July PineStraw 2010 by PineStraw Magazine

FEATURES

July 2010

46 Best In Show

Volume 5, No. 7

Our loving tribute to the cult classic. Lassie Come Home it ain’t.

50 Dog Tales

Four stories guaranteed to make your tail wag.

DEPARTMENTS

Sweet Tea Chronicles Jim Dodson

8 13 15

PinePitch Cos and Effect Cos Barnes The Omnivorous Reader Stephen E. Smith

18 22 25 27 31 33 35 37 41 72 83 95

Bookshelf PineBuzz Jack Dodson Hitting Home Dale Nixon The Kitchen Garden Jan Leitschuh Pleasures of Life Nancy Oakley Vine Wisdom Robyn James Birdwatch Susan Campbell The Sporting Life Tom Bryant Golftown Journal Lee Pace Calendar SandhillSeen The Accidental Astrologer Astrid Stellanova

SouthWords

Laurie Birdsong

Houdini Higgins By Geoff Cutler Doggy in the Mist Megan Shore Sister Act By Chris Larsen Emma’s Eyes By Brenda Bouser

55 Top Dogs We sure love hot dogs. Here are our patriotic fab five for summer 2010.

59 Blues Traveler

By Ashley Wahl

Austin-based bluesman Seth Walker headlines the 2010 Blues Crawl.

60 The March King

By Ray Owen

64 Story of a House

By Deborah Salomon

John Philip Sousa, composer of America’s most patriotic music, was a modest man full of surprises. This brilliantly reworked Whispering Pines gem elevates a dog’s life to an art form.

68 The Garden Path

By Tom Allen

Dig in the soil, delve in the soil — or so agrees our thoughtful essayist, who is happy to show you the dirt beneath his fingernails. COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY TIM SAYER Front L-R: Justin Monroe and Bill, Collette and Caesar, Joey Rouse, Billie Ertter and Nelly. Back L-R: Heath Trigg, Ginny Kelly and Luke, Robyn James, Ken Howell and Buttercup.

Walking the Moore County Hounds PHOTOGRAPH BY JEANNE PAINE

PineStraw M A G A Z I N E Jim Dodson, Editor Andie Stuart Rose, Creative Director Kathryn Galloway, Graphic Designer Megan Shore, Graphic Designer Ashley Wahl, Editorial Assistant EDITORIAL

Deborah Salomon, Staff Writer Stephen E. Smith, Staff Writer Sara King, Proofreader Mary Novitsky, Proofreader PHOTOGRAPHERS

Glenn Dickerson Jeanne Paine Tim Sayer Hannah Sharpe CONTRIBUTORS

Cos Barnes Tom Bryant Susan Campbell Geoff Cutler Mart Dickerson Jack Dodson Kay Grismer Robyn James Pamela Powers January Chris Larsen Jan Leitschuh Dale Nixon Lee Pace Vickie Rounds Noah Salt Astrid Stellanova Angie Tally

David Woronoff, Publisher ADVERTISING SALES 910.693.2505

Pat Taylor, Advertising Director Ginny Kelly Bill Downey Terry Hartsell Marty Hefner Peggy Marsh Darlene McNeil-Smith Johnsie Tipton Karen Triplett ADVERTISING GRAPHIC DESIGN

Kathryn Galloway, B.J. Hill Mechelle Wood, Scott Yancey Darlene Stark, Circulation Director 910.693.2488

PineStraw Magazine 910.693.2467

145 W. Pennsylvania Avenue Southern Pines, NC 28387 pinestraw@thepilot.com www.pinestrawmag.com Â©Copyright 2010. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. PineStraw magazine is published by The Pilot LLC

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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July 2010

SWEET TEA CHRONICLES

Second Chance Champs BY JIM DODSON

Photograph By Hannah Sharpe

Four years

ago I was driving down U.S. 1 to the world-famous Sardine Festival in Aberdeen when a skinny black pup shot across the busy highway, just narrowly missing being struck by a truck. Something made me follow the black streak into the park, where I found a group of boys tossing a Adair Beutel and Baxter. football around. I asked them about the dog, whom it belonged to, why it might be running so dangerously free. “Oh, that dog’s been around here a few weeks,” one of the boys replied. “She don’t belong to nobody, mister. She eats garbage and stuff people feed her. She lives in the woods yonder. Somebody put her out or she just ran away.” As I was leaving the park a short time later, I spotted the black streak heading back for the busy highway, so I instinctively cupped my hands to my mouth, squatted and called, “Hey, black streak. Don’t do that. Come here.” The dog abruptly stopped and looked back. I clapped my hands and she did something remarkable. Bolted straight into my arms as if she knew me. She was filthy, underfed, skinny as a gravedigger’s hound, but the sweetest animal I’d ever seen. Before taking her to the Humane Society shelter in Carthage, I confirmed from park workers that she was a stray that had been hanging around the park for many days. There was no room for the pup at the Humane Society shelter, and because I was so new to Moore County I failed to realize the county’s outstanding Animal Control facility was less than a mile away. I drove the pup instead to a no-kill shelter in Hoke County where the rather overwhelmed owner convinced me that the foundling pup had taken quiet a shine to me. When I glanced back into my car, my filthy new friend was seated on the leather console between the front seats of my new car, batting her long PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

black eyelashes at me. I took the foundling home, gave her a bath, and watched her wolf down a can of gourmet dog food, which she promptly threw up along with a pile of small animal bones and bits of garbage. That night after dinner I phoned my wife back in Maine to let her know I was temporarily in possession of an adorable stray I’d rescued and planned to keep until I could either find her rightful owner or a nice new home. My wife merely laughed. In the middle of the night, I heard gentle snoring and rolled over to find Mulligan, as I took to calling her that evening, upside down and out for the count with her pretty retriever head on my wife’s pillow. To this day, I’m not sure who really found whom, but like lots of Moore County residents my life has been deeply enriched by a second-chance mutt that’s turned out to be the smartest, funniest, and most self-possessed animal I’ve ever owned. It didn’t take her long to take charge of our two amiable golden retrievers and the cat. Mully became the four-legged head of household, the queen bee, the wild thing that won our hearts. Some version of Mully’s tale is repeated every day in this county, where roughly 5,000 cats and dogs a year pass through a fine Animal Control facility. The sad part of this story is that, while a good many of these wonderful strays, rescues or surrendered pets are well cared for and eventually adopted into good homes, owing to the tireless work of several local animal advocacy groups, a large percentage of them — more than 60 percent — are eventually euthanized. And the problem gets worse as you get out into the country, where poverty rates sharply correspond to the percentage of residents living in poverty. According to the latest statistics provided by the Companion Animal Clinic Foundation of the Sandhills, which provides affordable spay-neuter services to companion animal groups in a ninecounty area struggling to curb a population explosion of unwanted dogs and cats, neighboring counties like Randolph, Montgomery and Cumberland, for instance, have euthanasia rates topping 80 percent, directly reflecting rural poverty rates in the vicinity of 16 percent.

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July 2010

SWEET TEA CHRONICLES

Since opening its doors in 2007, the notfor-profit spay-neuter clinic has topped 10,000 low-cost surgeries, making a significant dent in helping to curb regional overpopulation. As the dedicated vets and assistants at CAC will tell you, however, the fight ahead remains a formidable one — which is why you should not only make certain your household dogs and cats are spayed and neutered by your preferred veterinarian, but also consider financially supporting CAC with a tax-deductible donation today. From a

“We think we’re saving them. But I think they may be saving us.” pure economic perspective it makes perfect sense because euthanizing an animal costs the county three times as much taxpayer money than neutering and spaying. Three summers ago we did a cover story in PineStraw celebrating this community’s remarkable love of animals, particularly our collective passion for dogs. As the hottest days of summer descend upon us again — what traditionally many like to call the “Dog Days of Summer” — we thought a closer look at the unique relationship between human and dog was in order, personal dog tales from the heart. Not surprisingly, most are secondchance mutts. Consider, for instance, the story of Adair Beutel and her wonderful dog Baxter. Several years ago, not long after her husband Bill passed away, Adair’s beloved bull terrier, Abby, and golden retriever, Grace, also died. “Losing Bill was just terrible, but losing the dogs in fairly short order was a devastating blow,” allows Adair, who grieved for months until she was persuaded that it was time to consider finding a new dog. “I didn’t know what I wanted, or even that I was ready for a dog to try to replace Abby and Grace. But we went to Animal Control and the Humane Society just to see what kind of animals might be available.” They looked over every pooch available for adoption at both agencies. “There were plenty of wonderful dogs,” she remembers, “dogs of every size and type, but none that really spoke to me. I thought maybe this meant I

July 2010

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

SWEET TEA CHRONICLES

wasn’t quite ready to get a dog after all.” One final dog was brought out for her consideration. He was young, scruffy, recently found on the side of the road. He looked at her with intelligent brown eyes. “Poor thing had almost no hair on his body, just a little wisp on his tail and these adorable fluffy feet,” she recounts. “But the instant I looked into those soulful brown eyes, I knew we belonged together. There was an instantaneous connection, like he knew me and it was meant to be.” She named him Baxter, after her pal Ruffles’ talented musical son — Southern Pines’ own Buddy Holly, whose hair is always an adventure. She brought him home to CCNC and was surprised to see how quickly he acclimated to his new environment. “He was perfectly behaved from the day he got here last September,” she explains. “He walked in and hopped up on the sofa like he owned the place. His attitude was so relaxed and endearing, playful and sassy at times, with no apologies for where he’d come from, just visibly glad to be here. Anyone who met him could see it instantly.” A fortnight after he arrived, Ruffles Clement and artist Mary Schwab threw a “shower” for Baxter, whose only issue was his somewhat finicky eating habits, perhaps the result of his days in the wild. “I was a little concerned that he wasn’t eating enough to put on weight,” says Adair, who solved this problem by adding blue cheese burgers from Fresh Market to Baxter’s dry dog food for a while. He put on weight and his hair returned. “Baxter had a grand time at his shower,” she adds, “and opened every one of his gifts.” Not long after this, he went to obedience school and became the star pupil of his class. Today, Baxter — who appears to be equal parts bearded collie and Hollywood wonder dog — is a healthy, happy character with a coat of gorgeous gray hair with golden highlights who greets all visitors like the lord of the manor. “He goes everywhere with me,” admits Adair. “He particularly loves to ride shotgun in the car over to visit my mother at Belle Meade or trips up to Raleigh. He’s such a curious and loving animal; he constantly reminds me how important it is to look at the world with fresh eyes and a new perspective.” She ruffles Baxter’s hair and he looks at her with shining eyes. “This dog has been a blessing to my life,” she says. “We think we’re saving them. But I think they may be saving us.” PS

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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July 2010

Go Fourth and Celebrate Village of Pinehurst 4th of July Parade commences at the Arboretum at 10 a.m. and winds through the village. Dress up kids and pets, bring bikes and golf carts. Pinehurst celebration continues with fireworks, beginning at 5 p.m. at the Fair Barn, Pinehurst Harness Track. Pony rides, games, Vision Band, Sparky. Fireworks at 9:15 p.m. Food and beverages available or bring picnic. Information: (910) 295-2817. Aberdeen July 4th celebration (the biggie): Beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Aberdeen Lake Park, with live music by The Entertainers at 6 p.m., fireworks after sunset. Admission free. Children may purchase wrist bands for $3 to participate in games with prizes, face painting, other activities. (910) 944-0275. Carthage July 4th Parade: 11 a.m. downtown Carthage. Floats, color guard, music, food. Moore County Concert Band: 3 p.m. Cardinal Ballroom, Carolina Hotel, Pinehurst Resort. Information: (910) 295-9023.

Good Licks During the dog days of summer every pup deserves a break. Dairy Queen in Southern Pines is barking up the right tree with Fido freezies: a sundae cup of vanilla ice cream topped with mini dog biscuits — so much more convenient than licking that drippy cone. Price: $1.

The Good Wife The Rooster’s Wife music series is under way in Aberdeen: SPECIAL CONCERT: SOLAS. Friday, July 2, 8:30 p.m. The Boston Herald trumpeted the quartet as “the first truly great Irish band to arise from America,” and the Irish Echo ranked Solas among the “most exciting bands anywhere in the world.” This is mind-blowing Irish folk music. The show will be held at Poplar Knight Spot, 114 Knight St., Aberdeen. Tickets: $20. THE SUMMER ON THE PORCH SERIES: July 11, Newfound Road, Lizzie Ross. July 18, Postmaster’s House: Jon Shain Trio. July 25, Postmaster’s House: Rebecca Pronsky, Swang Brothers. Shows start at 6 p.m. Tickets: $8. Held outside at the Postmaster’s House, 204 East South St. — bring a picnic and chair. Food is available. In case of rain — the concert moves to the Poplar Knight Spot. Information: www.theroosterswife.org or (910) 944-7502.

July 2010

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

The Nights of Wine and Music

Frank Giordano: Par 3 second hole of Bandon Trails in Oregon

Clinking glasses, cool rhythms. The Wine Cellar & Tasting Room in Southern Pines presents wine tastings with live music Saturday nights at 7 p.m. during July, beginning July 10 with The Fred Brush Jazz Trio, followed on July 17 by The Sunrise Theater Blues Crawl; July 24, Gage Howe, and April Fools on July 31. Free admission. Information and schedules: www.thewinecellarandtastingroom.com

Frank Giordano plays, writes about and now paints golf. During July several of his golfscapes, among other works in his one-man On the Road Again show, will be displayed at the Artists League of the Sandhills in Aberdeen. The exhibit opens July 2 and continues through July 29. A reception for viewers will he held from 3 to 5 p.m. on July 11 at the Exchange Street Gallery. Information: (910) 944-3979.

Linked In

Swing Your Partner Moonlighting In 1906, Donald Ross and a friend, after drinks and cigars at the Holly Inn, decided to play a nocturnal round. Ross carded an 88. The event under a quarter moon returns on July 16 when the Moonlight Golf Contest to benefit the Tufts Archives takes place at Mid Pines Country Club hosted by Peggy Kirk Bell and Kelly Miller. Hors d’oeuvres and libations at 7:30 p.m. followed by a four-hole match with a five-club limit, then an awards ceremony. Form a foursome or be paired. Tickets: $100, available at Given Memorial Library. Information: (910) 295-3642.

“In the Mood” for a “Sentimental Journey?” The Pinehurst Business Guild will host sophisticated MidSummer Night’s Swing to benefit the Special Olympics of North Carolina, beginning at 6 p.m. July 16 at the Fair Barn in Pinehurst. Eddie Barrett and his Goodman Legacy Orchestra will provide cut-arug music and Elliott’s on Linden will serve a plated dinner. Tickets: $40 in advance, $50 at the door available at Pinehurst Village Hall, the Fair Barn, or call (910) 295-0166.

Everything Plus The Kitchen Sink The annual Moore County Community Flea Market comes to the Pinehurst Fair Barn from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 24. Seventy dealers will bring yard-sale stuff, birdhouses, jewelry, collectibles, treasures – you just never know. Food for sale from The Lunch Box. Information: (910) 693-2511.

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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July 2010

Digging Up Roots The American South and its diverse people own a rich and colorful musical history. Explore it from 2 to 7 p.m. July 10 at Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities in Southern Pines, during “Coming Together: An Afternoon of the Musical Roots of the American South.” Program includes Billy Stevens discussing Elvis, blue grass by the Fine Blue Line of Robbins, jazz, gospel and more. Picnics and children welcome. Admission: $10 adults, under 12 free. Information: (910) 692-6261.

Bless the Beasts, Teach the Children Volunteers are needed to teach students about responsible pet ownership. Last school year teams of volunteers trained by the Citizens’ Pet Responsibility Committee and aided by speakers from Moore County Animal Control and The Animal Center reached fourth-graders in 10 Moore County schools. Children learned the benefits of spaying, neutering, pet care and identification. A two-part training session will be held July 17 and 24. Information and registration: (910) 949-9953.

Eat Your Heart Out

Cooking never takes a holiday at Elliott’s on Linden. Summer classes and demonstrations (some free) include Sauce is as Sauce Does, Texas Rub Down, Gardening Club, 30-Minute Meals, Refreshing Sides (like feta watermelon salad), My Shish to Your Bob, Junior Chef Day Camp and others beginning July 5 and continuing through July 31. Information and registration: (910) 215-0775 or www.elliottsonlinden.com

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At The Village, retirement living is about

When Don West We Wesst joined The Village Villlage at Brookwood, Vi Brookw wood, he found the in ultimate li i active active i adult d l living li i — a residential residenti id ial i l retirement retir i ement community i with prepared w ith eeverything verything he he needs needs right right here here at at home. home. Delectable Delectable meals meals p repared by our award-winning award-w winning chef. Water W Waater a aerobics aerobics in n the heated, saltwater pool. Distinctive residential resid dential designs. Lifelong Lifelong learning learn ning at Elon University. Universityy. And, is guaranteed the h security i off knowing k i his hi residency residency i guaraanteed for life in a communityy sponsored the award-winning Center.. sponsor ed by th he awar d-winning Alamance Regional R Medical Center Find your homee for life at The Village. Village. i Visit www.VillageAtBrookwood.org V iisit w ww.VillageAtBrookwood.org toll-free or call us toll-fr ee at 800-282-2053 800-282-2053..

Cont ac info@ t us tod ay or 80 villageat for lunc br h 0-28 2-20 ookwoo & a tou d.org 53. r: 10

July 2010

Choices

Community

Convenience

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Comfort

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

WHISPERING PINES

PINEHURST

30 Goldenrod Drive – 3 BR / 2.5 BA / Water View

136 Linville Gardens – 3 BR / 2 BA / Golf Front

This beautiful custom home has a well designed kitchen with Corian counters, built-in desk and breakfast nook. The master bedroom has a walk-in closet and a private bath. Other pluses include a formal dining room, a living room with a wood burning fireplace, two guest bedrooms, another full bath, laundry room, attached two car garage, brick patio and a landscaped yard! $193,500 Code 639

This gorgeous brick home has a welcoming split floor plan that is perfect for the entire family. You’ll appreciate the living room with 10’ ceilings, gas fireplace and display niche. The Carolina room offers a wall of windows and patio access. The inviting kitchen offers beautiful wood cabinets, tile flooring, a built-in desk, a breakfast bar and nook. This home also offers attic access for lots of storage! $269,900 Code 634

This spacious furnished main level condo could be your weekend getaway. A secluded master suite has a private bath and a private balcony with awesome golf views. This condo also offers 2 guest bedrooms, another full bath, a well planned kitchen with breakfast area, and a living room with a brick hearth fireplace! $169,900 Code 632

www.24BirdieDrive.com

www.30GoldenrodDrive.com

www.136LinvilleGardens.com

SEVEN LAKES NORTH

HORSE COUNTRY

SEVEN LAKES NORTH

24 Birdie Drive – 3 BR / 2.5 BA / Large Lot

465 Sheldon Road – 3 BR / 4 BA / 10 Acres

100 Thistle Lane - 3 BR / 2 BA / Split Plan

This well designed home is warm and inviting. The living room has a vaulted ceiling, gas fireplace and hardwood flooring. The Carolina room has lots of windows while the kitchen offers upscale appliances and granite counters. The split plan allows privacy for everyone. This home also has ample storage, a deck to the fenced backyard and has access to the Seven Lakes North playground, pool and lakes! $207,500 Code 650

Stunning gentlemen’s farm on prime 10 acres with access to the Moss Foundation, designed by Stagaard & Chao and built by Alex Bowness. Great location, blocks from town on the old Stoneybrook racetrack. Wonderful house for entertaining, open floor plan, large kitchen and expansive brick patio. For the horses, there is a 2-stall barn with wash stall, hayloft, feed and tack room, along with paddocks and dressage ring. $1,320,000 Code 645

This impressive all brick home was custom built by Bolton Builders. The living room features a fireplace and vaulted ceiling. The master bedroom offers privacy with its private bath. The inviting kitchen has a pantry, breakfast bar and nook. The location is within easy walking distance of swimming, the playground and tennis! $196,800 Code 669

www.114PineconeCourt.com

www.465SheldonRoad.com

www.100ThistleLane.com

MCLENDON HILLS

WEST END

BEACON RIDGE

192 Broken Ridge Trail – 4 BR / 4 BA / Equestrian Community This gorgeous home is on two acres of fenced property with beautiful views. The gourmet kitchen features an island, tile backsplash and stainless steel appliances. The main level master bedroom features two walk-in closets and a private bath. The upper level is home to another bedroom and bonus room. The lower level has a family room, office, full bath, laundry room and storage area! $445,000 Code 662

131 Pinesage Drive – 3 BR / 2 BA / Cul-de-Sac

202 Banbridge Drive – 3 BR / 2.5 BA / Golf Front

Charming and well kept best describes this lovely home. The kitchen is the ideal space for cooking family favorites There is plenty of room for everyone with the separate guest house that includes a 19X16 living area and full bath. You’ll also find a 13X10 workshop for creating projects or potting plants. There is also a storage building and a fenced in yard that is perfect for pets! $254,900 Code 667

Beautiful all brick home is perfect for elegant and casual living. Whip up family recipes in the spacious kitchen then relax in the living room by the cozy fireplace. The split bedroom floor plan is ideal for everyone. You’ll appreciate the 2 car garage with attic storage. Watch the golfers tee it up from the screened porch! $255,000 Code 996

www.192BrokenRidgeTrail.com

www.131PinesageDrive.com

www.202BanbridgeDrive.com

GLEN LAUREL

PINEHURST

PINEHURST TRACE

114 Pinecone Court – 3 BR / 2 BA / Split Plan

1130 Magnolia Drive – 4 BR / 2.5 BA / Two Level

140 Donald Ross Drive – 3 BR / 2.5 BA / Great Location

This great house is perfect for casual and formal living. Entertain guests in the living and dining rooms or out by the in-ground swimming pool. The kitchen is perfect for whipping up gourmet meals or just a snack. The family room is cozy with its fireplace and warm décor. The upper level is home to the master suite with private bath and 3 guest bedrooms and another full bath! $279,000 Code 648

This inviting home is very spacious from the formal living room to the 3 season porch. The well planned kitchen has tile floors, granite counters and a pantry. The home also includes an office, laundry room, breakfast area, fireplace, formal dining room and two car garage. Outside you’ll find a nicely landscaped yard with mature plants! $380,000 Code 644

This charming home has a bright and airy floor plan and is located in a 55+ community. The kitchen has a sunny breakfast nook and a bayed window. Additional features include: a formal dining room, master bedroom, guest bedroom, two full baths, enclosed porch, single car garage, and a back patio. This home is within walking distance of the Pinehurst Trace clubhouse! $155,000 Code 641

www.140DonaldRossDrive.com

www.150PinehurstTraceDrive.com

www.1130MagnoliaDrive.com

150 Pinehurst Trace Drive – 2 BR / 2 BA / Open Floor Plan

View Floor Plans and Virtual Tours of Our Listings and See ALL Moore County Listings and Community Information at

www.MarthaGentry.com

0 9,00 $18

Pinehurst Cottage 245 Lake Hills. Cute 3 BR/2BA with PCC Membership transfer available! Split BR plan. Call Janice 910-315-9577.

0 9,90 $33

0 9,00 $79

A Weymouth Gem. 230 Highland Rd., Southern Pines. 4-5BR/5BA. Home on over an acre. Landscaped private gardens. Pool. Call Janice 910-315-9577

Golf front Views! 42 Cardinal Whispering Pines. Gorgeous 3 BR/3BA Home. Fabulous floor plan. Beautiful lot. Call Debbie 910-783-5193.

0 ,00 tract! 5 7 $6 Con er Und

0 5,00 4 1 $ Opening Doors for You 760 NW Broad St., Southern Pines Visit all our listings at www.janicestorrs.com

Turn-key, Furnished Condo. Updated! 119 Sugar Gum Pinehurst. Transferrable PCC membership available. Call Debbie 910-783-5193

July 2010

Janice Storrs 910.315.9577

Member Firm

Debbie Darby 910.783.5193

"Old town" Pinehurst. 135 Blue Rd. Elegant floor plan. 3BR/3BA Brick Home. Exquisite detailing. Private grounds. Call Janice 910-315-9577

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

COS AND EFFECT

A Table, A Clock, A Stone The value of some simple things is priceless BY COS BARNES

ometimes we have to be reminded of the value of our possessions. And more often than not their worth is sentimental rather than monetary. Many years ago, when they downsized, I was given my in-laws’ walnut dining room furniture. I loved the size and how well it fit in my dining room. It took some getting used to, however, because the table is made with four smaller center legs and apron and four larger side legs. My younger daughter, who always had to sit in the space between the center legs, despised it. I did not like it either because I had to bring in a kitchen chair that would fit the space. I quit complaining when my mother-in-law told me the story. After rearing and educating six children, they proceeded to buy antique furniture for their new home. In those days they did not shop in elaborate stores but in homes, garages, gas stations and the like. They bought the table from a dealer and discovered the six chairs sitting outside in the yard in the snow. Being a furniture man, my father-in-law took his knife and cut into a chair, finding it, too, was walnut. They paid $4 a piece for them. From then on I treasured my table and chairs. It was many years later when I acquired the banquet ends, which my mother-in-law had kept to use at various places in her condo. What a thrill it is for me to entertain in my dining room with 12 members of my family or 12 of my friends gathered around me. My father-in-law’s portrait hangs in my den. I had had it for many years before he told me the clothes he wore belonged to the photographer. He looks to be about eight years old and is wearing ranger pants and jacket and holding a rifle, his red curls dangling beneath a cowboy hat. The picture is encased in an oval wooden frame, which is perfect on my paneled wall. My most prized possession is my grandmother’s eight-day clock. I carried the 110-year-old clock on my lap when I brought it from Virginia in 1985 as she had done when she moved from the country to town in 1926. She wound it every Sunday night without fail. She said if it stopped ticking in the night she woke up. Now almost obliterated by that which they measure, the Roman numerals on its face are barely readable, but I am afraid to repaint them. Its chimes mark the rhythm of my life as they did my grandmother’s, but they do it with a comforting steady tolling, not a glaring red digital announcement like the other clocks in the house. It is an insignificant accessory, but the rock my grandfather cracked walnuts on sits outside my front entrance. PS Cos Barnes, we’re thrilled to say, lives and writes in Southern Pines. She is a longtime contributor to PineStraw magazine. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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July 2010

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

T H E O M N I VO R O U S R E A D E R

Sweet Possessions

Objects of Our Affection explores our need to own things — including our histories

BY STEPHEN E. SMITH

If you are an avid reader, you’ve no doubt hap-

pened upon books, their sometimes obscure subjects notwithstanding, that are an absolute joy to read (e.g., any of John McPhee’s early books, with the possible exception of the sports stuff). It makes little difference if the author was assigned the subject, chose the subject himself or was chosen by the subject (neither reader nor writer needs to know how the conjuring occurs) as long as the subject matter touches and liberates the writer’s imagination. When it does, the result is writing that transfers energy, writing that propels the reader through the text with an unrelenting eagerness that’s the necessary connection between writer and reader.

The subject of Lisa Tracy’s Objects of Our Affection: Uncovering My Family’s Past, One Chair, Pistol, and Pickle Fork at a Time chose her. She was compelled to explore it, and it’s that knowledge, that sense of urgency in the telling, that makes her story of family, guilt and discovery an irresistible read. Most Americans, regardless of social class or income, have been where Tracy has been — or they will be going there soon. She’s had to cope with the loss of family members — mother and father, aunts, uncles and cousins — and the anguish occasioned by the dissolution of a household filled with memories. What she learns from that experience and what she so beautifully conveys in Objects of Our Affection are the various phases she endures on her journey of self-discovery. “The letters and documents, and the furniture,” Tracy writes, “are like a weight on one side of the scale. On the other side is life as we knew it was with the family. They taught us well — our duty, and how to do it seamlessly. And they left us what they could of their worldly goods. What hangs in the balance is all they did not tell us….” The “all they did not tell us” are family stories and anecdotes — folklorists call them “memorates” — that comprise much of the book. What could be more emotionally draining than the disposal of longtreasured family possessions and the memories they evoke? Material objects are, after all, metaphors of our lives, and there is a loss of self when the moment comes to sort through the possessions of a lifetime. Grandma’s rocker, Uncle Harry’s guitar, the shelves of books that seem suddenly out PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

of date — all that stuff is a nuisance. For anyone with a conscience, parting with such objects is painful, while holding onto them in a world of such abundance is, at best, awkward, and perhaps even selfish. “As life spins faster and faster,” Tracy writes, “we cling to things like the flotsam from a shipwreck, hoping that daybreak will bring us to a familiar shoreline. Instead it brings us to yet another venue in which we can or must re-create ourselves, with the option of bringing along selected pieces of the past for comfort and perhaps stability, one less thing to reinvent.” She researches the possessions she and her sister have inherited in order to establish their provenance before the estate auction and what she discovers are family histories that bring her ancestors to life. There is a chair that might have belonged to George Washington. Had the family known Washington while he lived in Philadelphia? How about the set of dueling pistols that may have been the property of Aaron Burr? Could they be the pistols used in the duel between Burr and Hamilton? And what of the Victorian Canton vases, the Empire sofa, Big Jeanne’s needlework on the Federal armchair? Each has a history of its own, and it’s all on the block for any stranger to grab. For Tracy, the estate auction is traumatic. The pieces she believes

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July 2010

T H E O M N I VO R O U S R E A D E R

most valuable often go for a song, and insignificant items sometimes bring a high price. And she is dismayed to learn that the buyers have little interest in knowing the history of the pieces they’ve purchased. For weeks after the auction, the furniture rebukes her in her dreams: “How could you do this to us? they say. He brought us home. You loved us. We were always together. Always. How could you separate us?” In the telling of her story, Tracy is never sentimental or manipulative, and in the latter chapters, her absorption in her subject elevates her from prose writer to poet. She discovers an inexpensive kitchen saltshaker that

9th

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at the Sunrise • 7:30pm

Pub Crawl • 9:00pm Crossover Blues at O’Donnell’s Pub Thundering Blues at Neville’s Drew Questell at The Bell Tree Joe Frye at Swank King Bees at Rhett’s The Musicians at The Wine Cellar Lockdown at The Jefferson

In the telling of her story, Tracy is never sentimental or manipulative... is one of the last family possessions to offer a sense of connection with her deceased mother. “I stand staring at the salt petrified in its slender glass container. It touched her hands. She ate it. It is a last, very concrete and yet so ephemeral thread connecting me to the woman who brought me into the world I now inhabit.” When she discovers that a housekeeper has soaked the shaker in water to loosen the old salt, she roams about the house depositing minute traces of the salt in the nooks and crannies that hold memories of her mother and father, a ceremony that frees her from the guilt she’s experienced. When the time comes to break up a loved one’s household, will Objects of Our Affection assist in assuaging your guilt? Perhaps. At the very least it will guide you through those painful moments when you sense the past slipping irrevocably from your grasp. PS

Tickets: Seth WALKER LUNCH $40, SETH WALKER CONCERT $25, WRISTBAND $20. PLUS A NUMBER OF Combinations! FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TICKET Purchase, SEE: Sunrisetheater.org • 910.692.8501

July 2010

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Stephen E. Smith is a regular contributor to PineStraw. Contact him at travisses@hotmail.com.

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

A Bit of Couture BB&T Bonville Construction Bradford Wealth Management Brenner Real Estate Cameron & Company ConnectNC CoolSweats Dan Maples Design Dave Nicoll Photography Donnell "Buck" Adams, Jr., Attorney Dugan’s Pub Elaine’s Hairdressers Elliott’s on Linden EyeMax Optical FerrellGas Fidelity Bank Fifi’s Fine Resale Apparel First Bank First Citizens Bank FirstHealth of the Carolinas Flooring America of Pinehurst Fred Astaire Dance Studio Gentlemen’s Corner Given Memorial Library Glam Slaon Green Gate Olive Oils Gunther Properties Heavenly Pines Fine Jewelry & Gifts Heritage Cabinet Company Homewood Suites Horsin’ Around Gifts Jewels of Pinehurst Kirk Tours & Transportation Lady Bedford’s Tea Parlour & Gift Shoppe Le Chateau Design & Construction Lydia’s Consignment Boutique Lyne’s Furniture Gallery MasterCuts of Pinehurst Maxie’s Grill and Tap Room Muirfield Broadcasting Neighborhood Dry Cleaner Olde Towne Realty Old Sport & Gallery Olmsted Village Company Orthotics & Prostectics of Pinehurst Pate & Scarborough, LLP Peterson Graphics Pine Crest Inn Pinehurst Insurance Pinehurst Resort & Country Club Pinehurst Resort Realty Pizza Café Poppy’s Café & Sundry Prudential/GOS RBC Bank ReMax Prime Properties Rhetson Co., Inc. Richard Mandell, Golf Architecture Robert Barrett, CPA Sandhills Bowling Center Sandhills Golf Packages Sandhills Office Supply Southern Chic Staggard & Chao Architects Ten-Ya Terry Riney Agency The Darling House Pub The King’s Gifts & Collectibles The Magnolia Inn The Pilot The Potpourri Traditions Magazine Tufts Archives Village of Pinehurst Villager Deli Village Printers VocMed, Inc. WebWahoo Web Design Wells Fargo Home Mortgage WLHC-FM Life 103.1

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July 2010

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

BOOKSHELF

New Releases for July BY KAY GRISMER AND ANGIE TALLY

FICTION – HARDCOVER CORDUROY MANSIONS by Alexander McCall Smith. Smith’s new series features a collection of eccentric residents and one incredibly clever dog all living in a genteel, crumbling mansion block in present day London’s Pimlico neighborhood. THE DROWNING RIVER by Christobel Kent. Against a backdrop of the rising waters of Florence’s Arno River, a recently disgraced police officer begins a new career as a PI investigating the disappearance of an English art student and the suicide of an eminent Jewish architect. THE GLASS RAINBOW by James Lee Burke. Iberia, LA deputy sheriff Dave Robicheaux finds himself dealing with his adopted daughter’s attraction to a celebrated novelist as well as trying to avenge a series of sadistic murders of young women. THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY by Richard Morais. A Muslim boy born in Mumbai in the 1930s grows up to achieve great fame in the rarefied world of French cuisine. THE ISLAND by Elin Hilderbrand. Two generations of women, each with her own secret pain, spend the summer together in the family beach cottage off the coast of Nantucket. STORK RAVING MAD by Donna Andrews. In the Agatha-winner’s wacky 12th Meg Langslow mystery, chaos erupts when the dead body of her husband’s English department dean is found in their living room, and a very pregnant Meg has to solve the murder before rushing off to deliver her twins. FICTION – PAPERBACK

UNFINISHED DESIRES by Gail Godwin. Godwin, an Asheville native, tells the story of jealousies and power struggles at a Catholic girls’ school in NC in a novel that shifts back and forth between the 1950s and the present. NON-FICTION – HARDCOVER THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF WALWORTH by Geoffrey O’Brien. The prestigious Walworth family of Saratoga built a fortune on Judge Walworth’s 1830s legal success, only to lose everything after his grandson’s nationally sensational 1873 patricide trial, the first test case of New York’s new definition of 1st degree murder. A FULL CUP by Michael D’Antonio. In his biography of Sir Thomas Lipton, the founder of Lipton Tea, D’Antonio tells the tale of the remarkable self-made man and intrepid sailor who reached legendary heights when he revived the competition for the America’s Cup. FUR, FORTUNE, AND EMPIRE by Eric Jay Dolin. Beginning his epic history in the early 1600s, Dolin traces the dramatic rise and fall of the American fur industry, from the first Dutch encounters with the Indians to the rise of the conservation movement in the late 19th century. THE LAKOTAS AND THE BLACK HILLS by Jeffrey Ostler. Ostler chronicles the story of the Lakota Sioux’s loss of their spiritual homelands and their remarkable legal battle to regain it.

DOG HEAD by Morten Ramsland. This highly imaginative, exuberant saga — winner of Denmark’s Book of the Year — follows three generations of a wildly dysfunctional Norwegian family.

A NIGHTMARE’S PRAYER by Michael Franzak. Raleigh resident Lt. Col. Michael “Zak” Franzak, who served as a Marine Harrier pilot based in Bagram from 2002-2003, portrays the harrowing dangers in the cockpit as well as the secret, interior spiritual struggle of a man trained for combat.

EMILY’S GHOST by Denise Giardina. The NC author tells the story of the Bronte sisters from Emily’s viewpoint, including her mythic love affair with an idealistic young clergyman, which, like the love story at the heart of “Wuthering Heights,” continues beyond the grave.

PACKING FOR MARS by Mary Roach. From the space shuttle training toilet to a crash test of NASA’s new space capsule, Roach explores the irresistibly strange universe of space travel and life without gravity.

THE MONSTER IN THE BOX by Ruth Rendell. The 22nd installment in the acclaimed Inspector Wexford series takes Wexford back to his days as a young policeman, and to the man he has long suspected of serial murder. QUICKENING MAZE by Adam Foulds. Based on real events, the novel centers on English nature poet John Clare, incarcerated in 1837 in an asylum run on reformist principles later known as occupational therapy, and young Alfred Tennyson, who becomes entangled in the life and catastrophic schemes of the asylum’s owner, the peculiar, charismatic Dr. Matthew Allen. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

NON-FICTION – PAPERBACK CHASING ICARUS by Gavin Mortimer. In Oct. 1910, the question of whether planes, dirigibles or balloons would prevail was answered as teams from around the world took off from St. Louis in pursuit of the Bennett Int’l Balloon Cup, the dramatic denouement stunning the country and laying the foundation for the air force. SNAKEHEAD by Patrick Radden Keefe. Keefe examines America’s complicated relationship with immigration in his account of Cheng Chui Ping, known as Sister Ping, who built a multimillion-dollar empire as a snakehead, smuggling Chinese immigrants into modern day America.

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July 2010

BOOKSHELF

WHERE MEN WIN GLORY by Jon Krakauer. The author of Into the Wild highlights the character and personality of former NFL player Pat Tillman, and closely examines the murky circumstances of his death by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004. WILDFLOWER by Mark Seal. Seal chronicles the life of conservationist and wildlife filmmaker Joan Root, born in Nairobi in 1932, who was brutally murdered in her home on Lake Naivasha, Kenya, in 2006, a region she was trying to save from poachers and environmental ruin. CHILDREN’S BOOKS LADYBUG GIRL AT THE BEACH by David Soman and Jacky Davis. Ladybug Girl, aka Lulu, star Ladybug Girl, a story about imagination, and Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy, a story about friendship, journeys to the beach and faces her fears with her faithful sidekick, Bingo, the expressive Basset Hound at her side. The sand feels good under her feet, the seaweed and shells she finds are perfect for her museum, and she has fun digging for treasure with Bingo. The ocean is big, roaring and noisy, and Ladybug Girl is satisfied to stay on the shore — until the tide comes

July 2010

in and takes her favorite pail. But with Bingo and her ladybug wings, Ladybug Girl can do ANYTHING! Ages 4-8. WONDER HORSE: The True Story of the World’s Smartest Horse by Emily Arnold McCully. McCully retells the amazing story of Bill Doc Key, and his famous horse, Jim Key. Born into slavery in 1833, Key became a physician, veterinarian and campaigner for kindness to animals in a time when all three seemed impossible. As he cared for Jim Key, a foal orphaned at birth in 1889, Key recognized Jim’s extraordinary intelligence and began to teach him to recognize letters, numbers and colors, to add and subtract, and even to spell. This fabulous new picture book follows the duo as they travel the country, stunning audiences with Jim Key’s incredible skills while promoting kindness to animals. Ages 4-10. STAR WARS: The Clone Wars Character Encyclopedia. Star Wars fans of all ages will enjoy spending hot summer days with this cool new A to Z guide that includes complete bios, including secret

information, on Anakin, Rex, Ahsoka, Cad Bane, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Jabba, and more than 200 other Star Wars Clone Wars characters. Ages 8 and up. THIRTEEN DAYS TO MIDNIGHT by Patrick Carman. After being told “You are invulnerable” by his dying stepfather, 15-year-old Jacob Fielding finds himself unscathed after a horrific car crash. Later Jacob writes this same phrase on the cast of his friend, Ophelia, who has broken her arm, and discovers he has the power to pass on this epithet of protection. Jacob and Oh begin to use the power to save lives and to make decisions about what is right or wrong, good or evil, but they must beware, because the Grim Reaper doesn’t disappear…he catches up. Recommended by reader Alec T. Ages 12 and up. LINGER by Maggie Steifvater. In the second book of the runaway bestselling Shiver supernatural romance trilogy, Grace and Sam fight to be together. While Sam struggles to deal with the implications of his werewolf past, Grace defies her parents to remain close to Sam, and everyone sits on pins and needles as Cole, a new wolf who brings with him a past that threatens the safety of everyone he meets, is introduced to the pack. Ages 12 and up. PS

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PineBuzzz BY JACK DODSON

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July 2010

Summertime is here and the livin’ is easy – and potentially good for your brain if you point your mouse to TED, the website of a nonprofit organization that presents some of the best thinkers on the planet dispensing wisdom in easy-to-digest mini lectures on a world of subjects. Douglas Adams on alien ambassadors, Isabel Allende on passion in writing, Robert Ballard on deep sea exploration — take your pick, there are literally hundreds of great lectures on technology, entertainment and design, hence the acronym, plus today’s best minds on business, environment and global issues. Here are a few of my recent favorites: Brian Greene “On string theory” What pea head said quantum physics is only slightly more interesting than watching your neighbor wash his car? Not so when it’s being presented by Greene, an animated science geek who clearly digs his work. Greene’s TED talk on the “Superstring Theory” is both informative and wholly engaging, a must-see video for all budding science nerds. ST is a relatively new concept in physics that deals with the smallest make-up of matter beyond atoms and molecules, positing that a string-like structure of vibrations connects everything across the universe — you, me, every animate or inanimate object except possibly Lindsay Lohan. Elizabeth Gilbert “On nurturing creativity” Elizabeth Gilbert wants to change the world’s perception of artists, beginning with the stereotype that basically every artist is conflicted by something — and maybe we lose great minds we don’t need to when they die young. Make sense? During her somewhat free-form TED talk, Gilbert touches on everything from the role of ancient Muses to the burden of creativity and how she struggled to channel her own psychic powers while writing her unexpected runaway bestseller Eat, Pray, Love. The New Age diva touches on how to really cherish that gift of creativity the universe gave you free of charge. Sure, she tells her audience, she’s scared of

abject failure, but who isn’t? And besides, creativity doesn’t need to be something that scares you. Whatever doesn’t kill you, as the old saying goes, may someday make you a bestselling author. Seth Berkley “HIV and flu — the vaccine strategy” “Do you worry about what’s going to kill you?” is a risky way to start a lecture. But with Seth Berkley’s absorbing talk on vaccines and the threats of worldwide epidemics, it’s a can’t miss of an opener. Berkley takes on the issues of HIV and the flu in his talk, using the latest ideas in immunology science to explain the usefulness of vaccines and how they can help fight these planetary scourges. After all, that’s what curbed smallpox, he says. Integrating science and logical debate, Berkley’s argument is hard to ignore, especially because it touches on diseases that are still waiting for cures. Michael Sandel “The lost art of democratic debate” Perhaps what makes this video most interesting is just watching Sandel interact with his audience throughout his lecture. He’s a Harvard political philosophy professor who knows how to animate the discussion of the role of government and keep his audience on its toes, playing off the basic ideas of Aristotle — that justice is often simply giving people what they deserve. With entertaining brio, Sandal explores the complexity of enlightened civic debate and the role courts should assume in encouraging it.

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PINE BUZZZ

New Release Deer Tick The Black Dirts Sessions The greatly anticipated latest release (just out June 8) begins with a trio of songs that roam between raspy blues and pure washboard gospel, with lyrics like something out of a Baptist hymnal. Then comes a folky, fast-paced song with a decidedly dark tint to it. And after that, it’s simply John McCauley III, the frontman for Deer Tick, playing soft, raw piano ballads that present the unvarnished sting of personal loss and redemption. Like the album that preceded it, War Elephant, this latest offering by this intriguing Providence, Rhode Island-based folk-Indie band resists easy categorization. The songs, almost completely written by McCauley, drift easily between hard blues, straight acoustic, Elvis-style rock ’n’ roll, something to please everyone, each one haunting in its own manner — especially the heavy and beautiful piano pieces juxtaposed against an oldstyle country sound. Sometimes there’s a cello in the middle of the song. Or perhaps a doleful pedal steel. Midway through the album, you get “Mange,” which sounds like Bob Dylan jamming with the Doobie Brothers. Nice. The name of the band, McCauley explains, comes from a trek he and friends took through a country field, after which he found a deer tick burrowed into his scalp. The experience of a tick on the brain was new to McCauley, so in honor of the cute little blood-sucker he named his band. Who knew a tick could sound this good? Perhaps most fitting for this wonderfully iconoclastic band is its official website. Looking like something that dates from the early 1990s, the site is less high-tech than community Web pages — a spare gray background with simple basic text, only about 600 words in all. And the header — sweet, raw, unfiltered — “Deer Tick, a band.” Recommended tracks: “Piece by Piece and Frame by Frame” “Christ Jesus” “Mange” Wisdom from their website: “If you don’t want to get covered in beer or confetti at one of our shows, I’d suggest not standing up in the front.” PS Jack Dodson is the summer multimedia intern at The Pilot and news editor of The Pendulum, the student newspaper at Elon University. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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July 2010

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RESTAURANTS & INNS Lady Bedford’s Tea Parlour & Gift Shoppe Pine Crest Inn Restaurant & Pub Poppy’s Cafe & Sundry The Darling House Pub & Grill Ten-Ya Japanese & Sushi Bar The Magnolia Inn Restaurant & Bar Theo’s Taverna & Tapas Bar

HITTING HOME

The Perfect Twosome His favorite game is golf. So is mine, though we play the game very differently

BY DALE NIXON

When

Bob Nixon packed two sets of golf clubs to take on our honeymoon, I knew I was in trouble. He not only took golf clubs, but actually planned to play the game. Being the young, sweet bride, I smiled and dutifully rode with him in the golf cart as he played hole after hole. As we rode, he patiently explained the game to me (as if I cared) and tried to impress me with the golfer’s vocabulary. He threw out words like “birdie,” “eagle,” “bunker,” and “par.” I wasn’t impressed. I tried not to worry on the honeymoon. When we got home, golf would take a secondary place in our lives. We would work at our respective jobs all week, and the weekends would be devoted to errands, car washing, grass cutting and an occasional movie or picnic. HA! The golf not only continued, but increased in frequency. I refused to pout or nag. Instead, I would have to study the situation and use golf to my advantage. I surmised that whenever Bobby had a golf match scheduled, he walked around the house all morning with a perpetual grin on his face. His feet barely touched the ground. All was right with the world. Nothing could agitate him or make him angry. Hmmmmmm…. “Bobby?” “Yes, you wonderful woman?” “Sweetheart, I bought a new dress yesterday.” “Great.” “It was rather pricey.” “You deserve it.” “Bobby?” “Yes, cutie?” “I bought shoes and a purse to match.” “Great.” PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

“They were rather pricey.” “You deserve it.” “Bobby?” “Yes, sugums?” “I backed into a telephone pole the other day.” “Did you get hurt?” “No, just the car; about $300 worth of damage.” “All that matters is that you’re not hurt.” “And, uh, Bobby…” “Yes, dearest one.” “I invited Mother to visit us this summer — for two weeks.” “I would just LOVE for your mother to pay us a visit.” “Also, before you leave for your tee-off time, I need to confess that I over-drew our checking account and maxed out my credit card.” “Now, don’t worry your little head with those details. I’ll handle everything.” “And Bobby….” “Yes, baby doll?” “Would you pick us up something for dinner on your way home from the course?” “Dearest one, just tell me what you want. There is no need for you to be in a hot kitchen on this fine summer day.” “Bobby?” “Yes, precious angel?” “I hope you enjoy your golf today. Why don’t you play 36 holes instead of 18?” “Thank you, honey. And thanks for being such an understanding wife. You know how much I love the game.” I don’t know if I’m an understanding wife or not, but I do understand. When Bob Nixon packed two sets of golf clubs to take on our honeymoon, maybe I wasn’t the only one in trouble; after all, we both know how to play the game. PS Columnist Dale Nixon resides in Concord but enjoys a slice of heaven (disguised as a condominium) in the village of Pinehurst. You may contact her by e-mail at dalenixon@carolina.rr.com.

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July 2010

THE KITCHEN GARDEN

Blue Wonders

Blueberries are the ideal plant for your edible landscape

BY JAN LEITSCHUH

In July, the simple pleasures of life turn

elemental — wandering into the ripe backyard blueberry orchard with a morning cup of coffee and a pail, visions of crumb cakes, pies and cobblers dancing in the brain. A handful goes into the morning oatmeal, two handfuls into the mouth, and one into the pail. The game is to beat the mockingbirds to the sweet-tart spoils bending the bushes earthward.

When it comes to kitchen gardening, blueberries are one of our Sandhills success stories. They demand little, look great, and give much. The acidic sands of southern Moore County can be challenging to the greenest of thumbs. Upon moving down from the far-away clay country of Raleigh, I was immediately struck by the different growing conditions. Things that grew easily a mere 60 minutes north struggled here in the sand, and vice versa. Yet blueberries, with their shallow root systems and their demand for fairly acidic conditions, thrived. Why my surprise? They are Sandhills natives, related to the azaleas in your foundation plantings. So how hard could they be to grow? North Carolina is the fourth largest U.S. blueberry producer, with blueberries growing from the mountains to the sea. The largest operations are down east, near Bladen County and the like. But blueberries do great here in the Sandhills too, with the rabbiteye blueberry, Vaccinium ashei, being the easiest and most likely to thrive. Though rabbiteyes will bear some fruit in partial shade, I chose full sun for top production as the planting site on our place. Knowing they love organic matter, I worked quite a bit of rotted pine bark into my raw sands, adding additional minerals such as rock phosphate and greensand. For calcium, I added a bit of gypsum, since lime would raise the pH too high. Several varieties are needed for successful pollination (read: lots of berries). “Climax” and “Premier” went into the backyard for early season picking, with “TifBlue” for midseason munching. Winter planting gave the potted plants the best shot at developing their root systems before summer’s baking sun. One could also order bareroot plants from Finch’s Blueberry Farms in Bailey, NC, and plant them in February. After planting, mulch with bark and/or pine straw and keep them wellwatered their first season. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Rabbiteye blueberries make a terrific edible landscaping. One of my neighbors has a delightful boundary hedge alternating blueberries with forsythia, with low-growing Hoogendorn hollies punctuating the space between each of the former. Very rhythmic, and the grandchildren have a sweet backyard surprise every summer visit. A trio of bushes also makes a nice island planting in a landscape. Their scarlet-maroon foliage in the fall lights up any area. While we planted our blueberry orchard for that delicious berry taste (and pies!), it turns out that the fruit … What was I saying? Something about blueberries… Oh yes. They can help prevent memory loss! (And they can’t get here fast enough.) By now, we all know how chockfull of antioxidants blueberries are — preventing bowel cancer, lowering cholesterol, warding off urinary tract infections, preventing cataracts and macular degeneration of aging, improving our nighttime vision, reducing the effects of age-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, improving both the learning capacity and motor skills of the aged, reducing intestinal inflammation, protecting against ovarian cancer, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, peptic ulcers, relieving both diarrhea and constipation and strengthening our hearts. Cobbler, anyone? Researchers at Tufts University analyzed 60 fruits and vegetables for their antioxidant content. Blueberries topped the list, rating highest of common produce tested in their capacity to destroy free radicals. A mere half cup of blueberries packs as much antioxidant power as five servings of such other superfoods as peas, carrots, apples, squash or broccoli. According to the website “World’s Healthiest Foods,” while wine, particularly red wine, is touted as cardioprotective since it is a good source of antioxidant anthocyanins, a recent study found that blueberries deliver 38 percent more of these free radical fighters. And why isn’t there a blueberry bush in your yard? Those without land or horticultural inclinations can find fresh berries at local pick-your-owns, farmers markets and farmstands this month. Load up.

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July 2010

THE KITCHEN GARDEN

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July 2010

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Don’t rinse off the waxy, whitish “bloom” until shortly before using, as it acts as a protective coating. Ripe blueberries should be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator, where they will keep for about a week, although they will be freshest if consumed within a few days. Always check berries before storing and remove any damaged berries to prevent the spread of mold. They also freeze easily for later smoothies, pancakes and winter cobblers. Rinse, drain, then spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet for about 10-12 hours. Pack in freezer bags and date. Extra-easy Blueberry Galette Serves eight 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed in the refrigerator 3 cups blueberries 2 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons instant tapioca (substitute flour if you don’t have any) 2 tablespoons fresh thyme 1 egg, slightly beaten Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll out puff pastry and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Toss the blueberries with sugar, tapioca and thyme, and pour into a mound in the center of the puff pastry. Fold up the ends and crimp the corners to prevent any juices from escaping. Brush with egg wash. Place in the center of the oven and set timer for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 375 and bake until blueberries bubble and pastry is a deep golden, another 30 - 40 minutes. Recipe courtesy of TheRusticKitchen.com PS Jan Leitschuh is a local gardener, avid eater of fresh produce and co-founder of the new Sandhills Farm to Table Cooperative. Visit at http://www.SandhillsFarm2Table.com

Call me or visit my website lauriewdavis.com for information on homes listed in the Pinehurst/Southern Pines area MLS.

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My background in financial management planning and consulting has helped prepare me to be the “Business Professional for Personal Real Estate” ALLAN NANNEY 910-528-1181 WWW.YOURPINEHURSTHOME.COM

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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July 2010

PLEASURES OF LIFE

Humidity The beauty of sweating the small stuff BY NANCY OAKLEY

alking through an old neighborhood on a hot day after a rainy spell, I pass a mossy, brick colonial and catch a whiff of some boxwoods lining the driveway. Their musty smell and my labored ascent up a hill under a dripping canopy of oaks and maples bring to mind a conversation with a cousin after she’d returned from a stint in the Peace Corps in the early 1970s. She’d been assigned to a village in Korea and arriving in summer, she was the only one in her group of volunteers not to get sick. “The others were all from California,” she explained, “and weren’t used to the humidity. But for me it was just like home.” Just like home, I think, catching my breath. And I’m reminded of another conversation with a former colleague from New York. “It’s not that it isn’t humid there,” he observed. “But here it’s different.” Grateful for the descent down the hill, I ponder his words, not quite sure of their meaning. By now I am standing at an open park where some friends are walking their dogs. I traipse through the thick carpet of grass and clover to join them, my every step making a squishing sound from my socks, now soggy with the dew that has seeped through my sneakers. “Hey!” I call out to my friends, and they turn in my direction, revealing red faces. The dogs’ muzzles and undercoats are drenched. “Have they been swimming in the creek?” I ask. “Not yet. Just chasing birds and squirrels in the thicket,” one responds. We continue through the park, crinkling our noses at the smell of stagnant creek water and slapping at no-seeums hovering around our faces. At the far end, a shirtless park attendant is mowing the baseball diamond; his skin resembles a coat of wax from the film of sweat covering it. Out of the park and up yet another hill to our street, my friends and the dogs and I trudge home past hedges of ivy, honeysuckle and trumpet lilies. “I love those,” one of my friends comments. Just up ahead we notice the new neighbors’ yard, which, just three days ago, was nothing but grass seed. It is now a full-blown lawn of fresh, green shoots. I stop and look all around me: Everything is green — the lushest kind of green, sprinkled with dashes of pink from the rose of Sharon and crape myrtles now towering alongside the magnolias. Once inside my 80-year-old cottage, I snap on PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

the oscillating fan and turn the setting to “High,” for being 80 years old, the place has no air conditioning. I think about this in the shower as the tepid water trickles down my back. Air conditioning, according to my grandfather, was the catalyst for the economic progress of the New South. “It’s true,” says my mother, a child of the Great Depression. “People just couldn’t do much.” And then she goes on to reminisce about the endless hours of playing rummy with her grandmother on the porch of her parents’ house on sultry summer afternoons. People just couldn’t do much. Here’s something else to consider, as I sit down, now toweled off and dressed, though not exactly dried off, with a glass of iced tea. I swirl the glass in my hand, smiling at the time I tried to explain thé glacé to some French friends. They found it amusing that anyone would drink chilled tea, and tried to make it themselves in teacups. Of course they missed the point and waved off my peculiar American habit with typical Gallic indifference. They had an abrupt change of mind when, years later, they came to visit . . . in August. And that’s when it hits me, as I sit in my unair-conditioned living room, sipping a glass of tea, listening to the low hum of the fan while new beads of sweat form on the back of my neck: the realization that while we’ve made progress with cool air-conditioned houses and office buildings, stores and theaters, we’ve lost something, too. Something that the Californians in Korea or my colleague from New York or French friends never had. I, too, lost it once when I worked in a plush law office and found myself complaining about the humidity to a colleague. “I don’t want to hear it,” he said flatly. “I grew up in Louisiana and roofed houses in the summer.” Touché. But here, now, I see that a sweltering environment gives us the beauty and lushness of the season. It is why we drink thé glacé — in glasses, not teacups — why we laze around on porches playing cards or talking, why we slog, day after day, up hills and through wet grass, albeit slowly. It stiffens the spine and gives us the patience to endure, until that first whisper of fall blows into our lives with a brisk gust and revives our spirits. So for now, I’ll just sit here, not doing much . . . just as Nature intended. PS Nancy Oakley is a Winston-Salem-based writer and editor who likes the heat.

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July 2010

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

VINE WISDOM

Terrific Torrontes This Argentinian firecracker lights up summer

BY ROBYN JAMES

Over the years

behind the tasting bar, I have learned that wine enthusiasts are like cats: extremely curious. Historically, it has become apparent that “yes” is the only answer to the question, “Would you like to try something different?” Always, my favorite time to ask that question is when I taste out a wine made from the new go-to grape, Torrontes. The wine industry is divided on this, but I predict Torrontes will become the new Pinot Grigio of summertime wines. It bears the distinction of being the only grape, red or white, totally indigenous to Argentina. Lots of grapes such as Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot and Malbec thrive in Argentina, but Torrontes is their Homey. And proud they are of this grape, doubling the acreage planted in the last five years, to nearly 40,000 acres under vine today. Torrontes is a hardy, prolific grape that thrives in cool, dry, arid climates where more sensitive grapes can’t survive. Yields are high, and the wines are finished in stainless steel tanks. They are best drunk young, so the wineries can release them immediately. All of this adds up to low production cost, so they represent a great value for consumers, generally boasting a price tag of $6-$12. It’s so much fun to watch a customer taste a Torrontes for the first time! Their eyes widen when smelling the pungent aromatics and on tasting, you usually hear, “I’ve never tasted a wine like that!” It is so unique, you cannot compare it to any other white wine grape. Typically, the nose is intensely aromatic, floral and spicy, like the heady perfume in a bouquet of geraniums. One of my friends suggested it smelled like her teenage daughter’s room, full of scented candles and different colognes. The scent would suggest you are about to taste something sweet, PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

but no, it has a gripping dry finish, with crisp acidity. In my opinion, it bumps off Pinot Grigio as the quintessential hot weather wine. So far, Torrontes’ skyrocketing popularity has been driven by female consumers, but I suspect the “gender bend” will fall away with the discovery of its food appeal. This wine is the perfect complement for Chinese and Asian fusion cuisine, also rising in popularity. It matches wonderfully with seafood, particularly shellfish and any spicy Mexican fare. Here are some of my favorite offerings: CASA DE CAMPO TORRONTES, Mendoza, Approx. $8.00 “Fresh and chalky Torrontes with lemon peel and green banana aromas sitting in front of melon, mango and citrus flavors. Not overpowering or acidic, but clean and healthy. Drink right away for maximum freshness and character.” Rated a Best Buy, 85 points, The Wine Enthusiast LA YUNTA TORRONTES, Argentina, Approx. $10.00 “Fairly quiet on the nose, but there’s just enough varietal character to help it along. The palate is fresh and zingy, with apple and apricot flavors in front of a clean, spicy finish.” Rated a Best Buy, 85 points, The Wine Enthusiast BALBOA CRIOS TORRONTES, Argentina, Approx. $16 “The 2009 Torrontes remains one of Argentina’s benchmarks for this variety. Sourced from 31-year-old vines in Cafayate (where the finest Torrontes grows), it displays a fragrant bouquet of spring flowers, honey, and tropical aromas. Medium-bodied and dry on the palate, it has ample fruit backed by vibrant acidity leading to a lengthy finish.” Rated 90 points, Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate PS Robyn James is proprietor of The Wine Cellar and Tasting Room in Southern Pines. Contact her at winecellar@pinehurst.net.

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July 2010

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July 2010

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

B I R DWAT C H

Hummingbird Moths

Photograph by Frank Ripp

This beautiful insect can dazzle — and confuse

BY SUSAN CAMPBELL

I am waiting — just waiting for the first

call to come in from someone who has seen a “baby hummingbird.” Although this is the time when young ruby-throateds are appearing at feeders and flowers across the state, the first report of the year is usually from a very puzzled observer. Not only has he or she spotted a very small hummer, but it looks to be of another species: The color pattern is very different. So, what is it?

The answer is always the same: It is not a hummingbird at all but a moth. Indeed these insects hover to feed from brightly colored flowers and appear to have a long bill, but they are insects. The give-away is the long antennae. But on such a small fast flier, the antennae and three pairs of legs are easily overlooked. The odd behavior and body coloration are what grab one’s attention. The confusion is so common that many bird identification guides depict these moths on the same page alongside the details for ruby-throated hummingbirds. Here in the Sandhills we have at least three kinds of so-called hummingbird moths, all of which are in the Sphingidae family. Two are “clearwing” moths: the hummingbird clearwing and the hummingbird hawk moth. We have white-lined sphinx moths in late summer as well. They are all exclusively nectivorous, feeding from many of the same blooms frequented by hummingbirds. With their long proboscis, they can reach down into the tubular flowers of impatiens, fuchsias, and assorted salvias, just to name a few. The clearwings are named for the transparent midsection of their wings. The rest of the body is frequently reddish but may be a shade of blue. They are active during the day, flitting from plant to plant in PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

search of a sweet meal. Typically clearwings are not intimidated by human activity, probably because four-legged mammals do not prey on moths in our area. That means one can usually approach these beautiful creatures very closely. If you have the patience as well as a fast shutter speed, you may be able to get some excellent shots of these very photogenic insects. Sphinx moths are large, striking and interesting moths. And unlike the clearwings, they are creatures of the night. They can be very abundant at the very same flowers hummingbirds use during the day. But most people are totally unaware of their existence given their nocturnal habits. It is the caterpillar of this group that is more familiar. Typically called a hornworm (given the yellowy head projections), they are voracious pests on a variety of plants such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and tobacco. However, not only are the adult sphinx moths eaten by bats and small owls, but as caterpillars, hornworms are sought out by tiny Braconid wasps. The eggs of the wasp develop under the skin of the caterpillar. Once they pupate, they attach themselves externally and are mistakenly thought to be the eggs of yet more caterpillars. When gardeners find caterpillars in this state, they are no longer a threat to the plants, with very little time to live. So keep your eyes peeled around the yard this summer. You may be lucky enough to spot one of these “baby hummers” hovering among the blooms! PS For more information on hummingbird moths, go to: Hummingbirdmoth.com For more information on hornworms, go to: http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/field/hornworm.htm Susan would love to receive your wildlife sightings and photos. She can be contacted by e-mail at susan@ncaves.com, by phone at (910) 949-3207 or by mail at 144 Pine Ridge Drive, Whispering Pines, NC 28327.

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July 2010

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July 2010

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

S WTEHEET STPEO ART CH I NRGO N LI C FE LES

Blackberry Summer Worth Their Salt Sportfishing boats that are pure works of art

BY JIM DODSON

The other day, with June and summer vacation on the doorstep, I casually asked several friends about their most unforgettable summers.

For one middle-aged friend it was the summer she spent in Greece following her college junior year abroad. “After all those dreary, rainy months in England,” she explained, “Greece was pure bliss. Two girlfriends and I shared a small house on Corfu for six weeks, swimming and sunning by day, d. PS

Top left, clockwise: 28-foot sportfisherman, 39-foot sportfisherman cabi, 480-horsepower Cummins engines on the sportfisherman and 39-foot sportfisherman express

BY TOM BRYANT

Like most good old Southern boys

who have spent a lot of time around rivers, lakes and oceans, I’ve developed a great love for boats. It all started with my dad’s 16-foot Sears skiff and my granddad’s 18-foot dugout cypress-log boat. When I got older, I was able to acquire a little Widgeon duck vessel and then a couple of canoes, a 17-foot Grumman and a 16-foot whitewater Kewaden. It seems that there has always been a boat close by, sitting on a trailer, ready to cruise. These little craft, though, were never meant to venture farther than a river or small lake, and I always wanted an ocean-going or sound seaworthy sport fishing boat. Every time I get near a marina on the coast, I check out the vessels docked there. When our good friends’ daughter married a downeast custom boat builder, I couldn’t resist a visit to see how he plies his craft. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Forty-year-old Patrick Harrison lives up to the image. When I met him early one morning at his shop on the sound side of Manteo, he was dressed for work: T-shirt, shorts, tennis shoes and a sun-bleached cap with a pencil stuck in it right over his ear. A rugged, handsome young fellow, Patrick has accomplished something to which most of us aspire. His profession is his passion. When Patrick opened the doors of his cavernous shop, I saw poised majestically on a boat trailer a 28-foot Carolina sport-fishing center-console craft, looking as if it were riding the crest of an ocean wave. “Man,” I said. “That boat is a piece of art.” “Thanks,” Patrick replied. “It hasn’t been cleaned since I hauled it back from a boat show in Morehead City. Its got road bugs all over the bow, and I’m going to clean her this afternoon. I didn’t have time right before we headed for Paris.” Patrick and his wife, Molly, had spent the prior week in France visiting friends. Molly’s parents, Nan and Ed Perkins, looked after their two children, a six-year-old boy, Burch, and Sarah Sage, their two-and-a-half-year-old daughter. Patrick’s shop is big enough to house almost any size boat that he could build; and as we walked around the perimeter, Patrick told me how he got into the business. “I went to East Carolina and got a BFA in fine woodworking

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July 2010

T H E S P O RT I N G L I F E

and sculpture. After graduation, I moved to Nags Head and was lucky enough to meet boat builder Robin Smith. He hired me as an apprentice, and I started to learn about the custom building of classic Carolina boats.” The conversation led us to a smaller boat under construction and I asked him about it. “That’s a design I love, an off-island tunnel skiff. I build them at 19 and 21 feet.” Patrick then began telling me about the intricacies of the layout and the jigs he uses. He lost me shortly into the conversation, and I was amazed at all the technical expertise it takes to complete the finished product. “This skiff is great in a shallow sea. Its beam provides stability and load-bearing qualities and helps draw less water. The design originally was developed as a Harker’s Island area commercial fishing boat. You can see how, as you go aft, the tunnel tapers into the vee to prevent cavitations of the propeller. These are pretty boats, and I love

Off-island tunnel skiff under construction

building them. But come on up here and look at this 28-footer.” A movable ladder allowed access to the stern of the boat, and I followed Patrick as he went up. The craft was a pleasure to the eye. When I asked how many boats he had built in his career, he replied, “The first boat I worked on from start to finish was during my apprenticeship with Robin. It was a 65-foot Rapscallion. Since then I’ve built a 60-foot sportfisherman, finished and outfitted three 60-foot boats, a 39-foot express sportfisherman, two 28-foot Carolina sportfisherman center consoles like this one here, and several tunnel skiffs. If you have time, we’ll ride over to Pirates Cove and I’ll show you the 39foot I built.” Pirates Cove, a development of town houses and condominiums, sits right on the sound just before the bridge and causeway leading to Nags Head, almost like a breakwater. As we

July 2010

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

T H E S P O RT I N G L I F E

Delectable Daily Dining Deals on www.thepilot.com drove up, I wondered how it would survive one of those great, gray, southern Atlantic monsters that come roaring up the coast from time to time with names such as Hazel or Floyd, or the one that tore up jack on the Gulf Coast, Katrina. Every day’s a gamble, I guess. Anyone who has been around water much has heard the old adage that a big boat is a hole in the water into which you pour money. If that’s true, the marina at Pirates Cove has more money than Chase Bank. Beautiful sportfisherman boats were docked in lines showing off more brass, teak and fancy curves than a bawdy house in New Orleans. I bet some of these beauties will be participating in the Big Rock Marlin Tournament to be held in a couple weeks at Morehead City.

Beautiful sportfisherman boats were docked in lines showing off more brass, teak and fancy curves than a bawdy house in New Orleans.

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The woodwork in the cockpit, cabin and head of the 39-foot Carolina sportfishing express proved that Patrick was more than just a boat builder. He is truly an artist. His boats should be on display in a museum for all to see. As he raised the cockpit hatch to show me the power source, he said, “Check this out, Tom, two 480 horsepower Cummins diesels. They can move this craft along.” The motors rested in their space, as white as a summer cloud, just waiting for someone to fire them up. We talked a little longer and I knew that Patrick needed to get busy with his day. As I was climbing into my truck, I asked one last question of the artist. “Patrick.” “Yeah?” “One final thing. What are your hobbies? What do you do when you’re not building boats?” He quickly replied, “I think about building boats.” PS Tom Bryant is a lifelong outdoorsman and PineStraw’s Sporting Life columnist.

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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July 2010

G O L F TOW N J O U R NA L

Reading The Green A good golf library is a joy forever

BY LEE PACE

LOST: One little green book, titled “The Scottish Invasion” and authored by Richard Tufts. Published by Pinehurst Inc. to tell the story of the early days of golf in America and at Pinehurst and to commemorate the playing of the 1962 U.S. Amateur on Pinehurst No. 2. Misplaced Lord knows where, perhaps mistakenly jettisoned amid the calamity of a move just over a year ago. I only know it’s not where it should be, on my bookshelves in a modest collection of a hundred or so golf titles. Last seen two years ago when it served as a template (I wanted to match the dimensions and the classic DeVinne and Baskerville fonts) for a small volume I produced for the resort upon the return of the U.S. Amateur to Pinehurst. Approximate value among golf literature collectors, $200. To me, as they say, priceless. I discovered the absence of the book recently while taking inventory of my golf library, that exercise spurred by a conversation I had with Ben Crenshaw about the literature of golf. Crenshaw was making one of his periodic visits to the Sandhills to evaluate the restoration job of No. 2 that he and golf design partner Bill Coore have undertaken, and over breakfast at the Track Restaurant one morning he spoke of his introduction to the joys of golf and the written word. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

It was a gift from a father to his 15-year-old son, this 308-page compendium from the mind and typewriter of the great Charles Price of words and images offering a fascinating panorama of six centuries of the game of golf. The boy adored the game and was quite good at it, but so far his universe extended only as far as the out-ofbounds stakes at Austin Country Club and the local municipal course. Crenshaw devoured The World of Golf (Random House, 1962), a treatise to the game’s venues, champions, implements and traditions. A match was lit. “It’s a great piece of work,” Crenshaw says more than four decades later, his treasured acquisitions to date including a pair of Masters titles and some 800 golf books. “I couldn’t have cut my teeth on a better book. It has a little bit about everything. When I first read that book, I began to look beyond my afternoons at Austin Country Club and Muny. I started to dream of elegant clubhouses in beautiful settings and began to understand the rich history and colorful stars of the game of golf.” Indeed, there’s no escape quite like the one into the pages of a good golf book. I bogeyed 18 not long ago and lost the back, the overall and the press but soon mollified my misery by tucking into The Clicking of Cuthbert, the 1924 compendium of short stories by the celebrated Englishman P. G. Wodehouse. There sat the Oldest Member, rocking on the veranda at Marvis Bay (a genteel seaside resort), and observing the comings and goings of life and golf. Said one whippersnapper in a post-round conniption fit when asked if he was giving up golf: “Yes!” cried the young man fiercely. “Forever, dammit. Footling game! Blanked infernal fatheaded silly ass of a game! Nothing but a waste of time!” Endure four hours with an oaf who’s never ready to hit his

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July 2010

G O L F TOW N J O U R NA L

shot and offers an interminable explanation for each foozle? Forget it as you travel with Herbert Warren Wind “North to the Links of Dornoch,” one of his prized essays from the pages of The New Yorker that is included in one of his anthologies, certainly a pearl of my collection. It was, incidentally, at the suggestion of his good friend Richard Tufts that Wind made the arduous journey to the northeast corner of Scotland to see for himself the village and golf course that spawned one Donald J. Ross. Miss a four-footer? Commiserate with John Updike in his splendid collection of ruminations, Golf Dreams. He too has suffered the misery of the three-jack and deftly captures the essence of the missed knee-knocker: “We decide to aim at the right edge, hit it a tad too firm, and watch it in sickening slow motion catch the right side and twirl out, while our partner suppresses a groan and our opponents exchange a silent wink.” Many more agree on the joys of golf book collecting if you look at the breadth of their

There’s an old saying that in sports, the smaller the ball the better the literature. libraries. Alastair Johnston, vice chairman of IMG, has more than 16,000 volumes and has said his goal is to collect every golf book ever published. Golf architect Michael Hurdzan of Columbus, Ohio, has collected some 5,000 golf books and magazines. Here in Pinehurst, Tom Stewart presides over a shop full of books, paintings, photographs and other collectibles at Old Sport & Gallery, where his assemblage of 240 golf books acquired by happenstance 40 years ago resides. “I was in St. Andrews for three months in the middle of winter, right out of college in 1970,” Stewart says. “I was at the public library, and this woman was throwing books on the floor. I asked what she was doing. She said they had to make room for new books so they were tossing their duplicates. They had to dispose of them. “She shipped the whole lot to me back home for a donation of a hundred pounds. What a find. Of course, I didn’t really understand what I

July 2010

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

G O L F TOW N J O U R NA L

had. Later I lived in a chauffeur’s garage in northern Michigan and these books were my insulation.” Over time, Stewart acquired a proper respect for his collection, now worth many thousands of dollars. “A lot of people use their books for decorations. Others think they can invest in them and make some money,” says Stewart, a PGA club professional before moving to Pinehurst in the mid 1990s. “They miss the point. I’ve read 80 percent of what I have. There was a lot of instructional stuff that was of interest to me. The point of collecting is to use the books and enjoy them. If they’re just an investment, pick something else.” There’s an old saying that in sports, the smaller the ball the better the literature. There’s something to that, given the diminutive size of the golf ball. Just up the sporting food chain, there’s the baseball and luminaries such as Roger Kahn and Roger Angell, as good at their craft as Sandy Koufax ever was at his. Stewart putters around his shop, reading a snippet first from Arnold Haultain’s The Mystery of Golf (1908) and moving on to Gilbert Watson’s A Caddie of St. Andrews (1907). The former book, he opines, “is as good as anything that’s ever been written. Haultain was a mixture of Henry Thoreau and Henry Longhurst. He was an incredible guy.” There’s always a new morsel to unearth, to revisit, to chew over once again. I was skimming Stewart’s handsome 1990 volume A Tribute to Golf (much of the content excerpted from his St. Andrews book collection, and was reminded of golf’s restorative powers from this story taken from The Sabbath Breakers (1896): It seems a New York pastor received a call from an acquaintance who explained that he was a widower with no children, no extended family and had just lost his entire fortune due to an “unlucky speculation.” The man announced his intention to commit suicide and asked that the pastor say a good word for him upon his passing. The pastor let the man have his say, then offered: “I have not seen you on the golf links for some time. You used to enjoy the game.” “Yes,” said the other. “Well, go out and play one more game today before you carry out your purpose.” The man smiled for the first time, and went to the golf course, and — he is living yet. With that, it’s back to rummaging for Richard Tufts and my little green book. If I loaned you the book, please send it back. PS Lee Pace, author of “Pinehurst Stories,” is an award-winning sportswriter and a longtime resident of Chapel Hill. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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July 2010

July 2010 Weather Report July is hot Don’t say it’s not, Not here. Where else near Does Coke evaporate Into the sky Before a sip Can wet the lip? That’s hot. Shimmer, simmer Goes the sun. Upon the pavement Run — Run into the shade Until it fades A white-hot ball That falls, at last Below the western rim. Not long enough. The hot at night Is out of sight. “Lazy hazy days” croons Nat King Cole, “Of summer.” Bummer. “Where’s the pool Clean blue and cool?” you say. Doesn’t work that way. All day The rays will heat the air Which warms the water. Isn’t fair. I suppose Some good things come of heat Like corn, a peach, a perfect rose. Endure til it subsides, or else Abide inside. Like ice, July will melt The scorch you felt The bone-dry dust Will settle into — sorry — August. Alyssa Norton, age 7, enjoying a treat at Ben’s Ice Cream. PHOTOGRAPH BY HANNAH SHARPE

– Deborah Salomon

July 2010

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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BEST

SH W

PHOTOGRAPHS BY TIM SAYER

One of our favorite films is the art house classic Best in Show, a spoof on the insanely competitive dog show world. Out of pure midsummer madness we couldn’t resist the chance to spoof a spoof using several pals and pooches to recreate memorable scenes from the film.

Shown with her champion standard poodle, “Rhapsody in White,” voluptuous Sherri Ann Cabot —played to pair-fection by COLLETE — seems to be more than her frail steel baron hubby Leslie (DAVID YOCKEY) or pool boy (CLARK STOUT) can handle. Scene stylist Andy Pelligrino’s dog CAESAR, on the other hand, is happy to take the lead. Collette’s hair was styled by Andy Pelligrino (Bamboo Salon), makeup was by Michelle Jordan (Glam Salon).

Sporty lawyer Hamilton Swan and his perky wife Meg have it all — money, excellent facial bones, a powerful addiction to catalog shopping and Starbucks coffee, not to mention a beautiful if troubled Weimaraner called Beatrice. Local home builder HEATH TRIGG and his dog LUKE bring the scene to life with pretty Pilot sales rep GINNY KELLY, who reports Luke is a real man’s dog. Would you like room for cream?

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

In the film, mild-mannered menswear salesman Gerry Fleck and his whacked-out wife Cookie constantly upstage their neurotic Norwich terrier, Winky. In real life, local masonry contractor KEN HOWELL and PineStraw’s own wine maven ROBYN JAMES don’t stand a chance of scene-stealing with Robyn’s bodacious pug BUTTERCUP on the set. This pug is always ready for her close-ups.

We asked Central Casting to send us the perfect Harlan Pepper, the fly fishing shop owner from Pine Nut, North Carolina, who hopes that his bloodhound will be the first to make dog show history. They happily sent us Sandhills native JUSTIN MONROE and his beautiful dog BILL, one of five “bloods” Justin has at home. Hard not to love a face like that, huh? Bill’s, we mean. Justin’s bloodhound BILL plays our prize winning Bloodhound.

Stefan Vanderhoof, hair salon proprietor and proud co-owner, of prize-winning Shih Tzu Agnes — played by Hair Biz at the Cottage guru BILLIE ERTTER — shares an intimte moment with dog handler extraordinare Scott Donlan (by Neville’s Club manager JOEY ROUSE). Our local canine star, NELLY (owned by Julie Moore), proves Shih Tzus happen — and rock.We give the scene two thumbs up.

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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July 2010

D O G TA L E S

Houdini Higgins A story about a dog who liked to roam BY GEOFF CUTLER

ack then, most dogs in the neighborhood ran free and I thought nobody really cared all that much. We had such a dog, and this is his story. It’s a story about a dog who liked to roam. We named him Houdini Higgins, a coupling of the great magician and the upper crust bachelor in My Fair Lady. Higgins was probably my mother’s idea because she insists that everyone she knows has some kind of cutesy nickname, even the pets. To give you an idea, her dog was named Julius Puff-Puff Caesar the Third. A crusty old Pekingese, we couldn’t stand the little beast because it used to hang out under her bed, and every time we went in to kiss my mom good night, the wretched animal would spring out of its lair and bite us on the shins. An absolutely horrid creature who clearly thought that all my mother’s children were lions to be hunted and killed for his mistress. Lucky for Julius Puff-Puff Caesar the Third, he had quietly passed on to doggy somewhere before the great Houdini Higgins came along because Houdini would have had the evil Pekingese for an appetizer before his nightly bowl of Alpo and kibble. We picked Houdini up as a puppy in a box on a snowy winter night at the Myopia Hunt Club’s winter dog sled race. He was a mostly black Siberian husky with a perfect white maple leaf stamped on his forehead. Since it was my birthday, he was given to me, but he was really just one of many beloved family pets, not including Julius Puff-Puff Caesar the Third. It didn’t take long before this long and gangly puppy grew into a massive and rugged specimen of the breed, with paws the size of human fists. Not a dog to sit, stay or do anything people wanted, Houdini had a mind of his own, and while he loved people, and was as gentle as a baby nurse, he was pure alpha-male, and wasn’t shy of protecting that masculinity when the need arose. I remember once our gang was playing out in the street near our house and a fearsome looking Doberman pinscher came charging out of nowhere. I saw him coming and thought for the first time my dog was going to get licked. I’d never seen a fight like this. The terrible noise, the fangs, the black fur and spit flying in every direction, and then, I couldn’t believe it, the Doberman turned tail and limped off. I ran to my dog, and threw my arms around him. He was exhausted, panting hard and bleeding. He slobbered a big bloody lick up the side of my face as if to say he was OK and not to worry. And then the roaming started. He’d just disappear for a day or two, maybe longer. We had no idea where he went or what he was up to while away, but he always came back. We’d get word on his whereabouts from Marty, our neighborhood patrolman. He’d come in for a glass of lemonade or something warmer in the winter and tell us he’d seen Houdini down near the mall, Boston College or the reservoir. For a time, this was just the way it was, until my mother replaced Julius Puff-Puff Caesar the Third with a new litter of three toy Pekingese. Stellar animals, totally unlike their forebear, they were fine, sweet and congenial. We named them Pandora, Hercules, and the runt we called Sampson. It was the middle one, Hercules, having much the same temperament as

July 2010

Houdini Higgins Houdini, who took to the bigger dog like a father. He worshipped the husky. So, every time Houdini decided it was time for a walk-about, Hercules would set off with him. Witnesses to this pair said it was quite a sight to see the great Siberian husky ambling along the sidewalk with a tongue-wagging Peke, sprinting along at his ankles to keep up. Something bad must have happened. I came home from boarding school one weekend to find Hercules, but no Houdini. At first I thought they must have just been separated and that surely he would return soon. But he didn’t, and weeks turned into months, and soon a year had passed, and still no Houdini. This was a rough period, and Hercules must have felt the same pain because his heart just gave out, and he died long before his time. And then one Friday afternoon, well into the second year of Houdini’s disappearance, I came home from school once again. Long past calling his name or searching for my lost dog, as I came up onto the front porch, there he was, back in his favorite spot in the shade. I never asked what it was that was so terrible that they had to give him away, but they did. They gave him to a man who owned a farm with lots of land to roam. I never blamed them and tried to understand their decision, which I am sure was as hard on my parents as it was on Hercules and me. I was just glad that my dog had finally broken free from that far away place and made the long journey home. My parents worked it out with the farmer and said that Houdini would be staying where he obviously wanted to be. He must have decided that taking off didn’t always work out so well because after that, he never roamed again. Houdini lived for many wonderful years and died happily of old age with his family… where he belonged. PS Geoff Cutler is owner of Cutler Tree LLC in Southern Pines. He is a regular contributor to both The Pilot and PineStraw. He can be reached at geoffcutler@embarqmail.com.

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

D O G TA L E S

Doggy in the Mist How a wild Carolina dog stole my heart

BY MEGAN SHORE

ousing developments with no trees, roads up Mt. Everest, expanses of concrete. Hand sanitizer, hairspray, and weed killer. Where have all the wild things gone? One is sleeping next to my bed. He is Iorik, a thing of nature: rough, dirty, smart, wily, observant and most of all, utterly driven to hunt and eat. Named after a similarly characterized armored polar bear in the “His Dark Materials” trilogy, he is my husband’s and my beloved red dog. I believe Iorik is part, if not all, Carolina dog, a mixed breed also called native dog or Dixie Dingo. These are terms for dogs that have no distinct breed and live wild, forming self-sustaining communities. Wild dogs are not feral. Feral dogs live mostly solitary lives, in urban areas where they survive on garbage and other handouts. Carolina dogs live a pack life, with communal pup rearing, and they hunt as a clan. They are an example of what happens if natural selection is allowed to thrive and the strongest and smartest are bred to their equal, not matched up for looks or lineage. The result is a dog that has retained a certain primitive individuality not seen in most pure breeds. Iorik learns by watching me. He has mastered complicated tasks from opening doors to wearing his own backpack to general dog obedience. I communicate what is expected of him through touch and facial expressions and he quickly responds by learning. I say “learn” because his actions are part of him, not manipulated reactions to a stimulus. Our coexistence is based on mutual respect. If I’m having a bad day there is no “kicking the dog.” If Iorik feels like being alone or exploring, I let him. In return he doesn’t chew the couch, bark, bite or annoy me. Just because he is my dog doesn’t mean that he has no thoughts or needs. I am not his master, his pack leader or his mother. I am his human and he is my dog. Carolina-type wild dogs are thought to live on every continent. They are called dingoes, African dogs, Pariah dogs and devil dogs. I learned this last term from my dad after he saw a picture of Iorik and declared, “That’s a devil dog! Those mutts ran wild in Vietnam when I was there in ’69 and ’70.” He explained that Native Americans had similar dogs living with them when the Europeans

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

arrived. My dad, a novice scholar and admirer of Native American culture, had seen dogs similar to Iorik in old paintings and photos of native villages and hunting parties. Shortly after this exchange with my dad, an older gentleman stopped me on Iorik’s and my daily meander and exclaimed, “Young lady, you got yourself a Carolina dog. That is one special mutt.” This was the first I had heard this term and my interest was piqued. Armed with this new information I began my journey as the dog owners’, answer to Dian Fossey. As Fossey had observed gorillas in their habitat, before writing “Gorillas in the Mist,” I too began to watch Iorik. What a fascinating world he inhabits Iorik has some mystic doggy behaviors. He has a prey drive that would impress any shark, lion or piranha on “Animal Planet. His red and golden coat camouflages him in the pine straw. His eyes can see a mouse rustle a leaf. He is eerily quiet — and fast. He has the accordion-like spring of a cheetah, not a domestic dog’s loping gait. Iorik turns nest building into an art form. He pushes, moves, fluffs, pads, nuzzles, digs and collects materials that create the dog equivalent of a luxurious king size bed with high count Egyptian cotton sheets and a down duvet. This meticulous creature even buries his morning potty break, another distinction of wild dogs. I am fascinated by his snout pits, something I had never encountered until my “Doggy In the Mist” research. Nobody seems to know the purpose of this behavior. The dog digs, bites, and chews a snout-sized hole in the ground. Scientists theorize that the dogs are digging for insects to eat. I believe this, because every time Iorik pulls up a worm he has the look of a man who just won the lottery — that pure Christmas morning brand of happiness. No need to hide your excitement when lunch is involved! So, whether you believe in Carolina dogs or dismiss mine as a good ol’ American mutt, you must admire a creature so free to be what he is: a thinking, feeling, reacting wild thing trying to make it in this not so wild world — just like me. PS Megan Shore is a graphic designer for PineStraw magazine. Iorik illustration by Pamela Powers January

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D O G TA L E S

Sister Act They came, they saw, they wrecked my house BY CHRIS LARSEN

believe a house is not a home without a dog hanging around. In that sense, I had been homeless since I put my aging/ailing black Lab, Scout, down last summer. Weeks of tears were followed by months of mourning until finally I knew it was time to take in Pepper and Ginger another pooch. It would be a methodical search. I was looking for a golden retriever — hopefully house broken — and would give my new companion a name like Atticus and Scout before her, something from my favorite book, To Kill a Mockingbird. My first stop was at the Moore County Humane Society. The cacophony of yelps coming from dozens of worthy candidates was deafening but encouraging. Amid the chaos, in the very first cage I came to, sat a pair of adorable fuzzy pups. They looked up, I looked down. It was almost that simple. The card on the gate said they were part shepherd and part a little bit of everything else. I knelt and they jumped joyously over each other, one sister generously trying to outlick the other by way of enthusiastic greeting. I learned they were found in a box along a lonely Christmas Eve Road, the last of a litter and aptly named Angel and Noel. My search was over. I couldn’t think to separate them and add one more traumatic event to their young lives. That first night at home, we quietly camped out in the laundry room. As I sipped a cup of herbal tea, they dozed quietly at my feet — a couple of snoozing babes who’d found home sweet home. The thought occurred to me, however, that these adorable 9-pound babes were soon going to outgrow soft names like Angel and Noel. They would need new names, something of strength and stature — maybe Boo and Calpernia. Realizing they had not tested their lung capacity fully, “Thelma and Louise” sprung to mind as they noisily greeted the new day and I walked gingerly through a minefield that was once a pretty clean laundry room. At that moment I realized some form of significant crate training was in order for these two rambunctious sisters. The first baby gate was of no use for future sled dogs like these two, so I sprang for the pricey Fort Knox canine containment system. Snugly tucked in the door jamb of the laundry room, my babies were secured in their holding cell till they learned some

July 2010

household manners. A level of peace and stability was briefly achieved, doggie detente if you will, a balance of quality time and domestic bliss as we both settled into our roles. Then came a violent crash from their part of the house that made the howitzers at Fort Bragg sound like pop-guns. I rushed in to see if perhaps a meteorite had struck their corner of the house and discovered that those two scamps had used the moment to run through the rest of the house, knocking over lamps and tables, snapping at family heirlooms and anything they could get their baby teeth on, decorating the carpets in a few unauthorized ways as they fled. Realizing I was hopelessly outnumbered not just two-to-one but eight legs-to-two, I briefly considered naming them “Bonnie and Clyde.” The chase was on from room to room. Whoever said herding cats was tough has clearly never attempted to corral crazy shepherd sisters on the lam. Older, wiser and still with the home-field advantage, I managed to steer one of the girls into the Carolina room, slamming the door in victory — one down and one to go. Having gathered up baby “Cujo,” I saw her sister “Eva Braun” laughing maniacally through the glass door. In a matter of minutes, resembling something from the Keystone Cops, I’d locked myself out of the house, leaving a beast with a two-inch digestive tract in charge. Now, three months into our sweet new lives together, things have finally begun to settle down. Peaceful by no means. Homey for sure. Succumbing to the notion that there is no ideal way to name a puppy with a Christmas theme without its sounding like the work for someone named “Huggy Bear,” I settled on the names Pepper and Ginger — as in peppermint and gingerbread. Despite the trials and tribulations, nothing beats the excitement the “Spice Girls” have added to my life, seeing who can love me more. PS Chris Larsen is a frequent contributor to PineStraw magazine.

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D O G TA L E S

Emma’s Eyes The last thing I was looking for was another dog. And then we saw each other BY BRENDA BOUSER

mma was a big, ungainly, smelly dog who shed clumps of black undercoat everywhere she went. She was also loving, obedient, tolerant and kind. When she died a short time ago, she left an enormous void in our household. A shelter rescue animal of indeterminate age, mix and origin (my husband, Steve, liked to describe her as “half chow and half of Moore County”), Emma joined our family in December 2001. The last thing we needed at the time, as Steve has often reminded me, was another dog. Our 14-year-old Colonel had just died, and we were still mourning his loss when I saw Emma at a pet adoption event in Southern Pines. I didn’t have anything akin to pet ownership in mind as I wandered through the maze of leashed dogs and caged puppies, cats and kittens. But I was smitten when my eyes fell on the ebon dog with dark, soulful eyes. She was lying with her head on her paws, but her kind, intelligent eyes were darting back and forth over the milling crowd as though she hoped to spot a familiar face. I learned from a volunteer that she had been turned in to Animal Control with a litter of puppies that, according to one version, had been adopted or, according to another, had died of parvo. She was on the verge of being euthanized — already on the table, the volunteer said — when a rescue volunteer noticed her eyes and determined that she would make someone a wonderful pet. Within a week, that someone was me. Convincing everyone in my family that she belonged with us wasn’t an entirely easy sell. Steve, still smarting from Colonel’s loss, found fault in everything she did, even when she laid a tentative paw on his knee in an attempt to get his attention and especially when she snapped at our other dog, Kelci. Daughter Kate, she with a heart that melts at the most vulnerable of both humans and animals, was a piece of cake. In time, though, the good and faithful Emma won us all over, even Steve, who came to call her “Slurpy” because of her penchant for licking elbows and “Emmeline Grangerford” because her name reminded him of a character from “Huckleberry Finn.”

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

He enjoyed taking both dogs on walks around our neighborhood — always after Emma had done an awkward dance at the sight of her blue leash and usually after she had brushed a shelf of knickknacks off a nearby bookcase with her luxuriant chow-chow tail. That tail was something else, Emma’s one vanity and the source of an unexpected musical gift — the chord she could produce when her tail brushed the strings of Steve’s guitar as she trotted by its stand. One morning in March, Emma fell getting off her bed. By the time we got her to the vet, she couldn’t move — except to wag her tail. The vet ran tests, but found little to indicate the cause of her increasing paralysis. The best guess was “coon dog paralysis,” a disease caused by contact with the saliva of raccoons, which are common in our neighborhood. An overnight stay with the vet made no difference in Emma’s condition, and her breathing had become labored by the time I paid her a midafternoon visit. I knew she was in trouble when she didn’t wag her tail, even though her eyes were as alert as ever. An hour later, the vet called to say that she was worse and probably would not live through the night at the rate she was deteriorating. I called Steve, in Chapel Hill for a meeting, to discuss putting her down, but got another call from the vet while we were on the phone. I knew what to expect before I answered it. Months later, we still grieve the loss of our sweet friend. Even Kelci seems at once delighted at her single-dog status and confused by Emma’s absence. Only the cats are undisturbed. But, well, they are cats. A friend tells me that I will meet Emma again on something called the “Rainbow Bridge.” While I’m not sure I buy that, I would like to think of her as now happily romping in some canine equivalent of heaven. With any luck, there’s an angel’s harp there, leaning on a cloud, and Emma’s beautiful tail plucks out a doggy chord every time she trots by. PS Brenda Bouser is a resident of the area and is married to The Pilot’s editor Steve Bouser.

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Top Dogs We Americans sure love our dogs — especially the kind you eat in a bun between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the period of time that has officially been designated “Hot Dog Season” in the United States. According to statistics gathered by the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council — which only sounds like something from a “Saturday Night Live” sketch — Americans in 2009 spent $1.6 billion on commercial hot dogs and consumed 21.7 million hot dogs, not counting the world record 68 dogs champion speed-eater Joey “Jaws” Chestnut choked down in 10 minutes at last summer’s 94th annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island. Not surprisingly, major league ballparks topped the list where public hot dog consumption is highest, beginning with Boston’s venerable Fenway Park, where 1.67 million dogs were sold to fans last year. Chicago’s Wrigley Field scored second place with 1.58 million tube steaks consumed — no doubt served “Chicago” style. Among cities, Los Angeles claims to eat more hot dogs than anyone else, followed closely by New York City. Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, however, sold 725,000 more hot dogs than LAX or New York’s LaGuardia combined. Not to be complete weenies on the topic, but we — the patriotic citizens of the Sandhills — dearly love our hot dogs, too, evidenced by the fact that virtually every local restaurant from fancy to fast food franchise seems to offer a dog dressed just about every way imaginable, beginning with the classic Carolina Dixie Dog and ending with Chicago style. Hoping at the very minimum to earn ourselves some sort of modest recognition by the venerable NHDSC for meritorious consumption of high-nitrate processed meat products, if not a special invitation to Nathan’s Independence Day hot dog chokefest, several members of the PineStraw staff recently embarked on an ambitious task to sample every hot dog in the county just in time for the peak of America’s “Hot Dog” Season. The good news: After days of eating dogs done in every way conceivable, we concluded the quality of dogs found in Moore County is commendably high and remarkably uniform, making it tough to pick our top five. The bad news: We don’t want to see another bloody hot dog until at least after Labor Day.

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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July 2010

TO P D O G S

The Ice Cream Parlor We didn’t have to venture far from the PineStraw World Headquarters for this puppy. A breezy stroll around the block, pleasantly delayed by a brief chat with our favorite FedEx chap, Jeff, and we were there. Anthony Parks, Ice Cream Parlor owner, greeted us with his broad smile. “I bet we’re the only place in town that has a ‘Dog of the Day,’” he boasted, rattling off a list of local favorites. “Turkey, sausage, veggie, all-beef with melted pimento…” We politely asked for the day’s special. “All-beef topped with tomato, cucumber and Dijon. It’s similar to Chicago-style.” Intrigued, we ordered a round of them, with the shake-of-the-day — banana and pineapple — to complement, and took a barstool at the outlooking window to watch the world of Southern Pines go by. Back in the kitchen, “Chef Boy-r-Dan” Wake whipped up the hot dogs in a mere matter of minutes. They were tidy treasures, neatly lined with the trio of toppings without so much as a cucumber chunk outside of the bun, and grilled to perfection. We each liked different elements, from the sinus-opening Dijon mustard to the subtle flavor and crunch of the unexpected cucumber. The diced tomatoes were a great addition, too. Ketchup had better watch out. “This hot dog really hit the spot,” we agreed, likening it to more of a delicacy than a grease-link. With our chilled tropical treats to go, we left satisfied, not stuffed, and eager to try another Ice Cream Parlor creation.

The Villager Deli, Pinehurst This Pinehurst eatery is no hidden treasure — it’s a local lunchtime institution, and its hot dogs are the talk of the town. We took one of the last empty tables at this tidy little downtown deli, joining a lunch crowd no doubt thankful to have a place to cool down on such a muggy summer’s day.

Koley Keel, owner of the 30-year-old eatery classically decorated with black and white photos, sketches and paintings from the fabled Home of Golf in America, couldn’t decide on a dog to bring us. He picked two. “Now that’s a set of buns!” one of the less discreet in our merry band of hot-doggers blurted when Koley brought out one thick, all-the-way dog in a seasoned hoagie bun, brimming with chili, chopped onion, tart mustard, slaw and a side of wavy chips. He brought a beefy kraut and mustard dog for us too. It looked like the kind of meal that was going to get messy, so we asked for a few extra napkins before we attempted to pick that sucker up. Despite our valiant efforts to eat that puppy the way a hot dog should be eaten — Joey “Jaws”-style, with our two bare hands — its colossal size forced us to retreat to more civilized means: a mere fork. “This slaw is fantastic,” our dog-eating team agreed. “It’s got to be homemade.” “Everything on that dog is homemade,” Koley replied proudly. “We make it all from scratch.” Although The Villager’s dogs came at a more premium price — about $6 — they were worth every bite.

CCNC When we heard that Tom Rock customizes his hot dogs according to his customers’ individual tastes at the CCNC halfway house, we skipped the golf and went straight to the club’s popular eating spot. “What are your specialties?” we put it straight to T-Rock, as members affectionately call him. “Well,” Tom came back with a modest grin, “Steve Coman says my Chicago dog is second only to Nathan’s. But I have a special way of customizing them that he really likes.” Tom explained in detail how he grills, slits and fills the all-beef frank with cheese, sautéed onion and tomato. We asked about the cheese. “American is popular, but cheddar’s really better, seems to bring out the flavors a bit better. Then there’s the Skavala dog,” he said, named for a favorite customer who fancies his weenie cooked a little longer — and deep fried for an extra crunch.

Photograph By Hannah Sharpe

July 2010

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

TO P D O G S

For the sake of fairness, we ordered both the Chicago and the Skavala, watching as T-Rock masterfully got down to work. He commenced by buttering and buttering and toasting each of the buns, a nice extra touch. “Y’all enjoy,” he said, delivering up our dogs with a grin. The thick and juicy Chicago dog was full of surprising textures and complementary flavors, immediately earning its spot on top of our team dog list. The crispy, char-grilled and deep-fried Skavala dog, on the other hand, well ... it was interesting. But hey, sometimes that’s what it takes to have your name immortalized on a menu.

Dog Nation Grill, Aberdeen With a name like Dog Nation, we could only assume that this Aberdeen wiener joint means business — which is exactly why we had to try their most popular entrée. The problem? There were too many good ones to choose from. On the quaint little corner of Poplar and Maple, we sat beneath the shade of the Grill’s distintive outdoor umbrellas and ordered the popular Chicago dog and newcomer Reuben models. With a bun that fit like a glove, this Chicago-style beauty was embellished with sweet relish, finely diced tomato, spicy brown mustard and celery salt, complete with a customary crisp dill spear tucked right alongside the dog, offering pickle connoisseurs a satisfying crunch with every bite. The Reuben featured a skinny New York all-beef dog served with a cheeky slice of Swiss cheese on the bottom of the bun, with kraut and Thousand Island dressing to boot. Both were served with a side of delcious home-cut French fries, crispy on the outside, creamy inside. The perfect complement. Chef and owner Betty-Jean Infanti briefly popped out of her miniscule kitchen to give us a few essential dog details. “To begin with, they’re all-beef and strictly kosher,” said the friendly 66-year-old North Carolina-born entrepreneur who’s lived several places on this hot dog lovin’ planet and once owned an Italian restaurant in New York. While on the topic of dogs, Betty Jean shared the story behind Dog

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Nation’s logo, a beloved Rottweiler named Max who adopted her son Joey and became a beloved family pet. As all good dogs do, Max eventually went on to heaven, but his cheerful likeness graces the restaurant’s logo. Before we headed back to the office to sleep off our big lunch, Betty Jean sweetly offered us fishing poles and suggested we drop a line in the little creek that meanders by the shop. “It’s big with the little kids,” she told us with a neighborly smile. “What do you do for bait?” we asked – but should have guessed. “Hot dogs, of course,” said Betty Jean. “The fish love ’em.”

Dave’s Place When we entered Dave’s Place — beloved by regulars for its deep-fried chicken wings and burgers your buddy will bet you can’t finish — we took seats at the bar beside a fellow named Dub, a friendly patron delighting in his liquid lunch. Candy, our charming blonde waitress, took drink orders. “I can smell this place from my house,” Dub offered, adding how much he loves Dave’s burgers. “What about the hot dogs?” we wondered. He gave us an approving nod. “Everything here’s good,” he said. With that ringing endorsement, we asked Candy for their top dog with a side of Dave’s infamous chicken wings and sipped sweet tea to the comforting flashes and hums of the nearby arcade games. Whether it was the coveted Budweiser Official NASCAR Helmet lamp or the impressive selection of American beer, the place had an inarguable patriotic feel to it. “Here y’all go,” Candy said with her sweet southern drawl, serving up savory dogs that looked to be about two inches too long and decorated with bright yellow slaw, chili, freshly cut onions, ketchup and tart yellow mustard. This girthy, traditional dog was every bit as delicious as it looked, even if it did hang a clean inch over each side of the bun. The kicker: It had a nice little bite to it. With speedy and smiling service and the kind of environment you don’t have to dress up for, Dave’s can add hot dogs to their list of specialties. (And for the record, the ranch-dipped chicken wings live up to their reputation, too.) PS

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July 2010

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Blues Traveler

BY ASHLEY WAHL

“M

usic is my mistress,” says Austin-based bluesman Seth Walker, adding that he and his 1952 Gibson archtop were simply made for each other, even if he did leave her out in the rain once after a Texas gig. Almost poetically, with the kind of down-home charm that warms the soul, Seth paints the scene of dumping rainwater and fallen leaves from his baby after waking to the pitter-pattering of rain on his tin roof and realizing that she wasn’t inside. The old gal must have forgiven him, though — they’re getting along better than ever. Seth grew up playing the cello in the small town of Altamahaw Ossippe, North Carolina. Both of his folks were classical musicians, and although his dad dabbled in a bit of folk, it wasn’t until his college years at East Carolina that Seth ever really picked up a guitar. He used his book money to buy his own shortly thereafter. “Blues was the first thing that seemed natural,” Seth recalls. In 1995, he moved to immerse himself in the Austin music scene without any intention of becoming a professional musician. “It just happened, but I didn’t question it,” he says genuinely. Seth’s first album, When it Rains, It Pours (1997), was an homage to the blues and swing musicians who have most influenced him — B.B. King, T-Bone Walker and Snooks Eaglin, to name a few. But it wasn’t until 2006 with the release of his selftitled album that Seth believes he found his voice. “Making music is sort of like dating,” he says. “You see what you like and what you don’t like. It’s all very personal.” Last year Seth released his sixth album, Leap of Faith, and is currently in the midst of writing tunes for the next one. Although the bending of the Gibson’s strings and Seth’s soulful croon are ultimately what resonate, there’s something artful to his lyrics as well. “It’s not just about past experiences, it’s about building a story,” says Seth. Although he has opened shows for such iconic artists as B.B. King, Jimmie Vaughn and Ray Charles — whom he was actually likened to by blues legend Taj Mahal — Seth’s favorite part about what he does has nothing to do with the glitz or glam. “I just love the connection between music and the listener,” he says. “It’s magic, and I’m addicted to it.” PS

The Sunrise Theater Blues Concert and Crawl Saturday, July 17 Seth Walker - 7:30 p.m. • Sunrise Theater • $25 Pub Crawl - 9:00 p.m. • Crossover Blues at O’Donnell’s Pub, Thundering Blues at Neville’s, Drew Questell at The Bell Tree, Joe Frye at Swank, King Bees at Rhett’s, The Musicians at The Wine Cellar, Lockdown at The Jefferson Concert Ticket w/ Crawl Pass - $40 Blues Crawl Venues - $20 Information - 910-692-8501 • www.sunrisetheater.com PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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July 2010

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

The March King Reigns Supreme John Philip Sousa in the Sandhills

BY RAY OWEN

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Mr. and Mrs. John Philip Sousa and Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Tufts.

John Philip Sousa at the Pinehurst Gun Club.

Photographs from the Tufts Archives

othing better reflects America’s patriotic spirit than the music of bandmaster John Philip Sousa. Rising to fame at the turn of the twentieth century as his country was emerging as a global power, the musician was among the most celebrated guests ever at the Pinehurst Resort, where he was a frequent visitor for more than twenty years. Known the world over as the “March King,” the clear brass call of his oompahpahs touched the hearts of millions. The March King reigned supreme, with few performers in history personally appearing before more people. He was the bandleader for five presidents, and served in all three branches of the military. As conductor of the U.S. Marine Band, and later as leader of the Sousa Band, he wrote about one hundred and fifty marches — songs that became the nation’s calling cards, such as “Hail to the Spirit of Liberty,” “The Invincible Eagle,” and “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” More than a composer, John Philip Sousa was an entertainer who electrified his listeners. He was the picture of grace and dignity, as resplendent as an ornamental penguin in his military coat with braids framing the chest upon which fiery medals sparkled. It is said that Sousa wore a new pair of pure white gloves at nearly every concert, his audience sometimes numbering in the tens of thousands. He waited for his jeweled baton to be handed to him on a silver platter before commencing a performance that a spectator once described as “the American eagle shooting arrows into the aurora borealis.” Underlying Sousa’s regal persona was a modest man, and he landed in the Sandhills during the early 1900s full of surprises. The March King’s eyes revealed calm brilliance, but Sousa was blind without thick-lensed glasses. He spoke in a high squeaky voice and liked talking boxing and baseball, which he considered the greatest game on earth — the Sousa Band even had its own baseball team. His penmanship left much to be desired, and for some reason he always wrote on the extreme right side of a sheet with the majority of the page left free. When asked about life’s greatest rewards he replied, “a horse, a dog, a gun, and a girl — with music on the side.” He loved the Sandhills, and came to know the land. At the beginning of the twentieth century the region was among the last great frontiers along the Eastern Seaboard. Off in the wilds of the pine-scented woods the March King found freedom, and could enjoy being a true outdoorsman. Champion horseman and skilled hunter, Sousa was for a part time owner of a 2,000-acre hunting preserve near the village where he raised quail, grouse and partridge. There was a large kennel for his dogs and stalls for horses. He was known to travel great distances on horseback, and his longest trip was a nearly 1,000-mile journey to participate in several trapshooting events. Regarded as one of the best trapshooters in America, for John Philip there was no sweeter sound than the call “pull,” the bark of an old gun and a referee announcing “dead.” An ardent field shooter, he registered more than 35,000 career targets, and in 1916 he headed the newly-founded American Amateur Trapshooting Association. During an Army versus Navy contest held at Pinehurst in 1919, Sousa was the mainstay of the Navy team with the top individual score for the competing duo. As for golf, to say that the musician never succumbed to the lure of the game would be putting it mildly. Sousa had often remarked that he would take up the sport when he

Signed photograph to Leonard Tufts that reads: to Leonard Tufts Esq. from John Philip Sousa winner of Championship at Pinehurst.

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July 2010

was too old for any other, but the truth was that his scores were so unflattering that it was seldom mentioned. On his first and only day on the Pinehurst links, he played so badly that it was written up in the local paper, with complaints lodged against him by golfers playing neighboring fairways. John Philip broke two windows out of a farmhouse and lost so many balls that it was necessary to keep two caddies going all afternoon. In spite of golf’s challenges, the resort remained one of his favorite escapes.

ohn Philip Sousa rode a peak of interest in bands that took place between 1890 and 1910 to become magic in a way that few entertainers have ever achieved. In the absence of radio, television, movies, or cars, communities were isolated and people “belonged” to a place. Music was not only popular entertainment, it was the rallying point for civic identity. Every community had its own band and no event was observed without fanfare. This evolved into a national obsession, with bands springing up by the hundreds of thousands. At the forefront of the movement was Sousa, and when his band came to town businesses closed, schools were dismissed, flags were flown, and people came from miles around to see the “March King.” Sparked by growing national pride that accompanied America’s rise on the global stage, the pulse of Sousa’s military rhythms inspired unparalleled patriotism among the people of a growing nation, catapulting the musician into international stardom. Traveling more than a million miles by land and sea, with four European tours and a trip around the world, the March King was everywhere. A man from humble beginnings, John Philip was born in Washington, D.C. in 1854, in the shadow of the Capitol dome. Growing up in a modest house in a section of town known as the “Navy Yard,” Sousa was the third of ten children of immigrant parents. His childhood days were spent along the nearby marshes of the Potomac where he liked hunting and fishing with his dad, and sliding on the baseball lot during hot summer afternoons. For John Philip Sousa, the Civil War kindled his love for military music, and pointed the way for his musical future. Throughout Washington was the whistle of a fife, the roll of drums, and a commanding “for’d march.” Brass bands played daily, and the tramp, tramp, tramp of blue-clad soldiers was heard everywhere. At times Confederate cannons boomed just a few miles away, as every man capable of bearing arms went off to protect the capital. The composer attributed his ability to write a great march to these experiences, and the fact he had personally known war. Sousa felt music calling from within, and he created songs in his mind without the aid of a piano or musical instrument of any kind. Imagining himself in the particular atmosphere of a piece, the melodies came upon him at such speed that he often struggled to capture it all on paper. Only after he had finished with a song would he play it, and many times pieces went into print without his ever having heard a note. He believed the compositions to be living things whose source was beyond him, and that the music would somehow find a way to touch the public’s heart. His masterpiece was “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” and he would have achieved immortality had he never written another song. It was composed at Christmastime in 1896 while on a ship en route to New York Harbor, from a melody that he heard in his head. Day after day the music forced itself upon him, growing beyond his control. When the ship entered New York Harbor, he looked out to see the American flag waving in the breeze, and the song surged through his mind. As soon as he could make it to his desk, he transcribed the piece note for note as he had heard it, producing the greatest march the world had ever known. The musician’s last visit to Pinehurst was in 1929, just a few short years before he passed away. Reflecting back, he remarked that “no one has had a richer, happier life than I have had and there is nothing I would rather do than what I am doing.” Living right up to the end in his belief that a creative man owed the world all his talent, John Philip Sousa conducted “The Stars and Stripes Forever” for the last time on the afternoon of March 5, 1932, and he died early the next morning. In 1987, “The Stars and Stripes Forever” was named the National March of the United States — designated as an imperishable reflection of the nation’s spirit. PS

Sousa’s Great Lakes Band

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July 2010

S TO RY O F A H O U S E

Betty Chapman (left) and Beth Verner relax at home with three of their soft-coated Wheaten terriors.

Home Sweet Dog Terriers Mold the Space and Lives of a Devoted Couple BY DEBORAH SALOMON PHOTOGRAPHS BY HANNAH SHARPE

Fit for a dog: rainy-day exercise on the treadmill, in the dog “den.”

July 2010

inding a multi-dog household in the Sandhills is like finding a needle in a well-organized sewing box. Still, the house in Whispering Pines retrofitted by Beth Verner and Betty Chapman to accommodate their five prize-winning softcoated Wheaten terriers is beyond blue ribbon. “We live with our dogs,” Verner understates. This means dividing the elongated single-story residence, vaguely Frank Lloyd Wright, into five zones, one for each dog, since no more than two are together unsupervised at a time — except in the evening when the family watches TV from a leather sectional sofa. Each dog knows his/her zone, depending on the hour. Every doorway has an iron gate; most rooms contain hardwood crates disguised as tables and cabinets. Floors throughout are tile, even those resembling wood, because dogs appreciate the cool, easy-clean surface. Stone crocks (puppies chew baskets) of best-quality toys sit in corners. Art and décor objects — screen savers, pillows, paint-

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Verner’s ultra-modern kitchen with Swedish appliances in the earthy neutrals that are used throughout the house.

ings, mailbox, cookie jar and statuary — depict Wheatens. Trophies fill the dining room sideboard. An image of their legendary world champion Korvu, now deceased, stands in the vestibule like Winged Victory in the Louvre. The library contains books, magazines, DVDs on canine subjects. Verner owns a database containing specifics on 42,000 Wheatens worldwide, Chapman’s birthday gift to Verner. And, although the dogs are accommodated in each room, one was built especially for them: The Den, it is called, with cathedral ceiling and soaring cabinets filled with linens, dishes, grooming and travel equipment, pharmaceuticals. Also a treadmill for exercising during inclement weather, raised bathing tub, grooming table, refrigerator/freezer, overstuffed chair, TV and radio. “When puppies are born they listen to music,” Verner says. Then, when “puppy ears” open, NPR is substituted to accustom them to human voices. A nanny cam has been purchased but not installed. Dogs sleep in crates in The Den, “… except when they are 10 or so, and I know their time is limited. Then they sleep on the bed with me,” Verner allows. The den pantry is stocked with highest-quality kibble and canned food. Verner researched a formula that satisfies protein requirements: two days each of pheasant, salmon, venison, duck, trout and pork. Repeat.

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Each room has a gate, so dogs can be sociable but separate.

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July 2010

Crates, present throughout the house, are disguised as tables and chests.

Outdoor space also falls into zones, which include The Paddock (veranda/deck) with covered and uncovered areas. The Patio has all-weather runs, each with its own fan, raised bed, water bowl and accoutrements. The Wheatens are trained to potty on rock beds located in the paddock and patio, which can be scooped and hosed down. An exterior thermometer has a readout box in the den. Dogs come inside when the temperature reaches the high 70s. A child’s playhouse occupies a corner of The Paddock. “When we have puppies we invite children in for socialization,” Chapman explains. The couple may soon resume breeding. A quiet whelping room is ready for the next dam and her litter. The four females go on occasional walks. A dog sitter takes over when Verner and Chapman travel. The sitter’s job is facilitated by color-coding leads to dog collars and crate markings. Safety has not been overlooked. A lead is left on every crate throughout the house, to make evacuation easier in the event of a fire. The list goes on — and on. Yet Rakish, Hayley, Garbo, Roquie and Vogue do not seem affected by the lap of luxury on which they reside. Rakish, the aged male, is fragile and a bit cranky, but the girls jump up to greet visitors with wagging tails and friendly barks.

July 2010

This dynasty commenced in the early 1980s when Chapman, a professor and assistant provost at Illinois State University, met Verner, a professor of sports management and exercise science at ISU. They became acquainted at a conference. Conversation led to dogs. Coincidentally, both had Schnauzers. Chapman needed a good vet. Verner recommended hers. Subsequently, Verner shifted to a job outside academia and sold her house in two days. Chapman had just purchased a roomy split level in Bloomington. “We set up housekeeping,” Verner says. After the Schnauzers expired, they investigated other breeds that were low-shedders and hypoallergenic. “I was tired of dog hair on black slacks,” Chapman says. They were drawn to Wheatens at dog shows. Before the Internet, locating the right breeder took time. A first puppy, named Cara, led to 11 more. The couple modified their split-level to suit the dogs and began breeding under the name Caraway. As retirement approached, Chapman and Verner looked south. A vacation with friends sold them on the dog-friendly Sandhills. “We like to look at real estate when we travel — see what the dollar can buy,” Verner says. They needed something roomy, on one level, with enough land for patio and paddock.

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

During that trip they saw five houses, none quite right. On the way to see another they noticed a distinctive white brick house with a For Sale sign. The women turned and gazed at each other, knowingly. “Betty, this was meant to be,” Verner remembers saying. They stopped and rang the bell. The owner invited them in. “I stood in the foyer and could see tomorrow,” Verner recalls. Tomorrow meant an open-floor plan, copious light, a grassy yard and, the clincher for Verner, a Georgia native — 19 dogwood trees. “But if the house didn’t work for the dogs it wouldn’t work for us,” she states. They checked village ordinances concerning dogs before making a deal to purchase the house and rent it out while arranging relocation. The 3,000-plus sq. ft. house, built in the early 1960s on an acre surrounded by golf course, is more Boca Raton than Whispering Pines. Verner learned that it had been featured in Architectural Digest. Out came the white broadloom, in went ceramic tile patterned to resemble area rugs. The kitchen was gutted and replaced by sleek java-toned cabinetry, a stainless steel manor sink and Electrolux appliances — Verner has fond memories of attending dog events in Sweden. The cooktop is set low, European-style, to facilitate stirring. Jeweled tiles set into the backsplash brighten the neutrals. “I’ve always preferred earth tones,” Chapman says. A skylight illuminates the browns, grays and taupes that extend from the kitchen throughout the house. Activity is centered in the family room, with a fenced bay for elderly Rakish and a view of the pool deck through louvered blinds. Although Verner was a competitive swimmer, the glamorous pool surrounded by potted geraniums is rarely used. The bedroom wing overlooks plein air dog zones while the library leads directly into The (Dog) Den, which might serve as a hobby studio for a subsequent occupant. “But you know what our hobby is,” she smiles. The women recently purchased an adjacent lot which will become a private dog park. Surely, never has the home of five dogs been as well-organized, well-integrated or immaculate. Even the day falls into zones, beginning after the 8 a.m. news when the Wheatens are let out of their sleeping crates into The Paddock for toileting, followed by breakfast. There is play time, rest time, indoor and outdoor time, monthly bath/pedicure time and preparation for shows. Then, before dinner, Verner and Chapman sip cocktails in a seating area adjoining The Patio to reprise the day and commune with their family. Like Jimmy Stewart said one long-ago Christmas: For the Wheaten Five in Whispering Pines … it’s a wonderful life. PS

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Long, low, white, vaguely Frank Lloyd Wright, this house stands apart from its Whispering Pines neighbors.

The pool and deck: strictly Hollywood.

The Paddock and Patio provide outdoor environments for Verner, Chapman and terriers.

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July 2010

A Most P leasant D iversion BY TOM ALLEN

first encountered the gardening bug when we lived in Raleigh, and when it bit, it bit hard. Our house sat on a corner lot. The western edge, from the sidewalk to the house, was nothing but fescue, yet when the bug bit, I did what every newly-intoxicated gardener does — I picked up a shovel and I started digging. Out went the fescue; in went compost, some manure and a sprinkling of fertilizer. God provided the water, and before you knew it, our west-wing garden flourished with roses and hollyhocks, bordered in the spring by pansies and sweet William, surrounded in summer by petunias and white alyssum. After our move to the Sandhills in 1998, with two small children, a new job and a new house, I knew I’d have to keep the gardening bug at bay. A few summer annuals, trailing over clay pots on our deck, sufficed for a couple of seasons; a hanging basket of verbena or a potted geranium seemed to satisfy the need to grow something, but every time I passed a hedge of hollies in our front yard, I imagined a plot filled with zinnas or black-eyed Susans. Every time I saw a rose garden, I wanted to pull out a shovel, dig a hole, and plant some bareroot beauty. Every time someone shared his crop of tomatoes or cucumbers, I wanted to use the end of my hoe to make a dent in the earth, drop a few seed, and see what might happen. One fall, the bug finally jumped the fence and sank its dirty little incisors into my uncalloused hands. I reached for my shovel, dug out a plot in front of the holly hedge, then tossed in some compost and manure. I planted a bag of mail order King Albert daffodils, along with a few Stella D’oros I picked up at Gully’s. Spring brought a small but stunning display of yellow and orange, along with the encouragement and the drive to keep digging and planting. Later, two rose bushes were planted — the classic, coral Tropicana and the temperamental yet fragrant, red Mr. Lincoln. Eventually, I moved to the backyard. Along with potted plants, I added hanging planters to the deck railings that would hold wavy petunias in the summer and smiling pansies in the fall. If we were lucky enough to have a mild winter, the pansies might last into spring, and with some deadheading and a little fertilizer, they’d be the perfect backdrop for tulips and hyacinths, potted with the hope of some

July 2010

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Easter blooms. A few hostas on either side of the deck steps provided some needed texture and balance, and a handful of King Alberts, planted among the hostas, sounded their yellow trumpets in early March. In the fall of 2008, the bug took its biggest bite ever. With my wife’s blessing and the help of another gardening friend, I spent a balmy afternoon digging up a hedge of prickly, boring junipers that crept along the foundation of our deck and sunroom. I filled the area with garden soil, mushroom compost and Black Kowmanure, part of a pallet of partially-opened soil and amendments I bought for a steal at Lowe’s. I mixed everything in with a tiller, raked and leveled the soil, then stood back and pondered, much like an artist might muse over an empty canvas. I smiled at the possibilities for my new plot of freshly tilled earth, walked outside several times a day just to examine the waiting soil, and started making plans for the coming spring. A rain barrel purchased off eBay eventually separated the plot into two sections. One side would be planted with coolseason sugar snap peas, lettuce and broccoli. Later, when the soil warmed, summer-loving squash, bell peppers and tomatoes would find a home. The other side of the rain barrel was planted with seasonal shrubs — camellia, hydrangea, peonies and wygelia. Summer bloomers like cosmos and sunflowers would draw the eye to their cheerful blooms while the foliage left from a stand of jonquils continued to fade and die, miraculously nourishing their dormant bulbs for another show the following spring. I’d grown my Eden on half an acre in Whispering Pines.

ost of us view our gardening interest as more than a simple pastime. We’ll tell you our efforts are therapeutic for mind and body, a pleasurable diversion that gets us outside in fresh air and sunshine, calling us away from our laptops, our Blackberrys and those mindless reality shows. Gardening slows us down, limbers us up and tires us out. Ah, but as my dad says, “It’s a good tired.” And what a great antidote to stress. Ticked off at someone? Plant some impatiens in a shady spot. Worried about something? Pot up a sun-loving lantana. Need something to look forward to? Drop a few bulbs in the earth. Tired of Margaritaville? Plant a tree. Along with its therapeutic benefits, gardening provides lessons for life, and who doesn’t need to be

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

reminded to listen, to wait, to be patient and to go with your heart? In the garden we learn from our failures as well as our successes. We learn to read the label, to follow instructions, and to listen to the wise counsel of veteran gardeners. We learn what to plant when and what not to plant where, and we learn that time spent preparing the soil to receive whatever we bring for its nourishment is time well-spent. Gardening is not without its disappointments, though. I’ve found I simply can’t grow lilies of the valley in my fertile, well-drained plot. Some pesky tunnel-maker takes off with the tubers or I’m left with a few sprigs of foliage, but no fragrant blooms. Aphids sometime nibble at my azaleas. Beetles dig their way into my squash. Worms devour my broccoli leaves. Deer munch on my Stella D’oros or chomp on my rose buds. Occasionally, I’ll find a chemical solution to the problem. More often than not, I’ll entrust most unwelcomed visitors to ladybugs, frogs, and birds — nature’s own pest control. Along with its life lessons, its joys and frustrations, lots of folks will tell you there’s a spiritual dimension to gardening, a mystical connection to the earth on which we are so dependent. That’s not surprising, considering the writer of Genesis, the first book of the Hebrew Bible, tells us that God made Adam — an earthling — from adamah — the earth. Maybe that explains why I don’t like to wear gloves when I garden. Perhaps I enjoy getting dirty because, well, I came from dirt. Gardening also requires a degree of faith. I till, I plant, I water, I do what I can; the rest is out of my hands. Yet grace abounds in gardening — even when my best efforts fail, I know there’s a second chance. (Those lilies of the valley I can’t seem to grow? I can always try again.) And sometimes, surprisingly, my most benign efforts yield an abundance. (That 99-cent packet of zinnas? I planted, I watered, and they bloomed like crazy.) No doubt all gardeners will tell you that much of the joy that comes with this earthy diversion comes in the sharing — a bunch of zinnas for a friend who’s down can bring a welcome smile, or a “mess of squash” for someone’s dinner table can nourish their bodies as well as a friendship. A watermelon, iced down and grown from plants that came up “volunteer,” tastes even better on a hot, summer day, when it comes from a friend’s garden. And what lovelier sight is there than a perfect rose in a simple vase, given to the one you love. So in gardening, we learn to share and to give. We learn that hard work pays off, that risk has its reward, and that a little dirt under your fingernails can be a sign of great blessing. PS Tom Allen is Minister of Education at First Baptist Church, Southern Pines, and a frequent contributor to PineStraw.

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July 2010

Come visit a community where the question “What am I going to do today?” quickly fades away. Explore Del Webb

TRAVELING ROAD SHOW

Come get a taste of the Del Webb lifestyle. Join us for our Traveling Road Show at Maggiano’s Little Italy at The Streets of Southpoint in Durham, NC. Learn more about Carolina Preserve, voted Cary’s Best Senior Living by Cary Magazine and Best Active Adult Community by Retirement Lifestyles Magazine.

Wednesday, July 21, 4pm:

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8030 Renaissance Parkway #890 Durham, NC 27713

Ranch-style Homes from the $200’s

For more information visit delwebb.com/carolina Please RSVP to 1-888-817-9610 by July 16, 2010

Prices shown are base prices and do not include lot premiums or options. At least one resident must be 55 years of age or better, a limited number of residents may be younger and no one under 19 years of age. Some residents may be younger than 55. Community Association fees required. Complete offering terms for the homeowner’s association is in an offering plan available from sponsor. Void where prohibited. Prices reflect base prices and are subject to change without notice. Lot premiums may apply. Details available upon request. Photography is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be an actual representation of a specific community, neighborhood, or any completed improvements being offered. ©2010 Pulte Home Corporation.

Home Style

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USTA ADULT

LEAGUE STATE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS. Through July 4. Pinehurst Resort.

FIRST FRIDAY.

5 – 8 p.m. Family friendly event. Sunrise Theater, Southern Pines.

WINE TASTING:

Uncorked. Elliott’s on Linden. (910) 295-3663.

JULY 4th CELEBRATION. 5:30 p.m. Aberdeen Lake. (910) 944-PARK. JULY 4th PARADE. 11 a.m. Carthage. (910) 947-2331.

SAUCE DEMON-

SENIOR ACTIVI-

STRATION: Kitchen Essence. 12 p.m. & 2 p.m. Free. Elliot’s on Linden. (910) 295-3663.

TY: Bingo. 2:30 p.m. Douglas Community Center(910) 6927376.

JAZZY FRIDAYS. 7 – 10 p.m. Live jazz $5/person. Cypress Bend Vineyards & Winery. (910) 3690411.

ART CLASS: Ink and Wash Drawing. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Artists League of the Sandhills. (910) 9443979. FAMILY FUN NIGHT. 5:30 p.m. Free. The Southern Pines Public Library. (910) 692-8235.

MEET THE AUTHOR. 4 p.m. The Country Bookshop. (910) 6923211.

MOONLIGHT GOLF. Begins at 7:30 p.m. (910) 295-3642. EDDIE BARRETT ORCHESTRA: A Fair Barn. 6:00 p.m. (910) 295-0166.

PRESCHOOL STORYTIME. 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. For infants and toddlers. The Southern Pines Public Library. (910) 6928235.

BAND OF BOOKIES. 11 a.m. Kids grades 5-8 . The Southern Pines Public Library. (910) 6928235.

EBRATION. 5 p.m. The Fair Barn.(910) 295-2817.

ROOSTER’S WIFE MUSIC SERIES. 6 p.m. “New Found Road.” Postmaster’s House, Aberdeen. (910) 9447502.

GOLF TOURNAMENT: “Fore Kids Sake.” 9 a.m. (910) 295-1072. SCC JAZZ BAND: Outdoor Concert. 6:30 p.m. Free. Lawn chairs and picnics welcome. Sandhills Community College, (910) 695-3829.

ROOSTER’S WIFE MUSIC SERIES. 6 p.m. “Jon Shain Trio” and “The Grandsons.” Picnics welcome. Postmaster’s House, Aberdeen. (910) 944-7502.

MEET THE AUTHOR. 2 p.m. David Howard. Penick Village. (910) 692-3211.

FAMILY FUN MOVIE. 2:30 p.m. Southern Pines Public Library. (910) 6928235.

GOLF CLASSIC. St. Joseph of the Pines/Coalition Golf Classic. (910) 6931600 or www.sandhillscoaliti on.org/events.

ROOSTER’S WIFE MUSIC SERIES. 6 p.m. “The Swang Brothers” Postmaster’s House, Aberdeen. (910) 9447502.

SENIOR ACTIVI-

TY: Bingo. 2:30 p.m. Southern Pines Recreations and Parks Department at (910) 692-7376.

SENIOR ACTIVI-

TY: Bicycle Invented. 11:30 a.m. Craft and eat a “Biker’s salad.” Douglas Community Center, Southern Pines Recreations and Parks Department. (910) 692-7376.

ART CLASS: Portrait Drawing. 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Artists League of the Sandhills. (910) 9443979.

BOOK BUNCH. 11 a.m. Kids grades K-4 The Southern Pines Public Library. (910) 692-8235.

CAROLINAS AMATEUR CHAMPION. Through July 8. (910) 673-1000.

4th OF JULY CEL-

ART EXHIBIT & RECEPTION. 3 – 5 p.m. Artists League of the Sandhills. (910) 944-3979.

OLDIES & GOODIES FILM SERIES. 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. The Southern Pines Public Library. (910) 692-8235.

Key: Art Music/Concerts Dance/Theater Literature/Speakers Film Fun History Sports

PINEHURST JUNIOR CLASSIC: Tennis Tournament. Free for spectators. Through July 17. (910) 295-2817.

ART CLASS: Artists League of the Sandhills. (910) 9443979.

JAZZY FRIDAYS. 7

– 10 p.m. Cypress Bend Vineyards & Winery, Wagram. (910) 369-0411.

CHRISTMAS IN JULY SALE. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Friday, 9 – 12 p.m. on Saturday. Moore County Coalition for Human Care. (910) 693-1600.

CAROLINAS PARENT-CHILD CHAMPIONSHIP. (910) 673-1000. SENIOR APPRECIATION DAY. 12 p.m. Douglas Community Center. (910) 692-7376.

VILLAGE OF PINEHURST 4th of JULY PARADE. 9 a.m.

Pinehurst Village. MEET THE

ARTIST. 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Hollyhocks Art Gallery. (910) 2550665.

MEET THE ARTIST. 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Hollyhocks Art Gallery. (910) 2550665. COMING TOGETHER: An Afternoon of the Musical Roots of the American South. 2 – 7 p.m. Weymouth Center. (910) 6926261.

SUNRISE BLUES CONCERT & CRAWL: 9th Annual Event. Begins at 7:30 p.m. (910) 692-3611. MEET THE ARTIST. 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Hollyhocks Art Gallery, 905 Linden. (910) 255-0665.

COMMUNITY FLEA MARKET. 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. Pinehurst Fair Barn. (910) 692-7271. ART CLASS: Artists League. (910) 944-3979. MEET THE ARTIST. Hollyhocks Art Gallery. (910) 2550665.

ONE-DAY TOURNAMENT. Hyland Golf Club, Southern Pines. (910) 673-1000. MEET THE ARTIST. 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Hollyhocks Art Gallery. (910) 2550665.

July Calendar Wednesdays W.O.W. Wine on Wednesdays from July 7 – 28. The Wine Cellar, 241 Northeast Broad Street, Southern Pines. For more information, please call (910) 692-3066. SENIOR ACTIVITY: Canasta. 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. A matching card game in which the object is to create melds of cards of the same rank and then go out by playing or discarding all the cards in your hand. Douglas Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Avenue. For more details, call the Southern Pines Recreations and Parks Department at (910) 692-7376.

Thursdays

and join in the neighborhood fun. Pet contest followed by pet parade, antique auto parade and traditional parade. All area businesses, residents and guests are welcome. For more information, please call Helen Neill at (910) 235-0874 or Maryann Sarno at (910) 295-2883. MEET THE ARTIST. 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Sandy Scott at Hollyhocks Art Gallery, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (910) 255-0665 or visit www.hollyhocksartgallery.com. WINE TASTING. Taste French wines (reds and white). Free event. Elliott’s on Linden, 905 Linden Rd, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (910) 295-3663.

SENIOR ACTIVITY: Chess. 1 – 3 p.m. Don Hammerman instructs all levels of participants. Bring a board and enjoy the challenge. Douglas Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Avenue. For more details, call the Southern Pines Recreations and Parks Department at (910) 692-7376.

July 4

Fridays

CARTHAGE JULY 4th PARADE. 11 a.m. Free event. Traditional parade with floats, cars, color guard, music and food. Monroe Street, Downtown Carthage. For more information, please call (910) 947-2331.

SENIOR ACTIVITY: Bridge. 1 – 4 p.m. Douglas Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Avenue. For more details, call the Southern Pines Recreations and Parks Department at (910) 692-7376.

Saturdays SENIOR ACTIVITY: Open Gym. 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Beginning June 12, for 12 weeks. Southern Pines Recreation Center. Cost: $10 residents/$20 non-residents. Douglas Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Avenue. For more details, call the Southern Pines Recreations and Parks Department at (910) 692-7376. LIVE MUSIC. 7 – 10 p.m. “Jazz Trio” on July 10, “The Blues Crawl” on July 17, “Gage Howe” on July 24 and “The April Fools” on July 31. The Wine Cellar, 241 Northeast Broad Street, Southern Pines. For more information, please call (910) 692-3066.

July 1 – 4 USTA ADULT LEAGUE STATE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS. Free for spectators. Played at various local tennis facilities. Headquarters at Pinehurst Resort, Carolina Vista Drive, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (800) ITS-GOLF.

July 2 FIRST FRIDAY. 5 – 8 p.m. Family friendly event featuring Funk/groove band “Hot Politics.” Free admission. The grassy knoll adjacent to the Sunrise Theater, Broad Street, Southern Pines. For more information, please visit www.firstfridaysouthernpines.com. WINE TASTING: Uncorked. Discover the whites of Bordeaux. Elliott’s on Linden, 905 Linden Rd, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (910) 295-3663.

July 2-4 BEST OF OUR STATE: Weekend at Pinehurst Resort. For details and reservations, please call (800) ITS-GOLF.

July 2 – 29 ART EXHIBIT. 12 – 3 p.m. “On the Road Again.” A solo exhibit of paintings by Frank Giordano. Exhibit will feature several of Giordano’s golf landscapes. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St.,Aberdeen. For more information, please call (910) 944-3979.

July 3 VILLAGE OF PINEHURST 4th of JULY PARADE. Begins at 9 a.m. Dress up kids, bikes, pets, golf carts or cars

ANNUAL ABERDEEN JULY 4th CELEBRATION. Begins at 5:30 p.m. Activities and games followed by live music from “The Entertainers” and fireworks. Free admission. Wrist bands available at $3 for children’s games and activities. Aberdeen Lake Park. For more information, please call (910) 944-PARK.

MOORE COUNTY CONCERT BAND. 3 p.m. Free event. The Cardinal Ballroom, Carolina Hotel at Pinehurst Resort. For more information, please call (910) 295-9023. PINEHURST 4th OF JULY CELEBRATION. Begins at 5 p.m. Fun for the whole family, including pony rides and “Sparky and friends.” Performance by “The Vision Band” at 6 p.m., fireworks begin at 9:15 p.m. Food and beverages available by local caterers, picnics welcomed. Lawn chairs and blankets encouraged. The Fair Barn, Pinehurst Harness Track, Route 5, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (910) 295-2817.

July 5 SENIOR ACTIVITY: Bingo. 2:30 p.m. Free event if you bring a small prize. Douglas Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Avenue. For more details, call the Southern Pines Recreations and Parks Department at (910) 6927376. 30-MINUTE MEAL: Kitchen Essence. 5:30 – 7 p.m. Magically Delicious. Menu: Chicken Parmesan, seared herb pasta, summer vegetable ratatouille and dark chocolate pudding with mint cream. Cost: $25. Elliot’s on Linden, 905 Linden Rd, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (910) 295-3663.

July 7 SAUCE DEMONSTRATION: Kitchen Essence. 12 p.m. & 2 p.m. Free. Elliot’s on Linden, 905 Linden Rd, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (910) 295-3663.

250 NW Broad St. Southern Pines • 692-3611 www.sunrisetheater.org Box Office 910-692-3611 Administrative Office 910-692-8501

July Movie & Event Schedule

FIRST FRIDAY July 2 5-8:30pm

in the Sunrise Greenspace FREE CONCERT HOT POLITICS Handcrafted beers from Carolina Brewery Food and activities for children MOVIES Evening $7.00, Matinee $6.00 Children under 12 - $5.00 Movie schedule may change without notice Call the Box Office at 910-692-3611 to check or see our ad in The Pilot

PRINCESS KAIULANI July 8 - 12

ONDINE

July 15, 16, 18 & 19

July 8 OLDIES & GOODIES FILM SERIES. 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. “All the Brothers Were Valiant,” a seafaring tale of lust, betrayal, love and redemption starring Stewart Granger, Robert Taylor and Ann Blyth. The Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave. For more information, please call (910) 692-8235.

LOOKING FOR ERIC July 22 - 26

GOURMET COOKING CLASS: Kitchen Essence. 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. Cost: $50. Elliot’s on Linden, 905 Linden Rd, Pinehurst. For information, please call (910) 295-3663.

July 8-11 CAROLINAS AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP: 96th Annual Event. Pinehurst No.8, Pinehurst Resort. For more information, please call (910) 673-1000 or visit www.carolinasgolf.org.

AGORA

July 29 - Aug2

Key: Art Music/Concerts Dance/Theater Literature/Speakers Film Fun History Sports PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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July 2010

CA L E N DA R

July 9 PINEHURST RESORT'S HISTORIC WALKING TOUR AND TEA. 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Discover the stories of Pinehurst's history and enjoy the traditions of classic high tea at one of America's Historic Landmarks. $25/person. Limited space. For reservations, please call (910) 235-8415. BOOK BUNCH. 11 a.m. Kids grades K-4 are invited to attend the Summer Reading Club. The Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave. For registration and more information, please call (910) 692-8235. WINE TASTING: Untapped. A Tour of California, Part 1. Elliott’s on Linden, 905 Linden Rd, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (910) 295-3663. JAZZY FRIDAYS. 7 – 10 p.m. Live jazz music and hors d'oeuvres, rain or shine. Admission: $5/person. Cypress Bend Vineyards & Winery, Riverton Road, Wagram. For more information, please call (910) 369-0411. COOKING CLASS: Kitchen Essence’s Gardening Club. 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Reservations needed. Elliot’s on Linden, 905 Linden Rd, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (910) 295-3663.

July 9-11 PSJ HUNTER/JUMPER SHOW. All day. Pinehurst Harness Track, Route 5, Pinehurst. For more information, please call Rick Cram at (803) 649-3505.

July 10 2nd SATURDAY: Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish. Arts and heritage combined with food and fun at House in the Horseshoe, 288 Alston House Rd., Sanford. For more information, please call (919) 947-2051 or visit http://ncdcr.gov/2ndsaturdays.asp. MEET THE ARTIST. 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Beverly Brookshire

at Hollyhocks Art Gallery, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (910) 255-0665 or visit www.hollyhocksartgallery.com. BEER TASTING. Amber Ales. Free event. Elliott’s on Linden, 905 Linden Rd, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (910) 295-3663.

July 12

COMING TOGETHER: An Afternoon of the Musical Roots of the American South. 2 – 7 p.m. Bring family and friends to a Southern Picnic with music lectures from Billy Stevens and performances by blue-grass band Fine Blue Line and the First Missionary Baptist Church Gospel Choir. Adults: $10. Children under 12 are free. The Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities, 555 Connecticut Avenue, Southern Pines. For more information, please call (910) 692-6261.

SCC JAZZ BAND: Outdoor Concert. 6:30 p.m. Free. Lawn chairs and picnics welcome. Concert moves to Owens Auditorium in the event of rain. Sandhills Community College, Airport Rd., Pinehurst. For more information, pleae call (910) 695-3829.

July 11 ART EXHIBIT & RECEPTION. 3 – 5 p.m. “On the Road Again.” A solo exhibit of paintings by Frank Giordano depicting people and places the artist has encountered in travels and imaginings. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen. For more information, please call (910) 944-3979. ROOSTER’S WIFE MUSIC SERIES. 6 p.m. “New Found Road.” Picnics welcome. Postmaster’s House, 204 E. South Street, Aberdeen. For more information, please call (910) 944-7502 or visit www.theroosterswife.org. LONG DRIVE CONTEST: Challenge the Beast. World Long Drive Champion, Sean “The Beast” Fister, will compete against golf pros from area clubs. Ticket cost: $50 for reception, $5 for each raffle ticket. Prizes range from gift certificates to foursomes on some of the areas best courses. Contest held at Little River Resort. Proceeds benefit Comunities In Schools (CIS) of Moore County. For tickets and more information, please call (910) 295-1072.

GOLF TOURNAMENT: “Fore Kids Sake.” 9 a.m. Communities In Schools will host 4th annual golf tournament at Pinehurst No. 8. Celebrity golfer Sean “The Beast” Fister, World Long Drive Champion, will join golfers for the day. For more information, please call (910) 295-1072.

July 13 SENIOR ACTIVITY: Bicycle Invented. Begins at 11:30 a.m. Craft and eat a “Biker’s salad.” Registration deadline: July 6. Cost: $2 residents/$4 non-residents. Douglas Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Avenue. For more details, call the Southern Pines Recreations and Parks Department at (910) 692-7376.

July 14 ART CLASS: Ink and Wash Drawing. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Instructed by Betty Hendrix. Cost: $30 member/$35 nonmember. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange Street, Aberdeen. For more information, please call (910) 944-3979. FAMILY FUN NIGHT. 5:30 p.m. An evening with Blackbeard the Pirate. Free. The Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave. For more information, please call (910) 692-8235.

July 15 MEET THE AUTHOR. 4 p.m. Alexandra Sokolff, Bram Stoker and Anthony Award-nominee and Thriller Awardwinning author of “The Harrowing,” will present her latest

Key: Art Music/Concerts Dance/Theater Literature/Speakers Film Fun History Sports

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July 2010

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

CA L E N DA R mystery “Book of Shadows.” The Country Bookshop, 140 NW Broad Street, Southern Pines. For more information, please call (910) 692-3211.

July 15-17 PINEHURST JUNIOR CLASSIC: Tennis Tournament. Free for spectators. Sandhills Tennis Association. For more information, please call Harper Phillip at (910) 295-2817.

July 16 ART CLASS: Making Mud Work For You. 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Instructed by Bob Way. Cost: $45 member/55 nonmember. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange Street, Aberdeen. For more information, please call (910) 944-3979. A MID SUMMER NIGHT’S SWING. 6 p.m. An evening of food, music, dancing and sophistication benefiting the Special Olympics of North Carolina. Eddie Barrett and the Goodman Legacy Orchestra will provide a big band performance and Elliott’s will cater a delicious plated meal. Tickets: $40 in advance, $50 at the door. Advanced tickets can be purchased at the Village of Pinehurt’s Village Hall or The Fair Barn office. The Fair Barn, 395 Magnolia Road Pinehurst. For tickets and more information, please call (910) 295-0166. MOONLIGHT GOLF. Begins at 7:30 p.m. In 1906, Donald Ross carded an 88 under the stars. Can you do better? Hosted by Peggy Kirk Bell and Kelly Miller from Mid Pines Country Club, the night begins with hors d’oevres and libations, followed by a 4-hole match at Mid Pines. Make your own foursome or sign up and be paired with others. Proceeds will benefit Pinehurst’s History Museum, Tufts Archives. Tickets are $100, and may be obtained from Given Memorial Library & Tufts Archives. For more information, please call (910) 295-3642.

Exclusively Carrying… RUGS & CARPETS

Located in Pinehurst, 585 Hwy 5 | 295-2293

July 16-18 SEAGROVE CHRISTMAS IN JULY. Participating Moore County and Seagrove area potters debut 2010 Christmas items and decorating their shops. For more information, call the Museum of NC Traditional Pottery at (336) 873-7887 or visit www.seagrovepotteryheritage.com.

July 17 SUNRISE BLUES CONCERT & CRAWL: 9th Annual Event. Begins at 7:30 p.m. with Seth Walker at the Sunrise Theater. Night continues on to intimate bars and clubs downtown. Sunrise Theatre, 250 NW Broad St., Southern Pines. For tickets and more information, please call the Box Office at (910) 692-3611 or visit www.sunrisetheater.com. MEET THE ARTIST. 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Diane Kraudelt at Hollyhocks Art Gallery, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (910) 255-0665 or visit www.hollyhocksartgallery.com. PINOT GRIS & GRIGIO. Discover your style. Free event. Elliott’s on Linden, 905 Linden Rd, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (910) 295-3663. COOKING DEMONSTRATION: Kitchen Essence. 12 & 2 p.m. Refreshing sides. Free event. Elliot’s on Linden, 905 Linden Rd, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (910) 295-3663. PHANTASM MOTORSPORTS STREET WARS. Car Show, Drag Race and Swap Meet. Rockingham Dragway, 2153 US Hwy 1 North. For tickets and more information, please call The Rock at (910) 582-3400.

July 18 ROOSTER’S WIFE MUSIC SERIES. 6 p.m. “Jon Shain Trio” and “The Grandsons.” Picnics welcome. Postmaster’s House, 204 E. South Street, Aberdeen. For more information please call (910) 944-7502 or visit www.theroosterswife.org. Key: Art Music/Concerts Dance/Theater Literature/Speakers Film Fun History Sports PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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July 2010

CA L E N DA R

July 19 MEET THE AUTHOR. 2 p.m. David Howard, author of “Lost Rights: The Misadventures of a Stolen American Relic,” will tell the little-known story of the North Carolina copy of the Bill of Rights, stolen from the statehouse at the end of the Civil War and rediscovered 138 years later. Penick Village, 100 East Rhode Island Avenue, Southern Pines. For more information, please call The Country Bookshop at (910) 692-3211. SENIOR ACTIVITY: Bingo. 2:30 p.m. Free event if you bring a small prize. Douglas Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Avenue. For more details, call the Southern Pines Recreations and Parks Department at (910) 692-7376.

July 19 – 24 NORTH & SOUTH WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP: 108th Annual Event at Pinehurst No. 2. For more information, please call the Pinehurst Tournament Office at (800) 795-4653, ext. 3, or (910) 235-8140. US GIRLS' JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP. The Country Club of North Carolina, Pinehurst. For more information visit www.usgirlsjunior.org.

July 20 ART CLASS: Portrait Drawing. 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Instructed by Barbara Sickenberger. Cost: $45 member/$55 non-member. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange Street, Aberdeen. For more information, please call (910) 944-3979.

July 21 SENIOR EVENT: Picnic Month. 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Brown bag lunch and game day at Reservior Park. Bring lunch or grill out. Meet at Douglas Community Center and carpool. Registration deadline: July 14. Cost: $2 residents/$4 non-residents. Douglas Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Avenue. For more details, call the Southern Pines Recreations and Parks Department at (910) 692-7376. PRESCHOOL STORYTIME. 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. For infants and toddlers. The Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave. For more information, please call (910) 692-8235.

July 22 BAND OF BOOKIES. 11 a.m. Kids grades 5-8 are invited to attend the Summer Reading Club. The Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave. For registration and more information, please call (910) 692-8235. GOURMET COOKING CLASS: Kitchen Essence. 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. Pairing Canning with Entrees. Elliot’s on Linden, 905 Linden Rd, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (910) 295-3663.

July 23 “Fruma”

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PORTRAITS

PETS

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July 2010

JAZZY FRIDAYS. 7 – 10 p.m. Live jazz music and hors d'oeuvres, rain or shine. Admission: $5/person. Cypress Bend Vineyards & Winery, Riverton Road, Wagram. For more information, please call (910) 369-0411. COOKING CLASS: Kitchen Essence’s Gardening Club. 11:30 – 2 p.m. Recipes for all of that corn. Elliot’s on Linden, 905 Linden Rd, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (910) 295-3663.

July 23 – 24 CHRISTMAS IN JULY SALE. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Friday, 9 – 12 p.m. on Saturday. Moore County Coalition for Human Care Retail Shop, 1117 W. Pennsylvania Avenue, Southern Pines. For more information, please call (910) 693-1600. Key: Art Music/Concerts Dance/Theater Literature/Speakers Film Fun History Sports

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

CA L E N DA R

July 24 COMMUNITY FLEA MARKET. 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. Pinehurst Fair Barn, 395 Magnolia Road. For more information, please call (910) 692-7271. ART CLASS: Introduction to Botanical Illustration in Watercolor. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Instructed by Emma Skurnick. Cost: $45 member/$55 non-member. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange Street, Aberdeen. For more information, please call (910) 944-3979. MEET THE ARTIST. 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Susan Edquist at Hollyhocks Art Gallery, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (910) 255-0665 or visit www.hollyhocksartgallery.com. COOKING DEMONSTRATION: Kitchen Esence. 12 & 2 p.m. Gassed up Rocking Baked Beans. Free. Elliot’s on Linden, 905 Linden Rd, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (910) 295-3663.

July 25 FAMILY FUN MOVIE. 2:30 p.m. Surf’s Up, an animated tale of the penguin world surfing championship. Free. The Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave. For more information, please call (910) 692-8235. ROOSTER’S WIFE MUSIC SERIES. 6 p.m. “The Swang Brothers” open for “The Rebecca Pronsky Band.” Picnics welcome. Postmaster's House, 204 E. South Street, Aberdeen. For more information please call (910) 9447502 or visit www.theroosterswife.org.

July 26 GOLF CLASSIC. St. Joseph of the Pines/Coalition Golf Classic. Event held at National Golf Club, Southern Pines. Key: Art Music/Concerts Dance/Theater Literature/Speakers Film Fun History Sports

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July 2010

CA L E N DA R Entry Fee: $150 per person. For more information about the tournament and sponsorship opportunities, please call (910) 693-1600 or visit www.sandhillscoalition.org/events.

July 26 – 29 JUNIOR CHEF DAY DAMP: Kitchen Essence. Back to Basic. Elliot’s on Linden, 905 Linden Rd, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (910) 295-3663.

July 28 – 31 2010 U.S. KIDS GOLF TEEN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. To be played on Pinehurst courses No. 2, No. 6, No. 8 and Pine Needles. For more information, please call (800) 487-4653 or visit www.uskidsgolf.com.

July 30 CAROLINAS PARENT-CHILD CHAMPIONSHIP: 13th Annual Event. Longleaf County Club, Southern Pines. For more information, please call (910) 673-1000 or visit www.carolinasgolf.org. CAROLINAS FATHER-SON CHAMPIONSHIP: 44th Annual Event. Pinehurst area courses. For more information, please call (910) 673-1000 or visit www.carolinasgolf.org. SENIOR APPRECIATION DAY. 12 p.m. Enjoy a movie, popcorn, snacks and beverages in honor of our older seniors. Registration deadline: July 23. Douglas Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Avenue. For more details, call the Southern Pines Recreations and Parks Department at (910) 692-7376.

July 31 ONE-DAY TOURNAMENT. Hyland Golf Club, Southern Pines. For more information, please call (910) 673-1000 or visit www.carolinasgolf.org. MEET THE ARTIST. 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Jane Casnellie at Hollyhocks Art Gallery, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (910) 255-0665 or visit www.hollyhocksartgallery.com. COOKING DEMONSTRATION: Kitchen Essence. 12 & 2 p.m. My Shisk to your Bob! Left over meats and vegetables are the perfect ingredients for Shiskabobs. Free. Elliot’s on Linden, 905 Linden Rd, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (910) 295-3663. ZINFANDELS: Paso Robles versus Amador County. Discover your preference. Free event. Elliott’s on Linden, 905 Linden Rd, Pinehurst. For more information, please call (910) 295-3663.

Art Galleries Art Gallery at the Market Place, 2160 Midland Road, Pinehurst, features original art by local artists Joan Williams, Deane Billings, Jeanette Sheehan, Mike D’Andrea, Janet Burdick, Nancy Yanchus, and Cele Bryant. Meet one of the artists Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (910) 215-5963. Artist Alley features juried art and fine crafts from local and regional artists, 167 E. New Hampshire Ave., Southern Pines. 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Saturday. (910) 692-6077. Artists League of the Sandhills, located at 129 Exchange St. in historic Aberdeen. Exhibit hours are noon-3 p.m., Monday-Saturday. (910) 944-3979. Broadhurst Gallery, 2212 Midland Rd., Pinehurst, showcases works by nationally recognized artists such as Louis St. Lewis, Lula Smith, Shawn Morin, Rachel Clearfield, Judy Cox and Jason Craighead. Meet-the-artist opportunities are available. Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., and Saturday, 1-4 p.m. (910) 295-4817, www.broadhurstgallery.com. The Campbell House Galleries, 482 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines, is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday, and every third weekend of the month from 2-4 p.m. (910) 6924356, www.mooreart.org. Key: Art Music/Concerts Dance/Theater Literature/Speakers Film Fun History Sports

July 2010

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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July 2010

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

CA L E N DA R The Downtown Gallery (inside Flynne’s Coffee Bar) is located at 115 NE Broad St. in downtown Southern Pines. Ever-changing array of local and regional art, pottery and other handmade items. (910) 693-1999. The Gallery at Seven Lakes, a gallery dedicated to local artists. The Gallery is open on Wednesday and Thursday each week from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. 1145 Seven Lakes Drive, The St. Mary Magdalen building. Just 9 miles from the Pinehurst Traffic Circle up 211. Hastings Gallery is located in the Katharine L. Boyd Library at Sandhills Community College, Pinehurst. Gallery hours are 7:45 a.m.-9 p.m., Monday-Thursday; 7:45 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday; and 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. Hollyhocks Art Gallery, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst, features original artwork by local artists Diane Kraudelt, Irene McFarland, Susan Edquist, Beverly Brookshire, Sandy Scott and artist/owner Jane Casnellie. Daily 10:30am to 9:30pm and Sunday evenings 6pm-9:30pm. (910) 255-0665, www.hollyhocksartgallery.com. Lady Bedford’s Tea Parlour, located at 25 Chinquapin Road in Pinehurst, is featuring local artist Nancy Campbell. Original oil and watercolor paintings are on display. Open Tuesday - Saturday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. (910) 255-0100, www.ladybedfords.com. The Old Silk Route, 113 West Main St., Aberdeen specializes in Asian original art, including silk paintings, tapestries, Buddhist Thangkas and Indian paper miniatures. Open Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 11 am until 4 pm. (910) 295-2055. Seagrove Candle Company, 116 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines, showcases the arts and crafts of the Sandhills and Seagrove area. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday, WednesdaySaturday, (910) 695-0029. SKY Art Gallery, 602 Magnolia Dr., Aberdeen, is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. (910) 944-9440, www.skyartgallery.com. White Hill Gallery, 407 U.S. 15-501, Carthage, offers a variety of pottery. (910) 947-6100.

Seven Lakes

Nature Centers Sandhills Horticultural Gardens (32 acres of gardens). The Sandhills Horticultural Gardens are handicapped-accessible. Daylight hours year-round. (910)695-3882. Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve (898 acres). 1024 Ft. Bragg Road, Southern Pines. (910) 692-2167.

Historical Sites Bethesda Church and Cemetery. Guided tours for groups by appointment. 1020 Bethesda Road, Aberdeen. (910) 9441319. Bryant House and McLendon Cabin. Tours by appointment. (910) 692-2051 or (910) 673-0908. Carthage Historical Museum. Sundays, 2-5 p.m. or by appointment. Located at Rockingham and Saunders streets, Carthage. (910) 947-2331. House in the Horseshoe. Open year-round. Hours vary. 288 Alston House Road (10 miles north of Carthage), Sanford. (910) 947-2051. Malcolm Blue Farm and Museum. 1-4 p.m. WednesdaySaturday. Group tours can be arranged by appointment. (910) 944-7558 or (910) 603-2739. North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame. 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Monday-Friday, at the Weymouth Center for Arts and Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. (910) 692-6261. Shaw House Property. Open 1-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday. (910) 692-2051. Tufts Archives. 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday, and 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday. (910) 295-3642. Union Station. Open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Located in downtown Aberdeen. (910) 944-5902. ——————————————————— To add an event, send us an e-mail at pinestraw@thepilot.com by June 1, 2010.

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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July 2010

The Pinehurst/Southern Pines area is internationally famous for its championship courses, terriﬁc year-round weather and ssouthern outhern charm. charm. People People from from all all over over the the world world h have ave cchosen hosen tto o m ake P inehurst their their h ome. After After vvisiting isiting ffor or a ffew ew ddays ays yyou’ll ou’ll make Pinehurst home. u nderstand why why they they say... say... understand

“Living here is like having haaving a vacation that never neveer ends!”

Located L ocated iin n tthe he L Lobby obby of of The The Carolina Carolina Hotel Hotel Village V illage ooff P Pinehurst, inehurst, N NC C2 28374 8374 1-800-772-7588 1-800-772-7588 w www.pinehurstresortrealty.com ww.pinehurstresortrealty.com ppinehurstresortrealty@pinehurst.com inehurstresortrealty@pinehurst.com

July 2010

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Bev Monroe & Calvin

SandhillSeen Carriage Classic in the Pines Pinehurst Harness Track Photographs by Jeanne Paine Fonz Hargrove & Alexis Griffith Linda Long

Brianna Ek & Eleanor Gallacher

Ray & Suzanne Sinclair

Jan Fowler, Simon Rosenman, Kelly Fowler, Tom Gallagher

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SandhillSeen Pinecrest High School Track Awards Dinner

Photographs by Bruce Cunningham Candace Seagraves, Kiki Hollingsworth, Courtney Rainey Brook Daniels

Pinecrest High School Track Award Winners

Dwayne Simpson

Natoya Lacy, Shakira McNair

Shacobbi Little, Briena Quick, Brianna Alston Lexie Schustrom, Ashley Brock, Hailey Germain, Jennie Cunningham

Ann Petersen, George Hayes

July 2010

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

SandhillSeen

Moore County Historical Association Pumpelly/Williams Estate Photographs by Victoria Rounds Sam Williams

Ray Owen Ruth & Bob Stolting

Grace Snelgrove, Beverly Offutt

Carolyn Burns, Joyce Wise, Steady Meares

Len & Joyce Tufts

Barbara & Clement Williams

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Ray Owen & Cassie Willis

Jim Offutt, Sue Pockmire

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July 2010

SandhillSeen Carolyn Alli, Marie Travisano, Mable Barker

Moore County Arts Council Art Anonymous Gallery Opening Photographs by Vickie Rounds

Linda Vernier, Lyra Rittger

Suzi and Earl Morgan

Tom and Donna May

Cathy Maready and Paul Striberry

Pinkie Doyle, Peggy Thompson, Jane Clark

Joyce White, Joan Fish

Stan and Jean Smythe, Pam Partis, Jeanie Riordan

Margi Ruddle, Issy Dantzer

Tom and Valerie Kessinger

Wanda and Sid Warner

Joann and Dale Erickson

Dave Mason, Betty Chaplain, Robbie Salisbury

Sanford

July 2010

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

SandhillSeen Mira Foundation Dining in the Dark Photographs by Jeanne Paine

Nancy Blount, Betsy Black, Adair Beutel, Peggy Baldwin

Chris and Beth Jordan, Sylvie and John Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor

Taylor Clement, Bob and Lainie Baillie with Devon

Mark and Brenda Tyler with Blondie

Sue, Harry and Sandy Huberth, Stephen Later

Jean Morrison, Dick Moore, Lefreda Williams, Danila Devons, Tiffany Teeter

Nelson Neal, Mimi Beaty, Sarah Twilla, Jackie Garris, Linda and Clarence Lindsay

Dr. Keith Shuler, Amy Shuler, Dr. Gregory Mincey

Betsy Blanch, LeArne Morrissett, Sherry Lyons

Kathy Virtue, George and Wanda Little

Howard Schubert, Meredith Martens, Dr. Harold Pillsbury

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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July 2010

Moore County Hounds

SandhillSeen Walking The Moore County Hounds Photographs by Jeanne paine Jody Murtagh

Janie Boland

Codie Hayes

July 2010

Summer Compton, Cameron Sadler, Janie Boland, Helen Kalevas, Tayloe Compton, Codie Hayes, Jody Murtagh

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Resale Retail Retail Resale

SandhillSeen Sandhill’s Dogs Photographs by You! Valentino

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Dudley Dare and Daisy Lou

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Pete

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

SandhillSeen Sandhillâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dogs continued...

Conan

Ellie May

Xena

Seamus Caleb

Max

Sweet Pea

Otis and Sophie Misty

Harry

Buzz and Baily

Charlotte

Iorik and Lyra

Pipkin Lawson Perry and Lola

Layla

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Tux

Dixie

Scout at Southern Pines Elementary School

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July 2010

DINING GUIDE

Celebrate The Local Farmer 910.246.3510 140 E. New Hampshire Avenue Downtown Southern Pines Serving Dinner Tuesday-Sunday

www.ashtens.com

DINING GUIDE

MOORE COUNTY

FARMERS MARKET Tomatoes, Corn, Blueberries & Peaches Fruits, Veggies, Jams, Meats, Flowers & Plants

Mondays- FirstHealth (Fitness Center)

170 Memorial Dr â&#x20AC;¢ Pinehurst 2pm-6pm

Will be open through October 25th

Thursdays- Morganton Rd (Armory Sports Complex) Southern Pines 9am-1pm

Saturdays - Downtown Southern Pines Broad St & New York Ave 8am-Noon Will be open through October 30th

Call 947-3752 or 690-9520 for more information. On the web: Google Moore County Farmers Market Local Harvest Visit us on facebook!

$25/ yr • In State

$35/ yr • Out of State

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July 2010

M A G A Z I N E

P.O. BOX 58 Southern Pines, NC 28388

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

BY ASTRID STELLANOVA

Cancer (June 22 – July 22) For the love of pickled peppers, Sweet Pea, that pity-party of yours is about as appealing as a poke in the eye in the middle of a noontime nap! Though the bustle of life has you feeling lower than a worm’s belly in a wagon rut, the New Moon on July 11 will bring the breath of fresh air you’ve been agasping for. Plus, with inventive Uranus entering your sign on the 18th, you’ll get an idea lodged into your noggin that’ll have you grinning like a billy goat eating house shingles. Remember, Sugar Muffin, even the darkest cloud has a silver lining. Sometimes you’ve just got to tighten up your reins and let the storm pass.

Leo (July 23 – Aug. 23) Hate to break it to you, Cupcake, but it ain’t a Leo-centric universe — that kind of hogwash could get you into a situation that’s hairier than hand-me-down skivvies! When Mercury enters your sign on July 9, get ready for a wake-up call that could scare the salt out of a seahorse. Even if a new realization on the 10th has you feeling more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs, be patient until the 22nd — the Sun will warm your soul like moonshine to an empty belly. Little strokes fell great oaks, you know. Virgo (Aug. 24 – Sept. 23) Well, stitch my britches and send me to school — you’re looking hotter than a nun at high noon this month, Baby Cake. With saucy Venus entering your sign on July 10, people won’t be able to ignore the inner beauty that’s oozing from you like sweat from a sinner on judgment day. The full moon on the 25th will give you the nudge you need to renovate that humdrum routine of yours, so go buck wild. As Daddy Foote used to tell me, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. (You’ll know what that means when the time’s right, Honey.)

Capricorn (Dec. 22 – Jan. 20) Listen, Dearie, trying to please everyone is about like trying to put a dress on a worm. When life has you feeling like you can’t cut mustard in the beginning of the month, remember to make some time for yourself in between all that hullabaloo, whether it’s a walk in the park, a massage or a night at home with a movie that plum stitches your sides. You’ll no doubt return to your typical keister-busting ways on July 12, but with the Summer Solstice on the 21st, make sure you’re not too busy to notice a nurturing soul that has been attracted into your life. You may go together like peas and carrots. Aquarius (Jan. 21 – Feb. 19) With a psyche less stable than Kirstie Alley’s waistline (or reality show ratings, for that matter), it’s time to accept what cannot change and bloom where you’re planted, Pumpkin Seed. As my Aunty Pearl used to say, a needle need not search the whole haystack to know it’s made of steel. On July 25 and 26, a series of crazy events will flash in front of you like an exhibitionist on a baseball pitch. Trying to figure everything out will keep you busier than a one-eyed cat watching two mice holes. Relax, Sugar Muffin, and let the universe work in its mysterious ways.

Libra (Sept. 24 – Oct. 23) Bless my bejeweled fingers, Darling — I’m not sure how to put this kindly! Oh, well. You’re acting like a mule halfway home after a day of plowing. Start paying a lick or two of attention to the things happening around you, Sug ’ums. (So when you’re sweating like a dog passing peach pits on July 5, there may be darn good reason for it.) Go after what you want in the middle of the month when Venus and Pluto are on your good side. If you don’t, I’m afraid you’ll be sorrier than an old clam at low tide. As my Aunty Pearl used to tell me, it’s best to make hay while the sun’s shining.

Pisces (Feb. 20 – March 20) What they say about sticks and stones may be true, but that thing about words is a hunk of bologna if you ask me. Mercury will have you flapping your gums like two valley girls on a redeye flight on the first of the month — be careful what you say, even if you’re all sizzle, no steak. With aspirations higher than Tommy Chong’s fan club peaking around the 26th, tackling one thing at a time will be the quickest way for success. Remember, Honey, even the busiest beaver starts building with a single log.

Scorpio (Oct. 24 – Nov. 22) Unless you’re a pregnant woman in the middle of a Lifetime movie marathon, there’s just no excuse for acting like one, Hun. A walk or a bike ride on the 5th will beat twiddling your thumbs. On July 13, with Venus spiking your creative spirit like a rebel beside the punch bowl at a high school dance, you’ll be able to harness the positive energy that you need to shift your life into a new direction. Remember, Sweet Pea, one bad apple can spoil the bunch. When you finally begin to start doing for yourself, you’ll be as happy as an opossum in the shade.

Aries (March 21 – April 20) Whether you’re pudgy as Paula Deen or skinny as a beanpole during drought, beauty’s nothing but a fading flower, Buttercup. Despite Neptune’s attempt to lure you into lala land on the 8th, those rose-colored shades won’t last forever — after all, not much does. When Saturn graces you with an epiphany more unexpected than a drag queen in a gospel choir, you’ll feel a sudden urge to do for others, so act quickly. Procrastinating your efforts will be as useful as a plugged nickel in a soda machine, Butterbean.

Sagittarius (Nov. 23 – Dec. 21)

Pretty as a pumpkin but half as smart, you’d be wise to shut your mouth and open your mind this month, Hot Stuff. When dreamy Neptune enters your sign on July 8, you’ll be fantasizing like a schoolboy in anatomy class. But whether romantically or otherwise, remember to think before you leap — if you act brashly (which you may be tempted as a tick to do) that dog just isn’t going to hunt. And, when life has you feeling slicker than a springhouse step on the 17th, be mindful that what you say to impress others may come back to haunt you like a high school yearbook, Child.

Change bigger than ’80s hair is heading your way faster than small-town gossip, Ham Bone! When Jupiter and Uranus harmonize like a roomful of caffeinated crickets on July 8, you’ll feel as though the sky’s the limit (and it just may be). In the middle of the month, a certain relationship will have you feeling as warm and fuzzy as Madame Dubois on beautification day — doll of a ferret, bless her paws — but if things don’t pan out for you right away, don’t sweat it. Just because you haven’t got a row to hoe doesn’t mean you can’t start planning out the garden, Sweetie.

Taurus (April 21 – May 21)

Gemini (May 22 – June 21) You’re so vain you probably think this forecast’s about you, don’t you, Juice Box? If nobody can notice it on a galloping horse, for Pete’s sake, don’t beat a dead one! Give the red pen a rest and stop picking yourself apart like a Shakespearean sonnet, would you? When the Sun and Neptune align on July 20, you’ll be faced with a situation that’s stickier than a toddler’s pointer finger. Be quick with your decision, for once. Just because every path has its puddle doesn’t mean you have to wear rain boots everywhere you go.

Astrid Stellanova, 55, owned and operated Curl Up and Dye Beauty Salon in Windblow, NC, for many years until arthritic fingers and her popular astrological readings opened up a new career path. Feel free to contact Astrid for insights on your personal stars or hair advice for any occasion at astridstellanova@rocketmail.com. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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July 2010

S O U T H WO R D S

The Highway Home Illustration by Pamela Powers January

A change of life brings a renewing change of scenery

BY LAURIE BIRDSONG

had it good. Too good. Of my eight years in Chapel Hill, roughly a mile and a half spanned the distance between work and home. On any given workday, I’d hop one of our town’s biodiesel-touted free buses, and it would tidily take over my morning commute. Aboard a 900-pound Chapel Hill Transit traffic gorilla that outmaneuvered mortal mid-sizes, I’d snatch 10 minutes of daily quality time with my paperback before the beast deposited me yards from my office door. So when my husband’s new job threw Laurinburg in the mix in spring 2009, the Sandhills became our new home, and my daily work commute became, to tamely phrase it, an adjustment. Overnight, my drive in door-to-door minutes ballooned from 10 to an hour 10. As I began a four-county, 65-mile, one-way trek to and from Chapel Hill, “snooze” succumbed to disuse on the alarm, and high beams became my best friend on nights driving home. And as the two of us settled into a new home in Aberdeen and began seeking out the post office, the best Mexican in town and a new church, I wasn’t the most pleasant transplant with whom to cohabit. Moving was an adjustment, but who was I to imply an otherworldly experience? Leaving Chapel Hill was hardly a nation/state departure. More likely, my own challenge with transition related to 30-odd years of North Carolina residence without ever really having visited the Sandhills. I’d spent years logging my North Carolina miles on the Interstate trajectories of I40 East/West and I-85 North/South. In doing so, I’d altogether bypassed the roads, the feel of and any connection to the Sandhills, at best eclipsing the Pinehurst Traffic Circle once on the way to somewhere else. And so a changing life phase produced a much-needed addendum to the North Carolina roads that I know. It pushed me to exit south of the Tobacco Road of Triangle-area ACC sports rivalries and to extract myself from the cross-town 15501 migration of university and RTP commuters stopping off to load up at Whole Foods. It gave me a new highway home, an overdue opportunity to expand the radius of road that feels

July 2010

customary, and a chance to acquaint myself with the backdrop of a new terrain down that wonderful soil-turned-sand region of my home state. Somewhere just south of the Chatham County Courthouse, I’ve discovered a road that goes rustic and a preserve of rurality just blocks beyond suburbia. On that two-lane stretch of 15-501 South between Pittsboro and Sanford, nary a gas station nor restaurant pops into view for 10-plus miles. It’s pure country terrain, one that incites me to cat stretch, to forget the cell dialing and to just absorb the world through the windshield — dusty lengths of driveway obscuring tucked-away residences … the bridges crossing the Deep and Rocky Rivers that cue the head to turn and take in their murky, rushing canals … hand-painted signs intermittently roadside, their pronouncements registering wholly unsuburban — “Stump Dump” … “Squirrel Hunt” … “Turkey Shoot.” South of Sanford, where the wide expanse of U.S. 1 South blends community and country, I’ve found a road that coaxes the curious tourist out of the ordinary passerby. Some days, a stopover at Jackson Brothers Produce for a Halloween pumpkin, vine-ripe tomatoes or a whimsically purchased jar of artichoke relish makes for a one-of-a-kind dirt floor grocery run. Other times, I play a simplistic car game of half-trying to hold my breath on that five-mile exitless stretch between the Cameron and Vass turnoffs. At the point my household starts seeking a remedy beyond the medicine cabinet, I’ll surely stop by the Dunrovin Country Store to pick up a jar of their snake oil. And just who is Bob’s Pizza wishing a “Happy Birthday” on the marquee tonight? I have it good. Very good. Every night that Pinehurst’s bulbed water tower appears on the U.S. 1 South skyline, I arrive at a house just a few miles later that’s started to feel like home. In the months that a new comfort has sprung from the sighting of that homestretch landmark, I’ve been reminded that there’s always room for trading old familiarities for new ones. Moving to a new town has challenged me to broaden the extent to which I really know the roads of my home state, and all it took was a brave new commute. PS Laurie Birdsong is a writer and a new resident of Aberdeen.

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills