HC Magazine July 2016

Eseeola Seafood Spectacular

Volume 11 • Issue 6 July 2016

Retiring Pastors • elk knob park • aSU's solar car July 2016

High Country Magazine

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DI A N N E DAVA N T & A S S O C I AT E S EXCELLENCE BY DESIGN SINCE 1979

M A R G A R E T H A N D L E Y,

ASID

D I A N N E D A VA N T , A S I D PA M E L A M C K A Y, A S I D P R I S C I L L A H Y A T T,

B A N N E R E L K , N O RT H C A R O L I N A P O RT S A I N T L U C I E , F L O R I D A B

High Country Magazine

July 2016

828.898.9887 772.344.3190

W W W. D A VA N T - I N T E R I O R S . C O M

ALLIED ASID

If customers started a bank, they’d start Piedmont Federal.

Actually, they did.

In 1903, a group of friends and neighbors came together with the straightforward, commonsense mission to provide a way to save money and to buy homes for their families. Piedmont Federal was organized as a mutual then with no stockholders just as we are today.

• Home Mortgages (Serviced here / not sold)

• Online Banking

Along the way we’ve added all of the modern banking services and conveniences but we haven’t strayed from our focus on friends and neighbors.

Give banking at Piedmont Federal a try.

We think you’ll like working with friends and neighbors because that’s exactly who we are.

• Mobile Banking • Checking / Savings / CDs • E-Accounts

1399 Blowing Rock Road, Boone, NC 28607

facebook.com/PiedmontFederalSavingsBank | 828.264.5244 | piedmontfederal.com | ©2016 Piedmont Federal Savings Bank | MEMBER FDIC July 2016

High Country Magazine

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Stone Cavern

VISIT OUR WEBSITE! www.stonecavern.com

TILE & Stone Showroom

828-963-8453

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High Country Magazine

July 2016

ELEMENTS OF AN E X TR AO RDINARY B R AND

Re R E T R E AT

Linville, North Carolina premiersir.com/id/191241 828.898.5151

Contact us today for a consultation on how your home can be marketed in North Carolina and around the world.

PREMIERSOTHEBYSREALTY.COM Asheville | 828.277.3238 Banner Elk | 828.898.5022

Blowing Rock | 828.414.9400 Blowing Rock on Main | 828.295.0776 Charlotte | 704.248.0243

Lake Norman | 704.727.4170 Linville Ridge | 828.898.5151

Sotheby’s International Realty® and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered service marks used with permission. Each office is independently owned and operated. Equal Housing Opportunity.

July 2016 High Country Magazine Property information herein is derived from various sources including, but not limited to, county records and multiple listing services, and may include approximations. All information is deemed accurate.

3

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High Country Magazine

July 2016

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CAROLINA MOUNTAIN LIFE Summer 2016 —

July 2016

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High Country Magazine

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C O N T E N T S Faithful Servants On Saturday, Aug. 6 in Boone, the greater Watauga faith community and churches from across the High Country will join forces to honor four of the area's longest serving pastors. Their work in the area amounts to more than 175 years of combined experience in the pastorate, and their stories of faith and obedience show us that miracles happen every day.

A Year-Round Treasure While Elk Knob State Park seems to fly under the radar, the 3,680acre park's peak elevation is more than a mile high and features streams that are the headwaters to one of the world’s oldest rivers.

The year-round park also offers backcountry hiking, camping, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

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Bon Appétit!

What could be better than enjoying dinner at one of the area’s most cherished luxury mountain resorts? Perhaps doing so on a Thursday night, when the resort offers its renowned seafood buffet. Find out what makes this dining tradition so delectable and get to know the folks behind it at Eseeola Lodge!

A Unique Builder VPC Builders has the ambition and flair of a company run primarily by a younger generation. Under company founder Matt Vincent, the company is effectively doing things differently, whether through its marketing pitches or building techniques.

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Team Sunergy And 'Apperion' Imagine your next road trip. Wouldn't it be nice to know you'd never have to stop for gas? That a sunny day is all you need to travel for miles and miles? A team of pioneers in sustainable energy at Appalachian State University are working hard to develop solar vehicle technology that can do just that.

on the cover Faisuly Scheurer – Our

cover picture comes from Faisuly Scheurer who captured this scene while on assignment covering Eseeola's weekly seafood buffet. She specializes in food styling, architectural, art, real estate and commercial photography at affordable rates. Visit her website at www.framedstudio.com Visit www.framedstudio.com 6

High Country Magazine

July 2016

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READER SERVICES ABOUT US

The first High Country Press newspaper was published on May 5, 2005, and the first issue of High Country Magazine went to press in fall 2005. In March of 2012 the newspaper made the transformation to an online newspaper at our new website: www.HCPress.com. Our new “webpaper” is still packed with information that we present and package in easy-to-read formats with visually appealing layouts.

Our magazine represents our shared love of our history, our landscape and our people. It celebrates our pioneers, our lifestyles, our differences and the remarkable advantages we enjoy living in the mountains. Our guiding principles are twofold: quality journalism makes a difference and customer care at every level is of the greatest importance.

Our offices are located in Boone, and our doors are always open to welcome visitors.

ADVERTISING & MARKETING

G A L L E R Y

&

F R A M E M A K E R S

RetRospective | bRyan keith smith

july 7 - july 23

Our magazine is a wonderful way for businesses to advertise to our readers. Our magazines tend to stay around for a long time, on coffee tables and bed stands, and shared with family and friends. To find out about advertising, call our offices at 828264-2262.

BACK ISSUES

Back issues of our magazines are available from our office for $5 per issue. Some issues are already sold out and are no longer available.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Photography and page reprints are available for purchase. For sizing, prices and usage terms, please call our office. Some photos may not be available and some restrictions may apply.

FREELANCE OPPORTUNITIES

Writers and photographers may send queries and samples to the editor at hcmag@highcountrypress.com.

oUt oF the stUdio noRma mURphy & east FoRk potteRy

july 28 - august 13 Contact us at:

High Country Press/Magazine P.O. Box 152 1600 Highway 105 Boone, NC 28607 www.hcpress.com info@highcountrypress.com 828-264-2262

JULy coFFee taLks JULY 9 - PAM BREWER, INTUITIVE NATURE IN CLAY JULY 16 - DAVID BIRMINGHAM, A PAINTERS LIFE JULY 23 - TERESA PIETSCH, JOY OF CLAY JULY 30 - ALEX MATISSE & JOHN VIGELAND OF EAST FORK POTTERY

coffee talks every saturday 10am to noon artcellaronline.com | 828-898-5175 | info@artcellaronline.com 920 Shawneehaw Avenue, Hwy. 184, Banner Elk July 2016

High Country Magazine

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FRO M T HE PUB L ISH ER

A Publication Of High Country Press Publications

Editor & Publisher Ken Ketchie

Art Director Debbie Carter Advertising Director Jeffrey Green

Busy Summer!

Contributing Writers

I

t’s High Season in the High Country, the middle of summer when our local business owners are “making hay” and “bringing home the bacon” – as the sayings go. Right now, everyone is working hard to make sure they make the most of this busy season: restaurants and boutiques are full of patrons and construction companies are moving dirt while the weather is nice. Everyone is making money, and if you’re in business in the High Country, you’ve got your fingers crossed all goes smoothly.

And it’s the same for us here at High Country Press Publications. We’ve been busy producing our seasonal Visitor Guide and three magazine titles – High South Weddings, Home Magazine and High Country Magazine – all while doing our best to keep up with HCPress.com, our online daily. As most business owners will tell, the employees grease the wheels or as Elk Knob Park Supt. Tracy Minton said of his staff in this very issue: they are “the engine of the park.”

And that’s certainly true for me at High Country Press. I’m fortunate to have three dedicated employees who show up everyday at our office working to get all our numerous publications onto the street. They continuously rise to the occasion, doing whatever it takes to meet, sometimes ridiculous, deadlines – as well as keeping up with the news, info and events posted on our website. They just did it again with the issue you’re holding right now – the third magazine in less than two months.

There’s Debbie Carter, our Art Director who works a lot of her magic in InDesign and Photoshop. She shapes every ad, picture and word you see on the page. She doesn’t mess around; she comes in and gets it done. Jesse Wood keeps up with the news for us – when magazine deadlines aren’t looming. No small task as he keeps watch on the communities of Watauga and Avery counties. He stays busy posting dozens of stories each week on our website, going to meetings, conducting interviews and researching story topics – whether for the magazines or HCPress.com. On top of that, he just finished editing our brand new Home Magazine – an overwhelming task of transforming ideas into a first issue.

Likewise for Features Editor Jessica Isaacs, who brought to life the very first High South Weddings magazine last fall. She is currently juggling wedding assignments for the second edition of High South Weddings around the endless stories about past and upcoming events, non profits and other features in the High Country. She, too, looks forward to her magazine story assignments. For this issue, she wrote an extensive story celebrating four retiring pastors. This assignment had her all over the High Country conducting interviews and gathering pictures.

In the last three months, our team has published 488 pages along with 350 advertisements plus dozens of stories with hundreds of pictures. Like the rest of the High Country, we’re rockin’ and rollin’. My hat goes off to my work mates for gettin’ ‘er done. They do an awesome job!

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High Country Magazine

July 2016

Jessica Isaacs Jesse Wood David Coulson Meghan Minton Katie Benfield Adrienne Fouts

Contributing Photographers Faisuly Scheurer Frederica Georgia Peter Morris High Country Magazine is produced by the staff and contributors of High Country Press Publications, which serves Watauga and Avery counties of North Carolina

HIGH COUNTRY MAGAZINE P.O. Box 152, Boone, NC 28607 828-264-2262 Follow our magazine online where each issue is presented in a flip-through format. Check it out at:

HighCountryMagazine.com Reproduction or use in whole or part of the contents of this magazine without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Issues are FREE throughout the High Country. © 2016

by High Country Press. All Rights Reserved.

WE SUPPORT

SHOP LOCAL

July 2016

High Country Magazine

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Calendarof Events

JULY 2016

7 Banner Elk Concerts in the Park: “The Flying Saucers” Tate-Evans Park, bannerelk.org 7-10 61st Annual Highland Games at Grandfather Mountain, MacRae Meadows, 828-733-2013 7-8 William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play, An Appalachian Summer Festival, appsummer.org

8 Music on the Lawn: “Soul Benefactor” The Best Cellar, ragged-gardens.com

8 Music in the Valle: “The Djangovers” Valle Crucis Community Park, vallecrucispark.com

8 Concerts on the Lawn: “Swing Guitars” and Todd Wright, Jones House Community Center, joneshouse.org

9 Live Music at 5506’ Skybar: “The Corklickers” Beech Mountain Resort, beechmountainresort.com

9 Todd Summer Music: “Danny Whittington & A Killa Band” Cook Memorial Park, toddnc.org

9 Live Music with Wayne Taylor, Linville Falls Winery, linvillefallswinery.com

10 Live Music with “Typical Mountain Boys” Linville Falls Winery, linvillefallswinery.com

14 Banner Elk Concerts in the Park: “Mama’s Remedy” TateEvans Park, bannerelk.org 14-20 LMC Summer Theatre Presents “Always… Patsy Cline” LeesMcRae College, 828-898-8709

15 Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo with Melissa Ethridge, An Appalachian Summer Festival, appsummer.org

15 Concerts on the Lawn: “The King Bees” and “The Luke Mears Band” Jones House Community Center, joneshouse.org

15 Music in the Valle: “Grits & Soul” Valle Crucis Community Park, vallecrucispark.com 15-16 Doc and Rosa Lee Watson Music Fest ‘N Sugar Grove, Historic Cove Creek School, 828-297-2200

16 Art in the Park, Downtown Blowing Rock, blowingrock. com

16 Live Music with “The Elkville String Band” Linville Falls Winery, linvillefallswinery.com

16 Live Music at 5506’ Skybar: “Shane Pruitt Band” Beech Mountain Resort, beechmountainresort.com 16-24 Ensemble Stage Presents Norm Foster’s “Toyer” Blowing Rock School Auditorium, ensemblestage.com

21 Banner Elk Concerts in the Park: “Jocassee,” Wilson Braswell, Hope Harvey, Tate-Evans Park, bannerelk.org

22 St. Mary Tour of Homes, Blowing Rock, 828-295-7323

22 Concerts on the Lawn: “Junaluska Gospel Choir” and “Soul Benefactor” Jones House Community Center, joneshouse. org

22 Music on the Lawn: Todd Wright, The Best Cellar, raggedgardens.com

AN APPALACHIAN SUMMER FESTIVAL 2016

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High Country Magazine

July 2016

Appalachian Summer, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo / Melissa Etheridge July 15 at The Holmes Convocation Center

22 Music in the Valle: “Zoe and Cloyd” Valle Crucis Community Park, vallecrucispark.com 22 Symphony by the Lake, Chetola Resort, symphonybythelake.com 23 Live Music with Wayne Taylor, Linville Falls Winery, linvillefallswinery.com 23 Live Music at 5506’ Skybar: “The Corklickers” Beech Mountain Resort, beechmountainresort.com 23 Reception for Mid-Summer Group Exhibition, Carlton Gallery, carltongallery.com 23 Reception for Sheila Hancock’s “High Country Landscapes in Oil” Alta Vista Gallery, altavistagallery.com 23 Rioult Dance NY, An Appalachian Summer Festival, appsummer.org 23 Todd Summer Music: “Amantha Mill” Cook Memorial Park, toddnc.org 24 Live Music with “Typical Mountain Boys” Linville Falls Winery, linvillefallswinery.com 25 Pink Martini, An Appalachian Summer Festival, appsummer.org 28 Banner Elk Concerts in the Park: “Buick Mackane” Tate-Evans Park, bannerelk.org 29 Concerts on the Lawn: Mark Stuart, Andy Ferrell and “ClayBank” Jones House Community Center, joneshouse. org 29 Music on the Lawn: The Harris Brothers, The Best Cellar, ragged-gardens.com 29 Music in the Valle: “The Worthless Son-in-Laws” Valle Crucis Community Park, vallecrucispark.com 30 Live Music with “Redleg Husky” Linville Falls Winery, linvillefallswinery.com 30 Live Music at 5506’ Skybar: “The Harris Brothers” Beech Mountain Resort, beechmountainresort.com

DON’T FORGET

EVENTS

MusicFest ‘N Sugar Grove

an elevated lifestyle... for all seasons Hound Ears Club

Folks will come from far and wide to the Historic Cove Creek School on Friday and Saturday, July 15-16 for the annual Doc and Rosa Lee Watson MusicFest ‘N Sugar Grove. This High Country tradition pays tribute to flatpicking legend and Watauga County native Doc Watson and his wife, Rosa Lee. The lineup will feature rising stars, local favorites and seasoned veteran musicians, guaranteeing a good time for al.

Taking the stage will be The Grascals, Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley, Snyder Family Band, Honey Chasers, ClayBank, Andy Ferrell, Amantha Mill and many more. Call 828-297-2200 or visit musicfestnsugargrove.org for tickets and more information.

Since 1964

JULY 15 - 16

The Avett Brothers at App Summer

• Convenient to Boone, Blowing Rock and Banner Elk • Private, freshly-stocked trout fishing access on-site • New scenic hiking trails with breathtaking vistas • Artisan-crafted homes in a secure, gated community • World-class dining, golf, tennis, fitness, recreation, dog park • Cool summers surrounded by gorgeous mountain views • A traditional private club with modern amenities

Ask About Hound Ears’ 2016 Special Membership Initiative

North Carolina folk musicians The Avett Brothers have made a name for themselves on the national music scene, but they still love to play in their home state. Lucky for us, they’ll be here to play in the mountains on Sept. 8. An Appalachian Summer Festival, the region’s premier interdisciplinary arts festival hosted by Appalachian State University, will bring the duo to the Holmes Convocation Center that night. The concert is sponsored

by Blue Ridge Electric. Tickets are expected to sell out, so don’t wait until the summer’s over to get yours! Go online to appsummer.org or call 800-841-ARTS (2787) and make sure you don’t miss this event.

SEPT. 8

houndears.com/membership • 828.963.2137 info@houndears.com • located just south of Boone July 2016

High Country Magazine

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echoes

mountain The Village Foundation of Blowing Rock

Artist Rendition of Laurel Lane at the Main Street Intersection

T

said, that received a tremendous reception from Mayview property owners.

The improvements, which include pavers, benches, public artworks and a shade garden in the median, will “ better tie Laurel Lane into Main Street” and “add to the vibrancy and character of the village experience,” according to Jim Pitts, a community planner by trade and a director on the Village Foundation and Blowing Rock Chamber.

Not counting Main Street, of course, Pitts said that Laurel Lane is the second busiest road in downtown Blowing Rock. “At the end of the day, this ends up being a key intersection right on Main Street,” Pitts said.

The project is split up into two phases.

The first phase consists of pavers near Main Street and is budgeted at $170,000, while the second phase, which includes the shade-garden median, is expected to cost $230,000.

Town Manager Scott Fogleman said that this proposal is exciting, for one, because Laurel Lane wasn’t on the town’s radar when voters approved the $13 million bond referendum for capital improvements in 2014.

While the town previously vetted project, the Village Foundation plans to present a detailed proposal to the Blowing Rock Town John Aldridge, Jim Pitts, Charles Harden, Alice Roses and Scott Fogleman Council in July. he Village Foundation of Blowing Rock recently unveiled a $400,000 streetscape improvement project for the Main Street end of Laurel Lane in downtown Blowing Rock and announced its annual Blowing Rock Star fundraiser.

Laurel Lane is of historical significance because it served as the downtown entrance to the 138-guest Mayview Manor, in yesteryear. The grand hotel opened in 1921 and closed in 1966. Today, the downtown end of Laurel Lane leads to the Mayview neighborhood.

“People who live in Mayview are very proud, and they are ecstatic about this,” said Alice Roess, a philanthropist and resident of Blowing Rock. Roess said that community members have already made a minor dent in the beautification of Laurel Lane by leveling “leggy rhododendrons” and adding mulch and fertilizer. It’s a small start, she

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High Country Magazine

July 2016

Village Foundation President John Aldridge The Village Foundation was formed in 2012 by the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce to be a vehicle to raise private funds for projects that enhance the character of the village and spark economic development.

The Village Foundation came about after town officials, business leaders and community members visited a number of small towns in Western North Carolina – Brevard, Black Mountain, West Jefferson, to name a few – to figure out what they are doing right and their funding mechanisms.

“We realized the danger to a town is not that it will not be successful, but that it will be successful and as a result it will cease to improve,” quoted Village Foundation President John Aldridge.

By Jesse Wood

2015-2016 BOARD OF DIRECTORS John Aldridge, President, Director Jim Clabough, Vice-President, Director Rita Davis, Secretary/Treasurer, Director Bo Henderson, Director Don Hubble, Chamber EDC Co-Chair, Director Jerry Hutchens, Director Basil Kuzyzsyn, Rotary President, Director Jim Pitts, Director Melissa Pickett, Chamber EDC, Co-Chair Brenda Speckmann, Director Jim Steele, Director Kent Tarbutton, Director Keith Tester, Director

Standing between his parents, WHS graduate Devin Hollars

T

A Tradesman in the Making

hey don’t make ‘em like Devin Hollars too much anymore. After graduating from Watauga High School, Hollars is bound for Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute to major in construction and engineering.

Prior to graduating high school, Hollars earned a trip to the national SkillsUSA competition in Louisville, Ky., by winning the state carpentry competition, where he “exemplified tremendous skill and patience in a very high pressure and intense competition” featuring more than 40 challengers, WHS construction technology teacher Jason Matthews told the Watauga County Board of Education in May. In June, Hollars was one of the two recipients – along with Kyle Fisher – of the High Country Home Builders Association’s Daniel Everett Scott scholarship in 2016.

The HCHBA scholarships are one way to encourage the younger generation to follow in their footsteps and learn the trades. It’s no secret that there is a skills gap between younger folks and the construction trades.

In recommending Hollars for the scholarship, Matthews didn’t hold back praise: “He has been unquestionably the most able student I’ve had in all of my classes, and his work ethic consistently reflects the level of insightfulness and attention to detail that is unique to Mr. Hollars and that in my opinion is lacking in today’s youth.”

While furthering his education, Hollars plans to continue his lawn care maintenance business that he’s had since 2010. He’s also performed minor carpentry work, built furniture, worked in the choose-and-cut Christmas tree industry and utilized those building skills on missionary trips. In his free time, Hollars likes to “hunt fish.”

By Jesse Wood

A Vacation Paradise awaits ...

Leatherwood Mountains Resort

July 2016

High Country Magazine

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mountain

echoes

Parkway Foundation’s Aug. 6 Denim Ball

C

hetola Resort in Blowing Rock will host the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation’s annual Denim Ball at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 6.

Guests are invited to enjoy a fun-filled while raising funds for much-needed restoration efforts at Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, milepost 294 on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The evening will include dinner, drinks and dancing to the music of The Lucky Strikes Orchestra plus a silent auction. Items up for bid include stays at Chetola Resort, Mountainaire Inn & Log Cabins, Primland golf resort, Aloft Asheville and Peaks of Otter Lodge. Attendees may also bid on excursions with High Gravity Adventures and Appalachian Ski Mountain, dining and beer experiences with Lost Province Brewing Company, Proper and CoBo Sushi Bistro, cooking lessons at The Inn at Little Pond Farm, concert tickets for the Blue Ridge Music Center and more.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Moses H. Cone Memorial Park is a recreational and historical resource for visi-

Cone Manor in the late 1800s Photo Courtesy National Park Service, Blue Ridge Parkway

tors from across the globe and residents of the North Carolina High Country. Unfortunately the 3,500-acre estate faces critical maintenance issues due to shortfalls in funding from the federal government. The park requires private financial support to supplement the National Park Service’s budget. The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation is committed to ensuring the park remains a cultural treasure and tourist destination that stimulates the local economy.

Denim Ball sponsors include Chetola Resort, Cone Health, Mountainaire Inn and Cabins and WNCW 88.7.

Dressy denim attire is encouraged. Tickets are $100, and a portion of the price is tax-deductible. For tickets, visit www.brpfoundation.org/ thedenimball or call 866-308-2773, ext. 245.

For more information about the ongoing fundraising efforts at Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, contact Development Director Willa Mays at wmays@brpfoundation.org or 704267-1598.

Saturday, Aug. 6, 2016, 7 p.m.

Chetola Resort, 185 Chetola Lake Drive in Blowing Rock Tickets: $100 per person Contact: 866-308-2773, ext. 245; brpfoundation.org/thedenimball

Linville Falls Winery

© BAILEY BATTEN PHOTOGRAPHY

d Wine Tastings d Special Events d Live Music Weekends d Award-Winning Wines 9557 Linville Falls Hwy. | 828-765-1400 | Open 7 Days Weekly • 12-6pm | LINVILLEFALLSWINERY.COM US 221 north of the Blue Ridge Parkway at Milepost #317 14

High Country Magazine

July 2016

Exclusively at Stone Jewelers

For the most important moment of your life...

The ShopS aT Shadowline 240 Shadowline Drive • Boone, NC 28607 (828) 264-2000 • www.thestonejewelers.com

July 2016

High Country Magazine

15

Home Magazine

HigH Country Press

Home, Garden & Remodeling

mountain

RES OUR CE GUI DE Summer 2016

Photography by Michael Haynes

echoes

of 1:16 Media

Barnette Builders

Home Sweet Home

Story by Jesse Wood

P

Ideas For

Your Castle

ng Projects • Kitchen Trends

Remodeling Tips • Landscapi

erched on a cliff in the Watson gap decade, Bob and Wendy community of the chose Blue ridge moun6,200-acre Blue ridge tain Club after almost setmountain Club developtling on another lot elsement resides Bob and where. Bob, who is Ceo Wendy Brick’s dream reof agile networks, specifitirement home. the Bricks cally noted the connectivspent five years looking ity fiber that BrmC offered for the ridgeline property, was a huge decision in purone that features 50-mile chasing the property. “it’s vistas off the back deck, certainly a beautiful place where the hot tub is fab[the High Country] and it’s ulous in the winter or on a wonderful community, cool summer nights. “We An aerial view of Bob and Wendy the Blue ridge mountain Brick’s home shows the vast acreage that surrounds it in the were out there in the eveClub,” Brick said. “We love Watson’s Gap subdivision of ning [on the Fourth of July Blue Ridge Mountain Club, one of the most coveted residential the fact that we are close communities in the North Carolina that first summer] and all to both Boone and BlowHigh Country that sits equidistant between the towns of a sudden, we saw fireing rock and everything of Boone and Blowing Rock. works popping up. next those two communities thing, you know there were eight have to offer.” different fireworks displays near Boone and Blowing rock, Watson … coming from tweetsie, Boone gap is a ridgeline and all the way up,” hom- community of two dozen homes designed by eowner Bob Brick said.

Hutch Johnson, a residential designer based originally from ohio and residing in Durham and Boone, and in Charlotte for the past built by Barnette Builders, a premiere homebuilder with of34 HigH Country Home mag a zin e

|

Summer 2016

A ’S VALUE NOW! VE YOUR HOME HOW TO IMPRO Summer 2016

S

|

High Country Press Introduces the New Home Magazine

High Country Magazine

fices based in Banner elk. the couple decided on a set of plans designed by Johnson specifically for Watson gap, and all the parties met to brainstorm the project. though each home features the same architect and builder, the homes are all constructed for a specific plot on the ridge.

“John Barnette [owner of Barnette Builders] was real good at kind of looking at the lot and the home plan,” Brick said, adding that Johnson and Barnette then customized according to the characteristics of the land. “i just love the layout of the home … the home is for sure a quality home, and we are really pleased with how it turned out.” according to Johnson, the Bricks property was

What’s New for the

oME Mag a zinE HigH Country H

everal months after publishing our first wedding magazine, High South Weddings, High Country Press published Home Magazine: Home, Garden & Remodeling Resource Guide, in June.

The magazine serves as both a celebration of homeownership and an informative resource guide for folks looking for property, looking to build or buy a home or undergoing the remodeling or renovation process. It’s a practical guide. For instance, after the niceties, the Home Magazine dives right in with “5 Reasons to Have a GOOD Construction Contract.” That’s followed by an overview of the permitting process with local governmental agencies in the High Country.

The magazine has several large features covering such topics and profiles as a legendary stone mason who retired and made a successful second career (before retiring again) selling stone off the highway in Foscoe or a window treatment expert, Greg Seiz of Appalachian Blinds & Closet Co. in Boone, who commissioned an independent report to figure out why interior furnishings were deteriorating at a faster rate than ever before. He then condensed the results of the study and solutions into a pamphlet that he gives out to potential customers to this day.

Aside from the great layout and fabulous pictures, the magazine contains tons of little nuggets on the latest kitchen or tile trends; ways an arborist can improve your quality of life; what remodel returns the best investment; and the nearly-mindless methods to save energy (and subsequently your hard-earned dollars) in your home.

Whether you plan to pull permits in the near future or have been tinkering on the homestead for years – and everything in between – we think you’ll find our latest publication of interest. We hope you enjoy flipping through the magazine as much as we did putting it together. We also hope it saves you a little bit of time, money and frustration during your next project.

Like our other magazines, these go fast, so you might need to look closely when you visit the grocery stores, the Boone mall and the restaurants and boutiques in the downtown communities of the High Country. If all else fails, feel free to stop by our offices at 1600 N.C. 105 in Boone or call our offices at 828-264-2262, and we'll make sure to get a copy in your hands. Thanks for reading.

By Jesse Wood 16

Situated on a challenging lot that slopes in all four directions, this four-story home was carefully designed to slope along with the property, making it hard to tell just how big the house is when you pull up to the driveway.

July 2016

Kitchen

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Cooking In The “Soul” Of The Home

The kitchen is where family memories are made: cooking pancakes with your kids on a Saturday morning or taking a stab at a heirloom recipe passed down from generations ago on a whim. It’s also one of the few interior areas – along with the master bathroom – that really make or break a deal in the real estate profession.

So by a variety of measures, including the heart and the wallet, the kitchen is arguably the most important room in a home. Here are some ideas for your kitchen.

To Use Gas or Electric?

S

tove technology has certainly advanced from the days of cooking on wood stoves. See the pros and cons of electric and gas stoves below:

Gas: A chef’s favorite range, the gas-powered stovetop allows you the ability to easily adjust the heat quickly from low to high settings. You can even operate in a power outage as you can simply strike a match to light the range. On the other hand, installation is more complex if gas needs to be piped in and the potential for a gas leak exists.

Kitchen AnD the Open FlOOr plAn

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he integrated kitchen/dining area is an ongoing trend following in the footsteps of the open floor plan. No longer do designers and architects immediately wall off the dining room from the kitchen, and during remodels, those walls are likely the first things to come down. In general, the area feels more spacious and conducive for chit-chat at dinner parties.

Metal Range Hoods En Vogue

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o pile onto last year’s trendy metallic finishes of copper, brass and bronze, metal ranges are expected to “assume a more dominant role in the kitchen esthetics.”

As interior designer Gail Drury told Houzz earlier this year, “Wood mantle hoods are being replaced with metal hoods or ones that are a combination of wood and metal.”

ngoor Fridges Door-in-D Landstcapi a Professional in Convenien Use Electric E

: Just plug in and cook. Electric stoves are easy to use with just the turn of a knob or push of a button. They also usually have a place to store companies. forpans in the small bottom or too theisrange, too big and the models with the ceramicNoofjob of land, by hand or excavate swaths glass cooking surfaces are mulch andWhile stylish. cleaning can be They can seed, plant g swimming hole. While easy, some spills not addressed immediately, a natural-lookin make to like sugar, boulders giant can moving become tough to remove. They do cook comes to mind when thinking the summer and weedeating lawns in slower andout, mowing if the power goes you might go hungry. talented professionals offer much more these

asy access and energy-efficiency are two advantages behind the door-in-door refrigerator concept. Instead of opening up the refrigerator and having to navigate all of the items, the door-in-door access allows you to just open the front chamber to grab the most popular items in the fridge.

Landscaping

10

As Consumer Reports noted a few years back, this concept has staying power and its response from customers was positive: “The feature is mostly about convenience, though it could deliver small energy savings as well, especially if your kids like to loiter in front of the fridge with the door open wide while they decide betweenBEFORE a cheese stick and yogurt pack.”

about landscaping services, property. maintain the beauty of your throughout the year to help array of stone patios and a seasonal Boulder gardens, calming waterfalls, in the landscaping ideas you can incorporate colorful flowers are just a few of sights, sounds and textures. azjuxtaposition HigH Country H e mag a i n e | Summer backyard. Allo mcreate 2016

you have to bring in o make your yard beautiful, sometimes work that is outside the the big machinery for landscaping No need to fret though. The excascope of lawn maintenance. track loaders – not to mention vators, backhoes, mulchers and buckets, forks and blades – all the attachments like augers, spectacular in no time. will have your property looking

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AFTER

Water scape s

ountains, waterfalls, birdbaths, swimming holes and ponds are just a few ways to make a splash with your landscaping. Consider bringing in landscape and irrigation specialists to turn a vision water into a reality – while utilizing as efficiently as possible.

F

Bring The

Landscaping Indoors Ideas for Remodeli

Ston e Patio S, Pilla rS and Fire PitS

your Home Remodeling Ideas for

one of those Zen waave you ever thought of installing to enjoy throughout the terfalls inside your living space home by contacting a licensed year? Bring nature into your irrigation specialist. and certified landscaper and

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Cng

reate borders, pathways and communal areas with stone. Flagstone patios look great and feature a durability that will last for years to come. Let these natural stone paths lead through visually striking gardens, toward an disappear. Stone pillars the cool nights of the High Country outside stone fire pit, where borders. sightlines and create fenceless coupled with shrubs also manipulate

Each Part

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of Your

Home

Adding a Garage Door Replacement

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he High Country’s brutal weather – winters of ice and snow – have me thinking about a garage whenever I am standing outside in freezing temperatures pushing snow and scraping ice off of my car. A garage also gives you a place to store your tools, landscaping equipment and Christmas ornaments. Before you act, consider your motivations and open your wallet wisely as the higher the cost of a garage addition, the lower the general return on investment. On the other hand if you already have a garage, replacing the garage door has a 92 percent ROI, according to Remodeling’s Cost vs.

Value report.

A Butch er-Blo ck, QuArt z IslAnd

A

kitchen island provides space to have a snack or chat as the chef if whipping up a fine meal. Islands also provide extra space for prepping big meals or for kids to help make cupcakes. Use butcher block as the top and you have an instant cutting board. Or consider quarts, perhaps the trendiest countertop on the market for being a hygienic, stainresistant, scratchproof product.

D

Big ideas for Small Bathro oms

o you want to a bigger bathroom but lack the space or funds for an addition. There’s more you can do in the bathroom than just replacing a cluttered vanity with a pedestal sink. (A floating vanity will add some toe room, however.) Consider vaulted ceilings (if that’s an option) or add a window. More space above and natural lighting will help with elevator-like claustrophobia.

Also, consider open shelving, which won’t feel as bulky as closed cabinetry, to the ceiling for an efficient use of space.

& Stone Trends

What’s New in Tile TuRn YouR Deck, PATIo

InTo An d: ouTsID Beyon T The Bathroom & Glass Tiles e BAR Porce lain, Stone &

his idea might be the most fun after its completed, and like everything else in life, complex as you like. A finished, it can be as simple or two-inch thick live-edge slab of maple or pine would serve Just add a few stools and maybe your elbows well. a mini-fridge. Or you can upscale the project squares into an outside pub with grilling turning the deck space or patio plain-old white ceramic by amenities,being justbacksplash a liquor and products taps readymade friends. ile has come a long away from outcraft beer for you to pour and your shops offer a wide range of

T

in the bathroom. Today, tile

glass, natural stone, marble

metal, materials including porcelain, cement or features a 30 ofHseveral igH Country H tile that looks like wood and

m e mget a g a z i n e | Summer and more. You can oeven 2016 mosaic of patterns and colors. are en vogue for an backsplash in the kitchen Glass and metallic tiles for floor to ceiling tile is look, while in the bathroom lower third upbeat or modern industrial on interior walls and on the on the list of 2016 trends. Ledgerstone and antique onyx look in the mountains. Travertine nice a for make of the exterior of porcelain planks earthy tones, and the installation tiles add warm, neutral and tile. of use that mimic hardwood is a creative

T y p e s o f T i l e

• Slate • Fauxwood • Marble • Glass • Slate • Granite • Onyx • Pebble • Granite • Quartz • Travertine • Porcelain • Ceramic • Metallic

Cost Tile, Materials & Labor

Tools Needed for

down into three parts: tile, he cost of a tile job is broken vary, of course, but even if materials and labor. Tile costs addtile such as natural stone, the you choose a higher priced If of the other project components. ed cost will fall below that price-tier of tile is a better deal you are undecided as to which example below: in the long run, check out the tile for a 100-square-foot the foot, If tile cost $5 per square Materials include backerboard, bathroom floor will cost $500. may which and more – all of thin-set mortar, tile clips, grout play, Finally, labor costs come into add up to more than $200. job a pro because they’ll do the and you might as well hire cost you $8 per square foot. right the first time. Labor may twice as much as the tile in With labor and materials costing bit more or less than $5 per this example, spending a little long that much difference in the make won’t tile for foot square all, the tile you really want. After run. You might as well choose in the bathroom. time of amount we do spend a considerable

T

Heated Floor s

a luxury. Next winter, eated floors are no longer considered feet the morning to your bare you’ll regret waking up in floor. And if you look the chilling on an ice-cold bathroom traffic want heated flooring in high look of wooden floors but with consider wood-look porcelain areas throughout the house, heat underneath. thermostat-controlled, radiant

H

DIY Tile Project

Tape Measure Notched Trowel Nippers Bucket Level Grout Float Rags Utility Knife Safety Glasses Sanding Block Tile Saw

Why Do Showe rs Leak?

• Improper setting materials as back• Poor quality materials such waterproof erboard, grout, thinset, or membrane proofed • Shower is incorrectly water sloped from • Shower floor is not properly the perimeter to the drain shower the test not does • Tile installer pan for waterproofness w to install a • Tile installer is unaware ho waterproof shower

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July 2016

High Country Magazine

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Ordinary People Called to Extr aordinary Work

By Jessica Isaacs

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he book of Genesis tells us that the Hebrew patriarch Abraham lived “an hundred threescore and fifteen years.” Today, it’s hard to conceive that a person could live that long. Even in a world where technology reigns supreme and modern medicine continues to advance, average life expectancies rarely approach half of that.

Although we’d never expect someone to live that long, there are four local preachers in Watauga County who have accumulated together more than 175 years of dedicated service at the helm of their respective churches. In fact, the total nears 200 if you count the time they’ve spent visiting other congregations since retirement from the full-time pastorate.

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Steadfast in faith and obedience, these four outstanding gentlemen — the Rev.

Delmar James, the Rev. Herbert McCoy, the Rev. Gordon Noble and the Rev. Billy Warren — have made invaluable contributions in communities across the High Country.

While you’ll never catch them taking credit for it, these humble servants and ambassadors for Christ have allowed the

Lord to do extraordinary things with their ordinary lives. Now, after lifetimes of devoted service, the greater faith community will come together to recognize, honor and celebrate the careers of these four fishers of men.

The Rev. Charlie Martin of Bethel Baptist Church, a friend and colleague of all four pastors, has orchestrated a special ceremony in their honor, which will take place on the evening of Saturday, Aug. 6 at the National Guard Armory in Boone. The general public and members of all churches and every denomination in the High Country and surrounding areas are encouraged to attend and show their support for these celebrated local leaders.

Born and raised in the Sugar Grove community, Delmar James grew up in his family’s home church at Willow Valley.

“That’s where I was saved and that’s where I was raised,” he said. “When we moved up to Vilas, I got to meet some of the young people at Willow Dale. I don’t remember exactly how it got started, but I visited there and eventually moved my membership there.

That’s where I was first placed in leadership.

By his late teens and early 20s, Delmar was already closely involved with Willow Dale Baptist as a deacon, a youth director and a music director.

“I would do all of the announcements and everything. The pastor would preach and he told me one day, ‘You’re my right hand man,’” he said. “I didn’t understand what he meant, but now I do.”

As he continued to take on more responsibility at Willow Dale, he drew closer and closer to God and felt more and more that there was a call on his life.

“I was at a revival at Willow Dale. I’d always had this tug about preaching,” he said. “I would dream about preaching, and every time an invitation was given at the church it seemed like it was always pointing at me, like I needed to rededicate my life to the Lord.”

Although ministry was clearly on his heart, he still didn’t feel ready to preach.

“Eventually, it got to the point where my pastor said, ‘You’re gonna have to quit rededicating and start doing what the Lord calls you to do,’” he explained. “So, that was when I answered the call.”

It was during this time that he made the acquaintance of Dianne, a girl he often saw traveling between churches and programs to sing with her family.

“The Craig family would go around singing to a lot of the churches and a lady she worked with was trying to get us sort of hooked up. I’d heard she was going to be at a singing one night, so I used to go to the church to see her,” he said. “Whenever I’d hear she would be there singing, I’d go. I can’t remember exactly when, but eventually I asked her out for a date.”

The rest was history for these two, who were both in their mid20s at the time.

“With her family being a singing group, we went to a lot of singings together. That was our dating,” he said. “We dated for about six months and we did most of our dating at church.”

They were married on June 29, 1973 and, together, their strong faith and trust in the Lord were the beginning of what would soon become a lifetime of ministry.

Surrender

After preaching in a few local churches, he received his first invitation to a fulltime pastorate, but he was still doubting his abilities.

“There was a little church in Tennessee called Bethel Baptist.

They called me over to fill in and I went over there for a few months,” he said. “They called me as their pastor and I was so shy and so scared of being that, even though I’d announced my call to preach, that I rejected that call. So, I came back and thought maybe just doing the youth ministry, leading the choir and being a deacon

Delmar and Dianne James, who recently celebrated their 43rd wedding anniversary, are pictured at the front doors of Proffit’s Grove Baptist Church in Meat Camp, where they’ve served in the pastorate since 1976. was what I was supposed to do.”

In 1974, God stopped Delmar in his tracks with a message. He was forced to undergo emergency surgery after complications following a nearly ruptured appendix, and he found himself hospitalized for more than a month.

“That was back in the gas crisis when you’d have to stand in line a long time to get gas. I don’t remember exactly when that was, but I remember my wife telling me how long she had to wait,” he explained. “I was in the hospital for 35 days. While I was there, God really got my attention. He said, ‘You need to surrender your life to me.’”

Following that message, just when Delmar was feeling discouraged enough to believe he might not make back home, an angel of his own showed up to speak to him.

“There was an orderly in the hospital. He came to me and he saw that I had given up. He said, ‘You’ll never get out of here. You’ll never get out of here,” said Delmar. “He made me so mad that I was determined to get up, and I surrendered my life to the Lord then, and I told Him I was willing to go anywhere.”

Shortly thereafter, he received an invitation to preach at a little brick church in the Meat Camp community called Proffit’s Grove Baptist.

“In March of 1976, they called me to be their pastor. I was working at the Coca Cola Company, and I had worked there for about 10 years. Then, the church started growing,” said Delmar. “I July 2016

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The word of God is displayed as a focal point in the sanctuary at Proffit’s Grove. intended to go to Fruitland Bible College in Hendersonville, but God was just blessing the church so much that I felt like I didn’t have time to do that. I was working fulltime at Coca Cola and pastoring fulltime for a while.”

Eventually, he started preaching parttime at Laurel Fork, too.

“I did that for a while, but I felt led by the Lord to preach both Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights,” he said. “The church decided to do that, and that’s when I felt the need quit my job at Coca Cola.”

Unsure how to proceed with maintaining their responsibilities without the income of Delmar’s job, he and Dianne took a leap of faith and put their trust in God. “I stepped out on faith as far as finances were concerned. My wife was working at ASU in the registrar’s office and I didn’t know how it was going to affect us, but we stepped out,” he explained. “We went to fulltime, the church voted us in, God took control of our finances and we’ve been there ever since.”

More than a growth in numbers, however, Delmar has been privileged to witness a spiritual growth at Proffit’s Grove and in its community.

“I have a praying church. I have a loving church. I have a giving church,” he explained. “You can ask them at the last minute, as long as you tell them the details and as much as you know, and they will help.

There have been times we’d find out on Wednesday about a certain need, so I’d tell the church and they would always, always help.”

While Proffit’s Grove is nestled into a unique community on the outskirts of the county, it draws in a regular crowd of members and visitors who travel outside of their own areas to be a part of the family.

“We have several people that come to church here that don’t live here in the community. They drive from outside of it, and

that’s another thing that has changed since I’ve been here,” he said. “We also have a good youth group and young adult group.”

Proffit’s Grove is home for Delmar and Dianne, that’s for sure.

“I’ve seen spiritual growth here, but the loving and giving nature was probably here before I came. I didn’t have anything to do with it, that’s just who they are,” he said.

“They are a fine church and they’ve been so good to us. I have made a lot of mistakes as a pastor, and they have forgiven me and overlooked that.

“We have had our ups and downs and issues like any other churches, but everyone always seems to come together and agrees to work it out.”

They love being part of the Proffit’s Grove family, but they know they wouldn’t have been able to make it 40 years on their own.

“To be at a church that long is not because of the pastor, but because of the Lord keeping him there and a good church supporting him,” said Delmar.

At Proffit’s Grove, Delmar’s mission remains the same as it would if he were anywhere else: “to preach the gospel, to get the truth out and to help people in need.”

“That’s not just for the pastor, but it’s also for the church,” he said.

Also significant to Delmar’s career are the 27 years he spent driving a school bus for Watauga County Schools. Now retired from that job, he carries great memories and friendships he’s developed over the years.

“I miss my kids and I love them. The Lord opened a lot of doors when I was driving a bus,” he said. “Most of them started in kindergarten and I had them all the way up through high school. I have married about

Spiritual Growth

This year makes four decades that Delmar and Dianne have been at Proffit’s Grove. It’s become their home, and they have seen it blossom in so many ways since they first arrived in 1976.

“When I first went there, there were around 60 or 70 people. A lot of our older folks that were there when I came have passed on,” he said.

"We have had a lot of folks join, though, and our attendance now is averaging around 110. We’ve been up and down in attendance, but we have some really great deacons and really great leadership.”

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The church sign at Proffit’s Grove leaves an inspiring message for passersby.

half a dozen of them.”

The couple says they’re flattered to be honored by the greater faith community this summer, although they’ve never felt comfortable standing in the limelight.

“I’ve never felt worthy of any recognition, because God knows our hearts. It feels really backward to think of our name in the headlines,” said Delmar. “Dianne is the same way. We are no different from any pastor that’s been in their church for one year, but we do feel very honored to be considered.”

As for the future, the two say they’re very attached to their Proffit’s Grove family, but they are, first and foremost, servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“I have never felt that strong urge to leave Proffit’s Grove, although that could change tomorrow. We are such a family. After being there for 40 years, you become really connected,” Delmar explained. “These people are not my blood kin, but I’m as close to my church family as I am to my own relatives; not because we don’t love each other, but because the church treats us like family

Tucked away in the quiet community of Todd, Proffit’s Grove Baptist Church is located at 3200 Meat Camp Road. and we feel like family.

“I’ve told my deacons this before. If my health ever gets to the place where I don’t think I can pastor I will resign for the church’s sake; but, when and if that time

comes, it will be the hardest thing I’ll ever have to do. They have always taken care of us. I know every pastor should feel that way, but all I can says is that, to me, this is the best church in the world.”

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t was 1951 when a young man from Ashe County named Herbert McCoy met a girl he still calls “Sweet Pea” at church. He was 18 and she was 15, and, even before they met that day, God had spent their entire lives preparing them for the journey they were about to begin together.

“I came to church with my brother. He saw me, and that was it,” said Jean, the girl from over in Watauga County who would soon become Herbert’s wife.

“The rest was history,” Herbert said.

They exchanged vows and promised forever together in August of that year, and two years later started a family. Herbert was certainly a busy man as a young husband and father, but something tugging at his heart promised there was an even greater adventure on the horizon.

“I felt the calling of God in my early teens, but I didn’t surrender to the call to preach until the day I turned 22,” he said.

“That small, still voice got so real on me inside. That was my purpose in life — to preach the gospel.”

Jean and Herbert McCoy, pictured here, have dedicated their entire lives to following God’s lead. They met and married when she was 15 and he was 18 back in 1951.

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“I went to Cove Creek School.”

Upon his graduation from Cove Creek, he went on to study and prepare for the ministry at both Fruitland Baptist Bible College in Hendersonville and at Gardner Webb in Boiling Springs. All the while, he balanced his academic work with his roles at the helm of both his family and his church. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in philosophy with a psychology minor from Appalachian State University, from which he graduated in 1968.

“It wasn’t easy for me to go back to school like I did, but I did it because I felt so strongly that’s what God wanted me to do,” he said.

“It was a sacrifice, actually, for my family, but if you put Jesus first you’ve got to do what you believe He wants you to do.”

Go Into All the World

Jean and Herbert McCoy hold a photograph of themselves that was taken on a milestone wedding anniversary. Also pictured in that frame are several photographs of the couple throughout the years.

Herbert publicly declared his commitment to fulltime Christian service in October of 1954, and he answered the call to the pulpit early the following day when two pastors at their home church needed help covering a revival weekend. At the time, the young family attended Elk Knob Baptist Church, which straddles the line between Ashe and Watauga counties.

“One of them was assisting the other in revival. They were having service at 11 o’clock that morning and also at 7 o’clock in the evening, so they decided they wouldn’t have service the next morning. I told them the Lord had called me to preach and that I would preach it for them,” he explained. “One woman, she hit the floor shouting and said, ‘Praise God, if the old ones won’t preach the young ones will.’”

So began Herbert and Jean’s journey into fulltime ministry. They didn’t know at the time what plans the Lord had for them, but, whatever it was, they were ready to go.

Passionate, eager and on fire for the Lord, Herbert began preaching part-time in several churches in 1955. For some he’d supply on occasion, and for others he was a regular guest.

“Back then, you know, you’d try to be a pastor at three different churches at once,” Jean said with a little grin.

Serving many churches at once was rewarding in many ways but came with its fair share of challenges, although other pastors in the area kept similar practices at the time.

“Some people talk about preachers preaching for money. It would be hard for anybody to believe this today, but the first church I preached was two Sundays a month and they only gave me a little over $100 for the year,” he laughed. “Preaching for money, huh?”

It wasn’t easy, but Herbert knew he was following the footsteps that had been set for him by his Lord and Savior.

“I was preaching because I knew that was what God had called me to do,” he explained.

By 1963, he was preaching fulltime; but, just as the McCoys began to settle into the life of a preacher’s family, God let them set sail on another unexpected voyage. Having only completed his education through the 10th grade by the time he started preaching, Herbert soon knew he was ready to finish what he’d started.

“I felt the need after I started preaching to go back to school, so I started back in the 11th grade when I was 25, almost 26,” he said.

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While some pastors are called serve one church through the entirety of their ministry, others, like Herbert McCoy, are equipped to serve many throughout their lives.

In the more than five decades following the day he gave his life to fulltime service, Herbert McCoy pastored at many churches with Jean and their two children by his side. In some cases, he pastored with the same church for up to nearly a decade, and in others he was called to lead them in a short-term period of trial and transition. He even pastored several churches on more than one occasion over the years.

“When I’d serve at one church and feel God calling me to another one, I’d try to be obedient,” Herbert said. “I can say I always left the churches in better shape than I found them.”

Calling so many churches home meant that the Rev. McCoy would face and overcome many different obstacles with many different people.

“God blessed me with wisdom and a spirit of discernment so that I could always understand the situation. I pretty much was able to see where they were and see where they needed to be, especially in the latter years of my ministry,” he said. “You definitely learn that people are different. Each church has its own personality, just as each individual has his or her own personality.”

It also meant many periods of transition for his family, who lived in many parsonages over a period of 35 years.

“This is something a little humorous, but it happened with our son. One night, we were moving from our home to a church and the people had been renting the parsonage, so it wasn’t in too good a shape,” said Herbert. “Jean and I and our two children went down to look at the situation. She likes for things to look good — I do, too, but she does especially. Bless his heart, he was about nine, and he could just tell that his mother was disgusted with the way things looked. The little young’un said, ‘But Mama, they do have a good clothes line.’ He was optimistic. Eventually, they fixed it up nice for us.”

The McCoys have been to many churches, lived in many homes and seen many things over the past 58 years, but the one thing that never changed was the purpose for their calling and the message they continue to share.

“What’s always been my biggest joy, and I’ve enjoyed it more than anything no matter where I might have been preaching, is to see people accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior," he said. "I’d rather preach and see people saved than eat when I’m hungry.”

My Good and Faithful Servant

In 2012, after nearly 50 years as a fulltime pastor and another near decade since he first declared his calling, the Rev. McCoy re-

tired from the pastorate at Zion Hill Baptist Church. Like many of his fellow pastors, he will be quick to say he doesn’t like the word “retire” if you ask about his career.

“Some people think that when you retire you quit; but I didn’t retire from preaching, just from being the pastor,” he explained. “I don’t like to say I’m retired, because I intend to preach as long as I’m able.”

Throughout his career, he was heavily involved in the greater community, served on several advisory boards, gave much of his time to social service in the High Country and served a term as moderator for the Three Forks Baptist Association.

Between 1955 and 2012, he served as pastor at area churches including Baptist Home, Pine Mountain, Elk Knob, Zion Hill, Pleasant Grove, Bristol of Jefferson, Proffit’s Grove, Poplar Grove, Old Fields, Rutherwood, Friendly Grove, Setzer Creek, Meat Camp and South Fork.

Today, he travels to preach at various churches across the High Country. No matter where he is, one thing remains unchanged: “I just enjoy turning loose and preaching the gospel,” he said.

Herbert and Jean often enjoy

revisiting the churches they’ve called home over the years. Those congregations are their family, and they’ve got family all over town.

“We enjoy the smiles and the hugs from the people,” said Jean. “They seem glad to see us, and we’re glad to see them. It brings back old memories.”

The McCoys have seen many changes in the world over time, and, as they look toward the future, Herbert maintains that our nation is in desperate need of a spiritual awakening.

“People don’t frown on sin like they used to, but I still see some people who are excited about what Jesus has done and what He is doing. There’s so much apathy and complacency. People need to realize that

Kuester C O M P A N I E S

there’s a heaven to gain and a hell to shun,” he said. “That’s putting it bluntly, but it’s facts. It would be hard for me to believe in a literal hell if the Bible weren’t so plain about it; but since the Bible is so plain, just as sure as there’s a heaven, there’s a hell.”

That’s why, as long as he lives, he will never stop sharing the good news.

“Still, I preach and lead people, minister to them. The gospel doesn’t change,” he said.

“The methods of carrying the message may change, but the message doesn’t change.”

On being honored by the community at the upcoming pastor appreciation ceremony, the Rev. McCoy said: “It’s a good feeling and I’m grateful. My greatest reward will be when I can stand before Jesus and hear Him say, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

He sees this recognition as an opportunity to share at a greater level his life’s philosophy: “Work and manage as if you’ll be here a long time, but live, serve and worship Jesus as if you know you’ll meet Him any hour,” the Rev. McCoy said with a smile on his face. “Now, you can’t improve on that philosophy.”

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he little rock church in downtown Boone has been a landmark in the town for generations. Its doors have always been open to anyone seeking a place to worship, no matter their background or denomination. The same man has led that church, Boone Advent Christian, for the last half century, and, although he’s recently retired from the fulltime pastorate, his heart for Jesus, his great big smile and his kind, loving spirit remain fixtures in the community.

In the late 1950s, a young Gordon A. Noble from West Virginia had recently earned a degree in architectural engineering from the Maryland Institute of Art. Until his father, an Advent Christian pastor, brought him along to help lead an evangelistic youth camp, he had plans of his own.

“My dad talked me into going with him. I was planning to go into the navy, but I didn’t know he and God had been talking about this,” Noble said. “I was sitting with this little girl on the last day of camp.

"I don’t know what my dad preached, probably didn’t hear a word he said. The first thing I remember hearing him say was, ‘Okay, this is the night that we’re inviting you to come forward and give your life to fulltime Christian service.’

“That’s when my light went out. They say I ‘bout broke her arm turning her loose and I was pushing over people. I ran down the aisle and they said I prayed and prayed and prayed. I heard someone say, ‘Well, Gordon, what are you going to do now?’

I answered, ‘I must go to school to prepare myself for the ministry.”

And that he did. He began studying right away at Berkshire Christian College in Lenox, Massachusetts. It was there that he met Jane, a classmate from Ferguson, North Carolina, who would later become his wife and partner in ministry.

After his graduation from Berkshire in the early 1960s, Gordon and Jane were married and moved to his home state for his first fulltime pastorate in Dunbar, West Virginia. They’d been serving there for three years when they received an invitation from a little congregation in Boone, North Carolina.

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Jane and Gordon Noble are pictured in front of Advent Christian Church in downtown Boone. If you’ve visited and seen the sign before, you’ve likely heard him laugh and say, “See? It says it right there. ‘Gordon, A Noble Pastor.’”

Before officially accepting the offer, the young preacher made sure to confer with his wife, who was happy to be in West Virginia but feeling homesick and longing for the comforts of Carolina.

“I went down to ask Jane about it and she said, ‘That’s not my choice. That’s between you and God. You’re the one He called to preach,’” Noble explained before letting out a good laugh. “But sometimes I like to tell people that she said, ‘You and the Lord can do what you want to, but I’m going home to start packing.’”

At the time, he had recently been in

town to preach revival at the church.

“Even before I came for revival, I supplied there a couple of times for the former pastor. My mom and dad lived in Hickory at the time, so I’d go through Ferguson to pick Jane up and bring her up here,” he said. “One time, on the way back I told her, wouldn’t it be great if we could stay in the ministry, stay in the Appalachian region until it’s getting’ up late in our lives and we could come to Boone, pastor here and retire here? Well, late in life didn’t work, and I was 30 years old when we came here.”

Accepting the Challenge

Before making the move, Noble was careful to consult with his predecessor and find out why he was leaving. The answer surprised him, and what had disheartened the former pastor quickly lit a spark in the new preacher’s heart.

“He told me that there were about 27 people in the church at the most in any service and most of them were senior citizens.

In 2006, Jane and Gordon received special invitation from Loretta Clawson, mayor at the time, to lead the Town of Boone’s annual Fourth of July celebration as grand marshals of the parade. Here, they travel through downtown Boone and lead the celebration.

He’d been to four funerals in a row and said he just couldn’t stand to sit any longer and watch the church die,” said Noble. “I thought, right here in Boone? When Appalachian State University is growing like it is, why should a church ever die? That was a challenge to me.”

Jane and Gordon soon relocated, and he brought his first message as pastor at Advent Christian on New Year’s Day 1966.

His first order of business was to take

Advent’s mission outside the four walls of the church. He made the decision to begin his Sunday evening services at 6 p.m., an hour earlier than most congregations in the area.

“I’d get out of the six o’clock and I’d go to a different church just to make myself known and let the people know about our church,” Noble said. “I’d say, ‘Come on, we’re the same as you are.’”

From the front door of the sanctuary,

with the campus of Appalachian State University right across the street, Noble saw the mission field set clearly before him and made strides over the next several years to get involved in on-campus outreach.

Seven years later, God opened the door for Advent to host one of the first college ministries in the county. It’s a miraculous story, and it’s one that Noble loves to tell, although it still brings tears to his eyes.

“You have to realize that the number seven in the Bible means completion and fulfillment. One Sunday morning, we started at a quarter to 10, so I’d already started the service when I saw these two college girls come in through the door,” he explained. “I ran back there to them and I grabbed those girls and hugged them. I had to try not to cry, because I’d been praying for something like this for so long.

“They were barefooted. They had blue jeans with cut-off places in them, sloppy looking blouses, and you could tell they weren’t wearing any undergarments, and their hair didn’t look too good; but I hugged them and I just welcomed them to this church.”

As the Nobles later learned, those two visitors were part of a blind experiment through which students dressed in disheveled clothing and attended various churches to see how they might be treated.

They reconvened later to share their experiences, and the two who visited First Advent had quite a different story to tell

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The Nobles are pictured holding a photograph of themselves all dressed up to chaperone their children’s prom. “Growing up in West Virginia, you didn’t dance, so that prom was my first ever school dance,” Gordon said. than their peers.

“People told them not to come back if they couldn’t be more respectful, if they couldn’t be cleaner, all this kind of stuff. Jill and Sue, who came here, said to them ‘You ain’t gonna believe this’ and told them how they were treated here. I get choked up even now just thinking about it. That next Sunday, we had 18 of them in church.”

So began Boone Advent’s college ministry, which thrived for many years under the Nobles’ direction. The church offered associate memberships to participating students so they wouldn’t have to renounce association with their home churches. The group, called “the Adventurers,” drew in up to 60 student members at a time at its height.

“One Sunday a month was college Sunday. They did the whole service, and, when they did, they’d bring others over to hear it,” said Noble. “They did the choir, they did everything, and it made them feel such a part. We just loved having them.”

Today, with a growing number of outreach programs popping up around the county, Advent sees smaller numbers of students in service than it did during the heyday of its college ministry; but the Nobles say the church’s doors, and its heart, will always remain open to its neighbors at Appalachian State.

And He Called Her an Angel

Over the past five decades, Jane and Gordon Noble have seen their fair share of divine appointments and interventions. Even in the wake of their own personal tragedies, God sent his messengers to remind them that He is always in control.

“We lost a grandchild, Tyler, before he was born 14 years ago. He was carried for eight months. That was a traumatic experience on all of us,” Gordon said. “On me, as a pastor, that was one of the times I kept wanting to say, Why, God? That child didn’t even have a chance to breathe air in this world.”

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Noble, who has always called himself a “bivocational pastor,” was working parttime at the nearby Hampton’s Funeral Home when his grandson passed away. Too devastated to stand at the pulpit for several weeks, he mustered the energy to work receiving at the funeral home one night. He stood by the front door when an elderly woman approached him; he’d never seen her before, but he was soon convinced she was Heaven sent. Their exchange was curious: “You’re Rev. Noble, aren’t you?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You just lost a grandson, didn’t you?”

“Yes, ma’am, I did.”

“And you’re from West Virginia, aren’t you?

“I started choking up,” he said. “I thought, who is this woman?”

“In West Virginia, did you ever sing that song called ‘Gathering Flowers for the Master’s Bouquet?”

“Yes, we used to sing that all the time.”

“Have you ever thought maybe God just wanted a bud in his bouquet to watch it bloom?”

“Then she went away. We couldn’t find her and nobody could identify her. She just wasn’t around,” said Gordon. “From that moment on, it just all left me. It just all left me. That was my angel.”

Today, if you ask Jane and Gordon about their family, they’ll tell you they have two children, Kimberly and Mark, and six grandchildren, five on earth and one in Heaven.

that are considered part of the family of Christ.

“Some people say, if it’s interdenominational, then what do you ask people before they can join? Well, here’s what I ask them: Do you believe the word of God is the holy, inspired word of God? Do you believe in Jesus Christ? Do you believe that Jesus Christ can forgive your sins? Have you accepted him as your personal savior? When they say yes, I say, ‘Welcome to our family!’”

Since Gordon’s first message in 1966, the Nobles have seen the church grow from 27 members up to 120, 140 and sometimes 160 in a typical Sunday morning service.

In late October of 2015, just two months shy of the half-century mark, Noble followed the Lord’s direction and chose to retire from the fulltime pastorate.

“I knew I couldn’t stay for another two months just to make a name for myself, and I heard a little voice telling me it was time to retire,” he said. “A friend of mine, a re-

tired Lutheran minister, said he’d like to use me on a circuit of churches.

“I asked God if He’d let me preach maybe once a month somewhere. I don’t know how many Sundays it’s been since then, but it’s been more than once a month.

It’s just a good experience.”

Jane and Gordon have touched the lives of many people in the High Country over the years, and many look forward to showing their support at the communitywide pastor appreciation event in August when the couple will be recognized.

“It’s a bigger deal than I thought it was going to be, but I am very flattered and very honored. I felt humbled,” he said. “I’m not really good with recognition, and she’s not either. I don’t like to be given some type of honor for what I’ve done for God. “I’m 79 years old and most of that time I’ve been working for God. That’s been a blessing, and He’s taken care of and done so much for us.”

Welcome to Our Family

Jane and Gordon’s ministry at Boone Advent Christian remained centered on an open door policy. While their doctrines align more closely with Baptist beliefs, all denominations are welcome to worship at Advent.

“That doesn’t matter here. We’ve developed this church over the years to be more of an interdenominational church — a community church,” he said. “Baptists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Catholics — you name them, we’ve had them and we have them now.

“The Bible says, study to show yourself approved unto God. I don’t care what church you belong in, study the word of God to prove yourself to God — not to me and not to a denomination — and, if you’re satisfied with your studying and your belief, you’re welcome here.”

Recognizing the Bible as the inspired word of God is first and foremost in the Advent Christian beliefs, and all who share

Gordon and Jane Noble stand in the beautiful sanctuary of Advent Christian Church in Boone, which they called home for 50 years while serving in the pastorate.

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elentless prayer and obedience led this decorated military hero to the altar after more than two decades of service with the United States Army. It was an adventure that he didn’t see coming, but his unwavering faith and teachable spirit have allowed him to win souls for the Lord for more than a quarter-century since his last tour overseas.

The Rev. Billy Warren was raised in a Christian home in Zionville and grew up attending Union Baptist, which he still calls his home church. In 1952, he entered what would be a long and celebrated military career when he left for basic training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He served his first tour in Korea with the 40th infantry division and, after returning home safe and sound, continued going to services at Union.

“When I came back from Korea, that’s when I met Libby at church. Of course, I was wearing my uniform,” he said. “I’ll let her tell it from there.”

“He was coming to visit my grandparents, and they lived next door to my parents,” Libby said. “I told my sisters when he went by, ‘You know, there’s my man. I think he and I will be married one day.’ I don’t know, I just had that feeling … that he was the one.”

One week later, the handsome soldier took the pretty girl from church to the skating rink down the road in Cove Creek.

“He took me and then he went over to the restaurant because

Billy and Libby Warren stand before the front doors of Beech Valley Missionary Baptist Church, where they served for a quarter-century until Billy’s retirement from the fulltime pastorate in 2001.

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he said he couldn’t skate,” Libby laughed. “So, we started seeing each other. He had to go back to Fort Jackson, but he’d come home on the weekends. In two-and-a-half months, we were married.

“We got married Aug. 9, 1954, so it was a short courtship. My sisters always said I just got him because he was in that uniform. It’s been 62 years. We’ve been married all of our lives.”

As Mr. and Mrs., the two began the adventure of a lifetime as a military family. They lived in places all over the world, including Texas, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Colorado, Kansas and even Germany.

Together, they’ve raised two boys and two girls. Life in the military provided a unique set of challenges, but the Warrens were bound by love, prayer and faith.

“I took three children and had never flown, but I wasn’t even scared,” Libby said, recalling their move to Germany. “I reckon I was so young I couldn’t even think. We flew to Germany nonstop. It was at night and we left from Charleston, South Carolina that afternoon, so with the time change it was so dark when we got there. We got there and could see Bill over waiting on us, but I had to go through customs and all of that before I could even get to him; and me with three kids and all this luggage.”

While they lived overseas, they made sure to find and connect with a home church, even if they knew it was temporary; and, when Billy was on tour and the family stateside, the grace of God brought him home safe every time.

“When I got home from Vietnam, our daughter Lottie asked Libby, said ‘Mama, who we gonna pray for now that Daddy’s home?’”

Billy said with a chuckle. “I asked our son little Billy when I came home, ‘Where’s Daddy?’ and he pointed to my picture on the wall.”

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Answering the Call

Although he was raised in a Christian home, knew Jesus and loved Him well, Billy never expected to receive a call to the pastorate, although angels may have visited with the message a few times.

“When we were living in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, it was back in ’56. Our lady next door was from Nashville, Tennessee, and she was our landlord. Her mother had come to visit when she was in her 80s, so Bill and I went over to meet her,” said Libby. “We just entered the door and she looked at Bill and she says, ‘One day, you’ll be preaching.’ I thought, woman, you’re crazy, I don’t want to be a preacher’s wife.”

At the time, Billy, too, thought, “There ain’t no way.”

“When I was in Vietnam, I sure didn’t plan on preaching when I came back, but it happened just like that,” he said.

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“It was 1974 at the third army headquarters in Fort McPherson, Georgia. One evening just prior to my retiring for the night, I was in my quarters and my Bible was laying on the bedside. I’d been reading it and then all of the sudden something spoke to my heart. I don’t know if it was an audible voice, but it was a voice. It was the Lord speaking to me and it said, ‘I want you to go preach.’

“This is before I retired from the army, so I said, ‘Lord, I don’t know anything about the Bible. Call my Sunday school teacher, Otto Thomas, he knows all about the Bible — more than I do.’ I never got an answer.”

Two years later, having returned safely from Vietnam, he announced his calling at his home church in February of 1976, and was called to the pastorate at Clark’s Creek Baptist Church in Valle Crucis.

The Mercies of God

God led him through his military career just in time to serve in a new capacity when he returned to the states.

“I do believe the Lord had a plan for me,” he said. “I didn’t know it was going to turn out this way — Libby and I getting married and having the family we have today — but it’s only by the mercies of God I’m sitting here talking to you today. Two wars — I survived that."

His time in the army as a decorated soldier taught him the value of hard work, integrity, leadership and obedience. Back at home, God used that experience and put him to work for a very special purpose in Watauga County.

“I know the Lord has had his hand upon me by leading me,” he said. “Every church that I have pastored has always been a building project.”

With his whole heart and all of his trust in his Savior, Billy went to Valle Crucis to see his new church, and what he saw brought him to his knees.

“I went to that little church and I was sitting down on the steps, and I began to weep.

I said, ‘Lord, you don’t want me to pastor this church.’ There wasn’t any paint on the building outside, the roof was rusted,” said Billy. “The grass around the church looked like the wilderness; but still, I didn’t get an answer from Him. The only thing that I remember was sitting there on the steps, myself and the Lord, and He said, ‘Follow me.’

That’s the word that I got from Him.” Warren was unsure about the less-thansuitable church building, but he had full faith that God knew what He was doing, and he promised to remain prayerful and obedient. He prayed and prayed for the resources and the means they needed to up-

As a decorated soldier in the U.S. Army, the Rev. Billy Warren gave more than 22 years of his life in service to his beloved country before taking on responsibilities as a fulltime pastor. date the facility, and the Heavenly Father rewarded his obedience.

“During my ministry at Clark’s Creek, we renovated part of the church, got the cemetery under the church’s control, which was private until that time,” he said. “We painted

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Billy Warren holds in his hand a small piece of paper that he’s kept in his wallet since 2001.

On one incredible day, his small church at Beech Valley pledged a one-time love offering for church renovations that totaled more than $24,000. When he totaled the donations, he wrote the sum on this piece of paper, and he’s kept it close to him ever since as a reminder of God’s beautiful miracles. it inside and out and put a new roof on it.”

Under Warren’s leadership, Clark’s Creek began to grow and flourish, and it would continue to do so for years to come.

Among his favorite memories of pastoring in Valle Crucis are the many times he was able to baptize his church members in the nearby creek along N.C. Highway 194 in the valley.

“I will always remember baptizing one Sunday after church and the cars began to stop along the road, and they got out to watch me baptize,” he said.

“That was the Sunday he baptized in his suit,” Libby giggled. “Someone wanted to be baptized, so he just went on down to the creek. In his good shoes.”

“Yep, I went home wet,” Billy said.

A Child of the King

In 1981, he felt a familiar feeling stirring in his heart. When he recognized a call to leave Clark’s Creek and move his family to the pastorate at Stony Fork Baptist, he followed it.

There, he helped the church pray for, fund and complete a fellowship building. He did the same at Gap Creek Baptist, where another fellowship building was finished in 1984.

Of all the renovations, Billy said, “I followed the Holy Spirit of God and that came to pass.”

Then, the ever obedient Warren family followed holy lead again, this time to the small Beech Valley Missionary Baptist out in Sugar Grove near the Avery County line. The Lord had more projects lined up for him here, in addition to some incredible miracles.

“Here at Beech Valley in 2001, the church was wanting to renovate the sanctuary. The building committee told me, said ‘Preacher Bill, we don’t even have the money to begin.’

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I said, ‘Let’s pray about it,’” Billy explained.

“Everything you see in there we did in One Sunday morning that spring, armed less than a month. People here in the church with the word of God and His instructions, could not believe it, and we did it ourselves,” the pastor approached the people of Beech said Billy. “Isn’t God wonderful?”

Valley in hopes of collecting enough money The renovation included the installation for the renovation, which would at least cost of new curtains, one of which was dedicated a couple thousand dollars. to E. Stansberry, who was a deacon in the On either side of the altar, he placed a pochurch, and another was dedicated to Billy’s dium. On each podium, he placed a note pad parents. and a pencil.

“I was raised in a Christian home,” he “I lined the church up on each side of the said. “Mom and Dad took us to church. We wall. I said, don’t even put a name on it, just didn’t have no vehicle, but we rode horses to put the amount that your family or you would church, so I dedicated that curtain to Mom be willing to give,” said Billy. “Then I began to and Dad.” pray. The church prayed with me. At the end of Later that year, hearts overflowing with the prayer, they began to come forward and on love and gratitude, the Warrens retired from that little note pad they put down the amount the pastorate at Beech Valley. they could give. As soon as they did that, they As he and Libby prepare to accept an apwalked away and they were dismissed.” preciation for their service before the entire Following the service, he took the note- The Rev. Billy Warren is pictured in the late faith community in August, Billy reminds us pads to his daughter Lottie’s house and en- 1990s in a creek near Beech Valley, where that his ministry has always been focused on listed her help in counting up the totals. On he baptized many of his church members. obedience. a tiny piece of paper, which he still keeps in “He speaks through His word,” Billy said. his wallet 15 years later, they wrote the total, “It is an honor to be recognized by Charlie which exceeded $24,000. and the association and all the peoples of Watauga and the state of The incredible amount pledged that day allowed the church to North Carolina. It’s been an honor to serve our country, too, for 22 completely renovate its sanctuary, complete with updated pews, plus years of military service, and then to be a pastor, and at Beech new carpet, a new pulpit, beautiful stained glass and more. The Valley for 25 years. Can you believe that? Amen! And at Gap Creek, work was completed in about a month by church members, and, Stony Fork, Clark’s Creek and my home church. thanks to the collected love offering, was completely paid for by “It’s only by the mercies of God that I’m here, and I know it. It’s the time it was finished. an honor to be a child of the king.”

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he entire High Country community, including all churches of all denominations, are invited to enjoy fellowship at the pastor appreciation event at the armory on Aug. 6.

“We should never underestimate the importance of saying ‘thank you’ to those who help us along the road of life. Since I have been over here the past several years, the stories of the older pastors in this county have been so special to me,” Martin said. “There are several other pastors that have done a great service to this area, also; God just impressed on me that this would just be a starting point. Perhaps something could be done again next year with other spiritual leaders who, too, have touched the hearts of Watauga County.”

The celebration of these four incredible leaders will take place at 6 p.m. that evening. Whether you know any or all of these men well or you’d like to meet them and thank them for their service, there’s no better opportunity than at this commu-

The Rev. Charlie Martin of Bethel Baptist, who is organizing the pastor appreciation event on Aug. 6, is pictured in front of the National Guard Armory in Boone, where the celebration will take place.

nity-wide celebration.

“This is an important event for all of the Christian community in Watauga and surrounding counties. What a great time to come together with other believers!”

Martin said. “I am hoping that all of our evangelical Christian family responds with

real joy. There are some things we should say to people while they are still with us, and I hope this a great encouragement to those who have served us well.”

For more information about the upcoming ceremony, contact Martin at Bethel Baptist Church at 828-297-2694.

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Elk Knob State Park

STORY By

Meghan Minton •

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

FREDerica GEORGIA

A place for all seasons and persons, regardless of weather and age

O

Intimate forest scenes – like those that feature small critters, colorful flowers and mossy stumps – along the trail system compliment the breathtaking views from the summit of Elk Knob.

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July 2016

n top of Elk Knob — 5,520 feet above sea level, with a panoramic view of three states you feel like you are standing on top of the world. The description provided by the NC State Parks website of “breathtaking” and “spectacular” fall short of the true experience of this visual feast of mountain ranges, valleys and streams as far as the eye can see.

This view is accessed by hiking the 1.9 mile Summit Trail at Elk Knob State Park. For the most part it is a gradual climb twisting and turning up the mountain under a lush canopy, typical of a northern hardwood forest, filled with sugar maples, yellow birch, American beech and yellow buckeye. The elevation and forest keep the average temperature during the summer months, June – August, in the mid-70s.

Along the forest floor, you will be delighted to find some rare and not so rare, yet beautiful wildflowers including large purple fringed orchid, giant trilliums, jackin-the-pulpit, lady slippers and flame azalea. These plants thrive in the rich soil created by the amphibolite rock which is unique to this area and the Southern Appalachian Range.

All along the trail are quaint resting spots with benches made from the indigenous rocks and trees. Then, just past the half-way point there is a teaser view of the vast ridge leading up to The Peak. It is enough to keep you mo-

In addition to hiking, cross country skiing, snow shoeing, and camping, the park also provides the perfect spot for a Sunday afternoon picnic at one of its many shaded semiprivate picnic tables or you are welcome to pull out a blanket and plop down in the field to the right as you enter the park.

With majestic, mile high views at the top, the Summit Trail is Elk Knob’s flagship trek. Elk Knob’s peak elevation is 5,520, and although the hike is strenuous, it’s certainly worth the effort.

tivated and pressing on through a changing landscape molded by high elevation, harsh winters and short summer months.

Near the top, the trees are stunted with twisting limbs, much like an enchanted forest. Then you are immersed in an intense light of full sun when you reach the top.

Here there are plenty of places to catch your breath before heading back down the trail.

Don’t worry; it is all downhill from here.

For those looking for a more leisurely hike through the woods, three other trails can be accessed from the main parking area: Beech Tree Trail, Maple Run Trail and BackJuly 2016

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Upon reaching the summit of Elk Knob, hikers have spectacular views of The Peak, Three Top and Bluff Mountains, Mount Jefferson, Grandfather Mountain, Mount Mitchell, Mt Rodgers (Va.), and the Iron Mountains in Virginia and Tennessee.

country Trail. At an elevation of 4,500 feet above sea level, The Beech Tree Trail is described as an easy one-mile loop. It is perfect for all ages from young children to seniors. There are special Kid’s Track Trail brochures, full of educational activities for elementary age children, located at the trail head. Admittedly, the information is very interesting and adults are welcome to pick them up as well.

The Maple Run Trail is an easy one-

mile loop connecting the Park Office and Gift Shop to the newly constructed Outdoor Amphitheater and Trailhead Parking Area. Interesting tid-bit: from late spring through early fall the park hosts an OldTime Music Jam on the third Sunday of the month in the Outdoor Amphitheater.

There is no charge; just sit back and enjoy some good old-time mountain music by local musicians.

The Backcountry Trail, is named for

the backcountry campsites found along its two-mile (one way) path into a cove with peaceful streams — streams that are the headwaters of one of the oldest rivers in the world, the New River. In the spring, if you venture down this trail you will be treated to the yellow bloom and dappled leaves of the delicate Trout Lily. Camping is by permit only and there is a nominal fee of $10.00 for individual and zone sites and $32.00 for group sites.

Elk Knob Superintendent Minton Leads a Great Staff

E

lk Knob State Park Supt. Tracy Minton is a veteran park ranger who is certainly familiar with the High Country. Minton is a native of Wilkes County; graduated from App State in 1997; and was a ranger at Mount Jefferson State Natural Area for eight years prior to becoming Elk Knob State Park’s superintendent in 2013.

A humble ranger, Minton selflessly deflects any attention from himself. While he said it’s his responsibility to provide direction, support and resources to the employees of the park, he notes the staff is the catalyst for the park running as smoothly and efficiently as it does. Last year, the park saw more than 33,000 visitors, an increase of 12 percent from 2014.

“The staff of Elk Knob is the engine of the park as they clean, maintain and provide quality recreational opportunities for visitors,” Minton said in a statement. “This is the hardest working group that I have ever been a part of as they take tremendous pride in their park and job. Visitors witness their work ethic every day as they walk the trails, visit the gift shop or attend an educational program. I would be lost without them.”

Minton succeeded Larry Trivette, the first long-time superintendent 38

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of Elk Knob State Park. Trivette, who was described as “tough as nails” in The Appalachian Voice by a colleague prior to his retirement, served more than 30 years in the state park system and grew up just down the road near Todd.

When Minton was hired to take the helm at Elk Knob, the former N.C. State Parks Director Lewis Ledford had this to say: “Tracy has worked in a variety of settings and with his background and deep knowledge of the mountain region, is well regarded in the community.

He is an outstanding choice to lead Elk Knob State Park, a relatively new park that is quickly growing in size and visitation.”

Prior to arriving at Elk Knob State Park, Minton worked at the Blue Ridge Parkway, Jones Lake State Park and Lake Norman State Park.

Minton is a certified environmental educator, a physical fitness instructor for the division and a certified prescribed burn leader.

They say it’s all about the journey – not the destination. While the Summit Trail features a breathtaking view at the top, there are plenty of nooks and crannies, boulders and detours to explore along the 1.9-mile trail and greater Elk Knob State Park.

Once the snow blankets the landscape, both the Beech Tree and Maple Run trails are designed to transform into cross country skiing and snowshoeing trails. There is nothing quite as refreshing as the silence of a winter forest surrounded by a blue sky and trees decorated with rime ice. Another interesting fact is that Elk Knob is one of the few state parks that are open year round, (closed only on Christmas Day) regardless of weather. You will need to bring your own equipment since the park does not provide skis or snow shoes.

In addition to hiking, cross country skiing, snow shoeing, and camping, the park also provides the perfect spot for a Sunday afternoon picnic at one of its many shaded semi-private picnic tables or you are welcome to pull out a blanket and plop down in the field to the right as you enter the park. This same field is used for the Great American Backyard Campout and the annual Elk Knob Headwaters Community Day. The campout “introduces families to the joy of camping.” It is the perfect opportunity for families to

Elk Knob is a bit off the beaten path in Watauga County. Perhaps that’s why it seems to fly under the radar in the High Country. In reality though, it’s only about 10 miles from Boone.

July 2016

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try out camping gear and learn some tricks of the trade from local outdoor specialists and park rangers. Where else can you camp overnight (tent provided), go on a night hike, enjoy s’mores around a campfire, and watch the night sky for free. Yes, free.

Registration is required and children need to be six years and older.

The annual community day, held the second Saturday in September, celebrates the natural and cultural heritage of Elk Knob and the surrounding communities through music, games, cultural demonstrations and home cooked food. It is possibly the largest pot luck at 4,500 feet above sea level. Admission is a covered dish and no one goes home hungry.

In addition to annual events, the park rangers provide educational and interpretive programs for park guests, local schools and community organizations. Here you can experience star gazing, wild flower hikes, bird watches, and old-time music. Simply

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A northern forest above 4,000 feet, Elk Knob State Park features diverse flora, including rare and endangered plants such as Gray's lily, trailing wolfsbane, large purple-fringed orchid and flame azaleas.

Old-time music at Elk Knob State Park, which is surrounded by some of the oldtime, local communities like Meat Camp, Pottertown and Sutherland, has become a regular activity. Elk Knob’s outdoor amphitheater will host its next old-time/ bluegrass concert on Sunday, July 17, from 2 to 4 p.m. Everyone is welcome to bring an instrument and join in the fun – or just bring your senses and soak up the view and tunes. The program is free. Call the park office for more dates of old-time jams.

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08/15

July Programs at Elk Knob State Park

Amphitheater

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Wildflower Walk Come see the summer wildflowers, hear about their history and uses. Meet at the trailhead parking lot Saturday, July 16th at 2:00 p.m.

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July 2016

Elk Knob State Park

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High Country Magazine

Overlook

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Salamanders Join a Park Ranger on Saturday, July 30th at 4:00 p.m. to learn about salamanders and how they are great indicators of the state of the environment. Through a Power– Point program you will learn about the native salamanders found at Elk Knob State Park. Afterwards we will see if we can find any out in the park. Meet at the Elk Knob State Park Office.

Tr a i l

11 miles

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Mountain Music Jam Celebrate Southern Appalachian music with local musicians as they play traditional, Old Time and Bluegrass Sunday, July 17th. All musicians are welcome, so bring your instrument and join in, or enjoy the view and entertainment. Participants will meet at the Outdoor Amphitheater from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. All programs are free and open to the public.

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Miles

Difficulty

Distance

Backcountry Trail

orange

moderate to strenuous 2 miles

Beech Tree Trail

yellow

easy

North

1 mile

Summit Trail

blue

moderate to strenuous 1.9 miles

Maple Run Trail

red

easy

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0.5 miles

A larger map is available at the park office.

Zone Camp

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Elk Knob

Elk Knob State Park 4400

Centennial Festival Take a trip back through time and experience what it might have been like to visit a park 100 years ago! Join us for an old fashioned celebration Saturday, July 23rd 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. We will have old-time mountain music, old fashioned games, and home-made food commonly eaten in this area 100 years ago. Bring a picnic blanket for lounging on the grass while eating lunch. A few chairs will be on hand for anyone with accessible needs.

un

88 Tennessee N. Carolina

Backcountry Trails Elk Knob Summit Trail Roads Elk Knob Facilities

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Elk Knob State Park offers nearly six miles of trails for all ages along the Summit, Beech Tree, Maple Run and Backcountry trails. For example, the strenuous Summit Trail rises about 1,000 feet, while the Beech Tree Trail, the park’s TRACK trail for kids, is an easy one-mile loop around the picnic area.

Certain restrictions apply.

See store for details.

$650 IN SAVINGS With the exception of Christmas Day, Elk Knob State Park is open every single day.

So just like the High Country is considered a four-season destination, so too is Elk Knob State Park. ask and a park ranger might even tell you about the latest old time toy he is working on for his next program.

So you aren’t the type to hike, camp or attend a program, the park still has something you will enjoy — beautiful illuminating fall color. The back side of Elk Knob has one of the largest patches of red maples in the High County. If nothing else, a drive through the park and down the back side is a must for autumn leaf lookers.

And, for all the history buffs and those who enjoy a story with a good ending, Elk Knob State Park was established as a state park in 2003. However, during the late 1990s and early 2000s it was considered for a housing development. It took a group of concerned citizens, land owners, the Nature Conservancy, and the North Carolina State Park System working together to purchase the mountain and preserve this unique natural high elevation community for generations to come.

Community involvement didn’t end there. Since 2003, 1.9 miles of the Summit Trail was made possible by more than 600 hours of dedicated volunteers. Support for additional land acquisitions and educational funding have been made possible through partnerships with local land conservation and community organizations.

Elk Knob State Park is truly a park for all seasons and persons, regardless of weather and age! So the next time you are

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DIGGING A LITTLE DEEPER Over 200 million years ago, Elk Knob was on the floor of the ocean before continents collided and created the range we know today as the Blue Ridge Mountains.

This process took the ocean’s crust and it’s sediment to create the unique amphibolite rock that is characteristic of this range.

According to ncgeology.com, “Amphibolite is a dark metamorphic rock composed of black hornblende and white plagioclase feldspar, and other trace minerals.”

If you were to take a cross section of the geologic make-up of the knob you would see a middle mixed rock unit in the middle of two amphibolite layers. It can be identified by the lighter schists that includes lots of the shiny, “false gold” mica. You can view the transformation first hand as you ascend the Summit trail.

Years of sun, rain, wind and snow have attributed to the weathering of the rock and cultivated a rich soil that provides the perfect habitat for unique flora and fauna found only in this range. Here you can find the brilliant orange bell of the Gray’s Lily, purple fringe of the Blazing Star, delicate yellow stems of Beechdrops, and illuminated violet petals of the Spiderwort.

Living just under these plants among the rocks you can find the orange Red Eft (Newt Salamander) and the rust colored lungless Yonahlossee Salamander.

Overhead, just around dusk, the forest comes alive with the “who cooks for you, who cooks for you all” call of the Barred Owl along with the small shrill sounds of the Screech owl. Some lucky individuals have seen the short tufted tail of the illusive bobcat, and the back side of a brown bear, or at least its remains! Deer are a common sight as well as chipmunks.

This unique habitat is home to many unique( some endangered), plants and species all thanks to the geologic make up that once was thousands of feet below sea level.

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The TRAILS Backcountry Trail Location: Begins and ends at the Trailhead PVA. Description: The 2-mile (one-way, moderate) Backcountry Trail winds down the into a valley were the backcountry campsites are located. The Backcountry Trail is known for the headwaters of the North Fork of the New River and the spring bloom of the Trout Lily.

Point of Interest: Trail features the headwaters of the North Fork of the New River.

Cascades are located along and within a short distance of the trail. Trail side is covered in Trout Lilies in April.

Length: Difficulty: Blaze: Surface: 2.00 miles Moderate orange Natural Surface one way diamond

Beech Tree Trail Location: Begins and ends at the Trailhead PVA. Description: The Beech Tree Trail — our Kid's Track Trail — is an easy 1-mile loop around the picnic area. The majority of the trail penetrates a large American Beech forest at 4,500 ft. The Kid's Track Trail is part of the Kids in Parks initiative. This program rewards kids with small prizes for their hiking achievements.

Point of Interest: Hikers will explore a forest dominated by the American beech.

Length: Difficulty: Blaze: Surface: 1.00 mile Easy yellow Natural Surface round trip diamond

Maple Run Trail Location: Begins and ends at the Trailhead PVA and ties into the Beech Tree Trail.

Description: The 1-mile Maple Run Trail (still under construction) is designed for cross country skiing and hiking. This easy loop trail connects the office to the trailhead parking area. Wake Robin and Giant Trilliums may be seen from the trail in spring.

Length: Difficulty: Blaze: Surface: .5 miles Easy red Natural Surface one way diamond

Summit Trail Location: Begins and ends at the Trailhead PVA. Description: The 1.9-mile (one way, advanced) Summit Trail was completed with the help of over 6,000 hours provided by many volunteers over a five year span.

The beautiful and well maintained trail is a big part of the adventure but the breathtaking view from the top is the icing on the cake. Upon reaching the summit of Elk Knob hikers have spectacular views of The Peak, Three Top and Bluff Mountains, Mount Jefferson, Grandfather Mountain, Mount Mitchell, Mt Rodgers (Va.), and the Iron Mountains in Virginia and Tennessee.

Point of Interest: Hikers will catch glimpses of the mountainous terrain of Watauga and Ashe Counties. Upon reaching the summit, hikers will have spectacular views of The Peak, Three Top and Bluff Mountains, Mount Jefferson, Grandfather Mountain, Mount Mitchell, Mt Rodgers.

Length: Difficulty: Blaze: Surface: 1.90 miles Strenuous blue Natural Surface , Gravel one way diamond

Elk Knob State Park features resting spots with benches made from the indigenous rocks and trees.

Once you’ve ascended the Summit Trail, these resting spots are about as vital as a fresh drink of water.

F

in Boone, head North on NC-194 at the New Market Center intersection with 421, look for a red barn on your left then turn left on Meat Camp Road. Wind up the mountain 5.5 miles until you reach the crest. The park entrance will be on your right. Stop by the Park Office and Gift Shop for some information and mementos. Then enjoy the park — your way!  Elk Knob State Park is part of the North Carolina State Parks System.

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Eseeola’s Seafood Buffet

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40 Years In The Making

A Thursday Night Tradition

By David Coulson

W

hen General Manager John Blackburn devised the idea of a weekly seafood buffet at the five-star Eseeola Lodge, little did he, or his staff know that it would evolve into one of the High Country's most treasured culinary traditions. And that timeless heritage is still going strong 40 years later.

Both locals and visitors alike make this Thursday night feast a frequent, foodlover’s pilgrimmage. Here is a behindthe-scenes look at how the hard-working staff puts it all together.

Photography By Faisuly Scheurer

July 2016

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. The presentation of the seafood buffet is a key element of the Thursday night success. From fresh shrimp, lobster and crab, to well-crafted sauces and deliciously prepared salads, the cold station is a great place to start on Thursday nights.

A

s diners crowd around tables on a Thursday evening that are generously overflowing with mountains of jumbo shrimp, piles of lump crab meat and cascades of lobster tails, sliced in half, few probably know that they are partaking of a succulent feast that has been 40 years in the making.

Tradition is one of the foundations of the nearly-125-year-old Eseeola Lodge and perhaps the crown jewel of this historic place is its weekly seafood buffet, a food throw-down that is treasured

by High Country food aficionados, hotel guests and mountain visitors alike.

“We see a lot of the same faces,” says Brandon Wilson, the longtime sommelier and maitre d’ at the lodge. “We’ve hung on to a lot of the fine dining aspect of things. People are shocked with the quality of the seafood buffet.”

Many guests plan their stays around the legendary buffet, while others construct day trips to conclude with dinner at within the timeless environs.

The Eseeola Lodge — surrounded by the beautiful backdrop of Linville and green-clad mountain vistas — is all about details, whether it be the pristine dining room, or the fresh ingredients used in the 48

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well-organized kitchen.

One visitor awhile back at the Thursday buffet remembered being surprised to find Chef Patrick Maisonhaute, in complete white garb, venturing out to his herb garden to select some final additions to one of his dishes.

“We pay a lot of attention to detail,” says Wilson. “Not a lot changes in Linville. People come here because they like tradition.”

Preparations in the kitchen begin early on a typical Thursday.

Wilson arrives daily by 5 a.m. to make sure that everything is in order with his waitstaff. Maisonhaute is busy, not only overseeing the biggest dinner meal of the week, but is supervising breakfast and lunch at the four different locations where food is served at the lodge.

Maisonhaute also concentrates on securing the freshest produce, seafood and meat possible to maintain the restaurant’s wellearned reputation for high-caliber cuisine.

In the dining room, tablecloths and napkins are crisp and bleachwhite clean, while the silverware gleams. The kitchen is so immaculate that you could literally eat off the floor, even though the Eseeola staff would never

Patrick Maisonhaute carefully puts the final touches on the jumbo shrimp at the cold station before customers arrive, with the help of his talented staff. The visual impact of the food is quick to wet the appetites of diners. allow that — Maisonhaute is quick to note that the restaurants on the property routinely earn 100% scores on health inspections.

On this particular Thursday morning, Maisonhaute’s staff is already making preparations for another delightful evening, while also managing all of the other tasks needing to be done during the week.

An impressive kitchen sight is a big vat that rests in the middle of the process of reducing veal stock. It would be a couple of more days before this finely-prepared ingredient will be ready for use.

“Eating is a treat,” says Maisonhaute. “This place is a diamond in the rough. We are totally different than other places.”

One of the tasks awaiting in the afternoon is Maisonhaute, or one of his trusted staff members carefully hauling a 500-pound block of ice out the freezer and even more precisely putting a chainsaw to the solid, frozen substance.

Along with his well-developed culinary skills, Maisonhaute is good enough with a saw that he could have found employment as a woodcarver, or even a lumberjack.

A couple of hours later, Maisonhaute has an ice sculpture of a beautiful seahorse — the crystalline artwork ready to occupy a prominent place at one end of the cold serving station.

It would be easier to skip such time-consuming tasks, but this element of flair adds just another touch of elegance to a staff almost obsessed by the finer details.

Each ice sculpture usually survives long enough to be used for two Thursday buffets before melting into artistic oblivion.

By 6:30 p.m., the ice sculpture and the food are all in place as customers begin to arrive.

The patrons on Thursday nights also add to the ambience of the rustic architecture. Men are required to dress in sports jackets and the women, both young and old are adorned in even more splendor. Reservations fill up quickly during the May through October time frame July 2016

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The kitchen staff works in locked-step precision at the Eseeola Lodge to provide patrons with a sumptuous dining experience every Thursday night. that the lodge is open each year.

You are greeted warmly and with broad smiles by all of the waitstaff you encounter over the course of dining.

After being greeted, a customer’s attention is immediately grabbed by the awesome display of the cold foot station.

The enormous quantity of delectable food in front of you serves almost the same effect as Pavlov’s bell.

Just in the cold station alone, there are those mounds of lobster, crab and shrimp, along with delicate rolls of smoked salmon, trout and other fish, sushi rolls, tastefully sliced duck and carefully prepared duck legs.

All of these entrees are supplemented by a slew of fresh fruit, vegetables and a variety of types of salads. In keeping with the theme, there are even tuna and seafood salads that rise above the ordinary. The octopus and seaweed salads were also highlights.

Also showing that orientation to detail are the homemade salad dressings and delightfully balanced sauces (the cocktail sauce with its subtle, not overly strong taste of horseradish is a particular favorite).

On those warm, summer afternoons, the cold bar is refreshing in an almost indescribable way. It is the perfect way to transition into an evening.

A diner can gratefully graze on the cold station all night long and be satisfied, but there are other sensations to be equally explored.

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The Secret Of Success French Chef

Patrick Maisonhaute

Pours Passion Into Every Dish

W

hen Patrick Maisonhaute decided to propose to Toni, his future wife, he chose the Esseola Lodge as the place to have a special dinner and pop the big question.

With the historic resort as the backdrop, she gave the marriage proposal an affirmative answer.

And that was before Maisonhaute became the executive chef at this historic lodge in 2006.

Maisonhaute had well established traditions of his own before being hired at Eseeola in 2006. He earned a local reputation as the chef at the popular Louisiana Purchase in Banner Elk before moving to the lodge and also developed his culinary skills at the highly acclaimed Four Seasons Resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

But the roots of Maisonhaute’s love of cooking go back to his upbringing in a small village in southern central France, a couple of hours from Lyon in the Auvergne region. With his mother working as a nurse and his father in the French Air Force, his first cooking teacher was his grandmother.

“Grandma was always making desserts from scratch,” Maisonhaute said. “The older you get, the more you pay attention.”

Patrick Maisonhaute brings years of French culinary experience to the Eseeola Lodge table. The soon-to-be41-year-old chef from the Auvergne region of France has been running the kitchens at the lodge since 2006 after moving over from Louisiana Purchase in Banner Elk.

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One of the special features of every Thursday night is the artistic ice sculptures that Patrick Maisonhaute and his staff do by hand. Maisonhaute, or one of his trusted staff members, use a chainsaw to precision to craft each of these beautiful creations out of a 500-pound block of ice.

After a couples of rounds through the cold station, it is on to notice that their napkins have been perfected folded again and the hot station and an entirely new variety of dishes. placed back near the edge of the table.

Displayed in front of customers as they approach Phase Two of As you reach the fourth quarter of your dining experience it is dinner is a stunning, colorful presentation and its pleasant aroma. time to explore the awesome dessert station. It takes a minute or When the chef on hand is two to process the splendor asked what it is, he explains of your eyes. that it is one the crowd’s faThere is the stunning prevorites — butternut squash sentation of the signature pavpudding (see the sidebar for lova, with too many flavors this delicious recipe). and textures to be explained.

“The butternut squash There are also chocolatepudding is my favorite,” says filled confections, dipped one of the attendants. “I even strawberries and other fruits, like it for dessert, with a side delicate fruit tartlets, as well of vanilla ice cream.” as cookies, pies and cakes, all The lightly textured ofprepared with care by Eseefering pairs almost perfectly ola’s wonderful pastry chef, with another weekly favorite Desiree Schreiner.

Every detail of the Eseeola Lodge dining room is prepared to — the seafood melange that “The macaroons are my the exacting standards of Maitre D' Brandon Wilson. The rustic is bathed in shrimp sherry favorites,” says the dessert look of the dining room provides a relaxing charm for cream sauce. Dancing in attendant of the concoction flavor, visitors explore perof soft and crispy textures, patrons looking for a fine-dining experience. fectly-cooked large scallops, with just a hint of almond shrimp, salmon, crawfish, squid and octopus. extract.

The mahi-mahi offers a nice counter to the other hot dishes Among the highlights on this evening are the key lime, pecan with its slightly salty flavors of lemon velvet sauce and topped with and berry pies, the pavlova, the one-bite fruit tartlets — and of olive tempand. Even a simple rice dish to go with the mahi-mahi course those macaroons. sparkles with flavor.

“I think the food is great,” says Wilson. “The atmosphere adds While this could easily be enough for a hot meal, diners still a lot to the experience.” haven’t completed the hot station gauntlet. Still to come is the perThe dessert course is not complete without taking that recfectly cooked prime rib that is sliced to order. Customers can get ommendation and finishing off the evening with some butternut the well-seasoned beef custom-cooked from rare to well-done. squash pudding and vanilla ice cream.

As people make their way back to their seats on each trip, they It is the perfect end to a perfectly delightful food experience. 52

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Chef Patrick Maisonhaute Growing up with chickens running around in the yard, having The variety of experiences Maisonhaute received at the Four Seafresh eggs and access to a delightful herb garden, Maisonhaute dissons, including working a stint on the Caribbean island of Nevis, was covered an important food fact that he still professes — that fresh foundational in preparing him for his future work as an executive chef. is best.

“You cannot buy that experience,” said Maisonhaute.

“You learn to respect what you have,” said Maisonhaute, who By 2002, he had reached that goal and had fallen in love with will turn 41 years old in July. “Everything is special.” both the High Country and the woman who would become his wife, leading to his job at Louisiana Purchase. His development has By the time Maisonhaute was in his teens, he was taking his grandcontinued during his decade ma’s lessons to heart and of excellent work at Eseeola cooking on his own. Before Lodge. long, he was off to culinary Maisonhaute said he still school for three years, with a believes in simple approaches special emphasis on pastry. to food.

“Culinary (learning) nev“We want to get it right,” er stops,” said Maisonhaute. said Maisonhaute. “The “It is never boring.” quality of the ingredients is Maisonhaute worked his the most important thing.” way through the ranks as he And being located in a redeveloped a special interest mote area like Linville makes in the hospitality side of the that emphasis one of his industry.

He served as a traiteur Chef Patrick Maisonhaute is surrounded by some of his exceptional biggest challenges.

“The hardest part of (a deluxe caterer) and a staff as they get ready for another sparkling dinner. The team the job is to get (fresh) proskilled pastry chef before he approach is one of the things that makes dinner there so special. duce to Linville,” Maisonembarked on the next stage haute said. “We want to of his career by moving to make sure we don’t miss any steps.”

London.

A tour of Maisonhaute’s main kitchen, a doorway removed from Maisonhaute was promoted to Demi Chef de Partie at the Manthe main dining room at Eseeola, gives a glimpse into his personality. darin Oriental restaurant in London before leaving for Florida and Everything is tidy, orderly and sparkling clean. the Four Seasons Resort as a pastry chef.

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Eseeola’s Butternut Squash Pudding

Y

ou don't rise to the level of Haute cuisine without the development of classic dishes and one of the favorite items each week for the Eseeola Lodge seafood buffet is the Butternut Squash Pudding. Some patrons think of it as a side dish, others like it as a dessert. You can decide for yourself with this tasty recipe.

INGREDIENTS: 1/2 pound Unsalted Butter 2 cups Brown Sugar 3 cups Cooked Mashed Butternut Squash (drained well)

4 Eggs, Beaten 1 Cup Milk 3/4 teaspoon Salt 1/4 cup Vermont Maple Syrup (1Tbsp. Maple extract my be substituted) White Pepper to Taste

While squash is still hot, mash or puree in food processor adding butter at the end. Then add the rest of the ingredients and blend well.

Pour into a buttered 9” x 13” baking dish and bake at 350 degrees until just set, which is approximately 30 to 45 minutes.

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Chef Patrick Maisonhaute “In the kitchen, everything has a place,” Maisonhaute explained.

“You have to have a regimen. You have to be organized.”

Organization requires leadership and Maisonhaute operates his kitchens like a general on a battlefield as he goes about the daily duties of preparing food in four different locations on the Eseeola Lodge campus, serving as many as 2,500 patrons each season.

He calls his staff his brigade and Maisonhaute speaks of the equal importance of everyone within the chain of command, from sous and pastry chefs to servers and dishwashers.

“We follow the French method in the kitchen,” said Maisonhaute. “It’s a matter of teamwork.”

One noticeable aspect of his approach is the fact that Maisonhaute doesn’t wear his name on his crisp, white jacket.

“It’s not about me,” said Maisonhaute.

“It’s about every single thing.”

At the same time, he follows the foundation that he has been taught in the centuriesold French tradition.

“Culinary work is not a democracy,” Maisonhaute said. “The chef is a dictator. I’ve learned from old-school chefs. I’m a control freak, We have structure and rules for a reason.”

But the restraints and detailed orientation show a zest that is displayed in every dish that comes out of the Eseeola Lodge kitchen.

“This is my life, my passion,” Maisonhaute elaborated. “I am very

passionate (about cooking). I am very demanding of myself.”

Despite those demands on himself and his staff, Maisonhaute considers himself a mentor to those who learn under his careful watch and works hard to make his workplace a family-type of environment.

“I spend more time with them than I do with my family,” this chef with 24 years of professional experience said of his staff. “I want them to be successful.”

Though he has built a sizable reputation as the chef at what some restaurant guides consider a five-star resort, Maisonhaute doesn’t pursue the limelight during a historical time frame where celebrity chefs suck much of the oxygen out of the culinary world.

“Being on the Food Network, or writing cookbooks, it’s not for me,” Maisonhaute stated.

Even with his days usually starting at 5:30 a.m. and the fact he frequently doesn’t have his head hit the pillow until 1 a.m. (“I have no trouble sleeping each night,” he said), Maisonhaute gets his gratification every day from the satisfaction of his patrons.

Maisonhaute’s primary goal remains to make the food experience at the Eseeola Lodge the best it can be, customer by customer, day by day and night by night.

Taking a “natural approach to ingredients” and using what he called “old-fashioned techniques,” Maisonhaute said “You have to know your customers. It is a fine balance.” 

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Maitre D’ Brandon Wilson Attention To Detail Is The Key To Eseeola's Dining Excellence

W

hen Tommy Lasorda was manager plish that.

“It is just kind of magical,” Wilson said of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, people used to say he bled Dodger of the lodge. “It is a little, mountain oasis.”

One of the biggest tasks Wilson has to Blue.

If the Eseeola Lodge had an official col- achieve is constantly training his staff to make sure that the or, Maitre D’ and needs of the guests, Sommelier Brandon whether they be Wilson would probthose staying at the ably have similarlodge, or others hued corpuscles. dropping by for a On a single ensumptuous meal, counter, you quickly are met. learn about the pasWith a schedule sion Wilson displays that runs each year for the timeless trafrom May through ditions and quality October, there is a of this special place. certain amount of His love for the staff turnover from Linville-based propone season to the erty drips off him next, but the conlike sweat on a hot sistency of Wilson’s and humid, High training regimen Country summer keeps the quality of day. service remarkably Dressed in a the same. hand-tied, pink “My favorite bow tie, with a part of the job is cleanly pressed yelMaitre D' and Sommelier Brandon training the staff,” low dress shirt, Wilsaid Wilson. “We son easily gushed in Wilson has been putting his exquisite accolades about the touch on service at the lodge since 1989. have a core group that comes back lodge — where he To Wilson, his work is a labor of love. from year to year, has worked since 1989 — when he sat down recently to dis- but we also have turnover.”

For some of the workers, the Eseeola cuss this remarkable setting.

“I’ve done a little bit of everything Lodge is an introduction into the hospiaround here,” said Wilson, who moved to tality and tourism businesses that prepares Avery Country when he was in sixth grade them for future careers. The club also has after years of traveling around as part of an a generous scholarship program to help the Air Force family. We’re so small, we have many students that work there.

“There is an energy and excitement our hands in a lot of things.”

At a time when service orientation has about it,” Wilson explained. Each year, “we gone the way of the dinosaurs for many res- look at what we’ve done well and adjust actauranteurs and innkeepers — to say noth- cordingly.”

The public-private component of the ing of other businesses — Wilson is charged with making sure such devolution doesn’t lodge is a unique aspect of this special place and it adds additional challenges to Wilhappen at the Eseeola Lodge.

“I like serving other people,” said Wil- son’s job as his staff has to be cognizant of serving patrons who are getting their first son. “I like to see people happy.”

The unique quality of the lodge makes impression of the place, as well as living up it easier for Wilson and his staff to accom- to the reputation that has been established 56

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“The tradition adds a special element to it.

There is a real standard, generation after generation. We’ve hung on to a lot of the fine dining aspects of things.” with regular guests and club members.

“There is a lot of attention to detail,” Wilson said. “Once someone arrives here, they should have no worries about anything.”

In recent years, there has become what Wilson refers to as “a club saturation in the High Country.”

That has resulted in an increase in competition in the area.

“When I started here, we were the only game in town,” Wilson admitted. “Now people have other choices. It helps keep us on the top of our game.”

Serving three meals a day at the various venues on the property, as well as hosting weddings, meetings and other special events, Wilson said “You are on stage 20 hours a day.” That pressure means “you can’t have a bad day.”

But when you have nearly 125 years of a track record to build upon, it is obvious that bad days at the Eseeola Lodge are few and far between.

“The tradition adds a special element to it,” said Wilson. “There is a real standard, generation after generation. We’ve hung on to a lot of the fine dining aspects of things.”

Along with his other skills, Wilson has also developed a fine taste for recommending the perfect wine, or other beverage selection for diners, which has become another passion for this Old World gentleman.

Wilson’s work as a sommelier has taken him to the old, traditional wine regions from Bordeaux and Burgandy in France to some of the new age wineries in California and Oregon. He also hosts wine tastings and also plans special wine-night dinners with expert guests from a variety of vineyards and distributors.

A quote from the Eseeola Lodge website sums up Wilson’s philosophy in perfect prose.

“The Eseeola is about building relationships,” he said. “We want to see and serve our clients over and over again.”

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The visual charm and elegance of the Eseeola Lodge makes an immediate impact on all who experience it.

The lodge, which opened for service in 1892, continues to be one of the High Country's shining jewels. Photo Submitted.

Eseeola Lodge Has Been Crafting Its Heritage Since 1891 W

hen Harvard professor William James discovered the splendor of Linville in 1891, little could he have dreamed what the Eseeola Lodge would develop into nearly 125 years later.

"At last, I have struck it rich here in North Carolina and am in the most peculiar and one of the most poetic places I have ever been in," James said on his first visit in 1891.

Within a year, James had constructed the Eseeola Lodge and it had begun to host dancing, picnics and other events. The main building quickly became a local landmark with its chimney-topped, shingled and gabled main building, surrounded by its beautiful veranda.

The years since then have featured many changes and the establishment of some treasured traditions.

"It has been always been a treat to come to the lodge," said Betsy Austin, the director of communication, who started as a worker while she was in college 20 years ago and eventually came back to work here fulltime. "It's like stepping back in time."

One of the biggest changes was when the original nine-hole golf course, which had been expanded to 14 holes in 1900 was set aside for a new championship-caliber course that was designed by the legendary Donald 58

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July 2016

Ross in 1924 and has long been regarded as one of the top courses in the country.

There have been he challenges to overcome through the years, with the old inn catching fire and burning to the ground at the start of a new tourist season in 1936 and the old golf clubhouse burning down in 1952, but the Eseeola Lodge has always showed the resiliency to come back stronger.

One significant moment was the establishment of the Linville Golf Club in 1959, with the addition of a swimming pool, bathhouse and pavilion for other social functions.

Current general manager John Blackburn was appointed in 1983 and has embarked on acquiring additional property, renovating facilities and expanding others through the ensuing years.

The Linville Golf Club was significantly renovated in 2006, with a new exterior, golf shop and locker rooms. The dining room was expanded and a full-service bar and a patio were added.

A new tennis facility was added in 2008, with four clay courts, two hard courts and additional amenities.

Of more recent date, the lodge added a popular outdoor program in 2011 and expanded again with the new full-service spa

and fitness center at the Alan Dickson Center in 2014.

The outdoor program features walking and hiking trails, sporting clay shooting, canoeing, paddle boarding and fishing.

There is also a new and unique, Olympic-sized, salt-water pool and children's programs that include day camps and field trips to locations like Grandfather Mountain and Linville Falls.

But one of the central focuses of the Eseeola Lodge has always surrounded its food and its service.

"There is something about slowing down," said Austin. It is the concept of "dinner being the entertainment of the evening."

While the spectacular seafood buffet is the centerpiece of the weekly dining schedule at the lodge, patrons can expect a exceptional food experience at every meal.

"The service is phenomenal," said Austin. "It all makes for a unique experience.

It is something that makes it a special occasion, even if its not a special day."

And all of these things continue to build the tradition of one of the High Country's most treasured destinations.

"The experience of staying in the lodge, the delicious meals is what brings people back," Austin said. ď ´

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Matt & VPC Builders The Youngest Son Carries On The

Vincent Family Traditions

By Jesse Wood

W

hile the Vincent boys all dug perk holes for extra cash when they were younger, Matt Vincent is the only one who turned it into a business. With their father, Jay Vincent, as a prominent realtor in the High Country, they picked up on the fact that the health department no longer dug holes in house to see if a septic site perked or not.

A budding entrepreneur studying finance and banking at App State, Matt, now 33, would wake up early to dig three-foot holes before class, and by his senior year, he had several employees. “He had flyers out at real estate offices and the health department that said, ‘Matt Vincent, PHD,” said Jay, laughing at the post-hole digger acronym his son advertised.

Thus was the beginning of VPC Builders, an innovative firm specializing in commercial and residential construction, custom

homes, green building and remodeling in the High Country. VPC Builders has offices in Blowing Rock and Banner Elk. The latter office opened in January 2016, and its renovation is a testimony to the company’s quality and creative craftsmanship in the mountains.

The office features poplarbark siding, birch-bark walls, a petrified log as a base for a glass conference table, reclaimed barn-wood and much more. A live-edge slab in the lobby is the VPC Builders take on the sliding barn door, which has that modern-rustic flavor. A row of six-foot tall bamboo plants add a splash of color and flair to the office lobby. The bamboo, of course, is lime green – the color dominating the VPC Builders logo that adorns a 1959 black Ford F100 that Matt restored and parks around town in visible locations.

Matt is a craftsman at heart. It’s probably why he isn’t a realtor like his pops or one of his older brothers, Chad, who co-owns

VPC Builders truly are a team. Each member has an equal say in new hires and other company matters, such as the office move to Banner Elk. Pictured are Ignacio Madrigal, Wendell Proffitt, Scott Pitts, Charlie Day, Matt Vincent, Thor Vincent (the dog), Whitney Burns, Tony Anthony, Gary Smith, Jake Smith.

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Vincent Properties with his father. Still a real estate-license carrier, Matt dabbled in realty when he was younger, but realized it wasn’t his calling. See, he had always worked with his hands, whether it was mowing lawns or digging perk test holes.

“Real estate was just never my cup of tea,” Matt said, adding that he was always drawn to the construction side of things.

“It’s something I love. It’s something I am passionate about, and truthfully, I couldn’t be happier.”

At the age of 22, Matt built his first house, a spec home in Boone. He built spec homes through the recession and was successful, selling the homes well before construction even finished. As the economy turned around, Matt and the VPC Builders team decided to focus on custom homes – in addition to their commercial projects and remodels. On the residential side of things, the majority of the VPC Builders-built homes are constructed in the mountain, Adirondack, rustic style.

“We build everything from your very upper end, several million dollar [projects] down to more intimate homes for clients who are working on a tight budget,” Vincent said. “We have our hands in a little bit of everything.”

At any given time, VPC Builders has a couple dozen projects in the works – from preliminary meetings with clients at the project site to handing over the keys to the front door. They also hold keys to over 100 homeowners or property owners that keep them busy here and there.

“People trust us, and say, ‘Hey Matt, can you keep an eye on our house or check this,” he said, adding that he’s never been one to turn down work because any job might lead to something bigger. “We’ve always operated, in the fact, that if somebody comes to us then we need to help that person with whatever it is. No matter how small or big, we’ll find a way to help them.”

Posing in the Banner Elk office, VPC Builders founder/owner Matt Vincent stands with his longhaired German shepherd, Thor, at his side. Below VPC Builders staff sits around the conference table for a weekly meeting. As project manager Gary Smith said, “It’s hard to sit down and try to do meetings once a week [because we are all so busy, but] the energy is good whenever everybody gets together.”

The Vincent Breed

To understand the culture that Matt has instilled at VPC Builders over the past decade and his drive to turn a hole digging business into one of the premier builders in the High Country, it helps to look not only at his raising but a bit of his lineage.

Matt’s great grandfather on his father’s side, Sidney Archibald Vincent, is one of the “primary geniuses of the 21st July 2016

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century,” according to Jay, who noted that his grandfather participated in the Manhattan Project. Sidney ran the Research Defense Committee in World War II with Julius Robert Oppenheimer, and helped build the timing device in the first atomic bomb. “They still use his formulas to calculate the optimum altitude to detonate a bomb depending on mega-tonnage – at least the last time I read they did,” Jay said.

Jay, on the other hand, worked as the #2 guy for another brilliant man, William H. Maurer, an executive of the Diamondhead Corporation.

“I was the buffer between Bill and the rest of the world. He couldn’t deal with people well,” Jay recalled. The Diamondhead Corporation was a large, international resort company in its infancy and owned by Malcolm Purcell McLean, whose containerized freight idea revolutionized international trade. After Jay, who grew up in a mill village outside of Shelby, finished his schooling and served four years in the service, he was fortunate to get a job offer with the Diamondhead Corporation from, as he always calls him, Mr. McLean.

One of the first major projects of the Diamondhead Corporation was to buy Pinehurst, which came with a Carolina Inn, Holly Inn, Chevrolet dealership and a utility company on 11,000 acres. “I believe there were only two golf courses at the time,” Jay remembered. “It was a sleepy little golf village that was much nicer as a sleepy little golf village.” Based in New York City, Jay flew all over the world on business, crunching the numbers for McLean’s development business until 1975, when he opted to move to the High Country, study philosophy & religion at App State, raise a family and eventually open Vincent Properties. A small-town guy at heart, Jay hated New York City and the rat race that caused him to practically live in a private jet. “I just got burned out,” Jay said.

Coming back to North Carolina, Jay found the love of his life, Lynn, back in Shelby, and they immediately moved to Boone. The couple raised their boys with high expectations in mind, and if you ask either parent, both will tell you the other was tougher on the kids. With Jay working all the time to support a growing family, Lynn primarily raised the children – four boys separated by eight years? “I never had enough hands to keep up with all the running around,” Lynn laughed. “They might have gotten mad at each other, but nobody else picked on another brother. They took care of one another.”

Lynn is the bedrock of the family, the heart and soul of the Vincents. Jay’s grandmother described her as a “strong horse for a long pull.”

She is the one who taught the boys much of their work ethic, discipline, good habits and the 62

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Lynn and Jay Vincent stand as their three children, Jon Paul, Matt and Chad sit in collared shirts.

The boys later on in life: Chad, John Paul and Matt Vincent. The boys were rough-and-tumble with each other but always had each other’s back.

“I never had enough hands to keep up with all the running around,” Lynn laughed. “They might have gotten mad at each other, but nobody else picked on another brother. They took care of one another.”

idea that you finish whatever you start.

Successful traits her boys embody today.

She had them off to school every day with a perfect lunch, and when they got off the bus in the afternoon, a snack was ready for them. After a 10-minute break, the boys sat at the dining room and finished all written homework. She would then drive them out to a horse farm near the New River, and her sons would cut the grass, clean the stalls and perform other tasks. Unless there was another activity or sport to be run off to, it was back to the house, where Lynn would soon have a gourmet dinner prepared. The kids then finished up any other reading or studying. It was clock work. Come Sunday morning, she would have them dressed up in coats and ties, and the family was off to church, “We’d divide them up best we could to keep them from picking on each other,” Jay said.

He attributed much of his sons’ success and their quality character to their own “diligence, perseverance and hard/smart work” and to Lynn. “Our sons make us proud for not only what they have accomplished but more importantly for who or what they are,” Jay said. “She had much to do with that. Lynn Vincent is the heart and soul of our family … She was always there for them in every way. We are all fortunate to have her around.”

They had four requirements of the boys: excel in school; play

Matt was always an independent fellow and did his own thing. He also seemed to have a special connection to animals.

One summer when his older brothers were at summer camp, a lonely Matt befriended a raccoon that was found hurt on the road. Matt cared for the animal before giving it to the an animal authorities. “He loved that raccoon,” mother Lynn said. “It would crawl up his legs and shoulder and pat his face with its little hands.” Also pictured here is Matt in an old newspaper ad for his father’s realty business. at least two sports; and participate in both a community and church activity. “As long as they did those things, then the deal was the old man would pay their bills in terms of school and providing a car and a place to live,” Jay said. “But I didn’t have to do too much of that. They were all pretty much independent and entrepreneurial … They just all learned discipline early on.”

One day when Jay came home after work, he tried to engage his sons into conversation. But the “idiot box” was on, and his children were too absorbed in what they were watching. So, he decided to fix that and cut the cord – back before Netflix made it trendy. Instead, the family had movie night once a week for about four years. “That was a really neat time,” Jay said. “We didn’t July 2016

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Matt Vincent stands in the first house he ever built at the age of 22. This spec home is located in Boone. Matt said there are two particular reasons he loves his job and stays at it everyday.

He noted the “wow factor” and “happiness” on clients’ face whenever the project is complete and talked about working hard everyday to make sure his employees have a job. have to argue to get anybody to the table. My wife was putting all these wonderful, gourmet meals on the table, and we sat and talked about what we did, what we read.

We read a lot more and nobody rushed away from the table. It made for much better family time.”

For Matt as a youngster and probably most any other kid, no TV is not cool. His parents were strict, and Matt recalled friends not wanting to come over and hang out because they realized they wouldn’t be eating junk food and watching TV. But looking back, it was certainly a blessing in disguise. “We were raised that you have to go out there and work and make the opportunities for yourself. They are not just going to knock on your door and give you everything you want. You have to go get it,” Matt said. “As a kid, we weren’t allowed to watch TV growing up. As a kid, that sucked. But now, I am really thankful for it. It forced us to go outside, play sports and go into the woods.”

It seems to have worked. Jon Paul, 39, one of Matt’s older brothers who is based in San Antonio, Texas, is a financial executive with USAA Bank. Another older brother, Chad, who co-owns Vincent Properties, is one of the top-producing realtors in the High Country, according to his father, Jay. And then there’s Matt – as disciplined and driven as they come.

The majority of custom homes VPC Builders construct are in the Adirondack, rustic style. Commercial projects and remodels represent a good chunk of business, too. A few years back, VPC Builders turned an old gas station in downtown Blowing Rock into a Mellow Mushroom restaurant (bottom left). In the picture above, Matt’s restored 1959 F100 truck sits in front of the newly renovated Banner Elk office.

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The outside and inside of the Banner Elk office, located on Tynecastle Highway.

Whitney Burns, marketing director of VPC Builders, stands at the reception desk in the lobby.

She led the recent rebranding effort that has helped increase the visibility of the VPC Builders’ brand.

For better or worse, Matt – who will be marrying Cassandra Hayes this September in Antigua – is a workhorse, a borderline workaholic, says at least one colleague, Charlie Day, a Blowing Rock native, manages the commercial projects, (while Gary Smith, a Virginia Beach native, manages the residential custom home side of things). In talking about Matt, Day said his buddies in the service during Desert Storm couldn’t hold a candle to Matt’s work ethic.

“At one point, I was in the Army and my whole chain of command was West Point and the Rangers. Everybody was driven and motivated, but not one of them has anything on Matt,” Day said.

“From daylight to dark, he doesn’t stop.”

The Culture at VPC

Matt has always kind of marched to his own beat, driving straight at the fork in the road. He became a builder – not a realtor. The youngest Vincent, he didn’t follow in his older brother’s footsteps and attend UNC at Chapel Hill. Instead, he opted to attend App State. But before licenses and degrees, he opted to go down a different avenue than the other Vincents.

“Somewhere around the sixth grade, he came to me and said, ‘You know dad? I’ve been doing all the stuff I am supposed to do and I’m enjoying it OK and you’ve been hauling me to my brother’s [activities] all my life, but I just want to do my own thing,”

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Jay recalled. Turns out, he wanted to take martial arts, and that became one of his two required sports. Grandmaster Rick Ward, who operates a Kung Fu academy in Boone, took him under his wing and ended up being a big influence in Matt’s life – not only physically but mentally, too. “Literally, every day I think of something that reminds me of what he taught me,” Matt said.

In a way, Matt is still forging a unique path in how VPC Builders operates and markets itself. Who else is using wine barrels to advertise project sites? Actually, they have about a dozen ways of using reclaimed wine and whiskey barrels. Who else has a sweet old-timey truck that advertises the company logo all over town?

He actually has a goal for all the project managers to one day drive similarly restored trucks advertising the company’s logo. “What we try to do at VPC is we try to look at doing things differently,” Matt said.

This is certainly apparent, for example, on the marketing side of things as the company shows a prowess in promoting its brand. For example, the sandblasted wine barrel lawn signs won the inaugural Signage Smackdown contest sponsored

by REMODELING in 2015, the same year that VPC Builders revamped its innovative and progressive brand and introduced its new eye-popping logo.

“We wanted to create our own identity and branch out a little bit,” Whitney Burns, marketing director at VPC Builders, said of the recent brand revamping.

“It’s been a lot of fun to be able to take something like the logo and just figure out new and unique ways we can get it out there. In a lot of what we do, we want to stand out. We want to be different. Whatever we can think of to do that – the old truck, the wine barrels, the coasters, metal business cards, anything we can do to differentiate our business, and I think people are starting to notice.”

A positive corporate culture at VPC is also evident. The VPC motto is values, professionalism and communication.

Continuing education and volunteering in the community are requirements of the company’s employees. When hiring, Matt said he looks for three things in an employee: ambition, loyalty and honesty. ‘Most [other] things you can teach,” Matt said.

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The majority of homes VPC Builders constructs is in the rustic Adirondack that features many natural accents. Charlie Day, a project manager, VPC Builders projects range from a “$100 repair on a house to building a home that costs $2 million.”

Notice the reclaimed barn wood siding featured on the kitchen island and bar. VPC Builders strives to use many of the natural elements found in the High Country’s environment such as poplar bark siding, reclaimed wormy chestnut beams and more.

At VPC Builders, Matt values a team, understanding that a group is smarter than just one person. To preserve chemistry among the VPC Builders team, all of the current employees participate in the hiring process – another unique way of doing things. During the final interview process, all of the employees will show up and interview a prospective employee at the same time. Afterwards, they vote, looking for a unanimous decision on whether or not to bring that person on board. Everybody has a say.

“I think everybody in our company has a good mojo and a good

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VPC’s Community Outreach Community outreach is embedded in the corporate culture of VPC Builders. As Matt said, “I am a big believer in giving back to the community.” Each employee is required to volunteer with one community organization, nonprofit or charity doing good work in the High Country. That probably rings a bell because the Vincent brothers were all required to participate in a community activity growing up.

Some of the organizations that are represented by VPC Builders employees include Wine to Water, Trout Unlimited, Blood Sweat and Gears and Purple Heart Homes. The latter is an organization that features a local chapter in the High Country started

by Whitney Burns, the marketing director for VPC Builders.

Founded by Veterans for Veterans, Purple Heart Homes and its partners helped disabled veterans by outfitting their homes with wheelchair ramps.

With veterans owning homes that no longer meets their physical needs, the Purple Heart Homes program has the “intent of restoring dignity and ‘quality of life’ by creating a safe, barrier free living environment for Service Connected Disabled Veterans.”

Whitney, who is president of the local chapter, and Matt, who is on the local chapter’s board, participate in the Purple Heart Homes program by raising money and overseeing these local projects making homes more accessible for veterans.

“You are helping people that have sacrificed so much for this country,” said Matt. “It’s been a cool way to try to give back.”

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VPC Builders commercial superintendent Charlie Day reviews plans of the renovation of the old Appalachian Theatre.

VPC Builders started the first construction phase of the project in March. One of VPC Builders subcontractors uses a sledgehammer to knock down walls near the theatre lobby (bottom left).

A Virginia Beach native, Gary Smith is a residential project manager and also a creative talent who attended a year at the Bath School of Art and Design in England before settling in Western North Carolina. chemistry, and I don’t think anybody wants someone to come in and screw that up,” Matt said. “We actually voted on coming here to Banner Elk. It just happened that everybody voted yes. We try to get everybody’s input, and we try to make everybody a part of the company. We just have a really good team.”

The employees have responded accordingly, and they wear the company’s uniform shirts with pride. As Gary Smith, the residential project manager and longtime employee, said of Matt and the company’s vibe: “Matt’s great. Lots of positive energy.

It’s fun working with everybody. It’s hard to sit down and try to do meetings once a

week [because we are all so busy, but] the energy is good whenever everybody gets together.”

Restoring The App Theatre & Other Projects On a sunny weekday in June, VPC Builders commercial project manager Charlie Day stood in the lobby of the old App Theatre. Over the sounds of a subcontractor knocking down a brick wall with a sledgehammer, Charlie talked about the company, the theatre renovation process, his family history and old Boone. “It’s funny,” Charlie said over the subcontrac-

A Blowing Rock native who grew up in the local construction industry, Charlie Day is the commercial project manager. His career began as a 5-year-old pulling nails out of an old dilapidated barn.

tors banging away, “half of the guys working here all remember eating at Tom Redmond’s hotdog and hamburger stand that was right here.”

Charlie’s family in the Boone and Blowing Rock area goes back to at least the Civil War. His grandfather’s great great grandfather, Sam Day, joined the Union Army in Knoxville and “led Stoneman right down Thunder Hill near the gap,” Charlie said.

Aside from stints in the service, Charlie’s worked in the local construction industry his entire life with his relatives. In fact, Charlie recalled pulling nails out of lumber from a barn that the wind blew over when he was 5 years old.

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High Performance.

Sustainable. Green.

M

att Vincent, owner/founder of VPC Builders, takes green building seriously, and he has the credentials to prove it. He was one of the first LEED certified builders in the state. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a popular green building certification program. Matt participates in the N.C. Healthy Built Home Program and is certified by the Building Performance Institute as a Building Analyst. Matt also has a Renewable Energies and Green Building Diploma from the N.C. Solar Center.

A holder of master builder and accredited builder designations by the N.C. Builder’s Institute, Matt holds the following distinctions: Certified Aging-In-Place Specialist (CAPS), Certified Graduate Associate (CGA), and Certified Green Professional (CGP) designations with the National Association of Home Builders. He’s licensed in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Just as values, professionalism and communication are key words that VPC Builders live by, so are high performance, sustainable and green. “For VPC Builders, each of these concepts goes hand-in-hand with being a better builder. We constantly strive to meet and exceed community and national standards in high performance building by creating innovative structures that blend form with function, in harmony with the environment.”

Understanding that “one size does not fit all,” VPC Builders, which won the Boone Area Chamber’s Evergreen Award for Leadership in Sustainability, sponsored by Mast General Store in 2015, offers different tiers of “green,” including the aforementioned LEED and Energy Star certifications. They’ve worked on geothermal heated and cooled homes, and, of course, active and passive solar projects.

“We take on projects that other builders say are not possible. One client that we got to work with, they took it to other builders. They wanted a LEED certified house and were told them it wasn’t possible because of the home they wanted,” Matt said. “They brought it to us, and we sat down and said, ‘We absolutely can do this,” and made it happen, and they were happy.

They are clients to this day.”

Consider the Stober residence in Blowing Rock. This was among the first LEED certified homes in the High Country. While a number of people cautioned the homeowners that building a LEED home three hours away would be a nightmare, Matt and the VPC Builders crew rose to the occasion.

“To the contrary, we couldn’t imagine a project proceeding more smoothly,” the Stobers wrote in a testimonial. “We know that there were many issues but instead of troubling us you simply took care of them. Lastly, your commitment to staying within our budget and delivering the house on time has been well beyond our expectations.”

LEED TM

L E A D E R S H I P I N E N E R G Y & E N V I R O N M E N TA L D E S I G N

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“I feel like I could do a lot of things if I wanted to, but getting to see somebody’s face and their happiness [at the finished product]. That’s what makes me come to work everyday.”

Matt Vincent - VPC Builders founder Today, though, he oversees commercial projects. Some of those in the works include the renovation of the historic Appalachian Theatre in downtown Boone, the expansion and remodel of Macado’s restaurant on King Street and renovating a laundry facility into a telephone/internet company’s office.

The renovation of the historic Appalachian Theatre is obviously a once-in-a-lifetime project. The intent is to renovate and restore the old theatre to its original 1938 art deco design, and for the theatre to host music concerts, dramas, cinema, dance and other community events. The versatile venue will have an orchestra pit, community space upstairs and about 675 seats. Phase one of the renovation began in March and will include exterior work such as the black-and-teal façade and a marquee and – at the request of the Town of Boone – pavers along the sidewalk in front of the building.

“The town asked if we could work that in and we said, ‘sure,’” Charlie said.

The historic theatre is already gutted. In fact, Charlie had a hand in the interior demolition long before VPC Builders secured phase one construction with the lowest bid. Charlie worked for Frank Mongelluzi, former owner of Able Body Laborers, the construction staffing company and the closed-down Pssghetti’s restaurant in Blowing Rock. After Mongelluzi bought the building, Charlie was a part of the crew that stripped the inside of the theatre.

When the housing crisis occurred, Mongelluzi stopped renovations and eventually the building went into foreclosure during the businessman’s bankruptcy filing.

The Town of Boone fronted the Downtown Boone Development Association (DBDA) a three-year loan worth $624,000 to purchase the gutted theatre in foreclosure in the fall of 2011.

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VPC’s Marketing Prowess A

company’s marketing director, s VPC Builders’ subcontractackled the re-branding effort. tors busted out walls in the Born and raised in Nashville, old Appalachian Theatre on a Burns ended up in the Boone area weekday in June, a television like most everyone else; she atcrew was at the Banner Elk oftended Appalachian State, gradufice, interviewing VPC Builders ating with a degree in finance founder Matt Vincent and comand banking in 2012. She found mercial project manager Charlie a local boy and a decided to make Day. Today’s Builders Television the High Country her home. In Show is airing a feature on the between that, she worked as a dicompany this fall on CBS and rector of marketing and research the two-person film crew was in town conducting interviews and Greg Darrow, in the orange shirt, and Matt Evans, interview for a full-service, commercial real visiting project sites. and film VPC Builders founder Matt Vincent for an episode estate firm in Nashville. She also dabbles in interior design. She Like the new logo, this is part of Today’s Builder Television Show that will air this summer. came on board in March of 2014, of the ongoing marketing effort to increase awareness of the company. While VPC Builders has a long and the results of the past two years are evident In addition to the wine barrels, the truck that bears the comway to get before it’s a Twitter or a Nike, the brand is certainly noticeable in the High Country, and the creative advertisement is ef- pany’s lime green logo, and the television show that will reach a new fective. Take the 1959 Ford F100 truck. Aside from the handful of and wider audience, Burns also noted the wooden-circle drink coastwalk-ins it generates, I imagine everyone who drives on Tynecastle ers with company logo and metal business cards that differentiate Highway, U.S. 321 or Main Street in Blowing Rock recognizes the VPC Builders from other general contractors in the area.

“We wanted to create our own identity and branch out a little restored, classic Chevrolet from 1950.

The wine barrels, too. They probably have a dozen different ways bit,” Burns said. “It’s been a lot of fun to be able to take something they utilize an old wine or whiskey barrel on a project, and they’ve like the logo and just figure out new and unique ways we can get it won awards for that creativity and sustainability, as well. This past out there … [We are] trying anything we can do to differentiate our year, VPC Builders introduced a new logo, and Whitney Burns, the business, and I think people are starting to notice.”

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High Country Magazine

July 2016

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William Partridge Burpee

Whitney Burns, marketing director of VPC Builders The DBDA and Appalachian Theatre of the High Country (ATHC) nonprofit eventually paid the town back for purchasing the theatre in 2013. The DBDA turned the theatre over to the ATHC. In June 2015, the ATHC’s capital campaign to fund the restoration project entered the public phase when the group announced that it had raised $6.1 million – or nearly 80 percent – of the $8 million campaign goal.

For Matt – and everyone else – this is a project they feel will have a lasting impact on downtown Boone and the surrounding community. He talked about hanging out at the dollar theatre in his younger days.

He remembers the movies and the sticky floors. “I remember going there as a kid a lot. It was a really cool place. Charlie was the one doing the demo all along, so we all have kind of a special attachment to the theatre,” Matt said. “It’s just an awesome project. We bid on it against all of the contractors in the area. We were the low bidder and part of that was honestly because we wanted to do it for cheaper because it’s such a good aspect of the community and a way for us to give back.”

VPC Builders as two locations in the High Country: 2059 Tynecastle Highway in Banner Elk and 989 Main Street in Blowing Rock. For more information, click to www.vpcbuilders.com or call 828-295-0707. 

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Through lectures and Q&A events with our artists

110 Sunset Drive Blowing Rock, NC 28605 828.414.9888 gallery@jeraldmelberg.com www.jeraldmelberg.com

July 2016

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Welcome Back

Summer Dining Guide

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PLACES TO DINE THIS SUMMER

Six Pence

It’s the height of the summer dining season in the High Country, and there’s no better time to enjoy a casual lunch, a relaxing brunch or a romantic dinner. For your culinary inspiration, you’ll find dozens of fine establishments in the following pages.

A Taste of England here in Blowing Rock

Restaurant & Pub

BANNER ELK CAFÉ banner elk. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Great food, ranging from eggs benedict to big, juicy burgers.

For the healthy and weight conscience we offer grilled mahi and chicken sandwiches, salad bar, and homemade daily specials. Dinner nightly offering: Ribs, Steaks, Fish and always fresh and creative specials! n 828.898-4040. www.bannerelkcafe.com.

See ad on page 80

Featuring British & American Fare

Inside Our Dining Room or Outside on our Beautiful Patio

Dining: Sunday - Thursday , 11:30 am - 10:30 pm Friday and Saturday until Midnight

BOONE BAGELRY BOONE. Boone’s oldest bagel shop locally owned and operated since 1988, serves 14 types of freshly baked bagels and a wide variety of menu items including vegetarian and gluten free.

Boone Bagelry is a full-service restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch all day. We are conveniently located on King Street in downtown Boone with patio dining available. Delivery service available. Support local. Taste local. Enjoy local. n 828.262-5585. www.boonebagelry. com. See ad on page 81

Full Bar (open until 2am)

20 Beers on Draught focused on Imports and Micro Brews

Courteous and Friendly Staff

Canyons Blowing Rock. Located just off of the scenic, winding highway 321 in Blowing Rock, this historic restaurant and bar is well known all over the High Country for its spectacular and breathtaking views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, its scrumptious southwestern choices and unique takes on classic American food or dishes. All dishes on the menu are freshly prepared in house with the finest ingredients available.

Canyons in Blowing Rock regularly offers a wide variety of seasonally fresh items, so ask about the fantastic

828.295.3155 } } 1121 Main Street, Blowing Rock, N.C. July 2016

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E N J O Y L O C A L Q U A L I T Y, F L AV O R & F R E S H N E S S Since 1981 we have pledged an ongoing commitment to serve local farm fresh foods and support our beloved community. We are honored to call the High Country our home.

www.CRCateringCo.com | 828.406.7721 www.CasaRustica1981.com | 828.262.5128

FAIRWAY CAFE & VENUE

nightly specials in addition to the daily menu selections. Every Sunday, enjoy a delicious brunch accompanied by live jazz music. Canyons also offers a diverse selection of domestic and imported wines and a large selection of beers chosen to complement the items on the menu. Just ask a member of the friendly staff for a recommendation, or try something new. n 828-295-7661. www.CanyonsBR.com.

See ad on page 76

CASA RUSTICA BOONE. Conveniently located right off of Highway 105, Casa Rustica offers some of the finest Northern ItalianAmerican cuisine in the High Country accentuated by a cozy, fireside atmosphere. Dishes on the menu from the crisp salads to the scrumptious pastas are adapted from old family recipes that have been handed down for generations. The chefs and owners at Casa Rustica are also committed to offering local beef in their cuisine and proudly offer homestyle meals made with love FAIRWAY and meticulous care. Casa Rustica’s CAFE & extensive wine list is updated every VENUE 30 days to include interesting vintages and new organics for guests to try. Enjoy live jazz every Thursday night and classical guitar every Sunday. The restaurant also features a full bar and fantastic drink selections to delight even the pickiest patron. n 828-262-5128. www.casarustica1981.com. See ad on page 76

CHESTNUT GRILLE AT GREEN PARK INN BLOWING ROCK. Taking local and sustainable to new heights, the Chestnut Grille restaurant maintains its own 1/3 acre garden on site, which supplies the kitchen with a variety of fresh vegetables and herbs throughout the summer and fall seasons. We offer contemporary American fare that’s unique, yet familiar, in a warm, and casual setting. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten free guests will find the menu, and our chef very accommodating. We offer an extensive and thoughtful wine 76

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list along with a selection of seasonal and local craft beers.

Located just inside the Green Park Inn. Listed on the National Historic Register. Patio dining is offered seasonally.

Live piano music in our lobby Friday and Saturday nights, year round, and live music on the Veranda, seasonally. n 828-414-9230. www.greenparkinn.com. See ad on page 79

C.R. Catering

䌀栀攀琀漀氀愀 刀攀猀漀爀琀 愀琀 䈀氀漀眀椀渀最 刀漀挀欀

boone. C.R. Catering Co. is Casa Rustica Restaurant’s sister company. We are pleased to offer the High Country’s finest gourmet catering for events on and off site. We provide fresh, distinctive food and quality service for each and every event. We are happy to accommodate dietary restrictions, and regularly prepare vegetarian, gluten-free, and vegan meals. North Carolina’s freshest seafood and the finest locally grown vegetables appear regularly on our custom designed catering menus.

Want a family favorite included in your menu? No problem! We can customize any item for your special event. Need the perfect space to accommodate your catering needs? We can serve 25 to 150 guests on-site with ease. Give us a call. n 828-406-7721. www.CRCateringCo.com. See ad on page 76

DIVIDE TAVERN & RESTAURANT BLOWING ROCK. Located in the lobby of the Historic Green Park Inn, the Divide Tavern sits directly astride the Eastern Continental Divide. Long a gathering place for Captains of Industry, Heads of State, and celebrities from authors to actors, the Tavern offers unique pub fare, as well as chef designed pub classics. Experience a less formal dining alternative while still enjoying delicious fare, all set in the ambiance of a bygone era. Local, craft and draft beers, seasonal and specialty cocktails offer guests a tempting twist alongside classic cocktails. We also offer an impressive selection of wine by the glass, or the bottle. Enjoy live Sunday music on the veranda (seasonally) and live piano in the lobby Friday and Saturday nights, year round. n 825-414.9230. www.greenparkinn.com. See ad on page 79

匀甀洀洀攀爀 䔀瘀攀渀琀猀 圀攀搀渀攀猀搀愀礀猀 ⴀ 匀琀攀愀欀 漀渀 琀栀攀 䰀愀欀攀 吀栀甀爀猀搀愀礀猀 ⴀ 䴀甀猀椀挀 ☀ 伀礀猀琀攀爀 一椀最栀琀 昀攀愀琀甀爀椀渀最 吀栀攀 䰀甀挀欀礀 匀琀爀椀欀攀猀 䘀爀椀搀愀礀猀 ⴀ 䈀漀渀ǻ爀攀 一椀最栀琀 眀椀琀栀 匀ᤠ洀漀爀攀猀Ⰰ 䰀椀瘀攀 䴀甀猀椀挀 ☀ 䐀爀椀渀欀 匀瀀攀挀椀愀氀猀

EAT CROW BANNER ELK. Eat Crow is a wonderful little cafe specializing in fresh baked, delicious goods including a large variety of baked pies and cakes. These delectables are offered by the slice, or you have the option to order a whole one to take home and enjoy. We also offer fresh made sandwiches at lunch time that can not be compared to any other “sandwich shop” in the area. Since we know life can be very hectic, for your convenience we prepare whole meals and fresh soups daily that are ready for you to take home and heat up for your family. These entrees vary daily. We are always creating something delicious! All sandwiches are served on farmhouse or whole wheat bread. Choices of sides include fresh fruit, firecracker coleslaw or chips. We are open Tuesday - Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and are located near Foscoe on Hwy. 105 between Boone and Banner Elk. n 828-963-8228. See ad on page 78

㠀㈀㠀⸀㈀㤀㔀⸀㔀㔀 㔀 簀 挀栀攀琀漀氀愀⸀挀漀洀 July 2016

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EAT CROW EAT PIE

EAT CAKE

EAT PIE

EAT CAKE EAT PIE EAT CAKE

Delicious Sandwiches

(Served on our homemade bread)

Pies • Cakes Shepherd’s Pie Steak & Ale Pie Chicken Pot Pie English Specialties

Catering

Serving Dinner Twice Monthly Call or Check our Website for Dates & Menu

828.963.8228 www.eatcrownc.com

Fabulous British Chef/Owner

Dominic& Meryle Geraghty

Open Tuesday - Saturday 10am-4:30pm 9872 Hwy. 105 S. in Foscoe Serving Lunch until 3:00

The Eseeola Lodge linville. Guests enjoy breakfast and dinner daily as part of their accommodations package, but all High Country visitors are welcome to enjoy the finest cuisine. Spend a leisurely morning with us, or grab a quick bite on your way out for the day. Either way, an outstanding breakfast awaits you each morning in our dining room. Then enjoy lunch at the Grill Room in the Linville Golf Club, where resort casual wear is appropriate for daytime meals. For the evening meal, select your choice of seven meticulously prepared entrees crafted

by Chef Patrick Maisonhaute at the helm of your culinary experience. The menu changes daily, and also offers an extraordinary seafood buffet every Thursday evening with seatings at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. Reservations are required, and gentlemen are required to wear a coat for the evening meal. n 800-742-6717. www.eseeola.com.

See ad on page 81

fairway cafe & venue boone. Not just for golfers! The Fairway café is located at the Boone Golf Course with a beautiful view of the course with an inside dining room or outdoor patio seating. The public is welcome to come enjoy the local fare.

The menu is extensive with an array of salad selections, a half of dozen sandwich choices, hot dogs anyway you like them and hamburgers from the classic to the fancy. The spacious indoor area FAIRWAY features a beautiCAFE & ful 32 foot handVENUE crafted maple bar.

Our venue is also perfect for any of life’s memorable moments. Ideal for cocktail parties, fundraisers, wedding events and anniversary parties. The Fairway Venue features clean minimal lines, stunning floor-to-ceiling windows, and views of the beautiful North Carolina Mountains. We have full ABC permits and can seat about 100 inside and roughly 40 on the outside patio. Looking to accommodate even more? A tent can be set up if needed. Come check us out! n 828264-0233. www.CRCateringCo.com.

See ad on page 76

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F.A.R.M. CAFÉ boone. In May 2012, F.A.R.M. Cafe opened its doors with our mission to build a healthy and inclusive community by providing high quality & delicious meals produced from local sources, served in a restaurant where everybody eats, regardless of means.

Our meals are nutritious and delicious! Some meals include items with meat, some are vegetarian and/or vegan. Our menu changes daily and is served by our volunteers and staff.

F.A.R.M. Cafe tries to have something for everybody each day, so we also always have gluten free and dairy free items. Our Feed All Regardless of Means REAL. GOOD. FOOD. daily menu can be viewed at www. farmcafe.org/menu or on Facebook or Twitter. We are located in beautiful Downtown Boone. n 828-386.1000. www.farmcafe.org.

See ad on page 82

Gamekeeper Blowing Rock. You haven’t fully experienced the region until you’ve dined at The Gamekeeper. It’s a true gourmet restaurant, with the perfect blend of upscale elegance and simple mountain charm. The Gamekeeper is famous for Southern favorites ultimate in comfort food - prepared with creativity and originality, offered through an evolving seasonal menu that blends the traditional with the exotic, satisfying both the meat lover and the vegetarian.

Housed in a 1950s stone cottage, The Gamekeeper is an upscale restaurant that offers an eclectic mix of Southern foods and mountain cuisine, offering a selection of unique meat dishes including mountain trout, buffalo rib eye, ostrich, duck and beef tenderloin.

The friendly staff literally waits on you hand and foot, assuring that you’ll leave happy and satisfied. The restaurant is located off Shulls Mill Road near Yonahlossee Resort. n 828-963-7400. www.Gamekeeper-NC.com. See ad on page 80

THE LOCAL BOONE. a place to enjoy a fresh meal, crafted in-house from local High Country ingredients. Serving traditional southern favorites, she-crab soup and shrimp & grits, as well as grass-fed beef burgers, specialty sandwiches, unique tacos, wood-fired flatbreads & pizzas, quinoa bowls, steaks, seafood and plenty of gluten-free and vegan choices.

The Local also features 20 taps, serving mostly local and regional beers, as well as national favorites. At The Local you can enjoy drinks & appetizers while relaxing on comfortable leather couches in the lounge, play a game of billiards, or watch your favorite sports event on large flat screen TVs. The Local is also the place to be for Live music performances on Friday and Saturday nights. Experience Local. Open Daily 11am. Sunday Brunch 11am-4pm. n 828-266-2179. www.TheLocalBoone. com. See ad on page 83

meckethn brothers barbecue Boone. Born in Boone, McKethan Brothers Barbecue specializes in highquality smoked meats, homemade sauces, and classic southern sides and desserts.

The McKethan Brothers grew up watching their dad and his brothers smoke whole hogs over wood fires in Eastern North Carolina.

As boys, they were fascinated by the pig and mesmerized by the aroma. Yet their best memories are of the light-hearted chatter among their family as they shoveled coals into the pit.

They laughed and shared stories throughout the night while the smoke worked its magic before disappearing behind the pine trees. That bond taught them about more than just barbecue. McKethan Brothers Barbecue Restaurant is now their tribute to their dad and uncles, the original McKethan Brothers, for making great barbecue and for being great men. n 828-265-2828. www.mckethanbrothers. com. See ad on page 82

Red Onion CafĂŠ Boone. Established in 1985 as one of the classic restaurants in Boone NC, the Red

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Onion Café opens daily at 11am and serves continuously to hungry guests well into the evening. The Red Onion Café has created its niche in the High Country for more than 30 years by offering customers a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere and an extensive menu at affordable prices. The café has something for every member of the family, including burgers, sandwiches, wraps, pizza, pasta, fish, steak and delicious homemade desserts.

Look for weekly dinner specials and the kid’s menu items as well. The Red Onion Café also offers several of the region’s top beer and wines to compliment any meal as well as friendly staff on hand to assist with your choices from the extensive menu. The outside patio is perfect for a comfortable outdoor lunch or for a cozy dinner on warm evenings. n 828-264-5470. www.theredonioncafe.com. See ad on page 82

six pence pub Blowing rock. In 2001 Six Pence opened in Blowing Rock, North Carolina and has been a Blowing Rock staple for visitors and residents alike Restaurant & Pub ever since.

Known all over the High Country for establishing itself as a fine example of British fare, the friendly staff, delicious food and extensive beer and wine selection make this local watering hole a local favorite. From traditional British favorites like Shepherd’s Pie and fish and chips to American-style burgers, house made soups and salads, this eatery and bar alleviates everyone’s hunger pains and provides a unique dining experience right on beautiful Main Street. Who knew that one could find such exceptional British cuisine in the heart of the High Country? The pub now proudly features a new patio so guests can choose to sit outside and enjoy their meals and enjoy the beautiful views of Main Street. Or step inside to the air conditioned interior to beat the heat this summer season. n 828-2953155. www.sixpencepub.com. See ad on page 75

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the sights, do some shopping, then come down the quaint downtown street until you reach the corner of Main and Highway 221. It’s on this corner that you will find the Speckled Trout Cafe and Oyster Bar. Since 1986, the Speckled Trout Cafe & Oyster Bar has been pleasing both locals and visitors every evening with its exquisite choices for dinner. The house specialty is smoked rainbow trout which is fished from local waters, but the extensive menu covers everything from terrestrial meat choices like steak and ribs to fresh seafood and so much more. The Speckled Trout is also pleased to be serving lunch for patrons to enjoy either inside the restaurant or for easy take out for a picnic on the Parkway. The restaurant also proudly features a beautiful outdoor patio overlooking Main Street for guests to enjoy their meals in the beautiful outdoors as well as an airconditioned interior to beat the heat this summer season. n 828-295-9819. www.speckledtroutcafe.com. See ad on page 83

timberlake’S RESTAURANT AT CHETOLA RESORT BLOWING ROCK. On July 28, 2012, Chetola officially opened Timberlake’s Restaurant in the historical building, with a menu inspired by worldrenowned North Carolina artist and designer Bob Timberlake’s culinary favorites. The restaurant features three dining rooms, an intimate wine room and waterfront dining on the Patio. The charming and warmly outfitted Headwaters Pub is just inside Timberlake’s main entrance. Bob Timberlake, who is known for creating things of exceptional artistry and imagination, used his deeply rooted love of food as the impetus behind the distinctive menu. From Mesquite-dusted shrimp and salads of mountain-grown spinach, to Carolina-raised trout and roasted Carolina quail, each dish will be one worth savoring. A mouth-watering array of brick-oven pizzas, tender Angus beef filets, seafood, poultry, and an inspired selection of health and wellness dishes will also tempt palates of all tastes. n 828-295-5505. www. chetola.com. See ad on page 77

vidalia Boone. Centrally located on King Street in downtown Boone, Vidalia is a casual, upscale restaurant featuring “creative American cuisine.” Featuring creative menu items for lunch and dinner, it offers daily specials, various events, wine tastings and special nights.

Famous menu items include the apple and gorgonzola salad, shrimp and grits, chicken and waffles and mushroom ravioli, with finishing choices like stone ground grits and cheddar mac n’ cheese. All of these choices come to you from the culinary mind of Chef Samuel Ratchford, who also owns the restaurant with his wife Alyce. Taking pride in the local community, the restaurant is proud to offer various local ingredients and choices to patrons who are looking to try local fare. Vidalia holds all ABC permits and has an extensive wine list which routinely features over 60 different wines which can be expertly paired with meals by the staff, a large selection of craft beers, martinis, whiskeys, scotches and cordials. Vidalia’s menu changes twice a year to keep it seasonal and practices farm-to-table food, using local vendors as much as possible. n 828-263-9176. www.vidaliaofboone.com. See ad on page 78

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water wheel café BOONE. Welcome to the Water Wheel Café, featuring Boone Bagelry bagels.

Find us on Highway 105 in Boone – just look for the monumental Water Wheel in our parking lot! We are locally owned and operated our location offers a lodge-like feel with an impressive rock fireplace, a spacious open floor plan, and cozy booth seating. Our Culinary Team developed The Water Wheel Cafe menu to feature many of the Original classics we are known for, as well as new and exciting menu items that will win you over. We also offer a coffee bar with Espresso drinks. We look forward to serving you. n 828-262-1600. www. bbwaterwheelcafe.com. See ad on page 81

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Team Sunergy

I

Appalachian State’s Trailblazing Solar Vehicle Team

By Katie Benfield and Adrienne Fouts 84

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July 2016

I

f you asked the majority of people in the United States, they would say the idea of powering their cars for a maximum of 50 cents rather than the usual $2 and change per gallon seems too good to be true, if not impossible. However, Appalachian State University’s Solar Vehicle Team, known as “Team Sunergy,” would say otherwise.

The team is comprised of 22 graduate and undergraduate students from a variety of disciplines at the university, including appropriate technology, industrial design, sustainable design and physics. Team Sunergy is led by faculty advisors Dr. Jeremy Ferrell, Christopher Tolbert and Brad Johnson, and is a joint project between the Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment and the Department of Physics.

The project provides students the opportunity to work completely hands-on, which allows for valuable educational and personal growth, according to the team philosophy. While other teams often concentrate on the engineering and competition side of their solar vehicle projects, Team Sunergy largely focuses on the sustainability aspects. The team recognizes the need for sustainable transportation in the future, and they strive to build a strong, reliable and competitive vehicle while remaining committed to sustainable practices.

Apperion Team Sunergy has been working for the last year to create a solar powered vehicle that can run on solar energy and battery power alone. It has 391 solar cells on the roof of the car and contains a 43 pound rechargeable Lithium-ion battery.

The car, named “Apperion,” can travel 150 miles on battery power alone. Although, according to Dan Blakely, the project director for Team Sunergy, the solar power allows the car to travel all day long, without the assistance of a battery.

“If it’s travelling on a sunny day,” Blakely said, “it can just keep going.”

The Apperion started out as a donation from Iowa State University, a school that has partnered with the solar energy team from Appalachian State, in June of 2015.

“They approached us and asked if we wanted the shell of an old car that they were done using,” Blakely said, “and so, we said yes.”

The rest is history. Using the old, donated shell of the car, Blakely and about seven others worked on developing and planning to get the project going. Since

Dan Blakeley, founder and current Project Director of Team Sunergy, is pictured here next to Apperion. He is currently a Graduate student of Appropriate Technology and Engineering Physics.

Apperion is pictured here next to one of Appalachian State University's famous attractions: "Aspire."

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Team Sunergy consists of 20 undergraduate and graduate students from all across AppState's campus. The team is supported by three faculty members: Dr. Jeremy Ferrell, Associate Professor of Appropriate Technology; Chris Tolbert, Adjunct Instructor and full time Technology and Engineering high school teacher; Brad Johnson, Engineering Physics Graduate Coordinator.

then, Team Sunergy has had about 20 graduate and undergraduate students working on the car to get it ready for the race.

“Iowa State donated the shell,” Blakely said, “but we designed all the suspension components, the electricals and other components, like the battery box and the controller box. We built all of those ourselves.”

Team Sunergy didn’t just build a solar powered vehicle; they built one that was unique and specific in design. For instance, unlike other solar powered cars that might be built at other universities, the Apperion is built with a battery that becomes more efficient the hotter it gets.

“Normally, other teams have problems with overheating because the batteries get hot from overuse, and it disables the car,” Blakely said. “For us, we don’t have that problem because the batteries we chose like to be hot.”

Not only this, but according to Blakely, Team Sunergy received a motor from a business in Japan called Mitsuba that usually only provides motors to Japanese teams. Blakely contacted the company directly, and through a stroke of luck and good manners, the team received a motor.

“I was just very polite, very respectful. I actually lived in Japan for about a year and a half, so I knew a little bit about Japanese culture,” Blakely said. “So, that helped, and maybe it was just the right timing.”

It was perfect timing. Mitsuba had recently made a motor for a team there in Japan, but the team had never paid for it. So, due to Blakely’s respectful manners and perfect timing, Team Sunergy received a motor that separated Apperion from every other racing solar

The team is making test preparations before taking Apperion on the track at North Carolina's Center for Automotive Research in Garysburg, NC. Team Sunergy was able to push Apperion to the limits while putting on some miles on road style race course.

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Jake Barnes and Logan Ward are currently Co-Assistant Electrical Directors on Team Sunergy. They are pictured here preparing the battery pack for for testing.

powered car at that time.

However, building the car wasn’t all just good manners and great timing. It took a lot of hard work, a lot of hours dedicated to perfecting and designing and a lot of money. According to Blakely, as of right now, the car has about $150,000 invested into it.

“If you added in all the hours that the team has put in building and designing the car,” Blakely said, “the amount of money it is worth would drastically increase.”

The team has received funding from various sources, including grassroots, individual donors and student driven fundraising.

“We’ve received a lot through the school, but it’s limited,” Blakely said. “They put restrictions on what we can spend it on and how much we can spend.”

Apperion is pictured here at an Earth Day event on Appalachian State Thus far, funding has been raised through University's Sanford Mall. Team Sunergy has been a feature attraction word of mouth. The team members call inevery year since its beginning three years ago. dividuals and businesses, and they request donations. ever, are built for maximum efficiency, including the shape of the Recently, the team received an anonymous donation of $100,000 to the project which, was a helping vehicle and the weight to all the components that team designs and builds. hand that was needed to push the project along.

Although they are aiming for optimal efficiency, Team Sunergy Team Sunergy needs support from the community, but each’s isn’t stopping there. They hope to create a solar powered car that donor’s contribution is well worth the investment. They are buildpeople would be interested in driving. ing a solar powered car that can run all day, nonstop, through “Our next car that we are designing is going to be much more solar energy alone. That separates it from electric motors which are built for consumers who are wanting to transition from an practical,” Blakely said, “and, hopefully, people can see themMPG car to another car similar to it. Solar powered cars, how- selves driving it.”

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American Solar Challenge

Preliminary sketches of Apperion take us on a visual tour of the design.

Apperion and Team Sunergy is only made possible by many donors and sponsors. Team Sunergy would not be able to attend races if it weren't for individual donors, as well.

The week of July 22-28, Team Sunergy and Apperion will participate in an upcoming race called the Formula Sun Grand Prix in Wampum, Pennsylvania at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex. It’s part of the American Solar Challenge, an international competition where teams design, build and drive cars that can run solely on solar energy and battery power.

The Formula Sun race will focus on each car’s abilities to handle curves, braking and acceleration on a closed road-style course in which they will be competing with other solar-powered vehicles. Teams and cars will be judged mainly on efficiency, although there are other competitions for things like Best Looking Car and Fastest Car. The team worked quickly to get the car ready for last year’s Formula Sun, but there just wasn’t enough time to complete all the legal processes required for Apperion’s participation; but the team wasn’t deterred, and neither was Blakely.

“To have a car donated to us and ready in six weeks is incredible,” Blakely said. “Even though we weren’t able to get on the track, I’m proud of what our team was able to accomplish.”

The team, therefore, is racing for the first time this year.

Blakely said, “We’re calling this our Year One.” Solar vehicles from across the globe compete at the FSGP, including teams from Germany, Taiwan, Iran and Puerto Rico. Team Sunergy will be the first and only team from North Carolina to participate in race history.

It’s one of only two teams participating from the South and it’s one of few university-based teams in the region with a solar vehicle.

If Apperion qualifies, it will move on to the American Solar Challenge, an 1,800-mile race from eastern Ohio to South Dakota that begins July 30.

There’s a lot of excitement in the air as Apperion prepares for its first race and all that it holds in store.

“As far as the team, I think they’re all excited about just going to the competition,”

Apperion has 391 individual solar cells which make up it's 1200 Watt solar array.

The solar array is the only source of energy allowed while competing against other universities.

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Blakely said, “and seeing what other universities are capable of doing.”

Because of their partnership with Iowa State University, the members of Team Sunergy as ecstatic to meet the other members.

However, one of the biggest driving factors behind the team is the opportunity to beat Michigan State, the leading team in solar powered racing.

“This is another opportunity to be an underdog and beat Michigan State,” Blakely said. “We are capable of doing things that people typically wouldn’t think capable of a small university.”

They’re excited for the race, but they’re also excited about providing a durable and sustainable car that is able to withstand daily road conditions.

According to its website, Team Sunergy strives through this competition to “build the most robust and reliable vehicle” to meet the “need for more sustainable transportation for the future.”

Perhaps this sustainable vehicle will reach far beyond the race and find its home not only in the rankings of a competition, but also on the street, becoming a part of our everyday lives in an effort to conserve energy.

Progress in Sustainability Team Sunergy is about making substantial steps and movements towards sustainability across America, but especially right here at home in Boone, North Carolina.

Their influence doesn’t just reach the community as a whole, but the team has taken deliberate steps to encourage and educate the future generations of the High Country.

According to its website, Team Sunergy has partnered with West Wilkes High School and its Electric Vehicle Team in order to inspire them to become more environmentally conscious and excited and encouraged for their future plans and careers. In the future, Team Sunergy hopes to continue working with young learners through partnerships with Watauga High School, Avery High School and other local schools.

Although sustainable development is important to the team as a whole, it is really so much more than that. Living in Boone and attending a sustainable school, such as ASU, sustainable living, and its importance is engrained into each of the members of the team.

“Other teams think of this kind of thing as an engineering challenge,” Blakely said.

“But to us, it’s so much more. To us, it is to

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Pictured above from left to right: Jake Barnes, Duvey Rudow, Cristian Dehza, and Lindsay Rudisill. Members of the team are placing the removable top shell back onto the solar car after conducting a tire change. The top shell is removable to allow the team to work on interior components of the car, conduct tire changes, and place the top shell on a rack and tilt it to the sun to maximize charging when stopped.

Team Sunergy selected the Mitsuba M2096III hub style motor (to the left) as their motor of choice. This motor does not have any gearing, as it is mounted directly to the rear tire; however, it is capable of propelling Apperion up to 75mph and can sustain a speed of 45mph while only consuming 1200 Watts of power! (That's less power than a typical hair dryer.)

Apperion's battery consists of 210 individual Lithium Ion batteries, providing 127 Volts and 4.1 kilowatt-hours of energy. Utilizing just the power from the battery, Apperion is capable of traveling 150 miles at 45mph.

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“I think this will really help people realize how important solar energy is.

You can put solar panels on buildings all you want, but it isn’t original anymore.

This way, people will realize we can use solar energy to power cars, instead of burning oil all the time."

Tim Stone find another form of transportation that is truthfully sustainable.”

Blakely pointed out that just walking on the campus of ASU, one is prone to find sustainable living around every corner they turn, from rooftop solar panels to electrical cars to programs for sustainability. However, sustainable living stretches far beyond the edges of campus.

“Sustainable living is engrained in Boone,” Blakely said. “Just look at the electrical charging station downtown.”

The team has received substantial support from the community, which reminded Blakely of another sustainable project that received the utmost support from folks across in the High Country.

“There was a major community push to install rooftop solar panels throughout Boone,” Blakely said. “It was all donors and businesses putting in their time, money and resources to get this done in a short amount of time.”

Blakely said the team is constantly trying to improve the car and promote sustainability practice in the area.

“We are absolutely behind the fact that we all need to be living a more sustainable lifestyle, or there might not be a future for our grandchildren or great-grandchildren,” Blakely said. “We talk about it all the time.”

While building the car, the team also questions and wonders if they could possibly make any changes to improve the sustainability of the car.

“Even as we are working on it, we will talk about sustainability,” Blakely said.

“Can we find something that is more sustainable than what we are using?”

Team Sunergy hopes to one day establish a Solar Transportation major at ASU, or at least a concentration for the existing

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be efficient; currently, sustainable development they have a concept that major. resembles something like Former Team Sunergy a Lamborghini. member and program “People will see it and supporter Tim Stone said actually want to get in and this realm of education is drive,” Blakely said. crucial today because of According to Blakely, the financial challenges the team also wants to and oil-related challenges focus on getting involved that our world is facing. with NASCAR, a North “I think this will really Carolina legacy that shares help people realize how much of its history with important solar energy is. the Appalachian region. In You can put solar panels September, Team Sunergy on buildings all you want, Apperion takss in the sunshine at Charlotte Motor Speedway's Bojangles will participate in a show but it isn’t original anySummer Shootout on June 28, 2016. Team Sunergy was invited to engage at the Charlotte Motor more,” Stone said. “This with the community and show off its car.

Speedway where it will way, people will realize unveil its 3D conception we can use solar energy to power cars, instead of burning oil all the time. They’re faster, of the next generation solar powered vehicle.

Team Sunergy also hopes to obtain a permanent facility where more efficient, more powerful, more sporty. They’re a bunch of it will have plenty of tools, plenty of lighting, a car lift and a percool things.”

According to Blakely, he believes that the school, eventually, manent workshop where this program can continue and thrive will create a concentration for Solar Transportation. Currently, for years to come.

There are several opportunities that are offered in order to starting last summer, there have been a variety of solar vehicle support Team Sunergy. There is a donations page on the website classes offered at ASU. “This past spring, they had an advance sustainable transporta- where people can donate money towards the team and their efforts. There is also an option to spontion class, focused on designing a next generation solar car,” Blakely said. “A • Friday, July 15- Team Sunergy sor Team Sunergy at various levels – ranging from $40 to $20,000 or more. course currently going on is a handsThe team is currently looking for both on class working on Apperion, to test at Music Fest ‘n Sugar Grove local and national sponsors. it and work on it.”

Along with this, there is also a proIt takes several years to establish a • Wednesday, July 20 at 1 p.m.gram that Team Sunergy has put into new major at the university, and topTeam Sunergy at the Appalaplace titled “Adopt-a-Part.” Through ics like solar transportation have to be this, donators can “Adopt-a-Cell” accepted and organized before they chian Energy Summit 2016 for $40, “Adopt-a-Tire” for $100 or can be made into a program or a con“Adopt-a-Battery” for $250, providcentration in a state college. However, that’s good news for Blakely and his For more information about the ing the team with parts they can sue to enhance and further develop their colleagues.

Solar Vehicle Team, project. Each “adoption” results in “They want to do more and more a reward for the donator, including classes like this; there is so much invisit appstatesvt.com. t-shirts and bumper stickers for the terest,” Blakely said. “I know they are team. going to do it within the next couple In order to keep up with the team’s of years.” operations and events, you needn’t According to the official website look much further than their very own for the team, their goals and purposes website and social media accounts. behind engineering a sustainable veOn their website, there is a calendar hicle continue to expand. They also that displays all of the appearances strive to “advance the knowledge and and events that Team Sunergy will be inspiration of current and future genparticipating in per month, as well as erations to strive towards a more sustimes, locations and short descriptions tainable future.” of the events.

Along with this, they also have a The team is also active on social two-year goal to design a next generamedia. On Twitter, the team’s usertion solar car. They plan for it to be more practical – hopefully, so that it will fit at least two people name is Team Sunergy or AppalachianSVT. Here, they announce all of their appearances and updates on Apperion and the memand that everyday people can see themselves driving it.

“I’ve got the team to agree that we need to build a car that bers. The team also has an Instagram account under the same usernames where they post pictures of Apperion, the members people want to drive,” Blakely said.

The team has developed some oddly shaped cars that would and even the youngest person to ever sit in the solar vehicle – a 92

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LEFT: Duvey Rudow, assistant project director and physics undergraduate student, is getting ready to put in some miles behind the wheel of Apperion. It is recommended that each driver drives at least 200 miles while in preparation for the upcoming competitions.

Drivers must pass several dynamics tests before they can compete in the Formula Sun Grand Prix or American Solar Challenge.

RIGHT: Lindsay Rudisill is trying to perfect her driving skills while conducting a slalom test at 30mph. baby named Jackson at one week old! Along with this, the team also has a Facebook page under the name of Appalachian State Solar Vehicle Team.

“We are always looking for people to be involved, whether they’re from the community or they’re students,” Blakely said, “or whether they want to sponsor or donate. We are always seeking out people.”

Team Sunergy is constantly on the lookout for events and opportunities to show off their solar powered car to the com-

munity.

“That’s the purpose of what we are doing – to show people the technology and advancements,” Blakely said. “We are willing to do that and be as active in the community as possible.”

In the weeks leading up to race, Team Sunergy will be showcasing Apperion at various events throughout the area while raising funds for the trip. The community is invited to come out and see the vehicle, learn more about the Solar Vehicle Team and offer support before they depart for FSGP on July 21. 

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Parting Shot...

Photo of Tweetsie Parking Lot from High Gravity Adventures aerial course Photo by Ruthie Nathan

The Tweetsie Train with Fireworks Booming

“Independence Day in the Wild West”

I

Fourth of July Traditions Continue at Tweetsie Railroad

n keeping with one of the area’s favorite and most time-honored Independence Day festivities, Tweetsie Railroad capped off the Fourth of July holiday with it’s annual Fireworks Extravaganza. This year, the park hosted its biggest show to date.

Thousands of visitors swarm to the mountains every year for this display, the largest firework show in the High Country, and 2016 has been no exception.

Tweetsie Railroad President Chris Robbins promised that people attending the show this year would see things they’d never seen in the park before, and he didn’t disappoint.

With nothing shy of 417 firework shells launched this year, it’s no wonder they call it an “extravaganza.” Spectators enjoyed even larger explosions than previous years due to the show’s upgrade in shell sizes. Tweetsie featured fireworks ranging in shell size anywhere from three to 10 inches, as well as special effects that launched from the ground.

“We moved to a larger launch sight this year to accommodate for the larger shells,” Robbins said. “We had eight and 10 inch shells, which we haven’t had in many years.”

A crew made up of about 10 artists worked on the show, starting as early as February — artists being an appropriate name for them, considering the amount of creativity and art that goes in to creating such a spectacular performance.

Aside from what it takes to become licensed and learn firework safety, Robbins said the crew takes great pride in what they deliver.

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“It takes months of planning to select the proper sequence that will create the best visual effect,” he explained. “We don’t just do a random launch, it is an orchestrated and scripted show.”

The crew began its preparations first thing in the morning on the Fourth, and it took them all day to have it set up and ready to go by the evening, when they first started to run tests and perform all necessary safety checks, an wrap the fireworks in case of rain. Although it’s not uncommon to see some afternoon showers on a High Country Fourth of July, the Tweetsie show proceeds, rain or shine.

“Once they’re set up, they basically have to go off,” Robbins said.

The show has only been postponed once in history in 1989 due to the flooding from a tropical storm. Back in 2013, they were even launching fireworks into a thunderstorm; but, as they say, the show must go on!

That explains why the crowds grow larger every year, and the show draws more and more people for the fun. Thousands of families and friends choose to turn this longstanding tradition into an all day event every summer, whether that includes entering the park and riding the famous steam engine locomotive, setting up a barbeque grill and tailgating in the parking lot or all of the above. Either way, the fireworks extravaganza at Tweetsie is always a guaranteed good time.

“It’s just the whole atmosphere,” Robbins attested. “It’s being in the mountains on a nice summer evening and having a great place to bring the kids and enjoy a great show.”

By Angela Gazzillo

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