ABODE magazine

ABODE making a home in the high country

inside this issue // decor

local spaces

spiritual homes

building community

come inside DECOR • LOCAL SPACES • SPIRITUAL HOMES • BUILDING COMMUNITY

04.

Artist Spotlight: Elle Green

Green is facing her responsibility as a black, queer, femme and nonbinary person by speaking out in a form of artistic activism.

06.

Artist Spotlight: Desiree Decana Sanchez

Sanchez completely transformed her artistic perspective after being denied admission into the graphic design field twice.

08.

Ransom Pub

As the new kid on the block, Ransom Pub seeks to redefine pub community in the South, with a restaurant space that combines old with new and plenty of local music to go around.

10.

Troy’s Diner

This local 1950s-themed diner draws the Boone community together. From vinyl seats to chocolate shakes, Troy’s Diner is a place for everyone.

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12.

CrossFire Church

13.

Boone Mennonite Brethren Church

14.

Community thrift store

16.

Helping hands in High Country

This church is made up of motorcyclists and meets in a truck depot. It has become a home and a welcoming place of worship for bikers from all walks of life.

The congregants of Boone Mennonite Brethren Church recently gathered to celebrate the church’s 100th Easter Sunday.

The Yellow Mountain Treasure Box Thrift Store in Newland, North Carolina provides adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities more than just a job.

Homelessness in the High Country is a prominent issue in Boone. The Hospitality House is a shelter that has been opening its doors to anyone who needs a space since 1984.

our team

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II.

III.

IV.

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VI.

VII.

VIII.

I. EDITOR - BRANDON KATHMAN: Senior journalism major with a political science minor.

II. GRAPHICS EDITOR - SAVANNA TANNER: Senior public relations and journalism double major with a minor in marketing.

III. PHOTO EDITOR - BREE WILKINS: Senior journalism major with a political science minor.

IV. CREATIVE DIRECTOR - MONICA CRAWFORD: Senior journalism major with an English minor..

V. PHOTOGRAPHER - ABBY WHITT: Senior journalism major with an English minor.

VI. WRITER - KATE NYSTROM: Junior journalism major with a leadership studies and media studies double minor.

VII. COPY WRITER - MACON ATKINSON: Senior journalism major with a Spanish minor.

VIII. VIDEO EDITOR - DOLAN REYNOLDS: Senior journalism major with an English minor.

MANAGING EDITOR - DR. LYNETTE HOLMAN ABODE Magazine 3

Untitled 4 by Elle Green - Green uses her abstract work to express her identity as an artist and a person in a fluid and immediate way. Photo taken by Dolan Reyn

As a black person, I didn’t want to bring up race. I would make myself small to not offend people...[the art] definitely still is about idenitity because it’s about feeling, and I have a lot of feelings concerning identity.

-ELLE GREEN, STUDIO ART MAJOR

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nolds

Elle Green Finds A Home In Her Abstact Art

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STORY BY BREE WILKINS AND DOLAN REYNOLDS

ccording to Elle Green, a studio art major at Appalachian State University, the role of activism in the visual arts community has become more personal due to the rise of social tensions in American society.

“As a black person, I didn’t want to bring up race. I would make myself small to not offend people,” Green said. She discovered that her art could possibly become a way to empower her voice and her presence within white heteronormative spaces.

Green is facing her responsibility as a black, queer, femme and nonbinary person by speaking for her community and promoting self-preservation, resulting in a form of artistic activism that challenges minority artists to grow internally and liberate themselves with their work.

“Art has always been about social change. The thing is that out of all of us in the art classes, I think she is the only one that’s like active on it...she’s an active activist,” Desiree Decena Sanchez, friend and classmate of Elle’s, said.

Green believes the majority white demographics in Boone are what initially inspired her to create art that speaks to her experience. She stated that she felt an urgency within her environment, practically devoid of queer and black art, to emphasize her unique perspective by creating concepts with an explicit message.

“I just felt this obligation to say something,” Green said, referring to the genesis of her activist ideals in 2016 when she began to feel social and political tensions were reaching an all-time high. Green explained how her art unconsciously started to reflect the weight race held for her at a time in which she felt like every day another black American was being murdered by police.

While Green’s identity work functioned as an outlet at the time, it eventually became a source of exhaustion.

“It was hard to keep making the work when the feedback I was getting was discouraging,” Green said. “I was making artwork about the black, queer experience for black and queer people. So, I’m showing up to critique, and my audience is very white and very straight.

What feedback am I getting?”

She wanted to create work that would spark conversation, but the critiquing process often resulted in her spending time rigidly explaining her artistic ideas instead of conversing naturally.

This revelation ultimately led Green to reconsider the way art could function as an expression her activism and identity.

She began deviating from her previous work by delving into abstract art. She feels that much of her current work, a series of untitled paintings, resembles landscapes or clouds.

“It definitely still is about identity because it’s about feeling, and I have a lot of feelings concerning identity,” Green said.

The way she approaches the concept of identity today is focused on being less explicit than in the past in order to allow the viewer to see a more natural side of herself.

“I recognized within myself that I needed to take care of myself mentally.” she said.

“If my work was destroying my mind and making me feel sad and frustrated, then that’s not good work for me to be making right now.”

By defying the trope of the tortured artist, she believes that she has been able to reflect positivity out to her community.

ABODE Magazine 5

Decor

Artist brings her home to yours

Artist, Desiree Decena Sanchez, in her studio

A collaborative art piece with fellow student, Damalis Cara-

BY BREE WILKINS

“God saw me and she was like, ‘nah, bitch, you gotta do what you gotta do.’”

- DESIREE DECENA SANCHEZ

Graphic portrait created before Sanchez transitioned to studio

D

esiree Decena Sanchez, a studio art major at App State, completely transformed her artistic perspective after being denied admission into the graphic design field twice. “it was heartbreaking to say the least,” she said.

Decena Sanchez explained that as an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, medical or engineering degrees were seen as the only viable options within higher education to her family.

She ultimately chose to pursue graphic design to appease her mother while also maintaining an artistic focus.

She began exploring her own internal issues with colorism completely transforming the subjects of her art from women with eurocentric features to women of color.

“The most significant parts of them was the curly hair or the braids,” she explained, detailing her complicated history with her own curly hair. She explained that growing up her mother always found it to be a chore to “handle” her hair, and it wasn’t until she came to Boone, NC, without a straight“Guilt resentment towards myself..this ener or blow dryer that she began to feeling of like I’m a fucking failure came take pride in her natural texture. through,” Decena Sanchez explaining her mother’s reaction to her eventual She explained that her self portraits pivot towards a studio art major. serve as a “visual rebellion” from traditional beauty standards.“Whenever I Despite this difficult coping process, draw myself in all the glorious curly hair Decena Sanchez stated that she felt it that I have just being me, not complawas divine intervention that denied her cent to the european beauty standards acceptance. that I have grown to accept, and now I want to fight back against.”

Since switching majors, she stated that she has become more confident in Decena Sanchez now creates large oil her skills as an artist. “Now, finally, I’m pastel portraits, as well as commission going to do what I really ever wanted pieces, which all reference her Dominito do,” she said. can heritage.

Through this journey of identity exploration within her art, Decena Sanchez

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was able to evaluate what inspires her to create.

Sanchez created this piece using oil pastels on repurposed pages of paper, taped together, and covered in Gesso.

Sanchez created this piece by spray painting one side of plexiglass to achieve a metallic background. She then utilized brushstrokes inspired by the album cover for Melodrama by Lorde to create the portrait image.

Sanchez created this large oil pastel self portrait piece by taking selfies from a multitude of angles for reference.

ABODE Magazine 7

Outside of the newly renovated Ransom Pub. Video by Kate Nystrom, Ellie Riggs, & Cody Cherry.

“The goal for us was still to retain that this is still the same people, the same concept, the same community that it was before,” - DOC HENELY

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CO-OWNER OF RANSOM AND FOUNDER OF WINE TO WATER

Ransom Revamps Its Local Space

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STORY BY MACON ATKINSON s the new kid on the block, Ransom Pub seeks to redefine pub community in the South, with a restaurant space that combines old with new and plenty of local music to go around.

Oh, and there are cheese fries.

Located on King Street in the spot formerly known as Murphy’s Pub, Ransom shares its building with local nonprofit Wine to Water.

Doc Hendley, founder of Wine to Water and co-owner of Ransom, said the pub also shares profits with the charity, but is operated separately by outside investors.

After enduring a lengthy renovation process that began back in March, Ransom officially launched on Aug. 16 with a four day long block party. Doc Hendley said the community has welcomed them with open arms.

“The goal for us was still to retain that this is still the same people, the same concept, the same community that it was before,” Doc Hendley said. “We’ve had an overwhelming response from the community.”

Ransom’s renovated space is more than just a couple new tables and chairs. With a new dance floor and sound system, a custom bar countertop made from hickory, ambrosia and walnut wood, and even an updated kitchen hood system, the pub looks remarkably different than before.

But look carefully and you’ll notice old elements that Doc and the team kept around: the original dining area floor, dating back before World War II, and the Farm Board dish served on slabs from dark wood sanded down smooth.

For Doc Hendley, who had his first date with his wife at

Murphy’s, it was important to keep the old feel of the building while still wanting to “up the game.”

“Our dream was one day to do a full renovation and to see ‘can we do that with still keeping the old feel?’” Doc Hendley said.

“And that’s a really hard thing to do, but we really wanted to serve very simple, good quality foods without it being considered quote unquote fancy.”

Ransom’s menu was revamped to include dishes like seared Ahi tuna tacos, hand-ground burgers, pizza made from slow-rise yeast dough and dry rubbed wings.

The bar offers 20 wine selections, 20 draft beers and a “simple but impressive” list of spirits; for coffee lovers, the coffee bar has everything from cappuccinos to pour-overs.

Food and beverage director Joe Turner said the staff try to have fun with the menu and keep dishes fresh.

“We try and take regular bar food or pub fare and impart technique and skill and care with the product, just refining bar food,” Turner said.

Todd Hendley, general manager at Ransom, said his favorite dish changes week to week.

“The last two weeks I’ve ordered for lunch nothing but the steak and cheese sandwich. Before that, I was eating the burger,” Todd Hendley said.

Todd Hendley said the consistent crowd favorite is the cheese fries — fingerling potatoes on a bed of ranch with three-cheese sauce on top.

Ransom also offers a live music scene along with the bar food.

Artists from across the area perform on Thursday nights and weekends, and tables and chairs are pushed back to make space on the dance floor.

Wednesday is bluegrass night, where musicians from 9 to 75 years old jam with their banjos, mandolins and violins until 10 p.m.

Ransom’s mission is to “support the fullness of life through exceptional service.” The name comes from the idea that love and service free people to connect, regardless of who they are or what differences may exist between them.

Doc Hendley said he was inspired by pub culture in other parts of the world where pubs are the center of the community. He doesn’t see that as much here in the U.S. and wants to change that.

“When I’ve seen it happen in these communities, it’s so healthy,” Doc Hendley said. “I think we have this stigma in Bible Belt, in the South, that ‘oh, alcohol is bad,’ so any place that serves it must be bad, so therefore, if you are a person of any spiritual substance you shouldn’t bring your kids there, especially much less yourself be there. And I believe the opposite.

“I don’t think a place that I bring my wife and go have fun and go dancing until 2 in the morning can’t be the same place I bring my kids the next morning for brunch. We can do life together in all these places.”

Ransom is located on West King Street, next to the Boone Fire Department and Mellow Mushroom.

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Troy’s Diner is located at 1286 Highway 105 in Boone, North Carolina. Photo by Abby Whitt.

“Everyone likes to go where somebody knows your name.

I try to learn their names. If I don’t, I look at their credit card and next time they come in I’m like, ‘Hey Bob!’ and it’ll surprise them because I took the time to learn it.”

- SARAH GRANT, WAITRESS AT TROY’S

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Boone 1950s themed diner draws Boone community together STORY BY MACON ATKINSON

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tep inside Troy’s 105 Diner and you’ll instantly be transported back to the 1950s, complete with vinyl seats, a Marilyn Monroe poster and the sound of eggs sizzling in a pan for the breakfast special. A shiny retro mashup of past and present, Troy’s combines old-time diner atmosphere, home-cooked food and friendly staff to make for the ultimate brunch spot.

Sandy Byrum, who co-owns the diner with her husband Troy Byrum, said Troy’s first opened in Boone in 1995 as part of a Starlite Diner kit, a group of restaurants launched in the ‘90s and owned by Modular Diners, Inc. The Byrums said Troy’s was the first of its kind to open at the time. From its neon signs causing a fire in 2014 to becoming an “accidental drivethru” later that same year, Troy’s has pretty much seen it all.

“We tell everybody we bought it with our eyes wide shut,” Sandy Byrum said. “And that’s very true, we did not realize that this was much more difficult than fine dining.”

Troy and Sandy Byrum are the fourth owners of Troy’s, and have 85 years of restaurant experience combined. They bought the diner in 2005 when Troy Byrum was the chef at Broyhill Inn and Conference

Center and Sandy Byrum worked in real estate and the restaurant business.

to run a community like ours, and it really makes it a healthy environment.”

The Byrums know their customers well. Sandy Byrum said they serve over 3,000 guests per week on average.

Weekends are usually their busiest times, when lines of customers stretch out the double doors. During the peak months of October through January — when visiting customers are kindly referred to as “tree people” and “winter people”— the staff crack anywhere from 2,800 to 5,400 eggs per week, Sandy Byrum said.

In addition to students, a steady flow of Boone regulars also supports the diner. There’s the group of policemen who come in every Tuesday morning for breakfast and a group of local pastors who come in on Wednesdays to discuss and practice their sermons. Then there was Bob, who would warm up with a cup of coffee every morning as the staff opened the restaurant, and asked one of the servers to marry him before he died last year. Two other regulars, both World War II veterans, are particularly close to Sandy Byrum’s heart; her eyes misted over when she remembered their service.

But it’s the locals and college students the Byrums focus on, including those within their staff. Out of their 16 servers, 13 attend or have attended App State, along with 15 of their 20 kitchen staff; students eat in the diner anywhere from three to seven days a week.

Sandy Byrum said college students are the diner’s “bread and butter,” and she’s thankful to find high-quality staff through the university’s ties to the town.

“Anyone who is anti-college doesn’t understand the economics,” Sandy Byrum said.

“It takes a village to run Boone, it really does. It takes a village

Sarah Grant, one server, has worked at Troy’s since 1996.

She said her regulars keep the diner going during the months when tourism is slow.

“Everyone likes to go where somebody knows your name,” Grant said. “I try to learn their names. If I don’t, I look at their credit card and next time they come in I’m like, ‘Hey Bob!’ and it’ll surprise them because I took the time to learn it.”

Visit Troy’s Diner on Highway 105 Bypass in Boone.

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CrossFire

Biker church embraces identity in truck depot

Testimonies from CrossFire Dunk I just stand here and look pretty, and when you’re this ugly that’s hard to do. You gotta believe that God started it, and he just used you to get it together. It’s simple, man. God provides. That’s what he did here with this church is provide this building. God puts it in your heart to get it done.

Me and a couple of bros were at Walmart. We watched this little boy come in, both sides of his face all black and blue, his arm all black and blue. His mama, her whole face on one side was all black and blue. Bro looked at me and said we have to find a way to stop that. They call me “the connection” cause I get things done. We’re hooked up with a group home now. Once we get in the court system, which is hard to do, we’ll go to court with the kid. We’ll sit there and stare at the bad guy. We’ll be the intimidators. When you’re this ugly intimidating’s easy to do. You just look at him and say ‘if you hurt her again I’m gonna kiss you right on the lips.’

Rudy In 2010 my wife had an aneurysm and it burst.

We got her to the hospital and back, and I found myself talking to someone I never knew, the savior. I told God, “I’ll find out more about you.”

Those were my words, and she got better. God healed her. I’d always been a pretty scheister guy, and I walked in and she was crying. I said, “Well what have I done now.” She said, “Nothing, I just

can’t get nobody to take me to church.” I said.

“Don’t worry about it, don’t ask anyone else, I’ll take you. Maybe I’ll sit out in the truck.” That was my intention when I came here. I ride bikes, and that was kinda in the back of my mind. I said, “Let’s try that church Crossfire.” A fella named Catfish stepped out on that porch, a big old bushy wooly bugger guy, my kind of people.

I walked up on that porch and started talking to him. Seven years later, and I’ve only missed two Sundays.

Louis I had a cocaine problem. I was actually saved the same night I got clean, and I’m 16 years sober. I was at a Baptist church then —I’m a recovering Baptist— but after a while I started to notice they would always sit in the same seats. It was like everyone had assigned seats. Everyone would wear suits, and they’d tell me what an inspiration I was, but they wouldn’t sit with me.

Here I sit in a different spot every week.

Jane I came up to Wilkes from Florida. I was an addict.

I was homeless. I came out of the woods about six months ago, and they helped me back on my feet. We’ve all had problems. We’ve all fallen down. They got me set up, back on my feet again.

It’s a family.

Sp iri tu

es om

H al

Junaluska Mennonites celebrate 100th Easter STORY BY BRANDON KATHMAN

T

he Rev. Mike Mathes flew from the pulpit into his congregation, waving his arms above his head.

The deep and powerful yet rasped voice of the former truck driver filled the century-old chapel.

“Y’all give him some praise in here! He is risen! He is risen! Oh, I wish someone would help me!”

County by 1918, when the Rev. Joseph Tschetter built the church along with his wife Katharina Tschetter and eight original families. What was once a schoolhouse stands across the street to this day, one of several ministries for Junaluska children the first Mennonites provided.

“He is risen!” his wife, Sister Venus Mathes, called back from the pews.

“We serve a living God! Hallelujah, he is risen!”

The congregants of Boone Mennonite Brethren Church gathered to celebrate the church’s 100th Easter on April 21. The Mennonite Brethren parish in Boone constitutes the largest Mennonite community in Western North Carolina; furthermore, the parishes of Western North Carolina are the only in the world primarily comprised of African American Mennonites.

“When you hear Mennonite, you think of the Amish,” Mathes said. “You think of the men with the big black hats, but there’s about five different types of Mennonites. We were formed off of a missionary branch.”

Most in attendance at Boone Mennonite Brethren Church grew up in the historic Junaluska community, which can be traced back to the 1850s, when census records reported several “free men of color” living in Boone, according to Junaluska Heritage Association librarian Lynn Patterson.

The arrival of Crimean missionar ies in the early 20th century brought the Mennonite Brethren faith to Watauga

Sister Venus Mathes collects offerings before communion.

“They pastored in black churches,” church guitarist Brian Yerman, one of a group of white congregants, said. “There were black kids in their orphanages and white people couldn’t stand it. There’s a saying that the most segregated time of the week is 11:00 on Sunday, but not in this church.”

One such child was the future Rev. Ronda Horton, who ministered to the church from 1935 until his passing in 1986, earning the nickname “Moses of the Mountain.” The church’s senior members

remember him to this day as one of the church’s most influential forefathers. At the time of his ministry, Mathes was only a teenager. He recalled receiving a Bible from the pastor as a graduation gift.

“I was 50 before I was called to preach, and that Bible was in mint condition,” Mathes said. “Not a page was torn, it was not worn at all. That Bible was in mint condition, but my life was a wreck. We thought they was strict in those days, but they mean a lot to me.”

Though Mennonite in name and doctrine, its African American congregants brought traditions that would never have been encountered in a typical Mennonite church, according to Patterson. She said their gospel music, call-and-response preaching, and dancing might “raise a few eyebrows” among traditional Mennonites.

Roberta Jackson, 76, was a teenager when she began attending the Boone Church with a long since ex-boyfriend.

“The church I came from, you didn’t wear pants,” Jackson said. “You didn’t wear anything without sleeves. There was no drums. There was no dancing.”

The church has continued to grow since the time of its founding, an anomalous trend in a time where most churches have experienced drastic decline in attendance and membership. Mathes believes this is due to their culture of inclusivity and staying out of politics.

“Our door hinges swing on welcome,” Mathes said. “I don’t mix politics with church. I tell folks all the time I’m not interested in that. I’m not concerned with where you come from, but I am concerned where you’re going.”

ABODE Magazine 13

Community Treasure Box AOBVE: DAVID TATE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, YELLOW MOUNTAIN ENTERPRISES

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t the Community Treasure Box thrift store, one can find more than just a good deal. It’s a place where community members come together to support one another.

The Community Treasure Box is a thrift store operated by Yellow Mountain Enterprises, which provides support for adults with disabilities in Avery County. The program provides work opportunities, educational experiences and social and recreational activities for the clients.

STORY AND VIDEO BY SAVANNA TANNER

“Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities have the same needs and desires that any adult has. They want to feel like they’re useful, they want to be productive. They like to have a job, they like to have friends, they want a home. They want all these things that everybody else wants. But their disability makes it very difficult to them to do all of that on their own,” said David Tate, the executive director of Yellow Mountain Enterprises.

“Our mission here is to support them to be involved in their community and

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achieve those things that they want to achieve: a home, a job, friends, social activities…all those kinds of things,” Tate said.

The thrift store originally operated out of a single room at Yellow Mountain Enterprises and was later moved to a separate location. The store reopened in May in a new building, right at the back door of Yellow Mountain Enterprises.

“It’s wonderful for it to be within walking distance,” Tate said. “It’s really convenient.”

The main purpose of the Community Treasure Box is to provide jobs for the clients of Yellow Mountain Enterprises.

“Here, at Yellow Mountain, we are trying to provide work for our clients and the jobs that we take on have to be scaled to their ability to get them done. So, it’s not always easy to find the right kind of work,” Tate said.

Some of the jobs that the clients are

COMMUNITY TREASURE BOX able to double our client payroll able to do at the thrift store include because we have more jobs for picking up donations a donor’s more our clients to do, on a more home that can be brought in to the regular basis,” Tate said. “They can store for sale. They help sort the literally walk out our back door and clothes that are donated, evaluate into the back door of the thrift store them, price them and then hang and do a them up in wide variety Our mission here is to support them to the retail space. Some be involved involved in their community of different jobs that clients work and achieve those things they want to help them at the cash feel good register achieve. about and others -DAVID TATE themselves, sit in the helps them coffee area feel good and invite about being productive during the people in to have a cookie or a course of the day, and it helps them coffee for free. with their paycheck.”

“The biggest impact for our clients One of the nice things, from is in their paycheck. We have been

COMMUNITY TREASURE BOX

ABOUT YELLOW MOUNTAIN ENTERPRISES David Tate helped to start Yellow Mountain Enterprises in the late ‘70s, in the basement of Banner Elk Presbyterian Church.

“We had no services for adults when they graduated (from high school),” Tate said. “There were other counties that had programs like this, but we didn’t have it. So, it made sense to me to provide the same sort of services here.”

In addition to the Community Treasure Box, Yellow Mountain Enterprises offers a wide variety of enterprises in the community, including trophies, custom t-shirts and mail processing. During the holiday season, they also create decorative Christmas bows.

a community standpoint, Tate said, is to have these disabled people in the public, and to have a public job.

“I think it’s good for the community to see that level of diversity,” he said.

The operations of the thrift store also depend on donations from the community, shoppers and volunteers.

Bobbie McClellan, the store manager, said the volunteers are a huge part of the success of the thrift store.

“We couldn’t run this business without our volunteers,” McClellan said.

“We have had great support from the community. In terms of the donations we’ve received, we get

BOBBIE MCCLELLAN, STORE MANAGER, SECOND FROM RIGHT

so many donations, it’s hard to keep up with them,” she added.

This year, Yellow Mountain Enterprises has been nominated for business of the year in Avery County. The winner will be announced in the coming weeks by the Avery County Chamber of Commerce.

“Little by little we have grown; expanded services, expanded staff, started new enterprises. So, I feel a great sense of achievement,” Tate said.

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the helping hands of the High Country

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STORY BY KATE NYSTROM

magine coming home after a long and exhausting day to a house full of food, water and a roof to top it all off. While this might be a luxury most people don’t have to think about, there are plenty of individuals in Watauga County that would dream of what is a reality to most of us.

Homelessness in the High Country is a prominent issue. According to last years census, about 20.5% of people in Watauga County live in poverty, and the 2018 Point-in-Time count reported that 449 people were experiencing homelessness in Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey counties.

While there are a lot of people that struggle with feeding their families or finding shelter for when the weather gets bad, they can turn to a safe place that has been operating since 1984.

The Hospitality House of Northwest North Carolina is a homeless shelter based in Watauga county. According to their website, 80% of people who become homeless only experience homelessness once. The mission of the Hospitality House is to help provide a safe and healthy environment for their clients in order to help them rebuild their lives.

The Hospitality House also says that they do not discriminate against any of their residents or volunteers based on their race, gender or religion. They are open to anyone coming into their space.

Elena Nowak, an Appalachian State University advertising major, has volunteered at the Hospitality House.

She said it is extremely rewarding to act as a helping hand to people who need it most.

“Once I was asked to set up a little girl’s birthday party and try to decorate the

common cafeteria space, which I think was my favorite thing to do,” Nowak said. “Hospitality House works to give people a hand up, not a hand down.”

Appalachian State junior Kathryne Jamison has always wanted to volunteer at the Hospitality House, but she said it can be difficult to secure a spot volunteering because so many individuals want to help.

“For one of my classes, we had to option to go volunteer at the Hospitality House, but I could never get in and help because so many other people emailed before me,” Jamison said. “I wish I could still help, but it’s great to know that they are never in need of volunteers and that so many people flock to help.”

According to their website, the Hospitality House has plenty of ways to volunteer around the house. Whether someone volunteers to simply hang out with the residents, garden, help to

Graphic by Savanna Taylor

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The Hospitality House of Boone, NC sits just outside of town at 338 Brook Hollow Road. Photo by Abby Whitt.

prepare food or work at their front desk, there is a volunteer opportunity that could suit anybody’s interests.

Sarah Brody, a history major, volunteered there last year. She said she went with a group of classmates last year, and it was one of the best and most memorable volunteer experiences she has ever partaken in.

“What I like about the Hospitality House here in Boone is that it is one of the few in North Carolina that allows families to stay together,” Brody said. “We played music with the ukuleles and served dinner to kids and their families, and it was a really cool and rewarding to see everyone come together.”

Since the Hospitality House was relocated Brook Hollow Road in 2011, their website says they have provided about 200,000 nights of shelter, and served over 870,000 meals to the people staying in their space.

Brody said that if anyone has the opportunity to volunteer at the Hospitality House in Boone, they should take advantage of it.

“It truly is a fulfilling experience,” she said.

“I really like the sense of community that the Hospitality House provides, and I would

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

definitely go and volunteer

The Hospitality House of Northwest Carolina Phone: (828) 264-1237

again if the opportunity arose.”

- SARAH BRODY

Lenoir Emergency Outreach Shelter (LEOS) Phone: (828) 726-3634 Watauga Public Health Center (817) 321-4740 Hunger and Health Coalition 828-262-1628 Casting Bread Ministries (828) 295-8333 RAMS Rack food pantry (828) 733-5127

PHOTO FROM @_sarahbrody ON INSTAGRAM

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