September PineStraw 2023

The Carolina Philharmonic’s 14th Annual Gala

AfundraiserforMusicEducationinMooreCounty

Rising Stars

Tuesday, October 3rd, 2023 | 6:30PM

Pinehurst Fair Barn

Celebrate with The Carolina Philharmonic as they mark a significant milestone: enhancing 20,000 children’s lives with empowering music education programs. A festive evening of cocktails, heavy hors d’oeuvres, live/silent auctions and exceptional entertainment.

$150/person

Reserve your seat today!

2023/24 Concert Season Tickets

Available now!

Saturday, October 28th, 7:30pm | Opening Night: An American Traveler’s Tale

Wednesday, December 6th & Thursday, December 7th, 7:30pm | Holiday Pops

Saturday, January 20th, 7:30pm | Casablanca Unplugged: An Orchestral Journey

Saturday, February 3, 7:30pm | Unleashed Potential: A Symphony of Rising Stars

Saturday, March 23, 7:30pm | Passion and Power

Saturday, April 27th, 7:30pm | Vocal Euphoria: Operatic Postcards

Saturday, May 18th, 7:30pm | Broadway Brilliance: A Symphony Pops Spectacular

Performances start at 7:30pm, Owens Auditorium, BPAC, Sandhills Community College

(910) 687-0287

www.carolinaphil.org

September ���3

READY FOR HIRE.READY TO RETIRE.

FirstCarolinaCare members come from all over North Carolina and all walks of life. But they have one thing in common: They’re part of our community. And here, our community always comes first. That means having access to trusted providers, personalized help and a service team that resolves 97% of issues on the first call. From the mountains to the coast, we’ve got you covered.

Many members. One community.

FirstCarolinaCare.com/together

Talent, Technology & Teamwork!

Moore County’s Most Trusted Real Estate Team!

PINEHURST • $150,000

14 HALKIRK DRIVE

Great golf front lot located on the Practice Course in desirable Pinewild CC.

PINEHURST • $499,000

845 ST. ANDREWS DRIVE

Charming 3 BR / 2 BA golf front home on the 15th tee of Pinehurst #5. Open floorplan with a nice lower-level flex space. A truly special home with amazing golf views!

PINEHURST • $380,000

1 VAN BUREN LANE

Great 4 BR / 2 BA brick home in quiet cul-de-sac in Village Acres. Floorplan is bright with hardwood flooring throughout the main level. Nice upper level bonus room could also be a 4th bedroom.

SEVEN LAKES SOUTH• $310,000

104 SANDHAM COURT

Charming 3 BR / 2 BA townhome in desirable 7LS community. Split plan home has spacious living area, bright Carolina room and cozy kitchen. Immaculate and in great condition!

SEVEN LAKES NORTH • $265,000

127 SUNSET WAY

Lovely 3 BR / 2 BA home situated on a generous lot across the street from Lake Echo. Home is bright and open with new LVP flooring throughout and great wrap-around deck.

ABERDEEN• $398,500

680 LEGACY LAKES WAY

Immaculate 3 BR / 2 BA golf front home situated off the 3rd green of the Legacy Lakes golf course. This single-level home has open floorplan and offers easy living at it’s best!

WHISPERING PINES • $375,000

375 QUEENS COVE WAY

Attractive 3 BR / 2 BA home just outside the Village of Whispering Pines. The home is wellmaintained and sits in quiet cul-de-sac, perfect for any family!

#1

ABERDEEN • $428,000

367 KERR LAKE ROAD

Beautiful 4 BR / 3 BA home in popular Legacy Lakes. Layout is open with hardwood flooring throughout and private backyard with patio and trees along the 7th fairway of Legacy Lakes golf course.

CAMERON • $230,000

50 FOREST DRIVE

Well-maintained 3 BR / 2 BA home is perfect for any family! The home is situated on large lot with fresh paint throughout, granite counter tops in kitchen and bathrooms and nice large backyard perfect for grilling and entertaining.

Luxury Properties

Moore County’s Most Trusted Real Estate Team!

CARTHAGE •$835,000

1259 PEACE ROAD

Completely remodeled 3 BR / 2 BA home with in-ground pool, working barn and large three-bay metal shop. Set on more than 30 acres in beautiful Moore County - your countryside paradise awaits!

PINEHURST • $625,000 160 BALTUSROL LANE

Delightful 3 BR / 2 BA GOLF FRONT home with beautiful views from every room! Home is situated on #5 course and offers gracious Southern living at its best. A must see!

SEVEN LAKES WEST • $995,000 142 SWARINGEN DRIVE

Amazing 3 BR / 2.5 BA WATERFRONT home on picturesque Lake Auman. Home has spacious living area with lots of natural light and was custom-built by Yates Hussey.

PINEHURST • $1,065,000 30 BRAEMAR ROAD

Custom 4 BR / 3.5 BA new construction in Fairwoods on 7! Stunning, panoramic golf course views of the 16th hole and beyond that the 12th green.

SOUTHERN PINES •$570,000 1659 E. INDIANA AVENUE

Wonderful 4 BR / 3 BA home in James Creek. Home has an incredibly open and light design with upper level bonus room and flexible finished basement space.

PINEHURST • $543,900

105 WHISTLING STRAIGHT ROAD

Attractive 3 BR / 2 BA end unit townhome has been beautifully updated with nice finishes and touches throughout. Enjoy a truly maintenance free lock and leave lifestyle!

PINEHURST • $595,000

100 PITCH PINE LANE

Fine 5 BR / 4.5 BA brick home in popular Lake Pinehurst location. Home has been extensively updated and had an abundance of space on two levels!

PINEHURST • $750,000 1 EVANS LANE

Lovely 3 BR / 2 Full BA / 2 Half BA home offers quiet living in beautiful location. Custom home on private lot convenient to shopping and dining in the Village of Pinehurst.

PINEHURST • $585,000 26 ABINGTON DRIVE

Beautiful 2 BR / 2 BA custom brick home in Pinewild CC. Home has been nicely updated with views of Pinewild Lake.

MAGAZINE

Volume 19, No. 9

David Woronoff, Publisher david@thepilot.com

Andie Stuart Rose, Creative Director andiesouthernpines@gmail.com

Jim Moriarty, Editor jjmpinestraw@gmail.com

Miranda Glyder, Graphic Designer miranda@pinestrawmag.com

Alyssa Kennedy, Digital Art Director alyssamagazines@gmail.com

Emilee Phillips, Digital Content emilee@pinestrawmag.com

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Jim Dodson, Deborah Salomon, Stephen E. Smith

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

John Gessner, Laura L. Gingerich, Diane McKay, Tim Sayer

CONTRIBUTORS

Jenna Biter, Anne Blythe, Keith Borshak, Tom Bryant, Susan Campbell, Bill Case, Wiley Cash Tony Cross, Brianna Rolfe Cunningham, Mart Dickerson, Bill Fields, Meridith Martens, Mary Novitsky, Lee Pace, Todd Pusser, Joyce Reehling, Scott Sheffield, Rose Shewey, Angie Tally, Kimberly Daniels Taws, Daniel Wallace, Ashley Walshe, Claudia Watson, Amberly Glitz Weber

ADVERTISING SALES

Ginny Trigg, Advertising Director 910.693.2481 • ginny@thepilot.com

Samantha Cunningham, 910.693.2505

Kathy Desmond, 910.693.2515

Jessica Galloway, 910. 693.2498

Terry Hartsell, 910.693.2513 Erika Leap, 910.693.2514

ADVERTISING GRAPHIC DESIGN

Mechelle Butler, Scott Yancey

ADVERTISING COORDINATOR

Rebah Dolbow • pilotads@thepilot.com

PS

Henry Hogan, Finance Director 910.693.2497

Darlene Stark, Circulation Director 910.693.2488

SUBSCRIPTIONS

910.693.2488

OWNERS

Jack Andrews, Frank Daniels III, Lee Dirks, David Woronoff In memoriam Frank Daniels Jr. 145 W. Pennsylvania Avenue, Southern Pines, NC 28387 www.pinestrawmag.com

Legends & Lore

The story begins as Kaya Littleturtle and his grandmother Kat, two renowned storytellers of the Lumbee tribe, dramatically perform a history of the land where Weymouth now sits— from the First Nations' lives on it, through the Boyds’ conservation of it in the early 1900's, to our responsibilities for it as modern-day caretakers.

A Whole Lot More

The story continues… Cocktails, dinner catered by Elliots, silent and live auctions, and dancing to live music!

Black Tie Optional. Individual Tickets: $175

Tables of 8: $1,200

Reservations Required by October 3

All donations will be matched up to $75,000

Visit weymouthcenter.org

This Fall ’ s Playlist

Chamber Sessions

September 10 • 2 pm

Featuring Friends of Weymouth Ensemble premiering “Casualty,” a poem by James Boyd set to music by Dr. Paul Murphy.

Tickets start at $30. Student Tickets Available.

Live from the Great Room

October 22 • 7 pm

Enjoy Cocktails and Entertainment in a Vintage Setting, as we welcome Eric Vloeimans, Trumpet, and Will Holshouser. Accordion, bringing together jazz, classical and folk music. Doors open at 6.

Tickets start at $30. Cash Bar.

Arts & Humanities

Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebrations with Kaya Littleturtle of the Lumbee Tribe

October 8 • 2 pm

Presentation, land acknowledgment and history, smudging ceremony, prayer song, and traditional dances.

October 9 • 10 am

Outdoor Children’s Event, traditional dance showcase, friendship dances, corn husk doll making, storytelling and songs.

Free Admission/Registration Required.

“Come Sunday” Jazz

September 24 • 11:30-2pm

Enjoy live jazz on our Great Lawn, featuring Mint Julep Jazz Band and their vintage sound that’s always fresh. Bring chairs and a picnic. Cash bar with mimosas, beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages available.

Tickets start at $27.50. Student Tickets Available.

“Come Sunday” Jazz

October 29 • 11:30-2pm

Enjoy live jazz outside on our beautiful grounds, featuring Lucy Yeghiazaryan hailed for her “straight-ahead” jazz vocals. Bring chairs and a picnic. Cash bar with mimosas, beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages available.

Tickets start at $27.50. Student Tickets Available.

Writer-in-Residence Reading

October 25 • 5:30 pm

featuring Gibbons Ruark, poet Recent poems appear in The New Yorker and the Irish Times. The recipient of many awards over his 50 year career, including three NEA Poetry Fellowships, residencies at The Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Ireland, and a Pushcart Prize.

Free Admission/Registration Required.

For tickets and more information, visit weymouthcenter.org

Squirrelly Business

A seedy family of rodents drives an old dude nuts

By Jim DoDsoN

Anothersummer is ending.

And once again, the squirrels have won.

Last year about this time, you see, I made a promise to myself — not to mention the many wild birds that regularly visit our four hanging feeders — to find a way to outfox the large crime family of gray squirrels that inhabits Old George, the handsome maple tree that anchors our front yard.

The problem began rather innocently six years ago when we moved back to the heavily forested neighborhood where I grew up and rescued George from death by English ivy. The old tree flourished and, one afternoon, I noticed a couple gray squirrels had taken up residence in a hollow nook halfway up the tree. They seemed to be a respectable couple, perhaps elderly pensioners looking for a nice place to tuck in for their quiet retirement years. Our property is also home to several towering oaks, so come autumn there would be a plentiful acorn supply.

I hung a couple bird feeders by wires from George’s upper branches. Soon the wild birds were all over them. What a peaceable kingdom it seemed.

The next spring, however, there were four squirrels residing on Old George. Clearly, they were no elderly pensioners, for within months, two baby squirrels appeared and I found a juvenile delinquent regularly helping himself to premium birdseed, scattering it on the ground below the feeder, having somehow slid down the 10-foot wire like a paid assassin from a Bond flick.

He soon returned with two bushy-tailed pals from across the street. Word was out. Party at the Dodson house, all-you-can eat birdseed buffet, pay no attention to the old dude waving his arms and shouting obscenities.

By the next year there were at least seven or eight tree squirrels residing on Old George, a budding Corleone family of furry rodents regularly raiding the feeders, costing me a bundle just to keep them filled up. I bought expensive “squirrelfree” feeders and fancy bird feeder poles equipped with “baffles” guaranteed to keep the gymnastic raiders on the ground. These sure-fire remedies, alas, only baffled me because they posed only a minor challenge to the squirrels. So I made a deal with the big fat squirrel that seemed to be the head of the family. Whatever they found on the ground at the feet of Old George was theirs to keep. Thanks to the jays, the sloppiest eaters in the bird kingdom, there was plenty of seed for them to gorge on. For a while, this protection racket seemed to work until one afternoon as I was filling up “their” feeder, I heard a pop and turned to find the big fat crime boss squirrel dead on the ground. He’d been pushed off a high limb where two younger squirrels were looking down with innocent beady-eyed stares. Just like in the movies, a younger more ambitious crime boss was in charge.

I considered giving up and moving to northern Scotland. Instead, I asked my neighbor, Miriam, a crack gardener and bird fancier, how she handled pesky squirrels. By “crack gardener,” I don’t mean to suggest that sweet elderly Miriam was growing crack cocaine, merely that if anyone could tell me how to stem the tide of ravenous tree squirrels it was Miriam. She’d lived in the neighborhood for 40 years. She is my turn-to garden and bird guru.

Miriam thought for a moment before coming out with a chilling laugh. “They’re impossible to stop.” She pointed to her Jack Russells. “That’s why I have Jake and Spencer. They do a pretty decent job on the squirrels and chipmunks.” She admit-

ted that she always wondered whether squirrels are the smartest or dumbest of God’s creatures. “How can squirrels be so smart they can get into any kind of bird feeder — but always stop suicidally in the middle of the street whenever a car is coming?”

It was a good question I had no time to ponder.

Our other neighbors down the block, Miriam explained, had taken to humanely trapping their squirrels and releasing them in the countryside. “But I read somewhere that if you don’t take them more than 10 miles out of town, they’ll come straight back.”

That was all I needed — country cousins joining the feast.

Next, remembering my former neighbor, Max, I actually gave thought to arming myself with a Daisy BB gun. It’s right there in the second amendment, after all — the right to bear arms against unreasonable threats from hostile elements, both domestic and foreign. True, the Constitution doesn’t mention thieving gray tree squirrels per se, but one doesn’t have to be a strict constitutional originalist to interpret the broad meaning of those historic words.

Max was my neighbor down in Southern Pines, a fabulous gardener famous for his giant tomatoes, succulent sweet corn and luscious collards. To protect his bounty from the herds of deer that roam the Sandhills, Max essentially erected a Russianstyle penal colony around his veggie garden, complete with electrical voltage and 24-hour monitoring system.

The first evening I dined with Max and his beautiful wife, Myrtis, as the salt and pepper came my way on the lazy Susan, I noticed a large jar of Taster’s Choice — circa 1976 — festooned with several sheets of notepaper attached by rubber bands. The sheets were covered with dozens of dates written in tiny, neat handwriting.

“What are these dates?” I asked. “The last time you tried really old instant coffee?”

Myrtis laughed. “Oh, no. Those are dates of Max’s squirrel kills. He shoots them.”

Max just smiled. “Haven’t had a squirrel problem in years. It’s either them or my vegetables.”

I was in the presence of evil genius, a terminator of problem squirrels.

Call me a tree-hugging man of peace — Rocky and Bullwinkle were my favorite childhood cartoon characters — but I decided to forgo the gun and simply rely on Miss Miriam’s way to put the fear into the furry crime family that inhabits Old George.

Nowadays I wait until I see them climbing up poles, dangling upside down to feed or diving insanely from tree limbs onto our feeders, whereupon I strategically release our 75-pound Staffordshire pit bull and fleet-footed border collie-spaniel puppy and watch the merry chase begin. There’s been more than one narrow escape and parts of furry tails have been brought back to master of the hounds.

True, it’s not a permanent solution to the problem. But for now, Gracie and Winnie enjoy the exercise and I am sending an unmistakable message to the squirrelly Corleones.

They’d best stay out of the middle of the road when this old dude is at the wheel. PS

$2,795,000

1,850,000

If you want to KNOW Pinehurst, You need to KNOW Lin.

310 CREST ROAD KNOLLWOOD HEIGHTS

‘HOMEWOOD’’ is a sophisticated Colonial Revival style 7300 square foot outstanding Estate on 7.5 acres with magnificent private gardens. The main mansion was built in 1930 without regard to cost as a showplace for the Sandhills area. Gracious 6 bedrooms, 5 ½ baths, expansive deck overlooking pool and gardens.

135 SAINT MELLIONS PINEHURST NO 9

Location, Location, Location. This LOT is the crown jewel. Surrounded by an oasis of Golf and steps from the newly renovated Pinehurst National Clubhouse. Walk to the 1st tee, walk to the 10th tee, walk to lunch, walk to dinner and walk to all club activities. MOVE-IN-READY. Seller has invested over $700,000 in renovations sparing nothing in either materials or quality of design. $1,795,000

4 AUGUSTA WAY PINEHURST

Charming, Historic, one-of-a-kind Estate on over two acres just one and one half miles from the historic Village of Pinehurst. Located off Donald Ross Drive, the “Parson’s Estate’’ is a rambling, all brick home set amidst beautiful gardens and waterfalls overlooking a tranquil pond. The expansive patio across the back overlooks terraced stacked stone gardens leading to the Pond and total privacy.

HISTORIC HISTORIC PINEHURSTNO9

Jim Dodson can be reached at jwdauthor@gmail.com.

220

EAGLE POINT LANE

MID

SOUTH CLUB

Located on an island of Golf surrounded by Holes 7 and 8 on the Arnold Palmer designed Mid-South Club Course. The sweeping views of fairway, green and pond are breathtaking. A large and dramatic Carolina room with six sides and a 24 ft vaulted ceiling is the focal point of the home. Over 5400 square feet of living space. Handsome brick balcony.

$1,350,000

110

RACHELS POINT MCLENDON HILLS

WATERFRONT in beautiful McClendon Hills, an equestrian community surrounded by riding trails and rolling hills. Stunning home with nearly 5000 square feet of living space. Large gourmet kitchen with beamed ceiling, 5 burner gas cook-top, double convection ovens, Bosch appliances, island/bar with prep sink, and wood custom cabinetry. Home theatre and Fitness rm. Dock with fun Gazebo.

$1,179,000

Gorgeous home in desirable Pinewild Country Club, a gated community. Stunning entrance with 11 1/2 ft ceilings and a wall of windows overlooking the golf course. Handsome office off main living area. Located on the Par 5 eleventh hole of the Holly Course, views of the golf course can be enjoyed from all the main areas plus the brick patio with new awning and the year-round Carolina room.

$965,000

Photo by Tess Gillespie

PinePitch

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

The Sandhills Repertory Theatre presents The Opera Cowgirls, the alt-country band where the Grand Ole Opry meets the mezzo sopranos, on Saturday, Sept. 9, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 10, at 2 p.m., at the Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. For more information and tickets call (910) 692-3611 or visit www.sandhillsrep.org

Stayin’ Alive

Souljam, a band based in Vero Beach, Florida, will perform with Jamie Monroe as the opening act at Live After 5 from 5:15 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 8, at the Village Arboretum, 375 Magnolia Road, Pinehurst. There will be kids’ activities and food trucks. Beer, wine and additional beverages will be available for purchase. Picnic baskets are allowed; outside alcoholic beverages are not permitted. Bring your lawn chairs, blankets and dancing shoes. For more information call (910) 295-3642 or go to www.vopnc.org.

Santa’s Wordsmith

Join Mary Kay Andrews, the author of The Homewreckers and The Santa Suit, for the book launch of her novella Bright Lights, Big Christmas on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 11 a.m. at The Country Bookshop, 140 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Space is limited. For more information and tickets go to www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Wait Wait . . . Not My Job

Alonzo Bodden, a regular panel member from NPR’s Peabody Award-winning show Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me, kicks off BPAC’s 2023-24 Comedy Series at the Owens Auditorium, Sandhills Community College, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst, at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15. Bodden has done comedy specials on Amazon Prime and Showtime and was the season three winner of NBC’s Last Comic Standing. Tickets are $25 and up and can be purchased at SandhillsBPAC.com or ticketmesandhills.com.

Variations on a Theme

Stroll the beautiful grounds of the Weymouth Center and listen to Jazz on the Lawn featuring the Mint Julep Jazz Band from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 24. Bring your own blanket, chairs and a picnic, and enjoy the cash bar with mimosas, beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages available. Tickets start at $27.50 and children 12 and under are admitted free. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org

Magical Monarchs

Celebrate butterflies and promote pollinator habitats with a day of family fun and educational activities during the annual Flutterby Festival, on Saturday, Sept. 23, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Village Arboretum, 105 Rassie Wicker Drive, Pinehurst. Programs include an opportunity to interact and feed hundreds of newly emerged monarch butterflies in the giant Magical Monarch Tents. Live music is provided by musicians from the Carolina Philharmonic. Refreshments are available for purchase from food trucks, and tickets can be purchased at www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Page Turners

Libraries all across Moore County are signing up new patrons during the entire month of September. Get a Library Crawl Passport at one of the participating libraries, visit five or more libraries during the month, then return your passport to any of the libraries to be entered in a prize raffle. The libraries include Moore County Library, Page Memorial Library, Pinebluff Library, Robbins Area Library, Vass Area Library, Moore County Library Bookmobile, Given Memorial Library and Tufts Archives, Katharine L. Boyd Library at Sandhills Community College, Southern Pines Public Library, and SPARK-SPPL book vending. While you’re at it, check out a book or two. Happy reading.

The Gatlin Brothers. Nuff Said.

That’s Larry, Steve and Rudy, to all y’all. The Gatlin Brothers will open the Bradshaw Performing Arts Center’s 2023-24 Mainstage Series on Saturday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m. in the Sandhills Community College Owens Auditorium, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. The Grammy Award-winning trio has accumulated a lifetime of accolades, including seven No. 1 singles and 32 top 40 records. For information and tickets go to www.ticketmesandhills.com

Do You Want Slaw With That?

The Third Annual Pinehurst Barbecue Festival begins Sept. 1 featuring the Food Network’s “chopped” champion Adam Hughes at Tufts Memorial Park, 1 Village Green Road W., Pinehurst. The three-day festival concludes on Saturday, Sept. 3, with the Christopher Prieto Pitmaster Invitational, where barbecue virtuosos from all over North Carolina offer samplings of whole hog, ribs, brisket and poultry. In between there’s music and maybe a shot of bourbon or two. For more information visit www.pinehurstbarbecuefestival.com.

Virgo

(August �3 – September ��)

While there’s a part of you that longs to feel understood, let’s be honest: Your deadpan nature thrills you to your overly guarded core. Following a messy few weeks of Mercury stationed retrograde in your sign, you’ll have a rare opportunity to turn your hawklike perception inward. Don’t be afraid to examine your own motives. Are you overcompensating for something? Keep looking. You may be surprised by what you see.

Tea leaf “fortunes” for the rest of you:

Libra (September 23 – October 22)

Consult an expert.

Scorpio (October 23 – November 21)

Don’t spill all the tea at once.

Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)

You’re in the cabbage again.

Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)

Take a bold first step.

Aquarius (January 20 – February 18)

Be the stranger you wish to see in the world.

Pisces (February 19 – March 20)

Mind the pit when you bite down.

Aries (March 21 – April 19)

Don’t settle for the sideline.

Taurus (April 20 – May 20)

Ever heard of feng shui? Prove it.

Gemini (May 21 – June 20)

Resist the pumpkin spice.

Cancer (June 21 – July 22)

Trust your inner rumblings.

Leo (July 23 – August 22)

Three words: ice cream sundae. PS

Zora Stellanova has been divining with tea leaves since Game of Thrones’ Starbucks cup mishap of 2019. While she’s not exactly a medium, she’s far from average. She lives in the N.C. foothills with her Sphynx cat, Lyla.

Children’s Museum in Downtown Rockingham

Portrait of a Rock Icon

The good, the bad and the ugly

By Stephen e . Smith

Whenorganizing the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, the promoter phoned Chuck Berry to invite him to perform, explaining that the acts were donating their fees to charity. Berry replied, “Chuck Berry has only one charity and that’s Chuck Berry.” End of discussion.

That was Chuck Berry at his most generous, and readers of RJ Smith’s Chuck Berry: An American Life will likely be taken aback by the unsavory details of the life of the man who gave us “Maybellene,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Sweet Little Sixteen,” “Back in the U.S.A.,” “Reelin’ and Rockin’,” “School Days,” “You Never Can Tell” and “Johnny B. Goode,” rock ’n’ roll classics that pop culture will not willingly let die.

Smith’s biography has been widely lauded in print, online and over the airways, and his study of Berry’s life is as close to a complete examination available to the public. Court records offer even more objectionable details. This much is certain: The more you read about Chuck Berry’s lifestyle, the less likely you are to ever listen to “Maybellene” with a sense of nostalgia.

Berry grew up in a solid middle-class St. Louis family. He wasn’t a blues guy who spent his youth picking cotton and banging on a catalog guitar. He did, however, suffer discrimination early in his life, and Smith devotes the opening chapters of the biography detailing the effects of Jim Crow on Berry’s formative years.

Berry’s trouble began when he was convicted of armed robbery as a teenager and spent almost three years in juvenile detention. When he was released, he drifted into music, became an early master of the new electric guitar, and created an original sound by combining country music with boogie-woogie.

We can argue about who invented the concept of “rock star,” but certainly Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis could lay claim to the term. Berry’s shtick was to sing with impeccable diction while blasting glib rapid-fire lyrics that teenagers could instantly comprehend and dance to. This straightforward blueprint for early rock ’n’ roll attracted Black audiences in the early ’50s. By the mid-’50s Berry’s fanbase was integrated. In the 1960s, he was playing to almost entirely white crowds, at which point his performance was simply called “rock.”

The bulk of Smith’s biography is taken up with the upsetting stories that accompany Berry’s hundreds of performances. His business plan was straightforward. Berry would sign a contract with a promoter who was responsible for supplying the backup band and amplification equipment. He’d arrive in a Cadillac, also supplied by the promoter, minutes before he was to take the stage. There’d be no rehearsal, no interaction with the band, and he’d demand payment in cash before performing. Berry would count the moola, play for the designated amount of time, duckwalk for the audience’s edification, and bang out the hits for which he was best known. Then he’d exit the stage. If there was an encore, he’d demand additional cash. When the concert was over, he’d pack up his guitar and make a clean getaway.

Generally, the audience loved it, dancing, cheering and having a fine time. Berry made money, the promoter usually made money, and the audience left satisfied. The late Rick Nelson summed it up best in his hit “Garden Party”: “Someone opened the closet door and out stepped Johnny B. Good,/playing guitar like ringing a bell, and looking like he should.” Ray Kroc would have been proud — Berry cooked up musical cheeseburgers, each one a tasty clone of its predecessor. Consistency was the key.

All of which was fine and dandy with American audiences. But there was one overawing problem: Chuck Berry. He was irascible, mercurial, essentially unknowable, and had an affinity for trouble. After serving his time in juvie and achieving fame as a rock ’n’ roller, he began traveling the county with a 14-yearold Native American girl he claimed was his assistant. The cops weren’t buying it and nailed Berry for violating the Mann Act — transporting an underage female across state lines for immoral purposes. He spent two more years in prison. Then the IRS began tracking the cash Berry received for his performances and nailed him for income tax evasion, and late in his career he was busted for installing covert cameras in the restrooms of a restaurant he owned, an act of voyeurism that gave rise to an investigation that uncovered a trove of pornographic material in which Chuck Berry was the star.

As Berry’s antisocial behavior was becoming common knowledge, he was being roundly honored by the American public. On Whittier Street in St. Louis, the National Register of Historic Places listed his home as a monument, and after his release from prison for violating the Mann Act, NASA blasted gold-plated recordings of Berry’s “Johnny B. Good” into interstellar space aboard Voyagers 1 and 2. (Voyager 1 is now 14.1 billion miles from Earth, a far distance from the prison cells Berry occupied in the ’60s and ’70s.) His IRS indictment was greeted with a universal shrug, and his voyeurism conviction

was likewise ignored by the press. Chuck Berry went right on performing and raking in the big bucks, playing out the string until the bitter end.

Smith has included all the facts: the good, of which there’s little enough; the bad; and the ugly, of which there’s plenty. Two questions remain. First, who was Chuck Berry? Did anyone truly know the man? Berry explained his sense of self in an interview: “This is a materialistic, physical world. And you can’t really KNOW anybody else, man, because you can’t even really know yourself. And if you can’t know yourself then sure as hell no one else can. Nobody’s been with you as long as you and you still don’t know yourself real well.”

The second question is more complex, encompassing the American penchant for revering individuals, whether rich, talented or charismatic, who are given to violating legal and social norms. Are we willing to accept outrageous behavior from unrepentant religious leaders, corrupt politicians and wayward rock ’n’ roll stars because they’ve somehow made themselves infamous? Apparently so. After all, nothing is quite as American as hypocrisy. PS

Stephen E. Smith is a retired professor and the author of seven books of poetry and prose. He’s the recipient of the Poetry Northwest Young Poet’s Prize, the Zoe Kincaid Brockman Prize for poetry and four North Carolina Press Awards.

September Books

FICTION

Amazing Grace Adams, by Fran

Littlewood

Grace Adams gave birth, blinked, and now suddenly she is 45, perimenopausal and stalled — the unhappiest age you can be, according to the Guardian. And today she’s really losing it. Stuck in traffic, she finally has had enough. To the astonishment of everyone, Grace gets out of her car and simply walks away. She sets off across London, armed with a £200 cake, to win back her estranged teenage daughter on her 16th birthday. Because today is the day she’ll remind her daughter that no matter how far we fall, we can always get back up again. Because Grace Adams used to be amazing. Her husband thought so. Her daughter thought so. Even Grace thought so. But everyone seems to have forgotten. Grace is about to remind them . . . and, most importantly herself.

the power-hungry of the world, so she lives hidden as a courtesan of the Baron of Archwood. In exchange for his protection, she grants him information. When her intuition leads her to save a traveling prince in dire trouble, the voice inside her blazes with warning — and promise. Today he’ll bring her joy. One day he’ll be her doom. But the city simmers with rebellion, and with knights and monsters at her city gates, and a hungry prince in her bed, intuition may not be enough to keep her safe.

The Vaster Wilds, by Lauren Groff

Bright Lights, Big Christmas, by

Mary Kay Andrews

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Santa Suit comes a novella celebrating the magic of Christmas and second chances. Newly single and unemployed, Kerry Tolliver needs a second chance. When she moves back home to her family’s Christmas tree farm in North Carolina, she is guilttripped into helping her brother, Murphy, sell trees in New York City. She begrudgingly agrees, but she isn’t happy about sharing a trailer with her brother in the East Village for two months. Plus, it’s been years, since before her parents’ divorce, that she’s been to the city to sell Christmas trees. Then, Kerry meets Patrick, the annoying Mercedes owner who parked in her spot for the first two days. Patrick is recently divorced, father to a 6-year-old son, and lives in the neighborhood. Can Kerry’s first impressions about the recently divorced, single father and — dare she say, handsome — neighbor be wrong?

The Fall of Ruin and Wrath, by Jennifer L.

Armentrout

Long ago, the world was destroyed by gods. Only nine cities were spared. Separated by vast wilderness teeming with monsters and unimaginable dangers, each city is now ruled by a guardian — royalty who feed on mortal pleasure. Born with an intuition that never fails, Calista knows her talents are of great value to

A servant girl escapes from a Colonial settlement in the wilderness, carrying nothing with her but her wits, a few possessions, and the spark of God that burns hot within her. What she finds will bend her belief of everything that her own civilization has taught her. At once a thrilling adventure story and a penetrating fable, The Vaster Wilds is a work of raw and prophetic power that tells the story of America in miniature, through one girl at a hinge point in history, to ask how — and if — we can adapt quickly enough to save ourselves.

NONFICTION

The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts, by Loren Grush

When NASA sent astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s the agency excluded women from the corps, arguing that only military test pilots — a group then made up exclusively of men — had the right stuff. It was an era in which women were steered away from jobs in science and deemed unqualified for space flight. Eventually, though, NASA recognized its mistake and opened the application process to a wider array of hopefuls, regardless of race or gender. From a candidate pool of 8,000, six elite women were selected in 1978 — Sally Ride, Judy Resnik, Anna Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid and Rhea Seddon. The Six shows these brilliant and courageous women enduring claustrophobic — and sometimes deeply sexist — media attention, undergoing rigorous survival training, and preparing for years to take multi-million-dollar payloads into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle. Together, they helped build the tools that made the space program run. One of the group, Judy Resnik, sacrificed her life when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded at 46,000 feet. Everyone knows of Sally Ride’s history-making first space ride, but each of the six would make their mark.

Don’t Miss Our Fall Rates

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

My First Lift-the-Flap Nursery Rhymes, art by Ingela P. Arrhenius

Just what does the Itsy Bitsy Spider do when the sun comes out? Find out this and much more in this retro-cool, lift-the-flap collection of classic nursery rhymes that also includes QR codes for sing-along recordings. The perfect gift for any new baby. (Ages birth-3.)

Who Works at Night?, by Peter

Arrhenius

A number of communityhelper books feature police officers, firefighters and garbage collectors. In Who Works at Night? some less-seen nighttime helpers get their day in the sun. Road construction workers, night drivers and doctors are just a few of the jobs featured in this fun liftthe-flap title that’s perfect for preschool classrooms. (Ages 3-6.)

The Lost Library, by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass

When 11-year-old Evan discovers a little free library that has mysteriously appeared in his town — the physical library burned to the ground years ago — he begins to investigate with no idea that two weathered books will completely upend his entire world. Narrated by a massive orange cat and an omnipresent ghost librarian, this is a story every book lover will devour. (Ages 8-12.)

Wicked Wild Poems of the Pine Tree State, by Diane Lang

From salamanders to seagulls and every tree, bush and animal in between, these poems celebrate the familiar wild living things we cherish from the Maine woods to the craggy windswept coastline. From pelicans to porcupines, blueberries to bears, dragonflies to deer, Maine holds gems of nature that are beautiful and rare. Turn a page and come inside — they’re waiting for you here! (Ages 7-18.) PS

Compiled by Kimberly Daniels Taws and Angie Tally.

BOOK NOW!

A Little Misdirection

A lake by any other name isn’t always as clear

By Bill FieldS

Our next-door neighbor, Dom Scali, was a good man: World War II veteran (European theater), father of a boy and a girl who were my pals. A native New Yorker and a butcher, for years after moving to Southern Pines — where he ran the Mid Pines Golf Club locker room from fall through spring — Dom went north with his family in the summer and worked in his old trade on Fire Island.

Dom drove an Oldsmobile Delta 88, dark green with a white top, a first-class car that made the parade of bargain, well-used models in our driveway feel like junkers. One late summer day around 1970, though, I discovered Dom’s sense of direction wasn’t as good as his sense of style.

We didn’t have school because of a teacher workday, and the Scali family kindly invited me to join them on a day trip to White Lake in Bladen County. This was a big deal because White Lake was to freshwater bodies of water what a Delta 88 was to sedans.

White Lake is one of many Carolina bays, oval depressions in the Coastal Plain. There were many theories about how the bays were formed, from the impact of meteorites to the spawning of giant fish. Experts eventually agreed that when the ocean receded, waves created pools of standing water shaped in elliptical forms by wind from a constant direction (northwest to southeast).

Many of the Carolina bays were the color of strong tea, but the water in the 1,200-acre White Lake was so clear it was as if it had come from a bathroom faucet. You could walk in up to your shoulders and still see your feet on the smooth, white sand bottom — you didn’t have to worry about stepping on something icky. I never saw anything that compared to the pristine water of White Lake until a few years later on a trip to the Florida panhandle and a visit to Wakulla Springs, which was so crystal clear the manatees could spot one another from a football field away.

I never rode a glass-bottom boat at White Lake, but there was a pier, concession stands and carnival rides. Away from shore, expert waterskiers performed tricks. It was about half as far from home as the Atlantic Ocean, but nearly as much fun as our annual vacation to the beach. In flip-flops, bathing suit, T-shirt and carrying a beach towel, I eagerly piled into the back seat with Donnie and Karen for the 75-mile drive southeast to White Lake. Dom was behind the wheel with wife Rose riding shotgun.

We were counting license plates and otherwise entertaining ourselves. After a while, the chatter in the front seat led to a stop at a gas station. We spent dimes on Cokes from the drink machine. I saw Mr. Scali speaking to the attendant. “It won’t be long now,” he said when getting back behind the wheel.

In fact, it wasn’t too long until we found ourselves on a commercial strip and saw signs for . . . Spring Lake. We had spent most of the morning heading toward the pawn shops and military surplus stores of the town near Fort Bragg. Mr. Scali had maneuvered us to the wrong “lake.”

I sat quietly. Dom’s wife and children were capably critiquing what had happened.

“We’ll get there,” Mr. Scali said after everyone had calmed down.

And we did, a long time after we should have. As we rolled into the parking lot in late afternoon, we saw families packing up their stuff to head home.

We had a swim; the White Lake water as clean and the bottom as smooth as I remembered from my previous trip. We weren’t there long enough to worry about getting sunburned. Before we knew it, we were knocking the sand off our flip-flops and getting into the Olds for the ride home — a journey that fortunately didn’t include any wrong turns or detours to Spring Lake.

Our stories of the day lasted longer than that roundabout ride to White Lake and were always told with a smile. PS

Southern Pines native Bill Fields, who writes about golf and other things, moved north in 1986 but hasn’t lost his accent.

The Adventurous Child

Illustrator Jesse White’s major minors

By Wiley Ca Sh

p hotographS By m allory Ca Sh

When

former teacher Jesse

White discovered that her young students’ personalities and identities weren’t reflected in the teaching materials she was provided, she decided to take their education into her own hands, literally: She drew all of her classroom materials by hand in an effort to bring their lives more into her classroom. White, who is now a full-time illustrator, hoped her efforts conveyed how much she valued and believed in each child and how they saw themselves represented in the world. This conviction to portray the world as children see themselves in it comes from her own childhood outside Siler City, where she grew up with her mother, Gwen Overturf, and her father, Eddie White, on 10 acres of land along the Rocky River.

“Childhood is a primary inspiration for me,” she says on a bright afternoon at her home in Durham. “I’m someone who loves nostalgia and likes thinking about ways that we can reconnect with our childhood or just the child inside of us. And so that’s what I do all day; I go back to little

Jesse, who was spending a lot of time in the woods with my mom and by myself exploring the rocks near our house, coming up with games, ideas and secret missions that I would go on. My primary inspiration is my childhood and the time that I spent outside in nature.”

Jesse was home-schooled until second grade and spent a lot of time accompanying her mother to various jobs where she worked in landscaping and at a goat dairy. She was left free to explore.

“I would spend a ton of time with the dog and the goats, and go wandering off into the woods.”

When her mother began teaching at the former Community Independent School, Jesse followed. And then she was off to public school for middle and high school.

“I’ve had a pretty big range of educational experiences. Looking back on

it, even though there were some difficult transitions, I wouldn’t trade it, for sure. I value a lot of what I picked up and learned at each of those different types of schools,” she says.

But she felt different from other kids. After years of learning to milk goats, roaming the woods and developing elaborate games on her own, how could she not? As an artist, she was more intent on drawing the natural world than superheroes or Barbies.

“I was drawing stuff that my classmates had never really seen before,” she says. “So maybe that’s where that difference showed up.”

Jesse gained inspiration not only from the woods around her, but also from her parents, both of whom were arts-oriented. Her mother, Gwen, had a background in graphic design and experience in education. Although Eddie, her father, had a background in graphic design as well, he designed and built houses for much of her childhood. When she was in middle school, he shifted away from construction and became a full-time artist, creating large-scale metal sculptures and installations, including one for the Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

It was in college at UNC-Chapel Hill that Jesse first considered pursuing a career in arts education.

“It was this wonderful answer to what had been missing for me,” she says. “I enjoyed making art, but I was like, ‘Man, this is missing a social aspect somehow. What can I be doing to use this to engage people and help them reflect on their own identities and their own lives and their own learning?’ And so art education blew my mind in that way. I could not only make art, but I could facilitate learning through art.”

Fresh out of graduate school, the first time she stepped into her own classroom, Jesse admits to having “life altering lessons” that she planned to present to her students. She quickly found that having a class of 25 to 32 kids was as much about function as it was creativity. But she absolutely loved it. “It was one of the most exciting and rewarding things that I’ve ever done,” she says, and by her second year she had learned how to balance the practical demands of curriculum and classroom management with her creative ideas on how to engage students.

After four years in the classroom, she decided to go out on her own and pursue a full-time career as an illustrator. Once she focused on her own art, she recalled the power of creating the materials that represented who her students knew themselves to be and the ways in which she once saw herself as a young girl who thrived in the outdoors. The results were illustration after illustration of young girls exploring natural landscapes, much like Jesse had.

“I don’t know why it took me so long to realize this,” she says, smiling, “but I just don’t draw kids inside very much.”

A quick perusal of her website or Instagram page reveals this to be true. In one illustration, a little girl in a rainslicker peers over the bow of a storm-tossed ship, the tentacles of a sea monster snaking below her. In another, a girl sits comfortably atop a rock and pours a cup of tea, a blue snake encircling her neck.

Jesse’s work also reveals a lack of adult characters, something others — including the editors of her forthcoming book, Brave

Like Fireweed, which she both wrote and illustrated — have brought to her attention.

“‘We can’t have these kids just wandering by themselves out in the middle of nowhere without any adult supervision,’” she says, paraphrasing her editors. “I totally get that. But a huge focus and motivation for my artwork is to show kids as the capable and intelligent and independent beings that they are, and that doesn’t always require having an adult presence in order to be like that.”

People might also wonder where all the boys are because Jesse’s main characters are primarily young girls. “I’ve always found it to be incredibly important to include girls in my work who are outside, playing, exploring, adventuring, just because that’s not something that they’re always allowed or encouraged to do,” she says. “It’s something that I was allowed and encouraged to do, and that became a really important part of who I am.”

Studies examining children’s books of the past 60 years show that not only have boys been better represented than girls, but girls have also been portrayed as more emotional and less likely to engage in adventurous exploration.

Viewing Jesse’s work, it’s not hard to imagine these girls leaping from the page and striking out for places as yet undiscovered. And it’s not hard to imagine young Jesse doing the same. She still is. PS

Wiley Cash is the Alumni Author-in-Residence at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. His new novel, When Ghosts Come Home, is available wherever books are sold.

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Debbie Darby (910) 783-5193

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This sleek and inspiring home is being sold turn-key with all furnishings. It’s never been so easy to move to Pinehurst!

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AUTHOR EVENTS

Amina

Luqman-Dawson

Freewater

(Newbery & Coretta Scott King Award Winner)

Monday, September 11th at 4 pm

Tickets available on ticketmesandhills.com

Juliet Lam

Kuehnle

Who You Calling Crazy?!

Sunday, September 17th at 2 pm

Tickets available on ticketmesandhills.com

A Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World

Tuesday, September 19th at 5:30pm

Tickets available on ticketmesandhills.com

In store author event

Carole Lindstrom

Autumn Peltier Water Warrior

Tuesday, September 19th at 4 pm

Tickets available on ticketmesandhills.com

Diane Flynt

Wild, Tamed, Lost, Revived

The Surprising Story of Apples in the South Sunday September 24th at 2 pm

Tickets available on ticketmesandhills.com

Mary Kay Andrews Bright Lights, Big Christmas

Tuesday, September 26th at 11 am

Tickets available on ticketmesandhills.com

Rachel Renee

Russell & Nikki Russell

Dork Diaries: A Not-So-Posh Paris Adventure.

Wednesday, September 27th at 4 pm

Tickets available on ticketmesandhills.com

David Gessner

Pancakes à la Einkorn

Welcome to the world of ancient grains

Story and photograph By roSe SheW ey

Crêpes, the slender, graceful cousin of the pudgy, all-American pancake, used to be the unrivaled god in my Olympus of all things batter-fried. With a culinary frame of reference of an expat and, well, a tad bit of ignorance, I had a lingering prejudice against pancakes for a long time. Put yourself in my shoes. Aside from the fact that a pancake seems to be just ordinary cake posing as a breakfast food, to the untrained eye, they appear a bit clumsy (if not to say uninspired). If you haven’t had the satisfaction of tasting properly prepared, made-from-scratch pancakes (I had the misfortune to be introduced to pancakes from a box mix), it’s not totally unreasonable to be skeptical of the legitimacy of this cake-like meal. Unjustly so, as lovingly home-crafted pancakes, artfully stacked and creatively topped, are a revelation in all their pillowy, puffed-up goodness. Though I have only recently begun to incorporate pancakes into our brunch routine — I still find them a bit heavy for breakfast — what absolutely sold me is making them with einkorn flour.

Einkorn wheat is an ancient grain believed to be the oldest and purest food around. Unlike modern grains, einkorn was never hybridized and contains fewer anti-nutrients, such as gluten. Folks who have a mild gluten sensitivity are often able to consume einkorn because of its gluten profile, which differs in quality from modern gluten.

While you can substitute einkorn for all-purpose flour, I found it best to start out following dedicated recipes to get a feel for this unique flour. Einkorn pancakes are an easy, fail-proof introduction to the world of ancient grains. It adds a nutty flavor and aids in keeping pancakes as fluffy as they need to be. Watch out crêpes, pancakes are on the rise! Pun intended.

Chocolate Einkorn Pancakes with Cherry Sauce (Makes 4-6 pancakes)

Cherry Sauce

1 tablespoon arrowroot powder

1/4 cup water

1 pound fresh or frozen pitted cherries

4 - 6 tablespoons sweetener, such as honey, maple syrup or granulated sugar, to taste

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

In a small bowl, whisk together the arrowroot powder and the water to create a slurry. Set aside. Add cherries, sugar (start with less sweetener and add more later, if desired) and lemon juice to a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the slurry while stirring continuously and simmer until the sauce thickens; for a bright red sauce, take off the heat now or keep simmering for 5-7 minutes for a more homogenous, cooked-through cherry sauce.

Einkorn Pancakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose einkorn flour

3 tablespoons cacao powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk or full-fat milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 tablespoon melted butter

2 tablespoons honey

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Add the remaining ingredients to a separate bowl and mix with a hand mixer until frothy. Add the dry mixture to the liquid mixture and stir until the batter is smooth. Allow batter to rest for a few minutes, as einkorn is slow to absorb liquid. Heat a skillet over medium heat, add desired amount of batter (about 1/4 cup) and cook on one side until the edges look done and the center bubbles up, then flip for a brief moment to finish cooking. Serve right away with toppings of your choice. PS

German native Rose Shewey is a food stylist and food photographer. To see more of her work visit her website, suessholz.com.

Cognac, Pisco and Applejack

Here’s the story ’bout a spirit named Brandy

By tony CroSS

The other day I was watching Anders Erickson on YouTube, and he was demonstrating how to make the brandy crusta — a classic cocktail that I haven’t whipped up in almost a decade. It got me thinking about the different types of brandy that have been sitting, untouched, in my cabinet. Let’s discuss.

First, what is brandy? Simply put, it’s a spirit distilled from fruit. Cognac, for example, is produced in the Cognac region of France. There are six sub-regions, or appellations, where the grapes are grown. The grapes are fermented after being picked and then double-distilled in copper pots. The “eau de vie” is then aged in oak barrels. Cognac is classified in three different categories: VS (Very Special/Superior), aged for at least two years in oak casks; VSOP (Very Special/Superior Old Pale), aged for at least four years in oak casks; and XO (Extra Old), aged for at least six years in oak casks.

Pisco, another type of brandy, is native to parts of South America, Peru in particular, and is made by the distillation of grape juices and musts (the pulp and skins of crushed grapes).

There was a time, long ago, when pisco was the only spirit you could get in the western United States. In Meehan’s Bartender Manual, bartender and author Jim Meehan explains: “Pisco Punch became legendary thanks to Scottish barman Duncan Nicol, who purchased San Francisco’s historic Bank Exchange Saloon — with its house punch recipe — in 1893 and kept it a secret, despite fanfare and public prying, until his dying day in 1926.” Some speculate that Nicol’s secret ingredient wasn’t just the gum arabic, it was cocaine. Meehan says, that might “explain why he permitted only two portions per patron.”

Another type of brandy, this one native to the United States, is apple brandy. An argument can be made that apple brandy has just as much claim to be America’s spirit as bourbon whiskey. Laird & Company, originally based in New Jersey, has been making brandy since the 1700s. Laird’s bonded apple brandy adheres to the same set of standards required for bonded whiskey, yielding a rich, deeply aged, spicy spirit. In addition to apple brandy, there is applejack. This spirit is traditionally produced by freezing distillation, known as “jacking.” Modern applejack is usually a combination of apple brandy and a neutral grain spirit (a 30 percent to 70 percent ratio). France has its own version of apple brandy, called Calvados. Produced in the

Harness the Change in Seasons

IN THE SPIRIT

Calvados region of France, it’s defined by production and aging regulations similar to those for cognac and Armagnac. It tends to have a crisp apple flavor with loads of barnyard funk.

In his YouTube video, Erikson says he never thought much about the brandy crusta because he felt it was more about the presentation than the ingredients in the cocktail itself. That resonated with me. I remembered making the cocktail and thinking that the whole thing was kind of silly. It’s one of the only cocktails that you garnish before you prepare the drink. The copious amounts of sugar crusted on the rim (hence the name) was kind of a turn-off for me. Erikson confessed that if it wasn’t for this cocktail, he would have never tasted the drink that turned him on to bartending — the Sidecar. (Another classic cocktail with links to the brandy crusta.) The lesson I learned is to respect all of the classics — even if it’s not your thing. So, without further ado, here’s Anders Erickson’s recipe:

Brandy Crusta

Take a large lemon and (with a Y-peeler or other peeler) peel around the entire fruit. Cut the lemon in half. Rim a coupe glass with the open half of sliced lemon; dip the rimmed coupe in sugar (don’t skimp). Carefully curl the long lemon peel all along the inside of the glass.

2 ounces Pierre Ferrand 1840 cognac

1/4 ounce Pierre Ferrand dry curaçao

1/4 ounce Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur

1/4 ounce semi-rich simple syrup (1 1/2:1 sugar/water)

1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice

2-4 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients in a shaker, add ice, and shake hard for 15 seconds. Double strain into coupe glass. PS

Tony Cross owns and operates Reverie Cocktails, a cocktail delivery service that delivers kegged cocktails for businesses to pour on tap — but once a bartender, always a bartender.

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A Royal Pain

All the fashion and feuds fit to print

By deBorah Salomon

Enough already!

In the late 18th century, Colonists waged an eight-year war to gain independence from an English king and his government. Now we seem to be creeping back into the fold. The Sussexes get more internet ink than the Trumps and the Bidens combined. Most reports are no more than yesterday’s news rehashed, sporting a sexy headline suggesting scandal, bankruptcy, feuds and divorce, dressed up in designer outfits with ridiculous hats.

No report is too old or too petty. In late July, this headline surfaced: “Biden Snubs the Sussexes.” Seems Meghan and Harry asked Joe for a ride back home on Air Force One after the queen’s funeral, which took place last September. Joe declined, fearing the wrath of King Charles III.

What nerve! Obviously, Markle’s mark is all over a move that would have cemented her status stateside. Instead, the same week, reports of a teary duchess accompanied the headline “Meghan Struggling in Hollywood.”

In desperation for something more au courant, the scandalmongers have dug up dirt on Prince Edward-the-Meek, the one who as a young man shunned princehood for the entertainment industry. Eventually, Mummy lured him back, married him off to a respectable woman and dispatched him to open hospitals.

Currently, dominating daily briefings are Princess Kate’s fashion choices and the neo-normalcy enjoyed by her children, as though every 10-year-old wearing a tailored-to-measure blazer sits in the royal box at Wimbledon.

But I guess that makes better reading than Charles evicting his naughty brother Andrew from a royal residence because bro’s BFF was the late Jeffrey Epstein. Do I remember reading that prescandal, Andrew was known to be Mummy’s favorite?

Well, Charles settled that score.

What really sticks in my craw is King Charles’ oft-reported desire to scale down the monarchy, maybe save a few hundred thousand pounds by deflating the pomp. He might start with the royal wardrobes, where designers are named for every thread worn by Camilla/Meghan/Kate. Then he could fire the scribe

who keeps tabs on what was worn where, by each, since when appearing together royal wives must be color-and-style coordinated. Should they clash, heads roll. When in Scotland, tartans and cashmere required. Cleavage must be kept under wraps. Nobody leaves the castle bare-legged. I can’t imagine the adorable children in mismatched shorts and Popsicle-stained Ts, let alone scuffed sneakers (which Brits call plimsolls).

Ah, yes . . . the Brits have a zippy word for everything. This ancient Duke University English major is certain Will Shakespeare would have dubbed Meghan a vixen. Her motives were visible out of the gate: Not on the Hollywood A-list, she parlayed a confused, saddened, rebellious prince into a ticket to ride . . . on the royal train, private jets and a gold-encrusted carriage. She parlayed well. Remember, she’s an actress, unafraid to flout the queen’s rule governing public displays of affection by constantly gripping Harry’s hand. She squirreled away every actual and perceived slight to be regurgitated for Oprah. Then, tearfully, she convinced Harry to leave the only life he’s known for her turf, along with their two adorable red-haired babies.

Harry, in her thrall, wrote a book that inflamed the family he purports to “love.” And now this antithesis of a Montecito surfin’ dude claims to be “happy.” I watched Harry: The Interview with British journalist Tom Bradby. Harry did not look happy. He looked angry, defensive, cornered. Their moneymaking schemes are crumbling. She wants a bigger, “safer” house. Bigger, that is, than their current nine-bedroom, 16-bathroom, $14 million pad. He just wants a boys’ night out with Daddy and Will.

The tabloid press whispers splitsville.

I miss the queen. She was a class act.

I can’t believe I’ve fallen into the trap. I devour daily bulletins on royal rumblings, gloat over the ones that prove my conclusions. At least the Sussexes deflect attention from all that ails the world. Yada yada yada, as Seinfeld would say. This soap opera is far from curtains. PS

Deborah Salomon is a contributing writer for PineStraw and The Pilot . She can be reached at debsalomon@nc.rr.com.

A Community Treasure

The Ruth Pauley Lecture Series

By BoB hugheS and l arry a llen

Ruth Pauley was a tall, slender woman who walked with a cane. Her thick gray wavy hair sat atop a face that exuded confidence and commitment. She possessed a disarming smile, one with a hint of irony in it, and displayed it often.

A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Pauley graduated from Elmira College in New York before receiving a master’s degree in social work from Case Western Reserve University. She began her career with local social service agencies in Ohio before serving in Italy and Greece with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, followed by the Social Security Administration in Washington, D.C., as an international consultant, and then with the Boston regional office of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare as consultant to the New England region before bringing her energy to the Sandhills in 1978.

The lecture series that bears her name is well known in our community, though Pauley herself passed away before the series truly began. It was established in 1988 in her honor, two years after she and her friends — a committee working with the local chapter of the American Association of University Women and Sandhills Community College — had persuaded Dr. Raymond Stone, then president of Sandhills Community College, to host six lectures on nuclear disarmament, a cause to which Pauley was deeply committed.

Dr. Stone was unsure if the venture would succeed, but Pauley and her friends were persuasive and formidable advocates. Among them, they knew many high level individuals in government and the private sector, and had already identified speakers to address the complexities of the issue. It turned out that Stone’s misgivings were misplaced. All six of the lectures were standing-room-only affairs held in Kennedy Hall, room 134, at the time the largest room on campus. Pauley sat on the front row each evening wearing a large

peace sign necklace, which she wore at all times. Her health was declining even as the nuclear disarmament lectures proceeded. After she passed away at the age of 77, her closest friend, Eunice Minton, spearheaded the effort to establish an ongoing lecture series in her honor. Bylaws were written and approved by a board of directors made up of rotating volunteers from the community at large and its four sponsoring organizations: the League of Women Voters; the American Association of University Women; the Moore County School System; and, Sandhills Community College.

Mindful of its mission to “achieve a steady increase in the participation of local schools, personnel and students” in the study of state, national and world issues, on the day of a Ruth Pauley lecture the board arranges a visit by the speaker to one of the area high schools to meet with and address the assembled students. In conjunction with Sandhills Community College the board created the Lyceum Scholar program, providing opportunities for students and teachers to interact personally with some of the most intriguing thinkers of our time. Two students from each of the five area high schools (the Ruth Pauley Lyceum Scholars) are chosen to meet the speaker, enjoy a complimentary pre-lecture dinner with the speaker, and be introduced to the audience at the lecture. Following graduation, the Lyceum Scholar is eligible for a $200 books-and-tuition scholarship through the college’s foundation.

Over the years the series has benefited from several endowments promoting discussion of environmental (Agnes O’Connell Buckley memorial lecture), mental health (Lee and Ellen Airs lecture) and journalism/media (Sam Ragan lecture) issues. These, along with other endowed lectures (the Carl B. Munro lecture and the Lottie Sue Williamson memorial lecture) have enabled the Ruth Pauley Lecture Series to offer a rich and varied tapestry of contemporary thought. In addition to the support of its sponsoring organizations and endowments, the series also relies on the generous support of community donors. With an all-volunteer board of

directors and the help of Sandhills Community College, less than 3 percent of revenue is used for administrative expenses. The balance goes almost entirely for honoraria and speaker travel.

Stimulating and entertaining — from Maya Angelou, Sandra Day O’Connor, Newt Gingrich, Jane Goodall, Julian Bond and Jack Nicklaus to Diane Rehm, Leon Panetta, Patty Duke, Branford Marsalis, General Hugh Shelton, Len Elmore, Charles Grice “Lefty” Driesell and The People’s Pharmacy hosts, Joe and Terry Graedon — past speakers have encompassed the full spectrum of human experience.

Coming up this season:

September 21, 2023: “Discourse and Politics in Contemporary America” with Frank Bruni, noted New York Times op-ed columnist and Duke University professor of the Practice of Journalism and Public Policy.

October 19, 2023: “Climate Change and the North Carolina Coast” with Dr. Reide Corbett, dean of Integrated Coastal Programs and professor in the Department of Coastal Studies at East Carolina University.

The Past, Present and Future of the Second Amendment” with Joseph Blocher, Duke University professor of law and co-director of the Center for Firearms Law.

April 24, 2024: “The Solar System and Beyond: Artemis, Webb and Inspiring the Next Generation of NASA Explorers” with Anne E. Weiss, Ph.D., NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars Education specialist and team lead at NASA’s Langley Research Center.

All lectures are free, open to the public, and held in the Bradshaw Performing Arts Center in Owens Auditorium on the Sandhills Community College campus. Unless otherwise noted they begin at 7 p.m., are preceded by a cash bar in the auditorium lobby, and are followed by a question and answer session and reception. PS

For more information and to see a more complete list of past speakers, visit www.ruthpauley.org.

Originally from San Francisco, Bob Hughes and his family settled in Pinehurst in 1996 after a 20-year career in law in Aspen, Colorado. A faithful attendee at Ruth Pauley Lectures, he was appointed to the board as a community member at large in 2021. Larry Allen is a retired Sandhills Community College employee who served in both administrative and instructional positions from 1980-2014. He remains a lifetime member of the Ruth Pauley Lecture Series Board.

Photo by John Gessner

THE BEAT GOES ON - CHER TRIBUTE - SEPT. 29

OFRENDA: DIA DE MUERTOS CELEBRATION - OCT. 25

LORRIE MORGAN - OCT. 27

MILLON DOLLAR QUARTET CHRISTMAS - NOV. 20

HOLIDAY EXTRAVAGANZA - DEC. 1

SMOKEY & ME: SMOKEY ROBINSON TRIBUTE - JAN. 19

SOFIA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA - JAN. 31

STOMP - FEB. 5

THE STRING QUEENS - FEB. 28

BRASS TRANSIT: CHICAGO TRIBUTE - MARCH 21

“THE LAST DANCE OF DR. DISCO” MURDER MYSTERY FUNDRAISER - SEPT. 21

Straying Inland

The great egret pays a visit

By SuSan CampBell

’Tis the season of odd sightings: Birds are wandering in all directions. After breeding and ahead of fall migration, it is not uncommon to spot out-of-place individuals here in central North Carolina. One that gets reported annually is the great egret, or mistakenly referred to as a “white crane.” This is a large wading bird with all-white plumage, a long, pointed, bright yellow bill and black legs.

Although far more likely to be found along the coast, individuals or small groups turn up on inland ponds from late July through September. Egrets stalk small fish, frogs, crayfish and other small prey in the shallows. Occasionally they will snatch a snake, small bird or large insect as well. They will roost in thick, older pines over water, where ground predators are not likely to reach them. In coastal areas, they may join dozens or even hundreds of other individuals, finding safety in numbers.

During the breeding season, from March through June, great egrets sport long plumes along their backs. At the turn of the century, the species was nearly wiped out as a result of the millinery trade. Plume hunters decimated rookeries throughout the coastal United States. But, as with most of our wading species, great egrets have made a good recovery. On the verge

of extinction, they became the symbol of the National Audubon Society, the oldest and largest bird conservation organization in the United States, originally founded to protect birds from being killed for their feathers.

Great egrets are found in heronries, most often alongside great blue herons, throughout the Coastal Plain. Nesting habitat consists of sturdy trees usually on islands, free of mammalian predators. Simple stick platforms are constructed by the males and placed high in the canopy. Nests can be quite large, being up to a few feet across and a foot or so deep. One to six eggs are laid and incubated for almost four weeks by the female. The young are then fed by both parents for about a month before they are capable of flight. If there is a shortage of food, aggressive larger siblings are known to kill smaller ones. Fledglings may follow their parents for a few weeks or may become independent quickly, if food resources are scarce.

Both great egret adults and young of the year will disperse from their breeding areas to find new feeding areas. They are often seen in late summer on inland lakes, even in our mountain counties. In our area, they may use lakes, beaver ponds, creek or river floodplains, even water hazards on golf courses. They do not tend to stay in one place for very long so, should you come upon an egret this season, enjoy it because it likely will not be around more than a few hours — a day or two at most. PS

Susan Campbell would love to receive your wildlife sightings and photographs at susan@ncaves.com.

This September, during National Library Card SignUp Month, we encourage everyone to get out and visit as many of our libraries as you can and collect stamps along the way!

Have a question? Call:

Southern Pines Public Library (910)-692-8235

Moore County Library (910)-947-5335

Given Memorial Library (910)-295-6022

Katharine L. Boyd Library (910)-695-3819

Moore County Library

101 W. Saunders St., Carthage

Page Memorial Library

100 S. Poplar St., Aberdeen

Pinebluff Library

305 E Baltimore Ave., Pinebluff

Robbins Area Library

161 E Magnolia Dr., Robbins

Vass Area Library

128 Seaboard St., Vass

Moore County Library Bookmobile

Schedule at www.srls.info

Given Memorial Library and Tufts Archives

150 Cherokee Rd., Pinehurst

Katharine L. Boyd Library at Sandhills Community College

3395 Airport Rd., Pinehurst, Building 600

Southern Pines Public Library

170 W., Connecticut Ave. Southern Pines

SPARK- SPPL book vending 7850 NC 22 Hwy., Carthage

Bring

“passport” to any of the locations to be entered in the 2023 Library Giveaway.

A Sentimental Mood

Riding the wave of memories

By tom Bryant

“Things,” the Old Man said, “certainly ain’t like they used to be. It’s the penalty we pay for getting wise. About the time a man decides what he likes or don’t like, either he can’t find it, can’t afford it , or can’t handle it.”

—Robert Ruark from The Old Man and The Boy I was feeling a bit nostalgic the other day, sitting around the house, not doing much of anything. Linda, my bride, was visiting a couple of her longtime friends in Burlington, so I was sort of at loose ends. To have something to do and to get my mind off yard work, which I really needed to do, I decided to ride down to the little farm I lease for hunting to see if the doves were flying.

The weather was unsettled, threatening thunderstorms later in the day, so I was in no hurry to get to the farm. As I drove by the location of our old high school, I made an impromptu turn into the drive that led to the little rise where the ancient halls of learning once stood.

The night before, realizing that our high school class reunion was coming up, I pulled out my aged annual from 1959, The Timekeeper, and flipped through the well-worn pages. So I was in just the right sentimental mood to look around the location that had shaped so many young lives, mine included.

Of course the high school was long gone, having been demolished in the ’60s when consolidation of schools became the touchstone of the new education system; but the elementary school, gymnasium and auditorium were still there, although vacant and desolate.

There were a couple of Aberdeen police officers standing around a K-9 pickup truck, and I remembered reading in The Pilot that they were using the school for training purposes. The other buildings were locked and battened down tight. I eased by

the officers, waved and continued out the far drive. On the way, I noticed that the shop building, where Mr. Farrior tried to teach us how to use an electric saw without losing several important digits, was still hanging on the side of the hill. It seemed to be in remarkably good shape.

Where have all the years gone, I wondered, as I drove down the little road that led to the old football and baseball fields. We had a good year in football in 1958, our first year playing 11-man football. Up till then we had competed in six-man ball, almost another sport entirely. In ’58, out of 10 games, we won five. Our losses were close with the exception of our game with archrival Southern Pines, 26 points for them, zip for us.

When I pulled up beside the embankment of the vacant sports fields, I paused, got out of the Cruiser, leaned against it and looked out over the green acres that meant so much to so many budding young athletes. The football field and the baseball diamond were adjacent, efficiently utilizing the space as only our head coach, Hugh Bowman, could do. Now the fields were smaller. The tree line had crept in over the expanse where we used to play, and I couldn’t recognize where the two fields used to be. I understand that the small grassland expanse remaining is used for soccer.

Later, Robbie Farrell, the longtime mayor of Aberdeen, told me by phone that Aberdeen has big plans for the gym and the auditorium that the city purchased from the school system, but the old elementary school and the fields behind it would be sold to developers who would probably use the space for housing, closely supervised by the zoning and planning folks of the city.

Robbie also graduated from Aberdeen High School and has been a prodigious supporter of anything Aberdeen, probably the reason he has been the unopposed mayor for so long. It was a pleasure talking to him and reminiscing about the old days.

There have been several reunions of the class of ’59 since that momentous day when we walked confidently out of those small

halls of learning into the real world. At one of those get-togethers, a good friend and I wondered why high school remembrances mean so much when other events, probably much more influential in our lives, didn’t seem to be as important.

“Tommy, I think it’s because in those days, especially at our small Aberdeen school, we were almost like family,” he said. “We knew each other, we knew all of the faults and qualities of each and every one, real or perceived, and it was a pivotal time in our lives. Those days, like them or not, meant something.”

So here we go. Another, perhaps the last, reunion for the class of ’59 because so many of our group have already crossed the river, a trip we will all make. But I keep remembering the closing to a column I wrote about one of our reunions over 20 years ago:

“In the late ’50s, the country seemed to pause and take a break from the horrors of the ’30s, ’40s and early ’50s. The Depression was over, World War II and the Korean War had just ended. It was as if we were riding the crest of a huge wave, not knowing when or where it would break. Around the bend were the ’60s and flower children, drugs you couldn’t buy in a drugstore, the Cold War, and a heated one by the name of Vietnam. But in the summer of 1959, I was cruising in a 1957 Chevy with all the windows rolled down and the radio turned up to The Tams and beach music. I had just graduated from Aberdeen High and was ready to take on the world.”

It has been a while since that day in 1959, cruising in the Chevy, nothing any more important on my mind than college and playing baseball. A lot of water has flowed under that proverbial bridge, and there have been some bumps in life’s road along the way; but all in all, as we get closer to the end of the trip, it has been a good ride. PS

Tom Bryant, a Southern Pines resident, is a lifelong outdoorsman and PineStraw’s Sporting Life columnist.

Eight Ball

Reinvigorating a tribute

By lee paCe

In recent years the buzz about the Pinehurst Resort has swirled around the worldrenowned No. 2 course and its designation as an “anchor site” for our national golf championship. The spotlight has shown as well on the No. 4 course, which was given a significant makeover by Gil Hanse in 2018, and the accompanying launch of the uber-popular Cradle short course. And then in early 2023, news broke that Tom Doak was building course No. 10 on land 3 miles south of the resort with a spring 2024 christening.

Lost in the shuffle has been the No. 8 course, which was built in 1995 and opened the following year as a centennial tribute to Pinehurst having been open for exactly one century.

“No. 8 is the crowning glory for us,” said Pat Corso, the resort president and CEO at the time. “We considered the various things we could do to celebrate our centennial. We thought of the Jubilee Course at St. Andrews and said, ‘Why not build a golf

course?’ We needed another golf course.”

Resort owner Robert Dedman Sr. called Tom Fazio in April 1995 to ask if he’d design the course. Fazio happened to be at the Masters in Augusta, Georgia, when he phoned his office for messages.

“This was when they still had the bank of pay phones outside the clubhouse,” Fazio said. “It was before cellphones. I had a note to call Bob Dedman. I called him, and he asked if I’d be interested in designing No. 8. I was sitting there in one of the great places in golf, Augusta National, and got a call to do a course in another great place in golf, Pinehurst. It was like I had won the Masters. It was a great feeling.”

Fazio was given just over 400 acres of land punctuated by stark elevation changes, pine forests and wetlands located a mile-and-a-half north of the village of Pinehurst. The course was envisioned to cater to the resort golfer with a private club experience distanced from the masses of the five-course resort core. Six months after that first phone call, Fazio was standing on what would become the seventh fairway during one of his regular site visits from his home in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

“There’s a variety of changes in yardages, visuals, ups-anddowns,” Fazio said. “The par-3s are varied. You’ve got a flat par-5

GOLFTOWN JOURNAL

in the second hole and then the sixth is uphill with a strong slope from right to left. There are strong par-4s, easier par-4s.

“The wonderful thing is, you come to every hole and say, ‘This is different.’”

The golf marketplace certainly agreed with Fazio. In Golf Digest’s 2011-12 listing of America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses, it was ranked No. 68. But the course lost some of its luster over time, prompting resort officials in 2019 to consult with Fazio and the associate designer who worked on the course originally, Blake Bickford, on ideas to tweak the experience. If nothing else, a course with a quarter of a century on it needed a thorough agronomic spring cleaning.

“Our first thought was to tie it into the 25-year anniversary,” said Bob Farren, Pinehurst’s director of golf course and grounds management. “But COVID shut that idea down. After No. 4 opened and was so well-received, we needed to give No. 8 a boost to keep it as the third big draw with No. 2 and No. 4. Tom and Blake took a look and said they were confident the design was still there.”

The course closed for the summer of 2022, and the work was handled in-house. More than a hundred trees were removed to allow sunlight and airflow, and now from the clubhouse veranda overlooking the back nine, the visuals open up to the 12th and 13th holes half a mile away. Thatch and organic matter were removed from the tees and fairways with a technique called “fraise mowing” to improve drainage and bounce. The bunkers were rebuilt and the greens planted with TifEagle bermuda grass, with some of the crowns in the center of greens softened after years of buildup from top-dressing.

“The fairways are firmer and drain so much better,” Farren said. “We were having too many cart-path-only days with the drainage system being 25 years old. The course now plays firm and fast, just as it was designed. The vistas have been opened up, and that’s a dramatic difference.”

The clubhouse was remodeled as well, most notably with an enlarged and enhanced dining and bar area. Walk in the front door and a new walnut bar sits

THE RED FOX COURSE

THE GREY FOX COURSE

straight ahead with a glass window behind, opening up the longrange views of the back nine.

“We wanted to capture the view of the golf course upon entry,” said Calvin Buckley, Pinehurst’s director of projects and planning. “When you walk in, you have a sense of place. It’s a place people want to gather and be communal and look out over the golf course. It’s a nice center point.”

Another initiative on the horizon is the proposed groundbreaking in early 2024 of resort housing — cottages with four and/ or eight bedrooms situated between the ninth and 10th fairways. They would have the distinction of being Pinehurst’s first and only resort-owned rooms directly on a golf course.

The challenge and intrigue of the original Fazio design are intact, only now embellished. There is still the dicey demand to hit approach shots with wedges off downhill lies on the first and seventh holes. It’s uphill into the green on three, downhill off the tee on four, a properly aimed shot with a draw apt to catch the speed slot and carom far down the fairway. There is the puzzle of the long par-5 sixth, with its double-dogleg and canted fairway. There is the riddle of how much marsh to clip off in aiming your tee shot on the par-4 13th. You still need a bazooka to pound your approach uphill on the par-4 18th.

Four and nine are parallel par-4s carved out of open fields that once were the shooting range of the Pinehurst Gun Club. Wire grass and native vegetation dot the hardpan sand between the

parallel fairways, turning what Fazio felt was the worst aesthetic feature of the course at the beginning into one of its highlights. Later, 12 through 15 skirt an old pit and then connect with a freshwater marsh. Seventeen is a long-hitter’s and gambler’s delight — a 487-yard par 5, downhill, with a small lake front-right of the green. Two good shots might get you home; a good drive and bad approach might leave you in the drink.

“Every hole you come to, there are options,” Fazio said.

Because there is no real estate, the course is relatively compact, with little distance between greens and tees. It’s an excellent course to walk.

“It’s rare today to get the land and place the golf course first,” Fazio said. “That really makes this project special.”

“At No. 8, it’s just golf,” added Matt Barksdale, Pinehurst’s director of golf. “It’s just so peaceful, calm and tranquil.”

The Pinehurst storyline over the next year will justifiably revolve around the resort core and the 2024 U.S. Open on No. 2, and the opening of No. 10 in the springtime. But thanks to Tom Fazio’s design acumen in 1995 and a course and facility refreshening a quarter of a century later, No. 8 will quietly go about its business of being a terrific round of golf and a pleasant change of pace. PS

Chapel Hill based writer Lee Pace has written extensively about Pinehurst since the late 1980s and has authored a half dozen books on Sandhills area golf. Write him at leepace7@gmail.com and follow him @leepacetweet.

Lines to a Toad in a Rose Garden

You’re all eyes, even on the back of your head and warty as a road. Brown as the ground beneath roses.

Roses red as song, pink as a whistle, yellow as whiskey and white as wishes. The air is all roses breathing, their petals open to God and glory and whatever good comes winging this day. But Toad is bugging. He’s good at his job; fast and careful. On time and off, he sees upward, past roses to his calling  and takes it all in Toad’s time.

— Ruth Moose

Ruth Moose’s most recent book is The Goings on at Glen Arbor Acre

Four Seasons of Harmony

Strolling through the Gardens at Sunny Mount

By Claudia Watson

• Photogra Phs By l aura l . gingeriCh

The experience of walking through the Gardens at Sunny Mount is like taking a tour of a stunning plant-filled archipelago. Set into the native landscape of pines and wiregrass, Kyle and Mary Sonnenberg’s garden is filled with surprises and a spirit of experimentation. The couple moved to the nearly 7-acre property off a rutted road in McDeed’s Creek in 2016 with the lifetime dream of building a garden without limits.

Kyle’s interest in gardening began as a young boy working alongside his father, mainly doing yard work. Still, he says, it was enough to get him interested.

“When Mary and I married, we had a little house in Texas with a little garden that was mostly vegetables because we had so much sun,” he says, recalling how he enjoyed the connection of taking a tiny seed, nurturing it and watching it grow.

Over the years of his career in city management, they frequently moved to homes with conventional-size lots — small canvases

for Kyle’s creative style. But the lack of space didn’t stop him from carefully considering a plant’s texture, form and color when creating their outdoor oasis.

“Now our home sits in the middle of the property and has lots of windows, so the garden needs to look good each season. I work very hard to find plants that bloom each season, so there is always color,” he says. “I gravitate toward the unusual and exotic, and I push the climatic zones.”

Freed from the constraints of an established landscape and rule book, Kyle eagerly began to revive their property. First, he took on the entry by creating circular driveways and paths, and transplanting wiregrass.

“It was a laborious project that included two managed controlled burns to remove brush and deadwood,” he explains. “Suddenly there was an abundance of green. The wiregrass popped back. Then, I found dwarf huckleberry (Gaylussacia dumosa), goat’s rue (Galega officinali), and a small native dwarf iris (Iris

verna). It was an education. I understand why the burns are necessary for the preservation and restoration of the longleaf forests.”

Fortunately, they also inherited an arc of mature magnolias, hollies (Ilex) and wax myrtles (Morella cerifera) at the side and the rear of the lot, planted by the previous owners. These provide a privacy screen and a dense green backdrop for the unfolding kaleidoscope of color.

As each season unfolds, the garden gradually changes character, shifting from summer’s vibrancy to autumn’s fiery shades of orange and yellow and cooler tones of blue to winter’s delicately faceted silhouettes and spring’s colorful exuberance.

“I love so many plants, especially perennials and shrubs, but as nice as it is to have the repetition of plants and swathes of the same plant and color, I wanted this garden to be different. I use as many different plants as possible — so it’s a bit of everything, wild, exotic and colorful. And the best way to experience it is to stroll through it,” he says, gesturing the way.

The property’s meandering paths encourage exploration of the garden rooms focused on an item or plant theme. Threedimensional art and tropical-looking plants are the focus of the front garden. There, a metal unicyclist with a glass head announc-

es the garden’s entrance. Giant metal insects prowl the mixed beds of perennials and exotic shrubs. Sabal palms and ornamental Chinese dwarf bananas (Musella lasiocarpa) are considered winter hardy in our 7B planting zone and are grown for their bold-textured foliage. The yellow flowers look like an unworldly lotus. You’ll get a banana only if you’re lucky.

Pretty Copper Canyon daisies (Tagetes lemmonii), discovered on a mountain in Arizona, brighten the garden in late fall with a profusion of golden flowers. A firecracker vine (Manettia cirdifolia) climbs through the branches of a sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana). It bursts with orange and red blossoms that look like miniature firecrackers in the fall.

A garden bench near the home’s entrance is paired with the unlikely — an old, galvanized bathtub. Discovered in a warehouse in Asheville, it serves as an aspiring cocktail table. Unsuitable for setting a tipple, it provides plenty of conversation since it’s a home for native carnivorous pitcher plants and Venus fly traps that eat insects. It also includes terrestrial orchids and rain lilies (Zephyranthes candida) with tiny white star-shaped flowers and upright grass-like foliage that add structure.

It’s a relaxed garden. The areas around the home are framed

with broadleaf evergreen and deciduous shrubs, native grasses and flowering perennials, creating a sense of enclosure. And Kyle gives plants space to develop and do their own thing.

His enthusiasm for shrubs is evident, though he does not care for conifers. “They grow those up North, but I’ve been in the South for a long time and am used to these camellias,” he says, adding that deer damage is taking a toll. “I may need to change my ways and try some conifers that taste bad to deer or have unpleasant needles.”

The entrance to the rear gardens features a trough garden — named for the old stone troughs used to feed and water horses — discarded by farmers with the advent of modern plumbing. Now rare, Kyle discovered a cache of look-alike troughs made of soapstone that served as chemistry lab sinks.

Trough gardening is an ideal way to manage collections of plants that have specialized cultural requirements, such as succulents and cacti. His 10 troughs display a cactus garden where stunning dwarf Korean firs (Abies Koreana), with dark green needles and silvery white undersides, mingle with dianthus and yellow cacti.

Ground covers and flowers spill down the berm on the winding path, creating a seamless landscape.

“It’s my homage to Chanticleer Garden,” he remarks, referring to a public garden outside Philadelphia that serves as his garden muse. His eyes survey the large garden anchored by an aging flowering dogwood (Cornus florida). The tree sat alone in the landscape

in its younger life, but is now the centerpiece of the garden’s pond.

Clumps of Stokes asters (Stokesia laevis), rudbeckia, phlox, columbine and the crested white roof iris (Iris tectorum ‘Alba’) thrive on the sunny side of the berm and far from the tree’s canopy.

The shady area under the dogwood is home to shallow-rooted plants that thrive in either part or full shade. Here, hostas, hellebores, ferns, Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum biflorum), toad lilies (Tricyrtis hirta), lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis), and the tiny crested iris (Iris cristata) grow together. Low-growing ajuga and green and gold (Chrysogonum virginianum) glue the planting together. All were planted in the tree’s native soil and amended with a small amount of compost to accommodate, not bury, the tree’s roots, creating a healthy environment for all.

The pond is the work of noted landscape architect Vince Zucchino and a sparkling expression of gardening. Carefully placed boulders edge the 3,000-gallon pond and mature plantings tumble over the margins, blurring the water’s edge, making it a place Mary likes to dangle her feet on a hot summer’s day.

An essential design feature is the waterfall. “I didn’t want a gushing waterfall, but one that was weeping and makes ripples in the water,” explains Kyle.

Dragonflies and little aquatic beetles skim the water’s surface, and an abundance of bird life converges on the area guarded by a stone fawn purchased on a trip to the Toronto Botanical Gardens. Calla lilies (Zantedeschia sp.), turtlehead (Chelone spp.), white spider lilies (Hymenocallis latifolia), sedges and pickerel rush (Pontederia

cordata) grow in the boggy area of the pond where fish take cover.

Kyle removes the tropical water lilies (Nymphaeaceae) in late autumn and overwinters them. “I put them in buckets with water and stick them in a cool closet, and they return each year.”

Dry gardens surround the pond where the sunlight is intense, and the soil is dry. It’s planted with drought-resistant plants — including cactus, sedums, agave, yucca and Engelmann’s daisy (Engelmannia peristenia), a long-stalked perennial with yellow-petaled flowers and fuzzy green leaves.

Kyle’s secret weapon is a 24-foot potting bench he made several years ago and tucked to the side of the dry garden area.

“I buy plants small and grow them up in pots. It takes time, but they are less expensive, and they get acclimated and have well-established root systems before they are planted,” he says. “I bring the orchids out for the summer and all the plants I bought that I haven’t planted yet. I didn’t realize how handy it would be until I built it.”

At the highest and sunniest location on the property, The Mount, a small lawn with a working sundial flanks an extensive fruit and vegetable garden. Eighteen raised beds offer blackberries, raspberries and a variety of annual vegetables. Espaliered apples and pears line one side; nearby, blueberry, mulberry, native persimmon and pawpaw trees appreciate the sun.

On one side of the lawn is a patio and a crevice garden. It’s a rock gardening style that uses flat stones pushed vertically into the soil from the top. The vertical stones are closely spaced, leaving

deep, narrow soil channels for planting xeric plants. “It looks like a mountain range if viewed from the far side of the lawn,” says Kyle.

He does all the garden work and says it takes planning, endurance and patience. “At times, it would be helpful to have a gardener to assist, not a landscape maintenance person, but someone who gardens and knows about plant care,” he says. “I’ve learned my ambitions are greater than I have time to devote to them, at least as far as this garden goes.”

A red metal windmill clanks in the soft breeze above multiple perennial beds as we talk. The effect is magical in the late summer, and it’s a breathtaking place to linger with colors that clash, contrast and harmonize — constantly moving the eye around. It’s a pollinators’ haven with penstemon, coreopsis, echinacea, hemerocallis, salvia, crinum and a lovely scented Thérèse Bugnet pink rose.

“We often sit out here later in the day when the sky is clear, and we can smell the flowers and hear the hummingbirds as they whiz by,” he says. “It’s peaceful and makes us feel far away from everything.”

The years of work offer moments of harmony. The unexpected diversity of the Gardens at Sunny Mount is a living version of a painter’s palette and perfect for an autumnal stroll through a horticultural paradise. PS

Claudia Watson is a longtime contributor to PineStraw and The Pilot and finds joy each day, often in the garden.

Location, Lights, Action, Art

When The Color Purple came to visit

By lu huntley • illustration By gary Palmer

It begins with a surprise phone call.

In early January 1985, Bill Arnold, appointed by Gov. Jim Hunt as North Carolina’s first film commissioner, called my father, H. Harry Huntley, seeking permission to bring a guest to his Black Angus cattle farm in rural Anson County. The 650-acre property west of Rockingham on the other side of the Great Pee Dee River featured a double-pile, Greek Revival house with a two-story porch, circa 1835, known as the James Charles Bennett plantation house. Used by my father for storage after he purchased the land in the 1960s, the house was unoccupied, with no electricity or running water.

The guest that day was Kokayi Ampah, Steven Spielberg’s

location manager. Later that month, an entourage of 14, including Spielberg, came to visit the farm to walk the land and see the house that would become the location for the movie made from Alice Walker’s third novel, The Color Purple, for which she won both the National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize. Everything about this meeting was as secretive as a spy thriller.

My mother, Bettie, and my father played host to the Hollywood executives in a primitive cabin we call The Buddy House, a part of the property that remains in the family to this day. (My father sold the farm in the 1990s to a couple from Tennessee who completely renovated the James Bennett house and use it as their private residence.) Negotiations securing the

use of the farm as the locale for the movie take place inside this rustic, cozy house, warmed by the rebricked double fireplace.

While The Buddy House never appears in the film, it played a vital role, becoming Spielberg’s command center. Once home to a schoolmaster in the late 1800s, it got its name from Buddy Teal, who lived there sometime before my father acquired the property. When Hollywood and crew take over, the primitive house becomes Mission Control. Spielberg has six additional phone lines installed. The dailies are viewed there, and a sizable catering outfit pitches its tent next to it for the actors and crew to take their meals. It’s a happening.

In that hot, muggy summer of ’85, the Black Angus farm is transformed. Epistolary novels — stories conveyed in letters — do not fit a conventional storyline, so an old carved piece of red cedar becomes a mailbox, the device that delivers the narrative in Walker’s tale as it spans 30 years in the life of Celie Johnson, played by Whoopi Goldberg. Those familiar with the movie may remember when the character of Shug Avery (Margaret Avery) retrieves mail from the mailbox at the same time a bad lightning storm blows in. Shug stops in her tracks when she discovers letters to Celie from Celie’s sister, Nettie (Akosua Busia), postmarked from Africa. Shug realizes what has been going on. Albert, or Mister (Danny Glover), has been hiding Nettie’s letters. Shug and Celie discover the cache of letters under a loose floorboard. They begin reading them and piece together the story of Nettie’s life in Africa. Soon Celie pivots toward her truth. We see on the screen the metamorphosis of an abused female bearing unimaginable hardship to a knowing woman with her own desires and dreams.

The mailbox in Spielberg’s movie has a history of its own. Danny Ondrejko was the director’s greensman — the person on a film responsible for obtaining and taking care of anything green or natural on a set. My brother, Bill Huntley, kept a workshop on the farm where he made nature-carved wood sculptures. A gnarly piece of red cedar caught Ondrejko’s eye, and he wanted to know if Bill would sell it. Bill found it in Durham in the spring of ’72 on a walk in Duke Forest. The dead cedar was rooted in the creek bank, and Bill came back with his Disston D-23 crosscut handsaw, squared it off and carried it back to Anson County, where he mounted it on a board. Rather than parting with the piece, Bill told Ondrejko he could use it, as long as he returned it. It becomes the Johnson mailbox, the central prop, in the movie.

In a YouTube special about the making of the film, Spielberg explains how the mailbox becomes its own character, supporting the plot and assisting the transitions. Once the movie wrapped, true to his word, Onkrejko returned Bill’s Duke Forest find. As a thank-you, he gives my brother the postmaster’s (the character is named Mr. Huntley) authentic Rural Free Delivery government issue leather satchel. The old mailbox and mailbag have stayed with my brother ever since. Several years ago, it was plain the bag needed a little tender loving care, so I took it to JDR Leather Works near Whispering Pines, where the satchel with its fading insignia was restored by J.D. Rymoff, a spirited Marine veteran with a love for all things leather.

The first time we see mail delivery in the film, it’s by horse and buggy. The Color Purple, as motion picture, involves fitting

anything and everything into a period drama spanning the years 1909 to 1947, including transitioning from horses to horsepower.

As a side note, my grandfather William Henry Huntley’s business in Wadesboro, the county seat of Anson County, began as Huntley Livery in the late 1800s. In 1914, as automobiles became more widely available, my grandfather and some friends took the train to Detroit and drove back early models for hire or to sell. Huntley Livery morphed into Huntley Motors. The business would survive for nearly a century, run by my grandfather, my father (until he acquired the farm) and my brother.

At some point Spielberg, or someone else, learned this part of Huntley family history. Though I do not know who decided to name the postmaster Mr. Huntley, the move from livery to automobile appears in the movie. In a town scene filmed in Marshville — one county over — a brick building in the background is identified as Huntley Livery, Motors and Service. In the foreground townspeople mill about in period dress; vintage wheels debut.

In fact, being on-site on the farm during the sweltering summer, I see all manner of antique autos. I still wonder how these got all the way out there in prime condition and where the beauties may have traveled from. But if I learned anything from the experience of the farm undergoing a complete transformation from a rather large Black Angus cow-calf operation to a full scale Hollywood movie set, let’s just say Hollywood gets what it wants down to the tiniest detail. It’s no surprise some cars in this movie possess movie star status of their own.

I know Grandaddy Huntley would have been in awe of the motorcar lineup. Anyone would. And there is that unforgettable moment when Celie leans out the back of a yellow 1935 Studebaker President Roadster, points two fingers, and up close tells Mister, “Everything you done to me already done to you.”

Shug tells Celie, “Get in the car.” Then Celie leans out farther and declares, “I’m poor, I’m black, and I may even be ugly, but dear God I’m here. I’m here.” And the Studebaker stirs up dust rolling down the long dirt driveway.

Another postal delivery twist happens when I first see the movie in a Charlotte theater and recognize the bells attached to the postmaster’s horse, jingling his arrival. In a later scene when the postmaster delivers by automobile — a 1936 Ford V8 Deluxe Tudor sedan — once again the bells are affixed to the front of the vehicle to signal the post is on the way. I originally found the bells at a Raleigh flea market in the 1970s and quite purposefully placed them on the back side of The Buddy House. Where the bells have ended up, who knows? They are now merely part of Buddy House lore.

The sequel to The Color Purple, will be in theaters this year. The original, nominated for 11 Oscars, left behind a stretch of road near Jones Creek now officially named Hollywood Road, a masterpiece of filmmaking and some rich family memories, bringing to mind a favorite Alice Walker quote: “Expect nothing; live frugally on surprise.” PS

LuEllen Huntley, associate professor emerita from the UNCW Department of English, lives in Pinehurst. She is originally from Wadesboro, Anson County, N.C.

Gary & Sue Howell

Three Decades of Soothing Sounds

The interactive gardens of Star Ridge Aquatics

By a mBerly glitz WeBer • Photogra Phs By John gessner

Top & Bottom: Star Ridge Aquatics

In the cool of the morning, as the sun rises over the neighboring crop field and before the dew has burned away in the heat, a misty veil settles around Star Ridge Aquatics. The traffic sounds fade into the background as you roll onto a groomed gravel drive that carries you from Star Ridge Road to the center of the property. It circles an Ohio buckeye tree standing well over 40 feet tall with a beautifully rounded canopy. A rare find so far south, it’s likely the only buckeye tree for miles and miles, yet the transplant has put down deep roots and thrived in its unique habitat.

The same can be said for the man who planted it, Joe Granato. A tall man with a determined expression, Granato founded the aquaponic garden store Star Ridge Aquatics over 30 years ago. A transplant himself, he moved to Moore County in 1990 at age 19, following his parents when new employment brought them south. At the suggestion of a landscaping foreman, the young man looked into the horticultural program at Sandhills Community College.

At the time, SCC’s program was ranked second in the nation, and the Hillside Stream exhibit in the botanical gardens was mid-construction. As a student, Granato participated in the build, which remains a distinctive feature of the 27-acre estate. At the end of the program, he undertook an apprenticeship in a Maryland aquaponics nursery, where he was offered a job.

But Granato wanted to open his own nursery back in North Carolina. After a lengthy search for the perfect property, in 1993 he settled on 6 acres in Carthage, and Star Ridge Aquatics was born.

Though his skills were honed at SCC, Granato has always had a love for water and the outdoors. “Growing up, he was always outside, bugs crawling all over him,” his mother, Jane Granato, says. “His dad did azaleas and rhododendrons as a hobby. But aquaponics — that was all Joe. In eighth grade he’d design gardens for people and he’d put fountains and water gardens in, which was not common. He was well ahead of the times.”

When Granato opened Star Ridge there was only one other aquatic nursery in North Carolina. It’s not hyperbole to say he was a pioneer in the industry. “In the early ’90s we had 10 or 12 nurseries doing azaleas, rhododendrons, crape myrtles. I wanted to do something different, and water, aquariums, fish, that was always something I liked,” Granato says.

“In a regular garden, there’s no noise, no movement, it’s not interactive,” he adds. An aquaponic garden proffers the babbling sounds of a mountain brook set against underwater uplighting. The gardens are unique, constantly changing, and moving. Waterfalls that rush in summer develop ice on the sides in winter, contrasted by a heated pond.

Granato’s granite demeanor softens, his face lights up and

Star Ridge Aquatics

his voice changes as he talks about this special place. Like the constant-motion gardens he designs, Granato is always moving on to the next project. Walking around the property, he shares his plans for the future.

“I’m trying to make this more of a destination,” he says. “People travel hours to come here to buy plants and fish, but not everyone has a water garden.” The population influx to Moore County has brought a sharp rise in customers. Granato has been busy diversifying, adding farm fresh eggs, local produce and pick-your-own gardens. Kiwi, muscadine grapes, blueberries, blackberries, tomatoes, pomegranates, peppers and his own honeybee hives grow in harmony on the property. The Farm at Star Ridge was officially branded in 2020, but this year was the first for peak harvests.

“Our blackberries did well this past summer,” he says, pointing out new growth on a biennial cane. One hundred amber jars of honey were bottled, along with homemade jellies put up by Joe’s wife, Rebekah. With the various U-pick fields cycling across the seasons, there’s a draw to visit throughout the year. Families come for the blueberries, too, but once there it’s impossible not to stop and ogle the colorful fish darting playfully around their sale

ponds, or the lilies opening into brightly colored blooms.

Many of Granato’s earliest aquaponic gardening clients are now selling their homes or moving to retirement communities, and the still-intact ponds become a feature of the sale. “We do a quality job that lasts,” he says, and new homeowners are eager to continue to care for and improve their backyard aquatic garden.

“The younger clientele is social, they want to create a beautiful, interesting conversation piece with sound, for gathering,” he says. And an aquaponic garden is not simply a conversation piece. “It’s soothing, it’s relaxing. Many people view their fish as pets. When you come out to your pond, your fish swim up to you. They come over to be fed.”

Even the humblest of gardeners can imagine being greeted by the welcoming sights and sounds of water trickling through a fountain in their backyard, though for the working stiffs there never seems to be enough daylight hours left to enjoy your hard work. Turns out, there’s a lily for that. Night bloomers, grown in shades of pink, red and white, open at 6 p.m. and close between 8 – 9 a.m. the next morning. Suddenly the scales tip toward a backyard pond and you’re picking out koi colors. For those intrigued by the concept, Granato recently completed a design in

Gary & Sue Howell

Top & Botton: Gary & Sue Howell

the FirstHealth Cancer Center Healing Garden, where a visit to the public space can inspire you to incorporate water into your own serene escape.

Newlyweds Gary and Sue Howell were first introduced to Granato’s designs at a friend’s home, where they had installed a fountain, sans pond. Avid gardeners themselves, the two knew it was a concept that would enhance their current design. “Sue and I are both lovers of flowers and gardens, and we justified the expenditure — which is not inconsequential — because we used to travel a lot,” says Gary. “Now we stay home, enjoying

the pond and toddies.”

A retired design engineer, Gary had a number of ideas about the new construction, but he’s adamant the completed design was all Joe’s. He mentions Granato’s skill in combining personal requests, such as the Howells’ desire for a walkway and patio, and crafting them into something truly unique. “There’s a considerable amount of labor that goes into this. It’s very strenuous. There’s no way to design these ponds and waterfalls without placing it all by hand,” Gary says.

After a backhoe and excavator finished the initial stage of

clearing, “Joe came in, arranging these rocks of 50-100 pounds himself. He is an artist,” Sue says. “I just like seeing all the nature together, the rocks and the water — the fish have added something unexpected.”

Gary agrees, admitting that their goldfish “have become our critters; we named them and talk to them.” His favorite part, though, is auditory: “There’s something so soothing about the natural sound of the waterfall.”

After three decades in business, Granato says “it’s been fun, it’s been enjoyable,” and he has a lot more planned, from

his koi fish and exotic lilies to 7,500 pounds of grapes. “I just need more land,” he says. When he bought this property it was “nothing more than a tobacco field. No trees, no buildings.” Now, standing in the cool shade of towering oaks and the unexpected buckeye, it’s incredible to see what one man’s drive can accomplish. PS

Aberdeen resident Amberly Glitz Weber is an Army veteran and freelance writer. She’s grateful for every minute spent out of doors, rain or shine.

A Touch of Glass

The embrace of new minimalism

By deBorah salomon

Photogra Phs By John gessner

There it stands, beyond contemporary, a stark union of planes and angles. A symphony by Stravinsky. A guitar by Picasso. A figure by Giacometti. Might this be a Tibetan temple? A modern art gallery? The home of a Japanese diplomat?

No, no and definitely not, says Neal Jarest — although he admits people stop, stare and ask questions about his stunning residence in Forest Creek, itself an enclave of diverse architectural styles.

Linear, geometric, composed in black and gray, concrete, metal and glass, this is exactly what Neal and Tanda Jarest wanted — a complete turnaround after years in a 5,200-square-foot, two-kitchen family home bordering Lake Pinehurst, which Tanda describes as “red, green and golfy.”

Their motive, however, was familiar. “We wanted to downsize,” Tanda explains. The move offered the opportunity for a unique architectural statement: 3,200 indoor square feet, another 2,000 square feet with a roof overhang. “We wanted outdoor living space, where we could cook and eat around the pool,” she says.

Most furnishings are understated. No kitsch in the kitchen. Cabinets there, in the master bedroom and elsewhere are topped with white countertops, all bare, conveying serenity.

The Jarests call their residence 109 Porte, meaning “gate” in Portuguese, French or Italian. They cite Frank Lloyd Wright as inspiration. But only their architect, Doug Byce, summons the correct words: “An interpretation of Prairie Style . . . married to the ground with long, low, horizontal lines . . . asymmetrically anchored to the Great Room core . . . a massive hip roof floating on a clerestory ribbon window . . . an 18-foot stacked stone chimney sur-

rounded by glass walls. Monochromatic exterior colors anchor the home to the ground . . . and allow it to become a shadow among native longleaf pines,” he writes.

Add pivoting doors, polished concrete and walnut floors, and floating ceiling fixtures of the Saturn genre to complete the effect. Visible beyond those half-inch, double-paned glass walls in the great room are a 30-feet by 16-feet pool, hot tub and bocce ball court surrounded by man-made turf, where grandchildren frolic.

“I love to come home from work, have a glass of wine and jump in the pool,” Tanda says. Work is “opulence” itself, the name of the business the Jarests own in downtown Southern Pines offering the world’s finest Egyptian cotton linens, Duxiana beds and residential accoutrements fit for a pharaoh, with sister boutiques in Raleigh and Florida.

Neal, from Rhode Island, and Tanda, from Georgia, arrived at Fort Bragg in 1996. She opened Opulence in 1997 in a remodeled gas station. Neal retired from the Army in 2005 and joined her in the business. They played golf at Forest Creek, made friends there — a logical choice for their project. Byce was the architect for Duxiana stores worldwide, with a passion for residential design. He stayed with them for a time, absorbed their tastes and requirements, both structural and decorative: clean lines, no moldings or trim, door sills, or thresholds. They agreed on a floor plan embracing a master suite wing with door opening out to the pool, and a guest wing with two bedrooms, a bathroom and sitting room, with glass door closing off the area but not the light. They broke ground in 2020 on a level, 1-acre site on a quiet cul-de-sac. Move-in date: February 2022.

Innovations begin just inside the massive front door, where a control room monitors all systems. Down a hallway, the sunken kitchen/dining/great room, with its soaring chimney and 30-foot ceiling, informs visitors that this house pushes boundaries. Once accustomed to the vastness, eyes are drawn to the custom-made dining table, where a vertical slice of native pine, ragged edges intact, is embedded in a black base, creating a 3-D effect that begs touching. Two utility pantries and a laundry room (with a shark-sized goldfish painting) service the kitchen, although Neal cooks most evening meals, burgers to paella, on the Big Green Egg charcoal grill on the veranda.

Two architectural details of the master suite set it apart: a long, narrow window over the built-in drawers overlooks the great room, while the wall separating bed from bathroom ends a foot shy of the ceiling. Automatic blinds provide privacy.

Black, gray, sandy beige and white, integral to contemporary interior design, require relief. The Jarests enjoy traveling to sunny environs — Portugal, the Caribbean. In Mexico Tanda discovered Otomi, a native art form that provides splashes of color. These handcrafted embroidery panels depict stylized plants and animals against a neutral cotton background. Tall vertical panels framed in walnut to match the floor overlook the hallway, great room and kitchen. Tanda created other bright spots with paintings by local artist Jessie Mackay. In the master bedroom a trompe l’oeil rendition of a gently draped sheet once hung in Opulence. Portraits of landmark buildings in Germany and elsewhere echo their trips abroad. Not above a touch of whimsy, Tanda lines an open

shelf with straw hats and includes skulls — the trademark of Hispanic Day of the Dead celebrations — on throw pillows. Area rugs, few but custom-made in traditional patterns, are carryovers from the Pinehurst house.

Throughout the building/furnishing process, husband and wife concurred on most decisions, though Neal concedes, “Tanda has her lanes and I have mine.” When the workout room off a three-bay garage proved a tight squeeze, instead of making do, Neal enlarged it. His décor contributions include a leather sofa in orange, his favorite color, also from their previous home, and a chaise covered in shearling. “That’s from my father’s house,” he says. “I can remember sitting on it with him when I was a little boy.”

“Our tastes have developed over time,” Neal says. “This is where they are now.”

Viewed from any angle this house and its grounds represent a leap from the past into the Jarests’ present — and a stunning personal “gate” into the future. PS

ALMANAC

September

By a shley Walshe

Crisscross Equinox

Apples blush. Whippoorwill sings his final song. Things end and things begin.

The autumnal equinox occurs on Saturday, September 23. As the turn of the season graces us with equal amounts of day and night, we prepare for the final harvest. We celebrate the abundance here now, soak up the remnants of summer, and ready ourselves for the darkening days.

September is the last stand of sunflowers — thick with bumbles and honeys — wistfully facing east.

Sown in the softest days of summer, when early berries fairly tumbled from their vines, the seeds of these yellow giants held more than plumule and root. They held the glory of summer, a timeless cure-all, the warmth and likeness of the sun.

Weeks after their shoots burst through fertile earth, the sunflowers whispered patience. Ever reaching toward the light, their stalks grew tall and sturdy; their rough leaves wide as open palms. Soon, the buds emerged — tidy cinch purses as splendid as stars — holding their treasures tight.

Summer burst in all directions. Cicadas emerged screaming.

Queen Anne laced meadows and roadsides. Thistle and clover reigned supreme.

Butterflies teetered on purple coneflowers, feasted on milkweed, drifted among sage, sedum and hibiscus.

At last, when early giants withered on their fibrous stalks, the luminous beauties unfurled. Summer fades. And yet, the last wave of sunflowers beams.

Here now, they sing.

The bees know, sharing communion at their golden centers. Whirling in ecstasy. Humming an ancient prayer for grace. We know, too. We hold tight to summer — let it transform us — then wistfully look toward the autumn sun.

The Thick of It

Muscadine season is here at last. Hypnotically sweet, this native grape thrives in the sticky heat of our Southeastern states, ripening from late August through early October. Ranging in color from greenish bronze (we call them scuppernongs) to deep purple, this thick-skinned whopper (Vitis rotundifolia) is the official fruit of North Carolina.

Muscadine wine. Muscadine jelly. Muscadine grape hull pie. For some, muscadines by the handful take the cake.

According to the State Library of North Carolina’s online encyclopedia, early English explorers of the Outer Banks reported that this fruiting vine “covered every shrub and climbed the tops of high cedars.” This was 1584. Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano wrote about the curious “white” grape some 60 years prior.

Perhaps you’ve heard of the half-acre “Mother Vine” in Manteo, now over 400 years old? Planted by Croatan Native Americans or, perhaps, settlers of the Lost Colony, this legendary scuppernong is the oldest known cultivated grape vine in the country. It’s aging, no doubt, like a fine, sweet wine. PS

New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings. — Lao Tzu

Find inspiration for your next home makeover project in the following pages. Whether you’re looking to beautify the inside of your home or add a touch of luxury to your outdoor living, PineStraw’s portfolio of resources will help you enjoy the place you call home.

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Photo by: Rachel Garrison Photography

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arts & entertainment

Although conscientious effort is made to provide accurate and up-to-date information, all events are subject to change and errors can occur! Please call to verify times, costs, status and location before planning or attending any events.

TECH HELP SESSIONS. SPPL offers one-on-one Technology Help Sessions. A library staff member will sit with you to assist with accessing eBooks, learning how to use a new device, navigating a computer and to answer any other basic technology questions. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. To make an appointment come into the library or visit www.sppl.net.

PHOTO HISTORY. 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. The historical association will host an exhibit “Southern Pines Then and Now” featuring photographs taken 100 years ago and what the same area looks like today. Free admission. Water Department, 180 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines.

LIBRARY CARD SIGN-UP. SPPL is celebrating Library Card Sign-Up Month throughout September. Pick up a Library Crawl Passport and visit five or more participating libraries by Sept. 30. Then, turn in your completed passport at any of the listed locations and be entered to win a raffle prize. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. To make an appointment come into the library or visit www.sppl.net.

SEPTEMBER EVENTS

Friday, September 1

LUNCH BUNCH. 11:30 a.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to dine on different cuisines each month as you visit different restaurants in the area. Carpool with friends or meet at the restaurant. Dining locations will be chosen the week before. Info: (910) 692-7376.

ART EXHIBIT. 5 - 7 p.m. The Artists League of the Sandhills will host their opening reception for the exhibit Men of the League, featuring work from eight male members of the league. The exhibit will remain open through Sept. 23. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen. Info: www.artistleague.org.

FIRST FRIDAY. 5 - 8 p.m. Come enjoy the sounds of the Folly Beach-based band Dangermuffin. Free admission. There will be food trucks and Southern Pines Brewing Company beer on tap. No pets allowed. Sunrise

Caterpillar Crawl

Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 420-2549 or www.sunrisetheater.com.

BBQ FESTIVAL. Enjoy the third annual three-day festival exploring various barbecue meats, seafood and sides. Tufts Memorial Park, 1 Village Green Road W., Pinehurst. Info: www.vopnc.org.

Saturday, September 2

CRAFT DAYS. Children and their families can come by the library for Drop-in Craft Days and work on crafts at their own pace or take it home. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

KIDS’ SATURDAY. 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Families are invited to a monthly, themed craft event to socialize and get creative. Geared toward ages 3 - 10. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642 or www.vopnc.org.

DANCE SOCIAL. 7 - 10 p.m. The Moore Area Shag Society hosts its monthly social with Billy Cook playing dance tunes. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. There is a cash bar on-site and you may bring snacks for your table. A 50/50 drawing will be held. Admission is $10 (ages 21 and over). Down Memory Lane, 161 Dawkins St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 215-4054.

Sunday, September 3

FIRE IN THE PINES. 2 p.m. Join staff on a halfmile hike to visit a recent burn site and learn about the role of fire in the longleaf ecosystem. Weymouth Woods Nature Preserve, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167.

WRITING GROUP. 3 p.m. Are you interested in creating fiction, nonfiction, poetry or comics? Come to the Sunday Afternoon Writing Group. Connect with other writers and artists, chat about your craft and get feedback about your work. All

levels welcome. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: lholden@sppl.net.

Tuesday, September 5

BRAIN FITNESS. 10 - 11 a.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to a Brain Fitness class. Eve Gaskell will be the instructor. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

TEEN HOMEWORK SPACE. 4 p.m. This is an open space for attendees and is not a guided program. You may come and go as you please. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.sppl.net or email: kbroughey@sppl.net.

Thursday, September 7

SOUL FLOW. 6:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Join a gentle flow guaranteed to soothe the mind, body and soul. A mixture of yin and restorative yoga. Great for all levels. Cost is $12 for residents and $17 for non-residents. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

Friday, September 8

BOAT TOUR. 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Discover the beauty and charm of Lake Lure on a covered boat tour. Cruise along local attractions and landmarks used in the film Dirty Dancing while listening to the legends of the lake and learn about the natural and cultural history of Hickory Nut Gorge. Afterwards enjoy lunch at Lakehouse Restaurant. Cost is $57 for residents and $80 for non-residents. Info: (910) 692-7376.

LIVE AFTER 5. 5:15 - 9 p.m. Souljam, a band based in Vero Beach, Florida, performs with Jamie Monroe as the opening act. There will also be kids’ activities and food trucks. Beer, wine and additional beverages will be available for purchase. Picnic baskets are allowed; outside alcoholic beverages are not permitted. Free event. Bring your lawn chairs, blankets and dancing shoes. The Village Arboretum, 375 Magnolia Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642 or www.vopnc.org.

MOVIE. 6:30 - 9 p.m. Enjoy a screening of the movie Austenland. Cameo Art House Theatre, 225 Hay St., Fayetteville. Info and tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Saturday, September 9

COMMUNITY YARD SALE. 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Enjoy shopping 20-40 individual outdoor booths offering

everything from handmade crafts, modern tools and electronics, vintage and antique collectibles and even an assortment of everyday household items or clothes. A food truck will be on-site. The Bee’s Knees, 125 N.C. 73, West End. Info: (910) 420-8970.

WILDLINGS PROGRAM. 10 a.m. Join our “Wildlings” program series geared for 6-10-year-olds, as we take a hike to find little things that might look cool up close. We’ll collect items along the trail and bring them back to the Discovery Room to put them under the microscope. Weymouth Woods Nature Preserve, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167.

MUSIC. 2 p.m. Sandhills Repertory Theatre presents The Opera Cowgirls, an alternative country band. There will be a second performance at 7:30 p.m. and another show on Sept. 10 at 2 p.m. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info and tickets: (910) 692-3611 or www.sandhillsrep.org.

Sunday, September 10

CHAMBER SESSIONS. 2 p.m. Join us in the great room as we welcome The Friends of Weymouth Ensemble, a group of renowned local area musicians. Tickets start at $30, kids 12 and under are admitted free. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org.

WILDFLOWER WALK. 2 p.m. See what’s blooming along the trails this time of year on this 1.5-mile walk. Weymouth Woods Nature Preserve, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167.

STEAM. 2:30 p.m. Elementary-aged children and their caregivers are invited to learn about topics in science, technology, engineering, art and math, and to participate in STEAM projects and activities. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or kbroughey@sppl.net.

Monday, September 11

MEMORIAL STAIR CLIMB. 5 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. The 9/11 active memorial stair climb is an opportunity for anyone in the community to demonstrate respect and admiration for the 343 members of the FDNY who gave their lives trying to save others on Sept. 11, 2001. Participants will climb steps for a total of 110 stories, 1,980 steps, representing the number of floors in the Twin Towers. Southern Pines CrossFit, 105 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

PHOTO CLUB. 7 p.m. Sandhills Photography Club monthly meeting will be a presentation on Raw vs. JPG by Gary Friedman, professional photographer and writer. Guests are welcome. Sandhills Horticultural Gardens Visitors Center, 3245 Airport Road, Southern Pines. Info:  www.sandhillsphotoclub.org.

Tuesday, September 12

AARP TALK. 12 - 12:30 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to join AARP for a fraud talk. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

TEEN WRITING CLUB. 4 p.m. Are you interested in creative writing and storytelling, connecting with other writers and getting feedback on your work? Join us for the Teen Creative Writing Club. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.sppl.net or email: kbroughey@sppl.net.

BASEBALL GAME. 4:30 - 10:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Join Southern Pines Parks and Recreation as we travel to Durham for a fun night under the lights, as the Durham Bulls face the Louisville Bats. Cost is $44 for residents and $61 for non-residents. Info: (910) 692-7376.

Thursday, September 14

FILM. 7 p.m. EO (film). Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 420-2549 or www.sunrisetheater.com.

Friday, September 15

SLITHERING SNAKES. 10 a.m. Whether you love snakes or are a little wary of them, this will be a fun opportunity to learn more about these scaly critters as we read a book, do some activities and make a craft. All activities will be geared toward 3-5-year-olds and meant for parents to do with their children. Weymouth Woods Nature Preserve, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167.

COMMUNITY ART DAY. 5 - 7 p.m. Help Southern Pines Parks and Recreation celebrate Art Day. Drop off or come create a canvas depicting what you love about Southern Pines. The canvases will be displayed on street signs along Broad Street in conjunction with Autumnfest. Cost is $2 per canvas. Downtown Park, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

COMEDY SERIES. 7 - 8:30 p.m. BPAC’s new Comedy Series opens with Alonzo Bodden. A regular panel member on NPR’s Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me, Alonzo Bodden has been making audiences around the country laugh for more than 20 years. BPAC, Sandhills Community College, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info: bpac@sandhills.edu or www.ticketmesandhills.com.

OUTDOOR MOVIE. 7:30 p.m. Bring your family to watch The Super Mario Bros. Concessions will be available for purchase. Bring a blanket or chair. Downtown Park, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

Saturday, September 16

EATS, BEATS AND BREWS. 5 - 9 p.m. The food truck rodeo is back offering a variety of local vendors. There will be live entertainment and children’s activities. The Village Arboretum, 375 Magnolia Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.vopnc.org.

DANCING. 6 p.m. Carolina Pines Dance Club invites you for a fun evening of swing, shag, ballroom, Latin and line dancing. Doors open at 6 p.m. Dance lessons from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Dancing until 9:30 p.m. Beginners and experienced dancers, couples and singles all welcome. Cost is $15 per person, cash at the door. Tyson Sinclair Ballroom (second floor), 105 McReynolds St., Carthage. Info: (910) 331-9965.

Sunday, September 17

CATERPILLAR CRAWL. 2 p.m. Come see the weird and fascinating world of caterpillars. So much more than simple inchworms, join us as we hit the trail in search of these lovely larvae. Weymouth Woods Nature Preserve, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167.

BOOK EVENT. 2 - 3 p.m. The Country Bookshop welcomes Juliet Lam Kuehnle to talk about her book, Who You Calling Crazy?! The Journey from Stigma to Therapy. The Country Bookshop, 140 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info and tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Monday, September 18

WOMEN OF WEYMOUTH. 9:30 a.m. The Women of Weymouth meeting will feature speaker Andrew Lyons, Friends of Weymouth, Inc. board president and senior vice president with First Bank. Free admission, registration required. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org.

TECH HOUR. 11 a.m. Do you have any questions about using your cellphone, tablet or laptop? Come to the library’s Tech Hour to receive help from our technology librarian. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: msilva@sppl.net.

Tuesday, September 19

BRAIN FITNESS. 10 - 11 a.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to a Brain Fitness class. Eve Gaskell will be the instructor. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

BINGO. 11 a.m - 12 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to play 10 games of bingo. Cost is $4 for residents and $6 for non-residents. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

BOOK CLUB. 2 p.m. The James Boyd Book Club meets for this month’s book, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. Free admission, registration required. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org.

TEEN HOMEWORK SPACE. 4 p.m. This is an open space for attendees and is not a guided program. You may come and go as you please. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.sppl.net or email: kbroughey@sppl.net.

Wednesday, September 20

WHITEHALL BOOK CLUB. 2 p.m. Southern Pines Public Library’s book club for adults meets to discuss this month’s book. The book club is open to the public. Whitehall Property, 490 Pee Dee Road, Southern Pines. Info: mmiller@sppl.net.

Thursday, September 21

BRUNCH. 10 - 11:45 a.m. The Sandhills Christian Women’s Connection will be hosting a brunch. All women are welcome to be part of this special,

uplifting morning of music, inspirational speakers and a brunch buffet. Cost is $22. Whispering Pines Country Club, 2 Clubhouse Blvd., Whispering Pines. Info and reservations: (910) 215-4568 or patsyrpeele@gmail.com.

READ BETWEEN THE PINES. 5 p.m. SPPL’s book club for adults meets to discuss this month’s book. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. To join email: mhoward@sppl.net.

CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE. 6:30 p.m. The guest speaker will be historian and author, Hampton Newsome, speaking about the neglected events leading up to the Gettysburg Campaign. Meeting starts at 7 p.m. Open to the public. Civic Club, corner of Pennsylvania and Ashe St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 246-0452 or mafarina@aol.com.

Friday, September 22

FUNDRAISER. 7 p.m. Broadway Baby — A Sunrise Live Theater Fundraiser and Musical Revue to support future productions. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 420-2549 or www.sunrisetheater.com.

CONCERT. 7 - 9 p.m. Departure, a Journey tribute band, performs. Cooper Ford, 5292 US-15, Carthage. Info and tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Saturday, September 23

CRAFT DAYS. Children and their families can

come by the library for Drop-in Craft Days and work on crafts at their own pace or take them home. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

WOOFSTOCK. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Enjoy music, dog contests and events, food trucks and vendors. Admission by any monetary donation. All proceeds benefit upgrading Martin Park. Memorial Park, 210 Memorial Park Ct., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

FLUTTERBY FESTIVAL. 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Celebrate butterflies and other pollinators with a day of family fun and educational activities during the annual Flutterby Festival. Village Arboretum, 105 Rassie Wicker Drive, Pinehurst. Info and tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION. 6 - 9 p.m. Miss Moore County and Miss Sandhills Scholarship Competition. Owens Auditorium, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info and tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

OUTDOOR CONCERT. 7 p.m. Abigail Dowd performs. Sunrise Theater, 250 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 420-2549 or www.sunrisetheater.com.

Sunday, September 24

JAZZ ON THE LAWN. 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. Relax outdoors on Weymouth Center’s beauti-

ful grounds for live jazz featuring Mint Julep Jazz Band. Bring your own blanket, chairs and a picnic and enjoy a cash bar with mimosas, beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages available. Tickets start at $27.50 and children 12 and under are admitted free. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org.

HIKE. 2 p.m. Join a 1-mile hike to learn how Weymouth Woods became public lands, what it does to preserve the ecosystem, and about all the fun that you can find there. Weymouth Woods Nature Preserve, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167.

FAMILY FUN SERIES. 3 - 4 p.m. Enjoy the retelling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. BPAC, Sandhills Community College, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info: bpac@sandhills.edu or www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Tuesday, September 26

BOOK LAUNCH. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. The Country Bookshop welcomes Mary Kay Andrews for the book launch of Bright Lights, Big Christmas. The Country Bookshop, 140 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info and tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

TEEN WRITING CLUB. 4 p.m. Are you interested in creative writing and storytelling, connecting with other writers and getting feedback on your work? Join us for the Teen Creative Writing Club. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut

CALENDAR

Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.sppl.net or email kbroughey@sppl.net.

MUSICIANS’ JAM SESSION. 6 - 9 p.m. Bring your own instrument and beverage or just come and enjoy the music. Attendees must have the COVID vaccination. Free admission, registration required. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.weymouthcenter.org.

Thursday, September 28

DOUGLASS CENTER BOOK CLUB. 10:30 a.m. Multiple copies of the selected book are available for checkout at the library. The Douglass Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: mmiller@sppl.net.

MEDICAL MINUTES. 1 - 2 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to learn about different topics beneficial to the senior community. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

SOUL FLOW. 6:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Join a gentle flow guaranteed to soothe the mind, body and soul. A mixture of yin and restorative yoga. Great for all levels. Cost is $12 for residents and $17 for non-residents. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

Friday, September 29

TECH HOUR. 11 a.m. Do you have any questions about using your cellphone, tablet, or laptop? Come to the library’s Tech Hour to receive help from our technology librarian. Info: msilva@sppl.net.

Saturday, September 30

MUSIC. 7 - 8:15 p.m. Larry, Steve & Rudy: The Gatlin Brothers, perform in a BPAC Mainstage Series. Owens Auditorium, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info and tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Sunday, October 1

BOOK EVENT. 2 - 3 p.m. The Country Bookshop welcomes Diane Flynt to talk about her book, Wild, Tamed, Lost, Revived, The Surprising Story of Apples in the South. The Country Bookshop, 140 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info and tickets: www.ticketmesandhills.com.

Friday, October 6

SALE AND RAFFLE. 2 p.m. Come shop the annual White Elephant Sale and Raffle for gently used furniture, art, household items, toys, baked goods and more. The sneak peek sale is Oct. 6 from 2 - 6 p.m., the sale is Oct. 7 from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Oct. 8 from 8 a.m. - 11 a.m. No entry fee for Oct. 7 and 8. Proceeds benefit Sacred Heart Church Ministries and Moore County charitable organizations. Founders Hall, intersection of N.C. 211 and Dundee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-0704.

Friday, October 13

CASINO ROYALE. 6 - 9 p.m. Celebrate Carolina Horse Park’s 25th anniversary with casino games

MiraUSA Music Fest

At Rubicon Farm

Saturday, September 30th

1:30 - 7:30

FEATURED ARTIST

JOSH DANIEL BAND

~ Also Featuring ~ Justin Clyde Williams with special guest Matt Parks

Whiskey Pines • The Simpletones

Music - Food Trucks - Beverages

Help provide service dogs to American children

Tickets $15 to $20 in advance / $25 at gate

Bourbon Raffle

570 Rubicon Rd West End, NC

910-944-7757

MiraMusicFest@gmail.com www.MiraEvents.org

SepT 15 Alonzo Bodden - BPAC Comedy Series

Owens Auditorium

SepT 17 Who You Callin’ Crazy?! The Journey from Stigma to Therapy - Local author returns!

The Country Bookshop

SepT 22 Departure - The Journey Tribute Band

Cooper Ford

SepT 24 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Family Fun Series

Owens Auditorium

SepT 23 Larry, Steve & Rudy: The Gatlin Brothers - BPAC Mainstage Series

Owens Auditorium

You can find a comprehensive list of regularly updated events from

like roulette, craps, blackjack and poker, plus raffles to spend your winnings. Enjoy an extensive silent auction, hors d’oeuvres and open bar. Put on your best cocktail attire for a fun night out with friends. Tickets are $85 for one and $150 for two. Village Pine Venue, 1628 McCaskill Road, Carthage. Info: www.carolinahorsepark.com.

Saturday, October 14

HERITAGE FAIR AND SALE. 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. The Heritage Fair offers unique vendors, food, live music and demonstrations of old-time crafts, treasure sales and farm animals for petting. In conjunction with the Heritage Fair is the Moore Treasures Sale where there will be collectibles, pottery, jewelry, art, antiques, vintage books, toys, glassware and more. Free admission. The Shaw House, 110 W. Morganton Road, Southern Pines.

WEEKLY EVENTS

Mondays

WORKSPACES. 7 a.m. - 3p.m. The Given Tufts Bookshop has a new pop-in co-workspace open on Mondays and Thursdays in the upstairs conference room. Bookshop floor and private meeting room by reservation only. Info: www.giventuftsfoundation.com.

WORKOUTS. 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to get their workout on. Open Monday through Friday. Cost for six months: $15/

CALENDAR

resident; $30/non-resident. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

CHAIR YOGA. 9 - 10 a.m. For adults 55 and older. Help offset body aches encountered with desk work. This is an accessible yoga class for bodies not able to easily get up from and down to the floor. Do standing or sitting in a chair. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

WALK WITH EASE. 10 - 11 a.m. For adults 55 and older. Don’t miss out on this free health program proven to reduce joint pain and stiffness and improve energy, stamina, strength, balance, activity and independence. Classes continue each week through Sept. 20. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

STRENGTH AND BALANCE WORKOUT.

11 - 11:45 a.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to enjoy a brisk workout that focuses on balance and strength. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

RESTORATIVE YOGA. 12 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Practice gentle movements to improve well-being. Practice movements that may help alleviate pain and improve circulation. Bring your own mat. Free of charge. Douglass Community

Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

GAME ON. 1 p.m. For adults 55 and older. You and your friends are invited to come out and play various games such as corn hole, badminton, table tennis, shuffleboard, trivia games and more. Each week enjoy a different activity to keep you moving and thinking. Compete with friends and make new ones all for free. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

TAI CHI. 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Improve your balance both mentally and physically, which can significantly reduce the rate of falls in older adults, while improving relaxation, vitality, posture and immunity. Classes continue each week through October 18. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

BRIDGE. 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Enjoy games of bridge with friends. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

SOUTHERN SOUL LINE DANCING. 6 p.m. No experience necessary, put on your comfy shoes and groove to some funky tunes with funk master Terry Julius. For adults 55 and older. Cost is $6 for Southern Pines residents and $9 for non-residents.

Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

MUSIC BINGO. 6 p.m. Music bingo with DJ Mike. Come have a blast and try to identify the tune before the next song starts. Southern Pines Brewing Company, 565 Air Tool Dr., Southern Pines. Info: www.southernpinesbrewing.com.

Tuesdays

PLAYFUL LEARNING. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Come for a drop-in, open playtime for ages birth - 3 years to interact with other children and have educational playtime. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642.

HATHA YOGA. 10 - 11 a.m. For adults 55 and older. Increase your flexibility, balance, stability and muscle tone while learning the basic principles of alignment and breathing. You may gain strength, improve circulation and reduce chronic pain as we practice gentle yoga postures and mindfulness. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

BABY RHYMES. 10:30 a.m. Baby Rhymes is specially designed for the youngest learners (birth-2) and their caregivers. Repetition and comforting movements make this story time perfect for early development and brain growth. There will be a duplicate session at 11 a.m. An active library card is required. Dates this month are Sept. 12, 19 and 26. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W.

CALENDAR

Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

HEALING YOGA. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Adults 55 and older can try an entry-level class, for a mind and body workout that fuses dance moves with gentle aerobics, tai chi and yoga. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

GAME DAY. 12 p.m. Enjoy bid whist and other cool games all in the company of great friends. For adults 55 and older. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

TEEN TUESDAYS. 4 - 5 p.m. Teens in middle and high school can join us every week to connect with other teens in a fun and safe space. Each week is a different topic or activity. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.sppl.net.

CONVERSATION SERIES. 6:30 p.m. The West Southern Pines Civic Club and the Bold Initiative Team of Brownson Memorial Presbyterian Church sponsor this 10-week Zoom series on “Communities United Against Racism.” In a respectful multicultural atmosphere, explore differences and similarities with your Sandhills neighbors. Everyone can share their personal life experiences promoting honest dialogue and nonjudgmental listening. The series goes from Sept.

12 through Nov. 14. Register at https://tinyurl.com/SFFEC2023.

TRIVIA. 7 p.m. Trivia with DJ Mike. Current events and pop culture. Winner gets a brewery gift card. Southern Pines Brewing Company, 205 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: www.southernpinesbrewing.com.

TABLE TENNIS. 7 - 9 p.m. Enjoy playing this exciting game every Tuesday. Cost for six months is $15 for residents of Southern Pines and $30 for non-residents. For adults 55 and older. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

Wednesdays

HUMMINGBIRD BANDING. 8:30 - 11 a.m. Join Susan Campbell, Weymouth woods park naturalist and hummingbird expert, for a banding demonstration and Q&A on the ecology and behavior of the ruby-throated hummingbird. Weymouth Woods Visitor Center, 1024 Fort Bragg Rd., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167.

CHAIR YOGA. 10 - 11 a.m. For adults 55 and older. Help offset body aches encountered with desk work. This is an accessible yoga class for bodies not able to easily get up from and down to the floor. Do standing or sitting in a chair. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

WALK WITH EASE. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Don’t miss this free health program designed to reduce joint pain and stiffness and improve energy, stamina, strength, balance, activity and independence. Classes continue each week through Sept. 20. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

LEARN AND PLAY. 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Come in for an open play date with your toddler or preschooler where there will be developmental toys and puzzles as well as early literacy tips on display for parents and caregivers to incorporate in their daily activities. Dates this month are Sept. 6, 13, 20 and 27. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

LINE DANCING. 12 - 1 p.m. Looking for new ways to get your daily exercise in and care for yourself? Try line dancing. For adults 55 and older. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

SLOW AND STRETCHY. 12 - 1 p.m. Adults 55 and older can flow through yoga poses slowly and intentionally, breath to movement, stretching everything from your head to your toes. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

CHAIR VOLLEYBALL. 1 - 2 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Get fit while having fun. Free to participate. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

BRIDGE. 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Enjoy games of bridge with friends. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

DANCE. 2 - 2:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Instructor Maria Amaya will introduce you to dance fitness in this class designed for anyone who wants to gently and gradually increase cardio function, mobility and balance and have fun at the same time. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

LINE DANCING. 2 p.m. The town of Vass will host line dancing for seniors every other Wednesday. Cost is $5 per session. Vass Town Hall, 140 S. Alma St., Vass. Info: www.townofvassnc.gov.

SANDHILLS FARMERS MARKET. 3 - 6 p.m. The Sandhills Farmers Market features some of the many wonderful farms, nurseries, bakeries, meat and egg providers, cheesemakers and specialty food producers our area has to offer. You will find this incredible mix of vendors through Oct. 1. Tufts Memorial Park, 1 Village Green Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.vopnc.org.

LIBRARY PROGRAM. 3:30 p.m. At The Library

After School (ATLAS) is an after-school program for kindergartners through second graders who enjoy activities, crafts, stories and learning. Dates this month are Sept. 13, 20 and 27. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

POWER VINYASA FLOW. 4 - 5 p.m. For adults 18 and older. Explore the mind/body connection, using your breath to guide you through powerful flowing movements in a no-judgement space. Created for all experience levels. Cost is $6 for residents and $9 for non-residents. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

TAI CHI. 6:30 p.m. Come learn tai chi. There is no age limit and the classes are open to the public. Cost is $10 per class. Seven Lakes West Community Center, 556 Longleaf Drive, Seven Lakes. Info: (910) 400-5646.

YOGA. 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Grab your yoga mat and head to Hatchet for a yoga session with Brady. Session cost is $10. Hatchet Brewing Company, 490 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.hatchetbrewing.com.

Thursdays

WORKSPACES. 7 a.m. - 3p.m. The Given Tufts Bookshop has a new pop-in co-workspace open on Mondays and Thursdays in the upstairs con-

ference room. Bookshop floor and private meeting room by reservation only. Info: www.giventuftsfoundation.com.

MOORE COUNTY FARMERS MARKET. 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. The year-round market features “producer only” vendors within a 50-mile radius providing fresh, local and seasonal produce, fruits, pasture meats, eggs, potting plants, cut flowers and local honey. Crafts, baked goods, jams and jellies are also available. Market is located at the Armory Sports Complex, 604 W. Morganton Road, Southern Pines.

GIVEN STORY TIME. 10 a.m. Bring your preschooler to enjoy stories, songs and activities. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3642.

BALANCE AND FLEXIBILITY. 10 - 11 a.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to enjoy a class that will help reduce the risk of taking a tumble and increase your ability to recover. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

CROCHET CLUB. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to come with friends to create fun designs and memories. Supplies provided. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

CALENDAR

MUSIC AND MOTION. 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Does your toddler like to move and groove? Join outdoor Music and Motion to get those wiggles out and work on gross and fine motor skills. For 2 - 5-yearolds. An active library card is required. Dates this month are Sept. 14, 21 and 28. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or www.sppl.net.

ZUMBA. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to get and stay fit by joining this free Zumba dance workout series. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

ADAPTIVE YOGA. 12 - 1 p.m. Adults 55 and older can enjoy yoga that meets you where you are. Create a sense of balance and ease by slowly increasing your range of motion and mobility while maintaining your natural abilities. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

CHESS AND MAHJONG. 1 p.m. For adults 55 and older. All levels welcome. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

MEDITATION. 1 - 2 p.m. Adults 55 and older are invited to connect with nature and with yourself in this 30-minute meditation. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

CABIN TOURS. 1 - 4 p.m. The Moore County Historical Association’s Shaw House grounds, cabins and gift shop are open for tours and visits. The restored tobacco barn features the history of children’s roles in the industry. Docents are ready to host you and the cabins are open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Shaw House, 110 W. Morganton Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2051 or www.moorehistory.com.

TRIVIA. 6 p.m. Trivia with Hallie. Current events and pop culture. Winner gets a brewery gift card. Southern Pines Brewing Company, 565 Air Tool Drive, Southern Pines. Info: www.southernpinesbrewing.com.

ORCHESTRA REHEARSALS. 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. The Moore Philharmonic Orchestra has weekly rehearsals. Membership is open to youth and adult community members and there is no fee to join. Pinecrest High School, 250 Voit Gilmore Lane, Southern Pines. Info: www.mporchestra.com or email moorephilharmonicorchestra@gmail.com.

TRIVIA NIGHT. 7 - 9 p.m. Come enjoy a beer and some trivia. Hatchet Brewing Company, 490 S.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.hatchetbrewing.com.

Fridays

AEROBIC DANCE. 9 - 10 a.m. For adults 55 and older. Enjoy this low-to-moderate impact class with energizing music for an overall cardio and strength

workout. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

TAP CLASS. 10 - 11:30 a.m. For adults 55 and older. All levels welcome. Cost per class: $15/ resident; $30/non-resident. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

PineNeedler Answers

from page 135

CALENDAR

QIGONG. 1 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Classes will consist of chair and standing movements that can help soothe achy feet, tight hips and low back pain and ease restriction in mobility. Free of charge. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

BRIDGE. 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. For adults 55 and older. Enjoy games of bridge with friends. Douglass

Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

LINE DANCING. 3 - 4 p.m. For adults 55 and older. If you’re interested in learning dance moves and building confidence on the dance floor, this class is for you. Leave your inhibitions at the door and join in. Cost is: $36 for residents and $52 for non-residents per month. Cost is for a monthly membership. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

Saturdays MOORE COUNTY FARMERS MARKET. 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. The market features “producer only” vendors within a 50-mile radius providing fresh, local and seasonal produce, fruits, pasture meats, eggs, potting plants, cut flowers and local honey. Crafts, baked goods, jams and jellies are also available. Downtown Southern Pines, 156 S.E. Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: www.moorecountyfarmersmarket.com.

SANDHILLS FARMERS MARKET. 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. The Sandhills Farmers Market features some of the many wonderful farms, nurseries, bakeries, meat and egg providers, cheesemakers and specialty food producers our area has to offer. You will find this incredible mix of vendors through October 1. Tufts Memorial Park, 1 Village Green Road, Pinehurst. Info: www.vopnc.org. PS

Men of the League

Friday, September 1, 2023 • 5:00 PM -7:00 PM

The September exhibit will feature the work of Artists League male artists, Josh Dixon, Eugene Fletcher, Joe Franklin, Don Harnum, Peter Helgesen, Harry Neely, Joseph Poirier, and Siqing Shan. Art will be on exhibit September 1 – 23.

OIL AND ACRYLIC: Beginner’s Acrylic Pouring - Meredith MarkfieldSaturday, September 23, 10:00-1:00 $46

Impressionist Landscape Land & Sea - Courtney Herndon – Monday & Tuesday, October 2, 3, 10:00-3:30 $108

WATERCOLOR:Watercolor Paint-Along with Ellen Burke – Friday, October 13, 10:00-1:00 $43

Exploring Watercolor Gouache - Christine Stackhouse - Monday, October 16, 12:30-3:30 $46

DRAWING: Drawing Basics I - Laureen Kirk - Thursday & Friday, September 21, 22, 10:00-3:00 $101

OTHER MEDIUMS: Intermediate Alcohol Ink - Pam Griner - Wednesday, September 6, 11:30-2:30 $46

Fabulous Fibers: Meet-Cute! – Connie Genuardi – Friday, September 8, 10:30-3:30 $59

Next Step Cake Decorating/Flowers - Pam Griner – Monday, September 11, 12:30-2:30 $39

Mix It Up! - Carol Gradwohl - Monday & Tuesday, September 18, 19, 10:30-3:00 $104

Intro to Encaustic Wax - Pam Griner - Wednesday, September 20, 1:00-3:00 $40

Silk Painting Introduction - Kathy Leuck - Tuesday & Wednesday, September 26, 27, 9:30-12:30 $117

Mixed Media Mania - Carol Gradwohl - Tuesday, October 17, 9:30-4:00 - $92

Advanced Alcohol Ink - Pam Griner - Wednesday, October 18, 11:30-2:30 $46

Beginning Scratchboard - Emma Wilson - Thursday, October 19, 10:00-2:00 $53

Kuumba Festival

Celebration of our African American heritage and culture.

Friday, September 30th and Saturday, September 24th in Laurinburg. Free!!

www.kuumba-nc.com

Scotland County

Highland Games

Friday, October 6th in downtown Laurinburg and Saturday, October 7th at the NC. Rural Heritage Center. Advance tickets on sale.

www.carolina-highlandgames.com

John Blue Festival

Celebration of our rural roots. Saturday, October 14th at the NC Rural Heritage Center. $5 for adults. Free for children 6 and under.

www.johnblue-cottonfestival.com

Laurinburg, NC - www.visitnc-soul.com

SandhillSeen

Bluesfest

Sunrise Theater

Friday, July 14, 2023 – Saturday, July 15, 2023

Photographs by Diane McKay

Stacy Tompkins, Carole & Terry Kershaw Shannon & Sean Harrison

Laina, Windell & Taylor Jones Miller & Hudson Johnstone

Debra Rodgers, Kimberly Thatcher Nanci Scarberry, Ashley Hatchell, Debbie Ostrowski

Dan Kelly, Julie Wilson

Cindy Hall, Susan Gavrelis

Friends of Moore Blues Band

Teagan & Justin, Bear the dog

Stephen & Chip Gates

Jason & Jaley Westenberg

SandhillSeen

Fine Arts Festival

Campbell House

Friday, August 4, 2023

Photographs by Diane McKay

Matt, Jack, Luke & Larry Gleisner

Kris Johnson, Elliott Chick

Betty Oxendine Mangum Pat Cleveland

Bailee Williams

Stephanie Slack, Jenay Jarvis

Sandy Smith

Rex Connor, Liz Whitmore

Mila & Susan Stanislawek

Shannon Butler, Hannah Roser, Jenay Jarvis, Stephanie Slack Dr. John L. Monroe, Dr. Pat Henderson

James & Stephanie Watt

Cait & Frank Ciulla

September PineNeedler Play to Pay....

ACROSS

1. After-bath powder

5. “Encore!”

10. Wealthy

14. Hip bones

15. Crawdad habitat

16. Ashtabula’s lake

17. Pay (with a)

19. Locale

20. Coastal areas

21. Bettered the bet

23. Pay (with the)

24. Breaks a commandment

25. Mouselike animal

27. Pay

32. Pied

33. Call

34. Batman and Robin, e.g.

35. A Swiss Army knife has lots of them

36. Rainbow , fish

37. Abbr. after many a general’ s name

38. English title

39. Bow, on a boat

40. Opposite of “tails”

41. Mimicking, colorful songbirds

43. Christiania, now 44. Blockheads

45. Museum pieces

46. Pay

49. Nicaraguan monetary units

54. “Ars amatoria” poet

55. Neutralize

57. 18-wheeler

58. Pinball errors

59. Bounce back, on a mountain

60. Pine, oak or cedar

61. Fusion of metal

62. Distort DOWN

1. Nervous twitches

2. Lotion ingredient

3. Type of bean

4. Medicine dose containers

5. Endure

6. Charades, e.g.

7. Pirate’s yeses

8. Carbonium, e.g.

9. Nourishment ingredient

10. Buck, as the system

11. Eye part

12. Quote

13. Pay

18. Carafe size

22. “Green Gables” girl

24. Heavy beers

25. Pay (with a)

26. “La Bohème,” e.g.

27. Kitchen coverings

28. Flip-flop

29. Perfect 30. Perform better than

31. Silent acceptances

32. “ and Boots”

36. Betting option

37. Brings back to original

39. Football foul indicator

Puzzle answers on page 128

40. Swarm

42. Band follower

45. -craftsy

46. Emcee

47. Sign-off on a radio

48. Silent aper

49. Pick (out)

Mart Dickerson lives in Southern Pines and welcomes suggestions from her fellow puzzle masters. She can be reached at martaroonie@gmail.com.

Sudoku: Fill in the grid so every row, every column and every 3x3 box contain the numbers 1-9.

50. “I’m you!”( 2 wds)

51. Pay

52. Advil target

53. Pack away, on a ship

56. Black gold

Fall Follies

great significance would be like saying Halloween is something of a lesser holiday in Outer Mongolia.

My sports editor saw fit to have my name added to the list of journalists allowed to watch Notre Dame football practices. Notre Dame had won the national championship the previous year, beating the University of Alabama in the Sugar Bowl 24-23, and I thought I should stick my head in and have a look at what everyone was raving about.

By Jim moriarty

Are you ready for some football? The question is rhetorical, of course. Until February it will be our reality.

I spent roughly two decades working for the Sports Information Department of Clemson University photographing the home football games. It was a lovely change of pace for me every fall, going from the relatively docile game of golf to the kinetic violence of football.

One year I was given permission to bring my son down on the field with me. He was 11 or so at the time, and I promised I’d keep him behind the bench when the game started. It’s easy to get hurt down there if you don’t have your head on a swivel, and few 11-year-olds do.

When the Clemson team came out for warmups, it came in waves. First the kickers; then the speed guys and quarterbacks; then the linebackers. The last guys to leave the locker room were the big uglies, as Hall of Fame broadcaster Keith Jackson liked to call them. At the time Chester McGlockton, who went to four Pro Bowls during his NFL career and would pass away from an enlarged heart at the age of 42, was playing for the Tigers. I told my son to watch for No. 91, the biggest human being I’d ever seen, bigger even than William Perry — though Chester might only nip the Refrigerator by an inch and an ounce. My son and I stood together as the water buffalos plodded down the sideline into Death Valley. McGlockton’s playing weight was somewhere north of a Toyota Land Cruiser, and his thighs looked as big around as 55-gallon drums. My son’s eyes got as large as Moon Pies.

Clemson wasn’t my first experience with big-time football. In the early ’70s, recently graduated from a little hippie college in Ohio, I somehow acquired a job writing sports for the South Bend Tribune. To say that football at my alma mater was not a matter of

It would be Ara Parseghian’s last year as Notre Dame’s football coach. My boss, Joe Doyle, who I came to love like a father, had a particularly close relationship with Ara. They would have breakfast one-on-one every Monday morning in the fall. Joe liked to tease Ara that he shouldn’t count the four times he beat Notre Dame while he was the coach at Northwestern University among his career victories, to which Ara would respond, “Without those, I’m not here.”

Just as Clemson had a particular way they came out on the field, so did the Irish. Parseghian had a tall tower mounted on the back of an old jalopy pickup truck, and the team began each day by pushing Ara’s tower out to whatever far field they were practicing on.

The first day I cleared customs and was allowed inside the fenced and curtained practice area, the team was on the far field. To get there I had to cross the artificial turf field, obviously used for weeks when they’d be playing on that surface. Fresh from my hippie college, I’d never seen nor touched artificial turf. Any previous knowledge I might have had about it would have echoed Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee’s who, when asked whether he preferred grass or artificial turf, replied, “I don’t know. I never smoked artificial turf.”

Anyway, the feel of it under my feet was a new, and not entirely unpleasant, sensation. When I was about halfway across the plastic grass, the heavens screamed down on me. “Moriarty!!!! What the (profound expletive) are you doing????” It was Ara. And he was not amused. And his voice didn’t need artificial amplification. My first time on carpet and I was called on it. Blood drained from my face. I was trapped. Do I go forward? Do I go back? I elected to press on, getting off the artificial surface as if my feet were on fire.

Unbeknown to me, Notre Dame had a sixth or seventh or eighth string quarterback named Moriarty. It was this distant family member who had somehow invoked the ire of one of Notre Dame’s greatest coaches. I was off the hook that day, but that voice still scares the hell out of me. PS

Jim Moriarty is the editor of PineStraw and can be reached at jjmpinestraw@gmail.com.