Life In Our Foothills October 2020

LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

life IN OUR

FOOTHILLS October 2020

OCTOBER 2020

Welcoming Guests for Over 125 Years Golfing Like a Kangaroo

The New Guy in the Old Pulpit

Cominatyea

$4.95

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our agents are ready to help you enjoy a...

Foothills Lifestyle

Our agency consists of agents who either grew up in the area and elected to stay here or agents who grew up somewhere else and selected to move here. Whether by election or selection, it is their love for this area that makes our agents excited about helping buyers or sellers experience that same feeling and enjoy a foothills lifestyle.

KATHY TOOMEY BROKER/OWNER

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Experienced agents licensed in both NC & SC • Members of Canopy MLS & Greenville MLS Active members of the community & sponsors of Tryon Beer Fest, Tryon International Film Festival, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Summer Tracks, Tryon Little Theater, Foothills Humane Society and Tryon Fine Arts Center

FROM THE EDITOR

O

ctober is that lovely month when the leaves transform into a glorious assortment of reds, oranges, yellows and burgundies. This is the true beginning of the autumn season, so grab your pumpkin spice latte and settle in for this entertaining issue of Life in Our Foothills.

To start with, you’ll get to learn a little bit about the history of the Esmeralda Inn. Next time you want to book a weekend in Chimney Rock, be sure to stay at the one and only inn with the famous dance floor in their lobby from Dirty Dancing. You may be surprised to find that numerous famous celebrities spent a few nights there over the years.

Kevin Powell General Manager

Have you started to notice the change in the weather? Isn’t it nice to walk outside in the early morning and late evening to feel that crispness that only October can offer? If you’re a golfer, then you’ll appreciate the feature about Kangaroo Golf, the first American manufactured electric golf caddy. Walking your game of golf this season is far more enjoyable than riding it, don’t you think?

On the cover LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

life IN OUR

FOOTHILLS

No matter what time you’re reading this, pumpkin cobbler or rocky recchiuti brownies are a wonderful dessert after any meal. Even breakfast? Of course! Be sure to check out the last few pages to find some of the best recipes around and start baking!

OCTOBER 2020

Welcoming Guests for Over 125 Years The New Guy in the

Old Pulpit

Cominatyea

The Esmeralda Inn Kim Cason (Story on page 12)

Photo by Mark Levin

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The cool weather isn’t the only thing new in our area. Keep reading to find out how Pastor Allan Purtill came to the Tryon Presbyterian Church and his fascinating steps to how he got behind that old pulpit.

October 2020

LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

$4.95

During the month of October 2020, be sure to call our office at 828-859-9151 to sign up for a subscription to Life in Our Foothills for a year for only $15 a year. That’s 75% off the cover price!

Mention the promo code FALL SAVINGS to take advantage of this offer before it’s too late!

Macy Cochran macy.cochran@tryondailybulletin.com

Staff

life IN OUR

General Manager Kevin Powell Pagination Jullia Zeleskey

Administration Courtney Smith

Marketing Magan Etheridge Ben Bouser

Distribution Jeff Allison Jamie Lewis

FOOTHILLS Life in Our Foothills is published monthly by Tryon Newsmedia LLC. Life in Our Foothills is a registered trademark. All contents herein are the sole property of Tryon Newsmedia LLC. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Please address all correspondence (including, but not limited to, letters, story ideas and requests to reprint materials) to Editor, Life in Our Foothills, 16. N. Trade St., Tryon, NC 28782, or email to kevin.powell@tryondailybulletin.com.

Life in Our Foothills is available free of charge at locations throughout Polk County and Upstate South Carolina, and online at www.tryondailybulletin.com.

Subscriptions are available for $30 per year by calling 828-859-9151. To advertise, call 828-859-9151.

KidSenses Selected as Recipient of 2020 Parsec Prize Congratulations!

Fee-only wealth management firm Parsec Financial, with an office in Tryon, announces $200,000 in unrestricted Parsec Prize grants to educational and literacy-based organizations across N.C., including a $10,000 grant to Rutherfordton-based non-profit KidSenses Inc.

Learn more: parsecfinancial.com/parsec-prize

Michael Baughman, CFP® Senior Financial Advisor parsecfinancial.com/team/michael-baughman

Contributors Mark Levin, Writer and Photographer

Mark is retired from a career in education. In addition to the classroom he has had a lifetime of experiences earning a buck as a photographer, videographer, author, musician and camp director. You can follow his blog about people and places in the foothills at www.FoothillsFaces. com or check out his new podcast he enjoys with a friend of 50 years at www.garyandmark.com.

Vincent Verrecchio, Writer and Photographer

When not working in advertising as a copywriter, art director, photographer, creative director, and agency owner, Vince was on a horse with a camera in his hand somewhere in North America, Europe, or Africa.

Now lightly retired from advertising, for more than 40 years, he writes about whatever strikes his fancy, looks for interesting photos everywhere and wanders the Foothills on a horse.

Macy Cochran, Writer and Photographer

Macy Cochran is an English Writing student at North Greenville University. She is a lover of books, coffee and binge watching sitcoms from the 90’s. As a creative writer, she often spends her time working on her novels, poetry and short stories.

Jimmi Buell, Writer

Jimmi is an extension agent for the Polk County Center of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. She teaches cooking and nutrition classes with a focus on improving health with better food choices. She can be reached at jimmi_buell@ncsu.edu or 828-894-8218.

Pebbles, Writer

Pebbles is the “spokespony” for HERD, or Helping Equines Regain Dignity, a local nonprofit that saves equines from dire conditions and in many cases slaughter. She dictates her monthly columns about her adventures, and what a rescue organization does, to Heather Freeman.

Pebbles and Heather can be reached through HerdRescue.org

Jullia Zeleskey, Photographer and Graphic Designer

Jullia has always had an passion for art and design. These two interests have blossomed into a career she can enjoy on a daily basis.

As a photographer, her keen eye for that unique shot are showcased in the Tryon Daily Bulletin, Life in Our Foothills and Visitors Bulletin magazines. Most weekends, she can be found spending time outdoors hiking or mountain biking a trail off the beaten path or sipping a vanilla latte.

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Contents 10 Welcoming guest for over 125 years The Esmeralda Inn

20 Golfing Like a Kangaroo

Kangaroo Golf in Tryon

28 The New Guy in the Old Pulpit Dr. Allan Purtill, Pastor

36 Cominatyea

Our Comet’s Lucky Outcome

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Kangaroo Golf

Photo by Macy Cochran

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42 Quick Bites Fermentation

44 Quick Bites Brownies

48 Parting Glance

Bearwallow Mountain

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Tryon Presbyterian Church Photo by Facebook

The Esmeralda Inn Photo by Mark Levin

50 Ad Index

46 Marketplace

OCTOBER 2020

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Welcoming Guests for Over 125 Years The Esmeralda Inn Writer & Photographer Mark Levin For over 125 years, The Esmeralda Inn in Chimney Rock has welcomed guests from around the world.

Situated across the Rocky Broad River, the inn hasn’t been without its woes. Twice in its history, the Esmeralda has been reduced to ruins by fire. Flood waters have crept close, and the Party Rock Fire in 2016 came too close for comfort resulting in total evacuation of the area. The quarantine earlier this year was the latest roadblock the inn has faced resulting in the complete closure for a couple of months and the loss of many loyal employees. And after each setback, the Esmeralda has come back stronger than ever.

Kim and Don Cason took over ownership of the

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Esmeralda Inn, Restaurant & Spa in 2014, and to this couple, a challenge is nothing new. The Esmeralda Inn is their forever home. They love the beauty of the area and sharing it with their guests who arrive from across the world.

While the Casons are both totally involved in the management of The Esmeralda Inn, Kim is the face you’ll see first. Don spends most of the work week serving as Executive Director of the Tourism Development Authority for Rutherford County. That leaves Kim doing what she loves best…making sure guests at the inn have a memorable and extraordinary experience.

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Kim and Don Cason

The grand staircase in the lobby

OCTOBER 2020

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Gazebo

And that’s exactly what Kim loves most about being an innkeeper – anticipating every need of a guest before the guest even asks. It’s that attention to detail that makes Kim shine in her job. She has had to put in 120-hour work weeks ever since reopening from being closed two months during the early spring. Kim has had people say, “But that’s not possible,” referring to a 120-hour workweek.

She says, “No it’s not, but it’s what I have to do.” It’s also what she wants to do.

Kim and Don have had to recruit new staff including their executive chef, John Venuto. While some employees are back, new team members are just learning to think the way Kim thinks…that guests come first. It’s evident in the friendliness displayed by every team member you encounter.

Walking into the lobby takes you back in history.

While everything is relatively new, rebuilt after the fire in the mid-1990s, the first impression a guest or visitor has is that The Esmeralda Inn is not your usual hotel. Tall locust posts stretch from floor to ceiling giving a striking “rustic”

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Side porch

feel to the boutique hotel. A wagon wheel chandelier reminds you of how most guests made their first visits to the inn well over 100 years ago. An old photograph shows President Franklin D. Roosevelt riding up the steps in a car to the front entrance in 1933, perhaps the first use of a handicapped “ramp.”

The original inn was built in 1891 by Colonel Tom Turner and opened the following year. The inn took its name Esmeralda from a character in a book by Frances Hodges Burnett – probably best known for The Secret Garden. The Esmeralda Inn and Hickory Nut Gorge area became a magnet for the early film industry starting in 1915. Many of these initial Hollywood stars stayed at The Esmeralda during movie productions including the likes of Mary Pickford, Gloria Swanson, Douglas Fairbanks and Clark Gable.

Fast forward several decades and films are still using the area for productions including Last of the Mohicans, Firestarter and of course, Dirty Dancing. In fact, the floor of The Esmeralda Inn lobby was the flooring located in

Front deck with a view of Chimney Rock

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Piano in the lobby

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Lobby

Ana Myers

OCTOBER 2020

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Guest room

Dinning room

Game room 16

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Whirlpool spa

the gym of the old Camp Chimney Rock where the last dance scene in Dirty Dancing was filmed.

Don and Kim left their past work lives behind when they purchased Eight Gables Inn, located in Gatlinburg, TN. With a lot of hard work, they grew that inn into a 20-room luxury inn, restaurant and spa earning the 4-Diamond AAA rating. They sold that inn and found new jobs but the itch to be back in the hospitality business was too much of a pull.

In 2013, Don and Kim decided it was time to look for a new inn to grow. They took a year’s sabbatical to travel the Southeast looking for the perfect location. After visiting twenty different properties, the Esmeralda was exactly what they were looking for.

The Casons are used to hard work and have put in the effort to build The Esmeralda Inn, Restaurant & Spa into a success. Prior to the shutdown, business had been steadily growing. Like virtually all businesses, having no income for an extended period of time can be devastating. They had to let most of their staff go. They had to wait out the shutdown like everyone else. But being optimists, they felt in their hearts the business would come back.

And it has.

Business has rebounded and it’s as good and even better than it was. Kim thinks it’s due to a lot of pentup demand to get out once again…and the thoughts of staying in a small boutique inn surrounded by the beauty of Hickory Nut Gorge, Chimney Rock State Park, Lake Lure and the Rocky Broad River are so appealing to people who need to get away and stay in a less congested place. The Esmeralda Inn is an oasis in the midst of all this beauty and offers the complete package: inn, fine dining (soon to be three meals daily) and a spa offering a full array of services.

The Esmeralda is open year-round, offering fourteen main guest rooms in addition to two cabins across the street overlooking the river.

The Casons enjoy coming up with new ways to make things happen at The Esmeralda Inn. Some special events include spa girls’ weekends, cooking classes, cork & brush (a painting class with a glass or two of wine) and a film festival in February showing old clips from those films made in the early 1900s in the area. The inn can host small corporate events, family reunions, micro weddings and they even have a special “Elopement” package in case you’re thinking this is your weekend to get married. The Thanksgiving traditional meal is their biggest event of the year when hundreds of guests will be served.

To Kim, the greatest reward she gets from owning the inn is being able to serve her guests, many of whom return year after year. She and her staff make sure they feel welcomed and at home.

The Esmeralda Inn’s website wraps up Kim’s true desire, that “May all who enter as guests leave as friends.”

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Business Info:

The Esmeralda Inn & Spa is located at 910 Main Street in Chimney Rock, North Carolina. Website: www.theesmeralda.com. Local phone is 828-6252999. Tollfree: 888-897-2999. Contact Kim at info@ theesmeralda.com. Restaurant and spa services is open to the public with reservations. The Esmeralda Inn, Restaurant & Spa is a member of Select Registry and a 2020 Travelers’ Choice by TripAdvisor.

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Gift shop

Don and Kim Cason

Kim Cason

Golfing Like a Kangaroo Writer & Photographer Macy Cochran Fifty years ago, the Foothills gained a unique feature that only Polk County can gladly claim: Kangaroo Golf.

Kangaroo Golf was founded in Tryon, and now, the headquarters resides on a tall, grassy hill in neighboring Columbus. While it might be local, it is indeed national, as well.

“It’s very sophisticated manufacturing here. We make everything in this building then assemble it, so we aren’t only a plant. This is where the decisions are made,” says Mike McCue, president of Kangaroo Golf. “A lot of people don’t know that we not only manufacture in Polk County, but 20

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we are also headquartered here.”

As a team member of Kangaroo since 1983, Mike knows the ins and outs of the company. After the original owner Bill Ganskopp––an expert engineer––left North Carolina, the company hired Mike, a marketing professional.

He explains that at the beginning of Kangaroo’s story, Bill wanted to play golf year-round. Coming from Pennsylvania, the winters were too harsh for that kind of sport. So, he began researching the climate in this part of the country, as well as the communities, and dreamed about playing golf throughout all seasons.

Frist Pull-U Golf Cart

OCTOBER 2020

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Gas Powered GAN-ED Photo Credit to Karen Brown 22

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Years later, Bill and co-founder Carl Edney put their heads together in Carl’s Tryon garage and created what America knows today as the Kangaroo Golf motorized caddy.

A Kangaroo Golf caddy is an electric, self-propelled machine made for golfers who want to walk their eighteen holes instead of ride them. Most importantly about these electric caddies is that they are lightweight and easily dismantled for quick and simple traveling.

“Our area,” says Mike, “is even better for golfing than the coast because of our great weather.” He calls golf “a game that attracts people from all over the nation to the south.” That’s exactly why Bill came to the Foothills and manufactured this well-known machine.

Bill began as a tennis player, interestingly enough, and never intended to create a company. Sure, he was an athlete, and he meant to become a very good golfer, but founding the only motorized golf caddy made in America?

Not so much. All he wanted was to walk throughout his game of golf and remain healthy instead of driving around on a course.

Mike says, “People think that walking on a course takes longer and is harder, but what they don’t know is that when they’re sharing a ride, they’re having to pay 24

LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

attention to both players’ balls, becoming distracted and losing focus of their own game. Walking golfers have time to size up their own shot, so riding isn’t faster or more effective.”

One of the best parts about Kangaroo Golf is the amazingly loyal team. Though Mike has been around for thirty-seven years, Eddie Taylor tops him at forty-four years making him the longest lasting team member. No matter where he is or what he’s doing, “Eddie will always be one of our members,” Mike says.

Another long-lasting employee is Jerry Wallace, a Polk native Jerry works with maintenance and is their lead technician. In addition, Natasha Morales is the face of the sales department. All of the employees are valued.

Mike says, “A lot of people here have been here for a long time, and they’re deeply invested in the company.

This company was founded here, and it flourished here.”

An interesting fact about Kangaroo is that most of their leaders are women. This is ironic for a company that began when there were only males working in the plant.

When Mike joined the corporation, the only female employees were in the office. Now, females lead a large portion of the company.

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Aerial View of Kangaroo Golf (Photo by Karen Brown)

Back in Carl’s garage, he and Bill named their new invention the “Pull U Golf Cart.” The need was so great back then—they sold eighty-seven. “But they needed to be electric instead of gas powered,” Mike says. So, at a golf trade show in 1972, they introduced the “Lil’ Joey.” This was their first electric caddy, which is why Kangaroo is celebrating their 50th anniversary. Half a century ago, the Pull U came to life.

When Bill came to our area to play golf, there were live, human caddies. But in the late 1960s, that changed. Most of the caddies were high school or college students there for the summer. However, when the school semester started up, many golf courses were out of caddies.

Since Bill came here year-round, he created the very thing he wanted most—the Kangaroo. He wanted to walk but didn’t want to carry his heavy baggage. “It was good timing,” Mike says.

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Also owned by Mike is Condar, another company that he bought from a couple in Ohio. Since the winter was a bit difficult for sales with Kangaroo, Mike filled a niche with the new company that is winter oriented, offering accessories to woodstoves and fireplaces.

“This is where most of our international business comes from. We sell to Europe, Japan, Australia,” he says. “Years ago, we were active in selling our golf caddies in Europe and Australia. But now, we’ve chosen to only sell in the U.S. and Canada.”

Those devoted members of Kangaroo Golf are now celebrating fifty years of hard work, dedication and success. The people of this company are a passionate crowd who desire making golf even better than it was before by promoting a healthy living and building relationships with customers.

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8/10/20

10:56 AM

Dr. Allan Purtill, Pastor:

The new guy in the old pulpit Writer & Photographer Vincent Verrecchio The pews in the sanctuary of the Tryon Presbyterian Church were almost at their capacity of 220 and more members were arriving. The hum of subdued greetings and the exchange of waves told Jenny Purtill that a congregation surrounded her where everyone mostly recognized each other.

Sitting with her 17-year old daughter Syler and 13year old son James, Jenny warmly returned smiles and pleasantries. She was nervous, not because of meeting so many strangers, but for her husband and how those around her would react to him and his first service as new pastor of their historic church.

She envisioned him in his office down the hall from the main door of the sanctuary. He was by now wearing his black robe and multi-colored stole and

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had glanced through his 10-page sermon one more time. The robe was the sign of academic achievement in scripture studies. The stole symbolized the yoke of service.

“My call to the ministry was gradual but continual,” says Dr. Allan Purtill. His earliest memory of attending church is vague, trudging through snow to a service in Indiana as a 3-yearold. With greater certainty he remembers fighting with a Sunday school bully who had pulled off his clip-on tie.

“I felt the call as a teenager but was unsettled with it,” continues Allan. “I wanted to be an engineer at first, but the call to study and learn how to serve kept calling back.”

Allan is fascinated with the curving abstractions of the five stained glass windows that contrast with the emphatic lines of the building. One window towers 44 feet above the main entrance to embody the architect’s vision of “an air of uplift.”

He was a 23-year-old student chaplain at a Charlotte hospital when a friend introduced him to Jenny. A graduate in history from Davidson, she would eventually earn a Masters from the University of South Carolina in Library and Information Science.

She recalls, “He looked like he was sixteen but had a BA in History...we both liked history.”

Allan continues with a smile, “She was also interested in talking about faith and didn’t runaway when she learned I was a seminarian.”

In 2000, Allan earned a Masters of Divinity from the Princeton Theological Seminary. In 2017, he added a Doctorate of Ministry from Columbia Theological Seminary in Georgia.

Jenny notes that as long as she has known Allan, he’s loved learning. “He continues to add information and insights to use in his sermons, and he has a gift for teaching.” She pauses and then proclaims with dramatic gravitas, “Every sermon is perfect.” This is followed with a mischievous grin at him across the conference table where we three sit.

Allan laughs and notes, “In the ten years we were at the Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Huntersville, it took me about a week to prepare for each one-hour service with its 20-minute sermon.

I’d be changing content an hour before or even while delivering it.”

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In September, Allan and Jenny celebrated their one-year anniversary of having arrived at Tryon Presbyterian Church.

“He had told me that’s what he did but otherwise I would never have known,” comments Jenny. “I never hear or read his sermons in advance. For his first sermon in Tryon, I think he prepared longer and harder than ever before. It was easy for us to imagine that many of the long-time members were wondering about ‘the young new guy’ that they had voted to hire as Pastor.”

The Presbyterian Church is a representative form of government with each congregation electing a Board of twelve Elders to govern a local church. “Presbyter” is based on Greek for “elder.” Four elders are elected each year to serve three years. The Tryon Board formed a 7-member search committee to interview candidates for a new Pastor, and after interviewing Allan and Jenny, the Board submitted him for a vote by the entire congregation.

The decision to relocate had already been made in the Purtill family. The Huntersville church required Allan to be out 3-4 nights week, and he and Jenny wanted more family evenings together. He loved the idea of increased personal interaction with a congregation of about 250 members rather than 400. He liked the architecture of the Tryon Church, designed by Meirwether and Brady in 1956 and envisioned by Holland Brady Jr. as having “an air of uplift.” He knew Jenny wanted to live in the mountains and supported his conviction that his work in a Charlotte suburb was done.

Visit...

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The original Tryon Presbyterian Church, built in 1927, still stands on Freeman Hill across Trade Street from town hall. The congregation worshipped there until 1958.

They were hired, and the Purtill family moved to the pastor’s manse on the mountainside behind the church at 430 Harmon Road in Fall 2019.

When Allan’s first procession in Tryon started from the rear of the church, Jenny’s pulse quickened. An acolyte led the choir of 30 down the aisle to the chancel.

“When I followed, heads turned toward me,” recalls Allan. “I had done this hundreds of times as a pastor but this time I admit to being excited and a little nervous. I knew I had quite a tradition to uphold and expectations were high.”

The tradition started with Reverend Dendy and the congregation of 46 who built the first Tryon Presbyterian 32

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Church on Freeman Hill in 1927. The building still stands across Trade Street from town hall. In 1955, Reverend Wagner continued the tradition with plans for a new facility. A projected cost of $125,000 challenged the 99 members. Some mortgaged their homes to make a donation. In what some members believed to be a miracle, non-member Frank MacGregor unexpectedly contributed $84,000 in memory of his sister.

In 2013, on the cusp of sanctuary renovation, Dr. Davis preached on the history asking all “to remember the stories of over 1,500 men and women whose efforts founded this church and who worked to develop its ministry over nine decades.”

At the console, Reverend Lesley Bush, Minister of Music, transforms wind from the bellows in the basement into the music of worship. In 1982, Arthur Farwell donated the organ with 1,669 pipes in memory of his son.

For his online sermons, Allan sees a congregation of one: Susan Woodcock, producer and Director of Digital Communications.

Allan stepped to the pulpit and looked at the expectant faces. He smiled and set his notes on the lectern and spoke with pleasant assurance.

Whatever nervousness there may have been was lost in his enthusiasm for being there with so many fellow believers.

“I was so proud of him,” says Jenny. “We both enjoyed the reception afterwards and later discussed our relief and pleasure at the warmth of the people we met. We looked forward to really getting to know them.”

“We still are looking forward,” adds Allan.

“COVID has delayed so much personal interaction.

Our online services can never replace the spirit and energy of worshipping and singing together in this special place accompanied with the power of our pipe organ.”

Jenny concludes, “We pray for the pews to be full again soon.”

Allan sees his responsibilities as pastoral, preaching and teaching in church or online, and business administration.

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OCTOBER 2020

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Cominatyea, Our Comet’s Lucky Outcome

By Pebbles

Size matters, Pebbles with her giant pal Comet.

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“If he didn’t possess bad luck, he would have no luck at all,” sighed volunteer Bill McClelland as he examined Comet’s swollen hind legs. “He has three acres of big lush pasture, and yet he decides to roll right up into the fence scraping up his colossal legs. This big horse has no common sense!”

Comet has progressed over the last six months into becoming a sensible horse. For his massive 17 hands, he is a gentleman. He trusts us to handle him in the round pen, barn and pasture. In addition to his back sore legs, which are medicated and bandaged daily, he is undergoing eye treatments performed three times a day.

A week before hurting himself on the fence, Comet bumped his eye on something in his pasture. The vet confirmed it could be something as small as the seed heads of grass.

The result of this mishap is a painful corneal ulcer on his right eye. His eye must be kept covered, medicated, and dilated to ease the pain while he heals. Horse’s eyes are tricky to treat with their flight instinct. Infection can become dangerous very quickly.

My petite mistress Heather Freeman, who is Comet’s daily caregiver, has a challenging job on her hands. Trying to convince a jolly bay giant to put his head down and hold his eyelid open is not an easy task. Antibiotics and Remend corneal ulcer repair are required to be sure Comet retains his sight. The treatment plan requires three to four weeks of consistent application and monitoring. He must wear a fly mask 24/7 during this recovery phase, as added protection from the light and further injury.

Thus far, both the leg wrapping and eye applications are going well for Comet and Heather. The reason is practice. Because since Comet’s arrival to HERD, he is one of those horses that finds a way to help Heather practice her nursing skills. Like the recent oozing bump on his forehead, probably banging his head on his water tank sun shed, while showing off to his pasture pal Breezy. Though not serious, touching him between the ears was mission impossible.

There was a time when treating his eye would not have been possible, too. Comet was not always a teddy bear. When he arrived into HERD rescue, he would flee and was shut down. Cookies were no incentive for him. Comet did not contemplate affection.

He preferred his freedom staying at the back of his big field. Comet pinned his ears at feed

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Comet’s last chance at life at the kill pen

time. He did his best to be invisible, which is almost impossible since he is a giant on hooves.

Catching him gave us all a glimpse of what he must have looked like galloping on the training track to prepare for a racing career. Though slow to start, once he digs those massive hindquarters up underneath himself, Comet is something to behold. The ground shakes when he thunders past us, with his nostrils flaring and his neck stretched out with winning intent.

Yet, Comet was never a winner. In fact, his trainer had him tattooed but he never raced. When we found Cominatyea at age five, he was in a kill pen in Oklahoma. He had good bloodlines for speed. He just did not make the cut to invest in more racetrack training for some odd reason.

In the kill lot, a brave young woman was videoed jumping on to his back. Heather and I could only imagine how much courage this act took for the girl

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LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

did not know the horse. He was sold to the kill buyer for meat price. Comet was not in ideal weight, but he was not starved either. He walked and jogged in the tiny corral with her riding in only a halter and two lead ropes. His eyes reflected fear of his situation, but he behaved well considering the circumstances. I pressed Heather to save him and bring him into HERD as did one of our advisors, Alene Harfmann. She loved his build and movement in the tiny pen.

Our hauler arrived in Oklahoma 48 hours later to bring him to North Carolina. Comet loaded like a champion. He had lost considerable weight since the video was made. His eyes were now blank of expression and looked too small for his enormous head. During his month of quarantine with Delores Riffe at Bessie Bell Farm, he stuck to himself. He ate, slept and seemed to have a big chip on his shoulder. Clearly the world was an unlucky place for him.

Comet in groundwork training with HERD Co-Founder Scott Homstead

Comet on arrival to HERD after quarantine, very shut down and defeated.

It was decided to bring Comet to us instead of sending him directly to training after he cleared quarantine with a new health certificate. We placed him in the pasture directly across from mine so I can continually keep an eye on him. Each week we witness his slow transformation. The improvement in his weight is outstanding. Life has returned to his eyes. Comet now comes to the gate when Heather calls out his name, even though he knows it will involve forcing his eye open for treatments and changing the wraps on his hind legs. He leads into the barn for his healthcare sessions like a Triple Crown champion. He yawns contently during his grooming.

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LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

Comet up relaxing at the barn during grooming

Our vet commented on a recent that visit Comet is one in a million. He has never seen a thoroughbred who naturally engages his hindquarter quite like Comet does to power himself. He also has an amazing halt. This trait is bred into many quarter horses for cutting cows and reigning but not commonly seen in a massive thoroughbred like this one. We are in awe of his athletic abilities now that he is feeling more confident about life.

With promising luck now bouncing on his court of life, Comet has a bright future ahead.

Time will tell, but we all feel lucky to have him here with us until he finds his new career.

Wonder what his fortune cookie will reveal next?

Easy Pumpkin Cobbler

By Pebbles

Ingredients • • • • • • • • • • • • •

1 serving cooking spray ½ cup white sugar 2 large eggs, beaten well 1 (15-ounce) can of pumpkin ¾ cup of evaporated milk 1 tsp orange extra (can replace with vanilla) 1 tsp of cinnamon ½ tsp of ground ginger ¼ tsp of ground cloves ¼ tsp of salt 1 (9-ounce package of yellow cake mix) ¼ cup of melted butter ¾ cup of chopped pecan pieces

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.

Whisk sugar and eggs together in a bowl until light; stir pumpkin, evaporated milk, orange extract, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt into egg mixture. Pour pumpkin mixture into the prepared baking dish. Lightly sprinkle cake mix over the top, covering pumpkin mixture completely. Next, sprinkle ground pecan pieces over the cake evenly. Slowly drizzle melted butter over the cake mix so it does not puddle.

Bake in the preheated oven until the pumpkin mixture is set and topping is golden brown, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Serves 6 and is delicious with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream as a topping.

OCTOBER 2020

41

Quick Bites

Fermentation Workshop

By Jimmi Buell

What is fermentation? It’s the process of using microorganisms, such as bacteria or yeast, to convert carbohydrates to alcohol or organic acids under anaerobic conditions. Fermentation is a food preservation method that has a very long history, perhaps as long as 12,000 years. Cheese, yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchee, olives, salami, jerky and bread as well as beverages such as hard cider, wine, beer and coffee are all produced by the fermentation process.

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LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

Some fermented foods have been critical to the food culture of a country or region. Think yogurt in the Middle East, sauerkraut in Germany and fermented sausages in Italy.

There are several health benefits to fermenting food. First, fermentation serves to enhance the digestion of food. Your body needs adequate digestive enzymes to properly absorb, digest, and utilize nutrients in food. When vegetables like cabbage and cucumbers are left to steep and sit,

the sugars break down, promoting the growth of bacteria. Sauerkraut is also a good source of vitamin C in the winter.

Probiotic yogurt is extremely high in calcium, zinc, B vitamins, probiotics and protein. In other words, fermented foods are filled with beneficial bacteria that reinforce the good bacteria in the digestive system. Since 70 percent to 80 percent of the immune system lies in the gut, having proper balance of gut flora is important.

Want to learn more about fermentation, safe processing methods, and how to make sauerkraut, kimchee, yogurt and kombucha? The North Carolina Cooperative Extension will be offering two fermentation workshops locally. The first one will be held on Tuesday October 20 at 2:00 p.m. at the Polk County Extension Center. For more information on the workshop or to register contact Jimmi Buell at the Polk County Extension Office at 828894-8218 or by email at jimmi_buell@ ncsu.edu.

Beer & Bread

Kombucha

Quick Bites

Holiday baking gets even sweeter with brownies What would the holidays be without delicious foods to share with loved ones? In fact, crafting elaborate meals and baking goodies is par for the course once the weather begins to cool and decorations turn up on businesses and homes.

Many people have tried-and-true recipes they rely on each year, but there’s always the 44

LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

possibility to give new tasty tidbits a try. There are so many tantalizing desserts to tickle the tongue, but this recipe for “Rocky Recchiuti Brownies” from “Chocolate Obsession” (Stewart, Tabori & Chang) by Michael Recchiuti and Fran Gage yields rich and chewy brownies that no holiday celebrant will be able to resist.

Rocky Recchiuti Brownies Makes 16 brownies • 51⁄2 ounces 100 percent unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped, divided • 10 tablespoons (5 ounces) unsalted butter with 82 percent butterfat, cut into 1-inch slices.

• 2⁄3 cup (31⁄2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour • 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt • 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, preferably Madagascar Bourbon • 11⁄3 cups granulated cane sugar • 1⁄3 cup walnut halves, roasted and roughly chopped • 6 Tahitian Vanilla Bean Marshmallows, each 11⁄2 inches square, cut into quarters (see recipe below) Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line the bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper and liberally coat the paper and the pan sides with flavorless vegetable oil.

Put 3 ounces of the chocolate and the butter in a medium stainless-steel bowl and set over a pot of simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter melt and are fully combined and the mixture is smooth. Lift the bowl from the pot. Set aside.

Sift the flour and salt together into a bowl. In another bowl, combine the eggs and vanilla extract and whisk together by hand until blended. Whisk in the sugar.

Whisk the egg mixture into the chocolate. Add the flour and the remaining 21⁄2 ounces chocolate to the batter and, using a rubber spatula, mix well. Then mix in the walnuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spread it evenly with a small offset spatula. Scatter the marshmallow pieces evenly over the surface and push them halfway into the batter. The tops should remain uncovered.

Bake on the middle shelf of the oven until the marshmallows are browned and a skewer inserted into the center of the brownie sheet comes out with some batter clinging to it, about 45 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold.

Run a table knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the sides of the brownie, and then slide the brownie, still on the paper, onto a work surface. Using a ruler to guide you and a sharp knife, cut into sixteen 2-inch squares.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

Tahitian Vanilla Bean Marshmallows About 40 marshmallows • Flavorless vegetable oil for the pan • 33⁄4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin • 3 tablespoons water • 2 cups granulated cane sugar, divided into halves • 11⁄2 cups light corn syrup • 4 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature • 1 Tahitian vanilla bean, split horizontally • About 3 cups powdered cane sugar for finishing Line the bottom of an 8-by-12-inch sheet pan with parchment paper and lightly coat the paper and the pan sides with flavorless vegetable oil. Put the gelatin in a small bowl. Add the water and stir. Set aside to soften.

Combine 1 cup of the sugar with the corn syrup in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Use an unlined copper pot if you have one.

Place over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the sugar melts. Then continue to cook, without stirring, until the mixture reaches 230 F on a candy thermometer. If any crystals form on the sides of the pan and the mixture heats, wash them down with a wet pastry brush.

Meanwhile, put the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the bowl.

When the sugar syrup reaches 240 F, start to beat the egg whites on medium speed. When the whites form very soft peaks, add the remaining 1 cup sugar and continue beating.

When the sugar syrup reaches 250 F, remove it from the heat and stir in the softened gelatin. The syrup will foam up and triple in volume. Switch the mixer to high speed and slowly pour the syrup into the beaten egg whites, aiming for the side of the bowl.

The whites will almost double in volume. Reduce the speed to medium-high and beat until the whites (not the outside of the bowl) are lukewarm to the touch, about 114 F, about 15 minutes.

Scrape the marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan and, using a small offset spatula, spread it evenly to the sides. Let cool completely at room temperature.

To cut the marshmallows, sift about 1⁄2 cup of the powdered sugar onto a work surface in a rectangle the size of a sheet pan.

Sift another 2 cups powdered sugar into a large bowl. Run a thin-bladed knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the marshmallow. Invert the pan onto the sugared surface to unmold, then lift off the pan and peel off the parchment paper. Sift about 1⁄2 cup powdered sugar evenly over the top. Using a ruler to guide you and a lightly oiled sharp knife, cut the marshmallow sheet into 11⁄2-inch squares. It is easier if you use a pressing motion, rather than pull the knife. After cutting, toss the marshmallows, a few at a time, in the bowl of powdered sugar, coating them lightly.

OCTOBER 2020

45

Life in Our Foothills • 828.859.9151

Marketplace C.N.A $1,000 Sign-On Bonus 2nd $2 shift diff 3rd shift $1 shift diff RN/LPN $2000 Sign-On Bonus 7p-7a FT PT 3p-11p and 11p-7a C.N.A II PT Weekends.

Please apply in person at Autumn Care of Saluda 501 Esseola St. Saluda, NC 28773.

Bill the Painter for all of your painting needs.

Also do drywall repair and wood repair! 32 years experience. Like Bill the Painter on FaceBook. 828899-2647 • Builders’ Hardware • Postal Specialties. Visit us at: www.bommer. com. Bommer Industries, 19810 Asheville Hwy, Landrum, SC, or online: www. bommer.com and Remodeling We have shingles, metal, and rubber

46

also! call David at 828713-4154

LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

DIXON AC & HEATING • Your HVAC Service & Repair Expert • Serving the Tryon area for 30+ years.

Call (828)863-0555

NC 28782 www.

TryonRealEstate. com

Now Accepting Applications for Several Positions • Class A CDL Drivers • Heavy Equipment Epperson’s Operators • Tree Service • Landscape Supply Complete Tree Service •Dangerous Yard Associates www.hensonsinc. removals •View net Click on Cutting •Lot Employment Clearing •Tree Opportunities 828Trimming •Crane 859-5836 Removals Serving NC for 25yrs Hospice of the Fully Insured ISA Carolina Foothills is seeking an RN (828)606-4980 Case Manager Full-Time Salaried ERIKA BRADLEY, position with REALTOR® 828.702.5970 information, or to YOUR LOCAL REALTOR HELPING apply,please see our ad on Indeed.

YOU BUY/ com or visit our SELL IN WNC! website at www.

ERIKAB@C21ML. hocf.org COM CENTURY 21 MOUNTAIN Private House LIFESTYLES 640 GREENVILLE HWY, Cleaning. Weekly, HENDERSONVILLE, Bi-Weekly, Monthly or 1 Time. 15 yrs NC 28792 exp. References upon request. Free Gary W. Corn In-home Estimates!

CHHPS Realtor/ Marjorie 828-817Broker 828-8172580 garywcorn@ 6350 gmail.com First Real Estate, Inc 2512 Lynn Road Tryon,

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Call 828-252-0694 or visit us at www. mitchcontracting. com.

Join our growing team! FT/PT opportunities in Weekday/Weekend positions available.

Apply in person: 85 Pinecrest Ln, Tryon or email resume to jobs19@ pinecrestinn.com

Elementary School •Afterschool Group Leaders/All Schools-$10.00/ hour •Bus Drivers-$13.74/ hour-$14/hour •Substitute Bus Monitors-$11/hour •Food Service Aide Substitute $8.28/ hour Visit:www. polkschools.org/ employment Call: 828-894-1001 $10 Off Winter Preventative Maintenance (Reg $75) Rutherford Heating and Air 828-287-2240

7-K Garbage Service Monthly Philco’s Pressure • Weekly One Time Washing Get all the Mold, Mildew, Service We Pick It Up! 828-894& Oxidation off 9948 hyatt2658@ your house! yahoo.com Owner •Clean Vinyl - Suzette Hyatt Siding •Driveways Skipper’s Tree •Sidewalks •Stain Service Free & Seal Decks & Estimates 25% More! Liability & Workers Comp 31 Senior Discount References Upon years Experience Request Now Call To Clean Today! Phil Tolleson Accepting Visa/ Master Card Check 864-599-1978 or Our Reviews on 864-304-8463 Google Call: 864580-3029 POLK COUNTY SCHOOLS •FullTime Custodian/ Bus Driver Tryon

SYNERGY IN ACTION FULLTIME & PARTTIME positions available in group homes.

Requirements: •Age 18+ •Valid driver’s license •High school diploma/GED •Willingness to provide support for adults with disabilities: cooking, cleaning, attending appointments, shopping, etc.

Night & weekend shifts available.

Competitive pay.

Call 828-859-0259 for information.

Apply in person: 20 Jervey Rd Suite 102, Tryon NC Monday-Thursday 10am-2pm.

currently accepted at White Oak of Tryon, 70 Oak Street, Tryon, NC 28782. White Oak of Tryon is an equal opportunity employer.

space, loading docks. $345,000 Properties Unlimited Call 828-287-0750

DC CONCRETE! Concrete, Stucco, Pavillon Recovery Rock, and Remodeling!

Technician FullDependable, Time, Evening & Overnight Positions Reliable, & Satisfaction Mill Spring, NC. Guaranteed!

This position FREE ESTIMATES monitors the activities of patients Call Alex or Dave 828-817-7481 or to ensure optimal 828-817-2620 safety, support, structure & crisis GOOD BY intervention.

Requirements: High STUMPS Stump Removal Quantity School Diploma/ Discounts on GED Equivalent 50+ Stumps! As or Current low as $10 each!

Counselor Intern, Call for pricing.

12-Step Recovery Knowledge. Great Fully insured. Free Quotes! Call Ron at Hourly Rate!

828-447-8775 PTO, 401k with TRADEMARK Rojas BUILDING SUPPLY. Match, Medical, Maintenance Dental, Vision & 343 E Mills St. & Gardening Life Insurance, Columbus, NC •Spring Clean-up Chef-prepared 28722. 828-229•Tree Trimming 3160. From DeWalt shift meals. View •Landscaping full description Tools to Exterior •Mulch Services and apply at Products, call or FREE ESTIMATES!!!

WWW.PAVILLON. visit Trademark Horacio Rojas 864ORG About > for all of your 518-6793 Employment > remodeling and Apply Here building needs.

Experienced 121 Wilkie Street, Plumber Applicant Come join the must have reliable Forest City. 2.35 team at White transportation & acres with four Oak of Tryon. phone. Applicant buildings totaling may be subject to over 14,500 Competitive pay. background check square feet.

Great environment! & drug test. Call Manufacturing/ Applications

interpersonal, verbal & written communication skills. Experience in group facilitation preferred. Submit The Hare & Hound Now hiring resume in person at: Steps to HOPE, for all positions!

Inc, 60 Ward Street, Please apply in Columbus NC person Monday28722 or email to Friday: 101 East ed@stepstohope.

Rutherford Street, Landrum SC 29356 org 864-625-2510 Granide Stone Works Looking for NOW HIRINGLaborer at Stone Want to haul big?

Manufacturing Want to haul plant. Full-time heavy? J. Grady position available Randolph is now immediately. 40 hiring Class A hours minimum Flatbed Drivers. per week. Must be Call today: 864849-7675 or apply highly motivated.

Call Marty at 864online at www.

510-1068 drive4jgr.com for appointment: (864) 457-4568 Hyder Plumbing • Landrum SC

Steps to HOPE HELP WANTED Outreach Education/Program Coordinator Steps to HOPE Domestic Violence Shelter is seeking selfmotivated, detail oriented facilitator for programs & educational outreach. Applicant must have a Bachelor’s Degree & experience in domestic violence/ sexual assault prevention or preferred.

Applicant must possess good

Blueridge Buildings looking for Motivated Worker to work on Pole Barn Crew.

Opportunity for growth. Experience not necessary but would be helpful.

Call Marty at 864510-1068 TOWN OF TRYON Private apartments available in historic area close to TFAC & library. Recently remodeled. All utilities included.

Call or text broker owner: 828-8170755 OCTOBER 2020

47

Parting Glance

Spencer’s parting glance With the weather being unseasonably pleasant for a Labor Day weekend, my family decided to go on an easy hike up to Bearwallow Mountain. At 4,220 feet, this mountain boasts a grassy meadow at the summit where you can see as far as Mt. Pisgah and Mt. Mitchell. At the end of the hike, much to my surprise, there were cows! Dozens of them!

With them being much larger than me, I was a bit skeptical and didn’t want to get too close. I exchanged eye contact with a few of them, sending a couple barks their way, but kept my distance. Had to watch out as there were a lot of cow patties laying around.

It was an easy hike, only about a mile up and back. It’s protected

by Carolina Conservancy, so you know it’s gonna be nice. I give it two paws up!

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LIFE IN OUR FOOTHILLS

OCTOBER 2020

49

Advertiser Index 51

Parkside Dental

43

Acts Retirement Life Communities/Tryon Estates 13

Parsec Financial

5

Ashworth Financial

23

Penny Insurance

11

Carolina Storage Solutions

19

Polk County Transportation

50

Carruths Furniture

21

Ravan Earthworks

37

Cason Builders Supply

41

ServiceMaster of Polk County

21

SG Power & Equipment

51 25

A Growing Concern

Claussen Walters

7

Congregational Church of Tryon

37

Southside Smokehouse

Densantis Real Estate

35

St Luke’s Hospital

Dr. Jonathan Lowry, DDS

33

Strauss Attorneys

41

Hensons Building Supply

17

The Sanctuary at Red Bell Run

39

Hospice Carolina Foothills

2

Tryon Builders

35

Back page

JB Trees

25

Tryon Concert Association

Landrum Antique & Furniture

31

Tryon Garden Club

50

McFarlands Funeral Home

51

Tryon Presbyterian Church

31

White Oak Village

29

New View Realty Odean Keever & Associates Real Estate

3 11

17,27

Emergency Services Foothills Medical Associates Saluda Family Medicine Rosenberg Bone and Joint St Luke’s Rehabilitation Center St. Luke’s Cancer & Infusion St. Luke’s Urology Associates St. Luke’s Pain Center Radiology Steps to Home Senior Life Solutions Community Alternatives Program

WORKING HARDER to Keep you Healthier

Throughout 2019, The Hospital Assessment of Healthcare Providers and System reviewed 3,478 hospitals across the country and assigned

HHHHH

a star rating.

St. Luke’s Hospital is one of only 266 hospitals nationwide to receive the FIVE-STAR recognition for the patient experience!

“We received the 5-star rating because of the promise our staff has made to the community. A promise to approach each patient with consistency, competency, and compassion.”

– Michelle Fortune, CEO

(828) 894-3311 SaintLukesHospital.com 101 Hospital Drive Columbus, NC 28722