Real estate experts by day. Great neighbors every day. Our business cards should really list “great neighbor” as everyone’s title. Because no matter how we help home buyers and sellers, the job always begins with knowing the markets we serve. In the Greensboro area, we believe that helping you choose a place to live is only something we can do if we’ve lived there ourselves. After all, part of being a great neighbor is also being a local.
BHHSYostandLittle.com ©2014 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently operated subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.® Equal Housing Opportunity.
3301 Alamance Rd $4,000,000
900 Rockford Rd $3,950,000
8419 Haw River Rd $3,500,000
3215 N Rockingham Rd $2,900,000
415 Sunset Dr $2,750,000
7304 Autumn Lake Dr $1,350,000
2405 Deer Track Ln $875,000
1817 Dalton Road $869,000
1 Chesterfield Ct $819,000
1804 Saint Andrews Rd $775,000
611 Woodland Dr $720,000
5 Worthdale Ct $715,000
5439 Hiddenbrook Dr $485,000
112 Arden Pl $469,350
5516 Mecklenburg Rd $450,000
5002 Bodie Ln $450,000
5010 White Bass Pl $449,000
22 Waterline Dr $448,800
3104 Madison Ave $399,800
3930 Madison Ave $379,900
206 Cross Vine Ln $374,999
5304 Ashbey Ln $369,900
104 Elmwood Dr $359,900
1107 Hammel Rd $359,000
309 S Tremont Dr $264,900
1004 Yanceyville St $260,000
706 Fifth Ave $249,900
1604 Colonial Ave $242,900
306 Turnstone Tr $233,500
4908 Adams Ridge Dr $225,000
2920 Martinsville Rd $157,500
613 Scott Ave $154,900
1700 N. Elm $138K - $72K
1805 Efland Dr $131,000
4013 Walker Ave $124,900
2617 Vanstory St $114,900
9 Brandy Ct $109,000
5048 Harvest Rd $105,000
2613 Vanstory St $97,500
3003 Graystone Pt $89,500
2615 Vanstory St $86,500
2500 Sherwood St $80,000
26 Elm Ridge Ln $1,225,000
2010 Granville Rd $1,075,000
4311 Ravenstone $995,000
3309-3311 Gaston $975,000
14 Provincetown Ct $965,000
1704 Saint Andrews Rd $950,000
1408 Country Lake Dr $695,000
9 Elm Ridge Ln $650,000
708 Dover Rd $599,900
809 Dover Rd $599,000
601 Chancery Pl $556,000
702 Topwater Ln $549,900
5109 Heddon Way $444,000
38 E. Kemp Rd $439,000
2030 Oak Ridge Rd $435,900
3809 Summit Lakes Dr $419,900
101 Country Club Dr $399,900
3820 Buncombe Dr $399,900
1311 Sunset Dr $354,500
401 Mendenhall St $349,000
8400 Case Ridge Dr $339,500
3801 Waldenbrook Rd $329,500
1108 H Dover Rd $299,800
124 R1 Wade St $299,000
1253 Silverstone Ct $219,900
1113 Latham Rd $219,000
1006 Yanceyville St $215,000
2305 Sherwood St $184,900
4104 Laurel Creek Dr $169,900
22 Ackland Dr $168,500
See one you like? To arrange a showing or get more information on one of these charming homes, call one of our agents or visit trm.info today.
trm.info / 336.274.1717
Marti Tyler 336.210.7503
Charlotte Davidson 336.314.4105
Stacey u. ofsanko 336.404.6342
katie Redhead 336.430.0219
kristen Haynes 336.209.3382
elizabeth Pell 336.447.5516
Alec McAlister 336.707.0463
Wendi Huffman 336.254.4122
leslie Stainback 336.508.5634
karen Bickham Jobe 336.430.6552
kelli kupiec 336.541.0832
Preston young 336.420.1478
Jim Blakeley 336.456.7785
kathy nakayama 336.327.7468
Patty yow 336.255.9369
Frank Slate Brooks 336.708.0479
Jill oakley 336.456.6077
New Anterior Approach for Total Hip Replacement This technique offers a patient less pain and scarring as well as an anticipated shorter recovery time.
M A G A Z I N E Volume 4, No. 10 “I have a fancy that every city has a voice.” 336.617.0090 1848 Banking Street Greensboro, NC 27408 www.ohenrymag.com Jim Dodson, Editor jim@ohenrymag.com Andie Stuart Rose, Creative Director andie@ohenrymag.com David Claude Bailey, Senior Editor dbailey@ohenrymag.com Lauren Shumaker, Graphic Designer Kira Schoenfelder, Graphic Designer Contributing Editors Cynthia Adams, Harry Blair, Maria Johnson Contributing Photographers Lynn Donovan, Sam Froelich, Hannah Sharpe
Matthew D. Olin, MD
is a fellowship trained hip surgeon with extensive experience performing direct anterior total hip replacement surgery. To schedule an appointment with Matthew D. Olin, MD to determine if this surgery is for you. Call: 336.545.5030
Contributors Hattie Aderholdt, Cynthia Adams, Jane Borden, Susan Campbell, Amy Freeman, Kyra Gemberling, Molly Sentell Haile, Dianne Hayter, Laurel Holden, Brian Lampkin, Meridith Martens, Zithobile Nxumalo, Nancy Oakley, Ogi Overman, Sandra Redding, Linda Pratt Rives, Noah Salt, Stephen E. Smith, Shelby Stephenson, Astrid Stellanova Editor Emeritus Jim Schlosser
O.H
David Woronoff, Publisher Advertising Sales Marty Hefner, Sales Director 336.707.6893, mhefner@ohenrymag.com Hattie Aderholdt, 336.601.1188 Amy Grove, 336.456.0827 Circulation Darlene Stark, Circulation Director 910.693.2488 Advertising Graphic Design 910.693.2469, lauren@ohenrymag.com Judi Hewett, Graphic Designer
For more information about Dr. Olin and surgery visit www.greensborohipandkneesurgeon.com
Subscriptions Dana Martin 336.617.0090, dana@ohenrymag.com ©Copyright 2014. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. O.Henry Magazine is published by The Pilot LLC
4 O.Henry
October 2014
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Welcome Home!
With more than 30 highly successful years of experience as a Realtor, Tom Chitty is consistently ranked in the top 1% of Realtors nationwide. You can trust Tom Chitty & Associates to help you buy or sell the most important home in the Triad ... Yours!
Tom Chitty & Associates was the top producing sales team for Berkshire Hathaway in 2013.
©2014 An independently operated subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.® Equal Housing Opportunity.
Tom Chitty & Associates Direct Line: 336-420-2836 Email: tomchitty@tomchitty.com Website: www.tomchitty.com
October 2014 Features
78 How to Start a French Laundry
From the germ of a good idea and a growing furniture factory spring two busy mills. By Cynthia Adams
55 Our 1937 Ford Three-Quarter-Ton Pickup Truck Poetry by Shelby Stephenson
56 Hebrew Cemetery
A morning walk through the solitude of Greensboro’s Hebrew Cemetery By Dianne Hayter
60 The Sunny Side of the Street
The western side of South Elm is looking up. By Billy Ingram
80 A Homegrown Garden of Eden
Step inside one of Greenboro’s finest secret gardens. By Jim Dodson
87 October Almanac By Noah Salt
62 A World Apart
At the venerable Winburn Court Apartments, Elaine Dixie Hodge’s place is an oasis of history, mystery and beauty. By Cynthia Adams
70 A Thousand Shades of Greige
In High Point’s historic Emorywood neighborhood, designer Debbie Jones creates a cozy family connection and perfect home. By Cynthia Adams
Departments 11 Simple Life By Jim Dodson 14 Short Stories 17 Doodad By Ogi Overman 19 Life’s Funny By Maria Johnson 23 Omnivorous Reader By Stephen E. Smith 27 Bookshelf By Brian Lampkin 33 Lunch with a Friend By Maria Johnson 38 Artist at Work By Molly Sentell Haile 44 Best Reader Memoirs 2014 By Linda Pratt Rives
47 Birdwatch By Susan Campbell 49 O.HeartBeat By Hattie Aderholdt 51 Life of Jane By Jane Borden 90 Arts & Entertainment October Calendar 110 Worth the Drive 115 GreenScene 125 N.C. Writer’s Notebook By Sandra Redding 127 Accidental Astrologer By Astrid Stellanova 128 O.Henry Ending By Zithobile Nxumalo
Cover Photograph and Photograph this page by Hannah Sharpe
6 O.Henry
October 2014
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Join us at The View on Elm for our Anne et Valentin and Theo Eyewear Event on Friday, October 10, 4-7 PM
Art for Eyes | Eye for Arts Fine Eyewear, Artwork and Jewelry 327 South Elm | Greensboro 336.274.1278 | TheViewOnElm.com Becky Causey, Licensed Optician Find us on Facebook
Ooh Bra La La! A celebration of breast cancer awareness month. Paul J. Ciener Botanical Gardens Thursday, Oct. 9, 5:30 to 8 p.m. Bring a friend and join us for our fourth annual Ooh Bra La La ladies’ night out hosted by Novant Health Kernersville Medical Center. Enjoy hors d’oeuvres and wine, door prizes and a little pampering - all while learning more about your special health needs.
5:30 to 7 p.m.
7 to 8 p.m.
• Visit our showcase of artistic brassieres decorated by local businesses and organizations in support of breast cancer awareness
A panel of physician experts will be on hand to answer your questions about all things women’s health. You can participate in a free “ask the doctor” session, with specialists to talk about heart health, headaches, menopause, nutrition and weight management, plastic surgery, cancer care and more.
• Raffle tickets, door prizes and silent auction to benefit cancer prevention and education • Take advantage of professional bra fittings, mini-makeovers, chair massages and more • Schedule your mammogram • Fashion show • Performances by local high schools
NovantHealth.org/kernersville 9/5 - RA9953
Join us at Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden 215 S. Main Street, Kernersville Seating is limited. Call 336-564-4444 to RSVP today.
William Mangum Gallery
By Jim Dodson
Artist Inspired Home Collection Owing toBedroom heavy•An end-of-summer traffic, Dining • Living Room • Art • Accessories
I took several back roads the other afternoon from Wilmington to Greensboro.
The drive probably took an hour longer than necessary. But more and more” OH Contact editor Jim Dodson at jim@saltmagazinenc.com.
Blue Ridge Home Collection
Moonlit Serenade NEWEST ART RELEASE
Visit our redesigned Gallery for all of your home accessories and gift needs. Save the Date: OPEN HOUSE The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Nov. 7 & 8
2166 Lawndale Drive, Greensboro, NC 27408 336.379.9299
williammangum.com
October 2014
O.Henry 9
About Time By Jim Dodson
Not long ago, the
Illustration by Kira schoenfelder
watch I’ve worn for several years began mysteriously keeping unreliable time. Every time I glanced at it, the durn thing seemed to be slower — fifteen minutes here, half an hour there, eventually more than a full hour slow. Soon it stopped keeping time altogether.
I took it to a local watch shop, figuring all it needed was a new battery. But it wasn’t the battery. “This watch is shot,” the repairman said. “You might say it just ran out of time.” Funny boy. The loss wasn’t all that big a deal. It was, after all, an inexpensive wristwatch — some might say cheap — a simple Timex “Expedition” model that set me back only about fifty bucks during a two-for-one Black Friday sale at Belk department store four years ago. For the record, I kept one and gave one to my college-boy son, who as it happens had just broken the fine Swiss Army watch I’d owned for several years but passed along to him for safekeeping. My history of watch-ownership, you see, is a rather checkered affair, littered with various costly broken or missing timepieces, beginning with the beautiful engraved Seiko chronometer my parents gave me for college graduation that went off to Europe and never came back. Over the next few decades this was followed by a succession of fine watches and several Swiss Army numbers I either managed to break or lose in creative ways. That’s why the first Timex Expedition I happened upon over a decade ago was such a Eureka moment: simple, handsome, rugged, reliable and cheap to replace when the inevitable happened — meant to take a licking and keep on ticking, as the company’s famous slogan went. Moreover, it was a nostalgic window into my childhood, conjuring memories of the iconic Timex TV spots I always found so entertaining during which John Cameron Swayze — former news broadcaster and game show panelist — subjected Timex watches to various creative “torture tests” like being sent over Niagara Falls in a barrel, attached to the churning blades a of speeding boat motor, put through a washing machine, and worn by slugger Mickey Mantle in batting practice. Timex was the flagship of American-made watches. These stunts made it America’s best-selling watch brand in the dawning space age before digital everything, bargain priced between $9.95 and $16.99. The first Timex Expedition I bought lasted five years and quite literally vanished on a book research trip to Africa, aptly while wading across a river where crocodiles were known to live. Somehow the pin holding the watch to the strap slipped out and I found my arm bare on the other side. I chose not to go back in and hunt for it, picturing the croc in Peter Pan with the clock in his stomach. The second Expedition I owned lasted until just weeks ago when, as I say, it The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Simple Life
started doing its wacky start-and-stop routine and finally quit running altogether. The aforementioned watch repair guy actually laughed when I asked how much it would be to repair it. “You could buy two new ones for the cost of the repair,” he said. So one afternoon I set off to various shops and department stores looking for the same model, figuring that any watch that gave me such loyal service for essentially ten bucks a year was a small price to pay for being on time. At Belk I was dismayed to learn the store no longer carries Timexes. “I think it’s gone a little down-market,” was how the watch counter clerk politely termed it, offering to show me some much higher priced Bulova and Seiko models, also something called a Fossil watch that looked like I might need platform heels and a pair of glittery oversized Elton John eyeglasses to complete the ensemble. The only watch even remotely resembling my beloved broken Expedition number was a handsome Citizen timepiece three times its cost — with a ten-year warranty included. I thanked the clerk for her time and said I had my heart set on another Timex Expedition. “You might try Walmart,” she said. So I did, sad to think how far mighty Timex watches had fallen. They’d taken a licking, were they still even ticking? Even Walmart was a no-go. The clerk there said a drugstore was my best option. If that failed, I guessed America’s formerly favorite watch might be found on the street being sold from suitcases by vendors with strange accents. Perhaps, you are saying to yourself, what a big waste of time — this urban expedition for a cheap wristwatch. And you’re probably right. Time is, they say, our most precious commodity, a fleeting resource, tomorrow’s memory. Time flies but is a sin to waste. It’s a wise counselor but sometimes a fool’s errand. Time stays, we go — or so said H.L. Mencken. Whatever else is true, as anyone from a stockbroker to an arms merchant can flatly tell you, time is money. It heals all wounds and — if we’re lucky — wounds all heels. How long a minute lasts, some wag once said, depends on which side of the bathroom door you’re standing. You can save time by taking the short cut, and lose it by mistakenly doing the same thing. The Book of Ecclesiastes says there is a time under heaven for everything, a time to reap and a time to sow; a time to be born and a time to die. My late Grandmother Taylor used to tell me “someone is always waiting beneath a clock.” For the longest time I had no idea what this meant. What she meant was that time is personal. Someone is always waiting beneath an unseen clock for a baby to be born or an elder to pass away, a first date to arrive, a train to leave the station. We wait for the weather to change, the season to shift, a new life to begin. In time the rain will stop, the movie will start, Christmas will return, spring shall commence, tomorrow will eventually get here. October 2014
O.Henry 11
ď
3215 N. Rockingham Road
"Ayrshire"
For over 76 years "Ayrshire" sits supremely on Sedgefield's
famed Donald Ross golf course. Cotswold Tudor with tile roof built by the present owner's family. Architectural features
include butterfly pegged floors, wood & plaster moldings, lead paned windows, solid wood beams, marble wall fountain in main hall. Lower level bonus room with fireplace kitchenette & adjoining rms. Connected breezeway to garages, guest quarters (2 bedrooms, kitchen & bath) & herb garden. Amazing grounds, stone terraces, built in an era gone by.
SEDGEFIELD 3301 Alamance Road
ď
"Adamsleigh"
Adamsleigh is one of the largest & most famous homes in the Triad. Built for textile baron JH Adams in 1930 & owned by his descendants. Designed by WinstonSalem architect Luther Lashmit (Graylyn Mansion). Home faces the 12th hole & backs up to the 14th &
15th holes of the Sedgefield Country Club. Unsurpassed quality abounds - solid masonry foundation & walls, clay tile roof, custom paneling & woodwork, plaster moldings & ironwork. Architecturally matching stables with garages & autocourt. A North Carolina treasure.
Katie L. Redhead
336.430.0219 mobile 336.274.1717 office
But tomorrow is simply an unspent yesterday — an abstract concept for something that’s gone the instant after it arrives, whereas real time is always here and now, which explains why we fragile human beings felt the need to come up with so many mechanical constructions — Stonehenge, sun dials, planting cycles, moon phases, hourglasses, various kinds of calendars, latitude and longitude, and every sort of time-keeping piece from ancient Babylonian water clocks to modern Tag Heuer chronometers — simply to measure our days and mark our passages through the veil of existence. For years whenever I was doing something I really loved doing — working in my garden, taking a swim, dining with friends or even playing golf — I would unstrap my watch and toss it in a pocket, a symbolic act of suspending time or at least removing my spirit for a blissful while from the gravitational pull of a world that would have me doing more responsible and important things with my time, like replying to emails or fixing a broken door, though the older I’ve gotten — time being the source of wisdom — I’ve come to believe most of the time real time’s value is whatever we choose to make of it. Sometimes “time” is purely nostalgia-driven. We hear a song that takes us back to freshman year in college or see a photo of our infant children on a beach — astonished to think how quickly time passes. Once, poking around London’s famous Portobello marketplace one Sunday morning with my wife, I happened upon a vendor selling vintage restored watches, instantly zeroing in on a handsome 1945 Rolex watch engraved with the symbol of the American Eighth Army Air Force. The beautiful timepiece instantly made me think about my father, who’d passed away not long before. He’d served in the Eighth Army Air Force on the Lancashire Coast just before D-Day. My dad had his own thing about watches. For all I know this watch could have been his. It could have been mine, too, were I willing to shell out the 220 pounds ster-
Simple Life
ling the vendor was asking. I was sorely tempted but reluctantly declined — and spent that whole evening regretting my decision. At the end of this month, as the days grow visibly shorter — actually, to be more precise, a mere two days into November — we here in North America will gain an extra hour of sleep on the clock when we “fall back” from Daylight Saving Time to Eastern Standard Time, yet another artificial construction dating from the end of the 19th century designed to provide more daylight hours for human activities and less waking time spent in morning darkness. A natural early riser since boyhood, I’ve long rallied against a sun that doesn’t set until after 8 o’clock, something my body clock rebels against and critics say really doesn’t save all that much time and energy anyway. As for this weary time traveler, by the time we fall back and enjoy that extra hour of autumn snooze time, I’ll have a new Timex Expedition watch strapped to my wrist and off on another five-year expedition. That’s because following my fruitless watch-hunt around town, a pragmatic lady I’m married to suggested that I simply go online and order one directly from the company. “You’ll wind up saving money and time,” she said. Happy to report, she was right. I found the current version of my old familiar Expedition model and even paid ten bucks less than the department store version of five years ago. It’s on my wrist as I write this, keeping track of my remaining minutes before I’m supposed to be somewhere else. Someday, I suppose, assuming the past is anything like the future, it will begin to slow down and eventually give out. Then again, so will its owner. For the moment at least, we’re happy to take that extra hour of sleep and spend time together. OH Contact editor Jim Dodson at jim@ohenrymag.com.
When the power goes out... We’ve got your backup
Don’t be left in the dark again. Beco Electrical provides sales, installation, and service of partial or complete backup generators, giving you peace of mind the next time severe weather causes a power outage. Call Beco today for an estimate on a standby generator for your home or business. • Authorized and certified Generac™ dealer • Various sizes and models to fit your particular needs • Standby automatically kicks on when power goes out • Remote monitoring system keeps you informed when you’re away • Service and maintenance on existing and installed generators
Special Offer for O.Henry Readers go to www.becoinc.com/ohenry
1-888-969-BECO
it’s best to call Beco. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 13
Short Stories Eye Wood Wear These
If you love watersports but hate losing your sunglasses, go ahead and jump in. The wooden sunglasses made by Allison Thomas’ fledgling eyewear company, Savannah Moss, float. Thomas guarantees it. She personally dunks every pair in her bathtub in the Randleman County town of Sophia. “Some people ask if the wood will rot if it gets wet, but it’s wax-coated,” says the 26-year-old entrepreneur. A graduate of Randleman High School, Thomas earned a degree from the Savannah School of Art and Design and worked in New Jersey before coming home to start her own company. She lined up a Chinese factory to manufacture the teak and zebra-wood specs, which are Polarized and retail for $80 to $110 on savannahmosseyewear.com or in boutiques including Hang Ups and Wright Choices in High Point. She says they are getting good reviews from customers. “I had a friend, and she went to Australia. She was looking off a bridge and (the glasses) fell over,” Thomas says. “The good thing was, they floated. The bad thing was, she couldn’t get them. But she could see them floating down the river.” MJ
Gate City Circus
Founded in 1949 and the oldest arts organization in Guilford County, the Community Theatre of Greensboro could be celebrating its 65th anniversary. Instead it’s decided to celebrate the 25-year tenure of its executive director, Mitchel Sommers. “Mitchel has juggled multiple demands, walked budget tightropes and kept an incredible number of plates spinning over the years,” says board member Jerry Plovsky. The weekendlong celebration, billed as the Cirque du CTG, will feature two shows with Sommers cracking the whip as ringmaster. The first, on Saturday, October 18, at 8 p.m., will be a Broadway revue in the Starr Theatre, showcasing a medley of CTG’s greatest talent and hits, from shows like West Side Story, Gypsy and Hairspray. The second, on Sunday, October 19, at 3 p.m., will be a familyoriented cavalcade of youth, focusing on one of the theater’s abiding strengths — featuring entertainment that’s inclusive to all members of Greensboro’s community, from Latinos to African-Americans, from Jewish seniors to special-needs children. CTG has produced more than 250 plays and musicals. And with twenty-five-plus outreach programs, it has introduced more than 250,000 children to the world of theater. Private receptions for sponsors and pre-event parties for anyone and everyone are planned. Info: (336) 333-7469 or ctgso.org. DCB
Cattails
Greensboro’s wildest poet, Fred Chappell, had a hairy idea in 2004: publishing a book of cat poetry, “the paper made of feline combings.” In case you missed buying a copy of Companion Volume, fifty of which were printed on a flat-bed press, Chappell has published another tome of tell-tail poems, Familiars, featuring Tom Juan, Hypothecat, Jubilate Felis and Lady Graye. Perhaps, upon urging from his fan base, Fred might bring some combed cat hairs to his reading at the UNCG Faculty Center at 7 p.m. on October 14 and scatter them upon freshly signed copies of the book, like a priest dispensing holy water. Info: library.uncg.edu/calendar/events. DCB
Attack of the 8-Foot Woman
Home Turf
It’ll be a musical homecoming for two of North Carolina’s hottest acts when the Grammy-winning bluegrass band Steep Canyon Rangers and their opening act Mipso come to Greensboro for the Piedmont Land Conservancy’s sixth annual LandJam on October 17. Born in Brevard, the Steep Canyon Rangers feature Greensboro native Graham Sharp on banjo. Mipso, started in Chapel Hill, includes double bass player Wood Robinson and fiddle player Libby Rodenbough, both from Greensboro. Guitarist Joseph Terrell calls High Point home. Proceeds support the Knight Brown Nature Preserve, where, despite a shortage of steep canyons, you’ll find two streams rippling through a wooded valley carpeted with luxurious ferns and scads of wildflowers. The concert starts at 8 p.m. at the Carolina Theatre. Tickets: (336) 333-2605; carolinatheatre.com. MJ
14 O.Henry
October 2014
“For twenty-five years, my overseas filmmaker/journalist/husband has brought back stories from being embedded in Iraq and blown up in a Humvee,” writes Lesley Dill, the Falk Visiting Artist at Weatherspoon. Those years also included trips to hot spots in Afghanistan, Rwanda, the Sudan, Syria, Jordan and Pakistan. “I finally feel able to fold these — heard-seen-manytimes — documents of people at war, offenders and victims of violence, into my artwork,” says Dill, who received her B.A. from Trinity College in 1972 and her M.F.A. from the Maryland Institute of Art in 1980. The result is Faith & the Devil, on display through December 7. A central feature of the exhibit is “Big Gal Faith,” pictured here. If an 8-foot-tall female with wild hair tangled up with words and a 26-foot-wide dress of textual screed is not your vision of how Faith might be portrayed, Dill has a ready answer for you: “I don’t think of faith as a religious reference, with faith being a safe codified haven, but more as a hungry force. Faith contains as much fear as optimism and crazy grace,” she says. Info: (336) 334-5770 or weatherspoon.uncg.edu. DCB The Art & Soul of Greensboro
On Top of Spaghetti
If you haven’t discovered The Corner (Walker & Elam) Farmers Market, Piemonte Farm’s homemade, rawmilk Italian-style cheese is a savory incentive for doing so. Argentinian by birth, “North Carolinian by choice,” and Spanish and Italian by heritage, Sandra Salinga and Fabian Lujan handmake four cheeses, aged from 60–90 days. Via state-certification and the aging process, creamy, raw milk from Gerringer and Calico cows is safely transformed into rustic and redolent cheeses unavailable on the mass market. Three months in the making, Don Gabino is great over pasta, just as you’d use Parmesan. Sweet and nutty, Don Augustin begs to be paired with a crusty batard. Or pair either of them on saltines with Sandra’s malbec-and-thyme preserves or fig-andbourbon jam. Other vendors include Faucette Farms, Elam Gardens and a number of organic and small-batch producers. Info: www.walkerelammarket.com and www. piemontefarm.com. DCB
The Equalist
The works of international human-rights photographer Todd Drake have been exhibited all across the United States, not to mention Jerusalem, Ramallah, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Now’s your chance to see his provocative and sometimes controversial photos in the Triad. Or hear him speak about his work — on October 5 at 5 p.m in Francis Auditorium at High Point University. Then through October 22, seventy images, half taken by Palestinian youth in the West Bank last summer, half by Drake, will be on exhibit in Guilford College’s Founders Hall (www. doublevision-palestine.info). “It was a spectacular window into the Palestinian experience,” says Drake, a visiting professor at North Carolina A&T. Also during October, the Congregational United Church of Christ will host an overview of Drake’s work featuring undocumented Hispanics (www.the-help-project.info) and Muslim Americans living in North Carolina (www.muslimselfportrait. info). More info: www.the-equalist.com. DCB
Grave Matters
Who would be crazy enough to hang out in a graveyard on Halloween night? History buffs who come to hear Max Carter conduct his annual historical tour of New Garden Friends Meeting Cemetery on Friday, October 31, at 8 p.m. Carter and student volunteers don outlandish costumes to represent the cemetery’s most famous dearly departed. While Carter spins tales about the lives of those below the ground, you’ll meet Alethea Coffin — wife of Vestal Coffin, one of the first conductors of the Underground Railroad. Her epitaph reads, “Buried in Her Wedding Dress.” You’ll also stand on the spot where angry “scalawags” opposed to integration dynamited the iconic Revolutionary Oak during Eleanor Roosevelt’s speech on desegregation. Then there’s Jonathan and Elizabeth Cox (early founders of Guilford College), who hung baskets of food outside a log barn for runaway slaves and fleeing Confederate soldiers. “It’s fascinating local, national and international history that is represented not only by the people buried here, but also by the things that actually happened here,” says Carter, director of Guilford College’s Friends Center. For those scared or superstitious, there’s no need to worry: “Quakers are as benign in death as they are in life,” he quips. Info: mcarter@guilford.edu. KG
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Ogi Sez Ogi Overman Just as the leaves peak in October, judging from the concert schedules, so do the opportunities for musical mischief and mayhem. And that ain’t even counting Halloween. • October 5, Greensboro College: The heavyweights will be out in force at Odell Auditorium, not just the blues cats but the big dogs, for the CD release party for the Healing Blues Project. If you don’t know what that is, Google it or go to your room and don’t come out ’til after Halloween. • October 16, City Market: Who knew the space adjacent to the railroad tracks in Olde Greensborough could become the site of such a wildly popular event? This month’s third-Thursday afterwork party features Crystal Bright and the Silverhands. • October 25, Westover Church: The nation fell in love with them — OK, my wife fell in love with them — on America’s Got Talent, and now the Texas Tenors are coming to the Gate City to perform with the Greensboro Symphony. It’s pure operatic quality but with a purely contemporary twist. • October 30, High Point Theatre: When you go see Pure Prairie League, do everyone in the theater a favor: Don’t scream “Amie.” Don’t, just don’t. They’re going to do it. Trust me. • October 30, Greensboro Coliseum: Hey, did you hear, Paul McCartney’s coming to town? Hope you got tix early. • November 1, Stafford Farm: I know I’m fudging by a day, but if you’ve never been to the Colfax Persimmon Festival (558 North Bunker Hill Road, Oak Ridge), get up early and go. Plenty of pudding and pulp, plus the persimmon pickers, Cornbread Revival. OO October 2014
O.Henry 15
SPECIALIZING IN COSMETIC SURGERY & SKIN CARE SPECIALIZING IN COSMETIC SURGERY & SKIN CARE
COSMETIC COSMETIC SURGERY SURGERY
• Breast Augmentation • Breast Augmentation • Eyelid Lift • Eyelid Lift • Liposuction • Liposuction • Facelift • Facelift
• Body Contouring • Body Contouring • Tummy Tucks • Tummy Tucks • Breast Reduction • Breast Reduction • Blepharoplasty • Blepharoplasty
SKIN SKIN CARE CARE
• Facials • Facials • Chemical & Medical Peels • Chemical & Medical Peels • Laser Hair Removal • Laser Hair Removal
• IPL Treatments • IPL Treatments • Obagi Skin Care • Obagi Skin Care
NON-SURGICAL NON-SURGICAL PROCEDURES PROCEDURES
• CoolSculpting®® • CoolSculpting • Facial Rejuvenation • Facial Rejuvenation • Botox®® Cosmetic • Botox Cosmetic • Dysport ™™ • Dysport
• Perlane ®® • Perlane • Restylane ®® Treatments • Restylane Treatments • Laser Tattoo Removal • Laser Tattoo Removal
www.barberplasticsurgery.com www.barberplasticsurgery.com
DR. BARBER VOTED DR. BARBER VOTED One of America’s Top Plastic Surgeons 2004-2013
One of America’s Top Plastic Surgeons 2004-2013 by by Consumers’ Consumers’ Research Research Council Council of of America. America.
Dr. W. Byron Barber II, facs • Certified American Board of Plastic Surgery Dr. W. Byron Barber II, facs • Certified American Board of Plastic Surgery 16 O.Henry
October 2014
1591 Yanceyville St. •• Suite 100 •• Greensboro, NC 1591 275.3430 Yanceyville St. Suite 100 Greensboro, NC • www.barberplasticsurgery.com 275.3430 • www.barberplasticsurgery.com
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Doodad
Making History
Local R&B sensation Brandon Knox and his band, Deluge, are on an upward trajectory
“I love my new smile...
I wish I’d done this years ago!
Thank you Dr. Alan Irvin and Invisalign®!” Jeanna C. Invisalign® patient of Dr. Irvin
A
couple of years ago this music buff was listening to The North Carolina Show on WQFS-FM, Guilford College’s campus radio station. A song came on that was so captivating and well-produced that yours truly called host Chris Roulhac to ask if she had snuck a national ringer into her playlist of strictly local and regional talent. She replied that, no, the song, titled “Union,” was by a local group called the Deluge and was written by its lead singer, Brandon Knox. Turns out, Knox, 35, has been flying under the radar for about ten years, with Old Stone Review and a couple of lesser known acts. But since forming the Deluge in 2010, word is out that this is a band on an upward trajectory. They released Cryin’ on the Vine that year and followed up with Elephant Graveyard in 2012. The former would be classified under the Americana genre, while the latter leans more toward the R&B side of the spectrum. They also produced a DVD of a live performance at High Rock Outfitters, arguably the best listening room in the Triad. They have enough material for another CD, but Knox is still writing constantly, saying, “We want to add some more colors to the palette, so we can cherrypick the best.” Note he always uses the pronoun “we,” emphasizing that most of his tunes are collaborations with the group. “I lean heavily on them,” he says. “I don’t have a large functioning knowledge of music theory and only plunk on a guitar (although he does play a mean blues harp). Basically, I’ve got three chords and a message.” Knox did write one tune by himself, “Strange World,” that he is rather proud of — with good reason. In 2009 he entered it in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, and from thousands of international entries, he won in the R&B category. “It was really a lark,” he says. “I entered it on the deadline day with no pretense of actually winning,” adding, “One of the prizes was studio time, and we used that to cut our first album, which includes that song.” Knox, a standout lineman at Glenn High School, is a semester away from a degree in history at UNCG. Upon graduation in December, he plans to teach. “I can’t ever see myself not playing and writing music,” he quips, “but I do like to eat, too.” OH — Ogi Overman
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Experience makes the difference. As one of the top 5% of Invisalign® providers nationwide and the only ELITE Provider between the Raleigh and Charlotte areas, Dr. Irvin has the experience to handle everything from simple alignments to complex orthodontic situations. Even if you’ve been told Invisalign® isn’t an option for you, let us give you a second opinion. If you want a beautiful, straight smile with, or without, traditional braces, call 336-379-1134 today to schedule your free consultation. Setting the Triad straight since 1984
1515 W. Cornwallis Drive #105 Greensboro, NC 27408
IrvinOrthodontics.com
We will make a $100 donation to The ALIGHT Foundation (supporting local breast cancer patients) for every full treatment case started in October through December 31, 2014. October 2014
O.Henry 17
5942 Bostonian Dr.
127 Cobblestone Walk Ln.
5946 Bostonian Dr.
$559,900
Built by: Gunter Custom Homes & Design
$519,900
Built by: Chris Clement Homebuilders, Inc.
Built by: R & K Custom Homes
Located in Griffin’s Knoll
5929 Bostonian Dr.
5913 Bedstone Dr.
112 Cobblestone Walk Ln.
$379,900
$549,900
Built by: Precept Construction
Built by: Allen Hyatt Builders, Inc.
$515,000 Built by: GC Builders, Inc.
DIRECTIONS TO BEACON HILL: Highway 150E, pass Church St. Turn Left on Bostonian Drive.
Jan Cox
DIRECTIONS TO GRIFFIN’S KNOLL: Lake Brandt Rd. Right on Trosper Rd. Right on Bedstone, Continue Straight into Griffin’s Knoll.
Ashley Cox
336.382.1849 336.340.1152 thecoxteam.kw@gmail.com homesofnorthcarolina.com
Frank Harris
Georgeanne Wyrick
Mortgage Advisor / AVP
Construction Lender
NMLS#181018
NMLS #617888
336.851.3130
336.323.3003
f.harris@carolinabank.com
g.wyrick@carolinabank.com
Builder Construction Loans • Homebuyer Construction Loans • One Time Close
From Inspiration To Installation Interior Design and Decoration
Jessica Dauray
Sydney Blanks
Starting at the Blueprint Stage
jess@elementsofstyleinc.com • 336.286.0775 • 3712-E Lawndale Drive (Next to Fresh Market)
Life’s Funny
The Face in the Window Tricking someone is tricky business
By Maria Johnson
It’s pretty bad when you know you’re
about to see something spooky and you’re still frightened. But that’s exactly what happened when I opened the box containing the Scary Peeper, a gag prop that Greensboro’s Morgan Dowtin designed to look like the hooded head of a creepy peeping Tom.
The Peeper’s pale vinyl face and his up-to-no-good grin gave me a jolt, but the kicker was his hands, which framed his face as if he were pressed against a window, trying to get a better view. The instructions said to hang the Peeper outside a window so that it hovered just above the sill. Suction cup included. I closed the box quickly and stuck it in the laundry room. I had to think about this. Sure, I would use the Peeper to scare someone. But whom? Half of pulling off a great practical joke is picking the right target. Ideally, you want some who’ll issue a hearty scream. Maybe curse a little. Perhaps run and babble incoherently. On the other hand, you don’t want to induce a heart attack, a roundhouse right, or a tenfold payback. It’s tricky business, this trick business. I flipped through my mental Rolodex of friends and came up with a few possibilities. It would take a while to lay a plan, but that was OK. My deadThe Art & Soul of Greensboro
line was weeks away. Plus I wanted to talk to Morgan about how he came up with the Peeper. I set up an interview with the 37-year-old inventor. On the phone, he sounded like he was 27. In person, he came across as 17, mainly because of his loopy giggle. Morgan grew up in Greensboro, joked his way through his teen years, and went to work for his father’s property development company after graduating from Virginia Tech with a degree in industrial design. When his dad announced plans to sell the business, Morgan had to come up with another line of work. One night, he had a couple of drinks and tapped some ideas into his phone. Usually, whenever he did that, he looked at the ideas the next day and thought they were awful. But this time, he looked at what he’d written — “peeping Tom prank product”— and thought it might work. He tested his theory by taping a cutout of his own face on a window of his house. His wife, Emily, was mortified. “OK, cool,” thought Morgan. He hired a California mask maker to do a prototype of a freaky face, which Morgan took to a Halloween trade show in Houston. There, he met Jonah White, who owns Billy Bob Teeth Inc., the maker of fake hillbilly teeth. White liked the Peeper so much he arranged for a factory in Hong Kong to manufacture it. Meanwhile, a buyer for the catalog Grandin Road — “They’re like the Cadillac of spooky stuff,” Morgan says — spied the Peeper and ordered 1,200 units, which they priced at $60 each. October 2014
O.Henry 19
Life’s Funny
% 50OFF EYEGLASS FRAMES with the purchase of a complete pair of glasses* Mark T. Shapiro, M.D., F.A.A.O. Arun Subramanian, O.D., F.A.A.O. 1311 North Elm Street Greensboro, NC 336.378.9993 ShapiroEyeCare.com
Because Life Is Worth Seeing
Last summer, the catalog sold out of Peepers. Three times. By October, Morgan had a hit on his hands. Earlier this year, White, the Billy Bob guy, invited Morgan to re-enact his Peeper pitch for a TV show pilot called Billy Bob’s Gags to Riches. It was the highest rated pilot in Discovery Channel history. Now, White has his own reality show, and Morgan is scheduled to appear again this fall with his latest product, the Animated Scarewolf Rug, a rug that howls when you step on it. As of August, the rug was selling briskly on Grandin Road. “Every time I take a step back and think about what I’m doing, I think, ‘This is insane,’” Morgan says. “There is no way I should be able to make a living doing this.” But he is. And he’s going to ride it out as long as possible. He has ten new products in the pipeline. After interviewing Morgan, I knew this was a good story, but I had to finish other pieces first. One morning, I was tapping away at the kitchen table, where I like to work because the light is good. When I need a visual respite, I look out and see flowers. And trees. And birds. And squirrels. And a man peeping in my window. At times, I’ve dreamed that I try to scream but can’t, and I’ve always wondered if my vocal chords would work if I were truly terrified. The answer is yes. But the man didn’t move. He didn’t even blink. I stopped screaming and stared. What the . . . ? My son Tom cracked up in the next room. He’d found the Peeper in the laundry room and, being 17 himself, he instinctively understood what Morgan had intended. “I was saving that,” I scolded him when he came into the kitchen in search of oxygen. “I was trying to think of the best person to scare.” “I think we know who that is,” he said. His giggle sounded eerily familiar. OH To learn more about the Peeper for yourself, go to scarypeeper.com Maria Johnson wants others to experience the same feeling of “aliveness” that she felt upon seeing the Peeper in her window. To find out if you’re on the short list, contact her at maria@ohenrymag.com.
* Discount may not be combined with any other insurance discounts, coupons, promotions, special pricing offers, Silver Collection or Maui Jim glasses. Discounts not available on previous purchases. This offer expires 12/31/2014.
20 O.Henry
October 2014
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
autumn in
old salem september 2 – november 2, 2o14
Spectacular colors. Harvest-time tastes. Hands-on activities.
Autumn in Old Salem. A season for the senses. October 1 old salem presents robert edsel: the monuments men October 18 pigs & pippins! harvest day at old salem, fall foods, hands-on activities for all ages October 25 – 30 legends and lanterns tours, pumpkin carving, trick or treating! November 8 shops at old salem holiday open house, Music, food, craftsmen, storytelling, shopping, and more!
For a full list of events, classes & concerts, visit oldsalem.org or call 336-721-735o The Artold & Soulsalem of Greensboro museums & gardens, winston-salem, north carolina
October 2014
O.Henry 21
©2014 Pinehurst, LLC
A s h o r t d r i v e n e v e r t o o k y o u s o f a r a w a y.
Right down the road, you’ll find an oasis of hydrating facials, soothing massage, exfoliating scrubs and cleansing body wraps. And, at just $174 for a treatment, overnight accommodations and breakfast, you’ll like where The Spa at Pinehurst takes you.
$174* Spa or Golf Escape Spa treatment or round of golf Accommodations at The Carolina Breakfast
Located next to The Carolina Hotel • Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina • 855.327.2473 • pinehurst.com
22 O.Henry
*Rate is per person, per night based on double occupancy. Valid Sunday - Thursday 11.16.14 - 3.7.15. Subject to tax and resort service fee. Ask about weekend rates.
October 2014
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Lyric Strokes
The Omnivorous Reader
Poet Shelby Stephenson enters the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame By Stephen E. Smith
In the thirty-seven years
I’ve known Shelby Stephenson, I’ve heard him read hundreds of beautifully crafted poems, all of which had their memorable passages, but there’s one line from one early poem that’s a particular favorite of mine: “Prayer is a patient man.”
That simple subject-verb-object sentence doesn’t possess an especially inspiring message and there’s no soaring lyric or sparkling image to ensconce it in my brain, but the thought expressed by those five words informs every poem Shelby has ever written. He is indeed a patient man, and each of his poems is a prayer, invested with the solemnity and import of every supplication ever uttered in reverence. I arrived at this insight when I stopped by Shelby’s home on an April afternoon in 1981. He’d just received copies of his first book, Middle Creek Poems, a beautiful letterpress edition published by Blue Coot Press, and he was, as most writers are with their first book in hand, full of enthusiasm and pride. He was holding indisputable proof that his vision was true, that his imagination, memory and mastery of language struck a note of authenticity with editors and readers. I asked him to read me a couple of poems, and he did. The first was a sweet little lyric entitled “Creek Walk.” Your eyes float out of sycamores, come to me on leaves while your hair still flows in the limp cling of breath and I go with poles to the water, the line catching bushes on the way, footsteps left in air. Your glances consume. I am a rocking life. Before my eyes a slow reed waves, squeezing the light from my face. I am the roam after the horse has been stabled, the stir pulsing away when there is no fire. I want a heart’s spring, a warm, slow heaven of stars flowing through my veins. I want a wind lightly touching the small of my back. He followed with a narrative persona poem titled “Tart’s Fishing Worms Sold Behind the Grocery.” I told Lettie The Art & Soul of Greensboro
we were just raising worms for Weaver, she and the younguns counting them things — why, it was a full-time job and I bought them little boxes with the fishes on the sides, ten cents a piece I paid and I told Lettie oyster boxes would do just as good — paid a whole dollar for that whole case over there next to the gas pump. Weaver didn’t like that, wanted the fish picture on every box — and we was selling them to him for sixty-five cents a box and he was selling them to the poor fishermen for $1.50. We was busy counting worms for Weaver. Then they go small and he said why you’re selling all your breeders so I cut down from all these beds, just got one now, sell worms to my friends, must be 800 here for a dollar — I just scoop’m in and it don’t dawn on me no more that I’m just working for Weaver and his big sporting goods store. These early poems hint at the direction Shelby would take when creating the impressive body of work that’s culminated with his induction into the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame. (The ceremony will be held on Sunday, October 12, at 2 p.m. at the Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities in Southern Pines.) For most of the years I’ve known him, Shelby has remained steadfastly devoted to the lyric, and he’s worked tirelessly at sustaining a lyric poem of unusual length — a few of them more than one-hundred pages — pushing the boundaries of the genre. This requires an exceptional degree of determination; it’s equivalent to singing a song that lasts for, say, four hours without losing your audience. The tune may be exquisite in its parts and delicate in its nature, but the collective attention of our contemporaries wanders easily. If Keats or Yeats, both great lyric poets, weren’t required reading in college English, how many members of Generation X would read them? Yet Shelby has succeeded at singing the extended song and holding his audience by reawakening them to the familiar. His narrative poem “Tart’s Fishing Worms . . .” is the reverse side of the coin. The poem is spoken in the colloquial — “and it don’t dawn on me no more” — October 2014
O.Henry 23
DLM_OHenry_3rdS_May_14_Layout 1 4/9/14 9:00 PM Page 1
Reader
YOU’VE SEEN WHAT WE’VE DONE FOR OTHERS.
O. Henry Magazine Feature Articles: June 2013 and March 2014
DISCOVER WHAT WE CAN DO FOR YOU. Old House Remodel Specialists. Thoughtful design. Clear communication. Outstanding craftsmanship. Call 336.275.9457 about your project today. Design. Remodel. Transform. DLMBuilders.com
TACOS. BAR. CATERING. SM
T H E AR T O F T HE TACO
YOUR FAVORITE TACOS, NOW SERVED ANYWHERE
Sunday-Monday 11 AM - 3 PM Tuesday-Saturday 11 AM - 10 PM 219-A South Elm Street • Greensboro, NC 27401
336.273.0030
by a persona who is more than a device to illicit humor. The poet, if he’s present in the poem at all, doesn’t intend ridicule, and the persona emerges as a character whose storytelling ability is deserving of our respect. Granted, the shtick is situational, but the language is endearing, and the use of alliteration and internal rhyming — “raising worms for Weaver”/“counting worms for Weaver”/“working for Weaver” — all accommodate the absurdity — and the final end rhyme of “more” and “store” ties the scene together with just the right touch of wit. Shelby knows these characters. They are old friends, and he appreciates their use of language. The rhythms of their speech are the perfect touch of authenticity, a lighter variation of the truth as Shelby knows it — as we all know it. So what Shelby has done is what all poets strive for: He’s found the words to express an entire sensibility, the values, the thoughts and the feelings of a people we’ve long written off. And he’s done this by balancing the multiplicity of their inner and outer lives. Because of the admonition against reviewing books written by one’s friends, I have alluded here to verse from Shelby’s Middle Creek Poems, which is no longer available except from rare book dealers. But Shelby’s poetry hasn’t remained static. In the twelve volumes that have followed Middle Creek Poems, his work has constantly evolved. No doubt he’s chafed a little against the limitation of the lyric except when used in the service of his more recent narratives, family stories of longing, regret and celebration, where it’s possible to sing the old songs with a quiet dignity. His more recent books, The Hunger for Freedom and Steal Away, fulfill the promise of Middle Creek Poems, as with the recent sonnet “Duck Bolling”: I picture her married to Percy Bolling, Almost all over him as she herself Filled out every place she stood like shelves Of human flesh set on Shake & Giggling. If you ask her — How’s your tomato wine — She was already in the row, the green Tomatoes turning ripe slightly, her keen, Caressing presence entangling a vine She’d drag down the middle of one long row — That was enough, that single field, To make me happy; “Peace in the Valley” I’d start; her hum, as if part of her toes, She’d interrupt: “Shub, sing that song for me One more time — oh — what sweet society!” “Duck Bolling” may well be speaking for all lovers of verse. What we need is for Shelby Stephenson to sing for us one more song, one more prayer. Please. OH
WWW.CRAFTEDTHEHEARTOFTHETACO.COM
24 O.Henry
October 2014
Stephen E. Smith’s most recent book of poems is A Short Report on the Fire at Woolworths. He can be reached at travisses@hotmail.com The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Opus 2014-2015
The City Arts Music Center of the Greensboro Parks & Recreation Department proudly presents the Opus Concert Series, free of charge! The popular concert series showcases outstanding musical entertainment at exciting venues throughout our community. Join us!
CONCERT SERIES
GROUP
CONCERT DATE
TIME
Sunday, November 2, 2014
3 PM
Choral Society of Greensboro Jon Brotherton, Conductor
Saturday, November 8, 2014
7:30 PM
Christ United Methodist Church 410 North Holden Road
Greensboro Concert Band Evan Feldman, Conductor
Saturday, November 15, 2014
7:30 PM
Dana Auditorium, Guilford College 5800 West Friendly Avenue
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
7:30 PM
Greensboro Cultural Center, Room 100 200 North Davie Street
Sunday, December 7, 2014
3 PM
St. Pius X Catholic Church 2200 North Elm Street
Marimba Christmas Andrew Dancy, Conductor
Thursday, December 11, 2014
7 PM
Greensboro Cultural Center, Room 100 200 North Davie Street
Greensboro Youth Jazz Ensemble Wally West, Conductor
Monday, December 15, 2014
7:30 PM
Greensboro Cultural Center, Room 100 200 North Davie Street
Greensboro Oratorio Singers Jay O. Lambeth, Conductor
Thursday, December 18, 2014
7 PM
Carolina Theatre 310 South Greene Street
Saturday, February 14, 2015
6 - 8 PM
Bur-Mil Park Clubhouse 5834 Bur-Mil Club Road
Sunday, March 8, 2015
3 PM
Lindley Recreation Center 2907 Springwood Drive
Greensboro Concert Band Evan Feldman, Conductor
Saturday, March 14, 2015
7:30 PM
Dana Auditorium, Guilford College 5800 West Friendly Avenue
Greensboro Tarheel Chorus John Peeler, Conductor
Saturday, March 28, 2015
7:30 PM
Christ United Methodist Church 410 North Holden Road
Philharmonia of Greensboro Peter Perret, Conductor
Saturday, May 2, 2015
7:30 PM
Dana Auditorium, Guilford College 5800 West Friendly Avenue
Greensboro Youth Jazz Ensemble Wally West, Conductor
Sunday, May 3, 2015
3 PM
Choral Society of Greensboro Jon Brotherton, Conductor
Friday, May 8, 2015
7:30 PM
Christ United Methodist Church 410 North Holden Road
Greensboro Concert Band Evan Feldman, Conductor
Saturday, May 9, 2015
7:30 PM
Dana Auditorium, Guilford College 5800 West Friendly Avenue
Greensboro Youth Chorus Ann Doyle and Nana Wolfe-Hill, Conductors
Monday, May 11, 2015
7 PM
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
7:30 PM
Greensboro Cultural Center, Room 100 200 North Davie Street
Friday, May 15, 2015
7:30 PM
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church 607 North Greene Street
Philharmonia of Greensboro with Special Guest: Danville Symphony Orchestra
Peter Perret, Conductor
Greensboro Percussion Ensembles with Special Guest: North Carolina A&T State Percussion Ensemble
Mike Lasley, Conductor Greensboro Youth Chorus Ann Doyle and Nana Wolfe-Hill, Conductors
Greensboro Big Band, Sweet Sounds in partnership with Bur-Mil Park; includes dancing, dessert and music
Mike Day, Conductor Philharmonia of Greensboro, Pillow Pops Concert with Special Guest: Dance Project: the School at City Arts
Peter Perret, Conductor
Greensboro Percussion Ensembles Mike Lasley, Conductor Greensboro Brass Ensemble Kiyoshi Carter, Conductor
For details about the concert programs, please visit our website at The Art & Soul of Greensboro www.city-arts.org. • 336-373-2549 • music@greensboro-nc.gov
LOCATION
Dana Auditorium, Guilford College 5800 West Friendly Avenue
Greensboro Historical Museum 130 Summit Avenue
Christ United Methodist Church 410 North Holden Road
New, unwrapped toys are being October collected for FOX82014 GiftsO.Henry for Kids. 25
ARTQUEST REIMAGINED COME. EXPLORE. CREATE. OPEN STUDIOS BIRTHDAY PARTIES YAK | YOUNG ARTISTS KOLLECTIVE GROUP VISITS MASTERPIECE FRIDAY SUMMER CAMPS
Comprised of four bright, creative and colorful studios, ArtQuest offers children and families a place to explore artmaking materials and to create art in an experiential, self-driven environment. Teen and adult workshops are offered through special programs and open studios available to children and families five days per week. Images ©Jacqui Haggerty, courtesy of Greenhill
HOURS
Sunday & Monday | Closed Tuesday - Saturday | 1 - 5 PM Wednesday “Family Night” | 5 - 7 PM Friday | 10 AM - 5 PM
ADMISSION
$6.00 per adult | $6.00 per child Children 12 months and under are free Free admission with a “Household” level membership or higher
Mention this ad to receive $1 OFF ArtQuest admission during the month of October.
200 North Davie Street |
Greensboro, NC
|
greenhillnc.org
Scuppernong Bookshelf
Legends of the Fall By Brian Lampkin
The Fall. We at Scuppernong Books were
surprised and frankly disappointed to find out that O.Henry magazine had chosen to spend an entire issue enjoying the spectacle of failure. Such schadenfreude seemed beneath the usual tenor of optimism that surrounds this esteemed publication. Alas, a theme was demanded of us: The Fall. We’re good sports at Scuppernong Books, so we’ll play along and offer here reviews of books that drop in on the human condition in mid-descent. To be clear, we won’t enjoy witnessing this fall to the bottom, but for you O.Henry readers, here goes:
Paradise Lost (Oxford University Press, $19.95, with an introduction by Philip Pullman). No discussion of The Fall in literature can begin anywhere else. OK, that’s not quite true — there is Milton’s source material to consider — but it’s not a bad place to begin a descent. Wait, maybe Dante’s Inferno would offer a better jumping off point. This digression will get us nowhere. Milton’s 17th century epic is closer in time to us than all of Shakespeare’s work, yet Milton feels so much part of an earlier epoch. As a young man, Milton actually met Galileo while he was imprisoned and Milton himself would later be held in the Tower of London for his perceived support of the Commonwealth (by the way, a great article on Paradise Lost can be found in this New Yorker piece by Jonathan Rosen: www.newyorker. com/magazine/2008/06/02/return-to-paradise). Eve falls for Adam, Adam falls for Eve, Satan falls from heaven. Milton seemed to identify most with Satan, and Satan’s fall from grace is certainly the most compelling. Is there a movie tie-in in the works? I hear yes, with Jennifer Lawrence as Eve. She’ll soon trip up the Oscar stairs as she claims another statue. No one falls with more grace than Jennifer. While we’re in the 17th century, James Gleick’s Isaac Newton (Vintage, 2003, $15.95) is a brisk biography that not only uncovers its subject’s particular character and obsessions but also sheds a fascinating light on what science The Art & Soul of Greensboro
was like in the 17th century, a faulty mix of mathematics, religion and alchemy, three subjects ill-suited to being treated as one. The writing is accessible, even when dealing with the esoteric, and it’s fun to read of scientists squabbling like schoolboys over pet theories, fallacies and credit for discoveries, watching as their reputations rise and fall. Newton, nearly a recluse, uninterested in the fallaleries of society, found his true self in his workshop (and it was more a workshop then than a laboratory). While certainly all scientists are fallible, following theories down blind alleys again and again, most of Newton’s theories are the foundation of the physics we know today. This from a man who struggled mightily with his Christian faith, his fall from grace and who spent much of his time attempting to transform lead to gold. But surely things are falling apart in the 21st century as well. Olivia Laing’s new book, A Trip to Echo Spring: On Writers and Drinking (Picador, 2013, $26), is a study of six of America’s most famous male writers — John Berryman, Tennessee Williams, John Cheever, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Raymond Carver — and the toll that alcohol took on both their work and their personal lives. Part biography, part memoir, part journalistic piece on alcoholism, part travelogue and memoir, this book defies definitive categorization and exists as its own unique work. No one is entirely sold on what “the wagon” actually is, but one thing is certain: You don’t want to fall off it once you’ve gotten on. A fall off the wagon is usually coupled with the difficult and painful realization that one’s life is, in a way, falling apart. A descent into depression and degeneracy, falling off the wagon is one of the least glamourous ways in which to fall. But that doesn’t stop anyone, and particularly not writers, from doing it. The most refreshing thing about this book is that it doesn’t try to force its own answers for all of the big questions it asks. Laing doesn’t suggest that she has cracked the case and solved the mystery of why a disproportionate number of writers turn to drink for solace and for inspiration. Instead, she presents the facts, the works and the writers and gives their stories a chance to speak for themselves. The interstices of these writers’ life stories offer a glimpse into what made them who they are: their similarities, their differences and their vices. In the case of John Cheever, who died sober at 70 years old, it shows us that a fall is a thing it’s possible to get back up from. Though there is this great line to consider: “Pardon me, but I’m John Cheever. Could I borrow some Scotch?” October 2014
O.Henry 27
Enjoy Life, Blessed with Friendships
From left to right: Dee Tanner, Lo Hanson, Archie Williams, Ernie Ohlson, and Sallie Conterno
“ You can be as busy as you like with fitness activities, including an indoor pool, and volunteer opportunities. The staff is helpful and caring and the meals are healthy and fun to share with friends. Life is less stressful here, I feel more secure with more supports. But, the best thing about Friends Homes West is my neighbors!” - Archie Williams
Please join us for our Open House on Saturday October 18th from 10:00am to Noon. Taste the special Yum Yum ice cream flavors, meet our residents, see our apartments, enjoy music, a massage and experience a sample of what it is like to live at Friends Homes West.
28 O.Henry
October 2014
6100 West Friendly Avenue • Greensboro, NC 27410 Phone (336) 292-9952 • www.friendshomes.org The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Bookshelf Turkey is frozen in Orhan Pamuk’s Snow (Vintage, 2002, $15.95), the ground is covered with the fallen stuff, the landscape featureless, the ice dangerous. People stay inside as much as they can, falling back to the one province they think they can control. Ka, a poet unable to write, comes back to visit his faltering hometown, ostensibly to write about a rash of suicides among young girls, but really it’s in the hopes of rekindling a romance with the first woman he fell in love with, Ipek. Snow is a revelation of all sides of the Turkish conflict, from crestfallen isolationists to radical separatists, socialists to Islamic militants. It’s a dense, discursive novel steeped in an atmosphere where even the most mundane information must be guarded in case it falls into the wrong hands, in which even asking a question can be a dangerous proposition. Will Ka become the fall guy in the struggle between warring political factions? Will Ipek fall for him again and flee with him to safety? The faults, falseness and the hope of individuals and an entire culture lie just below the surface of this novel, veiled by the thinnest layer of new-fallen snow. The sense of falling can be felt in these ways: We fall to the ground, fall up stairs, fall in love, fall out of touch, fall into old patterns, and sometimes we even have that bottomless shaking feeling right as we begin to fall asleep. There is a lot of falling in Barbara Kingsolver’s novel Animal Dreams (HarperPerennial, 1991, $13). Codi Noline, the protagonist, is in the midst of an ending relationship, the fateful departure of her politico-Samaritan sister to war-torn Nicaragua and the fact that her father is being taken down slowly and surely by Alzheimer’s. Codi falls out of her relationship, through her support network and back into her despised hometown, where her father is falling out of reality. When Codi reaches Grace, Arizona, she has to find a way to catch herself quickly. She begins working as a science teacher in her old high school despite having a medical degree that she does not want to redeem. Soon after arriving, Codi realizes that the Black Mountain Mine upstream from Grace is polluting the river and causing destruction of water ecosystems, farmland and the orchards of the town where fruits are sickly falling to the ground. Through her plunge into this unsteady new life, Codi manages to catch herself by working to stop the pollution of the river and the deterioration of her father’s dignity, and she even falls back in love with Lloyd (whom she’d fallen for before). Like I said, there’s a lot of up and down. Animal Dreams holds an overarching narrative of striving for balance through both personal and physical disasters and understanding the cyclical nature of life, death and our relationships to one another through it all. Kingsolver’s novel speaks to the need to change one’s footing as the world changes and to move in ways that protect us from the impact that is likely coming. So tuck and roll with as much grace as you can, remembering that for better or for worse, everything may be happening for a reason. “‘You found you were saying yes when you meant no,’ and ‘We’ve got to be together on this thing,’ when you meant the very opposite; then you were breathing gasoline as if it were flowers and abandoning yourself to a delirium of love under the weight of a clumsy, grunting, red-faced man you didn’t even like, and then you were face to face, in total darkness, with the knowledge that you didn’t know who you were.” Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road. Enough with the “falling in love” books already! We all know the deal. Man desires woman, woman desires man, circumstance prevents the consummation of their love, painstaking adversity is eventually overcome, and man and woman are happy together forever. Our reviews this month inexplicably and regretfully shed light on all the various ways in which to fall, and of The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Location, Lifestyle, and the Lakes
From the mid $300’s - $500’s Nestled between Lake Jeanette and Lake Townsend, and convenient to downtown Greensboro, McNairy Pointe offers new homes on spacious, wooded homesites. Enjoy the nearby amenities of the Lake Jeanette Swim & Tennis club, or boating and fishing on Lake Townsend.
Our homes include four-sides brick exteriors, side entry garages, & granite counters in the kitchen and all full bathrooms. 1.5 story & first floor Owner’s suites are available. Homes range from 3,300 - 5,000+ square feet, with limited basement homesites available. Model Open Daily: Mon - Sat: 11-6; Sun: 1-6 6001 New Bailey Trail Greensboro 27455 336.482.3842 sheahomes.com/greensboro Opening in Spring 2015 New Homes from the high $200’s On Air Harbor Rd across from McNairy Pointe Visit SheaHomes.com/ Greensboro for details.
October 2014
O.Henry 29
Every successful presentation is preceded by
thorough preparations.
shorescleaners.com
High Point
I Greensboro I Winston Salem
Bookshelf
these, falling in love is probably the most banal, hackneyed, and clichéd plot line in the history of literature. Enter Revolutionary Road (Vintage, 2008, $15.95). Like a breath of stagnant, intolerable air you’re liable to choke on, Richard Yates’ novel of suburban America in the 1950s sidles over and settles on the conscience like an oppressively wet blanket or the most irritating of itchy wool sweaters. The quintessential “falling out of love” story, Revolutionary Road is a searing and painfully realistic depiction of a marriage falling into utter disrepair. But what a relief! A kind of life-jacket in a sea of nauseatingly gooey love stories! A veritable port in the storm of romantic tropes and idealized, filmic relationships! Spanish writer Andres Neuman said that we should look to reading not as a cure, but instead as a vaccine that inoculates us with a bit of what we hope to keep from being destroyed by. This is why you read a book like Revolutionary Road. It is sad and heartbreakingly tender, and most of what makes it so painful is how real it all feels. This is a testament to Richard Yates as a writer. In this book he shows us the other side of the normal “falling in love” story. He turns it around and shows us the difficult “falling out of love” story that we often try to avoid for fear of having to feel too much. This book is simultaneously frightening, familiar and essential. There you have it. Things have fallen apart completely. Let’s end on an upbeat note. Former South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint has written a new book: Falling In Love With America Again (Center Street, 2014, $25). It sounds dreamy. Listen: “Friends of freedom, our time is now! We must all step forward to protect a fundamental idea of the American experiment: how the individual citizen, the states and the federal government can work together to preserve our inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” OK, I’m ready to take the fall. But is it the same Mr. DeMint who once said, “If a person wants to be publicly gay, they should not be teaching in the public schools”? Well, I guess Falling In Love is reserved for only some Americans, as is the pursuit of happiness. And with that we’ve hit rock bottom. Enjoy your fall, dear readers, it’s only the end that hurts! OH The Art & Soul of Greensboro
THEODORE ALEXANDER® OUTLET
Fabulous Designer Furniture Huge Discounts
416 S. Elm St. High Point, NC 27260 336.887.1315 M/C, Visa, AMEX, Cash Accepted Open Mon. – Sat. 10-5
October 2014
O.Henry 31
The Destination For All Of Your Holiday Entertaining
Great private space for intimate parties. Irving Park Plaza | 1724 Battleground Ave., Suite 105 ph. 336.285.9410 | www.1618winelounge.com
Original culinary flair for your special occasion. 1618 West Friendly Ave. (behind Leon’s) reservations: 336.235.0898 www.1618seafoodgrille.com
on lo c at io n
Mobile food catering for any event. nick@1618concepts.com ph. 336.420.0690 | www.1618concepts.com
Decorating Your Home
Your Style, Your Way and within Your Budget Fabrics, Trims, Furniture, Bedding, Window Treatments, Rugs, Accessories, Outdoor Furniture and a staff of talented designers to help make decorating your home easy.
Dash & Albert I Matouk I Company C Brown Jordan I Janus et Cie
Westover Terrace at Wendover Ave. I 1310-104 Westover Terrace 336-272-4227 I M-F 10-6 I SAT 10-5 I printers-alley.com
32 O.Henry
October 2014
Walter_OHenryAds.indd 4
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Lunch With a Friend
Mr. Rhino
Greensboro’s well-traveled conservative editor-philosopher puts down the hammer over wild Scottish salmon with lentils
By Maria Johnson
Photographs by Sam Froelich
“Maybe God doesn’t want us to have lunch.”
That’s what John Hammer, editor of the Rhino Times, texted me on the second failed attempt to do this story. I was beginning to think he was right. The first time we met, the photographer didn’t make it. Photos are essential to Lunch with a Friend because, let’s face it, the next best thing to eating is looking at pictures of food. The second time, I had to cancel. The third time, we got it right at The Undercurrent, a stalwart of Greensboro’s fine dining scene for sixteen years, first at a cozy location on South Elm Street and more recently a favorite forum for meeting and eating at the headwaters of Battleground Avenue. Hammer bantered with acquaintances at a nearby table. No matter where he goes in Greensboro, he sees someone he knows, which is not surprising given that he was the editor, publisher and chief writer of The Rhinoceros Times, a reliably conservative and sometimes controversial publication in Greensboro for twenty years. After knocking about for much of his adult life, Hammer had found his niche. Then, in May 2013, The Rhinoceros Times shut down because of financial woes.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
The Rhino, it seemed, had gored its last liberal. Then a few months later, in October 2013, the paper was revived after local developer Roy Carroll bought the newspaper’s name, snipped it slightly to Rhino Times, and hired Hammer as editor, putting the 60-year-old Greensboro native back in the thick of reporting and writing about his passion, local politics. “Once you know what’s going on behind the scenes, it’s a lot more interesting,” Hammer says. “It’s like sports. I see politics the same way.” Born in Chapel Hill, Hammer came to Greensboro when he was 2. His parents, Dick and Hannah, spent a few years in Kirkwood before a growing family pushed them to buy a larger home on Cypress Street in what’s now the Aycock Historic District. “Back then, the houses were just old, not historic,” Hammer deadpanned as he forked a spinach salad made sweet and savory with honey-thyme vinaigrette, goat cheese, candied walnuts and bacon. The second of six kids in a devout Catholic family, Hammer showed interest in writing about politics early on. He and a friend started a mimeographed school newspaper at St. Pius. Later, he wrote two-line summaries of Little League games for The Greensboro Daily News. “I don’t think I wrote anything exciting,” Hammer says. “I was too nervous.” Hammer’s father, who was in the insurance business, dabbled in local politics. Dick Hammer once spoke on a radio talk show about how he thought a discount department store would generate too much traffic near schools in his neighborOctober 2014
O.Henry 33
Lunch With a Friend
hood. The rezoning was defeated. The elder Hammer also joined Greensboro civil rights leader Dr. George Simkins Jr. to push for a district system for city council in the 1960s. That particular effort failed, but the council later adopted the district system to ensure representation for all parts of the city. “At that time, northeast Greensboro had no representation,” Hammer says. In the middle of Hammer’s childhood recollections, our waitress served him a filet of wild grilled Scottish salmon atop lentils. The salmon was short-lived, and I made quick work of my fried oyster salad as I listened to Hammer describe his long path to journalism. He went to Duke on an academic scholarship and studied philosophy, thinking he might attend law school. Upon graduating — and not wanting to spend three more years in school — he got a job in construction. “It’s what you do if you have a degree in philosophy,” Hammer says. Twenty years passed as he helped build a kids’ summer camp and a Haitian hospital; worked as a newspaper reporter in Scotland Neck and Henderson; spent a nanosecond in journalism graduate school at Carolina; and bartended at a popular downtown watering hole, The Rhinoceros Club. “I’m probably the only person who ever bartended to make enough money to go work in a Baptist mission hospital,” he says. Our conversation was just getting around to the paper when Hammer’s publisher called. Alas, it would take a fourth try to finish the story. He suggested meeting the following week at Dolce Aroma coffee bar on the street level of the parking deck at Elm and Bellemeade streets. Despite its location, the shop is a charming oasis, a tiny spot with real Italian espresso and a big-city feel that’s softened with warm colors and the radiance of the owner, Albanian-born Liljana “Lilly” Kajana. Hammer and I picked up where we left off. It was during a bartending stint from 1982 to 1986 that he created The
Rhinoceros Times, a newsletter for members of The Rhinoceros Club. “It was just about the bar and what bands were going to play,” he says. When Hammer stirred in some political commentary, people drank it up. He attended the Democratic National Convention in 1984. “I was the only credentialed reporter there from a bar newsletter,” he says. He left Greensboro again, this time to teach English in Portugal, where he met his wife Elaine, a.k.a. The Muse. After Portugal, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he briefly tried English graduate school at Georgetown University. He made a living by writing stories and selling ads for a theater guide. He also worked for a company that made electric buses and trucks. He drove the buses on a test track. “I think I hold the land-speed record for a 15-passenger electric bus,” he says. Married by that time, he and Elaine moved to Greensboro in 1991 after experiencing simultaneous layoffs. That’s when he started The Rhinoceros Times newspaper, which was not tied to the bar. “The newsletter had been very popular, and there just weren’t a lot of jobs here for a would-be journalist. I talked to some people at the News & Record when I came back, and they said the chances of getting hired there were between nil and none.” The reason? “Politics, and I think my resumé,” Hammer says. “I was too all over the place for an organization like that.” The Rhino quickly developed a following among conservative readers who felt their points of view were marginalized, if not ridiculed. “At that time, about all of the news was reported from a liberal point of view. There was almost nothing that represented a conservative point of view,” he says. The paper gained traction when his brother Willie bought half interest in 1993. “He sold a lot of ads and put us on a more business-like footing,” says
Check out our new, clearance catalog on the website. You’ll be amazed at the discounts. New markdowns weekly!
Come Home to Priba – and Experience the Difference At Priba Furniture and Interiors, You’re welcomed like family. Both returning and new clients alike enjoy shopping in our intimate, stylish setting. Please visit our user-friendly website: www.pribafurniture.com for a complete listing of more than 350 lines we proudly represent. We’re happy to find the pieces you need at the most competitive price! www.pribafurniture.com SHOWROOM: 210 Stage Coach Trail Greensboro, NC 27409 TEL: 336-855-9034 | FAX: 336-855-1370 HOURS: Mon- Fri 9pm-6pm Sat 9am-5pm
34 O.Henry
October 2014
Like us on Facebook to be the first to know about special sales events
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Somewhere between oooh and aaah! Friddle and Company, Inc. offers a unique perspective on construction and design with the commitment to raise the standards of custom home building.
TM
We build custom homes from $400,000 to over $1 million and have become known for our attention to detail, creativity and exceptional customer care. Visit our Parade of Homes entry at 7624 Braelands Dr. in Birkhaven in Summerfield, on october 11-12 & 18-19 from 1-5 p.m. daily
gh Friddle and Company, Inc. Michael and Paige Friddle Phone: 404-0160 or 908-0966 www.friddleandCompany.com
Photography by Singleton Photography
NEW NICARAGUA DIADEMA THE PATH OF DISCOVERY WHICH LED TO THE INTENSE FLAVOURS OF DAV I D O F F N I C A R AG UA TA K E S A N E W D I R E C T I O N
·
THE DIADEMA
FORMAT BRINGS NEW DIMENSIONS OF TASTE WITH ITS DISTINCTIVE SHAPE AND EVEN MORE DISTINCTIVE AROMAS TO A NEW LEVEL
·
·
IT’S TASTE, TAKEN
T H E A DV E N T UR E CO N T IN U E S T H E E X P E R IE N C E R E AC H E S NE W H E I G H TS
DAVIDOFF NICARAGUA ROBUSTO VOTED BEST DAVIDOFF NICARAGUA CIGAR IN THE WORLD 2013 ROBUSTO VOTED BEST SNOB 2013 CIGARBY IN CIGAR THE WORLD BY CIGAR SNOB
HAVANA PHIL’S CIGAR COMPANY
3121 BATTLEGROUND AVE. ■ GREENSBORO, NC 27408 ■ 336-288-4484
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 35
Lunch With a Friend Hammer. “He doubled the size of the newspaper.” They added staffers and filled the pages with popular features like “The Sound of the Beep” — a column composed of called-in, and often random, comments from readers; and “Clinton Watch,” a feature in which Hammer pounded former President Bill Clinton. Political conservatives loved The Rhino. Most liberals loved hating it, but many of them read it because they liked having another newspaper voice in Greensboro and because they appreciated The Rhino’s exhaustive, smart and often snide coverage of city hall and county government. “We hear it all the time,” Hammer says. “People say, ‘I can’t stand that “Under the Hammer” [a feature that replaced “Clinton Watch” when Clinton left office] but the rest of the paper I like.’” Hammer says the paper’s biggest — and certainly most lengthy scoop — was Jerry Bledsoe’s mammoth series about the Greensboro Police Department and the racially charged events that led to the ouster of former Chief David Wray. The series ran in 92 installments, week after week,ending in 2010. “It was an amazing look at the inside of a police department,” Hammer says. “No one had the documents that Jerry had.” By the time the series ended in 2009, the housing market had collapsed, taking many of The Rhino’s biggest advertisers with it. “It was just like falling off a cliff,” Hammer says. “We cut everywhere we could and tried to get down where revenue was over expenses. It was tough. You can put off some bills for a while, but eventually people want to be paid.” His brother Willie left the paper in 2009. Hammer shopped The Rhinoceros Times around, but no one wanted to buy a business that was bleeding money. The paper closed in May 2013. Not long after, Roy Carroll asked Hammer to meet with him. Carroll’s pitch: He would buy The Rhino’s name and hire Hammer as the editor. A business manager would run the ad side. “He’s way too busy to run a newspaper,” Hammer says of his boss. “He travels a lot.” That doesn’t mean that Carroll — who develops apartment complexes all over the Southeast — doesn’t savor his role as publisher. Every week, editor and publisher meet, and Carroll comments on The Rhino’s stories. They don’t always agree. When Hammer decided the paper should endorse Nancy Vaughan for mayor in last year’s election, Carroll disagreed. He wrote a column backing incumbent mayor Robbie Perkins. Hammer stood by Vaughan. “I thought that was a good solution,” he says. With one year under its belt, the new Rhino is meeting its financial projections, Hammer says. The redesigned paper offers more color, a spiffed up website and new features such as attorney Carolyn Woodruff’s legal advice column. Columnists such as Orson Scott Card remain. The paper has a staff of eight, and they’re looking for another reporter. Hammer says working for someone else has freed him to concentrate on reporting and writing, something he just can’t escape. Once, when he and Elaine were vacationing in Portugal, he found himself going out for coffee armed with a notepad and camera. “I do exactly the same thing when I’m on vacation,” he says, laughing at himself. “It’s just a part of me, I guess.” Maybe God is not sure about Hammer and me having lunch, but he seems to like the idea of Hammer being a newspaperman again. “It’s wonderful to have the opportunity,” Hammer says. “I have a lot of time and effort invested in learning Greensboro politics. I don’t know how else to use that. It’s not real transferable. I’m extremely thankful that Roy got interested in the newspaper business.” OH Longtime Greensboro journalist Maria Johnson is a contributing editor of O.Henry. She can be reached at maria@ohenrymag.com.
36 O.Henry
October 2014
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Win an Insider’s Tour of Bank of America Stadium on November 8, 2014!
contest.allentate.com No purchase is required. Contest is open to NC and SC residents who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry. Guests must be age 5 or older. Limit one entry per person. Visit contest.allentate.com to see the complete rules. Contest ends at 11:59 a.m. on October 31, 2014.
Allen Tate – Official Partner of The Carolina Panthers 25 winners and their three guests will attend a tailgate party and guided tour on November 8, 2014. Go behind the scenes and visit areas not open to regular tours. That day, one of the 25 winners will be awarded the Grand Prize – four tickets to a home game. Be sure to register by 11:59 a.m., October 31, 2014. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 37
Artist at Work
A Life Made of Stone By Molly Sentell Haile
In his early 30s, Dale Mitchell
worked for multinational software giant Oracle. As an organizational development consultant, he loved bringing engineers, salespeople and techies into the same room to implement never-imagined software. He would hand out Post-It notes in different colors, ask each person to write the various components of his or her work, and then arrange all of the notes across a wall to show the pattern, “where sales touched finance and finance touched distribution” and so on. Now Mitchell creates walls of a very different sort, using much heavier components. Wearing hiking boots, faded camo pants and an ever-present pair of sunglasses, the certified dry stone mason hefts stones weighing up to forty pounds with ease, integrating their unique shapes into a handsomely angular wall that, without mortar, will stand for centuries. Imagine the rock fences that run like seams across Bluegrass Kentucky or rural New England pastures. Think of the rustic, lichen-covered walls bordering castles in Scotland and
38 O.Henry
October 2014
Ireland. Or the graceful terraced walls that step down Mediterranean vineyards or the ruins at Machu Picchu. Or even the pyramids. They were built — one stone stacked on another, no mortar to hold them in place — with the same four basic rules Mitchell uses today. Sometimes a person’s skills and life experiences coalesce into a vocation as natural and deft as those interlocking stones. Mitchell’s life has led him to building walls and stone fences that, instead of separating neighbors, link people together. Transforming a boring backyard hill into a shady terraced garden with a shimmering stone pool or an abandoned stone ruin into an interactive community memorial takes artistic vision, technical skill, and the ability to translate others’ hopes and ideas into a physical reality. “Mitchell is a synthetic thinker,” says Buck Cochran, who directs the nonprofit Peacehaven Community in Whitsett, where Mitchell installed a columbarium and a community garden. “He can take different ideas and put them together in ways that make sense to everybody, and then he can articulate that vision so others can see it, too. That’s a real gift.” But Mitchell meant to be a music teacher. In 1984 he was a trombonist and music education major at the University of Western Ontario, about 500 miles from Wawa, Ontario, where he grew up. Mitchell says, “I wanted to get kids excited about music the way my sixth and seventh grade music teacher had.” He wanted to teach and mentor kids but didn’t like the university’s heavy focus on traditional musical performance. He left college to tour the world with the musical and global service organization Up With People, first as a student and The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Photographs By Molly Sentell Haile
How a man who dreamed of making music learned the secret language of timeless rock walls
Artist at Work then staff member, where he became interested in “team-building and the creative side of business.” He also met his future wife, Winston McGregor. Three- and-a-half years later, he returned to college, completed a degree in business and psychology and set out on a corporate career path that placed him in senior management by his early 30s. Then, in 2002, Mitchell, who was then 36, left the corporate world. He made the decision soon after building a patio (his first) onto the back of his and Winston’s house in Sunset Hills. Winston was out of town for the weekend and came home to mounds of dug up dirt and a Bobcat parked in the backyard. But the new patio turned out to be a success. People who visited the McGregor-Mitchells commented on Mitchell’s impressive work. Months later Mitchell brought Winston roses and took her to lunch to break the news. He wanted to start his own landscaping business. “She’s always been supportive, but that was a tough time,” he says. During the transition Winston, who had been home fulltime with their two sons, went back to work. She took a position fundraising for Guilford County’s Habitat for Humanity and was later promoted to executive director. Mitchell loved his new work re-imagining outdoor space for families and businesses. Creating hardscapes such as stone walkways came naturally for him, so when someone at a workshop in Virginia told him about dry stone masonry, he thought, “That’s it. That’s what I want to learn to do,” which led him to the nonprofit Dry Stone Conservancy in Lexington, Kentucky. In the 1700s the Scots-Irish brought their food, their music and their stone craft to the Bluegrass region. And more than 200 years later, the Dry Stone
Conservancy began with a mission “to preserve existing dry-laid stone structures, and to revive and promote the ancient craft of dry stone masonry.” Mitchell explains that in ice, snow or shifting terrain (think earthquakes), dry stone structures “actually get stronger; they tighten and bind,” unlike walls mortared with concrete. “You know there are structures in China in these earthquake zones where they’ve built generation after generation of mortared structures that collapsed with earthquakes, but the dry stack structures have been there hundreds of thousands of years.
www.devajewelry.com 49 Miller Street next to Whole Foods • Winston-Salem • 336.723.4022 • Monday-Friday 10-6 Saturday 10-5 The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 39
Anslee, 3 Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) “I wish to have lunch with princesses.�
The W.I.S.H. Society Luncheon will be held on Wednesday, October 29, 2014 from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. at the Greensboro Country Club. If you are looking to be inspired or empowered, have ever wondered how you can give back, or want to network with like-minded women, we invite you to take part in this very special event. You too can make a impact in the lives of children fighting incredible odds in our community.
Artist at Work
“You wander through the woods of Virginia and you come across this dry-stack stone fireplace,” Mitchell says. “It’s like, ‘Who built this in the middle of nowhere?’ But there used to be a house here, too.” At the Dry Stone Conservancy in Kentucky, Mitchell studied with master stonemason Neil Rippingale and earned his dry stone mason certification followed by his instructor certification. On the job and in the classes he teaches, Mitchell introduces the four basic principles of laying dry stone: 1) Lay the longest part of the stone into the wall; 2) Always layer a stone across the weak spot where two stones meet; 3) When you pack the inside of a wall with smaller stones and rubble, work from the center out (freestanding dry stone walls are thicker at the base than the top, and packing the middle of the wall with smaller stones is essential for stability); and 4) keep your work level. Caroline North, who lives in Lake Jeanette, contacted Mitchell a few months ago about reworking her “tired, boring, and perfectly adequate” 22- year-old deck into a space she, her 20-year-old daughter and her 18-year-old twin sons would use again. After interviewing several people, North chose Mitchell because of his emphasis on collaboration. “He made it clear from the beginning that it was my project. He wanted to hear my ideas. I could tell him what I was envisioning and he could expand on it.” At North’s house, Mitchell points to the area where the deck was and tells me, “This space was all big rectangles and triangles.” When he began working with North, he used sidewalk chalk on the deck to show her new possibilities for the space. They studied photographs of other patios as well as Mitchell’s sketches. He likes to draw on layers of onion paper, so it’s easy to take away or
Gina Alem
add an element to the sketches. North and Mitchell agreed on a starting plan for the new patio that would include some contrasting textures and a focal point — maybe a stone fireplace. He also suggested ways to integrate the interior of the house, the patio and the wooded natural area at the back of the yard. One day recently, Mitchell shows me the progress on North’s patio. He’s taken out the deck and set out flags where a stone patio will curve to soften some hard angles. He’s also marked a small circular opening in the patio for a shade tree, “a vertical profile to ground the space,” which will create a visual
Melinda B. Dickey
Donna Keel
Interior Designer
Interior Designer | leed ap, iida, asid a l e m d i c k e y. m e l @ g m a i l . c o m
donnabkeel@gmail.com
336.255.8508
336.202.5903
336.402.9249
a l e m d i c k e y. g i n a @ g m a i l . c o m
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Interior Designer
October 2014
O.Henry 41
Artist at Work
Dream homes come in all sizes. Let us help you dream big! Every home is different. Every homebuyer has unique needs. This is why Cunningham & Company offers a variety of loan products, including “jumbo” loan products for homebuyers who need larger loans. Whether you are purchasing your primary residence or that dream vacation home, Cunningham & Company’s 85% No PMI Jumbo Loan may be the perfect loan for your needs. Regardless of the size of your dream home, our great local team of mortgage consultants would like to help you find the loan to make your dreams come true. Cunningham & Company is a trade name for CMC Funding, Inc. NMLS ID#41998 Information is subject to change without notice. This is not an offer for an extention of crediti or commitment to lend.
GREENSBORO TEAM
Brian Malboeuf
NMLS ID #91431
Christie Caldwell
Ron Kimrey
NMLS ID #72526
NMLS ID #112392
Bobby Lemons
NMLS ID #93775
Steve Presson
NMLS ID #91570
Toby Stanfield
NMLS ID #115244
336.272.3061 www.cunninghammortgage.com 42 O.Henry
October 2014
connection between this space and the trees at the back of the yard. “A breeze blowing through a tree comes out cooler,” he says. “People have space around their homes and what I seem to be able to do well is help them gain a sense of appreciation for how they can connect to that space. Sometimes it’s as simple as saying, ‘I don’t need to come out on the wooden deck sitting four feet above ground with a narrow staircase and railing that is limiting my ability to interact.’” Mitchell likes to create spaces that draw people outside, maybe because he’s always loved the outdoors. He grew up hiking the rocky shores of Lake Superior. On weekends his mom took the kids on weekend adventures to Canada’s wild in their pop-up camper. They brought a canoe, too. And one summer the family built a log cabin home — themselves — on a lakeside site they leased from the railroad for $99 a year. Mitchell still loves to hike and camp out, now with his boys, Parker and Liam. Sometimes they work with him, too. In 2011, the three volunteered to help stick-sculpture artist Patrick Dougherty construct a cluster of giant wispy-topped thatched dwellings — an art installment titled “Disorderly Conduct” — in the center of the Guilford College lawn. And last summer 12-year-old Liam, inspired by his dad, started a neighborhood lawn care business. The News and Record featured a story about his business on the front page in July. Liam bought his push mower for $9 at a yard sale and has learned always to put a percentage of profits back into the business. Liam says they’ll need to rename Mitchell Landscapes to Mitchell & Sons in just a few years. A couple of years ago, the Mitchell-McGregor family and other volunteers worked together to build an herb garden spiral at Peacehaven to honor Winston’s parents on their fiftieth anniversary. Director Buck Cochran says Mitchell’s excitement about the project became infectious that day, and they kept losing more and more volunteers from other areas of the farm, and “we finally threw in the towel and told everyone to go and help.” Mitchell has become a different kind of Pied Piper than the middle school music teacher he intended to be. A Hamilton Lakes couple who contacted him about reworking their outdoor space also got caught up in his excitement and the collaborative process. They had visited Machu Picchu, Ireland and Scotland and wondered if they could recreate some of the stone aesthetic they loved in faraway places. Working with Mitchell, their plans seemed to just unfold. On the little slope beside the couple’s house, Mitchell used dry-stack stone to create a private sitting area for them with two steamer seats where they can sit with a view of Lake Euphemia and the pretty stone bridge that crosses it. There’s space for a grill, too. And recently a family in Mayodan contacted Mitchell about collecting stone from their farm to build retaining walls around their new house on the river. To date, Mitchell and his co-workers (including, Liam) have collected over fifty tons of stone, “some as big as refrigerators and washing machines,” Mitchell tells me as we walk through a wooded area at the farm. He stops to pick up a ten-pounder. “Look at this! It’s perfect. The lines are so smooth. Even has moss growing on it.” In the meantime, the old mill in Mayodan has been demolished and the owners have given the family permission to repurpose the foundation stones at their farm. With Mitchell’s help, these homeowners are integrating function with the personal and historical. When I tell Mitchell I’m developing a theory that dry stone masonry works as a metaphor for his life — how his success with landscaping and dry stone masonry are interconnected like stones in a well-crafted wall with his love of the natural world, community and family along with his creativity and ability to synthesize ideas — he smiles and pauses for a few seconds. Then he begins thinking out loud about the components of a wall in relation to his career — foundation, first lift, second lift, and tie-in stones. He is taking my idea and building on it: “And there’s the arch . . .” OH Molly Sentell Haile, whose work has been published in the Oxford American, is a graduate of UNCG’s creative writing MFA program. She teaches creative writing at Hirsch Wellness Network in Greensboro. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
226 S. ELM STREET GREENSBORO, NC 336 333 2993 OscarOglethorpe.com
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 43
M y
L i f e
i n
a
T h o u s a n d
W o r d s
Best Reader Memoirs 2014
The Gun
By Linda Pratt R ives
W
hen I was 5 years old, I fired a gun. The memory stayed buried for a long time — about ten years, which is an eternity in the life of a child. I replaced it with mental pictures of a dozen dolls proudly lined up in a row against the lavender walls of my room. I remember having ten dresses in my closet and the color and pattern of each one. I remember the roller skates I wore when I skated right off the front porch on my inaugural run, wading in the creek, and watching Daddy in the kitchen, making us pies with slow, steady hands. There were so many good memories! Why hang on to this one? Mama didn’t go out much. She made quick, no frills trips to the A&P for groceries and church on Sunday. I wondered at times what it would be like to have one of those tall, cool, polished mothers that I saw on TV and in magazines. Those mothers probably went in and out of stores and restaurants with ease, and blessed their daughters with unimagined grace and wisdom . . . but that wasn’t my mom. I once asked my daddy why she didn’t have friends. Daddy shrugged and replied, “Well, it’s hard to make friends when you’re growing up and have to move every year.” We all knew about “Mama’s childhood” — so strange and foreign to us that I always thought of it in quotation marks. Her daddy was a sharecropper. They moved from farm to farm each year, and Mama’s childhood was spent working in cotton and tobacco fields. I honestly forgot that it had ever happened. My childhood was distant, beautiful and glorious — an idyllic world where little girls always wear socks with lace on the cuffs (which I always wanted, but Mama said they were impractical) and are always cherished and protected. It all came crashing back when I hit 15. One day, I found myself across the table from a child psychiatrist. I really hated that man! I remember him leaning over, puffing on his pipe, looking at me solemnly and remarking, “Your mother tells me you fired a gun when you were a child.” This made no sense. He might as well have told me, “Your mother tells me you once flew to the moon in a cardboard box.” I . . . fired . . . a . . . gun? For two weeks, I refused to accept it. Then, suddenly, the memory tumbled forward from some dark hole in my mind as if thrilled to suddenly be brought out into the light of day.
44 O.Henry
October 2014
It all started with Irma. What friendship she and Mama shared was based on both of them liking soap operas and Pepsi. Irma’s daughter was already grown and out of the house. Frequently, Irma would “borrow” me from Mama for an excursion. I remember the thrill of putting on a pretty dress, getting my hair combed and strapping on my sandals because Irma was on her way to pick me up. I always came home clutching a small gift or a present from the gum machine. In her own way, Mama was providing me with the socialization that she couldn’t give me. On that particular day, we were on our way home from an outing. Irma was in the driver’s seat talking a mile a minute to me. I was lying in the backseat, stretched out and daydreaming. In my boredom, I flipped over onto my stomach and noticed something shiny under the driver’s seat. I pulled out a small handgun. The metal had a strange dark smell and the gun was cold and heavy in my small hand. At first I thought it was a toy, but then I realized that it was too heavy to be “pretend.” With a child’s logic, I decided that it couldn’t possibly be real because no one would be dumb enough to drive around with a gun in the car where little girls like me could find it. With no realization of what I was doing, I lifted the gun off the floorboard and gently touched the trigger. There was a tremendous “crack” of sound, followed by numbness and a horrible ringing in my ears. I grabbed my ears to make sure they were still attached. The car came to a screeching halt. Irma jumped out, yanked my door open and pulled me out of the car. She yelled at me and ran her hands up and down my body and through my short brown hair, making sure that I was not wounded in any way. She crouched by the side of the road in tears, holding the gun and taking the bullets from it with shaking hands, as she cussed out her husband for leaving the loaded weapon in the car for me to find. She held me in her arms, wiped her tears away, and said, “Linda, don’t tell your Mama and Daddy about this EVER. Do you understand?” Irma eventually told my parents what happened, but I never did. I obediently never told and locked the memory away like a treasure for ten years. Now I still catch myself wondering from time to time: What else have I forgotten? OH Linda Pratt Rives is a fan of punk music and antique teapots. She spends her days being “nitpicky” at a law firm in downtown Greensboro. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Illustration by Laurel Holden
Buried in a dark corner of childhood memory, what did the day I fired a gun say about my life?
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 45
c-treas cti d
-ecle e u q ni -a-kin of
The u n o en i
Greensboro builders AssociAtion
ESTATE
SALE
e-barga ur
Saturday, Oct. 18 8 AM SHARP 2024 Sixteenth Street, Greensboro, NC Located Behind the Walmart on Cone Blvd.
(336) 370-4002
Saturday & Sunday October 11-12 & 18-19 1 - 5 pm Admission is FREE
Utilize the smart phone app to map your tour! Parade of Homes magazines are available at area Harris Teeter and Lowe’s Home Improvement stores.
Sponsored by:
GreensboroBuilders.org 46 O.Henry
October 2014
furniture matters. In our mission to place essential furniture donations in homes of people getting their lives back together, The Barnabas Network receives lots of non-essential furnishings we can sell to you to raise much needed funds for operations. Come find a bargain for a great cause!
thebarnabasnetwork.org The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Birdwatch
Hermit Thrush
A beautiful winter bird returns
By Susan Campbell
As the temperatures and
leaves drop, many wintering birds return to their winter haunts here in the Piedmont of North Carolina. After spending the breeding season up north, many seed-eaters such as finches and sparrows reappear in gardens across the area. But we have several species which are easily overlooked due to their cryptic coloration and secretive behavior. One of these is the hermit thrush. As its name implies, it tends to be solitary most of the year and tends to lurk in the undergrowth. However, this thrush is one of subtle beauty. Unfortunately males and females are identical. It is about six inches in length with an olive-brown back and reddish tail. It has brown breast spots, a trait shared by all of the thrush species (including juvenile American robins and Eastern bluebirds, who are familiar members of this group). At close range, it may be possible to see this bird’s white throat, pale bill and pink legs. Extended observation will no doubt reveal the hermit thrush’s distinctive behavior of raising its tail and then slowly dropping it when it comes to a stop. More importantly is the hermit thrush’s call, since one is far more likely to hear an individual than to see one. It gives a quiet “chuck” note frequently as it moves along the forest floor. These birds can be found not only along the creeks at places like Weymouth Woods but along roadsides, the
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
edges of golf courses and scrubby borders of farms throughout the region. It is not unusual for birders to count forty to fifty individuals on local annual Audubon Christmas Bird Counts. However, they feed on fruits and insects so are not readily attracted to bird feeders. I have had a few over the years that managed to find my peanut butter-suet feeder and managed to compete with the nuthatches and woodpeckers for the sweet, protein-rich treat. This tends to be after the dogwoods, beautyberry, pyracantha and the like have been stripped of their berries. During the summer months, hermit thrushes can be found at elevation in New England and up into the coniferous forests of eastern Canada. A few pairs can even be found near the top of Mount Mitchell here in North Carolina (given its extreme elevation) during May and June. In spite of their camouflage the males have a beautiful flute-like song that gives them away. They nest either on the ground or low in pines or spruces and feed their young mainly caterpillars and an array of slow-moving insects. As with so many migrant species, these thrushes are as faithful to their wintering areas they are to their breeding spot. I have several very familiar friends that settle in each year along James Creek around our Moore County banding site. So keep in mind that if a hermit thrush finds good habitat, he or she may return year after year. With a bit of thick cover, water not far off as well as berries and bugs around, there is a good chance many of us in the Sandhills will be hosting these handsome birds over the coming months, whether we know it or not! OH Susan Campbell collects wildlife sightings and photos at susan@ ncaves.com or (910) 949-3207.
October 2014
O.Henry 47
acleaner world.com
, You wouldn t lie Admit it.
on those rugs either.
Revive your rugs. Free pickup and delivery of multiple rugs or any over 6’x 9’. Call the Carolina’s top dog in rug cleaning and watch pet urine odors vanish before your very nose. Guaranteed. See our unique rug cleaning process at: acleanerworldrugcleaning.com/ohenry
The Triad’s Premier Rug Cleaner
F R E E P I C K U P A N D D E L I V E R Y O F M U L T I P L E R U G S O R A N Y R U G O V E R 6’ X 9 ’. C A L L 3 3 6 - 8 0 4 - 0 0 4 5 .
O.HeartBeat
Pep Girls Gone Wild
SHOPS AT
KIRKWOOD 2415 Lawndale Drive Greensboro, NC Quality • Freshness • Taste Featuring many gluten-free selections
By Hattie Aderholdt
On a perfect mid-October night some-
time in the ’70s, I left the Page High School Young Life meeting feeling especially filled with the Spirit because I knew the very next night we would beat the Whirlies, as usual.
O.Henry’s resident grammar grouch Hattie Aderholdt relishes in the knowledge that the Page Pirates will always prevail. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
ROOM
•
REHEARSAL
DINNERS
•
CORPOR ATE
FUNCTIONS
LUNCHEONS
DINING
SHOWERS
•
BRIDAL
PRIVATE
LOCAL
ART
FOR
SALE
•
SCULPTURES
•
POTTERY
•
PAINTINGS
BABY
D A I LY S P E C I A L S • G R E AT PA R K I N G • PAT I O
As was the habit after every Young Life meeting, my five or six closest friends and I joined the other fifty or sixty Page High Students at the Baskin-Robbins on Battleground. We would gossip, flirt, and if feeling especially edgy, order a cone of daiquiri ice. When we arrived at BaskinRobbins, the parking lot was crowded. Unbeknown to us, the Grimsley Young Life group was also gathering at the ice cream shop that very night. In my complete naïveté — dumb me — I thought it would be fun to mix it up with our rivals. This was my senior year, the year that I had been beaten soundly in the election of the Pep Club chairman. For many years, the Pep Club chairman at Page High School was elected in a general election along with the student body president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. And to make the humiliation of losing worse, the girl who beat me had just moved back to Greensboro after being gone for several years. But I was hopelessly filled with school spirit nonetheless. So when I found myself in a large group of Page and Grimsley students the night before the big game, what was I to do but to yell out “Beat the Whirlies!” I couldn’t help myself. Next came the requisite response, “Beat the Pirates!” Other Page students caught the spirit and picked up the chant. Of course a new and stronger wave of Whirlies answered, and a friendly shouting match ensued. Unfortunately, the poor Baskin-Robbins workers didn’t realize we were just a hundred or so Young Life Christians excited about the game the next night. My enthusiasm waned when I noticed police cars staked out over at the old Krispy Kreme across the street, obviously summoned by those ice cream spoil sports. There in the KK was our Young Life leader, doing his best to talk the police out of making numerous arrests. A few others saw what I saw and we all tried to quiet the crowd. While some didn’t see the importance of straightening up and flying right, I was not going to get arrested and miss the game. I gathered my friends and told them we had to leave. Because I was always kind of nerdy that way, they knew there was no arguing. So in the end, no arrests for me and my friends . . . and we beat the Whirlies. OH
336.333.0029 • locoforcocochocolate.com
336.383.5917
October 2014
O.Henry 49
I LEFT MY HOME
TOWN AND FOUND
A HOME AWAY
FROM HOME . Stephanie S., 11th grade
It takes courage to be independent and find your way at a new school, especially when it’s far from home. Like Stephanie, we at Saint Mary’s see challenges as an opportunity to grow. That’s why we offer honors and AP courses, three languages, 11 sports, a renowned arts program, internships – and a close-knit community that supports you every step of the way.
ADMISSION OVERNIGHT/VISITATION DAYS November 10 - 11 January 11 - 12 To register for one of these events or to schedule a campus visit, call the Admission Office at 919.424.4100.
WHERE WILL YOU FIND YOUR COURAGE?
Serving girls, grades 9-12, boarding and day in Raleigh, NC. www.sms.edu | 919.424.4100 | admission@sms.edu SMS1415_Ad_9x525_Stephanie_OHENRY_OCT.indd 1
8/18/2014 1:42:47 PM
The
Crooked Road Franklin County, VA Love American roots music? Tune your ears to Franklin County — the Eastern Gateway to The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail. Plan your tour today! www.CrookedRoadFC.com 540-483-3040
50 O.Henry
October 2014
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Life of Jane
The Birth (and Death) of a Salesman But at least I got my Walkman
By Jane Borden
I still own
Illustration by Meridith Martens
the Sony Walkman. It’s gray and yellow with a pink Velcro hand strap for the achievement of an effortless grip. It’s a Sports Walkman, which I know because it bears the word “Sports” in two places in perky script. And if you don’t dig the strap, you can clip it to your shorts. Your choice, man. America is the land of the free.
It was 1986, I was 9, and this personal, portable stereo — with FM, AM and a tape deck — was cutting-edge technology. You can switch the direction of the tape player without removing and flipping the cassette. You can engage something called “Mega Bass.” When I saw the picture of the Walkman in a prize catalog, I had to have it, not least because it was the top prize. Receiving it would mean I’d sold the most magazine subscriptions during Irving Park Elementary’s annual student fundraiser. I canvassed the neighborhood. My parents liked magazines. Surely their friends did too. And this was for a good cause — by which I mean securing the pink and yellow Sony Walkman. Oh, how I would power-walk. Oh, how I would “sports.” I knew enough about most of my parents’ friends and neighbors to make specific pitches regarding their hobbies and interests. So I hit the streets. “Hey John. I’m raising money for Irving Park School. I know you enjoy sailing, and am wondering if you might be interested in a subscription to Sail Magazine?” That wasn’t actually the name of the magazine. I don’t remember it, or most of the other magazine names. There must’ve been a hundred titles, all offering The Art & Soul of Greensboro
twelve issues for about $10. I aimed for each of my customers to buy two. But in John’s household also lived Nancy, who is one of my mom’s best friends and has always doted on me. I could always count on Nancy. They bought three: some kind of sailing publication, one about gardening and House Beautiful. That’s the one magazine title I do remember, House Beautiful, because I must’ve sold a dozen subscriptions to it. Since most of my parents’ friends have well-decorated homes, this was my go-to glossy. “Hey Jackie / Mary Hart / Jane / Jessie / Ann, your home is so lovely — how about a subscription to House Beautiful? I recently asked my mother about those weeks, and this is her remembrance: “There was no way anyone could escape you.” Like any good salesperson, I knocked on doors. The pictures of magazine covers really cinched the deal, I thought; more likely it was my stubborn presence in their kitchens. Children are fearless, and completely ignorant of decorum. If they weren’t cute, they’d be in trouble. Which is all to say I didn’t know Joe Bryan was “intimidating” or “important” or that you don’t just go ringing the doorbell of the richest man in Greensboro. I didn’t even know he was the richest man in Greensboro. When you’re 9, you don’t wonder for whom municipal parks are named, and if you do, you assume it was for a Revolutionary War general, not someone who’s alive and residing around the corner and up the block, even if he does have a bushy and dignified white mustache. What I did know: Mr. Bryan was within walking distance of me, so he couldn’t escape me. We had met before because he had Christmas parties for the neighborhood. And I could guess he liked dogs, or at least the one I occasionally saw him walk. So I earmarked a publication on dogs, as well as a couple on hunting and fishing, those being generally popular topics for well-to-do men of a certain age. Then I rang his doorbell. A butler answered. I gave my name and said I was there to see Mr. Bryan. The servant asked me to wait a moment, then returned and announced that I would be seen. I followed him to a dark sitting room, where Mr. Bryan sat in a tall wingback chair, with a blanket over his knees. Or at least I think. The memory has been folded through and melded with so many similar scenes that October 2014
O.Henry 51
Re-Bath Triad 2:Layout 1 9/11/14 10:45 PM Page 1
Life of Jane
Beautiful Bathrooms don’t have to be Expensive No Money Down, No Interest for 60 Months* *Cannot be combined with any other offers.
Re-Bath of Greensboro • 2701 Branchwood Drive • Greensboro (336) 295-1053 • www.triadrebath.com
J
A
L
A
Jeff Allen Landscape Architecture, llc
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
336.306.5185
jeff@jalallc.com /jalagardens
52 O.Henry
October 2014
jalallc.com
when I recall it, I’m not sure if I’m in that house on Sunset Drive or inside something I saw on Masterpiece Theatre. Bryan ordered two subscriptions, for magazines about fishing and golf, and then his butler showed me out. I know those are the two he ordered because my mother remembers, and she knows because, as I learned years later, he telephoned my parents that night to tell them I’d paid a visit, and then they all had a laugh. Funny as it was, though, I’m pretty sure if I’d alerted my parents of my plans in advance, they’d have gently talked me out of it. I’ve since learned something else about Joe Bryan. As a philanthropist, education was his main focus. He gave millions to almost every school in the Triad and many more across the state, so he must have found it fitting — or hilariously ironic — to hear me request $20 for the same cause. During the last days of the fundraiser, I was neck and neck for first place with another student. And on the last morning, hours before it ended, I discovered my sales in second place. My parents had already bought three and made clear they wouldn’t spring for more. So I did what any 9-yearold blinded by entrepreneurial ambition would do. I called a ringer. I remember being in the infirmary, although I can’t recall why. Perhaps that was the closest accessible phone? Or maybe I’d begun bursting blood vessels in my preteen Glengarry Glen Ross delirium. At any rate, I placed the call and Nancy answered. “Of course, darling!” She bought two more, for a personal total of five, and secured me the win. For the same amount of money, she could have purchased three Sony Walkmen. In subsequent years, I never tried to win the magazine sale again. There was no reason to if I’d already beaten it. But, at 22, straight out of college and relocated in New York City, I did find myself working in sales. I called on Manhattan restaurants, pitching a new piece of Internet-connected reservation-system equipment. Perhaps you’ve heard of OpenTable.com? They were our competitor. They won. I did not excel at the job. My presentations were flawless. And I was still fearless about cold calling. But I couldn’t push the product. One afternoon, my director asked what motivated me. I thought for a moment, and replied, “I don’t know.” He sighed deeply and began to explain that I probably didn’t have a future in sales, that I didn’t have the fire. He’s probably right. But I do have a Sony Walkman from 1986. And it is so “sports,” it’s “sports.” OH Jane Borden is a Greensboro native living in Los Angeles, and the author of the much acclaimed memoir I Totally Meant to Do That. Follow her at twitter.com/ JaneBorden. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Finally a high quality furniture store here in Greensboro offering the following: Casual & Formal Dining | Upholstery | Bedroom and Bedding Accent Chairs | Game Tables | Game Chairs Bars, Bar Stools & Counter Stools | Entertainment Centers Home Decor | Gifts for all Occasions | Bath & Body Products Looking for exceptional values on high quality furniture and home accents or that perfect gift? Roomer Has It! We have what you’re looking for! mention this ad and receive
20% Off
all home accents and gifts! valid thru November 2014 Promotion not valid with any other sale offer
dEsignEr sErvicEs availablE! ExclusivE dEsigns! OvEr 25,000 squarE fEEt Of invEntOry rEady tO dElivEr!
ENJOY THE
Westridge Square Shopping Center 3363 Battleground Ave., Greensboro, NC 27410 (336) 370-6864
www.RoomerHasIt.biz
ART OF LIVING WELL
SM
In our 25 years of serving the Triad area, we’ve learned that living well is an art to be enjoyed. As the only monthly rental communities in the Triad offering a progression of care, it’s good to know that wherever life’s journey takes you, with Kisco Senior Living, you have a place to call home.
888.249.7183 www.LifeatIrvingPark.com
888.252.0935
www.LifeatHeritageGreens.com
AIP HG ad 9 x 5.25 OHenry magazine June.indd 1
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
5/20/2014 9:48:59 AM
October 2014
O.Henry 53
See the people you love in a whole new
light
It’s your home. When you re-imagine your space, it’s your life that gets a redesign. Transform yours with all the details that make home a happy place. Our showroom product experts share your passion for getting it right, helping you select the perfect bath, kitchen and lighting products for your building or remodeling project. FERGUSON.COM
54 O.Henry
October 2014
Greensboro 305 Friendship Dr (336) 664-6509
Winston Salem 7905 North Point Blvd (336) 759-0253
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
©2014 Ferguson Enterprises, Inc.
October 2014 Our 1937 Ford Three-Quarter-Ton Pickup Truck Money won’t go as far, As our Ford pickup truck. She was our wheeling star, Like shining rolls of luck. As our Ford pickup truck, Hauling packhouse labors, Like shining rolls of luck, Dreams meant something better. Hauling packhouse labors, That tobacco we tied, Dreams meant something better, My father never cried. That tobacco we tied, Staining Mama’s apron; My father never cried. He would wear his Stetson. Staining Mama’s apron Those leaves she’d smooth like cloths. He would wear his Stetson, Come home — profit or loss. Those leaves she’d smooth like cloths. She was our wheeling star, Come home — profit or loss. Money won’t go as far. — Shelby Stephenson
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 55
Under Whose Shade A walk in the solitude of the Greensboro Hebrew Cemetery, a reminder of life’s sweet impermanence
By Dianne Hayter • Photographs by Hannah Sharpe
My dog Calvin and I walk religiously every morning. We are considered by our neighbors in Hillsdale Park, part of the Lee Street/High Point Road Reinvestment Corridor, to be fanatically devoted. Unless there is blinding rain or a slick crust of ice, Calvin and I are out clocking mileage, early in winter, earlier in spring and earliest of all during summer. Calvin is Siberian husky and collie, and, in some way, I am, as well. Neither of us tolerates heat all that well.
56 O.Henry
October 2014
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Walking is good exercise for dogs and humans, and in Calvin’s case, propelled by the DNA of his working breeds, walking is work. He has no sleds to pull or sheep to herd, leaving 78 pounds of robust energy percolating for productive release. What our neighbors do not understand is that the fundamental intent of our walking is to explore, to seek and find, to carve out a daily adventure, to expand the surrounds of our immediate world. I like secrets. I do not enlighten our neighbors. As a child, I spent my summers at my grandmother’s farm in Georgia, exploring every nook and cranny, from the fishing pond to the chicken coop, from the mailbox to the pump house. My grandmother, sitting on her screened porch at the end of the day, shucking corn or shelling peas, there to receive me after my latest foray, told me frequently in a tone of admiration laced with misgiving that I had gypsy in me; maybe even like Marco Polo, I was a soldier of fortune. She also warned that if I did not settle down and put to bed my wandering ways I would be hard pressed to find a husband. With exploration, curiosity and an avowed inability to disregard what may wait around a road’s bend, Calvin and I discovered the Greensboro Hebrew Cemetery, established in 1910, located at the corner of High Point Road and Vanstory Street, less than a mile from our home. Cemeteries possess a particular lure. Although I do not consciously go looking for them, they find me and, delighted, I surrender to their solitude and solace the way I would a warm coat in the dead of winter: grateful, relieved, comforted. The Greensboro Hebrew Cemetery has two entrances, one from High Point Road and another, newly constructed with a stone wall, iron fence and professional landscaping, from Vanstory Street. The grounds are meticulously The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 57
58 O.Henry
October 2014
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
nurtured, a paved road snaking through them, and, fringed on two sides with woods, provide homes to deer, raccoons, rabbits and all manner of feral cats. On very early mornings, Calvin and I surprise the deer who, with a sniff and glimpse, bound away effortlessly, as though they are marionettes responding to a puppeteer. Some graves are marked with elaborate, even artistic, gravestones, many with Hebrew inscriptions. The graves of veterans fly small U.S. flags. Families are grouped together, some reaching back to birth days from the 1860s so that multiple generations are laid to rest together. The names — Kilimanjero, Isaacson, Schneiderman, Pulitzer, Freiberg, Ilyasov, to mention a few — are mellifluous, and roll off my tongue and through my lips with reverential enunciation. There are few if any flowers, live or silk. Rather, small stones adorn grave markers. Flowers fade, as does life, yet stones, and souls, as permanent as love, are solid, immutable. There is a Memorial Garden with pavers for a floor, granite benches for seated reflection and draping trees for protective shade. Gazing at the garden, I recall Nelson Henderson’s quote: “The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” Calvin and I delicately negotiate our way, walking from the Vanstory to High Point entrances in fifteen to twenty minutes, polite to not linger beyond our perceived welcome. Although it is impossible to disturb anyone, we are careful not to, just in case. Who were these people? What were their challenges, disappointments, triumphs, successes? That small dash between birth day and death day? Is that the graphic summation of a life? I am reminded: Death is life’s great equalizer, the irrefutable event every living creature shares. And here, nestled less than a mile from home, is a poignant reminder that the day will arrive when Calvin and I will not explore the Greensboro Hebrew Cemetery. But not today. Today, we are gypsies, Marco Polos, soldiers of fortune, brimming with gratitude for the gift of trees planted by others for our shade, for the respectful scared space commemorating the ineffable harmony that swings pendulously between life and death, for our contribution of mindful participation, albeit microscopic, in the bigger panoply of life. OH Dianne Hayter is a Greensboro interior designer and freelance writer whose website, www.walkingautumn.com, features her first book and a blog for people and their pets. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 59
The Sunny Side of the Street
On the western side of South Elm, the face of downtown Greensboro is looking up
D
By Billy Ingram • Illustrations by Harry Blair
uring Downtown Greensboro’s heyday, the 1940s and ’50s, Packards and DeSotos jammed the streets jockeying for parking spaces while massive neon signs illuminated the night sky, dazzling shoppers with movement and color. Towering hotels, multilayered department stores, elegant fashion boutiques, men’s haberdashers, car dealerships, four different movie theaters, some 700 businesses generating hundreds of millions of dollars from early morning until 9 p.m. when they rolled up the sidewalks. In the early 1970s it all unraveled with alarming speed. In an attempt to create a mall-like experience, the city covered over a majority of the parking spaces on Elm Street to widen the sidewalks. Within several years, downtown was two tumbleweeds short of a ghost town. Despite the recent boom in nightclubs and eateries, a major portion of South Elm Street has remained in a state of neglect with its magnificent architectural treasures languishing — but doing so mostly in their original states. Recently, there’s been a flurry of activity resurrecting the monuments to the gods of retail on the western side of the 300 block of South Elm erected between 1886 and 1927 — the sunny side of Main Street, if you will.
304 South Elm
Constructed just prior to the turn of the last century, 304 South Elm was named for contractor W.C. Bain, responsible for many of Greensboro’s more elaborate center-city retail hubs. The top two floors, accentuated by large arched windows and sculpted terra cotta overlays, were where dentist Dr. Walter Hartsell and barber George Sleight drilled and chilled throughout the 1930s and ’40s. In the 1950s, J. Lee Stone photographed bridal and baby portraits in his spacious studio. The inviting storefront at left features three dramatic glass showcases and transoms, all framed with impressive cast-iron columns. By far the
60 O.Henry
October 2014
Bain Building’s most soulful resident was the Greensboro Record Center, from the go-go ’60s into the ’80s, a musical epicenter with one of the largest selections of oldies 45s imaginable. City Councilwoman Nancy Hoffman rescued this derelict in 2013, undertaking a complete overhaul, restoring the handsome Neo-Classical metalwork and simple wooden door frames. It is once again an entertainment destination, Scuppernong Books, a relaxing wine bar/bookstore. “Largely it was what was missing in our own lives,” co-owner Brian Lampkin says from his perch behind the cash register by the front door. “What do we want or expect from a city that wasn’t here? Bookstores have been a center of information, of friendship, of great personal value. We knew we weren’t alone. There’s a guy who was 11 years old sweeping floors here in the 1930s. Now he comes in, he’s in his late ’80s and reminisces with us. I guess it was his grandfather’s store.”
310 South Elm
The Grissom Building next door at 310 South Elm has also been reanimated with luxury accommodations upstairs. Designed by J. H. Hopkins, it’s a spectacular three-story example of the Italianate style predominant on this block. Cascading Romanesque brickwork surrounds palatial window arches, augmented with stone half-columns and sills. Like its neighbor, the ground level is framed in decorative cast iron. Built in 1899 for Grissom’s Drug Store, this was Cecil-Russell Drugs in the 1930s and ’40s. The downstairs last served as Kuaizi’s Bar & Grille. It’s for lease if you’re interested.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
312 South Elm
Rich in Beaux-Arts inspired details, with windows crowned by stained glass semicircles and fanciful concrete sills, 312 South Elm will be restored to her former glory over the next few months thanks to developers Dawn Chaney and Pam Frye. Chaney shared their plans: “The building was Burtner’s Furniture. They were in there until about 1980, when The Book Trader moved in.” The 3,500 square feet downstairs will be a fusion of 1618 Seafood Grille and 1618 Wine Lounge. The two floors above will be graced with loft apartments. “We’re going to call them Book Trader Lofts. We will have two 2-bedroom, 2-bath, and four 1-bedroom, all with windows to the exterior.” Chaney owns dozens of historically significant commercial and residential units. She bought her first property downtown in 1979: “I can’t tell you how many people came to me and said, ‘You’re making a mistake, Dawn, something’s going to happen to you over there, that area is not safe.” Granted, Chaney says, “It was the low life.” A motorcycle gang, for instance, parked their cycles inside. “Do I need to say much more? But look what a dream can do. I want to help make Greensboro the No. 1 city in the state of North Carolina; it will take a team.”
314–316 South Elm
A galvanized cornice crowns 314–316 South Elm, the largest and most formidable building on the block, four stories fronted by rugged carved granite stones above two enormous retail spaces. It was built in 1904 for M.G. Newell, seller of buggies and bicycles — and an early distributor for a new motorized bike called Harley-Davidson. S.H. Kress was located in 316 before expanding a block north in 1929. The top three floors have new windows installed, but the interior hasn’t yet been refurbished. The storefronts, both presently empty, were last remodeled in the 1930s when Miller Furniture opened its doors. Last of the “Furniture Row” dinosaurs, Miller only recently closed.
318 South Elm
One of Greensboro’s first department stores, The Original Racket opened in 1892 at 318 South Elm. Clothing merchant A.V. Sapp (“Sells It Cheap”) did business here for twenty-five years beginning in 1905; over a century later his bold painted mural on the front of the building still screams out “Cheap” across the boulevard above where Blu Martini sits. Boomers will fondly recall Tiny Town Toyland, owned and operated by a charming Cuban couple, Harry and Faye Rimsky. Merchandise they didn’t sell
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
stayed on the shelves so metal cars and talking dolls dating back to the ’50s were displayed alongside the latest offerings. After a run of twenty years, this mom-and-pop toy shop closed in the mid-1970s.
320 South Elm
It may be christened The Fortune Building, but 320 Elm was a revolving door for furnishings and fashion for years. The building’s longest standing tenant is the one that’s there now. When everyone else was hightailing it, Bill Heroy bought this dusty jewel in 1977 for $30,000, then lovingly refurbished it for his Old Photo Specialist studio. “I’ve always loved downtown,” he says. He fondly remembers when he and his wife used to walk their kids up and down Elm when they were 2 and 3. “It was like being in the country. On a Sunday I’d look out my window and never see a car. I spent almost $2 million rehabbing this building. We actually blew our roof out to put bedrooms on top of the building. We opened that in 1988 and I’ll bet we’ve had less than a half of a percent vacancy since then.”
342–344 South Elm
Design Archives occupies 342–344 Elm, constructed in 1890, then modernized in 1924 for the Gate City Hotel. That’s when Fleisher Brothers Clothing and Coble Hardware (later Sporting Goods) moved into the retail units underneath. Congressman Howard Coble recalls, “Jack Coble, who was no relation but a very good friend, used to come and watch our baseball games at Alamance High School. He had a horse and a carriage, a little buggy, he would ride right out into our ball field during the game. Very colorful guy Jack Coble was.” You can still read the name of the store in the tiles outside the front door. Modern office space is above Design Archives.
Hamburger Square
For generations the intersection of South Elm and McGee has been known as “Hamburger Square.” Take your pick. Jim’s Lunch, California Sandwich Shop, Princess Cafe and the New York Cafe all served burgers, fries and more for decades. The upper floors and rear of 346 have been repurposed as bars — M’Coul’s, The Green Burro and Longshanks — but the corner spot where Jim’s Lunch held forth for forty-plus years, where Idiot Box Comedy Club is today, has never undergone a major renovation after serving its last burger in 1976. A year later, even the trains wouldn’t stop downtown any longer. The trains are back, so are the crowds. The rich history and traditions of South Elm are on track to be preserved for future generations to marvel over. And yes, you can get burgers and fries again in Hamburger Square, darn good ones, at Snack Bar in the former site of the New York Cafe or Natty Greene’s where the California Sandwich Shop first buttered their buns back in 1934. OH The creator of TVparty.com and author of several books, Billy Ingram says he could undoubtedly use a facelift himself.
October 2014
O.Henry 61
A World Apart
Inside the grand dame of historic College Hill residences, venerable Winburn Court apartments, Elaine Dixie Hodge’s place is an oasis of mystery, history and beauty By Cynthia Adams • Photographs by Amy Freeman
W
hy does Dixie Hodge’s email address contain three numeral fives? “I just like 5s,” she replies languidly. She takes pleasure in small things, sometimes quirky things. Hodge watches appreciatively as the golden light of late day bathes the stacks of art and design books in her living room. The light turns the curled leaves of a potted kumquat tree to an acid green as it sits on the thick ledge. Sunlight glides over a skirted table, inching toward the antique silk and needlepoint
62 O.Henry
October 2014
pillows strewn across the white, down-filled settee where Hodge sips a glass of red wine from vintage crystal. “Don’t you just love the light?” she asks, moving her glass into it, and the alchemy causes it to glint a deep burgundy. An antique butler’s chair sits bolt upright as the light moves closer. “There is such peace, and harmony, and stillness.” It is true; the apartment’s dense, thick walls deepen the palpable stillness. “I have come to prefer the music of quietness the best,” she says. Open one of Hodge’s original casement windows and on some days you The Art & Soul of Greensboro
can faintly hear music from another quarter — Tate Street, long a magnet for educators, students and free spirits. Winburn Court is a world apart, presiding as the elegant grand dame of historic College Hill residences. Protected by its providential place within the College Hill historic district, it was built in 1929 at 203 South Tate Street. Today, it remains vibrant, along with only a handful of other pre-war apartments built in that time frame. Among surviving vintage beauties, the Winburn’s exterior is a distinctive example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, with stuccoed exterior, blind arches and a red tile roof. It is a work by the notable architect Lorenzo S. Winslow, who also designed the imposing Irving Park Manor Apartments across town the same year. Winslow wound up moving to Washington in search of work, as the Depression ground private building to a halt. He proceeded to work on major projects at the White House, even designing a pool for polio-afflicted President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Winburn resident Elaine Dixie Hodge, one with a bohemian spirit and a patrician bearing befitting her home, has lived contentedly at the Winburn Court since moving there from College Park in 1990. Now, the building itself is a character within Hodge’s story after years in residence. Over marcona almonds, cheese and figs, glasses are refilled. “I like to have space around objects,” Hodge says, placing the glass upon her grandmother’s Victorian tea table. Her living room is a gorgeous assembly of books, art, sea-
64 O.Henry
October 2014
shells, Victorian, religious icons and mementoes, where she lives in a splendid sort of seclusion. She is not one who feels obliged to fill silence, but allows conversation the same breathing room she allows to frame her collections. “I like the aesthetics of space and light.” Her aesthetics are a paean to the interplay of light versus darkness. She prefers white upholstery. The Roman shades above the windows are also white. Her eyes soften. Stars dot a mirror over the handsome white mantel in her sitting room, and swim in the dark pools of her eyes. “Pictures, and things inherited —or given to me — are most precious,” Hodge says. “I think I love everything I have, but I would choose photographs over candlesticks.” Photographs dominate walls and tabletops. “Family photographs freeze time, they help me remember, and take me back.” Older spaces require accommodation, demanding economy of style, and Hodge has obliged. But in the strictest architectural sense, the apartment’s appointments were unremarkable for the 1920s, a time when substantial structures geared to the middle class were built in Fisher and Irving Park. (For example, Winslow’s Irving Park apartments touted all the modern conveniences, including dishwashers.) But the Winburn is most remarkable a century later, its interior original and the layout intact. The Winburn still tilts toward beauty over function. Best of all, the apartment’s rear entrance The Art & Soul of Greensboro
off the kitchen opens to fire-escape balconies, lending a Hitchcock, cinematic atmosphere. Hodge’s kitchen lacks a dishwasher or much in the way of counter space. Nonetheless, the quaintness is intact, and the kitchen’s original sink and modest cabinetry are still in place. It has all the earmarks of the 1920s, minus the oversized conveniences that often go unused in other kitchens, like industrial stoves and oversized refrigerators. In some ways, her whole apartment is notable for what it doesn’t feature. Winburn baths are charmingly porcelain-tiled, but lack separate showers. Rooms are cooled by screened windows. There are few closets. But there is glorious light. The apartment’s abundant windows open out to leafy surroundings, creating the sense of life within an aerie. (In fact, Hodge refers to her apartment as her “nest.”) Given that the two-bedroom space is compact means that Hodge is no longer the avid collector of antique textiles, photographs, autographs, books and ephemera she once was. Her uniform look is Diana Vreeland-like. (She has a letter written to her by Vreeland when she worked at the Met in New York.) Hodge controls both wardrobe and collections by carefully weeding when need be. She is outfitted in black slacks and top, with silver bangles on her wrist. “I wear black every day,” she says. Yet, not even the much-admired Hepburn, nor even Vreeland, is Hodge’s muse. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
When she says “Life is my muse,” it isn’t Holly Golightly drama. Her bedside reading includes No Death, No Fear by Phich Nhat Hanh and Cherid Burns’ Searching for Beauty. She nonchalantly drops a Navajo poem made famous by anthropologist Joseph Campbell into our conversation: “Oh, beauty before me, beauty behind me, beauty to the right of me, beauty to the left of me, beauty above me, beauty below me . . .” Among her edited treasures — an acrylic, with layers of color by Setsuya Kotani, and a work by Yoko Yoshimatsu — are various black-and-white travel and art photos. There is a framed picture of her engineer father working in India, and autographed photographs of Audrey Hepburn. “Throughout life, Audrey Hepburn has been my favorite,” she says. Hepburn, like Hodge, was dark-haired, dark-eyed, and long-limbed. Also Hepburn-like, Hodge holds an edge of mystery and self-containment. For example, for some time, Hodge wrote to Hepburn, and kept many of the autographed pictures Hepburn sent her: “After her move to Switzerland,” she qualifies. Hepburn’s replies were posted to Hodge’s P.O. box, rather than the “nest” she calls home. “And I don’t fly away from the nest very much.” A pale gray guest bedroom with black toile shades gets double duty. “It is my private screening room,” says Hodge. “All my life I have loved movies, going into a darkened theater . . . in reality, my private screening is but a shadow of a big October 2014
O.Henry 65
screen, but I pretend otherwise here.” She watches films on a large screen monitor that fits handily into a custom cabinet. “You don’t see a TV, or computer, or phone,” she says. “I don’t want to see them.” Here, too, a restored photograph of Hepburn is displayed, along with an antique photograph of a tiny girl, her hair flying. There is an aquatint etching by Nina Kazimova purchased in St. Petersburg. She has cleverly positioned mirrors over bedroom doors to bounce light and create a heightened sense of light and spaciousness throughout her private rooms. This also highlights the door’s prized crystal knobs, which are original to the apartment. An antique white iron bed is dressed with heavily embroidered white antique linens and European shams with museum-quality handwork, creating a richly layered tableau. “I like to iron,” Hodge says, “because you can iron out wrinkles you cannot iron out in life.” In the white-tiled bath are snowy white, starched linens and antique bottles. And, again, her prized photographs. In her bathroom hangs another black-andwhite photograph of Hepburn, a gauzy and surreal image, striking in its beauty. It is a special find that she had restored. Winburn’s plaster walls are sound-muffling, substantial, and thereby, comforting. The quiet is notable in Hodge’s bedroom, which features another antique bed dressed with white linens and a sumptuous silk duvet. “I might have liked to have been born into the Belle Époque,” Hodge says. “Or to a chateau. Or Downton Abbey. Maybe.” Again, despite the linens’ inherent complexity and antiquity, she insists, “I think everything should be used.” She owns two Victorian screens, which she uses to improvise storage. The small Victorian settee in her bedroom was her mother’s, and found its way to Greensboro from John’s Island in South Carolina, where her mother lived after her father’s death. Hodge’s original Greensboro residence is nearby. When she returned to North Carolina in the mid-1960s with her former husband, a history professor from Long Beach, California, the Hodges chose a Queen Anne house at 810 Rankin Place. But, as she tells the story, when she turned down Tate Street and first glimpsed Winburn, she was smitten by the stately apartment building. “I said, ‘I’m going to live there, too.’” Initially, Hodge taught school before becoming the executive director of the local chapter of the Epilepsy Association of Greater Greensboro in 1979, remaining until retirement. Although North Carolina born and educated, Hodge was exposed to a variety of influences and cultures due to her father, Earl Reginald Wolcott, an engineer working with manufacturing facilities and large corporations in Charleston, South Carolina, and Manhattan. As a consequence, the Wolcott family moved frequently during Hodge’s formative years. Over time, her father oversaw international projects throughout Europe, Asia and Mexico.
66 O.Henry
October 2014
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 67
As her life evolved, Hodge vacationed abroad, spending time in England, Ireland, France and Italy, and visiting her sister in Russia. And there were the many years spent on John’s Island, with its marshy, porous beauty. She absorbed everything, and her own aesthetic deepened. In time, she moved into Winburn Court, just as she had once predicted. “One reason I love Winburn Court so much is that I feel as if I am in Europe again.” She gained footing as an artist, featuring her photographs on cards under the name “Elaine’s Family Album.” For a workspace, she draped antique tapestries over tables and apportioned the dining area for a studio. She also uses this space as a wrapping room. It is not unusual for her to devote a couple of hours to the creation of a package, whose wrappings become as important as the gift within. Like Hodge’s gift wrappings, Winburn conceals a secret that requires unwrapping. At the onset, the building was intended to be twice its present size. “As I understand it, Winburn Court was planned as two mirror image buildings built around a courtyard, but the Depression spoiled that plan,” says Mike Cowhig, a Greensboro City planner and longtime preservationist. As the Preservation Greensboro blog notes, “The onset of the Great Depression had a chilling effect on Greensboro’s building industry.” Apartment buildings were still a relative rarity by 1940, with only forty-seven existing throughout the city eleven years after the Winburn project halted — and as we now know, the original conception only half realized. Outside the nest, Hodge created another retreat. On her shady fire escape, The Art & Soul of Greensboro
she grows herbs and flowers, saying how she favors the “scent of gardenias, tuberoses and old roses.” She wears a Jo Malone fragrance called blackberry and bay — bewitching and unusual. Nodding to fellow residents, she says softly, “I sit out on my fire escape garden and watch the family of man.” Winslow was 37 when his creation was built. So it seems fitting that in recent years, it has become populated by graduate students from UNCG. Ayse Payir is one such student. “Ayse is getting her doctorate in psychology,” Hodge says proudly. Just returned from a trip to Turkey, Payir finds Hodge on the fire escape. She offers Hodge a gift-wrapped present, and both giver and recipient smile, shy with pleasure. Later, as an afterthought, Hodge sends me these lines written by Raymond Carver: “And did you get what/ you wanted from this life, even so?/ I did./ And what did you want?/ To call myself beloved, to feel myself/ beloved on this earth.” OH For more information about Elaine’s Family Album, email Ms. Hodge at: dixieh555@gmail.com, or P. O. Box 5131, Greensboro, NC 27435. Cynthia Adams is a writer living in Greensboro, and fondly remembers Tate Street where she bought Pepto Bismol-pink bell bottoms and a Camus poster.
October 2014
O.Henry 69
70 O.Henry
October 2014
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Story of a House
A Thousand Shades of Greige Debbie Jones, doyenne of French Laundry Home, finds family connection at home in High Point By Cynthia Adams Photographs by Amy Freeman
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 71
T
he Ravenel House, as the gray clapboard 1940s twostory was long known, sits on a curvy, wooded street in High Point’s historic Emerywood neighborhood. Step through the door and the foyer’s gleaming dark floors are waxed and polished. The dark paneled interior is quietly English-inspired, with family portraits in silver frames, photographs, paintings and an architectural model of a spiral stairway. Silver trophies line the mantel. On an equestrian note, horses appear in muted paintings, books and art objects. The owner, Debbie Jones, appears wearing a colorfully monogrammed smart black shirt tucked into slim jeans, cinched with a belt. She dresses herself, like her house, with understated chic and comfort. Her home is filled with suggestions of town and country merged, as well as many objects with personal history. The horsey-set feel of the residence emulates a patrician kind of quirkiness that showcases the family’s love of animals — most especially ones of the four-footed variety. A massive toy horse, complete with a leather saddle, is covered with blue ribbons and occupies a corner in the living room. The family’s Pennmarydel fox hound Penny, and visitor, Peyton, protest and whimper grumpily, while sequestered outside on the deck. Jones shushes the hounds and rolls her eyes. They are not merely pets — Jones is a fox hunter and avid rider, and the hounds like to join her when she heads to the stables. The cat, Tiger, lazes outside in a patch of sunlight. It’s a cozy little nest, purchased in 2006. But Jones is there far less than she would like. As the owner and designer for a furniture and textiles firm, French Laundry Home, with headquarters merely five miles away on Mendenhall Road,
72 O.Henry
October 2014
it is close enough for her to hear the siren call of duty. She is often at work by first light to greet her thirty employees. The company first made its name selling French-inspired fabrics by the roll. Today, French Laundry Home, or FLH, produces furniture, textiles and an ever increasing array of accessories. Everything is produced in the United States and specifically, the South. Jones contracts with a furniture manufacturer in Thomasville and uses spinning mills for her line’s fabrics in North and South Carolina. “My mother, Nancy Myers, is a huge influence over me,” she stresses, a point made often, saying Myers possesses great style and talents. Plus, she underscores, her mother could sew — one ability Jones does not possess. Myers also works at FLH, taking a hands-on role. But Jones’ home, surprisingly, is not done in French neutrals and thousand shades of subtle greige like her showrooms. Here, she abandons chic cool and has a private affair with saturated and muted color. Jones’ personal interiors could have been torn from the pages of British House and Garden. Think khaki and British racing green, antiques, coin silver, beeswax and candlelight. Think old money — not new. “It was built in World War II,” says Jones, heading first to a recently renovated sun porch, which occupies one of the two wings flanking the traditional house. The sun porch is an airy space, showcasing a few of her own company accents and furniture pieces of her design. It is also a clue to Jones’ other great love: Texas cowgirl style. An authentic cowhide rug on the sunroom floor is a find from Round Top, a fabled Texas antiques fair where French Laundry Home exhibits each spring and fall. In Texas, cowhide rugs are ubiquitous, even in the tony mansions of The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Houston near the namesake town of Round Top. The antiques venue (called the nation’s best by Huffington Post) has a strong influence on Jones — she says it is where she often draws ideas. “Eclectic inspiration,” she adds. Round Top is also where she has made design friends and connections — and became acquainted with Anita Perry, the wife of Texas Governor Rick Perry. As a horsewoman who has cut horses, one who wears a belt buckle from the Cowgirls Hall of Fame in Texas, Jones slips between worlds with ease and goes from riding boots to cowboy boots in a hot minute. She rides both Western and English style — a rarity among horse people. So the newly redone sun porch, with more than a little touch of Round Top, also has a more contemporary feel, unlike the rest of the home. But Jones is also an artist who cannot resist change. And while Round Top is a point of inspiration, so is the aristo style of Virginia horse country. Tack shops abound with the riding garb she favors, especially good leather boots, harness leather accessories, equestrienne inspired jewelry and all manner of riding gear. “If I won the lottery, I’d buy a more expensive horse,” Jones, who boards her horse in Summerfield, jokes. Except, it probably isn’t a joke, as she has already found and renovated the house to make it one she loves. Later, she and her 12-year-old daughter, Taylor, change into what she calls “rat catcher” riding clothes — and the look is dead-on Ralph Lauren Black Label. “I’m into tweeds and tans and tartans,” Jones says. Taylor is close behind her, and seems interested by her mother’s work. Her daughter is fascinated by fashion and design — and chose every detail in her spa-colors inspired bedroom. “She’s very avant-garde,” Jones adds, nodding to her blonde-haired, blue-eyed The Art & Soul of Greensboro
daughter. She plumps a pillow with a cover that emulates a feed sack from a Thomasville mill. This, it happens, is her company’s signature product and material. She pulls the pillow from an Americana style chair that is also her design. “This is one of our first products,” she says, allowing herself a proud smile. And about three months after buying the house on Forest Hill Drive, Jones discovered the house had a past that made it all the more important to her. The so-called “Ravenel” house, one she bought when relocating to the Triad from Atlanta eight ago, was chosen quickly. It had close proximity to her family, who originally farmed in nearby Archdale. And there was something else, something that her family circled around the first time they visited. From the first look, her folks remarked that the house style seemed very familiar. With its extensive paneling and stained molding, wooden floors and other features, it not only seemed familiar, it was. And slowly, the secret emerged when a new acquaintance connected the dots. The house had family provenance, something Jones learned by accident after joining a hunt club. “I met a cousin at a fox hunt in Sedgefield,” Jones says — except, she didn’t know she was a cousin until later. “My cousin’s name is Judy Bouldin Gallman.” The two had never met before that day, but began exchanging personal details and family information. She says they felt an immediate sense of connection. Then, the penny dropped as they explored backgrounds and family information. They were related, both descendants of the Bouldin family — and first cousins. Moreover, when Jones shared her address on Forest Hill Drive, her cousin immediately set the record straight. It was not the Ravenel house after all. Turns out, the home was built by Judy’s grandfather. The Ravenel family were subseOctober 2014
O.Henry 73
Jones’ personal interiors could have been torn from the pages of British House and Garden.
74 O.Henry
October 2014
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 75
76 O.Henry
October 2014
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
quent owners, and not the original builders. “Judy’s grandfather was David Bouldin,” Jones explains. David Bouldin, the original owner and builder, was Debbie Jones’ great uncle. “Judy and I really clicked and we’ve become close, good friends,” she says, marveling at the good fortune. Jones’ great-grandfather, Myron Bouldin, was Judy’s great uncle. He was known to Jones as Papa Bouldin. “There was a split between my grandfather and his brother, David, more than sixty years ago.” The quarrel was never resolved. While Jones had never met her great uncle, David, she realized after living in his former home just how much his tastes were like his brother Myron’s. “Especially in the use of dark paneling. It’s used throughout the foyer and the main rooms.” Their homes echoed one another, she says, and now her cousin is a frequent visitor to what is now, rightfully, the Bouldin house. The house is much as she found it, apart from cosmetics and significant changes to the sun porch, kitchen and deck. She had retained the paneling, and renovations are sympathetic to the house’s original style and footprint. Off the foyer is a dining room dominated by a round table (“my preference for entertaining is a round table,” she says) featuring a bowl of lush flowers. But pride of place is given to a large walnut hutch which dates to the mid-1800s. The hutch also has family ties, as it was owned by her great-great-greatgrandfather. “It came from a dairy farm in Archdale. Each cousin got a piece from the family.” This year, Jones totally renovated the kitchen, using a subtle British gray-green on the kitchen cupboards. In the kitchen, French Laundry Home chairs (which her daughter designed) with oval backs flank the breakfast table. “They were inspired by something Taylor saw.” Upstairs, a striking painting in naïve style dominates the landing. The portrait of a young girl in a pink dress by Raymond Roux Dufort was acquired from a High Point furniture showroom. Her son, Kevin, is away at North Carolina State University. His bedroom features a sleigh bed dressed in French Laundry Home linens. (The products are sold through retailers such as Horchow and Neiman Marcus.) There is a vintage map and a Dutch oil — and in his bath, a photo of Cary Grant, whose style he admires. Taylor’s bedroom is retreat-like and filled with coastal influences drawn from frequent Kiawah Island stays. But in Jones’ bedroom, featuring a French Laundry Home upholstered headboard and sumptuous linens, an intricately made Victorian dollhouse built by her father, Bob Myers, is the most eye-catching of all. “He sold insurance, but also built houses.” The “house was built when I was 14 or 15,” and to her specific design. She has collected Princess Petite by Ideal Toys dollhouse furnishings since age 5 and placed each piece with care. And then moved them again and again. “I have every piece of furniture in every fabric they (Ideal Toys) ever made,” Jones says proudly. “I’ve been decorating all my life.” And so it happened that a young girl’s playhouse inspired a brilliant career, to the delight of French Laundry Home customers. And today, a home rich with family provenance is in the hands of the builder’s great niece, its rightful name restored. OH
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 77
How to Start a French Laundry
One small but very good idea put people back to work in two mills and a furniture factory
A
By Cynthia Adams • Photographs by Amy Freeman
t the helm of the Euro-chic home and fabrics line called French Laundry Home is Debbie Jones, a blue-eyed, small-boned woman with fair hair caught in a ponytail. She isn’t just a steel magnolia. Jones is a titanium magnolia. Think Scarlett O’Hara in riding clothes — without a trace of fiddle-dee-dee nonsense. Like Scarlett, she admits to a talent for reinvention and a way of pushing the notion of failure right out of town. For stress release, she rides the horse she stables in Summerfield as often as possible. Dressed in the oh-so-chic jodhpurs and riding boots Jones was born to wear, you may think she lives a life of leisure. But think again. Jones is a purposeful and hard-working woman, one who hits the floor of her 11,000-square-foot High Point manufacturing and retail business, French Laundry Home, as early as 6 a.m. — and running.
***
This September, Debbie Jones was invited by Anita Perry, wife of Texas Governor Rick Perry, to share her entrepreneurial zeal and inspiring story.
78 O.Henry
October 2014
She has told her business story before, having appeared at a Southern Lady magazine conference a few years ago as a headliner. The story as Jones tells it concerns leading fearlessly and instinctually. Had she overthought things — or stayed true to her original engineering trajectory — Jones told the audience, “I would have sat on this idea. If I had chosen that course, none of this would be here.” The “this” reference, of course, is French Laundry Home. The manufacturing and showroom facilities employ thirty. Most, if not all, are women, including her mother, Nancy Myers. Most were once employed in the furniture or textiles industries before both industries were decimated. Jones has a near obsession for her French-inspired textiles and home-goods firm, which opened in 2007. “I’m from a family in which everyone is self-employed,” she says. And, Jones adds that she is “an easily bored type-A personality.” The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Jones is passionate about her private life. To wit: On Wednesdays, she tries to carve out time and goes horse riding. She once cut horses among her many athletic adventures, but today, she fox hunts weekly with the Sedgefield Hunt, and often joins fabric cutters in the French Laundry workrooms as they work. She even brought her daughter to work with her in the earlier days, and the tyke became extremely adroit with her own crafting skills. The physical challenge of being everywhere at once in the manufacturing business, designing, sourcing, selling, marketing and promoting, while being a hands-on leader, is an enticement for her. This much is obvious: Jones doesn’t go for easy; she is an adrenalin junkie. She has been a white-water slalom racer and a raft guide. Being a daredevil extended beyond the whitewater she navigated as a young guide — it serves her today. She is also a Georgia Tech industrial engineering grad who knew almost immediately after leaving school that she had chosen the wrong profession. “One interview in Boston,” Jones laughs, “told me everything. I realized I had studied the wrong thing.” She returned from the interview and knew she would follow the family lead and be independent. What has and does fuel her most is a dauntless pursuit of adventure. Consider this: Jones really didn’t know her way around a kitchen (apart from perfecting sweet tea, chocolate-chip cookies and fudge), yet became a restaurateur. And the restaurant thrived. “I didn’t know how to cook,” she admits, “but I surrounded myself with people who did.” She opened what became a very popular sandwich shop in Atlanta. This success morphed into her later acquisition of a Stone Mountain property, fulfilling a bucket list sort of dream. Jones bought the historic house almost at first sight (which she says made her builder father nearly “kill me”) and created a tea room. All the while, still in Georgia, she was powering full steam. She ran a successful catering business alongside the restaurant, and began a private clothing line she sold in her own retail store — all of these businesses at once. Clover, her Atlanta store, featured a bedding line of her own design incorporating menswear details, such as masculine tweedy fabrics. “No one had seen anything quite like it,” she says. It was a hit. For support, Jones relied heavily upon her parents; for ideas, she just kept her eyes open and refused to think anything was less than possible. “Sleep,” she says, “was not my first priority.” Despite being a single mother of two, she also began yet another business called Mountain Street Market, where Jones sold textiles, antiques and shabby chic, or as she says, “chippy paint” pieces. Like all the other businesses she had opened, buyers appeared to buy the businesses she created. For the first time in years, Jones was taking a breath, having the luxury of focusing upon designing projects without the burden “of having to make payroll.” After selling all of her businesses and relocating to North Carolina (where she had family ties), Jones took a non-leadership role. “In 2006, I moved here, bought a house and had a deal with a company that I would remain as designer for Clover after selling the business,” Jones explains. The deal was one that left her able to afford a nice home in Emerywood and private schools for her son, Kevin, and daughter, Taylor. And then, the deal evaporated when Clover’s corporate buyer went under. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Jones had to regroup. She began to think about importing what she knew about retail and design into a new concept — one part inspired idea, and another part desperation. She had an idea for a fabric from years ago, originally inspired by a grain bag from a defunct feed mill in nearby Thomasville. She tried to create a fabric line working offshore through factories in Pakistan and India. But a chance conversation led to a better answer. “North Carolina,” as a North Carolina State textiles professor, Maureen Grasso says, “is the Silicon Valley of textiles.” The fabrics could be better loomed on mills right here in North Carolina. “I met a woman while at the pool with my children whose husband had a weaving mill,” Jones says. The meeting with the mill owner led to new, widerwidth fabrics produced domestically. French Laundry Home was being born. Jones says the best things happen to her when she is living her life and connecting with others. “Women are not given enough credit for being resourceful multitaskers. Who would have known?” She sold the fabric by the yard, and buyers noticed the pillows Jones used to style her displays. They not only wanted to buy the fabric, but the pillows it showcased. A basic line of bedding was designed and rolled out within the first year. Can she sew? Jones shakes her head no. “I can’t sew. Well — I can hem pants and sew on a button.” No matter. She knew people who could — trained talent was plentiful in High Point. “Everybody sewing for me were not garment sewers, but from the furniture world.” And these were people who needed new opportunities as well. “I think of the trickle-down effect.” She enumerates the weavers, sewers, all the people French Laundry Home affects. “One really tiny idea,” Jones explains, “put people back to work in two mills and a furniture factory.” One person, she says, one idea, had repercussions for many. A lighter weight fabric (called “Brussels”) is used for French Laundry table linens. And all of these evolutionary steps led to creation of yet another line of fabrics and hand-sewn goods. “French Laundry has become a complete lifestyle,” Jones says with visible pride. The company now produces French Laundry-labeled bedding, upholstery, sectionals, dining chairs, chaises, ottomans. And her daughter, Taylor, now age 12, is so interested that Jones hopes she will one day run the business. “At age 7, my daughter came up with the design for the dining chair now sold in the Horchow catalog,” she says. “Kevin wants to be a dentist.” Design ideas spring from her trips to Kiawah and Charleston with her family, from travels, and events like the famous Round Top antiques market in Texas. And also, Jones says inspiration comes from fashion. “I’m driven by fashion. When I see a great outfit, I see a duvet cover, dust ruffle and pillow shams,” Jones says. And when she feels uninspired, she tries not to move too far from the original feed sack idea that first inspired her. OH French Laundry Home, 2501 Mendenhall Road, High Point, (336) 883-2680, open to the public Tuesday through Thursday, 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. October 2014
O.Henry 79
A Homegrown
Garden of Eden Self-made gardeners extraordinaire Ken Eaton and Tom Earles say goodbye to a backyard that achieved almost mythic status among Greensboro’s elite gardeners By Jim Dodson • Photographs by Hannah Sharpe
O
ne early autumn afternoon not long ago, my wife, Wendy, and I weren’t three feet into the garden of Ken Eaton and Tom Earles aka Earltons Gardens on Westridge Road, when I had to stop and give myself a swift mental kick in the pants. “I can’t believe I didn’t get here months ago,” I actually said out loud, astounded by what lay in front of me. “This is unbelievable.” Ken Eaton merely smiled as if he’d heard this a thousand times. His partner, Tom Earles, was just emerging from the kitchen door, thoughtfully bearing a tray of cool mineral water for the escorted walk through the garden. “Well,” said Ken, “you’re here just in the nick of time. People have been coming fairly steadily this summer when word got out that we were giving up the garden. By October we’ll be gone — though the garden will still be here. That’s the important thing. The new owner is the Dean of Elon’s law school. The moment he saw it, he fell in love with the property. So it’s going to the perfect new owner. ” As any veteran gardener knows, timing in life and gardening is everything. Both are subject to change without notice. Comprising just under an acre of land and tucked inconspicuously out of sight behind a conventional tan brick ranch on a popular byway that once defined the suburban expansion of Greensboro’s western ambitions, Earltons Gardens — an artful conflation of its creators’ similar surnames — is simply a love story that operates on several inspiring levels. One is the story of couple of Greensboro guys now in their 60s who grew up in different parts of the county and never knew each other until they met at a Gate City party and found a soul mate — keeping their relationship hidden from view for decades until the culture around them evolved to a level of public acceptance. On another level, Earltons is simply the story of two working-class chaps who fell hard for the magic of making the ground around them a showcase of extraordinary botanical imagination, itself evolving as their homegrown expertise grew across three decades. Following his honorable service as a Marine in Vietnam, Tom Earles returned home to Greensboro, took the postal exam and went to work as a residential route
80 O.Henry
October 2014
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 81
82 O.Henry
October 2014
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
carrier in 1968. After thirty-seven years he retired as a human resources specialist. Ken Eaton, five years his junior, joined the post office as a key letter operator and finished his career as a customer service supervisor after thirty-two years of service. Neither had much of a gardening legacy of any depth that might hint at the botanical glory to come, though as a youngster Ken had been inspired by a gardening grandfather who “showed me a mound of growing watermelons and got me interested in making things grow.” His parents discouraged his gardening interests, however, which only came to flower decades later when the partners bought their first house on Kirby Drive in Starmount and began transforming it in the early ’80s. “We really didn’t know a lot about gardening,” says Ken. “It was a conventional backyard with lots of azaleas and grass to cut, nothing very special. But it had a nice covered terrace where we began entertaining friends. I started growing plants in pots and containers — really starting that modestly — and found I loved doing it. Secretly, I always wished we had a pool. What a perfect focal point for a garden that would be, I thought.” “Or not so secret,” injects Tom with a laugh. After four years on Kirby, they sold the house and moved to Wafco Mills near downtown, eager to be part of the reviving urban scene around South Elm. “Truthfully we realized we missed owning our own house, and we were soon looking at places along Westridge Road,” Tom explains. “Both of us always liked the houses and land there. Unfortunately, the first house we found had a pool but sold before we could make an offer. So we kept hunting.” In 1985, they found the perfect place, a 2,100-squarefoot, standard brick ranch tucked into a nicely wooded lot. It was just under an acre in size and not far from the corner of Westridge and Friendly. “We decided it was now or never,” says Ken. “The first thing we did was set out to build the perfect swimming pool. Everything evolved from that.” With the help of Greensboro’s Creative Pools Sales and Service, and inspired by their friend Joe Bryan Jr.’s “black-bottom pool” down in Key West, Ken and Tom custom-designed the large kidney-shaped cement pool that was artfully darkened to give it the impression of being a pond. “We had the workers use a Bob Cat to mound up the earth around its edges, envisioning a natural border that came right to the edge of the pool, greenery overlapping the water, a genuine feel of nature and the wild, right outside our main picture window — the first thing you would see stepping into our den,” explained Ken. “A friend who owns a nursery gave us some wonderful foundation plants, bayberries and azaleas and other things.” A road trip up to Black Mountain resulted in sevenand-one-half tons of Blue Ridge gray mountain rock — similar to that used to build the Grove Park Inn — dumped in their driveway for their Bobcat crew to place. Among the first plants to take root in the red clay soil, rather poetically, were watermelon seeds left by the pool’s construction crew. “The first plants we had really were these beautiful sugar baby melons that grew up in the rocks, popping open as they grew. It was a pretty basic beginning to a garden.” The Art & Soul of Greensboro
A friend brought them a young river birch to plant by the pool. Thirty years later, the magnificent tree arches over the pool providing shade and arboreal serenity that’s gloriously integrated with textures and hues of leaf and foliage and fern. Nearby mature Japanese maples and dogwoods shade the borders of a pool that is home to several varieties of hydrangeas — Annabelles and a pair of impressive Limelights in massive slate pots — with other flowering greenery completing Ken’s vision of a pool in the wild. “We actually have had people think it’s a pond,” Tom confirms — injecting that these creative ideas come strictly from Ken. Garden maintenance and cooking, he says, are his specialties. “Outside I’m Juan,” he quips. “Inside, Juanita.” “Don’t kid yourself,” Ken responds. “A lot of what you see here comes directly from Tom’s input. He’s as passionate about this place as I am.” Spreading out lavishly in at least three directions around the pool are equally breathtaking “rooms” of green and flowering surprises galore: a low poolside hedge of euonymus shaped like an anteater; sudden bursts of old-fashioned nandina; a spectacular shade garden linked by stone pathways and arbors covered by variegated ivies for a marbled effect, including a yellow heart ivy Ken is particularly fond of for its effect in showing off a series of large and mobile container plant specimens he’s grown expert at moving to ever-changing effect as the garden matured. A pair of large Swedish blue walls are used effectively to block out sight lines of neighbor roofs for a visiting photographer and Ken’s own spectacular photography — posted daily on Facebook, a visual daybook of the garden’s life. Everywhere you look lies some modest little surprise: classic urns and stone heads peering from the lush greenery; a whimsical pair of presiding garden deities named Betty and Elizabeth; small mirrors embedded in the vines that provide the surprise to see your own face poking about in a secret garden. Ken is a devoted student of the garden writings of the late Russell Page and Bunny Williams, and his own novel ideas include a number of stacked containers. These include everything from an unlikely, yet arrestingly beautiful, presentation of ordinary monkey grass (liriope, the South’s ubiquitous groundcover) in a gilded pot to rustic vases spilling mona lavender, bougainvillea and rainbow jasmine. Huge, classic urns send up lusty arches of purple Plumbago articulata in riotous late-summer bloom. Even as the summer days wane, Brazilian plum flowers light up the winding pathways. Meanwhile, a series of iron gates that once belonged to a defunct Holiday Inn — discovered by the shores of Lake Norman during one of the couple’s famous garden foraging trips — screen off sections of the garden and anchor the ever-changing landscape in unexpected places, providing pockets of deep quiet, chapels of green reflection. Stunning optics and focal points abound. It’s all a moveable feast for the garden-mad eye, a homegrown Garden of Eden It’s also clever ideas like these — many remarkably inexpensive to create — that inevitably attracted the attention of commercial interests like Lowe’s and various clients of the High Point Furniture Market, October 2014
O.Henry 83
who’ve appropriated the garden for numerous product photo shoots. Not surprisingly, Biltmore Estate used the garden for photographing its wines, playing Earltons on the cover of its quarterly magazine. The garden has also attracted a passionate following among Guilford Horticultural Society members, who, besides using the garden as a splendid resource for sharing ideas, specifically insisted that Earltons Gardens be scheduled on their annual tour an unprecedented three years in a row. “Ken’s ideas inspire visitors to put together presentations they have not previously considered,” society member Beth Cross wrote in her friendly but urgent email last summer, suggesting O.Henry get straight off to see — and photograph — this remarkable garden before it passes from the hands of its creators to new owners. “It is not unusual for Hort Society members to walk around his gardens two or three times to be sure they haven’t missed something, taking photos as they do so,” Cross added. “Even when they do not copy any of the ideas, just being around his gardens is an uplifting and inspiring experience.” After our own hour or so of wandering around the garden, even as a sudden noticeably cooler autumn rain came on, our only question to these modest keepers of Eden was simply, How can you bear to leave this behind? Ken smiled. “This garden has been a true labor of love for us and a sustaining passion of ours for thirty years. During that time we’ve grown and changed and learned so much. We’ve had so many good times with friends and family and neighborhood people, all of whom came to love this place. It’s given us a lifetime of great memories. We’ve made so many great friends because of this garden, it’s impossible to feel too bad about letting it go.” The new owner, he pointed out, “Has asked that we help him look after the garden, which we’re happy to do. Besides, the name Earltons Gardens will travel with us.” Tom explained that the couple was merely relocating to Caldwell Square condominiums near the Bog Gardens of Tanger Family gardens. “It’s a beautiful place and I’m sure Ken will come up with equally creative ideas there.” “Besides, in a few days,” Ken came back, “many of our tenderer pots will be going off to a wonderful friend named Vivian Jones, who has come every autumn for years in a 15foot U-Haul to collect them for winter care in her greenhouses out in Snow Camp. Others will be making the trip with us to the new place,” he said with a smile. “That includes Betty and Elizabeth, of course. Wherever we are, they are.” We thanked them for what we hoped would not be a last look at one of Greensboro’s most beloved secret gardens, a thirty-year masterpiece in the making. “A good garden goes on,” said Ken. “Meanwhile, Earltons Gardens will have a clean new canvas with more emphasis on container gardening and creative ideas. We’ll also be able to enjoy some wishful traveling. “ OH Jim Dodson, O.Henry’s editor, is the author of Beautiful Madness: One Man’s Journey Through Other People’s Gardens.
84 O.Henry
October 2014
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 85
M A R ION Tile & Flooring
Empowering Dreams. Embracing Legacies.
Life & Home
CERAMIC TILE • MARBLE • VINYL • CARPET • HARDWOOD
70/30 Consignment...
Unheard of!!!
Daisy’s is crazy for consignment! 3127 Battleground Ave. Greensboro, NC 27408 336.286.8221 www.daisysdesigneralley.com
Hours: Mon - Fri 10:00 am - 6:00 pm Sat 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Sun 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Products Porcelain & Ceramic Tile • Marble & Granite • Cork Brick & Stone • Hardwood • Luxury Vinyl Tile • Carpet
services
Bathroom Remodeling • Kitchen floors & Backsplashes Tile Repairs & Cleaning Service • Complete installation service by qualified craftsmen M-F 9-5 and by appointment 4719 Pleasant Garden Road, Pleasant Garden 336-674-8839 | www.mariontile.com
Downtown Living!!!
Caring for you and your investment
1103 N Elm St, Suite 100
Todd Rotruck Broker/REALTOR terotruck@gmail.com
336 402 1668
Fisher Park 205 N Park 6 bd/5 Bath
$450,000
Central locations close to Ballpark, City Parks, Shops, Downtown Greenway
Westerwood 204 Wilson St 4 bd/2.5 Bath
$294,000
Doncaster trunk show Monday November 10 through Saturday November 15 10 to 5 Monday through Friday & 11 to 3 Saturday at Blvd. Interiors Marketplace 348 N. Elm St. Offering Missy, Petite and Women’s sizes
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.® Equal Housing Opportunity.
86 O.Henry
October 2014
Contact Mitzie Weatherly or Gayle Koonce at SophieGraceLLC@gmail.com
Melissa Greer Realtor / Broker, GRI, CRS
Chairman’s Circle Gold Award 2010, 2011, 2012 Chairman’s Circle Platinum Award 2013
336.337.5233 www.melissagreer.com melissa@melissagreer.com ©2014 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently operated subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.® Equal Housing Opportunity.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October
“Cultivators of the earth are the most Valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country and wedded to its liberty and interests by the most lasting bonds.” — Thomas Jefferson (1785) in a letter to John Jay
By Noah Salt
A Writer in the Garden
Bittersweet October is finally here, autumn’s version of April. Harvest season is winding up and hardwood trees have reached their glorious finale — fiery maples, crimson elms, brilliant yellow beech leaves drifting to the darkening Earth. Horse apples are also turning to cider in the long dry grass beneath the orchard trees and the mornings are sometimes misty, sometimes bell clear. Summer’s leftovers are being cleared away. The ferns along the back fence are turning to rust. Funeral pyres of leaves pile up in the neighborhood — someone is burning their own around the block — and a noticeably colder rain comes down. The first fires of the season will soon be lit indoors, with guardian jack-o’-lanterns and mums anchoring porches, awaiting young goblins in search of treats. Indian corn will be tacked to doors, a symbol of the harvest feast to come. The garden out back is looking more than a little forlorn, leggy and home to only a few late-season melons, mashed figs and early winter greens. Goldfinches and myrtle warblers are returning to the feeders; robins returning to get high on the rich red berries of the Savannah hollies and blazing old-fashioned nandina.
“Trees are the teachers, revealers, containers, companions, and protectors of the sacred, and our relationship to them, whether we meet them gently in a forest or, muscled and equipped, cut them down for the price of lumber, touches on our deepest values, emotions, and sense of meaning. Divinity resides somehow in the marrow of a tree and in the sanctuary made of the overarching branches of an avenue or the columns of a grove or the mere umbrella of a tree’s foliage. ‘Cleave a piece of wood,’ says Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas, ‘I am there.’” — Thomas Moore, from The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life, 1996
October Highways
October may be the ideal time for a weekend family road trip. Fortunately, great events and destinations abound. Here’s a trio of our favorites from shore to mountaintop. Plenty more can be found at www.visitnc.com. The 36th Annual Riverfest, October 3–5, Wilmington. The beloved celebration of Cape Fear life and culture featuring great food and scores of craft beers, live entertainment on two stages. The Storytelling Festival of the Carolinas, October 18–19, Laurinburg. The annual extravaganza of the spoken word featuring dozens of the finest yarn-spinners, storyweavers and flat-out delightful liars found anywhere. Ghost Train Halloween Festival, every weekend in October, Blowing Rock. Spend your day leaf-peeping the Blue Ridge Parkway at its peak and wind up at a safe and spooktacular family-friendly attraction ranked as one of the Top 20 events by the Southeast Tourism Society. Attractions include rides on the ghost train, the creepy carnival and trick or treating. Reserve early, guests limited each evening. (800) 526-5740. OH
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 87
Life & Home
“The Homestead”
MICHELLE PORTER MP
L E T ’ S
G E T
M O V I N G !
...turning dreams into an address
Built in 1834, it’s the oldest house in Lexington. This Greek Revival style home has been kept up magnificently since 1834 by only 3 separate owners. Property is deed restricted by a Historic Preservation Agreement with The Historic Preservation of NC, Inc. House needs to be seen to be appreciated. For additional information call 250-1522
R E A L TO R®, B R O K E R , M B A , A B R , C S P, GRI, CRS, SFR, CPM
MLS#713328
• homes@michelleporter.com www.michelleporter.com
Contact Miles Cleckley Center Towne Realtors 336-250-1522
©2013 An independently operated subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.® Equal Housing Opportunity.
Grab Th
336.207.9005 cell cwsg28@gmail.com
Finding homes for everyone in your family
Happening in April 2015
carolIne sparrow GreGorIo Personal Property Consultant
advIce
on
FIne estate Items:
do you keep or sell? what are your optIons?
A Living History Trip Commentary and escorted by Lee Kinard
avaIlable For: InherIted Items specIalty collectIons Jewelry and watches Gold and sIlver coIns Discreet and Confidential Tailored to Your Needs
Sparrow's Rare Finds, LLC Caroline Sparrow Gregorio, Owner
Please call 336.207.9005 for an appointment. Curriculum Vitae available upon request.
Steps of Americans in France: The #1 Rule in Real Estate Realtor, Broker, ABR, CRS
Please remember that I am never too busy to accept your referrals...I welcome them! Berkshire hathaway home services yost & LittLe reaLty
October 2014
April 6 – 14, 2015 and the price per person double occupancy – land only is $3399
visit the website www.livinghistorytrips.com for all the trip details.
We do Europe your way.
336.339.3492
kay.rule@bhhsyostandlittle.com ©2014 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently operated subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.® Equal Housing Opportunity
88 O.Henry
Thomas Jefferson to Private Ryan Normandy, The Loire Valley, Paris
336.275.1010
weezieglascock@gmail.com • www.livinghistorytrips.com The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Restoration and Maintenance of your COUNTERTOPS, TILE and STONEMASONARY
Call Today 336.268.0203 DOCTOR GRANITE uses Green Eco Friendly Products
Games Inflatables
Pumpkin & Face Painting
Dunk Booth Candy & Food
Saturday, November 1 3:00 - 5:00 pm
Life & Home
family
DOCTOR GRANITE
First Baptist Church Greensboro 1000 West Friendly Avenue www.fbcgso.org | 274-3286
slatter management services, inc. community association management
Managing Townhome,
Waban Carter
Condominium & Single Family Homeowner Associations Throughout the Triad area.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
www.slatterinc.com October 2014
O.Henry 89
October 2014 Bump City East
Spank!
Deployed
1
1-3
10/
2
10/
10/
October 1
October 1–3
Tagtool,” which teaches the ins and outs of this latest, greatest iPad app. Elsewhere Museum, 606 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: goelsewhere.org.
3), featuring art workshops for children, seniors and adults. Times vary. African American Atelier, 200 North Davie Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 3336885 or africanamericanatelier.org.
TAG TEAM. 7 p.m. Adding animation to music • or light projections is the subject of “The Tao of
AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet Marcie • Cohen Ferris, author of The Edible South: The
Power of Food and the Making of an American Region. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
BLOWN AWAY. 7:30 p.m. Hear Bump City • East, a tribute band that’s bringing funky back. Gail Brower Huggins Performance Center, Greensboro College, 815 West Market Street, Greensboro. Tickets: bump-city-east-band.ticketleap.com.
AIR WAYS. 7:30 p.m. J.S. Bach, Gustav Holst and • Paul Dooley will come to life, courtesy of the UNCG Wind Ensemble. Aycock Auditorium, 408 Tate Street, Greensboro. Info: performing arts.uncg.edu.
Key:
• • Art
Music/Concerts
90 O.Henry
•
Performing arts
October 2014
BURN TO LEARN. It’s School Days at the • African American Heritage Festival (through October
VETERANS DAYS. Five readers, a guitar and • the poetry and prose of N.C. veterans from World
War I to the present are the basis of Deployed. Crown at the Carolina Theatre, 310 South Greene Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com.
ERA TO ERA. Mentors and their protégées • exhibit their works in Celebrating Creative Thinking:
The Learning Tree Part II an illustration of intergenerational teaching. The African American Atelier, Greensboro Cultural Center, 200 North Davie Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 333-6885 or africanamericanatelier.org.
PRESS PRINT. Check out hand-pulled prints at • Pretty in Ink, an exhibition that introduces Piedmont • • • • • Film
Literature/Speakers
Fun
History
Press Co-Op, a communal working and printmaking space. Center for Visual Artists, 200 North Davie Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 333-7475 or greensboroart.org.
October 1–5
FOR BETTER OR WORSE. 7:30 p.m. A wife • who’s ready to call it quits, a husband who isn’t. Mark Roberts, creator of Two and a Half Men, brings you Rantoulis or Die. Think of The Honeymooners on steroids. Performance times vary. Annie Sellars Jordan Parlor Theatre, Main Building, Guilford College, 815 West Market Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 2727102 or finearts.greensboro.edu.
CHARM SCHOOL. Jeffrey Hatcher’s Mrs. • Mannerly pokes gentle fun at etiquette classes in the 1960s. Triad Stage, UpStage Cabaret, 232 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 272-0160 or triadstage.org.
TRY TO REMEMBER. To get your tickets to • Community Theatre of Greensboro’s production of The Fantasticks, the longest-running musical in the world. Performance times vary. Starr Theater, 520
Sports
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
South Elm Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 3337470 or ctgso.org.
October 1–17
SPINNING YARNS. It ain’t just for granny • squares and afghans anymore: Check out Crochet
Jam, featuring crocheted tapestries by Ramekon O’Arwisters and paintings by his collaborator, Carlo Abruzzese. Anne Rudd Galyon and Irene Cullis Galleries, Greensboro College, 815 West Market Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 272-7102, extension 361, or greensboro.edu.
October 1–26
October Arts Calendar ALMA MATTERS. Guilford grads strut their • stuff at the Fifth Juried Alumni Art Exhibition. Art
Gallery, Hege Library, Guilford College, 5800 West Friendly Avenue, Greensboro. Info: (336) 316-2450 or library.guilford.edu/art-gallery.
October 1–December 7
DILL-ICIOUS. What the devil?! Falk visiting • artist Lesley Dill explores the dark side of believing
in Lesley Dill: Faith & the Devil. Weatherspoon Art Museum, corner of Spring Garden and Tate Streets, Greensboro. Info: (336) 334-5770 or weatherspoon. uncg.edu.
SYNERGY. Two abstract artists inspired each MATISSERIE. Peruse part of the renowned Etta • • other and influenced each others’ work as illusand Dr. Claribel Cone Collection — Matisse and His Muses. Weatherspoon Art Museum, corner of Spring Garden and Tate Streets, Greensboro. Info: (336) 3345770 or weatherspoon.uncg.edu.
October 1–29
•
STARRY NIGHTS. Check out the work of Stacey Lynn Waddell, a Chapel Hill–based artist and member of the Southern Constellation Fellowship. She’ll be on site at Elsewhere (and giving a talk on October 2). Elsewhere Museum, 606 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: goelsewhere.org
trated in Al Held + Robert Magold: B/W to Color. Weatherspoon Art Museum, corner of Spring Garden and Tate Streets, Greensboro. Info: (336) 3345770 or weatherspoon.uncg.edu.
October 1–December 14
PAPER CHASE. For the forty-third year, Art on • Paper showcases the work of emerging and established
artists. Weatherspoon Art Museum, corner of Spring Garden and Tate Streets, Greensboro. Info: (336) 3345770 or weatherspoon.uncg.edu.
October 1–November 9
October 1–December 31
Drawing. The exhibition, formed in conjunction with the North Carolina Museum of Art’s show, Line, Touch Trace, (through March 15, 2015) weds draftsmanship and textile art. Greenhill, 200 North Davie Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 333-7460 or greenhillnc.org.
of Seating: Two Hundred Years of American Design. Reynolda House Museum of Art, 2250 Reynolda Road, Winston-Salem. Info: (888) 663-1149 or reynoldahouse.org.
SKEIN DRAIN. Four artists blur drawn and • stitched lines in Following Threads: Fiber Art and
October 1–November 15
LINTHEADS. Learn about the lives of textile • mill workers at The Rhythm of the Factory: Life and
Labor in North Carolina’s Textile Mill Communities, on loan from Historic Oak View County Park in Raleigh. High Point Museum, 1859 East Lexington Avenue, High Point. Info: (336) 885-1859 or highpointmuseum.org.
MUSICAL CHAIRS. See the various ways that • past generations have seated themselves in The Art
October 2
CHASE THE BLUES WITH BLUES. 11:30 a.m. • Attend the Healing Blues Communion Service in which musicians compose blues songs for anyone suffering from life’s challenges, great and small. Hanna Brown Finch Memorial Chapel, Greensboro College, 815 West Market Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 2727102, ext. 321, or greensboro.edu. Key:
• • Art
Music/Concerts
•
Performing arts
ARTS AND EATS. 5 p.m. Shops at Kirkwood • Music Arts and Music Festival brings you the
works of visual artists Ron Curlee, plus Anne and Tim Pfeifer — along with the music of Emma Lee Vogelsinger — as well as chocolate and wine from Loco for Coco and other goodies from Maison and Southern Lights. Loco for Coco, 2415 Lawndale Drive. Tickets: (336) 333-0029 or locoforchocolate. com.
TOQUES FOR TOTS. 6 p.m. Sample eats from • some of the area’s finest chefs and bid on travel, enter-
tainment or dining packages and more at the March of Dimes Signature Chef’s Auction. The Empire Room, 203 South Elm Street Greensboro. To register: (336) 231-3766 or marchofdimes.org.
AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet Susan • Wright Beard, author of You Can’t Be That.
Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
OUCH! 7:30 p.m. Fifty Shades of Grey has • spawned the musical Spank! The Fifty Shades
Parody. Carolina Theatre, 310 South Greene Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com.
A FAMILY AFFAIR. 8 p.m. Like the Partridge • Family, here’s a parent and kids comprising a rock
band. Meet Sons of Bill, consisting of Bill Wilson, a Charlottesville, Virginia, theology/Southern lit prof, plus a singer and songwriter, and three of his six sons, celebrating the release of their new CD. The Blind Tiger, 1819 Spring Garden Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 272-9888 or theblindtiger.com.
October 2–5
BOOK ’EM! Fiction, nonfiction, children’s books • . . . the Friends of the Greensboro Public Library presents the Annual Fall Book Sale Times vary. Central Library, 219 North Church Street, Greensboro. Info: friendsofthegreensborolibrary.org.
October 2–7
•WHERE THE HEART IS. The Greensboro • • • • • Film
Literature/Speakers
Fun
History
Sports
SUNDAY, OCT.
5
jane monheit the jazz of judy garland
CAROLINA THEATRE • 7:00PM Carolina Theatre Box Office: 336.333.2605/CarolinaTheatre.com The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 91
October Arts Calendar
Housing Authority and African American Atelier celebrate Housing America Month with an exhibition of posters drawn by children who live in public housing or benefit from housing vouchers. African American Atelier, 200 North Davie Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 333-6885 or africanamericanatelier.org.
October 2–10
SHAKESPEARE HERE. A shipwreck, mistaken • identities . . . are the stuff of Twelfth Night, a UNCG
Theatre production. Performance days and times vary. Taylor Theatre, 406 Tate Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 334-4392 or performingarts.uncg.edu/theatre.
October 3
BABBLE AWAY THE BLUES. 4 p.m. Learn • about the soothing power of music at the Healing
Blues Citizen-Scholar series lecture and panel discussion. 109 Proctor Hall West, Greensboro College, 815 West Market Street, Greensboro. Info: (336)272-7102, ext. 312 or greensboro.edu.
CONTINENTAL. 4 p.m. Vendors and artisans • will be hawking wares that reflect the culture of Africa at the African American Atelier’s Extravaganza. 200 North Davie Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 333-6885 or africanamericanatelier.org.
PARK LARK. 5 p.m. Live music, local craft beers, • food trucks, child’s play . . . celebrate autumn at the
92 O.Henry
October 2014
Friends of City Center Park Fall Festival. City Center Park, 200 North Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: citycenterpark.org.
TGIF. 6 p.m. It’s the First Friday of the month, and • you know what that means: special performances by
resident artists at Elsewhere, live music at Greenhill, food trucks at the Carolina Theatre. Elsewhere Museum, 606 South Elm Street; Greenhill, 200 North Davie Street; Carolina Theatre, 310 South Greene Street, Greensboro. Info: downtowngreensboro.net.
Theatre, 310 South Greene Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com.
October 4
FLORA SALE. 8 a.m. Choose among plants • for sun and shade, hardy winter trees, shrubs and
herbaceous perennials at the Fall Plant Sale. Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden, 215 South Main Street, Kernersville. Info: (336) 996-7888 or cienerbotanicalgarden.org.
LET THEIR VOICES BE HEARD. 6 p.m. Poetic FALL DE ROL. 8 a.m. (Market opens at 7 a.m.) • • verse and spirituals inform “Words Sung, Words Pumpkin pancakes, hot chocolate, beekeeping and Spoken — Lyrical and Poetic Reflection on Social Justice.” International Civil Rights Museum, 134 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 274-9199 or sitinmovement.org.
ARGENTINE ARIAS. 7:30 p.m. It takes only • two to dance the tango, and an entire group — the
Lorena Guillén Tango Ensemble — to bring the traditional music of Argentine nightclubs alive. Christ United Methodist Church, 410 North Holden Road, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 638-7624 or musicforagreatspace.org.
ARTISTES. 8 p.m. Meet and mingle with artists • who are driving the creative sector of the Triad’s
economy at “Duane Cypress Presents: An Evening with the Creative Class.” Crowne Loft Space, Carolina Key:
• • Art
Music/Concerts
•
Performing arts
farming demos at the Greensboro Farmers’ Curb Market’s Fall Harvest Celebration. 501 Yanceville Street, Greensboro. Info: Info: (336) 373-2402 or gsofarmersmarket.org.
SPOILS OF OILS. 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Ooh and aah • over — and purchase — Impressionist-style canvases by
painter Connie Logan. C.P. Logan Studio, 1206 West Cornwallis Drive, Greensboro. Info: (336) 282-5904 or cplogan.com.
ART & SOLE. 9. a.m. Lace up your walking • shoes for Westerwood Art & Sole, a tour of artists’
studios in the Westerwood neighborhood. Stop at any home marked with a sign and balloon. Studios open 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Westerwood Tavern, 508 Guilford
• • Film
Literature/Speakers
• • Fun
History
•
Sports
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Avenue, will host an outdoor art festival the same day. Info: facebook.com/westerwoodartandsole. HISTORY HOOTENANNY. 12 p.m. Pack a • blanket and enjoy live music for History Rocks! The
fundraiser for the High Point Historical Society’s Adopt-an-Artifact program includes food, a bake sale, hands-on activities and demonstrations. Historical Park, High Point Museum, 1859 East Lexington Avenue, High Point. Info: (336) 885-1859 or highpointmuseum.org.
FEELIN’ GROVE-Y. Noon. What better • inspiration for art and music than wine? Check out fine art and artisans’ handiwork at Arts & Crafts at the Grove, followed by the Songbear Songwriter MusicFest at 6 p.m. Grove Winery, 7360 Brooks Bridge Road, Gibsonville. Tickets (for Songbear): grovewinery.com/wine_song.html.
•
ONCE UPON A TIME. 7 p.m. Forget the Children’s Hour and listen to grown-ups’ personal stories of “mayhem, mishaps and mischief” at the Triad Story Exchange’s Story Slam: Grand Slam! City Arts, Greensboro Cultural Center, 200 North Davie Street, Greensboro. Info: triadstoryexchange.org.
GOSS IS BOSS. 8 p.m. Hear the contemplative • tunes of singer/songwriter Tom Goss, courtesy of the
Triad Pride Men’s Chorus. Room 100, Greensboro Cultural Center, 200 North Davie Street, Greensboro. Tickets: www.triadpridemenschorus.org.
•
FOLLOW THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD. 1 p.m. You’re sure to get a heart, a brain, a home and a noive at “1939: 75th Anniversary of Hollywood’s Greatest Year in Film Festival.” This week’s topic? The Wizard of Oz. Dress as your favorite character and join in a book discussion prior to the screening. Greensboro Public Library, Hemphill Branch, 2301 West Vandalia Road, Greensboro. To obtain a copy of the book for discussion: (336) 373-2925.
•
thing: Art on Tap. All artwork created will be raffled off. Tickets are $5 (kids admitted for free) and support Center for Visual Artists. Westerwood Tavern, 508 Guilford Avenue, Greensboro. Info: (336) 274-4410.
PINTS AND PAINTS. 4 p.m. Live art demonstrations, music, food trucks and beer can only mean one
October 5
AL FRESCO. Noon. Glass, jewelry, painting, • pottery, wood, photography, among other genres comprise Art in the Arboretum. Get Fido in on the fun by making some paw-print art. Greensboro Arboretum, 401 Ashland Drive, Greensboro. Info: greensborobeautiful.org.
OLD MASTERS 1 p.m. Browse and buy artwork • created under the supervision of trained artists during the Creative Aging Network’s (CAN-NC) Art Party Key:
• • Art
Music/Concerts
•
Performing arts
October Arts Calendar
fundraisers. Ambleside Gallery, 528 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 275-9844 or amblesidearts. com.
RIGHTS 5 p.m. Hear Todd Drake, a human• rights photographer and installation artist. Working
collaboratively with communities including Muslim Americans, undocumented immigrants and Palestinians, Drake specializes in capturing situations and people involved in human-rights issues. Francis Auditorium, Phillips Hall, High Point University, 833 Montlieu Avenue, High Point. Info: www.highpoint. edu/yearofthearts.
PURPOSEFUL TUNES. 3 p.m. Catch a bevy of • belters, blowers and strummers at the Healing Blues
Project CD Release Celebration and Concert. Gail Brower Huggins Performance Center, Greensboro College, 815 West Market Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 272-7102, ext. 242 or indiegogo.com/projects/ the-healing-blues.
WORDS ARE MUSIC. 3:30 p.m. The UNCG • Symphony Orchestra and several choral groups
perform works inspired by the written word, including Nicolai’s overture to Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor. Aycock Auditorium, 408 Tate Street Greensboro. Info: performingarts.uncg.edu.
JUDY, REVISITED. 7 p.m. Songstress and two• time Grammy nominee Jane Monheit interprets the • • • • • Film
Literature/Speakers
Fun
History
Sports
The fresh markeT
wine gala
Thursday, October 16 7:30 - 9:30 pm The Fresh Market 3712 Lawndale Drive Delightful hors d’oeuvres, distinctive cheeses, crab cakes, shrimp cocktail and more. Proceeds benefit educational programs at The Greensboro Historical Museum. Tickets: $25 per person. Mail checks to Greensboro Historical Museum, 130 Summit Avenue, Greensboro NC 27401 or purchase online at weblink.donorperfect.com/winegala The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 93
October Arts Calendar
work of Judy Garland. Carolina Theatre, 310 South Greene Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com.
October 9–12
October 8
and Wolverine teamed up to save the world? Find out at Marvel Universe Live! Performance times vary. Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 West Lee Street, Greensboro. Tickets: 800-745-3000 or ticketmaster.com.
STRAWBERRY GIRL. 4 p.m. Friends of UNCG • Library hosts a presentation by Joy Kasson about children’s author and illustrator Lois Lenski. Hodges Reading Room, 2nd Floor, Jackson Library, UNCG, 320 College Avenue, Greensboro. Info: (336) 2560112 or http://www.uncgfol.blogspot.com.
October 9
BERRY GOURDY 12 p.m. Brown-bag it and • get an education from Judi Fleming, presenter
of “Gourds: from Growing to Crafting.” Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden, 215 South Main Street, Kernersville. To register (by October 8th): (336) 9967888 or cienerbotanicalgarden.org.
Perfect Pickin’ Annie Moses Band
9
10/
PERFECT PICKIN’. 7:30 p.m. Bluegrass becomes • sublime at the deft hands of Annie Moses Band, Julliard-
trained siblings who combine the genre with classical and jazz influences, as well as Gospel-inspired vocals. High Point Theatre, 220 East Commerce Avenue, High Point. Tickets: (336) 887-3001 or highpointtheatre.com. Key:
• • Art
Music/Concerts
•
Performing arts
MARVEL-OUS. What would happen if Mighty • Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Spider-Man
October 10
•
CLUBBING. 8:30 a.m. Tee ’em up and hit ’em straight at the First Annual Wellness Academy Golf Classic. Bryan Park Players Course, 6275 Bryan Park Road, Browns Summit. Registration and sponsorships: (336) 373-1402 or mhag.org.
October 11
HATTER MATTER. 9 a.m. Walk if you prefer — or • put on your running shoes — to be a part of what’s being billed as a Mad Hatter Fun Walk-or-Run. Or join in the games, music and post-race food and beer. Proceeds will go to the Student Leadership Scholarship Fund, founded in memory of the late Bill Evans, formerly a prof in UNCG’s department of public health and human sciences — at the Mad Hatter, 201 Smyres Place, Greensboro. Info: jonesracingcompany.com/madhatter.
• • Film
Literature/Speakers
• • Fun
History
•
Sports
5421 Marina Club Drive
Tangle Oaks $419,000 ~ #511745 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath. Includes a 30 ft boat slip. Move in condition! See photos and more at IntracoastalRealty.com/511745
530 Waynick Boulevard
Wrightsville Beach $1,580,000 ~ #502893 Ideal location on Banks Channel. Approximately 46 ft of water front. Boat slips. 4 br 3 full baths in main house and 2 apartments on ground level. See photos and more at IntracoastalRealty.com/502893
2127 Harborway
Landfall $685,000 ~ #510189 Brick French provincial custom home located on Nicklaus Ocean Course. 1st and 2nd floor MBR, updated kitchen & many extras. See photos and more at IntracoastalRealty.com/510189
Jane Marr Elizabeth King Listing Agent Listing Agent Experience the Exceptional 910.231.3343 910.470.1260 JMarr@IntracoastalRealty.com EKing@IntracoastalRealty.com
94 O.Henry
October 2014
Visit
➛
Amazing Properties For Sale
online @
www.ohenrymag.com The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October Arts Calendar
FELINE FUN. 1 p.m. Look for his signature striped stovepipe topper — that’s • right: The Cat in the Hat drops in for story time and picture-taking. Greensboro
Sponsored By:
Children’s Museum, 220 North Church Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 574-2898 or gcmuseum.com.
CREEPY CANINE. 2 p.m. Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein goes to the dogs in Tim • Burton’s 3-D opus, Frankenweenie (2012). Storyroom, High Point Public Library, 901
North Main Street, High Point. Info: (336) 883-3660 or highpointpubliclibrary.com.
STIRRING THE POT. 4 p.m. ’Tis a chili wind that blows at the Gate City Chili • Cookoff, sponsored by the Greensboro Grasshoppers, Natty Greene’s and Neese’s
Sausages for the Greensboro Urban Ministry. Newbridge Bank Park, 408 Bellemeade Street, Greensboro. Info: greensborourbanministry.org or gsograsshoppers.com
DOUGHBOYS. 6 p.m. The Women’s Resource Center presents its 13th annual • Men Can Cook fundraiser, featuring the best dishes from fifty men in the community, music by the Time Flyers and a silent auction. Special Events Center, Greensboro Coliseum Complex, 1921 West Lee Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 275-6090 or womenscentergso.org.
THE BIG CHILL. 8 p.m. Celebrate polar bears, penguins, ice fishing among • three floors of artworks, installations, and live music and food at The Last Great
Winter, a fundraiser for Elsewhere Museum. 606 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Tickets: goelsewhere.org
October 12
CORKS, CHICKS AND KICKS. 3 p.m. What pairs well with wine? A pair of • shoes, of course. Help the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina raise money in the Triad at Wine, Women & Shoes. Revolution Mills, 1200 Revolution Mill Drive, Greensboro. Tickets: winewomenandshoes.com.
AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 3 p.m. Meet Stephanie Jeffries, author of Exploring • Southern Appalachian Forests: An Ecological Guide to 30 Hikes in the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
October 13
GRAVE MATTERS. 6:30 p.m. Learn how Scott Wesson restored an abandoned • cemetery in Cleveland County. Morgan Room, High Point Public Library, 901 North Main Street, High Point. Info: (336) 883-3637 or email ncroom@highpointnc.gov.
October 14
MONSTER MAYHEM. 7 p.m. We dare you not to laugh at Mel Brooks’ sendup • of the horror genre, Young Frankenstein (1974), part of the Carolina Classic Movie series. Carolina Theatre, 310 South Greene Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com.
AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet Felicia Brown, author of A Sunflower Princess. • Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
October 15
AUTHORS, AUTHORS. 7 p.m. Hear authors Elaine Orr and Steve • Mitchell opine at “Writing, Living, Making a Living and Lying: A Conversation.” Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
October 16
HEDGE-MONY. 2 p.m. Meet real-life Edward Scissorhands, Pearl Fryar, who • will demonstrate the art of sculpting topiaries. Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden, 215
Bryan Park Golf Course (Champions & Players Courses)
All Proceeds Go To Benefit Page and Grimsley High School Athletics
October 17th www.PageGrimsleyGolf.com Check website for registration confirmation. Scholarships sponsored by:
South Main Street, Kernersville. To register: (336) 996-7888 or cienerbotanicalgarden.org. Key:
• • Art
Music/Concerts
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
•
Performing arts
•• •• Film Fun
Literature/Speakers History Sports
•
October 2014
O.Henry 95
Inspired Designs since 1906
Visit our showrooms for more inspiration
www.marshkitchens.com
October Arts Calendar
GUITARS AND HARMONICAS. 8 p.m. Get • ready for some blues from of Charlie Musselwhite,
James Cotton and John Hammond, at the Blues Hall of Fame Tour. Carolina Theatre, 310 South Greene Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com.
FINE WINE 7:30 p.m. Toast the Greensboro • Historical Museum at a wine gala with crab cakes
and other hors d’oeuvres at The Fresh Market, 3712 Lawndale Drive Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 373-2043 or greensborohistory.org
October 17
AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet Anne • Clinard Barnhill, author of At the Mercy of the Queen: A Novel of Anne Boleyn. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
KILLER EPPS. 8 p.m. A veteran of Def Comedy • Jam, Mike Epps rolls out a barrel of laughs with his:
Okay... now go look at your kitchen. Greensboro
2503 Greengate Drive 336.273.8196
High Point
1015 S. Centennial Street 336.884.7393
Winston-Salem
Newton Square Center, 420-D Jonestown Road 336.765.7832
After Dark Tour. Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 West Lee Street, Greensboro. Tickets: 800-745-3000 or ticketmaster.com.
EARTH-SHAKING. 8 p.m. The Steep Canyon • Rangers with opening act Mipso rock the house for
the Piedmont Conservancy Land Jam 2014. Carolina Theatre, 310 South Greene Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com.
October 18
T r a n siT Damag e F re ig h T •
PUMPED UP. 1 p.m. Why carve pumpkins when you can cook them at Family Cooking Class: The Great Pumpkin. Greensboro Children’s Museum, 220 North Church Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 574-2898 or gcmuseum.com
SWEET ’N’ LOW. 8 p.m. Catch Bassnectar on • his Noise Vs. Beauty Tour. Special Events Center,
Greensboro Coliseum Complex, 1921 West Lee Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (800) 745-3000 or ticketmaster.com.
October 18–19
DIRECTOR’S CUT. 6 p.m.; 1 p.m. Celebrate • Mitchel Sommers’ 25 years as director of Community
Theatre Greensboro at Cirque du CTG. CTG Studio, 520 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: ctgso.org.
October 19
COming FOr FaLL - Fire PiT grOUPs BY agiO neW anD TransiT DamageD FUrniTUre anD neW BeDDing aT PriCes YOU Can aFFOrD sinCe 1966
1604 South Main St. | Lexington, NC
336-248-2646 | Monday-Saturday 10:00am - 5:30pm www.transitdamagefreight.webs.com 96 O.Henry
October 2014
MAKING STRIDES. 2:30 p.m. Put on your walk• ing dogs for the Greater Greensboro CROP Hunger
Walk. NewBridge Bank Park, 408 Bellemeade Street, Greensboro. To register: (336) 553-2641 or greatergreensborocropwalk.org.
AUTHORS, AUTHORS. 3 p.m. Meet Holly • Goddard Jones and David James Poissant. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
Key:
•• •
•• •
••
Art Music/Concerts Performing arts Film Literature/Speakers Fun History Sports The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October Arts Calendar
October 19–November 9
FRANKIE AND JOHN HENRY. And of course, • Berenice. An isolated girl coming of age is the theme
if you sErvE EnouGh winE, no onE wiLL notiCE your outdatEd dECÓr. i nt er i or d es i g n fr om i ns p i r a t i on t o i ns t a l l a t i on
of Carson McCullers’ Member of the Wedding. Times vary. Triad Stage, Pyrle Theater, 232 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 272-1060 or triadstage.org.
October 20
CHOW CHATTER. 4 p.m. Friends of UNCG • Libraries Book Discussion focuses on Michael
Pollan’s In Defense of Food, with insights from Anne Hershey of the biology department. Hodges Reading Room, Jackson Library, 320 College Avenue, Greensboro. Info: (336) 256-0112 or www.uncgfol. blogspot.com.
AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet children’s • author Jacqueline Woodson. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet Charlie • Lovett, author of First Impressions: A Novel of Old
Books, Unexpected Love, and Jane Austen. Barnes & Noble, Friendly Center, 3102 Northline Drive, Greensboro. Info: (336) 854-4200 or store-locator. barnesandnoble.com/store/2795.
Key:
•• •
•• •
336 286 0775
KEEP CALM AND CALL EOS financing available
••
3712-E LawndaLE GrEEnsboro, nC
Retail shop located next to Fresh Market
www.elementsofstyleinteriors.com
Art Music/Concerts Performing arts Film Literature/Speakers Fun History Sports
It’s Time!
Get ahead of your holiday shopping!
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
t t g if ! a e r s g ll age a r fo October 18, 7:30 p.m. only $100!
TWYLA THARP Hanes Auditorium Elberson Fine Arts Center 500 E. Salem Avenue Free Admission www.salem.edu/culturalevents
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Made possible by a generous gift from the June Porter Johnson Series for the Visual and Performing Arts
October 2014
O.Henry 97
October Arts Calendar October 22
October 23–26
Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly for food and discussion at La Lunch with Piedmont Opera. GIA, 1941 New Garden Road, Suite 208, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 725-7101 or piedmontopera.org.
a method for treating “hysteria”? Find out at UNCG Theatre’s production of The Vibrator Play. Brown Building Theatre, 402 Tate Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 334-4392 or performingarts.uncg.edu/ theatre.
PLATES AND PUCCINI. Noon. Join Maestro • James Albritten and principal cast members of
•
AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet Bob Garner, author of Food The cookbook that Makes You Say Mmm-mmm. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet Joy N. • Hensley, author of Rites of Passage. Barnes & Noble,
Friendly Center, 3102 Northline Drive, Greensboro. Info: (336) 854-4200 or store-locator.barnesandnoble. com/store/2795.
METAL MANIA. 7 p.m. Get ready for some • serious head banging as heavy-metal mavens Mötley
Crüe and Alice Cooper take the stage. Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 West Lee Street, Greensboro. Tickets: 800-745-3000 or ticketmaster.com
October 23
•
AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet Scott Blumenthal, author of The Kiss. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 7631919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
•ALL SHOOK UP. What happens when a Victorian-era wife learns her physician husband has
October 24
7 p.m. AUTHOR AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet poet • Okla Elliott. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm
Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
Christmas elf or nudist colony resident, David Sedaris never fails to elicit laughs. Carolina Theatre, 310 South Greene Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com.
October 25
•
FRIGHT NIGHT. 6 p.m. “Ghost Stories in the Park,” led by storyteller Donna Washington, will surely tingle the spine. High Point Museum, 1859 East Lexington Avenue, High Point. Info: (336) 885-1859 or highpointmuseum.org.
Dover Square
• • Art
Music/Concerts
Dolce Dimora
Tablescapes,Bedding,Bath and More | Online Bridal Registry Matouk | Pine Cone Hill | Bella Notte Linens | Peacock Alley | Yves DeLorme | Sferra Linens Dash & Albert Rugs | Simon Pearce | Juliska | PJ Harlow Sleepwear | Beaufort Bonnet Company
1616-H Battleground Ave. | 336.282.9572 | Monday-Friday: 10am-6pm | Saturday: 10am-5pm
98 O.Henry
October 2014
ing concert featuring Future, Lil Boosie, Migos, Rich Homie Quan and Jhene Aiko. Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 West Lee Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (800) 7453000 or ticketmaster.com.
CLASSICAL COUNTRY. 8 p.m. Everything’s • bigger in Texas, including the talent of the Texas
Tenors. The trio and the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra will perform a mix of opera and country — with a little cowboy swagger thrown in for good measure. Westover Church, 505 Muirs Chapel Road, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 335-5456 or ticketmaster. com or greensborosymphony.org.
SARDONIC SEDARIS. 8 p.m. Whether chroniGOTHAM GREATS. 8 p.m. Hear their signa• • cling his stint as a house cleaner, department store ture mix of jazz and pop as the Manhattan Transfer
Key:
www.dolcedimora.com
AGGIE FEST. 7:30 p.m. North Carolina A&T • State University celebrates homecoming with a rous-
•
Performing arts
presents “Living Room Sessions.” Carolina Theatre, 310 South Greene Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com.
October 25–February 15, 2015
LA PEINTURE. See how artists such as Willem • DeKooning and Ralph Humphrey have broken
new ground in painting techniques at Innovations in Painting: Selections from the Collection. Weatherspoon Art Museum, corner of Spring Garden and Tate Streets, Greensboro. Info: (336) 334-5770 or weatherspoon.uncg.edu.
• • Film
Literature/Speakers
• • Fun
History
•
Sports
1616 Battleground Avenue, Suite D-1 Greensboro, NC 27408 336.691.0051 mcmanus2@bellsouth.net www.randymcmanusdesigns.com The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Tickets on Sale Now! The Skate: A steel blade just 4mm wide and a toe pick with metal teeth. What a world-class skater can do with them is…simply stunning.
The 2015 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships
Simply Stunning.
JANUARY 17-25, 2015
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
ADVERTISING
MARKETING
HOST VENUE
PRESENTED LOCALLY BY
Order tickets now: NorthCarolina2015.com
September 2014
O.Henry 99
Now enrolling for Fall 2014-15
(a small school with a big heart) Located at: 2100 Fernwood Drive Greensboro, NC 27408
A loving discovery and literacy enriched environment
Area Schools
Crib – Pre-K Monday – Friday • 9:00 am – 1:00 pm Small class sizes • Enrichment programs Summer camps • Sibling discounts Weekly Spanish classes for 2-PreK. On the web at http://www.guilfordpark.org/education/preschool.html On Facebook at Guilford Park Preschool, Education Contact us: dhuneycutt@guilfordpark.org
(336)282-6697
OPEN HOUSE
NOVEMBER 9Th 1-3
PK-4TH GRADE OPEN HOUSES OCT 8 @ 9:30am OCT 21 @ 6:00pm Call to reserve your space or to schedule a personal visit.
Challenging the Mind. Nourishing the Spirit. Canterbury School is a PreK-8 Episcopal day school. Call for a tour or join us for an open house: PreK and K informal coffee and tour, Oct. 16, 9:30-10:30 am PreK and K informal coffee and tour, Oct. 28, 8:15-9:15 am PreK - 4th presentation and in-depth tour, Nov. 18, 9:30-11:30 am
5400 Old Lake Jeanette Rd. Greensboro, NC 27455 336-288-2007 www.canterburygso.org
100 O.Henry
October 2014
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Maron leads a Friends of UNCG Libraries discussion, “Women of Mystery: Nancy Pickard.” Virginia Dare Room, Alumni House, 404 College Avenue, Greensboro. Info: (336) 256-0112 or www.uncgfol. blogspot.com.
October 26
RHYTHM AND BEARDS. 7 p.m. It’s time to • start stacking some Zs — as in ZZ Top, the Rock and
Roll Hall of Famers who mix blues with hard-driving rock ’n’ roll. White Oak Amphitheatre, Greensboro Coliseum Complex, 1921 West Lee Street, Greensboro. Tickets: 800-745-3000 or ticketmaster. com.
AUTHOR, AUTHOR. 7 p.m. Meet Jamie • Forbes, author of The Widow Smalls. Scuppernong
October 27–28; 30–31
•
SMASHING PUMPKINS. Games, prizes, crafts — and by all means, costumes — are in order for the Pumpkin Patch Carnival. Times vary. Storyroom, High Point Public Library, 901 North Main Street, High Point. Info: (336) 883-3660 or highpointpubliclibrary.com.
•
Check out Barbara Nessim: Mad Men Era Artist & Illustrator, featuring sketchbooks, prints, drawings and computer graphics. One of the first illustrators to work with computers, Nessim’s work evokes the New York art, fashion, and music scene of the Mad Men eras. Secrest Art Gallery, High Point University, 833 Montlieu Avenue, High Point. Info: (336)841-4685 or www.highpoint.edu
MASQUERADE. 7 p.m. Dress up as your • favorite character (Dracula? Frankenstein?) or
October 30
October 31–November 1
Highway.” Country rock band Pure Prairie League promises some toe-tappin’ tunes. High Point Theatre, 220 East Commerce Avenue, High Point. Tickets: (336) 887-3001 or highpointtheatre.com.
dance in the Greensboro Ballet’s performance of Dracula. Music Rehearsal Hall, Greensboro Cultural Center, 200 North Davie Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-7480 or greensboroballet.org.
VAMPIROUETTES. 7 p.m. It’s Jonathan Harker • vs. everybody’s favorite bloodsucker as told through
BEATLEMANIA. 8 p.m. Paul McCartney’s • long and winding road of the Out There Tour leads
October 31–November 4
THE TIME WARP . . . AGAIN. 9:15 p.m. Suit • up for a costume contest, grab a goody bag and take
Madama Butterfly. Stevens Center, 405 West Fourth Street, Winston-Salem. For a fee, Piedmont Opera will chauffeur Greensboro residents by bus to the Sunday matinee. Tickets: (336) 725-7101 or piedmontopera.org.
a step to the right to learn the Time Warp at Rocky Horror Picture Show. Carolina Theatre, 310 South Greene Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 333-2605
•THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE. 7 p.m. Margaret
October 31
Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
to the Gate City. Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 West Lee Street, Greensboro. Tickets: (800) 745-3000 or ticketmaster.com.
October 29
or carolinatheatre.com.
literary figure (O.Henry?) for a literary costume party. Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 763-1919 or scuppernongbooks.com.
POWER TO THE PPL. 7:30 p.m. They’ll be • bustin’ out such hits as “Amie” and “Two Lane
October 27 – December 4
October Arts Calendar
Key:
• • Art
Music/Concerts
•
Performing arts
UN BEL DI. High notes and high drama • will set your heart aflutter at Piedmont Opera’s
• • Film
Literature/Speakers
• • Fun
History
Area Schools Area Schools Area Schools
•
Sports
At NGFS, our focus on academic excellence is balanced by an engaging mix of arts, activities and athletics. Our Quaker-guided approach nurtures the social and emotional growth of each student. Learning takes place in an environment that embraces diversity, dialog and understanding. Students develop skills in problem solving and communication. They learn to listen and relate to others. And they’re given opportunities to be of service to the community and beyond. From Preschool through 12, NGFS offers an innovative journey that prepares students not just for the school years ahead, but for the rest of their lives. Call today for details and a campus tour. 1128 New Garden Road
•
Greensboro, NC 27410
The Art & Soul of Greensboro NGFS.OHenry.Ads.Last A Lifetime.paths.indd 1
•
(336) 299-0964
•
www.ngfs.org
Preschool through Grade 12
October 2014
O.Henry 101 9/5/14 12:13 PM
October Arts Calendar WEEKLY HAPPENINGS
Thursdays
ONCE UPON A TIME. 11 a.m. Preschool Storytime II convenes for children • ages 3–5. Storyroom, High Point Public Library, 901 North Main Street, High
Tuesdays
NOTE-ABLE. See if your little one is a musical prodigy by signing him or • her up for “ABC Music & Me,” the first session of Kindermusik instruction.
Point. Info: (336) 883-3666 or highpointlibrary.com.
OPEN MIC COMEDY. 8–9:35 p.m. Local pros and amateurs take the mic at • the Idiot Box, 348 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 274-2699 or www.
Classes for 2- to 3-year-olds is at 4:30 p.m.; classes for 4- to 6-year olds is at 3:30 p.m. Greensboro Children’s Museum, 220 North Church Street, Greensboro. Preregistration: (336) 209-1152 or gcmuseum.com.
idiotboxers.com.
CHICKEN’N’PICKIN’ 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. Y’all come for Skillet Fried Chicken • & Songs from a Southern Kitchen. Tuck into Chef Jay’s signature fried chicken and gravy, select beverage specials, including buttermilk with cornbread crumbled in it, and live music by Laurelyn Dossett and Scott Manring; Molly McGinn; Martha Bassett and friends — at Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen, 1421 Westover Terrace, Greensboro. Info: (336) 370-0707 or lucky32.com/fried_chicken.htm.
Wednesdays
•
TO MARKET, TO MARKET. 8 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Get fresh with locally grown produce, cakes, pies and cut fleurs for a pretty table. Greensboro Farmers’ Curb Market, 501 Yanceyville Street, Greensboro. Info: gsofarmersmarket.org.
MUSSELS, WINE & MUSIC. 7–10 p.m. Mussels with house-cut fries • for $15, wines from $10–15 a bottle and live music by Evan Olson and Jessica Mashburn — at Print Works Bistro, 702 Green Valley Road, Greensboro. Info: (336) 379-0699 or printworksbistro.com/live_music.htm. Key:
NIGHTMARES ON ELM STREET. 8 p.m. A 90-minute, historical, candlelit • ghost walking tour of Downtown Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 905-4060 or carolinahistoryandhaunts.com/information.
Saturdays
TO MARKET, TO MARKET. 7 a.m.–Noon. The greens are still fresh, the • pies still still yummy and the fleurs still belles — and yours if you grab ’em early. Greensboro Farmers Curb Market, 501 Yanceyville Street, Greensboro. Info: gsofarmersmarket.org.
IMPROV COMEDY. 10 p.m. on Saturday, plus an 8 p.m. show appropriate • for the whole family. The Idiot Boxers create scenes on the spot and build upon the ideas of others, creating shows that are one-of-a-kind — at the Idiot Box, 348 South Elm Street, Greensboro. Info: (336) 274-2699 or www.ibcomedy.com.
• • Art
Fridays & Saturdays
Music/Concerts
•
Performing arts
• • Film
Literature/Speakers
• • Fun
History
•
Sports
Downtown Greensboro Downtown Greensboro
Scuppernong Books •••
•••
Books• Wine• Community 304 South Elm St. Greensboro NC 27401
October 20, 7pm
Children’s Author
Jacqueline Woodson Brown Girl Dreaming
336.763.1919 102 O.Henry
scuppernongbooks.com scuppernongbooks@gmail.com
October 2014
“The Widow Smalls” is one of the stories in the new short story collection by the WILLA Award winning author of Unbroken, Jamie Lisa Forbes, who writes about the hardships of making a living from the land with an understanding that comes from first-hand experience. Her deftly drawn characters include star-crossed lovers, a young rancher facing his first test of moral courage, an inscrutable ranch hand claiming an impressive relative, a father making one last grasp for his daughter’s love and a child’s struggle to make sense of the world around her. Each will pull you into the middle of their stories and keep you turning the pages.
Jamie Lisa Forbes reading from her new collection of short stories The Widow Smalls and Other Stories Oct. 29, 7:00pm at Scuppernong Books 304 S. Elm St.
Unbroken won the 2011 WILLA award for Outstanding Literary Fiction. The award, named after Author Willa Cather, is given to recognize literature that features women in the West.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Named by Southern Living magazine as one of the Top Food Finds in the South in the “Uptown Foods” category
Twelfth Night is part of artsgreensboro’s 17 Days Festival
UNCG Theatre presents
Come enjoy what long-time food critic John Bachelor cited as the Restaurant that started it all for Greensboro.
100-D Washington Street | Greensboro, NC | 336-273-7057 www.LibertyOakRestaurant.com | Open Daily at 11:00 am
Come. Sit. Heal.
October 2-10, 2014
Liberty Oak offers full service bar, patio dining, Sunday Brunch and a private event space upstairs.
Pet of the Month
Dr. John Wehe 120 W. Smith Street
336-338-1840
Charles
• Preventative and Wellness Care • Hospitalization • Medicine/Surgery • Dentistry • And more...
www.downtowngreensboroanimalhospital.com
by William Shakespeare directed by Jim Wren Taylor Theatre, UNCG 406 Tate Street Tickets on sale at Triad Stage 336-272-0160 http://theatre.uncg.edu
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 103
e in re!
o W m d n a
CHATEAU MORRISETTE Winery and Restaurant
A rich tradition of
Rustic, Southern Elegance on the Blue Ridge Parkway Special Order and Hard-To-Find Wines | Craft Beer | Unique Gifts Weekly Wine Tastings | Private Wine Parties | Gift Baskets | Corporate Events
Lunch Daily in October Fine dining in a casual setting • Renowned Sunday Brunch
Create Memories
Less than 2 hours from Greensboro • Reservations recommended
MP 171.5 Blue Ridge Parkway • Floyd, Virginia
3326 W Friendly Avenue Suite 141 | Greensboro | Phone: 336.299.4505
THEDOGS.COM • (540) 593-2865
Never miss an issue!
Subscribe today and have...
UPCOMING EVENTS
Sun. 10/5 2:00 pm-6:00 pm-----100.3 Kiss FM Weddings and Wine Bridal Show @ Autumn Creek Vineyards - Tickets available online at Etix.com for the wedding show event Sat. 10/18 7:00 pm-11:00 pm----Stoneville Firemen’s Association Fundraiser, “Putting It Out In The Vineyards” - Tickets at the door Sun., 10/19 2014 2:00 pm-5:30 pm---Music in the Vines featuring Stewart Coley - No cover
www.autumncreekvineyards.com Vineyards • Tasting Room • Getaway Cabins • Retreats Special Events • Weddings • Corporate Outings
364 Means Creek Road • Mayodan, NC 27027 • 336.548.WINE (9463)
104 O.Henry
October 2014
Call 336-617-0900 OR . . . mail payment to: P.O. Box 58, Southern Pines, NC 28388
delivered to your home! $45 in-state • $55 out-of-state The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Holly Day Fair presented by the Junior League of Fayetteville
Crown Expo Center • Fayetteville, NC Thursday, Nov. 6 ~ Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014 Don’t miss out on the largest holiday gift and craft show in eastern North Carolina! For ticket information and local hotel and restaurant discounts, visit www.hollydayfair.com or www.jlfay.org.
Experience
Gentle
Dental Care
Relaxed Atmosphere!
PER F ECT LY PAIR ED R E v E R s E T h E DA m Ag E Yo u D I D T h I s s u m m E R!
in Our
Let Dr. Welch and His Team Help You Achieve a Brighter, Whiter Smile.
Love Your Skin!
Find us on Facebook Facebook.com/DrScottWelch
We make you Smile! 336.288.4499 2016-D New Garden Road Greensboro, NC 27410 www.
DrScottWelch .com
Located in the Brassfield area, 1 block from Battleground Ave.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
C E FERULIC ®
Delivers advanced daily environmental protection, while reducing fine lines and wrinkles
Now Available at
Sheree’s Natural Cosmetics
RESVERATROL B E
helps repair skin at night, and prevents accumulated damage for improved radiance, density, and elasticity
Located at friendly center next door to Barnes and Noble
Mon-Fri 10-8 | Sat 10-6 | Sun 1-6 • 336-294-3223 October 2014
O.Henry 105
The
Feathered Nest
O w o
N Irving Park
pen
Dressing Childhood.
Gifts for home, ladies, men’s, and children Complete baby clothing and gift section and our freezer stocked with fabulous goodies to take home 1738 Battleground Avenue Greensboro, NC (Formerly The Lollipop Shop)
skin
✦
hair
✦
www.cheveuxgreensboro.com
106 O.Henry
October 2014
Custom Monogramming Available on In-Store Items 336.275.1555
1724 Battleground Ave. Suite 104 Greensboro, NC 27408
nails
336.285.9379 • Irving Park Plaza • 1736 Battleground Ave. Greensboro, NC 27408
Gift certificates available
www.polliwogs.com
Clothing u Lingerie Jewelry u Bath & Body Tabletop u Baby Home Accessories 1826 Pembroke Road, Greensboro, NC 336-274-3307 (Behind Irving Park Plaza) Monday thru Friday 10:00–5:00 Saturday 10:00–4:00
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Poetic Imagination in Watercolor
“Soul Sparkles”
Solo Art Exhibit by Marjorie Kearns Smith Opening Reception Thursday, Nov. 6th | 6-9 PM
• Often called “the miracle pant” • Slimming, built-in control waistband • Perfect for all body types Tues. - Fri. 11-6pm & Sat. 11-4pm 1832 Pembroke Rd. • Greensboro, North Carolina 27408 www.facebook.com/Serendipity by Celeste
Commission Portraits
Graphite starting at $450 Oil starting at $950
Show runs through Wednesday, November 26th 2105 - A W. Cornwallis Drive Behind Finks Jewelers - Next to The Elks Club 336.274.6717 | www.IrvingParkArtandFrame.com
UniqUe handmade gifts, home decor, accessories, and more...
Prices vary with size
all sales of our beautiful fair trade crafts benefit artisans in developing countries-shop where your purchase makes a difference! 910.692.9448 • www.meridithmartens.com MeridithMartens.Artist The Art & Soul of Greensboro
1564-a highwoods Blvd., greensboro nc 27410 (target shopping center off new garden rd.) 336-834-4606 | greensboro.tenthousandvillages.com October 2014
O.Henry 107
Did Someone Say Treat?
Your dog will love our boredom-free run, fetch, swim, slide play space DAYCARE
LODGING
GROOMING
TRAINING
15 Battleground Court, Greensboro NC 336.763.3064 Two Winston-Salem locations 336.765.7833 and 336.602.1538 Clemmons 336.766.0123 www.ruffhousing.com mail@ruffhousing.com
108 O.Henry
October 2014
Equipping Life & Adventure www.GreatOutdoorProvision.com Friendly Shopping Center
3104 Northline Avenue
336-851-1331
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Now carrying LEE INDUSTRIES CUSTOM STATIONERY AND INVITATIONS GIFT BOXES AND WRAP • PRINTING PAPER PARTY SUPPLIES • HOLIDAY CARDS AND GIFTS COME IN EARLY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HOLIDAY DISCOUNTS!
Everything for the Home! Over 6,000 square feet filled with antiques, upholstery, accessories and gifts from over 25 designers, dealers and artists
Tues- Sat 10-5pm
Like us on Facebook
3500 Old Battleground Rd. Suite A (336) 617-4275 • www.aubreyhomedesign.com
1220-D BATTLEGROUND AVE, GREENSBORO 3546 WADE AVE, RALEIGH
modern furniture made locally
515 S Elm St. | Greensboro NC 27406 | 336.370.1050 areamod.com The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 109
Worth the Drive to Winston-Salem Beyond the Grave
Now Trending at
Gaia shopgaia.com 45 Miller Street Winston-Salem (next to Whole Foods) 748-1114 Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat 10-5
110 O.Henry
October 2014
Their dress is colorful, often reflecting their social positions; they enjoy various pastimes, such as riding on a Ferris wheel, and they’re constantly grinning. No bones about it: These skeletons know how to, well, live it up. And why not? After all, they are the centerpieces of Life After Death: The Day of the Dead in Mexico (through December 12) at Wake Forest University’s Museum of Anthropology. “I absolutely love it,” says MOA’s interim assistant director Sara Cromwell of the annual exhibit. “It’s so much fun, so colorful, so different.” Death? Fun? Well, to the Mexican mind, yes. Diá de los Muertos, as it’s called, celebrates All Hallows Eve (October 31), All Saints Day and All Souls Day (November 1 and 2) with a blend of Roman Catholic and pre-Columbian rituals. Families set up altars or ofrendas in their homes honoring departed loved ones, and visit cemeteries to pay their respects. The ofrendas might include orange marigolds, photographs of the deceased, a skeleton representing the person, an elaborately decorated sugar skull or items — a shot of mescal, say — that the dearly departed enjoyed in life. “It’s a family reunion. It just so happens that some of the members are deceased, and they still attend the family reunion. So it’s a very happy occasion and I think that really resonates with people,” Cromwell explains. Drawing on this concept, MOA invites everyone to participate in its observance of Day of the Dead. The exhibit’s revised text is bilingual — a teaching aid for Spanish classes at Wake and in the public schools. The museum’s staff, the anthropology faculty and anyone in the community can add photographs of their own lost loved ones to the exhibit, the bulk of which contains eye-catching pieces from “a significant folk art collection,” says Cromwell. Look for toys, such as the Ferris wheel, and skeleton sculptures including La Catrina, the elegantly dressed woman based on a cartoon by 19th-century printmaker José Guadalupe Posada, who created the figure for social satire. But La Catrina’s finery sends another message, observes Cromwell: “You can’t take it with you.” What you can take with you is a sugar skull or a mask of your own making if you attend a workshop hosted by MOA, the Hispanic League and the Sawtooth School for Visual Art downtown. Also go home with memories of MOA’s other riches: artifacts from early Indian tribes of the Yadkin Valley; Chinese ceramics; Asian saddle rugs; and items illustrating the cultural diversity of Africa. “That’s the whole idea here at the museum,” says Cromwell. “To learn how everybody else lives.” Even in the afterlife. OH Info: moa.wfu.edu; to register for a Day of the Dead Workshop (October 24, 25): sawtooth.org. — Nancy Oakley
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Worth the Drive to High Point
Ghoulies, Ghosties and Long-Leggity Beasties
What started as a dare twenty-nine years ago has become one of the top “haunted” attractions in the United States. Welcome to Spookywoods, in Archdale’s aptly named Kersey Valley. It was a near-curse that turned out to be a blessing in disguise, or ghoulmine, when in 1985, a teenaged Tony Wohlgemuth and some friends were camping out in one of the tobacco barns on the 60-acre Christmas tree farm that Wohlgemuth’s family had purchased. The boys had diverted power from the old farmhouse on the property to the tobacco barn and came within inches of their lives — literally — when an iron chandelier crashed down, narrowly missing them while they slept in their sleeping bags. On a dare, one of the boys entered the farmhouse to restore its power only to be scared out of his wits by a family of bats — which inspired Wohlgemuth to open a haunted house that fall. Resurrected as the House of Death, the farmhouse was the first in a series of attractions that now includes a winding road through haunted woods (your cue to recite the Cowardly Lion’s mantra, “I do believe in spooks, I do believe in spooks. I do, I do, I do!”), a set of an 1880s town, home to “gun-slinging zombies, demented saloon girls, cracked magicians,” says Spookywoods’ website, and — ahem—bathroom facilities, presumably to prevent any frightinduced accidents. And plenty of harum-scarum antics await. A terror tram, a family of vampires, space aliens, deep-sea creatures that inhabit a cave and a crazed wolfman roaming the property ramp up the horror quotient — thanks to a staff of 100plus actors, directors, writers, painters, costume designers, set designers and special effects experts. If Spookywoods doesn’t give you heart failure, Kersey Valley offers more thrills and chills with Maize Adventure, a cornfield maze custom-designed each year with computers and a GPS mapping system. Bring Fido along, or opt for a game of laser tag among the cornstalks — or have a birds-eye view of the whole thing from on a 1.5-mile zipline above. But as you sail by, please refrain from laughing at the poor souls (Children of the Corn-y?) who are lost in the maze. Whatever you choose, one thing’s for sure: At Kersey Valley, something wicked this way comes . . . wicked fun. OH Info: kerseyvalley.com. — Nancy Oakley Lauren Lauren Lauren Lauren Lauren Lauren Lauren The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Where Nurturing Really Makes a
Difference
Renew your body and soul
Chanel - Clarins - Skinceuticals - Orlane - Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare - MD Formulations - Bare Minerals Ahava - Archipeligo - The Thymes - Tyler Candles - Eric Javits - Hobo - Baudelaire - Simon Sebbag
About Face Cosmetics & Day Spa 1107 N. Main Street, High Point
336.889.0400
aboutfacedayspa.com
Located in the Historic Sherrod Home at 1100 N. Main St., High Point 336.886.1090 | Monday - Saturday 10-6 October 2014
O.Henry 111
Arts & Culture
Piedmont Opera presents
Madama Butterf ly An American naval officer marries a young Japanese girl for convenience only to leave her while she faithfully awaits his return. Set in 1890s Japan, Giacomo Puccini’s devastating saga of devotion, tradition and sacrifice is among the most beloved operas of all time.
Greensboro Ballet presents
Robert Royce’s
Sung in Italian with English supertitles.
interpretation of this popular and enduring legend. Elegant. Dramatic. Passionate. October 31 and November 1, 7:00 pm Greensboro Cultural Center
October 31st, November 2nd & 4th The Stevens Center of the UNCSA Winston-Salem, NC piedmontopera.org 336.725.7101
Music Rehearsal Hall Tickets available through our website: www.greensboroballet.org/dracula Donate blood at the Red Cross blood center, 1501 Yanceyville Street from October 15-30 and be entered in a drawing to win tickets to “The Nutcracker”
Bus transportation is available from Greensboro for select performances. Join Maestro James Allbritten and several of the principal cast members for a close look at Puccini’s Madama Butterfly
h
112 O.Henry
h
Make plans to join us for a magical holiday favorite, “The Nutcracker” December 6, 7, 12, 13 and 14 at The Carolina Theatre. h For more information go to our website: h www.greensboroballet.org
La Lunch October 22nd at noon GIA in Greensboro 1941 New Garden Rd Greensboro, NC 27410 Cost is $20 per person Call 336-907-7536
OHenry14Fall.indd 1
h
h
Tickets on sale soon at the Carolina Theatre box office. And don’t miss “Tea with Clara” Sunday, December 7 and Saturday, December 13
h
October 2014
The Art & Soul of Greensboro 9/12/2014 12:46:31 PM
Arts & Culture
Walk ‘n Wag is a service learning project for the senior and junior high students at Noble Academy. Students are encouraged to support their own academic environment as well as another organization that makes a difference in our community.
Accepting Registrations and Event Sponsors Service Learning Project
Programs for students grades K-12 ♦ Small class sizes Personalized instruction ♦ College prep tracks ♦ Athletics Call 336.282.7044 w w w.NobleK nights.org 3 310 HORSE PEN CREE K ROA D • GREENSBORO, NC 27410
Paintings B y
C.P. Logan
The Crosswalk 30x30
original oil
OPEN STUDIO SALE OCTOBER 4th 10-5 hundreds of original oils at studio prices
1206 W. Cornwallis Drive, Greensboro, NC 27408 www.cplogan.com The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 113
Bach Magnificat J. S.Dan Forrest Requiem for the Living
October 11 & 13, 2014
2014-2015 SEASON The Piedmont’s Premier Chorus
Gift of the Magi
December 12, 13 & 15, 2014
The Creation Exceptional, Innovative, and Engaging
Franz Joseph Haydn
February 26 & 28, 2015
Presented by the Greensboro Symphony
Catch Studio 360 • Sundays @ 3pm
From Darkness to Light
It’s public radio’s smart and surprising guide to what’s happening in pop culture and the arts.
Arts & Culture
Season Tickets On Sale Now
Group Tickets, Student Discounts and More:
(336) 333-2220 www.belcantocompany.com
April 18 & 20, 2015
ART CLASSES FOR EVERYONE!
Fall-Winter Session 2 Begins the Week of October 20 Adult 8-Week Classes • Pottery • Drawing & Painting • Sculpture & more!
Youth 6-Week Classes • Pottery • Drawing & Painting • Homeschool classes
Workshops & Events
• Page by Page Sketchbook Workshop, Saturday, October 11, 2–5:30 pm • Student Art Show & Sale, Nov. 6–8
For a schedule of classes and to register, visit www.artalliancegso.org Greensboro Cultural Center | 200 N Davie Street | Greensboro, NC 27401 336-373-2725 | artalliancegso@gmail.com Art Alliance is co-sponsored by City Arts
Each week, host Kurt Andersen introduces you to the people who are creating and shaping our culture. Life is busy - so let Studio 360 steer you to the must-see movie this weekend, the next book for your nightstand, or the song that will change your life. P. O. Box 8850 • Winston-Salem, NC 27109 • wfdd.org
North Carolina A&T State University presents Smokey Joe’s Café The Hottest Musical in Town! Featuring songs like, “Stand by Me,” “On Broadway” & “Love Potion #9” October 17 - 19 19, 2014 October 24 - 26, 2014 Friday & Saturday @ 7:00 p.m. Sunday @ 3:00 p.m. All performances held at Paul Robeson Theatre on the campus of N.C. A&T
To purchase tickets call 336.334.7749 • www.ncataggies.com
114 O.Henry
October 2014
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Silvia Behr & Jack
GreenScene
Jessica White & Will
Carolina Kennel Club All-Breed Dog Show Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center Friday, August 15, 2014 Photographs by Lynn Donovan
Tammy Bennett & Sugar
Tim Terella & Luke Lynda Ball & C.J.
Kyra Doody & Kelsey
Caitlyn Connor & Chicklet, Emma Potter & Shazaam Jolynn Athorp & Pickle
Marie Elliott & Charlie, Fran Nemet & Reba
Business & ServicesBusiness & Services
Farm to Fork Beautiful & Distinctive Gardens by
The Great American Steakhouse Mon-Sat Dinner 5-10pm Bar 5-2am
201 N. Elm St. Greensboro 336.274.5900
UPHOLSTERY
RESTORATION & CLEANING
clean, dye , repair leather and fabric
Residential/CommeRiCal • HaRd to Clean stains small oRiental RUG CleaninG • mattRess CleaninG/disinFeCtinG CUts/teaRs in leatHeR, RePaiR FadinG • Home, aUto, Boat, aiRCRaFt
fUll SerVice UpholStery cleaninG
FaBRiCate neW Foam CoRe, stRUCtURal RePaiRs, install neW ReClineR meCHanism • aUto steeRinG WHeel RestoRation, side Panels, dasH REPAIRS & CARPET CLEANING
fibrenew.com/piedmont The Art & Soul of Greensboro
336-643-4747
Lee Rogers
Landscape Design leerogersdesign.com 336.209.0376
CHRiSTMAS AT GoveRNoR MoReHeAd’S MANSioN
Open for Christmas tours starting November 13 Fully decorated for the Christmas season through December 31 Normal tour hours and admission will apply: Blandwood, 447 West Washington Street, Downtown Greensboro Tuesday-Saturday 11am-4pm & Sunday 2-5pm Adults $8, Seniors & AAA members $7, Children 12 & under $5 CAll AheAD FOr GrOup TOur reServATiONS.
Phone: 336.272.5003 | email: info@blandwood.org www.preservationgreensboro.org October 2014
O.Henry 115
INAUGURAL GOLF TOURNAMENT CELEBRATION DINNER NOVEMBER 2 – 4, 2014 Playing for the Toyota Trophy For more information on sponsorship opportunities available please contact Jen McNulty at (703) 798-8717 or pinehurst@mcsf.org
Pr es
en te d
by
The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation is the nation’s oldest and largest provider of need-based scholarships to military children. Since 1962, the Foundation has provided more than 33,000 scholarships valued at nearly $90 million, including $6,600,000 in scholarship funding for the 20142015 academic year to more than 2,190 students.
Honoring Marines by Educating Their Children™ PitP_ad_Magazine.indd 1
9/10/14 1:49 PM
Every moment is a gift
Sterling silver charms from $25
Experience at: SHOPS AT FRIENDLY CENTER jewelrycharmsgreensboro.com
116 O.Henry
October 2014
October 23-26 Free PANDORA leather or color cord bracelet with $100 PANDORA purchase.* *While supplies last, limit one per customer. Bracelet upgrades available. See store for details.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
GreenScene Afternoon Tea O.Henry Hotel August 23, 2014
Photographs by Sam Froelich Phim Gilberry, Hieu Vo, Luann Seepolmuang
Candace & Eric Lamkin Huong Rashid, Lisa Khosla
Kim & Sidney Sturman
Trang Vu, Trang Trinh, Amy Le
Blair Patton, Layna Perini, Lindsey Sample
Lily Alvare, Sarah Stewart
Grace West, Georgia West, Paige West Becki West, Ellen Law, Grace West, Georgia West, Paige West, Ann West, Kim Sturman, Sidney Sturman
Becki West, Ellen Law
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 117
Attitude with a Plus! Sizes: 1X, 2X, & 3X
Art of Cloth Parsley & Sage Fenini Comfy USA Lee Anderson Chalet Amma
EyEwEar
515 State Street Greensboro, NC 27405
State Street
336-545-3003
Vera’s Threads Sizes: Small, Medium, Large & Extra Large 511 State Street Greensboro, NC 27405
336-288-8772
Hours M-F 11-6, Sat 11-5
www.linneasboutique.com All Sizes
Ladies Night
EVERY 3Rd ThuRsdAY (oPEn Till 7Pm WinE • FinGER Food • Good ConVERsATion)
118 O.Henry
October 2014
E AR NH AR DT OP TIC A L
www.earnhardt-optical.com 509 State Street, Greensboro 336.275.5639
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Now It’s Your Turn
Take Advantage of Our October Specials
$50 off Dysport
• Breast Augmentation • Breast Uplift • Breast Reduction • Botox® Cosmetic/Dysport • Restylane/Perlane Juvederm/Sculptra • Face and Neck Lift • Eyelid Surgery • Liposuction • Tummy Tuck • Body Contouring After Weight Loss • Thermage • Lip Enhancement • Tatoo Removal • Skin Care Services
$25 instant & $25 mail-in rebate*
FREEZE YOUR FAT AWAY CoolSculpting Seminar in Our Office October 14 • 6PM
*While quantities last
Restylane & Perlane instant & $50 off $15 $35 mail-in rebate* *While quantities last
%10 off
Want to get rid of that Unwanted Fat?
$20 off Latisse 3 ml vials
Call Today to Register-Limited Seating
Dr. Contogiannis has been Selected as One of America’s Top Plastic Surgeons
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
333.9022
Mary Ann Contogiannis, M.D.
211 State Street • Greensboro
BOARD CERTIFIED IN PLASTIC SURGERY
State Street
Obagi & PCA Products
Jane Iredale Pressed Powder Compact for $10 with Obagi purchase of $150 or more
• For men & women • Non-Surgical • Non-Invasive • Ideal for love handles & muffin tops • One hour treatments • No down time • FDA-cleared
www.PlasticSurgeryChoices.com
Never miss an issue! Subscribe today and have
delivered to your home! Call 910-693-2488
$45 in-state $55 out-of-state *per magazine
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
or mail payment to P.O. Box 58, Southern Pines, NC 28388 October 2014
O.Henry 119
A REVOLUTIONARY HEARING AID
THAT CAN HEAR LIKE YOUR EARS DO. Lyric, the world’s first and only 100% invisible, 24/7 sweatproof, showerproof *, for-months-at-a-time** hearing device can.
At Doctors Hearing Care, better hearing is always our focus. Dr. Amy Kirkland, AuD and Dr. Melissa Westall, AuD are committed to provide each patient with an exceptional level of care and attention. Together, they have been the triad’s leaders in hearing technology for over 25 years. Doctors Hearing Care is the only Premier Elite Provider of Lyric Hearing in the Triad
2783 NC Hwy 68 South Suite 109 High Point, NC 27265
Amy Kirkland, Au.D.
MAD
Melissa Westall, Au.D.
t. h Sa . 11t t Oc
Call today to make an appointment!
336-376-7396 www.doctorshearingcare.com
*Lyric is water resistant, not waterproof, and should not be completely submerged under water. **Individual replacement needs may vary. Duration of device battery life varies by patient and is subject to individual ear conditions. Lyric is not appropriate for all patients. See a Lyric Provider to determine if Lyric is right for you. Lyric, Distributed by Phonak, LLC ©2014. All rights reserved. MS031806
TTER A H 10/11
FUN WALK/RUN
Sat. Oct. 1 th 1
Bill Evans Student Leadership Scholarship Fund Fun Walk/Run
Proceeds will go to deserving students in the Department of Public Health and Human Science - UNCG
Saturday October 11, 9:00 am Mad Hatter Greensboro • 201 Smyres Place
Sen
d do UNC natio G Ad ns to vanc : Attn eme nt S : Ba ervic 1100 rbar a es W. Mar Wike P Gree O Box 2 ket St. 6 nsbo ro, N 170 C 27 402
Fun and festivities to follow at Mad Hatter • Free T-shirt for everyone who registers Register at JonesRacingCompany.com/Mad-Hatter 10/11
120 O.Henry
10/11
October 2014
10/11
10/11
10/11
10/11
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
GreenScene
Nancy Vaughan, Lacy Ward
National Conference for Community and Justice Breakfast of Champions — O.Henry Hotel September 9, 2014 Photographs by Lynn Donovan
Charlos Banks, Avis Williams
Ivan Canada, Phillip Craft Tanaya Suddreth, Daniel Loria
Phyllis Lancaster, David Craft
Brain Clarida, Chris Gorham
Now Open
Michelle Gethers-Clark, Emily Kitchen
the Junior League of Raleigh presents the 30th annual
Antiques at the
Carriage House
Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm • Sunday 1-5pm 2214 Golden Gate Drive Greensboro, NC Carriage_House@att.net
336.373.6200 The Art & Soul of Greensboro
October 30 – November 2, 2014 Raleigh Convention Center
Find gifts for everyone on your holiday list! Tickets $10 in advance, $12 at the door
www.ashoppingspree.org October 2014
O.Henry 121
Jillian Lincourt, Indy Ayscue, Liz Montanez, Brittany & Mike LaFontaine
GreenScene 12th Annual Taste Carolina Wine Festival Piedmont Triad Farmers Market September 13, 2014 Photographs by Hannah Sharpe
Mark Petersen, Morgan Shearon Kimberly Patrick, Tecara Jones, Shari Richardson
Khadijah Macklin, Tangia Dickenson
Caitlin Girard, Brooke Leja
Bre Hooks, Lindsay Aaron, Natalie Haywood
Marcie Lombard, Meredith Lacopo
Kala Tobin, Alison Tysinger, Cayce Poindexter
Rob Small, Robin House Nicole & Billy Lyerly
Sherry Snyder, Mark Thurman Charles Evans, Sonja Todd
122 O.Henry
October 2014
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
5015 Carlson Dairy Road
For centuries the love of an English Manor home placed on a perfect private spot is a timeless treasure. This is a treasure located on top of 21 acres of grounds and gardens with a views of Lake Higgins. A Town and Country Estate. Price upon request.
Kay Chesnutt
336-202-9687 Kay.Chesnutt@bhhsyostandlittle.com
Xan Tisdale 336-601-2337 Š2014 BHH Affi liates, LLC. An independently operated subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.Ž Equal Housing Opportunity.
Xan.Tisdale@bhhsyostandlittle.com
Cone Health
Cancer Care
Helping
patients and families
fight cancer together.
Cone Health offers exceptional cancer care, treatment and support. Recognized for Outstanding Achievement by the American College of Surgeons with dual accreditation in cancer and breast cancer care, Cone Health is where a community of professionals, patients and their families fight cancer together. It’s where cancer care becomes exceptional through expanded facilities, advanced technology and access to the latest research and clinical trials. And it’s where we surround cancer patients with multidisciplinary programs and the brightest medical minds, all in an environment that is comfortable and supportive. Cone Health Cancer Care. Exceptional treatment. Exceptional care.
Matthew Manning, MD Radiation Oncology Cone Health Cancer Center
Visit us at conehealth.com to learn more about our Centers of Excellence.
at Wesley Long Hospital
CH_CancerF_O'Henry_9x5.25.indd 1
9/12/14 5:04 PM
Will you have enough money to live life on your terms? Everyone has retirement questions. So Ameriprise created the exclusive Confident Retirement® approach. I can help you break down retirement planning step-by-step to get the real answers you need. Let’s get started today. KATHRYN H. LARSON, CFP® Financial Advisor 401 N. Edgeworth St. Greenboro, NC 27401 336.315.9410 kathryn.h.larson@ampf.com ameripriseadvisors.com/kathryn.h.larson Brokerage, investment and financial advisory services are made available through Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC. Confident Retirement is not a guarantee of future financial results. © 2014 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved. (1/14)
124 O.Henry
October 2014
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
the Bar
WE’ VE RAISED
By Sandra Redding
October is crisp days and cool nights, a time to curl up around the dancing flames and sink into a good book. — Poet William Bliss Carman
Literary Events
October 18 (Saturday, 9 a.m.). 2014 Press 53/Prime Number Magazine Gathering of Writers, Community Arts Café, Winston-Salem. Poetry and fiction workshops led by Kim Church, Wendy J. Fox, David Jauss, David James Poissant, Kevin Morgan Watson and Lee Zacharias. Info: (336) 770-5353 or www.press53.com/ GatheringofWriters.html. October 29 (Monday, 7 p.m.). Margaret Maron, popular mystery writer, presents “Women of Mystery,” Virginia Dare Room, Alumni House, UNCG, Greensboro. Info: www.margaretmaron.com/events/ November 3 (Monday, 7 p.m.). Ernest Cline, author of the wildly futuristic Ready Player One, Burney Center, UNC Wilmington. This reading/discussion culminates SYNERGY, the University’s Common Writing Experience. Providing an opportunity for self-reflection, critical thinking and intellectual engagement, students and faculty read and incorporate ideas spurred by readings into courses and activities. Tickets: uncw.edu/presents/UNCWPresentsErnestCline. html. November 6 (Thursday, 5 p.m.). Charlie Lovett, rare book lover and antiquarian authority, discusses and reads from his novel First Impressions: A Novel of Old Books, Unexpected Love and Jane Austen. The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, www.thecountrybookshop.biz. November 8 (Saturday, 9 p.m.). Workshop on Creating Characters, sponsored by Writers’ Group of the Triad (WGOT), Rowe Library, Holy Trinity Church, Greensboro. Led by author/creative writing teacher Abigail DeWitt, this all-day session includes lecture, discussion and in-class writing. WGOT members: $35; nonmembers: $50. Info: triadwriters.org/ calendar/. November 21–23. North Carolina Writers’ Network (NCWN) 2014 Fall Conference, Sheraton Charlotte Hotel, Charlotte. Faculty includes Allan Gurganus (keynote speaker), Wilton Barnhardt, Aaron Gwyn, Morri Creech, Chantel Acevedo, Ed Williams, Robert Inman, Moir Crone, Rebecca McClanahan, Anthony S. Abbott, Cynthia Lewis, Alan Michael Parker, Kim Boykin, Zelda Lockhart and many other poets, writers, editors and agents. Info: ncwriters.org.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Awards and Contests
The North Carolina Poetry Society has announced the winners of the 2014 Randall Jarrell Poetry Competition: Melissa Hassard, Kathryn Kirkpatrick and Maureen Sherbondy. Charmaine Cadeau and Susan Laughter Meyers won the Brockman-Campbell Book Awards.
Meet Mark Weddle, our new resident mixologist. You may know him for his award winning Bloody Mary or his amazing craft cocktails. We think he’s the best in the Triad… bar none.
Wink of an Eye, by Lynn Chandler Willis, was named Best PI Novel Award by St. Martin’s Press/ Private Eye Writers of America. This spine-tingling mystery will be released on November 18. Writers, prepare manuscripts now to submit to NCWN’s prestigious 2015 competitions: • The Rose Post Creative Nonfiction Competition (submissions December 1 to January 30). • Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize (submissions December 1 to January 30). • Doris Betts Fiction Prize (submissions January 1 to February 15).
Writing Lesson
Celebrate Halloween by writing about the ghosts haunting your hometown. Ambrose Bierce described them as “the outward and visible sign of an inward fear.” Evidently there’s a great deal of fear in North Carolina, for every county lays claim to three or four phantoms. One hangs out in the New Hanover County Library in Wilmington; others frighten students attending UNCG and Greensboro College. Natalie Goldberg in Writing Down the Bones suggests writing without stopping to make corrections; putting words on the page until creativity jumpstarts your brain; and revising only after the words cool down. According to UNCW’s Philip Gerard, “Nobody writes a book. What you write everyday is a piece of a book. A fragment, a scene.” Or go to a bookstore or library and ask if you can read your own spooky story. The stage fright will be many times greater than anything spooks on Halloween can dish out. And do keep me updated on literary events and costumes at sanredd@eathlink.net. OH Greensboro writer Sandra Redding’s “ghost” novel, Naomi Wise: A Cautionary Tale, is a riveting story about heartbreak and hope in a Quaker Community.
Josephine’s Bistro & Bar
336.285.6590 josephinesbistro.com 2417 Spring Garden St. Greensboro
October 2014
O.Henry 125
Fitness Together:Layout 1 9/15/14 4:25 PM Page 1
Attack Your Cravings Fight the urge for seasonal temptations with a Fitness
Together personal trainer. Our personalized, one-on-one training combines nutritional guidance, motivation, and support for those seeking healthy weight loss, increased energy and overall fitness- all in the safe, private environment of a personal fitness studio. Receive TWO FREE WEEKS of one-on-one personal traininga $450 value - by visiting us at fitnesstogether.com/greensboro/ohenry
336.545.3065 • 305-C Pisgah Church Rd. Greensboro www.FitnessTogether.com/greensboro ftgreensboro@FitnessTogether.com
126 O.Henry
October 2014
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
The Accidental Astrologer
October Spice
Better go grab your chili pepper and prepare to self-medicate By Astrid Stellanova Libras, you run the gamut from Kim Kardashian to Mahatma Gandhi, keeping Astrid on the tippy top of her twinkling toes. Star Children, give October a shout-out. How come, you ask? It’s National Chili, Pizza, Seafood, Cookie and Dessert Month. And you’ll know why: We will all self-medicate with comfort food ’cause this retrograde is a doozie.
Libra (September 23–October 22) National Pizza Month? Sounds like a federal holiday to you, Libra. I know in your heart of hearts you are hoping you get one of them remote-controlled drones for your birthday, so you can have it deliver pizza right to your Barcalounger. But it is going to be a busy month with Mercury in retrograde. You will feel foxier than normal, and be more dazzling than a moon rock. Your intuition will make you more insightful than usual, and you’ll find yourself being a magnet for others. Romance is in your chart and a tighter relationship for those who are already in relationships. Money won’t be hard to find — get the deluxe pizza with everything. Scorpio (October 23–November 21) A Scorpio walks into a bar and sits down by himself and talks to nobody but Johnnie Walker about nothing. Is that your life script? It ain’t too late to change it. Lonely? I reckon so. You keep everything very, very down low, and then wonder why you ain’t got anybody to share your sorrows. People are attracted to you, and write all this off to mysteriousness. If somebody slides onto the stool beside you, flash that million dollar smile. The lunar and solar eclipses in your sign this month mean you can broker power. Sagittarius (November 22–December 21) Last month threw you into some kind of cosmic cosmetic panic. I get that — I’m a hairdresser. But you’ve still got your looks, and most of your own teeth. Square those shoulders and suck in your gut. It don’t cost much to whiten your teeth and bleach your underwear. Opportunity is knocking, but you just don’t know it — and tidy whities are always a plus with the ladies. Important dates for you are October 8 and 23. The lunar eclipse will mean sweeping changes. Capricorn (December 22–January 19) If your life was a movie, the title would be Astrophysicist in Love. Too analytical to know it, and too besotted with yourself to come on down to Earth. You’re a big one to research everything; but pay attention to what you already have going on in your Earth lab, and don’t get distracted. You are going to have double the energy you’ve normally got, and until the 23rd, you will find relationships more bewildering than usual. Aquarius (January 20–February 18) In the pool of life, you have been clinging to the side in the shallow end — wearing water wings and a life vest and clutching the raft. Snap out of it! Your career has a positive vortex area you can swim to mid-month; take advantage of your cautious instincts when the astral chart shifts into retrograde this month on the 4th. By the 10th you will be able to relaunch yourself. You may find yourself able to relate ideas better than normal. But don’t slack off — just don’t let fear overtake you. Pisces (February 19–March 20) Life gave you lemons and you made lasagna, which means you did not follow the recipe, Honey Child. Have you backed up your phone or your files? Do that. Then, don’t worry so much, cause it ain’t no use. Venus will be in Libra until the 23rd. You will be a little more emotional than usual — but don’t drink and dial. Ask the Universe for a little help; astral operators are standing by and will listen if you don’t slur your words.
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Aries (March 21–April 19) If you are first in line, you might be in the alpha test group. Does that ever get old? Being an early adopter of every newfangled thing is not getting you to nirvana. If you don’t have a budget, try one on for size before the last Mercury retro hits October 4. This is one of those uh-oh kind of cosmic sneezes that could muck up your life like a soggy tissue until the 25th, but it ain’t nothing you can’t handle. Taurus (April 20–May 20) Two bulls are on a hillside; the young one wants to race down and make sweet love to a cow below. Part of the beauty of having Taurus strength is just knowing when to mosey on down the hill. You will have supernatural charms this month. But don’t get cocky, because it is entirely possible you could stick your size 9s in your mouth in a very big way, so it is best you check that tendency to be such a cheeky beast. If you haven’t had a makeover lately, take yourself to the cosmetics counter and get a free boost. Gemini (May 21–June 20) Your chart is divided in half. Think Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Rawhide. You flip back and forth without much warning to nobody. This means that the last Mercury retrograde of good ole 2014 is especially hard on you. You are naturally prone to slip-sliding and this causes nearly everybody but your sweet thing to stay waaay on back. When Mercury enters Libra on the 25th, you and everybody else can exhale and get a teensy bit closer. Cancer (June 21–July 22) When you disconnected your land line, you thought all your problems were over. Well, somebody from the past is going to reach out by letter. Go to the post office. You might a’ won something. Maybe an old pal left you something. But here’s a little caution sign: It is one of those months that will require all your skills. Just when you make plans, life is going to change them. Don’t get too flapped; and don’t plan serious travel — the flights will get changed, the reservation crossed, the Buick won’t crank. Sorry. But nobody gets killed, so just deal. Leo (July 23–August 22) Must you tell everything on Facebook? Bust on out of that virtual life you’ve been living and get off that virtual farm, or SimsVille, or wherever it is you’ve been. Somebody’s snooping into your business, so keep your ears perked and your eyes open. Your best bet is to spend more time in the great outdoors, making friends with Mother Nature. She is planning a big old retrograde that will keep you shook up until the 23rd. After that will be a huge shift, and a big relief. Virgo (August 23–September 22) Pull in to the next rest stop and get a free map. You do not have to navigate all of life’s mysteries alone. Christopher Columbus landed in America in October — without GPS. If you haven’t checked your bank statements lately, take the time to back everything up and keep an eye out for business. The retrograde has some hiccups planned, so get in front of it by reviewing everything. Honey, it gets better soon — by the end of the month all Star Children get a nice reprieve. OH For years, Astrid Stellanova owned and operated Curl Up and Dye Beauty Salon in the boondocks of North Carolina until arthritic fingers and her popular astrological readings provoked a new career path. October 2014
O.Henry 127
O.Henry Ending
The Perfect Show and Tell
By Zithobile Nxumalo
Few opportunities
evoke as much anxiety and anticipation as Show and Tell. As a wildly imaginative 7-yearold with a premature affinity for shock and awe, I took the Show and Tell challenge from my teacher as an invitation to delve. Previous attempts had been catastrophic failures — at least in my mind — so this one had to be good. No . . . it had to be great.
The year was 1988. The place, Peeler Open School. I was in the second grade and reveled in the bustling social scene of bus No. 756. The morning rides to school were a chance to catch up on the previous afternoon’s happenings, and the afternoon ride was our own version of elementary school Happy Hour . . . sans spirits, of course. I possessed a growing love for the thrill of elocution, and my classmates were the perfect audience. Show and Tell may as well have been the planets aligning, as it provided the ideal conditions for my melodrama. I would use the morning bus ride to build anticipation, and then the afternoon ride would be characterized by hefty boasting . . . or merciless ridicule. The latter depended solely upon my ability to deliver the goods. If you said your Show and Tell item was going to be fantastic, it had better be. The most recent Show and Tell failure had occurred during the previous year, and it explains why I felt so moved to make this one a more pleasantly memorable experience. I was raised by a mother who grew up in rural South Africa. She, unlike me, didn’t have to deal with the burden of federal health regulations or annoying food safety policies. To this day, she insists that expiration dates are simply “suggestions,” and that one should “smell it” and “taste it” before making the decision to toss something out. She is also an X-ray technician with a love for anatomy, so it’s not quite as unconscionable that the “Brown Bag Fiasco” — as we’ve come to call it — was entirely her idea. All you need to know about said fiasco is this: I entered the bus holding a brown Food Lion paper bag. Halfway to school, my friends’ curiosity won
128 O.Henry
October 2014
over my desire to build the needed anticipation. I revealed the bag’s contents (a dead squirrel) and was swiftly ratted out to the bus driver. My Show and Tell item, and my confidence, were hurled out the window. My guiltless mother never understood what all of the fuss was about. “What’s wrrrrrong?” (Her accent requires that she roll her R’s). “Theh waz no blood!!” Still, she was determined to help me make the next Show and Tell an epic event. That morning, I entered the bus with only my book bag and lunch. People were already talking about the day’s coming attractions, and I masterfully feigned apathy as people asked me where my item was. The feigned apathy was part of my strategy. “If I pretend not to care, then it’ll be even better when they actually see what I got,” I thought. I was tickled by my own brilliance. When we got to school, everything moved in slow motion. Ten o’clock could not come quickly enough. I had asked my teacher if I could please go last — another elocutionist tactic I had thought up earlier — and could barely pay attention through the presentations of my classmates. I also frantically exchanged glances between the clock and the empty doorway, as my ace-inthe-hole was scheduled to arrive at any moment. Suddenly, as if cued by Father Time himself, the entire class let out a collective “Awwwwwwwww!!” I came to my senses, stood up and my secondgrade soprano bellowed the line I’d been rehearsing in my head all morning. “Ladies and gentleman… THIS is my baby brother!” My mother had given birth to my brother a month earlier, and I had fallen instantly in love. When I requested a mid-morning visit, she happily obliged. My heart nearly exploded at the sight of all of my classmates’ fascination with him. I beamed with pride at my mother, who looked extraordinarily beautiful that day, and the little boy who would later become the greatest fan of my schemes and theatrics. This, I thought, was totally worth it. I had a great bus ride home that day. OH Born in Swaziland, Zithobile Nxumalo (New-MAH-Low) came to Greensboro in 1985 and now considers it home. Zitty, as she is affectionately called by family and friends, is a teacher, dancer and writer currently enrolled in the leadership studies doctoral program at N.C. A&T. She can be reached at zithobile@yahoo.com. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Illustration by Harry Blair
What began with a dead squirrel ended gloriously with the birth of something wonderful
Waiting to do your banking is sometimes not an option. Your time is valuable. Carolina Bank is available to you on the go so you can get more done in your own time. Account balances, transfers, deposit checks--do all that you need, when you need.
Download the Carolina Bank app for yourAndroidŠ or AppleŠ device today!
The Smart Choice In Mobile Banking
www.carolinabank.com