Cobb Life - Spring/Homes 2023

APRIL/MAY 2023

PUBLISHED BY THE

Plus

The latest vinyl resurgence, Copperand Torch glass artistry, Cobb’s own master gardeners, and travel 100

KANDRAC-KOLE House

Goodbye Tuscan look…thanks to some clever interior designers, this Marietta home now sports a relaxed, brighter style.

Models: Hair cut, colour, and style by élon Salon.

CL COBB LIFE

INFORMATION

EXECUTIVE

PUBLISHER

Otis Brumby III

GENERAL MANAGER

Lee B. Garrett

V.P. OF CONTENT

J.K. Murphy

EDITORIAL STAFF

EDITOR PRO TEM

Skyler Heath

CONTRIBUTORS

Pamela Dabrowa, Skyler Heath, Katherine Henderson, Lisa Mowry, J.K. Murphy

PHOTOGRAPHY

CatMax Photography, Pamela Dabrowa, Skyler Heath, Lisa Mowry

LAYOUT AND DESIGN

Caffeine Generated Graphics

Robin Harrison

ADVERTISING STAFF

V.P. OF SALES

Tara Guest

COBB ADVERTISING MANAGER

Becky Opitz

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Jill Abbott, Stephanie deJarnette, Ginny Hrushka, Paula Milton

GRAPHICS/LAYOUT

COORDINATOR

Beth Poirier

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

Erin Barkwell, Tona Deaton, Lee Field, Jennifer Hall

Cobb Life is published nine times a year by the Marietta Daily Journal and distributed to more than 25,000 homes and businesses.

To subscribe, email circulation@cobblifemagazine.com or call 770-795-5001.

To advertise, contact Tara Guest at 770-428-9411, ext. 4511.

Send letters to the editor, article pitches and any other content queries to Skyler Heath at sheath@mdjonline.com. cobblifemagazine.com

FOLLOW US ON Facebook Twitter Instagram

CIRCULATION DIRECTOR

Dave Gossett

Dermatology & Surgery Specialist of North Atlanta ..................................................18

Dough In The Box ............................................................................................................50 Elon Salon* ............................................................................................................................3

Fleming Carpet Flooring & Design Center ..................................................................31

Gilreath Family Dentistry .................................................................................................43

Hardy Chevrolet, Buick, GMC ........................................................................................63

Harry Norman-Cobb Marietta ........................................................................................26

Johnson & Alday.................................................................................................................41

Karli Ryan Photography ...................................................................................................62

Lenz Design & Communications ...................................................................................68

Marietta Hearing Center ..................................................................................................38

Mayes Ward-Dobbins

FOR THE KIDS

FOR EVERYONE

Even beautiful houses need a refresh now and then, particularly to fit new owners who may want a different look. Interior designers Joann Kandrac and Kelly Kole of Kandrac-Kole have been transforming Cobb County houses (and beyond) for years. Read how the clever designers gave a stylish makeover to a Tuscan-style Marietta home along with their tips and tricks to brighten up any space.

Features

10 Copper & Torch

Check out how local artist Lindsay Troutman of Copper & Torch developed a unique craft in glass artistry. From glass vases, necklaces, trays and terrariums to curio boxes, ornaments and adornments, Troutman is like a magician with a wand. Or in this case, a magician with a torch.

14 Travel

Who’s ready for a vacation? Check out a full travel guide for three destinations — Hot Springs, Arkansas, Key West, Florida and Rome, Georgia — and plan your next trip now.

20 Vinyl

The saying “everything comes back into style” rings true — vinyl records are making a remarkable resurgence. Hear from two Cobb record stores, Sweet Melissa and Book Nook, along with other vinyl enthusiasts on the latest revival of records.

29 Record Maker

If you ever owned a copy of “Best of the Doobie Brothers” vinyl record, it just may have been JK Murphy’s. In summer 1978, Murphy scored a job at the Indianapolis record-pressing plant and made 1,600 albums per day.

110 Master Gardener

More than 250 Cobb County residents share the title of Master Gardener for the purpose of sharing their horticultural education with the community. Hear from some of the seasoned gardening aficionados and how they discovered a passion for volunteer work.

Greetings ,

Cobb Life Readers.

Spring has sprung and summer is already upon us. Where has the time gone?

As Dorothy Gale from “The Wizard of Oz” once said while tapping her ruby red slippers, “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.”

She’s right. There really is no place like home.

A house and a home, though similar by definition, have two different meanings. A house is merely a structure of brick, mortar and cement, but a home holds much more — it’s a sacred space, a safe haven where memories are shared and love is exchanged. A home is a direct reflection of the people (and furry friends) living inside.

Ironically, my fondest memories of home were made during the strangest time of my life (and everyone’s) — the pandemic. When coronavirus made its way to Georgia, I was wrapping up my sophomore year at Kennesaw State University, living in an off-campus apartment with four best friends and bartending at a local steakhouse to make ends meet.

But when the restaurant closed its dining room, I was without a job. So, I did what most twenty-year-olds do when they’re out of options — I called my dad. He pitched the idea to break my lease, move home and save some money. While I wasn’t enamored with his proposal, especially since I would once again have to share a bathroom with my two siblings, I ultimately had no choice. But looking back, I’m sure glad I did.

Don’t get me wrong, flocking back to the nest was certainly an adjustment. With three cats, a yappy toy Australian shepherd, three stepsiblings and two remarried parents living under one roof, my blended family is a real-life Brady Bunch. I’m serious; the Heath-Boeyink household is just like a sitcom and sometimes even an unaired episode of “The Jerry Springer Show.”

But moving home was also refreshing. My family and I used the mandatory shelter-in-place to our advantage. Every

morning, while sipping on a cup of coffee, my stepmom and I would browse through Pinterest for home improvement inspiration. With only a few moans and groans, my dad, brother and stepsister helped us tackle a new project every day. From refurbishing an antique loveseat to touching up the kitchen cabinets and cleaning out junk in the hallway closet, we took spring cleaning and redecorating to a whole new level.

Though we came together due to unfortunate circumstances, my family and I were able to cherish every moment with each other, even the bickering and banter — something we took for granted prior to the pandemic. So, hug your loved ones tight and remember wherever you are in the world, a home always can be found with family.

This year’s Spring/Home Issue of Cobb Life has a little something for everyone. For the home-improvement gurus, check out our cover story about two local interior designers who gave a stylish makeover to a Marietta home along with their tips and tricks to brighten up any space. The before and after transformation will astound and maybe even inspire.

Calling all music lovers. Vinyl records, which seemed to be left for dead in the 80s, are making a comeback. In fact, this physical format is making a remarkable resurgence. Readers will hear from two Cobb record stores, Sweet Melissa and Book Nook, on the revival of records. Whether you’re a vinyl aficionado, newbie in the turntable community or interested in taking the record plunge, scan through our vinyl story on page 20.

After reading about the latest renaissance of records, check out a column written by MDJ’s own Managing Editor J.K. Murphy as he teleports back to summer of 1978 working at a record-pressing plant.

For the ambitious creators, see how Lindsay Troutman of Copper & Torch mastered a unique craft in glass artistry. This creative mind has a knack for taking something ordinary and morphing it into a work of art.

For our readers with a green thumb, flip over to page 36 and see how Master Gardeners, a gardening volunteer program based out of the University of Georgia, is making Cobb bloom.

Summer ’s around the corner and now is the time to take that well-deserved vacation! Whether you’re lounging on a beach in Key West, Florida with a brew in hand, sightseeing in Hot Springs, Arkansas or taking a weekend road trip to Rome, Georgia, travel columnist Lisa Mowry has a full itinerary for these three destinations.

Braves Country is back and better than ever. Enjoy our Author Q&A with Bradsher Hayes about his book “150 Years of the Braves: From Boston to Milwaukee to Atlanta,” which details the rich history of the beloved baseball franchise.

As always, don’t forget to check out the latest May releases, noteworthy news from around Cobb, familiar faces in Cobb Scene and our Now & Then photo segment.

I hope you enjoy reading this issue just as much as I and the creators behind Cobb Life did putting together. Finally, I hope you enjoy your home and the people you share it with.

Skyler Heath Cobb Life Coordinator

Copper & Torch

A BURNING DESIRE TO CREATE

Written by KATHERINE HENDERSON

PHOTOGRAPHY

entering Lindsay Troutman’s home studio brings on distinct vibes of natural-history-museum-meets-classroom-meets-creative-wonderland. The multidisciplinary artist behind Copper & Torch artisan glass surrounds herself with inspiration from a dizzying array of items that seem to have floated in on one of the four winds. From the field or forest, seashore or sidewalk, attic chest or artist’s hand, these tidbits settle into position waiting for a turn under the magician’s wand. Well, in this case, the magician’s torch.

“It’s not really a torch per se, like in metal-smithing,” Troutman clarifies. “In this, I use a soldering iron, so the word ‘torch’ in the name is based on the heating element. Then under the stained

glass is this copper foil that adheres the solder. The copper is in every piece.”

A graceful sweep of her hand gestures toward finished pieces. Glass vases, necklaces, trays, terrariums, curio boxes, ornaments and adornments all wink and glint in the light, refracting hues from either the glass itself or an object it encases. The technique for this medium is one she learned years ago in high school as she explored her creativity with other kids interested in similar pursuits.

“I learned through friends, it wasn’t at school,” she says. “We’d all get together and do crafts like

tie-dye or batik or make paper or whatever. Some were into stained glass and they taught the rest of us. We were quirky art kids that wanted to learn everything.”

CURIOSITY IGNITED

When Troutman finished college and started a family, she started making art on the side for her own enjoyment. Eventually, people began to notice her skills and then invited her to contribute in art shows.

“It was thoroughly in my soul to be creative, to be an artist,” she says. “I didn’t have the funding to go to art school, but every time

Photos by ROBIN RAYNE

Above A little glass and a big imagination transformed Lindsay Troutman’s creative vision into a beautiful reality.

there was a community art class, I’d take it. When I wanted to learn printmaking, I went to a class taught by people who have master’s degrees in printmaking. I will get the education, even if it’s in piecemeal; it’s not all at one time in a BFA or MFA program.”

With her own four children, she continued to model and encourage the same exploratory learning she had valued in high school, fostering their creative spirits by homeschooling with holistic spin.

“I taught them to read, we did a ton of nature walks and learned by experience in nature. I was a Montessori kid, so it’s kind of ingrained in me to let learning happen,” Troutman details. “We just spent our time together baking, walking around outside, picking stuff up, inspecting it, painting, reading tons of books–

Top left and right When given particularly sentimental items to incorporate into a special custom project, Troutman delights in the narrative behind those pieces and treasures the act of sharing their story. Nature has always been one of Troutman’s greatest teachers and taking regular forest walks provide a huge source of joy, so she enjoys incorporating elements of the natural world in her creations.

Bottom right Paper of all variations captivates the artist who loves the process of making special pieces out of everything from photos and invitations to maps and memorabilia.

that was how I basically structured our days. In college, I double-majored in English literature and education. It was always my heart to teach kids and help them realize that they can be creative and live a creative life. You can draw an apple without having it look like an apple. It can be kind of crazy, you can Picasso it up and it’s okay, you know?”

She transitioned her creative teaching methods outside the

home when life called for a directional shift.

“When my ex-husband decided to go to law school, we moved to Athens and I put all the children in school because I needed a job to support us [while he studied],” she confirms.

A friend of hers founded a craft school and asked her to teach some classes, starting with a needle-felting class for adults and then going on to develop curricula for children’s

classes, giving her a platform to delve into new territory. At home, Troutman continued pursuing her artistic interests for the benefit of the whole family – when the budget was tight and a gift was needed, she made something.

A spark flickers

This heralded the birth of Copper & Torch.

“I was looking around trying to decide what to make for a gift, noticed a broken picture frame and thought, ‘you know what? I could repurpose. I can solder that into something,’” she recalls.

The resulting terrarium vase was a resounding success as measured not only by the praise from the recipient but also by the ensuing social media frenzy. After posting a photo of the vase, Troutman was slammed with messages from friends and referrals asking to order a vase. Soon, the organizer of

a craft show invited her to exhibit her vases.

“I made a whole bunch and sold them out on the first day of a two-day event!” she exclaims. “I spent the entire night making as many as I possibly could… which wasn’t too many. It’s a time-consuming process. They all sold out again. It was so exciting and I thought maybe it could be a side business.”

The side hustle begets a serious bustle as Troutman pulled together resources to get a small business off the ground. Within the incubator of the Athens creative community, she collaborated, and bartered to figure out her branding and launch a website on a shoestring budget. She hired students for internships or offered them studio hours toward their degrees. She sought out business develop-

ment advice and researched workshops, landing in one that made a huge impact on her goals.

“I attended The Makers Summit in South Carolina, which included Jeni Britton from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream and Anna & Nathan Bond from Rifle Paper Company,” she effuses. “I got to sit with these incredible brains who said ‘here’s how you market, here’s how you promote, here’s how you scale up if you want to go big and here’s how you stay small and still be successful.’ I decided at that moment, I never want to be a factory. I always want to have my hand on each piece. Even if I have studio helpers, I want to be the finisher. This is something that gives me just as much joy creating it as the person receiving it. I want to touch every piece before it goes out the door.”

Above A wizard wielding a unique wand, Lindsay Troutman performs her artistic magic using glass, a soldering iron and copper foil.

Top Right This rendition of the Copper & Torch signature Big Chicken ornament radiates PRIDE!

Right Troutman values any opportunity to spread hope and kindness through her art.

Light it up

That door swung wide open in 2014 when an email from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine editors petitioned her for more than a dozen pieces to be featured in a summer issue.

“It blew up,” confesses Troutman. “I had to hire two people. That was a major thing to happen for an artist with a new business. It was incredible. I’m grateful that I had that opportunity to see what that was like, but I knew I wanted to stay small.”

Small and personal. What emerged as vases has evolved into a full spectrum of possibilities for glass artistry.

“When I’m contacted by someone who wants something special or custom, that’s my favorite,” Troutman says. “I love the opportunity to make fresh and new things, or preserve something old or special – photographs, wedding dresses, quilt pieces, whatever people send me. Someone sent me sea glass and wanted a tiny little container; somebody sent their wisdom teeth and wanted to encase them. I said, ‘Okay, I got you!’ People have things they want to save for whatever reason and I just enjoy giving them the opportunity.”

All aglow

There are several items she produces for retail markets, craft fairs or as corporate gifts. These include the vases that started it all and the best-selling series of Christmas ornaments featuring themes such as The Big Chicken, Atlanta Braves and Georgia Bulldogs. Unique necklace styles are popular also.

“I have these pieces I call the Nature Walk Necklace, inspired by my oldest child,” Troutman elaborates. “When she was little, she would stuff her pockets with things from outside. The necklace mimics the design of my vases so she could wear it and put her treasure in the necklace as a mini-terrarium around her neck.”

Other necklaces showcase a glass pendant encasing an unexpected focal point of lace or pressed feathers, some constructed from items Troutman finds but many from special requests.

“I received lace from the 1920s, from a grandmother’s wedding dress,” she describes. “The client requested necklaces made for every female member of the family–I like the feminine lace with the modern feel of the iron around it.”

She’s received similar requests for bridesmaids as a wedding memento, and wedding invitations seem

particularly suited for Troutman’s glass trays.

“I really love to do wedding invitations,” she muses. “They’re special, they’re pretty; I love looking at the paper and seeing how people see their relationship through stationary. Actually, trays work well for so many things — encyclopedia pages, maps, wine labels, pressed flowers, postage stamps, snake skin, four-leaf clover… the sky’s the limit with what you can put in glass, and there’s always a story in the piece.”

The shelves and stacks around the studio space corroborate this affirmation, boasting a library of these narratives.

“I love literature — English major, right?” she chuckles, “and I’ve noticed that the things I love about the writers I read are the way their stories detail connections to other humans…That might be why, in my art, I love these connected storyline pieces… I’m making something that’s an instant heirloom for you.”

To learn more about Copper & Torch visit www. copperandtorch.com

The Travel

100 100 100

By: Lisa Mowry

Hot Springs: A City within a Park

Thanks to its historic bathhouses, thermal hot springs, crystal-mining and incredible natural beauty, Hot Springs, Arkansas can be the sort of destination people didn’t think needed to be on their bucket list—but it should be. Hot Springs is a rarity, a town that is entirely located in a national park. In addition to its gorgeous lakes and gardens, the town was an early (perhaps seedier) version of Las Vegas for decades, hosting gangsters, brothels and gambling as a money-maker. Intrigued by this interesting, quirky town? Read on.

What to do:

The town’s 47 mineral hot springs are a main reason this central-Arkansas destination continues to draw visitors year-round. History and architecture lovers will marvel at Bathhouse Row, the downtown block of original bathhouses. Don’t miss the National Park-sponsored tour of bathhouse history at Fordyce Bathhouse, and then sign up for either an authentic 1920s-style bath experience at Buckstaff or soak in the thermal springs at Quapaw.

One of the original bathhouses, Superior Baths, has been turned into a full-service restaurant and local brewery, with a claim to fame of being the only brewery in the U.S. using thermal spring water as an ingredient. Their innovative menu—both beverages and food—and prime location in the middle of town make it a don’t-miss. The Gangster Museum of America is

across the street, providing a glimpse into Hot Springs’ colorful history as a place for the likes of Al Capone and “Lucky” Luciano to visit. Alongside jazz clubs, casinos and bootlegging, the early scene was quite a mix for a small town full of thermal springs. The purported medicinal benefits of the springs helped fuel the gambling, and later helped bring in the nation’s first spring-training for major league baseball.

Attractions outside the

At Garvan Woodland Gardens, stunning architectural structures combine with natural beauty from the Ouachita Mountains, Lake Hamilton and botanical gardens maintained by the University of Arkansas.

Magnificent crystals have been found in the Hot Springs area, so it’s an epicenter of quartz-mining.

For more than 100 years, the Ohio Club has been an epicenter of nightlife, jazz, and the place to see “celebrities” ranging from Bugsy Segel, Babe Ruth, to Mae West.

The Rooftop Bar at The Waters Hotel is a prime place to enjoy a cocktail and marvel at the 360-degree views of Hot Springs and the surrounding mountains.

city are also fascinating. Garvan Woodland Gardens is set in the Oachita Mountains with lakeside vistas; visitors enjoy the woodland trails but also the strong architectural delights such as a chapel and treehouse. Arkansas’s geography contributes to the wealth of quartz crystals found in the area, and as a unique activity, visitors can check into Avant Mining and dig for their ownh crystals in the dirt.

Where to stay:

The charming Lookout Point Lakeside Inn has earned accolades such as one of TripAdvisor’s top small inns in the country, and it’s easy to see why: the setting on Lake Hamilton and gardens to enjoy are a peaceful backdrop to a stay. The elegance of the Gilded Age is found at The Reserve, a Neoclassical estate across from Oaklawn racetrack that’s been lovingly turned into a luxury bed-and-breakfast.

What to know:

The closest airport to Hot Springs is in Little Rock, about an hour away. Because of that and all the attractions spread out in Hot Springs, a rental car is highly suggested. It would be a nine-hour road trip from Atlanta area, with potential interesting stops in Mississippi and Memphis along the way. For more information, visit hotsprings.org.

The INNside story: Pier House RESORT

An oceanside oasis in exuberant Key West

Why you should visit:

It’s the quintessential Key West, Florida experience, with gorgeous sunsets, a dive bar, views of the Gulf, and plenty of good food—all on property.

People flock to Key West for its quirky charm, but at the end of the day, it’s sure nice to have a peaceful retreat for escaping the town’s high-energy level. With its enviable location of Duval Street on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other, Pier House Resort & Spa offers the proverbial best of both worlds. It’s also got that rarity in Key West: an actual sandy beach and palm trees (because you can’t come to Florida without a bit of that). Add in a dive bar on property, full-service spa, and views for miles to complete the picture, and we agree after a recent visit that Pier House is an ideal home base for exploring Key West.

Top Right Lush landscaping on Pier House’s property add to its tropical ambiance.

Photo: Lisa Mowry

Middle Right A stroll into the Old Town district of Key West will lead you through residential streets full of historic cottages and quirky cemeteries. When you’ve worked up an appetite, stop in at El Siboney, an unpretentious but wholly authentic Cuban restaurant in the heart of Old Town. Its Cuban sandwiches and house made sangria are favorites for good reason. Photo: Lisa Mowry

Right Just beyond is bustling Duval Street and the off-beat charms of the rest of Key West, but the property at Pier House has a beach resort feeling where relaxing is the name of the game. The private sandy beach, pool area and bar, spa, and restaurants make it easy to spend a day here without even leaving the hotel.

Photo: courtesy Pier House

The magnificent sunsets are a big reason that people flock to Key West, so the beachside views from Pier House Resort & Spa make it an enviable spot to enjoy the sun going down. Lively Mallory Square, with its jugglers and other characters appearing at sunset, is also just two blocks away.

Photo: courtesy Pier House

As part of its claim to fame, Key West is the southernmost city in the U.S., closer to Cuba than Miami. Part irreverent cultural mecca, tropical destination for snorkeling, a darn good place for a daquiri, and the spot for some major people-watching, Key West draws folks for a lot of reasons. If you like history, the Little White House populated by Harry Truman is an ideal place to explore, a few blocks from the hotel. Ready for a sunset cruise? The on-site concierge can set you up on a boat. Since Key West is only four miles

long and two miles wide, it’s easy to explore with a bike or a pair of good walking shoes.

Pier House began life as a small 50-room hotel in 1967, but it’s expanded over the years to 143 guest rooms and suites, two restaurants, a spa and lush landscaped property surrounding it all. The oceanside suites have unparalleled views and the most up-to-date interior design, with a coastal vibe (think rattan furnishings and a blue-and-white color scheme), although the cozy spa rooms are charming, too, tucked into the palm

Visit Harry Truman’s Little White House for a view of Key West architecture, his life on the island, and (free) displays about his presidency.

Photo: Lisa Mowry

trees as a value option. Speaking of the spa, theirs is the only full-service one intown, and is a must-do for any relaxing getaway. After a massage or facial, dedicate another hour to relaxing in the whirlpool al fresco.

Food and beverage options on the resort cover a lot of ground, even with just three destinations. The resort’s signature restaurant, One Duval, does day-long service as the place for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Its menus range from hearty omelets to start the day on up to sophisticated seafood and steak options at night, all with the option to sit outside at the tables located above the ocean. The Beachside Bar is the sort of laid-back spot by the beach and pool that dream about while they’re stuck in an office. With plenty of beers, lunch treats like fish tacos or calamari, and often a local minstrel playing Yacht

Rome, Georgia

Rock tunes, the Beachside Bar is usually hopping all day long. Tucked into a spot near the lobby, the Chart Room Bar channels Old Key West, with its memorabilia stuck on every corner of the walls and ceiling, and its legends of locals such as Jimmy Buffett and Mel Fisher stopping by. With its complimentary peanuts and hot dogs available alongside specialty cocktails, this funky bar can entertain guests for hours.

Key West is a three-hour drive from Miami, but these days, several airlines offer direct flights. The small airport is only a 10-15 minute rideshare journey to Pier House, and once you’re there, it’s easy to get around by walking or taxi. The small-but-in-a-goodway size of Key West makes it an easy getaway when you’re in the mood for a Margaritaville-type of weekend.

An easy getaway for history and architecture

Rome, Georgia may be 5,000 miles from Rome, Italy, but it does share a few attributes. The northwest Georgia city was built on seven hills with rivers running through it, similar to the capitol of Italy. A trio of rivers — Etowah, Oostanaula and Coosa River — wind through our Rome, giving it a picturesque look and good spot for kayaking. And then there’s Berry College, with its Italian-inspired architecture at its Ford campus, bringing the nod to Italy back again.

100 The Travel

THE

DESSNA AESTHETICS IS NOW OFFERING:

What to do:

The world’s largest campus at 28,000 acres, Berry College in Rome is also one of the prettiest. Travel & Leisure—among other magazines—has named it one of the most beautiful college campuses in the U.S. Visitors are allowed to come on to campus after stopping at the gatehouse; ask for a map (or download your own), showing a dozen or so hiking trails on campus, which is also ideal for bike-riding if you have your own. Highlights of Berry College include the Italian-influenced Ford Campus (where many a photo has been taken); the Old Mill (ditto, re: photos), one of the world’s largest waterwheels situated on a creek; and the eagle’s nest

where fans of the popular Berry College “eaglecam” might spot a bird or two flying around.

Head downtown to soak in the quintessential small-town charm, and stop for a bite to eat.

Harvest Moon, a casual-funky restaurant in a historic brick building, is a great place for lunch or dinner; try the “OMG BLT” for some twists on the usual bacon-lettuce-tomato sandwiches, adding fried green tomatoes and chipotle mayo. During warmer months, the Rome Clocktower is open for tours on Saturday, a chance to see the best view in town. Take your pup to River Dog Paddle Company and rent a stand-up paddleboard to cruise one of the city’s rivers.

The Rome Braves, a minor league team of the Atlanta Braves, entertains baseball fans in its small-town stadium from April on, offering an up-close sporting experience.

Courtesy Rome office of tourism

Broad Street in downtown Rome is where you’ll find shops and restaurants to explore. Courtesy Rome office of tourism. Courtesy Rome office of tourism

Are you getting “Stranger Things” vibes? This stone building on Berry College’s Ford Campus might look familiar, because it played a mental institution on the popular Netflix show in the last season. Berry College has also been the filming site for well-known movies “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Remember the Titans.” Photo by Lisa Mowry

V I N Y L LONG, LIVE

THE RISE AND FALL AND RISE OF RECORDS

From the era of Woodstock, The Beatles and flower power in the 60s to Saturday Night Fever, disco craze and bell-bottoms in the 70s, vinyl records were all the rage. But in the 80s when teased perms, leg warmers and CDs entered the scene, vinyl nearly went extinct.

As denim-on-denim and Doc Martens make a return, the saying “everything comes back in style” rings true and vinyl records are no exception — in fact, they’re making a remarkable resurgence.

According to the Record Industry Association of America’s annual report in 2020, revenue from vinyl sales surpassed CD sales in the U.S. for the first time since 1987. The trend continued this year when vinyl albums outsold CDs $41 million to $33 million, per RIAA’s 2022 annual report.

Numbers don’t lie and it’s clear vinyl has reclaimed its throne as the music industry’s most popular physical format. But with today’s digital music technology, which offers convenience and millions of songs at one’s fingertips, some are puzzled over this record revival.

Written by Skyler Heath

Photography by Robin Rayne

Pops and crackles — Record enthusiasts say the warmness and detail of playing a song on vinyl is incomparable to any other playback device.

V I N Y L LONG, LIVE

Carmichael Funeral Homes

So what’s the real secret to the resurgence of vinyl? Some say it’s the unique, warm sound quality while others believe Long Plays, or LPs, are just a trend or an aesthetic picked up by the younger generations. Vinyl enthusiasts, however, say records are the whole package — an experience incomparable to any other playback device.

MARIETTA BOOK NOOK THE COBB VINYL HAVEN

Nestled on a corner of Roswell Road in east Cobb resides a local used bookstore, Book Nook, that fosters thousands of vintage comics, cartoons, graphic novels and music. The store has been a staple of Marietta’s used book market since 1973 and also boasts a hefty collection of second hand vinyl. Book Nook store manager and Cobb native Alexa Dunford said every used record has a unique story, but all share one thing in common.

“We really value the treasure hunt,” Alexa said. “We don’t have a consistent inventory and we don’t order from a record distributor, so therefore our record collection is a direct reflection of the Cobb County community and their taste in music.”

The Cobb native said she’s been coming to Book Nook since she was a girl, for over 20 years and took over the store’s management in November this year.

“In a world where everything is fast and we can be so quick with our choices, having a vinyl record and a turntable… is kind of a testament to people’s desire for meaningful music,” Alexa said. “The intentionality and reverence with which you treat a record is what makes it so special.”

Book Nook’s resident vinyl specialist Tyler Rush said the resurgence of vinyl can be credited to a growing interest in vintage memorabilia.

“I think this wave of nostalgia that’s happened over the last decade brought awareness back to the vinyl format,” Tyler said. “As a

Above Right New doesn’t always mean better; Mystic Mood Orchestra’s “One Stormy Night” LP album from 1966 is one of the many used records up for grabs at Book Nook. PHOTO BY SKYLER HEATH

Vinyl enthusiasts say records must stay clean to increase lifespan.

PHOTO BY SKYLER HEATH

result, records became trendy and got a lot of people into it even if they weren’t initially doing it because of the sound difference.”

SWEET MELISSA THE RECORD CAPITAL OF MARIETTA

Sweet Melissa Records, an eclectic vinyl store in the Marietta Square, sells a unique assortment of records and antiques. Step into the store and customers are greeted by a nostalgic, antique aroma and a plethora of treasures frozen in time. Aside from the bountiful mix of past relics like refurbished typewriters, rotary telephones, vintage cartoon books, random collectors’ items and old-school cameras, guests can peel through the collection of over 15,000 new and used records packed in the building.

Jim and Melissa Kumpe, founders and owners of Sweet Melissa Records, are seasoned vinyl aficionados. Jim said Sweet Melissa began as an offshoot of Antiques on the Square which opened in 1986. But when the antique joint started selling vinyl in the early 2000s, Sweet Melissa Records was born.

Melissa and Jim have witnessed the unique trend of record sales throughout the years and say there are numerous reasons for the resurgence of vinyl.

“We’re very fortunate that we have a lot of people who are interested in getting a little deeper into music,” Jim said.

Quality vs. quantity

Jim and Melissa along with Alexa, Tyler and other vinyl enthusiasts say the renaissance of records stems from the discovery or rediscovery of its unique sound quality.

“You lose so much using CDs and streaming devices,” Melissa exclaimed. “There’s so much more instrumentation that occurs in a record.”

“There’s just so much detail and warmth,” Jim added.

The sound of music on a turntable is difficult to describe to those who have never experienced it first-hand.

“The special sound is all of the pops and crackles and I think that’s a big part of what develops the warmness that so many people talk about,” Tyler said.

Book Nook resident vinyl specialist Tyler Rush beams with excitement over one of his favorite records: The Dear Hunter’s “Act IV: Rebirth & Reprise.

PHOTO BY SKYLER HEATH

Many Cobb natives think Sweet Melissa Records is named after The Allman Brothers Band single “Melissa,” but that’s a common misconception. However, the owner and namesake of the record store Melissa Kumpe says, “Well if you like the Allman Brothers, I’ll support that theory.”

Those who find themselves at Sweet Melissa Records will hear a broad mix of music — all that come from Jim and Melissa’s sound system, turntable and personal vinyl collection. The owners also invite all their guests to sit back, relax and enjoy the music by lounging in one of the cozy couches in the back of the store.

Jim said they play records all day and people can instantly hear a difference in the quality of sound on vinyl versus CDs and streaming. He laughed and said, “The easiest way for us [to prove vinyl’s merit] is we just put a record on, let ‘em listen and make up their own decision… most of the time, they can hear a difference.”

Something to hold onto

Vinyl enthusiasts also believe the resurgence of records comes from people’s appreciation of owning a tangible creation — something they can hold onto.

“I think that the reason vinyl started to come back was a backlash on the iPod,” Jim said. “We were putting all this money into this little thing and weren’t getting anything that we could touch or hold.”

And while the MP3 player, IPod and now the IPhone allows for convenience, buying a record appeals to the senses. Rather than simply pushing a button to play a song, vinyl users get an up close look at the intricacy of the cover art, feel the grooves of the record and appreciate the creation along with its complexity.

“And then when the record started coming back, you got something that was big, it takes two hands to hold and you can see where your money’s going,” Jim said.

While millions of people use streaming services to discover music, others turn to vinyl to broaden their music taste.

“I think the biggest reason for the resurgence of vinyl is the tangibility because we don’t feel like we own stuff these days,” Book Nook’s Tyler said. “Whether it’s movies, television shows or any sort of media, it’s all through a streaming platform. There’s nothing really there to represent something you own.”

Jim said those who prefer vinyl over streaming are “a more serious listener. It’s what somebody finds important in their life.”

Brooke Thomason, 22, a senior at Kennesaw State University studying music entertainment, is a seasoned vinyl collector. Thomason along with other vinyl buffs find they share a universal experience when playing a record.

“In today’s age, choosing to listen to vinyl is a very intentional choice,” Brooke said. “I can play ‘Houses of the Holy’ in the snap of a finger on my Bluetooth speaker as loud as I want. But sitting down, placing the vinyl on my record player and positioning the needle is an event, an experience if you will.”

Generation-to-generation love for records

It seems vinyl is no longer stereotyped as a dusty collection of crates in the attic. Instead, the revival of records allows for all generations to share their music taste and bond with others.

Brooke says her fondness for vinyl stems from childhood where she remembers playing records with her father.

“My dad was born in 1959 during the era of rock 'n' roll, and because of this I've always considered myself to be a bit of an old

Above Jim Kumpe, co-owner of Sweet Melissa Records, says he could never chose a favorite record, but Barney Wilen with the Mal Waldron Trio’s “French Story” is clearly a top contender.

soul,” she said. “Some of my favorite musicians of all time include Led Zeppelin, The Doors and Fleetwood Mac.”

Brooke finds that listening to her favorite artists on vinyl brings her closer to her father while also seeing glimpses of him during his adolescence.

“Listening to these artists on vinyl gives me a new sense of appreciation for the music,” she said. “This was how my dad heard these songs for the first time as a teenager and was what brought all of these legendary artists to the peak of their stardom.”

Similarly, Tyler said his passion for vinyl came from his mother.

“I went digging through her closet one day and found her records. I was like, ‘what is this stuff?’ and she said, ‘well, let me show you.’ I was hooked ever since,” he noted.

Tyler said Prince’s “Purple Rain” and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” are the two LPs that inspired him to dive into vinyl. After inheriting his mother’s collection, Tyler now owns over 400 records, give or take.

“For a lot of people, sitting down, sharing a record with a friend or family member is a very personal experience,” he said.

A holiday for vinyl lovers

And it seems the cultural phenomenon surrounding the resurgence of vinyl is reaching every corner of the globe.

“One of the events that definitely was most important to the resurgence of vinyl is Record Store Day which has been going on for 15 years now,” Jim said.

Record Store Day is an international vinyl event that takes place annually on one Saturday in April and every Black Friday in November. The event celebrates the unique culture surrounding vinyl and offers limited, exclusive records to independent record stores globally. The Kumpes and Sweet Melissa staff started preparing for this year’s Record Store Day on April 22 last November.

“People get here sometimes at midnight and stay in line to get certain records because there’ll only be like 500 to 20,000 pressed,” Melissa said.

Record Store day is like Christmas for vinyl lovers — except it comes twice a year. The biannual event serves as an opportunity for record owners to add special pieces, both old and new, to their collection.

For this year’s Record Store Day, officials pressed only 9,000 records of the Allman Brothers Band’s Live Album recorded at the Syria Mosque in January 1971 and 1,000 copies of “The Amazing World of Doctor Who.”

Artist influence

Despite common misconceptions, the record market doesn’t just cater to a specific generation. Now, modern day musicians are hopping on the vinyl bandwagon. Taylor Swift, Harry Styles and Olivia Rodrigo, who have incredible influence in popular culture, are releasing vinyl and they’re making tremendous impact.

Taylor Swift’s vinyl edition of album “Evermore” broke the U.S. record for largest vinyl sales in a single week in May 2021, selling 40,000 copies in just two days, according to Billboard. And her recent album “Midnights” seems to be all the rage after selling 500,000 copies in one day last October. While consumers are raving over the music itself, they’re also fascinated by the album’s intricate design — the artwork on four editions of the vinyl album comes together to create a wall clock.

“I keep hearing people say, ‘whether you like Ms. Swift or not, you have got to give her credit for the team she has behind her.’ She is a very talented songwriter and can get the best players in the business to play with her. The pressings are stunning, the artwork is stunning, she really is the total package,” Jim said.

But modern day pop artists aren’t the only musicians triggering big vinyl sales. Jim and Melissa said vinyl demand is booming in every

Bridal for Over 40 Years

Vinyl/Record Glossary

45 RPM: The speed used since 1949 for most 7-inch records released as singles. On the turntable, the records spin at 45 revolutions per minute.

33 1/3 RPM: Twelve-inch record. While this size is most commonly used for modern record albums, this size record is also used occasionally for singles and extended-play (EP) recordings.

78 RPM: Speed used from the 1910s through the late 1950s for 10-inch singles.

EPs or Extended Play: This term is usually used to describe a 7-inch single that plays more than one song per side. These record albums are priced at the equivalent of about $50 today.

LPs or Long Play: Technically, a trademarked term by Columbia Records (correctly printed as “Lp”) in the late 40s. Popularly, the term is most often used as a slang reference to a record album.

music genre. There are new records dropping weekly for every music genre ranging from punk and metal to hip hop and jazz and everything in between.

V I N Y L LONG,

“It changes so fast. There’s something new every day,” Jim said. “And that’s what makes this so much fun. There’s always new music and new artists coming out.”

Vinyl appreciation

Seasoned vinyl fanatics and newbies in the turntable community agree that there’s a deep intricacy behind the collectibility and value of vinyl records.

Experts say there’s a common misconception; the age of a record doesn’t make it more expensive. Instead, Jim and Melissa say they set the prices of a vinyl record based on its scarcity and rarity.

“Age doesn’t make value. It’s about popularity, rarity, demand and condition of the record,” Melissa said. “Records are like books. They have a first pressing, second and multiple pressings. So if you get a first pressing, if the condition is beautiful, both the record and the cover, all of that adds to the value of the record.”

Meanwhile at Book Nook, Tyler and Alexa follow a similar set of rules when buying used vinyl from customers and setting the prices of records once they hit the floor.

“It’s a combination of popularity and condition,” Alexa said. “So if it’s a seriously popular record like Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’, let’s say it’s a little scratched, we would still take it, but we would price it at $2 maybe $3. Compare our prices to what you would buy it for online in mint condition and it would be significantly more expensive.”

But vinyl can age like fine wine, especially hand-me-downs.

Buying a used record “has a history to it. There’s a story to be told about how it’s been used, where there’s scratches or dinks. We appreciate the imperfections,” Tyler said.

So what really makes a great record? The best selling vinyl albums aren’t just regarded for their music. Rather, experts say the finest vinyl act as unique forms of art.

“It’s a total package,” Melissa said. “It starts with a great song. It starts with a great voice. It starts with great players, and great packaging.”

Others say the transient nature of a record, as a whole, makes it art — every time vinyl is placed on a turntable and used, it’s damaged slightly.

“The printed material on the inserts of records, not bound with the intention of being thrown away, is called ephemera. So all of the album artwork and lyric packets are ephemeral which the word itself means fleeting,” Alexa said. “So it’s that timelessness and special moment of appreciating the record now and then when it was made.”

RECORD MAKER

[ WRITTEN BY JK MURPHY ]

Ifyouever owned a copy of “Best of the Doobie Brothers” vinyl record, it just may have been one of mine.

It was the summer of 1978. I was home from college and making music. Literally, making music. Sixteen hundred albums per day –the quota for my eight-hour shift.

My father was an engineer at RCA (formerly the Radio Corporation of America) and he pulled some strings to get me a job on the factory floor of the Indianapolis record-pressing plant. It was a great summer job that paid three times what I’d made the previous summer working “maintenance” (grass-cutting and weed-pulling) at an apartment complex. And it was the one and only time I was a “union man.” Employees in the record plant were bona fide, card-carrying members of the I.B.E.W. (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers).

My record-producing training consisted of 20 minutes of instructions from my supervisor and another 10 minutes of her watching me run the presses. Once satisfied, she turned me loose.

The process was simple and repetitive. Each worker operated two presses that opened and closed, up and down. Step 1 was to affix the paper record labels to the metal templates. A-side went on the upper template. The B-side went lower. A vinyl dispenser resembling a soft-serve ice cream machine would squirt out a melted vinyl “biscuit.” Plop the warm, black biscuit on top of the B side label. Closing the press required both hands pushing levers simultane-

ously – a safety precaution to keep hands from being smashed in the press. At this point, the worker turns and repeats the process on the second press.

While loading the second press, the first press would close and mash the biscuit to form the record. Excess vinyl oozed out beyond the record templates. A blade would then rise and rotate, slicing off the excess vinyl. The press would open and the finished record would be pulled from the press by hand and placed on a spindle. Every 30 minutes or so, a supervisor would come by, remove the full spindle and replace it with an empty one. I never saw where those records went nor did I ever see the finished, packaged product.

I was making the Doobie Brothers album on one press and Kristy and Jimmy McNichol’s debut (and only) album on the other. After a couple of days I started reaching my daily quota –1600 albums … all summer long and I worked one of three shifts. I couldn’t imagine the McNichols

I was making the Doobie Brothers album on one press and Kristy and Jimmy McNichol’s debut (and only) album on the other.

ever selling all those albums. I never doubted the Doobies did. For a brief period, maybe a couple of days, I was moved from LPs to 45s. Same process, smaller machines. But then back to the Doobies and McNichols.

I remember the plant being loud and hot. No air conditioning in those days and with each work station heating a pot of vinyl on top of the warm Indiana summers, it made for a high-temp environment. On particularly warm days, supervisors distributed mandatory salt tablets to prevent workers from dehydrating.

Because the job offered good money and steady work, most of my coworkers were “lifers” – longterm and loyal employees. As a temporary summer employee, I was an outlier and my nickname quickly became “college boy” among the factory crowd. I never was sure if that was a term of endearment or derision.

Once clocked in, you remained at your press. The only mobile worker was the floor sweeper, who would chat with each worker as he broomed the aisles. Floor sweeper was the coveted job others aspired

to for the freedom of movement it offered.

Ten-minute breaks in morning and afternoon and 20 minutes for lunch, as I recall, were spent in a common area equipped with picnic benches on the factory floor that doubled as tables for lunch and cards (euchre was the game of choice). On one break, the floor sweeper sat down across from me. “Hey, college boy, if you’re going to work in a record plant, you need to know the answer to this question: What’s the average number of grooves on an LP?” he asked.

My blank stare gave him my answer. I had no idea.

“Come back tomorrow with the answer, college boy.”

That night I scrutinized some of my albums. It was impossible to count the grooves, even with a magnifying glass. In the end, I

estimated how many grooves were in the first inch of the record from the outer edge and multiplied by six, the distance from the edge to the label. I don’t recall the number I came up with, but I went to work the next day prepared to answer the question.

“Well, college boy. What’s the answer?” floor sweeper queried.

After I gave him my answer, let’s say it was 682, he was ready with this response. “Hah, college boy, you ain’t so smart. There’s only ONE groove … it just keeps going round and round and round.”

Replaced by tape and CDs, vinyl sales plummeted in the 1980s and RCA’s record-stamping plant on East 30th Street in Indianapolis –at one time the largest in the world – closed in 1988, 10 years after I spent my summer there. Seven hundred workers – including the floor sweepers – were out of work.

That summer job gave me a new appreciation for a college education when I returned to Indiana University in the fall. I’d learned two things: an education would keep me from a career where floor sweeper was the position aspired to.

And each side of a record has one groove.

JK Murphy

UpLighten

Goodbye Tuscan look…thanks to some clever interior designers, a Marietta house now sports a relaxed, brighter style.

Written by LISA MOWRY

Photography by CATMAX PHOTOGRAPHY

The piano room (Before) >

Top left The piano room is all about relaxing and listening to music. Top right The homeowners’ existing rug anchors the dining room, lightened up with new Bernhardt furniture and a linear light fixture from Visual Comfort. Bottom left The design team kept original countertops in the kitchen, but changed the countertops and backsplash, and added new hardware, with help from local Marietta company Highland Design Gallery. Oversized brass pendants bring in a contemporary flair. Bottom right The other side of the living room shows the revamped fireplace and new cabinets.

EEven beautiful houses need a refresh now and then, particularly to fit new owners who may want a different look. For this traditional-style Marietta home, interior designers Joann Kandrac and Kelly Kole of Kandrac-Kole stepped in to provide the stylish makeover.

“The house had been dark, with Tuscan-style light fixtures,” says Kelly. “It was nicely done, but wasn’t our clients’ style at all.”

The new goal: brighten up the home with clean lines, no clutter, statement lighting, and art, along with comfortable, well-made furniture. Some of the changes to lighten the mood were rather easy, the designers say. The walls were repainted a warm white (see their tips in “So, you want to lighten your house…”), and unnecessary millwork was removed to simplify the walls, visually. They also replaced older light fixtures, and used soft LED bulbs for ambiance.

Other changes were more than cosmetic but made a big difference.

“We removed a wall in the dining room and created a very large, cased opening so that the natural light from the front of the house could reach the back of the house,” says Joann.

As another visual trick, they replaced the heavier wood staircase railings with a slim iron version. The living room fireplace got a facelift by removing the heavy existing mantel; the new version has a floating wood mantel against a white base. Kitchen cabinets remained as-is, but with new hardware and countertops.

The design gurus also made sure furnishings and accessories complemented the lighter palette. To flank the living room fireplace, Kandrac-Kole found two nice-sized cabinets in an off-white shade. “They’re not custom cabinets, so that means the homeowners could take them to a future home,” says Kelly. Elsewhere, they were able to reuse window treatments from a previous house, as well as the owners’ primary bedroom furniture. A few pops of bold wallpaper also made a big difference throughout the house, a go-to favorite of the designers, along with the new lights.

“When our clients want a quick refresh, we lean on paint and lighting first, since they can make a world of difference,” says Kelly. “Most people don’t realize how poorly lit their homes are until all of a sudden their home is bright and cheery.”

Above “This butlers pantry was a very fun space to design,” says Joann. “We gutted the entire niche and redesigned with a pretty wall tile (from Prosource Marietta), floating shelves and custom cabinets that are viewable from several areas of the home.”

Middle Left “We got the homeowner hooked on wallpaper in her last house so we knew we could do it again in this laundry room,” says Kelly. “Since she volunteers at Mostly Mutts in Kennesaw and is a big dog fan—family dog Bella posed in the photos--we had fun with the wallpaper.” Custom cabinets throughout makes for a very neat and tidy laundry room.

Top right Subtle gold veining in the Costentino quartz countertops picks up gold in the light fixtures in the primary bath.

“We’d worked with Kelly and Joann in our previous house and loved their style,” says this Marietta homeowner. Kelly Kole (left) and her business partner Joann Kandrac have worked together for 16 years, and are known for their colorful, custom designs, as well as their dynamic personalities. In fact, you can listen to the Kennesaw-based team on their own podcast, Inside Design with Kandrac & Kole.

So you want to lighten your house…

The Kennesaw-based design team of Joann Kandrac and Kelly Kole have been transforming Cobb County houses (and beyond) for years. Some of their best tips to freshen up a home:

 Paint walls off-white. “We like Sherwin Williams’ paints the most, with ‘Alabaster,’ ‘Shoji White,’ and ‘Aspire White’ as three of our favorites,” says Joann. They recommend an eggshell finish on walls, flat on the ceiling, and semi-gloss on the trim--unless the goal is high drama, in which case they choose a high gloss oil on trim.

 Switch to lighter window treatments. “We’re anti-plantation shutter, because they block way too much light,” says Kelly. “We use Hunter Douglas cellular shades and roller shades the most, preferably ones that allow light to filter through. For curtains, we recommend very simple hardware --we use a wrought iron French rod the most.”

 Go light for upholstery. Don’t be afraid to go with lighter colors in this age of performance fabrics, since the days of choosing dark materials just because they don’t show spills are over, say Kandrac-Kole. Upholstered furniture such as sofas, breakfast room chairs, and barstools can all wear fabrics that repel stains, and therefore be light and bright. Faux leather is another popular option that can be wiped off.

“Only

Cultivating a Crop of Volunteers

A passion for helping others and playing in the dirt can produce a field of Master Gardeners

WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED

Growing up in the heat of South Georgia, Renae Lemon’s childhood chores included watering the azaleas. She recalls taking the water hose to over a dozen backyard bushes and then going back again to give a second soaking, so the water could seep down through the dry red clay to the roots. It’s a fond memory and one she didn’t realize would be so profound later in her life. Now as the University of Georgia Extension Master Gardener Coordinator, Renae finds more significance in those hot summer days holding the hose, helping those southern bushes, not only survive, but to flourish.

Renae also recalls her mother asking a neighborhood church cemetery if she could edge the road where the grass was growing over. Her mother, with Renae and her siblings help, spent hours edging, took the debris home, roughed up the soil of the bare patches in their backyard and nursed those trimming to take hold and eventually become a lush yard.

The 2023 University of Georgia Extension Master Gardener Class of 2023 on their first day of horticultural education at the Cobb County Parks and Recreation.

The University of Georgia Extension developed the Master Gardener Volunteer program to extend their reach and to share extensive gardening knowledge to the public

Renae is cultivating something much more than grass roots these days; she’s growing a crop of Master Gardener Volunteers.

More than 250 Cobb County residents share the title of Master Gardener for the purpose of sharing their horticultural education with the community. They do this by providing thousands of volunteer hours, supporting 16 community and demonstration gardens in Cobb County, speaking engagements, an annual plant sale and garden tour and sharing their knowledge and experience.

The University of Georgia Extension developed the Master Gardener Volunteer program to extend their reach and to share extensive gardening knowledge to the public. They do so by training home gardeners to be volunteer educators. It could possibly be said that the students who graduate with the Master Gardener title have earned UGA bragging rights, horticulturally speaking.

BECOMING A MASTER GARDENER

While a garden isn’t planned in a day, neither is becoming a Master Gardener. The Class of 2023 Cobb County volunteers started their journey to the coveted title last spring when the three-month application period opened. By June 15, 2022, 38 people had submitted their ten-page application along with three letters of recommendation.

Cobb Master Gardener Extension Volunteer (MGEV) Susan Dawsey proudly shows off newly harvested sweet potatoes during the annual Sweet Potato Dig at the Plant A Row for the Hungry, one of UGA Extension Master Gardener’s projects.

PHOTO BY RENAE LEMON

Cobb MGEV Judy Beard gets some help staying afloat from fellow MGEV Ursula Wold, cleaning out the frog pond at the Wright Environmental Education Center in East Cobb.

PHOTO BY RENAE LEMON

Not everyone is accepted into the program. Once the applications are reviewed, the interview process starts. Hopefuls are questioned by a group of five, which includes Renae and four other Master Gardeners, to learn about their experiences and expectations. Notes are taken, all is documented as the search for a heart of service and volunteerism commences. Plant knowledge and gardening experience is not necessarily a determining factor as much as having the time and desire to volunteer and dedicate to the program.

“The number one thing we are looking for is time,” Renae says. “Does the person have the time to take the 12 weeks of classes, held every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; time to volunteer the first year for 50 hours?”

“You don’t necessarily have to have gardening experience, but it helps to know the basics,” she explains. “You do need to have a heart for volunteerism and a compulsion to go out into the community to educate, to be a speaker, to help others by sharing the education that the UGA Extension program has taught you.”

“This is serious… we are looking for the best to make the program its most successful,” Renae emphasizes.

Once the interviews were conducted last summer, 24 of the 38 applicants were accepted into the program and notified by email that their formal education would start at the beginning of 2023. The program costs $200 and includes over 70 hours of classroom instruction, a program handbook valued at $95 and an insect identification book.

BEING ACCEPTED INTO THE PROGRAM

“That was the most exciting email of my life,” says Denny Wilson of south Cobb, who retired from her IT job in December. “It was number one on my bucket list! I got accepted on my first try.”

She checks all the boxes of what can make a successful Master Gardener Volunteer. Denny sits on the board of directors for the Family Life Restoration Center and is actively involved with the south Cobb non-profit. She also says there is talk of creating a community garden.

“I’m really looking forward to that because they’ve got the land to do it,” Wilson says. “It hasn’t even been created yet, but once I finish the Master Gardeners program, I plan to create it. I’ve got the vision in my head; I just haven’t put it on paper yet.”

As an avid home gardener, Denny is fluent in perennials, annuals, bushes and trees. The idea to become a Master Gardener was planted about 10 years ago when she received helpful information from the UGA Extension Help Desk.

Laurie Nelson, Au.D. Doctor of Audiology

Amanda Thomas, Au.D. Doctor of Audiology

Brittney Tardy, Au. D Doctor of Audiology

“I relied on them a lot for tips on some things that were going on at my home and just going in and talking to them and finding out what I needed to do to get my yard up to par, it just made me more and more interested in the program,” she says. “But I just didn’t have the time because I was still working.”

Now is her time to flourish and she especially looks forward to volunteering at the Help Desk which helped her so much in her gardening endeavors.

That’s a good thing since the recent graduates of the program, who are called interns for the first year, are required to serve at the Help Desk for the majority of their required volunteer hours which is a great way to practice sharing knowledge with others. Renae is lenient on the Help Desk volunteer requirement though, if answering phone call questions is uncomfortable then volunteers certainly don’t have to do it.

“If it makes them nervous then they won’t want to be a master gardener anymore. When they wake up in the morning and it’s Master Gardener Day, I want them to be excited about it. I want them to be excited about what they’ve volunteered to do,” Renae explains.

There are many volunteer areas and projects to choose to spend time and energy. The Master Gardener’s website is a visual encyclopedia of opportunities under the Where We Dig tab and Renae welcomes all types of experience and backgrounds to add to the

“You do need to have a heart for volunteerism and a compulsion to go out into the community to educate, to be a speaker, to help others by sharing the education that the UGA Extension program has taught you.”

Renae Lemon

Electa Keil, PAR Project Chair overseeing the sweet potato dig. “The volunteers are so dedicated, and the end result is providing healthy meals for those in need,” remarks Renae Lemon.

PHOTO BY RENAE LEMON

Above left Cobb MGEV Jim Beardon leads a Bluebird Trail Walk and Talk Tour at Green Meadows Preserve in west Cobb.

PHOTO BY RENAE LEMON

Above right Cobb MGEV Jami Holden captures the beauty at one of the many gardens on the annual UGA Extension Master Gardeners Garden Tour.

PHOTO BY RENAE LEMON

breadth of the program. The mission is to educate and that takes a variety of volunteers which is evidenced in the many program committees that include Communication, Education, Development and Community Outreach to name a few.

Tom Beck, of east Cobb, a newly appointed Master Gardener, is no stranger to gardening, volunteering or the program. He and his wife, Beth, have been involved for the past three years. Beth is already a Master Gardener, and Tom decided to follow in her footsteps this year. While he is versatile in moving dirt, digging holes and working with the community in an east Cobb school vegetable garden, he knew it was going to be a commitment to formally complete the class.

“There’s a fair amount of studying, a midterm and final exam,” Tom says. “You’ve got to take is seriously.”

In regard to the interview process of the application, he says it was casual and comfortable but explains “they’re trying to verify that you’re not doing it just so you can say they you’re a master gardener. You have to be willing to volunteer and be interested in volunteering, so that’s important.”

Tom has found great reward in the volunteering he has already done as well as the camaraderie of working with fellow master gardeners, all of whom encouraged him to apply to the program to join the elite horticultural aficionados. Every Friday, he and Beth head to the volunteer garden to work the crops and dig in the dirt with fellow garden lovers, but this year he’s officially a Master Gardener.

“I think the program is for people who are interested in gardening and helping other people,” Tom says. “It’s not become educated on gardening and then keep it to yourself. It’s about more than learning about grass and

Cobb MGEV Kim Baumert gives advice to local garden planters at the Reconnecting Our Roots Community Garden on Lemon Street near Marietta Square. PHOTO BY RENAE LEMON

soil and plants, but how can you use that to help other people.”

Julie Phillips, of east Cobb, received the Master Gardener title in 2016 and has happily led the 2022 MGVOCC board of directors this past year as president. Involved in many aspects of the program through

“I think the program is for people who are interested in gardening and helping other people. It’s not become educated on gardening and then keep it to yourself. It’s about more than learning about grass and soil and plants, but how can you use that to help other people.”

Tom Beck

leadership and the Plant a Row project she has found enjoyment in “like-minded people, who have a servant’s heart, are willing to educate and always say ‘yes’. This program is really about giving and serving.”

While friendship with others who you are digging in the dirt, harvesting vegetables and planning the year

2023WINNER BESTOF COBB

PRESENTED BYCOBBLIFEMAGAZ

I

Renae Lemon, University of Georgia Extension Master Gardener Coordinator for Cobb County, at the Cherokee and Period Garden at Green Meadows Preserve in West Cobb.

Cobb MGEV Judy Beard gets some help staying afloat from fellow MGEV Ursula Wold, cleaning out the frog pond at the Wright Environmental Education Center in East Cobb.

with is certainly a benefit, Julie says the connection to others has been impactful in her life.

“Some of the people you work with have been Master Gardeners since the 90s and they know a lot,” she says.

When Julie was new to the Master Gardeners program, she said project chairs asked members to discuss their gardening knowledge with the rest of the group for five minutes. Here, members could learn from each other and get to know one another on a personal level.

“We were educating each other while we were doing this and so it was feeding my desire to learn more,” Julie recalls. “That group of individuals made me feel valued. Even though I was a newbie, I could teach them something that maybe they didn’t know about. We have the same mission, but we’re delivering it in different ways.”

Renae is proud of the Master Gardeners Class of 2023 who she nourished and brought up, and her respect and appreciation for them can be heard.

“There are some people who play golf, some people who play tennis, there’s some people who are very involved in their HOA, and that’s just what they do,” she

says. “And then there are some people who are master gardeners and that becomes your thing. You wake up and while you’re having your first cup of coffee, you’re thinking about Master Gardener stuff. And that’s who I look for because there is no way that I could run the biggest Master Gardener program in Georgia if I didn’t have all these wonderful, dedicated people.”

Applications are being accepted for the 2024 Cobb Master Gardeners Program through June 16.

MASTER GARDENER CLASS OF 2023:

Kristin Allen

Debra Buis

Cathy Cataldo

Lisa Darden

Dave Esser

Terry Gantt

Meg Hartin

Stephanie Heuker

Nancy Hodgson

Abby Holland

Dan Larkin

Andrea Linde

Arlene McCoy

Julian McNees-Lambert

Abigail Meadows

Lydia Odenat

Carole Pavik

Tom Peck

Tammy Weller

Denny Wilson

Katie Wood

Michael Yarter

~ Values you over everything else?

~ Delivers “Wow” customer service?

~ Offers Same Day crowns at no additional fee?

~ Provides start to finish dental implants using the the most advanced technology available?

~ Can schedule your entire family on the same day for your convenience?

~ Is passionate about prevention?

~ Provides traditional orthodontics and Invisalign from North Georgia’s Only PLATINUM dentist provider?

~ Is heavily Google 5-star reviewed?

~ Has earned the trust of Marietta and Cobb County for over 56 years?

QA AND

MEET THE AUTHOR

By Skyler Heath

B

BRADSHER HAYES, his father and son are part of three generations of Braves history. His father, from Brookline, Massachusetts, had attended the Braves’ first World Series with his father for one game in 1914. Hayes and his son, Bo, attended game three of the Braves-Twins matchup in the World Series in 1991.

Bradsher Hayes is a Southern gentleman and writer who has a deep love for the game of baseball. He is a foremost authority on college and professional baseball at the turn of the twentieth century after years of study and research. His three-year journey of research-

ing and writing the two books on the rich history of the Braves was an act of love for the fans in Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta.

His first work, King of the Southern Diamond, was published in the fall of 2019.

He knows baseball and is well paired with the game. He played on two state championship baseball teams at Westminster in Atlanta, played college ball at the University of North Carolina, and coached youth programs for ten years. The author has two children, Bo and Jenny, and has been blessed with two grandchildren, Pearl and Olive.

CL: How did the idea for “150 Years of the Braves” come about?

BH: My love affair and fascination with the Braves started over six and a half decades ago. It was passed on to me by my dad, an avid hometown fan and lover of the game of baseball. At age seven, we listened to Mel Allen’s voice crackling over an old RCA radio as he called the World Series between the Milwaukee Braves and the New York Yankees. He taught me how to cook Brunswick Stew that day and how to safely use a knife. He beamed and told me about attending the Fall Classic between the Boston Braves and Philadelphia Athletics with his father in 1914. I attended the World Series with my son in 1991. I always held in my heart the desire to tell an untold story. 150 Years of the Braves is the first comprehensive account of the Braves’ history as all of professional sport’s longest continuously running franchises.

CL: What separates this book from other pieces you’ve written? What connects it?

BH: I had firsthand knowledge of many events in the book because I was physically there for hundreds of the greatest games and moments in Braves history. Being in the stands when Gene Garber shut down Pete Rose’s forty-four game hitting streak, Hank Aaron hitting home run 715 to break Babe Ruth’s record, and Sid Bream sliding under the tag at home plate to propel the Braves into the 1992 World Series. Reading my book is like sitting in the dugout with the Braves greatest fan and him telling you story after story about the players, fans, announcers, owners and managers greatest moments.

Like the stitches that keep the cover on a baseball, what connects all three books is the genuine love of the game and the extraordinary amount of research it took to craft the stories. In the King of the Southern alone, I

found 350 articles from the newspapers on the central character, Arthur Bradsher, a grandfather I never knew. You can triple the amount of research it took to write the 150 Years of the Braves and the 150 Years of Braves Trivia.

CL: What can readers expect from “150 Years of the Braves”?

BH: To be entertained, and discover some fun facts about your favorite team. In addition to the 300 fact filled biographies, the 451-page baseball lovers’ treasure contains 220 vintage photographs. Readers will learn a wealth of information about the complete history of the Braves they never knew. All nine World Series appearances are described in detail in the book.

I rate the six best-position players, starting pitchers, relievers, and managers that played in the 150 years with the franchise. See if you agree with my choices.

CL: How does inspiration strike you?

BH: I am inspired by the treasure-trove of untold stories I’ve discovered and been able to share.

I am also inspired by other accomplished writers who surround me. In my early years, sports writer and columnist Furman Bisher was my idol. I read his column every morning before the bus picked me up for school. In my thirties, I had a great talk with him about the rich history of the Braves over lunch. It’s an afternoon I will never forget. One of Atlanta’s most prolific authors is Milam Propst, author of A Flower Blooms on Charlotte Street and eleven subsequent books was one of my first mentors. She has always had a generous heart to provide time to discuss my work.

CL: Do you have any rituals/best practices for writing?

BH: I write every day and work to improve my craft. Writing in the quiet of the early morning before the busyness of the day begins, works best for me. I recommend all writers, at whatever stage of their development, to take part in a critique group. It will do wonders for your creativity and technique.

CL: What advice can you share with other local aspiring authors?

BH: You can’t become a good writer without being a devoted reader. Reading is the best way of analyzing what makes a good book. Write about what you have a passion for and put on paper what an audience wants to read. Always push yourself to get better at your craft. Edit, Edit, Edit. Join a writing circle and be open to suggestions. Don’t take critique as criticism. Have a strong conviction and never quit.

CL: How has your environment influenced your work?

BH: C.J. Heck expressed it well when she said, “We are all products of our environment; every person we meet, every new experience or adventure, every book we read, touches and changes us, making us the unique beings we are.” In my case, I would expand the quote to read, “making us

the unique beings we are and what we write about.” I have baseball in my blood. When I was three years old, my father rolled a baseball to me three hundred times a day helping me become a pretty good shortstop. At age seven, I started listening to games on the radio. I made all-star teams in every league and played college ball. After college, I coached youth programs for ten years and had a well-known softball team, the Hot Dogs from the Varsity, for twenty years. The game of baseball has always stayed close to my heart.

Covid-19 kept me indoors writing every day 150 Years of the Braves and 150 Years of Braves Trivia without distractions.

CL: What’s your favorite part about writing? Your least favorite?

BH: Coming up with the initial concept of your book is both exhilarating and scary. It’s like jumping off the high diving board at age six for the first time. I am a research hound and love to dig deep for the facts that make a book great. My least favorite: Getting the copyrights for the 220 pictures in 150 Years of the Braves. It fits the definition of insanity at its best. My graphic designer, Tiffany Drawdy, who was one of the heroes of putting this book together, asked me if “I had been hit on the head with a baseball bat” when I gave her the extensive list of images I planned to include in the book.

Bobby Cox returned to Atlanta in 1990, replacing Russ Nixon, whose record was a dismal 130-216 in his two-year tenure. His most significant accomplishments came during his second stint with the Atlanta Braves when he led the franchise to fourteen straight division crowns and a World Series title. His tremendous success was built on a sturdy relationship with his players. He was a players’ manager, as long as you handled your job on the field with total focus.

Tom Glavine, a two-time Cy Young Award winner under Cox, spoke warmly of him, “(Bobby) was the single greatest influence on me as a player, in terms of teaching the game, respecting the game, carrying yourself the right way on and off the field. All that stuff was important. He was very much like a fatherly figure in that regard.”

John Smoltz, the only Brave to play under Cox for the fourteen-year championship run, said of his manager and friend, “A small part of Bobby Cox changes you as a baseball player. Twenty years with the man changes your life.”

The Braves skipper attributed a great deal of his success to his friendship and working relationship with General Manager John Schuerholz. “We never butted heads. We were on the same page all of the time. He could see what we needed, and I could see what we needed. Some of the decisions were tough, but I don’t remember ever where there was an argument about something. John always listened. Everybody was important in the room.”

Bobby Cox may have gotten along with his general manager, but it was often a different story with the umpires in the National League.

Cox was inducted with the 2014 class into the Hall of Fame, joined by Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Joe Torre, Tony La Russa, and Frank Thomas. On his Cooperstown plaque, it read, “Fatherly counsel made him a clubhouse favorite, and earned him universal respect.”

Braves superstar Chipper Jones played longer for Cox than any other ballplayer. Chipper spoke about his skipper in his Hall of Fame induction speech. “I never knew we were going to be side by side for seventeen years. Everybody wants to play for Bobby. (And) Nobody wants to leave Bobby. I certainly didn’t, and I’m glad that I saw it through with him.”

THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXCERPT OF “150 YEARS OF THE BRAVES” WHICH INCLUDES A SEGMENT OF THE BIOGRAPHY HAYES WROTE ON BOBBY COX.

CL: Who are you currently reading?

BH: I have just finished Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig by Jonathan Eig which describes what the two years were like after Gehrig’s famous speech in Yankee Stadium as he sought direction for his life and a cure for his illness. It gave me a great understanding and compassion for those who have ALS.

CL: What/who is your favorite book/ author of all time? Why?

BH: In my early years, two books come to mind. My favorite was To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. I was eleven and coming of age as Jem and Scout were. The civil rights movement was gaining momentum; it opened my eyes to the consequences of racial prejudice and how good and evil could appear simultaneously in a town or a neighborhood.

CL: What makes your work stand out from other authors in the same genre?

BH: There have been dozens of books

written about the Braves, but 150 Years of the Braves is the first to cover the franchise’s entire history from Boston to Milwaukee to Atlanta with such detail. The book includes a vast array of vintage photographs from the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Topps Card Company, famed photographer Leslie Jones, the UPI, and exceptional Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Marietta Daily Journal images.

CL: What’s been fun since your book was published?

BH: I sign every book I sell out of my online store at 150yearsofthebraves. com and often call the purchaser to see how they want it personalized. And, of course, almost everyone wants to tell me their favorite story about the Braves. Interacting and trading remembrances with these loyal Braves fans has been a blast. Come by my house this year on Christmas day and I’ll sign a book for a last minute gift for someone special in your life.

In addition to our Q&A with a local author, be sure to check out these news releases written by local authors in and around Cobb.

Cobb author Samantha Hawkins has published “My Mommy Marches,” a children’s book about celebrating the power of peaceful protest and the will to change things for the better.

Powder Springs author Shannon L. Joy has published “It’s Time to Do What?” a children’s book that teaches preschoolers life skills, how to think, how to plan and how to make decisions.

Marietta author Peter Bowleg has published “THINK Before You Act,” a nonfiction book that aims to end gun violence and help people make wise decisions.

feast.

feast your eyes on the convenient, modern location. Revel in the exceptional customer service and superior food experience. Cheer on the shows in our Cobb Energy Centre. Engage your audience in ways they’ll always remember. The word is out: one meeting place has it all.

Community rallies around Marietta Book Nook to keep it open

The Marietta Book Nook on Roswell Road is open for business.

“Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated,” Mark Twain quipped, when news of his death reached him on a trip abroad.

A similar experience occurred to Alexa Dunford, manager of the Marietta Book Nook, when she read that her store was closed.

There are three Book Nook locations: Decatur, Marietta, and Lilburn. The first store opened in 1973.

The owners of Book Nook had written a letter in November saying the Marietta Book Nook, open since 1996, would be closing in the near future due to heavy financial losses during the pandemic.

However, this did not happen. As word of a possible closure hit the store’s loyal customers, the community acted.

“Through community donations and sheer force of will, we’re still here,” Dunford said.

“The community has rallied around us,” Dunford said. “It has been a life-affirming and faith-restoring experience. I can say with confidence we will be here through the summer and hopefully much longer.”

A self-described lifelong bibliophile, Dunford is from Marietta and has “distinct childhood memories” of visiting the shop.

“This is a community bookstore,” Dunford said. “Our inventory is a direct reflection of the members of the Marietta community.”

The store has had to reduce its hours, now open Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. However, the store will open for private browsing by appointment. The Marietta location no longer buys items for cash — only trades are accepted.

There is currently a 50% off sale

on all items except vinyl, comics and graphic novels.

The best way to find out what is happening at the store is to get on the newsletter mailing list by emailing mariettabooknook@ gmail.com.

There will be programs to build relationships with local writers and artists in the community, according to Dunford.

“My goal is to feature local artists and create regular book clubs and swap meets,” Dunford said. “We are looking for folk music performers, and really trying to bring this place to life. We are in the process of building our social media.”

Alfred “Mr. Barney” Barnhart, 77, has been a bookseller at the Marietta Book Nook for 15 years.

“I just love coming here,” Barnhart said. “It’s lots of fun working here. Alexa has done a fantastic job resurrecting the Book Nook. Now we just want to make sure it stays open for the community.”

Smyrna down to four finalists for memorial to Fanny Williams

A Smyrna city committee is considering four proposals from artists for a monument to Fanny Williams, namesake of Aunt Fanny’s Cabin.

Williams, a cook and maid for Smyrna’s Campbell family in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, has been credited as an early civil rights icon in Cobb County who took on the Ku Klux Klan and helped found the Cobb Cooperative in Marietta, the state’s first allBlack hospital.

She also helped establish the comfort food outpost that came to be known for its mouthwatering home cooking and glorification of the Old South.

The committee, chaired by Smyrna Mayor Pro Tem Tim Gould, budgeted $125,000 for the memorial, which Gould said will be adjacent to the Smyrna History Museum on Atlanta Road.

On March 16, the committee presented four artists it has chosen as finalists for the project to the City Council.

They include Vinnie Bagwell, a Yonkers, New York-based sculptor whose work includes a Sojourner Truth statue in Highland, New York; the team of David Wilson, Stephen Hayes and Michael

Gonzalez, who have worked on memorials in North Carolina and Texas; Frederick Hightower, a West Virginia-based sculptor, and Martin Dawe, whose Atlanta-based Cherrylion Studios is responsible for the bronze Martin Luther King Jr. statue at the Georgia State Capitol.

Penny Moceri, Smyrna’s deputy city administrator, told the council the four finalists will present their concepts to the committee on April 26, which will then be displayed the following week in City Hall.

At the council’s May 11 work session, the committee will present its recommended artist and concept, and the council will then vote on that recommendation at its May 15 meeting.

Gould’s hope is that the tribute could be completed by the end of this year.

When the dilapidated cabin bearing Williams’ nickname was torn down by the city in August, there was outcry from some community members, led by former Smyrna Councilwoman Maryline Blackburn, that the demolition was a destruction of history.

Others, like Lisa Castleberry, a member of the committee organizing the tribute to Williams, were glad to see the cabin go.

“Friday was a good day for me. I was happy. I wanted that building demolished,” Castleberry said just days after the cabin was torn down.

Castleberry at the time also expressed her excitement for the committee’s work, which had already been underway for months: it was established by Mayor Derek Norton on Valentine’s Day 2022, and its first meeting was a week later.

Throughout the process of determining how best to honor Williams, the committee has been assisted by an expert panel in reviewing proposals from artists “as local as Smyrna and as far away as Spain,” Moceri said.

Henri’s Bakery & Deli in Marietta Square Market closes

Henri’s Bakery & Deli, which opened in the Marietta Square Market in late 2020, has closed. The restaurant, which served sandwiches and salads as well as an array of baked goods, announced it

was closing its Marietta location for good with a note attached to the entrance of the store March 13.

“We were unable to come to terms on a new lease renewal and for that reason have chosen to close our operations at the Marietta Square Market,” the note said.

Henri Fiscus opened the first Henri’s at the corner of 10th and Peachtree streets in Atlanta in 1929, according to the company’s website, and moved its location several times.

Marietta Square Market did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Henri’s thanked its customers in the announcement and said it is “actively looking for other locations in the area.”

Marietta attorney Tyler Browning was one of those customers.

Browning said he stopped by the deli to grab a bite on March 13 and tugged on the door before realizing it had closed. He would often pick something up at Henri’s other metro Atlanta locations when he went into Atlanta for court or to stop by a law firm, and he “was ecstatic when they built one here.”

“It’s just a shame that we don’t have any quick deli places anymore for the courthouse crowd who may have only an hour break from court and need to grab something to eat and you can go in there and five minutes, walk out with a sandwich and be ready to go,” Browning said.

He hopes they are able to find a new location somewhere near Marietta Square soon.

Henri Fiscus opened the first Henri’s at the corner of 10th and Peachtree streets in Atlanta in 1929, according to the company’s website, and moved its location several times.

Born to French and German parents, Fiscus came to the U.S. after World War I and worked in restaurants in New York and Rhode Island before moving to Atlanta and serving as the pastry chef at the Biltmore Hotel.

In 2016, the Henri’s in Buckhead moved to its current location on East Andrews Drive.

It was more than 50 years after the first Henri’s location opened that a second one came to the Atlanta area, this time in Sandy Springs in 1984.

Another store opened off Marietta Boulevard in Atlanta’s Upper Westside neighborhood in 2017, before the Marietta location came in October 2020.

Most recently, Henri’s opened a store on Ashford Dunwoody Road in Brookhaven in December 2022.

MOVIES

N GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3

In theaters May 5

In Marvel Studios “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” the beloved band of misfits are looking a bit different these days. Peter Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, must rally his team around him to defend the universe along with protecting one of their own. A mission that, if not completed successfully, could quite possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.

N BOOK CLUB: THE NEXT CHAPTER

In theaters May 12

The four best friends take their book club to Italy for the fun girls trip they never had. When things go off the rails and secrets are revealed, their relaxing vacation turns into a once-in-a-lifetime cross-country adventure.

N THE LITTLE MERMAID

In Theaters May 26

The Little Mermaid is the beloved story of Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. The youngest of King Triton’s daughters, and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about

the world beyond the sea, and while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric. While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, who gives her a chance to experience life on land, but ultimately places her life – and her father’s crown – in jeopardy.

N SIMULANT

Streaming on VOD May 5

Simulant follows Faye, a widowed woman searching for comfort following the loss of her husband Evan by using an android simulant, or SIM, created in his image. Although nearly identical to her husband, Faye can’t bring herself to love the android in the same way she loved her husband leaving SIM Evan’s love unrequited. Determined to win her heart, SIM Evan’s exceptional ability to think and feel triggers a manhunt led by government agent Kessler who oversees capturing conscious, and potentially dangerous, SIMs.

N THE MOTHER

Streaming on Netflix May 12

A deadly female assassin comes out of hiding to protect the daughter that she gave up years before, while on the run from dangerous men.

N WHITE MEN CAN’T JUMP

Streaming on Hulu May 19

Two street basketball hustlers first try to hustle each other, then team up for a bigger score.

BOOKS

N WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED

By Angeline Boulley

Releases May 2

Perry Firekeeper-Birch has always known who she is - the laidback twin, the troublemaker, and the best fisher on Sugar Island. Her aspirations won’t ever take her far from home, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. But as the rising number of missing Indigenous women starts circling closer to home, as her family becomes embroiled in a high-profile murder investigation, and as greedy grave robbers seek to profit off of what belongs to her Anishinaabe tribe, Perry begins to question everything.

N SOMEONE ELSE’S BUCKET LIST

By Amy T. Matthews

Releases May 23

Jodie Boyd’s family is paralyzed with grief after Jodie’s outgoing older sister, Bree, an influencer, dies of cancer. Adding to the stress, they are responsible for her enormous medical bills. Jodie takes on extra hours at the car rental job she detests but then is offered a deal: agree to publicly complete the bucket list Bree posted on social media and Bree’s Instagram sponsor will pay off the debt. Shy, passive, and social media–averse Jodie reluctantly agrees and heads to New York to take on the nerve-racking assignments—the most intimidating of which is “fall in love.”

N THE CELEBRANTS

By Steven Rowley

Releases May 30

The night after one of their own is tragically taken away from them, a group of seven college friends form a pact: a promise to reunite every few years to throw each other “living funerals,” constant reminders that life is worth living, if not for them then for their late friend.

Now, twenty-eight years into the hard-worn lines of adulthood, their “funerals” only remind them of all the opportunities they missed. But when one member of the old gang receives an unexpected diagnosis, the pact takes on new meaning, and each friend is forced to confront old secrets, and weigh their now-middle-age lives against the idealistic dreams of their youth.

2023 BESTOF COBB

PRESENTED BY COBBLIFEMAGAZINE

COMMUNITY CELEBRATES 2023 Best of Cobb WINNERS

Hundreds gathered at Cobb County’s Jim Miller Park March 23 to eat, drink and recognize the county’s favorite businesses and service providers.

Cobb Life Magazine and the Marietta Daily Journal’s Best of Cobb 2023 celebration recognized winners of a readerdecided contest that this year saw more than 380,000 votes.

Cobb families, elected officials and business leaders enjoyed pizza, doughnuts, smoothies, barbecue and more from over 70 vendor booths, along with beer and wine, giveaways and live music from the 2023 Best of Cobb performing artist winner, Barry Lancaster.

Photos by STEWART HENDRICK AND SKYLER HEATH

2023 Georgia’s Best Whiskey Cocktail Challenge

Photography by GEORGIA FOOD + WINE FESTIVAL

Eight of the area’s best bartenders and mixologists competed for the coveted title of “Georgia’s Best Whiskey Cocktail” March 26 at the Georgia Food + Wine Festival at Jim R Miller Park. The chosen bartenders had five minutes to create a signature cocktail featuring either Basil Hayden or Knob Creek as the primary spirit ingredient. Contestants then presented their craft cocktail to judges Tiffanie Barriere, Randy Hayden, Garn McCown and master of ceremonies Beth Burrows.

The competition came close, but Matty McKniff took home first place, Gabe Bowen placed second and Loni Lewis came in third. The top three contestants were each awarded a prize.

Bartender Gabe Bowen placed second in the contest and won $500.

Georgia’s Best Whiskey Cocktail Challenge winner Matty McKniff grins from ear-toear while showing off his first place prize, a $1,500 check.

Third place winner Loni Lewis has full hands while carrying her prize package.

Left to right, Best Whiskey Cocktail Challenge top contenders Loni Lewis, Matty McKniff and Gabe Bowen come together for a group photo after the awards ceremony concludes.

Above Contestant Sebastian Montero whips up his take on a classic old fashion with a twist.

Right Left to right, judges Randy Hayden, Garn McCown, winner of last year’s Best Whiskey Cocktail Challenge and Tiffanie Barriere carefully watch contestants muddle, shake and strain their specialty whiskey cocktails.

Cobb Scene

Contest judges deliberate and take notes after savoring the flavors of a contestant’s specialty whiskey cocktail.

Chick-fil-A Backstage tour

It’s

our

pleasure to invite you...

Be our guest for a Chick-fil-A Backstage Tour. You’ll be guided on a storytelling experience to learn more about the restaurant you love while being inspired by the life and vision of found, S. Truett Cathy.

ABOUT THE TOURS PLAN YOUR TOUR

The Original: A storytelling journey around the values and vision of Chick-fil-A founder, S. Truett Cathy. You’ll enjoy stories of the company’s humble beginnings and 74 years of continuous growth, as well as a sneak peek into the future. The Deluxe: A storytelling journey around the values and vision of Chick-fil-A founder, S. Truett Cathy. You’ll enjoy stories of the company’s humble beginnings and 74 years of continuous growth, a sneak peak into the future plus an inside look at our test kitchen and training center, The Nest.

IN-PERSON TOURS ARE MONDAY – WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY

VIRTUAL TOURS ARE THURSDAY

Schedule tour by visiting HTTPS://TOURS.CHICK-FIL-A.COM/

Please note, tours must be scheduled before noon on the day prior to the tour. New dates are added one month out.

Above Master of ceremonies Beth Burrows introduces the eight contenders before the challenge began.

Cobb Scene

Sixth Annual Adult Spelling Bee

Photography by STUART HENDRICK

Community leaders, business owners and Cobb natives gathered at the Strand Theatre for the Sixth Annual Adult Spelling Bee March 10. The annual fundraiser event raises money for the Cobb branch of Communities in Schools, a school dropout prevention and intervention organization that offers resources to students in need. This year, the spelling bee was a huge success and raised over $85,000.

BY: D

PRESENTED

2400 Cobb Parkway SE, Smyrna 30080 Close to Cumberland Mall, SunTrust Park, and right off of I-75 470-308-3333 www.chowkingcobb.com

CHOW TIME • NORCROSS 2055 Beaver Ruin Road, Ste. G www.chowkingnorcross.com

Come sample our Japanese sushi, Hong Kong noodle soup, Hibachi, and a variety of salads. With 250 items, we have a great selection of both Chinese & American food.

Lunch

Mon.-Fri ..................$10.99

Dinner

Mon.-Fri. .................$15.49

All Day Sat. & Sun...$15.49

Open Dining Room

Featuring 17 bars, 250 items, jumbo shrimp, catfish, sushi bar, hibachi bar, noodle soup bar, salad bar, dessert bar, hot bbq grill & open kitchen.

Mon- Thurs., & Sun. close at 8:30 pm Fri & Sat. close at 9 pm

Celebrate your special events with us.

1. Dressed as Disney princesses Snow White, Cinderella and Ariel, the “Once Upon A Time” team — Joy Doss, Bobby Johnson and Matt Giddens — received the most votes as the fan favorite, raising more than $3,000.

2. Adult Spelling Bee participants pose for a group photo in their festive attire outside the Strand Theatre. Photo by Aikwah Leow.

3. From left to right, Team Bee-g Bang Theory members Andy Tatnall, Michael Miller and Raymond Goslow celebrate their win in the Adult Spelling Bee at the Strand Theatre.

4. Team Justice League members Jason Marbutt, Angela Brown and Henry Thompson huddle up before attempting to spell a word.

5. Announcers Tom Heyer and Allan Bishop hold in laughs while making sure the contestants spell the words correctly.

6. Team I Love MTV members Sonja Brown, Lindsay Gardner and Victor Reynolds take the microphone and attempt to spell a puzzling word.

Cobb Scene

2nd Annual Georgia Food + Wine Festival

Photography by GEORGIA FOOD + WINE FESTIVAL

Cobb natives gathered at Jim R Miller Park March 23 through March 26 for the Second Annual Georgia Food and Wine Festival, presented by Georgia Grown, and celebrated the best of Georgia and the South. The three-day extravaganza hosted the top culinary superstars, beverage experts, farmers, artisans, live musicians and more.

Thank You For Voting Me Best of Cobb!

Cobb Scene

2nd Annual Georgia Food + Wine Festival

SINCE 1875

Home of the Brumby® Rocker

The Marietta Cobb Museum of Art on a beautiful spring afternoon in 2023. Today, the MCMA is the only metro Atlanta fine arts museum that focuses on American Art. The museum’s permanent collection houses a variety of artworks dating from as early as the eighteenth century to the present. After recent renovations, Passersby may notice the building boasts a fresh coat of paint.

On March 14, 1910, the Marietta post office opened on Atlanta Street. The post office moved to its new office on Lawrence Street in 1963. The building then housed the main Cobb Library until the late 1980s. On April 5, 1990, the Marietta Cobb Museum of Art officially took over the original Post Office building chosen by the Cobb County Commission. Photo courtesy of Marietta History Center.

Michael J. McNeel, MD, FACS D. Keith West, MD, FACS M. Keith Hanna, MD, FACS