Beginning of the Year Rituals

Beginning of the YearRituals

A host of holiday traditions found root here on the Plateau.

There are several rituals that overlap the old year and the new. Isabel Chambers is our resource for all the stories that are well-worth remembering.

Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night is observed not on Christmas Day, but on January 6th, the 12th day of/after Christmas. Whether accurate or not, it recognizes the day the Three Wise Men visited newborn Jesus.

Some burn their Christmas trees on the 6th in a big bonfire and sing carols. Others gather their trees (careful to remove decorations and tinsel) and dump them in lakes for underwater habitat and good fishing in the new year.

The Yule Log

On Christmas Eves past, families may have huddled in the evenings around a fireplace where an entire tree was slowly burning, inch-by-inch, for 12 nights. Whether burning in a household fireplace or in a clearing, folks kept shoving the tree into the hearth or firepit as it burned. Not sure how many living rooms and forests caught fire, but the fire factor probably led to the baking of a symbolic Yule Log – still subject to the fire of the oven but restrained to baking pan size. And it was much more delicious than charred wood. There are several European versions of the Yule Log. For one, check out southernliving. com/recipes/buche-de-noel.

New Year’s Good Luck Practices

1. Using a fire poker, many mountain folk scraped the date on the back of the fireplace for New Year’s good luck. 2. Isabel’s dad shot a canon on New Year’s Eve. His friend on Satulah would respond with his canon shot. The goal: out-blast each other for good fun and good luck. 3. Isabel’s son lights his old broom and walks through the house, using the smoke from the bristles to expel evil spirits (much like sage-ing). 4. And don’t forget to eat black-eyed peas, greens, and cornbread: pennies, dollars, and gold. 5. Be the First Foot (see below).

Hogmanay’s

Hogmanay is recognition of New Year’s. In Scotland it is a time of gift-giving and visiting of friends and neighbors. It also includes First Foot. The first guest to cross the threshold of the New Year right after midnight is honored with symbolic gifts such as salt, coal, shortbread, whisky, and black bun, a very rich fruit cake.

Happy New Year, Everyone! And for any fire events, large or small, check fire permit regulations to be safe. For food consumption, let your conscience be your gorge…uh, guide.

by Donna Rhodes

Treatment as Inspiration

Robert Louis Stevenson’s bout of bronchiectasis led to his greatest novel and also, inevitably, to Stuart’s grandmother and the stunning woman who would become the eternal face of Irish beauty.

by Stuart Ferguson, Local Historian, Co-Owner Shakespeare & Company

During the winter of 1887-88 Robert Louis Stevenson sent a hasty note to his physician: “…I have finished your pellets; and I beg for more. The success up to now has been astounding…they give me a devil of a belly-ache but I prefer that—like Lord Derby and the gout. Yours sincerely…” (When a wine merchant recommended his sherry to the 19th-century English politician and claimed that Derby could drink a barrel without getting gout, the Earl replied, “Sir, I have tasted your sherry and I prefer the gout.”) Stevenson (1850-1894) was so satisfied with Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau’s treatment for tuberculosis that on March 1, 1888, he wrote to The New York Evening Post praising Dr. Trudeau’s sanitarium. While the Scottish author had gone to Saranac for Trudeau’s expertise in TB, in fact, experts now think that Stevenson had bronchiectasis, a different pulmonary disease that’s no fun—but not fatal. But it was while being treated by Trudeau, and inspired by his new surroundings, that he started what many consider his best novel, The Master of Ballantrae: A Winter’s Tale.

Like Peter Pan, Ballantrae has pirates and Indians – both kinds – but goes it one better by adding North Carolina’s own Blackbeard, and Bonnie Prince Charlie. Ten years ago, I did a blog post about Stevenson in the Adirondacks for the Fontana Regional Library, and if you Google “Winter’s Tale Shelf Life in the Mountains” it will come up, with some photos of Stevenson at his cottage there. In my article I claimed that Dr. Trudeau’s wife was the matron of honor at my great grandparents’ wedding. But in fact, it was Mrs. Edward Livingston Trudeau, Jr., who was at their 1907 wedding, and my great grandmother had been maid of honor at hers to Dr. Trudeau’s eldest son (also a physician, hence my confusion) in Chicago in 1903. Before her marriage, Hazel Martyn Trudeau was considered the most beautiful woman in the Midwest and was a talented artist. She and my great grandmother were best friends at boarding school. Alas, the younger Dr. Trudeau died five months after his wedding, during a pneumonia epidemic in NYC. A few years later, his widow married the London-based, Irish portrait-painter Sir John Lavery—who became so obsessed with his wife’s beauty that half of his art featured her. The new Lady Lavery – “that talented, radiant creature” as society diarist Chips Channon described her – was friends with everyone, including Winston Churchill. The Laverys were crucial in the negotiations for the 1921 Anglo-Irish peace treaty, much of which took place at their townhouse. Until recently, Ireland’s paper currency featured Lavery’s portrait of harp-playing Hazel as the personification of Eire.

LIFESTYLES & WELLNESS

Pages 98-109

photo by Susan Renfro

Tonya and Ron Hensley

A Love of Music &Mountains

Tonya and Ron Hensley grew close through music and conversation – lots of gentle conversation.

She was recently divorced, parent of a 10-year-old daughter, and was there with a friend. He was single, two years parted from a 4-year-long relationship, and on a date. It was the first time Ron Hensley glimpsed his future wife, Tonya. It was November 1992, and they were at JR’s 92 Showcase near Lakeland, FL. The place was crowded with folks’ line-dancing to the music of Brooks & Dunn. Like the rest of the crowd at that honkytonk, they were dressed in their western best – him in Wrangler jeans and cowboy boots; her in a neon bright pink shirt with black fringe, black jeans, and black boots. They chatted briefly, he introduced her to his best friend, and left. But something that first night had clicked. For weeks Ron returned to the club looking for her, hoping she would return. One day she did, and when she saw him was quick to ask, “Where’s your girlfriend?” He responded, telling her, “We broke up 2 weeks ago.” They had their first dance to the Bryan Adams’ hit song, Everything I Do, I Do It For You. The lyrics later became the mantra for their life together. As Tonya told me, “Those words were prophetic. Ron still frequently tells me that everything he does, he does for me.” That night they talked and talked some more – finally escaping to the quiet of his truck. Tonya talked about her daughter, about her administrative job, about being in college, pursuing a degree in education. He told her about working as a physical therapy technician, and that although he had a teaching degree, there was a hiring freeze in the school system in Polk County, Florida, where they lived. They shared their aspirations for life and realized things they had in common – a love of music, dance, travel, and the mountains. And they discovered that they both had a history of family visits to Ron’s birthplace in the North Carolina mountains.

Two nights later they had their first official date at a popular steakhouse in Lakeland, The Red Barn. The conversation flowed, the sparks flamed and flew. They were so enamored with one another that they didn’t realize that by the time they stopped chatting, the restaurant had emptied.

Ron and Tonya Hensley, 1994

Though Ron admitted to being wowed by Tonya’s beauty, he was no less captivated by her approachability, the depth of her intelligence and her thoughtfulness. For Tonya, it was an attraction fueled by the confidence she saw in him; his “nice guy persona,” the ease with which she could talk to him. Though she did not fail to observe that “He was adorable and had really nice pecs and biceps.” The relationship was easy from the start. “It’s not difficult when you know it’s right. We knew within a few months we would get married,” Ron said. But Tonya’s daughter had made her mom promise that she and Ron would be together for a year before they wed. Shortly before she and Ron met, Tonya had been on a family trip to Gatlinburg and saw what she described as “the teeniest, tiniest wedding chapel”. She told her mom that if she ever remarried, it would be there. And so it was that Tonya and Ron exchanged their vows in that chapel in early 1994. Much has happened in the nearly three decades since that wedding. Tonya gave birth to two more daughters, in 1995 and 1998, and they now have four grandchildren. At the end of 1996, the couple decided to carve a new adventure for their family, and they packed their belongings into a Penske truck and moved to Western North Carolina. Tonya went back to college and got a bachelor’s and then a master’s degree at Western North Carolina. She worked at the Old Creek Lodge in Highlands, a gig she now describes as “best job ever,” accepted a management position at Old Edwards, moved on to employment as an adult educator, and then as an executive at an area non-profit. Ron, who had returned to teaching while still in Florida, taught fourth grade, middle school and adult education in area schools for 15 years. In the early 2000’s, they both got North Carolina real estate licenses, and today they are partners in business as well as in love – both working for Landmark Realty Group in Cashiers. Their marriage has thrived thanks to an enduring commitment to each other. Ron attributes it to their ability to communicate. “We make the other person feel they are being listened to.” Tonya agrees, “We always put the other’s feelings above our own, and it works for us because we both do that.”

by Marlene Osteen photos by Mary Gillian

Incorporating Wellness

With the start of 2023, what better time to consider your mental, physical and emotional health?

Do you ever really think about the word, wellness? What does it mean to you and what is your wellness story? Many of us speak a wellness language and we think we know its meaning for ourselves, but do we really? The definition of wellness is “the quality or state of being healthy in body and mind, especially as the result of deliberate effort. An approach to healthcare that emphasizes preventing illness and prolonging life, as opposed to emphasizing treating diseases.” So, how do we really epitomize wellness in our own lives?

What do we think about incorporating wellness into our everyday lives? Exercise, hydration, self-care, sleep and recovery, eating clean, being in alignment – how many of these specific activities do we do on a daily basis and are they intentional? Are we diligent in our actions and do we practice wellness? Getting a regular adjustment or a monthly massage, regular movement and meditation, daily walks – these are all ways that we can practice wellness. Strive for a good understanding of the dynamic process of being and staying healthy. Want the perfect picture of wellness to be yours? Dedicate yourself to your self, body and mind! Just do it!

by Dr. Sue Aery, Aery Chiropractic & Acupuncture

The Same Age as Old People

Donna’s able to tap dance around temporary aphasia with some clever mental gymnastics.

Ihate to admit it, but I’m becoming more and more forgetful. When I forget a word, I’ve taken to saying, “I can’t think of the English word for it.” That way people will think I am a polyglot or at least bilingual instead of a total idiot.

And if they just won’t let go of it, and they ask me the foreign word I was thinking, I act cool and say, “Carnustirfargen.” At that moment I am enormously pleased with myself for thinking fast enough to make up a five-syllable word. But then I am in a corner because I’ll never remember a five-syllable made-up word that I may have to repeat later in conversation. This is the stage of life where I feel 30-ish, my jokes are somewhere in the puberty-age category (if I can even remember them …, Carnustirfargen) and my body parts look like mummified apples and haired-over cukes in the back of refrigerator drawers. I see people my age scaling Whiteside, hanging upside-down in yoga straps, or lifting three bags of groceries with one arm while steering a leashed Labradoodle with the other. Personally, I am just thrilled with getting one leg through my underwear without having to hold on to the walls and a door handle.

Where were we? Oh, yeah, making up stuff to cover up other stuff like: the older we get the more weight we gain, because it’s all that information we keep stuffing into our brains. Okay, I’m sticking with that. That 10 pounds I gained over the summer is brain matter. If your read this article 12 more times and eat a pound of dark chocolate (it’s good for you, right?) you can use that excuse right along with me. Covering up approaching senility is damn hard work. But the hardest work is being the same age as old people.

by Donna Rhodes illustration by Norma Jean Zahner

Women Who Shape the Plateau

Helping to Re-claim a Sense of Balance

Sonya Carpenter’s passion for the Plateau’s Wild Places informs her days.

In an era of cell phone addiction, climate change, and hurry affliction, we can become distracted and unsettled.

Sonya Carpenter is dedicated to helping people reclaim a sense of balance with the world that surrounds them.

“Even as a young child, I found solace in the natural world,” she says. For the past 20 years living in Highlands, Sonya has regarded the beauty, complexity, and resilience of the ecosystem on the Plateau. This recognition motivates her to inform and influence others to value its conservation.

Shortly after moving here, Sonya served as the director of the Highlands Biological Foundation. She discovered many knowledgeable and equally enthusiastic people through her nine years in that position. Today, she works on projects to create natural landscapes in the area.

“I like to say that I am an ecologist masquerading as a garden designer, but really these two passions are inextricably linked,” she says. “If we use the natural world with its complex interaction between species of plants, insects, birds, mammals…as a model for landscapes, we can create gardens that are not only beautiful, but functional and resilient.”

Sonya continues to be involved in community projects. She leads and speaks at various events about conservation. She serves on the board of the Highlands Plateau Greenway to create and maintain walking trails that connect neighborhoods with natural areas. She also recently coordinated the installation of the new pollinator garden at the Highlands Biological Station. The design features all native plants, a lakeside pavilion, and a new nature trail. She observes how the garden is appreciated daily by countless visitors. “Hundreds of students, summer campers, and garden enthusiasts now claim this space as their own,” she says. Charlotte Muir, Executive Director of the Highlands Biological Foundation comments that “Sonya is an infinite source of knowledge and passion for the natural world. When she gives a lecture or leads an event, people leave with such enthusiasm to make a real change in their own landscapes to better promote our rich biodiversity. Her work with the Highlands Biological Foundation and the Highlands Plateau Greenway has bettered our community in huge ways, especially in inspiring conservation efforts.”

Sonya believes that this is a critical time for the community to consider conservation. “Development is inevitable,” she says, “[we] need to speak up for the protection and preservation of our natural areas.” Through her endeavors she hopes to influence and inspire others. She asserts

that we can all work together to educate new residents about how the beauty of Highlands plays a critical role in appreciating this community.

Her work with the Highlands Biological Foundation and the Highlands Plateau Greenway has bettered our community in huge ways, especially in inspiring conservation efforts.

Even as a young child, I found solace in the natural world.

by Ann Self

Her Legacy to Protect and Preserve

For Sarah Jennings, wise development of the area’s natural bounty is a family tradition.

Sarah Jennings considers conservation as a legacy to protect and preserve. Her husband first brought her in 2002 to what was then the Jennings’ family 800-acre farm retreat, Lonesome Valley. “My husband and his family grew up spending time on the land,” she says. “Lonesome Valley has been a special place for generations. I think [it] is a model for responsible growth and development. It preserves the integrity of the land to ensure that it continues to be special for future generations.” Rich with history dating back to 1895, Lonesome Valley was originally established as a mink and trout farm by Richard Jennings, Sr. in 1948. Then, in 2007 when change in the area was undeniable, the Jennings family determined to create a community that reflected their values of land conservation and natural resource stewardship. So, ten years after her first visit and many years of working in Washington, D.C. in events and marketing, Sarah and her family moved to Cashiers to participate in the family’s development. Her role since that time has been to oversee events and marketing for Lonesome Valley, including helping build a coherent brand identity and message aligned with the community vision. “I felt it was important as a resident [myself] as well as producing a product for visitors [and clients] to maintain the family character,” Sarah says, “I worked together with incredible people like Brien Peterkin, Thomas Bates, John and Marcia McCarley, and Thomas Platt. I was fortunate that it was a team that supported that vision.” That team came up with the Lonesome Valley tag line, “naturally inspired.” “That is a touch point for many things that reflect what is important to conserve. Trails, buildings, meadows. Everything is driven by that mentality.” Another example, Canyon Kitchen was developed to be dining with sustainable cuisine and seasonally grown vegetables. Thomas Platt says that continuing that naturally inspired legacy for her sons was an important part of her desire to conserve the land. He says, “When Sarah and Rich first moved to Cashiers,

Lonesome Valley was their home for many, many years. She wanted to be able to have her boys grow up in a neighborhood as the family had, where you wake She wanted to be able to have her up and go hiking or you go fishing.” boys grow up in a neighborhood as Sarah says that her participation in [the family had], where you wake up establishing a community dedicated to and go hiking or you go fishing. preserving the unique essence of the land and a distinctive sense of place has been the highlight of her career with Lonesome Valley. She sees how its progression is deeply rooted in history, and she values the personal connections made over time. This is what makes her passionate about Cashiers and preserving its character. “I have a deep appreciation for the people who have lived and worked the land on the Plateau over time…generations of families that have lived here,” she observes. “I never stop being awe inspired. There is always somewhere to explore and something to learn. There is a magic to this place.”

I never stop being awe inspired. There is always somewhere to explore and something to learn. There is a magic to this place.

by Ann Self

Time for New Year’s

Financial Resolutions

It’s that time of year when many of us promise ourselves we’ll go to the gym more, or learn a new language, or take up a musical instrument, or any number of other worthy goals. But this year, when making New Year’s resolutions, why not also consider some financial ones?

Here are a few to consider:

• Don’t let inflation derail your invest- ment strategy. As you know, inflation was the big financial story of 2022, hitting a 40-year high. And while it may moderate somewhat this year, it will likely still be higher than what we experienced the past decade or so. Even so, it’s a good idea to try not to let today’s inflation harm your investment strategy for the future. That happened last year: More than half of American workers either reduced their contributions to their 401(k)s and other retirement plans or stopped contributing completely during the third quarter of 2022, according to a survey by Allianz Life Insurance of North America. Of course, focusing on your cash flow needs today is certainly understandable, but are there other ways you can free up some money, such as possibly lowering your spending, so you can continue contributing to your retirement accounts? It’s worth the effort because you could spend two or three decades as a retiree.

• Control your debts. Inflation can also be a factor in debt management. For example, your credit card debt could rise due to rising prices and variable credit card interest rate increases. By paying your bill each month, you can avoid the effects of rising interest rates. If you do carry a balance, you might be able to transfer it to a lower-rate card, depending on your credit score. And if

you’re carrying multiple credit cards, you might benefit by getting a fixed-rate debt consolidation loan. In any case, the lower your debt payments, the more you can invest for your long-term goals. • Review your investment portfolio. At least once a year, you should review your investment portfolio to determine if it’s still appropriate for your goals, risk tolerance and time horizon. But be careful not to make changes just because you feel your recent performance is not what it should have been. When the financial mar- kets are down, as was the case for most of 2022, even quality investments, such as stocks of companies with solid business fundamentals and strong prospects, can see declines in value. But if these investments are still suitable for your portfolio, you may want to keep them. • Prepare for the unexpected. If you encountered a large unexpected expense, such as the need for a major home repair, how would you pay for it? If you didn’t have the money readily available, you might be forced to dip into your longterm investments or retirement accounts. To prevent this, you should build an emer- gency fund containing three to six months’ worth of living expenses — or a year’s worth, if you’re retired — with the money kept in a low-risk, liquid account. These resolutions can be useful — so try to put them to work in 2023.

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor. Edward Jones, Member SIPC

Todd Holder