WALTER Magazine - May 2018 by waltermagazine

MAY 2018

waltermagazine.com

On the rise

Every Woman Wants a Bailey Box Raleigh’s Cameron Village and Crabtree Valley Mall Greenville | Rocky Mount | www.baileybox.com

WE’RE at THE HEART OF INNOVATIVE CARE

When it comes to heart and vascular health, UNC REX provides innovative care that truly makes a difference. We’re on the front line of medical innovation and discovery, developing the most advanced heart and vascular treatment options available in our new, state-of-the-art heart and vascular hospital in Raleigh and throughout the state. It’s expert care centered around you.At UNC REX we put our whole heart into caring for yours. LEARN MORE ABO UT HEART and VASCULAR CARE at UNC REX, INCLUDING OUR COLLABORATION WITH UNC MEDICAL CENTER at UNCHV.ORG.

Rehab at your Convenience 6am - 8pm Over 50 Therapists

Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy Outpatient and Inpatient 7 Day Therapy Programs

~ Come visit us! ~

www.bcsouthpoint.com • (919) 930-4781 • 6000 Fayetteville Rd., near Southpoint Mall

HANDCR AF T ED NAGA COLLEC T ION

Visit our North Hills Location • 4361 LASSITER AT NORTH HILLS AVENUE #105 also available at Kannon’s of Raleigh, Ashworth’s, and Nowell’s petermillar.com

•

919.571.2727

LEXUS IS

OF RALEIGH

OF DURHAM

MAKE THIS YOUR VIEW MAKE THIS YOUR DOWNTOWN MAKE THIS MODERN LANDMARK YOUR HOME

A N E W M O D E R N C O N D O M I N I U M D E V E L O P M E N T R I S I N G F R O M A H I L LT O P I N T H E WA R E H O U S E D I S T R I C T T H AT W I L L C A P T U R E RALEIGH’S SKYLINE AND TREELINE VIEWS. P R E S A L E S N O W AVA I L A B L E — FA I R W E AT H E R R A L E I G H .C O M @ FA I R W E AT H E R R A L

FEATURES

Volume 6, Issue 8 MAY 2018

Ben McKeown (MCPHATTER); Jillian Clark (PIZZA); Travis Long (KNIVES)

68 60

RALEIGHITES Oberlin Rising by Liza Roberts photographs by Madeline Gray

AT THE TABLE Oakwood Pizza Box by Laura White photographs by Jillian Clark

WALTER PROFILE Shelley McPhatter by Hampton Williams Hofer photographs by Ben McKeown

THROUGH THE LENS Nooks & Crannies photographs by Madeline Gray

GIVERS The Harvard 100 by Jessie Ammons Rumbley

STORY OF A HOUSE Building Character by Ayn-Monique Klahre photographs by Catherine Nguyen ARTIST IN STUDIO Horn & Heel by Iza Wojciechowska photographs by Travis Long

102 DESTINATION WALTER The Lost Colony by Jason Frye

On the cover: One marker of the Oberlin Rising art installation at historic Oberlin Village; photograph by Madeline Gray

10 | WALTER

OUR TOWN The Usual: Dan Willey On Duty: Bridget Harrington Game Plan: Chuck Hobgood Shop Local: The Devilish Egg by Catherine Currin photographs by Madeline Gray, Terry Lillich, Eamon Queeney

QUENCH Raleigh Rum by Catherine Currin photographs by f8 studios

107 REFLECTIONS Book excerpt by Dr. Frederick Burroughs 113 WALTER EVENTS Book Club with Allan Gurganus 130 END NOTE Delightful Debris by Catherine Currin

12 | WALTER

f8 Studios (RUM); Terry Lillich (RAILCAR)

DEPARTMENTS 93

52 IN EVERY ISSUE 14

Letter from the Editor

Contributors

20 Your Feedback 22 The Mosh 24 Raleigh Now 40 Triangle Now 119 The Whirl 128 Scribo

Exquisite craftsmanship & unmatched service with the highest quality materials.

Professional Stone Fabrication & Installation Apex Location 123 North Salem Street 919.363.6990

CAROLINACUSTOMKITCHEN.COM

Raleigh Location 6616 Fleetwood Drive Appointment Only

EDITOR’S LETTER

Beauty, Artistry, Tradition

s this issue’s cover image familiar? If you live or work near Cameron Village, or have taken Oberlin Road to get downtown lately, it’s likely to be. Artist Thomas Sayre recently completed his Oberlin Rising public art installation – ﬁve earthcast markers at the site of Oberlin Village, an historic AfricanAmerican community founded during the Reconstruction era. Photographer Madeline Gray beautifully captured one of the markers reaching skyward; but really, when you visit, they bow gently toward gravesites, part of a new public plaza that includes site-cast outlines of house foundations to commemorate and celebrate the neighborhood and its generations of Raleighites. The installation and the park is an acre of collaborative community spirit, from the prominent concrete sign with handprints of the 10 oldest and 10 youngest Oberlin Village residents, to Durham poet and playwright Howard L. Craft’s lune poems throughout the area. It is a momentous place best understood in person, and worth stopping at next time you drive by (you can also read more on p. 60).

919-489-8362 PERSIANCARPET.COM 5634 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd. Durham, NC Corner I-40 and 15-501

This issue includes a handful of places worth stopping at. Our short photo essay shows a few open-air nooks and cozy crannies downtown (p. 94); and next time you take a hike at William B. Umstead State Park, keep an eye out for art carved into one fallen oak (p. 130). The everburgeoning Person Street corridor has an excellent new pizzeria (p. 86). And we peek inside one especially clever condo in the white brick Cotton Mill building along Capital Boulevard (p. 74), as well as the blacksmith studio of ﬁne-knife-maker Duncan Stephenson of Horn & Heel (p. 80). You can’t stop at those ﬁnal two, but you can learn more about the stories behind the perhaps familiar places. I hope that’s what WALTER’s pages accomplish every issue: keep you up to speed about monthly happenings, of course, but also dig a little deeper. While the cover image might be familiar, its story is likely not – yet.

Jessie Ammons Rumbley Editor

Raleigh’s Life & Soul PUBLISHING

VOLUME VI, ISSUE 8

Editor

Managing Director

MAY 2018

JESSIE AMMONS RUMBLEY

DENISE WALKER

Design Director LAURA PETRIDES WALL

Advertising Account Executives KAIT GORMAN CRISTINA HURLEY JULIE NICKENS

EDITORIAL

Associate Editor CATHERINE CURRIN Community Manager KATHERINE POOLE Contributing Writers JASON FRYE, HAMPTON WILLIAMS HOFER, AYN-MONIQUE KLAHRE, LIZA ROBERTS, LAURA WHITE, IZA WOJCIECHOWSKA Contributing Photographers JILLIAN CLARK, CARA GALATI, MADELINE GRAY, JULI LEONARD, TERRY LILLICH, TRAVIS LONG, BEN MCKEOWN, CATHERINE NGUYEN, EAMON QUEENEY

“I admit it – I love beautiful things! I also adore great, purposeful people with kind, caring hearts. It’s a delight being a Marta’s customer because Marta’s satisﬁes both loves! I spent my life as a nurse and now I volunteer. I ﬁnd a caring purpose in the philosophy of Marta's – how they give back to our community with charitable events and donations. I enjoy everything about this lovely store and its people. Shopping with a caring purpose makes me look good and feel good too! And for that – Marta’s matters.” Beth Barnes, community volunteer and Marta’s customer

Advertising Coordinator ROBIN KENNEDY VP Strategic Sales & Partnerships ANNIE ALEXANDER Advertising Design and Production DAVID BAUCOM DENISE FERGUSON Circulation BILL MCBERKOWITZ Administration CINDY HINKLE

Published 10 times a year by The News & Observer Publishing Co. A McClatchy Company WALTER is available by paid subscriptions for $15 a year in the United States, as well as select rack and retail locations throughout the Triangle. For customer service inquiries, please email us at customerservice@waltermagazine.com or call 919-836-5613. Address all correspondence to: WALTER Magazine, 421 Fayetteville St., Ste. 104 Raleigh, NC 27601 WALTER does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. Please contact editor Jessie Ammons Rumbley at jammons@waltermagazine.com for freelance guidelines. © The News & Observer. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the express written consent of the copyright owner.

Learn more at MartasofRaleigh.com North Hills Raleigh Adjacent to Renaissance Hotel 919-788-4200

2004 Y ONKERS R D ., R ALEIGH , NC 27604 | (919) 754-9754 | G REENFRONT . COM

Creating Inspiring Interiors

CONTRIBUTORS

MAY 2018

TRAVIS LONG / AYN-MONIQUE KLAHRE / W R I TE R The freelance writer and producer covers design, DIY, and lifestyle topics for publications including Better Homes & Gardens, Real Simple, and The New York Times. Originally from Virginia, Klahre spent more than a decade working in New York City as a magazine editor before moving to Raleigh last summer. While interviewing Tucker Idol for this issue’s Story of a House, the two swapped tales of sky-high rents for laughable square-footage. “Idol’s can-do attitude inspired me to get going on an art project that had been on my to-do list for a while. Next up: Learning to use a welder.”

The 15-year veteran photographer for The News & Observer’s photographs and documentary video work have garnered dozens of state, national, and international awards. Long lives in Raleigh with his wife of 20 years and his three schoolaged children. He is an animal lover, bicycle-commuter, runner, home brewer, and licensed drone pilot; in this issue, he photographs Artist in Studio, and returns to the Our Town section, which he has photographed many times.

Photo by Surya

FULL SERVICE INTERIOR DESIGN Draperies and Valances Shutters, Blinds and Shades Wallpapers • Area Rugs • Custom Bedding Furniture and Accessories Kitchen and Bath Design

IZA WOJCIECHOWSKA / W R I TE R

JILLIAN CLARK / P HOTO G R A P HE R

The only decorating source you’ll ever need!

5850 Fayetteville Road Suite 104, Durham, NC. 27713 M-F 9am-5pm • Sat 10am-2pm

919-806-3638 | sewfine2.com

Clark is a portrait and advertising photographer who captured this month’s At the Table. “What hit me about Oakwood Pizza Box was the element of family. Anthony is so family-centered and it shows in his restaurant and his craft. And he cares so much about the integrity of the ingredients. It’s as impressive as it is delicious.”

Wojciechowska grew up in the west Texas desert and now lives in Durham, where she works as a writer and editor. When she’s not working, she goes hiking with her hound, cooks, and translates Polish poetry. She enjoyed meeting a new-to-her artist for this month’s Artist in Studio. “Visiting Duncan’s knife-making studio and getting to see the raw wood and metal that get turned into beautiful knives by the process’s end was fascinating – and not something I’d probably ever come across in my daily life.”

courtesy of contributors (KLAHRE, LONG, CLARK, WOJCIECHOWSKA)

P HOTO G R A PH ER

Our Patients Are Our Main Focus! We stress prevention, restoration and overall health while improving the smiles of those we serve. Our smile services include: porcelain veneers, porcelain crowns, tooth colored onlays and ﬁllings, Zoom! chair side tooth whitening and Invisalign. Our digital ITero scanner replaces the need for messy impressions and provides accurate results with maximum patient comfort. We can restore your smile with implants.

YOUR FEEDBACK

@waltermagazine

Wonderful place! –@trmclean60 (Destination Walter about Penland School of Crafts, April, p. 98) Love this wonderful gallery!! –@dollyreverdesigns (Raleigh Now Spotlight about Little Art Gallery, April, p. 32) I had no idea about this place … we need to go! –@ansjohns (Quench about Flask & Beaker, April, p. 92) Thank you K&W. I grew up with you! –@l.poole (Raleigh Now Spotlight, March, p. 30) Have always loved this house! Fun to read the story behind it! –@cloops (Story of a House, March, p. 66) We should all take a lesson from Bettie! –@lisawelde (On Duty, March, p. 52)

WE WELCOME NEW PATIENTS! Schedule a new patient exam and mention this ad for a complimentary take-home tooth whitening kit or an electric toothbrush kit.

We want to hear from you! @WalterMagazine www.waltermagazine.com

WALTER 421 Fayetteville St., Ste. 104, Raleigh, NC 27601 SUBSCRIPTIONS/CIRCULATION: customerservice@waltermagazine.com

919.859.1330

www.CaryCosmeticDentist.com

D e s i g n i n g a n d B u i l d i n g t h e We l c o m e H o m e s i n c e 1 9 8 4

www.dixonkirbyhomes.com

MOSH The

–Edwin Way Teale

SOLE SOLUTION

Considerations... Get a custom-stamped bauble from Once Upon a Stamp (pictured below)… shop for furniture at The Green Chair Project’s fundraiser sale May 4 and 5...stop by technology and art festival Moogfest May 17 - 20...head to the polls for the midterm rm primaries May 8…

WALTERscope Gemini May 21 - June 20 If you were born between May 21 and June 20, you’re a Gemini twin. Get in touch with your curious side this month and enjoy the parks around town: Dix Park, Prairie Ridge Ecostation, and the Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park are good bets for exploring. Wednesday is your day, and you can stay active for free at North Hills’ Wellness Wednesdays, happening every week through June. The Spring weather is calling you…

Here’s a topic equal parts gross and helpful: Looking for a quick cure for foot odor during spring sports and warming weather? An old home remedy is to boil a few tea bags in hot water, let them cool, and then dip your toes in. Soak for a few minutes for a sensory relief. Need extra odor protection? Swipe some antiperspirant over the soles of your feet before applying shoes.

CINCO DE DERBY There’s a doubleheader with Cinco de Mayo and the 144th Kentucky Derby May 5. You can watch the race with a mint julep at Whiskey Kitchen, or celebrate over a margarita at Centro. We wouldn’t judge you if you try for both – the two downtown watering holes are walking-distance apart.

22 | WALTER

courtesy Once Upon a Stamp (JEWELRY); Ben McKeown (PARK); Adobe Stock (CHAIR, VOTED, FLOWERS, JULEP, MARGARITA)

“The world’s favorite season is the spring. All things seem possible in May.”

THE SUBMARINER THE SUBMARINER The quintessential divers’ watch has embodied the historic ties quintessential between Rolexdivers’ and the underwater world the since 1953. The watch has embodied historic It doesn’t just tell time. It tells history. ties between Rolex and the underwater world since 1953. It doesn’t just tell time. It tells history.

OYSTER PERPETUAL PERPETUAL SUBMARINER OYSTER SUBMARINER DATE DATE

rolex rolex

oyster perpetual and submariner are ® trademarks. oyster perpetual and submariner are ® trademarks.

Raleigh

WALK on the WILD SIDE N.C. Executive Mansion designs a formal garden of native plants American goldﬁnch on purple coneﬂower

24 | WALTER

hen migrating birds stop through Raleigh this spring, they can count a formal Victorian garden at the North Carolina Executive Mansion among their pit stops. Last fall, Audubon

N.C. revamped a traditional garden to incorporate over 1,000 native plants that will beneﬁt pollinators and birds. The plot should be in full bloom this month. “As birds, both resident and migratory, come through Raleigh, these native plants

Jeremy Lange (SIGN); Will Stuart (BIRD); Brian Crawford (FIRST LADY); Ben Skelton (DIAGRAM); Will Stuart (BERRIES)

Spott ligh

MAY

SEE FOR YOURSELF

SEED SAVVY

There are nearly ﬁve acres of ﬂower and vegetable gardens at the Executive Mansion, including the Victorian native plant garden. All month, the state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources hosts free tours of the grounds Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Wednesday garden tours are designed for children and Thursday tours for adults.

will provide a valuable source of food for them,” says Greg Andeck, Audubon N.C.’s director of government relations. “We want to set the birds up for success on to the next destination in their migratory path.” First Lady Kristin Cooper is an avid birdwatcher, which helped inspire this creative solution to a landscape complaint, says Kim Brand, coordinator of Audubon N.C.’s bird-friendly native plants programming. “There was a big privet hedge that had overgrown,” and rather than trim it back, Audubon N.C. replaced the plant and its encompassed beds with native varieties. “This is exactly what we want people to do. We want them to look around, realize that their privet hedge is not providing food or support to birds and wildlife, rip it out, and plant something native.” (A diagram of the Executive Mansion’s beds is at right.) This spring, moss phlox, blueberries, and dwarf crested iris will likely be the ﬁrst to bloom, with many more to come (see sidebar at right). Using plants like this in a formal setting is unique, Brand says. “It’s a different look. But it goes to show that a native bird-friendly garden doesn’t have to be wild and messy looking.”

Varieties found in the Executive Mansion garden that are easy to grow at home: “Our formally landscaped garden beds tend to be completely lacking in native berries,” says Kim Brand, Audubon N.C.’s coordinator of bird-friendly native plants programming. “Spicebush and native viburnum have gorgeous berries” (viburnum is pictured below). She also suggests ﬂowering dogwood; and joe-pye weed if in the summer you’d like “bushes just covered in butterﬂies.”

The native garden is a groundbreaking move for a governor’s mansion: Already, Audubon South Carolina has received a grant from Audubon International to replicate this project (“it’s a bipartisan national effort,” Brand jokes). Andeck says others will hopefully follow. “We’re planting the seed to see where else this idea can pollinate.” You can visit the garden as part of Executive Mansion tours, but the point is that you can do this at home, Andeck says. “Anyone can put a native plant seed in the ground. It doesn’t have to be a designed area, it can be a small container on your back stoop. ” –Jessie Ammons Rumbley

Viburnum nudum berries

MAY 2018 | 25

RALEIGH NOW

LOCAL COLOR Th B The Bestt off N North th C Carolina li 2018 exhibition runs through May 15 at Gallery C. Gallery owner Charlene Newsom has selected an extensive collection of works by important North Carolina artists, including many of the state’s biggest names from the 19th and 20th centuries. Take advantage of the opportunity to see works by Sarah Blakeslee, George Bireline, Joe Cox, Claude Howell, and other homegrown artists in this thoughtfully curated show. See website for gallery hours; free; 540 N. Blount St.; galleryc.net/exhibits

4-5 KNOWS WHEN TO FOLDS THEM Ben Folds is renowned as an eclectic singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and front man of his eponymously named rock band, but did you know that he is also an artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra? Experience him artistically advising May 4 and 5 when the Winston-Salem native brings all of his cred to Meymandi Concert Hall for a two-night engagement with the North Carolina Symphony – sure to be an above the folds performance. 8 p.m.; $38 - $79; 2 E. South St.; ncsymphony.org/events/166/ben-folds

Central Face with Angels and Creatures by Minnie Evans, courtesy Gallery C. (ART); Chuck Liddy (FOLDS)

1-15

Adam Jennings (OUT); courtesy Madolin Farms (TABLE)

MAY

OUT AND ABOUT

TABLE TO FARM

The rainbow flags will be flying high for the eighth annual Out! Raleigh festival, celebrating our LGBT community. The free, inclusive, family-friendly event takes place at Raleigh’s City Plaza. You can spend the day enjoying a vibrant mix of live entertainers, local artists and vendors, and activities for kids. Top it off with festival fare and a cold beverage from the beer garden. The festival, which welcomed over 30,000 visitors last year, raises funds to support the LGBT Center of Raleigh and its 20-plus community programs. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.; free; 400 Fayetteville St.; outraleigh.org

Chef Sean Fowler is serious about putting down roots. The Raleigh native opened his restaurant Mandolin in the Hayes Barton neighborhood where he grew up. Recently, he and his wife Lizzy decided to move to Fowler’s family farm in North Raleigh, where they have begun to supply the restaurant with an ever-growing list of fresh ingredients like asparagus, greens, ginger, and blackberries. And on May 6, the Fowlers invite you to enjoy their locally grown abundance at a Spring Dinner at Mandolin Farm. 7 p.m.; $145 per person; 13520 Durant Road; eventbrite.com keyword: Mandolin Farm dinner

IMAGINE YOUR HOME, TOTALLY ORGANIZED!

40%

OFF

any order over $1500 plus a FREE CLOSET ACCESSORY

with this ad

CUSTOM CLOSETS • GARAGE CABINETS • HOME OFFICES • PANTRIES • LAUNDRIES • HOBBY ROOMS

Call for a free in-home design consultation and estimate 919-850-9030 | closetsbydesign.com Follow us

Licensed and Insured • Locally Owned and Operated

SPOTLIGHT

courtesy Gretchen Quinn

RALEIGH NOW

LOCAL DRAW

Annual neighborhood art walk celebrates 10 years

ou can visit Oakwood and Mordecai neighborhoods for a progressive art show this month. The 10th annual Front Porch Art Walk pops up May 12. Helen Johnson and Lina Sibert, longtime friends and neighbors, founded the event to share local art with their community. One decade later, it’s safe to say they have. Since its inception, the walk has grown from four artists to over 70, their work scattered on porches and drive-

28 | WALTER

ways of Franklin and Blount Streets. Art includes Jefferson Garvey’s handmade birdhouses and Kim Kearney jewelry. Cochair and potter Gretchen Quinn says the help of neighbors, artists, and the Person Street businesses make the event a success and give it a true neighborhood feel. Even if you don’t live down the street, the art walk is a charming weekend afternoon stroll. “The spirit of community is what makes the Front Porch Art Walk so special. When all of these hands come to-

gether it makes for a pretty magical day.” For the past 10 years, the group has raised money for nonproﬁts like Hearts and Hands for Haiti, and Embrace Uganda. This year, raffle proceeds will be donated to the North Carolina Artists Foundation, which promotes children’s art programs. –Catherine Currin 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., rain or shine; free; frontporchartwalk.org

N&O Archives (HEALING); courtesy Camden St. Learning Garden (GARDEN)

MAY

HEALING WATERS Brothers and sisters come on down to the shores of Lake Raleigh at N.C. State’s Centennial Campus and bear witness to the good new-fashioned Holy Ghost Tent Revival. The Asheville based horn-driven folk-rock band plays May 10. Bring a cooler, a picnic (food truck fare will be available as well), and lawn chairs and settle in for this all-ages-welcome evening by the shore. Can we get an amen? 6 p.m.; free admission; corner of Main Campus Drive and Campus Shores Drive; live.arts.ncsu.edu/live-lake-raleigh

12 GARDEN PARTY Great things are growing at the Camden Street Learning Garden besides tender spring vegetables. The Interfaith Food Shuttle and the Camden Street community gardeners invite you to a Spring Garden Party. The celebration kicks oﬀ with a ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil the brand new outdoor learning classroom and the composting center established with the help of CompostNow. Bring the whole family out and tour the garden, dig in the dirt, enjoy a bit to eat, and discover volunteer opportunities to help sow the seeds of good. 1 - 4 p.m.; free; 811 East Davie St.; foodshuttle.org/events

KEEP YOUR HOME IN YOUR FAMILY, AND YOUR FAMILY IN YOUR HOME.

Stepless Entryways Accessible Bathrooms with Curbless Showers Multigenerational Kitchen Design First Floor Master Suites Elevators These features and more for space, accessibility and comfort.

CAPS certiﬁed home builder focused exclusively on designing, renovating and constructing barrier-free, accessible homes.

sadlerconstructionNC.com | 919.678.0313

RALEIGH NOW

SPOTLIGHT

SELF-CARE You can bring your kids along to a Mommy and Me yoga class on Mother’s Day. Hot yoga studio YoBa in North Raleigh turns the heat oﬀ for this hour-long session taught with a playful spirit. May 12; all ages welcome, toddlers and up; $25 for mother and child, $10 for each additional child; yobastudio.com

THIRD DOWN The Holt Brothers Foundation’s touchdown for a cause

“W

e wanted to create a team atmosphere outside of the workplace, and raise money in the process,” says Torry Holt, former N.C. State wide receiver. Holt and his brother, Terrence Holt, run the Holt Brothers Foundation, which works to support children whose parents are currently fighting cancer. On May 19, the foundation’s third annual Bank of America Bowl will fundraise for those support projects during a day of flag football, food and drink, cornhole, and tailgating. The Holt brothers, after successful careers in the NFL, returned home to Raleigh and started the foundation in memory of their mother who passed away from cancer when the two were young. This annual bowl fundraiser has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars each spring. The flag football participants are mostly local corporations, who create a team and bring their families and friends to cheer on the sidelines as well as participate in the day’s other activities – cornhole, a 40-yard dash, and tailgating. Football fans get a taste of fall in the spring, with a charitable spin. “Football means a great deal with us, and we’re glad to be able to give back to the community through the game,” says Torry Holt. –Catherine Currin

30 | WALTER

EYES & EARS Dix Park becomes a vision of neon light and diverse tunes May 11 - 27 when Light the Woods with Sound takes over the oak trees. Each night will feature diﬀerent performers and musical themes, from cinematic symphonies to psychadelic. Music notes will activate 384 neon light tubes strung among the trees. The event is free, but online registration is recommended. dixpark.org

f8 studios

JUST FOR FUN

MAY

12 courtesy Raleigh Rose Garden (ART); John Rottet (TRACTOR)

EN PLEIN SITE Picture this: strolling the grounds of the Raleigh Rose Garden to admire art among the blooms. This is Art in the Garden, the annual arts festival May 12 beneﬁting Raleigh Little Theatre. The rose garden is indeed a lovely backdrop for the art show featuring jury-selected visual artists. Live entertainment and a selection of food truck fare help paint an even lovelier scene. Go out and support the arts. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.; free admission; 2703 Everett Ave.; raleighlittletheatre.org/events/art-in-the-garden-2018

828.261.4776 • 2220 Hwy 70 SE, Hickory, NC 28602 • amishoakandcherry.com

1820 CACKALACKIN’ GOOD Can’t you see the sunshine? Can’t you just feel the moonshine? Get gone to Carolina at the Got to Be NC Festival May 18 - 20 at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds. The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services hosts the free three-day festival celebrating all things N.C.: food, wine, and beer from across the state; farm animals, music, carnival games, and rides. Festival highlights include one of the Southeast’s largest displays of antique farm equipment and tractors as well as the Carolina Bluegrass Battle, a competition for bragging rights open to traditional and contemporary bluegrass bands. See website for festival hours; free admission (some individual events and activities require special admission prices); 1025 Blue Ridge Road; gottobencfestival.com

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND SALE MAY 25-28 Hickory Furniture Mart • South Side • Level 2

RALEIGH NOW

SPOTLIGHT

% , * * % * ! !0 % % *% * & * "% % * % &* * ,% & & & +00 # &* * / - * %/ , & ,% *,% %% %& * %, & % * - && % &# . /& "* $, */ & *& * !0 ( , !+ ! !0 % % * +'(0

...# , * * % #

Joan Marcus

YOUR FACE HERE

HAMILTUNES Don’t throw away your shot

an you spit mad Hamilton ﬂows in the shower? Does your kid play Jefferson to your Hamilton in a minivan Cabinet Battle #1? Well, here’s your shot: Burning Coal Theatre Company is calling all Hamilton fans, or Hamily, to debut their home-honed rapping skills in Hamiltunes, An American Singalong. Hamiltunes is a karaoke presentation of the historymaking musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda. While not officially associated with the Broadway production, Hamilton’s producers have authorized these free sing-along performances that give fans the opportunity to perform the part of a favorite

character onstage before an enthusiastic live crowd. Ready to take your shot? Visit Burning Coal’s website and follow the link to sign up for a date and a character, then invite your Hamily to the show. Seating is limited, so reservations are highly recommended. Burning Coal’s mission is to present “theatre that is experienced– not simply seen” and Hamiltunes certainly –Katherine Poole ﬁts the stage bill. May 11, 12, 17, and 18; 7 p.m.; free ($10 suggested donation); 224 Polk St.; burningcoal.org/hamiltunes-at-burningcoal; for reservations, call 919-834-4001

Theatre In The Park cordially invites you

MAY

directed by Jackson Cooper musical director Diane Petteway

19-21 Ben McKeown (ART); Ron T. Ennis (NEWS)

EXPLOSE YOURSELF TO ART Since 1980, Artsplosure Raleigh Arts Festival has exposed our community to the arts. For three days May 19 - 21, Fayetteville Street transforms into an open-air gallery featuring over 170 visual artists and craft exhibitors. This year’s highlights include: performances of Pittsburgh-based Squonk Opera’s kinetic Cycle Sonic show; live jazz, blues, and alternative music performances; specially commissioned interactive visual art installations; and the Student Art Exhibition showcasing artwork of Wake County middle and high school students. The festival also welcomes little Picassos and their patrons to explore Kidsplosure, a specially designated zone for interactive activities and pint-sized fun. Grab a bite and a beer, stroll the streets, and get explosed. Friday 11 a.m. - 8:30 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. - 9:30 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.; free; Fayetteville St.; artsplosure.org

June 15 - July 1 A wild musical farce with blushing brides, nervous grooms, overbearing moms, unexpected guests and plenty of crazy twists and turns. 107 Pullen Rd., Raleigh 919.831.6058 | TheatreInThePark.com

GOOD NEWS Take a break from the current news cycle to attend The North Carolina Museum of History Foundation’s lecture, Washington – The Last Four Decades, May 22. The evening’s lecturer, Bob Schieffer, is an awardwinning journalist and anchor who has delivered the news for over 40 years on Face the Nation, the CBS Evening News, and 60 Minutes. Schieffer is one of the few journalists to have covered all four of the major Washington national assignments: the White House, U.S. Congress, U.S. Department of State, and the Pentagon. He is the ultimate insider and will offer an allaccess pass to a behind-the-scenes (and camera) examination of the politicians, players, and spin doctors that make the news. Nothing fake here, folks. 7 p.m.; $45 - $85; Fletcher Opera Theater, 2 E. South St.; ncmuseumofhistory.org/schieffer BUY

S U N D A Y & T U E S D A Y ONE ROLL GET ONE 1/2 MURANORTHHILLS.COM

OFF

SPOTLIGHT

courtesy Bike Raleigh

RALEIGH NOW

ROLL DEEP

Raleigh celebrates National Bike Month

pinning your wheels can amount to something this month, as the City of Raleigh celebrates National Bike Month. Bike Raleigh, a collaboration between the city, an advisory commission, and the Office of Transporatation Planning, promotes wheel savvy all year long, from implementing commuter bike lanes to working with local cycle groups to host recreational rides. Efforts double down in May in honor of the annual Bike Month initiative led by the League of American Bicyclists. Here’s your extra excuse to hop on two wheels and cruise the greenways. There are bike-friendly maps at bikeraleigh.org, and a few speciﬁc events are listed at right. –Jessie Ammons Rumbley

34 | WALTER

clockwise: Travis Long; Robert Willett; Travis Long

MAY

CYCLING THROUGH OAKS AND SPOKES FESTIVAL Local bicycling nonproﬁt Oaks and Spokes got its start as a festival. This annual event offers many options for every level of cycle ability and interest: May 4 Bike Repair-o-Q-o-Rama May 5 Marbles Kids Museum bike rodeo May 6 7 murals + 7 stories ride Kidical Mass ride Frankenbike parts swap May 9 BikeRaleigh pep rally Light Up the Night ride May 11 Bike-in movie May 12 4th Annual Raleigh Cat ride May 13 Cyclofemme ride and tea party

BIKE TO SCHOOL DAY

May 9 Raleigh schools are working together to support this nationally celebrated event. Learn more at walkbiketoschool.org

BIKE TO WORK DAY

May 18 Another local iteration of a national event: There’s a handy toolkit of tips, as well as recommended pit stops, on Bike Raleigh’s website.

CAPITAL CITY BIKE RIDE

May 11 The official kick-off to Bike Raleigh’s Bike Month invites the community to join city staff, elected officials, and local cycle leaders for a morning ride through downtown Raleigh. This year’s highlights include Raleigh Union Station and Dix Park. Post-ride, you’ll get a private tour of Union Station. Be sure to register in advance online.

MUD DAY

May 19 Bike to and through Walnut Creek Wet land Center for a few nature-oriented (and dirty) activities.

RALEIGH HISTORY TOUR

May 26 Bike and learn through some of downtown’s historic districts.

RIDE OF SILENCE

May 16 Spread awareness through this ride honoring those who have been injured or killed while biking on public roads.

MAY 2018 | 35

RALEIGH NOW

SPOTLIGHT ACCESS AGENDA OPENING NIGHT GALA May 3, 6 - 8 p.m.; The Laurelbrook Celebrate the 2018 Series of Fortunate Events alongside the artists with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and music.

ACCESS for ALL A series of fortunate events

“D

isability doesn’t have to be seen as unfortunate,” says Arts Access Executive Director Betsy Ludwig. This month, the organization’s anniversary celebration, A Series of Fortunate Events, will prove just that. Beginning May 3, Ludwig says the nonproﬁt’s goal is to foster opportunities for the Raleigh community to engage with artists with disabilities as they perform and showcase their work around downtown. “Often people with disabilities are portrayed in negative lights. And we wanted to highlight all the amazing things that go on in the arts with people with disabilities.” The series of six events will touch on everything from theatre to music to visual art, embracing the performer while fundraising for Arts Access’ cause. “We want to show the community that it’s not difficult to include all types of people in the arts. The arts are a very dynamic and powerful place, and can be especially welcoming to those who are sometimes marginalized and excluded.” Performances are in popular venues including Lincoln Theatre and Theatre in the Park. “We want to make Raleigh’s thriving arts community accessible and welcoming.” Learn more about the events at right. –Catherine Currin

36 | WALTER

courtesy Arts Access

ULTRALIGHT II, FIRST FRIDAY OPENING May 4, 6 - 8 p.m.; United Arts Council The opening of a Glenwood South exhibition showcasing local artists with disabilities

CONCERT May 5, 2 - 6 p.m.; The Lincoln Theatre An afternoon of multiple local band performances FILM SCREENING May 10, 6 - 9 p.m.; Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Alamo will screen a ﬁlm made by, for, and about people with disabilities. KIDS’ ART EXHIBITION May 12, 12 - 3 p.m.; Sertoma Arts Center After the opening of the kids’ exhibition Fantastic Beasts, there will be a street painting workshop. THEATRE SHOWCASE May 16, 12 - 3 p.m.; Theatre in the Park For ticket prices and more information: fortunateevents.org

Matouk Peacock Alley Royal Crown Derby

Simon Pearce Vietri

Jeﬀ Willhelm (MASTER); Susan Pfannmuller (HEROES)

MASTER CLASS

The Pinecone Piedmont Council of Traditional Music invites you to attend the 2018 North Carolina Heritage Awards May 23. The awards ceremony is a celebration of North Carolina masters of traditional arts. Past honorees include Doc Watson, Etta Baker, and Earl Scruggs. This year’s Heritage Award recipients are: Asha Bala, performer of South Indian dance; Glenn and Lula Bolick, potters, musicians, and storytellers; Arvil Freeman, Western North Carolina ﬁddler; Robert “Dick” Knight, soul, R&B, and jazz trumpet player; and Tony Williamson, mandolinist. Come out and celebrate North Carolina’s cultural heritage with an evening of masterful performances. 7:30 p.m.; $23; 2 E. South St.; pinecone.org

William Yeoward

Exclusively at Quintessentials NORTH HILLS 4209 LASSITER MILL RD. RALEIGH, NC (919) 785-0787

We are proud to be a premier retailer

ShopQuintessentials.com

25 HONKY TONK HEROES The red-headed stranger rides into town May 25 and he’s bringing a posse of outlaws with him. Country music icon Willie Nelson headlines the Outlaw Music Festival at Coastal Credit Music Park at Walnut Creek. Sturgill Simpson, Alison Krauss, and Delta Rae join Nelson on stage for some solid juke joint jamming. It will be honky tonk heaven. 5:30 p.m.; $35 - $200+; 3801 Rock Quarry Road; livenation.com/events/763654-may25-2018-outlaw-music-festival

Exquisite Jewelry Collection Exclusively at Charlotte’s Cameron Village, Raleigh | 919-821-9829 North Hills, Raleigh | 919-787-7113 Follow us on Instagram@CharlottesincRaleigh www.CHARLOT TESINC.com

SPOTLIGHT

all photos courtesy Gregg Museum

RALEIGH NOW

LIFE’S WORK

Design Duet celebrates local modern visionaries

orth Carolina’s celebrated art, across mediums, is often the marriage of tradition and innovation, craft and contemporary. At the Gregg Museum of Art & Design, one current exhibition showcases a compendium of work by two pioneers and anchors of this marriage, Robert Keith Black and Jesse Ormond Sanderson, Jr. DESIGN DUET includes pieces by the two acclaimed artists, known for their modern design work – abstract collage paintings, contemporary etched and glazed enamels – as well as furniture, stoneware, and jewelry. Accessory and necessity commingle. “This represents a lifestyle over the years,” Sanderson says. The Triangle’s mid-century cultural landscape was one of

38 | WALTER

innovation: Research Triangle Park was ﬁrst envisioned in the early 1950s, providing opportunities for industries apart from textiles, tobacco, and furniture. Meanwhile, Black studied at the Parsons School of Design in New York City, where he fell in love with the latter, but with contemporary ﬂair – modern design. The Museum of Modern Art exposed him to Poul Kjærholm’s clean lines and Hans Wegner’s peacock chair. By 1958, he’d moved to North Carolina, met his partner, Ormond Sanderson, and they’d moved to a derelict family farm outside of Chapel Hill. While RTP broke ground, Black and Sanderson devoted their creative energies to celebrating and innovating the state’s traditional industries. For inspiration, they took a number of

MEYMANDI CONCERT HALL, RALEIGH

The Kruger Brothers FRI/SAT, MAY 11-12 | 8PM

Grant Llewellyn, conductor

The Kruger Brothers bring the back porch to the concert hall, joining the North Carolina Symphony for a musical fusion of classical stylings and down-home pickin’! Known for the honesty of their songwriting and fresh, innovative sound, the world-famous bluegrass band is ready for an epic jam session with their home-state symphony. Media Partner: WUNC 91.5 – North Carolina Public Radio

FINE PAIRING Ormond Sanderson calls Robert Black’s Shadowcast acrylic and paper collage (previous page) and his own Metamorphosis basse-taille enamel (pictured above) the two “paramount” pieces in the duo’s exhibition at the Gregg Museum of Art & Design. “I think they sum up a lot of what we have done,” says the artist. At left: Robert Black (left) and Ormond Sanderson (right) at home

A Hero’s Life

FRI/SAT, MAY 18-19 | 8PM

Grant Llewellyn, conductor

Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht “Transfigured Night” Strauss: Ein Heldenleben “A Hero’s Life”

design magazines from Europe. “Domus Italian magazine, Mobile Design German magazine, Mobilia, a Danish publication – these were all important titles for us,” Sanderson says. “We were, and are, interested in the modernistic wave because we felt it was a reﬁnement of styles. Less is more.” The couple’s styles are both distinct for many reasons, including the clear respect for North Carolina craftsmanship. Sanderson says modernism and nature share an essence of simplicity. “Robert and I closely associate ourselves with the natural world. That’s where most of our inspiration comes from.” Throughout the ’60s, ’70s, and early ’80s, Black and Sanderson cultivated a community of creatives: they operated a crafts shop stocked with their own wares as well as pottery from Seagrove and textiles made by local weavers in an on-site loom. The shop expanded to become Strawvalley,

a complex of design-minded stores including a high-end boutique, an interior design shop, and an architectural ﬁrm. Ultimately, the two downsized to the rural property outside of the Triangle where they live today, both well into their 80s, and both still working and creating. This show at the Gregg is a “true honor,” Sanderson says, for two Raleigh area natives. It is a continuation of their Strawvalley legacy. “One of the things that has propelled our interest in the arts is the opportunity and the hope to educate the public about crafts in North Carolina.” –Jessie Ammons Rumbley DESIGN DUET—the creative lives of Robert Black and Ormond Sanderson is open until Sept. 9 at the Gregg Museum of Art & Design at N.C. State University; gregg.arts.ncsu.edu

THUR/FRI, JUNE 7-8 | 7:30PM John Jesensky, conductor

Amadeus Live celebrates the multi-Academy Award® winning film Amadeus, which tells the incredible story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Watch the full 1984 motion picture on a vast HD screen accompanied by the North Carolina Symphony and a choir. Please note that the director’s uncut version of this film (rated R) will be screened at this performance. Media Partner: Classic Rock 100.7 WRDU

Tickets selling fast! Buy now! ncsymphony.org 919.733.2750

Triangle

Rob Nation/Farmers’ Collective

Spott ligh

NOURISHMENT

Food-ﬁlled summit fundraises for hunger relief

his month’s ﬁrst-ever Thrive NC summit is a cornucopia of conversation and cuisine, but its abundance is rooted in a staggering local need. In Raleigh alone, 15.5 percent of the population is food insecure, which means lacking a consistent, reliable source of affordable and nutritious food. “This statistic speaks for itself,” says Reagan Pruitt, vice president of community engagement at Blue Cross Blue Shield NC, Thrive’s presenting sponsor. “This is a calling for change.” While there’s a food festival element, Thrive NC is meant to be educational, too. Events kick off May 10 with a daytime

40 | WALTER

MAY

C E L E B R AT I N G

YEARS

Shutterstock

– A N N I V E R S A R Y–

convention for community and government leaders. Topics to be discussed include childhood obesity, access to healthy food, and long-term health in North Carolina, all meant to spark a statewide conversation. “We’re not targeting certain areas of the state. With this initiative, we’re promoting health and wellness across all 100 counties,” she says. The chance to eat for a cause comes the evenings of May 10 and 11: City Market in downtown Raleigh will be filled with over 50 North Carolina chefs serving small plates, plus wine and beer from across the state. Chefs Vivian Howard and Ashley Christensen will offer cooking demonstrations on Thursday and Friday nights, respectively; and other bites will be provided from local restaurants like Centro and Mandolin. All ticket proceeds benefit various N.C. nonprofits working to address issues related to food insecurity. This month’s festival event is the result of an ongoing Thrive campaign that began late last year. Already, the initiative has supported Raleigh’s pay-what-you-can cafe, A Place at the Table, as well as Inter-Faith Food Shuttle’s Victory Garden in Durham. Pruitt says she hopes these are just the beginning of fighting the battle of food insecurity in North Carolina. “We know that communities thrive most when they are healthy and active.” –Catherine Currin

Food and drink festival: May 10 - 11; 6 - 9 p.m.; $30 per night To learn more about the initiative: gothrivenc.com

all month

1-6

GIG THIS

Whirl and twirl to the beat at Gig in the Park, Wilson’s live outdoor music series. Formerly called Downtown Alive, the event has moved to the brand-new Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park, which offers a wide stage, plenty of shade, a ﬂeet of picnic tables, and the festive backdrop of those magical whirligigs. This month’s lineup includes Band of Oz May 2; Nantucket Band May 16; and Mystic Vibrations May 30. The family-friendly shows are free, just bring your dancing shoes and money for food truck fare and a cold beverage or two. Get giggy with it. 6:30 - 9:30 p.m.; free; 301 Goldsboro St., Wilson; historicdowntownwilson.com/gig-in-the-park

DPAC has ordered up the hit Broadway musical Waitress May 1 - 6. Inspired by Adrienne Shelly’s ﬁlm of the same name, this slice of life story follows Jenna, a waitress and talented pie baker, as she breaks her way out of a loveless marriage in a dead-end town. Grammynominee Sara Bareilles serves up the memorable music and lyrics for the show the Chicago Tribune calls “an empowering musical of the highest order.” Here’s a tip: reserve a seat at this table. See website for show times; $103 - $163+; 123 Vivian St., Durham; dpacnc. com/events/detail/waitress-the-musical

A LA MODE

Madeline Gray (GIG); Joan Marcus (WAITRESS)

TRIANGLE NOW

MAY NOSH NEWS CREATIVE DRAFTS If you’re a fan of the local craft beer scene, here are a few suds to sip this month: Fullsteam Brewery celebrates NCMA’s remarkable new exhibit You are Here with four diﬀerent IPA releases. They’ll launch throughout the spring and be available at both the museum and the Fullsteam taproom and kitchen in Durham. North Carolina native Petey Pablo teamed up with Neuse River Brewing Co. for the limited release of Petey’s Pale Ale. The refreshing brew will launch at the brewery’s Cinco de Mayo celebration.

GO TO CO North Hills has added Asian fusion to its dining selection. CO, a regional restaurant with locations in cities like Atlanta, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina, is serving Southeast Asian ﬂavors beneath the AC Hotel. The menu has everything from edamame to ramen to poke bowls, and the daily happy hour appetizer specials are hard to turn down. 101 Park at North Hills St.; eatatco.com; Sun. - Thurs. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Fri. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Artful. Natural. Zenn.

CALAVERA Empanada lovers rejoice: Calavera is reopening, in an even bigger location. The Latin-inspired joint will set up shop on Fayetteville Street, in Tasty 8’s former location. Get ready for double the space, with plenty of churros, tequila, and empanadas. The new location is set to open by the end of the year, and maybe as early as the summer. 121 Fayetteville St.; calaveraempanadas.com

For more than 20 years, Dr. Michael Zenn, one of the country’s foremost experts in plastic and cosmetic surgery, and board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, has shared his artful surgical skills and zen-like bedside manner with patients at UNC & Duke.

Now experience world-class plastic surgery at a new boutique private practice in Brier Creek

7920 ACC BLVD., SUITE 110, RALEIGH | 919.887.9306

ZENNPLASTICSURGERY.COM

SPOTLIGHT

OH, MY!

Creative fundraiser pairs beer with beasts

ver heard of caracals? Binturongs? They are among the 20-plus species of exotic animals at the Conservators Center in Mebane, North Carolina, along with jungle cats, lynxes, lions, and tigers. The Center celebrates them this month at its annual Lions, Tigers, and Beer fundraiser May 4: six local chefs and six local brewers are paired with six animal regions for creative food and drink, all set up just steps away from the furry creatures. “You’re 50 feet from the leopards, cooking really good food,” says Kathy Patterson, a volunteer with the Conservators Center. The event is intimate and its 80 tickets sell out quickly; luckily, the celebration serves as icing on the cake to spread awareness about the center, Patterson says. “Lions, Tigers, and Beers is a really good incentive for people to come see us, but usually once you learn about us you want to visit anyway.” If you miss the chance to sample a bite from Kimbap in Raleigh and a sip from Sanctuary Brewing Company in Hendersonville inspired by Eurasian lynxes – at least this year – you can visit for a tour or a “treat safari” most any weekend. As daylight stretches on longer and longer, Patterson especially recommends twilight tours: “The animals become really talkative at dusk. There are so many sounds in the park.” Sights and sounds aplenty. –Jessie Ammons Rumbley To learn more: conservatorscenter.org

Kevin Robinson (BEER, FENCE); Taylor Hattori (LION)

TRIANGLE NOW

MAY

Opposite page: Beer and animal lovers at last year’s fundraiser; This page, from left: Attendees break from food and drink for tours of the Conservators Center; Calvin the lion and Wic the tiger both call the Center home.

fine gifts custom stationery furnishings interior design

SOUTHCHAPELHILL.COM 107 MEADOWMONT VILLAGE CIRCLE CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA 919.240.5475

5-6 GYRATION NATION

4 FRANC-LY SPEAKING

Let the ﬁst pumping commence – the Carolina Theatre in Durham presents Ani Difranco in concert May 4. The singer, songwriter, poet, multi-instrumentalist, and activist released her 20th studio album last year and her distinct voice remains as strong as her deeply felt convictions. Difranco founded her own record label, Righteous Babe, in 1990 to preserve her creative freedom. Righteous Babe? Pretty much. 8 p.m.; $28 - $59.50; 309 W. Morgan St., Durham; carolinatheatre.org/ events/ani-difranco-0

Shake your shimmy with the League of Extraordinary Bellydancers at Geektastic 4! an epic two-day bellydance workshop and performance event May 5 and 6. The League of Extraordinary Bellydancers is a professional bellydance troupe that performs geek-themed acts. (Think Star Wars meets the dance of the seven veils.) Geektastic is the troupe’s opportunity to share their undulating passion with the community. Open to all fangirls, there are two days of workshops in Durham with titillating titles like: Fantastic Faces and Where to Find Them, Veil Poi for Cosplay Powers, and C-C-C-Combo Breaker. The event culminates with with the Geektastic Stage Show, a series of cheeky and geeky interpretive dances that pay homage to The Lord of the Rings. Stage show 7:30 p.m. Saturday; $17.50 stage show admission; 120 Morris St., Durham; see website for additional workshops and prices; geekbellydancers.com

100 Years of Style and Service

MEN: 435 Daniels St. | 919.336.6902

kannonsclothing.com

WOMEN: 2015 Cameron St. | 919.365.7074

courtesy anidifranco.com (DIFRANCO); courtesy The League of Extraordinary Bellydancers (GYRATION)

TRIANGLE NOW

MAY

Adobe Stock (FENCING); courtesy Kids Obstacle Challenge (OBSTACLES)

ON GUARD Advance, parry, and cross over to Durham for a free community fencing class at the Mid-South Fencers Club May 12. The club oﬀers classes, camps, private, and semi-private lessons in all three Olympic-style weapons: foil, epee, and saber. Appropriate for anyone over the age of 7, this is a basic introduction to the fast-paced and intricate sport of Olympic fencing. Attendees are advised to wear closed-toed shoes and pants that will not split when you lunge. (Touche!) Ready to be thrust into the action? It’s not for the feint of heart. 2 - 3 p.m.; free; 125 N. Gregson St., Durham; midsouthfencersclub.org

OVERCOMING OBSTACLES Adventure awaits! Run, traverse, army crawl, scale, and dodge with the entire family at the Kids Obstacle Challenge May 12. This is the largest touring adventure and obstacle course event in the nation and they are bringing all the challenge and a great deal of mud to Suggs Farm in Holly Springs. The two-mile course will have 12 - 15 obstacles, including rock walls, mud pits, rope swings, and dodge floating cannonballs. The course is open to children ages 5 - 16, and any brave parents, who can run the course for free. For kids with the eye of the tiger, a competitive course run is offered. Children are chip timed and the top three finishers in each age group receive a medal. Get your game face on and get ready for a full day of good, dirty fun. 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.; $52 - $66; 2401 Grigsby Ave., Holly Springs; kidsobstaclechallenge.com/raleigh

" $* $ $ $ $ ' $ $ ) $ '$ $ * $ &+ ! $ $ ( $ $ ( ( $ " $ ' &%& & +"& " !

TRIANGLE NOW

SPOTLIGHT GOOD FINDS

BATTER UP

The ACC Baseball Championship

it bull, win steak. Much more than a slab of beef will be at stake when the ACC Baseball Championship returns to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park May 22 - 27. Don that broken-in ball cap, grab a dog and a Bull Durham brew, and support your men’s college team. The 2018 championship tournament marks the second year under a new format: 12 teams compete in round-robin pool play leading to a four-team, single-elimination bracket to determine league champions. And this year’s pool of players once again promise high-caliber competition. ACC baseball championships regularly feature some of the nation’s highest-ranked teams and players. Every season for the last nine years, the ACC has had at least seven teams earn bids to the NCAA Championship; and leading all conferences in 2017, the ACC boasted 20 All-Americans and 75 players that went on to the MLB draft. No belly-itchers or scatchers here, fans. –Katherine Poole See website to purchase tickets, check team standings, and print out a tournament bracket: theacc.com/sports/2018/3/28/2018-mens-baseball-championshiop

48 | WALTER

FIELD TRIP The drive to Hillsborough may seem shorter May 3 7. Vietri’s home warehouse will slash prices on their tabletop and home decor that day. Pro tips: Arrive early, be prepared to stand in line, and head to the brand’s Facebook page for an even larger discount. 343 Elizabeth Brady Road, Hillsborough; facebook.com/ vietriinc

Ethan Hyman

VINTAGE TREASURES You can now visit one of VOGUE’s favorite vintage shops at its new location on Glenwood Avenue. Raleigh Vintage’s doors are open Thursdays – Saturdays, with a curation of vintage clothing, accessories, and gifts. 18 Glenwood Ave., raleighvintage. com

Chuck Liddy (BIRD); Bruce DeBoer (WALK)

MAY

19-20

BIRD SANCTUARY Moorefields is a picturesque manor house in Orange County. Once the summer home of Alfred Moore, Revolutionary War hero and founder of UNC-Chapel Hill, the 70-acre property now serves as a wildlife refuge. Moorefields is only open to the public for special events, and this month you can join in on a Birding Walk with Helen Kalevas. Kalevas, who is an expert in avian ecology, will lead a hike through the woods and open fields of Moorefield for an introduction to bird identification. The hike is open to all ages – just bring binoculars, appropriate footwear, and the desire to spread your wings. 8 - 10 a.m.; $5 suggested donation; 2201 Moorefields Road, Hillsborough; moorefields.org/events/2018-wild-bird-walk-helen-kalevas

WALK THE LINE Make a jailbreak to The Cary Theater for a special performance of the Live at Folsom Prison concert May 19. The Johnny Folsom 4 is a Johnny Cash tribute band and they recreate on stage the recording of the seminal album, complete with all the banter, chatter, interruptions, and do-overs. If you want to really get into the act, reserve a seat in the ﬁrst three rows of the theater. Each “inmate” ticket comes with a “prison-issue” shirt and directions on how to participate as the original audience members. The show will surely leave you pining for the green, green grass of home. 8 p.m.; $25 - $35; 122 E. Chatham St., Cary; thecarytheater.com/event/ live-at-folsom-prison-concert-saturday

kandbgalleries.com

8411 Glenwood Ave., Ste. 107 Raleigh, NC 27612 919-783-7100

108 E. Chatham St. Cary, NC 27511 919-467-6341

1201-J Raleigh Rd. Chapel Hill, NC 27517 919-929-1590

4209 Lassiter Mill Rd., Ste. 130 Raleigh, NC 27609 919-600-6200

TRIANGLE NOW

25 Raising a pint to an outlaw brewer

visitRaleigh.com has everything locals need to keep company happy with tasty dining ideas and top things to do, like a trip to Sumit Vohra’s Texas-themed Lonerider Brewing Company, one of the country’s best beermakers. Take friends and family on a tour of the area’s 25+ breweries to earn prizes on the Raleigh Beer Trail. Learn more at visitRaleigh.com/family.

KOO KOO FOR COCO AT KOKA Koka Booth Amphitheatre kicks off its popular summertime film series, Movies by Moonlight, with Disney Pixar’s fabuloso smash hit Coco. Load up los niños y los niños at heart and a blanket or chairs for a fiesta. Picnics are welcome (including beer and wine), so stock up on chips, salsa, and guacamole. Gates open at 7 p.m. with lawn games and concessions followed by the screening at dusk. Movies by Moonlight is sponsored by WakeMed Cary Hospital and a portion of ticket sales benefit WakeMed Children’s Hospital, giving this feel good movie, extra feels. ¡Olé! indeed. 8:30 p.m.; $5 general admission, children 12 and under free; 8003 Regency Parkway, Cary; boothamphitheatre.com/event/coco

THE USUAL

Our

“There’s usually some beauty out there that’s only accessible by railcar.” –Dan Willey, North American Railcar Operators Association member

ormer service motorcars became obsolete when railroads advanced. Nowadays, enthusiasts seek these relics as vehicles for excursions, sometimes using them for journeys as long as 10 days. Raleigh native Dan Willey is one such enthusiast, and it’s led him to explore the beauty of North Carolina along the way, he says. When Willey was ﬁrst introduced to the pastime by a friend more than a decade ago, he thought to himself, “If I ever retire I’ll have to revisit this hobby.” He retired from IBM in 2011, revisited the hobby, and four years ago purchased his own motorcar. Willey found his Canadian Woodings railcar, of which he’s the ﬁfth owner, and it weighs over 1,500 pounds. It took some work, but after a few years of TLC the car was up and ready to explore. “A

lot of these cars are at least 35 years old. They were made to last 10 or 15 years. … Many people don’t modernize it. They want it exactly how it was. I’m more about operating the car. I just want the thing to run properly.” He says the hobby has opened his eyes to undiscovered territory across the state. “There’s so many areas that are untouched by humanity, except for the railroad tracks.” As a member of NARCOA, the North American Railcar Operators Association, Willey has a network of other aﬁcionados. Together, they seek out excursion opportunities; outings on small railroads near and far can bring up to 35 railcars. The trips usually consist of a lunch stop, and sometimes an overnight stay. “The hobby seems a little goofy until you get out into the country and experience the beauty.” –Catherine Currin photograph by TERRY LILLICH / CAROLINA MEDIA STAR

52 | WALTER

Hardwoods

Custom Area Rugs

Carpet Styles

All Purpose Laminate

Classic Ceramic Tile Stone & Marble Tile Luxury Vinyl Tile Versatile Sheet Vinyl

4011 Capital Blvd Raleigh NC 919-878-0955 If it goes on your Floors, it’s in our Stores Serving NC for Over 30 Years

3612 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd. Durham NC 919-294-9936

4118 Raeford Road Fayetteville NC 910-484-4835

Next Day Installation with Lifetime Guarantee Free In-home Floor Estimates

USAFLOORINGNC.COM

OUR TOWN

ON DUTY

“Everyone’s ideas are different … Skilled talent is the secret ingredient for Raleigh.” –Bridget Harrington, executive director, Innovate Raleigh

ridget Harrington has travelled the world, but it’s Raleigh that she’s chosen to call home. She is now the executive director at Innovate Raleigh, a nonproﬁt encouraging the city’s entrepreneurial spirit through networking and various other events. “Our mission is to make Raleigh one of the top ﬁve innovation hubs in the United States,” she says. For now, she’s the one-woman show, tapping into resources from her board members, as well as new partnerships with Wake County Economic Development and the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. Among the group’s events are its annual summit of panelists, like chef Cheetie Kumar, with unique breakout sessions about topics from business funding to parking. Future projects are widespread and imaginative, including an in-thehopper urban prototyping workshop. Harrington says events must keep reinventing, in order to connect the creative community and “bring together on and offline.” Innovate Raleigh will also host start-up weekends, including seminars and even the construction of parklets, tiny

urban green spaces. Taking these initiatives from cities like San Francisco, California and Boulder, Colorado, Harrington hopes the myriad plans will bridge many diverse parts of the community, and in the process unearth thinkers throughout the area. “Our goal is to connect you the correct resources within the city,” she says. Harrington first came to North Carolina to attend UNCChapel Hill’s School of Media and Journalism. She then launched and eventually sold her own PR firm in New York City before a stint in San Francisco and, finally, moving to Raleigh to be close to family in the state. Among Innovate Raleigh’s accomplishments are the booming HQ Raleigh startup coworking space downtown, and negotiating a direct flight from Raleigh to San Francisco; Harrington’s well-rounded background (she’s also a certified public accountant and speaks fluent Japanese) has matched the job so far. Even more so, the setting is right. Harrington says Raleigh is unlike any other city, and she loves the large-city growth with the twist of Southern hospitality. “The enthusiastic community is something that’s uniquely Raleigh.” –Catherine Currin photograph by EAMON QUEENEY

54 | WALTER

As the trusted leader in home exterior building solutions, Ply Gem creates products that make homes beautiful. From windows and siding to shingles and shutters, we have something for every style and budget. And we believe everyone deserves a place they love to call home.

Together, we’re making an impact in Raleigh. See the stories, photos and videos at HomeForGoodproject.com

OUR TOWN

GAME PLAN

Our

“I’m a big believer in sports making people better.” –Chuck Hobgood, President, N.C. Amateur Sports

s president of North Carolina Amateur Sports, Chuck Hobgood works constantly to bring communities together through healthy activity. The nonproﬁt facilitates the annual Powerade State Games of North Carolina, a festival of sports for all ages, running the gamut from archery to adult lacrosse. After decades of success, there’s also outreach to smaller statewide communities through Cycle North Carolina, a series of cycling routes throughout the state. Last month, NCAS hosted its coastal ride in and around Washington, North Carolina. With 2,000 participants from around the world, the ride sold out. Hobgood, who has been with NCAS since 1988, says the organization hopes these rides can offer an opportunity for active sightseeing, even to local residents. “It’s not a race, it’s a

ride. It involves all ages, and we usually have participants from 40 different states and various countries. I’ve lived in North Carolina my entire life, and Cycle N.C. is a chance to showcase our state to people from all over the world.” This year’s Powerade State Games are next month, June 13 - 24. With more than 20 athletic face-offs, these games are eligible for North and South Carolina residents. While some require tryouts, many only require registration: There’s a welcoming spirit in the “amateur” category. Hobgood works in Durham, but ﬁnds himself constantly on the go; and he hopes that’s exactly what NCAS provides opportunities for others to do, too. “We get to put events in all types of communities, generating economic impact across the state. We’re creating not only healthier communities, but healthier people in our state.” –Catherine Currin photograph by EAMON QUEENEY

56 | WALTER

Autumn Prelude Special Sept. 4-28 40% off Chetola Accommodations (Sunday-Wednesday only)

This Year...Elevate Your Vacation!

There’s no better place to enjoy an Indian summer or autumn getaway than at Chetola Resort in Blowing Rock. Enjoy a day of hiking, fly fishing, clay shooting, shopping, fine dining, and sightseeing. Then, rejuvenate in our full-service spa, enjoy a memorable dinner at Timberlake’s, and take advantage of our varied accommodations at a special turn-of-the-season discount.

Includes:

Chetola Resort

40% off Chetola Lodge, Bob Timberlake Inn or 1-4 Bedroom Condominiums Breakfast in the Lodge or Inn Chetola Blanket (1 per room)

at blowing rock

Don’t settle for the same old vacation. This year, head to the mountains and enjoy attractions including High Gravity Adventures and Grandfather Mountain, and activities like zip lining, fly fishing, hiking and more.

Stay in a spacious Chetola condominium and enjoy paddle boarding, tennis and weekly bonfires with s’mores. We’re just a short walk from downtown Blowing Rock and within a five-minute drive to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Chetola.com | 800.243.8652 800-243-8652 | Chetola.com

OUR TOWN

SHOP LOCAL

“Most people … want to spend time with whoever they’re coming to class with, and make something in the process.” –Jill Rossi, owner and founder, The Devilish Egg

here’s something for everyone at The Devilish Egg, an approachable makerspace of sorts. Founder Jill Rossi, who has a background in furniture and interior design, decided to open her personal work studio on Fairview Road as a semi-public space about a year-and-a-half ago. Now, there art classes and craft workshops for adults, as well as kids’ summer camps with themes like Slime Time (for ﬁrst - fourth graders) and Media Mania (for ﬁfth - seventh graders). Rossi is the sole instructor for every age, and it’s a role that comes naturally to her, she says: Before she whisked up The Devilish Egg, Rossi taught design at UNC-Greensboro. Rossi says that many people, especially adults, don’t feel creative when they aren’t working in a creative industry. The Devilish Egg is her remedy. “What we want to do is recon-

nect people with the physical world. Most adults haven’t done art since grade school. I wanted to be able to connect that in an accessible way.” A unique alternative to the classic girls’ night out or date night, you can sign up to create anything from a ceramic mug to a seasonally themed bath bomb. Class prices typically range from $35 - $50 per person, and Rossi hopes the wide array of choices and prices gives everyone an opportunity to create. They’re also BYOB, in case you need a bit of liquid courage to get the creative juices ﬂowing. “We’re hoping to create a little bit of magic when people come in for an hour or two. … People who don’t think they are creative can be creative, and be proud of what they’ve made.” –Catherine Currin

photograph by MADELINE GRAY

58 | WALTER

LUXURY is OUR SPECIALTY

Bringi ng

DREAMS to

reality

For over 30 years

Landscape Design Landscape Construction onslandscape.com (919) 384 - 1800 info@onslandscape.com

RALEIGHITES

VISITOR’S NOTE As you stand here or sit and gaze And breathe in the history of this place Know it was born of sacriﬁce and struggle And it was made and is made From lives of people who loved and lived Built and dreamed and do so still Let their spirit lend strength to your own So when you walk away A piece of Oberlin travels with you

60 | WALTER

At Oberlin Village

A Monument

RISES by LIZA ROBERTS photographs by MADELINE GRAY

long a stretch of Oberlin Road, Raleigh’s boomtown growth is plain to see. Condos, restaurants, and office buildings crowd blocks where modest, set-back bungalows once stood. Accountants, digital marketers, and masseuses arrive for work each morning; storefronts offer hot yoga, smoothies, and manicures. But as the street wends from Wade Avenue to Cameron Village, its latest changes point proudly to the neighborhood’s past, not its future. A few historic houses are being restored. An overgrown cemetery has been reclaimed. A new historical overlay designation will now restrict some development, and a road marker has been installed. But nothing is as striking as Oberlin Rising, the new work of public art that now forms a soaring tribute to Oberlin Village, the once-vibrant AfricanAmerican community founded here during Reconstruction. Dedicated last month, Oberlin Rising consists of ﬁve tall earthcast markers that bend gently toward ancestral gravesites. In a newly created plaza open to the public, their troweled surfaces stand as high as 20 feet over low walls that invite pedestrians to sit among daffodils and native grasses. The spires rise above site-cast, curbed outlines of house foundations that evoke families past, and draw attention to the poetry engraved on steel plates on benches and walls that tells the story of this former freedmen’s community established after Emancipation that thrived here from 1873 through the 1970s. (The poetry appears opposite and throughout the following pages.) MAY 2018 | 61

I Here along what was once Old Hillsboro Road Black makers ﬁred the ﬂame That fashioned this place Fifty dollars for a parcel of dream Measured out by the acre Hear the hammer Boards banged into place Bricks slapped with mortar The draymen’s horse Clop, clopping, pulling cart With supplies for these Pioneers of the possible Free men and women Beacons of light A mighty people rising!

II Oberlin! For founder James H. Harris’s alma mater Ohio Home to abolitionists Oberlin! For freedom And tomorrows made from longings Slaves dared not long for But longed for anyway Oberlin! Testament to a people’s will Formed from blood, sweat and spirit Your craftsmen have gone forth Into the Capital City Your educators have built schools Founded Universities Your people have served and soldiered Even with Jim Crow’s hateful grip Clenched tight about them They climbed

James E. Shepard Oberlin’s son founded North Carolina College for Negroes Down in Durham

62 | WALTER

Oberlin Rising is a tribute and memorial to those founding freedmen and the generations that followed; it is the collaborative creation of an artist, a poet, a proud community, and a patron with a mission.

Longtime kinship For years, whenever Smedes York drove past his McDonald-York Building Company headquarters, he’d tell himself that one day he’d do something meaningful with the acre or so of grass between the building and Oberlin Road. A prominent property developer and former Raleigh mayor, York eventually decided he wanted to commemorate its historic, disappearing surroundings. “I’ve always felt a kinship with the Oberlin community,” he says. York grew up and still lives on Craig Street, on the northern edge of Oberlin Village, and his father, J. Willie York, developed Cameron Village shopping center immediately to the southeast. From his second-ﬂoor conference room at McDonald-York, Smedes York can look out at the vestiges of the community he remembers fondly. Joe Holt Jr., who was born here in 1943 and grew up at 1018 Oberlin Road, up the street from where the McDonald-York building now stands, describes the Oberlin Village of his youth and young adulthood as “a unique and very special community; a tranquil place, a place where everybody knew you, where we didn’t lock our doors. It was a neighborhood full of educators and artisans; an environment that valued education, good behavior, proper decorum, church, and family.” Holt became well-known here as a boy in 1956 when he was denied the opportunity to integrate Daniels Middle School. A year later, he was also denied

the opportunity to attend and integrate all-white Broughton High School. Much of the residential neighborhood that provided the foundation for his childhood and that of so many others has given way to rising property values, zoning changes, and the pressures of massive growth. But its community, York says, “needed to have something that’s not going to change. It needed something that’s going to stay.” About a year ago, he decided on a tribute in the form of a work of art. He wanted it to be signiﬁcant. He cites urban planner and architect Daniel Burnham as guiding his thinking: “Make no little plans,” Burnham said in 1907. “They have no magic to stir men’s blood.” “If we’re going to do a sculpture,” York thought, “let’s get the top guy.” He called Thomas Sayre.

Listening well Known around the world for his monumental public art shaped in and of the earth, Sayre says the ﬁrst thing he had to do was to learn more about the neighborhood’s history. Together with York, he met with a group that cared about it and knew it well, including Air Force veteran and St. Augustine’s College graduate Holt; founding member of Friends of Oberlin Village Sabrina Goode; and longtime residents Mable Patterson and periodontist Knox McMillan. “I showed them the site,” Sayre says. “I said, tell me about the neighborhood. And they told me.” They told him about the social commerce made possible by houses with porches, about children growing up bound by proximity and kinship. They told him about hard work and responsibility, about sacriﬁce for education and service, about feelings of pride

MAY 2018 | 63

“As our nation continues to discuss and, at times, convulse over the issue of memorials, quietly there is an unusual memorial being built right here in Raleigh on Oberlin Road. It is a memorial that seems to have brought people together rather than torn them apart. It is a project called Oberlin Rising that has stretched me as an artist and, more importantly, as a human being.” –Thomas Sayre, in an op-ed he wrote in The News & Observer last November

00 || WALTER 64 WALTER

1866 Against the Anvil Brown hands fashioned freedom dreams Into Oberlin Village

Houses of Worship Packed in pews Heads bowed in humble prayer Oberlin spirits climb

Patriots We’ve braved battleﬁelds When America called for us We were there

Rocks at our Windows We survived hate When we were denied justice We fought on

Joe Holt and Gloria Hunter Righteous Raleigh Pioneers Who stared down school segregation Demanding equal rights

and patriotism and safety and ownership. They told him about the neighborhood’s foundations and values forged by ancestors, many of whom had been enslaved. Sayre’s job was somehow to make all of that visual. Right away, he imagined tall, strong, graceful vertical structures that drew the eye in and up and over the road. At ﬁrst, he imagined these as people, possibly people “going somewhere good.” But the idea didn’t gel – not with Sayre, and not with the community members. The story of Oberlin Village was more complicated than a simple march forward, more layered with history, more painful, and also more meaningful. York, for his part, let the community’s voices guide the process. “Smedes indicated he wanted to make sure the community felt good about it,” says Holt. “He was very low-key and didn’t really make any suggestions. I applaud him for that. He was very reserved and just kind of observed. It was very generous.” Months passed. Then a visit Sayre made with his wife Jed to the Oberlin Village cemetery across the street changed the project’s direction. “I saw a little sign,” he recalls. “Don’t pick up any rocks or sticks, because they could be the markers of the unmarked. And I realized that was what (the vertical structures) had to be: markers. I changed the language, and the committee instantly connected.” The community, he realized, wanted its history recorded, its ancestors known. “They want to be marked, and they want to count, and they want to be seen,” Sayre says he realized. “And who doesn’t?” It was this realization, Sayre says, that enabled him to create both a literal monument as well as a serious work of abstract art. He dug deep furrows in the land to ﬁll with steel supports, concrete, and earth, then raised them up to soar above. He MAY 2018 | 65

III Oh Oberlin, Houses of worship abound Built by the God fearing For faith feeds souls As only belief in “home” can As what will be is nourished By what once was As prodigal sons and daughters Will go forth in search For what they already have Taking up residence In elsewheres and other places You’ll grow evermore Rooting in new soil For you are in your children You whisper to them your truths And they listen to your songs

Ellen “Pie” Haywood Helped birth bouncing Brown beautiful babies with loving Strong willed hands

66 | WALTER

built low walls to evoke the houses and porches that formed the community’s backbone. He made space for visitors to pause and contemplate, and guided the creation of a natural landscape that subtly resembles cultivated rows. “Real visual art has to both evoke stories and generate them,” Sayre says. “It has to resist being an avenue for words. In the end, it’s a visual thing. It’s not the illustration of an idea. It has to be an idea.”

Ode to Oberlin The addition of poetry to the project helped to further anchor it. Sayre had worked with Durham-based African-American poet and playwright Howard L. Craft on a previous project, and asked him to consider composing verse to accompany the sculpture and plaza. Like Sayre, Craft met with people in the neighborhood, and listened well. “African-American history is all around us, and most people don’t have a clue about

it,” Craft says. The people he spoke with told him about their warm memories of Oberlin Village, but also “talked about overcoming obstacles, about helping to integrate Raleigh public schools … about the local businesses that existed that no longer exist. They talked about military service, about sacrifice, about taking a road trip when you can’t stop to use the bathroom, but you’re still fighting for a democracy you don’t even have yourself. We talked about what they were able to create, and also the sadness about what is disappearing.” Craft used all of it to craft Ode to Oberlin, a series of lune poems – a kind of American haiku – now engraved at the site (and appearing throughout this story). Longtime resident Holt, for one, says the poems succeed in reflecting the essence of the place. “I really was struck, and I guess somewhat stirred emotionally, when I went through and read what the poems had

captured,” says Holt. “It tells our story. It tells people who we were, how we were, how we came to be, and why we were signiﬁcant.” This monument to that story is meant to last. York and his immediate family, who have funded the project, have also created a trust to preserve it in perpetuity. “It’s been a very exciting process, because it really has involved the Oberlin community,” York says, looking out his office window to a new view of Sayre’s lofty markers. Beneath them, a visitor stoops to read one of Craft’s poems; newly planted daffodils sway; across the street, a Reconstruction-era house being freshly restored by Preservation North Carolina stands proudly by, and some of the thousands of cars that drive by every day swish past. “It’s really signiﬁcant to me,” York says. “I have a lot of pride in the fact that this community is here. I want this community to feel good about it. This is theirs.”

Holt, who says one of the more rewarding results of the project is the friendship he has established with York, believes the community has received the monument in just that fashion. “While it’s painful to know that we’ve lost our community, it is some consolation to know that much of its history has been captured, and that there is a monument there, a park that speaks to who we were in Oberlin, what our history was, and our contributions to Raleigh. We will not be forgotten.” Opposite page: Members of the Oberlin Village community and those who had a hand in creating Oberlin Rising gather together for a portrait at the park. Above, clockwise from top left: Leonard Peebles, George Rochelle, Joseph Poole Jr., and Joseph Holt, all members of the Oberlin Village community, talk with artist Thomas Sayre; landscape designer Katherine Gill and poet Howard Craft; Oberlin Village community members Leonard Peebles, William Turner, and Junious Sorrell; a recent spring day at the park

Oberlin School 1882 Students sat in A wooden one-room school Reading, writing, dreaming

James H. Harris Named this place After Oberlin College in Ohio Home to abolitionists

Porch Talk Brown folks sit People watch and story talk Most summer nights

Mattie Curtis When freedom came Coins saved from side crops Bought fertile soil

John Baker Sr. Defender of peace Quiet streets where children play No locked doors MAY 2018 | 67

WALTER proﬁle

Gaining

MOMENTUM Shelley McPhatter builds her own corporate culture

by HAMPTON WILLIAMS HOFER photographs by BEN MCKEOWN

68 | WALTER

MAY 2018 | 69

W When Shelley McPhatter was 16, her high school math teacher recommended that she never take a math class again. Today, at 46, McPhatter is an engineer and the founder and president of three construction companies, BridgePoint Construction Services, BridgePoint General Contracting, and BridgePoint Civil, whose combined revenue this year is projected at $32 million. She isn’t much for adhering to what other people think she should do. “This whole journey has been about paying attention to the moment when the door opens,” McPhatter says, “And being just scared enough to walk through it.” Since her ﬁrst temp job at Research Triangle Park, McPhatter has moved constantly and carefully up the ladder; she now employs some 80 people across her three companies, with no plans to slow down.

Making strides In the small western Pennsylvania town where McPhatter grew up, “someone might have enclosed their porch, or maybe renovated a bathroom,” she says, but that was about as much construction as she’d seen. Excavators and power grinders certainly weren’t on her radar. McPhatter followed her older sister to college at Florida Institute of Technology; McPhatter’s father insisted both of his daughters study engineering, despite that high school teacher’s caution. While 70 | WALTER

earning a degree in ocean engineering, McPhatter was fascinated by the new condos shooting up around her: “I would find myself driving down the street rubbernecking to look at the cranes.” Construction caught her attention again at her first job working as an administrative assistant to the director of construction and commissioning at Glaxo Wellcome. McPhatter had again followed her sister, who was living in Raleigh, and landed the short-term job at RTP; she was just looking for work, without much care for what it was. But she liked what she saw. McPhatter would schedule 15-minute intervals on her boss’s calendar to talk to him about construction, and within a few months, she was sure it was her intended field. Soon after, she was working as a project engineer in a trailer a few miles away on the construction site of the Environmental Protection Agency’s 1.2 millionsquare-foot campus at RTP. McPhatter would pull on her boots and hard hat just like all the other construction managers, but she admits there weren’t many women around. Once, when she was walking that job site at the EPA campus, the workers pouring the footings kept stopping to watch her. “It was weird for them that there was a woman walking around,” McPhatter says, but she took it with good nature. “My senior project manager nudged me and said, ‘Shelley, if this makes you uncomfortable, I’ll say something to them,’ and I said, ‘Are you kidding? They better stop working when I walk by! That’s rude if they don’t.’” McPhatter is good at taking things in stride. And she likes to keep striding. She worked for three different construction companies before breaking off to found her own. At one early job, when she had worked hard for several months, she spoke to her superiors about a raise, to which one replied that a good way to get a raise is to spend less. “It was the first time I ever thought, Would you have said that to a man?” McPhatter recalls. She knew when to leave certain workplaces, and when to pounce on opportunities at others, because if construction has taught her anything, it is how to make a swift

and sure decision. “I used to get hung up on making decisions,” she says, “And then a supervisor on a job site told me that you can’t get tied in knots over what-ifs, because your project will never get done. Nobody can fault you for making a sound decision with the information you have available. And, at a young age, early in my career, that really kind of set me free.” One such decision was to call her contact at Skanska USA, the ﬁfth-largest construction company in the world, and ask, “Are you going to hire me or not?” They did in 1999, and McPhatter went to work on projects like office buildings in Chapel Hill’s Meadowmont, the Cary Elementary School renovation, and two $90 million projects for Duke University.

‘Keep it moving’ Several years into construction management, she realized that if she was going to work her way to a corner office, she needed to get out of the trailers and over to the other side as a contractor. But she had to put in her time in the trailers first. There was a lot to learn, and by then, McPhatter was living in Wake Forest and had children – three of them, then ages 3 and under. “I’d be the first one standing outside the door of the day care at 7 a.m. waiting, then I’d hightail it to Durham,” McPhatter says, “but in a construction trailer, everyone gets there early.” She would rush in to find colleagues tapping their watches. McPhatter got really good at overseeing her scope of work, managing things like interior details and lab case work, depending on the job. “Nobody would want me to pick up a tool,” McPhatter says, “I won’t even tell workers what tool to use – I just tell them what they need to do and how it needs to look, and I tell them to keep it moving.” In 2007, McPhatter founded BridgePoint Construction Services, her own construction firm that provides owner’s representation for all types of building projects – new construction, campuses and facilities, interior fit-ups. McPhatter wasn’t daunted by the logistics of starting a business: She filed the necessary paperwork with the Secretary of State and

turned to Raleigh design boutique Momentum 18 to come up with the name BridgePoint and a logo. Never one to fuss over details, she rolled with their ideas. And she rolled on through that ﬁrst year, pioneering the company on her own. Then she added another person, and then another sister company, BridgePoint General Contracting, an unlimited licensed general contractor apt to handle challenging commercial renovations and additions, office build-outs, and facility projects. “Her concept of starting her own GC was, in my mind, a no-brainer,” says Michael Goodmon, vice president of real estate for Capitol Broadcasting Company. Goodmon has collaborated with McPhatter on numerous projects, including the American Underground campuses in Durham and Raleigh. “Shelley has always been a tenacious, driven, and committed person.” By 2016, McPhatter had added a third company to her ﬂeet, BridgePoint Civil, which provides earthwork, underground

Shelley McPhatter doesn’t have a five-year plan, because, she says, “If I’d had a five-year plan five years ago, it would’ve been long destroyed, not even close to where I am.”

site utilities (think sewers and water), paving, and site concrete. “The industry itself has no shortage of great builders,” says Goodmon, “but Shelley offers something more: a focus and deep care for what her clients want and for their dollars, that gives her a competitive advantage.” Before long, McPhatter had gained a loyal following. “Shelley is a star,” says Scott Selig, associate vice president of corporate real estate for Duke University, who worked with BridgePoint at the American Tobacco Campus over many years. “BridgePoint excels at customer service and attention to detail.” Evolving balance Nowadays, McPhatter traverses the Triangle in her white BMW X5, from her home in Wake Forest to her office in Durham, on Thursdays to Goldsboro, and to project sites all over the region: Cary, Raleigh, Greenville. She spends a lot of time in the car. “Usually, I call my mom,” she says of how she ﬁlls the commute MAY 2018 | 71

BridgePoint Construction President Shelley McPhatter at the job site for the renovation of the Capitol Broadcasting Company’s headquarters in Raleigh, one of her latest projects.

72 | WALTER

time, but otherwise she relishes the silence, which is welcome after leaving a house of three now-teenaged children, twin daughters Morgan and Sydney, 16, and son Andrew, 13. Wake Forest is a small town, where plenty of people know and admire McPhatter, but her children didn’t realize their mom was cool until one of their teachers referred to McPhatter as a “badass,” she says. Daughter Morgan McPhatter, a sophomore at Wake Forest High School, says her mother’s determination inspires her. “She’ll work well into the night just to get something done, and then she’s up and at it the next day to do it all over again,” says Morgan McPhatter, who hopes to follow in her mother’s footsteps by going to work at BridgePoint one day. “I always worried that I was going to miss out,” McPhatter says of parenting children and companies at the same time. “But in the end, I think I’ve taught them a lot. It’s not always convenient, but I think they’re proud of where I am.” Case in point: The children have BridgePoint stickers on the backs of their iPhones. Her daughter Sydney McPhatter, also a sophomore at Wake Forest High School, wants to be a surgeon, and says that seeing her mother do well in a field that has more men than women has made her believe she can do the same. “I didn’t realize how my mom’s companies had grown until she made the TBJ Fast 50 and the INC 500 list,” Sydney McPhatter says. “That was a pretty big deal.” McPhatter has navigated her share of bumps in the road, personally and professionally, but “I’m a firm believer that life is too short to be angry.” And so, true to form, she keeps pushing forward. “All you have in this business is your name and reputation, which you build from your integrity and your work ethic.” For McPhatter, relationships are everything, and she runs her companies with the notion that people come first. “As a leader, Shelley lives the mission that everything begins and ends with the client, and she fosters this culture throughout her company,” says Chad Parker, managing director and principal at the Raleigh office of the international architecture

“

The industry itself has no shortage of great builders, but Shelley offers something more: a focus and deep care for what her clients want and for their dollars, that gives her a competitive advantage.” –MICHAEL GOODMON, VICE PRESIDENT OF REAL ESTATE FOR CAPITOL BROADCASTING COMPANY

ﬁrm Gensler, who has collaborated with McPhatter to work with clients like Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI), Bayer, and WRAL/CBC. Even McPhatter’s divorced relationship is a good one. In 2013, her ex-husband, who had years of construction experience, had an employer who wanted him to move out of the state. “We were standing outside one day during a kid drop-off and I said, ‘Look, I need a project manager, and you need a job here. Just come work for BridgePoint for six months.’” He did, and when the six months were up, he stayed. BridgePoint is thriving, with plenty of prominent projects, one being the renovation and addition to the Capitol Broadcasting Company headquarters on Western Boulevard. McPhatter and her ﬁancé, Dave White, a software developer at Duke University, plan to get married this August at the Mayton Inn in Cary. It’s a lovely venue, and McPhatter should know – BridgePoint General Contracting constructed it.

The Mayton Inn, a 37,000-squarefoot luxury boutique hotel, is highly energy efficient, like many of BridgePoint’s projects, with features such as solar thermal panels and a 20,000-gallon rainwater cistern. Green projects have been a natural fit for McPhatter’s overall workplace ethos, White says, which is one that demands excellence, but is underscored by his fiancée’s caring nature. “Shelley’s focus on making BridgePoint a great place to work and keeping her clients happy has propelled her to continued success and growth.” Moving forward, McPhatter doesn’t have a five-year plan, because, she says, “If I’d had a five-year plan five years ago, it would’ve been long destroyed, not even close to where I am. Now, I just want our companies to do good work, treating our employees well so that they want to be at BridgePoint. If they’re happy, then the clients are happy – it’s a cycle.” And McPhatter’s employees are happy. Louise Phipps, a senior project manager who describes her five years at BridgePoint as “amazing,” says that BridgePoint has achieved so much in part because “Shelley allows her team to use their management skills in the style that has made them successful leaders.” Jeremy Smith, co-founder of BridgePoint Civil, says it’s all about McPhatter’s outlook, which inspires the whole team. “She has a great attitude, and she doesn’t back down from challenges,” Smith says. McPhatter is remarkable not only as a self-made success, but also as a commanding female in a male-dominated industry. In considering the people around her, she focuses on those who lift others up, who share her ideas of success; when she stops to think about it, she realizes most of the people around her are men. That’s the reality of the construction world. “A fair amount of time I get asked to speak at functions, and people always want to know, What’s it like being a woman at the table?” she says, but McPhatter doesn’t have time for questions like those, because she’s got meetings with architects, and sites to oversee. “Not belonging at the table? It never crossed my mind.” MAY 2018 | 73

STORY of a house

BUILDING

CHARACTER Against a backdrop of raw brick and railroad track, lawyer Tucker Idol crafted himself a funky urban condo by AYN-MONIQUE KLAHRE photographs by CATHERINE NGUYEN

t first glance, you might think you have Tucker Idol figured out: he’s a young guy who works as an attorney and lives downtown to shorten his commute to the firm on Fayetteville Street. But take a look at his apartment, and you’ll see another side: The cool industrial loft is filled with furniture and art he’s made himself, plus thoughtful DIY design details that give the space a unique and decidedly creative feel. Idol lives in The Cotton Mill, a textile processing mill turned condo building across the tracks, literally, from Seaboard Station. The building was converted for residential living in the 1990s, and maintains many original architectural details,

74 | WALTER

MAY 2018 | 75

UNFINISHED PRODUCT The ﬁrst thing Tucker Idol did in his new space? Flipped the color scheme. He painted the walls white and the trim and doors grey, instead of the more-usual grey walls, white trim. Exposed wooden beams and metal covering the bar rough-up the more conventional kitchen backsplash. Above, Frenchdoor-style windows are the wall of Idol's lofted master bedroom. Previous page: The art above the dining table was one of Idol's early experiments in painting. The table he cast himself from concrete – “It weighs a ton!”

including 125-year-old wooden beams, 12-foot-tall windows, and exposed brick walls. These days, the 50-unit building is an established downtown condo with a quirky group of residents and an HOA that, according to Idol, throws a great building-wide party. The Raleigh native returned to his hometown after a ﬁveyear stint in Los Angeles for law school and work, and the appeal of being able to walk to work, restaurants, nightlife, and the gym was undeniable. “The location is equidistant from downtown and Glenwood South, with new development along Peace Street improving the sidewalks and crosswalks to both locations,” says Idol. Under the guidance of his father, Scott Idol, a commercial architect at HagerSmith Design who advocates for simplicity in design, Idol tweaked the space to make it work for himself and his rescue dog, Reggie. “I’m drawn to a mixture of industrial, modern, and mid-century styles,” says Idol, who likes to use unexpected materials and color schemes to create a warmer, modern look. To get it just right, he often makes his own furniture and artwork. These skills came through a mix of natural talent, YouTube, and practicality. 76 | WALTER

RUGGED DETAILS Above: The TV console was one of Tucker Idol’s first DIY pieces. “It’s actually flat-packable, held together with pins. I could only buy materials I could fit into a sedan, so I bought copper pipe and red oak and had Home Depot make all the cuts,” says Idol. He used the coffee table as a desk in his last apartment, but switched out the legs to make it work here. Next to the console is another one of Idol's early experiments in painting: a goofy portrait of a friend. Idol painted it using a credit card as a paintbrush for a deliberately textured, imprecise feel. At left: The tufted leather couch is a favorite spot for dog Reggie to look out the window.

MAY 2018 | 77

“All day I sit behind the computer, so I needed to do something with my hands,” says Idol. “Plus, it’s eye-popping how much modern furniture can cost.” After doing some calculations, Idol realized that it would be cheaper to buy all the materials and tools to make the furniture himself – even if he screwed up the ﬁrst version so badly he had to throw it away and start over. So Idol started making trips to the hardware store, learned his way around a welder, and got to work making this space completely his own. The result: a funky character-rich space with vintage charm and everyday comfort.

ROOM WITH A VIEW Clockwise from above: Tucker Idol added a wall to the upstairs loft to create separate spaces for sleeping and working. Originally an open loft, the French-door-style windows help manage the sound that comes in from the train tracks outside. Idol made the headboard himself, too, one of his few forays into upholstery; A bike repurposed into a tiered table is another Idol custom creation; Enclosing the upstairs area is a 12-foot-tall rolling door that Idol installed. He added the corrugated metal to give the narrow space more interest and texture.

78 | WALTER

HEADSPACE At left: One of Tucker Idol’s favorite areas in the unit is the open oﬃce loft, a light-ﬁlled place to work from home. “Reggie likes to lay at the edge of the loft while I work to watch his friends in the dog park below,” says Idol. The desk is a newly built piece using one of his new favorite techniques, welding. “It’s basically like using a highpowered hot glue gun.” Below left: Idol made the console table along the wall from a rawedge slab and hairpin legs he found on Amazon. Below right: The Cotton Mill building on Capital Boulevard in downtown Raleigh.

MAY 2018 | 79

ARTIST in studio

80 | WALTER

Chefs’ knives become works of art in this Raleigh studio by IZA WOJCIECHOWSKA photographs by TRAVIS LONG

uncan Stephenson knows his way around a knife. He talks bevels, tangs, and angles like it’s his second nature, and he rattles off facts about the molecular alignment in steel like a scientist (though he’s quick to mention that he only has an art degree). He has strong opinions about wood. And though Stephenson, 28, makes knives for a living – forging the steel, hammering blades out on an anvil, carefully designing beautiful handles – he asserts that he’s not “a knife dude”; he doesn’t carry knives on him or revere them as weapons. Rather, his love for knives stems in part from his love for food – and from a sense of community. He runs in a circle of Raleigh chefs, line cooks, and bartenders and realized that he could put his metalworking talents to good use by making useful, high-quality, and custom knives for them, in turn making their jobs easier. “I would like to contribute to that community as much as I can, so if I can get them something that will put food in my belly faster, that’s awesome,” Stephenson says. “If I can do something that I enjoy doing, and I can help them with their lives, then it’s meaningful in another way.” MAY 2018 | 81

Born and raised in Garner, Stephenson started working with metal at East Carolina University, where he earned a bachelor of fine arts in metal design, or what he describes as “the art side of jewelry making.” In college, when a friend of his came back from a gun and knife show with a World War II-style knife made from an old file, Stephenson really liked it and thought he’d go buy one of his own – but the vendor had closed down. “I was super bummed about it, and I came back, and my friend was like, ‘You know you have a degree in metalworking, right?’” That was the push Stephenson needed to experiment with knives on his own. He took a crash course in blacksmithing his senior year of college and completed an independent study in knife making. He turned in three poorly made knives, “and from there, it was a graveyard of terrible knives,” he says. But something resonated with him nonetheless. He set up a forge pit in his backyard with an old anvil, a forging tool meant for hammering and shaping metal, “and just kind of started beating on steel until I figured it out,” he says. “It was a lot of trial and error. A lot of error. Mainly error.” But perseverance, a lot of reading, and hours of YouTube videos allowed him to improve until he was creating the kinds of knives he had envisioned: strong, perfectly proportioned, and useful. After he graduated, he moved back to Raleigh

00 WALTER 82 || WALTER

and in 2014 started his company, Hor n& Heel, with the help of his college frie nd Luke Rayson, who runs the marketi ng and PR side of things. The Horn & Heel studio isn’t much to look at: a dark garage with an anv il and a few stations set up around the per imeter littered with dusty tools. A cutt ing board, one knife, and a sack of pot atoes lie on a table in the middle for occ asional quality control. Stephenson works alone with his dog, Jeb, a faithful compan ion. But it’s fair to say that his trial and error paid off, and from this dark studio now emerge handsome, gleaming produc ts. When it comes to making the blad e, creativity is inevitably limited and the design is regimented, so Stephenson focuses his creative energy on the han dles. “My canvas is an inch by five inch es, so I tend to lean a little bit more on the exotic side of things because you get mor e of an impact in a smaller area,” he says . The knives are finished with sophisticat ed handles made of exotic woods: spal ted tamarind in shades of red and gold and veined with black; cocobolo, sleek and streaky; maple and buckeye burls, swirled in complex, otherworldly patterns. Accent elements like onyx, gold, and turquoise provide the final touche s. Apart from a few knives on display at Quercus Studio in downtown Raleigh , Horn & Heel’s knives – ranging from chef’s knives to field knives to shu ckers –

Josh Hoﬀman (SILO)

Stephenson’s handcrafted knives, as shown below, are made with ﬁne materials like onyx, turquoise, and maple wood.

MAY 2018 | 83

84 | WALTER

Josh Hoﬀman (SILO)

At left: Stephenson’s creative process: He uses an oven heated almost 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, then sharpens the blades by hand before completing each intricate wooden handle.

are sold online only. In keeping with his mission of supplying local chefs, Stephenson also makes his knives to custom order, tailoring his work to an individual chef’s hands, habits, and processes, so the knife feels like an extension of the body. “The most satisfying part is giving someone a knife that they understand quickly,” Stephenson says. “The time between when your muscle memory kicks in and when I handed you that knife – I would like that to be as short as possible.” Andrew Ullom, chef and owner at the brand-new Union Special restaurant group and former executive pastry chef for the Ashley Christensen group, for years used a particular Japanese knife. When that knife ran its course, Ullom asked Stephenson to custom-make him a new knife – and he hasn’t looked back. Stephenson made him an unconventionally heavy blade (which Ullom ﬁnds more comfortable) and tailored the shape to his cutting-board habits. Now, Ullom uses the knife on a daily basis. “That knife stands up to anything I have, and I have a pretty big toolbox of knives,” he says. “It’s also comfortable to use for extended periods of time. During apple season, that thing gets a workout.”

Jake Wood, chef de cuisine at 18 Sea n board, has five custom-made Hor y& Heel knives, which he uses for ever to ry thing from whole-animal butche working with octopus to pulling pin t bones from fish. “[Stephenson] spen and some time in the kitchen with me how watched how I used my knives, even was I gripped my knives. From that, he ly,” able to nail my knives down perfect job Wood says. “There is absolutely no that can’t be done with his knives.” to Stephenson is constantly striving s improve his wares. He incorporate s and feedback from chefs and other user ls. eria likes to experiment with new mat and , He hopes to grow, maybe hire a staff everyexpand his offerings into smaller, day products like pocket knives. sfied But for now he’s still perfectly sati he s, with the process itself. As he talk n-orpulls dark, dirty blades out of a neo and 0˚F ange glowing oven heated to 1,92 A es. grips them between two metal plat In ch. tou minute later, they’re cool to the unbe a week or two, these blades will knives recognizable as shiny, sharp steak dles. han ensconced in stunning wooden on, And Stephenson will be moving forging the next round.

MAY 2018 | 85

86 | WALTER

at the TABLE

Oakwood Pizza Box owner Anthony Guerra, at right, with his daughter, Vivian. The downtown pizza place oﬀers two signature basic pies: cheese, pictured here, and white, plus a select few topping options.

FAMILY and a

FLOOR Oakwood’s instant-classic neighborhood pizza spot by LAURA WHITE photography by JILLIAN CLARK

MAY 2018 | 87

Oakwood Pizza Box is meant to feel nostalgic, says owner Anthony Guerra.

t all started with Anthony Guerra’s family, and a ﬂoor: battered, blackand-white checkered linoleum in an old office building. He passed it every day on his walk down to Crawford and Son, where he was general manager at the time. He had been searching for more than three years for a location in Raleigh where he could open a pizza joint, and he was determined to do it close to his own home, close to his family. He had a daughter on the way, and the burgeoning Person Street corridor felt more small-town than downtown, which was an energy he appreciated. One day, there was a sign in the window; peering through the dirt and grime on the glass, he caught sight of that ﬂoor. A couple of months later, he had the

keys in hand, and Oakwood Pizza Box was officially under construction. Now, not long after opening in September 2017, the proof is in the pie. With a hyper-focused menu – choose between a classic cheese or white pizza, and add your favorite toppings – and simple, playful cocktails, this slice of nostalgia feels like it’s been a neighborhood favorite for ages.

Family foundation No stranger to pizza, Guerra, his father, Rick, and his brother, Louis, opened the much-beloved Bella Mia Coal Fired Pizza in Cary in 2010. At the time, none of the family had direct experience in food service. His father worked in wholesale produce. His brother had a background in economics and was working with a bank. Guerra

was a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill studying history. “We did not have any clue what we were about to do; we just knew that we wanted to do it,” Guerra says. “It was a big advantage to not have that experience. We never saw the limits of what you should be doing in a pizza place.” While gearing up for the launch, Guerra and his family did two years of extensive research, though he jokes that he’s really been doing pizza research his whole life. Italian American, he was born and raised on Long Island, with easy access to some of the best pizza spots in the U.S. His neighborhood pizza joint was Umberto’s, and looking back, he says that shaped everything. Umberto was even making his own cheese. “But that was just, like, neighborhood pizza for us,” he says.

The pizza is good – the pizza is really, really good. But most importantly, at least to Guerra, the pizza hearkens back to his childhood, and he’s sharing it with his family, and with the adopted family of his neighborhood. 88 | WALTER

MAY 2018 | 89

At left: The drink menu is as simple as the pizza. There’s a house red wine, a house white wine, and a couple of signature cocktails. Above: owner Anthony Guerra at the restaurant

His more formal research included a stint working at Kesté under acclaimed pizza-maker Roberto Caporuscio, U.S. President of the Association of Neapolitan Pizzaiuoli. While at Kesté, Guerra learned the traditional Neapolitan style of pizza making: long-fermentation dough fired for 90 seconds in a 900-plus degree oven. He was instantly enthralled. “We have this thing where we fixate (in my family). Pizza is one thing, but there’s everything around it, which is what made that restaurant: our fixations on things,” Guerra says. “A lot of the way that we’re wired is about challenges.” They sold Bella Mia in 2012, moving on to the next round of challenges: His brother wanted to join the military (he’s a Green Beret now), and Guerra was ready to open his own place in Raleigh.

Slice of life For a long time, the plan was to open another wood-fired place. With this in mind, he decided it was time to finally visit Naples, the birthplace of pizza, and mecca of wood-fired pies. That trip 90 | WALTER

changed everything – but not in the way he was expecting. “It helped me out in a really weird way because I was miserable,” Guerra says, “I felt like I didn’t belong.” As an Italian American, he felt like an imposter pizzamaker in Italy. This led him to reconsider his approach to what made “good” pizza. The sentiment compounded after a visit to Pizzeria Beddia in Philadelphia in June 2016. Beddia, which just closed in March (a larger location is slated to open in Fishtown later this year), was a concept revolving around a tiny spot, roughly 800 square feet, cash only, with a gas oven, no phone, no public restrooms, and one guy, John, taking pizza orders, while another guy, Joe Beddia, cooked them. Beddia personally made every single pizza, and he had since day one. They only made 40 a night, and by the end, Beddia was selling out all 40 pizzas as soon as they had opened the doors, with lines forming as early as 2 p.m. Guerra and his wife waited in line for an hour to place an order, and then were told to come back in another hour-and-a-

half. He doubted anything could be worth that wait. Then he had the pizza. And because it was the end of the night and things were winding down, he ended up talking to Joe Beddia himself for a while. As he walked out, he turned to his wife, Brett Guerra: “Something’s different now … At the end of the day, do we really want to eat wood-ﬁred pizza?” For Guerra, that answer is no. He saw his own spot in a new light: He wanted to make pizza he wanted to eat every day. He wanted to make the pizza that had made him, the pizza he had eaten as a child, so he could share it with their child. They had just found out a month prior that they were expecting. “What if we made something as American as me as I possibly could?” Guerra says. “What if I stopped trying to be a Neapolitan version of me and just be myself?” Flash-forward about eight months to that black-and-white linoleum ﬂoor. The sight of it stirred something in Guerra, took him back to his roots, back to Umberto’s, back to diner booths and his grandmother’s mid-century modern

“We have this thing where we ﬁxate (in my family). Pizza is one thing, but there’s everything around it…” kitchen with its formica countertops and walnut wood furnishings and brass accents. The ideas for the place went running wild after that, ﬂowing naturally, he says. Really good neighborhood pizza, American pizza, would be the focus.

‘I’m here to make pizzas’ Oakwood Pizza Box is low-frills, unless you pay attention to the oven. Guerra bought a Montague 1857 Hearth Bake oven, the hottest and heaviest on the market, which cooks at around 650 degrees. He took some of the things he had learned about wood-ﬁred ovens and applied them to this gas oven with custom tweaks, such as additional stone on the ceiling of the oven, and thicker stone than you would ﬁnd in general. He calls it a “tricked-out version” of what you might see everywhere else. The tricks work, because the pizza is

good – the pizza is really, really good. But most importantly, at least to Guerra, the pizza hearkens back to his childhood, and he’s sharing it with his family, and with the adopted family of his neighborhood. As the primary caregiver (Brett Guerra works full-time in software sales), Guerra brought daughter “Viv” to every single meeting prior to opening Oakwood Pizza Box, and she remains a familiar face to regulars. Her toys are in the back, and he just ordered a “scoot car” for her to ride around the restaurant. “Look at this runway!” he says, gesturing to the long hallway running along the diner booths. According to Guerra, before Vivian, his restaurant would have been more ego-driven, but having a child shaped him. “Having a kid now, for me, balances it out. OK, what’s important, and what’s not? What’s important is that I’m here to make pizzas, and people come and enjoy it.”

And they do. Get there early; with only a handful of booths and bar seats, the place fills up quickly, and you’ll likely be vying with the familiar faces of neighbors for a seat. For Guerra, good pizza starts with strong foundations: housemade sauce, long-fermentation dough that’s never refrigerated, quality ingredients. And family is a bit like a good pizza; with a second child on the way now, due in September, that strong foundation is paramount. “I am a father first and I have a pizza place second. If anything ever were to happen where I needed to be with the baby, this place is gone. It’s the baby – babies, now – first. That’s it,” he says. “The rest of this stuff, I love it, it’s personal goals, but I have a responsibility. The childhood that I had let me achieve what I have achieved. If I don’t provide that for Vivian then I let everybody down.” MAY 2018 | 91

QUENCH has a kick to it: Carolina Reaper Rum, named for the spicy regional pepper. Smooth rum infused with the pepper’s spice is a unique way to take your bloody mary or margarita to the next level. This month, they’ve teamed up with Larry’s Coffee for decadent, high-fueled cocktails. Larry’s, based in Raleigh, sells fair trade products, everything from tea to coffee beans to cold brew concentrate. Take the latter and shake it with Raleigh Rum’s sweet dark blend for a frothy, refreshing, and caffeinated mix. You can taste for yourself at your neighborhood ABC store, or you can join in weekly public tours and tastings at the distillery every Saturday at 2 p.m. raleighrumcompany.com

SPIRITED

SIDE GIG Three friends team up to ﬁll Raleigh’s liquor void by CATHERINE CURRIN

hree high school buds decided to barrel up to the Raleigh liquor business. Matt Grossman, John Beneﬁel, and Chris Mendler co-founded Raleigh Rum Company in 2014, on top of families and full-time jobs. It was worth it, they ﬁgured, because local rum used to be hard to come by. Co-founder Matt Grossman says the trio was interested in the craft beer culture, and as a byproduct soon realized that not many craft beverage makers were distill-

ing liquor. “As a whole, North Carolina distilleries are just a small sector of liquor sold in the state.” And so Raleigh Rum was born. Why rum? “It fits our personality. We’re laidback, and wanted a laid-back spirit,” says Grossman. “All of our flavors are unique and bold. Plus it’s made locally.” After acquiring permits and planning, the company launched their first white rum in April 2015. Spiced and sweet dark followed soon after. Their newest bottle

COFFEE CABANA Ingredients: 2 ounces Raleigh Rum Company sweet dark rum 2 ounces Larry’s cold brew concentrate 1 ounce coconut cream ½ ounce simple syrup Combine all ingredients into shaker with ice. Shake well, pour into highball glass, and serve.

photographs by F8 STUDIOS MAY 2018 | 93

THROUGH the LENS

nooks& crannies photographs by MADELINE GRAY

words by JESSIE AMMONS RUMBLEY

BEYOND THE BOOKSHELF (1) Tucked behind a faux bookshelf upstairs in The Architect Bar & Social House, The Green Light only seats about 30 people and features craft cocktails. Bailey Pate, left, and Spencer Nunn, right, students at William Peace University, have a drink there on a rare uncrowded weekday afternoon. (2) Little Free Libraries are a familiar sight across the city, all part of a nationwide program that encourages reading and community building. This outpost in Five Points boasted a classic title in February. (3) Sontina Barnes sits at Raleigh Raw. The mural is by Raleigh native Taylor White, whose work can also be seen locally along the bar wall at Whiskey Kitchen restaurant.

94 | WALTER

ven as downtown Raleigh grows, there are a number of carefully considered spaces meant for lingering. From the enclosed rooftop patio of Gallo Pelón Mezcaleria to Budleigh neighborhood’s shared grassy plot, these places serve as afterhours escapes, second living rooms, and creative workday offices. Cozy, edgy, sophisticated, outdoors – they run the gamut, offering both intimate and urban atmospheres. Sontina Barnes, pictured at left, moved back to the Triangle about a year ago from New York City. She’s now a regular at Raleigh Raw, “because it reminds me of my coffee shop in New York, even the music.” This handful of snapshots celebrates the nooks and crannies of downtown. Some might soon become “your” spot, others a new once-in-a-while destination to add to the list. Regardless, you can settle in and stay awhile.

3 MAY 2018 | 95

4 FRESH AIR (4) Above Centro Mexican restaurant is Gallo Pelón Mezcaleria, which includes a completely enclosed open-air patio. The mural, by Sean Kernick, is inspired by the logo of Espolón tequila. (5) A courtyard behind Sitti and Gravy restaurants offers coveted outdoor seating options for diners, in addition to hosting events. (6) HQ Raleigh recently opened a second coworking location in the Capital Club building, including a top-floor multi-purpose coworking and event space with sweeping downtown views. The Cannon Room is named after Raleigh’s first female mayor Isabella Cannon. (7) Murals still adorn the walls in what used to be the Village Subway below Cameron Village. The former entertainment district, which opened in 1972, housed stores, restaurants, and night clubs. (8) Davis Poole, 10, left, and Joe Poole, 13, right, play with their dog, Jenny, in the informal park tucked behind their house on Cambridge Road. The outdoor area is shared by residents of the Budleigh neighborhood and includes a grass field and small basketball court.

96 | WALTER

7 6

8 MAY 2018 | 97

the

Strategic philanthropy empowers leaders

HARVARD

100 by JESSIE AMMONS RUMBLEY

98 | WALTER

Brian Briggs (CHUCK); Madeline Gray (GROUP)

GIVERS

huck ReCorr has spent almost five decades crunching numbers to maximize outcomes: He leads a team of wealth managers at Bank of America Merrill Lynch who oversee investments for high-net-worth clients. Meanwhile, since 2011, ReCorr has also quietly been investing in Raleigh’s nonprofit community: This month, he will have sent 100 nonprofit leaders and board members to social enterprise courses at Harvard Business School. “The premise is that we need to reward human capital,” ReCorr says. “I can give you $5,000 and it will, say, send 10 kids to camp. Or I can send your executive director to Harvard and they will figure out how to send 50 kids to camp, or 100 kids, or 200 kids. What I’m hoping to emphasize through

CONTINUED EDUCATION At right, from left to right: Oie Osterkamp, Staci Barﬁeld, Jackie Craig, Holly Richard, Lisa Humphreys, Christine Peterson, Dana Lange, Alice Lutz, Matthew Strickland, Cristin DeRonja, and Linda Nunnallee went to Harvard at separate times, but have found in each other a small group to meet with regularly in Raleigh.

this exercise is that human capital is the most important asset we have in the community.” Along the way, these movers and shakers, advocates for diverse causes, have connected over a shared common education. They’ve tapped into each other’s resources and together forged a stronger local nonprofit network. “No other philanthropist has done this,” says Jackie Craig, executive director of The Green Chair Project, which reuses donated home furnishings to benefit those recovering from homelessness or crisis. Craig is a May 2017 graduate of the four-day course. “It’s remarkable. … As executive directors, to be lifted out of our day-to-day and be encouraged and informed at such a high level, is life changing. It really was a game-changer, in my life of leading a nonprofit.”

The matrix ReCorr chose Harvard because it offers social enterprise courses that emphasize strategic thinking. “The big takeaway is: You have to focus on outcomes not outputs. Outputs are things you do, outcomes are the things you finally effect,” he says. In essence, leaders are encouraged to take time out of their daily grind to set concrete mission-driven goals, and then focus on reaching them – for example, a hunger relief organization might aim to feed a certain number of people in a year (a measurable reflection of hunger relief ), rather than, at the end of the year, reflect on pounds of food distributed (to an unknown number of people, from which it’s harder to assess hunger relief ). This thinking resonated with ReCorr as a way to effect sweeping community-wide change. He also chose Harvard because it’s in Massachusetts. “You cannot really

“I’ve said to them, I want to invest in you personally. You’re a great leader and I want you to be a phenomenal leader. That’s a different message.” –Chuck ReCorr effectively engage people by letting them go home at night, where they work,” he says. “You have to change their environment to where they’ll be totally focused on learning.” Rather than start a foundation or organization of his own, this is the way ReCorr wants to give back. He issues ﬁve to 10 couple-thousand-dollar grants, the amount of a four-day course through Harvard Business School’s executive education program, from a donor fund at the Triangle Community Foundation. He does this twice a year, in the spring when a course geared toward executive directors takes place, and in the fall when a course geared toward board leaders takes place. Before each course, as many local alumni as possible gather together with ReCorr for a short program and to meet and mingle and offer advice to those about to go to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Alumni include both on-staff

directors and volunteer board directors from Marbles Kids Museum, SAFEchild, Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, Transitions LifeCare, YMCA, StepUp Ministry, CAM Raleigh, and Band Together, to name a few. Reaching the 100 milestone means he can consider this “experiment,” as ReCorr calls it, a success – there’s value in professionally empowering nonproﬁt leaders. “Early on, I picked a number. 100 is a good round number, and I wanted to see what would happen.” Had it not been working, he would have stopped far sooner than 100, he says; this marks enough momentum to hopefully spark community change. “Let me be clear: this is not about me. If my name never showed up on this it would not bother me one bit whatsoever. … This has to be a community-driven strategy, not an individually driven strategy. If it’s going to have any sustainability, it can’t be Chuck ReCorr.”

MAY 2018 | 99| 115 NOVEMBER 2016

Uplifting leaders So far, many of the local alumni seem to have learned exactly what ReCorr first liked about Harvard’s approach: strategic thinking for larger, mission-driven impact. By now, Harvard Business School counts on a Raleigh contingency in each of the two courses. “They call us out,” Craig of The Green Chair Project says. She says she can confidently speak for a handful of her peers – both actual classmates and others among the Harvard 100 group – about what the four-day course experience was like. Many expect, she says, to learn best practices and network with nonprofits across the country; in reality, they’re taught in the traditional Harvard Business School model, based on critical assessment of case studies, and they’re told the “outcomes over outputs” maxim. “It’s uplifting to be taught at that (high) level,” Craig says. “I realized the importance of applying business skills to what we do. … Because, while we’re serving specific causes, we’re also all running business models, and often ones that rely on donations. That is not to be managed lightly.” Alumni are also considering how to best make local cultural impact, heeding the outcome-focused Harvard approach. One of the first course-takers was

100 | WALTER

ArtSpace President and CEO Mary Poole, who attended the school in May 2012. Now, she can tangibly reflect on how her lessons impacted the organization. “That was a pivotal time for us. We were starting to think about reassessing our mission and vision and impact and relevance in the community. (My time at Harvard) helped jump-start a much bigger movement that is even still happening today.” Since then, the visual arts center and artists’ studio space has significantly renovated its building to be more exhibition and education friendly, reflecting its focus on engaging the community alongside fostering member artists. “My experience strengthened the organization by challenging us to think about the work that we’re doing in the community, the impact that we’re having, and how we measure that.”

Paying it forward Perhaps most importantly, the Harvard-goers feel encouraged to work in what can be a thankless sector. “I realized that the work many of us do here in Raleigh is just as important as what some of my Harvard classmates were doing in Africa,” Craig says. “We each ﬁll such unique gaps in our communities and in our world.”

The biannual gatherings foster this realization and strengthen local resources. “I’ve said to them, I want to invest in you personally. You’re a great leader and I want you to be a phenomenal leader. That’s a different message,” ReCorr says, than other kinds of monetary support. And the value doesn’t end at Harvard; many leaders and board members meet separately in small groups regularly. “Continuing to grow the network of folks that you can reach out to and kick ideas around has been invaluable,” Poole says. “That 2012 experience has continued, and does continue, to feed our work.” While ReCorr may not continue to issue tuition grants now that he’s given 100 (he won’t say either way), he hopes organizations will budget to send their own staff, he says. And he remains focused on his investment: the people behind the projects. He is an always-accessible mentor, quick to help a director re-focus on the end goal and push him or her toward excellence. “Human capital is infinitely more important, immediately, than brickand-mortar programs, because human capital is what makes the rest of it happen. … If we can get organizations to talk to each other and work with each other, we win.” About five years ago, when past board chair at Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina Dana Lange returned from the course, she put together a slideshow of what she learned, ReCorr says, and met with dozens of Triangle nonprofits to share her takeaways. Right now, a group of graduates is working to create a digitally shared Triangle-wide nonprofit calendar, where organizations can cross-reference what gala or fundraiser or event happens when. This latest initiative is evidence of tremendous organization, and buy-in from a variety of key players. Says Craig: “What a unique community this makes us to have this group of equipped leaders.”

Madeline Gray (GROUP)

LONG-TERM THINKING At left: A few local nonproﬁt leaders, all alumni of the Harvard social enterprise courses, met recently to review tenets of their community building leadership framework.

A NEW CHANCE TO RESERVE, A BEAUTIFUL FUTURE. At The Cypress of Raleigh, you own your future. Picture 44 new villa homes on 44 beautifully landscaped acres – truly stunning grounds with a private lake and lots of walking trails. The Cypress of Raleigh is a Life Plan Community full of life, laughter, and good friends. Our lifestyle is geared to yours, right down to onsite healthcare of the highest quality. Consider your new Villa a reward to yourself for a life well lived.

Opportunity knocks, again

n n n n n

44 beautiful, bright new 2-bedroom Villa homes Balcony, and view, included (so are friendly neighbors) Your home, your way – customize your ﬁnishes Phase III residences available in 2020 Ask about availabilities to move sooner

Don’t miss out! Contact us to learn more at cypressofraleigh.com or call 919.518.8918

DESTINATION WALTER History lives vividly through a longtime Outer Banks production

Lost& Found by JASON FRYE

“I

knew I’d be back to direct,” says Ira David Wood III, the esteemed stage and screen actor perhaps best-known, at least around Raleigh, for his 40-plus-year role as Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, which he also directs. On a recent afternoon, however, he’s talking about The Lost Colony, the first and longest-running outdoor drama in the nation. This month, Wood will take his annual leave of the city to return to his coastal post in Manteo, North Carolina – another season directing The Lost Colony. There, he’s building a vivid creative legacy that honors both history and his local theatre roots. Every summer since 1937 – except for a brief hiatus brought on by the threat of German U-boats during World War II – The Lost Colony has presented audiences with the story of the ill-fated Roanoke Colony, an attempt by British explorers to establish a permanent settlement on the Outer Banks. In 1587, 115 colonists took possession of an abandoned military fort on the north end of Roanoke Island, established farms, and began a life here. War with the Spanish kept resupply from reaching the colony, but finally, in 1590, British ships arrived only to find the settlement deserted. There was no trace of the colonists; no bodies, no signs of a battle, just dismantled homes and fortifications and the word CROATOAN carved into a fence post. They were gone, the

102 | WALTER

courtesy The Lost Colony

HISTORIC SITE The Lost Colony production, performed in the same location on the Outer Banks where the historical events of its plot occurred.

MAY 2018 | 103

entire colony disappeared. Did they move to Croatoan Island – now Hatteras – or someplace inland? Did they meet their end at the hands of hostile natives? “They probably wound up in more than one place, but we’ll likely never know,” says Bill Coleman, CEO of the Roanoke Island Historical Association. “Paul Green’s script doesn’t attempt to answer the where or why of the colonists’ departure, instead it shows us the lives they lived here.”

‘Tell their story well’ Here is literally here, from the theatre’s point of view (about 200 miles east of Raleigh). Waterside Theatre overlooks Roanoke Sound at the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, only a couple of hundred yards from where the Lost Colonists disappeared, which means the actors are in character walking the same ground as their historic counterparts. “During my ﬁrst season with The Lost Colony, our director reminded us that

104 | WALTER

we’re performing on sacred ground. I remind my cast of this. Some of the people we portray are buried beneath us and we owe it to their memory to tell their story well,” says Wood. The Lost Colony has evolved since it debuted in 1937. It’s evolved since Wood joined the cast for four summers in the late 1960s. Now it’s evolving under his direction. One of the missions given to Wood when he came on as director was to cut the play. “Paul’s words were sacrosanct when I was in the show,” he says, “but I made surgical cuts, found ways to combine scenes and communicate our story in other ways, and now we’re two hours with an intermission.” Many of those cuts were guided in spirit by playwright Paul Green, a North Carolina native and longtime Triangle resident. He and Wood grew close after Wood’s stint in the play. They’d have dinner together and they’d visit at Green’s Chapel Hill home to talk about the play,

donning baseball gloves and tossing a ball in the backyard while discussing ways to condense, modernize, and develop characters in ways you simply couldn’t in 1937. The script is only one part of the play, though. A way to develop characters and modernize is through costumes and makeup, lights, stunts, sets, and sound; under Wood, these elements have pushed creative boundaries even further. “Our production designer, Billy Ivey Long – a show alumnus – he doesn’t make costumes, he makes clothes. You put them on and you’re there, standing differently, speaking differently, becoming a member of the Elizabethan court or one of the colonists,” Wood says. “McCrae Hardy, our musical director, he’s responding to the sophistication of audiences and using a cinematic approach to music. He’s playing little themes as characters enter and exit the stage; he’s added music under the big battle that builds in tempo and intensity and adds to what the actors are doing.”

courtesy The Lost Colony

Clockwise, from top left: Detail-oriented ﬁnal adjustments to a cast member’s hair and makeup; The character Uppowoc performs a ceremonial dance; Director Ira David Wood III gives notes to the cast. Opposite page: Characters in costume in action; young performers pose for a portrait.

“The Lost Colony has evolved since it debuted in 1937. It’s evolved since Wood joined the cast for four summers in the late 1960s. Now it’s evolving under his direction.” Lighting and sound designers Joshua Allen and Michael Rasbury, respectively, make the winter scenes come alive. Wood says under Allen’s lights, the sand on stage turns to snow, and thanks to Rasbury’s clever building of sound, there’s the whistle of a low winter wind. “It’ll make you shiver,” he says with a laugh, “but all of it serves one purpose: to tap into the audience’s imagination.”

The work of a lifetime The Lost Colony runs six shows a week from May 25 through August 22 in weather that runs from pleasant to buggy to improbably humid and may even include a storm or two. Add to the envi-

ronmental factors a cast of more than 100 members, countless set pieces to strike and reset, hundreds of musical cues, stunts that include someone being lit on ﬁre, and only 19 days of rehearsal, and you see that Wood, his creative crew, and his cast have their work cut out for them. “Every season I’ve told my cast they’re all crazy for being here, facing an impossible task they don’t even know is impossible. But that’s why it works,” says Wood. With Wood at the helm and a swell of energy behind the entire production, The Lost Colony will continue to work, enthralling audiences for another generation, but creative work isn’t just about tonight’s show or next week’s run, it’s

about legacy. Wood hopes that audiences come and enjoy the play, but that they go home curious and transformed, touched by the performances and the production, moved by the spectacle, unable to stop talking about it. He hopes that some kid in the audience leaves having made a silent promise to themselves, a promise not unlike the one he made to himself after his ﬁnal season as a cast member: I’ll play that part one day, direct this play, put my mark on this stage. I’ll be part of The Lost Colony too. “Farmers know something about legacy that us creatives should take to heart,” says Wood. “They know that when you plant crops, you’re taking from the soil, but unless you put something back – renew that earth, make it rich despite your harvest – it dies. Part of my return to The Lost Colony, and part of the reason I have made a life of theatre here rather than Los Angeles or New York, is just that: I want to give something back, enrich the creative soil in North Carolina.”

MAY 2018 | 105

BHHSYSU.com/2182129

BHHSYSU.com/2183066

BHHSYSU.com/2135061

96 Birklands Drive Cary

3009 Granville Drive Raleigh

1801 Chester Road Raleigh

M A RY B I AT H R OW 919 – 602– 8600

A L A N M U R R AY 919 – 601 –7778

JOHN MERRIMAN 919 –271 – 0017

$1,850,000

BHHSYSU.com/2140877

$1,749,900

BHHSYSU.com/2170851

$1,715,000

BHHSYSU.com/2176095

1900 Saint Marys Street Raleigh

2804 Oberry Street Raleigh

42004 Worth Chapel Hill

R O B E RT PA S C H A L 919 – 605 –4962

A L A N M U R R AY 919 – 601 –7778

T H E M CCO R M I C K T E A M 919 –270 –2937

$1,399,000

BHHSYSU.com/2173040

$899,500

BHHSYSU.com/179471

$879,000

BHHSYSU.com/2183881

2711 Cooleemee Drive Raleigh

3209 Parker Falls Drive Raleigh

11020 Brass Kettle Road Raleigh

ANNE SCRUGGS 919 –271 – 0295

JOHN MERRIMAN 919 –271 – 0017

B E T H R A N DA L L 919 – 606 –5001

$875,000

$850,000

$819,000

Cary 919–859–3300 • Cameron Village 919–832–8881 • Chapel Hill 919–929–7100 • Durham 919–383–4663 • North Hills 919–782–6641 ©2018 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently operated subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.® Equal Housing Opportunity.

REFLECTIONS

BOOK EXCERPT

SHARING MY

JOURNEY by DR. FREDERICK BURROUGHS

BUILDING BLOCKS, CHALLENGES & TRIUMPHS My integration of the Rex Hospital staff in 1977 was not to go unchallenged. The mid 1970s welcomed the arrival of a number of young, energetic African American doctors to Raleigh and Wake County. At that time, Rex was located at the corner of Wade Avenue and Saint Mary’s Street. That medical staff had been devoid of African American physicians. The frequency of my acquisition of patients who had come to my practice after being delivered at Rex Hospital prompted the Wilkerson siblings, Drs. Annie Louise, Louis, and Charles, to encourage me to join the Rex medical staff. I had developed a respectable relationship with the Wilkerson physicians once it was revealed to them that their father, Dr. Charles B. Wilkerson, Sr., delivered my wife, Geraldine at home on South Blount Street located in Southeast Raleigh. I applied for staff privileges, and with the Wilkersons as my sponsors, was granted full staff privileges in the Department of Pediatrics.

MAY 20182016 | 107| 115 NOVEMBER

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Frederick Burroughs practiced medicine in Raleigh as a pediatrician for more than 41 years. In 1977, he was the ﬁrst African-American physician to join the medical staﬀ at Rex. Burroughs retired in 2011; and in 2016, he published the book Sharing My Journey to a Career in Medicine in a Transitioning South: How Faith, Family & the American Work Ethic Have Guided Me. The memoir chronicles his childhood and path to medicine, including this excerpted chapter about his career in Raleigh. Burroughs and his wife, Geraldine, live in Knightdale and say they regularly run into former patients around town.

On the occasion of my responding to a call from Dr. Annie Louise to attend an emergency cesarean section, I was stopped by two security officers as I traversed the usual emergency room route taken by physicians entering the hospital. I had been greeted warmly by several Caucasian physicians as I made my way through the emergency room. The two security men asked me where I was going, and when I replied “up to attend a cesarean section,” they demanded that I show them some identification. A nurse overhearing the conversation interceded and assured them that I was indeed a physician. Prior to her intervention, I had told the officers that several of my colleagues had addressed me by my first name, and further, I did not see them stop anyone else demanding identification. When I showed them my pager, they both responded, “That doesn’t mean a thing to us, everybody has one of those.” Leaving them still questioning my identity, I went on about my business up to the operating room. The next day, as I was busy trying to keep to my scheduled appointments seeing patients, my staff told me that the chief executive officer of Rex Hospital

108 | WALTER

was on the phone. When I answered his call, his question was, “Did you have a problem yesterday with security and if so, would you tell me about it?” I repeated the challenge scenario to him. He stated he would investigate further and get back with me. About two hours later, he called back and apologized for how I had been treated and assured me that Rex would not tolerate that type of behavior from its employees. Further, he told me, those two officers had been ﬁred. I was not aware until he told me that several nurses who had witnessed the exchange between the security officers and me had gone to higher authorities at the hospital on my behalf. I had no further such incidents in reference to my physician’s status. I would have audiences of several nurses and ancillary personnel as I attended my patients, particularly non-African American, in the emergency room, at C-sections, or in the nurseries. They were eager to learn my techniques, both procedural and interpersonal. At staff or departmental meetings, I would be the only physician of color in attendance. The newer African American doctors in town would eventually join the Rex staff in their various specialties, but I was the

first doctor of color to have a regular presence there. For me, that accomplishment was another peak that had been climbed and conquered. A year or so after a number of younger African American physicians arrived in Raleigh, I convinced five of the newcomers to enter into a discussion about trying to erect a medical building. All of them embraced the idea, and together we began searching for suitable property in the Southeast Raleigh area. James Colson, DDS, who was already in a building, was invited to join us, and he accepted our invitation. Jerry Wiley, MD, who was finishing his residency in pediatrics, was invited to join the group from the very beginning. Ronald Gaither, MD, and Bertron Haywood MD, both specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, and Leroy Burton, MD, internal medicine rounded out the group of six. At long last, my previous attempt under the B.H.M.W. Corporation seemed to become a more realistic entity. Years earlier, I had presented the idea of erecting a building to Charles Holland, an optometrist, Robert McDowell, a family practice specialist, and George Walker, a dentist. My idea was that we could consolidate our

The News & Observer archives; courtesy of Burroughs family

Dr. Burroughs introduces himself to a young patient at The Growing Child pediatrics in Knightdale in 2003.

practices into one location, preferably in Southeast Raleigh. From those discussions, we formed a corporation that we named B.H.M.W. We were successful in purchasing properties in the vicinity of my office on Person Street. For various and sundry reasons, our efforts to formulate building plans ﬁzzled, and each of the other three moved into freestanding offices. The corporation continued in existence until the deaths of Holland, McDowell, and Walker. Although that peak was not attained, the lessons I learned trying to do so would be invaluable. We were four professionals, and though not able to realize our plan to purchase or build a medical building together, remained dear friends through all the trials and tribulations of trying to realize that goal. We remained close friends throughout various life stages with our families. One afternoon, when ﬁve of the six of us—Burroughs, Colson, Wiley, Haywood, and Burton—were busy at our individual offices, we each received an urgent call from the sixth of us, the equally busy Dr. Ronald Gaither. Somehow, Ron had found out about a plot of land in the shadow of Wake Medical Center

through hoops to bring our plans to fruition. One of the first questions that arose was what should we name the facility? I volunteered the name Sunnybrook Multi-Specialty Medical Center. With little discussion, the name was welcomed and accepted by the group. We began having frequent meetings with our chosen law firm to establish articles of incorporation, and later with financial institutions to seek financing of our project. After completing the legal and financial details, we met with several architects before finally selecting one. We would not accept excuses from those of us who claimed we were not able to meet. At times, it became necessary for us to use specific terms to remind the one who claimed he had no time to meet that he needed to get there as soon as possible. We held fast to the notion that, although we were very close friends, we had embarked upon a major project as business partners. Therefore, the business relationship would always be paramount as we moved through the process of erecting the building that would house our medical practices. There were skeptics in the African American community

The newer African American doctors in town would eventually join the Rex staff in their various specialties, but I was the first doctor of color to have a regular presence there. For me, that accomplishment was another peak that had been climbed and conquered. that was listed as foreclosure. For us to have first access to the land, we needed, as a group, to come up with $10,000 in less than two hours. We extended our confidence to Ron by writing our checks, and he navigated to each of our offices to retrieve them so he could make a deposit to hold the land. Several of us would view the lot later that day, and we were thrilled about its location and potential. We held a formal meeting that evening to form the partnership officially. Thus began the laborious task of jumping

who, when hearing of our plans, said they didn’t think six black guys could stick together to do what we were planning; they would believe it when they saw it. We were bent on making those skeptics believers. We began meeting as a group with the chosen architects once the deed to the land was in our possession. As we forged deeper into the plans, each of us would have individual meetings with them to discuss how we wanted our offices designed to accommodate our individual

Above, from top to bottom: Dr. Burroughs original family home in Burlington, N.J.; Dr. Burroughs and Geraldine on their wedding day; An image from Dr. Burroughs’s time in the U.S. Army, before he became a physician.

MAY 2018 | 109

specialties and the square footage desired. We decided to include a charge per square foot for each office as a percentage of the total mortgage payment. After negotiating with several financial institutions, we finally accepted the offering of one that would handle financing of the building process and subsequent financing once the building was complete. To our chagrin, we were required to make a deposit of ten percent of the total cost of the building and finance the remainder. Our challenge was to produce approximately $60,000, to be paid in equal amounts by each partner, to secure the loan. We met the challenge successfully, and after several months of intricate planning, held a groundbreaking ceremony on March 5, 1977 that was witnessed by many interested community guests. Dr. Prezell Robinson, President of Saint Augustine’s College, was the guest speaker for the occasion. All the parties involved with the building construction were introduced during the ceremony. They were as follows: VIC Realty Company; Thigpen, Blue and Stephens, Attorneys at Law; J. C. Buie, Inc., Architect; Mauney Design Associates; Wachovia Mortgage Company; Davidson and Jones Construction

110 | WALTER

Company; North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company; and the Old North State Medical Society. We moved into the completed structure on October 10, 1977. On that day, I reached the summit of another peak: opening an office in a building I owned along with several other physicians. We had granted ourselves a special level of independence, along with all the responsibilities that such independence entailed. More than 2,000 people attended a formal open house for the community on March 19, 1978. Our achievement would be recognized locally, statewide, and the groundbreaking ceremony was reported in the May 19, 1977 issue of Jet Magazine. Interestingly, at the open house, one of our Caucasian colleagues asked me about our financing arrangements. When I told him that we were required to pay ten percent of our building cost to secure the loan, he confided in me that he and his partners were in the process of constructing a building in another part of the city and had been granted one hundred percent financing. I surmised that our dollars weren’t worth as much as theirs or that another formula was used to compute our loan. In our deliberations with the building contractor, I was

adamant that any and all subcontracts would stipulate a very visible presence of active minority contractors. Our efforts to erect the Sunnybrook Multi-Specialty Medical Center were recognized on February 24, 1978 when the Beta Lambda Sigma Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. inducted the partnership into its Hall of Fame as new pioneers in the medical domain. We would now become employers of a signiﬁcant number of persons. My office staff increased from three to as many as six at various times. As their employer, I required the highest standards of courtesy and professionalism, and they all adhered to my requirements. In 2003, after months of deliberations with the Wake County Commissioners, the partnership would successfully sell the Sunnybrook Multi-Specialty Medical Center building to Wake County. That negotiation would signal the end of twenty-six years of dedicated service to the community in that facility by its original builders. From “Sharing My Journey to a Career in Medicine in a Transition South.” Copyright © 2016 by Frederick D. Burroughs, MD. Used by permission of the author; drfredburroughs.com.

courtesy of Burroughs family

Above, left to right: Geraldine and Dr. Frederick Burroughs with their daughter, ter Angela, Angela last month in Raleigh; the three at the N.C. Executive Mansion last October, when Dr. Burroughs was honored as part of The Heritage Calendar 2018.

W I N D O W

D O O R

R E P L A C E M E N T

25%

The perfect combination of classic beauty and energy-saving technologies.

OFF Your Entire Window and Door Project Plus

No Payments No Interest No

$$ Down

Renewal by Andersen windows can match the look of your home perfectly or they can give it a whole new look. It’s up to you! Choose from 47 color combinations including 3 real wood options. Look forward to reduced energy usage and lower utility bills plus 95% UV ray protection for your photographs, furniture and carpet. Call today and make your house the cool, comfortable place you’ll love to call home.

FOR 12 FULL MONTHS*

833-655-6215 BeautifulWindowsBeautifulHomes.com

*Offer expires 5/31/2018. Call for details.

Call today for your FREE In-Home Consultation.

NOW OPEN!

Rents start at $1,250

Overture Crabtree is Raleigh’s only 55+ Active Adult Apartment Home Community!

Join Us for a chauffeured “Tour of Homes” Friday, May 11th, 10 am to 2 pm

Lake Boone

Overture Crabtree 4408 Marriott Drive Raleigh, NC 27612 www.LiveOverture.com

Capital Oaks 6498 Ray Road Raleigh, NC 27613 www.RLCommunities.com

Independence Village 3113 Charles B Root Wynd Raleigh, NC 27612 www.CapitalSenior.com

Waltonwood Lake Boone 3550 Horton Street Raleigh, NC 27607 www.Waltonwood.com

Creedmoor Rd.

You can catch the bus at any of the four participating communities; buses leave every 30 minutes on the half hour. B

Refreshments will be offered at every location. W Millbrook Rd.

Duraleigh Rd.

en wo o

A dA ve .

440

Visit all four locations during the Tour and enter to win a Grand Prize Rafﬂe worth $950

RSVP TODAY 984.232.0562 tourof55plushomes@gmail.com

Lk. Boone Trl.

855.237.4029

OvertureCrabtree.com

WALTER events

A STORIED TIME with Allan Gurganus

ALTER readers gathered at Whitaker & Atlantic March 25 for an afternoon of inspiration and humor with North Carolina writer Allan Gurganus. The Rocky Mount native is a New York Times bestselling author, most notably for the novel Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All. His essays and stories have won the National Magazine Prize and been honored in Best American Stories; and his next novel will publish next year.

photographs by JULI LEONARD

MAY 2018 | 113

Over arugula-endive salad and prosciutto-and-steak tartines, Gurganus engaged the audience with stories and wisdom from his experiences – as a North Carolinian as well as an esteemed writer. Most of his writing is set in the ﬁctional city of Falls, North Carolina, which Gurganus noted shares traits and elements with many towns in his home state. “Some say you can’t go home again, but I say you can’t get far away from it.” He spoke of his Rocky Mount upbringing with high regard, from his public education, which he credits with preparing him for the Ivy League, to the smalltown Southern church culture, which he credits as inspiration for many of his novel topics. Gurganus originally studied painting in college before ultimately settling on creative writing. He lent sage advice to aspiring writers: Unplug, even in this day

114 | WALTER

and age, and sit down to write. Period. “Give yourself away to the luxury of imagination. … Reading and writing are like inhaling and exhaling.” Following dessert, guests received the real treat: an exclusive reading from Gurganus’s in-progress novel, The Erotic History of a Country Baptist Church, set to publish in 2019. The novel encompasses centuries in the life of an imaginary small-town church, taking a close look at congregation dynamics, its relationship with the larger town community, and well-meaning piousness. “Everybody who writes ﬁction is writing about ethics. … I want to explore how we can be enlarged by something while understanding how pathetic it can be at the same time.” Gurganus said he’s worked on this book for decades, and that it might be his “best yet.” The audience, rapt (and laugh-

Above, from left to right: Allan Gurganus with presenting sponsors Kim Millsaps and Chuck Millsaps of Great Outdoor Provision Company.

What Does YOUR Gear Do? As a member of 1% for the Planet, we certify that 1% of our Patagonia sales goes to land conservation organizations like Mountains-to-Sea-Trail. Learn more at onepercentfortheplanet.org.

EQUIPPING LIFE & ADVENTURE Cameron Village, Raleigh • Eastgate Crossing, Chapel Hill GreatOutdoorProvision.com

“Reading and writing are like inhaling and exhaling.” –Allan Gurganus

From top: Allan Gurganus and WALTER editor Jessie Rumbley discuss the author’s work during brunch; Gurganus signs copies of three of his titles; guests during the program

116 | WALTER

ing for much of the time), chimed in with questions at the end, and then queued to purchase books and have beloved copies signed by the author. Many lingered to chat long after the event concluded, having known Gurganus for years or wanting to share a connection to his work. “The luckiest thing in the world is to to feel lucky,” the author said. The event was made possible by presenting sponsor Great Outdoor Provision Company. Green Front Interiors & Rugs provided the handsome stage furniture, Attended Events and Themeworks brought it all to life, Wine Authorities poured bubbly, and Quail Ridge Books provided Gurganus titles for sale.

years Trinity Partners is proudly celebrating 20 years of service in the Carolinas and our people are the well-known secret to our success. Motivated by our unrivaled market knowledge, entrepreneurial approach, and competitive spirit, we get the job done.

Book Club with Celia Rivenbark THURSDAY, JUNE 21 THE MATTHEWS HOUSE 317 W. Chatham St., Cary You’re invited to a delightfully irreverent evening of cocktails, cuisine, and candor about being a modern Southern woman. For tickets and additional information: waltermagazine.com/upcomingevents.

C O M M E R C I A L R E A L E S TAT E S E R V I C E S T R I N I T Y- PA R T N E R S . C O M | 9 1 9 . 6 7 4 . 3 6 9 0

THE UMSTEAD.COM | CARY, NC | 866.877.4141

Kate Pope

The

12 Roses in support of the Frankie Lemmon Foundation

The Whirl is WALTER’s roundup of local happenings. From store openings to big galas, fundraisers, intimate gatherings, and everything in between, The Whirl has got it covered.

PARTIES 120 12 Roses 122 Gregg Museum artist reception 123 Habitat for Humanity Blueprint Breakfast 124 SAFEchild 25th Anniversary gala 125 Kendra Scott candle launch party

Submissions for upcoming issues are accepted at WALTER’s website: waltermagazine.com/submit-photos

125 Coley Forest Garden Club 60th birthday celebration 126 North Carolina Museum of History’s Spring Frolic 128 Susan Hecht and Stephen Moore at ArtSource

MAY 2018 | 119

the WHIRL

Ben Townsend, Eliza Kraft Olander

2018 EVENTS May 6 WINi Gathering and empowering women across generations at The Umstead Hotel & Spa

12 ROSES 12 Roses is a Frankie Lemmon Foundation fundraiser at the home of Eliza Kraft Olander and Brian McHenry featuring ﬁve incredible female winemakers, including Pam Starr, ﬁve premier chefs, including Ashley Christensen and two renown female sommeliers, including Inez Ribustello. It was an incredible evening of food, wine, and wonderful stories from Frankie Lemmon School families. Kate Pope

June 21 WALTER’S Book Club with Celia Rivenbark A delightfully irreverant evening of cocktails, cuisine, & candor at The Matthews House

September 7 WINnovation Fourth annual celebration of women and innovation at The Umstead Hotel & Spa

October Tales from the Wild A spirited evening of good-natured sport, hearty food, & beverages outdoors

October 18 Art Fare

Inez Ribustello, Liz Cooper

3 art exhibits inspire 3 standout restaurants to create a 3-course dinner at CAM Raleigh

November 3 A Day with Vivian Howard Bring your appetite for this day in Kinston with the acclaimed chef and restaurateur

November 28 Celebrate the Season The fourth annual exclusive holiday shopping event at The Merrimon-Wynne House

For more information, please visit waltermagazine.com/events

Kellie Falk, Jackie Locklear

Lori Moscato, Pam Starr

Mike Nichols, Peter Grossi, Jane Trinh

L CK unc ET h & S O In N spi SA ra LE tio NO n W

P R ESENTED BY

S U P P O RT E D B Y

Celebrate women across generations at this afternoon of empowerment and community. Inspired by WINnovation, local role models will share their personal journeys – successes, challenges, inspirations, and lessons – to encourage women of every age. This is women inspiring women.

B R EA KOUT SPON SOR

May 6, 12 PM The Umstead Hotel & Spa For tickets and information, please visit waltermagazine.com/ upcomingevents

Breakout Session CHRISTMAS ABBOTT

LARA O’BRIEN MUÑOZ

Professional Athlete Principal Dancer, Carolina Ballet Owner, Tutu School

MOLLY PAUL

KAITLIN RYAN

Chancellor’s Science Founder of Peppertrain Jewelry Scholar

Youth Environmentalist

LOTTA SJOELIN Founder of A Lotta Love

Following the program, our hour-long social session, led by The Social Institute, will explore the dos of social media, not just the dont’s. Learn how to #WinAtSocial during this interactive hour.

the WHIRL

GREGG MUSEUM ARTIST RECEPTION: FIRE AND HAMMER Metalsmith/furniture designer Vivian Beer and blacksmith Elizabeth Brim participated in a three-day residency at the Gregg Museum of Art & Design, in conjunction with ShopSpace studio. Their time included a lecture at the museum, hands-on working hours at the studio, and a reception for Gregg Museum members at ShopSpace March 23. This provided many opportunities for visitors to interact with the artists, learn about their processes, and watch them create an original, collaborative piece to be auctioned at the 33rd annual beneﬁt auction at the Penland School of Crafts.

Vivian Beer, Elizabeth Brim

Esther Hall, Pat Hall, Laura Brody

Dan Ellison, Kelly McCall Branson, Bruce Branson

Vivian Beer, David Brody

WITH LIVE MUSIC FEATURING THE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA OF THE TRIANGLE

MAY 17-20, 2018 Raleigh Memorial Auditorium CarolinaBallet.com | 919-719-0900 Ticketmaster.com 800-982-2787

MUSIC PERFORMED BY

WALTER Magazine - May 2018

Articles inside

WALTER EVENTS

The Whirl

REFLECTIONS

DESTINATION WALTER

The Harvard

GIVERS

RALEIGHITES

ARTIST IN STUDIO

THROUGH THE LENS

WALTER PROFILE

Contributors

OUR TOWN

STORY OF A HOUSE

QUENCH