Volume 5 • Issue 2 OCTOBER 2009
We’re Off...
Beech Mountain’s Yellow Brick Road
Old Buildings Rock New Book Preserves Architectural History
C
Welcome to the (New) Rock w Boone Chamber Turns 60 w When Cabbage Was King High Country Magazine
Februar y / March 2007
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High Country Magazine
October 2009
Drinks a† 5,000 feet... Refreshing. Uncrowded. Different.
Relax in the highest clubhouse east of the Rockies – and one of the most unique in the country.
Refreshing. Four distinct seasons with elevations exceeding 5,000 feet – a neighborhood where the main attractions are the land and mountains.
Uncrowded. A limited number of homesites with just over 140 on nearly 1,000 acres – some homesites as large as 10 acres, most in the four to eight acre range.
Different. Enjoy lands which are forever wild – over 300 acres conveyed as conservation and park lands and 1,000 acres of Elk Knob State Park are at your backdoor.
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High Country Magazine
1
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High Country Magazine
October 2009
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High Country Magazine
3
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High Country Magazine
October 2009
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High Country Magazine
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Photo by James Fay
C O N T E N T S
24
Boone Area Chamber Celebrates 60 Years
Today’s Boone Area Chamber of Commerce is not the organization it was 60 years ago. Discover a few of the highlights along the chamber’s journey from an office that sold license plates to the present-day organization of more than 900 members and nine committees that aspire to improve many aspects of the community.
36
Architectural History Preserved
The Architectural History of Watauga County, North Carolina, a hardback 30 years in the making, details a sampling of the county’s architecture from the 19th century up until World War II. Beyond resulting in a noteworthy book containing photographs, essays and building descriptions and histories, the undertaking of the book also helped reestablish the Watauga County Historical Society.
48
No Place Like Oz
58
A Home for Champions
6
The Yellow Brick Road on Beech Mountain still beckons, calling visitors from miles around to relive the experience of the former Land of Oz theme park each October.
Take a photographic tour of the brand new facilities at Appalachian State University’s Kidd Brewer Stadium. Sneak a peak at the spiffy new football locker room, spacious VIP Club Level and swanky luxury suites.
High Country Magazine
October 2009
48 on the cover
Photo by Ken Ketchie Photographed by Tommy White Tommy White of Studio 617 West in Boone provided this month’s magazine cover shot. White, who established his photography business in October 2007 after deciding to fully pursue his greatest passion, captured the High Country’s brilliant hues of fall in the cover shot, underscoring the intense and vibrant colors that exude from these hills every October. More of White’s work can be found by clicking to www. photographybytommywhite. com. To contact White, call 828-773-0369.
READER SERVICES ABOUT US
The first High Country Press newspaper was published on May 5, 2005, and the first issue of High Country Magazine went to press in fall 2005. We publish the newspaper weekly and currently publish the magazine seven times a year. Both are free, and we distribute the newspaper and magazine in Watauga and Avery counties. Our newspaper is packed with information that we present and package in easy-to-read formats with visually appealing layouts. The magazine represents our shared love of our history, our landscape and our people. It celebrates our pioneers, our lifestyles, our differences and the remarkable advantages we enjoy living in the mountains. Our guiding principles are twofold: quality journalism makes a difference and customer care at every level is of the greatest importance. Our offices are located in downtown Boone, and our doors are always open to welcome visitors.
anufacturer of fine down comforters, pillows and featherbeds in the North Carolina High Country . . . since 1982.
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SUBSCRIPTIONS
We are now offering subscriptions to High Country Magazine. A one-year subscription for seven issues costs $40, and we will mail issues to subscribers as soon as they arrive at our offices from the printer. To subscribe, call our offices at 828-264-2262.
BACK ISSUES
Back issues of our magazines are available from our office for $5 per issue. Some issues are already sold out and are no longer available.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography and page reprints are available for purchase. For sizing, prices and usage terms, please call our office. Some photos may not be available and some restrictions may apply.
ADVERTISING
Obtain information about advertising in our publications from our sales representatives by calling 828-264-2262 or emailing us at sales@highcountrypress.com. Contact us at:
High Country Press/Magazine P.O. Box 152 130 North Depot Street Boone, NC 28607 www.highcountrypress.com info@highcountrypress.com
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High Country Magazine
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C O N T E N T S
76
Mountain Made Kraut
86
Taking Self-Discovery To New Heights
Cabbage was once an important subsistence crop, and cabbage fields were a common sight in the High Country up until the early 1970s. Although the pungent smell of sauerkraut may have disappeared from the area after the sauerkraut factory’s demise, Boone Creek’s nickname of Kraut Creek and other memories persist even today.
Phoenix Experiential Designs may be just a few months old, but it has a world of experience and history behind it. The company’s founders Robbie Oates, Tom Zartman and Alan Frye have spent a total of 54 years building a wide variety of climbing towers, challenge courses and canopy walkways from coast to coast and across the world, providing newfound self-discovery for users and themselves.
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Photo by Ed Evans
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Ode to the Dirt Road
More than 100 miles of dirt and gravel roads can be found in Watauga County, but about half of those are currently on the N.C. Department of Transportation’s priority list for paving. At this juncture, some people want the roads paved while others feel that the charisma of the roads will be lost forever if the gravel disappears.
Love Affair—Marrying Structure and Site, Past with Present at Hound Ears
Photo by Melanie Hatton Photo by Lonnie Webster
Three Hounds LLC, in coordination with Appalachian Architecture and Patrick Signature Woodworks, recently completed a 7,000-square-foot custom home in Hound Ears that utilizes modern building technology without sacrificing the natural environment. The new creation is ushering in a new era of unique construction in the venerable High Country community, while melding its aesthetics with designs of the past.
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Mountain Aire Golf Club
The third oldest course in the High Country, West Jefferson’s Mountain Aire Golf Club opened in 1949 and continues to thrive as a fun, family-friendly course thanks to the efforts of the Hagel family.
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High Country Magazine
Photo by Cotton Ketchie August 2009 October 2009
D E P A R T M E N T S
10 From the Publisher 12 Calender of Events 16 Mountain Echoes 120 Parting Shot: Daniel Boone Days S E E A D V E R T I S E R S ’ I N D E X O N pa g e 1 1 8
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2322 Bairds Creek Road Vilas, North Carolina 28692 828-297-2109 • 1-800-922-2109
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High Country Magazine
9
FROM T H E PUB L ISH ER
The Best One Yet…
F
olks sure did let us know that they enjoyed our last issue. They referred to it as the “Fireman Issue.” Some said it was our best ever. The fireman issue has been one of my top favorites. But I’m also really proud of our June issue with the “12 Weekends of Summer Dates” feature. And the cover picture on the July issue of the VW bus on the Parkway was a real head turner. Come to think about it, we’ve had compliments all summer long from readers who have enjoyed this summer’s magazines. We’d like to let everyone know we do appreciate hearing your kind words. Thank you very much for taking the time to tell us so through your e-mails, your phone calls and visits to our office. There are plenty of respected magazines throughout the state of North Carolina, but High Country Magazine is one locals can Ken Ketchie call their own. The stories about familiar faces and places makes every issue an entertaining read, page after page. We also would like to thank our advertisers for hanging in there with us during these tough economic times. The High Country has not been immune to this recession, and it’s been trying times for many small businesses. A 15% or 20% drop in business may not sound like much—but that can put an unhealthy dent in a business’ cash flow, forcing owners to cut back on employees and expenditures that can further depress the local economy. You’ve heard it many times before, but now more than ever, if you have a choice to shop locally, please do. Keep in mind that your dollars can stay in the local economy and greatly help local businesses to continue to bring us goods and services we would sorely miss if they were no longer available. So please help us in thanking our advertisers for their support. After all, they’re the ones who really make this magazine—your magazine—possible.
The Tomato Bet… In the April issue I wrote about having made a bet with my Dad over growing tomatoes. I was a first-year gardener. My Dad had been growing tomatoes the last few years upside down out of the bottom of a hanging bucket. I grew mine the old-fashioned way – in the ground. Well, he won the bet. He ended up with the best tomatoes, and a whole lot more of them than I had. His tomatoes really took off in June, when the weather was damp and cool, because the bucket allowed his soil to warm up. My tomatoes barely grew a few inches. July was better for mine when it warmed up. Fertilizer probably helped as well. By August, I thought I might have a chance to catch up, but the rains came again, and after harvesting a few very tasty tomatoes, the dampness brought on the dreaded blight Dad’s tomatoes and it was all over for me. So Dad, you were right. I’ll be growing some tomatoes next year out of the bottom of a bucket—just like yours. 10
High Country Magazine
October 2009
A Publication Of High Country Press Editor & Publisher Ken Ketchie Creative Director Courtney Cooper Production Manager Michelle Bailey Graphic Artists Tim Salt and Patrick Pitzer Advertising Sales Beverly Giles Bryan McGuire Associate Editors Anna Oakes Sam Calhoun Contributing Writers Corinne Saunders Celeste von Mangan Harris Prevost Val Maiweskij-Hay Sally Treadwell Linda Kramer Contributing Photograhers Patrick Pitzer Peter Morris James Fay Greg Williams Lonnie Webster Federica Georgia Cotton Ketchie Finance Manager Laila Patrick High Country Magazine is produced by the staff and contributors of High Country Press newspaper, which serves Watauga and Avery counties of North Carolina
HIGH COUNTRY MAGAZINE P.O. Box 152, Boone, NC 28607
828-264-2262 Reproduction or use in whole or part of the contents of this magazine without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Issues are FREE throughout the High Country. © 2009 by High Country Press. All Rights Reserved.
The Fall Foliage Primer What You Need to Know About the Leaves The Fall Foliage Primer has weekly color reports, which are posted each Wednesday beginning September 23 and extending until November 4. Each weekly report will have photographs taken during the week, weather forecasts, and perhaps information on an upcoming festival or scenic drive. In addition to fall foliage updates, you’ll find tips for improving your scenic photography, activities for children, and a guide to help you identify what leaves you are seeing by shape and color. Find it all, and more, at FallFoliagePrimer.com.
Valle Crucis • Boone • Waynesville • Hendersonville • Asheville, NC • Greenville, SC • Knoxville, TN Shop Online at MastGeneralStore.com • 1-866-FOR-MAST October 2009
High Country Magazine
11
Calendarof Events
13
Storytelling: Orville Hicks, Todd General Store,
336-877-1067
16
Third Year Anniversary Wine Tasting, Rustic Rooster Home Furnishings, Boone, 828-263-0814
16-17
Ghost Train Halloween Festival, Tweetsie Railroad, 800-526-5740
17
Valle Country Fair, Valle Crucis Conference Center, 828-963-4609
17
Woolly Worm Woad Wace, Avery High School, Newland, 828-898-5605
Valle Crucis Punkin Fest, October 24
9
9
Hypnotist Jim Wand, Farthing Auditorium, ASU, 262-2855
9
Woolly Worm Ball, Beech Mountain Club, 828-898-5605
9-10
Ghost Train Halloween Festival, Tweetsie Railroad,
10 10
Todd New River Festival, Cook Park, Todd,
10 10
Festival of the Frescoes, Holy Trinity Church, Glendale
828-297-1914
17
Mountain Home Music: Puddingstone, Blowing Rock
Oktoberfest, two-day festival with Bavarian food,
18 18 20 22
Watauga Community Band, Rosen Concert Hall, ASU, Blue Ridge Chamber Players, Ashe Arts Center, West Storytelling: Charlotte Ross, Todd General Store,
22
22-24 23-24
11
Gallery Crawl, downtown West Jefferson, 336-846-2787
11
Armen Boyajian’s Air Apparent, Meadowbrook Inn, Blowing Rock, 828-295-4300 October 2009
Martha Graham Dance Company, Farthing Auditorium, ASU, 828-262-4046
crafts, music and beer, Sugar Mountain Resort, 828-898-4521
High Country Magazine
Mountain Home Music: Darin & Brook Aldridge & The Snyder Family, free apple cider and cookies during intermission, Blowing Rock School Auditorium, 828-964-3392
Big Truck Day and Family Safety Day, Buckeye Recreation Center, Beech Mountain, 828-387-3003
12
Appalachian Craft Day, Horn in the West, Boone,
336-877-1067
School auditorium, 828-964-3392 10-11
17
Jefferson, 336-846-2787
Springs, 336-982-3076
828-262-3020
www.toddruritan.org
Classic Car Show, Three Forks Baptist Church, 828-297-6441
Homecoming, Appalachian State University, homecoming.appstate.edu 800-526-5740
17
Best of the Blue Ridge Art Reception, Ashe Arts Center, West Jefferson, 336-846-2787
9-10
Woolly Worm Festival, Banner Elk Elementary, 828-898-5605
October 2009
17-18
Comedian Owen Smith, Legends, ASU, 828-262-2855 Haunted Horn, Horn in the West, Boone, 828-264-2120 Ghost Train Halloween Festival, Tweetsie Railroad, 800-526-5740
24
ASU Football: Black Saturday, Kidd Brewer Stadium, ASU, www.GoASU.com
24
Greater Avery Tour de Art, Avery County area galleries and studios, 828-963-7246
EVENTS
Ghost Train Halloween Festival
© Aveda Corp.
DON’T FORGET The High Country’s trendsetters.
Advance tickets are necessary for one of the scariest Halloween experiences around—the Tweetsie Railroad Ghost Train Halloween Festival. This year’s scare-fest takes place each Friday and Saturday night from October 2 through 31. Brace yourself for frightening encounters on the train, dress your kids for trick-or-treating and feel your adrenaline flow in a haunted house and maze and the new Freaky Forest.
OCTOBER 2 TO 31
(828) 264-8181 215 Boone Heights Drive Boone, NC 28607 outersanctumsalon.com
Oktoberfest at Sugar Mountain Grab your beer stein, put on your lederhosen and come hungry and thirsty to Sugar Mountain Resort on Saturday and Sunday, October 10 and 11, for the 19th annual Oktoberfest celebration. Admission and parking are free at this annual festival that celebrates German culture with delicious Bavarian food, a live oom pah band, handmade arts and crafts and plenty of beverages to fill your cup. You can even enjoy the beautiful colors of fall with a scenic ride on the chairlift to Sugar Mountain’s 5,300-foot peak.
OCTOBER 10 & 11
Valle Country Fair The Valle Country Fair, a fundraiser for the Church of the Holy Cross in Valle Crucis, could otherwise be known as Christmas Shopping Central, with 135 juried arts and crafts vendors offering gifts ranging from pottery to wood works to jewelry. The annual event began as a church bazaar more than 30 years ago and continues this year on Saturday, October 17, at the Valle Crucis Conference Center off Highway 194. You’ll also enjoy fresh apple cider, apple butter, barbecue and other treats, as well as live music, clogging, storytelling and other events.
Stone Cavern
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We have you covered from start to finish.
SATURDAY October 17
SHOWERS • KITCHENS • BACKSPLASHES • FLOORS • AND ALL THE REST
828-963-TILE www.stonecavern.com October 2009
High Country Magazine
13
Big Truck Day, October 10
24
Avery Tour de Art, October 24
Valle Crucis Punkin Festival, Mast Store Annex, 828-
21
ASU Football vs. Western Carolina, Kidd Brewer Stadium, ASU, www.GoASU.com
21
Tellabration Storytelling Festival, Watauga Public Library, Boone, 828-264-1789
27
Hometown Christmas, Backstreet Park,
963-6511
27
Storytelling: Dianne Hackworth, Todd General Store, 336-877-1067
27-29
Christmas Show, Boone Mall, 828-264-7286
28-30
Haunted Horn, Horn in the West, Boone, 828-264-2120
28-11/1 ASU Theatre Presents Still Life with Iris, Valborg Theatre, ASU, 828-262-3063 30-31
Ghost Train Halloween Festival, Tweetsie Railroad, 800-526-5740
31
Blowing Rock Halloween Festival, downtown Blowing Rock, 828-295-5222
31
Ghoulish Gala, dance party, costume contest, drink specials and more, The Inn at Crestwood, Blowing Rock, 828-963-6646
November 2009
6
Downtown Boone Art Crawl, downtown galleries and businesses, 828-262-4532
6
Hunt Family Fiddlers, Ashe Civic Center, West Jefferson, 336-846-2787
7
ASU Football vs. UTC, Kidd Brewer Stadium, ASU, www.GoASU.com
8
Blowing Rock Jazz Presents Jon Metzger, Meadowbrook Inn, Blowing Rock, 828-295-4300
11
12-14
17-18
Veterans Day Celebration, Boone Mall, 828-264-7286 North Carolina Dance Festival, professional dance
West Jefferson, 336-846-9550
27
19 21
Christmas in the Park, visits with Santa, caroling, hot chocolate and lighting of the tree, downtown Blowing Rock, 828-295-5222
27-1/31 Festival of Lights, Chetola Resort, Blowing Rock, 828-295-5500
28
Thanksgiving Wood Kiln Opening, Traditions and Bolick Pottery, Blowing Rock, 828-295-5099
28
Holiday Bazaar, Buckeye Recreation Center, Beech Mountain, 828-387-9283
28
Christmas Parade, Blowing Rock, 828-295-5222
28
Mountain Home Music: Community Christmas Tree Concert, Blowing Rock School Auditorium, 828-964-3392
December 2009 2-5
4
New Play Festival, Valborg Theatre, ASU, 828-262-3063 Downtown Boone Art Crawl, downtown galleries and businesses, 828-262-4532
5
Mountain Home Music: An Appalachian Christmas, Grace Lutheran Church, Boone, 828-964-3392
5-6
The Christmas Concert, Lees-McRae College, Banner Elk, 828-898-8709
companies from across the state perform, Valborg Theatre, ASU, 828-262-3063
6
Valle Crucis Fireside Tour, Valle Crucis, 828-963-6511
Interactive Theatre Project, Lees-McRae College
6
Ashe Choral Society Concert, Ashe Civic Center, West Jefferson, 336-846-2787
12
Evans Auditorium, Banner Elk, 828-898-8709
MOMIX, Farthing Auditorium, ASU, 828-262-4046 Holiday Parade, downtown West Jefferson, 336-846-9550
Downtown Boone Christmas Parade, King Street, 828-262-4532
12-13
The Nutcracker Ballet, Farthing Auditorium, ASU, 828-265-4111
14
MOMIX, November 19
High Country Magazine
October 2009
DON’T FORGET
EVENTS
CARLTON GALLERY Celebrating 27 Years
Woolly Worm Festival Thousands of competitors and festivalgoers flock to Banner Elk each October for the annual Woolly Worm Festival, one of the quirkiest and entertaining events in the Southeast. OCTOBER The main event is the racing of 17 & 18 woolly worms to determine which of the furry critters will be the forecaster of the coming winter. In addition, the festival features arts and crafts, plenty of food and live entertainment. Changes to the 2009 Woolly Worm Festival include an earlier opening time of 9:00 a.m. on both days and an expansion of the kids’ area.
North Carolina Dance Festival Boone is one of five North Carolina cities that will host the North Carolina Dance Festival, a tour of professional dance companies from across the state. NOVEMBER Eight companies 12 to 14 will perform alongside Appalachian State University faculty and students Thursday through Saturday, November 12 to 14, at Valborg Theatre on campus. The performances will feature original, innovative works from nine different dance artists.
Autumn Exhibition Warren Dennis- oil on canvas
October 4 - November 15
Holiday Open House November 27th & 28th
PAINTINGS • CLAY • GLASS • WOOD • SCULPTURE • JEWELRY Located 10 Miles South of Boone on Highway 105 Grandfather Community
TUESDAY-SATURDAY 10:00-5:00 • SUNDAY 11:00-5:00
C all o r ch eck o u r websit e f o r wo rksh o p d a tes
828-963-4288
www.carltonartgallery.com • info@carltonartgallery.com
glass• es |ˈglasiz| |gløsəz|
1. Two pieces of corrective lenses held together by a frame, side by side, to be worn in front of one’s two eyes. 2. Cool things worn on eyes to correct vision.
Thanksgiving Wood Kiln Opening
3. Something girls look hot wearing.
The annual firing of the wood kiln at Bolick and Traditions Pottery just south of Blowing Rock has attracted quite a following, with most of the items available for sale SATURDAY gone within hour. In November 28 an addition to the unique functional pottery, the Bolick and Calhoun families will provide good food and live old-time music on Saturday, November 28.
OPTOMETRY
VISION
BLUE RIDGE
IN THE BOONE MALL CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT
828/264-2020
October 2009
High Country Magazine
15
mountain
echoes
Insider tips, fascinating facts, conversation starters and fun stuff to do
Fill Your Stein Oktoberfest at Sugar Mountain October 10 and 11 S
ugar Mountain brings Germany to the Blue Ridge Mountains every October when it hosts Oktoberfest, a two-day celebra-
tion with delicious Bavarian food, an arts and crafts festival, scenic chairlift rides, live music and of course, plenty of brew.
thors, caricatures, wooden cutting boards,
The 2009 Oktoberfest takes place Saturday and Sunday, Oc-
quilted items, oil paintings, stain glass, hand-
tober 10 and 11, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m each day. Admission
made furniture, dolls, ceramics, honey, beeswax
and parking are free, and the festival takes place rain or shine.
candles, and jewelry.
Oktoberfest will feature plenty of Bavarian cuisine, including
The Harbour Towne Fest Band, an oom pah band,
bratwurst, knackwurst, sauerkraut and pretzels, along with plenty
will perform on both days. Other activities include a
of Spaten Oktoberfest beer to help wash it all down. Other foods
1.5-mile chairlift ride to Sugar’s 5,300-foot peak and a
available will be hot dogs, hamburgers, soda, cotton candy, kettle
children’s play area.
corn, funnel cakes, candy apples and homemade fudge. A sampling of this year’s craft vendors include pottery,
For more information, call 828-898-4521 or click to www. skisugar.com/oktoberfest.
By Anna Oakes
custom handcrafted hats, books by local and regional au-
Moses’ Throne? M
oses H. Cone, known as “The
also include an unveiling of the
Denim King” for his success in
comfort station’s permanent name,
the textile industry in the late 1800s,
determined by the winner of mail-in
achieved much but he never quite got
contest. That lucky winner will also be
a throne—until now. It might not be
named “King for a Day” or “Queen
the throne he dreamed of, though.
for a Day,” meaning they will be the
More than 100 years ago, Cone and his wife Bertha enjoyed one of the
first to answer nature’s call in the new
serenest slices of High Country real
facility. Each attendee will receive a
estate, Bass Lake, every day for their
ticket making them the possible win-
morning walk. Today, Bass Lake is one
ner of a panoramic photograph of Flat Top Manor in the fall taken by Blue
of the most visited destinations on the Blue Ridge Parkway and, suitably, is
celebrate the completion and opening of the
also the site of a royal celebration like no other.
Bass Lake comfort station—a restroom facility
member David Combs and framed by Tim
One hundred and one years after his death—on
built as a miniature replica of the grand Flat
Miller’s Blowing Rock Frameworks and Gallery.
Thursday, October 8—Cone will get his throne.
Top Manor, the mountain home of Moses and
A framed print from the collection of fartist
Bertha Cone that overlooks Bass Lake.
Richard Tumbleston will also go to a lucky
On October 8, on the banks of Bass Lake,
The mood will be light and playful, evident
dignitaries, more than 300 donors and the general public will join the Blue Ridge Parkway
in the “toilet-paper cutting” that will replace
Foundation and the Town of Blowing Rock to
the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The event will
16
High Country Magazine
October 2009
Ridge Parkway Foundation board
ticket holder.
By Sam Calhoun
mountain
echoes
United Way’s Fresh Focus U
nited Way of America launched its new
goal at $600,000 and launched the campaign in
or may not be involved with the United Way. “Everybody that advocates or volunteers
September. The money raised will be distributed
ing the emphasis beyond the organization to
is special and is making a difference in his or
to 24 nonprofits in Avery and Watauga counties.
include all members of a community. The three
her way on the quality of life for us all,” said
components of Live United—give, advocate
High Country United Way Executive Director
we have to step up to the plate,” Slade said.
and volunteer—are three ways in which every-
Linda Slade. “[Live United] is not just about the
“The need has increased so rapidly in this area,
focus, Live United, this year, broaden-
“There is so much need in this community,
one is encouraged
none of the non-
to get involved to
profits can keep up
improve each com-
with it. We’re not just
munity in the areas
about raising money,
of income, education
we’re about getting
and health. The High Country United Way teamed up with High Country Press for the duration of this
United Way. It’s about the community coming
it at the root causes of the problem and finding
together for the common good.”
ways to alleviate it in a broader scope.”
The featured volunteers seek to inspire oth-
For more information or to donate to the
year’s campaign to regularly feature volunteers
ers to get involved in organizations, programs,
High Country United Way, click to www.high-
who are giving their time to help improve various
associations or boards of interest. The High
countryunitedway.com or call 828-265-2111.
aspects of the community. These volunteers may
Country United Way set its 2009-10 campaign
By Corinne Saunders
October 2009
High Country Magazine
17
mountain
echoes
October Is Fire Prevention Month O
ctober is National Fire Prevention Month. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), most Ameri-
cans underestimate their risk for fire, and many either lack emergency response plans or fail to practice them with fire drills. From the National Fire Protection Association, here are some facts about fires.
Fire Facts
• In 2008, U.S. fire departments responded to 386,500 home fires. These fires killed 2,755 civilians. Eighty-three percent of all fire deaths resulted from home fires. • Almost two-thirds of reported home fire deaths in 2003 to 2006 resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. • About one-third of home fires and deaths happened in the months of December, January and February. • Cooking continues to be the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries. • Smoking materials (cigarettes, cigars, pipes, etc.) caused one of every four home fire deaths. • The kitchen is the leading area of origin for home fires—one in three home fires start in the kitchen. However, bedrooms and living/ Photo by James Fay
family rooms are the leading areas of origin for home fire deaths.
Meet the Candidates
I
f parking, development, water supply, environmental preservation, public
Your chance to learn more about candidates in the 2009 elections is
two years to four years, which will take effect with this year’s election.
transportation or taxes are issues you
Tuesday, October 20, at 6:00 p.m.,
care about, you should know who your
when the Boone Area Chamber of Com-
and three Town Council members this
local leaders are. Town elections fall
merce will host a Meet the Candidates
year, and in Seven Devils and Beech
on odd-numbered years in the High
Forum at the Boone Town Council
Mountain, three council seats are up for
Country, and this year, Election Day is
Chambers on Blowing Rock Road.
election.
Tuesday, November 3—even in Boone,
In Boone, the office of mayor and
Blowing Rock will elect a mayor
In several races, incumbents have
which moved its election to November
three seats on the Town Council are
chosen not to seek re-election, open-
this year after holding October elec-
open. The Boone Town Council recently
ing the field for a large number of fresh
tions for many years.
voted to extend the mayoral term from
faces.
18
High Country Magazine
October 2009
mountain
echoes
Take a Step Back in Time The 31st Annual Valle Country Fair
T
he annual Valle Country Fair—the 31st annual event takes place on
to 4:00 p.m. on October 17 at the Valle Crucis Conference Center, located
Saturday, October 17—invites visitors back in time with activities
just off Highway 194. Once on site, attendees will enjoy 360-degree
you would expect to find in the peaceful rural community of Valle Crucis,
views of the peak of leaf season while taking part in the festival’s offerings, which are fit for all ages and tastes.
which has stayed largely untouched
As a special project of Holy Cross
over the years.
Episcopal Church, the Valle Country Fair
While the community’s elders stir the apple butter and the young’uns try
annually raises tens of thousands of dol-
and sneak a lick, more than 10,000 at-
lars for area ministries and nonprofits.
tendees bask in the cool breezes of fall,
Admission is free and on-site parking
listening to countless local roots musi-
costs $5 per vehicle—a small price to pay
cians, sampling homemade jams and
for an enjoyable jaunt to a simpler time. For more information, click to www.
jellies, warming up with Brunswick stew,
vallecountryfair.org or call 828-963-4609.
chili and barbecue, chugging apple cider and perusing the wares of the more
By Sam Calhoun
than 135 juried fine and crafts booths. Festivities take place from 9:00 a.m.
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October 2009
mountain
A Family Tradition
echoes
Choose and Cut Christmas Trees
I
n terms of annual Christmas trees harthose were Fraser firs. “It’s a native tree to vested, North Carolina ranks second in the North Carolina, so it grows better here,” U.S. behind Oregon, but “we are the Fraser Gragg said. “Pennsylvania, Michigan fir capital,” said Linda Gragg, director of the and some other states are starting to North Carolina Christmas Tree Association grow [Fraser firs], but it takes them a (NCCTA), which is based in Boone. little longer because [Fraser firs] aren’t For many people, it’s native [to those states].” “Even in tough a longstanding family Christmas tree sales economic times, tradition to pick out a bring a lot of money 5.5 million families are going to into North Carolina’s Christmas tree straight —number of go and get trees.” economy, Gragg said. from a local choose-andChristmas trees sold in - Linda Gragg cut farm. In 2007, cut ChristNorth Carolina in 2008 “Some farms have mas trees and short #2 Christmas rides, Santa Claus or a marshmalrotation woody crops sold in —North Carolina’s ranking low roast,” Gragg said. “It’s a family experiNorth Carolina totaled more among the 50 U.S. states in ence. The economy is very bad, but when than $65 million, according to a annual number of Christmas I talk to consumers, they say we are going U.S. Department of Agriculture trees harvested and sold to have that family time and go and get our census of agriculture. tree. It’s encouraging for growers that even About 1,500 to 1,600 > $65 million in tough economic times, families are going Christmas tree growers —economic impact of cut to go and get trees.” operate in North CaroChristmas trees and short The choose-and-cut Christmas tree sealina, Gragg said. rotation woody crops sold in son generally runs from Thanksgiving weekFor more informaNorth Carolina in 2007 end until December, and up until Christmas tion or to find a NCCTA Eve for some growers. Thanksgiving weekmember farm near 1,500 to 1,600 end is historically the biggest tree sales you, call 828-262-5826 —estimated number of weekend, Gragg said. or click to www.ncChristmas tree growers operating Last year, 5.5 million Christmas trees were christmastrees.com. in the state harvested and sold in North Carolina, Gragg By Corinne Saunders said, adding that more than 95 percent of October 2009
High Country Magazine
21
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High Country Magazine
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Boone Area Chamber Celebrates
60
Years
Over the years, the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce has participated in scores of groundbreakings, grand-openings and business anniversary parties. Wade Brown (second from left) and Velma Burnley (third from left) were frequent participants in these expressions of Boone’s growth and development. Photos courtesy of Boone Area Chamber
24
High Country Magazine
October 2009
The Watauga Leadership Challenge has become one of the most effective programs of the Chamber. The goal of the program is to identify potential leaders and provide them with the community information and encouragement needed to spur local action and involvement. Graduates are challenged to apply their talents throughout the community by becoming a part of community organizations, including public and private boards, nonprofit groups, civic clubs and the chamber. The Watauga Leadership Challenge Class of 1998 is pictured here.
Story By Corinne Saunders
“We’re not your grandfather’s chamber, or your father’s chamber or your greatgrandfather’s chamber” ~ Ginny Campbell, director of administrative services for the chamber
Y
ou name an organization,” said Dan Meyer, Boone Area Chamber of Commerce president, and “the chamber has probably been involved with it at some time over the years.” The Boone Area Chamber of Commerce celebrates 60 years this October, and even a quick glance over its history demonstrates that the organization has changed a great deal since its inception. “We’re not your grandfather’s chamber, or your father’s chamber or your great-grandfather’s chamber,” said Ginny Campbell, director of administrative services for the chamber. Once involving a few people who primarily sold license plates, chamber work is now supported mostly by membership dues and provides full-time jobs for Dan, Ginny and Administrative Associate Wysteria White. The chamber’s accomplishments over the years include starting the Watauga Humane Society, involvement in the creation of the Southern Appalachian Historical Association (S.A.H.A.) and the Daniel Boone Native Gardens and assisting with the early productions of Horn in the West, among others. The Boone Area Chamber of Commerce now includes more than 900 members, most of whom reside in Watauga County, but the membership also includes individuals who live in Ashe, Avery, Caldwell and Wilkes counties, as well as in Charlotte, Hickory and in Johnson County, Tenn., Dan said. “The major purpose [of the chamber] is to represent and to promote businesses [and] the small business man and [to] foster a climate for businesses to operate in the community,” said Jerry Moretz, a former chamber president and a member since the late 1960s. “In our case, [the chamber also] promotes the university and tourism,” Jerry added. “
October 2009
High Country Magazine
25
“We’re still a small town [and] a lot of business is done by word of mouth. There is something very healthy and refreshing about that.” ~Dan Meyer, Boone Area Chamber of Commerce president
Members of the 1990 Chamber Board of Directors are pictured outside the then-recently purchased office at 208 Howard Street. The chamber building was paid off in 1998 and shares space with the CVB today.
The Chamber’s Early Days
Watauga County was formed in 1849 from parts of Ashe, Caldwell, Wilkes and Yancey counties, and the Watauga Chamber of Commerce was organized in 1935. Early chamber records indicate that contemporary concerns such as tourism, transportation and downtown parking existed even in 1935. On October 24, 1949, the Boone Chamber of Commerce replaced the former chamber, and, in 1982, “Area” was added to the title to reference the chamber’s service to Boone, Watauga County and even surrounding counties and municipalities. When he first joined the chamber, it was struggling financially and it acted more like a merchants’ circle or a better business bureau, Jerry said. “In the early days, [the chamber] actually ran the license bureau and the credit bureau,” Jerry said. “Back in the ‘60s, there was no national credit bureau.” At that time, the chamber had a part-time executive director and a couple staff members who looked after the license and credit bureaus and did chamber work on the side, he added. The chamber ran the license and credit bureaus to make enough money to pay its rent, recalled Bob Snead, who retired from ASU and was involved in the chamber from 1967 until last year. “In the old days, it was a makeshift organization,” said Wade Wilmoth, former Boone mayor, former N.C. representative and a chamber member since the early 1960s. “Nothing really happened and no one did it as a job.” “It has grown in membership and in influence, too,” Jerry said of the chamber. “It didn’t carry the same prestige and weight it does today.” As the chamber grew, one of the perhaps larger feathers in its metaphorical cap was the creation of the Watauga Humane 26
High Country Magazine
October 2009
Through proceeds generated from the chamber’s Last Chance Golf Tournament, the chamber purchased all the welcome signs for the Town of Boone. These signs are located at each gateway into town.
Society. “The chamber was the catalyst,” said Velma Burnley, former Boone mayor, former chamber president and longtime member. Col. Clyde Miller, an active chamber member and proprietor of Miller Industries—a local glass and doors business— proposed the formation of a humane society in 1969, Velma said. At that time, the county had no ordinance, no animal control laws, no facility and only a dog warden (or dogcatcher) to address the problem of stray animals, she continued. “When he proposed that, he passed a tablet around and people signed up,” she said. “After that meeting we elected officers. [A humane society] is something animal lovers are passionate about.” One of the Watauga Humane Society’s founding members, Velma was elected its first president that same year—a position she held for 20 years, up until 1989, when she became mayor of Boone. Velma had originally become involved in the chamber while working as a banker. “The head of our bank was very community-spirited and wanted all the employees to be involved as well,” she said. “One thing I think is unique about the chamber of commerce is it strives to be nonpartisan, not like other groups where they are predominantly [of] one persuasion,” Velma said. “It has always been very efficient and very amazing. I’ve never heard any complaints about it,” she said, adding that in 36 years of banking, one meets a lot of people. The chamber has “grown and prospered just like Boone,” Velma said, because members “saw the value in working together and solving problems.” Many influential people were involved with the chamber over the years, such as Alfred Adams, head of
Northwestern Bank; Watt Gragg, head of Watauga Savings and Loan; his successor James Marsh; most of the car dealers; and Rachel Rivers-Coffey, publisher of Watauga Democrat, she added. Jane Smith, who was the manager of WATA radio station from the 1960s to the early 1980s, was actively involved with the chamber and the community, Bob said. Jane was asked to serve as chamber president, which meant the head volunteer person at the time, Wade recalled. “She said she’d be president if they hired Sue Wilmoth, my wife, part-time to work four hours a day.” Originally hired to work 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Sue then took the job from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., then from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., then from 9:00 a.m. until whenever, Wade said. Sue, who died six years ago this November, held the position of chamber executive director—what is now called president—from 1976 to 1991, and she changed the chamber, Wade said. A former chamber executive had gotten the chamber into debt and left town, “but then comes Sue, a hardworking, hard-driven woman [who] wanted Boone to grow in the right way. She got 400 members back in the 1970s. She made it an organi-
The current chamber staff includes Wysteria White, administrative associate; Ginny Campbell, director of administrative services; and Dan Meyer, president/CEO. Dan succeeds Mike Wagoner, Margaret (Johnston) James and Sue Wilmoth as president.
Photo by Peter Morris
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Sue Wilmoth, former chamber executive, made her mark on the High Country. “Her lobbying on behalf of the new Highway 421 made her known all the way to Raleigh,” said Chamber President Dan Meyer.
Alfred Adams (bowtie), Boone’s banker and the father of much of Boone’s economic development, made a profound impact on business in the town for many years. Daisy (third from left) still attends chamber functions.
zation people wanted to join,” he said. “She had a lot of health problems, but it didn’t get in the way of the chamber. If she didn’t feel well, she’d still go to work. She stayed 15 years—a long time for a chamber executive director.” One accomplishment during this time was the building of a visitor center, Wade said. Sue had made the project a priority, and Rep. (Margaret) “Pinky” Hayden was instrumental in getting it passed through the House and the Senate, he said. The visitor center was constructed with state money, Wade added. Along with tourism, industry was an important aspect of Boone’s economy in which the chamber was involved in the 1980s, Wade said. “In Sue’s time, industry was a thing she fought for,” he said, adding that IRC (International Resistive Company), Shadowline Ladies Lingerie, Melvin Shoe Factory, a saw factory and a sauerkraut factory operated in Boone at the time. “Sue and some chamber people went out to California to tell [IRC management] they really appreciated [the IRC] being here,” he said. “Sue worked to get more industry [to come to Boone] and mainly to keep the industry we did have.” The IRC operates locally today, albeit on a smaller scale, but most of the industry that was once here shifted to locations where the work could be done more cheaply, he said. “We don’t have an airport or a train station; we have nothing but trucks,” Wade said.
Business and the Chamber
“We’re still a small town [and] a lot of business is done by word of mouth,” Dan said. “There is something very healthy and refreshing about that. We still have a small-town business atmosphere in many regards…but much because the university is here, we have a very cosmopolitan perspective. We have a lot of big-city attitude. We want to do here what people are doing elsewhere [and want to] be progressive without damaging our resources. You can link the growth and the progressiveness of the town to the growth and the progressiveness of the university.” According to Dan, the 1970s marked one of the more noticeable growth spurts in the area. At that time, tourism, skiing, industry and Christmas tree exports increased exponentially, he 28
High Country Magazine
October 2009
said. “In the last 10 years, the population has not dramatically grown, but [the area has] grown in sophistication—becoming contemporary,” he said. The chamber adapts its work to meet the ever-changing needs of businesses. “I think we are fortunate in Watauga County to have the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce really listen to the needs of the businesses,” Sue said. “It’s very important to have that representation.” “We vocalize interests to local governments,” Dan said. “We will weigh in on issues we think are important to small business success. It’s interesting when you represent over 900 individuals. Part [of our job] is to educate the membership on issues or points within issues that will impact them and others.” Another way in which the chamber supports businesses is its partnership with the Appalachian Enterprise Center. The first attempt to establish the center was about 15 years ago, said John Brubaker, a former chamber president. He was involved in that first attempt, and there has since been a second, he added. “It really is a great service for companies just getting started,” John said. The center is a business incubator, he explained. “People who have an idea about what they want to do have a place [in which to do it].” The Appalachian Enterprise Center allows people interested in entrepreneurship to lease space, and also provides business assistance in the form of mentoring by community members who have been successful in business, John said. Along with supporting future local entrepreneurs, the chamber also motivates new businesses to come to the area. “The chamber brings businesses to Boone,” Velma said. “Without businesses there are no jobs. Tourism is really important to our area, [but] a lot of the tourist jobs are seasonal. That’s great for college students or those who want to work for a season.” For year-round residents, though, the chamber has worked to recruit usually small- to medium-sized businesses, John said. The chamber hosts monthly Business After Hours, annual events such as the Boone Business EXPO and sponsors awards for outrageous customer service, business of the year and employer of the year. It also hosts a Meet the Candidates Forum, Legislative Reception, “Wake Up, Watauga,” Last Chance Golf Tournament,
Watauga County School spelling bees, the Grown-Up Spelling Bee, Lunch and Learns, quarterly new member breakfasts, an annual meeting, university support with incoming students and families and a variety of free seminars. The chamber has an affiliate relationship with Watauga Committee of 100 and co-sponsors the Family Business Forum with ASU’s Walker College of Business.
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Tourism and the Chamber
“One of the debates always in the chamber was, ‘how far do you go in tourism?’� Bob said. “Boone slowly and surely became a destination point, rather than just a place you pass through. There was a need to encourage tourists to come [and to] organize events in and around the community to encourage them to stay.� Some chambers of commerce focus solely on bringing industry to the community, while others concentrate on tourism, but the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce chose not to focus on one area alone, Bob said. It strives to help the business climate and industrial climate and address tourism, too. According to the 1978-88 Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Highlights, the chamber promoted the Boone area as a four-season destination area, and travel expenditures rose from $24 million in 1977 to more than $92 million in 1987—an 80 percent increase. The chamber also marketed Boone and Watauga County as a regional shopping center and saw retail grow from $103 million in 1977 to more than $300 million in 1987. Also according to the highlights, the chamber spearheaded the theme and logo “Boone—Heart of the High Country� to promote the area. The chamber is now primarily focused on providing value-added services to its members, although it still supports economic development and tourism, Dan said. “We partnered with the Boone Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) 22 years ago,� he said. Government agencies, such as the CVB and the Watauga County Tourism Development Authority (WCTDA)— recipients of the occupancy tax—have taken on more of the tourism aspect in the recent past, Dan said. The chamber, however, remains the first place newcomers contact to learn about the High Country. “The chamber has always been the main source of information about the area for people wanting to move,� Velma said. “The chamber gets the inqui-
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ries, mails out packets [and] provides a great service to the area. [That is] one of the functions that make people want to support the chamber.” The CVB, WCTDA and visitor center, by contrast, also provide quality services to the area, but target the traveling public rather than those considering relocation. The chamber works closely with the Ashe, Banner Elk, Blowing Rock and Wilkes chambers of commerce, Dan said. “Blowing Rock is all tourism; we’re not,” Ginny said. Businesses usually belong to the closest business center of the region, and many businesses belong to more than one chamber, to get their word out, Dan added. “We are not in competition,” Dan stated. “We’re in cooperation. This is a distinct geological and geographical region. Some people won’t go off the mountain, some people won’t come up the mountain. We share opportunities for workshops [with other chambers and we] overlap some days in the leadership development program. We have the attitude, a high tide raises all boats,” he said. “What’s good for the university is good for us. What helps Avery helps Watauga.” The chamber serves as a cohesive force for the community at large. “For a chamber in a town of this size, it’s unheard of to have a chamber this size,” Bob said. “[The chamber’s] cooperative spirit is one of the reasons it grew.” Many chamber members are businessmen, to be sure, but other members represent nonprofits, advocacy groups, agriculture, education and many other segments of the community. “To some degree in a small town like this, it’s a little bit of a social gathering,” Bob said. “People from various walks of life get together.”
It Stems from Committees
After 60 years, the chamber retains its original purpose but operates on a much larger scale. “It’s a multi-faceted organization,” Velma said of the chamber. “I think most people ordinarily think of it as a group of people that run businesses, but the membership is much wider than that.” “Even in these economic times, people are still joining,” Ginny said. The current chamber property on 208 Howard Street in Boone was purchased in 1990 and was paid off in 1998. “We’re one of the few chambers in the country with a weekly radio voice, television presence and a full page in [a] weekly newspaper,” Dan said. The chamber also publishes its annual FOCUS magazine, which is a newcomers’ guide and membership directory. The bulk of the chamber’s local impact, however, stems from its committees, which were reorganized earlier this year, Dan said. “The chamber’s work has come in committees and standing active committees that work hard,” Bob said. “You get people together and there’s a synergy that happens—‘we need to do this, we need to do that.’ [The chamber] has kind of been the catalyst to help the community cooperate and work together and seek common goals that are good for the community.” Current committees include business development, community/university engagement, education, everGREEN, government relations, membership services, transportation development, Watauga Leadership Challenge and High Country Young Professionals (HCYP). According to the program description, the Watauga Leadership Challenge is designed for potential leaders in the community and promotes, over the course of four months, a realistic
Photo by Peter Morris The Boone Area Chamber of Commerce and the Boone Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) have a 23-year relationship, jointly promoting High Country tourism across the Southeast. From left to right are pictured chamber staff Dan Meyer, Wysteria White and Ginny Campbell and CVB staff Lisa Price, administrative assistant; Michele Ligon, manager of media and group promotions; and Mac Forehand, director. 30
High Country Magazine
October 2009
understanding of how the community works, as well as its current issues and interests. Upon completion, participants are encouraged to get involved in one of the many facets of the community. The chamber’s newest committee, HCYP, was created earlier this year by a few area young professionals and is an affiliate relationship supported by the chamber. Already boasting 96 members, the HCYP provides a networking opportunity for young professionals and works to increase their involvement in economic development. One of the most longstanding committees focuses on transportation. “The chamber was very active in the widening of [Highway] 421,” Bob said. “I don’t doubt 421 was improved many years sooner because of this group.” The chamber members “were a strong and relentless force”—instrumental in Highway 321 improvements and in the widening of Highway 421 from Wilkes County up to the High Country, Velma said. “Sam Erby actually had been the force behind the Doc [and Merle] Watson Highway and [Highway] 321 improvements,” she said. Sam was great at getting projects moved up on the list for completion, Velma added. “We had a reception for him at Appalachian Ski Mountain. Nobody would quibble that he’s the one who helped move our projects along.” Velma served as chair of the membership drive and was also involved in the economic development and the transportation committees over the years “because these were so vital to the success of the town,” she said. “A road just isn’t in your own county. Its linkages with other counties add some weight [to projects].” In Jerry’s opinion, the widening of Highway 421 into a four-lane road up the mountain was one of the chamber’s most noteworthy accomplishments. “It really opens this area up. Sue Wilmoth and several chamber members were instrumental in telling the story to elected officials and doing the lobbying necessary to get that done.” The chamber had a transportation committee when he first became involved, Jerry said, but not an education committee. Formed in 1995, today’s education committee works hand-in-hand with the schools to ensure that education is top-notch and to present the business side of what needs to be covered, he added.
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“For a chamber in a town of this size, it’s unheard of to have a chamber this size.” ~ Bob Snead, who was involved with the chamber from 1967 until last year The education committee is comprised of representatives from many entities, including Watauga County Schools, ASU, Caldwell Community College, alternative education, The Children’s Council, education foundations and businesses, Dan said. “The chamber has a very active education committee because it understands how important education is for the future as well as for the present,” Velma said. Another important aspect of the area is ASU, and 35 years ago, Bob founded a community/campus relations committee, which is now called the community/university engagement committee. “The chamber realized that the largest economic engine in this town is the university,” Bob said. “It’s a very important part of this community.” When founded, the committee was made up of students, chamber members and businessmen, and it hosted ice cream socials, chicken socials and other activities to bring the campus and the community together, he remembered. “Frequently you hear about a town and a university having bad blood between the two,” Bob said. “We didn’t want that here. I’ve heard it said that Boone and Appalachian have grown up together, and I think that’s true.” The community/university engagement committee “creates an opportunity for better relationships between the town, ASU and the rest of the county; it brings it all together,” said Sue
Counts, a chamber member and executive board member from 1998 until earlier this year. Sue is also a member of the everGREEN committee, which strives to promote sustainable business development. “With everything going green, everGREEN is probably our biggest committee now,” Ginny said. From 1998 to 2007, Sue chaired the agricultural committee, which evolved into the present everGREEN committee. “We were all about sustainable agriculture,” Sue recalled. “Now it’s about sustainable business development, too.” The committee provides tips on becoming more green to interested businesses, she added. Sue originally became a chamber member through her workplace, the Watauga County Cooperative Extension office. She opted to also become an individual member shortly before her retirement and remains involved even now that she is now retired. “I made a commitment to the chamber because I really believe in what it does,” Sue said. “I think it promotes the whole area and I want to be a part of it.” The Boone Area Chamber of Commerce may not be your grandfather’s chamber, but it is still focused on providing a voice for local business and advocating for purposeful growth and development. For more information about the chamber, click to www.boonechamber.com or call 828-264-2225. w
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After Hours T
he chamber hosts a monthly Business After Hours program, always held on a Thursday from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., that offers networking opportunities to chamber members and their guests. For $3 and a business card, the attendees can not only socialize with each other, but also learn about the business hosting the event, because the location changes each month, Sue said. The program has seen unprecedented growth in the past several years. Four years ago, the chamber increased the number of programs from eight to 10 per year, Ginny said. “In the last three years, we have almost doubled attendance at Business After Hours,” Ginny added. w
The September 24, 2009, Business After Hours took place at the downtown Boone Drug store, which celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.
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Architectural
History t
Preserved Story By Corinne Saunders
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think that the architecture of the mountains generally and of Watauga County, certainly, has always been underrated,” said Charles Watkins, a member of the historical society’s book committee and a professor of architectural history at ASU. A hardback book 30 years in the making—titled The Architectural History of Watauga County, North Carolina—is due for public release this month and will demonstrate that the depth of local architectural history extends beyond the stereotype. “We tend to be associated with pioneers and log cabins historically,” Charles said. “This book will show the rich and quite varied tradition. When you look at the beautiful vernacular farmhouses in Valle Crucis, bungalow-style homes [in Boone] and Adirondack-inspired resort houses in Blowing Rock—with bark siding [and] use of timbers in the framing— you really see a vast and varied architectural heritage that is worth celebrating.” More than 600 pictures and more than 300 pages detail the wealth of buildings throughout Watauga County that were constructed from the nineteenth century up until World War II. “We stopped the book at WWII for many reasons,” said Bettie Bond, naming one reason as setting up the historical society for High Country Magazine
October 2009
a second volume. Bettie serves as the vice president of the Watauga County Historical Society and is a member of the book committee and a former ASU history professor. The book details a sampling of commercial and rural buildings, barns, churches, schools and homes that stand— or stood—as a testament to the history of the area. In just the time that it took to complete the book, a number of buildings chronicled therein have been demolished, such as a number of private homes and ASU’s Welborn Cafeteria. “Just thinking about the number of historic buildings that have been lost, even since we sent the book off to the publisher, [made me realize that] the book is essential to the preservation of history,” said Diane Barefoot, president of the Watauga County Historical Society. “People want to come to a place that has some history, and having a book of major historic buildings in the county shows that people care about preservation.” Catherine Bare, secretary for the historical society, a member of the book committee and a native of Watauga County, expressed similar sentiments. “Because of development and progress, because of the fact we can’t really preserve those structures, it’s very important that we at least have this written record of history,” Catherine
The Winebarger Mill in Meat Camp, the county’s best-preserved historic watermill, is tied to the local history of the Winebarger and Moretz families. Efforts to stabilize and restore the mill are currently underway, led by the community-based nonprofit Winebarger Mill Preservation Society. All photos are of buildings detailed in the book and are provided courtesy of the Watauga County Historical Society.
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t
The Eli Crowell house in Blowing Rock (top left) was built circa 1900 and is shown in the book as an example of the Queen Anne building style. Opicherhoka (top right) is one of the three Vardell family cottages in Blowing Rock. It was named for the many types of wood with which it was built—oak, pine, chestnut, rhododendron and kalmia. The building that first housed Watauga Academy (left), the predecessor of ASU, was completed in 1903 and burned down in 1946.
said. “Through that book we are able to do that. I want my children and my grandchildren who don’t live here to be able to see these structures and know about the history of the area.” According to the manuscript’s text, page six, “No Watauga County building is known with certainty to survive from the eighteenth century, although there are a number of log dwellings for which an eighteenth-century date is claimed. “The earliest documented settlement did not begin until around 1780, and reconstructed census figures suggest that population densities were extremely low through the end of the eighteenth century. Most of the region’s settlers would have passed over the relatively restricted and inaccessible agricultural land of Watauga County for the prime farmland available just across the mountains in Tennessee, which was then opening to settlement.” The book’s front cover displays an Elliott Daingerfield painting and the back cover is Opicherhoka, a house in Blowing Rock built in 1888 and named for the many types of wood represented in the structure (oak, pine, chestnut, rhododendron and kalmia). The building is one of three in the town’s Vardell Family Cottages Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places—the United States’ official roster of properties worthy of preservation. Daingerfield, a well-respected painter who grew up in Fayetteville and studied in New York, frequently summered in 38
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Blowing Rock between the mid-1880s and his death in 1932. He owned three summer homes in Blowing Rock over the course of his life—Edgewood Cottage, Windwood Cottage and Westglow—all of which are represented in the book. Only the earliest of the three, Edgewood Cottage, has been rebuilt; the other two stand as originally constructed. In addition to an overview of the county’s architectural development, the book features three sections of inventory: “Out in the County,” “Up to Blowing Rock” and “In to Boone.” According to the manuscript’s preface, page XIX, these section names were chosen according to the way locals refer to the different areas. “The county section to me is the strongest section,” Bettie said. However, she added, the Blowing Rock section boasts a unique glimpse of former uses for many of the downtown buildings still standing today. “Blowing Rock has always been a summer mecca,” she said. Blowing Rock has about 20 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, most of which were added in the recent past, said Ginny Stevens, president of the Blowing Rock Historical Society and a member of the book committee. “The earliest was put on [the register] in the 1980s,” she said. Currently, the high nationwide interest of putting buildings on the register means that it will be impossible to add all poten-
“Books like this are really the foundation for a community’s preservation, they show concentrations of important buildings. These are buildings we walk by every day and don’t pay attention to. We’re so used to seeing them, we don’t see how they fit into the national scene .” ~ Charles Watkins, member of the historical society’s book committee
tially qualifying local buildings to the register. “There are very valuable buildings [not on the register],” Ginny said. The book serves as a vehicle to make people aware of the precious local heritage and to generate advocacy for it. Without that vehicle—this book—especially the young people will not know to care about preserving the heritage; and then, when they get older and do care, it will no longer be there, she added. The downtown Boone post office ranks among the architectural gems found in the Boone section. “The post office shows the government’s embrace of the Colonial Revival tradition in the 1930s,” Charles said. Also, after WWI, Boone adopted the bungalow style for domestic architecture, which was a national trend at the time. That marked “probably the first time Boone adopted a national style as the dominant style,” Charles said. “Books like this are really the foundation for a community’s preservation,” he said. “They show concentrations of important buildings. These are buildings we walk by every day and don’t pay attention to. We’re so used to seeing them, we don’t see how they fit into the national scene.” Works Progress Administration (WPA) houses once sat where the John Thomas building is on ASU’s campus today, Charles added. “Boone’s oldest planned neighborhood is Grand Boulevard, which was started in 1923 by businessmen from Greensboro,” Bettie said. Although structures in the book’s Boone section as a whole do not date as far back as those in the other sections, the historical society hopes to cover more of Boone’s post-WWII neighborhoods in a second book, Diane said. The Architectural History of Watauga County costs $65 plus $9 shipping and handling if it is not picked up in person. Two thousand copies have been printed, and as of press time, advance sales number about 200, Bettie said. A reception featuring book pick-ups and
The downtown Boone post office is a Colonial Revival building from the 1930s.
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signings will be held at the Jones House Community Center on Friday, October 23, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. Books will also be available for sale for those who did not preorder copies, and all members of the book committee, as well as the editor, Dan Pezzoni, will attend.
A Long Time Coming
As stated in preface page XIII of The Architectural History of Watauga County, “Modern documentation and preservation efforts gained momentum in the 1970s with the nomination of the Gragg House, Mast General Store and Westglow as the county’s first listings in the National Register of Historic Places.” The first in-depth architectural surveys, which would later be incorporated into The Architectural History of Watauga County, were conducted in 1988-89. Elizabeth Stevens and Deborah Thompson were graduate students at ASU when they, with the help of volunteers, carried out the Watauga County, North Carolina Historical Site Project. An even heftier contributor to the book was the more comprehensive 2002-03 Watauga County Historic Resources Survey, for which Tony VanWinkle was the principal field investigator. In its preliminary stages, the survey materials were boxed up and sent to the archives in Asheville (formally titled the North Carolina Office of Archives and History’s Western Office in Asheville) several times over the course of its creation when manpower and money
The Gragg House (top left), Westglow (middle) and the Mast Store (bottom two pictures) were three of the first buildings in Watauga County to be put on the National Register of Historic Places.
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ran short. “I remember working on it in the 1970s, taking pictures [and] doing interviews,� Bettie said. “We’ve been stopped several times for lack of money.� The Watauga County Historical Society has spent $250,000 on the book over the past three decades, and has taken out multiple loans, she added. The Watauga County Historical Society, first organized in 1977, had a turbulent history. “For the first 20 years of its existence, it was a viable force, and then it lost its focus. Then with Joe Furman’s insistence on getting the book done, the need to get the book done brought the historical society back to life,� Diane said. Joe initially contacted members of the historical society and several others interested in architecture and history in 2005, he said. As the director of Watauga County Planning and Inspections, “I had been involved with trying to get some grants from the state in the past that would help us prepare surveys,� Joe said. The next logical step after surveys are completed is to create a book based on the scholarly documents, he said. “Many counties have them,� Joe said. “It’s an interesting way to look at the county’s history through the architecture. They are tied together [and the book] makes a nice keepsake.� After Joe’s encouragement to start working on the book, the historical society started to reorganize. “I wanted to resurrect Watauga County Historical
The 1902-03 home of Dauphin Disco (D.D.) Dougherty and his wife Lillie (top) stood on Rivers Street before it was moved to its present location between Blowing Rock and Boone. D.D. and his brother Blanford Barnard Dougherty were instrumental in ASU’s creation and each had a campus building named after them. The D.D. Dougherty building (above right) was once ASU’s library.
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“I think it’s a book that will make people
proud, so many of these houses belong to the founding fathers of Watauga County, and we’re responsible for that memory.” ~Bettie Bond, Watauga County Historical Society vice president The present-day Green Park Inn (left) in Blowing Rock was built in 1891 and was formerly known as the Green Park Hotel (black and white below). The Prout-Atkins House (bottom left) was built in 1848 as the residence of Rev. Henry Hudson Prout. It still stands today in Foscoe as one of the most signifcant antebellum buildings in the county. The Cove Creek High School (bottom right) was built by the same stonemasons who constructed the downtown Boone post office and worked on buildings at Duke University, including the Duke Chapel—Leslie, Clarence and Earl Lyons. The school was completed in 1941.
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Society,” Bettie said, adding that they had to start from square one, because all society records had disappeared. All that remained was a number, and no one knew exactly what that number was. “Leo Mast out of Cove Creek called the N.C. Department of Revenue,” Bettie said. “He [then] told me it was a bank ID number.” The historical society, as it turned out, had been incorporated—the first step to becoming a nonprofit—but no one had taken the next step of filing for its 501(c)(3) status. That process took 18 months, Bettie said. Once the nonprofit status was obtained, the organization could solicit tax-exempt donations. The Ginn Development Company gave $10,000, and contributions were also made early on by the Watauga County Tourism Development Association and Watauga County, Diane said. The society organized a book committee, which was comprised of Pat Beaver, Judy Bondi, Joe Furman, Fred Hay, Tuesdae Rice and Don Saunders, in addition to Diane, Catherine, Bettie, Ginny and Charles. The project of creating the book has brought about a higher level of cooperation between the Blowing Rock Historical Society and the Watauga County Historical Society. “We revived the Watauga County Historical Society three to four years ago,” said Don, a Blowing Rock Historical Society board member and a retired ASU history professor. “It hadn’t been active in a while. “We’ve been seeking sponsors for publicity here in Blowing Rock and trying to promote [the book] through the Blowing Rock Historical Society,” Don said. “About one-third of the book is houses and properties in Blowing Rock. I think this project has helped bring us together probably moreso than in the past.” The two societies are already planning for future collaborations on various other projects, he added. “Blowing Rock Historical Society is prestigious,” Bettie said. “We haven’t gotten that cache yet. We depend on the goodwill of the [Watauga County Library] to let us meet there.” “Eventually, we’ll have a building with archival space and meeting space,” Diane said. “We hope the excitement created by the book will encourage people to join [the society]. We’re an educational entity that tries not only to preserve buildings but also educate people about the history of the county.” The book took about three years to come together, and Bettie said that she, Ginny, Don, Diane, Charles and Catherine really
The 1886 Schenck House (bottom left), located in Blowing Rock, is an example of an L-form home. St. Mary of the Hills Episcopal Church in Blowing Rock (bottom right) is a Gothic Revival building that was completed in 1921. Daingerfield donated toward the construction and also donated his painting Madonna of the Hills to the church, which inspired its name. The church had previously been known as Stringfellow Memorial Episcopal Church.
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carried the project in its final year. The society hired Dan Pezzoni, an architectural historian and preservation consultant with Landmark Preservation Associates in Lexington, Va., as the book’s editor. Dan previously edited or co-edited similar architectural inventory publications for seven other North Carolina counties. His job title includes more than just proofreading, Dan said in a May 2008 High Country Press interview. As editor, he performs additional research and photography for the books, taking the survey information and turning it into something readable and visually appealing. This book will be “a cross between a coffee table book and a scholarly architectural history,� he said. “It’s something that someone who has a scholarly interest in the county’s architecture will find of interest and will be a beautiful book in itself.� All the people who have poured their energies into making The Architectural History of Watauga County a reality agree on its quality and on its importance to the area. “I think it’s a book that will make people proud,� Bettie said. “So many of these houses belong to the founding fathers of Watauga County, and we’re responsible for that memory.� w
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e c a l P o N e k i L
Z O
Story by A nna Oakes Photography by K en K etchie
N
early 40 years after the Land of Oz theme park opened on Beech Mountain, the fairy tale becomes reality again every October.
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No, Toto, it certainly isn’t K ansas.
A
t 5,506 feet above sea level, Beech Mountain hardly resembles the flat plains of Dorothy Gale’s back yard. But saddled between the two pinnacles of the mountain, the Land of Oz theme park combined the wonder and imagination of L. Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz story with the scenery and culture of Appalachia. The short-lived Land of Oz theme park closed its doors in 1980, but the legend continues every October, when Cindy Keller hosts the two-day Autumn at Oz party at the site of the former park. Interestingly enough, Keller was not a fan of The Wizard of Oz as a youngster. “I was terrified,” she said about her reaction to the film. But in many years of working to restore the park, Cindy has become a true aficionado, with a ruby red slippers doorstop in her office and “We’re Off” printed on her vanity license plate. The annual Land of Oz reunion is celebrating its 16th year this year, growing from a crowd of hundreds in 1993 to thousands in 2008. “Now,” she says, “they would have this party whether I was here or not.” Above: Lines can form at Autumn at Oz as visitors eagerly wait to have their pictures made with the characters. Below: They’re off! Oz-goers have the option of a scenic chairlift ride or a comfortable shuttle bus to the top of Beech Mountain.
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“Tourism was a whole new industry for these people.” Cindy Keller, Autumn at Oz coordinator and Emerald Mountain broker
B
efore the Robbins brothers transformed Beech Mountain into a destination resort area in the 1960s, few reasons—other than the mountain’s supply of timber and moonshine—enticed outsiders to traverse the isolated community’s rugged terrain of dense forests and rocky outcroppings. Reports of gold and silver sent prospectors scurrying to the region in the 1940s, but little, if anything, came of the rumors. Then Grover Robbins, Jr. came calling. Grover, a Blowing Rock native, along with his brothers Spencer and Harry, were steaming ahead with a string of successful tourism and real estate ventures that would come to include Tweetsie Railroad, Hound Ears Golf and Ski Resort, Linville Land Harbor and a St. Croix beach resort in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Dr. Thomas Brigham invited the pioneering developers to invest in his dream for a ski slope at Beech Mountain, and Grover—the brothers’ leader and visionary—dove headfirst into the project. Grover and his Carolina Caribbean Corporation set about conquering the untamed mountain with a wildly ambitious plan to build a ski slope, golf courses and 9,000 residential lots on 10,000 acres. But the Robbins brothers wanted another attraction to keep visitors—and potential homebuyers—coming to Beech year round. In the 1950s, the Hufty family had purchased acreage on the peak of the mountain to grow apples, but the harsh ridge-top climate proved to be illsuited for an orchard. Carolina Caribbean struck a deal with the Huftys for a 40-year lease on the property for a theme park. The Robbins brothers then commissioned Jack Pentes of Charlotte to design the park. An award-winning, self-taught designer, Jack would later make a fortune from inventing the indoor children’s playsets that are common at fast food restaurants. Atop Beech Mountain, the emerald green grass and gnarled, twisted trees— whipped into peculiar shapes by years of
unrelenting winds—sparked a flashback to Jack’s favorite childhood movie, The Wizard of Oz. “The hair stood up on the back of my neck...when I first saw that long emerald grass that had never been cut, the trees with those twisted arms that picked off
The twisted, gnarly beech trees shaped by gusty winds on Beech Mountain reminded park designer Jack Pentes of the trees that threw their apples at the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz.
their apples and threw them at the Tin Man,” Jack told Oxford American magazine in an article published in 2001. Work began on the 16-acre theme park using a team of regional artists and local labor. “Most everyone that worked here were local craftsmen,” said Cindy. The stonemasons and carpenters from the backside of Beech Mountain were illiterate but very talented, she said. It is rumored that Grover used to take time to read the workers’ mail to them. “These people were poor,” Cindy
said. “Tourism was a whole new industry for these people.” To avoid copyright infringement, Carolina Caribbean avoided direct references to the 1939 MGM film, instead choosing to call the park Land of Oz. Jack used L. Frank Baum’s series of Oz books, which were in the public domain, as inspiration. “They didn’t copy anything from the movie,” Cindy said. The designer poured all of his creative energy into the park’s creation, carefully positioning the winding Yellow Brick Road around the mountain’s natural features. “He put his whole self into it,” said Fred Pfohl, owner of Fred’s General Mercantile on Beech Mountain and a former Carolina Caribbean employee. “[The Robbins brothers] gave him pretty much the range to do anything he wanted to.” Fred worked about five years at Land of Oz, first as the maintenance manager and later as general manager of operations. To pave the Land of Oz’s most distinguishing feature, 44,000 oversized yellow bricks were fired and glazed five times, said Cindy. But the slick glaze caused several slipping accidents in the park’s first year. To remedy this flaw, the park returned every single brick to the factory in the offseason, and the manufacturers added grit to the brick surfaces for traction. To the park’s good fortune, MGM just happened to announce a massive auction of its movie props and memorabilia in 1970, and a Robbins brother went to Los Angeles to scoop up as many of the iconic movie’s original items as possible for the park’s museum. Among the prized possessions he brought home to Beech Mountain were numerous costumes, including Munchkin hats and slippers, a Winkie’s sword, witches’ stockings, and the Gatekeeper’s jacket, which was constructed of heavy wool and likely weighs a good 30 pounds, Cindy said. The Robbinses were outbid on the ruby red slippers, but they
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landed Dorothy’s classic blue and white gingham dress after negotiating with actress Debbie Reynolds, who was at the auction vying for items for her collection of Hollywood memorabilia. The Robbins brothers agreed to share the dress with Reynolds, promising to ship it to her California museum for display during the park’s offseason. Sparing no detail, Jack and his team worked grueling hours to get the park finished in time. A crowd of 4,000 attended opening day at Land of Oz on June 15, 1970, including celebrity special guests such as Reynolds, who cut the ceremonial ribbon; her daughter Carrie Fisher, who several years later starred as Princess Leia in Star Wars; and Cassius Clay, the world heavyweight champion boxer later known as Muhammad Ali. Sadly, the man who first envisioned the theme park would not live to see the first crowds come streaming through the gates. Grover died on March 4, 1970— just three months before the Land of Oz opening—at the young age of 50. An antique warplane dusted his ashes between the two pinnacles of Beech, and his grave marker lies on a side path off the Yellow Brick Road. “His vision of this empire, had he lived, would have put Ted Turner and Donald Trump to shame,” said Cindy.
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hanks to the Robbinses’ superb marketing skills, 400,000 visitors flocked to Land of Oz in its first year, making it the leading tourist attraction in North Carolina. In 1971, the park became the second most popular tourist attraction in the eastern United States—behind Disney World. Park visitors could park and ride a green bus to the top of Beech Mountain or ride the ski resort’s lift. Excited children and families arrived at the portion of the park that represented Kansas. They passed an entry gazebo and the Memorial Overlook, which featured a breathtaking view of the surrounding mountains and valleys. On a pedestal in the overlook gazebo was a green sculpture of Judy Garland, protectively cradling Toto in her arms. From there, the path continued through the woods to Uncle Henry and Auntie Em’s farm—complete with a 5/8-scale replica of Dorothy’s house and a barn and petting zoo with dozens of farm animals, in-
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Clockwise from above, Spencer Robbins, actress Debbie Reynolds and designer Jack Pentes cut the ribbon at Land of Oz in June 1970; Dorothy and Toto make their way back to Kansas in the park’s hot air balloon ride; and the Tin Man and Cowardly Lion walk down the Yellow Brick Road.
cluding pigs, calves, sheep, horses and the ever-popular Twinkles the Goat. Farmhands picked bluegrass on the porch while guests waited for Dorothy to invite them inside. The back room of the house was off limits—that’s where the seven or eight Dorothys were stationed, waiting their turns to lead a tour. Past the parlor and Dorothy’s bedroom, everyone entered the kitchen, where a voice warned them to get in the cellar because a cyclone was coming. Down they went through a dark, descending maze, where sights and sounds simulated a storm and a film of a tornado was projected onto a wall. When the storm was over, visitors were led upstairs to a different kitchen on the other side of the house, where the walls and floor were skewed crookedly and everything had been upturned. They exited the house to find they had landed in Oz and on top of a pair of legs with striped stockings—the Wicked Witch of the East! Ahead was the Yellow Brick Road and Munchkinland, with all its colorful mushrooms and flowers. Along the way, the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion performed song-and-dance routines; the tourists passed by a birdhouse with
October 2009
tropical birds—who didn’t fare too well in the Beech Mountain climate—and they witnessed the foolish antics of the Wicked Witch of the West. Finally, they reached the gate to Emerald City and proceeded to the amphitheater to watch the “Magic Moment,” the stage performance that wrapped up the tour. Seated visitors watched the appearance of the Wizard of Oz through green glasses. Through dance and song, the four main characters implored the Wizard to give them a heart, a brain, courage and a trip home to Kansas. The Dorothy performing in the “Magic Moment” was not the same girl who had just led the tour of the Yellow Brick Road. After arriving at Emerald City, the first Dorothy secretly departed to Dorothy’s house to prepare for another tour. Two Dorothys always worked the show. The first would perform on stage and sing “Over the Rainbow” before disappearing into a cloud of smoke, said Cay Harkins, who worked as a Dorothy at Land of Oz in 1977. Then, magically, the other Dorothy would appear waving above the crowd in one of the hot air balloons that circled the park on a track. Jack, a perfectionist, would visit
Munchkinland and Emerald City teemed with the bright, psychedelic hues of the ‘60s and ‘70s, painted on hundreds of giant mushrooms, flowers and other decor.
Land of Oz in the weeks before each season’s opening to help prepare the staff of high school and college students, Fred remembers. He would give a presentation and slideshow about the construction of the park, and the choreographer and music director would help with the dance and song routines. “It was a very well-oiled machine with everybody knowing what their jobs were,” said Fred—no Tin Man pun intended. At Land of Oz, Dorothy’s white and blue gingham skirt showed considerably
more leg than Judy Garland’s calf-skimming frock. The other characters’ costumes, however, were not as well ventilated. Most were heavy and hot, and the Cowardly Lion’s costume was made from real lion’s fur. The first year, the characters couldn’t see very well out of their masks, causing them to fall over. By the mid-1970s, Carolina Caribbean’s once fast-moving engine was slowing to a halt. The company suffered because of the recession and gas crisis. The infrastructure on Beech Mountain was very costly, and development of lots couldn’t
keep up with sales. In St. Croix, the wellpublicized murder of a group of tourists scared away any potential buyers. In 1974, Carolina Caribbean was forced to declare bankruptcy, and Land of Oz transferred to the mortgage holder, Tri-South of Atlanta. Attendance had dipped to a dismal 66,000 in the 1975 season, and tragedy struck again in December 1975, when a fire burned the Emerald City theater. “It was gone before anyone realized it was in flames,” Cindy said. The blaze destroyed the park’s costumes and audio and visual equipment. In the fire’s wake,
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“It was truly an extra special place unlike any other theme park that you’ve ever seen.” Fred Pfohl, owner of Fred’s General Mercantile and former Land of Oz manager vandals pillaged the museum, making off with valuable items, including the prized dress from the 1939 film. “The Emerald City area suffered severely,” Fred said. The new owners of Land of Oz worked hard to rebuild the theater before the 1976 season, but “the fix that was made wasn’t exactly the same as it had been in the beginning,” he said. The new owners were more interested in the ski resort than the theme park. “The Land of Oz became a stepchild,” he said. Twinkles the Goat and the other farm animals were replaced with fake animals. The characters no longer had elaborate masks—instead, their faces were painted on—and their vignettes were shortened. “The money became more important than the production,” Cindy said. “The gifts got cheaper; the crowds got smaller.” Theme parks must continually add new rides or features to maintain interest, but Land of Oz never did. “We tried real hard to come up with a few things we might be able to say were new,” Fred said, including a puppet show by the Witch’s Castle, but it wasn’t enough. Jack wanted to purchase the park himself but was unable to because of various complications, said Fred, who became close friends with the Charlotte designer. Jack
would later help Fred design his General Mercantile, which opened in 1979 and continues to thrive in Beech Mountain. Disenchanted with the changes in the park’s operations, Fred left after 1975. “A lot of other people went on to other things,” said Fred. Jack a developed a plan to expand the park, designing a new Flying Monkey Forest playground and a medicine salesman’s wagon, the Oxford American article said. He estimated the costs of expansion and repairs would cost about $3 million, but the new owners weren’t willing to make the investment. Ultimately, Land of Oz could not overcome
Many volunteers dress in extraordinary costumes to bring the Land of Oz theme park back to life each October. “The witch is one of the most coveted positions,” said Cindy Keller, coordinator of Autumn at Oz.
its financial woes or compete with the likes of Disney, Carowinds and Six Flags. The park closed after the 1980 season.
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he theme park property returned to the control of the Hufty family, and over the next decade, the park fell victim to neglect, vandalism and the elements. “It’s amazing what 10 years will do to a piece of property,” she said. In 1990, the Hufty family founded Emerald Mountain Realty to develop their 450-acre tract on Beech Mountain, and Cindy became broker and property manager. They set about trying to recover the Land of Oz, bulldozing the Emerald City portion and excavating the Yellow Brick Road. Alex Hufty had the idea to invite Land of Oz staffers back for a reunion, and Ski Beech opened the lifts for a reunion party on the July 4th weekend in the early ‘90s. A year or so later, the Hufty family approached Cindy about having another reunion. She agreed, but not in July. “It’s not enough time,” she said. Emerald Mountain decided to hold the Autumn at Oz party for several reasons—for a nostalgic reunion, to raise
money for park restorations, to attract visitors to the mountain and to take back control over a property that people had grown accustomed to helping themselves to over the years. “We want to share it, but we’ve got to share it on our terms,” said Cindy. The first Autumn at Oz party took place in early October 1993. Stormy weather from a hurricane knocked out power on Beech Mountain just a few days earlier. “I came this close to calling it off,” said Cindy, but “my boss said, ‘The show must go on.’” Power returned the day before, and between 300 and 500 people attended the first Autumn at Oz. Emerald Mountain invited Jack Pentes to attend the first year’s festivities. “The word he used was ‘bittersweet,’” Cindy said. “To see it in such decay and decline...broke his heart.” Cindy, her husband Andy Porter and other volunteers have worked to restore or recreate something from the park every year, using old photos as a reference. They repaired the cracked, leaking fountain at the entrance. They rebuilt the Judy Garland Memorial Overlook gazebo. Dorothy’s house and Uncle Henry’s barn have
had a tremendous amount of work. Fifteen to 20 years of mold and mildew have been scrubbed from the walls of the storm cellar. The frog pond that stores water for the waterfall along the Yellow Brick Road took quite a bit of time to repair, but it once again holds water. A friend helped rebuild the Witch’s Castle from scratch using metal stovepipes Andy found in a dumpster. The roofs of several gazebos have been replaced with cedar shake. About 10 years ago, Cindy sold a house to a man who happened to own a brick factory, and he donated 500 replica bricks to replace ones stolen from the Yellow Brick Road over the years. Cindy was also able to recover one of the balloons from the balloon ride that circled the park. Several years ago, someone from Ski Beech called Cindy to tell her they had some stuff in storage there and asked if she wanted to come get it, because if not they planned to toss it. What she found was a treasure chest of original costumes, park brochures and posters and items from the Land of Oz—and even a few remaining items from the MGM auction. Cindy has also added to the collection over the years and recreates the museum each year for
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The Wizard of Oz Turns 70 The iconic movie that produced such memorable phrases as “there’s no place like home” and “lions and tigers and bears! oh my!” and such unforgettable characters as Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion is 70 years old as of August. The Wizard of Oz, based on L. Frank Baum’s 1900 children’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was released by MGM on August 25, 1939. The film starred Judy Garland as Dorothy, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley and Billie Burke. The film won Academy Awards for best original score and best song for “Over the Rainbow.” It also received Oscar nominations for best picture, best art direction, best cinematography and best special effects. The Wizard of Oz was aired annually on television from 1959 to 1991, and the Library of Congress names the movie as the mostwatched film in history.
“The friends that we made—it was so much fun. It was just a blast.” Cay Harkins, Studio K owner and former Dorothy
Autumn at Oz. To staff the Autumn at Oz event, Cindy hires three theatre groups and a host of volunteers, with more colorful, costumed characters to show you around than ever staffed Land of Oz at any one time. The party has even featured original actors cast as Munchkins in the 1939 film. Returning year after year are the diaspora of former Land of Oz staff and cast members, known fondly as the “Ozzies,” to reunite and reminisce. Some share with Cindy examples of the mischief and fun they had behind the scenes: one lady, a former dancing mushroom, told her, “I was the first person to ever go streaking through Oz!” Cay, for her part, found a husband at Oz. Andy Harkins was a Tin Man at Land of Oz several years before she played the role of Dorothy, but he was still working at Beech Mountain when she arrived. The stage manager at Land of Oz set the 56
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two up on a blind date. “It was because of Land of Oz that we met,” she said. Cay’s dance company Studio K has performed the Wizard of Oz ballet several times, and their dog is named Toto. Andy has reprised his role as the Tin Man at Autumn at Oz, their daughter Ashley has played Dorothy and Toto has played, well, himself. “The friends that we made—it was so much fun,” Cay said about her time at Land of Oz. “It was just a blast.” Attendance at Autumn at Oz has grown by leaps and bounds, with a record 8,200 paying visitors in 2008. “It’s one of the bigger events that we have up here,” Cindy said. “It’s amazing how many people come back year after year for this thing.” Several years ago, Emerald Mountain expanded the event from one day to two and handed over ticket sales to the Beech Mountain Chamber of Commerce. “It takes about a month to six weeks to get ready for this party,” Cindy said,
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“and a good two weeks to get over it.” The $15 admission price helps fund the costs of the AppalCART shuttle buses, entertainers, insurance and the park’s ongoing restoration projects. “We make money two days and we spend money 363,” remarked Cindy. Joining the many costumed volunteers at the Land of Oz will be just as many visitors who come dressed in their own homemade Wizard of Oz attire. Scores of women and children—and even a few men—come dressed as Dorothy and other popular characters. “Some of these people spend lots of time and lots of money [on their costumes],” Keller said. Fred stays busy at his General Mercantile on Autumn at Oz weekend, but he also stays away for sentimental reasons. “I’m kind of a diehard that always likes to remember it like it was,” he said. “It was truly an extra special place unlike any other
theme park that you’ve ever seen.� Future projects for Land of Oz include rebuilding the Emerald City amphitheater and picnic area. Emerald Mountain is beginning to expand the uses of the park, offering overnight stays at Dorothy’s house and rentals of Land of Oz for private functions. Cindy has considered holding a second public party at the park during the spring or early summer. Despite the successes, “The park is not, nor will it ever be, what it once was,� cautions the Emerald Mountain website. Cindy plans to keep doing the Autumn at Oz parties “until I’m old and gray—and I’m already gray,� she joked. “I think I do it because I must,� she said. “I think that whether I’m here or not, certainly the spirit will carry on without me.�
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Clockwise from left, two Winkie guards patrol the Yellow Brick Road; a young traveler on the Yellow Brick Road rings the bell for entry into Emerald City; and coordinator Cindy Keller works hard to keep Oz clean and inviting.
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A Home For Champions Story by Anna Oakes
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owering seven stories tall over a field elevation of 3,333 feet, Kidd Brewer Stadium looms large in the horizon above the ASU campus and downtown Boone. The newly renovated stadium is the jewel of ASU Athletics and a symbol of the Mountaineer football team’s success over the past few seasons. Boasting one of the best gameday atmospheres in the country, Kidd Brewer Stadium has an average regular season attendance 58
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of 23,324 since the beginning of the 2005 season, with an average of 28,727 attendees during the 2008 regular season. In September, ASU opened the 120,000-square-foot Appalachian Athletics Center, wrapping up a three-year project that increased seating capacity from 16,650 to 21,650 at the stadium, also known as The Rock. The stadium expansion was part of a $50 million Facilities Enhancement
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Campaign that also includes new construction and improvements for the baseball stadium and softball stadium. Sharply designed and covered from ceiling to floor with varying combinations and patterns of black and Appalachian gold, the sparkling new multipurpose center features strength and conditioning, athletic training and academic facilities available for use by all 20 ASU varsity sports
Welcome to the Rock
First home game versus McNeese State, September 12, 2009. Photo by James Fay
Photography by Patrick Pitzer and James Fay and 460 student-athletes. Carpeted locker rooms, specialized meeting spaces, a players’ recreational lounge and coaches’ offices will serve as a tremendous recruiting tool for the ASU football program. “No one is going to have a better training room. No one will have a better weight room. We have the facilities to get [athletes] here and give them a chance to win,” ASU Athletics Director Charlie Cobb told High Country Press.
And the swanky new facility is an alluring incentive for ASU fans and donors, with 18 luxury suites, 600 club seats and a spacious Yosef Club Level and Chancellor’s Suite on the fifth and sixth floors, providing excellent views of the field, the campus and the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains. “We’re ready for the future, instead of being behind,” said Troy Heustess, associate athletics director for facilities.
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Have a Seat 1962—The stadium officially opened with 10,000 seats on September 15, 1962, as Conrad Stadium, named for former ASU trustee and R.J. Reynolds executive William J. Conrad. 1979—Seating capacity was expanded to 18,000. 1988—Conrad Stadium was renamed in 1988 in honor of Kidd Brewer, one of the most successful head coaches in ASU football history. Brewer’s 1937 team was undefeated and shut out every opponent in the regular season. 1995—Kidd Brewer Stadium’s capacity decreased to 16,650 seats after an extensive renovation and restoration project on the original 10,000 seats. 2008—The addition of a new 4,400-seat upper deck on the east side boosts the official capacity to 20,150. In a nationally televised Halloween night game, ASU sets a new attendance record of 30,931. 2009—A three-year renovation of Kidd Brewer Stadium is completed, featuring 21,650 total seats. The facility debuts on September 12 with a crowd of 27,914.
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Transformation
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he renovation and construction work began after the 2006 season, when crews removed the former press box on the west side to begin building the new multistory complex, which runs the length of the west side stands. With attendance skyrocketing after the football team’s national championships and upset of Michigan, the ASU Board of Trustees approved the addition of a 4,400-seat upper deck to the east side in December 2007. Completed in time for the 2008
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season, the east-side expansion also included a new concourse with 200 new restrooms, concessions and merchandise booths and 400 new handicapped and companion seats. Also in 2008, ASU installed a new “AppVision” video scoreboard with a widescreen display nearly twice the size of the previous screen. And visitors to Kidd Brewer were greeted with a new brick entrance plaza and a sign that reads “Welcome to The Rock.”
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Welcome to the Rock
Photo courtesy University Communications
Sofield Family Indoor Practice Facility
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ocated on the hill behind the west side of the stadium is the Sofield Family Indoor Practice Facility, named for Tommy Sofield, a 1976 ASU alumnus and former offensive lineman. The facility opened in October 2007 and has an 80-by-60-yard turf field, sheltering varsity teams from adverse weather conditions for practices.
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Welcome to the Rock
Photo courtesy University Communications
Prestige
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he centerpiece of the Appalachian Athletic Center’s first floor is the football team locker room, a spacious, open area with stone walls and columns, black carpet, gold accents, soft lighting and 116 cherry wood grain lockers. Each player’s locker displays a glossy, framed photograph of the athlete in game action with his name, number and hometown. A digital clock mounted on a rock façade is precisely synchronized with the stadium game clock. The locker room is located on the same level as the stadium’s rehabilitation, treatment and hydrotherapy rooms; sports medicine center; equipment storage; and Game Day Lobby, which can be accessed from an entrance on the west side concourse. The concourse itself received a spiffy makeover, with brick pavers replacing the pavement that formerly lined its surface.
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ead football coach Jerry Moore has visited many stadiums across the country and had a lot of ideas for ASU’s new facility, Athletics Director Charlie Cobb said. “He’s a closet architect,” Cobb added.
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Photos by Patrick Pitzer
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Welcome to the Rock
Health
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ew hydrotherapy pools will prove to be important for rehabilitating student athletic injuries. “That’s a huge part of what we have,” Cobb said. One of the three pools will feature a variable-speed underwater treadmill, which can be beneficial for players recovering from lower body injuries. The pool’s high-powered water jets are strategically placed for resistance training and deep tissue massage. The underwater treadmill technology was first developed for injured racehorses. Many horses scramble in water and arch their backs to keep their heads above the surface, which can cause further injury. The other two pools are warm and cold water therapy pools.
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lso located on the ground floor are examining rooms and tables for physical trainers. Not only will the rooms serve as a close location for players to seek medical attention to injuries, they will also function as a work-
ing laboratory for students of sports medicine and athletic training. The facility streamlines the laundry process with four washers, seven dryers and special lockers for uniforms and practice gear.
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Welcome to the Rock
Strength
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t 8,500 square feet, the secondfloor Strickland Strength and Conditioning Room is three times the size of the weight room in Owens Field House. The Strength and Conditioning Room is available for use by all student-athletes at ASU. In front of each machine is a cushioning pad marked with ASU’s signature block A logo. The room is outfitted with several flat screen TVs and a sound system, and adjacent to the weight room is a hydration station. “We’re pretty pleased with this space,” Cobb said. Down the hall, the football players’ recreational lounge features a foosball table and other games. The football coaches’ locker room and strength and conditioning coaches’ offices are also on this floor.
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he auditorium, featuring black leather theater seating, is a multifunctional space where postgame press conferences take place and where the entire football team can gather for Friday night movies.
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he third floor exists for mechanical equipment only and was used as a spacer to elevate the press box, Cobb said. On the fourth floor is the main staff entrance on the back side of the building, with a receptionist’s lobby, the ASU Athletics Hall of Fame, coaches’ offices, Athletics staff offices, a lounge and classrooms, a computer lab and study areas for studentathletes.
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ultiple positional meeting rooms exist for linebackers, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, running backs, receivers, quarterbacks and special teams players and kickers to meet together with their respective coaches. Each room features stadium seating and projection screens to allow players to review game film. “Coaches consider this their teaching space,� Cobb said.
Photos by Patrick Pitzer
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Pride The VIP Club Level on the fifth floor has an expansive carpeted room with tables and seating, flat screen TVs, a concession stand, a catering kitchen and large windows with a view of the field. Glass doors open to 600 black padded club seats above the west side stands, protected by an overhang and overhead heaters to keep Yosef Club patrons warm during cold weather. “It’s really to give people something that they never had before,” Cobb said.
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pacious men’s and women’s restrooms are decorated with shiny black tile and gold wallpaper. An ASU alumnus who owns a plumbing business donated fixtures for the building, including black sinks with gold faucets, gold water fountains and black commodes with gold flushing mechanisms and a block A etched into every valve cap.
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Photos by Patrick Pitzer
Class
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n the sixth floor is the suite level, with 18 luxury suites and the Chancellor’s Suite in the center. Suites are available for upwards of $25,000 per year. Each luxury suite has a kitchenette with cabinets, marble countertops and a mini-fridge; furniture; cushioned stadium seating; two
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LG flat screen TVs; and large retractable windows that can provide open-air enjoyment of the game or shelter from the elements. Leasers of luxury suites can decorate the spaces as they wish. Located at the 50-yard line, the Chancellor’s Suite has seating for 75.
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Photo by James Fay
Welcome to the Rock
Photo by James Fay
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State-of-the-Art
opping the Appalachian Athletics Center is the new press box, featuring a press room with stadium seating for writers and a work area for pho-
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tographers. TV broadcast bays are located at the 50- and both 25-yard lines. Also on the hall are radio broadcast booths, a video board control room, a press break room and access to two open-air balconies with incredible views.
Photos by Patrick Pitzer
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Bright, NFL-standard lights illuminate the field during night games.
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echnology at the new center allows crews to capture film of the first half of the game for the football players and coaches to review at halftime.
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Welcome to the Rock
Photo by James Fay
Finished
Photo by Patrick Pitzer
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onstruction crews worked to the very last minute putting the finishing touches on Kidd Brewer Stadium, with some workers spending nights at the facility. Now that the renovation of Kidd Brewer Stadium is complete, the uni-
versity also plans to use the facility for non-athletic events. Cobb said the Athletics Department hopes to partner with the Office of Arts and Cultural Programs to bring two to three big-name concerts to the stadium each summer.
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October 2009 2009 October
What You’ve Always Dreamed Of!
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mountain made kraut The Rise and Fall of Cabbage in the High Country Story by Val Maiewskij-Hay Cabbage was such an important subsistence crop in the High Country that it was celebrated in traditional songs popular in the area, such as “Bile Them Cabbages Down, Turn Those Hoecakes Around.” First brought to Watauga County in the mid-1700s by settlers of European descent, cabbage thrived in the area’s ideal growing conditions of cool and rainy weather with loamy soil. Cabbage became a commonly grown vegetable because kept a long time after harvest and was versatile; it could be eaten raw, cooked in many different ways or preserved as sauerkraut. Until about 1900, Watauga County farmers were primarily subsistence farmers, only occasionally selling or trading their extra produce at local markets. As roads improved, farmers traveled further to regional markets to sell and trade. Horse-drawn wagons loaded with cabbage, potatoes, corn, beans and other products wound their way down the mountain to Lenoir, Hickory and Wilkesboro, and often those selling/buying/trading trips would take days. The farmers camped along the way and cooked their own food over open fires. Once they reached their destination, they sold or traded their produce for items that were either unavailable or very expensive in the mountains. C. K. Norris, a farmer in Meat Camp, described his selling trips during an interview for the Appalachian Oral History Project (W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection) on June 11, 1973. “The roads were real muddy. Sometimes there’d be a row of wagons… right along together. And they’d all camp out of the night, tie our horses and cattle up and feed ‘em. Lot of time we make our bed on the ground under the wagon…We done our own cooking. It was fun. Build a fire outside and cook potatoes and cabbage…It took
about four days to go, four or five days to go to Lenior and back, sell your load out. Took about two days to go and get your load off and get back home and two more to get back. And if it was slow selling, it took another day. Sometimes you’d see 25 or 30 wagons in town selling produce. They peddled a lot; they’d go from house to house…And cabbage was 75 cents to $1 a hundred.” As the roads improved, farmers planted additional crops to sell to further away markets. The Cleveland Star reported on November 7,1917, that in Watauga County, “The number of produce wagons on the road for the past few weeks has been unusually large, and the generous price the farmers are receiving for their cabbage, potatoes, shelled beans, etc., is setting up their bank accounts in a manner most pleasing.” Cabbage from Watauga County was thought to be of exceptional quality and since it matured after the Piedmont cabbage, it was in high demand; however, in 1919, the county had only 105 acres dedicated to cabbage cultivation. Farmers also made sauerkraut for the market. Watauga sauerkraut was transported in 50-gallon barrels to local and regional markets where it was sold out of the barrel into pint or quart containers. This fresh product had a different texture from the canned—it was crunchy and often eaten raw as a salad. By 1922, farmers who had trucks were able to make multiple trips to sell much greater volume, as the Cleveland Star indicated on October 6, 1922. “Cabbage from Watauga County comes to Shelby on trucks. One man brought his fourth truckload to Shelby this week. This was made possible by the good roads that radiate to most every section of the state.” Since farmers could sell more produce, many of them increased their cultivation and production. John Steele, the county agricultural agent, and H. Neal Blair Sr, the sauerkraut specialist for the state extension department,
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George Henry Blair, father of H. Neal Blair, Sr., was a prosperous farmer who grew cabbage for the market as well as for home use. Here he is photographed at the turn of the 20th century taking a wagonload of produce down the mountain. Photo courtesy of the Blair family
helped the county’s cabbage farmers form a cabbage cooperative in the 1920s, which was named the Watauga Cabbage Growers Association. More than 90 farmers signed the “Cabbage Growers Cooperative Association Agreement” on February 3, 1923.
Its stated intent was “to sell cabbage intelligently.” H. Neal Blair Sr., who grew cabbage and made sauerkraut for both home and the market, was chair of the organization committee for the association and later managed the sauerkraut factory. He had
An aerial photograph of North State Canning Company, circa 1967, is provided courtesy of William Miller, son of W.F. Miller Jr. The Watauga County Agricultural Extension Center is housed in the front section of the building, which still stands facing King Street. The large white warehouse building has been demolished and that area is now a parking lot. 78
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160 shares in the cooperative, for which he was to grow three acres of cabbage and manage operations. Each of the other signatories promised to grow one acre of cabbage for 40 shares in the cooperative. The cooperative sold stock to raise money to build and equip the factory. When the sauerkraut factory opened in October 1923, it was the first food processing plant in Boone. The factory had 10 1,000-gallon cypress tanks for fermenting the cabbage and pressure canning equipment with a capacity of 15,000 cans per day. It sold the sauerkraut in cans and fresh in 80-pound tubs and barrels. After two years of operation, the cooperative sauerkraut factory closed. In 1928, W.F. Miller, Sr. and two other North Wilkesboro businessmen leased the factory with an option to buy and named it North State Canning Company. W. F. Miller, Sr. had grown up in Watauga County and wanted to return to the mountains; since he had operated a blackberry canning plant in Wilkesboro, he thought he could run a successful sauerkraut factory. In 1929, the three businessmen purchased the kraut factory, and in 1933, H. B. Perry, Sr.—a Boone doc-
Watauga cabbage was widely distributed in the region and advertised in regional newspapers. Photo courtesy of ASU Special Collections
tor—and W. F. Miller, Sr. became co-owners of the North State Canning Factory. In 1937, W.F. Miller, Sr. died and his son, W.F. Miller, Jr., who had worked in the factory since childhood, took over operations at age 22. Because there were few employment opportunities in Watauga County, the kraut factory was important for the local economy. It provided seasonal employment from August to February and it was a consistent buyer of cabbage. L.E. Tuckwiller came to Boone in 1943 as the Watauga County Extension Agent. In an interview for the Appalachian Oral History Project on April 10, 1973, he said, “Most everyone depended on their farm for their income…the census gave us around 2,600 farms, and the income about $1.5 million, total sales during the year, so you see, there wasn’t really a lot of money floating around.” Since the kraut factory was a guaranteed market for cabbage, more farmers planted it; in 1929, cabbage was cultivated on 595 acres and by 1934, on 1,750 acres. Roy Miller, a Meat Camp farmer who sold cabbage to the kraut factory and sometimes worked there, as had his father, said, “In the 1960s, they paid $18 per ton, which wasn’t a lot of money. But you always knew you could sell all your cabbage there. Some of the other places that trucked cabbage out wouldn’t buy unless they had a buyer for it. So it was good to know you could always sell it to the kraut fac-
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Above are Blair Farm artifacts, which were once used in cabbage cultivation and sauerkraut manufacturing: a two-wheeled cart used to carry cabbage from the field to the wagon (circa mid-19th century); a 50-gallon barrel used to make fresh sauerkraut for the market; a small barrel for home production (circa early 20th century); a mesh bag to hold 50 pounds of cabbage; empty sauerkraut cans and a North State Canning cardboard box.
tory, that helped a lot of people.� If a farmer wanted to grow cabbage for the factory, he would sign a contract in March agreeing to grow a specified number of acres for the factory. The factory supplied the seed for the preferred sauerkraut cabbage variety, Enkhuizen, which could be grown early or late and was a large, heavy, high-yield cabbage, perfect for sauerkraut. Generally, a farmer could grow two crops of this cabbage but had to rotate the land. The planting was staggered during March, April and May so as to produce cabbage at different times for canning. When it was ready to harvest, one person would cut the cabbage off the stalk and toss it to a person in the back of a truck who would then gently lay the cabbage down to prevent bruising. The cabbage averaged 20 to 25 pounds per head and a pickup truck with extended sides could hold about one ton. 80
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At the factory, the truck was weighed with its cabbage load and was unloaded manually, reversing the process with a man tossing the cabbage to someone on the ground who placed it on a conveyor belt. The cabbage was cored and the outer green leaves were removed. It was chopped and layered with salt in vats. The vats were about 30 feet across and about 16 to 17 feet deep. A man in high rubber boots inside the vat spread the cabbage. After the vat was filled, it was covered with plastic and wooden lids. About 1,200 pounds of rocks were placed on top to
The factory also canned sauerkraut juice, which many believed had a variety of health benefits, such as alleviating colds, flu and hangovers. Can courtesy of the ASU Appalachian Cultural Museum Collection
October 2009
Kraut Creek Restoration Story by Val Maiewskij-Hay • Photography by Patrick Pitzer “It would be awesome if downtown Boone had a free flowing, healthy creek—a place where people could connect with nature, where nature and modern life could coexist. Everyone would benefit from a green space in the middle of town,” said Wendy Patoprsty, Kraut Creek Committee member and agricultural extension agent. “I think the demonstration parcel will be a catalyst to open up and restore other sections of the creek. When people see the difference in what it was and what it is now, they will realize that enhancement of the creek is possible, and will support this effort.” Even though the demonstration section is only 235 feet, it is now a natural habitat with restored banks, and wetland features with a variety of plants to absorb storm water runoff. It is no longer contributing
to the pollution of the waterway and shows that the creek can be a natural green space in downtown. The creek restoration effort grew out of an Appalachian State University class project in planning directed by Dr. Jana Carp. The Kraut Creek Restoration Committee first met in 2004 in an effort to restore the health of Boone Creek, known locally as Kraut Creek. The Committee enlisted the aid of the National Committee for the New River—Kraut Creek is a headwater stream of the New River. They wrote and received a grant from the North Carolina Clean Water Management Fund to conduct a feasibility study of the restoration of the creek from its downtown beginning near Rivers Street to Harvey Durham Park on the ASU campus at Rivers Street and Popular Grove Extension. The feasibility study identi-
fied three sections as having good potential for restoration; the section between the ASU parking lot next to Portofino’s up to the Chamber of Commerce parking lot (show above) is the demonstration section which has been completed. Grant funds were also allocated for the section between Jimmy Smith Park and ASU’s Depot Street Parking Lot and the section between Varsity Gym and Rivers Street. Funding has now been approved for the Varsity Gym section, but because of the state budgetary crisis, it is uncertain if and when the Jimmy Smith Park section will be restored. ASU, the single largest landowner along Kraut Creek, is an active participant in the restoration effort. Patrick Beville, Kraut Creek Committee member and ASU’s Project Manager for the demonstration plot, said, “ASU understands the importance of keeping our waterways healthy and is doing everything it can toward this end. Kraut Creek is also an important resource for ASU--many classes use it as a laboratory and it offers a beautiful natural setting that students and faculty can enjoy.” George Santucci, Director of the National Committee for the New River, said, “Working on the creek restoration effort in Boone has been great. We’ve had so many willing partners--ASU, Town of Boone, Chamber of Commerce, and private landowners and so many interested and committed volunteers. We hope that Boone will be a model for other mountain towns in their creek restoration efforts.” For more information, call Lynn Caldwell of the National Committee for the New River at 336-9852-6267.
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Antiques on howArd
hold the covers down to prevent the fermentation gasses from blowing the lids off the vats. After about 30 days of fermentation, the sauerkraut was packed into cans and pressure-cooked. Labels such as Watauga Mountain Grown Old Fashioned Chopped Kraut or Carolina Beauty were put on the cans, which were then taken to the warehouse. In the 1970s, the factory made an average of 2,200 to 3,000 tons of kraut per year, canning 24,000 cases per day. Watauga sauerkraut had an extensive distribution network within the region; the company had its own truck and delivered sauerkraut to retailers in
North Carolina and adjoining states. Grocery wholesale distributors such as MDI and Thomas & Howard picked up the product, as did the chain grocery stores A&P and Winn-Dixie. The factory ran as it had since opening until 1950, when a canning machine was installed to replace the labor-intensive hand-packing process. The plant was expanded several times—in 1960, a warehouse was built; in 1961, a canning facility was constructed; and in 1967, a building to store the vats was built and the original frame building was demolished. North State Canning Company purchased its
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After the cabbage was cleaned, cored, and
Photos courtesy of ASU Special Collections
chopped, it was placed with layers of salt into vats (shown above.) Standing inside the vat, a man in high rubber boots spread out the cabbage and salt evenly. The mixture fermented for about 30 days.
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Once fermentation was complete, the sauerkraut was packed into cans and pressure cooked (using the canning equipment shown below.)
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W.F. Miller, Jr., shown standing in front of a stack of sauerkraut cases, co-owned and operated the factory from 1937 to 1978.
October 2009
Kraut Creek Views Story by Val Maiewskij-Hay • Photography by Greg Williams Although about half of Kraut Creek is culverted, there are a number of places where it runs free and is not yet restored. Harvey Durham Park, built as part of ASU’s Convocation Center construction and the rerouting of Rivers Street, is a very popular spot on campus. Patrick Belville said, “Harvey Durham Park was created to serve as a gateway to the University—a beautiful, aesthetically landscaped park featuring the creek. It was also designed to mitigate flooding. Before the park, the creek was cul-
verted and had the baseball field on top of it, adding to the flooding problem. Now the park serves as flood storage helping to alleviate flood problems upstream and downstream. The park is a great feature for ASU and Boone.” Another place where the creek is “daylighted” is behind Varsity Gym, the site of the second planned restoration section where erosion has threatened the creek bank and Rivers Street. The North Carolina Clean Water Management Fund, ASU and DOT are cooperating in this restoration effort, which is scheduled to begin soon.
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From the restored site to Harvey Durham Park, you can see these views of Kraut Creek along Rivers Street, which are all part of the future restoration project. Top left: Kraut Creek sees daylight as it exits the culvert under Raley parking lot—restoration here will improve the habitat and fish passage. Top right: Bank erosion and concrete drain pipes that discharge into the creek will be transformed during the restoration. Middle: Once the restoration is completed, visitors will be able to look down on restored parts of Kraut Creek from the dining hall patio. Left: Although not restored. the Harvey Durham Park section has been enhanced and made accessible to people. October 2009
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only North Carolina sauerkraut competition, Woods Canning Company in Dobson, in 1960. Machinery and equipment from the Dobson plant were moved to Boone, greatly increasing the plant’s capacity and efficiency. It had 24 vats, each with a 40-ton capacity, and another 24 vats, each with a 25-ton capacity. Before the renovation, the factory employed 30 employees and after only needed 15 employees. The company also canned sauer-
October 2009
kraut juice and a sauerkraut-tomato juice blend, called Watauga Cocktail, which North Carolina State University helped develop. After W.F. Miller, Sr. took over operation of the company, he also canned blackberries for a few years, as he had in Wilkesboro. Cabbage availability began to decline dramatically in the early 1970s due to the combination of fewer farmers, less arable land and the devastating club root
Once a common sight in the county, cabbage fields are now rarely seen. Club root, a fungus that lives in the soil, has made cabbage cultivation much more difficult. Pictured is an existing Holler & Greene cabbage field near Deerfield Road in Watauga County. Photo by Ed Evans, provided courtesy of Holler & Greene
disease—a fungus inhabiting the soil. The cost of making the kraut increased; in 1972, the company paid $35 a ton, up from $20 a ton in 1970, and moreover, consumption was declining. Under these circumstances, as W. F. Miller, Jr. neared retirement, he and his partner John Perry—son of H.B. Perry—decided to sell the company. In 1978, they were in the process of negotiating the sale when W. F. Miller, Jr. retired and died shortly thereafter. Mitchell Mingus, who for a while, canned sauerkraut and also made candy, leased the building. His candy company moved to Bamboo Road and later was transformed through new owners into Hospitality Mints. For a while, the old sauerkraut factory housed the American Wood and Wicker Company. Then, in the mid-1980s, the building and land on West King Street was purchased by Watauga County and became the Agricultural
Extension Center. When the kraut factory first opened, it dumped the outer leaves and the cabbage core into Boone Creek. This practice stopped in the 1930s when the cabbage refuse began to be trucked to the city dump, which was located west of town before Hilltop Drive In. However, the factory continued to dump leftover kraut juice and to rinse the vats into the creek. Because of the distinctive sauerkraut smell emitting from Boone Creek, locals began to call it Kraut Creek—a name that persists even 30 years after sauerkraut was made there. Long-time residents remember the strong odor, especially near the factory when the vats were rinsed .
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YWeeaChan, Do That By Sally Treadwell “I think if someone asked us to put a tower on the top of the Empire States Building,” says Tom Zartman of Phoenix Experiential Designs, “we’d say, yeah, we can do that.” And they probably could.
Alpine Towers’ “Odyssey III.” Built by Robbie Oates, Alan Frye and crew. Custom designed by Robbie for the University of California at Irvine. Photo by Robbie Oates.
M
aybe it was the time in Nicaragua, right after the Sandinistas lost power and the country was on edge, when Robbie Oates found himself staring down the barrel of a machine gun at an improvised vehicle barricade lit by bonfires. Oh, and, of course, he was with a member of the despised new government. Or maybe it was the time he was woken out of a deep sleep to hare off after expensive camera equipment that was about to disappear into the maw of a suddenly-spewing lava flow. He was in Hawaii that time, rigging for a film crew in the Volcanoes National Park. Or maybe it was the time he and his son gleefully (and, it must be said, a trifle tipsy) carried a mattress they’d borrowed from a luxurious guest room for about a mile down a path carved through the jungle to their own far more Spartan quarters. In the middle of the night. Laughing like hyenas. “You don’t get too many father-son bonding opportunities like 86
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Between them, Robbie Oates, Tom Zartman and Alan Frye have spent a total of 54 years building a wide variety of climbing towers, challenge courses and canopy walkways from coast to coast and across the world
that,” he snickered. Yep, any one of thousands of unorthodox Kodak moments could easily qualify as “most memorable” for Robbie’s working life. On the other hand, they’re really just garnish.
October 2009
Because even though any raconteur worth his salt would dine out for months on Robbie’s grab-bag of funny and hairraising stories, the truth is that they’re not even close to being the heart of what Robbie, Tom Zartman and Alan Frye at Phoe-
nix Experiential Designs actually do. What comes through, loudly and clearly, is not only their vitality and quietly confident yeah-we-can-do-that attitude, but also their sheer joy in having spent years making other people say—“Wow! I can’t believe I actually did that!” Phoenix Experiential Designs may be just a few months old, but it has a world of experience and history behind it. Between them, Robbie, Tom and Alan have spent a total of 54 years building a wide variety of climbing towers, challenge courses and canopy walkways from coast to coast and across the world, working with both Canopy Construction Associates and Alpine Towers. They’ve used all that experience to create three designs: an Aerial Teams Course, designed for large groups; the Pinnacle climbing wall; and the Family ReCreate structure, designed to get families working together. Ziplines and canopy walkways pretty much anywhere are a cinch for them—projects like a 103-foot tall bridge and tower system in Peru tend to hone your skills quite well. Even in this dodgy economy the three had absolutely no hesitation in setting up a new company after a philosophydriven split with Alpine Towers. Adventure and challenge courses have become a real phenomenon worldwide, with good reason. Few people want to spend an entire vacation baking on the beach anymore, and a climate change-fueled curiosity about science and the natural world is putting canopy walkways on the map—in fact, all over it. And then there’s the transformative aspect. Schools, retreats and adventure centers are all beginning to recognize and value the way challenge courses can often dramatically change the way people think about themselves, the way they deal with obstacles.
Alpine Towers’ “Odyssey III.” Built by Robbie Oates, Alan Frye and crew for the YMCA’s Camp Erdman, North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. Photo by Robbie Oates
Soldiers training on an Alpine Tower at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Photo by Robbie Oates
How to Survive a Torpedoed Ship The challenge business really started back in wartime 1941. Lawrence Holt, head of the Blue Funnel Shipping Line, discovered that, counter-intuitively, when his ships were torpedoed, younger merchant seamen were far less likely than the older men to survive in lifeboat situations or frigid ocean waters. He enlisted the help of German educator Dr. Kurt Hahn, who quickly figured
Tree house in Hamilton, Bermuda. Built by JG Adventure Construction; Jim Gravely and team, including Robbie and Austin Oates. Photo by Robbie Oates October 2009
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ic g a m e h t f o t r a A big p is the crew; ch everyone has su a joie de vivre.
The Canopy Crew, relaxing in Reserva Amazonica’s Jungle Lodge, after a hard day. Crew from left to right: Bart Bouricius, Charles Coffey, Alan Frye, Tom Owens, Ed Olander, Jim Gravely, Robbie Oates, Robert Dye, Austin Be Amongst the Trees — Canopy Walkway at Inka Terra’s Reserva Amazonica, Tambobata, Peru. Photo by Austin Oates
out that the young seamen were simply inexperienced and hadn’t grown up dealing with difficult situations or learning a variety of practical skills. His solution: a 26-day “shot-in-the-arm” course of intense experiences that would increase the young men’s self-confidence and ability to overcome challenges. Outward Bound, as the course became known, worked. It worked so well that once the threat of German U-boats was gone, Outward Bound continued as a pioneer in outdoor education, attracting a bunch of instructors who not only exulted in creating and supervising exhilarating physical and mental challenges but were also superaware of safety issues. One of those instructors was Mike Fischesser, who had a background of building monkey bridges and roads as a Boy Scout. In 1976 he helped create what was then one of the most spectacular ropes courses anywhere, “the ultimate Tarzan course,” at Table Rock, as a screening tool
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Oates, Richard Knight. Not shown: Phil Wittman, taking the photograph, Roger Stephens and Matt Moncrief, buying the next round.
Itsy Bitsy Spider —Charles Coffey, on Reserva Amazonica in Peru, learning about tarantulas the experimental way. Photo by Phil Wittman.
October 2009
for instructors to check their students’ balance, coordination and strength; the course soon became an event in itself. “People would say, no way I can do it. And then they’d do it anyway and get a natural high,” he remembered. He kept getting requests to design more courses. And eventually he did. “In 1989, Mike called some of us about building the first Alpine Tower,” recalled Tom Zartman, who’d worked with Mike at Outward Bound. He thought the idea was…um…a little crazy. “I told Mike no WAY was it going to fly. I just had no concept of what it would become. But he was so sure that it was going to work that he wrote me a check for three jobs. Knowing Mike and his values and lifestyle, I knew it would be fun, not just all about the bottom line. And it was the best thing since sliced bread—we’d go someplace with poles and bolts and tools, and work like mad, and a few days later we’d walk away and there would be this beautiful, well-built structure that some-
West Coast Construction — Left: Television set for 3 Ball Studio’s “Family Tree” in Santa Clarita, California. Right: Alpine Towers’ Odyssey III, built by Robbie and Austin Oates and team for JH Ranch in Etna, CA. Photos by Robbie Oates
one was going to have a great time with.” A challenge course is often all about getting people who are apprehensive, perhaps a little insecure, to do something that they never dreamed they could do. Something that’s an adrenaline rush, but leaves steady self-confidence and renewed strength in its wake. Camp Broadstone’s Director Jude Bevan finds climbing towers absolutely in-
valuable in her work with kids. “They’re all saying, ‘Here, let me help you up’…everybody’s cheering each other on. It really opens their eyes to their peers—they’ll say, ‘Whoa, I didn’t know Johnny could do this.’ They see that people all have very different talents,” she said. “It’s really helpful to talk about how this relates to the real world—at the time
your mind is going crazy, but you’ve planted a seed and when you get to a roadblock you can draw on that experience to help you move past it.” “One of the teachers told me that the kids are just different afterwards,” said Alan Frye, talking about one of his very favorite Alpine Tower projects at a YMCA camp in Hawaii. The camp not
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only enjoys a spectacular setting but has also touched most of the children in the islands. “As I contacted suppliers and hunted down equipment, virtually every one of them had been to camp there, and they all broke out in smiles.” Mike, in fact, was so thrilled by the transformative effect of adventure on kids that eventually he sold the company to put full-time attention on its youth service project, now known as TAASC (The American Adventure Service Corps). It combines elements of the Peace Corps, Outward Bound and scouting, and Mike’s busy taking kids on canoe trips up by the Arctic Circle and on mountaineering trips to the Tetons and the Sierras.
e with c a l p e m o s o g We’d work d n a , s l o o t d n a poles and bolts w days later fe like mad, and a we’d walk away his et b ld u o w e r e h t and built beautiful, well- one was ome s t a h t e r u t c u r t s going to have h. it w e m i t t a e r g a Adventures in Building Building in rural or exotic locales takes make-it-work, think-on-your-feet, outside-the-box capabilities. “One of the things I love is showing up somewhere new and having to figure it all out—take note of the environment, identify resources, find hardware stores and places to eat; all that kind of stuff,” said Alan. Crews often have to improvise, and frequently see ways to improve on the original design. “A big part of the magic is the crew; everyone has such a joie de vivre. We all come from very different backgrounds and we become a real brotherhood,” said Tom Owens, co-owner of High Country
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Timberframe and Gallery Woodworking. Last year he took time out to join Robbie for an Alpine Tower project for JH Ranch, geared towards increasing understanding between Jews and Christians in Ariel in the West Bank. Building a climbing wall and exten-
October 2009
Desert Heights — Top: Robbie Oates and Rob Barquist of Alpine Towers, building an unusual rappelling tower for Front Sight in Pahrump, Nevada. Photo by Carlton Pendley. Above, the finished tower and rappelling structure. Photo by Robbie Oates
sive high and low ropes courses in Ariel gave Tom “a chance to see a part of the world that most of us only get to know through politicians and the press,” he said, “although I wish we’d had the freedom to travel more. We weren’t restricted but there were places we were told we shouldn’t go. The Arab people we encountered were absolutely wonderful and showed us no animosity; we’d always stop to eat at all these little roadside Arab diners.” “It gave us great insight into what it was like to live in a country that would have been annihilated if it had lost the war, and about the reality of living with an oppressed people,” agreed Robbie, who followed the rule of the courteous guest by avoiding any discussion of politics. Whether he was with Arabs or Israelis or both, he found that, as always, “family is the universal language.”
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Why It’s Sometimes Worth Putting Up With Carnivorous Wasps. A big part of the three Phoenix owners’ experience comes from Robbie’s continuing involvement with Canopy Constructions Associates (CCA). Robbie is one of the world’s natural thrill-seekers, having grown up climbing trees, hurtling into rock quarry pools and
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Tom Zartman at work on Avery County Schools’ “Leap of Faith.” Photo by Tony Gray
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and s e r u t l u c n i e ’r You environments . .. t u o b a d e m a e r you have only d It’s just unique.
acquiring “free” tickets to high school basketball games via a route that took him up the school’s walls, across the roof and through the teachers’ lounge window. An Outward Bound course—smart parents!— gave him a glimpse of a world where he could actually make a living in a way that fit his own unique style and led to his work with Mike. Then he ran into Bart Bouricius at a challenge course symposium at Table Rock. Along with renowned canopy biologist and author Dr. Meg Lowman, Bart was looking for expert help with canopy walkways. “Bart loves the research end of canopy science; Meg was a pioneer in the field,” Robbie explained. Canopy walkways had an impromptu start in Malaysia, back in the 1940s, when scientists started bolting ladders and platforms to trees so that they could do research on epiphytes like the vanilla orchid. Nowadays dirigible crafts and canopy cranes can also be used for setting scientists down amidst the treetops, but
Down Time — Top: Canopy Construction Associates crew heading up river from the build site to Puerto Maldonado, Peru, to check in with family and friends. Photo by Phil Wittman. Bottom: Worn out crew on lunch break, day 17, at Reserva Amozonica.. Pictured from left to right: Roger Stephens, Charles Coffey, Ed Olander, Richard Knight and Alan Frye . Photo by Robbie Oates 92
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Hangin’ —Above: Alan Frye putting the finishing touches on the final platform at Lynches River Canopy Walkway in Florence, SC. Photo by Robbie Oates. Right: Robbie, cleaning gear after stringing the 1,100 ft. Mega Zip cable for Charlotte’s US National Whitewater Center. Photo by Thomas Kearns
the construction of canopy walkways motorized track system. Meg Lowman offering different types of access has was the host scientist with a very cool become a fine art. Ecotourism usually classroom in the trees, and from her demands walkways that can be accessed perch on Canopy Construction’s walkwith no supervision, while many struc- way she’d teach the kids about the diftures designed for researchers are more ferent epiphytes they could see. Then like ropes courses and are, of course, the program followed the raindrop into the reef, where another scientist would significantly cheaper. Bart, Robbie and Jim Gravely take do experiments. “Even back then (this turns to act as project coordinator and was in 1995) you could see that the reefs foreman of CCA whenever a job comes were starting to die,” Robbie recalled. More projects followed. There was up. Meg, canopy ecologist Dr. Phil Whitman and builder Ed Olander all pitch in. Three walkways for the Coweeta Hydrological Laboratory in Georgia, designed so that scientists could study the way the forest relates to the watershed, served as a warm-up for Robbie. A much bigger challenge was building a canopy walkway in Belize for the Jason Project, the ambitious brainchild of Bob Ballard. Ballard, the man who found the Titanic and was the first to use robotics for retrieval, wanted to get kids interested in science. The Jason Project allowed schoolchildren back in the U.S. to not only watch live broadcasts of research going on in places like Belize—for that project they followed a raindrop first into the rainforest and then the river, under the canopy walkways and out into the reefs—but Close to Home — Unique climbing spire, “The also to use joysticks to manipulate robotic “researchers” and cameras that Eagles Nest,” designed by Mike Fischesser for Robbie and the key grip set up on a Eagles Nest in Banner Elk. Built by Alan Frye,
the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Ecuador, built for the University of Boston in collaboration with the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, in a remote corner of the Amazon rainforest that is an unparalleled smorgasbord of flora and fauna. An Indonesian project put them in the odd position of working for a logging company—“it’s a private company, but the sole stockholders are the government”—trying to develop sustainable ways to use the forest. “It felt a little strange to be working for the premier forestry company in the country,” Robbie said, although for Alan Frye it was more memorable as the place where he learned about one of the side benefits of working overseas when he forged a strong bond with two young Muslim men. “We didn’t share a language but somehow they let me know that I was a teacher to them—being able to experience that kind of cultural exchange is really amazing,” he recalled. The entire project, now an ecotourism venue, nearly burned during the disastrous fires of 1997. “The fire came really close,” said Robbie. “The only reason it was saved was because it was near an area where orangutans were being rehabilitated, and an Australian company paid for helicopters to spray water from overhead.” But CCA doesn’t stick to exotic jungles. Visitors, over 30 percent more than usual, flocked to Myakka River
Charles Coffey and team. Photo by Robbie Oates October 2009
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Confidence is Key — Teamwork taken to new heights during the initial staff training on Alpine Tower’s Odyssey design at Camp Erdman in Oahu, Hawaii (right) and True Vine in Eutaw, Alabama (left). Photos by Robbie Oates
State Park near Sarasota, Fla. when the company put in a walkway there. It runs 85 feet through the live oak and palm canopy, and one tower rises 74 feet to offer visitors a spectacular view. However, it rapidly proved that it is far from being just a tourist attraction. Soon after it was built, scientists using it discovered—
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much to their dismay—that the devastating “Mexican weevil,” which decimates bromeliads, had arrived in the area. The walkway can now serve as a weapon in the war to document the weevil and perhaps find a fix. CCA often recruits local builders for jobs. Custom homebuilder Charles Cof-
October 2009
fey leaped at the opportunity to work at Inkaterra’s Reserva Amazónica in Peru, where CCA’s 103-foot tall system of two towers and seven hanging bridges is described by the lodge brochure as “meticulously designed” and “one of the safest canopy walkways in the world.” “I was really excited about it—it was
Rainbow in Southern California behind UCI’s Odyssey. Photo by Robbie Oates
such a great chance to see the rainforest and do something a little different. It’s a privately owned biological reserve, and the only way they can afford to preserve it is by getting tourists there. It was hot and buggy and muggy, just like you’d imagine it, but every day monkeys would come through the trees while we were working, and we’d see different types of butterflies. Everything had to be brought down the river on these little peca-peca boats, basically just 40-foot canoes. The thing that amazed me—apart from the racket of the birds and the monkeys—was that the river was absolutely freezing cold. It’s all snowmelt. So it would be 105 degrees and you’d get in the shower and the water would be so cold it would take your breath away,” remembered Robbie. Each setting has its own challenges, from combating rot and difficult terrain to trying not to squish carnivorous wasps. “Working in the jungle is the hardest thing you’ll ever do,” said Robbie. “In the afternoons you might have 200 maya flies on you; if you smush one it’ll
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put out pheromones that will attract even more flies. It’s the same with carnivorous wasps—they’ll only bother you if you kill one, and then they’ll all start eating you at once.” But it’s just so worth it. “You’re working in amazing trees; you’re in cultures and environments you have only dreamed about; you’re not a tourist or a traveler. Even if you lived in the country you’d never see the variety of things we see. It’s just unique.”
Looking Forward with Phoenix Robbie, Tom and Alan are excited about the potential they see with Phoenix. They’ve already done work stateside and hope soon to be heading out to India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where a staggering variety of unusual wildlife and flora are a draw for tourists and scientists. The three are clearly itching to start ham-
mering together a canopy walkway in the biosphere reserve there, putting all that hard-won experience to work. Oh, and about that unexpected roadblock in Nicaragua. Robbie still cringes at the thought of what could have happened. “It, ah, wouldn’t have been good if they had realized we were with a government minister.” But luck was on their side, sort of. “My son had a massive nose bleed. This
ith a F n i s e s i c r e y x r e E v o c s i D f l e S and Avery County Schools’ Outdoor Education/Challenge Course Program Story by Owen Gray
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very County Schools in tiny Newland has been cited as having one of the best public schools Outdoor Education/Challenge Course Programs in the country. Started in 1992, the school system’s Experiential Education Program boasts comprehensive, fully integrated middle school and ninth grade components. More than 1,000 participants are guided through this team- and confidencebuilding program each year. Tony Gray, Avery’s program coordinator, noted that the builders from Phoenix Experiential Designs have had a hand in helping to develop, build and train facilitators in each of the five major components that make up Avery’s outdoor program.
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The five components consist of: a Bouldering Wall complex for a variety of grade and challenge levels; a 40-foot climbing wall and its structural initiatives for seventh graders; an Alpine Tower and related structural initiatives for eighth graders; and a newly completed Leap of Faith Pole for ninth graders. Although Robbie Oates and Tom Zartman have had a hand in building nearly every program at the Avery facility, the Leap of Faith Pole is the first one constructed entirely by Phoenix. At 30-feet tall, students—safely secured by harnesses—must climb to the top and leap out seven feet in mid-air to tag a hanging ball. It is truly an exercise in faith and self-discovery, according to participants. And so is everything that students do when they spend a day on the tower grounds.
guy with a machine gun came up to the car, took one look at him—blood everywhere— and had the tree winched out of the way.” They took the “safe,” roadblock-free way back to Managua. Maybe they had to rattle along treacherous donkey trails and maybe they had to actually push the car up a few daunting hills, but hey, the facility got built and they all got out alive. And Robbie has another story for his stillgrowing collection.
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Since the inception of the Avery Outdoor Program, Gray and his fellow facilitators have based the heart of their teaching on what Gray refers to as the “transfer of learning.” “The goal is to take what they learn at the program through the various challenges and self-realization moments that they experience and transfer it to the outside world; to apply this knowledge to life at school, home and, eventually, at work. That’s the transfer of learning,” said Gray. To learn more about Avery’s unique and visionary outdoor classroom, email tonygray@averyschools.net.
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“I came across a dirt road, And thought I heard it say I know you’ve driven asphalt, But please turn down this way... ” Excerpt from a poem by Loree M ason O’N eil 98
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Photo by Frederica Georgia
V
V Ode to the Dirt Road A D isappearing Icon Story by Celeste von Mangan
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lmost everyone holds a memory linked to a dirt road. Perhaps it is one of picking wild blackberries in a dirt road ditch or sauntering barefoot along one lazy lane in summer, toes hugging the soft earth after a rain. Maybe you raced your horse on a dirt road, alone or against a friend. Or threw a dirt bike around a particularly gnarly hairpin turn on a gravel roadway. Perhaps your dirt road memory isn’t so soft; let’s face it, dirt roads can be cantankerous and downright curmudgeonly, seeming to exist only to snag the uninitiated traveler of terra cotta as their experience evolves into terror-cotta. We’re talking about breaking a car axle in a pothole. Or maybe messing up the suspension after hitting the washboard ribs of a gravel lane. The dust from such a road may eventually settle—right into your lungs. But, warts and all, the beauty of a dirt road, the generous smorgasbord of sensory delights proffered by the un-graded byways cannot be denied. Often canceling out the negatives for lovers of the wilder traveling realms, like a fine lady, dirt has the curves, charisma, character and charm we respond to. But, she’s disappearing. In our own High Country, in Watauga County, more than 100 miles of dirt and gravel road exist—108.24 miles to be exact. Almost half of those will most likely be paved as funds become available—55.1 miles are currently on the N.C. Department of Transportation’s priority paving list. The remaining 53.14 miles of unpaved roads may persist as such indefinitely, depending upon if and when property owners grant a right-of-way to the department, which is a necessity when laying asphalt. And here lies the juncture where the road divides into a fork: some people want the dirt roads paved, while others do not. The N.C. Department of Transportation
Dirt and gravel roads are considered to be culturally and environmentally significant to many communities. Hopefully, some will still remain in the years to come in our beautiful High Country. This autumn, why not take a ride down a dirt road and celebrate a disappearing country icon? Photo by Frederica Georgia
(DOT) has a job to do, and that is to pave roads, even though many people want to protect the aesthetics offered by dirt roads. As Walter Clark of the Blue Ridge Rural Land Trust said, “It’s an issue of convenience versus aesthetics.” Pragmatically speaking, roads are easier to travel and to maintain if they are paved. Paving cuts down on the dust and the decay posed by dirt roads. On the flip side, dirt roads represent everything from cultural heritage to eye candy. “Can we improve rural roads without measures that often require substantial widening, cutting into adjacent slopes, tree removal and other right-of-way impacts?” Walter pondered. “I’m not sure, but it seems that if roads could be improved, paved, without these drastic measures it would save the state money, eliminate damage to
adjacent properties often resulting from the widening process and keep our country lanes beautiful. Personally, I think there is a balance that could allow for road improvement but not always at the cost of the landscape. It seems that many rural rock roads could be paved, when that is desired by folks who live along the road, but in ways that are more environmentally and landscape friendly. Just some food for thought.” The Blue Ridge Rural Land Trust’s mission is “preserving rural communities and culture in northwestern North Carolina through the protection of the land resource upon which they depend.” “Much of our work is with farmers and other folks who live in rural communities and depend on adequate roads for transportation but at the same time appreciate the beauty of our country
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lanes,” Walter explained. In many areas, residents do want to preserve their dirt roads, though economics is also one contributing factor that keeps roads from being paved. “Recently, our funding has not been the best in the world,” said Kevin Whittington of the Watauga office of the NCDOT. “We’ve had to pull back. Paving a three-quarter-mile long stretch of road takes one to one and a half years to complete, longer now as funding becomes available; it costs $1 million, maybe $1.5 million dollars. That stone asphalt really makes the figure go up.” According to Kevin, he and his department crews must first complete improvements to the road in order to build to the sate specifications. “We have to put on three to four inches of binder, which is a different grade of asphalt, then come back and seal the tar and gravel which is the Asphalt Sur100
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Avery’s Got D irt, Too “In Avery County, there are almost 47 miles of dirt roads left,” said Michael L. Poe, district engineer for the Department of Transportation. “That’s including those on the priority list, including roads we’re attempting to pave. The longest unpaved road is Edgemont, at 5.44 miles long; this road is on the right of way hold list. There are 18 roads total left on the priority list, and that accounts for about 15.5 miles of dirt roads.” Like their Watauga counterparts, the Department of Transportation of Avery County has to uphold standards when it paves dirt roads. “One of the reasons it makes right of way acquisi-
October 2009
tion so difficult is people might not like us cutting into the land,” Michael said. “There may be a house or an old barn in the way.” And, like Watauga County and all North Carolina counties for that matter, following right of way acquisition, funding availability ultimately determines when and if a road is paved. “It’s something else that has become an issue,” Michael said. “Legislature has changed the formula for paving roads, and it is worse for mountain counties. We always had more funding for paving secondary roads, but that is no longer the case.”
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face Treatment, or AST, plus add the aggregate stone, that makes the road last and gives good traction in the winter months.” One road they are working on in Watauga is SR1201, more commonly referred to as Peoria Road. “We’re building from it onto Stone Mountain Road,” Kevin said. In the not-too-distant past, most roads in and around Watauga County were dirt ones, including King Street, though this fact can be hard to wrap one’s mind around now. Many of the roads people travel today, on a daily basis in Boone proper are paved. A well-known unpaved stretch of dirt lies on Bamboo Road, and is unpaved because it is owned by the Blue Ridge Parkway. The longest dirt road in Watauga County is probably Sampson Road, according to Kevin. “It’s 6.1 miles long on the unpaved portion of it and is on the right of way hold list,” he said.
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A paving priority is a relative number established for a particular road in a given county, and is based upon the characteristics of the road. The characteristics evaluated include the number of homes, churches, schools, industries, businesses and recreational facilities along the road. When evaluating characteristics, other items included are the presence of school bus traffic, the average daily traffic count and the thoroughfare classification. A point total is obtained after a number of points are assigned to each characteristic. In each county, all unpaved roads are assigned a paving priority number based on this points system. The road with the highest number of points receives a priority of one and becomes, in the process, the first road to be considered for paving. As soon as a road is ranked in the top 10, the road must be paved unless the right of way cannot be obtained. If the right of way is unavailable, the road is placed on a holding list, and if that right of way becomes available at a later date, then the road could be removed from the holding list and considered for paving.
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The Department of Transportation must have right-of-way acquisition from all property owners situated along unpaved secondary roads in order to begin the paving process. Photos by Peter Morris
Watauga D irt Roads on the P aving P riority List Nine roads that made it to the paving priority list in Watauga County are: SR1118 Herb Thomas Road; SR1156 Big Branch Road; SR1331B, Roby Green Road; SR1526B, Samp-
October 2009
son Road; SR1123C, Laurel Creek Road; SR1300B, Rich Mountain Road; SR1176, Trivette Circle Road; SR1361A, Orchard Road; and Long Hope Road.
The D irt on Gravel Roads Author Lee Pitts summed up the cultural significance, the bounty of our dirt road heritage, and even the social significance of their existence in his essay, Dirt Roads.
Dirt Roads
What’s mainly wrong with society today is that too many dirt roads have been paved. There’s not a problem in America today--crime, drugs, education, divorce, delinquency--that wouldn’t be remedied if we just had more Dirt Roads. Dirt Roads give character. People that live at the end of Dirt Roads learn early on that life is a bumpy ride. That it can jar you right down to your teeth sometimes, but it’s worth it, if at the end is home... a loving spouse, happy kids and a dog. We wouldn’t have near the trouble with our educational system if our kids got their exercise walking a Dirt Road
with other kids, from whom they learn how to get along. There was less crime in our streets before they were paved. Criminals didn’t walk two dusty miles to rob or rape, if they knew they’d be welcomed by 5 barking dogs and a double barrel shotgun. And there were no drive by shootings. Our values were better when our roads were worse! People didn’t worship their cars more than their kids, and motorists were more courteous, they didn’t tailgate by riding the bumper or the guy in front would choke you with dust and bust your windshield with rocks. Dirt Roads taught patience. Dirt Roads were environmentally friendly. you didn’t hop into your car for a quart of milk--you walked to the barn for your milk. For your mail, you walked to the mailbox. What if it rained and the Dirt Road got washed
out? That was the best part, then you stayed home and had some family time, roasted marshmallows and popped popcorn and pony rode on daddy’s shoulders and learned how to make prettier quilts than anybody. At the end of dirt roads, you soon learned that bad words tasted like soap. Most paved roads lead to trouble. Dirt Roads more likely lead to a fishing creek or a swimming hole. At the end of a Dirt Road, the only time we even locked our car was in August, because if we didn’t some neighbor would fill it with too many zucchini. At the end of a Dirt Road, there was always extra springtime income when city dudes came by and got stuck. You’d have to hitch up a team and pull them out. Usually you got a dollar... always you got a new friend... at the end of a dirt road!
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Story by Linda Kramer Photography by Lonnie Webster
Love Affair Marrying Structure and Site, Past with Present at Hound Ears
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very custom home begins with an inspiration—a story it will eventually tell. This story began 39 years ago when, as a child, Jimmy Tate and his parents left the heat of Florida to spend summers at their family vacation home at Hound Ears, purchased from the venerable Grover Robbins in 1970.
Young Jimmy grew up, and eager to carry on a family tradition, enlarged the original family home by 4,000 square feet for his own wife and children. Ten years ago, while out jogging, Jimmy ran into David Lombardi who was on his way to look at some real estate. Jimmy suggested he look at Hound Ears. He
did, and was impressed with the convenience of the 750 lush acres between Boone, Banner Elk and Blowing Rock, as well as the seclusion and amenities the gated community offered. He and various family members were attracted, in turn, to the George Cobb-designed golf course that challenged play through a landscape of streams,
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“I couldn’t be happier with the end product. The house is an amazing example of how modern building technology can be utilized in a home without sacrificing the environment.”
White pine tongue-and-groove ceilings and handhewn post and beams weighing 3,000 pounds accent a great room exploding with light and vistas of Grandfather Mountain. The working gourmet kitchen features marble countertops and a solid walnut island.
lakes and waterfalls, the lodge, dining, fitness center, swimming pool, fishing, hiking and the six championship clay tennis courts. It had it all, and even though its inventory dated to the 1960s and 1970s, David bought a house and joined the small group of young friends who were bringing diversity to the traditional community of mostly retired homeowners at Hound Ears. The friends, Jimmy, a Florida developer and David, a real estate broker and developer, established a business partnership together called Three Hounds LLC in 2007. Together they bought an acre of land and put together a dramatic house design inspired by the architecture of old Linville. They took their ideas for the basic floor plan, exterior detailing and building program to architect Bill Dixon of Appalachian Architecture, PA in Boone, who, as part of the collaborative effort, put the vision together. 106
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The site selected represented an engineering challenge, even by mountain standards. Many rocks couldn’t be removed, so in an attempt to marry structure and site, building was done on top of many of them. A special engineered wall and grade system was constructed providing a simple slope down the driveway for easy entrance. Jay Patrick, general contractor and owner of Patrick Signature Woodworks, Inc. located in Boone, was skilled at navigating the quirks of mountain construction. He understood that sometimes nature has to be courted, even coaxed, but that it must always be closely studied in response to nature’s challenges. Jay said, “I couldn’t be happier with the end product. The house is an amazing example of how modern building technology can be utilized in a home without sacrificing the environment.” Utilizing mostly local materials and suppliers, construction of the 7,000-square-foot, custom, four-bedroom, 4.5-bath home began in January 2008 and was recently completed. An exterior of cedar shingles, poplar bark, white pine and natural stonework combines the look and feel of old Linville style with a little Adirondack and the Arts
and Crafts movement in a house that is both indigenous to the area and homogeneous to the surroundings. The home is strategically angled to make the most of the view of Grandfather Mountain from all the main living spaces and bedrooms, reflecting an easy relationship with the outdoors. The main entry level offers 3,000 square feet of living space, including a great room, kitchen and dining nook, a master suite with one of the four stacked stone fireplaces in the house, bath, guest bath, office or library space and laundry facilities. In the lodge-style great room, a wide, wood-burning stone fireplace makes a big architectural statement and signals what Frank Lloyd Wright considered the proper center of any family home. Soaring 18-foot ceilings, an abundance of natural light and an easy traffic pattern over gleaming black walnut floors throughout, adds to the dramatic space. Under an elegant coffered ceiling, a working gourmet kitchen features marble countertops, a solid walnut island and all the luxuries that make cooking a pleasure—commercial appliances, a double sub-zero refrigerator, farmhouse sink, warming drawers, pot filler and even a
The temperature-controlled wine cellar holds 480 bottles. The design of the cellar door is reminiscent of a wine barrel, and the wine bottle handle was handmade by the builder, Jay Patrick. The outcroppings of rock shelves showcase special wines or magnums.
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The contoured bay windows and Ipe wood decking combine for a dramatic look. Custommade cedar posts with Spanish cedar caps accent the Brazilian wood decking while the fireplace enhances the mountain feel.
kid-friendly microwave and a complete butler’s pantry. Solid wood cabinets are hand-painted, and an expansive curved wall of Palladian windows with spectacular mountain views is the backdrop for an eat-in area that seats 12 for casual dining. Surrounding the back of the house is 2,000 square feet of Brazilian hardwood decking detailed with bark and a relaxing loggia with a gas fireplace for outdoor cooking and entertaining. A three-car garage leaves plenty of room for the golf cart. One-of-a-kind wrought iron, twig work railings lead imaginatively up the stairs to the top floor where there is an additional 1,000 square feet of unfinished bonus area that can be finished out according to lifestyle needs. A bold impact is created with the open proportions of another 3,000 square feet on the lower level reflecting a continuity of space between the three bedrooms and three baths, and an area perfect for a pool 108
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Careful planning of site selection and house design allow for minimal tree clearing while still accentuating some of the area’s most stunning views of Grandfather Mountain.
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table or other games. A granite-countertopped wet bar is complete with refrigerator, sink and microwave and is a sheer luxury for entertaining ease. The careful construction of the
home gives equal attention and luxury to both living floors with an additional full deck with bark detailing mirroring the main deck above. The house is wired throughout with a “smart tech-
nology system” which enables the heat, air, light, music and alarm systems to be remotely controlled. Jimmy and David put a lot of themselves into the house…their emotion, their passion and commitment to quality and detail, and their love. As David said, “You have to love what you do. If you lack passion, you lack success.” Jimmy agreed and added, “Pride and passion are the two elements of success.” This commitment will continue as Three Hounds will build additional fresh inventory in the future at Hound Ears on an additional five acres it purchased. What started out in childhood, and later as a vision for the future, ended up as a shapely home built with a gracious architectural character to welcome future generations. Winston Churchill said it best. “The further backward you can look, the further forward you will see.” The past, indeed, sometimes becomes the present. For information on the house, including asking price, contact David Lombardi at 305-490-5767, 305-576-1918 or david@lombardiproperties.com.
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The third green from the clubhouse deck. Photo by Cotton Ketchie
Mountain Aire Golf Club 110
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T
he Mountain Aire Golf Club in West Jefferson is the third oldest course in the High Country. Only Linville and the Blowing Rock Country Club came before it. Its evolution over time reflects a nice mixture of classic and modern design, all adding up to a fun and interesting round of golf awaiting those fortunate enough to play the course. It was built in the late 1940s and opened in 1949 thanks to the efforts of Walter Godbey, a farmer who owned the 40 acres most of the course was built on. Godbey wanted the course to be for the community, so he sold shares of stock in the course to local residents for $50 a share to help finance its construction. With the additional financing, Godbey added 27 more acres to give them enough room to build the course. Golfers shared the community spirit by picking up rocks as they played, making the course a little better for the next group. The nine-hole course was first called West Jefferson Golf Club. Mark Hagel, current owner of the course, said, “The course was a cow pasture course in the truest sense of the word. The greens were small circles of grass mowed a little lower than the fairways. Godbey tilled out the rocks and leveled the ground for the greens. He and some friends designed the course.”
Tom Adams, head professional at Boone Golf Club, remembers he and his family playing the course in the mid1950s before the Boone course was built. Tom said, “We played there about once a month. There was a little place you could check in before you played (where the current #16 tee now is). The sand traps consisted of wood shavings. My brother Sam tried to hit out of a greenside trap with a two iron. He didn’t know any better. Dad would put his feet together behind the hole when we putted, and if the ball bounced in, it counted. We had no idea what we were doing!” “We were just country bumkins out there,” said Sam Adams. “I was 11 years old, and Tom was 9. I remember we laid our golf bags on the green and Mr. Godbey came out and told us not to do that. Golf is fun when you are learning, and Mountain Aire was a great place to learn to play. I have very fond memories of that place.” The course made a few minor improvements over the next 20 years, but it stayed basically the same. There was talk about making it an 18-hole course, but the money wasn’t there. When Walter Godbey died in 1964, the West Jefferson Golf Club lost its driv-
Fun Golf With A Family Atmosphere Story by Harris Prevost October 2009
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The core managment team at Mountain Aire includes (left to right) Phil Worth, greenskeeper; Jane Hampton, pro shop manager; and Lu and Mark Hagel, owner operators. Missing is Bob Cline, teaching pro. Photo by Ken Ketchie
ing force. In 1970, the shareholders sold the course to Doug Jetter, who promised to make it into a regulation course. Jetter’s first order of business was changing the course name to Mountain Aire. After operating the course for a year, he realized he couldn’t follow through on his promise of 18 holes, so he put the course up for sale. Carl Hagel, a casual golfer who earned his living building wooden frame windows for a company that would later become Jeld-Wen, saw a classified ad in the Charlotte Observer saying the course was for sale. He and his wife Pearl drove up in February 1971 to check it out. Carl had no background in running or maintaining a golf course, but with the strong encouragement of his 20-year-old son Mark, an N.C. State math student, he decided to buy the course. He also purchased an option on a neighboring 175-acre farm owned by Tom and Stewart Duncan. Carl and his wife Pearl ran the course for the next five years. Mark helped out summers until he graduated from N.C. State in 1974, when he started working full time for his parents. In 1976, Carl had a heart attack and could no longer run the course. He rented it to his son, who was only 25 at the time. Mark caught the “golf bug” while in college. He taught himself to play and was a pretty decent player. He remembers shooting a 30 on the old course, playing in his bare feet. Mark was later mentored by Bill Greene, head professional at Oak112
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woods in Wilkesboro, and progressed as a player and teacher and in his knowledge of the golf business. Greene sponsored Mark’s application to become a member of the PGA in 1976. Mark served as an apprentice professional until 1981, when he became a full member. In 1977, Mark married Lu, and in 1981, Mark and Lu purchased the course from his parents. By the time he was 30, the couple had their own nine-hole course. But Mark dreamed of 18 holes. In 1982, he sold a track of land overlooking the current second and 16th holes to the King family, who owned the Fleetwood Falls resort. The Kings built townhouses on the property. Mark used the sale proceeds to replace three holes on the course, and as part of the agreement, the new holes—numbers 3, 11 and 16—were located adjacent to the townhouses. Mark, who designed the holes, did away with one of the three old holes and continued maintaining the other two, which were both par 3s. By 1985, the golf course was successful enough to support the construction of seven new holes. Mark was talking to a friend, Eddie Vannoy, who was one of the owners of a nearby course under construction called Jefferson Landing. Dennis Lehmann of Banner Elk, who was brought into the area by Carolina Caribbean to plan the Beech Mountain resort, was the primary designer of Jefferson Landing and also the development’s master planner. Vannoy said to Mark, “You need this guy.”
The 17th green is the only green remaining from the orignial course. The 1949 greens were all small and circular shaped. Photo by Ken Ketchie
Mark hired Lehmann to prepare a master plan for the future development of Mountain Aire and to design the seven new holes. In 1986, construction began. The new holes were numbers 1, 2, 3 (Dennis changed the third green location in order to relocate the clubhouse), 4, 8 (changed from a par 5 to a par 3), 9, 10 and 18. When completed in 1991, Mark took his current nine holes, reinstated
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the two old holes he was still maintaining and then added Dennis’ new seven holes to fulfill his dream of making Mountain Aire an 18-hole golf course. In the first five years of Mark’s ownership, the course had changed dramatically. He was on a mission to create an outstanding course. Parts of four original holes were still part of the course, but not in their original form. Remnants
of the original nine-hole course were the first part of #12, the green area at #15, the 16th tee and the 17th fairway and green. The 17th green is the only original green still in play. As nice as it was to finally have an 18-hole course, its layout was only temporary. Mark and Dennis had a better golf course in their minds. Their master plan was really two plans: one called for three new holes if some key property could be acquired, the other design was “plan B” if the property was not available. The key property, 50 acres owned by Jim and Kathy Barlow, was steep and included an old mica mine. If Mark could get 15 acres of the property, it would enable him to improve the golf course. It would also make the remaining 35 acres of Barlow property much more valuable with a golf course running through it. The deal was a true win-win arrangement. The Barlows contributed the land, and Mark and the Barlows co-developed the 35 acres.
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“Golf is fun when you are learning, and Mountain Aire was a great place to learn to play.” Sam Adams, brother of Boone Golf Club head pro Tom Adams
(top) The sixth fairway winds down a 200-foot vertical drop from tee to green. (bottom) Mountain Aire’s 468-yard, par 4 signature hole features one of the most dramatic tee shots east of the Missisippi. Photos by Cotton Ketchie 114
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In 1994, Mark lengthened the eighth hole, returning it to a par 5, and in 1995, he started construction of the three new holes, numbers 5, 6 and 7. The construction of these three holes was difficult and took four years to complete. On Labor Day 1998, the new holes opened for play and a new clubhouse, built on its present site, also opened. Mark’s 18hole dream course was finally completed. The new sixth hole has become the course’s signature hole. It is a 468-yard par four with a breathtaking 200-foot drop from tee to green. Because of the steep downhill drop, the hole doesn’t play all that long. For power hitters, drives will easily pass 300 yards and leave a wedge or short iron. However, the fairway is very narrow. Because of the elevation change, the ball stays in the air a long time and a shot that is a little off ends up way off line, and even more so on windy days. The sixth tee shot is one of the most dramatic tee shot in eastern America. Mark says of it, “The tee shot is intimidating, and we have an expression about the hole. It is one golfers like to see but hate to play.” Lehmann remembers the construction of the sixth hole. “There was a huge
gully running through the sixth fairway. It was more like a hollow down the left side. To make a landing area big enough for a fairway, we had to bring in a lot of dirt from other places on the course, and even off site. The largest movement of dirt on the course was to build that fairway. “I gave Mark the routing plan and green layouts, and he took it from there. He had to build the new holes piecemeal as resources became available. Whenever he sold a lot or made some money from his operations, he put it back into the course. Mark did a remarkable job making a very challenging project turn out so well.” The course plays to 6,415 yards from the back tees and 5,858 yards from the regular tees. The short par 4 holes defend themselves well with tricky doglegs or challenging greens. The par 5s are relatively short yardage-wise, but they are all uphill and hard even for long hitters to reach in two. An enjoyable aspect of Mountain Aire is that players can record good scores and have a fun day at the course. At the same time, the layout defends itself well against low scores. The course records from the back tees and regular tees are 64 and 63, respectively, which are higher than at Grandfather
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(top) Residents at Mountain Aire have great views of the golf course including the par 5 11th hole, and panoramic views for the surrounding mountainsides. (bottom) A drivable par 4 is a gallery favorite on a number of PGA Tour tournament courses. Mountain Aire’s drivable, 328-yard downhill, dogleg par 4 is a risk/reward hole that is exciting to play. A slice puts you in the pond and a hook out-of-bounds on the practice range. Photos by Ken Ketchie 116
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Golf and Country Club, which is considered the second hardest course in the state by the North Carolina Golf Panel. If you haven’t made your score by the time you reach the 14th hole at Mountain Aire, chances are good you’ll have to wait to another day. The finishing holes are strong. The 14th is a 206-yard par 3, the 15th a 387-yard uphill par 4 to a firm new green, the 16th a 173-yard par 3 to a sloped green that is difficult to putt or chip to, the 17th is a 442-yard uphill par 5 to an elevated postage stamp-sized green, and the 18th is a 452-yard par 4 from an elevated tee to a narrow fairway and a green guarded by a large oak tree. A drive or approach shot on this finishing hole that is even a little left leaves the player with a real challenge to make a par. The majority of Mountain Aire members are local. Mark knows every one of them and usually stops to greet with them when he is out working on the course. Many families, just like the Adams family did in the 1950s, come out for a day together at Mountain Aire. Mountain Aire is a popular course that plays approximately 25,000 rounds in a season, which runs from March 15 to December 15 (sooner or later depending on the weather). One member of Mountain Aire who was there when the course was built is Hoke Wagoner, Sr. The Ashe County native left home to live in Pittsburgh, then fight in World War II, and then returned in 1947. His nephew gave him some clubs one day and he took up the game. Now age 96, Hoke plays every day. Two years ago, he made his first hole-in-one. “We donated money to help the course and we picked up rocks,” Hoke remembered. “Walter Godbey was always there. We paid $5 for 18 holes. We never waited. It was always wide open. The greens were real small and in the shape of circles. Holes were 300 yards or less. “I remember playing with my brother-in-law. After playing, he invited me in for a beer. It was his way of fundraising. He said he needed $10 from each of us for the course!” Hoke continued, “One day I sliced a ball into the woods and went looking for it. When I got in from my round, I realized I lost my wallet while looking for my ball. I went back to look for it and found it, and also found a bunch of other balls. I filled my pockets with balls. I got hooked on finding lost golf balls. I still look for them; it’s the next best thing to playing. I
haven’t bought a golf ball since!” Mountain Aire was built as a community course, and the Hagel family keeps it that way. It hosts several tournaments to raise money for worthy local charities, including the Ashe Shrine Club and the Ashe-Watauga Optimist Club. The tournament that has special meaning to Mark supports the Ashe Youth Connection; it is called the Carl Hagel Memorial Tournament. Mark serves as head professional as well as general manager. Bob Cline is teaching pro. Bob and Jane Hampton have run the pro shop for years. Phil Worth assists Mark in keeping the course in outstanding shape. The 50-year old Worth has worked at the course since he was 17. The fairways are blue grass and the greens are bent with a mix of poa annua. The player-friendly greens are a little slower than many mountain courses, so there are less three-putts. The course has around 70 homes and 36 condominium units overlooking it. Bill Horner is one of Mountain Aire’s property owners. He and his wife Joan live in a condominium that gives them a nice view of the first, third, 10th and
11th holes. Bill is president of the Fairway Heights Homeowners Association, which represents nine buildings and half the course’s condominiums. “We enjoy living here,” Bill said. “It’s a nice little community. Everyone gets along great. We have a lot of social events where we all get together. Half of us are full time and half come and go. “Mountain Aire is a nice atmosphere to live in,” he added. “It is very reasonable financially to live here and play golf here. A family membership only costs $950 a year, and we really like the golf course. It is challenging, and it’s a true mountain course with up and down holes and lots of pretty scenery.” Summer green fees and cart are $49 at peak times (weekend mornings) and $43 after 2:00 p.m. Weekdays are $39 peak time and $34 after 2:00 p.m. For more information about Mountain Aire, click to mountainaire.com or call 336-877-4716. Said Lehmann, “When Mark’s father turned the course over to him, he told him to ‘make something out of this place,’ and he did. Carl Mark would have been very proud of what his son has accomplished.”
A Mountain Aire golfing couple love their birdies. Photo by Ken Ketchie
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Ski Country Sports................................................................ 898-9786 �������������������������������������������������20 Sorrento’s Bistro................................................................... 898-5214 ������������������������������������������������46 Stone Cavern........................................................................ 963-8453 �������������������������������������������������13 Stonewalls ........................................................................... 898-5550 �������������������������������������������������89 Stick Boy Bread Company..................................................... 268-9900 �������������������������������������������������89 Sugar Mountain Resort / Oktoberfest..................................... 898-4521 �����������������������������������������������101 Sugartop Resort Sales........................................................... 898-5226 �������������������������������������������������34 Sunalei Preserve................................................................... 263-8711 ��������������������������������������������������1 Superior Spas....................................................................... 963-6624 ����������������������������������������������107 Tatum Galleries & Interiors.................................................... 963-6466 �������������������������������������������������65 Turtle Old Man...................................................................... 264-4882 �������������������������������������������������63 Tynecastle Builders............................................................... 387-7192 ���������������������������������������������������5
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Tyson, Dr. Julia, DDS............................................................ 265-1112 �����������������������������������������������101 Watauga County Christmas Tree Association.......................... 264-3061 �������������������������������������������������79 Watauga County Farmers’ Market.......................................... 355-4918 �������������������������������������������������71 Watauga Insurance Agency, Inc............................................. 264-8291 ������������������������������������������������22 Wolf Creek Traders ............................................................... 963-6800 �������������������������������������������������57
The Outdoorsman, Inc., Since 1975 828-268-1313 Appointments Welcome • 135 Hardin St. Log cabin across from Dan’l Boone Inn
Wooly Worm Festival............................................................ 898-5605 �������������������������������������������������68
Looking for a place to dine after the game? There’s an app for that.
Japanese Steak House & Sushi Bar 2124 Blowing Rock Road in Boone • 828 / 264-7976
October 2009
High Country Magazine
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Parting Shots...
Melanie Hatton Larry Keel & Natural Bridge
Donna the Buffalo
Donna and Daniel
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fter 20 years of touring the country and world, roots rockers Donna the Buffalo finally ended up on the main stage of Horn in the West on Saturday, September 5, as headliners of the 2nd annual Daniel Boone Days Music & Culture Festival, the Town of Boone’s official annual community festival organized by High Country Press and Mountain Fountain Productions. The group’s performance and the festival’s other offerings attracted visitors to Boone from 25 states and three foreign countries, underscoring the High Country’s age-old knack for providing a weekend getaway like no other. But forget about out-of-towners for a moment; the festival drew in hundreds of locals, most of whom had not entered the gates to Horn in the West in decades. Countless residents showed surprise at the beauty of Horn in the West, which is unparalleled in comparison to other outdoor amphitheaters across the nation—a point that promoters hope to drive home through the production of Daniel Boone Days. Under the venue’s towering hemlocks and oaks and within its log cabin-peppered
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Upright & Breathin’
homestead, more than 1,250 fans enjoyed a High Country afternoon and evening learning about local history, sharing in camaraderie with the community and visitors, eating local fare and absorbing some of the best live music the region and country have to offer, which also included Virginia’s Larry Keel & Natural Bridge and Boone’s Upright & Breathin’ and The Sheets Family. Daniel Boone Days 2009’s attendance figure represents the highest number of people to come to Horn in the West in two decades. Now—as promoters had originally hoped to achieve—the community and country have gained a better perspective on what a gem Horn in the West really is. What’s more, it’s our venue and we can now look at it as another space wherein to foster community spirit and pride. The 3rd annual Daniel Boone Days Music & Culture Festival is scheduled for Saturday, September 4, 2010, and will take place in coordination with activities to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway. For more information, click to DanielBooneDays.com. w
KNAPP: Stupendous view homes with walk to Main Street location. Well maintained 4 bedroom 4 bath main house and guest cottage has fenced in yard and a hard to find million dollar lot to play on. Broker interest 1,295,000 SMART GALLERY: Pristine Commercial Building in heart of West Jefferson’s downtown art district. Great retail space on main level & upscale 3BR/2BA apt. upstairs. Broker Interest. $425,000 BRADLEY: Cherished Family Estate home - in rural Watauga County. Home features massive beams, huge stone FP, 4BR/3BA, 2 half ba. 1-acre lot - $895,000. Addi’l acreage available. MiLLER: Location, Location! 3/3 Log cabin w/view. Private 2+ acre setting between Boone/Blowing Rock. Deep covered porches. Interior cherry, oak and ash, large loft, & fantastic walk-in pantry, also an addi’l (1,740) unf. sq.ft. $738,000 FREEMAN: Unsurpassed views from Gorge to Grandfather! Extra deep decks, prof. kitchen, multiple great rooms, impressive stone fireplaces. Wide plank floors, granite, massive beams, detached garage, cul-de-sac privacy. $995,000 PRocToR FARM: High Valley Horse Farm - 20.7 rolling acres, totally fenced, streams, ponds, home, restored log cabin, stable, 2 barns. $750,000 oVERcASH: Beautiful setting and minutes to downtown Boone! New rustic 2bd/2.5 ba. log home w/great easterly views, cathedral ceilings, stone fireplace, gorgeous black cherry countertops and wonderful large decks plus a private balcony off the master bedroom. $469,900 LYNAGH: Uncomparable Mountain Retreat on 7.7 exceptional acres close to Blowing Rock! Long range valley & Grandfather Mountain views. 4BD/5BA, 5 real stone masonry fireplaces and gourmet kitchen. $2,395,000 PoSToN: New Listing! Main Street condo close to everything! Soaring wood ceilings, wood fp and a nice open floor plan. 2 br/3ba. with ample parking front/ back. $389,500 STUART: Long Range 100 Mile Views from this adorable 2/2 cottage with free standing Gorge lot included. Desirable neighborhood, 2 fireplaces, flat yard, mountain views to Charlotte and fully furnished! $599,000 WELLMAN: Stunning Mountain Lodge in Valle Crucis with gorgeous views! Over 4300 sq. ft., energy star rating. 4BD/4.5BA, Australian cypress floors, 2 stone fireplaces & beautiful cabinetry & woodwork. $1,175,000 LoST cREEK: Views, bold creek, southern exposure, dramatic cliffs & Pisgah Nat’l Forest boundaries. Located on side of Grandfather Mtn! Gentle building sites with paved access. Broker Interest. Lots starting at $69,900
Blowing Rock Properties, inc
800-849-0147 • 828/295-9200
www.BlowingRockProperties.com October 2009
High Country Magazine
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Actual morning view from Echota on the Ridge overlooking Watauga Valley.
Second Home. FirSt cHoice.
Like our autumn views, the reasons Echota has become the High Country’s most successful community are clearer than ever. Lock-and-leave luxury. And a central location between Boone, Banner Elk and Blowing Rock. See for yourself why Echota was the only choice over 450 families could make.
800.333.7601 EchotaNC.com
Visit one of our sales offices: 1107 Main St, Suite C, Blowing Rock, NC or 133 Echota Pkwy, Boone, NC • Condos from the High $200’s D
High Country Magazine
October 2009