okra. Issue 25, 2024 Preview

the Place we call Home

SOUL RESTORATION

Finding renewed life by rehabbing dilapidated properties in LA

ZEST FOR LIFE

Chef looks for happiness one meal at a time in GA

EXPANDED FARMING

Mother-daughter duo look for new ways to keep farming viable in AL

HOT SPRINGS TOUR Visit WV and VA and take in these historic hot springs and resorts

Chaz Lindsay, Pulito Osteria | Jackson, Mississippi

In Mississippi, our rock stars wear aprons and wield sharp knives.

It takes a creative spirit, an artful eye, and a deep passion for food to become a great chef. Maybe that’s why, in Mississippi, we have a healthy reverence for all those who’ve dedicated their lives to transforming simple ingredients into unforgettable experiences. From classic Southern comfort food to locally sourced and internationally-inspired cuisine, Mississippi is the perfect destination for all those who like their travels flavorful and fulfilling. Learn more at VisitMississippi.org/Flavors.

#WanderMS

Seven years ago we began a journey to dig deeper into our Southern culture and share it with y’all, our readers. It has been more rewarding than we ever imagined. In our travels we meet inspiring people, visit wonderful places, and explore the diversity of our culture.

issues of okra.

This journey has only just begun. As we bring you this, our 25th issue, we want to thank you for embracing our magazine. We look forward to bringing you many more stories of the diverse culture that is our South – the real South. Real Southern Culture.

36: A SPIRIT RESTORED

Sara McDaniel found her spirit renewed restoring delapidated properties in Minden, LA.

46: NEW TAKE ON FARMING

A mother-daughter duo look to new ways to revitalize their farm near Birmingham, AL.

STORIES

54: LIFE BY DESIGN

This Madison, MS artist designed his home filled with beautiful and colorful objects.

62: TRAVELS WITH DOC

A young NC girl’s life lessons learned from a free-thinking and inspirational stepfather.

Photograph b Alexandra Stone

CHAPTERS

EDITORIAL

PG 8: STAFF

The people who keep us going.

PG 9: OUR CONTRIBUTORS

The people who make our stories come to life.

COVER Williamsburg, VA

SOUTHERN COMFORTS

PG 12: SCULPTOR TEACHER

NC artist Ed Walker has carved out a successful sculpting studio in pottery country.

PG 16: BY SOUTHERN HANDS

You’ll want these finds made by locals.

PG 18: CHANGES

VA singer-songwriter duo Lowland Hum’s music is a balm for the soul.

SOUTHERN SNAPSHOTS

PG 70: ZEST FOR LIFE

Celebrity chef Hans Reuffert never thought he would be known as The Chef Without a Stomach.

PG 76: LAY OF THE LAND

Our readers submit photos of their special Southern places and people. Photo above of fog in the valley submitted by Suzanne Alverson.

TO DINE SOUTHERN

PG 22: GRAIN & GRITS

This TN festival has grown to be an evening of smooth whiskey and gourmet foods.

PG 28: NOTEWORTHY

Tastes worth noting from around the South

PG 30: GREENS & EGGS

Chef de Cuisine Davis Taylor of Rhubarb in NC brings us a perfect gumbo z’herbes shashuka.

PG 32: A WING AND A SHARE

Chef Brian Mooney of Luna Bar in Hoover, AL shares these luscious duck fat wings.

A ROAD LESS TRAVELED

PG 84: COOL HOT SPRINGS TRIP

Take a grand backcountry road trip through Eastern WV and Western VA to visit these historic hot springs.

PG 90: WHERE WE WENT

Spectacular views for nature lovers at Tallulah Gorge in Tallulah Falls, GA.

FRONT

Photograph by Scott Speakes

CONTRIBUTORS

JIMMY PROFFITT lives in East Tennessee with his husband, 4 dogs, and 5 cats. Working in marketing by day, his personal time is devoted to his website, The Appalachian Tale, developing new recipes, is working on his own cookbook, and has written a kids book he hopes to publish very soon. You can find him on social media as @ theappalachiantale and online at theappalachiantale.com

JOSEPH MCSPADDEN is a freelance writer and music enthusiast whose work has appeared at nodepression.com and at mbird. com, and The Mockingbird Journal, a publication that examines faith in the real world. His work has also appeared in Richmond, Virginia’s Style Weekly, the capital city’s premiere culture magazine. Joe is fascinated with the way words and music impact our lives and can be used as a vehicle for healing. He currently resides in Virginia with his wife Suzanne where he enjoys writing for okra. magazine and spending time with his 17 grandchildren. Yes, you read that right. 17 grandchildren.

HENRY GONZALEZ is an advertising photographer who live and worked out of Atlanta, Georgia, and the Southeast for over 20 years. Photography started as a hobby and became a career. After graduating from photography school, he moved to Atlanta and has been in demand ever since. He specializes in all types of photography: food, fashion, interiors and editorial. He’s always up for a challenge. henrygonzalezphotography.com

SUSAN MARQUEZ is a lifelong learner who finds joy in the unexpected discoveries often found on the path less traveled. She began writing professionally in 2001 and 2,800 articles later, she is still telling the stories of the South. With one foot in suburban Mississippi and the other in New Orleans, she can pack a suitcase in record time. “Writing gives me an excuse to ask questions, and to learn more than what can be seen on the surface.”

TRUDY HAYWOOD SAUNDERS is a writer, teacher, and explorer of food, culture, and travel destinations both in the South and beyond. Her work has appeared in Southern Living, Garden & Gun, Travel + Leisure, Our State, and other print and digital publications. She is also the author of two middle grade fiction books set in Montgomery County, North Carolina, where she lives with her husband, daughter, adopted cat, and sweet beagle with anxiety issues. trudyhaywoodsaunders.com

ERIC J. WALLACE is a writer, avid lover of the outdoors, and devotee to the ongoing search for the Good Life. His work has appeared in many noteworthy publications, including Outside, Backpacker, Canoe & Kayak, WIRED, Atlas Obscura, Modern Farmer and more. He is presently a contributing editor for the internet’s greatest fount of culinary wonder, Gastro Obscura. drericjwallace@gmail.com

MARIANNE LEEK is a retired high school educator who continues to teach part-time at Tri-County Community College. She lives with her husband in western North Carolina, where she spends much of her free time enjoying the outdoors. More of her work can be found in The Bitter Southerner.

CHAPTER 1

SOUTHERN COMFORTS

Photograph by Hadel Productions

ART

FOREVER THE TEACHER

SCULPTOR ED WALKER PROMOTES GROWTH IN NORTH CAROLINA’S POTTERY COUNTRY

Written by Trudy Haywood Saunders / Photography Courtesy of Ed Walker

North Carolina sculptor and owner of Carolina Bronze Sculpture foundry, Ed Walker, started his first art business in 3rd grade. “We had storytime after lunch and I would use crayons and draw pictures about the story on the brown paper towels. One of the kids saw me drawing these and offered me his ice cream money for it,” Walker says. “Before I knew it, I was going home with money in my pocket and my mom accused me of stealing.”

Walker made “stuff” from things he collected on the street from construction projects — yard chairs, bird houses, furniture. “I didn’t really know what sculpture was, but I think I was born to do that.” He left his home in Burlington and went to East Carolina University, thinking he would be a painter, until he took his first sculpture class. It was then he knew he had found his medium. Before long he was sneaking in an unlocked window at the university to work on projects through the night.

After finishing his education, Walker went to New Orleans, virtually penniless, working construction jobs, which led to a mentorship by the well-known kinetic sculpturist, Lin Emery. He eventually worked his way up to earn a teaching position at Tulane University, after which he and his wife, Melissa moved back to North Carolina because they wanted to raise their sons near their grandparents. They were lured to southwest Randolph County, right in the middle of Seagrove, North Carolina pottery country, by the reasonably-priced property.

“They’ve changed their attitude. Now when we have events coming up, we make flyers and give them to them, and they promote us as well.”

Walker decided to branch out from sculpting, and go into the foundry business for the long haul, building the first building on his property in 1995, doubling the size as demand increased.

The process of creating a sculpture includes rubber molding, ceramic shell, and lost wax casting, where molten metal is poured into a mold created by a wax model before the wax is melted and drained away. Bronzes are then welded, chased and finished with the patina of the artist’s choice. The entire process from original design to completed sculpture averages about one year, and Walker and the foundry staff are meticulous, making sure every step is executed flawlessly. “I like technical stuff. I don’t read novels, I read technical books for fun. I’m sort of an unlicensed engineer,” Walker says. “I never want to see one of my pieces torn down by a bunch of rioters,” Walker says. “ We put pipe armatures inside. I draw up and estimate the sizes of different parts to build and send to a structural engineer company to get their stamp of approval.”

“At first the potters looked at me as sort of threatening,” Walker says.

In 2008, the foundry added scanning and enlarging services so customers could have everything done in house. “We decided that we would get into that and the foundry just took off.” Walker was ready to build on again, but decided to lease the former Luck’s Bean cannery property that had fallen into bankruptcy. The former warehouse space is currently being renovated into 13,000 and 15,000 square foot exhibit spaces, and gallery showings are being planned.

Walker’s work can be found throughout the South, and beyond— the clock tower at Clemson University, the phoenix with a ten-foot wingspan at Elon University, and two of his favorites, an abstract clock called “Pottery Time”

Ed Walker

Opposite: The Town of Mount Holly, North Carolina commissioned four sculptures in memory of fallen Officer Tyler Herndon. In December 2022, the sculptures were unveiled in a memorial plaza outside of the police department. Shown is Kneeling Officer and K-9 Police Memorial..

in downtown Seagrove, and the Minuteman statue that he was commissioned to create in Richmond, Virginia, after the Chester French piece in Concord, Massachusetts. “The clock downtown is my favorite abstract piece because it tells a story,” Walker says about the Seagrove design. “Tick marks are pottery vases, and clocks are a meeting place for people.” For the Minuteman statue, Walker went into French’s studio and studied where he worked and the tools he used. “It’s about a farmer, leaving his plow behind and going out to fight for his country. If you look at him, you can tell he’s really torn, but he knows what he’s got to do. I think that captures the essence and meaning more than any piece I’ve done.”

By being able to do everything in house, Walker is able to help other artists bring their own sculptures to life, like Larry Bechtel, who has been commissioned by the city of Roanoke, Virginia, to create a statue of Henrietta Lacks, an African-American woman whose cancer cells have been used for medical research and to create vaccines.

Forever the teacher, Walker is excited about the future for Seagrove, and about helping artists in the area, especially the artist coop in the former cannery. “This town was dying after Luck’s closed up, now it’s more than doubled in size,” Walker says. “All the young people left, but we aim to change that.” edwalkerart.com

Clockwise L to R: Walker’s vision to build the best fine art bronze casting foundry on the East Coast came to fruition in 1990. Carolina Bronze Sculpture is a fine-art bronze foundry located in the Central North Carolina town of Seagrove and has grown to become one of the preeminent sculpture manufacturers on the East Coast. • Work on the initial sculptural concept of the German Shephard for one of the four Mount Holly, North Carolina sculptures. • The Phoenix commissioned by Elon University in Elon, NC. features a phoenix rising from a concrete column that resembles a twist of flames. The base weighs more than 3,400 pounds. The sculpture stands roughly 12-feet tall, with the phoenix boasting a 10-foot wing span.• Walker adding final details. • Another of the fallen officer commissions. Standing Officer and Girl Police Memorial, Mount Holly, NC.• Murrell Warren “Teedy” Thornhill, Jr., was one of the most beloved and influential Lynchburg, VA citizens of the 20th century. The first African American mayor of the Hill City and the first council member elected from Lynchburg’s historically Black Ward II. The life-sized bronze statue was unveiled and dedicated on August 19, 2023, in Lynchburg. • Sculptor of President Ronald Reagan and the First Lady in process. • Walker’s 6’ tall version of the Concord Minuteman, based on the original version of the Minuteman located in Concord, Massachusetts by Daniel Chester French, is located at the National Guard Headquarters Visitor Center in Richmond, VA. It represents a minuteman, symbolically leaving his coat and plow behind to aid his compatriots in the first battle with the British at the start of the revolutionary war. Each casting in the edition of 100 is signed by the artist and comes with a certificate of authenticity. The one in VA is #1/100.

MAMA GERALDINE’S FOOD

Unlike most late night, wine-fueled epiphanies, the inspiration that led to Cathy Cunningham’s abandonment of corporate life to follow her own bliss and start a business was actually a solid plan.

At the time, Cunningham worked in radio as a media rep in Atlanta. As successful as she was, however, she felt something was lacking. The answer came as she was having a glass of wine to relax one night, snacking on some expensive cheese bites whose flavor paled in comparison to her mother’s. “I realized that I could make a business out of selling Mama’s recipe,” says Cunningham. Rather than just dismiss the thought in the sober light of day, Cunningham pushed forward to make the idea a reality. She’d grown up eating her mama’s savory cheese straws, and she’d even unknowingly had them field-tested over the years, giving her proof of concept. “My mama, Geraldine, would bake them and send them with me to take to the various cities I would visit as a media rep,” says Cunningham. “My colleagues would descend on them like locusts and beg for more. I still recall the welcoming aroma of baking cheese straws when I would return

home from college, so they’ve always been a part of my memories.”

In 1995, Cunningham started Bodacious Food, taking a leap of faith that she could leave her life as a “burnt-out radio representative” and make a change that would give her the fulfillment she’d been craving.

“To me, ‘bodacious’ means ‘as good as it gets,’ and I wanted to make the best product there was.”

As undeniably delicious as her product was, however, Mama Geraldine’s Cheese Straws didn’t gain any traction until she made the terrifying decision to sell to major grocery chains—first among them being Kroger.

“To build a successful brand in premium snacks, your product needs to be available to the masses,” Cunningham notes. “Cheese straws were not available in retail groceries until Mama Geraldine’s came along.”

The name is self-explanatory, as Cunningham is using her late mother’s recipe. But more than that, she is paying homage to the incredible woman who raised her and the story of her family, passing it on to anyone who tastes those incredible snacks.

Geraldine, a former teacher from Newnan, Georgia, and true Southern lady,

Corry Blanc

Written by Liesel J Schmidt / Photography by Alison Parnell

TAKING A BITE OUT OF THE SNACK MARKET

learned how to bake from her Swedish mother. When Geraldine married, she and her husband, Turner Homes Cunningham, had four children—with only one daughter, Cathy. Raising her children, Geraldine found that baking was crucial in keeping everyone fed. She spent countless hours making the buttery cheese straws, and they became a family favorite as well as a popular treat for people in town.

Now, those same cheese straws are a part of other family’s memories, as well—and, in Cunningham’s estimation, they’re perfect for any occasion that calls for good food and fun. “Southerners know how to mix great food with good times,” she says. “Cheese straws bring back warm memories for so many during all types of family gatherings, and we love being part of that.”

Mama Geraldine’s Cheese Straws now come in six flavors, including gluten-free, and have become—according to Cunningham—“the best-selling cheese straw in all of these United States.”

Cunningham makes that claim with good reason, as quality and flavor have always been paramount to the Mama Geraldine’s name. “I tasted some pretty bad cheese straws already on the market before deciding to create Mama Geraldine’s,” Cunningham explains. “If you can’t be the first, I say be the best—and we are. The quality of handmade products can be sustained in a

mass production environment if the integrity of the ingredients are not compromised, and ours have never been compromised in the interest of growth. Mama Geraldine’s is baked using only 12-month aged Wisconsin cheddar cheese. There are no shortcuts to achieve the premium snacking we have created, and we’re incredibly proud of that.”

Georgia-based Bodacious Food Company has also expanded to include a line of cookies: Italian Wedding, Pecan Cini-Minis and Key Lime. Mama Geraldine’s Cheese Straws and Bodacious Snacks are distributed worldwide and can be purchased at all major Southeastern retailers as well as online at Amazon and on their company website mamageraldines.com

Mama Geraldine’s Brand honors Teachers of the Year in each school in surrounding counties to Newnan, Georgia, in honor of Cunningham’s parents, both of whom were educators. Following a recent fire at the company, there will be a huge digital media campaign with a relaunch of Mama Geraldine’s in early 2024. “I have learned that existing in a ‘bubble of optimism’ is the key to resilience,” Cunningham says. “Mama Geraldine’s will not only survive our challenges, but thrive as a growing, very much in-demand, premium snack brand. And as for me—well, I haven’t had to put on a pair of pantyhose in decades. How’s that for living a bodacious life?”

from self with love

LOWLAND HUM’S MUSIC IS A BALM FOR HEALING

Written by Joseph McSpadden / Photography by Tristan Williams

Daniel and Lauren Goans are on the phone. They live just a little over an hour away, on the outskirts of Charlottesville, but, alas, our respective schedules do not allow for an in-person interview. So, we settle for a “phoner.” Which might sound disappointing at first except that, talking to these two is never a let-down.

The Goans, or Lowland Hum, as they are known to their devoted followers, continue to make the kind of music that garners attention from outlets like NPR, Paste and Pitchfork. Their mantra, early in their career, was Support Quiet Music. At the time it seemed to say it all. Whether opening for artists like Josh Ritter, or playing a house concert in your neighborhood, they have

always championed music that made you think. And made you feel.

Together they bring a wealth of talent to the table. Lauren, a visual artist, designs the album graphics and lyric sheets. She also brings an angelic voice to the recordings. Daniel is somewhat of an architect, creating a foundation for the music; singing and playing multiple instruments, and quietly nudging Lauren’s voice to the forefront.

As writers, Daniel and Lauren have a keen sense of observation, their lyrics capturing the importance of life lived in the small moments. The duo exhibits a gift for seeing what the rest of us often miss. They have an innate ability to articulate the longing for connection in a disconnected world; the search

for hope and meaning amid clamor and chaos. And yet, the music is never despairing, but hopeful and affirming. “We’ve made five records about human frailty and I’m still trying to understand it,” Daniel says.

ADVERSITY USUALLY SHOWS UP UNINVITED

Adversity has provided the inspiration for some of the band’s best writing. 2017’s Thin found the Goans yearning for home, for a slower, more intentional life. They followed this with a breakneck European tour that saw them play twenty-eight shows in thirty days. “Apparently, we weren’t very good at taking our own advice,” Daniel observes.

Glyphonic, from 2019, mined gems from their travel abroad. By 2021 the couple had no choice but to take their own advice, as they grappled with the covid shutdown and quarantine. It was not an easy transition. The shutdown forced them to recognize that they had designed a life that worked well on the road. Hunker down at home? That would take some adjustment.

The next revelation came in the form of some surprising news; Lauren was pregnant. Two major life changes, however, did not dampen their creative instincts and the album At Home was birthed, along with a healthy baby boy. Adversity, it seems, inspired productivity both professionally and personally.

LIVING AND DYING IN 4/4 TIME

Their old friend, adversity, kept coming around bringing turmoil and change. Around this time Daniel began to focus on his work as a producer, making records for artists Alanna Boudreau, Gold Connections, and others. His work as a producer has received high praise from the artists whose projects he has shepherded.

As rewarding as those experiences were, life, once again, had a few curveballs in store for the couple. A long-time friend named Al, described by the Goans as more like family, came for a visit. They knew Al from back in their earliest days, in Greensboro, NC. Both Daniel and Lauren describe him as a mentor. “He saw potential in us when I’m not sure it was there,” remarks Daniel. But this visit took an unexpected turn when a sudden fall put their friend in the hospital.

Without any family to look after Al, the Goans took it upon themselves to walk with him through the next months as he struggled to recover. The first step was to get their friend back to North Carolina, where Al’s insurance would provide better coverage. Fortunately for the Goans they had family they could count on and moved in for what would be a two month stay. “This was all new to us, we had no experience with this sort of thing up to this point,” says Lauren. From then on Daniel and Lauren took turns visiting their friend at the hospital, and then, at a managed care facility, advocating for Al at every turn. He eventually passed after two months.

This brought a new responsibility, as Daniel and Lauren inherited their friend’s bookstore. Having built a life as Virginia-based musicians, they were left with no choice but to close the store and pack up its 25,000 books. During all this they discovered that Lauren was pregnant again.

BACK TO THE BOARDS

The thought of getting back to work seemed daunting. Especially for Lauren. “I just didn’t know if I had the capacity for creative work. It’s not that I was miserable - I was loving being a new mom – I just wasn’t sure when I was going to have a chance to sit in a room and make something.”

But getting back in their home studio was just the tonic they needed. Daniel put it best, “Working on music is restorative to our relationship, and to us indi-

vidually… I think it helped us feel more hopeful about life.” The experiences of the last couple of years would shape the recordings to come.

“We thought we were making a couple of stand-alone singles,” Daniel explains. “By the time we got to the third one we realized these songs were related to each other. When we wrote the fourth one, we thought that maybe this might be an album.”

“A couple of the songs were trying to address parts of ourselves that we hoped to not lose amid difficult times. We were asking ourselves how much of a person makes it through seasons of great difficulty.”

Change was in the wind, as the growing family led them to alter their work routine. “This album,” Daniel points out, “marks our new way of writing, which is, one of us watches the kids, while the other person works on it. Then we switch.”

The result, the new album, From Self, With Love, may be Lowland Hum’s masterpiece. The lyrics carry the wisdom of hard-won experience. Their astute observations of the human condition seem as sharp as ever, while something of an evolution has taken place in their sound. The spare art-folk sound of their early recordings has given way to a broader sonic palette as the duo fully embrace their pop sensibilities, while clinging firmly to their roots. Though their influences were always present in the work, now they are more openly expressed.

Daniel seems to be everywhere in these recordings, even as he steps back a little vocally. Where they once shared lead vocal duties equally, here Daniel nudges Lauren into the spotlight as she handles the lion’s share. Daniel, meanwhile, seems to channel his inner George Martin in his role as producer, although that role is credited to them both. Daniel is quick to point out that although their experiences informed the material, the songs were written broadly enough that they are easily accessible to the listener.

The opening track, “The Secret Tea Room,” immediately draws the listener in, promising an intimate experience. Lauren’s voice seems to float on the ether. The song itself was inspired by a dream that came to Lauren one night when they were going through the most difficult times with Al’s health.

“It started with a dream I had. We were on tour and supposedly we were going through the largest airport in the world. In the dream people kept telling me that I just had to go to the botanical garden in the airport. We were trying to find it when someone came up to me and handed me a hot pink envelope. In the envelope was a key to a secret tea room hidden in this botanical garden. Access was by invitation only, you had to have a key to get in. I woke feeling really loved by it all, and I went and put down some notes on it. Where do dreams come from? The subconscious? Somewhere beyond myself?” The dream was so vivid it inspired the album’s title.

The album is solid from beginning to end. Daniel takes the spotlight on “Half Gone.” A song about feeling checked-out, it rides on a haunting acoustic guitar melody that sounds like it belongs to an Appalachian murder ballad.

The stunner of this batch of songs comes right in the middle of the album. “Island Eyes” is about pining for that haven you want to escape to, that refuge of the soul. Lauren’s soaring vocal captures the longing for respite, for healing, and for a chance to catch her breath.

The Goans attention to detail invites us to fully inhabit the moments we find ourselves in; to stop and consider, and, to feel. In a world that has become increasingly disconnected through social media they are a voice crying out in the technological wilderness, challenging us to truly live. The seeds of experience, planted in a painful season, became a harvest of songs with the power to heal. Lowland Hum’s music is a balm for the human spirit.

“ esh from the pond to your plate ince 1982”

Simmons Catfish Street Tacos Grilled, Blackened, and Fried, Topped with Creamy Jalapeño Coleslaw and Avocado Tomatillo Salsa with Red Onion and Cilantro Sprinkle SOMBRA MEXICAN KITCHEN