High Country Magazine | Vol 6 Issue 1 | August-September 2010

Volume 6 • Issue 1 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010

Watauga High Ready For Their New School

Restoring Wetlands • The Civil Air Patrol • Racing Comes Home

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High Country Magazine

August 2010

A careful balance.

With over 300 of the 1,000 acres having been designated as park and preserved land, Sunalei is truly a community within a park. Carefully balancing homes with the stirring landscape of a giant mountain and its surrounding valleys, Sunalei Preserve is a way to live within the environment– to experience it, to enjoy it and to protect it.

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High Country Magazine

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High Country Magazine

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August 2010

High Country Magazine

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Summer Menus

16

C O N T E N T S

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The New Watauga High School

38

Racing Comes Home

Read About Tasty Menu Selections From Area Restaurants Starting On Page 92

On July 30, a grand facility opened its doors to the public as the new Watauga High School, replacing the 45-year-old building on Highway 105. The state-of-theart building and campus will provide new opportunities and tools for education in the 21st century.

NASCAR will never return, but the roar of engines is sounding in North Wilkesboro once again. Speedway Associates brings short track racing events back to the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway.

48 Mack Brown’s Family Album

From raising chickens to dealing cars, Mack Brown has enjoyed many business successes in the High Country.

From the Civil War to the present, photographs of Brown and his family reveal their strong ties to this area of the North Carolina mountains.

38

on the cover

Photographed by Peter Morris Whether freshmen or seniors, all of these students will adapt to a new environment when they begin classes at the new Watauga High School this August.

From left, seated on the rock, are Isaac Hodges, Jordan Pineda, Emily Rochelle, Sarah Mohr, Sunny Mohr, Robbie Sherrill, Rebekah Shoemake and Cam Haas. From left, in front of the rock, are Mo Gore, Trey Cavanaugh, Lily Smith, Lizzie Cullen and Elizabeth Zimmerman.

Peter Morris has traveled the world as a photojournalist and is a frequent contributor to High Country Magazine.

Peter captured this shot at the new high school a week and a half before fall semester classes began.

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gh h C Co ou un n tt rryy M Maaggaazzi innee H ii g

August 2010 2010 August

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. We publish the newspaper weekly and currently publish the magazine seven times a year. Both are free, and we distribute the newspaper and magazine in Watauga and Avery counties. Our newspaper is packed with information that we present and package in easy-to-read formats with visually appealing layouts.

The 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 downtown Boone, and our doors are always open to welcome visitors.

T L S P  L  P T S

SUBSCRIPTIONS

We are now offering subscriptions to High Country Magazine. A one-year subscription for seven issues costs $40, and we will mail issues to subscribers as soon as they arrive at our offices from the printer. To subscribe, call our offices at 828-264-2262.

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.

ADVERTISING

Obtain information about advertising in our publications from our sales representatives by calling 828-264-2262 or emailing us at sales@highcountrypress.com.

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August 2010

High Country Magazine

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C O N T E N T S

54 Restoring Wetlands

Nature’s wetlands are crucial to fragile ecosystems, providing habitat to many plant and animal species and serving as a natural filter for fresh water.

Development has eliminated and endangered many wetland areas, but several local governments and organizations have successfully restored and created wetlands through the High Country.

54

66 The Civil Air Patrol

From its heroic beginnings as a civilian organization that played a crucial role in the American World War II effort, the Civil Air Patrol continues today as an auxiliary arm of the military, instilling valuable skills, discipline and the importance of service in youth and communities.

78 Lost Golf Courses—Part II

In the second part of golf writer Harris Prevost’s series about lost golf courses of the High Country, learn more about four courses that were in various stages of development before shutting down due to financial reasons and, in one case, beavers.

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S E E A D V E R T I S E R S ’ I N D E X O N pa g e 1 0 2

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High Country Magazine

August 2010

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High Country Magazine

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FROM T H E PUB L ISH ER

A Publication Of High Country Press Editor & Publisher Ken Ketchie Creative Director Courtney Cooper Production Manager Michelle Bailey Graphic Artists Tim Salt and Patrick Pitzer

Ken Ketchie

Our Brand New High School

T

he total? Just shy of $80 million. As the doors of Watauga County’s brand new high school opened on July 30, that figure appears to be the final price tag of this education facility. That tally includes the cost of 89.5 acres of old farmland, 280,368 square feet of buildings, 101 classrooms, furniture, athletic facilities, a 706-seat auditorium, everything—even $1.9 million to provide a laptop computer to all 1,364 students.

If you’re a property owner in Watauga County, you have an investment in this. We’ll share in the cost through our property taxes. In the years leading up to this project’s completion, there was much debate, discussion and disagreement over whether to build a new high school to replace the 45-year-old structure on Highway 105, but in any case, it is now ours.

So will it be worth it? If you were at the grand opening that Friday morning, you would have felt it was worth every penny. It could not have been a more perfect day for the dedication and ribbon cutting, as the Watauga High School colors donned by proud attendees young and old matched the clear blue sky above. Around 1,000 people—from students to teachers to school leaders to local and state dignitaries—gathered and socialized before the ceremony while the Watauga Community Band played “On Watauga” and other familiar upbeat tunes.

County leaders beamed as they spoke to the crowd, proud to showcase their fine new facility before an audience that included Gov. Bev Perdue, who also gave the keynote address, calling the new Watauga High “the best school in North Carolina and one of the best schools in North America.”

And when the doors opened and the visitors poured in, there were smiles all around and eager excitement as hallways and rooms were explored. Inside the school, history and geography teacher Susan Lawrence worked to prepare her new classroom while briefly speaking with visitors touring the building. While acknowledging she still had a lot to learn about the classroom’s new technology and equipment, the 29-year teaching veteran seemed as excited as she might have been on her first day of teaching. “I think it’s going to open up all kinds of possibilities,” she said about the new school.

I had already spent hours at the new high school shooting photography for stories in our newspaper and for this issue of the magazine. For me, it’s been an awe-inspiring experience to wander through the halls and classrooms. I felt a little old and out of touch surrounded by the modern technology that ties this high school together. Sometimes it reminded me of scenes from “Star Trek”—but the kids who’ll be using this facility probably don’t remember that show. $80 million is a big number. Whether it will be worth it, whether it will help provide the best education local children could receive—that’s hard to say. If your own children will soon or someday attend this facility, you might say it’s priceless. And for the rest of us taxpayers, school leaders have promised that the campus will be a true community center—a venue for community education, meetings, recreation and the arts. Pride, of course, is worth a lot to a community—pride in having the best high school in the state of North Carolina.

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High Country Magazine

August 2010

Advertising Sales Beverly Giles, Bryan McGuire and Tim Baxter Associate Editor Anna Oakes Contributing Writers Jason Gilmer Val Maiewskij-Hay Harris Prevost Jessica Kennedy Anne Baker Celeste von Mangan Contributing Photograhers James Fay Peter Morris Patrick Pitzer Frederica Georgia

High Country Magazine is produced by the staff and contributors of High Country Press newspaper, 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. © 2010 by High Country Press. All Rights Reserved.

PICK-ME-UP

High Country Press

From picnicking and hiking to just enjoying the drive, let us help you plan your next Blue Ridge Parkway encounter.

Happy 75th Birthday Blue Ridge Parkway!

Enjoy live bluegrass, old-time, Celtic, or Appalachian roots music most every weekend at the Original Mast Store in Valle Crucis.

Valle Crucis • Boone • Waynesville • Hendersonville • Asheville, NC Greenville, SC • Knoxville, TN • MastGeneralStore.com • 1-866-FOR-MAST August 2010

High Country Magazine

Photos courtesy of Grandfather Mountain (Linn Cove Viaduct) and Blue Ridge Parkway 75 (Vicki Dameron).

Outfitting People for Life for Over 125 Years

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Calendarof Events Calendar # 1

August 2010

14

Dancing in the Streets, Town Hall, Beech Mountain,

828-387-9283

13

Concerts on the Lawn: Steve and Ruth Smith & Folk and Dagger, Jones House, downtown Boone, 828-264-1789

14

13

Friday Night Gallery Crawl, downtown West Jefferson,

14-15

13

Sunset Stroll, Sunset Drive, Blowing Rock, 828-295-6991

13

Outdoor Film Series: Sherlock Holmes, Inn at

Crestwood, Blowing Rock, dusk, 828-262-3461

Riders in the Sky, Tweetsie Railroad, Blowing Rock,

800-526-5740

336-846-ARTS

Mountain Home Music: Beach Music & Boogie, Blowing Rock School Auditorium, 828-898-3392

15

Concert in the Park: Silvio Martinat Swing Band,

Memorial Park, Blowing Rock, 828-295-7851

15

Groovy Nights, Blowing Rock Country Club, 828-295-8675

16

Monday Night Concert Series, Broyhill Park, Blowing Rock, 828-295-5222

17

18

Groovy Nights, Blowing Rock Country Club, 828-295-8675 BRAHM Preview Exhibition, Art Cellar, Banner Elk,

828-295-9099

19

Casa Rustica Charity Golf Event, RedTail Mountain, Mountain City, Tenn., 828-406-7085

19

Third Thursday Lecture Series, Blowing Rock Art and History Museum, 828-295-9099

19

Concert in the Park: The Neighbors, Tate-Evans Park,

Banner Elk, 828-898-8395

The Red Clay Ramblers, September 17

13-15

14

Ola Belle Reed Homecoming Festival, three days of Americana, bluegrass, old-time and country music, Lansing, www.olabellefest.com Art in the Park, American Legion grounds,

Blowing Rock, 828-295-7851

14

Triangle Tubas, Memorial Park, Blowing Rock, 828-295-7851

14

BRAHM Collection Art Social, The Art Cellar Gallery, Banner Elk, 828-898-5175

14

Janet and Allen Speer Presentation, Banner House

Museum, Banner Elk, 828-898-3634

14

Faculty & Community Dance Concert, Valborg Theatre, ASU, 828-262-3028

14-15

Pianist Emile Pandolfi Performances, Ashe Civic Center, West Jefferson, 336-846-ARTS

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August 2010

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Concerts on the Lawn: Amantha Mill & Amelia’s Mechanics, Jones House, downtown Boone, 828-264-1789

20

Main Street Cruz-In, Newland, 828-733-2023

21

Riverwalk Arts and Crafts Festival, Riverwalk Park, Newland, 828-898-4292

21

Playhouse Family Music Festival, Historic Cove Creek School, Sugar Grove, 828-263-0011

21

Doc Watson and Friends, Cook Park, Todd, 336-877-5401

21

Groovy Nights, Blowing Rock Country Club, 828-295-8675

21-22

Fine Art and Master Craft Festival, Banner Elk Elementary, 828-898-5605

Mountain Home Music: The Forget-Me-Nots,

22

Grace Lutheran Church, Boone, 828-898-3392

26

Concert in the Park: Whip Daddies, Tate-Evans Park, Banner Elk, 828-898-8395

27

Concerts on the Lawn: Bluegrass Showcase,

Jones House, downtown Boone, 828-264-1789

DON’T FORGET

EVENTS

Watauga Arts Council Concerts on the Lawn The free weekly Concerts on the Lawn series, celebrating its 18th year, continues every Friday through September 17 at the Jones House Community Center in Boone.

Performers in August and September include Amantha Mill, Amelia’s Mechanics, Leftover Bluegrass, Southern Accent, Dashboard Hula Boys, Zephyr Lightning Bolts, the Harris Brothers and Crys Matthews. Food from local restaurants will be served at select concerts, and as always, don’t forget your lawn chair or blanket!

FRIDAYS to September 17

Ola Belle Reed Music Festival Big news—the Ola Belle Reed Music Festival is free this year! The 5th annual festival takes place Friday to Sunday, August 13 to 15, at the Lansing Creeper Trail Park in Ashe County.

Celebrating the lasting legacy of banjo player, singer, songwriter and Ashe County native Ola Belle Reed, this year’s lineup includes the Mosier Brothers, Big Daddy Love, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Curley Maple, Elkville String Band, the Sheets Family, None of the Above Bluegrass and more.

AUGUST 13 to 15

Riverwalk Arts and Crafts Festival Sponsored by the Avery County Arts Council, the Riverwalk Arts and Crafts Festival will take place at Riverwalk Park in Newland on Saturday, August 21. The event features more than 60 vendors selling handcrafted pottery, jewelry, woodcrafts, paintings, stationery, candles, soaps, birdhouses and more. The event also features live music, food and a children’s activity corner.

SATURDAY August 21

Sugar Mountain Resort

SUMMER SCHEDULE Hiking & Biking Trails Open Saturday, May 1, 2010 through Sunday, October 17, 2010

Hiking and biking trails intertwine throughout the Village of Sugar Mountain. Trail access is free of charge May through October during daylight hours. Trail maps are located in a black, marked mailbox at the base of the Flying Mile slope.

Weekend Scenic Lift Rides Friday, July 2, 2010 through Monday, September 6, 2010

Lift rides are available every Saturday and Sunday from 10 am until 5:30 pm. Bring the whole family, a picnic lunch, your mountain bike, or just a friend and enjoy a breathtaking 45 minute roundtrip lift-ride to Sugar’s 5,300 foot peak. Special weekday lift ride dates include Friday, July 2 & Monday, September 6, 2010.

Oktoberfest Saturday, October 9, 2010 & Sunday, October 10, 2010

Enjoy a two-day Oktoberfest in the North Carolina Mountains featuring live German music, German and American food & beverages; children’s fun center; hay rides; local & regional craft fair; lift rides; lodging specials and much more.

Sugar Mountain Resort

1009 Sugar Mountain Drive • Sugar Mountain, NC 28604 www.skisugar.com/summer • (828) 898-4521

August 2010

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Calendar # 2 Music on the Mountaintop, August 27-28

27-28

Playhouse Family Music Festival, August 21

Music on the Mountaintop, High Country Fairgrounds, Boone, 919-818-2614 or 919-605-5023

26-29

Ashe County Little Theatre: Don’t Cry for Me Margaret Mitchell, Ashe Civic Center, West Jefferson, 336-846-2787

Avery Tour de Art, Avery County galleries and studios,

28

Avery County galleries and studios, 828-773-3144

28

Plein Air Paint-Out, Art Cellar Gallery, Banner Elk,

828-898-5175 or 828-898-4292

28

Humane Society Fur Ball, Broyhill Inn and Conference Center, ASU, 828-264-1743

28

USO Liberty Bells, fundraiser for Hayes Performing Arts Center, Hayes Center, Blowing Rock, 828-295-0112

28-29

Spit Like a Big Girl, Valborg Theatre, ASU, 828-262-3028

September 2010

3 3

Concerts on the Lawn: Dashboard Hula Boys & Kirby, Welch & Stone, Jones House, downtown Boone, 828-264-1789

3 4

Outdoor Film Series: Julie & Julia, Inn at Crestwood,

ASU, www.GoASU.com

11

11-12

Valle Crucis Park Auction, Valle Crucis Elementary

Tweetsie Railfan Weekend, Tweetsie Railroad, Blowing Rock, 800-526-5740

12

Concert in the Park: The Blue Notes, Memorial Park,

Blowing Rock, 828-295-7851

12

Jim Ketch Quintet Concert, Meadowbrook Inn, Blowing Rock, 828-295-4300

14-18

On the Same Page Literary Festival, Ashe County, 336-846-2787

17

Concerts on the Lawn: Harris Brothers & Crys Matthews, Jones House, downtown Boone, 828-264-1789

17

Main Street Cruz-In, Newland, 828-733-2023

17

Performing Arts Series: Red Clay Ramblers, Farthing

Auditorium, ASU, 828-262-4046

18

On the Same Page Literary Festival, Ashe County,

336-846-ARTS or www.onthesamepagefestival.org

18

Farm Heritage Days, Historic Cove Creek High School,

18

Blue Ridge Heritage Day, downtown Blowing Rock,

18

ASU Football vs. N.C. Central, Kidd Brewer Stadium, ASU, www.GoASU.com

4

High Country Beer Fest, Broyhill Inn, Boone, 828-262-7847

5

Mile High Kite Festival, Beech Mountain, 828-387-9283

5

Mountain Home Music: Labor Day Salute, location TBA,

19

Concerts on the Lawn: Zephyr Lightning Bolts & Whitetop Mountaineers, Jones House, downtown Boone, 828-264-1789

Bridge to Bridge Bike Challenge, Lenoir to Grandfather Mountain, 828-726-0616

20

Crossnore Ladies Golf Invitational, Linville Ridge Golf Club, 828-733-4305

828-964-3392

10

Gallery Crawl, West Jefferson, 336-846-2787

828-295-7851

School, 828-963-9239

ASU Football vs. Jacksonville, Kidd Brewer Stadium,

Sugar Grove, 828-297-2200

Blowing Rock, 828-262-3461

11

Downtown Boone Art Crawl, downtown Boone galleries and businesses, 828-262-4532

USO Liberty Bells, August 28

25

Avery Tour de Art, Avery County galleries and studios, 828-773-3144

26

Murder Mystery Dinner, Buckeye Recreation Center, Beech Mountain, 828-387-9283

10

Gallery Crawl, West Jefferson, 336-846-2787

10

Sunset Stroll, Sunset Drive, Blowing Rock, 828-295-6991

11

Kidfest, guided hikes, games, storytellers, music and other fun activities, Grandfather Mountain, 828-733-1333

October 2010

11

Art in the Park, American Legion grounds, Blowing Rock, 828-295-7851

1

12

High Country Magazine

August 2010

29-10/3

ASU Theatre: Stop Kiss, Valborg Theatre, ASU, 828-262-3028

Downtown Boone Art Crawl, downtown Boone galleries and businesses, 828-262-4532

DON’T FORGET

Charlie Wharton presents...

Doc Watson and Friends

Dande Lion

EVENTS

A u g u st 2 6 , 2 7 a n d 2 8 a t

The

Every summer since 2003, Deep Gap native Doc Watson and his musician friends visit their neighbors in Todd for a benefit concert at Cook Park. The concerts, which takes place this year on Saturday, August 21, raises money for community projects and the James “Crow” Parsons Memorial Fund, which supports Todd’s annual free summer music series at the park. Refreshments will be sold at the park and at the nearby Todd General Store and Todd Mercantile Bakery.

SATURDAY August 21

Tweetsie Railroad Railfan Weekend

An event for railroad enthusiasts of all ages, Tweetsie Railroad’s Railfan Weekend takes place Saturday and Sunday, September 11 and 12. Take a journey back in time behind Tweetsie’s coal-fired steam locomotives and learn about the historic era of the narrowgauge East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad. The weekend’s events include train shop tours, photo specials, cab rides, documentary screenings and more.

Shoppes at Tynecastle 4501 Tynecastle Hwy. Banner Elk, NC 28604 The Dande Lion 898-3566 • Shooz & Shiraz 898-WINE (9463) Monday - Saturday 10:00am to 5:00pm

SEPTEMBER 11 and 12

Grandfather Mountain Kidfest Kids will learn about the nature and culture of the North Carolina mountains—and have a lot of fun in the process—at the annual Kidfest at Grandfather Mountain on Saturday, September 11. The day includes fun and entertaining activities such as a guided hike, storytelling, crafts, a bird demonstration, face painting and animal exhibits. All Kidfest activities are free with the regular price of admission.

SATURDAY September 11

August 2010

High Country Magazine

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Calendar # 3 Plein Air Paint-Out, August 28

ASU Home Football Games, September 11, 18, October 9

October 2010

Apple Festival, October 9

3

Concert in the Park: Die Rhinelanders Oktoberfest Band, Memorial Park, Blowing Rock, 828-295-7851

1

Sunset Stroll, Sunset Drive, Blowing Rock, 828-295-6991

9

Apple Festival, Horn in the West, Boone, 828-264-2120

1-6

Into the Woods, Lees-McRae College Hayes Auditorium, Banner Elk, 828-898-8709

9

Festival of the Frescoes, Holy Trinity Church,

1-30

Ghost Train Halloween Festival, Tweetsie Railroad,

Glendale Springs, 336-877-8090

9

2

Art in the Park, American Legion grounds, Blowing Rock, 828-295-7851

2

High Country Hospice Fall Ball, Blowing Rock Country

Autumn at Oz, tours, festival treats, live music and kids’

9-10

9

activities, old Land of Oz theme park, Beech Mountain, 800-468-5506

ASU Football vs. Elon, Kidd Brewer Stadium, ASU,

www.GoASU.com 9

Mountain Home Music: David Johnson & Friends,

Blowing Rock School Auditorium, 828-964-3392

Club, 828-265-9443

2-3

Todd New River Festival, Cook Park, Todd, www.ToddNC.org

Blowing Rock, 877-TWEETSIE

10

Oktoberfest, Sugar Mountain Resort, 828-898-4521 Jon Metzger Concert, Meadowbrook Inn, Blowing Rock,

828-295-4300

Jewelry: Barbara Joiner

Discover the Best of Regional Craft

Parkway Craft Center at Moses Cone Manor

Milepost 294 Blue Ridge Parkway, Blowing Rock, NC Open Mar. 15 - Nov 30, 9am - 5pm | 828-295-7938

The Southern Highland Craft Guild is authorized to provide services on the Blue Ridge Parkway under the authority of a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

14

High Country Magazine

August 2010

DON’T FORGET

EVENTS

CARLTON GALLERY Celebrating 28 Years

Farm Heritage Days An old-fashioned country fair takes place every year in the heart of Sugar Grove—the campus of the Historic Cove Creek High School. Enjoy live music, clogging and demonstrations of beekeeping, quilting, weaving, corn grinding and apple butter making. Shop for unique handmade items including folk toys and art, sock animals, stained glass, beeswax candles, woodcarvings and more. Kids will enjoy a petting zoo and miniature mules, and everyone will enjoy the food. The 2010 event takes place on Saturday, September 18.

SATURDAY September 18

Blue Ridge Heritage Days Blue Ridge Heritage Days in Blowing Rock will be celebrated on Saturday, September 18, with a street festival and a week of celebration of heritage and history. This event commemorates the 75th Anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway and will mark the first time Blowing Rock has closed Main Street since the 1950s. In addition to live music, a street dance, parade of cars and speeches by dignitaries, Blowing Rock will host food and heritage craft vendors all along Main Street. The parade of cars hopes to feature car models from every year of the Parkway’s existence.

SATURDAY September 18

Mid-Summer Exhibition

August 28th 1pm-4pm The Strength Behind Avery Tour de Art August 28th 10am-5pm

5th Annual Jewelry Trunk Show July 25 - September 15

Your Securit

PAINTINGS • CLAY • GLASS • FIBER • WOOD • SCULPTURE • JEWELRY 10 Miles South of Boone on Hwy. 105 Grandfather Community

Call or check our website for workshop dates

TUESDAY-SATURDAY 10:00-5:00 • SUNDAY 11:00-5:00

828-963-4288

www.carltonartgallery.com • info@carltonartgallery.com

CELEBRATING 91 YEARS

The Strength Behind Your Security

Autumn at Oz The Yellow Brick Road leads to Beech Mountain on Saturday and Sunday, October 2 and 3, when the gates of the former Land of Oz theme park open for visitors to enjoy a fall festival, colorful scenes and characters and youthful nostalgia.

Join Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man and Toto and also enjoy a mini-musuem, delectable food and other activities.

OCTOBER 2 and 3

August 2010

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n o i t a c u d E n A

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n o i t a c u d E y r s r o o D e A 21st Centu h t h Just Throug High Country Magazine

August 2010

nedy n e K a ic s s etchie e k n e k Story by J & is ter morr e y P b y h p a r g Photo

ew things, n g in y tr r fo known uga , pioneers are eers of Wata n io P e h T . n ow , o ry. Teachers into the unkn tu e n iv e d c d t n s a 1 2 re e lo of th ready to exp st physical e ue pioneers g tr ig b re a e ) S th H (W gun igh High School have all be e k li a brand new h y a lt u to c in fa g d in n v a mo rstudents e the 45 -yea eir careers— c th la f p o re y l n il a w m t tha transition of repared and insville area p rk , e d P e k e c a th p in rs y ne e school facilit 105. The Pio y a w h . ig H f o off e it their own k a m to old building y d a w territory, re dove into ne

ly Hist rical

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S

helton Wilder, an art teacher at WHS who has taught for 35 years, has seen it all. Wilder has been heavily involved in the creation of the new high school from beginning to end, maintaining an online blog following its progress. “It hasn’t become personalized yet,” Wilder said when he began moving into his classroom in late July. “It doesn’t have the touch and energy of the high school humanity yet.”

But Wilder said he knows this will come with time. “The building itself is wonderful, and I can’t wait to see how it blooms when students and teachers begin to inhabit it,” Wilder said.

Although the new high school location is only a few miles across town, the increases in acreage, square footage, number of classrooms, quality of equipment and new technology are significant. Watauga County Schools officials beam with pride over the new school, a facility that will empower students more than ever.

How It All Began After school let out for summer break in early June, students cleaned out their lockers for the last time, and teachers boxed up their classrooms to be loaded into semi trucks and transported to the new school. Moving the contents of one building to another was a remarkable feat, especially for teachers who have taught in the same classroom for years.

This came only after many other remarkable feats leading up to the creation of the new facility.

Looking back over the past decade, there were years of uncertainty about whether a new school should be created at all. The decision to build a new school came only after years of discussions, debates, studies and meetings.

The original Watauga High School was built in 1965 as a consolidation of high schools in the county. Concern about whether the high school provided necessary resources for students began in the 1980s, said Lowell Younce, chair of the Watauga County Board of Education. Concern continued through the 1990s, when renovating the building became a topic of discussion. When Younce was elected to the school board in 2000, people began wondering if two high schools should be created, one for the east side of the county and one for the west. In 2003, the school board created a five-point plan identifying possible solutions to the high school dilemma.

The five-point plan prompted the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce and Watauga County Schools to hold an educa-

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The new Watauga High School campus was constructed by Barnhill/ Vannoy on 90 acres in the Perkinsville area of Boone from 2007 to 2010. The N.C. Department of Transportation began demolition and construction for the widening of Highway 421 in 2009 in anticipation of the high school’s August 2010 opening.

Photo by Frederica Georgia

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This aerial photograph depicts the Watauga High School campus that opened in 1965.

The new, centrally-located high school served as the consolidation of four high schools in the county and a K-12 school for black students.

Photo courtesy of Shelton Wilder, www.whs2010.blogspot.com

tional summit with the theme “It’s Time to Choose” in April 2003. Public officials, educators, business leaders, parents, staff, students and taxpayers came together to discuss the high school issue. The educational summit led to a feasibility study of possible options, Younce said.

“Before I left office, I wanted to make sure we had some momentum building for a new high school,” said Dick Jones, superintendent at the time of the summit. Jones got the ball rolling, and when Bobbie Short was hired as superintendent in 2003, she continued to move the project along. Professional studies were conducted in each of the community school districts, concluding that most of the county wanted a new school on a new site. The school board spent 2004 and 2005 continuing studies and looking at possible site selections.

In early 2006, Republicans, Independents, Democrats (RID) Citizens for Restoration of Watauga High School was formed.

As a registered political action committee, RID Citizens for Restoration of WHS protested building a new school through meet-

A groundbreaking ceremony on September 19, 2007, brought years of debate and discussions to a close at the official site of the new school. County Commissioners, Board of Education members, then-principal Angela Quick, then-Supt. Dick Jones, Mayor Loretta Clawson, teachers and students broke the ground with Watauga blue shovels.

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August 2010

Buttons and bumper stickers

brought years of debate to a tangible end. The public was invited and received tiny plastic shovels as souvenirs, while key people involved with the new school “broke the ground” with Pioneer blue shovels. Wilder closed the ceremony by burying a time capsule filled with wishes and dreams about the new school from faculty and staff.

supporting the construction of a new high school—in opposition to those who preferred renovation of the 1965 facility—were a common sight around Boone in 2006.

ings and large newspaper ads. RID believed that renovation was a more cost-effective option.

Also in 2006, Citizens for Children formed as another registered political action committee. Citizens for Children strongly supported building a new high school and created bumper stickers and pins reading “New School. Now.” and “I’m 4 kids.” Citizens for Children advocated for a new facility for the benefits they believed it would have for the youth of the county, and the group believed building a new school was the most fiscally responsible option.

The emergence of these two community groups made the need to find a solution even more pressing. In 2007, after Short published an address answering community questions and concerns about the proposed new high school, the Watauga County Board of Commissioners and the Board of Education met and approved a preliminary site plan for the new high school property.

A groundbreaking ceremony held September 19, 2007,

The Final Result of Many Years of Hard Work Since the groundbreaking ceremony in 2007, what once was rolling farmland has become a state-of-the-art high school facility. The new Watauga High School sits on almost 90 acres of land, surrounded by tree-covered Blue Ridge Mountains. The building is shaped like a block W with three multi-story classroom wings branching off from the main building. The main building features the gym, the auxiliary gym, the auditorium, the cafeteria and an open lobby lined with large windows. One of the unique designs featured in this building is an “open” cafeteria. Although the kitchen is somewhat enclosed, students will eat at tables in the open lobby.

The front entrance is designed with security and attendance in mind. Everyone who enters after the school day begins must check in with a school official. There are few other doors that allow people to enter the building, and during the school day these doors are locked.

Parking lots and athletic fields and facilities stretch from three sides of the building. The fourth side, at the ends of each wing, features windows that look over mountain hillside. A football stadium complete with a turf field that can withstand the elements and bleachers that can seat 3,500 on the home side and 1,500 on the visitor’s side can be seen from the auxiliary gym and the closest academic wing.

The one-of-a-kind building is 40,000 square feet larger and

Aerial photos taken one year after the groundbreaking on the new Watauga High School property. Photos by Skybest Aerials

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Athletic facilities at the $79 million high school include a football stadium, soccer and lacrosse field, six tennis courts, a softball field and baseball field, a 1,400-seat main gymnasium, an auxiliary gym, three weight rooms and a dance studio. An indoor practice facility is planned for the future.

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Watauga Pioneer student-athletes and fans will enjoy an expanded football stadium that will seat 4,713 fan. The playing field is surfaced with turf—a major improvement over the old grass field. The field will remain in top condition regardless of Boone’s varying weather.

more efficiently designed than the old building. Wide hallways were a priority to make movement much easier than at the old facility. In the old building, halls could get so crowded during class changes that students were crammed and pushed together in one large herd. Featuring natural and energy-efficient lights, 101 classrooms provide ideal learning conditions for students and teachers. The number and quality of classrooms is a vast improvement over the classrooms of the old high school, many of which lacked functioning heaters or windows that could fully open. Air conditioning is another important addition to the new school, especially with temperatures in Boone in the high 80s on a daily basis this summer. In previous years, students have been released from school early in August because the excessive heat was dangerous and disruptive to the learning environment.

“We’ll finally have a facility that will match the potential of our students and teachers,” said Marshall Ashcraft, spokesperson for Watauga County Schools. “I think we can talk all we want about something, but when you’ve got a concrete, steel, brick example of stewardship, it makes a big impact. It’s not just academic, it’s real.”

August 2010

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‘Green’ Features at the New W HS

Natural daylight • Building positioned to receive maximum light through windows

Delivering You Quality, Value, and Personal Service

• Solar tubes for window-less rooms

• Lights are motion-activated and adjust based on window lighting • Reduced energy cost

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Installed in the ceilings of inner

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(left) and open (right), solar tubes reflect natural light from the roof to illuminate classrooms without windows.

256 geothermal wells • 450 feet deep

• Support 21 heat pumps with a total capacity of 1,538,500 BTUs • Maintain a constant temperature in the building

Six 10,000-gallon underground cisterns

Turning Nature's Beautiful & Rare Gemstones into Your Fine Jewelry for Over 20 Years

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• Capture/store rainwater from roof

Photo by Shelton Wilder

• Used to water fields and flush toilets • Water conservation

‘Green’ furniture package • Chosen to reduce offgassing (detrimental to health) • No “new car smell” from furniture

Education on environmentally-friendly practices • Integrated in curriculum directly and indirectly

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High Country Magazine

Aiming for silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification Chairs in the Media Center are constructed using recycled seat belts.

August 2010

The high school’s auditorium seats 700—more than twice as many as the old facility—and features state-of-the-art lighting and sound equipment.

The building will affect quality of learning in many ways. Green aspects of the building—including natural daylight and geothermal wells used for heating—improved technology and aesthetics, and easier mobility are just some of the features that will increase learning potential. Jeanne MercerBallard, coordinator and associate professor of the interior design program at ASU, noted that the building itself will be an important teaching tool. “Being a part of that kind of facility, you can’t help but learn about these global issues and how something like geothermal might impact this building,” Mercer-Ballard said. “Developing it into the curriculum is part of it, but it will happen anyway.”

Numerous studies show that students perform better with natural daylight. This put natural lighting high on the prior-

ity list for design and construction. “We know that lighting is a great issue in education and the environment,” Younce said.

Added Mercer-Ballard, “The bottom line is that daylighting will take a county that already has good student performance and good test scores and make us even better to go compete at the next level.”

In inner classrooms without windows, solar tubes capture natural light from the roof and reflect the light into panes locat-

August 2010

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A large, open area will provide seating for the cafeteria and feature wireless internet access. Large windows in classrooms and along hallways will let in plenty of sunlight. Natural lighting is said to be more conducive to learning and will save money in energy costs.

After being stocked and organized, the Watauga High School Media Center will integrate traditional media with new technology, including wireless internet access to the school’s library catalog. Pictured is Media Specialist Trudy Moss.

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High Country Magazine

August 2010

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New Ways To Help Students Succeed

Fireplaces, Wood, Gas and pellet stoves Re Pr du ice ce d!

ed in the classroom ceiling. Although the solar tubes were expensive, they should pay for themselves in energy savings over time, according to Don Critcher, project coordinator for Watauga County Schools.

On a sunny day when the solar tubes are open, most or all of the lights in the room are off. “You can’t put a price on the high retention of knowledge,” Critcher said.

The incorporation of green technology is a positive asset to education, said Watauga County Schools Supt. Marty Hemric. “It’s a sustaining climate, whether it’s light or the air they’re breathing, for optimal growth conditions,” Hemric said. “That’s the beauty of this.”

Watauga County was fortunate enough not to have to make many sacrifices in the design or construction processes, Ashcraft LUXURY CONDOS said. “[The building] integrates a host of improvements,” he said. “We didn’t say, ‘Okay, we’re going to have technology and we’re going to give up arts’ or ‘we can’t have physical education’ or ‘we can’t have a strong career technology education program.’ They’re all here.”

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By The Numbers

Pricetag

101 classrooms

2 gyms

280,368 square feet

618 doors

$67,366,436 – cost of building

89.53 acres

54 restrooms

1,550 laptops

(for students and teachers)

917 parking spaces

$7,622,039 – cost of land

13,448 square feet

$1,895,710 – cost of computers

377 markerboards and

$79,571,712 – total cost

1,420 students 256 geothermal wells

of sidewalks

tackboards

706 auditorium seats

919 plumbing fixtures

2 turf fields

338 aluminum windows

Gymnasium to fit roughly Cafeteria to fit roughly

1,400 people

400 people

to keep students in school,” said WHS Principal Michael Wyant. Teachers and administrators have great hope that the new facility will help improve the graduation rate.

“One very common [reason students drop out] is lack of academic success,” Hemric said. “They’re like all of us; they’re going to feel like running away from something that is not comfortable. So then you can start looking at all these things like engaging them with the Pioneer IT [student laptop program], the sustainable climate that’s inviting them to be more successful…I think the design and operations that will take place in this facility will have a positive influence on students graduating and completing high school.”

The laptop computer program will improve student-teacher communication, another important factor in the student dropout rate. If a student is absent from class, the teacher can easily send an email to the student. This makes students feel important, said Deborah Miller, school board member. “There’s a link [between teachers and students] that we hope we’ll build.”

The vast improvements to the career and technical education (CTE) departments add another incentive for students to stay in school. With professional equipment and tools and a partnership with Caldwell Community College, WHS students can graduate from high school ready to join the work force with necessary certificates or licenses. “That’s empowering to a young person who is about to drop out. They say, ‘Well, if I stay I can go ahead and get this and I’m done,’” Hemric said.

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$2,687,527 – cost of furniture

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August 2010

History and geography teacher Susan Lawrence spends July 30 settling into her new classroom and welcoming visitors. Lawrence said the classroom’s new features, including the Smart Board pictured in this photo, will provide new learning opportunities for students.

Cosmetology classes, the latest program to partner with Caldwell Community College, will include nail tech and esthetician courses. Tanya Hayward (above) and Piper Woodring are the cosmetology teachers.

Many Hands Make one School Creating an entirely new high school facility did not happen overnight, and it definitely did not happen without significant community help and support. “There’s been time input from day one with community people, Citizens for Children and various ones that embraced this to start with and have dedicated their time and talent to doing that,” Miller said. “Everybody wants to be involved in some fashion.”

People from all facets of the community have stepped in to help make the dream of this state-of-the-art facility a reality.

“The best question would be who was not involved,” Critcher said. Community members volunteered in design and construction, donated trucks to help move from the old school to the new school, and donated flowers, food and paper products for the grand opening on July 30. When a shipment of 800 laptop boxes arrived at the new school this summer, people showed up eager to help unload them.

Just as the community came together to help create the new WHS building, the new school will bring together the community as well. It is more than just a school; it is a gathering place, a community center. In some ways, it will serve as the heart of the High Country.

In a structural sense, the facility provides many features that allow it to perform well as a community center. The auditorium and gymnasiums are positioned at the front of the building for

The auto tech facility features a total of five bays, two more than what was at the old high school.

easy access without having to walk through academic areas. The cosmetology department is located on the main hallway to accommodate community members who wish to receive cosmetology services. Many of the vocational facilities are on the bottom floor with an access road behind them, making community involvement and higher education partnerships possible. The high school will also allow community members to come to the facility after school hours for additional courses, certification and licensure opportunities. “In that way it’s sustaining our community…with job opportunities,” Hemric said.

Beyond the physical aspects of the building itself, the new high school grounds connect to the Greenway Trail, an important community resource. Sports facilities are available for community use. The new school even has an emergency power August 2010

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Acoustical clouds on the ceiling and walls will enhance sound in the band room (above), chorus room and auditorium.

school which would be available for community use…anything that would make the students perform better is certainly going to enrich the community.”

Chorus director Lisa Combs stands by the new grand piano in the chorus room, which has features designed to enhance acoustics.

generator, making it a recognized emergency shelter for the community.

In addition to two collaborative art projects already completed and ready to be hung in the new school, a community art project is in the works. A grant from the Watauga Arts Council will allow a mosaic-type project to be created and hopefully installed by November, said Wilder. At least 400 art students will have some part in the project, but Wilder is also looking for ways to get other students involved. When completed, the project will be installed in the school as a representation of the connection between the school and the community.

“The whole idea was to enhance the students in Watauga County,” Younce said. “But in the whole design and building was the concept that we would have a comprehensive high 30

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August 2010

The Next Chapter Begins Years of planning, a devoted community and an involved design and construction process bring Watauga High School to where it is today—a completed, state-of-the-art facility that students, teachers, administrators and staff will be proud to call home.

The time capsule buried during the groundbreaking ceremony in 2007 was intended to be open when the new Watauga High School was completed. To fill the time capsule, Wilder asked teachers and administrators to finish the sentence, “It is my dream that the new WHS will…” Responses ranged from “It is my dream that the new WHS will be a school where all feel safe, secure and wanted by all,” to “It is my dream that the new WHS will facilitate the preparation of our students for global awareness and readiness,” to “It is my dream that the new WHS will be a peaceful campus that encourages and facilitates productive school days as well as providing a building that enables large community gatherings.”

These wishes have definitely come true. Not only is the

new school safer, more globally focused, and expected to be a more productive environment, but a connection with the community was an established goal throughout the whole process.

Dreams and wishes came together to create this facility. But all building projects must look forward to future dreams and wishes as well. A clear priority was to have a functional facility for as long as possible.

“There are a lot of places in the building that are flexible and can accommodate different activities over time and will remain viable,” Mercer-Ballard said. “The building won’t be out of date in 10 years…there’s a lot planned into it that you won’t see that will enable that change of the future because change is so rapid right now. I’m jealous of the students that get to come here.”

Mercer-Ballard isn’t the only one shocked and impressed by the facility.

“Even the parents and some adults that have come through on different tours have said, ‘Gosh, I wish I could come back to school. This makes me want to do something,’” Miller said.

But it all comes back to enriching education. The students are the number one priority for teachers, faculty, administrators and officials in Watauga County. Their success has a remarkable power to bring the community together to be the best it can be. Like the completed Watauga High School facility, education in Watauga County may evolve into something beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.

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New Technology

For A True 21st Century Education

In addition to the massive move to the new school, Watauga High School students will also move into a new world of technology. Instead of computer labs, each student will receive a laptop computer. The entire facility will also have wireless Internet access.

Principal Michael Wyant says he hopes the laptop computers will engage students and improve relationships between teachers and students. Superintendent Marty Hemric agrees that the laptop computers will improve education.

“Anytime [the students are] where they can get Internet access, they’re going to have access to the whole world,” Hemric said.

“When a question comes up, they can find the answer right there at their fingertips. It’s going to be completely different than what it was at the old school.”

The decision to purchase laptops for the entire student body was an immediate, unanimous one, Hemric said. “You realize it when you see it,” Hemric said. “When we saw what other students were getting to experience in other areas of the state, it made us feel sorry for our young people. With all we were doing for them, we felt like we could do more.”

So they did. But administrators have not forgotten that laptops are only one aspect of education.

“They’re only tools,” Hemric said. “Every chance we get, we say our most important resources for teaching and learning are teachers, the breathing resources that we have.”

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Watauga High School 2010 Gr and Opening

Story by Anna Oakes

T

he dedication and ribbon cutting for the new Watauga High School facility, to which the public was invited, took place at 10:00 a.m. on July 30.

Around 1,000 people attended the ceremony, which featured performances from the Watauga Community Band, recognition of dozens of dignitaries and individuals who were involved in the planning and construction of the new school, remarks by schools Superintendent Dr. Marty Hemric, school board Chair Lowell Younce and other county leaders, and a keynote address by North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue.

“I was blown away as I went through,” Perdue said about the new 280,368-square-foot building. “You are not looking at a traditional public school in North Carolina. [This is] the best school in North Carolina and one of the best schools in North America.”

Speakers discussed how the school’s innovative new technology— including laptops for every student, wireless access, and software programs to improve teacher and student communication within the classroom—would make Watauga High School students globally competitive and how the building itself, with its sustainable features, would serve as an additional education tool.

After 2010 alumnus Dylan Russell and incoming Student Body President Jessie Nash led the audience in singing the Watauga High School alma mater, the governor and other dignitaries cut the ribbon at the front doors. Hundreds of attendees then rushed in to view the new building for the very first time.

Wednesday, August 11, was the first day of class at the new school.

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North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue delivers the keynote address during the dedication ceremony for the new Watauga High School on July 30.

we’re proud to be part of this community. congratulations watauga county on your new state-of-the-art high school.

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‘Vote Yes:’ A Look at

Cove Creek

the High Schools of Watauga County Before Consolidation Story by Anne Baker

T

he doors to the new Watauga High School building opened August 11, welcoming students into a facility full of the latest technology, sustainable features, and state-of-the-art classrooms and labs. But let’s rewind 45 years, to a similar date that had the community full of anticipation – August of 1965, the grand opening of Watauga High School as we know it today.

Just as the 2010-11 school year will be a historical one for those within the Watauga County school system, the school year of 1965-66 brought tremendous change for students, teachers, school board members and the community alike as they watched the consolidation of five high schools in Watauga County.

Four major schools – Appalachian, Bethel, Blowing Rock, and Cove Creek High Schools – had a combined population of 1,117. African-American students during that time attended the Watauga School, which included elementary and high school age students.

High school students who attended Watauga were included in the consolidation, making this the fifth high school in the area.

While approximately 1,100 students may not seem like a large number for five separate high schools, in reality, space was tight, the facilities were lacking, and academics were less than standard. Appalachian High School, especially, was dealing with severe problems of overcrowding. Three of the high schools did not offer a full program in athletics and music, and there were only five vocational education teachers who could train the twothirds of the area’s high 34

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school students who would not enter college. There were also no industrial arts or trade schools.

“The population was growing,” Grady Moretz said. “There were things that couldn’t be offered at every school.”

Moretz, who many within the High Country know as the current owner of Appalachian Ski Mountain in Blowing Rock, played a large part in educational reform: he was on the Watauga County Board of Education beginning in 1961, unanimously elected by the Democratic Executive Committee and part of the Board during the schools’ consolidation process.

The five existing high schools simply did not have the resources one centrally located school could, and county leaders and school board members began the process of attempting consolidation. Their reasoning was similar to that of today: just as the new high school building that opened this month will provide more space, better facilities, and, all-in-all, more educational opportunities, so did the proposed consolidated Watauga High School back in the ‘60s.

“We needed it,” Moretz said. “The new high school offered more courses – it was a more complete high school where we could pool resources.”

It sounded easy – as brochures issued in July of 1963 by W. Guy Angell, then-superintendent of Watauga County Schools stated, “Can we afford to pass up this investment in the future citizens of the country?”

Angell, another ma-

August 2010

Appalachian

Blowing Rock

Bethel

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“We needed it.

The new high school offered more courses – it was a more complete high school where –Grady Moretz we could pool appointed to school board in 1961 resources.”

From left, Board of Education members Mack Brown, Dr. Charles Davant Jr. and H.W. Mast served when the old Watauga High School opened in 1965.

jor figure in the consolidation process, was superintendent of Watauga County Schools for 14 years before resigning in 1969 to accept the position of administrator of Blowing Rock Hospital and Extended Care Center.

However, despite encouragement from Angell and Moretz, along with other school board members, the prospect of change Consolidation ended the historic rivalries between community high schools with a projected cost of $1.5 million made some taxpayers uneasy. An additional $130,000 was also asked for to improve in Watauga County. Pictured from left are Watauga High School basketball area elementary schools. No state or federal funds were availstars Jack Lawrence, Gary Henson, Lee Stroupe and Jimmy Deal. able for the construction or renovation of school buildings because the law required the county to foot the bill, so a bond was Billy Ralph Winkler deemed the best method to acquire the money needed. demonstrates excellent “The Board of County Commissioners has the legal responsibility to provide funds for school buildings,” the broform in the delivery chure stated. “The proposed bond issue appears to be the of his “shuffle” in most expedient method to fulfill this obligation.”

Varsity Gym. He was In 1963, Watauga County had 8,711 taxpayers. To finance these school bonds, an additional investment of 35 cents per a member of the first $100 of tax valuation or $3.50 per $1,000 of tax valuation freshman class at the was assessed. With the value of property owned by the averconsolidated high age taxpayer at $3,788.31, if passed, the bonds would cost the school. average taxpayer $13.26 per year.

“It took a lot of pushing to get people to vote,” Moretz Photos courtesy of Shelton Wilder, www.whs2010.blogspot.com said. “They were worried about extra taxes.”

And, a central high school would squash the rivalry that is known to build up between neighboring schools: “The high cafeteria, closed-circuit television for observation of classes by schools played competitively against each other,” Moretz said. college students, and spacious covered walkways to facilitate If consolidated, they would have to give up this sense of com- students in and out of the building. While these are not modern munity each high school provided – and make the different areas additions by today’s standards, the central high school made it come together as one, which some people resisted. possible for students in the ‘60s to receive a more well-rounded In the end, it proved to be worth it. On Tuesday, September 17, education, with additional opportunities in better facilities.

1963, citizens in Watauga County did “Vote Yes” for expanded An article in the Asheville Citizen-Times dated January 29, and equal educational opportunities. With the bond issue behind 1961, claimed, “Watauga County has continuous growth in evthem, the school board began the consolidation process, and in ery phase of living,” and correspondent Ruby Ellis wrote not 1965, two years later, 1,009 students from across the county only about the new opportunities tourism, technology and transcame together to learn under an expanded curriculum. portation brought to the area, but also the advancement of the One could say the ultimate goal of the consolidated high school county’s education system. She ended her article with a quote was to bring the community together by providing new options from Superintendent Angell, who said, “Finally, students, teachfor those who would make up Watauga County’s future. Was this ers, and parents have a greater realization of the importance of accomplished? Moretz believes so. “When the grand opening was a modern and up-to-date school system which will continue to held, they realized we were on the right track,” he said. expand and improve in the years ahead.”

Some major features of the consolidated school included History, it seems, paves the path for future growth. Just ask five spacious laboratory classrooms for physical science classes, those who walked into the doors of a consolidated school in 1965 a library facility set to accommodate 120 students, a modern – and those who entered the new high school 45 years later.

w

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Photography by Alton McBride, James Fay and Patrick Pitzer

Story by Jason Gilmer

North T Wilkesboro Speedway Hosts Races Once Again

here was a time when thousands of cars would pack a two-lane road off Highway 421 in Wilkes County on a Sunday morning.

Race fans would come from miles away, from every direction, and descend on the little town. They’d pack the locally owned restaurants and stay in Mom and Pop motels. They’d park in grassy fields and wander into the North Wilkesboro Speedway to see local legends speed around the 0.63-mile asphalt track.

“Wilkesboro was its own animal.

It was out in the middle of nowhere on a two-lane road on the edge of the Brushy Mountains,” said SpeedTV.com writer Mike Hembree. “It was a place you stumbled on because you couldn’t get there from anywhere else unless you knew where you’re going.”

In 1996, the speedway once considered to be the Ebbets Field of NASCAR went silent. Jeff Gordon won the final Tyson Holly Farms 400, the loudspeakers in the grandstand played

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“Auld Lang Syne” and NASCAR left town never to return.

“I think if it would have stayed on the circuit it would have been just as big as Bristol,” said former car owner Bud Moore. “Bristol puts on a heck of a show. I think Wilkesboro’s show, as far as the racing, would draw just as many people as Bristol does now.”

Racing is finally returning. Maybe there won’t be 40,000 fans pouring into the gates for the races, but at least there will be races again. The old speedway isn’t dead. It will be alive with the sound of whooshing cars and screaming fans, but the grandeur of NASCAR’s top-level drivers won’t be there. No matter, the sleepy town once described as the “moonshine capital of America” is back in the racing business.

Speedway Associates, Inc., has a threeyear lease to host races, and the group has already begun having events in the speedway. The group has begun work making the speedway look better and ready for crowds to attend races.

“This is all about the revitalization and preservation of short track racing, in general, and that again with an historic speedway.”

Alton McBride, Jr., Speedway Associates president

It wasn’t unusual to see a full house of fans watching races at the North Wilkesboro Speedway in its heyday. The speedway sat 40,000 fans and they would pile into the seats to cheer on their favorite drivers and cars. Photo by David Allio

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“This is all about the revitalization and preservation of short track racing, in general, and that again with an historic speedway,” said Speedway Associates president Alton McBride, Jr. “We’re wanting to positively affect people’s lives in the Southeast.”

~ Andy Petree, ESPN race analyst

OPPOSITE PAGE, TOP LEFT: Dale Earnhardt, a member of NASCAR’s inagural Hall of Fame class, takes the lead in a race at the North Wilkesboro Speedway. Earnhardt won five times there. TOP RIGHT: One of Earnhardt’s wins was the First Union 400 in 1986. BOTTOM LEFT: Darrell Waltrip (pitting in the No. 11 car) won multiple races at the speedway, including backto-back Northwestern Bank 400s in 1982 and 1983. BOTTOM RIGHT: One of the best places to watch the race is from where the flag is waved, but that isn’t a spot where many fans get to enjoy the view. ABOVE: Junior Johnson, who grew up a few miles away from the speedway, was sponsored by Budweiser and showed off the Clydesdale horses to fans one race weekend. (Photos by David Allio)

ESPN race analyst Andy Petree remembers first hearing about the North Wilkesboro Speedway as he grew up down the road in Hickory.

He was already a race fan but didn’t know about Cup stops near his home.

“I remember somebody telling me, before the first time I went over there, that you can go over to Wilkesboro and watch these Cup stars race,” Petree said. “I was like, ‘What? Right here?’ What’s so cool about it is that they were all right there. It was no different than going to Daytona.”

The North Wilkesboro Speedway hosted its first race of NASCAR’s top series on Oct. 16, 1949, when Bob Flock won the Wilkes 200. The speedway, though, had a few races before that. Those mostly unsanctioned races were to test the cars and racing abilities of moonshine haulers. One of the most famous haulers was Hall of Fame driver Junior Johnson, who in multiple interviews with other publications talked about his recruitment into an early race at the speedway.

“I was 16, barefooted, plowing a mule and planting corn for my father when my older brother L.P. drove up to the field and said they were going to have a race over at the new North Wilkesboro Speedway,” Johnson told Sports Illustrated in 1996.

“He wanted me to drive his liquor car, a ’40 Ford. All the cars racing at North Wilkesboro then were liquor cars.”

August 2010

Johnson, who grew up less than 15 miles from the track, was one of the fan favorites there. He won four times at the track and even had a set of the grandstands named after him. David Pearson, who was named Sports Illustrated’s Driver of the Century, didn’t run races often at the track but enjoyed the track’s fans when he did, even if they weren’t always cheering for him.

“They were nice to me, but, of course, most of them were Junior Johnson fans back then,” Pearson said. “You could tell that there were more people there for Junior Johnson than anybody else.”

The speedway was considered one of the fastest dirt tracks around, with reported speeds in 1950 of 73 mph.

The speeds increased over the years as racecars became more aerodynamic and gained horsepower and car builders began to use more sophisticated methods. The pole position speed for that first race was 57.563 mph, compared to the top pole speed of 119.016 mph set in 1996. Speeds weren’t the only thing that grew. Flock won a cash prize of $1,500, while Terry Labonte won the largest prize when he took home $229,025 in 1996.

As the ‘90s began, NASCAR was getting bigger and going national. It wasn’t like the first decade of racing. In NASCAR’s inaugural season of 1949, there were eight races, and three of those were conducted in North Carolina. In 1950, there were 19 races with five held at three North Carolina tracks, and 10 years later 18 of NASCAR’s 44 races were held at eight tracks in the Tarheel State.

By 1990, though, the number dropped drastically. Only three tracks in the state were being used, but North Wilkesboro had two dates still.

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Bud Moore, former racecar owner

“It’s just progress,” Labonte told Sports Illustrated in 1996. “I look at the record books and see some places they used to race in the old days, and I can’t believe they used to race at those tracks.

Years from now another generation of drivers will say, ‘I can’t believe they used to race at North Wilkesboro.’”

After the speedway’s former owner Enoch Staley died on May 22, 1995, the speedway was sold, mainly for the NASCAR race dates. In 1997, NASCAR decided there would only be 31 races, so the only way to add a new track to the schedule was to buy a speedway that had dates or move a race between tracks already owned by a promoter.

That’s exactly what happened to North Wilkesoboro, too. NASCAR wanted to go national, and the Southeast was over-saturated with races.

“You could tell it was coming.

The sport was just growing,” Petree said. “I would say, and I’ve said this before, that the sport just outgrew Wilkesboro. It’s a shame, because that was the roots of the sport. That happened to a lot of other places, too. Wilkesboro was just one of the last ones.”

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When the speedway closed, there was an outpouring of emotions. After a few years, a grassroots effort began to bring racing back to the short track. Save the Speedway Motorsports, Inc., was launched five years ago to help bring attention to the track. The group’s Web site, www.savethespeedway.com, received a lot of hits because of its historical perspective on the speedway. About 4,300 people who all hoped to see racing in Wilkes County again signed an online petition. Most of those weren’t from town, as only 318 were from the county. Fans from 46 states and 12 countries signed the petition.

“That was kind of neat knowing that is wasn’t just people from the U.S. but some people from England, Canada, Germany, Australia,” said Steven Wilson, public relations director for Save the Speedway Motorsports, Inc. “There were a lot of people from around the world who remembered North Wilkesboro in its heyday and had even been there and watched races and were excited that someone was covering the history and getting something done with the track.”

August 2010

Photos by David Allio

ABOVE: The old sign that announces the North Wilkesboro Speedway as a site for Winston Cup races is still seen from in the town. Photo by Patrick Pitzer RIGHT: The speedway is being used these days for multiple events, including driving tests by NASCAR drivers. A lot of cosmetic work is currently being done at the speedway, but the racing surface is still in shape for races. Photo by James Fay

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TOP and BOTTOM RIGHT: After the speedway sat silent for 13 years, cars have begun to circle the track again. North Wilkesboro Speedway is used for a driving school, testing and a schedule of races. Photos by Patrick Pitzer BOTTOM LEFT: Alton McBride Jr., president of Speedway Associates, the group who has reopened the track to racing. Photo by James Fay

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Fans loved the look of the speedway—the front stretch ran downhill, the back stretch was slightly uphill, and the size of the track. It is a short track, but it’s a little bigger than the half-mile tracks like Bristol and Martinsville. “It’s relatively wide for a short track,” said Hembree, who’s covered racing for almost 30 years for different publications.

“Almost every race that I went to there and the competition was good, there was a lot of passing, lots of fender banging. It was almost exactly the opposite of what NASCAR started going to in the ‘90s with the huge, new, sparkly, cookie-cutter kind of tracks that all look the same when you go in.”

“Too many of today’s speedways look just alike, but Wilkesboro stood out from the crowd,” said Dale Wilkerson, who hosts a racing radio show in South Carolina. “If the amenities around the track had been updated to keep up with tracks like Bristol and Richmond, perhaps this great track would still be a part of the Sprint Cup schedule.”

It wasn’t just the track that caused an admiration for the North Wilkesboro Speedway, but the people who watched the races, too.

“It was fun sometimes, instead of watching the race to just watch the fights in the grand stands,” Moore said. “The Ford fans and the Chevrolet fans would get onto one another depending on who was winning the race.”

“It was certainly the only NASCAR track where you covered a race and as you were leaving, if you’d been there a couple of years or if the track guys knew you, they would motion you into the track office on the way out to give you a jar of moonshine to take home,” Hembree said. “You just don’t get that at Daytona.”

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In May, the first race since 1996 was held at the North Wilkesboro Speedway, a 20-lap Legendary Flathead Ford Series race. That’s just the start, too.

The Southern Truck and Tractor Pull Association were in town on July 3, and three races are scheduled for the fall.

There will be a Pro All-Star Series Super Late Models event on September 3, a USARacing Pro Cup Championship Series race on October 3 and the ASA Sunoco National Series Kings Ransom 300 October 29 to 31. The Buck Baker August 2010

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Work is ongoing at the North Wilkesboro Speedway, from painting and construction to cutting the grass. The next event scheduled at the speedway is a 200-lap Pro All-Star Series event on September 4. Photos by James Fay

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August 2010

Racing School is using the track, too, and there has also been testing by other racecar drivers there.

McBride knows that the days of a capacity crowd are likely over, but that doesn’t mean fans won’t show up. Almost 3,000 came to the July 3 event.

“Will we see 40,000 people packed into North Wilkesboro Speedway for a race? I don’t think that’s realistic to look that direction,” McBride said. “Will we see 5,000 to 10,000 fans in a growing atmosphere where who knows where it can go? We see that as potential.”

McBride and his team have begun working to refurbish the speedway. They spent three years researching the project before sign-

ing the lease. They have painted the wall of the front straightaway that is seen by fans in the stands, have begun wall wraps and have stripped off roofs of some buildings to reframe them.

It will still take some time for the speedway to be in great condition.

“We take that responsibility very seriously. This isn’t a hobby for us,” McBride said. “This isn’t an ‘Oh, I hope this works.’ This is ‘it has to work and it will work.’

We’re going to tough it out and do it for the right reasons. This is a business, and it has to turn a profit. It can’t do any of that without the good people of this region.”

NASCAR won’t ever be back, and that’s OK. Racing is back, and that’s all that matters. w

Photo by James Fay

Alton McBride, Jr., Speedway Associates president

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Mack Brown’s Family Album Images that Paint A Picture of a North Carolina Mountain Family

The car dealerships that Mack Brown owns employ members of his family, too, including sons Kent (second from left) and Johnny (fourth from left) and Kent’s sons Jason (far left) and Josh (far right).

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I

t’s weathered and worn, but one strip of paper tells a lot about Mack Brown’s family.

The receipt is from 1868, it’s signed by the sheriff, and it shows that Brown’s great-grandfather paid $5.10 for the taxes on more than 600 acres of land near Deep Gap. Brown, now 82, and Willa Jean, his wife of more than 60 years, moved onto the family’s land 10 years ago after living in the same home for 20 years near the Boone Golf Club.

One of the oldest family heirlooms belonging to one of the High Country’s oldest families is placed between the pages of the old family Bible, which has important dates of the family’s history scrawled on its back pages.

From their home, which is an airy place that sits on top of a hill, they can stand on the porch and look out over the mountains toward the town where Brown made his name.

Just down the hill from their home is Laurel Springs Baptist Church, to the left of that are chicken coops that held birds sold to Holly Farms for many years, cattle still graze the land, Grandfather Mountain is in the distance and more than 10 other family homes are on the property.

At the red light where the old 421 juts left from the new highway sits Brown’s business. A former mechanic who grew up working in shops now long sitting empty, Brown purchased a car dealership and built it into one of the biggest in the area.

“In high school, I started trading junk cars,” Brown said. “If I bought one, I’d keep it a few months, fix it up and sell it again.”

Almost seven years ago a stroke slowed him down, he still shows up at Mack Brown Chevrolet Pontiac Buick GMC and works in his office.

Folders near his desk are filled with records of customers he’s had for decades.

They keep coming back to him or to his sons, who now help run the business.

“I go up there every day if I’m able,” Brown said. “I go and meet people and sell a car every once in a while. We have a lot of old customers. That’s what keeps you in business, especially in a small area like this.”

Two employees at the business have been there for more than 30 years and there are about 50 total employees and those jobs don’t change hands often.

“They’re a good family to work for and that’s why there isn’t a lot of turn around,” said longtime employee Gary Knight.

Brown’s life has been long and event-

Lifelong High Country resident Mack Brown, now 82, made a name for himself in town by selling cars at multiple dealerships that he’s owned over the years. He and his wife, Willa Jean, have been married more than 60 years.

The couple live off Highway 421 in a beautiful home that sits on a hill with a view of the mountains around Boone, including a view of Grandfather Mountain. Photos by Ken Ketchie

ful, and his life is tied to his family, church and his car dealerships.

On the following pages are photos from his past and present, images that speak to the longevity and importance of the Brown family in the High Country.

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Deep High Country Roots

Mack and his older brother Bill (pictured above) were close. The brothers each raised chickens and sold them to Holly Farms in Winston-Salem for many years. Mack had 180,000 chickens and Bill had 150,000 chickens when Holly Farms discontinued business with the Brown family. Some of the chicken pens are still on the Browns’ property but are now used to store hay bales. Bill passed away in 1999.

Brown’s grandmother Rebecca (bottom left) lived into her 80s. Brown’s great-grandfather Bart (above left), pictured with his second wife, was a Civil War captain. Brown’s great-grandmother (above center), seated in the middle of the photo, was a Cherokee Indian. Brown said he is oneeighth Cherokee. She is surrounded by other women of her family.

In this picture (above right) from 1906, Brown’s mother, Florence Vannoy, sits on her grandfather Rudy’s knee. Florence’s brother Russell is held by his grandmother. Brown’s grandfather (bottom right) was Rudy Vannoy.

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Land Passed Through Generations

At one time, the Brown family had more than 600 acres of farmland off Highway 421 near Deep Gap (top). The land was used for farming, and a school (bottom right of photo) was located close by. Brown’s grandfather Joe Brown and his grandmother Rebecca Wilburn Brown (bottom left) lived on the family land. The couple sits in front of their home (bottom right) sometime near 1900. The home is still on the Brown family land. There have been some changes to the appearance of the house, but it continues to be used as a residence.

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For Love of Family and Church

T

he Browns (pictured above in the 1970s) have a special love for each other and their church. They met as youngsters and have spent much of their lives together. Willa Jean (above right) was 18 when this portrait was taken. Mack (middle right) overlooks a mountain, but doesn’t have to look far to see his church. The couple and their family has given land for all four buildings that have housed Laurel Springs Baptist Church. The third church (bottom left) is currently for sale, but the current building (bottom right) is just a stone’s throw from their home.

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T

From Chicken Farmer to Car Dealer

hroughout his career, Mack Brown bought multiple car dealerships in the High Country. He has more than 60 years in the business, purchasing the local Chevrolet dealership in September 1949 after a few years of buying cars off the street and selling them in Charlotte at auctions.

He later purchased a ChryslerPlymouth-Dodge dealership (September 1951), a PontiacGMC dealership (March 1972), a Chevrolet-Oldsmobile dealership (March 1975) and moved them all under one building in March 1978. He owned dealerships in Lenoir and Wilkes County, too.

Brown shakes hands with Bob Snead (top), who went on to work at ASU, at one of Brown’s dealerships that was once located on Highway 105. Brown (middle left) accepts the Quality Dealer Award at a banquet at the Dan’l Boone Inn sometime in the 1960s, and Brown stands in his Dodge dealership in the 1950s (middle right). Brown and his family stand in front of the current dealership (bottom right) off of old Highway 421.

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Story by Val Maiewskij-Hay Photography by Ken Ketchie

‘Pearls on a String’ Wetland Creation in the High Country

W

ater is one of our most precious resources. Since the passage of the Clean Water Act of 1972, the United States has mandated the reduction of pollutants entering American waterways. Efforts first focused on eliminating sources of direct pollution, or “point source” pollution, such as “straight piping”

sewage and other waste products into rivers and streams. Often waterways were seen as a convenient and inexpensive way to dispose of unwanted material for both individual households and manufacturers. Once point source pollution was nearly eliminated in the late 1990s, attention turned to reducing pollutants from rain water runoff

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of impervious surfaces—areas, such as parking lots, that prevent water from seeping into the ground, causing it instead to run off into the waterways with surface pollutants such as trash, gas, oil, heavy metals and other chemicals. Stormwater runoff is a serious problem in the mountains, causing flooding, erosion of river and stream banks, and pollution of the waterways. The runoff from impervious surfaces also raises the temperature in streams and rivers, creating unfavorable habitats for fish (especially Brook trout), insects, other water creatures and plants.

Over the past months during the Gulf disaster, we have become painfully aware of the importance and fragility of wetlands. Wetlands of all kinds are vital to our earth and to diverse ecosystems. In the mountains of North Carolina, wetlands are more widely scattered, smaller and more contained, but still vital for the health of the region. Through the years many acres of wetlands have disappeared, filled and covered for development and farming. Wetland destruction has caused greater flooding and degradation of habitat for animals—birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish and insects—and plants. It has also affected water quality and the availability of water.

One of the tragic consequences of wetland destruction is the devastating effect on birds and other wildlife. Migratory birds depend on finding food, water and a resting place at regular intervals on their route. If they don’t find a place before their fat reserves are depleted, they die. Migratory species typically follow river systems that would naturally have wetlands associated with them. As the wetlands disappear, there are fewer places for migratory birds to stop, and residential birds have increased competition for limited resources.

Curtis Smalling of the Audubon Society said, “Wetlands of any size are of great benefit to birds.

We call them ‘pearls on a string,’ precious places where the birds can rest, eat, drink and interact, and so survive.”

Throughout the country, communities of all sizes have become aware of the need to practice better water management to protect and preserve water. North Carolina tests its 17 river basins on a five-year rotating basis and takes measures to improve the water quality. Federal and state agencies have contributed funds and expertise to communities to aid them in protecting waterways.

In the past decade, three stormwater wetlands and one wetland enhancement area have been constructed in the High County. Banner Elk, Newland and Boone, in cooperation with state agencies, have created wetland systems to mitigate stormwater runoff problems. The Valle Crucis Conference Center permitted state agencies to recreate a wetland on its property. The Boone Greenway Trail system is on the North Carolina Birding Trail, and bird watchers have reported a great increase in the numbers and varieties 56

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“Wetlands actually can reduce the number of mosquitoes because they provide habitat for…dragonflies and their larvae, frogs, birds and other mosquito predators.” ~Wendy Patoprsty, Cooperative Extension natural resources agent

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Wendy Patoprsty of the Watauga County Cooperative Extension inspects the blooms of the native pickerel weed (Pontederia cordata), which attracts beneficial insects.

of birds spotted since the wetland was recently constructed there.

Wendy Patoprsty, a natural resources agent for the N.C. State and N.C. A&T Cooperative Extension, has been involved in all four wetland developments.

“I think it is impressive that communities in the High Country are taking a proactive approach in creating wetlands,” she said. “These systems offer us so many benefits—cleaner waterways, improved plant and animal habitat, replenishment of ground water, flood mitigation and so much more. They are beautiful natural areas that also work for us.” Often people fear that wetlands will be breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Wendy explained that “healthy wetlands actually can reduce the number of mosquitoes because they provide habitat for beneficial species such as dragonflies and their larvae, frogs, birds and other mosquito predators.”

N.C. State Biological and Agricultural Engineering designed all the wetlands with the assistance of the N.C. Cooperative Extension. Other partners in these efforts include the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, Division of Water Resources, Environmental Protection Agency, and N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, Lees-McRae College, Appa58

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lachian State University, Area Agency on Aging and the National Committee on the New River. The towns of Banner Elk, Newland and Boone initiated these projects and continue to support and maintain them, as does the Valle Crucis Conference Center.

All of these wetlands are open to the public and serve as recreational green spaces, but their primary function is to protect the waterways and to create favorable habitat for plants and animals.

They are designed to capture the first flush of rain (about 1.2 inches of precipitation), allowing it to drain slowly into the river after a 72-hour period.

The first flush carries the greatest level of surface pollutants, and without a system to clean the runoff, it would drain into the rivers and creeks, polluting and warming them. All the wetlands are built to mimic a natural mountain wetland, complete with indigenous plants, shrubs and trees, which attract insects, birds and other creatures. Wetland systems need to have varying depths to allow a variety of plants and animals to live there, creating a specialized ecosystem. The deep and shallow zones throughout the wetland allow the water to flow to the end of the wetland, where it meanders into the river. The specific design of each wetland varies to accommodate different environments and intended purposes.

Dragonflies are important in wetlands to reduce mosquito populations, and the beautiful creatures are interesting to watch.

“These systems offer us so many benefits— cleaner waterways, improved plant and animal habitat, replenishment of ground water, flood mitigation and so much more.”

A solitary sandpiper forages in wetland flats for food. Photos courtesy of Doris Ratchford

~Wendy Patoprsty, Cooperative Extension natural resources agent

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Pictured above are photos of the Banner Elk wetland under construction.

Volunteers planted more than 1,000 native plants, including 16

At left, kids play in a restored area of Shawneehaw Creek in Banner Elk.

different species, in the wetland to create a friendly habitat for native wetland plants, insects, reptiles, amphibians and birds.

Banner Elk

When Banner Elk embarked on a project to build a new streetscape, including curbs, guttering, and new sidewalks in downtown, stormwater mitigation was part of the plan. Banner Elk and state agencies received a grant in 2001 to create a stormwater system and to restore Shawneehaw Creek, which runs through Tate-Evans Park to the Elk River. Stormwater from downtown Banner Elk flows into street storm drains to large underground storage pipes with a 150,000-gallon capacity. Located in the park under the playground, the storage pipes are designed to capture about 1.2 inches of rain from the impervious surfaces that cover most of downtown Banner Elk— about 65 acres. As the water sits in the pipes, sediment, trash, debris and slag settle to the bottom. (Banner Elk has already had to pump the sludge out of the pipes.) Other pollutants in the water such as heavy metals, gas, oil, salt and chemicals stay in the water until the next stage of cleansing. The settled water enters a small pipe and slowly drips into the pond, designed to maxi-

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mize the continued filtration of the water by the plants and microbes. Volunteers planted more than 1,000 native plants, including 16 different species, in the wetland to create a friendly habitat for native wetland plants, insects, reptiles, amphibians and birds. About 72 hours after the rain, much cleaner and cooler stormwater gradually meanders into the creek, which then flows into the Elk River.

Creek restoration was an additional part of this project. The banks that were steeply eroded were stabilized using a natural channel design that incorporated rootwads, large boulders and coconut fiber matting. A riparian buffer of native trees and shrubs was planted to prevent erosion and to provide shade, keeping water temperatures from rising and improving habitat for wetland life. Because this section of creek is a designated trout stream, features were incorporated to make it more attractive to the trout, such as deep pools and fast moving water.

The pools provide a place for children to play, making this section of creek a very popular recreational area.

Valle Crucis

In Valle Crucis, 3.6 acres that once had been wetland but were filled with soil to create a field were restored as a wetland in 2004. Owned by the Valle Crucis Conference Center, the area is adjacent to ASU’s Sustainable Development Farm. Tom Eshelman, director of the center, explained why the center agreed to the construction of the wetland.

“We try to be good stewards of our beautiful natural resources,” he said.

“When ASU approached us about reestablishing a wetland in part of the hayfields, we thought it was a good idea.

We maintain the hayfields to provide a beautiful agricultural viewscape, and the wetland adds to it. It’s been wonderful—the number of birds we see has increased dramatically.”

Beginning in 2001, ASU monitored water quality and flow in the hayfields to determine which areas needed to be excavated. This wetland does not treat stormwater runoff; instead, its purpose is water conservation and habitat creation. Eight deep pools and other topographical features make up the wetland, from which water slowly

“We maintain the hayfields to provide a beautiful agricultural viewscape, and the wetland adds to it. It’s been wonderful—the number of birds we see has increased dramatically.”

Photo courtesy of Doris Ratchford

~ Tom Eshelman, director of Valle Crucis Conference Center

Tom Eshelman points out the trail and native vegetation surrounding the center’s wetland.

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Newland Public Utilities Director Keith Hoilman, above right, and Assistant Public Utilities Director Roger Woods stand in the wetland border that they maintain.

At right, visitors to the wetland can view information boards on the trail such as native plants, riparian buffers and stormwater wetlands.

drains into Dutch Creek, part of the Watauga River basin. To stabilize the wetland, almost 4,700 herbaceous plants and 550 shrubs and small trees were planted. So much of the wetland is covered in plants that there is little visible water, but, as Tom pointed out, “the varying depths can be seen through the plants’ different shades of green.”

ASU and the Conference Center maintain a path with boardwalks on areas around the wetland. The wetland area is open to the public and has several trails looping through the area, an information board and a separate fish pond with benches around it. Although there is no parking in the hayfields or the wetland, parking is available at the Conference Center and at ASU’s Sustainable Development Farm on Dutch Creek Road.

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Newland

In 2007, the Town of Newland completed the Roby Shoemaker Wetlands and Family Recreation Park. After the hurricanes of 2004 flooded downtown Newland— many of the downtown businesses were a foot or more under water— the town received funds from the state to improve their water resources. The town purchased 10.4 acres of floodplain between downtown Newland and the North Toe River, a designated trout stream. To improve water quality, the stormwater wetland was designed to drain the first flush of runoff from a 17-acre area including most of downtown Newland. This wetland does not have an underground storage tank; instead, stormwater gushes into two forebays

where the water speed is slowed. The water gradually flows into the 1.2acre, horseshoe-shaped wetland designed to include deep pools, shallow waters of varying depths and areas meant to flood. More than 2,500 native plants were added.

The park has a bicycle trail, a gazebo, a walking path around the wetland that connects to downtown Newland and handicap-accessible fishing piers on the North Toe River.

It also has information boards about wetlands and their inhabitants.

Above, white fragrant lily spreads on the water surface to cool water temperature, provide habitat and clean water as it passes through the wetland. At right, volunteers get muddy while planting native vegetation in the Newland wetland.

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The wetland in Boone has filled in considerably since its 2009 planting by volunteers. Former Mayor Velma Burnley and current Mayor Loretta Clawson, bottom left, speak at the wetland park’s grand opening ceremony on July 4, 2010.

Boone

The Boone Wetland is in ClawsonBurnley Park, located on the Greenway Trail between the New River and the county-operated ball fields. This floodplain was once a small subdivision with 30 houses and a 120-bed nursing home.

It suffered through repetitive floods in which the base flooding elevation was 10 feet, flooding the first floor of the houses and nursing home on a regular basis. Every time there was a threat of flooding, the alarm (still visible on

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a pole on Hunting Hills Lane) would sound and the residents, including those in the nursing home, would evacuate.

In the late 1990s, the town worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and others to purchase the property from homeowners. As part of the agreements, the town committed to maintain the area as a recreational green space in perpetuity. Part of this space was developed into ball fields, and the other section was set aside for a passive rec-

reation area that incorporated the wetland. The 1.5-acre stormwater pond is designed to drain runoff from 33 acres of land to protect the New River. The construction of the wetland is similar to the one in Banner Elk. A 2,500-gallon underground tank stores the first flush. The settled water flows into the pond, where it travels to the other side through deeper pools, shallow water and mud flats. The water exits the pond through a pipe inside the dam regulating water elevation and flow to the river.

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Volunteers from the Master Gardeners program, ASU, PACT (Protecting, Advocating and Conserving Together) and the National Committee for the New River planted more than 4,000 plants of 30 different native species in the wetland. The Town of Boone also planted trees and shrubs including an edible landscape, for both people and wildlife, between the wetland and the New River.

Mayor Loretta Clawson and former Mayor Velma Burnley were involved from the beginning in the many phases of the conversion of the residential floodplain into the Boone wetland. The Clawson-Burnley Park was dedicated and officially opened by them as part of this year’s Fourth of July celebration. Dozens of people were there, many of whom remembered when it was an endangered neighborhood rather than a beautiful park. The park can be used by all ages (it is “senior friendly”) and abilities for many purposes, including education and appreciation of nature. It is also a perfect location for social events.

Education is an important component of these constructed wetlands. They all have information boards about wetlands and their inhabitants and are frequently used by school groups and others. They also, as Wendy said, “give people the opportunity to see for themselves the intricacies of nature and to connect with it, to see that we are all part of the web of life.” w

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Serving in the Sky The Lofty Heritage of the Civil Air Patrol Story by Celeste von Mangan • Photography by James Fay

F

lying and airplanes were a part of my life from the time I was a small child. My father learned to fly in a Piper J-3 Cub, the steel tube, wood and fabric planes famously recognizable by their bright sunshine yellow color. Those vintage airplanes were strictly stick and rudder, unlike today’s trainers and jets.

My mother took some lessons, too.

After we kids were born, my father worked for Pan American Airways, now a defunct international airline

and one that was a pioneer in the aircraft industry. Though dad was not an airline pilot—he was an aircraft maintenance engineer—I was exposed through his profession to all things flying. My sister and I spent many a night sleeping in the supply room, nestled amidst the airplane parts or eating supper in an airplane hanger. Dad worked the graveyard shift. We watched the big jets take off at all hours and had private tours of the latest in aviation miracles.

The flying theme was not restricted to the boundaries of the airport.

Throughout our home life were reminders of the metal birds of skiff and sky that my father worked around almost every day: our cars were subject to repairs using metal tape, the kind the mechanics put on the jumbo jets when a wing has a hairline fracture; our house and even my bicycle were painted Pan Am blue; and my sister and I used super strong white tape and powerful aircraft glue to create

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our art assignments for school; my lunch, made by my father, was carried to school in Pan Am waste bags. They were that sky blue color, of course, and had the Pan Am insignia on them in white. I loved the idea of being attached to flying and airplanes so much that it did not even phase me when the older children said my sandwich was packed in a puke bag.

In my youth, entrenched as it was in aviation, I first heard about the Civil Air Patrol. We met members of the organization and learned about the history of the all-volunteer force that now boasts 57,000 members. Among the planes—Cessna 172s, 182s, 206s, plus the Mt-7-235, de Havilland L-20 and Gippsland GA8—are 535 light aircraft and 4,300 volunteerowned aircraft. I did not get a chance to join the Civil Air Patrol, though I did earn my wings up in another mountain range in the Berkshire Mountains, where the Massachusetts boys made fun of my accent as I radioed in my call name prior to takeoff.

But I always remembered the stories told by the members I ran across; I remember that look the old pilots got in their eyes when they spoke about flying, and you could see in their depths what Spencer Tracy cited in the movie A Guy Named Joe: “Somehow it’s never eight o’clock up there—it’s always now.” Or the tears would well up with the remembrance of Pearl Harbor and their joining the newly formed Civil Air Patrol just days earlier. It was memories such as these that brought me to the Boone Composite Squadron, a particularly active wing of the North Carolina Civil Air Patrol. Happily, I found the organization not only alive and well, but thriving and changing gracefully with the modern times while staying true to their original commitment and to their motto, “Semper Vigilans”—Always Vigilant.

Birth of the Civil Air Patrol: ‘Country Club Pilots and Their Toy Planes’

The year was 1941. The day, December 1, the birthday of the Civil Air Patrol. Conceived in the late 1930s by legendary New Jersey aviation advocate and editor of the New York Herald Tribune Gill Robb Wilson, the fledgling organization quickly became baptized by fire: Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese a mere six days after it officially began civilian service.

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Exercises and drills form the cornerstone of cadet training and help keep young members physically and mentally fit. In the process, cadets learn leadership and teamwork skills.

“Something we stress in our squadron is excellence and attention to detail and to put every effort into that moment, so you can look back and be proud.” -Lt. Elizabeth Bullock, 18, of Boone Composite Squadron

Sergeant Logel seeks perfection as she leads the Boone Composite Squadron cadets in a drill.

As a nation, America was rocked with the news of the attack. Young men rushed to recruiting stations to enlist in World War II; fathers gave their sons lastminute life advice; mothers wept for the bloodshed they knew would follow; and the Civil Air Patrol mobilized, issued by Fiorello H. LaGuardia in his capacity as director of the Office of Civilian Defense and through Administrative Order 9. Initially the Civil Air Patrol planned only on liaison flying and interdiction of infiltrators on the East Coast and southern border. When German subs began to prey upon American ships, the Civil Air Patrol started its Coastal Patrol.

Snubbed at first by the military, whose ranks referred to them as “Those coun-

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try club pilots and their toy planes”, Civil Air Patrol members earned their respect after the Coastal Patrol flew 24 million miles, located 173 subs, attacked 57, hit 10 and sank two. Not bad for an all-volunteer organization that supplied their own planes and equipment, reimbursed only for $8 per day in government pay that usually arrived two months late. Sink-a-Sub Clubs were soon formed to raise money for the Coastal Patrol.

‘Those Damned Little Red and Yellow Planes’

The diligence, dedication and courage of the Civil Air Patrol members paid off. Their pilots were known as Flying Minutemen—civilian volunteers who had come together to defend their nation, an effort not seen since the American Revolution. On April 29, 1943, by Presidential Executive Order, the Civil Air Patrol officially became an auxiliary of the Army Air Forces. By August 31 of that same year, the time had come for the Civil Air Patrol to step down from wartime duties, but not before it was conceded by a German commander that their coastal U-boat operations had been withdrawn because of “those damned little red and yellow

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planes.” These were of course the private planes owned and flown

by Civil Air Patrol members; they and their toy planes had made a name for themselves. The organization now declared through its incorporating charter that it would never again be involved in direct combat activities but would be of a benevolent nature.

Today, the Civil Air Patrol functions in three Congressionally assigned missions: Nationwide Emergency Services; Nationwide Cadet Programs; and Aerospace Education.

Nationwide Emergency Services: Search and Rescue Missions

Navy pilot Joe Meder was flying his Banshee jet fighter in the lightning-streaked skies through an ink-black night when the Banshee caught fire at 40,000 feet.

He and his crippled plane spiraled down 30,000 feet before his ejection seat would operate, only to have his parachute rip and lose air. Slamming into the ground, both of his ankles snapped, many other bones broke, and a lung was punctured. Near death after crawling 150 feet into a rain-soaked bean field, Meder was spotted by Civ-

Pictured from left are Sergeant Sarah Logel, Lt. J.D. Mayo, CAP Alumni Cadet Third Class Max Robertson, Lt. Jim Fitzpatrick and Lt. Elizabeth Bullock.

il Air Patrol pilots Vince Causmaker and John Zonge. The pair had set out at dawn to search for Meder and were part of a two-state air and ground search team. The year was 1954.

Modern day Civil Air Patrol members are trained in emergency services and search and rescue, just as their predecessors were. More than 95 percent of all federal inland search and rescue missions directed by the Air Force Res-

cue Coordination Center at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia is a service provided by the Civil Air Patrol.

“If you get lost, we’ll find you,” said Lt. Jim Fitzpatrick, a senior member of the Boone Composite Squadron. He and his group of cadets regularly train for search and rescue missions. The squadron is called a composite because it is comprised of both senior and cadet members.

Nationwide Cadet Programs

Since 1942, young people began serving their communities as members of the Civil Air Patrol. In 1964, Civil Air Patrol leaders first recognized the youth of the organization through a cadet program and a fresh curriculum. Adding credibility and clout to this newest program, the Civil Air Patrol was granted permission to name cadet awards in honor of aerospace pioneers. The awards are intended

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“If you get lost, we’ll find you.”

-Lt. Jim Fitzpatrick, senior member of Civil Air Patrol Boone Composite Squadron

to help inspire America’s next generation of pilots, mechanics, engineers and aviation enthusiasts.

Civil Air Patrol Fast Facts

Aerospace Education

Nationally recognized, the Aerospace Education division of the patrol promotes aviation and space to the general public through educational products and programs. Teachers can obtain free classroom material and lesson plans from the Civil Air Patrol by joining their Aerospace Education Membership Program.

Students who are Civil Air Patrol Cadets receive orientation flights, encampment opportunities, scholarships and career exploration activities.

A Special Ceremony for Boone Wing

One night on the last Thursday in June, the cadets of the Boone Composite Squadron held a special change of command ceremony. Lt. Elizabeth Bullock stepped down from her command and pinned her sister, Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Danielle Bullock. Capt. Bullock stepped up to the podium following the Pledge of Allegiance, a brief prayer and a few words from Lt. Fitzpatrick.

“It’s been amazing to work with you,” said Lt. Elizabeth Bullock. “When I first started this program, I was a shy, very introverted person. I want to thank you; I have been so proud to serve with you guys.”

Lt. Bullock unabashedly teared up as did several other members at the meeting.

More cadets moved up in rank, appropriately pinned.

“They’re able to rank up every two months,” explained Lt. Fitzpatrick.

After the change of command ceremony, the cadets were ordered to get their covers and go outside. Putting on their caps that completed their battle dress, 11 young members marched in formation on the roof of a parking deck

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• The acronym for Civil Air Patrol is CAP • CAP was first conceived by legendary aviation advocate and newspaperman Gill Robb Wilson • CAP was founded on December 1, 1941, six days prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor • Civilian volunteers comprising CAP were organized to help defend the nation • Members of CAP were nicknamed Flying Minutemen during WWII behind First Baptist Church in Boone.

Drill Sgt. Moretz was in charge. In an age-old ritual, the cadets were put through their paces to exhibit, maintain and improve the ability to lead, follow, show respect for themselves and others and to work as a team. Inspection by the sergeant meant that every hair had to be in place, boots shined to a high gloss, collars straight, blouses unwrinkled.

Back inside, looking both physically and mentally fit, the cadets ate Lt. Bullock’s goodbye cake and then went outside to practice exercise drills “to work off the cake,” laughed Lt. Fitzpatrick.

One gets the sense that this is a family— some cadets are siblings, related by blood—but all are united in solidarity, and all work together to be the very best cadets, Civil Air Patrol members and human beings that they can be.

August 2010

• CAP members are recognized as an arm of the United States Air Force, civilian auxiliary • CAP is Congressionally chartered and federally supported • The organization performs three Congressionally assigned key missions: -Emergency Services - Aerospace Education - Cadet Program

From left, Boone Composite Squadron cadets Jacob McCormick, Hannah McCormick and Loren Fitzpatrick stand at attention at Elk River Airport before taking a flight on Gunther Jochl’s Piper Cheyenne II.

Women Make the Cut

By the end of World War II, women comprised 20 percent of the Civil Air Patrol. Actively courted by the organization, they were recruited for support duties at Coastal Patrol and for flying inland liaison, forest fire patrol and more. Early on, the first African American woman—and the first African American to rank as an officer—was Lt. Willa Beatrice Brown Chappell. In August of 2008, Major General Amy Courter was named the first interim National Commander, later becoming the first National Commander.

The Boone Wing has women in command of the cadet program. Besides the Bullocks, Chief Logel became Sgt. Logel after she was pinned in June. For

any girl or woman who believes you cannot look feminine in the Civil Air Patrol dress, the young women of the Boone squadron serve as examples of how to exude strength yet not look masculine.

They wear makeup and use hairspray on their upswept styles, if they choose to.

The two Bullock siblings each had the air of an elegant Elizabethan lady with their auburn hair and China doll skin.

Yet they both rose through the ranks of the Civil Air Patrol, and Lt. Elizabeth Bullock completed a glider course and earned her glider wings.

“I too remember when the Bullocks showed up at the armory,” said a senior member, of a time when the meetings were held there. “We were just building up our female contingent.”

And so it grows.

The Cadets of the Boone Composite Squadron

During World War II the Civil Air Patrol installed its cadet program as a way to provide training for future pilots. Since that time, many young people have been introduced to flying and their first flight through the organization.

“Each cadet gets five complimentary flights,” said Lt. Fitzpatrick.

“And there are a lot of flying opportunities.”

While it is true that many members want to pursue careers in aviation, the military or space, many do not, and one does not have to be a future pilot to join.

As cadets ages 12 through 18 years advance through the ranks, they are

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also progressing simultaneously through four different stages of development. The first phase is called The Learning Phase, a time when a cadet is introduced to the Civil Air Patrol program. Cadets completing this segment receive the Wright Brothers Award. The second phase is The Leadership Phase, when more responsibility is placed on cadets as leaders of newer cadets. The Mitchell Award is given to cadets who successfully complete this phase. The Command Phase, the third phase, places cadets directly in command of other cadets and is recognized upon completion by the Earhart Award. And the fourth and last phase is The Executive Phase, in which the focus for cadets is the operations of an entire unit. After completing the last phase, cadets are awarded the Eaker award and are also eligible for earning the Spaatz Award upon passing an extensive cumulative test.

What It Means To Be a Cadet

Part of being a Civil Air Patrol member and especially a cadet has to do with presentation of the outer person: wearing the

proper uniforms and looking sharp. Members are authorized to don Civil Air Patrol distinctive uniforms as well as uniforms similar to those worn in the United States Air force. Adorning the uniforms are emblems, insignias and badges specific to the Civil Air Patrol. While the exterior of a cadet is being groomed, so is the interior.

“My favorite part of the program is the leadership,” said Lt. Elizabeth Bullock, 18. “It helped me step up and take control of the situation. Something we stress in our squadron is excellence and attention to detail and to put every effort into that moment, so you can look back and be proud. I’m looking to go into the army and to join ROTC at Appalachian State University. Being a part of the Civil Air Patrol definitely helped me.”

Lt. Bullock’s younger sister, Cadet Chief Master Danielle Bullock, 15, had a similar reason for joining the squadron but a different goal after she moves on.

“I do like the atmosphere,” she said, “and it is good discipline. The Civil Air Patrol has provided the main source of leadership in my life. My favorite part,

the reason I joined, is to be in the Aerospace Program. I can do this with less expense and get more training, so that’s why I joined; I have no plans to join the military at this time.”

Cadet Chief Master Loren Fitzpatrick, 15, is the son of senior member Lt. Fitzpatrick. He was able to apply what he learned from being a cadet to the everyday world.

“When I first joined I was kind of a crybaby,” he recalled. “I did not know what respect was towards my elders or to anyone.

The Civil Air Patrol taught me a lot about the military and that applies to life—it taught me how to treat my boss in my job.”

Member Lt. J.D. Mayo sums up his Civil Air Patrol quite simply.

“I’ve enjoyed coming to the meetings and having a good time with everyone.

I would like to invite people to come; if they like it, they can join it.”

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Before takeoff, cadets and siblings Jacob and Hannah McCormick get the chance to sit at the aircraft’s controls before plane owner Gunther Jochl took them on a brief flight over the Blue Ridge Mountains.

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Two cadets from the Boone Composite Squadron get a feel for flying as passengers.

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include Jonathan Brown and Cadet Third Class Max Robertson. Brown was accepted into the Naval Academy at Annapolis and is part of the class of 2011; Robertson was accepted into the Air Force Academy, class of 2013. Having just completed his first year plus some summer obligations for the academy, he was on three weeks of leave and visited his former Boone Squadron. Speaking before members, cadets and parents, Robertson explained how his Civil Air Patrol training helped him be accepted into the Air Force Academy and how it helped him make it through the rigorous training of his first year.

“I would say being in the Civil Air Patrol helped me,” said Robertson. “For the interviewing process, they actually ask if you have your Mitchell and Earhart Award.”

Some of the rigors he endured included a survival course involving 50mile hikes carrying 80-pound backpacks while subsisting on a 400-calorie-a-day diet with a cadre stalking him. He was

Their view from aloft.

tear-gassed and made to do jumping jacks to hasten its effects: “When I breathed it in it was like fire,” he said. His training had him free falling with a parachute while 120mph wind slammed into his face; marching for up to three hours straight, followed by 1,000 pushups; and enduring in-your-face screaming by upperclassmen.

“CAP helped me with drill,” said Robertson. “And with Air Force knowledge. I knew what ranks were and what they did.

The Civil Air Patrol taught me leadership capabilities, mental fortitude; I’ve been under this type of mental stress before. And courage—it gave me a lot of courage.”

Then thoughtful for a moment, Robertson gently thumped his chest with his fist.

“The Civil Air Patrol helped me as far as the heart is concerned.”

Curtis R. Page, DDS, PA

Joining The Boone Composite Squadron

Regular meetings are held weekly, beginning at 6:30 p.m. though members begin assembling at 6:00 p.m. Come to the rear entrance of the First Baptist Church of Boone on King Street. Established members will get you started. The meetings are free.

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Lost Golf Courses of Avery and Story by 78

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August 2010

Watauga: Part II

Harris Prevost

Artist rendering of the proposed Laurelmor Clubhouse

I

n the July issue of High Country Magazine, we talked briefly about one of the finest concentrations of great golf in America, the wonderful courses located in Avery and Watauga counties.

But that’s not what the article was about. It was not about the courses we have but the ones we don’t have anymore. In this article, we feature the ones we almost had (called “should have been” courses): four that were under construction but never made it.

In July, we learned about the inspiring story of a crop farmer who “knew how to play in the dirt,” and by golly, he single-handedly turned his cow pasture into a golf course. We read about the vision of a man who went to Scotland to learn how to build a golf course and came back to Linville to build, in 1895,

North Carolina’s first course. And we learned about sad endings of courses we didn’t want to see go away. This time, we’ll learn about inspiring individuals who love golf and who have an entrepreneurial spirit, but their course-building efforts fell a little short.

In October, in our third in the series, we’ll discover more courses that were designed and ready to be built but never made it to the construction stage (called “would have been” courses) or sites that were considered for a course but didn’t proceed further (“could have been” courses). With better timing and stronger financial resources, many of these could have joined the list of elite courses we enjoy today in the High Country.

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‘Should Have Been’ Courses Chetola, West Bowl, Puffin’ Pebble and Laurelmor were in various stages of construction before shutting down for financial reasons. Three of them were in Blowing Rock and one was on Beech Mountain.

Chetola Golf Club Began 1973-74 • Sold 1982 Executive Course

T

o this day, the village of Blowing Rock has been blessed to have civic-minded owners of the Chetola resort. That legacy has resulted in area residents proudly considering Chetola a regional treasure. Few know that it almost had a golf course.

The first person to own the resort when its name was Chetola was William Stringfellow, who made his money in railroads and banking. He had tuberculosis and moved to Blowing Rock for his health. He bought a beautiful resort called Silverlake in the 1890s and changed the name to Chetola, which in Cherokee means “haven of rest.”

In addition to Stringfellow, Chetola’s owners also included a couple of people who helped make the village of Blowing Rock North Carolina’s most beautiful small town. Walter Alexander developed the Mayview Resort in Blowing Rock and later purchased Chetola, the Green Park Hotel and the Blowing Rock golf course. Luther Snyder, called the “Coca Cola King of the Carolinas,” purchased Chetola after Alexander died unexpectedly. He was a civic leader and a very generous philanthropist to the village.

Around 1973-74, Rick Perintoni, the owner of the Chetola resort at the time, tried to make it into a golf resort by building the Chetola Golf Club. His plan was to build a nine-hole course and sell home sites and condominiums around it.

Lee Warnock, from Lenoir, built Chetola’s first condominiums. He was also an excellent golfer and the driving force behind building the course. Perintoni hired the firm of Bruce Devlin and Robert Von Hagge to design the course. Devlin, who is from Australia, won eight PGA Tour tournaments and was eighth on the Tour money list in 1972. His passion, though, was designing golf courses. From 1967-79, the Devlin/Von Hagge firm designed courses all over the world but focused on Florida and Texas.

Rick Robbins, a Boone native and a member of the golfing Robbins family, got his start with the firm and was the Chetola course’s chief designer. Robbins later headed up Jack Nicklaus’ Asian operations and then went out on his own. He is highly respected among his designer peers and within the golf industry. Robbins designed a couple of North Carolina’s “Top 100” 80

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The sloping lawns of Chetola were once the beginnings of a nine-hole executive golf course designed by Rick Robbins. When Phil Templeton and his partners bought the property in 1982, they abandoned the idea for a Chetola Golf Club. “Actually, I don’t think there was enough suitable land for a good golf course,” said Templeton. “That’s why we didn’t continue with it.”

courses, but High Country golfers are more familiar with the excellent job he did on the Boone Golf Club renovations when the N.C. Department of Transportation forced changes in five holes a few years ago.

With new course construction slowing down to a trickle in today’s economy, Robbins is one of the few who are still extremely busy—he is spending more time designing courses in China than in the United States.

Although Robbins designed Chetola’s course, both Devlin and Von Hagge were on site during the design phase. “Because we didn’t have much land,” Robbins said, “we designed an executive course with par 3s and some 4s. I did the walk-throughs and routing plans, and they were accepted. We started at the Manor House, and as you face the lake, we went to the right and up the valley and circled back over the hill to the river below the dam. A couple of holes were below the dam, in the area where Shoppes On The Parkway are now.”

“The course had mostly par 3s and some par 4s.

The tees were built, the greens shaped and the fairways seeded and that’s as far as it got.”

~ Phil Templeton Perintoni contracted with John Rimmer, then head pro at Blowing Rock Country Club and now teaching pro at Mountain Glen, to oversee the pro shop operations. The shop was going to be in the back part of the main lobby of the Manor House, where the kitchen or old garage was.

But it was not to be. “The golf course ended up being a casualty of the oil shortage and economic crisis at the time,” Robbins explained. “Chetola ran short of money and stopped course construction.”

Former Blowing Rock Country Club pro Richard Gragg, who for years owned a golf shop in Blowing Rock, remembers the course. “I hit balls on it during construction to see how it would play. It would have been an excellent course for the resort. Very picturesque. When Devlin was here, we played together at Blowing Rock. When Chetola got in financial trouble, there was a group that tried to buy it and then lease enough land from the Blue Ridge Parkway to build another nine holes. The course would have been a public course for Blowing Rock. The idea died because the National Park Service wouldn’t lease the land.”

Perintoni continued operating Chetola for a few more years before going broke. Phil Templeton, Fred Silver, Barney Hodgson and Dwayne McCauley purchased Chetola out of bankrupt-

cy in 1982.

Templeton said, “The course had mostly par 3s and some par 4s. The tees were built, the greens shaped and the fairways seeded and that’s as far as it got. The project never really got off the ground. Actually, I don’t think there was enough suitable land for a good golf course. That’s why we didn’t continue with it. When we bought it, we turned the resort’s residential area into multi-family units.

“One green was at the bottom of Chetola’s dam,” he continued. “I don’t remember how they got to the next hole. The short par 3 ninth had its tee box in front of the hotel, and the green was out on the lake’s peninsula where the gazebo is.”

Silver, who worked for Perintoni and then joined Templeton’s group to purchase Chetola, remembers that the group purchased 115 acres. “We cut away some acreage. Part went to build Shoppes On The Parkway. There were 21 lots around the course, and I owned two myself for awhile.”

Kent Tarbutton, who purchased Chetola from the Templeton group and is the resort’s present owner, said, “Lots were sold along the golf course and some homes built. That’s why there are private homes inside our resort.” Today, Chetola has 87 acres.

The short par 3 ninth had its tee box in front of the hotel, and the green was out on the lake’s peninsula where the gazebo is.

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West Bowl and Buckeye Creek Country Club

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he West Bowl Golf Course was to be the second course of Carolina Caribbean’s four-season Beech Mountain resort. Willard Byrd of Atlanta designed the first course, which was initially named Grassy Gap but later changed to Beach Mountain Golf Course. The front nine was completed in 1969 and the back side two years later. The West Bowl course and the Beech Mountain course were designed to complement each other: Beech was the family course and West Bowl the challenging 6,800-yard tournament course. There was even going to be a tram that connected the two, but elevation differences between the two courses made the tram impractical.

Tom Jackson designed the West Bowl championship course. Jackson learned his trade under Robert Trent Jones and George Cobb. In 1971, he started his own design firm that continues today. His Cliffs of Glassy course was the first in a series of great “cliffs courses” in Western North Carolina and upper South Carolina. Jackson has designed or renovated more than 100 courses in the Southeast, including designing new holes on the back nines of the Hound Ears Club and the Blowing Rock Country Club and designing the great little nine-hole par 3 course south of Boone, Willow Valley.

Carolina Caribbean and Beech Mountain began to unravel after the death of their founder and visionary, Grover Robbins. The company expanded too fast, and it was stretched too thin financially.

Because it was operating primarily on

borrowed money, Beech started an irreversible slide when an imploding economy caused inflation and interest rates to rise dramatically.

By 1974, it became obvious Grover Robbins’ dream was coming to an end: Carolina Caribbean could not survive.

Jackson remembered, “Dennis Lehmann (the resort’s master planner) called me and said that they were going under. Everything stopped in its tracks. We were pretty far along on building the course. All holes were cleared, and we completed irrigation of five of the holes. We left a lot of irrigation pipe laying on the ground.” Some of the heavy equipment used to build the course is still on site 36 years later.

Carolina Caribbean declared bankruptcy in February 1975 and the banks sold its property. The Beech Mountain Property Owners Association (later the Beech Mountain Club) purchased the existing golf course, and they seriously considered acquiring and finishing the West Bowl, but they didn’t have the finances to take it on. The West Bowl area was comprised of 800 acres with its golf course and a second ski slope expected to occupy 350 of the acres.

The West Bowl course had one last gasp, though. The property had been split up and sold to several people. In 2002, two of them, Dan Plyler and Scott Porter, successfully put most of the West Bowl property back together. Plyler sold property for Carolina Caribbean before it went under. He owned 150 acres outright and another 110 with a partner. Porter, his father and John Williams, a partner in the development of Grandfather Golf & Country Club, owned 300 acres on which they grew Christmas trees. They had the only practical outside-the-resort access (off Old Beech Mountain Road) to the West Bowl. Richard Dobbins, a former Spruce Pine attorney, owned 110 acres.

Porter and Plyler purchased another 25 acres together.

“It was a beautiful layout. It would have made an absolutely beautiful golf course...It would have been great for Beech Mountain.” ~ West Bowl and Buckeye Creek course designer Tom Jackson 82

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August 2010

Billy Joe’s L‘ ost Tee’

Where You Could Hit A Drive Almost Half a Mile

M

organton’s Billy Joe Patton was one of America’s favorite amateur golfers in the 1950s and ‘60s. He related well to his galleries, and his go-for-broke attitude made him one of golf’s most exciting players. The Augusta Chronicle said of Patton, “This amateur would charge hell with a bucket of ice water.” He was Arnold Palmer before Arnold Palmer. It was Patton’s bold play that put him in position to win the 1954 Masters Golf Tournament, and it was that same style that lost the tournament for him.

Patton was leading two of golf’s all-time greatest players, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, on the back nine Sunday when he decided to go for the par five 13th green in two at the urging of his gallery. He hit a beautiful shot. Had it landed a foot or two to the left, he would have a short eagle putt. Unfortunately, his ball bounced into Rae’s Creek. After taking off his shoes and socks to wade into the creek to hit his ball, he thought better of it and took his medicine, making a double-bogey. The almostgreat shot cost Patton the tournament: he missed a playoff between Hogan and Snead by one stroke (Snead won the playoff).

Despite missing out on being the only amateur to win The Masters, Patton returned home a hero to the golfing world, and especially to his excited North Carolina mountain following.

Among them was Hugh Morton, owner of Grandfather Mountain. Morton’s father helped build the Linville golf course for Donald Ross, so he had some golf blood in him. He had even more promotional blood in him. He got the idea to build a golf tee on top of Grandfather Mountain, located to the right of the pathway leading to the Mile High Swinging Bridge, and he knew just the person to name it after.

A load of dirt was boxed in and placed on a rock outcropping. Grass sod was placed on the dirt and a tee was born.

It aimed west toward Sugar Mountain and looked down into the valley where Grandfather Golf and Country Club would be built a dozen years later. Billy Joe’s dedication shot off the tee attracted national attention. For 35 years, many golfers enjoyed hitting balls off the tee, and so did a couple of visiting baseball players who happened to be among the best to ever play the game, Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle.

The valley below has an elevation drop of about 1,500 feet, or 500 yards. If a person hit a drive that carried 200

In September 1965 Billy Joe Patton hit the first golf ball off his mile-high tee that was next to the Swinging Bridge on Grandfather Mountain.

Billy Joe’s mile-high tee attracted all types of ball players, including baseball legends Mickey Mantle (left) and Ted Williams.

yards and then fell 500 more, he just hit a drive that stayed in the air 700 yards or the equivalent of four-tenths of a mile.

Balls seemed to stay airborne forever. Every golfer driving off Billy Joe’s Tee experienced the excitement of becoming a big hitter.

Unfortunately, in the late 1980s, some teenagers thought it would be more fun to see how many cars they could hit in Grandfather Mountain’s top parking lot from Billy Joe’s Tee. The tee was gone the next day, adding (sort of) to the list of the area’s “lost golf courses.”

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Preliminary Master Plan

Buckeye Creek Golf Club 27 - August - 2002

Avery County - North Carolina

Golf course construction was a booming business at the time, and the two felt the course could be salvaged. They brought Jackson back to design a course with the property they had and to create a master plan for development. The new West Bowl course measured 7,250 yards from the back tees, had an existing 12-acre beaver pond, a proposed half-million dollar lake and was named Buckeye Creek Country Club.

Jackson said of the new course, “It was a beautiful layout.

It would have made an absolutely beautiful golf course. It laid in there perfectly for a golf course. It rolled gently and had lots of water. It had a completely different routing from West Bowl, and the clubhouse was in a different location. It followed the contours nicely. It would have been great for Beech Mountain.”

Porter and Plyler developed a plan to take most of the financial burden off them and at the same time be a win-win deal for each of the three parties involved. They would give the Beech Mountain Club the golf course land and 169 course-side lots in return for their paying for the construction of the course. Since Porter was in the golf business and Jackson had a lot of experience in the West Bowl, they estimated that they could build a golf course, including the lake, design fees and contingencies for $8.6 million. The sale of the lots would pay for the construction.

The two would keep the rest of the property and develop it independently. In addition to their cost in acquiring the property for the golf course, they would be responsible for over $3 million in road construction. They estimated they could develop 140 lots and sell a 33-acre tract suitable for multi-family units.

The third party to the deal was the Town of Beech Mountain. Porter and Plyler approached the town about annexing the Buckeye Creek property and providing water and sewer for the development. Their thought was that since the town’s old water and sewer system had a lot of problems, the 300+ new homes plus new condominiums in the development would significantly increase the town’s tax base, thus enabling the town to float a $5.1 million bond issue to upgrade the system. The new 84

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Residential Development (169 Lots - Average size: 135’ x 200’)

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Future Development

property taxes would pay off the bonds in about 10 years and leave the town with future additional tax revenues of approximately $900,000 per year. “We had a preliminary meeting with the town, and they didn’t say no,” Porter said.

The Beech Mountain Club board of directors was apprehensive about its end of the deal. Their course was popular and was getting crowded and, in informal discussions, some members of the club’s board were excited about the prospect of a second course that was private. But some were not. The overriding concern was that the club shouldn’t risk the possibility that lot sales might not be enough to pay for the course construction. They also were concerned that construction costs would have to be paid well before the money from the lot sales would come in, thus requiring a significant bridge loan.

Course construction was estimated to take two years. In order to encourage the sale of lots before the course opened, Porter and Plyler proposed that Buckeye Creek members have temporary memberships in the Beech Mountain Golf Course and that they could use the clubhouse for their social functions.

In return, Beech Mountain members would have access to the private Buckeye Creek by paying an agreed-upon daily green fee. Membership initiation fees were projected to fund the construction of the new course’s clubhouse, estimated to cost in the $400,000 to $500,000 range, and a maintenance building and start-up equipment costing another $400,000.

“In the end,” Porter remembered, “the Beech Mountain Club’s board took an informal poll and was split because we couldn’t guarantee the cost of the golf course. It was understandable that it didn’t happen, but we came close. Dan and I made a good team trying to put it together and we had a good relationship with the club and the town.”

The Lodges at Eagles Nest resort later purchased the West

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The 25-acre lake on John D. Broyhill’s property would have been the centerpiece for his golf course layout. Today, the lake and property are part of the upscale residential development called SweetGrass. Photo by Scott Pearson

Bowl. “I went up in a helicopter with John Turchin (the resort’s owner) to look at the property,” Porter said. “He had no access to the original West Bowl, and we did. He decided to buy out all the West Bowl property owners.” Eagles Nest has no plans to complete the golf course.

Puffin’ Pebble 18 Holes • 272 Acres

O

ur next partially-built course was really three courses.

Three different courses were designed—all on the same piece of property—but none were ever built. A course here would have been a great asset to the area because the setting was beautiful, the location ideal and the demand high.

The property is five miles south of Blowing Rock bordering Highway 221, Holloway Mountain Road and the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was owned by John D. Broyhill but now is a very fine upscale residential development called SweetGrass.

The first of the three designed courses on the property was Broyhill’s Puffin’ Pebble, a good-natured local nickname for Blowing Rock. Broyhill originally considered naming the course Orchard Lake, but his sense of humor steered him back to the nickname. He later named his development Appalachian Crest.

Broyhill started acquiring the land for the course in 1972 and the next year added acreage that included a 25-acre lake.

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The lake was created when the Blue Ridge Parkway used the land as a source of fill dirt and rocks to build the neighboring scenic highway.

Tom Jackson designed the course in the early 1980s. “We didn’t have a lot of property to work with,” Jackson said. “We did have some lots along the course. It was a core course, meaning that lots were along the perimeter of the course, not within its footprint. Those courses are more pleasant to play. The property laid out well with an elevated location for the clubhouse.

There were a number of water holes, and the lake played an important role in the design. It was a real nice layout. It was one of the best mountain properties I have seen for a golf course.

“I enjoyed working with Broyhill. John is a do-it-yourself kind of fellow. He was out there with me and very involved. He likes to work in the dirt.”

Broyhill originally had seven partners in the development.

Over time, he bought out his other partners, and the buyouts didn’t leave him with enough money to build the course. He was able to purchase 87 more acres, giving him 212 acres at the time.

Around 1985 to 1986, Tom Kelly, head golf professional at Grandfather Golf & Country Club, real estate agent Keith Webber and accountant Claude Vannoy, who was good at helping people put developments together, approached Broyhill about buying the property. “I spent a year trying to figure out how to make the property work,” Kelly said. “Initially, we considered just buying the golf course property. Then we made an offer to purchase the whole thing.

“Keith and Claude were figuring out the real estate around the course, and I focused on the course,” Kelly continued.

“We were thinking it would be a private course with cottages scattered around the course. They would be owned by members and rented out to guests. Keith wanted us to have a main lodge. We would have local memberships, too.

“The plan was really good. There were no single-family houses. All were second home-type vacation homes. We looked at Chetola’s eight-unit buildings and decided ours would be four units. We had great views of the golf course, the lake and Grandfather Mountain. An investor group I put together provided 30 percent of the money we needed to buy the land and build the course, and a bank agreed

for several months to get him to reconsider. He didn’t, so we moved on.”

Later, Broyhill purchased 60 acres that belonged to the Whiting family. In 1915, the Whitings’ Boone Fork Lumber Company owned most of the land from Broyhill’s property down to Foscoe. The lumber company was the area’s largest. Its lumber yard and sawmill were located next to where the Hound Ears Club is today in a once-upon-a-time town called Shull’s Mills. Boone Fork convinced Tweetsie Railroad to locate its southern route next to the sawmill to serve its needs. The mill also brought in about a thousand residents to what was, at the time, the economic center of Watauga County. Shull’s Mills had stores, a school, a railroad and even a movie theater. Broyhill’s purchase

Fresh Market

Three different courses were designed– all on the same piece of property–but none were ever built. The first of the three designed courses was Broyhill’s Puffin’ Pebble, a good-natured local nickname for Blowing Rock.

Foscoe North Carolina

Style

FIND YOUR of the last piece of Boone Fork Lumber Company property that the Whiting family owned gave him 272 acres and put him in a much better position to build a golf course with residential property surrounding it.

In the late 1990s, Broyhill sold a tract of land in the Green Hill section of Blowing Rock that gave him the money to build his dream course. He brought in golf course architect Russell Breeden to redesign the course using the added property.

He used Breeden’s plan to get the permits to build the course.

Breeden learned his trade under the tutelage of noted Scottish architect Fred Findlay, who had immigrated to Virginia.

George Cobb, who designed Mountain Glen, Hound Ears and Linville Ridge, was also mentored by Findlay. Most of Breeden’s 100+ courses are in North and South Carolina. Some of his courses include Lan-Yair in Spartanburg, Raintree, Pawtucket and Tega Cay in the Charlotte

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to loan us the rest. Claude and Keith were figuring out how to finance the building of the cottages.

“I asked Tom Jackson, who designed Mr. Broyhill’s course, to give me some possible routings. I played around with the routings to make them work with the cottages. I even went out on the property and hit balls to see how the holes would work. One routing option, for 27 holes, depended on Mr. Broyhill selling us some property to add a couple of holes along Holloway Mountain Road. In the end, we focused on 18 holes and we got it just like we wanted it.

“We weren’t going to do the final design until we closed the deal with Mr. Broyhill. Jackson and I would have been co-designers. Mr. Broyhill was very interested and supportive in what we were trying to do, and we enjoyed working with him. We drew up the paperwork and met with him to sign the deal, but he changed his mind and declined our offer. We tried

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area, Quaker Meadows in Morganton, and a host of Myrtle Beach area courses such as Ocean Isle, Possum Trot, Robbers Roost and Cypress Bay. Broyhill figured he now had room for 150 fairway lots. The course would have been modeled after the Boone Golf Club: it would be open to the public, but it would have memberships. He took his bulldozer, which he loved to play with, and roughed out 14 of the 18 holes.

Then Broyhill suffered a major setback. His lake had an earthen dam, but beavers had built their own dam that blocked his drainpipe. A stream of water fed by Boone Fork Creek began overflowing the dirt dam and made its way where the terrain took it, which was down to Price Lake on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Because several earthen dams had broken about that time, causing major damage downstream, nervous Parkway officials demanded that the dam be breached and drained. If the dam had failed, a wave of water would have rushed into Price Lake and the recreational area around it. Broyhill cooperated, and at considerable personal expense took out the dam. The lake was drained, and so were his funds to build the golf course.

Several years later, Broyhill abandoned his plans and agreed to sell his property to CNL, LLC, the developers of SweetGrass.

They have no plans for a golf course, but they did rebuild the dam to make a 22-acre lake. CNL also set aside 100 acres of the property for green space.

Broyhill, an excellent golfer who can still shoot lower than his age, reflected, “If it had worked out, I would have loved to be out there on my bulldozer.”

Laurelmor Projected at $75 million Third Most Expensive Course in America

T

he Laurelmor golf course is perhaps the most famous “lost course” in the High Country. The property was part of the Johnson Land Company holdings of 42,000 acres, which originally was timberland for the American Drew Furniture Company based in Wilkes County. The Johnson family’s Leatherwood Mountains was part of the acreage.

Twin brothers David and Earl Kaplan purchased 1,500 acres from the Johnson family in 1996 to be the home of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi-inspired Spiritual Center of America, which they called Heavenly Mountain. The Kaplans added 5,500 acres later to total 7,000.

Before the Kaplan purchase, the property was being looked at for a golf course. Richard Gragg from Blowing Rock and Roland Hamner of Gastonia tried to put together a deal to purchase enough acreage from Johnson Lands to build 36 holes—18 public with affordable green fees and 18 private. Bob Spence, who at the time worked with George Cobb, was to be the designer.

Spence now works with Davis Love III on his course designs.

The deal never made it.

The first 1,500 acres at Heavenly Mountain was planed as a nonprofit Transcendental Meditation (TM) spiritual center with Mother Divine and Purusha programs designed for the development of consciousness and “radiance of bliss.” This segment

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of Heavenly Mountain would include World Peace Assemblies and the Maharishi Open University. Most of The Maharishi’s worldwide staff relocated here.

The other 5,500 acres would be a for-profit venture that included a resort hotel, a golf course, tennis, hiking, horseback riding, fishing and a planned community with 1,600 homes.

David Kaplan asked former PGA Tour winner and Boone resident Sam Adams to design a three-hole golf course and putting green at his house for his personal use.

Adams said, “Kaplan gave me about five acres to work with.

The first hole was a nice 160-yard downhill par 3. The second was a par 4 with a 220-yard lay-up tee shot, then a wedge shot over a creek and some large rocks. The third, a 350-yard par 4, came back and around.

“We built the putting green first,” he added. “I went down and showed them how to build the green. There was supposed to be 85 percent sand and 15 percent soil. I said, ‘When you get that in place, call me and I’ll come out and put the contours in.’

They called me and said they couldn’t smooth the green out.

I came out to find they did everything backwards, 85 percent dirt and peat moss and 15 percent sand. I never did go back out there. I don’t know if Kaplan ever built his course.”

In 2004, the Kaplans became disenchanted with The Maharishi and his way of doing things, and they disavowed any

Several holes in the original Laurelmor course were already under construction when the property was sold to the Reynolds companies.

Those holes in the Reynolds course will likely be similar to what was originally designed.

connection with the TM movement. Heavenly Mountain would be no more. In 2006, mega-developer Bobby Ginn purchased 5,600 acres from the Kaplans for $56 million to build his first mountain golf course. Ginn purchased an additional 600 non-

The lake, estimated at $20 million, and finishing holes illustrated in this artist’s rendering of Laurelmor will not be built on the new Reynolds Blue Ridge golf course. The back nine will be completely different than originally designed.

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contiguous acres on the lower end of the development in order to build a second course.

Ginn estimated that once completed, Laurelmor would add 5,000 new residents to Watauga County with 1,900 multi-million dollar homes, 325 cabins and 200 condominiums. The value of the development, and the positive property tax and economic benefit for Watauga County, would be enormous.

Money was no object in the construction of Western North Carolina’s largest private development. Because people had been successful in purchasing building lots at other Ginn resorts and then selling them for healthy profits, the same was expected at Laurelmor. At a “first offering” sales event in November 2006, Ginn sold 179 lots at an average price of $614,500 each, totaling $110 million in sales.

According to an article in the August 2008 issue of Business: North Carolina magazine, Ginn’s primary sources of funding were Lubert-Adler Partners LP out of Philadelphia, one of the nation’s largest real estate private equity firms, and Credit Suisse Bank. Ginn thought he was in solid with his financing, saying, “If we have the ability to control our environment, we can ride out any economic downturn.” Ginn saw the downturn as an opportunity to weed out his weaker competitors and leave him in a great position once the recovery began.

There were a couple of problems with Ginn’s assessment of his company’s situation. For one, Ginn expanded far too rapidly, and he had spent lavishly and borrowed

Money was no object in the construction of Western North Carolina’s largest private development. Because people had been successful in purchasing building lots at other Ginn resorts and then selling them for healthy profits, the same was expected at Laurelmor.

New design plans for the Reynolds Blue Ridge development and golf course

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heavily on each resort he built. Second, the “downturn” was no ordinary downturn; it would become the closest thing to the Great Depression seen in this country in 80 years. Laurelmor’s property sales came to a sudden halt. Only 179 lots closed.

According to Reynolds officials, Ginn defaulted on loan payments to Credit Suisse, which put the future of the development in jeopardy. Laurelmor was sold in “deed in lieu of foreclosure” to the Reynolds Companies on Christmas eve, 2008. The purchase price was approximately $30 million plus $1 million in back taxes, a fraction of Ginn’s total investment.

Ginn left Laurelmor in good physical shape. He built 20 miles of roads and started infrastructure. His Tom Kitedesigned golf course, which had dramatic closing holes planned around an 18-acre lake, was under construction. All permits were secured for the lake. A luxurious French Renaissance clubhouse was also designed. Eight holes of the projected $75 million course,

which would have been the third most expensive course in America, were roughed in.

Around $13 million had already been spent.

Ginn, in keeping with being very environmentally responsive in his developments, had planned to set aside one-third of the property for conservation easements, and the golf course would only have 12 home sites within the course footprint. There would also be a few multi-family units.

Arnold Palmer was considered initially to redesign the course, but he felt the scope of the project was too large for him, so he declined. Reynolds then asked Rees Jones, known as the “Open Doctor,” to change the design of the Laurelmor course, which is now named Reynolds Blue Ridge. Jones, who is famous for making changes to already great courses to prepare them for hosting modern United States Open golf championships, is working his same magic at Reynolds Blue Ridge.

Several of the front nine holes already began will stay the same but Jones will have an entirely new back nine. The Laurelmor practice range will become the Reynolds 18th hole, with the range moved closer to the clubhouse area. The lake, which would have cost $20 million, was taken out of the design, but the course will still have some water features. The Kite-designed course no longer exists.

In 2009, Reynolds spent $20 million to complete the infrastructure. The design for the new course was finished and its budget completed. New permits are needed for the new routing, and that process should be completed this year. Construction on the course is expected to begin next year, and nine holes should be ready 18 months later. Construction progress will take longer than in other areas, because of the terrain, the mountain winters, and because the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources will allow development of only 20 acres at a time.

The second course Laurelmor planned to build is no longer being considered.

Reynolds’ golf-based real estate ventures began in 1985 with the highly successful Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee, about an hour east of Atlanta. The property has 80 miles of lake shoreline, 99 holes of golf and a five-star Ritz Carlton Lodge, not to mention more than a thousand houses and condominiums. Reynolds Blue Ridge is debt-free, and the developer has an excellent reputation in the golf world for building quality resorts. The former Laurelmor property is in good hands, and a great golf course will emerge from a beautiful piece of property in three or four years.

w

AHHH...

AUTUMN COLOURS.

We care for hair 174 S. DEPOT STREET • DOWNTOWN BOONE •

262-3324

828/

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BUYING, SELLING, OR INVESTING IN REAL ESTATE, CONTACT

TODD A. RICE BROKER / REALTOR

BLUE RIDGE REALTY AND INVESTMENTS , LLC Providing Exceptional Service for Over 30 Years

NOW IS THE TIME FOR ACTION!

HOMES , LAND , STUDENT HOUSING , COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

877/ 962-1986 LOCAL : 828/ 263-8711 MOBILE : 828/ 773-9491 EMAIL : TRice@BRRI.net

TOLL FREE :

www.ToddRiceRealEstate.com LICENSED IN NORTH CAROLINA AND TENNESSEE

August 2010

High Country Magazine

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Summer Menus I

t’s summertime; our gardens are overflowing with fresh vegetables, and our restaurants are abundant with tasty delights for every palate. This area is so fortunate to have amazing restaurants for every style and budget.

We decided to give you a sampling of menu items to entice you to try each and every eatery in the High Country—go ahead, try something new and experience all the delights that these dining destinations have to offer. Bon appÊtit!

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MENU delights Bayou Smokehouse

Banner Elk. The High Country’s own Cajun connection serves a wealth of southern samplings, including these two not-to-miss menu items.

The Bayou Smokehouse Combo is a succulent taste sampler of the meats slowly smoked to perfection in-house— Texas-style smoked beef brisket barbecue, smoked sausage and grill-finished smoked pork ribs—and it’s all served with house-made Texas-style barbecue sauce. Another locals favorite is the Bayou Cajun Sampler take a tour of Louisiana favorites all in one mouth watering creoles meal: tomatobased shrimp Creole, a cup of mild red beans and rice with smoked sausage and roux-based crawfish etoufée served with choice of either a cup of Cajun-hot shrimp gumbo or house salad.

828-898-8952 • 130 Main St. E. www.bayousmokehouse.com

Best Cellar

Blowing Rock. While in Blowing Rock, come by and have lunch or dinner at the famous Best Cellar restaurant, located within The Inn at Ragged Gardens. Famous for the Roast Duckling—half a duckling roasted until crispy, boned and served with raspberry sauce you will not soon forget—or the Almond Crusted North Carolina Black Grouper, melt in your mouth grouper, seared and finished with white wine and Gouda cheese are sure to please any palate.

828-295-3466 • 203 Sunset Dr. www.ragged-gardens.com

Cafe Portofino ´

an international garlic house

Dining 5 Star s he Price t t u o h t wi sual in a Ca here!

Atmosp Dining All Day

The Bistro

Boone. The perfect dining experience for a date or an intimate evening.

Diners come from all around to gather at The Bistro for its Scallops Au Poivre, which features black peppercorn crusted scallops pan-seared with apple wood smoked bacon in a brandy cream sauce fit for a king or queen…

Those looking for a new pasta dish will be pleased by The Bistro’s Black ‘n

970 Rivers Street • 828-264-7772 w w w. c a f e p o r t o fi n o . n e t August 2010

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MENU delights

Fresh Italian Cuisine

Bleu Pasta, mouth watering blackened chicken and shrimp, andouille sausage in a Gorgonzola cream sauce.

828-265-0500 • 115 New Market Ctr www.thebistrorestaurant.com

Boone Drug

Boone. If you want to revisit the nostalgic days of southern diners and drugstores, head on in to the locals’ favorite hangout, Boone Drug-Downtown. While you’re there, saddle up to the counter and order Boone Drug’s famous Cheeseburger, served any way you want it, we like it with bacon or grilled mushrooms and onions, or go the healthier route and order one of Boone Drug’s mouth watering Fresh Salads, which include hearty greens piled high with grilled chicken, homemade fried chicken, or a classic chef salad topped with good old fashioned ham and turkey.

828-264-3766 • 202 West King St. www.boonedrug.com

Blowing Rock Grille Blowing Rock. Within easy reach from anywhere in the High Country, Blowing Rock Grille makes its stamp on the area with our Grilled Marinated Chicken—boneless, and marinated in our own special creation, served with rice and broccoli. For evening diners, we’re very proud of our Grilled Pork Chop—a 10oz bone-in cut of meat, topped with mango and red papaya salsa. We’d love to serve you!

828-295-9474 • 349 Sunset Dr. www.theblowingrockgrille.com

Café Portofino Sesame Ahi Tuna

Seared Rare Ahi with Coconut Rice, Asian Vegetables and Soy-Mirin Sauce

3990 Highway 105 South, Suite 9 Banner Elk, North Carolina 28604

828-898-3461

www.hearthstonetavern.net 94

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Boone. Whether it’s the unique taste of the Spicy Chicken Fold-Over on a pita with Portofino’s signature sauce, or Burt’s Legendary Spaghetti, with garlic cloves and Italian sausage, locals and visitors agree that a stop by Café Portofino is a must. The self-described ‘garlic house” features a menu with Thai, Eurasian and Italian influences.

828-264-7772 • 970 Rivers St. www.cafeportofino.net August 2010

Patio Dining • Live Music • Daily Specials • Located at Boone Mall next to TJ Maxx

828-355-9800 • Tues-Sat 11-9 Sun 12-5:30

www.primosrestaurantofboone.com

MENU delights

C A S U A L

CAJUN CHICKEN FETTUCINI PESTO LASAGNA

Canyons

CHICKEN FAJITAS WRAP

Blowing Rock. Canyons’ diners

have discovered a menu packed with variety. From the ever-popular south of the border Las Enchiladas—corn tortillas stuffed with jack and cheddar cheese with beef chicken or spinach— to the signature Chicken Maui, which is a grilled chicken breast topped with tangy Hawaiian barbecue sauce and crisp bacon, sautéed mushrooms and jack cheese, We like the special board, where the chefs show off their culinary flair. There’s always something to please every taste. And did we mention it’s the best view in the High Country?

828-295-7661 • 8960 Valley Blvd. www.canyonsbr.com

Casa Rustica

Boone. Casa Rustica offers some of the finest Northern Italian-American cuisine in the High Country, accentuated by a cozy, fireside atmosphere.

Casa’s award-winning fare includes the Bourbon Street Filet Mignon, a mouth-watering grilled fillet mignon cooked to perfection and topped with a delicious bourbon and brown sugar sauce. Just off the boat Seafood Fra Diavolo, loaded with an extravaganza of shrimp scallops, calamari and clams simmered in a rich red sauce over the pasta of your choice!

828-262-5128 • 1348 Highway 105 www.casarustica1981.com

S O P H I S T I C A T I O N

SOUTHWESTERN WRAP CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD GRILLED MEDITERRANIAN TUNA CERTIFIED ANGUS NY STRIP GRILLED YELLOW FIN TUNA SALAD CHICKEN PESTO PIZZA 227 HARDIN STREET IN BOONE

828/264.5470

ARTICHOKE DIP WITH TOASTED GARLIC FRENCH BREAD

Our 30th Year In Boone

We now have Wi-Fi! SOUP & QUICHE OF THE DAY...

SERVING LUNCH & DINNER SEVEN DAYS A WEEK

Cha Da Thai

Boone. Cha Da Thai is the only place in the area where you can find authentic Thai cuisine. The eclectic and large menu is very popular with locals and, in addition to many other savory selections, features Pad Thai, a classic Thai dish served to your spicy liking, if your daring try the Thai hot, stir-fried rice noodles sautéed with a delicious Tamarind base red sauce, egg, bean sprouts, green onion and crushed peanuts with chicken, shrimp or beef also tofu for our vegetarian friends. Pad Nam-Prik-

A Perfect Evening Join us on Thursdays for our lively seafood buffet, or another evening for one of Chef Maisonhaute’s savory offerings such as Boeuf Bourguignon or Grilled Mountain Rainbow Trout.

Call for reservations.

The Eseeola Lodge at Linville Golf Club

175 Linville Avenue Linville, North Carolina 28646

www.eseeola.com • 1-800-742-6717

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MENU delights

Exquisite Authentic Thai Cuisine

Paow, which is steamed rice seasoned with flavorful Thai sweet chili paste sauce, broccoli, carrot, Napa cabbage, snow peas, bell peppers and basil leaves.

828-268-0434 • 161 Howard St. www.chadathai-nc.com

Daily Lunch Specials Lunch Hours: Mon-Fri 11:00-3:00 Sat-Sun 11:30-3:00

Char

Also Open for Dinner Every Day: Mon-Sun 5:00-10:00

* Serving beer and wine * 173 Howard Street in Downtown Boone 828-268-0434 Fax: 828-268-0439 chadathai-nc.com

Boone. Ask any local downtown where to eat, and you’ll hear the name Char. Featuring a unique array of choices, savor the flavors of the Veggie Napoleon, a vegetarian favorite, to the crowd-pleasing southern favorite Shrimp and Grits, Char invites you visit us them on Howard Street in downtown Boone, where in summer dining on the patio is a tradition.

828-266-2179 • 179 Howard St. www.char179.com

Chick-fil-a

Boone. Good food quickly- That’s what Chick-Fil-A is all about. With old favorites, and new sandwiches, such as our Spicy Chicken Sandwich, our goal is to satisfy your hunger without breaking the bank. Don’t forget, we can prepare a chicken nugget platter for your upcoming football kick-off party!

828-264-4660 • 2082 Blowing Rock Rd www.chick-fil-a.com/boone

Simplicity

AT THE MAST FARM INN

Crave

Boone. Why stop at one dish?

Crave’s tapas style menu has so many choices, it’ll make your head spin!

Bring a group and try it all, or choose from items such as the Poached Pear Salad, Roast Eggplant Ravioli or the classic Steamed Asparagus with Lemon Herb Butter and Sea Salt. Beef connoisseurs will love the five-ounce Grilled Hanger Steak.

828-355-9717 • 203 Boone Heights Dr. www.craveboone.com

Crippen’s

Blowing Rock. Nestled in the heart of downtown Blowing Rock, 96

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Recently selected from among hundreds of fine dining restaurants in North Carolina as one of the top ten finalists for

"The Best Dish in North Carolina 2010 Award" Presented by The North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services and sponsored by Our State Magazine.

2543 Broadstone Road Banner Elk, North Carolina 28604 828-963-5857

www.mastfarminn.com

MENU delights Crippen’s is famous for its pan-seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras with farm-picked blueberries. First-time diners and regulars alike are enjoying our new fresh water NC catfish served with collard greens and Watauga ham butter sauce. We invite you to welcome our new executive chef, Stan Chamberlain.

877-295-3487 • 239 Sunset Dr. www.crippens.com

Eseeola Lodge Linville.

Step back in time to a place where going out to eat is an experience to be savored at Eseeola. Although the menu changes daily, customers can bet they’ll find these mouthwatering items on the list: Eseeola’s Pork Tenderloin, a sage roasted and pan seared pork tenderloin medallion, hickory smoked pork belly and garlic and herb Toulouse sausage accompanied by a green lentil salad; and Vegan and Vegetarian Delight, a mushroom duxelle and ratatouille wrapped in a zucchini pastry served on a layer of local tomato jam.

1-800-742-6717 • 175 Linville Ave. www.eseeola.com

Gamekeeper Restaurant

Blowing Rock.

Why Gamekeeper? The answer is easy enough— the eclectic food and the atmosphere.

Housed in a 1950s stone cottage, Gamekeeper is an upscale restaurant that offers an eclectic mix of southern foods and mountain cuisine. With choices such as Buffalo Tenderloin, served with herbed blue cheese macaroni and horseradish, Don’t miss the local favorite Mountain Trout (you will soon understand why it is a favorite) served alongside a grit cake and caper salsa, there’s so much to love at one of the most unique and tasty restaurants in the region.

828-963-7400 • 3005 Shulls Mill Rd. www.gamekeeper-nc.com

Captivating. Cozy. Delicious.

And Open to the Public.

The Manor House Restaurant at Chetola Resort Serving Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Sunday Brunch.

$26.00 - THREE COURSE PRIX FIXE DINNERS The Manor House Restaurant at Chetola Resort

10% OFF LUNCH, DINNER AND SUNDAY BRUNCH *Excluding Prix Fixe Menu and Tapas Selections.

Please remit coupon to your server. Code: HCP

828-295-5505 | www.chetola.com

Southwestern • Sandwiches • Salads • Tempting Lunch & Dinner Specials

FeastSenses A

FOR YOUR

ELECTRIC SUNSETS

ECLECTIC MENU

SUNDAY JAZZ BRUNCH

LIVE MUSIC

DELICIOUS VIEW OF LINVILLE GORGE

H I S T O R I C R E S TA U R A N T AND BAR

W W W.CANYONSBR.COM MENU, VIEWCAM AND LIVE MUSIC SCHEDULE ONLINE

HIGHWAY 321 • BLOWING ROCK, NC • ALL ABC PERMITS • 828-295-7661 Serving Lunch & Dinner Daily 11am until... • Reservations suggested for parties of five or more August 2010

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Mexican and Seafood Restaurant

MENU delights The Hearthstone Tavern and Grille

Try our Puerto Nuevo Special Quesadilla 12-inch flour tortilla with grilled steak, chicken, shrimp and vegetables with rice or beans, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and guacamole

Banner Elk. The Hearthstone Tavern and Grille in Tynecastle offers fine dining in a beautiful but casual atmosphere, with the freshest meats, seafood, pastas and salads. A favorite menu item is the fresh Sesame Ahi Tuna: sesame-seared Grade A tuna with coconut rice, Asian vegetables and soy-mirin sauce.

828-898-3461 • 3990 Highway 105 S. www.hearthstonetavern.net

Jackson Dining Room at The Broyhill Inn Serving Lunch & Dinner Daily 2120 Tynecastle Hwy • Banner Elk 828-898-3332

Boone. The Jackson Dining Room at the Broyhill Inn is open for dinner Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings offering both ambiance and diverse dining options for leisure and group dining.

Dine either near our majestic stone fireplace, made from local Tennessee black stone, or take in the beautiful 25 mile mountainous view from the completely windowed wall. Our showcase Sunday Brunch Buffet is one of the best in the High Country. Full breakfast and lunch selections are available including omelets made to order, carving station, and fresh seafood offerings 828-264-2204• 775 Bodenheimer Dr. www.broyhillinn.com

The Manor House Restaurant at Chetola Resort Blowing Rock.

The Manor House Restaurant at Chetola Resort features dining in an historic estate home or on the patio overlooking Chetola Lake. The Prix Fixe Dinner Menu at $26 features three courses and includes such specialties as Grilled Black Angus Ribeye Steak, Grilled North Carolina Trout, 12 Spiced Short Ribs, Grilled Wild Scottish Salmon and eight other choices. Try the delicious Tapas Menu featuring Calamari, 98

High Country Magazine

August 2010

Olde est. 1919

Sundries

“Step back in time… Walk along the worn wooden floor and plunk yourself down at one of the two J-shaped counters...” ~New York Times

Enjoy one of our daily lunch specials!

Treat yourself to an old fashioned chocolate soda, a real vanilla coke or fresh squeezed orangeade!

617 W. King Street 828-264-3766 YOUR PRESCRIPTION FOR A GOOD DAY!

MENU delights Baked Scallops, Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya and more. All desserts are made from scratch in house.

828-295-5505 • 500 Main St. www.chetola.com

Mountain Bagels

Boone. Heralded as the ‘best bagels south of New York,’ Mountain Bagels offers fresh food for all tastes, from homemade quiches, signature deli sandwiches made with Boars Head meats and cheeses and made to order salads to a Lebanese menu featuring hummus, babaganouch, falafel and more.

828-265-4141 • 211 Boone Height Dr. www.mountainbagels.com

Pepper’s Restaurant

Boone. Pepper’s all new 2010 menu features old favorites like The Jean Lawson— the best selling sandwich for over 35 years, made with sliced turkey, marinated mushrooms, green peppers, onions and pepper jack cheese on a Kaiser roll. Or try our new dinner entrees that have become overnight favorites, such as the Parmesan Crusted Buffalo Meatloaf— ground buffalo sets this non-traditional meatloaf apart from the rest. Served with homemade mac ‘n cheese and sautéed veggies.

828-262-1250 • 240 Shadowline Dr. www.peppers-restaurant.com

Serving

Lunch & Dinner

Restaurant, 828-898-TXLA (8952)

Open 11:30 am daily - Located in the Center of Village Shoppes One block from the stoplight in Banner Elk

Pleasant Elevated Retreat The Jackson Dining Room -

enjoy dinner with a view Thursday, Friday & Saturday evenings.

Our philosophy is simple; our guests become our friends, and return each summer.

Pssghetti’s

Blowing Rock. With a name like Pssghetti’s, the food has to be magnificent! Of course Pssghetti’s delivers the goods with its Lasagna al Frono, a hearty portion of fresh lasagna stuffed with homemade meatballs and sweet Italian sausage, or its Pesca Panna, a seafood lovers extravaganza of jumbo shrimp, bay scallops and crab meat in fresh, made-from-scratch sauce, you will think you are on the Italian Riviera.

828-295-9855 • 7179 Valley Blvd. www.pssghettis.com

www.broyhillinn.com

775 Bodenheimer Drive • Boone, NC Get connected with Chick-fil-A of Boone through our website, Facebook page Chick-fil-A of Boone, and our text group. Text 411247 to CFABOONE.

828/262-2204 • 800/951-6048

2082 Blowing Rock Road Boone, NC 28607

Call 828-264-4660 www.chick-fil-a.com/boone

August 2010

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MENU delights Primo’s

Boone. Primo’s Italian Restaurant is new on the dining scene but is already making a impressive name for itself. Diners keep coming back for the Parmigiana Sub served hot with marinara, mozzarella cheese and your choice of eggplant, meatballs, veal or chicken all mouth watering to any taste. Or how about the Penne Oscar made with jumbo crab meat, roasted red peppers and garlic, sautéed together with marinara, a touch of cream and penne pasta.

828-355-9800 • 1180 Blowing Rock Rd. www.primosrestaurantofboone.com

us o am dF

o r t Bis

rl o W

Village Shoppes Downtown Banner Elk

Proper

898-5214

Celebrating 3 years in the High Country

Boone. Serving genuine southern food including the fried chicken plate with a choice of two side items and your choice of corn bread or a biscuit. Another local favorite is the catfish po’boy with one side.

828-865-5000 • 142 South Water St. www.propermeal.com

monday-saturday 11am-11pm bar open til 2am open sunday for dinner live music every monday!

828-355-9717 located in towne center across from burger king 203 boone heights dr. | boone www.craveboone.com

Dining at

Puerto Nuevo

The only made-from-scratch & baked on premises bagel bakery in the High Country!

Serving Breakfast & Lunch

BREAKFAST Bagels, Cream Cheeses, Eggs, Muffins & More...

LUNCH Deli Sandwiches Soups/Salads Mediterranean Menu

828-265-4141

Red Onion Café Boone.

Mon- Sat • 7am - 3pm • Sun • 8am- 3pm www.mountainbagels.com 211 Boone Heights Drive • Boone (Turn at Burger King on Hwy 321)

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High Country Magazine

Banner Elk. You would be hardpressed to find a local who is not in love with Puerto Nuevo Mexican Restaurant in Banner Elk. Puerto Nuevo’s authentic flavors shine in the Pollo Poblano, grilled chicken breast served with sliced poblano peppers, Chihuahua cheese, onions, pico de gallo, rice, beans and flour tortillas, Or tempt your taste buds with the Burritos Tipicos, two rolled, flour tortillas filled with tender beef tips, beans and topped with nacho cheese sauce and guacamole salad, Mucho Grande.

828-898-3332 • 2120 Tynecastle Hwy Discover why the Red Onion has been a dining pleasure in Boone for all these years. Taste temping menu items like its Cajun Chicken Pasta—blackened chicken breast,

August 2010

A Blowing Rock Summer Tradition For reservations call 877-295-3487

239 Sunset Drive, Blowing Rock

crippens.com

MENU delights tasso ham and broccoli with penne pasta—or our world famous SunDried Tomato Pesto Pizza, which features mozzarella and feta cheeses, artichoke hearts and fresh spinach, you’ll understand why Red Onion’s claim to fame is well-earned, and appreciated by foodies everywhere.

828-264-5470 • 227 Hardin St. www.theredonioncafe.com

Simplicity

Valle Crucis. With a wellearned sterling reputation, Simplicity at the Mast Farm Inn is known for our rotating menu of such fan favorites as Rose’s Chicken and Dumplings, or Barnie’s Drunk on Red Wine Marinated Beef Walked Over From Mayberry on Friday Morning (Yes you read that right). If you’ve ever wanted a one-of-a-kind meal, we’re waiting for you in Valle Crucis.

828-963-5857 • 2543 Broadstone Rd. www.mastfarminn.com

www.gamekeeper-nc.com 828-963-7400

Sorrento’s

Banner Elk. Sorrento’s World Bistro has been satisfying Italian appetites for years in the High Country, and it’s no wonder with dishes like Tortellini Sorrento, which combines specialty cheese pasta with prosciutto, fresh basil and a light tomato and cream sauce, and Frutti de Mare, which is fresh clams, mussels, shrimp and calamari tossed with marinara and linguini.

828-898-5214 • 163 Shawneehaw Ave.

Vidalia

Boone. A downtown Boone favorite, Vidalia has built quite a reputation on menu items such as its Tamworth Pork Chop, pan roasted and served with Parmesan tater tots and A&W barbecue sauce, and its one-ofa-kind Truffle Fries, shoestring-cut and served with Creole sauce.

828-263-9176 • 831 West King St. www.vidaliaofboone.com

seasonal dishes local organic produce best veggie plate in town SHULL’S MILL ROAD BESIDE YONAHLOSSEE

Outdoor dining with beautiful views. Catering availiable and also a private room for your special event RECOMMENDED BY:

Turner South, Southern Living, Our State, WNC Magazine, Our State Signature, US Airways Magazine, Mountain Living, UNC TV

August 2010

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK High Country Magazine

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ADVER T ISERS IN D E X Please patronize the advertisers in High Country Magazine, and when you purchase from them, please be sure to mention that you saw their ad in our pages. Thank them for their support of this publication by giving them yours! Without their support, this magazine would not be possible. To all of our advertisers, a most sincere thank you.

All Area Codes are 828 unless noted.

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A Cleaner World . ............................................ 265-1888 ������������������������� 69 Abbey Carpet & Floor . .................................... 265-3622 ������������������������� 87 Advanced Realty.............................................. 264-5111 ������������������������� 65 Affordable Auto Care Centers, Inc..................... 898-4145 �������������������������� 88 Antiques on Howard ........................................ 262-1957 ���������������������������� 2 Appalachian Energy ........................................ 262-3637 ������������������������� 25 AppalCart......................................................... 264-2278 ������������������������ 103 Banner Elk Realty............................................. 898-9756 ����������������������� 103 Bayou Smokehouse & Grill............................... 898-8952 �������������������������� 99 Bear Creek at Linville........................................ 733-5767 ���������������������������� 3 Best Cellar, The................................................ 295-3466 ������������������������ 101 Bistro, The....................................................... 265-0500 ������������������������� 98 Blowing Rock Estate Jewelry............................ 295-4500 �������������������������� 58 Blowing Rock Grille.......................................... 295-9474 �������������������������� 93 Blowing Rock Properties, Inc............................ 295-9200 ������������� Inside Back Blue Ridge Realty / Todd Rice.......................... 263-8711 �������������������������� 91 Blue Ridge Vision ........................................... 264-2020 ������������������������� 45 Boone Drug - Downtown.................................. 264-3766 �������������������������� 98 Boone Mall...................................................... 264-7286 �������������������������� 58 Broyhill Home Collections................................ 295-0965 �������������������������� 85 Cabin Store, The.............................................. 295-8005 �������������������������� 43 Café Portofino.................................................. 264-7772 ������������������������� 93 Canyons.......................................................... 295-7661 ������������������������� 97 Carlton Gallery................................................. 963-4288 �������������������������� 15 Casa Rustica.................................................... 262-5128 �������������������� 85, 94 Celtic Building Company, Inc........................... 963-6229 �������������������������� 46 Cha Da Thai..................................................... 268-0484 �������������������������� 96 Char Modern American Restaurant................... 266-2179 ������������������������ 101 Chick-fil-a....................................................... 264-4660 �������������������������� 99 Community.appstate.edu ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 70 Crave............................................................... 355-9717 ������������������������ 100 Crippen’s Country Inn & Restaurant.............. 877-295-3487 ��������������������� 100 Dande Lion, The............................................... 898-3566 �������������������������� 13 David Patrick Moses......................................... 898-6396 �������������������������� 37 Deer Valley Luxury Condos............................... 264-5583 �������������������������� 27 DeWoolfson Down ...................................... 800-833-3696 ������������������������ 5 Dianne Davant & Associates . .......................... 898-9887 ������������Inside Front Doe Ridge Pottery............................................ 264-1127 �������������������������� 37 Echota......................................................... 800-333-7601 ��������� Back Cover Eseeola Lodge, The...................................... 800-742-6717 ����������������������� 95 Finder’s Keepers Antiques................................ 898-1925 ���������������������������� 6 Flora Ottimer...........................................295-9122 / 898-5112 ������������������� 2 Foscoe Medical Clinic..................................... 963-8060 �������������������������� 82 Fred’s General Mercantile................................. 387-4838 ������������������������� 82 Gamekeeper..................................................... 963-7400 ����������������������� 101 Gems By Gemini.............................................. 295-7700 ������������������������� 24 Greater Avery Tour de Art ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 65 Green Leaf Services, Inc................................... 737-0308 �������������������������� 45 Haircut 101...................................................... 262-3324 ������������������������� 91 102

High Country Magazine

August 2010

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Hardin Fine Jewelry.......................................... 898-4635 �������������������������� 71 Hawksnest Zipline............................................ 963-6561 �������������������������� 37 Headwaters at Banner Elk, The...................... 866-200-3290 ����������������������� 35 Hearthstone Tavern & Grille.............................. 898-3461 �������������������������� 96 Isley Construction Company............................. 898-7544 �������������������������� 88 Jackson Dining Room at the Broyhill Inn........... 262-2204 �������������������������� 99 Jo-Lynn Enterprises, Inc................................... 297-2109 ���������������������������� 2 Logs America, LLC........................................... 963-7755 ������������������������� 74 MC Adams Clothiers........................................ 268-1505 �������������������������� 14 Mack Brown Chevrolet...................................... 264-9051 ���������������������������� 7 Manor House at Chetola Resort, The................. 295-5505 �������������������������� 97 Maple’s Leather Fine Furniture ........................ 898-6110 ��������������������������� 2 Mark J. Crowell Interior Design Services........... 719-1550 �������������������������� 70 Mast General Store .....................................866-FOR-MAST ������������������������ 9 Maw’s Fresh Market ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 87 Mountain Bagels.............................................. 265-4141 ������������������������ 100 Mountain Construction Enterprises, Inc............ 963-8090 ������������������������� 63 Mountain Dog & Friends.................................. 963-2470 �������������������������� 76 Mountain Home & Hearth................................. 262-0051 �������������������������� 27 Mountain Land............................................. 800-849-9225 ����������������������� 37 Mountaineer Landscaping................................ 733-3726 �������������������������� 59 Outdoorsman, Inc., The.................................... 268-1313 �������������������������� 47 Page Dentistry.................................................. 265-1661 �������������������������� 77 Parkway Craft Center........................................ 295-7938 �������������������������� 14 Pepper’s Restaurant.......................................... 262-1250 �������������������������� 98 Peidmont Federal............................................. 264-5244 �������������������������� 33 Pet Place, The.................................................. 268-1510 �������������������������� 27 Performing Arts Series..................................... 262-4046 ������������������������ 103 Play It Again Sports.......................................... 264-8955 �������������������������� 27 Precision Cabinets........................................... 262-5080 �������������������������� 71 Primo’s............................................................ 355-9800 �������������������������� 94 Professional Property Maintenance, Inc............ 898-6162 �������������������������� 88 Proper Southern Food...................................... 865-5000 ������������������������ 101 Pssghetti’s....................................................... 295-9855 �������������������������� 96 Puerto Nuevo................................................... 898-3332 �������������������������� 98 Red Onion Cafe................................................ 264-5470 �������������������������� 95 Rustic Rooster.................................................. 898-5161 �������������������������� 13 Shoppes at Farmers Hardware.......................... 264-8801 ������������������������� 47 Simplicity at the Mast Farm Inn........................ 963-5857 �������������������������� 96 Sorrento’s........................................................ 898-5214 ������������������������ 100 Stick Boy Bread Company................................ 268-9900 �������������������������� 94 Sugar Mountain Oktoberfest........................ 800-SUGAR-MT ���������������������� 75 Sugar Mountain Resort................................ 800-SUGAR-MT ���������������������� 11 Sugar Top Resort Sales.................................... 898-5226 �������������������������� 46 Sunalei Preserve.............................................. 263-8711 ���������������������������� 1 Superior Spas.................................................. 963-6624 ������������������������� 63 Tatum Galleries & Interiors............................... 963-6466 �������������������������� 23 Vidalia............................................................. 263-9176 �������������������������� 94 Watauga Insurance Agency, Inc........................ 264-8291 ������������������������� 15

Banner Elk Realty “THE ONLY NAME YOU NEED TO KNOW IN MOUNTAIN REAL ESTATE”

When you get serious about wanting superior, knowledgeable service in buying or selling real estate in our beautiful High Country, then contact Banner Elk’s oldest full time brokerage firm. Put 30 years experience in our local real estate market to work for you!

We are committed to professional service.

John D. Davis, III Owner/Broker

30

YEARS

828.898.9756

PO Box 336, 415 Shawneehaw Ave Banner Elk, NC 28604 Downtown • Beside The Red Caboose www.bannerelkrealty.com

August 2010

High Country Magazine

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Parting Shot...

F

Peter Morris

Ribbon of pride

lanked by Watauga High School 2010 alumnus Dylan Russell and rising senior and Student Body President Jessie Nash, North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue cuts the Pioneer blue ribbon at the opening of the new Watauga High School campus on July 30.

The ceremony brought years of discussions, debate, planning and construction to a celebratory end, as members of the community set foot in the new facility for the first time.

Speakers at the dedication ceremony included school and county leaders who attended the first consolidated Watauga High School when it opened in 1965. Watauga County Board of Education Chair Lowell Younce and Watauga County Board of Commissioners Chair Jim Deal 104

By

High Country Magazine

were members of the same class at the old school, and Commissioner Billy Ralph Winkler was a member of its first freshman class.

“We all know that it takes a lot more than a building to make a school special,” Winkler said as he addressed the crowd.

Photographer Peter Morris captured this shot at the culmination of the hourlong ceremony, just before hundreds of attendees rushed through the front doors to view the state-of-the-art classrooms, workspaces, dining facility, athletics rooms, vocational training areas and spaces for arts and athletics inside. Visitors marveled at the size of the new auditorium, which is twice as large as the old one. Media Specialist Trudy Moss greeted members of the public in the media cent-

August 2010

er, which features wireless internet access and enclosed study rooms. Teachers continued to work on preparing their classrooms while onlookers peeked inside, and outdoors, families overlooked the field at the new football stadium, where the roar of fans will be heard across town on Friday evenings this fall.

It was a special moment in the county’s history—one that photographs, as well as newspaper and magazine articles, will help us remember. But the novelty of something new will gradually wear away, and after August 11, the first day of classes, a 21st century facility and education will become the norm at Watauga High School.

By Anna Oakes

SCHIEBLER: Unsurpassed Long Range Views in private Yonahlossee Saddle Club. Separate 2.5 acre lot on almost 4 private acres! Also an elevator & incredible gourmet kitchen. $1,950,000 ROLLINS: May well be the most charming house in Blowing Rock!

Views, lovely cottage landscaping, flat entry and one level living. tons of stone work, garage and golf cart garage. Large Elk Stone wood burning fireplace in T&G paneled den with vaulted ceiling. Totally RENOVATED. $599,900 PROCTOR: Incredible 20.73 fenced acres with 3 BD home, workshop, 6-stall horse barn, hay barn, restored log cabin, 2 ponds, and mountain views! $595,000 PaRkER-RICkS: Magnificent 180 degree view home on large, private lot. One level living, 2 stone fireplaces, exquisite landscaping and conveniently located. The solarium provides ample entertainment area with seating, dining and bar facilities while enjoying the view.

Partially furnished. $975,000 JONES: Spectacular long-range view home on cul-de-sac. Double lot gives you all the privacy you need with spacious rooms plus a 1br/1ba cottage for extended family. Master suite has office/sitting room with beautiful stone fireplace. Living room has large stone fireplace and lots of glass to see the Grandfather views. $725,000 JOHNSON: Unique Arts & Crafts home in private - gated community.

One of the most expansive, long range views in the Blowing Rock area. Top of the line finishes and particular attention to details, including a 3 stop elevator, glassed loft to enjoy the views, gourmet kitchen with honed granite tops and much more. $1,985,000 GLENNON: Magnificent French Provincial Estate 3 miles from the Village of Blowing Rock! Gorgeous 24-acre estate has views, rolling pasture, apple orchard, grape arbor, 4 stall barn, fenced riding ring and pond right at the Blue Ridge Parkway. Gracious 5BR/5.5BA home offered for $2,900,000 GOLDSWORTHY: Charming top of the ridge log cabin surrounded

by Pisgah National Forest for extra privacy. Paved access, giant hewn beams, t&g ceilings, generous loft, and jetted tub. Being sold furnished. $699,000 FLINT: Fish from your front yard! In the heart of Valle Crucis yet hidden away. This Baxter Norris built log home overlooks the Watauga River has soaring ceilings, stone fireplace, new appliances and one level living! PLUS a charming one room log cabin with bath and kitchen as guest house AND a caboose for the grandchildren!! $850,000 FaRLOW: Long Range Views in Greystone I. Gracious 3BR/3BA home in immaculate condition with many millwork details. Large gourmet kitchen with custom cabinetry, 3 fireplaces (1 in master). Spacious room w/lots of light. Elevation. approx. 4,300 ft. $799,000 EVaNS: Private Sweetgrass home w/rushing stream just out the door!

Master suite on main w/heated floors in master bath. Spacious loft, gourmet kitchen w/ granite tops, stainless appl. and custom Knotty Alder cabinets. Natural stone fireplace, covered side porch and open deck w/river views. Community clubhouse on 280-acre property w/ lakes, streams, & mountain views. $699,500 CuLBERTSON: Breathtaking Views of John’s River Gorge and Grandfather Mountain, and ultimate privacy in a solidly built Alta log home on 10 acres with long Pisgah National Forest Boundary. Escape from it all yet remain just 4 miles from the village! Soaring stone fireplace, huge upper and lower decks, downstairs den plus optional office/ bunk room. $495,000

Blowing Rock Properties, inc

800-849-0147 • 828/295-9200

www.BlowingRockProperties.com August 2010

High Country Magazine

105

Actual morning view from Echota on the Ridge overlooking the Watauga River Valley.

IT’S MORE THAN A NEW PHASE OF DEVELOPMENT— IT’S A NEW PHENOMENON. Introducing Chalakee, The Best Echota Yet.

Echota became the most successful community in the history of the High Country with 70-mile views, the perfect location between Boone, Banner Elk and Blowing Rock, and a host of resort-style amenities. Now comes Chalakee, a new community of condominiums and townhomes resting on a dramatic plateau moments from Echota On The Ridge. Views will be incomparable. Interior finishes will dazzle. Surprising features will include built-in grills on spacious decks. One-, three- and four bedroom residences are available with one-bedroom condominiums starting at just $199,900.

Call 800.333.7601 to arrange a visit.

Or visit EchotaNC.com/Chalakee for more information.

C HALAKEE THE BEST E CHOTA YET

106

Visit one of our sales offices located at Hwy 105 S, the entrance to Echota at August 2010 133 Echota Pkwy, Boone, NC or 1107 Main St, Suite C, Blowing Rock, NC.

High Country Magazine