beans with tightly packed seeds, and disease-resistant Vinson Watts Tomatoes, named for a former colleague at Berea College. They are among dozens of Bill’s heirloom bean and tomato varieties, named for friends, places, and families and saved from extinction by this wise man of the earth.

These heroes of the Appalachian kitchen, farm, and smokehouse, and many others like them, are true to the land, devoted to their craft, and proud of their products. They represent a work ethic that is timeless. Despite pressures to cut corners and compromise their ways, they persist, never giving up or giving in. They feed us well and make the Appalachian table a place of great joy and bounty.

These heroes

of the Appalachian kitchen, farm, and smokehouse, are true to the land, devoted to their craft, and proud of their products.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

Fred Sauceman is profiled on page 11.

COURTESY OF HARVEST TABLE

rainbow trout caviar, sustainably harvested fresh from their hatchery near Shining Rock Wilderness Area in Pisgah National Forest.

The tiny, eye-popping orange trout eggs make a flavorful caviar that’s as of the region as it is a rare delicacy. In addition to Sunburst’s line of trout jerky, dip, sausage, and fillets (from plain red to encrusted with hemp and grits), available caviar varieties include original, smoked, and a specialty variety infused with cold-pressed Sicilian blood orange oil. Snack on it straight from the jar, like Sunburst family members do from the time they eat solids, or whip up their simple recipe for caviar and cucumber salad.

IS FOR AGRITOURISM

Few food forces have caught on quite like the farm-to-table renaissance.

Similarly, few places are more naturally suited to support the trend than here in farm-studded Southern Appalachia. The Appalachian Regional Commission takes agritourism seriously with its Bon Appetit Appalachia paper map and guide; the debut 2014 iteration featured 283 of the region’s most distinctive farms, farmers markets, farm-to-table restaurants, wineries, craft breweries, and other food destinations. An updated map will be released this summer. Smaller-scale initiatives include the North Georgia Farm Trail along the Highway 515 corridor, where travelers can ride horses, pick fruit, cozy up to alpacas, and explore historic homesteads.

And in Jonesborough, Tennessee, an annual farm-to-table dinner in August transforms Main Street into a dining room, complete with an impressively long table that seats 216 food lovers for a five-course meal of local ingredients.

B

IS FOR BEER SCHOOL

As the craft beer scene bubbles over to both sides of the mountains, Knoxville schools the region’s tastemakers—literally.

A partnership between downtown Knoxville’s South College and Saw Works Brewing Company, among other local breweries, emphasizes the “craft” component of the industry with a Brewing Science curriculum that teaches the science, history, and techniques of beer making. To taste the experimental batches made by students, head to the Raw Cuts tasting room at Saw Works.

C

IS FOR CAVIAR

“Don’t stay in these mountains; you’ll starve.” Decades after Dick Jennings Jr. ignored his late father’s advice and started the South’s first commercial trout farm in 1948—now known as Sunburst Trout Farms in Canton, North Carolina—his family is far from underfed. In fact, they’re feasting on caviar. Specifically, we’re talking

D

COURTESY OF SUNBURST TROUT

A

Caviar & Cucumber Salad YOU WILL NEED: 1 Large Cucumber ¼ tsp Salt 2 tbsp Sour Cream or Crème Fraiche 1 Lemon 1 Jar (2oz) of Sunburst Trout Farms® Original Caviar

TO MAKE: Peel the cucumber and slice in half length-wise. Gently scrape out the seeds, then julienne the cucumber. Salt the cucumber lightly, place in a colander, and allow to drain overnight in the refrigerator. Mix cucumber and sour cream together, then mix in lemon juice to taste. Garnish with Sunburst Trout Farms Original Caviar.

WWW.SMLIV.COM

IS FOR THE DISTILLERY TRAIL

New legislation gives North Carolina drinkers one more reason to say “cheers.”

Visitors to the 40 stops along the state’s Distillery Trail can now purchase one bottle of spirits each year, straight from the source.

In this state with historically conservative alcohol laws, Blue Ridge Distilling Company is building a reputation for its brash style. “We’re creating a revolution in how you can make mature whiskey,” says Blue Ridge whiskey maker Joel Patrino.

When Patrino and his business partners started the company, they refused to wait for years while whiskey aged. “Barrels are a 500-year-old technology,” he explains. “It works but takes a long time.”

Instead, they looked to innovative wineries and breweries, which had speed up production with footlong wooden spirals.

Submerge enough of them into a boozy beverage and oak infuses dramatically faster than it would from barrels.

Blue Ridge’s first product—the aptlynamed Defiant Whisky—hit the shelves in December 2012. Having matured just 60 days, Defiant was met with skepticism, but after a sip even whiskey traditionalists had to tip their hats. For two years running, Defiant has taken the silver prize at the Craft Spirit Awards. The 2014 Drammie Awards named it the best new whiskey, and it has racked up other accolades from San Francisco to Berlin.

The company recently purchased a retired Girl Scout camp near the distillery.

Complete with 600 mostly wooded acres, a

49

COURTESY OF DEBBY MAUGANS

lake, hiking trails, and an old lodge, Patrino says it will be like “an adult style summer camp.” Once he and his crew fix it up, visitors will enjoy their fast-distilled whiskey in a slow-paced environment, which means that Blue Ridge’s Distillery’s next revolution may be one in relaxation.

Cora’s Funeral Pound Cake My 101-year old Aunt Cora quips that she buried many people with pound cake. When my grandfather (her father) died, our large family stayed several days at the old homeplace. On the funeral day, Aunt Cora passed a cut-glass tray of her sliced pound cake while entertaining children by hand-cranking the ancient ice cream maker. Preparing and sharing food gave her life in the face of loss.

The family had been searching Aunt Cora’s files for her pound cake recipe. When I visited her last summer, I found it taped to the back of a kitchen cabinet.

—Debby Maugans

YOU WILL NEED: 2 cups sifted cake flour 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup (2 ounces) stick shortening 1 1/2 cups sugar 5 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon lemon extract

TO MAKE: Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Combine the cake flour, nutmeg, and salt; sift into a medium bowl. Cream butter and shortening in a large mixing bowl at medium speed of electric mixer until blended. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating at low speed just until blended. Beat in extracts. Gradually add flour to creamed mixture, beating just until batter is well blended.

Scrape into prepared tube pan and smooth top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 55 minutes.

Let cake cool in pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle. Loosen edges with thin sharp knife; remove pan.

50

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

E

IS FOR ELLIOTT MOSS

F

IS FOR FUNERAL FOODS

As the head chef of the Admiral in West Asheville, Elliott Moss earned acclaim and a 2013 James Beard Award nomination, in the process transforming a dive bar into one of the region’s top restaurants. After leaving that kitchen, he kept up the buzz with a couple of pop-up restaurants at downtown Asheville’s MG Road. All the while the onetime Chick-fil-A line cook dreamed about—and worked tirelessly to open—Buxton Hall Barbecue. Co-owned with Meherwan Irani (of Asheville’s Chai Pani and MG Road), the long-awaited whole-hog restaurant made its debut last summer in the South Slope neighborhood down the hill from downtown. Ever since, a steady stream of ’cue lovers has packed its 130 seats for wood-smoked hog and pit beef as well as South Carolina hash, catfish stew, buttermilk-fried chicken, and more.

The “old homeplace” was once the center of life for rural families, the gathering spot for special occasions, Sunday dinners, weddings, and funerals.

Though isolated by mountains and farm boundaries, neighbors celebrated together and cared for one another in times of crisis.

Always there was food. When a family member died, neighbors congregated at the homeplace to help the family, bringing their signature dishes. This was a time for connecting through the ritual of eating, singing, and comforting, mending the gap of loss through the gestures of living.

G

IS FOR GRITS

If there were one dish capable of being considered the culinary cornerstone of the

Creamy Grits I didn’t grow up in a grit-eating home, so when I have them now, only a rich, flavorful version will do. No watery gruel for me: These are robust enough to be enjoyed on their own, perhaps with a bit of freshly grated cheddar on top, and are downright divine when ladled into a bowl and allowed to cradle juicy, tender shrimp.

—Ashley English Makes about 4 cups

YOU WILL NEED: 2 cups cold water 2 cups whole milk 1 cup corn grits

1 teaspoon sea salt 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1) Combine water, milk, salt, and grits in a medium size heavy-bottomed pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

2) Stir to ensure all ingredients are fully combined. Cover the pot with a lid, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 25 minutes.

3) Remove the lid, add the butter, and stir until creamy. Serve immediately.

South, a strong case could be made for grits. Beloved bowl of southern comfort, grits seem to unite the entire geographic region. At Barkley’s Mill on Southern Cross Farm, about 20 minutes north of Asheville, the Barkley family is hard at work growing, harvesting, drying, and grinding Hickory King White Dent corn, an heirloom varietal long cultivated in the South and known for its delicious flavor, into their Stoned Happy Grits.

In a commitment to the use of time-tested and sustainable methods of growing and producing flavor-rich grits, Barkley’s hand-harvests and shucks the corn in the field before selecting only the best ears to air dry for two months in the crib.

The corn is then shelled and transferred to an on-site mill for stone-burr grinding. The hands-on nature throughout the production process, right on down to hand packaging, results in an exceptional artisanal product. Mindful growing practices are employed throughout, including open, natural

GLENN ENGLISH PHOTO

TO MAKE:

pollination free of pesticides and herbicides, allowing for Non-GMO Project verification, a rigorous third-party certification process that ensures the product has been made from nongenetically modified corn.

H

IS FOR HOPS

To most of us, chewing on a handful of raw hops would taste like diving into a hay bale. To Van Burnette, owner of the

WWW.SMLIV.COM

seventh-generation Hop’n Blueberry Farm in Black Mountain, North Carolina, hops taste like opportunity.

A decade ago, after Pisgah Brewing Company opened just down the road, Burnette jumped on the chance to diversify his blueberry and Monarch butterfly farm and began growing the vine-like plant, which adds bitterness and acts as a preservative in beer.

“I talked to the brewery and they suggested that if I could grow hops, they could use them,” explains Burnette, who has since collaborated with other regional craft beer makers including Black Mountain’s Lookout Brewery and Asheville breweries such as Hi-Wire and Highland.

The farm grows Cascade, Nugget, and Chinook hops and harvests hops fresh from the vine for highly coveted seasonal “wethopped beer.” Each August, Hop’n Blueberry Farm hosts the Hop Harvest Tour, inviting visitors to tour the hop yard and sample beers made from the fresh hops.

Hops have also cropped up at Weaverville, North Carolina’s Echoview Farm and Townsend, Tennessee’s Hellbender Hops farm.

51

COURTESY OF JQ DICKINSON SALT-WORKS

I

IS FOR IMLADRIS FARM

Jams, jellies, and preserves have long supplied mountain residents with fruit through the winter months. Imladris Farm in Fairview builds on those traditions with berry jams and apple butter that have earned a cult-like following at farmers markets, regional restaurants, and grocery stores and co-ops. The seventh-generation, 165-acre farm resists the use of any sprays or chemicals, reviving the old ways of owner Walter Harrill’s great-grandparents, who immigrated to Spring Mountain from Ireland in the early 1800s. Harrill’s family makes its popular preserves using fruit from 50-year-old trees and bushes planted by his grandfather. The Harrills also raise and sell heritage rabbits such as Giant Chinchilla, Silver Fox, French Lopps, and Champaign d’Argents.

J

IS FOR JQ DICKINSON SALT-WORKS

Salt has long been a prized mineral, ever since woolly mammoths and mastodons roamed the Appalachian valleys in search

52

of salt licks. When animals gather around these salt sources, tribes of hunters come.

The colloquial phrase of “he’s not worth his salt” dates to the 13th century.

Along the Kanawha Valley near Charleston, West Virginia, Native Americans discovered briny water that bubbled up from deep in the earth, which they boiled to extract salt for crucial meat preservation. By 1817, William Dickinson had drilled wells deep into the earth and built coal-fueled furnaces to extract salt from the area known as “Kanawha Salines.” His “Great Kanawha Salt” took the prize of “best salt in the world” at the 1851 World’s Fair in London.

Today, the seventh generation of descendants have reinvented the process, and JQ Dickinson Salt-Works harvests by hand and produces small-batch finishing salt in Malden, West Virginia.

K

IS FOR KOMBUCHA

To make its Earth flavor of fizzy fermented tea, Asheville-based Buchi kombucha roasts chicory, burdock, and

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

dandelion in cast-iron pans, in total blending 20 different ingredients to create its popular root tonic. Founded in 2008 by two moms, Sarah Schomber and Jeannine Bucher, the business revives the folk tradition of brewing kombucha, a raw probiotic-rich beverage that’s now available at hundreds of Ingles, Earth Fare, and Whole Foods grocery stores across the Southeast. They run the region’s first commercial kombucha brewery in a defunct warehouse on an organic farm in Weaverville. Buchi flavors range from the cayenne-spiked Fire to the Avonlea, made with wild sea buckthorn picked wild in the Himalayas. Look for the Buchi bus—a Mercedes Benz Sprinter won through a business-development contest sponsored

by Fast Company magazine—at regional festivals, where you can cool down with a Buchi float (Buchi poured over kombucha sorbet). Or, any day you can unwind over a kombucha-based cocktail (with or without alcohol) at the Buchi Bar, located downstairs at Rosetta’s Kitchen in downtown Asheville.

L

IS FOR LODGE SKILLETS

Mark Lynn Ferguson shares his love of camping with cast iron: “It was hard to convince myself that camping in the rain wasn’t horrible when mud coated both my legs, all my gear, and the better part of my dog. Through one sleepless night, I listened to drops batter the tent and fretted that this weather would ruin breakfast.

“Just feet away, a Lodge cast-iron skillet and logs waited, dry inside my Jeep along with eggs, onions, and potatoes—all the makings for a campfire scramble. What a shame, I thought, sure that this skillet, my best one, would miss out on open flames.

“Yes, I felt bad for a kitchen tool. It’s ridiculous, but this black beauty had cooked up some of the best meals of my life— golden, country-fried steak and fluffy, stewed dumplings. It deserved a break from electric burners, a chance to cook like its cast-iron forbearers. Lodge skillets have been made in the Appalachians for over 100 years, and the lucky ones cooked with fire on their undersides and nothing but sky overhead.

“Come dawn, I was resigned to eating gas station donuts. As I tossed supplies back into the Jeep, the rain slowed. A fluke, I thought, until sunbeams broke and the mud around me began to dry. Hesitant, I took an onion and peeled it. My luck held and within minutes, a happy dog rested at my feet and veggies sizzled. Their pops and snaps sounded like gratitude coming from my skillet, which glistened in firelight and dappled sunshine, the way cast-iron was meant to cook.”

M

IS FOR MEAD

When an author calls himself an “Appalachian Yeti Viking,” it’s hard not to take notice. In his new book, Make Mead Like a Viking, Jereme Zimmerman uses those powers to unlock “traditional techniques for brewing natural, wildfermented, honey-based wines and beers.”

In other words, Zimmerman is right at home among the bee keepers and home brewers of this region. Indeed, the Kentucky homesteader and fermentation

The famous bison shitake burger (above) is one of the menu favorites at Harvest Table restaurant in Meadowview, Virginia. The restaurant, owned by best-selling author Barbara Kingsolver, also holds outdoor farm-style dinners. PHOTOS COURTESY OF HARVEST TABLE

enthusiast draws on his rural Appalachian roots in this practical guide to the traditional Nordic quaff, which has recently seen a resurgence. Sweetening the local honey wine scene are Fox Hill Meadery in Marshall and Bee & Bramble in Fairview, both in North Carolina.

N

IS FOR “NEOAPPALACHIAN”

Best-selling author Barbara Kingsolver’s heralded farm-to-table restaurant in Meadowview, Virginia, calls its upmarket

WWW.SMLIV.COM

fare “neo-Appalachian.” Ask her husband, Steven Hopp, who runs Harvest Table, exactly what they mean by that term, and he’s quick to acknowledge that the topic can turn into a long-winded conversation.

In short, he calls their food “a modern reinvention of Appalachian place-based ingredients and flavors.” That means persimmons, cushaw squash, and Bloody butcher corn take center stage on the table, but so do exotic flavors like Egyptian walking onions and spicy mizuna and mustard greens. “We are always pushing to find or create or grow new things,” Hopp

53

recipes in the old Foxfire book series— which included the likes of pawpaw pie and a dessert called “pawpaw flump”— Moore offers his simple recipe for pawpaw ice cream.

explains. Dishes tend to favor traditional ingredients in modern presentations: Think roasted pear hash and sweet potato chutney over spiced duck breast, and castiron grilled burgers with such add-ons as peppered bacon and sorghum-pecan butter.

Q

O

IS FOR ORANGE DREAMSICLE, BLUEBERRY BASIL, AND OTHER ARTISAN SODA

Think Southern soda begins with Cheerwine and ends with Coca-Cola and Pepsi? A couple of regional soda companies are sweetening the regional craft beverage scene—no high-fructose corn syrup required. Waynesville Soda Jerks offers what it calls “Southern Appalachia in a bottle,” using farm sources for bottled soda flavors such as Apple Rosemary, Blueberry Basil, and Lemon Thyme. Likewise, Asheville’s Blue Blaze Soda Company integrates local ingredients ranging from wildflower honey to wild cherry bark—and half the amount of sugar as standard soda—in its bottled syrup concentrates meant to be mixed with seltzer water. Popular flavors include Honey Ginger Ale and Orange Dreamsicle, made with fresh-squeezed orange juice and Madagascar bourbon vanilla beans. “With the local craft beverage scene dominated by beer, I wanted to provide bars and restaurants with a local all-natural non-alcoholic option for their customers,” says Blue Blaze founder Jackson Anderson.

P

IS FOR PAW PAWS

Paw paws can be an elusive bunch.

Tasting like a banana-mango hybrid—with a custard-like texture—the largest edible fruit native to the U.S. grows wild near some old homesteads in the Smokies and has inspired town names in West Virginia and Kentucky, but it has largely stayed on the fringes of Southern Appalachian traditions. Andrew Moore hopes to illuminate that mystery with Pawpaw: In Search of America’s Forgotten Fruit. In the new book, he quotes ethnobotanist Steven

54

Pawpaw Ice Cream YOU WILL NEED: 2 cups pawpaw pulp (or more, if you have it) 1 cup sugar 2 cups cream 2 cups milk Combine the pawpaw and sugar. Stir in the cream and milk. Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according the manufacturer’s directions.

Note: Vanilla, walnuts, and other flavors and ingredients work well with pawpaw. But if this is your first batch, I would encourage you to try it plain and to let the pawpaw stand on its own.

—This recipe is adapted from Andrew Moore’s Pawpaw (August 2015) and is printed with permission from Chelsea Green Publishing.

Bond, who describes the pawpaw as a “charismatic fruit that people have heard about, they’ve read about, they’re in songs, they’re in stories, but very few people have ever had one.” Harkening back to pawpaw

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

IS FOR QUAIL

When George Vanderbilt established Asheville’s Biltmore Estate in 1895, he envisioned a self-sustaining estate like the working farms he had experienced in Europe. Modern-day Biltmore lives out that mission by raising everything from Black Angus cattle and guard donkeys to White Dorper sheep, goats, and pigs. To help provide the estate’s restaurants with eggs, the Brooder House is home to more than 500 chickens, many of the same heritage breeds that roosted here during Vanderbilt’s time. Last winter, around 40 coturnix quails joined the flock. But Biltmore is far from the only local farm diversifying its egg supply: up in Burnsville, North Carolina, at the base of Mount Mitchell, Duck Dance Farm specializes in rare and endangered duck breeds.

R

IS FOR THE RAINBOW & RAMPS FESTIVAL

Long before ramps became a coveted menu item among trendy urban chefs— some 12,000 years and counting—the Cherokee people gathered ramps in these mountains for their medicinal qualities.

The Qualla Boundary celebrates the pungent wild leek’s early spring peak at the annual Rainbow and Ramps Festival, held this year on March 26 at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds. The event also symbolically kicks off the season’s trout fishing season here in Cherokee, where 30 miles of pristine mountain streams flow with some 400,000 rainbow, brook, and brown trout stocked by the Cherokee Fisheries and Wildlife Management. In addition to the main attractions, ramps and rainbow trouts, the festival honors Cherokee elders and offers entertainment including a horseshoe tournament.

COURTESY OF SURRY COUNTY TOURISM

IS FOR SONKERS

Cobbler, crisp, crumble, buckle—there are as many names as there are recipe variations for the simple, old-fashioned fruit dessert. Yet perhaps none are more distinctive than Surry County’s “sonker,” the sweet inspiration behind one of North Carolina’s newest culinary trails. A cobbler-esque blend of fruit and unshaped dough sweetened with sugar, molasses, or other secret ingredients, the sonker dates to the early 1800s and likely came about as a way to stretch fruit during lean times. The trail connects seven places with the deepdish treat on their regular menus in the rural foothills towns of Elkin, Pilot Mountain, Dobson, Mount Airy, and the Village of Rockford, including two bakeries, a winery, coffee shop, historic general store, barbecue restaurant, and a steakhouse. Flavors range from sweet potato to mountain berries and are cooked on the stove or in the oven. On the first Saturday in October, the EdwardsFranklin House hosts an annual Sonker Festival that celebrates family recipes. Now that you know what a sonker is, any

guesses on what a “zonker” could be?

Head to Miss Angel’s Heavenly Pies in Mount Airy, where the crust’s glaze gets spiked with a classic mountain ingredient—moonshine.

T

IS FOR TRUFFLES

Truffle mania is not just for European gourmands. The coveted tuber

melanosporum—aka black truffle—has started sprouting in the clay soil of East Tennessee and Western North Carolina.

The pungent, richly flavored fungus gets the red carpet treatment at the annual Asheville Truffle Experience, held February 19 to 21 this year. Co-hosted by the Seasonal School of Culinary Arts— run by North Carolina native and 20-year French resident Susi Gott Séguret—the event features tastings and wine-paired

COURTESY OF SUSI GOTT SÉGURET

S

WWW.SMLIV.COM

55

dinners, a truffle hunt with a trained dog, an orchard visit, and a hands-on food demonstration. Proceeds benefit the North American Truffle Growers’ Association, which seeks to propagate tuber growth in Southern Appalachia.

Co-owners Lisa Hoffman and Matthew Hickman opened Underground Baking Company after working as pastry chefs at top resorts and restaurants across the country. RICK WOODWARD PHOTO

U

IS FOR UNDERGROUND BAKING AND THE ARTISAN BREAD BOOM Forget the soft, bland, preservativeladen sandwich bread of the grocery store aisle. At a rising number of artisan bakeries across the region, making bread is nothing short of an art form, with each crusty loaf an authentic expression of the local terroir, thanks to locally milled grains and bakers dedicated to old-world traditions. At Underground Baking Company, co-owners and husband-andwife team Matthew Hickman and Lisa Hoffman serve downtown Hendersonville with 100 percent organic baguettes, soft pretzels, brioche, Italian semolina bread, and more breads and pastries, drawing on more than four decades of combined experience as pastry chefs as well as a commitment to environmental stewardship. “One of the most rewarding things for us is that when people walk in, they can talk to the baker and know exactly what went into the process of making their bread,” Hickman says. Of course, Underground Baking is but one of the bakeries that convene for the annual Asheville Artisan Bread Bakers’ Festival, set for the weekend of April 16 this year.

V

IS FOR VINEGAR PIE

It’s no revelation that Appalachian cooks have always made do with the ingredients in their larders and gardens. When times were particularly trying, pie makers substituted lemon for a more common, cheaper source of acidic bite—vinegar.

Overlooking the East Tennessee Crossing Scenic Byway in Thorn Hill, the roadside Clinch Mountain Lookout Restaurant carries on that tradition with its signature sweet-and-tart vinegar pie.

56

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

KATIE BUTTON: “The coolest Spanish tapas spot in the

Katie Button, executive chef of Cúrate and Nightbell.

country” Food & Wine magazine said about Cúrate, the familyowned, Biltmore Avenue restaurant of Button, one of the mag’s “Best New Chefs” of 2015. Button trained at restaurants in D.C., L.A., and Spain before opening Cúrate five years ago. Since then the restaurant and its chef have earned countless accolades, Button was named a James Beard Rising Star Chef Semi-Finalist for three consecutive years, and 2014 brought the opening of Nightbell, an Asheville restaurant and lounge with Button’s modern interpretations of classic American food. On the menu for 2016: her first cookbook and a Cúrate expansion.

EVAN SUNG PHOTO

CASSIDEE DABNEY: At the helm of one of the top restaurants in the South is Cassidee Dabney, who last year was promoted from executive sous chef to executive chef at The Barn, the restaurant of the luxury hotel and resort Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tenn. Dabney’s background includes training at the New England Culinary Institute and stints in Germany, Boston, Atlanta, Hawaii, Arkansas, and Wyoming, much of which was spent at Four Seasons resorts.

SHELLEY COOPER:

A

Shelley Cooper is the executive chef and head of culinary operations at two of the most exciting young restaurants in east Tennessee: Terra Mae, opened in Chattanooga in late 2012, and Dancing Bear Appalachian Bistro, opened in Townsend in 2015. Cooper was born in Memphis, with family tables always filled with farm-fresh Southern bounties. Her culinary career has taken her to resort kitchens in Hilton Head, Florida, New Zealand, L.A., Alaska, and Hawaii.

“I don’t think of myself as a ‘woman chef,’” Asheville’s Chef Katie Button is quick to point out. “I think of myself as a chef who works and works hard.” But she acknowledges that while half of culinary school enrollees are women, “when you go up the ranks, to chef de cuisine, executive chef, or chef-owner, that IS FOR WOMEN CHEFS number drastically drops.”

Fortunately, that’s beginning to change, and Button—mother of a 1-year-old—is hopeful the industry can better support women to help them achieve a worklife balance in these highly demanding positions.

Meet four creative forces behind six of the region’s most acclaimed restaurants.

KERI DOWNING: Named a Rising Star Chef by StarChefs magazine in 2014, Keri Downing is the chef and owner of IvyWild, an old Top: Cassidee Dabney, executive chef of The Barn at Blackberry Farm. steam laundry building BEALL + THOMAS PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO transformed into a Above: Chef Shelley Cooper of progressive American fine Terra Mae and Dancing Bear dining restaurant in 2010.

Appalachian Bistro.

Located in the college town of Sewanee, Tenn., IvyWild is committed to seasonal and local ingredients. In addition to her feature in StarChefs—highlighting such exotic creations as smoke trout cheesecake and celery sorbet—her dishes have been showcased in The Local Palate and Tennessee Home & Farm.

Fine Dining’s Leading Ladies

BY ANNA OAKES

cross the South, more women are wielding the knives and making masterful menus in what have traditionally been male-dominated kitchens— leading exciting eateries that are reawakening palates and reinvigorating communities.

W

WWW.SMLIV.COM

57

COURTESY OF FRENCH BROAD CHOCOLATES

X

IS FOR XOCOLATL AND OTHER DRINKING CHOCOLATES Chocolate lovers can get their cacao kicks from regional makers—Knoxville Chocolate Company, Chattanooga’s Hot Chocolatier, and Black Mountain Chocolate, to name a few. But perhaps none have earned a more ravenous following than French Broad Chocolates, with its always-packed Chocolate Lounge on Pack Square in downtown Asheville.

In addition to a wide selection of creative desserts ranging from mocha stout cake to sorghum caramel truffles, French Broad offers a truly decadent way to go cocoa—an extensive menu of drinking chocolates, including liquid truffles and hot chocolate made with melted ganache. For a more intense experience, there’s also the Chocolate Sip—a serving of pure, singleorigin chocolate, steamed with just enough water to make it sippable—as well as the spicy, Mexican-inspired Oaxaca.

“Drinking chocolates were the first means of consuming chocolate and we seek to honor that tradition,” says coowner Jael Rattigan. Customers in the know can even order an unsweetened mug of cacao called the Xocolatl off the “secret” menu. Based on an ancient Aztec preparation, the bitter drink is spiced with chiles and locally grown and ground corn.

IS FOR YADKIN VALLEY WINE

Tobacco fields once dotted this fertile area of northwest North Carolina, providing a stable income for small farm families. In 1964, the outlook changed for them with the announced link between

58

Z

IS FOR EL ZAPATISTA AND OTHER MEAT ALTERNATIVES

In a land better known for country ham, fresh trout, and even possum and squirrel meat, area vegan and vegetarian entrepreneurs are bringing new protein sources to the table. Asheville-based No Evil Foods transforms seitan— a wheat-based protein—into vegan, organic, and GMO-free takes on Italian sausage (the Stallion), chicken roast (the Prepper), and Mexican chorizo (El Zapatista). Using simple ingredients such as chickpea flour and herbs and spices, founders Sadrah Schadel and Mike Woliansky are quick to clarify that they don’t make fake meat, they make real food.

Likewise, Asheville’s familyowned Smiling Hara Tempeh offers locally made tempeh, a “live” cultured plant protein traditionally made from soy. In addition to its classic soy variety, Smiling Hara produces black-eyed pea and black bean tempeh, plus peanut “hempeh” (made from hemp seeds).

Find Smiling Hara and No Evil Foods on the menus of area restaurants as well as for sale at farmers markets and grocery stores.

COURTESY OF SADRAH SCHADEL

Y

tobacco and cancer. If farmers were to keep their land—and their agricultural livelihood—they would have to rethink the crops they grew.

“My husband Frank was determined to remain in agriculture, keeping the farm intact and in the family,” says Lenna Dobson, of RagApple Lassie Vineyards and Winery in Boonville. “This area has the soil, elevations, and elements needed to plant quality grapes, so we risked our largest commodity—the land—in order to pay for establishing a vineyard and winery.”

In attempts to aid small farmers, North

Carolina allotted the state’s lawsuit settlement funds to an acreage quota-based payment plan to compensate for their losses, and to establish Golden LEAF, whose mission is to increase economic opportunity in tobacco-dependent communities. Starting in Surry County at Surry Community College, the agency taught viticulture in order to keep the land in agriculture. Though many farmers could not afford the high cost of crop turnover and labor that establishing and maintaining a vineyard requires, the former tobacco lands have been purchased by others who can. Indeed, today the Yadkin Valley is home to about a third of the state’s 100plus wineries.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

Providing Nationwide Charter Bus Services for Western North Carolina since 1969

800-882-1227 www.cherokeeboysclub.com

1798-86

4HE CURTAIN RISES ON ANOTHER DAY

IN HISTORIC ABINGDON. (/7 7),, 9/5 30%.$ )4

3HARE A CANDLELIT

DINNER FOR TWO

%NJOY LIVE MUSIC AND

FINE LOCAL WINE 2EKINDLE THE ROMANCE

AT A COZY B&B

Ă WJTJUBCJOHEPOWJSHJOJB DPN Ă WJTJUBCJOHEPOWJSHJOJB DPN

WWW.SMLIV.COM

59

Unbridled Love

BY JO HARRIS

Miss Buttons becomes the main character in the summer reading program at Small Miracles’ Therapeutic Equestrian Center.

SMALL MIRACLES PHOTO

60

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

WWW.SMLIV.COM

61

“Almost Home,” is a velvety instrumental recording featuring piano and acoustic guitar. With the complement of ambient sounds of nature from the Smoky Mountains woven into the tune, it becomes captivating.

But it isn’t the music or cheery twitter of songbirds that holds the listener spellbound.

It is the horses.

The horses, hitched to an old-fashioned wagon, are ambling down a gravel path in Cades Cove, their hooves tapping out a gentle rhythm. Nostril-fluttering snorts and the jangle

of harness combine with the slow and steady hoofbeats, and as the song drifts toward conclusion when the horses are almost home, the soothing notes and footfalls rise again to blend into a natural, uplifting symphony.

The horse’s power to elevate the human spirit—in this case without even being seen— is nothing short of amazing, and the range of emotions they elicit is equally remarkable. We are stunned by their power and speed, invigorated by the spirit of wildness and freedom they evoke, and inspired by their sweetness, compassion, and devotion. They awe us with their elegance and unrivaled natural agility. And like an elixir, horses have the power to heal wounds, visible and invisible. But sometimes it is the horses that need healing.

Cathi, a Tennessee Walking Horse, was 15 years old when she came to Horse Haven of Tennessee in Knoxville. She was pregnant, blind in one eye, and her hair, once a lustrous black, was a tangle of waste and debris. Her emaciated body exposed a virtual roadmap of sharp curves and bony angles that spoke of unthinkable horrors. Still, despite all Cathi had experienced, her dark, soulful eyes flickered with hope.

She was brought to Horse Haven in May, 2015 with 28 other horses—about half the number seized by authorities from a farm in middle Tennessee the previous month. Three other mares were pregnant but only Cathi delivered

successfully; Hard Knox was born about a month after Cathi arrived.

Horse Haven’s equine manager, Stephanie Solomon said, “Knox had some issues, including difficulty standing which required supporting him while he nursed. Fortunately, there was time for Cathi to get pre-natal nutrition so she could feed him. In spite of what Cathi’s gone through, she is a gentle mare and loves to be petted! And Knox is a healthy, happy and big boy!”

“When Cathi came to our barn, she became a favorite of our staff and volunteers almost immediately. She didn’t feel well, but was so sweet natured,” said Mary Beth Roberts, development director. “Unlike several of the other horses, Cathi wasn’t skittish. When called, she would come to us, expecting—and getting— scratches and kisses. One day shortly after Cathi’s arrival, I was having a particularly bad day. I walked out to her paddock, but didn’t call to her, just stood at the fence feeling sorry for myself. She walked over, sniffed my face and nuzzled me. My day immediately improved!”

Everyone at Horse Haven has grown attached to Cathi and Knox—just as they do every rescue—but they’re ready for adoption, but only as a pair until Knox is weaned.

Nina Margetson, operations director, is the founder of Horse Haven. A long-standing animal welfare advocate, Nina had been aware of the great need for an equine shelter for situa-

A few months after Cathi's life-saving rescue she and Hard Knox are thriving at Horse Haven of Tennessee in Knoxville as they await adoption.

HORSE HAVEN PHOTO

62

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

tions of abandonment, confiscation or emergencies. Horse Haven doesn’t confiscate the animals; that’s done by county law enforcement, but once seized, the staff picks up the animals and provides care and rehabilitation at no cost to any county in Tennessee.

Horse Haven was founded in 1999 to advocate for, care for, shelter and rehabilitate neglected and abused equine. It is the oldest and largest equine welfare organization in Tennessee, and as of Sept 1, 2015, it had rescued more than 900 animals. Horse Haven is operated at capacity, but a second facility in middle Tennessee and a network of “holding facilities” help ease the burden.

Nina admits, “We can’t save them all, but most of the animals we’ve nursed back to health have been adopted and are living in safe, forever homes. A few are at Mane Support in Maryville, where they are helping children cope with grief.”

Far too often, horses and other equine end up in rescue facilities like Nina’s. “Many problems arise simply because owners don’t know any better. They buy a horse thinking it can fend for itself on an acre of land with no human assistance. But it doesn’t work that way. Horses require our attention, and they can live 30 years or more, so it’s a lifetime commitment.”

The rescued animals are hungry for love.

They may require medical attention, but sometimes food, water and shelter will save them.

“We do everything we can to heal bodies and spirits and get them re-homed as quickly as possible,” Nina said. “But more often than not, before they are ready to leave our barn, others are waiting to take their place. This is our business, but it’s also our calling. Our love for horses put us here, but we wish we lived in a world where we were not needed.”

BAREFOOT AND HAPPY About a hundred miles from Horse Haven, in northeast Tennessee, Jessica Johnson and Lauren Smith are helping horses in a different way. In the small community of Church Hill, their eight Tennessee Walking Horses graze in lush pastures dotted with red barns and surrounded by white fences that curve with the rolling countryside. The idyllic setting is where Brady was buried two years ago.

When Brady, also a Tennessee Walking Horse, died after suffering from a chronic disorder, Jessica and Lauren were devastated and began researching the condition which cost Brady his life. This led them into the barefoot movement.

Jessica and Lauren have been friends since kindergarten and horse lovers even longer. “I’ll

never forget being led around on a horse at my great uncle’s farm,” Jessica said. “I could barely hold up three fingers to tell someone how old I was, but if I’d been able to articulate my feelings back then, I would have said that I was in love!

These days, I’m awestruck as I watch my 6-yearold daughter, Riley, control the huge beasts with a simple command or gentle movement.”

Lauren recalls being totally mesmerized by the size and beauty of a team of Clydesdales at Kentucky Horse Park when she was 5. “I honestly can’t remember a time when I wasn’t totally fascinated by horses.”

Everything changed for them when Brady was euthanized.

“Brady belonged to a dear friend of ours and we’d known and loved that horse for years,” said Lauren. “We’d known about his chronic problem with founder, or laminitis, but still were deeply affected by his death. It’s a horrible inflammation that can cause lameness—or even worse—if not treated quickly and aggressively.

Brady’s death changed our lives and our focus.”

They couldn’t imagine one of their beloved horses suffering the same fate so they started digging for answers. They used farriers occasionally, but had been shoeing and trimming their own horses off and on for about 10 years, so they were familiar with hoof health issues.

They took special notice when their research into the methods taught by pioneers in the barefoot movement, Pete Ramey and Gil Goodin, indicated metal shoes might be harmful.

The more they studied, the more they recognized the benefits of barefoot horses. When they realized there was hope, even in dire cases like Brady’s, off the metal shoes came, and they started their formal education in natural hoof care at the Equine Sciences Academy.

Today, they’re combining their love of horses with a business venture called A Natural Hoof.

In public demonstrations, with clients, and on their website and Facebook page, they promote the barefoot theory. They trim hooves into a Mustang roll which replicates the hooves horses would have if they were “self-trimming” like wild Mustangs that travel many miles a day over various terrains as they forage for food.

“In changing from shod to barefoot, a transition period may be required.” Jessica said.

“Sometimes we suggest Easy Boots to help in the conversion, but the horse’s foot will usually adapt quite quickly by toughening and becoming thicker, just like our feet do if we go barefoot.”

They contend the benefits of barefoot include improved blood flow, strong hoof walls, greater shock absorption, and less tripping because the horses can actually feel where their hooves are. Barefoot versus shod generates WWW.SMLIV.COM

Need Some Equine Time?

STEP UP Equine therapeutic facilities like Small Miracles (smallmiracles.org) and rescue operations like Horse Haven of Tennessee (horsehaventn.org) always need volunteers—for a variety of tasks: office help, grounds and fence maintenance, barn chores, horse care, fundraising/special events assistance — for virtually any time commitment. No time? These facilities depend on generous donors for support: money, supplies and services. Horse Haven, Small Miracles, and similar facilities offer volunteer and sponsorship opportunities, plus many other ways to get involved.

You don’t have to adopt a horse or be certified to volunteer. All you need is love. And perhaps a carrot or two.

SADDLE UP Enjoy the Great Smoky Mountains on horseback. Four riding stables inside the Park offer guided rides from mid-March through late November on over 500 miles of trails: y Cades Cove, near Townsend, TN 865.448.9009 y Smokemont, near Cherokee, NC 828.497.2373 y Smoky Mountain, near Gatlinburg, TN 865.436.5634 y Sugarlands, near Gatlinburg, TN 865.436.3535 Five drive-in horse camps provide ready access to horse trails in the Park for those who have their own horses: Anthony Creek/Cades Cove, Big Creek, Cataloochee, Round Bottom, and Towstring are open from April through October.

Riders are encouraged to obtain the Park’s trail map listing horsedesignated trails and rules and regulations for backcountry riding.

The $1 maps are available at Park visitor centers or by calling 865.436.0120. The map may also be downloaded at the national park’s website. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/grsm.

63

Sherri and J.R. Russell at a V.A. health fair, promoting Small Miracles’ Horses Empower Heroes program.

Jessica Johnson (front) and Lauren Smith of A Natural Hoof in Northeast Tenn. give Katie a Mustang roll, a style of hoof trim replicating that of wild Mustangs. JO HARRIS PHOTO

Violet, a therapy horse at Small Miracles, helps youngsters in many ways including developing relationships, understanding the concept of sharing and working together.

SMALL MIRACLES PHOTO

64

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

lively discussions, and since an owner is the horse’s only advocate, the decision ultimately rests with them.

Jessica and Lauren agree horseshoes might bring good luck—especially if nailed over the door and the opening turned upward—and that there might be circumstances where metal shoes are appropriate, especially for corrective situations, but they say they’d only use metal shoes if all barefoot options failed.

They often reference the success of the mounted patrol in Houston, Texas. There, some three dozen barefoot horses work eightto-ten hour days on downtown streets. When they transitioned the horses to barefoot, farrier costs went down and so did overall vet bills.

That might have been happenstance, but Jessica and Lauren believe that improving a horse’s feet improves its overall health.

When asked if exceptional strength is required in their male-dominated profession, Jessica said, “We’d love to be stronger, but if someone picks their horse’s hooves frequently— or just lifts up its legs occasionally—and the horse behaves, then extraordinary strength is not necessary. My 6-year-old actually picks the dirt out of the feet of her gentle mare. But, if you’re working on a horse that doesn’t get attention, or is new to being trimmed, then you’ll need to hang on to a jerking leg.”

“In the end, it doesn’t matter how strong you are, or how much you love the animal you’re working on,” said Jessica. “If a thousand pound horse doesn’t want to pick up its foot, you’re just out of luck.”

EQUINE THERAPY Horse lovers who have the privilege of working with horses on a daily basis consider themselves very fortunate. A few miles from Church Hill, one woman’s career choice combines her love of the animals with her desire to help others.

A sign on the gate at Small Miracles Therapeutic Equestrian Center in Kingsport, Tennessee reads: “Private Property, No Horsin’ Around.” When Sherri Russell, executive and programs director drives through the gate, that sign—posted by her husband J.R.—always brings a smile, because at Small Miracles, horsin’ around is encouraged. In fact, it’s a requirement!

“There’s something about horses and their God-given intuitive ability to connect with us,” Sherri said. “These loving and non-judgmental creatures don’t worry about the unpredictability of life. They live and love in the moment, and that’s a powerful attraction for humans.”

Sherri was a horse lover long before she was riding doubles with a childhood friend. For her, working around horses and ponies all day while

helping others live happier, healthier lives is as good as it gets.

She started as a volunteer for Small Miracles in 2007, and when J.R. retired from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, he also joined the staff. He is responsible for overseeing the organization’s buildings, acreage, and herd.

The “Miracle Herd” consists of 13 horses and ponies specially selected for their temperament. Regardless of the number, or names, or breeds, the animals have been instrumental in strengthening hundreds of minds, bodies, and souls for over 20 years.

These loving and non-judgmental creatures don’t worry about the unpredictability of life. They live and love in the moment, and that’s a powerful attraction for humans.”

—Sherri Russell

Small Miracles is a Christian-based, nonprofit corporation that offers several equine-assisted programs to a diverse group of individuals with physical, emotional, social, cognitive and other challenges, and is a member of the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International. PATH prescribes safety, professional and program guidelines. All instructors, including Sherri, are PATH certified.

Sherri recalls the time when one of her volunteers became a student.

“The spring session was in full swing and I had just spoken by phone with Bea, one of our volunteers. Bea was cancelling her commitment for that afternoon. I wish she’d been here as she might have avoided a terrible automobile accident. Everyone was shocked to learn this vibrant young girl had sustained massive injuries. Her condition was critical, but by God’s grace she pulled through and was transferred to an Atlanta facility specializing in traumatic brain injuries.”

After months in Atlanta, Bea was able to come home. Sherri and J.R. attended a benefit dinner for Bea hosted by the community at a local high school.

“When J.R. and I walked into the cafeteria, Bea started shouting, ‘J.R., Small Miracles!’

We were delighted, but a little surprised at our welcome. Her parents ran over to us, arms outWWW.SMLIV.COM

stretched. After a tearful embrace, they told us that while in rehab, Bea remembered Small Miracles and the names of all our horses, but that most of her other memories had been lost.”

Eventually Bea was cleared to participate in the therapeutic horseback riding program to help in her cognitive and physical recovery. She showed marked improvement cognitively, as well as in her balance and trunk control, fine and gross motor skills, coordination, flexibility and strength. Her physical recovery was aided by the horse’s gait which mimics the human gait.

Bea continued working with her horse, and managed to graduate from high school on time, earn her associate’s degree, get a driver’s license, obtain a job in her degreed field of study, and she’s enrolled at a local university. “Being involved in her recovery was a special gift and one I’ll treasure,” Sherri said.

In the Positive Youth Development Program (PYD), staff and volunteers mentor students and guide them toward enhanced personal development through therapeutic, educational and community service opportunities. Some 200 students in this program equates to approximately 900 direct service hours.

Jess, a student in PYD, was angry and stumbling through life. With some family members incarcerated, she felt destined to follow in their footsteps. But that was before Jess met Violet.

Violet is a gentle, loving mare and she accepted Jess as others had not; unconditionally. Their special bond allowed this broken girl to pick up the pieces of her life. “Jess learned to work through her anger,” Sherri said. “After several meticulous grooming sessions, she had learned to love herself and Violet. She told me she finally saw potential for a brighter future. She said Violet was her lifeline!”

One of Sherri’s greatest thrils is being involved with Horses Empower Heroes Program. Seeing veterans find their way to a positive life through unmounted experiential activities and therapies has been a humbling, life-changing experience.

“As the veteran spends one-on-one time with his horse he begins to feel peace and calm and then strength and confidence are restored,” Sherri said. One veteran said that doing something as effortless as leaning on his horse, feeling the animal’s warmth and gentle breathing helped him acknowledge his right to be alive.

All Small Miracles’ programs try to build self-esteem and positive life skills. Sherri has seen participants make great strides toward reaching their highest potential alongside and astride a horse. “We design activities around the horse to achieve specific goals. Horses are great motivators and they make everyone feel special and loved.”

65

Gather ‘Round THE

66

Flame

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

BY LAURA ARMOUR

“Being mesmerized by the fire is a very compelling, almost magnetic force you could say.

Once you are in that space it takes you somewhere. It opens you and connects you with something much larger than yourself.”

WWW.SMLIV.COM

67

M

ost of us have experienced the warmth and comfort of gathering around a fire with friends and family, but probably few of us realize that it’s one of humanity’s oldest traditions.

The Sacred Fire Community is a global network of people dedicated to using this tradition to cultivate learning, growing and healing in communities around the world, with three chapters—or “hamlets” as they call them—in the Western North Carolina/East Tennessee area.

Fire gatherings seem to be universal for the “first peoples” on all continents, certainly because of practical reasons such as cooking, light, heat, and keeping predators away. But the estimated 370 million indigenous peoples that remain worldwide today are steadfast in their belief that fire was and still is much more than something to be used for practical reasons. For them, it is a sacred being.

Indigenous cultures have ascribed their tradition’s own names to the sacred spirit of fire. Grandfather Fire is the most common to the native traditions of the Americas and is regarded as a living being with the capacity to unite us and transform us.

“Being mesmerized by the fire is a very compelling, almost magnetic force you could say. Once you are in that space it takes you somewhere,” said Cindy Fogle, a Firekeeper with the Sacred Fire Community located in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. “It opens you and connects you with something much larger than yourself. You’re connecting with the Great Mystery.”

Once a month the public is invited to experience a sacred fire for themselves.

“By gathering around a community fire, each person has the opportunity to connect with and grow in their own spirituality whether that is deepening their relationship with Jesus, the Buddha, the Creator … whatever their tradition is,” Cindy explained.

“One doesn’t even need to have a tradition to receive the benefits of sitting with sacred fire.

Our hearts are opened at the fire, we discover

the value of our gifts to the world. Old hurts are healed, things that have kept us stuck are transformed and we can return to our homes, our jobs, our families, churches or temples renewed, inspired and feeling more connected and inspired.”

It’s the inclusivity of these community fires that is the hallmark of the Sacred Fire Community. Everyone is welcome.

“Humans are actually hard-wired to be in community. We thrive in community. And this is a very important time to gather in community and bring different communities together and focus on what unites us, our common humanity, our shared concerns, rather than succumbing to the emphasis on what keeps us apart,” explains Cindy. “Fire gives birth to deep, authentic community.”

Firekeepers are trained and initiated to use offerings “gifted” to them by the Huichol Indians living in the Sierra Mountains of Mexico. The Huichol are one of the few indigenous peoples that have not been forced off their ancestral homelands or forced to assimilate and have a 5,000-year-old unbroken ancestral connection. The training and initiation required to become a Firekeeper in the Sacred Fire Community is not to be taken lightly.

“It’s a calling and a lifelong spiritual commitment. You are a Firekeeper 24/7, so when you walk in the world, you don’t have to be a saint or be perfect, but it is quite an undertaking,” Cindy explained. “One has to do quite a bit of personal work to become a Firekeeper. You can’t judge or marginalize people different from ourselves and be a Firekeeper. Conflicts may arise around the fire or conflicts in the community. Indigenous peoples would sit around the fire to resolve conflict. There is wisdom in this as fire has the capacity to transform. So you can bring parties together and help them work through things. Working through conflict can produce greater intimacy. We have much more in common than we think we do. Fire is the chance to come together, break bread together, laugh and sometimes cry.”

The breaking of bread usually takes the form of a potluck dinner before the fire. After that, the group progresses to the “hearth” where the Firekeeper has started the fire.

Each Firekeeper opens the fire by welcoming everyone, introducing the perspective of making fire sacred and explaining the offerings.

Attendees are invited to make offerings to the fire using cacao, a tree resin called copal, wood and tobacco. The use of these offerings has been sanctioned by the Huichols for the purpose of consecrating the fire in this context and making it sacred. Those seated around the fire are then encouraged to speak from their hearts or can choose to remain silent. A major purpose of the community fire is to celebrate what unites people and is intended to be an antidote to the isolation keenly felt by many people in our society today.

“There is an illusion that technology can solve all our problems and we should be functioning in a very individual way. It’s a lonely way to live. It’s not healthy to be alone in an apartment or condo and feel deep emotions all by yourself,” explained Cindy.

“That would have never happened with indigenous peoples. It would have been shared by a group. After a person expresses their emotions around a consecrated fire, people experience that something has shifted and can move on.”

Lisa Lichtig and her husband, Patrick Hanaway, are both initiated Firekeepers in the Asheville, North Carolina, area. They are also both medical doctors, with an emphasis on integrative medicine. In addition, Lisa offers Plant Spirit Medicine and both work as Mara’akames, initiated healers, in the Huichol tradition.

“I became a doctor to care for and help people,” said Lisa, “but I began to see people were still suffering. I asked why? I am discovering how it’s possible for humans to live with joy and purpose and in balance and harmony with the world. Spending time with sacred fire and community can help a lot and

Ancient Connections Cindy Fogle, a Firekeeper with the Sacred Fire Community, readily acknowledges that her fires in Maggie Valley are taking place on Cherokee land and feels it is important to honor these people and the strong Cherokee ancestral presence that still resides here.

A few years ago, her community held a specialty fire featuring Patty Grant-Edgemon, a Behavioral Health Consultant for the Cherokee Indian Hospital and member of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indian (EBCI). Patty shared her wisdom and teachings about forgiveness relating to the historical grief and trauma experienced by the Cherokee and all indigenous peoples who have faced removal and genocide. That evening, 37 attendees from four states were present to hear her words. Patty travels the country speaking to church and civic groups in an attempt to bring about healing and understanding.

She can be contacted at patty.grant@yahoo.

68

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

Participants take part in a Sacred Fire gathering (top photo) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where Firekeeper Mary Beth Robinson holds monthly fires. Every autumn, Sacred Fire hamlets hold a Harvest Festival (bottom left) where, according to tradition, participants make an offering (bottom right) of gratitude for beneficial growing conditions.

WWW.SMLIV.COM

69

“People say they feel they have come home when they experience a community fire and there arises a sense of well-being.

Our ancestors knew this and now it is available to us.”

—Cindy Fogle

sometimes open additional doorways for becoming more fully human and engaged with life.”

Each fall, the Maggie Valley and Asheville hamlets host a Harvest Festival in the Nahuatl tradition, an indigenous culture from a mountainous region of central Mexico. At the Harvest Festival, offerings are given in gratitude for the beneficial rains that nourished the past growing season.

Indigenous peoples had many different ceremonies throughout the year conducted according to what they call their original instructions that connected them with the elemental spirits of nature and the cycles of the earth.

Mary Beth Robinson, a trained and initiated Firekeeper in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, guides monthly fires and also conducts a specialty fire to celebrate the Winter Solstice.

On the shortest day of the year, the evening begins with the consecration of the fire.

Instead of speaking, the group writes down on paper what they would like to release. The pieces of paper are thrown into the fire, and the group witnesses these statements go up in smoke. After the fire, they share a potluck dinner and relate what they have just experienced.

“The next morning, we all wake up to a new sun,” said Mary Beth. “We start anew when the light begins to come back.”

As a sacred fire concludes, the assembled group is encouraged to remember that the spirit of the fire stays with them.

“There’s a very loving presence out there that also resides in our hearts,” said Cindy.

“And there are various ways for people to get in touch with it. Sitting with others around a sacred fire is one of those ways. People say they feel they have come home when they experience a community fire and there arises a sense of well-being. Our ancestors knew this and now it is available to us.”

Children and adults gather for a Sacred Fire gathering held near Asheville, North Carolina.

70

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

More info:

Sacred Fire Community sacredfirecommunity.org

Local Sacred Fire Communities Asheville, North Carolina www.ashevillehamlet.org Firekeepers: Lisa Lichtig & Patrick Hanaway Sacred Fire: Every second Saturday Maggie Valley, North Carolina wncfirekeeper@gmail.com Firekeeper: Cindy Fogle Sacred Fire: Every third Saturday Oak Ridge, Tennessee placesynergy@comcast.net Firekeeper: Mary Beth Robinson Sacred Fire: Every fourth Saturday

SELECT LODGING Directory BEAR DEN LUXURY CABINS AND FAMILY CAMPGROUND Your Base Camp for Mountain Adventure!

Luxury Cabins.

Mile post 324.8 on the Blue Ridge Parkway between Asheville and Boone 877.308.2888 • bear-den.com 1798-126

SMOKETREE LODGE Smoketree’s cozy atmosphere and prime location gives visitors the choice of enjoying the peace and solitude of the Blue Ridge Mountains or the opportunity to partake in the many activities available in the High Country.

11914 NC Hwy. 105 S. • Banner Elk, N.C. 800.422.1880 • smoketree-lodge.com

THE SWAG COUNTRY INN Chosen by readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine as the #2 Best Small Hotel in the Unites States, the secluded hideaway itself consists of 250 private acres. The main lodge and cabins, consisting of 15 rooms, are built of 17th and 18th century hand hewn logs and local field stone. For 33 years, visitors have been able to experience just how remote, rustic, refined and remarkable it can be at 5,000 feet. Three gourmet meals are served daily, with turn down service each evening.

Waynesville, N.C. 800.789.7672 • theswag.com

THE WAYNESVILLE INN GOLF RESORT & SPA This resort has been welcoming visitors to the mountains with southern hospitality since the 1920s. Traditional resort amenities include historic and mountain view lodging, 27 holes of championship golf, restaurant and tavern, plus outdoor event space and pro shop. Convenient location provides easy access to shopping, skiing, fishing, hiking and more.

176 Country Club Dr. • Waynesville, N.C. 800.627.6250 • thewaynesvilleinn.com

Just one mile from Downtown Waynesville and 5 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway, The Waynesville Inn is the ideal home base for everything from shopping to hiking, skiing and viewing elk in the Smokies.

Amenities: • On-site Restaurant and Bar • Full Hot Breakfast with Stay • 27-Hole Golf Course & Pro Shop • Seasonal Outdoor Pool • Wedding and Event Venues

800.627.6250 | TheWaynesvilleInn.com 176 COUNTRY CLUB DR. | WAYNESVILLE, N.C.

Smoketree Lodge

1798-106

HEMLOCK INN This historic inn, set just off Main Street in downtown Blowing Rock, is only steps from shopping, restaurants and event activities.

Eighteen unique rooms, including suites with fully-equipped kitchens. All rooms are nonsmoking. Rooms feature private baths, cable TV, air conditioning, phone services, microwave ovens, refrigerators and WiFi. Take advantage of a variety of packages offered throughout the year.

Downtown Blowing Rock, N.C. 828.295.7987 • hemlockinn.net

11914 Hwy. 105 S. Banner Elk NC 28604

828-963-6505 Smoketree-Lodge.com Managed by Vacation Resorts International WWW.SMLIV.COM

71

STORIES Community

Tell Me About Us

BY MICHAEL RENO HARRELL

I

’m a walker. I walk for several reasons, not the least of which is a triglyceride count which tends to rival the number of laps in the Coca-Cola 600. That and it gives me time to think about things.

“Been that way ever since I started over.” He could see the question forming in my head and answered it before I could ask. “See, I started my life over when I was 72. Ten years ago I was in an automobile accident out on Highway 64, this side of Rutherfordton.

Hit my head hard. They say part of my brain was hanging out of my skull.” He removed his ball cap and rubbed his hand across a scar that literally looked like the top of his head had been removed and replaced just a bit off-center.

As it turns out, that’s exactly what happened.

He continued: “Ambulance took me to the Morganton hospital where I was pronounced D.O.A. They told my wife when she got there that I had passed. Then, for some reason my heart started beating again on its own. They flew me in a helicopter to Mission Hospital in Asheville where they operated on me. I was in a coma for a year and a half. Then I woke up one day and didn’t remember anything. Not a single thing. Not my wife, not who I was, didn’t know how to read my own name or what a ham sandwich was. Never heard of Jesus, Jackie Robinson, or Franklin Roosevelt. Wondered why my doctor was pink and I was black.

Didn’t know lime Jell-O from green beans. And I was dizzy. Still am, but walking helps some so I try to get out and walk a little every day if I’m able. And I’m still learning who I am and what things are.”

Now, I’m a specific type of walker. I’m not a mall walker. We haven’t got a mall in my little town. And I am not a power walker.

I’m not really a power anything. And we needn’t mention streetwalker, for obvious reasons. What I am is a sidewalk walker—the reason being that if I tried to walk on the twisting county roads out where we live, I’d last about as long as the roadkill that litters those broken white lines.

And walking on the sidewalk is easy and safe, and it’s only five miles into town where they have such conveniences. In our little town, gridlock is two pickup drivers stopped in the middle of the street discussing their sweet potato crops. So even crossing against the light isn’t exactly Russian roulette.

A while back I was trucking along at the blazing pace of 3.2 miles an hour (by my phone’s GPS), listening to Nancy Griffith on Pandora and contemAs I stood there speechless, he smiled plating the fact that I had passed my 65th MANDY NEWHAM-COBB ILLUSTRATION and continued. “My wife has told me all birthday and wondering how in the world that about our lives, how we met and fell in love. About our parents, could be possible, when I noticed an elderly African-American siblings, and school. I found out that I had been a carpenter and a gentleman slowly making his way up the sidewalk ahead. He was deacon in our church. That we never had any children. And, I have wearing a brown ball cap, a brown and beige plaid shirt, khaki friends who come to visit. Oh, somebody will stop in every day or trousers, and dazzling electric blue and metallic silver running so to talk about the past. It’s fun to meet them and hear about things shoes. I didn’t want him to be startled as I overtook him, so as I that we did. I know their faces now. I know my friends now when drew near I said, “Hey, how ya doing.”

I see them. I know who I am because of them.”

He stopped and looked around, smiled, and said, “Not so good.

I offered my hand and he took it. “My name is Michael. And I’m dizzy.” now you know me, too.”

It was unusually warm, so I stopped and offered, “I have some He grinned and said, “My name is Tom. If I knew you before water here. How about a drink? Or maybe if we find you a place to I’m glad to meet you again. I’ll be looking out for you, Michael.” sit in the shade for a little while you’ll feel better.”

He turned north, and I watched him shuffle off.

The old fellow shook his head and said, “Thanks, but I’m always Stories are everywhere. dizzy.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michael Reno Harrell We walked on a few steps and stopped in the shade of an overis profiled on page 11. hanging dogwood branch, and I asked, “Always dizzy? Why is that?”

“Somebody will

stop in every day or so to talk about the past.

It’s fun to meet them and hear about things that we did. I know my friends now when I see them. I know who I am because of them.”

72

SMOKY MOUNTAIN LIVING VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1

Warm up this winter with a bowl of your favorite soup or chili. Ingles has everything you need to bring warmth, comfort, & savings to your table. We are proudly making it easier to bring farm to table! Visit our website for some great recipe ideas if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in the mood for something different, www.ingles-markets.com!