A Look Back 2022: How We Met Stories

a look back How we met StorieS 2022

The Heart & Start of it

The first conversation Steve Mehder had with Delaine was shortly after his graduation from Western Carolina. It was the start of summer 1968 and a week or so into the beginning of Delaine’s summer job at Highlands Country Club.

As Steve recounts, “I was told there was a girl there from Mocksville, so I asked her if she knew Anne Stewart. Anne and I had dated while I was in college, and as it turned out she and Delaine were good friends. So, we started talking.”

Immediately, he fell for her, and she for him. They began dating, seeking out mountain tops and pastoral spots to go with their friends – to build a fire, drink and talk, making sure to return before Delaine’s 1:00 A.M. curfew.

It must have been the case that those nights piled up to create something meaningful, because by the Fall they knew they would marry.

At summer’s end Delaine returned to college at Lenoir-Rhyne

in Hickory and Steve started law school at UNC-Chapel Hill. They continued to see each other on weekends at Delaine’s family home in Mocksville, just west of Winston-Salem.

And it was there they got married, on June 14, 1969, at The First Baptist Church. Shortly thereafter, Steve decided to forego Law School and join the faculty teaching math at a Junior High School in Aiken, South Carolina. Delaine began a career with a local newspaper in town.

A few years later, Steve accepted a position with Burlington Industries, and they spent the next five years in Burlington, North Carolina.

Delaine gave birth to a son in 1976, and two years later Steve was promoted to a position at corporate headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina. They remained in Greensboro until 2012, building three houses during their time there – “proof of their bond” as Delaine said. They also paid regular visits to Steve’s parents in

For Delaine and Steve Mehder, their differences have somehow led to an abiding complementary love that will not be denied.

Steve and Delaine Mehder

Highlands – the place that he called “home,” where his family had moved when he was in the 10th grade. In 2010 they bought a house in Highlands and the next year moved back as full-time residents. Steve continues to work part time as an accountant here.

It’s clear that their marriage has been a happy one – strengthened by an acceptance of their individuality.

Steve likes to say that, “We are the poster children for opposites attract. The only thing we have in common is we got married on the same day.”

While Steve enjoys spending free time volunteering, target shooting and enjoying classic cars, Delaine prefers reading, bridge, and pickleball.

As Delaine says, “We have some significant differences that make for a more interesting marriage. Steve is very analytical, a reflection of his work, and I tend to think more with my heart. The fact is we don’t always think alike but we listen to each other and are able to work through our spats.” At the same time their union has been forged by love of travel and service to community. From the early days of their marriage, they have dedicated time and energy to volunteer work.

Today, they both work at Mountain Findings, and Steve is active with the Highlands Motoring Festival – as he has been from its beginnings.

Delaine told me that “We strongly believe in giving back to the community we live in. The bonus of volunteer work is we have made a lot of friends and it’s become the thing we can do together.”

by Marlene Osteen-

Steve and Delaine Mehder Nassau Honeymoon, 1969

50 Years of Devotion

For Greg and Susan Clarkson, a deep and abiding love was kindled by a moment’s glance.

Greg Clarkson likes to say that it was due to Karma that he met his wife Susan.

For how else could he explain the sudden urge to gaze down from his perch on the top deck of the fraternity house to the floor below?

He caught sight of her immediately. Blonde and beautiful, she was definitely his type. It didn’t matter that he was dating four other women and not looking for romance. He had to get her number.

Was it a coincidence that their roommates were dating? He didn’t know it then, but she saw him as well – taking in his long-hair and hippy vibe.

“He was so different from everyone else there,” she said. It was January 1971 at the University of Georgia – Greg was a junior, Susan a freshman.

They had their first date – at Allen’s, a local brew pub. Born on the Jersey shore and growing up in suburban Philadelphia, Greg was clearly unlike any other man Susan had known. Susan, who had lived all her life in Walhalla, South Carolina, liked that about

him. She liked as well that he was well-mannered and majoring in a Science – Zoology – a study with purpose and a future.

Greg recalls that he was smitten from the start.

“Susan was the kind of person you want to be around, she has an amazing personality and made me feel comfortable.”

They bonded over their commonalities – both from five-children families, both from families that drove a Ford Country Squire.

They must have seen it as a sign – and so the spark was ignited.

By May they were in a committed relationship, and soon thereafter followed the protocols of fraternity – getting “lavaliered” and then “pinned.” By fall they were engaged, and they wed in December 1972.

Then, about to be drafted, Greg joined the Navy.

For the next two decades, the couple traveled the globe in Naval service. From Greg’s first base in Key West, there were stations in Eleuthera, Bahamas; Coos Bay, Oregon; Pensacola; Denver; and Whidbey Island, Washington.

A daughter was born in 1976, shortly before what was to be a grueling separation – a three-year deployment on carriers in the

Greg and Susan Clarkson 1971

Mediterranean. The family was reunited in the assignments that followed – Omaha, Washington DC, Naples, Italy, Virginia Beach, and finally at the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in Tampa. They had another daughter in 1981 and a son in 1985.

Greg remained at USSOCOM as a civilian after retiring as a US Naval Intelligence Officer in 1993 – though he transitioned from intelligence work to IT. He got a master’s in computer information systems, and Susan kept a long-term promise to her parents to return to school and get a teaching degree.

They retired within months of each other in 2016, moving to Highlands, where years before, Susan’s Grandmother, Helen Wright Wilson had started Helen’s Barn.

They regard each other as best friends – as members of the same team – sharing the same morals and ethics, while maintaining their individual interests.

As they approach their 50th anniversary, they recognize that marriage is not a casual undertaking, and requires, as Greg likes to say, “a lot of the 3 L’s: love, luck, and the Lord.”

They speak of each other with adoration. Greg talks tenderly about Susan – describing her empathy, intelligence, honesty and kindness. Susan speaks to Greg’s role as a “wonderful Daddy and husband” and the beauty he’s able to find in the world through his photography.

They retain a memory bank of songs and photos of their lives together, to which they frequently return to reminisce about a trip that a picture may evoke, or a memory triggered on hearing a familiar song.

When asked about the highlights of a half-century together they are in unison – reciting the years spent in Italy, trips around the world, and, most of all, raising three children and now having six grandchildren.

by Marlene Osteen

With Pope John Paul II, 1985

Carol Cooks, Ann Talks

Alove story more than 30 years in the making – it’s the glorious and open-hearted love story of Ann Huckstep and Carol Misner.

And it starts with a flashback – at a gymnasium at a high school in Sandy Springs, Georgia, when math teacher Carol Misner (then named Umphrey) first encountered the 11th grade student Ann Huckstep.

When Ann tried to register for Algebra II and was told enrollment was full, Carol, one of the school’s most adored instructors, stepped in and, recognizing her as the sister of one of her brightest students, offered her a place in her class.

The year was 1969, an era of turmoil, the Vietnam war, the Civil Rights conflict and, as Ann recalls, “It was a rough time. Mrs. Umphrey was someone who took interest in her students, she urged them on, she listened.”

Carol vividly remembers her students from that period. They were as she said a “vibrant group.” She was particularly impressed with Ann and her intelligence, and they became close, talking through problems.

It was the beginning of a relationship that was admiration at first sight. But three months later, Ann’s family moved to Clarksdale, Mississippi.

The next spring, they saw each other when Ann returned to visit Sandy Springs. It would be 30 years before they spoke or saw each other again.

In the years that followed, Ann went on to college at Ole Miss and then law school at Vanderbilt and started practicing law in Birmingham. She became a partner at a major law firm early on in her career and was a recognized civic leader in the community.

When her mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness in 1981 (she died in 1987), Ann sought therapy to resolve her grief. During sessions, she told her therapist that she admired “women of authority” because in that era they were thought of as second-class citizens, and she spoke of the two teachers who had influenced and brought meaning to her life – each a woman Huckstep admired for possessing her own authority and being guided by it in life. The therapist urged her to seek them out and thank them. In due course she thanked her instructor at Ole Miss, but finding Carol was a dilemma.

Since she had last seen her, Carol had given birth to a son and adopted a daughter, divorced, assumed her maiden name, and taught in colleges in Oklahoma, California, and Arizona.

In the mid-90s she started using technology in the classroom and presenting at the League of Innovations.

In 2001, while working in Colorado, she was invited to deliver a presentation to the US Department of Education in Washington. In preparation for the visit, she connected with one of her students from her days teaching in Sandy Springs. The student, knowing that Ann had been looking for Misner years before, put them in touch.

A few days later Ann picked up the phone in her office, and heard, “You probably don’t remember me, my name is Carol Misner, you

The story of Ann Huckstep and Carol Misner spans decades and, like all of the best tales, relies upon twists and turns and the enduring power of love.

Carol Misner and Ann Huckstep

knew me as Carol Umphrey.”

For the next four months they talked on the phone, growing closer. They decided to meet in Birmingham, Alabama, for Easter weekend, and spend a low-key weekend at Callaway Gardens.

With that weekend came an immediate connection and, in the fall of 2001, Carol quit her job in Colorado and moved in with Ann in Birmingham. They bought a house together at Smith Lake and started making up for the 30 years of not knowing where each other were.

Ann encouraged Carol to devote her time to developing her art – to do what she wanted for love, not money. Mentored by designer Richard Tubb, Carol developed her unique and recognizable style. Her botanical paintings soon found an avid audience and by 2007 she was the best-selling artist in the state.

More successes followed. In 2012, the couple founded nonprofit Living in Limbo Inc, and were the presenting sponsors for Living in Limbo: Lesbian Families in the Deep South at Birmingham’s Civil Rights Institute. The “exhibition boldly put a face on a previously invisible community and attracted 17,000 visitors in six weeks.”

The exhibition ultimately toured cities across the nation from Los Angeles to Miami, and inspired Carol and Ann to produce the full length documentary Alabama Bound, which continues to air on PBS.

After a four-year process, weaning herself from her duties at the law firm, Ann finally retired in 2013 and they bought a house in Highlands. They married in the rotunda of the Civil Rights Institute on March 14, 2015 (fittingly for a mathematician on Pi Day), shortly after gay marriage was, at last, declared legal.

When the presiding judge of the Federal District Court in Alabama declared, “By the powers vested in me by the state of Alabama, I

pronounce you married,” the throng of 200 attendees broke out in whoops and hollers. For nearly all, it was the first time they had attended a gay wedding.

They have deep admiration for each other’s talents and generosity – and are bound by a mutual love of community and service. Recently settled in their new home, they entertain frequently, and neighbors tell them they have made a difference bringing people together. Ann serves on the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust Board and Carol is President of Mountain Findings and on the Bascom board.

As a couple they are like still and sparkling water. As Ann says, “I draw her out – out into the world with other people where she might otherwise be happy at home painting. I am going to talk your ear off, and Carol likes to listen.” Or as Misner put it, “Carol does the cooking and Ann does the talking and it just works out really well.”

by Marlene Osteen

Richard Tubb, Carol, and Ann in Normandy, 2002

L to R: Ann, Carol, daughter Lorna, daughter-in-law Christiane, son Clint and grandaugher Jae (center) Birmingham, 2012

Lifting Each Other Up

Mary and Steve Abranyi are testimony to the adage that old friends make good marriages.

Long before they became a couple, they were good friends turned best friends.

Growing up in Winter Haven, Florida, in the late 80s, they were in high school together, socializing in the same group of friends. After graduation Steve went off to college at Western Carolina University and Mary stayed in Florida, at first attending a local community college and later enrolling at Florida Atlantic University. Years went by.

In the meantime, Steve became a carpenter and moved again – this time to Colorado, pulled by the lure of snowboarding.

Throughout the years they stayed in touch – by phone and letter, and on Steve’s visits home to see family. But the relationship remained casual.

In 2000 Mary decided to move to Colorado to room with a former high school friend, and Steve was planning a move to Portland,

Oregon.

Coincidentally, prior to the intended moves, they were both spending the summer in Winter Haven.

And so it was decided that they would ride to Colorado together and that from there Steve would continue to Oregon. Though the two had been best friends for a decade, and despite everything they must have learned about each other in that time, the long days on the road must have made them feel more connected.

Or perhaps it was the absence of the many years apart that ignited the spark between them.

Because by the time they got to Kansas they had told each other “I love you.”

As Steve said, “We had been friends for so long, we just clicked.”

Yet, as Mary tells it, “We were both going in different directions.”

And so, it wasn’t until a year later, in June 2001, when Steve visited Mary in Colorado, that they realized they were in love and made it official.

Despite years and hundreds of miles apart, the deep love between Mary and Steve Abranyi would not be contained.

Mary and Steve Abranyi-

By then Steve had already relocated to Cashiers to help a friend build his parents’ home. The romance progressed quickly from there. Mary joined him in December, and they married in April 2003.

The couple, who live in Highlands with their two children, Cameron, 15, and Jasmine, 13 have since built a life around what Mary calls “family life, work life, and play life. We have done a good job of growing in our lives and businesses here and we’ve done it all on our own. We have the same visions and support each other in all aspects of life.”

up; we are in support of each other, and we don’t hold each other back or tell one another what to do.”

Likewise, Steve cites the couple’s teamwork as their biggest strength.

We had been friends for so long, we just clicked.

When asked what his favorite thing is about Mary, he cites “her sense of humor, and her work ethic.”

He’s most proud of “where we’ve come together professionally and that we are still in love with each other through it all.”

by Marlene Osteen

Steve owns Green Mountain Builders and Mary is a real estate professional with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services and is the owner of Cashiers Valley Fusion Yoga and Wellness.

The couple say that being respectful of each other, honest, and forgiving has been essential in making their relationship last.

As Mary describes their bond, “We love each other and like to have fun together. Steve has always been one of my people. He’s always been a good guy and a good person. I trust him, and we lift each other

Steve and Mary Abranyi, 2003

The Chemistry Was Right

Jody Lovell was about to start a new chapter in her life. She had just completed post graduate studies as a lawyer at Oxford and was moving from London to Atlanta to work for the prestigious law firm King & Spalding. And she was eagerly looking forward to her new residence – a condo in Park Place, home to Elton John.

Married once before, Jody recognized that the only thing missing in this idyllic scenario was someone to share her exciting future. It was 1995, and the internet was still in its nascent days – years away from a place where relationships were created. People generally met on blind dates.

She was mulling all this over with a colleague when her friend remarked that she was pals with a guy whose wife had died the year before. She would see if he might be ready to start dating again. 48-year-old Wood Lovell was the father of two boys and the owner of a real estate company that traded in apartment complexes. He was, as it turned out, ready for a match up.

And so, their story moves on to their first date at a trendy restaurant in Atlanta’s Virginia Highlands neighborhood –during which, as it was told to me, “We immediately fell in love.”

Jody recalls that “He was so handsome and kind. The chemistry felt right.”

Wood speaks of that first date with affection, “I knew right away this was the kind of woman I wanted to marry. She had everything I wanted in a partner – a great sense of humor, intelligence, great looks. It was a fantastic first date and we were tight from then on.”

As it happened, Jody beat out what she refers to as the “casserole carrying crowd” – the bevy of Atlanta divorcees in hot pursuit of Wood, one of the rare bachelors in town.

Jody claims that it was really her status that won the day – “no children, no pets, in short, no baggage.” (“Not so,” says Wood.)

Within a year the relationship became, as Wood said, “very serious.”

But his main concern was his sons, his foremost priority. And so, it wasn’t until three years later, on a trip to Venice with Jody and the boys, that Wood finally proposed. While Jody was out shopping, Wood told the two young men that he was thinking of asking her to marry him, and they responded enthusiastically, “You would be crazy not to.”

That evening on the Piazza San Marco under a moonlit sky on a

For Jody and Wood Lovell, it was an easy swing into love.

JodyandWoodLovell

summer evening, orchestras played in the background and couples milled about while Wood proposed.

They wed In December 1999, with Wood’s sons officiating as co-best men, at a small ceremony at Atlanta’s All Saints Episcopal Church.

It was during their dating years that Wood started playing golf, and he and Jody began regularly visiting Highlands – eventually buying a home on Flat Mountain. In 1999 they joined the Cullasaja Club.

The following year the Arvida Corporation sold the club to its members, vacating their real estate office. Hearing the news, Wood was motivated, “Jody was traveling all the time and I had been doing the same thing for 35 years. So, I decided to make a play for the real estate office, and they turned the keys over to me.” They moved to Highlands full time, and within a few days Jody joined Wood in the office.

In 2008 Sotheby’s was searching for a company to represent their brand and selected Jody and Wood. From their start in 2000 with a staff of three, they now employ 36 brokers. It’s an accomplishment they cite as a demonstration of the strength of their marriage.

“I am proud of the fact that we came up here not knowing anyone and through work and friendship we were able to build a strong company with incredible people,” Jody said. “We are one of the few

couples that can live and work together 24/7.”

Wood describes life in Highlands as the most joyous time of his life, “Every day we get up and pinch ourselves. We can’t believe we live here and have made so many great friends. Highlands offers so much, the people who come to the Plateau are some of the nicest and most genuine people in the world and we get to meet them.”

Their sons, attorneys with a total of five children between them, visit frequently from their homes in Raleigh and Atlanta.

by Marlene Osteen

JodyandWood,2005

Intentional Love

In the winter of 1990, Bee Gleeson was living in Atlanta, single and looking for a great man.

Pat Gleeson, then 40, wasn’t as concerned with meeting new people. His previous marriage had ended in divorce two years earlier. A father of two – his daughter Maggie was 6 and his son Sean was 3 –Gleeson said that following the breakup, “taking care of my children was my priority.” By the time a mutual friend suggested they meet, Pat had already soured on blind dates. “I had been on 5, and they were all disasters.” Nevertheless, he agreed.

Indeed, the chances of a relationship must have seemed pretty slim, because as Bee tells it, “Pat was nothing on my list.” “He was divorced, had two children, smoked, was Catholic and, in my father’s words, a Yankee.”

Their first date was dinner at a Buckhead restaurant with another couple. Though the evening began awkwardly, things quickly turned around. Won over by Pat’s humor, Bee spent the evening laughing, while he was drawn to the kindness she displayed to everyone.

By dessert Bee had decided they were going to get married.

Pat, equally enamored, was concerned, “I have so much baggage this woman is going to drop me like a hot rock.”

That night they stayed out talking late. They had lunch the next day and have been together since.

They fell in love with each other’s families and as Pat said, “My kids even at that age fell in love with Bee – it was almost as if they were our own kids. We were all just part of each other’s lives.”

It didn’t take long for Bee to realize that “God gives you what you need, not necessarily what you want.”

Pat, it seemed, was what she needed.

Though their romantic relationship developed quickly, Pat, burned by his prior marriage, was hesitant. As he said, “We had a commitment, but we had to work through some stuff first.”

It would be nearly four years before they wed. Determined never to drop the “M” word, Bee would drop subtle hints – like casually wearing a 3-inch diamond ring pin on her shoulder.

In July 1993, Pat proposed in Laguna Beach, California, while they were playing cribbage on the beach. On December 4, that year they

Despite surface differences, Bee and Pat Gleeson quickly recognized the qualities that ensured they were meant to be.

BeeandPatGleeson/photobyColleenKerrigan

took their vows in Atlanta’s Swilley Church.

At the time of their wedding, Bee was working for Ritz Carlton Hotel, and Pat was in the advertising business. In their first 10 years, they lived in nine different homes – moving from Atlanta to California to Bryson City, North Carolina. It was good practice for the real estate career that was to come.

In 2013, the couple left their long-time corporate careers to spearhead the leadership team at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. But two years after giving up their friends and lives in Atlanta, they realized Bryson City was not going to meet their financial expectations.

An avid fly fisherman, Pat had discovered Highlands decades before. Now it was time to move, “to recreate ourselves,” as Pat told me. In short order they bought a home on Mirror Lake, obtained real estate licenses, and became active agents. They both say that it is the strength of their relationship that makes the business alliance work. (Today they are associated with Sotheby’s International Realty of Highlands).

That they have a loving, joyful, and playful union can be seen in the small acts. Like Bee wearing her wedding dress on the fourth day of each month to commemorate their wedding day – a tradition maintained for their first 15 years married, until the day came

it no longer fit. They describe their partnership as being very “intentional,” as deliberately aware and considerate of each other. That means putting each other first every day and, as Bee says, “Being intentional to live what love really is: not selfish, exercising patience, not easily angered nor keeping records of wrongs.”

Surely, the strength of their bond is testimony to the claim. As to the future, they look forward to grandchildren – still to come – and deepening ties with the community and church of which they have become so fond.

by Marlene Osteen

Pat and Bee Gleeson, 1999

That’s the One!

For Kendra and Will Araujo, that initial spark has blossomed into a love that’s brought them into a wonderfully comfortable place.

Will andKendraAraujo

Will and Kendra’s sweet early attraction

could easily have been grist for some horrendous heartbreak – as is often the case with love struck adolescents. For it’s hard to think of a topic that has inspired more terrible outcomes than teenage romance. Instead, theirs is a tender tale that captures both the unaffected innocence of young love and their unabashed affection for each other. It is a story of how this young couple traversed the thorny passage from youthful ardor to marriage at 18 and parenthood at 23.

They were in tenth grade when they first met in 2012 at a group get-together at Will’s home in Highlands.

Kendra, who lived in Cullowhee, had gone along with a friend “to hang out.” She spotted Will soon after arriving, and immediately felt the spark of a connection.

By the time they were 17 they had told their parents they planned to marry the following year.

Surprisingly, their folks offered no resistance. Will took a year off from high school and started working at Old Edwards Inn as a pool and spa attendant. On January 25, 2014, they were married in a small church in Webster, North Carolina, near Sylva.

Kendra enrolled at cosmetology school in Sylva and started work as a cosmetologist, eventually landing a job at Old Edwards where she remained until the birth of her first child, a son in 2018. Their daughter was born in 2021.

Will finished high school and stayed on at Old Edwards. He was accepted into the company’s management training program and rose through the ranks from front desk bellman to a bell captain position, to Banquet Manager, to Assistant Food & Beverage Manager, and to his current job as Assistant Director of Food & Beverage.

He was super friendly yet kind of quiet, really nice and very well-mannered..

“He’s cute,” she told her friend, who answered, “You need to say something when he walks by.”

So, Kendra caught Will’s attention by telling him that he had long eyelashes.

“I get that all the time,” he replied. He was clearly interested, attracted to a certain attitude and spirit he sensed in her and thinking to himself “I want to know more.”

And, she was, he added “very beautiful.” Kendra said she felt something for Will from that first meeting.

“He was super friendly yet kind of quiet, really nice and very well-mannered.” They texted over the next couple days, and the following week met again in downtown Highlands. They viewed themselves as a couple at once.

Their parents were supportive of their relationship from the beginning. Over the next couple of years and with the help of parents they traveled to see each other on weekends during the school year and more often during summer vacations and breaks.

It’s been more than a decade since they met, and they are gratified by what they have accomplished – recognizing that marriage at such a young age is uncommon. They have settled into the important things of life and are proud of the balance they have achieved in their relationship, between Will’s work and domestic life – as Kenda said, “happily working together to raise the children, spending days off with them on outings, and simply having fun and enjoying each other.”

by Marlene Osteen

It’s been more than a decade since they met, and they are gratified by what they have accomplished.

How We Met Hiram

& Mathew

Hidden in the woods, on a slope in the middle of the Nantahala Forest, just south of Highlands, is a secluded mountaintop boutique resort. Were it not for the chimneys that rise above the rooflines, the cluster of wood framed buildings would seem a living part of the forest. Visitors to the area know it as the Fire Mountain Inn.

It’s the place where co-owners and life partners Hiram Wilkinson and Mathew Gillen have for 27 years welcomed vacationers seeking refuge and relaxation.

But I’m getting ahead of the story. To understand Fire Mountain, we must go back to the beginning – to Atlanta in the fall of 1993, when the pair first met. Mathew was working at Restaurant Chow, and Hiram, a well-known real estate developer and investor, managing a large portfolio of investments.

Mathew recalls the evening in the restaurant’s downtown location that he was asked to serve a group that had previously requested him. “Hiram was the last person to walk in, and when I looked at him something clicked. I thought to myself he is attractive, but I shrugged it off thinking I would never see him again.”

Hiram distinctly remembers Mathew. “What had happened was that my partner of many years, a prominent surgeon, had

unexpectedly died. I was in a state of no feeling, overwhelmed by the circumstances, and some friends were taking me to dinner.”

Two weeks later Mathew was working at the restaurant’s second location when Hiram was once again seated in his section. Mathew thought, “Maybe this does mean something. I decided to throw caution to the wind and do something I had never done before – I left my phone number on the check.”

The next day Hiram left town on a planned road trip with his two King Charles spaniels – visiting friends up and down the Eastern seaboard, hoping to find some resolution after the loss of his partner.

Mathew, who described his status as “carefree and living the dream,” had never been in a relationship.

“But I had an intuition that I needed to pursue getting to know Hiram better. I realized he was going through a tough time, and I felt like he needed somebody.”

Still, he was concerned that Hiram, “might have too much on his plate to start a new relationship so soon after the last one ended.”

The day after Hiram’s return, they had their first phone conversation, openly discussing mutual concerns.

At their first date at a neighborhood restaurant, the chemistry was

The love at the heart of Hiram Wilkinson and Mathew Gillen’s relationship has taken them to the top of the mountain – Fire Mountain.

MathewGillenandHiramWilkinson

instant. They spent the next weekend at Hiram’s house on Mirror Lake in Highlands. Mathew, who had never been to Highlands, swooned over the property and the area.

“I recognized right away that he’s loving, he’s kind, very caring and with a smile that could knock you over,” Hiram said. “I could not think of one fault at all – there was instant chemistry between us. How you fall in love just happens.”

He has a strength and confidence, and energy about him that I had not encountered in anyone else,” Mathew said, “And I loved that he’s very handsome and has great calf muscles.”

The relationship progressed rapidly. On a weekend day in December, returning from Mirror Lake, Hiram asked Mathew if he might “want to do something together.” Hiram had had enough of the real estate business in Atlanta. Several years earlier, he had vowed to liquidate his assets before he turned 50 and move to Highlands. They decided to see if there would be an inn that they could buy and run together – a place where they could combine their skills in hospitality and business.

They agreed that it was important to find a place near town but up on the Plateau, a spot that was secluded and where life could be centered on the outside. When they visited the Oak View Inn on Highway 106 and saw the inn with its long-range views on top of the mountain, they knew it was what they wanted. When the owners explained the business was not for sale, they left their cards. A year later, in 1996, two days before Hiram’s 50th birthday they finalized

the purchase.

They have been elevating and refining the property ever since –adding a spa, a destination-worthy restaurant, and rooms, cabins, and treehouses to luxuriate in and swoon over.

The couple’s ability to bond over the day-to-day business of running Fire Mountain Inn while still having so much fun together is their superpower. They agree that doing so has been their greatest achievement; finding joy in the magical and transformative times they make possible for their guests.

“We love what we have done here,” says Mathew. “Every day we look forward to finding the next trail, one more waterfall, or experience that we can share. Following our passion is what we are about.”

by Marlene Osteen

HiramandMathew, 1994

Such a Good Life

Trisha Singleton had worked as Bob Kieltyka’s administrative assistant for more than a year before they had their first date. They met in the summer of 1976 on his initial arrival at the Atlanta office of the insurance company, where she worked.

“We were all checking him out,” Trisha said. “I thought he was very nice and polite.” “They were curious about me because I had a mustache,” said Bob who had just completed a tour of duty with the Army and transferred from the home office in Providence, Rhode Island. (The company had a strict policy forbidding facial hair).

“My first impression of Trisha was very casual. I was happy to know that she was going to work with me and thought we would make a good team, but Trisha was married at the time, so I only thought of her as a co-worker.”

Then, In the spring of 1977, Trisha’s husband of five years died suddenly. For Trisha the loss was devastating, and on hearing the news, Bob and her co-workers were quick to offer consolation and support.

“I felt so much sympathy for her losing her husband so unexpectedly,” said Bob. “We were a very close office, and we understood the depth

of her trauma.”

In the ensuing months, “Bob took me under his wing. He felt sorry for me.” Trisha said.

For a while, respectful of the company non-fraternization policy, they only saw each other at company social functions or hanging out with co-workers at local clubs and pizza joints. On August 18, 1977, they went on their first solo date to a Chinese restaurant. When Bob showed up at Trisha’s door with flowers and a bottle of wine, she felt that, “we were off to a great start, “I knew then I couldn’t go wrong.”

For his part, Bob was thrilled when Trisha let him drive her brandnew Datsun 280Z.

“She’s someone quite special,” Bob said. “There were so many things I liked about her, she’s very intelligent.” Trisha was similarly impressed; “Bob was very quiet, very much the gentleman, and he had really nice eyes – it was the first thing I noticed,” she told me.

By the end of the date their collegial relationship had taken a romantic turn.

“We realized that our feelings for each other were strong enough that we couldn’t just stay friends,” Bob said. They told management

For Trisha and Bob Kieltyka, a relationship built upon mutual respect was a solid insurance policy. (There was also a Datsun and a mustache involved.)

BobandTrishaKieltyka

of their romance and agreed to remain discreet. More dates followed. They started seeing so much of each other that travel between their two homes became cumbersome and in 1978 – a year after they started dating – Bob moved in with Trisha. As Bob said, “Through it all, we continued to be best friends, and that made the transition much easier.”

Over the next year, their connection deepened. Though Trisha was the first to express an interest in marriage, Bob had suspected for some time that they would wed. On May 5, 1979, they were married at a gala celebration in Stone Mountain, GA before a crowd of 200 friends and family members.

Trisha left her job at the insurance company before their wedding and Bob remained with the company until 1996 when the couple both went to work for CVS. In 2003 they agreed it was time to leave Atlanta. What once had been a rather small Southern town, had simply become too populated. Seeking something quieter, they decided on Highlands – moving here in January and buying the Christmas Tree shop soon after. Starting in 2007, and for 13 years Bob was Director of the Highlands Chamber of Commerce.

As Bob coyly sums up their liaison, “I met Trisha in Atlanta where she was my administrative assistant, and we now run the Christmas Tree where she is president, and she’s nice enough to let me think I am a partner.”

They have never stopped being best friends. The two share an enthusiasm for travel and a profound love for the many cats and dogs they have rescued over the years. They continue to find reasons to fall further in love.

She speaks her mind and lets me know what she thinks. She really is a rock I can lean on – always there for me as friend and counsellor.” said Bob earnestly.

“We’re true soulmates,” Trisha explained, “It been such a good life, we hope to keep it going forever.”

They still drive the Datsun 280Z.

by Marlene Osteen

TrishaandBobKieltyka,1977