March PineStraw 2016 by PineStraw Magazine

McDEVITT

“I am passionate about houses and horses …..and even miniature donkeys!”

Clover

“Let me introduce you to green pastures, beautiful barns and picturesque farms nestled in horse country.”

- Jamie

Jamie McDevitt Broker/Owner 910.724.4455

Come home to Pinefields Farm on over 20 beautiful acres at The Fields! 370BrackenHillRoad.com McDevittTownAndCountry.com | Jamie@JamieMcDevitt.com | 107 NE Broad Street, Southern Pines, NC

T HE

UN HU RRIED

PACE

O F C E N T U R I E S PA ST

FREE WITH EVERY TREATMENT The moment you arrive in Pinehurst, everything seems to slow down. Your pulse drops. Your mind clears. You forget all the worries of the day. And then your Spa treatment begins.

Located adjacent to the historic Carolina Hotel • Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina • 855.441.2105 • pinehurst.com

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WE FEEL REALLY LUCKY TO CALL THIS NEIGHBORHOOD HOME. We just know you will too.

elen & Ray Pardu

arolyn Darst, H esidents Bob & C

A Faith-Based Not For Profit Life Plan Community

500 E. Rhode Island Ave. Southern Pines, NC (910) 692-0300 www.penickvillage.org

EXPERTISE...when it matters most

“Homewood”: A stunning estate that has been described as one of North Carolina’s finest residences. Situated on 4.66 acres in Knollwood Heights, with extensive gardens designed by E.S. Draper. $1,590,000 Bill Smith 910.528.4090

Pinewild CC: Spectacular 4BR, 5.5BA French Country home custom designed for this site. Magnificent water feature and golf views. Lower level has a large Family Rm/Kitchenette, 2BRs/ 2BAs, and a home theater. Lovely! $1,559,000 Eva Toney 910.638.0972

Knollwood Heights: A true treasure! Built & designed by Donald Ross in the 1920’s. Sun filled rooms with charm in every detail. Carriage House has 2BRs/2BAs, & Kitchen. Brilliant remodel! 4BR/7.5BA. Broker/Owner. $1,295,000 Bill Smith 910.528.4090

CCNC: Dramatic views of 2 fairways on the Cardinal Course. Residence transformed in 2009. Elegance is exhibited in every detail of this dream golf front home. Pool with waterfall feature. 3BR/3.5BA. $997,000 Maureen Clark 910.315.1080

Wemouth Heights: Delightful Colonial Revival designed by Aymar Embury II for the Boyd family in the 1920’s. Expanded & Updated in 2005 with a sunroom addition in 2012. Charming Guest House. 3BR/3Full&2Half Baths.$895,000 Maureen Clark 910.315.1080

Pinewild CC: Absolutely stunning water front setting! Lovely in-

Pinewild CC: All brick, golf front, 3BR, 3.5BA home with an office, bonus room and many upgrades. More than 4,500 sq.ft. of comfortable living space. Peruse this home at www.34LasswadeDrive.com $650,000

Mid South Club: Stunning, Golf Front, Southern Living designed home! Remarkable attention to detail. Lower level has a rec. room, wet bar, fireplace, full bath & bedroom. 4BR, 3.5BA. $599,000 Maureen Clark 910.315.1080

CCNC: Beautifully renovated home on the 9th fairway of Dogwood Course with 418’ of golf frontage. Renovated with attention to detail, and of the highest quality. Open design overlooks gardens & golf course. 4BR/4BA. $599,000

CCNC: Great view of Dogwood’s 2nd Tee! 4BR/5.5BA single level home; Carolina Room, Pool Table, Office. Totally Renovated! Walk to practise range & Clubhouse! On CCNC’s Rental Program. $595,000 Carolyn Hallett 910.986.2319

CCNC: Spectacular views of the 4th green on Cardinal Course & the pond. Renovated & enlarged in ‘07-’08. Stunning Kitchen w/Wolf gas cooktop, Wolf oven, 2-drawer dishwasher & more. Selling as Furnished. 3BR/2.5BA. $580,000 Emily Hewson 910.315.3324

Old Town Pinehurst: Charming cottage, circa 1920, 2 blocks from the heart of the village. Beautiful gardens, pool with waterfall. Beautifully maintained & updated. Pinehurst Country Club membership available for transfer. 3BR/3BA. $495,000 Emily Hewson 910.315.3324

Frank Sessoms 910.639.3099

terior/exterior architectural features. Cathedral ceiling living room with a frplc & picturesque lake views. More than 4,500 sq.ft. of elegance! 3BR/3Full2Half Baths. $675,000 Linda Criswell 910.783.7374

Bill Smith 910.528.4090

Southern Pines: 910.692.2635 • 105 W. Illinois Avenue • Southern Pines, NC 28387 ©2015 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently operated subsidiary of HomeServices of American, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC.

www.BHHSPRG.com

Pine Needles: Complete perfection inside & out on the 17th fairway of Pine Needles golf course. Exquisite detail! Updated & remodeled in ‘06. Garden features include formal gardens, a bocci court, and potting shed. 3BR/2.5BA. $465,000 Maureen Clark 910.315.1080

Pinewild Country Club: Designed to caputure magnificent views to the 15th Fairway of Holly Course. Great upgrades! The multi use dining & great room offers flexibility of use. Hardwoods, custom built-ins, screened porch & patio with water feature. 3BR/3BA. $447,500

Southern Pines: History resounds as you step back in time! Charming cottage, circa 1917! LR w/beamed ceiling, French doors to brick patio & huge frplc flanked by built-in benches. Beautiful hardwood flooring throughout. 2nd frplc in cozy DR/Den or Library. 2 Master suites! 2BR/2.5BA. $399,000

Fairwoods on 7: Classic beauty with all the “I wants” - plus golf

Debbie Darby 910.783.5193

Seven Lakes West: ONE-OF-A-KIND OFFERING! One of the last few water front lots available on Lake Auman with 180 degree views - Build Your Dream Home! Bulk-head, 2-Docks w/boat lift & swim ladder in place. $350,000 Linda Criswell 910.783.7374

Old Town Pinehurst: Reduced for Quick Sale - $30,000 Reduc-

tion! Great Investment Opportunity! 2,600 sq.ft. home is move-in ready! Priced BELOW tax value! PCC membership available at 50% discount! 3BR/3BA. $295,000

Bill Smith 910.528.4090

Kay Beran 910.315.3322

view of the 12th Tee and water view! Flowing design with high ceilings, remodeled kitchen, butler’s pantry, huge storage areas & lower level offering guest privacy. 4BR/4.5BA. $579,000 Beverly Ann Valutis 910.916.1313

Broad Street Towns: A true masterpiece! Urban townhome

community for those who love the feel of downtown living. Hardwood, 10’ ceilings, tile baths, custom designed cabinetry. See: www.BroadStreetTowns.com $384,900 to $399,900 Kay Beran 910.315.3322

Pinewild Country Club: Unique home exudes livability! Open, light filled rooms highlighted by large windows & tall ceilings. Master suite with sitting area. Features include: hardwood, cathedral ceilings, bonus room, custom cabinetry & more. 3BR/2.5BA. A MUST SEE! $375,000 Kay Beran 910.315.3322

Old Town Pinehurst: “The Pink House” is a charming cottage

New Price - Pinehurst: Spacious, all brick, low maintenance

Lamplighter Village: Pristine Home with Upgrades Galore! Like New - This unit has been used as a part-time residence! Full PCC Membership is available. 3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths. $289,900 Debbie Darby 910.783.5193

Old Town Pinehurst: Charming home w/brick sidewalk, front porch, Carolina Room, & private backyard. Updated with hardwood, new carpet & paint. Only a short walk to the Village! PCC Mbrshp, too! 2BR/2BA. $289,000 Carolyn Hallett 910.986.2319

built in 1930. New roof in 2009 and a new split system heat pump & water heater in 2009. 2 Bedrooms, 2.5 Baths. $350,000 Emily Hewson 910.315.3324

home! Pristine Condition! Office & a separate Recreation Room. 4 Bedrooms. Pinehurst Country Club Membership is available for transfer. $345,000 Frank Sessoms 910.639.3099

Pinehurst: 910.295.5504 • 42 Chinquapin Road • Pinehurst, NC 28374 Berkshire Hathaway HomeSercies and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.® Equal Housing Opportunity.Housing Opportunity.

March 2016 Features

67 Monet’s Water Lily Pond at Giverny

Poetry by Shelby Stephenson

68 Easter Baskets of the Old North State By Serena Brown

74 A Soldier’s Return

By Bill Case How World War II’s “Architect of Victory” helped a Sandhills area soldier finally come home

80 Tender Loving Teas

By Serena Brown A new leaf and an age-old tradition inside the darling brick cottage on Ashe

84 Leap of Faith

By Deborah Salomon Sacred Heart Rectory Monastic No More

97 Almanac

By Rosetta Fawley Get your peanuts! Good dogwood, too

Volume 12, No. 3

Departments

47 Out of the Blue

13 Simple Life

49 Pappdaddy

By Deborah Salomon

By Jim Dodson

By Clyde Edgerton

16 PinePitch 19 Instagram Winners 21 Cos and Effect

51 Birdwatch

23 Made in Moore

57 Breathing Lessons

25 The Omnivorous Reader

59 Sporting Life

29 Bookshelf

63 Golftown Journal

33 Proper English 35 Hometown

98 Arts & Entertainment Calendar 115 SandhillSeen 123 Thoughts from the Manshed

37 Vine Wisdom

125 The Accidental Astrologer

By Cos Barnes

By Jim Moriarty

By Stephen Smith

By Kimberly Daniels Taws & Angie Tally By Serena Brown By Bill Fields

By Susan Campbell

53 A Novel Year By Wiley Cash

By Cynthia Adams By Tom Bryant By Lee Pace

By Geoff Cutler

By Astrid Stellanova

By Robyn James

39 In the Spirit

127 PineNeedler

43 The Kitchen Garden

128 SouthWords

By Mart Dickerson

By Tony Cross

By Jan Leitschuh

By Tom Allen

Cover Photograph from the George C. Marshall Foundation 8

March 2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Spring is in the Air...

Opulence of Southern Pines and DUXIANA at The Mews, 280 NW Broad Street, Downtown Southern Pines, NC 910.692.2744

at Cameron Village, 400 Daniels Street, Raleigh, NC 919.467.1781

www.OpulenceOfSouthernPines.com

Serving the Carolinas & More for 18 Years â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Financing Available

Breathtaking Golf and Lake Vistas Country Club of North Carolina

M A G A Z I N E Jim Dodson, Editor 910.693.2506 • jim@pinestrawmag.com Andie Stuart Rose, Creative Director 910.693.2467 • andie@pinestrawmag.com Serena Brown, Senior Editor 910.693.2464 • serena@pinestrawmag.com Lauren Shumaker, Graphic Designer 910.693.2469 • lauren@pinestrawmag.com Alyssa Rocherolle, Graphic Designer 910.693.2508 • alyssa@pinestrawmag.com Contributing Editors Deborah Salomon, Staff Writer Mary Novitsky, Sara King, proofreaders Contributing Photographers John Gessner, Laura L. Gingerich, Tim Sayer Contributors Cynthia Adams, Tom Allen, Cos Barnes, Harry Blair, Tom Bryant, Susan Campbell, Bill Case, Wiley Cash, Geoff Cutler, Tony Cross, Al Daniels, Annette Daniels, Kimberly Daniels Taws, Mart Dickerson, Rosetta Fawley, Bill Fields, Robyn James, Jan Leitschuh, Meridith Martens, Jim Moriarty, Lee Pace, Stephen Smith, Astrid Stellanova, Angie Tally, Ashely Wahl, Janet Wheaton

PS David Woronoff, Publisher Advertising Sales

Pat Taylor, Advertising Director

Ginny Trigg, PineStraw Sales Coordinator 910.693.2481 • ginny@thepilot.com

85 Lake Dornoch Drive • Pinehurst Poised on an elevation affording one of the Club’s most dramatic views, the home’s main living areas frame them magnificently. Located on 2 acres overlooking the 2nd Hole, Cardinal Course, the setting incorporates a pool, and private spa terrace. A recent renovation involved numerous upgrades creating warmth through lighting design and wide plank walnut flooring, enhancing the cozy living spaces within an open floor plan. A guest house/office added in 2014 features a great room, fireplace, exercise room, sauna, full bath and 2 car garage. The 4025 sq. ft. main house offers a spacious master suite, 2 guest bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 2 fireplaces, and gourmet kitchen. $1,100,000 NEW LISTING

To view more photos, take a virtual tour or schedule a showing, go to:

www.clarkpropertiesnc.com

Maureen Clark

Deborah Fernsell, 910.693.2516 Terry Hartsell, 910.693.2513 Kerry Hooper, 910.693.2489 Perry Loflin, 910.693.2514 Darlene McNeil-Smith, 910.693.2519 Johnsie Tipton, 910.693.2515 Advertising Graphic Design

Kathryn Galloway 910.693.2509 • kathryn@thepilot.com Kirsten Benson, Mechelle Butler, Scott Yancey Subscriptions & Circulation

Darlene Stark, Circulation Director 910.693.2488

PineStraw Magazine

145 W. Pennsylvania Avenue Southern Pines, NC 28387 pinestraw@thepilot.com • www.pinestrawmag.com ©Copyright 2015. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. PineStraw magazine is published by The Pilot LLC

when experience matters

Pinehurst • Southern Pines BHHS Pinehurst Realty Group • 910.315.1080

March 2016 P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

PINEHURST

$449,000

Elegant and charming describes this lovely custom golf front home! Located on the 8th fairway of Pinehurst #9, the property offers wonderful privacy with great golf views and the covered patio area with a built in fire pit is the perfect place to enjoy quiet evening at home. The floorplan is very open with great light and has beautiful upgrades with deep crown moldings, hardwood floors, granite and lots of window walls. Outstanding landscaping and super curb appeal. This is a very special home. 3 BR / 3 BA 12 Dungarvan Lane

SOUTHERN PINES

$351,000

PINEHURST

$749,000

$575,000

“Talent, Technology & TEAMWORK” Moore County’s Most Trusted Real Estate Team

Charming craftsman style cottage new construction home in desirable Forest Creek!. Interior lot offers over 3900 sq. feet with an open and spacious floor plan. Beautiful curb appeal with circular driveway. Gourmet kitchen opens up to family and dining room with custom built ins and gas log fireplace.. Private master suite on main level with a tiled walk in shower. A must see! 4 BR / 4.5 BA 3 Woodword Place

SEVEN LAKES WEST

$258.000 $179,000 Southern Pines Pinehurst $199,900 Foxfire Lovely and pristine in Longleaf CC Lovely updated golf-front home Cute cottage w/nice renovations 3 BR / 2 BA 3 BR / 2 BA 4 BR / 4.5 BA www.205HunterTrail.com www.4DogwoodCourt.com www.17ChestnutLane.com Situated on the protected golf course fairway, the first Magnolia Cottage offers a larger open light and airy floor plan. Built in bookcases, crown moldings, transom windows and the wonderful amenities the cottages offer and more. A sitting room in the master bedroom is the only one built in this community and offers a quiet reading area under a bank of windows. The screened porch and deck are perfect when you want to entertain. Climate controlled room above the garage, not included in sq footage, is perfect for hobbies or storage. 2 BR / 2 BA 319 Magnolia Circle

PINEWILD

575,000

Gorgeous golf front home with upscale features. Soaring window walls overlook an expansive patio and the 18th hole of the Magnolia Course to the the 2nd hole of the Holly Course in Pinewild. Beautiful gourmet kitchen with top end appliances. There is a huge master suite with walk- in closets. Upstairs offers a loft with two large bedrooms. Chateau curb appeal is outstanding. 4 BR / 3.5 BA 32 McMichael Drive

PINEHURST

$419,900

$585,000 Aberdeen $145,500 Pinehurst Fantastic, all-brick golf front home Cute home on large corner lot 4 BR / 3.5 BA 3 BR / 2 BA www.80LakewoodDrive.com www.110RavenswoodRoad.com

Enjoy wide water views from this lovely custom built brick Home on Lake Auman. This homes offers a spacious greatroom, great kitchen, sunny breakfast nook, and separate dining room. Lower level has separate living space with a small kitchenette with bedroom and full bath. Golf cart garage with double doors on the lake side for storage of lake items. 4 BR / 3.5 BA 148 Simmons Drive

One of the originally, beautifully designed Cotswold units, this lovely home features outstanding quality in workmanship. Spacious living room features center fireplace with built-in bookcases. A gourmet kitchen and butler’s pantry, spacious informal dining and access to the elegant dining room with coffered ceiling. The master suite has a separate sitting room that also has access to the private patio and his and her bathrooms and walk-in closets. Oversized garage features an upstairs workshop and a large storage area. Great property! 3 BR / 3 BA 1 Sodbury Court

$329,000 $890,000 Longleaf CC $449,000 Pinehurst $239,000 CCNC Pinehurst $75,000 Pinehurst Custom Built Villa Overlooking Water Custom built all brick golf-front home Brick single story w/view of 17th green Covered porch & large fenced lot Updated Immaculate Golf View Condo 3 BR / 2 BA $239,000 4 BR / 4SEVEN Full & 2 Half Baths NORTH 3 BR / 2.5 BA BR / 1 BA SEVEN LAKES 1WEST $425,000 SOUTHERN PINES 3 BR / 2.5 BA $329,900 LAKES www.16SteeplechaseWay.com www.110HearthstoneRoad.com www.8RoyalDornoch.com www.210StAndrewsCondo.com www.1340BurningTreeRoad.com

$1,295,000 $189,000 Pinehurst $269,000 Pinehurst $475,000 Pinebluff 7 Lakes West $635,000 Pinehurst Stunning custom home in Fairwoods on 7 Charming brick ranch home GorgeoustownhomeintheheartoftheVillage Open plan, gourmet kitchen, pool & more! Stunning All Brick Water Front 4 BR / 4 BA & 2 Half BA 3 BR / 2 BA 3 BR / 2.5 BA 3 aBR BRAuman / 4.5 BA Awesome potential in this 3 Lake waterfront home. This open floor plan offers split/ 2.5 BA Tucked away on quit corner in desirable LongLeaf Country Club, this townhome enjoys Gorgeous custom home built by Harris and Sons in Seven Lakes North. Solid brick, this bedroom design. The living room features a large stone gas log fireplace, skylight and French www.170InverraryRoad.com www.105MastersWay.com www.6HollyHouse.com www.135AndrewsDrive.com wonderful privacy and water views from the secluded back deck. Great features www.145SugarPineDrive.com include home offers a spacious great room with cathedral ceilings, full transom windows, split bed-

door access to lovely Carolina Room. The master suite offers two large walk in closets. Make this home your own and enjoy lake front living. 3 BR / 2 BA 159 James Drive

PINEHURST

$398,500

sound system in great room and deck, custom plantation shutters and walk in attic. Open floor plan, gourmet kitchen and HOA to cover exterior maintenance. 4BR / 3 BA 504 Cottage Lane

PINEHURST

$535,000

rooms and a beautiful Carolina Room. Spacious master suite with huge master bath. Private backyard with large deck. Truly one of a kind. 3 BR / 2 BA 104 Scarlet Oak Drive

PINEHURST

$479,999

$269,900 $187,900 Pinehurst $185,000 Southern Pines $225,000 Pinebluff Pinehurst $375,000 Foxfire Great home in family- friendly neighborhood Stunning new construction condo Golf front new construction in The Pines Immaculate all-brick w/golf views Elegant & luxurious w/spacious rooms 5 BR / 3 BA 3 BR / 2.5 BA 3 BR / 2 BA 2 BR / 2 BA 4 BR / 3 BA www.23BerylCircle.com www.100CypressCircle.com www.153LaurelOakLane.com www.18ShamrockDrive.com www.10StantonCircle.com

This brick custom built lake front home has long lake views from almost every room and gives Award winning Home of the Year in the gated community of Pinewild. Excellent curb apStunning results with a complete renovation by Precision Custom Homes. Almost the house a bright and open feeling. On the main level, there is a large living area and formal peal with 3 car garage and extensive landscaping. This all brick stunner features soaring ceilimpossible to list all the upgrades, but the kitchen might head up the list. Two large pantries dining area combined with South a two sided fireplace opening to the formal dining area and kitchen. ings and High end details throughout such as wainscoting, and dramatic crownSeven moldings, for storage and light and bright. TheSeven floorplanLakes is openSouth with window walls open to the 2nd $279,500 Lakes West $298,000 Pinehurst $895,000 Pinehurst $241,000 Seven Lakes $199,000 The kitchen has a cozy keeping room that adjoins it and overlooks the water. The master wood floors and custom plantation shutters. This home also features a true office and an green of the Magnolia course in Pinewild! The master suite is truly outstanding with Access renovated inathe Great family home back yard golf Carolina front w/panoramic bedroomCharming opens onto a sunny room. Downstairs isview a family room, two bedrooms and a w/private up-stairs bonus room with Gorgeous full bath. Thishome home has greatOld flowTown for entertaining.Wonderful Extensive 2-story home on cul-de-sac to the deck Completely and newly redone bathroom. golf front home full bath. updates totaling4over 3 BR / 2 BA plus 2 ½ BA 3 BR / 3.5 BA 4 BR / 3BA BR $60,000! / 3.5 BAMust see! 4 BR / 3 BA 3 BR / 2.53 BA BR / 2.5 BA 4 BR / 3.5 BA 59 Glasgow Drive www.117OxfordCourt.com www.108Rector.com www.50OrangeRoad.com www.11GraysonLane.com www.122DevonshireAvenue.com 5 Chestnut Lane 52 Abbottsford Drive

View Floor Plans and Tours of ALL OurMoore Listings and Seeand ALL MooreInformation County at View Floor Plans and Virtual Tours of Virtual Our Listings and See County Listings Community Listings and Community Information at

www.MarthaGentry.com www.MarthaGentry.coM

Re/Max Prime Properties, 5 Chinquapin Rd., Pinehurst, NC 910-295-7100 • 800-214-9007

Military?!Check out our Military Advantage Program at www.MarthaGentry.com

Re/Max Prime Properties, 5 Chinquapin Rd., Pinehurst, NC 910-295-7100 • 800-214-9007

simple life

A Walk in the Woods Exploring an ancient battleground and the beautiful, snowy landscape of memory

By Jim Dodson

By the time we reached the empty parking lot, the snow was really coming down, coating the forest in a mantle of white.

It was just after dawn and my wife was away for the weekend. On a Sabbath lark, the dogs and I had come for an early walk in the woods of the battleground. The snow — the first of a hither to snowless winter — was a genuine surprise, a lovely bonus. I knew these ancient pathways well, or did once upon a time, because I roamed the park’s bridle paths and historic killing fields as a boy on foot or on my bicycle. I was probably more at ease in the woods than anywhere else, speaking the language of old trees and hidden creeks, judging them to be magical places inhabited by watchful spirits and kindly revenants, my own imagination running free and wild. I suppose this may have been the product of a fairly solitary childhood fueled by my father’s newspaper odyssey across the deep South and the classic adventure books I was drawn to from the moment I learned to read. Old forests always hold secrets and are fertile ground for the young hero’s transformation. Snow is also magical, especially here in the middle South where it is so blessedly rare, principally because it mutes the affairs of the world and draws most things to a respectful halt, often shifting one’s perspectives inward. As a kid roaming on a bike in the 1960s, I remember snowfalls that shut down Greensboro and other parts of the state for days, even weeks at a time. Once, anticipating just such a storm, Mrs. Mills, my sixth-grade teacher, asked us to memorize a snow poem. I chose Longfellow’s “Snow-flakes” and can still summon a few key stanzas by heart: Out of the bosom of the air, Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken, Over the woodlands brown and bare, Over the harvest-fields forsaken, Silent, and soft, and slow Descends the snow In a way, she cleverly set me up for good old Elizabeth Smith in my junior year of high school, who gave me a surprising gift after I shocked my buddies by winning a city writing contest: The collected works of Robert Frost, America’s snowy laureate, which only fueled my fascination with the winter

landscape, paths diverging in bare or yellowing wood and choices that make all the difference. Truthfully, even before I fully realized this fact, snowy woods have always been a comfort and cure for whatever is ailing me, unquestionably one reason I happily resided on a forested hilltop near the coast of Maine for nearly two decades. That place still shows up in my winter dreams. As the dogs excitedly dragged me past General Greene on his whitecaped steed deeper into the ancient hardwoods, I thought it might simply be the strange winter weather — or telltale absence of it — that had me seeking the cold comfort of a Sunday walk in the woods. The balmy holiday season just past was more fitting for Key West than old Catawba, alarming in its long-range forecast, confirming 2015 to be the warmest year on record, a planet growing hotter and more socially volatile every year, altering everything from the lives of indigenous plants to the migrations of birds and nations, many with disastrous consequences. On a happier note this winter morn, I gave myself the task of seeing if I could find the “screaming brothers,” as I once called a trio of remarkable old trees in a row — hickories, I believe — that presented large oval mouths (home to critters) beneath bulging “eye” knots and bare outstretched limbs that made them look like terrified soldiers fleeing the battlefield. They stood, I vaguely recalled, somewhere off a footpath near an open meadow where hundreds of Colonials and British soldiers died and twice their number were wounded in less than ninety minutes of action one cold mid-March afternoon. In the news this morning 235 years later, I learned that English actor Alan Rickman and rock legend David Bowie had died within hours of each other, both gents in their 60s. Rickman was one of my favorite actors long before he brought the mysterious potion master Severus Snape to life in the Harry Potter canon, and though I wasn’t the biggest fan of David Bowie’s music, it was touching to hear him say in a recent radio interview that he didn’t fear dying anymore — just grieved that there was less time to do things he’d learned were really important, to see those around him come to flower. As the dogs joyously sniffed fallen logs and yanked me along, I realized something along the same lines was weighing on my wintery thoughts. In our close, blended family, only one of our four children remains an actual teenager, and not for very long; my two are now young adults in their mid-20s, living and working in New York City. My wife’s two are finishing college in Boston and New Jersey. They all have their own demanding lives and loves and don’t really appear to need my wife and me the way they did

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 2016

simple life

just five minutes ago. The good news is they each seem prepared and confident to venture over the horizon and make a contribution to a world growing more complex and warmer by the year, a comfort that their moms and I did our jobs pretty well. The bad news is, I’m just not sure I’m prepared to let them all go so soon, to depart from Daddyland. “Children are our crop, our fields, our earth,” wrote the late James Salter in his exquisite novel, Light Years. “They are birds let loose into darkness. They are errors renewed. Still, they are the only source from which may be drawn a life more successful, more knowing than our own. Somehow they will do one thing, take one step further, they will see the summit. We believe in it, the radiance that streams from the future, from days we will not see. Children must live, must triumph. Children must die; that is an idea we cannot accept.” Trying to let your grown children go, once and for all, birds into darkness, is a task made more challenging by an age that’s moving at dizzying speed. Social scientists point out that there’s been more change in the half century since I found the Screaming Brothers in a revolutionary forest than at any time in human history, a truth as inspiring as it is terrifying. We stand on the cusp of breathtaking cures, they point out, unimagined discoveries, and technological mega-wonders. Yet we live in a world where polar ice caps are melting faster than they are forming and medieval savageries are reducing the symbols of Western civilization to dust. For me and my kind who are passing from the Earth, it feels a little like losing your way in a beautiful snowy woodland without thinking much of where you are headed. That’s when I realized I might be lost, if that’s the right word for it. The woods were lovely, dark and deep — and I was panting like a panicked

sheep, to woefully paraphrase Frost. Suddenly on my mind were two colleagues who’d recently suffered heart attacks. The one who failed to make it was also walking his dogs, a gentle giant in his early 40s; the other was a friend and editor just ten years my junior. If I keeled over right then and there, it occurred to me, the snow would lightly cover me up and Mulligan, my beloved alpha female, I was fairly sure, would wait loyally by my side. Would Ajax, my wife’s young and ridiculously spoiled Golden Retriever, do the same? If one croaks in an ancient wood, does anyone but God or your dogs bother to notice? For the record, my companions didn’t appear the least bit concerned about this possibility. Through a curtain of snow, I saw what The Mull was so intent upon. A familiar obelisk stood in the clearing yonder and a family of deer, what appeared to be a doe and two yearlings in search of breakfast, were guardedly watching us as they moved toward safety in the far woodland. A few moments later, as we were moving on down the path and across the stream and up the hill, the Screaming Brothers suddenly appeared, only there are just two now and they didn’t look nearly so alarmed, more like old men yawning. It took us only a little while to get back to the car. By that time, others were arriving with their dogs and the snow was easing up. A woman dressed for the Iditarod was being pulled along by her twin black Labs, making for the bridle path we’d just left. As our dogs swapped vital information about their owners, she remarked with a big Sunday smile that snow made her feel like a kid again. I told I her I knew exactly what she meant. PS Contact editor Jim Dodson at jim@thepilot.com.

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March 2016P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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PinePitch Make Mine a Green Beer, Please

Colorful parade entries, music, dancing and Irish Good Cheer await you at the Village of Pinehurst’s annual St. Patrick Day Parade on Saturday, March 12. The parade begins at 11 a.m. sharp. Following the parade, stick around for entertainment, children’s activities, and food and beverages at Tufts Park. Parade entries from nonprofits, businesses, civic groups, churches and families are welcome, so don your Irish green and join us for the celebration. Here’s to the Emerald Isle! For more information, contact Dugan’s Pub at Duganspub@aol.com or (910) 295-3400.

Something to Crow About

The Rooster’s Wife announces a March schedule that ranges from Bach to the Beatles, beginning March 4 with Nashville-based, English-born guitar impresario Richard Smith, culminating with a live album recording by Lizzy Ross on March 6 and, on March 20, the voice of Newgrass, John Cowan. Richard Smith dazzles audiences with the downhome style of finger- and thumb-picking made popular by Chet Atkins, Merle Travis and other country legends. The National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame — who knew? — named Smith its Thumbpicker of the Year in 2008 and he’s been, ahem, picking his way to stardom ever since. On March 4, following his performance at the Cameo Art House Theatre in Fayetteville on March 3, he’ll be here, at Poplar Knight Spot. Tickets: $5. On Sunday, March 6, Lizzy Ross of Durham will return to North Carolina and record a live album at the Rooster’s Wife, meaning you’ll be a part of it. Having spent the last two years in Nashville honing her musical chops, this electric psychedelic country folk rocker is as delicious as ever. With a “voice like cigarettes and smooth whiskey,” Ross will deliver an intimate live show filled with the charm and personality of the place we call home. See website for tickets. John Cowan returns on March 20 with Darin and Brooke Aldridge, banjoist Tyler Collins and longtime Cowan bandmade Shad Cobb. The band will showcase hits by both Cowan and Darin & Brooke and include New Grass Revival classics Cowan hasn’t played live in decades. Tickets: $25/advance; $30/day of show. All shows begin at 6:46 p.m. The Rooster’s Wife, 114 Knight Street, Aberdeen Info: (910) 944-7502 or theroosterswife.org.

The Magic Behind the Music

Going All Glassy-Eyed

STARworks Center for Creative Enterprise, in nearby Star, North Carolina, is one of the area’s coolest resources, a place where glass-blowing will blow your mind. Glassfest on Saturday, March 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., is the first opportunity to see and purchase unique glassware from the 2016 line of STARworks Glass products. Work by STARworks artists and guest glass artists from North Carolina will be on display and available for purchase.For more information, visit www.STARworksNC.org or call (910) 428-9001.

Maestro David Michael Wolff of the Carolina Philharmonic welcomes you to an adventure through some of your favorite operatic arias, duos, trios and quartets. Saturday, April 9, at 7 pm, Owens Auditorium, Sandhills Community College, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Ticket prices range from student ($11) to general admission ($27) to VIP seating ($60), and are available by phone at (910) 687-0287 or the Carolina Philharmonic Box Office, 5 Market Square, Pinehurst. Additional outlets include Nature’s Own, The Country Bookshop, Heavenly Pines Fine Jewelry, Given Book Shop/Given Outpost, the Arts Council of Moore County at The Campbell House, and the Artists League of the Sandhills.

March 2016 P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Book the Night

Best-selling author Erik Larson will lecture and sign books at the Sunrise Theater on Thursday, March 24, at 5 p.m. Larson, author of The Devil in the White City (Edgar Award Winner, New York Times best-seller: “a book as lovely as its title”) and In the Garden of Beasts (Washington Times: “a cautionary tale not to be missed”) will speak on his latest work, Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, on sale at The Country Bookshop on March 22. Purchase of one book guarantees two tickets to what is certain to be a popular event. Another great author drops into the shop for a reading aimed at the young people’s fantasy crowd, ages 8 to 14, on Friday, March 11 at 4 p.m., when popular fantasy author Laurie McKay will be on hand to discuss the two books in her popular Last Dragon Charmer series: Villain Keeper and recently released Quest Maker.

Getting Properly Potted

Life is so much better with a proper tea pot. At least that’s what our former Scottish mother-in-law used to say. The search for the perfect tea pot offers new possibilities this spring with a festive tea party put on by several acclaimed Seagrove potters, including Blue Hen Pottery, Eck McCanless Pottery, Dean and Martin, From the Ground Up, Pottery Road Studio & Gallery and Thomas Pottery. Visitors can sample unique hot and cold teas and nibble fresh baked treats as they make up their minds about which pot will do. Maps and information will be available at each shop. The event takes place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Information: (336) 879-4145.

Beautiful Brassy Types

Pinball Wizards Rejoice!

“You haven’t heard ‘Acid Queen’ until you’ve seen it sung by a bearded man with a mandolin” — so sayeth mighty Rolling Stone in its breathless review of The Who’s rock opera Tommy reworked as a “bluegrass opry” by The HillBenders, a talented five-piece band from the Missouri heartland that was named among the “Top 30 2015 Country Records You Never Heard” by the magazine. Sold-out concerts in Raleigh and other venues across the South attest to the popularity of this surreal fusion of English rock and traditional Appalachian folk. The Hillbenders will perform their unique Bluegrass Opry version of the world’s first rock opera at the Sunrise Theater on Friday, April 1, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 – $40 and doors open at 6:30 p.m.. For more information call (910) 692-850104 or visit www.sunriseheater.com.

We have a special fondness for the Canadian Brass, the innovative quintet that makes playing the tuba seem dowright sexy. For almost half a century they’ve delighted their devoted audiences with a wide-ranging repertoire that includes everything from early classical Baroque to modern Dixieland jazz. With a style that blends a gift for entertainment, spontaneity, virtuosity and, most of all, fun, little wonder the Brass has sold more than 2 million albums and packed concert halls around the world. They’ll be packing the R.E. Lee Auditorium at Pinecrest High School on Sunday, March 20, at 5 pm. Tickets are $25 (adult); $15 (children). The concert is all but certain to be a sell-out, so call (910) 692-2787 to reserve your tickets. Information www. mooreart.org/program.

Breakout at the Outpost

Looking for the ideal place to bust your artistic moves or break in a new routine? The monthly gathering known as the Outpost Artistry Song and Poetry Circle at the Given Outpost in Pinehurst may be just the ticket for you on Thursday, March 17 (St. Patty’s Day), 7 p.m., experience a relaxed and friendly evening where performers of all stripe are invited to share music, poetry or other talents in a laid-back, artistically supportive atmosphere. You can browse books in the Given Bookshop or just relax with a cup of Joe as you take in the performances. All proceeds support the Given Memorial Library, 35 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-7002 . PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 2016

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Instagram Winners

Congratulations to our March Instagram winners!

Theme:

Exotic Animals #pinestrawcontest

Next month’s theme:

“Babies”

In honor of Fitzgerald Grey Coffey

Submit your photo on Instagram at @pinestrawmag using the hashtag #pinestrawcontest (submissions needed by Thursday, March 17th)

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Cos and Effect

A Letter From Mongolia And the Nine Nines of winter

By Cos Barnes

My grandson, John Clark, is in Mongolia

with the Peace Corps. He has been there almost two years, will get home briefly for his sister’s wedding and finally return to the States in August.

He writes, “I just got back to my village. A new group of Peace Corps volunteers arrived in Mongolia and I spent one-and-a-half months teaching them about Mongolian culture. It is good to be back in my soum (district). This summer I went to the far north of Mongolia, where the only group of Mongolian reindeer herders live, and taught health, youth development and English classes to the children there. “We had to ride in a Russian-style van, spend the night, then six more hours on horseback to get to the tiny settlement of herders. “It is cold in Mongolia, but not bad. They have a proverb about the winter here, referred to as the Nine Nines, beginning in late December. It divides winter into nine sets of nine days, totaling eighty-one days. We are currently in the fourth, with the fourth and fifth supposed to be the coldest.” Here are the Nine Nines of Winter (9 x 9 = 81 days). 1st 9: Vodka made from milk freezes. 2nd 9: Normal vodka freezes/congeals. 3rd 9: The horns of a 3-year-old ox freeze and fall off. 4th 9: The horns of a 4-year-old ox freeze and fall off. 5th 9: Boiled rice no longer congeals and freezes. 6th 9: Roads start to become visible through the snow. 7th 9: Hilltops appear from beneath the snow. 8th 9: The ground gets damp. 9th 9: Warmer days have set in. PS Cos Barnes is a longtime contributor to PineStraw magazine. She can be contacted at cosbarnes@nc.rr.com

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 2016

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March 2016P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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made in moore

The Pinnacle of Success On land and sea, a chair fit for any bottom By Jim Moriarty

The next time you

swivel in front of a dollar slot machine, you just might be doing Jack Berggren a good turn. Or maybe it’s the other way around.

Housed in nearly 200,000 square feet, Berggren’s Pinnacle Furniture in Aberdeen builds chairs for casinos on land and sea. Taking a cruise on Royal Caribbean? You’ll be suffering your motion sickness on a genuine Pinnacle. Dropped a bundle at Caesars Palace in the last decade? Et tu, Pinnacle? Born in a 400-square-foot building with the aid of just a hand drill, Berggren’s company has built over 100,000 chairs in its 20-plus years. They design. They woodwork. They cut. They upholster. They bend. They form. They anodize. They punch. They weld. They stamp. “All our chairs are made here,” says Berggren. No assembly required. Everything goes out the door 100 percent backside ready. So, if you should find yourself mesmerized by bars and cherries and sevens whirling around, don’t think of it as losing. Think of it as buying local. PS Jim Moriarty is an award-wining journalist and Sandhill’s resident who rarely sits down.

PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 2016 23

good things blowing in FRIDAYS IN MARCH AT 10:30 AM PRE-SCHOOL STORY TIME

Purchase one paperback edition of Dead Wake and get two tickets to the lecture.

Join us for stories that span the Children’s Literature genre, from the classics to the newest imagined stories in print.

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2 AT 5:00 PM KATY SIMPSON SMITH FREE MEN

In 1788 three men converge in the southern woods of what is now Alabama: Cat, an emotionally scarred white man; Bob, a garrulous black man fleeing slavery; and Istillicha, who seeks retribution after being edged out of his Creek town’s leadership. “Evokes the complexity of a fledgling America in precise, poetic language.… Rich with insights about history and the human heart.” —Publishers Weekly “Glimpses into a vanished but fully realized world, one which has completely engaged us by novel’s satisfying end.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune

FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2016 AT 5PM STEPHANIE EVANOVICH TOTAL PACKAGE Meet New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Evanovich. Evanovich will discuss her newest novel about a steamy love story set in the world of professional sports. A Q&A and book signing will follow a formal talk.

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TICKETED EVENT!

THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2016 AT 5:00 PM ERIK LARSON DEAD WAKE:

THE LAST CROSSING OF THE LUSITANIA On May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth month, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were surprisingly at ease, even though Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone. For months, German U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic. But the Lusitania was one of the era’s great transatlantic “Greyhounds”—the fastest liner then in service—and her captain, William Thomas Turner, placed tremendous faith in the gentlemanly strictures of warfare that for a century had kept civilian ships safe from attack. “Larson is an old hand at treating nonfiction like high drama…He knows how to pick details that have maximum soapy potential and then churn them down until they foam [and] has an eye for haunting, unexploited detail.” —The New York Times

FRIDAY, MARCH 25 AT 10:30 AM PRE-SCHOOL STORY TIME WITH GUEST AUTHOR

KATHY MCGOUGAN & BUDDY THE DOG

Throughout the Month of April be on the lookout for the The Independent Booksellers of the North Carolina Piedmont (#IBOPNC) and the Field Guide at The Country Bookshop where you can discover all 8 of your favorite independent bookstores in the Piedmont (and Sandhills!) culminating with prizes and special events on April 30, National Independent Bookstore Day! Please call The Country Bookshop for more details.

All Books are on sale NOW at The Country Bookshop

The Country Bookshop

140 NW Broad St, Southern Pines, NC • 910.692.3211 www.thecountrybookshop.biz

The Omnivorous Reader

Blank Spaces A minimalist tale of the human condition

By Stephen Smith

Readers unfamiliar

with Elizabeth Strout’s Pulitizer Prizewinning novel Olive Kitteridge or her New York Times best-seller The Burgess Boys are likely to find themselves adrift in the structural nuances of her latest offering, My Name is Lucy Barton. Lucy’s fictional autobiography unfolds in a series of anecdotal recollections that begin during a seven-week hospital stay resulting from an infection following an appendectomy. During her lengthy recovery, Lucy’s husband, a shadowy, scratchily drawn character — all of Strout’s characters are transient and vaguely realized — persuades Lucy’s long-absent mother to sit at Lucy’s bedside for a week. They chat now and then about, well, this and that — there are no gruesome recollections, no life-altering revelations, no long-buried family secrets — and somehow the entire novel ends up being about nothing less than coping with fear, disgust, anger, guilt and sadness — and all of this is achieved using delicate brush strokes, a randomized form of open composition, with an emphasis on the changing qualities within Lucy’s rather mundane life and the indifferent but “amazing” world that surrounds her New York hospital room: “I turned my eyes toward the window. The light from

the Chrysler Building shone like the beacon it was, of the largest and best hopes of mankind and its aspirations and desire for beauty. That was what I wanted to tell my mother about this building.”

But Lucy doesn’t reveal to her mother the building’s symbolism; nor does she attempt to define her relationship with her mother and other family members, including her own husband and children. Which is entirely the point of the novel. My Name is Lucy Barton is about the blank spaces in the narrator’s psyche laid out on an impressionistic canvas skillfully depicting contemporary American life with its fundamental abnormalities and impairments. Simply stated it’s a book about nothing that is, finally, about the basic mysteries of the human condition — which makes it a remarkable achievement and a compelling read. Lucy’s formative years were spent in abject poverty. Growing up in rural Illinois, she lived with her siblings and parents in a dirt-floored garage. Other than a blessed ignorance of popular culture, an inability to comprehend irony, and the occasional unexplained need to disappear into frivolous diversions such as ducking into a New York department store to chat with a stranger, Lucy doesn’t outwardly exhibit the effects of her impoverished upbringing. She did well in school, earned a scholarship to college, married, and gave birth to two daughters. She lives in New York, where she’s a successful novelist. But during her mother’s visit, Lucy is unable to verbalize her feelings about her loveless childhood, and her mother is equally incapable of expressing her feelings of failure. Although Lucy has managed to shut out the past, the years of emotional privation occasionally surprise her: “There are times now, and my life has changed so completely, that I think back on the early years and I find myself thinking: It was not that bad. Perhaps it was not. But there are times, too — unexpected — when walking down a sunny sidewalk, or watching the top of a tree bend in the wind, or seeing a November sky close down over the East River, I am suddenly filled with the knowledge of darkness so deep that a sound might escape from my mouth . . . ”

The Omnivorous Reader

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What’s remarkable is that Lucy remains complacent and nonjudgmental concerning her past, present — and even her future. When her motherin-law introduces her as “coming from nothing,” Lucy isn’t offended. Years later, she comments: “I took no offense and really, I take none now. But I think: No one in this world comes from nothing.” Despite her obvious intelligence and her keen powers of observation, Lucy’s insights into the workings of the culture are hardly discerning: “It interests me how we find ways to feel superior to another person, another group of people. It happens everywhere, and all the time. Whatever we call it, I think it’s the lowest part of who we are, this need to find someone else to put down.” Economic inequalities aside, Lucy is of the opinion that “people who have been given the most by our government — education, food, rent subsidies — are most apt to find fault with the whole idea of government” — which hardly constitutes a breakthrough in human thought. All of which makes it sound as if the novel is easily set aside. Not so. Strout coaxes her readers into the emotional flow of the narrative through her skillful use of experiential commonality. After she and her ex-husband have divorced, Lucy admits that she sometimes loves him more than when they were married: “And there are days when I have such a clear image of him sitting at his desk in his study while the girls played in their room that I almost cry out: We were a family!” And her daughter tells her that “I love him [Lucy’s new husband], Mom, but I hope he dies in his sleep and then my stepmom can die too, and you and Dad will get back together.” Lucy blames herself for the divorce and thinks: “I did this to my child.” What could be more human? If life occasions regret, Strout would have us find peace with circumstances we cannot change, with a past that’s irrevocable. In doing so, she’s written a novel that refuses to be pigeonholed; there’s not a minor niche or nook where her intriguing study of the human experience fits. Composed of skeins of seemingly innocuous and muted vignettes, the threads are woven together into a minimalist tale that directs the reader into his or her own reality — and it’s these random musings that resolve themselves into something approaching a truth that will leave readers wondering if they’re reading autobiography or a treatise on the imperfections of the human condition. Who’s likely to enjoy and profit from reading Strout’s latest novel? It’s safe to borrow a little syntactical pizzazz from the late poet and critic Randall Jarrell: Maybe My Name Is Lucy Barton isn’t for everyone — or maybe it is. PS Stephen Smith is a poet and fiction writer who is a longtime contributor to the magazine.

March 2016P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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B oo k s h e l f

March Books By Kimberly Daniels Taws The Nest, by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney This book is about a menagerie of siblings with one common problem: Matilda Rodriguez. Snarky, quick and tragi-comic, The Nest follows four siblings just a few months before the youngest’s 40th birthday, when they are all due to inherit “the nest” (as in egg), but instead find themselves forced to deal with the consequences of the oldest brother’s dalliances with a 19-year-old waitress named Matilda Rodriguez. Fans of AM Homes’ fantastic May We Be Forgiven will devour this darkly comic debut novel and will not be able to wait to see what delicious tragedy D’Aprix Sweeney will reveal next. The Summer Before The War, by Helen Simonson The author of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand returns with a novel about Beatrice Nash, a young, educated woman who becomes the first female Latin teacher in the local school, and who falls in love with her sponsor’s nephew. Colorful characters and domestic dramas bound around them until the Great War comes over the horizon. Lust and Wonder: A Memoir, by Augusten Burroughs I absolutely loved Lust and Wonder. Burroughs is a favorite author and I wondered why he hadn’t written in a while. After reading Lust, all my questions were answered. The stories really seem to show Burroughs is happy and content with his life, which means he can continue to write and make all of us laugh for a long, long time. The River Why, by David James Duncan This classic fly fishing novel about spirituality and self-discovery is being reprinted with a new afterword by the author. A Few of The Girls: Stories, by Maeve Binchy This collection of short stories was found after the author’s death in 2012. All of the stories are previously unpublished in the U.S. Charlotte Bronte: A Fiery Heart, by Claire Harman This is a groundbreaking biography that places obsessive, unrequited love at the heart of the writer’s life story, transforming her from the tragic figure we have previously known into a smoldering Jane Eyre. Cooking Solo: The Joy of Cooking for Yourself, by Klancy Miller A cookbook that reignites the joys of cooking — for yourself. This book is filled with wonderful recipes that are perfectly portioned for one person.

Poems: New and Selected, by Ron Rash Haunting poems that evoke the beauty and hardship of the rural South by the awardwinning, best-selling author of Serena, Something Rich and Strange and Above the Waterfall. Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, by Carlo Rovelli This book reads like Carl Sagan and is almost like poetry on Physics. While this book is only ninety-six pages, every page is beautiful and smart. The basics of physics are explained in delicious prose — a true gem of a book. The Legends Club: Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Valvano, and an Epic College Basketball Rivalry, by John Feinstein The legendary Tobacco Road is laid out before us in this riveting rivalry that is as much a part of the state of North Carolina as the pine tree. Feinstein describes the hiring of NCSU and Duke basketball’s new head coaches within weeks of each other and how the two manage to challenge the powerhouse Dean Smith and create one of the most passionate moments in basketball history. 1,001 Ways to Live Wild: A Little Book of Everyday Adventures, by Barbara Ann Kipfer This National Geographic book features watercolor drawings and quotes along with many ways to cultivate our appreciation of wildlife. CHILDREN’S BOOKS By Angie Tally The Magical Fantastical Fridge, by Harlan Coben, illustrated by Leah Tinari. New York Times best-selling novelist Harlan Coben partners with a talented debut illustrator and RISD graduate Leah Tinari in this wacky adventure featuring a young boy whisked away from the dreaded after-dinner kitchen duties and into the fantastical world of Crayonland through one of his own drawings on the family fridge. Fun for fans of Dragons Love Tacos and The Day the Crayons Quit, this one will have everyone laughing. Ages 3-7 Quackers, by Liz Wong. Quackers is a duck. Sure, he may have paws and whiskers, and his quacks might sound more like meows, but he lives among ducks, everyone he knows is a duck, and he’s happy. Then Quackers meets another duck who looks like him and talks like him but calls himself a cat. So silly! Quackers loves being among his new friends the cats, but he also misses his duck friends, and of course finds a way to combine the best of both worlds. Spring fun for ages 3-7

B oo k s h e l f

The Last Dragon Charmer: Villain Keeper and Quest Maker, by Laurie McKay. On a quest to kill his first dragon and be fully accepted as worthy by his older brothers, Prince Caden inexplicably falls through time and space and lands in present-day Asheville, North Carolina. Accompanied by his horse, Sir Horace, and by Brynn, a young sorceress from his own time, Caden seeks to discover the secrets held by this strange new kingdom. Meet author Laurie McKay at The Country Bookshop Friday, March 11, at 4 p.m. This event is free and appropriate for ages 8-14. The Girl from Everywhere, by Heidi Heilig. Nix is a passenger on a time-traveling schooner navigated by her father. Nix’s father is desperately searching for a map that will allow him to return to Hawaii in 1868, where he hopes to reconnect with Nix’s mother. A time travel novel with only a dash of sci-fi, The Girl from Everywhere is a tale of friendship, love, obsession, adventure, history and long-held myths that is the perfect spring-break beach read for ages 13 and up.

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Rebel of the Sands, by Alwyn Hamilton. Arabian Nights meets the Wild West in this thrilling debut novel from Alwyn Hamilton. Amani knows she has a greater destiny than life in her small desert town, Dustwalk, and she’s counting on her sharpshooting skills to help her find a way out. When she meets the mysterious Jin, a charming foreigner who is wanted for treason, she decides he can be her escape. Amani ends up on an exciting journey with mythical beasts, magical powers, a Sultan with a powerful army and whispers of a rebel prince. Through it all, Amani discovers more about herself than she ever imagined in this atmospheric fantasy that combines magic, mythology and the Wild West to create a riveting tale that is sure to be on everyone’s reading list this summer. Ages 12 and up. PS

March 2016P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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The Travel List Doesn’t everyone pack Froot Loops and a Frog’s Fanny?

By Serena Brown

I’m writing a

rather curious looking shopping list. Shortly we’ll travel to England, and I’m putting together the usual list of things for friends and family over there. You see, the world might be a global village, but there are still American items that either aren’t available in the UK or are very expensive. And so every time I go back for a visit, I find myself making a list of profound absurdity. This time it looks like this:

Pocket-sized sloth Frog’s Fanny 7 For All Mankind Jeans John Deere apparel, size 4T Eight Hour Cream A horse sponge Froot Loops Pik’N’Pig T-shirt Local golf balls Ed’s Gun Shop T-shirt Finding a pocket-sized sloth is easier than you imagine. They sell them at The Country Bookshop. I bought one for my niece for Christmas. It has since been much coveted by her sister and the subject of more than one heated battle, so I’ll take another over in an effort to restore diplomatic relations. Frog’s Fanny might have raised a few eyebrows. The fly fishermen among you know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s a powder that helps your cho-

sen fishing fly stay dry and floaty. And it’s a belated Christmas present for my brother. It seems you can get it in England, but with the time difference I keep missing the tackle shops to place my order. The jeans are for a girlfriend with extraordinarily long legs and limited time to shop. The John Deere T-shirt is for my nephew, a toddler with a huge interest in all things tractor-related. We do have John Deere tractors in the UK, just not so much apparel. As for the Eight Hour Cream, that works for just about everyone. The horse sponge is not for a horse, but a family member who likes a generous-sized bath sponge. There are sponges in England; it just seems it’s true about things being bigger in America. As for the Froot Loops, they’re going to the kitchen of one of my oldest, dearest friends. Since 2012, Froot Loops have been available in the British Isles. But they’re not the same. Apparently EU restrictions on certain food colorings and sugar levels have resulted in a Froot Loop that is more of a, well, Fruit Loop. That’s not what my friend wants from his breakfast cereal. He wants a morning dose of chemicals and sugar with full-fat milk to take him through his commute and into the workplace on a proper high. There he can load up with coffee and be loud, quick-witted and productive until three o’clock in the afternoon, when he’ll gently fall asleep into a cup of tea, to be woken up by his secretary only if strictly necessary. My friend has restricted his Froot Loops intake to weekends, not out of consideration for his colleagues, but because that way he can eke out the box for longer. Not to mention that it’s more fun for his friends and family that way. The Pik’N’Pig T-shirt is headed to the wardrobe of a friend who appreciates fine food and earthy humor. The golf balls are for another friend who loves golf and cherishes an ambition of one day playing the Sandhills’ hallowed courses. Since his name’s Ed he gets a T-shirt from Ed’s Gun Shop too. Of course what our friends really want from the South are moonshine, sunshine, barbecue and a slowed-down sense of time; perhaps a Spanish moss-draped oak and a gallon of so-sweet tea. But those are tricky things to get in a suitcase and to explain to customs officers. It’s hard enough trying to work out whether Froot Loops are technically a foodstuff and should be declared as such. Another friend has just written to ask for a mini taser. I think I’ll go and start packing. PS Serena Brown is trying to remember her toothbrush.

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March 2016P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Ho m e tow n

Taking the Waters The quiet magic of 1960s Jackson Springs

By Bill Fields

For a boy who would

Photograph Courtesy of Bill Fields

much rather have had a ball of some sort in hand and grass underfoot, the 15-mile trip to Jackson Springs on Sunday afternoons could seem a cruel and unusual punishment. Even once we had gotten to West End and turned left onto N.C. 73 by Fletcher’s Barbeque and Stanley Furniture, the final four miles to my grandmother’s home felt like forever. When we arrived at our destination, it was as if we had done some time travel.

Southern Pines was a quiet place in the 1960s. In comparison, though, Jackson Springs — where both my mother and father had grown up — was truly sleepy, its heyday as a popular resort in the late 1800s and early 1900s long past. There was a church, filling station/store, post office and the eponymous mineral spring discovered in 1813 whose waters were said to have healing powers and that put the community on the map. I possessed as good an imagination as the next child, but given how little was going on in Jackson Springs when I visited Ma-Ma, the stories I heard relatives and their friends relate of busier times — of a 100-room hotel and lively dances in the pavilion by the spring — were hard to believe. Still more difficult to fathom were recollections about debilitated tourists who could barely walk when they came to Jackson Springs and were fit as a fiddle when they departed after an extended stay drinking the local water. Half a dozen trains backed into Jackson Springs from West End daily on a spur line full of passengers eager to take the cure, advertised as being good for stomach, liver, kidney and bladder problems. “I drank the water freely and its effects were marvelous,” cystitis sufferer William S. Lacy wrote of a six-day visit in a testimonial in a Raleigh newspaper in 1891. “My strength was returned, my appetite was restored, and my improvement was, even for so short a time, very marked, and the effect

continued long after my return home.” As analyzed by the state agriculture department in 1890, the year the Jackson Springs Hotel opened, a sample of the water was highest in silica and carbonate of lime, but it also contained sulphate of potash, carbonate of soda, carbonate of magnesia and iron and aluminum oxide. It was honored as the second-best mineral water in the United States in 1904 and was shipped around the country. (In 1914, a dozen halfgallon bottles sold for $3). Ma-Ma swore by the water that came out of the brown rock down the hill from her house, and given that my grandfather lived to 94 and she to 89, maybe there was something to it. In her Frigidaire you could count on finding a jar of the water along with a carton of buttermilk. I would gulp a small glass of the cold water but preferred a 6.5-ounce bottle of Coke — a “Co-Cola” to Ma-Ma — that almost made the several sports-free hours worth it. Plus, her second husband, Carl, who was as nice to me as if I was his grandson, would treat me to a tiny paper sack of penny candy. On warm days, I would usually consume it on Ma-Ma’s front porch, where we got comfortable in the swing or wicker furniture for unhurried conversations that meandered as lazily as Jackson Creek. On winter visits, I relished looking through Ma-Ma’s large jar of old coins, some minted not long after a hunter, according to legend, found the spring 200 years ago. There are parts of my native county I hardly recognize these days, so many are the chain stores and restaurants and so congested the roads. To stop by Jackson Springs, though, is to feel the way I did on my childhood journeys there. In contrast to so much of the Sandhills, it is more peaceful now than then. The little store where Carl bought my sweets has been gone for years. Ma-Ma’s house still stands, occupied for decades by others. Water still flows from the spring, not far from ghost steps that guests used to climb to get back to the hotel before fire destroyed it in 1932. Bottled water looks different now, but the quiet of one century changes little in the next. PS Southern Pines native Bill Fields never lived on Connecticut Avenue but has lived in the actual Connecticut for a long time.

Vine Wisdom

A Proper Finish The tricks and benefits of preserving good wine

By Robyn James

One of the

most frequently asked questions or comments I get is related to preserving your wine after opening it one evening. Many people feel that even their favorite wine “just isn’t the same” the next day. And that may very well be the case. Oxygen is the double-edged sword for wine. I frequently have salespeople who bring upper-end bottles for me to taste and remark, “I opened this three days ago and it’s tasting the best today.” Yes, if a wine is tannic and tight, it’s definitely going to benefit from some oxygenation, as long as it was stored properly. However, wineries are aware that about 75 percent of all wine is consumed within twenty-four hours of purchase, so they want to present consumers with wines that taste wonderful NOW. Those wines need a few extra steps to extend the flavors to the next day. There are many choices; it’s just a question of which one suits your style and situation. First of all, if you do not have any preserving routine, at least follow this: Recork the bottle, putting the wine-stained side back into the bottle. It might be easier to push the clean side of the cork in, but don’t do it. You know the stained side was exposed to the wine and it was fine. You don’t know about the other side, so don’t go there. And, stick the bottle in the refrigerator overnight just as you would with food. Whether it’s red or white, the refrigeration will help. Purchase a couple of half-bottles of wine and save the empty bottles. Buy a bag of marbles too. Pour your leftover wine into the empty half bottle and drop the marbles in until the wine is raised to the top of the bottle, recork and throw in the fridge. Voilà, no exposure to oxygen. Here are the current gizmos that do the preservation job:

VACU VIN. Advantage: This is a great little pump that comes with a rubber stopper and costs under $10. You put the special rubber stopper in the bottle and pump it until the resistance stops you. This removes the oxygen from the bottle. To further things along, the fridge is the best place. Disadvantage: Some people think pumping the air out also removes some of the flavors and nuances of the wine. The jury is still out on this as far as I’m concerned. Maybe Robert Parker, the famous wine critic, would pick up on this, but the rest of us are probably good with it. PRIVATE PRESERVE. Advantage: This is a spray can of nitrogen and argon gas, the same perfect gases used in the expensive Napa Technology machines to displace oxygen. Hold the cork next to the opening of the bottle, spray and quickly recork. Into the fridge again. They advertise the can is good for about 120 uses. Disadvantage: It’s only about $9 a can, but you will have to continue to buy cans to use – not a big deal, but you have to keep up. CORAVIN. OK, here is the latest geeky wine tool. It’s not cheap, weighing in at about $300. However, it’s the coolest invention the wine world has ever seen. If you are an avid wine collector, this is a must-have. The device, along with a small canister of gas, inserts a needle through the cork and allows you to pour out as much or little of the wine as you want. Once you have done that, the bottle is still completely intact and can go back into your cellar. This is a revolutionary device to wine aficionados and collectors. You can track the progress of all your bottles, leaving them contained. Those are your options, but remember: you don’t really need to worry about this at all if you and your partner can finish the bottle in one evening. According to studies, one to three glasses of wine a day will improve your heart health. PS Robyn James is proprietor of The Wine Cellar and Tasting Room in Southern Pines. Contact her at robynajames@gmail.com.

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March 2016P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

In The Spirit

The Magic of Mezcal From below the border comes a taste that’s growing rapidly in popularity

By Tony Cross

The array of

funny faces and reactions I’ve received when offering mezcal to guests could make a hilarious Vine or short film. I’ve been hit with rolling eyes and even puzzled looks after my suggestions. People tend to confuse mezcal with mescaline, a psychoactive part of the peyote cactus. Even though most of the United States has welcomed agave distillates with open arms, we are behind here in the Sandhills when it comes to Mexican spirits. Agave is a subfamily of the asparagus family, not the cactus, which many believe. Called “maguey” in Mexico, this plant has been used for centuries for many things like food, shoes, rope, medicine and drink. Mezcal is made from harvested or wild agave, unlike tequila, which is made from only blue agave. It’s the “heart” of the plant that transforms over time into the fine spirit. Agave hearts are called piñas, because they resemble large pineapples, and can weigh from 50 to over 100 pounds. It’s the way the piñas are cooked that further differentiates tequila from mezcal. To start, the jimadors (agave farmers) split the piñas, cook and shred them. In making tequila, halved agave hearts can be cooked two ways: baked in ovens or steamed in stainless steel cookers. The traditional way to cook agave hearts when creating mezcal is to dig a pit and line it with hot rocks, creating an underground oven, and filling it with the agave hearts. The piñas roast and smoke for up to a few weeks. Roasting the hearts breaks down the sugars into a rich, caramelized, earthy and smoky flavor. They are then crushed by a stone wheel called a tahona, which extracts all of the juice. The fermented juice is then distilled (usually to proof: 40-50 percent ABV). Mezcal has an internationally recognized DO, or Dominación de Origen, that was granted in 1995. Also, under Mexican law, a spirit with the mezcal

name can only be made in the state of Oaxaca, the neighboring state of Guerrero and three states to the north: Durango, San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas. Mezcal (spelled with a “z” by law in Mexico, though Americans often spell it with an “s”) sales have been soaring in the 21st century. In fact, three-fourths of all tequila and mezcal exports are sold in the United States. In the last decade alone, mezcal and tequila sales have outsold every other spirits category percentagewise. Here in Southern Pines, it’s been hard for me to buy different mezcals from our local ABC because sometimes the only way to purchase certain spirits is by the case. However, thanks to a barman in Raleigh, things are starting to change. I first met Marshall Davis early last year at Centro, a Mexican restaurant in Raleigh, during a staff training session. I listened with shock and awe when Davis told me that within the next month he would be opening up North Carolina’s first mezcal bar in the newly refurbished space above Centro, calling it Gallo Pelón Mezcaleria. It is North Carolina’s only mezcal bar, with more than fifty-three different bottles of mezcal to enjoy. Over a year ago, Davis was bartending at a Laotian restaurant, Bida Manda, when he was approached by Centro owner and chef Angela Salamanca to create an intimate and focused bar program in the renovated space above her restaurant. Pretty soon, Davis found himself ordering as many mezcals as he could get his hands on. His infatuation with mezcal is helping everyone else in the area; Davis knows that Gallo Pelón is paving the way for other restaurants and bars that are having trouble with harder to find mezcals. “Every connection I make to import a new bottle opens a door for all other businesses in the state to have access,” he says. From the dimly lit atmosphere, through the music — everything from electropop to Spanish punk rock — to the attention to detail with his guests, Davis’ love of mezcal and hosting shines in every visit. The result is quite the experience and, as Davis puts it, “unlike anything else in Raleigh and the Southeast!” Every time I’ve had the chance to drive up to Raleigh and have a good time, Davis and crew have always been more than hospitable, dropping knowledge in an unpretentious manner while making their lovely concoctions.

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Even if you’re feeling timid and are unsure, Davis is pretty certain that he can convert you. He usually opts for a Oaxacan Mule, which is mezcal oro joined with reposado tequila, cucumbers, fresh lime and ginger beer. His new favorite is a drink that’s new to their list, The Rooster and the Pearl, which is a great sipper that marries Del Maguey Vida Mezcal with Cynar, Amontillado sherry, sugar and Peychaud’s bitters. “I can honestly say that it wasn’t love at first sip,” Davis reflects on his first taste of mezcal. “But I was anxiously anticipating a ‘second date.’ Mezcal and wine have a lot in common. Just as it may be unfair to judge wine as a category based on trying a cheap blended red, it would be unfair to judge mezcal based on a singular brand or varietal.” And he’s right. The tending of the soil, the time of the harvest and the types of yeast all play a crucial role, like wine, when creating mezcal. Davis and I both agree that Vida from Del Maguey is an easily accessible mezcal from our local ABC. Once you get past the bit of smoke, notes of fruit and cinnamon make for easy sipping with its long finish. Think Islay Scotch, but with more vegetal roundness and spice. Vida is the best bang for your buck when starting out with mezcal, and Gallon Pelón is the best mezcal experience you’ll have in an hour’s drive. The Rooster & The Pearl (Marshall Davis, Gallo Pelon) 1 1/2 oz Vida Mezcal 3/4 oz Cynar 1/2 oz Amontillado sherry 3 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters 2 small sugar cubes (muddled with bitters) Grapefruit twist Stirred and served on the rocks PS Tony Cross is a bartender who runs cocktail catering company Reverie Cocktails. He can also recommend a vitamin supplement for the morning after at Nature’s Own.

March 2016P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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March 2016P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

The kitchen garden

Hope Springs The season of rebirth and dangerous expectations

By Jan Leitschuh

“You can cut all the flowers but you can-

not keep Spring from coming.” — Pablo Neruda

March is such a fickle month, full of optimism despite the inevitable third-week-ish freeze. It comes in like a lion, it’s often said, and goes out like a bonny little lamb, although The Farmer’s Almanac says that’s not necessarily true. “We can see warm spring-like temperatures or late-season freezes,” it writes. “We can only hope that if March starts off cold and stormy it will end warm and sunny, but the key word is hope.” Hope we got. A kitchen gardener is nothing if not hopeful, especially in early spring, when the birds nest and the bees fly and the soil calls our name. In our house, March is the month where we haul flats of tender seedlings into the house at night and back outside onto the deck in the morning. The racks at local stores are full of colorful seed packets and intriguing transplants. Nature’s checkered flag comes down, and the 2016 garden crops are off and running — it is hoped. It’s the same with local farmers. Billy Carter, a respected local producer in Eagle Springs, always combines good planning and cultivar selection with a goodly seasoning of hope. He plants his first batch of sweet corn — a crop we generally associate with high summer — around mid-March. Of course, he uses a special seed,

one bred to germinate well in chillier soils. Perhaps it’s also the lighter sandy soils of his farm that allow him to be among the first to the market with sweet corn. Thereafter, he plants successive waves of sweet corn more known for taste and tenderness than March cold-hardiness. The first wave of his cucumbers, squash and zucchini he starts in the greenhouse as transplants to get a jump on the season, and the plantings that follow will be direct-seeded into the soil. Local strawberry farmers cover and uncover their beds daily, hoping to preserve tender blossoms and small fruits. Area orchardists pray for mild weather during the early spring — the time their peach, plum and apple trees bud, flower and set small fruits. “That little peach, right after pollination, is pretty vulnerable,” says fourth-generation farmer Ken Chappell of Ken Chappell Peaches. “Our apples got caught in that spring freeze last year, and even though they were still in bud, we lost much of the crop. We are hoping 2016 will be better.” Hope. It’s that kind of month. Kitchen gardeners should be seeing their snow peas coming up strong now, as well as radishes and some other greens planted last month. If not, now is the time to seed again. New gardeners may want to Google an excellent Cooperative Extension publication called Home Vegetable Gardening, by N.C. State University. Although it speaks of growing with conventional fertilizers, something I tend to avoid, this free pamphlet lays it all out, including some succession planting tables for growing food for a family of four from a 25-by 42-foot space.

March 2016P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

The kitchen garden

Early in March, start your tomato, eggplant and pepper plants from seed indoors. Prep your garden beds, if you haven’t done that already, turning the soil, staking out your beds, opening furrows. With luck, you did a soil test last fall, and amended and/ or limed according to the results. A veritable cornucopia of veggies can go into the garden this month: onions, more radishes, beets, more spinach, carrots, transplants of Chinese cabbage and bok choy, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, turnips, Swiss chard and more Irish potatoes can be planted anytime this month. You can seed greens like lettuce, arugula, spinach, kale and chard, and root crops like beets, carrots, turnips, radishes, rutabagas directly into the ground now. Cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower plants can be put into the soil about mid-March. After April 6, our last frost date, plant sets of squash and cucumbers, or wait another ten days and direct seed. Snap beans can go in after the last frost date too. Remember to divide your seed packets for succession planting and continuous supply. But don’t put your tomato plants in this month or even next month — even though our last frost date is April 6. The same with heatloving eggplant or peppers. Feel how chilly the soil is when you plant things this month? The earth takes a long time to warm up from winter’s grip, and some items need more bottom warmth or they will languish. Okra, sweet potato slips and field peas also need the soil to be warm. Dark fabrics can help speed up that process. By the same token, avoid straw mulches until the soil heats up. The traditional advice is to wait until May 1 to plant heat lovers. If you grow from seed, that means potting your transplants up a few times, to avoid them going root-bound. Feed transplants a little and give strong sunlight during the day, protecting them at night. Not everyone likes to grow from seed. That four-pack of tomatoes at the garden center is tempting, and if you choose early for best selection, plan to do the same as if you seeded and pot up. I like to use old gallon milk cartons to grow a good deep root system; these also stand nicely on a tray together for moving in and out of the house in March. Don’t forget to sow a little basil in a pot for transplanting out. Perhaps you’ll even find time to sow a few zinnias, cosmos or sunflowers to attract pollinators and beneficial insects. Because — besides hope, in this season of new life — we also need the greening promise of beauty. PS Jan Leitschuh is a local gardener, avid eater of fresh produce and co-founder of the Sandhills Farm to Table Cooperative. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 2016

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March 2016P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Out of the Blue

Neatly Labeled A Labelista has her say

By Deborah Salomon

Labels give me pause. Cava-

lierly applied, loosely defined, marginally fair — I cringe at words like vegetarian. Which is why I refrain from the label. “I don’t eat meat” suffices. Even then, people want to know what else I do or don’t eat and, too often, challenge my parameters, as though only vegan counts.

How now, brown cow? That got me to thinking about other uncomfortable labels: Conservative or liberal? These labels get bandied during an election year, both complimentarily and pejoratively. Maybe conservatives wear red stripes and liberals, paisley bow ties. Maybe “conservative” is a label to hide behind, for folks skittish about change, and “liberal” an excuse to go overboard. Yellow dog, blue dog? I guess those colors were all that’s left when labeling Democrats, since green suggests environmentalism and red a Commie conspiracy. The distinction between Tea Partyites and evangelicals also escapes me. Can you be both? I wish the Tea Party had stayed in Boston and the evangelicals in their churches, instead of at rallies for candidates pandering votes. Ladies’ clothing is sized and labeled “women’s” and “misses.” I know what a woman looks like, I understand Ms. and missus, but what’s a misses? Turns out she’s svelter than a “woman.” “Juniors” are cut even slimmer, which forces curvy teens into the misses department, if not the women’s. Horrors! Granny garb! Speaking of distaff labels, ponder the line between a silver fox and a cougar. Silver foxes (as in foxy lady) meant a good-looking oldish woman (who wears misses jeans) before being co-opted by well-preserved men. A cougar is a woman over, say, 40, who dates younger men. Will she be labeled a silver cougar when she hits 50? Those silver fox guys who prey on twentysomethings deserve their own label. Try “letch.” Speaking of the mature population, how about “senior citizen,” a bland (but respectful) euphemism for anybody who loses his/her car in

the parking lot more than once a week. On the flip side, does that mean Hispanics with white hair and no green cards should be called senior illegal immigrants? I hear “cat people” and “dog people.” I’m more of a dog/cat/squirrel/ bird/llama person who, as yet, has no bumper sticker or T-shirt. Every TV cop chases “gangbangers.” I get the gang-affiliation part but won’t touch the second and third syllables. Obvious, however, that gangbangers occupy a lower low-life rung than gangsters, generally the senior citizens/silver foxes of their profession. Slang lexicon has borrowed a suffix — “ista” — to facilitate labeling. This originated with the Sandinistas, a left-wing Nicaraguan political faction of the 1980s —‚ a far cry from the fashionistas who shop at T.J.Maxx and the baristas who, unlike Italian bartenders, concoct your macchiato at Starbucks. Labels become obsolete, or shift meaning. “Tomboys,” thanks to Title 9, now get swimming, basketball or softball scholarships. “Winos” have been upgraded to oenophiles. “Eggheads,” recently “talking heads,” run think tanks and pontificate on cable news channels. Alas, the “soccer mom” has traded her Volvo for a Lexus SUV or, at the very least, a Ford Edge. Don’t get me started on baby boomers, gen X-Y-Zers, metrosexuals et al. Adjectives that describe or qualify labels deserve a chuckle. Must a bachelor meet certain criteria or attend a ceremony to be deemed “confirmed”? Ditto those “staunch” Republicans. I think “devoted daughter” exists for the alliteration alone. A “committed relationship” sounds positively punitive. I’m familiar with “devout” Catholics, just not Methodists. Thank goodness the most irritating labels are being phased out: those scratchy cloth bits sewn — with wire thread — into the necks of otherwise comfy garments. My sensitive skin demands I remove them, often damaging fabric in the process. And so we go, especially during an election year, sorting people out, making neat piles and attaching labels. Thank goodness, the one on my pile reads independent, age-defiant, muckraking free spirit. PS Deborah Salomon is a staff writer for PineStraw and The Pilot. She may be reached at debsalomon@nc.rr.com.

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March 2016P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

papa d a d d y ’ s M i n d f i e l d

The Bear Truth

By Clyde Edgerton

I recently read — in a news-

paper, or magazine, or somewhere — this quote from a man who’d just killed a black bear weighing over 700 pounds: “I never thought I would kill one that big, but the Lord blessed me with a big one to take.” (I didn’t make that up.)

By happenstance, I’d just gotten a call from a bear friend inviting me to make a return trip to the Pender County branch of B.E.A.R., or Bear Elders Annual Retreat. My bear friend takes me every few years. Blindfolded as usual, I was transported to an undisclosed location in Pender County — about forty-five minutes north-northwest of Wilmington. (The convention is held just prior to hibernation each year.) On arrival — a cold night in late January — after removing my blindfold, I saw some of my old bear friends. We laughed it up around a big bonfire in the woods, slapped each other on the back, and caught up on our families, etc., before we walked to the convention cabin situated, oh, maybe fifty yards from the bonfire. Some of my friends walked upright with me and others waddled on all fours to the meeting. Inside: a big wood stove in the corner, benches, and a low stage. A honey bar stretched along the wall to my right. The meeting started with the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer. I remember this from the prayer: “Dear Lord, we know You wouldn’t ‘bless a human

being with a big one of us to take.’ We know You better than that. We know that You bless the world with us, and that you bless us with the world, a beautiful place for all God’s creatures. And we know that ‘take’ means ‘kill.’ Thank you, dear Lord, for allowing us to also occasionally take a man. Yes, thank you for sometimes blessing us with a big one to take. In Jesus’ name, Amen.” The speaker for the night was Barlow Ben Blackbear of Burgaw. The title of his speech? “Large Men We Have Taken.” It was an interesting talk. I got a little nervous with the gales of laughter about “the look on his face as he kept looking over his shoulder,” etc., etc., but several bears wandering back and forth to the honey bar during the speech placed a warm paw on my shoulder, bent over, and whispered in my ear something like, “Hey Clyde buddy, don’t fret. We know you are just under 200 pounds. And we know you’ve only taken quail, dove, and rabbits. Don’t you fret, Boy.” The bears weigh their human trophies on certified scales in Newton Grove and they are mounted by area bear taxidermists. The world record is 341 pounds (1958). Only fourteen over 300 pounds have been taken, ah, killed. After the speech there were lots of laughs and stories around the bonfire, very few growls. I have found bears to be gentle and easygoing, full of fun. I put on my blindfold, climbed into my friend’s SUV, and headed home to read-up on the Constitution — you know, the rights of animals, the rights of men and women, the rights of guns. PS Clyde Edgerton is the author of ten novels, a memoir and a new work, Papadaddy’s Book for New Fathers. He is the Thomas S. Kenan III Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at UNCW.

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March 2016P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

B IRD WA T CH

Canada Goose How the northern waterfowl became a permanent resident of North Carolina

By Susan Campbell

The Canada goose: For some the

image is a magnificent and noble bird of the North. For others it is a noisy, messy nuisance that just won’t go away. In recent years it seems people either love or hate Canadas. (And about that adjective: Although the “Canada” goose is not about to undergo a name change, I can assure you that the vast majority of the birds you see are actually made in America.) When I was a lot younger, flocks of these majestic birds signified the changing of the seasons. I would hear the distant unmistakable honking and search the sky for skeins of birds moving on their annual journey. But times have changed. I challenge you to find a municipality along the Eastern Seaboard where the birds cannot be found twelve months of the year.

Regardless of their origin, Canada geese are definitely legal aliens and are the second largest of the waterfowl found in North Carolina, with tundra swans a good 30 percent larger and up to half again as heavy. Tundras are only here from late October into early March and are not seen in the Piedmont. However, it’s well worth the journey to see them blanketing the large lakes and sounds of the coastal plain. Canada geese, although only found here and there in our mountains, are now permanent residents in the rest of the state year round. And their large, nonmigratory population continues to grow even in urban areas. Canada geese are almost unmistakable, with their light brown back and chest, white bellies, black legs and a distinctive white chin strap that contrasts with their black bill, head and neck. Other geese such as greater white-fronted or the domesticated greylag will be tan all over and sport pinkish orange bills, legs and feet. Don’t, however, be tempted to take the ever-present flocks of Canada Geese for

granted. It’s not unusual for a migrating wanderer — a passing greater white-fronted goose or a snow goose — to be attracted to the feeding or loafing flock. Or on occasion, the smallest subspecies of Canada, the cackling goose (about as big as a mallard), will join the group. Historically Canada geese overwintered in Eastern North Carolina’s extensive areas of large, open water. Lake Mattamuskeet tended to be the area with the largest concentrations. The shallow freshwater lake with abundant submerged aquatic vegetation as well as acres of adjacent agricultural land, often planted in corn, provided optimal habitat. In fact, the original National Wildlife Refuge logo there once included the Canada goose. Another inland became a seasonal goose magnet, as well: Gaddy’s Goose Pond (in Anson County). Lockhart Gaddy, a big-time goose hunter, was lucky enough to attract a few passing birds to a large pond on his property during the mid-1930s. Then he began managing intensively for wintering waterfowl and succeeded in hosting as many as 10,000 Canadas by the 1950s. As the interest in goose hunting grew in the 1960s and ’70s in the Eastern United States, others to the north followed Gaddy’s lead: especially around the Chesapeake Bay. With plentiful food and good habitat at hand, not surprisingly, more and more Canada geese abandoned the long flight home to Canada and began spending the summer — and winter — farther South, thousands in North Carolina. Wild flocks do show up still, but their numbers are dwarfed by the omnipresent native population. Also, many of the nonmigratory geese we see are the offspring of hand-reared birds that were released decades ago so they could be hunted. However, they had no parents to show them the way either north or south from here thus; they never leave. So what if the length of days and nights confuses them? They’re not about to leave environs of the golf courses, riverbanks and reservoirs where they were hatched. As the first southerly breezes of spring begin to blow, large flocks of migrant Canada geese will begin to head north. Their loud honking will give them away as they pass high overhead on their way back to nesting grounds in the boreal forests, north of the border and beyond. But not to worry, their relatives are here to stay. PS Susan would love to receive your wildlife sightings and photos. She can be contacted by email at susan@ncaves.com.

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March 2016P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

A No v e l Y e a r

Confessions of a Writer’s Spouse Soaking in the truth

By Wiley Cash

The following is

part of a recorded conversation between my wife, Mallory, and me about what it’s like to be married to a writer.

Mallory: Are you recording this on your phone? WC: Yes. Mallory: Don’t let your phone fall into the water. WC: Do you always give your interviews from the bathtub? Mallory: Just the important ones. WC: Would you like to tell our readers why you’re soaking in the bathtub? Mallory: Because I’m pregnant and my body is falling apart. WC: OK, let’s get started. I began working on this current novel in early 2013, so it’s been almost three years. Mallory: It seems like so much longer. WC: I was hoping to finish it by your birthday. Mallory: My 32nd birthday? WC: No, your 31st birthday; the one that just passed. Mallory: I just turned 32. WC: You’re 32? Really? I’m sorry. I was going to finish the novel by your 32nd birthday and write my monthly column about what it’s like to finish a novel. Since I didn’t finish it, I thought I’d interview you about what it’s like to live with someone who’s trying to finish a novel. Mallory: It’s tense at times.

WC: In what way? Mallory: It’s magical at times. WC: Be serious. Mallory: I am being serious. Being a writer means you always have homework. You can’t clock out. When you’re not writing you’re reading novels to blurb, you’re answering emails, writing essays and articles. Your thinking about your novel takes up a lot of headspace, and I can see it on your face, especially in the beginning and at the end. Sometimes, the beginning and the end last for months. But there’s magic to it sometimes too. WC: What are some of the challenges of living with someone who’s writing a novel as opposed to living with someone in a different line of work? Mallory: A lot of people probably talk to their spouses about work, but being a writer’s spouse means there are hours of listening to your spouse read out loud. WC: Is it challenging when I read my work out loud? Mallory: It can be, to be honest. Sometimes, I think you read to me because you know there’s an audience and you’re critical in a way you wouldn’t be if you were just reading to yourself. I understand that I’m just standing in for your own ear. I can tell when you want constructive criticism, and I can tell when you just need to share. What’s also challenging is that I’m present when you’re conceptualizing the novel at the very beginning, and I hear about the book from the initial idea to the first draft to the final draft, and I’m called upon at the end to read it with the eyes of a first-time reader. That’s difficult to do when I’ve watched the process unfold. WC: Do you feel pressure to say nice things when you read my work-in-progress? Mallory: Not anymore. In fact, I feel like I’ve let you down if I come back and tell you it’s great. I don’t purposefully look for things to critique, especially early on, but if I don’t have something critical to say, it probably means

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March 2016P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

A No v e l Y e a r

that I’m not reading very closely. WC: Has this affected you as a reader? Are you harder on the books that you read for enjoyment? Mallory: Yes. I analyze dialogue. I analyze tricks that show the passage of time or the physical details of a place or a person. I can see the seams in a story after reading so closely for so long. WC: What are some of the good things about being married to a writer? Mallory: It’s interesting to witness the creative process. It’s not as romantic as people think, but it can be. I enjoy line-editing your manuscript proofs at the very end. In terms of our relationship, it gives you flexibility to work from home, which can be a curse and a blessing. WC: Are there any moments that you look back on as being particularly dark? Mallory: All three of your novels have had dark moments while you were writing them, not to mention the numerous rejections from literary magazines you’ve gotten over the years. It was hard watching you write A Land More Kind Than Home, especially when things didn’t work out with your first agent. That was a dark time. I thought, “This may be over.” And when you started working with your current agent, there were times during the revision of Land when you doubted the novel’s worth. It’s difficult for me to see you doubt yourself and your work. WC: What’s it like for you whenever I finish a book? Mallory: There are short-lived bouts of euphoria experienced by both of us, followed by nerves because you move on to something else: You want to renovate a farmhouse or organize a letterwriting campaign to your senator. If you don’t have a million things going on, you try to drum up something to keep busy. WC: How did your training as an attorney prepare you for being married to a writer? Mallory: I learned endurance in law school. I learned how to stay awake when people are droning on monotonously. WC: Are you saying that our interview has come to its end? Mallory: I’m saying that my fingers have turned to prunes. WC: Thank you for letting me interview you. Mallory: You’re welcome. Are you going to read this out loud to me before you submit it? WC: Of course. Why would I mess with a good thing? PS Wiley Cash is a New York Times best-selling author whose second novel, This Dark Road to Mercy, was released last year. He lives in Wilmington. PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 2016

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March 2016P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

B r e at h i n g L e sso n s

The Ohm-budsman

For Robert Merlin, mind over matter is what truly matters By Cynthia Adams

Robert Michael Merlin is settled

into a comfortable desk chair while dreamy, meditative music plays in his office on Sunset Drive in Irving Park. The tony neighborhood seems an unlikely location for a hypnotherapist’s office, but there it is, shoehorned between a thriving real estate business and a bank on Sunset Drive: the Merlin Centre for Hypnosis & Enlightenment. Merlin is hardly a fantasy figure from Arthurian legend (in case you’re wondering, the surname is, in fact, his given name) but a fit gentleman of a certain age with olive skin, a thick head of black hair streaked with gray and penetrating blue eyes. He is dressed casual but the cuffs of his brown checked shirt are crisp. Merlin is a board-certified master hypnotist, past life regression therapist, who also teaches hypnosis.

Mainstream, meet the future: Medical journals such as The Journal of Pediatrics and the European Society of Cardiology extol the virtues of hypnosis for a roster of medical maladies. WebMD.com, a mainstream medical site, suggests hypnosis for everything from digestive problems, such as, IBS to panic attacks. (Hypnobirthing, by the way, was employed by Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.) In an article in Prevention magazine, Harvard Medical School psychologist Carol Ginandes joined the growing chorus and was quoted as saying, “If somebody told you there was a medication that could treat a hundred different conditions, didn’t require a prescription, was free, and had no bad side effects, you wouldn’t believe them.” Though careful not to deem the practice a “magic wand,” Ginandes thinks that hypnosis “should be made available as a supplementary treatment for all patients who could benefit. Right now.” Merlin’s clients would agree. One says he helped her to stop smoking. Seven years since, she hasn’t so much as lit a cigarette. Others swear hypnosis has enabled them to lose weight. Others have been able to live pain-free. “I give back the control that people have lost or need,” Merlin says. His own path to enlightenment began in Boston. Born to a Russian Jew and an Italian Catholic, Merlin spent his formative years in Miami. As he came of age, he developed an interest, not only in the dual strains of his own religious background, but in all traditions, as well. Amid the framed diplomas and certifications for smoking cessation and weight loss that line an entire wall in his office, there are books on psycho-spiritual matters, various religious icons, and a quote by Chief Seattle: “Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but

one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.” Merlin’s take on the affirmation: “I live my life through spirit. I am here for two reasons: to get closer to God and to help people,” he says. His interest in hypnosis began with his study of psychology, from which he took a detour by running his own insurance business in Cornelius, North Carolina. Its sale has allowed him to pursue his first love at the Merlin Centre, whose primary service is hypnosis. Put aside any notions you might have of gimmicky Vegas stage acts. Rather, as Merlin explains, expect a guided relaxation experience. Hypnosis can help shift attitudes about specific subjects, and it can also help with habits and stresses. The only requirement, Merlin emphasizes, is that the individual desire change. Almost anyone can be hypnotized, he says in a published Q&A for his clients, “As long as the person is willing and has the ability to concentrate and relax.” There is a miniature Zen garden on Merlin’s tidy desk — a nod to both. Contrary to myth, the ability to be hypnotized does not suggest a weak or suggestible mind. “This is not brain-washing,” Merlin insists. “There is a positive correlation between the ability to concentrate and the depth of hypnosis. The higher the IQ, the more easily a person may be hypnotized,” Merlin says. Most of his clients are “everyday people,“usually referrals from three Triad therapists and a psychologist. Some are looking for a more efficient or profound form of meditation to reduce stress or insomnia, others for specific behavior modification through hypnosis. Merlin also sees young people who need help with pre-exam jitters on college admission tests, and many whose habits are ingrained despite years of conscious efforts to break them. Diabetics, for an example, look to Merlin to change their relationship with food and themselves. He frequently works with rheumatoid arthritis patients and people seeking pain management. “There is no such thing as pain,” Merlin says. “It’s an electrical response.” He describes how he teaches people to visualize their pain going away. The technique, whether alleviating pain, illness or other ailments employs the reverse of an old axiom: Don’t just do something, sit there.” It’s an abrupt shift from how we’re conditioned as a society, or as Merlin says, “Americans think they must do something all the time.” But it happens that our conscious will is often not enough to effect changes in our lives. Merlin explains how habituated imperative to act leads to stress, which is often the precursor to illness. “For most of my clients, I am the last person people come to, not the first,” Merlin observes. “Smokers, for example, have tried drugs, patches and other things.” He explains that hypnosis employs the subconscious, which controls about 85 percent of what we do, and this is largely our biological mandate. “We’re hard-wired for one thing,” he adds. Actually, two: “Preservation of the self, and propagation of the species.” The light alpha state achieved in deep relaxation, he says, is where behaviors are altered. Merlin is not a magician, and hypnosis is not a magic wand (that word again), though it may seem so for those who reap its benefits. “I don’t code, diagnose or change people,” he says. After all, change is an inside job. PS Cynthia Adams is a contributing editor.

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March 2016P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

S po r t i n g L i f e

Whitewater to Blue Bay Time travelling from the Chattooga to the Chokoloskee

By Tom Bryant

I reached

out as far as I could to do a paddle brace; the stroke was familiar but my new canoe wasn’t. It seemed cumbersome compared to my old whitewater boat, but hey, what did I expect? This is a lake canoe, an Old Town Discovery designed for stability. It’s exactly what I need to fish the bay waters of the Chokoloskee, but it’s gonna take a while to get used to it, I thought. I pulled the paddle back in and watched as a pair of dolphins surfaced and blew right off the bow. It’s a good boat, but not quite the same as the old days. I leaned against a boat cushion in the stern, made myself comfortable and thought back to those times when I was a little younger, paddling a faster boat, on the last and best whitewater river of my career, the Chattooga. It was almost like a dream; I could see and hear it just like it was yesterday. A roaring noise, not unlike an angry surf blowing during a storm, rolled upriver, echoing from one side of the canyon wall to the other. It was an ominous sound, an all-too-familiar one I’ve heard many times, but it still creates a nervous, tingling sensation down my spine. It is the soundboard of an immense whitewater rapid announcing its presence just around the next bend. Whitewater canoe and kayak paddlers are a superstitious group, a lot like baseball players. Some will use the same paddle, enter the river with the same routine, or maybe carry their first homemade bailing bucket. On this river, one of the top whitewater rivers in the Southeast, I needed all the help I could muster; so my homemade bailing bucket, cut from a thick plastic gallon milk jug I found on the Haw River, was tied securely to the middle thwart.

Superstitions aside, before paddling a whitewater river, I’ve found that my body tightens up. It’s a lot like before the whistle sounding the opening kickoff of a football game or the first pitch received while batting in a baseball contest. Once the pitch is thrown, the ball kicked or the first stroke of the paddle, the old body gets squared away and is ready for whatever comes. The real difference in this analogy is that most of the time a sport like baseball or football will not kill you. A raging whitewater river with class 4 and 5 rapids will. We were paddling the Chattooga, the last on a string of East Coast whitewater rivers on our list. We had worked our way up the ladder saving the best or worst, as it were, for last. We had paddled the Haw, Pigeon, Nantahala, Elk, Mayo, New, Nolichucky, Toe, and the last one for me, the Chattooga. We were a varied group, a couple of bankers, a haberdasher, a furniture salesman, a stockbroker and myself, a newspaper ad man and outdoors writer. We were in our 30s, experienced in the outdoors, most ex-military and responsible family men. We also had one other thing in common: We loved whitewater paddling. I promised my bride, Linda, that the Chattooga would be my last adventure on a major river, and I planned to keep that promise. There had been some close calls on the earlier paddled rivers, and I knew that skill would only carry me so far. There’s a lot of luck involved, and I had already used up a bunch. Therefore, after this one, I planned on hanging up my rapids paddle and just experiencing the laid-back easy-going rivers and lakes. The Chattooga is one of the longest and wildest free-flowing rivers in the Southeast. James Dickey’s book Deliverance, later made into a movie, put the river on the map. Some think for all the wrong reasons. Several unfortunate paddlers, not up to speed to tackle any whitewater river, much less the Chattooga, ended up paying the ultimate price. It is not a river for amateurs. We made it through all the rapids without too much trouble. I took on a lot of water in the “Roller Coaster” but was able to eddy up behind a big boulder and bail. The “Keyhole” is next, I thought, and then the kicker, “Bull Sluice.” According to Bob Benner in his book Carolina Whitewater, “The entrance rapid to Bull Sluice is a class 3, which can splash a great deal of water into the canoe before ever arriving at first falls. The hydraulic below first falls can easily hold a body or a boat in so give it due respect. Keep in mind several drownings have occurred here.”

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S po r t i n g L i f e

My reverie was interrupted as I watched a string of pelicans lazily fly over the mangroves out to sea, and I grabbed my paddle and said, “Time to break in the new boat.” My verbalization to no one reminded me of an old habit of talking to myself while running heavy rapids, and as I slowly paddled in my new, comfortable Old Town Canoe, soaking up the sun and surveying all the beauty in that southern Florida bay, I talked myself through Bull Sluice again. “OK, eddy to the right bank.” I did a crossdraw paddle stroke, turned the canoe and hugged the bank tightly. I had made it down the entrance rapid without taking on a lot of water and took this time to look downriver to the first falls of the “Sluice.” Breathing deeply, I eyed the entrance to the falls. “Too much to the left and you’re in the rocks, too much to the right and you’re in the hydraulic. OK, peel off slowly and line the boat to the center of the chute.” The noise of the rapid was such that I couldn’t hear myself as I did another cross-draw and entered the main current. My angle looked good, but the problem was, the entrance to the first falls changes with the level of the river. All afternoon the river had been rising due to thunderstorms in the headwaters. What had been a class 4 was rapidly edging to a class 5. My approach looked good as I did a deep-pry stroke to push me more to the left. “Get ready!” I hit the chute too far to the right and as the boat began to roll, I did a paddle brace, to no avail. I was tossed out of the canoe, into the hydraulic, rolling around like I was in a washing machine. There was nothing to do except pull myself in tightly and hope the Sluice would throw me out like a ball. It seemed like minutes, but really I was in the Sluice for only seconds before I was flushed out like so much unwanted garbage. My swamped canoe, no worse for the wear, was resting on the right bank, being held there by another paddler; and as I swam up to him the stranger said, “Man, you were lucky! A student from Georgia Tech drowned in that hydraulic two weeks ago.” As I clung to the side of my canoe, I could only smile and reply, “I know.” Those years are long gone. Lifestyles change and so do priorities; and as I dug in with my paddle and headed to the campground, I thought about Linda back at the little Airstream getting ready for early cocktails at the tiki hut on the bay. After that I planned to grill freshly caught sea trout for supper. The Chattooga is still rolling along in all its whitewater beauty. I’ve seen it and I’ve paddled it and I’ll never forget it. That’s enough for me. PS Tom Bryant, a Southern Pines resident, is a lifelong outdoorsman and PineStraw’s Sporting Life columnist.

March 2016P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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March 2016P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Gol f tow n J o u r n al

The Spirit of Pinehurst As another spring dawns, so do the charms of the home of American golf

By Lee Pace

Another March rolls around, this the

118th since the founding of the first golf holes in Pinehurst. It was a crude game and coarse ground that those visitors to The Holly Inn and the various early boarding houses in the village found, but the Pinehurst Outlook rhapsodized in February 1898 about the fervor with which the game had been embraced:

“The course covers sixty acres of thoroughly cleared land, well fenced in, and covered with a thick growth of rye, which will be kept short by a flock of more than a hundred sheep,” the paper observed. “Golf gives to its followers the best kind of tonic known to science — plenty of fresh air . . . He whom the mighty Caledonia game has won, is perennially present, going over the course with increasing zest and pleasure.” Golf was originally a winter game in the early Pinehurst years, but as travel, tastes and air-conditioning have evolved, it’s played year-around. But there’s nothing like springtime when the cruelest month of February fades to black and we venture back out for some sun and a game. The spirit of Pinehurst wakes up to christen springtime. The spirit hovers around the most treasured asset of the resort and the old village — the No. 2 course. Pinehurst begins with these 18 holes of golf, cumulatively considered one of the finest collections of grass, sand, trees, slopes, angles, mystery, history and sass this side of the Firth of Forth. The spirit is on the putting green beside the first tee, and it rustles through the pine trees.

“Walking out on the putting green, I wondered if Ben Hogan had stood in the same spot,” says May Wood Frederiksen , a former Vanderbilt University golfer and champion of the 2002 Women’s North and South Amateur. “All the people I’d looked up to my entire life had been there. I know it sounds crazy, but playing No. 2, I could almost feel their presence still there — up in the wind, up in the trees. It helped me focus. It was great inspiration for me.” Bill Coore used to capture the spirit when he and his teammates at Wake Forest University drove down from Winston-Salem in the 1960s. “It feels so good out there playing,” says Coore, who with design partner Ben Crenshaw restored the No. 2 course in 2010-11. “Every great player who’s anybody has played there. You walk the fairways imagining the great players having the same shot you have.” The spirit hovers around the expansive practice tee and range framed by the 14th, 16th and 18th holes on No. 2. This practice area was a Donald Ross invention from 1913 — a dedicated area for learning the game that would eventually replace the standard mode of instruction at the time, the playing lesson. Bobby Jones gave exhibitions there. Ben Hogan beat balls there when he was a loser and a no-name before winning the 1940 North and South Open on these very grounds. Tommy Armour considered all the experimentation with clubs and technique during golf’s formative stages in America and said this practice ground was “to golf what Kitty Hawk is to flying.” They called it “Maniac Hill” and “Nuts Hill” for the fervor with which golfers beat balls. The spirit is in the sandy loam indigenous to an area once thought to be under the sea, a texture the Scotsman Ross found similar to the ground of his home course at Royal Dornoch in the Scottish Highlands. One morning in 2011, Crenshaw examined a patch of sandy loam accented with wire grass and said, “There’s some fabulous ground right here. It looks like

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Gol f tow n J o u r n al

Britain. Over there they say, ‘We can’t use this ground to farm, so we can recreate on it. We can play golf on it.’” The Scotsmen who visit Pinehurst for the first time understand the spirit. They revel in it. Duncan Weir is an accomplished amateur golfer and an official with the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews. He traveled to Pinehurst for the first time in the spring of 2003 to play in the Pinehurst Invitational. “You can see bits of Royal Dornoch in what he’s done with No. 2 — with the raised greens, the sharp fall-offs,” says Weir. “You’d be hard-pressed to find a better golf course. I can’t say there were many shots I hadn’t seen playing links golf in Scotland and England.” You’ll certainly sense the spirit driving down Carolina Vista, the peaceful avenue that runs from the main road to the Carolina Hotel through a canopy of pines and hollies. In the distance looms the majestic 116-year-old hotel with its signature copper cupola glistening in the sun. The spirit is in the ghosts of all those who’ve lived along the Vista — the residents of Ailsa House, Beacon House, Heartpine House and Little House — and all those who’ve strolled to the golf courses and back over the decades. “Turning down Carolina Vista headed to the hotel, it was like going back in time,” says May Frederiksen. “It was electrifying. I almost teared up the first time I saw it. It was the most beautiful place I’d ever been.” The spirit floats through the air in the village when the Coe Memorial Carillon rings out from the spires of The Village Chapel. Chimes announce each hour, and you can hear hymns from anywhere on the golf courses or in the village at 9:30 a.m., 12:30, 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. It’s truly a religious experience playing the first or second holes of No. 2 near Easter as the carillon’s sounding “Christ The Lord Is Risen Today.” The spirit wafts through the crisp scent of the Village Green, an idyllic oval of land that served as the centerpiece to the village staked out by James Walker Tufts in 1895. The Village Green is all pine trees and dogwoods with a soft carpet of pine needles. At the top of the egg-shaped tract is a library, at the bottom, a church. Beside the Given Memorial Library is a tiny park commemorating the village center. Four-time North and South Amateur champion Bill Campbell and his wife, Joan, wandered frequently through the Village Green and found it, he once said, “a lovely, peaceful haven where we shared a transcendental feeling.” Surrounding the Village Green is the little town designed by New York’s celebrated landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted. More park than commercial hub, the village resonates in evergreens even in the dead of winter;

that was an element of Tufts’ genius, as he wanted Pinehurst to be attractive to his fellow Bostonians in the dead of winter. Pinehurst bursts into color in the springtime. The spirit manifests itself in the smiles and the eyes of shopkeepers in the village. “Each day you spend in Pinehurst, you escape the real world,” says clothier Chris Dalrymple, who owns Gentleman’s Corner. “You mark it off as a day you succeeded.” “If you’re stressed out here, it’s certainly not a product of the environment,” says Tom Stewart, owner of Old Sport & Gallery. The spirit of Pinehurst lights quickly on the faces of newcomers. It ratchets the gears down a notch. It softens the pulse. Bob Burwell grew up on Blue Road in Pinehurst and remembers playing golf barefoot in the summer when the tourists were off somewhere cooler, of riding his bike several hundred yards into the village for a haircut and an ice-cream cone. He still lives in the Sandhills, selling golf clubs and balls at the Aberdeen business he’s owned for more than two decades, Robert’s Golf Shop. “It’s amazing to watch the transformation, to watch people unwind when they come here,” Burwell says. “They expect to be confronted when they walk in the door of the shop, for some pushy salesman to pounce on them. They expect to fight traffic. They have to be de-programmed to a softer, gentler life.” The spirit is in the very riddle of why? Why is Pinehurst here? The local newspaper acknowledged the mystery as far back as 1909. Pinehurst, it said, was “an oasis in the desert.” “It just doesn’t make any sense,” says native and lifelong resident Marty McKenzie. “There are no mountains, no ocean, no river, no economic reason, no natural reason. I once heard someone say about Iowa, ‘The soil is so rich you want to grab a handful and eat it.’ Wow. There’s nothing rich about this soil, I’ll tell you that. It was so barren even the settlers passed it by. “When we try to describe something, we always use the five senses. ‘It looks like . . .’ ‘It tastes like . . .’ ‘It feels like . . .’ But when you try to describe Pinehurst to other people and you say, ‘It looks like . . . ,’ you can’t find anything. Nothing comes to mind. It doesn’t look like anything you’ve ever seen before.” Which is why when it’s March and we’re on the cusp of another spring, it’s time to step up and embrace the spirit of Pinehurst. PS Lee Pace has relished the spirit of Pinehurst while writing about it for three decades. His book The Golden Age of Pinehurst is available at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club.

March 2016P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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Whether you prefer the Steak Diane at the Carolina Dining Room, the Chipotle Jumbo Shrimp and Grits at the 1895 Grille, the Grilled Salmon Salad at The Tavern or the Carolina Burger at the Ryder Cup Lounge, you’ll find exactly what you’re hungry for at Pinehurst Resort.

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March 2016P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

March 2016 Monet’s Water Lily Pond at Giverny I feel the colors break into strokes as you brush a lock of hair from your forehead: reveries take over the landscape: streams of steady visitors bloom lilies I cannot squander, even as sleep breaks upon the lawn and the poplar leaves rumple brown and yellow plainly around you, the poet’s bench casting its shadow away from the bridge, the sales of note-cards, haystacks, sunsets, a green dress, oils, completions among minnows and carp, a redbreast or two love dops. —Shelby Stephenson

Easter Baskets of the Old North State

By Serena Brown Photographs by John Gessner

ot long ago, we had a lively staff discussion about ancient Easter rituals, hoping to find a way to have a little fun and freshen up the holiday’s most unabashedly commercial tradition of the Easter basket. As we were fascinated to learn, the Easter basket celebration actually has spiritual roots in early medieval times when it was customary, with the coming of spring, to set out baskets typically used to carry bread and cheese and other staples of life, filled instead with early seedlings meant for the fertility goddess Eostre (or Ostara) — a move designed to increase the chance of a good grain harvest. According to pagan legend, the highly mobile fertility goddess bore her own basket filled of eggs and other goodies as she traveled o’er the world with the spring dawn, signifying new life, rebirth and nature’s renewal, a tradition adopted by the early Christian church to symbolize the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The idea of a mythical Easter hare that brings good things is also deeply rooted in German folklore. According to this tradition, a white hare would leave Easter baskets filled with candles, candies, brightly colored eggs and sweetbreads meant for children of all ages to enjoy on Easter morning. Perhaps encouraged by the success of their earlier invention, the Christmas tree, crafty 19th-century German settlers brought the Easter Bunny tradition with them to America — where it spread, well, rather like rabbits in romance, if you get our drift. Anyway, inspired by these traditions, we opened the floor of ideas, whereupon one nostalgic staffer suddenly lamented, “Why can’t EVERYONE receive a basket filled with candy and grown-up goodies on Easter Morning? Nobody is too old for a personal Easter basket!” Truthfully, we couldn’t disagree — which opened up a whole new lively discussion on what sort of goodies each of us would like in our own custom-made Easter basket, which in turn led us to wonder what the Easter baskets of notable North Carolinians — sadly gone but still with us in name and spirit — would wish for in THEIR baskets. See what happens when grown-ups get into the candy eggs? Even so, we think the Great White Traveling Hare and the Goddess Eostre would both approve.

Blackbeard

Our most famous pirate surely wants an East Carolina shirt. The bunny knows he roots for the Pirates. He also knows that a man in the pirating business needs a lot of firepower, so two cannons should be very useful. A new gold earring and a pair of skull and crossbones socks will keep him up to his high sartorial standards, helped along by a disposable lighter for firing up the matches under his hat. There are provisions for his ship — beef jerky will make a welcome change from salt horse. Limes of course, to keep the scurvy away. Rope for swinging up onto captured decks. But ultimately what any pirate worth his salt wants is booty, so there’s gold galore and pieces of eight. And a yo ho ho and a bottle of (Octopus) rum. (Thank you to Honeycutt Jewelers for the gold earring, and Paul Harkness Jewelry Design for the bracelet, necklace and chain)

March 2016P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Dolley Madison

Flowers for the first First Lady, a daughter of Guilford County. Yellow begonias are cheery for spring. The bunny has loaded Mrs. Madison’s basket with treats and necessities for the consummate hostess. The silver ladle is just the thing for serving a presidential punch. Nonpareils are the only candy worthy of the unparalleled Mrs. Madison. There’s a souvenir miniature of the portrait of Washington that she saved from fire at the White House. Mindful of Mrs. Madison’s elegant style, the bunny put in plenty of feathers for trimming hats and pelisses. There’s a little leather purse for pin money. And the bunny felt such a great lady should have something very special, so he chose for her a cameo in the fashion of her time. (Thank you to Hawkins and Hawkins for the cameo, and to Alicia Rosser for the feathers)

John Coltrane

Appropriately known as “Trane” to his friends, jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane hailed from the railway town of Hamlet right here in the Sandhills. He even released an album called Blue Train. We’ve given John a model train from the National Railroad Museum in Hamlet to remind him of home. Not blue, but it is the type of train he would have seen in town as a boy. It doubles as a pencil sharpener if he needs to make notes. Reeds are always useful, and, just in case Trane should travel home without an instrument, the bunny’s squeezed a saxophone and some sheet music into the basket, too. Some postcards depicting the railway’s landmarks in his birthplace and a mug from the very line that ran up and down the East Coast for late-night-session coffee are also in the basket. And some roses (complete with raindrops) and brown paper packages tied up with string for the man who recorded “My Favorite Things.” (Thank you to the National Railroad Museum and Hall of Fame, Hamlet, and Billy’s Music World, Aberdeen)

Charles Kuralt

Wilmington-born CBS news anchor Kuralt is perhaps most famous for his life On the Road. So there’s a United States map in his basket to try to keep him on the right track. The bunny added a cup from his alma mater, UNC, thinking it will be handy for the journey. There’s a Tar Heels hat as well to keep the sun out of his eyes. Always dapper, some new bow ties from Gentlemen’s Corner will be just the thing for broadcasting no matter where he may find himself. (Thank you to Gentlemen’s Corner for the bow ties, and The Country Bookshop)

March 2016P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Ava Gardner

What does a stratospheric film star from Smithfield do on Easter morning? Wait for the bunny to bring her essentials. Once heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arrived she can put on the music of her old flame Sinatra, don a pink turban for the occasion, light a cigarette, pour a glass of Champagne, and kick back with her own copy of Time magazine, all while draped in the finest South Sea, Akoya and Tahitian pearls and a fairytale Colombian emerald to match her eyes. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lipstick and compact in case Sinatra himself should drop by. And her basket? A silver Champagne bucket, of course. (Thank you to WhitLauter for the jewelry)

Andy Griffith

Most people will forever associate Andy Griffith with Mayberry, but the well-informed bunny knows that Griffith really lived in Manteo. So the bunny put some postcards in his basket. But he didn’t forget Mayberry — for old time’s sake he added a model of the sheriff’s car and some Andy Griffith Show trading cards. “Well now, take down your fishin’ pole and meet me at the fishin’ hole,” as Griffith’s song goes. He’ll be equipped with vintage lures and a spinning reel, and he has old-fashioned candy for snacking. If he feels like singin’ and playin’ while he’s fishin’, there’s an antique ukulele. His own Christmas ornament can nod and sing along. (Thank you to Leann Parker )

O.Henry

William Sydney Porter’s sense of humor is evident in his stories. So the bunny thought he would be tickled by an eponymous graphic novel. He would certainly be amused to find a hotel in his name gracing his hometown. What might at first glance look like a postcard is in fact an invitation to become the hotel’s writer in residence. He’ll need good notebooks and a pen — and some camellias for his room. For his darker side, there’s a basket-sized selection of booze and a bag of Cocktail Classics. Cheers. (Thank you to The Country Bookshop)

March 2016P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Virginia Dare

The bunny thinks the first European baby born in the New World is as daring as her name. She needs sunblock for her delicate English complexion in the harsh Outer Banks climate. There’s a pair of Bean boots in her basket for scrambling through difficult virgin terrain, and some binoculars, a survival guide and a local gardening book to help her hunt and grow the food she needs. There’s candy corn for planting as well as eating, and a silver cup for dipping into springs. When she puts her boots up in front of the campfire she can peruse a copy of Searching for Virginia Dare, perhaps puzzle out that existential problem herself while gazing at the stars through her binoculars. Last and certainly not least, there’s a knife for carving information of her whereabouts into trees. (Thank you to The Country Bookshop)

March 2016 P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

A Soldier’s Return How World War II’s “Architect of Victory” helped a Sandhills area soldier finally come home

By Bill Case

Letters and photograph this page from the George C. Marshall Foundation

hen in early March 1949, George C. Marshall looked over his daily mail at Lisombe Lodge, his and wife Katherine’s cozy Pinehurst bungalow, a rather audacious letter from an Air Force soldier drew the five-star general’s rapt attention. Sgt. Earlie J. Snow, a 32-year-old North Carolina native, had ventured far outside his chain of command by seeking the general’s help in securing a transfer (or alternatively discharge from the service) from far-away Okinawa back to Fort Bragg. Snow reported that prior to being transferred to Okinawa nine months before to serve as a vehicles mechanic, he had been stationed at Fort Bragg. There he lived with his wife, Emma, and two young sons, Jimmy (age 7) and Johnnie (age 4), “in a nice brick home.” But when Snow was ordered overseas, “they had to move.” With only a short time to find housing for his family, a dilapidated “shack” in the rural environs of Lee County was all Snow could find. Neither electricity nor telephone was available. The family had no access to transportation from this isolated location into Sanford, a distant seven miles away. The closest neighbor, Emma’s mother, resided two miles away. Without saying so directly, Sgt. Snow’s letter clearly implied he had been sandbagged when he made the choice to re-enlist. The Air Force recruiter had intimated that Snow would be permitted to serve this additional hitch at Fort Bragg with his family. Instead, he was shipped out. The sergeant had asked for hardship assistance from the Red Cross to bring him back to the States so that he could better provide for his distressed family. But action on Snow’s request had been processed far too slowly for the frustrated soldier’s liking. His letter to Marshall closed with this personal plea: “If you can and will, please help me for the sake of my family. My kids need me. I am a soldier of the last war . . . I served [with the field artillery] in Africa, Sicily, Italy, France, Germany, Austria.” When he opened Snow’s letter, Marshall was, for the first time in over a decade, not in a post where he was entrusted with enormous responsibility. As Army chief of staff for Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, Gen. Marshall essentially acted as global commander in charge of raising, deploying and providing for America’s armed forces throughout the numerous military theaters of World War II. Winston Churchill lauded him as the war’s “Architect of Victory.” President Truman referred to Marshall as “the outstanding man of World War II.” PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 2016

March 2016P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Once the Axis powers were vanquished, Truman selected Gen. Marshall to broker a political settlement between Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist Chinese government and Communist leader Mao Tse-tung. It is doubtful that any statesman could have bridged the gap between those two implacable foes, and Marshall’s exhaustive efforts in China to mediate an acceptable and peaceful compromise ultimately proved unsuccessful. Even before his return to the States in January 1947, the Senate had confirmed the president’s appointment of Marshall as secretary of state. One of the general’s first concerns was how to go about assisting war-torn Europe’s economic recovery. His speech at Harvard University outlined what became the “Marshall Plan.” Marshall’s tireless advocacy of this eponymously named relief effort led to Congress’s appropriation of the necessary funding. Most political observers believe that the resulting recovery did much to

save the European nations from the clutches of Communism. The general also managed intractable Cold War issues with the Soviets, such as the Berlin Airlift, during his tenure in the State Department. On January 3, 1949, at age 68, laid low by an operation to remove an inflamed kidney, Marshall finally tendered his resignation as secretary of state, effective January 20 — the date of President Truman’s swearingin for a new term. Given the Herculean tasks performed by Marshall during the tumultuous decade prior to his supposed retirement, it is little wonder that he remarked, “In all my posts since 1938, I never seem to have [had] a day of restful existence.” But now, Marshall finally had an opportunity to catch up on long-deferred rest. He was also feeling better after his lengthy recuperation from surgery. Snow did not know it, but this was precisely the right moment for him

Photograph from the Tufts Archives

George C. and Katherine Marshall at their home in Pinehurst

Earlie J. Snow, 1948

Sanford Herald 78

to make this appeal to Marshall. For once, the general had the requisite energy and time to address this humble soldier’s request. While the general’s demeanor was formal, bordering on remote at times, there was no doubting his heartfelt loyalty to fellow servicemen. In Marshall’s response to Snow, he wrote, “ . . . where I can, I want to help any old soldiers of the war years or of my former service.” Thus the general resolved to see what he could do for Snow. George Marshall was a thorough man who made every effort to verify all relevant facts before deciding on a course of action. On the drizzly Thursday morning of March 10, 1949, Marshall, with wife Katherine in tow, drove 40 miles from the cottage at 75 Linden Road into the rural outreaches of Lee County to ascertain the Snow family’s living conditions. Emma Snow had received word from her husband that the general could be paying her a visit. But she privately scoffed saying to herself, “Oh, that’s just another nice story.” One can imagine the young country girl’s shock to find America’s greatest citizen-soldier at her doorstep crisply attired in a dark double-breasted business suit. Mrs. Marshall was also clothed in Sunday best dress with matching scarf. There is no reason to believe that the Marshalls exhibited anything but a kind and concerned manner toward Emma Snow. But the couple’s imposing presence would naturally have been intimidating. Once inside the home, Marshall took careful note of the surroundings. He found that the floors and window fittings left openings to the wind and the rain. He recorded that “[t]he roof leaks, the tiny bedroom for the three is like a cell with a dangerously weak floor.” Marshall further observed that the “wife has to walk about six miles (over and back) to buy anything, food or other necessities. The doctor is seven miles away. The means of access to the shack is a narrow, rather tortuous dirt road with no neigh[bor] nearer than two miles.” The general’s inspection also noted that, “[t]he mother of the wife lives close by and seems an energetic woman. They jointly work a garden, and are trying to get started with chickens to give them sufficient eggs for the two families and some to eat. The father [of Emma] is an invalid and cannot talk.” After concluding their visit with Emma and the two boys, the Marshalls ventured into Sanford for lunch at the Wilrik Restaurant. By chance, Sanford Herald photographer Luman Moore was nearby. Moore’s heart most assuredly skipped a beat when he discovered that the 20th century’s “George Washington” was in town. Photographing the general was a far more exciting prospect than the usual fare of taking pictures at church suppers and 4-H Club meetings. The Marshalls graciously allowed Moore to snap a picture, which appeared the next day in the Herald. Gen. Marshall, who eschewed publicity and bringing attention to himself throughout his storied career, mentioned he did “not usually mind autographing or photographing so long as we are allowed to eat and move about without embarrassing attention. I realize that there is a compliment, and evidence of friendly interest involved. It is being made conspicuous that is disagreeable, or rather, embarrassing.” After lunch, the Marshalls visited Sanford’s American Red Cross office to determine the status of Snow’s file. Marshall also submitted to the local agent his own report of what he had observed at the Snow residence. Gen. Marshall completed his review by meeting with Dr. Blue, the Snow family physician. George C. Marshall was satisfied that Sgt. Snow’s predicament merited his assistance. The day following his visit, he personally typed a letter to Adj. Gen. Edward J. Witsell. It stated that, given Snow’s combat service, Marshall “felt duty bound to take an interest in his case.” In addition to providing a detailed account of his personal inspection, the general recommended that Snow “either be given a discharge or transferred back to Fort Bragg.” He reasoned that if Snow returned to that

March 2016P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

base, “he could fix things up and do for his family.” Marshall also dutifully sent off a letter to Sgt. Snow. The general related his actions, including his letter to Witsell, but advised that there “may be military considerations with which I am not familiar so I cannot predict what the decision will be.” Despite his assistance to Snow, the general was not pleased with what he regarded as Snow’s unjustified and “gratuitous criticism” of the local Red Cross’s agents contained in the soldier’s missives. “You owe them an apology, considering the efforts they made to help you,” he admonished. Witsell’s response to Marshall was posted five days later, on March 16. It contained good news for Sgt. Snow and family. Sgt. Snow would be reassigned to the 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, Pope Air Force Base, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Witsell’s directive further indicated that if Sgt. Snow preferred discharge, the Air Force would “take necessary action to effect his separation from the service.” One gets the impression that higher-ups in the Air Force’s chain of command were not thrilled with Marshall’s advocacy. When asked by an inquiring reporter whether Gen. Marshall had been involved, an Air Force officer curtly responded, “Draw your own conclusions!” Mindful of an ideal P.R. opportunity, Red Cross workers Sam Ingram and Mrs. D.M. Gurley accompanied a Herald reporter out to Emma’s meager shack to relay the message. When Mrs. Ingram told Emma that the Air Force was granting her husband’s request, she nearly fainted, but recovered sufficiently to exclaim, “I’ve never been as happy in all my life. Earlie’s coming home!” Later that afternoon, the Herald reporter visited the property for a followup interview with Emma. According to the article in the Herald, the reporter “found her walking with the two children near Lake Williams, which is not far from the home. She recalled how she had walked there by reason of her loneliness every day during past months, and said that [after hearing the good news] she had gone there Tuesday to calm her nerves.” After hearing of his reassignment, Snow corresponded with Gen. Marshall, thanking him profusely. The sergeant acknowledged that he owed the Red Cross an apology. He also informed Marshall that “I have saved money enough to rebuild my home, that my family can live halfway decent.” The wire services picked up the Herald’s reportage. Stories of Marshall’s beneficence were promptly published in newspapers nationally, including The New York Times and Chicago Daily Tribune. Snow elected to continue his military career at Fort Bragg. Not long after being posted there, he moved his family to Fayetteville closer to the base. I could not help but wonder what became of Sgt. Snow and his family. I was stumped for a while, but Jason Howk, who recently founded the Marshall Service Institute right here in the Sandhills, made a startling online discovery. Unfortunately, there was no happy ending for the Snows. Instead, dreadful tragedy befell the entire family four years later. Two years after Snow returned to Fort Bragg, the Air Force reassigned Earlie Snow to Elmendorf Air Force base in Anchorage, Alaska. This time, he brought Emma and the two boys with him. During the evening of April 2, 1953, Earlie and Emma were riding as passengers in an automobile with two other servicemen. The soldier behind the wheel apparently was driving at an excessive rate of speed. As a result, the car flew over a bridge and down an embankment. Emma and the two other soldiers died in the crash. Earlie survived but his leg was crushed. After the accident, Snow returned to Fayetteville, North Carolina. He was in and out of VA hospitals and on crutches for years. His rehabilitation caused extended periods when he was unable to care for the boys. They stayed with various family members and foster homes as their father sought to regain his health. Finally, he recovered enough that he was able to work

as a janitor and then a dispatcher for a cab company located at Fort Bragg. He ultimately remarried Joyce, a young woman of 19. Joyce gave birth to daughter Delia (named after Earlie’s mother) in 1956. But calamity struck again in 1974, when Joyce died at age 39. Assisted by daughter Delia, Snow continued to live in a small home in Fayetteville, which he had fixed up. But he suffered a stroke, followed by dementia in the late ’80s. He died in 1992. While his entire life was beset with various hardships, Earlie J. Snow did leave a fine legacy with his fourteen years of military service, including three in combat. And that legacy did not end with him. Sons Jimmy and Johnnie both served with the famed 82nd Airborne Division in Korea, and afterward were employed as pressmen with the local newspaper in Winston-Salem. Johnnie’s sons Christopher and Michael both served in the Army. Christopher flew helicopters in the Iraq War. Michael was one of the MPs who hunted down Manuel Noriega when the deposed dictator was a wanted man in Panama. Coincidentally, both Christopher and Michael were stationed in Anchorage, Alaska, at Fort Richardson — adjacent to Fort Elmendorf, where their grandfather was stationed when the fateful 1953 accident occurred. Christopher’s son was born at the Fort Elmendorf base hospital. But no American can match Gen. Marshall’s record of leadership and service to this country as warrior, statesman and peacemaker. His 1949 retirement proved brief. In the fall of ’49, President Truman appointed the general to the civilian post of presidency of the American Red Cross. Perhaps his experience dealing with that entity in the Snow matter whetted his appetite for the job. He promised Katherine it would be his “last public effort.” But Marshall could never resist a call for service from his commander in chief. President Truman subsequently appointed him secretary of defense in September 1950. Marshall served in that position until September 1951. This was a stormy tenure in which he supervised the Korean War and dealt with the controversial firing of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. After he left the Defense Department and until his death on October 16, 1959, George and Katherine Marshall spent considerable time in Pinehurst. Marshall did not play much golf, though he was an honorary member of the Tin Whistles. He did enjoy attending the annual North and South tournaments. An avid equestrian, the general relished riding his horse around the courses. Pinehurst resident John Strickland, whose grandparents lived across the street from the Marshalls, recalls that the general was always “very approachable.” Those failing to recognize him never guessed from the unassuming demeanor of the gentleman that they were casting eyes on one of the greatest men of the 20th century. But even locals who were unaware of his achievements could sense that this was a man of high character. Indeed, many who knew Gen. Marshall well say that the quality of his peerless character was his greatest attribute of all. He told the truth and was unafraid to do so regardless of personal consequences. House Speaker Sam Rayburn remarked that “[w]hen Gen. Marshall takes the witness stand to testify . . . we know we are in the presence of a man who is telling the truth about the problem he is discussing.” By the same token, he strived, even when it was inconvenient, to do what was right and to fight injustices — particularly those sustained by soldiers of far lesser rank like Earlie J. Snow. While George C. Marshall’s assistance to Snow and his family constitutes a minor event in a long life of service, it nonetheless shines a revealing and favorable light on the quality of this incomparable man. PS For more information concerning the Marshall Service Institute’s efforts to promote citizenship in the Sandhills, go to marshallserviceinstitute.wordpress.com Bill Case’s last piece for PineStraw concerned the largely unknown campaign to save the harness track.

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March 2016P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Tender Loving

Teas “T A new leaf and an age-old tradition inside the darling brick cottage on Ashe.

photograph by John Gessner

By Serena Brown

ea Tender” reads the business card of Stephanie Sims, co-founder, with her aunt Susan McKibben, of the Communite tea shop and line of organic herbs and teas. It’s an appropriate title. Smiling, soft-spoken, Sims presides over her tea room with a quiet modesty that belies her depth of knowledge of things tea-related. “Tea room” seems somehow too formal for the zen little space that you find at the back of the red brick cottage on Ashe Street. There’s a steady stream of visitors, and plenty of convivial discourse and laughter. At the front of the house is a yoga studio and acupuncture practice. Follow the scent of lavender, chamomile and the rich, molassessy essence of a freshly opened jar of rooibos and find yourself in the salon. Part old-fashioned apothecary, part private library, jars of teas and herbs line the walls, giving on to an array of books on herbal treatments and Eastern medicine and scholarly works on alternative therapies. It’s cozy and peaceful. There’s a vintage rocker and a huge comfy armchair that invites curling up and sipping. From the window the view is a host of tall, swaying bamboo, which only enhances the place’s quiet atmosphere. In far Eastern mythology bamboo is prized for its resilience. It represents renewal. In Japan bamboo groves often surround Shinto temples because it is believed that the plants keep away evil spirits. Back here at the cottage on Ashe Street, steps lead down to an outdoor seating area, sheltered from the elements by the walls of the house and the towering, whispering bamboo. Those with an appreciation of historic architecture will enjoy the centuryold brick walls. Once an ubiquitous building material in this area, the red brick is now almost exclusively preserved here at the cottage. And this respect for tradition and for the ways of old is carried through into McKibben’s and Sims’ tea philosophy and their respect for the age-old

March 2016P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

photographs by John Gessner

understanding of the therapeutic properties of herbs drunk in an infusion. Sims explains the fundamentals: “All teas come from the same plant. It’s called a tea bush, camellia sinensis.” It turns out that oxidization is the key difference between the different types — the darker the tea, the longer the oxidization process. White, green, oolong, black teas: all the same leaf. The second most popular drink in the world after water, the health benefits of tea are well-documented. The leaves are rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. While true teas come from the tea plant, the healthgiving properties of herbal infusions are of equal importance. On this day, McKibben offers tea, of course. Mindful that I am there to listen, I choose Communitea’s relaxing herbal blend. As they talk, laughing and finishing each other’s sentences and setting off new trains of thought, Sims and McKibben have chosen cups and poured hot water over the relaxing blend, allowing it to steep. There’s a pleasing air of ceremony to the preparation. Sims studied art at Appalachian State. Before returning to Southern Pines, she worked at award-winning coffee shop The Sentient Bean in Savannah, Georgia. There she received a thorough grounding, if you’ll excuse the pun, in the art of the barista and in the care and preparation of tea. When she is not tending the leaves she can be found at her new studio, painting watercolors and making jewelry. “You’ve got herbs for everything,” says McKibben, who, along with her expertise in acupuncture and neuromuscular therapy, has spent years studying and practicing the curative properties of herbs. She points out the different herbs in their jars and runs through some of their qualities. “This tea that you’re getting ready to have, it has nervines in it that calm the nervous system, so we call it a relaxing tea.” Blending the herbs is a mystical art. There are overtones of the perfumer’s skill, some of the chef and of the chemist too. “Usually there’s an anchor,” McKibben explains. “Then there’s something that you might add for flavor, like a little bit of spearmint or a little bit of peppermint — some herbs taste terrible.” Sims continues, “Like for our migraine tea, the Jamaican dogwood is probably the most powerful ingredient in there. But it’s also the most not-good-tasting, so I put chamomile in, which has a really sweet taste and it’s also anti-inflammatory. I put clove in, which is a pain reliever, and ginger, which relieves nausea . . . so all those things make it taste a lot better.” The armchair is as comfortable as it looks. McKibben sets down a pretty bone china cup and saucer on the table and settles into the rocker. Wafting through the steam are the delicate scents of chamomile and lavender that you follow as you find your way to the tea room. The mellow flavors are set off by an edge of spearmint and red raspberry. As McKibben and Sims talk and pour, clients pop in and out. Some stay awhile and join in the conversation — Who knew you could use leftover nettle tea as a hair rinse? Others take a cup to go or pick up a bag of herbs or tea leaves.

“We encourage you to help yourself with our tea over there,” Sims gestures to a table where hot water and herbs stand ready. “And if you come in and there’s no one here, we want you to still be able to enjoy the tea.” “Stephanie’s typically here from about nine to one, but there’s always tea, and so if nobody’s [back] here you can just help yourself,” says McKibben. There’s a jar for payment. “It’s all on the honor system.” Sims adds, “You can hang out or take it to go.” How to choose from a world’s worth of teas and herbs? “Tea’s kind of like wine,” smiles McKibben. “You’ve got your tea snobs, big time. All of our teas are organic fair trade, some from India, some from China, some from Japan. I’m picky about the teas I bring in.” “Typically [I’ll choose] something that’s a moderate price, that’s not outrageous, but I’ll have a few that are, like this white tea —” here McKibben picks up a jar of tea leaves, long leaves barely furled, a world away from the dust of commercial teabags. “And if it’s not organic and fair trade and I cannot get it organic and fair trade, then I’ll automatically cross it out.” She muses on the leaves for a moment. “Actually, white tea has more antioxidants than green tea, and yet we’re all on this green tea kick . . . so this is the finest white tea, and this,” here she holds up a jar of smaller leaves, “is a more widely consumed white tea.” McKibben specializes in a practice known as Battlefield Acupuncture, developed for the treatment of pain, P.T.S.D. and other combat-related ailments. She hopes that in the near future Communitea will support a veterans’ acupuncture clinic at the cottage, allowing veterans for whom cost might be a prohibitive to seek treatment free of charge. In the meantime, aunt and niece are busy at their work in the tranquil room at the red cottage. Communitea teas are also served at Beautopia, “So we’re branching out a little bit,” says McKibben. “We just kind of slowly evolved and got our herbs set up and —” Here Sims picks up the thread: “It’s still evolving,” she says. “We have tea accessories for sale,” pointing out a shelf alongside the books, carefully arranged with delicate tea paraphernalia. “It’s still evolving,” affirms McKibben. “And Stephanie’s got all these different blends now.” At this point a client joins in and the talk ranges over the blends, from the teas for upset stomachs and for anxieties to McKibben’s sleep tea. As we talk Sims pulls down more herbs. We all breathe deeply the delicious aroma of vanilla. The many virtues of rosehips are extolled. Sims recommends them in salads. And of course for teas too, not only for their health benefits. “Sometimes,” she says with a smile, “we like to make teas and herbal blends that just taste good.” PS Serena Brown is a senior editor with PineStraw Magazine.

Story of a house

Leap of Faith Sacred Heart Rectory Monastic No More

By Deborah Salomon • Photographs by John Gessner

epurposing was all the rage in the 1980s, when tobacco warehouses became condos, textile mills became boutique malls, schools became office buildings, barns became vacation hideaways, gas stations turned into cafes and, in Asheville, a downtown department store reopened as a luxury hotel. Churches followed: No better place to find stained glass windows, cathedral ceilings and a pulpit on which to site a glamour kitchen. This idea suggested by the long-empty Sacred Heart Catholic Church intrigued Mark Edwards, a retired attorney/consultant and Pinehurst resident since 2008, who first lived on #6, then remodeled a home on Lake Pinehurst. “Too many unknowns,” Mark decided. Besides, why tackle a potential money pit when next door stood the restored, remodeled, enlarged and vacant rectory – a residence of taste and distinction, also for sale? True, this rectory, from its inception, exceeded a priest’s modest residence. In 1926, the Sandhills

March 2016P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Citizen announced “Mr. McPherson is building the rectory for Sacred Heart Church in Pinehurst, a fine structure of Kingsport brick, to contain 21 rooms.” Cost: a princely $40,000. Another publication described it as “… kind of a clergy hotel to accommodate at least 10 priests from all over the country.” Likely some were golfers. Today, its emoji might be a smiley face in Roman collar. This also explains the large public rooms on the main floor—perhaps used for classes, meetings and social gatherings -- small bedchambers upstairs which, now reconfigured, form master and guest suites. Marble floors and an 11 ft. ceiling in the sunken great room, dark wood accents, windows set deep into the brick-masonry walls, stone fireplaces appear both masculine and churchly, medieval and Arts & Crafts, costly but durable. Mark knew right away that this resurrected rectory suited their needs, their antiques, their pastimes and lifestyle. Like, if you’ve got a proper wine cellar and tasting room let’s have a wine-tasting party – which was a roaring success. Not so fast. Mark’s wife Mary Edwards retains a high profile job in Washington, which requires worldwide travel. “I liked it on the lake,” she protested. Mary’s agreement hinged on conditions, including creation of outdoor living space and removal of a divider between hall and dining room, which obstructed the view and flow. With terms negotiated, Mary and Mark moved in June next door to Sacred Heart, which had by now also become a residence.

istorical homes are Mark’s penchant. Besides, he is the full-time househusband while Mary flies in on weekends. This penchant developed growing up in centennial houses from upstate New York to Missouri. “I’m drawn to their character and history.” Mark’s travels connected artifacts to events, as the chalices he brought back from the London Silver Vaults – underground shops in the actual vaults where silver was secured during World War II. The rectory’s religiosity appealed on a different level: “It was a draw, not a deterrent. I’m Catholic, not devout, but it’s important to me.”

As are relics like the Rules of Residence for Priest Guests of Sacred Heart Parish, which hang, framed, in the foyer, and include: You are welcomed as Christ. You are invited to all formal meals. You have use of the refrigerator and kitchen…please wash all dishes, pans, other utensils. Please report to the office any long distance calls charged to the parish phone. You may request the housekeeper to launder your clothes. Abuses complete the list: Soliciting or accepting Mass stipends from parishioners. Arranging to be a personal chaplain. Encouraging parishioners to solicit Mass stipends for your personal use. Offering your priestly services without clearing with the Pastor. Appropriately, opposite the rules stands a handsome carved pew, more for convenience than contemplation. The main floor, with additions, stretches left and right seemingly forever, beginning with a laundry/doggie room opening onto a new garage. At the other end, a sun room with brick floor and a man cave dominated by Mark’s 900inch TV and tufted leather sofas. In between, the formal living room contrasting dark woods of the built-in bookcases with predominantly vanilla and pastel green upholstery and Oriental rugs (most from local distributor Capel). Over the fireplace hang two unusual curved wall sconces brought back from England, although the primary source of daylight is a wall of French doors opening onto the veranda just wide enough for rocking chairs. Antique furnishings throughout are well-chosen but sparse, which contributes to the serenity; recessed spotlights rather than chandeliers illuminate each piece to best advantage, especially the dining room table composed of inlaid woods made by White Furniture of Mebane, founded in 1881. Before the Edwards’ acquisition, this table stood in The Dakota Apartments overlooking Manhattan’s Central Park, home to John Lennon, Judy Garland, Joe Namath and other notables. The kitchen, perhaps because of its visibility, is an exercise in restraint with oak cabinetry stained a burnished maple hue, a modest island/breakfast bar, the obligatory paneled Sub-Zero and Wolf range set apart by a backsplash of encaustic Minton tiles, circa 1880, similar to Mintons installed in the U.S. Capitol in 1856. By far, the Edwards’ favorite is the Great Room, with exposed beams across an 11-ft. ceiling, brick trim, a corner fireplace and wall niches intended for books or, perhaps, statuary. Here, Mark chose to place a painting of the Virgin, from Russia. Vacationing priests socialized and took meals in this sunny day room. Here, also, is the Edwards’ most

March 2016P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

prized memento: a round table top of colored stone inlaid with jigsaw precision forming floral patterns, set on a massive base. They found the craftsman in Agra, India, near the Taj Mahal. Mark and Mary eat at this table facing the garden, opposite the bar which holds his collection of vintage whiskey, mostly from Scotland plus a bottle distilled in Pennsylvania dated 1911, valued at $700. Most furnishings came from previous homes, except for oversize, boxy 1950s velvet-upholstered chairs, somehow perfect in this setting. But a great room without a TV? “We decided it’s just too beautiful,” Mark says.

stained glass panel from the original door and an archway over the staircase complete the ecclesiastical remnants. Beyond the arch, walls have been moved to accommodate a study and bedrooms for guestsor the Edwards’ adult children. The master suite entrance, however, offers a bit of drama; French doors swing open to reveal an odd cabinet that has been in Mark’s family for 100 years. Provenance notwithstanding, the piece appears part Scandinavian-modern, part Shaker, all back-tothe-future. Another mystery: the renovator installed a spa-sized master bathroom but no dressing room.

March 2016P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

hroughout, choice of art is both random and personal – from Pinehurst longleafs painted in 1907 discovered on eBay to a series of early 20th century photographs of the scrubby nascent village – also gilt-framed Italianate oil landscapes, a brother’s painting and pages from the first Bible printed in the U.S. Golf is a prominent motif, since golf introduced them to the Sandhills. “I started playing as a way to hang out with my son, when he was 12,” Mark says. “He got very good and I stayed in the 90s.” Yet the end result was a resounding birdie. Mary, who grew up with six siblings in a three-bedroom house with one bathroom, now has six bathrooms and five bedrooms, often filled with guests. Mark gained not only a touchstone for his faith, but a gallery for his treasures. Both enjoy walking into the village with their hound Scout – the quintessential quasi-retired power couple who come, stay and enrich Moore County. Finally, living beside the church makes them part of what Mark calls the regentrification of a Pinehurst fringe: “People who live on this block realize how integral it once was (to the village). It had been neglected for a while but I’m glad to see it come alive again.” PS PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 2016

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March 2016P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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March 2016P�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

By Rosetta Fawley

Peanut Gallery

March is National Peanut Month. The nut part is something of a misnomer. Peanuts are in fact legumes, edible seeds that grow in pods — the same family as beans and, of course, peas. They originated in South America, from where they traveled with trade over the whole world. North Carolina is writ large in their North American history. Rumor has it there is a record of a Royal Society paper that originated with a Dr. Brownrigg in Edenton, who was experimenting with peanut oil extraction in 1769. Peanuts provided food supplies for African-American slaves being transported over the Atlantic, and in turn AfricanAmerican cooks incorporated the peanut into Southern cuisine. Commercial farming of peanuts flourished in North Carolina during the nineteenth century, as exemplified at plantations such as Poplar Grove in Wilmington, from where peanuts were shipped all over the world. What is more delicious than fresh peanut butter from homegrown peanuts? The Almanac challenges anyone to return to store-bought after experiencing such a thing. And as we now know, peanuts thrive here, so why not plant some in this year’s garden? The Virginia variety is best suited to North Carolina. It needs 130—150 days of sun, so if you’re impatient to start this month, begin your seeds indoors in case of late frost. They prefer a sandy, well-drained soil, and they fix their own nitrogen, so you won’t need much fertilizer; just dig a little compost into the soil before you plant them out. Be patient. In time small yellow flowers will appear close to ground level; they will drop pegs down to the soil, and there the pods will grow underground. Amazing. Check your seed packet for the appropriate harvesting time. When you have dug them up, leave the plants to dry in the sun for a week. Then start podding. You’ll have had about four months to decide how to cook your peanuts. Or you can just eat them from the pod. Yum.

Equal Family Time

In North Carolina the spring or vernal equinox falls on March 20. This is the point at which the sun is positioned vertically over the Equator, resulting in days and nights of equal length all over the world. In Japan the equinox is called Shunbun no Hi and is a national holiday. The day is a celebration of nature and all living things. Traditionally, family ancestors were also celebrated at the time of the equinox, and so the holiday is often a time of family reunions. March 20 is a Sunday; let’s take a leaf from the Japanese book and make it a day of family garden time.

“‘In THAT direction,’ the Cat said, waving its right paw round, ‘lives a Hatter: and in THAT direction,’ waving the other paw, ‘lives a March Hare. Visit either you like: they’re both mad.’ ‘But I don’t want to go among mad people,’ Alice remarked. ‘Oh, you can’t help that,’ said the Cat: ‘we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.’ ‘How do you know I’m mad?’ said Alice. ‘You must be,’ said the Cat, ‘or you wouldn’t have come here.’” From Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll

Good Dogwood

Does anything suggest spring more than the flowering of a dogwood? Cornus florida, the tree that bears our state flower, is a treasure. Not only is it gorgeous year-round, but also those sumptuous fall berries help sustain the birds through the colder months. Early spring is the ideal time to plant bare rooted or burlapped dogwoods in moist, loamy soil. Keep in mind that growing wild in the woods they are an under story tree, meaning they grow in the shade of larger trees — they can make it in full sun but will require more TLC and regular watering to prevent heat stress. Remember too that the dogwood’s roots are very shallow and wide-ranging; they appreciate a thin layer of mulch spread from about three inches from the trunk to the edge of the drip zone. Try to avoid competition from grass and other plants in the root area. According to Appalachian popular legend, Jesus’s cross was fashioned from dogwood. The tree was so anguished by its purpose that Jesus comforted it by promising that never again would dogwoods grow large enough to be used with such cruelty. And sure enough, now the dogwood is a slight, elegant little tree. If yours doesn’t grow very tall, it’s blessed. PS

Arts Entertainment C a l e n da r

Tai Chi for Health

Live Music at the Cameo

Tuesday, March 1

Tuesday, March 1–31

ART CLASS. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. “Point of View Design — Soft Pastel,” taught by Betty Hendrix. Learn to select an image to work from (subject of your choice) and then create the design plan for making the strongest statement. Intermediate. Cost: $40/$45/$50. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979.

EIGHTH ANNUAL Peeps DIORAMA CONTEST. The Friends of the Library invite participants to submit a diorama depicting their favorite book with Peeps as the main characters. Digital videos also accepted. Judging April 1st. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or sppl.net.

NATURE TALES. 10 – 10:45 a.m. (ages 2 through 4), and 11 – 11:45 a.m. (ages 5 and 6). “Wiggly Worms.” Preschool storytime and nature time. No cost for program, but please pre-register two business days in advance. (Admission to garden not included in program.) Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Fayetteville. Info and registration: (910) 486-0221 (ext 20) or capefearbg.org. TAI CHI FOR HEALTH. 10 – 11:30 a.m. Practice this flowing Eastern exercise with instructor Rich Martin at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden. Single class: $15/member; $17/non-member. Monthly rates available. No refunds or transfers. Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Fayetteville. Info and registration: (910) 486-0221.

Wednesday, March 2 READ ACROSS AMERICA DAY. All day. The library will celebrate with a Dr. Seuss photo booth, interactive stations, and more! Stop in to participate in the festivities and enjoy a Dr. Seuss-themed storytime at 3:30 p.m. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235. ART CLASS. 10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. “Pen and Ink with Watercolor,” taught by Sandy Scott. Learn the simple, basic lines that give your pen and ink sketch form and shading, and how to use watercolor for the final touches. Beginner/Intermediate. Cost: $32/$36/$40. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979.

Winter Bird Walk

MEET THE AUTHOR. 5 p.m. Historian and author Katy Simpson Smith returns to discuss her latest novel Free Men, a story set in the late 1700s about an escaped slave, a troubled white man, an exiled Creek Indian who commits murder, and the French tracker who follows them. The Country Bookshop, 140 NW Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3211.

Thursday, March 3 LIVE MUSIC AT THE CAMEO. 8 p.m. (doors open at 7:30 p.m.) Richard Smith performs. Cost: $10 in advance, $15 at the door. The Cameo Theater, 225 Hay St., Fayetteville. Info: (910) 4866633, (910) 944-7502, or theroosterswife.org. BEGINNERS DANCE CLASS. 6:30 p.m. Come try the rumba, a slow romantic Latin dance, and have some fun with the swing! No pre-registration necessary. Cost: $10 cash. Pinehurst Dance Studio, Pinehurst Executive Center, 300 N.C. 5, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 331-9965. SHAG DANCE LESSONS. 6 – 7 p.m. Four sessions for beginners (every Thursday in March). Instructors Nanci Donald and Bud Hunter. No partner required. Please bring shoes with smooth

March 2016 P��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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22nd Annual Pine Needles Men’s Invitational

10-12

soles. Cost: $30/resident; $60/non-resident. Pinehurst Parks & Rec, Recreation Room, 300 Kelly Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-1900 or pinehurstrec.org.

Friday, March 4 NATURE EVENT. 10 – 10:45 a.m. “The Ants Go Marching (for wee ones!)” Learn about these incredible insects as we read a book, play some games, and make a craft. For 3-to 5 year-olds, with parents participating. Program includes some time outside if possible. Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167.

Celebrate the Luck of the Irish

LIVE MUSIC AT THE ROOSTER’S WIFE. 6:46 p.m. (Doors open 6:16 p.m.) Richard Smith performs. Cost: $10 in advance, $15 at the door. The Poplar Knight Spot, 114 Knight St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-7502 or theroosterswife.org.

melodies by Mozart, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini, Fauré, Rachmaninoff, Strauss and Grieg. Cost: $11 – $60. Owens Auditorium, Sandhills Community College, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 687-0287 or carolinaphil.org.

FRIENDS OF WEYMOUTH. 4 p.m. Annual Meeting. Weymouth Center for Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: Hope Price at (910) 692-6261 or weymouthcenter.org.

Saturday, March 5

CAROLINA PHILHARMONIC RECITAL. 7 – 9 p.m. “Behind the Music: Soprano Young Mee Jun and Pianist David Michael Wolff.” An exploration of the songs, stories and meaning behind timeless

PUCCINI’S MANON LESCAUT SATURDAY, MARCH 5TH 1PM SPARTACUS SUNDAY, MARCH 13TH 1PM

Bolshoi Meets Spartacus

NATURE EVENT. 8 a.m. Winter bird walk with Susan Campbell. Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167. DR. SEUSS DAY. 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. Come celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday with a cake and stories. Sign your child up for a library card, Free for everyone! The Given Memorial Library & Tufts

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Archive, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-6022. NC GLASSFEST 2016. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. The premier sale of North Carolina handmade, functional, and culinary glassware in many shapes, sizes, and colors. See hot glass demonstrations from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m. STARworks Glass Studio, STARworks Center for Creative Enterprise, 100 Russell Drive, Star. Info: (910) 428-9001 or STARworksnc.org. NATURE TALES. 10 – 10:45 a.m. (ages 2 through 4), and 11 – 11:45 a.m. (ages 5 and 6). “Wiggly Worms.” Preschool storytime and nature time. No cost for program, but please pre-register two business days in advance. (Admission to garden not included in program.) Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Fayetteville. Info and registration: (910) 486-0221 (ext 20) or capefearbg.org.

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MEET THE ARTIST AT WORK. 12 – 3 p.m. Visit with artist Jane Casnellie and learn about her techniques and background in art. Hollyhocks Art Gallery, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 255-0665 or hollyhocksartgallerycom. PINE NEEDLE BASKET WORKSHOP. 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. This introductory workshop teaches the basics of working with pine needles. Appropriate for ages 13 and up. All supplies are provided; space is limited. Cost: $20. Town Creek Indian Mound, 509 Town Creek Mound Road, Mount Gilead. Info and registration: (910) 439-6802 or towncreek@ncdcr.gov.

turpentine industry, the products produced from pine resin, and the origin of our state’s nickname, The Tarheel State. Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167. EXPLORATIONS SERIES FOR ADULTS. 3 – 4 p.m. Award-winning, internationally collected artist Dr. Donald A. Parks will show some of his work and discuss how art is imagination expressed through the senses. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or sppl.net. LIVE MUSIC AT THE ROOSTER’S WIFE. 6:46 p.m. (Doors open at 6 p.m.) The Fretless and Stray Local perform. Cost: $10 in advance; $15 at the door. The Poplar Knight Spot, 114 Knight St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-7502 or theroosterswife.org.

Monday, March 7—9 ART WORKSHOP. 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. “Learn How to Loosen Up — Get Painterly,” taught by Patti Mollica, artist and instructor of fine art in both oil and acrylic. In this workshop, Mollica emphasizes planning compositions, brushwork, and choice of colors. Register early to secure a spot. Cost: $340/ full members; associate members/ $382; non-members/$425. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979.

Tuesday, March 8

NATURE EVENT. 1 – 4 p.m. “Invasive Removal Day.” Celebrate North Carolina’s first State Parks Week by helping Weymouth Woods cut back, weed out and remove invasive plants and learning to identify them elsewhere. Afterward celebrate 100 S’more Years of NC State Parks with roasted marshmallows and s’mores. Info and sign-up: (910) 692-2167 or email lindsey.purvis@ncparks.gov. Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167.

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF MOORE COUNTY LUNCHEON. 11:30 a.m. “Eighth Annual Lunch with Legends.” The program includes portrayals of nature writer Rachel Carson and educator Mary McLeod Bethune, by Mindy Fineman of Seven Lakes and Carol Henry of Jackson Hamlet, respectively. Master of ceremonies Jo Nicholas of Seven Lakes narrates. The public is welcome to attend, but reservations are required. Cost: $35 for lunch and program. Pinehurst Resort & Country Club, 80 Carolina Vista Drive, Pinehurst. Info and reservations: Carol Wurster at (910) 673-2330 or carolee@embarqmail.com.

MET OPERA HD LIVE. 1 p.m. Puccini’s Manon Lescaut (English subtitles), the story of a young woman in the 18th century who is seduced by a life of opulence and luxury, performed by the Metropolitan Opera. Cost: $27. Sunrise Theater, 250 NW Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8501 or sunrisetheater.com.

NATURE EVENT. 5 p.m. “WeWo Nature Book Club.” (Also 9 a.m., March 28) A Walk In The Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, by Bill Bryson, tells the story of a writer’s attempt to hike the trail with his old college friend. Weymouth Woods Visitor Center, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167.

Saturday, March 5 and 6

Wednesday, March 9

70TH ANNUAL CAMELLIA SHOW. Enjoy hundreds of magnificent camellias, the Children’s Camellia Art Gallery, and an ikebana (Japanese art of flower arrangement) display; and learn about camellias, the history of tea, and how it’s made from Camellia sinensis. Free admission. Ramada Plaza, Bourdeaux Convention Center, 1707-A Owen Drive, Fayetteville. Info: fayettevillecamelliaclub.org. (Visit website for info on entering your own blooms.)

EVENING YOGA IN THE GARDEN. 6 – 7 p.m. A peaceful yoga session for all levels in the beautiful Orangery to improve your flexibility, build strength, ease tension and relax through postures and breathing techniques. Bring a yoga mat (limited mats to borrow) and water bottle. Cost: Free to CFBG and YMCA members; $5/non-members. Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Fayetteville. Info and registration (required one day prior): (910) 486-0221 (ex. 36) or at the Garden.

Sunday, March 6 NATURE EVENT. 3 p.m. “Tarheels & Turpentine.” Learn about the history of the

March 2016i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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BALLROOM FOR BEGINNERS. 6:30 p.m. The Carolina Pines Chapter of USA Dance invites you to learn some new moves for your slow dancing and the exciting cha cha! $10 per person. Class held at Pinehurst Dance Studio, Pinehurst Executive Center, 5 Dawn Road, at N.C. 5 and Blake Blvd., Pinehurst. Info: (910) 331-9965.

Thursday, March 10 GARDEN WORKSHOP. 2 – 4 p.m. “Gardening with Wildlife.” Learn how to enhance your garden with native plants, water features and manmade habitats to attract birds, butterflies, and other wildlife. Free with admission or Garden Membership. Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Fayetteville. Info and registration (required two days prior): (910) 486-0221 (ext 20) or capefearbg.org.

Thursday, March 10—12 22ND ANNUAL PINE NEEDLES MEN’S INVITATIONAL. Played on Pine Needles and Mid Pines, this 54-hole, two-man team event attracts some of the best amateur players. Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, 1005 Midland Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8611 or pineneedles-midpines.com.

GATHERING AT GIVEN. 3:30 and 7 p.m. Linda Hamwi, Master Gardner, will present “Successful Container Gardening” based on her many years of experience. This event is free and open to the public. Given Memorial Library (3:30 p.m.), 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst; or Given Outpost (7 p.m.), 95 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-6022. FAMILY FUN NIGHT. 5:30 p.m. “Arbots.” Children grades K through 5 and their families are invited to create art-making robots during this program. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 6928235 or sppl.net. WEYMOUTH RECEPTION. 5:30 p.m. Come to the Boyd House to meet and welcome our new executive director, Robin Smith. Weymouth Center for Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261 or weymouthcenter.org.

Friday, March 11

Wine and Whimsy Art Class

COOKING CLASS. 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. “Mediterranean Cuisine.” Join professional chef Sonia Middleton as she brings a little international culture to cooking. Cost: $40/resident; $80/nonresident. Pinehurst Parks and Rec, Recreation Room, 300 Kelly Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 2951900 or pinehurstrec.org.

Saturday, March 12 PINEHURST ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE. 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Colorful parade entries, music, dancing, and Irish good cheer. Following the parade, stick around for entertainment, children’s activities, food, and beverages at Tufts Memorial Park, 150

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Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-3400 or www.vopnc.org.

TEA WITH THE SEAGROVE POTTERS. Seagrove potters celebrate the Southern tradition of sweet tea with a variety of pitchers and tumblers available at Blue Hen Pottery, Dean and Martin Pottery, Eck McCanless Pottery, From the Ground Up Pottery, Pottery Road Studio, and Thomas Pottery. Sweet teas paired with tasty treats at each participating shop. Free to the public. 1295 S N.C. 705, Seagrove. Info: (336) 879-4145.

MEET THE ARTIST AT WORK. 12 – 3 p.m. Visit with artist Linda Griffin and learn about her techniques and background in art. Hollyhocks Art Gallery, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 255-0665 or hollyhocksartgallerycom. NATURE EVENT. 3 p.m. “Nature’s Notebook Hike.” See what’s changing in the world of flora this month with ranger assistant Lindsey on a 1.5-‐mile (90-minute) hike, an opportunity to learn how to collect phenological data and keep a scientific nature journal. Meet at Weymouth Woods Visitor Center, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167. SATURDAY CRAFT DAY. All day. This event features tree crafts in celebration of NC Arbor Day. Stop in the Library anytime during the day for this self-led program. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235. SHAMROCK ‘N’ ROLL ROAD RACE. Young or old, fast or slow, you can run, walk, or rock and roll our 1-mile, 5k, and 10k courses. Register by Tuesday, March 1, for early discounts and guaranteed shirt. Registrations also accepted Friday, March 11, 6 – 8 p.m. at Dick’s Sporting Goods, Aberdeen; and Whispering Pines Police Station, 14 Hardee Lane. Info: shamrocknrollrace.com. Tickets: runsignup.com.

FAYETTEVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA. 7:30 – 9 p.m. “Lights, Camera, Symphony!” This concert is appropriate for all ages and features music from Frozen, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Lord of the Rings, and many more movies. The Fayetteville Symphony Youth Orchestra (FSYO) will perform also. Huff Concert Hall, Methodist University, 5400 Ramsey St., Fayetteville. Info: (910) 433-4690 fayettevillesymphony.org.

New York Times Best-selling Author Stephanie Evanovich

TOWN CREEK UNDER THE STARS. 6 – 10 p.m. Come for an evening beneath one of the last great dark sky sites in the North Carolina Piedmont. Site telescopes available or bring your own to learn about the constellations Taurus, Gemini, Orion, and Cancer. Dress for the cold. Free to the public. Town Creek Indian Mound, 509 Town Creek Mound Road, Mount Gilead. Info and registration (required): (910) 439-6802 or towncreek@ncdcr.gov. USA DANCE. 7 – 10 p.m. (Doors open at 6:30) The Carolina Pines Chapter monthly dance: free lesson 7 – 8 p.m., provided by Susie Buck of

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Raleigh (taketheleadballroom.com); and open dancing 8 – 10 p.m. Open to the public. Cost: $10 at the door. Southern Pines Elks Lodge, 280 Country Club Circle, Southern Pines. Info: (919) 770-1975.

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Saturday, March 12 and 13 SOUTHERN PINES HORSE TRIALS. All day until 8 p.m. Part of the “Carolina Eventing Challenge.” Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford. Info: (910) 875-2074 or carolinahorsepark.com.

Sunday, March 13 BOLSHOI BALLET SERIES. 1 p.m. Spartacus, in HD via satellite, the story of a Thracian gladiator who became one of the leaders in a slave uprising against the Roman Republic in the 2nd century BC. Cost: $25. Sunrise Theater, 250 NW Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8501 or sunrisetheater.com. NATURE EVENT. 3 p.m. “North Carolina’s Natural State Symbols.” Besides a state bird (cardinal), we have a state insect, reptile and mammal. Join a ranger and learn more about them in nature. Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167.

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SUNDAY KIDS MOVIE. 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. This film is based on the best-selling Goosebumps books, by author R.L. Stine. Free to the public. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or sppl.net.

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WEYMOUTH CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES. 3 – 4:30 p.m. Anita Burroughs-Price on harp, and Brian Reagin, concertmaster of the North Carolina Symphony, on violin. Cost: Chamber Music Season: $50/member; $100/non-member. Individual concerts: $10/member; $20/non-member. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261 or weymouthcenter.org.

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LIVE MUSIC AT THE ROOSTER’S WIFE. 6:46 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. Quiles and Cloud perform. Cost: $10 in advance; $20 at the door. The Poplar Knight Spot, 114 Knight St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-7502 or theroosterswife.org.

Monday, March 14 ART CLASS. 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. “Creating With Oils: The Next Step,” taught by Diane Kraudelt. Includes canvas and palette selection, color mixing, painting methods, and more as you paint from your favorite photos. Beginners and novices. Costs: $45/$50/$55. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979. SIP & PAINT WITH JANE. 5 – 7 p.m. Join resident artist Jane Casnellie for an evening of sipping and painting and take home your own masterpiece! No experience necessary. All materials provided, including a glass of wine. Cost: $35. Hollyhocks Art Gallery, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst. Info and registration: (910) 255-0665. BOOK LOVERS UNITE. 7 p.m. This month’s

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PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 2016

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topic is “History,” and includes authors Charles Todd, Arthur Conan Doyle and Barbara Cleverly. Bring your favorite author list to share. Given Outpost, 95 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-7002. SANDHILLS PHOTO CLUB MEETING. 7 p.m. Guests are always welcome. The Hannah Theater Center at The O’Neal School, 3300 Airport Road, Southern Pines. Info: sandhillsphotoclub.org.

Tuesday, March 15 and 22 ART CLASS. 1 – 4 p.m. “Basic Calligraphy,” taught by Barbara Sickenberger. You’ll do some basic calligraphic exercises, making curved and straight lines, all letters of the alphabet (capital and lower case), followed by actual words, and then put your card together with your own handlettered message. Beginner, right hand only. Cost: $48/$54/$60. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979.

Wednesday, March 16

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ART CLASS. 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. “Figure Drawing” (with a live model), taught by Linda Bruening. For beginners who want to learn how to draw figures and for more advanced students who want practice. Cost: $34/$37/$40. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979. ART CLASS (PAINT—ALL MEDIA). 1 – 4 p.m. Wednesdays through April 27. For all levels of experience, artist Eileen Strickland covers basic information on materials, techniques, color theory and composition. Cost: $47/resident; $94/non-resident. Pinehurst Parks and Rec, Recreation Room, 300 Kelly Road, Pinehurst. Info and pre-registration: (910) 295-1900 or 295-2817.

Thursday, March 17

Experience the Highest Quality Dental Care in a friendly, caring environment.

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WINE AND WHIMSEY ART CLASS. 5:30 – 7 p.m. “Cardinal Awaiting Spring.” Enjoy a glass of wine or beer while painting your masterpiece. Canvas, paint, brushes, palette and easel provided. Wine, beer and snacks available for purchase. Cost: $20/member; $25/non-member. Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Fayetteville. Info: (910) 486-0221. Register online at form.jotform.com/51666115773964. Citizens Academy. 6 – 8 p.m. (Light supper at 5:45) This session presents a behind the scenes look at operations of the Information Technology and Geographic Information System Department. Please call the SPPL to sign up. Southern Pines Police Department, Police Community Meeting Room, 450 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or sppl.net. BEGINNERS DANCE CLASS. 6:30 p.m. Learn to waltz and try the West Coast swing! No preregistration necessary. Cost: $10 cash. Pinehurst Dance Studio, Pinehurst Executive Center, 5 Dawn Road, at N.C. 5 and Blake Blvd., Pinehurst. Info: (910) 331-9965. OUTPOST ARTISTRY SONG AND POETRY CIRCLE. 7 p.m. All singers, musicians and poets are invited for an evening of creative exchange.

March 2016i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

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Bring your musical instrument, voice and words. Given Outpost, 95 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-7002.

Friday, March 18

Longleaf ’s Meadow Cottages

Simplify your lifestyle with the best in turnkey living

ARBOR DAY CELEBRATION. 10:30 a.m. The Annual Town of Southern Pines Arbor Day Celebration. Two long-leaf pine trees will be planted in the pine barrens section. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235. NATURE EVENT. 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. “Signs of Spring.” Walk around the Garden to look for buds on trees, emerging spring blossoms, bird nests, animal tracks and more. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Free with Garden admission or CFBG membership. Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Fayetteville. Info and registration (required two days in advance): (910) 486-0221 or capefearbg.org. ART CLASS (OIL PAINTING). 1 – 4 p.m. Fridays through April 29. For all levels of experience, artist Eileen Strickland covers basic information on materials, techniques, color theory, and composition. Cost: $47/resident; $94/non-resident. Pinehurst Parks and Rec, Recreation Room, 300 Kelly Road, Pinehurst. Info and pre-registration: (910) 295-1900 or 295-2817.

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Brass, Baroque and Dixieland

AUTHOR EVENT. 5 p.m. New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Evanovich talks about her new book, The Total Package, in which a star quarterback gets kicked off his team because of his addiction to painkillers and partying. He gets clean PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 2016

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PineServices Where European Tradition meets Southern Charm

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and redeems himself, but a girl from his past, who is now a well-respected sports analyst, is determined to not let anyone forget about his transgressions. The Country Bookshop, 140 NW Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3211. FUN FRIDAY. 5:30 – 8 p.m. “March Madness.” A fun, monthly group outing to kick off your weekend. Cost: $15/resident; $30/non-resident. Location to be determined. Pinehurst Parks and Rec. Info: (910) 295-1900 or pinehurstrec.org. BIG TOP OUT THE BOX CIRCUS. 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. This is a new generation circus that focuses on the acts and crowd engagement. The show features new and breathtaking acts from all over the world, including actor and ringmaster Carl Payne. Cost: $18 – $34. Crown Coliseum, 1960 Coliseum Drive, Fayetteville. Info: (910) 438-4100 or crowncomplexnc.

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Saturday, March

NC POETRY SOCIETY MEETING. 9:15 a.m. – 3 p.m. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261 or ncpoetrysociety.org/ events.

New Client Special: 3 privates for $99

MEET THE ARTIST AT WORK. 12 – 3 p.m. Visit with Charlie Roberts and learn about his techniques and background in art. Hollyhocks Art Gallery, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 255-0665 or hollyhocksartgallerycom.

Pilates • Barre • Suspension

katherine rice, instructor

910.690.6548 studio at plantation house 155 legacy lakes way aberdeen, nc 28315 www.artofmotionpilates.com

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Window Treatments • Furniture Lighting • Consultations

(910) 585-2674 • PINEHURST 20+ YEARS EXPERIENCE

PARTY FOR THE PINE. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of North Carolina State Parks and the 468th birthday of the world’s oldest-known living longleaf pine with a

March 2016i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Fabulous Finds in Fayetteville

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hike to see the tree, food vendors, live music, a play mobile, bluebird-box building, turpentine and craft demonstrations, natural history displays and birthday cake! Boyd Tract, Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167. ART CLASS. 12:30 – 4 p.m. “Ink-TasticIntermediate Alcohol Ink,” by Pam Griner. Expand your knowledge of working with alcohol inks and discover various painting techniques to create a more advanced look. Prerequisite for Basic Alcohol Ink. Intermediate. Cost: $49/$52/$55 (supplies included). Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979.

Sunday, March 20 EGG HUNT. 1:30 p.m. Crafts, face painting, and fun for children ages 10 and under (must be accompanied by an adult). Egg hunt will start at 2 p.m. Bring your camera for a picture with the Easter Bunny! Campbell House Grounds at 482 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: Southern Pines Recreation and Parks, (910) 692-2463. SUNDAY FILM SERIES. 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. This 2015 Oscar-nominated film is set during the Cold War and follows a Brooklyn attorney who is negotiating a prisoner exchange. Free and open to the public. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or sppl.net. NATURE EVENT. 3 p.m. “Superb Spring.” Learn about the spring equinox and the forest changes and animal activities that occur in Spring. Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167. BALLET CLASSICS. 3 – 5 p.m. This special performance by the North Carolina State Ballet will feature excerpts from ballet classics such as Swan Lake. Admission: Cost: $5 – $16. Huff Concert Hall, Methodist University, 5400 Ramsey St., Fayetteville. Info: (910) 630-7609 or ncstateballet.com.

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CANADIAN BRASS. 5 – 7 p.m. The hallmark of this highly popular brass ensemble is entertainment, spontaneity, virtuosity and fun — but never at the expense of the music. The performance includes Baroque and Dixieland tunes as well as new compositions and arrangements. Cost: $25/adult; $15/child under 17. Lee Auditorium, Pinecrest High School, 250 Voit Gilmore Lane, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2787 or mooreart.org. LIVE MUSIC AT THE ROOSTER’S WIFE. 6:46 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. John Cowan with Darin and Brook Aldridge perform. Cost: $25 in advance; $30 at the door. The Poplar Knight Spot, 114 Knight St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-7502 or theroosterswife.org.

Monday, March 21 ART CLASS. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. “Painting Flowers in Watercolor,” taught by Andrea Schmidt. Learn the wet-in-wet approach to starting with shapes of flowers and how to draw with your brush. You

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will gain understanding about the techniques of direct painting and use of colors. Beginner. Cost: $32/$36/$40. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979.

Tuesday, March 22 JAM SESSION. 7 – 9 p.m. Acoustical Musicians Group. Acoustical musicians welcome to bring instruments and join in. Bring something to drink and enjoy the music. Public is welcome. Weymouth Center for Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261.

Wednesday, March 23 TAI CHI CLASS. 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. Wednesdays through April 13. Tai chi master Lee Holbrook leads this peaceful workout for people of all levels to increase body awareness, coordination and longevity. Cost: $21/residents; 42/non-residents. Pinehurst Parks and Rec, Recreation Room, 300 Kelly Road, Pinehurst. Info and pre-registration: (910) 295-1900 or 295-2817 or pinehurstrec.org. EVENING YOGA IN THE GARDEN. 6 – 7 p.m. A peaceful yoga session for all levels in the beautiful Orangery to improve your flexibility, build strength, ease tension and relax through postures and breathing techniques. Bring a yoga mat (limited mats to borrow) and water bottle. Free to CFBG and YMCA members; $5/non-members per session. Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Fayetteville. Info and registration

(required one day prior): (910) 486-0221 (ex. 36) or at the Garden.

Wednesday, March 23 and 24 ART CLASS. 10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. “Intense Color Pencil,” taught by Sandy Scott. Learn to use the Inktense OR Soho (Jerry’s Artarama brand) colored pencils to create a fun and beautiful painting. All levels. Cost: $64/$72/$80. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979.

Thursday, March 24 SENIORS DAY OUT. 10:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Temple Theater production of Always A Bridesmaid, a comedy about four loyal and determined friends of the bride. An event for ages 50+. You must register by March 9 to reserve your seat. Cost: $38/76 (includes show ticket and transportation. Lunch is Dutch treat at a local restaurant.) Meet at Pinehurst Parks and Rec, Assembly Hall, 395 Magnolia Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-1900 or pinehurstrec.org. GARDENING WORKSHOP. 2 – 3:30 p.m. “Container Gardening.” Learn to create a container garden of flowers and vegetables. Each participant will plant and take home an herb garden. Cost: $5/ member; $15/non-member. Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Fayetteville. Info: (910) 486-0221; online registration (required two days prior) at form.jotform.com/53075917872970. HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS. 7 – 9 p.m. A star-

studded roster will have fans on the edge of their seats to witness ball-handling wizardry, basketball artistry, and one-of-a-kind family entertainment. Cost: $26.50 and up. Crown Coliseum, 1960 Coliseum Drive, Fayetteville. Info: (910) 438-4100 or crowncomplexnc.com/events. AUTHOR EVENT (ticketed). 5 p.m. In his book Dead Wake, Eric Larsen tells the story of the sinking of the luxury ocean liner Lusitania in WWI, a disaster whose intimate details and true meaning have long been obscured by history. Purchase of one paperback edition of Dead Wake includes two tickets to the lecture. (On sale March 22; — preorder now.) The Sunrise Theater, 250 NW Broad St., Southern Pines, NC 28387. Info: (910) 692-3211. BALLROOM FOR BEGINNERS. 6:30 p.m. Carolina Pines Chapter of USA Dance invites you to try the sexy tango! $10/person. Class held at Pinehurst Dance Studio, Pinehurst Executive Center, 5 Dawn Road, at N.C. 5 and Blake Blvd, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 331-9965.

Thursday, March 24—27 CAROLINA INTERNATIONAL CIC AND HORSE TRIALS. 8 a.m., all day. Four days of elite competition. There will be a kids-zone with a bouncy house, rock climbing wall, and other fun games. Parking and attendance is free and open to the public (including kids zone). Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford. Info: (910) 875-2074 or carolinahorsepark.com.

CUTLER TREE

Thanks To All Our Clients Past and Present

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Stop and shop in Sanford ca l e n d a r

Friday, March 25

Tuesday, March 29

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME. 10:30 a.m. Author Kathy McGougan and her Jack Russell terrier, Buddy, will share a few of their amusing adventures together, and McGougan will read from her Buddy series. The Country Bookshop, 140 NW Broad St., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-3211.

YOUNG AFFILIATES MEETING. 6 – 7:30 p.m. The Young Affiliates of Weymouth is a group of young professionals in Moore County that support the center’s membership, development and outreach programs. Weymouth Center for Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-6261 or weymouthcenter.org.

Saturday, March 26 EASTER EGG HUNTS. 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. A visit from the Easter Bunny and music, crafts, and games. The Easter egg hunts are scheduled by age group (see website). Plan to arrive at least ten minutes before your child’s start time, as children will not be allowed to participate outside their age group. Pinehurst Parks and Rec. Event at Ballfield #1 @ Cannon Park, 90 Woods Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910)1900 or pinehurstrec.org. ARTS AND CRAFTS. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. “Springtime Holiday Shoppe Art & Craft Show,” National Guard Armory, Morganton Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 528-7052. MEET THE ARTIST AT WORK. 12 – 3 p.m. Visit with artist Louise Price and learn about her techniques and background in art. Hollyhocks Art Gallery, 905 Linden Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 255-0665 or hollyhocksartgallerycom.

Sunday, March 27 EASTER EGG HUNT. 3 p.m. Nature’s Own EggStravaganza. Learn about bird eggs, their differences, and their importance. Bring comfortable shoes and something for collecting eggs. Prizes awarded. Auditorium, Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167.

Monday, March 28 SCAVENGER HUNT. Children ages 3 through 12 can follow the clues to eggs, prizes and lots of fun. A fun fitness theme will get participants of all ages up and moving as they Hula-Hoop, skip rope, juggle scarves, and much more. This free event is topped-off with make-your-own ice cream sundaes. (Rain or shine!) Campbell House Playground, 482 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: Southern Pines Recreation and Parks, (910) 692-2463. NATURE EVENT. 9 a.m. “WeWo Nature Book Club.” A Walk In The Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, by Bill Bryson, tells the story of a writer’s attempt to hike the trail with his old college friend. Weymouth Woods Visitor Center, 1024 Fort Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167. SANDHILLS NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY MEETING. 7 p.m. Dr. Sara Schweitzer, wildlife diversity biologist for the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, will present information on the piping plover and other shorebirds of the North Carolina coast. Visitors welcome. Weymouth Woods Auditorium, 1024 Ft. Bragg Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-2167 or sandhillsnature.org.

Wednesday, March 30 ART CLASS. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. “Bold Color and Important Detail — Oil Pastel and Colored Pencil combined,” taught by Betty Hendrix. In this class you will play and experiment with mixing mediums to each advantage. Oil pastel for quick coverage and bold color, colored pencil for details. All Levels. Cost: $40/$45/$50. Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen. Info: (910) 944-3979. YOGA CLASS (INTERMEDIATE). 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. (Every Tuesday through May 3). Carol Wallace leads this co-ed course for individuals who have a basic understanding of yoga and wish to advance their skills. Cost: $35/resident; $70 non-resident. Pinehurst Parks and Rec, Recreation Room, 300 Kelly Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-1900 or pinehurstrec.org.

Thursday, March 31 HORTICULTURAL LECTURE. 1 – 2:15 p.m. “Herbaceous Perennials, Shrubs and Trees Ideally Suited for the Sandy Sandhills of North Carolina,” presented by the Sandhills Council of Garden Clubs and Horticultural Society, with speaker Dr. Barbara Fair, Dept. of Horticultural Science at NCSU. Owens Auditorium, Sandhills Community College, 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst. No cost, but registration required. Info and registration: (910) 695-3882 or landscapegardening@sandhills.edu. IN & OUT AT THE OUTPOST. 7 p.m. This month’s speaker is Beth Gore from Cady Clay Works in Seagrove. She will discuss her experiences working with pottery in the artistic Seagrove community. Given Outpost, 95 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 585-4820. Each event is free and open to the public.

WEEKLY HAPPENINGS Mondays PLAY ESCAPE. 10 a.m. Storytime. For all ages. No cost. Play Escape, 103 Perry Drive, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 246-2342 or playescapenc.com. PLAY ESCAPE. 3:30 p.m. Mommy & Me Yoga. For ages 2 and up. Cost: $10 and $8 siblings. Includes admission. Play Escape, 103 Perry Drive, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 246-2342 or playescapenc.com. BRIDGE. 1 – 4 p.m. A card game played by four people in two partnerships, in which “trump” is determined by bidding. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

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Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Fayetteville. Info and registration: (910) 486-0221.

Tuesdays—Saturdays SANDHILLS WOMAN’S EXCHANGE. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Lunch served 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. Gift shop features local artisans’ crafts. If interested in volunteering, call (910) 783-5169. Sandhills Woman’s Exchange, 15 Azalea Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-4677.

PLAY ESCAPE. 4 p.m. Arts & Crafts. For ages 3 to 10. Cost: $10 and $8 siblings. Includes admission. Play Escape, 103 Perry Drive, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 246-2342 or playescapenc.com.

Wednesdays

Tuesdays

TAX HELP. 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. AARP trained volunteers are available to help prepare tax returns, free of charge. You must come in person — no appointments by phone. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235.

PLAY ESCAPE. 9 a.m. Adult yoga (includes childcare). Cost: $12. Play Escape, 103 Perry Drive, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 246-2342 or playescapenc.com. BABY BUNNIES STORYTIME. 10:30 a.m. This storytime, intended for babies from birth to 18 months, will engage parents and children in early literary practices. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or sppl.net. BROWN BAG LUNCH/GAME DAY. 11:30 a.m. Bring your lunch and enjoy fellowship and activities, including card games, board games, and the Wii. The Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

BRIDGE. 1 – 4 p.m. A card game played by four people in two partnerships, in which “trump” is determined by bidding. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

Seek and ye shall find . . . Easter Eggs

TAI CHI FOR HEALTH. 10 – 11:30 a.m. Practice this flowing Eastern exercise with instructor Rich Martin at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden. Cost: Single class: $15/member; $17/non-member. Monthly rates available. No refunds or transfers.

BARGAIN BOX II

Thursdays

Encore

Donations Accepted During Regular Business Hours

Tuesday-Saturday 10am-4pm 7299-A, 15-501 in Eastwood (Behind Wylie’s Golf Cart) 910-235-5221

Buying Vintage

and Military Watches

Antiques & Newtiques

Buy, Sell or Trade Specializing in Primitive & Country Furnishings

5336 NC Hwy 211, West End, NC 27376 (at the traffic light)

910-673-2065

Tues-Sat 11am-4pm • Sun 1pm-4pm www.westendpastimes.com

Atrium Antiques Atrium Antiques Hand Made Jewlery and Fine Collectibles Furniture

Primitives Collectibles Old Toys

ROLEX & TUDOR Especially 1950s-1980s era GMT & SUBMARINER WARPATH MILITARY COLLECTIBLES 819 Hope Mills Road, Fayetteville Ed Hicks (910) 425-7000 edhicks82@aol.com • warpathmilitaria.com

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Decoys

Thursday- Saturday 10 to 5 Monday-Wednesday by appointment or chance 115 N. Sycamore St., Aberdeen, NC (910) 691-3100 shop • (919) 673-9388 or (919) 673-9387 cells

Rustic, Retro, Funky, Shabby Chic & Antique The Vintage Barn

Silver Handmade and Antique Jewelry

Unique Hand Picked Finds

Visit us: The Atrium 125 Murray Hill Road Visit us: TheSouthern Atrium 125 Pines Murray Hill Road Saturday 10- 5 SouthernMonday Pines -Monday-Saturday

PLAY ESCAPE. 9 a.m. Mommy & Baby Yoga. For ages 6 weeks to 1 year. Cost: $10, includes admission. Play Escape, 103 Perry Drive, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 246-2342 or playescapenc.com.

Sunshine Antique & Mercantile Company

NON-PROFIT THRIFT SHOP

Bene fits Moore Cou nty Charities & Nursi ng Schol arship s for SCC Stude nts

PRESCHOOL STORYTIME. 3:30 – 4 p.m. Stories, songs, fun, and activities to build skills necessary for kindergarten. For all children through age 5 and families are invited. Southern Pines Public Library, 170 W. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-8235 or sppl.net.

10-5

108 McReynolds St • Carthage

919-924-7260

March 2016i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

ca l e n d a r

STORY TIME! 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. For ages 3 to 5. Wonderful volunteers read to children, and everyone makes a craft. Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst. Info: (910) 295-6022.

Every Bunny Loves a Lilly Easter Dress!

MOORE COUNTY FARMERS MARKET. 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Produce only, fresh and locally grown. Armory Sports Complex, 604 W. Morganton Road, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 9473752 or moorecountync.gov or localharvest.org. MAH-JONGG (Chinese version). 1 – 3 p.m. A game played by four people involving skill, strategy, and calculation. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376.

Clothing • Bags • Accessories Children’s • Shoes

CHESS. 1 – 3 p.m. Don Hammerman instructs all levels of players. You need a chess set to participate. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. PLAY ESCAPE. 10:30 a.m. Lego Learning. For ages 3 years and up. No cost. Play Escape, 103 Perry Drive, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 246-2342 or playescapenc.com.

204 NW Broad Street Southern Pines, NC 28387 Mon.-Sat. 10:00 am - 5:30 pm 910-725-0546 www.pinkofthepines.com

Fridays PRESCHOOL STORYTIME. 10:30 a.m. Join us in the reading of children’s stories that take you around the world and beyond. Selections are from our current inventory of children’s literature and span the genre, from the classics to the newest imagined stories in print. The Country Bookshop, 140 NW Broad St., Southern Pines, NC 28387. Info: (910) 692-3211. PLAY ESCAPE. 10:30 a.m. Zumba Kids Jr. For ages 2.5 years and up. Cost: $10 and $8 siblings, includes admission. Play Escape, 103 Perry Drive, Southern Pines. Info: (910) 246-2342 or playescapenc.com. BRIDGE. 1 – 4 p.m. A card game played by four people in two partnerships, in which “trump” is determined by bidding. Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 692-7376. FREE COOKING DEMO. 5 p.m. A great way to start off the weekend and get scrumptious ideas. No reservations needed. The Flavor Exchange, 115 E. New Hampshire Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 725-1345 or theflavorexchange.com. COOKING CLASS. 6:30 p.m. Chef Maria DiGiovanni leads hands-on preparation of menu items (gnocci, Thai, ravioli, Moroccan, Lebanese, cannolis or pasta). Reservations and pre-payment required. Call for prices and specific menu. The Flavor Exchange, 115 E. New Hampshire Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 725-1345 or the flavorexchange.com.

y a d o t e b i Subscr ave &h delivered! Name __________________________________________ Address _________________________________________ City ____________________________________________ State ________Zip _________________________________

Saturdays

Phone __________________________________________

E-Mail Address ____________________________________ Payment Enclosed ____

Bill Me Later ____

$45/yr • In State $55/yr • Out of State 3 ways to subscribe: Fill out and return or Call 910.693.2490 or E-mail dstark@thepilot.com

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ca l e n d a r

COOKING CLASS. 6:30 p.m. Chef Maria DiGiovanni leads hands-on preparation of menu items (gnocci, Thai, ravioli, Moroccan, Lebanese, cannolis, or pasta). Reservations and pre-payment required. Call for prices and specific menu. The Flavor Exchange, 115 E New Hampshire Ave., Southern Pines. Info: (910) 725-1345 or the flavorexchange.com.

To add an event, email us at pinestraw.calendar@ gmail.com by the first of the month prior to the event. Or go to www.thepilot.com and add the event to our online calendar.

March PineNeedler Answers from page 127

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March 2016 i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Arts & Culture

944-3979

DISCOVER SOMETHING

AND DON’T MISS

r be Exc A hange St. •

12 9

en •

NEW!

eet Gallery

tr Exchange S

rts” for the A “March is embers – Full M eception Opening R 6:00pm 4:00 – March 6, s through Show run th March 29

Winter/Spring 2016 Classes and Workshops Oil and Acrylic

Open through

June 5!

Creating With Oils: The Next Step - Diane Kraudelt March 14 9:30-3:30 $55

Watercolor

Painting Flowers in Watercolor - Andrea Schmidt March 21 10:00-3:00 $40

Drawing Broadway, Film & Television Star

JOHN DAVIDSON Wicked, That’s Incredible, Hollywood Squares

Pen and Ink with Watercolor – Sandy Scott March 2 10:30-3:30 $40 Basic Calligraphy – Barbara Sickenberger March 15, March 22 1:00-4:00 $60 Figure Drawing (with a live model) – Linda Bruenin March 16 9:30-12:30 $40 Drawing with Graphite and Charcoal - Bob Way April 6,7,8 9:30-4:00 $180

Colored Pencil and Pastel

by Ernest Thompson

Point of View Design – Soft Pastel - Betty Hendrix March 1 10:00-4:00 $50 Intense Color Pencil (Soho OR Ink Tense) – Sandy Scott March 23, 24 10:30-3:30 $80 Bold Color/Important Detail – Oil Pastel/Colored Pencil Betty Hendrix - March 30 10:00-4:00 $50

Other Mediums March 24-27 ONLY! Owens Auditorium Tickets: JudsonTheatre.com or call 800-514-ETIX Groups of 10+email JudsonTheatre@gmail.com

5th Season!

Season Sponsors

Ink-Tastic-Intermediate Alcohol Ink - Pam Griner March 19 12:30-4:00 $55 - Supplies included

Workshops

Learn How to Loosen Up - Get Painterly - Patti Mollica March 7,8,9 9:00-4:00 $425 Bold Watercolor Design - Linda Griffin May 16,17,18 9:00-4:00 $410

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Arts & Culture

Beethoven’s Violin Concerto THUR, APR 28 | 8PM

LEE AUDITORIUM, PINECREST HIGH SCHOOL, SOUTHERN PINES

Grant Llewellyn, conductor Noah Bendix-Balgley, violin John Adams: Absolute Jest Beethoven: Violin Concerto Tickets are also available locally at: Campbell House | 482 E. Connecticut Avenue The Country Bookshop | 140 NW Broad Street

Tickets on sale now! ncsymphony.org | 877.627.6724

Make your Mark To advertise on PineStraw’s Arts & Culture page, c a l l 9 1 0 - 6 9 2 - 7 2 7 1

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March 2016i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Jim & Kay Haggard

SandhillSeen Piano Bar Party Lake Auman Sports Club Sunday, January 31, 2016

Photographs by Al and Annette Daniels Bill Graham, Mandy Goodman, Margaret, Becky Graham, John Goodman

Elaine & John Hoffmann, Sue & Ron Shephard Laura Thomson, Rick & Carolyn McClure, Diana Pratt

Elaine Hoffmann, Bill Tarr

Lois Ann & Bill Eisel

Amy, Stan & Dave Makson Joyce & Don Freiert

Carole & Kirk Soxman

Tina Viscuso, Sally Walsh, Rosemary Weber, Bernadette York, Ruth Caldara

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March 2016i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

SandhillSeen

Maureen Clark, Bonnie McGowan, Kathleen Ford, Cathy Smith

Women Helping Women Luncheon Sponsored by Friend to Friend Country Club of North Carolina Tuesday, January 26, 2016 Photographs by Al and Annette Daniels

Kathy Wright, Officer Melissa McSweeney, Nicole Bennett, Kim Disney

Maritza Webb, Paula Youngblood, Nancy Ellis Susan Hicks, Catherine Graham, Laura Williams

Kyndle Harrison, Tkeyah Taylor, Chanikqua Blue, Genna Hepfner

Miriam Chu, Kay Wildt, Kathy Beddow Susan Baldelli, Gena Smith, Konni McMurray

Emily Carter-Hare, Libby Carter, Diane Adams

Jody Gilmore-Kirchner, Anne Friesen, Sabrina Garcia

Faye Urello, Paul Nelson

Front: Nikki Locklear, Janeen Lee, Elizabeth Garner Back: Nicole Bennett, Pennie McNeil, Madeline Chapla, Laura May

Madeline Chapla, Nikki Locklear

Courtney Kilpatrick, Christy Clark, Roberta King

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the

CLOTHES HORSE

"Tons" of new items

Featuring

FRANK LYMAN JOSEPH RIBKOFF MING WANG TRIBAL SPORTSWEAR AND MANY MORE!

Casual to Dressy

CELEBRATING WOMEN OF ALL AGES!

1650 Valley View Road • Southern Pines, NC Adjacent to Hyland Golf Course on US 1

910-692-0855

LADIES CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES • Beside The Fresh Market •

www.WindridgeGardens.com

163 Beverly Lane, Southern Pines, NC 28387

Winter hours: Wed.-Sat. 10AM-5PM and Sun. 1PM-5PM or by appointment

Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm facebook.com/ClothesHorseofSPines

910.693.2111

BUILDING AWARD WINNING HOMES SINCE 1978

casual living redefined

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Quality Pet Supplies

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lavender

new * vintage * restyled furniture, gifts & objects of interest Follow us on Instagram @ lavender_restylemarket T-F 10:30-5:30, S 10:30-4:30 157 NE Broad Street, SP (910) 315-1280

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Located in Cam Square 1150 Old US Highway 1S, Southern Pines

HOURS: M to F 10-6 • Sat 10-5

910-693-7875

www.caredforcanine.com

CUSTOM HOMES REMODELING METAL BUILDING

Daniel Adams – Dustin Adams Phone: (910) 295-1504 danny@danieladams.com PO BOX 3090, Pinehurst, NC 28374 www.danieladams.com

March 2016i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

SandhillSeen Formal Hunting Moore County Hounds January 21 & February 6, 2016 Photographs by Jeanne Paine

Eric Doebbler, Mike Paget

Neil Schwartzberg

David Carter, Mike Russell, John Huganir

Josh Castro, Dick Verrilli

Colin MacNair Mel Wyatt, Colin MacNair, David Raley, Cindy Pagnotta

Stephen Later

Dennis Paules Cindy Pagnotta

Dick Webb

Susan Wain, Kate Flemming

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Summer Camps

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March 2016i��PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Anne Robinson, Dr. Brian Garrett, Danielle Veasy

SandhillSeen

Cameron Sadler, Summer & Tayloe Compton

Moore County Houndsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Hunt Ball Pinehurst Country Club Sunday, January 24, 2016 Photographs by Jeanne Paine

Pamela Wagner, Shelly Talk, Lyell & Sarah McMerty

Thomas Gregory, Teresa Graham, John Huganir

Thomas Neville, Dr. Jock Tate, Gerald Movelle

Kyla, Roeber, Laura Lindamood

Colin & Bridget MacNair, Barbara & Dr. Lee Sedwick

Mackenzie Melton, Maggie Tally, Kate Liner

Hank Minor, Carin Carter, Lincoln Sadler

Leigh Allen, Neil Schwartzberg, David Raley, Trevie Cato

Stephen Later, Caroline Plummer

David & Cathy Carter

Stephen Upton, Melanie Watson

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Summer Camps

Summer Camps at

St. John Paul II

June 13 - July 1, 2016

Around the World expedition! 910-692-6241

Pre K-8th Grade Weekly Camps 1/2 Day & Full Day Options See our website for details. www.sjp2catholicschool.com

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March 2016 i�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

T h o u g h ts F r o m T h e Ma n s h e d

The Moment of Truth When it was finally time to take away the car keys

By Geoff Cutler

We probably should have gotten a

hold of his keys sooner than we did, but it’s hard to take someone’s driving privileges away from them. I suppose it was a crescendo thing with us. That as the incidents on the road continued to worsen, ever more dangerous to himself and all motorists unlucky enough to get within a mile of him, we finally had to say something. But when he was just knocking the mirror off his Cadillac once a week on the side of the garage . . . eh . . . no harm, no foul. And besides, it was funny.

He’d come into the house all sheepish like and say to Robert, “Robert, there’s something I need to talk with you about outside.” “Yes sir, Mr. Cutler. I’m right behind you.” Together, they’d get into a huddle over the dangling mirror. “Robert, I seem to have had another run-in with the side of the garage. See what you can do about getting the mirror put back on, would you? Oh, and Robert … let’s just keep this to ourselves, shall we? No need to tell the madam.” “No problem at all, Mr. Cutler. Don’t you worry about a thing. I’ll have it fixed this afternoon and we’ll just keep it betwixt you and me. No problem whatsoever.” Robert didn’t tell anyone, but he didn’t have to. Families are going to know when the car’s been dinged up just like they’ll know when the dinner hour’s arrived and no one has bothered to cook anything. But Dad counted on Robert to get him out of these scrapes. I’ve told you in pieces gone by that Robert was intensely loyal to my father, and this was a particular area where that loyalty shone brightly. The two of them had a friend down at the license office. She knew Robert well, and my dad would charm the pants off her. She was no better than us in getting the keys away from him. “OK, Mr. Cutler,” she’d say, “let’s read the letters top to bottom as best we can.” “A, T, R, um … that’s a ‘P,’ I think ... how am I doing so far?”

“Oh ... just fine, Mr. Cutler ... you’re doing just fine. How about the second line? Can you read any of those letters?” Well, somehow or another he’d come out with a brand new laminated four color glossy North Carolina license to drive a vehicle, and he’d preen like a peacock. I guess we figured if he could get past the authorities, then who were we to interfere? When you rode with him at the wheel, he’d mash down on the accelerator, and that big rumbling V-8 under the hood of his Caddy would sling-shot us forward. Just as quickly he’d stomp back down on the brake and you knew that whatever momentary visual clarity he’d had, had disappeared just as quickly. He couldn’t see diddledy-squat. I suspect the moment of truth is the same with women, but I know with men it’s a big deal when it comes time to give over the keys. I know it’s going to be hard for me when the time comes. To not have the independence. To not have the control over the machine that defines our independence, status and mobility. My dad loved that last car of his, and I’m sure that it killed him to know that he was no longer in command of the thing. The reality for us struck home when he told us about his trip down Highway 5 to have lunch with one of his buddies at a restaurant they all loved in Aberdeen. Looking back on it now, his telling the story must have been a subtle plea for us to finally do something. “So I’m driving down the road and then everything in front of me turns orange. I don’t know what it’s all about, but I slow down anyway. Then, when I get right up to all the orange I look out my window, and there’s a train. He missed hitting me by inches. All that orange was men wearing orange vests and waving orange flags to stop traffic so that the train could cross.” We talked to him. And after that, Robert did most all his driving for him. Every day, my dad would have a list of things he’d want to do. Go to the post office, have lunch, maybe buy something special at Harris Teeter, like a couple of cans of corned beef hash. Or maybe he’d spotted a bauble for my mom at Hawkins and Harkness. Robert would take him, and all were safer for it. So to us, it was all funny until it wasn’t. And that’s when we stepped in. We were lucky that he didn’t hurt either himself or others before we did what needed to be done. There’s a moral to this story, which I’m confident you haven’t missed. PS Geoff Cutler can be reached at geoffcutler@embarqmail.com.

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Dining Guide

Restaurant Authentic Thai Cusine

U.S. Hwy 1 South & 15-501 1404 Sandhills Blvd. Aberdeen, NC 28315

195 american fusion cuisine supporting local farmers

lunch tues-sat 11-3 dinner wed-sat 5:30-9:30 chef prem nath

195 bell avenue southern pines 910.692.7110 www.195americanfusion.com

Smoke Free Environment Lunch

Closed Monday Tuesday - Friday 11:00am - 2:30pm Saturday Closed for Lunch Sunday 11:30am - 2:30pm

Dinner

Happy Easter! 28 Balsamics • 25 Olive Oils

Specialty Oils • Pastas • Herbs & Spices

ThePinehurstOliveOilCo.com 105 Cherokee Rd. • Village of Pinehurst

910.986.0880

Tuesday - Sunday 5:00pm - 9:30pm Saturday 4:00pm-9:30pm See our menu on MooCo under Oriental Restaurants

(910) 944-9299

www.thaiorchidnc.com Carryout and Vegetarian Dishes

Our British Heritage Celebration 26th Annual

is going on now through

St. Patrick’s Day!

Scottish Bridies • Cornish Pasties Roast Beef n’ Yorkshire Pudding Scotch Eggs • Steak n’ Kidney Pie Irish Beef Stew • Corned Beef n’ Cabbage Specials Change Daily Check out our web page www.TheSquiresPub.com

1720 US 1 South Southern Pines, NC 910-695-1161 124

March 2016 i�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

T h e A c c i d e n ta l A st r o l o g e r

Mercurial March Time for inspiration to take root — and perspiration to make it happen By Astrid Stellanova

March is the birth month of Michelangelo, Albert Einstein,

Maurice Ravel, Alexander Graham Bell, Sir Richard Burton, Edgar Cayce, Nat King Cole ... and Rupert Murdoch. And that, Sweet Things, is the short list. All Piscean, all gifted, all interested in the world of ideas. Does that mean all Pisceans are more alike than different? Wish we could ask Cayce, don’t you? I think it must mean that there is something about this water sign that is too mercurial for even the mystics to describe. –Ad Astra, Astrid

Pisces (February 19–March 20) This new year has meant you had to tack in the wind just to keep your boat afloat in the choppy waters of life. Drop anchor and inhale; all is well and your craft is safe. Sometimes, your navigational skills are tested, but you have the inner resources to make it all well. Your sense of reckoning won’t fail. This is a year with many peaks and valleys, but each take you toward an important aspect of your best self. Check the horizon; if you have something on your bucket list, don’t let high winds discourage you. Set sail toward your dreams, and revel in a fascinating year, you Sexy Sailor. Aries (March 21–April 19) Just admit it. When your childhood sweetheart carved your name on a tree, you were secretly shocked anybody you wanted to lock lips with would bring a knife on a date. That’s how you roll; your mind makes leaps and jumps and most of life experiences are hilarious and off-kilter. Keep your wit, Honey; you will need it this month when you get a surprise visit from an old flame and some unwelcome company. Taurus (April 20–May 20) You may seem about 10 cents short of a dollar this month, but you have put a large chunk of your gray matter on hold while you try to figure out what is making you so restless. You know you may have great powers of intuition; but you are not exactly acting like the CSI of mental compulsions. Keep calm, Sugar, and try to avoid making too many decisions without hashing things out with close friends. Gemini (May 21–June 20) There was a time when you were the funniest person in the room. Now, you can bring a party mood crashing down with one long, scary stare with your wild eyes, and a can of Raid. Your current bad mood has nothing to do with what someone did to you; it has to do with not letting go of an old offense. It is so last year, Sweetheart. Release it. Cancer (June 21–July 22) Is it possible you have overdone the self-improvement campaign? This would be a good time to say hasta la vista to pain and remorse, and hola to happiness! Astrid’s best insight is that you forgive yourself the slowest — if you can change that dynamic, you are fine-tuning yourself, and can go humming through the rest of this month like your best self. Leo (July 23–August 22) Honey, foreign travel is in the wings, and if you give yourself permission, this is a turning point in your life karma. Something unexpected is opening up to you, and it will mean you might have to renew your passport and kick-start your sense of adventure. In case you were thinking of opting out, just be sure this is not because you have allowed yourself to become lazy — er, passive.

Virgo (August 23–September 22) There are at least three opportunities that will present themselves this month. Consider them self-checks. One will involve an old friend. Another will involve an old enemy. A third will involve a complete stranger. What do they have in common? Sugar, ole Astrid thinks you will find the questions just as thrilling as the answers. Libra (September 23–October 22) No matter how hard you try, you cannot stop explaining yourself. Here’s the truth: All those explanations are a snoozer. No matter how much you want to elaborate, it just bores people into a stupor. Brevity, Baby. Say less, and it will be the best thing you ever did for the people you want to impress. Scorpio (October 23–November 21) It was a drag having to go through what you did; it was no fun and just about everybody felt sorry for you. But stop singing the same ole tune like One Song Debby Boone. If you can pick up one foot and take a step in the next direction, you might just find your footing is fine. Everyone is pulling for you, Sugar. Sagittarius (November 22–December 21) You’re feeling like the tossed-out drier sheet of life. A drier sheet makes the wash easier to fold and smell better; but does anybody ever sing the praises of the drier sheet? Well, Honey, ole Astrid will. Just remember how different it was before we had them; our underwear was full of static. Thanks to drier sheets, we are static free and fresher. Capricorn (December 22–January 19) How did that brave step feel last month? Glad you did it? I hope so, because you are one step closer to a grand journey that will be nearly invisible to those around you. Somebody wants something you have to give. If you can trust them, trust the universe, and even trust ole Astrid, I guarantee you will be all right. Aquarius (January 20–February 18) This new season has already brought some regrets; it made you regret that you offered something that came so cheaply. Let’s just say it looked magnanimous on the outside but you know it was like re-gifting Grandma’s dried-out fruitcake. Nobody really wanted it. You are sheepish because you have that much character. Now, make the sacrifice they really need and deserve, Sugar. PS

For years, Astrid Stellanova owned and operated Curl Up and Dye Beauty Salon in the boondocks of North Carolina until arthritic fingers and her popular astrological readings provoked a new career path.

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Easter Worship Services

He is Risen!!!

Easter Service 10:30 am

16433 US Hwy 15-501 Aberdeen, NC 28315 910-281-2055 Call for more information 910-281-2055

HOLY WEEK Maundy Thursday/ Seder Meal March 24, 2016 5:45 P.M.

Good Friday Service

March 25, 2016 12:00 P.M.

Easter Egg Hunt

March 26,2016 1:00 P.M.

Easter Morning Services Services Each Sunday 9:00am Mid-Week Lenten Services Wednesday 7:00pm

March 27, 2016 6:30 a.m. Sunrise Service at the Carolina Hotel 8:15 a.m. Communion 9:30 a.m. Family 11:00 a.m. Traditional

Bethesda Presbyterian Church

SUNDAY RADIO BROADCASTS WIOZ 550AM • 8:00am or WHLC 103.1FM • 8:30am

Everyone Welcome

March 20th Palm Sunday Service 11am March 27th Sunrise Service 7am

The Village Chapel

An Interdenominational Christian Community

HOLY WEEK SERVICES March 20th • 9am | Palm Sunday Service March 24th - 7pm | Maundy Thursday Service at St. James Lutheran Church, Southern Pines

March 25th - 7pm | Good Friday Easter Service at St. James Lutheran Church, Southern Pines

10 Azalea Road • Pinehurst 910-295-6003 www.tvcpinehurst.com

Join us as we celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

OLD BETHESDA CEMETERY (Bethesda Rd. Aberdeen)

Worship Service 11am Bethesda Presby. Church (US Hwy 1 Aberdeen)

MOORE BRASS will be at the 11am service

1002 N. Sandhills Blvd. (US 1) Aberdeen, NC

910-944-1319 • www.bethesdapres.church

St. Anthony of Padua

He is Risen!

March 27th - 9am | Easter Sunday Service

8pm

St. Paul

EASTER SUNDAY 8:30am 11am 1pm (Spanish)

Lutheran Church 910-949-2345 stpaullutheranchurchsandhills@gmail.com 3253 Niagara-Carthage Road Whispering Pines, NC 28327 www.stpaullutheranchurchwhisperingpines.org

126

EASTER VIGIL

Join us at 160 E. Vermont Ave., Southern Pines

– The family-friendly parish of Moore County –

For information please visit us at: st-anthony-of-padua.org

March 2016i�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

St Urho's Day! March PineNeedler

ACROSS 1 Toward the rear of the ship By Mart Dickerson 6 Crusty covering on a wound 10 Pout 8 9 10 11 12 13 71 not his 14 ____ cabinet, filled with Eat away 72 16 oddities 15 Blacken, as a steak DOWN 19 16 Calif. University 22 23 17 Shade providers 1 Pretends, as on stage 18 Steak order 2 Perry Mason actor 25 26 raymond____ 19 First word in a letter 30 20 St. Urho’s pest 3 region 4 spanish celebration 23 Feel poorly 35 36 37 38 5 stirring up a salad 24 Same score 6 young cod fish 25 Comic book exclamation 42 7 bloke 27 South American nation 45 46 47 8 Elder's assn. 30 New York team 9 Gentle winds 50 51 31 Manipulate 10 Wet dirt 32 St. Urho’s crop to protect 55 11 atlantic or Pacific, for example 35 Southern Pines Brewery 12 tartan offerings 60 61 62 13 English statesmen 39 Jewish calendar month 66 21 listen 41 Hive dweller 22 Decay 42 Quintet 69 26 Military branch, abv. 43 Female on Young’s Road 27 us island territory 72 44 Was afraid 28 agriculture org., abv. 47 Title of respect 29 365 days scoff,verbally 48 Doorway sign Puzzle answers on page30112 50 Celebrated color of 39 Jewish calendar month Mart Dickerson lives in33 "aid and ____" 8 41 Hive 1 St. Urho Day dweller Pod vegetable 34 Southern Pines and welcomes 52 Halloween spooky character 42 Quintet 36 speech disorder 7 suggestions from her fellow puzzle 55 Costa ___ 43 Female on young's road 37 Wicked masters. She can be reached at 56 “The Murders in the afraid 44 Was 9 38 Withered ____ Morgue” gdickerson@nc.rr.com. title of respect 47 40 spool 57 Voice changes in pitch Doorway sign 48 44 st. urho's people 1 and tone 50 Celebrated color of st urho 45 Heroic saga 63 Bunsen burner Day 46 Easily molded 65 Colored part of eye 52 Halloween spooky character 49 Caesar's twelve 66 Small island Costa7__ 55 3 51 one who lifts or rears a child 67 Whirl of water 56 "the Murders in the 52 Celebrated color of st, urho's 68 Act as usher 6 Fill in the grid so Day ____Morgue" every row, in pitch and every 57 Voice changes 53 beat in a contest69 Suspicious column and every 54 Crooks like an elbow 70 Snout tone 63 bunsen burner 3x3 box contain 55 takes a break 71 Not his eyenumbers 1–9. 58 no cost 65 Colored part of 72 Eat away the

(March 16)

St. Urho’s Day! (March 16) 1

21 24

44 48

ACROSS

15 16 17 18 19 20 23 24 25 27 30 31 32 35

1 6 10 14

5 2 3

toward the rear of the ship Crusty covering on a wound Pout ____Cabinet, filled with oddities blacken, as a steak Ca. university shade providers steak order First word in a letter st urho's pest Feel poorly same score Comic book exclamation south american nation new york team Manipulate st urho's crop W to protect Easter orship Services southern Pines brewery offerings

6 2 5 4 2 5 9 3 1 8

Sudoku:

66 67 68 69 70

small island Whirl of water act as usher suspicious snout

59 60 61 62 64

DOWN 1 Pretends, as on stage, abbr. 2 “Perry Mason” actor Raymond _____ 3 Region 4 Spanish celebration 5 Stirring up a salad 6 Young codfish 7 Bloke 8 Seniors’ assn. 9 Gentle winds 10 Wet dirt 11 Atlantic or Pacific, for example 12 Tartan 13 English statesmen 21 Listen 22 Decay 26 Military branch, abbr. 27 U.S. island territory 28 Agriculture org., abbr. 29 365 days 30 Scoff, verbally 33 “Aid and ____” 34 Pod vegetable 36 Speech disorder 37 Wicked 38 Withered 40 Spool 44 St. Urho’s people 45 Heroic saga 46 Easily molded 49 Caesar’s twelve 51 One who lifts or rears a child 52 Celebrated color of St. Urho’s Day 53 Beat in a contest 54 Crooks like an elbow 55 Takes a break 58 No cost 59 Fibber 60 Margarine 61 Socially awkward person 62 Eye infection 64 Popeye’s yes

Fibber Margarine socially awkward person Eye infection Popeye's yes

Visit

online @

www.pinestrawmag.com PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 2016

127

southwords

Hot Cross . . . Scones?

By Tom Allen

The chemist in me loves to cook, mix stuff together, watch what happens.

Likewise, I enjoy a challenge. A recipe for Greek ziti requires bechamel, a test for some. Me? No problem. My ziti would make Zorba dance a sirtaki and smash his plate. Opa! Food recalling the narratives of faith fascinates me. Think Hanukkah latkes, fried in oil reminiscent of the one-day supply that lit the temple lamp for eight days. My few but successful attempts at potato pancakes would make a Maccabee smile. Yeast breads, however, are my personal Waterloo. I couldn’t make a croissant if Napoleon offered a million francs. And hot cross buns, a Good Friday tradition, are quite the challenge, to the cook as well as the chemist. I wonder, “How many bakers have thrown down their aprons when their buns fell flat?” Historians date hot cross buns, a sweet, spiced yeast dough, before the 12th century. Marked with a cross, the buns are most often associated with the British. An English nursery rhyme recalls an old London street cry: Hot cross buns! Hot cross buns! One a penny, two a penny Hot cross buns! If you have no daughters, Give them to your sons One a penny, two a penny Hot cross buns! Evidently, at one point, plenty of cries went up over the sweet treats. Thanks to Puritan whiners, the same ones who stifled Christmas celebrations in Colonial America, buns were banned during the reign of Elizabeth I. At the time, Protestant England was at war with Catholic Spain. Spain’s king, Philip II, claimed the English throne because of his marriage to Elizabeth’s Catholic half-sister, the infamous “Bloody” Mary. Anxious to stamp out any vestiges of loyalty to Rome and under pressure from Puritan preachers, Elizabeth outlawed a number of Catholic icons, among them hot cross buns. But the bun ban proved unpopular and nearly unenforceable. As a compromise, Elizabeth restricted the sale and consumption to funerals, Christmas and Good Friday. Had I lived in England during the reign of QE1, the Puritan patrol could

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have skipped my cottage. No danger I’d break the ban. My attempts just wouldn’t rise to the occasion. I followed the recipe meticulously. I tested the water with a thermometer before dissolving yeast, always fresh. I kneaded the dough, proofed in a warm space, kneaded again, proofed again, and baked at the correct temperature. Out came sweet-smelling but hard-crusted, tough-textured buns. Pretty, but fit for a bowling alley, not a breakfast table. After several tries, I threw up my hands, headed to Fresh Market and purchased a half-dozen for the family. One year, not willing to throw in the tea towel, I looked for options. Google searches for “yeastless hot cross buns” or “hot cross buns with no yeast” produced recipes with flour, sugar, spices, and . . . yeast! Where’s an English cook when you need her? Downton’s done and Mrs. Patmore has left the Abbey. Another search finally produced a recipe for a Good Friday scone, similar but sans the yeast. Success! In medium bowl, stir together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest, 1/2 teaspoon allspice and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Cut in 5 tablespoons cold, cubed,unsalted butter, until butter is size of small peas. Add one cup raisins (optional). In small bowl, beat one egg with 3/4 cup heavy cream until well blended. Stir into flour mixture until dough just comes together. Knead dough on a floured surface a few times, until smooth. Pat dough 1-inch thick. Use 3-inch round cutter to cut out scones; place on sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Beat one egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush over tops of scones. Bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Cool. Stir together 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar and 2 teaspoons milk until smooth. Spoon a cross of icing onto each scone. Let stand for a few minutes before serving. Food will always play a role in faith. Each year, Jews sit down to Passover seders, eating foods recalling the exodus from Egyptian slavery. During a firstcentury seder, hosted by Jesus, Passover’s unleavened bread and wine became elements of a sacramental meal. Many Christians abstain from eating meat on Fridays during Lent, a reminder of the corporal sacrifice of Christ. Fish is permitted. Arby’s and McDonald’s offer BOGO deals on fish sandwiches. If you can’t make it to the parish hall fish fry, then hit the drive-through. For those who crave the spicy buns, Fresh Market isn’t far. Others, like me, might give it a last try. Until then, I’ll settle for a spicy, iced scone with butter and jam and a hot cup of coffee. I’ll savor the moment, be thankful there’s no Puritan patrol, and enjoy a season of hope and sweetness. PS Tom Allen is minister of education at First Baptist Church, Southern Pines.

March 2016i�� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills

Illustration by MERIDITH MARTENS

When buns won’t rise to the occasion, try this alternative

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