Viewpoints

THIS MONTH: The Food Issue

If 2020 has been good for anything, for many of us it’s been more time in the kitchen. In our annual Food Issue, we’re celebrating some of the goodness unique to kitchens around the state. And don’t miss a bit of inspiration for your own kitchen — our recipe section starts on page 32, and you can find 1,000 more on carolinacountry.com/recipes. —Scott Gates, editor

‘Mayberry’ Local I tremendously enjoyed reading the October 2020 Carolina Country article, “Greetings from The Real Mayberry” (page 10). The communities and businesses mentioned in the show and the article are very familiar and beloved to me, as I grew up in and still live in Mount Airy. In fact, I grew up in the neighborhood very close to Andy’s homeplace and within walking distance to “uptown” Mount Airy. My daddy went to school and church with Andy as a boy; the article provided some dear reminiscences of my childhood. Y’all really do need to visit Mount Airy/ Mayberry, and enjoy some of life as it was, should be, and sometimes still is — at the time of the show’s airing —  a real breath of fresh air!

Debbie Benge, Mount Airy An employee of Surry-Yadkin EMC

Avid Reader October was a great issue ... I read it from cover to cover, as I do most issues. Thank you for interesting North Carolina articles.

Helen Pate, Holden Beach A member of Brunswick Electric From the Archives Back in April, Blue Ridge Energy member Teresa Miller reached out to see if we could find a back issue in the Carolina Country archives. Her uncle, John Nelson from Piney Flats, Tennessee, had drawn a picture from it and she had planned to frame it with the original. Our archives was inaccessible until recently, but sure enough, her Uncle John certainly did our April 1989 cover justice. The original featured an oil painting, “Rural Memories,” prepared especially for Carolina Country magazine by artist Pamela C. Renfroe.

Correction to our October issue Several photos from “Greetings from the Real Mayberry” (page 10) were taken by Marla Milling: shots of the Snappy Lunch sign and owner, as well as Wally’s truck. Thank you, Marla!

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L to R: Fourtee Acres Farms owners Tyrone and Edna Williams with Roanoke Electric’s Alton Perry Alton Perry with Fourtee Acres Farms’ Tyrone Williams, a longtime participant in the project.

Equality Through Land Management Roanoke Electric program empowers Black members

By Victoria A. Rocha | Photos courtesy of the North Carolina Forestry Department

As the nation continues to reckon with issues of racial and social justice, a North Carolina electric cooperative’s sustainable forestry program has been quietly working to reverse decades of systemic discrimination against Black landowners.

Roanoke Electric Cooperative’s Sustainable Forestry and Land Retention Project is one of eight community-based organizations selected in 2013 to administer the national Sustainable Forestry and Black Land Retention program. The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities created the program after decades of declines in Black farm ownership.

In 1920, Blacks owned between 16 million and 19 million acres of rural land and accounted for about 14 percent of the nation’s farmers. Today, they comprise less than 2 percent of farmers and own less than 5 million acres, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Census of Agriculture.

“In addition to discriminatory practices by agencies, African American landowners were denied access to resources because they weren’t informed of technical resources available to them or informational opportunities to learn the importance of estate planning to reduce the risk of heir property [land owned by two or more people in which there’s no will],” said Alton Perry, project manager at the Aulander-based co-op.

Perry and his staff help participants establish legal ownership of their properties to ensure that valuable land stays in their families. Landowners also learn forestry management techniques to transform unprofitable family farms and forests into economic assets.

Perry, who forged strong connections with public agencies and conservation advocacy groups during an

“Alton deserves a ton of credit for taking something from scratch and turning it into one of the best forest landowner programs in our area.”

early career in forestry, hosts informational webinars, conferences and workshops attended by about 200 nearby landowners. He’s helped dozens gain access to agencies and other resources for forest management and estate plans. Perry estimates that, through this program, local landowners are implementing sustainable forestry and conservation practices on about 13,000 acres of land.

“Alton deserves a ton of credit for taking something from scratch and turning it into one of the best forest landowner programs in our area,” said Chris Brown, community relations manager at Enviva, a wood pellet manufacturer that operates nine plants in the Southeast, including two in Roanoke Electric’s service area. “He has a great ability to bring people together, from the industry to conservation folks to landowners.”

Enviva is one of two industry partners supporting the Roanoke Electric program with grants and technical assistance for landowners. Since 2017, it has given $50,000 in financial assistance for forestry and legal services and provided on-staff foresters to consult with participants at workshops or on their properties.

As for the landowners seeking assistance from the project, many have turned into skilled foresters; one was appointed to an advisory panel at a national conservation group. Others, like the Kyler family, who own forestland in Enfield, are just beginning.

“It has been a positive experience working with Roanoke Electric [REC],” the family said. “We’re now going through the process of finding out how much we own, what’s tillable, what’s farmable and what’s open. REC is really educating us on forestry and conservation. It’s one thing to own property, but something totally different to own property and cultivate it for the next generation.”